>>26753417

>To see the world in absolute clarity. (Increase power)

>>26753417

>To see the world in absolute clarity. (Increase power)

>>26753417
>To see the world in absolute clarity. (Increase power)

>>26753417
>To discern the motives of those I encounter. (Increase intuition)

>>26753417
>To force my perception onto others. (Increase area of influence)
I'm not sure what this does but it sounds cool.

((Previous threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=origin+quest
Characters/Abilities: http://pastebin.com/nUJVYzBq ))

The possibilities of your Origin excite you, the way you've been able to press your sight through walls and beyond the pages of a closed book, and internalize information with the most brief of glances. You remember that Perception is important to more than just sight, as well. As the power of your Origin improves, your hearing, reflexes, and all of your senses improve in kind; if perception must be aided by knowledge, what, then, is more important than careful observation?

>1d20

Rolled 20

>>26753756

Rolled 2

>>26753756

>>26753729

I see it as, essentially:
>Strength/Agility
>Wisdom/Intelligence
>Persuasion/Speech

>>26753781
>>26753780
Lucky as fuck

>>26753780
I actually said "DAAAAAYYYMMMM" out loud when I read that... Also hello Johnny!

>>26753939
Hello!

>>26753756

>20

You recall the feeling of your Awakening, for a moment, that sudden sensation of mental expansion, the flood of information. You float in darkness, on the edge of consciousness, and grow nauseous. A dull pain rests in your skull, and grows hot, increasing in magnitude; frenetic blasts of noise like TV static fill your ears suddenly and sporadically, gradually decreasing in volume as your hearing focuses down to the beating of your heart, then to the sound of blood moving through your veins.

“Hey. Come on, Camille. Are you awake?”

[1/2]

You gasp, opening your eyes, then note your surroundings as your vision adjusts. You're in the corner of the old bookstore, propped into a sitting position against the wall. Michael is crouched next to you, with Anders and Caroline lying unconscious nearby.

“I... I think so.” Your clothes are bloody, and your head is killing you, but your other ills seem to have subsided. “What happened?”

“Morgan got away, I'm afraid. Straight up disappeared in the chaos. Anders knocked himself out with that last shot, and just about took the building down with him.” Michael says. “Almost put a table through my head, too. I barely got out of there. Oh, I got his gun, by the way.”

“Right.” You place a hand to your forehead. “Where was Caroline during all of that?”

“She said she hid when she heard the gunshots. Figured she wouldn't be any help if she was dead.” Michael notes. “Anyway, she said she eventually got her courage up, and jumped up to help, but apparently she busted her head on the sink. By the time she recovered, Anders had already blown up big. She figured out she could use her Origin to heal you guys, though. Closed up your knife wound, and where Anders was shot. Went down as soon as she finished, though.”

“Huh. That's useful, I guess.” Hit her head on the sink? Somehow, you doubt Caroline was -that- incompetent. You wonder if the poker star's Origin was affecting her as well.

A pause.

“Hey, Camille, I'm sorry.” Michael sighs. “I mean, I don't know you that well, or anything, but I want to apologize. All of this is sort of my fault. I guess I didn't realize just what kind of danger I'd be playing with, with you guys. I'd understand if you didn't want to play this whole superhero game again.”

What will you do?

>>26754164
I'm going home, I need to wash myself off and relax.
...I doubt I'll be coming back Michael.

>>26754164

Punch Michael.

"Sorry? Damn right, you're sorry. You almost got me killed because you're -playing superhero games-. Anders got shot. I got stabbed. Caroline probably has a concussion. I don't know who the fuck you are, Mike, and to be perfectly honest with you, I couldn't give less of a fuck. Here's what I need to know from you.

"One, how can I avoid getting trashed like this again?

"And two, what are you gonna do to make this up to us? Because if this really is your fault, man, you owe us. You owe us big."

>>26754258
This.
Without the punching, we're injured after all.

>>26754258
add

"besides i think is origin is luck based, so much went wrong for us based on it that and his job make him hard to fight in an enclosed space. it was like a less deadly final destination in there."

then curse because that was a good restaurant and that guy ruined it.

“Damn right, you're sorry.” You'd deck him if you had the strength. “You almost got me killed because you're -playing superhero games-. Anders got shot. I got stabbed. Caroline probably has a concussion. I don't know who the fuck you are, Mike, and to be perfectly honest with you, I couldn't give less of a fuck. Here's what I need to know. One: How can I avoid getting trashed like this again?”

Another pause.

“I don't know. I really don't.” Michael says. “When I read about how Originals can can become stronger by using their powers, I thought that it'd work for Anders too. That if he had somewhere he could just go and not care about what he did, then he'd get a handle on the kind of powers he had. When he told me about you, and Caroline too, though? That was the kicker. If you've got other people who are going through the same shit as you, then you can teach each other how to get through it. I had no way to know that someone would actually try to attack you guys, though. Morgan has an Origin too, doesn't he?”

“I couldn't pick up on him before, but I think he has some sort of luck-based power.” You nod, mentally cursing Moneymaker for ruining your favorite restaurant. Perhaps his abilities were so effective based on the sheer amount of things that could go wrong in there? He turned the place into a less-deadly Final Destination. “So many things went wrong for us, in that enclosed space.”

[1/2]

“Yeah, well. Whatever the case, that guy was the real deal—with an Origin, you really can just go around and do whatever you want. And he came out of the fucking blue, too.” Michael stands, moving to check on Anders and Caroline. “You didn't know he had powers, but I get the feeling he knew you guys did somehow. You guys drove him off the first time, but if he's tracking people down, he could strike twice, right. After seeing what I saw today, the only advice I can give you is to keep trying to grow stronger. You won't always have Anders and Caroline to back you up, and they won't always have you... and I don't know if any of you guys could manage to take that guy on alone, especially on his terms.”

“Alright. Two: What are you going to do to make this up to us?”

“I don't fucking know, man.” Michael says. “Whatever it is, you deserve it. Just tell me what you want, and I'll be out of your hair forever if you don't want to deal with me.”

What will you do?

>>26754755
You owe me, and us, the largest favors ever conceived, I'm going home, and when I call for that favor to be reined in, you better pick it up.

>>26754771

This seems solid.

Add, "Make sure these two get home okay."

>>26754876
Works for me. If we're feeling up to it ( I doubt it) we could take a peek and see if he's telling the truth that he didn't know things would be comig after us. But don't push ourselves right now.

“You owe me, and us, the largest favor ever conceived.” You say, forcing yourself to your feet. You suppose you have Caroline to thank for the fact that you aren't bleeding out right now; the rest of your injuries will subside in time. “I'm going home, and when I call for that favor to be reined in, you'd better pick it up. And make sure those two get home alright.”

“You got it.” Michael says. “Until then.”

It's not that terrible of a walk, from here back to your hall, and there's notably less danger with the sun still out and cars on the road at your side; even if it were a much greater distance, right now you feel like you'd rather take it than ride back with Chang. You keep your hand on your chest to cover the hole in your shirt, hoping no one who passes you by happens to notice.

Ah, damn. That's one less shirt you've got to wear, too. If the blood doesn't wash out, maybe you can still wear it to bed sometime, though. It's not like you've got a roommate, right?

A few more minutes pass, and you remember that it's not the first time you've made this walk with blood on your clothes. On the opposite side of the street, a particular alley catches your eye, and you half expect to see yourself standing there over a crumpled heap of a man, with fear in your eyes and a baseball bat in your hand.

Fuck 'em. You don't want to have to fight, but if you've done it alone before, you can damn well do it again.

((Dropped my trip.))

It's cold in your room, and you don't even make it to the bed or a chair, electing instead to collapse into a sitting position with your back against the door only seconds after walking through. You're not sure what to call this other than an eventful weekend; after what you've been through, it's hard for you to believe you've got class tomorrow.

“With an Origin, you really can just go around and do whatever you want.” You find yourself remembering Michael's words. Why bother attending class when you could memorize the notes on your own in a fraction of the time? Failing that, if you were able to get a better handle on manipulating your field of vision, all you'd have to do is invoke Perception and look at the answers of the other high-scoring students; the most common answer would likely be correct, but just comparing those of a few different people with your own intuition would land you perfect scores every time.

You suppose you'll figure it out. Right now, you've got a couple hours before you need to get to sleep.

What will you do?

>>26755230
COIN TRICK

>>26755244
If he means that coins on the hand thing we've been doing, then agreed.

>>26755230

Take a hot shower, then study a bit for classes with Perception before we hit the hay.

Your residence hall's water heater is fickle enough that the fact that it's on and operating at capacity seems like a reward for what you've suffered through today. For the first time in what seems like ages, you're able to relax, though you're not sure how much time you'll have to do so; after recovering from stress, both your body and your Origin should bounce back stronger.

You change into your night clothes and return to the seclusion of your room, planning to continue the usual practice. You've found it helpful to find ways to improve your abilities while idle, or while doing other things; it stands to reason that should you maintaining your state of heightened awareness, it will eventually become normal.

The coins from earlier are still in your other pants pocket (along with the money Michael gave you for lunch, for that matter). You pull them out and flip them off the back of your hand, managing to catch all three just as you did today, even with your sore muscles—and, to your surprise, without actually activating your full power. You recall that the act impressed Anders and Camille; looking at it from their perspective, it does seem like a pretty ridiculous act, especially with the amount of finesse you're capable of approaching the task with. Increasing the amount of coins, in your mind, upgrades the task from ridiculous to impossible.

The only logical option, then, is to double it.

>6d6

Rolled 2, 5, 1, 1, 1, 1 = 11

>>26755615
If we get too good, we should probably try and finger ourselves while doing it, that's pretty distracting.

Rolled 1, 6, 3, 1, 6, 6 = 23

>>26755615
Lets get catching!

Rolled 6, 5, 6, 6, 4, 3 = 30

>>26755615
Probably shouldn't be doing this while hurt.

>>26755651
Fuck yeah, I'm a lucky shit today;

OP?
Where are ya?

>>26755651

You balance the three quarters, along with three more from your desk, on the back of your hand, then flip them as normal, invoking your Origin as they fly upwards, and noting the brief moment that they stop in the air, in a diagonal line that vaguely reminds you of a staircase.

One. You sweep your hand to the right, catching the bottom-most coin as they begin to fall.

Two. Back to the left, climbing the stairs as they approach the ground.

Three. To the right, once more; you grin, as the third coin lands perfectly in your palm.

Four. Before, you didn't notice how much faster your mind is than your body. Your Perception has improved such that you can witness your own agonizing slowness. You wonder if it'll be possible for you to keep up.

Five. Fuck, your head hurts. Oh, wow. That's really awful.

Ow.

Ow, ow, ow. You shudder, and by the time your eyes roll back to a normal position, the sixth coin is already on the floor, as are the five that were in your hand a second ago. You know intuitively that even food from your favorite restaurant might not be quite as good coming back up; luckily, it doesn't quite come to that, even though your head is on the table in front of you within a few seconds, cushioned by your arms.

You do your best sleeping while unconscious, though. You even manage to wake up and crawl into bed about halfway through the night.

(( Sorry about that! Gonna have to take a bit of a break here. I also forgot to link the quest Twitter, which I'll be using now that it actually has followers:
https://twitter.com/OriginsQuest ))

You recover. The pain in your head subsides, and you urge yourself onwards.

Class comes and goes even more boringly than usual, with the amount of mental energy you have to expend drastically reduced by your heightened awareness. You practice catching coins during your spare moments, to further improve your Origin as well as your motor skills, and when absolutely nothing else is going on, you invoke Perception while jogging about campus, and practice pushing your vision further, or using it to count objects and assess fine details. After a while, it feels like you're on autopilot, watching yourself live out the day's events; as ever, not many people try to talk to you, and even when Anne greets you as you cross paths on the way to another building, you find yourself with little if anything to say. Thus, the week passes.

It's Thursday afternoon, and your cell phone rings, jarring you out of your jaded state long enough for you pull it out of your pocket and stare at the word “Anders” on the display as you lean back in your desk chair.

You recall that you traded contact information with everyone at the bookstore on Sunday, probably as a function of your initial enthusiasm, then sigh as you wait out the time it takes to go to voicemail. Another minute passes, then you dial up your inbox.

“You have one unheard message.”

“Hey, Camille, it's me. Are you alright? I haven't seen or heard from you in forever. Michael said you were alright, but I was starting to worry you were hurt. Oh, Caroline too, she told me she never got to thank you for what you said last Sunday. Anyway, uh. Give me a call sometime, I guess.”

What will you do?

Rolled 2, 3, 3, 3, 1, 5 = 17

>>26757956
Try the coin trick again, then phone him.

>>26757956
Call Anders.

"Hey, sorry, I've been distracted for a bit. Trying to practice a lot, it's been wearing me out."

>>26757956

Fuck.

Well, I guess we ought to give him a call back. See if we can arrange lunch or something.

Have we sensed any other Originals on campus in the past week?

I think now might be a good time to decide on what we want to do with Camille. We need a goal or something, and we need to decide on how we're going to treat Anders and the other chick. Do we think if them as friends? Acquaintances? Do we want anything to do with them?

Also we should consider picking up a martial art. We won't always be able to use a gun and extremely high awareness and reflexes sounds like a perfect fit for MA.

>>26758513
Dang, it posted before I was done. Not only does it give us a useful skill, it's a great way to build up our body to be able to use our origin more readily.

>>26758450

I think friends is a safe bet, if only because we fought off a gun-wielding psychopath together.

>>26758513
Tai Chi would be very good for us, not exercise Tai Chi, actual Tai Chi which is meant to break people.

>>26758556
Sounds good.

You pick your phone back up and return Anders's call. A few rings, then a click: “Hello?”

“Hey.” You speak quietly, kicking your legs onto your desk. “What's up?”

“Not much. You're okay, right?”

“Yeah. I've been distracted for a bit. Practicing a lot, school stuff, y'know.” You respond. “It's wearing me out.”

“Oh, I totally see you. I've been tired too. It's just good to hear you're okay, especially after what happened.” Anders says.

“Right. Not every day you get in a brawl with a lunatic poker star. You think anyone knows what actually happened?”

“I saw the news story, actually. I'm sure they suspect foul play, but nobody's really sure what went down. That restaurant is in its own little corner of the world. The cashier's got a concussion, so they don't know if he's sound, and the woman doesn't speak English.” Anders says. “No security cameras, either. Sounds airtight to me.”

“That's good. How's Caroline?”

“She's doing well. Actually, she was on her way over here right now. I ordered a pizza, and we were gonna hang out for a while or something.”

“That's cool. Alright, I just wanted to let you know I'm doing well.”

“Thanks, it's good to hear from you. Like I said, I was worried. Text me if you want to chill, or something.” Anders responds.

“Will do. Later.” You hang up.

[continued]

>>26758026

Ah, right. Other Originals exist.

Your Original-sense has practically become so normal that you've stopped paying it much mind. The overall number of Originals you can detect, on the large scale, has largely increased, though you haven't paid attention to whether or not anyone new has popped up on campus.

You remember your encounter with Morgan, and how you were unable to detect him, though. Still aren't sure about that. You trust your senses to a pretty good level of accuracy, though. You close your eyes and call up a vague mental map of your surroundings, superimposing the indicators you see over it.

Not including yourself, there are three Originals currently on campus, and a fourth within a few blocks of campus. Maybe in the nearby apartment complexes, or somewhere over there? That accounts for Anders, Caroline, and two unknowns—one on campus, one off.

You push your senses further. There also seems to be another collection pretty far downtown; you remember that's where Chang told you the online community-thing was based. You detect two immediately next to eachother, and a third... maybe within a few blocks of them? There's a few more individual ones, scattered about town, but much too far away to have any sort of immediate impact or relation to anything you're involved in.

What will you do?

>>26758823
>Read up Martial arts online

>>26758851

I like this. Let's see if we can get some false muscle memory from perceiving martial arts and then attempting to replicate it.

>>26758823
Look up videos of martial artists, watch their movements. Focus on arts that require precision over power, things like Jiu Jutsu, Judo/Aikido, Tai Chi, soft arts rather than hard arts. Krav Maga and the like aren't our style.

At the same time since we're so good at multitasking look for martial arts schools and clubs in the area so we know where to look for this sort of thing.

>>26758931
I just got SERIOUS Super Power Quest vibes from your post. Oh god, this is going to end with us turning into Sylar!

>>26759163
No, we're more that truckstop girl with cancer.

>>26759241
I don't recall this? What was that from?

You flip open your laptop, and the thought dawns on you that martial arts might be a good undertaking; it'll give you something to spend your new-found free time on as well as aid your use of Perception. You bring up various videos, often cascading through several at once, displaying fights and fighting strategies of various arts, and find yourself taking an interest in Tai Chi, and like arts that redirect, and meet attacks without tension; something predicated on balance and agility would be a perfect fit for someone with your enhanced sense of self.

You watch, and begin to internalize the movements you see to develop a sense of the style; while you consider how the moves might be used in an actual clash, you think about how you might earn a bit of actual practice. You're aware of a few specialized schools around town, though you can't imagine how much help that'd be. You remember Anne once dated a guy from the martial arts club on your campus, but you recall they weren't a terribly serious organization; they did have a few experienced practitioners, and you recall her talking about how he'd always be training at this one dignified MMA gym downtown—you open another tab and look up a few places, noting addresses.

You continue watching, periodically finding yourself impressed or mesmerized, invoking Perception and repeatedly rewinding videos to note the movements down to their finest detail. As you consider the amount of power that's so suddenly fallen into your hands, you aren't sure what's more impressive.

What will you do?

>>26759485
Lets visit the local MMA Gym and challenge one of their mediocre people to a training fight.

>>26759485
Let's go look for the third Original on campus, don't approach too close quite yet, but get a bead on him, stay out of sight if possible, find out who they are.

>>26759562
Call Anders and let him know what you're doing first so they've got at least a clue in case shit goes sour.

And bring a knife.

At the moment, you lack the time it'd take to get downtown; likewise, you doubt anyone you'd just happen to meet at the gym would have time for you. You'll definitely keep that on the backburner, though. Sounds like it might be entertaining, for a little while, anyway.

You decide instead to investigate the third Original on campus. It looks like they've been moving about campus pretty slowly, but on a wide, rectangular path; you imagine they're just out walking or jogging, or some such. This time, you'll definitely approach the scenario with finesse, as all three of the Originals you've actually encountered have attempted, at least at the time, to harm you.

You pull out your phone and shoot Anders a text, fishing a folding pocket knife out of your desk drawer. You never actually considered using it as a weapon. “Hey, there's another Original on campus. I'm going to see if I can see who he is.”

A buzz, a few seconds later. “Be careful. Get out of there if anything bad happens.”

You head out of your hall, keeping a mental note of the indicators and mulling over where you could go along his path to get a look at whoever it is without actually being seen. You recall when you hid in a tree lawn across the street from that party to see when people were leaving; perhaps you could do something like that again?

>Hide in the bushes, somewhere across the street from the Original's path.
>Casually cross paths with them, just to get a look.
>Find somewhere far away, and use Perception.
>“Prepare to die, weakling!”
>Other

>>26760131
>Casually cross paths with them, just to get a look.

>>26760131
See where they're going, find a nice place to sit down where his path will cross us, like a park bench or a nice patch of grass to read a book.

Wait for them, see if they notice us, look as friendly as possible. When we notice them focus on them and gather as much information about them from their appearance as we can.

>>26760131
>Casually cross paths with them, just to get a look.

Electing instead to not be any weirder than you actually are, you decide instead to just have a seat somewhere near where their path will cross. You make your way to a place out of their sight, but down the path from them, seated on a bench a ways down the wide brick path from one of the other residence halls. It's a good choice, you think; a reasonably exposed location, but with no one immediately nearby.

You flip out your phone and wear a smile, pretending to read something interesting until the indicator draws near; as you thought, he's just walking around. You take a brief glance up as he walks by—you've seen this guy studying late in the library plenty of times, though you don't know his name. He's about your height, and kind of scrawny, with glasses and wavy brown hair. He's got good posture, standing straight with his hands folded behind his back; more than anything, he just looks bored, idly glancing about as he walks down the path.

You note a brief nervous look. He grits his teeth a bit, and slows down, giving a suspicious glance without trying to look directly at you; a moment passes, before he picks up the pace and continues down the path as if nothing happened.

What will you do?

>>26760596

Call out to him. No reason to make him think we're spying on him, he's obviously aware of us.

“Hey.”

You call out to him, and he stops in his tracks. Were it not for your enhanced hearing, you'd miss his exasperated sigh, followed by him muttering “Great.” under his breath. He folds his arms and turns halfway, nose turned up, head cocked to the side to look at you.

“Do I know you?” he asks, in a skeptic tone.

What will you do?

>>26760776
Turn on Perception, gauge his body language, his smells, how he carries himself, what clothing and shoes he wears, if he's carrying anything on him.

"You don't know me, and I don't know you. But we both have something in common and we both know that. There's little point in beating around the bush.

I'm Camille, it's nice to meet you."

>>26760776

"No, but I think you know of me. I'm Camilla."

An opportunity to see if you've improved presents itself, and you invoke your Origin. There's a subtle bend in his knees, different than how he was carrying himself earlier; he looks like he's ready to take a hit or run from one, though you question just how fast he could move, and whether or not you could keep up with him. You recognize the faint scent of the library—old books in that dusty, dry computer room—mixed with some cologne. Short-sleeved, button-down plaid shirt, worn over a white tee, and a pair of brown cargo shorts. You attempt, in the small amount of time you've got, to see if he's carrying anything, and focus your vision.

Left pocket: keychain, cell phone. Right pocket: wallet. Doesn't hurt your head, like last time, but it gives you a bit of a dizzy feeling, and you doubt you could maintain it for long.

“You don't know me, and I don't know you.” You say. “But we've both got something in common, and we both know that, so there's no sense beating around the bush. I'm Camille.”

He raises an eyebrow, waiting a bit as if you've got something else to say or do before responding.

“Jason. I've seen you in the library, a few times. I suppose if you and I have something in common, that also means we're not the only ones in the area. I digress, though.” He frowns. “Do you want something, or did you decide to come looking for me out of the blue?”

>>26761330
"Nice to meet you James. There's a couple people like us in the area, more than you would think. The general term for people like us is Originals, because we have Origins, don't ask me who came up with the naming convention.

We were going to cross paths eventually, I figured that we may as well meet on friendly terms before that happened. We live strange lives, and friends make it easier for all of us. I also have been trying to learn more about what we are, so meeting others is part of that.

I'm sure you have a number of questions about this subject. If you'll sit down with me I can answer them as best I can."

>>26761330
"no i just wanted to learn your face, we have had problems with others before, though we escaped, you don't have to talk to me or explain what so special about you but just know that there are some out there who abuse these ability's and if you need allies or you want to trade info then find me"

>>26761330
"Call it a morbid curiosity. Jason...

What is the most powerful word you can think of?"

>>26761764
Trying to bait him into revealing his Origin, and then us refusing to tell him ours will probably offend him.

“I just wanted to learn your face, is all. It's nice to meet you, Jason. There's more of us than you'd think in the area—the general term for people like us is Originals, because we possess words, or powers called Origins. Don't ask me who came up with the naming convention.”

“Ah, sounds fine enough. I've been in the market for a good name, actually...” He muses.

“We were going to cross paths eventually. I figured we might as well meet on friendly terms before that happened... considered I've had problems with others before. We live strange lives, and friends make it easier on all of us. I've also been trying to learn more about what we are, and meeting others is a part of that. I'm sure you have a number of questions about the subject. If you sit down with me, I'm willing to answer them as well as I can.”

“I'd rather stand, if that's fine with you.” A pause, then he completes his turn, and takes a few steps toward the bench, settling next to it. He chuckles. “You're smart, Camille. Your ability must be quite powerful. It's interesting, how easily you approach someone might also have that kind of power.”

“Eh,” You recall your meetings with Anders and Caroline, then sigh. “I've had practice.”

He nods. “So, what you said, do you mean you've encountered others already? What are they like?”

>>26762021
"They're people Jason, no two of them are the same. Some are friendly, some aren't friendly, some are just plain weird.

You don't have to tell me your Origin, but I can tell you that it's something related to the core of who you are. If you know who someone really is you'll have a good idea of their Origin, if you know someone's Origin you know a lot about who they are.

I'm guessing you get a headache when you use your powers too much, the more you practice the easier it gets."

>>26762021
"ones pushy, one shy because how she looks, and the last one i met was a lucky son of a bitch, watch out for Morgan Mattheson the famous poker player. if you want to meet the other two then i can call them."

>>26762021
"Powerful, dangerous. One of them stabbed me and has the ability to manipulate causality. 20% of them own cargo shorts. Otherwise they're ordinary people.

“Well, one of them stabbed me and has the power to manipulate causality...”

“Oh, that's a shame.” He raises an eyebrow. “You are alright, though?”

“...And if you want to talk numbers, twenty percent of them own cargo shorts.”

“...I see.” Jason appears unamused.

“They're powerful and dangerous, but all in all, they're just people. No two of them are the same. Some are friendly, some aren't... and some are just plain weird. You don't have to tell me your Origin, but I know it's something related to the core of who you are. If you know someone's Origin, you know a lot about them, and vice versa.”

“Right,” He nods. “That much I understand.”

“I'm guessing you get a headache when you use your power too much. The more you practice, the easier it gets.”

“I'd assumed so. Unwise to try and go beyond your capacity, and whatnot. It's good to have someone to confirm my suspicions, that perhaps it is wise, for one to train their Origin as they would a muscle.” He pauses. “You seem to know quite a bit. I imagine some might be enthused, or downright ecstatic to wield this power. Is that the metaphorical boat you're on?”

>>26762682

"I wouldn't say ecstatic. I'm learning to deal with it, and it's useful, but there's some danger inherent in having these abilities that I'm not fond of. Just trying to cope, you know? Besides, I'm not even sure why I got these powers."

>>26762682
"I have been trying to learn more about it. And I happen to like my power, being able to break the barriers of normality is pretty cool. We can all do things that we could hardly have dreamt about before. Besides there's no point in moping about it, it's part of who we are now, complaining about it won't accomplish anything.

There are downsides of course, the fact that you're an Original draws other Originals towards you, with some exceptions we can find each other without too much trouble, and even if you don't want to you're probably going to end up involved in less than pleasant situations. Not all Originals are nice people. You've been paying attention to news lately I'm guessing, the serial killer who pulps girls, almost certainly an Original.

Which is is one of the reasons I came to talk to you. There's people who want to do nasty stuff or use Originals to accomplish their goals no matter the detriment it may bring to others.

It's a pretty recent phenomenon as far as I can tell. But give it time and we'll start having organizations and factions crop up, and there will almost certainly be conflict between them. I'm a bit too realistic to think that everyone is going to get along.

I'd like to have allies by that point, both for my sake and for the people around me. Mutual protection and all that. Being alone will make someone a target and it'll be hard not to get dragged into the fight between two factions if you don't have enough backup for them to consider it impractical to try to make you join them and their conflicts."

“I wouldn't say ecstatic.” You respond. “More like, I'm learning to cope with it. The way I see it, it's part of who we are now, so there's no point complaining about it. It's useful, and I like that—being able to break the barriers of normality is pretty cool—but there's danger involved in having these abilities that I'm overall not terribly fond of.”

“Makes sense. You said you've already been attacked, correct?” Jason asks.

You nod. “You know that being an Original allows other Originals to find you. With some exceptions, we can track one another down without a problem, so you're going to end up in some less-than-pleasant situations even if you don't want to. You've been watching the news lately, right? That serial killer who's been turning girls to pulp? Most likely an Original. That's another one of the reasons I came to talk to you, actually.”

“Hm?”

“There are people who will use their Origin to accomplish their goals regardless of whatever detriment they'll bring to others. This whole thing started recently, but give it time and I'm sure factions will start popping up, and there will almost certainly be conflict between them. I'm a bit too realistic to think that everyone is going to get along. By that time, though, I want to have allies, for my sake and for that of the people around me—you know, mutual protection? Being alone will make you a target, and it'll be hard not to get dragged into the fight between two factions, if you don't have enough backup to make it impractical for them to try and recruit you.”

(( We'll pick up here next time--I've been at this for quite a while now. Expect threads Wednesdays as well as whenever I feel like running one out of the blue; I'll be making announcements on Twitter and in the weekend QTG. ))

Thanks for running and have a great night!

>>26763280

Good quest, J-man. See you next time.