It's weird, how concepts drifting randomly around one's brain can collide and suddenly stick together.
In this case, it was Bob's recent mention that Doug needs more songs that empower other people, that crossed paths with an old memory.
In a novel that shall remain nameless for the sake of spoilers, the lead character (with a rep for being a rather cold, uncarning type) was about to be used (against his will) as a vessel for a Major Voodoo Loa, with the blood sacrifice of all his friends used to fuel the spell. In an attempt to save *them,* he made a decent try at killing himself, and botched it -- but made himself bleed, just before the spell hit the slice&dice part....
...and in doing so, he unkowingly *took the whole process over.* The trick being that a single *willing* sacrifice, even botched, still trumped a baker's dozen UNwilling sacrifices.
So... just how much power can a completely willing sacrifice achieve, when someone holds back nothing of themselves?
=====================================
Cruxshadows: "Winterborn (This Sacrifice)"
Dry your eyes and quietly bear this pain with pride
For heaven shall remember the silent and the brave
And promise me, they will never see, the fear within our eyes
We will give strength to those who still remain
So bury fear for fate draws near and hide the signs of pain
With noble acts, the bravest souls endure the heart's remains
Discard regret, that in this debt a better world is made
That children of a newer day might remember, and avoid our fate.
And in the fury of this darkest hour we will be your light
You've asked me for my sacrifice and I am Winter born
Without denying, a faith is come that I have never known
I hear the angels call my name and I am Winter born
Hold your head up high-for there is no greater love
Think of the faces of the people you defend
And promise me, they will never see the tears within our eyes
Although we are men with mortal sins, angels never cry
So bury fear for fate draws near and hide the signs of pain
With noble acts, the bravest souls endure the heart's remains
Discard regret, that in this debt a better world is made
That children of a newer day might remember, and avoid our fate.
And in the fury of this darkest hour we will be your light
You've asked me for my sacrifice and I am Winter born
Without denying, a faith in God that I have never known
I hear the angels call my name and I am Winter born
And in the fury of this darkest hour
I will be your light
A lifetime for this destiny
For I am Winter born
And in this moment...
I will not run, it is my place to stand
We few shall carry hope
Within our bloodied hands
And in our Dying
We're more alive-than we have ever been
I've lived for these few seconds
For I am Winter born
And in the fury of this darkest hour
We will be the light
You've asked me for my sacrifice
And I am Winter born
Without denying, a faith in man
That I have never known
I hear the angels call my name
And I am Winter born
Within this moment now
I am for you, though better men have failed
I will give my life for love
For I am Winter born
And in my dying I'm more alive, than I have ever been
I will make this sacrifice for I am Winter born
================================
Power: Lets Doug empower any *completely willing* volunteer within AOE with truly ridiculous levels of power (whole-MegaTokyo-node levels of power)-- which lasts the length of the song, but completely consumes said volunteer by the time the song ends. Essentially, Doug 'catalyzes' the volunteer into a sort of one-shot magical supercapacitor. He's acting, in effect, like the base current junction in a transistor, supplying a small trickle of current that causes the main collector-emitter path to pass vastly larger amperage. (yeah, my degree's in EE, can you tell?)
To put it another way: Doug basically plugs said volunteer into a power socket far too powerful for him to use himself, but his gloves are heavy enough to handle running the extension cord. So to speak.
Not sure what *kind* of powers it might give a volunteer -- something appropriate to the moment, perhaps, or just something that matches the volunteer's personality and capabilities. It would be a savage sort of irony, I suppose, if Doug could, frex, empower someone to bring back the dead, or blanket the whole world in peace&harmony (ref his little Christmas stunt in MegaTokyo)... at the cost of their own life. This would certainly be a song that Doug would almost categorically refuse to use.
Of course, there's the problem of how he would ever find out what it does in the first place....
In this case, it was Bob's recent mention that Doug needs more songs that empower other people, that crossed paths with an old memory.
In a novel that shall remain nameless for the sake of spoilers, the lead character (with a rep for being a rather cold, uncarning type) was about to be used (against his will) as a vessel for a Major Voodoo Loa, with the blood sacrifice of all his friends used to fuel the spell. In an attempt to save *them,* he made a decent try at killing himself, and botched it -- but made himself bleed, just before the spell hit the slice&dice part....
...and in doing so, he unkowingly *took the whole process over.* The trick being that a single *willing* sacrifice, even botched, still trumped a baker's dozen UNwilling sacrifices.
So... just how much power can a completely willing sacrifice achieve, when someone holds back nothing of themselves?
=====================================
Cruxshadows: "Winterborn (This Sacrifice)"
Dry your eyes and quietly bear this pain with pride
For heaven shall remember the silent and the brave
And promise me, they will never see, the fear within our eyes
We will give strength to those who still remain
So bury fear for fate draws near and hide the signs of pain
With noble acts, the bravest souls endure the heart's remains
Discard regret, that in this debt a better world is made
That children of a newer day might remember, and avoid our fate.
And in the fury of this darkest hour we will be your light
You've asked me for my sacrifice and I am Winter born
Without denying, a faith is come that I have never known
I hear the angels call my name and I am Winter born
Hold your head up high-for there is no greater love
Think of the faces of the people you defend
And promise me, they will never see the tears within our eyes
Although we are men with mortal sins, angels never cry
So bury fear for fate draws near and hide the signs of pain
With noble acts, the bravest souls endure the heart's remains
Discard regret, that in this debt a better world is made
That children of a newer day might remember, and avoid our fate.
And in the fury of this darkest hour we will be your light
You've asked me for my sacrifice and I am Winter born
Without denying, a faith in God that I have never known
I hear the angels call my name and I am Winter born
And in the fury of this darkest hour
I will be your light
A lifetime for this destiny
For I am Winter born
And in this moment...
I will not run, it is my place to stand
We few shall carry hope
Within our bloodied hands
And in our Dying
We're more alive-than we have ever been
I've lived for these few seconds
For I am Winter born
And in the fury of this darkest hour
We will be the light
You've asked me for my sacrifice
And I am Winter born
Without denying, a faith in man
That I have never known
I hear the angels call my name
And I am Winter born
Within this moment now
I am for you, though better men have failed
I will give my life for love
For I am Winter born
And in my dying I'm more alive, than I have ever been
I will make this sacrifice for I am Winter born
================================
Power: Lets Doug empower any *completely willing* volunteer within AOE with truly ridiculous levels of power (whole-MegaTokyo-node levels of power)-- which lasts the length of the song, but completely consumes said volunteer by the time the song ends. Essentially, Doug 'catalyzes' the volunteer into a sort of one-shot magical supercapacitor. He's acting, in effect, like the base current junction in a transistor, supplying a small trickle of current that causes the main collector-emitter path to pass vastly larger amperage. (yeah, my degree's in EE, can you tell?)
To put it another way: Doug basically plugs said volunteer into a power socket far too powerful for him to use himself, but his gloves are heavy enough to handle running the extension cord. So to speak.
Not sure what *kind* of powers it might give a volunteer -- something appropriate to the moment, perhaps, or just something that matches the volunteer's personality and capabilities. It would be a savage sort of irony, I suppose, if Doug could, frex, empower someone to bring back the dead, or blanket the whole world in peace&harmony (ref his little Christmas stunt in MegaTokyo)... at the cost of their own life. This would certainly be a song that Doug would almost categorically refuse to use.
Of course, there's the problem of how he would ever find out what it does in the first place....
