Holding off on voting because i'm an indecisive and weak willed person (sadface), but in my experience I would rather talk about this with Ada face to face. I think asking if we could meet up at her place and talking there would allow for a more solid and emotional conversation.
TL;DR: Talking face-to-face with Ada would be better because emotions.
Vote's closed, champ. But you're meeting up with her later in the week anyway, so... you kinda won anyway? I guess
@Prok
Function Name: Pipe()
Function Category: Attack/Utility/Other
Function:
Passive: On its own, this Function allows designated allies nearby the use of a SEVERELY cut back version of Inform, projected onto their field of view via ScreenCopy. They don't get localized omniscience but instead have an AR HUD that can retrieve information from the Transistor's localized omniscience. Things like highlighting enemies, chat screens, ammo tracking, asking what temperature the food is, removing all shadows and darkness from Ada's field of vision ... etc. So Inform() but ratcheted down to a level they can actually process.
Active: subjects an enemy to information overload and blinds them with ScreenCopy filling their field of vision with Camp Camp episodes
Upgrade: can originate the function from allies (ex. launch a Bounce() from Ada's weapon) which, combined with Inform() effectively means they can launch it off by saying a trigger. But also means Jaune can launch it off arbitrarily without warning them.
Allies can participate in Turn() planning but purely as a planning session, instead of bonuses they get a -1 headache penalty
Projected MEM Cost: ????
Function Discovery: ScreenCopy is a cludgy hack and he finally got around to fixing that because now he has friends this would be helpful for, then he kind of wandered off in a tangent during implementation
Eh... the Upgrade section feels somewhat out of place. I'd put that under its own Function, bar the Turn() part, which fits fine with the passive, and the attack is-
You know what? You'll see when I'm done editing it.
Currently, I'm a security guard because everyone is like "you need real world work experience before I can hire you". That was for my criminal justice degree: everyone from my program interns for a semester with a police department. You'd think that would count but no...
Ohh.
Keeping
you in mind when I have to pick somebody's brain apart on that kind of thing.
also,, I wonder how difficult it would be to make a simple unadorned block of Transistor computronium to hook into the internet and run a hosting service
See, as soon as you said the word 'make,' this entire plan fell apart. You've made...
all of the Transistor you
can make, because as far as your Semblance is concerned, it looks at the Transistor and says 'yep, uh huh, uh huh, yep, that's an entire Transistor right there, nothing missing, no more work for me until ya need ta Von Neumann the
shit outta somebody!'
As for being rich, well... they can support eight kids. Yeah, some of 'em are working, but they still manage to care and provide for seven kids to a
very acceptable degree.
Ahh
The joys of employers wanting people with 3+ years experience...for entry level pay -_-;
Things like this kinda make me glad I didn't get into that IT apprenticeship and that I decided on professional cookery instead, because getting into any job in that industry is basically:
"Can you handle a knife in a way that doesn't make you a danger to yourself and others"
"... Yes"
"Cool, we've got 60 covers and God knows how many walk-ins today, get your whites because you're gonna be making tomato concasse for 18 hours straight"
"Oh joy"
Anyway, since the actual story update is, if not the
most emotionally draining thing I've ever had to write, then at least easily in the top three, here's an interlude that was... surprisingly
fun to write! On top of being TZK related, which is always a pleasure for me, action is slowly becoming easier for me to tackle, and for some reason writing a
cheery sociopath is just enjoyable. I think I could have done well, but at the same time, I didn't expect to strike lightning twice with it. I suppose it ran the same risk of pigeonholing me as JoJo did, and I don't really wanna be the guy who writes fanfic about obscure webnovels,
or the guy who writes fanfic about trash anime.
[lowhanging 'oh wait' joke here]
More White Fang soldiers pour from the Bullheads to meet you, not entirely scared by the state of their friends behind you, or underneath you. Or... above you, or slumped against that cargo container, or on
top of that cargo container, then there's that one guy hanging for dear life from the top of that crane, you didn't even realise you
could throw people that far with your shadow...
You almost feel bad for letting Ruby browbeat you into not killing or dismembering any of them. Humph. And she said it while brandishing that scythe of hers too! You mean, if
you were gonna tell someone not to use sharp things, you'd at least not be
brandishing a damned scythe while you're doing it! Still, just crushing their limbs with your shadow is fun! You watch corn yellow light flare into existence as their rifle bullets bounce off it, and you decide to leave it out behind you as you sprint forth, the near-sentient golden shroud of your soul trailing behind you in a mass of tendrils that slowly sows fear and uncertainty amongst the goons.
One of them decides to rush you, a wild scream tearing itself from her throat as she tries to rake her claws across your throat. You dodge, and your shadow quickly subsumes her arm, reducing the bone to gravel in seconds, repeating the process with one of her knees.
The only change of pace you take to her attempt is having to step over her while she wails in pain.
Honestly, it's a
broken knee, rub some dirt on it and you'll be fine.
"Oh, for the love of-" The orange-haired man in the bowler hat mutters beneath his breath, bringing up his cane, pointing the end at you. You wonder what he's about to do with that when the tip comes up, and he launches a
rocket at you!
If you weren't having so much fun flying backwards, the feeling of the blood rushing from your head to your toes leaving you feeling a little giddier than normal, you might be a little miffed with the fact that he just
launched a rocket at you. Your shadow flows behind you just in time to keep you from breaking on the surface of a crate, cushioning you on impact, before coiling up and launching you off in your original direction with, if not equal speed, certainly at a respectable pace.
Somewhere in the middle of your flight, it changes shape again, spines of your soul gouging out the ground to pull you forward, each movement adding more speed as you twist to ready yourself for something that's gonna be
really funny if you pull it off. Curling into a ball first, before the ginger man can react, you flip around, suddenly throwing your legs out completely straight, and driving your heels into his chin and nose.
You just dropkicked a man from halfway across a dockyard.
You were right. That
was funny.
As he bounces off, you finally land, bringing out even more of your shadow and quickly crushing guns and limbs in equal measure. Somewhere behind you, you hear Blake and- oh what was his name-
Sun, Sun, that's it, cleaning up those still trying to put up a fight behind you. Ruby and that ghost of hers join them, and soon shackles of silver appearing around limbs, quickly becoming casts for those who needed them.
Which was just about everyone, because non-lethal options are
hard.
Hrm... what next?
You
suppose you should take out the Bullhead... you're pretty sure there isn't a single person here in any condition to be flying one except for Rocket Man over there, so...
So you're gonna! Willing your shadow to flow over the engine nearest you, forming a thousand tiny little chipping blades around it to chew it off-
"JAUNE, NO!" Ruby yells at you, the funeral-ready corpse with the noose around its neck floating above her flitting away as fast as... it-ly possible.
"What? Why?"
"Because damaged engines
explode!"
You blink in confusion.
"... And?"
"EXPLOSIONS
KILL PEOPLE!"
You blink again.
"... And?"
All you get is a frustrated scream as she raises a clenched fist, and your shadow is forced off the engine by a sudden casing of silver, quickly annihilated at the end to allow it to continue venting heat. You wince a little as your shadow crackles, darkening and shrivelling as her soul power blasts it away. It doesn't
hurt, exactly, it just... feels weird. Like your heart's suddenly beating too fast.
Was it worth it to mess with her? Yes. Does that make it any better? Kinda.
You raise your hands in defeat, bringing what little of your shadow is left after her show of disagreement back, letting it recover a little.
Hmph. Still, all she had to do was say
no.
Another rocket comes for you, and a golden blade comes up to slice it in two. Your aim is ever so slightly off, and you deflect it instead, sending it Ruby's way purely out of bad luck. She brings her scythe up just in time for it to hit directly in front of her, sending shrapnel through her body and blowing one leg off at the thigh, the other escaping with a broken twisted ankle.
Ooh... that looked painful.
You watch her flop onto the ground, drawing a scream from Sun and Blake yelling her name, but she quickly waves them off as the hanged man comes back, touching her raised hand and then leaving again.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" She says, bone spikes sprouting from her thigh and slowly becoming a tibia- wait, no... femur?
You always get those two mixed up. Whatever, your point is, her legs are growing back. Once her ankle is repaired, she struggles to one foot, pushing off the ground with her scythe, blade down as a crutch. Ginger watches the scene with what you can only pin down as
abject horror, which is a mistake, because as soon as her once missing leg has an ankle again, she places it down, bringing the rifle part of her weapon to bear, gritting her teeth against the pain and just about managing to get a shot or three off in the white-suited man's direction.
He dodges neatly, Aura allowing him to simply hop out of the way like it's nothing.
Humph.
Your Aura actually does stuff. So it's still better.
While Ruby heals, pale skin creeping over pink, gently weeping muscle, Sun keeps screaming, and Blake tries to get him to stop screaming,
you run towards the man himself, your shadow forming into clubs and hammers and a thousand variations of, because all things considered blunt weapons are actually really really fun, and you're totally gonna thank Ruby for broadening your mind on the matter later!
In fairness, he does put up a good fight, his cane easily batting away two or three or even four weapons with each swing.
Buuuut, you're not fighting with two or three or four weapons, no you're fighting with closer to...
...
All of the weapons. All of them.
Ginger- you can't keep calling him Ginger. Not to his face.
"Oh, by the way, what's your name?" You ask him cheerfully as you send another wave of corn-yellow batons his way. "I've just been calling you Ginger in my head for like ten minutes and I figured since I'm close enough to ask I might as well!"
"WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE?!" He yells, and your weapons freeze mid-swing.
...
You raise a finger, opening your mouth to say something, before closing it again, bringing a fist to your mouth in thought. One club half-heartedly blocks his cane from cracking you over the head as you realise... you, kind of
don't. Ginger's a good enough nickname that, in retrospect, you're ok with Ginger. Ginger is good.
"... That's a very good point!" You tell him, before allowing the beatings to continue.
You don't believe morale improves.
Somewhere behind you, the whine of a Bullhead is heard, and you hear Ruby scream something to you- are suddenly on the ground, feeling the dull impact of turret bullets hitting you on the back, your shadow quickly forming a shield to block them.
Ginger takes the opportunity to hop out of the way, though you watch him take a bullet to the shoulder and wince in pain as he keeps moving. Slowly, painfully, you manage to flip onto your back, and focus on the Bullheads above you. Two peel away to deal with a small ginger girl, henceforth referred to as Ginger Junior, who seems to share your philosophy in having
all the weapons- she's deflecting every single bullet sent her way with a
fan of blades, before two more appear from somewhere and pull her back towards the warehouse, both aircraft following.
You turn your attention to your own assailant and realise that, for the first time since Ruby last smacked you, you're in serious danger of being hurt. The bullets, unpowered by servant or ardour alike, are still numerous enough that your shadow simply can't keep up.
... You could get hurt.
How exciting! You've never taken a bullet to the chest before, you wonder what it'll feel like? Will it sting for a bit? Will you not feel anything from shock? Ooh, you almost can't wait!
Ooh, it might kill you! You wonder if aberrations can become reapers?
But if you become a reaper, then you won't be able to use your shadow...
Gah. Decisions, decisions.
In the end, perhaps two or three bullets away from your shadow breaking, you make your decision, and listen to the song of joy in your heart, willing your power into existence.
Above the Bullhead, a bright yellow disk appears, a hole to somewhere so bright that it lights up the world like a child drew the sun upon the night sky, and you already see the top of the vehicle turning a deep, cherry red as the heat radiates from that other place. Something never meant to be seen by the world at large reaches through, a hand of fire and stone reaching through and grabbing the Bullhead like a toy, pullling it through despite the engines going at full throttle to escape.
The hole closes with a clap of thunder, and you feel... five, six, seven,
eight new souls and sets of memories added to your power. Already, you feel your shadow healing a little faster, growing a little larger.
Wonderful.
At the same time, a bright green beam slashes through the other two, dropping White Fang goons all over the ground and sending their flaming wrecks somewhere on the other side of the trainyard.
Ooh! Ginger Junior's got
toys! You spy Ginger, now Senior, you suppose, running for the original Bullhead, which is still operational despite Ruby's silver casing, on account of her being nice enough to leave it with openings to vent. You consider going after him, and begin to get up, before realising that using your power like that...
Really...
Really tired you out, holy
cow-
You manage to get up on your knees, breathing suddenly becoming harder as fatigue hits you like a damn
truck, just in time to watch him board the airship and get on out of here.
Even from all the way over here, you can see Ruby, now wearing half a pair of silver shorts for her decency's sake,
snarl in frustration as she launches herself into the air on a materialised pillar, forming
hundreds of thousands of Lien worth of platform every time she reaches her peak, launching off again and again until she's just shy of ten feet away from it...
And suddenly there's an amorphous mass of silver where the Bullhead used to be, rushing to the ground.
It lands with a horrific crash, Ruby following and just about not managing to break her leg
pffhahahahaha no her femurs are in her goddamn kidneys dude-
As she waits for her legs to fix themselves, she wills away the economy-ruining amount of precious metals she's created, revealing a... surprisingly unharmed Bullhead. You see Ginger on the ground, trying to get up, before Ruby waves a hand and encases him from the neck down, before flopping onto the ground and taking a damn minute.
Which sounds... just...
dandy...
True to form, your shadow keeps your head from hitting the ground too hard as battle fatigue finally takes you.
