[Worm] Labyrinth of Winslow (development thread)

From the Worm Ideas Thread:

I've decided that unless someone has a better idea, these events take place a few days befor Christmas Break, 2010. Taylor will thus trigger under different circumstances, and have a different power. I would suggest that the number of people who do trigger from this should be fairly small, probably less than five people (counting Taylor) out of the hundreds of students that I presume Winslow High has. I suppose it could have more than a thousand, but specific numbers aren't so important, unless Wildbow gave a clear statement about it.

EDIT: Originally, I forgot about second-gen and third-gen capes when posting this, so the number of new triggers should actually be more than five, possibly a lot more, depending on how quickly other capes arrive on-scene, and how long the incident lasts - Shadow Stalker being there at the start, as macdjord notes, could be a significant source of new second-gens.

 

QA is by nature an information management shard. Taylor in this scenario hasn't got the "bullying" problem... so... she doesn't need "control" as much as she needs "knowledge".

Seems like the birth of a telepath to me. Or a type of combat precog. Either way, it goes into 'haha, fuck you' territory when fighting other parahumans. Kinda like a mirror to Jack Slash.

 

I think it depends on the changes to reality Labyrinth causes, and where the studetns are caught. If Taylor is hiding on the roof, for example, she could develop powers that let her communicate with Labyrinth, in order to share the latters protection against her powers. Or she could end up a mover/shaker/brute, able to do parcour moves on a level with Spiderman, "thanks" to having to jump and run through a deadly obstacle course. Or she ends up in a rapidly changing, but always very hostile enviroment, and has to adapt (like crawler, but without the permanent mutations) rapidly to all sorts of dangers and damage. Another possible power could be to cocoon/fortify/bunker up, and weather whatever is going on outside the protected zone.
Alternatively, she ends up with a power that lets her copy powers, so she can protect herself against them as if she was the original wielder.

 

• Thinker power: Can detect and know (some info about) the powers of new triggers within some large range.
• Thinker power: Automatically knows the best way to resist/evade/neutralize the powers of any parahuman they encounter. Only gets the info on what to do, not why or what the power actually is. Offers no help against mundane feats or abilities the cape might use

 

Also remember that the power given doesn't necessarily solve the problem that broke them. Someone may find a dead end and turn around to discover that its shifted and they're now trapped in a box. They wait for hours, but nobody comes. Suddenly the walls start closing in. They scream and pound on the slowly closing walls but nobody comes to save them. In that moment they realize that they've always been alone and unwanted, ignored by the world and this time to their death. They trigger, creating a projection of their own personal Guardian Angel... That is completely insubstantial and can do nothing to get them out of the mess they are in.

A kid gets surrounded by thugs taking the chance to lash out at people. They think this is the end and that they need more time! It wasn't supposed to end like this, just a little longer... And so they get a thinker power that allows them to massively slow their perception of time and develop a perfect sense for the passage of time. But only their perception is slowed so their body is no faster than its ever been, so they're still stuck in the exact same fucked up situation they began in.

 

Given how many of them won't have secret identities after all of this, it seems probable that they'll either die, get thrown in jail, run, or join the Wards. Also, while statically a lot less likely, one of the teachers/staff might trigger, too.

Had another power idea.

Thinker: Allows for insight and into a person's mental state and how to interact with them to achieve whatever result they have in mind. Can also observe the evidence of actions (like a criminal investigator would) to build a social profile of the perpetrator/victim/bystander/whatever. Each psychological profile built is unique and can very accurately identify a previously known person or link a newly observed person to a previously observed profile. The primary limitations are that a person's psychological profile will shift with time, especially from particularly transformative events, and from mixing up the actions of multiple people.
Triggered while desperately working to figure out what the pattern(s) to the threats were so she could guide her classmates and teacher away from the danger. A highly analytical person by nature, she was used to understanding things. That all changed when her younger brother developed a mental illness. She couldn't understand why he did the things he did or what he might do in the future. And, no matter how much she loved him, she was absolutely terrified of him.

 

While that's sort of true, it is still based on the Shard's perception of the problem and I really doubt it would ignore an immediately lethal threat to it's host. They're alien, not stupid.

 

Reading through it the idea seems interesting and rather scary. If Labyrinth's changes in this case included a component changing the amount of space in her territory (similar to how Vista's power works) then you could have a lot of different things going on in Winslow. Also if she wasn't visible on the roof then people would be searching to no avail inside for the 'source'.

In regards to triggers and the resulting powers:

• In the panic which was occurring, few would be willing to help someone who was left behind. Stuck as the change approached, nobody helping no matter what was said, a student could trigger seeing the last person flee from sight. The power gained is a Master/Shaker ability, animating a chunk of the surroundings into an obedient but mostly unintelligent servitor. Minor variations occur depending on the materials used.

• Normally being in charge is a good thing, but that isn't always the case. In the uncertainty of the situation the leader of a Winslow club (or perhaps clique) couldn't handle how others looked to her for answers. She didn't know what to do, couldn't know what to do, and the chaos around her was too much for her to handle. The power gained is a Stranger/Trump ability which causes people to assume, unless direct evidence is present, that she is unimportant. This extends to powers which avoid or disregard her unless specifically targeted upon her.

• Being trapped is a great impetus to escape. A Mover/Blaster power which lashes out ahead of the user as it transports them up to a score of yards away, shattering whatever lies between their starting point and intended destination, greatly helps escape. But if one doesn't know what way to go...

• Some environments are dangerous and in them people will get hurt. It doesn't matter how bad an injury really is if someone believes they were dying and that nobody was helping. A Blaster power, consuming flesh and blood from others to fuel regeneration in its user, would certainly 'help'.

Do any of those seem interesting or useful?

 

This is getting into Silent Hill territorry very fast.

Also as far as I remember/can extrapolate if the power itself isn't enought to remove the problem that caused it, and it itself is problematic it will lead to an immediate double trigger like Taylor did when she double triggered in the locker. If I recall correctly she got the bug control first followed by getting sensory input from them in the second trigger.

 

Reminds me of Tattletale. Can you give a bud to someone who just happens to be nearby?

Yes, to various degrees.

Well, Labyrinth's power can be pretty damn scary.

I think that only happens if the first trigger immediately adds more stress.

 

"Just"? No. However, the requirements can be really, REALLY light in some cases. (Host smiled at that person! Budding!) Somebody could easily have acquired a bud from Tattletale from a relatively incidental contact; maybe they shared a meal and drink with her while Tattletale quietly acquired information on everyone she knew and both actually enjoyed the experience.

 

.... oh shit.

• Second-generation triggers are way easier than first-gen
• All it takes to 'bud' is a fairly positive interaction
• Which active parahuman has had the most interaction with the student body of Winslow?

Imagine, Dozens of little Shadow Stalkerettes running about...

 

... I was trying to keep the number of new capes down to something believable, and I'm not sure how much easier second-gen triggers actually are (e.g. Victoria Dallon's trigger was probably a lot more than just 'getting fouled in a basketball game'), but if no-one strongly objects, I'm willing to accept increasing the total number of triggers by adding a few second gens and third gens (the New Wave kids are all second-generation capes by definition, and have been using their powers a lot, so third gens from them are plausible; likewise, Kaiser is a second-gen cape from Allfather, though he may be less likely to be their in person, so that needn't happen).

EDIT: AFAIK, the only reason Emma didn't trigger in the alleyway is because no shard was paying attention to her. If Sophia's shard is throwing off buds, Emma is the most likely candidate.

 

That really isn't how shards work. She might not even have the potential to trigger. People who don't have the Corona Pollentia can't trigger or receive buds at all.

 

I'm pretty sure that a Corona Pollentia forms when a shard links up with its host, not the other way around.

 

Scion sends them out. It's in his interlude.

The shard connects, attaching to the male.
No. It is ineffective. The female is clearly more distressed.
Prey.
There is a way to maximize exposure to conflict.
The entity taps into its understanding of the bipeds and how they operate, recognizes the signs of distress, the nuances such things can have.
It views the future again, with changes made in the code.
This time, the shard settles in the male, then immediately shifts to the more distressed female.
Insinuation. The shard connects to the host’s neural network.
The bond is created. - Interlude 26

Emma wouldn't have triggered even after she spent time with Sophia. She didn't have the potential int he first place.

 

... I'm REALLY not sure how you read that as the Corona Pollentia existing prior to the shard connecting with them.

 

Take my plot bunny.

The combination of new triggers in/around Winslow, presence of Sophia and labyrinth, plus the whole death maze vibe I got from the thread/OP, result in a pretty radically different form of Taylor's admin shard.
The power works by the admin shard collecting info from other nearby shards, then giving the host a limited access to this info, which takes the form of the host 'pushing' their power into an object they're holding.
Basically, Taylor 'enchants' objects with weakened variations of powers from parahumans she comes in contact with, but she may not recognize this, due to her enchantments working more along the lines of how other powers work rather than the effect generated.

For example, Sophia's power might give her enchantments based around mass shifting/bag of holding type stuff, instead of phasing. Or Miss Militia's power could let her give an object the power to change into a weapon/object (pen to sword, axe to spear, phone to computer etc..).
How exactly Taylor controls what enchantment she puts on an object is up for interpretation, but I would default to something along the lines of her shard offering an enchantment for an object, but Taylor being able to tell what that enchantment is and decide to apply it or ask for a reroll from her shard.

Sorry if it's badly explained.

 

I'm with Navrin, here. For purposes of at least this thread, the Corona Pollentia forms when a shard locks on to a potential host, some amount of time before said host triggers. For second and later generation capes, this is whenever a new bud is ready and finds a host, which could be only seconds before the actual trigger event.

So, kind of like Dauntless, but faster?

 

Sorry wrong quote.

“I don’t,” the Doctor said. “But I have a corona pollentia.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “You have the potential for power?”
“I do. I could theoretically trigger. If someone has the potential and takes the dose, there is a higher chance of deviation.” - Venom 29.7

Doctor Mother hasn't triggered but she has had her Corona Pollentia for a very long time. The shard has locked on to her but it's not anywhere near a time where she might trigger.

 

That reads as if you now agree with Navrin and me. If you don't, then I still don't see where you're coming from, but this is the wrong thread to discuss it in. The correct thread for such a discussion is here.

 

The Pollentia remains formed even after a bud passes over a host, most likely she got a pollentia from hanging around Contessa but was an abject failure in terms of trigger situations such that it moved on somewhere, like the QA did with Danny.

 

There is a comparison to Dauntless to be made, but the power was inspired by Skyrim's enchanting system. Taylor learns new enchantments by encountering parahumans, then can apply enchantments to equipment. There's a load of ways to limit the power to a reasonable level, but that's the gist of the power.

Although, Danny was Dauntless in my original idea for Alt!power Taylor with this power, so there is that.

 

I made an edit to the OP, due to getting a like, and rereading the thread. Since it's a bit old, though, I thought I should bring it up again, but didn't want to do so without at least a little content. So, here are some possible second-generation powers based on Shadow Stalker:

Striker/Blaster/Shaker (possibly multiple people with powers related to this): The ability to apply temporary shadow phasing to nearby objects (with electrical objects being visible, and not phased) - basically the reverse of Sophia's power. If the walls are closing in, or turning into spears and trying to stab you, being able to walk through them could be a lifesaver, but that doesn't mean you need to change yourself.


Breaker: Environmental Adaptation. Whenever you're in a hostile environment (like, say, ones created by Labyrinth freaking out), you enter a breaker state that changes to prevent the environment from harming you. 'Environment' may be fairly loosely defined - a rainstorm probably doesn't count (unless you're already miserable, and/or already hate rain), but a hailstorm most likely does, as does a hail of bullets. A snowstorm is a hostile environment because you could freeze to death, the ocean counts because you could drown, et cetra. (Sort of like one of Starfox5's suggestions, but more specifically related to Sophia's power.)


Breaker/Other: A number of new triggers could be variations on the theme of Shadow Stalker's power: A Breaker-state that lets them pass through solid objects that don't have a significant electric charge, but not the same Breaker state (and maybe not that same weakness). The change might seem to be purely visual at first (grey or white mist, a humanoid cloud of coloured sparkles, just turning blurry and/or translucent, or perhaps fully invisible), but the powers likely have more differences than that. One possible variant is someone who turns into a humanoid lightning storm, has no problem with electricity (and in fact has a taser-like - or more lethal than that - Blaster power), but has trouble with uncharged conductors - or alternatively, cannot pass through a good insulator.

Another, one I considered for other Emma-with-a-Shadow-Stalker-bud ideas, turns into fire and can fly, and might be able to throw firebolts, but as a trade-off, lacks the ablity to take anything with her - so, she burns her clothes if she's wearing them when she switches, and is always naked when she turns back (any sort of costume that could go with her would likely also impede her abilities, unless the Tinker had exactly the right theme, and/or was really clever - Sophia wonders if Emma is an exhibitionist, and Taylor perhaps agrees).



Unrelated to Sophia, a possible Taylor power (because QA does multitasking and control): Master/Trump - able to turn bits of the environment into numerous small minions, based on nearby capes, and with the abilities thereof. Basically a modification of the idea presented by Zaranoth, combined with someone else who I either missed, or who posted in another thread. Her minions' powers should also have the same weaknesses as the original capes, though how exactly this affects her may vary - for example, if she creates a Tattletale or Dinah minion, does the headache persist if she dismisses it?

If she dismisses and immediately recreates it, does she have more questions (as some other 'power-copier-Taylor' fics have done), or does she need to wait the amount of time Lisa or Dinah would? If she creates a L33t minion, is it limited to L33t's list at the time, or does it start with the list he started out with?

If she dismisses and recreates that minion, does the list reset (most likely, this would have the same answer as to the similar question about Thinkers)?

How many minions of a single cape can she create, and if that's more than one, does this allow more questions to her Thinker minions?

This would be a pretty powerful Taylor in general, but the answers above could make her quite a bit more so.