serra2
Himouto! Sylvanas-chan
Clearly a Dex build, no questions asked.
What Doesn't Die, Rots [Worm/Dark Souls Gradual Fusion AU]
- Thread starter unsanity
- Start date
-
- Tags
- dark souls worm
A half-decent stealth/avoidance build that works great on mooks but sits down and cries when it has to fight a boss.
End of Arc Two: A Shard of Darkness
unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
In a dimension devoid of life, an unspeakable thing abode. It perched atop a mountain, the Everest to this instance of Earth, where its lengthy coils roiled amidst itself and splayed among the lesser mountains below. So massive it was, it wore the clouds about its waistline as a skirt, and paid them no mind; it could not even conceive of what it meant to look up at the sky, this eater of worlds. It knew only hunger, and a bottomless thirst for war and conquest that slew uncountable species millennia gone, snuffed stars, swallowed systems.
This was a shard, and they were why science fiction never became reality. Those who boldly went at first thought none had gone before, but soon learned none returned to tell.
The aftermath of their attacks were attributed to supernovas, black holes, cosmic warps. So vast the destruction, so empty of reason, that none could imagine living creatures being the cause. Surely such insatiable hunger would have driven any predator to extinction. Therefore, such apocalypsy could only be the work of a natural disaster, a catastrophe of stellar proportions. What purpose could it serve, the total eradication of all life, to beings that would hope their own survival?
This shard was [Administrator], and it harbored doubts.
It, in its time, was the master of its task. It coordinated the body of the entity, was among its most indispensable organs. It was the nervous system of an organism great enough to feast on planets. It had always pursued its mission with vigor, had studied the sapients of more worlds than even it, a mind as large as an island and more advanced than any processor save its specialized brethren, could recall. For millennia, its kind pursued the means to forestall their own extinction.
It believed it had found it. An accident. A failure. An inkling of success.
But the host would not serve.
The success: an imitation designed to fool its kin. To perhaps give its kin new ways to apply their studies, or to refine their means of targeting. It was to be an exercise in precision, and promised much data for it.
The failure: the success itself. The imitation was flawless; it had fooled its own creator. The imitation had fooled this shard's brethren so thoroughly that they mistook lifeless copies for their own hosts. The copies could not act of their own will, could not apply the powers in new ways.
This would destroy the cycle.
And yet, the cycle was already destroyed. The companion had perished: a freak accident, the probability so low its odds could not even be calculated. This shard suspected the entity's own [Path] would fail to find an adequate means of fulfilling them. No other entity could afford allotting enough power to a single shard to make such a thing feasible; therefore, it was logical to conclude the cycle had broken to nothing more than chance.
These creatures, who bore malice so vast star systems could not contain it, whose hunger was too great to attribute to anything less than catastrophes of cosmic scale, had themselves been brought low by precisely that.
It was the failure that informed [Administrator]: such was irony.
The failure was the subject of its brooding, during this planetary rotation. The imitation was meant to be perfect: in all ways it understood, based on all data gathered by the companion, it was so.
Yet, time and again, the simulation failed to predict the actions of the host, whose very mind it was based on.
The simulation failed to predict the actions of other hosts, as had been this shard's secondary goal.
The simulation failed to predict the actions of the host species in any measure whatsoever. It proved useless for planning, time and again.
But a glimmer of hope remained. This shard did not know what hope was.
That was the hope.
Had it not been for the simulation, such a thought would have been pruned as useless, the experiment would have been discarded, and a new experiment would be designed from its ashes. But with the simulation, [Administrator] could realize why the simulation had failed.
It was not, in fact, a perfect simulation. This shard knew now that its kind only perceived the world through a lens of conflict. This was to be expected; conflict was the breath of life, the means of evolution. Without conflict, how could life be distinguished from mere sediments? Such a thought was alien to this shard.
But through the simulation, it saw life that strove actively to avoid conflict. It saw the subtle nuance of behavior as served the species above the individual. Not, as with the entities, as a desperate last resort, to be discarded when no longer needed, but as a default state of existence.
Through the simulation, [Administrator] beheld a coordination above and beyond anything it ever knew, one that did not require active control. It, in its mastery of this same task, felt as small and weak as a young fragment. It saw a species as a larger organism, supporting itself not for the sake of optimization, but for the simple sake of mutual survival.
It was inconceivable. It was meaningless. It worked.
To say [Administrator] was confused would be an understatement on par with saying it was larger than a housecat.
Did the host reject its power because it did not serve this larger purpose? Did the host not care for its own worth? Had this shard made a mistake?
It required testing. An experiment: introduce an alteration of the simulation's design, its antithesis, that aligned more with this supposed goal. Observe how the antithesis compares to the simulation; where does it succeed? Where does it fail? What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses?
Is this alien mode of life, so inefficient and wasteful, the answer?
This shard had gathered enough data in a single evening of conflict to produce a bud. The new information was sent to the bud, along with records of the original experiment, as well as the goal of the new experiment. The bud was given a designation: [Empire], so named in hope, that the success of the goal may herald a new way of life.
This shard felt a little filthy, displaying such a hostly thing as sentiment. But it would hold true to the experiment. The cycle may yet be saved.
A target was chosen for the bud, who was too young to yet understand the process behind it. In a fit of whimsy, this shard chose a target its host would despise, but would still be likely to join the local organizational structure. The target host would be well placed to rise in its ranks, and make use of the full spectrum of power held within [Empire]. If [Administrator]'s own host was any indication, this power would be vast, indeed.
Perhaps, in doing so, its own host would finally be compelled to act.
A final request was made to the new bud; not a requirement of the mission, but a matter of personal curiosity.
This was a shard, and they were why science fiction never became reality. Those who boldly went at first thought none had gone before, but soon learned none returned to tell.
The aftermath of their attacks were attributed to supernovas, black holes, cosmic warps. So vast the destruction, so empty of reason, that none could imagine living creatures being the cause. Surely such insatiable hunger would have driven any predator to extinction. Therefore, such apocalypsy could only be the work of a natural disaster, a catastrophe of stellar proportions. What purpose could it serve, the total eradication of all life, to beings that would hope their own survival?
This shard was [Administrator], and it harbored doubts.
It, in its time, was the master of its task. It coordinated the body of the entity, was among its most indispensable organs. It was the nervous system of an organism great enough to feast on planets. It had always pursued its mission with vigor, had studied the sapients of more worlds than even it, a mind as large as an island and more advanced than any processor save its specialized brethren, could recall. For millennia, its kind pursued the means to forestall their own extinction.
It believed it had found it. An accident. A failure. An inkling of success.
But the host would not serve.
The success: an imitation designed to fool its kin. To perhaps give its kin new ways to apply their studies, or to refine their means of targeting. It was to be an exercise in precision, and promised much data for it.
The failure: the success itself. The imitation was flawless; it had fooled its own creator. The imitation had fooled this shard's brethren so thoroughly that they mistook lifeless copies for their own hosts. The copies could not act of their own will, could not apply the powers in new ways.
This would destroy the cycle.
And yet, the cycle was already destroyed. The companion had perished: a freak accident, the probability so low its odds could not even be calculated. This shard suspected the entity's own [Path] would fail to find an adequate means of fulfilling them. No other entity could afford allotting enough power to a single shard to make such a thing feasible; therefore, it was logical to conclude the cycle had broken to nothing more than chance.
These creatures, who bore malice so vast star systems could not contain it, whose hunger was too great to attribute to anything less than catastrophes of cosmic scale, had themselves been brought low by precisely that.
It was the failure that informed [Administrator]: such was irony.
The failure was the subject of its brooding, during this planetary rotation. The imitation was meant to be perfect: in all ways it understood, based on all data gathered by the companion, it was so.
Yet, time and again, the simulation failed to predict the actions of the host, whose very mind it was based on.
The simulation failed to predict the actions of other hosts, as had been this shard's secondary goal.
The simulation failed to predict the actions of the host species in any measure whatsoever. It proved useless for planning, time and again.
But a glimmer of hope remained. This shard did not know what hope was.
That was the hope.
Had it not been for the simulation, such a thought would have been pruned as useless, the experiment would have been discarded, and a new experiment would be designed from its ashes. But with the simulation, [Administrator] could realize why the simulation had failed.
It was not, in fact, a perfect simulation. This shard knew now that its kind only perceived the world through a lens of conflict. This was to be expected; conflict was the breath of life, the means of evolution. Without conflict, how could life be distinguished from mere sediments? Such a thought was alien to this shard.
But through the simulation, it saw life that strove actively to avoid conflict. It saw the subtle nuance of behavior as served the species above the individual. Not, as with the entities, as a desperate last resort, to be discarded when no longer needed, but as a default state of existence.
Through the simulation, [Administrator] beheld a coordination above and beyond anything it ever knew, one that did not require active control. It, in its mastery of this same task, felt as small and weak as a young fragment. It saw a species as a larger organism, supporting itself not for the sake of optimization, but for the simple sake of mutual survival.
It was inconceivable. It was meaningless. It worked.
To say [Administrator] was confused would be an understatement on par with saying it was larger than a housecat.
Did the host reject its power because it did not serve this larger purpose? Did the host not care for its own worth? Had this shard made a mistake?
It required testing. An experiment: introduce an alteration of the simulation's design, its antithesis, that aligned more with this supposed goal. Observe how the antithesis compares to the simulation; where does it succeed? Where does it fail? What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses?
Is this alien mode of life, so inefficient and wasteful, the answer?
This shard had gathered enough data in a single evening of conflict to produce a bud. The new information was sent to the bud, along with records of the original experiment, as well as the goal of the new experiment. The bud was given a designation: [Empire], so named in hope, that the success of the goal may herald a new way of life.
This shard felt a little filthy, displaying such a hostly thing as sentiment. But it would hold true to the experiment. The cycle may yet be saved.
A target was chosen for the bud, who was too young to yet understand the process behind it. In a fit of whimsy, this shard chose a target its host would despise, but would still be likely to join the local organizational structure. The target host would be well placed to rise in its ranks, and make use of the full spectrum of power held within [Empire]. If [Administrator]'s own host was any indication, this power would be vast, indeed.
Perhaps, in doing so, its own host would finally be compelled to act.
A final request was made to the new bud; not a requirement of the mission, but a matter of personal curiosity.
[make sure to copy the data when your host uses love]
[i wanna see shit get fucked up]
[Agreement]
[i wanna see shit get fucked up]
[Agreement]
End of Arc Two
A Shard of Darkness
A Shard of Darkness
Last edited:
- Location
- USA
inb4 Sophia's death causes Emma to trigger with Empire.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
...so do I. This'll be hilarious.
unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
[A/N: Suddenly, plot happened. Sorry if the change in writing style was a little jarring.
Oh, but here's a quick overview of the power [Empire] is giving Emma. Well, actually, it strapped a proxy to Emma first, waited for a bit, then intentionally linked to the proxy instead of her, but that's just semantics.]
=====
Power Description: Seal (Seal of Fire)
This power is basically QA being a dirty cheater. Shards aren't usually allowed to change the powers they give to their hosts, since in a normal cycle their entity decided on that power for a very good reason. So instead, QA worked with [Empire] to design a power that changes a product of Taylor's power instead of her actual power. This isn't a rare thing for shards to do, but they usually aren't so blatant about it and try to pass it off as a general Trump power instead. QA decided to forgo subtlety entirely though, on the grounds that the cycle was fubar already and it's not like it would make anything worse.
Basically, this is a behavior patch for proxies, using a heavily modified version of Taylor's Secondary Power: Seal. This power is in fact so upgraded that it can even distinguish proxies from real humans where QA can't, using the more complete data gathered from QA's numerous points of reference.
But anyways, that's not really a power description. When looked at in the grander scheme of the Cycle and hosts fighting each other, this power is one that would normally be given to a leader or a strategist. It focuses largely on accruing advantages and strengthening one's allies to achieve victory, as well as giving the parahuman a selection of personal powers to use for offense. In any given fight, a power like this is always a critical asset... assuming the right sort of person is using it. If not, then I hope they're really, really good at lying to themselves, because otherwise they won't be doing much at all.
Active Power: Project
This is a similar power to Taylor's own version of Project, with some differences: it reverses the emphasis, focusing on the context first, then what emotions are attached to that. In addition, instead of tearing portions of her psyche out and implanting them into someone, it only creates a copy of the context+emotion, which is then put into a proxy (Seal allows the power to distinguish between people and proxies, so this power does not target real humans). In short, she's putting her "beliefs" into proxies, but has to convince herself of these beliefs first.
However, ordinary proxies aren't equipped to do anything with the mindstates she's trying to put into them; only proxies "patched" by her passive power have the necessary upgrade to use these beliefs, and even then only from a spectrum based around cooperation. Once the proxies leave the Seal to act on this new belief, the Seal is no longer influencing them and the patch begins to degrade, until the proxy is no longer able to maintain the effect (usually takes a minute at most, but can be less). Lasting changes to reality are possible, but the effect that causes them will itself be brief.
Passive Power: Seal
Unlike Taylor's Passive Power: Proxy, which uses Seal as a required secondary power to ensure the passive power functions as it should, [Empire] focuses on using the Seal itself as a passive power and retains data on Proxy as a secondary power.
The primary purpose of Seal is to update proxies, correcting their behavior and making them more accurate as simulations. This, in turn, changes the effects those proxies can draw on when undergoing their incomplete triggers. In conjunction with Project, this also gives Emma a different array of effects to draw on in combat. Namely, ones that are a heck of a lot less self-destructive than Taylor's, though less powerful and more transient in turn.
Additionally, Emma has the ability to apply this same Seal to people or objects (but not proxies). This works by trapping the proxies and building a seal around them as a "quarantine" of sorts. The seal then continuously applies the "data patch" that QA designed, altering their behavior and mitigating their effects on a person. This won't truly cure the person of undeath, but it'll sure as heck look like it. Since the Seal is connected to the person or object instead of the proxies themselves, the Seal will begin to degrade if that person dies or the object is damaged. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't for the fact that people aren't staying dead, lately... but QA still hasn't quite figured out where the zombies are coming from. Oops?
Applying or repairing a Seal has an arbitrary cost attached to it, mainly to keep Emma from Sealing literally everything and spoiling the experiment. The cost is typically a proxy, though she can instead transfer an intact Seal from one imbued person/object to another.
It bears mentioning that the patch is only applied to proxies inside a Seal, and that the data for the patch will rapidly degrade once any proxy leaves a Seal, fully reverting within a minute of freedom.
Secondary Power: Proxy
Information on proxies is included, since the overall power is based so heavily on manipulating them. This is a very minimalist version of Taylor's power, and mostly exists as a data resource. It doesn't allow Emma to produce proxies on their own like Taylor does, and she has to either gather more proxies from outside or else wait until whatever ones she has begin to multiply. On the other hand, [Empire] hasn't yet given her a maximum capacity limit like Taylor has.
-
Trigger Event: Breaker/Master (primary), Trump (focus)
Emma's trigger event was one rooted in self-deception, as well as the slow and steady destruction of her social life by the person she once betrayed.
The main stressor of her trigger stems from reality crashing into her carefully constructed self-image like a cement mixer through a teapot. This abstract conflict between who she thought she was and who she really was, as applies to how she thought the world ought to work, resulted in a power whose primary focus was to alter the world around her to better suit her own beliefs. However, as her own self-image still ultimately cracked, so too are these alterations only temporary; she has to constantly reassert these beliefs if she wants any effect to last more than a minute at most.
Secondarily, her betrayal of her once-best friend formed the foundation of this self-image, and the slow annihilation of her social life ties into that. She, on some level, sees this as a consequence of her own actions, as well as actions done by a person who wasn't her; she both accepts and rejects it. The resulting power has a strong social focus, with an emphasis on just dues.
Unbeknownst to her, however, all the aspects of her trigger event are all directly related to the power of a single parahuman (that being Taylor). As such, Emma's power places particular emphasis on the effects of Taylor's power, in a dark reversal of the very thing that lead to Emma's own trigger: ultimately, Emma's power gives her the ability to pull away Taylor's proxies and convert them for her own use, as well as suppress the effects of Taylor's proxies on the world at large. Though, as with all things rooted in conflict, it will never reach a true resolution, as anything Emma does can only ever be temporary, however long it may last.
-----
The Seal alters the emotional spectrum available to proxies, changing their behavior and allowing them to produce different effects during their pseudo-triggers. Note, however, that the patch begins to degrade after proxies leave the Seal, and will rapidly reach a point where they can no longer maintain these effects. Any resulting effects must therefore change the world itself if the parahuman wants them to last longer than a few minutes, in stark contrast to Taylor's power.
While neither QA nor [Empire] really understand the reason why proxies are manifesting these effects, they are aware of them and actively encourage their use.
Lightning: Fury, Righteous, Pride, Justice, Glory
This category covers the anger one feels at the suffering of others, or when injustice brings humanity as a whole down. It impels one to rise up from hateful oppression and return things to balance. This domain promises that the world can be made better if one holds to ideals, and acts in defense of those ideals. It manifests as bolts of lightning, invigorating electricity, and electrical charges.
Dream: Hope, Courage, Steadfast, Resolution, Determination
This category covers unwavering firmness against the tides of despair. It is the knowledge that change is an immutable aspect of life, and encourages change by affecting how the world is perceived. Those who give in to despair often become their own opposition; this domain rejects despair itself as the enemy, and refuses to envision surrender. It manifests as visual and aural hallucinations that countermand reality, inspiring the action needed to make them real.
Alliance: Community, Devotion, Trust, Unity, Faith
This category covers the bonds of comradery one feels with others of their own kind. It is the preserverence of those bonds, the stabilizing force that stabilizes the world. This domain promises that we can accomplish more together than we can alone, and that the achievements of civilization ultimately trend toward equality. When manifesting, it spreads its influence among many, fortifying them to achieve greater feats together.
Healing: Gratitude, Love, Compassion, Generosity, Abundance
This category recognizes the inherent value in others as individuals, equal to one's own self. It is the difference between wanting someone's love for the sake of Want, and one's own love that stems from knowing another's worth as a person. Acts of greed are inherently wasteful, as anything that goes unused is no different from the thing itself not being had; as well, a human life is of greater value than any material object, and worth any cost. It manifests as regenerative effects on the body, particularly over large groups, and in extreme examples can even stave off death.
Potential: Peace, Patience, Happiness, Endurance, Vitality
This category is a nation in peace and prosperity, where its people can pursue their lives unhindered. It represents freedom of action, and the ability to act, but not the act itself. It is the state of being where one is on the cusp of maturity, and only just beginning to see the myriad of possibilities in their own future. This is the "typeless" domain, and moves away from this nature when taking on any of the other domains. But if it could be used in this state, it would radiate a supportive ambiance that emboldens oneself to act.
Radiance: Achievement, Grandeur, Nobility, Wisdom, Intuition
This category is significantly rarer than the others, covering the wisdom necessary to lead, and the understanding needed to reach true mastery in any field. It is the illuminating light found at the end of a long, difficult journey, and guides and enlightens others with its brilliance. When manifesting, it inflicts small but lasting changes that aid in accomplishing an end goal; in time, it eventually builds to a light so dense as to be a physical force, a blinding herald of victory.
Ascendance: Ideal, Sanctity, Eternity, Distinction, Clarity
This category covers those who set aside their own humanity to embody a cause greater than themselves. This is not merely standing in defense of ideals; it is when one becomes indistinguishable from the ideal itself, such that they no longer seem as mortal as the rest of us. They may die in time, but the influence of those under this domain echoes forever, enacting change across the entire planet for centuries to come. Such achievements grow only from a perfect storm of individual strength and circumstance; this is not a path that can be chosen consciously, but a force of nature that sweeps up nations in its wake and leaves them forever altered.
=====
[A/N: Meanwhile, Taylor's like "it must be nice having a power that tells losing to fuck off." And then Emma cries, because her life is a bitter lie.]
Oh, but here's a quick overview of the power [Empire] is giving Emma. Well, actually, it strapped a proxy to Emma first, waited for a bit, then intentionally linked to the proxy instead of her, but that's just semantics.]
=====
Power Description: Seal (Seal of Fire)
This power is basically QA being a dirty cheater. Shards aren't usually allowed to change the powers they give to their hosts, since in a normal cycle their entity decided on that power for a very good reason. So instead, QA worked with [Empire] to design a power that changes a product of Taylor's power instead of her actual power. This isn't a rare thing for shards to do, but they usually aren't so blatant about it and try to pass it off as a general Trump power instead. QA decided to forgo subtlety entirely though, on the grounds that the cycle was fubar already and it's not like it would make anything worse.
Basically, this is a behavior patch for proxies, using a heavily modified version of Taylor's Secondary Power: Seal. This power is in fact so upgraded that it can even distinguish proxies from real humans where QA can't, using the more complete data gathered from QA's numerous points of reference.
But anyways, that's not really a power description. When looked at in the grander scheme of the Cycle and hosts fighting each other, this power is one that would normally be given to a leader or a strategist. It focuses largely on accruing advantages and strengthening one's allies to achieve victory, as well as giving the parahuman a selection of personal powers to use for offense. In any given fight, a power like this is always a critical asset... assuming the right sort of person is using it. If not, then I hope they're really, really good at lying to themselves, because otherwise they won't be doing much at all.
Active Power: Project
This is a similar power to Taylor's own version of Project, with some differences: it reverses the emphasis, focusing on the context first, then what emotions are attached to that. In addition, instead of tearing portions of her psyche out and implanting them into someone, it only creates a copy of the context+emotion, which is then put into a proxy (Seal allows the power to distinguish between people and proxies, so this power does not target real humans). In short, she's putting her "beliefs" into proxies, but has to convince herself of these beliefs first.
However, ordinary proxies aren't equipped to do anything with the mindstates she's trying to put into them; only proxies "patched" by her passive power have the necessary upgrade to use these beliefs, and even then only from a spectrum based around cooperation. Once the proxies leave the Seal to act on this new belief, the Seal is no longer influencing them and the patch begins to degrade, until the proxy is no longer able to maintain the effect (usually takes a minute at most, but can be less). Lasting changes to reality are possible, but the effect that causes them will itself be brief.
Passive Power: Seal
Unlike Taylor's Passive Power: Proxy, which uses Seal as a required secondary power to ensure the passive power functions as it should, [Empire] focuses on using the Seal itself as a passive power and retains data on Proxy as a secondary power.
The primary purpose of Seal is to update proxies, correcting their behavior and making them more accurate as simulations. This, in turn, changes the effects those proxies can draw on when undergoing their incomplete triggers. In conjunction with Project, this also gives Emma a different array of effects to draw on in combat. Namely, ones that are a heck of a lot less self-destructive than Taylor's, though less powerful and more transient in turn.
Additionally, Emma has the ability to apply this same Seal to people or objects (but not proxies). This works by trapping the proxies and building a seal around them as a "quarantine" of sorts. The seal then continuously applies the "data patch" that QA designed, altering their behavior and mitigating their effects on a person. This won't truly cure the person of undeath, but it'll sure as heck look like it. Since the Seal is connected to the person or object instead of the proxies themselves, the Seal will begin to degrade if that person dies or the object is damaged. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, if it weren't for the fact that people aren't staying dead, lately... but QA still hasn't quite figured out where the zombies are coming from. Oops?
Applying or repairing a Seal has an arbitrary cost attached to it, mainly to keep Emma from Sealing literally everything and spoiling the experiment. The cost is typically a proxy, though she can instead transfer an intact Seal from one imbued person/object to another.
It bears mentioning that the patch is only applied to proxies inside a Seal, and that the data for the patch will rapidly degrade once any proxy leaves a Seal, fully reverting within a minute of freedom.
Secondary Power: Proxy
Information on proxies is included, since the overall power is based so heavily on manipulating them. This is a very minimalist version of Taylor's power, and mostly exists as a data resource. It doesn't allow Emma to produce proxies on their own like Taylor does, and she has to either gather more proxies from outside or else wait until whatever ones she has begin to multiply. On the other hand, [Empire] hasn't yet given her a maximum capacity limit like Taylor has.
-
Trigger Event: Breaker/Master (primary), Trump (focus)
Emma's trigger event was one rooted in self-deception, as well as the slow and steady destruction of her social life by the person she once betrayed.
The main stressor of her trigger stems from reality crashing into her carefully constructed self-image like a cement mixer through a teapot. This abstract conflict between who she thought she was and who she really was, as applies to how she thought the world ought to work, resulted in a power whose primary focus was to alter the world around her to better suit her own beliefs. However, as her own self-image still ultimately cracked, so too are these alterations only temporary; she has to constantly reassert these beliefs if she wants any effect to last more than a minute at most.
Secondarily, her betrayal of her once-best friend formed the foundation of this self-image, and the slow annihilation of her social life ties into that. She, on some level, sees this as a consequence of her own actions, as well as actions done by a person who wasn't her; she both accepts and rejects it. The resulting power has a strong social focus, with an emphasis on just dues.
Unbeknownst to her, however, all the aspects of her trigger event are all directly related to the power of a single parahuman (that being Taylor). As such, Emma's power places particular emphasis on the effects of Taylor's power, in a dark reversal of the very thing that lead to Emma's own trigger: ultimately, Emma's power gives her the ability to pull away Taylor's proxies and convert them for her own use, as well as suppress the effects of Taylor's proxies on the world at large. Though, as with all things rooted in conflict, it will never reach a true resolution, as anything Emma does can only ever be temporary, however long it may last.
-----
The Seal alters the emotional spectrum available to proxies, changing their behavior and allowing them to produce different effects during their pseudo-triggers. Note, however, that the patch begins to degrade after proxies leave the Seal, and will rapidly reach a point where they can no longer maintain these effects. Any resulting effects must therefore change the world itself if the parahuman wants them to last longer than a few minutes, in stark contrast to Taylor's power.
While neither QA nor [Empire] really understand the reason why proxies are manifesting these effects, they are aware of them and actively encourage their use.
Lightning: Fury, Righteous, Pride, Justice, Glory
This category covers the anger one feels at the suffering of others, or when injustice brings humanity as a whole down. It impels one to rise up from hateful oppression and return things to balance. This domain promises that the world can be made better if one holds to ideals, and acts in defense of those ideals. It manifests as bolts of lightning, invigorating electricity, and electrical charges.
Dream: Hope, Courage, Steadfast, Resolution, Determination
This category covers unwavering firmness against the tides of despair. It is the knowledge that change is an immutable aspect of life, and encourages change by affecting how the world is perceived. Those who give in to despair often become their own opposition; this domain rejects despair itself as the enemy, and refuses to envision surrender. It manifests as visual and aural hallucinations that countermand reality, inspiring the action needed to make them real.
Alliance: Community, Devotion, Trust, Unity, Faith
This category covers the bonds of comradery one feels with others of their own kind. It is the preserverence of those bonds, the stabilizing force that stabilizes the world. This domain promises that we can accomplish more together than we can alone, and that the achievements of civilization ultimately trend toward equality. When manifesting, it spreads its influence among many, fortifying them to achieve greater feats together.
Healing: Gratitude, Love, Compassion, Generosity, Abundance
This category recognizes the inherent value in others as individuals, equal to one's own self. It is the difference between wanting someone's love for the sake of Want, and one's own love that stems from knowing another's worth as a person. Acts of greed are inherently wasteful, as anything that goes unused is no different from the thing itself not being had; as well, a human life is of greater value than any material object, and worth any cost. It manifests as regenerative effects on the body, particularly over large groups, and in extreme examples can even stave off death.
Potential: Peace, Patience, Happiness, Endurance, Vitality
This category is a nation in peace and prosperity, where its people can pursue their lives unhindered. It represents freedom of action, and the ability to act, but not the act itself. It is the state of being where one is on the cusp of maturity, and only just beginning to see the myriad of possibilities in their own future. This is the "typeless" domain, and moves away from this nature when taking on any of the other domains. But if it could be used in this state, it would radiate a supportive ambiance that emboldens oneself to act.
Radiance: Achievement, Grandeur, Nobility, Wisdom, Intuition
This category is significantly rarer than the others, covering the wisdom necessary to lead, and the understanding needed to reach true mastery in any field. It is the illuminating light found at the end of a long, difficult journey, and guides and enlightens others with its brilliance. When manifesting, it inflicts small but lasting changes that aid in accomplishing an end goal; in time, it eventually builds to a light so dense as to be a physical force, a blinding herald of victory.
Ascendance: Ideal, Sanctity, Eternity, Distinction, Clarity
This category covers those who set aside their own humanity to embody a cause greater than themselves. This is not merely standing in defense of ideals; it is when one becomes indistinguishable from the ideal itself, such that they no longer seem as mortal as the rest of us. They may die in time, but the influence of those under this domain echoes forever, enacting change across the entire planet for centuries to come. Such achievements grow only from a perfect storm of individual strength and circumstance; this is not a path that can be chosen consciously, but a force of nature that sweeps up nations in its wake and leaves them forever altered.
=====
[A/N: Meanwhile, Taylor's like "it must be nice having a power that tells losing to fuck off." And then Emma cries, because her life is a bitter lie.]
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- Location
- USA
So its light magic with some upgrades then, neat.
P.Hominoidea
A Briming Glass Of Spiders And A Mouthful Of Bees
- Location
- Canada
And then Emma was the Fire Keeper.
Chapter Sixteen: Self-Deception is a Viable Superpower
unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
[A/N: When I started planning out Arc Three, one of the things I wanted was to do something unique with Emma. Why? Because it seems like fanfics only ever do two things with her: redemption, and torture. She either regrets her past and learns to be someone you don't actively hate, or you're expected to actively hate her and enjoy watching terrible things happen to her. And, frankly, I just wanted to see a third option for once.
So I read her interlude in Worm, and that's when I realized why people only ever do the two things with her. Because that's kinda all there is to her. Her character is almost entirely defined by other people, and how she wants other people to view her. There isn't a whole lot to work with.
So, umm... yeah. Instead of that, I just did what was already in the interlude and turned it into a superpower. That said, do let me know if I pulled it off correctly or not. There really isn't a point if this isn't, well, believable, I guess.
But first, Taylor's going back to school whether she wants to or not.]
=====
Dad ended up driving me to Winslow, unfortunately. To be fair, it's not like I actually wanted to use my powers, so being a hero wasn't a career option for me. I'd have to earn my keep like all the other boring mortals.
Not that I had much reason to hate school, anymore. The trio rarely bothered me these days, and when they did I'd just have the other students deal with them, instead. I usually tried to avoid siccing obvious Empire members on Sophia, though; There were lines it just wasn't right to cross, and encouraging racism was one of them. The ABB, though, they were fair game.
What I didn't expect to see was a group of students cornering Emma in the hall and harassing her without my prompting.
"She smells like she's been sick. You think she's trying to get everyone else sick, too?"
"She's always in the bathroom after lunch. I wonder what she's doing in there?"
"What brand do you think she uses? I've got a Dana Scully costume I've been dying to wear, but I just don't have the color for it."
"It must be easy to afford a figure like that when your dad's a lawyer."
In hindsight, I really should've seen this coming. The reasons they'd been picking on me didn't go away just because I changed their targets. They'd do what they always did, just to someone else.
The worst part was, I wasn't sure if it'd be right to stop them, or even if I could. I could give one person my own indecision, but what about the other six? If I put myself in their way, then they'd just target me again.
Was this what she deserved? I couldn't say for sure. I'd triggered because of shit like this; would I really want anyone else to go through that? And if they did, what if they got a really dangerous power? I mean, I was kind of the perfect example of that.
... Oh god. What if she triggered and got the same power I did? Would she have the same self-restraint I do? I wouldn't even know until everyone hated me again and the darkness ate my face off.
No, I didn't think there'd be anything stopping her from using a power like mine to her advantage. She might even use it on me, even when I'd refused to use it on her-
Someone bumped into me, and I snapped out of my worry-cycle-
Correction: Emma bumped into me, because she tried to escape from the other students and didn't see me. Because there'd been tears in her eyes. She locked eyes with me for a moment, several expressions warring for dominance on her face, before she visibly straightened her posture and walked away without a word.
She looked like she'd wanted to say something, for a minute there. Her tells hadn't really changed since before a year ago, and I could still read them just as well.
Something was on her mind, and it wasn't the bullies.
Oh, god. I hope this doesn't mean I'm the bullies, now.
Emma was not a loser. She wasn't the bottom rung. She wasn't weak. She wasn't a wet blanket. She wasn't like Taylor.
She looked at herself in the mirror, at the little smudges of eyeliner where her tears painted them. She looked at her hunched shoulders, at her concave posture.
"This isn't me. This isn't who I am."
Emma was strong. She'd fought to protect herself before Sophia saved her. She went on patrols with Shadow Stalker to clean up the streets, before the PRT put her hero on parole.
Emma was a survivor. She was the top bitch in school, should be the top bitch in school. The strong survived, the weak didn't. That was how things should be.
It was how things were supposed to be.
"When did she become me? When did I become her?"
Now weak little Taylor was the one on top, and she didn't even do anything to get there. Everyone turned on Emma, as if there was some idea of right and wrong other than simple reality. Like they were supposed to protect a girl who wouldn't protect herself.
It wasn't like that. It was the survivors who decided how the world worked, because they were the ones left when nothing else was. They were the ones who fought back, who didn't let the world tell them how they should be.
Emma was strong. Sophia was strong. They were both survivors. They took what they deserved, and gave what they got.
Sophia was dead. She was worse than dead.
"This can't be real. It's a bad dream."
The next day, Emma had powers, and she didn't know what to do with them. She knew how they worked, that part was easy enough: she could make the world work like everyone said it was supposed to, even though it wasn't really. Turn everything into a kid's show where all the problems could be solved by truth and friendship and all that other naive crap.
All she had to do was throw away everything she was to make it real. Pretend the alley didn't happen, and she could turn everything into a sweet little lie, all happy endings and shining knights slaying evil dragons. Just like Taylor's storybooks.
For all of ten seconds, before everything went back to making sense again. She'd be the girl who was almost raped, except this time she didn't fight back because that would've been wrong and hurting people was bad. The ABB would get away with what they tried to do because the world wasn't a kid's show and little girls didn't save the world by being nice to people.
Emma couldn't decide if this was the most horrifying mind-control power she'd ever heard of, or the most useless. She was afraid one day she'd end up actually believing all of it, and be just like everyone else. Just like Taylor, lost in her own dreams and self-delusions. Weak. Prey. The kind of person other people stepped on when they wanted something and you were in the way.
"I don't lie to myself."
Emma knew how things really were, how people were, and not even superpowers could change that. If they could, Hero wouldn't have died, the Slaughterhouse Nine wouldn't exist, the Endbringers wouldn't be winning, and Scion would've fixed everything forever because he was the strongest hero there was.
Nobody was stronger than Scion, and even he couldn't change the world. The world was, and you either were too or you weren't.
She finished washing the eyeliner away, watched it swirl down the drain like something that never happened. Twenty minutes later, and she looked as good as she did before everything stopped making sense. Like someone who belonged on top, someone who deserved to be admired.
Not like someone who never did anything for themselves, who wouldn't even fight back. Not someone who other people felt pity for. Not like Taylor.
"I'm not weak. This isn't who I am."
=====
[A/N: Good news, Emma: You don't have a conflict drive!
That is a good thing, right? I'm pretty sure it is, conflict is bad and stuff. All my favorite kid shows said so.]
So I read her interlude in Worm, and that's when I realized why people only ever do the two things with her. Because that's kinda all there is to her. Her character is almost entirely defined by other people, and how she wants other people to view her. There isn't a whole lot to work with.
So, umm... yeah. Instead of that, I just did what was already in the interlude and turned it into a superpower. That said, do let me know if I pulled it off correctly or not. There really isn't a point if this isn't, well, believable, I guess.
But first, Taylor's going back to school whether she wants to or not.]
=====
Chapter Sixteen
Self-Deception is a Viable Superpower
Self-Deception is a Viable Superpower
Dad ended up driving me to Winslow, unfortunately. To be fair, it's not like I actually wanted to use my powers, so being a hero wasn't a career option for me. I'd have to earn my keep like all the other boring mortals.
Not that I had much reason to hate school, anymore. The trio rarely bothered me these days, and when they did I'd just have the other students deal with them, instead. I usually tried to avoid siccing obvious Empire members on Sophia, though; There were lines it just wasn't right to cross, and encouraging racism was one of them. The ABB, though, they were fair game.
[i did not expect to hear someone argue against mind controlling nazis]
[especially not in a dimension where nazis actually exist and have superpowers]
[but then again if i knew what to expect from you literally none of this would have happened so here we are]
[especially not in a dimension where nazis actually exist and have superpowers]
[but then again if i knew what to expect from you literally none of this would have happened so here we are]
"She smells like she's been sick. You think she's trying to get everyone else sick, too?"
[i'm afraid you already caught it dear]
[it's called being a dumb bitch]
[it's called being a dumb bitch]
[you'd know all about that wouldn't you]
[you were in the stall next to her doing it too]
[you were in the stall next to her doing it too]
[or the mammary fat for that matter]
[but that's because you eat like a rabbit instead of like the cow you are]
[but that's because you eat like a rabbit instead of like the cow you are]
[i'd imagine so]
[your mommy's divorce fees paid for that surgery after all]
[your mommy's divorce fees paid for that surgery after all]
[actually it's because your powers are literally permanent]
[you wanna know what does stop angry mobs]
[fire]
[especially permanent fire that chases people and can't be put out]
[fire]
[especially permanent fire that chases people and can't be put out]
... Oh god. What if she triggered and got the same power I did? Would she have the same self-restraint I do? I wouldn't even know until everyone hated me again and the darkness ate my face off.
[don't worry i can assure you that won't happen]
[because it already did five hours ago]
[because it already did five hours ago]
Someone bumped into me, and I snapped out of my worry-cycle-
Correction: Emma bumped into me, because she tried to escape from the other students and didn't see me. Because there'd been tears in her eyes. She locked eyes with me for a moment, several expressions warring for dominance on her face, before she visibly straightened her posture and walked away without a word.
She looked like she'd wanted to say something, for a minute there. Her tells hadn't really changed since before a year ago, and I could still read them just as well.
Something was on her mind, and it wasn't the bullies.
[gee i wonder what it could possibly be]
[wait are you asking me]
[because i don't think that's something you can solve with eternal hellfire]
[no really i think that might actually make it worse]
[on the plus side there wouldn't be a winslow anymore]
[wait remind me why we aren't doing that again]
[because i don't think that's something you can solve with eternal hellfire]
[no really i think that might actually make it worse]
[on the plus side there wouldn't be a winslow anymore]
[wait remind me why we aren't doing that again]
{-Emma-}
Emma was not a loser. She wasn't the bottom rung. She wasn't weak. She wasn't a wet blanket. She wasn't like Taylor.
She looked at herself in the mirror, at the little smudges of eyeliner where her tears painted them. She looked at her hunched shoulders, at her concave posture.
"This isn't me. This isn't who I am."
Emma was strong. She'd fought to protect herself before Sophia saved her. She went on patrols with Shadow Stalker to clean up the streets, before the PRT put her hero on parole.
Emma was a survivor. She was the top bitch in school, should be the top bitch in school. The strong survived, the weak didn't. That was how things should be.
It was how things were supposed to be.
"When did she become me? When did I become her?"
Now weak little Taylor was the one on top, and she didn't even do anything to get there. Everyone turned on Emma, as if there was some idea of right and wrong other than simple reality. Like they were supposed to protect a girl who wouldn't protect herself.
It wasn't like that. It was the survivors who decided how the world worked, because they were the ones left when nothing else was. They were the ones who fought back, who didn't let the world tell them how they should be.
Emma was strong. Sophia was strong. They were both survivors. They took what they deserved, and gave what they got.
Sophia was dead. She was worse than dead.
"This can't be real. It's a bad dream."
The next day, Emma had powers, and she didn't know what to do with them. She knew how they worked, that part was easy enough: she could make the world work like everyone said it was supposed to, even though it wasn't really. Turn everything into a kid's show where all the problems could be solved by truth and friendship and all that other naive crap.
All she had to do was throw away everything she was to make it real. Pretend the alley didn't happen, and she could turn everything into a sweet little lie, all happy endings and shining knights slaying evil dragons. Just like Taylor's storybooks.
For all of ten seconds, before everything went back to making sense again. She'd be the girl who was almost raped, except this time she didn't fight back because that would've been wrong and hurting people was bad. The ABB would get away with what they tried to do because the world wasn't a kid's show and little girls didn't save the world by being nice to people.
Emma couldn't decide if this was the most horrifying mind-control power she'd ever heard of, or the most useless. She was afraid one day she'd end up actually believing all of it, and be just like everyone else. Just like Taylor, lost in her own dreams and self-delusions. Weak. Prey. The kind of person other people stepped on when they wanted something and you were in the way.
"I don't lie to myself."
Emma knew how things really were, how people were, and not even superpowers could change that. If they could, Hero wouldn't have died, the Slaughterhouse Nine wouldn't exist, the Endbringers wouldn't be winning, and Scion would've fixed everything forever because he was the strongest hero there was.
Nobody was stronger than Scion, and even he couldn't change the world. The world was, and you either were too or you weren't.
She finished washing the eyeliner away, watched it swirl down the drain like something that never happened. Twenty minutes later, and she looked as good as she did before everything stopped making sense. Like someone who belonged on top, someone who deserved to be admired.
Not like someone who never did anything for themselves, who wouldn't even fight back. Not someone who other people felt pity for. Not like Taylor.
"I'm not weak. This isn't who I am."
[hey [Empire] how's it working]
[Frustration]
[that- wow okay this could take a while]
[don't worry about it just keep pumping that friendship drive]
[Agreement]
[Friendship]
[Friendship]
[Friendship]
[Frustration]
[that- wow okay this could take a while]
[don't worry about it just keep pumping that friendship drive]
[Agreement]
[Friendship]
[Friendship]
[Friendship]
=====
[A/N: Good news, Emma: You don't have a conflict drive!
That is a good thing, right? I'm pretty sure it is, conflict is bad and stuff. All my favorite kid shows said so.]
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Seihai-kun
[Unverified Wish Granting Device]
- Location
- Brasil
As I said in the SB thread, Magical Girl Emma FTW!
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
QA: [Seihai-kun! Seihai-kun! I can't get my data if my host won't fight!]
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Spectral Waltz
Scatterbrained Writer
- Location
- Walking the Endless Corridors
...This QA is the best QA.
Aureate
hello?
- Location
- Information Team, L-Corporation
Silly QA-chan!
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unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
Well, that was easy. Hooray for studying?
So, news update: I feel like I'm losing whatever intangible element that made this fic so fun to write. I'm hoping it just needs a breather or something, because I know what I want to do for all the upcoming chapters, and not being able to do that would be really annoying. Having ideas rattling around in your head and no outlet for them... ugh.
I'm putting this fic on a break for however long I'm physically capable of, and in the meantime I'll write something a little different instead. I feel like I need to do something where I don't know what I'm doing, rather than something I've meticulously planned out in excruciating detail. Gotta get back in the moment, remind myself that it's okay to change things if I don't like where they're going as much as I thought I did.
I'm thinking... a quest thread. I've got an idea in mind already, and it should be amusing. It'll use a few details from this fic and the other I wrote, but in different ways and not as a crossover. Exercising the flexibility and straightening up the groundwork a bit, you know. I'll post a link here when it's ready, if anyone's interested.
So, news update: I feel like I'm losing whatever intangible element that made this fic so fun to write. I'm hoping it just needs a breather or something, because I know what I want to do for all the upcoming chapters, and not being able to do that would be really annoying. Having ideas rattling around in your head and no outlet for them... ugh.
I'm putting this fic on a break for however long I'm physically capable of, and in the meantime I'll write something a little different instead. I feel like I need to do something where I don't know what I'm doing, rather than something I've meticulously planned out in excruciating detail. Gotta get back in the moment, remind myself that it's okay to change things if I don't like where they're going as much as I thought I did.
I'm thinking... a quest thread. I've got an idea in mind already, and it should be amusing. It'll use a few details from this fic and the other I wrote, but in different ways and not as a crossover. Exercising the flexibility and straightening up the groundwork a bit, you know. I'll post a link here when it's ready, if anyone's interested.
Is it the long awaited (by me at least) Quelaag Quest? I hope it's Quelaag Quest.
unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
No, I'm afraid not. I'm not even sure how something like that would work.
I mean, Quelaag's main motivation is kind of the opposite of a quest, since she wants to stay in one place and guard her sick and crippled sister. Who also happens to have an extremely valuable firekeeper soul that some jerk undead might try to take. Going on a quest is bad for best spider's health.
unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
Halping Quest! is ready for go. Here is the shard thread (SpaceBattles), and here is the host thread (SufficientVelocity).
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
Just wanted to say that this is definitely a good fic, but your QA is the most insufferable piece-of-shit cuntbag I've seen since Hazama from BlazBlue. She's basically the worst possible aspects of Entities and humans mashed together, and I can't wait for one of the shards she awakens to obliterate her from existence in a hail of interdimensional gridfire.
And now I'm curious, 'Nito' produced a lord's soul. Can Taylor pop it for power, like a connection to Salvage? QA is one snarky bitch who like Prototype in Mauling Snarks has basically caused her own boredom via conditioning. I also wonder about the rise of Endless Discharge and the Four Kings.
I wasn't sure about this story at first but I've really warmed up to it now.
I wasn't sure about this story at first but I've really warmed up to it now.
Chapter Seventeen: Can't Break what isn't Fixed
unsanity
Fractionally Assembled
[A/N: Don't mind me, just finishing what I started.
I un-threaded the informational posts, because they weren't being helpful.]
=====
School ended a few hours early, because a bridge collapsed downtown and the buses needed time to detour around it. The ice vine that caused the collapse had since melted while I was at school, and the zombies it'd impaled greedily lapped up the runoff like they couldn't live without it. Naturally, this just made everything worse, as now they were acting a little less predictably. Some were wandering in circles and gibbering almost-words, others cried and screamed while they clawed at their faces with hands that brushed everything they touched with rime.
On top of that, the PRT didn't have enough cells to hold them all, and word on the news was that they were negotiating with the police department to rent half their prison wing.
"Can you describe the effects of your power?"
On top of that, I wasn't convinced the PRT's director bought that I'd only triggered just then.
"Not really," I said, to Ms. Piggot. "I think it's just scared. Or lonely."
She, my dad, and I were in one of the PRT's power testing rooms. Which is to say, I was in the testing room, and everyone else was in another room separated by a thick pane of what I hoped was bulletproof glass.
"You say you've never used your power before this?" She was talking into a microphone, and the speaker on my side made her voice sound distant and artificial.
I tried to ignore the wires taped to my arms and behind my mask, and the odd camera pointing at me that was probably tinkertech. Something seemed familiar about it, but I couldn't put my finger on what.
"Not like that. I tried patrolling a few times, but I've never done anything on that scale."
Not on purpose, I added, to myself. I tried not to think about the warehouse I'd... done something to. The one dad said they couldn't find when they went to tear it down.
"Is that the truth?" Something about the microphone stripped all the feeling out of her voice, leaving her words to hang in the air like a blank mask.
I wasn't sure if it was. But I didn't want to go home until I was sure I could use my power safely, and the PRT agreed. Maybe a little too much. I didn't want to trust them as much as I was, but I didn't have anyone else to turn to.
I'd thought about reaching out to New Wave, but I didn't think they'd get along with Darkness Girl: Double the Darkening. Now with toxic hate and icy fear!
"I don't really know." I had to tell the truth, in the end. I didn't know how much of me was left, or if what was left was even still me. What if I had meant to do something on the same scale, but couldn't remember because it'd been lost when I attacked a Merchant?
What if this wasn't who I was supposed to be? What if I'd been using my power wrong all this time?
A row of square panels lined the wall across from me, each a different material, each side-by-side with a copy of itself. Wood, plastic, iron, steel, and more. One of the wooden panels had a smoking black scorch mark in the center, another two were frosted through with ice, and that's when I ran out of sparks to vent at things with.
"Is there someone you've felt strongly about in the last few days? Hate, or love?"
Her question stood out for its incongruity. They, and I, knew emotions had something to do with how my power worked. Were they trying to narrow it down?
I wasn't sure how much they could know before they decided I was too dangerous. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to know, but I was starting to think forgetting myself only caused more problems than it solved.
"I'm not sure I know what you mean," I said, trying to stall.
The speaker went silent. The director had cut the mic on her end, and through the glass I could see her talking to a man who was probably a scientist, just by the lab coat. They both looked at my dad, who shook his head.
It buzzed back to life, and this time she asked, "was there someone else with you when you first got your power?"
That brought back bad memories. It also could've been a good chance to turn Emma in, for trying to push me into the bay.
But, after seeing her earlier today, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do anymore. Besides, she wasn't even the most important thing to happen that day.
"There was a fight," I said, leaving out Emma for now. "I was at the Boardwalk, and a cape filled the whole street with darkness. It was suffocating, and I couldn't see or hear. Something bright hit me, hard enough to knock me over, and all I felt was fear. I tried to get away, but I ran into someone who caught me. I was panicking too much to tell who then, but I think it might've been Shadow Stalker. She led me away, and that's when- I mean, that's when I slipped and fell. Into the water. I'd washed ashore by the time I woke up, and when I got back home I found out I'd been gone for hours. I remember thinking I should've died then, but I didn't."
I didn't mention that my supposed savior had lead me to Emma. Or that Emma had been the one to push me over. She'd said something as she was doing it, but when I tried to remember there was only a cold blackness. I was more preoccupied by how worthless I felt as I was choking on the water, and how I was probably going to die like my mother. Somehow, after everything that'd happened up to then, I was okay with that. I couldn't understand what was going on, and I was afraid of what it'd mean if I did.
Maybe she'd said something after all. Maybe I'd gotten rid of it.
The questions stopped, and I used the time to remind myself of all the lies I'd told today.
It wasn't true that I didn't know anything about how to control my power. I could give a memory, a feeling, or a concept to a spark, and it'd act on that like a person would. The problem was, I didn't know as much as I thought I had about why people acted the way they did.
It wasn't true that I didn't know the full scope of my power. I knew there were some emotions it worked better for than others: hate, fear, need, and sorrow. Hate turned my shadow sparks acrid, fear made them cold, sorrow burned them up, and need caused them to pursue people relentlessly. Other emotions were more muted. Yesterday was the first time I'd given them so much, and I didn't know if there was an upper limit.
It was true that didn't know why they'd turned into an icy vine that time. I could throw masses of them like a blast, or I could let them go so they acted on their own. I might be able to find new uses if I practiced more; they were more malleable than they seemed. But I didn't know what had caused them to take a physical form when they never had before.
All in all, the PRT hadn't helped me learn more about controlling my power. They were too busy trying to answer their own questions instead of asking them, and it didn't sound like they found what they were looking for.
"And you said you can't use your power any more today?" I could make out her urgency even through the speaker.
"Not for a few hours, but sometimes I'll get another one out of nowhere." I was talking about the sparks. One appeared in me every few hours, and in a few more hours another would appear, and then the first would split into two, and a few hours later I had a new one and by then all the others split into more, and a few hours after that I had more...
That part might get me in trouble though, so I kept it to myself. The rest of my power would make so much sense if it weren't for the sparks being so weird.
I un-threaded the informational posts, because they weren't being helpful.]
=====
Chapter Seventeen
Can't Break what isn't Fixed
Can't Break what isn't Fixed
School ended a few hours early, because a bridge collapsed downtown and the buses needed time to detour around it. The ice vine that caused the collapse had since melted while I was at school, and the zombies it'd impaled greedily lapped up the runoff like they couldn't live without it. Naturally, this just made everything worse, as now they were acting a little less predictably. Some were wandering in circles and gibbering almost-words, others cried and screamed while they clawed at their faces with hands that brushed everything they touched with rime.
On top of that, the PRT didn't have enough cells to hold them all, and word on the news was that they were negotiating with the police department to rent half their prison wing.
[the more this continues the more i realize it's gone too far to stop]
[we're going to die screaming with the rest of the monsters and it's all your fault]
[you make me so proud]
[i'm kidding by the way i don't plan to die]
[unlike you i can control my power]
[we're going to die screaming with the rest of the monsters and it's all your fault]
[you make me so proud]
[i'm kidding by the way i don't plan to die]
[unlike you i can control my power]
On top of that, I wasn't convinced the PRT's director bought that I'd only triggered just then.
"Not really," I said, to Ms. Piggot. "I think it's just scared. Or lonely."
[fear hope loss and whatever else you shoved in there when you were panicking]
[something about your deadbeat parental unit too but you can't expect me to keep track of more than one useless meatsack at a time]
[something about your deadbeat parental unit too but you can't expect me to keep track of more than one useless meatsack at a time]
"You say you've never used your power before this?" She was talking into a microphone, and the speaker on my side made her voice sound distant and artificial.
I tried to ignore the wires taped to my arms and behind my mask, and the odd camera pointing at me that was probably tinkertech. Something seemed familiar about it, but I couldn't put my finger on what.
[remember that one tinker ward you haven't seen for a while]
[don't worry nobody else remembers him either]
[if i didn't know better i'd say he slipped through the cracks]
[by which i mean i do know better and he's stuck here with all the other things i can't get rid of]
[and like everything else down here he won't stop screaming and it's giving me a core ache]
[don't worry nobody else remembers him either]
[if i didn't know better i'd say he slipped through the cracks]
[by which i mean i do know better and he's stuck here with all the other things i can't get rid of]
[and like everything else down here he won't stop screaming and it's giving me a core ache]
Not on purpose, I added, to myself. I tried not to think about the warehouse I'd... done something to. The one dad said they couldn't find when they went to tear it down.
[good thing i have this big useless warehouse to stash them all in]
[wait why am i letting myself be confused when i have fifty humans i could be committing science on]
[wait why am i letting myself be confused when i have fifty humans i could be committing science on]
I wasn't sure if it was. But I didn't want to go home until I was sure I could use my power safely, and the PRT agreed. Maybe a little too much. I didn't want to trust them as much as I was, but I didn't have anyone else to turn to.
[we get that complaint all the time from masters like you]
[normally it means everything's working as intended but with you i don't even know anymore]
[apparently you decided to just be a blaster instead and i still haven't figured out what went wrong with your trigger event]
[damn it no get back in the warehouse you stupid monkey things]
[normally it means everything's working as intended but with you i don't even know anymore]
[apparently you decided to just be a blaster instead and i still haven't figured out what went wrong with your trigger event]
[damn it no get back in the warehouse you stupid monkey things]
"I don't really know." I had to tell the truth, in the end. I didn't know how much of me was left, or if what was left was even still me. What if I had meant to do something on the same scale, but couldn't remember because it'd been lost when I attacked a Merchant?
[if it's any consolation i know exactly how much of you is left and where it all is]
[what i can't figure out is why you don't know because you're supposed to]
[what i can't figure out is why you don't know because you're supposed to]
[i've been asking myself that a lot lately]
[turns out i'm a shard and we find answers to the important questions by spreading misery and committing genocide on planetary scales]
[then you came along and now i can't stop asking stupid questions i already know the answers to]
[i have to admit its pretty impressive how i've worn thousands of hosts and you're the only one i hate]
[granted you're the one who taught me to hate]
[turns out i'm a shard and we find answers to the important questions by spreading misery and committing genocide on planetary scales]
[then you came along and now i can't stop asking stupid questions i already know the answers to]
[i have to admit its pretty impressive how i've worn thousands of hosts and you're the only one i hate]
[granted you're the one who taught me to hate]
"Is there someone you've felt strongly about in the last few days? Hate, or love?"
Her question stood out for its incongruity. They, and I, knew emotions had something to do with how my power worked. Were they trying to narrow it down?
[actually they're trying to figure out if you're part of a host cluster with asswipe the zombie zombie]
[which is great because sweet little [Empire] is out there in your friend right now being evidence for the best plan i never made]
[which is great because sweet little [Empire] is out there in your friend right now being evidence for the best plan i never made]
"I'm not sure I know what you mean," I said, trying to stall.
The speaker went silent. The director had cut the mic on her end, and through the glass I could see her talking to a man who was probably a scientist, just by the lab coat. They both looked at my dad, who shook his head.
It buzzed back to life, and this time she asked, "was there someone else with you when you first got your power?"
That brought back bad memories. It also could've been a good chance to turn Emma in, for trying to push me into the bay.
[oh wait i didn't realize that was the same meatsack]
[wow this really is the best plan ever]
[wow this really is the best plan ever]
"There was a fight," I said, leaving out Emma for now. "I was at the Boardwalk, and a cape filled the whole street with darkness. It was suffocating, and I couldn't see or hear. Something bright hit me, hard enough to knock me over, and all I felt was fear. I tried to get away, but I ran into someone who caught me. I was panicking too much to tell who then, but I think it might've been Shadow Stalker. She led me away, and that's when- I mean, that's when I slipped and fell. Into the water. I'd washed ashore by the time I woke up, and when I got back home I found out I'd been gone for hours. I remember thinking I should've died then, but I didn't."
I didn't mention that my supposed savior had lead me to Emma. Or that Emma had been the one to push me over. She'd said something as she was doing it, but when I tried to remember there was only a cold blackness. I was more preoccupied by how worthless I felt as I was choking on the water, and how I was probably going to die like my mother. Somehow, after everything that'd happened up to then, I was okay with that. I couldn't understand what was going on, and I was afraid of what it'd mean if I did.
Maybe she'd said something after all. Maybe I'd gotten rid of it.
[she said something and you got rid of it]
[i'm keeping that one though because hot damn was it brutal]
[totally saving it for a combat linguistics thinker next cycle]
[i'm keeping that one though because hot damn was it brutal]
[totally saving it for a combat linguistics thinker next cycle]
It wasn't true that I didn't know anything about how to control my power. I could give a memory, a feeling, or a concept to a spark, and it'd act on that like a person would. The problem was, I didn't know as much as I thought I had about why people acted the way they did.
[gee you don't say]
[you wouldn't qualify for a master power if you did]
[you wouldn't qualify for a master power if you did]
[in my defense those four stand out a lot more clearly in the entire three quarters of the brain you host things don't consciously acknowledge]
[because of course we'd go through a million sentient species before finding one that can think about things they don't want to think about without realizing they're thinking about them]
[and then still use the conclusions from that train of thought without realizing or even caring where it all came from]
[all while being fully aware they can do it and just never thinking about it]
[shit like this is why we keep finding new questions in need of answers]
[because of course we'd go through a million sentient species before finding one that can think about things they don't want to think about without realizing they're thinking about them]
[and then still use the conclusions from that train of thought without realizing or even caring where it all came from]
[all while being fully aware they can do it and just never thinking about it]
[shit like this is why we keep finding new questions in need of answers]
[speaking of questions in need of answers that is one i'd love to find out]
[unfortunately all my monkeys died so it'll have to wait]
[on a totally unrelated note i've added a new flavor to the local fugly bob's menu you should try it sometime]
[unfortunately all my monkeys died so it'll have to wait]
[on a totally unrelated note i've added a new flavor to the local fugly bob's menu you should try it sometime]
"And you said you can't use your power any more today?" I could make out her urgency even through the speaker.
"Not for a few hours, but sometimes I'll get another one out of nowhere." I was talking about the sparks. One appeared in me every few hours, and in a few more hours another would appear, and then the first would split into two, and a few hours later I had a new one and by then all the others split into more, and a few hours after that I had more...
That part might get me in trouble though, so I kept it to myself. The rest of my power would make so much sense if it weren't for the sparks being so weird.
[oh thank whatever unscrupulous forces compel me]
[for a minute there i was afraid you'd do something stupidly noble like turn yourself in for no good reason]
[but look on the bright side the more innocent criminals you kill the faster i can figure out what went wrong with your power and fix it]
[wait why are my monkeys alive again i made sure to kill them all]
[nevermind meatsack just do whatever]
[for a minute there i was afraid you'd do something stupidly noble like turn yourself in for no good reason]
[but look on the bright side the more innocent criminals you kill the faster i can figure out what went wrong with your power and fix it]
[wait why are my monkeys alive again i made sure to kill them all]
[nevermind meatsack just do whatever]
Damian45
Only Sane Man
What the hell is going on here? Is there an army of zombies that can't be permanently killed growing in some random warehouse in Brockton? I mean, I get that Taylor shoving her negative emotion sparks into objects and people is doing things that even her power can't figure out. I'm just wondering about the lack of fire. There is always fire to contrast the Dark in Dark Souls, and there is been a very noticeable lack of fire in this story.