This is the fourth Headway/Nexus Quest thread, formerly GMed by @jcw3, then by @SynchronizedWritersBlock, then by @bookworm702, and now by some rambunctious upstart named @jcw3. Taylor Hebert, ~two months before the locker, instead gets an outside-context Gamer-lite power and some limited multidimensional travel, and resolves to be a hero for three worlds.
Headway/Nexus Quest 4 (Worm/Gamer-lite/Multicross/Dimensional Travel/One Piece/X-Men Evo)
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Introduction
This is the fourth Headway/Nexus Quest thread, formerly GMed by @jcw3, then by @SynchronizedWritersBlock, then by @bookworm702, and now by some rambunctious upstart named @jcw3.
NEW READERS should read the FIRST THREAD, here, followed by the SECOND THREAD, here, and then the THIRD THREAD, here.
The Headway power. The Gamer of the Nexus. Two powers, both originating from the same source. The Nexus allowed its user to transfer themselves across universes, to lands of the bizarre, advanced, or primitive, perhaps even a combination of the above. The Headway power allowed rapid growth in all fields, as well as the acquisition of new powers from defeated foes.
Two great tastes, that should go great together, in Headway/Nexus Quest 4 (Worm/Gamer-lite/Multicross/Dimensional Travel).
The Headway power will mostly stay the same from Making Headway, with skills grown by grinding, and powers being gained from defeated enemies (people or lifeforms that Taylor, in her regular state of mind, would consider a threat to the general wellbeing of the world or innocent environs). It fills the user with a desire to grow stronger and protect those around them. In this version you have a 80% of acquiring powers from defeated enemies, rather than 90%. You still have a 100% of getting the power on death, however. (No, you cannot ask your friends to take a dive and get their powers.)
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Making Headway, basically, it's a streamlined The Gamer, without as many numbers, the party mechanic and leveling. I invented Headway so he wouldn't have to keep doing math in my fun quests.
The Nexus ability. You can travel between various universes, mundane or otherwise. At the moment, you only have access to three universes (Earth-Bet from Parahumans, Taylor's homeworld, Earth-Mayim, the Earth of One Piece, and Earth-Mahon, the Earth of X-Men: Evolution. These three will be your sole Earths for some time - with this quest having resumed only recently, and with me being a bit rusty at writing and GM'ing especially, I think it's best to build a status quo before we start disrupting it. Unlike in Nexus Quest, time travels at the same time as it does in your original world.
(Back from the dead again. Let's make this one stick, together. Posting is now open!
NEW READERS should read the FIRST THREAD, here, followed by the SECOND THREAD, here, and then the THIRD THREAD, here.
The Headway power. The Gamer of the Nexus. Two powers, both originating from the same source. The Nexus allowed its user to transfer themselves across universes, to lands of the bizarre, advanced, or primitive, perhaps even a combination of the above. The Headway power allowed rapid growth in all fields, as well as the acquisition of new powers from defeated foes.
Two great tastes, that should go great together, in Headway/Nexus Quest 4 (Worm/Gamer-lite/Multicross/Dimensional Travel).
The Headway power will mostly stay the same from Making Headway, with skills grown by grinding, and powers being gained from defeated enemies (people or lifeforms that Taylor, in her regular state of mind, would consider a threat to the general wellbeing of the world or innocent environs). It fills the user with a desire to grow stronger and protect those around them. In this version you have a 80% of acquiring powers from defeated enemies, rather than 90%. You still have a 100% of getting the power on death, however. (No, you cannot ask your friends to take a dive and get their powers.)
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Making Headway, basically, it's a streamlined The Gamer, without as many numbers, the party mechanic and leveling. I invented Headway so he wouldn't have to keep doing math in my fun quests.
The Nexus ability. You can travel between various universes, mundane or otherwise. At the moment, you only have access to three universes (Earth-Bet from Parahumans, Taylor's homeworld, Earth-Mayim, the Earth of One Piece, and Earth-Mahon, the Earth of X-Men: Evolution. These three will be your sole Earths for some time - with this quest having resumed only recently, and with me being a bit rusty at writing and GM'ing especially, I think it's best to build a status quo before we start disrupting it. Unlike in Nexus Quest, time travels at the same time as it does in your original world.
(Back from the dead again. Let's make this one stick, together. Posting is now open!
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Character Sheet
Quest Rules
Omakes Rewards:
Okay, we all love omakes. They're a sign the players are enjoying the universe and ideas enough to write stuff. They're awesome. Here is how I'll reward omakes:
Omakes 750 words or longer may be rewarded at the GM's discretion. The typical reward is your choice of +30 points to training rolls or +10 points to a power acquisition roll. Longer omake will add around +10 to training or +3 to power acquisition for every 750 words.
Here is how you can spend your omake points. Pick ONE:
1. At any time divide all your points between any number of skills, which will be spent on the declared skills if and only if they cause a failure to become a success. The entire declared amount is spent at once.
2. Declare all your points for the next failed power acquisition roll. Note that you will not know what the power will be ahead of time.
You are of course, welcome to post omakes even if they don't meet the criteria for explicit rewards.
Headway/Nexus Information/Rules:
1. You cannot take more than two of the same option in a single day unless explicitly stated that you may. Headway does not allow training twice in a day.
2. "Powers" are supernatural abilities that can only be learned by you.
3. "Magic" is a catch-all term for supernatural abilities that can be taught to others. They are not necessarily actual magic.
4. This is the archived questions doc. Check here for questions first, but if you don't see it, feel free to ask! Please check the Informational pages first before you ask, there's a decent chance it's been asked before.
5. Your powers are not parahuman. They are not Devil Fruit. They are not caused by the X-Gene. You are not a mutate. They are something outside of all of those parameters, that allow you to replicate abilities learned or copied from the world around you.
6. You cannot fight your allies in a sparring match to gain their powers.
-6a. You cannot ask people to take a dive to get their powers.
-6b. You cannot have yourself mind-controlled into attacking your allies.
-6c. To acquire powers or magic, it has to be a genuine fight, against an enemy that Taylor, in her unaltered, regular mind, would consider a threat to innocent people. That could mean a rampaging giant albatross, a supervillain, a Marine acting on behalf of an authoritarian World Government, a pirate, a bounty hunter working for some shady types. It's a broad category, so don't go asking 'can we beat our friends in a sparring match to get their skills and/or powers'. Stick with the spirit of the quest, please.
-6d. If your allies are mind controlled or tricked into attacking you, you will not gain their powers. You will probably gain the abilities of their puppeteer if you beat them, but not your allies.
7. Taylor is a good person who wants to do good. If you come up with more underhanded or manipulative ideas, please keep that in mind.
8. Taylor does not consider these worlds fictional, and she does not consider the people within them disposable. You should not, either. Please do not enter this thread with the mindset of 'oh, I don't like One Piece/Worm/X-Men: Evolution, so I don't care if things go badly in those universes.'
9: I've gotten a lot of questions about Headway removing weaknesses, so here's some clarification.
Voting Rules:
1. Please vote in Plan form. Name your plan like [X] Plan Name-goes-here, then list all the actions. This helps with the vote count.
2. The vote is automatically closed at a set time. Any votes after that time will not be counted, even if I haven't officially posted a vote closed message.
3. There is never a timeframe for how long the update takes to write. It will be done when it's done.
Name: Taylor Anne Hebert.
Birthday: June 19
Age: 15
Worlds:
Earth-Bet (Worm). Earth-Bet was the starting world of Taylor Hebert. Outside of minute differences, Bet was an ordinary contemporary 20th century Earth that saw an extradimensional entity named Scion visit in the 1980s. From there, Scion began giving out powers to those who suffered traumatic events in their life, and as such, the world has gone downhill from there. Abominations from and beyond Earth roam Bet, and at present, are among the strongest foes Taylor has to defeat one day.
Earth-Mayim (One Piece). Earth-Mayim is a shonen fantasy world, taking place on a waterworld several times the size of Earth. Twenty years ago, the pirate Gol D. Roger died, and inspired pirates everywhere to go out in search of his treasure. Now, the corrupt and decadent World Government and anarchic forces, good or bad, face off around the entire world, with the Straw Hat Pirates and other adventurers caught in between.
Earth-Mahon (X-Men Evolution). Earth-Mahon is a superpowers comic book world, taking place on Earth in an alternate 2000s. Mutants with superpowers are appearing from the human population, threatening to overturn the status quo forever. For now, their existence remains secret, but that will not last forever. Charles Xavier leads a team of mutants called the X-Men as they struggle with integrating their powers into society and into their lives, and with those who would choose a different path.
Mission Goal: Taylor's first present and eternal goal is the acquisition of power: personal and otherwise. At the moment, her goal is achieved through training, adventures on Earth-Mayim, and more training. However, her second present and eternal goal is the protection of people around the multiverse, in all of the worlds she protects.
Mastery Skills are skills whose primary purpose is to make other skills easier to learn. They may have other effects, but skills like Martial Arts Mastery and Fitness mostly improve the roll requirements for other skills.
Category Skills are a way to increase multiple related skills at once. Increasing a category skill will increase ALL skills under it to the same level. However, you can only train a category skill if all the subskills are the same level as it or higher. Very seldom a category skill might have special abilities, which represents what you get for mastery of an entire discipline. Category skills will be significantly more difficult to raise than the skills under them, depending on number of subskills and level. They may even require multiple successes to raise.
Catch-Up Skills are subskills that for whatever reason, start below their parent category skill. Catch-up skills are significantly easier to train and may even be merged into a broader skill once you reach their level. The most common reason you'll have a catch-up skill is because you just entered a new world and are still figuring out how that world works.
A very general idea of how the ranking system works, mostly based around physical general skills, but you should be able to guess how they relate for most things. 0 is nonexistent skill, 1 below average, 2 is average, 3 is above average, 4 is professional level, 5 is low level Olympian, 6 is peak human, 7 is Batman level superhuman, 8 is Captain America level superhuman, 9 is demigod level, and 10 is god level. It probably won't go above that except in special cases. Keep in mind that that isn't always the case, and those scales usually only work for general skills. Generally, 1-6 is fairly easy, but it gets much more difficult after that.
Taylor has noted that this scale applies best to Earth-Bet. On other worlds, what exactly is "average" is different.
Powers: Superhuman abilities that cannot be taught to other people. Separated into categories to cut back on bloat. Categories will be expanded.
Powers: Devil Fruits
Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi 5: The ability to give your body properties of rock. It's still thinner than Bear King's power right now, and takes twenty or seconds concentration. You can extend it over your whole body, and perform basic actions with it. You can use it on individual limbs, but the movements are noticeably, worryingly slowed. Heat spews out randomly whenever you activate the form, but it's more manageable than before. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit".
Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi 9: The ability to have things slide off your skin. You can turn it on and off with a bit less than a second's concentration, hold it in the background after turning it on, and control which parts are slippery and which aren't with only a thought. You're confident you can keep it going even under pressure, and are able to mostly direct strikes that slide off your body, although large scale controlled redirection may be beyond you until the next rank. The Slip-Slip Fruit.
Powers: Shape Changing
Shape Changing: Bear 10 (MAX): You have the ability to turn into a grizzly bear. In almost an instant, you can fully assume the form of a grizzly bear. With less than that, you can freely transform parts of your body into bear parts and vice versa. You can also assume the forms of other types of bears, such as polar, black, cub, and so on, with an almost instant rate of speed.
Shape Changing: Giant Albatross 10 (MAX): You have the ability turn into a giant albatross. With less than a second of effort, you can fully assume the form of a giant albatross. With less than that, you can freely transform parts of your body into albatross parts and vice versa. You can also assume the forms of closely related birds, such as petrels, and have control over the size of your form and the ability to speak while transformed.
Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman 6: You have the ability to, with a slight amount of effort, spend fifteen seconds morphing into a swordfish fishman form, which is several times stronger on land, and much stronger on water.
Magic: Superhuman abilities that can be taught to other people. Separated into categories to cut back on bloat. Categories will be expanded.
Magic: Supernatural Fighting Styles (Physical).
Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4: You know the basics of how to warp water around yourself and use it to enhance your combat/physical abilities. Unfortunately, it's only effective in the water at this current level, and it takes a couple seconds or to draw the water in for even a punch. That, and you tend to lose control of the water around you if you pull in too much. Still, it's potentially a powerful technique for underwater combat.
Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 1: You can shoot a small ball of water across a medium-sized room at very low speeds by twitching your muscles. That's mildly more useful than splashing your hands.
Musashi Family Style 7: Harness your tragedies. Overcome them. Annihilate your enemies with the passion of your blade. You feel a noticeable effect from using this magic, and are able to use it in regular swordfighting.
Magic: Supernatural Abilities
Killing Intent 3: You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. Your intimidation needs work though. Also, it would work better if you actually intend to kill them. As it stands, it's just an uncomfortable feeling, and it would only work if you weren't actively in the middle of combat, and could focus on the person in question. Groups would be even more unreliable. You're slightly better at manifesting that feeling passively now.
Ninjutsu 1: You have the barest, most basic idea that this framework is possible for you to achieve. It works in conjunction with a plethora of mundane skills, and adds some supernatural icing on top. What exactly that means, you aren't entirely sure, though you've seen a few visions, a few possibilities that might work, there's nothing supernatural to draw from it just yet. Nezu seemed to have some idea, but you aren't even at her level yet, to say nothing of the Wanoese masters.
General: Mundane abilities that your Headway power can make the best of, and turn superhuman in and of themselves. Separated into categories to cut back on bloat. Categories will be expanded.
General Skills: Academics
Art 6 (category skill): You have a peak human knowledge of how to use your creativity to create.
---Art History 5: You have a super-professional knowledge of art history. You could easily get a job as a professor for Art History.
---Painting 2 (catch-up): You're no Monet or Picasso, but you're better than average at painting. Of course that's because few people paint at all.
Computers 7 (category skill): You're beyond human at being a computer specialist. By now, you've earned a minor Tinker rating with computers.
---Programming 6: You're quite literally the best that any human can be at programming, with all of the advantages that imbues you with.
---Technical Support 5: You aren't the most patient person to begin with, so helping people with computers is annoying no matter what, but you're one of the best at it, for some reason. You would have preferred the ability to fly, but whatever, being patient with people who are bad with computers is a miracle in and of itself.
---Computer Maintenance 5: You're an Olympian when it comes to building and maintaining computers.
Criminal Psychology 3: You have an above average understanding of crime and the psychology behind criminal actions.
Forensics 3: You have an above average understanding of forensic science and its application. You maybe equate to a forensic pathologist who's graduated college and been on the job for a couple years.
History 5 (category skill): You're damn good at History.
---Earth-Bet History 5: You have an Olympian knowledge of history of your own multiverse. That's like a tenured college professor, you guess.
---Earth-Mayim History 5: You have an Olympian knowledge of the history of Earth-Mayim. You're just starting delve into the real mysteries of this world's history.
---Earth-Mahon History 4: You have above average knowledge of the history of Earth-Mahon.
---Geography 8: You have an exceptional knowledge of geography. You have beyond a peak human knowledge of where Earth's nations, landmarks and regions are, and when exposed to areas that aren't Earth, your power fairly quickly fills in the blanks for you based on your vicinity, extrapolating based off of your existing knowledge. This will be less reliable the more alien the environment is, and may not apply at all to anomalous, Escher-esque environs.
World Issues 7 (category skill): You don't even have to read the news to know the news behind the news.
---Earth-Bet World Issues 7: Despite Mr. Gladly being a bit of a twit, you do have a very impressive level of knowledge of current events, almost as much as one who literally reads every single bit of news, and your skill is starting to get deeper and deeper into the facts of the stories themselves, rather than simply what the news reveals to the public.
---Earth-Mayim World Issues 7: You have a perfect grasp of every single public news story from Mayim, from the Blues to the Grand Line. Despite this, there are many events that don't make the news or the public eye, and those events continue to elude you. Keeping up-to-date on Earth Mayim seems more difficult than Earth Bet for some reason.
---Earth-Mahon World Issues 6 (Catch-Up): You good grasp of public news stories from Mahon and can separate out rumor from fact fairly well, Despite this, there are many events that don't make the news or the public eye, and those events continue to elude you. You suspect there might be an active coverup of current events on Earth-Mahon.
Investigation 4: You're a damn good investigator. Most police departments would hire you if they knew of your skills.
Law Studies 3: You have an above average knowledge of the American legal system.
Mathematics 6: You own a calculator and can definitely use it, even though you really don't need it at this point. You have a peak human knowledge of mathematics.
Parahuman Studies 6: The scientific study of parahumans, a subspecies of humanity that results when baseline humans manifest superhuman abilities after significant trauma, is rife with disagreement and misconceptions. You've reviewed the evidence and something is seriously rotten in the field of parahuman studies. You know everything human science knows about parahumans, and almost al of it is wrong.
Science 7 (category skill): You have a knowledge of science just above peak human. (subskills are Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Meteorology, Physics)
---Biology 5: You have a genius biologist's knowledge of biology.
---Chemistry 6: You have a peak human chemist's knowledge of chemistry.
---Geology 6: You have a peak human geologist's knowledge of geology.
---Meteorology 6: You have a peak Bet-based understanding of meteorology. It should go without saying that this doesn't necessarily apply to Mayim's weather.
---Physics 6: You have a peak human physicist's knowledge of physics.
Teaching 5: You're one of the best teachers on Earth-Bet, which somehow feels odd.
General Skills: Languages
Japanese 5 (MAX): The language of the Japanese people, common amongst refugees in America, as well as being the de jure tongue of the World Government. You have an equivalent knowledge of the language to a professor of the Japanese language.
Programming Languages 5 (mastery skill): This is a general skill that covers the learning of programming languages. Right now, you have an Olympian aptitude for learning programming languages.
---Language: C++ 5 (MAX): A language from Earth-Aleph, pioneered by corporations called Microsoft and IBM. It's a system mostly used on Aleph computers, you're just learning it for fun, mostly. You've mastered this language.
---Language: Combover 5 (MAX): A language invented by a group of prodigy college students, which goes about rather unorthodox yet oddly simpler methods of achieving the same goal as other languages. You've mastered this language.
---Language: ComLangPlus 5 (MAX): A language built in inspiration of Earth-Aleph's C++ before the source for it was traded over, it was rather similar and different to C++ at the same time. It's fallen out of use since C++ became more well used, but you've learned it for completion's sake.
---Language: EnWin 5 (MAX): Another generic company language, that really doesn't have much to offer. You're just checking it off your list at this point. You've mastered this language.
---Language: EX-3 5 (MAX): Another generic programming language, mostly just used by businesses in Canada and the northwest. You've mastered this language.
---Language: FORLAN 5(MAX). A more commonplace coding language, FORLAN was one of the programs invented by Dragon, meant to be used for commercial programmers, and was one of the many ways she funded the Guild. It's easy to learn, and you're getting the hang of it fairly quickly. You have a complete knowledge of it now.
---Language: LogaRhythmic 5 (MAX): A newer program invented by Megan Sugiyama, a professor at the Brockton Bay Institute. It's a computer language that relies on symbols and equations rather than written commands. You know every single trick this program has to offer, and can easily use it. Ha. So much for being one of the hardest programs to learn how to use.
---Language: Newton Alpha 5 (MAX): You've mastered Newton Alpha, one of those older languages that's somehow still kicking.
---Language: SimSim 5 (MAX): A program invented for the general public by a Denverite parahuman rogue named Simon Warner. You were curious to see if a language built by capes was any different from normal ones. It really wasn't.
---Language: Virtual Basic 5 (MAX): A basic program for Microsoft Windows. It should be fairly easy for you to master, which will then pave the way for more computer languages. You have an almost expertly knowledge of Virtual Basic. You essentially know every single trick, every single workaround, and almost all of the varying glitches, problems, and loopholes within the code this program generates.
General Skills: Combat/Fitness
Acrobatics 6: Flips and such. Jumps and balance tricks. You're the best a human can be as an acrobat on Bet, but there's further to go.
Archery 1: You... would not want to use a bow in a serious combat situation. Complete beginner here.
Axemanship 1: You have a beginner's idea of how to use an axe.
Blunt Weapons 5: You're one of the best on Bet at using blunt weapons.
Combat Instinct 9: The ability to know when attacks are coming. You have a level of combat instincts several levels above peak human.
Dual Wielding 7: You've actually made using two weapons at once practical and effective.
Exercise 10 (MAX) (mastery skill): When it comes to improving the human body through physical activity, you're as good as it's possible to be. In fact, you're several tiers better than it's possible to be.
Fitness 10 (MAX) (mastery skill): There isn't really any simple terminology to use for how this feels. It just feels amazing. You've naturally developed fitness on par with...with a god, maybe!
Freerunner 7: The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You're better than the best a mundane human could be at freerunning
Horsemanship 1: You're maybe equivalent to a girl who spent a week volunteering with horses a few years ago.
Knives 2: You okay with knives. Maybe the equivalent of a street thug who's been wildly stabbing and been lucky enough to survive most fights.
Marksmanship (Modern) 0: The shooty bit goes away from you.
Marksmanship (Primitive) 6: You're the best a conventional human can possibly be at operating slingshots and primitive thrown weapons in general. Still a good bit below Usopp - Mayim humans don't have the same built-in limiters Bet ones do.
Martial Arts Mastery 7 (mastery skill): You've become a peak human in enough styles that you have an average idea of how to master martial arts. The more you train martial arts, the higher this general skill will go, and the faster you'll train martial arts.
---Aikido 10 (MAX): This is a Japanese martial art built around disarming and taking down your opponent without harming them, although you eventually found ways to do that too. You've pushed all the way to the loftiest heights in earthly Aikido.
---Boxing 9: Float like a butterfly, sting like a Taylor- oh god there are bees everywhere. Your level of boxing no longer operates on a scale you can compare to others.
---Capoeira 6: You're top in the world in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira.
---Judo 6: You're top in the world in this Japanese martial art.
---Shaolin Kung Fu 9: A Chinese martial art, and perhaps the second most well known martial art in American consciousness. Your skill at Kung Fu is near godlike. It's better than the movies.
Master Resistance 2: You have a basic understanding of how the PRT and similar organizations train to resist Master attacks in theory. If faced with them in the field, this skill would likely prove situationally useful at best, and even if you mastered (hah) this skill, some capes would still no-sell it on its own. Still useful against lower-ranking Masters.
Polearms 1: You'd embarrass yourself in front of Armsmaster, but he'd likely recognize that you had some bare minimum of training.
Reflexes 9: The ability to dodge or move out of the way of incoming attacks. You have reflexes of a superhero far beyond peak human.
Running 9: You have a running ability several levels above peak human.
Sleight-of-Hand 3: You're above average at sleight-of-hand. While you'd likely be buoyed a bit by other skills, your skill purely in sleight-of-hand is about on the level of someone who's been pickpocketing for about a year or so, and has largely evaded capture.
Swimming 8: You're better a swimmer than a human can be.
Swordsmanship 10 (MAX): You're not sure how good you are at swordsmanship, but saying it's god-level seems reasonable when compared to Bet human norms.
Weightlifting 9 (mastery skill): You have beyond peak human knowledge of weightlifting. This skill primarily focuses on training and strength enhancing activities. It's more about form than strength. At the current level, it could be considered a dollar store version of tactile telekinesis.
General Skills: Practical Skills
Blacksmith 7: You're just above one of the best blacksmiths a normal human could be.
Armorsmith 5: You're an Olympian-equivalent armorsmith.
Weaponsmith 5: You're an Olympian-equivalent weaponsmith.
Cold Resistance 6: You're as resistant to cold as a baseline human born on Earth-Bet or a similar world possibly could be.
Cooking 6: You've one of the best cooks on Earth-Bet.
Acting 7: You're better an actor than a Bet human possibly can be, and you can highly accurately extrapolate and improvise based on the situation you're in. Note that this skill is also influenced by Ambush Mistress's unwritten bonuses, and will not apply to simply detecting lies. Taylor will not live her life in a lie, and will not be constantly using Acting.
Disguise 7: You're better than a regular human can be at disguising themselves, only slightly limited by time, resources, and natural constraints.
Doctor 2: This is the low end of the doctoring profession. You'd say that's about on par with a general practitioner with a few years of experience, who's currently apprenticing under a more experienced instructor. (subskills are: First Aid, Anatomy, Medicine)
---First Aid 9: If you had to use the first aid kit in almost any emergency, you would almost certainly treat the problem adequately to stabilize the patient if doing so was possible, and even without it, you'd probably do a damn good job. You have more than beyond peak human knowledge of first aid.
---Anatomy 5: You have one of the best possible mundane knowledges of the human form.
---Medicine 5: You have an understanding of how to apply and create medicine on par with the greatest pharmacists on Earth_bet.
Driving 3: You're about on par with an experienced driver/regular American commuter.
Engineering 2 (category skill): The study of science in order to invent, design, improve, and use the machines that make humanity great. You have a fairly basic knowledge of it.(subskills are: Earth-Bet Engineering, Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Shipwright)
---Explosives 7: This covers making explosives. You're better than the best a Bet human can be at this.
---Clockwork Engineering 2: This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. You have a decent degree of knowledge about this.
---Earth-Bet Engineering 2 : All the things built by humans on Earth-Bet, including tinker-tech that non-tinkers/thinkers can understand but not what they can't.
---Shipwright 5: This covers general repairs of a ship, as well as enhancements. You're one of the greatest shipwrights on Bet.
Heat Resistance 5: You have an excellent resistance to heat. Note: This is heat resistance, not fire resistance.
Housework 2: You have an average idea of how to do Housework. This extends to general cleaning and housekeeping in all regards.
Locksmith 1: You have a basic idea how to make and open locks.
Marine 4: Justice will prevail! You could be an average marine. You have an average idea of general marine knowledge, how to act like a marine, and understanding a marine's motives. This does not cover specific knowledge like codes, but covers general knowledge like ship types.
Meditation 1: You could maybe center yourself and find inner peace if you were in an environment conducive to resting.
Navigation 4: You could navigate a ship. You'd be considered a professional navigatrix.
Cartography 0: The skill of mapmaking, and the analysis of information to do so. You only have a very rudimentary knowledge of the field.
Pain Resistance 3: You have an average resistance to pain.
Perception 9: You can see things. You can see an inhuman level of detail with your glasses, even at distances where most people would need optical aids. You've also noticed that your hearing and even sense of smell is enhanced (although, thankfully, it's something you can filter out as needed.) You no longer need glasses.
Photography 3: You're a pretty good photographer - you'd be able to support a decent business on this alone.
Pirate 5: Yargh, shiver me timbers, set sail for One Piece! You're an excellent pirate. This covers general knowledge of how to act as a pirate (whether a Luffy-type or a Doflamingo-type), and understanding pirate's motives.
Poisoncraft 3: You know more about making poisons than your average person, and combined with your knowledge of Chemistry can make some basic poisons.
Poison Resistance 7: Your resistance to poison is superhuman. You can continue functioning under many lesser poisons even if you can't completely ignore their effects, and throw off most poisons far sooner than a normal human. It takes exotic poisons to really hurt you.
Repair 3: You're skilled at repairing most standard broken items.
Carpentry 7: You're better than the best a mundane human can be at carpentry and woodworking.
Electrician 2: You have a decent idea how to install and repair electrical circuits.
Plumbing 1: You have a basic idea of how to install and repair water piping.
Seaman 6 (category skill): You're one of the finest sailors in the world. (subskills are Seaman (Modern), Seaman (Age of Sail), Boatswain)
---Boatswain 9: The boatswain always had the responsibility of maintaining a ship's hull and commanding the parts needed to keep it in order. Your abilities as a boatswain have more than surpassed the understandings of normal humans.
---Seaman (Modern) 6: The appropriate level of knowledge needed to survive day to day life on a modern ship. You're probably the best sailor in the world (of Bet, at least).
---Seaman (Age of Sail) 9: The appropriate level of knowledge needed to survive day to day life on a pirate ship or similar wooden craft, and perhaps beyond. You're a much better sailor than a normal human could be, and have an intuitive understanding of the sea while in the proper kind of vessel.
Stealth 9: You're sneakier than a normal human can be. But even so you know you could be sneakier.
Survival 5 (category skill): You're about as good as a human can be at surviving in the wilderness. (subskills are Fishing, Hunter, Naturalist, Skinning, Tracker)
---Fishing 6: You're as good as a human could possibly be at fishing.
---Hunter 5: You're about as good as a human can be at hunting, the predator/prey relationship. For some reason, that sickens you a bit.
---Naturalist 7: You'd do excellently in identifying plants and animals on Mayim, including in Paradise, with crafting possibilities from the more exotic wildlife coming naturally to you. Exotic items in the Grand Line might still be beyond you.
---Skinning 5: You're about as good as a human can be at skinning.
---Tracker 6: You're as good as a human can be at tracking.
Trapper 6: You have the best mundane understandings of spotting and making traps on Earth-Bet.
Tactics 9: You have a knowledge of tactics a great bit above superhuman.
Clothier 7 (category skill): Encompassing all the uses of fabric to make clothing. (subskills are Tailor, Fashion, Sewing)
---Tailor 7: You have knowledge of assembling clothing just above peak human.
---Fashion 6: You might just be the best fashion designer in the world.
---Sewing 9: You have a beyond superhuman ability to sew, at dizzying speeds and quality.
General Skills: Diplomacy/Charisma
Barter 4: You could be a professional barterer. This is much higher than your average person on Bet, and you could probably get work at a merchant company in Mayim.
Public Speaking 3: Your acting practice has helped you a lot here, and you're above average at talking to a crowd, a subject few people get to practice.
Leadership 4: You're a damn good leader.
General Skills
Dancing 0: You're not a very good dancer, but you try your best.
Woodwind Musician 4: You have a professional knowledge of how to be a woodwind musician, with a focus on flutism.
Traits
Ambush Mistress: In situations where you can catch your enemy off guard, your attacks and strikes get significant boosts. You're significantly better with strategies and the like. However, when you're caught off guard, you take significant penalties in combat.
Hopeless Idealist: You're determined to make the world a better place. Your social malus is reduced considerably when speaking to those who want to improve the world.
MacGyver: When crafting, you can use or substitute substandard materials or parts in many cases, and can jury-rig simple single-use one-use devices. This is still limited by your skills, but allows you to craft with improvised materials at a corresponding decrease in quality, durability, or number of uses.
Nascent Defender of Existence: You gain +1 to all physical skills, powers, and magic when faced by an enemy on the caliber of the Endbringers or above. Your social malus is negated when in situations like that.
Socially Stunted: Let's face it. You haven't exactly been a social butterfly. When it comes to situations where you aren't in a situation of power, you suck. -15 to all Social Rolls, unwritten negative to most conversations.
Supplant the Institution: You're Taylor freaking Hebert. You're innately and intensely suspicious of institutions, even if you might not realize it yourself during some interactions. Monolithic, ever-present institutions set off warning bells in your mind you might not even consciously notice. Unwritten malus when interacting with agents of institutions, blunted based off of the situation by other interaction traits.
Waterbreather: You can breathe underwater, in any and all of your forms.
When Life Gives You Lemons: You don't necessarily need to kill an enemy to gain their ability. Rather than the standard 50% of gaining a power from a defeated enemy that another Headway user might have, you have a 80% chance of gaining their power/ability after knocking them out or taking them down. Team/collaborative battles drop this to 50% if you have help during the fight.
Omakes Rewards:
Okay, we all love omakes. They're a sign the players are enjoying the universe and ideas enough to write stuff. They're awesome. Here is how I'll reward omakes:
Omakes 750 words or longer may be rewarded at the GM's discretion. The typical reward is your choice of +30 points to training rolls or +10 points to a power acquisition roll. Longer omake will add around +10 to training or +3 to power acquisition for every 750 words.
Here is how you can spend your omake points. Pick ONE:
1. At any time divide all your points between any number of skills, which will be spent on the declared skills if and only if they cause a failure to become a success. The entire declared amount is spent at once.
2. Declare all your points for the next failed power acquisition roll. Note that you will not know what the power will be ahead of time.
You are of course, welcome to post omakes even if they don't meet the criteria for explicit rewards.
Headway/Nexus Information/Rules:
1. You cannot take more than two of the same option in a single day unless explicitly stated that you may. Headway does not allow training twice in a day.
2. "Powers" are supernatural abilities that can only be learned by you.
3. "Magic" is a catch-all term for supernatural abilities that can be taught to others. They are not necessarily actual magic.
4. This is the archived questions doc. Check here for questions first, but if you don't see it, feel free to ask! Please check the Informational pages first before you ask, there's a decent chance it's been asked before.
5. Your powers are not parahuman. They are not Devil Fruit. They are not caused by the X-Gene. You are not a mutate. They are something outside of all of those parameters, that allow you to replicate abilities learned or copied from the world around you.
6. You cannot fight your allies in a sparring match to gain their powers.
-6a. You cannot ask people to take a dive to get their powers.
-6b. You cannot have yourself mind-controlled into attacking your allies.
-6c. To acquire powers or magic, it has to be a genuine fight, against an enemy that Taylor, in her unaltered, regular mind, would consider a threat to innocent people. That could mean a rampaging giant albatross, a supervillain, a Marine acting on behalf of an authoritarian World Government, a pirate, a bounty hunter working for some shady types. It's a broad category, so don't go asking 'can we beat our friends in a sparring match to get their skills and/or powers'. Stick with the spirit of the quest, please.
-6d. If your allies are mind controlled or tricked into attacking you, you will not gain their powers. You will probably gain the abilities of their puppeteer if you beat them, but not your allies.
7. Taylor is a good person who wants to do good. If you come up with more underhanded or manipulative ideas, please keep that in mind.
8. Taylor does not consider these worlds fictional, and she does not consider the people within them disposable. You should not, either. Please do not enter this thread with the mindset of 'oh, I don't like One Piece/Worm/X-Men: Evolution, so I don't care if things go badly in those universes.'
9: I've gotten a lot of questions about Headway removing weaknesses, so here's some clarification.
10. Assume Parahumans, One Piece, and X-Men: Evolution will be your only three universes. I'm not entertaining discussion about future universes - these three are more than enough to keep this quest going.
Voting Rules:
1. Please vote in Plan form. Name your plan like [X] Plan Name-goes-here, then list all the actions. This helps with the vote count.
2. The vote is automatically closed at a set time. Any votes after that time will not be counted, even if I haven't officially posted a vote closed message.
3. There is never a timeframe for how long the update takes to write. It will be done when it's done.
Name: Taylor Anne Hebert.
Birthday: June 19
Age: 15
Worlds:
Earth-Bet (Worm). Earth-Bet was the starting world of Taylor Hebert. Outside of minute differences, Bet was an ordinary contemporary 20th century Earth that saw an extradimensional entity named Scion visit in the 1980s. From there, Scion began giving out powers to those who suffered traumatic events in their life, and as such, the world has gone downhill from there. Abominations from and beyond Earth roam Bet, and at present, are among the strongest foes Taylor has to defeat one day.
Earth-Mayim (One Piece). Earth-Mayim is a shonen fantasy world, taking place on a waterworld several times the size of Earth. Twenty years ago, the pirate Gol D. Roger died, and inspired pirates everywhere to go out in search of his treasure. Now, the corrupt and decadent World Government and anarchic forces, good or bad, face off around the entire world, with the Straw Hat Pirates and other adventurers caught in between.
Earth-Mahon (X-Men Evolution). Earth-Mahon is a superpowers comic book world, taking place on Earth in an alternate 2000s. Mutants with superpowers are appearing from the human population, threatening to overturn the status quo forever. For now, their existence remains secret, but that will not last forever. Charles Xavier leads a team of mutants called the X-Men as they struggle with integrating their powers into society and into their lives, and with those who would choose a different path.
Mission Goal: Taylor's first present and eternal goal is the acquisition of power: personal and otherwise. At the moment, her goal is achieved through training, adventures on Earth-Mayim, and more training. However, her second present and eternal goal is the protection of people around the multiverse, in all of the worlds she protects.
Mastery Skills are skills whose primary purpose is to make other skills easier to learn. They may have other effects, but skills like Martial Arts Mastery and Fitness mostly improve the roll requirements for other skills.
Category Skills are a way to increase multiple related skills at once. Increasing a category skill will increase ALL skills under it to the same level. However, you can only train a category skill if all the subskills are the same level as it or higher. Very seldom a category skill might have special abilities, which represents what you get for mastery of an entire discipline. Category skills will be significantly more difficult to raise than the skills under them, depending on number of subskills and level. They may even require multiple successes to raise.
Catch-Up Skills are subskills that for whatever reason, start below their parent category skill. Catch-up skills are significantly easier to train and may even be merged into a broader skill once you reach their level. The most common reason you'll have a catch-up skill is because you just entered a new world and are still figuring out how that world works.
A very general idea of how the ranking system works, mostly based around physical general skills, but you should be able to guess how they relate for most things. 0 is nonexistent skill, 1 below average, 2 is average, 3 is above average, 4 is professional level, 5 is low level Olympian, 6 is peak human, 7 is Batman level superhuman, 8 is Captain America level superhuman, 9 is demigod level, and 10 is god level. It probably won't go above that except in special cases. Keep in mind that that isn't always the case, and those scales usually only work for general skills. Generally, 1-6 is fairly easy, but it gets much more difficult after that.
Taylor has noted that this scale applies best to Earth-Bet. On other worlds, what exactly is "average" is different.
Powers: Superhuman abilities that cannot be taught to other people. Separated into categories to cut back on bloat. Categories will be expanded.
Powers: Devil Fruits
Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi 5: The ability to give your body properties of rock. It's still thinner than Bear King's power right now, and takes twenty or seconds concentration. You can extend it over your whole body, and perform basic actions with it. You can use it on individual limbs, but the movements are noticeably, worryingly slowed. Heat spews out randomly whenever you activate the form, but it's more manageable than before. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit".
Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi 9: The ability to have things slide off your skin. You can turn it on and off with a bit less than a second's concentration, hold it in the background after turning it on, and control which parts are slippery and which aren't with only a thought. You're confident you can keep it going even under pressure, and are able to mostly direct strikes that slide off your body, although large scale controlled redirection may be beyond you until the next rank. The Slip-Slip Fruit.
Powers: Shape Changing
Shape Changing: Bear 10 (MAX): You have the ability to turn into a grizzly bear. In almost an instant, you can fully assume the form of a grizzly bear. With less than that, you can freely transform parts of your body into bear parts and vice versa. You can also assume the forms of other types of bears, such as polar, black, cub, and so on, with an almost instant rate of speed.
Shape Changing: Giant Albatross 10 (MAX): You have the ability turn into a giant albatross. With less than a second of effort, you can fully assume the form of a giant albatross. With less than that, you can freely transform parts of your body into albatross parts and vice versa. You can also assume the forms of closely related birds, such as petrels, and have control over the size of your form and the ability to speak while transformed.
Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman 6: You have the ability to, with a slight amount of effort, spend fifteen seconds morphing into a swordfish fishman form, which is several times stronger on land, and much stronger on water.
Magic: Superhuman abilities that can be taught to other people. Separated into categories to cut back on bloat. Categories will be expanded.
Magic: Supernatural Fighting Styles (Physical).
Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4: You know the basics of how to warp water around yourself and use it to enhance your combat/physical abilities. Unfortunately, it's only effective in the water at this current level, and it takes a couple seconds or to draw the water in for even a punch. That, and you tend to lose control of the water around you if you pull in too much. Still, it's potentially a powerful technique for underwater combat.
Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 1: You can shoot a small ball of water across a medium-sized room at very low speeds by twitching your muscles. That's mildly more useful than splashing your hands.
Musashi Family Style 7: Harness your tragedies. Overcome them. Annihilate your enemies with the passion of your blade. You feel a noticeable effect from using this magic, and are able to use it in regular swordfighting.
Magic: Supernatural Abilities
Killing Intent 3: You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. Your intimidation needs work though. Also, it would work better if you actually intend to kill them. As it stands, it's just an uncomfortable feeling, and it would only work if you weren't actively in the middle of combat, and could focus on the person in question. Groups would be even more unreliable. You're slightly better at manifesting that feeling passively now.
Ninjutsu 1: You have the barest, most basic idea that this framework is possible for you to achieve. It works in conjunction with a plethora of mundane skills, and adds some supernatural icing on top. What exactly that means, you aren't entirely sure, though you've seen a few visions, a few possibilities that might work, there's nothing supernatural to draw from it just yet. Nezu seemed to have some idea, but you aren't even at her level yet, to say nothing of the Wanoese masters.
General: Mundane abilities that your Headway power can make the best of, and turn superhuman in and of themselves. Separated into categories to cut back on bloat. Categories will be expanded.
General Skills: Academics
Art 6 (category skill): You have a peak human knowledge of how to use your creativity to create.
---Art History 5: You have a super-professional knowledge of art history. You could easily get a job as a professor for Art History.
---Painting 2 (catch-up): You're no Monet or Picasso, but you're better than average at painting. Of course that's because few people paint at all.
Computers 7 (category skill): You're beyond human at being a computer specialist. By now, you've earned a minor Tinker rating with computers.
---Programming 6: You're quite literally the best that any human can be at programming, with all of the advantages that imbues you with.
---Technical Support 5: You aren't the most patient person to begin with, so helping people with computers is annoying no matter what, but you're one of the best at it, for some reason. You would have preferred the ability to fly, but whatever, being patient with people who are bad with computers is a miracle in and of itself.
---Computer Maintenance 5: You're an Olympian when it comes to building and maintaining computers.
Criminal Psychology 3: You have an above average understanding of crime and the psychology behind criminal actions.
Forensics 3: You have an above average understanding of forensic science and its application. You maybe equate to a forensic pathologist who's graduated college and been on the job for a couple years.
History 5 (category skill): You're damn good at History.
---Earth-Bet History 5: You have an Olympian knowledge of history of your own multiverse. That's like a tenured college professor, you guess.
---Earth-Mayim History 5: You have an Olympian knowledge of the history of Earth-Mayim. You're just starting delve into the real mysteries of this world's history.
---Earth-Mahon History 4: You have above average knowledge of the history of Earth-Mahon.
---Geography 8: You have an exceptional knowledge of geography. You have beyond a peak human knowledge of where Earth's nations, landmarks and regions are, and when exposed to areas that aren't Earth, your power fairly quickly fills in the blanks for you based on your vicinity, extrapolating based off of your existing knowledge. This will be less reliable the more alien the environment is, and may not apply at all to anomalous, Escher-esque environs.
World Issues 7 (category skill): You don't even have to read the news to know the news behind the news.
---Earth-Bet World Issues 7: Despite Mr. Gladly being a bit of a twit, you do have a very impressive level of knowledge of current events, almost as much as one who literally reads every single bit of news, and your skill is starting to get deeper and deeper into the facts of the stories themselves, rather than simply what the news reveals to the public.
---Earth-Mayim World Issues 7: You have a perfect grasp of every single public news story from Mayim, from the Blues to the Grand Line. Despite this, there are many events that don't make the news or the public eye, and those events continue to elude you. Keeping up-to-date on Earth Mayim seems more difficult than Earth Bet for some reason.
---Earth-Mahon World Issues 6 (Catch-Up): You good grasp of public news stories from Mahon and can separate out rumor from fact fairly well, Despite this, there are many events that don't make the news or the public eye, and those events continue to elude you. You suspect there might be an active coverup of current events on Earth-Mahon.
Investigation 4: You're a damn good investigator. Most police departments would hire you if they knew of your skills.
Law Studies 3: You have an above average knowledge of the American legal system.
Mathematics 6: You own a calculator and can definitely use it, even though you really don't need it at this point. You have a peak human knowledge of mathematics.
Parahuman Studies 6: The scientific study of parahumans, a subspecies of humanity that results when baseline humans manifest superhuman abilities after significant trauma, is rife with disagreement and misconceptions. You've reviewed the evidence and something is seriously rotten in the field of parahuman studies. You know everything human science knows about parahumans, and almost al of it is wrong.
Science 7 (category skill): You have a knowledge of science just above peak human. (subskills are Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Meteorology, Physics)
---Biology 5: You have a genius biologist's knowledge of biology.
---Chemistry 6: You have a peak human chemist's knowledge of chemistry.
---Geology 6: You have a peak human geologist's knowledge of geology.
---Meteorology 6: You have a peak Bet-based understanding of meteorology. It should go without saying that this doesn't necessarily apply to Mayim's weather.
---Physics 6: You have a peak human physicist's knowledge of physics.
Teaching 5: You're one of the best teachers on Earth-Bet, which somehow feels odd.
General Skills: Languages
Japanese 5 (MAX): The language of the Japanese people, common amongst refugees in America, as well as being the de jure tongue of the World Government. You have an equivalent knowledge of the language to a professor of the Japanese language.
Programming Languages 5 (mastery skill): This is a general skill that covers the learning of programming languages. Right now, you have an Olympian aptitude for learning programming languages.
---Language: C++ 5 (MAX): A language from Earth-Aleph, pioneered by corporations called Microsoft and IBM. It's a system mostly used on Aleph computers, you're just learning it for fun, mostly. You've mastered this language.
---Language: Combover 5 (MAX): A language invented by a group of prodigy college students, which goes about rather unorthodox yet oddly simpler methods of achieving the same goal as other languages. You've mastered this language.
---Language: ComLangPlus 5 (MAX): A language built in inspiration of Earth-Aleph's C++ before the source for it was traded over, it was rather similar and different to C++ at the same time. It's fallen out of use since C++ became more well used, but you've learned it for completion's sake.
---Language: EnWin 5 (MAX): Another generic company language, that really doesn't have much to offer. You're just checking it off your list at this point. You've mastered this language.
---Language: EX-3 5 (MAX): Another generic programming language, mostly just used by businesses in Canada and the northwest. You've mastered this language.
---Language: FORLAN 5(MAX). A more commonplace coding language, FORLAN was one of the programs invented by Dragon, meant to be used for commercial programmers, and was one of the many ways she funded the Guild. It's easy to learn, and you're getting the hang of it fairly quickly. You have a complete knowledge of it now.
---Language: LogaRhythmic 5 (MAX): A newer program invented by Megan Sugiyama, a professor at the Brockton Bay Institute. It's a computer language that relies on symbols and equations rather than written commands. You know every single trick this program has to offer, and can easily use it. Ha. So much for being one of the hardest programs to learn how to use.
---Language: Newton Alpha 5 (MAX): You've mastered Newton Alpha, one of those older languages that's somehow still kicking.
---Language: SimSim 5 (MAX): A program invented for the general public by a Denverite parahuman rogue named Simon Warner. You were curious to see if a language built by capes was any different from normal ones. It really wasn't.
---Language: Virtual Basic 5 (MAX): A basic program for Microsoft Windows. It should be fairly easy for you to master, which will then pave the way for more computer languages. You have an almost expertly knowledge of Virtual Basic. You essentially know every single trick, every single workaround, and almost all of the varying glitches, problems, and loopholes within the code this program generates.
General Skills: Combat/Fitness
Acrobatics 6: Flips and such. Jumps and balance tricks. You're the best a human can be as an acrobat on Bet, but there's further to go.
Archery 1: You... would not want to use a bow in a serious combat situation. Complete beginner here.
Axemanship 1: You have a beginner's idea of how to use an axe.
Blunt Weapons 5: You're one of the best on Bet at using blunt weapons.
Combat Instinct 9: The ability to know when attacks are coming. You have a level of combat instincts several levels above peak human.
Dual Wielding 7: You've actually made using two weapons at once practical and effective.
Exercise 10 (MAX) (mastery skill): When it comes to improving the human body through physical activity, you're as good as it's possible to be. In fact, you're several tiers better than it's possible to be.
Fitness 10 (MAX) (mastery skill): There isn't really any simple terminology to use for how this feels. It just feels amazing. You've naturally developed fitness on par with...with a god, maybe!
Freerunner 7: The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You're better than the best a mundane human could be at freerunning
Horsemanship 1: You're maybe equivalent to a girl who spent a week volunteering with horses a few years ago.
Knives 2: You okay with knives. Maybe the equivalent of a street thug who's been wildly stabbing and been lucky enough to survive most fights.
Marksmanship (Modern) 0: The shooty bit goes away from you.
Marksmanship (Primitive) 6: You're the best a conventional human can possibly be at operating slingshots and primitive thrown weapons in general. Still a good bit below Usopp - Mayim humans don't have the same built-in limiters Bet ones do.
Martial Arts Mastery 7 (mastery skill): You've become a peak human in enough styles that you have an average idea of how to master martial arts. The more you train martial arts, the higher this general skill will go, and the faster you'll train martial arts.
---Aikido 10 (MAX): This is a Japanese martial art built around disarming and taking down your opponent without harming them, although you eventually found ways to do that too. You've pushed all the way to the loftiest heights in earthly Aikido.
---Boxing 9: Float like a butterfly, sting like a Taylor- oh god there are bees everywhere. Your level of boxing no longer operates on a scale you can compare to others.
---Capoeira 6: You're top in the world in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira.
---Judo 6: You're top in the world in this Japanese martial art.
---Shaolin Kung Fu 9: A Chinese martial art, and perhaps the second most well known martial art in American consciousness. Your skill at Kung Fu is near godlike. It's better than the movies.
Master Resistance 2: You have a basic understanding of how the PRT and similar organizations train to resist Master attacks in theory. If faced with them in the field, this skill would likely prove situationally useful at best, and even if you mastered (hah) this skill, some capes would still no-sell it on its own. Still useful against lower-ranking Masters.
Polearms 1: You'd embarrass yourself in front of Armsmaster, but he'd likely recognize that you had some bare minimum of training.
Reflexes 9: The ability to dodge or move out of the way of incoming attacks. You have reflexes of a superhero far beyond peak human.
Running 9: You have a running ability several levels above peak human.
Sleight-of-Hand 3: You're above average at sleight-of-hand. While you'd likely be buoyed a bit by other skills, your skill purely in sleight-of-hand is about on the level of someone who's been pickpocketing for about a year or so, and has largely evaded capture.
Swimming 8: You're better a swimmer than a human can be.
Swordsmanship 10 (MAX): You're not sure how good you are at swordsmanship, but saying it's god-level seems reasonable when compared to Bet human norms.
Weightlifting 9 (mastery skill): You have beyond peak human knowledge of weightlifting. This skill primarily focuses on training and strength enhancing activities. It's more about form than strength. At the current level, it could be considered a dollar store version of tactile telekinesis.
General Skills: Practical Skills
Blacksmith 7: You're just above one of the best blacksmiths a normal human could be.
Armorsmith 5: You're an Olympian-equivalent armorsmith.
Weaponsmith 5: You're an Olympian-equivalent weaponsmith.
Cold Resistance 6: You're as resistant to cold as a baseline human born on Earth-Bet or a similar world possibly could be.
Cooking 6: You've one of the best cooks on Earth-Bet.
Acting 7: You're better an actor than a Bet human possibly can be, and you can highly accurately extrapolate and improvise based on the situation you're in. Note that this skill is also influenced by Ambush Mistress's unwritten bonuses, and will not apply to simply detecting lies. Taylor will not live her life in a lie, and will not be constantly using Acting.
Disguise 7: You're better than a regular human can be at disguising themselves, only slightly limited by time, resources, and natural constraints.
Doctor 2: This is the low end of the doctoring profession. You'd say that's about on par with a general practitioner with a few years of experience, who's currently apprenticing under a more experienced instructor. (subskills are: First Aid, Anatomy, Medicine)
---First Aid 9: If you had to use the first aid kit in almost any emergency, you would almost certainly treat the problem adequately to stabilize the patient if doing so was possible, and even without it, you'd probably do a damn good job. You have more than beyond peak human knowledge of first aid.
---Anatomy 5: You have one of the best possible mundane knowledges of the human form.
---Medicine 5: You have an understanding of how to apply and create medicine on par with the greatest pharmacists on Earth_bet.
Driving 3: You're about on par with an experienced driver/regular American commuter.
Engineering 2 (category skill): The study of science in order to invent, design, improve, and use the machines that make humanity great. You have a fairly basic knowledge of it.(subskills are: Earth-Bet Engineering, Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Shipwright)
---Explosives 7: This covers making explosives. You're better than the best a Bet human can be at this.
---Clockwork Engineering 2: This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. You have a decent degree of knowledge about this.
---Earth-Bet Engineering 2 : All the things built by humans on Earth-Bet, including tinker-tech that non-tinkers/thinkers can understand but not what they can't.
---Shipwright 5: This covers general repairs of a ship, as well as enhancements. You're one of the greatest shipwrights on Bet.
Heat Resistance 5: You have an excellent resistance to heat. Note: This is heat resistance, not fire resistance.
Housework 2: You have an average idea of how to do Housework. This extends to general cleaning and housekeeping in all regards.
Locksmith 1: You have a basic idea how to make and open locks.
Marine 4: Justice will prevail! You could be an average marine. You have an average idea of general marine knowledge, how to act like a marine, and understanding a marine's motives. This does not cover specific knowledge like codes, but covers general knowledge like ship types.
Meditation 1: You could maybe center yourself and find inner peace if you were in an environment conducive to resting.
Navigation 4: You could navigate a ship. You'd be considered a professional navigatrix.
Cartography 0: The skill of mapmaking, and the analysis of information to do so. You only have a very rudimentary knowledge of the field.
Pain Resistance 3: You have an average resistance to pain.
Perception 9: You can see things. You can see an inhuman level of detail with your glasses, even at distances where most people would need optical aids. You've also noticed that your hearing and even sense of smell is enhanced (although, thankfully, it's something you can filter out as needed.) You no longer need glasses.
Photography 3: You're a pretty good photographer - you'd be able to support a decent business on this alone.
Pirate 5: Yargh, shiver me timbers, set sail for One Piece! You're an excellent pirate. This covers general knowledge of how to act as a pirate (whether a Luffy-type or a Doflamingo-type), and understanding pirate's motives.
Poisoncraft 3: You know more about making poisons than your average person, and combined with your knowledge of Chemistry can make some basic poisons.
Poison Resistance 7: Your resistance to poison is superhuman. You can continue functioning under many lesser poisons even if you can't completely ignore their effects, and throw off most poisons far sooner than a normal human. It takes exotic poisons to really hurt you.
Repair 3: You're skilled at repairing most standard broken items.
Carpentry 7: You're better than the best a mundane human can be at carpentry and woodworking.
Electrician 2: You have a decent idea how to install and repair electrical circuits.
Plumbing 1: You have a basic idea of how to install and repair water piping.
Seaman 6 (category skill): You're one of the finest sailors in the world. (subskills are Seaman (Modern), Seaman (Age of Sail), Boatswain)
---Boatswain 9: The boatswain always had the responsibility of maintaining a ship's hull and commanding the parts needed to keep it in order. Your abilities as a boatswain have more than surpassed the understandings of normal humans.
---Seaman (Modern) 6: The appropriate level of knowledge needed to survive day to day life on a modern ship. You're probably the best sailor in the world (of Bet, at least).
---Seaman (Age of Sail) 9: The appropriate level of knowledge needed to survive day to day life on a pirate ship or similar wooden craft, and perhaps beyond. You're a much better sailor than a normal human could be, and have an intuitive understanding of the sea while in the proper kind of vessel.
Stealth 9: You're sneakier than a normal human can be. But even so you know you could be sneakier.
Survival 5 (category skill): You're about as good as a human can be at surviving in the wilderness. (subskills are Fishing, Hunter, Naturalist, Skinning, Tracker)
---Fishing 6: You're as good as a human could possibly be at fishing.
---Hunter 5: You're about as good as a human can be at hunting, the predator/prey relationship. For some reason, that sickens you a bit.
---Naturalist 7: You'd do excellently in identifying plants and animals on Mayim, including in Paradise, with crafting possibilities from the more exotic wildlife coming naturally to you. Exotic items in the Grand Line might still be beyond you.
---Skinning 5: You're about as good as a human can be at skinning.
---Tracker 6: You're as good as a human can be at tracking.
Trapper 6: You have the best mundane understandings of spotting and making traps on Earth-Bet.
Tactics 9: You have a knowledge of tactics a great bit above superhuman.
Clothier 7 (category skill): Encompassing all the uses of fabric to make clothing. (subskills are Tailor, Fashion, Sewing)
---Tailor 7: You have knowledge of assembling clothing just above peak human.
---Fashion 6: You might just be the best fashion designer in the world.
---Sewing 9: You have a beyond superhuman ability to sew, at dizzying speeds and quality.
General Skills: Diplomacy/Charisma
Barter 4: You could be a professional barterer. This is much higher than your average person on Bet, and you could probably get work at a merchant company in Mayim.
Public Speaking 3: Your acting practice has helped you a lot here, and you're above average at talking to a crowd, a subject few people get to practice.
Leadership 4: You're a damn good leader.
General Skills
Dancing 0: You're not a very good dancer, but you try your best.
Woodwind Musician 4: You have a professional knowledge of how to be a woodwind musician, with a focus on flutism.
Traits
Ambush Mistress: In situations where you can catch your enemy off guard, your attacks and strikes get significant boosts. You're significantly better with strategies and the like. However, when you're caught off guard, you take significant penalties in combat.
Hopeless Idealist: You're determined to make the world a better place. Your social malus is reduced considerably when speaking to those who want to improve the world.
MacGyver: When crafting, you can use or substitute substandard materials or parts in many cases, and can jury-rig simple single-use one-use devices. This is still limited by your skills, but allows you to craft with improvised materials at a corresponding decrease in quality, durability, or number of uses.
Nascent Defender of Existence: You gain +1 to all physical skills, powers, and magic when faced by an enemy on the caliber of the Endbringers or above. Your social malus is negated when in situations like that.
Socially Stunted: Let's face it. You haven't exactly been a social butterfly. When it comes to situations where you aren't in a situation of power, you suck. -15 to all Social Rolls, unwritten negative to most conversations.
Supplant the Institution: You're Taylor freaking Hebert. You're innately and intensely suspicious of institutions, even if you might not realize it yourself during some interactions. Monolithic, ever-present institutions set off warning bells in your mind you might not even consciously notice. Unwritten malus when interacting with agents of institutions, blunted based off of the situation by other interaction traits.
Waterbreather: You can breathe underwater, in any and all of your forms.
When Life Gives You Lemons: You don't necessarily need to kill an enemy to gain their ability. Rather than the standard 50% of gaining a power from a defeated enemy that another Headway user might have, you have a 80% chance of gaining their power/ability after knocking them out or taking them down. Team/collaborative battles drop this to 50% if you have help during the fight.
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Items
Items
Weapons
Explosive Bomb (3): An old-fashioned fuse-lit bomb that explodes with concussive force and some shrapnel. Kind of like a grenade.
Kerimakureisho: A unique scimitar from Mayim. Higher quality than the average scimitar. Means Glinting Snicker.
Kishi-ko: A unique zweihander from Mayim. Higher quality than the average one. Means Knightly Steel.
Marine Captain's Rifle: You purchased this from a vendor in Loguetown. The old lucky rifle of a now-deceased Marine Captain, it can shoot five rounds at a time before needing to be reloaded. You have 50 rounds for it.
Rudimentary Smoke Bomb (2): An old-fashioned fuse-lit smoke bomb that explodes to distribute a circular cloud of smoke in about a 2-meter radius. Thick, but disperses quickly.
Slingshot: A little bit of primitive warfare never hurt anyone. You purchased several pellets to go along with it, but pebbles and the like will work just fine once you get the hang of it.
Stahssi's Stiletto: A beautiful obsidian knife with two amethysts in the pommel.
Spike Bomb (2): An old-fashioned fuse-lit bomb that drives sharp metal spikes out of it when it explodes, turning it into a spike-ball. Very difficult to use, best against enemies who would deflect a thrown weapon physically.
Trophies/Souvenirs. Items taken from defeated enemies as souvenirs, or souvenirs in general.
Alvida's Plumed Hat: A white cowboy hat once worn by Alvida, it has a luxurious red plume of feathers that trails down the wearer's back.
Bear King's Clockwork Pistol: A massive pistol with a cork grip and a hexagonal muzzle. It's single shot and uses oversized, custom ammunition. Fully functional and very powerful. 10 bullets.
Boo Jack's Bomb Bag: A surprisingly cute sheep-furred bag emblazened with a letter "J".
Bounty Poster: Bear "Rock Hard" King. The third bounty poster of Bear King. 11,600,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Black Cat" Kuro. The third bounty poster of Kuro, 16,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: Buggy "the Clown." The second bounty poster of Buggy, 15,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Devil Gas" Skunk One. The first bounty poster of Skunk One, 6,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Foul Play" Don Krieg. The fifth bounty poster of Don Krieg, 17,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: Honey "Queen Bee". The second bounty poster of Honey Queen, 7,800,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Needler" Pin Joker. The first bounty poster of Pin Joker, 9,900,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Riddler" Boo Jack. The third bounty poster of Boo Jack, 3,200,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Saw Tooth" Arlong. The third bounty poster of Arlong, 20,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy. The initial bounty poster of Monkey D. Luffy, rubberman from Earth-Mayim. 30,000,000 beri.
Cactus Sweat Bottle: An alcoholic drink made only on Foolshout Island, distilled in with cactus juice and seeds.
Fengten's Spiked Knuckles: 'Freedman' Fengten used these in hand to hand combat, and rapidly attained a bounty and a reputation for bludgeoning the wealthy to death with them. You hope you can give them a better purpose than that.
Pin Joker's Hardened Feather Mantle: A very spiky cloak of treated golden feathers on the shoulders and a split tail of purple fabric at the back. Not very stylish, but the feathers can be poisoned or used as improvised armor.
Schwarsher's Black Revolver: A jammed black revolver used by Schwarsher. Well-cleaned on the outside, but rusted on the inside. Needs to be fixed up, but could be worth something when fixed.
Sennenryuu Feather: A long green feather shed by one of the dragons, which are only seen in human territory every thousand years. To most this is a curiosity, but to the right person, it could be literally priceless.
Remains of Skunk One's Flying Contraption: Skunk One used this contraption to fly and dispense gas. It seems to be based around a seashell of all things. Mostly disassembled.
Unknown Ninja's Cracked Tanto: A short ninja sword that was left behind by a nameless ninja in employ of Baroque Works. It's cracked and useless.
Loot. Items that you've taken from your enemies that need attention.
(none right now)
Practical Items
Air Horn: An air horn for making noise.
Bandoleer Baldric: A handmade cotton and leather baldric that has a quick-release holster for your zweihander, velcro patches to attach other items on the back, and an elastic strap on the front as a bandoleer. It's clunky, but doesn't look ugly. Just like it was part of a set that's missing pieces.
Digital Camera: A Polaroid DA-1270, Adventure Model, from Bet. It takes pictures and video and is waterproof and mud resistant. Perfect for your average dimensional traveler.
Drawstring Bag: A used bag brought at a bazaar on Mayim.
Eternal Pose (Alabasta): An eternal pose to Alabasta. Always points to Alabasta, unless broken or altered.
Eternal Pose (Water 7): An eternal pose to Water 7. Always points to Water 7, unless broken or altered.
First Aid Kit: A kit brought from Walton's, a department store on Earth-Bet.
Local Clothes (Casual) (20): Local clothes from Mayim. A simple set, that have been altered to look much better and more fashionable, or made by yours truly.
Local Clothes (Disguise Casual) (2): Local clothes that look ordinary, but are actually designed to disguise your appearance.
Local Clothes (Formal) (3): Nice, local clothes you made for formal occasions.
Log Poses (4): Log poses for navigating Paradise. Needs a bit of time to reorganize before they can navigate to the next island.
Map of New York City, Earth-Mahon
Marine Flares (12): Marine flares, for in case you need to signal someone with light.
Metal-Garbed Cestuses: Your own personal creation, metal-covered leather gloves. Enough to be flexible, but also enough so that you don't get your fingers lopped off.
Miss Valentine's Parasol: Miss Valentine's parasol that she used to help move in midair when she was near-weightless. It also serves to protect you from the sun, though you might consider changing the colors a bit.
Notepad from Brandish: You have a notepad with New Wave's emergency number on it, in case you get into a situation where you really need their help. Frankly, you'd prefer not to have to, but you guess it's nice to have the option. It also lists locations of unconfirmed, potential Merchant activity.
Pepper Spray (1 new): It sprays concentrated pepper at what you point it at.
Quick-Release Holsters: A homemade cotton canvas utility belt that holds an assortment of items on elastic straps and metal ring clips, and an under-wrist holster sized to fit a pepper spray canister, all designed for easy pop-out and access. It doesn't look bad, either.
"Renegade" Superhero Costume: A disguise consisting of a steel-colored coat lined with fire-resistant fabric, under which you wear a suit and top with an oval metal mask. It's a unique look that combines classic and futuristic elements, and it looks heroic but renegade at the same time. Underneath the longcoat there's plenty of pockets and space for equipment.
Sewing Supplies: Everything you need to produce a large variety of clothing, save for the fabrics.
Walkie-Talkies (2): A pair of civilian-grade, battery-powered two-way radio transceivers.
Watchmaker's Tools: A set of fine tools including tweezers, magnets, tiny screwdrivers, and magnifying goggles gifted to you by the citizens of Clockwork Island.
Designs
Air-Powered Dispenser: A simpler application of the crazy jetpack, all you do is run compressed gas or air through a poison or other liquid/gas and blow the mix out a nozzle, dispensing both vapor or droplets over a large area. The simplest designs are single-shot and use small commercial gas cylinders combined with a custom chamber for the liquid you want to dispense.
Rudimentary Smoke Bomb Design: A circular smoke bomb that uses some kind of ignition and pressure applied to a chemical mixture in the center to jet smoke out holes in the shell. The smoke is centered on the bomb and quickly disperses. Requires a pressure source (explosive or otherwise), a smoke source (usually a saltpeter mixture), and a basic shell (anything from an eggshell to clay to paper to a ping pong ball).
Improvised Explosive Powders Design: Basic nitrate-based recipes to pack into an object and make it blow up. You could have probably found this on your Earth's internet, but the Mayim methods have their own strengths, and who knows how safe the internet really is. Requires a nitrate source (saltpeter, nitric acid, fertilizer, etc) and a bunch of other things.
Seashell-Powered Gas Dispenser/Jetpack: A strange machine that uses a special seashell that absorbs and emits a jet of air to fly and vaporize gas over a large area. If properly made and calibrated, it could be used to fly for very short hops, although the skill and practice required to do so without injuring yourself is prohibitive. You aren't yet confident in your ability to make this properly.
Shellfish-Based Knockout Poison: A poison extracted and distilled from a common Earth-Mayim shellfish that causes drowsiness followed by unconsciousness for regular humans, 20 seconds to 2 minutes after inhalation or 10 to 30 seconds after injection. Length of unconsciousness and potential death depends on the dose. Requires Poisoncraft 3.
Shellfish-Based Itching Poison: A poison extracted and distilled from a common Earth-Mayim shellfish that causes severe skin, mouth, nose, throat (etc.) irritation and swelling for regular humans upon skin application, inhalation, or ingestion. Requires Poisoncraft 3.
Gifts
(none right now)
Miscellaneous
Assorted Gold and Jewelry (Taylor values it at $500 worth): Nami has supplied you with this from the Straw Hat's treasure, but you sold most of it so that you and the Straw Hats have spending money on Mayim and Mahon.
Fabric Bolt (Fine) (1): 1 fabric bolt of fine quality and make, for the purpose of trading with Mayim.
Fabric (Practical) (lots): A large selection of fabrics for the purpose of making costumes, including an armored vest and fire-resistant coveralls that you're going to disassemble. You could probably get half a dozen costumes out of this.
Fine China Set: A fine China set from Bet.
Gold Necklace (Cheap) (2): A cheap steel necklace, with small bits of gold either plastered on in tasteful locations or covering it.
Mysterious Seashell: This seashell resembles the "dials" that Crocus told you about when he described Skypeia to you. It seems to charge itself with compressed air and can then dispense that air in an even jet.
Redmove Coral Sample: A sample of an ambulatory coral collective the size of a football field that would wander the seas of the First Stretch and consume large fish and ships for biomatter. Destroyed by Luffy and Sanji, you collected this sample, about the size of a shoe.
Wooden Dinnerware Set (2): A wooden dinnerware set from Earth-Bet.
The Tale of Noland the Liar, and Other Children's Stories: A nicely leather-bound anthology of children's stories, with attractive color illustrations. Purchased from a travelling albatross bazaar.
Currency
11,305,700 Beri. Remove the two zeroes at the end to find out its equivalent in US Dollars.
$63.20 USD - Earth-Bet.
$3114 USD - Earth-Mahon.
Completed Projects
Fast-draw holsters and sheathes for a variety of potential weapons and items. You plan on upgrading these as your skills and item loadout change. 1 action. (2/2 to completion). Result: Bandoleer Baldric and Quick-Release Holsters.
Get your house in tip-top shape. Fix everything. First, you study. Then, there'll be a lot of learning by doing. 1 action. (8/8 to completion). Result: Basic handywoman-related skills, MacGyvering Trait unlocked.
Figure out what Boo Jack's bombs do. Get Usopp's help, too. 1 action/day. (2/2 to completion, next skills: Bombmaking, Bombmaking). Result: Bombs and bomb designs available.
Finish analyzing Skunk One's gear. 1 action. (4/4 to completion). Result: Mystery seashell, high-quality non-lethal poisons now available.
It's time to make preparations to be a hero on Earth-Bet. You need to be bulletproof, you need a costume, and you need to know more about powers. Street-level recon on the local scene might also be useful. And you need to come up with a name. 2 actions/day. (12/12 to completion, next skills: Sube Sube, Barter, Sube Sube, Fashion). Result: Completed. Hero name: Factota
Log Pose Navigation Array. A simple project to streamline Nami's navigation process and make her life a bit easier when it comes to Navigating through Paradise. You imagine that the New World may be more difficult, but this will be more than enough to remove headaches when it comes to the first half of the Grand Line. Result: More efficient navigation for the Straw Hats, increased skills.
Driving course. A simple project to finish a mandatory New Hampshire driving course for prospective drivers that can be taken before the age of 16. Now all you need to do is pass a test after your sixteenth birthday, and you'll have your driver's license.
Modernizing the Merry: The Merry now has more durable ropes, sails, whipstaff, and a variety of modernized amenities to make the act of sailing itself more convenient and safer.
Allies
Straw Hat Pirates
Monkey D. Luffy: The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy ate the Gomu Gomu devil fruit, making him a rubber man. Luffy is straightforward and a little naive. He loves adventure and food, especially meat. He's going to become King of the Pirates.
Roronoa Zoro: The swordsman and first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates. Zoro fights with three swords. He has a penchant for getting lost. He dreams of being the world's greatest swordsman.
Sanji: The cook of the Straw Hat Pirates. Sanji fights with his legs, as the hands are for cooking. He's big into old-fashioned chivalry, but his serious demeanor goes out the window around most women. He dreams of finding the ocean where all the fish swim together, All Blue.
Nami: The navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. Her hobbies include books and fashion. Her weakness is definitely money. She dreams of making a map of her world.
Usopp: The marksman of the Straw Hat Pirates, who also helps Taylor in her role as boatswain, having served provisionally in that role before her arrival. He fights with precise aim and trickery. Usopp is sometimes cowardly, afraid of scary and unknown things, but can always overcome his fears when he needs to. He dreams of becoming a brave man of the seas.
Group Assets
Straw Hat Pirates. Nami manages the finances of the Straw Hats.
13,471,355 Beri. Most of this the share of the bounty reward for the Trump Siblings that the citizens of Clockwork Island paid to your crew.
Carpentry Supplies, Earth-Mahon, basic: Some tools purchased from Earth-Mahon to use for maintaining the Merry. Technically yours, but functionally belong to the crew.
Comeback Ridge loot: ~250,000 beri worth of common/mundane mook loot, to be sold when the Straw Hats have a moment to rest after the defeat of the Baroque Works agents on Foolshout Island. Was not looted by Taylor, and is not hers to decide what to do with, but she can ask if she sees something interesting.
Den Den Mushi, Baroque Works/Marine - both confiscated and removed of tracking devices.
Misc. modern day supplies - highly competently engineered bilge pump from Mahon, fire extinguisher, sealant applier, etc.
Mr. Lollipop's hammer - A hammer forged and painted like a polka-dotted Tootsie pop, used formerly by a Baroque Works Billion. You think you might be a bit too self-conscious to use this in combat, but maybe someone else will want to use it someday.
Polyester/Modern Sailcloth - replacing the sails on the Merry, improved quality and maneuveurability
Rope, Double Nylon Braided - more durable, element resistance, and easier to use than hemp rope, with a lower chance of ropeburn during urgent situations.
Trump Siblings' Treasure Hoard (minus $6k worth of jewelry).
Welding Supplies - Cost a pretty penny, and they'll need Repair in the fairly distant future, but they'll do for now when it comes to reinforcing the Merry. Welding gun, angle grinder, some basic tools for DIY welding.
Whipstaff, metal upgrades: Easier to steer, more durable, less likely to be damaged by a super-strong crewmate in a hurry during a crisis, less likely to be damaged by external forces.
Hebert Family. Danny Hebert manages the finances of the Hebert Family.
~$10,000 in an account managed by your agent, which you'll have to make arrangements to withdraw as a cape.
Weapons
Explosive Bomb (3): An old-fashioned fuse-lit bomb that explodes with concussive force and some shrapnel. Kind of like a grenade.
Kerimakureisho: A unique scimitar from Mayim. Higher quality than the average scimitar. Means Glinting Snicker.
Kishi-ko: A unique zweihander from Mayim. Higher quality than the average one. Means Knightly Steel.
Marine Captain's Rifle: You purchased this from a vendor in Loguetown. The old lucky rifle of a now-deceased Marine Captain, it can shoot five rounds at a time before needing to be reloaded. You have 50 rounds for it.
Rudimentary Smoke Bomb (2): An old-fashioned fuse-lit smoke bomb that explodes to distribute a circular cloud of smoke in about a 2-meter radius. Thick, but disperses quickly.
Slingshot: A little bit of primitive warfare never hurt anyone. You purchased several pellets to go along with it, but pebbles and the like will work just fine once you get the hang of it.
Stahssi's Stiletto: A beautiful obsidian knife with two amethysts in the pommel.
Spike Bomb (2): An old-fashioned fuse-lit bomb that drives sharp metal spikes out of it when it explodes, turning it into a spike-ball. Very difficult to use, best against enemies who would deflect a thrown weapon physically.
Trophies/Souvenirs. Items taken from defeated enemies as souvenirs, or souvenirs in general.
Alvida's Plumed Hat: A white cowboy hat once worn by Alvida, it has a luxurious red plume of feathers that trails down the wearer's back.
Bear King's Clockwork Pistol: A massive pistol with a cork grip and a hexagonal muzzle. It's single shot and uses oversized, custom ammunition. Fully functional and very powerful. 10 bullets.
Boo Jack's Bomb Bag: A surprisingly cute sheep-furred bag emblazened with a letter "J".
Bounty Poster: Bear "Rock Hard" King. The third bounty poster of Bear King. 11,600,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Black Cat" Kuro. The third bounty poster of Kuro, 16,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: Buggy "the Clown." The second bounty poster of Buggy, 15,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Devil Gas" Skunk One. The first bounty poster of Skunk One, 6,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Foul Play" Don Krieg. The fifth bounty poster of Don Krieg, 17,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: Honey "Queen Bee". The second bounty poster of Honey Queen, 7,800,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Needler" Pin Joker. The first bounty poster of Pin Joker, 9,900,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Riddler" Boo Jack. The third bounty poster of Boo Jack, 3,200,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Saw Tooth" Arlong. The third bounty poster of Arlong, 20,000,000 beri.
Bounty Poster: "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy. The initial bounty poster of Monkey D. Luffy, rubberman from Earth-Mayim. 30,000,000 beri.
Cactus Sweat Bottle: An alcoholic drink made only on Foolshout Island, distilled in with cactus juice and seeds.
Fengten's Spiked Knuckles: 'Freedman' Fengten used these in hand to hand combat, and rapidly attained a bounty and a reputation for bludgeoning the wealthy to death with them. You hope you can give them a better purpose than that.
Pin Joker's Hardened Feather Mantle: A very spiky cloak of treated golden feathers on the shoulders and a split tail of purple fabric at the back. Not very stylish, but the feathers can be poisoned or used as improvised armor.
Schwarsher's Black Revolver: A jammed black revolver used by Schwarsher. Well-cleaned on the outside, but rusted on the inside. Needs to be fixed up, but could be worth something when fixed.
Sennenryuu Feather: A long green feather shed by one of the dragons, which are only seen in human territory every thousand years. To most this is a curiosity, but to the right person, it could be literally priceless.
Remains of Skunk One's Flying Contraption: Skunk One used this contraption to fly and dispense gas. It seems to be based around a seashell of all things. Mostly disassembled.
Unknown Ninja's Cracked Tanto: A short ninja sword that was left behind by a nameless ninja in employ of Baroque Works. It's cracked and useless.
Loot. Items that you've taken from your enemies that need attention.
(none right now)
Practical Items
Air Horn: An air horn for making noise.
Bandoleer Baldric: A handmade cotton and leather baldric that has a quick-release holster for your zweihander, velcro patches to attach other items on the back, and an elastic strap on the front as a bandoleer. It's clunky, but doesn't look ugly. Just like it was part of a set that's missing pieces.
Digital Camera: A Polaroid DA-1270, Adventure Model, from Bet. It takes pictures and video and is waterproof and mud resistant. Perfect for your average dimensional traveler.
Drawstring Bag: A used bag brought at a bazaar on Mayim.
Eternal Pose (Alabasta): An eternal pose to Alabasta. Always points to Alabasta, unless broken or altered.
Eternal Pose (Water 7): An eternal pose to Water 7. Always points to Water 7, unless broken or altered.
First Aid Kit: A kit brought from Walton's, a department store on Earth-Bet.
Local Clothes (Casual) (20): Local clothes from Mayim. A simple set, that have been altered to look much better and more fashionable, or made by yours truly.
Local Clothes (Disguise Casual) (2): Local clothes that look ordinary, but are actually designed to disguise your appearance.
Local Clothes (Formal) (3): Nice, local clothes you made for formal occasions.
Log Poses (4): Log poses for navigating Paradise. Needs a bit of time to reorganize before they can navigate to the next island.
Map of New York City, Earth-Mahon
Marine Flares (12): Marine flares, for in case you need to signal someone with light.
Metal-Garbed Cestuses: Your own personal creation, metal-covered leather gloves. Enough to be flexible, but also enough so that you don't get your fingers lopped off.
Miss Valentine's Parasol: Miss Valentine's parasol that she used to help move in midair when she was near-weightless. It also serves to protect you from the sun, though you might consider changing the colors a bit.
Notepad from Brandish: You have a notepad with New Wave's emergency number on it, in case you get into a situation where you really need their help. Frankly, you'd prefer not to have to, but you guess it's nice to have the option. It also lists locations of unconfirmed, potential Merchant activity.
Pepper Spray (1 new): It sprays concentrated pepper at what you point it at.
Quick-Release Holsters: A homemade cotton canvas utility belt that holds an assortment of items on elastic straps and metal ring clips, and an under-wrist holster sized to fit a pepper spray canister, all designed for easy pop-out and access. It doesn't look bad, either.
"Renegade" Superhero Costume: A disguise consisting of a steel-colored coat lined with fire-resistant fabric, under which you wear a suit and top with an oval metal mask. It's a unique look that combines classic and futuristic elements, and it looks heroic but renegade at the same time. Underneath the longcoat there's plenty of pockets and space for equipment.
Sewing Supplies: Everything you need to produce a large variety of clothing, save for the fabrics.
Walkie-Talkies (2): A pair of civilian-grade, battery-powered two-way radio transceivers.
Watchmaker's Tools: A set of fine tools including tweezers, magnets, tiny screwdrivers, and magnifying goggles gifted to you by the citizens of Clockwork Island.
Designs
Air-Powered Dispenser: A simpler application of the crazy jetpack, all you do is run compressed gas or air through a poison or other liquid/gas and blow the mix out a nozzle, dispensing both vapor or droplets over a large area. The simplest designs are single-shot and use small commercial gas cylinders combined with a custom chamber for the liquid you want to dispense.
Rudimentary Smoke Bomb Design: A circular smoke bomb that uses some kind of ignition and pressure applied to a chemical mixture in the center to jet smoke out holes in the shell. The smoke is centered on the bomb and quickly disperses. Requires a pressure source (explosive or otherwise), a smoke source (usually a saltpeter mixture), and a basic shell (anything from an eggshell to clay to paper to a ping pong ball).
Improvised Explosive Powders Design: Basic nitrate-based recipes to pack into an object and make it blow up. You could have probably found this on your Earth's internet, but the Mayim methods have their own strengths, and who knows how safe the internet really is. Requires a nitrate source (saltpeter, nitric acid, fertilizer, etc) and a bunch of other things.
Seashell-Powered Gas Dispenser/Jetpack: A strange machine that uses a special seashell that absorbs and emits a jet of air to fly and vaporize gas over a large area. If properly made and calibrated, it could be used to fly for very short hops, although the skill and practice required to do so without injuring yourself is prohibitive. You aren't yet confident in your ability to make this properly.
Shellfish-Based Knockout Poison: A poison extracted and distilled from a common Earth-Mayim shellfish that causes drowsiness followed by unconsciousness for regular humans, 20 seconds to 2 minutes after inhalation or 10 to 30 seconds after injection. Length of unconsciousness and potential death depends on the dose. Requires Poisoncraft 3.
Shellfish-Based Itching Poison: A poison extracted and distilled from a common Earth-Mayim shellfish that causes severe skin, mouth, nose, throat (etc.) irritation and swelling for regular humans upon skin application, inhalation, or ingestion. Requires Poisoncraft 3.
Gifts
(none right now)
Miscellaneous
Assorted Gold and Jewelry (Taylor values it at $500 worth): Nami has supplied you with this from the Straw Hat's treasure, but you sold most of it so that you and the Straw Hats have spending money on Mayim and Mahon.
Fabric Bolt (Fine) (1): 1 fabric bolt of fine quality and make, for the purpose of trading with Mayim.
Fabric (Practical) (lots): A large selection of fabrics for the purpose of making costumes, including an armored vest and fire-resistant coveralls that you're going to disassemble. You could probably get half a dozen costumes out of this.
Fine China Set: A fine China set from Bet.
Gold Necklace (Cheap) (2): A cheap steel necklace, with small bits of gold either plastered on in tasteful locations or covering it.
Mysterious Seashell: This seashell resembles the "dials" that Crocus told you about when he described Skypeia to you. It seems to charge itself with compressed air and can then dispense that air in an even jet.
Redmove Coral Sample: A sample of an ambulatory coral collective the size of a football field that would wander the seas of the First Stretch and consume large fish and ships for biomatter. Destroyed by Luffy and Sanji, you collected this sample, about the size of a shoe.
Wooden Dinnerware Set (2): A wooden dinnerware set from Earth-Bet.
The Tale of Noland the Liar, and Other Children's Stories: A nicely leather-bound anthology of children's stories, with attractive color illustrations. Purchased from a travelling albatross bazaar.
Currency
11,305,700 Beri. Remove the two zeroes at the end to find out its equivalent in US Dollars.
$63.20 USD - Earth-Bet.
$3114 USD - Earth-Mahon.
Completed Projects
Fast-draw holsters and sheathes for a variety of potential weapons and items. You plan on upgrading these as your skills and item loadout change. 1 action. (2/2 to completion). Result: Bandoleer Baldric and Quick-Release Holsters.
Get your house in tip-top shape. Fix everything. First, you study. Then, there'll be a lot of learning by doing. 1 action. (8/8 to completion). Result: Basic handywoman-related skills, MacGyvering Trait unlocked.
Figure out what Boo Jack's bombs do. Get Usopp's help, too. 1 action/day. (2/2 to completion, next skills: Bombmaking, Bombmaking). Result: Bombs and bomb designs available.
Finish analyzing Skunk One's gear. 1 action. (4/4 to completion). Result: Mystery seashell, high-quality non-lethal poisons now available.
It's time to make preparations to be a hero on Earth-Bet. You need to be bulletproof, you need a costume, and you need to know more about powers. Street-level recon on the local scene might also be useful. And you need to come up with a name. 2 actions/day. (12/12 to completion, next skills: Sube Sube, Barter, Sube Sube, Fashion). Result: Completed. Hero name: Factota
Log Pose Navigation Array. A simple project to streamline Nami's navigation process and make her life a bit easier when it comes to Navigating through Paradise. You imagine that the New World may be more difficult, but this will be more than enough to remove headaches when it comes to the first half of the Grand Line. Result: More efficient navigation for the Straw Hats, increased skills.
Driving course. A simple project to finish a mandatory New Hampshire driving course for prospective drivers that can be taken before the age of 16. Now all you need to do is pass a test after your sixteenth birthday, and you'll have your driver's license.
Modernizing the Merry: The Merry now has more durable ropes, sails, whipstaff, and a variety of modernized amenities to make the act of sailing itself more convenient and safer.
Allies
Straw Hat Pirates
Monkey D. Luffy: The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy ate the Gomu Gomu devil fruit, making him a rubber man. Luffy is straightforward and a little naive. He loves adventure and food, especially meat. He's going to become King of the Pirates.
Roronoa Zoro: The swordsman and first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates. Zoro fights with three swords. He has a penchant for getting lost. He dreams of being the world's greatest swordsman.
Sanji: The cook of the Straw Hat Pirates. Sanji fights with his legs, as the hands are for cooking. He's big into old-fashioned chivalry, but his serious demeanor goes out the window around most women. He dreams of finding the ocean where all the fish swim together, All Blue.
Nami: The navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. Her hobbies include books and fashion. Her weakness is definitely money. She dreams of making a map of her world.
Usopp: The marksman of the Straw Hat Pirates, who also helps Taylor in her role as boatswain, having served provisionally in that role before her arrival. He fights with precise aim and trickery. Usopp is sometimes cowardly, afraid of scary and unknown things, but can always overcome his fears when he needs to. He dreams of becoming a brave man of the seas.
Group Assets
Straw Hat Pirates. Nami manages the finances of the Straw Hats.
13,471,355 Beri. Most of this the share of the bounty reward for the Trump Siblings that the citizens of Clockwork Island paid to your crew.
Carpentry Supplies, Earth-Mahon, basic: Some tools purchased from Earth-Mahon to use for maintaining the Merry. Technically yours, but functionally belong to the crew.
Comeback Ridge loot: ~250,000 beri worth of common/mundane mook loot, to be sold when the Straw Hats have a moment to rest after the defeat of the Baroque Works agents on Foolshout Island. Was not looted by Taylor, and is not hers to decide what to do with, but she can ask if she sees something interesting.
Den Den Mushi, Baroque Works/Marine - both confiscated and removed of tracking devices.
Misc. modern day supplies - highly competently engineered bilge pump from Mahon, fire extinguisher, sealant applier, etc.
Mr. Lollipop's hammer - A hammer forged and painted like a polka-dotted Tootsie pop, used formerly by a Baroque Works Billion. You think you might be a bit too self-conscious to use this in combat, but maybe someone else will want to use it someday.
Polyester/Modern Sailcloth - replacing the sails on the Merry, improved quality and maneuveurability
Rope, Double Nylon Braided - more durable, element resistance, and easier to use than hemp rope, with a lower chance of ropeburn during urgent situations.
Trump Siblings' Treasure Hoard (minus $6k worth of jewelry).
Welding Supplies - Cost a pretty penny, and they'll need Repair in the fairly distant future, but they'll do for now when it comes to reinforcing the Merry. Welding gun, angle grinder, some basic tools for DIY welding.
Whipstaff, metal upgrades: Easier to steer, more durable, less likely to be damaged by a super-strong crewmate in a hurry during a crisis, less likely to be damaged by external forces.
Hebert Family. Danny Hebert manages the finances of the Hebert Family.
~$10,000 in an account managed by your agent, which you'll have to make arrangements to withdraw as a cape.
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Post-Hiatus Update/Canon Update
Little recap for you guys, expanding from the last one written by SWB. It's not quite a substitute for rereading/reading the prior threads, but it'll do in a pinch if you aren't immediately interested in reading all three threads at the moment. You may miss details from doing that, but this is a decent start for understanding where things stand overall.
On Monday, November 1, 2010 Taylor Hebert of Brockton Bay, New Hampshire mysteriously gained superpowers. A bullied teenager only fifteen and a half years old, Taylor wasted no time experimenting with her new powers. She calls the ability to gain skills from defeated enemies and train them with only a little effort "Headway". "Nexus" is her ability to travel to a limited number of other dimensions. With support from her father, Daniel Hebert, Taylor began training her skills and knowledge.
On November 9th, Behemoth, one of the Endbringers, attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad in Africa. Taylor was in class.
On November 10th, as a expert practitioner of Kung Fu and a master of her school subjects, Taylor got into a fight with Sophia Hess, one of her bullies. During the fight, Sophia revealed that she had superpowers and Taylor discovered Sophia is actually Shadow Stalker, one of the Wards, a government-sponsored junior superhero team. This only reinforced Taylor's desire to test out of school. Her last day of high school was November 23rd, and she aced her GED tests on November 24th.
At the same time, Taylor started to explore the world of "One Piece", which she called Earth-Mayim. She arrived in a place called Loguetown on November 20th, or April 1st of Mayim's calendar. Yes, from here on out the calendar got rather confusing. Loguetown is administered by the World Government through their police and armed forces the Marines, and seemed a peaceful island under the administration of Captain Smoker. The quaint old-fashioned trading port was to Taylor a fantastic escape and an opportunity. Of course, the true nature of One Piece is as a world of pirates, and the Fatty Boy pirates invaded Loguetown the next day. Taylor defeated them with her skills in the martial arts and was awarded their bounty by the Marines, catching the attention of Captain Smoker. She also defeated a dangerous grizzly bear in Loguetown's forest, granting her the ability to transform into a bear.
In no time at all, Taylor found herself learning swordsmanship under the tutelage of Middle Musashi, a mysterious mute swordsman, and purchased her first named swords, a scimitar named Kerimakureisho and a zweihander named Kishi-ko. She started taking tailoring lessons under Rebecca Hanberg.
Although Loguetown is a peaceful place, the same cannot be said for the seas of East Blue. Known as the weakest sea, it is nevertheless infested with pirates like Arlong and Don Krieg, and monsters like the sea king and the giant albatross. When traveling away from Loguetown, Taylor defeated a giant furfish, Tawanda of the Snowborn Bandits, a giant albatross, and "Freedman" Fenteng of the Freedman Pirates. But the biggest danger came on December 3rd when her passenger vessel, the Naughty Hurrah, was attacked by Arakaki, a fishman pirate and former subordinate of the infamous Arlong. In a vicious battle, Taylor transformed into a bear and killed Arakaki the swordfish fishman, but was rattled badly by the fishman's water bullet techniques and by having to take a life for the first time. Even so, she saved most of the crew and passengers of the ship.
Back in Loguetown, Taylor continued her tutoring and began learning blacksmithing from Damascus. She learned how to transform into a giant albatross and a swordfish fishman. December 10th, or April 21st in Earth-Mayim, is Foundation Day, the day the World Government celebrates its founding. Taylor maxed out her bear form that day, her first completed skill. She encountered Tashigi, Captain Smoker's second-in-command, but doesn't have a chance to talk. On December 12th, Taylor was caught in a trap by S. Windle and his cultists. She fought her way out with nothing but her bear hands.
Having made the most of Loguetown except final lessons from her tutors, Taylor started to concentrate on more research and broadening her skills back home on Earth-Bet. According to the manga Taylor read about One Piece, the Straw Hat Pirates were due to arrive in Loguetown on April 30th of that world's calendar. She needed to be ready for that day. Monkey D. Luffy is the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is not one of the evil pirates that seemed to infest the world of Earth-Mayim, but a genuine adventurer, and in Taylor's eyes, an aspiring hero like herself.
On the day before the Straw Hat Pirates arrive, Middle Musashi taught Taylor the basics of the Musashi Family Style, a style of swordsmanship that draws on the wielder's emotions and their desire to overcome their personal challenges. He claimed that Taylor would meet him again.
On December 19th, or April 30th in Earth-Mayim, Taylor encountered Alvida, a pirate who wields the Sube Sube no Mi, a superpower acquired by eating a devil fruit and sacrificing the ability to swim. The Sube Sube no Mi allows Alvida to make her skin slippery, making most attacks just slide off. However, it does not save Alvida from being pepper sprayed, then wrapped in a net and tossed in the ocean. Alvida defeated and the Sube Sube no Mi power acquired, Taylor searched Loguetown for Monkey D. Luffy. She found him in stocks on the execution platform as Buggy the Clown, another pirate, attempted to remove Luffy's head. But a freak lightning bolt released Luffy. In bear form, Taylor made short work of the Buggy Pirates and defeated Cabaji the acrobat, Buggy's second-in-command. She met Zoro, the brash swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates who wields three swords, and Sanji, the gentleman cook of the Straw Hat Pirates who fights with kicks. Meanwhile, Monkey D. Luffy escaped from the execution grounds using his power, the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which makes his body into rubber. Seeing a talking bear, Luffy instantly invited Taylor into his pirate crew, but she was too stunned to react.
Chasing after Captain Smoker, who was in turn chasing Luffy and crew, Taylor thought about attacking Smoker to allow Luffy to escape. However, before she could, Middle Musashi intervened and forced Smoker back. Smoker wields the Moku Moku no Mi, a devil fruit that turns him into smoke, making him invincible to most weapons and attacks. But Middle Musashi could cut him somehow. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji escaped onto the Going Merry, a caravel piloted by Nami and Usopp, the other two members of the Straw Hat Pirates. Unsure what to do, Taylor caught up to them in albatross form, and got invited to the pirate crew again. This time, she accepted. Now a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Taylor and the Straw Hats sailed out of Loguetown through a vicious storm.
As they sailed, Taylor got to know the Straw Hats and continued training her skills, learning fishman karate and fishman jujutsu, and mastered Kung Fu. The next stop was Clockwork Island, a stronghold the Trump Pirates, led by Bear King. Taylor and Luffy foiled the theft of the Going Merry by the Trump Pirates, and the Straw Hats sailed to Clockwork Island for revenge. On the way, they rescued Borodo and Akisu, who are known as The Thief Brothers. After a fight with the Trump Pirates, Taylor discovered Zoro's horrific injury from his defeat by Dracule Mihawk, the world's most renowned swordsman. Borodo explained that he's attempting to steal the Diamond Clock from the Trump Pirates, but that just makes Taylor suspicious. Her suspicions are confirmed by Zoro and Nami, who agree that the Thief Brothers likely tried to steal the Merry. Reluctantly, Taylor agreed to let Borodo reveal his hand rather than call him out.
Arriving at Clockwork Island on Christmas Eve, December 24th (Earth-Bet), Taylor and the Straw Hats infiltrated Clockwork Island, meeting Satoya Chie and Satoya Juichi, clockmakers. They reveal that Bear King forced them to build a clockwork tank called the King Cannon, with which Bear King intends to conquer the Grand Line, the world's strongest ocean. Taylor reassured them not to lose hope, and privately resolved to defeat the Trump Siblings and free Clockwork Island.
Taylor and Nami snuck into Trump Castle, while the other Straw Hats assaulted the castle from the front gate. Sanji defeated Skunk One, the poison master, and Taylor recovered Skunk One's equipment. In front of the treasury, Taylor defeated Boo Jack, the Trump Pirates' bombmaker and forced Honey Queen, who wields the Toro Toro no Mi and can turn into a liquid, to flee. They encountered Borodo the thief, who was trying to steal the treasury, but Nami and Taylor ambushed him and knocked him out.
After several more fights, with Sanji defeated by Honey Queen and Zoro defeated by Pin Joker in unfair ambushes, Taylor and Luffy attacked the top of Trump Castle, where Bear King waited for them. Luffy interrupted Bear King before he could kill Zoro and Sanji with the King Cannon. Meanwhile, Taylor repelled Pin Joker and released Zoro and Sanji. They rearmed themselves with the items stolen from the Going Merry.
Bear King's Kachi Kachi no Mi lets him turn parts of his body to superheated stone. He punched Luffy off the castle's balcony, leaving Zoro, Sanji, and Taylor to deal with Bear King on their own. They aren't able to injure Bear King, and with Pin Joker distracting Zoro and Honey Queen disabling Sanji it's up to Taylor to stop Bear King alone. Thinking fast, Taylor let Bear King maneuver her back towards the balcony and tossed Bear King overboard with a perfect aikido throw. Zoro defeated Pin Joker in their rematch and Sanji and Nami cooperated to trap Honey Queen in a jar. Meanwhile, Bear King fell to the ground, where he's tossed around by Luffy and finally shot by Borodo piloting the King Cannon.
The Straw Hats liberated Clockwork Island and the entire island celebrated their freedom with their new heroes. Borodo revealed that his adopted brother Akisu is from Clockwork Island, and the Satoya couple revealed that they are Akisu's birth parents. The Straw Hats sailed away from Clockwork Island that morning intending to head straight for the Grand Line.
Taylor spent a quiet Christmas with her dad and continued to train. She mastered aikido, bringing her mastered skills to five, and started to learn the Sube Sube devil fruit power. She made contact with Peter Gosley, a masters student of parahuman studies at Harvard, and began to unravel the mysteries of parahumans. She also unlocked a second world with the Nexus power, called X-Men Evolution, which she called Earth-Mahon. On January 1st, 2011, Taylor visited Anne Hebert's grave, and in front of her mother's grave resolved to become a superhero who would change the world. The visit also seemed to bring some closure to Danny Hebert.
In the evening of January 1st (Earth-Bet), as they approached Reverse Mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line, the Going Merry was ambushed by a fleet of Marine warships and Captain Smoker. Forced to flee, the Straw Hats escaped the fleet in the dead of night. In the heat of battle, Taylor rescued a child named Apis, who can speak with animals, from a lifeboat. Apparently kidnapped by the Marines, Apis wanted to return to her home of Warship Island. After reaching Warship Island, Taylor was ambushed by a mysterious ninja named Nezu, who tried to recruit Taylor to Baroque Works, an evil organization of bounty hunters. Fortunately, Taylor drove off Nezu the ninja before anyone was hurt. Nami, Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy followed Apis up the mountain where they encountered Ryu the dragon, and Zoro fought a mercenary with wind claws who worked for the Marines.
Unfortunately, Usopp and Taylor discovered that while they were helping Apis, Captain Smoker had captured the Going Merry and was waiting for them to return. Taylor sabotaged the marine ships and Nami snuck on board the Merry while Taylor distracted Smoker in the town, defeating Tashigi in the process. They sailed away with Ryu the sennenryuu dragon on a raft, looking for Lost Island, Ryu's homeland. Before they got very far, Commodore Nelson of the 8th Marine Squadron appeared and tried to capture Ryu. But in a lucky coincidence, Dragon Roost Island rose from the seabed at that moment and swept the 8th Marine Squadron away. Ryu arrived back home just in time to see his family of thousands of sennenryuu dragons land around him, before he died of old age.
In the morning, Nezu the ninja reappeared and tried to find Taylor to kill her, but Taylor found Nezu first and defeated her. Commodore Nelson then tried to capture the Going Merry and the sennenryuu again, but he was attacked and subdued by Captain Smoker on orders from Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters, for crimes Nelson had committed in pursuit of the dragons. In the chaos, the Straw Hats slipped away and Apis was returned to her home. Dragon Roost Island disappeared beneath the waves for another thousand years.
Taylor also visited Brockton University-College, the college her mother taught at, and investigated becoming a student, but concluded that college on Earth-Bet would do little but arouse suspicion.
Finally, on January 3rd (Earth-Bet) or May 15th (Earth-Mayim), the Going Merry arrived at Reverse Mountain without incident. The ascent to the peak of the Red Line was spectacular and the descent into the Grand Line even more exciting. The Straw Hats narrowly avoided a collision with Laboon the Whale and mediated a confrontation with the keeper of the Twin Cape lighthouse, Crocus. In the evening, Taylor told the Straw Hats that she had read about them in a comic book, and Luffy forbade spoilers. Laboon was attacked by bounty hunters Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, of Baroque Works. Taylor knows Miss Wednesday is secretly Princess Nefertari Vivi, of the Kingdom of Alabasta, her kingdom under threat from Mr. 0, the mysterious, unnamed leader of the bounty hunter gang, Baroque Works.
Having spoken with her father and shown him that the Sube Sube no Mi makes her functionally bulletproof, he's given the all clear for her to begin heroing as Factota, Brockton Bay's newest heroine. After a brief public appearance, she met Miss Militia, and had a perfectly pleasant interaction. (Hannah is under the impression Factota is an adult, due to Taylor's composure and disguise skills.) The cape named Factota is now a known quantity to the public, though not the extent of her abilities.
She's completed a limited stakeout of the Merchants, a D-list supervillain gang in Brockton Bay. She also has an account (in her father's name) with Markus and Federson, a Boston-based legal firm that specializes in dealing with parahuman-created goods, to better sell goods from Mayim on Earth-Bet, should that be necessary.
Taylor has visited Earth-Mahon's New York City, metaphorically dipping her toes in that world's water. Something is amiss - crime is rampant on the street level, and there seems to be a unique organized crime presence unlike anything Taylor's seen before. Being in a world never ravaged by Endbringers fills her with a certain sense of... ambition, and resolve to grow greater as a hero.
While docked at Twin Cape, Taylor and Luffy guided Laboon to a new objective, finding the Rumbar Pirates whom he was so desperately searching for, to Crocus' gratitude. Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday/Vivi joined the Straw Hats temporarily, fearing that the Unluckies would think they'd turn traitor if they didn't show up at Whiskey Peak on schedule. (Failing to consider that being seen with a pirate crew might also make the Unluckies think they'd turn traitor.)
To the consternation of Nami, not only does "Straw Hat" Luffy have his canonical 30,000,000 beri bounty, but after eluding Captain Smoker at Warship Island, so do the so-called "Escape Artist" Hebert Taylor, at 14,000,000 beri, and "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, at 10,000,000 beri. The Straw Hats, fresh into the Grand Line, have a combined 54,000,000 beri bounty.
The Straw Hats have now set forth on the First Stretch of Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line. For now, Taylor is restraining herself to supporting the Straw Hats as their boatswain, jack-of-all-trades, and *cue drums and cymbals* factota.
(Some of you may be concerned about 'abandoning' One Piece canon. With my return as GM, I'm going to generally soft-retcon that. You won't be going to Whiskey Peak, but you'll still be hitting a lot of the same islands and beats as canon. Not enough to be a simple replication, but I don't think anyone wanted that, anyway. You'll have a chance to recruit all canon crew members.)
(A warm thank you to SynchronizedWritersBlock, who wrote the bulk of the above hiatus. I did my best to catch up for later updates of theirs from H/NQ 2 and bookworm's from H/NQ 3.)
Additionally - Some notes on what's now no longer canon, or what I've ignored/added from canon sources of Parahumans, One Piece, X-Men: Evolution, what has changed from canon, and so on. This may be periodically updated - skip this if you want to go to the story first, but come back to it if you're interested about details later.
There's a fair bit of stuff that came up because I was inexperienced at writing, overenthusiastic, had Worm fanon brainrot, etc. This is a nonexhaustive list. The general events and training results of H/NQ, H/NQ 2 and H/NQ 3 are all canon, it's details that are getting purged.
Challenger/Velocity: Challenger is a woman, as revealed by Ward. Velocity did not attend S-class fights ordinarily. Their deaths to Behemoth in H/NQ 1 (background lore, intended as POD of Taylor gaining different powers) should be considered non-canon.
Coil/Merchants: It seems I fell prey to the common fanon assumption that the Merchants were impressive, and that Coil was unknown. Coil, along with the ABB and E88, were the three largest gangs in Brockton Bay at start of canon, and Taylor is aware of that.
Endbringers Don't Take Turns Predictably: Endbringers don't take turns predictably (not L B S B L S, but maybe L S B S B L. Wildbow confirmed this.
GED/Dropping Out of School: Taylor in this quest and previous iterations of it dropped out of school and got her GED. She also took online classes before doing so. Wildbow's confirmed that wasn't an option for her in canon. Her classes may also have been different than canon, I honestly didn't check. Getting Taylor out of school and doing more fun shit with Headway was a priority at the time, and I don't regret that.
I normally would like to keep this quest as canon compliant as possible, but that part of this story was written before I knew of this WoG, and is now essential to the functioning of this quest.
I think when I was writing, I assumed Taylor didn't drop out because she didn't want to tell her dad about the bullying and was hoping to keep school and home compartmentalized, hoping to just get through it. I didn't realize Wildbow had debunked the idea of that even being an option for her at all.
Kiddo Virus: I promise you Danny will no longer mindlessly repeat the phrase 'kiddo' every sentence. Like I said. Fanon brainrot.
Locker: This Taylor never experienced the locker. She got Headway a month or so before she would have had her trigger event, butterflies flapped their wings from there.
Marquis' Gang: Marquis didn't have other parahumans in his gang. Assume the Penumbra mentioned in 1.7 was a different gang member.
Robin Koertig: Not Rune. I think I was going to set up a plot where Rune was one of Taylor's classmates - Ward debunked this idea. Consider the Robin Koertig who appeared in 1.8 to be just some rando.
World Events: There's some odder bits of worldbuilding in H/NQ 1 that I added because I was a seventeen-year old who mostly just wanted to add cool shit to the world. Some of that stuff may/will be pushed aside if it comes to it.
Parahumans: I've read Worm/Ward, and the Worm Word of God repository. I couldn't quite get interested in the Weaverdice or PRT Quest stuff (skimmed the main doc for that one). In general, I'll be pulling primarily from Worm/Ward/PHO Sunday/the WoGs on SpaceBattles. I haven't read Worm fanfic with dedication in years, so hopefully my brain isn't *too* poisoned by fanon.
One Piece: The manga is the primary thing to concern yourselves with here. When I first wrote H/NQ, I was more recently familiar with the One Piece anime/movies. However, now that I did catch-up for this quest as an adult, I mostly stuck to the manga. Clockwork Island, Warship Island, played a big role in H/NQ thus far and are still canon. However, future non-canon filler arcs and movies should be considered up in the air.
X-Men: Evolution: All seasons of the show are canon. The show's tie-in comics should be considered secondary canon - some of it seems to have been written without much communication with the showrunners (the tie-in comics have mutants being public knowledge around the show's season 1, some other oddities.) I'll be pulling stuff from Marvel lore to add on, scouring more niche corners for inspiration. Evolution is the foundation.
On Monday, November 1, 2010 Taylor Hebert of Brockton Bay, New Hampshire mysteriously gained superpowers. A bullied teenager only fifteen and a half years old, Taylor wasted no time experimenting with her new powers. She calls the ability to gain skills from defeated enemies and train them with only a little effort "Headway". "Nexus" is her ability to travel to a limited number of other dimensions. With support from her father, Daniel Hebert, Taylor began training her skills and knowledge.
On November 9th, Behemoth, one of the Endbringers, attacked N'Djamena, the capital of Chad in Africa. Taylor was in class.
On November 10th, as a expert practitioner of Kung Fu and a master of her school subjects, Taylor got into a fight with Sophia Hess, one of her bullies. During the fight, Sophia revealed that she had superpowers and Taylor discovered Sophia is actually Shadow Stalker, one of the Wards, a government-sponsored junior superhero team. This only reinforced Taylor's desire to test out of school. Her last day of high school was November 23rd, and she aced her GED tests on November 24th.
At the same time, Taylor started to explore the world of "One Piece", which she called Earth-Mayim. She arrived in a place called Loguetown on November 20th, or April 1st of Mayim's calendar. Yes, from here on out the calendar got rather confusing. Loguetown is administered by the World Government through their police and armed forces the Marines, and seemed a peaceful island under the administration of Captain Smoker. The quaint old-fashioned trading port was to Taylor a fantastic escape and an opportunity. Of course, the true nature of One Piece is as a world of pirates, and the Fatty Boy pirates invaded Loguetown the next day. Taylor defeated them with her skills in the martial arts and was awarded their bounty by the Marines, catching the attention of Captain Smoker. She also defeated a dangerous grizzly bear in Loguetown's forest, granting her the ability to transform into a bear.
In no time at all, Taylor found herself learning swordsmanship under the tutelage of Middle Musashi, a mysterious mute swordsman, and purchased her first named swords, a scimitar named Kerimakureisho and a zweihander named Kishi-ko. She started taking tailoring lessons under Rebecca Hanberg.
Although Loguetown is a peaceful place, the same cannot be said for the seas of East Blue. Known as the weakest sea, it is nevertheless infested with pirates like Arlong and Don Krieg, and monsters like the sea king and the giant albatross. When traveling away from Loguetown, Taylor defeated a giant furfish, Tawanda of the Snowborn Bandits, a giant albatross, and "Freedman" Fenteng of the Freedman Pirates. But the biggest danger came on December 3rd when her passenger vessel, the Naughty Hurrah, was attacked by Arakaki, a fishman pirate and former subordinate of the infamous Arlong. In a vicious battle, Taylor transformed into a bear and killed Arakaki the swordfish fishman, but was rattled badly by the fishman's water bullet techniques and by having to take a life for the first time. Even so, she saved most of the crew and passengers of the ship.
Back in Loguetown, Taylor continued her tutoring and began learning blacksmithing from Damascus. She learned how to transform into a giant albatross and a swordfish fishman. December 10th, or April 21st in Earth-Mayim, is Foundation Day, the day the World Government celebrates its founding. Taylor maxed out her bear form that day, her first completed skill. She encountered Tashigi, Captain Smoker's second-in-command, but doesn't have a chance to talk. On December 12th, Taylor was caught in a trap by S. Windle and his cultists. She fought her way out with nothing but her bear hands.
Having made the most of Loguetown except final lessons from her tutors, Taylor started to concentrate on more research and broadening her skills back home on Earth-Bet. According to the manga Taylor read about One Piece, the Straw Hat Pirates were due to arrive in Loguetown on April 30th of that world's calendar. She needed to be ready for that day. Monkey D. Luffy is the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates. He is not one of the evil pirates that seemed to infest the world of Earth-Mayim, but a genuine adventurer, and in Taylor's eyes, an aspiring hero like herself.
On the day before the Straw Hat Pirates arrive, Middle Musashi taught Taylor the basics of the Musashi Family Style, a style of swordsmanship that draws on the wielder's emotions and their desire to overcome their personal challenges. He claimed that Taylor would meet him again.
On December 19th, or April 30th in Earth-Mayim, Taylor encountered Alvida, a pirate who wields the Sube Sube no Mi, a superpower acquired by eating a devil fruit and sacrificing the ability to swim. The Sube Sube no Mi allows Alvida to make her skin slippery, making most attacks just slide off. However, it does not save Alvida from being pepper sprayed, then wrapped in a net and tossed in the ocean. Alvida defeated and the Sube Sube no Mi power acquired, Taylor searched Loguetown for Monkey D. Luffy. She found him in stocks on the execution platform as Buggy the Clown, another pirate, attempted to remove Luffy's head. But a freak lightning bolt released Luffy. In bear form, Taylor made short work of the Buggy Pirates and defeated Cabaji the acrobat, Buggy's second-in-command. She met Zoro, the brash swordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates who wields three swords, and Sanji, the gentleman cook of the Straw Hat Pirates who fights with kicks. Meanwhile, Monkey D. Luffy escaped from the execution grounds using his power, the Gomu Gomu no Mi, which makes his body into rubber. Seeing a talking bear, Luffy instantly invited Taylor into his pirate crew, but she was too stunned to react.
Chasing after Captain Smoker, who was in turn chasing Luffy and crew, Taylor thought about attacking Smoker to allow Luffy to escape. However, before she could, Middle Musashi intervened and forced Smoker back. Smoker wields the Moku Moku no Mi, a devil fruit that turns him into smoke, making him invincible to most weapons and attacks. But Middle Musashi could cut him somehow. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji escaped onto the Going Merry, a caravel piloted by Nami and Usopp, the other two members of the Straw Hat Pirates. Unsure what to do, Taylor caught up to them in albatross form, and got invited to the pirate crew again. This time, she accepted. Now a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Taylor and the Straw Hats sailed out of Loguetown through a vicious storm.
As they sailed, Taylor got to know the Straw Hats and continued training her skills, learning fishman karate and fishman jujutsu, and mastered Kung Fu. The next stop was Clockwork Island, a stronghold the Trump Pirates, led by Bear King. Taylor and Luffy foiled the theft of the Going Merry by the Trump Pirates, and the Straw Hats sailed to Clockwork Island for revenge. On the way, they rescued Borodo and Akisu, who are known as The Thief Brothers. After a fight with the Trump Pirates, Taylor discovered Zoro's horrific injury from his defeat by Dracule Mihawk, the world's most renowned swordsman. Borodo explained that he's attempting to steal the Diamond Clock from the Trump Pirates, but that just makes Taylor suspicious. Her suspicions are confirmed by Zoro and Nami, who agree that the Thief Brothers likely tried to steal the Merry. Reluctantly, Taylor agreed to let Borodo reveal his hand rather than call him out.
Arriving at Clockwork Island on Christmas Eve, December 24th (Earth-Bet), Taylor and the Straw Hats infiltrated Clockwork Island, meeting Satoya Chie and Satoya Juichi, clockmakers. They reveal that Bear King forced them to build a clockwork tank called the King Cannon, with which Bear King intends to conquer the Grand Line, the world's strongest ocean. Taylor reassured them not to lose hope, and privately resolved to defeat the Trump Siblings and free Clockwork Island.
Taylor and Nami snuck into Trump Castle, while the other Straw Hats assaulted the castle from the front gate. Sanji defeated Skunk One, the poison master, and Taylor recovered Skunk One's equipment. In front of the treasury, Taylor defeated Boo Jack, the Trump Pirates' bombmaker and forced Honey Queen, who wields the Toro Toro no Mi and can turn into a liquid, to flee. They encountered Borodo the thief, who was trying to steal the treasury, but Nami and Taylor ambushed him and knocked him out.
After several more fights, with Sanji defeated by Honey Queen and Zoro defeated by Pin Joker in unfair ambushes, Taylor and Luffy attacked the top of Trump Castle, where Bear King waited for them. Luffy interrupted Bear King before he could kill Zoro and Sanji with the King Cannon. Meanwhile, Taylor repelled Pin Joker and released Zoro and Sanji. They rearmed themselves with the items stolen from the Going Merry.
Bear King's Kachi Kachi no Mi lets him turn parts of his body to superheated stone. He punched Luffy off the castle's balcony, leaving Zoro, Sanji, and Taylor to deal with Bear King on their own. They aren't able to injure Bear King, and with Pin Joker distracting Zoro and Honey Queen disabling Sanji it's up to Taylor to stop Bear King alone. Thinking fast, Taylor let Bear King maneuver her back towards the balcony and tossed Bear King overboard with a perfect aikido throw. Zoro defeated Pin Joker in their rematch and Sanji and Nami cooperated to trap Honey Queen in a jar. Meanwhile, Bear King fell to the ground, where he's tossed around by Luffy and finally shot by Borodo piloting the King Cannon.
The Straw Hats liberated Clockwork Island and the entire island celebrated their freedom with their new heroes. Borodo revealed that his adopted brother Akisu is from Clockwork Island, and the Satoya couple revealed that they are Akisu's birth parents. The Straw Hats sailed away from Clockwork Island that morning intending to head straight for the Grand Line.
Taylor spent a quiet Christmas with her dad and continued to train. She mastered aikido, bringing her mastered skills to five, and started to learn the Sube Sube devil fruit power. She made contact with Peter Gosley, a masters student of parahuman studies at Harvard, and began to unravel the mysteries of parahumans. She also unlocked a second world with the Nexus power, called X-Men Evolution, which she called Earth-Mahon. On January 1st, 2011, Taylor visited Anne Hebert's grave, and in front of her mother's grave resolved to become a superhero who would change the world. The visit also seemed to bring some closure to Danny Hebert.
In the evening of January 1st (Earth-Bet), as they approached Reverse Mountain, the entrance to the Grand Line, the Going Merry was ambushed by a fleet of Marine warships and Captain Smoker. Forced to flee, the Straw Hats escaped the fleet in the dead of night. In the heat of battle, Taylor rescued a child named Apis, who can speak with animals, from a lifeboat. Apparently kidnapped by the Marines, Apis wanted to return to her home of Warship Island. After reaching Warship Island, Taylor was ambushed by a mysterious ninja named Nezu, who tried to recruit Taylor to Baroque Works, an evil organization of bounty hunters. Fortunately, Taylor drove off Nezu the ninja before anyone was hurt. Nami, Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy followed Apis up the mountain where they encountered Ryu the dragon, and Zoro fought a mercenary with wind claws who worked for the Marines.
Unfortunately, Usopp and Taylor discovered that while they were helping Apis, Captain Smoker had captured the Going Merry and was waiting for them to return. Taylor sabotaged the marine ships and Nami snuck on board the Merry while Taylor distracted Smoker in the town, defeating Tashigi in the process. They sailed away with Ryu the sennenryuu dragon on a raft, looking for Lost Island, Ryu's homeland. Before they got very far, Commodore Nelson of the 8th Marine Squadron appeared and tried to capture Ryu. But in a lucky coincidence, Dragon Roost Island rose from the seabed at that moment and swept the 8th Marine Squadron away. Ryu arrived back home just in time to see his family of thousands of sennenryuu dragons land around him, before he died of old age.
In the morning, Nezu the ninja reappeared and tried to find Taylor to kill her, but Taylor found Nezu first and defeated her. Commodore Nelson then tried to capture the Going Merry and the sennenryuu again, but he was attacked and subdued by Captain Smoker on orders from Vice Admiral Tsuru of Marine Headquarters, for crimes Nelson had committed in pursuit of the dragons. In the chaos, the Straw Hats slipped away and Apis was returned to her home. Dragon Roost Island disappeared beneath the waves for another thousand years.
Taylor also visited Brockton University-College, the college her mother taught at, and investigated becoming a student, but concluded that college on Earth-Bet would do little but arouse suspicion.
Finally, on January 3rd (Earth-Bet) or May 15th (Earth-Mayim), the Going Merry arrived at Reverse Mountain without incident. The ascent to the peak of the Red Line was spectacular and the descent into the Grand Line even more exciting. The Straw Hats narrowly avoided a collision with Laboon the Whale and mediated a confrontation with the keeper of the Twin Cape lighthouse, Crocus. In the evening, Taylor told the Straw Hats that she had read about them in a comic book, and Luffy forbade spoilers. Laboon was attacked by bounty hunters Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, of Baroque Works. Taylor knows Miss Wednesday is secretly Princess Nefertari Vivi, of the Kingdom of Alabasta, her kingdom under threat from Mr. 0, the mysterious, unnamed leader of the bounty hunter gang, Baroque Works.
Having spoken with her father and shown him that the Sube Sube no Mi makes her functionally bulletproof, he's given the all clear for her to begin heroing as Factota, Brockton Bay's newest heroine. After a brief public appearance, she met Miss Militia, and had a perfectly pleasant interaction. (Hannah is under the impression Factota is an adult, due to Taylor's composure and disguise skills.) The cape named Factota is now a known quantity to the public, though not the extent of her abilities.
She's completed a limited stakeout of the Merchants, a D-list supervillain gang in Brockton Bay. She also has an account (in her father's name) with Markus and Federson, a Boston-based legal firm that specializes in dealing with parahuman-created goods, to better sell goods from Mayim on Earth-Bet, should that be necessary.
Taylor has visited Earth-Mahon's New York City, metaphorically dipping her toes in that world's water. Something is amiss - crime is rampant on the street level, and there seems to be a unique organized crime presence unlike anything Taylor's seen before. Being in a world never ravaged by Endbringers fills her with a certain sense of... ambition, and resolve to grow greater as a hero.
While docked at Twin Cape, Taylor and Luffy guided Laboon to a new objective, finding the Rumbar Pirates whom he was so desperately searching for, to Crocus' gratitude. Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday/Vivi joined the Straw Hats temporarily, fearing that the Unluckies would think they'd turn traitor if they didn't show up at Whiskey Peak on schedule. (Failing to consider that being seen with a pirate crew might also make the Unluckies think they'd turn traitor.)
To the consternation of Nami, not only does "Straw Hat" Luffy have his canonical 30,000,000 beri bounty, but after eluding Captain Smoker at Warship Island, so do the so-called "Escape Artist" Hebert Taylor, at 14,000,000 beri, and "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, at 10,000,000 beri. The Straw Hats, fresh into the Grand Line, have a combined 54,000,000 beri bounty.
The Straw Hats have now set forth on the First Stretch of Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line. For now, Taylor is restraining herself to supporting the Straw Hats as their boatswain, jack-of-all-trades, and *cue drums and cymbals* factota.
(Some of you may be concerned about 'abandoning' One Piece canon. With my return as GM, I'm going to generally soft-retcon that. You won't be going to Whiskey Peak, but you'll still be hitting a lot of the same islands and beats as canon. Not enough to be a simple replication, but I don't think anyone wanted that, anyway. You'll have a chance to recruit all canon crew members.)
(A warm thank you to SynchronizedWritersBlock, who wrote the bulk of the above hiatus. I did my best to catch up for later updates of theirs from H/NQ 2 and bookworm's from H/NQ 3.)
Additionally - Some notes on what's now no longer canon, or what I've ignored/added from canon sources of Parahumans, One Piece, X-Men: Evolution, what has changed from canon, and so on. This may be periodically updated - skip this if you want to go to the story first, but come back to it if you're interested about details later.
There's a fair bit of stuff that came up because I was inexperienced at writing, overenthusiastic, had Worm fanon brainrot, etc. This is a nonexhaustive list. The general events and training results of H/NQ, H/NQ 2 and H/NQ 3 are all canon, it's details that are getting purged.
Challenger/Velocity: Challenger is a woman, as revealed by Ward. Velocity did not attend S-class fights ordinarily. Their deaths to Behemoth in H/NQ 1 (background lore, intended as POD of Taylor gaining different powers) should be considered non-canon.
Coil/Merchants: It seems I fell prey to the common fanon assumption that the Merchants were impressive, and that Coil was unknown. Coil, along with the ABB and E88, were the three largest gangs in Brockton Bay at start of canon, and Taylor is aware of that.
Endbringers Don't Take Turns Predictably: Endbringers don't take turns predictably (not L B S B L S, but maybe L S B S B L. Wildbow confirmed this.
GED/Dropping Out of School: Taylor in this quest and previous iterations of it dropped out of school and got her GED. She also took online classes before doing so. Wildbow's confirmed that wasn't an option for her in canon. Her classes may also have been different than canon, I honestly didn't check. Getting Taylor out of school and doing more fun shit with Headway was a priority at the time, and I don't regret that.
I normally would like to keep this quest as canon compliant as possible, but that part of this story was written before I knew of this WoG, and is now essential to the functioning of this quest.
I think when I was writing, I assumed Taylor didn't drop out because she didn't want to tell her dad about the bullying and was hoping to keep school and home compartmentalized, hoping to just get through it. I didn't realize Wildbow had debunked the idea of that even being an option for her at all.
Kiddo Virus: I promise you Danny will no longer mindlessly repeat the phrase 'kiddo' every sentence. Like I said. Fanon brainrot.
Locker: This Taylor never experienced the locker. She got Headway a month or so before she would have had her trigger event, butterflies flapped their wings from there.
Marquis' Gang: Marquis didn't have other parahumans in his gang. Assume the Penumbra mentioned in 1.7 was a different gang member.
Robin Koertig: Not Rune. I think I was going to set up a plot where Rune was one of Taylor's classmates - Ward debunked this idea. Consider the Robin Koertig who appeared in 1.8 to be just some rando.
World Events: There's some odder bits of worldbuilding in H/NQ 1 that I added because I was a seventeen-year old who mostly just wanted to add cool shit to the world. Some of that stuff may/will be pushed aside if it comes to it.
Parahumans: I've read Worm/Ward, and the Worm Word of God repository. I couldn't quite get interested in the Weaverdice or PRT Quest stuff (skimmed the main doc for that one). In general, I'll be pulling primarily from Worm/Ward/PHO Sunday/the WoGs on SpaceBattles. I haven't read Worm fanfic with dedication in years, so hopefully my brain isn't *too* poisoned by fanon.
One Piece: The manga is the primary thing to concern yourselves with here. When I first wrote H/NQ, I was more recently familiar with the One Piece anime/movies. However, now that I did catch-up for this quest as an adult, I mostly stuck to the manga. Clockwork Island, Warship Island, played a big role in H/NQ thus far and are still canon. However, future non-canon filler arcs and movies should be considered up in the air.
X-Men: Evolution: All seasons of the show are canon. The show's tie-in comics should be considered secondary canon - some of it seems to have been written without much communication with the showrunners (the tie-in comics have mutants being public knowledge around the show's season 1, some other oddities.) I'll be pulling stuff from Marvel lore to add on, scouring more niche corners for inspiration. Evolution is the foundation.
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2.19: First Stretch 3
The below update is written assuming you've read H/NQ 1-3. I'm going to try and avoid a huge amount of repetition and expository catch-up for the audience. If you continue reading, it's assumed that you've read the three prior quests.
This update is partially inspired by the drafts bookworm gave me for what he had on the next update - I've made modifications here and there as the writing happened and the story took on a life of its own. Credit to him, both for continuing the quest and for birthing some of the ideas that will persevere through it.
2.19 The First Stretch 3
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 1532
The ship lurches randomly as the waves rock it back and forth. Rain stamps down against the deck from the storm, which, predictably, was unpredictable. Clear sky one moment, torrent of rain the next.
It's the sort of thing you've come to expect from the Grand Line in the four days you've been out at sea. Frankly, it's almost typical. Only a bit more intense than the storms you saw out at sea from Loguetown, back in the East Blue.
Complacency. You mentally berate yourself, before whirling around towards Usopp, who's panting slightly as he catches his breath, looking around hurriedly as if worried he'll miss something. "Tiller looking okay?" you ask.
The Straw Hats' marksman shakes his head. "No, but it'll hold for this storm at least. We need to take a loo-"
Mr. 9 yelps a bit from his position atop the mizzenmast, and the two of you swing your heads around to check on him. Fortunately, your guest has just briefly lost his balance, and he regains his position quickly, using the ropes to catch the wind as he keeps an eye out for any changes in the storm, or - more likely - instructions from Nami.
"Sorry, you were saying?"
Usopp shakes his head, composure returning. "It'll be fine for now, but we gotta give it an upgrade soon. I don't like the look of it right now. We've got a whole bunch of other issues - the leaks we plugged, gotta reinforce those-"
You nod. "We'll run a full inventory after the storm passes."
Usopp gives you a thumbs up, and rushes off to help Luffy and Sanji with the mainmast. The Straw Hats are handling this admirably. You wouldn't know it from Usopp's constant state of anxiety and near-panic, but they've adapted astonishingly well to the rigors of the Grand Line. Its First Stretch is the proving ground for crews like the Straw Hats seeking the Throne, and they're performing incredibly well.
"Storm's passing!" Luffy, two arms stretched out, gently guides the mainmast when Nami calls out the prelude to the all clear, Sanji providing support on the ropes where your captain can't keep the whole sail from getting unruly. Good. They've remembered what you've told them about posture.
You almost feel like you're nitpicking when you point out minute improvements that could be made, repositionings that might help here and there, conjured forth by knowledge from your Boatswain skill. But the Straw Hats don't seem to mind, and you feel a bit surer in your Leadership abilities.
Sure enough, what might have been a tropical depression on your homeworld or Earth-Mahon recedes into nothingness as sure as it came. If Crocus was right, the First Stretch is one of the 'worse' parts of Paradise. You hope to hell and back that he's right.
-----
The two of you spent an hour or so patching potential leaks, refining past patch-jobs, and so on. Headway gave you a nice boost to carpentry as a consolation prize for the loss of materials - Usopp noticed the boost just as you did, your becoming the equivalent of an above average carpenter and very quickly reaching his equivalent level of skill in the span of little over an hour. "Oh thank God. It's no longer all on me."
You raise an eyebrow at him, smiling lightly. "Would have thought you found it creepy."
Usopp shakes his head. "Oh no. It's incredibly creepy. It's just good creepy."
"Alright, alright," you snort despite yourself. You give him a friendly shove, before the two of you step out above deck from the men's room, carrying your tools with you back to the storeroom.
"We're out of lumber," Usopp says, gazing out over the dwindling supplies.
Not quite, but close enough. There's maybe enough for a few more days of this, barring any catas- you don't finish that thought. Better not to tempt fate.
With the damage to the tiller from Reverse Mountain, the constant pressure from the Grand Line's storms… lumber probably isn't the only repair tool the Straw Hats need.
"I can't grab any from my homeworld. Could draw unwanted attention. But Earth-Mahon… I might be able to track down some scrap wood. Dunno how I feel about leaving you guys just yet."
There's a yawn from behind you. Zoro, awake from the night shift. A bit haggard, but that could describe any one of you. There's a teasing, if somewhat restrained, look on his face. "Hey, hey. We aren't doing that bad, are we?"
You give him a look. "You know what I mean. I don't like the idea of leaving the Merry without its boatswain."
He stretches his neck. "You did good. Felt like we weathered that storm pretty well."
"Your wound alright, Zoro?" Usopp asks, giving a wary look to Zoro's chest. You're surprised he asked before you - you wonder if your pressuring Zoro about his wound has given the other Straw Hats more of a willingness to call him on his stubbornness.
The swordsman lets out an exasperated groan. "This is your fault. Everyone's treating me like I'm made of paper now."
"It's what you get for acting like you're made of seastone," you retort, hand on hip.
He scoffs, giving off a very typical lopsided smirk. "I'm way tougher than that. I'll let you know if the bandages come loose."
You let out a little exhalation. "Let me know if you need your bandages stitched up."
"Will do," he says, tone perfunctory, absent-minded.
"I mean it!"
"I know!"
-----
That's a giant fish. Predominantly blue-green, with the odd bright aqua splash here and there. With spikes for teeth. You narrow your eyes as you try to place its origins. It's at a good enough distance that you feel comfortable keeping an eye on it without trying to rush over and fight it.
It's maybe half the size of the Going Merry, jumping in and out of the water as it travels the Line. Weather's clear enough that you don't think it'd be a problem for you specifically to defeat, push came to shove, but probably not worth the trouble of trying to chase i-
"Gomu Gomu no…"
Oh no.
Your head whips around to Luffy's spot on the Merry's figurehead, where your captain's had yet another attack of impulse. Your eyes widen. The Merry can't take too many hits from that thing if it's determined to assault. "Luffy! St-" you shout, but he doesn't notice you until his fist has already stretched to cross the distance.
To his credit, he does pull his attack when he hears your warning. Unfortunately, that means that instead of what might have been a devastating blow, maybe even defeating the thing, his fist knocks on the side of the giant fish, only succeeding at getting its attention. It gives a literal side eye to the Merry, before abruptly changing course.
Shit! You instantaneously shift to a bear, the only form you can maintain on this short a notice that can take a hit from something like that. Luffy laughs boyishly, and tosses out another attack. "You interrupted me, Taylor!"
"It's coming closer!"
"These things are delicious! We used to have them all the time back in my hometown!"
"Luffy!"
You ready an aikido pose, if you aim just right, you might be able to catch this thing midair and throw it to the side. You'll probably wind up destroying a chunk of the deck in the process of digging in, but- "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
No emphasis on any of the words, not phrased any differently than normal. Just a casual calling of the attack, and his right hand launches out, striking it in the lower jaw, launching it upwards. Enough force to level a small building not only stops the giant fish in its tracks, but rockets it upwards, and it must go a few dozen feet in the air before it crashes into the sea by the Merry.
"Shishishishi! I forget what these things are called, but they had little ones in the rivers where I grew up! Heeeeeyyyy! Saaaaaan-ji!"
The cook emerges from the kitchen a few moments later, a raised eyebrow on his face. Like the rest of you, he's a bit tired from the journey thus far, but looking better than he has over the past few days. "We caught a bass! A big one!"
Wait, that's- "That's a dolphinfish," Sanji notes, deadpan.
"That's tasty, too!"
He smiles. "Guessing you'll want me to wrap that, too?"
"Yes, please!"
Zoro lazily stands from his resting place. "Guessing you'll need some help cutting that, twirly?"
"Well, I'd consider asking, but in your condition, mosshead, I'm worried you'd wind up making a mess of the presentation."
"What was th-"
You tune the rest out. You're tempted to scold Luffy for picking a fight with the giant dolphinfish - a Meyeur dolphinfish, you're fairly certain - but you have a feeling it'd go in one ear, out the other. You check in on Nami in the women's room. Miss Wednesday's napping in the corner, fast asleep, and you resolve to keep the noise level down. Though, honestly, if Luffy's 'bass' fight and the regularly-scheduled Sanji/Zoro bickering hasn't woken her, you don't suspect much will.
You've gotta ask her about Mr. 0 sometime soon. Probably not a good time right now. Keeping her voice low, Nami gestures towards the navigation setup. "We should keep our voices down for her majesty over there-" Does she know? Or is she just- "-but I had some ideas I wanted to go over again for the triangulation array. Got a minute?" She was being sarcastic. Got it.
Nami walks you through some notes she has on potential problems, you point out some hiccups here and there that she might run into maintaining the set-up. It's nice. This morning with Usopp, the two of you were so laser-focused on the job, it didn't really feel like two friends relaxing. But the more you come to know Nami, the more it feels like you really are… Friends.
It's an old feeling. One you hadn't had in a while before joining the Straw Hats. You feel a bit guilty, but you can't help but remember Emma. How your friendship with her felt strong, inviolate. There's a dirty part of you that feels like this might all wind up being just as illusory as that. You're snapped out of your worries by Nami gently shaking you.
"What's up?" she asks quietly, a note of concern in her eyes.
"Some bad memories, dredged up. It's nothing. You were saying? About the central quadrant?"
She gives you a look, sighing. "You are not very good at changing the subject, Miss Hebert." Your face burns, and you look away. "I'm not gonna press, this time. But at some point, I'm gonna make you tell us what's going on."
What could you even say to her? That you're on track to become one of the greatest heroes known on three worlds, and you're still hung up on a middle school betrayal? That you've made some of the best friends you've had in your whole life, and that you're worried they'll leave you and hurt you in the process? It's unfair to feel this way, and you know they'd be hurt if they knew.
You settle for nodding. "I'm… glad you're here, Nami."
It sounds hokey and lame to say it out loud, but she doesn't seem to take it that way. She looks lost in her own thoughts, idly tapping one of the pens you gave her against the writing desk, flattened out rather than at its normal upward angle to better accommodate the array and notes simultaneously.
"I'm glad you're here, too. I don't know where you were at before you joined us, and I don't need to, until you're ready to tell us. But…" she struggles to get the words out, the pen tapping growing more rapid as she tries. "...I know what it's like to go for a long, long time without someone to really talk to. And I hope… you can learn… dammit."
She hisses that word, loudly enough that you caution a glance back at Miss Wednesday. Vivi. Whatever you want to call her now. You decide to interrupt her, with the lull in her speech. "Thank you," you say. "For being that. For me."
You feel a bit ridiculous, being this open. Ridiculous is the wrong word. Unguarded. On edge. Somehow at once. What the fuck happened to your brain over the past few years, that this is how you feel over a friendship?
You swallow. "I need some air. It's not anything you said, it's just-"
The constant storms and changes in conditions must be getting to you. Nami nods. "I've been there. Where you are now."
The image of her sobbing at Arlong Park lingers in your head. In the manga, it was something almost close to goofy, with the exaggerated facial movements and river of tears. It was hard to wrap your head around. But then you meet Nami, and you grow to learn more about her, and then, suddenly the image of her broken on the street, betrayed by those she thought she could at least somewhat rely on…
Suddenly it's a lot more relatable. You wonder if you'd already made that connection, but your mind had only just now merged those two compartments.
Changing storms and conditions. Messing with your head. You step out of the room, wiping some saltwater out of your eyes with your sleeve as you go.
You try to distract yourself, starting to conjure the Kachi Kachi no Mi, maybe get some combat training done. Trying to lose yourself in the crumply, rocklike growths on your body, Headway's admirable attempts to replicate Bear King's fruit. Advance the ultimate goal, towards heroism. But your heart isn't in it, and after a short while, you stop.
You sit out by the port side of the deck for a while, thinking circuitously. You notice Nami walking towards you far later than you normally would have. "Sorry. Distracted," you smile at her.
"Been there, too." She sits down next to you, stretching languidly against the railing. "I hope this doesn't make things weird between us."
You shake your head. "Some stuff I'm working through. From before I even got my powers."
Nami smiles bitterly. "It doesn't just go away. Even after you find something better."
"Nope." You wish you had a more eloquent reply. That'll have to suffice.
"All we can do is-" she trails off, looking at you expectantly.
"Is keep pushing forward?"
She tilts her head in exasperation, saying, "I was going to say make headway. You know? The pun? Your whole power?"
You smile, despite yourself. "Hysterical."
She shrugs, giving a toothy grin. "I thought it was."
You roll your eyes, and rest your head against the railing, the both of you sitting in silence for a while.
-----
Dinner passes without incident- okay, without unusual incident. Sanji's combination of rice, the dolphinfish, and the vegetables purchased from another world is divine. He insists on refusing to allow you to clean up, and so, once you're done, you walk over to Luffy, who's glaring at a dolphinfish cartilage chunk he's using to clean his teeth.
"Yo! What's up?" he asks, the friendly effect slightly marred by the massive makeshift pick in his mouth.
"I, ah, was going to ask. The rest of you guys seem to be doing pretty well taking care of the Merry during storms."
He beams, rubber mouth stretching to unnatural proportions that you are worryingly used to by now. "That's because of you and Nami. We'd all be dead now if it weren't for you two! Heehee!"
You would never, in a million years, say 'heehee' after a sentence like that. "I was going to say - is it alright if I go back to a more part-time role on the ship? We seem to be - I don't want to say getting used to the First Stretch, but-"
"But we are getting used to the First Stretch," he replies, staring at you blankly.
"I…-" you trail off. For whatever reason, and it seems silly in hindsight, you were expecting to be the overconfident one in this conversation. "Yeah. We are. I was going to ask if you were alright with me going back to a… more part-time role on the ship."
"Sure," he says, still plucking away with the pick.
"Sure? That's it? We're good?"
He blinks. "Why wouldn't we- ah ha!" He pulls a piece of canned mushroom mixed with fish - sometimes you resent high Perception - from his teeth, giving it a victorious look, before putting it- back in his mouth! Ew! "-why wouldn't we be good?"
Luffy has such an earnest nature that you feel a bit bad that you thought he'd feel bad. He continues, a more serious look on his face, presumably now that the dreaded thing-stuck-in-his-teeth is beaten. "We knew you lived on another world when you joined us. You're a part of this crew, here or there."
Another gust of salty wind pours over the deck, and you wipe your eyes. "Thank you."
That beam of his is back. "'To be a Hero'."
You return the expression, as best as you can without being a rubber man. "'To be a Hero'."
65:50. Leadership 1 unlocked.
8:85. Seaman (AoS) 8 not unlocked.
74:100. Boatswain 9 not unlocked.
74:20. Teaching 3 unlocked. 59:80. Teaching 4 not unlocked.
29:75. Luffy beats the giant dolphinfish before you have a chance to participate.
67:10 Carpentry 2 unlocked. 70:60. Carpentry 3 unlocked. 66:100. Carpentry 4 not unlocked.
46:0. Navigation 4 unlocked. 20:90. Navigation 5 not unlocked. 4:90. Engineering 3 not unlocked.
40:60. Kachi Kachi no Mi 3 not unlocked.
Look at us. Back from the dead again, huh? I decided to cut the First Stretch's dependence on Taylor a bit short. The Straw Hats aren't out of the woods yet, and you'll be at an action deficit compared to the usual times. But your options for training or projects are open again.
Any competitions previously established will have to wait until the Straw Hats no longer need their boatswain's constant presence - most of your training options only take an hour or so, but the competitions would be considerably longer.
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Friday, January 14, 2011, Thursday, May 26, 1532, Friday, November 10, 2000), and Day 2 (Saturday, January 15, 2011, Friday, May 27, 1532, Saturday, November 11, 2000). For Day 1, you have TWO ACTIONS. For Day 2, you have FOUR ACTIONS.
Ordinarily, you would have seven actions. For Day 1, three actions will be used on First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance, one will be for catching up with Dad after a few days of not seeing him, and another will be used to hunt down some scrap wood on Mahon as a temporary measure to use as a lumber reserve for the Going Merry. Day 2 is more First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance. This number will go down.
Welcome back! Please feel free to start posting! I hope you guys will enjoy this as much as I think I will. Bear with me as I readjust to being a GM and a writer.
Please label your plan as Plan [plan name here] (x being the title of your plan), so others can vote for it and refer to it easily.
Projects are streamlined ways to work towards goals. While training might be more customizable, completing a project will always bring something extra. However, once you start a project, it will continue until it finishes or stalls out, taking up the listed number of actions each day. If you have an idea for a project you want me to consider, tag @jcw3 and let me know.
Start/reactivate a project.
If you are starting a project, list it in all days of the plan you intend it to occur. You do not need to re-list already active projects.
This update is partially inspired by the drafts bookworm gave me for what he had on the next update - I've made modifications here and there as the writing happened and the story took on a life of its own. Credit to him, both for continuing the quest and for birthing some of the ideas that will persevere through it.
There was no winning vote for this update. This was the last of a string of mandatory action-days.
2.19 The First Stretch 3
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Wednesday, May 25, 1532
The ship lurches randomly as the waves rock it back and forth. Rain stamps down against the deck from the storm, which, predictably, was unpredictable. Clear sky one moment, torrent of rain the next.
It's the sort of thing you've come to expect from the Grand Line in the four days you've been out at sea. Frankly, it's almost typical. Only a bit more intense than the storms you saw out at sea from Loguetown, back in the East Blue.
Complacency. You mentally berate yourself, before whirling around towards Usopp, who's panting slightly as he catches his breath, looking around hurriedly as if worried he'll miss something. "Tiller looking okay?" you ask.
The Straw Hats' marksman shakes his head. "No, but it'll hold for this storm at least. We need to take a loo-"
Mr. 9 yelps a bit from his position atop the mizzenmast, and the two of you swing your heads around to check on him. Fortunately, your guest has just briefly lost his balance, and he regains his position quickly, using the ropes to catch the wind as he keeps an eye out for any changes in the storm, or - more likely - instructions from Nami.
"Sorry, you were saying?"
Usopp shakes his head, composure returning. "It'll be fine for now, but we gotta give it an upgrade soon. I don't like the look of it right now. We've got a whole bunch of other issues - the leaks we plugged, gotta reinforce those-"
You nod. "We'll run a full inventory after the storm passes."
Usopp gives you a thumbs up, and rushes off to help Luffy and Sanji with the mainmast. The Straw Hats are handling this admirably. You wouldn't know it from Usopp's constant state of anxiety and near-panic, but they've adapted astonishingly well to the rigors of the Grand Line. Its First Stretch is the proving ground for crews like the Straw Hats seeking the Throne, and they're performing incredibly well.
"Storm's passing!" Luffy, two arms stretched out, gently guides the mainmast when Nami calls out the prelude to the all clear, Sanji providing support on the ropes where your captain can't keep the whole sail from getting unruly. Good. They've remembered what you've told them about posture.
You almost feel like you're nitpicking when you point out minute improvements that could be made, repositionings that might help here and there, conjured forth by knowledge from your Boatswain skill. But the Straw Hats don't seem to mind, and you feel a bit surer in your Leadership abilities.
Sure enough, what might have been a tropical depression on your homeworld or Earth-Mahon recedes into nothingness as sure as it came. If Crocus was right, the First Stretch is one of the 'worse' parts of Paradise. You hope to hell and back that he's right.
-----
The two of you spent an hour or so patching potential leaks, refining past patch-jobs, and so on. Headway gave you a nice boost to carpentry as a consolation prize for the loss of materials - Usopp noticed the boost just as you did, your becoming the equivalent of an above average carpenter and very quickly reaching his equivalent level of skill in the span of little over an hour. "Oh thank God. It's no longer all on me."
You raise an eyebrow at him, smiling lightly. "Would have thought you found it creepy."
Usopp shakes his head. "Oh no. It's incredibly creepy. It's just good creepy."
"Alright, alright," you snort despite yourself. You give him a friendly shove, before the two of you step out above deck from the men's room, carrying your tools with you back to the storeroom.
"We're out of lumber," Usopp says, gazing out over the dwindling supplies.
Not quite, but close enough. There's maybe enough for a few more days of this, barring any catas- you don't finish that thought. Better not to tempt fate.
With the damage to the tiller from Reverse Mountain, the constant pressure from the Grand Line's storms… lumber probably isn't the only repair tool the Straw Hats need.
"I can't grab any from my homeworld. Could draw unwanted attention. But Earth-Mahon… I might be able to track down some scrap wood. Dunno how I feel about leaving you guys just yet."
There's a yawn from behind you. Zoro, awake from the night shift. A bit haggard, but that could describe any one of you. There's a teasing, if somewhat restrained, look on his face. "Hey, hey. We aren't doing that bad, are we?"
You give him a look. "You know what I mean. I don't like the idea of leaving the Merry without its boatswain."
He stretches his neck. "You did good. Felt like we weathered that storm pretty well."
"Your wound alright, Zoro?" Usopp asks, giving a wary look to Zoro's chest. You're surprised he asked before you - you wonder if your pressuring Zoro about his wound has given the other Straw Hats more of a willingness to call him on his stubbornness.
The swordsman lets out an exasperated groan. "This is your fault. Everyone's treating me like I'm made of paper now."
"It's what you get for acting like you're made of seastone," you retort, hand on hip.
He scoffs, giving off a very typical lopsided smirk. "I'm way tougher than that. I'll let you know if the bandages come loose."
You let out a little exhalation. "Let me know if you need your bandages stitched up."
"Will do," he says, tone perfunctory, absent-minded.
"I mean it!"
"I know!"
-----
That's a giant fish. Predominantly blue-green, with the odd bright aqua splash here and there. With spikes for teeth. You narrow your eyes as you try to place its origins. It's at a good enough distance that you feel comfortable keeping an eye on it without trying to rush over and fight it.
It's maybe half the size of the Going Merry, jumping in and out of the water as it travels the Line. Weather's clear enough that you don't think it'd be a problem for you specifically to defeat, push came to shove, but probably not worth the trouble of trying to chase i-
"Gomu Gomu no…"
Oh no.
Your head whips around to Luffy's spot on the Merry's figurehead, where your captain's had yet another attack of impulse. Your eyes widen. The Merry can't take too many hits from that thing if it's determined to assault. "Luffy! St-" you shout, but he doesn't notice you until his fist has already stretched to cross the distance.
To his credit, he does pull his attack when he hears your warning. Unfortunately, that means that instead of what might have been a devastating blow, maybe even defeating the thing, his fist knocks on the side of the giant fish, only succeeding at getting its attention. It gives a literal side eye to the Merry, before abruptly changing course.
Shit! You instantaneously shift to a bear, the only form you can maintain on this short a notice that can take a hit from something like that. Luffy laughs boyishly, and tosses out another attack. "You interrupted me, Taylor!"
"It's coming closer!"
"These things are delicious! We used to have them all the time back in my hometown!"
"Luffy!"
You ready an aikido pose, if you aim just right, you might be able to catch this thing midair and throw it to the side. You'll probably wind up destroying a chunk of the deck in the process of digging in, but- "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
No emphasis on any of the words, not phrased any differently than normal. Just a casual calling of the attack, and his right hand launches out, striking it in the lower jaw, launching it upwards. Enough force to level a small building not only stops the giant fish in its tracks, but rockets it upwards, and it must go a few dozen feet in the air before it crashes into the sea by the Merry.
"Shishishishi! I forget what these things are called, but they had little ones in the rivers where I grew up! Heeeeeyyyy! Saaaaaan-ji!"
The cook emerges from the kitchen a few moments later, a raised eyebrow on his face. Like the rest of you, he's a bit tired from the journey thus far, but looking better than he has over the past few days. "We caught a bass! A big one!"
Wait, that's- "That's a dolphinfish," Sanji notes, deadpan.
"That's tasty, too!"
He smiles. "Guessing you'll want me to wrap that, too?"
"Yes, please!"
Zoro lazily stands from his resting place. "Guessing you'll need some help cutting that, twirly?"
"Well, I'd consider asking, but in your condition, mosshead, I'm worried you'd wind up making a mess of the presentation."
"What was th-"
You tune the rest out. You're tempted to scold Luffy for picking a fight with the giant dolphinfish - a Meyeur dolphinfish, you're fairly certain - but you have a feeling it'd go in one ear, out the other. You check in on Nami in the women's room. Miss Wednesday's napping in the corner, fast asleep, and you resolve to keep the noise level down. Though, honestly, if Luffy's 'bass' fight and the regularly-scheduled Sanji/Zoro bickering hasn't woken her, you don't suspect much will.
You've gotta ask her about Mr. 0 sometime soon. Probably not a good time right now. Keeping her voice low, Nami gestures towards the navigation setup. "We should keep our voices down for her majesty over there-" Does she know? Or is she just- "-but I had some ideas I wanted to go over again for the triangulation array. Got a minute?" She was being sarcastic. Got it.
Nami walks you through some notes she has on potential problems, you point out some hiccups here and there that she might run into maintaining the set-up. It's nice. This morning with Usopp, the two of you were so laser-focused on the job, it didn't really feel like two friends relaxing. But the more you come to know Nami, the more it feels like you really are… Friends.
It's an old feeling. One you hadn't had in a while before joining the Straw Hats. You feel a bit guilty, but you can't help but remember Emma. How your friendship with her felt strong, inviolate. There's a dirty part of you that feels like this might all wind up being just as illusory as that. You're snapped out of your worries by Nami gently shaking you.
"What's up?" she asks quietly, a note of concern in her eyes.
"Some bad memories, dredged up. It's nothing. You were saying? About the central quadrant?"
She gives you a look, sighing. "You are not very good at changing the subject, Miss Hebert." Your face burns, and you look away. "I'm not gonna press, this time. But at some point, I'm gonna make you tell us what's going on."
What could you even say to her? That you're on track to become one of the greatest heroes known on three worlds, and you're still hung up on a middle school betrayal? That you've made some of the best friends you've had in your whole life, and that you're worried they'll leave you and hurt you in the process? It's unfair to feel this way, and you know they'd be hurt if they knew.
You settle for nodding. "I'm… glad you're here, Nami."
It sounds hokey and lame to say it out loud, but she doesn't seem to take it that way. She looks lost in her own thoughts, idly tapping one of the pens you gave her against the writing desk, flattened out rather than at its normal upward angle to better accommodate the array and notes simultaneously.
"I'm glad you're here, too. I don't know where you were at before you joined us, and I don't need to, until you're ready to tell us. But…" she struggles to get the words out, the pen tapping growing more rapid as she tries. "...I know what it's like to go for a long, long time without someone to really talk to. And I hope… you can learn… dammit."
She hisses that word, loudly enough that you caution a glance back at Miss Wednesday. Vivi. Whatever you want to call her now. You decide to interrupt her, with the lull in her speech. "Thank you," you say. "For being that. For me."
You feel a bit ridiculous, being this open. Ridiculous is the wrong word. Unguarded. On edge. Somehow at once. What the fuck happened to your brain over the past few years, that this is how you feel over a friendship?
You swallow. "I need some air. It's not anything you said, it's just-"
The constant storms and changes in conditions must be getting to you. Nami nods. "I've been there. Where you are now."
The image of her sobbing at Arlong Park lingers in your head. In the manga, it was something almost close to goofy, with the exaggerated facial movements and river of tears. It was hard to wrap your head around. But then you meet Nami, and you grow to learn more about her, and then, suddenly the image of her broken on the street, betrayed by those she thought she could at least somewhat rely on…
Suddenly it's a lot more relatable. You wonder if you'd already made that connection, but your mind had only just now merged those two compartments.
Changing storms and conditions. Messing with your head. You step out of the room, wiping some saltwater out of your eyes with your sleeve as you go.
You try to distract yourself, starting to conjure the Kachi Kachi no Mi, maybe get some combat training done. Trying to lose yourself in the crumply, rocklike growths on your body, Headway's admirable attempts to replicate Bear King's fruit. Advance the ultimate goal, towards heroism. But your heart isn't in it, and after a short while, you stop.
You sit out by the port side of the deck for a while, thinking circuitously. You notice Nami walking towards you far later than you normally would have. "Sorry. Distracted," you smile at her.
"Been there, too." She sits down next to you, stretching languidly against the railing. "I hope this doesn't make things weird between us."
You shake your head. "Some stuff I'm working through. From before I even got my powers."
Nami smiles bitterly. "It doesn't just go away. Even after you find something better."
"Nope." You wish you had a more eloquent reply. That'll have to suffice.
"All we can do is-" she trails off, looking at you expectantly.
"Is keep pushing forward?"
She tilts her head in exasperation, saying, "I was going to say make headway. You know? The pun? Your whole power?"
You smile, despite yourself. "Hysterical."
She shrugs, giving a toothy grin. "I thought it was."
You roll your eyes, and rest your head against the railing, the both of you sitting in silence for a while.
-----
Dinner passes without incident- okay, without unusual incident. Sanji's combination of rice, the dolphinfish, and the vegetables purchased from another world is divine. He insists on refusing to allow you to clean up, and so, once you're done, you walk over to Luffy, who's glaring at a dolphinfish cartilage chunk he's using to clean his teeth.
"Yo! What's up?" he asks, the friendly effect slightly marred by the massive makeshift pick in his mouth.
"I, ah, was going to ask. The rest of you guys seem to be doing pretty well taking care of the Merry during storms."
He beams, rubber mouth stretching to unnatural proportions that you are worryingly used to by now. "That's because of you and Nami. We'd all be dead now if it weren't for you two! Heehee!"
You would never, in a million years, say 'heehee' after a sentence like that. "I was going to say - is it alright if I go back to a more part-time role on the ship? We seem to be - I don't want to say getting used to the First Stretch, but-"
"But we are getting used to the First Stretch," he replies, staring at you blankly.
"I…-" you trail off. For whatever reason, and it seems silly in hindsight, you were expecting to be the overconfident one in this conversation. "Yeah. We are. I was going to ask if you were alright with me going back to a… more part-time role on the ship."
"Sure," he says, still plucking away with the pick.
"Sure? That's it? We're good?"
He blinks. "Why wouldn't we- ah ha!" He pulls a piece of canned mushroom mixed with fish - sometimes you resent high Perception - from his teeth, giving it a victorious look, before putting it- back in his mouth! Ew! "-why wouldn't we be good?"
Luffy has such an earnest nature that you feel a bit bad that you thought he'd feel bad. He continues, a more serious look on his face, presumably now that the dreaded thing-stuck-in-his-teeth is beaten. "We knew you lived on another world when you joined us. You're a part of this crew, here or there."
Another gust of salty wind pours over the deck, and you wipe your eyes. "Thank you."
That beam of his is back. "'To be a Hero'."
You return the expression, as best as you can without being a rubber man. "'To be a Hero'."
65:50. Leadership 1 unlocked.
8:85. Seaman (AoS) 8 not unlocked.
74:100. Boatswain 9 not unlocked.
74:20. Teaching 3 unlocked. 59:80. Teaching 4 not unlocked.
29:75. Luffy beats the giant dolphinfish before you have a chance to participate.
67:10 Carpentry 2 unlocked. 70:60. Carpentry 3 unlocked. 66:100. Carpentry 4 not unlocked.
46:0. Navigation 4 unlocked. 20:90. Navigation 5 not unlocked. 4:90. Engineering 3 not unlocked.
40:60. Kachi Kachi no Mi 3 not unlocked.
Look at us. Back from the dead again, huh? I decided to cut the First Stretch's dependence on Taylor a bit short. The Straw Hats aren't out of the woods yet, and you'll be at an action deficit compared to the usual times. But your options for training or projects are open again.
Any competitions previously established will have to wait until the Straw Hats no longer need their boatswain's constant presence - most of your training options only take an hour or so, but the competitions would be considerably longer.
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Friday, January 14, 2011, Thursday, May 26, 1532, Friday, November 10, 2000), and Day 2 (Saturday, January 15, 2011, Friday, May 27, 1532, Saturday, November 11, 2000). For Day 1, you have TWO ACTIONS. For Day 2, you have FOUR ACTIONS.
Ordinarily, you would have seven actions. For Day 1, three actions will be used on First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance, one will be for catching up with Dad after a few days of not seeing him, and another will be used to hunt down some scrap wood on Mahon as a temporary measure to use as a lumber reserve for the Going Merry. Day 2 is more First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance. This number will go down.
Welcome back! Please feel free to start posting! I hope you guys will enjoy this as much as I think I will. Bear with me as I readjust to being a GM and a writer.
Please label your plan as Plan [plan name here] (x being the title of your plan), so others can vote for it and refer to it easily.
Projects are streamlined ways to work towards goals. While training might be more customizable, completing a project will always bring something extra. However, once you start a project, it will continue until it finishes or stalls out, taking up the listed number of actions each day. If you have an idea for a project you want me to consider, tag @jcw3 and let me know.
Start/reactivate a project.
If you are starting a project, list it in all days of the plan you intend it to occur. You do not need to re-list already active projects.
New projects:
-[ ] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (0/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright).
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] Write-in. Tag @jcw3 first.
-[ ] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (0/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright).
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] Write-in. Tag @jcw3 first.
Going Merry actions. 1 action each. Max 1 action per person, 3 different persons per day. New options may unlock as you get to know the crew better.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 5% of Boatswain 9. 90% of Shipwright 5. 10% of Shipwright 6. 40% of Teaching 4.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs six days recovery)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs six days recovery) (refer to Island actions)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 20% Survival 5, 0% Naturalist 7. Potential increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5, 20% of Navigation 5. 20% of Meteorology 4. 60% of Meteorology 3. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4, 50% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 70% of Bombmaking 2, 20% of Bombmaking 3. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] There's the Mr. 0/Princess Vivi elephant-in-the-room to deal with. Right now, Princess Vivi is still known to the crew save you only as Baroque Works' Miss Wednesday. You've hinted at this to Luffy, he knows she's a Blue Mystery Girl, but that's as far as it goes. This is likely to be a very complicated conversation, but it needs to be broached, ideally before you and the Straw Hats get yourself buried in a complete mess. 1 action. Don't neglect the write-in on this one.
--[ ] Write-in for how you want to approach this re: explaining how you know about Mr. 0 in the first place, if at all, who to talk to first on this matter (Luffy, Nami, Vivi, etc.). I have veto power.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 0% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to find some places in Mahon-NYC that might be useful for training, crafting, resource acquisition, etc. This can be a shooting range, bookstore, grocery store, hardware store, whatever you may need. Remember to keep an eye on currency. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 60% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 0% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydrokinesis is hard. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is an Aura combat style (note: Aura is different from Haki).
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 0% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. 30% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 70% of Criminal Psychology 1. 20% of Criminal Psychology 2.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 70% of Forensics 0, 10% of Forensics 1.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
--[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
--[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 30% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge. 50% of Acrobatics 4.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 60% of Swimming 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available) Taylor is taking a hiatus from mundane martial arts for the next several days
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Cold Resistance 6.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 30% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 20% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 40% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 2 40% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 0% of Naturalist 7. 60% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 50% of Repair 4.
-[ ] Carpentry. 30% of Carpentry 4. 0% of Carpentry 5.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 40% of Doctor 2. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 100% of Driving 0. 30% Driving 1. (0/3 to completion of Driver's Ed project)
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 8. 20% of Medicine 5. 20% of Anatomy 5. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 8. (+25 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 100% of Photography 0. 50% of Photography 1. 10% of Photography 2. Low chance of increase in Art.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 10% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 0% of Seaman 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 30% of Survival 5.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 80% of Fishing 5.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 100% of Trapper 0. 60% of Trapper 1.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 50% of Public Speaking 3.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one. 10% of Leadership 2.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 3. 10% of Woodwind Musician 4. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 60% of Acting 4.
-[ ] Disguise. 60% Disguise 4.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action.
Training: Unlisted skills.
The following skills and their derivative skills are blocked as you don't have an appropriate place to train them. Maybe you should work on that, huh?:
none right now
The following skills and their derivative skills are not listed because you have not sought out a way to advance them:
Art, World Issues, various Weapons skills, Barter
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 5% of Boatswain 9. 90% of Shipwright 5. 10% of Shipwright 6. 40% of Teaching 4.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs six days recovery)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs six days recovery) (refer to Island actions)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 20% Survival 5, 0% Naturalist 7. Potential increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5, 20% of Navigation 5. 20% of Meteorology 4. 60% of Meteorology 3. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4, 50% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 70% of Bombmaking 2, 20% of Bombmaking 3. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] There's the Mr. 0/Princess Vivi elephant-in-the-room to deal with. Right now, Princess Vivi is still known to the crew save you only as Baroque Works' Miss Wednesday. You've hinted at this to Luffy, he knows she's a Blue Mystery Girl, but that's as far as it goes. This is likely to be a very complicated conversation, but it needs to be broached, ideally before you and the Straw Hats get yourself buried in a complete mess. 1 action. Don't neglect the write-in on this one.
--[ ] Write-in for how you want to approach this re: explaining how you know about Mr. 0 in the first place, if at all, who to talk to first on this matter (Luffy, Nami, Vivi, etc.). I have veto power.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 0% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to find some places in Mahon-NYC that might be useful for training, crafting, resource acquisition, etc. This can be a shooting range, bookstore, grocery store, hardware store, whatever you may need. Remember to keep an eye on currency. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 60% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 0% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydrokinesis is hard. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is an Aura combat style (note: Aura is different from Haki).
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 0% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. 30% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 70% of Criminal Psychology 1. 20% of Criminal Psychology 2.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 70% of Forensics 0, 10% of Forensics 1.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 30% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge. 50% of Acrobatics 4.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 60% of Swimming 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available) Taylor is taking a hiatus from mundane martial arts for the next several days
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Cold Resistance 6.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 30% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 20% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 40% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 2 40% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 0% of Naturalist 7. 60% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 50% of Repair 4.
-[ ] Carpentry. 30% of Carpentry 4. 0% of Carpentry 5.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 40% of Doctor 2. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 100% of Driving 0. 30% Driving 1. (0/3 to completion of Driver's Ed project)
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 8. 20% of Medicine 5. 20% of Anatomy 5. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 8. (+25 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 100% of Photography 0. 50% of Photography 1. 10% of Photography 2. Low chance of increase in Art.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 10% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 0% of Seaman 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 30% of Survival 5.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 80% of Fishing 5.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 100% of Trapper 0. 60% of Trapper 1.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 50% of Public Speaking 3.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one. 10% of Leadership 2.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 3. 10% of Woodwind Musician 4. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 60% of Acting 4.
-[ ] Disguise. 60% Disguise 4.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action.
Training: Unlisted skills.
The following skills and their derivative skills are blocked as you don't have an appropriate place to train them. Maybe you should work on that, huh?:
none right now
The following skills and their derivative skills are not listed because you have not sought out a way to advance them:
Art, World Issues, various Weapons skills, Barter
Last edited:
2.20: First Stretch 4
I swapped around the days of the New Wave chat and the Vivi chat below. You'll see why when you read the update.
2.20 The First Stretch 4
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Thursday, May 26, 1532
"Gomu Gomu no… War Axe!"
Luffy's foot rockets down. The same attack that destroyed Arlong Park and Nelson Royale's flagship lands, to devastating effect on the target as he deliberately drags his foot along the surface of the adversary, taking care to spread out the damage even if it reduces the impact to individual points.
Chunks of calcified shrapnel spray out as a reward for his efforts, and you can't help but wince a little seeing bits of wood burst off of the Merry's bow and hull- that's yet another thing to repair.
What threat demanded this of Luffy? Did the Marines catch up with you, was it greedy bounty hunters, rival pirates, a Sea King?
Coral. It was coral. An enormous coral reef 'iceberg', the size of a football field, an upper algae-coated layer on the surface collecting energy from the sun, the nutrients redistributed to the larger mass beneath the waves. Looking at it, your Naturalism skill helps you recognize it as Redmove coral.
It'd be easy for someone to ask why the Merry didn't simply avoid the reef. It should have been simple for a caravel with a skilled crew to avoid once it was noticed. But Redmove coral has that name for a reason. It's red, and it's ambulatory. When the Going Merry started to steer out of the way, the coral followed, likely hoping to use the biomatter of the ship as fuel.
Yes. You're still talking about coral here.
You aren't sure if Headway would recognize it as an enemy. You didn't get a chance to try and fight it, if what you're seeing could even be described as a fight. Awaking to the sound of crushing, you practically fell out of your hammock in your haste - to find Luffy and Sanji were already dealing with the problem, and from the sound of your captain's whoops, having a bit of fun at that.
You snap a picture of the impossible, incomprehensible horror. It'll be a neat thing to show Dad when you go back to Bet. Usopp rubs the sleep out of his eyes, yawning out a barely-comprehensible 'good morning', before staring flatly at the increasingly fragmented Redmove. "I hate that stuff like this is becoming something close to normal for me. I'm not even surprised by what I'm seeing anymore"
"I'm sure if you were fully awake, it would terrify you," you offer, your best effort at being comforting. He makes a face at you.
"It's terrifying enough that this nonsense didn't wake me all the way up," he gripes, scratching his hair. "I'm going insane. Only explanation."
In the distance, the two of you can hear a 'Gomu Gomu no.. Stamp!'
You give Usopp a look of mock confusion. "Luffy lets sane people on his crew?"
"Oh, you're a riot."
Morning routine, adjusted for the First Stretch, follows from there. Fishman form, check beneath the keel for any unwanted guests. Your changed shape scares off a school of fish that lived in a symbiotic relationship with the unlamented Redmove - well. Unlamented, besides by the fish who'll have to find a new patron.
Nothing beneath the Merry. After grabbing a piece of Redmove calcium as a souvenir, you surface, and besides a light morning drizzle, there's thankfully nothing exciting from the Grand Line's weather.
You and Usopp spend a while hammering away (the pun stopped being funny to you ages ago) at various points in the ship. A 'minor' hailstorm during the night damaged a decent chunk of the deck, and there are a few spots where substantial repair is needed.
You split your attention between that and various chores around the Merry, your focus not particularly helped by freak twenty-foot waves rocking the Merry unpredictably and disappearing as quickly as they appear. Perhaps why Headway doesn't reward you with any progression in Carpentry.
There's enough wood left for another day's work, but the supply of oakum is functionally empty, and that might be needed for other uses beyond just sealing gaps. You add wood filler to your mental shopping list of items to purchase at a hardware store on Mahon.
–
When you find Sanji, he's lugging a bag of rice from the storeroom, followed by a grumpy looking Mr. 9 with what looks to be a heavier one. By this point, he's stopped bothering to apply the makeup on his face for his '9', and he's left his crown and fancier clothes somewhere else.
If it weren't for the old-timey Mayim clothes he was wearing, he almost looks mundane, like a guy you'd pass on the street in Manhattan or Brockton Bay. The bright red hair stands out, but you've seen people on your homeworld with that color. Miss Wednesday's, not so much.
You wordlessly take the bag from Mr. 9, and, in one hand, you toss it over your shoulder, finding a certain level of satisfaction in the bounty hunter's frustrated gagging sounds as he storms off. "Got a moment, Sanji?"
The cook grins goofily. "'Course. Nami mentioned you'd be heading out, Taylor-chan. Wanted to say goodbye?"
You nod, looking around only a bit nervously, to make sure Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday aren't within hearing distance. "We're keeping my 'trips' secret around our 'guests', right?" you say, voice low.
The grin fades and is replaced by something more serious. "Even Luffy knows to keep quiet. You don't have to worry on that front."
That takes a bit of the concern away. "You have somewhere private for me to transition back and forth, right? I normally would just find a spot in the womens' room and warn Nami beforehand, but you never know when Miss Wednesday might be there, and she's… with Baroque Works. "
Sanji scowls a bit at the name, almost imperceptibly. You guess any pirate worth their pegleg would be annoyed by the existence of bounty hunters.
"Tough to believe such a beautiful lady is with scoundrels like that." You're tempted to tell him about Ingenue as a sort of retort, but it would be like telling a child that their puppy is actually dead, not on a farm upstate. He gestures towards the door. "I'll lock the door. Say it's a cook wanting his privacy."
"Thank you, Sanji."
He actually curtsies. "Anytime, Taylor-swaa-"
"No."
"-san."
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Friday, January 24, 2011
Whoa. Your land legs aren't quite back yet. You've grown accustomed to the constant sway of the Merry, noticeable even on calm seas. You'll be walking wobbly for at least a few minutes, and the nausea from the transition, which you haven't experienced in days, doesn't help.
Rising shakily, you head to the kitchen fridge to leave another note for Dad, pausing when you see one from him. I love you. Please come home safe. Wednesday, 8:47 am.
You scrawl out an I will. I love you too. Friday, 11:38 am on that post-it, before taking a longer scratch of paper, letting him know you'll be back this evening.
Before you prepare to head out to Mahon, you get started on something you'd been meaning to do for a while, but just hadn't had the time for. You've already spoken briefly with Miss Militia, and although you haven't registered officially with the PRT - not wanting to give them more information than they needed on you, leverage that they could use against you if they were feeling unethical, you feel like you have a working relationship with her that you could build on.
But there's another major hero team in Brockton Bay, besides the PRT's Protectorate and the Wards. Well-trained, competent, known regionally and a fixture of the city as a bulwark against the gangs. New Wave.
The short version of the story regarding New Wave: Two families of capes around a decade ago get together, and decide to make a statement on the subject of capes wearing masks, revealing their identities to the public in the hopes of inspiring more trust in superheroes. As you understand it, New Wave (or as they were known then, the Brockton Bay Brigade) was trying to start a movement, one of unmasked capes, accountable to humanity and without the implications of secrecy.
And then one of their own was brutally murdered in their own home by a pathetic skinhead thug looking to score some street cred. The movement strangled in its crib, New Wave settled for being known as a local team of family heroes. Despite the initial stumbling of their intended movement, they're effective as hell. Even a superficial reading of their exploits in recent years will show a hypercompetent, coordinated team, who've single-handedly driven off half the Empire and Lung in fights in the past.
They're accomplished, they have information on the local gangs, which could help you as you begin to close in on the Merchants, and if you're lucky, you could begin exchanging services like superhuman clothing repair or even teaching them some mundane skills. You… aren't sure how you feel about revealing your full power set to people on Bet just yet, but for now, you're going to play it safe by only telling New Wave about the learn-mundane-skills-fast-and-make-them-ridiculous component of your power.
Taking a moment to make sure your VPNs are all set up as they should be - thank you, Computers skill - you then change into your Factota costume, snapping a quick picture against an undecorated wall, giving a wave at the camera next to a copy of the day's newspaper. Hopefully the picture will convince whoever on New Wave's team scans the messages that you're legitimate, and not just a con artist or an ingenious groupie.
You load the picture as an attachment on a disposable Prima account, and use the social media platform to reach out to New Wave's verified profile. Good afternoon. My cape name is Factota. I had my public introduction not too long ago, and I was hoping to reach out and meet New Wave, to exchange information and establish a cordial relationship. Please reach out whenever is most convenient for you!
You stare at the message for a frankly embarrassing amount of time, before clicking send. After that, and trying your best to convince yourself you didn't humiliate yourself with that communication, you grab your Mahon spending money from your bedroom dresser, get changed into a more appropriate outfit for walking Manhattan, and transition over.
Location: Manhattan Island, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mahon, X-Men: Evolution Multiverse, X-Men: Evolution-jcw3
Date: Friday, November 10, 2000
This alley is as disgusting and stinky as it was when you first found it. You give a hard stare towards a territorial rat, idly wondering if that could be a way to train Killing Intent, before deciding against it. At least the alley being as revolting as it is prevents people from traveling down it, even the desperate.
You take the form of a storm petrel, hoping you'll be able to avoid confusing any observant birdwatching groups while you find your way to an information kiosk. It takes you some time, but eventually you find a place to stealthily land and transform.
The help desk assistant takes your question about 'places to buy bulk lumber' in stride, and after double-checking through the phone book, points you to Tommy's Hardware and Lumberwares a few blocks down. Finding a flat, blue-grey warehouse with massive garage doors to enable through traffic, you stride forth.
You're presenting the look of an older woman, maybe mid-twenties. More of a tomboyish vibe, hair deliberately tied into a function-over-form bob, plaid shirt, cargo khakis. The sort of woman who wouldn't be too out of place shopping in a hardware store for bulk lumber for a do-it-yourself project. Headway seems to appreciate the Disguise, and you spot a few easy ways you could have improved the look if you took the time. Stains here, wrinkled in such a way as to suggest extensive use… something to consider for the future.
"Lookin' to buy some bulk lumber. Scrap wood if you've got it, ideally oak." You try to affect a certain persona, get into character. A clerk guides you to the relevant section, and you get a few hundred Mahon dollars worth of scrap oak, more than enough to see the Merry to Foolshout Island with clever rationing. When you ask, you even get some cull lumber they'd been meaning to toss, added on for free.
Another hundred or so goes to buying some basic tools and supplies - tape measurers, a good stock of wood filler, putty knives, squares, dust masks, things of that nature, and there's a deal on a rechargeable saw that seems like a bargain. Usopp can use it to save some muscle power on the harder jobs, and if it runs out of power, he has the regular elbow grease saw. When it runs out, you can just charge it at home on Bet.
It might be useful to buy Usopp some power tools and instruct him in their use. You'd have to focus on rechargeable tools that don't require an outlet, but it's something to consider. He's clever, and you'll be good enough at Teaching soon that he'll probably be able to pick it up quickly enough. Just might be a bit of an expenditure of time and money.
You ask the clerk for a hand truck to take your lumber to 'your pickup', and 'Naw, I'm good' away offers of help. Headway gives you an appreciative tingle as a compliment to your Acting skills.
It takes you a while to find a good spot to hide both yourself and the hand truck full of tied lumber, and a few trips back and forth from the warehouse to an alley, and then from the alley to the Merry. Tedious, but it solves the Merry's lumber shortage for the foreseeable future, and it's possible you'll be able to stock up again on Foolshout when you arrive.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Thursday, May 26, 1532
It's mid-afternoon when you finish bringing over the oak and carpentry supplies (and, obviously, returning the hand truck). Sanji agrees to handle the work of getting the stuff into the storeroom without alerting Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, which takes one stress off of your mind. You get a quick bite to eat - getting all of those supplies in order made you famished.
You arrived back in the middle of a blessedly sunny day - perfect for training. It feels like you have so little time for this nowadays, so many projects, keeping the Merry afloat, taking baby steps towards heroism on Bet, so much to do, so few hours in the day.
Sitting cross-legged near the rear of the ship, you reflect on the Baroque Works ninja that 'tested' you on Warship Island. She never gave you her name, but you'll settle for her power. You still aren't quite sure if 'power' is the right descriptor.
She was… an actual real life ninja. While you're reflecting and all, you may as well reminisce on that ridiculousness. You wonder what her codename would have been. Is there a Ninja Day holiday? It's perhaps a testament to how winded you are because embracing your role as boatswain that a little internal joke like that actually got a tiny chuckle out of you. You aren't even sure if the gendered codenames for women have any internal logic. You have no idea what Miss Wednesday's skillset has to do with… Wednesday.
Whoever she was, Unknown Kunoichi had a form of Magic. The shadows shifted with her, she was able to pull objects from spaces where they seemingly shouldn't have fit - there was something supernatural going on there. The question is what, though?
It seemed like UK was using mundane skills and boosting them slightly through supernatural means, almost like you. Was that why Baroque Works chose her to scout you? Did they draw a comparison between two jills-of-all-trades? She had the stereotypical tools of her craft - knives, smoke bombs, so on. How does that compare to what you know of ninja techniques on Mayim?
Ninjutsu is a known phenomena on Mayim. The closed country of Wano in the New World has had ninjas sneak out and travel abroad, making a name for themselves with false or even true duplication abilities, scrolls that can store objects, temperatures or people in pocket dimensions, among other things. What little you know of ninjutsu is filtered through rumor, and myth, and falsehoods, but you can pluck out grains of truth here and there.
UK didn't seem like New World material, but you have a general idea of the upper limit of ninjutsu, and even if her ability 'only' allowed her to augment mundane skills like your guess suggests, it'd still be more than worth learning if it presents a shortcut to learning those. Your suspicion, possibly unfounded, possibly not, is that you learned a framework, a foundation for something greater, when you defeated that lunatic on Warship Island.
It's a moot point. Despite your best efforts and theorizing, you don't come any closer to actually figuring out how Unknown Kunoichi's almost-certainly-supernatural technique worked. There's the usual feeling like you've gotten a bit closer to a breakthrough, but haven't quite reached it yet, and in the case of whatever UK was doing, it's almost certain to be harder than you'd like.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Friday, January 24, 2011
You transition home after letting Luffy know you're leaving, ready to check your Prima inbox for a message from New Wave, and then maybe wait around for Dad to get back. You're pleasantly surprised by a notification from them.
Yes, we saw your debut on the local news not too long ago! We'd love the chance to meet and discuss some plans for the future. Lady Photon and I will be in the downtown area tonight - would you be comfortable meeting at the Richford Tower, eighth floor, around 7:30? The receptionist will be expecting you - no need to worry about that. - Brandish, New Wave
You send a quick message to her letting you know that that would work perfectly for you, before letting out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding. Some good news on that front. You try to distract yourself. Is Dad home just yet? You've been assuming not, but - you listen for sounds from downstairs - yes! He is. In the kitchen. It's about dinner time anyway!
You're too naturally stealthy for him to notice you coming down the stairs, and he's distracted anyway, so when you do emerge into the kitchen, he's caught a bit off guard. "Taylor!" he exclaims, leaning back in surprise. "You're- you're really alright!"
Ouch. "Yeah. I'm.. sorry I made you worry."
"It-" he shakes his head. "I don't even know where to begin with how I've been feeling the past few days on that front. But that's besides the point. Are you alright?"
You nod. "It's getting better. The First Stretch was really scary at first, but we're getting used to it. I'm a better bosun than when we started, and only improving"
He gives you a funny look, a goofy, too-wide smile on his face. "You're a bosun?"
You frown. "Yeah. Why?"
He adjusts a dial on the stove. "Just not what I expected since I heard my daughter got superpowers, that she'd wind up a bosun, of all things. But I've been having thoughts along those lines ever since you told me about Headway."
You take that in. "I… I'm sorry that I've been worrying you. I know we've talked about this before, but… I feel the need to say it."
He makes an expression that's somewhere between a grimace and a soft smile. "No helping it. You're growing up. I just wish it wasn't happening so damn fast, or in such a damn weird way." He gives you a belated hug, which you return. "Want some dinner? I'm no super cook, but I can try my best."
"That would be great," you beam at him. "I missed you."
Dad reaches over and ruffles your hair. "Come on. I'll need your help to make dinner. You can catch me up on things while we work."
It's nice. Dad's almost a bit disappointed to hear you asking about mundane things at work, and partway through, you realize why. It's depressing. Sixty jobs available, eighty guys in need of work. Shifting things around, cold calling employers, never getting enough done. You aren't sure what you can do about that as you are now, not without overexposing yourself and probably endangering yourself and Dad, but it's unlikely that you'll ever stop thinking about it.
His mood is both raised and worsened when you start telling him about the First Stretch. There's a certain fantastical whimsy attached to the idea of moving coral, for instance, and he gawks at your sample, but then you can tell he starts to absorb the fact that this creature - more of a collective of alike creatures, really - the size of a football field wanted to eat you, your crew, and your ship.
And that's to say nothing of the 'normal' climatic hazards, whatever role Baroque Works will eventually play, and… well. You'd be worried in his shoes, too. All you can do is give him proof that you're rising to the occasion.
"I told you I'm meeting New Wave this evening, right?"
He practically chokes on his tea. "Are you serious?!"
You smile. "Yeah. I reached out to them on Prima earlier."
He stares at his empty plate. The two of you have been talking for a while. It's only about forty-five minutes until your rendezvous with Brandish and Lady Photon. "Well… good luck, I guess?" Dad chuckles nervously. "There's so much going on in your life that I no longer have a framework for. That meeting's just one of them."
You wish you knew what to say to that. "I love you. And I'm glad I can come home and… just have somewhere to relax."
His expression changes, and he takes a moment to respond. "Yeah. I'm glad about that, too." He purses his lips as he thinks. "I love you, Taylor. Please stay safe."
"I will," you say, in what you hope is a convincing tone of voice.
–
You take a shearwater form and make your way over to the Richford Tower, around ten minutes early for your 7:30 appointment with New Wave. Finding a secluded spot with no cameras or watchful eyes, you instantaneously take human form, having already changed into your Factota outfit.
A few people on the street give you looks, one enterprising woman snaps a picture of you with her phone, and you give a polite wave, before entering the building. Sure enough, the receptionist recognizes you, and walks you to a hidden elevator away from the Richford lobby. Thankfully, since people were staring, and you were starting to feel a bit self-conscious.
The elevator leads you to the eighth floor, and you thank the clerk before you stride forward into a hallway. You find a small conference room overlooking the business district, not at the highest level of the city skyline, but high enough that you feel a bit intimidated. You've been at the top of Brockton Bay's taller buildings before, tourist attractions your parents brought you to when you were very young, or places you went with Emma and her family, but this is an entirely different context.
Your trepidation about the meeting is strong enough that, despite your early arrival, you move slowly enough only make it to the conference room right as Lady Photon and Brandish arrive. They give you a wave and a professional smile respectively.
Brandish stretches out a hand towards you. She's pretty. All of New Wave look almost like TV actors, carefully manicured appearances, skillfully applied makeup whenever they expect to make public appearances - even for the guys in some cases.
Her costume is a white bodysuit with a central orange logo, decorative lines of the same material extending out over the outfit. Her blonde hair is cut short, and split down the middle, a perfect symmetrical functional hardo. You meet her eyes through your own mask, hers an almost bug-like hybrid between a visor and sunglasses.
You return the handshake, trying to maintain a firm enough grip to stay respectable, while also not being rude and crushing her hand. "Brandish. A pleasure to meet you."
Mask hiding your face, you bow your head respectfully, before raising it. "Factota. Likewise."
Lady Photon is next. Like Brandish's, her costume is a white bodysuit with a central logo - a purple starburst - with lines of the same color extending from it. Her hair is parted to the side, and if you were forced to look quickly at the two of their faces and differentiate them, that might be the only way you could have done it. Lipstick a similar shade, hair color the same, costumes are a close fit.
Brandish gestures towards the conference room, and you all take a seat around a table meant for six, the New Wavers sitting next to each other on one side, and you across from them. "Well, I suppose I should start by saying - I love your costume," Lady Photon smiles.
Her sister does the same. "My daughter was gushing about it when she saw the news report," Brandish remarks. Either Panacea or Glory Girl loves your costume? That's… wow. "She has a school project right now, otherwise she might have come to this meeting."
You bow your head again. "Thank you! I made it with my power. I was hoping to go for a look that appeared heroic, but outside of the establishment or any corporate teams." The word you were thinking at the time was 'renegade', but you aren't sure you want to use that specific word when trying to make yourself seem heroic.
Brandish gives a teasing smile. "Yes, you wouldn't want to look like any of those shady corporate teams."
"Who knows what skeletons they have in their closet," Lady Photon adds lightly.
Oh no. Your face burns. "I… that's not-"
"I know, dear. We're just teasing."
"I'll admit I could have phrased that a bit better," you say, raising your hands in submission, cringing inwardly.
Brandish waves it off. "Nothing to apologize for. Now, you said you made that with your power?"
"Yes. I'd like to keep some things close to the vest, if you don't mind, but the simple version of it - I learn skills fast, and I eventually get them 'leveled'-" you do air quotes, "-to superhuman levels. So, I studied sewing and fashion to get to a point where I could casually make a costume like this, even out of substandard materials."
"That's an ability almost tailor-made for being a rogue." You're embarrassed to say - you thought Lady Photon was saying your name for a moment there, and had a brief moment of panic.
"There are a lot of financial possibilities with that power," Brandish agrees. "It's noble that your conclusion when you got your powers was to use that power selflessly."
"Thank you," you say, meaning it. New Wave has been a fixture of Brockton Bay as long as you've been aware of the concept of capes. Receiving compliments like this from New Wave… you feel good. It makes you want to prove yourself worthy of that trust.
"So the question now," Brandish says, "Is where you want to begin with your heroic career. New Wave, of course, isn't recruiting, but we are absolutely open to partnerships, cooperation and collaboration with local heroes. It's part of why we got back to you so quickly. It's critical that we stay on the same page with our allies when it comes to what we do."
You nod wordlessly, trying to take in what she's saying. "Do you have a plan of attack for your hero career? Pardon my saying this, I don't mean to be rude, but as far as I can tell, you've only been preparing for it thus far. How will you get started?"
"I was planning to start small-ish," you reply. "I've got superhuman skill in training my body, and that means I have, essentially, a low-level Brute-Mover rating. Some martial arts mastery, stealth training, that sort of thing. I've made some good progress across the board in that kind of general training. Enough that I'm comfortable going after some of the minor gangs."
The mood in the room becomes a bit more serious. "Who were you thinking?" Brandish asks.
"The Crook Club and the Merchants. I'm unsure as to which is an easier target, and wanted to do some more research, get my investigative 'skills'-" air quotes again, "-up before I went after them in earnest."
Lady Photon glances over at Brandish, who hasn't looked away from you. "Well. That might be a problem," Brandish says. "The Crook Club are gone from town."
What? "Really? I knew they were under pressure from the Empire, but I thought that had died down?"
Brandish shakes her head. "It's a moot point now, but I can give you a general description of the situation, if you're interested."
Well, that's not what you were expecting to hear. You nod. Might as well try to get something out of this. "Yes, please."
"This all started when the Crook Club accidentally did a job against an Empire front. Empire retaliated with a few scuffles in the street, and Bezzy - their real leader, the individual-negotiations thinker, tried to make a deal with Kaiser, to pay back the money stolen and make amends for the damages. He accepted at first, but reneged on the deal several weeks later. There were some sporadic battles between the Club and the Empire, where the Club was initially able to escape and regroup, but Kaiser was eventually able to attack in force.
Bezzy is dead. Kaiser killed her personally. Tommy Gun, maimed, by either Hookwolf, Fenja or Menja, maybe a mix of the three. We aren't sure - he was in a pretty bad state when the Protectorate arrived on the scene, and I'm mostly basing this off of their report. Enforcer was pretty badly hurt, too. They're both in a secure hospital for villain arrestees somewhere. Cardinal and Enterprise fled the city, to parts unknown."
"I… wasn't aware of that."
"The PRT prefers gang wars like that stay hidden. The more attentive cape observers might have noticed some Protectorate activity and loud noises in that area a few weeks ago, but it's not in the PRT's interests for the public to be able to pay too much attention to how bad things really are, in spite of their and our best efforts."
You look off into the distance. "Depressing."
"Yes," Brandish agrees. "But that's what we're here for, isn't it? To be the lights in the darkness."
"Your idea of going after the Merchants is sound," Lady Photon says. "They're slippery, and they aren't as obvious a problem as Lung, Coil, or the Empire. They tend to keep out of the spotlight, their crimes nuisance-level. Relatively speaking, of course."
"Relatively speaking," Brandish nods. "We have a few general areas where we know the Merchants tend to operate. Baerck, Cammell, Boar Avenue. We don't often fight them - the larger gangs of the city tend to draw our focus when we see them."
The matriarch of the Dallon branch reaches over to a small yellow notepad on the table and scrawls down a list of streets and addresses, then tearing a sheet off and handing it to you. "Here. The PRT and Protectorate don't often patrol these areas, but these are areas where we've noticed suspicious activity on our fly-bys. Some of them could be nothing, but some could lead you down the right path."
"Thank you!" you say, with a bit more enthusiasm than you expected. "This is great to have, really!"
Brandish smiles. "Think nothing of it. We'll have to circle back in a few weeks, exchange notes. Hopefully after you get a nice headline about the arrests of some of the Merchants."
"I wish I had more information to repay you with." You worry that telling them about the warehouse on Baerck where you saw Skidmark meeting with his dealers will see yourself receiving criticism for breaking the unwritten rules, even if you did it unintentionally. New Wave was theoretically founded against the principles of secret identities, but… it's probably a whole can of worms to bring up in any case. "If you'd like, in the future, I can help you with costume repair, design. I'm working on raising my teaching 'skill', I might be able to teach things like first aid, hand to hand, stuff like that."
Their expressions grow a bit more strained. "Now… Factota, I'm sorry to bring this up, and I hope it doesn't sound accusatory, but are you registered with the PRT?"
"Um-" you start, hating yourself as soon as the filler leaves your mouth. The question caught you off guard. "Not yet. I've been putting it off. I don't… bureaucracy and I have a bad past," you say, and it sounds like a lame excuse, even as it's close to the truth. You hate this. You feel so out of place and amateurish.
"I don't mean to poke at any wounds here. But," Brandish grimaces. "Here's the thing. Have you heard of Teacher?"
You stare at her. "Yes. He's a villain. In the Birdcage," you say, and your defensiveness must be obvious in your tone, because Brandish holds up her hands as if to ward off your anger.
"I don't mean to insult you or call you a villain. But here's the problem that happened with Teacher. He initially presented himself as a rogue, a cape who wasn't necessarily a hero or villain, and would sell his services to both sides. He had a successful business… until it was revealed that he was mind-controlling his customers. That the so-called 'Taught' were actually his thralls. I don't mean to be blunt, or hostile, but any parahuman out there has reason to be suspicious of a thinker who claims to be able to Teach skills."
What the fuck? How? That… that's such an unfair comparison to make! You're just really good at teaching! That's all!
You shift uncomfortably in your seat, stewing in that thought, the instinctive anger at being compared to Teacher, of all fucking people, before you eventually speak up. The mask hides your features, but you're almost worried your body language will give you away.
"I… I understand your concern. I hadn't made the connection between my abilities and Teacher's, myself."
"That's understandable. He hasn't been in the public eye for a long time. It's reasonable that he might not come to mind. But there are a lot of things capes have to keep an eye out for. If you register with the PRT, if you submit to power testing and their scientists confirm that everything there is above board, no mind control or enthralling effects - we would love to have you training us. It would save a lot of time, it would make our lives more convenient."
Brandish continues. "We just can't take the risk of your powers working similarly to Teacher's. Even if you have only good intentions, you're, I presume, a newer cape, and don't really know the full extent of how your power works. Frequently, things like this take time to show themselves."
You meet her eyes again. "I'll try to make time to start that process. I… I really do want to help, in any way I can. I want to get out there and start making the world a better place."
"The world would be better off if more people thought like you," Brandish says.
Lady Photon interjects. "I know my sister can be a bit cautious, and, well, I love you, Carol, but… intense-"
"I am not," Brandish retorts, but there's a smile on her face.
"-but I really hope that this doesn't dishearten you. We aren't saying you're a villain, or that we won't work with you. I'm with my sister on this - we just can't risk exposing our family to those kinds of powers without being reasonably certain that it's safe."
Reasonably certain? Well. There's no one hundred percent sure with parahuman powers.
"Thank you," you say. This meeting feels like it's run its course, you doubt they wanted a long meeting anyway. You stand. "I will reach out in the future. My goal is to begin investigative work against the Merchants in… shortly," you say. With all of your projects and responsibilities, you don't feel comfortable giving an exact date, but that doesn't help with your feeling unhappy about being unable to give them a concrete time.
The two of them also stand. "I wish you nothing but the best of luck," Brandish says. "Do you mind if I have that paper back, just for a second?"
You hand her the yellow notepad paper, and she writes down a string of numbers. "This is a specialized phone number we use. If you're ever in a catastrophic situation, or you see a situation where you feel like you could use some help, call this number. I can't guarantee that we'll be there any faster than the PRT or the Protectorate, but we'll do our best to get to you."
"Thank you," you say, not for the first time in the evening. You almost feel like a charity case they're keeping at arms length. That Teacher comparison… you're going to try not to dwell on that. You can't help but feeling resentful about it.
The three of you exchange goodbyes, and you head home, saying good night to Dad, before transitioning back to Mayim and spending the night. No catastrophes while you were gone, thank God.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Friday, May 27, 1532
At least you don't wake up to the sound of explosions this morning. By Straw Hat standards, it could be a boring day.
Chores go as usual - you and Usopp manage to make the most of the new tools and lumberware. 'This is so cool!' is a very worrying thing to hear a teenage boy say about an electric saw. You're terrified Usopp is going to accidentally cut off his own nose or something.
"No, I mean it, Taylor, this is great! You know how many days I spent before you joined with my arms all sore from that freaking saw?" he giggles boyishly and pats the side of the saw affectionately. "This is a lifechanger!"
You smile. "I'm glad you're happy with it. Feeling any more confident about your carpentry with that?"
He fondly strokes the power tool - alright, it's getting more than a little weird now. "Absolutely! Thanks again for showing me those tricks, and how to use this thing. That wood filler stuff is way more convenient than oakum."
"Anytime. Headway appreciated it, to-"
There's a rumble in the distance. The ocean ascends in a way they don't normally, even during the worst Grand Line storms, and it's clear skies now. There's a uniformity to it that terrifies you. It takes you less than a second to draw the connection. "Monster!" you shout, at the top of your lungs, bear vocal cords letting your voice carry further, even into the depths of the ship. Usopp whimpers a little, clutching the rechargeable saw and clumsily pressing the ON button.
Zoro's the first one you spot rising to the occasion, but Sanji and Luffy aren't far behind. "Do you see it, Taylor-chan?" Sanji asks. You're relieved they trust you immediately, but now you're worried you were wrong about it.
"That wave-" you begin, but Zoro cuts you off.
"It was one change. One motion. Massive, a kilometer wide as far as I can tell," he looks out at the ocean warily. He's right. Rude, but right.
Sanji cautions a glance over the railing, while Luffy leans back, looking inappropriately bored. "I can't see anything. Water's too dark."
"Means it's either a really big Sea King way down below or a smaller Sea King close to the surface," Zoro agrees, the two of them on the same page for once.
Right after the Merry returns to a regular sea level, the wave receding almost calmly, the five of you lose your balance abruptly as another wave hits, this one bigger than the last, originating from a different spot to the west. Putting on your best boatswain voice, you yell out "Emergency positions!"
The crew follows your command, taking to the sails. Nami and Miss Wednesday finally burst out from the women's room, glancing in every direction as they try to catch up on the situation. Mr. 9 emerges from the storeroom, looking in your direction. "What's going on? Are we under attack?"
"There's a mystery monster!" Luffy calls out.
"Oh, that's helpful!"
Let's see… it came from there, and then changed over to there - "Hard starboard!" you call out, as you realize what's about to happen. Just as the Merry starts picking up wind, another wave hits, bigger, heavier than the last, reinforcing and overtaking the second wave. It catches the ship in its grasp, and lurches it to the side, almost tipping it over all the way. Almost everyone loses their balance or at least their grip.
Usopp, who still has the fucking saw going, yelps as he flies towards you, clumsily dropping the saw as it launches in your direction! You catch it and press the power button in one deft motion, before grabbing him by the back of his suspenders, and from the yelp, you realize you accidentally tightened them a bit hard.
You can apologize later, because for now Nami and Miss Wednesday are clinging to the railing! Giant albatross form taken, you swoop down and grab the both of them in your talons, abruptly shifting a terrified Usopp to your back, and as you do, the ship rights itself and the wave passes.
Dropping the three of them off, you stand by while a few more minutes pass and no waves come. That's it. A gigafauna beneath the waves, just passing by in the course of its regular life, probably just bobbing up and down casually, and it nearly killed three people. Anticlimactic and unnerving all in one, that there are creatures that can kill you accidentally, without having even seen you or your having offended them.
You allow yourself a chance to rest, and the rest of the Merry's passengers take that as an invitation to relax themselves. The saw, to your relief, did not fall overboard after you just bought it yesterday, and you hand it back to Usopp with a warning, before letting him know you're going to your homeworld for a while. Seeking out a spot you've secured in the storeroom for this very purpose, you change worlds.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Saturday, January 25, 2011
New Hampshire requires those under sixteen aspiring for a driver's license to take a tedious, time-consuming online course that slowly and methodically goes over every possibility they may face on the road. It's optional if you're over sixteen and have a hundred hours of driving experience signed by multiple adults, or if you're eighteen, but for you, you'll likely have to pass this course to be able to sit for the test in June when you're sixteen.
It's the mundane skill of mundane skills, but it's the sort of thing that could come in handy. The course isn't what you would describe as difficult, but it is annoying. It feels like a waste of your time, busywork designed by some bureaucraft just to tick boxes, and you're frustrated the entire time.
You're sitting through videos that you sometimes can't speed up (you can do that for ninety percent of them, but for some reason, maybe one in ten won't let you). The interface is outdated, sometimes links don't work, you have to click to the right of a button to advance rather than on the button itself - like you said. Annoying.
The whole experience sucks, but the information itself is valid, and Headway seems to find it an easy skill to work with. In about an hour and a half of studying, you manage to reach the level of a typical fifteen year-old who's spent maybe thirty hours on the road, without having ever been behind the wheel. That, in and of itself, is almost good enough to pass the exam in June, but you still have to finish the stupid course before you can do that. You could probably finish the entire thing tomorrow if you put your mind to it.
Whatever. You're tired of looking at the state's interface. You've been meaning to study engineering a bit more - it could act as a springboard for understanding tinkertech from Bet and Mahon. If it was so easy to understand tinkertech by being a good engineer, the world would look a lot different, but you can't imagine it would hurt, and having this skill is inherently a good thing.
You're sure Headway would agree with your decision, but unfortunately, the online videos and courses you're reviewing don't sink in all that well, and you don't feel like you've hit any sort of milestone. Progress made, certainly, but not capital-p progress.
A bit let down, you-
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Friday, May 27, 1532
-return to Mayim. Even from the storeroom, buried underneath wood and a tarp behind some barrels, you can hear a blizzard pummeling the Merry. "Fuck," you swear under your breath.
Rushing upstairs, you arrive in the midst of one of the worst snowstorms you've ever experienced. You count your blessings that the sea didn't have time to freeze or develop an icy layer, and that you 'only' have to deal with the heavy snow pounding the caravel.
"Shovel!" you shout at Mr. 9, who's panickedly shoveling snow overboard. A look of relief on his face, he tosses the shovel your way, and, using more martial arts training than you'd expect, start clearing the deck expeditiously. Sanji had a similar idea to you, you can tell - he's just kicking it overboard. Luffy scoops it up with rubber limbs that can cover a third of the ship in mere moments. Zoro is asleep. Somehow.
The snowfall begins to dampen, and after a very hectic half-hour (longer for the rest of the Straw Hats, you imagine), you finally see an end to the blizzard. Phew. Even with your Cold Resistance, you're chilly- and right as you think that, you no longer are. Another growth in Cold Resistance, making you as resistant to the cold as it's possible for a human to be.
"Where the hell were you?" Mr. 9 demands, eyes wide.
You give him a quick glance as you scrape off the railing. "Sorry. Was asleep in the storeroom. It's my happy place."
"You-" he makes a frustrated verbalization, before grumbling and walking away. You take a minute to rest against the railing next to Zoro, absent-mindedly brushing some accumulated snow off of the swordsman's head. He opens one eye and gives you an annoyed look, and you snort.
You stretch a bit as you rise from your relaxation, spotting Miss Wednesday working on the crew's laundry out on the deck. From the looks of it, just getting started, thankfully. Yeah, that… you've been putting this off for a while too long. You think for a while, and make a beeline for the women's room.
Nami's cross-referencing some of her notes with one of the books from the shelf when you enter the room and shut the door behind you. Her eyes flicker over to you, and she leans back in her chair, accepting the opportunity for a reprieve.
You start the conversation with some small talk. "Should I be worried about the weather playing games with us?"
She starts to shake her head, but then seemingly thinks better of it. "Ah… well, I don't think it's as much of a concern as when we started on the Grand Line. But I wouldn't want you to disappear for days, if that's what you're asking."
You smile. "Don't plan to leave entirely. Just maybe half a day from now on, sometimes a bit more."
That could still be life or death for the Straw Hats as they are now, but your default will be to train on the Merry if it's an option. It'll have to do. Regardless, you'll be supporting them as much as you're capable. "That's a relief," she says, dog-earing the page she's on before closing the book. "You have a serious look on your face. Is something wrong? Yest-"
"It's not that," you reply, maybe a bit too quickly. "Really," you insist, when she looks skeptical. "It's about Miss Wednesday."
Nami grimaces. "I've told her about her the snoring probl-"
"Not that. It's… something else. I kind of talked to Luffy about it back at Twin Cape, but I didn't tell him the full story because of how I know."
She lets out a little exhalation. "The comic?" she says quietly.
"To an extent. I've found some evidence here, on Mayim, and I really do think it's importa-"
She raises a hand. "Stop acting like you have to be nervous around me," she sighs, saying it gently but firmly.
You look down, mustering the willpower to not instinctively say 'sorry'. "It's the kind of thing that would put the crew at risk, but I think we're already sort at risk. From Baroque Works, I mean."
Nami makes a face. "That ninja girl. Our houseguests."
"Yeah. I have more details about Miss Wednesday, in particular. Details that might impact the whole crew. I'd talk to Luffy about it, but it… it involves more spoilers than I'd be comfortable bringing up with him."
She thinks for a moment. "I'd suggest we talk to Sanji, but he's got a freaky blindspot when it comes to women. Do you know where Zoro is?"
Sleeping against the railing on the deck. Where else? You almost literally drag the uncomfortable, protesting swordsman to the women's room - apparently 'we need to talk in private' is unclear to him - but thankfully neither Mr. 9 or Miss Wednesday seem to care. Both are inured to the Straw Hats' antics by now.
"Hey, you!" he says to Nami, a bit more loudly than you'd like. "What's the big idea? Using her as your errand girl to fetch me-"
"It's important, Zoro," she says, cutting him off. "Remember the spoilers chat? On Twin Cape?"
There's something about the way she says that implies that the Straw Hats discussed that conversation when you weren't around. You could take a week and not be able to describe the ways the thought of that makes you feel, or why it makes you feel those ways.
"...oh." His almost frothing annoyance recedes, and he gives you a thoughtful look. You meet it. "Something big?"
"Mmhmm. Our captain forbade spoilers. He doesn't want the comic deciding our course towards Raftel. I get that. But this is important to me." You hate feeling like this. Every word spews out - you want to put intent into it, but there's that niggling thought - will this be what alienates them? Will this be what makes them see you in a different light? You do your best to silence those thoughts.
Zoro and Nami are silent, so you let it out. "Miss Wednesday's real name is Vivi Nefertari. She's the princess of Alabasta."
Nami's eyes boggle, while Zoro just lets out a low whistle. "Where's Alabasta?" Zoro asks.
Are they serious? Huh. You think they are. "Big country in the Grand Line. Their princess went missing a while back, she looks suspiciously similar to Miss Wednesday, to the point where I'm wondering how she even managed to infiltrate at all. One of my skills - World Events - it lets me know these things about the royals of the more prominent countries in the world. And this isn't just my theory - there was a reveal in the comic along those lines, too." You let them absorb that, heart pounding just a bit. "And so far, the comic's been pretty close."
"How's this our problem?" Zoro replies. "Some spoiled royal gets bored going to balls or whatnot, decides it'd be fun to become a bounty hunter. You said this was something that was putting us in danger."
"Getting to that," you say, again, a bit too quickly for your liking. "Baroque Works - their boss, Mr. 0, he's aiming to create some sort of utopia. We've all met people from Baroque Works, I think we can all agree that their idea of a utopia would be really, really shitty. They're going to do something to Alabasta. The ninja that attacked you and me-" you gesture towards Nami, "-she mentioned that Baroque Works was going to be operating in a desert climate. Alabasta is a desert country."
You continue. "Mr. 0's going to attack Alabasta. At some point in the near future, most likely. They know that Miss Wednesday is Princess Vivi, and that her bodyguard has also infiltrated them. I only know that because of the manga, but I'd bet almost anything-" you try to ignore Nami perking up at that, "-that they know that in real life, too."
"I want to fight Baroque Works. They're bad people, they're trying to make the world a worse place. I, um, I know that this is a lot to ask the crew to agree to - Miss Wednesday, Vivi, she's a stranger." You look at your crewmates, hoping you don't look as desperate as you feel, getting all of this out.
"They're almost guaranteed to be a challenge, Zoro. We've only met the weaker ones so far, but the ninja that attacked me told me they control several routes. You don't control bits of Paradise if you aren't strong in at least some respects." Nami now. "And obviously a Princess would pay us a lot of money if we saved her kingdom."
Zoro and Nami exchange a stare, both with hard looks on their face. Oh no. Come on. Please. "I-"
Zoro holds up his hand. "You're forgetting something."
Your heart sinks. "W-what am I forgetting?" Fuck. You stuttered. You actually stuttered.
He doesn't break eye contact. "You're a member of the Straw Hat pirates, and Baroque Works attacked you. This conwoman-" Nami looks bizarrely happy at that compliment, "-was attacked too, for whatever that's worth." Not happy anymore, she gives him an annoyed look. "Baroque Works fucked with us. Luffy's not the sort to brood over vengeance, and I doubt he's said anything outright about it… but their fate was sealed the minute that lousy ninja tried to kill you."
…oh. "I didn't… I didn't think… or know about that."
"You don't value yourself enough, Taylor," Nami sighs. She stares at the walls of the women's room. "The fact that you didn't even think to mention that one of Baroque Works literally tried to kill you- agh."
You… didn't think of that. It almost feels like it would have been selfish, to ask your teammates to take revenge on your behalf. "That's not why I want to stop them, though," you say, under your breath.
Zoro lets out a little laugh. "'To be a Hero'. So that's what it looks like."
Your face burns. "Bringing that up?"
"It's not an insult," he says, leaning back against the wall, a smile resting on his face. "It's good."
The three of you are silent for a moment. "So what now?" you ask. "I was thinking… maybe we could prime her? Tell her about what the Straw Hats have done? Stopping Don Krieg? The Trump Siblings? Kuro?" You try to be tasteful and not mention Arlong. You don't see any changes on Nami's face, so maybe you were successful.
Nami snorts. "Taylor, I love you, but you are not nearly subtle enough to succeed at that."
Wow, your face is really on fire. Does this count as Kachi Kachi training? It really should. Zoro shakes his head. "You're too earnest. If you go to dinner and start talking about heroic deeds or whatnot, she's going to suspect something's up the minute you open your mouth. You need a heartless manipulative harpy to pull something like that off." He gestures at Nami, who takes that comment a lot more in stride than you might have in her shoes.
You grimace. "I'd rather not manipulate her."
Nami's smile is… a bit worrying. "Taylor. We would never manipulate her. I'll tell you what. You, me, Zoro, her Majesty… before bed, we'll talk about this like adults, come to an agreement. Discuss payment terms, things like that."
Paym-? Zoro interrupts your train of thought. "Leave me out of this. I don't want to be your muscle in the background. You two can have your girl talk with Miss Wednesday on your own. When we need to fight these strong guys, then you'll need my help."
He leaves, and Nami turns to you. "It's almost time for dinner. Just act normal for now, and then when the three of us are ready for night rest, we'll have a conversation."
–
"Okay, what's up with you?" Miss Wednesday demands of you the moment the three of you are alone. "You were sneaking me glances all dinner! I don't swing that way, especially not for pirates!"
Nami sighs. What? You blink. "That's not-"
The navigatrix raises a hand, and you stop talking. Miss Wednesday gives you an incredulous look. "You're worth fourteen million beri, and you shut up when the navigator says so?"
To her credit, Nami doesn't betray any sign of annoyance at that. You reply, tersely, on her behalf, "She's my friend. And she's offering good advice. I was about to get sidetracked."
The bluenette - seriously, that's a very striking, distracting color scheme, and the fact that it's entirely natural makes you oddly fascinated - gives you an almost performatively studious look, as if she was trying to make herself above it all, smug, unaffected. "Sidetracked from what?"
"I think you need our help," you say. "And I think you know why."
The smugness fades almost instantly. "Explain," she says, shortly, testily, staring you down.
"I was scouted by Baroque Works a few weeks ago," you explain. "Ninja woman. I don't know her name."
"Nezu. She's a creep. We're… acquainted," Vivi says, distastefully. Ah. You can finally stop calling her Unknown Kunoichi.
"That was the impression I got from her too," you agree. Nami nods. "So, anyway. She was scouting me. She said because of my Devil Fruit and my achievements in the East Blue, I'd be a candidate for a frontier agent position."
"Your first bounty was fourteen million beri. I'm not surprised. She didn't know you were actually a pirate." She's trying to take control of the conversation back, present an image of strength. She's mentioned your bounty twice. You wonder if she's been using your crew's bounties as a psychological anchor of sorts.
"She said that since I was going to have a high rank anyway, that I should know that I'd be doing a lot of work in a 'desert climate'." Vivi's face falls. "'Nezu' mentioned a Boss, but she didn't say much else about him. I didn't think much of this at the time, but I pay attention to world events. I know about the important royal families, and when they go missing. Especially when you take a look back at previous editions of the newspaper, and notice from interviews that the royal guard captain has stepped away as well."
Vivi stares at you, mouth parted. "What are you trying to say?" she says, taking a step back.
Do you have her? You can't tell, but you're damn sure going to try. "Your kingdom is in trouble, Princess Vivi." An intake of breath. "Baroque Works is targeting it, and we both know they don't have good intentions. I don't know what you were planning, joining them, but if Nezu's representative, they aren't good people. And I think if they have the chance, they'll hurt, even destroy your country, to get whatever it is they want."
"They've already come after us, and now that I've beaten Nezu, I don't think they're going to stop coming after us until we're all dead." You take a step forward, reaching out a hand. "I want to help you. I think you want help, because I think you know exactly what I'm talking about, exactly what Baroque Works is going to do to your country. And if I figured out what you're doing, your highness, I bet this Boss has too."
Vivi laughs weakly. "You just have everything all figured out, don't you, Escape Artist?"
"Taylor. It's Taylor."
Her lips quiver as she looks down. When she sees her hands, she lets out a full body shudder as she realizes they're shaking. Steeling herself, she looks back at you. It's a different look than the affected smugness from before. "Then I'm Vivi. Not, not around Mr. 9. Around him I'm still Miss Wednesday. I don't… Miss Wednesday. Let's stick with Miss Wednesday for now. I don't- gah. I really thought this would work."
You feel a surge of hope. "Does this mean-" she seizes up, and you stop short.
"Igaram," she says, weakly at first, but she steels herself again. "We- we have to go to Whiskey Peak. He might be in danger."
Nami pipes up. "Who's Igaram? The guard captain?" You're glad she was the one to ask there. She actually doesn't know, unlike you.
She looks reluctant, but the cat's out of the bag now. "My bodyguard. He's stationed at Whiskey Peak. On Cactus Island. It's our - Baroque Works' - village. Mr. 9 and I were going to bring the whale's meat back there as provisions."
You wonder how that would even work, logistically. There can't be a ship in the world big enough to haul all of it, and you don't remember them having a substantial seafaring craft- not the important thing right now.
Nami begins to take over the conversation. "We don't have a log pose for Cactus. Only Foolshout."
Vivi looks crestfallen. "Then-"
"The Den Den Mushi? Can we get out a warning?" you interject. You stole it from the Marines who attacked you at Reverse Mountain, and haven't used it since.
The princess's eyes widen. "Yes - Igaram and I have a private snail on Whiskey Peak. I can call and warn him ahead of time. Please - let me-"
"Yes, of course-" you begin, idly realizing you don't even know how to 'operate' a Den Den Mushi, but Nami interrupts you.
"That's a Marine snail. How do we know the Eighth Branch won't just be listening to your call, taking notes, triangulating our location?"
Vivi shakes her head, almost tiredly explaining. "Baroque Works uses modified Marine Den Den Mushi as part of its day to day business. Mr. 0 is tied to the World Government. All he has to do is make the snails 'sing' a little bit differently, and… no problems. Maybe if the Marines were insanely lucky, if they had black snails monitoring every possible frequency and having a team filter through it, they'd pick it up. It's unlikely. You'd wind up picking up so much junk, that you'd have to have an absolute fanatic of a Marine commander in the right place at the right time, with the right team recording it."
Smoker's pretty fanatical. Apparently the same thought occurred to Nami. "Well, we've got one of those real workaholics coming after us. Captain Smoker, ever heard of him?" She asks.
Vivi lets out a gagging noise. "Captain Smoker! From Loguetown! A-are you serious? And… you've encountered him?"
"Escaped twice," you reply. "We aren't pushovers, Vivi."
"Right. Right. Of course." She mutters out those replies under her breath, before looking over at Nami. "In that case, Miss Nami, could you please allow me the use of your snail?"
Nami gives her a hard look, and a very, very brief look of exasperation in your general direction. "Good grief. If Taylor's wrong to trust you, and you try to call in an attack on us, you'll regret it, you know that, right? And we'll need to discuss snailular rates afterwards."
Vivi laughs, giving Nami a side eye. "Miss Taylor's made it clear to me that there's a far scarier guy than you or even Captain Smoker coming after me, and probably Igaram."
Who? You don't answer before Vivi starts massaging one of the snail's eyestalks in a certain way, before fiddling with the wires, and only then beginning to turn the dial. The snail's worryingly humanlike lips let out a dry, monotone 'pu-ru-pu-ru-pu-ru' dial tone as the call begins to go through.
"I've gotta wait eight rings to leave a message," she explains. "It's unlikely he's availab-"
The call is answered at the third ring. She freezes up in worry. "I was wondering when you get around to calling-" A deep male voice, almost mocking. "-Princess Vivi."
That's… you don't think that's- Vivi lets out a quiet 'oh no', almost dropping the communicator in panic. You reach over to help her, but she manages to clumsily grab hold of it again, pressing a button on the side. "M-Mr. 5? Who's Princess Vivi?"
Fuck. You remember him. He can pull off pieces of his body to generate bioorganic explosions. His partner's codenamed Miss Valentine. A woman with a limited personal gravity effect, changing between one and ten thousand kilograms, if you remember right.
In the comic, he and his partner were sent to kill Miss Wednesday and Mr. 8 after their status as spies was discovered, independently of the Straw Hats' arrival at Whiskey Peak. Fuck. You didn't consider that.
The man on the other end of the line snickers. "You're still trying that, after your cover got blown wide open? Royals really are too stubborn for their own good."
Anger's spreading on Vivi's face, overtaking concern. "What happened to M- the person that normally answers this line?"
"Oh, don't worry, your majesty. Guard Captain Igaram's alive. So's that duck of yours, in case you were wondering."
You share a glance with Nami. This isn't good in the slightest.
"W-what will you do with them?"
"Like I said, Princess. No need to worry. They'll be heading home soon, along with you. Only a little singed. I'd like to let Igaram say hello, but, well, he's not feeling up to the task right now. You understand." You find yourself clenching your fist in impotent fury, and it's not even your… what is Igaram to Vivi? Uncle-figure? Father-figure? Friend?... your family and pet being threatened. You can't imagine how Vivi feels at the sheer unfairness of the situation.
"You're with the Straw Hat Pirates, right? I'm almost impressed, Princess. You managed to get your partner and some backseas pirates to follow you down the path of getting shishkebabed and desiccated."
Nami exhales almost silently through her teeth. If you didn't have a high Perception, you wouldn't have caught it.
"Not a decision I'd have made, but I don't have that same royal education as you, you see." He's monologuing. In real life. It'd be galling even if he weren't threatening your lives. "Is Straw Hat listening now, Princess?"
She doesn't respond. She looks shellshocked. Nami doesn't look especially interested in answering, and there's a moment of lingering silence… you decide to gently grab the communicator from Vivi's hands. She lets you supplant the take over, hands limp. "I'll have to do," you speak into the microphone, unable to conceal the anger in your voice.
"Oh?" Mr. 5 asks, curious. "I was expecting Straw Hat, not one of his women. Are you Escape Artist or the cute redhead?"
You hear a muffled 'hey!' from the snail-phone. Miss Valentine? His partner? Are they together? "Escape Artist."
"Ah, of course. You picked a bad time to sign up for piracy, bear girl. Could have been part of something truly great." The 'bear girl' line and that 'cute redhead' crack about Nami. He's showing off how much Baroque Works knows about the Straw Hats.
You glare daggers at the snail, which you belatedly realize has adapted some of Mr. 5's physical traits, a smug smile, half-closed eyes. That effect must be a two-way street. You school your features correspondingly, to project calm. "If it means I get to stop you bastards, I think I picked an alright time."
He lets out what sounds like an involuntary, disbelieving chuckle, and you hear a shrill, unpleasant 'kyahahaha!' from the snail. "You have no idea how fucking stupid you are, girl. We're going to burn your dinky little rowboat until it's nothing but ash. We're going to kill each and every one of you East Blue washout pirates. We're going to take your captain out to sea, slit his throat and take his Devil Fruit for our own. We're going to drag your princess to the ruins of Alubarna and force-feed her a stew made of her guard captain and her adorable little duck. We're going to burn her kingdom to the ground and build a utopia on its corpse. And, you audacious little bitch, we're going to do it all without you having even met the Boss."
Mr. 5 lets out a little scoff. "Unbelievable. You're probably too much of an idiot to even realize what an impossible war you just declared, Escape Artist."
You deliberately keep your expression steady. What more information can you get from him? How do you extend this conversation? It's not like with Nezu, where she was trying to get you on board, almost a captive audience in a way. Entirely different framework. "I bet all of the pirates we've beaten so far would have told us something similar, bounty hunter."
He chuckles again. "Sure, sure. Well. You'll have an opportunity to prove yourselves soon enough. The Unluckies say you're sailing towards Foolshout Island. We'll be waiting."
There's a clicking sound. The call ends. Disbelieving, you stare at the communicator. You've… have you been ever threatened so explicitly and so personally by someone so powerful? Vivi wordlessly presses that button on the side again, and the snail's lips let out a little dial tone.
Nami shakes the metaphorical cobwebs out of her head. "You recorded that?!"
Vivi sets her lips in a line. She speaks, and every word is forced, deliberate. "As soon as I realized it was Mr. 5 on the other snail. Figured you'd need something with which to convince your captain."
Nami sighs dramatically and sits down in her writing chair. She rests her face in her hands, rubbing her eyes stressfully. "Just how much should we be worried about Baroque Works, Vivi?"
The princess folds her arms. Even in the plain sailor clothes she's wearing, she affects a regal status, standing proud in spite of her fear and anger. You feel a certain admiration developing for her, keeping herself standing tall in the face of a threat like this. Vivi looks over at Nami. "This secret would get you killed under normal circumstances. But… you're already on Baroque Works' kill list."
"Mr. 0 is Crocodile. One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
You feel like you betrayed your principles just now. Your first thought was 'maybe this is an unwinnable war'.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea. Seven pirates who chose to became attack dogs of the government, gaining a full pardon in exchange for serving as a counterbalance against not only unleashed regular pirates around the sea, but also the Yonkou, the rulers of the New World. Those four have leveled more populated islands than America has major cities, all under their own power, not aided by cannons, or ships, but their raw, brute strength, and that of their subordinates.
And the Seven Warlords are capable of threatening them. That's one of the people who just declared your crew 'dead pirates sailing'. Well. You'll just have to deal. You take a deep breath, and meet Vivi's eyes. "We saved the East Blue. This crew stopped the remnants of Don Krieg's fleets. We saved Clockwork Island from the Trump Siblings. Hell, you're talking Warlords? They stopped Arlong, one of the Knight of the Sea's former right-hand men."
You reach out a hand and place it on her shoulder. She doesn't push it aside, so you leave it there. Confidence building up, you continue. "A Warlord? That's just the next logical step for this crew. We'll beat him and save your kingdom."
Vivi laughs. "You have a contagious optimism, Miss Taylor. I wish I shared it. I… I don't even know if Karoo and Igaram are alive. I don't know what's going to happen to my kingdom. All I know is… we have to stop Baroque Works."
"Ask Luffy for help," you implore her. "He'll help you."
"Especially if we show him that nightmarish recording," Nami shudders. That's not really helpful for calming Vivi down and letting her know your crew is reliable, but… she's not wrong.
You wish you were better at stuff like this, at being an inspiring hero. You always feel like you're a light year short of that ultimate goal. For now, all you can really say is, "We'll stop them. Together. For now, let's try and get some rest. We can talk to Luffy and the rest of the crew about this tomorrow, when they're less exhausted from the day's chaos."
The Tommy's Hardware scene has been changed from my draft/the rolls I shared to add in two skill rolls - I realized Taylor probably wouldn't get a great reception trying to buy lumber as a fifteen year old girl on her own, so I shifted that around a bit, and you guys got to roll for Disguise and Acting. I also realized the Combat Instinct roll didn't work for what I planned for the Sea King encounter, that was removed. Reflexes was the only roll appropriate for that.
The New Wave and Vivi convos were swapped because I thought it would be a bit weird for that crazy snail call with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine to happen and for Taylor to just go back to driver's ed like nothing mattered the next day.
There you have it. War has been declared. Baroque Works vs. the Straw Hats. Log poses set, the Going Merry, on an inevitable course to conflict.
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Sunday, January 16, 2011, Saturday, May 28, 1532, Sunday, November 12, 2000), and Day 2 (Monday, January 17, 2011, Sunday, May 29, 1532, Monday, November 13, 2000). Voting closes on Wednesday, May 3, at midnight EST.
For Day 1, you have FOUR ACTIONS. For Day 2, you have FIVE ACTIONS.
Ordinarily, you would have seven actions. For Day 1, two actions will be used on First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance, and one will be used for the crew meeting re: Baroque Works' declaration of war. Day 2 is two more actions for First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance. This number will go down.
Your driver's ed project would ordinarily be a mandatory action, but due to the extenuating circumstances, I'm putting it on hold and letting you resume it either later, or in this very vote, if you would prefer to get it done now.
If you would like to mention something at the morning crew meeting, write it as an add-on in your plan and @ me. I have veto power, as always.
Before you take a look at the training/project options, view these (2) additional items you need to vote on. These are separate from plans. If you vote solely for Plan [user] but do not vote for MENTALITY and POWER USE, you will not have a vote counted.
MENTALITY: That call with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine - it shook you. You've never been threatened like that before, you've never faced an enemy as powerful as Baroque Works before, and you've never had this kind of advance warning for a threat before. How does this affect you? This mentality will stick with Taylor until Foolshout is 'finished', and then the players/Taylor will get a chance to reevaluate whether they want to stick with it or not. This is not a light decision on Taylor's part, it should be treated as something with gravity. No write-in options here, pick one.
The Straw Hats will arrive on Foolshout sometime in the next eight to twelve days. The Foolshout arc will not be finished then, it will just be starting. Taylor does not know how long the business on Foolshout Island will take, how many days, etc. Assume at least 8-12 days of the below effect(s).
–[ ] MENTALITY: It doesn't. You and your friends will fight them, and you'll win, having done what you were planning to do all along. No change to skill chances. Taylor continues on as normal.
–[ ] MENTALITY: You want to prioritize combat/combat-adjacent skills or powers. You aren't sure it's the right time to focus on anything else. Until you are 'finished' with the conflict at Foolshout Island, the following skills will have +10 added to whatever you roll, other skills will have -10 from whatever you roll. This quest does not have critical failures. Skills in question: Acrobatics, Blunt Weapons, Bombmaking, Boxing, Capoeira, Combat Instincts, Devil Fruits (Kachi Kachi, Sube Sube), Dual Wielding, Fengten's Tekkutoryu, Fishman Karate (General, Mizudangan), Freerunner, Judo, Killing Intent, Knives, Kung Fu, Marksmanship (Primitive), Ninjutsu, Parahuman powers (if any gained during this period), Poisoncraft, Poison Resistance, Reflexes, Running, Shape Changing, Stealth, Tactics, Weightlifting. This limitation also applies to skills learned from random encounters or mandatory actions. Driving project will be abandoned until this effect ends, or if you choose to reinstate it.
POWER USE: Reaching out to New Wave brought to mind another problem you have. On Earth-Bet, your powers would make you a resource to be exploited. It might be worth hiding your powers to an extent, even from the heroes and allies you make, at least for the time being. This attitude will remain in effect for about a month in-universe, and then we can reevaluate it based on player opinion. This should be considered a temporary measure until the players think they're ready for potential Bet-exposure of the truth of Taylor's powers..
Leaning towards no write-in options here, if you have something you think is a winning idea, @ me, but the answer is probably no. I think these three are a decent spectrum of options that keep you viable on Bet.
–[ ] POWER USE: Hide your power almost entirely, and avoid situations where you'd even have to risk using it. You told New Wave you were (mostly) purely a skill-thinker with some bonuses, stick with that. On Bet, you won't do anything a skill-thinker with some bonuses couldn't do. Locks off options to fight most gangs, save the Merchants and Circus. If you choose this option, next update, a project to create a new back-up identity will be added where you can use your other powers, players allowed to elaborate in write-ins with my permission.
–[ ] POWER USE: Hide your power by claiming to be a skill-combat thinker, as above, but you'll use powers like Sube Sube and Ninjutsu (once fully leveled) more openly in combat. It's a thinner definition of 'skill-thinker with some bonuses to it', but you think it's consistent with what you told New Wave. Locks off options to fight most gangs in groups. Taylor will be willing to ambush (some) villain capes if they're by themselves or in groups of three, where she would previously have just withdrawn completely. If you choose this option, next update, a project to create a new back-up identity will be added where you can use your other powers, players allowed to elaborate in write-ins with my permission. I will also add projects to go after more gangs in the subsequent update.
–[ ] POWER USE: Tell your allies you're a skill-thinker with some bonuses, implying (as you did to an extent in the New Wave chat ('close to the vest')) that there's more to it. In combat however, you fight without restrictions. Maybe in the not too distant future, E88 finds themselves fighting a rock-hard, burning hot bear that completely no sells physical and stabbing attacks, that constantly spews out near-boiling water bullets. This could result in some difficult conversations with your allies, and unwanted attention, but you functionally would fight the same way you would on Mayim or Mahon. No restrictions on fighting cape groups. For now, the Merchants/Circus project is all Taylor will have, but more will be added if you choose this. This option is the likeliest to draw attention your way, but also the likeliest way to gain powers fast. If you pick this option, you'll need to be able to manage time wisely enough to balance the first risk with the second gain.
[x] Plan This is a Croc v.3
-[x]Day 1
--[X] There's the Crocodile/Princess Vivi elephant-in-the-room to deal with. Right now, Princess Vivi is still known to the crew save you only as Baroque Works' Miss Wednesday. You've hinted at this to Luffy, he knows she's a Blue Mystery Girl, but that's as far as it goes. This is likely to be a very complicated conversation, but it needs to be broached, ideally before you and the Straw Hats get yourself buried in a complete mess. 1 action.
---[X] Broach the topic with Nami and Zoro, tell them everything you know about Alabasta's situation and get their help with planning the talk with Vivi. And when they should ask Luffy.
----[X] If they need motivation besides sympathizing with Vivi or Alabasta and wanting to help, or that you want to (which is fair, it's a big ask and Vivi is a stranger)...well, Baroque Works offers a lot of challenges and their members also happen to clearly be bullies who deserve a thrashing. And as royalty, Vivi is rich, she'd surely be grateful to those that help her and her kingdom, right? Maybe monetarily grateful. And you can take Baroque Works' stuff.
---[X] One of your ideas is to prime Vivi for the conversation by casually dropping hints and stories about the Straw Hat crew's power and heroic tendencies. Maybe set up another gathering to tell stories? To highlight their abilities, and also their inclination towards fighting pirates that hurt or oppress civilians. Arlong Park and Clockwork Island should especially resonate with Vivi's plight. You won't ask Nami to get personal on the former unless she wants to. If not bringing it up before, those things could be brought up when actually talking to her.
---[X] The talk should be done away from Mr. 9 since Vivi obviously hasn't revealed her identity to him yet.
---[X] Reveal you know her identity with the excuse of keeping track of the noble lineages that attend the Levely every 4 years (if you need an excuse at all). From encounters with other officers (you with Nezu and Zoro with the former Mr. 7) you pieced together that Baroque Works is targeting Alabasta and that there's some mysterious boss pulling the strings.
---[X] Lean into your shared idealism. Both yourself and Vivi want to make the world a better place, even if for Vivi it's just her own kingdom for now.
---[X] The goal is to get her to accept our help and get as much info about Baroque works as possible. If successful, she should ask Luffy for help directly (not that his response is really in doubt, it's an adventure that involves punching jerks in the face with a victory feast among the likely rewards, but he's still the captain and should be the one that decides to set course for Alabasta)
--[x] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 0% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[x]Day 2
--[x] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (0/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
--[x] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 0% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
--[x] Introduce ourselves to New Wave
---[x] The intent is to start a cordial relationship and avoid problems from lack of information sharing. Reveal we are a skill-learner and plan on focusing on the Crook Club and Merchants for the foreseeable future, offer to teach skills we have picked up if they're interested.
--[x] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 20% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[x]Day 1
--[X] There's the Crocodile/Princess Vivi elephant-in-the-room to deal with. Right now, Princess Vivi is still known to the crew save you only as Baroque Works' Miss Wednesday. You've hinted at this to Luffy, he knows she's a Blue Mystery Girl, but that's as far as it goes. This is likely to be a very complicated conversation, but it needs to be broached, ideally before you and the Straw Hats get yourself buried in a complete mess. 1 action.
---[X] Broach the topic with Nami and Zoro, tell them everything you know about Alabasta's situation and get their help with planning the talk with Vivi. And when they should ask Luffy.
----[X] If they need motivation besides sympathizing with Vivi or Alabasta and wanting to help, or that you want to (which is fair, it's a big ask and Vivi is a stranger)...well, Baroque Works offers a lot of challenges and their members also happen to clearly be bullies who deserve a thrashing. And as royalty, Vivi is rich, she'd surely be grateful to those that help her and her kingdom, right? Maybe monetarily grateful. And you can take Baroque Works' stuff.
---[X] One of your ideas is to prime Vivi for the conversation by casually dropping hints and stories about the Straw Hat crew's power and heroic tendencies. Maybe set up another gathering to tell stories? To highlight their abilities, and also their inclination towards fighting pirates that hurt or oppress civilians. Arlong Park and Clockwork Island should especially resonate with Vivi's plight. You won't ask Nami to get personal on the former unless she wants to. If not bringing it up before, those things could be brought up when actually talking to her.
---[X] The talk should be done away from Mr. 9 since Vivi obviously hasn't revealed her identity to him yet.
---[X] Reveal you know her identity with the excuse of keeping track of the noble lineages that attend the Levely every 4 years (if you need an excuse at all). From encounters with other officers (you with Nezu and Zoro with the former Mr. 7) you pieced together that Baroque Works is targeting Alabasta and that there's some mysterious boss pulling the strings.
---[X] Lean into your shared idealism. Both yourself and Vivi want to make the world a better place, even if for Vivi it's just her own kingdom for now.
---[X] The goal is to get her to accept our help and get as much info about Baroque works as possible. If successful, she should ask Luffy for help directly (not that his response is really in doubt, it's an adventure that involves punching jerks in the face with a victory feast among the likely rewards, but he's still the captain and should be the one that decides to set course for Alabasta)
--[x] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 0% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[x]Day 2
--[x] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (0/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
--[x] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 0% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
--[x] Introduce ourselves to New Wave
---[x] The intent is to start a cordial relationship and avoid problems from lack of information sharing. Reveal we are a skill-learner and plan on focusing on the Crook Club and Merchants for the foreseeable future, offer to teach skills we have picked up if they're interested.
--[x] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 20% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
2.20 The First Stretch 4
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Thursday, May 26, 1532
"Gomu Gomu no… War Axe!"
Luffy's foot rockets down. The same attack that destroyed Arlong Park and Nelson Royale's flagship lands, to devastating effect on the target as he deliberately drags his foot along the surface of the adversary, taking care to spread out the damage even if it reduces the impact to individual points.
Chunks of calcified shrapnel spray out as a reward for his efforts, and you can't help but wince a little seeing bits of wood burst off of the Merry's bow and hull- that's yet another thing to repair.
What threat demanded this of Luffy? Did the Marines catch up with you, was it greedy bounty hunters, rival pirates, a Sea King?
Coral. It was coral. An enormous coral reef 'iceberg', the size of a football field, an upper algae-coated layer on the surface collecting energy from the sun, the nutrients redistributed to the larger mass beneath the waves. Looking at it, your Naturalism skill helps you recognize it as Redmove coral.
It'd be easy for someone to ask why the Merry didn't simply avoid the reef. It should have been simple for a caravel with a skilled crew to avoid once it was noticed. But Redmove coral has that name for a reason. It's red, and it's ambulatory. When the Going Merry started to steer out of the way, the coral followed, likely hoping to use the biomatter of the ship as fuel.
Yes. You're still talking about coral here.
You aren't sure if Headway would recognize it as an enemy. You didn't get a chance to try and fight it, if what you're seeing could even be described as a fight. Awaking to the sound of crushing, you practically fell out of your hammock in your haste - to find Luffy and Sanji were already dealing with the problem, and from the sound of your captain's whoops, having a bit of fun at that.
You snap a picture of the impossible, incomprehensible horror. It'll be a neat thing to show Dad when you go back to Bet. Usopp rubs the sleep out of his eyes, yawning out a barely-comprehensible 'good morning', before staring flatly at the increasingly fragmented Redmove. "I hate that stuff like this is becoming something close to normal for me. I'm not even surprised by what I'm seeing anymore"
"I'm sure if you were fully awake, it would terrify you," you offer, your best effort at being comforting. He makes a face at you.
"It's terrifying enough that this nonsense didn't wake me all the way up," he gripes, scratching his hair. "I'm going insane. Only explanation."
In the distance, the two of you can hear a 'Gomu Gomu no.. Stamp!'
You give Usopp a look of mock confusion. "Luffy lets sane people on his crew?"
"Oh, you're a riot."
Morning routine, adjusted for the First Stretch, follows from there. Fishman form, check beneath the keel for any unwanted guests. Your changed shape scares off a school of fish that lived in a symbiotic relationship with the unlamented Redmove - well. Unlamented, besides by the fish who'll have to find a new patron.
Nothing beneath the Merry. After grabbing a piece of Redmove calcium as a souvenir, you surface, and besides a light morning drizzle, there's thankfully nothing exciting from the Grand Line's weather.
You and Usopp spend a while hammering away (the pun stopped being funny to you ages ago) at various points in the ship. A 'minor' hailstorm during the night damaged a decent chunk of the deck, and there are a few spots where substantial repair is needed.
You split your attention between that and various chores around the Merry, your focus not particularly helped by freak twenty-foot waves rocking the Merry unpredictably and disappearing as quickly as they appear. Perhaps why Headway doesn't reward you with any progression in Carpentry.
There's enough wood left for another day's work, but the supply of oakum is functionally empty, and that might be needed for other uses beyond just sealing gaps. You add wood filler to your mental shopping list of items to purchase at a hardware store on Mahon.
–
When you find Sanji, he's lugging a bag of rice from the storeroom, followed by a grumpy looking Mr. 9 with what looks to be a heavier one. By this point, he's stopped bothering to apply the makeup on his face for his '9', and he's left his crown and fancier clothes somewhere else.
If it weren't for the old-timey Mayim clothes he was wearing, he almost looks mundane, like a guy you'd pass on the street in Manhattan or Brockton Bay. The bright red hair stands out, but you've seen people on your homeworld with that color. Miss Wednesday's, not so much.
You wordlessly take the bag from Mr. 9, and, in one hand, you toss it over your shoulder, finding a certain level of satisfaction in the bounty hunter's frustrated gagging sounds as he storms off. "Got a moment, Sanji?"
The cook grins goofily. "'Course. Nami mentioned you'd be heading out, Taylor-chan. Wanted to say goodbye?"
You nod, looking around only a bit nervously, to make sure Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday aren't within hearing distance. "We're keeping my 'trips' secret around our 'guests', right?" you say, voice low.
The grin fades and is replaced by something more serious. "Even Luffy knows to keep quiet. You don't have to worry on that front."
That takes a bit of the concern away. "You have somewhere private for me to transition back and forth, right? I normally would just find a spot in the womens' room and warn Nami beforehand, but you never know when Miss Wednesday might be there, and she's… with Baroque Works. "
Sanji scowls a bit at the name, almost imperceptibly. You guess any pirate worth their pegleg would be annoyed by the existence of bounty hunters.
"Tough to believe such a beautiful lady is with scoundrels like that." You're tempted to tell him about Ingenue as a sort of retort, but it would be like telling a child that their puppy is actually dead, not on a farm upstate. He gestures towards the door. "I'll lock the door. Say it's a cook wanting his privacy."
"Thank you, Sanji."
He actually curtsies. "Anytime, Taylor-swaa-"
"No."
"-san."
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Friday, January 24, 2011
Whoa. Your land legs aren't quite back yet. You've grown accustomed to the constant sway of the Merry, noticeable even on calm seas. You'll be walking wobbly for at least a few minutes, and the nausea from the transition, which you haven't experienced in days, doesn't help.
Rising shakily, you head to the kitchen fridge to leave another note for Dad, pausing when you see one from him. I love you. Please come home safe. Wednesday, 8:47 am.
You scrawl out an I will. I love you too. Friday, 11:38 am on that post-it, before taking a longer scratch of paper, letting him know you'll be back this evening.
Before you prepare to head out to Mahon, you get started on something you'd been meaning to do for a while, but just hadn't had the time for. You've already spoken briefly with Miss Militia, and although you haven't registered officially with the PRT - not wanting to give them more information than they needed on you, leverage that they could use against you if they were feeling unethical, you feel like you have a working relationship with her that you could build on.
But there's another major hero team in Brockton Bay, besides the PRT's Protectorate and the Wards. Well-trained, competent, known regionally and a fixture of the city as a bulwark against the gangs. New Wave.
The short version of the story regarding New Wave: Two families of capes around a decade ago get together, and decide to make a statement on the subject of capes wearing masks, revealing their identities to the public in the hopes of inspiring more trust in superheroes. As you understand it, New Wave (or as they were known then, the Brockton Bay Brigade) was trying to start a movement, one of unmasked capes, accountable to humanity and without the implications of secrecy.
And then one of their own was brutally murdered in their own home by a pathetic skinhead thug looking to score some street cred. The movement strangled in its crib, New Wave settled for being known as a local team of family heroes. Despite the initial stumbling of their intended movement, they're effective as hell. Even a superficial reading of their exploits in recent years will show a hypercompetent, coordinated team, who've single-handedly driven off half the Empire and Lung in fights in the past.
They're accomplished, they have information on the local gangs, which could help you as you begin to close in on the Merchants, and if you're lucky, you could begin exchanging services like superhuman clothing repair or even teaching them some mundane skills. You… aren't sure how you feel about revealing your full power set to people on Bet just yet, but for now, you're going to play it safe by only telling New Wave about the learn-mundane-skills-fast-and-make-them-ridiculous component of your power.
Taking a moment to make sure your VPNs are all set up as they should be - thank you, Computers skill - you then change into your Factota costume, snapping a quick picture against an undecorated wall, giving a wave at the camera next to a copy of the day's newspaper. Hopefully the picture will convince whoever on New Wave's team scans the messages that you're legitimate, and not just a con artist or an ingenious groupie.
You load the picture as an attachment on a disposable Prima account, and use the social media platform to reach out to New Wave's verified profile. Good afternoon. My cape name is Factota. I had my public introduction not too long ago, and I was hoping to reach out and meet New Wave, to exchange information and establish a cordial relationship. Please reach out whenever is most convenient for you!
You stare at the message for a frankly embarrassing amount of time, before clicking send. After that, and trying your best to convince yourself you didn't humiliate yourself with that communication, you grab your Mahon spending money from your bedroom dresser, get changed into a more appropriate outfit for walking Manhattan, and transition over.
Location: Manhattan Island, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mahon, X-Men: Evolution Multiverse, X-Men: Evolution-jcw3
Date: Friday, November 10, 2000
This alley is as disgusting and stinky as it was when you first found it. You give a hard stare towards a territorial rat, idly wondering if that could be a way to train Killing Intent, before deciding against it. At least the alley being as revolting as it is prevents people from traveling down it, even the desperate.
You take the form of a storm petrel, hoping you'll be able to avoid confusing any observant birdwatching groups while you find your way to an information kiosk. It takes you some time, but eventually you find a place to stealthily land and transform.
The help desk assistant takes your question about 'places to buy bulk lumber' in stride, and after double-checking through the phone book, points you to Tommy's Hardware and Lumberwares a few blocks down. Finding a flat, blue-grey warehouse with massive garage doors to enable through traffic, you stride forth.
You're presenting the look of an older woman, maybe mid-twenties. More of a tomboyish vibe, hair deliberately tied into a function-over-form bob, plaid shirt, cargo khakis. The sort of woman who wouldn't be too out of place shopping in a hardware store for bulk lumber for a do-it-yourself project. Headway seems to appreciate the Disguise, and you spot a few easy ways you could have improved the look if you took the time. Stains here, wrinkled in such a way as to suggest extensive use… something to consider for the future.
"Lookin' to buy some bulk lumber. Scrap wood if you've got it, ideally oak." You try to affect a certain persona, get into character. A clerk guides you to the relevant section, and you get a few hundred Mahon dollars worth of scrap oak, more than enough to see the Merry to Foolshout Island with clever rationing. When you ask, you even get some cull lumber they'd been meaning to toss, added on for free.
Another hundred or so goes to buying some basic tools and supplies - tape measurers, a good stock of wood filler, putty knives, squares, dust masks, things of that nature, and there's a deal on a rechargeable saw that seems like a bargain. Usopp can use it to save some muscle power on the harder jobs, and if it runs out of power, he has the regular elbow grease saw. When it runs out, you can just charge it at home on Bet.
It might be useful to buy Usopp some power tools and instruct him in their use. You'd have to focus on rechargeable tools that don't require an outlet, but it's something to consider. He's clever, and you'll be good enough at Teaching soon that he'll probably be able to pick it up quickly enough. Just might be a bit of an expenditure of time and money.
You ask the clerk for a hand truck to take your lumber to 'your pickup', and 'Naw, I'm good' away offers of help. Headway gives you an appreciative tingle as a compliment to your Acting skills.
It takes you a while to find a good spot to hide both yourself and the hand truck full of tied lumber, and a few trips back and forth from the warehouse to an alley, and then from the alley to the Merry. Tedious, but it solves the Merry's lumber shortage for the foreseeable future, and it's possible you'll be able to stock up again on Foolshout when you arrive.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Thursday, May 26, 1532
It's mid-afternoon when you finish bringing over the oak and carpentry supplies (and, obviously, returning the hand truck). Sanji agrees to handle the work of getting the stuff into the storeroom without alerting Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, which takes one stress off of your mind. You get a quick bite to eat - getting all of those supplies in order made you famished.
You arrived back in the middle of a blessedly sunny day - perfect for training. It feels like you have so little time for this nowadays, so many projects, keeping the Merry afloat, taking baby steps towards heroism on Bet, so much to do, so few hours in the day.
Sitting cross-legged near the rear of the ship, you reflect on the Baroque Works ninja that 'tested' you on Warship Island. She never gave you her name, but you'll settle for her power. You still aren't quite sure if 'power' is the right descriptor.
She was… an actual real life ninja. While you're reflecting and all, you may as well reminisce on that ridiculousness. You wonder what her codename would have been. Is there a Ninja Day holiday? It's perhaps a testament to how winded you are because embracing your role as boatswain that a little internal joke like that actually got a tiny chuckle out of you. You aren't even sure if the gendered codenames for women have any internal logic. You have no idea what Miss Wednesday's skillset has to do with… Wednesday.
Whoever she was, Unknown Kunoichi had a form of Magic. The shadows shifted with her, she was able to pull objects from spaces where they seemingly shouldn't have fit - there was something supernatural going on there. The question is what, though?
It seemed like UK was using mundane skills and boosting them slightly through supernatural means, almost like you. Was that why Baroque Works chose her to scout you? Did they draw a comparison between two jills-of-all-trades? She had the stereotypical tools of her craft - knives, smoke bombs, so on. How does that compare to what you know of ninja techniques on Mayim?
Ninjutsu is a known phenomena on Mayim. The closed country of Wano in the New World has had ninjas sneak out and travel abroad, making a name for themselves with false or even true duplication abilities, scrolls that can store objects, temperatures or people in pocket dimensions, among other things. What little you know of ninjutsu is filtered through rumor, and myth, and falsehoods, but you can pluck out grains of truth here and there.
UK didn't seem like New World material, but you have a general idea of the upper limit of ninjutsu, and even if her ability 'only' allowed her to augment mundane skills like your guess suggests, it'd still be more than worth learning if it presents a shortcut to learning those. Your suspicion, possibly unfounded, possibly not, is that you learned a framework, a foundation for something greater, when you defeated that lunatic on Warship Island.
It's a moot point. Despite your best efforts and theorizing, you don't come any closer to actually figuring out how Unknown Kunoichi's almost-certainly-supernatural technique worked. There's the usual feeling like you've gotten a bit closer to a breakthrough, but haven't quite reached it yet, and in the case of whatever UK was doing, it's almost certain to be harder than you'd like.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Friday, January 24, 2011
You transition home after letting Luffy know you're leaving, ready to check your Prima inbox for a message from New Wave, and then maybe wait around for Dad to get back. You're pleasantly surprised by a notification from them.
Yes, we saw your debut on the local news not too long ago! We'd love the chance to meet and discuss some plans for the future. Lady Photon and I will be in the downtown area tonight - would you be comfortable meeting at the Richford Tower, eighth floor, around 7:30? The receptionist will be expecting you - no need to worry about that. - Brandish, New Wave
You send a quick message to her letting you know that that would work perfectly for you, before letting out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding. Some good news on that front. You try to distract yourself. Is Dad home just yet? You've been assuming not, but - you listen for sounds from downstairs - yes! He is. In the kitchen. It's about dinner time anyway!
You're too naturally stealthy for him to notice you coming down the stairs, and he's distracted anyway, so when you do emerge into the kitchen, he's caught a bit off guard. "Taylor!" he exclaims, leaning back in surprise. "You're- you're really alright!"
Ouch. "Yeah. I'm.. sorry I made you worry."
"It-" he shakes his head. "I don't even know where to begin with how I've been feeling the past few days on that front. But that's besides the point. Are you alright?"
You nod. "It's getting better. The First Stretch was really scary at first, but we're getting used to it. I'm a better bosun than when we started, and only improving"
He gives you a funny look, a goofy, too-wide smile on his face. "You're a bosun?"
You frown. "Yeah. Why?"
He adjusts a dial on the stove. "Just not what I expected since I heard my daughter got superpowers, that she'd wind up a bosun, of all things. But I've been having thoughts along those lines ever since you told me about Headway."
You take that in. "I… I'm sorry that I've been worrying you. I know we've talked about this before, but… I feel the need to say it."
He makes an expression that's somewhere between a grimace and a soft smile. "No helping it. You're growing up. I just wish it wasn't happening so damn fast, or in such a damn weird way." He gives you a belated hug, which you return. "Want some dinner? I'm no super cook, but I can try my best."
"That would be great," you beam at him. "I missed you."
Dad reaches over and ruffles your hair. "Come on. I'll need your help to make dinner. You can catch me up on things while we work."
It's nice. Dad's almost a bit disappointed to hear you asking about mundane things at work, and partway through, you realize why. It's depressing. Sixty jobs available, eighty guys in need of work. Shifting things around, cold calling employers, never getting enough done. You aren't sure what you can do about that as you are now, not without overexposing yourself and probably endangering yourself and Dad, but it's unlikely that you'll ever stop thinking about it.
His mood is both raised and worsened when you start telling him about the First Stretch. There's a certain fantastical whimsy attached to the idea of moving coral, for instance, and he gawks at your sample, but then you can tell he starts to absorb the fact that this creature - more of a collective of alike creatures, really - the size of a football field wanted to eat you, your crew, and your ship.
And that's to say nothing of the 'normal' climatic hazards, whatever role Baroque Works will eventually play, and… well. You'd be worried in his shoes, too. All you can do is give him proof that you're rising to the occasion.
"I told you I'm meeting New Wave this evening, right?"
He practically chokes on his tea. "Are you serious?!"
You smile. "Yeah. I reached out to them on Prima earlier."
He stares at his empty plate. The two of you have been talking for a while. It's only about forty-five minutes until your rendezvous with Brandish and Lady Photon. "Well… good luck, I guess?" Dad chuckles nervously. "There's so much going on in your life that I no longer have a framework for. That meeting's just one of them."
You wish you knew what to say to that. "I love you. And I'm glad I can come home and… just have somewhere to relax."
His expression changes, and he takes a moment to respond. "Yeah. I'm glad about that, too." He purses his lips as he thinks. "I love you, Taylor. Please stay safe."
"I will," you say, in what you hope is a convincing tone of voice.
–
You take a shearwater form and make your way over to the Richford Tower, around ten minutes early for your 7:30 appointment with New Wave. Finding a secluded spot with no cameras or watchful eyes, you instantaneously take human form, having already changed into your Factota outfit.
A few people on the street give you looks, one enterprising woman snaps a picture of you with her phone, and you give a polite wave, before entering the building. Sure enough, the receptionist recognizes you, and walks you to a hidden elevator away from the Richford lobby. Thankfully, since people were staring, and you were starting to feel a bit self-conscious.
The elevator leads you to the eighth floor, and you thank the clerk before you stride forward into a hallway. You find a small conference room overlooking the business district, not at the highest level of the city skyline, but high enough that you feel a bit intimidated. You've been at the top of Brockton Bay's taller buildings before, tourist attractions your parents brought you to when you were very young, or places you went with Emma and her family, but this is an entirely different context.
Your trepidation about the meeting is strong enough that, despite your early arrival, you move slowly enough only make it to the conference room right as Lady Photon and Brandish arrive. They give you a wave and a professional smile respectively.
Brandish stretches out a hand towards you. She's pretty. All of New Wave look almost like TV actors, carefully manicured appearances, skillfully applied makeup whenever they expect to make public appearances - even for the guys in some cases.
Her costume is a white bodysuit with a central orange logo, decorative lines of the same material extending out over the outfit. Her blonde hair is cut short, and split down the middle, a perfect symmetrical functional hardo. You meet her eyes through your own mask, hers an almost bug-like hybrid between a visor and sunglasses.
You return the handshake, trying to maintain a firm enough grip to stay respectable, while also not being rude and crushing her hand. "Brandish. A pleasure to meet you."
Mask hiding your face, you bow your head respectfully, before raising it. "Factota. Likewise."
Lady Photon is next. Like Brandish's, her costume is a white bodysuit with a central logo - a purple starburst - with lines of the same color extending from it. Her hair is parted to the side, and if you were forced to look quickly at the two of their faces and differentiate them, that might be the only way you could have done it. Lipstick a similar shade, hair color the same, costumes are a close fit.
Brandish gestures towards the conference room, and you all take a seat around a table meant for six, the New Wavers sitting next to each other on one side, and you across from them. "Well, I suppose I should start by saying - I love your costume," Lady Photon smiles.
Her sister does the same. "My daughter was gushing about it when she saw the news report," Brandish remarks. Either Panacea or Glory Girl loves your costume? That's… wow. "She has a school project right now, otherwise she might have come to this meeting."
You bow your head again. "Thank you! I made it with my power. I was hoping to go for a look that appeared heroic, but outside of the establishment or any corporate teams." The word you were thinking at the time was 'renegade', but you aren't sure you want to use that specific word when trying to make yourself seem heroic.
Brandish gives a teasing smile. "Yes, you wouldn't want to look like any of those shady corporate teams."
"Who knows what skeletons they have in their closet," Lady Photon adds lightly.
Oh no. Your face burns. "I… that's not-"
"I know, dear. We're just teasing."
"I'll admit I could have phrased that a bit better," you say, raising your hands in submission, cringing inwardly.
Brandish waves it off. "Nothing to apologize for. Now, you said you made that with your power?"
"Yes. I'd like to keep some things close to the vest, if you don't mind, but the simple version of it - I learn skills fast, and I eventually get them 'leveled'-" you do air quotes, "-to superhuman levels. So, I studied sewing and fashion to get to a point where I could casually make a costume like this, even out of substandard materials."
"That's an ability almost tailor-made for being a rogue." You're embarrassed to say - you thought Lady Photon was saying your name for a moment there, and had a brief moment of panic.
"There are a lot of financial possibilities with that power," Brandish agrees. "It's noble that your conclusion when you got your powers was to use that power selflessly."
"Thank you," you say, meaning it. New Wave has been a fixture of Brockton Bay as long as you've been aware of the concept of capes. Receiving compliments like this from New Wave… you feel good. It makes you want to prove yourself worthy of that trust.
"So the question now," Brandish says, "Is where you want to begin with your heroic career. New Wave, of course, isn't recruiting, but we are absolutely open to partnerships, cooperation and collaboration with local heroes. It's part of why we got back to you so quickly. It's critical that we stay on the same page with our allies when it comes to what we do."
You nod wordlessly, trying to take in what she's saying. "Do you have a plan of attack for your hero career? Pardon my saying this, I don't mean to be rude, but as far as I can tell, you've only been preparing for it thus far. How will you get started?"
"I was planning to start small-ish," you reply. "I've got superhuman skill in training my body, and that means I have, essentially, a low-level Brute-Mover rating. Some martial arts mastery, stealth training, that sort of thing. I've made some good progress across the board in that kind of general training. Enough that I'm comfortable going after some of the minor gangs."
The mood in the room becomes a bit more serious. "Who were you thinking?" Brandish asks.
"The Crook Club and the Merchants. I'm unsure as to which is an easier target, and wanted to do some more research, get my investigative 'skills'-" air quotes again, "-up before I went after them in earnest."
Lady Photon glances over at Brandish, who hasn't looked away from you. "Well. That might be a problem," Brandish says. "The Crook Club are gone from town."
What? "Really? I knew they were under pressure from the Empire, but I thought that had died down?"
Brandish shakes her head. "It's a moot point now, but I can give you a general description of the situation, if you're interested."
Well, that's not what you were expecting to hear. You nod. Might as well try to get something out of this. "Yes, please."
"This all started when the Crook Club accidentally did a job against an Empire front. Empire retaliated with a few scuffles in the street, and Bezzy - their real leader, the individual-negotiations thinker, tried to make a deal with Kaiser, to pay back the money stolen and make amends for the damages. He accepted at first, but reneged on the deal several weeks later. There were some sporadic battles between the Club and the Empire, where the Club was initially able to escape and regroup, but Kaiser was eventually able to attack in force.
Bezzy is dead. Kaiser killed her personally. Tommy Gun, maimed, by either Hookwolf, Fenja or Menja, maybe a mix of the three. We aren't sure - he was in a pretty bad state when the Protectorate arrived on the scene, and I'm mostly basing this off of their report. Enforcer was pretty badly hurt, too. They're both in a secure hospital for villain arrestees somewhere. Cardinal and Enterprise fled the city, to parts unknown."
"I… wasn't aware of that."
"The PRT prefers gang wars like that stay hidden. The more attentive cape observers might have noticed some Protectorate activity and loud noises in that area a few weeks ago, but it's not in the PRT's interests for the public to be able to pay too much attention to how bad things really are, in spite of their and our best efforts."
You look off into the distance. "Depressing."
"Yes," Brandish agrees. "But that's what we're here for, isn't it? To be the lights in the darkness."
"Your idea of going after the Merchants is sound," Lady Photon says. "They're slippery, and they aren't as obvious a problem as Lung, Coil, or the Empire. They tend to keep out of the spotlight, their crimes nuisance-level. Relatively speaking, of course."
"Relatively speaking," Brandish nods. "We have a few general areas where we know the Merchants tend to operate. Baerck, Cammell, Boar Avenue. We don't often fight them - the larger gangs of the city tend to draw our focus when we see them."
The matriarch of the Dallon branch reaches over to a small yellow notepad on the table and scrawls down a list of streets and addresses, then tearing a sheet off and handing it to you. "Here. The PRT and Protectorate don't often patrol these areas, but these are areas where we've noticed suspicious activity on our fly-bys. Some of them could be nothing, but some could lead you down the right path."
"Thank you!" you say, with a bit more enthusiasm than you expected. "This is great to have, really!"
Brandish smiles. "Think nothing of it. We'll have to circle back in a few weeks, exchange notes. Hopefully after you get a nice headline about the arrests of some of the Merchants."
"I wish I had more information to repay you with." You worry that telling them about the warehouse on Baerck where you saw Skidmark meeting with his dealers will see yourself receiving criticism for breaking the unwritten rules, even if you did it unintentionally. New Wave was theoretically founded against the principles of secret identities, but… it's probably a whole can of worms to bring up in any case. "If you'd like, in the future, I can help you with costume repair, design. I'm working on raising my teaching 'skill', I might be able to teach things like first aid, hand to hand, stuff like that."
Their expressions grow a bit more strained. "Now… Factota, I'm sorry to bring this up, and I hope it doesn't sound accusatory, but are you registered with the PRT?"
"Um-" you start, hating yourself as soon as the filler leaves your mouth. The question caught you off guard. "Not yet. I've been putting it off. I don't… bureaucracy and I have a bad past," you say, and it sounds like a lame excuse, even as it's close to the truth. You hate this. You feel so out of place and amateurish.
"I don't mean to poke at any wounds here. But," Brandish grimaces. "Here's the thing. Have you heard of Teacher?"
You stare at her. "Yes. He's a villain. In the Birdcage," you say, and your defensiveness must be obvious in your tone, because Brandish holds up her hands as if to ward off your anger.
"I don't mean to insult you or call you a villain. But here's the problem that happened with Teacher. He initially presented himself as a rogue, a cape who wasn't necessarily a hero or villain, and would sell his services to both sides. He had a successful business… until it was revealed that he was mind-controlling his customers. That the so-called 'Taught' were actually his thralls. I don't mean to be blunt, or hostile, but any parahuman out there has reason to be suspicious of a thinker who claims to be able to Teach skills."
What the fuck? How? That… that's such an unfair comparison to make! You're just really good at teaching! That's all!
You shift uncomfortably in your seat, stewing in that thought, the instinctive anger at being compared to Teacher, of all fucking people, before you eventually speak up. The mask hides your features, but you're almost worried your body language will give you away.
"I… I understand your concern. I hadn't made the connection between my abilities and Teacher's, myself."
"That's understandable. He hasn't been in the public eye for a long time. It's reasonable that he might not come to mind. But there are a lot of things capes have to keep an eye out for. If you register with the PRT, if you submit to power testing and their scientists confirm that everything there is above board, no mind control or enthralling effects - we would love to have you training us. It would save a lot of time, it would make our lives more convenient."
Brandish continues. "We just can't take the risk of your powers working similarly to Teacher's. Even if you have only good intentions, you're, I presume, a newer cape, and don't really know the full extent of how your power works. Frequently, things like this take time to show themselves."
You meet her eyes again. "I'll try to make time to start that process. I… I really do want to help, in any way I can. I want to get out there and start making the world a better place."
"The world would be better off if more people thought like you," Brandish says.
Lady Photon interjects. "I know my sister can be a bit cautious, and, well, I love you, Carol, but… intense-"
"I am not," Brandish retorts, but there's a smile on her face.
"-but I really hope that this doesn't dishearten you. We aren't saying you're a villain, or that we won't work with you. I'm with my sister on this - we just can't risk exposing our family to those kinds of powers without being reasonably certain that it's safe."
Reasonably certain? Well. There's no one hundred percent sure with parahuman powers.
"Thank you," you say. This meeting feels like it's run its course, you doubt they wanted a long meeting anyway. You stand. "I will reach out in the future. My goal is to begin investigative work against the Merchants in… shortly," you say. With all of your projects and responsibilities, you don't feel comfortable giving an exact date, but that doesn't help with your feeling unhappy about being unable to give them a concrete time.
The two of them also stand. "I wish you nothing but the best of luck," Brandish says. "Do you mind if I have that paper back, just for a second?"
You hand her the yellow notepad paper, and she writes down a string of numbers. "This is a specialized phone number we use. If you're ever in a catastrophic situation, or you see a situation where you feel like you could use some help, call this number. I can't guarantee that we'll be there any faster than the PRT or the Protectorate, but we'll do our best to get to you."
"Thank you," you say, not for the first time in the evening. You almost feel like a charity case they're keeping at arms length. That Teacher comparison… you're going to try not to dwell on that. You can't help but feeling resentful about it.
The three of you exchange goodbyes, and you head home, saying good night to Dad, before transitioning back to Mayim and spending the night. No catastrophes while you were gone, thank God.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Friday, May 27, 1532
At least you don't wake up to the sound of explosions this morning. By Straw Hat standards, it could be a boring day.
Chores go as usual - you and Usopp manage to make the most of the new tools and lumberware. 'This is so cool!' is a very worrying thing to hear a teenage boy say about an electric saw. You're terrified Usopp is going to accidentally cut off his own nose or something.
"No, I mean it, Taylor, this is great! You know how many days I spent before you joined with my arms all sore from that freaking saw?" he giggles boyishly and pats the side of the saw affectionately. "This is a lifechanger!"
You smile. "I'm glad you're happy with it. Feeling any more confident about your carpentry with that?"
He fondly strokes the power tool - alright, it's getting more than a little weird now. "Absolutely! Thanks again for showing me those tricks, and how to use this thing. That wood filler stuff is way more convenient than oakum."
"Anytime. Headway appreciated it, to-"
There's a rumble in the distance. The ocean ascends in a way they don't normally, even during the worst Grand Line storms, and it's clear skies now. There's a uniformity to it that terrifies you. It takes you less than a second to draw the connection. "Monster!" you shout, at the top of your lungs, bear vocal cords letting your voice carry further, even into the depths of the ship. Usopp whimpers a little, clutching the rechargeable saw and clumsily pressing the ON button.
Zoro's the first one you spot rising to the occasion, but Sanji and Luffy aren't far behind. "Do you see it, Taylor-chan?" Sanji asks. You're relieved they trust you immediately, but now you're worried you were wrong about it.
"That wave-" you begin, but Zoro cuts you off.
"It was one change. One motion. Massive, a kilometer wide as far as I can tell," he looks out at the ocean warily. He's right. Rude, but right.
Sanji cautions a glance over the railing, while Luffy leans back, looking inappropriately bored. "I can't see anything. Water's too dark."
"Means it's either a really big Sea King way down below or a smaller Sea King close to the surface," Zoro agrees, the two of them on the same page for once.
Right after the Merry returns to a regular sea level, the wave receding almost calmly, the five of you lose your balance abruptly as another wave hits, this one bigger than the last, originating from a different spot to the west. Putting on your best boatswain voice, you yell out "Emergency positions!"
The crew follows your command, taking to the sails. Nami and Miss Wednesday finally burst out from the women's room, glancing in every direction as they try to catch up on the situation. Mr. 9 emerges from the storeroom, looking in your direction. "What's going on? Are we under attack?"
"There's a mystery monster!" Luffy calls out.
"Oh, that's helpful!"
Let's see… it came from there, and then changed over to there - "Hard starboard!" you call out, as you realize what's about to happen. Just as the Merry starts picking up wind, another wave hits, bigger, heavier than the last, reinforcing and overtaking the second wave. It catches the ship in its grasp, and lurches it to the side, almost tipping it over all the way. Almost everyone loses their balance or at least their grip.
Usopp, who still has the fucking saw going, yelps as he flies towards you, clumsily dropping the saw as it launches in your direction! You catch it and press the power button in one deft motion, before grabbing him by the back of his suspenders, and from the yelp, you realize you accidentally tightened them a bit hard.
You can apologize later, because for now Nami and Miss Wednesday are clinging to the railing! Giant albatross form taken, you swoop down and grab the both of them in your talons, abruptly shifting a terrified Usopp to your back, and as you do, the ship rights itself and the wave passes.
Dropping the three of them off, you stand by while a few more minutes pass and no waves come. That's it. A gigafauna beneath the waves, just passing by in the course of its regular life, probably just bobbing up and down casually, and it nearly killed three people. Anticlimactic and unnerving all in one, that there are creatures that can kill you accidentally, without having even seen you or your having offended them.
You allow yourself a chance to rest, and the rest of the Merry's passengers take that as an invitation to relax themselves. The saw, to your relief, did not fall overboard after you just bought it yesterday, and you hand it back to Usopp with a warning, before letting him know you're going to your homeworld for a while. Seeking out a spot you've secured in the storeroom for this very purpose, you change worlds.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Saturday, January 25, 2011
New Hampshire requires those under sixteen aspiring for a driver's license to take a tedious, time-consuming online course that slowly and methodically goes over every possibility they may face on the road. It's optional if you're over sixteen and have a hundred hours of driving experience signed by multiple adults, or if you're eighteen, but for you, you'll likely have to pass this course to be able to sit for the test in June when you're sixteen.
It's the mundane skill of mundane skills, but it's the sort of thing that could come in handy. The course isn't what you would describe as difficult, but it is annoying. It feels like a waste of your time, busywork designed by some bureaucraft just to tick boxes, and you're frustrated the entire time.
You're sitting through videos that you sometimes can't speed up (you can do that for ninety percent of them, but for some reason, maybe one in ten won't let you). The interface is outdated, sometimes links don't work, you have to click to the right of a button to advance rather than on the button itself - like you said. Annoying.
The whole experience sucks, but the information itself is valid, and Headway seems to find it an easy skill to work with. In about an hour and a half of studying, you manage to reach the level of a typical fifteen year-old who's spent maybe thirty hours on the road, without having ever been behind the wheel. That, in and of itself, is almost good enough to pass the exam in June, but you still have to finish the stupid course before you can do that. You could probably finish the entire thing tomorrow if you put your mind to it.
Whatever. You're tired of looking at the state's interface. You've been meaning to study engineering a bit more - it could act as a springboard for understanding tinkertech from Bet and Mahon. If it was so easy to understand tinkertech by being a good engineer, the world would look a lot different, but you can't imagine it would hurt, and having this skill is inherently a good thing.
You're sure Headway would agree with your decision, but unfortunately, the online videos and courses you're reviewing don't sink in all that well, and you don't feel like you've hit any sort of milestone. Progress made, certainly, but not capital-p progress.
A bit let down, you-
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Friday, May 27, 1532
-return to Mayim. Even from the storeroom, buried underneath wood and a tarp behind some barrels, you can hear a blizzard pummeling the Merry. "Fuck," you swear under your breath.
Rushing upstairs, you arrive in the midst of one of the worst snowstorms you've ever experienced. You count your blessings that the sea didn't have time to freeze or develop an icy layer, and that you 'only' have to deal with the heavy snow pounding the caravel.
"Shovel!" you shout at Mr. 9, who's panickedly shoveling snow overboard. A look of relief on his face, he tosses the shovel your way, and, using more martial arts training than you'd expect, start clearing the deck expeditiously. Sanji had a similar idea to you, you can tell - he's just kicking it overboard. Luffy scoops it up with rubber limbs that can cover a third of the ship in mere moments. Zoro is asleep. Somehow.
The snowfall begins to dampen, and after a very hectic half-hour (longer for the rest of the Straw Hats, you imagine), you finally see an end to the blizzard. Phew. Even with your Cold Resistance, you're chilly- and right as you think that, you no longer are. Another growth in Cold Resistance, making you as resistant to the cold as it's possible for a human to be.
"Where the hell were you?" Mr. 9 demands, eyes wide.
You give him a quick glance as you scrape off the railing. "Sorry. Was asleep in the storeroom. It's my happy place."
"You-" he makes a frustrated verbalization, before grumbling and walking away. You take a minute to rest against the railing next to Zoro, absent-mindedly brushing some accumulated snow off of the swordsman's head. He opens one eye and gives you an annoyed look, and you snort.
You stretch a bit as you rise from your relaxation, spotting Miss Wednesday working on the crew's laundry out on the deck. From the looks of it, just getting started, thankfully. Yeah, that… you've been putting this off for a while too long. You think for a while, and make a beeline for the women's room.
Nami's cross-referencing some of her notes with one of the books from the shelf when you enter the room and shut the door behind you. Her eyes flicker over to you, and she leans back in her chair, accepting the opportunity for a reprieve.
You start the conversation with some small talk. "Should I be worried about the weather playing games with us?"
She starts to shake her head, but then seemingly thinks better of it. "Ah… well, I don't think it's as much of a concern as when we started on the Grand Line. But I wouldn't want you to disappear for days, if that's what you're asking."
You smile. "Don't plan to leave entirely. Just maybe half a day from now on, sometimes a bit more."
That could still be life or death for the Straw Hats as they are now, but your default will be to train on the Merry if it's an option. It'll have to do. Regardless, you'll be supporting them as much as you're capable. "That's a relief," she says, dog-earing the page she's on before closing the book. "You have a serious look on your face. Is something wrong? Yest-"
"It's not that," you reply, maybe a bit too quickly. "Really," you insist, when she looks skeptical. "It's about Miss Wednesday."
Nami grimaces. "I've told her about her the snoring probl-"
"Not that. It's… something else. I kind of talked to Luffy about it back at Twin Cape, but I didn't tell him the full story because of how I know."
She lets out a little exhalation. "The comic?" she says quietly.
"To an extent. I've found some evidence here, on Mayim, and I really do think it's importa-"
She raises a hand. "Stop acting like you have to be nervous around me," she sighs, saying it gently but firmly.
You look down, mustering the willpower to not instinctively say 'sorry'. "It's the kind of thing that would put the crew at risk, but I think we're already sort at risk. From Baroque Works, I mean."
Nami makes a face. "That ninja girl. Our houseguests."
"Yeah. I have more details about Miss Wednesday, in particular. Details that might impact the whole crew. I'd talk to Luffy about it, but it… it involves more spoilers than I'd be comfortable bringing up with him."
She thinks for a moment. "I'd suggest we talk to Sanji, but he's got a freaky blindspot when it comes to women. Do you know where Zoro is?"
Sleeping against the railing on the deck. Where else? You almost literally drag the uncomfortable, protesting swordsman to the women's room - apparently 'we need to talk in private' is unclear to him - but thankfully neither Mr. 9 or Miss Wednesday seem to care. Both are inured to the Straw Hats' antics by now.
"Hey, you!" he says to Nami, a bit more loudly than you'd like. "What's the big idea? Using her as your errand girl to fetch me-"
"It's important, Zoro," she says, cutting him off. "Remember the spoilers chat? On Twin Cape?"
There's something about the way she says that implies that the Straw Hats discussed that conversation when you weren't around. You could take a week and not be able to describe the ways the thought of that makes you feel, or why it makes you feel those ways.
"...oh." His almost frothing annoyance recedes, and he gives you a thoughtful look. You meet it. "Something big?"
"Mmhmm. Our captain forbade spoilers. He doesn't want the comic deciding our course towards Raftel. I get that. But this is important to me." You hate feeling like this. Every word spews out - you want to put intent into it, but there's that niggling thought - will this be what alienates them? Will this be what makes them see you in a different light? You do your best to silence those thoughts.
Zoro and Nami are silent, so you let it out. "Miss Wednesday's real name is Vivi Nefertari. She's the princess of Alabasta."
Nami's eyes boggle, while Zoro just lets out a low whistle. "Where's Alabasta?" Zoro asks.
Are they serious? Huh. You think they are. "Big country in the Grand Line. Their princess went missing a while back, she looks suspiciously similar to Miss Wednesday, to the point where I'm wondering how she even managed to infiltrate at all. One of my skills - World Events - it lets me know these things about the royals of the more prominent countries in the world. And this isn't just my theory - there was a reveal in the comic along those lines, too." You let them absorb that, heart pounding just a bit. "And so far, the comic's been pretty close."
"How's this our problem?" Zoro replies. "Some spoiled royal gets bored going to balls or whatnot, decides it'd be fun to become a bounty hunter. You said this was something that was putting us in danger."
"Getting to that," you say, again, a bit too quickly for your liking. "Baroque Works - their boss, Mr. 0, he's aiming to create some sort of utopia. We've all met people from Baroque Works, I think we can all agree that their idea of a utopia would be really, really shitty. They're going to do something to Alabasta. The ninja that attacked you and me-" you gesture towards Nami, "-she mentioned that Baroque Works was going to be operating in a desert climate. Alabasta is a desert country."
You continue. "Mr. 0's going to attack Alabasta. At some point in the near future, most likely. They know that Miss Wednesday is Princess Vivi, and that her bodyguard has also infiltrated them. I only know that because of the manga, but I'd bet almost anything-" you try to ignore Nami perking up at that, "-that they know that in real life, too."
"I want to fight Baroque Works. They're bad people, they're trying to make the world a worse place. I, um, I know that this is a lot to ask the crew to agree to - Miss Wednesday, Vivi, she's a stranger." You look at your crewmates, hoping you don't look as desperate as you feel, getting all of this out.
"They're almost guaranteed to be a challenge, Zoro. We've only met the weaker ones so far, but the ninja that attacked me told me they control several routes. You don't control bits of Paradise if you aren't strong in at least some respects." Nami now. "And obviously a Princess would pay us a lot of money if we saved her kingdom."
Zoro and Nami exchange a stare, both with hard looks on their face. Oh no. Come on. Please. "I-"
Zoro holds up his hand. "You're forgetting something."
Your heart sinks. "W-what am I forgetting?" Fuck. You stuttered. You actually stuttered.
He doesn't break eye contact. "You're a member of the Straw Hat pirates, and Baroque Works attacked you. This conwoman-" Nami looks bizarrely happy at that compliment, "-was attacked too, for whatever that's worth." Not happy anymore, she gives him an annoyed look. "Baroque Works fucked with us. Luffy's not the sort to brood over vengeance, and I doubt he's said anything outright about it… but their fate was sealed the minute that lousy ninja tried to kill you."
…oh. "I didn't… I didn't think… or know about that."
"You don't value yourself enough, Taylor," Nami sighs. She stares at the walls of the women's room. "The fact that you didn't even think to mention that one of Baroque Works literally tried to kill you- agh."
You… didn't think of that. It almost feels like it would have been selfish, to ask your teammates to take revenge on your behalf. "That's not why I want to stop them, though," you say, under your breath.
Zoro lets out a little laugh. "'To be a Hero'. So that's what it looks like."
Your face burns. "Bringing that up?"
"It's not an insult," he says, leaning back against the wall, a smile resting on his face. "It's good."
The three of you are silent for a moment. "So what now?" you ask. "I was thinking… maybe we could prime her? Tell her about what the Straw Hats have done? Stopping Don Krieg? The Trump Siblings? Kuro?" You try to be tasteful and not mention Arlong. You don't see any changes on Nami's face, so maybe you were successful.
Nami snorts. "Taylor, I love you, but you are not nearly subtle enough to succeed at that."
Wow, your face is really on fire. Does this count as Kachi Kachi training? It really should. Zoro shakes his head. "You're too earnest. If you go to dinner and start talking about heroic deeds or whatnot, she's going to suspect something's up the minute you open your mouth. You need a heartless manipulative harpy to pull something like that off." He gestures at Nami, who takes that comment a lot more in stride than you might have in her shoes.
You grimace. "I'd rather not manipulate her."
Nami's smile is… a bit worrying. "Taylor. We would never manipulate her. I'll tell you what. You, me, Zoro, her Majesty… before bed, we'll talk about this like adults, come to an agreement. Discuss payment terms, things like that."
Paym-? Zoro interrupts your train of thought. "Leave me out of this. I don't want to be your muscle in the background. You two can have your girl talk with Miss Wednesday on your own. When we need to fight these strong guys, then you'll need my help."
He leaves, and Nami turns to you. "It's almost time for dinner. Just act normal for now, and then when the three of us are ready for night rest, we'll have a conversation."
–
"Okay, what's up with you?" Miss Wednesday demands of you the moment the three of you are alone. "You were sneaking me glances all dinner! I don't swing that way, especially not for pirates!"
Nami sighs. What? You blink. "That's not-"
The navigatrix raises a hand, and you stop talking. Miss Wednesday gives you an incredulous look. "You're worth fourteen million beri, and you shut up when the navigator says so?"
To her credit, Nami doesn't betray any sign of annoyance at that. You reply, tersely, on her behalf, "She's my friend. And she's offering good advice. I was about to get sidetracked."
The bluenette - seriously, that's a very striking, distracting color scheme, and the fact that it's entirely natural makes you oddly fascinated - gives you an almost performatively studious look, as if she was trying to make herself above it all, smug, unaffected. "Sidetracked from what?"
"I think you need our help," you say. "And I think you know why."
The smugness fades almost instantly. "Explain," she says, shortly, testily, staring you down.
"I was scouted by Baroque Works a few weeks ago," you explain. "Ninja woman. I don't know her name."
"Nezu. She's a creep. We're… acquainted," Vivi says, distastefully. Ah. You can finally stop calling her Unknown Kunoichi.
"That was the impression I got from her too," you agree. Nami nods. "So, anyway. She was scouting me. She said because of my Devil Fruit and my achievements in the East Blue, I'd be a candidate for a frontier agent position."
"Your first bounty was fourteen million beri. I'm not surprised. She didn't know you were actually a pirate." She's trying to take control of the conversation back, present an image of strength. She's mentioned your bounty twice. You wonder if she's been using your crew's bounties as a psychological anchor of sorts.
"She said that since I was going to have a high rank anyway, that I should know that I'd be doing a lot of work in a 'desert climate'." Vivi's face falls. "'Nezu' mentioned a Boss, but she didn't say much else about him. I didn't think much of this at the time, but I pay attention to world events. I know about the important royal families, and when they go missing. Especially when you take a look back at previous editions of the newspaper, and notice from interviews that the royal guard captain has stepped away as well."
Vivi stares at you, mouth parted. "What are you trying to say?" she says, taking a step back.
Do you have her? You can't tell, but you're damn sure going to try. "Your kingdom is in trouble, Princess Vivi." An intake of breath. "Baroque Works is targeting it, and we both know they don't have good intentions. I don't know what you were planning, joining them, but if Nezu's representative, they aren't good people. And I think if they have the chance, they'll hurt, even destroy your country, to get whatever it is they want."
"They've already come after us, and now that I've beaten Nezu, I don't think they're going to stop coming after us until we're all dead." You take a step forward, reaching out a hand. "I want to help you. I think you want help, because I think you know exactly what I'm talking about, exactly what Baroque Works is going to do to your country. And if I figured out what you're doing, your highness, I bet this Boss has too."
Vivi laughs weakly. "You just have everything all figured out, don't you, Escape Artist?"
"Taylor. It's Taylor."
Her lips quiver as she looks down. When she sees her hands, she lets out a full body shudder as she realizes they're shaking. Steeling herself, she looks back at you. It's a different look than the affected smugness from before. "Then I'm Vivi. Not, not around Mr. 9. Around him I'm still Miss Wednesday. I don't… Miss Wednesday. Let's stick with Miss Wednesday for now. I don't- gah. I really thought this would work."
You feel a surge of hope. "Does this mean-" she seizes up, and you stop short.
"Igaram," she says, weakly at first, but she steels herself again. "We- we have to go to Whiskey Peak. He might be in danger."
Nami pipes up. "Who's Igaram? The guard captain?" You're glad she was the one to ask there. She actually doesn't know, unlike you.
She looks reluctant, but the cat's out of the bag now. "My bodyguard. He's stationed at Whiskey Peak. On Cactus Island. It's our - Baroque Works' - village. Mr. 9 and I were going to bring the whale's meat back there as provisions."
You wonder how that would even work, logistically. There can't be a ship in the world big enough to haul all of it, and you don't remember them having a substantial seafaring craft- not the important thing right now.
Nami begins to take over the conversation. "We don't have a log pose for Cactus. Only Foolshout."
Vivi looks crestfallen. "Then-"
"The Den Den Mushi? Can we get out a warning?" you interject. You stole it from the Marines who attacked you at Reverse Mountain, and haven't used it since.
The princess's eyes widen. "Yes - Igaram and I have a private snail on Whiskey Peak. I can call and warn him ahead of time. Please - let me-"
"Yes, of course-" you begin, idly realizing you don't even know how to 'operate' a Den Den Mushi, but Nami interrupts you.
"That's a Marine snail. How do we know the Eighth Branch won't just be listening to your call, taking notes, triangulating our location?"
Vivi shakes her head, almost tiredly explaining. "Baroque Works uses modified Marine Den Den Mushi as part of its day to day business. Mr. 0 is tied to the World Government. All he has to do is make the snails 'sing' a little bit differently, and… no problems. Maybe if the Marines were insanely lucky, if they had black snails monitoring every possible frequency and having a team filter through it, they'd pick it up. It's unlikely. You'd wind up picking up so much junk, that you'd have to have an absolute fanatic of a Marine commander in the right place at the right time, with the right team recording it."
Smoker's pretty fanatical. Apparently the same thought occurred to Nami. "Well, we've got one of those real workaholics coming after us. Captain Smoker, ever heard of him?" She asks.
Vivi lets out a gagging noise. "Captain Smoker! From Loguetown! A-are you serious? And… you've encountered him?"
"Escaped twice," you reply. "We aren't pushovers, Vivi."
"Right. Right. Of course." She mutters out those replies under her breath, before looking over at Nami. "In that case, Miss Nami, could you please allow me the use of your snail?"
Nami gives her a hard look, and a very, very brief look of exasperation in your general direction. "Good grief. If Taylor's wrong to trust you, and you try to call in an attack on us, you'll regret it, you know that, right? And we'll need to discuss snailular rates afterwards."
Vivi laughs, giving Nami a side eye. "Miss Taylor's made it clear to me that there's a far scarier guy than you or even Captain Smoker coming after me, and probably Igaram."
Who? You don't answer before Vivi starts massaging one of the snail's eyestalks in a certain way, before fiddling with the wires, and only then beginning to turn the dial. The snail's worryingly humanlike lips let out a dry, monotone 'pu-ru-pu-ru-pu-ru' dial tone as the call begins to go through.
"I've gotta wait eight rings to leave a message," she explains. "It's unlikely he's availab-"
The call is answered at the third ring. She freezes up in worry. "I was wondering when you get around to calling-" A deep male voice, almost mocking. "-Princess Vivi."
That's… you don't think that's- Vivi lets out a quiet 'oh no', almost dropping the communicator in panic. You reach over to help her, but she manages to clumsily grab hold of it again, pressing a button on the side. "M-Mr. 5? Who's Princess Vivi?"
Fuck. You remember him. He can pull off pieces of his body to generate bioorganic explosions. His partner's codenamed Miss Valentine. A woman with a limited personal gravity effect, changing between one and ten thousand kilograms, if you remember right.
In the comic, he and his partner were sent to kill Miss Wednesday and Mr. 8 after their status as spies was discovered, independently of the Straw Hats' arrival at Whiskey Peak. Fuck. You didn't consider that.
The man on the other end of the line snickers. "You're still trying that, after your cover got blown wide open? Royals really are too stubborn for their own good."
Anger's spreading on Vivi's face, overtaking concern. "What happened to M- the person that normally answers this line?"
"Oh, don't worry, your majesty. Guard Captain Igaram's alive. So's that duck of yours, in case you were wondering."
You share a glance with Nami. This isn't good in the slightest.
"W-what will you do with them?"
"Like I said, Princess. No need to worry. They'll be heading home soon, along with you. Only a little singed. I'd like to let Igaram say hello, but, well, he's not feeling up to the task right now. You understand." You find yourself clenching your fist in impotent fury, and it's not even your… what is Igaram to Vivi? Uncle-figure? Father-figure? Friend?... your family and pet being threatened. You can't imagine how Vivi feels at the sheer unfairness of the situation.
"You're with the Straw Hat Pirates, right? I'm almost impressed, Princess. You managed to get your partner and some backseas pirates to follow you down the path of getting shishkebabed and desiccated."
Nami exhales almost silently through her teeth. If you didn't have a high Perception, you wouldn't have caught it.
"Not a decision I'd have made, but I don't have that same royal education as you, you see." He's monologuing. In real life. It'd be galling even if he weren't threatening your lives. "Is Straw Hat listening now, Princess?"
She doesn't respond. She looks shellshocked. Nami doesn't look especially interested in answering, and there's a moment of lingering silence… you decide to gently grab the communicator from Vivi's hands. She lets you supplant the take over, hands limp. "I'll have to do," you speak into the microphone, unable to conceal the anger in your voice.
"Oh?" Mr. 5 asks, curious. "I was expecting Straw Hat, not one of his women. Are you Escape Artist or the cute redhead?"
You hear a muffled 'hey!' from the snail-phone. Miss Valentine? His partner? Are they together? "Escape Artist."
"Ah, of course. You picked a bad time to sign up for piracy, bear girl. Could have been part of something truly great." The 'bear girl' line and that 'cute redhead' crack about Nami. He's showing off how much Baroque Works knows about the Straw Hats.
You glare daggers at the snail, which you belatedly realize has adapted some of Mr. 5's physical traits, a smug smile, half-closed eyes. That effect must be a two-way street. You school your features correspondingly, to project calm. "If it means I get to stop you bastards, I think I picked an alright time."
He lets out what sounds like an involuntary, disbelieving chuckle, and you hear a shrill, unpleasant 'kyahahaha!' from the snail. "You have no idea how fucking stupid you are, girl. We're going to burn your dinky little rowboat until it's nothing but ash. We're going to kill each and every one of you East Blue washout pirates. We're going to take your captain out to sea, slit his throat and take his Devil Fruit for our own. We're going to drag your princess to the ruins of Alubarna and force-feed her a stew made of her guard captain and her adorable little duck. We're going to burn her kingdom to the ground and build a utopia on its corpse. And, you audacious little bitch, we're going to do it all without you having even met the Boss."
Mr. 5 lets out a little scoff. "Unbelievable. You're probably too much of an idiot to even realize what an impossible war you just declared, Escape Artist."
You deliberately keep your expression steady. What more information can you get from him? How do you extend this conversation? It's not like with Nezu, where she was trying to get you on board, almost a captive audience in a way. Entirely different framework. "I bet all of the pirates we've beaten so far would have told us something similar, bounty hunter."
He chuckles again. "Sure, sure. Well. You'll have an opportunity to prove yourselves soon enough. The Unluckies say you're sailing towards Foolshout Island. We'll be waiting."
There's a clicking sound. The call ends. Disbelieving, you stare at the communicator. You've… have you been ever threatened so explicitly and so personally by someone so powerful? Vivi wordlessly presses that button on the side again, and the snail's lips let out a little dial tone.
Nami shakes the metaphorical cobwebs out of her head. "You recorded that?!"
Vivi sets her lips in a line. She speaks, and every word is forced, deliberate. "As soon as I realized it was Mr. 5 on the other snail. Figured you'd need something with which to convince your captain."
Nami sighs dramatically and sits down in her writing chair. She rests her face in her hands, rubbing her eyes stressfully. "Just how much should we be worried about Baroque Works, Vivi?"
The princess folds her arms. Even in the plain sailor clothes she's wearing, she affects a regal status, standing proud in spite of her fear and anger. You feel a certain admiration developing for her, keeping herself standing tall in the face of a threat like this. Vivi looks over at Nami. "This secret would get you killed under normal circumstances. But… you're already on Baroque Works' kill list."
"Mr. 0 is Crocodile. One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea."
You feel like you betrayed your principles just now. Your first thought was 'maybe this is an unwinnable war'.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea. Seven pirates who chose to became attack dogs of the government, gaining a full pardon in exchange for serving as a counterbalance against not only unleashed regular pirates around the sea, but also the Yonkou, the rulers of the New World. Those four have leveled more populated islands than America has major cities, all under their own power, not aided by cannons, or ships, but their raw, brute strength, and that of their subordinates.
And the Seven Warlords are capable of threatening them. That's one of the people who just declared your crew 'dead pirates sailing'. Well. You'll just have to deal. You take a deep breath, and meet Vivi's eyes. "We saved the East Blue. This crew stopped the remnants of Don Krieg's fleets. We saved Clockwork Island from the Trump Siblings. Hell, you're talking Warlords? They stopped Arlong, one of the Knight of the Sea's former right-hand men."
You reach out a hand and place it on her shoulder. She doesn't push it aside, so you leave it there. Confidence building up, you continue. "A Warlord? That's just the next logical step for this crew. We'll beat him and save your kingdom."
Vivi laughs. "You have a contagious optimism, Miss Taylor. I wish I shared it. I… I don't even know if Karoo and Igaram are alive. I don't know what's going to happen to my kingdom. All I know is… we have to stop Baroque Works."
"Ask Luffy for help," you implore her. "He'll help you."
"Especially if we show him that nightmarish recording," Nami shudders. That's not really helpful for calming Vivi down and letting her know your crew is reliable, but… she's not wrong.
You wish you were better at stuff like this, at being an inspiring hero. You always feel like you're a light year short of that ultimate goal. For now, all you can really say is, "We'll stop them. Together. For now, let's try and get some rest. We can talk to Luffy and the rest of the crew about this tomorrow, when they're less exhausted from the day's chaos."
The Tommy's Hardware scene has been changed from my draft/the rolls I shared to add in two skill rolls - I realized Taylor probably wouldn't get a great reception trying to buy lumber as a fifteen year old girl on her own, so I shifted that around a bit, and you guys got to roll for Disguise and Acting. I also realized the Combat Instinct roll didn't work for what I planned for the Sea King encounter, that was removed. Reflexes was the only roll appropriate for that.
The New Wave and Vivi convos were swapped because I thought it would be a bit weird for that crazy snail call with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine to happen and for Taylor to just go back to driver's ed like nothing mattered the next day.
Day 1
73:75. Seaman (AoS) 8 not unlocked.
68:90. Boatswain 9 not unlocked.
44:60. Teaching 4 not unlocked.
13:70. Carpentry 4 not unlocked. (These four refers to general bosun-ing/hanging out with Usopp, doing carpentry). 28:90. Shipwright 5 not unlocked.
36:50. No extra loot from Tommy's Hardware visit. The 'loot' would have just been some broken tools for you to repair at a later date, maybe give to Usopp.
72:40. Disguise 4 unlocked. 93:40. Acting 4 unlocked.
16:100. Ninjutsu 0 (category skill) not unlocked.
92:??. Very successful result re: Vivi conversation. Mr. 5 winds up being cocky to impress his partner/FWB and make himself look better, and in trying to intimidate the Straw Hats/destroy their morale, inadvertently gives them critical information. Taylor is able to center Vivi after the snail call, and while Vivi isn't ride or die for the Straw Hats yet, she has faith that they're on her side for now. Zoro and Nami were largely on board with the idea, and Nami lets Taylor take the lead on the Vivi conversation - there's plenty of time to bring up payment in the coming days, after all.
Day 2
51:60. Seaman (AoS) 8 not unlocked.
06:80. Boatswain 9 not unlocked.
53:40. Teaching 4 unlocked. Usopp - very slight increase in some Carpentry skills, learns to use an electric saw and apply some modern carpentry tools to damage on the Merry.
51:30. Carpentry 4 unlocked. 87:60. Carpentry 5 unlocked. 12:60. Shipwright 5 not unlocked.
04:80. Leadership 2 not unlocked.
96:80. Cold Resistance 6 unlocked. (These five skills refer to general bosun-ing on the First Stretch)
24:70. Reflexes 9 not unlocked. (This refers to Sea King near-encounter.)
53:00. Driving 0 unlocked. 95:70. Driving 1 unlocked. 36:100. Driving 2 not unlocked. Started online driving school. 1/3. Easy enough to ram through, a lot of busywork.
10:80. Engineering 3 (category skill) not unlocked.
26:80. What's left of the Crook Club was run out of town. As far as Lady Photon and Brandish are aware, the Club accidentally helped rob an E88 front - Kaiser took umbrage. Bezzy tried to organize a repayment plan to make amends, Kaiser took that as an offense, likely viewing a thinker trying to take advantage of him. Bezzy dead, Tommy Gun maimed, rest left town. New Wave offers you some pointers on potential Merchant hideouts, but warns they normally tend to focus on patrols against E88 and to a lesser extent, ABB.
24:??. Not that catastrophic a result - New Wave shares information on your target capes, but the first impression is a bit rough. I made some modifications to this while writing. New Wave initially only politely refused Taylor because she was unregistered.
But then I came up with the explicit confirmation to Teacher, however, would really piss Taylor off. This roll doesn't just refer to what New Wave thinks of Taylor, but of what Taylor thinks of New Wave. For the foreseeable future, unless they get some real fire-forged friend moments (seems unlikely, but possible), when Taylor sees or interacts with Brandish (and to a much lesser extent, Lady Photon), she'll always have something in the back of her mind like 'this preppy rich prom queen compared me to fucking Teacher.'
+1 Acting (4)
+1 Cold Resistance (6)
+2 Carpentry (5)
+1 Disguise (4)
+2 Driving (1)
+1 Teaching (4)
Loot/Resource Changes
Day 1: +Redmove coral calcium sample.
+Scrap wood and basic tools from Earth Mahon. -$428.94 in Earth-Mahon dollars.
+Notepad from Carol Dallon/Brandish with a specialized emergency-only number for New Wave, addresses listing locations with potential Merchant activity
Day 2: N/A
73:75. Seaman (AoS) 8 not unlocked.
68:90. Boatswain 9 not unlocked.
44:60. Teaching 4 not unlocked.
13:70. Carpentry 4 not unlocked. (These four refers to general bosun-ing/hanging out with Usopp, doing carpentry). 28:90. Shipwright 5 not unlocked.
36:50. No extra loot from Tommy's Hardware visit. The 'loot' would have just been some broken tools for you to repair at a later date, maybe give to Usopp.
72:40. Disguise 4 unlocked. 93:40. Acting 4 unlocked.
16:100. Ninjutsu 0 (category skill) not unlocked.
92:??. Very successful result re: Vivi conversation. Mr. 5 winds up being cocky to impress his partner/FWB and make himself look better, and in trying to intimidate the Straw Hats/destroy their morale, inadvertently gives them critical information. Taylor is able to center Vivi after the snail call, and while Vivi isn't ride or die for the Straw Hats yet, she has faith that they're on her side for now. Zoro and Nami were largely on board with the idea, and Nami lets Taylor take the lead on the Vivi conversation - there's plenty of time to bring up payment in the coming days, after all.
Day 2
51:60. Seaman (AoS) 8 not unlocked.
06:80. Boatswain 9 not unlocked.
53:40. Teaching 4 unlocked. Usopp - very slight increase in some Carpentry skills, learns to use an electric saw and apply some modern carpentry tools to damage on the Merry.
51:30. Carpentry 4 unlocked. 87:60. Carpentry 5 unlocked. 12:60. Shipwright 5 not unlocked.
04:80. Leadership 2 not unlocked.
96:80. Cold Resistance 6 unlocked. (These five skills refer to general bosun-ing on the First Stretch)
24:70. Reflexes 9 not unlocked. (This refers to Sea King near-encounter.)
53:00. Driving 0 unlocked. 95:70. Driving 1 unlocked. 36:100. Driving 2 not unlocked. Started online driving school. 1/3. Easy enough to ram through, a lot of busywork.
10:80. Engineering 3 (category skill) not unlocked.
26:80. What's left of the Crook Club was run out of town. As far as Lady Photon and Brandish are aware, the Club accidentally helped rob an E88 front - Kaiser took umbrage. Bezzy tried to organize a repayment plan to make amends, Kaiser took that as an offense, likely viewing a thinker trying to take advantage of him. Bezzy dead, Tommy Gun maimed, rest left town. New Wave offers you some pointers on potential Merchant hideouts, but warns they normally tend to focus on patrols against E88 and to a lesser extent, ABB.
24:??. Not that catastrophic a result - New Wave shares information on your target capes, but the first impression is a bit rough. I made some modifications to this while writing. New Wave initially only politely refused Taylor because she was unregistered.
But then I came up with the explicit confirmation to Teacher, however, would really piss Taylor off. This roll doesn't just refer to what New Wave thinks of Taylor, but of what Taylor thinks of New Wave. For the foreseeable future, unless they get some real fire-forged friend moments (seems unlikely, but possible), when Taylor sees or interacts with Brandish (and to a much lesser extent, Lady Photon), she'll always have something in the back of her mind like 'this preppy rich prom queen compared me to fucking Teacher.'
+1 Acting (4)
+1 Cold Resistance (6)
+2 Carpentry (5)
+1 Disguise (4)
+2 Driving (1)
+1 Teaching (4)
Loot/Resource Changes
Day 1: +Redmove coral calcium sample.
+Scrap wood and basic tools from Earth Mahon. -$428.94 in Earth-Mahon dollars.
+Notepad from Carol Dallon/Brandish with a specialized emergency-only number for New Wave, addresses listing locations with potential Merchant activity
Day 2: N/A
There you have it. War has been declared. Baroque Works vs. the Straw Hats. Log poses set, the Going Merry, on an inevitable course to conflict.
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Sunday, January 16, 2011, Saturday, May 28, 1532, Sunday, November 12, 2000), and Day 2 (Monday, January 17, 2011, Sunday, May 29, 1532, Monday, November 13, 2000). Voting closes on Wednesday, May 3, at midnight EST.
For Day 1, you have FOUR ACTIONS. For Day 2, you have FIVE ACTIONS.
Ordinarily, you would have seven actions. For Day 1, two actions will be used on First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance, and one will be used for the crew meeting re: Baroque Works' declaration of war. Day 2 is two more actions for First Stretch-related bosuning/general assistance. This number will go down.
Your driver's ed project would ordinarily be a mandatory action, but due to the extenuating circumstances, I'm putting it on hold and letting you resume it either later, or in this very vote, if you would prefer to get it done now.
If you would like to mention something at the morning crew meeting, write it as an add-on in your plan and @ me. I have veto power, as always.
Before you take a look at the training/project options, view these (2) additional items you need to vote on. These are separate from plans. If you vote solely for Plan [user] but do not vote for MENTALITY and POWER USE, you will not have a vote counted.
MENTALITY: That call with Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine - it shook you. You've never been threatened like that before, you've never faced an enemy as powerful as Baroque Works before, and you've never had this kind of advance warning for a threat before. How does this affect you? This mentality will stick with Taylor until Foolshout is 'finished', and then the players/Taylor will get a chance to reevaluate whether they want to stick with it or not. This is not a light decision on Taylor's part, it should be treated as something with gravity. No write-in options here, pick one.
The Straw Hats will arrive on Foolshout sometime in the next eight to twelve days. The Foolshout arc will not be finished then, it will just be starting. Taylor does not know how long the business on Foolshout Island will take, how many days, etc. Assume at least 8-12 days of the below effect(s).
–[ ] MENTALITY: It doesn't. You and your friends will fight them, and you'll win, having done what you were planning to do all along. No change to skill chances. Taylor continues on as normal.
–[ ] MENTALITY: You want to prioritize combat/combat-adjacent skills or powers. You aren't sure it's the right time to focus on anything else. Until you are 'finished' with the conflict at Foolshout Island, the following skills will have +10 added to whatever you roll, other skills will have -10 from whatever you roll. This quest does not have critical failures. Skills in question: Acrobatics, Blunt Weapons, Bombmaking, Boxing, Capoeira, Combat Instincts, Devil Fruits (Kachi Kachi, Sube Sube), Dual Wielding, Fengten's Tekkutoryu, Fishman Karate (General, Mizudangan), Freerunner, Judo, Killing Intent, Knives, Kung Fu, Marksmanship (Primitive), Ninjutsu, Parahuman powers (if any gained during this period), Poisoncraft, Poison Resistance, Reflexes, Running, Shape Changing, Stealth, Tactics, Weightlifting. This limitation also applies to skills learned from random encounters or mandatory actions. Driving project will be abandoned until this effect ends, or if you choose to reinstate it.
POWER USE: Reaching out to New Wave brought to mind another problem you have. On Earth-Bet, your powers would make you a resource to be exploited. It might be worth hiding your powers to an extent, even from the heroes and allies you make, at least for the time being. This attitude will remain in effect for about a month in-universe, and then we can reevaluate it based on player opinion. This should be considered a temporary measure until the players think they're ready for potential Bet-exposure of the truth of Taylor's powers..
Leaning towards no write-in options here, if you have something you think is a winning idea, @ me, but the answer is probably no. I think these three are a decent spectrum of options that keep you viable on Bet.
–[ ] POWER USE: Hide your power almost entirely, and avoid situations where you'd even have to risk using it. You told New Wave you were (mostly) purely a skill-thinker with some bonuses, stick with that. On Bet, you won't do anything a skill-thinker with some bonuses couldn't do. Locks off options to fight most gangs, save the Merchants and Circus. If you choose this option, next update, a project to create a new back-up identity will be added where you can use your other powers, players allowed to elaborate in write-ins with my permission.
–[ ] POWER USE: Hide your power by claiming to be a skill-combat thinker, as above, but you'll use powers like Sube Sube and Ninjutsu (once fully leveled) more openly in combat. It's a thinner definition of 'skill-thinker with some bonuses to it', but you think it's consistent with what you told New Wave. Locks off options to fight most gangs in groups. Taylor will be willing to ambush (some) villain capes if they're by themselves or in groups of three, where she would previously have just withdrawn completely. If you choose this option, next update, a project to create a new back-up identity will be added where you can use your other powers, players allowed to elaborate in write-ins with my permission. I will also add projects to go after more gangs in the subsequent update.
–[ ] POWER USE: Tell your allies you're a skill-thinker with some bonuses, implying (as you did to an extent in the New Wave chat ('close to the vest')) that there's more to it. In combat however, you fight without restrictions. Maybe in the not too distant future, E88 finds themselves fighting a rock-hard, burning hot bear that completely no sells physical and stabbing attacks, that constantly spews out near-boiling water bullets. This could result in some difficult conversations with your allies, and unwanted attention, but you functionally would fight the same way you would on Mayim or Mahon. No restrictions on fighting cape groups. For now, the Merchants/Circus project is all Taylor will have, but more will be added if you choose this. This option is the likeliest to draw attention your way, but also the likeliest way to gain powers fast. If you pick this option, you'll need to be able to manage time wisely enough to balance the first risk with the second gain.
New projects:
-[ ] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (1/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright).
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to track down Circus. They're an independent thief villain cape with (possibly) a grab-bag assortment of random powers. They know their stuff, so they'll likely be pretty tough to find. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception, ???. This option will involve more research, data-tracking stuff at home, less street-level stuff. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] Write-in. Tag @jcw3 first.
-[ ] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (1/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright).
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to track down Circus. They're an independent thief villain cape with (possibly) a grab-bag assortment of random powers. They know their stuff, so they'll likely be pretty tough to find. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception, ???. This option will involve more research, data-tracking stuff at home, less street-level stuff. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] Write-in. Tag @jcw3 first.
Going Merry actions. 1 action each. Max 1 action per person, 3 different persons per day. New options may unlock as you get to know the crew better.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 30% of Boatswain 9. 60% of Shipwright 5. 30% of Shipwright 6. 0% of Teaching 5.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 20% Survival 5, 0% Naturalist 7. Potential increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5, 20% of Navigation 5. 20% of Meteorology 4. 60% of Meteorology 3. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4, 50% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 90% of Bombmaking 3. 40% of Bombmaking 4. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 0% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Buy some more tools for Usopp. This investment may reduce the number of actions you need to take on the Going Merry in the long run. 1 action . -$200-500 Mahon USD, depending on rolls.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to find some places in Mahon-NYC that might be useful for training, crafting, resource acquisition, etc. This can be a shooting range, bookstore, grocery store, hardware store, whatever you may need. Remember to keep an eye on currency. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 60% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 0% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydrokinesis is hard. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is an Aura combat style (note: Aura is different from Haki).
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 5% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 70% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 70% of Criminal Psychology 1. 20% of Criminal Psychology 2.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 70% of Forensics 0, 10% of Forensics 1.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
--[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
--[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 30% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge. 50% of Acrobatics 4.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 60% of Swimming 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available) Taylor is taking a hiatus from mundane martial arts for the next several days
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 30% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 0% of Naturalist 7. 60% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 0% of Carpentry 6.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 40% of Doctor 2. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 60% of Driving 2. 10% of Driving 3. (1/3 to completion of Driver's Ed project)
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 8. 20% of Medicine 5. 20% of Anatomy 5. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 8. (+25 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 100% of Photography 0. 50% of Photography 1. 10% of Photography 2. Low chance of increase in Art.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 15% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 20% of Seaman 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 30% of Survival 5.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 80% of Fishing 5.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 100% of Trapper 0. 60% of Trapper 1.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 50% of Public Speaking 3.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 40% of Leadership 2.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 3. 10% of Woodwind Musician 4. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 10% of Acting 5.
-[ ] Disguise. 20% Disguise 5.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action.
Training: Unlisted skills.
The following skills and their derivative skills are blocked as you don't have an appropriate place to train them. Maybe you should work on that, huh?:
none right now
The following skills and their derivative skills are not listed because you have not sought out a way to advance them:
Art, World Issues, various Weapons skills, Barter
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 30% of Boatswain 9. 60% of Shipwright 5. 30% of Shipwright 6. 0% of Teaching 5.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 20% Survival 5, 0% Naturalist 7. Potential increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5, 20% of Navigation 5. 20% of Meteorology 4. 60% of Meteorology 3. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4, 50% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 90% of Bombmaking 3. 40% of Bombmaking 4. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 0% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Buy some more tools for Usopp. This investment may reduce the number of actions you need to take on the Going Merry in the long run. 1 action . -$200-500 Mahon USD, depending on rolls.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to find some places in Mahon-NYC that might be useful for training, crafting, resource acquisition, etc. This can be a shooting range, bookstore, grocery store, hardware store, whatever you may need. Remember to keep an eye on currency. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 60% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 0% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydrokinesis is hard. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is an Aura combat style (note: Aura is different from Haki).
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 5% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 70% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 70% of Criminal Psychology 1. 20% of Criminal Psychology 2.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 70% of Forensics 0, 10% of Forensics 1.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 30% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge. 50% of Acrobatics 4.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 60% of Swimming 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available) Taylor is taking a hiatus from mundane martial arts for the next several days
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 30% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 0% of Naturalist 7. 60% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 0% of Carpentry 6.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 40% of Doctor 2. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 60% of Driving 2. 10% of Driving 3. (1/3 to completion of Driver's Ed project)
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 8. 20% of Medicine 5. 20% of Anatomy 5. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 8. (+25 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 100% of Photography 0. 50% of Photography 1. 10% of Photography 2. Low chance of increase in Art.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 15% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 20% of Seaman 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 30% of Survival 5.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 80% of Fishing 5.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 100% of Trapper 0. 60% of Trapper 1.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 50% of Public Speaking 3.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 40% of Leadership 2.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 3. 10% of Woodwind Musician 4. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 10% of Acting 5.
-[ ] Disguise. 20% Disguise 5.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action.
Training: Unlisted skills.
The following skills and their derivative skills are blocked as you don't have an appropriate place to train them. Maybe you should work on that, huh?:
none right now
The following skills and their derivative skills are not listed because you have not sought out a way to advance them:
Art, World Issues, various Weapons skills, Barter
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Parahumans - list of unique interactions with Headway
This is a list of parahuman powers that have unique or odd or anti-synergistic relationships with Headway, as well as a clarification on some more ways in which Headway works and doesn't work. This post was last updated after 2.25, and may be out of date from the time you read this post.
Before I go into any more detail - let me reiterate. Headway is not parahuman. It is not Devil Fruit. It is not mutant, mutate, Inhuman, Eternal, or anything like that. It is an outside context power for all three universes in this quest.
This informational post will be structured as Tinkers first, and then a list of parahumans by name below. Feel free to make requests, I'll update periodically. A lot of these characters are waaaay in the future, but I think it's worth clearing the air about them now so that I don't cause hard feelings later.
Tinkers
Gonna start by insisting that you read this reddit WoG by Wildbow. We need to be on the same page about Tinkers in general here.
So when Headway copies the tinker ability, it doesn't purify out the 'incomprehensible magic shard bullshit' aspect of tinkertech. Any tinkertech you build won't be comprehensible to conventional scientists, and even a Reed Richards type would look at that and go 'ah ha, you're using advanced Clarketech to cheat reality', and not 'ah ha, you're a genius scientist!'. This will be the problem you'll face when you beat and train your first tinker ability (I'm 95% sure this will be Squealer.)
Let's say you get Squealer's ability. You'll probably waste a lot of materials training it up - drawing blueprints won't give you great odds, so you'll need to invest a fair bit of resources, thousands, tens of thousands of dollars worth, maybe. More than an ordinary tinker would, certainly, since they have that intuitive false-understanding of their tinkertech that the shard gives them, whereas you have to learn how to replicate that intuitive false-understanding through trial and error with Headway.
But you'll finish the skill - Parahumans fans tend to exaggerate how useful the average tinker is because the primary examples we see are often the greatest examples of tinkers in setting - naturally useful capes like Dragon (she's technically a thinker but come on)/Lookout or highly experienced capes like Defiant. Capes like Squealer, the similar-level of OC capes you're likely to be beating when/if you branch out of Brockton Bay, are shittier tinkers than that. Manage your expectations appropriately from canon, raise them a bit since you'll likely have better gear from Mahon after a decent action investment in tracking that down, making connections there, etc.
When you do finish the skill, assuming Squealer is your one and only tinker ability at this point, you won't be able to mass produce your cool new death-jeep. You'll have to maintain it, and other individuals might find themselves struggling to use it, or breaking it even while they think they're doing an awesome job.
You'll find that even with a Science or Engineering 10, you won't be able to fully understand how the death-jeep works, because Headway's replication of the shard-bullshit is filling in to support you.
But Squealer won't be your only tinker. I have a whole list of preprepared capes ready for you guys to encounter once Brockton Bay is exhausted of encounters (and won't that be a while!). That's on top of capes like Bonesaw or Bakuda or Mannequin or Blasto or any other villains you might run into. As you beat more and more tinkers (we'll say ten whose specialties are sufficiently distinct from one another, that distinction decided on a case by case basis at the time of writing), you'll become more like the tinkers from Eden's world, whose tinkertech could be mass-produced. This would likely be a separate skill unlocked - Tinkertech Comprehension, something like that.
But it would be a reward for beating and mastering ten different tinkers, which, as you can probably tell, is incredibly far into the future. By that point, you might have mastered conventional Mahon-tech to the point where it's not even worth it anymore.
The sort of weakness Headway would immediately remove re: Tinkertech is, like, the resource tinker whose shard forces him to only use stolen diamonds.
Scanning powers, like Tinkers do regularly in canon, is something you'll be able to do, and as you get more tinker powers, you'll have the option to create multipurpose scanning tools, like, for instance, a scanner that scans powers in the context of Bakuda and Squealer's abilities. But if your Parahuman: Bakuda skill is low-level, you won't have much luck getting usable results if you modify the scanner.
Accord: See Contessa/High-Level Precogs in general.
Bitch: Could you turn yourself into a monster dog if you beat Bitch? No. Headway doesn't artificially remove (most) Manton limitations. You'd have her ability to transform other people into monster dogs, if you met wolfmen, but, well, it's tough to imagine Taylor choosing that means of augmenting wolfmen allies. Their augmentation would likely have varying degrees of quality, the further from a natural coyote it is, as per canon. Results will be mixed at best.
Coil: TL;DR. No. Headway will just spit his power out. It'd be a pain in the ass to handle as a GM. No.
Contessa/High-Level Precogs in general: No. Headway refuses to work with it. It's possible players will be able to beat Contessa at one point - Mantellum and Teacher were able to pull it off. But you won't get Path to Victory out of it.
Crawler: You'll get the adaptive ability and a corresponding shape-changing power (likely classed under the same parahuman ability), but none of Crawler's existing mutations. Same reason you don't get Glaistig Uaine's ghosts by beating her. He earned those mutations, you'll have to earn yours.
Echidna/Noelle Meinhardt: This is a tough one. My thinking is that I'll keep it simple and say that Headway rejects this one too.
Glaistig Uaine: You'll get her fundamental 'understanding' and relationship with shards, and ability to 'snatch' shards from living parahumans (like she did to Grey Boy). You'll also get her ability to keep the shard-ghosts of deceased parahumans who die around you. You will not, however, get her ghosts' powers by defeating Ciara herself, unless you come up with some way to kill or defeat what is already dead. Which may be possible, who knows.
Leet: I'm just going to quote myself on this one: TL;DR: If you get his power early and train it early, you'll wind up with all of the tech that doesn't work (minus the explosions). In the process of training his power, you'll obviously have to use his power, and you'll wind up hitting the 'using it once' marker a lot, while not making anything good at all in the process. If you get his power early, and Taylor will determine this and note it in-universe if and when you beat him, then it won't be worth training it until much, much later, when you've beaten a lot of Tinkers and Headway is more used to digesting parahuman powers, so the training time will be lessened.
Matter-generator capes: will likely get their own category like Tinkers have (see how Squealer's power is listed as Parahuman: Tinker: Squealer instead of just Parahuman: Squealer). You'll start out with the same weaknesses they have (power-generated materials are bad for construction, will collapse or lose steam or purity as time goes by), but after defeating 5 and mastering their powers to 10, that weakness will be removed.
Noctis capes: Will not you bypass Headway's seven action limit. You will not gain sleeplessness from beating Noctis capes. Headway needs time to 'recharge', if you're curious as to the in-universe reason, and that happens to coincide with Taylor resting.
Ogun:
Uber: Uber does not necessarily learn skills, he learns techniques. I suspect you'd have an easier time training general skills with his power, but parahuman powers weren't really made to understand more exotic abilities like Devil Fruits or Dr. Strange-style magic, so I don't think they'd help much on that front. This one likely gives you faster training as you're able to more instinctively use techniques, and it probably tops out at helping you around level 5 or 6 of a general skill.
Victor: With regards to the specific aspect of Victor's skill-stealing ability, you'll be able to steal general skills and start them at maybe a 3-5 for the average skilled individual, skipping the step of training their very first levels. Very few people are above 5 (at 6) in the world naturally. Anyone/anything beyond that is exotic, and his power may also conflict with magical skills and abilities, depending on the case, but that's the sort of thing you can ameliorate with supplemental magical training. If you understand Dr. Strange-style magic more, you'll probably be better equipped to steal Dr. Strange-style magic using Victor's power.
Before I go into any more detail - let me reiterate. Headway is not parahuman. It is not Devil Fruit. It is not mutant, mutate, Inhuman, Eternal, or anything like that. It is an outside context power for all three universes in this quest.
This informational post will be structured as Tinkers first, and then a list of parahumans by name below. Feel free to make requests, I'll update periodically. A lot of these characters are waaaay in the future, but I think it's worth clearing the air about them now so that I don't cause hard feelings later.
Tinkers
Gonna start by insisting that you read this reddit WoG by Wildbow. We need to be on the same page about Tinkers in general here.
You know how the shards are kinda there, lurking in alternate realms? Big glacier or even continent sized bio-machines capable of managing and tapping complex manifestations of power? They provide the heat and laserstuff for a blaster cape, who just opens the door to let that stuff through. Or they manage the transformation and provide the mass and material for changer transformations, pushing it through portals. The corona pollentia lets the cape have some say over the management of these processes.
Well, in the abstracted down, simplified version, those big shards of alien lifeform are producing an extension cord that reaches to the border of their alt reality, the tinker extends their end of the extension cord to the border of reality, and the power thus flows.
In reality it's a lot more fine tuned and it's more than an extension cord, but also monitoring and little tweaks and balances, stabilizing fusion cores that would otherwise just blow up, etc. The tech plugs into that and the cape gets the know-how to be able to reach out to the shard, though they almost never really get that that's what they're doing, and they do get the adjustments they can make on their side like it's common sense.
Of course, this varies by tinker and some build very little in the way of extension cords, doing more on their side, with the shard steering their awareness, and others have more of a fugue state and 'black out' moment between when they start building and when they end up with tech (that they might not even know how to use - like Bakuda not knowing what all her bombs do).
Most of the issues with non-tinkers being unable to build tinker stuff is explained away by the tinker as micro-errors and lack of common sense.
Well, in the abstracted down, simplified version, those big shards of alien lifeform are producing an extension cord that reaches to the border of their alt reality, the tinker extends their end of the extension cord to the border of reality, and the power thus flows.
In reality it's a lot more fine tuned and it's more than an extension cord, but also monitoring and little tweaks and balances, stabilizing fusion cores that would otherwise just blow up, etc. The tech plugs into that and the cape gets the know-how to be able to reach out to the shard, though they almost never really get that that's what they're doing, and they do get the adjustments they can make on their side like it's common sense.
Of course, this varies by tinker and some build very little in the way of extension cords, doing more on their side, with the shard steering their awareness, and others have more of a fugue state and 'black out' moment between when they start building and when they end up with tech (that they might not even know how to use - like Bakuda not knowing what all her bombs do).
Most of the issues with non-tinkers being unable to build tinker stuff is explained away by the tinker as micro-errors and lack of common sense.
So when Headway copies the tinker ability, it doesn't purify out the 'incomprehensible magic shard bullshit' aspect of tinkertech. Any tinkertech you build won't be comprehensible to conventional scientists, and even a Reed Richards type would look at that and go 'ah ha, you're using advanced Clarketech to cheat reality', and not 'ah ha, you're a genius scientist!'. This will be the problem you'll face when you beat and train your first tinker ability (I'm 95% sure this will be Squealer.)
Let's say you get Squealer's ability. You'll probably waste a lot of materials training it up - drawing blueprints won't give you great odds, so you'll need to invest a fair bit of resources, thousands, tens of thousands of dollars worth, maybe. More than an ordinary tinker would, certainly, since they have that intuitive false-understanding of their tinkertech that the shard gives them, whereas you have to learn how to replicate that intuitive false-understanding through trial and error with Headway.
But you'll finish the skill - Parahumans fans tend to exaggerate how useful the average tinker is because the primary examples we see are often the greatest examples of tinkers in setting - naturally useful capes like Dragon (she's technically a thinker but come on)/Lookout or highly experienced capes like Defiant. Capes like Squealer, the similar-level of OC capes you're likely to be beating when/if you branch out of Brockton Bay, are shittier tinkers than that. Manage your expectations appropriately from canon, raise them a bit since you'll likely have better gear from Mahon after a decent action investment in tracking that down, making connections there, etc.
When you do finish the skill, assuming Squealer is your one and only tinker ability at this point, you won't be able to mass produce your cool new death-jeep. You'll have to maintain it, and other individuals might find themselves struggling to use it, or breaking it even while they think they're doing an awesome job.
Precipice/Cryptid - Ward: Infrared 19.8 said:
You'll find that even with a Science or Engineering 10, you won't be able to fully understand how the death-jeep works, because Headway's replication of the shard-bullshit is filling in to support you.
But Squealer won't be your only tinker. I have a whole list of preprepared capes ready for you guys to encounter once Brockton Bay is exhausted of encounters (and won't that be a while!). That's on top of capes like Bonesaw or Bakuda or Mannequin or Blasto or any other villains you might run into. As you beat more and more tinkers (we'll say ten whose specialties are sufficiently distinct from one another, that distinction decided on a case by case basis at the time of writing), you'll become more like the tinkers from Eden's world, whose tinkertech could be mass-produced. This would likely be a separate skill unlocked - Tinkertech Comprehension, something like that.
But it would be a reward for beating and mastering ten different tinkers, which, as you can probably tell, is incredibly far into the future. By that point, you might have mastered conventional Mahon-tech to the point where it's not even worth it anymore.
The sort of weakness Headway would immediately remove re: Tinkertech is, like, the resource tinker whose shard forces him to only use stolen diamonds.
Scanning powers, like Tinkers do regularly in canon, is something you'll be able to do, and as you get more tinker powers, you'll have the option to create multipurpose scanning tools, like, for instance, a scanner that scans powers in the context of Bakuda and Squealer's abilities. But if your Parahuman: Bakuda skill is low-level, you won't have much luck getting usable results if you modify the scanner.
Accord: See Contessa/High-Level Precogs in general.
Bitch: Could you turn yourself into a monster dog if you beat Bitch? No. Headway doesn't artificially remove (most) Manton limitations. You'd have her ability to transform other people into monster dogs, if you met wolfmen, but, well, it's tough to imagine Taylor choosing that means of augmenting wolfmen allies. Their augmentation would likely have varying degrees of quality, the further from a natural coyote it is, as per canon. Results will be mixed at best.
Coil: TL;DR. No. Headway will just spit his power out. It'd be a pain in the ass to handle as a GM. No.
jcw3 said:
Crawler: You'll get the adaptive ability and a corresponding shape-changing power (likely classed under the same parahuman ability), but none of Crawler's existing mutations. Same reason you don't get Glaistig Uaine's ghosts by beating her. He earned those mutations, you'll have to earn yours.
Echidna/Noelle Meinhardt: This is a tough one. My thinking is that I'll keep it simple and say that Headway rejects this one too.
Glaistig Uaine: You'll get her fundamental 'understanding' and relationship with shards, and ability to 'snatch' shards from living parahumans (like she did to Grey Boy). You'll also get her ability to keep the shard-ghosts of deceased parahumans who die around you. You will not, however, get her ghosts' powers by defeating Ciara herself, unless you come up with some way to kill or defeat what is already dead. Which may be possible, who knows.
Leet: I'm just going to quote myself on this one: TL;DR: If you get his power early and train it early, you'll wind up with all of the tech that doesn't work (minus the explosions). In the process of training his power, you'll obviously have to use his power, and you'll wind up hitting the 'using it once' marker a lot, while not making anything good at all in the process. If you get his power early, and Taylor will determine this and note it in-universe if and when you beat him, then it won't be worth training it until much, much later, when you've beaten a lot of Tinkers and Headway is more used to digesting parahuman powers, so the training time will be lessened.
jcw3 said:
jcw3 said:
Noctis capes: Will not you bypass Headway's seven action limit. You will not gain sleeplessness from beating Noctis capes. Headway needs time to 'recharge', if you're curious as to the in-universe reason, and that happens to coincide with Taylor resting.
Ogun:
Tinker scanning/efficacy of that scanning: You would need to build a scanning device, and the efficacy of what you scan depends on what tinker abilities you have. Magical abilities won't translate well, if at all. Mutant/mutate powers and other science-adjacent powers would be more reliable than something like a Devil Fruit. See this WoG about how Lookout and Kid Win would get different results from scanning Legend's lasers for more information on scanning.
Uber: Uber does not necessarily learn skills, he learns techniques. I suspect you'd have an easier time training general skills with his power, but parahuman powers weren't really made to understand more exotic abilities like Devil Fruits or Dr. Strange-style magic, so I don't think they'd help much on that front. This one likely gives you faster training as you're able to more instinctively use techniques, and it probably tops out at helping you around level 5 or 6 of a general skill.
Victor: With regards to the specific aspect of Victor's skill-stealing ability, you'll be able to steal general skills and start them at maybe a 3-5 for the average skilled individual, skipping the step of training their very first levels. Very few people are above 5 (at 6) in the world naturally. Anyone/anything beyond that is exotic, and his power may also conflict with magical skills and abilities, depending on the case, but that's the sort of thing you can ameliorate with supplemental magical training. If you understand Dr. Strange-style magic more, you'll probably be better equipped to steal Dr. Strange-style magic using Victor's power.
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2.21: First Stretch 5/Prelude to Baroque Works 1
–[ ] MENTALITY: It doesn't. You and your friends will fight them, and you'll win, having done what you were planning to do all along. No change to skill chances. Taylor continues on as normal.
–[ ] POWER USE: Hide your power by claiming to be a skill-combat thinker, as above, but you'll use powers like Sube Sube and Ninjutsu (once fully leveled) more openly in combat. It's a thinner definition of 'skill-thinker with some bonuses to it', but you think it's consistent with what you told New Wave. Locks off options to fight most gangs in groups. Taylor will be willing to ambush (some) villain capes if they're by themselves or in groups of three, where she would previously have just withdrawn completely. If you choose this option, next update, a project to create a new back-up identity will be added where you can use your other powers, players allowed to elaborate in write-ins with my permission. I will also add projects to go after more gangs in the subsequent update.
[x] Plan Team Prep and long term planning
Day 1
-[x] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (1/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[x] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[x] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 90% of Bombmaking 3. 40% of Bombmaking 4. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[x] Buy some more tools for Usopp. This investment may reduce the number of actions you need to take on the Going Merry in the long run. Include some metalworking tools to help with the installation and upkeep for the planned upgrades to the Merry. 1 action . -$200-500 Mahon USD, depending on rolls.
Day 2
-[x] Doctor
-[x] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[x] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 20% Survival 5, 0% Naturalist 7. Potential increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[x] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 100% of Trapper 0. 60% of Trapper 1.
-[x] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 60% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. (2x +10 bonus available)
–[ ] POWER USE: Hide your power by claiming to be a skill-combat thinker, as above, but you'll use powers like Sube Sube and Ninjutsu (once fully leveled) more openly in combat. It's a thinner definition of 'skill-thinker with some bonuses to it', but you think it's consistent with what you told New Wave. Locks off options to fight most gangs in groups. Taylor will be willing to ambush (some) villain capes if they're by themselves or in groups of three, where she would previously have just withdrawn completely. If you choose this option, next update, a project to create a new back-up identity will be added where you can use your other powers, players allowed to elaborate in write-ins with my permission. I will also add projects to go after more gangs in the subsequent update.
[x] Plan Team Prep and long term planning
Day 1
-[x] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (1/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[x] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[x] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 90% of Bombmaking 3. 40% of Bombmaking 4. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[x] Buy some more tools for Usopp. This investment may reduce the number of actions you need to take on the Going Merry in the long run. Include some metalworking tools to help with the installation and upkeep for the planned upgrades to the Merry. 1 action . -$200-500 Mahon USD, depending on rolls.
Day 2
-[x] Doctor
-[x] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (0/5+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[x] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 20% Survival 5, 0% Naturalist 7. Potential increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[x] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 100% of Trapper 0. 60% of Trapper 1.
-[x] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 60% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. (2x +10 bonus available)
2.21 The First Stretch 5/Prelude to Baroque Works 1
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Saturday, May 28, 1532
You've never seen Luffy this kind of mad.
You've seen him lash out childishly and pettily, when someone takes the last bit of meat, for instance. You've seen him get annoyed, when someone smacks him upside the head for being a bit of a brat. That's not what this is.
There's a darkness in his eyes, a quietly smoldering fury. It'd be captivating if it wasn't so unsettling. "..ckies say you're sailing towards Foolshout Island. We'll be waiting."
You hear a click sound as the Den Den Mushi ends the recording. The eight of you sit or stand in the lounge room, Usopp and Sanji standing, Luffy, Zoro, and Mr. 9 on one booth of the kitchen table, Vivi, Nami, and you on the other. (Usopp was seated next to you, but then Sanji insisted, firmly, that he let the princess sit.)
You take a chance to gauge everyone's mood. Usopp looks terrified, he's glancing back and forth between the various members of the crew and Vivi, trying to gauge how concerned he should be, and never quite finding a reason to calm down. Nami's heard the recording before, hell, she was there for it, and she stills looks spooked. More reserved than Usopp, but scared nonetheless.
You weren't expecting fear from Zoro and Sanji. Zoro looks more unimpressed and irritated than anything. There's a light scowl on his face, but you wouldn't be able to judge his reaction if you didn't know him, and even though you're well acquainted with him at this point, you still aren't fully sure what he's thinking right now. Sanji's in a similar boat, casting a neutral expression at the snail. You can't help but notice that he's gone through two cigarettes since the beginning of the meeting. The smell lingers in the lounge room.
Mr. 9's face is contorted in a mixture of shock and fear. Vivi's eyes dart between him, you, and Luffy at key points of the recording, but remains tight-lipped, resolute. "That was the extent of the conversation between myself, Escape Artist, and Mr. 5," she begins. "My kingdom is und-"
"Hold on." Luffy holds up his hand, and stares at the snail. "Hey, Taylor." You look over to him. You meet his eyes. "He really said all that?"
You nod. Luffy looks straight ahead at nothing for a few moments, as the crew and guests sit in silence. "We're gonna kick the crap out of them," he finally says.
Basically exactly what you were expecting him to say. Despite Nami and Usopp's varying degrees of nervousness, they don't even look that surprised either, both letting out a little and a large sigh respectively. Zoro and Sanji close their eyes and smirk, and then they realize they both made the same expression and glare at one another.
Mr. 9 doesn't look that impressed. "Are you serious? Do you know who you're up against here? Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, they work for Crocodile. Just knowing that nam-"
Luffy makes a dismissive gesture with his hands. "Don't care."
"You can't just wave away-"
"Don't care."
"You-"
"Don't care." Luffy gets up out of the booth and raises his arms up into a stretch. "Maaan, that recording pissed me off! When do we get to the next island, Nami?"
Despite her trepidation, she smiles, an involuntary thing. "Eight to twelve days, Captain."
"Whaaat? But that's forever from now!" There we go. The normal Luffy is coming back.
Nami closes her eyes in what an outside observer might think was purely aggravation. But you recognize the relief in her face. You feel it too. Luffy behaving as he normally does… there's a pressure lifted from the kitchen's tight quarters. "I can't control the sea, Luffy," she says, resting cheek in hand.
"Be cool if you could," he pouts quietly.
The navigatrix points lazily at you. "Sorry. If it helps, I'm sure that's on Taylor's to-do list."
Oh, ha ha. You let out a little snort, and give her a friendly eyeroll. Luffy's eyes widen excitedly. "Really?!"
Jeez, she had to put you on the spot, huh. "In... in the distant future," you say, holding your hands up placatingly. Your mind conjures up grainy photos and 3D replications of Leviathan, the middle-child Endbringer.
"Darn," he looks down, and absent-mindedly raps a fist against the wall. Everyone's eyes on are him. You allow yourself a little amusement at how flabbergasted Vivi and Mr. 9 look right now. "Welp. I think that's about it."
"Got a plan for us, Captain?" Zoro asks, smirking as if he already knows the answer.
Luffy strokes his chin, narrowing his eyes as he goes deep into thought. "We sail to Foolshout Island and…" There's a pregnant pause as he keeps thinking. "...yeah, we kick the crap out of them. Good plan?"
Zoro affectionately pats the scabbards of his swords, giving the rubber man a cocky smirk. "The best."
"I joined a crew full of lunatics," Usopp manically mutters under his breath.
Luffy claps his hands, nodding in a self-satisfied way. "Yosh! Meeting injured!"
What? "Do…" Vivi speaks up, seemingly before realizing she was even asking the question. She shakes her head after a very brief moment of confusion. "Do… you mean meeting adjourned?"
Ah, she had the same question. "That too, I guess. Why?"
"So…" they lock eyes briefly, both almost certainly wondering what the other is thinking. Vivi continues. "You didn't say- will you help me? Save Igaram? Karoo? My kingdom?"
He shrugs, scratching his nose. "Sure."
She lets out a relieved laugh. "Oh. Oh, that's wonderf-!"
Luffy waves her off with one hand, the other excavating for a problematic booger. "Talk to Taylor about the hero stuff. I just want to beat up these Baroque Works guys." Already standing, he starts walking out towards the deck. "I'm gonna go out on watch. You guys can keep talking if you want."
The seven of you sit in silence as he strides out, opens the door, and closes it behind him. You can hear the downpour pounding against the wood of the Merry. "What the hell was that?" Mr. 9 demands almost as soon as the door shuts. "Is he insane? You're going up against the most powerful group of bounty hunters in the sea, and he just leaves? To go sit in the rain?!"
Sanji extinguishes what's left of his cigarette. "That's just the way he is. He's not the sort to get much out of strategy meetings," he shrugs.
"How… how did he even get to be captain of this crew?"
"He sort of just showed up at our islands one day, and insisted we joined. It's worked out well so far," Sanji muses.
Mr. 9 leans back in despair, almost falling off of the bench in the process. "We're doomed, Miss Wednesday. We're going to die horribly. Burning, wax, crushing, piercing, strangling, slicing, shishkebabing, desiccating. Take your pick. Or don't. We probably won't get the luxury of a choice."
"Don't be such a fucking wuss," Zoro rolls his eyes as he looks at the exiled bounty hunter to his right. "We beat Baroque Works three times already. We'll do it again."
"And it's not Miss Wednesday. Not anymore, not really ever," Vivi says, meeting his eyes. "I'm not some… cackling villainess, even if I might have played the role of one.
He shakes his head. "Never figured that was all you were."
She looks taken aback for a moment, before shaking her head. "It's Vivi. Just Vivi. No… princess, or her majesty, or anything like that."
"Horlio."
"Bless you?"
He makes a face, waving his hands comically. "No, no - that's- that's my name. Horlio."
Zoro and Usopp snigger a little. It's… not a very nice thing to name a boy, you guess, but surely there are cultural oddities across the world, and a guy named Usopp definitely doesn't have room to talk. "What? It's a good name! Common where I come from!"
Vivi's face burns as she looks down. "I… wasn't aware! I'm very sorry!" She bows her head in mortification. "It's very nice to meet you, Horlio! Again, ah, for the first time!"
"Right, right, right. That's enough of that," Nami claps her hands together impatiently, more of an annoyed golf clap than the gesture of finality Luffy left on. "We've gotta talk plans."
"Tough to make plans when we don't know the kind of enemy we're facing," Sanji replies, giving Horlio and Vivi a level gaze. "Who are we up against here?"
Finally! You have to resist the urge to sigh in relief. Your guests share a look, before Vivi speaks up. "I'm guessing you want to start with the immediate threats?" she asks. "The ones who are more likely to be on Foolshout Island?"
"If you're comfortable telling us, Vivi-san, we'd love to know." When Vivi gives an affirmative, he continues. "Then let's start with that sh- that scoundrel on the snail," Vivi starts talking, and Horlio fills in where he knows more. Interestingly, Vivi is more likely to have relevant knowledge, which almost surprises you, since she was only a member for a third of the time he was, but she was there for information gathering, and she did her job well.
Mr. 5, also known as Gem. He ate the Bomu Bomu no Mi, and became an explosion-man who can ignite his own body without harm to himself. A clumsy martial artist who can nonetheless punctuate a lesser blow with the force of a good-sized bomb blast, who can 'eat' fire and explosions.
He prefers a tried and true tactic of launching boogers, spit, earwax, or clipped fingernails at his enemies, the explosions from those attacks less restrained than the ones tied to his martial arts, which merely burn away sweat or dead skin.
"The woman on the line. Who was she?" you ask. You have an idea as to the answer. Miss Valentine, a self-gravity manipulator. But this way, you can get even more details. Mikita, who ate the Kiro Kiro no Mi, becoming a gravity-woman. She can control her own mass, shifting her weight along a spectrum between one and ten thousand kilograms.
It sounds like Mr. 5's power is more diverse than just the booger bombs you remember from the manga, which apparently chose the most frustrating time to end prematurely. You imagine future chapters would have let you know you all of this information ages ago.
Miss Valentine, on the other hand, just makes herself heavy or lightweight. She doesn't sound like as much of a threat as her ruin blaster partner. Anyone who pays attention and has decent reflexes could manage her, a low-to-mid-level striker (mover/brute), if going by the PRT's standards. "And this booger guy is the brains of the operation?" Zoro asks, nobly trying to maintain a bare minimum of interest.
Vivi considers it for a moment, and shakes her head. "I only knew Mr. 5 by reputation, but he's not the strategy-type. He and his girlfriend aren't much more than thugs, reliant on their Devil Fruit powers and fighting synergy. If I had to guess… Mr. 5 implied there was an entire operation on Foolshout Island waiting for us. If there is a large-scale operation and if anyone was going to be in charge, it would be Mr. 3."
"That's an awful lot of ifs," Nami remarks.
Vivi shrugs haplessly. "All I can really do is guess, based on what I know of what officers are in the area of Foolshout. Obviously, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine will be there. But who else? Messrs.-" There's an old-fashioned word. "-0, 1, 2, 4, 6, their partners - all of them are stationed further down the Grand Line. If I had to guess… they're home. In Alabasta. For Crocodile's plan. But Mr. 3 is more transient than they are. He roams, hunts. His power lets him command his ship to sail at speeds far beyond the average, meaning almost any pirate in the first half of Paradise can be his quarry."
"What power?" you ask.
The Doru Doru no Mi. Wax-Wax Fruit. Sanji recognizes that one. A warlord in the North Blue once owned it, centuries in the past. It's an interesting distinction between Bet and Mayim. On Mayim, powers repeat. Even if you get an excellent power, so long as one of its hosts before you was unsubtle, people will still know your strengths and weaknesses.
Mr. 3 is a wax-man, a Paramecia host who can generate massive torrents of wax from his body, starting out as a viscous slurry, before hardening into a substance harder than steel. Vivi doesn't know if he can keep it in the semiliquid state voluntarily, or if it has to harden. His power reminds you of Marquis, oddly enough, with the sheer variety of ways in which he can shape his cerakinesis.
"Never worked with the guy, but he's a monster. Sadistic, evil. I ain't a saint, but the stories I've heard about Mr. 3 freak me the hell out," Horlio adds.
Vivi narrows her eyes, concentrating. "He's a planner. He sits in the background, strategizing, coming up with ways to hobble the enemy without their even knowing of his existence."
"He likes to brag, I know that much. The Billions talk about him, he's an insufferable jackass who talks up a philosophy of evil. Motivates everything he does."
"Evil?" you ask, disbelievingly. "What do you mean by that?"
Horlio frowns. "You know. Evil. He's evil, and happy about it."
You stare at him. "Like… he's proud to be evil? Doesn't think he's actually good and it's actually everyone else that's bad or something, he just… thinks he's evil."
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
Christ.
Mr. 3's a complicating factor here. A wide-scale shaker with a good degree of ruthlessness, who could easily catch the Straw Hats off guard and disable most of them with the right kind of ambush attack. You're more and more thankful that Mr. 5 inadvertently gave you advance warning of the ambush on Foolshout Island.
"They have woman partners too, right? Who's his?" Nami asks.
"Miss Goldenweek," Vivi says. "She's… a bit weird, but not that bad, on a person level."
You aren't the only one to give her an incredulous look. Come on, Vivi. This is a woman who works alongside the 'proud to be evil' guy. "No, really!" she continues. "Out of all the officer agents I met, she's the closest to normal. Just this quiet girl, about my age. It's her power that's the real scary thing."
Vivi looks down at her outfit, one of the seaman outfits in Nami's size. "You guys haven't seen me use it, but she's the one who taught me a hypnosis technique."
You remember that from the manga. It was so ridiculous and stupid, you almost didn't want it to be real. "Can you teach me that? Hypnosis, I mean," you ask, almost without thinking. You feel a bit self-conscious for interrupting, but you didn't want to risk forgetting it in the midst of the glut of information.
The princess blinks. "Possibly? It took Miss Goldenweek a few days to teach it to me, and she only taught me a basic aspect of her Colors Trap, the Circles of Vertigo. And she had to prepare an outfit custom-made for me for it to work in the first place. I doubt I'll be good enough to show you by the time we get to Foolshout."
"We'll have to try sometime," you say.
She nods, before getting back on subject. "Miss Goldenweek is an artist who can accurately recreate the colors of emotions. She uses paint to make refined color images that hypnotize people. If you step on one of her symbols, if she gets one of her symbols on to you, you'll be caught in her trap, turned against your allies, unable to fight at all, dizzied to usefulness. Any number of effects, combinations."
"Hypnosis, huh? Someone oughta warn Luffy. He's simple-minded enough to fall for that stuff," Zoro remarks boredly. There are murmurs of agreement around the table.
Fuck. You think you might add Miss Goldenweek to the top of your to-do list. Either her or Mr. 3. If these two aren't even at the top of Baroque Works' rankings, just how powerful is Crocodile?
Vivi gives a list of the officer agents' descriptions, and those of you who are paying attention memorize them.
Other names are thrown around of potential, if lesser, threats. Messrs. 10, 11. Miss Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. People you could have beaten before you even joined the Straw Hats, from the sound of it. Gimmick fighters, the sorts of people on the very edge of uselessness.
You'd feel a bit mean pointing a finger at Vivi and her yo-yos, but… You almost suspect that the agents at the low-end of the scale serve more as motivation for lesser-ranked members to strive for greatness. 'If you do good work, maybe you'll wind up a frontier agent'.
You're about to suggest that the crew start forming plans of attack, going over what's known about Foolshout Island itself - what terrain will Baroque Works and Mr. 3 have to take advantage of, do they have any local allies they might call in, but then the ship rumbles. Right. You're still on the First Stretch, one of the more dangerous bits of Paradise.
The crew follows you when you instinctively rush to deck, and… waterspouts this time. Not far enough from the ship to destroy it, but enough to be concerning. Really now. You were almost worried it'd be something dangerous. "Zoro, mizzen! Sanji, Horlio, Vivi, main sa-"
Luffy's already in action. "Gomu Gomu no… Stamp!"
His foot launches out, sandal ramming out towards one of the smaller, less stable waterspouts, kicking through it and destabilizing it, making it sputter out and stumble.
If you had a week, you couldn't list all the reasons that shouldn't have worked. Doesn't matter. He's buying you all precious time. "-il. Usopp-"
You've gotten the hang of this. Every day, you make steady progress towards being better and better at being the Straw Hats' bosun, and Headway rewards you with the penultimate stage of perfection. You also become an even more superior pre-modern sailor in the process of guiding the crew out of the swarm of waterspouts.
On that note… "Gomu Gomu no… Gatling!" Luffy shouts, a look of undisguised rage on his face. Ah. That… yeah. He's taking his anger out on the waterspouts. His fists spring back and forth repeatedly, presenting the illusion of tens of punches flinging out at once for hundreds of feet of distance, pounding holes in the nearest spouts, that fill up again in mere seconds at most.
You doubt it's accomplishing anything in the long run, the ones he's hitting often aren't dispersing to that great an extent, but you think he might just need something to hit right about now. Just a shame it's something so diffuse, harder to really lash out against in the way he's used to. "You bastards aren't getting my crew!" Luffy roars, giving the nearest tornado a hateful glare. "Gomu Gomu no… Whip!"
His foot launches out again, and splits a mid-sized waterspout in twain with a sideways kick. The Merry's making good distance from the threat, and you don't have the heart to tell Luffy that it's almost pointless to keep fighting them. "Gomu Gomu no… Baaaaazoooookaaaa!" Another waterspout disappears.
The sheer pressure of the waterspouts, the wind force making them up, it diminishes the impact of Luffy's attacks, but he's making decent progress on his own. It's just that he probably won't be able to get them all.
You feel sort of bad that you enjoyed a moment of triumph from Headway just a few moments ago, and now Luffy is obviously… not in a good state. You give the crew the single to abandon emergency positions, and… you take giant albatross form. At this distance from the waterspouts, he's having trouble launching attacks with both the range and the power to impact them, and you suspect you know what his next move is.
Luffy grinds his teeth, and suddenly, he squats down against the deck, smashing into the fucking wood despite knowing that you'll have to fucking fix that, his legs closing down until they're only half the normal height, coiling together like a - "Gomu Gomu no Spring!" - yeah, like a spring- Oh. Oh no. He calls out the technique, before jumping, the force of his legs pressing against the wood - breaking it entirely and cutting a hole through to the storeroom!
But not only that, he's jumping towards the fucking waterspout! You barely even think before swooping towards him, talons changing from their gruesomely sharp state to something a bit more gentle, and you grab a hold of him, the two of you crashing together as you try to gently slam into the railing near the figurehead, but failing, bending the wood despite your best efforts.
"What the hell are you doing?" he snaps, glaring at you, furious, struggling clumsily in your grasp. "I had it! I could have beaten it!"
"It's a fucking waterspout, Luffy! We made it away! We're safe! It's not coming after us!" you yell in his face, still in bird form with a human voice.
"It tried to kill my crew!" he protests.
"It's gone now! You beat up loads of them, they aren't gonna come back after us. They aren't even alive!"
He seethes, not even responding, before growling incomprehensibly and slamming his head into the railing. "I hate this!" he shouts, clawing at his face. "That stupid Baroque Works guy and his stupid recording! I want to punch him in his stupid face and kick the crap out of him and all of his jerk friends! Everyone who wants to take you guys away, I want to blow them all away, right out of the sea!"
It's not Baroque Works, you realize. It's just the idea of that nebulous threat lurking in the background, that he's having trouble coming to terms with. Heretofore, anyone who threatened the Straw Hats had put themselves in convenient punching distance. But what about the threat that's over a week away, that's spread over all the sea, that sneaks into the shadows and hides? How does a straightforward kid like Luffy handle that?
Like this, apparently.
You abandon your giant albatross form and release Luffy. He gives you a suspicious look, lips curled into an angry pout. You return the glance, and try to give him an expression that's closer to sympathy than pity. You tentatively reach an arm out, and place it on his shoulder as he sits up. When he doesn't push you away, you lean in for a hug. It feels awkward at first, but he returns it.
"You gave me friends, real friends, for the first time in my life," you say softly, into his ear. "I'm with you. They're with you. We're all in this together. It's not just on your shoulders."
"I'm the Captain," he sulks, hands balled into trembling fists. Not just from the rain, you're guessing.
"And we're your crew," you retort quietly. He doesn't respond. For a moment, the two of you just sit there in silence.
"Yeah. You are. Sorry. I… got carried away," he says. He looks at you, seriously for a moment, before he starts laughing. "Aw, man. You're supposed to be the pointlessly unconfident one, not me, Taylor!"
You feel your face starting to burn. "Asshole." That just makes him laugh harder. You narrow your eyes at him. "Well, since you're feeling better-" you yank on his ear, pulling it to the side at an odd angle only possible because of his unique physiology, "-we can talk about how you just gave me and Usopp hours of work, you big rubbery-"
–
Vivi approaches you as you're finishing work on the hole in the storeroom roof, the water from the rainstorm luckily having been drained out without any damage worth considering to the stored contents, although you did burn through a bit more wood stock. "Impressive work," she remarks. "I've seen professional carpenters at work. I didn't expect to find one on a pirate ship."
"You think it's good now, see me in a few weeks," you say, grunting a bit as you finish shaving down a piece of wood for one of the holes in the deck railing. With the storm passed, you can finally start substantial work on repairing the damage from Luffy's impromptu therapy session. Usopp's helping, too, on the other side of the deck, after a few pointers.
"The crew has mentioned that you like to learn skills, and you do so well," Vivi remarks, giving you an affected friendly smile.
You aren't trying to be rude here, but you want to get this carpentry work done so you can move on to other things. "Vivi… I don't want to be mean here-"
"Sorry," she says, immediately, and to her credit, she does look regretful. "I'll get to the point. Your captain. He… seemed like he was in an emotional state there. Is he…"
"He'll be ready," you say, without a fraction of a doubt. "Luffy doesn't deal well with abstracts. That doesn't mean he's going to fall apart when we fight Baroque Works. Mr. 5 just rattled him a bit with that phone call, and we had to get him back down to Earth."
"'Fone'?" Vivi frowns.
Oops. You shake your head. "Don't worry about it."
"Alright," Vivi replies, not looking entirely convinced. "I suppose I'll have to see him in action."
You let out a little laugh. "Don't let a little moment of doubt put you off. You saw him punching those big holes in the waterspouts, right? Imagine those being Mr. 5's face. It might make you feel a bit better."
You begin repairs on the railing, Vivi still lingering by you, looking like she has something to say but isn't sure how to say it. You don't press her, but you don't push her away, either. "I need to save Igaram and Karoo. I need to save my kingdom. I don't… I don't know what I'd do if I lost… if I lost." She trails off.
Time to present confidence you aren't sure you have. "We won't lose," you tell her. "Words are words, and I'm not really great with talking, but… I told you the Straw Hats single-handedly saved the East Blue, evaded Smoker. Baroque Works will just be another notch on our belt."
You won't tell Vivi this, it would be counterintuitive to reassuring her, but you were considering shifting your focus entirely, to centering combat or combat-adjacent skills and powers only, but… you aren't a one-woman act. You have a crew backing you, you have a good idea of what's ahead of you, and you already have pre-established plans and projects. It's a close-call in your mind, but you don't think now is the time to be single-minded.
Finishing with the portside railing, you stand, placing your hand on her shoulder. "We'll save your country and the people you love, and we'll get stronger in the process. Together."
Vivi's taken aback a bit, but after a moment or two, she smiles bitterly. "Yeah. Sorry again. It's… it's been… I've been trying to keep it together, not knowing what Baroque Works has been doing to Igaram and Karoo, not even knowing if they're still… alive."
You don't know what to say. "I'm sorry," you settle for that.
She gently raps against the newly repaired railing, testing its strength, before resting against it. "Don't be. If they survive, it'll only be because of you."
"And my crew."
Vivi chuckles, brushing aside hair from her face as a gust of wind blows over the top deck. "Yes. And your crew. Thank you, Taylor. For… listening."
Location: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mahon, X-Men: Evolution Multiverse, X-Men: Evolution-jcw3
Date: Sunday, November 12, 2000
Vulcan Scrap & Recycling's entrance is an unremarkable one-story office building attached to an enormous warehouse, and an even bigger junkyard lot behind it, filled to the brim with recycled, cheap metal being dismantled and resold at a profit.
With the damage done to the Merry today in a matter of minutes, you've decided to dedicate some time to a project you've had in the back of your mind for at least a few weeks now. Upgrading the more sensitive bits of the Going Merry with modern metal parts, supplementing the existing wood with something stronger, or replacing it entirely.
You're in the plaid-carpenter-woman disguise again, and after placing an order for a few hundred pounds of various types of scrap metal for modifying the Merry, you spend a while wandering around the attached store, which is where Vulcan really stood out to you in the course of your asking around at kiosks. It sells specialty gear for welders, both massive, industrial grade equipment presently beyond the scope of your operation, and more low-key stuff for hobbyists and do-it-yourself gurus, which is closer to what you need right about now.
You get odd looks as a woman trying to buy welding tools in bulk, even as you do your best to play the part well. Your Disguise really carries the performance, and the improvements you thought of two days ago work well, but even with some damn good Acting, you see the sales assistant frown a couple times when he thinks he's spotted a whole in your narrative. A woman by herself with interests like yours is apparently uncommon enough that he's inclined to be suspicious.
You think metal-in-gas welding will be sufficient for what you have planned. You manage to talk the clerk into giving you a better deal on an older model of portable, battery-powered MIG welding gun, which your Blacksmith skill let you know was grossly overvalued.
It was recalled for long-term errors that popped up in the welding process - even coming dangerously close to blowing up in the user's face - but you're confident those issues wouldn't show up until the gun had been in use for a few years, and that's something you'll be able to resolve with the Repair skill long before that becomes an issue.
That, plus two masks, some welding gloves, sleeves, boots and pliers (these will be useful add-ons for carpentry around the ship as well), heat-resistant welding magnets (Usopp might be able to find non-repair uses for those in his own projects), a metal brush for making the final product just a bit prettier, an angle grinder, a pack of soapstone for marking, a filer, and a decent supply of nozzle gel - all of fills out your purchase list.
The final cost, after some more haggling and what can almost be described as bickering, is $2,089.99 Mahon dollars. There's some more waiting around Vulcan as they eventually determine that your cash isn't counterfeit, and the suspicious looks increase even more as they realize you're really paying in bills and not card.
But at the end of the day, you're a paying customer, and they have other things to do. You slip them a couple more twenties for some scrap steel and other materials that could be handy for the upgrade project, and then you lug in on to a rented welding cart and take it away.
You're frankly a bit humiliated by the stares as you come to and from Vulcan to pick up supplies, take them to a distant alley, and drop them off, and after you take back your rental deposit for the cart, you resolve to not come here again if you need to find more supples in this vein. Finding some sort of means to more easily transport goods without being noticed would be amazing.
You make your way to a hardware store far away from Vulcan, on the other side of town, and spend some more money for more substantial carpentry supplies and tools for the Merry. A combo set of saws on a seasonal holiday discount sets you back the most, but you also pick up an electric sander, power drill, screw gun, and a laundry list of screws, drills, and bits.
The bulk of them are recharged with batteries, only a few with cord, so while you'll eventually need to pick up more batteries or come up with a more exotic means of recharging, these will do just fine for a caravel without electricity. The total order sets you back by $487.33 in Mahon bucks, but now you can hopefully save yourself a fair bit of time, and teach Usopp how to do elements of your job, simplifying both of your lives.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Saturday, May 28, 1532
"This is amazing, Taylor!" Usopp gushes, holding the Hammer welding gun almost reverently. You frantically give a second glance to make sure he isn't about to accidentally activate it. You've done everything possible to 'childproof' it while you're not actively using it, but this crew is ingenious in its foolishness, and right now, the two of you are in the predominantly wooden lounge room. "This is way beyond anything I've ever seen before! How… how much stuff like this does your Earth have?"
"A lot," you reply, a smile on your face, "But that's from my third Earth, not my home Earth."
"Oh. Yeah. Right," he says, and you're one hundred percent certain he barely retained anything you just said. You shake your head, and give him a moment. "So I can use these?"
You shoot him a stern warning look. "Only once I've shown you how. I have some other stuff to do today, but tomorrow I'll want to do some work around the ship with them." His eyes almost literally gleam. "They're mine, but I'm letting them be used for the Merry while we figure out how to give her some more longevity. Please, don't use them without asking."
He looks just a little crestfallen, but nods. "Tomorrow?" he asks, hopefully.
"If you promise to only watch me do everything first, then I'll let you try once we're in a good spot. We've gotta do it while Sanji's not working, since we'll have to shape the metal in the kitchen to avoid fires," you gesture at the brick composing the kitchen as you say that.
Sanji gives you an appreciate 'thank you' from his position in the kitchen. "You had a list of things on the Merry that were worrying you, right?"
Usopp nods. "Yeah, I've got it somewhere, but… aw, maybe it's just best I take a look around again first. I misplaced it when I was working on some formulas for maybe modifying the Gunpowder Star. Not really based on Boo Jack's stuff, but I was going over some stuff of his we dismantled when I came up with some ideas."
Curiosity piqued. "Like what? Do you mind showing me?"
–
"You're a genius, Usopp, you know that?" you shake your head in disbelief. "This… I don't know how you're pulling stuff like this off with a makeshift workshop on a wooden ship."
He chuckles in an affected deep voice. "Why, it's nothing at all for the heroic and multitalented Captain Usopp!" You give him a friendly side eye, and he sags a bit. "Back in Syrup, I had a lot of talent for tinkering. Sometimes I'd get dinner by making a little explosive at just the right size, shot out at just the right angle. Traps, bombs, all sorts of fun stuff. Just never had the focus to do anything with it until I signed on with Luffy."
You glance at the pile of assembled Gunpowder Stars. Worrying implications there. "How have you been holding up? With all that's been going on?"
It's his turn to give you a look now. "How do you think?" he gripes, examining one of his Lead Stars as he talks. "Might be able to make these a bit more aerodynamic with that file you got," he mutters. "Um, right. You were saying. I dunno. We got ourselves into a fight with another bunch of evil, scary, insane people. I share a latrine with a princess now.
I guess I have to stock up on tools, make more weapons. You've helped a bunch with that now. Not just with the free time to do that in the first place, but with tools that… wow. Those things you bought are so cool. Even if you didn't let me use the noisy ones, they'd still be gamechangers."
You let him ramble like that for a while. You suspect he needs it. While you do, you ask questions, on the specifics on the composition and construction of the Gunpowder Stars, his primary focus for the day. Headway loves it. In an hour's conversation, you go from an amateur hobbyist to a military-grade professional in bombmaking.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Dad gives you a relieved smile when he sees you walk up to his room. "Hey! How's it going! You didn't come back last night, I was worried!"
You give an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, some stuff came up."
"On the Merry?" he asks, concerned.
You… don't want to tell him the full extent of what Mr. 5 threatened, but… "Yeah. You remember Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine? From the manga?"
His face falls. "Oh no."
You shake your head. "No, no, they haven't attacked us yet. The princess, her secret was revealed, and she tried to reach out to Mr. 8, her… I don't know their exact relationship. But they care about each other. She tried to call and warn him once Nami and I convinced her Baroque Works was after her. Mr. 5 had beat us to it, and her pet, Mr. 8, they've both been captured. So now we're sailing off to save them."
"They told you where they were?" Dad asks. "Why? Is it an ambush?"
"We think so. They know we have Vivi, they know Luffy's worth thirty million beri." You know for a fact you haven't told him about your bounty yet. It might be better to wait on that front, to convince him you can handle yourself a bit better. He's worried enough now as it is, and secrets from other worlds are temptingly easy to keep.
He looks out of place, having a discussion like this in his pajamas. "Well… you know I love you, and you know you've gotta be careful."
That ship has sailed. "I'm not planning to rush into anything stupid," you say. "Luffy will be there, Sanji too, and Zoro's almost better. Vivi's told us what our enemies are capable of… we're in a good spot, and I'll be in an even better spot in eight, twelve days."
He seems to accept your reasoning, or at least doesn't protest it. "So what have you been up to these past few…"
The conversation continues from there, and you give him a brief catch-up, before heading back to your room to work on more of that bullshit driver's ed program. It's easy. It's frustrating. It's nonsense. It's a waste of time, and the fact that you're guilty over concealing the truth from your dad about your bounty, about the full extent of Baroque Works… you don't feel any increase in your Driving skill. There's some decent progress made with the course itself, you'll probably only need another hour or so on another day to finish it, but… not the greatest possible result.
A bit disappointed, you head to bed.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Sunday, May 29, 1532
You take advantage of the clear skies and quiet seas to show Usopp some basic tricks on how to use the carpentry tools. It's not a full crash course - you'll want to spend another hour or so doing that on another day, but you're confident he won't accidentally maim himself… less confident he'd be able to use them effectively.
The last of the repairs from Luffy's waterspout war are finished, and you manage to plug a tiny potential leak in the men's room as well. They're simple jobs, maybe about twenty minutes of work in and of themselves, but you're held back a bit by having to show Usopp the basics of operating the crew's new toys.
Usopp's damn clever, but even one of the smartest premodern people will have trouble adjusting to unwritten rules of modern technology, getting their minds around new concepts and assumptions outside of their framework. With your teaching and Usopp's innate intuition, you don't think it would take much effort to train him fully in using the woodworker's tools to their full potential.
At the very least, explaining to Usopp how to use the saws or drills and so on for specific problems in the ship reinforces your Carpentry skills, and you realize that you're about as good as an ordinary human could possibly be at woodcraft.
To Usopp's great disappointment and happiness all at once, you have to move on from basic ship repairs to the overarching project of reinforcing the Merry with scrap metal. East Blue oak is apparently insufficient for the rigors of Paradise, and you start with the poor, hapless tiller.
Your crewmate watches in something approximating awe as you expertly weld together a replacement for the tiller from scrap and old car parts, as well as supplementary reinforcements for rest of the whipstaff. You have a plan in mind for installing this without significantly disturbing the Merry, connecting it without risking it all ripping it off when a significant shock hits the structure.
"Holy crap, Taylor. That… that looked like it should have taken you days."
"Superhuman Blacksmithing," you grin. "Now you know how I feel seeing you make the stuff you do with only primitive tools."
Huh. You sounded like the 'smug advanced alien visiting Earth' trope now. "Good creepy," he mutters sagely
After getting approval from Nami to drop anchor briefly - "Hurry, though! We've got a good wind coming in an hour or so!" - you coordinate the crew in putting the Merry on hold. Nothing they haven't done before, but you haven't walked them through the process yourself, and there are some idiosyncrasies here and there to correct.
Crew gawking as you do, you hurriedly dismantle the whipstaff as it is now, and begin welding together, flashes of sparks and metal following you as superhuman strength practically hurls components into place, one-handed at times. Sometimes you call on Usopp to drop a specific implement down.
From an outside perspective, it must look insane and chaotic, but along every step of the process, you accomplish another step in your plan, Blacksmithing and Carpentry high enough that everything goes according to plan. To your satisfaction, you become a professional Shipwright in the process.
You get some stunned looks even from the rest of your crew, and your guests look almost horrified. "That… how?" Horlio asks, unbelieving.
"Practice," you reply. They don't need to know the details of Headway just yet, if ever.
Luffy bursts out laughing. "Shishishishi, you're scary, Taylor! Scary cool!"
Nami blinks as she looks at the new, practically shining tiller. "Um. Well. I guess we… raise anchor, everyone?"
"Let's give the new whipstaff a test first, alright?"
No problems. Not that you expected any. The steering mechanism is more resilient and responsive at once, which will give the crew an advantage when it comes to moving the Merry in a hurry… but it also means you have to spend a bit of time you might have used for regular training to teach everyone the new levels of strength they should get used to using.
You mentally class that under your regular Boatswain responsibilities, and you… don't want to talk about how hard it was to convince Luffy he didn't need to yank on… never mind. Not worth dwelling on.
You spend some time reviewing the medical text Crocus gave you, occasionally popping back into your bedroom on Bet to cross-reference stuff in the book to the internet, and you're incredibly satisfied with the results. Doctoring is a skill you have less of a frame of reference for, and while you're great at First Aid, assisting long-term recovery and solving more exotic problems is outside of your skillset.
But increasingly, that's no longer true. When you finish your training session, you're around the same level of skill as a typical doctor, a year or two out of med school, maybe one who's been apprenticing under a more experienced general practitioner. It's a noticeable jump, and even better, it comes with bonuses.
Yet more comprehension of First Aid, ways in which you can stabilize wounds, adjust splints, keep others or yourself going in a pinch, well beyond that which a normal human would be capable of. Not only that, but you gain what would be one of the greatest understandings of Anatomy and Medicine on Earth-Bet… just by spending an hour, maybe an hour and a half reading a presumably out of date textbook from a more primitive world.
Headway is bullshit, and you love it.
You don't have that same kind of luck with the Kachi Kachi no Mi. Fragile, slightly warm growths manifest on body parts as you try to expand your concentration and capabilities. You can just about cover your entire form with the formations, and you try to experiment, going further… only for the growths to abruptly crack and most of them crumple to the floor. A little humiliated, you try to casually and surreptitiously sweep your sheddings off the deck. At least if Usopp needs subpar ammo in a pinch, you can help him out on that front.
You spend a few moments considering your next move, when it comes to using things like Kachi Kachi on Bet. You have, as today has established, an absurd, broken ability. If the extent of it was discovered, you would rapidly become a resource to be acquired by the more powerful organizations on Bet. Best to limit your showing, at least temporarily.
You told New Wave you were a skill/combat thinker who could use ordinary skills to ridiculous extents, and at least for the foreseeable, immediate future, you'll stick to that when heroing on Bet. Maybe with some add-ons like Sube Sube or Ninjutsu that can be justified along your claimed theme.
After stopping by home to say hello to Dad and let him know you're alright, you return to the ship. You realize it feels like it's been a while since you spoke in-depth with Sanji. He… can be a bit forward, but if disciplined correctly, he's not that bad. He gives you a friendly smile as you enter the kitchen. "Oh, good evening, Taylor-san. Are you looking for Usopp? He was on lookout in the crow's nest last I checked."
You shake your head. "I was actually hoping to pick your brain on some survival stuff. Like, Foolshout Island is supposed to have giant cacti, right?"
"Mm, that's right. I'm not too familiar with it - even our guests haven't ever been there, as far as I'm aware - but I might be able to tell you a few things. Owner Zeff certainly made me spent enough time de-spining cacti imported from there."
De-spining cactus? What sort of meal… never mind. If all goes well, you'll get the chance to try it soon, you guess. "Huh. I think where my train of thought was going - was that I wanted to try to better understand what we're walking into. See if we'll be better able to handle the environment when we go, know the land better than Baroque Works. It's not their territory, either."
Sanji exhales. "Unfortunately, I suspect they're working to remedy that disadvantage as quickly as you're working on ways to counteract them." He specifies 'you', but you've seen him exercising on the deck, practicing his Black Leg style. The crew's all trying their best with the news of the coming conflict, in their own way. "But, if it helps, I remember Patty telling me a story, when I was helping him with his cake-ti…"
Their conversation devolves quickly from there, the cook sharing everything from old stories to fishing tips to horror stories from the Baratie chefs about what they had to do to survive before they arrived on the Baratie. It's nice. You poke him for details, and he shares memories and secondhand tales, and Headway rewards you with increases in not only the base skill of Survival, but additional bonuses to Fishing, Hunting, Naturalist, Skinning, and Tracking. Incredibly lucky break, that you only don't dwell on because it's about time for supper.
Dinner with the crew goes as normal. Horlio and Vivi are participating a bit more enthusiastically, the former Mr. 9 joining in the usual Zoro-Sanji bickering to nearly explosive results. With you, Vivi, and Nami sitting together, you have a nearly impenetrable bulwark against the captain's sticky fingers.
"Ah! Come on, Taylor, you're taking so long to eat that!" the captain whines as you smack his hand away… again.
You maintain eye contact with Luffy as you eat another piece of facehugger squid (don't ask. It showed up while you were gone, apparently.) slowly and deliberately. He almost cries.
Sanji refuses offers to help him clean up after dinner, and, about to head back to the women's room to relax for an hour or two before bed, you spot Usopp setting up his work station again. "Thought you were done for the day?"
He shakes his head. "Got an idea for a good trap while up on the platform. Wanted to draw out some diagrams. Wanna see?"
When he realizes you aren't actually experienced in trapping at all, he excitedly walks you through some basics. Rope traps, tripwires, and the like. If he wasn't constantly going on tangents about the new idea - something to do with lantern oil, as far as you can tell, the engineering is still a bit beyond you - you'd likely pick up more than what you would, just from a casual conversation.
At the very least, trapping seems easy for you to pick up on - your mind forms connections between a Trapper's knowledge and that of your Blacksmithing, Survivalist, and other skills, and it plays naturally into your preference for ambushes. Within an hour of a friendly conversation with Usopp, you can create basic traps in ideal conditions provided you have a decent amount of time.
You head to sleep, another productive day behind you.
Day 1
73:50. Seaman (AoS) 8 unlocked.
94:70. Boatswain 9 unlocked.
6:40. Leadership 4 not unlocked.
97:100. Carpentry 6 not unlocked. 75:100. Teaching 5 not unlocked. (These refer to general bosunry activities.)
65:??. Limited progress made on sourcing metal for the Merry - scrapyard in Mahon NYC, will let you pay money for scrap metal. Partnered with a hardware store selling good-quality welding tools. Speaking with Usopp on plans to look over the Merry for potential sources. Solid start.
25:??. Supplies purchased for Usopp. He'll need a bit more teaching before he's ready to use them, but it won't be too long before he's more independent and able to take on more of your responsibilities.
88:80. Disguise 5 unlocked. 43:90. Acting 5 not unlocked. 16:70. Barter 5 not unlocked.
50:10. Bombmaking 3 unlocked. 71:60. Bombmaking 4 unlocked. 10:60. Chemistry 7 not unlocked.
16:40. Driving 2 not unlocked. 2/3 Progress made on driver's course.
Day 2
41:100. Seaman (AoS) 9 not unlocked.
47:100. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
95:80. Carpentry 6 unlocked. 22:90. Teaching 5 not unlocked. (These refer to general bosunry activities.)
85:60. Doctor 2 unlocked. +First Aid 8. +Anatomy 5. +Medicine 5.
68:100. Blacksmith 8 not unlocked. 59:40. Shipwright 5 unlocked. You begin work on applying sourced scrap metal to obvious potential weak points - the tiller, the steering, etc.
95:80. Survival 5 unlocked. 73:100. Naturalist 7 not unlocked. 73:20. Fishing 6 unlocked. (Yes, really. Twice in a row. I saw it refresh and everything.). I will fully admit I didn't realize Survival was a category skill until I'd already posted this update, and have done a hasty edit. There may be errors, let me know if you spot any.
46:00. Trapper 0 unlocked. 87:40. Trapper 1 unlocked. 74:100. Trapper 2 not unlocked.
10(2*10+10=30):40. Kachi Kachi no Mi 3 not unlocked.
Day 1 Loot Changes:
Taylor gets an understanding of some higher-ranking Baroque Works members.
Vivi and Horlio (Formerly known as Mr. 9) are added as trainers and temporary(?) allies.
-$487.33 Mahon-USD on Usopp's tools for the Merry.
-$2089.99 Mahon-USD for some good welding tools for the Merry and your general use, can be taught to Usopp at later date.
-$40.00 Mahon-USD for scrap metal for Merry upgrade project.
Day 2 Loot Changes:
N/A
+1 Anatomy (5)
+1 Boatswain (9)
+2 Bombmaking (4)
+1 Carpentry (6)
+1 Disguise (5)
+1 Doctor (2)
+1 Fishing (6)
+1 First Aid (8)
+1 Hunter (5)
+1 Medicine (5)
+1 Naturalist (7)
+1 Seaman (AoS) (8)
+1 Skinning (5)
+1 Survival (5)
+1 Tracker (6)
+2 Trapper (1)
73:50. Seaman (AoS) 8 unlocked.
94:70. Boatswain 9 unlocked.
6:40. Leadership 4 not unlocked.
97:100. Carpentry 6 not unlocked. 75:100. Teaching 5 not unlocked. (These refer to general bosunry activities.)
65:??. Limited progress made on sourcing metal for the Merry - scrapyard in Mahon NYC, will let you pay money for scrap metal. Partnered with a hardware store selling good-quality welding tools. Speaking with Usopp on plans to look over the Merry for potential sources. Solid start.
25:??. Supplies purchased for Usopp. He'll need a bit more teaching before he's ready to use them, but it won't be too long before he's more independent and able to take on more of your responsibilities.
88:80. Disguise 5 unlocked. 43:90. Acting 5 not unlocked. 16:70. Barter 5 not unlocked.
50:10. Bombmaking 3 unlocked. 71:60. Bombmaking 4 unlocked. 10:60. Chemistry 7 not unlocked.
16:40. Driving 2 not unlocked. 2/3 Progress made on driver's course.
Day 2
41:100. Seaman (AoS) 9 not unlocked.
47:100. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
95:80. Carpentry 6 unlocked. 22:90. Teaching 5 not unlocked. (These refer to general bosunry activities.)
85:60. Doctor 2 unlocked. +First Aid 8. +Anatomy 5. +Medicine 5.
68:100. Blacksmith 8 not unlocked. 59:40. Shipwright 5 unlocked. You begin work on applying sourced scrap metal to obvious potential weak points - the tiller, the steering, etc.
95:80. Survival 5 unlocked. 73:100. Naturalist 7 not unlocked. 73:20. Fishing 6 unlocked. (Yes, really. Twice in a row. I saw it refresh and everything.). I will fully admit I didn't realize Survival was a category skill until I'd already posted this update, and have done a hasty edit. There may be errors, let me know if you spot any.
46:00. Trapper 0 unlocked. 87:40. Trapper 1 unlocked. 74:100. Trapper 2 not unlocked.
10(2*10+10=30):40. Kachi Kachi no Mi 3 not unlocked.
Day 1 Loot Changes:
Taylor gets an understanding of some higher-ranking Baroque Works members.
Vivi and Horlio (Formerly known as Mr. 9) are added as trainers and temporary(?) allies.
-$487.33 Mahon-USD on Usopp's tools for the Merry.
-$2089.99 Mahon-USD for some good welding tools for the Merry and your general use, can be taught to Usopp at later date.
-$40.00 Mahon-USD for scrap metal for Merry upgrade project.
Day 2 Loot Changes:
N/A
+1 Anatomy (5)
+1 Boatswain (9)
+2 Bombmaking (4)
+1 Carpentry (6)
+1 Disguise (5)
+1 Doctor (2)
+1 Fishing (6)
+1 First Aid (8)
+1 Hunter (5)
+1 Medicine (5)
+1 Naturalist (7)
+1 Seaman (AoS) (8)
+1 Skinning (5)
+1 Survival (5)
+1 Tracker (6)
+2 Trapper (1)
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Tuesday, January 18, 2011, Monday, May 30, 1532, Tuesday, November 14, 2000), and Day 2 (Wednesday, January 19, 2011, Tuesday, May 31, 1532, Wednesday, November 15, 2000). Voting closes on Monday, May 8, at midnight EST.
This option should be considered separate from the voting below, but: Should Taylor tell Danny the extent to which Baroque Works threatened the crew, or should she keep it a secret until she's a bit more convincingly powerful? Bear in mind other potentially relevant factors. You can include details on strategy if you'd like, Taylor will probably overthink this in-character, but I reserve the right to veto. This will be a free action if you choose to do it.
[ ] Tell him now.
[ ] Wait.
Day 1 has three actions available. Two are reserved for normal boatswain/First Stretch-related work on the Merry. One is reserved for finishing the driving project. One is reserved for the 'upgrade the Merry' project. Day 2 has four actions available. Two are reserved for normal boatswain/First Stretch-related work on the Merry. One is reserved for the 'upgrade the Merry' project.
Should you choose one of Day 1's actions to be the 'train Usopp in the tools' option, you will have five actions on Day 2, and obviously, more actions for future updates.
-[ ] Online driver's education. New Hampshire lets you drive supervised at 15 1/2, and take your full test when you turn 16 in June. But just knowing how to drive could be handy in emergencies, or on other worlds. 1 action/2 days. (2/3 to completion, next skills: Driving)
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (2/6+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright. Be very specific with what you want with this option. Include details with what you want in your post. Be mindful of how some creatures on Mayim communicate.)
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] Spy on Merchant operations. The Merchants seem likely to be one of your first targets in Brockton Bay, and spying on them has the useful side effect of improving some of your underutilized skills. 1 action, potentially higher/day. (0/7+ to completion. 60% of Forensics 0. 5% of Forensics 1. 30% of Criminal Psychology 1. 0% of Criminal Psychology 2. 20% of Stealth 7. 10% of Perception 8. Chance of other skills improving depending on how the investigation plays out. Warning: unknown chance of random encounter/mandatory action. If Taylor sees something fucked up going on, she may intervene, and a random action may be removed as she takes time to deal with it. Mutually exclusive with VILLAIN HUNT projects. This project should be considered more hands-off than VILLAIN HUNT.)
-[ ] Learn how to create bugs - not the buzz kind, but the listening device kind. Ideally, you'd like be able to uncover information more effectively and record it, like Vivi did with Mr. 5. 1 action/day. (0/??. Next skills: Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering. Taylor's fairly sure her Engineering skill is a bit low to make this really work, but if this option is chosen, she'll train with that specifically in mind.)
-[ ] Now that you've decided to be a bit conservative with revealing the extent of your powers on Bet, you can maybe spend some time considering what a potential, temporary backup identity could look like, in case you needed to go after a target with greater use of your abilities. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, designing a costume, picking a name and which powers to use. Write-ins are acceptable here, but I'll shoot down anything ridiculous.)
-[ ] Expand your gear set for when you're out in costume as Factota. Buy a body cam, voice changer, some burner phones, comms jammer, cell phone cloner, gas mask, other gear players might be interested in. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion. Computers, Engineering, other skills will be trained during the course of this project. Write-in additions to this, ask first, it will likely extend the project. Must be available on Mahon, besides the phones, which will be purchased on Bet. You'll soon most likely have to start pulling from your cape account to buy things, which will also extend the project - since you'll have to speak with a specialty bank to open that card account. (See Brockton Bay actions below, that will be included in this project should you choose to take it.) Cell phones will require an uncomfortable conversation with Dad, which could also prolong things.
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (2/6+ to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright. Be very specific with what you want with this option. Include details with what you want in your post. Be mindful of how some creatures on Mayim communicate.)
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] Spy on Merchant operations. The Merchants seem likely to be one of your first targets in Brockton Bay, and spying on them has the useful side effect of improving some of your underutilized skills. 1 action, potentially higher/day. (0/7+ to completion. 60% of Forensics 0. 5% of Forensics 1. 30% of Criminal Psychology 1. 0% of Criminal Psychology 2. 20% of Stealth 7. 10% of Perception 8. Chance of other skills improving depending on how the investigation plays out. Warning: unknown chance of random encounter/mandatory action. If Taylor sees something fucked up going on, she may intervene, and a random action may be removed as she takes time to deal with it. Mutually exclusive with VILLAIN HUNT projects. This project should be considered more hands-off than VILLAIN HUNT.)
-[ ] Learn how to create bugs - not the buzz kind, but the listening device kind. Ideally, you'd like be able to uncover information more effectively and record it, like Vivi did with Mr. 5. 1 action/day. (0/??. Next skills: Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering. Taylor's fairly sure her Engineering skill is a bit low to make this really work, but if this option is chosen, she'll train with that specifically in mind.)
-[ ] Now that you've decided to be a bit conservative with revealing the extent of your powers on Bet, you can maybe spend some time considering what a potential, temporary backup identity could look like, in case you needed to go after a target with greater use of your abilities. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, designing a costume, picking a name and which powers to use. Write-ins are acceptable here, but I'll shoot down anything ridiculous.)
-[ ] Expand your gear set for when you're out in costume as Factota. Buy a body cam, voice changer, some burner phones, comms jammer, cell phone cloner, gas mask, other gear players might be interested in. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion. Computers, Engineering, other skills will be trained during the course of this project. Write-in additions to this, ask first, it will likely extend the project. Must be available on Mahon, besides the phones, which will be purchased on Bet. You'll soon most likely have to start pulling from your cape account to buy things, which will also extend the project - since you'll have to speak with a specialty bank to open that card account. (See Brockton Bay actions below, that will be included in this project should you choose to take it.) Cell phones will require an uncomfortable conversation with Dad, which could also prolong things.
(It's unlikely you'll get any powers in time to make a difference at Foolshout, but could be useful for the future.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Forensics, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to track down Circus. They're an independent thief villain cape with (possibly) a grab-bag assortment of random powers. They know their stuff, so they'll likely be pretty tough to find. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception, ???. This option will involve more research, data-tracking stuff at home, less street-level stuff. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to track down Uber and Leet. They're annoying as fuck, but they could have potential useful powers. It's possible Uber's power could synergize well with yours, and while you wouldn't want to train Leet's until you had a good existing knowledge of Tinker powers, they could be useful. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception. More research at home at first with this option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects. By accepting this villain hunt, you acknowledge that you have read my informational post confirming that Uber and Leet are not as powerful/useful as in fanon, and you understand that Taylor will not be training Leet's power until she has a considerably better understanding of Tinker powers.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to get a good idea of the Empire's capabilities. It's dangerous to tackle them as your first cape group, but you don't plan to pick fights with them just yet. You're specifically looking for Alabaster, Victor and Othala, but you'll consider hitting others if you find them alone. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception, ???. This option will initially involve more research, data-tracking stuff at home, less street-level stuff than the alternatives. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects. This project will be longer and riskier than the others.)
-[ ] Write-in. Tag @jcw3 first.
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Forensics, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to track down Circus. They're an independent thief villain cape with (possibly) a grab-bag assortment of random powers. They know their stuff, so they'll likely be pretty tough to find. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception, ???. This option will involve more research, data-tracking stuff at home, less street-level stuff. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to track down Uber and Leet. They're annoying as fuck, but they could have potential useful powers. It's possible Uber's power could synergize well with yours, and while you wouldn't want to train Leet's until you had a good existing knowledge of Tinker powers, they could be useful. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception. More research at home at first with this option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects. By accepting this villain hunt, you acknowledge that you have read my informational post confirming that Uber and Leet are not as powerful/useful as in fanon, and you understand that Taylor will not be training Leet's power until she has a considerably better understanding of Tinker powers.)
-[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Try to get a good idea of the Empire's capabilities. It's dangerous to tackle them as your first cape group, but you don't plan to pick fights with them just yet. You're specifically looking for Alabaster, Victor and Othala, but you'll consider hitting others if you find them alone. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Perception, ???. This option will initially involve more research, data-tracking stuff at home, less street-level stuff than the alternatives. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects. This project will be longer and riskier than the others.)
-[ ] Write-in. Tag @jcw3 first.
Going Merry actions. 1 action each. Max 1 action per person, 3 different persons per day. New options may unlock as you get to know the crew better.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 10% of Boatswain 10. 50% of Shipwright 6. 20% of Teaching 5.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5. 20% of Navigation 6. 20% of Meteorology 5. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Teach Usopp how to use the carpentry tools you're lending the Straw Hats. He knows how not to hurt himself, but to give yourself a bit more free time, he should learn how to actually use them. 10% of Teaching 5. Usopp learns how to use the tools. You gain +1 action for all days remaining in the First Stretch, and will have fewer mandatory boatswain actions going forward past that as well.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4. 60% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 20% of Bombmaking 5. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 90% of Trapper 2. 60% of Trapper 3. 20% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to take a look at that outfit Miss Goldenweek designed for her, and if she has any details on what she was told by the villainess. ???
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 75% of Peacock Slashers 0. 10% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 60% of Blunt Weapons 3. 10% of Blunt Weapons 4.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 80% of Acrobatics 4. 40% of Acrobatics 5.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 80% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 0% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydrokinesis is hard. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 5% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 70% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 70% of Criminal Psychology 1. 20% of Criminal Psychology 2.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 70% of Forensics 0, 10% of Forensics 1.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
--[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
--[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 50% of Acrobatics 4.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 40% of Swimming 7.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 0% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 100% of Driving 2. 50% of Driving 3. 0% of Driving 4. (2/3 to completion of Driver's Ed project)
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 8. (+25 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 100% of Photography 0. 50% of Photography 1. 10% of Photography 2. Low chance of increase in Art.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 15% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 20% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 10% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 60% of Public Speaking 3.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 20% of Leadership 4.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 25% of Acting 5.
-[ ] Disguise. 0% of Disguise 6.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 80% of Meditation 0. 20% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action.
Training: Unlisted skills.
The following skills and their derivative skills are blocked as you don't have an appropriate place to train them. Maybe you should work on that, huh?:
none right now
The following skills and their derivative skills are not listed because you have not sought out a way to advance them:
Art, World Issues, various Weapons skills, Barter
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 10% of Boatswain 10. 50% of Shipwright 6. 20% of Teaching 5.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5. 20% of Navigation 6. 20% of Meteorology 5. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Teach Usopp how to use the carpentry tools you're lending the Straw Hats. He knows how not to hurt himself, but to give yourself a bit more free time, he should learn how to actually use them. 10% of Teaching 5. Usopp learns how to use the tools. You gain +1 action for all days remaining in the First Stretch, and will have fewer mandatory boatswain actions going forward past that as well.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4. 60% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 20% of Bombmaking 5. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 90% of Trapper 2. 60% of Trapper 3. 20% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to take a look at that outfit Miss Goldenweek designed for her, and if she has any details on what she was told by the villainess. ???
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 75% of Peacock Slashers 0. 10% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 60% of Blunt Weapons 3. 10% of Blunt Weapons 4.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 80% of Acrobatics 4. 40% of Acrobatics 5.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 80% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 0% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydrokinesis is hard. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 5% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 70% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 70% of Criminal Psychology 1. 20% of Criminal Psychology 2.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 70% of Forensics 0, 10% of Forensics 1.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
--[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
--[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 50% of Acrobatics 4.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 40% of Swimming 7.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 0% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 100% of Driving 2. 50% of Driving 3. 0% of Driving 4. (2/3 to completion of Driver's Ed project)
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 8. (+25 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 100% of Photography 0. 50% of Photography 1. 10% of Photography 2. Low chance of increase in Art.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 15% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 20% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 10% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 60% of Public Speaking 3.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 20% of Leadership 4.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 25% of Acting 5.
-[ ] Disguise. 0% of Disguise 6.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 80% of Meditation 0. 20% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action.
Training: Unlisted skills.
The following skills and their derivative skills are blocked as you don't have an appropriate place to train them. Maybe you should work on that, huh?:
none right now
The following skills and their derivative skills are not listed because you have not sought out a way to advance them:
Art, World Issues, various Weapons skills, Barter
I see that there have been some questions directed towards me, and will respond to those today - I have some stuff IRL to do, and I want to get this finalized update/changes to character sheet and equipment page out first. But I will answer those questions later. Please make me aware of any errors you spot.
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2.22: First Stretch 6/Prelude to Baroque Works 2/Merchant Hunt 1
This Taylor fanart is disturbingly close to how I was imagining non-Sube Sube Taylor in the One Piece manga style. Thought I'd share. Sube Sube Taylor looks more like this. I normally don't like when fanartists draw Taylor as conventionally attractive, but given the effect Sube Sube has, I think this works.
2.22 First Stretch 6/Prelude to Baroque Works 2/Merchant Hunt 1
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Monday, May 30, 1532
"Usopp! Back a bit!" you shout, and the sniper narrowly ducks in time to avoid another piece of basketball-sized hail, right before it would have broken his collarbone.
The Merry is retreating through the storm as fast as it can - it doesn't look like it will take much longer, but there have been plenty of glancing blows that have dented or even broken chunks of wood. The larger chunks of hail are mercifully few - only a few as large as a semi-truck tire, and Sanji kicked the last one you saw to pieces before it hit the deck. But the constant pitter-patter of hail, and the odd chunk that's worth worrying about, is having an effect on the Merry.
Unfortunately, the alternative was sailing through an enormous hail-nado the size of some islands. It's going to take hours to repair all of the damage from the past hour, but… at least now it's receding. You coordinate the Straw Hats and guests in clearing the deck, feeling like a bit more of a Leader in the process, and together with Usopp, mark down the spots worst damaged by the storm.
"What do you think? Start with the starboard railing? Decent spike lodged through there."
You shake your head. "Probably a better idea to take a look at that dent above the lounge room," you point. "We get another bad blow and that thing might collapse in."
He stares at it for a moment, before his eyes widen in comprehension. "Crap, you're right."
You beckon him to follow. "Come on. I want to show you how to use some of the tools I brought over."
Usopp's eyes gleam. "Really?"
"Yes, but it comes at a cost," you say, mock sternly. "I need some more free time to handle stuff in general. I teach you how to use the woodworking tools, you take over some of my responsibilities on the ship, and if you're careful, maybe you can use them on some of your own projects. Deal?"
"Deal! Absolutely!" he enthuses, practically bouncing with glee. You smile, despite yourself.
"You're gonna regret that enthusiasm, you know," you say, handing him a saw and patting him on the back. He doesn't look like he believes you.
–
Ah, there it is. You were wondering when the regret would show. "I… still think they're cool," he says, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. Guided by the greatest non-parahuman carpenter from Earth-Bet (you're sure there's some cape out there who's a woodworking tinker or something), you've just about taken care of the most problematic bits from the morning's hailstorm, yet another battle won in your futile crusade to keep the Merry afloat.
Did you know that Foolshout Island, out of all of the starting islands in Paradise, goes the deepest into the First Stretch? Very few sailors are 'foolish' (hah) enough to take this route. Even Fisher Tiger's famous raid on the island was launched from behind. Cactus Island would have only taken a few days, the next alternative maybe a week. Journeys this long in such dangerous waters are uncommon, and most fleets attempting it fail, let alone a small caravel with a crew of eight.
Just surviving it will make the crew stronger, if you can persevere for a few more days to Foolshout's climate zone. "Oi."
You give Zoro a glance as the swordsman tracks you down. You give Usopp some space - you've assigned him some more homework in the storeroom - and you meet Zoro out on deck. "My wounds. I'm supposed to be able to start training today, right?"
"Light training," you hesitantly agree. "Crocus told me to take a second look at your wounds a few days after today, and then you should be good as new."
"I feel fine," he gripes. "Can't I just go back to normal already? I've been antsy for days." You stare at him. He returns it. You stare back. He eventually wilts. "Agh!" he groans, scratching his hair. "Fine. When you say 'light…" he trails off.
You sigh, and prepare a list of exercises for him, with more restrictions on the level of weights he's allowed to use… after you give a second look to his once-gaping chest wound, now merely horrifically scarred remnants of what it once was. It still looks pretty nasty, but the worst has passed, and not too long, should solidify into merely an impressive battle scar.
With your new upgrades to Medicine skill bolstered by Naturalism, you might have some ideas for ointment to spread over the injury, if Sanji still has some of that facehugger squid ink left over. Who knows. In a day or two, you might be willing to start training with him again.
"Thanks," he says, grudgingly. "Finally get to start training myself. It's been agony watching you and twirly get to train, while I had to sit around and watch."
Not waiting for a response from you, he draws his swords, and looks out over the seas. Aa bit choppier than normal, but not the worst you've experienced thus far. One in his mouth, two in his hands. The Three-Sword Style. Feels like it's been ages since you saw this in action.
Extending his arms in what looks like it must be an uncomfortable angle, he places both swords behind his back, facing down, another katana lodged in his mouth horizontally. Staring at the waves with an expression somewhere between giddiness and hunger, he lunges forward towards the railing! If he breaks it, you swear to God-
"Tiger… Hunting!" he shouts, the incantation muffled by the hilt in his mouth.
A larger wave parts right as he says it, the force of the attack strong enough that even the wind from the strike can cut it in half. "Jeez. I'm rusty," he scowls. He glances back over to you. "You're sure it's only those light exercises?" he asks, almost pleadingly.
You add a dangerous tone to your voice. "Don't make me ask Nami to keep an eye on you."
He winces. "Alright, alright. I'll keep it down," he says, and you almost believe him. You suppose you'll have to settle for the Zoro version of 'keeping it down'.
That interruption done, you head to the little hide-away covered crate you built in the storeroom to justify your disappearances to Horlio, Vivi, and any other future guests, wave a hello to a tired but still enthusiastic Usopp, and head to Bet to get changed for another visit to New York City.
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mahon, X-Men: Evolution Multiverse, X-Men: Evolution-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Light snow today in Mahon. You were initially planning to wear a polo shirt and slacks for this purchase, but you're gonna get enough probing questions from the shopkeepers. You wound up deciding to head back to Bet to grab a jacket, if only for appearances.
Manhattan Mariners is a no-frills sailing supply store on the Hudson River. Every time you enter a building on this world and have to interact with the locals, it's a little culture shock. They're happier. More innocent. More naive. Just people having a cheerful conversation at the counter, barely forced at all, no distrust or bitterness.
You spend a while window shopping around the store while you wait for the old man at the counter to finish with a long-time regular. There are a few potentially useful trinkets here, but the project to reinforce the Merry is costing you enough of your Mahon funds that you want to start being careful with how you spend your money. It's barely been a week and you've already spent a bit over a fourth of your cash funds.
The clerk looks a bit taken aback by your list. "What kind of craft are you working on, miss? This quantity… what are you trying to do, rebuild the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria?!"
You smile. "Dad and I-" You feel a bit dirty, making up a hypothetical 'Dad', but you've discovered that women have an easier time buying supplies like this if they make up an imaginary man they've been working alongside. You're going for 'fairly wealthy daughter of an eccentric sailboat guy', and hopefully your outfit helps sell that. "-have a few ideas, but want to make sure we have plenty of bulk stock first."
"Phew. That's gotta be a lotta change to throw around," he remarks. "I've got what you're looking for, but if you're working with this much polyester sailcloth, you're gonna need to go to a specialist to get it refitted and sewn right. Otherwise it won't catch the wind the way you're hoping for. And I don't know what you'd need this much rope for."
"We've got a family friend helping us on this. I just drew the short straw when it came to running the errands of actually buying the stuff."
He looks a bit doubtful, but in the end, money talks, even if paying for all of this with cash nearly makes him back out. You leave Manhattan Mariners with around six hundred and fifty dollars worth of modern double-braided nylon rope for the Merry - more than enough to replace the existing hemp on the ship. You also pick up enough raw polyester to use as sailcloth - eight hundred and fifty dollars worth of material for the main and mizzen should be plenty, with a little extra to use in case of tears.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
You peek out of the crate's peephole to make sure the coast is clear, and sure enough, only Usopp's working away in the storeroom, with some cotton pads as makeshift hearing protection, thankfully. You make sure to wait until he turns off the sander before you make yourself known, because… "Ah! Taylor! Why do you always pop in out of nowhere!"... you knew he'd panic when he saw you. "Maaan, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
You give him a pitying pat on the shoulder. "Mind watching the door for our guests? I've got a bunch of stuff to bring over. Rope and sailcloth mostly."
He tilts his head. "I know we've had a few tears on the mainmast, but you've been able to fix them, right? And our rope isn't that frayed."
"Not necessarily just about durability. The new rope I got is not only more durable, but it's also lighter and easier to work with. The modern sailcloth will catch the wind easier and resist tears easier. Combine that with the new, more responsive whipstaff…"
He shakes his head in disbelief, lifting his goggles. "You've got to be the most convenient person to sail with in the history of the world."
Despite yourself, you smile, a bit flattered. "This doesn't get you out of your homework, you know."
Usopp pouts a little. "Who do I look like, Luffy? I wasn't trying to get out of it."
Snorting, you head back and forth to your currently chosen alley, and start shifting over the sailcloth and rope.
–
At last. Progress with Kachi Kachi. Your face contorts into a grin as you take one step forward… and the rocks on your skin don't noticeably crack or crumble away onto the deck. Oh, they're thin. They're barely connected in some places, only disjointed pebbles forming a poor excuse for armor over your skin, and the fact that it takes three or four minutes just to get to this point means that it's functionally useless in combat.
But you can perform basic, careful tasks with Kachi Kachi activated without everything literally falling apart, and it's only when you make sudden movements that cracks appear or crumpling starts. Calling forth the warmth or even just plain old heat is something that apparently taxes the power as it is now, and you notice increased breakage when you try to generate heat.
The warmth from your pebble-coat is probably strong enough to start fires, and you're lucky Sanji's on lookout so you can use the brick-coated kitchen. It may be worthwhile to start training this on Mahon, but you aren't even sure if there's a good place there to use either. You may buy a fire extinguisher the next time you stop by a hardware store there, just to be safe.
Maybe if you and the Straw Hats make it to a winter island, you could be a mobile fire. Wrap a blanket around you, you'd make a decent kotatsu.
Good progress, regardless. Bear King was a brute who got far in a weaker sea with Davy Back Fights and the natural charisma that comes from being a giantblooded man with a Paramecia, but he wasn't particularly imaginative or a skilled fighter. If you can combine his ability with your superhuman physical capabilities… well, that just opens up all sorts of new possibilities.
Wait a moment. You hadn't thought to try this before. You extend Sube Sube's effect over yourself, covering not only your sailor clothes, but… you drop a spoon on your rocky arm and… it careens off and you barely catch it before it clatters against the floor. Yes! Yes! The slip-slip effect also covers Kachi Kachi's pebble-coat! Which means… yes! Oh hell yes!
You giggle manically. That means these two powers synergize! You can have Kachi Kachi's brute hot-stone resilience, and Sube Sube's slipperiness! Both at once! Sube Sube can be sliced through by well-maintained blades… Kachi Kachi has no such weakness! Sure, exotic attacks are still a problem, but that would have been the case even without it! Does this mean Paramecia fruit powers can combine more effectively than your shape changing abilities?
Oh, that's wonderful! Sanji chooses that exact moment to walk in, and you feel a bit silly almost immediately.
–
"Taylor, I love you," Nami sighs, gently running her hands along the sample of polyester sailcloth.
Your face burns. "Let's not get carried away."
"We're going to make sooo much better time with this. I was thinking that we'd arrive at Foolshout in… maybe ten days or so, but this should shave us down to eight! This is amazing! Hold on, let me double check-" she mutters underneath her breath as she scrawls down some quick formulae. You don't spot any problems. "-Yes! Oh my God, yes!"
She hugs you tight, wiping… a tear out of her eye? "We might actually survive the Grand Line after all!" she exclaims.
"Just a few more days till Foolshout," you say, finding the outpouring of emotion a bit uncomfortable. No, uncomfortable's the wrong word. You just aren't used to being the center of this kind of attention.
Nami nods, staring at you with a frankly intimidating intensity. "When can you replace the sails?"
"Tomorrow, probab-" She squeals inelegantly.
"I'm going to need to redo all of my plans… and I'm not even mad! This is amazing!"
You have two Devil Fruit powers, can turn into a five-foot albatross with a fifteen foot wingspan, a swordfishman, or a freaking bear, depending on your needs, but the thing that always impresses people is something like your bosunry or seamstress skills. You aren't necessarily complaining, it just feels like it should be the reverse.
"After a certain point, we're going to have to talk about my power with Vivi and Horlio," you murmur, glancing quickly at the door to the women's room.
Nami rolls her eyes and waves you off. "Don't worry about it. This crew is so weird, I'm not sure they've even noticed anything that odd about you specifically. Did you see Zoro today? He was cutting waves in half for practice."
You feel your eye twitch. "He has a messed up way of defining 'light exercise'."
"Oh, we're all a little deranged here. That's why I wouldn't be too worried about the princess and her partner. Worst comes to worst, we can just tell them you made this stuff. You're like a crazy good seamstress, it'd be an easy sell, so long as they don't actually see you leave."
You aren't sure you fully believe her on that front, but you accept her argument, leaving Nami to her recalibrations, and head to the storeroom to transition back to Bet.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
After you change into something a bit more comfortable for tedious computer work, you take some time to finish the driving project. You're almost as relieved to finish the stupid course as you were to discover Kachi Kachi and Sube Sube's synergy. At least Headway's enjoying itself - you find yourself going from student to average commuter to competent, experienced driver in the space of about an hour.
Busywork completed, you schedule a test for June 21, the soonest after your birthday you can find. It'll cost thirty-six dollars to take that exam, and a bit more cash and time for all the paperwork, waiting at the DMV, and such things, but hopefully by that point, you'll be powerful enough that resources won't be as much of a concern as they are now.
Nothing substantial in the news. It feels like it's been ages since you scrolled the internet and let your power fill in the blanks of the articles as needed. Factota still only has a stub on the PHO wiki (pending deletion per moderator judgment), and the latest update in her thread was days ago. The general consensus seems to be that you were a fake cape trying to get attention, and you've actually been removed from the Capeball rankings. You are just absolutely heartbroken to be removed from the depraved snuff game.
Not that big a deal, but it could impact your reputation in the future if you don't do something soon. Fortunately… before you finish the thought, you hear the door opening. Dad's back from work, a bit later than normal. Ah. Jeez. It's about to be time for a really uncomfortable conversation. You metaphorically gird up your loins, and head downstairs.
He gives you a wide grin when he sees you. "Boy, it's good to see you."
"You're more cheerful than normal," you reply.
"Some good news at work, finally. I told you that we were having problems, after the Graughton contract went to Boston?" You nod, vaguely remembering that. "Well, Medhall came through! The pharma company?" Seeing your look of recognition, he continues. "They're gonna be expanding their R&D lab in the suburbs. Gonna have a lot of tools getting imported from Europe - lab equipment, stuff like that. And they're wanting to work with us on it!"
You can't help but smile. You've haven't seen him so animated in ages. "It's just a temp job. It'll only last a few weeks, and it'll be done then. But for the first time in… I don't know how long, with this and the usual odds and ends we scrounge up for our guys, we might finally have jobs for everyone."
He sets his briefcase down by the door, and shuffles off his coat. "Gonna suck when it runs out and the guys are used to having a few weeks of steady work. But… it gives me a good foundation for some more cold calls I've been meaning to work on. If we can do a good job with Medhall, it could be great networking with some of their partner companies."
"That's great!" you say, and looking down, you focus in on your power. "My power's, ah, filling in the blanks on the Medhall expansion. World Events. They're working with their joint venture partners in Germany and Austria to trade some manufacturing techniques, equipment, things like that."
"That's what my contact at Medhall told me. Part of why they need guys they can rely on, to not be easily bribed by corporate rivals who might want to copy whatever patented stuff they're bringing over."
It makes sense. "Are they worried about capes trying to steal anything? Exotic materials for tinkers, stuff like that?"
Dad shakes his head. "Above my paygrade. We're just responsible for unloading it all and transporting it without messing anything up. Medhall's security is their business. Anyway. That's enough about me, sorry, I just couldn't resist the urge to share some good news."
You hold your hands out. "No, I don't blame you. It's great news. I just… wish I had better."
He frowns, and sits down, grunting a bit as he does. "What's wrong?"
"I, um… I… there's something I should have told you the day before yesterday. Maybe even the night before that."
You take a seat. You don't trust yourself to build this up gently, so you just say it outright. "The Straw Hats are about to go to war with Baroque Works. I told you that. But it's a bit worse than I told you."
He stares at you for a minute, and sags a little in his chair. "Fuck," he mutters under his breath, likely thinking the curse is imperceptible. "What… what's worse?"
"We reached out to Vivi. Her and Horlio - Mr. 9, though he dropped his cape name once the organization kicked him out. She told us everything. It's not just going to be Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine on the island, not just going to be that ninja weirdo I told you about. Vivi expects Mr. 3, a powerful wax manipulator, and Miss Goldenweek, a hypnosis cape, to be there as well, accompanied by a small army."
He makes a little gulping noise. "O…kay. Is… is there a plan in mind?"
You softly smile. "Luffy's not the type for plans. I'm working to refine my skills, we still have a week or so until we hit Foolshout Island. I'm reinforcing the ship, training, so's everyone else. If all goes well, I'd like to be able to just ambush these guys without even fighting them, but that might not be possible. So I'm trying to cover all of my basis, get that little bit stronger, get where I need to be, so hopefully it all goes well."
"Hopefully," he repeats, saying it flatly.
"...yeah."
All of the good mood from the Medhall news has faded almost immediately. "I wish you'd told me this sooner. I'm glad you're doing it now, but… I wish you'd told me this sooner."
You look down, ashamed. "I'm sorry. There's… there's more."
"Seriously?!" he asks, giving you an incredulous look.
"I have a bounty now. Fourteen million."
He stares at you for several moments, face barely moving a muscle. He mostly just looks tired. "I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought we… I thought we had a degree of mutual trust."
You swallow. "I… I didn't want you to worry. I was still trying to get things together with me on my end, and I didn't know if I could keep you from… I don't know. I didn't want you to worry about me."
He laughs sardonically, staring off to the side. "Jesus Christ, Taylor." He rests his head in his hands. "That's it, right?"
"That's… the immediate problem. The leader of Baroque Works shouldn't be anywhere near Foolshout, but - he's… we're pretty sure he's a Logia like Smoker, but records are spotty. He might be a Paramecia, like Luffy. Something to do with sand."
He's silent for a moment, and for some reason, you keep talking. "Zoro has a bounty, too. Ten million. That's… that's it."
Dad doesn't say anything, and again, you babble. "I can get Fishman Karate up, get Kachi Kachi up. This is still manageable. Baroque Works is trying to kill a country through civil war for some supervillain cape's evil plan. I have to stop them."
"Do you?" he asks, nervously. You stare at him, affronted. "I- I'm sorry. That was a bit too far. Jesus. Sorry - it… Taylor. You…"
He looks like he's not sure how to process all of this information. You aren't sure you can blame him. "This is so far outside my frame of reference it's not even funny. This is it, right? Please tell me this is it."
You nod, wordlessly. Now you learn to shut your mouth. You open your mouth - Well, actually - "I was going to start going after the Merchants - just exploratory, probing gestures, at first!"
"Are you f-" he starts, anger flaring in his face, and then stops, collecting himself. He holds up a hand, probably telling you to give him a moment. He looks horrified, and… ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that."
There's a profoundly uncomfortable silence that stretches. He frowns and looks over to you. "Why… why even go after the Merchants in the first place? Why do that now? When you already have to worry about Baroque Works?"
"The Merchants aren't as much of a threat as Baroque Works!" you say, defending yourself. "They only have three capes and some thugs, Baroque Works has an army. Give me two weeks, and the Merchants are gone! Baroque Works - I need resources to fight with. Skidmark and Squealer's power - they could be gamechangers. Even without the powers, just knowing how to investigate, how to scope out enemy territory..." you let the sentence die, having made your point.
He stares at you. "You have your heart set on this." You nod, trying to give the appearance of strength. He sighs, and looks at the empty chair at the table. "I wish I had the ability to stop you."
There's a lull, and you try to interject. "Dad…" you trail off. You aren't even sure what you would have said.
"I love you. I don't say that enough, I feel like life doesn't give me the chance to tell you that enough. Since you've gotten your powers, you've become braver, more driven, more confident. Your mother would be proud of the woman you're becoming."
He hasn't broken the gaze. "But you're going to get yourself killed. I… can't lose both you and Annette."
Hearing her name in this context feels like getting stabbed in the heart with a jagged shard of glass. "So what do I even do? I come home, and for, what, a week, you weren't here, and I had no idea whether you were alive or dead, no idea if you'd just drowned in the middle of some godforsaken alien ocean and I'd never even see your body. I'd just wind up living here, alone, slowly forgetting what my own daughter's voice even sounded like." His voice cracks.
"There's no recourse I have here. It's hell, Taylor. There's nothing I can do to help you, make you safer, especially when you're actively seeking out the danger I'm worried about in the first place. So I just… go to work like normal, and try to ignore that my daughter is fighting pirates who can destroy islands with a thought."
There's a part of you that wants to correct him, point out that you're not fighting that level of enemy yet. You silence that thought, and let him continue. "I… I'm sorry about just now. I didn't mean to blow up on you like that. You didn't deserve that. Never, never let me do that again."
Dad sinks into his seat. You wipe your eyes and swallow again. "I'm not going to leave you alone, Dad," you say. "My friends and I are going to beat Baroque Works. I'm going to save this city. I just need… six months. A year, maybe. And Kaiser, all these bastards, they'll be gone."
Another pause. Dad eventually speaks up. "I think we're having two different conversations, Taylor. I know you believe you can succeed. Frankly, I believe you can succeed! Hell, I know you can! But there's that possibility that lingers in my mind, it gets its claws dug into my head. That some freak accident occurs-" you wonder if that phrasing's intentional. "-that you just die, unceremoniously, dead in a ditch or a current somewhere. And I can't get that mental image to go away."
You can't muster a response. These long silences feel like they're ripping away a piece of your soul for every second they stretch on. "How do I make this better?" you ask, quietly.
He doesn't look like he knows how to reply. "I… that might be the wrong way to look at it, Taylor. It's irreconcilable. I'm always going to worry about you. You're always going to be my little girl. But… someday you're going to grow up. Maybe sooner than I'd like, and maybe I'm going to miss those pivotal moments. Maybe I already have. That happens to every parent, but… with you, there are these catastrophic, world-ending stakes attached, beyond my comprehension. You have these lofty ambitions and you take all of these risks to meet them, and even before you told me what you just did, it just fills me with this consuming sense of dread."
"Should I… have kept this a secret?"
"Fu-uuck no!" he laughs, caught off guard. "Oh my God, no. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have swore just then. I- it might not sound like it, but I'm grateful you told me. It's… I need some time to think on this a bit. I appreciate that you were open with me. I'm… I'm sorry, I know I keep saying that - I'm sorry I reacted this… like this, and that I blew up on you. But I'm so, so glad you trusted me with this. I know you were probably worried I'd react… like this. Or worse.
I love you. You're my world, Taylor. I'm so proud of the woman you're becoming. I'm just terrified your journey is going to be cut short before you become the person you were made to be, and that there's nothing I can do to stop that from happening. That's… that's where I'm at."
–
You and Dad put the dishes away after dinner. It was… difficult to bring the conversation back to normal after that. You aren't even sure either of you succeeded, or if it was even worth trying in the first place. Heartbreakingly, it reminded you a bit of the conversations before you dropped out of school, when you were both trying to keep conversations compartmentalized to subjects both of you found safe.
You hope it doesn't stay like this, that this was just a wound that can heal, that your mission hasn't destroyed your relationship with your Dad just after you'd started to rebuild it. You wish you'd told him sooner. You don't know if it would have helped, or if anything would have changed, but wouldn't it have been the right thing to do?
It's so frustrating. Why is stuff like this the big thing to worry about? Don't you have enough to deal with, but the universe has to keep throwing this shit at you? Keep you second guessing yourself, hurting your relationship with family?
You must have been staring into space for a while. Dad reaches his arm over your shoulder and pulls you in for a well-meaning, if awkward, hug, and squeezes. "Love you, Taylor," he says. "Always."
You rub your eyes and return the gesture.
–
You spent a few more hours with Dad, talking about nothing in particular. Theoretically, that was time you could have spent training - Sube Sube, Ninjutsu, Fishman Karate, any number of things, but… this felt more important. Tension gradually lifted, the openness returning, both of you letting your guard down after… well. That.
"You're still going after the Merchants, aren't you," Dad says, and the question almost slaps you in the face with its bluntness. You suppose you deserved that.
"It gives me practice. Baroque Works is going to be occupying Foolshout. I'm going to need to help investigate where they are. I can start that here, get some practice. Skidmark and Squealer - even if I get lucky and find them tonight-" you catch Dad mouthing 'lucky' sarcastically, "-their powers won't be ready for use by the time I got to Foolshout, if the Devil Fruit powers were any indication. But the practice when it comes to investigation, noticing things, stuff like that… could be critical for seeing ambushes, patterns, when we fight Baroque Works on Foolshout."
Talking about work is invigorating. But now you have this little fear in the back of your mind that it's scaring Dad, putting him off. You don't see anything like that on his face, but now you have that concern. He shrugs, reclined back into the chair in the living room. "Okay. I'll trust you know what you're doing."
You don't miss his hands shaking around the mug, and it's not cold in here . "I'll come home safe. I promise."
He smiles weakly at you. "You mostly have so far."
You aren't sure how to respond to that. You settle for standing up, giving him a kiss on the cheek and a hug, before heading up to your room to get changed.
–
What a waste of time.
You went out in costume, stealthily, naturally, patrolling two separate spots on the notepad Brandish gave you. Nothing. She did say that these spots were pointed out as potential hotspots, so nothing was guaranteed, but you don't see any signs of Merchant activity.
It's possible Shielder or Laserdream or Glory Girl, the inexperienced capes among New Wave's fliers, were the ones who noticed these streets, thought they saw something, jotted it down in a file somewhere, and Brandish was just the middleman who handed the information over to you.
Geographically, it's close by the warehouse where Skidmark held his accounting meeting, but you can't make out any signs of organized gang activity. There are loose syringes in the street, bums passed out or sleeping here and there, a suspicious looking person skittering by in the dark of night, but nothing substantial at this or the other location. Could be just bad luck, could be that these two areas were duds, at least for the purpose of hunting down and breaking the Merchants.
Regardless, there's something of a silver lining to the cloud. The bare minimum of Investigation and Forensics capabilities joins your skillset. It's not much - you didn't have much to go off of here when training those skills. But it's a start, and maybe you'll have better luck with the other locations tomorrow.
You make your way home, let Dad know you're alright. You ask if he'd feel better if you slept at home tonight. He says not to worry about it, so you transition back to the storeroom on the Merry and get a well-deserved night's rest.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 1532
Clear skies today. A pleasant surprise. Perfect weather to do the modifications on the sail. It'll be nice to have something a bit more concrete to distract you. It takes about ten minutes to stitch the sailcloth together for the main and mizzen, and with a bosunry capability most sailors could only dream of, it only takes a few seconds with the help of your giant albatross form to actually attach each sail. Not only that, but challenging yourself to complete the project well in record time means that Headway rewards you by further improving your superhuman seamstress capability, to the penultimate level.
The difficult part of the project to reinforce the Merry, in many ways, is teaching the crew and guests how to use it, adjusting expectations, deflecting probing questions from Vivi and Horlio, putting your foot down with regards to nonsense from the usual suspect, ignoring the captain's pouting at the discipline… well. At the very least, you feel like you come out of it a better Public Speaker.
There's a noticeable difference in the sailing speed of the Merry now, to the point where even those of you on the crew who aren't professional or superhuman (in Nami's case) navigators can spot it. The ropes are easier to work with, there's less odds of ropeburn from a predictably unpredictable calamity. It's a noticeable and easy improvement, and well worth the time spent walking the crew through it.
Usopp has some ideas on using the bulk of the old sailcloth and hemp rope for his own projects, and you'll leave him to it. Not wanting to be alone with your own thoughts, and wanting to accomplish something, you approach Horlio. "What's up? Did you have another magic trick to show us?"
"Don't know much magic yet, sorry," you shrug coolly. Or in what you hope is a cool way, at least. "You're an acrobat, right?"
He grins and reaches for what you assume would be the inside of his suit, but he's not wearing a suit, and his bats are in the men's room by his hammock, last you remember. His face falls a bit. "I was going to say I specialize in acrobatics, but it doesn't sound as impressive when I'm not actually holding my bats."
You tilt your head up at the mainsail, idly noticing Zoro up on the crow's nest, not paying anywhere near the attention a lookout probably should be. "Do you mind showing me a few tricks? I think I'm good enough that we can practice with the mast if need be."
He frowns at you. "What, think you can learn acrobatics before we get to Foolshout? That's… what, a week from today?"
"That's my thing. I learn things fast. If you're not interested, that's okay, but-"
Horlio gives you a lopsided smirk. "No way. If you can be as good an acrobat as you are a bosun, I wanna see that nonsense firsthand."
You give him an eyeroll, before your training starts in earnest. You're a good acrobat, not a great one, and you can do a few flips - backflips, cartwheels, even a decent attempt at a salto, but it's been a pretty decent while since you last trained. You aren't anywhere near as good as Cabaji was with it, or even Horlio.
But you hope to fix that. Horlio notes mistakes in your form - there aren't any problems with your physique, merely your application of it on this specific front. It's helpful, and you allow yourself a bit of inner satisfaction at his frustrated gaping when you go from a good acrobat to a professional in the span of an hour and a half training session.
"That's such bullshit!" he shouts, yanking on his hair. "Aw man, my parents spent years drilling me in this shit and you just learned it like… that's unfair, Hebert!"
You default to the reassuring shoulder pat, before you leave him to his emotional recovery. You're about to search for your other guest, Princess Vivi herself, when the ship shudders. Oh come on! It was shaping up to be a quiet, productive day!
You scramble to pinpoint the source of the shaking - is that a giant fork on the starboard side? No. Not just a fork. It's… a pink, fleshy cartilaginous growth in the shape of a fork, tines stuck in between two rungs of the railing, emerging from a pink, fleshy tentacle. Clumsily, another tentacle rises, this one bonking against the deck of the ship with… that's not a whisk. That can't be a whisk. You refuse to believe that's a whisk.
The definitely-not-a-whisk scrapes against the wooden floor, creating visible strain, and you belatedly lunge forward, manifesting Sube Sube around yourself. Shame Kachi Kachi's activation time is still too long to be practical for situations like this. The… squid, you're guessing… is still trying to get a tentacle-hold on the Merry's deck, and struggling since, instead of suction cups, it has… forks, whisks, and are those chopsticks?
Mayim is so messed up. Your Naturalism skill helpfully pipes in when you notice the third tentacles. The ship is being attacked by what Grand Line scholars call a Giant Utensil Squid. (Some cultures give it the nickname 'Gus.')
Believed to be a typical giant squid in size, this species mimics human and fishman use of utensils through its body, reshaping the ends of its tentacles into growths suited for replicating human dining. This includes forks, chopsticks, whisks… a spork slams up out of the water and strikes the deck where you were just standing!
You dodge the attack almost effortlessly, and, taking bear form, strike a paw at the offending limb. There's an audible cracking sound as the spork-extension tears off, your blow not held back in the slightest. You allow the blow to serve as momentum for grabbing and pulling, and streams of blue blood spurt out. The ship vibrates along with 'Gus' as it recoils in pain
Eugh. It's a bit gross, but it has to be done, to save the Merry. "What the hell is that thing?" Usopp calls out, having rushed out from the storeroom.
Just as you hear his shout and casually yank off a giant fillet knife, Zoro descends from the crow's nest, a superhuman leap towards the intruding megafauna. Sparing a glance down at Gus' worryingly human face and perfectly straight row of gleaming, white teeth, all the same size, you see a look of undisguised rage… but the swordsman's wearing an expression of sadistic glee.
"Three Sword Style…" Swords drawn, Zoro falls, spinning as he does, forming a rough whirlwind. You have to back away as he does, casually maiming the chopsticks tentacle from before as you do, making sure to keep an eye out to guarantee you aren't potential collateral to whatever Zoro's about to do. "...Dragon Twister!"
A tornado of blades shreds the Giant Utensil Squid, and you abandon bear form, ducking back, guided by giant albatross wings, to avoid the worst of the bloodspray. The Merry jolts portside as the squid dies, only a few of the remaining limbs stuck on, the back ends of tentacles wrapped on to the railing, as the attached fork and whisk flail impotently against the ship, the other utensils having failed to find a grip.
You're starting to relate to Dad's calling this a godforsaken ocean. Zoro backflips off of the tumbling corpse bits to land back on ship, presenting himself with an ungainly curtsy, before giving you a little wink. "Light exercise, Usopp. That's what that was."
You snort, despite yourself. "Jackass," you laugh, and he gives a mock salute. Shame about the squid. You don't think Headway gave you anything for that. Just unlucky, you guess. Collaborative battles always form a rougher connection, even with victories. You were lucky to get Kachi Kachi when the Straw Hats took down Bear King.
You take the time to help clean up, snap a photo of the squid's limbs, briefly consider asking if you can take some as trophies… and Luffy's already begging Sanji to cook it up. Ah well. It'll be a fun story for Dad, and you aren't sure how you'd preserve them anyway. Usopp can handle what little repairs need to be done, and he knows to reach out if he needs help.
–
Vivi drapes the… frankly tacky and offputting spiraling monochrome minidress out over on a makeshift barrel table in the storeroom. Seeing the look on your face, she sighs. "It was made to be effective, not pretty," she grumbles quietly.
You stare at it. You… don't feel nauseous, or notice any traces of vertigo. High levels in the Seaman skill come with seasickness resistance, which naturally ties into resisting vertigo, but you should still be able to recognize if something would cause that effect. "Alright. How does it work?"
Vivi shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid."
"Seriously?"
"Miss Goldenweek only told me that slow, careful movement would inspire the effect. She told me to take inspiration from the buildup moves of belly dancers from my homeland. Her exact words were 'this style will come naturally to a girl with a figure like yours'."
You're suspecting there was some envy on her part there. "Do you think she might have just been messing with you?"
Vivi doesn't look like she knows the answer. "I didn't interact with her enough to be able to tell. She has this distant manner of acting. Quiet, serious. We were stationed together on Toothpaste Island for a few days while Mr. 3 was handling a bounty, and she said she was curious to see how her style interacted with worn clothing, when projected outwards."
"Does that imply that her technique is new? Or that she's new to using it, at least?"
She makes a face. "I wish I had a good answer for you. I've seen Colors Trap in action briefly, and I've heard the rumors, but I don't know how she came by the skill, whether or not it's a Devil Fruit, or anything about it beyond the effect it has on people."
Shit. You were hoping for a bit more than that. "How did she design it? Did you see her… what, paint the circle pattern on the dress?"
Vivi frowns. "No, she made it in private. I didn't press her for details on how she made it, it… didn't seem appropriate at the time, felt like it would have blown my cover. We did test it together, and I have used it in combat. It does cause nausea and disorientation in those viewing it. It seems to work better on the weak. I suspect someone with a stronger mind or will could ignore it, although I don't know how well strategies like that would work against Miss Goldenweek herself."
Your mind flashes to sections on the PRT's affiliated websites, documents about resisting the effects of Master capes under varying situations and conditions. You'd dismissed them in your head as security theater - sure, some might be effective, but then you run into someone like Heartbreaker who easily no-sells it. You'd thought it better to concentrate on skills with a higher guaranteed efficacy. But you find yourself reconsidering the idea with the threat of Miss Goldenweek looming.
You look over to Vivi. "This might sound like an awkward question, given what it entails, but-"
"I can do the dance. You don't need to worry about me being ashamed of the idea, I wouldn't have accepted Miss Goldenweek's offer if I did." Thankful that Vivi doesn't find the idea offensive, you give her some privacy so she can change into the dress. "Supposedly, this works better on men than women. I haven't actually had the opportunity to fight many women, so don't get too mad if this doesn't do anything."
Nodding, you meet her eyes as she starts the dance, a slow, rhythmic, deliberate thing, carefully controlled so as to be hypnotic. You suspect Alabastan belly dancers use similar tricks to get the audience's attention, not that most men need much prodding to look at a beautiful woman in a tight outfit.
If this were an actual combat situation, you could have lunged forward and crushed her skull before she finished her first gyration. You don't see the technique itself as much of a threat, but you're more hoping to get some insight in Colors Trap here. The spirals start to bleed together and rotate, impossible sequences emerging from the fabric. You wince, feeling a bit lightheaded, and you belatedly realize you were caught in the trick of the Color of Vertigo.
You shake your head and look away. Vivi puts the dance on hold. "You were out for a few seconds there," she notes. "Plenty of time for M- Horlio to smash you in. That's the strategy we used on an eight million beri captain once. I distracted him, Mr. 9 bashed his kneecaps, my Peacock Slashers did the rest."
"Think that'll work on the officer agents?" you ask, the dizzying effect fading with time and the halt of the dance.
She scoffs. "Not a chance. Those guys are monsters. If anyone has the willpower to resist a party trick like this, it's them. You'd be better off trying to figure out how to predict or subvert their ambushes, maybe outpower them, if you ask me."
Vertigo finally receded, you make a deliberate effort to stand a bit straighter. "Could be useful to practice resisting that dress's effects, even if it only barely helps against the creator. Would you mind helping me with that over the coming days?"
Vivi agrees. "I'm not sure if it's the best use of your time. I've only got a fraction of Miss Goldenweek's skill and this was only a halfhearted experiment of hers in the grand scheme of things. But if you want, sure. Sanji mentioned he was interested in learning more about the technique, too - why are you laughing?"
–
No joy with further Kachi Kachi practice, disappointingly enough. On top of that, you still can't wrap your mind around the framework of Ninjutsu. You almost hope Nezu's there on Foolshout Island just so you can try to beat some training out of her. You snort at the mental image. Although apparently, from what Zoro and Nami told you a few days ago, you'll need to get in line behind everyone else if you want to kick Nezu's ass.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
After supper with the Straw Hats, you transition home, letting your dad know you're alright. "Hey. Everything alright on Mayim?" he asks, and you don't miss the apprehension in his voice, no matter how much he tries to play it cool.
You nod. "Practiced some Master resistance for Baroque Works' hypnotist cape, a little bit of acrobatics. More training, not much of it successful. Some of my combat skills are pretty hard to learn. Got the Merry some new sails and rope. Um- we fought a giant squid with spork tentacles, I have photos."
His expression softens. "You know, you don't have to give me all of the details in a rush, Taylor."
You feel your face burn a little as you glance away. "Sorry. I… guess I was trying to overcompensate. For… you know."
"I appreciate that. I - we already talked this to death, but I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Me too."
He thinks for a moment, and frowns at you. "Did you say 'squid with spork tentacles'?"
–
It's only night two of hunting the Merchants. You can't believe drug deals are this blatant. There's a guy just standing out in the middle of the sidewalk, casually leaning against a lamppost, piercings glinting in the moonlight, shivering in the night cold. You recognize him from Skidmark's 'accounting meeting' earlier in the month. He exchanges a bag for cash from another guy, more disheveled-looking, greasy-haired, eyes constantly flickering back and forth, even as he tries to project calm and casualness.
Are drug deals this common across the city at night? Last night, did you accidentally pick the two streets in Brockton Bay's north side that don't have regular illegal exchanges? You see cash exchanged, snap a picture of the exchanges, thankful this model of camera doesn't flash. The stress of the situation, worrying whether or not it will come out well, must set Headway off, because you instantly become a below average photography hobbyist, after starting from zero.
The dealer in question processes a few more transactions, steadily emptying his backpack as the night goes on. You snap pictures of all clients, and jot down the directions of arrival and exit for each of them. Most conversations are clipped, short, but some get a bit tense, desperate. You don't see anything escalate into physical conflict, but the entire thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
You're tempted to make an arrest right there and then, but this guy isn't the big fish. Skidmark is. Squealer and Mush are. It physically pains you to let those people walk away with that poison, but you manage to convince yourself it's for a good cause.
Eventually, Piercings gets a phone call on a cell phone. He's gotten a few of those tonight, normally they're clipped, short, as far as you can tell, they're 'yep, I'll meet you at the usual spot, bye' kinds of conversations. The cops don't seem to come around this part of town, so he evidently doesn't bother with even basic opsec.
But this time, the tone is different. He normally rushes through the calls, not out of fear as far as you can tell, but out of impatience, tapping his foot all the while. But this time, his posture shifts, and he becomes a bit more tense. "What's up, Skids?" Piercings asks. "Nah, I ain't talked to Mush lately. Why?" "He hasn't tried to go clean in months. You sure he ain't just in one of his moods?" Frustrating you can only hear one side of the situation. "Try Dwayne. He and Mush are tight, ain't they?"
Dwayne. You'll have to remember that name. "A'ight." "I'm here on Bradwell, why?" "Yeah, s'what I said." "No, that's not my street. You gave that to- yeah, her." "A'ight. Tight. G'luck with finding Mush, boss." The person on the line - almost certainly Skidmark - hangs up, and Piercings mutters 'fuck' under his breath, before speedwalking off into an alley.
You follow him home to one of the many apartment complexes on Brockton Bay's north side that probably should have been condemned before you were even born. Crumbling plaster, broken windows shoddily boarded off, flickering lights in the hallway.
It's when you're trying to guess which apartment is his, if it even is where he lives, that you feel a sea change in your mind, and you just know that you're Perceptive enough to no longer need glasses. Like, at all. Heretofore, you'd needed your glasses on at all times, but… not anymore. Not only do you have Perception at a few levels higher than humans could ever hope to achieve, for the first time, you aren't tied down by your eyewear. You'd giggle if you were in a safer situation.
Well. You can't exactly follow him into the apartment without getting noticed, but you can take a degree of comfort in having discovered the likely home address of one of Skidmark's dealers, and having jumped forward in your general capabilities by removing one of your fundamental weaknesses.
Tomorrow night, you'll head to Bradwell Avenue again, see if you can wring some more information out of Piercings without his knowing. For now, you head home, satisfied with your accomplishments thus far.
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Thursday, January 20, 2011, Wednesday, June 1, 1532, Thursday, November 16, 2000), and Day 2 (Friday, January 21, 2011, Thursday, June 2, 1532, Friday, November 17, 2000). Voting closes on Saturday, May 13, IRL, at 11:00 PM EST.
The Merry will enter Foolshout's climate zone (thereby ending the mandatory boatswain/First Stretch-related actions) on Monday, January 24, 2011, Sunday, June 5, 1532, Monday, November 20, 2000. By Taylor and Nami's estimation, the Merry will arrive at Foolshout on (Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Tuesday, June 7, 1532, Wednesday, November 22, 2000).
Days 1 and 2 have 4 actions available. 1 action is reserved for First Stretch-related work on the Merry (down from the two you had previously). 1 action is reserved for concluding the 'reinforce the Merry' project'. 1 action is reserved for continuing the VILLAIN HUNT: Merchants project.
-[ ] Upgrade the Merry to replace crucial wooden parts with metal and other more durable materials. 1 action/day. (4/6 to completion, next actions: Shipwright, Blacksmith, etc.)
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright. Be very specific with what you want with this option. Include details with what you want in your post. Be mindful of how some creatures on Mayim communicate.)
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] Learn how to create bugs - not the buzz kind, but the listening device kind. Ideally, you'd like be able to uncover information more effectively and record it, like Vivi did with Mr. 5. 1 action/day. (0/??. Next skills: Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering. Taylor's fairly sure her Engineering skill is a bit low to make this really work, but if this option is chosen, she'll train with that specifically in mind.)
-[ ] Now that you've decided to be a bit conservative with revealing the extent of your powers on Bet, you can maybe spend some time considering what a potential, temporary backup identity could look like, in case you needed to go after a target with greater use of your abilities. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, designing a costume, picking a name and which powers to use. Write-ins are acceptable here, but I'll shoot down anything ridiculous.)
-[ ] Expand your gear set for when you're out in costume as Factota. Buy a body cam, voice changer, some burner phones, comms jammer, cell phone cloner, gas mask, other gear players might be interested in. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion. Computers, Engineering, other skills will be trained during the course of this project. Write-in additions to this, ask first, it will likely extend the project. Must be available on Mahon, besides the phones, which will be purchased on Bet. You'll soon most likely have to start pulling from your cape account to buy things, which will also extend the project - since you'll have to speak with a specialty bank to open that card account. (See Brockton Bay actions below, that will be included in this project should you choose to take it.) Cell phones will require an uncomfortable conversation with Dad, which could also prolong things.
VILLAIN HUNT is not available right now. The Merchants project is ongoing (2/??), and Taylor will only be performing one hunt at a time. This may change in the mid-to-long term future.
Please let me know if you spot any problems, oddities or miscalculations in GENERAL TRAINING, and I will correct ASAP.
I will catch up with the past day or two of questions and comments in a reply post, hopefully later today. Bear with me for the time being, I'll try not to leave y'all hanging for too much longer.
[ ] Tell Dad the truth about the extent of Baroque Works, Taylor's bounty, everything she's been keeping secret.
[] Plan New Options Explored And Hunting Prey
-[] Day 1
--[] Teach Usopp how to use the carpentry tools you're lending the Straw Hats. He knows how not to hurt himself, but to give yourself a bit more free time, he should learn how to actually use them. 10% of Teaching 5. Usopp learns how to use the tools. You gain +1 action for all days remaining in the First Stretch, and will have fewer mandatory boatswain actions going forward past that as well.
--[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Forensics, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
--[] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 80% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[] Day 2
--[] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 80% of Acrobatics 4. 40% of Acrobatics 5.
--[] Ask Vivi to take a look at that outfit Miss Goldenweek designed for her, and if she has any details on what she was told by the villainess. ???
--[] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Forensics, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
--[] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 5% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
--[] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 80% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (2x +10 bonus available)
[] Plan New Options Explored And Hunting Prey
-[] Day 1
--[] Teach Usopp how to use the carpentry tools you're lending the Straw Hats. He knows how not to hurt himself, but to give yourself a bit more free time, he should learn how to actually use them. 10% of Teaching 5. Usopp learns how to use the tools. You gain +1 action for all days remaining in the First Stretch, and will have fewer mandatory boatswain actions going forward past that as well.
--[ ] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Forensics, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
--[] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 80% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (2x +10 bonus available)
-[] Day 2
--[] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 80% of Acrobatics 4. 40% of Acrobatics 5.
--[] Ask Vivi to take a look at that outfit Miss Goldenweek designed for her, and if she has any details on what she was told by the villainess. ???
--[] VILLAIN HUNT: Scope out the Merchants and their general activity, with the eventual goal of bringing in Skidmark, Squealer, and Mush. As the bottomfeeders of the Brockton Bay cape community, no one will miss them much, and reputation for defeating them will largely be contained to the cape community. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion, next skills: Investigation, Stealth, Forensics, Perception, ???. More street-level, out-in-the-field stuff than the Circus option. Mutually exclusive with other VILLAIN HUNT projects.)
--[] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills. 5% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
--[] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 80% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 3. 0% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (2x +10 bonus available)
2.22 First Stretch 6/Prelude to Baroque Works 2/Merchant Hunt 1
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Monday, May 30, 1532
"Usopp! Back a bit!" you shout, and the sniper narrowly ducks in time to avoid another piece of basketball-sized hail, right before it would have broken his collarbone.
The Merry is retreating through the storm as fast as it can - it doesn't look like it will take much longer, but there have been plenty of glancing blows that have dented or even broken chunks of wood. The larger chunks of hail are mercifully few - only a few as large as a semi-truck tire, and Sanji kicked the last one you saw to pieces before it hit the deck. But the constant pitter-patter of hail, and the odd chunk that's worth worrying about, is having an effect on the Merry.
Unfortunately, the alternative was sailing through an enormous hail-nado the size of some islands. It's going to take hours to repair all of the damage from the past hour, but… at least now it's receding. You coordinate the Straw Hats and guests in clearing the deck, feeling like a bit more of a Leader in the process, and together with Usopp, mark down the spots worst damaged by the storm.
"What do you think? Start with the starboard railing? Decent spike lodged through there."
You shake your head. "Probably a better idea to take a look at that dent above the lounge room," you point. "We get another bad blow and that thing might collapse in."
He stares at it for a moment, before his eyes widen in comprehension. "Crap, you're right."
You beckon him to follow. "Come on. I want to show you how to use some of the tools I brought over."
Usopp's eyes gleam. "Really?"
"Yes, but it comes at a cost," you say, mock sternly. "I need some more free time to handle stuff in general. I teach you how to use the woodworking tools, you take over some of my responsibilities on the ship, and if you're careful, maybe you can use them on some of your own projects. Deal?"
"Deal! Absolutely!" he enthuses, practically bouncing with glee. You smile, despite yourself.
"You're gonna regret that enthusiasm, you know," you say, handing him a saw and patting him on the back. He doesn't look like he believes you.
–
Ah, there it is. You were wondering when the regret would show. "I… still think they're cool," he says, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. Guided by the greatest non-parahuman carpenter from Earth-Bet (you're sure there's some cape out there who's a woodworking tinker or something), you've just about taken care of the most problematic bits from the morning's hailstorm, yet another battle won in your futile crusade to keep the Merry afloat.
Did you know that Foolshout Island, out of all of the starting islands in Paradise, goes the deepest into the First Stretch? Very few sailors are 'foolish' (hah) enough to take this route. Even Fisher Tiger's famous raid on the island was launched from behind. Cactus Island would have only taken a few days, the next alternative maybe a week. Journeys this long in such dangerous waters are uncommon, and most fleets attempting it fail, let alone a small caravel with a crew of eight.
Just surviving it will make the crew stronger, if you can persevere for a few more days to Foolshout's climate zone. "Oi."
You give Zoro a glance as the swordsman tracks you down. You give Usopp some space - you've assigned him some more homework in the storeroom - and you meet Zoro out on deck. "My wounds. I'm supposed to be able to start training today, right?"
"Light training," you hesitantly agree. "Crocus told me to take a second look at your wounds a few days after today, and then you should be good as new."
"I feel fine," he gripes. "Can't I just go back to normal already? I've been antsy for days." You stare at him. He returns it. You stare back. He eventually wilts. "Agh!" he groans, scratching his hair. "Fine. When you say 'light…" he trails off.
You sigh, and prepare a list of exercises for him, with more restrictions on the level of weights he's allowed to use… after you give a second look to his once-gaping chest wound, now merely horrifically scarred remnants of what it once was. It still looks pretty nasty, but the worst has passed, and not too long, should solidify into merely an impressive battle scar.
With your new upgrades to Medicine skill bolstered by Naturalism, you might have some ideas for ointment to spread over the injury, if Sanji still has some of that facehugger squid ink left over. Who knows. In a day or two, you might be willing to start training with him again.
"Thanks," he says, grudgingly. "Finally get to start training myself. It's been agony watching you and twirly get to train, while I had to sit around and watch."
Not waiting for a response from you, he draws his swords, and looks out over the seas. Aa bit choppier than normal, but not the worst you've experienced thus far. One in his mouth, two in his hands. The Three-Sword Style. Feels like it's been ages since you saw this in action.
Extending his arms in what looks like it must be an uncomfortable angle, he places both swords behind his back, facing down, another katana lodged in his mouth horizontally. Staring at the waves with an expression somewhere between giddiness and hunger, he lunges forward towards the railing! If he breaks it, you swear to God-
"Tiger… Hunting!" he shouts, the incantation muffled by the hilt in his mouth.
A larger wave parts right as he says it, the force of the attack strong enough that even the wind from the strike can cut it in half. "Jeez. I'm rusty," he scowls. He glances back over to you. "You're sure it's only those light exercises?" he asks, almost pleadingly.
You add a dangerous tone to your voice. "Don't make me ask Nami to keep an eye on you."
He winces. "Alright, alright. I'll keep it down," he says, and you almost believe him. You suppose you'll have to settle for the Zoro version of 'keeping it down'.
That interruption done, you head to the little hide-away covered crate you built in the storeroom to justify your disappearances to Horlio, Vivi, and any other future guests, wave a hello to a tired but still enthusiastic Usopp, and head to Bet to get changed for another visit to New York City.
Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mahon, X-Men: Evolution Multiverse, X-Men: Evolution-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2000
Light snow today in Mahon. You were initially planning to wear a polo shirt and slacks for this purchase, but you're gonna get enough probing questions from the shopkeepers. You wound up deciding to head back to Bet to grab a jacket, if only for appearances.
Manhattan Mariners is a no-frills sailing supply store on the Hudson River. Every time you enter a building on this world and have to interact with the locals, it's a little culture shock. They're happier. More innocent. More naive. Just people having a cheerful conversation at the counter, barely forced at all, no distrust or bitterness.
You spend a while window shopping around the store while you wait for the old man at the counter to finish with a long-time regular. There are a few potentially useful trinkets here, but the project to reinforce the Merry is costing you enough of your Mahon funds that you want to start being careful with how you spend your money. It's barely been a week and you've already spent a bit over a fourth of your cash funds.
The clerk looks a bit taken aback by your list. "What kind of craft are you working on, miss? This quantity… what are you trying to do, rebuild the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria?!"
You smile. "Dad and I-" You feel a bit dirty, making up a hypothetical 'Dad', but you've discovered that women have an easier time buying supplies like this if they make up an imaginary man they've been working alongside. You're going for 'fairly wealthy daughter of an eccentric sailboat guy', and hopefully your outfit helps sell that. "-have a few ideas, but want to make sure we have plenty of bulk stock first."
"Phew. That's gotta be a lotta change to throw around," he remarks. "I've got what you're looking for, but if you're working with this much polyester sailcloth, you're gonna need to go to a specialist to get it refitted and sewn right. Otherwise it won't catch the wind the way you're hoping for. And I don't know what you'd need this much rope for."
"We've got a family friend helping us on this. I just drew the short straw when it came to running the errands of actually buying the stuff."
He looks a bit doubtful, but in the end, money talks, even if paying for all of this with cash nearly makes him back out. You leave Manhattan Mariners with around six hundred and fifty dollars worth of modern double-braided nylon rope for the Merry - more than enough to replace the existing hemp on the ship. You also pick up enough raw polyester to use as sailcloth - eight hundred and fifty dollars worth of material for the main and mizzen should be plenty, with a little extra to use in case of tears.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
You peek out of the crate's peephole to make sure the coast is clear, and sure enough, only Usopp's working away in the storeroom, with some cotton pads as makeshift hearing protection, thankfully. You make sure to wait until he turns off the sander before you make yourself known, because… "Ah! Taylor! Why do you always pop in out of nowhere!"... you knew he'd panic when he saw you. "Maaan, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
You give him a pitying pat on the shoulder. "Mind watching the door for our guests? I've got a bunch of stuff to bring over. Rope and sailcloth mostly."
He tilts his head. "I know we've had a few tears on the mainmast, but you've been able to fix them, right? And our rope isn't that frayed."
"Not necessarily just about durability. The new rope I got is not only more durable, but it's also lighter and easier to work with. The modern sailcloth will catch the wind easier and resist tears easier. Combine that with the new, more responsive whipstaff…"
He shakes his head in disbelief, lifting his goggles. "You've got to be the most convenient person to sail with in the history of the world."
Despite yourself, you smile, a bit flattered. "This doesn't get you out of your homework, you know."
Usopp pouts a little. "Who do I look like, Luffy? I wasn't trying to get out of it."
Snorting, you head back and forth to your currently chosen alley, and start shifting over the sailcloth and rope.
–
At last. Progress with Kachi Kachi. Your face contorts into a grin as you take one step forward… and the rocks on your skin don't noticeably crack or crumble away onto the deck. Oh, they're thin. They're barely connected in some places, only disjointed pebbles forming a poor excuse for armor over your skin, and the fact that it takes three or four minutes just to get to this point means that it's functionally useless in combat.
But you can perform basic, careful tasks with Kachi Kachi activated without everything literally falling apart, and it's only when you make sudden movements that cracks appear or crumpling starts. Calling forth the warmth or even just plain old heat is something that apparently taxes the power as it is now, and you notice increased breakage when you try to generate heat.
The warmth from your pebble-coat is probably strong enough to start fires, and you're lucky Sanji's on lookout so you can use the brick-coated kitchen. It may be worthwhile to start training this on Mahon, but you aren't even sure if there's a good place there to use either. You may buy a fire extinguisher the next time you stop by a hardware store there, just to be safe.
Maybe if you and the Straw Hats make it to a winter island, you could be a mobile fire. Wrap a blanket around you, you'd make a decent kotatsu.
Good progress, regardless. Bear King was a brute who got far in a weaker sea with Davy Back Fights and the natural charisma that comes from being a giantblooded man with a Paramecia, but he wasn't particularly imaginative or a skilled fighter. If you can combine his ability with your superhuman physical capabilities… well, that just opens up all sorts of new possibilities.
Wait a moment. You hadn't thought to try this before. You extend Sube Sube's effect over yourself, covering not only your sailor clothes, but… you drop a spoon on your rocky arm and… it careens off and you barely catch it before it clatters against the floor. Yes! Yes! The slip-slip effect also covers Kachi Kachi's pebble-coat! Which means… yes! Oh hell yes!
You giggle manically. That means these two powers synergize! You can have Kachi Kachi's brute hot-stone resilience, and Sube Sube's slipperiness! Both at once! Sube Sube can be sliced through by well-maintained blades… Kachi Kachi has no such weakness! Sure, exotic attacks are still a problem, but that would have been the case even without it! Does this mean Paramecia fruit powers can combine more effectively than your shape changing abilities?
Oh, that's wonderful! Sanji chooses that exact moment to walk in, and you feel a bit silly almost immediately.
–
"Taylor, I love you," Nami sighs, gently running her hands along the sample of polyester sailcloth.
Your face burns. "Let's not get carried away."
"We're going to make sooo much better time with this. I was thinking that we'd arrive at Foolshout in… maybe ten days or so, but this should shave us down to eight! This is amazing! Hold on, let me double check-" she mutters underneath her breath as she scrawls down some quick formulae. You don't spot any problems. "-Yes! Oh my God, yes!"
She hugs you tight, wiping… a tear out of her eye? "We might actually survive the Grand Line after all!" she exclaims.
"Just a few more days till Foolshout," you say, finding the outpouring of emotion a bit uncomfortable. No, uncomfortable's the wrong word. You just aren't used to being the center of this kind of attention.
Nami nods, staring at you with a frankly intimidating intensity. "When can you replace the sails?"
"Tomorrow, probab-" She squeals inelegantly.
"I'm going to need to redo all of my plans… and I'm not even mad! This is amazing!"
You have two Devil Fruit powers, can turn into a five-foot albatross with a fifteen foot wingspan, a swordfishman, or a freaking bear, depending on your needs, but the thing that always impresses people is something like your bosunry or seamstress skills. You aren't necessarily complaining, it just feels like it should be the reverse.
"After a certain point, we're going to have to talk about my power with Vivi and Horlio," you murmur, glancing quickly at the door to the women's room.
Nami rolls her eyes and waves you off. "Don't worry about it. This crew is so weird, I'm not sure they've even noticed anything that odd about you specifically. Did you see Zoro today? He was cutting waves in half for practice."
You feel your eye twitch. "He has a messed up way of defining 'light exercise'."
"Oh, we're all a little deranged here. That's why I wouldn't be too worried about the princess and her partner. Worst comes to worst, we can just tell them you made this stuff. You're like a crazy good seamstress, it'd be an easy sell, so long as they don't actually see you leave."
You aren't sure you fully believe her on that front, but you accept her argument, leaving Nami to her recalibrations, and head to the storeroom to transition back to Bet.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
After you change into something a bit more comfortable for tedious computer work, you take some time to finish the driving project. You're almost as relieved to finish the stupid course as you were to discover Kachi Kachi and Sube Sube's synergy. At least Headway's enjoying itself - you find yourself going from student to average commuter to competent, experienced driver in the space of about an hour.
Busywork completed, you schedule a test for June 21, the soonest after your birthday you can find. It'll cost thirty-six dollars to take that exam, and a bit more cash and time for all the paperwork, waiting at the DMV, and such things, but hopefully by that point, you'll be powerful enough that resources won't be as much of a concern as they are now.
Nothing substantial in the news. It feels like it's been ages since you scrolled the internet and let your power fill in the blanks of the articles as needed. Factota still only has a stub on the PHO wiki (pending deletion per moderator judgment), and the latest update in her thread was days ago. The general consensus seems to be that you were a fake cape trying to get attention, and you've actually been removed from the Capeball rankings. You are just absolutely heartbroken to be removed from the depraved snuff game.
Not that big a deal, but it could impact your reputation in the future if you don't do something soon. Fortunately… before you finish the thought, you hear the door opening. Dad's back from work, a bit later than normal. Ah. Jeez. It's about to be time for a really uncomfortable conversation. You metaphorically gird up your loins, and head downstairs.
He gives you a wide grin when he sees you. "Boy, it's good to see you."
"You're more cheerful than normal," you reply.
"Some good news at work, finally. I told you that we were having problems, after the Graughton contract went to Boston?" You nod, vaguely remembering that. "Well, Medhall came through! The pharma company?" Seeing your look of recognition, he continues. "They're gonna be expanding their R&D lab in the suburbs. Gonna have a lot of tools getting imported from Europe - lab equipment, stuff like that. And they're wanting to work with us on it!"
You can't help but smile. You've haven't seen him so animated in ages. "It's just a temp job. It'll only last a few weeks, and it'll be done then. But for the first time in… I don't know how long, with this and the usual odds and ends we scrounge up for our guys, we might finally have jobs for everyone."
He sets his briefcase down by the door, and shuffles off his coat. "Gonna suck when it runs out and the guys are used to having a few weeks of steady work. But… it gives me a good foundation for some more cold calls I've been meaning to work on. If we can do a good job with Medhall, it could be great networking with some of their partner companies."
"That's great!" you say, and looking down, you focus in on your power. "My power's, ah, filling in the blanks on the Medhall expansion. World Events. They're working with their joint venture partners in Germany and Austria to trade some manufacturing techniques, equipment, things like that."
"That's what my contact at Medhall told me. Part of why they need guys they can rely on, to not be easily bribed by corporate rivals who might want to copy whatever patented stuff they're bringing over."
It makes sense. "Are they worried about capes trying to steal anything? Exotic materials for tinkers, stuff like that?"
Dad shakes his head. "Above my paygrade. We're just responsible for unloading it all and transporting it without messing anything up. Medhall's security is their business. Anyway. That's enough about me, sorry, I just couldn't resist the urge to share some good news."
You hold your hands out. "No, I don't blame you. It's great news. I just… wish I had better."
He frowns, and sits down, grunting a bit as he does. "What's wrong?"
"I, um… I… there's something I should have told you the day before yesterday. Maybe even the night before that."
You take a seat. You don't trust yourself to build this up gently, so you just say it outright. "The Straw Hats are about to go to war with Baroque Works. I told you that. But it's a bit worse than I told you."
He stares at you for a minute, and sags a little in his chair. "Fuck," he mutters under his breath, likely thinking the curse is imperceptible. "What… what's worse?"
"We reached out to Vivi. Her and Horlio - Mr. 9, though he dropped his cape name once the organization kicked him out. She told us everything. It's not just going to be Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine on the island, not just going to be that ninja weirdo I told you about. Vivi expects Mr. 3, a powerful wax manipulator, and Miss Goldenweek, a hypnosis cape, to be there as well, accompanied by a small army."
He makes a little gulping noise. "O…kay. Is… is there a plan in mind?"
You softly smile. "Luffy's not the type for plans. I'm working to refine my skills, we still have a week or so until we hit Foolshout Island. I'm reinforcing the ship, training, so's everyone else. If all goes well, I'd like to be able to just ambush these guys without even fighting them, but that might not be possible. So I'm trying to cover all of my basis, get that little bit stronger, get where I need to be, so hopefully it all goes well."
"Hopefully," he repeats, saying it flatly.
"...yeah."
All of the good mood from the Medhall news has faded almost immediately. "I wish you'd told me this sooner. I'm glad you're doing it now, but… I wish you'd told me this sooner."
You look down, ashamed. "I'm sorry. There's… there's more."
"Seriously?!" he asks, giving you an incredulous look.
"I have a bounty now. Fourteen million."
He stares at you for several moments, face barely moving a muscle. He mostly just looks tired. "I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought we… I thought we had a degree of mutual trust."
You swallow. "I… I didn't want you to worry. I was still trying to get things together with me on my end, and I didn't know if I could keep you from… I don't know. I didn't want you to worry about me."
He laughs sardonically, staring off to the side. "Jesus Christ, Taylor." He rests his head in his hands. "That's it, right?"
"That's… the immediate problem. The leader of Baroque Works shouldn't be anywhere near Foolshout, but - he's… we're pretty sure he's a Logia like Smoker, but records are spotty. He might be a Paramecia, like Luffy. Something to do with sand."
He's silent for a moment, and for some reason, you keep talking. "Zoro has a bounty, too. Ten million. That's… that's it."
Dad doesn't say anything, and again, you babble. "I can get Fishman Karate up, get Kachi Kachi up. This is still manageable. Baroque Works is trying to kill a country through civil war for some supervillain cape's evil plan. I have to stop them."
"Do you?" he asks, nervously. You stare at him, affronted. "I- I'm sorry. That was a bit too far. Jesus. Sorry - it… Taylor. You…"
He looks like he's not sure how to process all of this information. You aren't sure you can blame him. "This is so far outside my frame of reference it's not even funny. This is it, right? Please tell me this is it."
You nod, wordlessly. Now you learn to shut your mouth. You open your mouth - Well, actually - "I was going to start going after the Merchants - just exploratory, probing gestures, at first!"
"Are you f-" he starts, anger flaring in his face, and then stops, collecting himself. He holds up a hand, probably telling you to give him a moment. He looks horrified, and… ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that."
There's a profoundly uncomfortable silence that stretches. He frowns and looks over to you. "Why… why even go after the Merchants in the first place? Why do that now? When you already have to worry about Baroque Works?"
"The Merchants aren't as much of a threat as Baroque Works!" you say, defending yourself. "They only have three capes and some thugs, Baroque Works has an army. Give me two weeks, and the Merchants are gone! Baroque Works - I need resources to fight with. Skidmark and Squealer's power - they could be gamechangers. Even without the powers, just knowing how to investigate, how to scope out enemy territory..." you let the sentence die, having made your point.
He stares at you. "You have your heart set on this." You nod, trying to give the appearance of strength. He sighs, and looks at the empty chair at the table. "I wish I had the ability to stop you."
There's a lull, and you try to interject. "Dad…" you trail off. You aren't even sure what you would have said.
"I love you. I don't say that enough, I feel like life doesn't give me the chance to tell you that enough. Since you've gotten your powers, you've become braver, more driven, more confident. Your mother would be proud of the woman you're becoming."
He hasn't broken the gaze. "But you're going to get yourself killed. I… can't lose both you and Annette."
Hearing her name in this context feels like getting stabbed in the heart with a jagged shard of glass. "So what do I even do? I come home, and for, what, a week, you weren't here, and I had no idea whether you were alive or dead, no idea if you'd just drowned in the middle of some godforsaken alien ocean and I'd never even see your body. I'd just wind up living here, alone, slowly forgetting what my own daughter's voice even sounded like." His voice cracks.
"There's no recourse I have here. It's hell, Taylor. There's nothing I can do to help you, make you safer, especially when you're actively seeking out the danger I'm worried about in the first place. So I just… go to work like normal, and try to ignore that my daughter is fighting pirates who can destroy islands with a thought."
There's a part of you that wants to correct him, point out that you're not fighting that level of enemy yet. You silence that thought, and let him continue. "I… I'm sorry about just now. I didn't mean to blow up on you like that. You didn't deserve that. Never, never let me do that again."
Dad sinks into his seat. You wipe your eyes and swallow again. "I'm not going to leave you alone, Dad," you say. "My friends and I are going to beat Baroque Works. I'm going to save this city. I just need… six months. A year, maybe. And Kaiser, all these bastards, they'll be gone."
Another pause. Dad eventually speaks up. "I think we're having two different conversations, Taylor. I know you believe you can succeed. Frankly, I believe you can succeed! Hell, I know you can! But there's that possibility that lingers in my mind, it gets its claws dug into my head. That some freak accident occurs-" you wonder if that phrasing's intentional. "-that you just die, unceremoniously, dead in a ditch or a current somewhere. And I can't get that mental image to go away."
You can't muster a response. These long silences feel like they're ripping away a piece of your soul for every second they stretch on. "How do I make this better?" you ask, quietly.
He doesn't look like he knows how to reply. "I… that might be the wrong way to look at it, Taylor. It's irreconcilable. I'm always going to worry about you. You're always going to be my little girl. But… someday you're going to grow up. Maybe sooner than I'd like, and maybe I'm going to miss those pivotal moments. Maybe I already have. That happens to every parent, but… with you, there are these catastrophic, world-ending stakes attached, beyond my comprehension. You have these lofty ambitions and you take all of these risks to meet them, and even before you told me what you just did, it just fills me with this consuming sense of dread."
"Should I… have kept this a secret?"
"Fu-uuck no!" he laughs, caught off guard. "Oh my God, no. I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have swore just then. I- it might not sound like it, but I'm grateful you told me. It's… I need some time to think on this a bit. I appreciate that you were open with me. I'm… I'm sorry, I know I keep saying that - I'm sorry I reacted this… like this, and that I blew up on you. But I'm so, so glad you trusted me with this. I know you were probably worried I'd react… like this. Or worse.
I love you. You're my world, Taylor. I'm so proud of the woman you're becoming. I'm just terrified your journey is going to be cut short before you become the person you were made to be, and that there's nothing I can do to stop that from happening. That's… that's where I'm at."
–
You and Dad put the dishes away after dinner. It was… difficult to bring the conversation back to normal after that. You aren't even sure either of you succeeded, or if it was even worth trying in the first place. Heartbreakingly, it reminded you a bit of the conversations before you dropped out of school, when you were both trying to keep conversations compartmentalized to subjects both of you found safe.
You hope it doesn't stay like this, that this was just a wound that can heal, that your mission hasn't destroyed your relationship with your Dad just after you'd started to rebuild it. You wish you'd told him sooner. You don't know if it would have helped, or if anything would have changed, but wouldn't it have been the right thing to do?
It's so frustrating. Why is stuff like this the big thing to worry about? Don't you have enough to deal with, but the universe has to keep throwing this shit at you? Keep you second guessing yourself, hurting your relationship with family?
You must have been staring into space for a while. Dad reaches his arm over your shoulder and pulls you in for a well-meaning, if awkward, hug, and squeezes. "Love you, Taylor," he says. "Always."
You rub your eyes and return the gesture.
–
You spent a few more hours with Dad, talking about nothing in particular. Theoretically, that was time you could have spent training - Sube Sube, Ninjutsu, Fishman Karate, any number of things, but… this felt more important. Tension gradually lifted, the openness returning, both of you letting your guard down after… well. That.
"You're still going after the Merchants, aren't you," Dad says, and the question almost slaps you in the face with its bluntness. You suppose you deserved that.
"It gives me practice. Baroque Works is going to be occupying Foolshout. I'm going to need to help investigate where they are. I can start that here, get some practice. Skidmark and Squealer - even if I get lucky and find them tonight-" you catch Dad mouthing 'lucky' sarcastically, "-their powers won't be ready for use by the time I got to Foolshout, if the Devil Fruit powers were any indication. But the practice when it comes to investigation, noticing things, stuff like that… could be critical for seeing ambushes, patterns, when we fight Baroque Works on Foolshout."
Talking about work is invigorating. But now you have this little fear in the back of your mind that it's scaring Dad, putting him off. You don't see anything like that on his face, but now you have that concern. He shrugs, reclined back into the chair in the living room. "Okay. I'll trust you know what you're doing."
You don't miss his hands shaking around the mug, and it's not cold in here . "I'll come home safe. I promise."
He smiles weakly at you. "You mostly have so far."
You aren't sure how to respond to that. You settle for standing up, giving him a kiss on the cheek and a hug, before heading up to your room to get changed.
–
What a waste of time.
You went out in costume, stealthily, naturally, patrolling two separate spots on the notepad Brandish gave you. Nothing. She did say that these spots were pointed out as potential hotspots, so nothing was guaranteed, but you don't see any signs of Merchant activity.
It's possible Shielder or Laserdream or Glory Girl, the inexperienced capes among New Wave's fliers, were the ones who noticed these streets, thought they saw something, jotted it down in a file somewhere, and Brandish was just the middleman who handed the information over to you.
Geographically, it's close by the warehouse where Skidmark held his accounting meeting, but you can't make out any signs of organized gang activity. There are loose syringes in the street, bums passed out or sleeping here and there, a suspicious looking person skittering by in the dark of night, but nothing substantial at this or the other location. Could be just bad luck, could be that these two areas were duds, at least for the purpose of hunting down and breaking the Merchants.
Regardless, there's something of a silver lining to the cloud. The bare minimum of Investigation and Forensics capabilities joins your skillset. It's not much - you didn't have much to go off of here when training those skills. But it's a start, and maybe you'll have better luck with the other locations tomorrow.
You make your way home, let Dad know you're alright. You ask if he'd feel better if you slept at home tonight. He says not to worry about it, so you transition back to the storeroom on the Merry and get a well-deserved night's rest.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 1532
Clear skies today. A pleasant surprise. Perfect weather to do the modifications on the sail. It'll be nice to have something a bit more concrete to distract you. It takes about ten minutes to stitch the sailcloth together for the main and mizzen, and with a bosunry capability most sailors could only dream of, it only takes a few seconds with the help of your giant albatross form to actually attach each sail. Not only that, but challenging yourself to complete the project well in record time means that Headway rewards you by further improving your superhuman seamstress capability, to the penultimate level.
The difficult part of the project to reinforce the Merry, in many ways, is teaching the crew and guests how to use it, adjusting expectations, deflecting probing questions from Vivi and Horlio, putting your foot down with regards to nonsense from the usual suspect, ignoring the captain's pouting at the discipline… well. At the very least, you feel like you come out of it a better Public Speaker.
There's a noticeable difference in the sailing speed of the Merry now, to the point where even those of you on the crew who aren't professional or superhuman (in Nami's case) navigators can spot it. The ropes are easier to work with, there's less odds of ropeburn from a predictably unpredictable calamity. It's a noticeable and easy improvement, and well worth the time spent walking the crew through it.
Usopp has some ideas on using the bulk of the old sailcloth and hemp rope for his own projects, and you'll leave him to it. Not wanting to be alone with your own thoughts, and wanting to accomplish something, you approach Horlio. "What's up? Did you have another magic trick to show us?"
"Don't know much magic yet, sorry," you shrug coolly. Or in what you hope is a cool way, at least. "You're an acrobat, right?"
He grins and reaches for what you assume would be the inside of his suit, but he's not wearing a suit, and his bats are in the men's room by his hammock, last you remember. His face falls a bit. "I was going to say I specialize in acrobatics, but it doesn't sound as impressive when I'm not actually holding my bats."
You tilt your head up at the mainsail, idly noticing Zoro up on the crow's nest, not paying anywhere near the attention a lookout probably should be. "Do you mind showing me a few tricks? I think I'm good enough that we can practice with the mast if need be."
He frowns at you. "What, think you can learn acrobatics before we get to Foolshout? That's… what, a week from today?"
"That's my thing. I learn things fast. If you're not interested, that's okay, but-"
Horlio gives you a lopsided smirk. "No way. If you can be as good an acrobat as you are a bosun, I wanna see that nonsense firsthand."
You give him an eyeroll, before your training starts in earnest. You're a good acrobat, not a great one, and you can do a few flips - backflips, cartwheels, even a decent attempt at a salto, but it's been a pretty decent while since you last trained. You aren't anywhere near as good as Cabaji was with it, or even Horlio.
But you hope to fix that. Horlio notes mistakes in your form - there aren't any problems with your physique, merely your application of it on this specific front. It's helpful, and you allow yourself a bit of inner satisfaction at his frustrated gaping when you go from a good acrobat to a professional in the span of an hour and a half training session.
"That's such bullshit!" he shouts, yanking on his hair. "Aw man, my parents spent years drilling me in this shit and you just learned it like… that's unfair, Hebert!"
You default to the reassuring shoulder pat, before you leave him to his emotional recovery. You're about to search for your other guest, Princess Vivi herself, when the ship shudders. Oh come on! It was shaping up to be a quiet, productive day!
You scramble to pinpoint the source of the shaking - is that a giant fork on the starboard side? No. Not just a fork. It's… a pink, fleshy cartilaginous growth in the shape of a fork, tines stuck in between two rungs of the railing, emerging from a pink, fleshy tentacle. Clumsily, another tentacle rises, this one bonking against the deck of the ship with… that's not a whisk. That can't be a whisk. You refuse to believe that's a whisk.
The definitely-not-a-whisk scrapes against the wooden floor, creating visible strain, and you belatedly lunge forward, manifesting Sube Sube around yourself. Shame Kachi Kachi's activation time is still too long to be practical for situations like this. The… squid, you're guessing… is still trying to get a tentacle-hold on the Merry's deck, and struggling since, instead of suction cups, it has… forks, whisks, and are those chopsticks?
Mayim is so messed up. Your Naturalism skill helpfully pipes in when you notice the third tentacles. The ship is being attacked by what Grand Line scholars call a Giant Utensil Squid. (Some cultures give it the nickname 'Gus.')
Believed to be a typical giant squid in size, this species mimics human and fishman use of utensils through its body, reshaping the ends of its tentacles into growths suited for replicating human dining. This includes forks, chopsticks, whisks… a spork slams up out of the water and strikes the deck where you were just standing!
You dodge the attack almost effortlessly, and, taking bear form, strike a paw at the offending limb. There's an audible cracking sound as the spork-extension tears off, your blow not held back in the slightest. You allow the blow to serve as momentum for grabbing and pulling, and streams of blue blood spurt out. The ship vibrates along with 'Gus' as it recoils in pain
Eugh. It's a bit gross, but it has to be done, to save the Merry. "What the hell is that thing?" Usopp calls out, having rushed out from the storeroom.
Just as you hear his shout and casually yank off a giant fillet knife, Zoro descends from the crow's nest, a superhuman leap towards the intruding megafauna. Sparing a glance down at Gus' worryingly human face and perfectly straight row of gleaming, white teeth, all the same size, you see a look of undisguised rage… but the swordsman's wearing an expression of sadistic glee.
"Three Sword Style…" Swords drawn, Zoro falls, spinning as he does, forming a rough whirlwind. You have to back away as he does, casually maiming the chopsticks tentacle from before as you do, making sure to keep an eye out to guarantee you aren't potential collateral to whatever Zoro's about to do. "...Dragon Twister!"
A tornado of blades shreds the Giant Utensil Squid, and you abandon bear form, ducking back, guided by giant albatross wings, to avoid the worst of the bloodspray. The Merry jolts portside as the squid dies, only a few of the remaining limbs stuck on, the back ends of tentacles wrapped on to the railing, as the attached fork and whisk flail impotently against the ship, the other utensils having failed to find a grip.
You're starting to relate to Dad's calling this a godforsaken ocean. Zoro backflips off of the tumbling corpse bits to land back on ship, presenting himself with an ungainly curtsy, before giving you a little wink. "Light exercise, Usopp. That's what that was."
You snort, despite yourself. "Jackass," you laugh, and he gives a mock salute. Shame about the squid. You don't think Headway gave you anything for that. Just unlucky, you guess. Collaborative battles always form a rougher connection, even with victories. You were lucky to get Kachi Kachi when the Straw Hats took down Bear King.
You take the time to help clean up, snap a photo of the squid's limbs, briefly consider asking if you can take some as trophies… and Luffy's already begging Sanji to cook it up. Ah well. It'll be a fun story for Dad, and you aren't sure how you'd preserve them anyway. Usopp can handle what little repairs need to be done, and he knows to reach out if he needs help.
–
Vivi drapes the… frankly tacky and offputting spiraling monochrome minidress out over on a makeshift barrel table in the storeroom. Seeing the look on your face, she sighs. "It was made to be effective, not pretty," she grumbles quietly.
You stare at it. You… don't feel nauseous, or notice any traces of vertigo. High levels in the Seaman skill come with seasickness resistance, which naturally ties into resisting vertigo, but you should still be able to recognize if something would cause that effect. "Alright. How does it work?"
Vivi shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid."
"Seriously?"
"Miss Goldenweek only told me that slow, careful movement would inspire the effect. She told me to take inspiration from the buildup moves of belly dancers from my homeland. Her exact words were 'this style will come naturally to a girl with a figure like yours'."
You're suspecting there was some envy on her part there. "Do you think she might have just been messing with you?"
Vivi doesn't look like she knows the answer. "I didn't interact with her enough to be able to tell. She has this distant manner of acting. Quiet, serious. We were stationed together on Toothpaste Island for a few days while Mr. 3 was handling a bounty, and she said she was curious to see how her style interacted with worn clothing, when projected outwards."
"Does that imply that her technique is new? Or that she's new to using it, at least?"
She makes a face. "I wish I had a good answer for you. I've seen Colors Trap in action briefly, and I've heard the rumors, but I don't know how she came by the skill, whether or not it's a Devil Fruit, or anything about it beyond the effect it has on people."
Shit. You were hoping for a bit more than that. "How did she design it? Did you see her… what, paint the circle pattern on the dress?"
Vivi frowns. "No, she made it in private. I didn't press her for details on how she made it, it… didn't seem appropriate at the time, felt like it would have blown my cover. We did test it together, and I have used it in combat. It does cause nausea and disorientation in those viewing it. It seems to work better on the weak. I suspect someone with a stronger mind or will could ignore it, although I don't know how well strategies like that would work against Miss Goldenweek herself."
Your mind flashes to sections on the PRT's affiliated websites, documents about resisting the effects of Master capes under varying situations and conditions. You'd dismissed them in your head as security theater - sure, some might be effective, but then you run into someone like Heartbreaker who easily no-sells it. You'd thought it better to concentrate on skills with a higher guaranteed efficacy. But you find yourself reconsidering the idea with the threat of Miss Goldenweek looming.
You look over to Vivi. "This might sound like an awkward question, given what it entails, but-"
"I can do the dance. You don't need to worry about me being ashamed of the idea, I wouldn't have accepted Miss Goldenweek's offer if I did." Thankful that Vivi doesn't find the idea offensive, you give her some privacy so she can change into the dress. "Supposedly, this works better on men than women. I haven't actually had the opportunity to fight many women, so don't get too mad if this doesn't do anything."
Nodding, you meet her eyes as she starts the dance, a slow, rhythmic, deliberate thing, carefully controlled so as to be hypnotic. You suspect Alabastan belly dancers use similar tricks to get the audience's attention, not that most men need much prodding to look at a beautiful woman in a tight outfit.
If this were an actual combat situation, you could have lunged forward and crushed her skull before she finished her first gyration. You don't see the technique itself as much of a threat, but you're more hoping to get some insight in Colors Trap here. The spirals start to bleed together and rotate, impossible sequences emerging from the fabric. You wince, feeling a bit lightheaded, and you belatedly realize you were caught in the trick of the Color of Vertigo.
You shake your head and look away. Vivi puts the dance on hold. "You were out for a few seconds there," she notes. "Plenty of time for M- Horlio to smash you in. That's the strategy we used on an eight million beri captain once. I distracted him, Mr. 9 bashed his kneecaps, my Peacock Slashers did the rest."
"Think that'll work on the officer agents?" you ask, the dizzying effect fading with time and the halt of the dance.
She scoffs. "Not a chance. Those guys are monsters. If anyone has the willpower to resist a party trick like this, it's them. You'd be better off trying to figure out how to predict or subvert their ambushes, maybe outpower them, if you ask me."
Vertigo finally receded, you make a deliberate effort to stand a bit straighter. "Could be useful to practice resisting that dress's effects, even if it only barely helps against the creator. Would you mind helping me with that over the coming days?"
Vivi agrees. "I'm not sure if it's the best use of your time. I've only got a fraction of Miss Goldenweek's skill and this was only a halfhearted experiment of hers in the grand scheme of things. But if you want, sure. Sanji mentioned he was interested in learning more about the technique, too - why are you laughing?"
Master Resistance, while a very useful skill, will not be a cure-all against Master effects even on Bet. Even at highest levels, it may only delay mid-level Masters, and many parahumans will simply no-sell it. This is to say nothing of those with more exotic effects like Miss Goldenweek, or telepaths on Mahon. This skill may merge with a greater psi-resistance skill once you reach a certain point in your actions on Mahon.
–
No joy with further Kachi Kachi practice, disappointingly enough. On top of that, you still can't wrap your mind around the framework of Ninjutsu. You almost hope Nezu's there on Foolshout Island just so you can try to beat some training out of her. You snort at the mental image. Although apparently, from what Zoro and Nami told you a few days ago, you'll need to get in line behind everyone else if you want to kick Nezu's ass.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2011
After supper with the Straw Hats, you transition home, letting your dad know you're alright. "Hey. Everything alright on Mayim?" he asks, and you don't miss the apprehension in his voice, no matter how much he tries to play it cool.
You nod. "Practiced some Master resistance for Baroque Works' hypnotist cape, a little bit of acrobatics. More training, not much of it successful. Some of my combat skills are pretty hard to learn. Got the Merry some new sails and rope. Um- we fought a giant squid with spork tentacles, I have photos."
His expression softens. "You know, you don't have to give me all of the details in a rush, Taylor."
You feel your face burn a little as you glance away. "Sorry. I… guess I was trying to overcompensate. For… you know."
"I appreciate that. I - we already talked this to death, but I'm sorry about yesterday."
"Me too."
He thinks for a moment, and frowns at you. "Did you say 'squid with spork tentacles'?"
–
It's only night two of hunting the Merchants. You can't believe drug deals are this blatant. There's a guy just standing out in the middle of the sidewalk, casually leaning against a lamppost, piercings glinting in the moonlight, shivering in the night cold. You recognize him from Skidmark's 'accounting meeting' earlier in the month. He exchanges a bag for cash from another guy, more disheveled-looking, greasy-haired, eyes constantly flickering back and forth, even as he tries to project calm and casualness.
Are drug deals this common across the city at night? Last night, did you accidentally pick the two streets in Brockton Bay's north side that don't have regular illegal exchanges? You see cash exchanged, snap a picture of the exchanges, thankful this model of camera doesn't flash. The stress of the situation, worrying whether or not it will come out well, must set Headway off, because you instantly become a below average photography hobbyist, after starting from zero.
The dealer in question processes a few more transactions, steadily emptying his backpack as the night goes on. You snap pictures of all clients, and jot down the directions of arrival and exit for each of them. Most conversations are clipped, short, but some get a bit tense, desperate. You don't see anything escalate into physical conflict, but the entire thing leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
You're tempted to make an arrest right there and then, but this guy isn't the big fish. Skidmark is. Squealer and Mush are. It physically pains you to let those people walk away with that poison, but you manage to convince yourself it's for a good cause.
Eventually, Piercings gets a phone call on a cell phone. He's gotten a few of those tonight, normally they're clipped, short, as far as you can tell, they're 'yep, I'll meet you at the usual spot, bye' kinds of conversations. The cops don't seem to come around this part of town, so he evidently doesn't bother with even basic opsec.
But this time, the tone is different. He normally rushes through the calls, not out of fear as far as you can tell, but out of impatience, tapping his foot all the while. But this time, his posture shifts, and he becomes a bit more tense. "What's up, Skids?" Piercings asks. "Nah, I ain't talked to Mush lately. Why?" "He hasn't tried to go clean in months. You sure he ain't just in one of his moods?" Frustrating you can only hear one side of the situation. "Try Dwayne. He and Mush are tight, ain't they?"
Dwayne. You'll have to remember that name. "A'ight." "I'm here on Bradwell, why?" "Yeah, s'what I said." "No, that's not my street. You gave that to- yeah, her." "A'ight. Tight. G'luck with finding Mush, boss." The person on the line - almost certainly Skidmark - hangs up, and Piercings mutters 'fuck' under his breath, before speedwalking off into an alley.
You follow him home to one of the many apartment complexes on Brockton Bay's north side that probably should have been condemned before you were even born. Crumbling plaster, broken windows shoddily boarded off, flickering lights in the hallway.
It's when you're trying to guess which apartment is his, if it even is where he lives, that you feel a sea change in your mind, and you just know that you're Perceptive enough to no longer need glasses. Like, at all. Heretofore, you'd needed your glasses on at all times, but… not anymore. Not only do you have Perception at a few levels higher than humans could ever hope to achieve, for the first time, you aren't tied down by your eyewear. You'd giggle if you were in a safer situation.
Well. You can't exactly follow him into the apartment without getting noticed, but you can take a degree of comfort in having discovered the likely home address of one of Skidmark's dealers, and having jumped forward in your general capabilities by removing one of your fundamental weaknesses.
Tomorrow night, you'll head to Bradwell Avenue again, see if you can wring some more information out of Piercings without his knowing. For now, you head home, satisfied with your accomplishments thus far.
I like Danny. As Parahumans characters go, there are very few stinkers, and Danny works for me, as a part of Taylor's story, here and in canon. He's a guy who's entire arc is impotent helplessness in the face of his daughter growing apart from him, the economy leaving his city behind, never being able to really truly change things… it makes sense that he was QA's first choice until it discovered his daughter.
When I was writing H/NQ 1, people were terrified at the prospect of revealing Taylor's powers to Danny. They genuinely believed that if they did that, Danny would call the PRT in a panic or something. I remember finding that a bit absurd, even at the time.
That's not really who Danny is. He is a guy who the world kicks around, who is never really in control of the situation, no matter how much he wishes he was. He's afraid of his own anger due to his own family trauma, to the point where he refuses to stand up for himself.
When Taylor needed him to be assertive in canon, when she was literally working on her summer job as a teenage runaway warlord, she begged him to take her back, to enforce some order in her life, and he refused, because that kind of strongarmed action isn't who he is. (If Annette came back to life, she'd be slapping him silly for letting Taylor do this shit.)
Like I said, I like the guy. I hope I get to do some interesting stuff with him down the line beyond 'worried but unhealthily permissive dad'.
We're slowly setting the stage for the story now that it's back - hitting some good emotional beats I think were missing or less touched upon than I would have liked in prior quests. (Not to diss other GMs or even my teenage self, it's a matter of personal preference, things I want to cover, for verisimilitude's sake if nothing else. There's a reason that Danny talk was a free action despite being several hours in-universe.)
Vivi's the portrayal I'm more dissatisfied with, but with regards to her, I'm willing to take a bit of an L and develop her more when she has more to do than just sort of help around on the Merry. Right now, she's more reserved with the Straw Hats than in canon - their help is still a bit more theoretical from her perspective, they didn't see her at her strongest and her weakest on Whiskey Peak - that may very well change in the coming arcs. Her bravery, her compassion, her cleverness - I haven't really had a chance to show that yet.
So as a result, she's a bit less interesting to the reader, because she's a little less interesting to Taylor. That makes sense, sure, but for the time being, I have a bit of a Chicago Wards problem, where, because the characters aren't interesting to Taylor, they may not be interesting to the reader. This is a problem that solves itself with time, but I'm not crazy about the first impressions here.
(I'm fine with Horlio. Guy from a poorer community, sought to strike rich and become a king, has some solid reasoning behind joining Baroque Works that you'll learn if you get to know the guy better. His portrayal is alright for what he needs to be.)
There's a lot to balance here. You have Danny, the five other Straw Hats, Vivi, Horlio, Taylor's expanding objectives and projects and training, the looming threat of Baroque Works. Stuff that the players need to be aware of, stuff that needs to exist for verisimilitude. I'll be writing an update that's five or six times longer than the original quest's, and still be like 'should there be more here? It's been a while since we spoke with Luffy…' You start running into 'get the bastard out the door' syndrome.
When I was writing H/NQ 1, people were terrified at the prospect of revealing Taylor's powers to Danny. They genuinely believed that if they did that, Danny would call the PRT in a panic or something. I remember finding that a bit absurd, even at the time.
That's not really who Danny is. He is a guy who the world kicks around, who is never really in control of the situation, no matter how much he wishes he was. He's afraid of his own anger due to his own family trauma, to the point where he refuses to stand up for himself.
When Taylor needed him to be assertive in canon, when she was literally working on her summer job as a teenage runaway warlord, she begged him to take her back, to enforce some order in her life, and he refused, because that kind of strongarmed action isn't who he is. (If Annette came back to life, she'd be slapping him silly for letting Taylor do this shit.)
Like I said, I like the guy. I hope I get to do some interesting stuff with him down the line beyond 'worried but unhealthily permissive dad'.
We're slowly setting the stage for the story now that it's back - hitting some good emotional beats I think were missing or less touched upon than I would have liked in prior quests. (Not to diss other GMs or even my teenage self, it's a matter of personal preference, things I want to cover, for verisimilitude's sake if nothing else. There's a reason that Danny talk was a free action despite being several hours in-universe.)
Vivi's the portrayal I'm more dissatisfied with, but with regards to her, I'm willing to take a bit of an L and develop her more when she has more to do than just sort of help around on the Merry. Right now, she's more reserved with the Straw Hats than in canon - their help is still a bit more theoretical from her perspective, they didn't see her at her strongest and her weakest on Whiskey Peak - that may very well change in the coming arcs. Her bravery, her compassion, her cleverness - I haven't really had a chance to show that yet.
So as a result, she's a bit less interesting to the reader, because she's a little less interesting to Taylor. That makes sense, sure, but for the time being, I have a bit of a Chicago Wards problem, where, because the characters aren't interesting to Taylor, they may not be interesting to the reader. This is a problem that solves itself with time, but I'm not crazy about the first impressions here.
(I'm fine with Horlio. Guy from a poorer community, sought to strike rich and become a king, has some solid reasoning behind joining Baroque Works that you'll learn if you get to know the guy better. His portrayal is alright for what he needs to be.)
There's a lot to balance here. You have Danny, the five other Straw Hats, Vivi, Horlio, Taylor's expanding objectives and projects and training, the looming threat of Baroque Works. Stuff that the players need to be aware of, stuff that needs to exist for verisimilitude. I'll be writing an update that's five or six times longer than the original quest's, and still be like 'should there be more here? It's been a while since we spoke with Luffy…' You start running into 'get the bastard out the door' syndrome.
18:95. Seaman (AoS) 9 not unlocked.
20:90. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
54:20. Leadership 4 unlocked. (Regular boatswain actions, guide crew through a hailstorm)
69:80. Teaching 5 not unlocked. 51:100. Carpentry 7 not unlocked. (Usopp carpentry+general Boatswain work combining to give you a slightly better bonus to teaching, still not successful in crossing the threshold. Usopp learns how to use the tools.)
-$653.77 for 400 feet of double-braided nylon rope for Going Merry, more durable than the hemp rope used currently.
-$854.98 for polyester sailcloth for the sails. Today mostly covers the action of going out and buying it, finding a Marine supplies store (along Hudson River, Manhattan), etc.
08:100. Disguise 6 not unlocked. 47:75. Acting 5 not unlocked. (Related to rope/sailcloth purchase, reinforce the Merry project)
77:20. Kachi Kachi no Mi 3 unlocked. 46:100. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
12:00. Driving 2 unlocked. 54:50. Driving 3 unlocked. 21:100. Driving 4 not unlocked. New Hampshire state mandated driving course and project finished, driving exam scheduled for June 21, 2011, $36.00 fee to be paid after completion of exam. Driving project finished.
Tell him now. No rolls needed.
79:00. Investigation 0 unlocked. 06:20. Investigation 1 not unlocked. 87:30. Forensics 0 unlocked. 02:90. Forensics 1 not unlocked. 01:85. Stealth 7 not unlocked. (Critical failures do not exist in this quest.) 20:80. Perception 8 not unlocked.
05:??. Dismal rolls for the first Villain Hunt day. Two of the leads you check for Villain Hunt are duds, and while you get a decent start dipping your toes into the water of investigation and forensics, no significant progress is made in finding the root of the Merchants' operation.
21:80. Seaman (AoS) 9 not unlocked.
77:85. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
01:60. Teaching 5 not unlocked. 81:40. Public Speaking 3 unlocked. (Regular boatswain work + installing the new rope/sail, teaching Straw Hats to use it/doing a makeshift presentation on the use.)
03:50. Shipwright 6 not unlocked. 96:95. Sewing 9 unlocked. (Rope/sail installation. My original plan was for the rope installation to take a whole action, then I realized that didn't make much sense with Taylor's skillset.)
13:50. Shape Changing: Giant Utensil Squid not unlocked. Zoro and Taylor collaborate to drive off a megafauna squid with shapes in the rough shape of utensils built into its tentacles. This was initially Taylor and the monster trio, but then I decided it would be good to give Zoro a spotlight moment now that he's largely close to recovered. Might as well make the most of a losing roll.
66:20. Acrobatics 4 unlocked. 58:60. Acrobatics 5 not unlocked.
19:??. Vivi was given the outfit by Miss Goldenweek as a bit of a curiosity on her end - to study the impact of dance and movement on Colors Trap techniques, as opposed to just regular paint-traps. Vivi doesn't actually understand the mechanics of it - she doesn't really need to for the technique to work. She just needs to dance in such a way that the outfit itself does the work for her, inspiring the vertigo. While Taylor tries to study it in the context of what she knows, it's mostly just a frustrating experience for her… or is it?
13:00. Master Resistance 0 unlocked. https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-quotes-and-wog-repository.294448/page-19?post=37882047#post-37882047 Master Resistance, while a very useful skill, will not be a cure-all against Master effects even on Bet. Even at highest levels, it may only delay mid-level Masters, and many parahumans will simply no-sell it. This is to say nothing of those with more exotic effects like Miss Goldenweek, or telepaths on Mahon. This skill may merge with a greater psi-resistance skill once you reach a certain point in your actions on Mahon.
58:95. Ninjutsu 0 not unlocked.
51:90. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
70:00. Investigation 1 unlocked. 52:50. Investigation 2 unlocked. 37:80. Investigation 3 not unlocked. 93:50. Forensics 1 unlocked. 66:80. Forensics 2 not unlocked. 77:30. Criminal Psychology 1 unlocked. 87:80. Criminal Psychology 2 unlocked. 32:70. Stealth 7 not unlocked. 74+6=80:80. Perception 8 unlocked. Glasses no longer required. 39:00. Photography 0 unlocked. 58:50. Photography 1 unlocked. 76:100. Photography 2 not unlocked.
74:??. Considerable progress made - a dealer Taylor recognizes from the warehouse 'accounting meeting' followed back to his house, address memorized, mentioning 'Skids' in conversation, following him along reveals details about his routines, other stuff to be expanded upon in update and in future updates.
Loot:
-$653.77 for 400 feet of double-braided nylon rope for Going Merry, more durable than the hemp rope used currently.
-$854.98 for polyester sailcloth for the sails.
Driving course project completed.
+1 Acrobatics (4)
+2 Criminal Psychology (2)
+2 Driving (3)
+2 Forensics (1)
+3 Investigation (2)
+1 Kachi Kachi no Mi (3)
+1 Leadership (4)
+1 Master Resistance (0)
+1 Perception (8)
+2 Photography (1)
+1 Public Speaking (3)
+1 Sewing (9)
I made a whoopsie with the initial rolls, had to add in the bonus to Perception. You'll have +19 left over on that one for future rolls. I think there was a miscalc on the Leadership role - it should have required 80, not 20, but I'm letting you keep that one, since I posted it without catching the mistake. My fault on that one.
20:90. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
54:20. Leadership 4 unlocked. (Regular boatswain actions, guide crew through a hailstorm)
69:80. Teaching 5 not unlocked. 51:100. Carpentry 7 not unlocked. (Usopp carpentry+general Boatswain work combining to give you a slightly better bonus to teaching, still not successful in crossing the threshold. Usopp learns how to use the tools.)
-$653.77 for 400 feet of double-braided nylon rope for Going Merry, more durable than the hemp rope used currently.
-$854.98 for polyester sailcloth for the sails. Today mostly covers the action of going out and buying it, finding a Marine supplies store (along Hudson River, Manhattan), etc.
08:100. Disguise 6 not unlocked. 47:75. Acting 5 not unlocked. (Related to rope/sailcloth purchase, reinforce the Merry project)
77:20. Kachi Kachi no Mi 3 unlocked. 46:100. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
12:00. Driving 2 unlocked. 54:50. Driving 3 unlocked. 21:100. Driving 4 not unlocked. New Hampshire state mandated driving course and project finished, driving exam scheduled for June 21, 2011, $36.00 fee to be paid after completion of exam. Driving project finished.
Tell him now. No rolls needed.
79:00. Investigation 0 unlocked. 06:20. Investigation 1 not unlocked. 87:30. Forensics 0 unlocked. 02:90. Forensics 1 not unlocked. 01:85. Stealth 7 not unlocked. (Critical failures do not exist in this quest.) 20:80. Perception 8 not unlocked.
05:??. Dismal rolls for the first Villain Hunt day. Two of the leads you check for Villain Hunt are duds, and while you get a decent start dipping your toes into the water of investigation and forensics, no significant progress is made in finding the root of the Merchants' operation.
21:80. Seaman (AoS) 9 not unlocked.
77:85. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
01:60. Teaching 5 not unlocked. 81:40. Public Speaking 3 unlocked. (Regular boatswain work + installing the new rope/sail, teaching Straw Hats to use it/doing a makeshift presentation on the use.)
03:50. Shipwright 6 not unlocked. 96:95. Sewing 9 unlocked. (Rope/sail installation. My original plan was for the rope installation to take a whole action, then I realized that didn't make much sense with Taylor's skillset.)
13:50. Shape Changing: Giant Utensil Squid not unlocked. Zoro and Taylor collaborate to drive off a megafauna squid with shapes in the rough shape of utensils built into its tentacles. This was initially Taylor and the monster trio, but then I decided it would be good to give Zoro a spotlight moment now that he's largely close to recovered. Might as well make the most of a losing roll.
66:20. Acrobatics 4 unlocked. 58:60. Acrobatics 5 not unlocked.
19:??. Vivi was given the outfit by Miss Goldenweek as a bit of a curiosity on her end - to study the impact of dance and movement on Colors Trap techniques, as opposed to just regular paint-traps. Vivi doesn't actually understand the mechanics of it - she doesn't really need to for the technique to work. She just needs to dance in such a way that the outfit itself does the work for her, inspiring the vertigo. While Taylor tries to study it in the context of what she knows, it's mostly just a frustrating experience for her… or is it?
13:00. Master Resistance 0 unlocked. https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/worm-quotes-and-wog-repository.294448/page-19?post=37882047#post-37882047 Master Resistance, while a very useful skill, will not be a cure-all against Master effects even on Bet. Even at highest levels, it may only delay mid-level Masters, and many parahumans will simply no-sell it. This is to say nothing of those with more exotic effects like Miss Goldenweek, or telepaths on Mahon. This skill may merge with a greater psi-resistance skill once you reach a certain point in your actions on Mahon.
58:95. Ninjutsu 0 not unlocked.
51:90. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
70:00. Investigation 1 unlocked. 52:50. Investigation 2 unlocked. 37:80. Investigation 3 not unlocked. 93:50. Forensics 1 unlocked. 66:80. Forensics 2 not unlocked. 77:30. Criminal Psychology 1 unlocked. 87:80. Criminal Psychology 2 unlocked. 32:70. Stealth 7 not unlocked. 74+6=80:80. Perception 8 unlocked. Glasses no longer required. 39:00. Photography 0 unlocked. 58:50. Photography 1 unlocked. 76:100. Photography 2 not unlocked.
74:??. Considerable progress made - a dealer Taylor recognizes from the warehouse 'accounting meeting' followed back to his house, address memorized, mentioning 'Skids' in conversation, following him along reveals details about his routines, other stuff to be expanded upon in update and in future updates.
Loot:
-$653.77 for 400 feet of double-braided nylon rope for Going Merry, more durable than the hemp rope used currently.
-$854.98 for polyester sailcloth for the sails.
Driving course project completed.
+1 Acrobatics (4)
+2 Criminal Psychology (2)
+2 Driving (3)
+2 Forensics (1)
+3 Investigation (2)
+1 Kachi Kachi no Mi (3)
+1 Leadership (4)
+1 Master Resistance (0)
+1 Perception (8)
+2 Photography (1)
+1 Public Speaking (3)
+1 Sewing (9)
I made a whoopsie with the initial rolls, had to add in the bonus to Perception. You'll have +19 left over on that one for future rolls. I think there was a miscalc on the Leadership role - it should have required 80, not 20, but I'm letting you keep that one, since I posted it without catching the mistake. My fault on that one.
You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Thursday, January 20, 2011, Wednesday, June 1, 1532, Thursday, November 16, 2000), and Day 2 (Friday, January 21, 2011, Thursday, June 2, 1532, Friday, November 17, 2000). Voting closes on Saturday, May 13, IRL, at 11:00 PM EST.
The Merry will enter Foolshout's climate zone (thereby ending the mandatory boatswain/First Stretch-related actions) on Monday, January 24, 2011, Sunday, June 5, 1532, Monday, November 20, 2000. By Taylor and Nami's estimation, the Merry will arrive at Foolshout on (Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Tuesday, June 7, 1532, Wednesday, November 22, 2000).
Days 1 and 2 have 4 actions available. 1 action is reserved for First Stretch-related work on the Merry (down from the two you had previously). 1 action is reserved for concluding the 'reinforce the Merry' project'. 1 action is reserved for continuing the VILLAIN HUNT: Merchants project.
-[ ] Re-equip the Merry with Bet-modern quality of life equipment. Electricity, appliances, marine sonar, optics, night vision, etc. Requires some planning, a whole lot of learning, and a lot of money. 1 action/day. (0/10+ to completion, next skills: Engineering, Shipwright. Be very specific with what you want with this option. Include details with what you want in your post. Be mindful of how some creatures on Mayim communicate.)
-[ ] Create a low-key superhero outfit that doesn't draw attention to your powers, for use on worlds like Earth-Mahon. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, next skills: Tailor, Sewing)
-[ ] Learn how to create bugs - not the buzz kind, but the listening device kind. Ideally, you'd like be able to uncover information more effectively and record it, like Vivi did with Mr. 5. 1 action/day. (0/??. Next skills: Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering. Taylor's fairly sure her Engineering skill is a bit low to make this really work, but if this option is chosen, she'll train with that specifically in mind.)
-[ ] Now that you've decided to be a bit conservative with revealing the extent of your powers on Bet, you can maybe spend some time considering what a potential, temporary backup identity could look like, in case you needed to go after a target with greater use of your abilities. 1 action/day. (0/2 to completion, designing a costume, picking a name and which powers to use. Write-ins are acceptable here, but I'll shoot down anything ridiculous.)
-[ ] Expand your gear set for when you're out in costume as Factota. Buy a body cam, voice changer, some burner phones, comms jammer, cell phone cloner, gas mask, other gear players might be interested in. 1 action/day. (0/?? to completion. Computers, Engineering, other skills will be trained during the course of this project. Write-in additions to this, ask first, it will likely extend the project. Must be available on Mahon, besides the phones, which will be purchased on Bet. You'll soon most likely have to start pulling from your cape account to buy things, which will also extend the project - since you'll have to speak with a specialty bank to open that card account. (See Brockton Bay actions below, that will be included in this project should you choose to take it.) Cell phones will require an uncomfortable conversation with Dad, which could also prolong things.
VILLAIN HUNT is not available right now. The Merchants project is ongoing (2/??), and Taylor will only be performing one hunt at a time. This may change in the mid-to-long term future.
Please let me know if you spot any problems, oddities or miscalculations in GENERAL TRAINING, and I will correct ASAP.
Going Merry actions. 1 action each. Max 1 action per person, 3 different persons per day. New options may unlock as you get to know the crew better.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 20% of Boatswain 10. 75% of Shipwright 6. 60% of Teaching 5.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable on Day 1, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable on Day 1, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5. 20% of Navigation 6. 20% of Meteorology 5. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 100% of Sleight-of-Hand 0. 80% of Sleight-of-Hand 1. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 20% of Sleight-of-Hand 3.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4. 60% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 20% of Bombmaking 5. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 90% of Trapper 2. 60% of Trapper 3. 20% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 40% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 75% of Peacock Slashers 0. 10% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 60% of Blunt Weapons 3. 10% of Blunt Weapons 4.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 60% of Acrobatics 5. 10% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 20% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 5% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydromancy is hard, controlling violent hydromantic projections… even more so. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 10% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 70% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 10% of Criminal Psychology 3.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 40% of Forensics 2. 10% of Forensics 3.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
-[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 20% of Acrobatics 5.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 40% of Swimming 7.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 10% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 10% of Driving 4. Taylor has no car of her own, and isn't comfortable asking to borrow Dad's without a damn good Vehicle Mechanic skill (we'll say 4-5). So this would be purely book learning, theoreticals.
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 0% of Perception 9. (+19 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 50% of Photography 3. 0% of Photography 4.
-[ ] Sleight-of-Hand. The manual dexterity and distraction capability required for skills like pickpocketing and such. Training on your own without a partner will be difficult, maybe as a crewmate on the Merry instead. 80% of Sleight-of-Hand 0. 20% of Sleight-of-Hand 1.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 35% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 20% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 10% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 20% of Public Speaking 4.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 10% of Leadership 5.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 40% of Acting 5.
-[ ] Disguise. 10% of Disguise 6.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 80% of Meditation 0. 20% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action unless stated otherwise.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 20% of Boatswain 10. 75% of Shipwright 6. 60% of Teaching 5.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9. (Medically inadvisable on Day 1, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room) (Medically inadvisable on Day 1, Zoro needs to fully recover before doing his typical exercise. He'll be better on Friday, January 21, 2011/Thursday, June 2, 1532/Friday, November 17, 2000.)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 40% of Navigation 5. 20% of Navigation 6. 20% of Meteorology 5. 20% of Cartography 1.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 100% of Sleight-of-Hand 0. 80% of Sleight-of-Hand 1. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 20% of Sleight-of-Hand 3.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4. 60% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 20% of Bombmaking 5. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 90% of Trapper 2. 60% of Trapper 3. 20% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 40% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 75% of Peacock Slashers 0. 10% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 60% of Blunt Weapons 3. 10% of Blunt Weapons 4.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 60% of Acrobatics 5. 10% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of one of Armorsmith 6 or Weaponsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 20% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 5% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydromancy is hard, controlling violent hydromantic projections… even more so. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 10% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 70% of Killing Intent 2.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 10% of Criminal Psychology 3.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 40% of Forensics 2. 10% of Forensics 3.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
-[ ] Psychology. 50% of Psychology 0.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 20% of Acrobatics 5.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% Knives 0, 60% Knives 1, 20% Knives 2.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 70% of Freerunner 5. 20% Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Swimming. You now can swim as well as an Olympic athlete. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 40% of Swimming 7.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 10% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 10% of Driving 4. Taylor has no car of her own, and isn't comfortable asking to borrow Dad's without a damn good Vehicle Mechanic skill (we'll say 4-5). So this would be purely book learning, theoreticals.
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 0% of Perception 9. (+19 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 50% of Photography 3. 0% of Photography 4.
-[ ] Sleight-of-Hand. The manual dexterity and distraction capability required for skills like pickpocketing and such. Training on your own without a partner will be difficult, maybe as a crewmate on the Merry instead. 80% of Sleight-of-Hand 0. 20% of Sleight-of-Hand 1.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 35% of Stealth 7.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 20% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 10% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 40% of Tactician 8.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 20% of Public Speaking 4.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 10% of Leadership 5.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 40% of Acting 5.
-[ ] Disguise. 10% of Disguise 6.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 80% of Meditation 0. 20% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action unless stated otherwise.
I will catch up with the past day or two of questions and comments in a reply post, hopefully later today. Bear with me for the time being, I'll try not to leave y'all hanging for too much longer.
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2.23: First Stretch 7/Prelude to Baroque Works 3/Merchant Hunt 2
[X] Plan Expanding Options
-[X] Day 1
--[X] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 100% of Sleight-of-Hand 0. 80% of Sleight-of-Hand 1. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 20% of Sleight-of-Hand 3.
--[X] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 60% of Acrobatics 5. 10% of Acrobatics 6.
--[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 40% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
--[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 20% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Day 2
--[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 10% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
--[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 20% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
--[X] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4. 60% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
--[X] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
-[X] Day 1
--[X] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 100% of Sleight-of-Hand 0. 80% of Sleight-of-Hand 1. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 20% of Sleight-of-Hand 3.
--[X] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 60% of Acrobatics 5. 10% of Acrobatics 6.
--[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 40% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
--[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 20% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[X] Day 2
--[X] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 10% of Ninjutsu 0. (+20 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Demolitions, Bombmaking, Killing Intent)
--[X] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 20% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
--[X] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 4. 60% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5.
--[X] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4.
2.23: First Stretch 7/Prelude to Baroque Works 3/Merchant Hunt 2
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 1532
You wake up considerably later than normal - the late night spent hunting down information on the Merchants taking its toll on you. You find yourself a little annoyed that no one woke you - apparently you must have looked that tired that Nami and Vivi didn't think it necessary, but you try not to dwell on it.
Thankfully, nothing happened while you were asleep that demanded your direct attention. You take over Horlio's shift as lookout, offering a bleary-eyed good morning to him on his way down from the crow's nest. Lookout duty is rarely eventful, even on the Grand Line, and you spend most of the morning staring out at the sea, losing yourself in thought, enjoying a nice late breakfast courtesy of the cook.
It's not the best mindset to stay in - but the truth of the matter is that the lookout position is often regarded by the Straw Hats as a way to get away from the noise and chaos of the crew, more so than a means to stay aware of land or potential threats.
Any shift in the weather will be foreseen by Nami ages before the lookout spots anything, and any other threats tend to be below the water - especially here in the First Stretch leading up to Foolshout, where most pirate and merchant vessels are smart enough not to be.
The only thing you have to worry about is seasickness. And, unfortunately, the water's a bit choppy. It wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, but you're still feeling a bit off from your interrupted sleep schedule, not really in the right condition for lookout duty (which frankly still makes you more qualified than half the rest of the crew), and you start to feel a bit ill.
You power through it, and that's the straw on the camel's back for the next stage of Age-of-Sail Seaman. Feels like it's been a while. The seasickness recedes into the background, and you try to repay the universe by focusing more on your duty. Nothing particularly worth noting - you spot a giant shearwater in the background, perhaps a distant cousin of the one you slew on Shigeki Island so long ago. You allow yourself a nostalgic smile.
You relinquish your spot in the crow's nest to Usopp. Your mind was all over the place while you were on lookout, and now you finally have a chance to do something. Your plan for reinforcing the Merry with modern materials - at the very least, initiating the changes you have the immediate skill ability to enact.
On Earth-Mahon, a frazzled, tired-looking woman spends a little over five hundred dollars on a damn good manual bilge pump (Clever engineering. One of the more mundane areas where Mahon is ahead of Bet), fire extinguisher, and some other odds and ends that you can use for the Going Merry. Maybe Headway appreciates the subtle exaggeration of how tired you are in your disguise, since your Acting increases, making you one of the best actors on your homeworld.
Going between stores, finding a secluded alley to move stuff over from, transporting items back and forth - it takes long enough that you decide to save teaching the Straw Hats how to use the tools until tomorrow. When you do that, you'll likely be satisfied (for now, at least) with your project to bolster the Merry.
–
"Gooood salto!" Horlio calls out. "Your footing was a bit amateurish on the takeoff - try shifting your ankle like…"
Acrobatics with Horlio progresses well. He doesn't seem to think you're on his level yet, but you could absolutely be a bronze-medalist in the Olympics if you were bringing your A-game, purely off of this skill alone, to say nothing of other, complementary skills.
You towel off when the training session finishes, and glance over at your instructor. "Thanks again," you say.
He waves dismissively. "Not a problem. I'm only doing it to see how ridiculous your growth is." You roll your eyes in his general direction. "It's weird to be on the audience side of the circus for a change."
"So you were actually in the circus?" you ask.
His face freezes, as if he'd revealed something he didn't want to. "Ahhh… yeah. Wasn't- wasn't planning to mention that."
"Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
"It's not-" He stops himself, and makes a face. "Oh, what the hell. Might as well. Why'd you join the Straw Hats, Hebert?"
"To stop evil."
He stares at you for a moment. "No, I was - I was being serious."
"So was I."
Horlio looks like his train of thought was just abruptly derailed. "You… joined a pirate crew… to stop evil and…what, do good?"
"That's right."
"Walk me through that one, please?"
You frown at him. "I told Vivi this story. You and Vivi haven't talked about this?"
He shakes his head. "She trusts you guys. I trust her, so… I figured I'd trust you guys. You're still pirates, but she's my partner."
You wonder what happened between them to give them that kind of mutual loyalty. It was like that in the comic, too. You lean back against the mast, noting Usopp using the metal file on… something… rather than really focusing on his role as lookout. You smile despite yourself. "Well… how much do you know about the Straw Hats? Besides what you've seen here on the Merry."
Horlio thinks for a moment. "Straw Hat's got a thirty million beri. I know you fought a lot of strong guys, strong for the East Blue at least."
You ignore the minimizing there. "Bad guys, too," you nod. "I'm the newest member, so I wasn't here for some of them, but there were a lot of evil pirates who thought they could get away with hurting people. Luffy and the Straw Hats proved them wrong."
"Pirates fight each other all the time. Especially the really monstrous ones. For treasure, loot, revenge, territory, Davy Backs, sea cred. Doesn't mean they're good, if that's what you're getting at."
You frown at him. "You weren't there. We fought those guys because they were hurting people. Same reason we're going to be fighting Baroque Works now."
"Uh huh. I think your opinion of your friends is a bit too high. My take? They're fighting more for revenge and self-preservation. They might not be 'burn the land and salt the earth' kinds of guys, but you become a pirate because you want to fuck around without any consequences, not to save the world. Those kinds of guys join the Navy or the church."
You're starting to get irritated. "So you're saying it's a coincidence that Luffy personally brought down the biggest monsters of the East Blue. That he did it for… what, ego? Have you met Luffy? He doesn't care what people think of him!"
He lets out a little sigh, and scratches the back of his head. "What I'm saying is - he probably didn't do it to save the kids or whatever. Those guys he fought just pissed him off. Monsters have a way of doing that to people, even if you aren't, I dunno, Garp the Hero."
You… doubt you're going to be able to convince him otherwise, so you just shake your head. "Well, whatever the case may be, where the Straw Hats go, evil dies."
Horlio gives a dark look into the distance. "Yeah, that sounds like the same shit Mr. 6 told me about Baroque Works. That they were creating a utopia, free from pirates, where everyone could come together, and get paid doing it. Only it turns out they're actually going to kill a shitload of people and install a tyrant pirate-king as a leader for life."
You're trying not to let his cynicism get to you. "The utopia idea, that appealed to you?"
"'Course it does. I grew up on the Line, Hebert," he says, as if that explains it all. Maybe it does. "Sandal Island. Ever heard of it?"
You shake your head. World Events starts filling you in on details, but you have a feeling you'd rather hear it from Horlio. He continues. "Small island. Maybe seventy, eighty thousand people. Vivi's from a big, important country, but Sandal's kind of a backsea craphole. Pretty far from shipping routes, nothing too valuable there. Run by some rich assholes who live up in the Thongs."
World Events and History support what he's saying. The Thongs are a geographic land formation, similar to arches, that cover Sandal Island. "I grew up there. My parents were performers for those noble fucks. Growing up, I didn't really think anything of it, we kept those people happy, they gave us enough to get by. We were all acrobats. Mom was a juggler, Dad and I were batsmen. We were doing a show at a coastal manor. And then pirates attacked."
He scowls. "My parents died. I got crushed, the pirate ship's cannons hit the stage, it fell in on me and buried me beneath. I didn't get pulled out until days later. The mercenaries died, the maids died, the servants died. Everyone but the rich bastards who hightailed it out of there while the rest of us were getting slaughtered, not even trying to save any of us."
His hand shakes a little, and he squeezes it into a fist to try and make it stop. "Aw, shit. Yeah. Um, yeah. That's when I realized… there are three kinds of people in the world. The monsters, the people that get killed by the monsters, and the people who sit back and laugh at the people getting killed by the monsters. If you want to have a family, if you wanna live… you gotta be one of that last group. Be the prince in his castle, not giving a single shit. Figured Baroque Works would help me do that, all in the name of a decent cause."
"That's… or you could try to make the world better," you say, more than a little… affronted. Contemptuous of Horlio, even as you're ashamed to feel that way, given what he just told you.
He actually snickers. "Yeah, lemme save the world with my baseball bats, Hebert," he scoffs. Apropos of nothing, he continues. "You know, guy who killed my parents wound up heading to the New World. Works for Kaidou now. If you guys make it there, kick Briscola's ass for me. He was out of my league when I was fifteen, he was out of my league when I'd been bounty hunting for a few years, he's out of my league now. Been hoping someone would put him in the dirt for… maybe a decade now? Longer?"
Briscola. You'll remember that name.
"I- I'm not even sure I was talking about revenge there," you retort, quietly.
He shrugs. "Aw, no need to get all sappy on me. The world is the way it is. People like you, Garp, Dragon… I think you're only gonna wind up disappointing yourselves."
You give him a level look. "You including your partner in that list?" you ask quietly.
Horlio's face crinkles. He folds his arms, looking down. "Low blow, Hebert."
"I think it's a fair question."
An uncomfortable silence lingers. "Talk to me again someday about it," he replies, almost inaudibly. "I, um… I worked night watch last night. Gonna go take a nap. Wake me if there's a crisis."
–
You hear a distant loud noise, as if an object had fallen on the wooden floor.
"Ah! Are you alright?" Vivi asks, a note of panic in her voice. Oh. That noise was you. You let out a pitiful little sound from your spot on the ground. "Taylor! Taylor?"
"Mmm fnnn," you say, intelligibly and comprehensibly. "Lss kp gwng."
The princess shakes her hands frantically and covers her hypnotic minidress with a tarp. "Absolutely not. It was a ridiculous thing to keep going with in the first place, you're just going to wind up puking everywhere."
"Chrai-" you swallow, and will yourself to speak like a human being. "Try- try agin lidr?"
She gives you a reluctant, pitying look. "If… if you really think it'll help."
Damn. No luck with the Master Resistance training, obviously.
Kachi Kachi training doesn't go much better. Fire extinguisher in arm's reach the whole time, you fail to find any progress worth mentioning. You can still manifest the effect over your whole body, but you don't hit that crucial breaking point. You were hoping practicing with incrementally more physically involved katas and the like might have helped push your control with the Devil Fruit over the line, but no joy.
You and Horlio shoot each other a few awkward glances over dinner, but it's not too bad otherwise. Sanji serves up the giant utensil squid's eyeballs with rice and vegetables, along with other meat plucked from Gus. The utensil protrusions make for a good equivalent to drumsticks or turkey legs when cooked right, if a lot chewier.
"Maaan, I'm pooped," Nami says, stretching a bit as you, her and Vivi enter the women's room. You aren't planning to go to bed just yet, you have a stakeout on Bet to look forward to, but you enjoy the company.
"I'm ready to crash," Vivi sighs. "How do the clothes on this ship get so dirty, so fast? It doesn't seem fair!"
"Want me to take over laundry duty?" you offer.
"Don't you dare," Nami cuts in. "You're already our bosun, doctor, carpenter, provisioner, if you take on more work, I might slap you upside the head."
You smile. You're tempted to quibble about how you've started delegating some of that, but it doesn't feel right. "Noted, miss navigator!"
"Attagirl. You gonna stick around for a while, or are you going to your happy place?"
"Actually… you know how to pick pockets and stuff, right?"
Nami grins slyly, a bit of a difference from the first time you asked about the shadier type of skills. Maybe because this time she wasn't quite so caught off guard by the request. "Ho? How unheroic, Taylor."
You give her a look. "Not what I meant. Well… okay, it's more… dexterity and misdirection, right? Sleight-of-hand. I was thinking it might synergize with what I've got going on already, help with combat a bit."
"One more thing to learn, huh?" she teases.
"She's insane," Vivi pipes in. "She spent like an hour watching me dance with Miss Goldenweek's dress, just to try to figure out the nausea."
"Yes, yes, she's our little lunatic," Nami says, reaching up to pat you on the head. You retort by reaching down to give her a noogie. "Ow! Tay-lor!"
"Meanness invites meanness," you say, affecting an above-it-all voice. Nami gives you an entirely dishonest-looking pout. You raise your eyebrows. "If you don't want to teach me, that's okay, I can practice something else-"
"You do not pull off the guilt trip thing well enough, Taylor. I ought to give you pointers on that." Nami glances over at Vivi. "Hey, Princess. I know you spent a while dancing for another girl. How would you feel about two putting their hands all over you?"
Vivi's not the only one whose face burns. "My God. You're both such prudes," Nami sighs. "Look, if you want to practice pickpocketing and stuff like that, you need another human subject. One who's less canny-" "Hey!" "-than the instructor. No, really, Vivi, don't feel bad! Most people don't have the experience to keep up with a seasoned thief like moi."
The Alabastan stands up straight, lifting her chin up aristocratically. "I think you'll find yourself disappointed, Nami."
Nami's eyes twinkle. "Here. Put this coin in your pocket."
Already a staggering act of generosity. Vivi gives her a suspicious look, but complies. "Now, Taylor, what you need to understand about misdirection is sometimes all it takes is being close to somebody, and talking. Maybe their attention's on someone else, maybe they aren't looking specifically at you… attention is a limited resource. But the other thing to keep in mind is you gotta have the light touch to pull it off, too. Doesn't matter if someone's sleeping, even, if your brutish grasps are just gonna wake them up anyway. But, if you play your cards right…" Nami holds up the hundred-beri coin and gives a cheeky grin to both of you. "...It's easy enough to get what you want."
"What?!" Vivi exclaims. "I was paying attention!" Nami giggles proudly. "I was! How did you do that?!"
"Bet you ten million beri I can do it again. Aw, no, I should have done that from the start!" she lifts her head up to the sky in regret. "Ugh. Fine. Come on, Taylor. I'll do it again, and keep a closer eye on what I'm doing."
It's successful. A new skill opens up with Headway, and you find yourself the equivalent of someone who's spent a few hours a day for a couple weeks practicing on pickpocketing dummies, or a beginner stage magician's apprentice. It's nothing fancy for now, but this kind of dexterity and misdirection could come in really handy someday.
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011
More quality time with Piercings, your new favorite poison dealing waste of human life.
Not much activity from him tonight, fortunately for the people of Brockton Bay, but unfortunately for you. He only has a few customers, and heads home early. You were almost thinking it might be a better idea to scope out some of New Wave's other recommended hunting spots tomorrow.
But then he gets an important phone call. You become an 'above average' Criminal Psychologist at the very moment his phone vibrates, noticing how he stops short, lets out a little frustrated exhalation, and answers. "What's up?" "Nothing much, Dwayne. You?" "That's good." A pretty long pause, the person on the other line talking for a while. "Aw, that fucking… Christ that guy is such a fucking… yeah, that's gonna blow major ass." "Trash-boy wants to be a fucking bitch again."
Mush? They were talking about him yesterday. What exactly is going on there? "He wanted to talk to you about Stain? That guy's an asshole!" Piercings lets out a little laugh, uncharacteristically high for a guy with his demeanor. "Heh. Yeah. A'ight. Skids is callin' 'round again, this shit with Mush must have 'im all hot and horny." "Ha! Yeah, that is that bitch's job. Why else she missing all those teeth if she ain't sucking dick, dawg?"
Shining example of the human race right here. "Nah, I didn't tell him about you. You tried askin-" He's lying. He was the one who made sure Skidmark knew 'Dwayne' was in contact with Mush. "Yeah, that queer." "Surprised he didn't wanna talk to me 'bout Stain. I ran jobs for that sticky motherfucker last year." Another lull. Piercings shrugs, and gives a contemptuous look to a sleeping homeless woman, spitting on the ground near her legs. "Bring him some hero snow. He'll be good as new." "A'ight." "Night."
There's trouble in paradise with the Merchants. Mush is on the outs with Skidmark, they seem like they're trying to stage… some kind of twisted reverse intervention. Skidmark has a girlfriend, you don't know who, maybe a baseline, maybe Squealer. The big news there is reaching out to Stain. That sounds like a cape name, though you don't recognize them if it is.
That isn't too surprising, there are plenty of small time villains who stay under the radar and don't even have a stub on Parahumans Online. The Merchants are only 'famous' because Squealer is so deliberately obnoxious, and even they only have a few articles of local residents complaining about the noise, police reports on catalytic converter theft rings, low-level tinkertech street races, and such things.
But if the Merchants are looking to recruit or form an alliance with a minor villain with powers unknown… that could be a problem. Stain's been around for a while, judging by how Piercings mentioned doing jobs for him last year. At least a month. An experienced cape joining the Merchants could be a gamechanger. Something else to consider.
You leave your quarry,and home. Crime tends to pick up over the weekend, Friday and Saturday especially, so if you were ever going to find anything, it'd be tomorrow or the day after.
This stake-out project, at the very least, has been incredible for training. Just observing Piercings, trying to form connections between his actions, his demeanor, his phone call, and extrapolating from there - yields boosts in skills like Investigations, Forensics, Criminal Psychology. More bang for your metaphorical buck than the alternative of just sitting around and trying to brainstorm off of a textbook.
You leave a little post-it note for Dad at home, not wanting to wake him, and then transition back to the Merry to get some well-deserved rest.
Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Thursday, June 2, 1532
Zoro and his boulders. Nature must be healing. "Two hundred and thirty-four… ngh!" He squats down, sweat droplets pattering against the deck, muscles rippling in the - focus on the wound. It doesn't look like it's about to open up, even with his psychotic training regimen. He gives you a level look, slowly squatting back. "Two hundred and… gh!... thirty-five! I'm… I'm good again, Taylor! Don't get in my way! Two hundred and-"
You shake your head. "Wouldn't dream of it."
The crew, sans Zoro (you doubt he's in the mood), and your two guests assemble briefly thereafter, and you begin walking them through the process of using the manual bilge pump, the fire extinguisher, and some other useful tools. "Oh, this thing is soooo cool!" Luffy beams, looking at the extinguisher tank and - you pull it away before he can undo the latch and pull on the nozzle. "Aw, Taylor!"
"No."
"Pleeaaase?"
You think for a moment. "If we get a boatload of treasure on Foolshout Island-" you pause for a moment, considering Nami's presence, "-if we get a boatload of treasure on Foolshout Island from beating up the bad guys, then I'll buy one for you to use, with supervision."
His face is a picture of mixed feelings. "Al-riiiight," he says, pouting, almost visibly and literally deflated. At the very least, you feel like a better Teacher for having walked them through it. You aren't intimidated enough by the Straw Hats anymore for Public Speaking to be relevant here.
That's about it. There are plenty of ways the Merry could be theoretically further modernized - heating and air conditioning, more automated systems for the bilge pump, maybe some form of mechanism to give it a speed boost in crisis situations, advanced defense capabilities from Mahon, did you mention heating and air conditioning… loads of possibilities.
And that's to say nothing of what unexpected catastrophes could do to the ship - someone with an island-level attack hitting it directly, a Sea King taking an inconvenient route through you… but for day to day sailing, the Merry is now in a much better place.
For now, the Merry's obvious weaknesses have been shorn up, her strengths noticeably augmented. Usopp has the tools and knowledge to keep the ship mostly in tact… there's a lot more to be confident about. The crew returning to normal duties, you pat the Merry on the railing. It feels silly and superstitious, but you wonder, if she were alive, if she'd be grateful.
You take some time to rest in the women's room, needing some time to recharge from the group social contact anyway. You sit cross-legged in your corner as you begin to meditate on Nezu's technique. Ninjutsu.
When you last concentrated on it, you reached the conclusion - or, more pessimistically speaking, theory - that it was a framework, a baseline for more supernatural skills and techniques down the line, like Fishman Karate. You have at least a beginner's understanding of one of that skill's offshoot techniques, Mizudangan, however, which puts you a bit ahead on that front relative to Ninjutsu.
Another way they differ is that Ninjutsu is more linked to mundane human skills and talents, whereas Fishman Karate is more closely tied to fishman bodies, instinct, that natural connection to the sea. If you have a fishman body, or, you suppose, a fishman willing to teach someone with a more exceptional human body, it's mostly just hard work from there.
Ninjutsu is more complicated. It's based in an understanding of subordinate mundane skills and a few more supernatural techniques, like the killing intent Nezu hit you with on Warship Island. You have to endure an involuntary shudder at the flashback. It conjures uncomfortable memories - Arakaki on the Naughty Hurrah.
So even wrapping your mind around the initial framework of Ninjutsu is a challenge, because understanding it requires Headway to comprehend a multitude of related skills and the add-ons Ninjutsu inherently adds to those skills. Which is why, even knowing how absurd Headway's learning capabilities are first hand… you're a bit surprised when you feel the familiar euphoria of growth.
It's not just that initial bare glimpse of something greater, the '0 out of 10', if you will. It's the noticeable increase in subordinate talents. Skills like Stealth, Tactics, Swimming, and Geography, which were already high or even superhuman, see corresponding increases, but on top of that, new possibilities open up - an awareness of Knives and Polearms, a hint at a greater inner understanding with Meditation, and… Horses, of all things.
You have to bite down a near-panic response to the flood of information. But, it's… god, new opportunities keep opening up. A tactical mindset rapidly adopting on the fly, synergizing with your natural instincts to ambush. Blending into the shadows like a real Stranger. If you were dropped off on the Moon, you suspect your geographical skill would adapt easily enough just by glancing around.
Revising the Bombmaking skill to be renamed Explosives, removing Bombmaking and Demolitions from the list of things included on the list of skills trained by Ninjutsu. I'll be editing future General Training options to include only Explosives, which will cover all three. You'll still have an option to train the new Explosives skill with Usopp, and it will overwrite Bombmaking.
Swordsmanship is already level 10, so no increase there from training Ninjutsu. Since Ninjutsu is a Magic with a Category skill built-in, you receive +1 to…
Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, and Killing Intent. In some cases, this will merely be unlocking the skills, so you'll have a skill level of 0 (i.e., only a vague idea that these skills exist.)
Future levels will be even harder than training Ninjutsu 0 was.
A full breakdown of where this puts you skill-wise will be included down at the bottom of the update in the Gains and Rolls spoiler tab.
Swordsmanship is already level 10, so no increase there from training Ninjutsu. Since Ninjutsu is a Magic with a Category skill built-in, you receive +1 to…
Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, and Killing Intent. In some cases, this will merely be unlocking the skills, so you'll have a skill level of 0 (i.e., only a vague idea that these skills exist.)
Future levels will be even harder than training Ninjutsu 0 was.
A full breakdown of where this puts you skill-wise will be included down at the bottom of the update in the Gains and Rolls spoiler tab.
The rush of progress from the long-awaited Ninjutsu epiphany almost lets you recover from the disappointment of Kachi Kachi not being as accommodating. That, and a nice box lunch from Sanji. You wander out on the deck. There's a drizzle and the waves are noticeably choppy, but at this point, you're a natural enough Sailor that you barely even notice. You note Zoro casually napping in the rain, paying no heed to the rocking Merry.
You're scarfing down some salted squid meat and canned vegetables when you feel a presence. That's… perhaps not the most specific way you could have described it, but seasoned Sailors often know when one of these is looming. You can feel it in your bones the same way Nami can feel changes in the weather. "Rogue wave! Positions!" you bellow with bear vocal cords.
The Grand Line is a horrible fucking place. The conditions weren't even right for one of these! The crew emerges and assembles, Zoro joining you as you grab the ropes for the mainsail and begin adjusting, grabbing the wind so as to move… east. That's the safest direction, which will avoid the bulk of the wave once it truly manifests. "Luffy! Mizzen!"
"Got it!"
The wave forms, the energy of smaller and larger waves colliding building on each other, coalescing into something much, much worse. The Merry frantically sails away from the impending rogue wave, newer modernized sails carrying her more easily than their predecessors. You can see a thirty-foot monstrosity rising up from the spot where you were just a few minutes ago, and it's only growing.
The force of the wave's edges meets the Merry, and you feel the ship almost skid, shuddering and being pushed away from its steering path. Whoever's at the rudder - likely Usopp - manages admirably, working with the sudden pressure despite barely being able to see it, relying solely on operating by feel. You aren't the only natural talent here.
You realize with dawning horror that what you just saw was only the first rogue wave, that it's building and accumulating strength from its surroundings. Despite its successor not being remotely close to your location, it collides with nearby waves, forming pseudo-whirlpools that splash out on deck and yank on the Merry, nearly capsizing it. You call forth a wing for Zoro to grab as he almost loses balance on the slippery deck, and Luffy has to toss out a limb for Vivi.
You're lucky that you've taught the Straw Hats well. That could have killed each and every one of them if you hadn't. The Merry makes it into calmer waters after a hasty detour, and the crew watches in muted awe as hundred-foot, two-hundred-foot waves start spreading out and battering that slice of sea.
The crisis over, you hand Luffy the bilge pump to remove the worst of the splashes, and you supervise with only a little trepidation. He seems like he's having fun. As if the ocean hadn't just tried to kill you, clear skies bloom from a sky that had presented itself as merely a cloudy, rainy day. You shake your head in bitter amusement.
Everyone seems alright, and so the crew moves on with their day, everyone seemingly fine with their lives having just been on the metaphorical precipice. You bite down a snicker when you see the captain whooping loudly and chasing a furious Nami, using the bilge pump as a makeshift super soaker now that the bulk of the seawater is gone.
"Good job with the rudder there," you tell Usopp, finding him in the lounge room, as expected. "Nice instincts."
He shakes his head. "Lucky. That's all. I'm just glad we're alive. Thanks for that heads up."
You wave him off. "Don't worry about it. Hope it didn't mess up your research too much."
"Nah. I wasn't doing anything sensitive with those waves as choppy as they were. I was taking a look at the Ginga Pachinko. Maybe there's some way I can figure out to make it better for when we get to Foolshout. I dunno."
"Second pair of eyes might help," you offer. "Show me some tricks, see if anything comes to mind."
Usopp offers you a sheepish smile. "Sure you can't just make a cool new one to compare it to?"
"Your combat style's too weird and improvised for me to keep up with as I am now," you reply. You aren't sure that's true, but it feels right to say.
"Hmph," he says, mock offended, puffing up his chest.. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should," you grin.
The two of you spend a bit of time out on the deck, Usopp pointing out everything from angle peculiarities to alignment problems he sometimes experiences with firing from awkward positions - you point out ways that the file or other new tools might help with that. Little things, nothing that really taxes you or trains your skills, but tips that Usopp might find useful.
In exchange, you practice with his slingshot as he supervises, and you become a better Marksman. It's nothing too special, you were already close to a breakthrough, and given Usopp's direct attention, you bet you could have become not only one of the greatest primitive marksmen on Bet (at least, relative to a time where those were more common), but the best a human from your homeworld possibly could be. Of course, even if you had achieved that lofty rank, Usopp would still be a fair bit better than you.
You leave dinner and head home to Earth-Bet-
Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Date: Friday, January 21, 2011
-where, after checking in on Dad, you shearwater over to the Boat Graveyard. It's pretty close to Bradwell and some other spots on New Wave's list, so theoretically, once you finish here, you can head right on down to what you've taken to calling in your head 'the Dirty Syringes District'. Hm. Might need something catchier to call it. Especially since that name would likely cover a depressing chunk of your hometown.
For now, though, you mostly focus in on Fishman Karate. The freezing water of the Boat Graveyard no longer disturbs you too much, and you aren't really doing any intense acrobatics with the Swordfish Fishman form, at least, not any that directly focus on wholly physical use of the transformation.
Fishman Karate is a magical fighting style that emerges from the natural biology and water-affinity of the Fishman race. You still aren't too skilled with it - like Ninjutsu, Devil Fruits, and most supernatural skills outside of your current realm of understanding, Headway has more trouble coming to grips with how to use it than it would with mundane skills. It doesn't make progress impossible, but it does make it slower, at least until you've expanded that frame of reference.
When underwater, and while concentrating a lot more intently than you would prefer to have to in a combat situation, you can use the water in your surroundings to project outwards into pushes, pulls, drawing objects in, or violently expelling them, can increase the water pressure around your vicinity.
For the time being, any Fishman Karate you try is limited to the area immediately around the body, supplementing conventional strikes, and it's not yet worth the trouble, the focus required making it less useful than just punching or grabbing something.
That doesn't change today - perhaps in the future. Deciding you've had enough of training for today at least, you stealthily surface, Sube Sube off the water, and make your way to Piercings' workspace.
He looks pissed - if you had to guess, that's because of the situation with Skidmark and Mush. His phone calls with 'clients' are even more clipped than usual, angrier. There's more intense swearing when the person on the other end equivocates, tries to ask for the equivalent of lines of credit, or says they'll be late. Normally he'd just look bored and calmly tell them to 'pay up or fuck off.'
You recognize a few repeat customers in the steady line of people who approach him, and for some inexplicable reason, Headway deeply appreciates your efforts at capturing photos of them, and Photography gets an impressive growth spurt.
No phone calls from Skidmark, Dwayne, Mush, 'Stain', or any other persons of import to give you any more relevant clues. (You belatedly realize you don't even know Piercings' real name.) You aren't sure you would have made this connection a few days ago, but multiple times, you spot him looking over in one particular direction.
It's not towards the warehouse where Skidmark held his 'accounting meeting' earlier this month, but, with your Geography knowledge, and the help of a convenient increase in Investigation on top of your existing Perception, you recognize that it might be Cammell Street, one of the spots on New Wave's list. Piercings storms off to his apartment, you're almost certain, and you decide that this is a good point to stop for the evening. Tomorrow evening, you'll check out Cammell.
You give Dad a quick update, maybe downplaying the danger of the rogue wave just a little, before you head back to the Merry and crash on your hammock.
Day 1
70:70. Seaman (AoS) 9 unlocked
48:80. Boatswain 10 not unlocked. 92:95. Carpentry 7 not unlocked. (Daily boatswain actions).
70:90. Disguise 6 not unlocked. 63:60. Acting 5 unlocked.
-$538.93 (Buying some extra supplies - bilge pump, fire extinguisher, sealant, etc. Modernize the Merry project.)
75:40. Acrobatics 5 unlocked. 15:90. Acrobatics 6 not unlocked.
48:60. Master Resistance 1 not unlocked.
27:80. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
62:00. Sleight-of-Hand 0 unlocked. 30:20. Sleight-of-Hand 1 unlocked. 19:50. Sleight-of-Hand 2 not unlocked.
80:??. Okay progress with Merchant Hunt project. Not so much activity from Piercings, only one work related call, to 'Dwayne' about Mush. Mush is 'getting fucking weird' again. Stain mentioned. Nothing much more significant - skill training is the big gain.
69:60. Investigation 3 unlocked. 58:40. Forensics 2 unlocked. 70:80. Forensics 3 not unlocked. 65:70. Photography 2 not unlocked. 84:80. Criminal Psychology 3 unlocked. 58:60. Stealth 8 not unlocked. 71:100. Perception 9 not unlocked.
Day 2
24:100. Seaman (AoS) 10 not unlocked.
04:75. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
72:40. Teaching 5 unlocked. (Teaching Straw Hats to use bilge pump, proper fire extinguisher safety (like, half the time is spent making sure *Luffy* knows not to play with it), sealant, as well as some other odds and ends. Project concluded.
85+5:90. Ninjutsu 0 unlocked. Bonus will now be a +15 bonus. Corresponding downward skills upgraded or unlocked.
34:70. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
95:00. Marksmanship (Primitive) 4 unlocked. 07:40. Marksmanship (Primitive) 5 not unlocked.
92:100. Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4 not unlocked.
30:??. Overall bad roll mitigated by increasing relevant skills. Piercings is more irritable than normal, Investigation and common sense suggesting it's to do with Skidmark's temperament. Perception+Investigation linking together shows Piercings glancing a couple times in a particular direction during the night before he goes home, a quick look at the New Wave notepad reveals it's one of the streets listed there. Taylor resolves to investigate the next day.
90:90. Investigation 4 unlocked. 66:60. Forensics 3 unlocked. 100:40. Photography 2 unlocked. Photography 3 unlocked. Natural critical success, 2 levels unlocked! 04:100. Photography 4 not unlocked. 01:80. Criminal Psychology 4 not unlocked. 09:100. Stealth 9 not unlocked. 55:95. Perception 9 not unlocked.
Loot
-$538.93 Mahon USD for reinforce the Merry project.
Bilge pump, fire extinguisher, sealant, other misc. tools for Merry.
The upgrade in Ninjutsu makes this a more happening loot/gains roll than others. Keep an eye out for errors - they're more likely with more moving parts.
+1 Acrobatics (5)
+2 Acting (6) - Ninjutsu +1 included on top of existing conventional gain from shopping on Mahon
+1 Blunt Weapons (4)
+1 Criminal Psychology (3)
+1 Disguise (6)
+1 Explosives (5) formerly known as Bombmaking
+2 Forensics (3)
+1 Freerunner (5)
+1 Geography (7)
+1 Horsemanship (0) New skill!
+2 Investigation (4)
+1 Killing Intent (2)
+1 Knives (0) New skill!
+1 Marksmanship (Primitive) (4)
+1 Meditation (0) New skill!
+1 Meteorology (5)
+1 Ninjutsu (0) New skill!
+2 Photography (3)
+1 Polearms (0) New skill!
+1 Seaman (AoS) (9)
+2 Sleight-of-Hand (1) New skill!
+1 Stealth (8)
+1 Swimming (7)
+1 Tactics (8)
+1 Teaching (5)
70:70. Seaman (AoS) 9 unlocked
48:80. Boatswain 10 not unlocked. 92:95. Carpentry 7 not unlocked. (Daily boatswain actions).
70:90. Disguise 6 not unlocked. 63:60. Acting 5 unlocked.
-$538.93 (Buying some extra supplies - bilge pump, fire extinguisher, sealant, etc. Modernize the Merry project.)
75:40. Acrobatics 5 unlocked. 15:90. Acrobatics 6 not unlocked.
48:60. Master Resistance 1 not unlocked.
27:80. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
62:00. Sleight-of-Hand 0 unlocked. 30:20. Sleight-of-Hand 1 unlocked. 19:50. Sleight-of-Hand 2 not unlocked.
80:??. Okay progress with Merchant Hunt project. Not so much activity from Piercings, only one work related call, to 'Dwayne' about Mush. Mush is 'getting fucking weird' again. Stain mentioned. Nothing much more significant - skill training is the big gain.
69:60. Investigation 3 unlocked. 58:40. Forensics 2 unlocked. 70:80. Forensics 3 not unlocked. 65:70. Photography 2 not unlocked. 84:80. Criminal Psychology 3 unlocked. 58:60. Stealth 8 not unlocked. 71:100. Perception 9 not unlocked.
Day 2
24:100. Seaman (AoS) 10 not unlocked.
04:75. Boatswain 10 not unlocked.
72:40. Teaching 5 unlocked. (Teaching Straw Hats to use bilge pump, proper fire extinguisher safety (like, half the time is spent making sure *Luffy* knows not to play with it), sealant, as well as some other odds and ends. Project concluded.
85+5:90. Ninjutsu 0 unlocked. Bonus will now be a +15 bonus. Corresponding downward skills upgraded or unlocked.
34:70. Kachi Kachi no Mi 4 not unlocked.
95:00. Marksmanship (Primitive) 4 unlocked. 07:40. Marksmanship (Primitive) 5 not unlocked.
92:100. Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4 not unlocked.
30:??. Overall bad roll mitigated by increasing relevant skills. Piercings is more irritable than normal, Investigation and common sense suggesting it's to do with Skidmark's temperament. Perception+Investigation linking together shows Piercings glancing a couple times in a particular direction during the night before he goes home, a quick look at the New Wave notepad reveals it's one of the streets listed there. Taylor resolves to investigate the next day.
90:90. Investigation 4 unlocked. 66:60. Forensics 3 unlocked. 100:40. Photography 2 unlocked. Photography 3 unlocked. Natural critical success, 2 levels unlocked! 04:100. Photography 4 not unlocked. 01:80. Criminal Psychology 4 not unlocked. 09:100. Stealth 9 not unlocked. 55:95. Perception 9 not unlocked.
Loot
-$538.93 Mahon USD for reinforce the Merry project.
Bilge pump, fire extinguisher, sealant, other misc. tools for Merry.
The upgrade in Ninjutsu makes this a more happening loot/gains roll than others. Keep an eye out for errors - they're more likely with more moving parts.
+1 Acrobatics (5)
+2 Acting (6) - Ninjutsu +1 included on top of existing conventional gain from shopping on Mahon
+1 Blunt Weapons (4)
+1 Criminal Psychology (3)
+1 Disguise (6)
+1 Explosives (5) formerly known as Bombmaking
+2 Forensics (3)
+1 Freerunner (5)
+1 Geography (7)
+1 Horsemanship (0) New skill!
+2 Investigation (4)
+1 Killing Intent (2)
+1 Knives (0) New skill!
+1 Marksmanship (Primitive) (4)
+1 Meditation (0) New skill!
+1 Meteorology (5)
+1 Ninjutsu (0) New skill!
+2 Photography (3)
+1 Polearms (0) New skill!
+1 Seaman (AoS) (9)
+2 Sleight-of-Hand (1) New skill!
+1 Stealth (8)
+1 Swimming (7)
+1 Tactics (8)
+1 Teaching (5)
You have one day to vote on now. Day 1 (Saturday, January 22, 2011, Friday, June 3, 1532, Saturday, November 18, 2000). Vote closes on Tuesday, May 16, IRL, at 11:00 PM est.
Why do you have only one day to vote on? When structuring the next project rolls after I finished writing the update, I rolled a 93 for you lucky ducks for the next day of the Merchant Hunt project. I think you might have an idea of what that means.
I was really expecting it to take longer than this, that's why I equivocated with the ?? project length, but, no, with what I've put forth, with Taylor's skills and the situation established, it doesn't make sense for it to take that long, especially with a good damn roll like a 93. The outcome is preordained - I've had an idea in mind for the conclusion for a while. Predating the resumption of the quest, believe it or not.
Irresponsible gang not bothering to hide their activites, believing themselves beneath the attention of the Bay's power players + thinker observing them = consequences for them come quicker than expected.
(I'm torn whether you'll have a separate update for the remaining day, or if I'll have a giant update for all three remaining days to Foolshout Island. Probably the former, even if it will result in a shorter update, I'd rather have that than a giant update.)
The Merry will enter Foolshout's climate zone (thereby ending the mandatory boatswain/First Stretch-related actions) on Monday, January 24, 2011, Sunday, June 5, 1532, Monday, November 20, 2000. By Taylor and Nami's estimation, the Merry will arrive at Foolshout on (Wednesday, January 26, 2011, Tuesday, June 7, 1532, Wednesday, November 22, 2000).
You will have four out of the usual seven actions available to vote on. One is taken up by First Stretch-related boatswain actions, and two are related to the developing VILLAIN HUNT project. The reinforce the Merry project is concluded. If you have any input on how you'd like to approach interactions with the Protectorate, feel free to include it in your plan as a write-in, or you can leave it with me. I have veto power, as usual.
Further projects/VILLAIN HUNTs are on hold until after the Foolshout crisis is resolved. (They would be mandatorily put on hold if they had been ongoing upon arrival anyway, it's just convenient that they're all finished.) I've added in the +45 bonuses to Ninjutsu and Engineering discovered in the last thread that were never used.
There were a lot of moving parts this update - please keep an eye out for errors and I'll correct ASAP.
Going Merry actions. 1 action each. Max 1 action per person, 3 different persons per day. New options may unlock as you get to know the crew better.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 30% of Boatswain 10. 75% of Shipwright 6. 0% of Teaching 6.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 50% of Navigation 5. 30% of Navigation 6. 0% of Meteorology 6. 60% of Cartography 1. 10% of Cartography 2.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 90% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 3. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 4.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5. 20% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 6.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 0% of Explosives 6. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 70% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 80% of Peacock Slashers 0. 15% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 25% of Blunt Weapons 5.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 25% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Swim alongside the Merry as it's in motion. 10% of Swimming 8. 40% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available to Swordfish Fishman).
-[ ] Create a polearm using what's left of the scrap you bought from Vulcan for modernizing the Merry. It might invite awkward questions on Mahon. Creates makeshift (high-quality, given the conditions and your skill) polearm to use while training. Not your best work, but good enough without having to spend any money or go out of your way. Unlocks Polearms training option. 10% of Blacksmith 8. 75% of Weaponsmith 6.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of Armorsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 40% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 5% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydromancy is hard, controlling violent hydromantic projections… even more so. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 20% of Killing Intent 3.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 40% of Criminal Psychology 4.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 10% of Forensics 3.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Parahuman Studies. At this level, you're past reading scientific papers, and more focused on the inner workings of parahumanity. 0% of Parahuman Studies 7. (unavailable until special actions taken)
-[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 0% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% of Knives 1. 75% of Knives 2. 30% of Knives 3.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 30% of Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+65 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 20% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 10% of Driving 4. Taylor has no car of her own, and isn't comfortable asking to borrow Dad's without a damn good Vehicle Mechanic skill (we'll say 4-5). So this would be purely book learning, theoreticals.
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 9. (+19 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 20% of Photography 4.
-[ ] Sleight-of-Hand. The manual dexterity and distraction capability required for skills like pickpocketing and such. Training on your own without a partner will be difficult, maybe as a crewmate on the Merry instead. 40% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 0% of Sleight-of-Hand 3.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 5% of Stealth 9.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 25% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 10% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 0% of Tactician 9.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 25% of Public Speaking 4.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 10% of Leadership 5.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 0% of Acting 7.
-[ ] Disguise. 0% of Disguise 7.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 40% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action unless stated otherwise.
-[ ] Help out around the ship. 30% of Boatswain 10. 75% of Shipwright 6. 0% of Teaching 6.
-[ ] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?
-[ ] Lift weights with Zoro. 40% of Weightlifting 9.
-[ ] Two swords is halfway to three swords, right? Ask Zoro for some tips on wielding two swords at once. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (reduced due to lack of room)
-[ ] Help Sanji in the kitchen. 20% of Cooking 7.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about plants and animals. 0% Survival 6. Increase in related skills. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Sanji about training your poison resistance. ???
-[ ] Lockpicking lessons with Nami. 100% of Locksmith 2. 40% of Locksmith 3.
-[ ] Hang out while Nami works. 50% of Navigation 5. 30% of Navigation 6. 0% of Meteorology 6. 60% of Cartography 1. 10% of Cartography 2.
-[ ] Show Nami some Earth-Bet science and history books. Potential increase in academic fields. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Nami about Sleight-of-Hand training. 90% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 50% of Sleight-of-Hand 3. 10% of Sleight-of-Hand 4.
-[ ] Ask Usopp for sharpshooting lessons. 100% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 5. 20% of Marksmanship (Primitive) 6.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about explosives. 0% of Explosives 6. Potential increase in Chemistry. Potential increase in Teaching.
-[ ] Ask Usopp about training your poison resistance. Potential increase in Poison Resistance, Potential increase in Poisoncrafting.
-[ ] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 100% of Trapper 2. 70% of Trapper 3. 30% of Trapper 4.
-[ ] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', and try to phrase it in a way that doesn't make you feel like a creep. 70% of Master Resistance 1. (This skill is otherwise impossible to train for now.)
-[ ] Ask Vivi to show you the Peacock Slashers style. Your power tells you it's an indigenous Alabastan style. 80% of Peacock Slashers 0. 15% of Peacock Slashers 1. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to teach you about handling Blunt Weapons. 25% of Blunt Weapons 5.
-[ ] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 25% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Swim alongside the Merry as it's in motion. 10% of Swimming 8. 40% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available to Swordfish Fishman).
-[ ] Create a polearm using what's left of the scrap you bought from Vulcan for modernizing the Merry. It might invite awkward questions on Mahon. Creates makeshift (high-quality, given the conditions and your skill) polearm to use while training. Not your best work, but good enough without having to spend any money or go out of your way. Unlocks Polearms training option. 10% of Blacksmith 8. 75% of Weaponsmith 6.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask first, please.
Earth-Bet actions.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list to buy personally. 1 action.
-[ ] Write-in a shopping list for dad to buy. 1 action.
-[ ] Your money from your account with Markus and Federson should have come in by now. Talk to Dad and see if you can reach out to a local bank branch to surreptitiously withdraw funds from your cape account, get a credit card. You imagine it's an involved process. 1 action, will unlock a future (next few days) mandatory action to actually withdraw the funds.
-[ ] Look into how to register with the PRT. You aren't sure you're fully willing to commit to it yet, but it seems like something that you need to do to really start to operate as a heroine on Bet. 1 action. Opens an option for a vote next update.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. Keep in mind, almost anything you can currently do on Bet, you can do on Mahon, with a bit more effort up front and without worrying about Watchful Eyes.
Earth-Mahon actions.
-[ ] Practice smithing at your chosen iron works. 1 action. 15% of Blacksmith 8, 75% of Armorsmith 6.
--[ ] You may write-in a specific item to work on, subject to veto. Taylor's choice otherwise. Some items may take multiple actions.
-[ ] Visit a market stall in Mahon-NYC to buy specific items that could be of use to you or your allies. 1 action. If you want to buy a load of stuff, it may take multiple actions.
--[ ] Write-in here, but keep it reasonable. Subject to veto.
-[ ] Use the library to do various research on potentially useful local knowledge. 1 action per location.
Training: Powers. 1 action each.
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Kachi Kachi no Mi: The ability to give your body properties of rock. Also known as the "Rock Hard Fruit". 40% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 4. (+20 bonus available)
-[ ] Devil Fruit: Paramecia: Sube Sube no Mi: The ability to have things slide off your skin. The Slip-Slip Fruit. 5% of Sube Sube no Mi 9.
-[ ] Fishman Karate (Beginner). This martial art is meant for water breathers to fight in a three-dimensional arena. It's a long road to go down, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 4. (+30 bonus available)
-[ ] Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan). Hydromancy is hard, controlling violent hydromantic projections… even more so. You can now train this anytime at the Boat Graveyard. 20% of Fishman Jujutsu (Mizudangan) 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Giant Fur Fish. An amphibious animal, native to Furskin Island. 100% of Giant Fur Fish 0. 90% of Giant Fur Fish 1. 60% of Giant Fur Fish 2. 30% of Giant Fur Fish 3.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Longarm. Whoa. Nifty. You could get an extra joint. 100% of Longarm 0. 90% of Longarm 1. 60% of Longarm 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Goldfish Fishman. 100% of Goldfish Fishman 0. 90% of Goldfish Fishman 1. 40% of Goldfish Fishman 2.
-[ ] Shape Changing: Swordfish Fishman. 30% of Swordfish Fishman 7. (+10 bonus available)
Training: Magic. 1 action each.
-[ ] Fengten's Tekkutoryu. The pirate Fengten used a style with brass knuckles that amplified his punches to superhuman levels. 20% of Fengten's Tekkutoryu 0. This is a magical Mayim combat style.
-[ ] Ninjutsu (category skill). The ninja you fought on Warship Island had a few special techniques she used that seemed beyond human ability. Headway tells you that these techniques are derived from mastery of other skills, but it's possible that by poking away at the framework within, you could skip the process of studying those skills, and have a mystical ability on top of it. 0% of Ninjutsu 1. (+60 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[ ] Killing Intent. You can now consciously intimidate someone just by projecting an intent to kill. You have a feeling this is much more difficult given that you don't intend to kill anyone. If you did find yourself in such a situation, it would increase far more readily. After that snail call with Mr. 5, you're suddenly understanding this a bit more. 20% of Killing Intent 3.
Training: Academics. 1 action each.
-[ ] Math. 25% of Mathematics 7.
-[ ] History (category skill). Increases Earth-Bet History and Earth-Mayim History. 20% of History 6.
-[ ] Weapon History. 100% Weapon History 0. 50% Weapon History 1. 10% Weapon History 2.
-[ ] Computers (catch-up). 30% of Programming 7. 55% of Technical Support 6. 15% of Computer Maintenance 6.
-[ ] Criminal Psychology. Understanding criminals. 40% of Criminal Psychology 4.
-[ ] Forensics. How to analyze crime and track criminals. 10% of Forensics 3.
-[ ] Law Studies. The law is really important going forward. 50% of Law Studies 4.
-[ ] Science (category skill). 0% of Science 8.-(unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Science (catch-up). 85% of Biology 6. 40% of Chemistry 7. 5% of Geology 7. 85% of Physics 7.
Training: Languages. 1 action each.
-[ ] Spanish. 100% of Spanish 0. 50% of Spanish 1.
-[ ] Mandarin Chinese. 90% of Mandarin Chinese 0. 10% of Mandarin Chinese 1.
-[ ] French. 90% of French 0. 40% of French 1.
-[ ] Hindi. 75% of Hindi 0.
-[ ] German. 90% of German 0. 40% of German 1.
-[ ] Korean. 100% of Korean 0. 75% of Korean 1.
-[ ] Russian. 60% of Russian 0.
-[ ] Arabic. 75% of Arabic 0.
-[ ] Portuguese. 100% of Portuguese 0. 40% of Portuguese 1.
-[ ] Vietnamese. 80% of Vietnamese 0.
-[ ] Learn two new programming languages. 95% of Warrior's Type 1-5 (100% of 1-3). 95% of COM-VOY 1-5 (100% of 1-3).
Training: Mundane Combat/Fitness. 1 action each.
-[ ] Acrobatics. Flips and such. You can train this at the wildlife refuge, but it might be a better idea to talk to Horlio. 0% of Acrobatics 6.
-[ ] Dual Wielding. 0% of Dual Wielding 8. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Weightlifting. 20% of Weightlifting 9. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Knives. This skill covers combat using blades short enough to be considered knives, both in melee and thrown. You suspect your mastery of swordsmanship gives you a boost here. 100% of Knives 1. 75% of Knives 2. 30% of Knives 3.
-[ ] Running. You'll train in the countryside or in Earth-Mahon. 50% of Running 9.
-[ ] Freerunner. The art of maneuvering through obstacles. You like the word freerunning better than parkour. You can train this in the countryside. 30% of Freerunner 6.
-[ ] Boxing. You thought boxing was simple when you started. Boy were you wrong. 0% of Boxing 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Judo. 50% of Judo 7. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery.
-[ ] Kung Fu. You started with online videos, but by this point you're inventing techniques. 10% of Kung Fu 10. Slight chance of increase in Martial Arts Mastery. (+10 bonus available).
Training: Resistance skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cold Resistance. You can train this any time at the Boat Graveyard. 5% of Cold Resistance 7.
-[ ] Poison Resistance. Mundane poisons go straight through you and you remain functional to a degree. Maybe it's time to talk to Usopp or Sanji instead of training this on your own? 0% of Poison Resistance 8. 40% of Poisoncraft 4.
Training: Crafting and related skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Engineering (category skill). This could be a massively useful skill. 35% of Engineering 3. (+65 bonus available) (subskills are Bombmaking, Clockwork Engineering, Earth-Bet Engineering, and Shipwright)
-[ ] Clockwork Engineering. This is a specific type of engineering to do with conducting power though gears and springs, and with piezoelectricity and water and steam power. 60% Clockwork Engineering 2. Potential increase in Earth-Bet Engineering.
-[ ] Earth-Bet Engineering. Limit your studies to just mundane machines on Earth-Bet. 90% of Earth-Bet Engineering 3. 60% of Earth-Bet Engineering 4. 10% of Earth-Bet Engineering 5.
-[ ] Poisoncraft. Learn how to make poisons from scratch, and from natural ingredients. 5% of Naturalist 7. 70% of Poisoncraft 4.
-[ ] Repair. This is a general skill, covering the repair of objects. 80% of Repair 4. 10% of Repair 5.
-[ ] Carpentry. 20% of Carpentry 7.
-[ ] Electrician. 60% of Electrician 3.
-[ ] Plumbing. 70% of Plumbing 2. 20% Plumbing 3.
-[ ] Vehicle Mechanic. This is a general skill covering the fixing and maintenance of vehicles, of any mundane sort. 100% of Vehicle Mechanic 0. 70% of Vehicle Mechanic 1.
Training: Practical skills. 1 action each.
-[ ] Cooking. Earth-Mayim isn't a world that has convenient supermarkets. 0% of Cooking 7. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Doctor. Crocus gave you a medical textbook, and you'll combine that with basic resources available online to study the medical profession. 0% of Doctor 3. Doctor is a category skill for Anatomy, Medicine, and First Aid.
-[ ] Driving. 10% of Driving 4. Taylor has no car of her own, and isn't comfortable asking to borrow Dad's without a damn good Vehicle Mechanic skill (we'll say 4-5). So this would be purely book learning, theoreticals.
-[ ] First Aid. There's a first aid kit just sitting in the kitchen. Honestly, you're pretty good at using it already. 0% of First Aid 9. 10% of Medicine 6. 10% of Anatomy 6. 1 action.
-[ ] Meteorology. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Navigation. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Perception. You might have glasses, but that doesn't mean you don't notice things. Or can't. 10% of Perception 9. (+19 bonus available)
-[ ] Photography. Now that you have a fancy camera, you best learn how to use it. 20% of Photography 4.
-[ ] Sleight-of-Hand. The manual dexterity and distraction capability required for skills like pickpocketing and such. Training on your own without a partner will be difficult, maybe as a crewmate on the Merry instead. 40% of Sleight-of-Hand 2. 0% of Sleight-of-Hand 3.
-[ ] Stealth. Hide from animals and people. Can be trained at the wildlife refuge for now. 5% of Stealth 9.
-[ ] Seaman (category skill). You're going to be spending a long time on ships. You're good, but you could be better. 25% of Seaman 7. 1 action.
-[ ] Survival (category skill). Increases Naturalist, Fishing, Hunting, Skinning. 0% of Survival 6.
-[ ] Fishing. You're going to be on a ship for extended periods of time, and this might be necessary. 10% of Fishing 6.
-[ ] Trapper (catch-up). Learn how to set up traps and the like. 70% of Trapper 2. 40% of Trapper 3.
-[ ] Tactics. You're going to be a superhuman with rapidly growing abilities. You might as well learn how to best leverage said abilities. 0% of Tactician 9.
-[ ] Public Speaking. Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. 25% of Public Speaking 4.
-[ ] Leadership. Another tough one, though you feel like you're growing into the role. 10% of Leadership 5.
-[ ] Politics. 50% of Politics 0.
Training: General. 1 action each.
-[ ] Clothier (category skill). 0% of Clothier 8. (unavailable as component skills are too low)
-[ ] Fashion. How to make clothes look good. 10% Fashion 7.
-[ ] Locksmith. Man, Dad will be confused when he finds out you're trying this out. 80% of Locksmith 2. 20% of Locksmith 3. (Refer to Going Merry Actions)
-[ ] Woodwind Musician. For your mom. 50% of Woodwind Musician 4. 10% of Woodwind Musician 5. (+50 bonus available)
-[ ] Painting. 100% of Painting 3. 40% of Painting 4. 0% of Painting 5.
-[ ] Singing. 50% of Singing 0.
-[ ] Dancing. 70% of Dancing 1. 15% of Dancing 2.
-[ ] Acting. 0% of Acting 7.
-[ ] Disguise. 0% of Disguise 7.
-[ ] Meditation. Can help you center yourself in moments of panic or concern. 40% of Meditation 1.
-[ ] Write-in. Ask me first. 1 action unless stated otherwise.
Sorry for the shorter update this time - I couldn't really think of ways to extend it that seemened natural. There were fewer critical conversations that needed to happen (the Vivi chat, the tell Danny chat, establishing character moments), so a lot of it is just training, finishing and progressing projects. There will likely be updates like this as the quest goes on.
Please feel free to continue with the discussion on how to assign Slamu's points. I've already made the rolls for tomorrow's event, they were all successful. (80% odds, it'd almost be stranger if they failed.) Foolshout is more likely to have team/collaborative battles, with correspondingly lower odds (50% on defeat, 100% on death if it comes to that).
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