- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'll be breaking the tie on the Interlude myself and integrating all three winners on the reaction. It's complicated, after all!
Magical Girl Flesh Horror~!
- Thread starter TheMaskedReader
- Start date
- Original
Intermission - Late To Class
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Laurie Patters is a student from the Nesthall District. She lives in a small apartment with her father, and goes to school at the Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy - Or, as everyone around her calls it, Snapps. She's an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl! One day, she wants to be a doctor like her mother. She wants to help people like her brother.
One day, as Laurie and her best friend, Patty, are running to school before the bell rings, Patty stopped and said something weird. "...Have you ever wanted to make a wish, Laurie?" Laurie paused, too, and turned to her with a thoughtful look. "I mean, yeah, duh! Who wouldn't? There's…a lot of stuff to fix in the world, right?" Patty shakes her head. "I mean, like, a wish for yourself." Laurie didn't answer her. She just started running to school again. "We gotta get going, Patty, or else I'm going to have to tutor you twice a week instead of once!" Patty laughs, and starts running to keep up alongside her.
It's after-school, one day, in the teacher's lounge. "Laurie's not doing great recently, academically, I'm worried about her. The family situation's real bad. Just breaks my heart, really - First the mother, now the brother." The teacher takes a drink of his mug, casually chatting with one of his coworkers. The female teacher he's speaking with shakes her head. "That boy was in my class - And you always hate to say it, but, well…I knew he wasn't going to end well. Ever since he started running with the Serpents, he was coming to school hungover, he was caught selling cigarettes on campus, there was that incident with that other boy…Didn't deserve that, though." Another sip from the mug. "Yeah. Overdose is a nasty way to go. You always hate seeing it happen to a former student, especially since it's clearly hurt Laurie so deeply. I think I'll-" Behind the door, unseen, Laurie walks away, question forgotten.
She's at home, sitting in her bedroom. Alone. She stares at the empty bed across from her, her brother's detritus all around it. A burst of anger starts to flow through her, and she leaps across the room, punching at his pillows and ripping his stupid, stupid posters down from the wall. She yanks out his drawers and throws his stuff into a pile, and she just wants to burn it all and throw it all away, but she can't bear to-
She's outside, sitting on the rooftop of Snapps. Patty is there, silently hanging out with her. "...I'm sorry he asked you that." Laurie laughs, in a way that she doesn't ever think she's laughed before. "It's not your fault, is it?" Not her fault that one of her brother's idiot hanger-ons who hadn't even been able to graduate decided to approach her at lunch and ask if she knew 'where Jordan's stash was'. As if she was going to sell drugs to him. As if that's all she was - The little sister of a drug dealer. As if that's all he was. He was more than that - Why can't those shallow jerks see that? Her rage continues to build, silently. Patty speaks, breaking the silence. "I…wish there was something I could do to help you." Laurie blinks, a sudden certainty coming over her. She can feel something inside of her. "...Patty, do you mean that?" A brief expression of surprise comes over Patty's face, then she nods enthusiastically. "Of course!" Laurie nods with her. "...Then, meet me up here, after school. I have a plan." She doesn't return to class. Instead, she goes home, to grab the diary she found in her brother's things and some of her mom's old clothes.
After school, she's waiting up on the roof, carefully trying to arrange things. The door opens, and she looks up, to see one of the other girls from her class, a short blond girl, who looks at her. She frantically raises a hand, prepared to try and explain, when Patty comes out behind her. She looks at Patty, who waves. "Sylvia wanted to help too! And so did Mary and Kari!" Two more girls emerge, black-haired twins, both of whom wave at her. She remembers them from class, too. "...Um, okay!" Laurie glances down at her things and starts rearranging them, to feel…right. "You all know magical girls, right?" Mary answers surprisingly quickly. "Of course! They're only the coolest!" Her eyes light up. "Are you a magical girl?" Laurie hastily shakes her head. "No. Uh. I…I think I can turn you into magical girls, though. I-" She takes a deep breath, and lets that certainty wash over her.
"What do you want, out of life? More than anything." The last word rings out with meaning, and the four girls in front of her pause. "...I want something I can't have. I…I think you've all heard what happened to my brother. And I can't bring him back. But I found his diary. And I know who he was working for - Who got him into all the stuff he did here." She points to it, on the ground. "...And I…I looked, and they never caught her. She got away from what she did, scot-free. And what I want is to catch her. But I…I'm not that strong, and I'm not that smart, but I know I can help other people become better. So-" She looks towards Patty.
"...Please, tell me what you want to be - What your wish is. And in exchange, you'll help me bring her to justice. It…has to be a wish for yourself, though. Something I can make you do." Patty nods without a second thought, and steps forward, whispering into her ear. "...I want to be…" And with that same certainty, Laurie picks up her mother's coat, and puts it over Patty's back. It flows down over her, forming into an outfit - A dress uniform with black and blue stripes that she remembers from when Patty's dad came to class one day, as well as a navy officer's cap. It sparkles and shines in a way that his uniform didn't, though, the bottom flares out into a dress, rather than the pants that he wore, and there's a sheathed sword on her waist. When she comes out of it, Laurie can barely recognize her, given how she emanates the sort of certainty and authority that Patty's very happy-go-lucky demeanor rarely lended itself to.
"Woah! That's badass!" "Oh…that's…" "You look so cool, Patty!" Whatever doubts Sylvia, Mary, and Kari have about the situation are clearly swept away by the transformation, and they eagerly accept Laurie's offer. Sylvia's wish sees her being gifted Laurie's mother's ring, which grants her a super flashy outfit, covered in shards of glass and swirling lights. She giggles with delight at it, making poses that send bursts of light flaring out from her. Kari's barely audible wish gets her a sympathetic look from Laurie, as well as a small tin containing emergency medical supplies that her mother gave to her, which flies up of its own accord to coat her in its contents. By the end of it, she looks like an initiate of those death-priests down at the Home, clothes all wrapped up in bandages, with tendrils of stitching thread around her holding scissors and tools, as well as two bandoliers of tins and pills across her chest. Mary's wish gets Laurie to give up her mother's lighter, which transforms into metal boxing gloves and a metal mask for her, both of them literally red with heat as she excitedly pounds the two gloves together.
"Alright, Laurie." Patty looks to her, as the other girls seem to recenter themselves around Patty's authoritative presence, having tested out their new costumes and gifted powers to their satisfaction. "Who do you want us to be hunting for? We're all ready to help." Laurie feels sick. Weak. Frail. But she can still stand, and she can still answer Patty's question. She nods, reaching for the diary and opening it. "Her name, according to Jordan, is Sabrina Slick."
QM's Note: Update coming soon!
One day, as Laurie and her best friend, Patty, are running to school before the bell rings, Patty stopped and said something weird. "...Have you ever wanted to make a wish, Laurie?" Laurie paused, too, and turned to her with a thoughtful look. "I mean, yeah, duh! Who wouldn't? There's…a lot of stuff to fix in the world, right?" Patty shakes her head. "I mean, like, a wish for yourself." Laurie didn't answer her. She just started running to school again. "We gotta get going, Patty, or else I'm going to have to tutor you twice a week instead of once!" Patty laughs, and starts running to keep up alongside her.
It's after-school, one day, in the teacher's lounge. "Laurie's not doing great recently, academically, I'm worried about her. The family situation's real bad. Just breaks my heart, really - First the mother, now the brother." The teacher takes a drink of his mug, casually chatting with one of his coworkers. The female teacher he's speaking with shakes her head. "That boy was in my class - And you always hate to say it, but, well…I knew he wasn't going to end well. Ever since he started running with the Serpents, he was coming to school hungover, he was caught selling cigarettes on campus, there was that incident with that other boy…Didn't deserve that, though." Another sip from the mug. "Yeah. Overdose is a nasty way to go. You always hate seeing it happen to a former student, especially since it's clearly hurt Laurie so deeply. I think I'll-" Behind the door, unseen, Laurie walks away, question forgotten.
She's at home, sitting in her bedroom. Alone. She stares at the empty bed across from her, her brother's detritus all around it. A burst of anger starts to flow through her, and she leaps across the room, punching at his pillows and ripping his stupid, stupid posters down from the wall. She yanks out his drawers and throws his stuff into a pile, and she just wants to burn it all and throw it all away, but she can't bear to-
She's outside, sitting on the rooftop of Snapps. Patty is there, silently hanging out with her. "...I'm sorry he asked you that." Laurie laughs, in a way that she doesn't ever think she's laughed before. "It's not your fault, is it?" Not her fault that one of her brother's idiot hanger-ons who hadn't even been able to graduate decided to approach her at lunch and ask if she knew 'where Jordan's stash was'. As if she was going to sell drugs to him. As if that's all she was - The little sister of a drug dealer. As if that's all he was. He was more than that - Why can't those shallow jerks see that? Her rage continues to build, silently. Patty speaks, breaking the silence. "I…wish there was something I could do to help you." Laurie blinks, a sudden certainty coming over her. She can feel something inside of her. "...Patty, do you mean that?" A brief expression of surprise comes over Patty's face, then she nods enthusiastically. "Of course!" Laurie nods with her. "...Then, meet me up here, after school. I have a plan." She doesn't return to class. Instead, she goes home, to grab the diary she found in her brother's things and some of her mom's old clothes.
After school, she's waiting up on the roof, carefully trying to arrange things. The door opens, and she looks up, to see one of the other girls from her class, a short blond girl, who looks at her. She frantically raises a hand, prepared to try and explain, when Patty comes out behind her. She looks at Patty, who waves. "Sylvia wanted to help too! And so did Mary and Kari!" Two more girls emerge, black-haired twins, both of whom wave at her. She remembers them from class, too. "...Um, okay!" Laurie glances down at her things and starts rearranging them, to feel…right. "You all know magical girls, right?" Mary answers surprisingly quickly. "Of course! They're only the coolest!" Her eyes light up. "Are you a magical girl?" Laurie hastily shakes her head. "No. Uh. I…I think I can turn you into magical girls, though. I-" She takes a deep breath, and lets that certainty wash over her.
"What do you want, out of life? More than anything." The last word rings out with meaning, and the four girls in front of her pause. "...I want something I can't have. I…I think you've all heard what happened to my brother. And I can't bring him back. But I found his diary. And I know who he was working for - Who got him into all the stuff he did here." She points to it, on the ground. "...And I…I looked, and they never caught her. She got away from what she did, scot-free. And what I want is to catch her. But I…I'm not that strong, and I'm not that smart, but I know I can help other people become better. So-" She looks towards Patty.
"...Please, tell me what you want to be - What your wish is. And in exchange, you'll help me bring her to justice. It…has to be a wish for yourself, though. Something I can make you do." Patty nods without a second thought, and steps forward, whispering into her ear. "...I want to be…" And with that same certainty, Laurie picks up her mother's coat, and puts it over Patty's back. It flows down over her, forming into an outfit - A dress uniform with black and blue stripes that she remembers from when Patty's dad came to class one day, as well as a navy officer's cap. It sparkles and shines in a way that his uniform didn't, though, the bottom flares out into a dress, rather than the pants that he wore, and there's a sheathed sword on her waist. When she comes out of it, Laurie can barely recognize her, given how she emanates the sort of certainty and authority that Patty's very happy-go-lucky demeanor rarely lended itself to.
"Woah! That's badass!" "Oh…that's…" "You look so cool, Patty!" Whatever doubts Sylvia, Mary, and Kari have about the situation are clearly swept away by the transformation, and they eagerly accept Laurie's offer. Sylvia's wish sees her being gifted Laurie's mother's ring, which grants her a super flashy outfit, covered in shards of glass and swirling lights. She giggles with delight at it, making poses that send bursts of light flaring out from her. Kari's barely audible wish gets her a sympathetic look from Laurie, as well as a small tin containing emergency medical supplies that her mother gave to her, which flies up of its own accord to coat her in its contents. By the end of it, she looks like an initiate of those death-priests down at the Home, clothes all wrapped up in bandages, with tendrils of stitching thread around her holding scissors and tools, as well as two bandoliers of tins and pills across her chest. Mary's wish gets Laurie to give up her mother's lighter, which transforms into metal boxing gloves and a metal mask for her, both of them literally red with heat as she excitedly pounds the two gloves together.
"Alright, Laurie." Patty looks to her, as the other girls seem to recenter themselves around Patty's authoritative presence, having tested out their new costumes and gifted powers to their satisfaction. "Who do you want us to be hunting for? We're all ready to help." Laurie feels sick. Weak. Frail. But she can still stand, and she can still answer Patty's question. She nods, reaching for the diary and opening it. "Her name, according to Jordan, is Sabrina Slick."
QM's Note: Update coming soon!
Incoming magical girl fight? Hell yeah, we need to show people who the real defenders of love and justice around here are! And hey, if we are able to talk them into working with us, maybe we can get some help taking on the theater. This does show that it probably would be a good idea to come up with some ideas around combat units we could make for worst-case scenarios, even if we don't use them just yet.
Future magical Girl detected! Which reminds me, we should make a mascot asset, for... reasons....
...Really Sabrina? That's the name you came up with?
Not sure Laurie's going to like us given how she learned what she would associate with the gang though....
So, hmm, the teachers were talking about how something happened to the mother before the brother died too, given that, how likely is it that there is a poster like the one we found in our home around her home?
Wait, she's not the magical girl, she's the mascot?!!!!???
But she's not cute enough for that! Also, bipeds are not allowed! This is an exclusive club! How did the standards lower that much! This is an outrage, an outrage I say!
Nooooooo, I don't want to have to fight these girls!
We'll need a social suite up and ready to go if we find them (when they find us), and a strong one, we will show them that love and justice can triumph and that you don't need to kill for that! Rehabilitation over retribution!
Ok, I currently have no real ideas for the other wishes (the first might be about being an officer like her father?) but this one... she got it from medical supplies, she looks like a death-priest apparently but the description has some implications of them being in the healing business, she doesn't wants to be a doctor, that for sure, but does she wants to be more free and able to show her interest in the neighboring necrocracy and their healing abilities?
Normally I'd say we should start making a combat unit. But our cute/nice skills have had amazing results so far so maybe we should double down on that. A magical girl team is going to have a real hard time going after Sabrina with an adorable super spy crying about "hurting her best friend." in between them.
Act One - Part Eight: Returning To Normalcy...Or What Passes For It
- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You watch Sabrina go off into the evening, lost in thought. You're…still her friend, you're sure about that, and you'll need to reassure her of that, at some point. You'd suspected, of course, that she'd done something in her past - There were just too many blanks, too much suspicious knowledge, for you to not. But this is a lot. She was giving Martin medicine…but…is that actually medicine? You're not so sure. What if it's hurting him?
Maybe you can convince her to stop. She's been so nice to you - So helpful, maybe she'd stop if you asked, if she hasn't already. Maybe she could…just sell helpful drugs! Maybe she already was? You know that the law isn't a good judge of morality, here, and so maybe the fact that it's illegal doesn't mean it's bad? You're…conflicted. But no matter what, you resolve to yourself, Sabrina's still your friend. And, at the end of the day, you think she wants to help people, just like you do, in her own way.
When you arrive home, it's dark. Night has come, to your street and your home. Inside, you see a man sitting in the lobby, waiting nervously - So nervously he's shivering. It's Martin. Was he waiting for you? His staticky voice is somewhat comforting after the day you've had. "...Hey, ah, Scarlet." He seems almost like he can sense the tension. "...How's it, how're you doing? Back a bit, you know, late, was a bit worried, I mean, you know what kinda stuff is out there, right? Dangerous stuff, bad stuff, you know - I, uh, already ate, you don't have to worry about me, nope. Not at all, not at all!" He claps his hands together, awkwardly, and you nod at him, before asking a question. "...Would you mind if we hung out for a bit, regardless?" He nods, in response. "Uh…Sure! I mean, you know where I live, but like, I've been living there, and you've been living…downstairs? I don't know, but, yeah, so let's go, unless you want to hang out down here, which would be fine, but I figured you meant my room, and so…" He turns to walk up the stairs, still filling the air with somewhat disjointed chatter.
When you reach his room, you spot his bottle of medicine, and you work up the nerve to ask him. "Martin?" He pauses. "Uh. Yes? What is it?" You point to the bottle. "Sabrina gave you that, didn't she? What is it?" He pauses, silent for a moment, pursing his lips. A thin hiss of static pushes its way out of his mouth, as if he's slowly exhaling. "...It's something they gave us during the war, a painkiller, which works, don't get me wrong, it's just - the morphine makes it so much better, and I don't need it, but it helps so much to get through it…It's my medicine, you know? The emptiness - There's…" He seems frustrated, grasping for words. "...Yeah. It helps the pain." He puts emphasis on that word. (Keyword of Martin revealed: Morphine User)
"...Does it?" He shrugs. "...Less and less, especially this, uh, the cheap stuff, but it's what I can get - During the war, it was in these little syringes, that they just gave you and they packed them into every medical kit and it was so much easier, but now they just sell this weak stuff, cheap stuff, the corporate bastards dilute it and wring it out because they think we can't handle it…" He shakes his head, as if clearing it. "...But it's harder to get now, yeah. Morphine. Um…yeah. I…it helps me sleep." You're…not sure about that, recalling his sleepless state a few nights ago. "Speaking of, uh, all that, I should…probably…take it, it's around that time, and if I don't take it, uh…" He seems to get more nervous discussing it. "...I just…I should take it. Thanks for…hanging out with me…but, uh…" You take the hint and stand up, taking your leave. You're even more conflicted now than before.
QM's Note: 12 hours of moratorium, 48 hours for voting!
Maybe you can convince her to stop. She's been so nice to you - So helpful, maybe she'd stop if you asked, if she hasn't already. Maybe she could…just sell helpful drugs! Maybe she already was? You know that the law isn't a good judge of morality, here, and so maybe the fact that it's illegal doesn't mean it's bad? You're…conflicted. But no matter what, you resolve to yourself, Sabrina's still your friend. And, at the end of the day, you think she wants to help people, just like you do, in her own way.
When you arrive home, it's dark. Night has come, to your street and your home. Inside, you see a man sitting in the lobby, waiting nervously - So nervously he's shivering. It's Martin. Was he waiting for you? His staticky voice is somewhat comforting after the day you've had. "...Hey, ah, Scarlet." He seems almost like he can sense the tension. "...How's it, how're you doing? Back a bit, you know, late, was a bit worried, I mean, you know what kinda stuff is out there, right? Dangerous stuff, bad stuff, you know - I, uh, already ate, you don't have to worry about me, nope. Not at all, not at all!" He claps his hands together, awkwardly, and you nod at him, before asking a question. "...Would you mind if we hung out for a bit, regardless?" He nods, in response. "Uh…Sure! I mean, you know where I live, but like, I've been living there, and you've been living…downstairs? I don't know, but, yeah, so let's go, unless you want to hang out down here, which would be fine, but I figured you meant my room, and so…" He turns to walk up the stairs, still filling the air with somewhat disjointed chatter.
When you reach his room, you spot his bottle of medicine, and you work up the nerve to ask him. "Martin?" He pauses. "Uh. Yes? What is it?" You point to the bottle. "Sabrina gave you that, didn't she? What is it?" He pauses, silent for a moment, pursing his lips. A thin hiss of static pushes its way out of his mouth, as if he's slowly exhaling. "...It's something they gave us during the war, a painkiller, which works, don't get me wrong, it's just - the morphine makes it so much better, and I don't need it, but it helps so much to get through it…It's my medicine, you know? The emptiness - There's…" He seems frustrated, grasping for words. "...Yeah. It helps the pain." He puts emphasis on that word. (Keyword of Martin revealed: Morphine User)
"...Does it?" He shrugs. "...Less and less, especially this, uh, the cheap stuff, but it's what I can get - During the war, it was in these little syringes, that they just gave you and they packed them into every medical kit and it was so much easier, but now they just sell this weak stuff, cheap stuff, the corporate bastards dilute it and wring it out because they think we can't handle it…" He shakes his head, as if clearing it. "...But it's harder to get now, yeah. Morphine. Um…yeah. I…it helps me sleep." You're…not sure about that, recalling his sleepless state a few nights ago. "Speaking of, uh, all that, I should…probably…take it, it's around that time, and if I don't take it, uh…" He seems to get more nervous discussing it. "...I just…I should take it. Thanks for…hanging out with me…but, uh…" You take the hint and stand up, taking your leave. You're even more conflicted now than before.
It is April 4th, 1923. Your current goals are to help the man living with you, to shut down Herman's Theater of the Soul, go out publicly as a Magical Girl (Time Limit: 5 Days), and to close the Poster Portal (Time Limit: Ten Years). Your current Available Biomass is 0.
Your Current Assets Are (Bolded words are Biomass/Changeable):
1x Scout (Invisible, Sneaky, Flying)
1x Super Spy (Faint Soul (Immutable), Artificer, False Humanoid, Shield, Poison, Disguise)
1x Underground Ghost (Immaterial, Traceless)
1x Tree Of Abundance (Photosynthesis, SEP Field, Perception Filter) - 1 Biomass in 6 Days.
Your Current Resources Are:
N/A
Your Current Immutable Core Keywords Are:
Cute, Pactmaker, Split, Perceptive, Likeable, Refresh, Recorder, Explosive Growth, Spy, and Bountiful.
Your fully explored areas:
Your Street!
(Sub-Areas of Interest: Jeremy's General Groceries, Your Building, Martin's Apartment, Laurel's Boxing, Sabrina's Apartment, Roy's Office, Apartment Buildings, The Street)
The City From On High
(Sub-Areas of Interest: N/A)
You know of the following unexplored areas:
The Underground of Your Street
(Sub-Areas: Basements, The Sewer, Den of Rats, Forgotten Cemetery, Your Tunnels, Sewer Portal, ???)
Faith's Home
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Back-Alley Market
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???)
The Workshops
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
The Grey Zone
(Sub-Areas: Namreh's Theater of the Soul, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Nesthall District Center (Requires Flight/Unconventional Transit to visit, or the discovery of the way there via ground-based exploration)
(Sub-Areas: Nesthall Train Station, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Your Current Assets Are (Bolded words are Biomass/Changeable):
1x Scout (Invisible, Sneaky, Flying)
1x Super Spy (Faint Soul (Immutable), Artificer, False Humanoid, Shield, Poison, Disguise)
1x Underground Ghost (Immaterial, Traceless)
1x Tree Of Abundance (Photosynthesis, SEP Field, Perception Filter) - 1 Biomass in 6 Days.
Your Current Resources Are:
N/A
Your Current Immutable Core Keywords Are:
Magical Biohorror, Broadcaster, Immobile, and Idealist
Your Current Core Keywords Are (Bolded words are Biomass/Changeable):Cute, Pactmaker, Split, Perceptive, Likeable, Refresh, Recorder, Explosive Growth, Spy, and Bountiful.
Your fully explored areas:
Your Street!
(Sub-Areas of Interest: Jeremy's General Groceries, Your Building, Martin's Apartment, Laurel's Boxing, Sabrina's Apartment, Roy's Office, Apartment Buildings, The Street)
The City From On High
(Sub-Areas of Interest: N/A)
You know of the following unexplored areas:
The Underground of Your Street
(Sub-Areas: Basements, The Sewer, Den of Rats, Forgotten Cemetery, Your Tunnels, Sewer Portal, ???)
Faith's Home
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Back-Alley Market
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???)
The Workshops
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy
(Sub-Areas: ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
The Grey Zone
(Sub-Areas: Namreh's Theater of the Soul, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
Nesthall District Center (Requires Flight/Unconventional Transit to visit, or the discovery of the way there via ground-based exploration)
(Sub-Areas: Nesthall Train Station, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???)
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. This will do any jobs that are in the area as well.
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 much money at the best of times, 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.
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
Add, remove, or change your non-immutable core keywords! This influences your wider self, rather than individual specific assets.
Spread Yourself
Choose a sub-area of interest in a fully explored location and you may spread your core flesh there with the permission of the inhabitants (if any)! This will have a number of benefits, such as applying Core Keywords to the sub-area in question, if applicable, the passive accumulation of biomass from allies in the sub-area if possible (negating the need for even a patrol action), and other, area-specific bonuses and benefits, both to yourself and to inhabitants. This will be necessary to unlock future Biomass options.
QM's Note: 12 hours of moratorium, 48 hours for voting!
Last edited:
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
At this point maybe we can look into magic that directly helps people? Something that could help Martin get clean.
Or you know, something that could help Sabrina take care of herself.. maybe change her appearance?
Or you know, something that could help Sabrina take care of herself.. maybe change her appearance?
Sole Purpose
Clueless
- Location
- Spread Across Several Miles
Maybe we could make some kind of cute teddy bear thing for Martin, or some sort of good vibes plant to ease his spirit.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
Okay so planning...
@TheMaskedReader Would it be possible to include the core/it's current keywords along with our current assets? Just for convenience sake?
Anyway, we currently should have:
Cute, Pactmaker, Perceptive, Likeable, Spy, Explosive Growth, and Bountiful.
So assuming we recycle Spy, explosive growth, and bountiful, that gives us 3 biomass. Then I would like to recycle the tree of abundance for now too for another 3. Artificer can also be recycled from the super spy.
To replace it, I would like to put something with Roots and Hydroponic in the sewer. Being in the sewer should reduce the number of hiding keywords necessary, and the right keywords should let us produce as much or more then photosynthesis would have.
I'm thinking Roots, Hydroponic, and Hidden to start.
Underground Ghost and Scout continue to explore.
Then, with the remaining four, we augment the super spy with healer words and give our self and Martin a check up. We need to figure out if there are going to be any issues from what we did with our soul, and now that Martin has trusted us a bit with his issues and we know more, we should be able to work with him to improve things. Martin's aliment may be soul related too.
Or hmm. Maybe it would be better to make a separate doctor asset? We would have to convince Martin to trust it, but I guess we could say it's part of our magic? It would make it easier to figure out what's up with the Super Spy and us with an external perspective. It would also free up the super spy for patrolling out block, which would include working (which we didn't do last turn) and visiting Sabrina.
What would be good keywords for a Doctor? Healer. Soul Physician. Maybe Reassuring? Only having 4 keywords limits things a bit, but we have a better idea of what Martin needs this time.
Start a plan:
[] Plan: Unlicensed Practice (Draft)
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth, Bountiful.
-[] Recycle an Asset: Tree Of Abundance
-[] Create an Asset (?name?): Roots, Hydroponic, Hidden
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset (?name?): Soul Physician, Healer, Reassuring, ???
-[] See if you can help Martin with ...
@TheMaskedReader Would it be possible to include the core/it's current keywords along with our current assets? Just for convenience sake?
Anyway, we currently should have:
Cute, Pactmaker, Perceptive, Likeable, Spy, Explosive Growth, and Bountiful.
So assuming we recycle Spy, explosive growth, and bountiful, that gives us 3 biomass. Then I would like to recycle the tree of abundance for now too for another 3. Artificer can also be recycled from the super spy.
To replace it, I would like to put something with Roots and Hydroponic in the sewer. Being in the sewer should reduce the number of hiding keywords necessary, and the right keywords should let us produce as much or more then photosynthesis would have.
I'm thinking Roots, Hydroponic, and Hidden to start.
Underground Ghost and Scout continue to explore.
Then, with the remaining four, we augment the super spy with healer words and give our self and Martin a check up. We need to figure out if there are going to be any issues from what we did with our soul, and now that Martin has trusted us a bit with his issues and we know more, we should be able to work with him to improve things. Martin's aliment may be soul related too.
Or hmm. Maybe it would be better to make a separate doctor asset? We would have to convince Martin to trust it, but I guess we could say it's part of our magic? It would make it easier to figure out what's up with the Super Spy and us with an external perspective. It would also free up the super spy for patrolling out block, which would include working (which we didn't do last turn) and visiting Sabrina.
What would be good keywords for a Doctor? Healer. Soul Physician. Maybe Reassuring? Only having 4 keywords limits things a bit, but we have a better idea of what Martin needs this time.
Start a plan:
[] Plan: Unlicensed Practice (Draft)
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth, Bountiful.
-[] Recycle an Asset: Tree Of Abundance
-[] Create an Asset (?name?): Roots, Hydroponic, Hidden
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset (?name?): Soul Physician, Healer, Reassuring, ???
-[] See if you can help Martin with ...
thewhiteraven22
(Unverified Worm Fanatic)
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We need to stop breaking down our biomass income tree, we're not going to get anywhere this way.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
We need some sort of biomass income. It doesn't need to be a tree though.
Right now I would like to explore other methods of generation biomass then photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is rather inconvenient as it needs to be exposed to the open sky for best results.
Morphine, uh? Well, it is an addictive substance, and that explains why Sabrina really doesn't wants him to allow us to touch it, he's already addicted so giving it to him is less problematic (the ideal would be a detox but Sabrina has experience in drug dealing, not detoxification), but it is one of those drugs that she doesn't give to kids.
Also means that parts of his problems are not the lack of a god, but good old substance abuse.
Fucking hell, there has to be so many desperate addicts veterans out there, you can't reproach the guy for it, his superiors where basically encouraging it.
*Checks the withdrawal symptoms, find nervousness*
Yeah, no kidding.
Wait a minute… that is the place where our newbies magical girls are! As a veteran (of one full week!), we ought to go and meet them!
Detoxifier asset?
With words like detoxifier, helpful, healer and other like that, make it a patch to apply on his skin (or more likely a leech to stick somewhere hidden on him)?
If it wasn't for that, I would be saying the same thing as this:
As is, I would like to ask that we actually put down roots in the metaphorical sense in addition to the literal one, having less hiding words does help, and photosynthesis was a good proof of concept, but our generators assets aren't going to generate much if we keep destroying them at the first occasion.
Except for the statics, who may entirely be due to indirect effects, his symptoms don't seems to indicate much more than good old morphine withdrawal.
But since we are going to examine super spy too, might as well look at his soul anyway.
Make the doctor an organic machine and tell him that our magic allows to grow such things?
We don't need healer for a diagnosis, so that's one word that we can change, hmm, diagnosis expert, expert diagnostician?
Also soul diagnostician.
That means:
[] Plan: Unlicensed Practice (Draft v2)
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth.
-[] Recycle an Asset: Tree Of Abundance
-[] Create an Asset *Recycler*: Roots, Hydroponic.
-[] Move Recycler to the Sewer to grow
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset *trust machine*: Soul Physician, expert diagnostician, Reassuring, soul diagnostician
-[] Tell Martin you can create a thing to check how well he is, demonstrate on yourself while checking what happened to super-spy to help convince him. If he accepts, use the trust machine to diagnose what exactly he suffers from and how to treat it.
Edit:
Decided to keep bountiful on ourself, removed hidden on recycler, not really needed in the sewers, the interest was to be able to not need those kinds of words, after all, and bountiful effect is too good to remove.
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We can help him get clean, but it sounds like he has some other problem that caused him to turn to morphine in the first place.
I feel like we already putting to many eggs into super spy. We should make a separate asset for healing. We don't actually need the doll for false humanoid. It just makes the keyword free. So we could make a doctor humanoid as well.
I would prefer not to break down the tree until we know exactly what the sewer plant would do. Bear in mind that the QM has stated that keywords are about the same in power. So we might get more out of a sewer asset, but it will because we don't need to spend as much on hiding it rather than it being better than photosynthesis.
In fact let's just spend two on roots and hydroponics and not bother hiding it for now. It's not like we've seen anyone down there.
[] Plan: Budgeting Biomass
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth, Bountiful.
-[] Recycle part of an Asset: Tree Of Abundance (SEP)
-[] Recycle part of an Asset: Super Spy (Artificer)
-[] Patrol Your Street with Super Spy
-[] Create an Asset *Recycler*: Roots, Hydroponic
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset *Soul Healer*: Soul Diagnostician, Expert Diagnostician, Reassuring
-[] Tell Martin you can create a thing to check how well he is, demonstrate on yourself while checking what happened to super-spy to help convince him. If he accepts, use the trust machine to diagnose what exactly he suffers from and how to treat it
This is my version of the plan. We don't need artificer on super spy anymore. And we can probably get away without having SEP on the tree since it already has perception filter and no one is ever up there. That will let us make the healer and the recycler without breaking the tree down entirely.
We also don't need to treat Martin yet. We can just check what's wrong with him first, and then reconfigure the Healer to do the actually treat next turn.
Also both those plans forgot to actually use Super Spy. Send it patrolling again. That's 2 maybe 3 biomass if we do everything and buy more food.
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Was just editing exactly that in! Check my post again.
Edit:
In fact, I am getting tickled enough by the constant removal of generators that I am beginning to think of trying down words that would make an asset permanent as the cost to increase productivity or something, words like *immutable asset* or others like that comes to mind….
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JayTar
Idea briefcase
Well, the one thing I am worried about is that portal. We haven't figured out what is up with it yet, so in theory someone could come through. I figured hidden would be enough for us to not get immediately seen though.
Hmm. Soul Physician, expert diagnostician, and soul diagnostician seem a little redundant. Just Soul Physician and Diagnostician together should cover soul diagnostician. I included Pharmacist on the hopes that we could make something like Methadone that might help. Not sure if there would be a better word specifically for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.
We don't need Bountiful on the core this turn. It increases passive gains in areas that we've grown into. Which currently we haven't done anywhere. We should put it and explosive growth back next turn once we've finished exploring underground and can expand there.
Honestly we should probably send the recycler into the cemetery first anyway. We know there will be biomass there after all.
@TheMaskedReader Can we get a threadmark for a dictionary of keywords. This is what I've got so far.
Core
(Exponential Growth) as many places as you want for free ,
(Bountiful) increase the effect of any passive gains within those areas ,
(Explosive Growth) rapidly reshape yourself within those areas even during time-limited Emergencies
Assets
(Photosynthesis) 1 Biomass every two weeks
(Perception Filter) Look like a tree to anyone who sees you from afar
(SEP Field). will try to convince anyone who sees you up close that it's not their problem
(Immaterial) Pass through walls/Part of your soul
(Traceless) can't sense it
(Soul Senses) be able to hear the souls of people you meet...or hear any soul-stuff that's split off from them
(Artificer) peeling off soulstuff, examining magical items, and demystifying necro-mechanisms
Well that's easy. We just split part of our soul into it. We know that makes it immutable, and people aren't going to want to disband the other keywords if it just leaves a faint soul floating around by itself. We could probably figure out how to use faint souls to boost things with a bit more experimentation as well.
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That's the goal, we do benefit from redundancy on our words since every individual one is always the same strength, but we can compound to make stronger effects.
The only goal right now is diagnosis, so I want to make us into a real expert at that one thing.
Well, it does affect our current tree, because we do have a core here, but it's true that it becomes unneeded if we put put only an asset in the sewers or the cemetery, the thing is, if you're keeping the tree….
Oh, and:
Super-Spy is used on our discussion with Martin and being diagnosed, that's why I didn't make it patrol, but I think we can ask @TheMaskedReader if we can send Super-Spy on a patrol and still have her talk with Martin and be diagnosed by her new asset?
So, can she?
For the moment, here's how I would change the plan:
[] Plan: Budgeting Biomass v2
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth.
-[] Recycle part of an Asset: Tree Of Abundance (SEP)
-[] Recycle part of an Asset: Scout (Flying)
-[] Recycle part of an Asset: Super Spy (Artificer)
-[] Patrol Your Street with Super Spy
-[] Create an Asset *Recycler*: Roots, Hydroponic
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset *Soul Healer*: Soul Diagnostician, Expert Diagnostician, Reassuring
-[] Tell Martin you can create a thing to check how well he is, demonstrate on yourself while checking what happened to super-spy to help convince him. If he accepts, use the trust machine to diagnose what exactly he suffers from and how to treat it
Kept bountiful to act on our tree, removed flying on scout since it doesn't need it right now.
JayTar
Idea briefcase
To incorporate some things into my version:
[] Plan: Unlicensed Practice v3
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth, Bountiful
-[] Recycle an Asset: Tree Of Abundance
-[] Create an Asset (Recycler): Roots, Hydroponic, Hidden
-[] Move Recycler to the Sewer to grow
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset (Autodoc): Soul Physician, Physician, Reassuring, Biochemical synthesis.
-[] Patrol Your Street with Super Spy
--[] Include food purchase.
--[] Ask Laurel about the boxing schedule, and if there are any days she would prefer you be here.
-[] Help Martin with Autodoc
--[] Tell Martin you can create a thing to give him a check up, demonstrate on yourself while checking what happened to super-spy to help convince him. If he accepts, use the Autodoc to diagnose what exactly he suffers from and how to treat it.
Swapped out the diagnosis related keywords. While diagnostician would be better for diagnosis, we already have a lead on what is up. So I don't think it is essential. Plus diagnosis should be part of a Physician/Soul Physician skill set. So limiting our self to diagnosis isn't necessary. We should be able to both diagnose and treat.
Thus we have a doctor for both soul and body, as well as the ability to make whatever pharmaceuticals are necessary.
[] Plan: Unlicensed Practice v3
-[] Recycle from Core: Spy, Explosive Growth, Bountiful
-[] Recycle an Asset: Tree Of Abundance
-[] Create an Asset (Recycler): Roots, Hydroponic, Hidden
-[] Move Recycler to the Sewer to grow
-[] Explore the Underground of your street with Ghost Explorer
-[] Explore The Caroline Snapps School and Trade Academy with Scout
-[] Create an Asset (Autodoc): Soul Physician, Physician, Reassuring, Biochemical synthesis.
-[] Patrol Your Street with Super Spy
--[] Include food purchase.
--[] Ask Laurel about the boxing schedule, and if there are any days she would prefer you be here.
-[] Help Martin with Autodoc
--[] Tell Martin you can create a thing to give him a check up, demonstrate on yourself while checking what happened to super-spy to help convince him. If he accepts, use the Autodoc to diagnose what exactly he suffers from and how to treat it.
I would challenge that assumption!
Swapped out the diagnosis related keywords. While diagnostician would be better for diagnosis, we already have a lead on what is up. So I don't think it is essential. Plus diagnosis should be part of a Physician/Soul Physician skill set. So limiting our self to diagnosis isn't necessary. We should be able to both diagnose and treat.
Thus we have a doctor for both soul and body, as well as the ability to make whatever pharmaceuticals are necessary.
I'm fairly sure we don't count as having spread through the building yet. Because we are in the cellar. And more importantly because the biomass production of the tree is already accounted for by photosynthesis (1 per two weeks) and being on the roof (Time cut in half). If we do get a bonus for bountiful it's not being shown.
The coumpounding?
Well, we can simply ask the QM for what she uses, though I'm pretty sure there was a WOG somewhere about it….
Let me search for the update where we gained the word, ah, here:
And what spread yourself means:
I am still pretty sure that we count as already being spread in the sub-area known as the building, and so our tree does benefits from Bountiful.
But let's make sure: @TheMaskedReader, is my understanding correct or did I miss something? This is important since it impact our tree's effectiveness.
Also, can you answer if similar words compound or not?
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- Location
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's on me! I've been meaning to update it, but forgot before I posted it. I'll fix it once I'm back at my computer.
Remember - Abhumans exist, and they aren't just limited to visual physical abnormalities!
This is also something I've been meaning to do - It'll take a bit longer, but expect it soon.
Yes, just include it in your plan. It's part of patrolling, since Martin's home is part of Your Street.
You haven't spread anywhere, yet! To be clear, spreading to your building would
1. Require informing and gaining the consent of Martin.
2. Allow anyone entering the building to see flesh all over the place (unless keywords are added to prevent it, etc etc)
Yes and no. Similar words will often have synergizing effects (exponential and explosive growth come to mind), but playing the field can do the same thing. If you make an asset with the keyword Doctor, it'll probably be a good general physician, or equivalent. If you give it Doctor and Diagnostician, it'll be both a good general physician and a good diagnostician, which naturally can synergize well. If you give it Doctor, Diagnostician, and Surgeon - Well, you see where I'm going with this. I would advise thinking less of them as "redundant keywords" and more as "synergized keywords." Cute and Likeable synergize well, but they don't do the same thing - You can be likeable without being cute, and cute without being likeable, after all!
Alright, that does help clear things up. It might be worth making autodoc good at dealing with symptoms of withdrawal at first, before adding on ways to actually treat it as we get more biomass later.
I think we need to figure out what caused him to have so much pain that he needed the morphine in the first place. If that's gone, then we can deal with the morphine. If it's not then we need to either fix it or provide a cleaner morphine substitute or else we'll just be making his life worse.
Thank you very much for the info!
So that means:
-We can get rid of bountiful this turn, will reinstate it in the sewer post spreading there! (Do we need to ask the rats for permission?)
Since we can still remove flying from our scout, that means we may use one more word!
-I misunderstood spreading, not a problem, does explain why we couldn't swap words via explosive growth during Herman. Now it's clear, looking forward to using it.
-Compounding words works about how'I thought, you are right that redundancy is not the correct frame of mind though, rather than synergies.
Oh, and I was thinking of the increase of statics when talking about them when mentioning Morphine's symptoms, and that one is likely an indirect effect of the normal withdrawal symptoms on his abhuman physiology.
Edit:
Morphine's an addictive substance, he doesn't need to actually have anything that still create any pain for him to feel pain when stopping it, that's part of why we need a good diagnosis first, to see if he needs detox, or detox and a substitute.
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