People selected by a certain supernatural force are able to use special abilities known as "Opuses", with those individuals being known as Operators. Every Opus is first determined by two things: the Operator's "Wish" and their "Medium". An Operator's Wish is a strong personal desire identified by the force, and each Opus exists to help them satisfy it. This desire may be very specific or broad, and it may be possible to acheive without supernatural help or not. In most cases, the Opus will not grant the Wish immediately, and will require more effort or development. If a Wish is abandoned, replaced by a more powerful desire or conclusively satisfied, the Operator's Opus will typically change dramatically in nature or stop working entirely. An Operator's Medium is a physical object (or in some rarer cases, a set of objects, substance, body part or living thing) used for their Opus. To be effective, this object must be something the Operator is intimately familiar with, which they identify with and which they feel a level of responsibility for. Ideally, this would be something they own and which they have either created, habitually used or thoroughly and actively maintained. Objects which are associated in some way with the Operator's Wish are also more effective. The object will often physically change when the Opus is used, undergo more subtle changes as the Opus develops, and will gain other physical properties such as unnatural durability and the ability to maintain and repair over time on its own. Opuses can be generally classified in four categories known as "affinities", although it is not uncommon for one to fit partially in multiple affinities: - Internal Passive: The Opus allows the Operator to transform part or all of their body. These Opuses often use an article of clothing or another worn object as the Medium. - Internal Active: The Opus grants an ability which must be deliberately applied. These Opuses often use a handheld tool or weapon as the Medium. - External Passive: The Opus manifests some type of surrounding environment with special properties. These Opuses often use an object representing or resembling a location as the Medium. - External Active: The Opus manifests an independent being which acts according to the Operator's will. These Opuses often use a human or animal-shaped object as the Medium. Opuses can be developed, strengthening their abilities and developing new capabilities. They are developed through use, especially under risky conditions and especially in situations involving other Operators. Fighting or competing against other Operators is one of the most potent methods of developing An Opus if the stakes are serious enough, and some Operators will track down and attack others to accomplish this so that they can fully acheive their Wish. Examples: [BIRD OF PARADISE] Affinity: Internal Passive Wish: Freedom from responsibilities Medium: Tropical-patterned handmade shirt Opus: Allows the Operator to partially or fully transform into a massive tropical bird (~5m wingspan) [HARDWARE] Affinity: External Active Wish: Resurrection of the Operator's sister Medium: Toolbox Opus: Transforms the Medium into an almost-physically-perfect copy of the deceased sister, which is able to transform parts of its body into various tools [BUDDY] Affinity: External Active Wish: Strength to endure and resist bullying and abuse Medium: Rubberband ball Opus: Transforms the Medium into a large (2.5m tall) humanoid made of rubber with extreme physical strength. Removing and transforming individual rubber bands can divide the humanoid into smaller copies. [NOVA] Operator: A wealthy philanthropist who has become obsessed with the idea of suffering, to the point where they think that the only solution is to wipe out all life. Affinity: Internal Neutral Wish: Replacing the current world with a new world devoid of suffering Medium: Idea of the new world Opus: The Operator is able to emit light from their body, especially their eyes, mouth and hands, which "purifies" through extreme heat. [WATCHTOWER] Operator: Terminally-ill person, newly struggling to come to terms with the idea of death after receiving an extension from their Opus Affinity: External Passive Wish: Cure for the Operator's terminal illness Medium: Grandfather clock Opus: The Medium acts as the sole entrance to a structure where many physical processes (including aging, healing, the progression of illnesses and the increasing of hunger or thirst) do not progress. The Operator can use circular windows within the structure to look out through clock faces around the world, as well as exit or eject other individuals or objects through the clock faces. [MEMORABILIA] Operator: Ageing, self-absorbed and narcissistic former celebrity Affinity: External Active Wish: Eternal youth Medium: Scrapbook of photographs of the Operator throughout their life Opus: Summons copies of the Operator as depicted in the photo. The copies look and act extremely lifelike, but are made of photo paper. [] Operator: Parent who has lost touch with reality out of grief after losing their children in an unexpected accident Affinity: Wish: Resurrection of the Operator's children Medium: Opus: [FLOW] Operator: Nihilistic and solipsistic ascetic monk Affinity: Mixed Wish: Freedom from pain and suffering Medium: A rhythmic breathing technique Opus: While strictly maintaining the breathing rhythm, the Operator's body becomes invincible, and they are able to sense and control the movement of wind and other air currents in their proximity. [EROS & THANATOS] Affinity: Internal Active Wish: Ability to control the feelings of others Medium: Silver bracelet with two charms Opus: Can transform either charm from the Medium into spears attached to the Operator with chains. The tips of the spears temporarily affect anyone who touches them, including the Operator. One spear causes the target to believe that they're in love, and the other causes the target to believe that they're dead. [MASTER PLAN] Affinity: External Passive Wish: Peace and solitude Medium: Portfolio of architectural diagrams Opus: Each diagram can be used as a doorway into an empty, indestructible version of the diagrammed segment of the building. Multiple diagrams can be active at once, and can potentially be nested [JAWBREAKER] Affinity: Neutral Active Wish: Ability to harm others without consequence Medium: Colourful hand puppet with embedded teeth Opus: Can transform the Medium into a large, powerful serpent, which remains attached to the Operator's arm. The serpent can swallow objects to make them disappear, and spit them up if desired. [FRUIT OF EDEN] Affinity: Mixed Wish: Restoration of the natural environment Medium: Large garden Opus: By spitting out any seeds originating from the garden, the seeds will immediately grow on any surface into full-sized plants with temporarily-enhanced mobility and autonomy. Swallowing the seeds allows the Operator to harmlessly grow the plants on their own body. Seeds from plants grown using the Opus can also be used. [VOLUME ONE] Affinity: External Passive Wish: Understanding of human behaviour Medium: Hand-written book of fairy tale stories Opus: Those who hear a story read out are forced to take on one of the roles of the story. The radius of the story is amplified by however many people are involved. [RANCOR] Affinity: External Neutral Wish: Revenge against those who have mistreated the Operator Medium: Baby doll Opus: The Medium will automatically seek out and stealthily follow anyone the Operator chooses as a target, and promote illness and decay within a radius around itself [HOUNDS] Affinity: External Active Wish: Recovery of a lost, possibly stolen object Medium: Group of domesticated dogs Opus: The dogs display significantly enhanced strength, intelligence and senses. They are able to combine multiple methods on their own to track a target over very long distances and bring the target back to the Operator. [SANDBOX] Affinity: External Passive Wish: Creation of the Operator's own society Medium: Sand within an hourglass Opus: While sand is flowing through the hourglass, the Operator can summon sand to transform a large rectangular area around themselves into a desert. The Operator will be able to control the sand at will during that time, but it will disappear after the Opus's time limit ends and the area is returned to its original form. [THE INSTRUMENT] Affinity: Internal Active Wish: Creative freedom and ability Medium: Brightly-coloured plastic handgun Opus: The Medium can be loaded with crayons, which can be fired like conventional ammunition. Anything destroyed by the shots can be instantly reformed into a new shape of the Operator's desire. [CLAIRVOYANCE] Affinity: Internal Active Wish: Knowledge Medium: Lens Opus: Provides vision with superhuman range and clarity, stores anything seen, and is able to replay anything viewed or Opus it in the form of an illusion