It's a Girl's World -- And Lilly wants Adventure

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Alectai said:
Oh Boy!

Those were exactly what we needed!
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Feat Unlocked: Follow-up Questions!

We may have to be careful, though. The Concordance powers all draw from their own pool which isn't as limitless as our Essence. There is a chance that by focusing on the questions we want answered, the "surprise" advice and warnings won't be available (like the static we got when Lilly was trying to parse out what Madam Silva was referring to after we made it to Harmuph).

Still, I'm satisfied with my choice, and I'm grateful to have the chance to help Lilly last a bit longer.
 
Silverking said:
Feat Unlocked: Follow-up Questions!

We may have to be careful, though. The Concordance powers all draw from their own pool which isn't as limitless as our Essence. There is a chance that by focusing on the questions we want answered, the "surprise" advice and warnings won't be available (like the static we got when Lilly was trying to parse out what Madam Silva was referring to after we made it to Harmuph).

Still, I'm satisfied with my choice, and I'm grateful to have the chance to help Lilly last a bit longer.
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Well, hopefully Concordance can be strengthened with exercise. It does seem like it gets better when we level up though? So I guess it does?
 
I had a bit of a realization regarding the actual size of the bullet that Lilly dodged by managing to not get caught getting two Milestone expansions in succession back at the house. Before, I had somehow thought that the response would be "academic confusion", but now I realize that it would be closer to "instinctive dread".

To Lilly (and possibly the readers), gaining these Milestones is an irregular, but manageable part of her life now. Sure, getting a new Ethos requires a bit of a lie-down just to be safe, but the Milestones are more like getting a crick out of her back: it sounds worse than it actually is, and she feels a lot better once it's done.

To Marius, sensing two Milestones in close succession would probably be akin to the scene in Worm where Noelle experiences multiple Triggers after consuming half of a Cauldron vial. If you have any knowledge of how these things are supposed to work, you can tell that something has gone horribly wrong. This isn't even a "we can discuss this later" concern, this is an immediate "Someone call a doctor, what kind of mutant are you?" situation.

I bring this up because Lilly's just gone unconscious on the verge of gaining a "regular" Milestone expansion, an "super" Milestone expansion, a regular Ethos gain, a Foundational Ethos gain, and some transhumanism thrown in just for fun. Not to mention that Evie's holding back enough XP for both her and [Brave Blood] to level up when she has a spare moment. Hopefully, everyone has decided to "give her space" when she wakes up, otherwise someone's bound to notice the metaphysical explosion that's about to go off.
 
Silverking said:
I had a bit of a realization regarding the actual size of the bullet that Lilly dodged by managing to not get caught getting two Milestone expansions in succession back at the house. Before, I had somehow thought that the response would be "academic confusion", but now I realize that it would be closer to "instinctive dread".

To Lilly (and possibly the readers), gaining these Milestones is an irregular, but manageable part of her life now. Sure, getting a new Ethos requires a bit of a lie-down just to be safe, but the Milestones are more like getting a crick out of her back: it sounds worse than it actually is, and she feels a lot better once it's done.

To Marius, sensing two Milestones in close succession would probably be akin to the scene in Worm where Noelle experiences multiple Triggers after consuming half of a Cauldron vial. If you have any knowledge of how these things are supposed to work, you can tell that something has gone horribly wrong. This isn't even a "we can discuss this later" concern, this is an immediate "Someone call a doctor, what kind of mutant are you?" situation.

I bring this up because Lilly's just gone unconscious on the verge of gaining a "regular" Milestone expansion, an "super" Milestone expansion, a regular Ethos gain, a Foundational Ethos gain, and some transhumanism thrown in just for fun. Not to mention that Evie's holding back enough XP for both her and [Brave Blood] to level up when she has a spare moment. Hopefully, everyone has decided to "give her space" when she wakes up, otherwise someone's bound to notice the metaphysical explosion that's about to go off.
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TBH, Lilly has gone through hell in a handbasket and somehow walked away from it--the Expansions tend to come all at once, and the system isn't designed to specifically count how many Expansions happened.

In light of that, a big-ass Milestone on a literal child who did grown-ass professional work in a crisis position isn't unthinkable, and since it's all going to hit at once it's probably just going to be interpreted as a big adjustment brought on by an unlikely but highly stressful series of events.

TL;DR, for this one at least we're probably okay. But it's a genuine concern down the line, and I really hope we can get [Cleaver of Fortune] to help us with some damcon.
 
Chapter is coming along nicely.
Title for 2.1 is "Reaching for a lifeline"

Lilly's changes/expansions happened while unconscious.
 
Slyvena said:
There are many in this world that take much comfort in the wisdom of the future, simply possessing such an Ethos would earn you a great deal of hostile attention seeking to snip your troublesome life in the bud.
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That description implies our life is some sort of line! It's the Diviner-faction! They're reaching for our lifeline to snip it off!
 
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noncannon said:
That description implies our life is some sort of line! It's the Diviner-faction! They're reaching for our lifeline to snip it off!
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Dang it all! Madam Silva has already reached out to the Cabal of Diviners! They must have figured out that if [Cleaver of Fortune] can be used change someone's fate, they'll be run out of business! If only we hadn't made such a fuss about the misinterpreted death declaration!
 
Lilly's Appearance
  • Informational
    • I'll include this as Misc at the bottom of 2.1, but it's nothing new and needs to be in an Informational Threadmark anyway.
    If you want to keep your own internal image of Lilly instead, just don't look. This ain't going to effect mechanics/etc.

    I managed to find someone who is roughly similar to what I'd picture Lilly being at 9/10 years old, so a couple years before the current story. Obviously, Lilly does not have highlights, modern clothes and makeup, but was small for her age. She is currently 12 and 5 months.
    These pictures make it clear why Mathew was so initially dismissive of training you. You do not look like a fighter in any way, shape or form. Being drenched in Alphas' black blood prevented a similar reaction for your meeting with the Watch; you looked the part.
    The more typical response a human is likely to have to your fighting stance is "Awww, so cute. She's trying to look tough."
    You are shorter than Chariot's back, prior to your increased strength you would not have been able to get up on him without help. The {Heartstaff} is as tall as you are and about as thick as your arms at full extension (when you're not forming more complex shapes). So outwardly it looks a bit thin and flimsy. Lilly is happy to disabuse someone of that assumption.

    You are probably picking up on your running theme by now; 'Far more dangerous than she appears'. *Recalls mental image of Lilly piledriving an Alpha's skull into the earth*

    And just for fun; an extra young Lilly has one of her dreams come true in a non-canon timeline.

    (Higher Res on the Onedrive, if 1024px is for some reason not enough for you.)
     
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  • Informational
    • Ah yes, a face to the image of a 12-year-old girl spin-kicking a giant wolf to death.

    In comparison to the average YA protagonist, Lilly can already hold her own. I'd bet on her against Chamber of Secrets ( 12-year-old) Harry Potter, Ender from Ender's Game, and even Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief. Useless boys, ugh. Molly Moon, on the other hand...

    More seriously, thanks for the image reference! Also, good reminder that Lilly wants to learn to read/ an education. Which is a good thing :)
     
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    Kymecho said:
    Also, good reminder that Lilly wants to learn to read/ an education.
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    One of the psychological dynamics I find interesting to explore is that, prior to modern culture, a rebellious/independent spirited girl would have often expressed part of her defiance by wanting to go to school. Hence we have Lilly, who considers bold heroics and academics as equally valid expressions of her individuality.
    Will be interesting if you guys take her that direction. As I believe I've said before, Lilly is exceptionally intelligent (not even counting how her magics may help). She would take to education like a fish to water.

    EDIT 02/01/2021: 7K mostly written. Looks like this'll be another big one. (half of it is just sorting through what the hell just happened to you)
     
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    Kymecho said:
    In comparison to the average YA protagonist, Lilly can already hold her own. I'd bet on her against Chamber of Secrets ( 12-year-old) Harry Potter, Ender from Ender's Game, and even Percy Jackson in The Lightning Thief. Useless boys, ugh. Molly Moon, on the other hand...
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    Well, Ender not that strong on his own. A competent stronger, but nothing more. I wouldn't bet on Lily when it comes to a battle of wits and strategy though. Lily is incredibly smart, but Ender is far more, and he is, in my opinion, one of sci-fi and fantasy genre greatest strategists, with only Mat caution from Wheel of time as an equal

    Anyway, these heroes are quite weak, in relation to some other fantasy characters, even in adulthood. They are very strong in their relative universes, but even 16 year old percy Percy jackson, who is probably the strongest of the three, can't match 20 year old drizzt(at the time only entering the academy) or defest Eragon in a swordfight, even without taking Eragon more powerful magic. And I haven't even gotten to the truly high caliber yet
     
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    @Slyvena Hmm that's a really good point. There's recent examples like Malala Yousafzai to add credence too. I'd be all for that direction if we could reasonably preserve Lilly's safety and eventual freedom, and maybe bring Myah along for companionship?
    I can only guess at her Essence issue (Conscious rejection of her Ethos? Then again, the beggar with a similar problem seemed physically unwell). I'm hoping [My Resolution, Thy Bedrock] could help fix her?

    Oh for sure, I was just going off the top of my head. If we really want to get jiggy with it, Anthony Fremont from the Twilight Zone episode It's a Good Life is a 6-year-old literal reality warper who plays God with the unfortunate souls in his hometown. Not to mention some of the SCP Foundation entries. There's some crazy stuff out there.
     
    Slyvena said:
    As I believe I've said before, Lilly is exceptionally intelligent (not even counting how her magics may help). She would take to education like a fish to water.
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    She's already capable of doing 4 digit subtraction in her head, if nothing else. Hopefully we might be able to leverage Captain Martin's patronage into something in that direction (because leaving Harmuph under our own power is probably not an option at this point).

    I'm also curious how this will affect her social dynamics with her peers in Harmuph. We only had the chance to briefly meet Myah, and we haven't met Sally, Tunia or Tally yet. It's going to be a bit strange going from "the carpenter's daughter with the sweet smile and a bit of a rebellious streak" to "wait, didn't she run off into the woods and die?" to "unhappy Savior of the Town who my adventurer father made me promise not to start a fight with."
     
    Kymecho said:
    @Slyvena Hmm that's a really good point. There's recent examples like Malala Yousafzai to add credence too. I'd be all for that direction if we could reasonably preserve Lilly's safety and eventual freedom, and maybe bring Myah along for companionship?
    I can only guess at her Essence issue (Conscious rejection of her Ethos? Then again, the beggar with a similar problem seemed physically unwell). I'm hoping [My Resolution, Thy Bedrock] could help fix her?

    Oh for sure, I was just going off the top of my head. If we really want to get jiggy with it, Anthony Fremont from the Twilight Zone episode It's a Good Life is a 6-year-old literal reality warper who plays God with the unfortunate souls in his hometown. Not to mention some of the SCP Foundation entries. There's some crazy stuff out there.
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    I didn't mean to make offense, sorry if I did. I don't think your examples are bad, I just wanted to make sure we see Lily's place in the larger scale powers, though she may verb well become much stronger in adulthood
     
    Oh no worries at all, I was trying to poke fun at some of the more well-known youngsters in recent fiction. Lilly's impressive, yet imperfect, record in self-defense certainly has room for improvement, no questions there.
     
    Slyvena said:
    (half of it is just sorting through what the hell just happened to you)
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    Let us reflect and look back on the choices provided at the end of 1.7. Little Lilly was cumulative level 4, a day of VR training had gotten us a a brand new level of [Brave Blood], our greatest fear was that our proficiency with Essence alone would be discovered, and research into boosting the Tiers and Grasp of our powers was presented as a slow and steady work of many days. And then we had the options for adventure.

    Slyvena said:
    [ ] Adventure.
    -[ ] The Silent Sea. With your incredible speed, you could see the coast for the first time and be back by morning.
    -[ ] The northern woods are said to have all sorts of dangerous ilk. You're not afraid.
    -[ ] Play-fight with imagined monsters, have a blast. Innocent rocks and bushes may have to be sacrificed.
    -[ ] Try to find and follow some interesting thing's fate line, something more interesting than an ant.
    [ ] Rest. It's been a big day and no one is going to hold it against you for just taking it easy.
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    ...After a full night and morning and tripling our effective level, our priorities for free time may have shifted a bit. We may end up getting options like this again soon assuming the Dungeon has been reduced to "manageable" levels, but the tone of innocence and wonder is probably not coming back for a LONG time, if ever.
     
    Slyvena said:
    One of the psychological dynamics I find interesting to explore is that, prior to modern culture, a rebellious/independent spirited girl would have often expressed part of her defiance by wanting to go to school. Hence we have Lilly, who considers bold heroics and academics as equally valid expressions of her individuality.

    Will be interesting if you guys take her that direction. As I believe I've said before, Lilly is exceptionally intelligent (not even counting how her magics may help). She would take to education like a fish to water.
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    Damn, now I really wish we took I Tear The Veil.

    [I Tear the Textbook] (Unique): (Oath) {Inverted}
    Secrets, secrets everywhere! Airplanes don't fly because flow distance lowers air pressure, but because of angle of attack! Toilets don't flush in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere due to the Coriolis Effect! What other knowledge are these "educators" hiding? Gain a presence and defiling charisma as deep as the ocean reflected off the colorless sky. Divert away their goldfish memories; influence their five senses until they see nothing more than the dirt around their ostrich heads. Experts in their fields will become blind as a bat, while your own mental scaffolding proves as immune as a shark's body to mere disease. They can tell you the easy way, or find their brain capacity slightly degraded to 9%.
     
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    Inspired by @noncannon and from my enjoyment of this quest:

    Dousing Flames (Common): (Pithe)
    Popular. Fun. Invited to parties. None of these terms describe you. Wise beyond your years, you gaze through the lens of the worldly, and world-weary. Guesses and assumptions on your part are often proven correct, if disappointing. You see through deception as an owl sees through darkness, and demonstrate a long, calculating memory. The inexorable patterns of nature and behavior play out before you, time and time again. Life's vicissitudes will be apparent and blunted for you. Just don't expect many companions to help with them.

    [Crazed Chemist] (Rare): (Pithe)
    There are 94 naturally occurring elements. You prefer one of the least-mentioned: the element of surprise! Synthesize unearthly substances; what does it matter which? Enemies will tremble before your intellectual might; none will be certain of your newest creations! Turn straw to gold, chase immortality, sunder the gods themselves; all shall be within your reach in time. Provided your grander tendencies don't stop you first. The jealous whisper of your overwrought flights of fancy, and capricious fits of pique. Eh, nothing enough thermite can't solve.

    [Shadow of Yourself] (Rare): (Oath) {Inverted}
    You have been wounded beyond hope of recovery, beyond healing. Your very fundamental nature has been irreversibly shaken, forcing change. You will never again rise to your greatest heights. So be it. If there is no refuge in audacity, there might be concealment in lowliness. Your lamentable form grants you that which might have saved you: inattention and underestimation. Enemies overlook your past achievements, preferring to toy with their presumed prey. Deception and intrigue cloak your every action, hiding all that was and will be. There is only a single certainty. They will never see you coming.

    [Kingmaker] (Mythic): (Oath)
    There are many paths to power. You are now one of them. Instinctively, you assess potential at a glance-a possible candidate laid bare before you. Firm, yet flexible, you instill and coax out those ethereal facets which win the hearts of men, by fear and love in equal measure. Those fortunate few to keep your company find themselves growing in talent and ambition, walking the rising path to destiny. You will never command legions, or count yourself beloved by the masses. Though perhaps, this is enough. Harden your heart; you shall never lack for enemies.
     
    Love all these.
    Kymecho said:
    Dousing Flames (Common): (Pithe)
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    "Being a downer" Superpower edition.

    Kymecho said:
    [Crazed Chemist] (Rare): (Pithe)
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    *invents potion of immortality*
    ...

    ...
    *uses it to make immortal explosive*

    Kymecho said:
    [Shadow of Yourself] (Rare): (Oath) {Inverted}
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    Nice one. Though the wording would peg it more under Flow. An Oath variant would be about actually deliberately binding yourself to a weaker state only to release your Oaths and suddenly become unexpectedly more powerful. The whole 'let them capture you and then bust out the big guns' or "I'm not trapped in here with you, you're trapped in here with me" shtick.
    Hmmm, stolen. This is going on your inverted Ethea selection roster in a modified form.

    Kymecho said:
    [Kingmaker] (Mythic): (Oath)
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    Meanwhile *cough* across the ocean... *cough*
    That's intense. Though if it is naturally focused around gathering a small caderie to elevate to extreme heights I'd peg it at Legendary Rank, the one above Mythic.
    Personally I would never trust anyone who wasn't Lilly with a power like this. The scale of uneven power dynamics in a relationship where people depended on you for their futures would be obscene.
     
    Ahh I'm glad you like them!!

    I had a lot of fun coming up with them, and imagining what kind of insane situation would lead to all of them appearing at once.

    Oh gosh, I didn't even think of an immortal explosive. That raises the idea of living energy reactions, like a predatory endothermic reaction or something. Which would be terrifying.

    I'm really, really honored that some form of [Shadow of Yourself] might appear later! Not thrilled about how Lilly might unlock it though :(

    From the little we the readers know so far, Oaths are fascinating. Kind of a divine/magical trade, with a sacrificial component as fuel? It's a delicious mystery. Flow is intriguing too, suggesting an emphasis on passive effects, growing in different directions depending on interaction and exposure to other effects/new situations? The word "flow" also implies a shift in balance. Hmmm.

    Yeah, [Kingmaker] could turn abusive real quick in the wrong hands. Thanks for the rank clarification! I'm imagining Valerie and Abeleoth with effectively a tiny group of empowered slaves, all plotting against each other for more power/attention. Basically reality tv with superpowers.

    ...Taunting me because my Interlude vote didn't win? Utterly sadistic /s
     
    Dang it, now I want all the interludes!

    From what I've been able to glean from the Ethos picks we've gotten, Oaths seem to be arranging certain conditions or rituals that allow one to "impose" upon reality, while Flow feels more akin to psionics, affecting perception or focus.

    [Kingmaker] sounds like the Ethos the main character in a video game RPG gets to explain how the NPCs that join his party become PCs that rapidly grow capable enough to fight demons and such. But Slyvena's concerns remind me a bit of Planescape: Torment, where one of the bosses basically states "You have bound these capable but broken people to a quest that seemingly doesn't serve any of their interests, only yours. Even if they are more powerful than they would ever be on their own, is the path you're leading them on going to actually make them any happier?"

    Kymecho said:
    I'm imagining Valerie and Abeleoth with effectively a tiny group of empowered slaves, all plotting against each other for more power/attention.
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    That is a terrifying thought, but fortunately(?) Valerie hasn't really expressed any proficiency, desire, or patience to keep lackeys around ("Everyone die! Let's go, Abby!")
     
    I know, right? Lilly's aunt Penelope is out there, there's freaky stuff going on around the world, and there's cosmic 4D chess in the background.

    You're probably on the mark with your Oath and Flow analysis. A great point on Kingmaker- Couldn't it be selfish, dragging your friends into pain and suffering on your journey?

    There's a story out there, Mother of Learning, in which the time-looping main character constantly assesses his morality as he tries to learn from and ally with all sorts of people, who inevitably don't remember him. Stuff to consider.
    (I still want to figure out what Myah has going on though. Recovering from the Black Lung disease? An evil Ethos? She's scared of the truth getting out. Ugh I don't know!)
     
    I hope we'll have time for more social and fun adventure stuff in Arc 2 cause it would really suck to go from saving our village to waking up to Valerie burning everything
     
    Kymecho said:
    Oaths are fascinating
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    Everything I write is fascinating ;) humble arrogant?

    If you want to know where I got it from:
    The magic system behind this world is a simplified (and then reinterpreted) version of the existing one from a novel I'm in the worldbuilding and outlining stages for. That one has 3 Lesser Magics, 2 Meta Magics and 28 Higher Magics split into 4 groups of 7, then 1 Outside Context magic. I basically took my favourites and built this world from their interactions. In "A Cruel Puzzle" (the book), Oath's name is Vow and was taught to humans by Demons. It's quite different in this story, including having a different origin and modified mechanics.

    Flow is also called Flow in that book. It works similiar, so I can't really tell you anything about the book without spoiling this Quest.

    I threw just about every trope I possibly could into a story and tried to make it fun. So the book is an Amnesiac Isekai Apocalypse Unique-Special Snowflake MC with mostly female supporting cast Chosen One LITRPG with Timeloops, alternative dimensions and of course, the 30+ different magics. It's so balls to the wall crazy that the MC spends most of the time assuming he's a version of his own consciousness uploaded into a game simulation, so technically its also a VR story too. There's dragon companions, little girl companions, a frosty noble who stereotypicaly uses ice magic. All the tropes.
    My favourite character to write in the story right now is the female side-lead. Cherinay. Who begins as the typical 'super driven and unquestioningly supportive of MC who they see as the chance to save the world' trope. But we then actually examine the life circumstances and events that could actually shape a person like that. (And how terrifying it actually is to be with someone who openly admits they would slaughter a quarter of the world if it meant you could save the other three quarters.)

    Kymecho said:
    Lilly's aunt Penelope is out there
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    Penelope... When we get there, if I haven't already, I'm going to have to slap a 'mature' tag on this story... Not long from now Lilly will realise she can now easily find family members in the same city as her, so you will have the option of offering to help dad find his missing sister. (Sympathetic Linkage baby)
     
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