Whispers from the Deep - Biplanes & Bisexuality

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Character Sheets
  • Informational


    • Character Sheet
    Isabelle Morgenthau
    A Fisher

    Isa (right) and her boyfriend Arren (left)

    Hard Keen Calm Daring Wild
    +4 -2 +4 +1 -1
    Moves
    Creepy: When a comrade sees you perform a ritual, overhears your prayers, or sees signs of your alienness, they lose Trust in you. Once they learn one of your Moves, they are no longer affected, but they gain Creepy as well.
    Deep Ones: You can call on your patrons to Help you on a roll. On a 1, you Break after this mission.
    Blessing: When you dab fresh blood on a piece of working equipment, roll +Calm. On a 16+, take both. On an 11-15, choose 1.
    • Take +1 Ongoing with this item this Routine. (+1 Handling for a plane)
    • The item cannot break or be lost this Routine. (+1 Armour on 1 Section of the Plane.)
    On a miss, you need a bigger sacrifice. Don't disappoint.
    Ideomotor Response: Your plane effectively has a programmable autopilot. It does not have to be switched on and off; it "knows" when you are behind the controls.
    Soul-Bound: When you paint a rune in blood on an aircraft, you are linked. While in flight, you can take incoming Structure damage as Stress, 1-1. You can take a hit that would strike a Component as Injury, or give incoming Injury to your Engine.
    Bond: (Witch move learned from Wulf) When you hold an object of significance and make an emotional connection to it, take 1 Stress. The object becomes a magical Focus, and you learn it's Nature (Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Iron, or Blood).
    Contemplation: When you draw a ritual circle and stay within it, roll +Calm. On a 16+, you come out of it about an hour later refreshed; strike 3 Stress or 2 Injury. On an 11-15, it takes the whole night, and you're unreachable in that time.

    Mastery
    The Bushwack
    Ambush Predator: When you strike an enemy who is unaware of your presence, roll with Advantage.
    Forced Evade: When you fire to scare an opponent off, spend 1 ammo and roll +Hard. On a hit, instead of dealing damage, choose one: Target dives 1, target climbs 1, target loses speed in a forced turn. On a 16+, roll attack dice on them anyway.
    Momentum: When you dive onto a target, add +1 AP.
    Scissors Snip: When you disengage, give an ally +3 towards dealing with your target.

    Familiar Vices
    - Drinking
    - Prayer
    - Dancing

    Vice Progress
    - Breaking Stuff: ☑☐☐
    - Cannabis: ☑☐☐

    Intimacy Move
    When you are intimate with another, choose one of you to get a hold. They can spend that hold to give the other a command: if followed, then forward to their next +Stat move, they will always score at least a partial hit, regardless of what the dice say.

    If you use this move in the air, there are two holds, and they can be distributed however you agree.

    The Company
    People
    • Isabelle (Fisher): The PC. She's out to find her way in the world. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Arren (NPC- Confidant/Observer): Your cute fish boyfriend. Artist and recently trained observer. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Wulf (Witch): Former bandit leader. Actually half wolf. Hot as hell. Ex-Goth. 1 thaler per Routine.
      • Hard +3, Keen +3, Calm -2, Daring +0, Wild +3 (Avenger)
    • Minna Hammerl (Soldier): Inexperienced but highly trained soldier and passionate duelist. Speaks all formal-like. The most beautiful woman in the world. 1 thaler per Routine.
      • Hard +4, Keen +1, Calm +2, Daring -2 (Professional)
    • Heinrich Engel (Student): Political science student working on his thesis-slash-manifesto.
    • Anny Meldgaard (NPC - Mechanic): A young half-Fischer, half-Himmilvolk woman from Piav, trained by the mechanics there. Looking for adventure and her origins. Blushes red?
    Aircraft
    • Isa & Arren's Plane: A Teicher Möwen seaplane. Steel frame, liquid-cooled engine. Deeply possessed. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Fang Howl: Wulf's helicopter. An experimental pre-war model. Liquid-cooled radial. Three wolf moon. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Pup: Wulf's Kreuzer Skorpion prototype retrieved from a sealed hanger. Gets a lot out of an underpowered engine.
    • Minna's Kobra: An inline-engine powered, wood framed fighter. All around an excellent machine. 1 thaler per Routine.
    • Heinrich's Reconstruction: A canard plane with a 30mm cannon in the nose. Awkward and unstable but hits like a train. 1 thaller per Routine.
    ​
    Stress XP
    3 7
    ​
    Cash Expenses
    41 10.5
     
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  • Informational
    • But Deep Ones are all about talking and (mis)understanding mortal issue.
    But fine, crazy cult shenanigans later.

    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Talk about something, preferably something Minna's interested in, and hopefully unrelated to the current stress.
    -[X] Ask if there's anything Minna used to do that was particularly comforting for her.

    [X] Add +1 to the Vice Track
     
    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Ask her how she deals with stress. Try and figure out ways to fit her mechanisms into the squadron. Ask what helps and what hurts when she is very stressed. (Figure out her vices)
    -[X] Mention in passing, because of course you would, that when you're confused or distressed, you listen to the Deep Ones.

    This seems pretty close to not pushing anything, and getting Minna used to the idea that the world can bend to her, it doesn't always have to be the reverse.
     
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    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Talk about something, preferably something Minna's interested in, and hopefully unrelated to the current stress.
    -[X] Ask if there's anything Minna used to do that was particularly comforting for her.

    [X] Add +2 to the Vice Track
     
    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Talk about something, preferably something Minna's interested in, and hopefully unrelated to the current stress.
    -[X] Ask if there's anything Minna used to do that was particularly comforting for her.

    [X] Add +1 to the Vice Track
     
    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Talk about something, preferably something Minna's interested in, and hopefully unrelated to the current stress.
    -[X] Ask if there's anything Minna used to do that was particularly comforting for her.

    [X] Add +1 to the Vice Track

    I like this.
     
    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Ask her how she deals with stress. Try and figure out ways to fit her mechanisms into the squadron. Ask what helps and what hurts when she is very stressed. (Figure out her vices)
    -[X] Mention in passing, because of course you would, that when you're confused or distressed, you listen to the Deep Ones.
     
    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Talk about something, preferably something Minna's interested in, and hopefully unrelated to the current stress.
    -[X] Ask if there's anything Minna used to do that was particularly comforting for her.

    [X] Add +1 to the Vice Track
     
    [X] Just go for a walk
    -[X] Talk about something, preferably something Minna's interested in, and hopefully unrelated to the current stress.
    -[X] Ask if there's anything Minna used to do that was particularly comforting for her.
     
    Okay update is coming, it's a bit of a difficult write for me so it's taking a while, but I need to share with everyone that realization that Wulf is literally Isa's Big Tiddy Goth GF.

    Please throw me off a building kthx.
     
    Good news! You can actually spend Stress for +1s, 1-1, on social rolls now.

    If you think it's worth it to get the partial, you only need to take 1 Stress.

    [ ] It's worth it.
    [ ] Don't take stress.
    ​
    Just realized you'll be taking stress either way, so I'll just presume you do.
     
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    7-14: Overwhelmed
  • Threadmarks
    • You weren't really sure how to respond to some of Minna's more unusual behaviors. You weren't really sure how to place it. Unkind words and judgement rattled about mind, but you squished them down. Yes, this was strange. All inlanders were strange.

    Minna winced again as pottery cracked in the distance, recoiling like it was a physical thing. That probably wasn't helping.

    "Minna. Minna, do you want to go somewhere quieter? Take a walk?" You asked. After a few seconds, she nodded uncertainly, and you both got to your feet and started off along the edge of the forest, skirting the boundary between the village and the wild. As you descended the hill, the sounds got quieter, even the gunshots just dimming to little pops in the distance, and some of the tension seemed to go out of her.

    As you walked, you started noticing her muttering to herself absentmindedly. Not words, just little sounds. Fwip, fwip, fwip. It was, to be honest, cute as hell. They were growing louder and more confident as your picked your way along the edge of the stream, crunching along the river rocks.

    "Fwip fwip." You repeated, smiling.

    She immediately quieted, and after a while you noticed her fidgeting again and realized your mistake

    "Sorry. I wasn't making fun of you. I just..." You were just imitating it because you wanted to talk to her, and words weren't really working. "Sorry."

    "Sokay." She muttered quietly, then caught herself, breathed in, and repeated. "It is okay. I t-try. Not to."

    That made whatever it was, the cute little noises, seem involuntary. You weren't sure what to think about that, so you decided to drop it. You paused at the edge of the water and took a seat on a larger rock, and Minna joined you awkwardly. It was nice and quiet now, just the burbling stream and the sounds of the forest in the background.

    You relaxed here a moment, enjoying the sun. It was a nice bright day out, a rarity where you were from. The Dark Sea was almost always overcast. You pulled open your jacket and leaned back against the rock, sighing contently as the sun washed over you. You'd be the first person from your village to get a tan, at this rate.

    "Minna, what do you do to relax?" You asked.

    "What do I do to relax, ma'am?" Minna responded quickly. You were about to correct her and tell her not to call you that, but you decided against it. It sounded almost reflexive. After a few more seconds, she resumed talking. "I-I used to embroi-..."

    She trailed off quietly, and you sighed. Clearly, not ready to talk yet.

    "I pray a lot." You said. "When I'm stressed out. And I drank... probably too much. I'm working on that. Arren draws, you've seen it, it's a amazing. And Wulf... I think she just annoys people for fun." You said. You weren't really talking to her, so much as just talking in what you hoped was a reassuring patter. "I've not seen you do anything to relax, though. You're always training, practicing, preparing, working... I know that's not all you do."

    "N-not all I do, ma'am." She said quietly.

    "Does the fidgeting help? And the noises?" You guessed. She nodded.

    "Cool." You said casually.

    You noticed Minna start to fidget again after a few moments, even though she was right where you could see her. That was something. You sat with that a while.

    "I embroidered." Minna said finally, a bit of confidence restored to her voice.

    "Oh?" You asked.

    "Yes. Little patterns." She said. She was speaking slowly, deliberately, like she had to look up each word before she said them, but she was speaking. "All the cadets learned how to sew. So. We could maintain our uniforms. And an older girl taught me how to make little patterns."

    "That's awesome. Arren knows how to sew too! You should show him your stuff." You'd never paid attention to that sort of thing, sewing and knitting, and fortunately you hadn't needed to after a while, when it became clear you were destined for a life in the temple.

    "... I can't." Minna said, clearly pained.

    "Why not?"

    "I left it all back home. All my tools. Everything I made." She said. It felt like it was painful, saying it out loud, and her hand crept closer to her face as she spoke. "I was so angry that I was leaving. At myself. That I wasn't good enough and, and, like I didn't deserve-"

    She stopped there, and then bit down hard on the knuckle of her curled index finger, so hard you felt like you could hear it. You were no stranger to people hurting themselves, but always in controlled, deliberate ways. This seemed disturbingly involuntary. You shot to your feet and over to her side, and she released the bite as you got close, her hands still pulled up against her chest. Not knowing what else to do, you seized both her forearms and pulled to try and keep them away from her mouth. The moment you did, she pulled away hard, twisting to get out of your grip, shoving you back, but you refused to let go in case she kept hurting herself, and you didn't fly a two-seater airplane without building up some strength. One of her hands got free and swung blindly at your face, but you twisted away and grabbed at her hand again. After a few seconds, the sudden burst of energy left her body, and it was almost like she went limp in your arms, flopping back against the rock she was sitting against, so utterly helpless that it shocked you.

    "Minna, I'm sorry, what happened, did I hurt you? What did I..." You exclaimed, still gripping her forearms tight. You were worried if you let go, she'd do it again, but you were also terrified you might have hurt her in some way.

    "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." Minna repeated, over and over.

    "No, don't apologize. It's okay. It's okay." You said, trying to reassure her, just a useless patter of words. You sat there a while, listening to her apologize, unwilling to let her go lest she keep hurting herself, or to pull her in closer in case it freaked her out. Eventually, her breathing started leveling out, and the apologies started sounding like words again instead of just a sound repeated rote.

    "I. I am sorry." She said. "I. It. It got. Very..."

    You nodded as if you understood. "It's okay. It's fine." You felt so awkward, sitting her holding her arms away from her. "Um... Minna, do you want me to let go?"

    She shook her head. "N-no." She said. "Sorry."

    "Don't apologize." You said. "You just scared me a little."

    Her breathing slowed back to normal, and she even leaned into the awkward not-quite hug a little. You stayed there for the better part of a few minutes, listening to her calm down.

    "You can let go now." She said. You did, slowly, and you pulled away. She seemed a lot calmer now.

    "Minna, are you okay?" You asked.

    She nodded, but this time spoke alongside it. "Yes, I think so."

    "You don't have to talk about it." You assured her, unprompted.

    "I was not going to." She responded, and you couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Though... I think..."

    "Yeah?"

    "I think I am going to go buy some needles and thread. And an embroidery hoop." She said. "At the next chance I get. I have a pattern I was working on and I want to finish it this time."

    "That seems like a good idea." You said. "What was the pattern?"

    "Flowers." She said simply. "My mother and father fought somewhere in the west, during the war. The hills there were covered in flowers, so thick you could not see the ground. It always sounded lovely."

    "That does sound nice." You said. "Hey, who knows. Maybe we'll fly there next."

    ---

    The two of you climbed back up the hill towards the rest of the team, Minna seemingly most of the way back to her usual self. She had a vibe about her a little like somebody who had just got done with a good cry, and you thought you understood that part, at least.

    The team wandered back into town not long after, heading to secure your rooms at the Osswald bunker. You ended up with a pair of rooms, one for Anny and Minna (Minna found the bunk beds very nostalgic) and one for you, Arren, and Wulf. MInna opted to stay in her room for a bit and cool off, picking up a copy of The Wealth of Kings to pass the time. You felt like leaving her with the book was... slightly irresponsible, really, but it'd be fine. Probably.

    "Wait, so the three of you..." Anny said, having worked out the number of rooms. It was Arren's turn to explain, though she took it extremely well. Maybe a little too well. Worryingly well.

    It'd be fine. Probably.

    It was starting to get a little dark at this point, and the four of you were back at the bar. Wulf was looking a lot better, Arren was smiling again, Anny didn't look so shocked. You'd gotten some more tea, and you were currently answering Anny's questions about your faith.

    "So you have monsters in your head?"

    "They aren't monsters." Arren insisted.

    "They're kinda monsters." Wulf quipped.

    Everything you told Anny just seemed to fascinate her more. You learned from snippets of conversation that her own family (her father was inlander, her mother was fischer) was somewhat irreligious. Her grandpa still practiced The Old Faith, as she called it, but everyone just thought of him as a morbid weirdo and mostly ignored what he said, which seemed really sad.

    "I used to doodle tattoos on my skin with my pen in the schoolroom." She said, laughing. "Like the ones my grandpa has!"

    Arren grinned. "Did you know that I was the town tattoo artist?" He said, looking smug.

    "Oh my god, that's awesome. Can you give me a tattoo!?!?!" She said, already pulling up a sleeve.

    "Slow down, girl. You have to know what they mean first." You insisted.

    By the time night had fallen, Anny had managed to convince you and Arren that she ought to be inducted. Arren still had a tiny bit of salt water left in his canteen, so you and Wulf watched from a distance as Arren guided her through it, as she whispered the name of her first patron and collapsed into his arms. Then you guided her and Wulf into their first communing: Wulf went under quite quickly, but Anny was excitable and took almost twenty minutes to calm down, even guided.

    Then you let yourself slip into that trance yourself, and listened to the whispers babble excitedly about their new friend.

    ---

    Tomorrow we'll do early morning shopping, then launch on the mission.

    [ ] Write In - Shopping List

    Huge huge huge huge huge thanks to @Serafina for sensitivity reading and advice as I wrote this update.​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Going to need to make a pilgrimage to the sea to get more saltwater.

    Also, Isa needs to get to work on the holy book for the reformed deep one faith. Maybe bind this one in something other than human leather.
     
    Yo Tithed_Verse, either you're joking and it's not funny, or you're not joking and you need help. Either way, dial it back like six notches please.
     
    open_sketchbook said:
    Yo Tithed_Verse, either you're joking and it's not funny, or you're not joking and you need help. Either way, dial it back like six notches please.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Got help, years and years ago. This is more me channeling my younger self. Sorry though. I'd call them flashbacks, but that's probably inaccurate languge. When something reminds me of how I used to be, I tend to expound on that. I used to be pretty bad.

    Anyway, sorry, I'll dial it back.

    Edit: My current mental health probably isn't helped by my 13+ hour shifts. I take them because I'm the only person in the office crazy enough and self-destructive enough to do so, but they fuck me up pretty badly. At least the overtime is nice.
     
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