Make a Contract With Me! [Lag Backup Thread]

[Rihaku]

This is the lag backup thread for http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/make-a-contract-with-me-pmmm.267727/

Make a Contract With Me!

"In the stories of your world, magicians that grow powerful are corrupted and fall into darkness. It proceeds naturally, then, that since you'll eventually become a Lich, you should be called a Magician."

---

Long, long before the Incubator uttered those words, its life and yours were in danger.

Your father's debts to the Yakuza had gone unpaid too brazenly and for too long. On a moonless, stormy night, the hitmen they sent made an example of him. Uncharacteristically, with his last moments he had bought enough time for you, his only son, to escape.

With blood drumming in your ears, you sprinted furiously down the fire escape and into the rain-slicked Tokyo streets, keenly aware that your pursuers were larger, faster, and armed. Their grisly execution of your father, seen only peripherally, played through your mind: the tromp of boots against cheap wood, the bloodstained flower bursting from his chest, the snicker-snack of blade parting bone. His final ursine roar of defiance, as if a lifetime's resentment could explode in a single moment, released by the paroxysm of its end.

And the men that had caused it were flooding out of the apartment, leaping to the ground, rain washing away the blood on their blades. This late at night there were no witnesses, no crowds to separate their silhouettes from yours. That was when you saw the white creature.

It was a bedraggled little thing, no larger than a small dog, its fluffy fur matted and streaked with dirt. Great chunks of its body were missing, in their place gaping holes of solid block-red. At your approached, it struggled to its feet, regarding you with red eyes that glowed like a cat's.

"Critical system failure - - - this terminal has lost connection with the source - - - separation of conscious awareness - - - routing independent operations - - - core functionality intact - - - begin recovery protocol - - -" it said, somehow speaking directly into your mind. Its voice resembled a boy's, but distorted as if played through a poor recording.

You scooped the thing up and began to run, justifying to yourself that an entity capable of apparent telepathy could somehow be useful in your flight from the hitmen.

"Do you wish to live?" Without preamble, the creature asked such a ridiculous thing.

"What kind of question is that!?" You shouted, legs pounding away at the pavement, feeling with each step the asphalt below the thin soles of your shoes. Then, when it did not reply - "Yes! Yes, I want to live!"

"I am Kyubey, a Magical Messenger! I am dying, but if you make a contract with me, we can both survive. I will grant a wish of yours, and in exchange, you will accept a destiny of battle as a Magician. Simply wish for me to be restored fully, saving my life, and the powers of a Magician will save your own."

"I wish for omnipotence!" If it could truly grant any wish, there was no reason to be ungenerous. Why solve one person's problems when you could solve everyone's?

"I'm sorry," it shakes its head, "the scale of wishes I can grant is bounded by your magical potential. Consider a more localized effect, one that resonates with what is inside your heart!" 


You really wish this decision had been presented to you when you were not under life-threatening duress. Logic and wordings fall through the fingers of your cognition, as slippery as blood in the rain. You waste long seconds thinking as your pursuers draw closer, and closer, and closer...

"Time is running out. This is your last chance. Tell me, what is the wish that will make your Soul Gem shine?"

A wish that resonates with your heart? Then, it must be...

 

[Rihaku]

The previous update:

How Do I Shot Web

The sun rose early, and you with it, blinking past the cobwebs of sleep with surprising ease. By the time dawn had smeared its ochre hues over the awakening city, you were in an ideal position to enjoy it, perched upon an abandoned apartment complex on the outskirts of Tokyo. Clouds drifted sedately over the face of the sun, bathing in its light, like a whimsical armada of airships painted yellow and orange and violet. 

It was a beautiful day, presently going to waste.

"Go!" A hand, out-thrust, imperious but beseeching. Nothing.

"Magic powers, activate!"

"I call upon the wisdom of the ancients!"

This wasn't what it looked like. No, you were not so hapless as to be unable even to replicate your transformation. Indeed, the initial experiments had gone well - you'd confirmed a definite increase in your running speed between the two forms, and as a Magician you did not even need glasses (but were, curiously, also not hindered by them). You suspected improvements to your stamina, but hadn't had time to empirically record the exact difference. And, most dramatically, your Magician form had, relative to your normal self, incredible dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Now you understood what it felt like to be talented at sports. Those bastards didn't know how lucky they were.

Yes, you had at first exulted in your newfound capabilities, modest though they were. When you'd struck your improvised bullseye, ten meters away, seven out of ten times with scavenged foam darts, you'd hissed in triumph and pumped your arms in victory. When you'd punched the stopwatch and saw that your Magician form's hundred-meter dash was a full second and a half faster than normal, you'd whooped and run a circle around the block to celebrate. They were small things, not even beyond the power of ordinary people, but it was still incredible. Magic was real! With an instant's will your mild-mannered self could become something dangerous, something capable, something skilled at more than solving problems in books or playing the violin. You could do magic!

Except, apparently, you couldn't.

"Esoteric might, be revealed!"

"Ftaghan~!"

"Abra!"

"Kedabra!"

"Alakazam!"

"Divine knowledge, fill me!"

"Infernal knowledge...fill me?"

Yes, beyond the very basic physical capabilities of your transformed form, and the ability to summon your rifle - which you were unable to fire for fear of attracting attention, your Magician's powers amounted to naught. No amount of concentration yielded results, nor did examining the reflex that had allowed you to transform.

"Ah, I give up! ...For now, I mean." You grumble, plopping down on the hard asphalt. Kyubey, who had little moved from his initial perch, swished his tail and stared at you in silence, as he had the entire morning. You had many questions for the Magical Messenger, but in the initial rush of enthusiasm had forgotten to ask.

The instinctual knowledge you'd wielded before, when you'd - slain - those five men, or persuaded the one you'd spared, was nowhere to be found. No, it was too simple to call it mere knowledge. Beyond a theoretical understanding of the situation, you'd also gained skills in execution.

Kyubey had told you that every Magician received magic in accordance with his wish. But exactly how did your magic relate to yours? Maybe if you met another Magician, and observed his powers and his wish, you would understand.

"Hey, Kyubey." You opened the brown paper bag you'd brought with you, and retrieved the donut within. Detective Nakata, the father of one of your classmates, had given it to you last night. He was not at all like his son.

"Yes?" The creature perked up at your address, scooting over to your side.

"What exactly is a Magician, anyway? Why do you Magical Messengers run around turning people into them? Does it have to do with the 'destiny of battle' you said I'd have to accept?"

"Ah," it said, "good questions, all! We Magical Messengers create Magicians, or Magical Girls, in order to fight the Liches, or Witches, that prey on humankind. Every day, thousands of innocent people are consumed by these supernatural magic-users. As a Magician, it's your responsibility to fight them! I hope you choose to fight certain other threats that are beyond ordinary comprehension, but your world is safe from them for now."

"Okay, that's worrisome. Are Magicians and Witches all as bad at magic as I am? Um, I agree completely that such creatures have to be stopped, but is there anything actually binding me to fight them? I'd imagine so, since you said there were threats I could choose to fight, implying I, well, don't have a choice for Witches."

"It's important to us that you always have a choice," Kyubey replied, wagging its tail. "Even though you've been granted a magical wish already, we don't intend to force you into battle. However, if you don't defeat Witches and Liches, you will run out of magic. Take a look at your Soul Gem. Do you notice any differences from the first time you saw it?"

You glanced down at the crystal. Yes - disturbingly, a black substance had made its way into the golden light. Tendrils of the stuff pervaded well over half of the gem.

"As you use magic, your Soul Gem becomes depleted. If it ever runs out completely, you will stop being a Magician! I can't over-emphasize the gravity of the situation."

"It's more than half gone already. So, the several hours of experimentation I put in today were pretty costly, huh..."

"Actually not!" Kyubey said, its smile never faltering. "You actually possess exceptionally high reserves of magical energy, due to your high magical potential. If we say your Soul Gem contains 150 units of magical energy, 1 unit should sustain your transformation and moderate exertion, like you were engaged in today, for about two hours. Continuous strenuous activity, such as a running battle against a Lich, may consume 10 units per hour, if you make heavy use of your weapon."

"...I see." There's only one prominent possibility, then.

"Yes. Last night, you told me about three moments when you felt extreme deja vu. At each of those moments, over twenty percent of your Soul Gem blackened. Additionally, the amount that blackened was greater in the second instance and third instances. In order to recover, you must find a Grief Seed from the corpse of a Witch or Lich, which can absorb the blackness."

"Kyubey, do you know what my wish-related magic is?"

It shook its head. "As a Magical Messenger, I've seen thousands of Magicians and Magical Girls. However, I do not receive unique information about them beyond what my own senses can observe."

Even though you felt a bit cheated by what you had received, there was no way you were going to give up your life as a Magician. But fighting a Lich, one in full command of its powers?

Cocking its head, Kyubey snuggled against your side. "Don't feel discouraged. I know you are a great Magician! Not many people would have the discipline to carefully examine their new abilities like you have. In fact, I would speculate that what you have seen so far is some form of emergency or contingent magic that is tangential to your true abilities. Each time you felt deja vu, you were in great danger! First when you were being chased by the yakuza, then when you decided to let one live, and again when you decided to call the police! Any of those actions could have resulted in your death, if your magic hadn't intervened!"

---

If magic can only be gotten from Liches, scarcity dynamics will encourage competition rather than cooperation between Magicians, unless the average Lich is powerful enough to require multiple Magicians to consistently defeat. A rival Magician could be just as dangerous as a Lich, if not more. What exactly have you gotten yourself into?

[ ] Hunt for Liches - If your 'contingent magic' can blacken a massive and variable amount of your Soul Gem, there's the possibility that a situation could arise in which the entirety of your remaining energy is wiped out in one go. Though it's a massive risk to hunt for a Lich when you yourself are so weak, you're not willing to take the opposite risk of losing your magic forever. You will likely require truly epic and extraordinary preparations to emerge victorious without gambling on your 'contingent magic,' though.
-[ ] Write-in/fanfic preparations can help your chances a lot.

[ ] Keep a Low Profile - Try to avoid trouble. Take a few more days off, as would be expected of you, and then go to school and do everything in your power to maintain your normal routine. Use what free time you have to practice more, and slowly improve yourself.
-[ ] Write-ins/fanfics for training can help your progress a lot.

[ ] Aggressively Experiment - You need more data. Fighting a Lich now is likely suicide, and you can't afford to waste time laying low for weeks or months. You're sure that if you could just figure out your unique magic, or at least gain some partial understanding of it, your chances would improve vastly! Attempt to trigger the 'contingent magic' again. You've solved one physical and two social confrontations with it, but your real strength has always been your mind...
-[ ] The outcome is dependent on chance and readership activity + discussion quality.

 

[Vindictus]

Reposting vote and argument to the NOT LAGGY site-

[X] Fall into the background. Make every attempt to stand out in no way- Be slightly better then average in school, physical activities, and social activities. Finish your schooling, and then join the military. Deliberately angle to get assigned sniper duty.

What the fuck, let's get some actual training in how to use our weapon right. Three times the skill of an average highschooler? The average highschooler would shoot their own foot off if given a weapon and no training how to use it. So, let's say that three times completely incompetent is barely passing- We're still shit out of luck.

... Also, I find the idea of a Meduca in the Military to be hilariously entertaining.

Now, I understand that SB is probably not going to go for this, despite it being an excellent way to get real skill without fighting eldrich abominations. So, a compromise addendum- We do this AFTER we clean our soul gem. That way, worst case scenario? Something fucks up because we make a stupid decision, but we get to power our way through the problem and survive anyway.

 

[notgreat]

The problem with trying to train is that we don't know what we should be training. Our new soul-container gives us instinctual knowledge on how to use our weapons, and so I don't think trying to train will be useful, as we won't get even close to emulating the scenarios of real witch combat- familiars, the shifting labyrinth, etc. We can't even train in full-power mode since that drains us a ton, and we're already pretty low on power.

We have just enough left to safely handle one more burst of competence, and we need to clean our gem somehow. Unless we find an ally willing to be nice to us (HAH) the only way to clear it is to fight a witch. So that's what we should do, while we still have enough left to safely get a burst of competence.

edit: By the way Rihaku, if you could post a backup archive as well that'd be awesome, so that we can get all the posts even during lag.

 

[Vindictus]

Like I said, I'm willing to compromise and have us go 'Underground' after we clean our soul-gem.

And... Do you really think that instinctual knowledge is better then training? Because that's bullshit.

Even if we have instincts that are superior to every other person in the world, we will still benefit from training. This is why I proposed Magical Kung Fu build- Martial arts are something that is EASY to get a trainer for, if you take the time to look. Learning the skills associated with a successful sniper is harder, but it's still possible- We just have to join the military to get proper training in it.

 

[LightMage]

Reposting vote and argument to the NOT LAGGY site-

[X] Fall into the background. Make every attempt to stand out in no way- Be slightly better then average in school, physical activities, and social activities. Finish your schooling, and then join the military. Deliberately angle to get assigned sniper duty.

What the fuck, let's get some actual training in how to use our weapon right. Three times the skill of an average highschooler? The average highschooler would shoot their own foot off if given a weapon and no training how to use it. So, let's say that three times completely incompetent is barely passing- We're still shit out of luck.

Click to shrink...

There are a few issues with this plan Vindictus, if we go into the military odds are at some point we will have to be separated from our soul gem. Perhaps even far enough that we'll end up in a coma. Secondly we might be noticed if we get wounded and heal too fast. Third we might get noticed if we don't age after spending a few years in the military. Fourth there may be other magicals in the military, which may be good or bad, they might be a special force that accepts new magical potential, or an exclusive group that hides in the military.

I'm mostly sure we can get books to read that might help us some, and just practice quick drawing and aiming at home to some degree. We just shouldn't fire our weapon at home.

I do like the thinking behind it though, the get trained in the military, but there are too many issues that could prevent it from working.

 

[Rihaku]

Ah, it's so nice having no lag.

Posts, likes (respect?), and fanfics in this thread will count same as spacebattles for XP and activity boosts.

 

[Vindictus]

... How do you Quick Draw a GIANT SNIPER RIFLE?

Also, pointless as we can just auto-form it at any point.

As far as being seperated from our soul jem goes, we can almost certainly smuggle it into boot camp easily enough- And that's literally the only point I can see it being a greater issue then keeping a hold of it IRL would be.

As for getting wounded, as a Sniper the odds of getting injured are probably much lower then as an average infantryman. We're also not locked into serving more then a single term in the military, and people don't change that much between late teens and early twenties.

If there are other magicals in the military, then that's an unexpected but useful bonus- We get potential mentors and allies who aren't easily-depressed little girls.

 

[Serous]

Soooo, where's the respect button? Also, I thought the mods did not like direct links to here?

Military training is not that useful for us. We have instinctive knowledge of fighting, and the conditions of our fights is quite different from RL, especially after we put into account how Weapon Magic and the ability of our weapon.

I'm thinking that we might want to train up our baseline stats, if that is possible.

 

[Rihaku]

Is that so? I didn't know.

You don't have any effective instinctual knowledge of combat, aside from your boosted Coordination. It's likely related to your shit physical stats.

 

[Vindictus]

Soooo, where's the respect button? Also, I thought the mods did not like direct links to here?

Military training is not that useful for us. We have instinctive knowledge of fighting, and the conditions of our fights is quite different from RL, especially after we put into account how Weapon Magic and the ability of our weapon.

I'm thinking that we might want to train up our baseline stats, if that is possible.

Click to shrink...

Respect is top-right corner, a little 'Thumbs Up' icon.

And why do you imagine that military training and discipline wouldn't work with our 'Fighting instincts', as you call them, rather then against them or not at all as you seem to be suggesting?

Is that so? I didn't know.

You don't have any effective instinctual knowledge of combat, aside from your boosted Coordination. It's likely related to your shit physical stats.

Click to shrink...

And thank you for making my point for me.

 

[LightMage]

... How do you Quick Draw a GIANT SNIPER RIFLE?

Also, pointless as we can just auto-form it at any point.

As far as being seperated from our soul jem goes, we can almost certainly smuggle it into boot camp easily enough- And that's literally the only point I can see it being a greater issue then keeping a hold of it IRL would be.

As for getting wounded, as a Sniper the odds of getting injured are probably much lower then as an average infantryman. We're also not locked into serving more then a single term in the military, and people don't change that much between late teens and early twenties.

If there are other magicals in the military, then that's an unexpected but useful bonus- We get potential mentors and allies who aren't easily-depressed little girls.

Click to shrink...

You quickly quick draw a Giant Sniper Rifle!

I meant that we can summon it instantly aimed at a target. Like Mami's muskets. If we end up in close combat, I'd like to have our Sniper Rifle when Summoned Aimed Directly at a foe.

We might get injured in Boot Camp from an accident, and if we stay in the military for a few years, and don't age, because you don't just join get good sniper training and quit.... we might throw out a few flags by not aging. Now I don't know how much of an issue that might be, but it is something to consider.

One way we might get some weapons training is by finding a weapons club or group of people who are allowed to practice recrational weapons... I don't really know if any exist here but it is an idea.

 

[Rihaku]

From a meta perspective, however, it is extremely unlikely that you would be allowed to get to graduation without several plot-relevant events, much less full-on military training.

 

[Vindictus]

You quickly quick draw a Giant Sniper Rifle!

I meant that we can summon it instantly aimed at a target. Like Mami's muskets. If we end up in close combat, I'd like to have our Sniper Rifle when Summoned Aimed Directly at a foe.

We might get injured in Boot Camp from an accident, and if we stay in the military for a few years, and don't age, because you don't just join get good sniper training and quit.... we might throw out a few flags by not aging. Now I don't know how much of an issue that might be, but it is something to consider.

One way we might get some weapons training is by finding a weapons club or group of people who are allowed to practice recrational weapons... I don't really know if any exist here but it is an idea.

Click to shrink...

It's a bit difficult to say 'Okay, this guy isn't aging' until he hits his thirties or so, at which point people we haven't met may notice that we look young for our age.

It's still not going to be something obvious until about fourty or so, and I for one am not suggesting that we go through twenty years of military service.

As far as getting good sniper training not letting us quit... Bullshit. At worst, they'll extend our initial tour a couple years. There is nothing that prevents us taking a single tour as a sniper and then leaving the military.

There is a vague chance of getting injured in boot camp, but it's a very low one. Like, ridiculously low.

And guns are hilariously illegal in japan. So we're not going to find a hobbyist group. At best, we can take the other side of the coin and become a Yakuza hitman, which is a blatantly bad idea

From a meta perspective, however, it is extremely unlikely that you would be allowed to get to graduation without several plot-relevant events, much less full-on military training.

Click to shrink...

Maybe so. But people have been making absolutely anti-meta decisions through the entire quest, so it's not like that matters too much IMO. If our plans are interrupted for one reason or another, there's not much we can do about it except remove the problem and move on.

 

[Khiruki]

Hm... is that so... Maybe some stuff to do:

1. Graduate high school- Finish that step of education; will basically be free from education requirements.
2. Obtain some money- get a job. I'm rather partial to the idea of wandering around and being an odd jobber for a while. Pick up some life experience and:
3. Build a network- meet people, build up a network of contacts. Always good to know people.

Now it's also good to know if there is some sort of state of secrecy thing among magicians. From what it looks like, our magic isn't overtly flashy and obviously magic, but we may be able to eventually get a sort of reputation as a hired hand.

For training... I dunno. Ideally, there may be some sort of government group of magicians/supernatural branch. That's a long shot though. Maybe a short stint with the JDSF for some combat training; build some military contacts. If magic isn't some big secret, then that can make things easier... Still, we should probably get a full story from Coobie before publicly announcing our self as a magic user.

Still, joining the military does kinda fulfill all three; it's a job, and it'll help build a network while getting some training.

 

[LightMage]

Well, there go my arguments. Your plan seems fine Vindictus. We have plenty of time as a Magician. If we get ambushed before or during training we'll still have our one use saftey net, and if we're lucky we can still have that net when we fight a Lich or Witch in a few years.

 

[Rihaku]

>

 

[Khiruki]

>

Click to shrink...

...Oh geez.

 

[Enohthree]

...Oh geez.

Click to shrink...

This is why I said waiting in the other thread would lead to a plot encounter. The law of narrative casualty would never allow us that much training time.

 

[Winged One]

I'm guessing we might fail a psych test to get into the SDF, what with the whole "father gunned down, suddenly wants to be a soldier" thing.

 

[Vindictus]

... You realize that Psyche tests are for if you're crazy or not, not what your motivation is, right?

 

[LightMage]

Hey another issue snipers have is holding their rifle steady when they aim. Why can't he use magic to steady himself, or if he is setting up in advance for a fight, to create a stand to steady his rifle?

I think this might be posted in the normal thread, but as lag has started up again I'm posting it here too.

 

[Serous]

Should we get a stat increase, or aim to maximize our productivity. Maximizing productivity early on should give us a better understanding of our powers.

From Rihaku's words, there should be a method of our MC to use magic to increase his base stats.
I wonder if the concept behind prana burst could apply to us?

 

[Rihaku]

A Very Important Question:

Do you want to spend 25,000 XP to maximize your Productivity? You will be trading hard stats and weapon buffs for an effective increase in your base levels. However, even more importantly, this initial training will determine what level of training is "in-character" for you. There are definitely huge advantages to being Ulyssian-tier hardcore, but some drawbacks as well, personality-wise. Granted, given the opposition you may be facing, it may not be a matter of what personality you'd aesthetically like so much as what personality you think can weather the storm to come.

 

[Robotninja]

Yes. Dedication works quite well.

 

[Vindictus]

I'd hesitate to weigh in on maximizing our productivity until we know whether or not we will find any more breakthroughs before the vote is locked.

If we recieve a few more, then the purchasing power of those 25k Exp is dropped significantly. Hell, if we recieve one more point of productivity then the amount we are purchasing with 25k Exp is dropped by a quarter!

I would wait until we've scoured through the thread for more breakthroughs. We may be able to reach 10/10 productivity without spending any exp on it altogether.

 

[LightMage]

Omake for Training.

After all that thinking about training, and effort put forth today... I have a feeling I'll be busy even in my dreams.

How right I was, because in a dream time passes as fast, or as slow as it wants.


I got up. I was on a floating island, watching many other islands float on by in this void. Directly in front of me is an arch made of stone and it is the same shade of gold as your gem. I looked around my floating island, and I see that I was laying down on a simple camping bed. The edge of the island has bronze colored square stone posts about half my size dotted around it. The ground beneath my feet was made of stone, and of the same color as the posts. I walked around near the edge of the floating island, and as I passed the arc bronze stones rose out of the void before settling into place with a clunk forming the beginnings of a path leading away from the floating island. Cautiously I place one foot on the newly risen stone while holding onto the side of the arc. Finding that the stone holds my weight, I then carefully put my other foot on the path. As I approached the end of the short path, more stone floated and connected to the path increasing it's length. And so I continued walking, and walking, and walking. After a unmeasurable amount of time had passed, with my legs weary from walking a new island floated into view.


On the new island, the only thing that differed from the one I woke up on was instead of where a camping bed existed there was a simple white table. On the table was one thing, my Sniper Rifle. I feel like there were other things that should be on the table, something else that might be used to add or change your Sniper Rifle. But the only thing on the table was my Sniper Rifle. The one I used in self defense, the one that was created from my Soul Gem. I walk over to the table, and as I grab the Sniper Rifle, I feel like something could happen. But nothing does... for a while.


I spent some time looking over my Rifle, holding it, looking down the iron sights. Just familiarizing myself with it. And as some amount of time passed, I hear a some clanking noises. I quickly look up from my Rifle expecting to see a new path appearing, but instead off in the distance appear two targets, looking the same as the ones used by the Archery Club for practice. As I think of the Archery Club, a memory of one of them mentioning how there was a mindset they used while practicing. I wonder if that mindset would also be useful for using a sniper rifle. I lift the rifle up and look down the iron sights at the left target. I try to line it up with the bullseye, but it keeps moving. With every breath I take the rifle moves a little, with every beat of my heart, the rifle moves a little. With hands unused to using a sniper rifle every attempt to correct leads to under correcting or over correcting. After a frustratingly long time, I manage to hold the rifle steady long enough to fire and hit the bullseye.

With that shot, I feel sleepy. The tiring walk here, and trying to hold myself still long enough to fire at the bullseye has sapped my strength. Unfortunately It would be another long tiring walk back to the bed. But standing here wouldn't get me back any faster. I put down the sniper rifle on the table, and start walking the long road back. By the end of the journey I feel like at any moment I would fall over, but there it is, the camping bed. I stagger slowly over to it and collapse onto it, falling asleep a few seconds after collapsing onto it.

Click to shrink...

(681) words.

So I hope we learn or gain the ability for lucid dreaming.

You forgot =.

It's [Quote_=_"Words"]

Click to shrink...

Thanks.

 

[Vindictus]

You forgot =.

It's [Quote_=_"Words"]

 

[Rihaku]

What is the cutoff at which you would consider it not worth it? 7/10? 8/10? 9.5/10? 10/10 is 16 times more efficient than 6/10, to serve as a reference point.

 

[Berserkslash]

Hmmm, The greatest possible magician, magicians are tricksters and pretenders who wield power in this characters eyes it seems like, we viewed extremely dangerous situations that we'd likely die from from many different perspectives and somehow were able to do exactly the right thing to survive.... The character felt like he put on the perfect mask to talk with the gangster and the police, felt that it wasn't him and at the same time could be no one else.... Doe we operate on a Kaleidoscopic source of power? Searching out Alternate selves within the same or similar situations and bringing the one able to achieve the best or most favourable results to temporarily merge with him?

Strange. The way you'd moved, the way you'd manipulated him, the speech you'd given, the manner of speaking...none of it was like you. And yet you knew irrefutably, in your core, that it had been your idea and your thoughts that lead to it.

Click to shrink...

This is what led to my little theory.


Reposting.