Technotic Shop

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Demaren grimaced again. "I sometimes get ghost pains where my leg used to be, but this is the first time that the stump hurt. Really odd." He turned his bright eyes to her. "I don't think that there is anything you can do for it, hopefully it's just an isolated incident. In regards to your sleep, you're wanting dreamless sleep. I'll look into it, but I make no promises."

@SymphonianBookworm

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

Sarian shivered. Something about the situation gave her a chill at the back of her neck. "Something strange is going on. Your leg, and you did feel that shake earlier, right? Do you think they're connected? And, uh... if you don't mind me asking.... what happened to your leg? Also, thanks. I'd... like to sleep."

@EmulatonStromenkiin 

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I almost wrote "@Demaren"

 

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

15 hours ago, SymphonianBookworm said:

I almost wrote "@Demaren"

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hehehehe

"I did feel that quake. No clue about if the pain and the quake are connected, but they might be. I lost the leg a few months back." Demaren sat back in his chair, remembering. "I was in America, on the Earth that I have heard some call the Reckoners-earth. I developed and built machines in a remote base for an Epic, called herself Nightweaver. Nightweaver got into some sort of fight with another Epic, don't know who. When the alarms went off, I had time to gather some basic food and equipment in a bag. I started to run, but something set off the self-destruct sequence when I was nearly out the door. I blacked out, but when I came to, I was lying face-down in the woods with the sack of items beneath me. I tried to stand, and discovered my missing leg, which had thankfully been cauterized by the explosion. I fashioned a cane, and wedged myself into the woods. I spent the next few days traveling slowly away from the remote base through the woods, then stumbled upon a circle of six standing stones when I stepped into them, there was a bright flash, and I was in the Alleyverse, about a day's walk from the city." Demaren gave Sarian an apologetic look.

"Sorry for rambling on."

@SymphonianBookworm

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

“I... no, don’t apologize... I’m the one who should be apologizing to you! I’ve been bringing up painful memories. How do you manage? How long did it take to adjust? We’re you happy when Nightweaver died?” She paused sheepishly. “Maybe I should stop asking questions... you can ask a couple questions about me, if you’d like.”

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

"They're the past for me, not particularly painful. Many of them, at least. I don't know if Nightweaver actually died, but I think mostly everyone else did." Demaren snorted softly. "I've been here for just over a month, kid. We always have to adapt to survive. I'm just glad that gold is a generally accepted currency here. I don't mind the questions much, I don't have many secrets." He paused as a thought struck him. "Have you ever thought about contact lenses? If you really want to hide your Heterochromia, that is?"

@SymphonianBookworm

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I will be in and out, IRL stuff messing me up. 

 

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

6 hours ago, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

"They're the past for me, not particularly painful. Many of them, at least. I don't know if Nightweaver actually died, but I think mostly everyone else did." Demaren snorted softly. "I've been here for just over a month, kid. We always have to adapt to survive. I'm just glad that gold is a generally accepted currency here. I don't mind the questions much, I don't have many secrets." He paused as a thought struck him. "Have you ever thought about contact lenses? If you really want to hide your Heterochromia, that is?"

@SymphonianBookworm

 

Sarian grimaced. “Wouldn’t it be painful, putting them in?” She thought for a moment. “Being honest, I like using my illusions because they’re something that I’ve earned and gained because of my eye color, because of my parentage. So I will use everything I’ve gotten from it to get rid of it. If that makes sense.” She paused. “Wait, you said a month? I thought you’d been here for... I don’t know...” she looked around. “A year, maybe?” A small smile danced across her lips. “Many secrets? Does that mean that you do have some?” She looked up, thoughtfully. “Bet everyone here has some form of secrets. I suppose as a detective, I have to find them all. Oh- have you heard of any cases me and Roul could take up?”

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

"Depends on the contacts. That makes some sense, but not in a way I can explain." Demaren shrugged. "A month and a half, give or take. I don't have much else to do besides work, and I hired some people to help fix this up. Wanted pewter for payment, for some reason. Lots of pewter. Anyway, everyone has secrets, most just don't matter. I haven't heard of any cases for your company, sorry to say, but it would probably be good for me to start work on your commission. It's getting late." he gestured to the rapidly darkening sky.

@SymphonianBookworm

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

Sarian grimaced. "Yeah, I've been keeping you for too long. You probably have some other customers and work to do, so i'll get going. Bye! Nice meeting you! Thanks for the help. And for listening to me. I do talk a lot." She gave a small salute and headed to the door, walking through and letting it slam shut behind her. She opened the door again. "Sorry for slamming the door! I'll get going now." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away.

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Demaren smiled faintly as Sarian left, then winced as the door slammed. She seemed like a good kid, in spite of her abilities. He pushed himself up out of his seat, and stumped over to lock the front door. He then opened the door to his workshop, and went through. Long into the night, sounds and lights were seen and heard within the shop as he worked on projects.

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

On 7/30/2022 at 7:30 PM, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

Demaren smiled faintly as Sarian left, then winced as the door slammed. She seemed like a good kid, in spite of her abilities. He pushed himself up out of his seat, and stumped over to lock the front door. He then opened the door to his workshop, and went through. Long into the night, sounds and lights were seen and heard within the shop as he worked on projects.

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Ooh  “In spite of her abilities”. Do I sense an agenda?

 

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

8 hours ago, SymphonianBookworm said:

Ooh  “In spite of her abilities”. Do I sense an agenda?

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He doesn't like/mistrusts epics. He is also hesitant about anyone with invested abilities(he did not realize that the people he hired were thugs), but is much more open to accepting them because of their actions, and I am trying to stay true to that.

 

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Demaren strapped on the device, which looked like a shoulder pauldron, and it lit up with a soft blue glow. Nothing happened for a few minutes, but then a blue spark appeared by his shoulder, floating an inch from his skin. Light expanded from the spark at his shoulder. Lines seemed to drip from it like paint running down a wall, forming concentric circles at the joints along the arm and two parallel lines along the limbs, supporting and empowering. Spikey runes formed in the circles, describing the joint they hovered over.

He grinned. He had finally gotten it working. Motivators were hard, but this had been his primary focus for months. He was one step closer … to a step, he realized with a faint smile, looking down at his missing leg. This was a very good thing. He directed a thought at the machine, and the blue light flared briefly before fading away. He removed the pauldron and locked it in his hidden safe box with his foil soulcaster. Wouldn’t de to have it in the open for the power-hungry to find. - happened the day before Balance the Realizer arrived in the Alleyverse.

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this scene is functionally backstory that explains stuff coming up. The motivator is based on Balance's power, though in a way he has not tried yet. The original cells were obtained from the attack on his master's, Nightweaver's, base.

 

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

The next day

Sarian rubbed her hands together, and pulled her sweater closer. For some reason, she was cold today. She decides to hop in to the Technotoc shop to see how the devices were going. As she got closer, she felt the dreariness of the day set in even more. She yawned. It was still the morning, and honestly, she wasn’t completely awake. She knocked on the door of the shop, and slowly pushed it open. “Hello!” Sarian said as she stepped inside. “How’s the project going?”

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

On 8/14/2022 at 9:37 AM, SymphonianBookworm said:

The next day

Sarian rubbed her hands together, and pulled her sweater closer. For some reason, she was cold today. She decides to hop in to the Technotoc shop to see how the devices were going. As she got closer, she felt the dreariness of the day set in even more. She yawned. It was still the morning, and honestly, she wasn’t completely awake. She knocked on the door of the shop, and slowly pushed it open. “Hello!” Sarian said as she stepped inside. “How’s the project going?”

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ohh, sorry. I was going to post something that would expand on the previous, I'll do that now.

Demaren leaned back in a seat in his lab with a satisfied sigh. Resting on the table in front of him was a small black box with wires leading out of it to various sensors. He hadn’t realized that he had so many of the parts, he was done with Sarian’s lie detector already. It hadn’t been 24 hours since she had ordered it. His eyes strayed to the other device on the table, what looked like a metallic blue belt with a black buckle. He sat up, reached out and snagged it and put it on. It began to glow a faint blue. Nothing happened for a few minutes. Demaren reached down as if to remove it, and light exploded from it.

“Gahhhh!” Demaren cried, futilely covering his eyes against the sudden blinding wash of blue light. After a few minutes, his eyes cleared and he looked down. Off of the stump of his leg, the end floating about an inch from the core of his leg, were two wireframe cylinders, followed by a wireframe rectangular prism where his foot used to be. The cylinders were about where his bones used to be. As he watched, more lines appeared, hovering on the outside of his leg and following the cylinders. A familiar pattern of lines and concentric circles appeared, and once it was complete he could move the cylinders and box as he would have his real leg and foot. He grinned, then turned off the device and went to bed.

On 8/14/2022 at 9:37 AM, SymphonianBookworm said:

The next day

Sarian rubbed her hands together, and pulled her sweater closer. For some reason, she was cold today. She decides to hop in to the Technotic shop to see how the devices were going. As she got closer, she felt the dreariness of the day set in even more. She yawned. It was still the morning, and honestly, she wasn’t completely awake. She knocked on the door of the shop, and slowly pushed it open. “Hello!” Sarian said as she stepped inside. “How’s the project going?”

Demaren looked up. from his seat behind his desk. "I have it right here! I had more of the parts than I thought, and was able to put it together over the course of last night and this morning." He smiled gleefully. "Managed to get a breakthrough on some other projects too. Anyway, here's the lie detector and a case for it." he pulled out a small briefcase and pushed it across the desk to Sarian. "That's three more clearmarks, then."

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my next post might be in a while, as I have to fix some things with other characters and what they are doing. Plan for him to come here.

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Balance the realizer raced along streets, following a memory of location, a sense buried deep into the essence of what it was to be an Epic. It had been some time since the Motivator had last been turned on, and his sense of where it was had faded, but he had been searching, coming closer and closer to the one spot. He continued to run, cloak swirling, blue lines of half formed wireframes weaving around him.

-------------------------

Demaren smiled at Sarain. He had gotten much done, and was a little giddy after a sleepless night on top of finishing two products. "Is there anything else you need?"

@SymphonianBookworm

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

On 9/2/2022 at 2:18 PM, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

Balance the realizer raced along streets, following a memory of location, a sense buried deep into the essence of what it was to be an Epic. It had been some time since the Motivator had last been turned on, and his sense of where it was had faded, but he had been searching, coming closer and closer to the one spot. He continued to run, cloak swirling, blue lines of half formed wireframes weaving around him.

-------------------------

Demaren smiled at Sarain. He had gotten much done, and was a little giddy after a sleepless night on top of finishing two products. "Is there anything else you need?"

@SymphonianBookworm

“Hm. I don’t think so. But thank you so much! I was wondering—and I’d pay you, of course—if you could teach me some things? I don’t know… it’s up to you, but I think this is all really interesting-“

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

Balance found the spot he was looking for. It was a small two story building with a sign hanging in front that said "Technotic Shop" in big letters. He tried the door, but it was locked. A snarl grew on his face, and jagged wireframes formed around his right arm, growing in number until they cocooned it. They spun around his arm faster and faster as he drew it back with his hand curled into a fist, then he punched towards the door. The framelines shot out with a concussive burst and shredded into the door, leaving a smoking hole through which he could see a somewhat older man and a younger girl talking to each other. The man was sitting oddly behind a desk, as if he was afraid of tipping over.

-------------------------------

20 hours ago, SymphonianBookworm said:

“Hm. I don’t think so. But thank you so much! I was wondering—and I’d pay you, of course—if you could teach me some things? I don’t know… it’s up to you, but I think this is all really interesting-“

Demaren looked at Sarain in surprise. "It probably depends on what you want me to teach you. I have a pretty limited knowledge base."

"I also can't say how good a teacher I'd be," he continued, looking a little troubled. "I've never taught someone before, and I tend to be somewhat impatient with things that are not machines. I'd be willing to try. However ... "

He was interrupted by a sudden blast coming from the door, which he was facing. There was a blue glow that grew brighter and brighter, then there was another blast and the door seemed to dissolve into a smoking pile of kindling. A figure could be seen through the smoke, which was quickly dispersing. The figure seemed to be about six feet tall, and had dark skin. His face was concealed by the cowl of a cloak, which was swirling around him dramatically in the rain, but a gleam of gold was visible near his eyes. His hands were clenched, with faint blue lines swirling around them.

Faint blue lines. Demaren's face paled. A storm of memory hit him, of blue lines forming a cage around Nightweaver and a stray line hitting one of the veins of explosives threaded throughout the compound. A firey explosion. Blackness, and a pain where the leg was no more. "How did he get here?" he whispered to himself.

@SymphonianBookworm

[SymphonianBookworm she/her]

Sarian spun around. "What's going on?" She ran to the door. "Who are you? What do you want?" She stared at the mysterious (and slightly intimidating) figure. Somehow she knew that she was out of her league. 

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

"I am Balance the Realizer. He," he snarled as he gestured at Demaren, "Has something that belongs to me." He grimaced, and seemed to calm some. 

"I am ... not completely myself. I thought I had gotten rid of the influence, but not completely." A wild look reentered his golden eyes. "Where is it?" he demanded of Demaren, who was sitting stunned.

@SymphonianBookworm

[Ashbringer he/him]

Cassandra Adama carefully stepped through the streets of the Alleycity. Walking wasn't as difficult as she'd expected, as the metal replacing her body didn't cause... pain, exactly. Just made things slower. A lot slower. Like dragging a cart of steel behind her, except the cart didn't exists. The load wasn't unbalanced, just there. Like the worry in the back of her mind.

But the thing Cassie was really interested was the connections. Technotic's store was one of the few places that she'd heard of that sold stranger technologies, both fabrial and mechanical. Technotic would hopefully know the similarities between the two, enough for her to solve her little puzzle of how to stay alive.

And hey, if it didn't help, at least he could be a good business partner. 

Cassie walked up to the door - but there wasn't so much a door as there was shattered wood. Well, that could be unfortunate... but no, there were lights and voices inside, talking, and no sounds of rummaging or theft. So Cassie stepped over the threshold, taking note of the several individuals standing around, slight aggression in each of their shoulders.

"Hello..." she said. "My name is Cassandra Adama. I was hoping to speak to Technotic about the design of fabrial circuits? But if you're busy..."

She let her voice trail off, but stayed where she stood, taking a glance at the glowing lines of power surrounding the two. This could be very interesting indeed.

@EmulatonStromenkiin

 

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

“How did you get here?” Demaren said hoarsely, loud enough for Balance to hear. “Do you even know what you did?” He traced a finger along a strange pauldron attached to his right shoulder.

Balance calmed some, and looked at Demaren warily. “I came through a dreamrift, best I know. I was in a coma until a month or so ago. As for what I did …” the lines faded slightly. “What are you referring to?”

Demaren sat up straighter, his mouth dry. He whispered one word. “Nightweaver.”

Balance grew more confident, then rocked back as a locked memory came upon him in force. He paled, and the lines vanished. The tall building. He was on a mission to capture Nichtweaver. It was a year after the removal of Calamity, but some Epics had refused to bow to their better natures, and were still enslaving people. Something had gone wrong, and the alarms had gone off, alerting Nightweaver to his presence. She was no High Epic, but she was quite wiley. He caught up to her just outside of her house, and managed to trap her in a net of wireframes. A stray line of his collided with one of her shadows, and exploded. It set off a chain explosion, the hideout’s self-destruct. When the dust cleared, a large shard of metal was piercing Nightweaver’s chest. She was dead. With a sigh, Balance banished the lines. And turned to leave.

“You remember,” Demaren said. He grabbed his cane and stood up, showing his missing leg. “I am perfectly willing to give you the two motivators that I have based on your powers, as they do not work in the way I need them to. Even without requiring an energy source. I will give you this one right now,” He pulled off the pauldron and tossed it to Balance, who still stood dumbfounded. “However, I will keep the other one until after you have done a few things for me. Is this acceptable?”

Balance sighed. “Yes,” he whispered, grabbing the pauldron. Exhaustion washed over him, and he turned and trudged out of the shop, past the woman standing outside of the remains of the door.

Demaren turned to the woman standing outside the shop. “Please come in, whoever you are. Sorry about that. And the door.” He grimaced. “It should be fixed by tomorrow. How may I help you?”

@SymphonianBookworm, @Ashbringer

[Ashbringer he/him]

"It's quite alright," Cassandra said, watching the cloaked one leave. "Seems like a lot of work for a piece of armor."

It wasn't just a piece of armor, of course, but what it was Cassie wasn't sure. She knew motivators had something to do with Epic abilities, but that was about it.

"Anyway, I've heard you - you are Technotic, yes? - are a good place to buy fabrials, along with some more non-Invested devices. I'm interested if you have anything that mixes the two. A Stormlight-run circuit, or something similar."

She tapped her palm with her Soulcaster. Very little feeling. Well, at least it was there. And she wasn't going to fall over any time soon. Freeze up was more likely

A thought struck her - not the worry, just that the last time she'd gone shopping for fun, she'd met Lord. Well, best avoid that mess again.

"Also if you have any little useful fabrials you're looking to sell, I'd be happy to take a look."

@EmulatonStromenkiin

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

1 hour ago, Ashbringer said:

"It's quite alright," Cassandra said, watching the cloaked one leave. "Seems like a lot of work for a piece of armor."

It wasn't just a piece of armor, of course, but what it was Cassie wasn't sure. She knew motivators had something to do with Epic abilities, but that was about it.

"Anyway, I've heard you - you are Technotic, yes? - are a good place to buy fabrials, along with some more non-Invested devices. I'm interested if you have anything that mixes the two. A Stormlight-run circuit, or something similar."

She tapped her palm with her Soulcaster. Very little feeling. Well, at least it was there. And she wasn't going to fall over any time soon. Freeze up was more likely

A thought struck her - not the worry, just that the last time she'd gone shopping for fun, she'd met Lord. Well, best avoid that mess again.

"Also if you have any little useful fabrials you're looking to sell, I'd be happy to take a look."

@EmulatonStromenkiin

Demaren gave her a sharp look. "I think you know that it's not just a piece of armor, but that's not relevant. I am Technotic. I tend to do more Non-invested devices, as it is easier to get resources. Fabrial gems are hard to get ahold of. I have several movement systems that interlink the two, but I am not sure what you are after." He glances down and notices her soulcaster. Her foil soulcaster. and her silvery skin. 

"You're a Savant, aren't you. You need a way to lessen the effects of it, or perhaps to move."

@Ashbringer

[Ashbringer he/him]

6 hours ago, EmulatonStromenkiin said:

Demaren gave her a sharp look. "I think you know that it's not just a piece of armor, but that's not relevant. I am Technotic. I tend to do more Non-invested devices, as it is easier to get resources. Fabrial gems are hard to get ahold of. I have several movement systems that interlink the two, but I am not sure what you are after." He glances down and notices her soulcaster. Her foil soulcaster. and her silvery skin. 

"You're a Savant, aren't you. You need a way to lessen the effects of it, or perhaps to move."

@Ashbringer

Cassie gave a slightly lopsided grin. "You are astute. And yes, being able to continue surviving is the end goal, although I still have some other interests." Lessening the effects was maybe the wrong way to put it, but she didn't need to share that either. And half the reason she was here was to find other ideas.

"But yes. A movement system connecting fabrial to mechanical would be a good place to start. Something that acts like a circuit, or even just an example, could be even better. Or even just something to make life a little easier."

She looked at Technotic, at his missing lower leg and the notice for selling bulk metal nearby.

"Unless you have another recommendation. You seem to have some experience in the matter?"

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

16 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

Cassie gave a slightly lopsided grin. "You are astute. And yes, being able to continue surviving is the end goal, although I still have some other interests." Lessening the effects was maybe the wrong way to put it, but she didn't need to share that either. And half the reason she was here was to find other ideas.

"But yes. A movement system connecting fabrial to mechanical would be a good place to start. Something that acts like a circuit, or even just an example, could be even better. Or even just something to make life a little easier."

She looked at Technotic, at his missing lower leg and the notice for selling bulk metal nearby.

"Unless you have another recommendation. You seem to have some experience in the matter?"

"It's been something I thought wise to look into, given this," He held up his hands and his fingernails glinted with a rainbow of metallic shine. "But recently I put it on the backburner for the most part."

"Now," he continued, focusing on her arm, "if your arm joints are completely solid, we could machine joints directly into the ... flesh I guess we could call it. A few swapping attractor and repulser fabrials could simulate muscles adequately as well. But since you still have some movement, I don't think that's an option for a while yet." He sat back in his chair as a thought struck him. 

"For your arm, for now, I might have something that could help." He levered himself up out of his chair with his cane, and made his way to a nondescript door in the back. He glanced toward the remnants of the door and sighed. He made a gesture with his gloved right hand, and glass panes slid down, covering his shelves of wares. another gesture, and there was the click of locks engaging. He opened the door, and stepped through it. 

"Please come into my workspace, Changing One. By the way, what's your name?"