grand-catalyst

[grand-catalyst]

//And Riot sent unto their followers the following message:

“What if he was a cyborg, and also, hot?”

Damn it, I’m TRYING to save money here

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Journal 6

Recent intelligence gathered by old informants show troubling developments in several locations. Recently, the so-titled ‘Guardian of Zaun’ has shown her face once again after the Dreadnought’s violent impact on the lower slums. My regular employers in the upper sectors are becoming wary of interactions with anyone in those areas. No concern, they will continue to look for supply. A Chem Baron without product is worse off than dead.

What does cause irritation is the reports that Shuriman Alchemy is being considered for import. Impractical. Imperfect. Should they dare to value my works anywhere in the vicinity of some... unlearned tribesman... perhaps a complimentary delivery is in order. One to set the record straight.

Considering usage of paralyzing vapours in conjunction with some manner of necrotising bacterium. Dead men walking would certainly drive the point.

[grand-catalyst]

✂ let's gooooo

Report BM-81, The Herald

Synopsis

Where to begin on this file, I wonder. Months of correspondence, almost mistakable for friendship by witnesses too unfocused to expel the need for such. Simple back and forth, orders of minor reagents of primarily scientific nature, and accompanying coded queries on the nature of each other’s projects to expand the possibility of future collaboration. However, an unusual response was gathered from the last of our messages; a negative reaction to the notion of my prized serum and the methods used to acquire it.

A difference in opinion. The letters detached from the primary objectives and began to focus on what, quote, ‘monster’, would utilize such ‘inhuman’ techniques. I questioned if that was not his goal: to become inhuman. Something better.

Evidently, it was not.

He was seeking to evolve the human race. Granted, while our end goals would remain the same, he would choose to hold onto the aspect of humanity; that which separates mortals from Gods and Darkin and whatever else. Therefore, his methods, and by extension him, could be dismissed. Removed. I ceased communication.

The subject was less than accepting of this outcome. A short-lived silence, followed by noted surveillance by semi-sentient drones. Easily reduced to piles of sludge by a few well-placed flasks, but unnerving all the same. My location known, and possibly my identity, I began plans to counterattack.

Weeks passed of minor aggressions, then months. I continued to move from safehouse to safehouse, destroying further scouts and evading the assaults of the subject’s larger drones by days, even mere hours. Making headway on projects was nigh impossible. Therefore, the only reasonable outcome was to remove him as a nuisance entirely.

Tracing back to his own location proved difficult at first; requiring precise timings and dangerous direct combat with some well-augmented servants. To break through required the use of Serum R. As with all of its prior uses, my memory within the window of effects is blurred, a fog of green veiling my vision and the sounds of what must be my own laughter overcoming my thoughts. By the time my consciousness cleared, I was at the door.

Combat was slow, but intense. He was well armed, experienced, and utilizing technology several grades above what is available even at the highest levels of research. It was initially as though he was all but destined in his efforts to defeat me.

Citing a previous note from the letters, a breakthrough came to me in the midst of the battle.

He is still human, in his own mind.

Simple reminders at first as I avoided the beams of plasma and shockwaves of hex-energy. Of our prior conversations, and the nondescript manner of how I explained the acquisition and improvement of my primary serum and projects. Then, a full detailing.

Normally, describing at length how I discern and find ‘volunteers’ for my experiments is... frowned upon, as well as wholly unnecessary. Going into how those experiments are performed and confirmed with those outside of my closest circle is nigh impossible to do without causing a stir within the whole of Zaun. Exactly the response I was looking for here. He began to move more hastily, with greater purpose and zeal. Fury and vengeance at the forefront of his mind, elevating above even reason.

Trivial beyond that. My sole vial of magnesium thrown high, he shot at it without considering the implications. A rain of fire hot enough to sear through his metal frame. It was astounding to see him still alive by the time it had burned out.

Now, the subject lies strung up in the adjacent room. A moment of respite for myself as I record my findings, and a fragment of time to understand the pain he has endured; praying that it cannot raise beyond this.

The augmented body is remarkably resilient. The threshold for catalyzation has been greatly surpassed, even beyond my last success as detailed in DR-08, The Wrath. Expecting to see the limits of this body and expiry of subject within the week, if escalation of catalyzation is continued. Assuming scheduling is not impeded by new threats, however... perhaps a year or so of alternative tests could be administered.

Report begins...

@heraldofzaun

[grand-catalyst]

“A catalog of experiments to come.”

Send me ‘✂’ and my muse will kill yours. Right now. Brutally, horribly, bloody. Just do it.

[grand-catalyst]

//For future reference, Singed’s voice can be represented both by his current actor, Dameon Clarke, or by Christopher Guerrero; known for playing Thoth in Smite, Ainz Ooal Gown, or Cooler from the TFS series.

[grand-catalyst]

Singed, standing tall, stoic and brooding as he injects hallucinogenics and super-steroids into an abducted hobo. Waiting for the effects and knowing they won’t remember any of this one way or the other, breaks into song to kill time.

[grand-catalyst]

Journal 5

The serum symptom cycles are beginning to accelerate. Not quickly enough to be concerning, but enough to see notice. Variance between when the crash comes has broadened from fifteen minutes to within one hour before the midnight of the fifth week of waking. This is of course is capped by the roughly 96 hour forced rest that follows, which has lengthened in waking timings by the same amount.

The tax is minimal, and manageable for the time being. Unpredictable unconsciousness will, eventually, prove lethal, and as such, will be treated as a priority to resolve. Will attempt to treat during the expected rest interval through intravenous supplements.

Will begin looking into night guards.

[grand-catalyst]

Y EEE E T

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Experiment: Free Lemonade

Street merchants are common in Zaun. All manner of vendors can be found, many lacking the repute or funds to stay afloat for long. Most common are charlatans, looking to offer up the ‘next great solution’ and hungrily searching for the attention of the poor, hopeful fool willing to gamble their wage for piss and dye.

Following closely in number are the urchins and thieves, uncountable in number and unnervingly foolhardy. Learned children and young adults, born to Zaun and hardened by its cruelty. They know how to act, when to sleight, and most of the escapes routes around them.

Less common are the honest men and women who’ve landed in the gutter of this city, and struck hard. Broken, willing to sell the clothes off their back, the flesh off their legs, and the trinkets of their former life for scraps of molded bread and muddied water. Perhaps a place to call home for a night, in the comfort of rotted board and in the company of roaches; anything to escape the wretched conditions of the streets of Zaun.

These were the target.

Having hired a set of urchin twins to steal into an empty stall for the day, and give out rations of drink and confections. They were confused as to how he would manage to track all those who took from the stall, a question from which they were dismissed. The whole purpose of the task was within the beverage: a new, supposedly recreational drug, designed to uniquely affect individuals based on certain genetic traits. Uncertain of which would affect which, Singed decided on an open test to the public, as regulations on such things were non-existent, and it was efficient enough to reason the cost of hiring scapegoats.

Symptoms he was aware of included visual hallucinations, feelings of arousal, trembling fingers, dilated pupils- simple ones. In some other cases displayed unclotting bleeds, rapid nail growth, lockjaw, seizures... hopefully, the pattern of subjects would lead to better explanations for the latter.

The stall opens, the two urchins staffing it with bored eyes and swaying feet. Atop the small wooden table sits an open plate of cookies, a pitcher of pink lemonade, and a sign: “Free Food! Courtesy of Z.S. Miller.”

[grand-catalyst]

//I am both intrigued and concerned by this introduction

~♱💒🥀💒♱~ || I HAVE TWO MOODS

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Journal 4

Received a new tasking this morning by courier. Surprising how young they’ve been recruiting in Noxus. Effective, albeit deforming for mental and social development. Will dedicate time to reading on the benefits during spare time.

Work is standard; requesting synthesis of alchemical reagents and less common medicinal applications. Adrenal enhancements and pain inhibitors are normally performed via magical means, with the presence of a battlefield mage. However, during scouting missions or other ventures of a riskier nature, those not skilled in magic or otherwise denied the convenience rely on simpler methods to improve survivability.

The provided steroids increase the overall ability of flesh to endure, as well as the effectiveness of the body’s regeneration; augmenting it to scab wounds in seconds and advance to scarring in minutes. Though the scars will last without cosmetic surgery, it’s a superior alternative to bleeding out or needing to tend to wounds in a situation demanding haste.

Expecting to progress with further taskings at a later time, as requests for this particular variant have become more common.

[grand-catalyst]

Commission for @ruinedshaper !

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//quick tag dump

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//brain small, Rules Page and Character Page now serviceable.

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Journal 3

Acquired unique set of tools from acquaintance overseas; custom forged in Ionia. Though I’d much prefer the work to have been commissioned to a more convenient location or with more reliable sources, such as Noxus or the Piltover underground; this particular equipment needed additional measures taken to ensure functionality and general secrecy.

The 21-folded steel is pointless; the additional strength beyond the second provides negligible benefit. The value is derived from the enhancements provided during forging: a finite inclusion of a rare material taken from the flesh of an ancient creature known as ‘The Pallas’.

Research notes taken from his resource in Ionia indicate that this daemon-like entity is, or was, capable of tearing apart the very essence of a person and completely converting it into biomass. Though the creature has since been rendered dead or dormant, the property of their flesh remains the same: coming into contact with magic will cause something akin to an acidic reaction, breaking the subject down, regardless of nature as according to the notes.

Thus, I had originally ordered a vial of solution to simply coat my current set of utensils, to disappointing results upon application. Instead of burning away the test flesh as hoped, it instead seemed to coat the upper layer; integrating itself into the flesh as a sort of host. Strange, and worthy of testing in its own right, but not the objective I had set out for. This has been scheduled for further investigation at a later time.

Took some time to ponder the results in the following days, concluding that in order to utilize the properties without losing function, the secretions of the substance, but not the semi-sentient thing that lives within it, must facilitated to the outer edge of the blades. The result was a simple design for hollow tools with very small incisions made at the outside of the tools, resulting in the thing being shackled within and being able to harness the effect without error.

Concise report: Can proceed with experimentation on magically enhanced subjects upon acquisition. Cite references to “Ascended”, “Vastayan”, and “Demon”.

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Journal 2

I’ve continued work on my newly purchased laboratory. Though many of my contacts within Noxus have been cut off, killed, or otherwise removed from the puzzle, Zaun always has a need for forms of diversion and death. Early taskings will involve synthesizing black powder, copious amount of amphetamines, and an equally copious, albeit a mildly concerning measure, of latex.

[grand-catalyst]

Journal 1

Encountered resource for interaction with other notable names in Runeterra. May proceed with experimentation and ignore, but indulging queries may be an acceptable side-tasking during idle work.

Expecting initial visitors soon.