chukklehed

The Library

I want to post for Charles, but I don't like posting my characters separately. Can you work "Sophia stared at Charles in surprise, this being the first time she had her own body." into your next post Kes?

Doll Master

Well, let me break it down for you.

If Melody was in a crowded place (And for some reason visible, since she spends most of the time Carson is in public out of sight), and suddenly felt her emotions shift, she would tell Carson first since it's not an instantaneous change. Carson would probably either get out or wave his badge to get everybody to stand back far enough to be out of range, then talk Melody through it. If Carson can't get away from the people or talk her down, Melody just start pushing people back until an obvious threat showed itself. Just because she's not conscious of it doesn't make it totally indiscriminate. However, if there WAS an obvious threat (Such as someone with a knife advancing towards him, someone pushing through the crowd and touching him, or something like that) Melody would switch "stages" And kill that person, then everyone else who wasn't running away. So I guess her state is divided into two stages, Assessment and Reaction.

Doll Master

Ardent Dawn said
As far as Melody goes, it seems as though she would be experiencing a of hostile intention once she flips, even if it's fixed enough to stop Yazuko from picking up her normal cues about when someone intends to pull the trigger on her (since she's constantly in the same headspace). Certainly impossible to override using her projected emotions, but I'm open to discussion as to whether or not she'd be visible on her emotional radar. Even if she effectively became invisible to her radar once she flips, I'd be content with simply triggering that state at particularly awkward moments and dealing with the consequences :P How much target prioritisation does Melody retain when she triggers?

Actually, the idea behind her state is that Melody has no emotions. She's not hostile, or angry, or anything. She reacts only one instinct, and anyone reading her mind or emotions would think she was asleep. As for prioritization, she methodically moves from the first obvious threat to the next, but sometimes she can take on two or three people at a time, since she can summon multiple blades..

Ardent Dawn said
Also, interesting thought - if Yazuko can trigger Melody by bombarding her with fear and paranoia, how much would she be able to hold back Melody's transformation by dropping a dumpster's worth of peace and serenity on her head? It doesn't override the underlying emotions (so I doubt that she could simply keep her out of that state indefinitely), but how would things work if she didn't feel that either of them were in danger? It's all somewhat hypothetical, since she would still use her swords on Puppeteers regardless, but I could imagine circumstances where it would be relevant. On the same line of thought, does she simply return back to her normal state once there's no longer anyone else around to perceive as a threat, or are there more intricate cues that that?

Melody's state is triggered by her desperation, so it's possible to hold her back from it, but not indefinitely. In fact, it would probably only work for a minute or so.
As for the second part, Melody's state does not return to normal immediately. In fact, Melody cannot descend from it normally. There are only two ways for her to stop: Carson talking her down, and Melody using so much energy she just collapses.

Crossroads of Astas [High Fantasy]

Doll Master

You're putting a really nice spin on what is essentially a cocktail of Dependent Personality Disorder (I need you, never leave me), Narcissistic Personality Disorder (I'm the only one who can make you happy.) Paranoid Schizophrenia (Everybody is trying to take you from me.) and incredibly violent tenancies.

Doll Master

Major Ursa said
I think a lot of trained individuals pretty much blank out their emotions during a tough fight...Anyways...Scaevola won't ever intentionally show his true appearance, though there have been situations here or there when he's been forced out. If he does, on his own, it means he knows one of them (his enemy or himself) won't be leaving the battle alive.

Actually it's pretty much impossible to consciously be emotionless unless you're some kind of Buddhist supermonk. You can suppress your emotions, you can even ignore them to the point that you don't even realize they're there, but there is always some kind of emotion that, if read, can broadcast your intentions. Melody fights ENTIRELY devoid of emotion, because she no longer thinks. She just becomes a creature of instinct.

Doll Master

Well yeah, it's usually a good idea to avoid the people who can rip you out of the body you stole and devour you, but I was referring specifically between Yazuko and Melody, since Melody fights unaffected by emotion and Yazuko's powers involve reading and manipulating those emotions. On the other hand, Yazuko is in the best position to fuck with Melody by intentionally activating her emotionless state from a distance (By forcing her to feel as much fear as she would when under attack)

Crossroads of Astas [High Fantasy]

I am now excusing myself from your mental abuse, good day.

Crossroads of Astas [High Fantasy]

Psst, Lucius, this is the part where the ninjas attack.

Doll Master

Hey Ardent, I was just reading your Puppeteer, and you should really watch out for Melody. Your character wouldn't be able to sense her emotions in a fight, because when she's really fighting she doesn't have any.