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Interest Check & Idea Thread

You're lying down. The cot hurts your back, but you've grown used to it over the several years you've had to deal with it. Outside the window across the room you can see the Brockton Bay skyline, and in the room you can see exactly 25 other children. In your hands is an old, battered leather diary. The words paint a fantastic tale.

Abstergo Industries was formed in 1937. During the following decades, controlling such innovators as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Alan Turing, they gained power throughout the world. In 1939 they used four puppets – Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin Roosevelt – to start the Second World War.

Or so says your father's diary.

He goes on to mention John F. Kennedy, Mahatma Gandhi, Jack Parsons, Mohammad Mosaddegh, Alan Turing, Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán, and many others as casualties of Abstergo and their secret masters, the Templars.

You read it all as a story. Abstergo is a huge company, and you know well the larger a company or government, the less secrets they can hold.

What you know about Abstergo is simple: they control most of the United States' medical industry. The appearance of Scion didn't harm their business at all. After Leviathan's appearance and the subsequent decline of overseas shipping, they created thousands of new jobs in Brockton Bay. Even with Amelia Casteli in the city they rely on science rather than superpowers to test their products.

The reason you're lying on a rather uncomfortable cot in a bare, off-white room reading your father's diary? Your parents are both dead. Your father six months before your birth, your mother a year after the same. You know she worked for Abstergo, which makes the diary even harder to believe.
It's this page that gives you pause.

"I went to the offices today. My sight painted a vivid picture.
All of my co-workers are stained the red of enemies. The pictures of me on the walls are the purple of notoriety-reduction. My boss is the gold of a target. What worries me most is that not one person shows the blue of a civilian.
I fear the Templars have finally taken notice of my operations. We may need to move again. With Leila pregnant, though, I believe the risks do not outweigh the benefits."
The entry dated three days before his death. The last entry.

Your father had the same sight you do. He even had meaning for the colors!

However, one glance at the clock breaks you from your excitement. It's nearly day already. You set the book back under your pillow and close your eyes. As you always have, right when dawn breaks outside you take a moment to reflect on who you are, how you act, and how you can improve yourself.
 
It got stuck in my head.

I'm still not entirely sure how.
 
I dig this idea, I dig it a lot ;)
 
Your head hurts. No, your whole body hurts, like you have just run ten miles and all your muscles are sore. You don't open your eyes. Instead, you keep your breathing steady and begin assessing your state and surroundings.

You are lying face-down on a hard surface, but the texture escapes you. A breeze runs down your naked body, indicating you are outside. Not the most normal of circumstances. But you can't feel any pains other than the whole body soreness. That's good. Then you check your memories...

Wait.

You check your memories.

Nothing.

Well, fuck.

You open your eyes to find yourself in a ratty little alley. It's night, but the temperature is fortunately warm. There's also nobody around you.

You get up silently. Then, you look down at your hands. They're albino white, and scaled. Your entire skin is scaly, like a snake's. Tiny scales, smooth to the touch, forming a continuous weave that keeps your heat inside but makes it harder for you to feel textures. Thankfully, you don't think it will affect your grip.

You also don't think, 100% sure really, that humans, which you are also somehow sure you are, are scaly.

You don't remember how you got here. Nor, for that matter, who you are. Or any details about you. Were you always like this? And all these other things you know. The methodical way you woke up, how you knew how running ten miles felt like, the fact that you know what an alley or a window are... How do you know that? Are they clues to your identity?

There's a window a little further away, so you approach it. There's no light from inside and the glass is clear, so it serves as a makeshift mirror. You notice immediately that your eyes are red. Albino then, scales or not. Your nose is flatter than it should be, you think, and your forehead has distinct wide scales. You inhale, the smells of the city suddenly clear to you. Disgusting. Then you, there's no other word for it, flick your tongue out. You can taste the air, like a snake or serpent, and the smells become easier to identify. Exhaust smoke, cigarette smoke, fried chicken. More things you know without knowing. The chicken smell makes your mouth water and you open it to see your teeth. All pointy, but solid, the canines veritable fangs.

Your body is lean. Thin, without a trace of fat. Everything else pure muscle. And on your chest, above your heart, something is tattooed onto your scales. A shape between a U and a C, blocky and black.

That, you are sure, must mean something.

In the meanwhile, you try to remember who you are. Your reflection makes you reasonably sure you are an adult, but between 25 and 45 doesn't give much more of a clue as to who you are. You run down the letters of the alphabet and numbers until 100. No numbers jump out to you, but the 'ke' sound is familiar somehow. So is the 's' sound, but that may be because of the way it insists on leaving your mouth like a hiss.

As you continue your mental exertion to the point where you fear you'll have a headache, you become aware of a strange... pressure, inside your mind. Not the head, but your very thoughts. Like a switch.

You press on it.

And the world splits. There are two of you, on two identical worlds. And you, you are above it, being those two you and not at the same time.

A you remains static, judging the situation. The other you, you decide to have take a step back. Then you fumble for the mental switch and, pressing it again, you find yourself having to chose one of the yous before things just collapse. You decide to remain in place. And then you find yourself being you again, in the same place as before, but knowing exactly what it was like to take a step backwards.

That was something.

The pressure is back in your head and you check if you can use your ability again. You can, one of you taking a couple of steps before you collapse the you that stayed behind. The pressure returns. It is still the same, no indication of growing uncomfortable or diminishing. Just there.

Well, so. Now what?

COIL 53
THE QUEST

[_] What do you mean, you aren't going to write this!?
[_] What do you mean, you already have too much on your plate!?
[_] What do you mean, this is an idea thread so you're perfectly allowed to post ideas you won't use!?
[_] WRITE IT!!
 
... Huh. It'd be pretty interesting to see how you structure a quest around Coil's power at least.

I kinda want to see a heroic Coil in any case.
 
[X] What do you mean, you aren't going to write this!?
Please do write it.
 
I'm not sure i could pull it off but i got an idea for a Venture Brother's quest where you take control of Gary/21 just after Gathers becomes the leader of OSI. from there you could try to do his "build SPHINX into an anti evil Scientist group" plan or go a different path.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46tS09yBc9I for BGM.

///

You just had to kick it.

"Milady Zelda, war has been declared!" The princess' aide hands her a sheaf of documents.

"...I'm sorry, but I don't understand." She replies, looking at the formal written declaration. Considering that she's got the Triforce of Wisdom, that's saying something. Her aide flounders with words for a moment, before sighing.

"I don't either, to be honest."

You knew, didn't you? Navi had warned you, Malon told you what would happen.

"They're coming! They're coming!"

Overlooking the walls, General Russell motions for one of his men to tend to the madman. "Must be touched in the head. Take him to a doctor... Yes, soldier?"

"Sir... you might want to take a look at this."

"Great Mother of Hyrule..."

You didn't listen. You dismissed it as the superstitions of the fairy and the uneducated. You thought that they couldn't possibly pose a threat.

You were wrong.

Ducking past a flyer, you parry a grounded as you charge, pushing the force towards the gate. Your shield cracks from the impact; You'll have to visit the forest at some point to renew the enchantments. At this rate, it's going to break before long. Your sword, too, is showing signs of heavy wear. It's a Kokiri blade, after all, not your trusty Master Sword, with protection against damage and corrosion.

Coordinating with the spearman to your right, you press forward, occasionally throwing a Deku Nut whenever too many of the enemy got clustered in one place. Your gear wasn't much use here. Bombs would only damage the defenses, and you don't have the luxury of standing still to target with either the boomerang or the slingshot. Without Navi to aid your aiming, it's just not something you can do quickly enough to be effective.

But, of course, as always, experience, equipment, and home-field advantage triumph over numbers, and the tide has turned. The white sea is being pushed back, back, into the moat and beyond.

You and the rest of the soldiers have time to rest now. Night is coming, and the enemy will rest, rather than face the evil creatures that inhabit the Field after dark.

A quick rally later, and there wasn't a single enemy left on your side of the gate. As usual, there's debate whether or not it's worth it to raise the drawbridge, and as usual, the pressing need to gather resources takes priority over the added safety. The bridge stays down, and the first of tonight's many hunting/gathering parties organizes itself. You've joined a few of them, but your skills are wasted there.

For that matter, your skills are wasted in Castle Town. Period. This city can defend itself well enough, it's places like Kakariko and Lon Lon Ranch that need the help.

But to get there... you'll have to brave the white and orange sea. The Cuckoopocalypse. Without your fairy to help, or your bow, or your hookshot, or any of the neat toys you amassed on your journey and subsequently lost to time's reversal.

Sigh.

Cuckoopocalpyse. What a stupid name.

///

One of two Zelda Ideas I've got rolling around in my head. What do you think?
 
@DuskAtDawn: The idea is interesting, though I don't really have much experience with Legend of Zelda.

So, throwing out ideas for People.

I was thinking, has there ever been a Dungeon Keeper RPG? Basically, all Players are given the Dungeon Keeper Ami Treatment, dropped into the middle of an empty Dungeon with only one room and then left to their devices. Maybe the Players meet with each other, maybe as allies or enemies? Maybe it could be as SI with you having no Special powers, but having a good deal of knowledge and potential to learn the local magic. Maybe you could Chose a setting and get a random character? Or just chose a character, and get fused with him or her. This could have the potential for Drama if memories and stuff are mixed together. Especially if the character in question is a villain.

Alternatively, if this has gotten old, maybe something set in Disgaea? The People there are 4th wall Aware, so Antics are quite possible.
 
Heaven Canceler said:
@DuskAtDawn: The idea is interesting, though I don't really have much experience with Legend of Zelda.

So, throwing out ideas for People.

I was thinking, has there ever been a Dungeon Keeper RPG? Basically, all Players are given the Dungeon Keeper Ami Treatment, dropped into the middle of an empty Dungeon with only one room and then left to their devices. Maybe the Players meet with each other, maybe as allies or enemies? Maybe it could be as SI with you having no Special powers, but having a good deal of knowledge and potential to learn the local magic. Maybe you could Chose a setting and get a random character? Or just chose a character, and get fused with him or her. This could have the potential for Drama if memories and stuff are mixed together. Especially if the character in question is a villain.

Alternatively, if this has gotten old, maybe something set in Disgaea? The People there are 4th wall Aware, so Antics are quite possible.

Actually, there IS a Dungeon Keeper RPG... where the players play minions.

The bii plays a Dark Mistress. :>
 
Through the Eyes of an Otaku.

///

Kamijou Touma is a Protagonist. That much you're sure of; he's got the girls flocking to him, the stupid air of obliviousness, the distinct aura of importance - all marks of the center of a story. Rom-Com, if you're not mistaken, though as much as he gets himself hurt, he could be in a Action/Adventure, as well.

The story you're a part of, and the one he manages to drag everyone from Iron-Wall Fukiyose to complete strangers like that Shrine Maiden into. You can't begrudge him his story; in it, you're just a supporting character, the idiot friend.

Just like he is in yours.

Of course, you have to play your role. It's only expected; you're not some unimportant NPC there only to dispense dialogue, you're a genuine character, there to back him up, to 'support' him, and to get unimaginably angry when you see him wasting the god-given gift he has.

All those girls...

Anyways, that's just his story. Tsuchimikado, too, is a supporting character in it, though unlike you, your other friend doesn't seem to have a story of his own. If you had to classify that guy...

Fake. Posing as an Otaku... you're not sure why someone would do such a thing, much less do so poorly. To think, a Fake Otaku, unable to even answer such a simple question! Every Otaku knows that Feather♪Moon's true identity is Ran! Who was this Usagi, anyways?

Well, whatever. He has his role to play, as well.

Then, there's Fukiyose, Himegami, Maika, and Komoe-sensei.

Fukiyose was pretty easy to identify. Class Rep. Even if you're technically the class representative, she fits that position so well, nicknamed 'Iron Wall Fukiyose' for her unyielding adherence to the rules and social norms. Following the standard formula, she'd probably be a Tsundere, but you'll believe that when you see it. She isn't the type to show her dere-dere to anyone, even her OTP.

Himegami is the Shrine Maiden. She's also a Kuudere, you're pretty sure, though she's fairly bland as a character, to the point that even you occasionally forget she's there. There's... actually not much to say about her, which is bizarre, since she's a Transfer Student, and she showed up in her work uniform. That, in itself, is odd.

Little-Sis Maika, on the other hand... so much to say about her. But the story she's a part of is one you're not involved in, so best to leave it at that. Much as you'd like to make moves on a genuine maid, you need to keep your affections away from her; Tsuchimikado would skin you alive, and you're not sure you can take him in Big-Bro mode.

Finally, there's Komoe-sensei. She's Loli. And Moe.

And she's crying right now, because some bastard of a private-school teacher decided to pick on her.

This is unacceptable. Together, alongside the Protagonist, the Fake, and all the unimportant Extras, you were going to wipe the the tears off that adorable face. You swear it, on your story and role.

[] Pick your role. (Write-in.)
[] Pick your genre. (Write-in.)

///

I like Pierce. He's an interesting character to play with. I also like the Daihaseisai arc.
 
[X] 'Secret Villian'
[X] Horror Movie

I liked that one GB fic, what can I say.
 
Here's an old idea I've been thinking about again recently.

To quote from when I last brought it up (Elsewhere)...

Here's a random idea I've been pondering off and on for the past year or so.

It's called Space Wizards.

You see, in science's endless poking at the universe they found... Well, you can basically sum it up by understanding that sometime last month someone marched out of CERN wearing their labcoat over a wizard's robe and announced that it turns out magic is real.

Not only that, but it seems they also just posted the basics they found on how to use the stuff up on the internet, open source, and here's the address.

This caused some chaos of course, but you? You have a bigger dream. You dream.. of space. And you've taken a look at this 'how to do magic' stuff, and it makes sense to you. In fact, you could well say that you're a wizard. Or at least as close as anyone else is to being that right now. And being a wizard, you intend on using the magic to achieve your dream. And that's why you just registered yourself as a Space Agency...

Or, in other words, each player is leading a magical space agency for hire. Magic system would be somewhat open, as one of the points is to see what fun ideas people come up with, but random bullshit for the sake of bullshit is not invited. (And I do have an actual basic framework in mind. Feel free to try to figure it out in game..) Invent oxen powered space elevators, teleporting crystal spheres with magic lasers, sailing ships that ride the solar wind armed with homing fireball launching cannons, or perhaps breed psionic space whales to ride on...

Different countries will, of course, have their own interests and offer contracts in exchange for stuff, so you get to decide who to buddy up to and who to annoy by giving their rivals the death rays and Mars colony stations. Of course, perhaps you don't want to give the EU a half dozen super battlecruisers when they've been making noise about policing you all and actually having someone with authority up in space. And in the long run, how bound to earth do you have to be? I'm sure there's at least one person around who will be planning a new Martian Empire, complete with Tripods...

Anyone interested?

For further information, since this has me thinking about it again, the first thing I would ask players for is their paradigm.

Now, I'm not insisting that you write me an entire self consistent magical system, but I do want to know how your character approaches/uses magic, because that is what makes you as a faction unique and different then everyone else, as well as telling me what I should let you get away with. (Though of course, good arguments are always heavy weights on the scales.)

For example, I mentioned psionic space whales. Let's take a paradigm that could make those.

Random Player X uses the... let's call it 'Druidic Oversoul' paradigm. His or her character believes that all life is connected, in meditation and harmony with nature. He harnesses this deep connection with all living things to call upon the aggregated power of the entire ecosystem to achieve miracles with a trained will to focus it, and believes that all other living things can do the same.

So his system obviously uses living things to do magic, because only things can draw upon this deep connection. So you get whales, mutated and trained to call upon this power to swim among the stars instead of the waves, to amplify their sonar with their wills until it reaches from sound to gravity, forming a powerful sensor ability or focused to deliver shatter gravitic blasts. They use the power of their wills to twist space with awesomely powerful telekinesis to achieve superluminal travel, and tow cargo in telekinetically anchored containers. Perhaps they are specially evolved to have crews, or cyborgs.

Of course, obviously this paradigm could do a lot more things then space whales, like giant mutant coral passenger liners that ride the tides of solar wind and happen to use luminosity for self defense lasers.

But the paradigm still tells me the basics of how a player is going to play the game, and making everyone take their own (Or at least insisting that if people take similar ones they don't just copy each other.) makes sure that everyone is doing cool and unique stuff.

Because while that bio-paradigm is fun, with it's mutant teleporting giant wasps being based off of a symbiotic space tree for a carrier, it's still highly different then the paragram that summons elemental spirits, making giant flying submarines that swim through the elemental plane of water to take shortcuts in a realm where the speed of light can be sidestepped, which fires 'torpedoes' made from summoned and bound fire elementals, and with a protective sheath of lightning spirits serving as a close in point defense network.

(Hopefully people can see here how I took the 'Druidic Oversoul' paradigm and made three different ways people could make stuff from it... all from extrapolating from a single paragraph of how the magic worked for that player. You won't need an essay for paradigm, ideally, just a fair sized paragraph that gives you room to use your imagination)

If I actually ran this, would anyone be interested?
 
Happerry said:
Here's an old idea I've been thinking about again recently.

To quote from when I last brought it up (Elsewhere)...

If I actually ran this, would anyone be interested?

Count Rein in! *Chews on Happ*
 
Happerry said:
Here's an old idea I've been thinking about again recently.

To quote from when I last brought it up (Elsewhere)...

If I actually ran this, would anyone be interested?
Hora? Hora!
I'm in!
 
Happerry said:
Here's an old idea I've been thinking about again recently.

To quote from when I last brought it up (Elsewhere)...

If I actually ran this, would anyone be interested?

This seems interesting. Count me in.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
For those interested in wizards in space, the first question you should ask yourself is 'What paradigm do I want my faction to use?'

Feel free to catch me on IRC to talk about it.
 
DuskAtDawn said:
Finally, there's Komoe-sensei. She's Loli. And Moe.

And she's crying right now, because some bastard of a private-school teacher decided to pick on her.

This is unacceptable. Together, alongside the Protagonist, the Fake, and all the unimportant Extras, you were going to wipe the the tears off that adorable face. You swear it, on your story and role.

[] Pick your role. (Write-in.)
[] Pick your genre. (Write-in.)

///

I like Pierce. He's an interesting character to play with. I also like the Daihaseisai arc.

Okay, this is hilarious. I really want to see this now.

Though private School... I thought everything inside there belongs to Aleister. Of course it could be a front.

Vindictus said:
[X] 'Secret Villian'
[X] Horror Movie

I liked that one GB fic, what can I say.

That only worked so good because Medaka was a bastard I think. Kamijou is pretty much a saint. He was willing to kill himself for the happiness of the world and it took a pep talk to make him go another direction. Jesus and Buddha would say that he deserves a break.

The secret villain Thing sounds interesting though. How about this.

[X] Roll: Bonus Boss
[X] Genre: Henshin Heroes and Villains (Magical Girl, Sentai etc...)
 
Happerry said:
Here's an old idea I've been thinking about again recently.

To quote from when I last brought it up (Elsewhere)...

If I actually ran this, would anyone be interested?
It's certainly got potential. I'd need to think about what kind of magic paradigm would be really useful in space...

Technopathy is a good standby, of course, or perhaps a literal Overmind (telepathy, sharing of skills among members)... cloning for doing scutwork...

Edit: Wait, no, I'd have to go with 'Animate Object'. Hogwarts the Castleship.
 
[X] Roll: Bonus Boss
[X] Genre: Henshin Heroes and Villains (Magical Girl, Sentai etc...)
 
[X] Roll: Bonus Boss
[X] Genre: Henshin Heroes and Villains (Magical Girl, Sentai etc...)
 

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