But I have already provided reasons as to switching. And it has been explained by multiple people. Should I repeat things like a broken record then? Seems pointless to me.
Your own lines point to direction of thinking "I want everyone to play the game the way I want, other peoples argument are not valid"
Disclaimer: I don't a give a shit for any argument people may have for Guardian Beast. My reasons boil down to "I don't want to." and "This is a quest where I'm supposed to have fun, why should I choose the option I know I won't like?"
So not only are you arguing about things I never mentioned, you now decided to argue about how I do quests? Not to mention that this is entirely wrong. I never said arguments are invalid. You are not only pulling shit out of your ass, you're also depicting me as a spoilt brat.
Whatever you may think of me has no bearing on this quest. It won't change the PC's actions. It certainly won't change the way I do quests, and you most definitely are wasting everyone's time with this.
Your supposition is fundamentally flawed and you should rethink it. I have already said that the mental process "I don't want to." was the basis for me arguing against it. It does not mean that the arguments themselves are "I don't want to do this".
I don't mind if you have disagreements on what to do or how to do it or what you personally like or don't like to see in quests, but keep your disagreements on the point itself and not on the person making it. Sylvire, Bludflag, you're getting close to that line.
[X] Try out your new powers – You were a good girl last night and came home when you were supposed to. You've earned the right to have a little fun.
-[X] Test the simulation – All the destruction of real life, none of the mess to clean up.
[x] Frost Beam – Magical laser traps all targets in its path underneath a layer of ice. Beware of friendly fire.
Switching:
[X] Try out your new powers – You were a good girl last night and came home when you were supposed to. You've earned the right to have a little fun.
-[X] Test the simulation – All the destruction of real life, none of the mess to clean up.
[x] Frost Beam – Magical laser traps all targets in its path underneath a layer of ice. Beware of friendly fire.
[ ] Try out your new powers – You were a good girl last night and came home when you were supposed to. You've earned the right to have a little fun.
-[ ] Test the simulation – All the destruction of real life, none of the mess to clean up.
Set Up! 1.4
Settling down onto the couch, now with day clothes on, you close your eyes and let out a sigh. Perfect Storm said you need to relax and let yourself feel the connection between you two to enter its simulations, but you don't have much confidence that it will work. Telepathy is impossible, no matter what the jewel may believe, and if that is the skill you need to do this—
Bright sunlight blinds you for a moment, and you blink your eyes to clear them.
Where am I, and can I live here?, you can't help but wonder as you look out from your place on top of a cliff at the clear blue ocean in front of you. Sandbars glinting white are spread out here and there all along the coastline, and without knowing how, you are sure that this is just one small island among many in this area.
"Welcome home, Mistress."
You spin around, flinging yourself off the cliff and into the air reflexively. Lurking behind you is a translucent blue silhouette, albeit one with what looks like four tentacles or spidery legs stretching out from its back. Or front, maybe? It isn't like you can tell. "Welcome home?" you question instead. "I've never been here before. What is this place?"
"…Unknown," the figure replies, this time in the androgynous voice you've come to expect from Perfect Storm rather than the deep, flat voice it just used. "Memory file is corrupt. This is the most recently accessed background file for training simulation."
"That's… all right, I suppose." Getting your feet back under you – both metaphorically and literally, as you were still floating in the air at an angle – you prompt, "This training you mentioned. How does it work?"
"Look over there." You turn to see a half-dozen people spread out in front of you. Each of them is wearing armor that you would expect to see in a museum rather than in the real world, though you also notice that the plates look to be more form-fitting than those of medieval knights and that there are obviously female figures mixed in among them, these wearing skirts of overlapping metal flaps like something from the Roman era. The other oddity you see is that none of the people have faces. "These are your enemies. Focus your will and your desire to hit them."
That seems simple enough. You mentally add masks you've seen in the news and online to the figures, and lo and behold, they appear on the targets. Kaiser's fits with the armor of one man far too well, and the woman beside him gets Oni Lee's demon face. Another woman loses her armor amidst the white glow you associate with Purity. The biggest and bulkiest of course wears Lung's dragon head. Skidmark's stained bandana and Hookwolf's lupine disguise round out the looks. Now, now you're ready to hit them.
An orangish triangle, the lines made up of an unrecognizable script, spreads out below your feet; at the points and in the middle are circles, each with a large symbol proudly in their centers. In front of you, three fist-sized balls of yellow-orange light that look like miniature suns form.
"Shoot the bullets."
"Flare Shooter," you snarl, the words and tone coming to you out of the blue, but you find them appropriate nonetheless. You should be angry. This should hurt. "Fire!"
The fireballs, the bullets, become streaks of light and smash into three figures. Purity and Skidmark vanish, but Lung is left standing.
"Good shooting," Perfect Storm cheers. "But not all enemies are soft. Some wear physical armor on top of Barrier Jackets. Destroy that, and they can be killed."
"Killed?" You glance behind you at the silhouette. "Heroes don't kill. If all the capes were arrested, the gangs would fall apart. Do you know any spells that I can use that won't kill?"
"My combat spells are default lethal. With practice, spells may be modified at time of shooting."
"That's good enough, I suppose. The spell to destroy their armor"—and you can't believe you're saying that word with a straight face—"do I have to worry about killing people with that one?"
"Intelligent drones and cybernetic organisms dependent on life support systems will be irreparably damaged. Mistress will need training if you wish to spare them. Give it a try. Call out—"
Just like before, you know the words even though you have never said them before in your life. "Rust Shooter." You create a single bullet, larger and acid green. "Fire."
Is it wrong that you are so satisfied when Kaiser is left without the chest plate of his armor? A single Flare Shooter makes him vanish a second later.
Hookwolf and Lung vanish from the sky to be replaced by fifteen or eighteen all-red figures that immediately begin floating around. "Enemies will not stay in one place. It is important to know how to lead the target before firing. You will then learn how to position yourself in the air to take advantage of enemy position and lines of sight."
Oh yes, you're liking this more and more. A sharp smile appears as five micro-suns pop into existence. "Well, then, let's do this. Flare Shooter!" Status (update parameter (personality)): 34%
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your eyes flutter open when you someone walk through the front door, and after a moment you think to check the clock. 2:39? Were you really running through those simulations for six hours?
The sudden cramp in your stomach and the growl it lets out now that you are paying attention to it again confirms that yes, you really were.
"Taylor! Are you here?!"
You pick yourself up from the couch and walk into the front hall. "I'm right here— Dad! Are you okay?!"
He waves his hand at you, which offers little comfort. His shirt is covered in white dust and splinters, tears scattered about, but what really worries you is the enormous red stain covering his left side. "I'm fine. This isn't mine."
"What happened?"
Sighing, he moves over to the kitchen table and drops into a chair. "I told you that the Merchants were spotted around the office, right?" You nod. "Well, it wasn't just a few dealers. They had Skidmark and Mush along for the ride. That attracted the Empire's attention, so not only did we have the Merchants causing a ruckus, who should show up but Hookwolf and Stormtiger and Cricket?"
God, a cape fight right on top of the Dockworker's Association? "Is everyone okay?" Wait, stupid question. "Where did the blood come from?"
Your dad looks down at himself, almost in surprise that he looks like he was in a slaughterhouse accident. "Oh. It's… Tony's, I think. Maybe Jacob's. Mush threw Hookwolf into the front of the building, and it collapsed on top of us. That's when I… I mean, we were too busy digging everyone out to see what happened, but the Empire drove the Merchants away and escaped. We've been getting all the injured to the hospital and talking to the police since then."
If you needed any more proof that wishing to a hero was the right thing, here it is. The dockworkers, people you've known all your life, could have died today. Your dad could have died today! Worry taking over, you take several steps toward him. You need to make sure he's really okay.
"No!" He jumps up from his chair and hastily backs away. "Just… stay over there, okay? I need you to do that for me."
"Dad? What are you talking about?"
"Please, Taylor. Don't come any closer."
"You're scaring me, Dad," you tell him.
He gives you a weak, tremulous smile. "I'm scared, too. But I need you to stay there."
"What's going on?!"
Another step toward him.
"Don't!" Abruptly, the tension he's carried through the entire conversation drops away, but he doesn't look relieved. He looks panic-stricken. "Oh God, Taylor, I'm sorr—"
"Telepathic intrusion resisted."
Your dad stares at you, you stare at him, and you both ask, "What?"
He is the first to come to his senses, partly because you are a little busy with the dreadful suspicion you now know what he was so frightened about. "Taylor, who was that?"
"Um…" you answer eloquently. A beat passes before you pull the jewel out from under your shirt. "Dad, this is Perfect Storm. Storm, this is my dad."
When did your life get so strange that making introductions between your likely-a-cape father and your probably-not-magic Tinkertech AI was an idea that made sense?
"Greetings, father of Mistress."
"…Hi." He opens and closes his mouth, whatever words he wants to say not coming out, before he manages, "Are you… Did you build him?"
"No, I didn't. I don't know who did, but I found him… it… We met yesterday when I was coming home from the Market." You looked away, embarrassed that you had been caught in a lie so quickly. "It's why I was home late. I spent some time flying around."
"You can fly."
"Fly and shoot. Will do more in the future. Mistress has talent."
You blush at the praise. Even if it's just a machine that's probably programed to do so, it's nice to hear that someone believes in you.
His question is so quiet that you can barely hear him. "Can… Can I see?"
He wants to see you fly? To shoot targets? Or does he maybe just want to see something to prove this isn't a joke? "Perfect Storm? Deploy Barrier Jacket."
A single chime come from the pendant, and then you are engulfed in white light. The glow flakes away to show off your costume. Grinning wide at his stupefied expression, you brace your left hand on your cocked hip and twirl the staff held in your right. "Not what I would have picked for myself, but it grows on you."
He simply stares for a moment longer before glancing away. "You just keep looking more and more like your mother, you know that?"
"You're a cape, too, aren't you?" you ask. "It's why you were so worried about me getting close. Telepathic intrusion…"
"I… wasn't entirely honest earlier," he admits. "Hookwolf tore through the office, and I just… blacked out for a minute. When I came to, I could feel the guys around me, and I knew I could tell them what to do. I wasn't moving them like puppets or anything," he adds quickly, "but more like… It's like I was a foreman on a job site, but instead of having to tell everyone what to do, I could just think it and they knew what I wanted. They started working to find everybody buried in the rubble or watching the fight to make sure it didn't get any closer. When Mush threw a steel beam at Stormtiger and he dodged…" Your dad shakes his head with a slowly growing smile. "No one even said anything. We all knew where it was going and got out of the way. It was just… amazing."
"That's why you didn't want me nearby? Because you were afraid you'd take control of me? It doesn't sound like I'd even notice."
His smile disappears, and he takes off his glasses and polishes them in an obvious attempt to avoid answering. "It's a range thing. If you got too close, I'd take control. I can focus on it, try to hold it all in, but it's hard. It's so hard, and I can't do it for very long. The guys who got caught and worked outside it for a while said that it faded, and I can feel that when it happens, but they also said they could tell what was their thoughts and what was me telling them what to think. Some of them… It scared them, and I can't blame them for that. If I was on the other end, it'd scare me, too." He sighs. "I promised them that if they wanted to go somewhere else to work, I'd give them a good reference, no matter how hard they really worked. I think we're going to lose a few of them.
"I… We haven't been… close, not for a long time. Not since Annette…" He squeezes his eyes tight for a moment, and you can feel your own eyes itching. "And that's my fault. I know that. She was loads better at this whole parent thing than I'll ever be. If I had been… She wouldn't have left you to take care of yourself like I did. But even if we're not close, I don't know what I'd do if you were afraid of me."
You aren't much of a hugger – neither you nor your dad are – but right now, you dearly want to walk over and embrace him nonetheless. It's only the fact that he won't handle it well at the moment that stops you.
Still, you can't help but consider his earlier phrasing. Some. Not all; not many. Some. "And the rest of the guys? They were okay with it?"
"Okay with it?" He barks out a laugh. "They loved it. Said it was like nothing else they ever experienced before. Trusting the man next to you like you'd trust yourself, everyone working together with the same goal." His voice drops off as his eyes stare at nothing. "We were united, kiddo, like we haven't been in a long time. All those thoughts like 'He's going to half-ass it till the day's out' or 'If I get hurt in a minute, could I count on him to come over and help'? They just vanished. We weren't just united, either; we had a purpose. Do you know how long it's been since we had something solid to work toward?"
"Twelve years." Your voice is quiet. It's hard not to know the year of the Boat Graveyard's creation, not when your father is head of hiring for the dockworkers' union in a city without a working port. After Leviathan showed up on the scene in 1996, international shipping quickly died off to the point that, three years later, the business was dangerous enough that the sailors organized a strike to let the corporate bigwigs know how angry they were at the low wages and high risks involved. The shipping companies ordered the ships be anchored and wages withheld until the strike was resolved, riots ensued, and eventually at least one ship was deliberately sunk.
That had been the true death knell for many of the blue collar jobs in Brockton Bay. Your dad did his best to secure work for the union, primarily manual labor because that's all there really was to be found, but your entire life you heard about this man or that man leaving in search of better pay. Sometimes that involved moving to other cities, sometimes changing jobs. Most often, it meant joining up with the gangs as henchmen.
"What are you planning to do now?" you ask. "With the office trashed, you'll have to find someplace to rent…" He intently avoids your eyes. "Except you don't plan on doing that, either."
"No." A deep breath, and then he turns to look at you. "We all knew staying here was a dead end, but we didn't really have a choice in the matter. Now? Now we have a better option."
"You're going to form a gang." Damn it, Dad. Don't do this.
"A gang?" he scoffs. "No. Vigilantes, mercenaries, independent heroes, whatever you want to call it. If we raid the Merchants' drug stashes or the ABB's brothels or the Empire's dog-fighting rings – stuff the Protectorate doesn't think is important enough for them to deal with – we'll all make a lot more money than we are now and clean up the city at the same time."
You frown at that. Joining the Protectorate wasn't something you were itching to do, but it was on the list of options to consider sooner or later. "That's a little harsh, isn't it?"
"If they were doing their jobs, fights like the one today wouldn't happen. Good men wouldn't have to be sent to the hospital. Tony's probably going to lose his arm unless they bring Panacea in. 'Harsh' is me being generous right now."
It is hard to argue that point.
"Some of the guys have already come up with a name for us," he adds with a short laugh. "The Brockton Bay Privateers. We sound like a baseball team more than a bunch of heroes."
"They want to be heroes even though they don't have powers?" On the one hand, that sounds practically suicidal. On the other? You have to give them credit for their courage, if nothing else. "They realize how dangerous it'll be, right?"
"They know, and I tried to convince them otherwise. As Kurt said, though, the gangs aren't all capes, or even mostly capes. There are only a few of them, and they can't be everywhere."
"Except Oni Lee."
He nods. "All right, except Oni Lee. But most of their manpower? That's normal folks. A bunch of us, armed with clubs or guns and sharing everything we see? We'd have the edge over them. If a cape does come in, I'll be there and can take control of them. Imagine the gangs' heavy hitters stopping crime for a change."
Lung, Hookwolf, Purity, a full-powered Mush, and Fenja and Menja, all working together? Oh, you can imagine it. It's terrifying.
"But you're right. It isn't like we can fight all of them. Purity, Rune, Stormtiger. None of us can fly."
No way. He wasn't seriously asking…
"I'd tell you I don't want you going out and putting yourself at risk, but you'd call me a hypocrite." Your dad rubs a hand over his balding head. "And you'd be right to. Still, you're fifteen, and if you're going to be a hero, I'd prefer you doing it as part of a team. It just so happens that we have a new team forming that would love a second cape on its roster."
He gets a goofy grin. "Kurt called Lacey in to help with the planning, and she suggested I go by Captain when I'm in costume so it'd continue the pirate theme. If you don't have a name yet, I'm sure she could suggest something. Arsenal or Bombardment or Broadside— Or you could forget I said that one," he adds hurriedly when he sees your unamused glare.
Dismissing his atrocious name suggestions, you shake your head. "Yeah, about that. I've already picked out my name. Call me…"
Yes, I'm aware that Danny doesn't sound very Danny-ish here. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to you. Though to be fair, he did take a couple of hours to think about all the things he needs to tell his daughter before she possibly ran away scared that her father's going to Master her like mini-Heartbreaker.
+1 training to Flare Shooter (1/2 adept).
+2 training to Aerial Combat (3/6 adept).
Guardian Beast ritual learned. You wouldn't have gotten these boosts with Play with yourself, by the way. Merchant interrupt. About that job offer…
[ ] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
[ ] Peer pressure – He may not think much of their effectiveness, but you'll do more good for the city and the people by being affiliated with the Wards.
[ ] Stay single – Join a team? Never gonna happen! You're on a one-woman crusade against the gangs, and a team just raises the chance of friendly fire.
What's your cape name?
[ ] Write-in
Just buying spells isn't enough to reach your full potential as a mage. Since you are based off a Belkan-era bombardier, your attack spells are inherently lethal, and you aren't as efficient with them as you could be. By spending time training, either in the real world or in simulations (or OOC by making fan art or omake), you can learn how to use these spells to the best of your ability and even how to cast them without the aid of your Device. At master status, you can also cast multiple spells at the same time, so it is to your advantage to grind those skills!
You wanted to know how you could get in a fight with Danny and not know who he was at the time? This is how. Had you tried out your powers or talked to the PRT, which would have involved you tagging along on patrol with Shadow Stalker and Vista, you would have encountered Skidmark and Trainwreck in the Boat Graveyard and arrested them. Had you chosen to fight crime, you would have attacked one of the Empire's dog-fighting rings, pissed off Hookwolf in the process, and then escaped before he could puree you. Either Squealer and Mush or Hookwolf's group would have been more aggressive when this fight broke out as a result, and some of the dockworkers would have died before Danny Triggered. The Privateers would still be formed, but they would choose more permanent solutions when fighting the gangs.
Due to all this, Danny would use the capes still standing after the next Endbringer battle to try to wipe out some of the gangs' heavy hitters. Since you are unaffected by his powers, Alexandria would demand you end him for breaking the Truce and to free the enslaved heroes. Cue the horrifying reveal of Danny's blankly staring eyes when his mask was pulled off.
Technically, a fight much like this one could have happened in canon without anything changing, but because Perfect Storm's crash-landing in Brockton Bay and its subsequent telepathic distress call prevented you from Triggering in the locker, Queen Administrator was still unattached and could go back to her first crush rather than settling for you.
It's what Perfect Storm called our set-up, might as well use it
[x] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
I am surprisingly okay with this idea, and would love to see it expand.
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
-[X] we need to keep dad in the straight and narrow.
[] Corsair Princess
An interesting twist, since danny won't try to hold Taylor back this way, and lets us choose later to go hero or villain later.
[X] Stay single – Join a team? Never gonna happen! You're on a one-woman crusade against the gangs, and a team just raises the chance of friendly fire.
[X]Witchcraft
[x]Calamity Witch
[x] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
I'm not entirely sold on Danny's trigger but I'll go along with it.
His trigger makes sense, he was in danger, and he was about to lose one of the things he held most dear (The Dockworkers Association). It would be the prefect chance to trigger, especially considering how shitty life is for both him and Taylor at this point.
[x] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
-[x] we need to keep dad in the straight and narrow.
[x] calamity witch
[X] Stay single – Join a team? Never gonna happen! You're on a one-woman crusade against the gangs, and a team just raises the chance of friendly fire.
[x] Magical Girl Calamity Witch
I suspect that both us and Danny would be safer if we don't join. the Privateers need to remain minor enough to not draw the E88's and ABB's attention. even if thy are lead by a Master cape it would be Taylor who got the most heat drawn on them in the short term.
also it let's us position ourselves as the control mechanism for the Privateers. once the PRT realizes that we're immune to Danny's abilities they might be willing to let us handle keeping them contained if they go to far, but if we're a member they will look for other options.
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
-[X] we need to keep dad in the straight and narrow.
[X] Howitzer
There is a fourth option regarding the gang which is really more of an extension of 'keep single'. We can stick to ourselves for the time being but still keep in touch with the Privateers. That way we could share information and work towards the same goals while technically not being part of the gang. More of an ally then a member.
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
Warlording is an important Worm tradition. And let's not kid ourselves- that's how this is going to end.
[X]Witchcraft
Calamity Witch isn't a bad name, but I'd like something that rolls off the tongue a little faster.
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
[X]Calamity Witch
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
-[X] we need to keep dad in the straight and narrow.
[X] Howitzer
I have to agree, Calamity Witch is a mouthful. Maybe just 'Calamity', but both? No thank you.
[X] Become the Privateers' first mate – Joining the new family business might be pretty fun. If nothing else, you'll always have undue influence over the boss.
On the topic of names, we are deciding Taylor's hero name. 'Calamity' doesn't exactly feel heroic to me. Also, Calamity Witch is a bit of a mouthful.
Another problem that is also shared with Witchcraft is Witch=Magic=everyone thinks Taylor's crazy, and the less socially acceptable connotations of Witches/Witchcraft.
But I have already provided reasons as to switching. And it has been explained by multiple people. Should I repeat things like a broken record then? Seems pointless to me. 
