FALLEN LONDON yASSSS
ahem
[ ] A purple gleam.
(You will gain a Rumourmonger's Network: Information on the City and on the current state of Turbulence Office. A way back, as well.)
A path back to the City and a way to find our friends. An Old home.
- The main draw is a way back to the City. No other option guarantees that. But how much is that really worth to us? How much is that wanted by our Office?
- Does "current state" means that their info doesn't update? It's only a one-time deal?
- Information on the City seems a little weird. I assume it's more general info and current events rather than usable technology. But why-
Ah. Right, there was a series of possible interludes that concerned the City. Is something going on over there?
[ ] A blaze of power.
(You will gain a Dreadful Surmise: A power. The secrets of stolen Singularities, perfectly preserved. Knowledge of a brilliant mind, worth immense fortunes. A cloak that will obscure the gaze that sees the past and future. A bounty earned from the vanquishing of an Arbiter.)
- Not just generic knowledge of Singularities, but specifically the knowledge extracted from Garion. (and Ayin)
- Is it just knowledge? Can we even access the Singularity itself or just know about them?
- If this is technology, then it might be one of the most major force multipliers here, just hand out Singularity-tech to our allies.
- Technology spreads. What we share could reach other parties on Terra. For good or ill.
- The cloak... is there anything that sees the past and future in Terra? I assume it won't shield from Carmen, that's a another option.
- The Head will be on our ass if they ever catch wind of this.
[ ] Black waters.
(You will gain an Impossible Theorem: The complex process of extraction of EGO from an Abnormality, and the generation of Enkephalin.)
- Process to manufacture weapons and tools that have esoteric effects and require no training. Can be usable by anyone.
- Usability does not equal skill or experience.
- Mishandling can cause EGO Corrosion, resulting in death, madness and becoming a monster.
- Requires Abnormalities to extract from. Do we ask the Library to loan us some?
- Enkephalin is a cheap an efficient energy source. Can replace or wean off Terra's reliance on Orignium.
- Enkephalin is also a drug. Correct doses can induce calmness and restore mental stability. Incorrect dosage... well, things get ugly.
[ ] Warm light.
(You will gain a Coruscating Soul: A deeper comprehension of the Light- what composes it, how exactly your hands seem so inclined towards shaping it. And an extra sort of edge in your light-constructs.)
- This gets more into the metaphysics of the mind and soul, of possibility and potential.
- Possible results are not well defined but can include creating objects, creating bodies, altering locations, creating perfect clones of people complete with memory, personality, skills and equipment, manifesting the mind into reality.
- Can induce EGO or Distortion in others. Care and understanding are necessary, not to be used recklessly.
- Improve our light constructs, immediate boost to combat capability. Possible other uses.
- Most beings on Terra have no defense against Light, although some might. (Those scissors can cut Carmen right?)
- Medium of Carmen. Should we be spreading this?
- I wonder this can help us reliably pull a Moses? Help understand Distortions and undo them? This concerns Light specifically so maybe not...
[ ] The warm rays of Terra's sun.
(You will gain a Cartographer's Hoard: A glimpse of the vastness of Terra, and of the potential within it. Of the places your friends have been, and of the places you yourself may one day go. A land unconfined by restricting Wings and beyond the gaze of the Eye… a new home, perhaps?)
- The other option to find our friends. Probably more useful since it also comes with a map of the world.
- More relevant since we currently are in Terra.
- Can hint at other plot hooks that could be important to us.
- A new home.
[ ] Yourself.
(You will gain a Concentrate of Self: An understanding of your own mind- your messy, strange, flawed and unrealized, undecided and perhaps undistorted, unegoistic human mind… and a way to protect yourself from the Light.)
This. This is important.
There is the whole thing with Carmen and Distortions and EGO, and I know that Sieg is strong and can shrug her off most of the time, but-
Sieghart is a rock.
He is reliable, charismatic, friendly, decisive, determined. He is a leader, the flag that friends and allies rally around. He is a lynchpin that people rely on to come through for them, to never give up, never give in. And this is a wonderful thing.
There's a thing when people care about someone. You want them to be happy, to be healthy, to be the best they can, so work hard for them. And that's fine.
But sometimes that's not enough. Maybe you messed up, maybe you weren't there when they needed you, but the result is the same. You feel like that you have to make it up for them. You need to do more, to be more. So you push yourself harder. Take more jobs. Work more hours. More responsibilities. More burdens. More focus on your loved ones' needs over your own. Less rest. Less time for yourself. Leaping right into the fold again before your shattered body can heal. So what if you neglect yourself a little? It's for a good cause. You can take it. You have to. Maybe it even works for a while.
Until it doesn't, and he falls, and everything tied to him, everyone that loved and relied on him, will fall with him.
Maybe this will never happen. Maybe Sieg will never break, but if he did I imagine it would be something like this.
Sieg is strong, but he's not invincible. He has already repeatedly berated himself for failing his team, placing the blame for their loss, their scattering, and subsequent trials on himself. He has been pushing himself to reach his Office and make up for his failings, going forward regardless of his injuries and the Fairy that was ransacking his body.
A quality that Carmen is all too aware of.
"Ah. You're so sad, like this. Barely keeping the facade. You shatter, you break, and than you leap into the fold again, without even bothering to put your body back together."
How can it this worth it?
"Can you say… if your friends were at stake… would you really not do the same thing?"
Sieg is no stranger to losing people. If it happens when he couldn't do anything about it, he would blame himself but move on. But if one of his team was just about to die, a single moment to determine life or death, well, I don't know if he would let himself walk away.
So I am interested in picking this, both as a tool for the future and as a safety net. It is the most personal option, and I know that means less weapons for others or cool tech or Light Shenanigans, but-
Is it really selfishness if taking care of yourself is what other people want?
[ ] Nothing. Not even silence.
(You will gain a scream that's stuck on your throat like a stone- a danger coming from terra and from the light a green and black glow old and young collapsing so cold so cold it's the end)
And then there's
this.
What is this? Seriously, what the hell is this?
When nothingness is mentioned my first thoughts are of Roland or Ayin, but this is probably not them. This is something else.
Is this... is this the True Final Boss? Something bigger than Carmen? The description of young and old and the cold make it sounds like the apocalypse. The cold part stands out. Entropy?
The source is from both Terra and the Light, so two separate parties that caused this, or one factor that fits both classifications? A Distortion? Multiple Distortions? I swear if Carmen made a local equivalent of Walmart Night I'm gonna clothesline her into a Realization/Core Suppression.
Black and Green... the thing first comes to mind is the End of Ursus, but this sounds more indiscriminate, more widespread. EoU is focused on Ursus specifically. The only other thing is...
The Price of Silence. The Abnormality that can control and punish the manipulation of time. A price that Lech, a former scientist of T Corp who utilizes their time-warping technology, explicitly have not yet paid. Lech, who is currently working on some big project somewhere in Terra.
Is - is Lech about to cause the end of the world?
Fuck.
In Summary:
Purple gleam and Terra's Sun concerns our friends and our home, both old and new. Environment, navigation, information and allies.
Blaze of Power and Black Waters are technologies that can create equipment and thus force multipliers. The ones that most directly influence the physical world.
Warm Light and Yourself offer a deeper connection to the Light and the metaphysical underpinnings of the mind and soul. Influence the immaterial world.
Nothing is... something. A warning of calamity? A plea for help? A cry for vengeance?
A reckoning that will not be postponed? This seems less something we can use and offers only information, but that info can be game-changing.
Uggg two choices isn't nearly enough choice paralysis my eternal nemesis
why
Fine. Right. Our choices are determined by our priorities, our goals, and our methods.
We need to find the rest of our Office, stop Carmen and the Distortions from causing havoc, maybe stop anything
else Light-related from destroying the world, and get paid (what we're fixers, our folks gotta eat)
Our methods can be variable. We can make equipment, build an army, maybe revolutionize the energy industry and wean off reliance on magic cancer rocks, target the Light itself that is empowering our enemies, excise Carmen from the Light, etc.
With Purple Gleam we could just gather our Office then fuck off back to the City, but that seems irresponsible.
I...I want to take Yourself. The idea of becoming truly unshakable from the Light is enticing, along with the full understanding of yourself and possible EGO manifestation.
But I think we should pick one of the options that finds our Office. It's Sieg's goal, the crux of his entire mission, something that he berates himself for failing them. I am not sure if he would forgive himself if he had the option to know and did not choose it. His Office, his friends, are his life.
Going from that, well, this is a gamble, but-
I want to pick Nothing.
If Lech really is involved in whatever this is, we will need to first find him. And if we contact him early enough, then maybe we can prevent this event from happening in the first place. We can get more info to make proper preparations.
It's a long shot, but hey, it would be hilarious if it worked.
[X] Plan Turbulence Sighted
