Remove ads

Not Quite Lovecraft

Voting is open
Reader mode
Arbitbit39 said:
... so will he turn this man into the head of a new supernatural organisation? Cause all i can think to help is for him to get friends and students/subordinates
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Yay lets start a cult!

It would be a nice change of pace to make an actually benevolent lovecraft cult. We know safe magic is possible if it is taken slowly and carefully. That secret alone is enough to build a power base off of. Teach magic less as a thing of dramatic rituals and sacrifices, and more a journey of personal development.

An order of protectors which doesn't hate and fear the supernatural, but also treats it with the appropriate level of caution.
It's the sort of thing that could change the world in the long term.
 
Off the top of my head people who might be candidates would be the guy who we foisted off to the Reverend. He might've had some time to cool down. The waitress could do with some guidance if we track her down in dreams. I want to visit the photographer and use dream magic to piece together back his mind. He might not be able to see, but occult senses could stretch far.

Who else.. the retired professor? He could do with some resolution as well. The deep one girl were she to ever decided to live among humans again. There Oliver's apprentices in the orphanage and niece too, when they grow up

There's so many lives Oliver has touched.
 
I'd like to stress A gift of protection might mean Jackson still engaging in the new arc in a passive capacity. It really makes for such a narrative if he learns it under Emily's tutelage. And with Oliver always returning back to the red realm mean more chances of interaction with Jackson. To not make full use of the dream narrative means letting Jackson in the background again - and with little direction other than what he figures out.
 
Remove ads
Vote closed
  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Blacksheep on Apr 25, 2024 at 8:58 PM, finished with 10 posts and 5 votes.
    • [X] Plan: A Gift of Protection
      -[X] Promise you will help him in the waking world, but here and now perhaps you could help him build some protections.
      -[X] If Jackson accepts, work with him to build structures into his dreams which will protect him from magic or other threats.
      -[X] Focus on laying the foundations, planting a seed for him to him to nurture. You don't need to do everything, just enough that Jackson can continue on his own.
      -[X] There is only so much that can be done in a single night. But perhaps the timeless nature of dreams can make sure that is long enough. Just make sure not to oversleep, someone coming across your sleeping form might raise inconvenient questions.
      -[X] Take the utmost care to make sure it won't hurt or warp your friend. It should be fully in his control, and have guardrails to protect from dangerous mistakes.
      [X] Crossing the Bridge
      -[X] Introduce Phileas and Jackson. Friend, mentally send Phileas your feelings about Jackson. The comrade and confidante, the first friend that you truly shared your appreciation of art - and their stories. Ask him to remember him, and the dream path so you two might be able to visit, despite the gulf of physical distance.
      -[X] "You are not alone. You have my word that I will do everything in my power to stop them." Share with him the colours of your conviction. Your vow before Isis to be the flame in the dark. Show him that he doesn't have to be afraid, and he can light the way in the dark.
      -[X] After the introduction to Phileas and the pledge, take Jackson's dream self and follow back Phileas through the dreams back to the Red Realm through the Bridge. It's time for him to understand the occult so he may take up arms against the many headed beast.
      [X] Crossing the Bridge
    Click to expand...
     
  • Voting
    • Remove ads
    Jackson: Truth Seeker
  • Threadmarks
    • "I'll help you," you promised. "When you wake up I'll be there to help."

    Jackson nodded and smiled. "Good. I can handle a lot, but this is beyond me."

    "I can start with some things to help protect you in here." You launched carefully into teaching Jackson how to protect his dreams. You had to alter how you taught him. So much of what you did reflected on your nature as an artist, and that wasn't what Jackson was. He was a truth seeker, someone who wrote and revealed, and didn't back down in the face of danger. What he did would have to be adapted to reflect that, much as your magic reflected yourself.

    You do your best to teach him to pull from what's around him and shape it. It takes some work, but Jackson figures out how to pull things hidden in the world out. They're always what he seems to be looking for. He has to look in the right spots for what he needs, but that will just take some practice. He can start to build a safe place here.

    You awake in the morning with the symbols joining you together in dreams still visible. You hurry to wash it off the both of you so no one will ask any questions. Jackson stirs as you work and opens an eye. "Hm?" Jackson mumbles.

    "Hey," you greeted.

    Jackson grinned. "Hey. Needed to tell you. There's a cult, called the Bloody Tongue. They're after me."

    [ ]Ask about the cult
    [ ]Contact Jackson's publisher Jonah Kensington to ask about more of Jackson's research notes
    [ ]Refresh your memory on the Carlyle Expedition that Jackson mentioned
    [ ]Book a ship to London
    [ ]Book a ship to Egypt
    [ ]Write-in
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Seems quite simple.
    [X]Ask about the cult

    Blacksheep said:
    He was a truth seeker, someone who wrote and revealed, and didn't back down in the face of danger. What he did would have to be adapted to reflect that, much as your magic reflected yourself.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Hmm interesting. So thinking on what his magic would be well suited for.
    Investigation obviously first. Boosting his mundane perceptive abilities.
    Sixth sense. Sense hidden dangers. Sense hidden opportunities.
    Seeing through supernatural deception. Piercing veils and disguises.
    Divination. Find the truth via supernatural means.

    Not all truths are black and white. At the high levels his magic could be used to enforce a particular version of the truth, even on reality. Something like "That attack didn't hurt me because there was a tiny uncertainty over if I was hit or not, so I revealed I was not."

    Our magic is very well suited to creation of lasting effects via painting which has let us accumulate power very effectively. Jackson's magic might be less suited for it, but perhaps it could be done via the writing part? Write out a manuscript on some particular truth like his books, and then use that to anchor a magic effect.

    Unlike paintings words can be copied fully. Maybe only an original manuscript will have power, or maybe copies will still contain some echo of it. A widely copied book could act as a vector to spread some sort of supernatural effect.
     
    [X]Ask about the cult

    Emily writes poems. Her occult self manifests as a multitude of eyes. It seems like they might work well together..
     
    Last edited:
    New York Cult One Discovered
  • Threadmarks
    • "What do you know about the cult that's after you?" you asked Jackson.
    Jackson grimaced from his seat in the hospital bed. "Here they call themselves the Cult of the Bloody Tongue. They started in Africa. Their symbol is strange, it looks like a bracketed stylized flower, but is in fact meant to represent the kiss of a fanged tentacle. They wear bands on their heads representing the tongue. I suspect they planned to offer me as one of their sacrifices. They're driven with an urge to kill and bring their god to this world for the rewards he'll grant them." He coughed slightly, body shaking with exhaustion. "I suspect it goes by different names in other places. I know the key to this is in the Carlyle Expedition. They didn't die like they claimed."

    [ ]Contact Jackson's publisher Jonah Kensington to ask about more of Jackson's research notes
    [ ]Refresh your memory on the Carlyle Expedition that Jackson mentioned
    [ ]Book a ship to London
    [ ]Book a ship to Egypt
    [ ]Write-in
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Okay, so he is still quite injured. Do we have any idea on how long Jackson has until he is discharged? If we don't we should ask.

    Anyway if he isn't up for long conversations right now we may as well get caught up on his notes.

    [X]Contact Jackson's publisher Jonah Kensington to ask about more of Jackson's research notes
    -[X] Ask Jackson how to get access to his notes, maybe write a note or make a call on your behalf?
    -[X] Remind him to take things slow and not strain himself. Especially when practicing his magic!

    The publisher might not be willing to give the notes over to some random person, so some form of introduction may be necessary. At least as much as can be done from a hospital bed.

    Also have we/Jackson actually acknowledged the whole dream thing? He might have just dismissed it. The idea of just casually reminding him of it amuses me.
     
    Jackson remembers the dream, but doesn't know it's real. It just feels like reassurance Oliver was the right one to contact.

    Also Jackson was almost gutted. Gonna be a month before he's discharged
     
    [X] Bridge to Jackson
    -[X] Return to the Red realm.
    -[X] Use Emily's help and Phileas's memory of finding his way to Jackson's dream, to reconfigure your dream bridge to connect to his dreamworld.
    -[X] Invite him over to visit while he dreams, so you three can plan on how to deal with the Bloody Tongue and the manifestations of the Outer god.
    -[X] Bring up the idea of how Emily feels about helping Jackson understand the occult. Talk about the aptitude you noticed - a seeker and writer of Truth.
    -[X] Muse about a possible resonance he could have with the Egyptian god Thoth as well, like you built one with Isis. Jackson is already familiar with Egyptian lore, could that be a direction he might explore?
     
    Last edited:
    [X]Contact Jackson's publisher Jonah Kensington to ask about more of Jackson's research notes
    -[X] Ask Jackson how to get access to his notes, maybe write a note or make a call on your behalf?
    -[X] Remind him to take things slow and not strain himself. Especially when practicing his magic!

    Hmm, I recall a story where someone wrote spells as prayers to Thoth on edible paper and then ate them to cast them. Jackson might do something similar with his magic, or perhaps writing down the spell like ofuda or similar and activating them somehow. I remember the ink was made with honey and beer as one of the oldest types of food and drink that humanity used, he might want to look in to that.
     
    It looks like we'll be travelling to one of the cult locations soon, and it really would be shame to lose touch with Jackson while he recovers.

    The dream bridge we used to make a path to Phileas's world also looks like it won't be used anytime soon, and be forgotten resource soon enough. We can instead put it to use, and be able to interact with Jackson in the same capacity we do with Emily between the missions.

    We wouldn't need to contact his publisher either not when we can have the man directly with us, advising our course of action with the cult. We'd be able to take advantage of his Truth seeker abilities too, for when we get a difficult investigative plot than Oliver can't unravel on his own.

    I really hope you guys reconsider this, Jackson's such a great character for the story.


    Edit: I really like the Thoth idea btw. It's thematic, for a writer to draw on the god of Writing itself. I can already see a lot of potential overlap with other Thoth mythos.

    -[] Muse about a possible resonance he might have with the Egyptian god Thoth as well, like you built one with Isis. Jackson is already familiar with Egyptian lore, could that be a direction he might be able to go?

    Adding..

    Thoth is associated with words, for a messenger must clearly state the cause of the one who sends him.

    God of the moon, sacred texts, mathematics and sciences, magic and knowledge, and patron of scribes.

    He bears the Stylus and Papyrus, as the god of Hieroglyphs. Mankind's use of speech, or writing, meant the introduction of ambiguity and falsehood at the worst. The potential for misunderstanding and deceit. Thus he is followed by a Dog-headed ape, the Cynocephalus. Who is tasked to distort the Word of the god - to mock, to simulate and to deceive. Illusion.
     
    Last edited:
    _brightwing said:
    It looks like we'll be travelling to one of the cult locations soon, and it really would be shame to lose touch with Jackson while he recovers.

    The dream bridge we used to make a path to Phileas's world also looks like it won't be used anytime soon, and be forgotten resource soon enough. We can instead put it to use, and be able to interact with Jackson in the same capacity we do with Emily between the missions.

    We wouldn't need to contact his publisher either not when we can have the man directly with us, advising our course of action with the cult. We'd be able to take advantage of his Truth seeker abilities too, for when we get a difficult investigative plot than Oliver can't unravel on his own.

    I really hope you guys reconsider this, Jackson's such a great character for the story.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Safe magic is slow. How many weeks will we burn preparing it? How close will he be from being discharged from the hospital anyway?
    I might consider it if we are heading off to London/Egypt. But right now we can at least get caught up on things first.
     
    [X]Contact Jackson's publisher Jonah Kensington to ask about more of Jackson's research notes
    -[X] Ask Jackson how to get access to his notes, maybe write a note or make a call on your behalf?
    -[X] Remind him to take things slow and not strain himself. Especially when practicing his magic!
     
    JayTar said:
    Safe magic is slow. How many weeks will we burn preparing it? How close will he be from being discharged from the hospital anyway?
    I might consider it if we are heading off to London/Egypt. But right now we can at least get caught up on things first.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Whatever time invested would have direct payoff. With coordination with Jackson himself instead of approaching the places blindly.

    I don't think leaving Jackson to experiment on his own is safe either. He's being opened up to the occult with no supervision. Emily involvement would mitigate that, and we'd have him on the regular for the next three or four missions. A significantly long time.

    Instead of him recovering and then heading off to do his own thing, disappearing until the next phone call or letter. We explored dream magic and summoned Phileas. But instead of just resting on our laurels we could use it unconventionally to do so much more - in a direction that majorly affects the story.

    I just don't want to give up this chance and sideline Jackson again, as a mere plot device.
     
    Last edited:
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Voting is open
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top