An attempt at making a romantic narrative worm quest centering around the relationship between Amy Dallon and Taylor Hebert, who are currently secretly(ish) dating.
Take the role of one or the other, use your (potentially alt) powers to achieve your own goals, find happiness with objectively best girl, and maybe save the world.
Or rule it with an iron fist, if that's your thing.
Amy sighed in relief as the bell for lunch finally rang. Dragging herself out of her chair she immersed herself in the crowd of students eager to leave class, if only for a little while. Using the throngs of teenagers as a shield to avoid Vicky's gaze, she took a carefully winding path through the halls of Arcadia until she finally made it outside to the school patio.
She took in a breath of fresh air, the verdant garden providing a kind of peace that Brockton Bay never could. The sun shone brightly on the little slice of paradise, a blessing in the chilly winter air. Amy liked it for more than just the plants, though. Much as she loved her sister, she was not a people person no matter how many parties Vicky tried to drag her to. Here, though, she could be almost completely alone.
Almost.
Amy caught a flicker of movement from behind a copse of trees in the middle of the patio. A faint sound of shuffling paper. Despite herself, Amy found a small smile tugging at her lips as a burst of happiness rang through her heart. Stepping around the perimeter of the patio, Amy rounded the copse, and found her quarry on the other side.
The girl sat on a bench, seemingly engrossed in a book. She had long, wavy, black hair, and her reedy form was almost engulfed in the dark hoodie she almost never went without. She turned the page, slim black glasses locked on the contents, the sound of shifting paper mixing with the faint birdsong to create a kind of tranquility Amy happily took refuge in.
"Hey," Amy announced herself, nudging the girl in the shoulder.
The girl mumbled something indecipherable, but kept her attention focused on the book. She was just getting to the good part in the chapter and she didn't want to be bothered by the outside world until she was done.
Amy sighed and gave the girl a flat look. "Come on Taylor," she nudged her again, "I've had a long day."
Taylor rolled her eyes, but in the end she scooted over on the bench and held her book up. "Come on," Taylor halfheartedly grumbled.
Allowing herself a smirk, Amy laid down on the bench, propping her feet up on the pot at the end, and planting her head right on Taylor's lap. Taylor knew it was coming, but some part of her still jumped at the intimacy.
"I don't even know why you like these." Taylor frowned, slowly setting her book back down and resting it on Amy's chest. "I mean…it's just…you know…"
"Is there anything wrong with cuddling with my girlfriend to relieve stress?" Amy challenged Taylor with an arched brow.
Taylor's heart fluttered and she looked away, stammering, "N-no, i-it's just…I-I'm all bony a-and-"
Her mind flailed as she desperately tried to deflect it back to somewhere familiar, even if it was a far darker one. Unfortunately, Amy already knew what she was doing and refused to let her girlfriend's mind spiral like that.
"-And I like spending time with you." Amy cut her off with a shrug. "Plus you give great head massages." Taylor tried to hold her gaze, but Amy just closed her eyes and started humming.
Taylor's mind flitted through all through all the dark thoughts she'd earned since her time at Winslow. Then it remembered all the times Amy had paid her back. Giving her someone to talk to, someone to care about, someone who actually cared about her. Taylor wasn't really sure about this whole 'dating' business, but…so far she had to admit, it wasn't bad.
So with a heavy sigh, Taylor ran her hands through Amy's scalp. "Fine…"
Her girlfriend's humming grew into what could almost be called a simple purr, the ghost of a sublime smile gracing her lips.
It almost made Taylor feel bad about smacking Amy in the face with the book.
Almost.
After all, she had a chapter to finish.
/-|-\
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/\-/_|_\-/\
\-|-/
Then next morning, when you open your eyes, you're:
[ ] [Character] Amy Dallon
Kind of a salty, snarky, bitch
But with a heart of gold
[ ] [Character] Taylor Hebert
Traumatized shy cinnamon bun
Has a problem with justifying escalation
…feeling a bit better, more at ease with the world. Not great, not even really good, but your girlfriend…she helps, in her own way. It still surprises you how much her presence helps you deal with it all. She also inspires you to use your powers:
[ ] [Powers] Canon
Canon powerset
Taylor: Wide range Bug control
Amy: Touch based Biokinesis
[ ] [Powers] Security
Taylor: Tinker focused on networked security systems.
Networked AI, drones, sensors, and more
Anything to create the most secure systems in the world
Amy: Bio Tinker focused on biological security solutions
Can create meat golem "pets" as bodyguards
Meat-based security and safeguarding.
Paranoia
Lives in fear of having something else precious to them ripped away
[ ] [Powers] Upgrade
Taylor: Social thinker focused on "Fixing" social structures like organizations or families.
Can understand, streamline, and "fix" social structures.
Power starts weak and grows stronger the more complex the social structure
Using it too frequently on too complicated social structures generates headaches.
Amy: Tinker focused on trans-human upgrades
Super soldier serum, refining human genome, wetware upgrades
Can work on plants and animals as well, but preference for humans
Obsession
Obsessed with "fixing" things since everything else has gone so wrong
[ ] [Powers] Mirage
Taylor: Changer Master that can turn into a swarm of bugs.
Swarm is equal to current body mass
Can integrate other bugs in swarm to regenerate
Swarm has smaller range than canonset
Amy: Changer Stranger with total control of her own biology.
Can change entire biology at will.
No self replication
Basically Prototype/Thing
Body Dysphoria
Uncomfortable in own skin, wishes she could disappear/fit in.
Your partner could also get an alt power
[ ] [Partner Powers] Yes
[ ] Which one?
Cannot be the same category as yours.
[ ] [Partner Powers] No
-in order to accomplish your newfound goal of:
[ ] [Goal] Protecting your loved ones
[ ] [Goal] Saving Brockton Bay
[ ] [Goal] Ruling Brockton Bay
[ ] [Goal] Write in…
Still, as the morning sun breaches your room and stabs at your eyes, you can't help but think about how much work you have cut out for you. After all, the world is:
[ ] [World] Canon…ish
A shithole bound for an apocalypse.
Slightly derailed by an alt-trigger.
[ ] [World] Minor AU: Scion + Contessa Dead.
World mostly the same, but you won't have to worry about Scion's apocalypse or suddenly Contessa interrupt.
[ ] [World] Major AU: Personal AU with wide changes
???
/-|-\ \/-\_|_/-\/ 16 Hour Moratorium Vote By Plan /\-/_|_\-/\ \-|-/
Alright a few notes. First, this is actually my second quest, and second this was done basically on a whim. Since it's spur of the moment I can't really make any promises on update speed or how long it'll go until it dies, and part of me is totally expecting it to not even get off the ground. Still, I like the premise enough and it's pretty easy to write.
SkitterPan has always been a pairing that I…well, I won't say I love it, but it's not terrible and I give props to the stories that do it well. However, one of the most common things I've seen in fics even when they do pair up, in theory, is a lengthy will-they won't-they, or Amy's just one of the most popular options for Taylor to pick.
So, this quest is all about cutting out the middleman and cutting to the chase. From day 1, Amy and Taylor are already in a relationship. Also part of the reason why the story starts almost half a year after canon start was supposed to happen, and I'll just go ahead and tell you that lots of canon Worm hasn't happened yet. In that same vein, I'll play around with the ages of Taylor and Amy as necessary for the mods to be fine with the shipping, I suppose, but I'm drawing a hard line against any kind of horni bullshit.
This is (an attempt at) a romance quest, not a smut fic.
Anyways, to finish up, this is intended to be a romantic narrative worm quest where you take the perspective of one character or the other. The alt powers provided are allowed, but as is just rolling with canon powerset. The objective of the game, besides being happy with your partner, is also up to you. Being a narrative quest, dice and rolls will have very little, if any, purpose in the quest. I'm also aware that some characters, namely Amy and Taylor, are probably gonna be OOC. I'll do my best to not wildly characterize anyone, and certainly steer clear of any intentional bashing, but I'll also be writing the characters in a way I'm most comfortable writing, which means taking some liberties so I can get in their head better.
Finally, there is a moratorium on voting. Mostly it's so long so I can actually get some sleep and then open up voting when I get up. It is by plan and this will seriously impact the course of the quest going forward. Your goals might be able to change, but everything else won't. Be sure of your choices.
In any case, I'll be off to bed soon, though I'll be up long enough to answer a handful of questions. Hopefully this is enough to earn ya'll's interest and if so we'll see where this goes.
[X] [Goal] Saving Brockton Bay
[X] [World] Minor AU: Scion + Contessa Dead.
OK so reasons for what I chose Amy for POV because I want an eye on Carol in case of meltdown.
Power choices are to make a robot army with supersoilders NCOs so we have a large force we don't need excessive micro for that we don't mind casualties that can interact with other organisations.
Having save Brockton bay is pretty much we either succeed or we get our feet wet and then go to rule instead because shit has gone wrong but at that point we should have the rep and connections to get new wave and the protectorate on our side or at least not in our way
Scion and Contessa being dead means we can just roll on without to many people going nuts trying to prep for golden morning and cauldron.
[ ] Plan: And All That Counts, Is Here And Now
-[ ] [Character] Amy Dallon
-[ ] [Powers] Canon
-[ ] [Partner Powers] No
-[ ] [Goal] Protecting your loved ones
-[ ] [World] Minor AU: Scion + Contessa Dead.
Title is taken from the lyrics of Glad You Came by The Wanted. This is an attempt to make things... mostly lighthearted. There's still the Gangs and Villains that are a problem, but there's no looming apocalypse, and even the Endbringers are a threat that can actually be fought against with some hope of victory.
I chose the Goal of Protecting your loved ones because I think it plays into the personal focus of that this plan goes for, but I could easily swap it out for Saving Brockton Bay (or swap out Amy as the MC for Taylor. I have no preference.)
So, I'm interested in the quest, and have a few questions, @Metaldragon868
What distribution of conflicts or challenges do you expect in the story? Up to the voters, Amy and Taylor social friction, Amy and Taylor vs high school shenanigans, Taylor escalating until moral "improves", random villain of the story arc, and some kind of sorting algorithm of evil villain organization for the entire quest are all different categories of conflict that come to mind. Which ones are you expecting to favor or simply prefer?
If a tinker power is chosen, how much math will be involved on your end or that of us voters?
Will there be any limits to power synergy, if Canon powers are chosen? (What stops the hosts of Queen Administrator and Shaper from ruling the world beneath their army of Tyranid/Zerg/Xenomorph hybrids within a month?)
Will you be doing approval voting or single vote per person?
Do feel free to ignore these questions, as I recognize that they get rather broad and expansive.
...Oh man, silly me, I put the super important story message in big colored text with red symbols. How could I have forgotten that the best way for everyone to get the message is to use obvious invisitext?
Oh, how could I be such a fool?
Well, at least you guys are better at following instructions than SB. A bunch of those guys didn't even make a plan.
So, I'm interested in the quest, and have a few questions, @Metaldragon868
What distribution of conflicts or challenges do you expect in the story? Up to the voters, Amy and Taylor social friction, Amy and Taylor vs high school shenanigans, Taylor escalating until moral "improves", random villain of the story arc, and some kind of sorting algorithm of evil villain organization for the entire quest are all different categories of conflict that come to mind. Which ones are you expecting to favor or simply prefer?
If a tinker power is chosen, how much math will be involved on your end or that of us voters?
Will there be any limits to power synergy, if Canon powers are chosen? (What stops the hosts of Queen Administrator and Shaper from ruling the world beneath their army of Tyranid/Zerg/Xenomorph hybrids within a month?)
Will you be doing approval voting or single vote per person?
Do feel free to ignore these questions, as I recognize that they get rather broad and expansive.
In terms of conflict there's going to be roughly three levels.
Personal
Conflict that typically revolves around Amy and Taylor's relationship or the people around them. Basically drama, angst, and romance stuff.
Street Level
Dealing with gangs, local PRT, Heroes, and other such things. Stuff that keeps it in Brockton Bay and usually doesn't reach S-class.
Global
Not specifically global in scope, but things that affect the wider world. The PRT/Protectorate as a whole, S9(sorta), Endbringers, Cauldron. Basically the big leagues.
Global level conflict is going to be rare. The story is probably going to mostly focus on street and personal conflict, but if you guys decided to do the aforementioned Zerg rush or:
Power choices are to make a robot army with supersoilders NCOs so we have a large force we don't need excessive micro for that we don't mind casualties that can interact with other organisations.
Something like that and it gets out of hand then you're gonna get slapped with an S-class kill order before you can say Borg. The largest factors keeping the idea of zerg swarm takeover in check are
A: Your partner and your families will probably vehemently disagree with world conquest, so you have to try and convince them, aka me, that it's a good idea. If you don't give a shit about the opinions of either then, well, you're probably not gonna be in for a good time.
B: Unless you want to start using viral weapons, you're not gonna be able to pull it off without someone pulling an alarm.
I'm not saying you can't do it, you just have to actually put in effort, be careful, and make sure to avoid Global banhammers. I'm not going to just let you take over the planet without severe pushback.
Finally, regarding tinker powers, much as I am currently getting an engineering degree I also do not want to deal with the tedium of involving serious math in the quest if I can help it. I want these chapters to be quick little things I can slap together in a day or so on a whim and having to do calculations is not going to help that plan.
--[ ] Similar to Minor AU (Scion + Contessa are dead), except Endbringers are more beatable (something like EBRT Quest?) Multiple Endbringers may have already been destroyed by this point, and they are overall seen as a highly dangerous threat that needs extensive research, preparation, and firepower to overcome, but nevertheless can be overcome, rather than completely unstoppable juggernauts.
This is more or less pointless since it's not appreciably different from minor AU. Personal AU also isn't a write in, it's my AU I built for a previous fic Progenitor, with a few obvious modifications. In that, yeah, EB's are dying, but it also has severe knock on effects. You aren't just going to kill a few EBs without changing the world.
Anyways, seeing how things have turned out on here and the SB thread I've decided I'm going to slightly extend the moratorium so it continues for the next 6 hours. That's time for you to organize your plans, converse on them, and figure your shit out before I open up voting in the morning.
As of right now, here are all the plans on SB and SV:
[ ] Plan: And All That Counts, Is Here And Now
-[ ] [Character] Amy Dallon
-[ ] [Powers] Canon
-[ ] [Partner Powers] No
-[ ] [Goal] Protecting your loved ones
-[ ] [World] Major AU: Personal AU with wide changes
--[ ] Similar to Minor AU (Scion + Contessa are dead)
-[ ] [Character] Taylor Hebert
--[ ] [Powers] Security
-[ ] [Partner Powers] No
-[ ] [World] Canon…ish
-[ ] [Goal] Protecting your loved ones No matter the costs
So with that knowledge in hand I encourage you all to use the next 6 hours to refine your plans and figure your shit out. There's probably some overlap in the plans, I know everyone seems to want Scion + Contessa dead (what a fucking shock), but other than that who knows.
Good luck and hopefully your decisions won't fuck you like a raw duck when the story gets going.
Something like that and it gets out of hand then you're gonna get slapped with an S-class kill order before you can say Borg. The largest factors keeping the idea of zerg swarm takeover in check are
A: Your partner and your families will probably vehemently disagree with world conquest, so you have to try and convince them, aka me, that it's a good idea. If you don't give a shit about the opinions of either then, well, you're probably not gonna be in for a good time.
Fair enough I just liked the synergy plus I imagine Amy-Upgrade would allow minor healing so that would be something that Amy can sell rather then do for free and Taylor-security is pretty good for constant improvements over time
Reasons against the rest of the powers canon both are done to death especially Amy, Amy-security is piggot's nightmare fuel, Taylor-upgrade is superfocus teacher, mirage's downside isn't something I want to inflict on either Amy or Taylor
[X] Smells Like Teen Spirit!
-[X] [Character] Taylor Hebert
-[X] [Powers] Canon
-[X] [Partner Powers] Yes
--[X] Upgrade
-[X] [Goal] Keeping our precious people safe... even if we gotta force the change...(basically a combo of caring for their loved ones by coming to the conclusion we got no choice but to Rule.)
-[X] [World] Minor AU: Scion + Contessa Dead.
All in all I have zero interest in a "rule" goal and would much rather keep it to either protecting the city without trying for a power grab, or just keeping our loved ones safe.
Fair enough I just liked the synergy plus I imagine Amy-Upgrade would allow minor healing so that would be something that Amy can sell rather then do for free and Taylor-security is pretty good for constant improvements over time
Reasons against the rest of the powers canon both are done to death especially Amy, Amy-security is piggot's nightmare fuel, Taylor-upgrade is superfocus teacher, mirage's downside isn't something I want to inflict on either Amy or Taylor
All three of your plans are extremely similar. I encourage you to coordinate and merge your plan or something, as the only difference between them is the goal, which is the one thing you're picking here that you can actually change later.
It's totally possible that you start out and all you want to do is protect your loved ones, only to escalate to the point where you have no choice but to take over the world before some other asshole breaks it. I mean, isn't that what Canon Taylor ended up doing? Save a few strangers -> save the city -> rule the city -> save the world?
Some of them are similar and there's so many that I'm not sure I got every plan, so give me a shoutout if I missed yous. Or, you know, just post it again. You can only vote by plan, no independent voting, and you can vote for UP TO THREE PLANS.
In any case, the voting will be closed in two days, though possibly through a mercy ruling if there's a clear winner. In that time you can still coordinate or plan and ever so often I'll do an update taking a tally and highlighting the major plans. Otherwise:
[X] Plan: And All That Counts, Is Here And Now
-[X] [Character] Amy Dallon
-[X] [Powers] Canon
-[X] [Partner Powers] No
-[X] [Goal] Protecting your loved ones
-[X] [World] Minor AU: Scion + Contessa Dead.
...Oh man, silly me, I put the super important story message in big colored text with red symbols. How could I have forgotten that the best way for everyone to get the message is to use obvious invisitext?
Oh, how could I be such a fool?
Well, at least you guys are better at following instructions than SB. A bunch of those guys didn't even make a plan.
My eyes have been trained to skip over any colours when I'm reading. Invisitext would in fact have captured more of my attention
I'm aproval voting these two, because I think that it would be interesting to play a cannon Amy over.
[X] Plan: And All That Counts, Is Here And Now
[X] Plan dealing with escalation
