Project Gamer: Anime Adjacent

[Arimai]

One Nilbog to take a city. One bakuda to emp the entire west coast. One heartbreaker to take over a country. When you don't know what they can do, the best thing to do is deescalate.

Click to shrink...

Bunker buster thermobarics with high temp incindiaries. M.O.A.B, Nuke. Then there are chemical, biological and nuclear contaminants that kill in seconds.

Heartbreaker would have died within hours had this occurred in real life. There are just as many rifles and shotguns in Canada as in the USA. No amount of hostages would stop me filling my daughter's rapist with lead. I'm accurate to 600 meters even in my advanced age.

Nice Guy means you need to implement every security procedure we have. He isn't invisible to machines.

If you piss off the people enough they'll demand artillery and missile strikes on our own cities.

 

[Shadowforge10]

That's when you get parahumans that escalate to match and a shift in power structure. Brutes that can survive bullets. Tinkers that can build equipment to protect them. Movers too fast to hit. Thinkers too "smart" to catch. Masters and Strangers in general. Bio-tinkered creations. These parahumans become the leaders of their groups, now immediately attacking government agencies to not take any chances on retaliation. Only to provoke further retaliation until someone finally decides to drop a missile that may or may not even work depending on the target. A target that they might not even find if no one is running around in costumes making them easily identifiable. Not every problem can be solved with a bullet unfortunately. The people in charge are still susceptible to being targeted before they can target back and the truth of the matter is, they are very out gunned. It only takes one Nice Guy to assassinate the president. One Nilbog to take a city. One bakuda to emp the entire west coast. One heartbreaker to take over a country. When you don't know what they can do, the best thing to do is deescalate.

Click to shrink...

Nah, Earth Bet and its surrounding dimensions are definitely quarantined from the greater multiverse. Just burn it alll dow to protect everything and everyone else from their rampant stupidity and ignorance.

 

[UncrownedKing]

Bunker buster thermobarics with high temp incindiaries. M.O.A.B, Nuke. Then there are chemical, biological and nuclear contaminants that kill in seconds.

Heartbreaker would have died within hours had this occurred in real life. There are just as many rifles and shotguns in Canada as in the USA. No amount of hostages would stop me filling my daughter's rapist with lead. I'm accurate to 600 meters even in my advanced age.

Nice Guy means you need to implement every security procedure we have. He isn't invisible to machines.

If you piss off the people enough they'll demand artillery and missile strikes on our own cities.

Click to shrink...

If the solution is to nuke everywhere a dangerous parahuman shows up, the government has already lost all control making the point null. Plus, Scion is still a thing and he's already gotten rid of the nukes.

Heartbreaker should have been dealt with yeah, but I meant more his power in general. Someone smarter with his power would have never been caught. They'd also have other parahumans as muscle and other hostages with him. Sure, no amount of hostages would stop you from filling him with lead, unless he were standing directly behind your daughter. Then it's not so easy to pull the trigger even if it would probably be better for her imo. Of course that also doesn't stop his power from still working on you if the attempt fails, then he's turning you against anyone else you came with making you a hostage as well.

For a bit of a thought experiment, imagine you're the villainous parahuman in this situation. You've triggered, you're a little nutty and you've decided to be the bad guy for whatever reason. You've done a big bad and have now pissed off a bunch of people. Surrender is no longer an option if it ever was with the gov going lethal from the start. What do you do? Are you going to sit around and wait for them to come to you?

 

[Lopezelpesado]

If you piss off the people enough they'll demand artillery and missile strikes on our own cities.

Click to shrink...

I really dont see how this ends up better than without Cauldron.

 

[famfrit]

That's when you get parahumans that escalate to match and a shift in power structure. Brutes that can survive bullets. Tinkers that can build equipment to protect them. Movers too fast to hit. Thinkers too "smart" to catch. Masters and Strangers in general. Bio-tinkered creations. These parahumans become the leaders of their groups, now immediately attacking government agencies to not take any chances on retaliation. Only to provoke further retaliation until someone finally decides to drop a missile that may or may not even work depending on the target. A target that they might not even find if no one is running around in costumes making them easily identifiable. Not every problem can be solved with a bullet unfortunately. The people in charge are still susceptible to being targeted before they can target back and the truth of the matter is, they are very out gunned. It only takes one Nice Guy to assassinate the president. One Nilbog to take a city. One bakuda to emp the entire west coast. One heartbreaker to take over a country. When you don't know what they can do, the best thing to do is deescalate.

Click to shrink...

That would require Eden to be alive to actively edit the cycle rules tho the movers too fast to hit just won't happen Wildbow hates speedsters and telepaths so banned them the only form of enhanced speed is indirect stuff like brutes having enhanced strength and flight which doesn't change how quickly the person can move their body so they don't punch faster for example.

 

[Arimai]

I really dont see how this ends up better than without Cauldron.

Click to shrink...

There'd be no parahumans stupid enough to replicate what Nibolg did. No Nine. They'd know death was guaranteed.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

There'd be no parahumans stupid enough to do what Nibolg did. No Nine.

Click to shrink...

Id likely be more true if it wasnt for the fact that parahumans dont tend to be the most rational people out there.

And then powers would likely not like their experiments getting messed with by their own lab rats, so they start messing around even more to get the data they want.

 

[Arimai]

Id likely be more true if it wasnt for the fact that parahumans dont tend to be the most rational people out there.

And then powers would likely not like their experiments getting messed with by their own lab rats, so they start messing around even more to get the data they want.

Click to shrink...

That requires Eden the thinker to be alive. Or Scion to not be moping crackhead. Unless WB retcons it again. None of the shards have the access codes to do that without direct orders

 

[UncrownedKing]

There'd be no parahumans stupid enough to replicate what Nibolg did. No Nine. They'd know death was guaranteed.

Click to shrink...

Well the nine might still be around actually. King wasn't a cauldron cape and neither was Jack. Some of their heaviest hitters like gray boy, Shatterbird and Manton might not be around but there are still others like Crawler, Winter and Bonesaw. Since they killed most people that saw them people probably wouldn't even know what they looked like or where they were or when they hit to do something like drop a missile on them, so that's out.

That would require Eden to be alive to actively edit the cycle rules tho the movers too fast to hit just won't happen Wildbow hates speedsters and telepaths so banned them the only form of enhanced speed is indirect stuff like brutes having enhanced strength and flight which doesn't change how quickly the person can move their body so they don't punch faster for example.

Click to shrink...

Movers is more than just speedsters though. Teleporters are very much still a thing and danger sense is hardly a rare power apparently.

 

[Arimai]

You've triggered, you're a little nutty and you've decided to be the bad guy for whatever reason. You've done a big bad and have now pissed off a bunch of people.

Click to shrink...

So I've gone full braindead then. It's called death. If I've gone that far then the only honorable path left is to atone for the shame and dishonor I've caused my clan and ancestors and die by my hand

 

[UncrownedKing]

So I've gone full R word braindead then. It's called Hari kiri

As to holding my daughter hostage. To us culturally amigo? Sexual Slavery is a fate worse than death.

Click to shrink...

I can respect that, but, and it sucks to say it, you aren't the only one to have felt that way about heartbreaker. He was still kicking for many years. If it were that easy to get rid of him after he's had time to collect muscle and hostages, someone would have done it. When the guy's win condition is to just look at you, there's only so much you can realistically do.

 

[Arimai]

I can respect that, but, and it sucks to say it, you aren't the only one to have felt that way about heartbreaker. He was still kicking for many years. If it were that easy to get rid of him after he's had time to collect muscle and hostages, someone would have done it. When the guy's win condition is to just look at you, there's only so much you can realistically do.

Click to shrink...

He hid like a rat. He ran to small towns and stayed away from the open. Always being surrounded by his hostages

 

[Araurlis]

When he started to weaken, he got more into his broken mentality (because the guy is actually just as broken as other capes cause his backstory)

Click to shrink...

Yes, his profile is that of a significantly broken person. Inferiority complex (his need to prove himself), narcissism (others feeling intimidated when talking to him), and possibly a couple of others. Many of the behaviours of people with a damaged psyche are unconscious and they actually don't realise that they're doing them (doesn't make them any less damaging though).

So, no, it wasn't his Shard doing what it thought he wanted - it was his Shard doing what it was told to do but that Eidolon didn't know he was doing.

It's worth pointing out here that the Shards read the hosts mind through the Corona Pollentia/Gemma and do what they interpret that the host is telling them to do. If Eidolon didn't want the Endbringers, as you assert, then they wouldn't have happened or they'd return to where they came from.

You're right I missed that last one where he fully called her out, probably because there was no reaction from Armsmaster about the reveal.

Click to shrink...

Was highly surprised that there wasn't a reaction from Armsmaster with the reveal.

Wouldnt parahumans escalate to match? Cause if they start getting hunted like that they have very few reasons to hold back at all. Or start working together with other parahumans more making even more powerful groups.

Click to shrink...

Not really. That would already be happening even without the parahumans if it was going to happen. Cities would be ruled by The Mob/Yakuza/whatever is the local equivalent. Basically, we'd still be in a feudal error with each local lord battling against their neighbour for more land and serfs.

I really dont see how this ends up better than without Cauldron.

Click to shrink...

It ends up better because the villains are actually taken down before the people are demanding such debilitating strikes rather than being given a free-pass due to 'Unwritten Rules' that only the 'Good Guys' (who's job is to actually investigate and capture the villains) obey.

If it were that easy to get rid of him after he's had time to collect muscle and hostages, someone would have done it.

Click to shrink...

Apparently, it was that easy. A competent investigative team and a sniper from 2km should have had Heartbreaker in the ground within a few months of him Triggering.

 

[Boomburst]

I can respect that, but, and it sucks to say it, you aren't the only one to have felt that way about heartbreaker. He was still kicking for many years. If it were that easy to get rid of him after he's had time to collect muscle and hostages, someone would have done it. When the guy's win condition is to just look at you, there's only so much you can realistically do.

Click to shrink...

The annoying thing about the situation is that the one time they apparently cracked down on him hard is when a famous actress got taken by him. PRT and Protectorate came in, successfully got the hostage out... then proceeded to completely miss Heartbreaker and pretty much his entire family somehow.

 

[Random832]

You've no idea how terrifying the US military is when it sets its mind to something. Realistically there would be no secret identities for any Parahuman. All of them would have been placed under surveillance and investigated the moment they are detected. There are hundreds of ways to kill someone in mothballs.

Click to shrink...

So the minute you trigger you know you are marked for death. Why wouldn't you then escalate as hard as you can as fast as you can in hopes of disrupting the local power structure long enough to either maybe have some chance of getting away or just kill as many as you can out of spite?

Your argument is convincing me better than Wildbow's.

 

[UncrownedKing]

Apparently, it was that easy. A competent investigative team and a sniper from 2km should have had Heartbreaker in the ground within a few months of him Triggering.

Click to shrink...

Eh that's a bit disingenuous. Imp's power was very suited to dealing with him and she wanted him dead regardless of the consequences. Consequences which never should have become as severe as they became if had just been dealt with earlier.

So the minute you trigger you know you are marked for death. Why wouldn't you then escalate as hard as you can as fast as you can in hopes of disrupting the local power structure long enough to either maybe have some chance of getting away or just kill as many as you can out of spite?

Click to shrink...

Pretty much what I'd do. I mean there's already the example of Canary to look to too see how dangerous it can be for parahumans when the government decides you're in the wrong regardless of the circumstances. You mess up once and suddenly you're marked for death. It will pretty much turn out exactly like WB said, parahumans looking out for themselves doing what they can to get by.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

So, no, it wasn't his Shard doing what it thought he wanted - it was his Shard doing what it was told to do but that Eidolon didn't know he was doing.

Click to shrink...

His shard does not really do what eidolon wants at all, it does what it thinks he wants, and shards are not well known for their understanding of humanity.

He wanted to push himself so when Zion came he would be ready, so his shard was like "Oh so you want something very strong and almost impossible to beat that will be a massive detriment for you and your organization? Sure here ya go"


....


But also in the shard's defense, its fucking dead.

 

[Arimai]

So the minute you trigger you know you are marked for death. Why wouldn't you then escalate as hard as you can as fast as you can in hopes of disrupting the local power structure long enough to either maybe have some chance of getting away or just kill as many as you can out of spite?

Your argument is convincing me better than Wildbow's.

Click to shrink...

Because in a non-cauldron world capes would be employed as specialist consultants. Cauldron's interference is what created the majority of the non-nutjob villains in the first place. Do you know how much money reputable US businesses spend on pest control alone? Hundreds of billions.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

capes would be employed as specialist consultants

Click to shrink...

This does not sound like a good idea at all.

 

[Arimai]

This does not sound like a good idea at all.

Click to shrink...

Only if the cape is brain dead or a nutjob. We pay a fuck ton on consultants and specialists.

For example: when the computer controlled planer and jointer machine goes down in the local mill. They have to pay the manufacturer's technicians and or programmers to fly from Washington. It's 15k USD for him to come, plus plane fare, accommodations and expenses, however much the parts cause, plus his hourly rates. Repair can cost you 30k easily for one machine

 

[Aelryinth]

Link to the story please?

Click to shrink...

The Power of Ten Book Four: Dynamo | Royal Road

Discord Link at: TPoT link! Always up if I'm online. This novel is complete at 510 Chapters and daily updates! Getting carved off a soul is traumatic. Getting snared by an extradimensional entity for unknown reasons is worse. Waking up in a new world that is suspiciously familiar to your...

www.royalroad.com

Book Four of the Power of Ten Series there, Dynamo.
I say 'the 70's' because that's where the super hero action and stories and heroes start at, which makes it very different from Modern Marvel. But, due to OTHER shenanigans, it has a very different history starting with a couple folks born in 1832...

 

[Shadow Archon]

There'd be no parahumans stupid enough to replicate what Nibolg did. No Nine. They'd know death was guaranteed.

Click to shrink...

All Parahumans are broken people who are not fully sane. Parahumans like Butcher or Gavel would be completely impossible for the US military to stop. There's natural triggered powers out there, like Bonesaw's and Panacea's, that can literally have someone who's gone full misanthrope, possibly from a US government going full Bolivar Trask, say "Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies" and then everyone dies unless Scion intervenes.

Then there's the fact the underlying problem can't just be shot and killed. Sure, let's say the American government guns down parahuman villains at first sight. All those shards just go "Welp, time for a new host" and pick someone else who's traumatized to empower. Hell, most of the people traumatized in that situation are the actual family members of the parahumans that were gunned down, and now have a grudge.

The parahuman population also will just steadily increase over time. There are trillions upon trillions of shards and the end-game of the cycle is to have them all connected to hosts.

If you want the setting to turn out brighter, you need to actively ignore or retcon parts of the setting. Or just add in an OCP strong enough like Alec.

 

[Lopezelpesado]

The parahuman population also will just steadily increase over time. There are trillions upon trillions of shards and the end-game of the cycle is to have them all connected to hosts.

Click to shrink...

I will say that the later generations WOULD be more stable, since triggering starts to become easier like Vicky for example.

The problem is that the first capes are going to be the worst ones, with the awful triggers that break people

 

[Cor Granica]

I'm with TypoNinja here, Cauldron was a net negative in my mind. Without Elidon the endbringers would not exist, they cause a lot of side effects. Endbringer fights are the reason the villians are treated with kid gloves, containtment foam rather that bullets for serial killers.

Endbringer dooming the world in everyone's lifetime by itself would make a lot of villians.

Cauldron activitly made the world a terrible place so more triggers happened.

Mind you they did some positive if evil things, we never see just how many hero vial cape there really are. Mostly stable capes rather than broken people are good but they also killed a lot and made case 53 along the way.

Endgame with Zion is the only reason I'd want a secret society working behind the scenes.

Click to shrink...

Probably all according to plan really.

Abbadon and it's PtV shard working on weakening Entity pairs and picking over the remains while host species marinated in the conflict.

 

[SlickRCBD]

You also have to take into account the powers they would be dealing with. The very best example is Amy. On her own she could do far more damage than any endbringer ever did. There would be tons of Parahumans with similar ability to escalate running around. Those fringe cases are the most dangerous ones. Without the costumes and pageantry, with the government taking the stance that these crazy people need to be put down instead of contained, those crazy people stop holding back. I may believe things can change for the better after enough time, but, no, having heavily traumatize conflict oriented people in all kinds of positions of power in the government isn't going to make things better no matter what kind of established support structure there is.

Click to shrink...

I'm not saying not to capture them, but if it's a choice between using non-lethal force and losing 3 law enforcement officers while they escape and shooting them dead, you shoot them dead.
Going at them with non-lethal force until they kill or nearly kill one of your men, then respond in kind is how law enforcement operates in the real world, at least on paper.

I'm not going to get into or debate the fact that there are some bad apples that had too many instances of that not being the case for me to say it works that way all the time, or the whole "defund the police" movent would not have happened, but that's a whole other issue irrelevant to this thread that belongs in Whitehall.