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Author Topic: Ascent. [SG] <On Hiatus>  (Read 5422 times)

MidnightJaguar

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #15 on: June 26, 2021, 02:04:58 am »

Despite my better instincts I want to see Dev write a high-cha seduction char.

Stealth (Thievery's a good living, mate)
Seduction

Writing our capitalist manifesto

Border regions
Comfortable

+1 this rather than my suggestion

+1

+1
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Quote
23:31:46 <pancaeks> "Today on mystery science with the eggheads: we created these sentient crystal people, now we're going to find out if they explode!"

MainPiston: Epilogue.

Devastator

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #16 on: June 26, 2021, 08:42:11 pm »

Spoiler: Winning Vote (click to show/hide)

♪ Brrrrrr ♫

Your alarm clock goes off, waking you from your dreams.  You toss and turn for a bit, but you cannot ignore the loud dinging for long, reaching over and turning it off.

A quick yawn and a stretch later, and it's time to get ready for the day, despite how odd you feel.  Things aren't quite right, as you run your hand through your hair, but you can't yet place it.  It's not cold, it isn't hot, you aren't that tired..  ahh, well, it'll come to you later.

You hop down from your bed, grab a towel, and head for the showers, hoping the water is hot and not lukewarm, like usual.  Today, you're mostly in luck, as it stays at least somewhat hot, beginning to end.  A brief bit of toweling later, and it's time to start getting dressed.

You throw on some clothes and head back to the mirror, but here's where things are getting weird.  You can't really see yourself properly, like your eyes are still full of soap, or as if you spent all last night staring at a sheet of paper.. but no, you didn't do that yesterday, you got enough sleep, you shouldn't feel like that.  But you still can't focus properly.

Mmm, no time to examine it now, just run with it.  Hopefully you don't have brain damage, but the rest of the room seems normal enough.. you can see other things okay, just not the mirror.  You set your face and try to make yourself up by memory, expecting you'll have to fix it when your eyes start working.  Then leave, to get your stuff for school and make sure you're clothes aren't backwards or something.

..but when you leave, everything is fine.  Your clothing is perfect, which is odd because you spent like fifteen seconds putting it on.  Stumbling back towards the mirror, your face is also perfect, like you're ready for a night out, not like you've spent twenty seconds on it after leaving the shower.

Right.  That's.. Right.  You'll think about that later.  Maybe you lost time or something.  At that, you check your clock, and no, you barely spent enough time in there to shower.

..Did you spend enough time in there?  Maybe the hot water didn't run out because you somehow showered in one minute or something?

At that thought, you sniff.  No.. you don't smell bad.  Looking at the clock again, it wasn't that quick. but you're like waaay ahead of schedule.  And you still feel somewhat weird.

Nevermind.  At least you have actual time for breakfast for once, even if it's just a few pieces of toast.  And, even more rarely, you're out of your room before Dad heads off for his bus.  "Morning Kitten", he says, as if you were still a kid, but he's smiling as he says it.

You quickly ask him if you look odd today.  He looks over you for a moment, but in the end only says "Just my beautiful daughter, all ready for another day at school." before making his goodbyes and exiting the main room.

Mmm.  You know Mom won't be up for a while, working afternoons.  She'll be grumpy if you wake her up over nothing.  You still do feel strange, as if you're wearing gloves or...  you rub your fingers together.. no, there's no slime or mud or anything on your hands.  Ahh, hopefully it'll go away or you'll figure it out.  Or one of your friends will see it.



You were very distracted this morning, apparently, as you somehow forgot the season.  It's late autumn, and the gritty wind is blowing dust in from the desert.  And the bus stop is upwind from here, so you have to walk all the way there against the dust and sand.

..but, nevertheless, you grit through it easily.  Normally you're coughing and choking on this all the way, but today you just clamp your mouth shut and breathe through your nose.  This whole experience doesn't even feel half-bad, really, almost exhilarating.  You even run the last bit of the way, balancing against the wind, dust grains raining off your face like warm snowflakes.  You laugh for just a moment, but the dirt taste reminds you that was a bad move.

This is odd, but you can't really complain about it, however weird this morning has been.  And you're unsurprisingly the first one at the bus stop.. nobody would want to come here too early, unless something strange is going on.

Do you do anything else while waiting for the bus?  For the moment, there is nobody else in sight.  You have all your books with you, and you're wearing your normal school clothing.
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A_Curious_Cat

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #17 on: June 27, 2021, 12:56:11 am »

Start plotting to steal King Zultan’s crown.
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19_EgarAlnis

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #18 on: June 27, 2021, 01:06:56 am »

Do we have a personal communication device? Like a cellphone? If so, check and see if we have a bank account.
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Egan_BW

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #19 on: June 27, 2021, 01:48:25 am »

Hum, there's nothing do to, really. Let's check out our books. Surely there's something mildly interesting in there?
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I would starve tomorrow if I could eat the world today.

King Zultan

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #20 on: June 27, 2021, 03:00:33 am »

Start plotting to steal King Zultan’s crown.
-1 Do not steal my crown.

Let us eat our books as that is how we learn things.
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

Devastator

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #21 on: June 28, 2021, 11:56:42 pm »

Do we have a personal communication device? Like a cellphone? If so, check and see if we have a bank account.

Communications device... well, you have paper and pencils.  As for a bank account, you don't know what one of them is.  Money?  You don't have any money either.

You have something far more useful.  You have almost three packages of smuggled Union cigarettes.  Much better than money.  Even better, people know you're good for them, so you don't have to carry them around with you to barter with your schoolmates.

As for your books.. they're frightfully tedious, but you pull them out anyway.  Your mettalurgy textbook, your history textbook, your math textbook.. flipping through them a bit, you find them slightly less dull than you remember.  Still nothing worth learning, but you're not having trouble keeping them in front of your eyes.

..Still, your mind wanders.  You should consume your books, instead of having to read them in such a boring way.  You should have a crown, despite there being no kings for almost sixty years now.

..you shake off these stray thoughts.  I mean, it'd be nice to not have to read things?  But that isn't how it works.  Anyway, while you were revelling, your fellow students have began arriving, standing around in silence, sliding in behind you.  There's Dora, John, Gorse, Bellan, Morgan, Castia.. all lined up behind you, until Grigor comes and stands in front, using his huge body as a much-needed windbreak.  It might not be bothering you as much as it should, but it is still a relief.

The bus trip is normal enough.  You bump a lone kid out of your favorite bench, three back from the front, and a quick glance at Castia brings her over to share the seat with you.  She chatters excitedly about the future and the last year of school, but you're still too distracted by your strange feelings this morning to properly take part in the conversation.  You still feel odd.  After a while, you look at her and ask her if she sees anything unusual about you.

(Castia's Intuition vs Challenging. 1d6, 3, vs 6.) Failure.

"Did you get a haircut?  Looks good."

Anyway.. you're almost at school.  What do you do today?  It's probably a bad idea to try out any weird dressing powers in public.  Well, unless you can somehow change clothing fast enough so it'd be invisible to the naked eye.  That would be cool.  But you'll try that one out at home.

Attend class normally, don't do anything special.  Maybe you're just imagining this.

Try to figure out more about your inexplicable toughness.

Sneak around and try to find something less boring to do.

Get some more work down on your writing projects.

Something else.  (Write-in.)
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syvarris

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #22 on: June 29, 2021, 02:29:48 am »

Sneak around!  We should pay close attention to our body while we do, see if we feel more precise or aware or something, too.  Maybe we've just grown up some mord, and the feeling of toughness is just from that?

King Zultan

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #23 on: June 29, 2021, 03:14:56 am »

Sneak around!  We should pay close attention to our body while we do, see if we feel more precise or aware or something, too.  Maybe we've just grown up some mord, and the feeling of toughness is just from that?
+1
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

Devastator

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #24 on: July 01, 2021, 01:59:52 am »

Sneak around!

(Sneak vs Challenging. Speed + 2d6 for Sneak skill. 0+9 vs 6, success.)
(Sneak vs Hard. Speed + 2d6. 0+10 vs 10, success.)

This being your final year, about a third of the students have extracurricular activities that aren't on the usual schedule.  This would be the student athletes, or the gifted students, or those who have family in the Party, and can get their kids out of schooling they'll never need.

As for yourself, your writing isn't considered good enough to get you out of school, but your popularity grants you a second possibility.. you know that you're in consideration for a position as a radio caster or member of the press.  It's not the most appealing thing, as half the time you'd be there to be eye-candy, but it still would be much better than getting thrown in the infantry, or made to drive trucks across country for years on end.  And you would at least get to see the country, instead of getting stuck in an outpost somewhere for years.

However, your teachers probably don't know your exact status, and with the right words, you get out between second and third periods, picking a time when the school monitor is usually going for his early lunch.

With that, you slip away, and have free run of the school.

Quote
We should pay close attention to our body while we do, see if we feel more precise or aware or something, too.  Maybe we've just grown up some mord, and the feeling of toughness is just from that?

Mmm, probably should try to figure out what's up with this odd feeling of yours.  Did something change about you?  I mean, you couldn't get a good look at yourself in the mirror.  Which really should have been more disturbing than it was.  You also don't feel any faster or more skilled.. but there is one thing.

(Processing vs Trivial.  1d6 vs 2, 4. Success.)

You can remember your thought proccess when you planned this out.  You can explain what lies you told your teacher, and what effect you intended to accomplish with that.  You can plot out your movements through the hallways to minimize your exposure, while maximizing your opportunities to explain yourself if you were caught.  You aren't better at sneaking, but you feel you understand it better, and could perhaps teach others.

..And yesterday you couldn't really do that, you'd have just shrugged your shoulders and been all vague.  That's another new thing.

..You need to get to a mirror.

The washrooms aren't safe enough, someone might walk in.  But there's one in the first aid room.  Well, nurse's office, when there was a nurse.  You go in there, turn on the light, and look in the mirror.

(Mind vs Challenging. 2 (Mind 1) + 1d6 vs 6. 2+5, 7. Success)

Your eyes want to fog up, drift away, glide over.  For a moment you look good.. all flawless, ready, and normal.  But you know that isn't right, and you won't let your eyes lie to you.  Again, this time seriously.

You look ragged, like you've been blown at by the wind.  Not weird, per se, just like you should look, after a hurried morning and a walk through the harsh wind.  And your skin is a little bit different.  You pinch your own cheek, and it finally comes to you.  It's thicker.  Your skin is thicker than it was yesterday.  And are you different in any other way?  Now that you're finally seeing yourself clearly.. you're not 100% sure.  Your clothing seems to fit the same, although..

(Intuition vs Challenging. 0 + 1d6 vs 6. 1. Failure.)

No.. must have been nothing.

What next?  Are you going to go back to class, or are you going to use this opportunity for somehing else, in the school or outside of it?

Spoiler: Stats (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Skills (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: July 01, 2021, 02:09:16 am by Devastator »
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King Zultan

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #25 on: July 01, 2021, 03:49:43 am »

Lets search the nurses office for stuff we can steal, then I guess we should go back to class.
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
Quote from: Leodanny
Can I have the sword when you’re done?

VoidSlayer

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #26 on: July 01, 2021, 03:42:37 pm »

Maybe meet up and talk to some friends or acquaintances before heading back to class?  Might be able to trade for some nice things since we have a wealth of cigarettes right now or just socialize.

19_EgarAlnis

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #28 on: July 02, 2021, 11:08:14 pm »

Lets search the nurses office for stuff we can steal, then I guess we should go back to class.

+1
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Devastator

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Re: Ascent. [SG]
« Reply #29 on: July 05, 2021, 01:19:19 am »

Lets search the nurses office for stuff we can steal, then I guess we should go back to class.

Looking around, there's nothing in here.  Just a metal sink, a mirror, and a counterweight scale.  Can't really take any of them, at least, not on a whim.

(Charm, Inspiration + 2d6. vs Hard, 4+2d6, 4+11 vs 10, success)

Heading back through the empty hallways, you rejoin your next class, as if you were on some legitimate errand.  The class does look up as you enter, and the lecture stops, everyone staring at you.. but there's no rejoinder only a moment of greeting and a rare smile from the teacher, as you re-take your seat.

(Charm. 4+2d6, 4+10. 14)

Lunch continues the theme of the day being weirdness.  After you sit down and claim your bench seat, Aiden brings over a tray full of food, saving you the trouble of waiting in line.  That's never happened before.  As you start questioning him, he almost bolts away stuttering and goes to get his own.

Your friends more or less press you to your seat, and you have a enjoyable conversation with them, talking about the future and how things are shaking out with some of the clubs, such as the sports team, the chess group, and the literature group you belong to.  It seems some of the books you applied to recieve have actually arrived, which is a bit of a surprise.. they usually don't approve foreign literature, but that is exciting.

Though the strangeness doesn't end.  People keep filing in and out of the bench seat across from you.  Millie, Dello, Dora.. it's like they're switching off the privilege of talking to you, so everyone gets a chance.  Very strange.

(Empathy, 2+1d6 vs Challenging, 2+4 vs 6) success.

..No, it's not them trading away the privilege.  You catch a flush cheek, a bit of nervousness, a hurried apology..  It's like sitting next to you is some kind of thrilling experience, and they can only handle it so much.

The string of people continues, with a couple asking you where you snuck off to, and if Ivan, the monitor gave you any trouble.  You keep it a bit vague but do let people know you got past him.  Another day that'd spark a reaction, but today people are just taking that in stride.  Of course you got past Ivan, he's only Ivan.  And the scariest person you know, really.

(Stealth, 0+2d6 vs Moderate, 5 vs 8) partial failure.

At the end of the period, your last.. attendant, is someone you don't usually talk to.  Dane, who is someone a bit on the dodgy side, sidles over and asks if you're interested in something fun on Thursday, two days from now.  You're certainly curious, but it could be anything, and the bell is about to ring.

What do you say?
« Last Edit: November 20, 2021, 01:41:05 am by Devastator »
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