Northern Lights - A Celestial Gacha Story - Semi-SI-ish, Worm, MI UP

[Inkyfoxxo]

Notes on Threadmark categories.

Extras: The proper, edited version of the turn, meant to be the best story reading experience. Will update slower than the others.

Threadmarks: The original version of the turn, most likely a bit stream of consciousness. This is where the story will be at any given point, the most turnlike turns. Probably the closest to a quest experience.

Appendix: Notes, explanations, and Oracles. After each turn in Extras, I will post the Oracle, transcribed or screenshotted or both from my Oracle, and my thoughts on interpretation of the oracles and where the story is going. Please feel free to chime in about different interpretations or how you think it could go. This is probably the closest to a game like experience. I like the puzzle of it all. Likely also character sheets/perk lists etc.

The typical flow will be the turn Threadmark, immediately followed by the next turn's Appendix Oracle. Rinse and repeat. Then, later, as time and energy and the muse allows, the Extra, incorporating foreshadowing, proper plot structure more, pacing, details we learned from a later turn but really should have been present earlier, etc.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

So! You've never heard of the Celestial Gacha.

That makes sense, it isn't a thing.

Or rather, I'm using the Celestial Gambler to roll my perks, with focus on lewd, cooking, and growing things. This is not a combat build, deliberately.

And because of that, I'm not picking perks by what I or the character would want most. I'm picking perks by what would make the most interesting *story*. I might get that wrong. Many turns powers will be irrelevant... until they aren't.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 30
Event: Take Repulsive Merchant
Mythic: NPC Action Harm Pain
Sensory: The hiss of escaping gas, flames in the distance, a gut-wrenching acceleration.
Rune: Thurisaz ("Thor/Giant") • reactionary, defensive destruction, instinct, willpower, regeneration, lightning, electricity
Tarot: Ace of Coins, Reversed • miserliness, too much concern with money
Virtue: Humility
Vice: Greed
Thoughts:
So whatever was supposed to happen, I get sold to... The ABB? Oh! The food is drugged. Instead of getting knocked out, nothing happens. They suspect parahuman, bring in Krieg. Krieg demands she tell him. Because they have uses for parahumans. If not, the ABB is always willing to buy young women, and she's not worth saving. She explains. He force-feeds her bleach. Nothing happens except her complaining about the taste. She gets tortured to see if she has any other powers. She doesn't. Instead, he contacts gesselschaft.
Perk Roll: Superpower Potion
A vial of potion that gives the drinker great strength, toughness, flight, resistance to magic, the ability to see the invisible, and the ability to shoot telekinetic beams, paralyzing beams or hypnotic rays from their eyes. The only downside is that the potion only lasts for a few hours. Once used you receive a new vial after a week.
d6: Telekinetic beams.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 07
Event: Travel Bewildering Tool
Mythic: NPC Action Adversity Wounds
Sensory: A stone slab slamming to the ground, hideously serrated teeth, tired and irritated, moss and old earth.
Rune: Thurisaz ("Thor/Giant") • reactionary, defensive destruction, instinct, willpower, regeneration, lightning, electricity
Tarot: Two of Cups • union, romantic relationship, joining of two things
Virtue: Compassion
Vice: Fear
Thoughts:
Travel bewildering tool. She wasn't properly subtle (she went in a straight line in radar past cities, then down and continued in that straight line. She did... pretty much nothing to hide her identity and was pretty clearly visible to anyone who saw her and then called someone further forwards in her path with binoculars.)

But the MRI to check for head injuries came back positive for slight concussion and negative for corona pollentia and gemma. So she's not a cape. But she obviously flew here. What tool did she use to travel here? Bewildering.

The sensory, npc action adversity wounds, thurisaz, and the 07 tell me that there's going to be a cape fight that injures her. Probably nothing to do with her, and very unusual for the area. Maybe a grudge match between clustermates that were not expecting to find each other on vacation. (or at least one of them wasn't)
Superpower Potion d6: N/A
Oh COME ON.
Perk Roll:
Martian Blood
It seems you have been injected with the blood of a Martian, this allows you to transform into any non-sapient animal you have seen before, even those who are from outer space. You gain their abilities, and powers, although this transformation can be overwhelming if an animal has innate rage issues.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 55
Event: Unearth Stealthy Trial
Mythic: NPC positive Delay Pain
Sensory: The frightened neighing of horses, a strange city in the distance, slimy goo, a clinical, hospital quality
Rune: Kenaz ("Beacon/Torch") • creativity, inspiration, harnessed power, world-changing ability
Tarot: Justice • fair-mindedness
Virtue: Compassion
Vice: Fear
Thoughts:
Superpower Potion d6: N/A

Perk Roll:
Black Book
Totally unmarked, save for a blood red clasp that holds the covers closed. Capable of teaching the reader one lust-based spell. Slight chance that they become slightly more intelligent as well. (Heal) A/N - Eventually changed to a die roll on what the spell is.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 73
Event: Discover Treacherous Goodness
Mythic: NPC positive Arrive The innocent
Sensory: A one-sided conversation. A vicious, stabbing pain. An exotic, floral aroma
Rune: Kenaz ("Beacon/Torch") • creativity, inspiration, harnessed power, world-changing ability
Tarot: Eight of Coins • successful artisan, workaholism, poor work-life balance
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Wrath
Thoughts:
Superpower Potion d6: N/A

Perk Roll:
Bonds of Sisterhood
A true harem is more than just a collection of people you have sex with: it's a family, and family hangs together through thick and thin even if they don't like each other. Your harem is empowered by the strength of that bond, and the tighter the bond the tighter the harem will be in turn. This perk helps your haremettes cooperate with each other more effectively: given two girls whose only relationship is with you, they'll find it much easier to make their individual efforts click together and support each other instead of tripping their partner up. Take the same two girls and make their relationship as strong with each other as it is with you, whether as friends or lovers or romantic rivals, and they'll laugh off mind-control or even the most insidious attempts to turn them against each other. This works for all group activities, from singing a duet to cooking a meal to group sex.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 68
Event: Move Advanced Magic
Mythic: PC positive Betray News
Sensory:
Rune: Algiz ("Elk/Protection") • shield, shelter, defense, wards against evil, a guardian; connection to the gods or higher states of being
Tarot: Temperance, Reversed • change through trials; ignoring advice
Virtue: Charity
Vice: Fraud
Thoughts:
Superpower Potion d6: NA
Items respawning: Black Book.
Perk Roll:
Time to Cook
(Wonderland No More): Wonderland's sense of time is kind of screwy, and it's perfectly reasonable for a chef to go out for a midnight quest to a mountain for an egg and get back before the pot boils over. This perk essentially slows down the progression of time from a narrative standpoint as long as you are focusing on making food – that includes everything from acquiring ingredients to preparing the food to setting the table. This does not slow or freeze the movements of those around you, but it basically means that as long as you are focused on cooking, you'll finish everything on time and nothing will interrupt you. For instance, if you are cooking a special potion to boost your troops in time to stop an invasion, you'll get the potion ready on time even if the siege was just an hour away. When you stop doing food-related things, time returns to its normal pace; spell preparations technically count as "cooking" by Wonderland rules, though.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 64
Event: Antagonise Restrained Prophecy
Mythic: NPC Negative Control Disruption
Sensory: Roiling, oily smoke. The heady aroma of wine.
Rune: Uruz ("Auroch/Wild Ox") • energy, health, strength, tenacity, courage
Tarot: Page of Coins • open-minded novice, learning from her surroundings, studying to achieve growth and abundance
Virtue: Loyalty
Vice: Envy
Superpower Potion d6: N/A
Book Respawn: 03-29-2010
Next Endbringer attack: 04-07-10
Perk Roll:
A Bottomless Heart
For an ordinary person it may be enough to only have one other person to spend your life with, but there's nothing ordinary about you, is there? Love and emotional attachment comes to you easily and you find it more difficult than most to let go of those you care about, to the point that choosing one woman over another when you love them both is unthinkable to you. Luckily, this is not without its benefits. You have a perfect photographic memory for information about people you care about, no matter how many of those people you might have. You'll never forget their birthdays, favorite meals, erogenous zones, etc. and can easily keep track of their needs and desires without even thinking very hard about it.
Thoughts: Cast for the restrained, and then something happens to disrupt Julia's control. Maybe the scent of wine, she drank? She's certainly stressed enough but I don't see her doing that when she has so many plates spinning. Maybe a problem with Dan's estate? Envy, maybe someone is trying to get the hotel from her? Means she has to go into the city to take care of it, maybe even drive out to Houghton. That disrupts her control over the hotel because she's not there to spin plates, and Alice skips school to run the hotel. Alice steps up. Page of coins, uruz, loyalty. But it would be a catalyst for Julia seeing how much she's been relying on Alice.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 55
Event: Delay Metaphorical Relative
Mythic: Introduce a new PC Disrupt Liberty
Sensory: Your stomach drops, clean breeze
Rune: Gebo ("Gift/Exchanges") • generosity, balance, contracts, relationships, partnerships
Tarot: Ten of Coins • final result of cumulative efforts
Virtue: Courage
Vice: Pride
Superpower Potion d6: N/A
Book Respawn: 03-29-2010
Next Endbringer attack: 04-07-10
Perk Roll:
Utilimancy
You have mastered the art of utilimancy. An oft forgotten school of magic, utilimancy is more commonly known as household magic and is used for maintenance and upkeep, including cleaning, repairs, a minor form of telekinesis, and, most importantly, cooking. Utilimancy can be used to replace a wide variety of utensils and tools meant for the cooking process and can replicate many modern day tools used in the kitchen. It also gives a very minor form of elemental magic in each of the four main elements. The equivalent of creating sparks to light a fire.
Thoughts:

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 20
Event: Restore Impressive Foe - Oh dear.
Mythic: PC positive Oppose the Physical
Sensory: A pained bellow, backed into a corner, lemon and soap
Rune: Othala ("Birthright/Home") • Inheritance, property passed down, house, home, spiritual heritage, fundamental rights, source of safety, that which is most important
Tarot: The Star • communion with the soul, celestial mandate, destiny, fate
Virtue: Humility
Vice: Pride
Superpower Potion d6: N/A
Book Respawn: 03-29-2010
Next Endbringer attack: 04-07-10
Perk Roll:
Omnilinguistic Assimilation
You can learn any human or alien language through lip-to-lip contact. Girls will likely have an easier time using this power than boys.
Thoughts:
SO! This gets uh... The oracle is practically SCREAMING Empire. But honestly I kind of like the idea of it being another white supremacist/neonazi group being put in touch with Gesselschaft? Rural Michigan has its share of that sort of thing, and the UP is mostly rural.

Okay, Rural neonazi compound, contact with gesselschaft, the perk... Bree kissing a nazi to learn German? Kissing the daughter of the clan who is a top student, multilingual, in an attempt to find a way out of the clan? And said clan getting pissed off about said kiss?

PC oppose the physical to me says superpower potion. Bree is... underwhelming, in terms of combat prowess. Unless somebody reminds her that her martian blood power lets her turn into any animal, such as a snake, and she could have gotten out of that cast at any time. Or a bear, which do live around there and could plausibly do an interrupt with the daughter caught in a corner.

But... To me this feels sort of triggerworthy, and I think having it resolve in a single turn would be doing the plot a disservice.

Dunno. OR! Monica is back, for Reasons:tm:. Maybe Mr. Van Man tries to stay at the hotel? Maybe Monica got away/killed Mr. Van Man, and is now in the hotel? Her power works mostly on concrete, so the Northwoods would be less susceptible to it.

Or maybe the ice lady? Dunno. Thoughts?

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

Encounter: 21
Event: Bargain Wondrous Grudge
Mythic: Remote event praise a path
Sensory: A booming, unnaturally loud voice, the air is hazy, the crush of a crowd carrying you, industrial grease
Rune: Kenaz ("Beacon/Torch") • creativity, inspiration, harnessed power, world-changing ability
Tarot: Ten of Coins, Reversed • boredom, agitation, creating upheaval for its own sake
Virtue: Diligence
Vice: Fraud
Superpower Potion d6: N/A still blue
Respawns: Book.
Perk Roll: ...I'm actually just going to post the rolls and think about them 'out loud'

So I roll 5, and pick the one that feels thematically best. Either a nice or ironic reflection of something that happened, something that matches the Oracle and so is a bit like a premonition, something that I think would be funny or interesting with those characters and wouldn't wreck the story, or something completely irrelevant for now so as to not get in the way. More or less in that order. Oh, and if I see a repeat or something just... completely tonally wrong, delete the offender and repeat the roll. (Bree will not be getting anything that pushes her into a dominant role, among other things. Abilities she has and will never ever use because she's horrified of them? Neat character moment. An aura of domination that makes people who she's attracted to feel more submissive towards her? Nop.)

---

The Rolls!

Power Seeds | Jumper Edition
Power Seeds A small collection of black and silver crystals. The black ones overwhelm to body with one belonging to a monsters, while the silver one provides a lightly armored dress and a weapon, creating a magical girl. That's not what they're FOR though. Instead, they slowly remodel the soul of the user, jumpstarting its ability to generate magic. Jumper Edition And here is the first product you'll be selling. Anime and cartoons made from the Shoujo you create, as well as figurines, toys, costumes, and maybe even a video game or two. Obviously you won't really have any if you don't have any Shoujo, so get out there and make some! Also, the longer the Shoujo remain active, the wider the collection of things gets, including perverted stuff.

Love Conquers All
These new youma may have the power of rape on their side but so what? Love and justice can overcome anything, even the power of tentacles! Your already-impressive magical strength grows greater still when fueled by the power of love: whether you're fighting to free your loved ones from a monster or you're the only thing standing between them and a terrible fate, your physical and magical abilities rise dramatically, as much as doubling your power in moments of crisis that threaten those you love. But when you're able to pool your strength with your loved ones the total power that you all have access to rises further still, multiplying the sum of all your powers by another level for each person who adds their power to yours.

Rosy-Cheeked Adonis
As a child, were you perhaps mistaken for an angel once or twice? With such a beautiful body and an air of innocence about you I cannot imagine that something similar didn't happen at least once, but in truth you're more an incubus than anything else. You have a nameless charm that fascinates women, drawing them into spending more time with you than is wise and allowing you to take certain liberties with their friendship without arousing their suspicions until it's far too late for them. This effect can also take hold of men, making them assume that you're simply a child, pure of mind and heart, so much so that they'd overlook obvious warning signs of your true nature, like the smell of sex and the shaking legs of the wife you'd just finished impregnating. If they had a lust to match yours perhaps they could sense your true nature, but otherwise? Innocent is all you are.

Cornucopia
A simple spiral cone of woven wicker, this cornucopia generates a random selection of assorted fruit, grains, eggs, cheese, and other mundane, non-meat-based produce each day, enough to feed up to twenty people for a single day. These are raw materials rather than fully prepared meals.

Yuie Flowers
A type of flower native to Celestia. You receive several bags of seeds to plant some, and if you so wish, they may grow anywhere in your Warehouse or Warehouse attachments at will. Same goes for any properties that you own, where they may bloom anywhere you wish. They are, for all intents and purposes, ordinary flowers – though their native habitat being Celestia, those who walk in an area covered by them will feel as though they have entered somewhere holy and sacred, and has a mild calming effect on ordinary people. Demons tend to get annoyed at them.

---

So! The nothingburgers that won't immediately affect plot are Cornucopia, Yuie Flowers, and Love Conquers all. They have access to a grocery store and don't have the cooking skills to adapt to the ingredients, which could be interesting. There's still snow on the ground, so the Yuie Flowers are irrelevant for the moment, though could be very interesting, later. Love Conquers all is sweet, but Bree currently only has access to Utilimancy. Theoretically this could be used to push it into a combat useful thing, but... she doesn't really have anyone who loves her enough yet?

For funny/interesting character moment, Rosy-Cheeked Adonis would be neat. First, as a master effect that she and everyone could be horrified by, but also then the insecurity of 'are they just hanging out with me for my aura.' But... Honestly I don't feel the story needs that level of angst, and she hasn't built strong enough bonds that this would be an interesting test of them.

Oracle reflection! Bargain wondrous grudge, world changing power, makes me think Jewel- I mean Power Seeds. Nice character possibilities, a powerup for the whole family, ethical concerns and waffling over taking it, the monster seeds are a nice McGuffin that could be stolen and used later in service of a different plot.

For ironic twist on past events... Rosy-Cheeked Adonis? Maybe?

I'm currently leaning Soul Ge- Power Seeds. Though I'm a bit wary of overpowering everyone, the effects are pretty flexible in implementation.

---

So the Bargain Wondrous Grudge makes me think of Arthur. Maybe Arthur hiring a super to scare the family out? ...which would also give an opportunity for the black seeds to be taken, if it's a stranger, though that's pretty quick for a Chekov's gun. It'll respawn in a week if stolen, unless used. Maybe we can blame the hat lady. Shards cannot read the powers, but they can see effects. For example, once the silver seeds are used and the black seeds are described verbally, their effects are known to any shards keeping an eye on Bet. The spooky soup club would love a way to make non-shard-based parahumans. If Julia accepts a silver seed to protect herself and the others from Arthur that would fit too.
But! there are plenty of grudges around. Samuel comes to mind.

But there's another fun interaction for Samuel. Praise distant path. The Brotherhood of the Sun mentioned in the last chapter is an aryan totally-not-a-cult, and that's the sort of 'path' that comes to mind. Or! We introduce a new cult! Yay cults!

Alternatively for that one, Path. path to victory, the spooky soup club like our little chaosfox, and do *something*. Their attention and affection are not necessarily *safe*, and Bree is going to grow faster if she is involved in conflicts (in familiarity with her powers and spreading them further, if nothing else.)

The sensories feel like a big parahuman event, which could be aimed by the Hat Lady. Heck, she could be the one that sets Arthur's parahuman into contact with him through a rube-goldberg machine made of tuning forks. The tarot also makes me think of a parahuman event. We never heard what happened to Monica... though new characters give new threads so maybe not.

Oh it late I need to go get food, and that was about all I had anyway.

Toodles!

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

So I'm currently writing Turn 6, and realized I needed something to keep character details straight. That does not rely on my memory.

This isn't super structured, it's me jotting down my thoughts, and all is subject to change.

But! Everything visible right away is stuff that's been seen or hinted at in story. The stuff behind the spoilers is... well... spoilers. Might be disrupted by future Oracles or plot bunnies or the Muse.

Emily/Bridget/Bree

Lesbian. First response to conflict is to run away. Clever, quick-witted, but not great at long-term thinking. Has flexible morals but cannot walk away from suffering in front of her. She'll do a grand gesture to help and then run away. Is dissociating, dove into being 'Bree' because being Emily hurt too much.

Time spent as a fox has made her very scent-oriented. Cannot sleep without someone else there or at least their scent.

Birth parents named Sarah Lee Larsson and Robert Kane Larsson.

Has flashbacks.

Spoiler: Emily/Bridget/Bree Spoilers

No longer feels fully comfortable in either fox or human skin.

Can use Martian Blood to shapeshift into anything. Has forgotten this fact.

Abandonment issues. Always has a plan for how to survive being abandoned. These are less plans and more vague ideas.

Felt safest and happiest when she was a pet, as a haven immediately after a great deal of trauma. I'm sure this will have no effect on her or her relationships going forward.

---

Krieg

English accent with a hint of something else. Tortured Emily with his powers. Forced her to drink bleach. Sold her to Gesselschaft, telling her to be happy. "Motherhood is the greatest Joy a woman can hope for."

Last known status: Alive, Parahuman, presumably in trouble for selling a secret powerhouse to Gesselschaft.

---

Hendricks

Dresses like a middle school teacher, harried. Plaid shirt, thick rimmed glasses, belted khakis.

Last known status: Alive, a Nazi, a dick.

Spoiler: Hendricks Spoiler

Was the one to dose the burrito and water. Together, they were a lethal dose of sedative. Did not care.

---

Dr. Valentine

Picked up a wounded fox and took in to care for it. Smoker a long time ago.

Wry, pragmatic. Now wears a bullet vibrator to work, so she can cast. Has access to the black magic (corruption of champions) spell Heal, which requires her to be above a certain threshold of arousal to cast. Had a bum leg.

Spoiler: Dr. Valentine Spoilers

The origins of parahumans are not publicized. Here is what she has to work with: Magic, intelligent fox, wounded, carrying a book with a healing spell. It's something out of a comic book, so it's clearly somebody's origin story. But it wasn't meant for her, she doesn't think. She's not the sort of person who gets powers, and she's largely content with her life. She thinks Bree is a plot hook/call to destiny that has been defused, but now she has a magic intelligent fox. So she sends the fox to the Northwoods. Her decision to not fully heal Bree was absolutely strategic. Julia would be less likely to kick out a wounded fox, and Bree would be less likely to run away.

---

Mr. Van Man

Was on vacation, stopped to help a bleeding girl on the side of the road.
Parahuman. Cluster trigger. Has the ability to pull stone and concrete from the world around him like liquid, forming a shell around himself to fight. Independent hero, was on vacation trying to get away from his cluster mate, Monica. Wore his normal clothes and a domino mask at the hospital.

Drives a minivan.

Last seen: Fighting Monica at the hospital disaster.

---

Miss Sparkly Ice Lady

Protectorate Hero based in Sault St. Marie. Ice powers, can fly. Has constantly-shifting ice armour that evaporates and reforms continuously. Wasn't fast enough to follow Emily in flight, but showed up in Munising after Emily. Was willing to try to talk to Emily when she was clearly very drugged and dissociating/regressing from trauma. Is convinced Emily is a parahuman.

Is aware that Emily said her father sold her to nazis.

Last seen: Tackled out of the room by one of Monica's monsters.

---

Julia

Weary. Runs and owns the Northwoods Inn, and has a daughter. Was married to Dan, and was kind of lost when he died. Tried to keep the Northwoods going by herself. Was running mostly on caffeine, protein bars, and continental breakfast. Is slipping, is aware things are slipping.

Was the first one to think of Bree as a person, even before she became person-shaped.

Smells of cleaning solution and ink and paper, covered with faded hints of flowery perfume.

Blonde

Spoiler: Julia Spoilers

Vaguely inspired by Joyce Summers from Buffy.

When not on the ragged edge of exhaustion, very socially savvy.

Feels out of control and so is exerting control and distancing.

Had an unspecified thing happen with Addison years ago, that she still blames Addison for, a little. Is mostly mad at herself for letting Addison back in, feels like she should keep Addison at arms length. But Addison keeps being lovely and slipping inside her defenses without trying, and helping. Is attracted to Addison and feels bad about it because her husband just died.

---

Alice

Student, devoted daughter. Bit of a chatterbox. Ultimately responsible, but enjoys flights of fancy. Has not yet figured out quite who she wants to be, aesthetically. Has access to the black magic (corruption of champions) spell Heal, which requires her to be above a certain threshold of arousal to cast.

Is overwhelmed, feeling like she needs to step up and fill Dan's shoes at the hotel on top of her. Feels like a burden on her mom, and is trying to be as little of a burden as possible. Her love language is acts of care. Fiercely protective of her home and those she sees as hers.

Is thrilled that magic is real. It feels like a storybook intervened in her stressful life, and none of it feels quite real. Is applying dream-logic.

Grades were suffering due to stress, even before she skipped a day to cover for the employee that quit.

Is able to read Fox!Bree best out of the household.

Wears scene/alt/emo clothes and makeup when she feels the need for fortification.

Wears cherry perfume.

Spoiler: Alice Spoilers

Does not quite yet see Bree as a person. She's the magic fox friend who can turn into a cute girl.

Just before her first appearance, Alice was dragged to the frozen beach and a bonfire, so her friends could make her relax. She broke down crying with them, and lost track of time.

---

Addison

Short black hair, wears a leather jacket and combat boots.

Cocky, unflappable, protective, good in a fight. Takes everything in stride. Most comfortable when she has an action to take.

Grew up in the UP, went west to Montana, ended up in Maine.

Has some sort of history with Samuel.

Perceptive.

Spoiler: Addison Spoilers

Is loosely based on Raine from Katalepsis. If you haven't read that, go do it.

Addison is... There's a school of thought that we are the stories we tell through our words and actions. Addison is an unflappable cocky dyke who won't shy away from a fight and is deeply devoted to those she loves. That's her story, and... where does a lie begin and end if you make it your truth? Right now, the foundation of that story is Julia and Alice. And, to a much much lesser extent, Bree. Without that foundation she'd crumble. She left because leaving was the best thing she could do for Julia.

Something happened between Julia and Addison a few years ago. Currently undefined.

Deeply in love with Julia. Loves Alice.

Bree needed help. As in, she seemed like someone running from something. So Addison immediately slotted her in as a person to protect. But not on the same level as the other two. She's helped others out, beaten up abusive boyfriends, threatened bosses, helped, and then moved on. She isn't attached to Bree.

---

Arthur

Wears a rumpled suit. Charming. Has the air of a used-car-salesman to people he sees as his equals or who he can get something out of. Is rude and dismissive otherwise.

Is determined to sell the Northwoods before it drops any more in value.

Spoiler: Arthur Spoilers

Feels that the Northwoods Hotel should have come to him. Has half ownership, on the condition that he keep it in the family. Does not see Julia as family.

---

Samuel

Aggressive misogynist from 'The Lodge'. Absolutely not part of the Brotherhood of the Sun, that's not a real thing.

Is currently on divorce number 6.

Spoiler: Samuel

The Brotherhood of the Sun is currently planned to be a Scion cult that sees Scion as Sol Invictus. White supremacist, misogynist, libertarian.

---

Letty

New employee at the Northwoods. Tall, slim, punk/alt. Snakebite piercings. On break from university.

Spoiler: Letty Spoilers

Serious spoilers, are you sure?

Spoiler: Really sure?

Letty is not her real name. It's short for her cape name, Leitmotif. Minor stranger aura that makes them unremarkable. With repeated physical contact over time, can 'mark' a person or place. While the 'mark' lasts, they can 'remember' as if they had been observing it remotely. Marks fade unless refreshed, and the more reinforced a mark, the better the clarity of the memories.

Was hired with her clustermates to steal the deed to the Northwoods from Julia's safe.

Is terrified, watching the world end by inches. Triggered during an endbringer attack. Watched the greatest heroes of the world struggle to draw blood against the walking calamities.

 

[Inkyfoxxo]

...Okay, so there's a reroll because we had the rolls pointing pretty squarely at the slaughterhouse 9 and that's not a good place for the story rn. There are a few encounter rolls that I have vaguely assigned to various threats. For example, an endbringer attack is 01. Heartbreaker is 02. Cauldron plot is 03. the slaughterhouse 9 are, as makes sense, 09. Honestly, they have to be in a much stronger emotional position before I let anything like that happen.

Encounter: 43
Event: Bargain Active Font
Mythic: Introduce a new NPC Overindulge Anger
Sensory: Running feet, closer and closer, a stomach-tilting lurch, a dusty cellar
Rune: Thurisaz ("Thor/Giant") • reactionary, defensive destruction, instinct, willpower, regeneration, lightning, electricity
Virtue: Mercy
Vice: Pride
Superpower Potion d6: N/A still blue
Respawns: Book.
Thoughts so far: Okay! So! We currently have the plot thread of Letty, which I think this is going to tie into nicely. The mythic lets me introduce her ex-boyfriend, who is unhappy that she is happy to just do her job.

...Honestly, Alice is the most likely to want to go out and do Magical Girl things, but that will probably involve her just like. Being out in public as Magical Girl Black Cherry. Maybe stop a pickpocket or something. OR, alternatively, I've been meaning to put together a calendar of likely events. Like, community events. The sugaring off season would be in full swing (boiling down maple sap into syrup and sugar)... Magical Girl Black Cherry could make her debut at a festival.

I need to do research. But that will be a source of events and fluff too.

Perk Rolls:

Natural Lands
A plot of land, be it burial grounds, a grove where nature spirits congregate, or a place where the border to the spirit world is thinner, of significance to the natural world. The nature of these lands makes rituals performed within them have a much higher chance of success, reduces the resources required, and ensures they are far more forgiving on any mistakes made, compensating for a lack of skill and understanding to a great degree. Additionally, spirits are more easily spoken to within these lands.

Dalish Grove
A grove full of trees such as ironbark, sylvanwood, dragonthorn, vhenadahl, and heartwood. All of them would yield excellent materials for a dalish woodshaper. 24 hours after cutting one of these trees down, it'll be restored to its former glory.

Fluffy tail and ears
You have soft fur and in other forms with feathers or fur retain this softness or in the case of scales a smooth sheen, this also affects your hair. You can apply this to all forms you have and retain a color scheme in each form. Your tail can also act as a prehensile limb.

A Homerun From Outta the Strike Zone
Sometimes gentlemen prefer blondes and other times a woman isn't interested in a man. This can cause issues when someone you're interested in isn't interested in people 'like you', but with this perk you can avoid all that. Other people's preferences and prejudices (be those based on gender, skin colour, nationality, social status, or anything else) never impede your ability to seduce or pleasure them. This does nothing to change their sexuality or whatever the impediment is, you're just an exception to the rule no matter what the rule is. Moreover the stronger and more unreasoning that aversion would be, the greater the boost there is to how good the sex is. You will not become addicted to this, but the same may not be true of a sufficiently bigoted partner.

Mixed Seed Bundle
A large burlap sack full of various seeds, mixed so thoroughly that you would need magic or extreme amounts of patience to sort them. They are leftovers from the company that normally provides the bags of seeds to Stardew Valley, sold at a discount because they can't be sure just what will grow from the mixture. They can be planted at any time but what springs up might not survive the season. A greenhouse would be an ideal place to use these seeds. The sack refills at the beginning of each year.

So! First. My heart yearns for the fluffy tail and ears. Foxgirl Bree. But, I don't think that's what the perk does? I think it basically says any fur that you have (and hair) is soft, and any tail you have is prehensile. Or it could be fluffy tail and ears. Okay. Focus.

Mixed seeds, Homerun, and Dalish are all nothingburgers for now. They set up stuff for later but won't impact the plot all that much. Honestly, Natural Land is that way too, but I kind of like the idea of the North Woods around the Northwoods becoming spiritually thin. Feels like a Chekov's gun that will be fun later. Honestly same for the Dalish Grove, though that's for crafting later if we end up doing that.

hmm decisions decisions.

Thoughts?