Citrus

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

@SonnetNSunbeam

Just checking on ya, been awhile since I've heard from you.

What if... Superpowers | Drama | Villians

"With great power,
Comes great responsibility."

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A superhero origin story. I don't have all the details worked out, but there is tons of superhero media to draw from. Chronicle comes to mind, as a way for superpowers to be gained at random in a civilization that is not ready for them. Same could be said for Heroes, and that's a cool option due to the variety of powers gained!

If we wanted to go the route of superpowers being the norm... things like MHA, Invincible, and X-Men offer cool perspectives. The Boys is probably my top prospect of how a society with superhumans would look, and function!

I am not looking to RP in any one specific Fandom, and instead would rather create our own by cherry picking from these worlds. We could also just forsake media all together and use our big brains to make a world we enjoy!

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For the story... I'm not sure. I would surely like to start with the day to day life of our character... we're we born with superhuman traits, or did we suddenly inherit them? Will we be friends, rivals, foes?

This search is really just to test the waters, and see if there is interest in this topic!

I am looking for a partner that can stand weekly replies, world building in OC, building a colorful and interesting cast of side characters, and doesn't mind darker themes!

I am a FTB kinda writer, if that becomes a part of the plot. I enjoy writing romance, and action is something new-ish for me! This plot will deal with a lot of action, so that is exciting for me!

I have public posts on my profile, so you can see what my writing looks like!

If you'd like to discuss this idea, please reach out via PM~!

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

Hider

The screen clicked on, and depicted a woman running. She was obviously terrified, as her shoes sounded against the stone dungeon floor. It was silent beside the thump. Thump. Thump. Of her feet, and the horrified whimpering she made as she ran.

She ducked around a corner, and stopped! She stopped, just long enough to mutter "What the fuck was that!??!" When a purple tentacle slammed around the corner, across her face with a gut wrenching crunch. The words "Dungeon. Crawler. Worlds." Slammed into the screen and some upbeat music started to play, while Earth slid into the screen.

A stage was shown while the music kept playing, an alien came onto the stage from behind a curtain... he was dancing to the music, and waving to the crowd. "Hello everyone, and welcome to Dungeon Crawler World: Earth!" His deep voice boomed, and the crown went wild.

"Yes! Yes! I am so excited to be your host for the premier! Let me tell you, this season is going to be an amazing show!" He said, with a charming smile. He had all the bravado of a game show host from earth. If it wasn't for the large horns and shocking skin tone, she could see him hosting Family Feud or The Price is Right.

The camera panned to show two people who couldn't be more different, sitting on a rather comfortable looking fancy couch. The camera zoomed into focus on a woman. She was tall, like very very tall... and held herself with a regal poise, chin high and an almost bored expression on her face. She gave a gentle slow wave to the crowd. "Joining me today is a woman many of you know from the las..." the show cut out into silence ... "when she rules lawyered for..." silence again... "and won her case in syndicate high court. Hawthorne Valparo! Welcome Hawthorne!"

The camera panned over to the other person, who was slouched on the couch. Almost to large for the furniture, the person was covered in silk, gold, and jewels. They were a lion, well... like a anthro lion. "Former Crawler Jareen! That's right folks for the first time, in the history of the premier! A former crawler will provide their insight to these turbulent first few hours!"

Jareen looked as though they'd rather be anywhere else. "Jareen ofcourse famous for surviving to the 12th floor and killi..." silence, and for much longer while the host talked animatedly. Jareen said nothing, only nodding and waving to the crowd.

"Why dont we jump right in... I've asked you both to select a clip of a crawler, and I've done the same! Let's look at Hawthorne's, first!"

The camera was moving rapidly... like it was falling down a pit, there was glimpses of a person, but the camera was obviously having trouble staying close. Then it captured the person, and they were falling... long red braids whipped in the wind, a green plaid jacket fluttered around her... and with both hands she gripped a long golden spear.

"3... 2... 1...!" She had been counting, shouting the numbers... someone else was counting, then WHAM! Blood was absolutely everywhere! She hadnt been falling, she'd been flying down a hallway! She had slammed into a large creature, her impact leaving a hole in the side of the large corpse.

"We got another one, fuck yeah." The woman said, and turned to her partner. Above her head shown 3 skulls.

The clip stopped.

"Before most crawlers had killed a mob, she had killed a boss... by shear dumbluck... but, none the less... She has been hunting bosses since opening that legendary spear. It's a rather famous spear, I'm sure several viewers recognize it." With a sneer and smile Hawthorne looked over to Jareen... who was captivated by the clip. "It's called Jare-..." silence again, as Hawtorne laughed and Jareen gripped the arm rest so tightly it splintered.

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Here is what I have so far, think I will post after we get the recap made!

It's an extremely rough draft, so dont judge me too hard! :)

Hider

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

Hey!

First off loved the post, and the boss is so good!
Loved everything about it! Especially the over the top-ishness of the boss and his appearance. It was visceral, the whole thing was super well written!

I have entered kind of a lull with work until summer, so things are pretty good! Thinking about trying to find a different job, but that is really neither here or there!

Maybe our characters are watching the recap together? They just so happen to be broken up into their bonds, it gives them a chance to really interact together? Since they are probably all gonna sleep after.

I think we could do a mix of "successful" crawlers, and "interesting" deaths... maybe to really dial up the gameshow vibes... it's presented in a "America's funniest home videos" style show?

Write a few crawlers who killed a boss, write a few who died in odd or theatrical ways, write a few "crawlers to keep your eyes on"? Then have the same host character do a bit on how the soul bound works, by showing a few crawler's whose partner kicked the bucket at awkward times?

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

H A N N A H & Z O E

7 days and counting to floor collapse Floor 1 Viewers: 0 | Followers: 0 | Favorites: 0

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_.

Hannah followed behind Zoe, the older woman looked intimidating... The scars, the softly glowing eye... Hannah had to admit that Zoe was nailing the vibe. They had spent the last hour or so slowly traversing Wily territory. There was only one fight, and it was over so fast that Hannah was questioning the decision to leave. They had 6 days, it wouldn't hurt to scope out another territory.

They had talked with Igva about the monster territories. The goblin had told them most monsters in the dungeon would have a territory, or area... She had also warned that it wouldn't always be this easy to spot when one territory ended an another began.

Hannah was surprised by their new strength in combat. Zoe's health wore away noticeably faster. That would be something they would need to work out, or solve. Hannah had always enjoyed JRPGs and class based MMOs. She knew their party was shaping up to be a DPS heavy duo. Which was fine in short bursts, with a ready source of healing. Both of these happened to be true currently, their fights were short and with healing potions and the heal spell... They could keep their HP up, and take fights at their leisure.

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They reached a large hallway, after a little searching. It was about the width of a highway, and eerily silent. Across the hall, there was an entrance into... well Zoe wasn't sure what the hallway across from them lead to, but it was probably a new territory. "This has to be what Igva was talking about. A clear end to the Wily's territory."

Hannah had to nod in agreement. She watched the other side of the hallway for any kind of movement... but it was probably fruitless. They hadn't seen a Wily in about 20 minutes. They had heard several groups of the little party animals, but they hadn't ventured off the path. Igva had advised picking a direction, and walking that way until they hit something like this.

"I was kind of hoping there would be more clues for what is waiting over there." Zoe said, making a sound of disappointment. "Having no information sucks. Dumb hope says that the monsters won't be too bad... if the logic is the same, and the monsters get stronger the deeper we go."

"How are you on mana?" Hannah asked looking across her own hud. "I've got 5 of my 10 MP. It's a pretty uncomfortable number... but I've got a full brace of rocks, and HP. I'm regenning MP faster, with 10 INT. It makes sense, but it's kind of surprising... I was at 3 after that last fight, and that was only 10 minutes ago."

"I've got 4 MP, which is really uncomfortable. I can cast heal or my new spell... but not both." She leaned against the wall, as they watched. They had really developed a system, corners were for peeking, listening, and planning. Each fight they had taken since leaving the saferoom, had been taken with a plan for victory.

It was a time consuming way to travel, but it reduced surprises. It also helped to avoid long fights, which their team was not suited for.

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"When you get 5 we should cross, I think it's safe to assume that the monsters will work similarly. Weaker mobs towards the outside, so we can get a feel for what's over there... If it's not good, we return here and farm Wilys." Hannah said, after a few minutes of nothing. The blank wall across from them wasn't giving up any information.

Zoe nodded and stood. "I'll lead you ready yourself." She said, and Hannah lifted her hand to show several stones rotating around her finger pistol. "Lock'd and Load'd boss." The younger woman laughed. Zoe smiled, "We run if it's something crazy. If someone calls a retreat, that becomes the plan, no questions. We regroup, and discuss in safety."

Hannah nodded seriously this time. Then they slowly crossed the large stretch of land between the two territories. As they walked into the hallway, "Ding! Ding!" They both jumped as an achievement rolled in, almost simultaneously. Hannah watched it pop up, and slowly fade away. "Eyes extra open, Zoe." She said, "Something is watching us."

New Achievement! How can you not see that!!?! It's watching you! You are being observed, and your completely clueless about it. I just can't believe you can't see it. [long pause] You could touch it, it's so close. REWARD! Silver Get your eyes checked Box

New Achievement! Them... and that army Your completely outnumbered. The numbers are not in your favor. You have to be in the vacintity of at least 10x hostile mobs. But. Don't worry it's probably fine. reward! Silver You've got this box

Zoe slowly slid the dagger from it's sheathe. Hannah's eyes darted. This hallway was a little different. It was overgrown. Vines hung from the ceiling, and bushy plants sprouted up at random. It gave jungle ruins vibes. "I think we should retreat." Hannah said looking around and seeing absolutely fucking nothing.

"Agreed. Back out slowly." Something rustled and Zoe launched the black dagger with a shadowy tendril. Something squealed, and the bush that Zoe's shadowy apendage launched into shook violently. The shrill screams awakened the world around them with a symphony of tiny roars.

Hannah turned to run away, something launched out and stuck to her side yanking her to her left. She wobbled right, as Zoe's large blade cleaved the slimy apendage that had stuck to her left side. "What the fuck!" She said seeing the tiny little dinosaur writhe and spew blood.

It was about the size of a house cat, shockingly green... It was a cross between a chameleon, and a T-rex? Honestly adorable, and terrifying. The AI kicked in with a description, but she brushed it away... focusing on the retreat. She felt Zoe push her forward, not roughly but guiding Hannah towards the hallway entrance.

Zoe caught a glimpse of the monster that was attacking them, several more tongues launched out to halt them... but Zoe physically moved Hannah to dodge them. This was a lot less scary than the achievements had made it seem. Unless these were juveniles or something. Lord help them, if there is a T-Rex sized Chameleon dinosaur wandering around the first floor 1.

As they rounded the corner, Zoe assumed the dinos wouldn't follow... and she was right, they appeared to be ambush predators. A pack of them, and with the jump on you would be awful. They could pack a punch, Hannah's health had dropped just being hit by one of their tongue shots.

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"Fucking tiny dinosaurs!" Hannah said, her voice was a mix of excitement, exhaustion, and terror. "Tiny. Camouflaged. Fucking. Dinosaurs." She repeated, a panicked chuckle left her as she leaned against the wall.

"They gave good experience though... More than the Wilys." Zoe said, peeking around the corner and into the hallway of certain death.

"You can't be thinking about fighting that... How are we gonna find them?" Hannah said, watching the older woman peek the corner.

"They can't have true invisibility. It's probably just really good camouflage." Zoe said, looking hard for any sign of the little terrors. "I wonder if that's their full size... or if they are babies. Cause I really don't want a giant one of those chasing us."

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Camo Camo Camo Chameleon

These little buggers blend right in, you really don't even know they are there until they attack from behind.

The longer they live, the bigger they get... There is really no telling just how big one will grow.

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Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

Got it like 90% typed. It needs proofing and color, and like a little more typing.

Gonna add on the last little bit tomorrow~! I crashed out on my keyboard!~

First thing tomorrow morning! Tomorrow I will also put some preliminary thoughts down in the 0th post of this section for the recap episode!

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

I am gonna work on my post a little tonight, and alittle tomorrow! Hopefully it's done by this time tomorrow. I'm a little busy with the holiday this weekend, life of a retail worker... ugh.

I think we should totally workshop, or worktogether on the broadcast. Get something together, and post it as an inbetween our posts?

I can't remember the exact contents of the first broadcast, but I think it was something about how earth worked, our culture, and a really really baaad explanation of how earth people were savages?

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probably gonna push the slushie monsters to another floor.

Keep floor one monsters "generic" monster types, with no in depth personification.

Hider

I found this pretty sick Chameleon / Dinosaur thing, and I think a bunch of tiny Allosauruses would be kind of funny. Like 1 foot tall murder machines with stealth, and ambush attacks.

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

Zoe has a weapon!

Shit is going down now. lol

Thanks! I don't feel like anything is inequitable! I love laying out the rules and stuff like that!

Had a blast writing this!

Next time, Hannah and Zoe fight the Slushie Menace, and find something lurking in the darkness~!

Which should be hilarious to write... Though the more I think about the slushie monsters... the more I want them to be on a different floor!!! I keep picturing their territory as rival gas stations, and the slushies fighting each other and the crawlers! Like little slushie gangwars XD

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

H A N N A H & Z O E

7 days and counting to floor collapse Floor 1 Viewers: 0 | Followers: 0 | Favorites: 0

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_.

New Achievement! You missed! or not. Throw a weapon, and miss... but still hit your target! Hitting a target isn't always skill sometimes your just lucky. REWARD! Bronze Lucky Bastard Box

New Achievement! Slice and Dice! You like daggers, don't ya... Lets see what you can do, Crawler. REWARD! Gold "That's not a knife" box

New Achievement! Easy tiger! Break 2 weapons attacking the same monster! You can't just go stabbing, stabbing, stabbing with junk! That's how you get tetanus! REWARD! Silver What is this junk Box

Zoe watched as the achievements and rewards scrolled past. She ended up with a few basic bronze boxes, with standard rewards. Gold, Torches, HP potions, and a few mana potions. Only three boxes gave anything interesting. She watched as Hannah and Igva fussed over the smaller human's prizes. She took a sip of her soda, and was surprised to find the sweet and spicy carbonated drink was growing on her.

Her whole life Zoe had been quiet, a result of less than ideal parentage... Watching, gauging moods, walking on eggshells. It had lead to a lot of people referring to her as eerily quiet, and a little unsettling. She learned faster by observing, and calculating. Which is why she didn't mind Hannah and Igva going before her.

The gold chest was a golden box, with Crocodile Dundee leaning against it holding a large golden Bowie Knife... Damn she wanted that knife, a sturdy, and unforgivingly sharp weapon. The chest let out an animatronic voice "That's not a knife, This is a knife." as the chest part swirled open and a long fantasy-esque dagger revealed itself.

It was damn near a short sword, as Zoe examined the blade it's tooltip popped up. It was about 14 inches in length, with a large single edge blade with a wicked curve. The handle was covered by a ornate handguard of a black skeletal hand. It looked scary, enough to make Zoe pause.

Kelt's Guiding Hand -1 to Constitution +2 to Strength +2 Dexterity | Dark Secrets | They'll never see me coming Gain permanent access to the Shadowy Hand spell. You may only cast this spell during combat, even if gained naturally later. Shadowy hand may only target Kelt's Guiding Hand. Shadowy Hand | 3 Mana | No Cooldown Ever wished you had just one more arm? Now you can make that wish come true. This hand can grasp objects, enemies... Well not for you. Luckily for you, this spell has some unique upsides to counter act the harsh downsides. You'll just have to level it up, and find out. | Black Metal | Deadmen tell no one, about your Dark Secrets Surprise attacks deal 75% more damage. ATTENTION! This is a unique item! You may choose to unequip it... but if you CHOOSE to do so, it will be destroyed.

Zoe grasped the handle, and felt the chill enter her body as she mental equipped the dark blade. There was a strange whirlpool of feelings, as her stats adjusted. The dagger came with a sheath, that she strapped to her waist choosing to have the blade in the small of her back. Her attention was drawn back to her chests as the next one burst open with mild fanfare. Some leather armor popped out, it was fur-lined and a light tan color. She examined it, and grinned. It was just +1 strength armor, but she would take it. The bronze lucky bastard box, contained 3 troll's blood potions, which would increase health regen by 200% for 1 minute.

"That dagger is a blessing and a curse, ya'know." Igva said, letting Hannah get back to her food. "Items that change the fundamentals of spells... are wildcards. You get a powerful spell, usually much earlier than normal, with some harsh restrictions. The true nature of the change will become clear as you level the spell."

"It seems like a powerful item, the restrictions on the spell are whatever... I am mostly concerned with the -1 Constitution, and my position on the frontline." Zoe said with a quiet voice, "Also I only have 4 mana, so this spell is kind of rough... If I wan't to heal also."

"It does seem to focus on making you choose offence and damage over defense and durability." The Goblin examined the tooltip for the blade. "I think you should use the knife sharpener on it." Zoe drew the blade, and turned it over in her hand examining the sheen of the dark metal.

She withdrew the knife sharpener and examined it.

Perma-Sharp Knife Enhancement Kit This Knife sharpening kit will imbue a Knife with a random special enhancement. Permanently. This kit has 2 uses remaining.

She turned the small black sharpener over in her hand, while looking at Kelt's Guiding Hand. "Is Kelt someone important? Shouldn't I save this sharpener? It felt like an item she should save, but if this weapon was something she was gonna use for awhile... It could be extremely valuable to use it now. "Well yes. It is something you won't have to worry about for a long while... but Kelt is a god, and while they are extremely important to the crawl... It's not a subject worth covering for now. Just know that like this dagger, aligning with a god is a double edged blade. This weapon will follow you for a long time, it would be useful to use the sharpener now."

Zoe took a deep breath and dragged the dark metal blade through the sharpener. "Would you like to use both charges?" She mentally clicked yes. She briefly wondered if both points would be used together for the same upgrade... and she had to guess that was the case. +2 intelligence, was the buff her blade got. Which was a comfortable upgrade! having 6 mana, was actually something very useful.

"Intelligence! That's actually a very good upgrade." Igva said with grin. Zoe equipped the leather armor from her inventory, and was amused by the armor just appearing on her.

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Hannah was dying to try her new spell, as she watched Igva and Zoe go through the boxes. "Igva, while we were traveling earlier the monsters were getting harder to kill. Do you think we should keep working our way into their territory? Is there like a boss?" She asked as they finished up their conversation. Hannah eyed the long, and dangerous looking weapon Zoe now possessed.

Igva nodded, turning to look at Hannah. "Oh, there is definitely a boss. There might even be two." She said, before hopping down from the table. "As good as it would be to kill a boss on the first day, I think it's too dangerous. You should avoid bosses, until you get some more equipment. When you head back out, try working your way out of the 'territory' of the Wily."

"Would a boss be that difficult to kill?" Zoe asked standing from the table, and stretching. "I'm not saying we should fight a boss, I'm just curious how hard the fight would be..." Zoe added seeing the look on Igva face as the goblin turned around quickly. Zoe gave a smirk, and raised her hands in joking surrender.

"It could be difficult, it could be a push over... It's always hard to tell, the boss isn't always themed around the mobs in it's territory... though there will be clues around it's lair. You should be able to tell a bosses lair from it's surroundings. Atleast on the first two floors, after the that... they expect you to be fighting bosses." Igva said as she walked back to her chair, with the book she had been reading.

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Zoe and Hannah had talked for a few minutes about their options... and had decided to take Igva's advice. They were going to backtrack out of Wily territory, and try to encounter another monster type. Immediately after leaving the safe room, Hannah cast her new spell. 12 smooth stones of varying sizes, but all small, formed around her right wrist. She held her right hand out, and willed one of the rocks to launch.

It flew from her wrist like... well like a bullet. When it collided with the wall, it made a sharp noise before ricocheting off into the distance. "Woah." She wondered how much damage it was going to do... it sounded and looked impressive, but it was just a rock... right?

"I don't think we should avoid fights, while we backtrack... We need the EXP, I still think we could hover in this area, and hunt the stronger Wilys." Zoe said, she had been a bit stubborn. Call it overconfidence, but she thought they should look for the boss.

"We can slow roll it, out of Wily territory... but it couldn't hurt to know what other mobs are around. Igva said there would be a janitor mob... and we haven't seen anything like that. Only Wilys." Hannah said, her eyes moved to the dark blade on Zoe's lower back. A new weapon seemed to embolden Zoe, or atleast... made the woman more confident in her combat ability.

Zoe was thinking about the achievement system, and had made the argument while they had been inside with Igva... That there was probably still time to claim the "Trailblazer" version of the boss killing achievement. Igva disagreed. "Some lucky bastards have already lucked into a boss kill, by now." Their guide had said, and Hannah had to agree... all her impressive achievements had come from luck, a lot of luck.

"If Igva is right, and she probably is... finding a farmable experience source, would be our best option." The older woman agreed, but she still didn't much care for the idea of tucking tail and running before seeing the boss of the Wily zone. Though she could tell, Hannah while being the voice of reason... agreed with Zoe, the smaller girl was just following the safer idea.

Dungeon Crawler Carl: Twin Suns

If you have more spider-y creepy crawlies you want to use, please do! I dont mind reading about spiders, and even though they completely make my skin crawl they are kind of fascinating. I dont want them near me, even in enclosures. I do love tarantula YouTubers, guilty pleasure!

I realize reading your phobia is body horror, that I have twice described Hannah exploiting the Wily's big eyes as targets! I will avoid that, or atleast being descriptive of it!

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I love the idea of merch/promos with the companies that paid to have their items in the dungeon! We should definitely figure out a way to slide some more merchandise in the dungeon!

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I love both of Hannah's fancy items, and I think that's all she is gonna get for the first floor. Maybe one more, but not for awhile! Need to get Zoe a good knife. I think she is gonna be stuck with her breaking kitchen knife for awhile, maybe...

I hope Zoe doesn't feel kinda "there" in my posts. I'm trying to keep the spotlight on Hannah, but provide some Zoe time as well...

I think that Hannah and Zoe are handling the stress well, in the short term. Replacing their fear/stress/anger with a focus on "playing the game", which will probably bite them in the ass later.

I love that our teams are having semi opposite reations to the stress/dispair of being pulled into this circus. I am so hooked on Sharod and Loralie, they seem like best buds before the dungeon, and are processing these complex emotions at different speeds causing this friction!

Loralie's anger feels well paced, and misplaced. It feels relatable, like I can understand her... she spent her whole life stressing about her heart, and if it was suddenly cured by any other means... she would probably be cheering, but the illness was replaced by the moshpit of problems that is "the world dungeon."