>>27435810
[]“Those all sound pretty good. But I’ll have them anyway, in time. This isn’t about me joining your side. It’s about you joining mine.”
[]“I’m just here to help you, Isabella. You’re looking worse by the day. Is the power you’ve been offered really worth this?”
[] “How about your unconditional surrender, and your boss’s heart on a platter?”
[]Ask for some advice from the finely dressed gentleman who is not, technically, whispering in your ear
[]Other

((Archives are located at http://archive.foolz.us/tg/search/subject/monsterhearts%20quest/type/op/order/asc/
and also at
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Monsterhearts%20Quest ))

>>27435818
>[x]Ask for some advice from the finely dressed gentleman who is not, technically, whispering in your ear
I don't like him, and I don't trust him, but he's got access to a second perception check and information that we don't; we don't want to go ahead in this negotiation without better knowing Isabella's position.

>>27435818
[X]Other
"Didn't seem to work out to well for you".

Because fuck, I'm feeling on edge, it's cold and your shtick is wearing thin.
Then
[X]“I’m just here to help you, Isabella. You’re looking worse by the day. Is the power you've been offered really worth this?”
Naturally make the transition less abrupt.

From the end of last thread:
>c) you were just told that Isabella's responses might depend on the *manner* of your approach as well as your general intentions and speech, and the Man has shown himself to be remarkably perceptive.
>(( Or potentially vice versa, you don't know yet. And it's not 'enhanced perception and analysis' in a magical sense. The Man in the White Suit just generally knows more about what's going on than Chris does, and can occasionally spot things Chris doesn't. ))

>Checking the archive, Avril never used the incantation; she used a different one:
>"Ytene! I name thee! Ytene! I call thee! Ytene! I summon thee!"

>Avril's Father was the one who used it, and it was different:
>>"By my name, by the moon, and by the oak, elm and holly, you are bound and set these tasks. Fail not."

>So I concede that the second sentence is new and doesn't seem to come from anywhere.

>So, our Darkest Self knew it even though we'd never heard it? That's kind of worrying. MH, since the thread actually is still here, how about one last question: what the hell are we sharing our head with?

>((Well, firstly, I believe the customary response is "Hahaha!"

>>27436110
(( Thanks for putting that up. Unfortunately what I don't see is a vote anywhere, so we've got a tie between >>27435983 and >>27436013. Five minutes for tiebreak, then I roll off. Also, I'm going to start cutting overall voting windows from twenty minutes back down to fifteen, hopefully it'll mean quicker threads.))

>>27436013
We need to be careful of the manner in which we approach this.
Esther said that Isabella has been acting erratically, and if we go in recklessly we stand to have this entire meeting fall through.

Rolled 1

>>27436274

(( 1: Ask for advice. 2: "I'm just here to help". ))

Oh boy. Monsterhearts Quest! And just when I'm going to bed. Ah well. Just wanted to say that I love this quest, OP, and you can be proud of yourself for doing all this work. For Isabella, if we want to become masochists ,verbally hit her where it hurts: [s] her lack of control [/s] her ovaries

here it is. i am too late to vote, but we shoudl add in the conversation "have look at a mirror lately? you look like you are decaying with time."

>>27436359
Well, you may not have brought physical back-up, but you've still brought someone who has your back. And who may know more about how to manipulate Isabella than you do.

"Look at her hands shaking. Yeah, we can play this girl like a fiddle. Not that we even need to. Look at her little parasite friend, so scared that the teat she's been suckling at is drying up. Even more weak-willed than her mistress, and even more manipulable."

Come on, focus. What about Isabella?

"Too proud to admit she's scared. Too greedy to see that she's overreached. Probably too polluted to save, but if you insist, I might be able to work out a few tricks to purge her system. Won't be pretty or easy no matter what, though. Not that we need to tell her that. You can either push her aggressively until she breaks down and admits she's in over her head, or play along with her little fantasy and let her pretend she's still in control of her life. Either way, don't appear weak, and don't go all moralistic and preachy. She's not one of your wilting maidens, she's got the heart of a predator underneath. My kind of girl." You can almost hear the ghost of a grin in his voice.

[]"You're looking good, Isabella. Sunken eyes, pasty skin. That deal of yours is working out great, isn't it? You're in complete control. How are you feeling?"
[]"Sure, let's negotiate. What do you want from me, in exchange for some cooperation between our groups? I'd much rather have you as an ally than as an enemy."
[]"Having a nice evening, Cassandra? Is this really how you like to spend your time? I can think of much more interesting things for you to be doing. Why don't you come over for a chat some time?"
[]Other

>>27436607
That seems redundant, though. We've pointed it out at least 2 times already and each time she brushed it off. She seems to have accepted it as a necessary part of her pact.

>>27436661
>ere just told that Isabella's responses might depend on the *manner* of your approach as well as your general intentions and speech, and the Man has shown himself to be remarkably perceptive.
>>(( Or potentially vice versa, you don't know yet. And it's not 'enhanced perception and analysis' in a magical sense. The Man in the White Suit just generally knows more about what's going on than Chris does, and can occasionally spot things Chris doesn't. ))
>>Checking the archive, Avril never used the incantation; she used a different one:
>>"Ytene! I name thee! Ytene! I call thee! Ytene! I summon thee!"
>>Avril's Father was the one who used it, and it was different:

>You're looking good...

>>27436661
You're looking good...

If she breaks,we can pick up the pieces, as long as we're careful not to get cut.

>>27436661
"Have you look at a mirror lately? You look like you are decaying as we speak. You are way over your league, you are sinking and still fight so hard to keep up appearances against me. I know you, and i know who you are in bed with, and i can what this has done to you. So stop the tough act against me. You are sinking into shit and you are dragging a whole bunch with yourself" Smile at cassandra "I am sure our good friend Cass agrees with me on this." then keep talking to bella "Though you are in this situation, you are still powerful enough for me to recognize you. You can still pose as a problem against me. I offer you salvation from this shithole you've sunk in and i expect your cooperation for it."

>>27436661
[x]"You're looking good, Isabella. Sunken eyes, pasty skin. That deal of yours is working out great, isn't it? You're in complete control. How are you feeling?"
Push her aggressively.
She'll be more useful as a junior partner if her pride's been cut down a few pegs.

>>27436661
>You can either push her aggressively until she breaks down and admits she's in over her head

>>27436753
lets push the bitch to take her down from her high horse.i support this.

>>27436661
[x]"Sure, let's negotiate. What do you want from me, in exchange for some cooperation between our groups? I'd much rather have you as an ally than as an enemy."
Play along for now; with her acting erratically, pushing her may just get her to end negotiations now.

>>27436839
Indeed.

>>27436661
((I did say the voting window would be fifteen minutes instead of twenty from now on.

>>27436701
>>27436740
>>27436753
>>27436784
>>27436791

>>27436839
>>27436865

Writing now.))

>>27436878
Damn, hope this works and doesn't bite us in the ass.

>>27436878
"You’re looking good, Isabella. Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? Sunken eyes, pasty skin. It’s a really daring look for you."

Isabella glares at you. “Do you have -"

You cut her off with a wave of your hand. “That deal of yours is working out great. You look like you’re decaying already. But hey, you’re in complete control, right?”

"You’re one to talk, with the pacts you’ve -"

"Oh, please. I know you, I know who you’re in bed with, and I can see what it’s done to you. You’re in way over your head. So why don’t you cut the tough guy act? You know it’s not working on me.”

Isabella is fuming silently now, so you continue. “You’re sinking, and you’re dragging a whole bunch of people down with you. Isn’t she, Cass?”

Cassandra jerks her head up and stares at you with surprise and fear written all over her face, but doesn’t reply. Isabella turns to glare at her, then looks back at you. "I don’t know what you think you’re playing at, but -"

“I’m not playing at all, Belle. I’m offering you a way out of this hole you’ve dug for yourself, and I expect your full cooperation with it.”

Isabella snarls. “What the hell are you talking about?”

There’s a quiet whisper in the back of your head. “Well done. Now the question is, what do you want out of this? If it’s just her life, well, there’s ways to purge the poison from her body. It’ll wipe out most of her usefulness as a pawn, though. No network of minions or links to her master. She’ll spend months in a hospital bed. You could make her a mole, of course. Have her report back to you on her boss’s dealings. Won’t stop the spread of corruption, though, and eventually she’ll be so far gone that a purge would kill her. Or we can do things my way. All the power, all the resources, and you even get to keep her as your little pet. It’s what she’d do to you, if she got the chance. Isn’t turnabout fair play?”

((Cont.))

>>27437018
[]”I can clean all that poison out of your system. I can save you. Unless you really want to keep wasting away like that until there’s nothing left of you.”
[]”Instead of me joining your side, how about you join mine? I’m taking out your boss sooner or later anyway. Help me do it, and you’ll be on my good side when the time comes.”
[]All right. Let’s do things your way, then.
[]Other

>>27437036
[x] Other
'And what's your way? How, exactly, do you propose to keep her usefull without her corruption killing her eventually and making her no longer useful to us?'

>>27437036
Full purge. She can become useful again after some recovery, she'll owe us a whopper of a favour, and while her hold on her power is broken we can cultivate the newly freed Cass as a perhaps more useful minion.

>>27437036
"I could get you rid of that poison, but you'd have to spend months in a hospital. I dont think you'd want that. So my offer is this:
Instead of me joining your side, how about you join mine? I’m taking out your boss sooner or later anyway. Help me do it, and you’ll be on my good side when the time comes.
And in the meanwhile a better solution may be found for this pollution."

>>27437085
Darkest Self makes it sound like a Full Purge will also disable most of Isabella's powers.

MH, is that what he what he means?

>>27437117
>No network of minions
((Pretty much.))

>>27437133
>>27437115
Hmm. I am torn between these two. Full purge would scatter her group and we could pick up useful pieces like cass, but corruptor will probably be even more alarmed. Other option gives us an inside man against hentai tentacle monster.
i cant choose.

>>27437133
I don't see this as a bad thing. Isabella's powers are focused on putting her at the top, and even if she agreed to be subservient to us, her very nature still puts a large power base beneath her that doesn't answer to us. I feel that having her neutered, even if only temporarily, can only be good for us; the Corrupter loses a powerful minion, and we can begin exerting our own influence on her former power base in an effort to bring it under our direct control.

Although I agree that we should ask Darkest Self what, specifically, he has in mind.

>>27437084
Oh, it's really a lot quicker to show you than it would be to explain it all. It's the best way, really. But you're the boss here, really. If you'd rather have the life of a girl who's already tried to kill you over all the power and influence you could get from making her yours, that's up to you.

>>27437183
The problem with using her as a mole is that it won't stop the corruption, and only increase the power that the Corruptor has over her. Also, she'll probably be dead with too much corruption eventually, and that means we'll lose her resources then, too.

I want to make her into our minion, using the Darkest Self's method, with all her powers intact. But I want her to choose it, of her own free will.

>>27437036
[x]Other
"I could purge it all for you, but you'd lose your powers, and be stuck in a hospital bed for months. I think we both know that's not what you want.
"So I offer you an alternative: you keep your powers, but your portfolio of toxic assets, gets cut."

>>27437263
>I want to make her into our minion, using the Darkest Self's method, with all her powers intact. But I want her to choose it, of her own free will.
i doubt we can push her to choose that willingly. Also i dont want a puppet. If darkself's way is like isabella's (he said so) then that means she'll mostly just be a mindless puppet.

>>27437249
Okay, Darkest Self. Will your way end up with Isabella becoming a slave to us like what she tried to do at her party?
Second question. How's Jill going to take it? Avril will understand it as pact-making, but the girl that can create force shield bubbles and throw people across entire clearings; I want to know if she's going to be mad at us if we do this thing to Isabella.

>>27437263
I worry about Darkest Self's reluctance to tell us what he has in mind. I don't want to pursue a course that will put him in a position to take control of us, or to establish his own power base that we don't have power over.

I also worry about doing something reprehensible- we are *trying* to be a good person, even if we slip up occasionally.

>>27437036
>[]”I can clean all that poison out of your system. I can save you. Unless you really want to keep wasting away like that until there’s nothing left of you.”
lets get her out of the way. we can pick up some of her useful tools like Cass.

>>27437084
>>27437085
>>27437115
>>27437183
>>27437230
>>27437263
>>27437330

((Okay, nothing remotely resembling a consensus. I'll write up a bit of Chris pushing for more info IC from the Man on what 'his way' entails, while you guys keep discussing.))

Oooo, as an ad on, "in short, I'm offering to save your life like you tried to save mine when you found me hanging. The only difference is that it's not too late to save you yet,"

>>27437085
this seems like best. also this one seems like the action chris would take.

>>27437316
>>27437337
We do need to be careful not to do anything that is too morally reprehensible; both from a Fae and Human perspective.

I think the second option is simply right out.
So it's 1. She loses her powers, we might be able to pick up some of her network (but we'll have to work for it, and some might become hostile towards us), or 3. She becomes our minion, and possibly loses her free will, but keeps her powers and network.

I think that she's greedy enough to pick Option 3 on her own, and we should just lay the options in front of her. That way, no matter what happens, we can say that everything came about from Isabella's own free will.

>>27437085
>>27437400
The problem is that after a full purge, her powers will be gone.
Are you going to use her for her money? Because she'll likely lose a lot of her social network and currency.

>>27437458
we dont have to use her. even just eliminating her as a threat is good. her group will also be disbanded and we can befriend some of them.

>>27437495
>we can befriend some of them.
Will they be conducive to making a deal and becoming a minion of the person who broke their current meal ticket?
I mean, yes, Isabella uses some magical compulsions to keep her group together, but she also provides lots of fringe benefits such as money, parties, and sex that we can't really afford.

>>27437530
>who broke their current meal ticket?
more like who saved her life. and it will be of her own choosing. cass is here to witness it. we are not forcing anybody to anything. its not in our character, thats isabella's way of doing things.

>>27437530
We exert our own brand of influence, not Isabella's brand. The important thing is that they not be under someone else's control when we exert it. Also, there's no need to inform them of what we've done.

>>27437018
Option 2 and full enslave. She deserves it and we're a ghoul that feeds on control. It would be both ridiculous not to do it from a practical perspective (getting another supernatural under our thumb), a just perspective (giving Isabella what she deserves) and finally, it would fit our nature.

We crave power after all. Even more then waifus (besides, we've always wanted to fuck her.)

>>27437598
Fucking her while her powers are intact is a terrible, terrible idea; that's a large part of her means of control.

>>27437598
>we're a ghoul that feeds on control
>full control
i would argue that haaving a mindless puppet would sate us. we like to control intelligent beings who has a chance to fight back against that control.

>>27437357
What the hell do you mean by 'my way'? You just said purging her will knock out her powers and not purging her means she keeps dying slowly. So how does your way keep her useful to us but not dead?

The voice in your head is noticeably harder and colder now. "There are powers in this world a hell of a lot stronger than some jumped up little upstart of a poison spirit. And we're one of them. Bind her to you, body and soul. Even a fraction of my touch on her soul will be enough to keep her little magical network powered once her current patron withdraws its influence, which gets us a whole group of new pawns to play with. It'll be a lot less subtle than turning her into a spy - there'll be no way her boss, or anyone else, will miss the flare of magic it'll take to bind her soul to her body, but they won't be able to track it, so don't worry on that account."

"Everyone wins, in the end. She gets to go back to walking around being pretty and having guys staring at her. We get a useful minion in both the short term and the long term, whose loyalty is completely without question. And the 'Corrupter' gets... well, I guess it gets dead. But that's sort of a win too. It's got a pretty pathetic existence at the moment. We'd almost be doing the little bastard a favour. Anyway, everybody important wins. So what do you say?"

>>27437630
should be *argue against.

>>27437630
>>27437620
Well, full control does sate us. Remember we could have forced Avril to break all ties with her father and become ours irrecoverably (at least unless we wanted to dump her?)

>>27437637
>>27437620
Guys. It's been clear since the very beginning of the quest that Chris is a total power house. When we were just fucking around at the beginning, we nearly cracked Isabella's defenses. There's no chance this can back fire on us. And if it does, we'll kill her.

>>27437637
This doesnt convince me. i'd stick with full purge.

Maybe we could let her choose between option one and three? tell her about both these and let her pick one of them if she wants to live to see the next month.

>>27437711
Come on, we can draw on the Darkest Self fully if things go wrong. Lets risk it for once and roll the dice.

>>27437637
Alright.
[x] Other: Choice
I say we give Isabella the offer. We lay out both the Full Purge and Serve Me options, and their consequences. We aren't like the Corruptor, that keeps side-effects of a bargain hidden, and we're not going to bind someone against their will. We already went over that when we had to calm Avril down; going back on that would be bad for our relationships with Jill and Avril.

>>27437732
its not about risk. i just dont like the option. i also thinks its not something chris ic would choose.

>>27437776
>STOP LIKING WHAT I DON'T LIKE
Okay, I suppose I'm being silly. The guy who feeds off power and control would never want massively boosted influence.

>>27437732
>>27437699
We JUST had a defining character moment when we got Avril to back down from binding everyone to pacts in order to ensure safety and order.
Forcing Isabella into a pact, without at least telling her of the consequences, would be no different, and would be out of character for Chris.

>>27437826
Our Darkest Self wants those more than Chris. It's the one that forces those hungers on him.

>>27437826
i never told anyone what they should like or not. that would be this guy >>27437732
i am just stating opinion.
also you are a huge faggot unable to comprehend what you read. i really felt like insulting you.

>>27437852
Hmmmm. I cant argue with at least telling her what will happen. Still, there's a big difference between binding our friends to our will and some evil cold hearted cunt who will die without our help.

>>27437734
I support offering her a choice.

>>27437826
>>27437855
((Okay, okay, chill, both of you.

>>27437921
>>27437898
>>27437734
>>27437711

The votes are the important thing, and they seem pretty clearly in favour of laying things out and giving Isabella the final choice. Writing now.))

Whichever choice Isabella makes, the Corruptor is going to know that someone is gunning after its minions, and likely itself. Speed may become important, before it can track us down.

Since Esther seems to also be an info broker as well as a favor broker, she might be a good source of information on the weaknesses of poison spirits. Maybe also call up Avril.


And remember that we need to keep the Corruptor's influence away from us as well as Avril, since we have a connection straight to the King of Spring.

>>27437948
"Chris? Look, did you actually call me out here for any serious negotiation, or did you just want to tell me this nonsense about a way out? I..." Her arrogant expression flickers for a moment. "I don't have a way out. I mean I don't need a way out. A way out from what?"

"You're dancing with death, Belle. I doubt you'll live out the month, the way you are."

"What? Don't be ridiculous. I'm not some weak little child." Cassandra is looking terrified, and is now shooting pleading glances your way. You feel your head turn slightly, and you lock eyes with her for a moment. She blanches, but then nods, taking a quiet step back.

"All right, let me put it like this. You have two real options here. You can have that poison purged from your system. It'll hurt, it will probably cripple your magical abilities permanently, and you'll spend a long, long time recovering. But you'll be alive, free, and away from all of this."

"Weak and vulnerable doesn't sound like much of a life to me," Isabella snaps. "What's your other option?"

"The other option is you come and work for me. Permanently. I've got a line to a power that way outclasses your boss. I'm not interested in poisoning you like your current boss does, and you'll be moving up in the world."

Isabella sniffs a little. "And supposing that I did want to sign up with you, what's your recruitment procedure, then? Going to just bend me over a bench?"

You can feel your muscles moving without your control, your face adopting a familiar, arrogant smile as you walk over to Isabella. "Oh, no, it's much simpler than that," you hear yourself say. "Are you in?"

Isabella backs up a little, bumping into Cassandra, who's now standing behind her. "I... I guess I'm in."

"Good." There's a deep reverb to your voice and a commanding tone as you look at Cassandra and say "Now."

With lightning swiftness, Cassandra takes Isabella's head in her hands and jerks sideways. There's a horrible crack, and Isabella slumps to the floor.

>>27438545
Your body moves forward with similar alacrity, bending over Isabella as a single, rattling breath escapes her lungs, and clamping your mouth over hers. You can feel the black power of your hungers flooding through your body, filling it completely, overflowing out into Isabella as you place your hands either side of her head. The voice of the man in the white suit is ringing in your head, one loud, forceful word.

“MINE.”

Isabella shakes and twitches for a moment, and you think you see her eyes turn black, then pale white, before they return to normal. You almost fall backwards as you’re suddenly able to move your body again, and Isabella sits up with a start, staring at her hands and arms. They’re pink and hale, as is the rest of her body – the sick, dreary look is gone from her face and her eyes are as lively as ever. When you take her hand to help her up, however, her skin is as cold as yours.

Cassandra still looks terrified, but she's standing stock still, just behind where Isabella is lying. Isabella herself is staring at you with a mixture of terror and awe.

“What... what do I do now, sir?” Isabella finally manages to ask. “What do you want of me?”

>>27438562
"Tell me what you know of Corruptor's plans. I intent to put that tentacle freak on the top of my list for things to be purged."

>>27438562
what the hell happened there exactly? did the darkself took control of our body? and how did we manage to make cass kill bella with just a look?

>>27438562
[x] "Tell me everything you know about the poison spirit. EVERYTHING."

Also, the fact that our Darkest Self can take control of our body when it wants is something valuable, and worrying, to know.

>>27438562
"We're going to find a bench, and we're going to sit, and you're going to tell me everything you know about your old boss. Cass, you're welcome to sit in; I deal fairly, as you've seen, and I'm always hiring. Don't worry about the interview process like Isabella's- Belle here was a special case."

>>27438631
((Well, you're absolutely sure your body was temporarily under *someone* else's control, and there's only one obvious suspect. As for the other question, you have no idea.))

>>27438659
Here i keep telling not to let this fucker run things but we keep going back to it. we should've just purged her. well whats done is done, lets move on.
it is obvious we are gonna be asking her to tell us everything she knows on corruptor.

>>27438724
That was very materially useful, though. We absolutely need to have a talk with old Darkest Self, and I wouldn't want to rely on him *often*, but he has his uses.

>>27438724
The problem is that it's so useful.
It can see and know things we can't, things vital to us. But I agree we should be suspicious of it; I think Isabella is bound to our Darkest Self, and it's only a matter of time before it makes us into a prisoner in our own body.

>>27438765
>but he has his uses.
the thing, this kind of being always gain more and more control as they are used. so using him in these situations where there other quiet beneficial option(s) is kind of a waste.

>>27438611
>>27438643
>>27438653
>>27438724
((Also, writing.))

>>27438872
“You can start by sitting down somewhere and telling me everything you know about your old boss. Cassandra, you can come sit in if you like. I deal fairly, and I’m always hiring. Don’t worry about the interview process, Belle here was a special case.”

Cassandra looks at you, and then looks at Isabella. You can see some of her old confidence and poise starting to come back to her face as she shakes her head.

“You know, I think I’ll pass for now. Come and chat to me some other time, sure, we’ll see what we can work out, but now that I’ve finally got some time to myself I think I’m going to go enjoy it for a little while.” She turns on her heel and walks away, leaving you and Isabella alone.

Isabella makes her way over to one of the picnic benches, still moving a bit shakily.

“Okay, sir,” she says as she sits down, “the first thing I know is that the Corrupter was supposed to be very old and very powerful. A couple of hundred years old, I think. I don’t know how true that actually is, given that you just walked all over it and I don’t think you’ve been empowered for more than a month or so, but that’s what it claimed.”

“Uh, are you going to keep calling me ‘sir?”

“I can call you whatever you want, sir.”

“Let’s just stick to ‘Chris’ for now. Let me think about that for a little bit.”

“Okay, Chris. Anyway, the second thing is that there’s some sort of powerful ancient magic around here somewhere. Really ancient, way older than the Corrupter. It wants to claim the source of the magic and pollute it, which would apparently bring the whole area, and possibly a good chunk of the country, under the control of that one demon. It’d be an enormous coup, normally these guys expand their domains in a slow fashion, drip by drip. Getting hold of whatever this magic thing is would expand its area of influence a hundred-fold or more in a heartbeat.”

((Cont.))

>>27438643
He needed us to invite him into taking control; the Darkest Self is not some malignant entity, merely a part of us with darker tastes than the rest.

>>27439174
“So, stopping it from doing that is a priority. What can you tell me about this ancient magic? Do you know where it is or what it looks like?”

“I don’t know. For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Corrupter actually knows either, it just knows there’s way more magic in this area than there ought to be. When Jason told it about you, it thought it could steal your controlling abilities, or steal you directly, and use them to help take control of whatever the power source turns out to be.”

“How did you end up mixed up with this thing in the first place?”

Isabella looks ashamed. “I didn’t really want to, I just - Jason promised me that it had the power to help me, far more power than the obscure lust spirits I was working with already. He knew the stuff I’d been keeping from everyone at school. My parents... they’re not really doing as well as they should. My father has a gambling problem. My mother drinks. The only reason their company was still treading water was because I influenced the people they did business with by influencing their children, and even that was getting to be not enough. If anyone took a good look at my father’s books, we’d be bankrupt. We’d lose everything. I had to do something. I just needed more power, whatever the cost. And it was working, mostly. I just tried not to think about what it was doing to me.”

“Do you know anything more about what the Corrupter’s planning? What will it do now that it’s lost you as a pawn?”

“I was its main pawn at school. I was getting Cassandra close to Masami to see if she could be made to turn on you, working some angles on Zack myself. It might get Jason to move in on them, or it might keep Jason on whatever he’s already doing - I don’t know what that is, sorry. It’s got thugs with low-grade powers scouring the town keeping an eye out for any unique magic or unusual occurrences. That’s about all I know. Anything else you’d like from me?”

>>27439174
>Getting hold of whatever this magic thing is would expand its area of influence a hundred-fold or more in a heartbeat.

Whelp. We know what Darkest Self is going to want to do next.

>>27439204
"Tell me what you had on Cassandra, and then forget it and forget telling me about it. And for both our sakes, we should be clear on where we stand; what can you tell me about your new condition? Are you... hungry for anything?"

>>27439204

Well, how about tasting her now? Surely it's safe to do so now.

>>27439393
Jill asked us to try to keep it in our pants. We might bring her home to meet the girs, but I'm not sure how well that would be received.

>>27439204
[x]"Tell me about Apollo; why did he follow you, without any bindings? What about Cassandra?
"Now that you're bound to me, do you feel any cravings or hungers? Not in a physical sense, but a metaphysical one."

>>27439265
>>27439422
((Writing.))

>>27439412
I think we should have her meet the girls, but introduce her as a new ally. Explain that she was trapped in a pact with the poison spirit, and we offered her a way out, but she needed to be bound to us for it to work. That the alternative was a slow death, and this was completely of her own free will.

Though her immediate death should have been disclosed, Darkest Self. That's the kind of shit that the poison spirit pulls.

>>27439461
A good plan.

Should we figure out some way to fix Isabella's family company?
Sure, her network is useful, but a successful business would also be useful for us by providing a stepping stone into the world of finance and banks too large for nations to allow to fail.

>>27439461
I'm still a little concerned about how much free will Isabella retains; she sounds like a mind-controlled slave right now.

>>27439550
We can probably relax that later, wonder what her hungers are? Let us ask

>>27439520
It might be a good idea, but I'm not sure how we would manage it; we don't even know what the company does.

>>27439550
We should talk with Darkest Self at the first opportunity, and in the meantime, I suppose we may as well ask her ourselves.

>>27439461
Darkest Self seems like he's into misdirection. He didn't technically lie, though.

>>27439607
He omitted pertinent information, which is just as problematic. Leaving Isabella guessing is one thing- doing it to us is another.

>>27439644
Agreed. He won't lie, but he won't tell the truth, and he'll manipulate us into doing things his way. We have to be more careful about that from now on. And of whatever greater force that the Darkest Self is a part of. I still think it's going to burst out of us like Masami's Deep One nature once it finishes incubating.

>>27439447
"That's everything about the Corrupter. What about your followers? Apollo, and Cassandra. Why does Apollo follow you? What's your hold over Cassandra?"

"Apollo..." Isabella shrugs. "I never got inside his head, not properly. He seems to like being given a purpose, though. Not even in the submissive sense, it's not that taking orders gives him a sexual thrill or anything - trust me, I'd know - just that he seemed really uncomfortable any time I told him to take some time for himself, or to act on his own initiative. Made a good bodyguard and slab of imposing muscle. Kept trying to get him into bed, just so I could really see what made him tick, but I think he's impotent or something. Or just totally asexual."

"You didn't consider just asking him?"

"He doesn't talk about himself. Doesn't talk much at all, most of the time. Besides, I was curious."

"Anyway, what about Cassandra?"

"Oh, right. Well, apart from the normal hold I have over most of my boys and girls, there's also the fact that she killed someone."

"You mean, other than just now?"

"Oh, yeah, this is about a year ago. She insisted it was an accident, but she couldn't actually prove it, and in the circumstances... I covered it up, and made it clear to her just how badly she owed me for it. Wasn't too hard, seduced a policeman and bribed a coroner to have it declared natural causes, but I kept records of the whole thing, just in case."

"Okay. We should talk about your new, uh, condition. How do you feel? Any unusual hungers?"

"I don't think so. I feel like myself, only a bit colder. I can still feel all my boys and girls. And at the back of my mind there's this other connection, like the other ones only stronger, linking me to you. I can feel you feeding me magic through it. I'm a little scared of what happens if that gets cut. And I think you can probably break it at will. So I guess I do whatever you say from now on, sir. I mean, Chris."

It's getting late. What do you want to do now?

>>27439927
So, she's not totally mindwiped.

I say we take her and introduce her to the harem?

Or it could be time to feed, I guess.

>>27439959
I'd think all this domination might count as having already fed. If Jill and Avril are up and together this late at night, we can introduce Isabella around, and perhaps feed again- though I worry about Jill's reaction, I think we can spin both Isabella's new state, and her direct participation. If they aren't available, we should go home and have a word with our Darkest Self.

Before we go, though, we tell Isabella to get those records to us at the next opportunity. We may not use them, but damn if I don't want to have them.

We should also find out if she can use her power on us or our allies now, but I'm not sure whether asking either her or Darkest Self is a good idea. Like, does she choose to ensnare people, or is it automatic? And even if it is automatic, would it work on us?

>>27439927

'Continue life as you would, without the corrupter, of course. Keep an eye open on school, I like to be informed. And be careful.'

We will have to talk to Esther and everyone else after this.

>>27439959
>>27440046
>>27440086
((Writing))

>>27439927
Check in with Avril and Jill, go with introducing Isabella as a new ally plan.
If Jill and Avril are open to fooling around, that's fine.

I also want to ask Isabella about her family's company. She's our minion and asset now, so cultivating and protecting her assets counts as protecting our own interests.

I feel like at some opportune moment we should tell the Man in the White Suit that it would have been cool for him to have been clear that he was going to take control of our body. I mean, it was all good since he was just doing what we agreed to do anyway, but there's no reason not to be polite about it.

>>27440445
You know what would probably be useful?

Let's get some more control over that aspect of ourselves, set up some ground rules for him doing things or something.

Like no taking control of the body without our permission beforehand.

>>27440650
That assumes that it will abide by it, or that we even have a mechanism to enforce it.
I fully expect that when we bring it up, it will accept, and then when we make a choice it doesn't approve of, will ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL. For our own good, of course.

>>27440696
Can we exert our controlly stuff on The Man?

Obviously it wouldn't work if we go full Darkest Self, but would it stop stuff like this?

>>27440709
>Can we exert our controlly stuff on The Man?
The Man is our Darkest Self which is the source of our power, I thought.
It doesn't sound like it would work too well.
Kind of like casting a spell that calls upon a Dark Lord against said Dark Lord.

>>27440225
You take out your phone, and notice that you've got a text from Avril. It's pretty recent, only a few minutes old. 'Did you feel that? Hope you're okay. Something big must be going on somewhere in town. Text me as soon as you can.'

"Okay, Isabella. I want you to carry on as you would have before the deal with the Corrupter. Keep an eye open in school, I like to stay informed. And be careful. Right now, however, I'm going to introduce you to my other allies. Come with me." She nods, and follows quietly behind you as you walk into town, sending Avril a text that you're fine and that she and Jill should meet you in the park.

When you arrive, Avril is sitting on your usual bench, with Jill resting on her lap, curled up against Avril's chest and looking sleepy. She sits up straight once she sees Isabella, however, as does Avril.

There's a brief moment of silence.

"Uh, Chris, what did -"

"I'm fine, Avril. Isabella wanted out of her pact with the Corrupter, and I had a way to make it happen, but she needed to be bound to me for it to work. She chose it of her own free will, and it's better than the slow, painful death she would have had from the poison."

Avril stands up, sliding Jil over onto the bench, and comes over to inspect Isabella, staring suspiciously at her and at you.

"She's dead, isn't she?" she asks after a moment. You hear Jill squeak in dismay.

"Sort of. No more dead than I am. Anyway, she's on our side now. She'll do anything I say, and we've got access to everything she knows about the Corrupter and its plans. I'll fill you in on that later."

"Anything you say?" Avril asks, with a worrying twinkle in her eye.

"Uh, yeah. She's not going to hurt any of us or try to betray us - she needs me to live."

Avril looks Isabella up and down, then beckons Jill over, licking her lips.. "Shall we welcome her to the group, then?"

Jill looks confused, then a little uncomfortable, glancing over at you. "Uh, maybe. Chris? What do you think?"

>>27440830
I kind of think group sex isn't the way we want to start off this relationship.

We're a professional, right?

If we're going to do anything with her we can do it later.

>>27440830

Well, if Jill is ok with that.

>>27440830
"Jill, I don't want to make you do anything you're uncomfortable with. But, if you want my opinion, I think accepting your own sexuality is a healthy thing. As long as you don't go all hedonist Apostle of Slaanesh, of course."

Chris is a nerd, and a Briton; Warhammer humor should be acceptable, right?

>>27440830
"Just because she'll do anything I'll say doesn't mean I'm going to say just anything." Abusing this connection would be too rapey, and I don't exactly think it would make Jill comfortable either. Might also make Isabella question whether she's even better off now, though it's not like she had a lot of other options, or like she dislikes casual sluttery. Still better to treat her right on general principle though.

>>27440969
What does this even have to do with the issue at hand? You think she's still repressed, or that repression is the only possible reason not to have sex with someone?

>>27440861
>>27440917
>>27440969
>>27441057
((Aaargh, connection issues. I'm writing, I swear.))

>>27441057
>You think she's still repressed
Yes, I think she does still have some leftover hangups from her mother's influence.

>>27441202
So clearly that's why she's apprehensive about sex with someone she only kind of knows and doesn't really like.

Any sex with Jill does have the concern of her uncontrolled release of psychic emotional energy.
I mean, it really knocked Miranda out, so just having that dumped on her when she needs to keep a job is kind of inconsiderate.

>>27441233
That's not all of it, of course. But I do think that it's part of it.

Just a sidenote:

We should probably find a way to help Isabelle's parents?

She won't be as helpful to us without them, yeah?

>>27441268
Yeah. But I don't know what we can do. They both need to get into therapy for their respective problems, and putting aside their addictions, we don't know if it's them neglecting the business that's causing it to fail, or simple embezzlement.

>>27441300
Can't we just walk up to them and control them into not gambling?

It's a bit of a patch job, but it'd stop the bleeding, yeah?

>>27441057
Coercing Isabella is kind of rapey, yeah, and I'm a little surprised Avril was so keen to go for it, all things considered. Jill's hestation is also entirely understandable. Of course, now that we're not *worried* about Isabella's mind-control schtick, we and the girls can get to know her better, and we're free to be our usual charming self. If later on, of her own accord, Isabella decides she'd like to get in on what we've got going on, and if Jill has warmed to the idea, we certainly won't refuse.

>>27441311
>Can't we just walk up to them and control them into not gambling?
We don't have outright mind control.

>>27441316
Why would we even want to fuck her in the first place?

So, uh, OP, I'm enjoying this and all but shouldn't you be in bed by now? I don't want you only getting two hours of sleep for us again...

>>27441316
>I'm a little surprised Avril was so keen to go for it, all things considered
Maybe Avril still considers Isabella as an enemy and so this is all fair in Fae morality?

>>27441379
>Why would we even want to fuck her in the first place?
It's what the character wanted since the very beginning?

>>27441490
Of course now we have Avril and Jill. Still, it's the principle of the thing.

>>27441162
"I don't know. Just because she'll do anything I say doesn't mean I'll say just anything. Jill, are you comfortable with this?"

Jill gives you a distinctly worried look.

"Right. I think that's your answer, Avril."

Avril gives you a confused look, but goes and sits back down.

"Okay," she asks, "so I take it that giant blast of magic earlier was something to do with you?"

You wave your hand in Isabella's general direction. "I'm pretty sure the giant blast of magic was, well, this. Or a side effect of this, maybe."

Avril stares at you. "That was a side effect? That was more magical power than I've ever felt from... well, anything. Ever. More power by, like, a couple of orders of magnitude, even. What the hell did you even do?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I think I stopped her from dying, or maybe brought her back from just having died." You look at Isabella, who just shrugs. "Anyway, introducing her was the main thing I wanted to do."

Avril is staring at Isabella again, but more curiously this time. "We should really look into this stuff more. I'm getting a little frightened by how much raw power you can just casually throw around, apparently without really knowing what you're doing. I'll see if I can find any trustworthy experts in the Court. It's getting pretty late tonight, though... Uh, Jill, where are you sleeping tonight?"

Jill looks at you, then at Avril. "I guess imposing on Chris' parents two nights in a row is kind of rude... could I come back to yours?"

"Of course," Avril replies with a smile, and takes Jill by the arm. They give you a kiss each and set off in the direction of the forest.

"Isabella, I guess you ought to head home too. Bring me those records on Cassandra when you get the opportunity, would you?"

You walk home, alone with your thoughts. Or not really alone even then, you suppose.

"What, you had some questions for me? Go ahead and ask, partner. I saved the girl's life, more or less. I've got nothing to hide."

>>27441490
From the beginning until we met Avril, so less than half of the first thread.

>>27441402
(( No. Maybe. Yes. I'll stop when we get to a dramatically appropriate break point. I kind of wanted to end the thread at the point where Cassandra broke Isabella's neck, actually, but in the end I figured the backlash would probably be troublesome, and outright stating that Isabella was going to get back up would have ruined the cliffhanger.))

>>27441609
So, just how much energy can we throw around?

>>27441609
>I've got nothing to hide
"I very much doubt that. So, you can take full control of my body. If I ask why you didn't tell me before, you'll give me a line about this body being yours too, won't you?
"So, rather than that, how about you tell me what we are, where our power comes from, and who you work for? If we've got so much pure mojo, what can I do with it? Something as cliche as fireballs? Or can I make spirits disappear with a snap of my fingers?"

>>27441609
Let's start with saying that it would have been polite for him to let us know before taking control of our body like that.

>>27441644
The backlash would have been incredible. Would have made people even more anti-white suit though, so if that's what you wanted to avoid I guess it's okay. Nothing really gets people talking about a quest than killing someone though.

>>27441666
>>27441679
>>27441683
((Writing. And, yeah, I probably should be going to bed. I am not good at balancing devotion to my players against stuff like a sensible sleep cycle. This next post will be the last one, although again feel free to comment and so on after that. Although at some point people should start using sage, it's a little bit bad board etiquette to have a thread still being bumped seventeen hours after it finished.))

>>27441609
"I'd like more detail on that, yeah. Hows and what-exactlys would be nice. It would also have been nice if you'd told me just what you had in mind *before* seizing control of my body, and even better if you'd not done any seizing at all. For all that you insist this is a partnership, you're awfully cagey when it suits you. Which is odd too, seeing as you also insist that we're the same person. If your agenda and my agenda align, then why all the deception? And if they don't align, then we need to hammer them into shape. I can learn from you, sure, and maybe a bit more ambition won't kill me, but you could learn a thing or two yourself. The degree of circumspection you apply to me could be better applied to the outside world, for instance. Just because we're powerful, that doesn't mean there aren't meaner things out there. At least, as things stand now- I know you heard what Isabella said about a source of magic and the Corrupter's plans for it. I suspect you'd like to get your hands on it too; I know I would. But if we're going to go for it, we need to enter into a more formal partnership than has previously been the case. I get that you want to own everything, but there are more subtle forms of ownership that simply smashing and grabbing, andwe can't make those work if we're working at cross purposes."

>>27441609

Are you really me? What did you do, exactly? Can I do that too, without your help? Can I/we throw balls of magic too?

>>27441844
"First off, it would have been more polite to tell me what you were going to do before taking control of my body like that. I don't suppose there's any point in asking me why you didn't tell me before that you can do that, is there?"

You feel the mental equivalent of a shrug. "I did say it would be easier to show you than to tell you. And I couldn't possibly have talked you through the process in any reasonable length of time. The poor girl would have been all the way dead before I'd finished the explanation."

"That's not really an answer. And you still didn't ask me or let me know before you took the reins."

"I already did ask you if you wanted to do things my way. I can't really be held responsible for you not asking enough questions about what that might entail."

"You purposefully left it out. But I guess that's something I have to get used to with you. Avril said that was more magical power than she'd ever seen. Just how much energy can we throw around? Can I make fireballs, or throw balls of magical energy?"

"Fireballs? I thought you had better taste than that, kid. Sure, I could probably command the air to ignite, but it wouldn't be all that useful. Ordering inanimate things around takes a hell of a lot more energy than ordering around people. You'd burn yourself out getting more than a thimble's worth of fire, with the tiny amounts of energy we're using."

"What happened to more energy than Avril's ever seen?"

He scoffs. "Just goes to show she's never seen real power at work. That little lightshow was nothing compared to what you could be capable of a few centuries down the line."

"So, what did you do, exactly? Could I do that too, without your help?"

"Without my help? Kid, who do you think is powering this stuff? As for what I did, well, it's kind of technical. You don't need to worry your head about the details, like I said. Basically her soul is permanently bound to her body, and to us."

((Cont.)) [1/3]

>>27442405
“Who *is* powering this stuff? What are you, even? Who is it that you work for?”

“Hey, now, I’m offended. I work for myself. And I guess I work with you, but with isn’t for. I’m no-one’s lackey or flunkey. And like I said, I’m powering it. I may not be as strong as I once was, but I’ve still got more power in my little finger than all of these bastards put together. As for what I am, well...” There’s a brief silence. “I’m the man who brought you back from the brink of death and gave you new life, new power and a purpose. I am a number of things that would mean absolutely nothing to you, and don’t really have any good translations into your language. I am control. I am power. I’m the man who’s going to grant you things you can’t even imagine. I’m your partner. And haven’t I done all right by you so far? And yet so much mistrust. Didn’t I save your life, and that girl’s life? Not just from immediate death, but from aging and decay and the slow drip of mortality. Neither of you have to worry about any of that any more. All it cost her was her loyalty - it didn’t even cost you anything at all.”

“You know, for all that you insist this is a partnership, you can be awfully cagey sometimes. If our interests align, why all the deception?”

“Look, partner, when you’ve been around a bit longer you’ll start to see that people don’t always understand things straight away. They react emotionally instead of considering all the angles, they don’t listen to the advice of people who know what they’re doing. It’s not their fault. They don’t have the experience they’d need to really understand what the best decision is. So you have to lead them to the best decision. I’ve never lied to you, but sometimes I’ve had to guide you a little, so that you get the best results out of what you want. And hasn’t it worked out for the best, in the end? So I was right to do it.”

((Cont))

>>27442472
“I know I could stand to learn one or two things from you, but you could stand to learn a few things from me. Like being a bit more circumspect about the outside world – you heard what Isabella said, about the Corrupter and that source of magic. Just because we’re powerful, doesn’t mean there aren’t meaner things out there. I suspect you’d like to get your hands on that source too, but if we’re going for it, I think we need to have a slightly more formal partnership than is currently the case.”

There’s a swirling sensation in your head. You pause for a moment on the pavement, and then the world around you shimmers and disappears. Instead, you’re looking at a vision of Barrellton from the air. The Man in the White Suit is standing, or floating, by your side, looking down at the town. He waves a hand, and various parts of the town start to glow with soft, blurry colours, green over in the east near the forest, a light blue in the south, and an ugly brown to the north. Then he waves his hand again, and a single, incredibly bright point of white light washes out everything else, making the picture impossible to look directly at. He gestures once more, and everything fades. It’s just the two of you floating in the blackness, and the Man turns to you with an angry stare.

“Does it look like there’s anything in this two-bit town even the tiniest bit as powerful as me?” he snarls. “Just because one jumped-up young poison spirit is on a wild goose chase doesn’t mean you should be getting all spooked. If there was any other source of magic in this town even remotely as powerful as me, I’d know about it. Now, get on home. We’re done for tonight, I think.”

You blink, and you’re standing back on the pavement again. The voice in your head has fallen silent, leaving you truly alone with your thoughts.

>>27442497
So he's more powerful than the Summer Court?

Interesting, when you think about it.

And clearly the brown is the corrupter and the light blue is the Winter King or whatever.

Also, when we locked away part of our power, I wonder how that affected him? Or is it just restricting how much we can pull through him?

>>27442497
((I believe that's the longest update we've ever had for this quest. The Man does have a bit of a tendency towards long, verbose, self-justifying speeches. Anyway, it is way, way past the time I ought to have turned in, thanks to some awkward connection problems and some updates that took way too long to write, so good night, all. I may or may not have time to answer questions in the morning, but post them below anyway, someone else may be able to answer them for you. Next thread Tuesday, as usual.))

>>27442472
Well honestly, he's pretty much convinced me.

>>27442497
He sure does get real tetchy about insinuations regarding his relative power though.

>>27441844
>Although at some point people should start using sage
>start
>implying I haven't been the whole time
Sage isn't visible any more.

>>27442528
Good night!

>>27442497
Why do I now have a deep suspicion that the magical source that the corruptor is looking for is our friend in white? Also our friend in white seems rather pleased to meet us. Hope we guess his name. What's puzzling though is the nature of his game.

>>27442528
Alright, given what Darkest Self has said, about being around for a while, I think it's obvious that that he's not really us, so much as he used us as a way to get back into this world.
He might have intertwined himself with our soul , but that sounds like it's more out of getting a foot in the material plane than anything else.

>>27442580
>Well honestly, he's pretty much convinced me.
You want to be his flunkey and do whatever he says to do, because he's so much more experienced than us?

Thank you for the thread MH.

Also, I suspect that the man is related to the incredible powersource mentioned.

>>27442651
I think he is the power source, or at least is already tapping into it.

Which is good so far, because it means it can't fall into bad hands other than his without us going down, yeah?

>>27442587
>Hope we guess his name.
Not sure you're thinking down the right lines. Control and deception sure fit, but it seems a bit high for power level. Suit color is unusual too, could fit for Lucifer but not Old Scratch, and he's been acting a lot like the sort of fellow who gives power for souls, not the sort who fights futilely against heaven.

Then again, there's not a lot that's tougher than kings of the Fae.

>>27442598
Seems to me he didn't used to be us but that doesn't mean he's not us now.

>>27442635
I don't know about being his flunky. He seems pretty content to let us steer. But when he actually does say to do something, it's been massively to our benefit every single time. The only downside at all is the hungers, and that both doesn't seem to be directly his doing, and also comes with a pretty substantial upside thanks to satiety.

>>27442665
Seems more likely to be him than anything else. I kind of wish we'd gotten more info on that rather than insulting his power level.

>>27442528
Goodnight, boss. Thank s for running.

>>27442526
If he's so powerful, what the hell is he doing farting around a small town with a corpse-person for a vessel?

I won't be surprised if he does turn out to be the devil like >>27442587 suggests, though you'd think Gloria might have noticed it, rather than just thinking we were another husk.

He's clearly not us, though, so that's a direct lie he's told us at least once before, and Darkest Self's involvement with Avril's rape makes his overtures of benevolence equally suspect.

Actually, when did he start talking directly with us? Was it only after we went to the King of Spring to get our hungers bound? I bet we really fucked up whatever he was planning when we did that, which is why he's decided to take a more direct approach to influencing us.

>>27442701
>But when he actually does say to do something, it's been massively to our benefit every single time
Of course it has; he's in our meat-body, so anything that benefits us benefits him.
But that doesn't mean that he's not going to eventually pull a Deep One and take full control.

And why shouldn't we suspect he'll do that? He's a being of Control, currently trapped in his own body. Sure, he can get his kicks by controlling and manipulating us with the right word here and the subtle suggestion there, but he's already said that he's done this before. He's going to want direct control eventually, and he's probably already laying down the foundations of his inevitable betrayal.

>>27442706
>you'd think Gloria might have noticed it
>implying she's anywhere near powerful enough to see anything besides our deadness if he doesn't want to be seen

>He's clearly not us
This may well be a question of semantics.

>Darkest Self's involvement with Avril's rape
It was our choice. If anything it's a point in his favor since he didn't say "Yo, I'm not going to help you with that since it's fucking despicable" he still went along with what we wanted.

>Actually, when did he start talking directly with us?
It was pretty gradual, started out as dreams, then dreams where he talked, until now where we can talk to him pretty much at will.

>Was it only after we went to the King of Spring to get our hungers bound?
I think so, but that very well might be coincidence.

>I bet we really fucked up whatever he was planning when we did that
I'm not sure he actually cares much. We should ask him about it though.

>>27442799
>But that doesn't mean that he's not going to eventually pull a Deep One and take full control.
If he is, there's nothing we can do to stop him anyway. And considering he's more competent at everything we do, plus it aligns more with his aims, he probably would have done it by now if he both could and was the sort to do that sort of thing.
Regardless, nothing we do can really change that so why worry about it?

>but he's already said that he's done this before.
Yes. "This" being build up an empire in the mortal realm, presumably.
>He's going to want direct control eventually, and he's probably already laying down the foundations of his inevitable betrayal.
That does not logically follow.

>>27442853
>Darkest Self's involvement with Avril's rape
>It was our choice. If anything it's a point in his favor since he didn't say "Yo, I'm not going to help you with that since it's fucking despicable" he still went along with what we wanted.

>Because my patience isn’t infinite. Sooner or later, I’m going to take matters into my own hands. Again.

When he said that, I'm pretty sure the only thing that he could possibly have affected directly was the whole Darkest Self rape thing. Yeah, it was our choice, but I'm pretty sure he was involved. Unless he was talking about raising us from the dead in the first place, but in that case the whole threat seems rather toothless, since his direct intervention would up until then have been nothing but good.

>>27442853
>he probably would have done it by now if he both could and was the sort to do that sort of thing.
He's already said that his power isn't yet ready to be fully unleashed. So he is likely in an incubating state much like Masami's Deep One self.
>Regardless, nothing we do can really change that so why worry about it?
There's no reason to think that he can't be bound further.

>That does not logically follow.
He said:
>I work for myself. And I guess I work with you, but with isn’t for. I’m no-one’s lackey or flunkey
>I am control. I am power
Since he self-identifies as control and power, it logically follows that he wants control. Currently, he has control by proxy.
It is reasonable to extrapolate that since he is control, and that he has said that he believes that he always knows best what is in the best interests of himself and us, that he will take control of us because it will get us the best results out of what we want, and because it will have a high chance of working out for the best, he was right to do it.

That's the exact reasoning he gave for leaving out information and manipulating our decisions.

>>27442987
He also thrashed the living shit out of some thugs in that scene, and that was done without our intervention besides deciding to go for Darkest Self. Much more than the rape of Avril where we actively chose to fuck her, without sparing much or any thought to her consent.

>>27443029
>There's no reason to think that he can't be bound further.
He's the most powerful entity around. There's no reason to think he's bound now other than by his own choice - if our hungers are even part of him rather than our own self.

>>27443029
>Since he self-identifies as control and power, it logically follows that he wants control. Currently, he has control by proxy.
He also said he's us. Meaning if we have control, he does.

>and that he has said that he believes that he always knows best what is in the best interests of himself and us, that he will take control of us because it will get us the best results out of what we want, and because it will have a high chance of working out for the best, he was right to do it.
So far he has been right about this every single time, and has only taken any control with our okay. He may not have explained everything ahead of time, but he gave us a damn good reason why just now. Even if it seems deceptive, he's not really in particular and everything he does is consistently to our benefit.

>>27443151
>He also said he's us.
And that may be true, from a certain point of view. That doesn't mean that it can't be misleading.
And any control he has would only be by proxy; that's not actual control.

Rolled 27

Personally, I enjoy being the host and apprentice of the Darkling

Kidding, I'm sure he is some sort of possessive spirit of domination and darkness.

I making this post to suggest an idea for our next upgrade. Something a little more actively magical, now that we tango with the supernatural. I assume this is keeping to the nature of our condition.

>ability to summon black tendrils of shadow from our body. Effectively hands, or fists, for practical use in and out of combat.

Yeah, Evards black tentacles.

>>27443863
>darkness
>white suit

>Something a little more actively magical
Not really genre-appropriate.

Personally I was thinking we should go for fairy contracts. It would be handy to be able to make agreements with people and have them be binding.

>>27443898
Have them binding on our own terms, rather than on Darkest Self's. I like it.

>>27443898
>not darkness
>literally had darkness come out of our face and throat fuck a girl earlier.

I think it's fairly appropriate to have suddenly realized we can make darkness, after having it just happen. Also, I thinks it's appropriate based on the fact it's not even the most psychedelic of magics we have witnessed so far. We have seen a banquet of fairy creatures wearing magic for instance....

in addition, I'm a fan of the paste-bins, and a harem like Chris's is easier to manage with some tentacles

>>27443977
>literally had darkness come out of our face and throat fuck a girl earlier.
Guy's got a point there.

>>27443977
>We have seen a banquet of fairy creatures wearing magic for instance....
Yeah but that could all be done with a low or nonexistent special effects budget, just some cheap costumes and shoot it in a forest.

>>27443977
>Pastebin
We've had some food fodder for that lately too...

>>27444034
Thanks. I just thought that after Chris's mention of fireballs, we could afford to apply a little rule-of-cool to our everyday unlife.

>>27444089
It'd be neat, and genre-appropriate is a faulty argument.
However, Darkest Self admitted that its powers are piss-poor at manipulating inanimate objects or creating physical manifestations.

As useful as the tentacles might be, they don't seem to be in Darkest Self's bag of tricks, and all of our powers derive from it.

Charm Person, Hold Person (by affecting their mind), and binding spirits and souls to things, on the other hand, seem to be more in line with what it can do, given past actions.

>>27444216
A Geas ability seems suitable, yeah?

We need something more direct than our emotional manipulation, I think. Even if it's temporary, it could have some combat utility.

>>27444231
Given Darkest Self's suspect nature, I really think we should be drawing on our fae pact for powers he can't just cut off if he wants to.

>>27444256
Well, if we want physical manifestation, why not try and get that vine thing Papa Fae was doing?

>>27444296
Can only be done in the forest. Don't see it being too useful in an urban environment.

>>27444256
Well, that, and we're out of Ghoul powers to buy.

>>27444417
>metagaming

So what powers don't we have?

>>27443151
>He also thrashed the living shit out of some thugs in that scene, and that was done without our intervention besides deciding to go for Darkest Self
No, that was only 1 guy, who actively tried to stop us. Backhanding a guy trying to pull us off of Jason counts as thrashing the living shit out of someone now?
Also, when we were in our Darkest Self trait, the only concern was to feed our Hungers in the most direct and violent manner possible. Our Darkest Self wanted what happened, because it was fed. If it really was always taking the long view of things, then either it fucked up by letting us take a course of action that sheared off a portion of its power to the Fae, or, it intentionally let us go ahead with it, because it knew that the Fae pact would give it access to Fae powers and be more beneficial than harmful in the long run once more of its original power was restored.

>>27444428
There's a Ghost power that let's us walk through walls.
Fae have their Pact making powers; maybe glamours, too, if that feast and Miranda is anything to go by.

I don't think we've unlocked anything else.

>>27444428
We're only lacking powers from other splats, or homebrew stuff which as of yet hasn't been homebrewed. For stuff, look here http://buriedwithoutceremony.com/portfolio/monsterhearts/ under "free stuff". The faery contract power and Lure are good for us, to bind people to our decisions a bit more than natural. Beyond the Veil could be good depending on how often we chat with the King, at least then we can Gaze into the Abyss independently of the Man. Chosen's ability Light the Way would make us a better leader. Hungry Ghost (a ghost ability obviously) could too. The Infernal's Dark Recruiter could be handy if we're going to make more like Isabella, and its Unknowable makes us better in combat, but I think they're both going to be useful to infrequently to be worth it. If Isabella's clique counts as ours, Streaming would be useful, but I doubt it does. The vampire's Hypnotic would be damn handy but it uses Hot which I think is one of our worst stats. Werewolf has plenty good moves for us, Scent of Blood and Primal Dominance would improve our combat ability, as would Spirit Armor when in moonlight, quite substantially, and Howl at the Moon would increase our Dark which is usefil for a lot when in moonlight.

>>27444481
The normal rules, which OP has backed up before, is that you can have anything you can make a case for. We have free justification for anything fae but that doesn't mean everything else is off limits.

>>27444688
>Beyond the Veil could be good
Just so people know, we need to roll 10 or above to get information without complications.
Lower, and the Fae King extracts a favor from us.

>>27444942
Those options are on top of the usual Beyond the Veil stuff.

>>27444942
Our stat for that's pretty good though.

>>27444942
>Lower, and the Fae King extracts a favor from us.
No, we still get the list of options. We can just choose to grant him a favor for a clear vision. Which is more than we can do with the Man.

I kind of wonder why white suit didn't suggest killing people in order to control them earlier.

Rolled 10

Heh heh....

We should take that Anansi ability that lets us spin webs.

Chris is pretty much black suit Parker already, and the utility of rope is infinite!

>>27446952
Probably because....

the man in white is not some random entity like what is being discussed in this thread. He is our own ghoul subconscious that is constantly getting stronger, the more powerful we become. This explains why he didn't speak to us until after we had developed enough, and even then had to wait even further until he could communicate to us at will.

The reason he knows information we do not, is because the very nature of our condition is supernatural and phenomenal. In other words, it's magic and we can simple "know" what we need to sate our hunger over someone, if we let ourself do it.

The man mentions that he is alive for century's and has raised empires before, as well as had other bodies. This may be true for separate ghouls, however, in reality this is simply Chris's moral conscious giving us a scapegoat from descending too far. In other words, by anthropomorphizing our supernatural nature, it's allowing us to both use, and remain distinctly separate from it.

My point is, we created the man. We are the man.

>>27442587
(( Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...

>>27443863
While that is an interesting upgrade idea, I have no idea how I'd implement it mechanically.

>>27443977
The overflow of dark magic wasn't actually a physical manifestation. Sorry if that was unclear.

>>27444688
You can have pretty much anything you can make a good case for, yes. The walking through walls power one guy keeps bringing up would take a lot of persuading, though.

>>27447195
As for this, and the general ongoing debate on what the hell the Man in the White Suit actually is... well, you have all the information you need already. ))

>>27445024
(( This is correct. It supplements the existing move. Your Dark stat isn't that great, though.

>>27444458
One last note on this matter: Feel free to go back through the archives and note all the instances where either the Man or I as the QM equated the Man and your Darkest Self.

>>27444058
> Pastebin
I don't have as much free lewd-writing time as I used to, but request scenes you want to see more of and I'll see what I can do.

>>27442706
> When did he start talking directly to us?
I'm on my phone right now so I don't have my notes, but I believe it's thread 6.5 or 7? Somewhere in that area. ))

>>27447447
((Having checked the foolz archive, it's thread 7, the second set of dreams, right after the first failed roll of the quest.))

Just this: How do the mechanics of heaven and earth work in MH? It seems pretty much WoD lite in many ways, so is the Big Man actually up there or is Gloria simply powered by the belief in herself?

>>27447499
(( There's no canonical answer -the existence of an Angel certainly has implications, but it's plausible that Gloria is lying, delusional, or is the creation of some powerful being that enjoys pretending to be God. Ask people in-universe and see what they think. I'd rather not give a firm yes or no OOC just yet.))

Rolled 15

The man in our head...

The devil? Beelz?
Autumn court fey lord?
Nyarlothotep?
Our own self gone mad?

Or even Pelor the burning hate?

>>27447772
>Nyarlothotep?
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-
That would just be the best.
>>27447631
Oh I know just who to ask.

>>27447811
>oh I know just who to ask....
...said Hexer ominously

>>27448116
S/se can't get hard/wet unless there's ominous statements or crippling paranoia.

Rolled 16

I feel as though it's worth mentioning that this is my favorite episode of MHquest so far.

MH is a grand writer, and I very much enjoy the extra narrative we are allowing Chris by humoring our powers.

That being said, I think white-britches is a cool dude.

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>>27448375
Stop parising yourself and go away derkest self. you are not fooling anyone.

>>27448375
>Darkest Self likes the Darkest Self

Ironing

>>27448671
sage people.. do you ntent to keep this one here forever?

>>27448685
>>27448685
I think they saged.
We're on page 2 and that normally doesn't happen after 10 minutes.

>>27448762
it does happen.
why would i ask someone to sage if they already did.