Magical Girl Flesh Horror~!

Drat, we've been found out. Interesting that that our soul doesn't show through our vessels though...
 
Huh, interesting that Sabrina and Herman seem to know each other.

Anyway, I'm half tempted to use our keywork swap to swap Soul Senses for something like Faux Soul. Then, get really offended that he thinks we don't have a soul and demand he check again. We could pretend we had some sort of magic that was protecting us or something. Use the fact that he was super rude and called us a soulless puppet as an excuse to storm off.
The way he seems to be a bit lacking in social graces makes me think he might be a bit susceptible to being put on the back foot by a social attack.

That or maybe figure out some sort of memory magic keyword to knock out his short term memory? Make him forget the last bit of the conversation, then leave before he thinks to check us with his glasses again.
 
People work hard for those, you know!

*Slowly* Ha ha ha.

Yeah, we're here about that in fact, but the fact that you know and are willing to make jokes about it really makes me dislike you more.

But luckily, you have a convenient and handy scapegoat.

Sorry to throw you under the bus Sabrina, but you did have a very bad reputation here already.

Now, the first misconception you might have is that anyone here isn't here willingly. Everyone here, including our lovely experience donors, are here entirely voluntarily!

Given the fact they apparently don't remember their sessions, that's hardly indicative of anything. It just add *mind wipe* and maybe even *mind control* to the list of bad things you did.

'He means he's in cahoots with the Guard and exploits people forced into the workhouses who have no other options.'

Oh, and add coercion to the list. Explains the murderer.

some horror story about screaming ghouls we lock away after we steal their souls for our evil magic, mm?

Funnily enough, no, because it's not necessary to see you're evil.

You said the soul stored identity, and that it cannot change, but what if it's not the soul that changes when the soul experience something?

Because with that phrasing, you would technically be saying the truth, but in reality lying through your teeth, a little like what Perceptive told us you were doing in fact.

Which most of our employees decide they aren't!

Reminds me of a story where humanity *temporarily* removed their motivation… then they didn't have enough motivation to put it back.

Decisions taken under an altered state of mind cannot be seen as consent for a reason.

If the situation is how I think and what he calls *self-belief* includes or is *self-esteem*, then he just admitted to making people pliable, then asking them to do something that would require self-esteem. Not a very convincing argument when said like that.

beliefs about the self, and identity.

And it seems my hypothesis is close to what Scarlet deduced, yeah, removing people's identity then claiming they can take decisions is manipulative alright.

"That's a very, very convincing simulacra, I won't lie, whoever it is behind that, you did good work, I couldn't even tell! But you walked into the domain of Orion City's pre-eminent Psycheologist, and you sent a soulless puppet?"

Uh oh

Also, guy, we learned about souls less than a week ago, and most of our knowledge about it comes from you…. So, yeah.

Either for a weapon or a button of some kind to summon security, you can't tell, but you have to act fast. Sabrina's ready to follow your lead.

Ok, Super-Spy has our doll and I am attached to it as a connection to our DONOR, I am disinclined to fight because it will make him alert to subsequent attacks, and I am willing to sacrifice the doll to save Sabrina even if it's not my favorite option.

…Begin praising his incredible insight and how he did all we hoped for and more? With a new social word added to our arsenal instead of Artificer?


Don't have the words for it, we're in a social config right now.


Too dangerous for Sabrina, don't want her to be a criminal, is trying to flee alone in apparent panic could help, maybe.


If we go for that one, I want to add words to Super-spy to increase our chances of escape, will probably have to leave our doll to make it convincing though, which I am not a fan of.


Currently brainstorming for that one.

Anyway, I'm half tempted to use our keywork swap to swap Soul Senses for something like Faux Soul. Then, get really offended that he thinks we don't have a soul and demand he check again. We could pretend we had some sort of magic that was protecting us or something

That's definitely an idea, he won't expect how versatile we are and can get taken by surprise by this, we have enough social words that I can see it working if we pitch it right.

That or maybe figure out some sort of memory magic keyword to knock out his short term memory? Make him forget the last bit of the conversation, then leave before he thinks to check us with his glasses again.

Not confident enough on this one with only one word for it.
 
Or oh! Maybe we could pretend the reason why he didn't see our soul is some sort of obscure Shadowfolk thing?

"Oh, Scarlet, uh, Shadowfolk are like…" She looks to Jeremy and flicks her tongue out. "They're some weird religious-cultural group. They came from the West, got integrated into the Republic - Or, well, what would become the Republic - a decade or two back. They've got this thing about the true self and the false self…Long story short, I don't know much about their like, culture, or philosophy, or whatever, but they carve or make these really elaborate dolls and puppets and sort of…do something to link themselves into it? I don't know. It's…weird, frankly, so I avoid them when I see them. A lot of them wind up becoming abhumans, and they recruit a lot of abhumans, but it never appealed to me. They're called shadowfolk because, their, uh, bodies are like…they act like shadows of the doll, you know?" You nod. That explains a lot! Like why this doll was in the apartment building - Your DONOR must have left it here before…whatever happened to her. Hm.

It might fall apart if he is sufficiently familiar with the Shadowfolk though.
 
Or oh! Maybe we could pretend the reason why he didn't see our soul is some sort of obscure Shadowfolk thing?



It might fall apart if he is sufficiently familiar with the Shadowfolk though.

He probably would still call us out on only using the doll to meet him, and would ask to meet our body before we leave, I think.

I actually had a prototype plan for fawn:

[] Plan: why does everyone says that?
-[] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[] Fawn
—[] Begin crying about how everyone says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one, why do everyone think you don't? He should look closer, you're sure he'll find it. You can't help having been born like this, your magic is so horrible. Making people call you soulless, taking you for a simulacrum.
—[] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretends it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him in how desperate you are over this.

He probably will be all over studying us if it works, seeing someone who is already pliable enough for him, maybe even promising a cure for our ill (to manipulate us).

Ideas? Critics? Potential changes?

Edit:

Oh, and, @TheMaskedReader, given how clear a reference to a Bond vilain the title is, I think the idea that we can absolutely escape is conveyed well enough, don't worry.
 
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He probably would still call us out on only using the doll to meet him, and would ask to meet our body before we leave, I think.

I actually had a prototype plan for fawn:

[] Plan: why does everyone says that?
-[] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[] Fawn
—[] Begin crying about how everyone says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one, why do everyone think you don't? He should look closer, you're sure he'll find it. You can't help having been born like this, your magic is so horrible. Making people call you soulless, taking you for a simulacrum.
—[] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretends it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him in how desperate you are over this.

He probably will be all over studying us if it works, seeing someone who is already pliable enough for him, maybe even promising a cure for our ill (to manipulate us).

Ideas? Critics? Potential changes?
No this is our real body. It looks doll-ish because Shadowfolk's bodies act like shadows of the doll. We just took it a little more literally I guess.
But we were using some sort of obscure Shadowfolk art (which we don't clarify the details of so they can't be challenged) which causes our soul to reside elsewhere or be hidden or something.

Anyway for tone I was thinking less pliable and more defensive and offended. At this point I would rater he not be too interested. If we can leave here without him calling the guard on us or something I would be happy.
Though hmm, maybe it could work.

Might want to change the phrasing slightly. I'm not sure soul senses are common enough that we could claim for it to be a frequent problem. Maybe if instead of "everyone" we just allude to a specific past incident? "Not again". Or just have "everyone" be hyperbole.
Something like:

[] Plan: Not again!
-[] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[] Fawn
—[] Begin crying about how "everyone" says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one, why does everyone think you don't?
—[] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretend it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him and use it as an excuse to leave.

"Born like this" also doesn't quite work when we appear abhuman.

(We might disquiet Sabrina a little with our acting ability though. So we best make sure we go over things with Sabrina after.)
 
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No this is our real body. It looks doll-ish because Shadowfolk's bodies act like shadows of the doll. We just took it a little more literally I guess.
But we were using some sort of obscure Shadowfolk art (which we don't clarify the details of so they can't be challenged) which causes our soul to reside elsewhere or be hidden or something.

Invites more suspicion than the current idea, or at least it feels like it probably would to me.


Agree with the changes, K.I.S.S is very much in effect there, my version was a little too long in retrospect.

Maybe change the second everyone to something else? I'm thinking *all soul mages* or something similar, to continue on the idea it's a thing that happened already.

In fact, and I know I just said that a shorter version was better so feel free to disregard this if you think it overcomplicate things: what if we add a sentence about it being our chance to prove we had a soul? You know, a *I could finally show them, and now you are telling it too* sort of thing.

Problem being of course that this add a new moving part, so have to balance if it helps or not.
 
Invites more suspicion than the current idea, or at least it feels like it probably would to me.



Agree with the changes, K.I.S.S is very much in effect there, my version was a little too long in retrospect.

Maybe change the second everyone to something else? I'm thinking *all soul mages* or something similar, to continue on the idea it's a thing that happened already.

In fact, and I know I just said that a shorter version was better so feel free to disregard this if you think it overcomplicate things: what if we add a sentence about it being our chance to prove we had a soul? You know, a *I could finally show them, and now you are telling it too* sort of thing.

Problem being of course that this add a new moving part, so have to balance if it helps or not.
Aye, keep it simple. "All soul mages" seems like a rather narrow category though. Maybe hmm. How about:

[] Plan: Not again! v2
-[] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[] Fawn
--[] Begin crying about how "everyone" says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one. This can't be happening again.
--[] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretend it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him and use it as an excuse to leave.

I figure that a specific past traumatic incident is more believable. Considering Herman was about ready to kill us over it, someone with a specific soul power thinking we aren't a real person and doing something bad sounds plausible.

Anyway, I expect he will be suspicious, but hopefully affected enough (or curious) to check again. And once he has seen the proof he should be on the back foot for having just almost "disposed of" us.

(As an aside Herman's character is interesting. I was expecting "sleazy businessman" but he seems to be more "1940's psychologist who confidently advocates for lobotomies and electroshocks". As a "Man of science" he should know to double check his theories which works in our favor at least.)
 
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[] Plan: Not again! v2
-[] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[] Fawn
--[] Begin crying about how "everyone" says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one. This can't be happening again.
--[] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretend it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him and use it as an excuse to leave.
Anyway, I expect he will be suspicious, but hopefully affected enough (or curious) to check again. And once he has seen the proof he should be on the back foot for having just almost "disposed of" us.

Hmm, yeah, a simple *again* and bawling our eyes out (which the vote already implies) works to sell a breakdown. Version 2 is approved.

(As an aside Herman's character is interesting. I was expecting "sleazy businessman" but he seems to be more "1940's psychologist who confidently advocates for lobotomies and electroshocks". As a "Man of science" he should know to double check his theories which works in our favor at least.)

There is still some things that don't line up, his insistence on not using his name for his employees, the fact he did seem to use some double speech at points, and the fact that some of the implications of his technology allows for making pliant soulless workers that won't protest to what you do to them….

In fact the last one makes me want to try and steal his machine if possible to learn how it works and how to counteract it. Easier to destroy it, but if we manage to get enough ressources on it, an idea to keep in mind.
 
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[] Plan: Not again! v2
-[] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[] Fawn
--[] Begin crying about how "everyone" says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one. This can't be happening again.
--[] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretend it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him and use it as an excuse to leave.
Remember to include Sabrina's part in your plan! Unless you intend to let her do her own thing.
 
Well to brainstorm failure modes for the vote:
1) He could not check again and just shoot us (or whatever he was going to do)
This seems the least likely. I expect things to go roughly: He points a gun at us, he skeptically checks again, he gets put on the back foot realizing he nearly killed us. Something of a faux pas as things go.

2) He could see some sort of inconsistency.
Maybe something about our soul looks weird, or maybe our soul being faint has some sort of specific meaning that is inconsistent with what we have already expressed. Or maybe he is just certain enough in what he saw to know that our soul wasn't there before.
This is more problematic, but harder to determine the likelihood of.

If this happens the jig is probably up, and we should have some sort of contingency plan ready. Maybe the play dead one?

Remember to include Sabrina's part in your plan! Unless you intend to let her do her own thing.
Hmm. Not sure what for Sabrina to do. I guess she can just be skeptical of Herman's claim? "She doesn't seem like a simulacra to me, are you sure?".
If we manage to convince him we aren't a simulacra then she is supporting us. If he doesn't believe us then it seems like she was being tricked. Why would she double down on trying to protect us if we are just a simulacra?

At the very minimum the whole thing will look very disturbing to any watcher. Sure he says we are soulless, but can he prove it? What is to stop him from just pointing to a random person, declaring them soulless and killing them?
 
Well then:

[X] Plan: Not again! v2
-[x] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
-[x] Fawn
--[X] Begin crying about how "everyone" says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one. This can't be happening again.
--[x] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretend it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him and use it as an excuse to leave.

For Sabrina, I think we can let her do her own thing, nothing better to sell you being surprised than actually being surprised, and acting surprised increase her chances of getting out no matter what happens, since it detach her from our actions in case Herman decides we're hostile.
 
[X] Plan: Not again! v2

I just realized I forgot to vote good thing I came here to recommend this to someone
Iris-Iven-Ibis threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Jashin protect Total: 69
69 69
 
Well to brainstorm failure modes for the vote:
1) He could not check again and just shoot us (or whatever he was going to do)
This seems the least likely. I expect things to go roughly: He points a gun at us, he skeptically checks again, he gets put on the back foot realizing he nearly killed us. Something of a faux pas as things go.

2) He could see some sort of inconsistency.
Maybe something about our soul looks weird, or maybe our soul being faint has some sort of specific meaning that is inconsistent with what we have already expressed. Or maybe he is just certain enough in what he saw to know that our soul wasn't there before.
This is more problematic, but harder to determine the likelihood of.

If this happens the jig is probably up, and we should have some sort of contingency plan ready. Maybe the play dead one?

Actually, a little late because I forgot to react to that for a time:

I do agree that the two failure modes you pointed out are amongst the most likely.

The first one loses us ressources, but if Sabrina gets out of it alive, it'll mostly only loses us ressources, maybe make him suspicious of attacks, but I wouldn't expect anything too dramatic, it's not ideal but it's not the worst if it happens. Better than the worst case of trying to attack or flee, where losing Sabrina is way more likely and him getting suspicious is a guarantee if we don't kill him on the spot, which Scarlet won't do, or remove his memories, which can get tricky.

The second can happen, but interestingly, it can lead to him becoming curious, and this can be exploited, no matter what, it'll give us time, time we can use ourself to change our configuration according to the situation.

I have no other idea for another failure state right now, I know I had at least one at one point, but it's gone, can't refind it, oh well.

The order of priority of things I want from the plan is:

1 Get Sabrina out safe and sound, and without a criminal record, hence why fighting and fleeing are out for me.

2 Get our Doll out in working order, including if we manage to do so while losing our invested biomass. It's an important emotional link to our DONOR and I don't want to lose it, not even counting the slight possibility of our idol remembering it somehow, which could lead to interesting things.

3 Not have Hermann too suspicious before our attack, marks flee as right out when combined with 1, since it is likely to increase suspicion by a lot.

4 Not lose our biomass, the least important thing here, biomass can be replaced, it's the easiest thing to replace here.
 
[X] Plan: Not again! v2
The best way to fool someone is to either make them think they discovered what it was you were trying to hide or to make them so focused on something else they lost track of what they were trying to do in the first place, and this plan does a little of both so it should turn out fine. On another note, if we do manage to break into his office before we tear the place down, there seem to be a lot of interesting and shiny goodies we could potentially get our hands on.
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by TheMaskedReader on Mar 21, 2023 at 10:48 PM, finished with 11 posts and 8 votes.

  • [X] Plan: Not again! v2
    -[x] change *soul senses* to *Faint soul* on Super-Spy
    -[x] Fawn
    --[X] Begin crying about how "everyone" says you have no soul, he should redo the test, you have one. This can't be happening again.
    --[x] Act as if you were having a breakdown over this, pretend it's a known condition of your soul, overwhelm him and use it as an excuse to leave.
 
Act One - Emergency Part Five: All Good Things Must Come To An End
You have only a second, as Sabrina tenses and prepares to leap into action on your behalf. You shove something intangible through the link to Super Spy, opening it wider then you ever have, before. It's replicating your initial process of opening your soul senses, but purposefully getting it wrong, to force a part of yourself to bond into it. It feels wrong. You are making yourself less whole - Less yourself. Something of you is just gone, now - Permanently tied down to Super Spy. (Super Spy gains the Immutable Keyword: Faint Soul). This will…probably have consequences, later, but for now (Spy) the mission comes first.

"Wait! Wait, please, I-" You sniffle, and he pauses in his motion. Sabrina, caught halfway inbetween moving to stand and her mouth open, hastily shuts it and waits for your cue. "I, it's, I-, this always happens! I promise, I have a soul, just look again! It's just that…I have a strange condition where…part of my soul is just…gone…and I don't know why - It's part of why I came here!" You're trying to appeal to his inherent sense of superiority. "I'm sorry for lying to you!" He frowns, and pulls the runed lens back down, squinting at you. Whatever he seems to find…intrigues him. "Well, now, Miss Scarlet! Why didn't you open with that? All this unpleasantness could have been avoided - I truly thought you were, ah, a simulacra, not a person…" He smiles tensely, pulling his hand back out from under the desk. "I-" You sniffle again, glancing fearfully at him. "Well, I was scared, and I've heard so many bad things about you, and, and-" He waves his hands, as if trying to physically dispel your worries. You think you have him hooked. "And you were just threatening me, like you were trying to, to, kill me or something!" He winces. You press harder. "I-Sabrina, I don't feel, I don't feel safe, can we, go, please?" You start to cry, forcing liquid out from your eyes.

Sabrina, recognizing her cue, leaps up from her seat and stands between you and Herman, offering you her arm. (Perceptive) Behind her, Herman grimaces, clearly not pleased. But he's not making any hostile moves. "...I truly do apologize, Miss Scarlet. Before you go - Ah, know that…if you ever would like any help with your…truly unique condition, I would be happy to welcome you back to my Theater at any time. My employees will know to escort you to me, if you ever choose to return. I would be more then happy to help you, free of charge, for the sake of advancing the field, and, ah, helping you and anyone else potentially like you!" The last part seems like an afterthought to him, and you don't respond, simply burying your head in Sabrina's shoulders as she starts to escort you out. Herman watches you go, lens still down, but he doesn't make any move to stop you. Neither does anyone else, as you exit the building, but you don't drop the act until you're a ways away. Well, to be clearer, Sabrina causes you to do so.

"Uh…Kid, you alright? That was…fucked, I mean, I knew Herman was an asshole, but, to just act so casually-I thought we were gonna have to try and make a run for it!" You let up, and glance around, still holding onto her arm. "...I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind. But he bought it." She nods. "Frankly, kid, I bought it. If your whole…well, you-know-what plans don't work out, you've got a hell of a career on the stage." She thinks about it for a second. "Probably could run that jerk outta business, given your particular, uh, talents. Hah! There's a thought. Scarlet's theater of the flesh, eh? I bet it'd be a real hit." She chuckles, clearly trying to calm herself down…and maybe trying to calm you down. You're pretty calm, yourself - It's not like anything of yourself was really…at stake, so to speak, but it's not like she can read your mind to determine your emotional state. (Soul Sense) That tension you felt earlier is definitely at the forefront. Even though she's safe, she expects to have to run at any moment.

"...Sabrina, I wanted to ask…you and Herman clearly know each other. Can I ask what's up with that?" She hesitates for a minute... (Cute) (Likeable) (Perceptive) but relents in the face of your pleading face. "...I guess you prolly woulda figured this out soon enough, anyways. Not like Ma's subtle about it. I…used to do some stuff that…wasn't exactly on the legal side. Specifically, uh, dealing with the field of unapproved synthesis and distribution of drugs. And Herman was one of my buyers. The drugs I could synthesize with my venom apparently worked really well for…something he was doing, I don't know any of the details. I…look, as soon as I figured out his whole deal, I stopped selling to him, but I still did it. And I regret it. Who knows what that guy did with it? Probably used it to trick people into working with him or some shit." She rubs the back of her head, tongue flickering in and out. "And, uh, I guess if I'm coming clean, I wasn't exactly working alone. Had a whole thing worked out. Was a good racket, too! Kept the harder stuff - the tainted stuff out of the neighborhood, didn't sell anything besides cigarettes and alcohol to the teens who came to me, and if they joined up, I kept them outta harms way. Some folks use 'em as cannon fodder, since they get lighter sentences in the workhouses, probation stuff - Not me. Didn't do that." She's searching your eyes as she talks, the words spilling out of her. "...I…look, I didn't necessarily think it was good, but I…it was good money. And I was doing a service for the community, in a way that nobody else was. I mean, when I was a teen, the Predators ran this place, and they were a fuckin' piece of work and a half-" You tilt your head. "Why'd you stop, then?"

She grimaces. "...Guard raided our place, and the gang went to ground till the heat dies down. If it ever does. Most of the people I trusted, the actual core of the gang, my old friends, got swept up. It's why I'm living with Ma, now. They know where I used to sleep, had a guy watching it to try and grab me when I went back there." Huh. You didn't notice it before, but in this atmosphere, she's calling her mother Ma, instead of mother. Interesting. And…this does put her willingness to fight for you in a new context...even if it's somewhat overshadowed. "...Gah, what am I saying? You're aiming to become a magical girl, and I'm some street scum who just admitted to dealing drugs. I've really fucked this up, haven't I?" You're back at the street, now, and she glances around. "Look, I, uh, I gotta go. Alright? Stay safe. If, uh, if you don't wanna see me again, I get it. Just…don't turn me in, alright? Please." She rushes off into the night, leaving you standing there. With…complex feelings. (Two of Sabrina's hidden keywords have been revealed! Drug Dealer and Gang Leader!)

How are you (Magical Girl Scarlet Genesis~!) feeling, after Sabrina's revelation? Feel free to write as much or as little as you want.
[] Write-In.

Also, for completing an Emergency - We'll have another small intermission! The District doesn't stay the same forever, and someone new's about to hit the scene. And she's…
[] …swaying to the rhythm of her heart.
[] …late to class!
[] …smoking in an alleyway.

QM's Note: 12 hour moratorium, 48 hour vote. This one's a write-in because it's a complex topic with many possible feelings that Scarlet could have, and I want to give y'all the chance to characterize her relationship with Sabrina and current emotional state a bit! Her being fine is valid, as is her feeling angry and/or betrayed. Feel free to get as complicated or as simple as you like, I'll run with it. Anything blatantly out-of-character will get veto'd, of course. ("I'm so angry at Sabrina, I'll go kill her, and her mother too.", as the most blatant example I can think of.)

Also, I will clarify - Unlike last time, the choice of intermission will determine which person pops up! Each one is drawing on a somewhat...different set of influences from the others. After the intermission, normal turns will resume!
 
Hmm okay. Maybe we should have gone with faux soul or artificial soul or something. This might have complications.

When we have time we should get some keywords like Researcher, Soul Manipulator, and Soul Healer and figure out what happened. Maybe we can figure out a way to re-merge the super spy back into us. Or regenerate whatever we lost.

If we can figure it out properly we might be able to do interesting things with our soul though.
 
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