Safe For Work Worm Ideas thread

[Snake/Eater]

Maybe. Was inspired by a review of Irredeemable (or possibly Incorruptible) which mentioned people freaking out over the Plutonian claiming to do something like that, only without the 'you could be me' part.

EDIT: Not sure where the review is, if anyone is wondering.

Click to shrink...

I think what it needs to be more terrifying is to make it more intimate.

Like a conversation with another person, that a monster from any other normal joe's POV can seem human.

But that is just my point of view.

 

[Prince Charon]

Something I've been working on (detailed notes being written, but I'm not sure if I should post them here, or if people would rather this idea went in a NSFW direction):

Elfland Offline

"Hello, Brockton Bay! This is L33t speaking, and if you're hearing this, I'm dead, and you're mostly wondering what that light was, and why you got pointed ears now - or why other people do, and you don't. You probably guessed by now that it's my fault, and you're right.

If you watch our channel at all, you know that my bro died when we did a Wolfenstein tribute and went up against the Empire; all donations from now on go to victims of hate crimes, i-if you care. You don't know why we did that, though: See, Uber could make himself suave if he wanted to, and got himself a girlfriend... like, a Real Life one. They were pretty happy - she was even cool with our gaming and caping - and then some E88 thugs killed her whole family for a fuckin' initiation! My bro was gonna propose, I was gonna be best man, and then she was dead!

So I Tinkered up more lethal stuff than we usually go for, and we killed a shitload of unpowered Nazi thugs, plus Krieg, Stormtiger, Cricket, & one a' those giant twins, and my bro Uber died, an' I almost didn't get away. That's not the end of it, though. See, I got locator tags on a bunch of the Nazis, and the tagger hasn't blown up, yet, so I got a lot more. I made this Social Analyzer with an Evil-o-meter that I had the idea for for a while (I sent the plans an' files to Dragon), but never built before, 'cause it didn't fit any of the games we were doing when I could get the parts for it. I found more Nazis with that, and some ABB guys, including Bakuda. I checked out some of the heroes, too: most of the Protectorate and Wards are cool, but Shadow Stalker is about as evil as Rune, and Triumph is no prize, even if he's not half as bad as either the Nazi or the fake hero. The PRT is scary corrupt, though, especially that Calvert guy - I mean, he scored higher than Hookwolf on the Evil-o-meter! Kaiser didn't score higher than Hookwolf!

... I'm ramblin', sorry. A-anyways, I tagged anyone who scored higher than 666 on the Evil-o-meter, so the PRT is prolly gonna be pissed at me for outing a Ward, but I'm dead, so I don't care! I didn't scan everyone in town, though, or even a tenth of the city, and I forgot about the Merchants. They're kind of fucked over by the powerup, anyway. The folks I tagged didn't get the present I've given to the rest of Brockton Bay, 'cause I told the system to exclude them.

See, we wanted to do an ElfLand Online tribute as a memorial, ever since Leviathan killed the NecroWare dev team when he sank Vancouver. If you never heard of ElfLand Online, that's 'cause it was never released, just a bunch of demos and files. It was gonna be the first real VRMMORPG - that's 'Virtual Reality Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game,' if you didn't know - using the new VR suit that Siemens came up with. So, now everyone in Brockton gets to play, 'cept for the really evil ones.

If you concentrate hard on wanting to read the manual, a virtual copy will appear before you, so you can learn about the game, powers, character classes, and stuff like that. Right now, most a' you are Level 0 Elves, which means you got some powers and pointy ears, you're healthier, and maybe you got a little prettyfied, but you don't have any class powers. A few of you, mostly selected by the computer at random, but some that I picked, are Level 1 or 2 in one of those classes, or Level 1 in each of two classes. The ELO devs named the classes after classic fantasy races - mostly European, but some Japanese, too, 'cause two of the team immigrated after Kyushu. There's a list in the manual.

Oh, yeah, if you're a little kid, you got the health bonus and such, but you only get, like, toy levels of other powers, 'cause they ain't exactly safe. You'll have to wait 'til after puberty to really play - your parents or guardians will tell you about that when you're older.

A lot a' you are probably wondering how long this is gonna last, or why I say I'm dead, and both answers are related. See, doing something like this over a whole city takes a lot of power, both processing power and electrical power, and making it last is even harder, but my power was real helpful for once, and gave me a gadget that lets me sort of 'cast from hitpoints and lifespan' - that's not exactly what it does, but it's close enough without going into complete technobabble. Pretty much, I'm giving my life to make these powers permanent. This is L33t, sighing off. Goodbye."

<TL; DR: Uber dead on Wolfenstein run (made run due to E88 killing the girl Uber loved), L33t wanting to die but go out with a bang, his power became more cooperative, machines that let him cast from hitpoints and lifespan for grand effects; BB now based on 'Elfland Online,' game that never came out due to Leviathen killing the NecroWare dev team when it hit Vancouver (Imagine BioWare doing a VRMMORPG cross between ALfheim Online, D&D, and general fantasy & folklore)>


So, thoughts?

 

[Chojomeka]

Okay you've got my interest....also kek on the Evil-o-meter

 

[Prince Charon]

Okay you've got my interest....also kek on the Evil-o-meter

Click to shrink...

Thanks. I'm sort of wondering how various people will react to this in-setting (because everyone heard the message, whether they got powers or not) - I mean, Calvert is going to be very deeply concerned, and may start running a timeline where he leaves town, while trying to see what'll happen if he stays in the other, but his power strongly favors lots of short-term plans over a few long-term plans. Sophia will probably have the smarter reaction and just bug out immediately, but I'm not so sure about Kaiser. The E88 operates very much on pride, after all.

There's also the question of what the PRT will do. I would assume they have some sort of protocol for 'everyone in this town somehow gets powers (after all, the US government has actual zombie apocalypse plans in real life, and we don't live in a world where that's nearly as plausible), but what that plan is, I'm not sure. I mean, transferring all current PRT members to the Protectorate and sending in unpowered troops to police more than 350,000 'parahumans' (not sure if we ever got a canon population for Brockton Bay, so I'm making a guess based on pop. sizes others have suggested) is an obviously terrible idea, but the alternatives are likely to be controversial; no matter what, BB is now the subject of international attention, or will be very soon.

Just so you know, the power level numbers do not exactly correspond to PRT threat ratings/power classifications: as expected of a video game, there are a lot of levels, probably between fifty and one hundred, and even getting to the top probably won't get you past PRT power classification of 9 in your strongest power type, unless you also use it very well. Also, due to the difficulty of making a game work in real life, it's a lot harder to level up that far, and most people aren't going to try, because you aren't just wasting time or risking your reputation, you're risking your life, unless you take the slow-but-relatively-safe method of sparring with your fellow players (while holding back a hell of a lot more than you would in an actual MMORPG).

I'm going to try to post the complete notes tomorrow, if I'm done by then, though I'm still wondering if I should post it here, or the NSFW thread, or both. Here's a preview, focusing on what 'Level 0' gives you:

After extensive power testing on a range of volunteers, the baseline ('Level 0') for Brockton Fey is assigned the following power classifications (threat ratings; note that these assume an Elf of average intelligence, creativity, drive, and for the Tinker rating, resources):

Mover/Stranger 1: Improved stealth, able to run near-silently even on dry leaves, run on snow or sand without leaving footprints, et cetra; also, talented at disciplines like gymnastics and parkour.

Tinker 1: Low-level 'magic items,' mostly in the form of single-use 'charms' and 'potions.' Can be used to buff, debuff, or otherwise work with other fey powers.

Thinker 2: Improved memory and data processing; enhanced senses; 'mystical' senses (weak postcognition; detection of active power use and Tinkertech - though 'passive' or 'always on' abilities like Taylor's bug mastery tend to slip past if nothing big is being done with them, or they don't directly target the fey; 'one with nature' stuff; other minor 'spooky' senses).

Trump 2: 'Spellcasting,' plus the ability to change classes, and to 'level up.' This will be raised to Trump 3 when the PRT realizes that Brockton Fey get willpower saves against body- and mind-controlling powers.

Brute 3: Improved durability, disease/poison/drug resistance, and rapid healing (which also cures addictions and other long-term medical issues). Those prone to migraines and other chronic problems will find them fading away, while power-induced issues (like Thinker headaches) are reduced in frequency and severity. Faster improvement of strength, reflexes, and physical skills (for those who bother to exercise; you do not get enhanced strength at Level 0) occur as a side effect of rapid healing. The increase in strength can improve the Mover rating, as well.

Preadolescent children have the Brute and Thinker abilities (and the will-saves), and can briefly use the Mover/Stranger power in emergencies, but only have harmless 'toy' versions of other powers. The un-Nerfed version of the powers kick in within a year of the onset of puberty, so mostly between the ages of eleven and thirteen; poor Vista has a month or two to go.

All Brockton Fey retain the base abilities, even when equipping a Class, and can level them up with training.

For adults, the powers are, to a degree, skills, and can be levelled up even if they don't take any classes (though they level more slowly in that case, as all abilities would be cross-class skills). Cross-class powers may also level up when you do have a class, of course, just not as fast as those that are part of the class.

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Thoughts?

 

[doomlord9]

A very interesting premise, I would like to see it continued.

One thing comes to mind though, since he had tagged all the racists and evil people, instead of simply excluding them a better revenge would be to give them an 'upgrade' to trash mobs. Goblins, kobolds, ect. Foul smelling, ugly as sin, with the E88 getting a special extra bit where they are worth 100 times the normal exp at base with the multiplier increasing the longer they are alive, as well as giving everyone within a large radius a beacon to where they are located with the radius increasing with their multiplier.

The E88 now becomes priority targets, can't hide, and will be torn apart by the pissed off mobs of people they have been hurting for so long. They will cease to exist within a couple weeks and his revenge on them would truly be complete.

 

[Prince Charon]

A very interesting premise, I would like to see it continued.

Click to shrink...

So would I, really.

One thing comes to mind though, since he had tagged all the racists and evil people, instead of simply excluding them a better revenge would be to give them an 'upgrade' to trash mobs. Goblins, kobolds, ect. Foul smelling, ugly as sin, with the E88 getting a special extra bit where they are worth 100 times the normal exp at base with the multiplier increasing the longer they are alive, as well as giving everyone within a large radius a beacon to where they are located with the radius increasing with their multiplier.

The E88 now becomes priority targets, can't hide, and will be torn apart by the pissed off mobs of people they have been hurting for so long. They will cease to exist within a couple weeks and his revenge on them would truly be complete.

Click to shrink...

It's an interesting idea, but not something that fits the mindset that I think L33t has - he's viewing it as a game, and punishing them by not letting them play. Making them trash mobs would be letting them play.

I think the notes for the idea are mostly complete, so they're below. I'm starting to think I need to post this to the NSFW thread not because it's necessarily NSFW, but because more people seem to read it.

There were 356,492 people in Brockton Bay and the nearest suburbs when L33t's device went off. He had scanned a little over a thousand of them with his Social Analyzer before he got impatient, and only a bit over a hundred (mostly gang-members/leaders that he scanned because they were in the gangs) are denied the power-up.

After extensive power testing on a range of volunteers, the baseline ('Level 0') for Brockton Fey is assigned the following power classifications (threat ratings; note that these assume an Elf of average intelligence, creativity, drive, and for the Tinker rating, resources; the same is true of the threal ratings for Classes):

Mover/Stranger 1: Improved stealth, able to run near-silently even on dry leaves, run on snow or sand without leaving footprints, et cetra; also, talented at disciplines like gymnastics and parkour.

Tinker 1: Low-level 'magic items,' mostly in the form of single-use 'charms' and 'potions.' Can be used to buff, debuff, or otherwise work with other fey powers.

Thinker 2: Improved memory and data processing; enhanced senses; 'mystical' senses (weak postcognition; detection of active power use and Tinkertech - though 'passive' or 'always on' abilities like Taylor's bug mastery tend to slip past if nothing big is being done with them, or they don't directly target the fey; 'one with nature' stuff; other minor 'spooky' senses).

Trump 2: 'Spellcasting,' plus the ability to change classes, and to 'level up.' This will be raised to Trump 3 when the PRT realizes that Brockton Fey get willpower saves against body- and mind-controlling powers.

Brute 3: Improved durability, disease/poison/drug resistance, and rapid healing (which also cures addictions and other long-term medical issues). Those prone to migraines and other chronic problems will find them fading away, while power-induced issues (like Thinker headaches) are reduced in frequency and severity. Faster improvement of strength, reflexes, and physical skills (for those who bother to exercise; you do not get enhanced strength at Level 0) occur as a side effect of rapid healing. The increase in strength can improve the Mover rating, as well.

Preadolescent children have the Brute and Thinker abilities (and the will-saves), and can briefly use the Mover/Stranger power in emergencies, but only have harmless 'toy' versions of other powers. The un-Nerfed version of the powers kick in within a year of the onset of puberty, so mostly between the ages of eleven and thirteen; poor Vista has a month or two to go.

All Brockton Fey retain the base abilities, even when equipping a Class, and can level them up with training.

For adults, the powers are, to a degree, skills, and can be levelled up even if they don't take any classes (though they level more slowly in that case, as all abilities would be cross-class skills). Cross-class powers may also level up when you do have a class, of course, just not as fast as those that are part of the class.


(The spoiler boxes are there partly to conserve space in the post, but mainly to keep related things together ans avoid confusion.)

Spoiler: Classes

These are classes rather than races, because they may be learned, and leveled up, and one may have the same character multiclass in several, though many of their abilities can only be used in that class's Changer state.

The existing classes are not fully balanced, due to the stage of development the game was at. L33t simply used his power to patch any identifiable holes, and create an Admin system (called 'Cardinal') running on the collective unconscious of the players, to fix any issues he could not identify.

Around 36,000 people in the Brockton bay area have one level in a class at 'Game Start,' and a little under 4,000 have two levels. A bit under 1,000 of those are multi-classers, and less than 200 of these have Prestige Classes.

Spoiler: Dwarf

A good all-round class, but unless given time to build up, Dwarves are better suited to the Tank and Support rolls than DPS.

Breaker/Changer 1: Dwarves tend to be shorter and stockier than the base form, and male dwarves will nearly always have beards.

Brute 4: Dwarves are stronger and more durable than they look, and are highly resistant to poisons (particularly alchohol, which can get them as far as 'pleasantly buzzed,' but would require ridiculous amounts to go any further).

Tinker 2: Dwarves are talented at making durable, low-maintenance Tinkertech, which tends to be rather easier to reverse-engineer than most examples.

Spoiler: Oni

The main Damage Per Second class, though they also make decent Tanks. The worst Support class.

Breaker/Changer 1: Oni tend to be bulkier than base form, with horns on the upper forehead. Some have only one eye (like the Cyclops of Greek mythology), and one horn over it, or on top of the head.

Brute 5: Oni are quite strong and durable, and become more-so at higher levels.

Mover 2: Oni are rather faster than their bulk would indicate, both in running and in reaction time.

Spoiler: Pixie

Their size, manoeuverability, and surprising resistance to damage mean that Pixies make excellent Scouts and Speed-Tanks. They also work somewhat as a Support class, but have the worst DPS in the game (barring Tinkertech weapons).

Breaker/Changer 3: Able to shrink down to 1/10th of own height (though the class may be 'active' without shrinking), further at higher levels. Equipment will not shrink with the user, unless 'enchanted' using the baseline Tinker power. Pixie/Spriggan multiclassers must enchant their equiment twice.

Brute 6: Becomes very durable in shrunken form, though strength remains the same as base form. 'Enchanted' equipment also becomes more durable, but not by as much (Brute 4).

Mover 3: Sprouts insect wings in shrunken form, making this one of the few classes able to fly at Level 1. Speed and endurance increase at higher levels.

Though Pixies do not automatically gain a boost to the baseline Tinker power, those who practice with it will level up the skill faster, as long as they focus on using biomaterials to make things (e.g. a suit made of layers of spidersilk and beetle shells). Those who do this, especially of female, are often called 'Tinkerbells,' and the manual implies that this was intended to become a Prestige Class (see below), though perhaps not by that name. As the Point of Divergeance took place after she triggerred, Taylor is the scariest Pixie of all.

Spoiler: Spriggan

Spriggans, also called Giants, are the best Tank class, as well as having fairly good DPS, but provide little advantage to Support roles beyond construction and lugging heavy things about.

Breaker/Changer 3: Able to grow up to twice own height (though the class may be 'active' without growing), further at higher levels. Equipment will not grow with the user, unless 'enchanted' using the baseline Tinker power. Spriggan/Pixie multiclassers must enchant their equiment twice.

Brute 6: Becomes very durable and quite strong in large form. 'Enchanted' equipment becomes nearly as durable (Brute 4).

Spoiler: Pookha

Pookha are fey who have a close relationship with animals, generally specializing in one species, and gaining traits related to it - in a way, they are a collection of closely related classes, with individual advantages and disadvantages.

At first level, all Pookha gain the following:

Changer 1: Physical traits related to the animal they specialize in - for mammals, this tends to be ears, tail, and sometimes eyes, teeth, claws, and if applicable, small horns or antlers; for birds, hair becomes feathery, claws may manifest, nose may become beaklike, and eyes may change appearance. At higher levels, they can swap out animal traits for another species, and/or transform completely into their animal, while retaining their human mind; depending on the species, this may add Brute, Mover, or Stranger ratings.

Master 1: Able to communicate with and influence animals of their chosen species. At higher levels, they can influence larger numbers of animals, do so more effectively, and/or communicate with and influence a wider range of related species.

Thinker 2: Enhanced senses similar to their preferred species, instinctive understanding of how to care for them. Domestic animals, particularly those with a good sense of smell, tend to grant improved ability to understand humans. At higher levels, senses become keener, and they gain the ability to percieve through the senses of animals they have influenced.

Higher-level Pookha can buff and heal their pets.

Available species include Bear, Cat (see also Neko, in Prestige Classes), Deer, Dog (yes, Bitch is one), Eagle, Fox (see also Kitsune, in Prestige Classes), Goat (sometimes called Satyr), Horse, Monkey (ears unchanged, tail is prehensile), Rabbit (mostly female, but not exclusively), Rat, Raven (see also Tengu, in Prestige Classes), and Raccoon (see also Tanuki, in Prestige Classes). Bear, Deer, Goat, and Horse have enhanced strength, starting equivalent to Brute 3 (see Muscle Brute on this page).

Early planning sessions involved Pookha for each of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, but this idea was mostly dropped before coding really began.

Spoiler: Prestige Classes

These are special classes that were intended to become unlocked once you got to a certain level, with the possibility of players even creating custom prestige classes by developing their powers in an interesting direction, and then getting designated as Prestige Class as a reward.

The following Prestige Classes exist for ELO:

Spoiler: Elemental Fae

Generally achieved by grinding skill in spells that use a specific Element, though a few people were granted one of these as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal.

Brute 4: Highly resistant to damage from own Element.

Master 1: Can project a small (roughly cat-sized) humanoid servant or warrior with a virtual intelligence, made of the Master's Element. At higher levels, depending on how (and how much) the user trains, they may project a bigger and more powerful elemental, alter their elemental's shape, increase its intelligence and senses, create larger numbers of elementals, or some combination thereof.

Shaker/Blaster 1: Able to control own Element to both manipulate the environment, and directly attack. At higher levels, range, mass, complexity, and ability to do damage increase.

At higher levels, Elementals develop a Breaker state allowing them to take the form of their own Element. Damage to this Breaker form does not carry over to other forms, save as pain and/or nausea.

Each type of Elemental also has one or more special abilities:

Spoiler: Gnome

Earth Elemental

Tinker 2: Gnomes are quite good at building interesting things quickly, often with a steampunk aesthetic (or clockpunk, or windmillpunk), but a lot of their creations tend to explode when they're done with them, or otherwise fail in a visually-impressive manner. Unlike L33t, they can repair or rebuild their inventions, or create new ones that do mostly the same thing, but precise quality control is unlikely - it will often be close (sometimes enough that you'd have to try rather hard to find the differences), but new items will never have exactly the same traits as a previous iteration, save by accident.

Spoiler: Salamander

Fire Elemental

Striker 2: Salamanders can 'burn away illness' without harming the body, but have difficulty causing injuries to heal much faster than normal. Poisons are treated as illnesses, but chemical deficiencies are not.

At higher levels, Salamanders can use their mastery of Fire to fly like a rocket (or a Firebender from Avatar: tLA and tLoK).

Spoiler: Sylph

Air Elemental

Mover 3: The Sylphs' mastery of Air Magic make them one of the few classes able to fly at Level 1. Speed and endurance increase at higher levels.

Spoiler: Undine

Water Elemental

Mover 3: Able to swim very fast without tiring.

Striker 2: Undines can 'wash wounds away' (though any missing biomass must be made up for, and regrowing bones is slow), but are less skilled in curing disease. At higher levels, they can convert seawater into missing biomass.

Notes exist in the manual for Lightning, Shadow, Sound, Metal, and Wood Elementals, but no coding has been done for them. In theory, the Elves might use those notes as inspiration to create new classes, but this would be tricky.

Spoiler: Leprechaun

Usually unlocked by leveling up the Dwarf class while grinding skill in the armour-making aspects of the class's Tinker power, though a few people were granted this as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal.

Breaker/Changer 1: Leprechauns shrink down to something like half the size of base form, but generally keep the same proportions. At higher levels, they may learn to shrink as far as one-twelfth of base form.

Shaker 3 (Thinker 1): Able to 'grant wishes' three times per day, as long as they only require a plausible coincidence to occur (at Level One, anything less likely than about one in 5 is difficult, and anything less likely than one in ten is beyond the Leprechaun's capability). Cannot grant own wishes. The wishes often take some time to occur, as changes do not begin until the wish has been made. Upon hearing a wish, they can estimate more-or-less how likely it is to occur, and thus whether the probability is high enough for there to be any point in trying to grant the wish. Also, Leprechauns tend to be unreasonably lucky. At higher levels, they can create a wider range of controllable and semi-controllable probability effects, and can grant less probable wishes.

Tinker 3: Leprechauns are good at making wearable technology.

At higher levels, many Leprechauns develop some form of precognition.

Spoiler: Kitsune

Normally unlocked by leveling up the Fox Pookha class, though a few people were granted this as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal. Lisa, appropriately, is one of these, due to L33t sort of lightly stalking her civilian self after seeing her in a Starbucks.

Shaker 4/Stranger 3: Kitsune are the masters of illusion, able to fool all five senses over a roughly room-sized area, and/or appear to be someone else, though at first, they cannot appear as a specific other person. At higher levels, their radius of effect increases, they learn to imitate specific individuals, and their illusions begin to have physical effects.

Spoiler: Neko

Normally unlocked by leveling up the Cat Pookha class, though a few people were granted this as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal.

Master 1: A Neko may 'summon' (project) a few ghosts (generally 1d4+1 to start with). At first level, they are nearly invisible, completely intangible, and really only good as spies (or distractions, if the target is capable of noticing them). At higher levels, the ghosts begin manifesting traditional 'ghostly' powers like psychokinesis, fear projection, or temperature control, and may be summoned in greater numbers. At even higher levels, possession becomes possible, and ghosts (simulations) of specific people may be summoned; if these people are parahumans, the ghosts may have a weaker version of their powers.

Spoiler: Tanuki

Normally unlocked by leveling up the Raccoon Pookha class (despite tanuki being much more closely related to dogs and foxes), though a few people were granted this as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal.

Changer 5: Tanuki are versatile shapeshifters, able to take on nearly any form that is the size of their animal shape. At higher levels, they may grow or shrink by increasing degrees, thogh never as small as a Pixie nor as big as a Spriggan of the same level.

Spoiler: Tengu

Normally unlocked by leveling up the Raven Pookha class, though a few people were granted this as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal.

Thinker 3: Tengu have a talent for Martial Arts, instintively using a style fitting for their body type.

Spoiler: High Elf

Normally unlocked by leveling up each of at least five classes, though about three or four people were granted this as a second class at 'Game Start' by L33t, or by Cardinal. Taylor is the only one of these that she is currently aware of L33t's shard knows who has Queen Administrator, though L33t knew nothing of this).

Master 1: Animals tend to give way for a High Elf, and might obey simple orders, while plants will often be healthier in a High Elf's presence, and may grow faster. At higher levels, this influence becomes similar to that of a Pookha: while a High Elf will never be as good as a Pookha of the same level is at that Pookha's favored species, the ability to commune with all non-sapient beasts is still rather impressive. Some High Elves will develop the ablity to make plants move on their own, often for combat.

Thinker 4: High Elves are the nobility of Elvenkind, and thus are highly charismatic, and excel at strategy, tactics, logistics, and other aspects of Administration. A litter of kittens that a High Elf has had a few weeks to train should be taken seriously as a threat, even if the High Elf is absent, unconscious, or dead. A High Elf is still a fairly dangerous combat Thinker when alone and outnumbered (they can see any flaws in your training, organization, or actions, and exploit them), but they truly shine when leading a group.

Tinker/Trump 4: High Elves are very good at 'magic,' both 'spellcasting' and 'magic item creation,' much more so than the other classes at the same level.

 

[doomlord9]

It's an interesting idea, but not something that fits the mindset that I think L33t has - he's viewing it as a game, and punishing them by not letting them play. Making them trash mobs would be letting them play.

Click to shrink...

Oh no, they don't get to play.

They start weak and remain weak, being excluded from the leveling system means that even in large numbers they can barely pose a threat to a lvl 1 player. Possibly adding in respawning capabilities to them if he could manage that part, just so they get to enjoy being killed enmasse repeatedly.

 

[TanaNari]

So. This showed up on my youtube feed for some reason- presumably because of DBZ Abridged.

Anyone see a resemblance?

 

[Prince Charon]

This idea popped into my head, and I thought I'd see what people do with it:

At the bank, when Lisa calls Vicky 'Glory Hole,' a young-sounding, female voice pipes up with "What's a glory hole?" When they turn to look, they see a short girl in a sort of 'Shakespearian fairy' outfit and mask, whom Glory Girl immediately tries to attack, forgetting all about the Undersiders - so does Amy, for that matter, if Taylor isn't holding her at that point.

I don't have a name for this girl, but she's basically a really annoying teenage prankster who fits the Trickster archetype far better than Trickster himself does (for one thing, she's reasonably intelligent). I'm thinking she's a grab-bag cape, but her main power is to teleport rapidly at relatively short range, and be able to change posture and velocity while doing it (allowing pseudo-flight, among other things). She can teleport herself and things she's wearing, or teleport objects that she can see, or knows where they are (e.g. Vicky's bra, even though she can't see it through the blouse, but she can see the shape of Vicky's breasts). She also has what is generally believed to be a form of combat precognition, because she's still alive, despite her caping habits:

Like a good Trickster archetype, her main MO seems to involve trying to deflate the egos of those who think too much of themselves, like Vicky, Armsmaster, Kaiser, Lung...

The Undersiders escape in the confusion, but not before the not-yet-named prankster (unless you really want to call her 'The Prankster') can flirt with Taylor and tease, grope, & aggravate Lisa (because Lisa has a bit too high an opinion of her own intelligence).

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

I was looking through the Worm Timeline when I noticed something interesting.

Newfoundland sunk in 2005 in Worm's canon. 6 years prior to the start of the setting. So assuming that Dragon made the Bird cage within months of that somehow Amy would have still been at least 10 years old at the time. But in the interlude it goes like this:

"Stole? No. It would be better to say a devoted fan and follower gave her to me."
"Her?" Brandish asked. But Lady Photon was already reaching for the door, pulling it open.
A girl. A toddler, not much younger than Vicky. The girl was brown hair, freckle-faced, and clutched a silk pillow to her chest. She wore a silk nightgown with lace at the collar and sleeves. It looked expensive for something a child would wear.
"Daddy," the girl's eyes were wide with alarm. She clutched the pillow tighter.​

[...]

"The motherfucker has a kid?" Lightstar muttered the question, as if to himself. "And she's, what, five?"
"Six," Marquis answered.
Six. Vicky's age, then. She looks younger.​

Click to shrink...

Bolded the relevant parts.

So apparently Amy and Vicky are both 12.​

 

[daimahou]

I was looking through the Worm Timeline when I noticed something interesting.

Newfoundland sunk in 2005 in Worm's canon. 6 years prior to the start of the setting. So assuming that Dragon made the Bird cage within months of that somehow Amy would have still been at least 10 years old at the time. But in the interlude it goes like this:

Bolded the relevant parts.

So apparently Amy and Vicky are both 12.​

Click to shrink...

Ooookay, someone should write them genius kids while leaving everything else (mostly) intact.

 

[evildice]

So assuming that Dragon made the Bird cage

Click to shrink...

Dragon is the master of adapting other people's Tinker-tech.

She might have merely improved it (and now runs the place).

So yeah, that could be a plot-hole, but there are ways to fill it in.

So apparently Amy and Vicky are both 12.

Click to shrink...

That is hilarious and needs to happen even if the plot-hole is illusory.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

More interesting bits from the timeline.

Bonesaw was inducted into the 9 in 2005 which was the same year as before mentioned newfoundland attack.
Siberian makes her first appearance in 2000, which is 18 years after Parahumans started happening, and 3 years before the Ziz showed up despite Manto being Ziz'd.

 

[TanaNari]

So apparently Amy and Vicky are both 12.​

Click to shrink...

That is hilarious and needs to happen even if the plot-hole is illusory.

Click to shrink...

Kaiser: HALP! HALP! I'm getting my ass kicked by a loli!
Rest of E88: Fuck that noise. We all know the most terrifying enemies are little girls. It's a goddamn law of nature.
Chibi-Amy: I made a teddy bear!
Bear-Monster: RAWR!!!
Hookwolf: WHY IS IT HUMPING ME!?!
Amy: Uh, I had to use a couple dogs for parts. Also an entire maple tree. Which is why it's twenty feet tall.
Missy: Does this mean I'm no longer the adorable overpowered one?
Dean: Sorry, Missy?
Missy: About god damn time I don't have to be the little kid anymore! Wanna go back to base and get married?
Dean: Uh... I... well... *runs away*
Missy:
Amy: Aww *hugs*
Chibi-Vicky: (Blood dripping off her fists) That's okay, boys are stupid. How about we marry each other?
Missy: *Sigh* Sure, why not?
Amy: So. Much. RAGE!!!

Three hours later.

Hookwolf: Why is nobody trying to help me?

Bonesaw was inducted into the 9 in 2005 which was the same year as before mentioned newfoundland attack.

Click to shrink...

Yup, at 5 years old or something. She was 12-ish when the story began. See earlier statement that little girls are most terrifying.

Siberian makes her first appearance in 2000, which is 18 years after Parahumans started happening despite being called the end of the Golden Age, and 3 years before the Ziz showed up despite Manto being Ziz'd.

Click to shrink...

You're thinking of Mannequin who was Ziz'd. Manton went nuts after his daughter took a vial and either died or was turned into a freak (story never really went into details on that). He may, possibly, have gotten in range of the Simurgh at some later date, but more likely he got the tat done for gits and shiggles.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

Kaiser: HALP! HALP! I'm getting my ass kicked by a loli!
Rest of E88: Fuck that noise. We all know the most terrifying enemies are little girls. It's a goddamn law of nature.
Chibi-Amy: I made a teddy bear!
Bear-Monster: RAWR!!!
Hookwolf: WHY IS IT HUMPING ME!?!
Amy: Uh, I had to use a couple dogs for parts. Also an entire maple tree. Which is why it's twenty feet tall.
Missy: Does this mean I'm no longer the adorable overpowered one?
Dean: Sorry, Missy?
Missy: About god damn time I don't have to be the little kid anymore! Wanna go back to base and get married?
Dean: Uh... I... well... *runs away*
Missy:
Amy: Aww *hugs*
Chibi-Vicky: (Blood dripping off her fists) That's okay, boys are stupid. How about we marry each other?
Missy: *Sigh* Sure, why not?
Amy: So. Much. RAGE!!!

Three hours later.

Hookwolf: Why is nobody trying to help me?

Yup, at 5 years old or something. She was 12-ish when the story began. See earlier statement that little girls are most terrifying.



You're thinking of Mannequin who was Ziz'd. Manton went nuts after his daughter took a vial and either died or was turned into a freak (story never really went into details on that). He may, possibly, have gotten in range of the Simurgh at some later date, but more likely he got the tat done for gits and shiggles.

Click to shrink...

Hmm it does appear I was confused, I recalled the scene with legend seeing Manton as a there being a comment that one of the symbols on his hand being something that marked Simurgh victims but upon reread I can't find anything of the sort. There is a second tattoo besides the cauldron one, a swan, but despite being placed as a mystery in the legend interlude as to what it could mean it never gets mentioned again.

Fun note, in the same chapter Legend sees Manton in, 14.7, we also find out that if Manton is distracted by pain the Siberian flickers.

 

[TanaNari]

I recalled the scene with legend seeing Manton as a there being a comment that one of the symbols on his hand being something that marked Simurgh victims but upon reread I can't find anything of the sort. There is a second tattoo besides the cauldron one, a swan, but despite being placed as a mystery in the legend interlude as to what it could mean it never gets mentioned again.

Click to shrink...

The swan tat is for Simurgh victims, back before they used full quarantines. But it's just a swan tattoo on the hand, it can be replicated by anyone with the right equipment and a little bit of skill. I figure if anyone would get one for the fun of it, it'd be William "I'm so fucked up I create a naked copy of my daughter and then order it to eat people" Manton.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

The swan tat is for Simurgh victims, back before they used full quarantines. But it's just a swan tattoo on the hand, it can be replicated by anyone with the right equipment and a little bit of skill. I figure if anyone would get one for the fun of it, it'd be William "I'm so fucked up I create a naked copy of my daughter and then order it to eat people" Manton.

Click to shrink...

So you remember it that way too? Odd, I looked through both chapters where the Swan Tattoo is mentioned, 14.7 and Legend's Interlude, and doing a search doesn't pull up anything about Simurgh or Ziz as a thing.

Edit: I was reading most of these as they came out after Levi I think, so maybe it was something that was retconned.

 

[Prince Charon]

What would Lisa do with Lung's power?

What would Kenta do with Tattletale's power?

They still start from their original personalities and hang-ups, but the alternate powers they have will certainly lead to them developing quite differently. Both of them ending up in Brockton Bay would be odd, but not completely implausible. Them ending up in each other's positions, or in their canon positions, would be pretty hard to believe, though (I mean, alt-Kenta could still become a gang-leader, but he wouldn't be the invincible Lung; alt-Lisa being forcibly recruited by a reasonably-close-to-canon Coil would just be terribly SoD-breaking, though).

 

[evildice]

What would Lisa do with Lung's power?

Click to shrink...

Not get caught by Coil.

What would Kenta do with Tattletale's power?

Click to shrink...

Not survive his trigger event.

 

[daimahou]

Not survive his trigger event.

Click to shrink...

... But he might be able to talk to Contessa until she (or her shard) thinks he is a good candidate with his power to help him live.

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

... But he might be able to talk to Contessa until she (or her shard) thinks he is a good candidate with his power to help him live.

Click to shrink...

He triggered while Contessa was casually murdering him and all his friends and was being forced to OD on drugs (Contessa was shoving his face into a pile of drug powder and forcing him to breath it in), he only lived because his power let him survive the drugs and not be casually murdered by Contessa afterwards.

 

[Prince Charon]

Not survive his trigger event.

Click to shrink...

It makes sense (to me) that having a different power implies at least the possibility of a different trigger event.

 

[Snake/Eater]

It makes sense (to me) that having a different power implies at least the possibility of a different trigger event.

Click to shrink...

... or same trigger events, but with different shards = different powers!

Let's put in math that I barely remember

P=Z×S(T)

 

[evildice]

It makes sense (to me) that having a different power implies at least the possibility of a different trigger event.

Click to shrink...

Sure, but at that point, Kenta would have become a different character.

It'd be like Taylor without the years of abuse from her best friend, and without the anti-authoritarian streak.

In other words: basically an OC. (AND THAT IS FINE. There's nothing wrong with an OC. But to me it's weird to take a character, hollow them out, stick in a new character, but keep the name.)

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

I had a kinda stupid idea of Worm mixed with Sumire 16 Sai.
For those not in the know the manga is about an old guy with a puppet pretending to be a highschool girl, no one is fooled but the teachers are all blackmailed into going along with it.

The start of canon begins seemingly like normal until Lung jumps on the building and finds, rather than a girl in costume a balding middle age man cowering behind a puppet of a girl in costume. The undersiders come along and manage to finish off Lung after the bugs rot his crotch off. Tats convinces grue to give "Taylor" a shot despite not wanting the crazy guy on his team because "she" is a heavy hitter. School the next day shows that Emma for what ever reason acts like the puppet is Taylor, Madison is weirded out but still goes along with it, and Sophia is pissed and trying to figure out what the puppet freak has on the staff to keep them from tossing his ass out.

With the Undersiders, the first meeting at the base ends with Rachel sicking her dogs on the old man while the doll keeps taunting her for not attacking her. The bank heist later occurs like normal, Amy is held hostage and while she could knock out the old guy because his face is totally exposed it would mean touching him. So they're in a stalemate until the Wards arrive and someone smashes into the front. It's a Curly haired glasses girl who's holding a buff overly muscled puppet that calls itself Browbeat. And at this point everyone but "Taylor" is wondering if they're being punked.

So as it turns out The real Taylor has been piloting a Danny puppet and is annoyed with being put in the wards. Danny has the Taylor puppet. For reasons Amy ends up somewhat interested in Taylor and "Danny" tries to keep up a secret identity by "pretending" to be 15. Amy meanwhile is just thankful that despite being crazy at least the girl isn't her sister.

Cut to later where Lung is 150% done with all this bullshit while drinking tea with puppet Marquis who's being used by Annette.

 

[Snake/Eater]

In other words: basically an OC. (AND THAT IS FINE. There's nothing wrong with an OC. But to me it's weird to take a character, hollow them out, stick in a new character, but keep the name.)

Click to shrink...

Sounds like an evil Alien Parasite that body snatches people's lives.

 

[Prince Charon]

First, have a look at this short... I'm not sure if I should call it a story or an essay, but it's short enough that it shouldn't take you too long. Was thinking that Taylor uses this essay, either to get Emma's friendship back, or just to break her. Might be an alt-power Taylor (probably Thinker, but Tinker or Master could also work), or just a Taylor who lets Lisa help her with her bullying problem.

 

[Prince Charon]

Emma triggers in the alley with a power she half-jokingly calls 'Psycho Kinesis' - a Thinker (or Master, depending on how the PRT encounters it, and how much they learn) power to manipulate crazy people. The crazier someone is from Emma's perspective, the faster she's going to know how nuts they are (and in what ways), and the easier it is for her to manipulate them. When she meets Taylor again, she's relieved to note that Taylor is saner than she is, and latches on because she understands how desperately she needs that, especially after realizing how easy it is to manipulate her father (part of that is being his daughter, but it still scares her). Watching Director Piggot give a press conference deeply worries her, because the head of the local PRT being that nuts is not good, even if she's a hell of a lot saner than Sophia.

The thing that frightens Emma the most about her power is that it's easier to make a crazy person crazier, or 'just as crazy, but in a different way,' than it is to make them saner. It's not impossible, and she's doing fairly well with her father, and less so with Sophia, but she keeps getting headaches whenever she uses her power this way.

 

[aoirann]

Okay. So I finally got around to finishing an old Worm Idea. I think that all things considered it's a rather Unique Worm Fic. Thanks goes to Blackmarch for editing, and Betaing, and adding in some things to it. Posting this to several different places as I'm proud of myself finally getting it done.


"Shit! Shit shit shit shit" Sarah yelled to herself, somehow having the breath to do so despite spending the last twenty minutes at a run. "Fuck!" She yelled as she collided into a brick wall. She quickly picked herself up from the wall. "Left or right? Left or right!?" She all but cried to herself whipping her head from the two ways out of the alleyway, hoping to God that her powers would give her something.


Sounds of a large group of people from the left. Was all her power told her. "Left it is!" She shouted hysterically as she bolted for it. Sprinting down the alley the sounds of a small crowd grew louder and louder. Sarah quickly barged into it, gaining a few rude looks that she ignored. After a few seconds of shoving people she managed to reach the front of the crowd. Sarah blinked when she saw why the crowd existed in the first place.


The first thing she noticed was the sign. "The Magical Rose! Mistress of Magic!" was written in an old fashioned font and style. Sarah glanced to the right of the sign. 'That would be the Magical Rose then.' She idly thought to herself. Next to the sign, nervously tucking her dark, wavy hair back into a top hat, was girl wearing something way too skimpy for this weather. Fishnet stockings and black, three inch heels were not exactly ideal fall weather clothing. The sleeveless black and white corset/one piece ensemble she had on as well didn't help either. The Formal Tuxedo jacket she was wearing looked a little warm but Sarah could imagine how cold she was while trying to look the part of a professional.


Not cold. Somehow perfectly warm despite the outfit and weather. "Wait, what?" Was all she said to herself. Which was the wrong thing to say as one of the Boardwalk Enforcers looked at her and started to make his way towards her.


Not an Enforcer. Working for the man who wants to kidnap you. Will just say you're a shoplifter. Sarah was so preoccupied with her rising panic that she nearly missed what 'The Magical Rose' said next.


"For my next trick I need a volunteer from the audience! Anyone! Of any age! Or gender! Don't be shy..... Please?" She said rather weakly. Sarah quickly stepped up.


"I volunteer!" Sarah said, maybe a little too quickly. She quickly walked over to The Magical Rose, making sure to keep at least a few people between her and the fake enforcer. In a matter of seconds that felt like minutes she was in front of the female magician. Sarah hadn't realized just how much taller the girl was compared to her before now, something the heels certainly weren't helping with. Rose blinked a bit in surprise.


Didn't expect anyone to actually volunteer. 'Thanks power. I never would have figured that out.' Sarah thought to herself. Rose, while not exactly recovering quickly, managed to get back into the swing of things just quick enough to keep people from losing interest.


"Okay!" Rose said, trying to get her momentum back, smiling a wide smile. She pulled a folded handkerchief out of the pocket of her tuxedo jacket and unfolded it.... And unfolded it.... And unfolded it. After 20 seconds of stunned silence from the crowd and Sarah, Rose now had a piece of red silk cloth the size of a rather large tarp. Rose smiled at the reactions of the crowd, and spread the cloth out. She let it linger in the air for a few seconds before whipping it quickly and dramatically to the side. In it's place were now two boxes on two wheeled tables. Next to the box were two long, thin blades with wooden handles and a large carpenter's saw on top. As everything clicked together Sarah took an uncontrolled step back from Rose and the table. However as she did so she caught sight of the Enforcer still waiting in the crowd, staring very intently at her. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped back forward. If Rose noticed Sarah's hesitation she didn't say anything. Or show any sign that she had noticed.


"Now, miss. What's your name?" Rose said while holding her hand out to Sarah.


"Lisa!" She squeaked out. When later asked Sarah would say she did it to at least not give the people chasing her something to make their job easier. However in reality she just panicked and thought of the first name that came to mind.


"Let's give a round of applause for Lisa!" Rose shouted out to the crowd. The crowd, despite the frosty attitude they'd possessed at the start, did give a round of, somewhat underwhelming, applause. While they were applauding Rose leaned in and softly spoke to Sarah.


"Thanks a lot for this. It means a lot to me."


Is being honest. First thing someone has helped her with in a long time. Sarah's powers told her. Sarah snorted to herself. 'That makes two of us then.' Right after thinking that the applause died down. Not quite on cue Rose clapped her hand together.


"Right! Now if you could….." Rose drifted off as she realized she forgot something. "Right! One second!" Rose strutted over to the table.


'She moves faster than anyone has a right to in those heels. And I would kill for those legs.' Sarah idly thought to herself as Rose quickly set up the illusion, opening the doors; setting the saw and blades to the side, and unlatching the stocks.


"Alright! Now if you could please step up to the table!" Rose said, a bit out of breath. Sarah made her way to the table slightly slower than she should of. The handful of steps seemed a lot longer than they actually were to her. As she made her way over, her eyes moved rapidly all over the table and the objects on it, trying to see the trick involved. However after a few seconds she had nothing. Not even her powers had anything to say.


'What's the trick? There has to be a trick.'


Not a trick. There is no trick. She really is going to saw you in half.


'What' Was all Sarah thought to herself. 'What.' Was what she thought again. 'WHAT!' Sarah started to hyperventilate. 'Nope. Nope nope nope. Nopenopenopenopenopenope! I'll take my chances with-'


It will not harm you. 'What.' Sarah's brain slipped out of gear yet again at what her power was telling her.


Will not harm you. First real positive social interaction in a long time. Rose will not harm you. Wouldn't harm anyone. Rose is going to saw you in half. She will not harm you. Her powers were telling her contradictory things. This threw her off so much that when Rose tapped her on the shoulder Sarah nearly punched her in surprise.


"Look if you're getting cold feet you can go back into the audience." Rose quietly said to her with a look of concern on her face. Genuine concern. Will not force you. Was all Sarah's power said to her. She glanced at the Enforcer in the audience. Genuine anger. Will force you. Was all she got back. Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat and let out the breath she didn't realize that she was holding. And took a leap of faith.


"No I'm okay. Just rather nervous." Sarah said. 'Understatement of the year' She snarked to herself. Rose yells over her own shoulder "Sorry folks. Just a bit of nerves. She's better now!' Rose explained to the now a bit antsy crowd. Rose took a step back and raised her voice.


"Now Lisa. If I could have your coat! I'm afraid you won't quite fit in there with it on." Sarah glanced at the open box. Even with her build she could barely fit in there with her shirt. Let alone a fall coat. Sarah sighed and took off her coat, bracing herself for the chilly weather of a North Eastern Fall. It was to her surprise that she felt exactly the same as she handed it to Rose. Rose just smiled mischievously at the look of surprise on her face; folding the jacket carefully with a whisper of "Trade secret."


Rose then carefully set it on the sign advertising her show, then raised her hand. Sarah took that as he cue and carefully stepped onto the table, using the surprisingly strong arm of the Magician to steady herself and, almost as if she had done this a million times before, easily slipped into position, putting her feet into the bottom stocks and resting her head in the grove in the front. She had to cross her arms across her chest as, even without the coat, there wasn't quite enough room for her arms at the sides. Rose quickly nudged and moved Sarah into position, ending with pulling her hair out from behind her head and letting it hang down over the edge of the table. A cushion was quickly added when it became obvious that Sarah's head wasn't going to quite touch the table. Rose then turned towards the audience.


"Normally the assistant would take off or would not be wearing shoes. This is for a variety of reasons. It's a lot harder to fake a pair of feet than shoes, shoes don't fit into the stocks nearly as well, some audience members like the sight of bare feet, the deviants," That got a chuckle from some of the crowd, " And most importantly it keeps the scuff marks off of the props." At that the rest of the crowd laughed.


"However with Lisa here I won't, due to the weather and the fact that her shoes will fit into the stocks." Sarah glanced her feet. 'Made the right call with the thin leather boots than the Uggs today then.' Rose keeping the momentum of the crowd going quickly slid on the top of the stocks for Sarah's feet.


"Normally I would also lock the stocks with padlocks but Lisa is nervous enough as it is." The crowd laughed again and Sarah nervously laughed as well. Rose then slowly slid down the stock on Sarah's head neck.


"You still okay?" Rose said quietly. Sarah didn't trust her voice so she only weakly nodded, trying not to hit her chin on the wooden stock. Rose gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze before finally closing the doors on the box. She than went around to where the groove was in between the two halves of the box… and then picked up the saw. Rose made a big show of showing it off to the crowd, showing them that it wasn't fake


Not fake. 'Thanks Power.' Sarah sighed. 'I thought she was going to saw me in half with a fake saw' After a few more seconds of showboating Rose finally stopped.


"And now Ladies and Gentlemen. I will now saw the lovely Lisa in half!" Rose exclaimed.


'Really hope that isn't the last compliment I ever get.' Sarah thought darkly to herself. And at that Rose started to saw her way through the box. The sounds of sawing wood and the smell of sawdust filled the air.


Added in wood blocks to heighten the dramat- 'THANKS I GET THAT!' Sarah yelled at her power. After an eternity of a few seconds the sawing of wood stop. Another eternity of half a second and the saw had reached Sarah.


"GASP!" Sarah's head suddenly jerked back as she let out a huge gasp. The crowd started to murmur in concern, worried about the poor girl inside. Their worries were (mostly) unfounded.


"COLD!' Was all Sarah thought to herself. As it was, a carpenter's saw being outside in the fall would be rather cold. And when said saw is currently touching parts of you that generally should never be touched? Well that really amplifies the effects. As the saw quickly warmed up Sarah came to a conclusion.


'It's not exactly unpleasant' was she thought as she felt the saw work it's way through her. She felt the saw, well, saw her in half but without the pain that should be accompanying such a thing. This just left a somewhat soothing rhythm going through her body. 'And it's really knocking loose the crap in my lungs.' Sarah thought to herself as the last few months of living on the streets hadn't been the healthiest for her. At that she coughed a bit harshly, causing more murmurs of concern from the audience. After a while the sawing stopped and Sarah felt a cool winter's breeze on bare skin…… On two different patches of bare skin.


She sawed you in half. 'Holy shit she sawed me in half!' This obvious and startling conclusion made Sarah miss the fact Rose had picked up the two blades. And the grand show that Rose made of showing that they were solid. She did notice when she slotted them into place. 'REALLY FUCKING COLD!' She grit her teeth, mentally screaming in an attempt not to make a spectacle of herself..


"And now to prove that there are no fake limbs or anything of the sort!" Rose declared suddenly. She then leaned over from where she was standing, over the boxes containing Sarah, and unlatched the front covers. From where the Audience was they could clearly see that there was in fact something in the box wearing exactly what Sarah was wearing. Most of the more jaded members thought that Rose had used some really clever sleight of hand to swap the pieces and that Sarah was just crammed into the front box. Though the exact details they were still working out.


The more naive, as rare as they were in such a place as Brockton Bay, honestly thought Sarah had been cut in half. And unlike most cases the naive audience members were right. To further show off Rose then grasped the two boxes by the blades and pulled them apart. Sarah felt the very confusing sensation of having one half of her body move one way, and the other move in the opposite direction.


'I think I'm going to be ill' Sarah thought to herself as it played hell with her inner ear….. The timed out burger from Fugly Bob's she managed to sweet talk the cashier into giving her probably didn't help either. Also not helping matters was Rose then spinning the two boxes ninety degrees so that Sarah's feet and head were parallel to each other. Sarah then looked over to her feet. She did a few experimental wiggles, and her feet responded in kind. She clenched and unclenched her toes, and while she didn't see them, she felt them respond.



'Huh.' Was all Sarah thought to herself. Even with her powers that was all she could really say. Her powers were uncharacteristically silent. The audience was not and started to applaud rather enthusiastically. Rose was obviously startled by such enthusiastic applause. After getting over her shock she started to soak it in and bowed, taking off her top hat to do so.


"You're going to put me back together right?" Sarah quietly said to Rose as the applause slowly died down.


"Of course." Rose said as if offended. Actually somewhat offended that you'd think she would do such a thing as leave you like this.' Sarah sighed. As the applause died down Rose quickly rotated the tables back, not helping Sarah's nausea, and moved them back together. She then removed the blades separating the two halves of Sarah. Sarah let out a smaller gasp as she felt her two halves shift incrementally towards each other and connect. Rose then quickly undid all the latches and then moved to the front of the box and opened the top door; removing the stocks holding Sarah in the box. However before Sarah could begin to extract herself, Rose had already scooped her up in her arms.


"What are you doing!?" Sarah squeaked out, her face glowing bright red now. Rose blinked and then her face flushed as well.


"Sorry!" Rose squeaked out as well. "When I did this on myself I had some trouble standing afterwards…. Mainly because I got stuck in it for a couple of hours." Rose muttered to herself.


"Can you just put me down?" Sarah's face was not getting any less red.

"Yeah. Sorry!" Rose quickly muttered out as she put Sarah down a little too fast. Sarah nearly stumbled when set on the ground. Other than some minor cursing, her main focus was checking her waist to see if anything was, well different. Her probing hands and eyes found nothing out of place. No seam or cut. Not a thread out of place. In fact Sarah was pretty sure that her clothes were in slightly better condition than before she got in the box.


While this was going on Rose took off her hat and did a collection round. This time she was much more successful. She then made a point to step around the Enforcer. So did the rest of the crowd, seeing as everyone was at least a step or two away from him. Taylor did a small bow and then placed the top hat back on her head. Most of the crowd assumed that she had a well designed pocket as she had done that three times already with no sign of the money. Only Rose and Sarah knew the truth.


Sarah was brought out of her thoughts when Rose clapped her right hand on her shoulder.


"Let's have a round of applause for Lisa!" Rose shouted and dramatically threw her left hand out. The crowd was more than willing to comply, bursting into applause once more. While this was going on Sarah took the opportunity to lean into Rose's ear.


"I need your help." Sarah quickly whispered. Rose look a bit startled. Before she could say anything Sarah continued.


"You see that Enforcer? He's not an Enforcer. He's been stalking me for the last few hours. He nearly caught me already." She desperately whimpered. Rose glanced at the Enforcer. She would admit, even if only to herself, that he seemed to set off all sorts of warning bells. Then she took a look at his eyes. And sucked in a breath.


His eyes were full of nothing but hate. Just from looking into them for a moment she knew this man could kill her. Would kill her without the slightest bit of hesitation. She managed to suppress the shudder from the crawling sensation going down her spine.


"Please." Sarah quietly begged as the applause died down. Rose nodded. She couldn't let her assistant face whatever the man had in mind for her.


" I do have something." Rose continued, trying to act casual about the conversation. "I haven't had a chance to practice it, and I'm not sure how to restore you. So if you're willing-" She was cut off by Sarah.


"I already took a chance with you literally sawing me in half. I think I'll take a chance with you again over him." Sarah said with finality. Rose nodded again, and turned back to the crowd.


"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Rose boomed to the audience. "Lisa here has volunteered for another illusion!" She said in her best showman's voice. Sarah noted that the Enforcer's eyes hardened at that but he did nothing as the audience applauded again.


This line of thought was stopped by Rose gracefully picking up the red silk cloth from where she dropped it. A flourish for dramatic effect, a few seconds of the cloth floating, and a rapid pull to the side. In the place of the two boxes was instead what looked like a industrial hopper with a crank on the side and two giant rollers on the front. All of which was on a solid industrial steel table with wheels. Sarah gulped.


'In for a penny. In for a pound.' Sarah thought to herself as she steeled her resolve.


"Here's hoping." Rose said as she lead Sarah. Sarah could only nod, hoping that this wouldn't end how she feared. With a little boost from Rose, Sarah found herself sitting on the edge of the Hopper, her feet touching the two rollers.


"Now!" Rose went from concerned back to the tone of a practice showman. "Some of you may be wondering what this is! Well don't feel ashamed or anything of the sort! This little number is a more obscure magic trick! It's called 'The Wringer'!" Lisa gulped again at the name


"With this, the lovely assistant is placed into the illusion like so. Every Magician has their own style of the Wringer, as well as the method in which the assistant is placed into position but they all follow the same general rule. The Magician must make a big show of showing the audience that there was no room for the assistant to hide. Some lesser magicians don't, as their prop is far too large or fragile to move around too much or they just aren't all that good. But I like to think of myself as a high quality magician, with high quality props, so I have no such issue!" Rose exclaimed with a wink, briskly walking to the table to the laughter of the crowd. She made a big show of rotating the table to show that there were, in fact, no secret compartments. Sarah attempted to wave to the audience, playing up her role as the assistant. She felt that she at least added something to the presentation… it felt nice.


"Now!" Rose continued again, "that the Magician has proven that there is no place for the lovely assistant to hide!" Sarah actually felt herself blushing a little. Rose then went over to the crank on the side. And continued


"The Magician would then start to turn the crank, or wheel depending on the prop. This would cause the rollers to turn, which would cause the assistant to be forced through and flattened!" Rose exclaimed, emphasizing the crank with her hand. She then looked up at Sarah.


"Any pain whatsoever you scream okay?" Rose whispered. Sarah nodded and bit her lip. Rose then, with some hesitation, turned the crank.


"Whoof." Sarah rapidly let out a breath at the sensation. She glanced down and saw that her feet had now slipped between the rollers. She couldn't move her feet and seemed to have muted sensation in them. But she still felt them.


Sarah looked at Rose, gave a subtle nod, and mouthed 'Keep going.'. Rose nodded back and turned the crank again, dragging Sarah down into the rollers.


'This is perhaps the oddest experience of my life.' Sarah thought to herself as she watched herself slowly, and quite literally, be put through the wringer. Once it had gone up to her knees she experienced the very unique sensation of feeling herself waving in the sea breeze. Next she felt the air get forced out of her lungs as her Solar Plexus had been fed through the rollers. Not that it mattered much as her chest, and therefore lungs, entered into the rollers next. With a few more cranks Lisa felt the rollers touch her chin.


'This is it.' Was her final thought before two more cranks pushed her entirely through.


'Huh.' Was all Sarah could think. The state she found herself was a unique one. She was both aware and yet not. To say that she was in a dream like haze would be inaccurate but close enough. She stared unblinkingly into the Afternoon sky. Then she felt an upwards sensation and found herself staring unblinking to a somewhat stunned mass of people.


"The Audience' Sarah corrected herself mentally. Her tenuous grasp on that thought was interrupted by a loud sound.


"Another round of Applause for Lisa!" Rose shouted as she held up the now flattened form of Sarah, facing the crowd. The crowd snapped out of their stunned silence and started to applaud harder than they had before. Whistles and shouts came from the audience.


'I feel that I should take a bow.' Sarah thought to herself. And then mentally kicked herself for that. Not that she could do so physically. Any other admonishments of herself, by herself, were interrupted by the also unique sensation of being folded.


"Don't worry folks!" Rose cried out over the crowd. "Lisa is in good hands!" She said as she continued to fold Sarah like she was a piece of paper. Which she effectively was at this point.


"I just forgot my bicycle pump at home!" She claimed, much to the enjoyment and laughter on the crowd.


"I'll restore her back to normal later! So don't think that she'll be stuck like this!" She said, invoking even more laughter from the crowd.


'I hope.' Both Sarah and Rose thought to themselves.


Rose removed her top hat once more and held Sarah in front of it.


"I'm not sure how it will affect you but I've put a rabbit in there for awhile and it was fine. Confused but fine." Rose quietly said. Sarah wasn't in any condition to object and was quickly placed into the hat. Rose then flashed a hopefully convincing smile to the crowd and held out her hat for collections. This time the donations were much larger. Eventually the donations grew smaller and so too did the crowd. Rose quickly made her way back to the table and the Wringer. She grabbed the sign and Lisa's coat and placed them on the table. Before she could get any further in packing up a hand roughly landed on her shoulder.


"Miss. I'm going to have to ask you tell me where your volunteer is." A voice filled with barely contained anger and violence said behind her. Rose tried not to shudder at the sound. She broke contact and sat down on her table. Rather bit too quickly, but she really really wanted to but some distance between herself and him.


"I'm sorry but a Magician never reveals her secrets." She said confidently. Or at least tried to. The slight quiver in her voice gave her away. She actually did cringe when she saw the man smirk.


"Too bad." The man said. Rose glanced around for something, anything that she could use to get away, or stop him, or something! Thankfully she did see something. She subtly shifted her hand to grab it. Just in time too as the man stepped closer.


"So are we going to do this the easy way or the hard-" Anymore cliche threats were interrupted by a flutter of red cloth filling his vision. Once it subsided the man rolled his eyes.


"You really think that playing pillow fort is going to stop me?" He snarled at the sheet now covering Rose and the table. He could see her moving underneath it! He angrily grabbed the cloth and ripped it aside.


"What. The. Fuck." Was all he could say. The girl was gone. The table was gone. Everything was fucking gone! He wiped his head to the left and right. No sign whatsoever. He was the only person in that area of the Boardwalk. He made sure before he went up to the bitch!


"What the fuck!" He yelled stomping on the cloth in anger. The fucking boss was never going to believe this!


"WHAT THE FUCK!" He screamed into the sky


-----------------------------------------------


*CRASH* *BANG* *THUD* "Ow." The clatter and noise of various props and one very lucky Magician crashing to the floor filled the room. Rose slowly picked herself off the floor, cringing when a few parts of her moved the wrong way. She sucked in a breath when she put too much weight on her ankle but that quickly went away.


"Okay. For my first attempt at teleporting someone, that went rather well. And rushed even." Rose laughed, glad that she was alive, in one piece, and not at the tender mercies of some thug. She was so relieved that she got away that she nearly forgot something very important. Or someone.


"LISA!" Rose yelled out. She looked around desperately for her top hat that held her. And her money but that was a very distant secondary concern. Her eyes lit up as she saw it next to a toppled over sawing in half prop. She quickly walked over to the hat, and then winced as her foot collided with the Wringer prop.


"Shouldn't have made it out of solid steel." She hissed as she then hobbled over to the hat. And nearly tripped as the heel to her left shoe broke off.


"Stupid shoe!" She yelled as she kicked off the now broken shoe. She then hopped in place as she tried to remove the other one. She succeed in both removing it and not smashing into any of the other items strewn about the room in the process. After a brief moment to celebrate her small victory, Rose then lunged for the hat. Snatching it from the ground, she headed to the bed in the room and, after a few more dangerous steps, managed to reach it. With the arm not holding the top hat, she threw off the crumpled blanket and sheets. She then held the hat upside down and shake it vigorously. Various coins and dollar bills spilled out and went everywhere. A handful or two of rose petals spilled out and spread out across the room. A hairbrush fell on top of the pile of money.


"I wondered where that went." Rose muttered as she set it aside. More shaking resulted in nothing. Right as Rose was about to scream in terror and frustration, 'Lisa' unceremoniously fell out of the hat and laid crumbled up on the bed.


"Lisa!" Rose yelled, flinging the money off the bed, coins and bills scattering across the room. With a quick few hand motions, 'Lisa' was more or less straightened out on the bed. Her head was on the pillows and her feet were more or less pointed towards the end of the bed.


"Okay Lisa." Rose said, trying to get the girl's attention. While there was no change in on her face, Rose felt that she had "Lisa's' attention.


"Okay." She said, mostly to herself, as she grabbed the bed sheet off the floor.


"I don't actually need to get a bicycle pump. At least I hope not." She muttered. She then snapped back to attention.


"As I said I've never actually done this before and I'm not confident that I can restore you properly. But it's never let me down before. On the count of three I'm going to cover you and hopefully everything will work out fine." She explained rapidly, almost forgetting to breathe.


"One." She said as she took the bed sheet in both hands.


"Two." She raise the bed sheet up, sweat dripping down her back.


"Three!" She flung the sheet over 'Lisa'. She closed her eyes tight and ripped the sheet away from 'Lisa'. A loud, horrid, tearing sound filled the air.


"Oh no." Rose whimpered out. She kept her eyes screwed tight, not brave enough to see what nightmare had happened. So it was to her great surprise that she felt the sheet be tugged out of her hand and a familiar voice fill the room.


"B, B Plus I would say Rose." 'Lisa' said. "Presentation was good. You restored me perfectly. But my clothes….. Not so much." At that Rose peeked one eye open. Lisa was sitting on the edge of the bed, with a relieved smile on her face, and with the sheet wrapped around her preserving her modesty. Lying around her in a rough circle were various scraps of fabric that Rose recognized as her clothes. "You should pay more attention in class."


"You're alive!" Rose exclaimed, finally opening her eyes fully. 'Lisa' smiled even wider.


"Yes. Thanks to you. I had no idea what exactly that fake Enforcer was going to do to me when he caught up... but it would not have been pretty." 'Lisa' said with a large amount of gratitude. Rose said nothing but collapse onto the bed next to 'Lisa'. They sat in silence like that for a few minutes.


"Holy Shit." Rose eventually said. "That actually happened." She continued, flopping backwards onto the bed. 'Lisa' joined her.


"Yeah. That happened." She added in herself, still trying to comprehend everything. Not helping the matter was that her power had been uncharacteristically silent the entire time.


"Soooo….." Rose awkwardly said. "What was it like?" She asked.


"Being flattened or being in the hat?" 'Lisa' asked back.


"Both?" Rose awkwardly said.


"I don't remember being in the hat. At all. I was about to be put into the hat and then I was in a heap on your bed. As for being flattened…. The best I could describe is that I felt two dimensional. That's the best I can say." 'Lisa' explained.


"Huh." Rose said. They stared at the ceiling for a little while longer.


"Taylor" Rose eventually said.


"What?" 'Lisa' asked.


"My name. I'm not Rose. I'm just Taylor." Taylor explained.


"Well I'm not actually Lisa. I'm Sarah. I just gave you the first name that popped into my head. Being chased and all that." Sarah explained. Taylor just made a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement. They once more laid there in silence. Their minds trying to process the last few minutes.


"Where are we anyway?" Sarah eventually asked, looking around.


"My bedroom. It's uh… It's normally not nearly this messy but with everything that happened and all that." Taylor awkwardly trailed off. Sarah shrugged.


"You saved my life. I'm not going to judge you for that." She said simply. And then sat up, making sure to keep one hand on the bedsheet to protect her modesty.


"So where do we go from here?" Sarah asked simply. "I have no idea who that guy was and why he wanted me." She explained. She had a very likely idea why... but one thing at a time.


"Well you could stay here for awhile. I'll ask my dad. I mean with your help I made a lot more than I usually do. Not that I've done all that many shows... So money's not an issue " Taylor said, sitting up on the bed as well.


"Maybe you can buy me some clothes with that." Sarah said, playfully poking Taylor in the shoulder. Taylor laughed.


"Sure. I can buy some clothes. I did wreck yours." She said with a giggle.


"Maybe we could make this a thing. Rose and Lisa! Boardwalk Magicians! I would have to wear a mask to hide my identity." Taylor poked Sarah back.


"It's usually the Magician that wears the mask. Not the Assistant." She said with a giggle. The two of them started to giggle together. And the giggles then turned into full blown laughter as the stress of everything caught up with them. The laughter continued for a minute or two. However once the two of them had finished laughing they found themselves in a slightly compromising position.


Sarah's face was only inches away from Taylor's. The two of them felt each other's breath on their face. Almost simultaneously their faces started to turn red. They looked each other in the eyes. Neither one of them sure what the other wanted. Or even what they wanted.


Before the situation could go any further a knock at the door interrupted them.


"Hey Taylor. I didn't hear you come in. I thought you were still at the Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo..." Danny trailed off as he walked in. He quickly glanced from what his daughter was wearing, to the naked except for a bedsheet girl next to his daughter on the bed, to the rose petals scattered everywhere, to the various props scattered around the room, to how close their faces were.


"OKAY SORRY TO BOTHER YOU!" Danny quickly said and left, slamming the door behind him.


"DAD, NO! COME BACK! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! SARAH! STOP LAUGHING!" Taylor continued to scream for a while after that, all to the backdrop of Sarah's mad cackling.

 

[Prince Charon]

"OKAY SORRY TO BOTHER YOU!" Danny quickly said and left, slamming the door behind him.


"DAD, NO! COME BACK! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! SARAH! STOP LAUGHING!" Taylor continued to scream for a while after that, all to the backdrop of Sarah's mad cackling.

Click to shrink...

This is good, and I'd like to see more of it.