capeandcowlooc | talk about SKRULLfucking

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talk about SKRULLfucking

So ~~true believers~~ players, do you remember about a year back when some weird countries popped into existence because of a reality rift that empowered the Porter? And do you remember that six different groups of aliens were thrown into the C&Cverse? They're small colonies of aliens from various canons, and they've been scattered around the solar system -- including the territory of Earth. Just ask the Major!

Although most of these aliens have been quiet for some time, recent developments indicate that silence can be deadly (gastronomical humor!). Since her second coming Dr. Candy Deconnick has been in fact -- a Skrull! And goodness, aren't Skrulls scary? They could be ANYBODY. But fear not, noble citizens, because you're not completely defenseless before this trembling threat. Indeed, someone's premonitions hinted at shapeshifters, but a malfunctioning Network really hindered the word.

In fact, that's a curious thing, isn't it? How the Network suddenly had to make a switch in the system. We all know that someone's hint of a rook seemed to be the major cause. But really, there's so much more. Skrull!Candy used Ghost to fiddle with the Network, thus unleashing encryption viruses and cross-posting and something more sinister within each and every new communicator.

So a quick refresher:

What are Skrulls?
In two words? Shapeshifting aliens.

Are these Skrulls aligned with Vulcanus?
Yes.

Can my character detect a Skrull?
At the present, ALL THE NEW COMMUNICATORS have a modified version of HIVE's power nerfer (remember HIVE? Circa 2009!) embedded within the device. It's the same story, but with a twist: if you activate your power while a Skrull is within ten yards, nothing enable you to detect an impostor import. No psychic abilities, no magic, no special technological suits, if there's a communicator nearby then you will not detect a Skrull by simply using your powers. Characters SHOULD NOT be able to detect that these nerfers exist YET. As the plot continues, there WILL be opportunity to make the discovery.

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A POWER THAT WILL ENABLE YOU TO DETECT SKRULLS, YOUR POWER WILL NOT BE NERFED.

Because Skrull!Candy's cover was blown, these nerfers will be activated TOMORROW AT NOON EST.

So where are the Skrulls?
Ah, here's the fun part.

This is a sign-up post, ladies and gentlemen.

This post will be open and accepting volunteers until February 10th, 11:59PM PST. Randomly selected characters will be notified by PM the following day. Please submit one character per player, if you are interested in the lottery. We will randomly choose fifteen characters who will be replaced with their Skrull version from February 15th to February 24th. Players who are randomly selected will basically play their character EXACTLY AS YOU WOULD NORMALLY because Skrulls are highly advanced with their DNA splicing and personality mimicking. These particular Skrulls WILL HAVE THE POWERS YOUR CHARACTER HAS. They will talk as your character talks. They will remember what your character remembers. Their mission is simple: take out the Imports who will defend the City from Vulcanus.

And you, dear Cityzens, get to guess who is your friend, and who is playing spy.

And seriously if you Skrulls let it slip that you're a Skrull oocly, I will have a chat with you. It will not be a happy chat, either.

All comments will be screened, because this is a super secret sign-up. I will answer any questions.

ETA: To clarify, Imports to be replaced by Skrulls will not be abducted until February 15th. The changing process will not take longer than an hour, but when they want to introduce their Skrull is up to the player's discretion.

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OKAY I NEED SOME CLARIFICATION ON THE DETECTING SKRULLS PART shit i didn't mean to hit post yet GIVE ME A SEC

OKAY SO carol can canonly emit waves of energy at varying frequencies. in her book during secret invasion, she did this to a giant group of people, skrulls and civilians alike, because she could put out a certain type/frequency/whatever the wording was that would temporarily knock a human on their ass but not a skrull

would this be something that would be nerfed by the comms??

fuck it is 2:30 am i am typoing and editing all over, i'm sorry

Edited 2012-02-04 08:24 (UTC)

Yes, that would be nerfed. Any power that enables a character to detect skrulls would be nerfed.

okay. ty!!

<3

Okay, now that I am not half-asleep and incoherent, more questions!

Would/could the nerfing be something recognizable so long as it's not traced back to the comms? Like, would it be okay for Carol to realize something is up with her powers and then... play with that with something like, oh god I can't remember the technical term right now, but when a person's mind makes them have the physical symptoms of a disease they don't actually have.

Since she was having issues with her powers during the canon invasion and since I am blanking on a way to have her powers just not work without her realizing it since it would have to start with her emitting a precise amount of energy, I was thinking maybe I could mess with something like that to avoid the whole discovery of the nerfers and comply with the plot, but still keep things realistic for her powerset and stuff.

IDK, if that won't work, I will do some handwavey magic and say she just doesn't realize she's putting out the wrong kind of energy or something, but I thought I'd ask!

Yes, characters are free to recognize (and logically will) that something is awry with their powers. And if you'd like to take it in creative exploratory directions, like considering hypochondria (if I interpret that correctly) or anything, all the better! I really quite like that particular suggestion, and I think it's fabulous reasoning.

Eventually the reason why the powers are nerfed will come to light, but we encourage players to explore the panic and angst that comes with the unknown. Characters should not know about the device in their communicators just yet, so this will be fun opportunity to have them delve into various forms of paranoia!

SWEET. And, yeah, I think it is hypochondria, but Wiki was misleading me, so :|a

Will the characters who are replaced by Skrulls know who each other are?

Edited 2012-02-04 09:01 (UTC)

Yes. And the Skrulls will be expected to protect one another.

But if your comrade is suspected, well, it's up to you to stick your neck out.

Meanwhile, the abducted Imports will be unconscious the entire time. How their return is achieved will be determined as the plot continues.

I have a question, would something like Veritaserum work on the Skrulls?

It would not, because Veritaserum is a potion that requires magical talent, and all methods of detection (empowered, technological, and magical) fall under the temporary nullification clause of the HIVE nerfers.

So just to clarify, would protective wards set up by HP characters be fooled too? And on the subject of magic, will the Skrulls be able to mimic people's powers? Will they be able to use a wand, cast a spell and so forth?

Yes, all the above. Skrulls are an alien species that has redefined genetic engineering, to a degree that even a fully grown Skrull individual can become someone else in every manner of speaking. That includes physically, mentally (in terms of memory) and psychologically. In essence, a Skrull BECOMES the person they are masquerading as. As Rowling has indicated that Wizards and Witches are different from Muggles because of a genetic factor (i.e. the Word-From-God that Hermione did indeed have a magical ancestor), the Skrulls can also manipulate that genetic factor to recreate a body to be exactly as that body wa originally.

Thank you!

As someone completely not affected, I'm curious about how the power nerfing works.

For example, Matsuka. He has telepathy/empathy that's on pretty much all the time. Now, unless the Skrull ACTUALLY THINKS it's the person it's replacing, the only way for him to not get a tipoff is to not get any telempathic impressions from the Skrull.

Which his player would have to know about, and which I would think would be a bit of a tipoff that there's something going on.

Am I wrong about how this would work? If that's the case, wouldn't someone RPing with Matsuka HAVE to let the mun know about being a Skrull?

Since telepathy/empathy is a power and moreover a power that can detect sleeper agents in the manner that you described, that will be nerfed in regards to the Skrull agents, since the technology specifically targets this type of power. Matsuka is, of course, free to notice how very weird it is that his telepathy/empathy abilities (which has never had issue before) are suddenly wonky.

Can I ask what exactly the Skrulls would be expected to do in their quest to eliminate the Imports? Would it be straight up killing them, or would there be anything else involved?

The Skrulls will have specific missions that I will inform them about after they are selected, and for obvious telling reasons, the general public will not know what those missions are. However, if the general public figures out any Skrulls, they can likely deduce their missions (through any means necessary).

But there will be no mandatory killing of Imports. That is not one of the missions.

I also have a question about skrulldetection.

Because part of Toph's earthbending is that she can feel people's bodily vibrations and whatnot. She's been able to detect someone dying based on that canonly.

So uh. Do skrulls have different vibrations? :D

As that is a power that can detect, it will be nerfed so that Skrulls do not give off different vibrations.

However, if one is killed or dying, that is totally fair game.

Okay. Is that going to effect the rest of her ability, or just not allow her to detect skrulls?

Just insomuch as Skrulls are involved, so no other direction of her power will be affected. Toph is free to notice that her power (which had previously had no issue) is acting up in this specific way.

Zoidberg's City given power is mortal state detecting, in that he can tell a character's species by looking at them (he knows robots, aliens, mutants, zombies, vampires, etc. by sight alone, no matter how they are disguised.) I'm assuming his powers will not work on the Skrulls for the duration of this plot... is this correct?

Also I am so excited for this!!!

Yes, that is correct! For this specific power you have a few options: Skrulls can either ping as whatever species of character they're impersonating, so it would seem that nothing has changed, or you could go in the opposite direction and have Zoidberg's species detecting be totally on the fritz and wrongly attributing species to characters (or something in between)! How you wish his power to malfunction is entirely up to you.

Also <3

Oh, and a question...

In New Avengers, there's a scene where Strange and the then-current NA sit around and he magically reveals what they believe themselves to be in their heads. This is basically his skrull detection device, since it shows the person's "true self" to everyone around them. Would something like that work in the City/on these skrulls?

The power wouldn't work correctly in this circumstance. However, you can choose how it will malfunction -- if it won't work whatsoever, or if it's simply messing up. Strange is definitely free to notice that his usually working ability is has turned awry!

Question: are any NPCs being replaced by Skrulls in addition to the fifteen player characters, or is that something we don't have to worry about? Cassie's visions indicated a threat to locals...

That is something you WILL have to worry about, but not at present time.

SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO

Okay, so I have a gross question here, but if a skrull got their hand/finger/foot/nose/whatever cut off while they were in a different form would that tissue turn back into the skurll's natural tissue after the time it takes for that tissue to die?

YES the maimed Skrull limb would revert to its original tissue.

Oh good, I can hope for someone gets an in character opportunity to suggest this awful idea as a way for Skrull testing and watch everyone cringe.

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