Headway/Nexus Quest 4 (Worm/Gamer-lite/Multicross/Dimensional Travel/One Piece/X-Men Evo)

[Ompa60]

I am curious as to what Taylor looks like in the one piece style.

I am imagining more emphasis on her height, glasses, hair.

And I am now imagining that she is still wearing glasses as an albatross and bear.

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Here's what jcw3 thinks she looks like in that style. Or as close to it as he could find.

This Taylor fanart is disturbingly close to how I was imagining non-Sube Sube Taylor in the One Piece manga style.

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[Zavvnao]

Here's what jcw3 thinks she looks like in that style. Or as close to it as he could find.

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I had somehow forgotten about this. I think this is cool.

 

[fictionfan]

Here's what jcw3 thinks she looks like in that style. Or as close to it as he could find.

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At least before Oda started drawing all the women the same way.
_____________
Not sure if the Soul-soul fruit will be useless or overpowered on bet. Either it is useless because nothing on Bet has souls or overpowered because nothing on Bet has soul.

 

[jcw3]

Spoiler: ROLLS AND GAINS

59:50. Master Resistance 2 unlocked.
80:00. Capoeira 5 unlocked. 39:20. Capoeira 6 unlocked. 27:100. Martial Arts Mastery 7 not unlocked. 11:90. Capoeira 7 not unlocked.
26:60. Acrobatics 6 not unlocked.
39:100. Fishman Karate (Beginner) 5 not unlocked.
08:95. Kachi Kachi no Mi 5 not unlocked.
13:100. Ninjutsu 2 not unlocked.
89:80. Trapper 5 unlocked.

48:40. Acrobatics 6 unlocked.
40:80. Master Resistance 3 not unlocked.
99:90. Kachi Kachi no Mi 5 unlocked.
33:95. Ninjutsu 2 not unlocked.
55:95. Fishman Karate (Beginner) 5 not unlocked.
81:100. Trapper 6 not unlocked.
Conversation with Luffy on (among other things) the subject of incantations. Opens up write-in options for called attacks (to be elaborated on in update, in-universe Taylor can begin developing them as she learns more Mayim style techniques.

+1 Acrobatics (6)
+2 Capoeira (6)
+1 Kachi Kachi no Mi (5)
+1 Master Resistance (2)
+1 Trapper (5)

Write-ins for named attacks based on current capabilities, subject to veto, will be allowable. Read the update for details on this.

Plan: Final Preparations - 11 (LightLan, Kejmur, fictionfan, sleepypanda, gjones600, Chiperninerm, wizig, Daniel14541, BunnyLord, Bolo, Darklord.)
Plan Calm Before the Storm - 1 (Ompa60)
Plan: Preparations for the future - 1 (hakunoX)

Closing the vote a bit early. I know you were all waiting on the results with bated breath.

I've written up the first action, and I've done some work on the second. Writing is in progress, but I suspect 2.26 will be a pretty big update. Not only do you have the thirteen training actions, many of which will have conversations or character moments, but you also have the talk between Luffy and Taylor the night before arrival, and then I'll have to have the initial write-up of the arrival on Foolshout, where the players will have a choice of how to proceed.

The Foolshout arc will be more experimental than what we've seen so far in H/NQ 4 so far. I actually haven't ever written anything like it mechanically, so we'll have to see how this goes.

Expect the update to take a few days, maybe arriving, conservatively, early next week.

 

[fictionfan]

among other things) the subject of incantations. Opens up write-in options for called attacks (to be elaborated on in update, in-universe Taylor can begin developing them as she learns more Mayim style techniques.

Click to shrink...

Do they have to be attacks? Luffy's gum-gum rocket has many other uses when it comes to getting around.

I personally am interested in developing a Slip-Slip stride like I talked about earlier.

 

[spudman]

Sounds like an incentive to learn Mayim techniques. Besides fish man karate there's Fengten's technique and Vivi's Peacock slashers style. Along with training the Musashi Style when we have a chance.

 

[fictionfan]

Sounds like an incentive to learn Mayim techniques. Besides fish man karate there's Fengten's technique and Vivi's Peacock slashers style. Along with training the Musashi Style when we have a chance.

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A technique will be a sort of combination skill.

Like Luffy's gum-gum pistol that is a combination of Luffy's devil fruit, 'boxing?' and general fitness. Take away any of those and the technique doesn't work.

By the same metric Taylor can currently do a "Knock out blow" using superhuman Aikido skill a marshall art designed for managing non lethal take downs. But if she focused purely on a "knock out blow" technique combining Aikido, doctor and say some psychic power then she could likely make some far greater than the sum of it's parts.

Ninjutsu might actually be a case of this where a bunch of skills have been integrated into something greater than the sum of it's parts and normally the idea that you could train Ninjutsu without first mastering all the component skills is just crazy lunacy. But headway has allowed us to work backwards and if we meet any real ninjas they are going to call bullshit.

Or I might just be spinning wheels and the fact that Taylor already integrates skills into her fighting at level 5 indicates that happens automatically and I might just be adding extra training where it isn't needed.

 

[Simon. Andersen]

27:100. Martial Arts Mastery 7 not unlocked.

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We are already at 7. It's 8 that next, not 7.

 

[Daniel14541]

We are already at 7. It's 8 that next, not 7.

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Also how many times do we need to roll against martial arts 8 with a DC of 100 before it increments down? I thought mastery skills where easier to level because all they do is make training other skills easier? This would be the second roll against DC 100 on martial arts 8 at this point.

 

[Kejmur]

Conversation with Luffy on (among other things) the subject of incantations. Opens up write-in options for called attacks (to be elaborated on in update, in-universe Taylor can begin developing them as she learns more Mayim style techniques.

Click to shrink...

I wonder if it will also include techniques from other worlds at one point. Especially as...

By the same metric Taylor can currently do a "Knock out blow" using superhuman Aikido skill a marshall art designed for managing non lethal take downs.

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As this shows that there is a potential to not ignore our more 'mundane' fighting skills as well. What would Boxing 10 gives for example, as it is already at 9? Max Capoeira?

I just hope that we don't dismiss everything that isn't supernatural from now on, as those can still work for potential attack unlocks, and should be easier to train than others.

Ninjutsu might actually be a case of this where a bunch of skills have been integrated into something greater than the sum of it's parts and normally the idea that you could train Ninjutsu without first mastering all the component skills is just crazy lunacy. But headway has allowed us to work backwards and if we meet any real ninjas they are going to call bullshit.

Click to shrink...

I suspect it will be the thing. Something like [True Shinobi] that would show the whole mastery of all those skills, instead of them being spread around like that, as I agree with this opinion.

Or I might just be spinning wheels and the fact that Taylor already integrates skills into her fighting at level 5 indicates that happens automatically and I might just be adding extra training where it isn't needed.

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I don't think so. Although I also hope that this doesn't discourage players to keep training skills over level 5.

Anyway, some sort of bonuses that encourage players to keep training skills wouldn't hurt anyway, over small bonuses to making other skills easier to learn.

It reminds me of some series talking that 'martial artists never, ever stop training their basics. This is where it all begins'. And well, I like the sentiment behind it. Never forget your beginnings. Keep your basics sharp, as they may a difference between one second of life and death.

Sounds like an incentive to learn Mayim techniques. Besides fish man karate there's Fengten's technique and Vivi's Peacock slashers style. Along with training the Musashi Style when we have a chance.

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Part of me hopes that it won't end up with people being over-obsessed with all the supernatural stuff, and may end up with people ignoring more 'mundane' skills. Constant fighting training may become repetitive to read IMO.

 

[fictionfan]

Part of me hopes that it won't end up with people being over-obsessed with all the supernatural stuff, and may end up with people ignoring more 'mundane' skills. Constant fighting training may become repetitive to read IMO.

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Fighting training is only really interesting to read when we have a trainer of some sort which is very unfortunate for the fishman arts.

 

[spudman]

Part of me hopes that it won't end up with people being over-obsessed with all the supernatural stuff, and may end up with people ignoring more 'mundane' skills. Constant fighting training may become repetitive to read IMO.

Click to shrink...

We have been focusing on combat, but I think after Foolshout we'll see more variety with training.

I'm imagining one crew action, one Mahon action, one villain hunt action, and one miscellaneous project action a day. Leaves three actions a day for variety like various skills, crafting, etc.

 

[fictionfan]

Any plans for how we are going to use Skidmark's power?

 

[Ompa60]

Any plans for how we are going to use Skidmark's power?

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Well it synergizes with Sube Sube pretty well for maneuvering.

There's the way that Skidmark uses it: battlefield control.

We could basically make a rail gun using it.

Frankly it's one of the better shaker abilities in Worm. Skidmark is just unfortunately inebriated and stupid.

If you're asking about a technique: Launch Guillotine: Hold your ground while building up applications of Skidmark's power in front of you, then perform sword strike after stepping through the acceleration field with Sube Sube active to allow you to maintain the momentum all the way to your target.

 

[Simon. Andersen]

Frankly it's one of the better shaker abilities in Worm. Skidmark is just unfortunately inebriated and stupid.

Click to shrink...

I was think that if we LV it enough, to make something like Sanji sky walk.

 

[fictionfan]

Well it synergizes with Sube Sube pretty well for maneuvering.

There's the way that Skidmark uses it: battlefield control.

Click to shrink...

Wow we might actually get ourselves a fast travel option by putting them together. Launch ourselves though the air like an intercountry missle expect that we don't need to worry about carrying fuel or friction. Landing right might be a trick though.

 

[jcw3]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Plan: Final Preparations
-[X] Day 1:
--[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', so as to better train your Master Resistance. 50% of Master Resistance 2. (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". 5% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
--[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, divided roughly into three stages, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time by swimming alongside the Merry. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 5. (+8 bonus available).
--[X] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 40% of Acrobatics 6.
--[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. 0% of Ninjutsu 2. (+32 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
-[X] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 20% of Trapper 5.
--[X] Capoeira. 100% of Capoeira 5. 80% of Capoeira 6. 10% of Capoeira 7.
-[X] Day 2:
--[X] Ask Vivi to 'dance for you', so as to better train your Master Resistance. 50% of Master Resistance 2. (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". 5% of Kachi Kachi no Mi 5. (+20 bonus available)
--[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, divided roughly into three stages, but getting started could put you near the top in a world so reliant on the ocean. You can now train this any time by swimming alongside the Merry. 0% of Fishman Karate (Beginner) 5. (+8 bonus available).
--[X] Ask Horlio to show you some AcroBATics. 40% of Acrobatics 6.
--[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. 0% of Ninjutsu 2. (+32 bonus available) (subskills are Meteorology, Geography, Disguise, Acting, Meditation, Tactics, Stealth, Swimming, Freerunning, Horsemanship, Knives, Polearms, Swordmanship, Blunt Weapons, Explosives, Killing Intent)
--[X] Ask Usopp to teach you more about trapping, with fewer diversions this time so it's even more effective. 20% of Trapper 5.
--[X] Hang out with Luffy. Potential increase in a skill/skill acquisition?

2.26: Foolshout Island Climate Zone/Foolshout Arc 0
Location: Climate Zone of Foolshout Island, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Sunday, June 5, 1532

You draw your fists in a more-than-flawless aikido guard stance, staring at the spirals on Vivi's dress, teeth gritted, the urge to heave almost overwhelming you, but you refuse to give in. With peripheral vision and a little help from superhuman Perception, you note a look of surprise on her face, and you allow yourself a little bit of satisfaction from that, but then the Circles of Vertigo finally breaks through your resistance, and you stumble back.

It's a noticeable improvement, but you aren't there yet. You accept Vivi's helping hand up, and try to shake your head clear, a series of quiet breaths helping you regain control of your faculties. "At your limit?" she asks.

You give her an expression best described as a pained grimace pretending to be a smile. "'Fred so," you say. She gives you a sympathetic look, and puts on her coat so as to better obscure the minidress.

"You're getting better!" she says, in a transparent, if kind, attempt at being encouraging.

You shake your head. "Naht - not good enuf yet. This is one technique Miss Goldenweek has. A lesser variant. I've gotten better, but there's more to do," you reply, a bit more testily than you'd intended. "Sorry. That came out a bit nastier than I meant. Thank you for doing this. Could we practice again tomorrow?"

"Of course," she replies, waving her hand as if to indicate it's no problem. You nod gratefully. "You… are you feeling alright?"

"Nauseous. Why?"

She gives you a look. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. We're two days out from fighting Baroque Works' elite forces."

You shift a little, still working out the effects of Miss Goldenweek's magicks. "Time I spend worrying is time I could be training."

Vivi looks she's about to say something, but then evidently decides against. "Alright. That makes sense. I should probably work on some exercises myself."

You thank her again, before you head out to the ship's deck. It's a surreal experience, being out of the First Stretch after so long within its grasp. The waves are calm, the skies are clear. There aren't any enormous monsters lying in wait. The crew can… not quite relax, it's still the open sea, but compared to the worst of the Crucible? This really is Paradise.

It's been months since you trained Capoeira, but you find yourself drawn to it. Maybe it's your way of celebrating the end of the First Stretch, seeking out a martial arts style that's almost a form of dance. Whatever the case may be, you allow yourself a sense of satisfaction as you easily manage to advance your understanding of Capoeira to the greatest a human could possibly understand it.

You let out a little sigh as you adjust your bandana. While you were able to practice Capoeira back home in the air conditioning, you knew you'd have to go back to the ship at some point. You give a quick wave to Usopp when you leave your 'happy place' storeroom crate, but he's immersed in what looks like a compact launchable net design, and he doesn't seem like he's in the right mood to be disturbed.

It's a shame that the air is unpleasantly muggy, a persistent heat spraying down, even in the late morning. Despite that, the crew is still out and about. You aren't the only one training for Foolshout. Zoro's repeating the same stance an absurd amount of times, slicing waves in twain as he continues to experiment with a new trick. You suspect he was inspired by the bounty hunter attached to Nelson on Warship Island, though you don't think he'd admit that.

On the crow's nest, Sanji stands on tiptoes atop the flagpole as he earns his nickname from Zoro, 'Twirly', performing an intense set of spinkicks. If your perception was a rank or two lower, you might have thought he was just a blur. You've considered asking him to teach you his Black Leg style, but you imagine he'd have some sort of objection to teaching it to a woman, and time spent teaching you is time he could be improving it. Maybe in the future.

You aren't sure how Luffy trains, or if he even needs to with his… unique perspective. He strikes you as the sort of savant who learns on the fly, redeveloping skills and adjusting techniques as the situation demands, almost unconsciously. His almost statuelike posture on the figurehead doesn't give you much in the way of clues on that front.

Out of all the guys, Horlio's the one you're looking for specifically. Right now, he's using the mast as a prop for his own exercises, if not with enough force to disturb Sanji or, even worse, damage it. You apparently catch him off guard, since he nearly jumps when you lightly call out his name, falling on his ass. "Eh?!"

He gives you a flustered look as he dusts himself off. "Geez, you're good at sneaking up on people," he grumbles. "What, did you want some more training?"

"If you're up for it, yeah."

He stretches a bit, with an unsettling degree of flexibility you wouldn't expect to see from someone with a human frame. "Alright. Let's see what you've got."

The two of you dance around the mast for around an hour or so, Horlio speaking up with corrections far more infrequently than usual. Your first thought was that it was just because your form had improved, the two of you capable of performing a cooperative, tight formation routine led by the former bounty hunter. But you think he looks a bit more sullen than usu- he loses focus, and he rams into you!

You activate Sube Sube instinctively, and he yelps as he slips off of you, spiraling towards the deck. You grab hold of his undershirt, stopping him before he can hurt himself, sliding down the mast carefully as you hold on to him.

His face burns as he looks away. "What was that?" you ask, more confused than annoyed.

Horlio stares at you for a moment. "Do you not even remember the conversation we had a few days ago?" he hisses.

"I… thought you just didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to push, or…"

He growls in frustration. "Yeah, that's very generous, Hebert. On top of everything, give me an existential crisis and then leave me to stew for a few days."

You frown at him. What are you, his therapist? "What exactly are you looking for me to say here? Didn't you talk to Vivi about this?" you ask, trying to keep your voice down. Probably not something he'd want her, or anyone else, really, to hear about.

Maybe realizing this conversation demands some privacy, he opens the latch to the men's room, and the two of you descend. You aren't crazy about going in here, there's always a vaguely unpleasant faint musty smell, and no, it's not from Foolshout's humidity, it's always been there.

Horlio, of course, doesn't seem to notice. "Yeah, I talked to Vivi about it," he says. "She… it was weird. She explained it so matter of factly, like 'I have to save my kingdom', 'I have to save Igaram and my pet', like it was just a shopping list. A shopping list she'd die for… alright, that metaphor might have worked better in my head."

There's a pause. You… aren't equipped to deal with this kind of situation, and frustratingly enough, Headway doesn't seem interested in changing that. "I thought I understood her, but it turns out… I don't. She's convinced, she doesn't seem to have any doubts or second thoughts about fighting Baroque Works, even if is to save Igaram and Karoo. You guys are all insane, too. I'm the only one with sense on this goddamn ship. That wears on you after a while."

"You think we can't do it, then," you say. It's a question, but you don't really phrase it like one. "You think Vivi's gonna wind up disappointing herself."

He smiles bitterly. "Yeah. Makes me a real faithless son of a bitch."

"So, what, are you gonna jump ship and run the minute we get to the island?"

"Fuck you," he replies, almost immediately. "A man who leaves his partner behind is lower than the worms in the sand. All this time on the goddamn ship waiting to fight monsters just has my head in a rough spot. Need to get back on land and kick some ass. At least do something useful instead of… sitting around, waiting for the giant crocodile to show up and snap its jaws down on me."

"You're handling yourself awfully well for a man who thinks he's about to die pointlessly."

He smirks. "Hey, I made it through the First Stretch. At least I'll be able to say I died accomplished. Shame about… nah. After a certain point, you just gotta take life as it comes. I know that in my heart. Sucky thing is that my brain isn't catching up to the idea."

Horlio draws one of his bats and tosses it, catching the weapon casually. "Thanks for listening to me bitch, Hebert. Helps to talk this out with someone I don't have baggage with."

You meet his eyes. You have no idea how to reassure him. This all sounds like it's in his head. You don't know him all that well, but… you think he's the kind of guy who'd be great if he was just hunting low-level bounties and laying low to the ground, but you force him to confront something big, leave him to boil for a few weeks, and then he starts getting squirrelly.

Finally, you think of something. He needs to feel useful, and relative to Zoro or Sanji or Luffy, he isn't all that strong, so the only option left… "If it helps… we'll need your help on Foolshout. You know Baroque Works' operations inside and out. I can't help you with your… thing… but if you're in a pinch, I hope you know that you can rely on me."

He nods, and smiles thinly. "Thanks, Hebert. Good talk."

You give an awkward thumbs up, and leave him behind. You aren't really sure how to handle Horlio's whole… internal crisis. He seemed to be really getting into his exercises. Maybe encourage more of that? Sometimes that's all guys need for problems like that. You try to dispel the thought. It's something he'll have to manage himself.

No joy with Fishman Karate today, sadly, so you move on to Kachi Kachi, which is thankfully considerably more successful. With about twenty, twenty-five seconds of effort and concentration, now without any false starts, you can assume the Kachi Kachi no Mi's red-hot rock form over your body. It's still thinner than Bear King's was, and you imagine that means it currently gives correspondingly less defense. This is at least somewhat mitigated by your superhuman Fitness, but still something to keep in mind.

The stiffness of the Kachi Kachi no Mi's prior rank has been slightly reduced - you still aren't at the point where your movements while using the Fruit are equivalent in speed to your baseline, but you're a bit further than you were in the prior rank.

The pulsing heat waves are still a concern, but the range at which they come and go is a bit less worrying than before, when you were certain you'd burn down the ship if you made one wrong move.

At the very least, you would now be comfortable using Kachi Kachi in an applicable combat situation, though it wouldn't be your first go-to. The restriction in movement speed doesn't seem like it will go away anytime soon, so its use seems situational, the sort of thing you would reserve for if you specifically needed to break something especially durable, or if you needed to…bring the heat. Hysterical.

After you finish putting away the scrap metal you use to contain the heat of the form, and a few hours of unsuccessfully attempting to wrangle the Ninjutsu framework, you give up once you smell Sanji's cooking. Dinner is more muted than normal, everyone well aware of the coming threat on Foolshout Island. There's conversation exchanged, but it's… not quite terser, but more reserved. Not only is everyone tired from last minute training, the mugginess of the climate, but they're all stressed and coping in their own ways.

Luffy seems the only one close to his usual self, and as an unspoken thank you for being the sole source of normality on the ship, you let him get away with snagging a few bits of choicer meat off of your plate.

Sanji and Zoro handle dish duty, and, partially just to get away from the inevitable noise of that combo, you give Usopp a nudge as he gets up to head down to the storeroom. "Saw you working on a net trap thing this morning," you say. "What's up with that?"

He grins. "Oh! I was thinking, do you remember how you caught Alvida? The slipwoman?" You nod. "Well, I was trying to come up with ways to deal with a guy with waxy skin, right? The best way to do that would be with melting, wouldn't it?"

You have a bit of a bad feeling about where this conversation is heading. You cautiously reply, "Yes? Assuming he's actually made of wax, or his skin is waxy, that… could be a good way to at least inhibit movement."

Usopp nods. "That's what I was thinking. So, what if you had a net… but you rigged it so it was superheated?"

Uh. "Wouldn't that just catch on fire?"

He lets out a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, and I burned a whole heck of a lot of the old hemp rope before I figured out how to make it stop." Your eyes widen a little as you give him an annoyed look. "Well, I thought it would be useful for stopping Mr. 3! And come on, I'm not going to take criticism from the girl who was training the burning rock power right there on the deck," he says, defensively, as you two enter the storeroom.

You feel your face burning a bit, as you murmur an apologetic 'good point'. "Don't worry about it. Look, look, let me show you! You know more about tactics than I do, maybe we can figure out the best way to actually use this."

You and Usopp spend a while going over the process of how he made the self-heating (and inevitably, self-igniting rope), and you try to rack your brain for how to best use it, given the climate and topography of Foolshout, assuming Mr. 3 is the mobile sort and not a mastermind who sits back and directs.

You have a bit more luck with Headway when the conversation segues into more mundane traps, tripwires to be planted among the denser fields of agricultural agave near where the Merry is likely to make landfall, pellets of makeshift poison powder that can be planted among the Joshua vine-trees that often strangle unfortunate Foolshout cacti as they grow.

Trapping is a skill that synergizes well with Tactics, Geography, Naturalism, and a host of other more mundane talents, but you're primarily focused here on the specific ways in which to use traps to best manage your quarry, and that's where Headway rewards you, making you one of the best baseline human trappers your homeworld has to offer. You suspect that by Mayim standards, there's still a way to go.

Eventually, Usopp gets tired, and after a near mishap with one of his self-warming ropes, the two of you call it quits. You head to bed after a very brief check-in with your Dad.

Location: Climate Zone of Foolshout Island, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Monday, June 6, 1532

This morning, you take advantage of the cooler temperatures to join Horlio for his own start-of-the-day routine. You were a bit worried he'd still be… in a bit of a mood, given his admittedly understandable concerns from yesterday. Deliberately making some noise so as not to startle him like the day before, you walk up to his spot by the mast.

He notices you mid-backflip, and lands a casual handstand before assuming a standing position. "Yo. Hebert. Did you want some more training?"

"Um… before we talk about that," you keep your voice low, "Are you okay? You were-"

He waves you off, giving you a thumbs up and a light smirk. "Don't worry about me. Caught me on a bad day yesterday. We're almost at Foolshout now. There's no place for that kind of pussy-ass thinking anymore. Just getting my last exercises in before we go kick some tail tomorrow."

You wish you could say you believed him. You suspect he needs the bravado to keep himself going, that offering words of support might be taken as condescension. "If you're sure," you say instead. "I wanted to ask you about the three-step salto technique I've been usi-"

Whether Horlio's actually in a better place or not, he's at the very least back to being a better teacher. You feel yourself arriving at the peak humans are capable of, at least where Acrobatics is concerned.

Now if only the remainder of the day's training had gone better. Nothing gained from your Master Resistance practice beyond pity from Vivi. Nothing gained from Fishman Karate training beyond terrifying a giant roosterfish that was almost in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing gained from Kachi Kachi training beyond the smell of burning metal sticking to your clothes. Nothing gained from Ninjutsu beyond a vague sense of frustrated helplessness.

You might as well drop your sword off back in the women's room. You were hoping trying to use Ninjutsu in conjunction with your sword would give you a headstart in using the framework in something approximating actual combat, but no luck.

Nami gives you a bit of a double take when she sees you. "Jeez, Taylor. Rough day?"

Is it that obvious from your face? You start to shake your head… but… "Not much luck with the training," you feel your lips tighten. "Not what I wanted from the last day before we got to Foolshout. Doesn't feel great."

"You're doing your best. We can all tell," she says, giving you a look whose meaning you can't immediately discern.

You feel your face contorting in frustration. "What if that's not good enough? How much of that island is going to be rigged with traps, how many bounty hunters are going to be there, are they working with the Navy or guard militias or-"

Nami holds up a hand. "Taylor. You can't keep killing yourself like this. When was the last time you even talked to anyone? This morning, with Vivi? Did you even go home last night to check in with your Dad?"

Your cheeks feel hot. "For a few minutes."

"At least you did that much. I'd tell you that you need to relax, but you're not the sort," she half-jokes, resting her face in her palms. "You know, when you're more unhinged than Zoro about training, something's gone wrong."

"That's not fair," you say quietly. "It's just... I wanted to be useful. Helpful. I'm part of the reason we're going to war with Baroque Works in the first place."

Nami guffaws. "I don't even know where to begin with that one. You're talking about a bunch of evil scumbags we were probably going to wind up fighting just by virtue of having met-" she does air quotes, "-'Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday'. Even if you hadn't have signed up, we would have wound up fighting them, right? That comic told you so."

You try to look for holes in that argument. Even though she's arguing in your favor, it feels like she should be wrong, that it should be your cross to bear, to overcome. "...Yeah," you grudgingly admit.

There's a silence for a while. "You…" Nami starts to say something, but stops short. "You have this thing, where you… think if you're not constantly doing something, not constantly learning or helping or growing stronger or whichever it might be, then you think you're worthless. But you aren't. I don't know how to convince you of that. Even if that learning power of yours turned off tomorrow, if the last thing you ever learned was, I dunno, how to jump around the mast a bit better, then you'd still be one of us and we'd still want you here."

"Thanks." You hear your voice crack a little.

She sighs, and stands up, walking over to you and pulling you in for a hug. "Just take a break once in a while. Spending, what, six or eight hours?- in a row by yourself hammering away at such and such skill can't be healthy."

You make an expression that feels like it falls somewhere on the spectrum between grimace and light smile. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

She pats you on the back reassuringly. "We'll get through this. You'll see," she says. "C'mon. I bet we can talk Sanji into giving us an appetizer. He caught a few halibut earlier."

Dinner is nice. The crew isn't much livelier than yesterday, but… you feel a little weight lifted off your shoulders. You feel guilty for its absence, but it's liberating to allow yourself just these quiet, little moments to unwind from another day of trying to break past your limits. Zoro's sat between you and Usopp, and he shoots you a sideeye. He's eating the fish with his fingers when there's a perfectly good fork right there.

"You up for some weightlifting practice after this?" he asks.

"Thought you already finished your routine for the day?"

He shrugs. "Always room for more. Figured you, of all people, would get that."

You shake your head. "I think I'm done with training for the day. It's… I think it might be like cramming for an exam the night before, when you've already been studying for weeks. Almost the opposite of helpful."

Zoro stares at you for an uncomfortable amount of time. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about." Despite your earlier mood, you find yourself smiling a little. That just seems to annoy him. "What, is that your way of saying you're not interested?"

You take a swig of water. "Just thought you'd probably need another month again to catch up with me."

He barks out a laugh. "Alright, Taylor. Alright."

You and Usopp handle dish duty, talking all the while. "...don't like the bear trap idea? Why? Is it offensive, because of your whole transformation thing?" he asks.

You let out a little chuckle. "No, it's the whole maiming thing. These aren't good people we're gonna be fighting, but I'm not sure if they deserve that."

Usopp shakes his head, putting away one of the pots. "That's just it, though, if we use softened materials for the edges, it could be a restraining device. Remember how we were talking about exploding cacti?"

"You were talking about exploding cacti, yes."

"Well, that made me think about what they're actually made of, on the inside once you get past the burrs. You said that the Foolshout cacti were-"

It's about an hour of that sort of conversation, talking shop. Usopp's wild, borderline incoherent ideas help form a sort of mental barrier between you and the reality of what you're discussing. It's more idle conversation than a serious effort at training, and you don't even blame Headway for seemingly sleeping through it.

Usopp heads off to try out that 'softened bear trap restraint device' idea, and you leave him to it. You head out onto deck. Luffy's on the figurehead, head craned to the side to watch the sunset. "How are you doing?" you ask.

He shrugs. "Good. You?"

You take a seat not too far from him, legs dangling as you sit on the railing of the Merry. "Better now," you reply. "No nervous feelings about Foolshout?"

Luffy blinks. "No. Why?"

Life would be so much simpler if you were like the captain. "Figured I'd ask."

"There are some guys there we gotta kick the crap out of. Not complicated. You scared?"

"A little," you admit. "Never had this much time to stew in worry about a situation."

"Just don't worry," he says, as if you'd said something stupid just now.

You snort, and shake your head. "I'll keep that in mind."

The two of you sit in silence, watching the moon rise over gentle waves and clear skies, the heat of the day long since faded into the cold of night. It's almost serene - the sea erupts as a giant hammerhead shark jumps out of the water! Oh come the fuck on! You were relaxing, you were taking one fucking evening to collect your thoughts before a crisis and a goddamn shark twice as big as regular jumps out of the -

You lunge back off of the railing, starting to manifest Kachi Kachi as you adapt a guard stance, but Luffy's already beating you to it, with a "Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!" launching out, striking the hammerhead right in the snout, flesh visibly tearing as the punch rips through its face. "I'm not food, you're food!" Luffy shouts, petulant.

He throws his arms down to grab the shark and lifts it to toss the carcass on deck. A bemused Sanji emerges from the men's room, looks at it, and sighs. You've offered to help the cook with stuff like this before, and he always says no, so you just don't bother. You look over to Luffy. "Why do you do that? Not… not just you. You, Zoro, Sanji, loads of people here on this Earth."

"Do what? Punch fish?"

"The incantations." Seeing the lack of comprehension on his face, you correct yourself. "Calling your attacks."

"What do you mean? It makes them stronger."

"Shouting 'Gum Gum Pistol' makes them stronger," you say flatly, disbelievingly. "It's not just… a cultural thing?"

Standing on top of the figurehead, he throws a punch out at the water, his equivalent of a quick jab. It creates a splash about ten feet wide. "Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!" he calls out, and the same exact movement follows. But the splash… it's ten and a half or eleven feet wide. A thirty, forty percent increase from the first, when you take into account the resistance of the water, the area in question, and so on.

That… that doesn't make any fucking sense. Well - you guess it explains why they bother with the incantations in the first place. You stare, agape, at the water as the splash dies down, and the waves return to normal after the brief disturbance. "How?"

"You put a piece of yourself in your punch. You let the world know, 'hey, I'm gonna do this', and the world says 'okay'. You gotta stick to what you believe in. If you're just throwing punches, you're… playing it safe. Gotta put yourself into it, or else the world won't listen. The more you feel, the more of yourself you put into it, the more you get out of it."

He says all of that as if it makes the tiniest bit of sense. He scratches the back of his head and gives you an odd look. "Honestly, I thought it was weird that you didn't call your attacks. You did it a little against that guy on Clock Island, but… it's like you've been holding yourself back."

You need a moment to take that in. He seems to acknowledge that, and retakes his seat. "Maybe," you admit. "It's not something I've ever thought about in depth. People on my world… they don't have the same… they're built differently than people on yours. There's more… subterfuge… than there is here."

"Your world sounds like it sucks," Luffy says, matter-of-factly.

You burst out into uncharacteristic laughter, and he shoots you a funny look. "No, no, you're… heh… probably right. That's part of what I'm trying to fix."

He seems to accept that. The two of you watch the sea for a while, losing yourself in your thoughts.

Spoiler: Author's Notes: Incantations/Called Attacks

Incantations are my attempt at justifying a One Piece trope (obviously, it's a shonen trope in general, but we're only talking One Piece here). I'm cribbing a bit of inspiration from Jujutsu Kaisen here, with the themes of One Piece playing a role as well. Essentially, when you put your heart and soul into an attack, when you call it out and promise the universe that you will perform this specific attack, it becomes more effective. A punch becomes a third more effective, maybe more in the heat of the moment when you're especially passionate about something

Incantations/called attacks are something Taylor can do, if currently at a lesser level than your Luffys and your Zoros, but they're not something she ever would have thought to do herself if she hadn't have spoken to a powerful Mayim combatant like Luffy.

She'd dismissed them as sort of a cultural oddity until now, and only asked Luffy about them on a whim. Funnily enough, out of everyone on the crew, I bet he's the one who could most easily and concisely put into words why exactly incantations are important.

You can write-in incantations as options as you discuss the happenings of the quest, and Taylor may consider using them going forward where relevant. They aren't something that comes naturally to her, and they're something dependent on A: Mayim powers/martial arts and B: individual, passionate movements, so you aren't going to be constantly screaming while doing mundane sewing and getting a better result.

It's more of a 'I shout, and this Kachi Kachi punch hits harder.' 'I shout, and the area of effect of my Devil Fruit effect widens, becomes more controllable or more precise'. It's limited to Mayim shenanigans for now, but obviously, having Swordsmanship 10, for instance, will make a called attack with the Musashi style more effective.

Incantations will only really work with Mayim powers. If you try to call attacks with a parahuman or mutant/mutate/etc. power from Bet or Mahon, you'll just make yourself look silly. A power that synergizes a Mayim power with one of those, however, would still benefit from an incantation bonus. Someone in the thread mentioned a Skidmark/Sube Sube combo, that would work.

It should go without saying that this is all stuff Taylor will be gradually figuring out in-universe through trial and error. You aren't immediately going to be using loads of called attacks in combat, that would represent a considerable shift that isn't likely to happen overnight.

Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3
Tuesday, January 25, 2011

"Wasn't sure you'd be back," Dad says, and despite his best efforts, he can't really hide the nervousness in his voice.

You cringe a little. "Sorry. I… was trying to get that last bit of practice in today. Maybe overdid it a little."

He takes that in. He looks like he doesn't know what to say. "I love you. I… need to say that. Need you to know that."

"I know you love me. I love you, too." There's a heartbreaking pause. "I'll… see you tomorrow evening. Like usual."

He forces a smile. "Yeah. It's a promise?"

You nod, meeting his eyes. "A promise."

The smile becomes a bit more genuine. "Tomorrow evening, then."

Location: Foolshout Island, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3
Date: Tuesday, June 7, 1532

"Land ho!" Sanji calls from his spot on the crow's nest.

Vivi, Horlio, and Luffy are already out on deck, watching Foolshout Island come into view. Usopp and Zoro emerge from the men's room just as you and Nami leave the women's. It's enormous. The sun's not yet fully risen, but with your Perception, you can make out the enormity of the island even at this distance and with the lack of light.

"There it is," Zoro observes, a soft smirk on his face.

"Looks kind of crappy," Sanji notes, deftly descending from atop the Merry.

He's not wrong. "Desolate," you contribute.

The Merry steadily sails towards a bay on a southwestern peninsula your geographical knowledge specifically suggested. The largest population center on Foolshout Island is in the northwest, near a decent-sized inner lake, and that's where the Navy base is located. Fifteen hundred Marines, theoretically ready to assemble at a moment's notice.

Sixty percent of the island's population lives near Lake Well Come Home, and it's probably what comes closest to 'civilization' on Foolshout, a more frontier island due to being relatively out of the way and the First Stretch taking up so much of the nearby shipping routes. This means that the Marines are an especially capable deterrent for crime in that area, especially in coordination with local constabularies.

But it also means that they de facto cede the rest of the island to local control, only regional militias and makeshift guard forces to defend from desert and mountain bandits, or what few pirates try to mimic Fisher Tiger's infamous raid on the softer targets on Foolshout.

This crackly little peninsula isn't much. Its sparse landscape reminds you of the more uninhabited parts of the American Southwest, with slight hills fading into larger mountains in the distance. Spiky bushes and agave litter the landscape, and the humidity you experienced in the climate zone worsens as you get closer to the island proper.

What few cacti grow on this peninsula are half-formed, desiccated things, dying out before they even have a chance to grow. It's frankly a miserable place, and if it weren't for the rock outcrops here that make for a convenient place to hide a caravel, you never would have chosen this place.

That's not to say it doesn't have its advantages. Fifteen percent of Foolshout's population lives in the rivers only a short distance to the north, and another tenth past the other side of the peninsula. The two nearby drainage systems are colloquially known as the 'Pirate Streams' due to the relative lack of Navy presence and the fact that local governments turn a blind eye to pirates using the area as a base of operations to raid other parts of the island. The less populated parts, the places where native Foolshouters, the ones who predate the Sea People, the descendants of the Twenty Kings, live.

If all goes well, you can beat Baroque Works, save Igaram and Karoo, and then spend another five days or so waiting for the Log Pose to reset, all in the comfort of an area that tolerates pirates as just more guests. With any luck, the distance from the naval base at Lake Well Come Home means that you'll also hopefully have plenty of time to evade the Marines if they become alerted to your presence.

After checking underwater for any surprise rock formations that could hurt the Merry, you guide the crew to best maneuver the ship to its hiding spot. You aren't sure how effective this spot would be at hiding from the air, especially from enemies with enhanced perception, but it'd damn sure be hard to spot from the ground. It's nice to know your Stealth skill isn't just for your own self.

Luffy puts his hand to his forehead and peers out over the landscape, giving it a blank look. "I don't see any Brokers out there."

"Not much of anything, really," Vivi says quietly.

"Isn't that kind of for the best?" Usopp half-jokes. "I'm fine not seeing any evil, murderous bounty hunters."

She glares at him. "They have my family, Usopp."

He swallows visibly. "Ah, um, that's not quite what I-"

"We'll find them," Sanji saves him, cutting in and putting a reassuring hand on Vivi's shoulder. "This is just a temporary base of operations, right, Taylor-san?"

You nod. "We needed somewhere to store the Merry where, hopefully, no one will find it. This island isn't really ideal for convenient caves or places to hide her, so this will have to do for now."

Zoro folds his arms. "Could it be better to just hide her in one of the cities' harbors? They're supposed to be pirate friendly, aren't they?"

Nami shakes her head. "That'll be the first place they look for us. Remember they probably figure we're low on provisions and devastated from the First Stretch."

"I can guaran-fucking-tee you those cities are chock-ful of Millions, maybe with some Billions watching over," Horlio agrees. "The kinds of guys who specialize in spotting pirates and rigging traps for 'em."

"If they're basing themselves out of cities that not-so-subtly cater to pirates, mightn't they be busy targeting whatever gangs made it here before we did? We arrived a bit sooner than they likely expected, thanks to Taylor-san's craftswomanship and Nami-san's navigatrix talents."

You murmur a quiet thank you to Sanji, before Horlio answers. "It depends on the leadership, really. I never worked under an officer agent like Mr. 3 before. But when guys like Mr. 8 or Mr. 6 were in charge, and we were hunting a specific crew, they normally kept people pretty strictly on task. If you went off-script, well, you might meet a permanent end. Nothing I've heard about Mr. 3 suggests he'd be any different."

Bleak. Zoro gives you and Nami a sideeye. "So, if Baroque Works is really working out of the Pirate Stream cities, we probably landed pretty damn close to wherever they're based out of."

You shrug. "Probably. The east side of the island is mostly uninhabited save for the natives and a few trading outposts, Lake Well Come Home is full of Marines, and the news articles my power feeds me suggests the Rear Admiral normally focuses on anti-piracy activities only in that specific area. If you're hunting a desperate pirate crew starving and beaten by the First Stretch, well, you probably figure they're going for the Pirate Streams, at least once they get the lay of the land. In their shoes, I'd stake out the Streams."

Zoro grins savagely. "Cool. We won't have to go far."

Sanji raises an eyebrow. His twirl moves hypnotically as he does so. You get brief flashbacks to training with Vivi. "There are cities on the east side, too, aren't there? Not big ones, but still places we could hypothetically have resupplied. Think they might have people there?"

"If they do, it's a skeleton crew," Horlio says.

"And if you're coming in from the First Stretch like we did, you're going to be arriving in from the west side, right? A lesser crew would have been annihilated by what we faced. Those kind of shipwright supplies, you won't get from raiding some farming hamlet. A crew in a position like that would wind up gravitating towards the Streams just out of necessity. What we endured or avoided would have taken most crews weeks to recover from."

"Convenient that they're probably underestimating us a bit," Usopp comments.

Zoro scratches his neck. "Boring, too."

Usopp gives him an incredulous look, and looks like he's about to say something, before he decides against it. Vivi pokes in, a hint of impatience to her questions. "How do we know where they're holding the prisoners? We can't just raid the cities until we get an answer. That'll just invite the Navy on top of Baroque Works."

"I was going to suggest that I scout the island. I've got the best combined mobility and perception out of anyone on the crew," you offer. "Unless anyone has any objections?"

"You aren't gonna steal all the fun, are you? It's just scouting, right? We're all gonna get a chance to kick some ass, right?" Zoro asks.

"You're an absolute maniac," Nami mutters. The swordsman gives her a trademark smirk.

You shake your head. "I don't plan to pick any fights. This is just to get the lay of the land, to make sure we're right about Baroque Works planting down roots in this particular region. It's what I would do, but we don't know if they're thinking along different lines."

Zoro seems to accept that argument. "Give me a few hours. I'll be back." The transformation into a laysan albatross, a variant you'd be more likely to see in this slice of the seas, is instantaneous, and you take to the skies.

You scout out the Stream cities to the north first. While the rivers to the south are more numerous, the cities to the north are more populous and denser. A far cry from what you'd see on Lake Well Come Home, but for a largely frontier island like Foolshout, bustling population centers.

You're mostly just trying to get an idea of what to expect from the cities here. Baroque Works is a clandestine organization that's been engaging in acts of subtlety and sabotage for years, keeping their name under the radar. You certainly aren't expecting to see anything ostentatious, like enormous… brigantines… with a Baroque Works logo on them… the words Baroque Works…

These people are fucking morons.

Seriously?

You roost on a post in the harbor of Regreso, the largest of the more northern Stream cities, as you note the ships comfortably docked. Rugged-looking men and women, armed and bored, sit around the deck, playing cards, drinking, chatting, and so on. You try to listen in on conversations to try and gauge strategies, where their morale is, and so on, taking about fifteen minutes to mark down their strength and attitudes.

You hear the name 'Mr. Musical Chairs', and identify him as their commanding officer, a top-heavy man with thin legs in a t-shirt with a singing chair on the front. There are about seventy of the lower-ranking grunts, with a few higher ranking officers around - you catch the name 'Miss Saxophone', but can't identify her.

You memorize their positions, the key faces of relevant individuals. You entertain the thought of sabotaging their ship, but that risks giving the game away, having them call and alert the officer or even just the frontier agents. You settle for gathering relevant information on their numbers and capabilities.

Like you did with Piercings and the Merchants on Bet, you watch out for microexpressions, eyes cast in certain directions, and this eventually pays off. You overhear two women playing a dice game, a conversation going in a potentially interesting direction. "-fucking sucks, Selma," one gripes, a raspy voice you associate with long-time smokers. "The big shit is happening on Sandy Island and we're chasing some probably dead pups here."

Her compatriot shrugs. "Aw, c'mon. Ain't so bad. We got shore leave, probably got a good vacation while we wait for the real work."

The first woman spits on the deck disdainfully. "Guess it's better than being up there in the ridge with Mr. Lollipop. Or having to sneak around by ourselves in the other cities."

The ridge? The… Comeback Ridge? Only landmark called a 'ridge' that makes any sense in this context. You know where that is. You narrow your eyes, and take flight. It's a fairly short distance north to that particular spot, and sure enough, there's a single ketch there. It's almost as desolate as the peninsula where you anchored the Merry, but for the presence of a massive ridge, eroded by time and wind.

You note the presence of a ketch docked by a small desert village, with unhappy looking bounty hunters training on land. An exuberant looking man with a giant hammer carved and painted like a Tootsie pop is barking orders at exhausted looking trainees. The Baroquers stationed here, at the very least, don't seem as relaxed as the ones in Regreso. No sign of officer or frontier agents from a cursory investigation. Just Mr. Lollipop, a woman by his side, and, if you had to guess, ten or fifteen Millions.

Usopp spots you first as you make your way back to the Merry, not having spotted any other Baroque Works agents on your way back. (That doesn't mean they don't exist, context clues gathered from your investigation suggest that there might be twice as many agents hiding in the cities.)

"Yo, Taylor-san," Sanji welcomes you back, presenting you with a quick lunch you immediately start digging into. "Any news?"

You shake your head. "Yeah, but not what we were looking for. No sign of the big guys. Found a couple ships with-"

After filling them in, you fly south to the Streams in that direction. You see a few shady individuals in the harbors in the nearer cities and larger towns, but there's no way to tell if they're Baroquers or just regular pirates and criminals. You finally spot a brigantine with a crew of fifty or so docked in Mat, a larger town a hop, skip, and jump away from one of the more populated rivers.

The mood there is more reserved than the laziness of the Regreso Millions or the exhaustive regimenting of the Comeback Ridge ketch. The Mat crew is quieter, conversations are more clipped and brusque. Rather than casual discussions, it's more quick questions about basic errands on the ship, asking if there have been any relevant sightings.

You suspect that if any of the more obvious outposts were a great threat, it would be this one. They're more professional, more alert, to the point where you aren't as comfortable observing them from a close range. There are a few individuals treated with more deference than others, and you note them down, but you don't get any names, and they aren't wearing any immediately identifiable clothing or markers.

No sign of any officer or even frontier agents here, either. The mood on the ship could indicate the presence of a higher-up, but it could also be a sign of ever-elusive basic competence. Frustrated, and not wanting this more observant crew to get curious about an inquisitive albatross, you take flight, going a bit further inland this time, scoping out cities for more of the less subtle ships.

No joy. You're beginning to wonder if the more obvious ships are a deliberate trap, designed to lull prey into a false of security, making you assume you know the enemy's full strength, but with three-fold those numbers hiding in wait.

You fly over the rocky hills on your way back to the Merry, frustrated at the relative paucity of information you've gathered, when you spot it. That… it's a blot on the landscape. An obvious contrast from the waves of beige and brown that occupy the more desolate swathes of Foolshout Island, there's an enormous white construction built into the side of the largest hill.

It almost reminds you of a Roman colosseum, ornate decorations and buttresses jutting out from its sides, with a closed roof, ventilation holes carved in to allow airflow, parts of it sloughing off, melting somewhat in the heat. There are a few irritated looking men and women outside with basic weapons, no logos identifying them as Baroquers, but, given that they're standing out of what you belatedly realize is a massive wax colosseum, you're comfortable painting them with that brush.

If it was ever in doubt, you guess that answers whether or not Mr. 3 is here on the island.

There's no real way to get a view of the insides of the wax structure from the outside, and you sure as hell aren't going in. It's magnificently constructed. You had no idea Mr. 3's Devil Fruit allowed him creations of such complexity. It's at least five times the size of the largest brigantine you saw. There's a hero on the West Coast with similar capabilities, you dimly recall.

If this is the big boss's base, he picked an excellent location for it. It's located in the taller hills near a likely location for a pirate crew to be arriving. The flatlands around it are covered in spiky agave that would inhibit movement on foot, and even from hundreds of feet in the air, you can spot places where traps have been planted - tripwires leading to spike shrapnel, painted the same color as the local wildlife, disguised pitfalls. Just looking over it makes your Perception grow a rank.

There's a path leading up to the base where you can see where the Baroquers carved through it with machetes or other tools to get to the spot in the first place, but you're almost certain it's mined, tripwired, rigged, with all sorts of new and interesting ways to die. That might be why the Millions stationed outside look so irritated. They're stuck in the middle of a desert, waiting for pirates that might never arrive.

While approaching on foot, attackers would be slowed by the denser foliage, visible for miles, vulnerable to the existing traps, and presumably, any Baroquers lying in wait at the colosseum could take potshots with conventional weaponry alone, to say nothing of the possibility of Mr. 3 launching waves of wax from a distance or Mr. 5's explosions.

You grudgingly admire the planning that went into the fortress. You aren't sure if the crew can even make it there, let alone break through. You retreat from the area of the colosseum, and return to the crew with the bad news.

"-and that's assuming we make it through the traps," you finish, scribbling down a map of the vicinity of the Merry, noting the locations of major cities, the Baroque Works ships you spotted, and drawing a quick logo of a white fruit to indicate the whereabouts of the colosseum.



"Can we bait them out? Destroy the ships in harbor, force them to confront us on our terms?" Sanji asks, lighting a cigarette.

That seems… risky. It's a natural choice for the more unsubtle members of the crew, but it draws attention, not just from Baroque Works, but maybe even from the Navy and definitely the locals.

Luffy's got a fishing reel set up over the railing, not really paying attention to the conversation. The rest of the crew and guests listen intently. Vivi shakes her head at Sanji. "It's almost certain Igaram and Karoo are in Mr. 3's colosseum, right? That's where they want us to go, clearly. It's the most well-defended spot out of all these four."

"Could be a feint," you say. "A red herring. I don't know how likely it is - it could just be that Mr. 3 always rigs a defense like that wherever he goes, could also be that you're right. It depends on how he operates, and we only really have rumors to go off of."

"We're a bit limited while they have the hostages and we don't know where they are," Zoro scowls. "Could we capture a few of the higher-ups? This Mr. Lollipop clown, maybe?"

Could be workable. You didn't want to do it on your own, but if you take them out before they can get a snail call out, you could interrogate him for information. Risky if you cause them to miss a scheduled check-in.

Horlio grimaces. "We don't know how many local friends they have. If they're comfortable sitting out in harbor, the mayors and constabulary might know about them, might even be in cahoots. Could be even more numbers than we're expecting, could get the Marines up north called down to deal with us."

"Might be worth the two of us infiltrating Mat or Regreso. You know how Baroque Works operates the best of all of us. Could get us clues as to where Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine are. They're still a wildcard here," you reply.

He nods. "Not a bad idea."

Luffy chimes in. Apparently he was paying at least a little attention. "Why not have all of us just go and kick Mr. 3's ass? Taylor, you can spot the traps. I can go in front, use Balloon to block the bullets. Usopp can snipe them after that." The aforementioned sniper makes a sputtering noise at that. " It doesn't sound like that big a deal."

You… doubt it would be that simple, but you guess it's an option. There's even odds Luffy or Zoro might try something like that on their own. Maybe it would be better to direct that kind of harebrained scheme yourself, mitigate the damage.

Spoiler: ROLLS AND GAINS/GAINS AND ROLLS

Day 1
59:50. Master Resistance 2 unlocked.
80:00. Capoeira 5 unlocked. 39:20. Capoeira 6 unlocked. 27:80. Martial Arts Mastery 8 not unlocked. 11:90. Capoeira 7 not unlocked.
26:60. Acrobatics 6 not unlocked.
39:100. Fishman Karate (Beginner) 5 not unlocked.
99:95. Kachi Kachi no Mi 5 unlocked.
13:100. Ninjutsu 2 not unlocked.
89:80. Trapper 5 unlocked. 35:65, no bonus since this is a free roll, therefore no change in existing bonus. I added it since I realized partway through writing the scene that it just made sense to have this roll. Engineering 3 not unlocked.
Day 2
48:40. Acrobatics 6 unlocked.
40:80. Master Resistance 3 not unlocked.
08:100. Kachi Kachi no Mi 6 not unlocked.
55:95. Fishman Karate (Beginner) 5 not unlocked.
33:95. Ninjutsu 2 not unlocked.
81:100. Trapper 6 not unlocked.
Conversation with Luffy on the subject of incantations.
Day 3 beginning actions
44:80. Investigation 5 not unlocked. 35:45. Stealth 10 not unlocked. 83:45. Perception 9 unlocked. (Scouting out Baroque Works.)
Realized midway thru writing I'd made a whoopsie with Kachi Kachi - had it update on Day 1 instead of 2. Swapping the numbers around was easier than editing.
+1 Acrobatics (6)
+2 Capoeira (6)
+1 Kachi Kachi no Mi (5)
+1 Master Resistance (2)
+1 Perception (9)
+1 Trapper (5)
Write-ins for named attacks based on current capabilities, subject to veto, will be allowable. Read the update for details on this.

What do you think? Choose one, or write-in, with me having veto on any of your options. You can ask other Straw Hats to engage in some of these options without you, with risks of them getting captured, failing, etc.
[ ] Take Horlio and, in disguise, go undercover in the cities, looking to figure out just how thoroughly Baroque Works has aligned themselves with the locals. Go to…
-[ ] Mat.
-[ ] Regreso.
[ ] Take one of the Straw Hats/guests to go grab Mr. Lollipop and disable his ketch. Hopefully you can get some information out of him before he alerts Mr. 3 or has to check-in.
-[ ] Who are you taking?
[ ] With the powerhouses of the Straw Hats (Usopp and Horlio can come too, if you'd like), level the fleets in harbor. Draw them out and force them to abandon carefully laid plans. Choose a specific location to target first.
-[ ] Mat.
-[ ] Regreso.
-[ ] Split the Straw Hats in two to do this. Attack both. A duo of yourself, Luffy, Zoro, or Sanji will attack one, and another will go to the other, while everyone else stays with the Merry. Choose which duo goes where.
[ ] Leaving Nami and one crew member of your choice back to move the Merry if necessary, raid the colosseum. The crew member that stays behind cannot be yourself, Luffy, or Zoro.
-[ ] Who stays behind?
[ ] Write-in.

Vote closes on Thursday, June 1, 2023, IRL, at 10:00 PM EST. I'm going to have a busy week IRL next week, so updates may be slowed.

This is all very experimental. I've never done anything quite like this before - it's a learning experience for me. I'm not crazy about the end result of the update, but I would up being convinced by 'get the bastard out the door' syndrome. Going to run some errands, will be back in a few hours to answer questions. Character sheet has already been updated.

 

[fictionfan]

Baroque Works is a clandestine organization that's been engaging in acts of subtlety and sabotage for years, keeping their name under the radar. You certainly aren't expecting to see anything ostentatious, like enormous… brigantines… with a Baroque Works logo on them… the words Baroque Works…

These people are fucking morons.

Click to shrink...

It's likely a similar incantation thing. The reason why all pirates wave their flags high and proud all the time as they defy the sea. Also why having your flag stolen is a big deal. And of course a flag doesn't work if you don't believe in it!

 

[Ompa60]

So, First thoughts:
- We have to give Luffy and Zoro something to do or else they'll probably go wandering off.
- Zoro needs to have a minder that has a better sense of direction.
- If we choose an infiltration mission, I think Mat would give us better intel, but it's also the riskier option.


I'm leaning towards doing the Mr. Lollipop grab at the least. Maybe Horlio and Tay can do some infiltration while most everyone else goes on the Lollipop mission. Tay + Horlio on a scouting mission, Zoro + Luffy + Nami(she has a good head on her shoulders) + Vivi on Lollipop and Sanji + Usopp to watch the ship (might move to join up with the Lollipop team if they're successful)

 

[fictionfan]

Usopp usually likes to hang out with Zoro. Also better to pair Sanji with a girl his power is increased 10 fold when protecting one of them.

 

[Ompa60]

So swap Vivi or Nami with Usopp? I figured Nami would be the best at interrogation, and I wanted to give Vivi something to do since she's probably stressed with her friends in danger.

But if I had to choose one, I guess I'd swap Usopp and Vivi. She is their primary target so keeping her safe on the boat makes sense and (no offense to her) she's probably the weakest member of the team.

 

[fictionfan]

Standing on top of the figurehead, he throws a punch out at the water, his equivalent of a quick jab. It creates a splash about ten feet wide. "Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!" he calls out, and the same exact movement follows. But the splash… it's thirteen or fourteen feet wide. A thirty, forty percent increase from the first.

Click to shrink...

10 feet to 13 feet wide is much more then a 30% increase. 10 feet diameter is an area of 78.5 square feet. Well a 13 feet diameter is 132 square feet. It is likely even more when you consider that the resistance of the water increases dramatically as the distance pushed goes up.

Also I favor Luffy's plan it is simple and elegant. Although I would want Taylor to fly above the wax palace and come down as a Kachi-Kachi Meteor!

 

[jcw3]

A technique will be a sort of combination skill.

Like Luffy's gum-gum pistol that is a combination of Luffy's devil fruit, 'boxing?' and general fitness. Take away any of those and the technique doesn't work.

By the same metric Taylor can currently do a "Knock out blow" using superhuman Aikido skill a marshall art designed for managing non lethal take downs. But if she focused purely on a "knock out blow" technique combining Aikido, doctor and say some psychic power then she could likely make some far greater than the sum of it's parts.

Ninjutsu might actually be a case of this where a bunch of skills have been integrated into something greater than the sum of it's parts and normally the idea that you could train Ninjutsu without first mastering all the component skills is just crazy lunacy. But headway has allowed us to work backwards and if we meet any real ninjas they are going to call bullshit.

Or I might just be spinning wheels and the fact that Taylor already integrates skills into her fighting at level 5 indicates that happens automatically and I might just be adding extra training where it isn't needed.

Click to shrink...

You're overthinking it a bit. Taylor automatically integrates skills into her fighting at level 5. She's a beyond genius tactician, I'm obviously not, but I try to spend a while thinking through things that she would intuitively understand.

Basically anything you could do with named attacks, you could do ordinarily. Luffy can still throw a punch without calling it, it's just less effective.

Also how many times do we need to roll against martial arts 8 with a DC of 100 before it increments down? I thought mastery skills where easier to level because all they do is make training other skills easier? This would be the second roll against DC 100 on martial arts 8 at this point.

Click to shrink...

I adjusted this to 80 - miscalc on my part.

As this shows that there is a potential to not ignore our more 'mundane' fighting skills as well. What would Boxing 10 gives for example, as it is already at 9? Max Capoeira?

Click to shrink...

I welcome your ideas lol

It's likely a similar incantation thing. The reason why all pirates wave their flags high and proud all the time as they defy the sea. Also why having your flag stolen is a big deal. And of course a flag doesn't work if you don't believe in it!

Click to shrink...

You know that, I know that... but Taylor still hasn't come to terms with the idea yet. The trouble with being from a materialistic universe being faced with a magical one.

But if I had to choose one, I guess I'd swap Usopp and Vivi. She is their primary target so keeping her safe on the boat makes sense and (no offense to her) she's probably the weakest member of the team.

Click to shrink...

Sound points. I would encourage you to keep in mind Vivi's (in this quest, at least) shown skillset with Den Den Mushi when planning with her.

10 feet to 13 feet wide is much more then a 30% increase. 10 feet diameter is an area of 78.5 square feet. Well a 13 feet diameter is 132 square feet. It is likely even more when you consider that the resistance of the water increases dramatically as the distance pushed goes up.

Click to shrink...

I've bumped this down a bit, edited the update. That wasn't my intention, to have an increase that dramatic. The table math I did showed a thirty percent increase would be a 10.5-11 ft wave, taking area vs diameter into account. Does that sound better?

 

[Ompa60]

Sound points. I would encourage you to keep in mind Vivi's (in this quest, at least) shown skillset with Den Den Mushi when planning with her.

Click to shrink...

Huh I guess she could act as the central command from the ship, keeping the separate teams in contact. At least that's what I'm taking from your comment.

I guess maybe it could help with an infiltration mission too potentially.

 

[SCO]

@Slamu i'd love a continuation of the ranma omake you did in the second thread.