Log - October 2025
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Previous event: Test Drive Meme - September 2025. Next event: Test Drive Meme - November 2025.
The Main Event event on 2025 October 4 posted here. This was the event for October 2025.
FAQ Pages
[edit source]Full questions here
Event headings
[edit source]I. CORRECTIVE PROCEDURE
[edit | edit source]NOTHING BEATS A JET2 HOLIDAY
[edit | edit source]A. THE ACCOMMODATIONS
[edit | edit source]B. STRESS IMPRINTS
[edit | edit source]C. SPECIALIZED TESTING
[edit | edit source]SPECTRAL. TERRA. GOLEM. GLIRE. CEPHALOPODA.
[edit | edit source]CARNIVORA. AVES. ARTHROPODA. RUMINANTIA. REPTILIA.
[edit | edit source]MEANWHILE, IN KARTERIA...
[edit | edit source]D. CAUSING A SCENE
[edit | edit source]E. ASCEND & DESCEND
[edit | edit source]F. TO SLEEP, TO DREAM
[edit | edit source]II. FEAST OR FAMINE
[edit | edit source]A. TROUBLE UNDERGROUND
[edit | edit source]B. ON BEHALF OF THE FORSAKEN
[edit | edit source]III. THE VELVET CLAW (OCTOBER EDITION)
[edit | edit source]TWELFTH STAR KNICKKNACKS
[edit | edit source]ACCESSIBILITY CONCERNS
[edit | edit source]YOUVE RECEIVED A NEW QUEST !
[edit | edit source]
FAQ Questions
[edit source]| Information | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| #1
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-12-26 |
Hello hello i am back again 2 months later to say that the consequences of this (ankle monitor) have been very fun to play with and have also been (to his chagrin) inducing some character growth in Eli! He is truly learning to regulate his emotions the extremely hard way... However, there's a bit of planned drama coming up that will certainly induce some strong emotions in Eli, but I don't feel that him passing out in the middle of it would be narratively satisfying... I'm thinking maybe he goes to patho-gen and grovels at some point in December, because he wants to get a job. He swears he's been good (he hasn't- he and Cassius tormented the Patho-Gen staff member doing community service, but I'm not sure if they'd be able to find that out... Maybe if the guy complains... If he's still alive to complain). Alternatively, perhaps the anklet could malfunction? I want to give him a bit of freedom in this little sequence of events to be his melodramatic self, and once he loses Bricks he's going to go batshit insane and do some Bad Things, which I will post to reputation and can definitely be punished/re-ankleted for after. |
Oh, yes- the ankle monitor wasn't intended to be a permanent penalty on characters at all! (Of course, should a character be a repeat offender in the same violent directions, it's possible to be reapplied as penalty, but that in itself requires them to be free of it for a time, so that Crimes may occur.) After two months of (forced) compliance, it would be safe to assume that Eli could have had his monitor officially removed! So it shouldn't get in the way of his freedom to go wild, have some bad times. |
| #2
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-27 |
howdyyy dropping this here so I can link it around when it's through, it's about pal going to meet with "anon"-- basically, was wondering if we could do a little handwave of how that exchange will go! pal of course does not lie, so he will be incredibly up front about what he remembers from being in the horrors; he won't diminish to protect anyone's feelings, but he also won't embellish just for dramatic effect. while he wouldn't share anyone else's presence/experience by name, from his own jaunt in the horrors he will at least tell her: -the conditions and look of the place -the content of the imprinting experiment -the specialized power testing rooms, incl. about the angry augmented bone full of spite he got to touch -the inhumane treatment overall re: food and so on -the katalyth room/he will let her look at his corruption eyes if she keeps a polite distance so re: the handwave, things I would love to know are: -what's her vibe...how's her response -does she have any other illicit information she'd slip him, on purpose or otherwise -if he bothers her about who she's taking this to specifically, like for names, will she cough them up and because he will Insist she Put His Name On It -will there be any other npc response to pal about this, friendly or un. I'm going to slap the network thread on the reputation reporting eventually, so if that would come up then, please feel free to shuffle me off that way I FORGOT ALSO....... would she meet with him like, day of the network post, or Another Date-- Edited 2025-10-24 11:07 am (local)
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A handwave would be fantastic. It would keep things from getting messy..... especially since there will be Others Potentially Present. Celia will be by herself. There's very clearly an unease to her because welp this whole post was a lot, but she is not willing to relent due to discomfort. She's gotta know about Patho-Gen's crimes. That said, she will remain as polite and accommodating as possible. Pal's refusal for of her aid during their conversation has made her very wary of overstepping, so she won't ask to poke around unless sincerely offered. Even then, re: his special eyes, she will only look and jot down notes; she offers that her field of expertise isn't whatever this is, but that it should be accounted for as a side-effect of the way Patho-Gen's treated him. There's no desire on her part to hungrily Learn Science from his condition. ... All to say that she appreciates this digest. (Sorry for the length... Celia wants to be OPEN, as much as possible.) She dutifully takes notes. She needs to know these things, and will be presenting it to a collaborative group of government and Patho-Gen officials; she proposes further that an oversight must be made to see to the ethical concerns not only of Augmented Ones, but of Karterian citizens. If Augmented Ones have suffered so, what of their own citizens? She doesn't think that it's only the Augmented who have suffered, but rather, that they've been the only one who could survive to have a voice about it.
1. Celia has noticed a pattern amongst some of her colleagues. While most are focused on understanding the nature of Katalyth, or helping to cure arcane radiation poisoning, or doing literally anything of relevance to the city of Karteria's health and technology, she has noticed that about 1 of every 4 individuals has a weird slant towards focusing on other worlds, and sees the Augmented Ones as a mark of success in connecting to these other realms. She has had a colleague ask her once to survey the Augmented for details of their homeworlds, specifically to find out how habitable they might be. This colleague has been missing since the incident this month; probably died, and was probably involved in the Patho-Gen Holiday Hotel (TM). This is what compels Celia to believe there is a division in the intentions of Patho-Gen, wherein their public face is for the well-being of the world, but some of its members have a distorted view of what that might be. The recent events, performed under the nose of so many staff members, continue to justify her suspicions that not all people are of the same mind. She knows little else beyond this, and is incredibly hushed about it. 2. She will also be candid: nobody has seen Georges since before the Augmented showed up. He's been missing. Entirely. There were early transmissions from him, but nothing else. Celia knows that Georges and a small team of his closest cohorts were tasked with interacting directly with a tear in the fabric of reality... It's dangerous work. Somehow, more Augmented Ones keep coming, so this suggests that he's still alive. 3. Celia was put to sleep just like the rest of the Augmented, and experienced a strange version of Kelesis rather than the circus-like horror show the Augmented were subjected to. She's come to learn that this Kelesis she saw is the one the Augmented get to visit in Eparsis... To her, it doesn't seem quite right. Celia doesn't know what it is, but internally, Patho-Gen is very frustrated by the lack of control they have over Kelesis, and they've been struggling to explain why all attempts to take control of its bounty (underground) have been thwarted. She is aware that they currently have a special interest in the powers of Spectral-types... but what's weirder is that some force is influencing the government & Patho-Gen alike to consider forceful and even militaristic action on Kelesis. Someone is trying to sow the seeds of fear and discontent! Perhaps it's crucial that Spectral-types keep their guards up. If she learns anything else, she will try to disseminate it. 4. Lastly, of fun details she will try to divulge: Patho-Gen is a massive company. About a half of all of Karteria's people are somehow involved in it. But what's weird, is that nobody knows who the head of Patho-Gen is. Their name is obscured; attempts to find out more from highers-up are always thwarted. "We are our own guiding hand," highers-up always claim, saying that there's nobody at the tippy-top. As though Patho-Gen is "Employee-Owned And Operated!". Celia thinks that knowing more about who is in control of Patho-Gen may yield more information about it as a whole... These are questions she's only started trying to delve into since the appearance of that plant monster in the city who is, undeniably, augmented. Scary. As for other NPC interaction with Pal's name being slapped on things, throwing that on Reputation is the way to go. We're still assessing the general temperature from the government and Patho-Gen; if there are repercussions or other outcomes, that shall be the place they're mentioned. Re: When Celia would meet Pal: she would either meet with him that day, or later. If she meets with him after the post, she will immediately offer to him a complete copy of the post on a little SD card-like thing; she saw some Augmented were panicked about it being deleted, but it had to be done. She figures giving a copy to the Augmented is fair, if it helps to demonstrate her intentions. |
| #3
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-27 |
So, given that Gale went on the Jet 2 Holiday, and presumably has those "protect Patho-Gen" compulsions, to what degree would he be able to help in this very innocent little caper? If he can't kill any Patho-Gen mooks, would it still be alright for him to participate as passive assistance? Going along with Eli, using his Carnivora powers to help disorient people, carrying bodies? He hates having his mind messed with, so could he have recognized and pushed through the reprogramming to an extent? Don't wanna go against any intended consequences, just curious! | We think that with Eli there to counterbalance the effects, Gale will do just fine! It might be extremely hard for him to aid in killing anybody, and sometimes he may feel a flare-up of defensiveness on Patho-Gen's behalf, if you wish to play with this. The intent behind the force-imprint with Patho-Gen is to turn the Augmented into unwilling little doggy-protectors, having that Carnivora-type Gale come to Patho-Gen's aid should they require it. Of course, none of the Patho-Gen mooks who Gale and Eli encounter will know how to make the greatest use of this force-imprint, given that most of them don't even know it's there... (Beware of the members of Patho-Gen who do know if its existence. They are the ones to be feared most, but they're also the ones least likely to be encountered.) Gale can absolutely be aware of these weird impulses, especially after the fact. 'Hey, why the hell did Eli coming for the throat of a Patho-Gen dummy make me snarl and want to protect them?' These are all feelings of protectiveness that can be resisted, and Gale can still use his powers to menace the staff. He may have a hard time killing or mortally wounding anybody, however... but with enough willpower, these impulses can be resisted if not being actively employed. |
| #4
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-24 |
Hello, thank you for this!! Returning here for a more solid (and slightly different) plan. I'll definitely report it reputation wise too, just wanted to keep y'all in the loop with the way everything is ~developing. This is the relevant thread explaining some of Eli's mindset in the days after the return of the kidnapped Augmented. He gets his bf back, who is starved enough to have eaten away his own arm (carnivorous worm-guy problems) and Eli decides... A great way to feed him and get him strong again would be to feed him some members of Patho-Gen, and enlists the help of Gale. My rough plan is that he'll go in using shadows to obscure the two of them and any cameras in the lobby (yes, I am aware that they will know it's Eli just by the shadows LOL, but it's so they can't immediately see what he's doing), possess the person at the front desk there so they freeze and don't scream/use a clicker, and kill them by slitting their throat. Any others who happen to be in the lobby will also be possessed immediately and killed as well. His goal will be to get at least two bodies, load them up on owlbear-Gale (possibly with the help of Eren as well, TBD) and carry them out without too much ruckus. Any staff member who realized something was up and came rushing in would be possessed as soon as he noticed them, so I guess it would be kind of a wild west style "who shoots first" situation there. Unless they can trigger it without even seeing him and just knowing it's him, in which case he'd fail either way. Definitely open to failure and consequences! There are a lot of ways this could go so I wanted to see what y'all think. I love the house arrest "adrenaline spike -> passing out" idea, it's hilarious for Eli because he gets worked up over stupid shit all the time. Picturing someone calling him short and he gets so pissed off he goes night-night. But definitely open to worser consequences given that this is obviously pre-meditated and planned, trying to kill more than one person, etc. |
Oh that's great, something like that could definitely work! It's up to you if you'd like Eli to run into more trouble, more staff to manage/murder, but it's also entirely possible that he and Gale would get away with the prize. The already-suggested penalties would still apply (house arrest, community service) as a baseline, from his prior actions. While Patho-Gen could believe (accurately) that Eli was the one behind this incursion, with the cameras properly obscured they would have a more difficult time presenting evidence to that effect. Eli's not the only Spectral out there, can they really prove it was specifically him? (Or would they, if proving it entailed revealing more avenues of surveillance than they're supposed to possess?) The official punishment might well remain the same, catching him only for prior offenses, until Patho-Gen can present better evidence. However, Patho-Gen itself has its suspicions... Eli could also abruptly find himself picked up for 'recalibration.' What that entails is a milder (or more focused) version of what the kidnappees went through. No prolonged testing, but he could come out of it with vague recollections of being operated on (though with little physical evidence of this), and with an unnatural attachment to Patho-Gen. For some time after, he will feel more comfortable, even docile in their presence; he would find it repulsive to inflict harm on any member of staff, and would automatically move to their defense if they were threatened. It doesn't necessarily change his thoughts, only those gut feelings and impulses. It's not permanent, but can linger for as long as is inconvenient to him. This is no legal nor illegal act, only Patho-Gen looking after its Augmented... but it's also clearly punishment, or at least an attempt to curb these unfortunate anti-Patho-Gen sentiments and behaviors. |
| #5
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-23 |
hi...I'm back...I'm so sorry When an Aves turns their soul sight onto someone with a Wild Soul (so....Momo or Hubert), is there anything different about a Wild Soul vs the Natural Souls given by Patho-Gen? Or, even, between the Natural Souls that are being taken as 2nds for people? Thanks! |
The Wild Souls aren't inherently different from Natural Souls, no. But it would be very visible to an Aves (or anyone else with soul sight/ability to sense these things) the number of souls a character possessed, and the Natural/Wild soul(s) do look different from whatever soul a character possesses natively. Of course, it's up to the player to decide what their souls 'look' like, whether they can tell what a Carnivora looks like versus an Aves, or only that they are 'different' (or maybe they all look the same, distinct only in not being human(esque)). All Aves can have soul sight, but maybe some are a bit myopic... |
| #6
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-22 |
Sorry if these are repeats, trying to get my ducks in a row for a thread: 1) Do the hell pit Golems (and Terra) all have detectable Augmenters in them? 2) If yes: I don't think Jayce is going to rip an Augmenter out of a still living Golem, but could one be removed from a crazed Terra while fighting it? I totally get that this would unlock 5 million annoying questions of them trying to analyze an Augmenter, so totally fair if no! Thank you! |
1. The Golems and Terras do have detectable Augmenters! It's a small thing, but it's there. 2. Pulling one out of a still-living Terra is going to be difficult. They are certainly not going to cooperate, but assuming that anyone who's trying has the means to restrain/sedate the plant and the ability to do delicate surgery in a hell pit without light, they could remove... something. The Augmenter is a very small thing though, and under these conditions, they would only be able to pull out something that looks like... about half of a capsule, about a centimeter in size. It won't actually have all that much that's useful inside, almost like it's been hollowed out already. It does have a number of indentations, absolutely tiny things, as though some very complicated (and very minuscule) objects or circuitry had once been placed inside it. There could still be some remnants there, hair-thin wires, but the 'bulk' of the capsule is missing. It wouldn't be hard to guess that this isn't the whole of it, but the other half seems to have been detached, broken apart and dissolved entirely. Should the Terra still be alive at the time of removal: they will soon not be. The signs of Katalyth poisoning will be almost immediately in evidence, as boils progress rapidly through their body, spreading from the implantation site to all extremities. As they're already insane, nothing really changes there, but with their poisoning progressing so rapidly, they aren't likely to survive long enough to attack, should whatever is restraining them fail. But it's very clearly a miserable way to go, especially for the Katalyth-sensitive Terras. |
| #7
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
Bonjour, mods! If someone asked about the location of Ingrid Chevron's office (or whomever is acting in that role, should Ingrid be gone), what info could be gleamed? Is it on a map somewhere of the building, off limits, not there at all, etc? Thank you! |
Asking after Ingrid Chevron will inevitably lead to general confusion, as she's dead. She was old when she was the Director of Experimental Sciences and Augmented Affairs, and her role was to oversee the bridge between the Original Augmented Ones (the Karterian ones!) and their role as, well, experiments towards a better future. This meant that she was often placed in a role of secrecy, keeping her colleagues on both sides of the fence (the side of humanizing them, versus the side of trying to understand them) in the dark. Patho-Gen scientists who are Claude's age and older—so like, 50+—who met Ingrid don't seem to much like her, and describe her as a stony woman of few words. Ingrid herself faded out of her position in a very quiet retirement, especially after the OG Augmented died. No more experimental science, no more Augmented Affairs. It seems by the end of it all, she passed due to arcane radiation poisoning. There is nobody who has occupied her role in this length of time. The Augmented were only recently brought back... Perhaps someone should occupy that role now, huh? |
| #8
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
This isn't strictly related to this month, so please take your time getting back to me, but I was thinking forward to the end of this month/start of next month and the attempts to rebuild Aparallaxia, and I'm not sure it's a question that belongs on the general FAQ either. What would happen if Rowan used their mimicry to sing Peacock's song to squid-chan in Peacock's voice? Would squid-chan recognise it/react to it? |
Squid will not react to this specific mimicry in any way other than friendly (violent) flails of its tentacles. But get a local Cephalopoda-type or, gasp, an elusive Cnidaria-type into the mix, and they'll be able to tell either by Cephalopoda-sympathy or Cnidaria-interfacing that the squid is... confused. Or excited? Mostly confused. It has a lot to think about after hearing that song, and it may retreat to do so. |
| #9
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
okay, so. the native powers testing. if northly took her syntrofos out of her inventory during that and hid it in her clothing (probably bra or underwear, are they given bra or underwear under their tracksuits? if not then as hidden as she can make it under the band of her tracksuit bottoms) would she be able to get it back to her cell and try to send a message to anyone? could she keep it secreted long enough to pull it out to record the corrupted aves? and, if that immediately gets it confiscated regardless, what happens if she puts her collar in her inventory? also, on a different note, could cold storage facilities be created to freeze/preserve some of the terra under kelesis's produce for potential later consumption? on a different different note, if a terra type were to send roots down under karteria to the maximum depth it took to reach the deepest concrete in Kelesis, would they find anything under the city? Edited 2025-10-12 11:41 pm (local)
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| #10
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
Because Northly's inventory is designed for use by human players (and thus beholden to "but that's so annoying I should be able to" rules) she can make items appear from it in contact with any part of her or in contact with her equipped items (eg shoes) she wishes, and similarly put items in in that manner. Would that still decapitate her? And if so.... What happens if she decapitates herself? |
Unfortunately, these collars will still decapitate her with sudden removal; if it doesn't, it'll at the very least cause her to bleed out very rapidly. If she is decapitated or otherwise killed, she will undergo what all other characters who have died go through: inpatient care at Patho-Gen HQ after some surgeries. Her memories of the event will be even hazier than most characters, and staff will be told that she woke during augmenter adjustment and lashed out while surgical instruments were at her neck, thus causing this accident. She will also awaken with the full effects of a force-imprint with Patho-Gen, feeling beholden to protect them above all else. |
| #11
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
Thank you, mods! Would she still have the items in her inventory upon awakening? Or would the collar be mysteriously absent? (I can imagine patho-gen asking her for it post force-imprint and her just handing it over or similar) Oh and with the force-imprint, will that prevent her from being critical of patho-gen and make her go "brainwashing was done with our best interests at heart" etc? Totally fine if that's the case. She fucked around and is finding out! Will she have enough rationality about it to go "to protect them I should keep this from pom because he will go nuts" and does the fact that she has a pair-bond with pom affect the situation at all? Edited (Sorry for always having so many questions mods) 2025-10-16 03:11 pm (local)
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| #12
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
1. Would they offer any useful information if Ciel were to ask things like how they got the poisoning? Are there any former Patho-Gen employees he can gently prod (under the guise of being a curious youth/trying to be helpful)? Would the babblers have anything interesting to say amidst their nonsense? 2. Would Riddle be immediately locked down in naptime after this? Or would they let him use his powers if he didn't seem to be aware what he was doing at first (He tends to just throw out his collars when he'd mad and throwing a tantrum, not to intentionally subvert anything- but once he catches on he would do it purposefully). |
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| #13
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
bruno never having nice visions rip Thank you for this! There's a lot to chew on here. Would his Patho-Gen captors have any reaction when he tries to warn them about what he saw? |
Bruno's Patho-Gen captors will have a very peculiar reaction to this story. Assuming Bruno conveys it relatively accurately, they will be in hushed awe. The part of his vision he may hear one repeat with a sort of reverence: "Is it finally a sign of the end-times? If... If the streets are barren, did we find a habitable destination? Ha! We're right, right?" Their fellows will tell them to hush up. Clearly, they're not supposed to talk like this in front of captives. |
| #14
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-16 |
Will he get anything more if he asks what they mean and refutes the idea that the streets are barren? There are people there still! Just unconscious! | Patho-Gen's staff will ignore him when it's convenient for them, as it seems they're taking this vision the way they want to see it. Which is... pretty telling of some incredibly disturbing thinking! Some may look his way and register Bruno's protests, but chalk it up to the fact that most people were saved, so it's whatever. |
| #15
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-14 |
Is there any specific way the Terra- and Golem-types need to be killed, or does ripping them in half with big teeth or shattering them work? | Ripping them in half with big teeth and/or shattering them is certainly effective. For the Terras, when they're denied access to light/sun, their regenerative prowess is similarly limited, and they can be taken apart by brute force. (Though the same general caution applies in that they are still generally stubborn, and could potentially survive and return, if their root systems aren't properly destroyed. Characters capable of sensing life/souls would be a good thing to bring with (or afterward), to make sure that any root system is fully dead, and not merely hiding/dormant. But they can all be killed with enough biting.) And the same sort of goes for the Golems, as there's little visible difference between their 'alive' and 'dead' states. They can definitely be killed by being broken up enough, but it can be hard to tell what's 'enough' without someone there to see that the soul is indeed gone. |
| #16
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-14 |
By native powers, are they testing powers that people came in with, and/or natural soul-related ones? If yes to the powers people came in with, would they reasonably have a way to force Bruno to have a vision, and if so, what might they want to make him see? He has future sight, so it'd have to be something in the future, if anything. I can also skip having them poke at that power if that might be too spoilery! |
Sorry about the delay, wanted to give Bruno a Proper Vision(tm) to take home with him.... But yes, native powers are the ones characters possess at home, and may also possess to some greater or lesser degree in game. (They are also testing Natural Soul-related powers, but in the native-power room, that interest takes a backseat.) And yes, in the room where native powers are permitted to exist, Bruno could be treated to a taste of the future. And as he might expect, it's not a great one, and certainly nothing Patho-Gen would want to see: Karterian streets, but there's something wrong. The sky above is clear, clear; it lacks the familiar, protective translucence that stagnates the air but blocks the harmfulness of arcane radiation. The barrier has fallen. While the heavens are clear, something like fog sticks close to the buildings, a haze that makes it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. It's not a true fog, nor mist, but something that distorts the view of everything around. Streets flicker in and out of existence, appearing to be twisted up by flesh and vine, before returning to normal. The streets aren't deserted, but it's quiet. There's bodies- of Augmented and local Karterian- collapsed in alley and thoroughfare, curled up in doorways. As a mercy, they seem to all be largely alive... though with the barrier down, how long that will still be the case is numbered in days, when it comes to the Karterians. While there's movement, almost everyone seems to be unconscious. Some kneel besides the downed, trying to rouse them- only to collapse at their side. In every direction, the same thing plays out. |
| #17
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-14 |
oh yes i meant to ask would pal be able to sleight of hand pocket that horrible spite bone and smuggle it back to karteria, or are the subjects undergoing regular frisking for """Safety Reasons"""? |
Unfortunately, yes, they are very careful to keep characters from smuggling souvenirs out with them. No objects means no proof of what happened, right.... It might not be impossible for Pal to temporarily sneak a bone, but it would be discovered at some other point before he was released from captivity. |
| #18
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-12 |
For mercy killing the Terra or potential Patho-Gen scientist under Kelesis, would it be possible for a spectral type to feed on their life force until they die? Would this take a long time and be not very pragmatic, or would it go quickly (are they willing or wanting to die)? Is it possible to accidentally imprint with them this way before killing them (if so how goodbad feel)? Since light should not be brought own there if mercy killing by fire or light weaponry how much resistance or violence would be faced with that or would there be some other unforeseen consequence for bringing light down there? |
It would be possible to feed on the Terras this way; they're great at providing nutrition to all Augmented! It would be difficult for a singular Spectral to kill one this way, though, unless they had already been weakened by something else. If not precisely 'healthy', they are fonts of energy. The Patho-Gen scientists could be drained of life much more easily; if Brickston (or some other opportunistic Spectral) doesn't get there first, something else is consuming their energy into death. They make good snacks! It wouldn't be possible to imprint on either, fortunately(?). Barring some experimental procedures to inflict a kind of bonding on the Augmented, Patho-Gen (and any other native Karterian) cannot be imprinted with. Whether the Terra could be, as they are also Augmented... is harder to test. It doesn't occur now, in any case; they are too insane, too furious and hateful. They would treat all contact as a threat. (And if they are subdued/shut off by one means or another, they would similarly lack the capacity to form attachments. Or it might not be possible in the first place.) Light/Fire remains a danger down there. With some of the areas more under 'control', it's less of an absolute bad idea, but it would still have to be done very very carefully. The Terra benefit powerfully from light, so any damage done to them would have to outpace their growth. Adding poison to the mix, blocking off parts of the tunnels to carefully clear chunks at a time without activating everything... it's not impossible but it would be an easy thing to go wrong. |
| #19
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-12 |
Having been working with the volunteer militia for some months now, were Set to hypothetically bring them with him to HQ — what kind of pushback/reaction/consequences could be expected? Testing the waters here... His goal would be to expose them to a "realistic combat scenario" to track their progress and maintain dominance of a volatile situation ( e.g. reassuring and controlling the staff & protestors ), as well as being able to reveal elements of Patho-Gen HQ/the files directly to them. Mostly, it's an effort to show off his work! Edited 2025-10-07 01:58 pm (local)
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Depending on how the militia behave, Patho-Gen could either be resentful/alarmed at this incursion on their property... or reluctantly appreciative of the help. Or a bit of both, depending on what part of the company is watching. They would attempt to cooperate rather than refuse them access, at least- as there's already been threats (and more than threats) of violence to their staff, and their own guards are insufficient to handle this level of outcry. (Not everyone has those clickers, and the clickers naturally don't work on Karterians!) The staff themselves would range from relieved to have backup, to getting cocky from having backup (inciting both protesting Karterian and Augmented alike), to being nervous about their presence at all. It makes everything feel very serious, all of a sudden; why is this happening over some crucial Augmenter maintenance...? How things turn out also depends on how the Augmented themselves react to this... of course that's not something that we can control, but it'd certainly be some kind of test of Set's forces! |
| #20
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-11 |
If asked, what does the Government say about the situation? Were they notified about the situation and given exactly what this error is? A time table? Did any one of the regular Katerians see anything when Patho-gen made their collection? Edit: forgot to ask, what can be smelled inside Patho-gen hq? Any scents strong enough to commit to memory? Edited 2025-10-09 03:33 am (local)
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The Government would not comment; officially, this is a Patho-Gen matter, and it's not their place or responsibility to offer speculation. Not their goat, not their parade. That said, while the Government has certain ties to Patho-Gen, they are not the same entity. They have generally had congenial relations with one another, but situations like this continue to strain that good will. There is an amount of alarmed grumbling within the bureaucracy over this supposed 'Augmenter failure'. They were not informed about this in advance, and many are sore about that. Even if opinions are still not great towards the Augmented, they would like to know where they are! There is some scrambling within as they try to find answers themselves, but they're unlikely to come up with anything (that they could share, at least) any faster than the Augmented. But no, they don't like this and are irritated with Patho-Gen for the chaos this is causing- as they are not unaware of the invasions on Patho-Gen HQ, by Karterian and Augmented alike. If the citizens were indifferent to this (or on the side of Patho-Gen), the Government would have been more likely to stay out of this completely (besides using the militia to secure the safety of citizens against 'unruly' Augmented rioters). As it is, they're staying out of it, but they're also a bit annoyed at the disruption.... Unfortunately, none of the regular Karterians noticed anything when it came to the Augmented being collected. At the time, they wouldn't have thought anything to be amiss anyway; it's only in this aftermath (or... ongoingmath) of so many being taken that they're questioning Patho-Gen's treatment of the Augmented. Do they really have their best interests at heart? They deserve better than this! Patho-Gen HQ is lately a mess of scents from all the people coming in and rummaging about. But especially early on, it would be possible to follow the scent of the kidnapped Augmented downstairs. The scent unfortunately terminates somewhere past where the Augmented can get to, but they were taken down. Other than that, it's just the smell of a lot of people, and what they've been up to (also a lot of harsh cleaners). |
| #21
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-10 |
If a Spectral character gives someone in the dreamscape one of their feathers, could they have it on their person upon waking? | While the dreamscape is 'real' in the sense that emotions can be shared through it (to the point where even imprints have the potential to form should the characters connect well enough), it is not a physical space. Material tokens can't be passed between characters; any apparent acquisition exists within the dream alone. While a Spectral character might feel a greater ease in navigating these spaces, and be more at home there, they would still be unable to leave other dreamers with physical goods. (Though a character who attempted to give something they had on them- such as a feather- might find that they had plucked it out during the night. It would still remain with their person, however.) |
| #22
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-10 |
Helloooo! Re: my query in the plotting post I'm going for Option 2, with Aemond switching out Daenaerys after she's experienced a day of The Horrors. For ICness sake I was wondering if we could go with Aemond demanding Silver's release first, being told no, followed by the staff member casually mentioning one of his relatives is being held in there? He'd immediately assume it's Helaena and insist on switching then and there—he can find out later that his princess was in fact in another castle 8) I was also wondering if Aemond's memories of the corrective procedures might remain intact / return more quickly than everyone else's since he's been through some of this experimentation a few times before? Thank you! |
Oh sure, that would be just fine! It's just too bad for Aemond that he didn't think to look for specifics over which relative had been taken.... And that's entirely possible! Maybe his mind is adapting to all this being fucked with, or it's just too familiar enough that it's overriding the work they're putting in to make him forget it. Aemond can recall all the horrors sooner.... |
| #23
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-10 |
Okay so, a couple questions- 1. When investigating Patho-Gen's raditation wards, how willing would the (still mentally together) patients be to talk? This wouldn't be a threatening conversation, just Ciel playing up being a curious youth trying to be be helpful? Alternatively do they have any of their belongings that Ciel could pilfer to venture in further (Or save for later), like key cards, employee numbers, passcodes, a disembodied finger? He's not picky. 2. Riddle's signature spell is kind of a weird cheese in that it can essentially lock down an individuals magic from being used. It's also basically a collar, and he can maintain it for days at a time. Should he use it in one of those rooms that allow native magic back, would it cause any sort of interference with the collars they're given? Or could he potentially cause Patho Gen some annoying inconveniences by locking down their subject's magic? |
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| #24
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-10 |
So, Patho-Gen wants to test native abilities, and they also want to test Katalyth exposure. Would these by chance ever happen in the same location? Would Gale have the chance to pull his absorbing Katalyth to cast a big spell bullshit? If he managed to cause some big damage, what sort of result will that get him? This may be answered somewhere else but I couldn't find it: could the carnivora+imprint healing be able to regrow lost body parts, or just rapidly heal the wounds (e.g. if a finger gets chopped off, is it coming back, or will there just be a healed stump? or is it choose your own adventure horrors?). Edited (bolding is helpful in the main body so I thought I'd use it in asking questions too... but I messed up the code whoops) 2025-10-07 02:30 pm (local)
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While native ability testing would never take place in the Katalyth room itself, it's not impossible that some (smaller) amount of Katalyth might be brought in to the former. It's also possible that they could do this for Gale, out of some awareness of his ability to absorb magic... or just to see how his magic would react to it. So he could probably cause a big explosion this way (before being quickly shut down). That's too much of a demonstration... though they'll be interested in how he corrupts afterward. But it's possible that he could kill someone/damage the room itself, and be treated a lot more brusquely/cautiously afterward. Carnivora (particularly while bolstered with imprints) can regrow some lost parts. It'll take some time (no one's restoring limbs in the heat of battle), and is much slower than healing simple cuts (or even deep ones). It's not perfect though, and the more that's missing, the more likely that it just... stops part way. Closes the wound, calls the construction of half a finger good enough. Or maybe it manages the whole thing! So yes, it's a choose-your-own-stump adventure. |
| #25
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-09 |
I forgot to ask this earlier, but just to clarify how Stuff Works with the fungi infestation mind control shenanigans before it starts actively coming up in threads: -What's the range on it once the fungi is established on the person? Same room, within line of sight, or does it go further? -If the person isn't within eyeshot, is there any impression/ability to pick up on where they are/what they're doing or is it just Flying Blind at that point? For context, Momo will be trying to keep it very downlow and essentally letting people move off from him for a bit before acting up somewhere it doesn't appear to link back to him, if he can do that, since he's going for trying to turn Patho-Gen suspicious of/against their own people here and disrupting operations and trying to keep them from figuring out what's going on for as long as possible -Related to the above, is it possible to gain any information while controlling people? Even if it's tiny tidbits or facility layout hints or such like. |
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| #26
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-08 |
Rubs my hands together! thank you mods. I'm laughing because northly truly is perfectly placed for this as a friendly worker of a local business, and that it's at a sex shop would give her the opportunity to demonstrate her integrity (gently asking if someone actually wants to try something if they seem "I don't want to do this" nervous and not "this is unfamiliar/I don't want to talk about sex" nervous, etc) and being involved with the publishing process. if she staked out one of the places she put up paint/flyers, would she be able to catch people or servitons taking it down? (and take photos) |
The forces behind the takedowns are trying to be surreptitious about it, but it's not impossible to catch her messages being taken down/cleaned off if she's patient about staking out a place. There's no magic/technological force in play here: the 'culprits' are largely ServiTons owned by Patho-Gen, or petty criminals fulfilling their designated community service task. Neither exactly get much of a say when it comes to their assigned jobs, if for different reasons. The ServiTons will flail very cutely if interrupted but will desist (temporarily), and will certainly transmit who's interrupting them (as though Patho-Gen couldn't guess...). The criminals will get frustrated/ask to be left alone; they're the ones who'll get in trouble if they don't finish taking these things down. |
| #27
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
Would it be possible to find any trace of where dropped characters are held in Patho-Gen? | With all the coming and going, it would be difficult to find a meaningful scent trail- but for the most recent departees, it might be possible to pick up on something: and it would be leading downstairs. The same direction as where the kidnappees were taken, and disappearing in the same impassable spot. If there's no chance of a scent trail being found, it is also possible to press some of the staff at this time, who would admit that those with failed Augmenters are taken below. There's a lot of restricted stuff down there, and none of the people working above know exactly where they end up. But it all points downward. If there are any belongings that have been successfully collected (as Patho-Gen is fairly slow about doing this- and it's less likely to happen to characters living in established households with others), they might be found in multiple storage closets upstairs. There's no trace of the characters themselves up there, it really is just storage. Things like weapons seem to have been wholly confiscated, but miscellaneous personal goods are just laying here on a shelf. |
| #28
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
Adding to this one! Pom has tracked where they take dropped characters before (or at least as far into the building as they would let him a couple of months ago), and he'd assume this new wave of people were taken to the same place. Could he go to where they took the feral Augmented since he knows approximately where it is/what direction it's in/what wing in the building it's in, etc., or is it guarded/under protection, etc.? | Re: are dropped characters taken to where feral/naughty/time-out Augmented go? No. It is more appropriate to say that dropped Augmented go to a similar destination that all test subject Augmented went to this month. |
| #29
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
just curious... do u think patho-gen would brand their name/logo onto a golem (as they're property and all) or would that be too bad for optics :) | Actually branding Golems (or any other type, really), is a bit too forward, even for the most callous of Patho-Gen. It would be an awful thing for optics, not something they could readily play off- and unnecessary, in their eyes. By virtue of being Augmented, they're company property. Anything growing from them is branding enough! Even if sometimes the Golems/robot-looking entities get treated as belonging to the city, or to individual shops, depending on where they're caught standing by some citizen, that's a tolerable confusion (in their eyes). No one questions that they're owned, it's just a matter of by who. |
| #30
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
on the off chance (or rather, incredibly likely chance) that Eli snaps during one of his storming-patho-gen threads and injures or kills a staff member, what will... happen? | An excellent and relevant question! Yes, while storming Patho-Gen it is very possible to commit some murders to the staff. Mowing down a crowd would be unlikely to succeed, as someone would be there to knock the offending character unconscious, but characters could absolutely kill or maim individuals. Even multiple individuals, if they caught them by surprise, and just kept exploring. Whether Eli is ever caught at the time, or manages to escape is up to you! As Patho-Gen has their hands full, 'catching' would, for the short term, entail being put to sleep and deposited in jail for holding until they could work out exactly what happened, and decide on a punishment. (If he escapes, it's likely that there is some kind of video footage/other evidence that places him there, and he would be served with any potential punishment later.) Any murders should definitely be reported reputation wise, as Patho-Gen would have to decide case-by-case just how serious this was. It would likely be considered something of a crime of passion (as it's connected to this situation, and assumed to be prompted by it), which would permit some leniency. How lenient would also be determined by the brutality of the murder, the number of them, and so on. Characters would at least face longer bouts of community service. Additionally, they would be made to wear anklet bracelets (or an equivalent over some other part of the body, should a character lack ankles). It would inhibit all native powers, and most Natural Soul abilities as well. Apart from their customer service tasks, they would be given two options: 1. They are otherwise allowed to go where they want, but the anklet will beep any time their adrenaline spikes. If it continues for more than a minute, the character will receive a shock and will fall unconscious. Patho-Gen assumes that heights of adrenaline are linked to some impending murders. 2. The character is held under house arrest. Apart from the times where they are going to and from their community service task, they are required to remain at home. The anklet will also force them unconscious if they leave their residence outside those times. Their adrenaline can go as high as it wants, as long as they're home. |
| #31
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
semi weird question but i'm curious about something re: natural souls! for context gregor has experience with, essentially, using other entities' power as well as their influence temporarily taking him over sometimes. he's been kind of contextualizing having a natural soul as a more permanent/persistent version of this because that's what he knows, it's just easier on him. SO my question, since he's used to thinking of it that way, is: would it be possible to more or less jesus-take-the-wheel your natural soul without triggering that by dying? if you can, is it any different from what happens when one controls the body after death? sometimes you just are doing badly enough to (consciously or not) want to let something else handle it... |
Interesting... Most characters aren't interested in embracing their poor Natural Souls, which didn't ask to be forced into sharing a body with them either. Our answer: this is possible! For most characters, this would take a lot of practice, and to the detriment of anyone around them. It would likely result in a lot of damage while practicing, since it would be hard to snap out of it once letting that power take control of their bodies. With Gregor's natural inclination, he might be better equipped to handle this secondary soul in his body, but you'd be correct in guessing that it's easier to do in a pinch/when you've just had enough and need to give up your consciousness for a second. |
| #32
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
I'm going to regret this aren't I but if someone's Katalyth song was hummed back at the peacock in that bleak harmony, as a sort of "I hear you," how does she react? | The peacock will sing more strongly or confidently. Perhaps there's a note of excitement: she might sing a step quicker. She would also harmonize with this, but not to the same emotional wavelength as she does with an Aves-type. |
| #33
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
Rolling in on this, too. If another Aves sings back at her a song of hope. What is the response? | A song of hope to counter her bleak song... The peacock woman would sing more softly, perhaps, as though to better listen to the Aves-type—and only for a split second before characters pass out, perhaps her own tune would adopt some of those same notes, as though lacing her own song with the power of theirs. |
| #34
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
Any different effect for a non-Aves singing at the peacock-figure? I roll to sing a space-bug mating song to big bird. |
The peacock would be curious about this song, and their voice would hush to better hear them. It's like a foreign language, perhaps, but she might adapt to become a harmony. So not too different, but not nearly so ready to attune to the same emotional wavelength! |
| #35
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
if they can get next to the cage, could they potentially touch one of those tail feathers? (to put it in her inventory... if her inventory is functional. despite her assertion that it's not magic, it absolutely runs on magic, just magic of the type her church didn't want to acknowledge.) and if her inventory is shut down by the "no powers" thing, does that make the items in it pop out? remain stuck in? also, is there any information about what peacock's name was before she was peacock (not her deadname if she has one, just pre-augmented name, unless that's a ""fun"" coincidence) Edited 2025-10-06 11:25 pm (local)
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Unfortunately, should a character draw too close, they will fall asleep. It's not possible to get near enough to reach in and take one of her feathers. Additionally, Northly's inventory wouldn't be available to her outside of the specific rooms where powers are deliberately allowed to be somewhat expressed. Peacock's cage is not one of those areas. While nullified, her inventory would remain 'sealed' rather than spill everywhere, inaccessible to everyone. Patho-Gen wouldn't be able to dig around in it either, unless her powers were returned. The peacock herself will not be able to respond should anyone ask for her name, or any other detail. She only seems capable of singing, and without language. Back in Karteria... historical records of Peacock never supply or suggest that she had any other name. It would be an odd choice (and odder coincidence) for it to be her only name, but nothing else comes up. Of course, references to her in archived papers or magazines don't describe her much as a person at all- only a figurehead, an ideal. Someone tragic and inspirational; everyone loves Peacock. If she had an identity before becoming an Augmented, it's been buried or rewritten. No one alive seems to know her as anything else. |
| #36
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
Sorry to be asking this every time someone new shows up but... Does she look like "Saran" at all? Would she react to either the name "Peacock" or "Saran"? | She will react to neither name, and does not look like Saran. |
| #37
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-07 |
do the locator earrings (from the treat rewards) give a reading to the other half when separated? | They do give a reading, which means the other earring still exists, at least. But they're at a great enough distance that they wouldn't be able to be tracked down this way. Which seems to indicate that they're not anywhere near Patho-Gen HQ, or even within Karteria. (Even if the paired earring was part of the characters' belongings that were confiscated, the confiscation (and the eventual reuniting) seems to have occurred also at this great distance.) |
| #38
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Thank you for this nightmare shit, mods! A little while ago I asked about a Midas touch power for Kalim and I was thinking of having that manifest during this event. So on that note: does that kind of thing work on Katalyth? If he's restrained up near that stuff for long enough, will it be possible to turn an amount of it into gold? |
Katalyth exists in a strange state, as something that can be handled physically (though it's not a great idea to do so, even for a Golem), but is ultimately a form of tightly knitted magic, rather than being an actual mineral. In that sense, it's not physical by some definitions, and fails to obey all the rules when it comes to physical things. Which doesn't mean that it can't react to Kalim's power, or that it won't do anything. He will be able to create some amount of actual gold this way. More than gold, he will also generate other, unintended materials. Different minerals, none of them pure, each full of inclusions of something else. The more he does this, the more organic the mutations will become; his gold-dusted iron growing fur, his copper full of lumps of teeth. It will bleed. The Katalyth itself won't be 'transformed' into these mutations; it will simply power them, and be responsible for this twisting of his magic. |
| #39
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Is it cool to say a sympathetic/too busy for this shit Patho-Gen nurse allows an Augmented into the palliative care ward - mostly so they have more than a few minutes to linger there and chat with anyone lucid enough to talk (or if even the medical staff would talk to him)... Jayce would be asking when they patients have last been able to speak to their families, and if he can relay any messages. | Oh yes, it'd definitely be possible for an Augmented to be allowed to linger there if they weren't the troublemaking sort (characters who are more known for being violent would have a harder time getting this far). But someone like Jayce, especially as he's a Golem-type, is practically overlooked. (The staff might casually order him to fetch supplies while he's there... but he'd also be left to himself.) Arcane radiation poisoning isn't catching, so the patients here are occasionally allowed visitors. The restrictions in play are for their benefit, given the frailty of their condition; they are at much greater risk of falling to unrelated infections, as their bodies increasingly lose the means to fight anything off. But many here either don't have family, or haven't seen them in a while- or aren't lucid enough to remember much of anything. At the offer to relay messages to the outside, some of the patients will scoff, and dismiss him. What do they have to update anyone on? That they're still dying? That it can't come soon enough, because the poor wretch next to them keeps them up all night talking to themself, muttering about things that make no sense. Their family is useless, never visits enough anyway, not that they want them to, and so on. (Underneath it all, they're afraid. They still refuse to pass anything on.) Others will accept, leaving Jayce with names and addresses and short messages. It's mostly instructions on how to look after a business, reminders over pets and children, or requests for specific books on a family member's next visit. Boredom is the most common complaint amongst the still lucid. In all cases, they don't seem to view Jayce as a person himself, either using or dismissing him as a machine who'd been told to perform these tasks. The usual treatment. The medical staff are tired. It's just been one thing after another, with arcane radiation taking its gradual toll, plus a good portion of their staff going blind, plus all the injuries from the tree incident.... They doubt they'll be permitted any leave in the foreseeable future, and while they largely don't resent it, seeing firsthand how necessary their presence is, there is a palpable fatigue in the staff. They know less than most when it comes to what Patho-Gen is doing with the reclaimed Augmented; these are primarily doctors and nurses, and only secondarily Patho-Gen employees. But some of their team has been called in to support with whatever's going on with this 'adjustment' business, leaving them additionally short-staffed. They're a bit grumbly at that, but assume there must be good reason for it. |
| #40
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Is the dreamscape real enough for Imprints to be formed? | Physical contact isn't required for an imprint to form, though it certainly does facilitate it (and it's far, far easier for one to form accidentally through touch). Significantly more emotional connection is required for an imprint to form without contact, but it is possible. And the dreamscape yet possesses enough reality in its Augmented visitors for any emotional connections found there to be real too. It's a pity Patho-Gen would have a hard time studying this, as it's quite an interesting finding... but imprints can form in dreams too. |
| #41
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
How strong is the fortified building of Patho-Gen's HQ exactly, from say, fire? Or rather, what sort of resistance would one encounter when trying to set fire to parts of the building? Asking for a friend. | Patho-Gen HQ and this spare... Patho-Gen Holiday Hotel(TM?) (name pending) are both extraordinarily built. The actual structure of the building is designed to be fire resistant and can last even through a raging fire without crumbling apart or burning. Patho-Gen HQ is more likely to have bits and bobs that are flammable within, such as fabrics, papers, potted plants, and other flammable tapestries or materials. A fire could be set, but they do have emergency sprinklers that can go off. Patho-Gen staff at both locations would be swift to try to extinguish any fires, but it can absolutely make its mark. The subfloors in Patho-Gen HQ, however (as seen in the Descend investigation sub-prompt), will be extremely resistant to fire; that place is highly guarded to maintain that nothing flammable is kept nearby, save for some documents or posters. The doors and their doorways are metal. It is of utmost importance that this area not be destroyed or burnt to a crisp, and not only for Patho-Gen's sake... |
| #42
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Since the collars are so deeply embedded, will augmented still be collared upon their return? If Patho-gen removes collars once the testing is over, do augmented return with wounds or scars around the neck? | The collars will definitely be removed when the Augmented are released! That's proprietary technology, buried in there. They absolutely don't want characters to have a chance to properly dissect it. It would also be a terrible look, to release their 'patients' with those things still attached. It's still not a great look to have the wounds from them left behind, but they would be bandaged and taken practical care of before the characters were let go. And besides, for most characters the Augmenter is inserted within the neck; of course some neck-related damage will occur in the wake of this 'adjustment.' |
| #43
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
In the stress imprinting prompt, I saw some references to burning, stitching, electrocuting, etc. Can any of those remain or will Patho-Gen be doing literally everything possible to wipe all evidence of what they've done? | It's up to the player how much remains at the end of the stay, but it's very likely there would be physical evidence of what they'd gone through. While Patho-Gen would avoid releasing anyone who looked like they got completely chewed up, limbs awol, etc., they can't heal everything. Characters would be cleaned off- they wouldn't be sent out covered in blood, or with wounds uncovered- but they could be very much still wounded. Do they have an explanation for why 'Augmenter maintenance' includes this amount of damage...? Not exactly. But it would be brushed aside as a side-effect of the surgery. The process of altering the Augmenter is a very delicate thing, and characters' bodies sometimes responded harshly to the experience. There was a bit of ferality unleashed while they were switching out components- and to keep a character from hurting themselves or others, they had to go to some lengths to restrain them. It was necessary. |
| #44
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Mods, this is delightful, truly!! That one Patho-Gen person who decided to say: "If they die, they can just revive them." Mel's going to want to have a "chat" with them. Is there any info they can provide, even as she starts to lose her shit about it? While I doubt they have The Info, would he even be able to say that this is common/it's happened before/what it looks like/etc? |
That Patho-Gen employee is going to regret being overheard by Mel... They would immediately try to clam up about it, to deflect or claim that she'd misheard. He would also claim that it was meant as a reassurance, not as a... well, they have problems completing that thought. There's some bluster, some attempt at acting like an 'authority', but he'll cave readily to threats of violence (or expressions of it), or possibly even a Very Hard Look from an imperious Aves-type like Mel (especially if there's some claws involved... claws are a convincing argument). Unfortunately, he doesn't have that much info. Anyone who knows anything... they're not out here, where they can be accosted. He'll say that he doesn't know of this happening before, but he also hasn't been at the company for that long. But he'll try to assert that this is 'for the greater good', and that whatever's happening is necessary. Necessary to save the Augmented from their Augmenter's failing? That, he'll hesitate over; he knows this isn't what's happening, even though he doesn't know what is. Only that it's important. (An application of Orpheus' Song to encourage compliance (or any other characters with truth-sensing powers) wouldn't be able to get much else. He really is just a minor cog- someone who knows that more is going on, but isn't privy to the details.) |
| #45
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
hello, love the horrors, 1. when you say the orpheus's song variant will stick in characters' heads, is this similar to the katalyth earworm? how would the two songs interact while both are being "heard," if at all? 2. if someone is an unevenly-corrupted freak of a necromancer and gets put in the special tests room, can he put his hands on anything and get a Necromancer Vision? 2b. also how protected from long-distance powers are patho-gen down there, ie could a guy squeeze someone's heart from inside the room or nah..... 2c. if a guy tries anyway whether or not it works, can i have him native power-nerfed for a few weeks after they're released as a punishment, like would a drug effect conveniently last that long for my dark purposes? |
the horrors love you too 1. It's similar, in that there's a sort of underlying mechanism behind them, but not exactly the same. It's sort of an offshoot of the Katalyth-earworm... or a corruption of what had once been a normal expression of Orpheus' Song. A character earwormed by both would not necessarily have them both playing at once (unless you want that mess). It's more likely that they would find some sort of bleak harmonization, or that the familiar earworm would turn up in the peacock's voice, or the peacock's song would take on Pal's personal Katalyth voice. 2. Patho-Gen just loves necromantic visions... to test it, they would present him with a number of bones, and expect him to read them (and to share the results). Most are fragments of animal bones- livestock, who have died at various points in the past decade, having led fairly undramatic lives. Nothing very interesting there. Within the samples is an unassuming chip from something else- still some kind of 'ruminant', but with a very different perspective. Their life is significantly more fraught, and their death is an experience of pain, anger, and frustration. It occurred ~12 years ago. They were worked to death, partially for practical purpose, but mostly to test the limits of their endurance. They had seen others of their 'kind' fall similarly, disappearing one after the other, and knew that their own time was limited. While they intended to go out fighting, they were already too weak to trample even a single person. Spite floods their last moments. 2b. A Pal in Karteria wouldn't be able to reach where the captives are being held, to squeeze any hearts. A Pal in captivity, if within the special tests room, could probably manage to do this to anyone in the facility! They would shut it down pretty quick (and Pal with it, to be scooted back into nullification space), but it's the sort of power that they wouldn't have been prepared to face. 2c. He can absolutely be nerfed as a consequence. That is a horrible ability our Pal has, and Patho-Gen would be negligent to not try to squash it. Pal can remain as suffocated from his native powers for as long as is convenient for you. |
| #46
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Can player characters in dreams appear differently from how they usually would in real life? I was thinking about making mine specifically look like he was from a different canon point. On that note, are player characters capable of manipulating anything in the dreamscape? (e.g. conjuring writing materials out of nowhere, defying physics, etc.) If so, by how much? Also I know it's implied, but are the spider lilies from the last log still there in the tunnels? Will anything else have changed about them or anything else in the tunnels since our last visit? |
There is some amount of 'freedom' in regards to personal appearance or powers within the dreamscape. The controlling force behind it is stifling too much disruption- but they're also not in proper command of it either. This is an untested power; the fact that the whole of Karteria fell asleep for days in itself suggests that their command of it isn't perfected. So there is some room for change, and a character could appear different from their state in reality, if players choose. Not to the extent of becoming a different person, and the condition would be poorly controllable- as the character would keep drifting 'back' to some set self. Whether that's their original shape, their corrupted state as an Augmented, or some combination- it's all possible. So someone could appear as they do from a different canon point! Creating objects out of nothing is also possible, but they are very prone to disappearing (or changing into something else) as soon as they're not being paid direct attention to. Physics are also very malleable, especially if the characters don't think about what they're doing too closely. (More rational types might have a harder time here.) Drastically altering the world itself would fail, resisting that level of fundamental tampering. It also wouldn't be possible to free the caged captives- nor to join them. Elements like these are fixed, obeying a logic that can't be overwritten. The spider lilies in the tunnels are still there! It could be that patches of them have been 'muted', along with some of the other plants. It's not enough to make exploring down there safe, but it's a margin easier. Should that muted state ever be removed (a likely thing, if Patho-Gen is pushed out of the underground entirely), the danger will return to its full force, unless the plants are killed. |
| #47
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Two questions: If an Aves was to sing back at the peacock figure, would it cause any reaction? Rowan has mimicry as their third power: if they sang the escape song back at her, would they have enough time to cause a reaction before they pass out? And secondly: when the captured Augmented are re-released, what's the state of any shaved fur/plucked feathers etc.? Would they be growing back at a normal speed? |
An Aves singing back to the peacock-figure would elicit a reaction. She would attempt to harmonize with them- picking up on their melody and adding to it, laced with the emotions of before, with the addition of a profound loneliness. To mimic her song precisely would be met with a brief silence- before a return of the same song, that much louder. Not just in volume, but intent. Every emotion there is compounded, given more power. If Rowan was by her cage when it happened, they would see her hold on herself tighten, trembling; all those feather eyes would fix on them. While serious wounds would be patched up/healed prior to release, forcing fur to regrow, or feathers to return would be harder for Patho-Gen to achieve (and they would be unlikely to spend the time trying). Characters are likely to come out of captivity with patches of bare skin. They will regrow lost parts at whatever their normal rate is- unless they've undergone testing that quickens their corruption (or causes it to mutate worse), in which case they might return faster. They might not grow back well, if they experience this- with the first crop of new feathers being deformed, or miscolored in some way. Or fur might grow back brittle, and be prone to tangling. These issues, if experienced, will clear up on their own, as their bodies eventually replace the growths involved. |
| #48
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
I promise I was considering this even before the event included protests from the lower and middle classes, northly would like to try distributing flyers reading things like "THOUGHTS IN AUGMENTED MINDS NOW, THOUGHTS IN KARTERIAN MINDS TOMORROW", "DO YOU KNOW WHAT PATHO-GEN DOES?" "BLIND LEADING THE BLIND — HOW PATHO-GEN LIKES IT", "INFORMATION IS POWER: WHY KEEP AUGMENTED WEAK?" with a few key points about forcing augmented to participate in something purported to be for "reconciliation," the missing key staff (georges) and that the plant monster was a) augmented, b) what they've been eating 1. would she have been able to get those printed or would she have to do them by hand(/water magic)? 2. would she have been able to get any out prior to the kidnapping? (she's been percolating on how to start outright rebellion against patho-gen since she woke up post imprint experiment at the end of september, but I do totally get if that's not enough time) 3. if she painted these things on footpaths and the walls of abandoned buildings, would they stay up? 4. if she (politely) asked karterians to post photos of the flyers to their social media and share them, would they? (she would not do this while working, but would be willing to do things like pay or trade her feathers to karterians who agreed to in thanks) |
Northly out there spreading the good, if inconvenient, word.... 1. While most printing services would balk at printing such inflammatory materials (even if they sympathized with Northly and the Augmented- as they have been a largely beneficial force in these demographics), it wouldn't be impossible. Rather than printing these things officially themselves, they might look the other way- allow her use of the equipment after hours. Alternatively, she could just find someone who's not even paying attention, is not paid enough to give that many shits, and will print anything without a fuss. Either way, it could be done. 2. It's entirely possible that she could get this underway before the kidnappings, if she's been preparing the materials before then! 3. That said, these messages might have a hard time staying up for very long. Even though in the poorer parts of Karteria, other types of graffiti might be permitted to linger (as cleaning it up is beyond the resources anyone is willing to apply to it), these particularly anti-Patho-Gen messages have curiously short durations. Apparently fostering this kind of sentiment is worth the effort to cover up. 4. Northly might be able to get some of the locals to share her flyers. If there's anyone she's built any kind of rapport with, or is already particularly sympathetic to the Augmented (and there's plenty of those around, people who've been personally helped by them), they would be more likely to agree. And be horrified at what they're hearing, at that- as the average person really wouldn't know all that much about what the Augmented as a whole are going through, beyond the 'turning into animals' and 'being stolen from home' thing. |
| #49
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Sorry to immediately break this in, but if someone had their pair-bond buddy taken and tortured, how much of that (physically, emotionally) would they feel if they were on the outside, unkidnapped? Is there a limit or is it dampened by Patho-Gen's HQ's protection somehow? What about if both pair-bond parties are taken? Edited 2025-10-05 10:31 pm (local)
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If half of a pair bond were taken, while the other half was left behind- rather than feel any particular anguish from either's active experience, they would each feel an uncomfortable absence. It would be an unpleasantly empty, stifled sensation. For characters who've experienced the loss of an imprint (or pair bond), it's notably different from that; this is still very much a connection to something. There is someone on each end of it. But the interference is such that it leaves the connection barren. Unsettling... it's a confirmation that the other character is still there, but it would be impossible to tell anything of their current state. If both characters were taken, any emotional resonance would function as it normally does; it seems as though whatever interference that's in play only separates the two locations, rather than smothering it completely. |
| #50
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
and if the pair-bonded have recently caused havoc, will they be kept separated for the experiments, or is the bond study-worthy enough that they could be put in together. side note, but are any of the unsavoury comments made ("Can you believe we were originally supposed to use positive reinforcement?" etc) said where they can be heard by augmented and pinned down as belonging to one person in particular? (that might be enough to get northly to break her "cause problems but not actively fatal ones" stance.) |
It could go either way, depending on what the players prefer! It could be argued that they're too dangerous (even drugged) to be kept together, where they might try to conspire and incite one another into being even more trouble. It could be argued that they too dangerous to be kept apart, and for convenience's sake they might as well store them together if that'll keep them even remotely calmer. The aspects of their pair bond could be studied either together, or apart (does it influence the various treatments, their current conditions?). So really, it comes down to whatever you would find more interesting! The particularly unsavory comments like that occur exclusively around the kidnappees- and there is no lone individual responsible for them. All of the staff there seems similarly uninterested in the feelings of those they're testing. While some might be particularly callous, or utterly removed from empathy, others are more pragmatically indifferent (and might find it distasteful to be the ones conducting the more torturous tasks, even if they have no particular problem with it happening in the first place). It would be hard to single anyone out in this facility, as they're all culpable in their own way. |
| #51
Topics: Edit question: edit
Answer date: 2025-10-06 |
Even if someone is not pair-bonded, would someone with a particularly strong Imprint with others (people they've gotten EXCEEDINGLY close to or someone they've been imprinted with since almost Day 1), would they be quicker to dread/agony/agitation over the loss? Especially when they are actually aware the loss has occurred? | Particularly strong imprints would feel something akin to what pair bonds do- just at a comparatively lower level. As noted above, they would feel less than normal- an uncomfortable muffling of the connection that should be there. While they're not as sensitive to each other's emotions as pair bonds would be, they would feel this suffocation of their connection. Even average-to-weak imprints could feel something- a pale void where there should have been the simple comfort of the other's existence. It's still attached to someone, but neither is permitted the reassurance of it. |
