Why do we hold on
to those who have
already let go

…but, then, what can a spider say?

There once was a boy who was a good listener. As he had patience in spades and a clever way with words, he soon found he had many friends.

But the boy also had a spider nature, and this he feared.

For he could never really tell what was the call of his human heart and what was that of his innermost nature. Sometimes he asked himself if he had a human heart at all. It could be a cunning spider trick so well done even he was taken in.

The dark clouds of anxiety that troubled him swelled as he feared his friend trapped in an invisible web, being pulled ever closer to something he neither knew nor trusted.

He… detached. His heart was torn between his fear for them and his fear of the terrible silence of solitude. A web of deceptions was born to cover the clouds of his mind, for who could trust a boy with a spider nature?

They spun and spun…

Until his cocoon was so complete that he could no longer tell the lies from truth, the pure from the corrupt, the sincere from the artificial- and his every action only wound the webs around him tighter.

And to him, his heart said nothing at all…

Someone who possesses a spider nature may be represented be either the following Superior Skill or with an Affliction Perk, both detailed below.

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Superior Spider Nature

1: You have the focus and patience required to be a good listener. You read just a bit more of the subtext of their words they really intend. You have a touch more social poise than normal, a way of knowing what people would laugh if they heard.

2: People like to be around you. They open up to you far more than they should. You don’t read minds, but people make jokes about it. You have a keen knack for always knowing how people feel, and you can always read a room. You have to make a conscious choice to show fear, anger, impatience or anxiety. Not that you feel impatient much anymore. You could wait, completely still and silent, for hours at a time if you needed to.

3: It’s so easy for you to know what people want and what they are afraid of. You can tell by looking at people what their soft spots are- you can see the fractures of a person’s heart and know exactly where not to tread. Consequently, people adore you. You’re very comfortable to be around. You can just.. not say the things they don’t want to hear. No one feels they have to explain themselves around you, no one worries you’ll see what they’re like and leave.

….but you can also draw people close, even from a distance. People show up when you want them to. People call when you need them, they give you the things you require with barely any prompting. It’s impossible for you to show that you’re afraid, that you’re angry, that you’re anxious- the emotions slide off your face and out of your words, leaving charm and brightness instead. You couldn’t stop the people from laughing and coming closer, even if you wanted to.

As an Affliction Perk, Spider Nature scales off of Sickness or Hollow issues. It provides you with an increasing awareness of other people’s desires and fears as the issue’s rating rises. The HG can invoke Spider Nature to perform intentions that make people feel better around you, draw people closer to you, or prevent you from articulating your own feelings- even to yourself.

Whenever you want to say something, but can’t-
Whenever you want to push people away, but can’t-
Whenever you feel like your actions are manipulative and awful, but people just can’t see it-

The HG can award you with Will or MP up to the rating of the chosen Issue.