Plot Post for November 16th!

[theearth]

This format of plot post is designed for players to ask questions and find ways to influence the plot. Be bold and ask what you can or can't do; the worst that can happen is that we will say no. As plots in Save the Earth are not self resolving nor on a time limit, they can evolve in many ways. Although some potential outcomes are given, they are little more than suggestion and can be changed by character action. What role you take is up to you.

The post is also open for players to plot and coordinate between one another.

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State of current events:

• The Numbered's own Octavia Serket (drama8om8) and Alan Hunter (wirsinddiejager) began an unorthodox vigilante investigation of Thunder Corp.'s business in Tuning Towers with a break-in to and diversionary attack on the upper floors on the night of November 11th and have as the night of the 14th been rescued from detention by their fellows; a hunt is now announced as on for a pair of young vandals and the suspected terrorist organization - so the authorities say - that they represent.

Serket and Hunter's names and photographs are on the news as the perpetrators of the break-in who escaped holding in the raid on the police station on the 14th - and where the police are at work identifying and locating the rest on what leads they have (notably at the identified vandals' school of attendance Locke City High), one may notice that spells of civilian space-out - semi-regularly, for less than thirty-second periods - follow them.


• For better or for worse, current events are doing nothing to relieve the atmosphere of panic and paranoia in Locke City or do a thing for the city's evolving reputation - current events coverage of all forms is buzzing with talk of all the inexplicable and bizarre goings-on. Rumors and speculation circulate and bend through independent sources and features on exactly what is going on in the city; there is no shortage of conspiracy theories that can be dug up attempting to explain the connections between any and all currently-controversial local or federal parties on the so-called eco-terrorism scare. Fueled by the internet, new urban legends abound, from the peculiarly-isolated rash of lethal disease afflicting the city's pigeons to rumors of cockroach men in the sewers and a brilliant explosion in the sky over the city outskirts the night of November 1st.

More general news media has, meanwhile, in addition to the predictable, begun calling attention to a somewhat particular handful of missing persons cases - out of which the most publicized and likely outstanding by far are those of Mikasa Bito (erenplz), fifteen-year-old daughter of a Thunder Corp. employee and suspected innocent victim of hostility toward the company; and the reclusive local sculptor David Proud, whose work was previously so prominently displayed in the local museum.


• Access to the bombed areas is still restricted - however, as thorough examination and cleanup ends so Thunder Corp.'s rebuilding can begin, despite any effort to keep it entirely quiet to avoid causing further scene, some word has leaked out that the bombings have proven to be disturbingly odd, with reincarnates affiliated with the police able to catch wind of the factual details: whatever method used hasn't left a trace of evidence of conventional bombing, no radiation, chemical traces, and even minimal fire - with nothing brought to light pointing to some alternative method.


• The mission headed by Ravindra Savarna (healspec) in the city's undergroung did not result in accomplishment of its participants' declared goal: to find the producer of and stop that mysterious buzzing noise. Thus, its presence in reincarnates' heads goes on - at least for any of the newly-numbered it ought to be easy to tune out! Also remaining in place are the likelihood of witnessing groups of citizens falling under a "zone-out" effect and the amount and degree of presence by the police (both as described on October's plot post).

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Events occurring in the immediate future:

• No obvious changes in the state of things to occur presently are apparent. If the silence - or rather the buzzing - is too deadly for you, either keep your head low as long as it lasts or take advantage of the room in which you've still got to move!

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Events potentially occurring in the immediate future:

• As it looks as if their opposition is getting more restless - and, as it would seem, more reckless - the Enemy will be likewise getting bolder and more intent in bringing them under control.

Any player-run plots and events that would run the risk of drawing attention to player characters will run the risk of being "crashed" - participants and/or organizers of any, know that you may be contacted before or in the early stages of any such plot to approve/opt out and plot outcomes and developments accordingly.

On the other hand, just as before, feel free to leave and/or update a comment for your character(s) to the sign-up thread under our previous plot post if you're interested in trouble finding them on its own!

In either case, if you receive an event PM or Private Plurk, you may opt out!

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Potential Echo Opportunities

Visits to Tuning Towers for the first time after October 23rd will continue to grant Echoes indefinitely - for anyone willing to get that close to the police! Unique incidents, investigations, and other current and forthcoming events are also liable to yield Echoes for reincarnates involved.


Please direct questions regarding these plot points to the thread below and not the post in general.

Comments

[shiromadoushi]

So! Bakura's going to gather a gang of people and head down to try and talk go the guy. I think Lyall will be the designated spokesperson. Any luck on the diplomacy/info gathering phase?

[theearth]

Unfortunately what'll be there to greet them are two activated snake statues - which will attack and, much like the original totem in the Dead District and the statues in the P. Thadson Gallery, assert a thought directly into the heads of any nearby: no matter how good your offense is, if you fight, then you will die!

Those venturing in are welcome to avoid the snakes and try to search the subway for the sculptor, but he'll have hidden himself well on the snakes reacting to intruders.

[shiromadoushi]

Welp. What's overhead? Since fighting snakes underground is likely gonna... cause problems up top.

Any chance Lyall could find the guy in the chaos with his sniffy nose?

edit: Also, if Soren makes good on his plans to try and kidnap the guy, what will be the result there?

[theearth]

'Tis indeed an area in use and in use residentially - notably, the place in the subway where the sculptor was is within a potentially unsafe distance from an apartment complex affordable enough to be fairly packed.

Lyall could likely pick up on the man's scent, though attempting to follow it would lead one chasing him out of the subway. He'll not be an easy man to catch to kidnap!

[reapsthewind]

Soooo is it IMPOSSIBLE to get him, or if we're clever could we nab the slippery bastard?

[theearth]

If you are clever you indeed could - but not at the time, at the spot! For example attempting to follow his trail out of the subway could allow one to catch up to him, as could playing decoy for the snakes to allow at least one member of the group to take cover someplace and wait it out for him to return - if of course, anyone in the group would both think and have the patience to do those things.

[mood2wiingiing]

is he going to already be long gone or still be within sight just too far to grab onto or...? wondering if soren could grab him telekinetically.

[theearth]

He is going to have evacuated by the time PCs arrive on the site, correct.

[theearth]

And a note to make it explicit - a brush with these statues, as with the last batch, will grant a plot Echo.

[mood2wiingiing]

this counts even if they got one from the last batch right? just to make sure.

and also just running into them down the counts as a brush with them right, they don't actually need to engage them in a fight to get the echo?

[theearth]

Correct, on both counts - in a loose sense of the wording coming close enough to one of the statues to be in some sort of danger puts one within range to set off an Echo; being at a safe distance doesn't, but even if a reincarnate does not fight, being close enough that they could or that the statue might lock onto them as a target does.

[shiromadoushi]

Also! Neku's gonna try and mind read possibly-Proud's mind. He going to have any luck with that?

[sun_sun]

To clarify on this point: Is any combat with the snakes guaranteed to be lethal? Presumably standing and fighting to the death or hoping to defeat one is out, but is it possible to hold one off temporarily?

[theearth]

It absolutely is possible to hold one off! Fighting to the death or aiming to defeat one, however, will indeed be problematic.

[sun_sun]

All I needed to hear!

[reapsthewind]

Related to the above question: is the "you WILL die" just a subliminal suggestion, and if a character were immune to that sort of thing, would these things be defeatable?

(My character is NOT, but I am curious)

[theearth]

The former is correct - it's mental suggestion.

[reapsthewind]

Neat

But unfortunate, because that does mean that no matter what, our characters will be fighting at half capacity :\a Is there anything which blocks the suggestion? Like, tinfoil hats? If we brought a normal person with a rocket launcher, would they still be affected, or does this hit EVERYONE?

Basically as I understand it, unless someone had a weapon that was guaranteed to hit and had a set power level that they fired to "slow the creature down!" that we'd continue to make stupid mistakes that'd allow the dumb things to survive.

[glorifiedtrash]

What, if anything, would this guy have left behind? I'm assuming his tools, but idk blue prints, spare clothes, cookies from grandma, his iphone?

[theearth]

Two sets of tools respectively fit for an artist and a mechanic, in fact, as well as a couple of canteens and a light sleeping bag. Apart from that, nothing of note!

[glorifiedtrash]

Interestinnnng. Will the unactivated snake statues be near the ones that are trying to kill everyone or could Zelos possibly slip off and take a look at those during all the chaos? If so what would he find of note when investigating them and what would the ones that aren't finished just yet look like?

[shiromadoushi]

There going to be any mod NPCing it up in this, BTW? Also, we have a good team of a sniffer (Lyall) and a speed quazi teleporter (Toushirou) (as well as a few other guys I thiiink?) going after the guy, are they going to be successful?

Also, if Marisa sets off her Master Spark underground to nuke a snake, how is that going to affect the immediate area? (aka, how stable is the tunnel?)

[theearth]

Let us know if you would like the pursuit to successfully catch Proud or if it would be best we assume he escaped. In either case, something will occur.

As for the second question, if Marisa were to successfully blast one of the snakes with a Master Spark, suffice to say that 'twould be a very bad thing - it'd likely cave the tunnel right on those inside, if they weren't blasted to death by an additional factor unless there's be a way to get everyone out of the hazard zone quickly.

On that note let us know as well if anyone in the group is leaning heavily toward destroying one of the snakes as the only option - we'll tell you how that'd go to allow for planning/proceeding accordingly.

[not_good_not_wicked]

Okay so just to clarify, then. If Marisa uses Master Spark on the snakes, they'll self destruct and take out the tunnel party, possibly along with the city block above them in the blast? Would blasting the floor out under them be a safer alternative?

I don't want to cheat, but I also don't want to get half the game killed.

[reapsthewind]

So after some conferring on Plurk...

> We WOULD like to be able to catch Proud. Capt. Hitsugaya can teleport AND he can use his ice powers to trip Proud up, while Lyall, Shiro, and maybe Neku can track people in various ways (Lyall by scent, Shiro by soul-energy, Neku by psychic powers). And even if Hitsugaya couldn't chase him down, Chris probably could via having jet engines for legs, though we're avoiding that option as it's noisy and conspicuous.

TL;DR -- we have the resources to catch him, and unless he can outpace a teleporting dude with ice powers and hide his tracks three different ways, it'd be kind of silly for us NOT to.

> We will not be blowing up a snake. We will instead be going for the heavy hitter / tanks of the group distracting the snakes so that Team Diplomat can get away, then running like hell.

> Marisa will absolutely not be using her Master Spark, because we don't want to die or kill people in the apartment complex.

Sound good?