[X] Plan: Dig and Eat
Kinda wanted to keep likeable on super spy, but I like the creativity of this plan.
Kinda wanted to keep likeable on super spy, but I like the creativity of this plan.
Magical Girl Flesh Horror~!
- Thread starter TheMaskedReader
- Start date
- Original
Well, it's still going to be used, just goes to our core, that's actually a pretty good way to check the differences between having a word on our core or on an asset.
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
[X] Plan: Dig and Eat
Vote closed
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Act One - Part Four: A New Resident
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Your first order of business, now that Jeremy is gone, is to start reworking yourself. Super Spy needs nowhere near as much as you've put on it, and so you strip it back down to bare basics, leaving flesh where it needs to be to disguise itself as more than just a vessel for you, and support infrastructure for your poison. It looks human enough to pass as just…kinda off, you think. You then funnel that biomass towards something new - Something you've been half-thinking about for a bit…Your primary body is underground, after all, so why not take some time to explore the underground? Plus, no need to worry about discovery, if you're careful. So, you get to work!
The end result is a worm-like creature, scaled up to fit your needs, with slightly larger jaws then you think a worm has. You think a child could fit into the tunnels it creates, or an adult willing to tolerate fairly claustrophobic conditions. However, like a worm, its method of digging is definitely pretty slow, to allow it to gain the most from the dirt it'll be processing, as well as to ensure its tunnels won't collapse behind it - That'd be pretty unfortunate! It doesn't exactly have eyes - Instead, you allowed it to sort of…pulse out, and feel the materials of things the pulse hits. That way, you'll be able to dodge existing tunnels and basements, without risking hurting your vulnerable sensory organs underground. Heck, maybe you'll even find something with it!
QM's Note: 12 hours of moratorium and 48 hours of voting!
The end result is a worm-like creature, scaled up to fit your needs, with slightly larger jaws then you think a worm has. You think a child could fit into the tunnels it creates, or an adult willing to tolerate fairly claustrophobic conditions. However, like a worm, its method of digging is definitely pretty slow, to allow it to gain the most from the dirt it'll be processing, as well as to ensure its tunnels won't collapse behind it - That'd be pretty unfortunate! It doesn't exactly have eyes - Instead, you allowed it to sort of…pulse out, and feel the materials of things the pulse hits. That way, you'll be able to dodge existing tunnels and basements, without risking hurting your vulnerable sensory organs underground. Heck, maybe you'll even find something with it!
Creation Report!
Name: Tunneler
Keywords: Ground-Penetrating Radar, Tunnel Boring, Productive, Lithotroph
Description: A worm-like creature, it is approximately the size of a small adult and has larger jaws to accommodate more dirt and rocks. The jaws are powerful on their own, though - Capable of ripping up and chewing through basically any form of rock you could think of. It oozes a slight slime that solidifies the dirt and rock around where it digs, to ensure that its tunnels don't collapse as soon as it leaves. Its radar, while not great at 'visual interpretation', enables you to guess where tunnels, underground objects, and any underground biological signs are, so you can avoid them!
You set to work immediately, clearing out a spot in your basement room for you to start slowly digging through the concrete, with a bit of aid from some stomach acid of yours. That'll probably take the rest of the day, but once you're done, the underground world will be your oyster! (Discovered Location: The Underground and gain 1 Biomass. Every sub-area explored in the Underground with an asset with the Lithotroph keyword will give you one biomass - And yes, you can send multiple to explore different areas at the same time, if you want.)
With that idea manifested from your head into reality, you set to thinking about yourself. You've spent a lot of time making minor adjustments to Super Spy as part of experimentation, but you think you've worked out at least enough of human behavior and perception to not need to worry too much about including it specifically on things anymore. At this point, a few hidden eyes and ears are basically standard procedure for your creations that don't have compelling reasons to not have them, and you don't really have to worry about most common faux pas anymore, you think. You can walk and talk like a human, and folks seem to like you, so you just need to take that knowledge forward as more of a…general practice, rather than applying specific effort to it. It's…habit-forming, right? You chirp out an affirmational note to yourself and resolve to keep forming those habits.
Anyways, beyond that, you also have the snake-skin still around! Might as well stick that in yourself, if you're not doing anything else with it - It does give you an idea, though…you know it has some power …maybe you can apply that to sort of give yourself a little bit of a regenerative capability? It's not going to be as powerful as if it were concentrated, spread out as it'll be, but it's probably enough to let you shed damaged skin and flesh more easily. And of course, on your core flesh, it'll allow easier repair and renewal in the, hopefully unlikely, event of any damage to yourself.
With that done, you make your way outside with Super Spy - It's time to go visit the man outside! As you walk towards his small refuge, you see he's laying down in his small alcove, staring pensively at a small, unlabeled glass bottle, filled with a dark and viscous liquid. He's muttering to himself - And you suddenly realize that he's a abhuman, because when he speaks, you only hear him through a faint layer of static, as if his voice is being transmitted by radio. "Gotta save it…have to sleep, you know…" Your nose picks up a scent - Smoke, mixed with a tar-like scent - Cigarettes, your brain informs you. You wonder what a cigarette tastes like! Probably not great, but the chemicals in it might be interesting for you, if their scent is anything to go by.
"Hello, sir!" He looks up, blinking at you. You smile down at him. "I couldn't help but notice you're sleeping outside. Is everything alright?" He swings his legs around, sitting up quickly. The bottle is stashed with his other belongings, by a small paper bag with 'Jeremy's Groceries' on it. You notice that, beside his threadbare blanket, there is a folded-up paper that seems to serve as his pillow. It's yesterday's newspaper, you think - And you can see the front page!
"Uh." He coughs, the sound completely obscured by static spiking once, twice, thrice in time with his motions. "I mean, no?" He peers at you, and you peer back. His pupils seem fairly dilated - You think this man may be on drugs! "Kinda, uh, You know." He gestures around at his surroundings, which, to be fair, is answer enough. "Not, uh, not doing great." The pauses in his speech are punctuated by static.
"Well, that's not very good, sir! Is there any way I can help?" He chuckles, the sound causing a roar in the static. "...I mean, I could go for some food if you've got any to spare." You tap on your chin. You could probably grow food…well, wait - Let's extrapolate! He's asking for something he doesn't have. Food - under the assumption that you have that thing because you aren't like him. But you are, sort of, like him - You don't exactly have a 'legal' place to live, either, or a steady source of income or food - Not that you exactly need those things. So, you should correct him and offer the thing you do have that he doesn't have - A roof. "Well, I don't have either of those things myself, but I'm squatting in a building just down the way - Would you like to join me? There's plenty of empty rooms." He blinks.
"Sure, that sounds, better than, uh, here. Just, let me grab my things." You nod, smiling. "Let me know if you need any help with that, sir!" As he does that, you think through what you just did…and realize that you may have endangered your core because of it. You pause, thinking through the cost and benefits. Well…you glance at his skinny frame and general status in society. You don't think you have much to worry about, either physically or in terms of him turning you in - You're in the same boat, after all. All you have to do is just block the basement door from opening when you don't want it to, which is easy enough - In fact, you do it right now, while Super Spy stands with the man, smiling at him.
In a moment, he's grabbed his belongings. "Uh, so, uh, no need to call me sir, not really, I'm just Martin, yes ma'am, just Martin, Just Martin, Martin, yep, yep." He seems to ramble as you lead him toward your home. "Real, uh, kind of you to do this, you know, gotta wonder sometimes, not a lotta kindness left in the world. Gotta, stick together, you know, folks like us." You nod, listening attentively. "Where are you from, Martin?"
"Oh, I'm from here, Orion City, native-born, yep, from, not here, not this district, I think - This isn't, uh, Florence, is it? I don't think it is, is it? Could be…I don't know." You have no idea. "I don't know!" He nods, continuing. "Yeah, it's real kind, not a lotta Orion City folks…where are you from? You from Orion City?" You nod! "Yep! Spent my whole life here!" He seems impressed. "Wow. Yeah. Wish I could, uh, say that. Hah. I, uh, went overseas for a bit-" This has meaning to it that you can't quite pick up. You're not sure. "And, uh, yeah, not very good. Not a good place, overseas. Full of bad stuff, bad folks, dead folks, live folks - Don't go overseas, you know? It's not worth it, never worth it, nope."
You're at the door of your building, and you open it for him. He steps inside, still talking. "Yep, yep. Thank you, thank you kindly, yep. Just, uh, wow, nice building - Can't believe, they, uh, left it." There's a lengthy pause, there, as you walk towards the stairs and he follows. He abruptly starts talking again as you reach the first floor. "I, uh, thank you again, this is really, uh, a nice, sturdy place, yep. Solid. Uh - You, uh, using that room?" He points to a seemingly random apartment, and you shake your head. "Cool. Uh. Thanks, yeah." He coughs again - This time, it's four bursts of static, as he enters. "Do, you, uh, mind if I smoke in here? I can go, you know, take it outside, light up out there, you know." You shake your head! "I'm fine with it!" You may become less fine with it as time goes on, depending on how much it lingers - But you don't see any reason to make him less comfortable, now. "Cool. Cool." He takes a seat against a wall, and digs around in his bag for a cigarette and a match. "You know, the, uh, these things - Not the cigarettes, the matches, they're the worst part of it. Always running out, always running low. Some places, they, they give 'em away, but they don't let folks like us in. Maybe you. Not me, though." He lights up the cigarette with a shaking hand, and takes a deep drag, before letting the smoke slowly exit his lungs. You hear the static deepen as he does so. You sit down beside him, listening as he continues to talk. He's quite the talker, when occasionally prompted, it seems.
His name is Martin, but he doesn't seem to want to give a last name. He's thirty, and his 'time overseas' was in the Great Crusade. He has a number of tiny rituals he does with his fingers to calm himself down, tracing symbols and lines on walls and floors and his own skin. He says they used to have power, but that they don't anymore - You're not quite sure what that means! He's a very jittery man, but smoking seems to calm him down. He's been homeless for about a year, but he's spent a lot of that time in and out of the workhouses - He hates them. They don't let him smoke, or 'do other stuff outside of work', and he talks about how it's always cramped and hot in them. He's got scars on his hands, which he says are from scalpels and needles, since he apparently used to be a doctor of some sort - The word he used is healer. You're not quite sure if that's entirely true - Some of them seem to be a bit different from that! He doesn't drink, which he states quite seriously - It seems important to him that he doesn't. You ask him what the bottle of liquid is, then, and he tells you it's his medicine, which is possibly true! You can't tell.
You're so caught up in talking with him, you only notice Sabrina's footsteps when she's in the hall. "Oh - Martin, don't be surprised, a friend's coming to visit." He nods, and you call out. "Sabrina! In here!" You hear her come closer and step through the doorframe…to see you sitting next to Martin. The two of them look at each other with recognition, and Martin smiles. "Sabrina! You two," He points between the two of you. "are friends?" Sabrina flicks her tongue out, and her eyes narrow, staring at the cigarette butt discarded on the floor and the manner in which you two are sitting. "...Hello, Martin." He keeps talking. "I was actually meaning, uh, to, look for you, because-" She lets out a quiet hiss, and he stops talking. "Not right now. Not in front of the kid. I will help you later." She turns to you. "Jeremy's gone. I assume you let him go?" You nod and start talking. "I had him make a pact to not tell anyone - He has some of my blood in him, now! So don't worry, I'll know." She nods. "Alright - I trust your judgment, kid. Now: What is Martin doing here?"
You smile. "Oh! Well, he's sleeping outside, so I figured he could come sleep inside here. There's so much empty room, after all." Sabrina flicks her tongue out. "..." She seems to be struck by a certain conundrum. You're not sure what it is, but she seems to be thinking about it quite hard. Eventually, she seems to come to an answer. "...Alright. If you're being safe." She turns to Martin. "Do not give her any of your medicine." He raises his hands. "No way! I need that stuff!" The static spikes, more in agitation and indignation than anything else, before he starts talking again "So, wait, you're, uh, like, a mage? That's, uh, cool. Used to be one of those, you know-" Sabrina looks like she's about to speak up and interrupt, but a glance from you seems to keep her quiet, for some reason. You're not sure why! "Used to be a real, uh, a real healer, for Our Lady - She's a good one, yep, yep. Our Lady of Peaceful Silence. If only I hadn't lost her…Hadn't lost her…" He repeats himself, mournfully. Sabrina sighs. Any tension in the air between them seems to depart. "...Alright, well, I have to go, kid. Make sure that Martin here stays safe, alright?" Martin seems lost in melancholy, but you nod.
After Sabrina leaves, the atmosphere seems drained. Martin makes attempts at conversation, but eventually, you're just left with silence. After a long period of that, he takes out his glass bottle. He takes out a spoon and carefully measures out three spoonfuls of his 'medicine'. Now that you're close enough to smell it…it smells sickly sweet. Cloyingly so. He swallows them with ease, though, before tightly screwing the bottle cap back on. "Uh, sorry, uh…Scarlet, right?" You introduced yourself as Magical Girl Scarlet Genesis during your earlier conversation, but he doesn't seem to have registered most of it. "I'm…feeling pretty tired…so, uh…" Oh, he's asking you to leave. That's fine! "Of course! Have a good rest, alright, Martin? If you need any help with anything, just ask." And you exit the room, as he seems to be preparing it for him to sleep in.
Hm…Well, you think you helped Martin, a little bit. But he clearly needs more help - Like with food, for instance. You sure don't have any. And he'll probably need water, too…though maybe he can get that on his own? You'll have to ask. You're not one to leave a job half-done, and you'd like to help Martin! He seems like a nice person.
It is March 31st, 1923. You have no current passive gains. Your current goals are to help the man living with you, to investigate Herman's Theater of the Soul, and to close the Poster Portal (Time Limit: Ten Years). Your current Available Biomass is 1.
Your Current Assets Are (Bolded words are Biomass):
1x Super Spy (False Humanoid, Shield, Poison, Disguise)
1x Tunneler (Ground-Penetrating Radar, Tunnel Boring, Productive, Lithotroph)
Your Current Resources Are:
N/A
Your fully explored areas:
Your Home!
(Sub-Areas of Interest: The Lobby, Empty Apartments, Martin's Apartment, Mossbed, Roof)
You know of the following unexplored areas:
The Street Outside
(Sub-Areas: Jeremy's General Groceries, The Alleyways, The Apartments, Laurel's Boxing, Sabrina's Apartment, Roy's Office, An Empty Alcove, ???)
The Rooftops
(Sub-Areas: ???)
The Underground
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Name: Tunneler
Keywords: Ground-Penetrating Radar, Tunnel Boring, Productive, Lithotroph
Description: A worm-like creature, it is approximately the size of a small adult and has larger jaws to accommodate more dirt and rocks. The jaws are powerful on their own, though - Capable of ripping up and chewing through basically any form of rock you could think of. It oozes a slight slime that solidifies the dirt and rock around where it digs, to ensure that its tunnels don't collapse as soon as it leaves. Its radar, while not great at 'visual interpretation', enables you to guess where tunnels, underground objects, and any underground biological signs are, so you can avoid them!
You set to work immediately, clearing out a spot in your basement room for you to start slowly digging through the concrete, with a bit of aid from some stomach acid of yours. That'll probably take the rest of the day, but once you're done, the underground world will be your oyster! (Discovered Location: The Underground and gain 1 Biomass. Every sub-area explored in the Underground with an asset with the Lithotroph keyword will give you one biomass - And yes, you can send multiple to explore different areas at the same time, if you want.)
With that idea manifested from your head into reality, you set to thinking about yourself. You've spent a lot of time making minor adjustments to Super Spy as part of experimentation, but you think you've worked out at least enough of human behavior and perception to not need to worry too much about including it specifically on things anymore. At this point, a few hidden eyes and ears are basically standard procedure for your creations that don't have compelling reasons to not have them, and you don't really have to worry about most common faux pas anymore, you think. You can walk and talk like a human, and folks seem to like you, so you just need to take that knowledge forward as more of a…general practice, rather than applying specific effort to it. It's…habit-forming, right? You chirp out an affirmational note to yourself and resolve to keep forming those habits.
Anyways, beyond that, you also have the snake-skin still around! Might as well stick that in yourself, if you're not doing anything else with it - It does give you an idea, though…you know it has some power …maybe you can apply that to sort of give yourself a little bit of a regenerative capability? It's not going to be as powerful as if it were concentrated, spread out as it'll be, but it's probably enough to let you shed damaged skin and flesh more easily. And of course, on your core flesh, it'll allow easier repair and renewal in the, hopefully unlikely, event of any damage to yourself.
With that done, you make your way outside with Super Spy - It's time to go visit the man outside! As you walk towards his small refuge, you see he's laying down in his small alcove, staring pensively at a small, unlabeled glass bottle, filled with a dark and viscous liquid. He's muttering to himself - And you suddenly realize that he's a abhuman, because when he speaks, you only hear him through a faint layer of static, as if his voice is being transmitted by radio. "Gotta save it…have to sleep, you know…" Your nose picks up a scent - Smoke, mixed with a tar-like scent - Cigarettes, your brain informs you. You wonder what a cigarette tastes like! Probably not great, but the chemicals in it might be interesting for you, if their scent is anything to go by.
"Hello, sir!" He looks up, blinking at you. You smile down at him. "I couldn't help but notice you're sleeping outside. Is everything alright?" He swings his legs around, sitting up quickly. The bottle is stashed with his other belongings, by a small paper bag with 'Jeremy's Groceries' on it. You notice that, beside his threadbare blanket, there is a folded-up paper that seems to serve as his pillow. It's yesterday's newspaper, you think - And you can see the front page!
"Uh." He coughs, the sound completely obscured by static spiking once, twice, thrice in time with his motions. "I mean, no?" He peers at you, and you peer back. His pupils seem fairly dilated - You think this man may be on drugs! "Kinda, uh, You know." He gestures around at his surroundings, which, to be fair, is answer enough. "Not, uh, not doing great." The pauses in his speech are punctuated by static.
"Well, that's not very good, sir! Is there any way I can help?" He chuckles, the sound causing a roar in the static. "...I mean, I could go for some food if you've got any to spare." You tap on your chin. You could probably grow food…well, wait - Let's extrapolate! He's asking for something he doesn't have. Food - under the assumption that you have that thing because you aren't like him. But you are, sort of, like him - You don't exactly have a 'legal' place to live, either, or a steady source of income or food - Not that you exactly need those things. So, you should correct him and offer the thing you do have that he doesn't have - A roof. "Well, I don't have either of those things myself, but I'm squatting in a building just down the way - Would you like to join me? There's plenty of empty rooms." He blinks.
"Sure, that sounds, better than, uh, here. Just, let me grab my things." You nod, smiling. "Let me know if you need any help with that, sir!" As he does that, you think through what you just did…and realize that you may have endangered your core because of it. You pause, thinking through the cost and benefits. Well…you glance at his skinny frame and general status in society. You don't think you have much to worry about, either physically or in terms of him turning you in - You're in the same boat, after all. All you have to do is just block the basement door from opening when you don't want it to, which is easy enough - In fact, you do it right now, while Super Spy stands with the man, smiling at him.
In a moment, he's grabbed his belongings. "Uh, so, uh, no need to call me sir, not really, I'm just Martin, yes ma'am, just Martin, Just Martin, Martin, yep, yep." He seems to ramble as you lead him toward your home. "Real, uh, kind of you to do this, you know, gotta wonder sometimes, not a lotta kindness left in the world. Gotta, stick together, you know, folks like us." You nod, listening attentively. "Where are you from, Martin?"
"Oh, I'm from here, Orion City, native-born, yep, from, not here, not this district, I think - This isn't, uh, Florence, is it? I don't think it is, is it? Could be…I don't know." You have no idea. "I don't know!" He nods, continuing. "Yeah, it's real kind, not a lotta Orion City folks…where are you from? You from Orion City?" You nod! "Yep! Spent my whole life here!" He seems impressed. "Wow. Yeah. Wish I could, uh, say that. Hah. I, uh, went overseas for a bit-" This has meaning to it that you can't quite pick up. You're not sure. "And, uh, yeah, not very good. Not a good place, overseas. Full of bad stuff, bad folks, dead folks, live folks - Don't go overseas, you know? It's not worth it, never worth it, nope."
You're at the door of your building, and you open it for him. He steps inside, still talking. "Yep, yep. Thank you, thank you kindly, yep. Just, uh, wow, nice building - Can't believe, they, uh, left it." There's a lengthy pause, there, as you walk towards the stairs and he follows. He abruptly starts talking again as you reach the first floor. "I, uh, thank you again, this is really, uh, a nice, sturdy place, yep. Solid. Uh - You, uh, using that room?" He points to a seemingly random apartment, and you shake your head. "Cool. Uh. Thanks, yeah." He coughs again - This time, it's four bursts of static, as he enters. "Do, you, uh, mind if I smoke in here? I can go, you know, take it outside, light up out there, you know." You shake your head! "I'm fine with it!" You may become less fine with it as time goes on, depending on how much it lingers - But you don't see any reason to make him less comfortable, now. "Cool. Cool." He takes a seat against a wall, and digs around in his bag for a cigarette and a match. "You know, the, uh, these things - Not the cigarettes, the matches, they're the worst part of it. Always running out, always running low. Some places, they, they give 'em away, but they don't let folks like us in. Maybe you. Not me, though." He lights up the cigarette with a shaking hand, and takes a deep drag, before letting the smoke slowly exit his lungs. You hear the static deepen as he does so. You sit down beside him, listening as he continues to talk. He's quite the talker, when occasionally prompted, it seems.
His name is Martin, but he doesn't seem to want to give a last name. He's thirty, and his 'time overseas' was in the Great Crusade. He has a number of tiny rituals he does with his fingers to calm himself down, tracing symbols and lines on walls and floors and his own skin. He says they used to have power, but that they don't anymore - You're not quite sure what that means! He's a very jittery man, but smoking seems to calm him down. He's been homeless for about a year, but he's spent a lot of that time in and out of the workhouses - He hates them. They don't let him smoke, or 'do other stuff outside of work', and he talks about how it's always cramped and hot in them. He's got scars on his hands, which he says are from scalpels and needles, since he apparently used to be a doctor of some sort - The word he used is healer. You're not quite sure if that's entirely true - Some of them seem to be a bit different from that! He doesn't drink, which he states quite seriously - It seems important to him that he doesn't. You ask him what the bottle of liquid is, then, and he tells you it's his medicine, which is possibly true! You can't tell.
You're so caught up in talking with him, you only notice Sabrina's footsteps when she's in the hall. "Oh - Martin, don't be surprised, a friend's coming to visit." He nods, and you call out. "Sabrina! In here!" You hear her come closer and step through the doorframe…to see you sitting next to Martin. The two of them look at each other with recognition, and Martin smiles. "Sabrina! You two," He points between the two of you. "are friends?" Sabrina flicks her tongue out, and her eyes narrow, staring at the cigarette butt discarded on the floor and the manner in which you two are sitting. "...Hello, Martin." He keeps talking. "I was actually meaning, uh, to, look for you, because-" She lets out a quiet hiss, and he stops talking. "Not right now. Not in front of the kid. I will help you later." She turns to you. "Jeremy's gone. I assume you let him go?" You nod and start talking. "I had him make a pact to not tell anyone - He has some of my blood in him, now! So don't worry, I'll know." She nods. "Alright - I trust your judgment, kid. Now: What is Martin doing here?"
You smile. "Oh! Well, he's sleeping outside, so I figured he could come sleep inside here. There's so much empty room, after all." Sabrina flicks her tongue out. "..." She seems to be struck by a certain conundrum. You're not sure what it is, but she seems to be thinking about it quite hard. Eventually, she seems to come to an answer. "...Alright. If you're being safe." She turns to Martin. "Do not give her any of your medicine." He raises his hands. "No way! I need that stuff!" The static spikes, more in agitation and indignation than anything else, before he starts talking again "So, wait, you're, uh, like, a mage? That's, uh, cool. Used to be one of those, you know-" Sabrina looks like she's about to speak up and interrupt, but a glance from you seems to keep her quiet, for some reason. You're not sure why! "Used to be a real, uh, a real healer, for Our Lady - She's a good one, yep, yep. Our Lady of Peaceful Silence. If only I hadn't lost her…Hadn't lost her…" He repeats himself, mournfully. Sabrina sighs. Any tension in the air between them seems to depart. "...Alright, well, I have to go, kid. Make sure that Martin here stays safe, alright?" Martin seems lost in melancholy, but you nod.
After Sabrina leaves, the atmosphere seems drained. Martin makes attempts at conversation, but eventually, you're just left with silence. After a long period of that, he takes out his glass bottle. He takes out a spoon and carefully measures out three spoonfuls of his 'medicine'. Now that you're close enough to smell it…it smells sickly sweet. Cloyingly so. He swallows them with ease, though, before tightly screwing the bottle cap back on. "Uh, sorry, uh…Scarlet, right?" You introduced yourself as Magical Girl Scarlet Genesis during your earlier conversation, but he doesn't seem to have registered most of it. "I'm…feeling pretty tired…so, uh…" Oh, he's asking you to leave. That's fine! "Of course! Have a good rest, alright, Martin? If you need any help with anything, just ask." And you exit the room, as he seems to be preparing it for him to sleep in.
Hm…Well, you think you helped Martin, a little bit. But he clearly needs more help - Like with food, for instance. You sure don't have any. And he'll probably need water, too…though maybe he can get that on his own? You'll have to ask. You're not one to leave a job half-done, and you'd like to help Martin! He seems like a nice person.
It is March 31st, 1923. You have no current passive gains. Your current goals are to help the man living with you, to investigate Herman's Theater of the Soul, and to close the Poster Portal (Time Limit: Ten Years). Your current Available Biomass is 1.
Your Current Assets Are (Bolded words are Biomass):
1x Super Spy (False Humanoid, Shield, Poison, Disguise)
1x Tunneler (Ground-Penetrating Radar, Tunnel Boring, Productive, Lithotroph)
Your Current Resources Are:
N/A
Your fully explored areas:
Your Home!
(Sub-Areas of Interest: The Lobby, Empty Apartments, Martin's Apartment, Mossbed, Roof)
You know of the following unexplored areas:
The Street Outside
(Sub-Areas: Jeremy's General Groceries, The Alleyways, The Apartments, Laurel's Boxing, Sabrina's Apartment, Roy's Office, An Empty Alcove, ???)
The Rooftops
(Sub-Areas: ???)
The Underground
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Asset Situations
Explore [Sub-Area] with [Asset]
Explore a newly discovered location or sub-area! Make sure to specify which asset is exploring - This will have an impact on what may or may not be discovered! Feel free to include write-in instructions if you so desire.
Patrol [Fully Explored Area] with [Asset]
Sometimes, you need to play defense - Or simply linger in an area you've been before! This means patrolling that area and finding out what's changed about it, or if it's going to change in the future.
Visit Carl's Parlor of Dice and Cards
Frederick was such a nice young man, you feel at least a little obligated to visit! Sure, you don't have any money, but you're sure you can talk your way into it, to at least watch or something. And maybe you'll even see Frederick again!
Note: Visiting here will unlock a new Location. You can assume this of most 'visit' actions.
Note: Visiting here will unlock a new Location. You can assume this of most 'visit' actions.
Visit Herman's Theater of the Soul
You're visiting this place with Sabrina to investigate it! So that you can shut it down, because it probably seems to be evil!
Drop By Sabrina's Apartment
You can visit Sabrina whenever you want, if you need her help with something, or if you just want to hang out! Mrs. Johnson has promised to feed you whenever you drop by, which you're quite happy about. Free biomass is always good! Plus, her food actually tastes good. You will gain biomass from this. Feel free to specify topics to discuss with Sabrina (or Mrs. Johnson).
Spend Time with Roy
He seems to be lonely, really! Though sometimes he seems like he wants to be lonely, and that's alright. But when he doesn't want to be lonely, you can visit him, and talk! Maybe he can even help you sort out your potentially perilous housing situation…or help you avoid getting in trouble for it, at least! Feel free to specify topics to discuss with Roy.
Work at Laurel's Boxing
Well, you've got a standing offer to come clean at Laurel's Boxing! She seems really tough, and Mister Flynn seems to be a bit of a…you think the term is 'scoundrel', but you're looking forward to going there again! Make sure to specify which asset is going to work. You will gain biomass from this. Feel free to specify topics to discuss with Laurel (or Sydney).
Talk to Martin
Well, he's got a roof over his head, now - But you think you can do more to help him. Food, water, clean clothing, all sorts of things - Or you could just spend time with him! You wonder how many people used to talk to him, while he was outside. He certainly seemed eager to talk when you showed interest.
Deal With The Poster
You need to deal with the Poster, and there's only one way to find out how - Experimentation. Throw something at the poster and see what happens. Note: This may cause damage to whatever assets you throw at the Poster.
Biomass Options
Create an Asset.
Create an asset and pick as many keywords as you'd like for them, so long as you have the Biomass!
Recycle An Asset
Recyle an asset or parts of an asset. Make sure to specify which asset and/or which keywords. Important Note: This can be done in the same 'turn' in which you create a new asset with the biomass from the old asset!
Modify Yourself
You currently have the Immutable Keywords of Magical Biohorror, Broadcaster, Immobile, and Idealist. You have the normal keywords of Cute, Pactmaker, Split, Perceptive, Likeable, Refresh, and Recorder. You may add keywords to this, which will not be immutable and can be recycled and changed as you wish!
QM's Note: 12 hours of moratorium and 48 hours of voting!
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Christ reading that was kinda difficult, man's really got that veteran PTSD. The fact he also said he "lost" the Lady of Peaceful Silence makes it sound like his faith got shattered, likely due to the crusade.
Props to TheMaskedReader for being able to get that across.
Props to TheMaskedReader for being able to get that across.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
Very nice!
1 biomass per sub-area explored. With 7 sub areas in the underground that gives us plenty of biomass for the coming turns.
The newspaper is uh, ominous. "The infamous Orion Starlight" huh.
Interesting that Martin and Sabrina know each other already.
Anyway. Helping Martin. He needs food.
I think it's time that we explore Jeremy's General Groceries. We don't have any money unfortunately. But I'm not sure how to get any money either so we may as well check out the store.
Maybe with the right keyword we could talk our way into a temp job in exchange for some food? Originally I was thinking Thrifty. But that sounds like it would be more useful for buying things once we already have money.
1 biomass per sub-area explored. With 7 sub areas in the underground that gives us plenty of biomass for the coming turns.
The newspaper is uh, ominous. "The infamous Orion Starlight" huh.
Interesting that Martin and Sabrina know each other already.
Anyway. Helping Martin. He needs food.
I think it's time that we explore Jeremy's General Groceries. We don't have any money unfortunately. But I'm not sure how to get any money either so we may as well check out the store.
Maybe with the right keyword we could talk our way into a temp job in exchange for some food? Originally I was thinking Thrifty. But that sounds like it would be more useful for buying things once we already have money.
Well then, time to make some Gruyere out of the neighborhood!
Let me put some music:
Note: We'll have to go there soon, want to meet our hero (Orion Starlight) and help these oppressed people.
So you are a biohorror who idolize magical girls and fight for justice too?
Yeah, all of the whole less than a week and a half of it!
Given how magic works here? Probably that he lost some of his faith in it, even if not all if he's still doing them, or he lost all faith but it's too ingrained for him to stop.
Oh.... I guess it could also be because his god is dead... man that got depressing real quick there, can see the story at least a bit from that: Guy was a healer for a religion, got in a crusade and helped there, his god died so he lost all power, couldn't heal, no job, ends up homeless....
I think his lady is outright dead, not enough followers left, if I had to guess.
Or, looking back on god-building in the info about magic we have, she might be a spirit froml around where he did the crusade, and he's too far from her now to draw power.
Whatever it is, a spirit named *the lady of peaceful silence* who has a healer working for her is probably a spirit of life who has problems with necromancy but may be a good one to serve as long as you're not a necromancer.
We need to meet her, she saved our DONOR and is as such partially responsible for our existence, and she really seems to be a good person from what our first memory says. *I save everyone* is a very strong thing to say.
For a plan:
Add a word to super-spy to help us get food for Martin, continue exploring with our digger to both explore and gain biomass, the question is what word to add?
I don't want to steal, we need to give him real food, making a tree to grow him food is out, too slow if we don't destroy the digger and it is pretty productive right now....
Hmmm:
[] Plan: Goodbye digger, hello fruit tree.
-[] Recycle Digger
-[] Create new asset: Tree of food
--[] Words: Consumable, fruitful, plentiful, photosynthetic, wooden
-[] Place tree on rooftop and use it to grow fruits to give to Martin to eat
-[] *Insert thing to do with Super-spy, not sure right now*
A first plan I am not really a fan of but the option should be there, don't think it's good both short and long term, it probably cripple our own growth too much.
Much more interested in adding a social word to super-spy and going to see if we can work in the grocery store to gain some food as payment, food we'll give to Martin while our digger is the actual thing we use to gain biomass.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
Alright a draft plan:
[] Plan: Food for me and food for you
-[] Modify Super Spy with: ?Thrifty?
-[] Explore Jeremy's General Groceries with Super Spy
-[] Explore The Underground with Tunneler
Mind there may not even be any work opportunity at Jeremy's General Groceries. In which case we will have to look elsewhere. Hopefully once we have explored it we will be able to stop by and spend money without an action?
On the other hand maybe we should look for money first? Going to a store without money to spend is a bit odd.
Maybe Carl's Parlor of Dice and Cards? Seems a bit risky, and we would be relying on our ability to talk someone into paying our initial ante. And we would need to pick a keyword that lets us win without being too obvious about it.
Or maybe Laurel's Boxing? We were offered money last time we were there after all. The action states that the reward is biomass though. And we would need scavenger and probably subtle.
Also if they ask our name we should probably remember not to tell them the whole thing.
[] Plan: Food for me and food for you
-[] Modify Super Spy with: ?Thrifty?
-[] Explore Jeremy's General Groceries with Super Spy
-[] Explore The Underground with Tunneler
Mind there may not even be any work opportunity at Jeremy's General Groceries. In which case we will have to look elsewhere. Hopefully once we have explored it we will be able to stop by and spend money without an action?
On the other hand maybe we should look for money first? Going to a store without money to spend is a bit odd.
Maybe Carl's Parlor of Dice and Cards? Seems a bit risky, and we would be relying on our ability to talk someone into paying our initial ante. And we would need to pick a keyword that lets us win without being too obvious about it.
Or maybe Laurel's Boxing? We were offered money last time we were there after all. The action states that the reward is biomass though. And we would need scavenger and probably subtle.
Also if they ask our name we should probably remember not to tell them the whole thing.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
We probably will have better luck working at Laurel's Boxing then trying to ask for a job from somebody we have never met in a place we have never been. Specifically we were told:
Last time we worked at Laurel's Boxing we had:
Now we probably don't need most of that. But the question is what we do need. Scavenger gives us extra mouths which we will need for "Cleaning" magic. Subtle though let us kinda pass as human, and might have helped us hide our activities.
[] Plan: Money matters
-[] Modify Super Spy with: Scavenger
-[] Work at Laurel's Boxing with Super Spy
-[] Explore The Underground with Tunneler
On the other hand, I would hope that they would not treat us any worse knowing that we are abhuman. But I worry that if they see how we "clean" they might be a bit put off. Maybe include Slight-of-Hand instead? We make the trash disappear! Or maybe just straight up give our self "Cleaning Magic". No need to worry about keeping up a lie if we can make it the truth.
But the question remains what to recycle for it. Can't recycle the tunneler, we need it for exploration/biomass production. Pactmaker is off limits. Likeable and Cute are too useful for social stuff. All that's left behind is Perceptive. But I'm a little worried about recycling that. Our superior senses have been a big safety net for us, giving us an information advantage.
On the other hand we aren't going to be exploring anything new with the super spy, and the Tunneler has it's own senses.
We might not get the whole 50 credits, but we could probably get some money, now that we know we need some. And if 50 credits is a whole days work, then it should be work at least a day of food. Hopefully a bit more. Considering Martin has likely been subsisting on a whole lot less it should hold him long enough for us to build up some biomass and make a more permanent solution.
Last time we worked at Laurel's Boxing we had:
Now we probably don't need most of that. But the question is what we do need. Scavenger gives us extra mouths which we will need for "Cleaning" magic. Subtle though let us kinda pass as human, and might have helped us hide our activities.
[] Plan: Money matters
-[] Modify Super Spy with: Scavenger
-[] Work at Laurel's Boxing with Super Spy
-[] Explore The Underground with Tunneler
On the other hand, I would hope that they would not treat us any worse knowing that we are abhuman. But I worry that if they see how we "clean" they might be a bit put off. Maybe include Slight-of-Hand instead? We make the trash disappear! Or maybe just straight up give our self "Cleaning Magic". No need to worry about keeping up a lie if we can make it the truth.
But the question remains what to recycle for it. Can't recycle the tunneler, we need it for exploration/biomass production. Pactmaker is off limits. Likeable and Cute are too useful for social stuff. All that's left behind is Perceptive. But I'm a little worried about recycling that. Our superior senses have been a big safety net for us, giving us an information advantage.
On the other hand we aren't going to be exploring anything new with the super spy, and the Tunneler has it's own senses.
Are they having any effect when on our Core?
Last edited:
JayTar
Idea briefcase
Somewhat? Based on the text when we added them Cute helps us look a bit less horrific/unnatural, and Likeable is just a bundle of good habits for social interaction. Not major effects admittedly, but useful for dealing with humans.
Them being on our core just spreads the effect across all of us, instead of it just being on one asset.
I would guess it's a little part of why Martin said this too:
Even if we are homeless/abhuman I guess we just have good vibes? At the very least we don't seem like an alien monster hiding behind a thin veneer of flesh.
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I was typing up an explanation but this basically says it, yep!
I'm now imaging us slowly but surely turning our home base into a homeless shelter because we keep picking people up off the street
Sounds like a plan to me. We just have to worry about whoever actually owns the building coming around if we make too much noise.
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So, this question's been swirling around in my head ever since the Intermission - Would y'all be interested in more sidestories like that? Not theoretically plot-relevant ones, just small vignettes and bits of the setting from things, places, and people completely outside of the scope of the lovely Scarlet Genesis herself. This wouldn't slow down/replace main updates, and it'd be under the sidestory tab, it'd just be a way for me to exorcise my writing demons when the vote hasn't closed yet.
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, you can double-dip, I'm not gonna penalize you for it,
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Maybe we should give her the Liar keyword so she's not so honest all the time.
Really shouldn't insist on using her full name if magical girls are terrorists/rebels here.
Really shouldn't insist on using her full name if magical girls are terrorists/rebels here.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
Eh. I wouldn't want that on our core at least. Then we would be a liar.
Maybe Discreet?
We had Subtle previously, but we ended up recycling it. I guess the effects were too subtle.
Or maybe Secret Identity? Maybe if/when we are out and about being a hero.
Anyway, most people don't seem to be taking our name entirely seriously. Though yes we have the pieces to put together that sharing our full name with anyone Guard-adjacent may not be the wisest move. Do we really need a keyword for that? Maybe it could be justified under likable? (Knowing not to overshare.)
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Trust Scarlet here, that's my answer! She can read context clues well enough to not talk to any Guard-affiliated individual if she can help it, much less give away her secret identity (without extenuating circumstances, like with Jeremy). Now, people she considers friends or who she is helping in the course of her Magical Girl duties, like Sabrina and Martin? She'll probably use it then. But otherwise, she'll stick to "Scarlet Genesis".
But the entire point of a name like that is to shoot it to all comers so that they know it!
Well, voting's open, I said I didn't like my own proposition so:
[x] Plan: Money matters
-[x] Modify Super Spy with: Scavenger
-[x] Work at Laurel's Boxing with Super Spy
-[x] Explore The Underground with Tunneler
Though, I want to ask, @TheMaskedReader, would it be possible for us to go shopping after cleaning at Laurel's boxing during the same day? Because as is the vote would require us to go tomorrow and I'm thinking of writing a variant that does just what I asked, like:
[] Plan: Money matters and Food too.
-[] Modify Super Spy with: Scavenger
-[] Work at Laurel's Boxing with Super Spy then go shopping at the grocery store with the money you got.
-[] Explore The Underground with Tunneler
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Unfortunately not…yet. Here's a timely reminder that you're only one sub-area away from having fully explored The Street Outside Your Home!
Until that point - Two sub areas = two actions. Two assets could work, if you'd prefer to just get it done.