You are a PATRIOTIC MEMBER of the shapeshifting SKRULL RACE. Your benevolent EMPEROR has decreed that, due to an ongoing skirmish abroad, it would be wise to DIVERSIFY their species with all manner of SUPERPOWERS. To this end, they have sent you to a little planet called EARTH that is overflowing with these SUPERPOWERED BEINGS. Your job is to bring back a FULL TEAM'S WORTH of SUPERPOWERED BEINGS. (According to your superiors, a full team constitutes at least four SPECIMENS-- superpowered beings.) At least one of these SPECIMENS must derive from your own successful EXPERIMENTS (but you shall be rewarded handsomely if you can replicate all of your captives' powers). This must be accomplished within the next TEN YEARS, or else you shall be UNCEREMONIOUSLY EXECUTED for your PATHETIC FAILURE. The more captive SPECIMENs, the better... but they must all be returned to the Throneworld ALIVE so that you can properly demonstrate their capabilities to THE EMPEROR. <><><><><>To acquire SPECIMENS, you must take advantage of your THREE MAJOR STATS: CHARISMA, MIMICRY, and GADGETRY. These MAJOR STATS are more thoroughly explained in the RENTRY, but, put simply: CHARISMA will help you lure in your victims. MIMICRY will help you hide from the authorities. GADGETRY will help you experiment upon your captives and turn them into SUPERPOWERED BEINGS.In addition, major stats must be balanced with two MINOR STATS: POPULARITY and SUSPICION. A high POPULARITY can supplement your CHARISMA by making people more willing to trust you, but may also attract unwanted attention. High SUSPICION means GAME OVER-- avoid increasing it as much as possible.GADGETS are the key to your SUCCESS. They bestow POWERS upon your captives, after all. What POWERs, exactly? You can't know until you use them at least once!The application of these POWERS is somewhat reliant on a GADGET's QUALITY, which is determined throughout its creation through a series of rolls. A low-quality GADGET will malfunction very often, leading to very suspicious EXPLOSIONS coming from your headquarters and possibly harming your SPECIMENs, while a high-quality GADGET will rarely malfunction and sometimes grant BONUSES to particularly successful rolls.Rentry for further reference: https://rentry.org/skrullquest
There are four types of GADGETS. The SKRULL EMPIRE has kindly supplied you with TWO TYPES to begin with:>FORMULAs-- basic chemical formulas you can manipulate with a bevy of ingredients (provided by the ever-benevolent EMPEROR). These GADGETs are very reliable, but rarely exceptional. The least-likely type to malfunction, but also the least-likely type to surpass expectation. >GIANT RAYs-- flashy machines of enormous size and power. These GADGETs are often very unreliable, but are MUCH more likely to grant bonuses at higher QUALITY. >HELMETs-- standard-issue GADGETs that come in the form of complex headwear. These GADGETs seem equally as likely to be exceptional as they are to be terrible-- in fact, almost every QUALITY seems to be of even odds.>RELICs-- >>THESE ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER THREE TYPES. YOU WILL ONLY BE SUPPLIED WITH ONE RELIC. RELICs are ONE-USE GADGETs.<< They are derived from mystic sources, very rare, and highly powerful. They are GUARANTEED to bestow a fierce power upon your SPECIMEN that the EMPEROR will adore-- but these powers may sometimes come with CURSES, and are frequently of such great potency that the ability to control those afflicted with RELIC-DERIVED powers is questionable. Their use can sometimes alert nearby SORCERERS to their presence.All of these GADGETs will come as PRE-MADEs with BLUEPRINTS for their replication (save for RELICs, which will only supply you with the relic itself).
They have also purchased a HEADQUARTERS for you to reside in through MYSTERIOUS MEANS. (The LOCATIONS of these headquarters are CLARIFIED in the ATTACHED IMAGE. They are COLOR-CODED-- the LOCATIONS are attached to their NAMES.) It happens to be ONE of the following:>A BROWNSTONE off 86th STREET (blue): Residing near CENTRAL PARK, this aging lot strikes a balance between privacy, perimeter, and panache. It contains a basement that you could easily fashion into SPECIMEN and GADGET storage, as well as a residential portion above that. This is located in a slightly less prestigious part of town, however, and may attract less savory specimens as a result.>A PENTHOUSE off 57th STREET (pink): Located on BILLIONAIRE'S ROW and rather lavish in decoration, this location sits atop an apartment complex and comes with a stunning SKYLIGHT. SPECIMENs will hardly find it suspicious that you live in an apartment-- they'll even be impressed by this particular type-- but keeping them there longer than a day may be a challenge without much space for storage.>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.Feel free to give your HEADQUARTERS a FITTINGLY INTIMIDATING NAME. [Hello! I'm briefly speaking out of character to clarify that this is indeed an actual one-shot. It's also a drawquest, if less-so, and I will likely be supplying images with every post. (Please go easy on them-- I am very out of practice and mostly doing this for fun.) Updates will be whenever, but I'll try to do something daily/bi-daily. This post will be followed by another approximately 10 hours from now just to speed the start up. The current Rentry is a bit barebones-- mostly just elaboration on stats and a copy-paste of the gadget choices-- but please refer back to it whenever you're confused, as I will be updating it as the quest progresses and fashioning it into an essential resource for the mechanics. All that said: thank you for reading! Please enjoy this silly idea I had!]
>>6435570Glory be to the EMPEROR and their beautiful Skrull WIFE!>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.These SIGNIFICANTLY STUPIDER Humans keep confusing this building to buy BUILDING MATERIALS, although we named it the GOME DEPOT in honorsnce of the great champion GOME the SKRULL, they keep asking for TWO-BY-FOURS and PAINT BUCKETS. It is INFURIATING
>>6435570>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.Sure, why not.>>6435601+1 to this anon's name too. Don't know much about Skrull or that crap but I'm intrigued
>>6435567>>FORMULAs-- basic chemical formulas you can manipulate with a bevy of ingredients (provided by the ever-benevolent EMPEROR). These GADGETs are very reliable, but rarely exceptional. The least-likely type to malfunction, but also the least-likely type to surpass expectation.>>HELMETs-- standard-issue GADGETs that come in the form of complex headwear. These GADGETs seem equally as likely to be exceptional as they are to be terrible-- in fact, almost every QUALITY seems to be of even odds.>>6435570>>A PENTHOUSE off 57th STREET (pink): Located on BILLIONAIRE'S ROW and rather lavish in decoration, this location sits atop an apartment complex and comes with a stunning SKYLIGHT. SPECIMENs will hardly find it suspicious that you live in an apartment-- they'll even be impressed by this particular type-- but keeping them there longer than a day may be a challenge without much space for storage.
>>6435601Aw SHUCKS forgot my EMPEROR provided TOOLS>HELMETs-- standard-issue GADGETs that come in the form of complex headwear. These GADGETs seem equally as likely to be exceptional as they are to be terrible-- in fact, almost every QUALITY seems to be of even odds.>GIANT RAYs-- flashy machines of enormous size and power. These GADGETs are often very unreliable, but are MUCH more likely to grant bonuses at higher QUALITY.
>>6435606Please vote for BOTH OPTIONS or you will be IGNORED
>>6435567>GIANT RAYs-- flashy machines of enormous size and power. These GADGETs are often very unreliable, but are MUCH more likely to grant bonuses at higher QUALITY.>RELICs-- >>THESE ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER THREE TYPES. YOU WILL ONLY BE SUPPLIED WITH ONE RELIC. RELICs are ONE-USE GADGETs.<< They are derived from mystic sources, very rare, and highly powerful. They are GUARANTEED to bestow a fierce power upon your SPECIMEN that the EMPEROR will adore-- but these powers may sometimes come with CURSES, and are frequently of such great potency that the ability to control those afflicted with RELIC-DERIVED powers is questionable. Their use can sometimes alert nearby SORCERERS to their presence.>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.
>>6435632Whoops>>6435606>>6435567>FORMULAS>HELMETS
>>6435637THANK YOU
>>6435567>FORMULAs-- basic chemical formulas you can manipulate with a bevy of ingredients (provided by the ever-benevolent EMPEROR). These GADGETs are very reliable, but rarely exceptional. The least-likely type to malfunction, but also the least-likely type to surpass expectation.>HELMETs-- standard-issue GADGETs that come in the form of complex headwear. These GADGETs seem equally as likely to be exceptional as they are to be terrible-- in fact, almost every QUALITY seems to be of even odds.>>6435570>>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.Just make ourselves look like a funky hippie old lady and throw a 'VINTAGE SALE' sign out front. Or get a little devious and make ourselves look like a government spook type, say it's a Department of Damage Control warehouse full of hot tech. Maybe blab about it on the phone near a supervillain so they try to steal the tech and wander into our trap.
>>6435567>FORMULAs>HELMETs>>6435570>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.
>>6435570>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green)We can possibly work something out with Fisk.
>>6435700Oh whoops, and...>>6435567>GIANT RAYs>RELICWe have the space.
>GIANT RAYs-- flashy machines of enormous size and power. These GADGETs are often very unreliable, but are MUCH more likely to grant bonuses at higher QUALITY. >HELMETs-- standard-issue GADGETs that come in the form of complex headwear. These GADGETs seem equally as likely to be exceptional as they are to be terrible-- in fact, almost every QUALITY seems to be of even odds.
>>6435802>>6435632
>>6435567>GIANT RAY>RELICs>A WAREHOUSE off 42nd STREET (green): Run-down, decrepit, and unassuming (at least in comparison to the nearby TIMES SQUARE), this location is absolutely full of space to utilize for GADGETs and SPECIMENs alike. Unfortunately, convincing anyone to visit will be a chore. Keeping them there, though..? Much easier.Truth be told, I know absolutely fuckall about skrulls but this seems fun
The plentiful selection of GADGETs provided by the ever-glorious EMPEROR were all very tempting. You had quite a hard time choosing between them. Eventually, however, you settled on the two most interesting GADGET types: one HELMET and GIANT RAY respectively. This is an important mission, after all-- you do NOT want to screw it up... but the allure of a giant zapping machine was unavoidable.The base was a much easier choice. The WAREHOUSE seemed like it would provide you with everything you need. SPECIMENS would simply have to get used to the leaking roofs and cold floors. What did their preference matter to your research? Satisfied with your decision, you named the WAREHOUSE after an old idol of yours-- G'OME, the HEROIC WAR HERO whose espionage was invaluable in conquering the frigid QUEEGA RACE. Recalling the spaceports of yore, you paired this with a rather old-fashioned way of referring to them: and so, G'OME DEPOT was born. Soon to become a mighty fortress, you were proud to call it your headquarters even in its primitive state. In fact, you were so proud that you felt the need to proclaim it aloud."SUCH AN ABODE SHALL DO NICELY! All of New York City" (said with bile in your throat) "shall cower at its majesty by noon, or else my name isn't...">WRITE-IN. NAME THE SKRULL! His identity will be secret to many in-universe, but not to the audience!"BE-BE-BEE-BEE-BO!" Your mandated nanny-robot complained, perhaps due to the volume of your mighty proclamation. "BOO-BA-BA-BA-BOO!""Yes, yes, you infernal heap of junk. This is indeed a cramped aircraft. I will spare you more of my celebration," you lied. Why did you need such a thing, anyways? The scientists back on Throneworld had insisted you take it-- they deemed it a necessary component in keeping the SPECIMENS alive. One claimed that it would tidy up after their waste-- another proclaimed it a useful supplier of food and water. You had to get the head scientist to admit that it did both-- and more-- and that you would hardly need to see it if you were doing your job correctly. When you asked if you would still be able to hear it, you were hurried off without further clarification. When you tried to leave it behind while boarding, you were reprimanded over your comms and ordered to return. Some day, you told yourself, you would need to figure out how to reprogram the damned bolt-bag into talking less.<><><><><>
Some time after your landing, while refurbishing G'OME DEPOT to accommodate your GADGETs and small SPECIMEN ZOO (able to hold ten whole SPECIMENS!), you found yourself bored and felt it prudent to take an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. You'd always been rather good at...>CHARISMA. There wasn't a soul in the empire who didn't think you looked and sounded like a dream.>MIMICRY. Your transformation skills were unmatched, and your stealth skills were somehow even better.>GADGETRY. You could make a death ray in a cave with a box of scraps if asked to. Everyone knew it....while you found yourself embarrassingly deficient in...>CHARISMA. You were as endearing as a plank of wood. With splinters and nails stuck in it.>MIMICRY. For a Skrull, you were rather terribly inflexible. Rigid, stiff... poor at what your species did best.>GADGETRY. Nothing you ever made was guaranteed to work out. It rarely did.Nonetheless, you were still proficient enough to take on a regular human disguise. While on break from your unpacking and looking for something to do, you tried changing shape near a half-cracked mirror you'd managed to steal... and found your glowing disguise to be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.Today was July 3rd, 2016. You'd heard tomorrow was a very special day for EARTHLINGS, and especially NEW YORKERS. No matter the state of your box-filled fortress, the important elements were all in place... so, at the crack of dawn, you were going to go hunting.[PLEASE ROLL THREE D50s ALONGSIDE YOUR POST!]
Rolled 41, 25, 28 = 94 (3d50)>>6435871I don't really have any idea for a name...I'll wait for someone more capable. As for the skills however...>GADGETRY. You could make a death ray in a cave with a box of scraps if asked to. Everyone knew it.>CHARISMA. You were as endearing as a plank of wood. With splinters and nails stuck in it.We EVIL SCIENTIST MAXXING
Rolled 46, 3, 15 = 64 (3d50)>>6435870>>6435871We are the the ESTEEMED and HONOURABLE of name one Skrull of an unique name.We. ARE. "Z'RIM">GADGETRY. You could make a death ray in a cave with a box of scraps if asked to. Everyone knew it.And our SUPERIOR INTELLECT and RESOURCEFUL MIND will bring us the SUCCESS for the EMPEROR DECREED IT... Well...>MIMICRY. For a Skrull, you were rather terribly inflexible. Rigid, stiff... poor at what your species did best.You cannot turn your skin not green and the wrinkling of your BEAUTIFULLY AVERAGE face is... Hard to do away, your nannybot advised you get one of these COMBOVER WIGS that the QUEENS of HARLEM are known for, whatever those are.Now then, LET THIS NEW YORK CITY BE RECHRISTENED INTO... Whatever we come up with later, FOR THE EMPEROR.
Rolled 44, 31, 41 = 116 (3d50)>>6435874I like the name Z'rim, but otherwise back this.>>6435871Rolling.
>>6435871>ZimGreen freak and lil robot? Obviously gotta go with Zim>>6435871>>GADGETRY. You could make a death ray in a cave with a box of scraps if asked to. Everyone knew it.>>6435871>>MIMICRY. For a Skrull, you were rather terribly inflexible. Rigid, stiff... poor at what your species did best.
Rolled 48, 5, 41 = 94 (3d50)>>6435924
>>6435871>GADGETRY. You could make a death ray in a cave with a box of scraps if asked to. Everyone knew it.We need to tinker with the nanny bot and this is how we do it.>MIMICRY. For a Skrull, you were rather terribly inflexible. Rigid, stiff... poor at what your species did best.A skrull that can't mimic is pretty funny.Z'rim is a great name.
Rolled 14, 48, 33 = 95 (3d50)>>6435871>>6435954forgot the roll :(
Rolled 48, 19, 14 = 81 (3d50)>>6435871I AM ZIM>CHARISMA. There wasn't a soul in the empire who didn't think you looked and sounded like a dream.>MIMICRY. For a Skrull, you were rather terribly inflexible. Rigid, stiff... poor at what your species did best.
Rolled 17, 13, 10 = 40 (3d20)>>6435870>Name Chook.>>6435871>Strong in MIMICRY>Weak in CHARISMA
>>6435874Reading these votes I think I'll go with Z'rim as the name
>>6435871>Z'Rim>GADGETRY. You could make a death ray in a cave with a box of scraps if asked to. Everyone knew it.>MIMICRY. For a Skrull, you were rather terribly inflexible. Rigid, stiff... poor at what your species did best.
>>6435954+1 I think we should make a hologram projector to generate disguises since we struggle to do it physically, maybe throw in some light costuming? We have a warehouse, what if we stored costumes inside as a cover and claimed it's the storage facility for a theatre company or something?
You'd slept in.It must have been somewhere closer to noon, now, but it was definitely a BRAND NEW DAY. In fact, the BRANDEST-NEWEST. Your first real day on EARTH! Surely, this planet would never be the same. How could any planet remain the same in the presence of Z'RIM THE UNCONQUERABLE, after all? Your GADGETRY was unparalleled. You could make a functioning spaceship out of toothpicks and bubblegum. In fact, you were instructed to do as much for your very first cosmonautical aeronautics instruction session. Putting that EXCEPTIONAL GADGETRY* to use was exactly how you got into the good graces of the ALMIGHTY EMPEROR, and you were certain you would make good use of it here.As you returned to your cracked mirror and donned your EARTHLING disguise, you were frustrated at how long it took. You had pulled it off perfectly last evening, but the effects of space travel must have still been weighing you down today-- your face kept sagging in strange places, your clothes didn't seem the proper texture... bah. Loathe as you were to admit it, you'd never been the best at MIMICRY. You readjusted your tie-- it came undone into a five-tentacled pube of sorts. Another attempt was made to keep it together-- only to end with your shoulder pads growing long enough to touch a nearby "sofa" (as it was branded on the back). As always, your MIMICRY was rather UNRELIABLE*. Unfortunately, you felt you could delay no longer-- even as your outfit lacked its signature belt and buttons, taking any more time to prepare would turn G'OME DEPOT into a cage of doubt and ridiculous speculation. <><><><><>
EEEEEEThe moment you stepped outside, you were assaulted by all manner of NOISE. EARTHLING NOISE. You had expected as much, of course, but not to this degree. The noise was joined by laborious HEAT-- far more than you were used to. You supposed you had grown too reliant on your home empire's QUEEGA servants, expecting such an unusually competent planet such as EARTH to invent some form of AIR CONDITIONING, but you figured it was only natural that these hairy, sweaty, unpleasant SPAWN would not know such luxuries. "Hey! Watch where ya goin'!" This incoherent babble followed a disgruntled, overweight man in a STARRY, STRIPED SHIRT. To your great surprise, such attire seemed very common-- one pan of your surroundings revealed a MULTITUDE of POSSIBLE SPECIMENS in STARRY, STRIPED SHIRTS. This was rather confusing to you-- your briefing lessons had insisted that the EARTHLINGS of NEW YORK CITY were a fiercely INDIVIDUALISTIC people, not prone to the BEAUTIFUL UNIFORMITY your kind preferred. Perhaps your eyes deceived you! You would have to confirm later. As it stood in the moment, you seemed to have stumbled into some sort of celebration. Your universal translator worked overtime as you waded through A LARGE HORDE of UNWASHED EARTHLINGS, almost all of whom wore similar garb, to make your way towards a newly-placed fence...
TRUMPETS blared! DRUMS drummed! A great deal of POMP followed a large parade, also clad in starry wear, down the paved street! Such streets were reserved for TRANSPORTATION, you'd been told, yet struggled to find any sign of transportation around. Perhaps this PARADE took precedence. It seemed to center around a FLAG-- a flag with the very same STARS AND STRIPES adorning your prospective captives. Finally, the pieces fell into place-- this was a CELEBRATION of THE EARTHLING EMPIRE'S GREATNESS! "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, NEW YORK!" A youth(?) with a metal-clad arm shouted from the front of the parade. His hair was long, unkempt-- slightly disgusting. He was joined by another man clad in stars and stripes-- an older man, possibly a soldier, donning a shield and an enormous smile. You had learned of this man-- CAPTAIN AMERICA. One of this world's FOREMOST HEROES. Beloved in New York City especially, known for his excellent physical conditioning... brought about by a serum! (Now lost, to your great dismay.)Taking note of his appearance for later, you wasted no time in scanning the crowds. There were many, many people here. It would not be hard, at all, for one or two to go missing... but you couldn't be picky.>Turn on your CHARM and attempt to convince a lonely smoker in his thirties to follow you. He is in plain view of CAPTAIN AMERICA and somewhat far away from the rest of the crowd, but nobody seems to be watching him.>Approach a teenager in a hoodie instead. He is well-hidden among the crowd, but out of view of THE CAPTAIN. For some reason, he does not seem to be wearing the STARS AND STRIPES.>Pretend to be IN PAIN and hope a kind soul will offer help. >GRAB a random person from the crowd.[*check the Rentry for further clarification!]
>>6436148>Approach a teenager in a hoodie instead. He is well-hidden among the crowd, but out of view of THE CAPTAIN. For some reason, he does not seem to be wearing the STARS AND STRIPES.Random outcasts are an alien abductor's favorite easy treat.
>>6436148>Approach a teenager in a hoodie instead. He is well-hidden among the crowd, but out of view of THE CAPTAIN. For some reason, he does not seem to be wearing the STARS AND STRIPESHello youth would you like to visit a dilapidated warehouse? It is very rebellious and expressive to do so
>>6436148>"Pretend" to be IN PAIN and hope a kind soul will offer help.It is a PRETENTION not one SKRULL overwhelmed by these SIMPLETONS OF LOUD MANNERS and UNYIELDING, UNPERISHABLE SUN and I WANT GO HOME.Yes, Pretending to be Hurt, not at all softening the WOUNDED EGO that an agent of such Caliber is inconvenienced greatly by this UNIFORM DISPLAY OF SENSORIAL OVERLOAD
[Today's entry is POSTPONED, for I have been AMBUSHED with a FAMLIAL GET-TOGETHER. Vote extended until tomorrow!]
>>6436148>Approach a teenager in a hoodie instead. He is well-hidden among the crowd, but out of view of THE CAPTAIN. For some reason, he does not seem to be wearing the STARS AND STRIPES.
>>6436464Happy Independence Day Weekend, QM.
>>6436148>Pretend to be IN PAIN and hope a kind soul will offer help.
>>6436148>>Pretend to be IN PAIN and hope a kind soul will offer help.
>>6436148>Teenager in a hoodieThe disenfranchised should be less noticed when they're gone from the public!
You spotted a YOUTH, well-hidden amongst the crowd, in some peculiar GREEN garb. It was not the correct shade, being far too dark and not nearly bright enough to allude to your own species, but it was adequate enough to attract your attention.Without saying a word, you began to follow the YOUTH. This seemed to unnerve it, somehow, and it began to move away from you. You pursued it further, attempting to make yourself well-hidden amongst the EARTHLINGS, diminishing your height in an attempt to see if it might help the YOUTH feel less STALKED. To your great dismay, this did little to put the stranger at ease. The pair of you swam through the crowd unnoticed, any communications drowned out by the raucous cheering that followed a loud BANG, until another shout from a parade float caught your attention."AMERICA WILL OUTLIVE US ALL. EVEN AS OUR HEROES FADE AND ITS CITIZENS AGE, ITS IDEAS WILL PERSIST FOR YEARS AND YEARS! ON THIS GREAT ANNIVERSARY, WE CAN ONLY HOPE AMERICA LIVES ANOTHER TWO-HUNDRED AND FORTY-MORE!"The unusually loud noise tickled your eardrums. You hadn't heard NOISE like that since your initial recruitment days, when a particular FEMALE had ENDANGERED YOUR POSITION by insisting it was IRRESPONSIBLE to create miniature rockets during breaktimes. Perhaps this civilization was more advanced than you initially suspected.Alas, you had higher priorities. You returned your attention to the boy, filing away all you'd heard for future planning, and spotted him sat against a half-wall. He seemed to be under the FALSE impression that he had outsmarted you, and was now free of your RAVISHING LOOKS. He procured a peculiar item from his pocket-- also green, still an incorrect shade-- and put it to his lips like a BABY did its favorite PACIFIER. His attire now reminded you of your own-- the black shoes, the peaked hood... you were outright flattered!You had to have this SPECIMEN. What would you do to ACQUIRE him?>Attempt to SPEAK with the youth plainly and convince him to follow you to your warehouse.>Briefly hide yourself amongst the crowd-- then, approach him pretending to be ANOTHER YOUTH and persuade him that way.>THREATEN him with one of your IMMACULATELY-BUILT ray-guns.>STEAL his GREEN ITEM and watch him follow. (This method has been particularly effective on YOUTHFUL FEMALES in the past.)>Write-in
>THREATEN him with one of your IMMACULATELY-BUILT ray-guns.KNEEL
>>6437011>Attempt to SPEAK with the youth plainly and convince him to follow you to your warehouse.Hello, RANDOM YOUTH MAN. Would you like...some ILLICIT BIOCHEMICAL PRODUCTS? They are the FREE.
>>6437011>STEAL his GREEN ITEM and watch him follow. (This method has been particularly effective on YOUTHFUL FEMALES in the past.)Once getting closer... This smell is FOUL, potentially interesting to RESEARCH if you had far more chemical background, Nonetheless it is now USELESS to you but perhaps if we use our GREAT INTELLECT to BAIT, PADDLE and REEL this poor sod...A GREEN PLAN, WHICH MEANS IT IS good.
>>6437011>STEAL his GREEN ITEM and watch him follow. (This method has been particularly effective on YOUTHFUL FEMALES in the past.)We want young boys!
>>6437011>Briefly hide yourself amongst the crowd-- then, approach him pretending to be ANOTHER YOUTH and persuade him that way.
>>6437011>Attempt to SPEAK with the youth plainly and convince him to follow you to your warehouse.Boy, have we got a deal for you! We need someone just like you for, uh, an emergency filler for our parade float? It pays great! Large amounts of local Earthican currency!
>>6437011>THREATEN him with one of your IMMACULATELY-BUILT ray-guns.
>>6437011>STEAL his GREEN ITEM and watch him follow. (This method has been particularly effective on YOUTHFUL FEMALES in the past.)
It seems we will be STEALING the youth's GREEN ITEM! Please roll 1d100! Will write + draw up the results tomorrow. I may or may not have forgotten to account for something in the system and need to fix it lol.
Rolled 76 (1d100)>>6437477
>>6437481Gimme dat
Rolled 3 (1d100)>>6437477
Rolled 4 (1d100)>>6437477
>>6437548>>6437568These rolls feel authentic to the character.
Rolled 90 (1d100)>>6437477I can fix the spread!
>>6437623Damn right you can anon
Rolled 85 (1d100)>>6437477
>>6437481>>6437548>>6437568>>6437623>>6437646>Best of 3
>>6437717Did he actually say Best of Three?
>>6437799He didn't, which is why I didn't roll, I thought it might best of 1.
>>6437834Well, In this case, the result would be the same either way.
>>6437717There's no Best of Three in this quest! I'm going to try and purposely avoid it, as I used it as something of a crutch in my older quests despite disliking it.For actions that don't rely on the three stats, I'll be asking people to roll a flat d100. For now, hoping that this works because I'm not the brightest bulb when it comes to math, I'll be adding all the results up and then finding the mean to use as the result. In this case, the mean would be>52after some rounding, so I'll be using that as the result.(Writing + drawing the next entry as we speak, btw. I had something important that kept me all morning and most of the afternoon, so I've only just started unfortunately.)
>>6437926Cool, noted!Just to caution you, though: if it's unlimited rolls, and you use the average/mean, you will find that the more people roll the more often you end up right around 50. Not sure if that's a problem for you, though.
>>6437926I mean..you could have used the 76, but oh well
>>6437927It'll be a problem if people decide to troll by tossing in extra rolls.
>52Your course of action was clear. This boy was YOUNG and SOMEWHAT EFFEMINATE. Recalling the days of yore, when you spent your own younger years THIEVING from youthful females, you executed an ingenious plan of robbery that had worked in the past: approaching the young female's posessions, swiping them within the same second, and bolting before any SUPERVISORS could notice you.Unfortunately for you, you neglected to properly account for the crowd surrounding the area. Sure, most of it couldn't care less-- but, at that moment, CAPTAIN AMERICA was being hoisted in the air by a pair of strongmen. He was able to get a decent look at you. Some CURIOUS FOLLOWERS turned their heads your way, just to see what their presumed CAPTAIN might be watching...>SUSPICION +10!>CAPTAIN AMERICA seems to have noticed you!Nonetheless, nobody surrounding you seemed to make any moves to stop you. CURIOUS! Clearly, EARTHLINGS were not a compassionate race. Good-- that would make them all the more suited for your shining EMPEROR's needs.Now in possession of the GLORIOUS GREEN ITEM, you wasted no time in darting back to G'OME DEPOT. It was only a few minutes away, after all-- not a hard task in the slightest. To your delight, the young man seemed to be following you without a thought! He seemed PERTURBED, although you greatly doubted that would mean anything to your well-being...>Speed into the warehouse without another thought to make sure the youth follows you inside, then begin your first EXPERIMENT.>Speed into the warehouse to ensure his capture, but save the experimentation for later.>Toss the OBJECT into the warehouse, then shut the door behind him and continue looking for more SPECIMENS.>Write-in.No matter what you choose, please roll 1d50!
Rolled 17 (1d50)>>6437966>Speed into the warehouse without another thought to make sure the youth follows you inside, then begin your first EXPERIMENT.
Rolled 26 (1d50)>>6437966>Speed into the warehouse to ensure his capture, but save the experimentation for later.Can't have him sounding the alarm so soon, with Captain America right here. And Bucky!
Rolled 31 (1d50)>>6437966>Speed into the warehouse without another thought to make sure the youth follows you inside, then begin your first EXPERIMENT.Speed into the warehouse without another thought to make sure the youth follows you inside, then begin your first EXPERIMENT.
Rolled 50 (1d50)>>6437966>Speed into the warehouse without another thought to make sure the youth follows you inside, then begin your first EXPERIMENT.
Next entry tomorrow!
>>6438440Looking forward to it!
>>6438442Sorry to disappoint-- due to an emergency shift in plans, will have to delay til Friday. May also be able to post tomorrow evening, but no guarantees. SKRULL QUEST will return this weekend for sure!IN THE MEANTIME, as compensation, i'm going to clarify something I've been mostly keeping behind the scenes (will be more extensive later, but for now I'm fishing for feedback):SPECIMEN capturing and fights work on a 3-strike system. There are positive and negative strikes both, and they're derived from beating certain DCs. DCs rely on stats-- sometimes combined into a larger DC, depending on the action-- and rolls to beat them. Catastrophic failure (or catastrophic success) can bypass this system and grant you an instant win, and it seems like we've run into one of those here >>6438256.As a result, I'm pretty sure our first SPECIMEN is going to end up a bit abnormal in the grand scheme of things-- not in terms of powers or ability, but more in capture and general acquisition. Just as a heads-up as to why future SPECIMENs might not work the same way this one does.Anyways, see you all this weekend. Sorry for the delay. Will get to prepping as soon as I have more free time.
>>6438833Alright. I hope all's well?
>>6438256>PERFECT STRIKE: 50!!Enthralled by the thought of your FIRST SPECIMEN arriving so soon, you sped off towards G'OME DEPOT with the fleet-footedness of the EMPEROR HIMSELF!! Its gates already left open by your own perfect planning (brazen carelessness), you rushed into your warehouse with the GREEN OBJECT in hand. "MAIDEN! SHUT THE GATES!" You cried, the moment the PURSUING YOUTH crossed THE THRESHOLD separating your glorious domain from the city in which it dwelled, already changing course towards your SPECIMEN ZOO. You cared not for the gasps from your specimen upon his arrival-- although their echo around your ENORMOUS RESIDENCE was a little grating to your VERY SENSITIVE eardrums-- and focused, instead, on tossing his favored OBJECT into his new cell."Bo-BEE-bee-boop!" Your mechanical underling saluted, then sped off to do as you said. She hadn't even complained about it! Perhaps there was something in this planet's atmosphere that made her PAY ATTENTION to what you commanded of her as opposed to COMPLAINING INCESSANTLY about it.T-T-THUDAs the glorious gates slammed shut, you heard something ram against them! A mite of sweat left your brow-- that must have been CAPTAIN AMERICA or one of his DEVOTED SOLDIERS. BAM. BAM-BAM BAMThe ramming continued, likely perpetrated by the SO-CALLED SUPERHERO you'd seen earlier. It would be quite difficult to return to the parade after this without arousing more suspicion... but what did that matter? You had a SPECIMEN! On your very first day upon this planet, you were already making your GLORIOUS EMPEROR proud!! After a few minutes of self-congratulation, your premature celebration was cut short by THE YOUTH making use of his rather chafed voice.
"Uhh... dude, do you live here?" He sounded... dismissive. Rather UNIMPRESSED. You felt the URGENT NEED to correct his lack of awe."Of COURSE I live here. Where else would I desire to reside?" You puffed up your chest-- quite a substantial thing, in this form-- and put on a serious expression. This was met... with laughter. LAUGHTER! "Cool, dude. Are you gonna give me my vape back, or do you, uh, need it?" The YOUTH dared to ask.His question was soon answered-- once he finished speaking and shuffled into your cell to grab his OBJECT back, your robotic companion shut the gate behind him."...ah, @#!$. Probably should've seen that coming," he mumbled. Without further comment, he sat down in his cell, shockingly placid... and began to suck on his OBJECT once more. Perhaps it really was some kind of pacifier, if he was so desperately in need of it.No matter-- the YOUTH could have his pacifier... for now. It would need to be stolen from him once more during the EXPERIMENT, of course, but you had yet to decide exactly what that would be. Would you work your technologies upon him via the GIANT RAY you had been so lovingly gifted? Or the MYSTERIOUS HELMET that the EMPEROR had deigned to provide you? Neither were particularly poor options, of course-- assembled by some of the empire's most reliable engineers, you figured their chances of failure slim-- but, perhaps, one would be more useful here than the other.>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH>Use the MYSTERIOUS HELMET [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTHBAM BAM BAMThe ramming against the gates of G'OME DEPOT has not yet yielded. Whether it shall continue on or slow eventually remains a mystery, but you have confidence in your luck. NOBODY shall stop the GREAT AND POWERFUL Z'RIM from doing his duty today!No matter what you choose, please roll 1d50!
Rolled 6 (1d50)>>6439765>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTHThe RAY is too awesome not to use first, of course
Rolled 38 (1d50)>>6439765>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTHI'm a ray guy, no doubt about it
Rolled 37 (1d50)>>6439765>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTHray it is
Rolled 37 (1d50)>>6439765>>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH
Rolled 43 (1d50)>>6439765>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH
>>6439765>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH
Rolled 11 (1d50)>>6439765>>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH
Rolled 29 (1d50)>>Use the GIANT RAY [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH
Rolled 44 (1d50)>>6439765>Use the MYSTERIOUS HELMET [POWER(S) UNKNOWN | ALRIGHT QUALITY | NO COMBOS KNOWN] on the YOUTH
The voices in your head informed you that your decision was unanimous: you would be using the GIANT RAY to conduct your very first EXPERIMENT. (On Earth!)A sense of giddy excitement overtook you. You wasted no time unplugging the apparatus from its larger origin-- what use was a GIANT RAY without a portable mode to wheel it around on, after all-- and wheeling it up to the overgrown infant you'd entrapped. The plentiful array of buttons near its base brought you joy simply from looking at them-- each and every one had a purpose, some beautiful function you could leverage to your whim, some HIGHER CAUSE that it dutifully served. The red button was for emergency failures, the blue for temperature adjustment-- you could move it up and down to change from hot to cool, from tepid to frigid, from scorching to chilly, and all manner of other diverse offerings in SKRULL-specific measurements (what other kinds were needed?).A DISGUSTING SCENT began to permeate your residence. It derived from the YOUTH's pacifier... if you were lucky, perhaps this ray would obliterate the awful thing. Its greenery was PLEASING, yes, but it was hardly worth damaging your scent apparatus to keep. You quietly attempted to shapeshift away your sense of smell... only to find your nose hardened, no less sensitive than before, and possibly of a different texture. If the SPECIMEN noticed, he made no comment at all.Mildly distracted by your own errors in transformation and the YOUTH's lack of consternation, you tried to remember the purpose of the smallest button of them all-- the ACTIVATION button. You recalled it required some combination of itself and other buttons, and seemed useless on its own, but you could not recall exactly which buttons... until recalling the user's manual you had tucked between your MIGHTY PIN-UP MAGAZINES on the way here. Flipping through it brought you to your answer: purple, chartreuse, yellow, and orange combined to activate...BBBBB-ZZZAAAAPPPPP!!!!A great clap of thunder rang out across the warehouse-- the tip of the golden ray lit up like a city on holiday, activating each and every carefully-placed node upon it in proper sequential order-- and the SPECIMEN was soon slammed with BRIGHT GREEN RAYS. These looked SOMEWHAT VAGUELY like the GAMMA RADIATION you had been informed of back during mission briefing, but you knew FOR A FACT that the secret to harnessing such energy had not yet permeated throughout the cosmos. Excitement briefly stimulated you-- had you been left with a RARE AND EXPENSIVE PROTOTYPE without being informed? Was this a SPECIAL machine that might bestow SPECIAL powers upon your SPECIAL SPECIMEN??(...more SPECIAL than the SPECIAL POWER INDUCEMENT it was originally made for??)
[spoiler warning is for the epileptics in the crowd]As the bright green light engulfed your expansive warehouse, wrapped around your first-ever SPECIMEN, and slowly faded away... you concluded otherwise, somewhat disappointed. If the machine had done anything at all to your SPECIMEN, it had nothing to do with surface-level physical traits. Your pacified pubescent was... unchanged. To your relief, the machine you'd been left was similarly untouched. Diagnostics insisted that it was OK, and the quiet shut-down of its internal system functions was music to your ears (even outside of the SHUT-DOWN SONG it was mandated to play upon every successful operation).>Poke the YOUTH with a stick to see if it'll help do anything.>Zap the YOUTH a second time to make sure he was hit correctly.>Move on-- get your priorities in order, plan the rest of your week, and do MORE IMPORTANT things than attending to this newly-transformed SPECIMEN.>Write-in
>>6440403>Zap the YOUTH a second time to make sure he was hit correctly.
>>6440403>>Poke the YOUTH with a stick to see if it'll help do anything.
>>6440403>Poke the YOUTH with a stick to see if it'll help do anything.
>>6440403>Poke the YOUTH with a stick to see if it'll help do anything.Let's follow scientific rigor, test first, estimate results, re-calibrate.
[Entry TOMORROW, I somehow woke up five hours before I usually go to sleep today... not very functional, cannot write (have been trying). Condolences!]
>>6440747[TOMORROW]
>>6440747>>6441092Feel better soon, QM.
>>6440403>>Poke the YOUTH with a stick to see if it'll help do anything
>>6441092Rest up
