[X] Plan: Searching and growing, modified
Watch out, evil, we're coming for you!
Watch out, evil, we're coming for you!
Magical Girl Flesh Horror~!
- Thread starter TheMaskedReader
- Start date
- Original
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Plan: Searching and growing, modified
- Pronouns
- It/Its
[X] Plan: Searching and growing, modified
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
I was thinking how we can make are magical girl form work like Delta from kamen rider 555 letting use use anyone willing to become the magical girl become it if we use keywords like "empowering" and "symbiote" we should be able to do this
Martin seems to suffer from deity withdrawal and we already have pact-maker so adding Divine to our core may allow us to make priests/warlocks.
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
I kind of works but kind of different what I was thinking there's only one Kamen Rider Delta at a time it's whoever holds the transformation trinkets but it can be passed on by anyone.
The main difference I see here is that if we go with your option there will be multiple people with power we're empowering but our energy will be divided between all of them I was saying one person get empowered and we put all of the energy in them at a time they're probably be stronger and faster than the warlock idea
I did indeed entertain the idea of going for divine as one of our keywords, however, we don't know enough about his exact illness to tell anything anyway so I am thinking on going full on diagnostics words next turn on him, like, some of my ideas are: Qualified doctor, qualified nurse, experienced mage, scanner, magic scanner, biomagic expert.
And all kinds of other *instant expert* words to compound the effect till we are the equivalent of someone with decades working on that.
One of our biggest advantage here is that we can become extremely good at anything if you just let us have a little time to adapt, so let's use that.
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Vote closed
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Act One - First Emergency Part One: Herman's Theater of the Soul!
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You ruminated a bit on schedules and normalization yesterday and realized you didn't want to do that, so now, you're going to shake things up. Tunneler is recalled and recycled, Super Spy is smoothed out, and Scout's extra bodies are re-absorbed. It's time to get experimental. You've got a lot of biomass to mess with, and you intend to use it! First things first, you prepare yourself to spread. While you've restricted yourself thus far, you don't have to - You can just set pieces of yourself to self-replication and you'll grow yourself extremely quickly. And if you set those new parts of yourself to growing, as well…well, it doesn't really 'increase' your amount of Biomass in of itself, more just spreads out your biomass over an area…but that can increase your biomass income, you know? Plenty of little things you can do to aid yourself, there. Anyways - With that procedure firmly set up, you can safely say that now, you can spread yourself to as many places as you want for free (Exponential Growth), increase the effect of any passive gains within those areas (Bountiful), and rapidly reshape yourself within those areas even during time-limited Emergencies (Explosive Growth). Frankly, you're almost running out of space in here, with all this growth and stored internal biomass - You're not ashamed to admit that the flesh walls have gotten pretty thick! However, that does mean you're going to scoop some out so you can slim down again. And you can think of a few good ways to do that.
First things first, you create another tree - Nothing fancy, just pure green flesh that can photosynthesize. Limbs you can crawl around on, for the best exposure to rain and sunlight. You hang flaps of skin to collect water and anything else useful floating through the air to feed that process. You will gain about 1 Biomass every two weeks (Photosynthesis), in your opinion. Then, you look firmly at yourself. You are a tree. And there's nothing unusual about that. You sing that to it, and reality shivers, slightly. Yes, that's it. You keep singing that, weaving normalcy - The green is simply leaves, aren't they? The legs - Roots! The skin - Fronds! Clearly, it is. And if it isn't? Well, that's not your problem, is it? You sing a song of normalcy and disinterest, and slowly, it begins to assume a character not unlike that of a businessman hurriedly walking past a homeless man, eyes firmly averted in such a way that he thinks it is plausible that he merely does not see his outstretched hand. You pause. That was an odd thought to come into your head. Perhaps it was drawn from the environment, instead. Interesting. Regardless, you sing onwards, and the tree hunches and shies, tilting yourself to always be slightly out of focus or hidden. Enough to be plausible. Enough to be mistaken. And where that is not sufficient - Well, you set a mouth within it to sing a subtle song. "Not your problem, is it? Someone else will handle it…You're used to it…just part of the scenery…" With that, you can firmly say that it will look like a tree to anyone who sees you from afar (Perception Filter) and will try to convince anyone who sees you up close that it's not their problem (SEP Field).
Then, you repeat what you did with the Scout - You peel away a part of yourself until it vanishes. But then, you keep going. What will happen then, you think? You peel and peel and peel, sanding away infinitesimally small portions of yourself. You think, for a second, that you have destroyed a part of yourself - In a way that you didn't even think was possible. Then, you try to move. And you do. You simply pass through (Immaterial), too not-there to be bothered by the petty attempts of flesh and dirt to stop you. You become aware that you are not seeing from this - You are sensing by mere virtue of your presence, a sphere of your influence extended from your assets. Eyes help you see…but you don't need them, you realize. You think this piece of yourself is not physical, any longer - It is a small part of your soul (Immaterial), that you have shaved off and sent off on its own. That's…interesting. And you can't sense it (Traceless). You can feel the Scout, could feel the not-feeling of your imperceptible self, but you can't feel this. But…you have an idea, now. Maybe you could see yourself like that…if you tried to.
Super Spy is moved into the center of your being, and you set to work on the task at hand. Your living wood is gently peeled back, so that the eyes can be accessed directly, not just on the face, but on the entire body. You try and alter them to see the soul-you, but it doesn't work. Maybe it's because you're trying to solve a problem of the soul with flesh? Let's try starting with the soul, instead. You shave off a small piece, using the same process as you did to create the Ghost-You, and then press it into an eye. You inhabit it. It works! But not for seeing. It is as if you had inserted a piece of your core into Super Spy - A feeling you very much dislike, and remedy as soon as possible. You were meant to be whole, and anything that goes against that is unnatural to your mind. But it is a step in the right direction. You have to see the soul - So, why not start with the larger one, rather than the smaller one? You focus inwards, humming a song of peace and contemplation. You try to see your soul, closing out all outside stimuli. Even your song ceases, for a brief, fateful moment.
And then a new song takes its place. It is something you can only categorize as a song of you. And you realize that it is the song of your soul. You've been focused on the wrong element, for yourself, at least - You won't see a soul…you'll hear its song. Satisfied, you add some more ears to Super Spy, ones that are attuned to listen properly, and allow yourself to luxuriate in your own soul-sound for a moment, before closing them off. You'll be able to hear the souls of people you meet...or hear any soul-stuff that's split off from them (Soul Senses). After that, you add a few more tools to Super Spy, so that you can mess about with soulstuff when you're out and about - Just in case! A few hidden digits for peeling, that you can spike out as you need to. A little storage hole in its chest, for recovery. Heck, why not just add a whole toolset? You've got the time and bone for it. By the time you're done, you've got a whole kit fit for peeling off soulstuff, examining magical items, and demystifying necro-mechanisms (Artificer).
With that, you think you've fulfilled your creative desires, for now - It's time to move onto testing! As you start to mess around with Super Spy's new toolkits, your more passive and scouting-oriented assets zoom off to perform minor test-run tasks. The Scout flits up to the rooftops, following the sight of smoke to try and discover where the storied factory districts, possibly the heart of the USCA, lie within the city. The Tree of Abundance crawls its way up to the roof, to luxuriate in the sunlight and soak in the humidity (Time for Passive Biomass Gain cut in half). And the ghost sinks into the ground, to explore the Sewer…and maybe the basements if you have time.
As they're traveling, you're struck by an idea - You can go on that scouting expedition to the Theater of the Soul, as well! Super Spy stands and rushes upstairs towards Sabrina…even as your ghost arrives first, at its destination. The Sewer is…well, you're not sure what you expected. They're brick, mixed with concrete foundation. The tunnels are tight, and a layer of water flows along them, cloudy, but low, at the moment. The pipes are traversable, you'd say, by someone flexible…but you wouldn't want to try to force an adult human down there, at least, not without some form of safety equipment or magical protection. For you, of course, that's no issue, but it does place something of a cap on what size of asset you can squeeze down there…and make you question how the city maintains it. Perhaps magic?
However, you have found what you think is an entrance…maybe. You'd need to explore it further to check it out truly, but you peeked inside briefly, and it seems to be some kind of inactive portal? You got interrupted, though, for reasons that will become clear later. (You discovered the Sewer Portal! Mysterious!)
Meanwhile, at the same time, Scout is flying overhead, towards the pillars of smoke being emitted in the distance…A flight which runs up against a barrier of biology. You are forced to turn around, because if you go any further, you'll be out of your broadcasting range. (You've figured out your broadcasting range! It's currently about the size of two Districts…which is pretty large, but not as large as the city itself.) The largest concentration of smoke seems to be across the city, quite far away from the more urban residential area you find yourself in. Hm…how do humans get to the factories, then? You swoop down, searching, searching, and find a spot where humans are congregating in preparation for what seems to be transit. Large steel machines flow forth, like a stream of bullets from a gun, starting and stopping with a tortuous screech, pulling in and pulling out with regularity. On the sign dangling in front of the building, a monument of glass and steel and brick, a name hangs proudly, a spotless statue below it lifting a bar of steel, words emblazoned upon it. The name of the District you live in.
(You've found the Nesthall Train Station, which is in the Nesthall District Center! You sense something powerful nearby…but can't figure out what it is before your interruption.)
Further exploration is, unfortunately, interrupted, as we return once more to the past…as Super Spy knocks on Sabrina's door. She answers it, narrowing her eyes until she sees it's you. "Scarlet? What is it?" You smile. "We're going to Herman's!" She flicks her tongue out. "...Alright. Not like I had anything else to do today anyways." You surreptitiously open your inner ear, allowing yourself a brief listen to Sabrina's soul (Soul Senses). Her soul's sound is quiet, but not in a subdued way - It is a content sort of quiet, like a cat purring, or a snake bathing on a rock. But there is a note of tension in it - Like the cat is about to flee into the night, or the snake is about to snap into motion from a predator. You can see that quiet song in her motions, now. Of contentment, and the knowledge that she will have to flee from it. Interesting.
It's a walk, one that Sabrina leads you on, through the district. You go past the noises you've heard, and past ones you haven't, into a place filled with activity and sounds. People walk around in groups, laughing and yelling as they stroll from building to building. You can hear them, from within extravagantly decorated buildings - Whirs and clacks, dice rolling and cards flipping. Yells and shouts of delight, excitement, and desperation. "Welcome to the Grey Zone, Scarlet. Where anything goes, so long as you keep it behind closed doors. Tourist central." Sabrina says this with a tone of disgust…tinged with slight regret. "We're gonna be sticking to the less shady end of it, up here, but down there-" She points. "Down there is where the nastier stuff is. Don't go down there alone." You nod, fully intending to go down there at some point. You won't be alone, you'll have yourself! Possibly several of yourself, depending on how far you go. "And up here are your more entertainment-focused things. Casinos…and theaters. Most just show moving pictures, but Herman's…Well…" She points to the largest building on the block, three stories high, two banners loudly advertising Namreh's Theater of the Soul. "He's the biggest moneymaker in the Grey Zone, kept from dominance only by the fact that everyone else hates his guts. He's a real piece of shit. You'll see what I mean. Uh…you may want to…act a bit like, a, uh…tough, for this. You know, like a…thug. It'll help." She sidles towards it, trying to act casual and intimidating, and you imitate her. You subtly shift small pieces of yourself to fit in more - Fake shoes become slightly more scuffed, a slouch becomes slightly more pronounced, and mild film on the teeth will help sell you as being thuggish if you're reading Sabrina's intent right (Disguise). Sabrina hisses slightly as she stares up at the building. "He's expanded since the last time I bothered to come by. This'll…ugh. Let's just get this over with, so you know not to come back here."
She walks up to the line and doesn't bother getting to the back, simply stepping in front of the man at the front before he can walk up to the ticket booth. He seems like he's about to yell at her, but a glare from her seems to shut him up, with only mild grumbling. "Mario." She stares at the man in the ticket booth. "Two tickets for me and my friend." The man in the ticket booth stares at her. "Maybe you should stop cuttin', then. Got a lotta payin' customers here. 'Sides, aren't you banned? Got your likeness up on my wall back here, and I could call the Guard, if I wanted to. Get your snake ass in a lotta trouble." She hisses, then pauses. "...I'm here to see Herman-" "Namreh." Mario interrupts. "Herman. One of my…mage friends-" She jerks a finger at you. "-Is maybe interested in your…program. I'm here to show her why that's a bad idea. I'm sure Herman told you to let anyone like that in so he can talk to them, right?" You flash slightly elongated fingernails, Mario hesitates, and Sabrina strikes. "Just let us in. We'll go up to see the big man right away. You know I'm not here to try and steal a free show." He sneers, then turns a lever twice to dispense two tickets inside the booth, begrudgingly passing them to you. "Fine. He's on the third floor. But you cause any trouble, I'm calling the Guard." He motions to a device inside the booth. To your eyes (Artificer), it appears to be more of an emergency button than any kind of direct line. If he does call the Guard, they won't know the specific nature of the issue until they show up. A potential vulnerability…for later. This is just a scouting expedition, after all.
You step towards the door, and Sabrina grabs your arm. "Kid - Lean on me. Trust me. This is gonna be rough for a first-timer." You nod, and allow her to keep holding your arm as you step through the door inside…
And then the interruption occurs.
You see, you remember now that Sabrina had told you that any mage can hear whatever souls are inside the machine screaming. But you'd forgotten that you'd just given yourself a sensory organ designed to hear souls that might interact with that…poorly. (Soul Senses) It is a…horrifying experience, as you step inside Herman's Theater of the Soul. It is like stepping from the eye of the hurricane into the whirling winds, sanding away at you - An unbearable pressure of terror, sorrow, and rage expressed through sheer noise, blasted directly into your sensitive inner ears. You immediately collapse into Sabrina's arms, and all of your assets briefly lose control of their movement, disoriented by the sudden burst of overwhelming sensory input. Sabrina holds you tightly as you frantically try to close your inner ears as fast as possible, stuffing them with flesh. The noise quickly turns down to a bearable level as you do so, but the echo remains in your head, even as the muffled roar continues outside.
You take a second to essentially reboot your assets, picking Swarm up from where it fell off the ground to begin flying home and maneuvering the ghost back to your core. This is clearly going to require your full focus unless you want to risk an accident. With the immediate physical concerns dealt with, your emotional side reasserts itself, and your face contorts in horror. Sabrina looks down at you with mild pity. "...You got it pretty bad, huh. I figured. You seem like an empathetic person, and they always have it worse with this sort of thing." You don't speak not trusting yourself to speak in a human cadence just yet. People walk around you, in the gaudily decorated lobby interior - A travesty, considering the sounds of human suffering you are now hearing from this place. You want to shake them and scream at them - How can they not hear it? How can they bear it? Can't they feel the suffering at the heart of this place? Eventually, you nod, slowly, and Sabrina eases you over to a small grouping of chairs, presumably set out for guests to relax. "...Take however long you need. I…honestly didn't think you'd have this bad of a reaction. It was…painful, sure, for me, but nowhere near how bad you seem to be taking it."
You sit there, breathing, for a moment, and then look to Sabrina. "Alright. Alright. I can keep going. I've got to keep going. This place…it needs to be…" She sighs. "...I told you, kid. Not anything we can do." You shake your head. "...There will be. Soon." You stand. "Now, we've got some scouting to do, before I burn this place to the ground."
QM's Note: We're trying out a slightly different style for additions and when they trigger instead of the Creation Reports! Tell me if you like it or not! Anyways, normal 12 hour moratorium and 48 hour voting period.
First things first, you create another tree - Nothing fancy, just pure green flesh that can photosynthesize. Limbs you can crawl around on, for the best exposure to rain and sunlight. You hang flaps of skin to collect water and anything else useful floating through the air to feed that process. You will gain about 1 Biomass every two weeks (Photosynthesis), in your opinion. Then, you look firmly at yourself. You are a tree. And there's nothing unusual about that. You sing that to it, and reality shivers, slightly. Yes, that's it. You keep singing that, weaving normalcy - The green is simply leaves, aren't they? The legs - Roots! The skin - Fronds! Clearly, it is. And if it isn't? Well, that's not your problem, is it? You sing a song of normalcy and disinterest, and slowly, it begins to assume a character not unlike that of a businessman hurriedly walking past a homeless man, eyes firmly averted in such a way that he thinks it is plausible that he merely does not see his outstretched hand. You pause. That was an odd thought to come into your head. Perhaps it was drawn from the environment, instead. Interesting. Regardless, you sing onwards, and the tree hunches and shies, tilting yourself to always be slightly out of focus or hidden. Enough to be plausible. Enough to be mistaken. And where that is not sufficient - Well, you set a mouth within it to sing a subtle song. "Not your problem, is it? Someone else will handle it…You're used to it…just part of the scenery…" With that, you can firmly say that it will look like a tree to anyone who sees you from afar (Perception Filter) and will try to convince anyone who sees you up close that it's not their problem (SEP Field).
Then, you repeat what you did with the Scout - You peel away a part of yourself until it vanishes. But then, you keep going. What will happen then, you think? You peel and peel and peel, sanding away infinitesimally small portions of yourself. You think, for a second, that you have destroyed a part of yourself - In a way that you didn't even think was possible. Then, you try to move. And you do. You simply pass through (Immaterial), too not-there to be bothered by the petty attempts of flesh and dirt to stop you. You become aware that you are not seeing from this - You are sensing by mere virtue of your presence, a sphere of your influence extended from your assets. Eyes help you see…but you don't need them, you realize. You think this piece of yourself is not physical, any longer - It is a small part of your soul (Immaterial), that you have shaved off and sent off on its own. That's…interesting. And you can't sense it (Traceless). You can feel the Scout, could feel the not-feeling of your imperceptible self, but you can't feel this. But…you have an idea, now. Maybe you could see yourself like that…if you tried to.
Super Spy is moved into the center of your being, and you set to work on the task at hand. Your living wood is gently peeled back, so that the eyes can be accessed directly, not just on the face, but on the entire body. You try and alter them to see the soul-you, but it doesn't work. Maybe it's because you're trying to solve a problem of the soul with flesh? Let's try starting with the soul, instead. You shave off a small piece, using the same process as you did to create the Ghost-You, and then press it into an eye. You inhabit it. It works! But not for seeing. It is as if you had inserted a piece of your core into Super Spy - A feeling you very much dislike, and remedy as soon as possible. You were meant to be whole, and anything that goes against that is unnatural to your mind. But it is a step in the right direction. You have to see the soul - So, why not start with the larger one, rather than the smaller one? You focus inwards, humming a song of peace and contemplation. You try to see your soul, closing out all outside stimuli. Even your song ceases, for a brief, fateful moment.
And then a new song takes its place. It is something you can only categorize as a song of you. And you realize that it is the song of your soul. You've been focused on the wrong element, for yourself, at least - You won't see a soul…you'll hear its song. Satisfied, you add some more ears to Super Spy, ones that are attuned to listen properly, and allow yourself to luxuriate in your own soul-sound for a moment, before closing them off. You'll be able to hear the souls of people you meet...or hear any soul-stuff that's split off from them (Soul Senses). After that, you add a few more tools to Super Spy, so that you can mess about with soulstuff when you're out and about - Just in case! A few hidden digits for peeling, that you can spike out as you need to. A little storage hole in its chest, for recovery. Heck, why not just add a whole toolset? You've got the time and bone for it. By the time you're done, you've got a whole kit fit for peeling off soulstuff, examining magical items, and demystifying necro-mechanisms (Artificer).
With that, you think you've fulfilled your creative desires, for now - It's time to move onto testing! As you start to mess around with Super Spy's new toolkits, your more passive and scouting-oriented assets zoom off to perform minor test-run tasks. The Scout flits up to the rooftops, following the sight of smoke to try and discover where the storied factory districts, possibly the heart of the USCA, lie within the city. The Tree of Abundance crawls its way up to the roof, to luxuriate in the sunlight and soak in the humidity (Time for Passive Biomass Gain cut in half). And the ghost sinks into the ground, to explore the Sewer…and maybe the basements if you have time.
As they're traveling, you're struck by an idea - You can go on that scouting expedition to the Theater of the Soul, as well! Super Spy stands and rushes upstairs towards Sabrina…even as your ghost arrives first, at its destination. The Sewer is…well, you're not sure what you expected. They're brick, mixed with concrete foundation. The tunnels are tight, and a layer of water flows along them, cloudy, but low, at the moment. The pipes are traversable, you'd say, by someone flexible…but you wouldn't want to try to force an adult human down there, at least, not without some form of safety equipment or magical protection. For you, of course, that's no issue, but it does place something of a cap on what size of asset you can squeeze down there…and make you question how the city maintains it. Perhaps magic?
However, you have found what you think is an entrance…maybe. You'd need to explore it further to check it out truly, but you peeked inside briefly, and it seems to be some kind of inactive portal? You got interrupted, though, for reasons that will become clear later. (You discovered the Sewer Portal! Mysterious!)
Meanwhile, at the same time, Scout is flying overhead, towards the pillars of smoke being emitted in the distance…A flight which runs up against a barrier of biology. You are forced to turn around, because if you go any further, you'll be out of your broadcasting range. (You've figured out your broadcasting range! It's currently about the size of two Districts…which is pretty large, but not as large as the city itself.) The largest concentration of smoke seems to be across the city, quite far away from the more urban residential area you find yourself in. Hm…how do humans get to the factories, then? You swoop down, searching, searching, and find a spot where humans are congregating in preparation for what seems to be transit. Large steel machines flow forth, like a stream of bullets from a gun, starting and stopping with a tortuous screech, pulling in and pulling out with regularity. On the sign dangling in front of the building, a monument of glass and steel and brick, a name hangs proudly, a spotless statue below it lifting a bar of steel, words emblazoned upon it. The name of the District you live in.
Nesthall District
"Orion Nesthall - Founder of the United Steel Corporation of Aleria, Memorialized In Service to the City He Built."
"Orion Nesthall - Founder of the United Steel Corporation of Aleria, Memorialized In Service to the City He Built."
(You've found the Nesthall Train Station, which is in the Nesthall District Center! You sense something powerful nearby…but can't figure out what it is before your interruption.)
Further exploration is, unfortunately, interrupted, as we return once more to the past…as Super Spy knocks on Sabrina's door. She answers it, narrowing her eyes until she sees it's you. "Scarlet? What is it?" You smile. "We're going to Herman's!" She flicks her tongue out. "...Alright. Not like I had anything else to do today anyways." You surreptitiously open your inner ear, allowing yourself a brief listen to Sabrina's soul (Soul Senses). Her soul's sound is quiet, but not in a subdued way - It is a content sort of quiet, like a cat purring, or a snake bathing on a rock. But there is a note of tension in it - Like the cat is about to flee into the night, or the snake is about to snap into motion from a predator. You can see that quiet song in her motions, now. Of contentment, and the knowledge that she will have to flee from it. Interesting.
It's a walk, one that Sabrina leads you on, through the district. You go past the noises you've heard, and past ones you haven't, into a place filled with activity and sounds. People walk around in groups, laughing and yelling as they stroll from building to building. You can hear them, from within extravagantly decorated buildings - Whirs and clacks, dice rolling and cards flipping. Yells and shouts of delight, excitement, and desperation. "Welcome to the Grey Zone, Scarlet. Where anything goes, so long as you keep it behind closed doors. Tourist central." Sabrina says this with a tone of disgust…tinged with slight regret. "We're gonna be sticking to the less shady end of it, up here, but down there-" She points. "Down there is where the nastier stuff is. Don't go down there alone." You nod, fully intending to go down there at some point. You won't be alone, you'll have yourself! Possibly several of yourself, depending on how far you go. "And up here are your more entertainment-focused things. Casinos…and theaters. Most just show moving pictures, but Herman's…Well…" She points to the largest building on the block, three stories high, two banners loudly advertising Namreh's Theater of the Soul. "He's the biggest moneymaker in the Grey Zone, kept from dominance only by the fact that everyone else hates his guts. He's a real piece of shit. You'll see what I mean. Uh…you may want to…act a bit like, a, uh…tough, for this. You know, like a…thug. It'll help." She sidles towards it, trying to act casual and intimidating, and you imitate her. You subtly shift small pieces of yourself to fit in more - Fake shoes become slightly more scuffed, a slouch becomes slightly more pronounced, and mild film on the teeth will help sell you as being thuggish if you're reading Sabrina's intent right (Disguise). Sabrina hisses slightly as she stares up at the building. "He's expanded since the last time I bothered to come by. This'll…ugh. Let's just get this over with, so you know not to come back here."
She walks up to the line and doesn't bother getting to the back, simply stepping in front of the man at the front before he can walk up to the ticket booth. He seems like he's about to yell at her, but a glare from her seems to shut him up, with only mild grumbling. "Mario." She stares at the man in the ticket booth. "Two tickets for me and my friend." The man in the ticket booth stares at her. "Maybe you should stop cuttin', then. Got a lotta payin' customers here. 'Sides, aren't you banned? Got your likeness up on my wall back here, and I could call the Guard, if I wanted to. Get your snake ass in a lotta trouble." She hisses, then pauses. "...I'm here to see Herman-" "Namreh." Mario interrupts. "Herman. One of my…mage friends-" She jerks a finger at you. "-Is maybe interested in your…program. I'm here to show her why that's a bad idea. I'm sure Herman told you to let anyone like that in so he can talk to them, right?" You flash slightly elongated fingernails, Mario hesitates, and Sabrina strikes. "Just let us in. We'll go up to see the big man right away. You know I'm not here to try and steal a free show." He sneers, then turns a lever twice to dispense two tickets inside the booth, begrudgingly passing them to you. "Fine. He's on the third floor. But you cause any trouble, I'm calling the Guard." He motions to a device inside the booth. To your eyes (Artificer), it appears to be more of an emergency button than any kind of direct line. If he does call the Guard, they won't know the specific nature of the issue until they show up. A potential vulnerability…for later. This is just a scouting expedition, after all.
You step towards the door, and Sabrina grabs your arm. "Kid - Lean on me. Trust me. This is gonna be rough for a first-timer." You nod, and allow her to keep holding your arm as you step through the door inside…
And then the interruption occurs.
You see, you remember now that Sabrina had told you that any mage can hear whatever souls are inside the machine screaming. But you'd forgotten that you'd just given yourself a sensory organ designed to hear souls that might interact with that…poorly. (Soul Senses) It is a…horrifying experience, as you step inside Herman's Theater of the Soul. It is like stepping from the eye of the hurricane into the whirling winds, sanding away at you - An unbearable pressure of terror, sorrow, and rage expressed through sheer noise, blasted directly into your sensitive inner ears. You immediately collapse into Sabrina's arms, and all of your assets briefly lose control of their movement, disoriented by the sudden burst of overwhelming sensory input. Sabrina holds you tightly as you frantically try to close your inner ears as fast as possible, stuffing them with flesh. The noise quickly turns down to a bearable level as you do so, but the echo remains in your head, even as the muffled roar continues outside.
You take a second to essentially reboot your assets, picking Swarm up from where it fell off the ground to begin flying home and maneuvering the ghost back to your core. This is clearly going to require your full focus unless you want to risk an accident. With the immediate physical concerns dealt with, your emotional side reasserts itself, and your face contorts in horror. Sabrina looks down at you with mild pity. "...You got it pretty bad, huh. I figured. You seem like an empathetic person, and they always have it worse with this sort of thing." You don't speak not trusting yourself to speak in a human cadence just yet. People walk around you, in the gaudily decorated lobby interior - A travesty, considering the sounds of human suffering you are now hearing from this place. You want to shake them and scream at them - How can they not hear it? How can they bear it? Can't they feel the suffering at the heart of this place? Eventually, you nod, slowly, and Sabrina eases you over to a small grouping of chairs, presumably set out for guests to relax. "...Take however long you need. I…honestly didn't think you'd have this bad of a reaction. It was…painful, sure, for me, but nowhere near how bad you seem to be taking it."
You sit there, breathing, for a moment, and then look to Sabrina. "Alright. Alright. I can keep going. I've got to keep going. This place…it needs to be…" She sighs. "...I told you, kid. Not anything we can do." You shake your head. "...There will be. Soon." You stand. "Now, we've got some scouting to do, before I burn this place to the ground."
(Welcome to the "Emergency" - Scouting Herman's Theater of the Soul! This isn't an Emergency because it's necessarily dangerous, but because you've only got one chance at getting as much intelligence on Herman's Theater as possible, and a limited amount of time to do it. If you spend too long looking around, the employees and Herman may get suspicious - And if you rush straight to Herman, you'll get no intelligence! Choose wisely! This can be a multi-turn Emergency, if you so choose.)
You are in an EMERGENCY.
You don't have time to change keywords!
Your Current Assets Are:
1x Super Spy (Soul Senses, Artificer, False Humanoid, Shield, Poison, Disguise)
1x Sabrina "Slick" Johnson (Snakewoman, Mage, Rebellious, Blunt, Unyielding, ???, ???, ???)
Your current Core Keywords are:
Cute, Pactmaker, Perceptive, and Likeable
Employees are currently not suspicious.
Herman is expecting you patiently.
You are in an EMERGENCY.
You don't have time to change keywords!
Your Current Assets Are:
1x Super Spy (Soul Senses, Artificer, False Humanoid, Shield, Poison, Disguise)
1x Sabrina "Slick" Johnson (Snakewoman, Mage, Rebellious, Blunt, Unyielding, ???, ???, ???)
Your current Core Keywords are:
Cute, Pactmaker, Perceptive, and Likeable
Employees are currently not suspicious.
Herman is expecting you patiently.
Explore the Theater of Heart-Pounding Adventure!
The Theater labeled as being "Heart-Pounding Adventure" has the sound of gunfire and explosions emanating from within. Your Soul Senses can feel that the overwhelming yells of terror is coming from within this Theater.
Explore the Theater of Bone-Chilling Terror!
This Theater is labeled as being "Bone-Chilling Terror!", and you can hear screams and wails leaking from within. Your Soul Senses can feel that the song of sorrow is coming overwhelmingly from this theater.
Explore the Theater of Tear-Jerking Drama!
This Theater is labeled as being "Tear-Jerking Drama", and you can hear the sounds of a physical fight coming from within, along with smashing furniture. In here, you feel the soul that screams rage through your Soul Senses.
Distract Employees
Maybe the heat's getting too much - Maybe you need to find your way into an area that's being guarded. Either way, you'll need to distract the employees of Herman's Theater of the Soul, somehow. Write-ins will make this action more effective!
Sneak Into Employee-Only Areas
There are a few doors prominently labeled as "For Employees Only" scattered around the building. Some of them might be break rooms or they might be vital equipment for the Theater - You can't be sure until you've taken a look inside. They don't seem to lock them, out of a hopefully misplaced sense of invulnerability, but if you're not careful, you could get seen entering or exiting. This may require multiple actions to fully complete!
Look For Alternate Entrances and Exits
You need a way in and out that isn't through the front. This place definitely has some - You doubt that they have employees or prospective…soul sellers (?) enter and exit through the front, after all. This action may be more effective after exploring other areas thoroughly.
Listen to the Souls
You've got these ears, you might as well use them. Even if it hurts. You can sense words being spoken within the hurricane of emotions swirling through the Theater, even if it's a struggle...but you can't quite make them out. This may stand out, though, unless you find a private area to do it in.
Go Visit Herman
No sense in putting it off - The big man himself awaits. And he's got a lot to answer for. You may wind up doing something unwise…or maybe that's what you want to do.
Leave the Theater
Just walk out! You're not meeting this guy! Real winners don't deal with soul-renting evil-doers! You've got enough intelligence to be satisfied, so, you're just leaving. This may cause Herman to take offense…or maybe that's what you want to do.
QM's Note: We're trying out a slightly different style for additions and when they trigger instead of the Creation Reports! Tell me if you like it or not! Anyways, normal 12 hour moratorium and 48 hour voting period.
We should make a library of what different keywords do.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
I do like the more direct attention on what each keyword does. Makes planning easier.
Now what to do, hmm.
What are our goals here? What information do we prioritize?
Hmm. Herman is "expecting you patiently". Was he notified we were coming? I guess.
Disguise seems to let us do a degree of cosmetic shape shifting which sounds exploitable.
Maybe we could try charming a low-mid level employee? We have both Cute and Likeable from our core after all. It would both give us an excuse/alibi, and someone to pump for information. Maybe after our initial bout of sneaking around.
Now what to do, hmm.
What are our goals here? What information do we prioritize?
Hmm. Herman is "expecting you patiently". Was he notified we were coming? I guess.
Disguise seems to let us do a degree of cosmetic shape shifting which sounds exploitable.
Maybe we could try charming a low-mid level employee? We have both Cute and Likeable from our core after all. It would both give us an excuse/alibi, and someone to pump for information. Maybe after our initial bout of sneaking around.
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
"Unsuspicious" or "trustworthy" (especially anything that would be stronger than these two) is a good keyword here the key words "parallel" , "processing" and "understanding" might let us speak to the souls that we might need something else to work with and maybe the key word "beloved" could work
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Some of those will be very useful when we come back.
My first thought is check one of the theaters and then look for any alternate entrances or exits before seeing herman.
Not what I expected, but worth it in my mind! Particularly:
This can change our game quite a lot, being able to completely adapt to urgent situations, even if only on defense, is a game changer.
Of course, bountiful ended up being the only one who did about what I expected, but discovering the other ones is a great thing! Exponential growth will be worth it long term.
Far less than hoped, but that's what experimenting's for!
Now we know a big part of the difference between words on our core and words on our assets, have discovered a way to really prepare for emergencies, and did find a passive gain increase even if not a strong one by itself.
Ah, of course, we are not a vision based being, we prefer to think in terms of song, so of course we hear the song of a soul instead of seeing it.
You weren't kidding when you said that placement was important for our ressource extractors…
Ok, slight change for the tree: give it roots to extract from the soil, and place it on the ground instead of up on the roof, maybe in an alleyway to deduce the traffic around it.
A shiny! Must investigate! Caw caw!
Today is a day of discoveries! Of new frontiers!
So we're not reaching the factories for our debut this week, not without dedicating ourself to nothing but that, which I don't want.
Definitely! We won't go there without either a swarm keyword or at least two assets! That's totally what she meant!
Did you mean: how to come back here for toppling his evil?
Oops? Didn't take into account the fact that Sabrina told us mages could feel it without any dedicated senses, meaning we didn't need souls senses to feel it as is, just to come there.
Well, live and learn.
Yeah, a little time to heal Martin and brainstorm, then, all ressources on this, we found evil time to fight it.
Well, good thing we came slightly prepared with souls sense and artificer.
I think that first, alternate entry points would make up for a lack of other scouting even if it was the only thing we did, I think.
Works quite well on our end! As long as it doesn't add too much work on yours I'm A-Ok with this!
I'd do it the other way round, well, I would, but now that I think about it, it might be a good idea to do a little *tourist act* and not appear to go instantly for scouting for attacks…. Hmmmm
Will think on it.
I think we are out of range unfortunately, but since it costs nothing to ask:
@TheMaskedReader, how does the range of explosive growth work? And are we in it right now? And can we use it to change words on our core right now?
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
"Information specialist" or any other info gatherings keyword would be useful here
Iris-Iven-Ibis
Interested-Idiot-Immortal
- Location
- You know
Love what?
Ok, may as well propose some plans that don't require changing words right now since it's the default assumption with what's written in the update:
[] Plan: Scouting basic
-[] Ask Sabrina to distract the guards for a little time, strike a conversation they seem to know her, use that.
-[] Look for alternate Entrance and Exits while she's doing that.
If we're allowed more than one action by turns:
[] Plan: Nothing to see here
-[] Go explore the theater of bone-chilling terror just to see what's happening from close up
-[] Then, ask Sabrina to distract the guards for a little time, strike a conversation they seem to know her, use that.
-[] Look for alternate Entrance and Exits while she's doing that.
Also, we should discuss ways to distract the guards, the action benefits from write-ins, so may as well have it ready for if we decide to go for it, currently, I am just thinking on asking Sabrina to do it, probably by striking a conversation with them, since they seem to know her.
[] Plan: Scouting basic
-[] Ask Sabrina to distract the guards for a little time, strike a conversation they seem to know her, use that.
-[] Look for alternate Entrance and Exits while she's doing that.
If we're allowed more than one action by turns:
[] Plan: Nothing to see here
-[] Go explore the theater of bone-chilling terror just to see what's happening from close up
-[] Then, ask Sabrina to distract the guards for a little time, strike a conversation they seem to know her, use that.
-[] Look for alternate Entrance and Exits while she's doing that.
Also, we should discuss ways to distract the guards, the action benefits from write-ins, so may as well have it ready for if we decide to go for it, currently, I am just thinking on asking Sabrina to do it, probably by striking a conversation with them, since they seem to know her.
Jiven
With the power of the moon...
- Location
- Strasbourg, France
The whole situation/adventure.
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
As mentioned, this is a multi-turn thing! As time progresses, you'll have time to change keywords. Right now, a lot of your focus is on modulating the "soul hurricane" (as mentioned).
It's a pleasant little quest, isn't it? Interesting protagonist, original magic system that seems to have been thought out, a setting with lots of magic that isn't *generic magical medieval ages number 37152593*, pleasant voterbase.
Edit due to ninjaing:
Thanks for the answer!
In that case, I think we should just explore one of the theater this turn then, once we can get our keywords adapted, we can begin the investigation in earnest.
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