Thank you again to my patrons Keeper, Dave, Ferny, and Diana ~ your contributions are invaluable. To join them, become my patron here. Thank you in advance!
Dr. Barbara “Barbie” Banger
"Censor the body and you censor breath and speech at the same time. Write yourself. Your body must be heard."--Hélène Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa"
Doctor Barbara Banger got rip-roaringly drunk for one of the only times in her life after the Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas offered her the position. It was a dream job, researching the effects of quantum dynamics on neurological processes. Possible breakthroughs abounded, any one of which would make her career for life, all on its own. Not to mention save or improve countless lives. Sure, one of her coworkers, a Dr. Bobby Lirdenham, was a particularly creepy blend of dapper 19th-century chauvinist and railing internet incel, but he seemed to know to keep his head down at the job. Sometimes the threat of getting fired was enough to keep it in people’s pants, and it is true that his insights, while few, were instrumental in their experiments.
Dr. Lirdenham had a hobby, however, delving into occult secrets and pushing the boundaries of technological knowledge for the purpose of shaping women into the sex objects he believed them to be. He chose the stuck-up bitch he worked with as his first test subject, slipping strange chemicals into her tea, hacking her equipment to bombard her with rays hitherto unknown to science, and more, until he finally got up the courage to tell her to come to his house for Christmas, knowing that he would have almost two weeks wherein no one would worry overmuch if she didn’t come into work. She seemed perplexed and angry at being told to come over, but found herself at his door that night. And then in his basement, strapped down and surrounded in ultratech devices, being changed.
"It is thus necessary to envisage a parodic-serious stage where the accumulation of detourned elements, far from aiming to arouse indignation or laughter by alluding to some original work, will express our indifference toward a meaningless and forgotten original, and concern itself with rendering a certain sublimity."
--Guy Debord
The Patriarch, as the new supervillain dubbed himself, used her to recruit more and more women for him to “perfect” and his operation got fairly large before hubris got the better of him. Well, Hubris’s niece, anyway. Bobby wanted a pet superhuman, and ended up targeting said niece, the fey werecat Dikadora Kelly, otherwise known as Catspaw. Because of the nature of the Patriarch’s control, being an increase in certain of Catspaw’s urges and inclinations paired with a reduction in others, she was free to act as a liberator without negating her own maledictive powers, which strike any trying to use, manipulate, or control her. When everything Bobby had built collapsed under this curse-weight, Catspaw acted quickly to liberate the women he had oppressed, desperately finding ingenious methods of reversing Dr. Lirdenham’s procedures.
The androgynous supergenius Professor d’Eon was certainly surprised when Dikadora showed up in eir lab with a crowd of supervillainously dumbed-down women behind her, but e immediately set emself the task of reversing what had been done to them. Luckily, Catspaw had nicked some examples of the Patriarch’s techniques and chemicals, which gave the Professor the advantage e needed to quickly develop a reversal process and run all of Bobby’s victims through it. That was when a few of them surprised their benefactors, their faces fallen and their voices grievingly quiet. When Catspaw approached them to find out why they weren’t rejoicing like their fellows, one among them stepped forward to tell her that they were grateful for her actions, but that the problem hadn’t been what the Patriarch had done to them. They liked being stupid and horny and giggly like they had been; they just didn’t like being enslaved by a man who wanted to exploit them.
"When Hardbeen heard this, a demoniacal frenzy suddenly took him; he furiously bit and devoured the edges of his shield; he kept gulping down fiery coals; he snatched live embers in his mouth and let them pass down into his entrails; he rushed through the perils of crackling fires; and at last, when he had raved through every sort of madness, he turned his sword with raging hand against the hearts of six of his champions. It is doubtful whether this madness came from thirst for battle or natural ferocity."
--Saxo Grammaticus, "The Danish History"
That was when Dr. Banger spoke up. She didn’t know exactly what Bobby had done to them, but her field of expertise and the many hours of shared lab time she’d had with Dr. Lirdenham gave her some ideas. With a little bit of help from Professor d’Eon, she thought she could whip up something relatively similar. Though she wasn’t among the seven who wanted to return to what they had been, only sovereign and free, her ethics refused to allow her to use anyone but herself as a guinea pig for the process. It did, in the end, work, and it was Dr. Banger herself who named the group even as it was doing so ~ as she felt her brain slowing and her libido rising, she thought of H.G. Wells’s vision of the next stage in evolution and giggled out, “I guess we’re, like, the Whorlocks!”
Once everyone who wanted to return to that permanently altered state had done so, the Whorlocks tottered out onto the Las Vegas Strip to make whatever life they could for themselves in this world. Of course, any number of nefarious forces out there sought to take advantage of those who rejected the benefits of intelligence as base and leaden. They weathered through every trial by sheer force of luck and heart. Once, all of Las Vegas was bedeviled by a zombie horde staggering hungry and untiring down neon-lit streets. The Whorlocks found themselves trapped in a truck stop on the edge of town, with a Lakota truck driver who ended up in a conflict with someone he said was going to cause problems in the future. Tonka Truck was the truck driver’s name, and he said he was a time-traveller. When someone supposed aloud that that was why Tonka Truck had arranged to be at that truck stop at that time, he simply said no, and then turned to Barbie Banger. He held out a bra of brown and coarse lace and told her that a Vinlander spirit had told him to make it for her. That, according to him, was the most powerful thing he could do to build a better future than the one he came from. Barbie quickly discovered that the bra, which had been sewn from bear-fur, allowed her to assume a much bulkier and somewhat hairier form while an astounding rage overtook her. Foaming at the mouth, she knew she could defend her bimbonic family this way.
"No pedagogy which is truly liberating can remain distant from the oppressed by treating them as unfortunates and by presenting for their emulation models from among the oppressors. The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption
--Paulo Freire
Home Base: Las Vegas.
Gender: Bimbo ciswoman
Sexuality: Heterosexual vanilla/bimbo
Romantic Identity: Aromantic free use
"If woman has always functioned "within" the discourse of man, a signifier that has always referred back to the opposite signifier which annihilates its specific energy and diminishes or stifles its very different sounds, it is time for her to dislocate this "within," to explode it, turn it around, and seize it; to make it hers, containing it, taking it in her own mouth, biting that tongue with her very own teeth to invent for herself a language to get inside of. And you'll see with what ease she will spring forth from that "within" - the "within" where once she so drowsily crouched - to overflow at the lips she will cover the foam."
--Hélène Cixous, "The Laugh of the Medusa"
Recurrent Characters:
- HEART:ACHE II: Although at first the Invisiblizer aimed his resurrected supervillain team at the Whorlocks out of the simplistic and mistaken assumption that any group of women rejecting male control must be composed solely of lesbians, it is true that four of the dozen Whorlocks fall afoul of the team’s vision of strict and enforced heterosexuality. As such, their attacks upon the ragtag group of bimbos making their own way through the world have continued. Sometimes they come with a frontal assault, but they are increasingly trying any number of schemes, cunning or crazed or both. Every time, Lingerage is there to bash back.
- דּוּמָה, the Angel of Silence: The Whorlocks, obviously, would never give up being what they have chosen to be. However, their state does make it difficult for them to get their needs met sometimes, leaving prayers as the only currency they have to feed themselves, and to pay rent, and all the many other costs associated with keeping twelve people happy and alive. Well, if they were different people, they’d probably have a wider variety of strategies, but see the previous note that they like being what and who they are. This has made them something of an engine furiously throwing out requests to Heaven, which has in turn purchased them not only food and gifts, but דּוּמָה’s attention. Megaconsumers of divine aid, they are the very epitome of what it hopes to avoid, taking up more than it considers their fair share of space on יהוה’s to-do list. Empowered by a different divinity entirely, Lingerage has had to insist that fairness has little, if anything, to do with prayer. Even under the effects of berserkergang, fists don’t help much against angelflesh, yet somehow Lingerage manages to come out ahead anyway.
- Powers: Messenger to All That Lives, Longing (renamed) from Rack Angel’s statblock. Flight, Summon Angels of Destruction, thousand eyes, flaming sword (Immunity (fire), Nullify Summon, Damage, other fire powers), magic item with spell array, Movement (dimensional), Senses (analytical extended rapid vision that counters concealment and illusion and penetrates concealment, darkvision, distance sense, infravision low-light vision, ultravision, microscopic vision, dimensional). Sonic Absorption, Sonic Immunity, Phase Cancellation linked with Silence, Sonic Masking, White Noise, Lamal's Rebuke, Mists of the Modrossus, the Second Wheel of Weyan, the Fifth Wheel of Weyan, the Seventh Wheel of Weyan, the Wondrous Working of Weyan, Fireflash, close Melt, Nova Burst, Warm, Danger Sense, Defensive Awareness, Aura Reading, Lie Detector, X-Ray Vision, Synesthesia from Power Profiles. (PL 16)
- Váli Óðinnson: While Váli’s brother Víðarr might be fixated on avenging Silverbelle’s theft of their father’s intellectual property and aesthetic, Váli is an ulfhednar, a wolf-warrior. News of a new berserker walking Miðgarðr naturally piqued his interest, and his rage when he discovered that it was a woman! Completely ignoring his on father’s history, Váli became enraged that the one masculine magic was being co-opted by one who should, by all rights, be seiðkonur or völva. He has once more taken his oath to kill, and has neither washed his hands nor combed his hair the entire duration of his pursuit of Lingerage.
- Powers: Asgardian template from Book of Magic doubled, silence, additional super-strength (and most of the strength powers from Power Profiles), magic thick shoes, magic armor, magic shoes, rage (PL 16)
- Rack Angel: The Whorlocks visited Rack Angel’s homeless shelter and soup kitchen shortly after they were liberated from the Patriarch’s control, before they really had their feet under them as a group and when times were even harder than they are now. Seeing them as a group which has all-too-often been ignored, nay has made the uncharacteristic definition to refuse them the benefits of Vox Populi Vox Dei Est. Nay simply cannot condone stealing the voice of the routinely voiceless. This doesn’t mean the fallen angel has hardened nix heart against the group, however; perish the thought! Rack Angel has simply had to find more mundane and effortful ways to give aid, and has been able to do so, in both forms!
- Lieutenant Bubblegum: Glowsmith, the leader of the zamynto klyltling, sent one of her fellows to Earth in an attempt to recruit the klyltlingsa Bile, who had been the very first of the species to come to the planet. It had been rejected by the other two interstellar polities of the klyltling, and Glowsmith thought that perhaps that might make it useful to the zamynto. Sanguine, as Glowsmith’s agent came to be known by the Earthling media, had budded off of Glowsmith directly, which might perhaps be why it went rogue, joining Bile and two other klyltling in a superteam known as the Four Humors. The Four Humors themselves ran afoul of the United States government, specifically the forces of Colonel Cadmus, head of Area 51 who had been charged with finding ways to weaponize superhumans. Her agents managed to acquire a small portion of Sanguine’s amorphous body, which they took back to Area 51 and forced it to develop into a full-grown klyltlingsa while subjecting it to any number of cruel experiments. One such involved exposing it to highly concentrated doses of magical radiation and alchemical mistures from the Land of Sweets, which seems to have turned it pink. Once they thought they could do no more to the alien without killing it, they finally allowed it to bond with a soldier picked carefully for his patriotism, naming the result Lieutenant Bubblegum. Colonel Cadmus sees a useful tool in the Whorlocks’ combination of lust amplification and lack of intelligence, and she has sent Lieutenant Bubblegum to collect the girls. Lingerage has an opinion about this proposal.
- Powers: Elite Soldier from Gamemaster’s Guide, Visual Concealment, blending, partial; Enhanced Traits (Agility, Strength, Benefit (ambidexterity), Fearless); Extra Limbs, continuous, AE: Str-based Damage, variable descriptor (weapon types); Immunity (all suffocation effects); Feature (extradimensional storage of 50 pounds of material), limited to one mass rank lower; Sticky (Affliction (Resisted and Overcome by Strength; Impaired, Disabled, Incapacitated), reaction (when touched); AE: same thing but ranged instead of reaction); Protection; Bubble (Deflect; AE: Immunity (life support)), Movement (Safe Fall, Swinging, Wall-Crawling). Tarpit, Slingshot, Stretching Stride, and Stretching from Power Profiles (PL 11)
- The Patriarch: Naturally enough, the women of the Whorlocks are the very definition of a Gigastacy to Bobby Lirdenham. Worse yet, he made them that way, raised them from Stacylites (at best) to this exalted state, then they go on to call him a Melvin! Simply unacceptable. Ever since they were “liberated” from the effects of his inventions, he has sought to reclaim what he understands to be his natural position in the hierarchy. For their part, the Whorlocks has found Bobby nauseatingly useful from time to time. A few women (and one enby) have sought to join their ranks since they struck out on their own, prompting them to steal some of Bobby’s technology from him. Once, HEART:ACHE II had almost defeated the Whorlocks, and it was only an uneasy alliance with the surprisingly gay-friendly Patriarch that they were able to fight off the homophobic supervillains; naturally, the Whorlocks turned on their former oppressor as soon as the danger had passed.
- Powers: Pink pills (array: Enhanced Trait 2: Attractive with Affects Others and Reduced Trait 3: Awareness or Enhanced Trait 3: Presence with Affects Others, Quirk: Increases Libido, and Reduced Trait 3: Intellect), bimbo-maker raygun (Weaken: Intellect with Quirk: Increases Libido), pheromone spray (Emotion Control from Power Profiles with Area and Limited to Horniness). Artificer, Inventor, Ritualist, Very Attractive, Fascinate, Daze. Bitter Lash of Bal'Hemoth and the Enchantment of Ios and Mists of the Modrossus and Shatachna's Seal of Silence and Somnambulent Silence of Sirrion from Power Profiles (PL 11)
- Catspaw: Dikadora made it a point to habitually check in on the Whorlocks after rescuing them, worried that some master plan of the Patriarch’s yet ensnared them or that their chosen horny vapidity would make them easy victims for any predator to come across them. She was quite impressed when nothing like that occurred, and by then had struck up a number of friendships with the women. Catspaw remains in close contact with the Whorlocks, has gone on several adventures with them, and has even begun dating Lingerage!
"My community, the BimboTok, the place that I’ve created, is so important to me because all it means to me is self-love. I will wear a mini-skirt with pride and you’re not going to blame me for the way that men treat us. We’re going to blame men for the way men treat us"
--Chrissy Chlapecka
Physical Appearance: I can't draw, so I really like providing a few reference pictures and trusting in your imagination to build a good image of Catspaw. She looks like some combination of these five pictures:
"A third song I know, if sore need should come
of a spell to stay my foes;
When I sing that song, which shall blunt their swords,
nor their weapons nor staves can wound
. . . .
An eleventh I know, if haply I lead
my old comrades out to war,
I sing 'neath the shields, and they fare forth mightily;
safe into battle,
safe out of battle,
and safe return from the strife."
--The Poetic Edda
Lingerage (PCPL 10 / NPCPL 7 / MR 10 / SKR 30)
STR 0⇰8 STA 0⇰4 AGL 0 DEX 1
FGT 0⇰3 INT -2 AWE 1 PRE 2⇰6
Powers
Bear-sark Brassiere: Device (removable), noticeable, quirk (must be the only thing worn, other than shoes, accessories, and makeup), alternate form (standard action required to activate) ● 90pp
- Berserkergang: Enhanced Athletics 4; Enhanced Dodge 4; Enhanced Fighting 3; Enhanced Fortitude 2; Enhanced Parry 2; Enhanced Stamina 2; Enhanced Strength 6; Enhanced Will 2 ● 34pp
- Hamrammr: Enhanced Perception 4; Feature 1 (eat anything); Growth 2; Immunity 50 (fire, piercing, slashing); Protection 2; Senses 2 (low-light vision, acute smell) ● 61pp
- Weapon-Blunting Glance: Perception-ranged incurable move-action Weaken Damage 7 (resisted by Toughness), affects objects, limited to metal effects, limited to slashing and piercing damage ● 22pp
Cloud of Pheromones: Permanent progressive insidious subtle 2 burst 2 olfactory-dependent Weaken Will 2 (Fortitude to resist) ● 9pp
Seductive Attention: Visual-range cumulative vision-dependent Affliction 6 (resisted and overcome by Will; dazed, compelled, controlled), Persuasion check required (DC 10), limited to pursuing Lingerage romantically or sexually ● 11pp
Sexually Optimized Brain: Enhanced Presence 4; Enhanced Persuasion 6; Enhanced Inspire 3 ● 18pp
Surgically Enhanced: Enhanced Advantages 4 (Attractive 2, Fascinate (Persuasion), Great Endurance) ● 4pp
Advantages
{Attractive 2}, Benefit 2 (independently wealthy), Equipment 3, {Fascinate (Persuasion)}, {Great Endurance}, {Inspire 3}, Inventor
Equipment
Camera, knife (Strength-based Damage 1, Improved Critical), motorcycle (Medium; Str 1; Speed 6; Defense 10; Toughness 8), smartphone
Skills
Athletics 0 (0)⇰4 (+12), Expertise: Current Events 2 (0), Expertise: Pop Culture 2 (0), Expertise: Science 6 (+4), Intimidation 0⇰1, Investigation 4 (+2), Perception 0 (+1)⇰4 (+5), Persuasion 0 (2)⇰6 (+12), Stealth 0⇰-1, Technology 6 (+4), Vehicles 2 (+3)
Offense
Initiative 0
Unarmed 0⇰+3; Close, Damage 0⇰+8
Knife 0⇰+3; Close, Damage +1⇰+9, Improved Critical
Weapon-Blunting Glance Toughness vs. DC 17; Visual perception range, reduce Damage by check difference
Cloud of Pheromones Target’s Fortitude vs. DC 12; Within 60 feet of Lingerage, reduce Will by check difference
Seductive Attention Lingerage’s Persusion vs. DC 10 then target’s Will vs. DC 16; anyone who can see and be seen by Lingerage,
Defense
Dodge 0 (+0)⇰4 (+3)
Fortitude 0 (0)⇰2 (+6)
Parry 0⇰2 (+4)
Toughness 0 (0)⇰4 (+8)
Will 1 (+2)⇰3 (+4)
Size rank -2
Ground speed rank 0
Complications
Motivation ~ Responsibility: The Whorlocks need a defender, someone to ensure that they never again fall under the dominion of a man (or anyone else) who would control and exploit them as the Patriarch once did. Lingerage put herself forward to be that defender, and the collective of bimbos readily agreed. Of course, this also means that many chores and random bits of work fall upon Lingerage’s occasionally-furry shoulders, but she doesn’t mind. She loves this family she’s found.
Perpetually Horny: The Patriarch’s processes overclocked and heightened the various hormonal and neurological processes involved in human sexual attraction, interest, and readiness. Like all the Whorlocks, Lingerage chose to revert to that state after Catspaw freed them. As such, their baseline is significantly hornier than the general population.
The Wages of Power: Use of the Bear-Sark Brassiere takes a toll on the body it changes. After any scene in which its power is used, the wearer must roll their unmodified Fortitude vs. a DC of 15. On a success, they are impaired for the next day. On one degree of failure, they are instead exhausted for the day; every degree of failure thereafter either adds a day to the duration.
Abilities 4 + Advantages 6 + Skills 11 + Powers 132 + Defenses 1 = 150pp
No comments:
Post a Comment