Semblance
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Fantasy ＩＭＰＥＲＩＵＭ - Plot
- Thread starter Semblance
- Start date
Semblance
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PLOT OUTLINE
ACT 1
Liv tries to blend into Gryphus and gain intel. Liv and Remy get to know each other better.
Gryphus realizes that Spectare is kidnapping Prodigium orphans, homeless people, etc. Liv and Remy grow close.
Prodigium in Lutum become fearful and panicked as non-Prods start to disappear too. Lash out at military patrols.
Big sandstorm causes Liv to reveal her Spacial powers when she saves Remy
Remy becomes deeply suspicious of Liv. Her identity is revealed
ACT 2
The Circle holds Liv prisoner in Gryphus base while they figure out what to do with her. Eventually, with the help of Remy, she earns their trust and becomes an official Griffin.
Military patrols shoot at peaceful protest in Lutum.
Dominic reveals the tunnel network to the Circle.
They find Ricardis' Prifma Codex and learn about the Lux Orbis.
Remy hits a wall with training his Aqua Powers
Liv trains the Talons
Talons infiltrate Imperial City to gain intel
Sneak into Nevasca and gain the support of the Assembly
ACT 3
Rescue Rhea. Kidnap Kato and hold him hostage.
Use Kato as leverage to occupy the Vermillion house and Imperial City
Nevascans invade while Infirmi residents revolt
Broadcast government secrets and betrayals to the whole country
Overturn the government and implement a democracy (with the help of Nevasca)
Remy loses his Aqua powers after the final battle and gains Ventus powers 8 months later
IDEAS FROM PRIVATE MSGS
ACT 1
Liv tries to blend into Gryphus and gain intel. Liv and Remy get to know each other better.
Gryphus realizes that Spectare is kidnapping Prodigium orphans, homeless people, etc. Liv and Remy grow close.
Prodigium in Lutum become fearful and panicked as non-Prods start to disappear too. Lash out at military patrols.
Big sandstorm causes Liv to reveal her Spacial powers when she saves Remy
Remy becomes deeply suspicious of Liv. Her identity is revealed
ACT 2
The Circle holds Liv prisoner in Gryphus base while they figure out what to do with her. Eventually, with the help of Remy, she earns their trust and becomes an official Griffin.
Military patrols shoot at peaceful protest in Lutum.
Dominic reveals the tunnel network to the Circle.
They find Ricardis' Prifma Codex and learn about the Lux Orbis.
Remy hits a wall with training his Aqua Powers
Liv trains the Talons
Talons infiltrate Imperial City to gain intel
Sneak into Nevasca and gain the support of the Assembly
ACT 3
Rescue Rhea. Kidnap Kato and hold him hostage.
Use Kato as leverage to occupy the Vermillion house and Imperial City
Nevascans invade while Infirmi residents revolt
Broadcast government secrets and betrayals to the whole country
Overturn the government and implement a democracy (with the help of Nevasca)
Remy loses his Aqua powers after the final battle and gains Ventus powers 8 months later
IDEAS FROM PRIVATE MSGS
Rhea gets captured in mid-729 --> 2 months later, Remy steps up to the plate and takes over the leadership position --> 2 months after that, Liv comes to Lutum --> 1 month after that, she joins Gryphus at the end of 729 (after meeting Remy for the first time in Lutum while he's trying to confront that Prod turncoat) --> timeskip to 3 months after in early 730, Liv has started to enter the trusted circles of Gryphus leadership and starts to get to know Remy more
Given that it’ll probably have been a few months since Rhea gets captured, maybe Remy doesn’t purposely seek out the turncoat but he does catch a glimpse of his face when he’s in Lutum and thinks he’s familiar. Then, it clicks in his head who the guys is and rage boils up inside him and he follows the guy to confront him.
At this point, Remy is probably on the list of suspected Gryphus that the Spectare gave Liv and she recognizes him, so she follows him. Remy goes off on the guy and starts to use his Aqua powers to fk him up when Liv interferes and is like wtf are you dumb?? Are you trying to get caught and your hands cut off? At this point, a military patrol rounds the corner and they all run away (the Prod going off in one direction and Remy/Liv going off in the other), proving Liv right that Remy was this close to being caught over a dumb decision
This encounter could lead Remy to immediately trust Liv because she didn’t have a reason to interfere (from his perspective) and he sends the Gryphus recruiter to see if she’ll join
At this point, Remy is probably on the list of suspected Gryphus that the Spectare gave Liv and she recognizes him, so she follows him. Remy goes off on the guy and starts to use his Aqua powers to fk him up when Liv interferes and is like wtf are you dumb?? Are you trying to get caught and your hands cut off? At this point, a military patrol rounds the corner and they all run away (the Prod going off in one direction and Remy/Liv going off in the other), proving Liv right that Remy was this close to being caught over a dumb decision
This encounter could lead Remy to immediately trust Liv because she didn’t have a reason to interfere (from his perspective) and he sends the Gryphus recruiter to see if she’ll join
Born in the Favonius Division as the only daughter of Leander Eione (Ignis Prod) and Adelia Eione (Fulmen Prod). Mother died young due to illness, raised by paternal grandmother, Placida Eione (Terra Prod). Father was caught using magic when she was 10, and consequently had his hands publicly amputated. Died not long after--suicide by cop. Did odd jobs from a young age to help her grandmother. Lived in a rough neighborhood, which explains her deftness in a scrap. Her burns are due to the few amenities that the house she and her grandmother lived in--no heating/stove/etc, and her experimenting/working as she grew older.
She's not meant to slip up like that, and that shows how she's started to let Remy get closer than she's supposed to. I imagine they might've given her a sympathetic parent cover story, likely something similar to what happened to Remy's mom, in order to pull on heartstrings, but as they get closer some of her comments about her parents might not match up. On the other hand, I feel like something that might be closest to the surface are things that are related to reflexes and how comfortable she seems to be in combat situations--like, if she's put in a corner in a fight or is startled, etc, people might note that she's kinda different in the heat of battle, or she might make really pragmatic decisions that sound heartless. I guess it would depend on how intuitive/suspicious Remy is
Yeah I imagine Spectare will give her a backstory that includes a loss of a parent as well. Maybe one of her parents also had their hands cut off from being caught using powers. But then maybe later after she shares this, she mentions a weird detail that is incorrect to Remy and he comes up with an excuse as to why she said that but it still sort of tugs at the back of his mind. I'm sure if Liv is in a life or death situation, her adrenaline will really kick in and the part of her that's so focused on keeping up this cover will drop and she'll do anything to save herself in the moment and deal with the consequences later. I'm not sure how suspicious Remy would be at the time but I'm sure it's something where all the small things will add up over time.
Yeah, there might be minor slip ups in ch. 3--the kind that don't even become apparent until later on?? But they'll be the most present in ch. 4 and 5. I think situations regarding parents will be the biggest thing?? So if she's actually being questioned by Vita's parents, I think she'd be careful enough not to mess up, but like, for example--when they arrive/when they leave, maybe Vita's parents/mom/dad gives all of them a big bear hug, including Liv, and it kinda startles her? She might kinda play off her awkwardness and says something along the lines of not knowing what it's like to have her mom/dad hug her like that, and Vita's just all ????? Or when they'll settling down for the night and Liv kinda remarks in quiet astonishment that her dad sees Vita, or something about how Vita's mom is so warm and kind and nothing like her own mom, and Vita's v confused bc according to her cover story, her parents were both very loving (and her mother died early on and she doesn't really remember her). Her slip ups with Remy would probably be in the same vein.
She's not meant to slip up like that, and that shows how she's started to let Remy get closer than she's supposed to. I imagine they might've given her a sympathetic parent cover story, likely something similar to what happened to Remy's mom, in order to pull on heartstrings, but as they get closer some of her comments about her parents might not match up. On the other hand, I feel like something that might be closest to the surface are things that are related to reflexes and how comfortable she seems to be in combat situations--like, if she's put in a corner in a fight or is startled, etc, people might note that she's kinda different in the heat of battle, or she might make really pragmatic decisions that sound heartless. I guess it would depend on how intuitive/suspicious Remy is
Yeah I imagine Spectare will give her a backstory that includes a loss of a parent as well. Maybe one of her parents also had their hands cut off from being caught using powers. But then maybe later after she shares this, she mentions a weird detail that is incorrect to Remy and he comes up with an excuse as to why she said that but it still sort of tugs at the back of his mind. I'm sure if Liv is in a life or death situation, her adrenaline will really kick in and the part of her that's so focused on keeping up this cover will drop and she'll do anything to save herself in the moment and deal with the consequences later. I'm not sure how suspicious Remy would be at the time but I'm sure it's something where all the small things will add up over time.
Yeah, there might be minor slip ups in ch. 3--the kind that don't even become apparent until later on?? But they'll be the most present in ch. 4 and 5. I think situations regarding parents will be the biggest thing?? So if she's actually being questioned by Vita's parents, I think she'd be careful enough not to mess up, but like, for example--when they arrive/when they leave, maybe Vita's parents/mom/dad gives all of them a big bear hug, including Liv, and it kinda startles her? She might kinda play off her awkwardness and says something along the lines of not knowing what it's like to have her mom/dad hug her like that, and Vita's just all ????? Or when they'll settling down for the night and Liv kinda remarks in quiet astonishment that her dad sees Vita, or something about how Vita's mom is so warm and kind and nothing like her own mom, and Vita's v confused bc according to her cover story, her parents were both very loving (and her mother died early on and she doesn't really remember her). Her slip ups with Remy would probably be in the same vein.
And yeah, as she tries to develop her skills, it would become more and more likely that your character notices! He could catch her practicing, or witness the skill kicking in randomly/unintentionally during a dangerous battle. It could also be him noticing the particular side effects of reckless use--maybe he remembers it from seeing his mother/sister overuse it at times--for example, those weird sleep patterns that are attributed to Dreamweavers, or the random teleportation incidents for Spacials.
I like the idea of having him catch her using it instinctively during a dangerous battle! I'm sure your character would be a very talented spy so she would probably be very careful about hiding her 2nd power... although as my character and your character grow closer and closer, that would likely become more difficult. For that dangerous battle, would that be during a fight between a military patrol and the local gifted? Or are there also natural dangers in the desert wasteland? Are there sandstorms or mutated creatures or anything?
Yes! The drama of having it being revealed in a dire, dangerous situation is lovely. Can you imagine if it was actually used to save him, so he gets a very up close view of her using it? Undeniable. It's also a cool little peek into what her subconscious priorities might have been in that split moment--saving her so-called enemy was more important than keeping her secret hidden. But I'm getting ahead of myself! This would all depend on when this battle happened and how close they are just then. Honestly, this could be any dangerous battle. But we ought to think about if there are any threats in the desert! Sandstorms sounds very plausible and very cool, so that could be a good contender for a dramatic moment, or whatever. But also, can you picture a giant 10 foot scorpion? That also sounds terrifying. xD
Even better if she saves my character herself and how her first instinct is to protect my character instead of the mission. It could be a sandstorm that brings them into a life or death situation
I like the idea of having him catch her using it instinctively during a dangerous battle! I'm sure your character would be a very talented spy so she would probably be very careful about hiding her 2nd power... although as my character and your character grow closer and closer, that would likely become more difficult. For that dangerous battle, would that be during a fight between a military patrol and the local gifted? Or are there also natural dangers in the desert wasteland? Are there sandstorms or mutated creatures or anything?
Yes! The drama of having it being revealed in a dire, dangerous situation is lovely. Can you imagine if it was actually used to save him, so he gets a very up close view of her using it? Undeniable. It's also a cool little peek into what her subconscious priorities might have been in that split moment--saving her so-called enemy was more important than keeping her secret hidden. But I'm getting ahead of myself! This would all depend on when this battle happened and how close they are just then. Honestly, this could be any dangerous battle. But we ought to think about if there are any threats in the desert! Sandstorms sounds very plausible and very cool, so that could be a good contender for a dramatic moment, or whatever. But also, can you picture a giant 10 foot scorpion? That also sounds terrifying. xD
Even better if she saves my character herself and how her first instinct is to protect my character instead of the mission. It could be a sandstorm that brings them into a life or death situation
that'd be SUCH a twist! Especially if it was one of the big bads, like Tycho. I could see it. It's been like 2 decades since she saw her father, and even when they lived together, he wouldn't have been a loving or present father. He certainly didn't care that she was sent to an orphanage, if he was aware of the fact. It might be interesting if halfway through, knowing that she's his daughter and that she's become this high ranking Specter with valuable powers (read: useful), he tries to approach her with the 'truth' and all that, but by then, with her experiences with the Gryphus, she's able to see through the act (which tbh she would've been able to do before, but she just wouldn't have cared that he was only trying to use her), and more importantly, be unsatisfied and call him on his BS or something?? Another 'taking back individual personhood' theme?
What a blast from the past. Although how would he know that she's his daughter? B/c I assume he didn't want anything to do with her after the divorce and her mother is the one who dropped her off at an orphanage. Or maybe... he did know that she's his daughter so he's the one who directed the Spectare to that particular Liberi Home orphanage to recruit her! Maybe he's been keeping a close eye on her from behind the scenes the entire time, knowing that she would be good use to him at some point? And maybe that's part of the reason why she climbs the ranks so high- b/c the Intelligence Consul has a habit of asking for progress reports on her and although no one knows exactly why, they do know that she's important for some reason.
Or omg maybe big plot twist! We haven't discussed people who aren't pure descends of Prods- what happens when a normal person and Prod person have a baby? Or a half Prod/half normal person and Prod have a baby? Or any combination of that? I would assume that the more "pure" your blood is, the stronger connection you have to the elemental powers and the more diluted they are, the weaker your powers area and at a certain point, it's negligible to the point where you never realized that you even have powers. So what if the Intelligence Consul has Prod blood in him? Maybe one of his parents or grandparents was a Prod? This would mean your character has a little bit Prod blood in her as well but maybe it's negligible enough for her to never activate her elemental powers herself but enough for the transfer of power process to work on her specifically! Maybe this transference process only works on people who have a certain level of Prod blood in them.
But one thing for sure--I love the idea of the seeeecret prod heritage theory!! The drama of Tycho having prod heritage??? It might've been a heavily guarded secret. Real talk, but I recall that Adolf Hitler himself is said to have some Jewish heritage, and it was imperative that he kept it secret once he started his so-called campaigns?? Gives me those vibes. It also explains why she was able to gain access to the rarer mythic powers, since genetics have a lot to do with that. It makes sense, though--the prods weren't always persona non grata, so there must have been intermarrying for a while. It might be that as you said, after a lot of dilution, it doesn't express itself, but with the transference, that amount of genetics was a big factor in allowing the essence or whatever to remain in the body without being rejected by the immune system or whatever??
Ok I'm kind of a nerd and I just did the math.
Generation 4- Let's say your great-grandpa is a Prod but your great-grandma is a normal person.
Generation 3 - This means their child (or your grandpa) has about 50% Prod DNA. At this point, the new Imperium has just taken over and it would be in their best interest to pretend like they're a normal person so that they can stay a first-class citizen and not be expelled to the Lutum district with the other Prods.
Your grandpa probably marries another normal person in the Valorum districts (your grandma).
Generation 2- Their child (or your father) has 25% Prod DNA. Your father marries another normal person (very likely scenario since Prods are isolated from the rest of society and viewed as bottom scum)
Generation 1- You (or you character) has 12.5% Prod DNA.
So if your character has 12.5% Prod DNA, I think that's very likely for that transfusion process of powers to work! And damn yeah if the Intelligence Counsel has 25% Prod DNA?? A quarter Prod?? That would be a huuuuge scandal and he definitely would want to keep that secret under wraps. Or maybe he doesn't even know about it himself! Maybe his parents lied to him to protect him and themselves by saying that they were both normal people.
This also means that not all of the Prods living in Lutum / Gryphs have the same amount of Prod DNA. That would explain the large spectrum of skill strength. Maybe we can have it so that all the Prods in Lutum have over 50% Prod DNA. In Generation 4, even if someone's great grandpa is a Prod and married another normal person, then their child would still have 50% Prod DNA and be able to manifest some of their elemental powers by the time the new Imperium took over and they are expelled to Lutum. So it makes sense that everyone who is at least half Prod exhibited the ability to use powers.
Being a quarter prod, for a public figure in a very anti-prod government, though?? Huge scandal. I would think of it like...it's a dark family secret?? it's considered very shameful by that point, so it's never spoken about. He likely didn't tell his wife, either, so she wouldn't have known, and my character wouldn't have known, either. Maybe while he himself knew it, Tycho never planned on telling any of his partners/children about the secret. He's got an image to uphold!! A legacy!! Can't risk ruining it now.
Yes that sounds good!! I think the most likely scenario would be that Tycho grew up thinking he was completely normal then when he was an adult and in the middle of his career, he did some digging into this family history now that he has access to people's personal records in the Spectare. When he found out that his grandfather (aka. your character's great grandfather) was a Prod, he was horrified and immediately hired someone to hack into the mainframe and edit that detail to say that everyone in his family is normal. Once the deed was done, he had that person be killed because he couldn't risk that information every being leaked out.
Maybe your character having some Prod blood is something that Tycho tells her during their encounter. What angle would he approach it from? Is he trying to guilt trip her, does he actually feel bad, is he trying to goad her or tease her, etc etc? I guess we can figure out all the details later too!
He goes about trying to bury the truth and goes far as to kill the person who corrected his records. Ruthless, and very much in character. I like it!! And hmmm, you're right, that truth might be a thing he reveals to her! He might be trying to dangle the whole 'I know everything about you'/'I can tell you the truth that you don't know' thing to try and get her to come to his side, or something...but yes, we'll figure it out as we go on!
And I'm considering a few new possibilities for Tycho to figure out that she's his daughter:
1. He only realizes when she's fully grown, and during some graduation ceremony like thing, he notices that she looks alarmingly like a family member (ex-wife, his sister/mother/what have you), and then uses his authority to track down where she came from, confirming his suspicions
2. When children are taken from the Liberi Homes, their profiles (and original backgrounds) are presented to the higher ups, and he/one of the higher ups notices that she was abandoned under his ex-wife's maiden name, or something.
Another possibility would be something similar to #2 except that I kind of doubt that every single children at a Liberi Home is presented to the Spectare higher ranks. I would imagine that only those who display a lot of potential and are at the very top get considered to be recruited for Spectare. Maybe the Liberi Homes teachers notice how intelligent your character is, much brighter than all the other kids, and tells one of the Specter Eyes that she could be a good fit. Then her profile gets put into a pile of other potential kids to be recruited and these are who get presented to the Spectare Magister, Scylla, to look through. Perhaps Tycho just happens to enter her office to talk about something unrelated when she's looking through the profiles and your character's last name catches his eye and he realizes that this is his daughter. In a split moment decision, he decides to make a side comment to Scylla about how "this one looks promising." Scylla, of course, being extremely respectful of the higher ups' opinions, takes it upon her to go check it out this kid herself. From this point on, Tycho is secretly keeping track of her progress through her training and keeping an eye on her life in general
Oh yeah, that scenario you're describing is what I meant! What I mean by children 'leaving the Liberi Home' is when they're being drafted into the Spectare training corps, or whatever. It could be that he is given reports about which children made the cut, or like you said, it could be Scylla having the profiles out and him noticing the name/picture of his daughter. ouo// But whatever the case, I don't see him playing much of a role behind the scenes for her, since he was a very distant father. He likely knew that his wife was using their daughter as leverage, and still didn't care to try and keep her when they separated, after all. I do imagine he would've checked in once in a while, a bit of curiosity to see how she does, but it's a more cool, reserved interest, like a scientist watching a specimen or something like that
What a blast from the past. Although how would he know that she's his daughter? B/c I assume he didn't want anything to do with her after the divorce and her mother is the one who dropped her off at an orphanage. Or maybe... he did know that she's his daughter so he's the one who directed the Spectare to that particular Liberi Home orphanage to recruit her! Maybe he's been keeping a close eye on her from behind the scenes the entire time, knowing that she would be good use to him at some point? And maybe that's part of the reason why she climbs the ranks so high- b/c the Intelligence Consul has a habit of asking for progress reports on her and although no one knows exactly why, they do know that she's important for some reason.
Or omg maybe big plot twist! We haven't discussed people who aren't pure descends of Prods- what happens when a normal person and Prod person have a baby? Or a half Prod/half normal person and Prod have a baby? Or any combination of that? I would assume that the more "pure" your blood is, the stronger connection you have to the elemental powers and the more diluted they are, the weaker your powers area and at a certain point, it's negligible to the point where you never realized that you even have powers. So what if the Intelligence Consul has Prod blood in him? Maybe one of his parents or grandparents was a Prod? This would mean your character has a little bit Prod blood in her as well but maybe it's negligible enough for her to never activate her elemental powers herself but enough for the transfer of power process to work on her specifically! Maybe this transference process only works on people who have a certain level of Prod blood in them.
But one thing for sure--I love the idea of the seeeecret prod heritage theory!! The drama of Tycho having prod heritage??? It might've been a heavily guarded secret. Real talk, but I recall that Adolf Hitler himself is said to have some Jewish heritage, and it was imperative that he kept it secret once he started his so-called campaigns?? Gives me those vibes. It also explains why she was able to gain access to the rarer mythic powers, since genetics have a lot to do with that. It makes sense, though--the prods weren't always persona non grata, so there must have been intermarrying for a while. It might be that as you said, after a lot of dilution, it doesn't express itself, but with the transference, that amount of genetics was a big factor in allowing the essence or whatever to remain in the body without being rejected by the immune system or whatever??
Ok I'm kind of a nerd and I just did the math.
Generation 4- Let's say your great-grandpa is a Prod but your great-grandma is a normal person.
Generation 3 - This means their child (or your grandpa) has about 50% Prod DNA. At this point, the new Imperium has just taken over and it would be in their best interest to pretend like they're a normal person so that they can stay a first-class citizen and not be expelled to the Lutum district with the other Prods.
Your grandpa probably marries another normal person in the Valorum districts (your grandma).
Generation 2- Their child (or your father) has 25% Prod DNA. Your father marries another normal person (very likely scenario since Prods are isolated from the rest of society and viewed as bottom scum)
Generation 1- You (or you character) has 12.5% Prod DNA.
So if your character has 12.5% Prod DNA, I think that's very likely for that transfusion process of powers to work! And damn yeah if the Intelligence Counsel has 25% Prod DNA?? A quarter Prod?? That would be a huuuuge scandal and he definitely would want to keep that secret under wraps. Or maybe he doesn't even know about it himself! Maybe his parents lied to him to protect him and themselves by saying that they were both normal people.
This also means that not all of the Prods living in Lutum / Gryphs have the same amount of Prod DNA. That would explain the large spectrum of skill strength. Maybe we can have it so that all the Prods in Lutum have over 50% Prod DNA. In Generation 4, even if someone's great grandpa is a Prod and married another normal person, then their child would still have 50% Prod DNA and be able to manifest some of their elemental powers by the time the new Imperium took over and they are expelled to Lutum. So it makes sense that everyone who is at least half Prod exhibited the ability to use powers.
Being a quarter prod, for a public figure in a very anti-prod government, though?? Huge scandal. I would think of it like...it's a dark family secret?? it's considered very shameful by that point, so it's never spoken about. He likely didn't tell his wife, either, so she wouldn't have known, and my character wouldn't have known, either. Maybe while he himself knew it, Tycho never planned on telling any of his partners/children about the secret. He's got an image to uphold!! A legacy!! Can't risk ruining it now.
Yes that sounds good!! I think the most likely scenario would be that Tycho grew up thinking he was completely normal then when he was an adult and in the middle of his career, he did some digging into this family history now that he has access to people's personal records in the Spectare. When he found out that his grandfather (aka. your character's great grandfather) was a Prod, he was horrified and immediately hired someone to hack into the mainframe and edit that detail to say that everyone in his family is normal. Once the deed was done, he had that person be killed because he couldn't risk that information every being leaked out.
Maybe your character having some Prod blood is something that Tycho tells her during their encounter. What angle would he approach it from? Is he trying to guilt trip her, does he actually feel bad, is he trying to goad her or tease her, etc etc? I guess we can figure out all the details later too!
He goes about trying to bury the truth and goes far as to kill the person who corrected his records. Ruthless, and very much in character. I like it!! And hmmm, you're right, that truth might be a thing he reveals to her! He might be trying to dangle the whole 'I know everything about you'/'I can tell you the truth that you don't know' thing to try and get her to come to his side, or something...but yes, we'll figure it out as we go on!
And I'm considering a few new possibilities for Tycho to figure out that she's his daughter:
1. He only realizes when she's fully grown, and during some graduation ceremony like thing, he notices that she looks alarmingly like a family member (ex-wife, his sister/mother/what have you), and then uses his authority to track down where she came from, confirming his suspicions
2. When children are taken from the Liberi Homes, their profiles (and original backgrounds) are presented to the higher ups, and he/one of the higher ups notices that she was abandoned under his ex-wife's maiden name, or something.
Another possibility would be something similar to #2 except that I kind of doubt that every single children at a Liberi Home is presented to the Spectare higher ranks. I would imagine that only those who display a lot of potential and are at the very top get considered to be recruited for Spectare. Maybe the Liberi Homes teachers notice how intelligent your character is, much brighter than all the other kids, and tells one of the Specter Eyes that she could be a good fit. Then her profile gets put into a pile of other potential kids to be recruited and these are who get presented to the Spectare Magister, Scylla, to look through. Perhaps Tycho just happens to enter her office to talk about something unrelated when she's looking through the profiles and your character's last name catches his eye and he realizes that this is his daughter. In a split moment decision, he decides to make a side comment to Scylla about how "this one looks promising." Scylla, of course, being extremely respectful of the higher ups' opinions, takes it upon her to go check it out this kid herself. From this point on, Tycho is secretly keeping track of her progress through her training and keeping an eye on her life in general
Oh yeah, that scenario you're describing is what I meant! What I mean by children 'leaving the Liberi Home' is when they're being drafted into the Spectare training corps, or whatever. It could be that he is given reports about which children made the cut, or like you said, it could be Scylla having the profiles out and him noticing the name/picture of his daughter. ouo// But whatever the case, I don't see him playing much of a role behind the scenes for her, since he was a very distant father. He likely knew that his wife was using their daughter as leverage, and still didn't care to try and keep her when they separated, after all. I do imagine he would've checked in once in a while, a bit of curiosity to see how she does, but it's a more cool, reserved interest, like a scientist watching a specimen or something like that
Yes! Let's definitely up the stakes for a failed power transference. I imagine adding blood/DNA that is not compatible with yours is very dangerous (similar to getting a blood transfusion from someone who has a different blood type than you.) This is what I found on google for what happens when someone receives a blood transfusion of the wrong blood type- "In a major hemolytic transfusion reaction, the recipient’s immune system vigorously attracts the donated blood. The cells are ripped apart, tons of bad chemicals are released, and the person gets super sick. The kidneys can fail… first reddish urine then shutdown. The person can develop a severe flu like illness. They can go into shock and ultimately die. Mortality is high without treatment and considerable even with it."
I would not be surprised if more than half of the test subjects died within 1 week, their body slowly shutting down as their immune system rejects the foreign blood cells and starts attacking its own body, experiencing the same symptoms as above.
The rest of the test subjects probably survive but the severity of symptoms depends on what percentage of Prod DNA they have. General symptoms are that they become extremely weak- constant fatigue, physical weakness, lack of energy, mental fogginess, random bouts of dizziness and headaches, etc for the rest of their lives and therefore, definitely cannot be a Specter anymore. Not sure what the Spectare does in this case b/c at this point, they know a lot of sensitive info from working for Spectare for so long (as well as this highly confidential project they're working on to transfer Prod powers.)
Anyone with less than 10% Prod blood will definitely not survive. Anyone between 10% and 20% will have a varying number of effects depending on the person- some survive completely fine, some die within a week, some get very sick and don't recover, and some get sick initially but then make a full recovery. Anyone over 20% will most likely survive the transference, either surviving right from the beginning or getting sick at first then recovering, but there have still been cases of people getting sick and not recovering. What if Liv did initially get sick but then she recovered since she falls in that 10-20% range?
I would not be surprised if more than half of the test subjects died within 1 week, their body slowly shutting down as their immune system rejects the foreign blood cells and starts attacking its own body, experiencing the same symptoms as above.
The rest of the test subjects probably survive but the severity of symptoms depends on what percentage of Prod DNA they have. General symptoms are that they become extremely weak- constant fatigue, physical weakness, lack of energy, mental fogginess, random bouts of dizziness and headaches, etc for the rest of their lives and therefore, definitely cannot be a Specter anymore. Not sure what the Spectare does in this case b/c at this point, they know a lot of sensitive info from working for Spectare for so long (as well as this highly confidential project they're working on to transfer Prod powers.)
Anyone with less than 10% Prod blood will definitely not survive. Anyone between 10% and 20% will have a varying number of effects depending on the person- some survive completely fine, some die within a week, some get very sick and don't recover, and some get sick initially but then make a full recovery. Anyone over 20% will most likely survive the transference, either surviving right from the beginning or getting sick at first then recovering, but there have still been cases of people getting sick and not recovering. What if Liv did initially get sick but then she recovered since she falls in that 10-20% range?
I'm sure Remy and the other Gryphus children/teens went through a similar teenage/high school phase as normal kids do with hormones and relationships and dating, except that the Gryphus pool would be much smaller. I can see him clicking with a Gryphus girl- maybe they were childhood friends that grew into something more when they became older teenagers/young adults but it eventually didn't work out. Maybe they broke up long before Remy's sister gets captured (a couple years ago or so) but then going through that emotional turmoil, he caves into the temptation and he starts hooking up with his ex, seeking that emotional connection. Perhaps they're constantly on and off, fighting one day then hooking up the next then fighting again, all the way up until Liv joins Gryphus. Since Liv joins around the same time Remy is probably trying to take his leadership role more seriously, he probably officially breaks it off with his ex and stops hooking up with her around that time.
Losing someone close to you would definitely drive someone to lapse into old supports and rekindle old feelings. But Remy ending it again because of needing to focus on his leadership position--that's gonna end up biting him in the butt later--because that ex could feel utterly slighted when she notices something going on between Remy and Liv. It's like...so, with me you had to put your duty first, but for her it's all fine and dandy?? Could justifiably make her angry, especially if she'd been somewhat reluctant to end their rekindled relationship, etc. It's personal, aside from simple jealousy, and I really like that!
Yeah the whole fighting/drama = bad mood = bad decisions/low morale that comes with on and off again drama/hooking up with an ex is why I think it makes sense Remy would've broken it off. Since it took him 2 months to grieve and step up to the leadership plate, I can see him hitting rock bottom and turning to his ex during those 2 months for emotional support and of course they end up hooking up a bunch (after all, he's the only one left in his family now.) Maybe they even entertain getting back together b/c Remy is so afraid of being alone. Then, at the end of those 2 months when he officially starts his leadership duties, maybe they get into a fight one day and he has to go into an important meeting right after and his low morale/distracted mind leads him to totally botch that meeting. Given how emotionally tumultuous he has at that time, it's hard for him to only focus on the task in front of him. So I can see him going back to her and ending things after he realizes how this dramatic, up-and-down relationship is impeding his leadership skills
As for why they fought... I was thinking it could be a values difference or maybe she disagrees with the way Remy is leading Gryphus or thinks that Gryphus should be going in a different direction. Perhaps she's more serious and grounded than Remy or maybe she's really bookish/nerdy and is actually super knowledgeable on the history of the land/Gryphus, etc like a classic Ravenclaw and enjoys using these tools to her advantage. She always wants to understand a situation or problem the best that she can first before trying to solve it and comes up with a bunch of plans. And that's why she clashes with Remy, who is more impulsive and makes decisions based on his intuition, which no doubt comes out in his leadership role
Maybe she’s the steady, practical type, or she cares a looot about history and traditions, so that leads to conflict?? Their dynamic would have to be different from Liv and Remy’s dynamic in some way though, or Remy’s going to run into the same issues lol. But Cassia and Liv sharing some traits might be something that fuels Cassia’s jealousy—like why does that not bother him when the same thing caused so many fights between us?? The answer might be in the other traits that differ between Cassia and Liv, etc. But regardless, maybe Cassia comes to be more antagonistic towards Liv not only bc she’s jealous, but bc she’s started getting suspicious?? Like maybe she catches these moments like Remy will, but unlike Remy, whose got some feelings to give Liv the benefit of the doubt and ignore it, Cassia already doesn’t like her so she’s seeing all these flaws more vividly??
Oh maybe since Cassia is more traditional and holds onto older values, Remy feels like she's holding him back from what his gut feels is right whereas Liv pushes him forward and encourages those feelings? I can see Cassia being a very devout follower of the Griffin and praying to the deity a lot in the prayer room. As Remy is more disillusioned, I can see him being like "oh if the griffin were still here, he'd help us," or something and feel shunned/disappointed by the world and the obvious lack of divine intervention. So he's more skeptical in that way.
Since Liv lacks that identity/agency, she definitely seems less grounded than Cassia. It seems like Liv is also still doing a lot of self searching and trying to figure out who she really is, which is something Remy can definitely relate to. Perhaps Cassia is more sheltered and both her parents are still alive and loves her dearly, so she hasn't ever gone through any close losses. Maybe this is b/c her parents are the type to avoid danger and do anything they can to stay alive- perhaps they only joined Gryphus for the protection that the base offers and being around other trained Prodigium who can protect them, but they mainly work in housekeeping and safe missions, not really volunteering for the more dangerous missions. Since this is the completely opposite of the type of family and values that Remy grew up in, it's a point of contention to see Cassia herself express those values sometimes. She never wants him to put himself in harm's way or go on dangerous missions- not only b/c she cares about him and doesn't want to see him hurt, but also b/c she feels like there's another, more safe way to go about it. So maybe she does really value that safety and security (which is quite fitting for a Terra Prod)
And yes I can definitely see Cassia being suspicious of Liv before Remy even really notices it! I can see Cassia going to Remy and telling him that she thinks there's something off about Liv but Remy just thinks she's being jealous and dismisses her. Maybe Cassia even goes so far as to confronting Liv privately with a thinly veiled threat
And I really like that for Cassia--grounded, serious, seeking stability and safety, and is very devout. That's got to lead to conflict for sure, if Remy's very skeptical about something Cassia feels very strongly about, and vice versa with her continuing to stress safety when he's more of the kind to charge. I particularly like the thought that she hasn't suffered a lot of tragedy in her life, so there's got to be that disconnect between the two of them. Liv has both parents, but she's been abandoned by both and has been through quite a bit, so they would both understand the harsh reality of life--and then there's that shared sense of seeking true identity, so that's a fair amount of things that explain why Liv and Remy's dynamic works a lot better. Oh, and Liv is very much about thorough planning, but she's also action oriented and is willing to take drastic measures when they're needed, so that probably meshes better with Remy's style.
But yeeees. Maybe Cassia valuing stability and security makes her naturally a bit suspicious to outsiders too (especially since she grew up on the base), so she's quick to scrutinize everything about Liv. So it's not too surprising that Remy thinks she's blowing it out of proportion/just being jealous?? But YES, a confrontation with a thinly veiled threat...oof. That's the good tension, there. That's the kind of tension that pays off like way later when Cassia actually helps Liv in a situation where no one would know otherwise or something. Complex relationships between girls, yes please!!
Losing someone close to you would definitely drive someone to lapse into old supports and rekindle old feelings. But Remy ending it again because of needing to focus on his leadership position--that's gonna end up biting him in the butt later--because that ex could feel utterly slighted when she notices something going on between Remy and Liv. It's like...so, with me you had to put your duty first, but for her it's all fine and dandy?? Could justifiably make her angry, especially if she'd been somewhat reluctant to end their rekindled relationship, etc. It's personal, aside from simple jealousy, and I really like that!
Yeah the whole fighting/drama = bad mood = bad decisions/low morale that comes with on and off again drama/hooking up with an ex is why I think it makes sense Remy would've broken it off. Since it took him 2 months to grieve and step up to the leadership plate, I can see him hitting rock bottom and turning to his ex during those 2 months for emotional support and of course they end up hooking up a bunch (after all, he's the only one left in his family now.) Maybe they even entertain getting back together b/c Remy is so afraid of being alone. Then, at the end of those 2 months when he officially starts his leadership duties, maybe they get into a fight one day and he has to go into an important meeting right after and his low morale/distracted mind leads him to totally botch that meeting. Given how emotionally tumultuous he has at that time, it's hard for him to only focus on the task in front of him. So I can see him going back to her and ending things after he realizes how this dramatic, up-and-down relationship is impeding his leadership skills
As for why they fought... I was thinking it could be a values difference or maybe she disagrees with the way Remy is leading Gryphus or thinks that Gryphus should be going in a different direction. Perhaps she's more serious and grounded than Remy or maybe she's really bookish/nerdy and is actually super knowledgeable on the history of the land/Gryphus, etc like a classic Ravenclaw and enjoys using these tools to her advantage. She always wants to understand a situation or problem the best that she can first before trying to solve it and comes up with a bunch of plans. And that's why she clashes with Remy, who is more impulsive and makes decisions based on his intuition, which no doubt comes out in his leadership role
Maybe she’s the steady, practical type, or she cares a looot about history and traditions, so that leads to conflict?? Their dynamic would have to be different from Liv and Remy’s dynamic in some way though, or Remy’s going to run into the same issues lol. But Cassia and Liv sharing some traits might be something that fuels Cassia’s jealousy—like why does that not bother him when the same thing caused so many fights between us?? The answer might be in the other traits that differ between Cassia and Liv, etc. But regardless, maybe Cassia comes to be more antagonistic towards Liv not only bc she’s jealous, but bc she’s started getting suspicious?? Like maybe she catches these moments like Remy will, but unlike Remy, whose got some feelings to give Liv the benefit of the doubt and ignore it, Cassia already doesn’t like her so she’s seeing all these flaws more vividly??
Oh maybe since Cassia is more traditional and holds onto older values, Remy feels like she's holding him back from what his gut feels is right whereas Liv pushes him forward and encourages those feelings? I can see Cassia being a very devout follower of the Griffin and praying to the deity a lot in the prayer room. As Remy is more disillusioned, I can see him being like "oh if the griffin were still here, he'd help us," or something and feel shunned/disappointed by the world and the obvious lack of divine intervention. So he's more skeptical in that way.
Since Liv lacks that identity/agency, she definitely seems less grounded than Cassia. It seems like Liv is also still doing a lot of self searching and trying to figure out who she really is, which is something Remy can definitely relate to. Perhaps Cassia is more sheltered and both her parents are still alive and loves her dearly, so she hasn't ever gone through any close losses. Maybe this is b/c her parents are the type to avoid danger and do anything they can to stay alive- perhaps they only joined Gryphus for the protection that the base offers and being around other trained Prodigium who can protect them, but they mainly work in housekeeping and safe missions, not really volunteering for the more dangerous missions. Since this is the completely opposite of the type of family and values that Remy grew up in, it's a point of contention to see Cassia herself express those values sometimes. She never wants him to put himself in harm's way or go on dangerous missions- not only b/c she cares about him and doesn't want to see him hurt, but also b/c she feels like there's another, more safe way to go about it. So maybe she does really value that safety and security (which is quite fitting for a Terra Prod)
And yes I can definitely see Cassia being suspicious of Liv before Remy even really notices it! I can see Cassia going to Remy and telling him that she thinks there's something off about Liv but Remy just thinks she's being jealous and dismisses her. Maybe Cassia even goes so far as to confronting Liv privately with a thinly veiled threat
And I really like that for Cassia--grounded, serious, seeking stability and safety, and is very devout. That's got to lead to conflict for sure, if Remy's very skeptical about something Cassia feels very strongly about, and vice versa with her continuing to stress safety when he's more of the kind to charge. I particularly like the thought that she hasn't suffered a lot of tragedy in her life, so there's got to be that disconnect between the two of them. Liv has both parents, but she's been abandoned by both and has been through quite a bit, so they would both understand the harsh reality of life--and then there's that shared sense of seeking true identity, so that's a fair amount of things that explain why Liv and Remy's dynamic works a lot better. Oh, and Liv is very much about thorough planning, but she's also action oriented and is willing to take drastic measures when they're needed, so that probably meshes better with Remy's style.
But yeeees. Maybe Cassia valuing stability and security makes her naturally a bit suspicious to outsiders too (especially since she grew up on the base), so she's quick to scrutinize everything about Liv. So it's not too surprising that Remy thinks she's blowing it out of proportion/just being jealous?? But YES, a confrontation with a thinly veiled threat...oof. That's the good tension, there. That's the kind of tension that pays off like way later when Cassia actually helps Liv in a situation where no one would know otherwise or something. Complex relationships between girls, yes please!!
I was super briefly entertaining the idea of some sort of rival character for Remy within Gryphus but I'm not really sure what that would look like and we already have a lot going on... but it would add an interesting dynamic into the rebel group like "sides." Maybe some have issues with Remy being leader since he would be the 3rd Varick leader and I don't think there was anything official about leadership being passed down through family (we also never rly discussed exactly how leadership is transferred in Gryphus either)?
Ah yes, a rival character...If you feel like there's too much going on, maybe they can be in the background all along, and then they get their arc when they actively challenge Remy's leadership, etc?? Like they’re not outspoken jUST yet, but it's brewing in the background for now. But you're right, there probably isn't an 'official' line of succession, but it's like this...popular vote, or even just an expectation. It might be that Papa Varick has done so much for the Gryphus--I mean, he was the first leader, he built the base, he died as a martyr--he's gotta be legendary to them. Rhea was such a powerhouse that it was clear that she'd take on the mantle after him. And so people kinda end up looking to Remy to lead when she gets captured?? This would definitely make it so that there could end up being dissent within the Gryphus. Remy's still green as a leader, and his style is prolly different from his father's and Rhea's, so there's bound to be some people who want a different approach...and his rival would be the embodiment of that growing discontent??
We can have the rival character be mostly in the background up until he's not anymore and outright challenges one of Remy's decisions. Maybe he's trying to win the favors of the rest of the Gryphus members and gain their support before challenging Remy, hoping to take leadership. I think this could be a good sub-plot and has a lot of potential to tie into the main storyline if we want!
Ah yes, a rival character...If you feel like there's too much going on, maybe they can be in the background all along, and then they get their arc when they actively challenge Remy's leadership, etc?? Like they’re not outspoken jUST yet, but it's brewing in the background for now. But you're right, there probably isn't an 'official' line of succession, but it's like this...popular vote, or even just an expectation. It might be that Papa Varick has done so much for the Gryphus--I mean, he was the first leader, he built the base, he died as a martyr--he's gotta be legendary to them. Rhea was such a powerhouse that it was clear that she'd take on the mantle after him. And so people kinda end up looking to Remy to lead when she gets captured?? This would definitely make it so that there could end up being dissent within the Gryphus. Remy's still green as a leader, and his style is prolly different from his father's and Rhea's, so there's bound to be some people who want a different approach...and his rival would be the embodiment of that growing discontent??
We can have the rival character be mostly in the background up until he's not anymore and outright challenges one of Remy's decisions. Maybe he's trying to win the favors of the rest of the Gryphus members and gain their support before challenging Remy, hoping to take leadership. I think this could be a good sub-plot and has a lot of potential to tie into the main storyline if we want!
Maybe there's a special battle division within Gryphus called the Talons who are the most formidable combat Prodigium in the region- or maybe they're the Spectare equivalent in Gryphus in the sense that they are both extremely well versed in fighting as well as reconnaissance and staying stealthy. Maybe some of them even managed to infiltrate the circles of the Valorum districts (although if we went with this, we would have to figure out exactly why, how, and what their goal is- this goes back to Ricardis possibly having a master plan in mind and some important piece of info that we touched on earlier.)
Maybe that's something that comes to be later in the plot?? Like a special strike force that they form towards the middle/end of the plot--it could be the joint product of Remy and Liv's ideas? With Liv's experience in the Spectare, it makes sense that she'd have a lot of ideas to offer in order to beat the Spectare once she's on the Gryphus' side. Kind of a 'it takes one to know one', and then putting that to use under Remy's leadership. Maybe Ricardis wanted to do this kind of network, but he didn't have the insider knowledge to understand the Spectare's m.o. and turn it against them?? But yeah, Talons sound a lot more aggressive and attack-oriented, so that might make sense for a strike force or something
That sounds perfect and definitely something that sounds like the brain child of Remy and Liv combined. I mean we always knew that at some point in the RP, our characters would need to infiltrate Imperial City to save Remy's sister, assassinate Kato, overthrow the government, etc etc something drastic for that big final battle. And this is the perfect way to do it! I can see the Talons maybe first infiltrating a fancy ball that the Consul is throwing as the first step to maybe get intel or something else crucial to their plan. Dang Liv really is the missing piece that Gryphus needs... none of them have any idea what the Valorum districts, Imperial city, the government, Spectare are like and how they all operate but Liv will be able to offer all of that.
Maybe that's something that comes to be later in the plot?? Like a special strike force that they form towards the middle/end of the plot--it could be the joint product of Remy and Liv's ideas? With Liv's experience in the Spectare, it makes sense that she'd have a lot of ideas to offer in order to beat the Spectare once she's on the Gryphus' side. Kind of a 'it takes one to know one', and then putting that to use under Remy's leadership. Maybe Ricardis wanted to do this kind of network, but he didn't have the insider knowledge to understand the Spectare's m.o. and turn it against them?? But yeah, Talons sound a lot more aggressive and attack-oriented, so that might make sense for a strike force or something
That sounds perfect and definitely something that sounds like the brain child of Remy and Liv combined. I mean we always knew that at some point in the RP, our characters would need to infiltrate Imperial City to save Remy's sister, assassinate Kato, overthrow the government, etc etc something drastic for that big final battle. And this is the perfect way to do it! I can see the Talons maybe first infiltrating a fancy ball that the Consul is throwing as the first step to maybe get intel or something else crucial to their plan. Dang Liv really is the missing piece that Gryphus needs... none of them have any idea what the Valorum districts, Imperial city, the government, Spectare are like and how they all operate but Liv will be able to offer all of that.
Or maybe Spectare takes the offense and as soon as they realize that Liv has turned, they send an attack team to not long kill Liv but also destroy the Gryphus base once and for all? I'm assuming that when Liv first joined Gryphus, she probably told Spectare the exact location of the base? That seems like a pretty basic and important detail that she would tell them before her loyalties turn. Also, how exactly will Liv be sending this info to the Spectare? I'm guessing she'll have some sort of cellular messaging ability either with a burner phone or computer in the form of either messages or phone calls (although messaging seems safer to avoid suspicion and decrease the chances of someone overhearing.)
Maybe the priest tried to keep everyone's morale up with his religious/spiritual wisdom but he knew that he was never meant to be the leader, especially given his old age. I don't think everyone in the Circle had the ambition to be the leader (i.e. the healer, for example, she's already got enough on her plate) but maybe Cleo, the Gryphus Scout, and Dominic each tried to step up with varying effectiveness and for different reasons. I can see ambition driving Cleo and the Gryphus Scout to be leader but I think Dominic would've tried to lead just to keep people's morale up and prevent anyone else in the Circle from grabbing the leader role b/c he firmly believes deep down that it should be Remy. He he's sort of "keeping the seat warm" for him while trying to encourage him to step up. Then when he finally recovers after that 2 month period, the rest of the Griffins are motivated that he of all people still believes in their mission (like you said.)
Maybe Cassia gets suspicious and follows her one day then tries to eavesdrop on their conversation from under the window or something but can't quite catch every word but whatever she hears makes her suspicious enough to tell Remy. Then maybe Remy confronts Liv who is then able to spin a really good story/explanation about why they were talking about that or doing that and now Remy feels bad for not trusting her and in turn gets mad at Cass
But yeah totally, I’d imagine that Gryphus rules are all about the buddy system haha. So I was thinking that Liv, having a hard time reporting bc of this, would be forced to start developing her spatial power more—like her getting as close as possible to the house and then saying something like oh I gtg to the bathroom real quick or ducks into a store, and then teleports away. But she’s really not good at it yet, so it’d be very taxing and she’d have to be really careful so people don’t get suspicious y’know?? There could even be a few times where she looks like she’s feeling really bad after coming back and she has to play if off to whoever’s with her. If this happens around Cass or Remy, this might be one of those things that click after it’s revealed she has spatial powers. It’s like...all those times, where was she really??
Yesss maybe one time Liv even faints for a hot sec then recovers and plays it off all cool but if Remy is with her, then he'd probably get concerned since he knows how strong she usually is and is not one to just faint randomly. But if Liv ducks off randomly a lot with different people, slowly these people could put the pieces together to find out it's a pattern (i.e. Remy, Vita, Cass, Adrian, etc.) Then once Remy realizes she has Spacial powers, he becomes suspicious about all those times she randomly disappeared and questions her to see where she had been going. Maybe Liv spends a story about how her grandma has cancer and is very sick/dying or something
Yeeep, I can totally see Cass not being all that affected. I mean I'm sure she's thinking Liv is sus because she doesn't like her, but since she's not as personally connected to the loss of parents like Remy is, it wouldn't cut all that deep even if she did believe her. While Remy, poor Remy, he'd totally get the the whole 'one last family member I have in the world' sentiment. Also, I'm actually thinking that Vita would totally keep her secret (under the impression of the sickly grandma stroy), understanding that strong family bond and being kinda casual and laid-back? This would make things a little less taxing for Liv, and it'd be a way she's using Vita for advantages. But ofc she can't always go out with Vita, so things will still be difficult.
Cass' eyes would be all narrowed with suspicion as Liv is spewing her BS and Remy is all omg your poor thing, while Cass rolls her eyes haha. This probably drives Remy and Cass even further apart b/c it's another example for Remy of how Cass doesn't truly understand him and what he has been through. And yes I can totally see Vita even helping to cover for Liv since she strongly values her own family too.
But yeah totally, I’d imagine that Gryphus rules are all about the buddy system haha. So I was thinking that Liv, having a hard time reporting bc of this, would be forced to start developing her spatial power more—like her getting as close as possible to the house and then saying something like oh I gtg to the bathroom real quick or ducks into a store, and then teleports away. But she’s really not good at it yet, so it’d be very taxing and she’d have to be really careful so people don’t get suspicious y’know?? There could even be a few times where she looks like she’s feeling really bad after coming back and she has to play if off to whoever’s with her. If this happens around Cass or Remy, this might be one of those things that click after it’s revealed she has spatial powers. It’s like...all those times, where was she really??
Yesss maybe one time Liv even faints for a hot sec then recovers and plays it off all cool but if Remy is with her, then he'd probably get concerned since he knows how strong she usually is and is not one to just faint randomly. But if Liv ducks off randomly a lot with different people, slowly these people could put the pieces together to find out it's a pattern (i.e. Remy, Vita, Cass, Adrian, etc.) Then once Remy realizes she has Spacial powers, he becomes suspicious about all those times she randomly disappeared and questions her to see where she had been going. Maybe Liv spends a story about how her grandma has cancer and is very sick/dying or something
Yeeep, I can totally see Cass not being all that affected. I mean I'm sure she's thinking Liv is sus because she doesn't like her, but since she's not as personally connected to the loss of parents like Remy is, it wouldn't cut all that deep even if she did believe her. While Remy, poor Remy, he'd totally get the the whole 'one last family member I have in the world' sentiment. Also, I'm actually thinking that Vita would totally keep her secret (under the impression of the sickly grandma stroy), understanding that strong family bond and being kinda casual and laid-back? This would make things a little less taxing for Liv, and it'd be a way she's using Vita for advantages. But ofc she can't always go out with Vita, so things will still be difficult.
Cass' eyes would be all narrowed with suspicion as Liv is spewing her BS and Remy is all omg your poor thing, while Cass rolls her eyes haha. This probably drives Remy and Cass even further apart b/c it's another example for Remy of how Cass doesn't truly understand him and what he has been through. And yes I can totally see Vita even helping to cover for Liv since she strongly values her own family too.
Ooo maybe Cleo was really close to Rhea and so she feels like Remy really doesn't live up to her. She probably saw Remy grow up from a little kid and due to the age difference, she has always viewed him as her best friend's younger brother. So now she's upset that this kid is now leading them?? (I'm trying to imagine if my own best friend's little brother was suddenly the boss of me- I would be like wtf loool sit ur ass down) Tasia could've also been friends with Rhea but she's more understanding of Remy and has seen him mature? Sort of 2 people with different reactions
Ohhh I like that! I can see someone as angry and driven as Rhea being friends with Cleo, and then Tasia would've rounded the friendship out with like a gentler, calmer influence?? but LOL yes, Cleo's frustrations with Remy makes a LOT of sense when you think of it like that. You've hit the nail on the head hahaa, 'sit ur ass down'. xD This ties into how Cleo would've tried to go for the leadership position--Rhea was her best friend/little sister figure?? (There's a bit of a gap there between Cleo and Rhea, but I have friends who are like 6~10 years younger than me, and it's like this mix between being aggressively protective and supportive of them but also being friends haha idk) But yeah, Tasia would be much more understanding and supportive of Remy, kind of like a maternal/big sister kind of way--she's the kind of person who mothers and takes care of everyone tho
Ohhh I like that! I can see someone as angry and driven as Rhea being friends with Cleo, and then Tasia would've rounded the friendship out with like a gentler, calmer influence?? but LOL yes, Cleo's frustrations with Remy makes a LOT of sense when you think of it like that. You've hit the nail on the head hahaa, 'sit ur ass down'. xD This ties into how Cleo would've tried to go for the leadership position--Rhea was her best friend/little sister figure?? (There's a bit of a gap there between Cleo and Rhea, but I have friends who are like 6~10 years younger than me, and it's like this mix between being aggressively protective and supportive of them but also being friends haha idk) But yeah, Tasia would be much more understanding and supportive of Remy, kind of like a maternal/big sister kind of way--she's the kind of person who mothers and takes care of everyone tho
Okay yeah then let’s have her settle in Favonius first—the Spectare likely wanted her to be located as close as possible to the desert, so that makes sense. She’ll then have to have Medea move to Caurus, since we know that Remy would have to be accompanying her sometimes for him to witness some suspicious behavior, so it can’t be Auster that she has her move to.
So for their endgame plan--honestly, it could be any combination of those things you've listed. I'm sure that they do go through these suggestions before some get turned down or vetoed, etc. Like I'm sure an easy way out would be to suggest an assassination, which Liv would certainly be able to do, but it might not be a lasting change since sometone like Tycho could easily step up. Anyways, I think the final plan should have elements that correspond to both of Remy and Liv's 'style'?? A lot like how the Talon thing is clearly something that has both of their fingerprints all over it, haha--so a mixture of something subtle/subterfuge + something direct/calling upon the community kind of thing? So leaking some sort of information and turning the people (or even Spectare agents) against Kato and the Spectare could easily be one part of the plan, and then some sort of rallying of their people. I could also see them getting into contact with Nevasca and revealing Imperium's machinations, and coordinate like a...dual uprising, or a decoy thing where a Nevascan revolt will draw the attention from Imperium's army, and during the time there's less army forces in Imperium, they strike the Imperial City, etc etc... As for the final structure to replace Kato--it could be something similar to the Circle that they have now (which is somewhat similar to the Consul, now that I think about it), it could be a complete democracy, or we could end on this note of like....hopeful uncertainty?? Like we don't know exactly how things are going to settle, Imperium is going to need time to rebuild, but they're going to be around to put in the work to make sure it's a better one??
Yesss I can totally see Nevasca coming into play b/c Gryphus will need some backup if things escalate into an all-out battle. Since Liv has been to Nevasca, what if they stow away on a cargo ship (just like they did in the mission) and sneak into Nevasca to talk to the Assembly for support? Since Liv knows that it was actually Imperium who poisoned their fish/rivers, it would really enrage the Assembly and be a motivation for them to help. Maybe they promise that once they take down the current government and install a new democracy, they promise to rewrite the trade agreement so that it's much more fair and even write a formal alliance agreement. I can see the end goal being to implement a democracy where the leadership is fairly represented by all residents (both wealthy and working class as well as both Prods and non-Prods.)
I think in order to do that, they need to somehow expose all of what Spectare is doing to the public with objective hard undeniable evidence. Maybe something like that broadcasting a private conversation on all the TV's and speakers- I'm sure that technology is already in place to allow the Principate to speak to the whole country at once. Maybe Liv manipulates her relationship with Tycho (being her father and all) and tricks him into having a conversation where he exposes many of their secrets b/c he thinks it's a private convo but Liv is recording it the whole time.
At the same time, Gryphus will need the support of the rest of the Prodigium and ideally, many of the non-Prods as well. Maybe they plan a giant riot where all of Lutum (or even all of the Infirmi districts) revolt against the military patrols in the south, forcing the government to send troops in from Imperial City. But Nevasca is attacking from the north so it spreads them thin. And during this distraction is when they go in and kidnap Kato? You're right that I don't think assassinating him would be the best idea b/c they're trying to start a new era with as little bloodshed as possible and killing the current ruler will just be written in history books as another bloodthirsty person killing the Principate for more power... maybe they keep him prisoner instead. Maybe they kidnap Kato to hold him as hostage and leverage for something... How exactly does one overthrow a government lol do you just storm into the capital and occupy the building or what
Ooh yes, I like that! They stowaway again and have to escape the notice of all of the Imperium military lookouts to get this info to the Nevascan Assembly, and negotiate for assistance and coordination. But I agree that a good endgame would be a democracy with fair representation! Maybe Nevasca could help with that transition too, since they seem more openly democratic, etc.
And ooohhhhh you're right!! There's that Tycho connection! And he's going to try to get her on his side...it makes sense that she'd be able to get confirmation on conspiracies and top info from him. And I agree that each household has some sort of screen device that Kato/the Consul uses to broadcast, so they could manipulate that/hack into it. It could even be a live broadcast if they do it right, which would mean less of a possibility of tampering, etc. I also think weakening the Spectare would be important--the thing about them disposing of the agents made defunct by the blood transference might be a thing that changes the minds of some specters, though I imagine a good number of them will still remain loyal. It would make a small difference, however, and they might corroborate the information leaked by the Gryphus.
That's true, they'd need a lot of support. I agree that their best bet would be the Prodigium in Lutum, and the non-prods in the Infirmi district. They're not well off and the poverty likely makes them more ready to revolt, so that makes sense. Having the army be split in two and spread thin makes it better for them to infiltrate the capitol and get at Kato. I think taking him prisoner makes sense...and then revealing Kato's secrets would be a big deal, too?? The assassination of Maximus would likely enrage a lot of people. They'd have to force Kato and the rest of the Consul members to step down and form a new government entirely--honestly, it wouldn't be Kato's life that they use as leverage, but the anger of the people, likely. If the entire nation is upset at you, and you don't have the resources to crack down on all of them, you're going to have to step down before the mob starts taking action.
Oh riiiight Kato killing Maximus! As well as Tycho's and Argusta's involvement in it! That's a huge secret that will anger the country and tarnish the Spectare leaders' reputation at once. Ooooh and what if they expose the fact that it was Kato and Tycho who organized the attack on the Imperium task force located in Taxila, Nevasca in order to frame it on the Nevascans since they were getting all suspicious? That would be a big reveal and really show how the Specters are just treated as expendable tools. On top of how they just killed off the Specters who couldn't recover from the blood transfusion in the experiments?
So all of this would definitely turn the Infirmi Districts against the gov (I imagine they will be quick to revolt) and most likely many of the Specters as well? But I'm wondering if all this will be enough to turn the upper classes living in Valorum against the gov too?
What if they hack into the screen device and broadcast one thing every day for a whole week or something and each time, they expose a different government/Spectare secret? Or maybe it's in the headlines of a newspaper/media company? I assume Imperians have smartphones or not really?
Oh yes, that's right!! I imagine the people affected by the casualties in Taxila would be very angry to hear that it was their own government, and that they did that for gain--a big betrayal of trust. I imagine people in the army or the military consul might be upset by that, and the army support might start falling apart?? Cuz the people in the task force was the army, right? Not the spectare? But then we still have the whole disposal of the sick specters to affect them. So it seems like the Gryphus will be seeking to target all the things that the Imperium have done in corruption and make Kato and his Consul utterly lose support, making them powerless?? Because what Kato and the Consul have is the force of the military and the spectare, as well as the respect/fear/support of the public. They need to cripple each part to make them vulnerable??
So with this, we have at least part of the Spectare and part of the military unwilling to support Kato, as well as the Infirmi districts? I imagine at least some of the Valorum district citizens would be upset by the assassination of Maximus, since he is seen as like this legendary figure, right? Also there might be some who just choose to not support Kato anymore because they can see the way things are going and just don't want to be caught up in the crossfire when he gets pulled down. There would be some die-hard loyalists, just like I imagine there would be specters who are just that loyal, but if the opposition is overwhelming, they won't really have a chance.
I would think that they had smartphones, or something like that, right?? And like a staggered release sounds interesting, but it might be risky too. Like the government and the Spectare would be doing their hardest to stop the hack/broadcast. They might have to intially take the capitol and take Kato prisoner before they can broadcast. In this case, the citizens outside of Lutum wouldn't be recruited, so it might fall on the residents of Lutum and Nevasca to be the distractions, and then once they have some leverage with Kato as hostage, they start dropping bombshell news, which starts to incite people to rebel, starting with the Infirmi districts??
Yesss I can totally see Nevasca coming into play b/c Gryphus will need some backup if things escalate into an all-out battle. Since Liv has been to Nevasca, what if they stow away on a cargo ship (just like they did in the mission) and sneak into Nevasca to talk to the Assembly for support? Since Liv knows that it was actually Imperium who poisoned their fish/rivers, it would really enrage the Assembly and be a motivation for them to help. Maybe they promise that once they take down the current government and install a new democracy, they promise to rewrite the trade agreement so that it's much more fair and even write a formal alliance agreement. I can see the end goal being to implement a democracy where the leadership is fairly represented by all residents (both wealthy and working class as well as both Prods and non-Prods.)
I think in order to do that, they need to somehow expose all of what Spectare is doing to the public with objective hard undeniable evidence. Maybe something like that broadcasting a private conversation on all the TV's and speakers- I'm sure that technology is already in place to allow the Principate to speak to the whole country at once. Maybe Liv manipulates her relationship with Tycho (being her father and all) and tricks him into having a conversation where he exposes many of their secrets b/c he thinks it's a private convo but Liv is recording it the whole time.
At the same time, Gryphus will need the support of the rest of the Prodigium and ideally, many of the non-Prods as well. Maybe they plan a giant riot where all of Lutum (or even all of the Infirmi districts) revolt against the military patrols in the south, forcing the government to send troops in from Imperial City. But Nevasca is attacking from the north so it spreads them thin. And during this distraction is when they go in and kidnap Kato? You're right that I don't think assassinating him would be the best idea b/c they're trying to start a new era with as little bloodshed as possible and killing the current ruler will just be written in history books as another bloodthirsty person killing the Principate for more power... maybe they keep him prisoner instead. Maybe they kidnap Kato to hold him as hostage and leverage for something... How exactly does one overthrow a government lol do you just storm into the capital and occupy the building or what
Ooh yes, I like that! They stowaway again and have to escape the notice of all of the Imperium military lookouts to get this info to the Nevascan Assembly, and negotiate for assistance and coordination. But I agree that a good endgame would be a democracy with fair representation! Maybe Nevasca could help with that transition too, since they seem more openly democratic, etc.
And ooohhhhh you're right!! There's that Tycho connection! And he's going to try to get her on his side...it makes sense that she'd be able to get confirmation on conspiracies and top info from him. And I agree that each household has some sort of screen device that Kato/the Consul uses to broadcast, so they could manipulate that/hack into it. It could even be a live broadcast if they do it right, which would mean less of a possibility of tampering, etc. I also think weakening the Spectare would be important--the thing about them disposing of the agents made defunct by the blood transference might be a thing that changes the minds of some specters, though I imagine a good number of them will still remain loyal. It would make a small difference, however, and they might corroborate the information leaked by the Gryphus.
That's true, they'd need a lot of support. I agree that their best bet would be the Prodigium in Lutum, and the non-prods in the Infirmi district. They're not well off and the poverty likely makes them more ready to revolt, so that makes sense. Having the army be split in two and spread thin makes it better for them to infiltrate the capitol and get at Kato. I think taking him prisoner makes sense...and then revealing Kato's secrets would be a big deal, too?? The assassination of Maximus would likely enrage a lot of people. They'd have to force Kato and the rest of the Consul members to step down and form a new government entirely--honestly, it wouldn't be Kato's life that they use as leverage, but the anger of the people, likely. If the entire nation is upset at you, and you don't have the resources to crack down on all of them, you're going to have to step down before the mob starts taking action.
Oh riiiight Kato killing Maximus! As well as Tycho's and Argusta's involvement in it! That's a huge secret that will anger the country and tarnish the Spectare leaders' reputation at once. Ooooh and what if they expose the fact that it was Kato and Tycho who organized the attack on the Imperium task force located in Taxila, Nevasca in order to frame it on the Nevascans since they were getting all suspicious? That would be a big reveal and really show how the Specters are just treated as expendable tools. On top of how they just killed off the Specters who couldn't recover from the blood transfusion in the experiments?
So all of this would definitely turn the Infirmi Districts against the gov (I imagine they will be quick to revolt) and most likely many of the Specters as well? But I'm wondering if all this will be enough to turn the upper classes living in Valorum against the gov too?
What if they hack into the screen device and broadcast one thing every day for a whole week or something and each time, they expose a different government/Spectare secret? Or maybe it's in the headlines of a newspaper/media company? I assume Imperians have smartphones or not really?
Oh yes, that's right!! I imagine the people affected by the casualties in Taxila would be very angry to hear that it was their own government, and that they did that for gain--a big betrayal of trust. I imagine people in the army or the military consul might be upset by that, and the army support might start falling apart?? Cuz the people in the task force was the army, right? Not the spectare? But then we still have the whole disposal of the sick specters to affect them. So it seems like the Gryphus will be seeking to target all the things that the Imperium have done in corruption and make Kato and his Consul utterly lose support, making them powerless?? Because what Kato and the Consul have is the force of the military and the spectare, as well as the respect/fear/support of the public. They need to cripple each part to make them vulnerable??
So with this, we have at least part of the Spectare and part of the military unwilling to support Kato, as well as the Infirmi districts? I imagine at least some of the Valorum district citizens would be upset by the assassination of Maximus, since he is seen as like this legendary figure, right? Also there might be some who just choose to not support Kato anymore because they can see the way things are going and just don't want to be caught up in the crossfire when he gets pulled down. There would be some die-hard loyalists, just like I imagine there would be specters who are just that loyal, but if the opposition is overwhelming, they won't really have a chance.
I would think that they had smartphones, or something like that, right?? And like a staggered release sounds interesting, but it might be risky too. Like the government and the Spectare would be doing their hardest to stop the hack/broadcast. They might have to intially take the capitol and take Kato prisoner before they can broadcast. In this case, the citizens outside of Lutum wouldn't be recruited, so it might fall on the residents of Lutum and Nevasca to be the distractions, and then once they have some leverage with Kato as hostage, they start dropping bombshell news, which starts to incite people to rebel, starting with the Infirmi districts??
I agree that there ought to be some impactful event that drives the Gryphus to act more concretely. Taking that master plan into consideration, it could be that people, particularly vulnerable people like children, orphans, transients start going missing off the streets of Lutum? Like they're trying to get more Prod subjects to continue to experiment and make their special agents?? I imagine that throughout Act 1, these events would also serve to start opening Liv's eyes to the moral wrongs of the government as well, so something like that could work. As for the conquering the other countries using these new enhanced soldiers--would Liv know this, or would it be classified?? I feel like it could go either way.
As for RIcardis' plan--I think he had talked about how maybe a special task force or a spectare equivalent had been Ricardis' idea, but that he didn't have concrete ways of making it happen yet? The underground access tunnels may have been made in order to make infiltration easier. Maybe Ricardis even made more secret tunnels that only Dominic knows about or something, that lead straight into more dangerous areas, or something?? Or Ricardis found out a way that super enhance a prod's powers, but at the cost of something else, like life force, or their abilities entirely??
But the top dogs revealing themselves to have powers from transference would make a lot of sense, especially with Tycho, with his high amount of prod heritage. We could even learn that scientists were able to amplify or enhance powers in an unnatural way too, if we want to go that way??
Oooo yes I really like that! After all, Rhea is only one subject and if they plan to make an entire army filled with Prod powers, they'll need a lot more blood than just 1 person. Also they probably just want different subjects with varying levels and types of abilities to experiment on. So it makes sense that they send Specters into Lutum to try to kidnap Prods who won't have many people looking for them- i.e. the homeless population, random kids, etc. But they're not going to be 100% perfect about it- eventually someone who's connected to the Gryphus will have a kid stolen who Spectare thought was just an orphan/homeless guy no one cared about.
Maybe one of the Griffins comes running back to base after using his/her visitation day to visit family and reports that a younger sibling/cousin has gone missing. Maybe this happens a couple more times in a row close together and by this point, Gryphus gets suspicious. Perhaps Cleo and one of her teams are out in Lutum one night looking for recruits (b/c it seems like Gryphus draws from a similar population- people who don't really have families anymore) and they're tailing a person who they were hoping to recruit when suddenly two Hands drop in and kidnap them. Cleo and her teams intervene and we can discuss whether they successfully stop the Specter or the person gets taken. But they bring this info back to Gryphus and it becomes obvious that the Specter are the ones behind this.
We can also decide whether or not Liv knew about this from insider Specter intel or if she learns about it along with the rest of the Griffins- maybe this also starts to shake her moral compass. Or maybe when Cleo first reports this, they're not sure exactly who the kidnappers are but they mention a detail (i.e. something about what they were wearing or a symbol on their clothes or the type of equipment/face mask they had) that tips Liv off to the fact that they were definitely Spectare. Then she tries to subtly suggest that to everyone in a way that doesn't reveal how she knows it haha
Maybe Liv has heard rumors and whispers at Spectare HQ about the true reason for Project Phoenix, so she hasn't been told officially but she was around for a lot of the experimentation given that she was Subject 0 and given the mystery around Spectare, I'm sure that mystery continues even amongst its agents. So it makes sense that there's a lot of rumors about different things that get passed around and this is one of them?
Ohhhh maybe Ricardis and Dominic made tunnels that connected Lutum to all the other Infirmi districts and Valorum districts. I'm not sure if it would make it too OP to have the tunnels be connected to Imperial City too - if we decide not to, we could say that the reason is b/c there's a complex subway system in Imperial City so it would be difficult/dangerous to have the tunnels connect into the city. This would tie into Ricardis' master plan of the Talons- his goal was to eventually infiltrate the Consul itself with Griffins and overturn the government that way: from the inside. He was thinking very long term and during his leadership, there wasn't much urgency to it so it made sense to create a solid, concrete term for the long-run.
Given that he turned to stone to save an apartment building filled with non-Prods, perhaps his philosophy was trying to give everyone a chance no matter what and really believed in the best of people. That's why he wanted to do this with as little bloodshed and as little lives lost as possible. Maybe Remy/Liv/their friends find a secret vault in the wall of Ricardis' old bedroom or the Reading Room or something that had all of his plans. Given that he was a great Terra Prod, it makes sense he would have little hiding spots in the walls all over the base. But why would he be keeping it a secret? Why didn't the other Griffins know about the tunnels that go all the way to the Valorum Districts? Maybe he kept that part a secret and only he and Dominic knew because that would open too much risk if all the Griffins knew of these passageways around the country since these tunnels would literally lead directly back to their base. They couldn't risk the entry-points being discovered in the Valorum Districts/other Infirimi Districts (where there are no Prods at all) so they decided to only expose the Lutum tunnels until they were ready to actually use the other tunnels. Or maybe instead of written plans, this was something that Ricardis and Dominic had been discussing for a very long time and Dominic eventually reveals all of these plans to Remy (maybe at the end of Act 1 or in the beginning of Act 2)
Ooo or if we want to go the super enhanced powers route, maybe it's some sort of formula or potion Ricardis created with Dominic but they really haven't studied the side effects well at all and that's why it's kept a secret in these hidden plans. Perhaps it gives you a huge power boost at a cost- it could be losing your abilities completely, or having the strength of your abilities permanently dulled, or maybe it shaves several years off your lifespan? But it's meant to be used as a truly last resort / last ditch effort
Hmm.... if we have the scientists discover a way to artificially enhance the abilities, maybe it also comes at a cost? Maybe it's sort of a one hit wonder where the user is significantly permanently weakened afterwards (like the failed recipients of the blood transfusions) and the government/Spectare plans to use this on expendable soldiers/agents to help them win a single war then toss them away. Idk...
Okay, yes yes! They want to test if the power levels correlate to how much the person who gives the blood is trained, or if it's just innate. So it makes sense they'd try to take a variety of people, starting with the ones most readily available. And yes exactly--it starts becoming noticeable and eventually they're going to take someone that was connected to a Griffin.
I do like the idea that Liv is very much in the dark. Like, the specters are meant to be perfect soldiers, and they're meant to obey without really thinking critically about their orders. It kinda makes sense that they just give her the information she absolutely has to know in order to carry out her part, and nothing more. And yes, it makes sense that there's speculation among the specters, and Liv will start putting some of the pieces together as the story goes on--she kinda knows the direction that the Spectare are going, so it wouldn't be a leap for her to do so.
And I like the idea of the Gryphus finding out for sure what going on through Cleo and stuff! It could also be a patrol of other members, but either way, it makes sense that they might not recognize them as Spectare Hands right away. I'm guessing that Hands aren't often deployed to Lutum--there would likely be Eyes, and Hands aren't meant to stick around anyways, they're mission based and get out when it's done. Liv could play it off like a rumor she's heard from someone who used to work in the military or whatever, about what Hands look like or, if they're actually disguising themselves, the kind of weaponry or tactics they use kind of things?? And clearly Liv is somewhat bothered by this, otherwise she wouldn't say anything about it. Maybe it's even a thing where she realizes who they're describing and Remy notices that she looks like something is bothering her/like she's deep in thought or whatever (which already is a big thing bc she's technically trained to be a emotional blank slate lol)?? Maybe he asks her on the spot, or he asks her later in private, and instead of covering it up, she ends up nudging him in the right direction without making it sound suspicious. I'm sure she'd be kicking herself mentally afterwards, but we get that slow progression of her loyalties being shaken.
Yeee that's kinda what I was thinking!! I mean if it's too convenient to have the tunnels leading straight to the Imperial city, maybe the work was half done/75%/almost done when Ricardis died. But either way, yes, I bet he could've made lots of secret little nooks around the base if he wanted to, and hidden his plans or whatever. But I'm thinking that maybe Ricardis kept it a secret because he knew that they weren't ready to storm the Imperial city/mount a direct attack, and he knew that some people would be stupid or brave or reckless enough to try it when they weren't ready?? So maybe he and Dominic were waiting for the right time, especially if Ricardis wanted something like the Talons to form--looking all long-term. So it makes sense that Dominic would also keep those plans secret until he knew his old friend would agree that it was the right time kinda thing?? Knowing that, maybe this reveal happens in Act 2, once the idea for the Talons is brought up or something like that?? Or maybe slightly before, it would just depend on what we think should kick off the idea for the Talons.
Yeah, that would make sense for the potion or even the scientifically enhanced soldiers--there'd be a huge cost for it. This sounds more like a thing the Imperium would come up with--making super powerful soldiers and then disposing them, but if Ricardis and Dominic also happened to come up with a similar potion (in addition to the tunnels?), maybe Ricardis was like...'this is way too dangerous' and decided that it should never be used. Maybe like, a small amount can enhance and have small side effect, but downing an entire vial could give you immensely powerful abilities, but you'd be risking your life that that point. This could potentially lead to a sacrificial lion moment....like imagine a situation where everything is horrible and someone like Dominic or another close friend of Remy and Liv's decides to take one for the team and hold off whatever to give the rest of the Griffins a chance to run or something?? That'd be....ouch.
Oh and remember how we talked about the % of Prod DNA someone has will determine how successfully they receive the blood transfusion? Perhaps the Spectare scientists suspected this and they wanted to see if it was true by rounding up more Prods and testing their % of Prod DNA so that they wouldn't have to unnecessarily weaken healthy Specters in the experiment (you need to keep your tools nice and shiny after all!)
Yes I love the way the gradual progression of Liv realizing that maybe everything she taught was wrong and it comes one step at a time, starting with her internal conflicts. And right, Hands usually are not needed in Lutum so when Cleo is relaying what happened to the rest of the Circle/Griffins, she mentions a detail that Liv recognizes as the Hands. The friend in the military excuse would work well. I like that Remy would be able to tell that she seems off and waits to ask her what's wrong later in private! It would help draw them closer I think.
Right exactly!! I think we can just have the tunnels reach the edge of Imperial City but they're going to have to go above ground to get to the actual Vermillion House, which is in the very center of the city. I kind of doubt that they were able to build tunnels all the way to the heart of Imperial City.
As for what exactly triggers the Talons idea.... I think it would just be more orphans/homeless people are disappearing off the streets and the local Prodigium are getting really fearful and panicked, causing them to lash out against the military patrols, which is returned with even more brute force, and the Griffins realize that they have to act soon. Or maybe the local Prods organize a peaceful protest to urge the military patrols to protect their children and people more as more people start to disappear, but of course it turns violent and becomes this whole riot where the military starts to shoot down the protestors. Perhaps this event is what really urges the Griffins to take action and speed up their plans. Then, during the subsequent brainstorming session to figure out a solution, Liv and Remy come up with the Talons idea. This would be in Act 2 after her identity is revealed and she is starting to earn back their trust.
Yeah the super soldiers would def be an Imperium thing. Hmmm what if the potion that Ricardis invents holds off all negative side effects of using powers during the duration of the potion then once it's over, all the negative side effects hit you like a truck at once. So usually it's a gradual progression of drawbacks that happen the more you use your powers, but this potion holds off everything. But yes the more you drink, the longer it lasts, but the harder the side effects hit at the end.
Oh yes, you're right! Should we have it so that they also kidnap non-prod transients to test on as well? That way they also don't have to ruin more of their weaponry? That might come in handy when we need to get non-prods on the Gryphus' side as well.
Yesss! It'll be fun to see for sure. And it makes sense that Liv tells Remy and not everyone else--this could be why Remy is more prone to trusting her later on?? Because he recognizes that she really didn't have to tell him that right then, but she still did. It's likely that people close to her, like Remy and Vita, would see those moments more than the rest of the Griffins.
Ooh okay, tunnels that lead to just outside the Imperial City sounds good! You're right that the Imperial City itself would have a lot of stuff going on and there'd be the risk of them being utterly found out because of going too far.
Ooooh, I do like that idea! It makes sense that even the downtrodden people of Lutum would get upset or frightened enough that they rise up or try to attack the military patrols. And then the military shooting into the crowd.... o o f. That would be a big thing that would kick off the need to take drastic measures.
Mmm, you're definitely right. Then let's give the Imperium the serum/potion, and the Gryphus can have the tunnels? It kinda speaks to their respective philosophies and how different their founding leaders are, Ricardis vs. Kato, so I think that's nice??
As for RIcardis' plan--I think he had talked about how maybe a special task force or a spectare equivalent had been Ricardis' idea, but that he didn't have concrete ways of making it happen yet? The underground access tunnels may have been made in order to make infiltration easier. Maybe Ricardis even made more secret tunnels that only Dominic knows about or something, that lead straight into more dangerous areas, or something?? Or Ricardis found out a way that super enhance a prod's powers, but at the cost of something else, like life force, or their abilities entirely??
But the top dogs revealing themselves to have powers from transference would make a lot of sense, especially with Tycho, with his high amount of prod heritage. We could even learn that scientists were able to amplify or enhance powers in an unnatural way too, if we want to go that way??
Oooo yes I really like that! After all, Rhea is only one subject and if they plan to make an entire army filled with Prod powers, they'll need a lot more blood than just 1 person. Also they probably just want different subjects with varying levels and types of abilities to experiment on. So it makes sense that they send Specters into Lutum to try to kidnap Prods who won't have many people looking for them- i.e. the homeless population, random kids, etc. But they're not going to be 100% perfect about it- eventually someone who's connected to the Gryphus will have a kid stolen who Spectare thought was just an orphan/homeless guy no one cared about.
Maybe one of the Griffins comes running back to base after using his/her visitation day to visit family and reports that a younger sibling/cousin has gone missing. Maybe this happens a couple more times in a row close together and by this point, Gryphus gets suspicious. Perhaps Cleo and one of her teams are out in Lutum one night looking for recruits (b/c it seems like Gryphus draws from a similar population- people who don't really have families anymore) and they're tailing a person who they were hoping to recruit when suddenly two Hands drop in and kidnap them. Cleo and her teams intervene and we can discuss whether they successfully stop the Specter or the person gets taken. But they bring this info back to Gryphus and it becomes obvious that the Specter are the ones behind this.
We can also decide whether or not Liv knew about this from insider Specter intel or if she learns about it along with the rest of the Griffins- maybe this also starts to shake her moral compass. Or maybe when Cleo first reports this, they're not sure exactly who the kidnappers are but they mention a detail (i.e. something about what they were wearing or a symbol on their clothes or the type of equipment/face mask they had) that tips Liv off to the fact that they were definitely Spectare. Then she tries to subtly suggest that to everyone in a way that doesn't reveal how she knows it haha
Maybe Liv has heard rumors and whispers at Spectare HQ about the true reason for Project Phoenix, so she hasn't been told officially but she was around for a lot of the experimentation given that she was Subject 0 and given the mystery around Spectare, I'm sure that mystery continues even amongst its agents. So it makes sense that there's a lot of rumors about different things that get passed around and this is one of them?
Ohhhh maybe Ricardis and Dominic made tunnels that connected Lutum to all the other Infirmi districts and Valorum districts. I'm not sure if it would make it too OP to have the tunnels be connected to Imperial City too - if we decide not to, we could say that the reason is b/c there's a complex subway system in Imperial City so it would be difficult/dangerous to have the tunnels connect into the city. This would tie into Ricardis' master plan of the Talons- his goal was to eventually infiltrate the Consul itself with Griffins and overturn the government that way: from the inside. He was thinking very long term and during his leadership, there wasn't much urgency to it so it made sense to create a solid, concrete term for the long-run.
Given that he turned to stone to save an apartment building filled with non-Prods, perhaps his philosophy was trying to give everyone a chance no matter what and really believed in the best of people. That's why he wanted to do this with as little bloodshed and as little lives lost as possible. Maybe Remy/Liv/their friends find a secret vault in the wall of Ricardis' old bedroom or the Reading Room or something that had all of his plans. Given that he was a great Terra Prod, it makes sense he would have little hiding spots in the walls all over the base. But why would he be keeping it a secret? Why didn't the other Griffins know about the tunnels that go all the way to the Valorum Districts? Maybe he kept that part a secret and only he and Dominic knew because that would open too much risk if all the Griffins knew of these passageways around the country since these tunnels would literally lead directly back to their base. They couldn't risk the entry-points being discovered in the Valorum Districts/other Infirimi Districts (where there are no Prods at all) so they decided to only expose the Lutum tunnels until they were ready to actually use the other tunnels. Or maybe instead of written plans, this was something that Ricardis and Dominic had been discussing for a very long time and Dominic eventually reveals all of these plans to Remy (maybe at the end of Act 1 or in the beginning of Act 2)
Ooo or if we want to go the super enhanced powers route, maybe it's some sort of formula or potion Ricardis created with Dominic but they really haven't studied the side effects well at all and that's why it's kept a secret in these hidden plans. Perhaps it gives you a huge power boost at a cost- it could be losing your abilities completely, or having the strength of your abilities permanently dulled, or maybe it shaves several years off your lifespan? But it's meant to be used as a truly last resort / last ditch effort
Hmm.... if we have the scientists discover a way to artificially enhance the abilities, maybe it also comes at a cost? Maybe it's sort of a one hit wonder where the user is significantly permanently weakened afterwards (like the failed recipients of the blood transfusions) and the government/Spectare plans to use this on expendable soldiers/agents to help them win a single war then toss them away. Idk...
Okay, yes yes! They want to test if the power levels correlate to how much the person who gives the blood is trained, or if it's just innate. So it makes sense they'd try to take a variety of people, starting with the ones most readily available. And yes exactly--it starts becoming noticeable and eventually they're going to take someone that was connected to a Griffin.
I do like the idea that Liv is very much in the dark. Like, the specters are meant to be perfect soldiers, and they're meant to obey without really thinking critically about their orders. It kinda makes sense that they just give her the information she absolutely has to know in order to carry out her part, and nothing more. And yes, it makes sense that there's speculation among the specters, and Liv will start putting some of the pieces together as the story goes on--she kinda knows the direction that the Spectare are going, so it wouldn't be a leap for her to do so.
And I like the idea of the Gryphus finding out for sure what going on through Cleo and stuff! It could also be a patrol of other members, but either way, it makes sense that they might not recognize them as Spectare Hands right away. I'm guessing that Hands aren't often deployed to Lutum--there would likely be Eyes, and Hands aren't meant to stick around anyways, they're mission based and get out when it's done. Liv could play it off like a rumor she's heard from someone who used to work in the military or whatever, about what Hands look like or, if they're actually disguising themselves, the kind of weaponry or tactics they use kind of things?? And clearly Liv is somewhat bothered by this, otherwise she wouldn't say anything about it. Maybe it's even a thing where she realizes who they're describing and Remy notices that she looks like something is bothering her/like she's deep in thought or whatever (which already is a big thing bc she's technically trained to be a emotional blank slate lol)?? Maybe he asks her on the spot, or he asks her later in private, and instead of covering it up, she ends up nudging him in the right direction without making it sound suspicious. I'm sure she'd be kicking herself mentally afterwards, but we get that slow progression of her loyalties being shaken.
Yeee that's kinda what I was thinking!! I mean if it's too convenient to have the tunnels leading straight to the Imperial city, maybe the work was half done/75%/almost done when Ricardis died. But either way, yes, I bet he could've made lots of secret little nooks around the base if he wanted to, and hidden his plans or whatever. But I'm thinking that maybe Ricardis kept it a secret because he knew that they weren't ready to storm the Imperial city/mount a direct attack, and he knew that some people would be stupid or brave or reckless enough to try it when they weren't ready?? So maybe he and Dominic were waiting for the right time, especially if Ricardis wanted something like the Talons to form--looking all long-term. So it makes sense that Dominic would also keep those plans secret until he knew his old friend would agree that it was the right time kinda thing?? Knowing that, maybe this reveal happens in Act 2, once the idea for the Talons is brought up or something like that?? Or maybe slightly before, it would just depend on what we think should kick off the idea for the Talons.
Yeah, that would make sense for the potion or even the scientifically enhanced soldiers--there'd be a huge cost for it. This sounds more like a thing the Imperium would come up with--making super powerful soldiers and then disposing them, but if Ricardis and Dominic also happened to come up with a similar potion (in addition to the tunnels?), maybe Ricardis was like...'this is way too dangerous' and decided that it should never be used. Maybe like, a small amount can enhance and have small side effect, but downing an entire vial could give you immensely powerful abilities, but you'd be risking your life that that point. This could potentially lead to a sacrificial lion moment....like imagine a situation where everything is horrible and someone like Dominic or another close friend of Remy and Liv's decides to take one for the team and hold off whatever to give the rest of the Griffins a chance to run or something?? That'd be....ouch.
Oh and remember how we talked about the % of Prod DNA someone has will determine how successfully they receive the blood transfusion? Perhaps the Spectare scientists suspected this and they wanted to see if it was true by rounding up more Prods and testing their % of Prod DNA so that they wouldn't have to unnecessarily weaken healthy Specters in the experiment (you need to keep your tools nice and shiny after all!)
Yes I love the way the gradual progression of Liv realizing that maybe everything she taught was wrong and it comes one step at a time, starting with her internal conflicts. And right, Hands usually are not needed in Lutum so when Cleo is relaying what happened to the rest of the Circle/Griffins, she mentions a detail that Liv recognizes as the Hands. The friend in the military excuse would work well. I like that Remy would be able to tell that she seems off and waits to ask her what's wrong later in private! It would help draw them closer I think.
Right exactly!! I think we can just have the tunnels reach the edge of Imperial City but they're going to have to go above ground to get to the actual Vermillion House, which is in the very center of the city. I kind of doubt that they were able to build tunnels all the way to the heart of Imperial City.
As for what exactly triggers the Talons idea.... I think it would just be more orphans/homeless people are disappearing off the streets and the local Prodigium are getting really fearful and panicked, causing them to lash out against the military patrols, which is returned with even more brute force, and the Griffins realize that they have to act soon. Or maybe the local Prods organize a peaceful protest to urge the military patrols to protect their children and people more as more people start to disappear, but of course it turns violent and becomes this whole riot where the military starts to shoot down the protestors. Perhaps this event is what really urges the Griffins to take action and speed up their plans. Then, during the subsequent brainstorming session to figure out a solution, Liv and Remy come up with the Talons idea. This would be in Act 2 after her identity is revealed and she is starting to earn back their trust.
Yeah the super soldiers would def be an Imperium thing. Hmmm what if the potion that Ricardis invents holds off all negative side effects of using powers during the duration of the potion then once it's over, all the negative side effects hit you like a truck at once. So usually it's a gradual progression of drawbacks that happen the more you use your powers, but this potion holds off everything. But yes the more you drink, the longer it lasts, but the harder the side effects hit at the end.
Oh yes, you're right! Should we have it so that they also kidnap non-prod transients to test on as well? That way they also don't have to ruin more of their weaponry? That might come in handy when we need to get non-prods on the Gryphus' side as well.
Yesss! It'll be fun to see for sure. And it makes sense that Liv tells Remy and not everyone else--this could be why Remy is more prone to trusting her later on?? Because he recognizes that she really didn't have to tell him that right then, but she still did. It's likely that people close to her, like Remy and Vita, would see those moments more than the rest of the Griffins.
Ooh okay, tunnels that lead to just outside the Imperial City sounds good! You're right that the Imperial City itself would have a lot of stuff going on and there'd be the risk of them being utterly found out because of going too far.
Ooooh, I do like that idea! It makes sense that even the downtrodden people of Lutum would get upset or frightened enough that they rise up or try to attack the military patrols. And then the military shooting into the crowd.... o o f. That would be a big thing that would kick off the need to take drastic measures.
Mmm, you're definitely right. Then let's give the Imperium the serum/potion, and the Gryphus can have the tunnels? It kinda speaks to their respective philosophies and how different their founding leaders are, Ricardis vs. Kato, so I think that's nice??
Hmm..... or we could stick with the magic system we have right now and twist it a bit. Oh! What if Ricardis discovered that if all 5 elemental Prods channeled their powers at the same point, instead of becoming a water/fire/air/earth/lightning hot mess, it actually became something else... maybe a ball of glowing light that holds immense power and if someone took a direct hit from it, they would be consumed and burned to death
I actually think that your last idea is pretty realistic--like it kinda makes sense?? All of their symbols are circular, and that kinda makes sense in my head--elements that flow into each other, interlocked?? And it makes kind of this new element that's very strong?? And it fits with the philosophy of the Gryphus--kinda a big family, working together in harmony thing??
Ok yes I agree that it fits the themes of the story tho!! But perhaps all 5 people must meet a certain energy threshold for it to work. So for example if one person is already really drained from using all their magic, it might not work b/c there's not enough energy channeled into it.
Oooo what if in order for Lux Orbis to work, the 5 casters must feel "affinity" for each other? So if 5 randos tried to cast it, it wouldn't work. It has to be like 5 people who truly care for each other. That kinda meshes with whole circle/harmony/peace vibe. Oh maybe the first time they try to cast it, Cass has strong negative feelings towards Liv/Remy and the power is rather weak. But later on, once Cass sees Liv as a true friend, the power of the Lux Orbis becomes significantly stronger. And it also grows stronger as Liv and Remy's + Vita and Adrian's relationships become stronger too.
Oooooh, that's a really good idea!! And it makes total sense. That harmony/being one with each other vibe, right?? And it makes sense, I mean, there are a LOT of prods out there, if it could be used with any 5 elementals, it'd be kinda OP/less thematically appropriate. I love that the power output correlates to their relationships, so it's when they're all really close and on the same page (maybe goal wise too??) that it is most strong!
Hmmm.... but don't you think this is something the old Prodigium in the Old Empire would have figured this out? Oh what if when Imperium was created, a lot of the books/info/scrolls on magic and Prodigium were burned and destroyed. But the Varick family kept a few of them hidden and was passed down the line. Maybe Ricardis' grandmother gave a book to his mother who gave the book to him Prodigium magic. Perhaps he meant to give it to Rhea/Remy but he died before he could and it's hidden away in one of the secret nooks of the base. But maybe Dominic knows a couple of his hidden nooks and shows them to Remy/Liv, who find this book. Then by reading this book, they realize that a combination of all 5 elements create this big power. So it's like lost, secret knowledge.
And yes, I like that explanation--it's an ancient technique, but all the book burning and uprooting the people from their homes, a lot of people dying likely contributed to the loss? It makes sense that the banning of magic led to the banning and destruction of all books and materials that talked about how to use magic. And yes, I love the idea of the book being passed down from generation to generation in secret, with Ricardis hiding it and dying before he could pass it on--but Dominic knowing about the book or maybe just knowing that Ricardis was holding onto a big secret and helping them find the particular nook, etc??
Maybe Dominic didn't know about the book but he did know some of Ricardis' favorite hiding spots (being a typical nosey best friend and all.) I can see the book being something so secret that Ricardis didn't even tell his own best friend about it and was really just waiting to give it to Rhea/Remy only. So maybe even Dominic is surprised to find the book and they decipher it together. This can be around the same time Dominic reveals the tunnel network to them?
I actually think that your last idea is pretty realistic--like it kinda makes sense?? All of their symbols are circular, and that kinda makes sense in my head--elements that flow into each other, interlocked?? And it makes kind of this new element that's very strong?? And it fits with the philosophy of the Gryphus--kinda a big family, working together in harmony thing??
Ok yes I agree that it fits the themes of the story tho!! But perhaps all 5 people must meet a certain energy threshold for it to work. So for example if one person is already really drained from using all their magic, it might not work b/c there's not enough energy channeled into it.
Oooo what if in order for Lux Orbis to work, the 5 casters must feel "affinity" for each other? So if 5 randos tried to cast it, it wouldn't work. It has to be like 5 people who truly care for each other. That kinda meshes with whole circle/harmony/peace vibe. Oh maybe the first time they try to cast it, Cass has strong negative feelings towards Liv/Remy and the power is rather weak. But later on, once Cass sees Liv as a true friend, the power of the Lux Orbis becomes significantly stronger. And it also grows stronger as Liv and Remy's + Vita and Adrian's relationships become stronger too.
Oooooh, that's a really good idea!! And it makes total sense. That harmony/being one with each other vibe, right?? And it makes sense, I mean, there are a LOT of prods out there, if it could be used with any 5 elementals, it'd be kinda OP/less thematically appropriate. I love that the power output correlates to their relationships, so it's when they're all really close and on the same page (maybe goal wise too??) that it is most strong!
Hmmm.... but don't you think this is something the old Prodigium in the Old Empire would have figured this out? Oh what if when Imperium was created, a lot of the books/info/scrolls on magic and Prodigium were burned and destroyed. But the Varick family kept a few of them hidden and was passed down the line. Maybe Ricardis' grandmother gave a book to his mother who gave the book to him Prodigium magic. Perhaps he meant to give it to Rhea/Remy but he died before he could and it's hidden away in one of the secret nooks of the base. But maybe Dominic knows a couple of his hidden nooks and shows them to Remy/Liv, who find this book. Then by reading this book, they realize that a combination of all 5 elements create this big power. So it's like lost, secret knowledge.
And yes, I like that explanation--it's an ancient technique, but all the book burning and uprooting the people from their homes, a lot of people dying likely contributed to the loss? It makes sense that the banning of magic led to the banning and destruction of all books and materials that talked about how to use magic. And yes, I love the idea of the book being passed down from generation to generation in secret, with Ricardis hiding it and dying before he could pass it on--but Dominic knowing about the book or maybe just knowing that Ricardis was holding onto a big secret and helping them find the particular nook, etc??
Maybe Dominic didn't know about the book but he did know some of Ricardis' favorite hiding spots (being a typical nosey best friend and all.) I can see the book being something so secret that Ricardis didn't even tell his own best friend about it and was really just waiting to give it to Rhea/Remy only. So maybe even Dominic is surprised to find the book and they decipher it together. This can be around the same time Dominic reveals the tunnel network to them?
As for Adrian and Liv, their personalities are honestly so different hahaha. Adrian would definitely try some flirty pick up lines when she first joins Gryphus but he can take no for answer and understands when a girl isn't interested so I would imagine that by the time the RP starts, he recognizes that Liv isn't interested in hooking up or anything but he can't help himself with the occasionally innocent flirty line. Still, since Adrian would probably be one of the first people to initiate conversation with Liv (aside from Vita), maybe Liv still looks favorably on him? Being the social butterfly, I can see Adrian giving Liv her first grand tour of the base when she first joins and just says that if she ever needs anything or has questions, she can ask him. I can see Adrian assuming the position of an "RA"-type person for the new recruits basically. Maybe once Liv learns that Adrian is best friends with Remy, she sees a lot of benefits/use that she can get out of a friendship with Adrian so maybe that's why she initially reciprocates that friendship with him but over time he sort of grows on her?
Oh haha, you're right, that's true!! You're right that Adrian and Liv are like literal opposites xD But since he's not a persistent creep, I don't think Liv has a reason to dislike him, and you're right that his outgoing personality would also make him convenient in the way that Vita is in the beginning. The fact that he's close with Remy is a huge plus, too. So I totally agree that she'd play nice initially for the benefits (though I can see her being pretty snarky with his pick up lines, but you know, in a way that's funny to both of them), and then he grows on her LOL.
Vita's like a v neutral and easygoing person, so she's not going to think badly of a person too quickly. I think she'd get along p well with Adrian, even--like, she'd probably joke with him a lot. She's got two brothers and she's used to being around guys?? I could either see her rebuffing his flirting in a completely humorous/good natured way (less snarky than Liv), or maybe even kinda going along with it in an outrageous joking manner that makes it obvious she's having fun--like pretending to swoon or something hahaha xD She'd be amiable and chill towards Remy too, but I caaan see her making a few jokes at Remy and Liv's expense once the rumors start. I think she wouldn't think badly of Cass, either, even when she gets jealous, and since she's the peacemaker she might try to resolve/smooth over the tension between Cass and Liv? But at a certain point she might be like...'hey, I think you're kinda being unfair to Liv', but not at all in a mean-spirited way. Once everything starts going down, tho, she's going to be one of Liv's most steadfast defenders.
I can also see both Adrian and Vita definitely making jokes about Remy and Liv once they pick up on their tension. Since Vita is so laidback and used to hanging around guys, I can totally see Adrian and Vita vibing really well. (Omg is it too much if we have them develop feelings for each other? I don't know if we need to insert that into this dynamic hahaha I'm totallyfine keeping them as friends but this was just a random thought that popped into my head.)
HaHAha yeah, the best friend characters making fun of their friends having a thing--I'm sure it'd be a lot of fun for Adrian and Vita lolol...and omg AWW, that'd actually be so cute hahaha! What if it's like, really low key, though?? And very much like bros/friends kinda naturally caring for each other and joking around? They're both super easy-going and good-humored and funny, so i could see such a chill rs between the two of them--it's not a dramatic or angsty or high stakes situation, so it probably wouldn't clash with what's going with Remy and Liv.
Yeees. I could see Vita trying to convince Cass to give Liv a chance, and even hearing Cass out when she needs someone to rant to. And maybe what Vita says sticks and that's kinda what lets Cass loosen up a bit and help Liv instead of continuing to be jealous.
Oh haha, you're right, that's true!! You're right that Adrian and Liv are like literal opposites xD But since he's not a persistent creep, I don't think Liv has a reason to dislike him, and you're right that his outgoing personality would also make him convenient in the way that Vita is in the beginning. The fact that he's close with Remy is a huge plus, too. So I totally agree that she'd play nice initially for the benefits (though I can see her being pretty snarky with his pick up lines, but you know, in a way that's funny to both of them), and then he grows on her LOL.
Vita's like a v neutral and easygoing person, so she's not going to think badly of a person too quickly. I think she'd get along p well with Adrian, even--like, she'd probably joke with him a lot. She's got two brothers and she's used to being around guys?? I could either see her rebuffing his flirting in a completely humorous/good natured way (less snarky than Liv), or maybe even kinda going along with it in an outrageous joking manner that makes it obvious she's having fun--like pretending to swoon or something hahaha xD She'd be amiable and chill towards Remy too, but I caaan see her making a few jokes at Remy and Liv's expense once the rumors start. I think she wouldn't think badly of Cass, either, even when she gets jealous, and since she's the peacemaker she might try to resolve/smooth over the tension between Cass and Liv? But at a certain point she might be like...'hey, I think you're kinda being unfair to Liv', but not at all in a mean-spirited way. Once everything starts going down, tho, she's going to be one of Liv's most steadfast defenders.
I can also see both Adrian and Vita definitely making jokes about Remy and Liv once they pick up on their tension. Since Vita is so laidback and used to hanging around guys, I can totally see Adrian and Vita vibing really well. (Omg is it too much if we have them develop feelings for each other? I don't know if we need to insert that into this dynamic hahaha I'm totallyfine keeping them as friends but this was just a random thought that popped into my head.)
HaHAha yeah, the best friend characters making fun of their friends having a thing--I'm sure it'd be a lot of fun for Adrian and Vita lolol...and omg AWW, that'd actually be so cute hahaha! What if it's like, really low key, though?? And very much like bros/friends kinda naturally caring for each other and joking around? They're both super easy-going and good-humored and funny, so i could see such a chill rs between the two of them--it's not a dramatic or angsty or high stakes situation, so it probably wouldn't clash with what's going with Remy and Liv.
Yeees. I could see Vita trying to convince Cass to give Liv a chance, and even hearing Cass out when she needs someone to rant to. And maybe what Vita says sticks and that's kinda what lets Cass loosen up a bit and help Liv instead of continuing to be jealous.
I just realized something crucial that we haven't discussed: finances. How does Gryphus get their money if they're all living in the bunker and don't have a job? So how are they able to afford all their equipment, general bunker maintenance, food, greenhouse stuff, etc.?
I know we don't have a Charm Prod yet, so maybe we could add in a Charm Prod character who goes to the bank and uses their charm/good fortune magic for the bank teller to "mistakenly" give them much more money (mentas) than they ask for. Or maybe they could even do this at a bank in a Valorum district, although they would need to make the trip into Adamas or Agenti for that. Maybe he/she somehow got their hands on a silver or even gold credit card and combined with their Charm magic, they can easily go to a bank to withdraw a lot of money. Maybe this Charm Prod grew up in Adamas or Agenti so they know how to blend in and how to get around these districts? Perhaps they realized they had powers when they hit puberty but ofc they hid it and didn't tell anyone. They tried to forget about it and live a normal adult life with a rich boring office job, but they had an identity crisis and heard a rumor about the Gryphus' insurgency group in Lutum, so they moved to Lutum to find the Griffins and explore their own powers more. Maybe in this rich office job, they also saw first-hand how corrupt the whole system was and wanted to help the Griffins change the system. Oh and maybe they didn't even realize they had the mythic ability of Charm magic until they joined the Griffins and was able to hone their powers more- so they only knew about the elemental magic their whole life before joining
Ooh, yeah, money. I kinda figured that a lot of the equipment and food was homemade, right? They've got mechanics and I could see some talented people putting together machinery over time. I imagine the bunker has gotten more and more high tech as time has gone by, but at first it was more sparse? And I'd say a lot of the food is homegrown, the veggies, at least, but they would need some amount of income. Maybe they do odd jobs on rotation? But I do really like this idea of a Charm prod who grew up in the richer district and had a huge identity crisis. Maybe they also had a pretty big inheritance, and they took it with them when they ran away?? But this would also be another way for the government to demonize them, right? They're criminals, thieves, and maybe even a ~dangerous cult~ that whisks away PROPER citizens, yadda yadda yadda, lol. xD
Yes true, a lot of the stuff at the bunker is homemade forsure, so that definitely cuts back on cost. And I do think that they probably have enough connections in Lutum with other Prods to be able to do jobs here and there to keep them afloat financially. Do you think adding a Charm Prod for this reason is needed if the base can function on their current income method? Or should we add a Charm Prod with that backstory b/c it would be interesting? Yes, the government would definitely use this propaganda to their advantage and make Prods seem like these evil, disgusting people
Hmmm. I do think that the Charm Prod would make an interesting addition, but if we think that their addition makes the influx of money too easy/OP-esque...maybe they join in a later act?? That way they get the additional money when they start to really need the extra boost. It could also serve as an interesting parallel to Liv's turning loyalties and conflicting identity crisis theme, maybe? And then at that point it might be where the Gryphus is more openly a problem to Imperium, so using the 'dangerous cultish thieves' thing would be a good move for them?
Yes I like the idea of the Charm Prod being recruited later in the RP! Do you think they should come in before or after Liv's secret identity is revealed? We currently have Live to be exposed at the end of Act 1 in Chapter 5.
I think it should be a little before Liv's secret gets outed! So she's seeing this person basically 'defect' and come to terms with their identity crisis and finding joy in accepting their magic, and it's probably going to affect her, even just a little. Watching this process is also one of the things that adds the cracks in the dam, so to speak.
I know we don't have a Charm Prod yet, so maybe we could add in a Charm Prod character who goes to the bank and uses their charm/good fortune magic for the bank teller to "mistakenly" give them much more money (mentas) than they ask for. Or maybe they could even do this at a bank in a Valorum district, although they would need to make the trip into Adamas or Agenti for that. Maybe he/she somehow got their hands on a silver or even gold credit card and combined with their Charm magic, they can easily go to a bank to withdraw a lot of money. Maybe this Charm Prod grew up in Adamas or Agenti so they know how to blend in and how to get around these districts? Perhaps they realized they had powers when they hit puberty but ofc they hid it and didn't tell anyone. They tried to forget about it and live a normal adult life with a rich boring office job, but they had an identity crisis and heard a rumor about the Gryphus' insurgency group in Lutum, so they moved to Lutum to find the Griffins and explore their own powers more. Maybe in this rich office job, they also saw first-hand how corrupt the whole system was and wanted to help the Griffins change the system. Oh and maybe they didn't even realize they had the mythic ability of Charm magic until they joined the Griffins and was able to hone their powers more- so they only knew about the elemental magic their whole life before joining
Ooh, yeah, money. I kinda figured that a lot of the equipment and food was homemade, right? They've got mechanics and I could see some talented people putting together machinery over time. I imagine the bunker has gotten more and more high tech as time has gone by, but at first it was more sparse? And I'd say a lot of the food is homegrown, the veggies, at least, but they would need some amount of income. Maybe they do odd jobs on rotation? But I do really like this idea of a Charm prod who grew up in the richer district and had a huge identity crisis. Maybe they also had a pretty big inheritance, and they took it with them when they ran away?? But this would also be another way for the government to demonize them, right? They're criminals, thieves, and maybe even a ~dangerous cult~ that whisks away PROPER citizens, yadda yadda yadda, lol. xD
Yes true, a lot of the stuff at the bunker is homemade forsure, so that definitely cuts back on cost. And I do think that they probably have enough connections in Lutum with other Prods to be able to do jobs here and there to keep them afloat financially. Do you think adding a Charm Prod for this reason is needed if the base can function on their current income method? Or should we add a Charm Prod with that backstory b/c it would be interesting? Yes, the government would definitely use this propaganda to their advantage and make Prods seem like these evil, disgusting people
Hmmm. I do think that the Charm Prod would make an interesting addition, but if we think that their addition makes the influx of money too easy/OP-esque...maybe they join in a later act?? That way they get the additional money when they start to really need the extra boost. It could also serve as an interesting parallel to Liv's turning loyalties and conflicting identity crisis theme, maybe? And then at that point it might be where the Gryphus is more openly a problem to Imperium, so using the 'dangerous cultish thieves' thing would be a good move for them?
Yes I like the idea of the Charm Prod being recruited later in the RP! Do you think they should come in before or after Liv's secret identity is revealed? We currently have Live to be exposed at the end of Act 1 in Chapter 5.
I think it should be a little before Liv's secret gets outed! So she's seeing this person basically 'defect' and come to terms with their identity crisis and finding joy in accepting their magic, and it's probably going to affect her, even just a little. Watching this process is also one of the things that adds the cracks in the dam, so to speak.
BUT SPEAKING OF WHICH, I've been thinking about that idea we had of Remy losing his Aqua powers after...some kind of battle towards the end?? Or was it more towards the middle? I don't remember exactly, but like, how crushed he would be, and then how as he recovers, he finds the affinity to the Ventus powers he had connected more with as a child, with that freedom theme? I just think about that a lot. xD
And yes I think we said Remy was going to lose his Aqua powers in the final boss battle at the end of the RP. I bet that would be soooo relieving to come back as a Ventus Prod b/c right now he's a great Aqua Prod and he loves it but it's clearly wasn't his strongest natural affinity so doing it all over again as a Ventus Prod and feeling how much natural that feels must be very freeing. That's so in line with the whole freedom aspect of Ventus magic too. Oooo do you think there should be a cap at how powerful Remy can get with Aqua magic b/c it isn't his most natural affinity? We have his skill right now at 7.5/10 but maybe it caps out at 9 or something? Nothing super dramatic, but maybe it can never be as high as how he can get with Ventus
I think it would just be this rollercoaster for him bc his cs mentions that he's got this fear of using his power bc of his mom. It's gotta be so rough before he gets them back. ;u; But ooOOoo, that's actually a really interesting idea. He's at 7.5 now...I mean, 9/10 is still super strong, imo. How about 8.5 or even just 8?? It could even be a plot point towards the middle--he starts feeling like he's hitting a wall/plateauing with his abilities, and it's a cause for frustration or even angst. And then when he gets his Ventus abilities, it's just so natural and he understands why he felt like he couldn't reach his full potential??
Oooo yes I like that. Maybe his absolute maximum is 8.5 but once hits 8, it becomes a lot harder to and requires a lot more constant training to break that final 0.5 and get to the 8.5. (Sort of how like learning the basics of a new skill is easy, but once you hit intermediate level, your improvement speed slows down, and then it becomes really hard to attain master level.) But yeah maybe in like end of Act 2 or beginning of Act 3, Remy hits this wall in his elemental training and he's rly frustrated why he can't continue to improve. Then it all makes more sense when he gets his Ventus abilties- would this be more in the epilogue? I imagine that after the final boss battle, the primary arc of the RP would come to a close pretty quickly and we would end with Remy being pretty upset about losing his Aqua abilities. It would probably take several months of him not using magic at all to reset at a blank slate and start developing Ventus signs? Maybe even a year? Or two?
And yeah, that makes perfect sense! It always is the hardest to master that last bit. And that sounds like good in terms of timing. Maybe this is when a lot of his friends like Cass and Adri are continuing to grow to their full potential, and he can see that his progress is lagging for some reason. And yes, I suppose this would be in the epilogue..although the emotional strain of losing his powers feels almost too good for an epilogue LOL, but that makes sense in the structure of our plot (and the whole Lux Orbis thing). I imagine for a good number of months there'd be nothing. I'm thinking at least like 4~6 months?? That sounds rough enough LOL...and then there's the faintest little spurt of Ventus magic, like almost accidental. Or maybe the first time is triggered by him and Liv kinda heading out to a place to chill and it's windy and it reminds him of his childhood, and it sparks something in him?? I'm sure it still takes a few years for him to get back up to the level of expertise he had with Aqua magic, but it comes more naturally.
Yeah you're right. Let's keep Remy losing his Aqua powers and regaining Ventus powers at the end of Act 3- it's too good to skip out on, I would love to write out that whole emotional journey. I think maybe 6 months of absolutely nothing sounds good. (Or even like 8-10 months.) Since he's been an Aqua Prod for 10 yrs now, I imagine it'll take a while for his body to do a full reset. But yes I really like the idea of him and Liv going somewhere windy and he feels a little spark- maybe it comes out b/c he also feels internally truly free, which is the main value of Ventus, so it's a combination of both feeling the external wind and internally feeling carefree for the first time in his life. Ir maybe they're riding mopeds/dirt bikes somewhere so he can really feel part of the wind. I started writing my post and I realized that part of the reason why Remy's favorite hobbies probably include mopeding/dirt biking is bc he loves feeling the wind in his face and his body and really feels like he's a part of the air.
And yes I think we said Remy was going to lose his Aqua powers in the final boss battle at the end of the RP. I bet that would be soooo relieving to come back as a Ventus Prod b/c right now he's a great Aqua Prod and he loves it but it's clearly wasn't his strongest natural affinity so doing it all over again as a Ventus Prod and feeling how much natural that feels must be very freeing. That's so in line with the whole freedom aspect of Ventus magic too. Oooo do you think there should be a cap at how powerful Remy can get with Aqua magic b/c it isn't his most natural affinity? We have his skill right now at 7.5/10 but maybe it caps out at 9 or something? Nothing super dramatic, but maybe it can never be as high as how he can get with Ventus
I think it would just be this rollercoaster for him bc his cs mentions that he's got this fear of using his power bc of his mom. It's gotta be so rough before he gets them back. ;u; But ooOOoo, that's actually a really interesting idea. He's at 7.5 now...I mean, 9/10 is still super strong, imo. How about 8.5 or even just 8?? It could even be a plot point towards the middle--he starts feeling like he's hitting a wall/plateauing with his abilities, and it's a cause for frustration or even angst. And then when he gets his Ventus abilities, it's just so natural and he understands why he felt like he couldn't reach his full potential??
Oooo yes I like that. Maybe his absolute maximum is 8.5 but once hits 8, it becomes a lot harder to and requires a lot more constant training to break that final 0.5 and get to the 8.5. (Sort of how like learning the basics of a new skill is easy, but once you hit intermediate level, your improvement speed slows down, and then it becomes really hard to attain master level.) But yeah maybe in like end of Act 2 or beginning of Act 3, Remy hits this wall in his elemental training and he's rly frustrated why he can't continue to improve. Then it all makes more sense when he gets his Ventus abilties- would this be more in the epilogue? I imagine that after the final boss battle, the primary arc of the RP would come to a close pretty quickly and we would end with Remy being pretty upset about losing his Aqua abilities. It would probably take several months of him not using magic at all to reset at a blank slate and start developing Ventus signs? Maybe even a year? Or two?
And yeah, that makes perfect sense! It always is the hardest to master that last bit. And that sounds like good in terms of timing. Maybe this is when a lot of his friends like Cass and Adri are continuing to grow to their full potential, and he can see that his progress is lagging for some reason. And yes, I suppose this would be in the epilogue..although the emotional strain of losing his powers feels almost too good for an epilogue LOL, but that makes sense in the structure of our plot (and the whole Lux Orbis thing). I imagine for a good number of months there'd be nothing. I'm thinking at least like 4~6 months?? That sounds rough enough LOL...and then there's the faintest little spurt of Ventus magic, like almost accidental. Or maybe the first time is triggered by him and Liv kinda heading out to a place to chill and it's windy and it reminds him of his childhood, and it sparks something in him?? I'm sure it still takes a few years for him to get back up to the level of expertise he had with Aqua magic, but it comes more naturally.
Yeah you're right. Let's keep Remy losing his Aqua powers and regaining Ventus powers at the end of Act 3- it's too good to skip out on, I would love to write out that whole emotional journey. I think maybe 6 months of absolutely nothing sounds good. (Or even like 8-10 months.) Since he's been an Aqua Prod for 10 yrs now, I imagine it'll take a while for his body to do a full reset. But yes I really like the idea of him and Liv going somewhere windy and he feels a little spark- maybe it comes out b/c he also feels internally truly free, which is the main value of Ventus, so it's a combination of both feeling the external wind and internally feeling carefree for the first time in his life. Ir maybe they're riding mopeds/dirt bikes somewhere so he can really feel part of the wind. I started writing my post and I realized that part of the reason why Remy's favorite hobbies probably include mopeding/dirt biking is bc he loves feeling the wind in his face and his body and really feels like he's a part of the air.
So in chapter 2, we do a 2 month time skip to January 730. Oh maybe the Griffins had a big New Years Eve party at the base during this time skip. Not sure if we want to make a post during this time skip about a moment where Remy and Liv bond at the NYE party or we can just DM about the NYE party so that we can reference back to it in our posts (like what we did with Adri's birthday.) Do you think we should have Liv and Remy go on their platonic sunset date before or after the June/Jo incident? If we do it beforehand, and they have a genuine bonding moment at their date, then that could lead into why Liv tells Remy later that she thinks it's Spectare involved. (I emphasize the genuine part b/c I don't think we've seen Liv really catch feels for Remy yet. She's still in mission spy mode like when they went on their Masons Mopeds errand together, she was still trying to glean as much info as she could from Remy. But maybe over the past 2 months of time skip, they have a few bonding moments that start to build up, including the NYE party and some other occurrences we can discuss
A New Year's Party sounds super plausible! It could go either way, we could write it out or just refer to it--I guess it would depend on whether whatever happens at the party is a significant bonding moment?? We can brainstorm what might've happened, and then decide whether we want to write it out or just refer to it. It could definitely be a bridge event that makes it make sense that they have enough feels/building crush energy for them to go on the birthday 'date.' And yeah, sure, maybe the birthday date comes before the June and Jo incident?? Unless the NYE party bonding is significant enough for it to occur afterwards. Anyways, any ideas for the party?? I'm guessing there's some room for more flirtier stuff than the shenanigans at Adri's birthday party.
Hmm yeah so since the NYE party is a Gryphus-wide thing, people are drinking but they're probably more tipsy than trashed like at Adri's birthday. Some people of course get super drunk, but I think Remy would be buzzed/tipsy at the most. Don't want to come off too hammered. Hmm.... maybe they start talking more about their family life again but this time they go deeper? Oh or maybe they talk about their past dating lives? Remy can tell her about Cass and Liv can maybe make up something? OH or maybe Liv can tell Remy about Evadne, except Liv would just say she was a childhood friend who lived down the street but everything else she's saying is true. Oh maybe they're talking about people who have really helped them through a hard time or people they've really trusted but a falling out happened- so Remy talks about Cass and Liv talks about Evadne (b/c it seems like Liv does not have any ex-boyfriends right? Idk what is Liv's past love like like?)
Oh yeah for sure, I mean, the adults and kids are present so it makes sense there's not going to be drunken revelry xD But ooh, I can see that--the two of them kinda chatting in the corner with their drinks?? I like the idea that they swap stories about Cass and Ev, I think that's a pretty equal-exchange vibe. There's multiple ways to get into it--maybe Liv notices Cass kinda ignoring/pretending not to look at them, and she kinda goes, 'so what's up between you two?' (even though she knows), and he explains and tosses back the whole, have you had a falling out with a friend/any ex stories?? And Liv talks about Ev?? It would be easy for her to disguise certain details but keep a lot of their relationship dynamic the same (and we haven't seen Ev mentioned much, so this would be a good way to bring her in!). But yeah lol, Liv's never had a boyfriend. I think there've been a few trainees who might've had little crushes on her, but she was kinda unapproachable and such attachments would've been frowned upon--and Liv, always being the teacher's pet, essentially, would've never gone for it. But yeee do you think we should write this out in the thread, or should we reference it??
But yes I like it starting off with Cass giving them a weird look. Maybe this party is both inside the bunker and right outside the bunker where the Initiation fight took place so people can choose to either mingle inside or outside. So maybe Remy and Liv are sitting on top of a nearby dune and Cass sees them and keeps staring over at them. Then Liv asks him what's up, then Remy tells her his entire history with Cass starting from when they were teens. How do you think Liv would react to Remy saying all this about Cass? After talking about Cass, Remy can throw it back to Liv and ask if she's experienced something similar. And Liv can say something like yes but not in a romantic way, then talk about Evadne. What exactly would she say about Evadne? I think we've spent a decent amount of time delving into Remy and Cass' relationship since Cass is an active character in our RP, but we haven't rly talked much about Liv and Evadne since Evadne is more of a thing of the past rather than a currently active relationship. I know Evadne was rly extraverted, warm, and friendly, and sought out a friendship with Liv, which Liv accepted. Then they trained together at Spectare. Why exactly did they have a falling out again? OH YEAH right before graduation, there was a final trial where they were given the choice to kill the other person in order to accomplish the mission, and Liv chose to kill Evadne whereas Evadne did not, right? Haha obviously she can't tell Remy this, so what would she say about their falling out to him?
But yeah, ooh okay, right inside/outside the bunker and the dunes sounds like a great setting! And okay yes, I like that. I think Liv would be a good listener--I mean, she knows the gist, but she'd also note that he's p comfortable telling her all this about an ex, which is a good sign that he's letting her in? She'd outwardly sympathize with him, and maybe laugh a little and make a few jokes like good-naturedly say he's got a messy love life. Nothing too intrusive, I think?
Now, in regards to Ev--she'd say she was a childhood friend that she met when she was six called Natalia (which is very much the truth, but the name Natalia can't be traced so it's actually safer than the name Evadne to tell him). She'd keep in the part that she was this super extraverted, big-sister to all the kids in the neighborhood kind of kid, and that she wouldn't leave her alone (lol). Remy would probably be able to tell that she speaks p fondly of her still. But yeees, so the falling out. Kinda, yes? So the part of the graduation test require you to fight your partner with the knowledge that it's technically a death match, and that the failed person's fate is very unclear. It's a psychological test as much of a physical one, bc the matches are specifically chosen to be as emotionally destructive as possible. (There are also additional tests that whittle down the candidates for Hands, which I'll get into later, but a lot of it is torture-related.) Of course, Ev held back, Cyra didn't.
But I think to Liv--this would also register as a form of betrayal. Like, Ev didn't trust her to give it her all, like she didn't think Liv could take it. I think she'd tell Remy that over time, Natalia and her began to suffer from communication issues that got bigger, like Natalia was always trying to spare her feelings, solve her problems and protect her like a big sister, when all Liv wanted was a friend who was an equal partner that believed in her and her skills as much as she did her. They had a huge fight over this and fell out when she was 18, and she'd tell him that since Natalia wasn't a Prod, when she lucked out with a family member's connections, she moved out of Lutum (probably to a Ferrum District, or a slightly better Infirmi District) to work as a school teacher (also true detail, just that she's in a Valorum District). I think she might add that she hopes Nat is doing well and is happy with her new life, even if they're not speaking. I think if Remy asked about making up/getting in contact, she'd thoughtfully say that they just belong to different worlds now (which is true in multiple ways. Eye vs Hand, Liv being a manufactured Prod, being part of this mission, etc, but Remy might take it as the whole prod/not thing and how Liv is a Griffin now, etc).
Ok yes that makes sense!! I'll copy paste our convo into our plot ideas spoilers thing so I remember the details of Natalia. So even though the surface facts are false, the deeper metaphor is still similar enough. And I can def see Liv viewing it as a form of betrayal rather than a testament to Evadne's friendship for her. Yeah maybe this is when Remy and Liv are laying on top of a short nearby dune, looking at the stars and drinking beers together, just talking about life. Maybe we can say Natalia is now in Ferrum district. And yes I can see Remy maybe casually suggesting that they get in touch again, but he knows that would be difficult being a Gryphus member, so he's not super serious about it. But he's not surprised when Liv says that they're in different worlds and taken different paths in life, which Remy agrees with. I think what we came up with just now is honestly good enough for me (instead of RP-ing it out)? Do you think we need anymore details?
Okay yes, that sounds like a good idea! And oooh, I love that image, it seems so chill. I imagine that they weren't there just the two of them all night, right? Bc that seems awfully suspicious/romantic LOL. Maybe as the party starts to die down a little and it's a little more lowkey, a lot of the group is sitting/lying down on the dune, but some of them get up to go get more drinks/party it up/talk to other ppl and it ends up just being the two of them/they get asked to go along, but they both say they'll stay a little longer? And yeee, I think this is detailed enough to not have to rp it back and forth! Hmmm. Other details...oh, how much would Remy tell her about Cass, like everything (as in how they had hooked up after Rhea's 'death' and the moment on Ricardis' anniversary??)? What kind of tone would he take as he talks about Cass (like Liv talks fondly about Nat, so he could tell that she's mostly over the fall out)? Annnnd lastly, I guess, what would he take from the convo? Like his inner assessment/thoughts on Liv? Is he happy to know more about her, does he feel like she's xyz, etc?
Yes haha I had imagined them breaking off from a bigger group towards the end of the night. But I like that maybe they were originally with a bigger group and everyone else left b/c they were tired or wanted to get more drinks or mingle inside, so Remy and Liv were left alone. This seems more organic/natural. Hmm.... at this point, Remy feels pretty comfortable with Liv and he is def at least tipsy, so I think he would just tell her everything since she asked him directly. He doesn't have much to hide and Liv doesn't seem like a gossipy person, so he trusts she's not gonna go around telling everyone else. I think it would be obvious that Remy definitely still cares about Cass as a person. And he mostly feels really bad for hurting her feelings re Ricardis' death anniversary. But he knows that they're not going to work out in the long-term and they're very different people with different values, so he's trying to put his foot down and draw that boundary. He would definitely not say anything remotely insulting or disrespectful or mean about Cass- his overall tone would be very respectful and show that he clearly still values her friendship but in a platonic way and he wishes things weren't so complicated.
As for Liv, yes I think Remy would be happy to learn more about her and get to know her better. He would think it's a healthy sign that even though she had a falling out with a close friend, she still speaks fondly about her and in a respectful way, so that shows that she's able to process her emotions and move on from complicated relationships. Remy would probably also relate to the fact that Liv just wanted an equal partner who believed in her (and not a big sister to solve her problems and spare her feelings) since as he grasps his Gryphus leadership role, he also dislikes it when other people try to baby him and hold his hand in the process. Or dismisses him as too young to understand something (aka sort of Cleo.) So he would like that fact that Liv is so independent. But yes it would overall be a beneficial conversation and improve his thoughts/feelings towards her. Also- if Remy asks Liv about past romantic relationships, would Live be honest and tell him that she's never been in one?
Oooh yes I forgot about the alcohol! Yeah, I can see him just spilling, then, hahaha. But yeah, I figured he wouldn't be bad mouthing Cass haha. Okay! I think Liv would just listen carefully and drop that good natured 'haha you've got a messy love life' line. But ooh yeah, so if Remy asked whether she'd ever had a romantic rs, I think she'd be honest lol. Which at like 24 it's like wow, interesting, but I think her explanation would be that she was just too busy with life. Like after her dad dies, she and her grandma are on their own, so Liv is also doing a lot of odd jobs to help out, and being so focused on that aspect of her life, she never had the time to stop and consider romance. Which is also the essence of her actual experience--she was way too focused on becoming/being a Specter to think about romance and all that haha
Oooh yes I forgot about the alcohol! Yeah, I can see him just spilling, then, hahaha. But yeah, I figured he wouldn't be bad mouthing Cass haha. Okay! I think Liv would just listen carefully and drop that good natured 'haha you've got a messy love life' line. But ooh yeah, so if Remy asked whether she'd ever had a romantic rs, I think she'd be honest lol. Which at like 24 it's like wow, interesting, but I think her explanation would be that she was just too busy with life. Like after her dad dies, she and her grandma are on their own, so Liv is also doing a lot of odd jobs to help out, and being so focused on that aspect of her life, she never had the time to stop and consider romance. Which is also the essence of her actual experience--she was way too focused on becoming/being a Specter to think about romance and all that haha
Ok cool then I think Remy would also ask Liv about her past romantic history, so we can have that be part of their convo too. Oooo what if when Liv teases Remy about his messy love life, Remy asks Liv if she has her eyes on anyone / if she's interested in anyone? What would Liv say then?
OooOOo hAHAHA, oh boy! Oh man, how would she handle that?? Maybe she'd have a good laugh and then say 'not telling' while smiling, or maybe something like 'you're the last person I'd tell' in a teasing/joking way. Just kinda shrug it off but still being friendly/maaaaaybe a liiiittle flirty. She's also got the plausible deniability of being 'tipsy' (she'd be dead sober LOL). But I could see like, if Remy pretends to be all offended/hurt about her being secretive or tease her again she’d laugh and kinda playfully shove/punch him and it’s just a v chill, comfortable atmosphere |D
Hahaha ok ok cool, so then I'll have Remy throw the question back at her after she jokes about him having a messy love life. Since we want their interaction at the NYE party to broach into flirty territory, maybe we can have her do all of the about to create a more teasing/flirty vibe between the two of them. So she'll say "you're the LAST person I'd tell" then Remy would push her to reveal more b/c now he's rly curious and pretend to be offended that she doesn't trust him, then she can playfully push him. I like this image!
A New Year's Party sounds super plausible! It could go either way, we could write it out or just refer to it--I guess it would depend on whether whatever happens at the party is a significant bonding moment?? We can brainstorm what might've happened, and then decide whether we want to write it out or just refer to it. It could definitely be a bridge event that makes it make sense that they have enough feels/building crush energy for them to go on the birthday 'date.' And yeah, sure, maybe the birthday date comes before the June and Jo incident?? Unless the NYE party bonding is significant enough for it to occur afterwards. Anyways, any ideas for the party?? I'm guessing there's some room for more flirtier stuff than the shenanigans at Adri's birthday party.
Hmm yeah so since the NYE party is a Gryphus-wide thing, people are drinking but they're probably more tipsy than trashed like at Adri's birthday. Some people of course get super drunk, but I think Remy would be buzzed/tipsy at the most. Don't want to come off too hammered. Hmm.... maybe they start talking more about their family life again but this time they go deeper? Oh or maybe they talk about their past dating lives? Remy can tell her about Cass and Liv can maybe make up something? OH or maybe Liv can tell Remy about Evadne, except Liv would just say she was a childhood friend who lived down the street but everything else she's saying is true. Oh maybe they're talking about people who have really helped them through a hard time or people they've really trusted but a falling out happened- so Remy talks about Cass and Liv talks about Evadne (b/c it seems like Liv does not have any ex-boyfriends right? Idk what is Liv's past love like like?)
Oh yeah for sure, I mean, the adults and kids are present so it makes sense there's not going to be drunken revelry xD But ooh, I can see that--the two of them kinda chatting in the corner with their drinks?? I like the idea that they swap stories about Cass and Ev, I think that's a pretty equal-exchange vibe. There's multiple ways to get into it--maybe Liv notices Cass kinda ignoring/pretending not to look at them, and she kinda goes, 'so what's up between you two?' (even though she knows), and he explains and tosses back the whole, have you had a falling out with a friend/any ex stories?? And Liv talks about Ev?? It would be easy for her to disguise certain details but keep a lot of their relationship dynamic the same (and we haven't seen Ev mentioned much, so this would be a good way to bring her in!). But yeah lol, Liv's never had a boyfriend. I think there've been a few trainees who might've had little crushes on her, but she was kinda unapproachable and such attachments would've been frowned upon--and Liv, always being the teacher's pet, essentially, would've never gone for it. But yeee do you think we should write this out in the thread, or should we reference it??
But yes I like it starting off with Cass giving them a weird look. Maybe this party is both inside the bunker and right outside the bunker where the Initiation fight took place so people can choose to either mingle inside or outside. So maybe Remy and Liv are sitting on top of a nearby dune and Cass sees them and keeps staring over at them. Then Liv asks him what's up, then Remy tells her his entire history with Cass starting from when they were teens. How do you think Liv would react to Remy saying all this about Cass? After talking about Cass, Remy can throw it back to Liv and ask if she's experienced something similar. And Liv can say something like yes but not in a romantic way, then talk about Evadne. What exactly would she say about Evadne? I think we've spent a decent amount of time delving into Remy and Cass' relationship since Cass is an active character in our RP, but we haven't rly talked much about Liv and Evadne since Evadne is more of a thing of the past rather than a currently active relationship. I know Evadne was rly extraverted, warm, and friendly, and sought out a friendship with Liv, which Liv accepted. Then they trained together at Spectare. Why exactly did they have a falling out again? OH YEAH right before graduation, there was a final trial where they were given the choice to kill the other person in order to accomplish the mission, and Liv chose to kill Evadne whereas Evadne did not, right? Haha obviously she can't tell Remy this, so what would she say about their falling out to him?
But yeah, ooh okay, right inside/outside the bunker and the dunes sounds like a great setting! And okay yes, I like that. I think Liv would be a good listener--I mean, she knows the gist, but she'd also note that he's p comfortable telling her all this about an ex, which is a good sign that he's letting her in? She'd outwardly sympathize with him, and maybe laugh a little and make a few jokes like good-naturedly say he's got a messy love life. Nothing too intrusive, I think?
Now, in regards to Ev--she'd say she was a childhood friend that she met when she was six called Natalia (which is very much the truth, but the name Natalia can't be traced so it's actually safer than the name Evadne to tell him). She'd keep in the part that she was this super extraverted, big-sister to all the kids in the neighborhood kind of kid, and that she wouldn't leave her alone (lol). Remy would probably be able to tell that she speaks p fondly of her still. But yeees, so the falling out. Kinda, yes? So the part of the graduation test require you to fight your partner with the knowledge that it's technically a death match, and that the failed person's fate is very unclear. It's a psychological test as much of a physical one, bc the matches are specifically chosen to be as emotionally destructive as possible. (There are also additional tests that whittle down the candidates for Hands, which I'll get into later, but a lot of it is torture-related.) Of course, Ev held back, Cyra didn't.
But I think to Liv--this would also register as a form of betrayal. Like, Ev didn't trust her to give it her all, like she didn't think Liv could take it. I think she'd tell Remy that over time, Natalia and her began to suffer from communication issues that got bigger, like Natalia was always trying to spare her feelings, solve her problems and protect her like a big sister, when all Liv wanted was a friend who was an equal partner that believed in her and her skills as much as she did her. They had a huge fight over this and fell out when she was 18, and she'd tell him that since Natalia wasn't a Prod, when she lucked out with a family member's connections, she moved out of Lutum (probably to a Ferrum District, or a slightly better Infirmi District) to work as a school teacher (also true detail, just that she's in a Valorum District). I think she might add that she hopes Nat is doing well and is happy with her new life, even if they're not speaking. I think if Remy asked about making up/getting in contact, she'd thoughtfully say that they just belong to different worlds now (which is true in multiple ways. Eye vs Hand, Liv being a manufactured Prod, being part of this mission, etc, but Remy might take it as the whole prod/not thing and how Liv is a Griffin now, etc).
Ok yes that makes sense!! I'll copy paste our convo into our plot ideas spoilers thing so I remember the details of Natalia. So even though the surface facts are false, the deeper metaphor is still similar enough. And I can def see Liv viewing it as a form of betrayal rather than a testament to Evadne's friendship for her. Yeah maybe this is when Remy and Liv are laying on top of a short nearby dune, looking at the stars and drinking beers together, just talking about life. Maybe we can say Natalia is now in Ferrum district. And yes I can see Remy maybe casually suggesting that they get in touch again, but he knows that would be difficult being a Gryphus member, so he's not super serious about it. But he's not surprised when Liv says that they're in different worlds and taken different paths in life, which Remy agrees with. I think what we came up with just now is honestly good enough for me (instead of RP-ing it out)? Do you think we need anymore details?
Okay yes, that sounds like a good idea! And oooh, I love that image, it seems so chill. I imagine that they weren't there just the two of them all night, right? Bc that seems awfully suspicious/romantic LOL. Maybe as the party starts to die down a little and it's a little more lowkey, a lot of the group is sitting/lying down on the dune, but some of them get up to go get more drinks/party it up/talk to other ppl and it ends up just being the two of them/they get asked to go along, but they both say they'll stay a little longer? And yeee, I think this is detailed enough to not have to rp it back and forth! Hmmm. Other details...oh, how much would Remy tell her about Cass, like everything (as in how they had hooked up after Rhea's 'death' and the moment on Ricardis' anniversary??)? What kind of tone would he take as he talks about Cass (like Liv talks fondly about Nat, so he could tell that she's mostly over the fall out)? Annnnd lastly, I guess, what would he take from the convo? Like his inner assessment/thoughts on Liv? Is he happy to know more about her, does he feel like she's xyz, etc?
Yes haha I had imagined them breaking off from a bigger group towards the end of the night. But I like that maybe they were originally with a bigger group and everyone else left b/c they were tired or wanted to get more drinks or mingle inside, so Remy and Liv were left alone. This seems more organic/natural. Hmm.... at this point, Remy feels pretty comfortable with Liv and he is def at least tipsy, so I think he would just tell her everything since she asked him directly. He doesn't have much to hide and Liv doesn't seem like a gossipy person, so he trusts she's not gonna go around telling everyone else. I think it would be obvious that Remy definitely still cares about Cass as a person. And he mostly feels really bad for hurting her feelings re Ricardis' death anniversary. But he knows that they're not going to work out in the long-term and they're very different people with different values, so he's trying to put his foot down and draw that boundary. He would definitely not say anything remotely insulting or disrespectful or mean about Cass- his overall tone would be very respectful and show that he clearly still values her friendship but in a platonic way and he wishes things weren't so complicated.
As for Liv, yes I think Remy would be happy to learn more about her and get to know her better. He would think it's a healthy sign that even though she had a falling out with a close friend, she still speaks fondly about her and in a respectful way, so that shows that she's able to process her emotions and move on from complicated relationships. Remy would probably also relate to the fact that Liv just wanted an equal partner who believed in her (and not a big sister to solve her problems and spare her feelings) since as he grasps his Gryphus leadership role, he also dislikes it when other people try to baby him and hold his hand in the process. Or dismisses him as too young to understand something (aka sort of Cleo.) So he would like that fact that Liv is so independent. But yes it would overall be a beneficial conversation and improve his thoughts/feelings towards her. Also- if Remy asks Liv about past romantic relationships, would Live be honest and tell him that she's never been in one?
Oooh yes I forgot about the alcohol! Yeah, I can see him just spilling, then, hahaha. But yeah, I figured he wouldn't be bad mouthing Cass haha. Okay! I think Liv would just listen carefully and drop that good natured 'haha you've got a messy love life' line. But ooh yeah, so if Remy asked whether she'd ever had a romantic rs, I think she'd be honest lol. Which at like 24 it's like wow, interesting, but I think her explanation would be that she was just too busy with life. Like after her dad dies, she and her grandma are on their own, so Liv is also doing a lot of odd jobs to help out, and being so focused on that aspect of her life, she never had the time to stop and consider romance. Which is also the essence of her actual experience--she was way too focused on becoming/being a Specter to think about romance and all that haha
Oooh yes I forgot about the alcohol! Yeah, I can see him just spilling, then, hahaha. But yeah, I figured he wouldn't be bad mouthing Cass haha. Okay! I think Liv would just listen carefully and drop that good natured 'haha you've got a messy love life' line. But ooh yeah, so if Remy asked whether she'd ever had a romantic rs, I think she'd be honest lol. Which at like 24 it's like wow, interesting, but I think her explanation would be that she was just too busy with life. Like after her dad dies, she and her grandma are on their own, so Liv is also doing a lot of odd jobs to help out, and being so focused on that aspect of her life, she never had the time to stop and consider romance. Which is also the essence of her actual experience--she was way too focused on becoming/being a Specter to think about romance and all that haha
Ok cool then I think Remy would also ask Liv about her past romantic history, so we can have that be part of their convo too. Oooo what if when Liv teases Remy about his messy love life, Remy asks Liv if she has her eyes on anyone / if she's interested in anyone? What would Liv say then?
OooOOo hAHAHA, oh boy! Oh man, how would she handle that?? Maybe she'd have a good laugh and then say 'not telling' while smiling, or maybe something like 'you're the last person I'd tell' in a teasing/joking way. Just kinda shrug it off but still being friendly/maaaaaybe a liiiittle flirty. She's also got the plausible deniability of being 'tipsy' (she'd be dead sober LOL). But I could see like, if Remy pretends to be all offended/hurt about her being secretive or tease her again she’d laugh and kinda playfully shove/punch him and it’s just a v chill, comfortable atmosphere |D
Hahaha ok ok cool, so then I'll have Remy throw the question back at her after she jokes about him having a messy love life. Since we want their interaction at the NYE party to broach into flirty territory, maybe we can have her do all of the about to create a more teasing/flirty vibe between the two of them. So she'll say "you're the LAST person I'd tell" then Remy would push her to reveal more b/c now he's rly curious and pretend to be offended that she doesn't trust him, then she can playfully push him. I like this image!
Okay I was thinking a little about the whole 'genuine bonding' and 'catching feels' for Liv, and I was like...hmmm....what WOULD cause her to kinda stop and go..."oh."?? Like earlier on, kinda like how Remy got those butterflies?? I think one of those moments is how with the June and Jo thing, he's able to catch on that something's bothering her, like she's trained to be a blank slate, and I think him recognizing even the smallest shift in her mood would really surprise her. But also--I was thinking, man, what's Liv's most insecure areas? And it's her fear of failure, right? Like, her whole thing revolves around being useful vs. useless. That's how she sees everything and everyone, including herself. Something involving that would be really big and definitely get the ball rolling for her to start catching feelings, hard.
So how about like...there's an incident where she's using her ignis abilities for something relatively important (like a mission, etc), and she fails in one way or another? Like, either it goes badly or she pushes herself too hard and hurts herself. Or like combination--she messes up, and in trying so hard to fix it, she hurts herself and still fails, or she manages to fix it, but at the price of injury. She's not as competent with her magic as with her martial skills, so this would be a situation where she tried her best and still didn't manage to get it as right as she wanted to. She might try to hide it, but she'd take it pretty badly.
But anyways, it might be a really impactful moment if Remy either notices how upset she really is and comforts her about 'failing' and tells her it's not about how useful she is, or, if she managed to fix it but in the process hurt herself, maybe even gets a little mad about how far she's willing to go and how she completely dismisses her injuries bc the mission was a success? I mean, Remy's pretty impulsive as well, but maybe even he thinks there's a limit--or maybe he's a little triggered bc both his dad and sister kinda went out bc of their self-sacrificing tendencies. The Spectare absolutely love how extreme Liv is--her pure dedication to executing something right with no regard to her safety--she's useful. This kind of mentality is utterly ingrained and it would be hard to hide in a dire situation, so her willingness to go to an extreme is genuine, even if the motive behind it is calculated. But anyways, whatever route we take, his reaction to her attitude/actions would feel really foreign, like the concept that it's not about her usefulness? And I think it would make her stop and just have a weird moment where it touches her and sees him in a different light. It would also be an interesting moment for Remy to see her insecurities/weaknesses and to see her screw up, since at this point, she's been nothing but straight up competent and on the ball. Getting to see and share that vulnerability could definitely be something that draws them a lot closer. What do you think??
OooOOoOo I LOVE that as a character turning moment for Liv! That makes complete sense since she has always solely been valued for her productive output and how useful she can be. So the fact that Remy notices her feeling upset and saying that it's not about being useful or accomplishing the mission means a lot. I think if she hurt herself, Remy would get mad at her for going so far and risking her own safety b/c he's so triggered by the circumstances around his father's death. He'd be angry with her but also really relieved she's okay and also try to comfort her when he sees her feeling really dejected about failing her part of the mission.
Hmm.... what if there's a super big fire b/c one of the factories exploded or something due to safety hazards (idk we can work out the details later), so this is one of the few situations where both Ignis and Aqua Prods are needed to put such a big fire. Maybe it's like one of the biggest fires in the past decade or something. And Liv's trying to save one of the nearby residential buildings or restaurants from burning down and she goes so far to the extreme and ends up really scarring herself- more than the ones on her arms. Maybe they're on her legs or even her neck or something this time. But then Remy maybe is the one who stops her from using more of her Ignis powers b/c he sees her hurting herself. But for Liv, it's always been about accomplishing the mission no matter the cost right? So she's continuing to channel her Ignis powers so she can stay useful and Remy is like WTF r u doing, ur hurting yourself! and physically like shakes her shoulders to stop her from using her Ignis powers. Then he gets rly mad at her in the moment which really catches her off guard b/c Remy has never expressed any ounce of anger or negative feeling towards her before and the fact that the anger is rooted in her own safety is probably pretty touching?
But yessss! I love that idea, it's perfect! A fire so big that the aqua prods are sent out with the ignis prods. A factory fire makes a lot of sense for it to be that big, absolutely--and yep, Liv is super driven by getting the job done, so a little bit of concern thrown her way is going to be utterly ignored. I could see the scarring (and literal charring, oof) creeping up to her upper arms, and then towards her shoulders/neck. In my head, the controlling and suppression of fire kinda feels like...they're taking the energy/heat into themselves, almost? It would explain why controlling/putting out fires could still end up giving ignis prods serious burns if they're not careful, just as they would when they're creating fire.
I love the idea of him grabbing her shoulders and shaking her to physically snap her out of it, and him being really mad in the moment! It makes a lot of sense that he's upset by the overextension, with what happened to his dad. I definitely think him being so mad would surprise Liv, but I think in the moment she'd be more frustrated than touched. She wants to be useful and get this done, why is he stopping her?? Why are they there in the first place?? It doesn't make sense to her. And then maybe after it's over and they're back in the base...maybe she's being treated by the medical team, or after she's been treated, he comes to talk to her about it? And she'd be trying to play it off cool but he can tell she's upset, and he can kinda explain his reasoning and tell her it's not only about useful, he wouldn't want her to hurt herself, etc etc, and while she'd still find it weird, it's also weirdly touching, and it's the kind of concern she's never really had, so it's super meaningful. And thus the feelings-catching begins in earnest. xD
But ooh, when should this take place?? I'm kinda thinking it would make sense to happen after the June and Jo thing (but still in Chapter 2?), since this seems like a huge escalation of...idk, drama?? Feelings?? But it could also work just about anywhere, I think.
Yes!! All of that sounds perfect to me. And yes, Remy would be soooo triggered seeing that b/c of what happened to his dad but he wasn't there to save his dad, but he can save Liv. And I'm sure initially, he misinterprets Liv going to the extreme as a selfless sacrifice b/c that's what his dad did. But then once it comes to light that Liv is more just trying to accomplish the mission (and less about saving people), maybe this triggers Remy's beginning realizations that Liv is different than what he originally thought. Like she's not actually this really selfless person who just wants to save the world and save everyone. She's more mission- and action-oriented and is really focused on doing a good job and being hardworking. Which Remy then attributes to her passion for the Gryphus mission (but it's really the Spectare mission.) But at the same time, seeing her really physically damage herself also triggers more intense romantic feelings that he's surprised by. Like he realizes that he actually cares a lot about her, more than a friend, b/c seeing her damage herself is really painful to him. So it's this mixture of complex feelings
Yesss if we do it in chapter 2, then we should start off with Remy and Liv's platonic birthday date, then the June/Jo incident where Liv reveals to Remy that she suspects it's the Spectare (maybe due to subconscious feelings being increased by their birthday date that she doesn't realize yet), and end with the factory fire. So it would be at the end of chapter 2, which is like 2-3 months from where they are in the current RP, which makes sense.
Chapter 3 already seems kind of packed with their almost kiss, non-Prods disappearing in Lutum, and Cass catching Liv at her grandma's house. And chapter 4 also seems pretty packed with their first kiss, Liv's spacial powers being revealed, Cass talking to Remy about how she doesnt trust Liv, and a possible Charm Prod joining Gryphus. And chapter 5 is like the finale of the act, so all of the character dynamics building should be in place by then. So yes I think chapter 2 would be best since this is the first time Liv catches real feelings, which obviously needs to happen before their first almost kiss at the training session in chapter 3, real first kiss in chapter 4, and the finale in chapter 5. Unless Liv is faking it in chapter 3, but I think it makes more sense for her character development to have real feelings by then if we want her to reach a point where she's straight up betraying her Spectare mission in chapter 5
Oooh, that's a good point--his concern over her hurting herself is completely understandable just from a friend/leader standpoint, so maybe a third person wouldn't be able to tell any different but maybe in that moment he really gets struck that a large part of why he got so angry about it was because he's starting to harbor romantic feelings? That's goood. eue// But also, it's interesting that he'd be...idk, is relieved the right word?? Surprised? That Liv isn't doing this just out of self-sacrificial hero vibes?? Because that would be the heroic thing to most people, right? But it makes sense that he's a little sick and tired of losing people to that ideology. But also it serving as a thing that tells him that she's got layers and sides to her that he doesn't yet know would be a good moment, for sure!
Okay yes yes, perfect! That was basically what I had in my mind--seeing the order of things (especially that training session kiss thing), it makes sense that this happens in chapter 2. And then with everything else, it'll likely make most sense that we have the platonic birthday date -> june and jo stuff -> fire incident at the very end.
Yeah I think he would definitely be surprised when he realizes that Liv's motivations are mission-oriented rather than self-sacrificing. Maybe at first, he can't decide if it's a good or bad thing, but ultimately decides that if this prevents him from losing someone he cares about again, then it's a good thing. It's a refreshing motivation, and he's lowkey tired of losing people he loves to heroic sacrifices. It's that saying- a hero will sacrifice you for the entire world, a villain will sacrifice the entire world for you. So along the vein of this quote, Remy feels like Ricardis and Rhea lowkey sacrificed him and left him alone to save "the world" (aka other people at the time) deep down. He knows it's a selfish feeling and he did struggle with a form of abandonment combined with grief immediately after losing Rhea during his rock bottom phase, and he's mostly processed it and moved on, but it still comes up from time to time. Seeing Liv hurt herself definitely triggers these feelings again.
Ooh yes, that makes sense haha. It's certainly not what he's used to hearing as a motivation for going to the extreme, so it's like 'uh wait what' xD But ohhhh Remy! ;u; I can totally see how he would feel like his father and sister prioritized others over him and left him behind. He started out with a decently sized family and now most people would consider him the last Varick. Maybe he kinda alludes to or mentions this feeling that his family chose the world over him and that he doesn't want that to happen again (the implication being that he doesn't want her to leave him), that would be pretty telling (and also touching).
But yes, so at first when they're still in the moment fighting the fires, Remy would just blow up at her and get really mad. Then they would probably get interrupted b/c they have to continue to help put out the fires. But once they go back to base and Remy has had time to reflect on his feelings, he goes to talk to her after she gets medically treated. And this could be when he explains to her everything and why he reacted that way and say how he doesn't want that to happen to Liv too
And yeees I like that! The drama of an emotional blow up is 10/10. Man I can see Liv getting p heated in the moment too, like she's trying not to blow it but also her need to be useful is really genuine. I can see her snapping at him something like, 'I'm not going to stand by and be useless,' and maybe even a 'you don't think i can take/do it??' kind of vibe. It'd be an interesting link back to the NYE convo, since she's told him what she and 'Nat' fought over is essentially that lack of trust of her ability/trying to blindly protect her.
Oooo yes true, so it's also going to trigger some defensive feelings for Liv as well in this situation. Ok yeah I can see them having a pretty heated conversation that turns into more mutual understanding once both people understand where the other person is coming for. Nice nice this is all coming together really well
Yes yes, a lot of genuine emotions going back and forth, which is perfect. A good breakthrough moment, for sure!
So how about like...there's an incident where she's using her ignis abilities for something relatively important (like a mission, etc), and she fails in one way or another? Like, either it goes badly or she pushes herself too hard and hurts herself. Or like combination--she messes up, and in trying so hard to fix it, she hurts herself and still fails, or she manages to fix it, but at the price of injury. She's not as competent with her magic as with her martial skills, so this would be a situation where she tried her best and still didn't manage to get it as right as she wanted to. She might try to hide it, but she'd take it pretty badly.
But anyways, it might be a really impactful moment if Remy either notices how upset she really is and comforts her about 'failing' and tells her it's not about how useful she is, or, if she managed to fix it but in the process hurt herself, maybe even gets a little mad about how far she's willing to go and how she completely dismisses her injuries bc the mission was a success? I mean, Remy's pretty impulsive as well, but maybe even he thinks there's a limit--or maybe he's a little triggered bc both his dad and sister kinda went out bc of their self-sacrificing tendencies. The Spectare absolutely love how extreme Liv is--her pure dedication to executing something right with no regard to her safety--she's useful. This kind of mentality is utterly ingrained and it would be hard to hide in a dire situation, so her willingness to go to an extreme is genuine, even if the motive behind it is calculated. But anyways, whatever route we take, his reaction to her attitude/actions would feel really foreign, like the concept that it's not about her usefulness? And I think it would make her stop and just have a weird moment where it touches her and sees him in a different light. It would also be an interesting moment for Remy to see her insecurities/weaknesses and to see her screw up, since at this point, she's been nothing but straight up competent and on the ball. Getting to see and share that vulnerability could definitely be something that draws them a lot closer. What do you think??
OooOOoOo I LOVE that as a character turning moment for Liv! That makes complete sense since she has always solely been valued for her productive output and how useful she can be. So the fact that Remy notices her feeling upset and saying that it's not about being useful or accomplishing the mission means a lot. I think if she hurt herself, Remy would get mad at her for going so far and risking her own safety b/c he's so triggered by the circumstances around his father's death. He'd be angry with her but also really relieved she's okay and also try to comfort her when he sees her feeling really dejected about failing her part of the mission.
Hmm.... what if there's a super big fire b/c one of the factories exploded or something due to safety hazards (idk we can work out the details later), so this is one of the few situations where both Ignis and Aqua Prods are needed to put such a big fire. Maybe it's like one of the biggest fires in the past decade or something. And Liv's trying to save one of the nearby residential buildings or restaurants from burning down and she goes so far to the extreme and ends up really scarring herself- more than the ones on her arms. Maybe they're on her legs or even her neck or something this time. But then Remy maybe is the one who stops her from using more of her Ignis powers b/c he sees her hurting herself. But for Liv, it's always been about accomplishing the mission no matter the cost right? So she's continuing to channel her Ignis powers so she can stay useful and Remy is like WTF r u doing, ur hurting yourself! and physically like shakes her shoulders to stop her from using her Ignis powers. Then he gets rly mad at her in the moment which really catches her off guard b/c Remy has never expressed any ounce of anger or negative feeling towards her before and the fact that the anger is rooted in her own safety is probably pretty touching?
But yessss! I love that idea, it's perfect! A fire so big that the aqua prods are sent out with the ignis prods. A factory fire makes a lot of sense for it to be that big, absolutely--and yep, Liv is super driven by getting the job done, so a little bit of concern thrown her way is going to be utterly ignored. I could see the scarring (and literal charring, oof) creeping up to her upper arms, and then towards her shoulders/neck. In my head, the controlling and suppression of fire kinda feels like...they're taking the energy/heat into themselves, almost? It would explain why controlling/putting out fires could still end up giving ignis prods serious burns if they're not careful, just as they would when they're creating fire.
I love the idea of him grabbing her shoulders and shaking her to physically snap her out of it, and him being really mad in the moment! It makes a lot of sense that he's upset by the overextension, with what happened to his dad. I definitely think him being so mad would surprise Liv, but I think in the moment she'd be more frustrated than touched. She wants to be useful and get this done, why is he stopping her?? Why are they there in the first place?? It doesn't make sense to her. And then maybe after it's over and they're back in the base...maybe she's being treated by the medical team, or after she's been treated, he comes to talk to her about it? And she'd be trying to play it off cool but he can tell she's upset, and he can kinda explain his reasoning and tell her it's not only about useful, he wouldn't want her to hurt herself, etc etc, and while she'd still find it weird, it's also weirdly touching, and it's the kind of concern she's never really had, so it's super meaningful. And thus the feelings-catching begins in earnest. xD
But ooh, when should this take place?? I'm kinda thinking it would make sense to happen after the June and Jo thing (but still in Chapter 2?), since this seems like a huge escalation of...idk, drama?? Feelings?? But it could also work just about anywhere, I think.
Yes!! All of that sounds perfect to me. And yes, Remy would be soooo triggered seeing that b/c of what happened to his dad but he wasn't there to save his dad, but he can save Liv. And I'm sure initially, he misinterprets Liv going to the extreme as a selfless sacrifice b/c that's what his dad did. But then once it comes to light that Liv is more just trying to accomplish the mission (and less about saving people), maybe this triggers Remy's beginning realizations that Liv is different than what he originally thought. Like she's not actually this really selfless person who just wants to save the world and save everyone. She's more mission- and action-oriented and is really focused on doing a good job and being hardworking. Which Remy then attributes to her passion for the Gryphus mission (but it's really the Spectare mission.) But at the same time, seeing her really physically damage herself also triggers more intense romantic feelings that he's surprised by. Like he realizes that he actually cares a lot about her, more than a friend, b/c seeing her damage herself is really painful to him. So it's this mixture of complex feelings
Yesss if we do it in chapter 2, then we should start off with Remy and Liv's platonic birthday date, then the June/Jo incident where Liv reveals to Remy that she suspects it's the Spectare (maybe due to subconscious feelings being increased by their birthday date that she doesn't realize yet), and end with the factory fire. So it would be at the end of chapter 2, which is like 2-3 months from where they are in the current RP, which makes sense.
Chapter 3 already seems kind of packed with their almost kiss, non-Prods disappearing in Lutum, and Cass catching Liv at her grandma's house. And chapter 4 also seems pretty packed with their first kiss, Liv's spacial powers being revealed, Cass talking to Remy about how she doesnt trust Liv, and a possible Charm Prod joining Gryphus. And chapter 5 is like the finale of the act, so all of the character dynamics building should be in place by then. So yes I think chapter 2 would be best since this is the first time Liv catches real feelings, which obviously needs to happen before their first almost kiss at the training session in chapter 3, real first kiss in chapter 4, and the finale in chapter 5. Unless Liv is faking it in chapter 3, but I think it makes more sense for her character development to have real feelings by then if we want her to reach a point where she's straight up betraying her Spectare mission in chapter 5
Oooh, that's a good point--his concern over her hurting herself is completely understandable just from a friend/leader standpoint, so maybe a third person wouldn't be able to tell any different but maybe in that moment he really gets struck that a large part of why he got so angry about it was because he's starting to harbor romantic feelings? That's goood. eue// But also, it's interesting that he'd be...idk, is relieved the right word?? Surprised? That Liv isn't doing this just out of self-sacrificial hero vibes?? Because that would be the heroic thing to most people, right? But it makes sense that he's a little sick and tired of losing people to that ideology. But also it serving as a thing that tells him that she's got layers and sides to her that he doesn't yet know would be a good moment, for sure!
Okay yes yes, perfect! That was basically what I had in my mind--seeing the order of things (especially that training session kiss thing), it makes sense that this happens in chapter 2. And then with everything else, it'll likely make most sense that we have the platonic birthday date -> june and jo stuff -> fire incident at the very end.
Yeah I think he would definitely be surprised when he realizes that Liv's motivations are mission-oriented rather than self-sacrificing. Maybe at first, he can't decide if it's a good or bad thing, but ultimately decides that if this prevents him from losing someone he cares about again, then it's a good thing. It's a refreshing motivation, and he's lowkey tired of losing people he loves to heroic sacrifices. It's that saying- a hero will sacrifice you for the entire world, a villain will sacrifice the entire world for you. So along the vein of this quote, Remy feels like Ricardis and Rhea lowkey sacrificed him and left him alone to save "the world" (aka other people at the time) deep down. He knows it's a selfish feeling and he did struggle with a form of abandonment combined with grief immediately after losing Rhea during his rock bottom phase, and he's mostly processed it and moved on, but it still comes up from time to time. Seeing Liv hurt herself definitely triggers these feelings again.
Ooh yes, that makes sense haha. It's certainly not what he's used to hearing as a motivation for going to the extreme, so it's like 'uh wait what' xD But ohhhh Remy! ;u; I can totally see how he would feel like his father and sister prioritized others over him and left him behind. He started out with a decently sized family and now most people would consider him the last Varick. Maybe he kinda alludes to or mentions this feeling that his family chose the world over him and that he doesn't want that to happen again (the implication being that he doesn't want her to leave him), that would be pretty telling (and also touching).
But yes, so at first when they're still in the moment fighting the fires, Remy would just blow up at her and get really mad. Then they would probably get interrupted b/c they have to continue to help put out the fires. But once they go back to base and Remy has had time to reflect on his feelings, he goes to talk to her after she gets medically treated. And this could be when he explains to her everything and why he reacted that way and say how he doesn't want that to happen to Liv too
And yeees I like that! The drama of an emotional blow up is 10/10. Man I can see Liv getting p heated in the moment too, like she's trying not to blow it but also her need to be useful is really genuine. I can see her snapping at him something like, 'I'm not going to stand by and be useless,' and maybe even a 'you don't think i can take/do it??' kind of vibe. It'd be an interesting link back to the NYE convo, since she's told him what she and 'Nat' fought over is essentially that lack of trust of her ability/trying to blindly protect her.
Oooo yes true, so it's also going to trigger some defensive feelings for Liv as well in this situation. Ok yeah I can see them having a pretty heated conversation that turns into more mutual understanding once both people understand where the other person is coming for. Nice nice this is all coming together really well
Yes yes, a lot of genuine emotions going back and forth, which is perfect. A good breakthrough moment, for sure!
Ooo ok yeah I like mixing up. Omg what if Remy went back to Auster and he stopped by Mr. Flynn’s place but this time it was to collect info. He knows the old man feels bad about what happened to Rhea so he’d probably want to help as much as he can. Ok yes let’s send Liv to Favonius to make things interesting bc we had decided that Vita was gonna go downtown since she’s the most charismatic / best with adults. Then Adri can go to Caurus. Oh wait I just checked our character sheets and I had put down Cass’ hometown as Favonius and Vita’s hometown says Aquilo. So maybe Cass goes to Aquilo instead and Vinnie goes to Vulturnous?
But ooooh okay yessss! That's gotta be a tense moment for Remy and Mr. Flynn!! Oh man. It could be a great character moment since Remy has been telling Liv how bad he felt about the last time they met. It could be an interesting moment too if after the surveying, Remy mentions it to Liv or something. And okay yes, maybe Vinnie was a liiitttle bit of a troublemaker so they send him to Vulturnus instead of his hometown, lol?? And responsible, soft spoken Cass goes to Aquilo. I mean Aquilo is the richest district, and Cass gives off good, well-brought-up girl vibes, so it'll work well??
Yes exactly! I was thinking it would def be a character growth moment for Remy. He would probably tell Liv since she was there when he was at his house looking to hurt/kill him in the first place. Maybe Mr. Flynn mentions some off handed detail about the kidnappings that Remy doesn’t think is important until later during the interrogations and Liv suspects the Spectare then Remy remembers back to what Mr. Flynn said and that further corroborates the suspicion? But it’s not a big enough detail for Remy to mention in the initial briefing. Especially since Mr. Flynn has dealt with a Specter before when he took the bribe from one of the Eyes/Hands to help trap Rhea (though he didn’t know it was her at the time), maybe he recognizes something in the recent kidnappings. But he doesn’t explicitly suspect the Spectare to Remy bc he’s scared that there are Eyes eavesdropping on him since he’s probably being carefully watched now after the Rhea trap
Also, I was thinking maybe the reason Mr. Flynn took the bribe in the first place was because his wife was sick and he couldn’t afford medicine for her but the bribe was enough for him to buy a year’s worth of medicine. But after the medicine was used up, she ended up dying anyway that next year. So when Remy first enters his house, he can ask him where Mrs. Flynn is and what’s when Mr. Flynn tells him the whole story
Ooohh yes I like that!! Mr. Flynn is probably being carefully surveilled, yeah. I'd imagine he would've been either approached by an unfamiliar Eye or a Hand dressed in a nondescript manner. But if it was a Hand, I feel like the way they moved would be a detail--like a whole, 'showed up out of nowhere, then disappeared' kind of thing--which honestly might just sound like the exaggerations of an old man, but once you have the Spectare in mind, it makes a lot of sense.
But aw yeah I think I vaguely remember you mentioning that Mr. Flynn took the bribe for a sympathetic reason. Poor dude. :// But yeah I bet hearing that story would help Remy come to terms with what happened as well.
Oooo yes I like adding in that detail of “coming and going like a ghost.” Maybe when Remy first hears it, he just chalks it up to exaggeration and old stories that Mr. Flynn believes in, but once Liv tells Remy that she thinks the Spectare is involved, the connection would click in his head
But yees, that makes sense! The ghost/shadow thing is probably something that gets used often to describe the Spectare by witnesses, but it's still generic enough that if doesn't feel...real, so to speak.
But ooooh okay yessss! That's gotta be a tense moment for Remy and Mr. Flynn!! Oh man. It could be a great character moment since Remy has been telling Liv how bad he felt about the last time they met. It could be an interesting moment too if after the surveying, Remy mentions it to Liv or something. And okay yes, maybe Vinnie was a liiitttle bit of a troublemaker so they send him to Vulturnus instead of his hometown, lol?? And responsible, soft spoken Cass goes to Aquilo. I mean Aquilo is the richest district, and Cass gives off good, well-brought-up girl vibes, so it'll work well??
Yes exactly! I was thinking it would def be a character growth moment for Remy. He would probably tell Liv since she was there when he was at his house looking to hurt/kill him in the first place. Maybe Mr. Flynn mentions some off handed detail about the kidnappings that Remy doesn’t think is important until later during the interrogations and Liv suspects the Spectare then Remy remembers back to what Mr. Flynn said and that further corroborates the suspicion? But it’s not a big enough detail for Remy to mention in the initial briefing. Especially since Mr. Flynn has dealt with a Specter before when he took the bribe from one of the Eyes/Hands to help trap Rhea (though he didn’t know it was her at the time), maybe he recognizes something in the recent kidnappings. But he doesn’t explicitly suspect the Spectare to Remy bc he’s scared that there are Eyes eavesdropping on him since he’s probably being carefully watched now after the Rhea trap
Also, I was thinking maybe the reason Mr. Flynn took the bribe in the first place was because his wife was sick and he couldn’t afford medicine for her but the bribe was enough for him to buy a year’s worth of medicine. But after the medicine was used up, she ended up dying anyway that next year. So when Remy first enters his house, he can ask him where Mrs. Flynn is and what’s when Mr. Flynn tells him the whole story
Ooohh yes I like that!! Mr. Flynn is probably being carefully surveilled, yeah. I'd imagine he would've been either approached by an unfamiliar Eye or a Hand dressed in a nondescript manner. But if it was a Hand, I feel like the way they moved would be a detail--like a whole, 'showed up out of nowhere, then disappeared' kind of thing--which honestly might just sound like the exaggerations of an old man, but once you have the Spectare in mind, it makes a lot of sense.
But aw yeah I think I vaguely remember you mentioning that Mr. Flynn took the bribe for a sympathetic reason. Poor dude. :// But yeah I bet hearing that story would help Remy come to terms with what happened as well.
Oooo yes I like adding in that detail of “coming and going like a ghost.” Maybe when Remy first hears it, he just chalks it up to exaggeration and old stories that Mr. Flynn believes in, but once Liv tells Remy that she thinks the Spectare is involved, the connection would click in his head
But yees, that makes sense! The ghost/shadow thing is probably something that gets used often to describe the Spectare by witnesses, but it's still generic enough that if doesn't feel...real, so to speak.
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Semblance
↣↣↠◇↞↢↢
ACT I OUTLINE
PROLOGUE
AUGUST 729
BOY MEETS GIRL
- Remy sneaks back to Auster to confront Mr. Flynn, his old neighbor, who helped the Hands trap and capture Rhea
- Liv is in the area and recognizes Remy as a potential Griffin based on the list of names/pictures given to her by Spectare and follows him
- Remy finds Mr. Flynn in his backyard and threatens him with his Aqua magic
- Liv spots a military patrol coming and intervenes to warn Remy
- Military patrol notices them and starts heading towards them. Remy + Liv run away and have a short, initial conversation.
- Remy goes back to base and recommends that Cleo recruit Liv
INITIATION
- Liv gets recruited by Cleo and passes the interrogation. Officially joins Gryphus.
- Adrian, Vinnie, and Helvius Initiate Liv. Final battle is with Helvius and Fabius, the two Recruitment Team members in Favonius who recruited her.
AUGUST 729
BOY MEETS GIRL
- Remy sneaks back to Auster to confront Mr. Flynn, his old neighbor, who helped the Hands trap and capture Rhea
- Liv is in the area and recognizes Remy as a potential Griffin based on the list of names/pictures given to her by Spectare and follows him
- Remy finds Mr. Flynn in his backyard and threatens him with his Aqua magic
- Liv spots a military patrol coming and intervenes to warn Remy
- Military patrol notices them and starts heading towards them. Remy + Liv run away and have a short, initial conversation.
- Remy goes back to base and recommends that Cleo recruit Liv
INITIATION
- Liv gets recruited by Cleo and passes the interrogation. Officially joins Gryphus.
- Adrian, Vinnie, and Helvius Initiate Liv. Final battle is with Helvius and Fabius, the two Recruitment Team members in Favonius who recruited her.
CHAPTER 1
3 MONTHS LATER- NOVEMBER 729
RECAP LAST FEW MONTHS
- Remy sets up relationship with Cass
- Liv visits her grandma with Vita
ERRAND TO VULTURNUS
- Several of the Gryphus mopeds need new parts, so Remy offers to go grab them from a mechanic store in Vulturnus since he needs something for his dirtbike anyway. Liv tags along.
- While they are there, they witness an altercation between 2 teenagers (June & Jo) and a military patrol.
- Remy intervenes and tries to calm the situation down while Liv looks for a distraction. Once Liv executes her distraction and the military patrol's attention is averted, the 2 teenagers run away along with Remy and Liv close behind.
- Once they lose military patrol, Remy gives the teenagers some words of wisdom on looking out for each other b/c family. They learn that the teenagers are experienced with technology and hacking. Teenagers leave.
- Remy and Liv bond over their shared loss of family.
- Remy and Liv go back to base and recommend Cleo to recruit them.
CHARACTER DYNAMICS
- Remy attends Circle meeting- set up rivalry with Cleo
- Liv sets up dynamic with Vita, Adrian, and Vinnie in training session
3 MONTHS LATER- NOVEMBER 729
RECAP LAST FEW MONTHS
- Remy sets up relationship with Cass
- Liv visits her grandma with Vita
ERRAND TO VULTURNUS
- Several of the Gryphus mopeds need new parts, so Remy offers to go grab them from a mechanic store in Vulturnus since he needs something for his dirtbike anyway. Liv tags along.
- While they are there, they witness an altercation between 2 teenagers (June & Jo) and a military patrol.
- Remy intervenes and tries to calm the situation down while Liv looks for a distraction. Once Liv executes her distraction and the military patrol's attention is averted, the 2 teenagers run away along with Remy and Liv close behind.
- Once they lose military patrol, Remy gives the teenagers some words of wisdom on looking out for each other b/c family. They learn that the teenagers are experienced with technology and hacking. Teenagers leave.
- Remy and Liv bond over their shared loss of family.
- Remy and Liv go back to base and recommend Cleo to recruit them.
CHARACTER DYNAMICS
- Remy attends Circle meeting- set up rivalry with Cleo
- Liv sets up dynamic with Vita, Adrian, and Vinnie in training session
CHAPTER 2
2 MONTHS LATER - JANUARY 730
LIV'S BIRTHDAY
- Remy gets Liv a birthday present and takes her to watch the sunset on the tallest dune in the desert
PRODS IN LUTUM START TO DISAPPEAR
- Griffins begin to report back that the local Prodigium in Lutum have been noticing orphans and homeless people disappearing off the streets.
- Remy, Liv, Adrian, Cass, and Vita go into Lutum to investigate and talk to the locals. They say that dark mysterious figures have been snatching people in the middle of the night. Liv uses her Spatial ability to elude Adrian on her way to Medea's house and becomes dizzy, leading to a moped accident later.
- Cleo and her Vulturnus recruitment team, Celia and Gabinus, tail June & Jo one night, intending to recruit them, when a couple figures appear out of nowhere and attempt to capture them. Cleo, Celia, and Gabinus intervene and rescue June & Jo. They escape and bring them to the Auster safehouse. Cleo sends Celia to get reinforcements from base in case they were followed.
- Cleo interrogates June & Jo.
- Remy, Liv, Adrian, Cass, and Vita arrive at the safehouse to act as look-outs in case something happens. When Cleo explains to them what happened, Liv realizes they were Spectare Hands but doesn't say anything. Remy notices that she seems lost in thought. They spend the night at the safehouse and return to base the next morning. June & Jo later become the Gryphus techies.
- Remy asks Liv if she's okay and she reveals to him about the Hands, claiming that she recognizes them from a military friend. Remy relays this to the Circle at their next meeting.
FACTORY FIRE IN LUTUM
- Remy decides to set a bait trap for the Spectare with Adrian. Their plan is to capture one of the Specters and interrogate them for information on Rhea's whereabouts. After 2 nights in a row of wandering the Lutum streets at night, Liv catches them sneaking out of base on the 3rd night. As Liv is trying to convince them to let her come, a scout appears to report the a factory fire.
- Factory explodes and creates huge fire. Ignis and Aqua Prods are sent out to fight the fires. Liv pushes herself to the extreme and begins to char herself from overuse of Ignis magic in her attempt to reduce the fires in an adjacent residential building
- Remy notices and stops her from using her powers. He gets very angry with her for overusing her abilities.
- Later, when Liv is getting medical attention, he explains to her why he was upset. He does not want to lose her the same way he last his father and he values her life/safety way more than any mission. This causes Liv to catch real feelings
- Caliban tries to talk to Remy about Liv's actions at the factory fire, but Remy defends her and brushes it off
2 MONTHS LATER - JANUARY 730
LIV'S BIRTHDAY
- Remy gets Liv a birthday present and takes her to watch the sunset on the tallest dune in the desert
PRODS IN LUTUM START TO DISAPPEAR
- Griffins begin to report back that the local Prodigium in Lutum have been noticing orphans and homeless people disappearing off the streets.
- Remy, Liv, Adrian, Cass, and Vita go into Lutum to investigate and talk to the locals. They say that dark mysterious figures have been snatching people in the middle of the night. Liv uses her Spatial ability to elude Adrian on her way to Medea's house and becomes dizzy, leading to a moped accident later.
- Cleo and her Vulturnus recruitment team, Celia and Gabinus, tail June & Jo one night, intending to recruit them, when a couple figures appear out of nowhere and attempt to capture them. Cleo, Celia, and Gabinus intervene and rescue June & Jo. They escape and bring them to the Auster safehouse. Cleo sends Celia to get reinforcements from base in case they were followed.
- Cleo interrogates June & Jo.
- Remy, Liv, Adrian, Cass, and Vita arrive at the safehouse to act as look-outs in case something happens. When Cleo explains to them what happened, Liv realizes they were Spectare Hands but doesn't say anything. Remy notices that she seems lost in thought. They spend the night at the safehouse and return to base the next morning. June & Jo later become the Gryphus techies.
- Remy asks Liv if she's okay and she reveals to him about the Hands, claiming that she recognizes them from a military friend. Remy relays this to the Circle at their next meeting.
FACTORY FIRE IN LUTUM
- Remy decides to set a bait trap for the Spectare with Adrian. Their plan is to capture one of the Specters and interrogate them for information on Rhea's whereabouts. After 2 nights in a row of wandering the Lutum streets at night, Liv catches them sneaking out of base on the 3rd night. As Liv is trying to convince them to let her come, a scout appears to report the a factory fire.
- Factory explodes and creates huge fire. Ignis and Aqua Prods are sent out to fight the fires. Liv pushes herself to the extreme and begins to char herself from overuse of Ignis magic in her attempt to reduce the fires in an adjacent residential building
- Remy notices and stops her from using her powers. He gets very angry with her for overusing her abilities.
- Later, when Liv is getting medical attention, he explains to her why he was upset. He does not want to lose her the same way he last his father and he values her life/safety way more than any mission. This causes Liv to catch real feelings
- Caliban tries to talk to Remy about Liv's actions at the factory fire, but Remy defends her and brushes it off
CHAPTER 3
1 MONTH LATER - FEBRUARY 730
NON-PRODS IN LUTUM START TO DISAPPEAR
- The Spectare begin using normal people in Lutum to test the power transference on instead of risking their own agents' lives.
- Reports of people missing increase and expands to normal Lutum citizens (non-Prods.) Local Lutum residents begin to lash out against the military patrols, accusing them of being behind the disappearances. Violence and riots are met with harsh rebuttal by military patrols, who have guns, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
- Gryphus Circle meeting to discuss the situation?
TRAINING SESSION WITH REMY AND LIV
- Remy and Liv spar in the training room, resulting in high sexual tension and almost kissing.
- They break apart when Cass walks in.
CASS CATCHES LIV AT HER GRANDMA'S HOUSE
- Liv is about to go to Caurus to visit her grandma when Remy decides to tag along to "run errands" (excuse to spend time with her.)
- Liv finds an excuse for them to split up then reconvene in a bit. Liv heads to her grandma's house.
- Cass happens to be in Caurus as well and sees Liv, so she starts following her. Liv steps into an alley and teleports away, losing Cass.
- Cass gets suspicious and wanders around looking for her then bumps into Remy and tells Remy her suspicions.
- Liv comes back and makes up an excuse about where she was. She suddenly faints and Remy is concerned while Cass doesn't believe her.
- Next time Liv goes to Caurus, Cass tails her purposefully and eavesdrop on her conversation with her grandma outside the window. Liv and her grandma speak in coded language, so the conversation that Cass overhears is benign, but she still feels that something is off about Liv. Acting on her suspicions, she tells Remy back at base that Liv is breaking the rule and visiting family on non-visitation days.
- Remy asks Liv about it when she comes back. Liv tells Remy that her grandma is sick and she's the only family she has left.
1 MONTH LATER - FEBRUARY 730
NON-PRODS IN LUTUM START TO DISAPPEAR
- The Spectare begin using normal people in Lutum to test the power transference on instead of risking their own agents' lives.
- Reports of people missing increase and expands to normal Lutum citizens (non-Prods.) Local Lutum residents begin to lash out against the military patrols, accusing them of being behind the disappearances. Violence and riots are met with harsh rebuttal by military patrols, who have guns, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
- Gryphus Circle meeting to discuss the situation?
TRAINING SESSION WITH REMY AND LIV
- Remy and Liv spar in the training room, resulting in high sexual tension and almost kissing.
- They break apart when Cass walks in.
CASS CATCHES LIV AT HER GRANDMA'S HOUSE
- Liv is about to go to Caurus to visit her grandma when Remy decides to tag along to "run errands" (excuse to spend time with her.)
- Liv finds an excuse for them to split up then reconvene in a bit. Liv heads to her grandma's house.
- Cass happens to be in Caurus as well and sees Liv, so she starts following her. Liv steps into an alley and teleports away, losing Cass.
- Cass gets suspicious and wanders around looking for her then bumps into Remy and tells Remy her suspicions.
- Liv comes back and makes up an excuse about where she was. She suddenly faints and Remy is concerned while Cass doesn't believe her.
- Next time Liv goes to Caurus, Cass tails her purposefully and eavesdrop on her conversation with her grandma outside the window. Liv and her grandma speak in coded language, so the conversation that Cass overhears is benign, but she still feels that something is off about Liv. Acting on her suspicions, she tells Remy back at base that Liv is breaking the rule and visiting family on non-visitation days.
- Remy asks Liv about it when she comes back. Liv tells Remy that her grandma is sick and she's the only family she has left.
CHAPTER 4
1 MONTH LATER - MARCH 730
FIRST KISS
- Remy and Liv are hanging out in Lutum and they climb to the roof of the tallest building, just in time for sunset. It starts raining and they kiss for the first time
LIV'S SPACIAL POWERS ARE REVEALED
- Remy and Liv are riding dirt bikes out in the desert when they get caught in a huge sandstorm.
- They race back to base but the sandstorm envelops them as they arrive at the entrance, clouding their vision and pushing them to the ground. The door is locked due to Gryphus sandstorm protocol and no one can hear them pounding on the door.
- Liv teleports herself and Remy through the door to the other side.
- Remy questions her later and grows suspicious of her.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT & CHARM PROD JOINS GRYPHUS
- Cass talks to Remy about how she doesn't trust Liv. Remy dismisses her and accuses her of being jealous and they get into a disagreement about their past relationship, but her suspicions stay in the back of his mind. Cass confronts Liv about how she doesn't trust her.
- Adrian and Vita spend more time together.
- Liv starts to show cracks and inconsistencies about her backstory in conversations with Remy and Vita.
- Charm Prod from Valorum districts joins Gryphus, spurring along Liv's identity crisis
1 MONTH LATER - MARCH 730
FIRST KISS
- Remy and Liv are hanging out in Lutum and they climb to the roof of the tallest building, just in time for sunset. It starts raining and they kiss for the first time
LIV'S SPACIAL POWERS ARE REVEALED
- Remy and Liv are riding dirt bikes out in the desert when they get caught in a huge sandstorm.
- They race back to base but the sandstorm envelops them as they arrive at the entrance, clouding their vision and pushing them to the ground. The door is locked due to Gryphus sandstorm protocol and no one can hear them pounding on the door.
- Liv teleports herself and Remy through the door to the other side.
- Remy questions her later and grows suspicious of her.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT & CHARM PROD JOINS GRYPHUS
- Cass talks to Remy about how she doesn't trust Liv. Remy dismisses her and accuses her of being jealous and they get into a disagreement about their past relationship, but her suspicions stay in the back of his mind. Cass confronts Liv about how she doesn't trust her.
- Adrian and Vita spend more time together.
- Liv starts to show cracks and inconsistencies about her backstory in conversations with Remy and Vita.
- Charm Prod from Valorum districts joins Gryphus, spurring along Liv's identity crisis
CHAPTER 5
2 WEEKS LATER - APRIL 730
LIV VISITS VITA'S FAMILY
- Vita brings Liv to visit her family along with her brothers during their family visitation days.
LIV'S IDENTITY IS REVEALED
- Liv finds out from grandma that the Hands are planning a trap for Cleo and her recruitment team in Aquilo in a week. Her handler asks her to make sure they end up leaving base that night to recruit John Doe.
- On the day of the trap, Liv finds out that Vita is joining Cleo and Lucas Adamaris to recruit John Doe that night, as she is interested in joining the recruitment team. Liv tries to dissuade her from going, unsuccessfully.
- Panicked, Liv ponders over what to do. 15 minutes before Cleo and her team leave, Liv tells Remy that he needs to stop them from going. When Remy asks her why, she says that he just needs to trust her and that there's going to be "negative consequences" if they go, implying that she knows more information and that this is a trap.
- Remy stop Cleo and her team from leaving. When Cleo asks for a reason, Remy cannot give her one and pulls rank on her, ordering her to stay at base. This greatly angers Cleo.
- Remy goes back to demand a full explanation from Liv. An angry Cleo follows him and eavesdrop on their conversation. When she learns that Liv is a Spectare agent, she bursts into the room and calls for the rest of the Circle.
- The Circle votes to imprison Liv in one of the empty bedrooms while they decide what to do with her.
AFTERMATH
- Liv tells Remy that everything was a lie and she was just manipulating him and none of her feelings were real, so he should execute her. Remy leaves to think it over and feels betrayed. Cass tells Remy that Liv was just saying that to protect Remy's leadership role and that she's in love with him. Remy goes back to talk to Liv and they confess their feelings to each other
2 WEEKS LATER - APRIL 730
LIV VISITS VITA'S FAMILY
- Vita brings Liv to visit her family along with her brothers during their family visitation days.
LIV'S IDENTITY IS REVEALED
- Liv finds out from grandma that the Hands are planning a trap for Cleo and her recruitment team in Aquilo in a week. Her handler asks her to make sure they end up leaving base that night to recruit John Doe.
- On the day of the trap, Liv finds out that Vita is joining Cleo and Lucas Adamaris to recruit John Doe that night, as she is interested in joining the recruitment team. Liv tries to dissuade her from going, unsuccessfully.
- Panicked, Liv ponders over what to do. 15 minutes before Cleo and her team leave, Liv tells Remy that he needs to stop them from going. When Remy asks her why, she says that he just needs to trust her and that there's going to be "negative consequences" if they go, implying that she knows more information and that this is a trap.
- Remy stop Cleo and her team from leaving. When Cleo asks for a reason, Remy cannot give her one and pulls rank on her, ordering her to stay at base. This greatly angers Cleo.
- Remy goes back to demand a full explanation from Liv. An angry Cleo follows him and eavesdrop on their conversation. When she learns that Liv is a Spectare agent, she bursts into the room and calls for the rest of the Circle.
- The Circle votes to imprison Liv in one of the empty bedrooms while they decide what to do with her.
AFTERMATH
- Liv tells Remy that everything was a lie and she was just manipulating him and none of her feelings were real, so he should execute her. Remy leaves to think it over and feels betrayed. Cass tells Remy that Liv was just saying that to protect Remy's leadership role and that she's in love with him. Remy goes back to talk to Liv and they confess their feelings to each other
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