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Brock and Roll

(136 posts) (4 voices)

Started 1 year ago by M. J. Young
Latest reply from WilliamTWodium

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Brock

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M. J. Young
Moderator

Remember that robot you built? Well, you've mentioned it before, and one of your friends (whom you can identify) finally decided to one-up you on that. He brought over this really impressive robot he built. It was from a kit, and it has this label that says "scriff inside" on the processor housing. You're impressed with its processing speed, so you start taking it apart--and get a surprisingly nasty shock from what must have been a capacitive power boost circuit. There was also some sort of gold metallic liquid that you touched at that moment. You blacked out.

You are now waking up. You smell something faintly like smoke, and feel hot sunlight beating on your face. The ground beneath you is hard, but uneven, not level, and very uncomfortable. Your eyes are closed.

--M. J. Young

Wed Jul 1 2009 11:18 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Oh--this begins play for Brock Anthony Petersdorf-Nelson, whose character creation information should be somewhere around here.

--M. J. Young

Wed Jul 1 2009 11:26 pm #
Brock
Member

When I come to, I fell somewhat dazed, which is unusual for me. I open my eyes, and stand up, likely feeling a head rush. If the light around me is bright, it will be blinding to me, and I will shut my right eye to better focus.

Feeling somewhat confused at not recognizing my surroundings, I take in what detail I can. Hard but uneven surface? Am I being poked? Is it gravel, roots? Once my head stops spinning, I look around alertly for anything unusual, particularly anything alive that shouldn't be anywhere near me, like palm trees or a huge crowd of people or something. Once I have a general idea of my situation, I'll be able to react.

Should it appear I am in a populated area, with people around, I will look for a crossroads. My character would not be prepared for any other contingency.

I assume at this time I will notice my belongings nearby, and this will confuse me even more. If I notice nothing immediately and obviously dangerous in my scan of my environs, I will sit and contemplate what has happened.

OOC: This is gonna be so much fun, I haven't been a player but 3 times, I jumped right into GMing.

I will find it much easier for both of us if I keep track of changes to my character in a given world, so I will save a word file to that effect. Thought you'd appreciate it.

EDIT: I am going to organize my equipment by world and then type. I'll say MyWorld for the equipment I have now, because it is original.

EDIT2: Brock and Roll? Wow, that's the first time I heard that one.

EDIT3: another person with a robot? Probably CJ. I posted in the friends/family thread, you can read about him there.

Thu Jul 2 2009 12:45 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

The surface is loose rock on the top of a mountain; the sky is bright and blue, but for the steam rising from the hole in the ground about fifty yards from and slightly above you. Either you are above the tree line or the ground up here has not been stable enough to support them, but there is vegetation within another hundred yards, and trees below. The ground slopes down from the steam cloud toward the trees and beyond. Well beyond, at a distance of several miles, the trees give way to an expanse of deep blue, an ocean which from this distance is frozen. You see that in all directions except the one in which your view is blocked by the top of the mountain.

Your possessions are scattered on the loose rock. In fact, your first sensation as you open your eyes is something like that you put something down, a lot of individual things down, and need to pick them up again, and you know what direction they are quite precisely.

You also have an impression that you were supposed to meet someone "down there", and when you look that direction, you see, very near the shoreline on what might be a rock outcropping, what might be a campsite.

You probably should take this much of a tip from John: don't edit, post again, and mark the posts as second, third, et cetera, so I know to look above them. That way you don't run into the common problem that you edited something while I had it open (I arrive and open all threads in the order in which I intend to address them, closing them as I finish it, so if you post or edit after I've opened something, I am unlikely to see it--and the more unlikely if it's an edit, as I might notice an overlooked post).

--M. J. Young

Thu Jul 2 2009 8:42 pm #
Brock
Member

Finally! My dial-up wasn't letting me stay connected for more than 5 minutes at a time!

the edits were immediately after the post and right after you had logged off; I thought it rather likely you wouldn't respond again immediately, and the edit could go in easily. It was like 3:00 in the morning.

How on Earth did I end up on a mountain? My intuition is screaming crazy at me; I have never had so many senses of needing to do something at once. Noticing that pretty much all my belongings are nearby, even my small library, I blink several times, and quickly gather up my belongings, putting what fits into my backpack and the rest into bags.

Looking at the steam rising from the hole at the top of the mountain, my first thought is volcano. Leaving my things, I cautiously walk over to the steam rising and peer over the edge. Regardless of what I see, I will gather my things and head towards the apparent campsite, or a ledge overlooking it if possible. I am not being especially quiet in my approach. On the way, I will note any water sources, particularly a river, and noting any of the following unless it's everywhere of course:

A flint outcropping, or loose flint rocks, uncommon as it may be.
bamboo
banana plant
mango tree

I don't remember any more edible plants common to this kind of area off the top of my head.

yes, I know things don't work the same here. My character doesn't. I might get poisoned or something, but....C'est la vie

Fri Jul 3 2009 7:24 am #
Brock
Member

two posts because of problems posting....Internet connection problems. If I don't get back on these forums for the next couple days, my connection is gone. Thankfully, I am getting Comcast within the next week.

Fri Jul 3 2009 7:25 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

Ample bamboo, bananas, and mangos, along with other tropical fruit trees such as oranges, pineapples, coconuts.

Exactly how do you intend to approach and peer into the presumed crater? Remember that the area around here is loose and uneven rock, which shifts slightly as you walk over it.

Gathering your gear is accomplished easily.

--M. J. Young

Fri Jul 3 2009 8:54 pm #
Brock
Member

Hmm, I had it pictured as loose rock sliding downhill and a cliff overlooking something steaming. Okay, I won't take the risk-On to the campsite!

On the way there, do I find any flint? My harmonica has steel, so if I can just hit hard enough, I might be able to have fire, which will make things loads easier.

Oh, PINEAPPLES. That was the one I was trying to think of. I thought of coconuts, but I won't eat that unless there isn't a choice.

Sat Jul 4 2009 7:00 am #
Brock
Member

two posts.
Reminder to self: character never heard of Multiverser, so never met Scott, and thus did not spend the past week or so researching discordianism, finding parallels to beliefs already held, and appreciating silliness more than ever before.
Character believes that deities rarely grant power, though they can, and believes in raw arcane power, a mystical energy field that can be drawn upon via ritual, somewhat like Wicca. Gods do not grant the power so much as allow it to be used.
Character only partially believes in physical psionics, and feels they are beyond him if they do exist.
There, until he gains some knowledge, that should have me set.
Note on fonts-I will be italicizing thoughts and speech, denoting actions with asterisks, and bolding OOC bits.
You know what bugs me? I never researched Discordianism in character, so I can't reasonably try out some guerrilla surrealism experiments once I hit a civilization or use the Discordian calendar IC. Ah well.

Last thing. I thought you might find this amusing, MJ:http://www.splitreason.com/Product_Images/329308a2c70c-xl.jpg If you have dial up it might take a minute to load, number VIII should be the one that is most funny to you.

Organizing my thoughts into coherent In Character internal dialogue:

What the? *stands up* Where the heck am I? *nearly slips due to loose rock*

Uh....I'm on a mountain. *notes gear scattered about* With my belongings, and in nothing but shorts and boxers. *notes hole with steam rising out of it* Possibly an active volcano, or at least a fumarole. I don't remember packing for a trip; why are all the things I would take in that eventuality here? Plus, if I had packed for a trip, why in the hell would it be to a mountain island that may not even have a city?

The hilarity of it strikes me, and I pause a moment and just laugh. Then I search through my stuff, pause again at the thought of my frequent sleepwalking I used to do bringing me here, laugh again, shaking my head at how preposterous the idea is.

*gathers belongings, noting the bags, and packs everything as compactly as I can. Feels the scriff sense, and thinks it is intuition saying go there ya idjit, and sees the campsite*

A campsite? Hmmm....Perhaps it would be best to scout it out before I get there. is there a cliff or outcropping of some kind I can use to view it from afar? Never know who's there. Okay, Brock my man, remember your lessons well. First rule in a survival situation, water, shelter, food. Meat if you can get it, but always fruits and veggies. Hmmm...I see plenty of normal tropical fruit, in fact I can live pretty comfortably if i can get water and shelter. Problem is, I will eventually need meat, and I never can remember that snare lesson; and may I be struck down by every god that has ever been if I will be bagging any large game with what I have now. Ah well, best get dressed. *Climbs into black sweatpants (they are all black), a T-shirt reading "Some people are like a SLINKY; you just can't help but laugh as they tumble down the stairs", and socks and shoes.*

*Then, I say "Time to journey down the rabbit hole, my friend". I shoulder my staff and resume on my way to the encampment, looking for flint, flowing water, and a spot overlooking the encampment so I can identify who is there from a distance, if possible. Specifically, I want to know how many are there and whether they are armed and likely to be unappreciative of my approach.*

As I walk there, I wonder at how the most random things can happen in this universe, and hope that I am not on some kind of drug induced high in a hospital somewhere. I hate delusions, though all of reality itself could be an illusion. At least 'reality' has a habit of not disappearing very often and coming back frequently

EDIT: none of my current friends actually know about the robot I once built; I was in foster care. It is more likely I picked up a broken device and was tinkering with it and then got shocked. I don't suppose as it matters much, but it might.
EDIT2: Yes, I refer to myself in the third person. I have even referred to myself in the second and fourth person; Don't ask how :D

Mon Jul 6 2009 1:58 am #
M. J. Young
Moderator

There is not much of an anything like a cliff overlooking the camp. There is a spot that is a bit raised, close enough to the camp that it's difficult to say how close, definitely slightly above it. Steam rises from that spot, but in a smaller and more focused column than the source behind you.

You begin down the slope and are soon amidst the trees. "Down" is easy to find, and when you relax you can sense that pull toward the campsite.

--M. J. Young

Tue Jul 7 2009 6:23 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

This is just a note to say that this is the first time I have ever seen a reference to fourth person. Given the focus of my education, I am mildly surprised.

Tue Jul 7 2009 7:08 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

I'm wondering whether "fourth person" is actually a third person view of a third person--what "he" relates about "him" (or for clarity, what "she" relates about "him"). But I agree--I've never seen any reference to "fourth person", and I'm familiar with a lot of unusual linguistic variations (singular, dual, and plural; inclusive and exclusive we, negating or intensifying double negatives), although not nearly so many, I'm sure, as Scott.

--M. J. Young

Tue Jul 7 2009 8:21 pm #
Brock
Member

I really hate being unable to relay tone of voice. Fourth person was kind of a joke. I like jokes. However, one can refer to oneself in the fourth person (just did)

"The term fourth person is also sometimes used for the category of indefinite or generic referents, that work like one in English phrases such as "one should be prepared" or people in people say that..., when the grammar treats them differently from ordinary third-person forms. For example, the so-called "passive tense" in Finnish and related languages is actually not a tense, and has the same meaning as a phrase with subjects "one" or "people" in English."

"The term fifth person is sometimes used in archaic language to refer to a category of foreign bodies not indicated in other forms of alienable linguistics."

Note to self....Hmmm....pseudonyms....might I use that name....

More steam? This is weird. Ah well, forget that. I guess I'll just go straight there and hope they are friendly.

Wed Jul 8 2009 4:37 am #
Brock
Member

two posts

I will go out of my way to make noise as I approach. Stepping on twigs and the like. The idea is to make sure that the people at the camp KNOW I am coming, and hopefully know that I want them to know-this would sound so incredibly clumsy only the clumsiest person on the planet or someone purposefully doing it would be this loud. Stomping on purpose, etc.

Wed Jul 8 2009 4:54 pm #
Brock
Member

three posts

Ah, the image worked. I put off my description because I am horrible at facial descriptions. My avatar shows me and my little brother. The difference between that image and my current look is a bad haircut-my hair is about 1 inch long, and about 1 and a quarter in the back and a couple random spots. I don't care enough about it to ask someone to fix it.

Wed Jul 8 2009 6:12 pm #
M. J. Young
Moderator

As you approach the campsite, you can make out more detail. There appears to be an all-black beach umbrella in the grassy area near the rock and a one-man tent of white synthetic material pitched in its shade. Near the tent, a single green sleeping bag lies atop a black plastic groundcloth. On the rock a fire is currently burning; cookware is piled a bit haphazardly near it. The materials look synthetic, in the main. There are a few things scattered about the campsite, some sort of gun sitting on the sleeping bag, a couple of stuffed animals.

There is white a man seated by the fire. He is wearing khaki cargo shorts and black sandals. There is what looks to be a sword hanging from a broad leather belt around his waist, but he periodically picks up a white flag (apparently made of a white T-shirt on a stick) and waves it in your direction. He is cooking something, which as you approach you begin to smell as fried fish.

There is a large lizard near him, and between cooking and waving the flag the man sometimes reads to the lizard, who appears to be interested, perhaps intrigued by the sound of a voice addressed to him.

It takes a couple hours to get down the mountain, but you are now on the grass slightly above and within a hundred yards of the camp.

If either of you wishes to begin conversing with the other, that's fine; tell me how far you will be from each other when you begin talking.

--M. J. Young

Wed Jul 8 2009 10:09 pm #
WilliamTWodium
Member

I'll open with a call of "truce" as soon as I can make out his face and verify that it's not anyone I know. I'm not sure what distance that is, but my vision has been curatively corrected (though not enhanced). Maybe fifteen or twenty yards? Other than that, I'm willing to let the unknown verser take the lead.

Wed Jul 8 2009 10:19 pm #
Brock
Member

White flag, eh? Well, he knows I am here and he wants to be friendly, so at least I don't need to go out of my way to be noisy. *I walk at a normal pace openly straight at him, still looking for a river of some kind. As I draw near, Scott sees I am dressed all in black with some writing on my shirt he won't be able to make out until I am close. I've also got my staff, probably 2 or 3 bags full of my stuff, and my backpack.*

*I don't say anything until I'm about 10 yards away, and unless he says something first beyond just truce, to which I'll nod, My first question will be:*

"Got any idea where we are? I sort of just woke up on a mountaintop. Mind if I sit?"

*Before he responds, I drop my stuff and sit anyway, about 3 feet away from him. Then I dig through my stuff for my canteen, which would be full if I found the running water I wanted*

Thu Jul 9 2009 2:02 am #
Brock
Member

two posts

I'll likely be pretty tired after a couple hours hiking with all this stuff. I won't want to move for a good half hour.

Thu Jul 9 2009 2:06 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

Brock - if you're looking for running water, you've found it. There is a cave near the outcrop (easily in sight, I think), which is the source of the steam plume you saw; a stream flows from above it, forming a pool at its mouth, and water from this pool flows down into the sea.

I should mention that I am still somewhat scrawny, and I have the look of someone with a once-trim beard and mustache who's stopped shaving altogether for about a week or two.

"Got any idea where we are? I sort of just woke up on a mountaintop. Mind if I sit?"

"Not at all, please. Do you want some water? I've got some fruits gathered here - mangoes and oranges and whatnot - and this fish should be done soon.

"Oh, but you asked where we are. We're on an island, but you probably knew that. No indigenous residents that I've seen - and they'd have to be pretty good at hiding for me not to have seen them, I've been all over this island - and no wildlife either beyond the seagulls and the fishies. Magic and psionics are pretty scant, just a few tricks here and there, but I've been able to get all my gear to work. Not that it matters too terribly much; we'll probably die pretty soon anyway.

"I'm Scott, by the way, and this is Ignominious. Do you mind if I ask your name?"

Thu Jul 9 2009 7:46 am #
Brock
Member

"Hello Scott, Ignominious." I nod at each. "Well, my name is Brock, and I would love some water. I'm a bit confused though; There are no indigenous residents, and you make it sound like you also just appeared here.

"you say magic and psionics work here, but not well? Isn't that the case everywhere? Huh, I don't know why they would work here any better than elsewhere. I've never been much for magic, but I have tried psionic stuff before. Hmmm, mind if I try to read your mind? I've never had much success with it, except with my mother.

If he assents, I'll use 1@1 Read Minds P1@1 (surface thoughts)
If he denies, I won't.
If I succeed, I'll tell him what I think he was thinking.
If I fail, I'll mutter "well, that was to be expected.:

"Sounds like you have been all over this island, and from the looks of your gear, you must be used to traveling and ending up in strange places. So did you just wake up here, or catch a boat or helicopter, or what?"

Oh, for some reason I thought the steam was a fumarole. I would have gotten water on the way otherwise. How far from it are we right now? If it is in sight, I'll fill up my canteen before sitting down.

OOC: forget the asterisks,thoughts and speech italicized, OOC bold, that's it. Heh, I am a freak for organization half the time, and totally chaotic the other half.

Fri Jul 10 2009 12:42 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

I definitely do not give permission for him to read my mind, but I'm not sure the conversation progresses that far just yet anyway. I'll do my best to interleave my responses to keep the conversation vaguely natural.

"Hello Scott, Ignominious." I nod at each. "Well, my name is Brock, and I would love some water. I'm a bit confused though; There are no indigenous residents, and you make it sound like you also just appeared here.

"Well, of course I did. Or, didn't you notice my vector?" Aside, to Iggy, "Iggy, this is Brock; he's a verser like us and Oak."

Assuming Brock goes on to say the rest of this - which he very well might not, given my response to his opening - I respond thus:

"you say magic and psionics work here, but not well? Isn't that the case everywhere? Huh, I don't know why they would work here any better than elsewhere. I've never been much for magic, but I have tried psionic stuff before. Hmmm, mind if I try to read your mind? I've never had much success with it, except with my mother.

"Er, no, not really. And no, I'd rather you not. If you've never done it before, I'd rather you not screw it up while inside my head.

". . . Wait, are you new? Have you never, uh, died before?"

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:03 am #
Brock
Member

cross post w/Scott

I have some concerns with my character sheet, here.
Stamina 1@4 -lower. Yes, lower. I get real tired, real fast. 1@3.
Intuition 2@1 -1@10. Part of my intuition was my heightened awareness skill, which is a skill, not base ability.
Will Power -high, see below. Not fully addressed yet.
I am aware it in unusual for a player to want lower stats, but I like fair play and honesty.

This is from the character generation thread. I am moving it here so MJ can address it more leisurely, and over a greater period of time.
Willpower: 1@8 or so? It's difficult because it's so seat-of-the-pants. An example I heard earlier was "do you climb the mountain through sheer strength, or through agility, or because you would never forgive yourself if you didn't?'
It would definitely be the latter. My worry is, though, that this particular attribute is the hardest for me to define 'average', and thus compare. I don't know what average will is.
So my question is: How much pressure can an average person withstand before caving?

EDIT: I just remembered a recurring problem with my leg for my weakness section. When I move my leg in a certain way, sort of to the side and up or when a lot of stress is put on my hip, it will massively hurt and seize up. It is incredibly infrequent, and I don't know if it even does it anymore, because it has been 9 1/2 months since the last time. I was kicked by my stepdad in the hip, and about 2 weeks later it started hurting like nothing I ever felt before from any movement or pressure whatsoever. I was by that point used to taking everything thrown my way, and said nothing. You know that pain scale from 1 to 10? This was a nine, constantly. I limped everywhere, hiding it as best I could could. I kept falling over (lack of balance), and after another 2 weeks my mom saw me fall over. She took me to the hospital when she figured out what was wrong, and I was put on morphine, which I hated. One day before my surgery where they were gonna put a pin in my leg to hold the ball relatively still in the socket joint, it just stopped hurting. I was suddenly able to move again. Doctors did another X-ray, and I was fine, so far as they could see.
Since then, it has occasionally acted up under stress with a 6 on the pain scale, and restricted mobility when it does. It lasts about a day or two, then goes away again. Doctors are still mystified, though one conjectured it has to do with a nerve and not bones at all. Who knows?
It used to happen every month or so, but it has been slowly disappearing, and it may be gone entirely now.

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:03 am #
Brock
Member

My response to his question of if I had died before is quite calm. Quite calm indeed.

"DIED? What on Earth are you TALKING ABOUT!? My jaw flaps up and down like it's on a hinge.

Once I have calmed down, I'll say I quite understand that he doesn't want people in his mind. I'm rather odd in that I don't care a bit, though I had never considered someone could somehow screw up while in my head.

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:07 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

"Oh, gosh. You are new. Um, I'm terribly sorry, I just - you just seemed like you knew what you were doing, and . . . hm. Well, this is - I've never done this before." I run my hand through my hair.

"Okay, let me get this fish off the fire, and then I'll figure out where to start. Why don't you get some water while I finish with this?"

My hope is that the minute or two this will take will give me time to collect my thoughts and Brock time to calm down a bit and start thinking. Assuming nothing else is said in that time:

"You said you woke up here, right? Let me guess: you were playing with something electrical, maybe something with a 'Scriff Inside!' logo or something similar, and you were shocked. Am I close?"

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:34 am #
Brock
Member

I calm down quite quickly, actually. I'm a pretty together guy, which is why I seemed to know what I was doing. Oh, and I realize I forgot my tone of voice-It was a strangled shout at the end part. Not hysterical, just very, very incredulous.

"Well, actually, now that I think about, there WAS this high tech robot...."

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:38 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

"Yeah, I thought so. For me it was a SuperFlash memory stick for my Nomad mp3 player. I gather that it's not always an electrical accident, but for people from Earths like ours, that's usually the way.

"So, that's the first thing. Scriff. It . . . no, actually that's a very bad place to start. Remind me, we'll come back to that.

"The place to start is this, because it's big, it changes your life forever, and once you accept it, it makes everything else that much easier to swallow. There's good news and bad news, and they both have to do with death. Which do you want first?

"Oh, and you want some fruit? I've got some in my tent, it's really no trouble."

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:45 am #
Brock
Member

"Fruit? nah, but thanks. Ok, so you say you too were in an electrical accident, and now you have good news and bad news about death. Since you seem to think I have died, and you draw a parallel between you and me, I can extrapolate that you too have died. Also, you said something about the FIRST time of death. So, I'm guessing your news is something along the lines of when someone dies, they end up elsewhere.

"Of course, I could be entirely wrong, so let's hear the bad news. I like the phrase 'but on a lighter note'."

At this, I give a cheeky grin, and then visibly settle down to listen for a great length of time, with utmost attention (leaning in a little, etc.).

Fri Jul 10 2009 1:53 am #
WilliamTWodium
Member

"Well, I cooked more fish than I'm going to eat, too, so if you want - no? Well, it's here if you change your mind.

"Right. Bad news first: in your home universe, you are dead. You were electrocuted by your high-tech robot, and nothing is left of you but dust, a hair or two, and perhaps a few dead skin cells. You will never return, and you will never see anyone you knew, or any member of your family, ever again.

"I mean that. And it doesn't matter if you believe me, because eventually, you will. Because it's true, and you're guaranteed to live long enough to find out.

"Which brings me to the upside. On a lighter note, you're still alive, despite having died once. The good news is, there's more where that came from. You will never age, and as far as I know, you will never stay dead, no matter how often you kick the can. (Um, that means "die," if that idiom was unfamiliar to you.) That's because every time you croak, something called Scriff sucks your material form out of your current universe and into the boundaries between universes, subsequently spitting you back out into another, completely different reality. That's what happened to you that put you here, and when that volcano erupts, it'll happen to both of us, and we'll each end up somewhere else.

"So - just out of curiosity - do you believe any of that?"

Fri Jul 10 2009 2:09 am #
Brock
Member

"It's as good an explanation as any. I actually entertained several weird notions of how I got here, like being kidnapped and catching a boat while sleepwalking, and other odd notions. I have to say, though, that yours is odder.

"As to whether or not I believe you, well, I've always thought that there could be other dimensions out there. Well, it seems like a well enough put together story, and I feel that you are being honest. I have a knack for knowing when someone lies-and you're not. The hard part is ascertaining if what you say is the truth, or just your perception of it. Hmm.

"I am curious though, about what kinds of universes are out there, and this seems like an excellent way to find out. I am quite fond of learning."

I'll thank him for the fish, take a small amount, and pull out my plate and a fork and knife with which to eat it.

Fri Jul 10 2009 2:20 am #

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