Miracles at World's End
- Thread starter Critic Ham
- Start date
- Original Mature
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Yet another tie between Lots o Friends, lots of problems and Night Sky. Each plan will be assigned a number in order of appearance and a 2d die will be rolled.
1. Lots o Friends, lots of problems
2. Night Sky
Die roll... 1
Winner is Lots o Friends, lots of problems. For those of you who made a plan and it didn't get selected, I'll be basing characters off those plans. I can't guarantee they'll be one for one, but I'll try to get the spirit of the plan. And if I messed up anything, please let me know as I am still learning how to QM.
1. Lots o Friends, lots of problems
2. Night Sky
Die roll... 1
Winner is Lots o Friends, lots of problems. For those of you who made a plan and it didn't get selected, I'll be basing characters off those plans. I can't guarantee they'll be one for one, but I'll try to get the spirit of the plan. And if I messed up anything, please let me know as I am still learning how to QM.
Character Sheet: Lila Luck
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Alias: Lucky Charm
Name: Lila Luck
Companion: Dark-colored feline with purple and sparking stars in its fur. You've noticed that more good things have been happening to you with them around. Each Companion has their own power so maybe theirs is good fortune or luck?
-???
Power: Emotional Equation allows you to consciously control your own emotion. You've discovered a few things about your power, but there's so much more to learn!
Social Butterfly: You handle everyday social interactions with confident grace. Adds a modifier for regular social rolls and will expand to include all social interactions as Social Proficiency ranks up, severe failure of failed checks are less likely, and one failed social check will be rerolled.
Emotional Control: Your control over your emotions relieves you of so much grief, but you still have to consciously control your emotions and such a feat might not always be possible. Lila will take an auto-action and roll a die against a DC determined by several factors to suspend her stress for a short time.
Lover of Magic: Magic is such a fascinating subject for you! All Proficiency gains related to magic are doubled and DC related to Magic, Miracles, and Companions is reduced by 10. Understanding not included.
Foreign Ethnicity: Your darker skin and accent marks you as 'non-Japanese' which marks you as an object of curiosity by those unfamiliar with people outside of Japan and a target by nationalists. You'll also have a harder time trying to bluff or sneak your way into nationalist factions, increasing the DC for gaining entry.
Yang's Combat Advice: +10 to certain combat rolls until end of School arc. Unlocked certain combat options.
Yang's Rival Advice: +10 to certain interactions with Uyemura until end of School arc.
High Spirits: +15 to certain rolls. This is a temporary bonus that will decay over time or disappear entirely should Lila suffer a crippling blow to her self-esteem.
Social Proficiency F: +5 to Social Rolls
Magic Proficiency E: +10 to Magic Rolls
Luck Yang: Your bubbly, energetic, and older sister who's also a Miracle! The both of you may get on each other's nerves constantly, but you know the both of you love each other unconditionally.
Hyeong and Stephan Luck: Your hardworking, loving mother and father. Much as you hate it to admit it, you do love it when they smother you with attention. If only they were at home more…
Uyemura Maiko: Your arrogant, self-absorbed rival who keeps trying to prove herself superior to you for whatever reason… ok, you did make herself look like a fool that one time, but she deserved it!
Name: Lila Luck
Companion: Dark-colored feline with purple and sparking stars in its fur. You've noticed that more good things have been happening to you with them around. Each Companion has their own power so maybe theirs is good fortune or luck?
-???
Power: Emotional Equation allows you to consciously control your own emotion. You've discovered a few things about your power, but there's so much more to learn!
- Your emotions can grant different bonuses on command, though you've yet to discover what each emotion grants aside from anger increasing your strength
- Yang recommends numbing yourself during combat which will help you focus during battle, but you aren't aware of any weaknesses of this approach yet.
- You can change your emotions, but it requires focus in order to maintain it and distractions can cause you to lose temporary control. Training your focus should hopefully resolve this. If not, maybe there's something out there that can help?
Traits
Social Butterfly: You handle everyday social interactions with confident grace. Adds a modifier for regular social rolls and will expand to include all social interactions as Social Proficiency ranks up, severe failure of failed checks are less likely, and one failed social check will be rerolled.
Emotional Control: Your control over your emotions relieves you of so much grief, but you still have to consciously control your emotions and such a feat might not always be possible. Lila will take an auto-action and roll a die against a DC determined by several factors to suspend her stress for a short time.
Lover of Magic: Magic is such a fascinating subject for you! All Proficiency gains related to magic are doubled and DC related to Magic, Miracles, and Companions is reduced by 10. Understanding not included.
Foreign Ethnicity: Your darker skin and accent marks you as 'non-Japanese' which marks you as an object of curiosity by those unfamiliar with people outside of Japan and a target by nationalists. You'll also have a harder time trying to bluff or sneak your way into nationalist factions, increasing the DC for gaining entry.
Yang's Combat Advice: +10 to certain combat rolls until end of School arc. Unlocked certain combat options.
Yang's Rival Advice: +10 to certain interactions with Uyemura until end of School arc.
High Spirits: +15 to certain rolls. This is a temporary bonus that will decay over time or disappear entirely should Lila suffer a crippling blow to her self-esteem.
Proficiencies
Social Proficiency F: +5 to Social Rolls
Magic Proficiency E: +10 to Magic Rolls
Relationships:
Luck Yang: Your bubbly, energetic, and older sister who's also a Miracle! The both of you may get on each other's nerves constantly, but you know the both of you love each other unconditionally.
Hyeong and Stephan Luck: Your hardworking, loving mother and father. Much as you hate it to admit it, you do love it when they smother you with attention. If only they were at home more…
Uyemura Maiko: Your arrogant, self-absorbed rival who keeps trying to prove herself superior to you for whatever reason… ok, you did make herself look like a fool that one time, but she deserved it!
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Lila Luck 1
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Lila imagined herself chewing on the heads of those jerks instead of her pencil eraser as she did her homework. It was always the same with them. They'd find something to make fun of, be it her accented voice or darker-than-normal skin and then hurl thinly-veiled insults. She had to strangle her urge to punch them, otherwise she would get in trouble with the school staff and had to sit through another one of their lectures about not punching fellow students. So Lila simply plastered a smile on her face and maneuvered around their insults about being foreign-born dispute being born in Japan.
It hurts, being made fun of because your skin is darker than theirs. Being not considered 'Japanese' enough by some made-up standard. Ugh, it's tiring having to wrangle in her temper each time. Lila wanted it to-
Oh hey wait, she could control her emotions now.
And so Lila focused on the abstract feeling of happiness, of joy, of contentment. Her anger was drowned by a current of cheer. A toothy grin spread across Lila's face. Man, if only Emotional Equation always defaulted to happiness no matter what she was feeling. Why it had to be consciously controlled was beyond her, even with all of her knowledge about Miracles, Companions, and Magic.
Lila glanced over to the prone form of a feline licking itself on her bed. Purple, sparkling stars glided across its dark fur. When it finally noticed Lila's stare, it gave a deep meow like a guy giving a deadpan no to a stupid question. Lila pouted and returned her attention to her homework.
It was only last night since she bonded with her Companion, but already it annoyed her to no end. It kept knocking down her figurine collection of Miracles, both well-known and of little fame. Or the feline would plop itself down on her lap and meow for attention. It had already done that no less than five times in a twenty-four hour timespan, stopping only when she had to walk to school. And did it again with a vengeance when she finally returned to an empty house at day's end.
Lila sighed at the thought of yet another day without her family. As much as she loved her family, they were so busy. Mom and dad had to tend to the store to make ends meet and Yang was patrolling her section of Nagoya. But why be sad when she could be happy? After all, she was a freaking Miracle now! With her own magical superpower and an adorable Companion at her side, she could take on any Yokai! Y-yeah, the Yokai were scary, being responsible for the Eve of Blood and throwing the world into chaos, but they could be beaten like at the Miracle of Yamaguchi.
Now how should she go about telling her family she was a Miracle now? Surprise them at dinner? Yea, she could do that. Dinner had yet to be decided and she could gather the ingredients for something. Maybe add spice to it since it was a special occasion? Or she could go nab a dessert from her parents' store. Regardless, if she wanted something special for her announcement, Lila had to go out and buy it. And maybe she could practice being a Miracle while she was out as well.
By your estimate, you have about three hours to make something special before your family returns home. Hopefully Yang-Nee-San doesn't get her arm torn off by a Skin-Taker and makes a bad pun again before your announcement.
You have 7,000 Yen to spend.
[ ] Go to your parents' store
-1 hour travel time
What will you do there?
-[ ] Buy Ingredients for a special curry
-Costs 15000 Yen, but you're sure you can sweet talk your parents into lowering the price!
-Takes an hour to make
-[ ] Buy Desserts
-Costs 5138 Yen
-No preparation time
-[ ] Tell your parents you have something special to announce at dinner. They're sure to help you out!
[ ] Call Yang
-30 minutes
-[ ] Tell her you're a Miracle now to get the inevitable teasing out of the way.
[ ] Practice at being a Miracle
-[ ] Practice with your power
-30 minutes
-[ ] Practice your transformation
-30 minutes
-[ ] Try summoning your weapon, something you haven't gotten the chance yet
-10 minutes
-[ ] Your Companion keeps rejecting the names you come up with for it, but you have the perfect one this time!
-10 minutes
-Chance of Companion rejecting your perfect name for it
-[ ] Go out on a quick patrol. Sure, you're new, but Nagoya is safe aside from thugs and the occasional Skin-Taker. Besides, it's a good experience for when you go out on an actual patrol!
-1 hour
-Chance of encountering something interesting
-Chance of entering combat
-[Hunted] Chance of being observed and tracked. Combat unlikely.
-[Rival] Chance of encountering Uyemura Maiko, a stuck-up jerk.
[ ] Finish your homework…
-1 hour
-You don't have to worry about it later
This past week has been a dark time for me since I've recently received news that a member of my family overseas has died. I found myself becoming increasingly soured on this Quest, but I still do want to continue it. So rather than put this Quest on hold, I'll be taking it slow with this Quest while my focus shifts to another project to try and get my mind off of things. Updates will be slow for the foreseeable future.
It hurts, being made fun of because your skin is darker than theirs. Being not considered 'Japanese' enough by some made-up standard. Ugh, it's tiring having to wrangle in her temper each time. Lila wanted it to-
Oh hey wait, she could control her emotions now.
And so Lila focused on the abstract feeling of happiness, of joy, of contentment. Her anger was drowned by a current of cheer. A toothy grin spread across Lila's face. Man, if only Emotional Equation always defaulted to happiness no matter what she was feeling. Why it had to be consciously controlled was beyond her, even with all of her knowledge about Miracles, Companions, and Magic.
Lila glanced over to the prone form of a feline licking itself on her bed. Purple, sparkling stars glided across its dark fur. When it finally noticed Lila's stare, it gave a deep meow like a guy giving a deadpan no to a stupid question. Lila pouted and returned her attention to her homework.
It was only last night since she bonded with her Companion, but already it annoyed her to no end. It kept knocking down her figurine collection of Miracles, both well-known and of little fame. Or the feline would plop itself down on her lap and meow for attention. It had already done that no less than five times in a twenty-four hour timespan, stopping only when she had to walk to school. And did it again with a vengeance when she finally returned to an empty house at day's end.
Lila sighed at the thought of yet another day without her family. As much as she loved her family, they were so busy. Mom and dad had to tend to the store to make ends meet and Yang was patrolling her section of Nagoya. But why be sad when she could be happy? After all, she was a freaking Miracle now! With her own magical superpower and an adorable Companion at her side, she could take on any Yokai! Y-yeah, the Yokai were scary, being responsible for the Eve of Blood and throwing the world into chaos, but they could be beaten like at the Miracle of Yamaguchi.
Now how should she go about telling her family she was a Miracle now? Surprise them at dinner? Yea, she could do that. Dinner had yet to be decided and she could gather the ingredients for something. Maybe add spice to it since it was a special occasion? Or she could go nab a dessert from her parents' store. Regardless, if she wanted something special for her announcement, Lila had to go out and buy it. And maybe she could practice being a Miracle while she was out as well.
By your estimate, you have about three hours to make something special before your family returns home. Hopefully Yang-Nee-San doesn't get her arm torn off by a Skin-Taker and makes a bad pun again before your announcement.
You have 7,000 Yen to spend.
[ ] Go to your parents' store
-1 hour travel time
What will you do there?
-[ ] Buy Ingredients for a special curry
-Costs 15000 Yen, but you're sure you can sweet talk your parents into lowering the price!
-Takes an hour to make
-[ ] Buy Desserts
-Costs 5138 Yen
-No preparation time
-[ ] Tell your parents you have something special to announce at dinner. They're sure to help you out!
[ ] Call Yang
-30 minutes
-[ ] Tell her you're a Miracle now to get the inevitable teasing out of the way.
[ ] Practice at being a Miracle
-[ ] Practice with your power
-30 minutes
-[ ] Practice your transformation
-30 minutes
-[ ] Try summoning your weapon, something you haven't gotten the chance yet
-10 minutes
-[ ] Your Companion keeps rejecting the names you come up with for it, but you have the perfect one this time!
-10 minutes
-Chance of Companion rejecting your perfect name for it
-[ ] Go out on a quick patrol. Sure, you're new, but Nagoya is safe aside from thugs and the occasional Skin-Taker. Besides, it's a good experience for when you go out on an actual patrol!
-1 hour
-Chance of encountering something interesting
-Chance of entering combat
-[Hunted] Chance of being observed and tracked. Combat unlikely.
-[Rival] Chance of encountering Uyemura Maiko, a stuck-up jerk.
[ ] Finish your homework…
-1 hour
-You don't have to worry about it later
This past week has been a dark time for me since I've recently received news that a member of my family overseas has died. I found myself becoming increasingly soured on this Quest, but I still do want to continue it. So rather than put this Quest on hold, I'll be taking it slow with this Quest while my focus shifts to another project to try and get my mind off of things. Updates will be slow for the foreseeable future.
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Bah. Because of an error on my part, the voting period got messed up so voting is open for the next 24 hours.
- Location
- Philippines
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Finish your homework…
@Critic Ham Do you want us to make plans?
[X]Plan: Practice before you Preach
-[X] Call Yang
--[X] Tell her you're a Miracle now to get the inevitable teasing out of the way.
-[X] Practice at being a Miracle
--[X] Practice with your power
--[X] Practice your transformation
--[X] Try summoning your weapon, something you haven't gotten the chance yet
-[X] Finish your homework…
I think we should have at least a vague idea of how to use our powers before we show them off to our family. That seems more important than a nice dinner? Also, the sister may have valuable insights.
This set up leaves us with 20 minutes to scrounge together something from ingredients at the house. Or maybe we ask the sister to bring something back with her on the way home?
[X]Plan: Practice before you Preach
-[X] Call Yang
--[X] Tell her you're a Miracle now to get the inevitable teasing out of the way.
-[X] Practice at being a Miracle
--[X] Practice with your power
--[X] Practice your transformation
--[X] Try summoning your weapon, something you haven't gotten the chance yet
-[X] Finish your homework…
I think we should have at least a vague idea of how to use our powers before we show them off to our family. That seems more important than a nice dinner? Also, the sister may have valuable insights.
This set up leaves us with 20 minutes to scrounge together something from ingredients at the house. Or maybe we ask the sister to bring something back with her on the way home?
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Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
@CoatRackRanger Yeah, go ahead and make a plan.
- Location
- Germany
[X] Plan: Special Occasion
-[X] Go to your parents' store
--[X] Buy Ingredients for a special curry
--[X] Tell your parents you have something special to announce at dinner. They're sure to help you out!
-[X] Practice at being a Miracle
--[X] Practice with your power
--[X] Practice your transformation
Making curry probably isn't the most time efficient option available, but it also isn't like we got any active time pressure on us. We might as well start out taking it easy with some family fluff.
-[X] Go to your parents' store
--[X] Buy Ingredients for a special curry
--[X] Tell your parents you have something special to announce at dinner. They're sure to help you out!
-[X] Practice at being a Miracle
--[X] Practice with your power
--[X] Practice your transformation
Making curry probably isn't the most time efficient option available, but it also isn't like we got any active time pressure on us. We might as well start out taking it easy with some family fluff.
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Ok, so I was expecting folks to make plans based around the time limit, but I suppose single options are fine as well. Probably should've made that clear. 
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X]Plan: Practice before you Preach
Vote closed
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Lila Luck 2
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
[X]Plan: Practice before you Preach
-[X] Call Yang
--[X] Tell her you're a Miracle now to get the inevitable teasing out of the way.
-[X] Practice at being a Miracle
--[X] Practice with your power
--[X] Practice your transformation
--[X] Try summoning your weapon, something you haven't gotten the chance yet
-[X] Finish your homework…
-[X] Call Yang
--[X] Tell her you're a Miracle now to get the inevitable teasing out of the way.
-[X] Practice at being a Miracle
--[X] Practice with your power
--[X] Practice your transformation
--[X] Try summoning your weapon, something you haven't gotten the chance yet
-[X] Finish your homework…
Lila debated on what she should do as she continued to chew on the eraser of her pencil. As much as she wanted to make something special, Lila also wanted to learn about her own respective power. She knew the basics, that she could change her emotions if she consciously focused, but what else was there? It couldn't just be 'change her emotions on a whim', even if it was useful, but each magical power was more complex than just that. She could try asking her Companion for guidance, but that meant engaging in a game of charades. Which was unfortunately common, given that any normal human couldn't understand what was said between Companion and Miracl-
Lila smacked her forehead as the realization dawned upon her. She was a Miracle now, she could understand what her Companion would say. Finally, she could stop pulling out her hair while trying to figure out the language. She had scoured every interview and went as far as to interrogate her own sister. All she got was vague answers like how it was hard to explain or that it was simply 'instinct'. Always something along those lines.
She turned and asked her Companion for guidance or information on her powers. The feline looked at her dead in the eyes and gave a deep meow before proceeding to groom itself. Lila puffed out her cheeks when she thought she caught a ghost of a smirk on the feline's muzzle. Out of all the Companions she could've bonded with, she had to bond with the cat.
There wasn't any choice now, was there? Oh well, Yang would've found out sooner or later anyways. Might as well call her sister now and get the teasing out of the way. At the very least she would get something out of it.
"Nee-san, I have something to tell you. I'm-"
"You finally got a boyfriend and want me to meet him?"
"No, not that! I'm a Miracle now!"
There was a pause, then a sharp inhalation of breath.
"That's… that's great! I'm happy for you, Lila-chan. You're bound to get all the boys now!"
Is something wrong? Social DC: 50/80
Rolling… 11 (+5)= 16
Rerolling… 62(+5)=67
Lila pouted. She may not care like mom and dad about whatever person Yang decided to hook up with for the month, but why was her sister so adamant about her getting a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? Or partnering up with anyone? Lila didn't care for any of that romantic stuff. Oh, Yang would say she just hasn't met the right person yet and maybe that was true, but it wasn't true yet! B-but now that Yang mentioned it, being a Miracle was going to get all sorts of attention, especially from the boys.
Uuuugh.
She took a breath and focused on happiness. Slowly her frustration was displaced by contentment, at the joy of simply being a Miracle. Her mind was cleared of most thoughts, though one remained. Why did Yang sound worried? She knew being a Miracle wouldn't be easy. Her Nee-san often came home sporting bruises at best or dismembered limbs at the worst. But Yang wouldn't have to fight alone any longer. They would climb the Ratings together and they could secure a steady income for the whole family. They wouldn't need to pay off the gangs for their 'protection', they could simply move to a safer part of the city.
But Lila knew mentioning any of this to Yang would just cause her to make excuses or try to avoid confrontation. So Lila would simply keep quiet about it. For now, at least.
"I doubt I'll get any more attention than what I already get. If anything, it'll just get more intense."
"Well, you are cute, my imouto. You'll just get even cuter from here on out."
"Cuteness is unfortunately an important part of being a Miracle. Which is why I also called you because I have questions!"
"Thought you were the fangirl who knew everything there was to being a Miracle?"
"As dad says, there's a difference between knowing and understanding a thing."
"True. Ok, so what questions did you have then for your oh-so wise sister?"
"How do I, uh, talk with my Companion?"
"Tha-that's literally Miracle 101. You can talk to your Companion like a person and they'll,um, for lack of a better word 'speak' inside your head."
"Mine is a cat."
Lila didn't even need to see Yang doubling over from laughter.
"Neeeeee-saaaaaan!"
"Out of all them, you get the cat! And it acts like a cat! Is it lucky too?"
"I think?"
"HA! You should call yourself Luck-y Charm. The humor writes itself!"
"... I hate you."
"Love ya too. And just to show how much I love you, I'll tell you a tip on speaking with your Companion, free of charge!"
Lila rolled her eyes. Yeah, sure, free of charge. If anything, Yang received payment in the form of her suffering.
"Now, with you being the fangirl you are, I'm sure you heard of Hope's interview with that new Miracle… what was her name… um."
"Gallant Uno, I think. But how can I talk by just… thinking?"
"Normally your Companion will try first, but since yours is a cat, it falls to me to explain." Yang took a breath before launching into an explanation."So, talking with your Companion goes beyond simply thinking inside your head. You have to like, think of ideas and concepts. And you have to really focus on a particular thing to 'talk' to your Companion, otherwise they just give you a deadpan stare like you're an idiot or something. So for you, I recommend clearing your head aside from that one thing in order for your Companion to hear you. Does that, uh, make sense? If it doesn't, trust me, it'll start making sense when you start practicing."
Understanding: Magic DC: 30
Rolling… 42 (+10) = 52
It took a moment for Lila to work through the information Yang dumped on her. None of it was confusing, per say. She could akin the whole process to meditation in a way, where one clears their mind of all thoughts to focus on a particular thing. But Yang said it would be difficult to do that, not without practice at least. So maybe the process was more like trying to speak to someone over a crowd of talkative people. Was that it, then? Was speaking to her Companion difficult because her thoughts were like that? Adding a bunch of noise and thus making it hard for her Companion to 'hear' her?
But she also remembered seeing the feline give a smile when she tried speaking to it. And she followed researchers who studied Companions. The researchers often tried to speak with them, often devolving into a game of charades between the two, but eventually the Companion would understand what the researcher was trying to communicate. So her Companion should understand what she was trying to say yet it seemed like it was pretending it wasn't!
Again, why did she have to bond with a cat of all things? Regardless, she simply had to make do with what she was given.
"I get it. I'm gonna try it."
"You can do it!"
Lila took a breath and tried to focus on the word 'transformation'. She shifted about in her chair, her excitement about transforming would fuel the bouncing of her thoughts. The word was buried under the images of her getting a super cool outfit and awesome weapon. Of her rubbing it in the face of that jerk that she was a Miracle now! A grin began to spread across her face. Soon she would-
Sharp pain lacing up her left ankle brought her out of her self-grandiosity.
"Ow!" Lila brought up her leg and grasped the pained ankle. She glanced down to see her Companion staring up at her with a deadpan stare as though it was disappointed.
"You ok?"
"My Companion bit me!"
"Must've annoyed it then. I remember this one time I entertained thoughts about punching this reporter, but Fly flew into my ear and didn't stop buzzing until I left."
"Why are they like this?"
Companions never acted how they were portrayed in shows and movies, always helpful and kind. In reality, they acted more like petulant children, especially whenever their humans began to stray off whatever path they deemed 'good'. And if a Miracle ends up straying too far, Companions would sever their magic from their human. Granted, those Miracles were, um, bad for lack of a better word, but former Miracles tended to end up… not doing well.
"Dunno, but yeah, at least if you start thinking dirty thoughts, they'll be sure to stop that."
"Ineverthinkthosethoughts!" Lila spat out in a desperate attempt to deny that she did indeed think those thoughts.
"Hm, sure, I believe you. Anyways, try focusing again and don't get off track. Otherwise your cat might nip you again."
Ugh, why did her Companion have to be like this? If the feline was going to bite her whenever she had bad thoughts then she much preferred being a normal girl. But that also meant she wouldn't be a Miracle either so she would just have to get used to it. It wasn't like the bite was that painful anyways, being more like a whack from the paw of a cat. Startling and left a bit of an ache, but otherwise not harmful.
"Alright, I'm going to try it again. Hopefully my Companion doesn't bite me again." Lila said while she glared at the feline. The Companion just rolled its eyes.
Yang gave encouragement as Lila refocused once more. She cleared her mind the best she could and directed her mind towards thinking only of the word transformation. It still took a few tries, with resulting nips, but eventually Lila concentrated on thinking of transformation. Her breathing slowed, she closed her eyes, and even sounds became muffled as though someone shoved cotton into her ear. Lila wasn't sure how much time passed, but it did not matter as she felt, well, not anything magical, but she did enjoy a certain peace.
It was then that Lila felt something implant itself in her mind, like an idea or dream half-remembered. That something became more defined the more she focused on it. It began to spread throughout her body, coursing through blood vessels and interweaved itself into every cell, tissue, and organ of Lila. Cells were freed from the shackles of chemicals and hormones, allowing them to operate on will alone. Muscles were imbued with an alien energy that strengthened them beyond human limits. Senses found themselves sharpened as the energy settled itself into them. Every aspect of what made the human called Lila became superhuman.
"Whoa," Lila stumbled forward, her brain struggling to adjust to the sudden flood of information streaming into its neurons. Yet each neuron found itself with the ability to create connections on the fly and fire off impulses faster than they ever could before.
As Lila got used to her transformed state, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and saw-
Pick one. Keep in mind that a Miracle's outfit is an important part of their identity and will influence how they're viewed.
[ ] A bright and frilly outfit.
[ ] Shining armor with a dashing red cape draped over her shoulder.
[ ] A colorful sailor uniform, completed with a radiant gem centered on the collar.
[ ] Plain robes with an earthly hue.
[ ] Her normal clothes. Just her normal, plain clothes. Which meant she didn't get an actual outfit. Aw.
[ ] Write-in
"Nee-san, I-" Lila stopped mid-sentence when she crushed her flip phone with her normal grip. Or what she thought was her normal grip. It had to be right? But yet again she transformed which enhanced her strength so her regular grip might not be good for holding things… Lila facepalmed when she finished the thought. In hindsight, it was obvious and her foresight blindness had cost her flip phone. Freaking darn it. That cost over 50,000 yen for everything. W-well, her parents would forgive her, right? She was a Miracle now and was bound to make a lot of money!
And thankfully she had another older phone hidden away. She just needed to treat it like a, uh, baby.
Lila retrieved the older phone, gently pressing two fingers against its sides and another finger held against its bottom as she slowly lifted it over to her desk and placed it down. She tapped on the buttons to once again call her sister who picked up without creepily breathing into the phone again.
"Broke your phone, I see."
"...I am so grounded, aren't I?"
"Gonna be working till it's paid off, that's for sure."
"Ugh."
"Don't sweat it, Lila-chan. Try transforming back. You should be normal once again. Same method as before, just think of your given name."
"Ok." Lila said as she closed her eyes and thought of her name, of becoming normal again. She stood over her desk, still as a statue, as Lila focused on her name. Yet the seconds would tick by with her mind becoming cluttered by stray thoughts and mountain irritation. But Lila would clear her mind and refocus on her name.
A minute would pass before Lila felt that same 'something' implant itself in her mind once again. The magic flowing through her and infusing itself with her body withdrew. Lila felt,well, lessened would be the word she would describe deforming. When she was in her transformed state, she felt superior in comparison to her normal self. Like normal rules didn't apply to her anymore and that she could take on her homework without being subjected to a headache she would normally get when trying to solve a math problem. But it would subside as Lila readjusted and she gingerly picked up her phone, still weary that she might break it.
"Nee-san, I-I did it! I transformed and deformed!" It took the hissing of Yang for Lila to realize she practically shouted into the phone. All Lila could do was mutter a sorry.
"Ow. It's alright, just, uh, keep in mind Miracles do have sharpened senses. That unfortunately means greater sensitivity to some stuff."
"Heh." Lila rubbed the back of her neck.
"Anyways, seems like you're getting the hang of this pretty quickly. Took me at least a good hour to get the hang of it, but having an awesome nee-san like myself helps speed it up. Oh, and I guess being a fangirl also helps."
"Why must you tease me so?" Lila pouted.
"Cause a few hours ago I made the mistake of fighting a Skin-taker hand to hand and promptly got disarmed. But don't worry, I found my arm and Fly gave me a hand in rearming myself."
The light in Lila's eyes faded as Yang made more English puns so awful that even an Armored Yokai would die from the sheer cringe. And those things could eat anti-tank rockets.
"Why?"
"Teasing you is like a form of therapy for me, relieves stress ya know?"
"I prefer not being your stress ball."
"Then consider it payment for me for revealing the darkest secrets of being a Miracle!"
Lila's shoulders slumped over. Trying to argue with Yang over not being her stress ball was like trying to convince the Yokai not to kill humanity. That's not to say one couldn't attempt it, it's just the fact all those who tried failed. For Lila, it meant even more teasing. For those trying a diplomatic way of stopping the Yokai meant a grisly end or being dragged off to who knows where.
"So, uh, is weapon summoning the same way?"
"Pretty much. Just transform and think weapon this time around."
"Ok, ok. Here I go." Lila muttered as she sat her phone down and transformed. She lifted up her hand and outstretched it. Lila focused again, this time finding it easier to concrete on the word 'weapon' It still took a few tries to fully clear out her mind, but eventually only the word weapon would remain. Magic flowed through her body, but instead of weaving itself into her tissues and cells, it flowed into her hand. A soft and warm sensation spread throughout as a brilliant light danced and twirled in her palm. The light began to coalesce, taking the shape of a-
[ ]Wand
- Soul-Burn: The Wand inflicts a burning malus against most forms of Yokai, reducing their overall combat effectiveness.
- Purify: You can cures or reduce all maluses inflicted by the Yokai, but useless against those inflicted by non-Yokai sources.
- Emotional Spells: The Wand can cast spells based upon your emotions, ranging from infusing your allies with anger to increase their attack power to confusing opponents.
[ ]Naginata
- Versatile: The Naginata can be used for either offense or defense, creating breathing room while slicing, battering, and hooking opponents.
- Defender: The blade of the Naginata becomes sharper when the your loved ones are in danger, eventually becoming capable of slicing through many types of defenses, both physical and magical.
- Blade States: The blade of the Naginata can change based upon your emotions, becoming sharper in response to fear or setting itself alight with joy.
[ ]Pair of Pistols
- Limitless Ammo: The Pistols are limitless and with no need to reload.
- Pistol Dancer: Your movement is increased when you're wielding the Pistols, allowing for faster dodges and greater leaps.
- Mood Bullets: The bullets of your Pistols inflict different maluses upon your foes based on your mood, from causing mind-numbing panic to making them dance with happiness.
Once Lila was done examining her weapon, she used the same process of desummoning it. The weapon disintegrated back into light and seeped into her palm. That soft and warm sensation from earlier once again appeared, traveling down her arm as the feeling faded the further down it went.
Lila flexed her arm as she thought about what she had accomplished. Transformation and summoning wasn't easy, but certainly not as difficult as she originally thought. In fact, it was similar to meditation, but the whole process was clunky. She had to take precious seconds to focus on a particular word with her mind absolutely cleared of all thoughts, otherwise it wouldn't work. But Lila wouldn't be able to do that if she wound up in a Yokai attack. The sheer chaos would distract her which would prevent her from transforming or summoning her weapon.
Yet Miracles did exactly that. They seemed able to transform even when they were about to be attacked. Why was that? Actually, now that she thought about it, she was able to use her power on command. It only needed conscious control, but her transformation and summoning requires this meditating method?
Maybe Yang knew something. She was the senior Miracle, after all.
"Hey, uh, do you know why we have to 'mediate'?"
"Huh? Oh, no. It's not quite like mediating? It's more like, um, trying to show someone a picture. A picture is worth a thousand words after all. But in this case you have a hundred pictures and you have to point to the correct one while trying to ride a unicycle, balancing another person on your shoulders, and juggling three balls."
"That's… descriptive."
"I may have taken inspiration from something I did in real life…"
"Wha? What did you get up to?" Lila knew Miracles would do some pretty inane things because they were basically superheroes and Yang wasn't any different, especially when bragging rights were involved. Still, she was curious as to what her nee-san got up to when she wasn't home or not on patrol.
"Haha, that's not relevant so moving on."
Lila just rolled her eyes.
"Fine. I did have another question, well, more like a request. Do you mind if I use your practice area for practicing everything? Like my powers. All I know is that I can change my emotions."
"Hm. I can do you one better. Meet me in the living room in… an hour and a-half."
"I know where this is going and I don't like it."
"Too bad. Prepare yourself, Lila-chan, for you shall face the Dancing Dragon this night!"
"Yang, there's a curfew. I can't be out."
"And Miracles are exempt from that. So prepare!"
"Nee-san, please-"
"Prepare!" Was all Yang said before Lila's phone started beeping.
Lila slumped into her chair, hands over her face. Already she imagined how one-sided the upcoming match would be. She was going to be put so far down in the ground, all anyone would see would be her feet! Lila would rather suffer through the painstaking task of solving every math problem in existence than be humiliated like that. Speaking of math problems…
She glanced over to her stack of unfinished homework. Ugh, she had an hour and a-half, might as well try to solve some of it.
An hour and Lila stared at the still unfinished homework with her head in her hands. She dug up long-buried memories of lectures, forced herself to read through her textbooks, and reviewed her scribbled notes she had amassed throughout the years. Yet few problems were solved despite the ache throbbing behind her eyes.
Lila slid her chair back and stood up on wobbly legs. Her stiff back popped in relief at finally being able to stretch. Thoughts congested by math equations and historic dates began to clear up bit by bit, being replaced by weary and frustrated thoughts.
"I just, don't get this." Lila glanced at her homework. Normally she would have gotten half way through it by now, but this particular round of homework covered topics that were just… hard. And she didn't even know why. It wasn't like there were any big and tough projects or exams anytime soon. Maybe she exhausted all of her energy on practicing? Probably, but it was worth it in the end. Besides, the school would let this slide. Probably… maybe…hopefully…
Oh, who was she kidding, the school was going to have her rear end for incomplete homework. And it was likely not going to get done tonight because of how cluttered her mind had become. Well, there was still half an hour left before Yang arrived so she could sneak in a little bit more practice. And now since she understood how to draw upon magic, she could try to expand on what were the limits of her power.
But first, let's head towards Yang's practice area so she didn't accidentally destroy her entire room.
Lila grabbed her phone in case either nee-san or her parents called for whatever reason. If her parents asked what happened to her phone then she would, um, tell them she lost it.
She stepped out of her room and walked down the hallway. Photos of family Lila had never met hung on the walls, the frames protecting the worn and slightly charred photos. Lila never knew who the grey-haired, short woman with a hunched back was, father only got a sad look whenever she asked. And she knew only the name and face of the smiling man with arms crossed. Her mother rarely spoke of her own father. But Lila never met them in person, not even her uncles and aunts so her extended family didn't matter to her? Well, she wanted to meet them, but it's been twenty years since the world grinded to a halt because of the Yokai and travel between countries was still dangerous.
Perhaps she'll meet them someday, but not today.
Lila found the door to Yang's practice area. She opened it, stepped onto the tatami which crinkled under her socked feet, and looked around the makeshift area
It wasn't fancy or anything, not like luxurious dojos that richer and more popular Miracles could afford. But it was serviceable and with Yang's own flare to it.
Old dummies stood at one end, their wooden surfaces pockmarked with charred gorges and arrowhead-shaped holes. Ash fluttered up when Lila stepped onto a darkened or shoddily patched section of the floor. Lila would narrow her eyes whenever she saw a tooth or smattering of dried blood. She noted them to be cleaned later in her mind, or to chew Yang out for being undisciplined when it came down to cleanliness.
But for now, she needed to work on her magic.
Power Practice: Magic DC: 25 Rolling… 15(+10) = 49
Lila drew upon her wealth of knowledge gleaned from years of following Miracles and devouring any media related to them. Each power, while not wholly unique, were reflective of their respective Miracle. Hers was emotional control. It was certainly useful keeping herself out of a slump, but not so fighting-wise. Thankfully, magical powers always had something more to it than a simple gimmick, from illusions actually stripping color from the world to fire purifying the dreaded Black Ichor.
Come to think of it, almost every power seemed to be oriented to fighting the Yokai in one way or another. Like the aforementioned Black Ichor that Yokai bleed. If it seeped through the skin of a non-Miracle, it began killing the victim as it spread. But her nee-san could purge it from the body with her flames.
So she could change her emotions on demand, but what else did her power have? Lila curled a finger under her chin as she compared her power to similar ones. But emotion-based powers were something of a rarity, at least from what Lila knew of. The few that existed often depended on the emotion. One Miracle in particular could summon minions created from emotion, from fiery, angry bunnies to leaping and joyful tigers. Some girl in former China if she remembered correctly.
With all that in mind, that meant changing her emotions in order to experiment on what they did. Or if she wanted to take full advantage of her power, that meant changing her emotions. Lila sighed at that. So she couldn't be happy all the time. Maybe much of the time, but not all the time.
Lila set her jaw straight. She was a Miracle now! A defender of Japan, of humanity and life itself against the Yokai and those with ill-intent. She couldn't, wouldn't let something minor like this dissuade her. But in order to use her power to its full extent, she needed to explore her power so Lila jotted down ideas on how to test her power on a note she hastily retrieved from her pocket and the last idea was written down after ten or so minutes. Lila looked over it, crossing out ideas that she knew wouldn't work. Once the list was completed and refined, she focused on transforming. It took a few tries, but eventually she managed to transform and began drawing upon memories that she buried deep in her mind.
Lila recalled all those times she had been made fun of. Of seeing Yang coming home beaten and bruised and struggling against the tidal wave of helplessness that flooded her mind each time. Of witnessing her family become worn and tired over the years as their store saw fewer and fewer customers. Of… of allowing Yang to make a stupid decision that nearly cost her nee-san her life, even if it did lead to Yang becoming a Miracle. She never should have let Yang make that decision, she knew better.
The memory of seeing the light in Yang's eyes fade made Lila angry at how helpless she was. Her joy was consumed in the fires of rage and its remains fueled the urge to break something, anything to assert control. That she was still in control.
Lila tried to remain in control of herself, but the urge was incessant. It tried to flood her mind-numbing rage, but Lila stood firm. It only made the urge rage against her in an attempt to sweep her away. Yet she remained steadfast against the flood and eventually the rage would settle, simmering, but still gnawing at her mind.
That feeling of rage, the urge to break the cause of your frustration was never a good feeling to wrestle with. But she remembered what Budda once said, you will never be punished for your anger, but you will be punished by your anger. But she was in control of her anger, not the reverse.
Now, time to test out her first idea.
It was straightforward, try summoning something. Lila raised her hands and coaxed her anger into doing what she wanted. She stood there with rage coiled yet unwilling to spring. A few minutes passed as Lila felt her eyebrows twitch. Another minute would pass before Lila sighed and lowered her hands.
Ok, that wasn't doing anything at the moment. So, uh, moving on!
Lila tried a few different ways, from thinking about setting her hands aflame to trying to form a palm-sized whirlwind of rage. Yet nothing happened. With each failure, her frustration mounted and the urge fed off it until, eventually, it once again tried to overwhelm her mind. She huffed as she tried to change her emotional state to starve the urge of anger, but not before Lila kicked the bottom of a training dummy… and sent it flying upward… right through the roof…
Her phone started ringing and Lila was quick to revert back to her normal phone. She gingerly picked up the phone to the voice of Yang.
"Lila-chan, can you explain why one of my dummies went through the roof of our house?"
"Ididn'tdoit!" Was all Lila could say.
Welp, this took longer than expected, but yeah, it's done. I don't think it's the best so any feedback would be appreciated so I can improve my writing. And you don't need to make a plan per say, though you certainly can.
There will also be some changes, from how modifiers are added to a trait rework since I had another idea for it. These changes are still being worked on and fine-tuned so I'll post a list of changes in the near future.
Voting period is 12 hours.
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Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Annnd I messed up the voting system again. Bear with me a sec while I bash my head against my keyboard to fix my brain.
[X] Shining armor with a dashing red cape draped over her shoulder.
[X]Wand
With the Lover of Magic trait, I think a wand fits Lila the best. For outfit, I think something frilly makes sense but I just like the aesthetics of armor better.
As far as feedback, I don't think I have anything particularly helpful to say. I had fun reading it.
[X]Wand
With the Lover of Magic trait, I think a wand fits Lila the best. For outfit, I think something frilly makes sense but I just like the aesthetics of armor better.
As far as feedback, I don't think I have anything particularly helpful to say. I had fun reading it.
SleepyCaterpilar
Just a Rapariga
[X] Shining armor with a dashing red cape draped over her shoulder.
[X]Wand
[X]Wand
- Location
- Germany
[X] Shining armor with a dashing red cape draped over her shoulder.
[X]Pair of Pistols
Hm, let's see, the wand seems to be the most focused on battling yokai, which is great for Lila being a Miracle fan that's very into their duties, but also impractical given she's got a rival making her more likely to engage a recurring non-yokai opponent.
The naginata has the coolest emotion chaneling option in my opinion, but it's also a somewhat odd mix of a versatility option combined with the most specific/circumstantial buff.
Dual pistols meanwhile are just pretty cool and the agillity buff sounds like a great combo with a ranged weapon and should be useful in most circumstances.
It's always nice to see a Quest come back. Although, in all honesty, given how long it has been in combination with the length of the update means that 12 hours strikes me as a pretty short window for voting.
[X]Pair of Pistols
Hm, let's see, the wand seems to be the most focused on battling yokai, which is great for Lila being a Miracle fan that's very into their duties, but also impractical given she's got a rival making her more likely to engage a recurring non-yokai opponent.
The naginata has the coolest emotion chaneling option in my opinion, but it's also a somewhat odd mix of a versatility option combined with the most specific/circumstantial buff.
Dual pistols meanwhile are just pretty cool and the agillity buff sounds like a great combo with a ranged weapon and should be useful in most circumstances.
It's always nice to see a Quest come back. Although, in all honesty, given how long it has been in combination with the length of the update means that 12 hours strikes me as a pretty short window for voting.
Critic Ham
Local Pundit too Angry to Die
Hm, I thought the 12 hour period was fairly reasonable since the options were fewer and it was the weekend, but I see your point. The update is long and it's been over a month. I'll keep this in mind for next time and consider the window of vote. Thanks for the feedback!
- Location
- USA
[X] Shining armor with a dashing red cape draped over her shoulder.
I've been in love with dashing capes + magical girl outfits lately ever since I saw Cure Sky's outfit.
[X]Naginata
I like the idea of versatility haha. Having emotion-based powers either regulates you to the behind-the-scenes or a support role, and I'm not sure if Lily's personality is suited to that so hopefully this off-sets it.
I've been in love with dashing capes + magical girl outfits lately ever since I saw Cure Sky's outfit.
[X]Naginata
I like the idea of versatility haha. Having emotion-based powers either regulates you to the behind-the-scenes or a support role, and I'm not sure if Lily's personality is suited to that so hopefully this off-sets it.
Vote closed