#threads by oddments

[solo-rpg-rambling]

The Agnes Rose Cooperative: Scene Two

(Solo RPG Play Report)

In which, we revisit some awkward issues of sexuality as a game mechanic.

Previously: The Agnes Rose Cooperative is a community of 30,000 sentient microorganisms and one very traumatized, humanoid, ex-military audio engineer. They've just rescued Agnes's former commander and mentor, Elektra,"The Voice of the Emperor." And oh yes, everyone's a bard.

Conflict (Elektra): Drew Judgement. Which I interpreted as Elektra wanting to make amends (or more likely, have that rejected).

Gnosis (the Cooperative's new abilities): The Lovers The cooperative's new and old abilities will play a role in the scene.

Hope (the future): Justice Long-term, the Coop are not wanting an apology, they're wanting change of some sort.

Outcome: Death The scene marks a major change. The prior relationship is dead, a new relationship must be negotiated.

This was a point where the cards and games pushed back against my intentions.

The Cooperative was a way of exploring character ideas that had been in my head for a few decades. And the original sessions for this character and setting happened during COVID, and early social and medical transition. HRT was rewiring my brain/body relationship. And I was also working through issues with neurodivergence, although I wasn't diagnosed as autistic at that point.

In effect I was juggling two characters and one character, a dualism that's still giving me some headaches. Agnes as a humanoid had an intensely parasocial relationship with her former mentor, but doesn't want that now. The cooperative doesn't understand host pair-bonding except as something that creates happy brain chemicals.

Thirsty Sword Lesbians and other PBtA games implement romance as a game mechanic (with mutual agreement). I wasn't comfortable for that for my player. And another feature of my life leaking into the game was realizing that the concept of romance doesn't work for me. (See conversations by Sherronda Brown, Juno Roche, and about wtf/quoiromanticism for more about that topic.)

But the draws insist that the Coop and Elektra continue to have some sort of a relationship, so I have to finesse a bit to make that work.

What came out of this draw was a very short (five paragraph) confrontation between the two characters. The Coop leans into prior skills (Gnosis/Lovers) and slinks away to the spaceship's workroom to do maintenance on Elektra's Cello. Elektra asks for a conversation (Conflict/Judgement) but is immediately shut down twice. "We're not friends, but we need you for the mission." (Hope/Justice) Agnes speaks for her individual self that they may never be able to accept an apology, and redirects the conversation talk about maintaining the cello. (Outcome:Death)

The result is a nice little pre-battle scene of characters setting aside conflicts to prepare for a coming struggle.

Note: a few weeks behind on play report, might dump several over the weekend.

[solo-rpg-rambling]

The Agnes Rose Cooperative: Scene One

Draws:

Conflict/Elektra: The Fool

Scrying/The Ship: Temperance

Passage/The Band: Moon

Conclusion: Death Reversed

Mostly replaying the last session with a different perspective, and focusing on the big emotional beats rather than the turn-by-turn action. Writing this as if The Cooperative is being interviewed by a biographer, focusing on brief moments and scenes.

The ship gets a distress signal that Agnes finds a familiar. They rescue Elektra from a wrecked shuttle, treat her injuries, and learn she's fleeing from what's left of the old imperial military. Elektra was looking for Agnes, her old comrade, only to find that Agnes isn't just Agnes.

Agnes isn't all that interested in a reconciliation. The growth of a new cooperative isn't going well with their mutual trauma, and Agnes probably wouldn't have rescued her former mentor if she hadn't been outvoted, both by the band and the collective.

Unfortunately Elektra has been followed. The Omegas&emdash;the rival team to The Voice of the Emperor&emdash;are eager to wrap up the rivalry. They also have a substantial payday offered in the deal. Elektra didn't reveal this at first.

The surprise attack did substantial damage to the ship, and was only resolved when current lead singer, Donnie, gave himself up in Elektra's place. A rescue has set up the need for another rescue.

[solo-rpg-rambling]

The Agnes Rose Cooperative: Game Prep

Threads is a journaling game about continuing ttrpg stories. Prep for it involves revisiting prior work and identifying keystones, key characters, ideas, and themes to guide the future narrative.

My responses to these ranged from a few sentences to a few handwritten pages.

Keystone of Conflict

"...an individual or collective with which you came into conflict..."

This was the easiest. As a teen, Agnes idolized Captain Elektra, the emperor's champion. She joined the Army army, became an engineer, and eventually was selected to serve on Elektra's crew. The Voice of the Emperor not only served as propaganda representatives, but as not-so-secret enforcers and agents. Her career ended when she was left behind during a biological attack using a zombie parasite. Somehow she survived, was experimentally "cured," and dying under intensive observation.

The Cooperative "brain bugs" are the same species as their "zombie" cousins. They recently converted to their own version of "environmentalism," working to improve the lives of their hosts while trying to keep their existence secret.

Keystone of Contrast

"...characters at their apex and nadir..."

The symbiosis between Agnes and the Cooperative saved both of them. But both carry a fair bit of guilt for what happened during the zombie attack.

Keystone of Gnosis

"...mastery of a skill..."

Agnes had a natural talent for engineering. She could understand how to meld sound, magic, and electricity into musical instruments that could be wielded by performers. The Coop brings their own flavor of sensitivity that allows for them to grow into a dual role as engineer and musician.

Keystone of Passage

"Did you attempt to seize destiny..."

The Agnes Cooperative escaped from the hospital, with the same rebels who had taken down the empire months before. They chose to rebel and use their knowledge to help other people get free from the empire.

Keystone of Hope

To set aside the traumas of the past and build a new life. To nurture other cooperatives.

[solo-rpg-rambling]

The Cooperative: What Came Before

Character

The Agnes Rose Cooperative is 30,000 sentient microbes riding the body of a disabled military technician, now an electronic music artist. Probably the peak inspiration here is Slonczewski's Brain Plague, an ecofeminist science fiction writer few people have heard of. Characters you may have heard of include Dax (Deep Space 9, Lower Decks (guest)), Warframe's Flash Valeron/Lizzie, Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Voyager, Picard).

Both the humanoid Agnes and the microbial Cooperative have a difficult history. Agnes was an audio-magic engineer for the evil empire's propaganda squad. The Coop are mutant zombie bugs who have more recently become minimal harm "environmentalists." In Thirsty Sword Lesbians Mechanics: Spooky Witch with moves borrowed from Infamous.

The Setting

Mostly created by the GM. (Need to look up details to cite her.) The galaxy was ruled by an evil empire, until the end of the last major character arc. Instead of swords, characters wield musical instruments in epic magical battles. Music labels serve as an alternative power structure. The party is a band that was involved in the defeat of the previous emperor, and is involved in liberating planets from imperial remnants.

What Came Before

The band struggles to rebuild. The "lead" (TTL class: Chosen) liberated his people from imperial remnants by becoming the planet's sea god, leaving the party. The Cooperative is rescued from a military hospital in the middle of their joining and gets pushed into an active role while discovering new talents. Somehow they picked up an aging rock star 40 years out of his time who is supposed to be dead.

Then, they get a distress call from the last person Agnes wants to deal with right now: the "Voice of the Emperor," her mentor and commanding officer who left her for dead in a zombie bomb attack....

The System

Threads

Quick summary:

Identify keystone memories and events from a previous campaign.

Pick one or more keystones for a new scene.

Draw a major arcana tarot card for each keystone, plus one for the outcome.

Write a vignette that explores further character developments.

Currently using a German Ryder-Waite deck, a $2 notebook, and Pilot G2 pens.