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synodiporia_ooc2016-01-07 06:30 am
powersthatbe) wrote in synodiporia_ooc2016-01-07 06:30 am
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Walkabout: Doki Doki No Gakuen - The Expo!
In the world of Chikyuumaru, for a generation, people have been finding ways to cope with the mutagenic epidemic called X-Pressure. X-Pressure is unique in that it makes the body more like the mind in unprecedented ways, and over time, the stigma of infection has faded, and people have adapted to the unique abilities left in its wake. Among the most common strains of X-Pressure are Audiocaudal Syndrome - developing animalistic ears and tail - and Ganymede Syndrome - the acceleration or regression of aging processes to leave an individual with a physical & hormonal maturity typical for those between 14 & 18 years old.
But it’s not all bad. A large percentage of people are naturally immune to X-Pressure, and even those affected can lead normal lives - in fact, there are advantages. Social Techniques, or S.Tech, have long been recognized as a powerful advantage in business, politics, romance, and entertainment, but many X-Pressure carriers have a heightened grasp of S.Tech, becoming true adepts, able to use words and gesture to convey their message by manifesting glitter, or hearts, or flower petals, changing the weather around themselves, or in a variety of other ways.
The most elite school for training S.Tech Masters is Heartbeat Academy, or Doki Doki no Gakuen, in the city of Bunkyo, Nihon. Heartbeat Academy teaches all of its students, both the X-Pressure affected and natural adepts, how to harness their feelings and channel them into S.Tech using Emo Medi, or Emotional Meditation, which intensifies and empowers already volatile teenaged emotions, allowing them to cry literal lakes of tears, light fires with anger, brighten dark rooms with joy... Additionally, there is a fine curriculum of politics, economics, psychology, media, philosophy, and domestic studies.
But it’s not the only school. And every year, between fall term and spring term, there’s an Exhibition Exposition Competition in Yokohama, where the Top Four schools compete in S. Tech & Emo Medi events. While Doki Doki is generally regarded as the best of the Top Four, and has a record number of titles, the underdogs are still fierce competition - the military academy, Hagane no Gakuen; Tensai no Gakuen, which holds the best standardized test scores in the country, and the exotic and prestigious Mahou Kagaku no Gakuen, which studies Western S. Tech techniques and accepts a great many foreign students.
This year, the competitors being sent to the festival are dramatically reduced - an X-Pressure outbreak spreading less common strains of the disease has struck, like a flu epidemic, and many competitors are staying home. But not the most determined. For the teachers, it’s a matter of pride to coach the winning team, and the pressure is on. For the students, it isn’t just the jy of representing their school - it’s a chance to show off and cut loose in a new city, to sneak out at night and hit the tourist spots, to make friends or find blossoming romance.
Whatever school they’re from, the competitors and their chaperones have just one week to make things count.
Skills & S. Tech | The Competition | Schedule | Player Resources | Questions | Plotting
But it’s not all bad. A large percentage of people are naturally immune to X-Pressure, and even those affected can lead normal lives - in fact, there are advantages. Social Techniques, or S.Tech, have long been recognized as a powerful advantage in business, politics, romance, and entertainment, but many X-Pressure carriers have a heightened grasp of S.Tech, becoming true adepts, able to use words and gesture to convey their message by manifesting glitter, or hearts, or flower petals, changing the weather around themselves, or in a variety of other ways.
The most elite school for training S.Tech Masters is Heartbeat Academy, or Doki Doki no Gakuen, in the city of Bunkyo, Nihon. Heartbeat Academy teaches all of its students, both the X-Pressure affected and natural adepts, how to harness their feelings and channel them into S.Tech using Emo Medi, or Emotional Meditation, which intensifies and empowers already volatile teenaged emotions, allowing them to cry literal lakes of tears, light fires with anger, brighten dark rooms with joy... Additionally, there is a fine curriculum of politics, economics, psychology, media, philosophy, and domestic studies.
But it’s not the only school. And every year, between fall term and spring term, there’s an Exhibition Exposition Competition in Yokohama, where the Top Four schools compete in S. Tech & Emo Medi events. While Doki Doki is generally regarded as the best of the Top Four, and has a record number of titles, the underdogs are still fierce competition - the military academy, Hagane no Gakuen; Tensai no Gakuen, which holds the best standardized test scores in the country, and the exotic and prestigious Mahou Kagaku no Gakuen, which studies Western S. Tech techniques and accepts a great many foreign students.
This year, the competitors being sent to the festival are dramatically reduced - an X-Pressure outbreak spreading less common strains of the disease has struck, like a flu epidemic, and many competitors are staying home. But not the most determined. For the teachers, it’s a matter of pride to coach the winning team, and the pressure is on. For the students, it isn’t just the jy of representing their school - it’s a chance to show off and cut loose in a new city, to sneak out at night and hit the tourist spots, to make friends or find blossoming romance.
Whatever school they’re from, the competitors and their chaperones have just one week to make things count.
Skills & S. Tech
Ganymede Syndrome: The ability to transform into a teenager between fourteen and eighteen. Within the Jaunt, these transformations are involuntary and long-lasting, although someone may revert back and forth more than once during the Jaunt. If taken as a skill, will result in the ability to voluntarily change as frequently as once every 48 hours. Includes one S. Tech skill.
Audiocaudal Syndrome: A transformation involving animal ears and tails, and occasionally other secondary features such as wings, eyes, or whiskers. Subjects remain human in appearance but may have animal instincts, senses, or temperament. One form must be chosen. Within the Jaunt, this transformation is one-way and permanent, but if taken as a skill, will result in the ability to voluntarily change as frequently as once every 48 hours. Includes one S.Tech skill.
Tiresias Syndrome: Involuntary transformation in response to a specific stimulus, such as hugs, hot water, stress, or quacking sounds. Most commonly, Tiresias Syndrome changes the gender of the afflicted individual, but other transformations into a single specific form are not unheard of.
Doppleganger Syndrome: Transformation into whoever you are most associated with at the moment. Usually not under the control of the afflicted, this transformation may be triggered to occur on eye contact, physical contact, when talking to someone, when thinking of someone, or other even more inconvenient times. This is not transformation into only one specific person - If Person A touches (or becomes associated with in whatever way) Person B, they become Person B. If they're then touched by Person C, they'd become Person C...
S. Tech Mastery: The disciplined ability to use S. Tech; characters who take this skill will keep four of the S. Tech abilities they possessed within the Jaunt.
Emo Medi: The ability to supercharge emotions, making tempers more volatile but drawing power from feelings. Taking this skill allows a character to generate a powerful emotion at will, but not to later dismiss it. While emotionally supercharged, all spellcasting, S. Tech, and any appropriate persuasive abilities are roughly twice as effective. (Someone who Emo Medis anger is twice as intimidating, someone who Emo Medis Attraction is twice as seductive - but the angry character can’t use non-angry persuasion, and the attracted character couldn’t really act angry…). Includes 1 S. Tech skill.
Example S. Tech Skills
Moe-Meter: the ability to display your current attraction to a particular person, usually over your head as a HP bar bent into a valentine shape, slowly filling (or emptying) with love. You can also check someone else’s Moe-Meter, whether they want you to or not.
Hammerspace: A Liminal Skill! But it usually requires pockets, a handbag, or some other visible form of storage.
Rummage: The ability to search hammerspace or another storage device to produce improbable piles of mostly-useless detritus, sometimes with a Lucky Discovery.
Hammerspace Interference: The ability to use SOMEONE ELSE’S HAMMERSPACE, or sabotage their hammerspace.
Manifest Dialogue Symbols: generates speech bubbles, hearts, visible indications of emotion, arrows, or other handy dialogue or emotional prompts as tangible physical objects.
Emotional Weather: cheerful sunshine, angry fire, sad rainclouds, scary patches of shadow… manifest any or all of them around you!
Sparkles & Glow; the ability to shine, sparkle, glitter, glow, or otherwise generate an aura of presence and/or nobility.
Storytelling Prompts: Cue Cards, scene changes, camera wipes, and other narrative effects.
Involuntary Daydream Theater: The ability to show off your current fantasies, especially when you don’t want to. Includes voluntary showing off, but NEVER limited to voluntary dioramas…
Personal Soundtrack: They can tell by the way you use your walk you’re a woman’s man; no time to talk.
Pie & Flowers & Popcorn: produce bouquets, cream pies, popcorn, and other props as situationally appropriate.
Abrupt Makeover/Instant Clean: recover from a mess or go from a duckling to a swan in the blink of an eye.
Mascot Pet: have a cute, possible talking animal companion to increase your attractiveness, popularity, or common sense.
Alluring Gaze: convey your emotion with nothing but your eyes.
Dramatic Entrance: all eyes on you.
Convenient Censor: this must be hidden.
Red String of Fate: display relationships or connections to others, but beware of disapproving friends with scissors.
Stamp of Approval/Denial: indicate the positive or negative factors of a person or object in a way they may find difficult to hide. Not limited to APPROVED/DENIED - you could also stamp a transgressor with CRIMINAL, or HEARTBREAKER, or indicate that a friend is KING or A+, for example.
These are only a few examples. Comment with your own ideas here, or look at other player ideas from last time.