Your name is Shu, and in the aftermath of Laoc's riots there is hope in your name.An unnatural Hunger swept through the ornate calcite streets of the peaceful town, but as you walk through Laoc's alleys and between the buildings that the residents call home, you find little moments of kindness from those you meet. There, a Gluttonous' mouth yawning wideto devour the rubble from a neighbor's storefront. Here, a Humoral Paladin working to heal the injured, vital fluids retreating into therapidly-healing wounds while bones snapping back into place at the behest of Calcite Armorers. Powers not of this world, to be sure...but brought to bear for the sake of humanity.Your mind is stretched, pulled between the dozens of torso-sized insects that zip across Laoc, ferrying townspeople and supplies where they're needed. Through the multifaceted eyes of your brood, you can see the reconstruction efforts are well underway, the storefronts and homestead alike being restored through a combination of Neuromancy and the diligent efforts of other, more specialized power sets. You find your allies in the thick of the work, each one bringing their talents to bear for the sake of a people that are struggling to keep their hopes and dreams afloat in a world gone mad.Dorian and Julia are found side-by-side, the former's gentlemanly air and the latter's kind spirit doing wonders to keep the civilians they're guiding home calm and peaceful. Amara is everywhere, her adorable duplicates scurrying to and fro and bringing joy to all they meet, even in the aftermath of tragedy. Your fiery brawler Rath is bringingher unreal strength to bear with flaming arms of starlight made manifest, her ashuran form a stark contrast to the chassis of titanium and steelthat makes up the cybernetic body of November, the niece and aunt working tirelessly to ferry materials back and forth. Meanwhile, Francine is swiftly and professionally tending to the wounded, her deft fingertips working to unravel flesh from bone and stitch it back as it should be, while the moth-like Lara brings new patients to her side on vast, velvety wings.As for Gina, you're not quite sure where she...ah.You spy her, eyes aglow with amethyst light as the calcite walls of a nearby building shudder and shift at the whims of the brunette Neuromancer. She glances skyward, and the curvaceous girl shoots your Swarmling a wink and a smile from far below, cocking her hip to one side.Previous Vein: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/3951968/Archive:http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Body%20Horror%20QuestCharacter Abilities: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15ctgm_liaNO0e0B6zAcIUrmfDN0tWiXds3L4FvogI2M/edit#gid=0Trypophilic Hive, Ver. 3: https://pastebin.com/bUWG6TNFRelics, Ver. 5: https://pastebin.com/Qwme4CGrDual Techs: https://pastebin.com/2jZ5ZhyxTwitter: https://twitter.com/bodyhorrorquest?lang=en
{Hey there, cutie~} Gina's playful tone cuts through your admirations, a welcome respite to the churning of your mind. Her voice echoes pleasantly across the telepathic bond you share, a gift that was intended to be a curse...and is now so much more than either. {How're you holding up?}[Fair] Comes your simple answer, the townspeople occupying your mind as you speak. [We've a lot to get done here, to say nothing of everything else on our plate]{True...I wanted to talk about that, actually} She muses in reply, shifting her focus to another crumbling building a few meters away. {Between the Proxy situation, the Pyreant Hive, and everything else we have to deal with, there's too much to handle on our own...but we're not alone, are we?}[Are you...are you saying we outsource some of this?] You ask, and there's a flicker of excitement across the channel that serves as the other girl's reply. [I wouldn't necessarily be against it, but who did you have in mind?]{Three parties; the Midnight Crew, the Barbers, and Ivey's Hyenas} Gina replies quickly. {The first two are ones that we're on pretty good terms with, and Ivey already said that the Mayor knew how to geta hold of her, so they could help to replace the town guard for the time being before Jeraha has time to train up some replacements}[...Perhaps] You hesitantly relent, chafing against the prospect of putting your duties on the shoulders of others.{You're always saying that no-one's in this alone...and there's no reason to put all of this on our family, not when you've done so muchfor so many. It's not all up to you, Shu} The other girl comments, her gentle chiding paired with genuine warmth that flows across the channel, a pleasant tingle working its way across your scalp. {Look, I'm not trying to get on your case...I just worry about you taking on too much, okay? Can't have our fearless leader running herself ragged, can we?}You have a full docket, certainly...but perhaps Gina has a point. Just off the top of your head, you have enough to deal with to make your mind whirl; Francine and dealing with the West Proxies, attending to the needs of the ever-growing Pyreant Hive, approaching the last two Phalanx members and figuring out why they're defending the sleepers'Pods, exploring the Hexane factory, chasing down the Apocalpyse-class Amalgam that caused the chaos in Laoc to begin with......maybe you could use some help, but the question is just where and when to start with all that.>>Relent to contacting one or more of the groups Gina mentioned. You could use some help...and maybe just not in Laoc. Reach out to [the Midnight Crew/the Barbers/Ivey].>>You're open to outside help, but you'd like to keep that in your back pocket for now, and instead attend to some more pressing matters with your family (Choose a course of action to pursue).>>Bring up a counter-plan to Gina.>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, it's good to be back. I hope everyone's holidays went well over the break, and while I had a decent break as well, I'm glad to be back in the swing of things.)(Now, voting shall remain open for the next four hours, which will likely be the new standard for voting times save for evenings of rapid-posting per usual. There are more elements in play now than ever before thanks to the fascinating way you're playing, and I do wish to give myself time to attend to personal and professional matters whilealso avoiding burnout. I'm in this Quest for the long haul, and you all have made me realize that I must pace myself wisely if I'm to bring my all to this Quest.)(That said, I'm very much so looking forward to where you're going from here, and I wish you all the best of luck.)(Below you'll find the answers to some questions that had been posed in the 35th Vein that current circumstances did not permit me to answer as quickly as I'd have liked.)(Continued)
>>4006164>>Question: Have there been hunger riots in the past? Have there been hunger riots that turned into town-sized Hunger-mad daughters like the Monastery Monster?(There have been Hunger riots, but nothing like the Monastery in terms of scale. Most Hunger riots occur in smaller groups and lead to thingslike the Sad Deer hilarious nickname, kudos to whoever thought of it you fought in the swamp, though if you hadn't been at Laoc, then it would absolutely have become a super-boss like the Monastery was.)>>Question;>How does Raths Cystemic Burn ‘Attack Mod’ act in relation to Pangean Arsenal? First off, Pangean effects Augments, which im not sure if Cystemic technically is, over a unique thing for Generator classes? I also ask as it doesn't seem like it would be so simple as just turning it off. Cystemic and similar skills outright change how the ability is as it levels up significantly. While it doesn't effect the Boils due to their hybridization, for other Generator abilities in similar situations, it doesn't seem like it would work to just be a switch, due to how heavily it effects the Ability. I mean, maybe thats the trade off, but it would either be super complicated and change several levels worth of the abilities and what they give us, or just deactivate them is what it seems like.(The intent behind it is to give you the ability to switch the elemental augments that you'll get on and off, instead of having the damage be multi-elemental. All of your elemental powers will work with Cystemic Burn, so let's say if you change Rath's element type to FROST, then instead of a burst of cold, you'd have a DoT effect thatcontinually chills the surrounding area instead of a flare. I hope this helps to explain it a bit, and if the Anon who originally asked this would like some more clarification, I'll be happy to provide it. A lot of the alteration is more behind-the-scenes, with the player-facing side being more focused on allowing you to customize Rath's attacks to the situation, once you've gathered more elemental and function-altering Augmentations.)>Who was the toughest individual enemy in this past fight, and who had to face them?(The captain of the guard was the single toughest foe, and Jeraha fought her best friend and right-and woman one-on-one. Having to put her down weighs heavily on the Mayor's mind, but she has other people to think about at the moment, so she's staying strong. The main reason she was absent for so much of the Laoc debacle was because the fight was a very close one.)
>>4006167Hey Bhop, you forgot your trip.
>>4006170(Thank you, it appears my computer had forgotten it, too.)
>>4006161>Relent to contacting one or more of the groups Gina mentioned. You could use some help...and maybe just not in Laoc.>Reach out to Ivey>Try and find a moment to collect your family, to properly discuss everything with them.>start off simply, to give them time to mull over the idea and offer their own opinion on what should happen next.>perhaps... Gina might be onto something. taking our own family can split up into at least two, if not more, aswell as our already trusted allies and their teams... we do have a list of potential others to try and get onto good terms with. if we have too much on our plate, maybe start off cleaning it by trying to add more allies?Gina makes a good point, though i will say we in some ways were already doing it, and some things like the Pyreants we really are the only person at the moment who can do it. but things like Ivey helping the town or some of the less important objectives, sure. But as stated, id like to let our family give their opinion overall first, aswell as put forth the point Ginas got a good idea, and we might be able to expand on it.>>4006164my own break was well enough, glad to hears yours was swell, and certainly glad to see this back in the swing of things.while ill never lie and say ever increasing voting times is great, im glad to see your starting off the new year understanding your limits, and understand your reasoning. looking forward to where this goes from here for sure though. also, my backlog of art for here has grown a bit, gotta start whittling that down.
>>4006167>and if the Anon who originally asked this would like some more clarification, I'll be happy to provide it.id like a bit more yes, as that doesn't actually really answer it. Pangean works on all Generator Augments, not just elemental, and i was both asking if Cystemic counts as an Augment, or something unique to Generators, due to their specific class attributes, and if it does, how it would work, due to how heavily it effects Boils levels compared to standard augments.if we could get the option to switch between the AOE style grenades and back to the actual explosives, that would be neat, but as stated Cystemic Burn has a deeper level of effect than most Augments do.
>>4006164Glad to see you had a great time Bhop. As for my end: Things got more hectic than I would have liked,I got sick in the middle of the Christmas and New Year's Holidays so it was miserable for me, and I'm starting to hate my job. I've got a potential new job lined up for me with some connections through the back channels, but I can't formally apply due to circumstances and there's a chance that the slot will be filled before I can attempt to formally apply for it. So I still haven't gotten around to working on the story of Carter in Cradleton because of all of that. tl;dr It sucked and I hate it.
>>4006173oh, and also, despite the potential severity of it, we still cant deal with the West Proxies til Francines had time to hammer out her alternative way of beating it. which id be very impressed if she has thought up of yet.its gonna involve the Barbers too, so waiting to contact them again makes sense there.
>>4006176(Cystemic Burn *does* count as an Augmentation, yes. Deactivating it allows Rath's Boils to deal immediate impact damage with a large explosive radius, and imparts her blows with tremendous force at the cost of losing an overall higher DoT in exchange for immediate burst damage.)>>4006177(I'm sorry to hear that your holidays didn't go as well as I'd hoped they would, though I do hope tha things turn around for you soon in regards to your job. I wish you the best!
>>4006173>planNot a bad suggestion, but I'm wondering about what job we give Ivey and how do we pay her? So far we have the following: Silvis's factory (explore), Sigma's lab (Raid), Pyreant request (Quill-mole hunt), Phalanx Diplomacy? (scout/poke). Keep in mind that Ivey might be currently working under another employer too. As for our other allies/friends: The Midnight Crew are currently "House sitting" the Wonderland Forest for Lara, and the Barbers are exploring off on their own...(probably looking for someone else's autograph)Also. Here's to kick off the new year with our first Relic theorycraft. >MEAT APPLES (Consumable): An Apple with Fleshy wrinkled human skin for a skin of a fruit. Fortunately the insides of the apple are still revealed to be that of a normal apple. A consumable Relic that is unique due to the fact that this relic can only be found from a certain tree in the wild wild Fleshscape and not made by the hands of a forge. While the effects of consuming is paltry - a meager 3% total boost to their HP and bio Regen (or providing a regen rate equal to 5% of their total hp/bio for those who lack innate regeneration) for 1 hour or until the next combat encounter) - and does nothing to curb the abyssal hunger every daughter must sate, it’s delicious taste more than enough makes up for it, enough to be used as a currency of sorts in certain settlements.
>>4006193ah, ok, so just the simple option. not that im complaining, of course thanks.>>4006196we uhh, we have alot more than just those things on our list, and some of those you mentioned cant be done by others and/or are no longer going to happen. well, ok, only one of them isnt happening and only one otherwise 100% we have to do, but still. well, hrm, maybe two, depending on your perceptive on the Phalanx, both as Hexxanes and their relation to the Pyreants.and sure, Ivey might be busy, but she already said if we needed her, to just ask. i dont think she was expecting payment either. we wont know if she is busy unless we ask, and we both have a good reason to ask for her, and the only way to contact her here, in the very place that needs help. plus, think about it. Ivey trusts the Mayor with how to contact her. thats gotta mean something positive for their relationship, so im sure seeing Laoc in need of help will be something she might be more willing to come and help with, especially with us asking too.as for the Relic, neat little thing fore sure, though feels more like a lore piece you would see for an area over anything else. not that thats a bad thing, mind you.
Ah, good to be back at it in the Fleshscape. I just don't know what to do with myself when I'm not worrying about the meat planet. Hi, BHOP and other players.>>4006164>I do wish to give myself time to attend to personal and professional matters whilealso avoiding burnoutGood. I'm glad you're going to take more time to manage things on your end. You could be a dozen times slower to update and you'd still be one of the fastest-updating QMs out there, so longer between posts won't be too much of an issue for us and will make you less pressured.
>>4006161>>Write-In>Propose we open source the Apocalypse Amalgam hunting. Get Amara to set up a chat group of Skintalkers tracking them, though with a priority on the flyer for its extreme mobility. >Other than that, contact with the Hyenas as >>4006173 proposes sounds fine to me.
>>4006164I had a good holiday. spend christmas with the family and a late new years meet up with a couple of friends this last weekend. I spend acutal new years eve and new years day writing Journey, which while making progess did not make as much progress as i hoped. So i will have to delay its realease for a bit but i hope to get it out before the vein comes to a close. With the longer voting times it should give me more time to write between updates.I hope your own holiday was relaxing as wellI also got a couple of my freind to agree to trying out nechronice so i started to read the rules which also took a bit of time away from everything else. Havent played it yet but i hope to get to that in the next couple of monthsThe longer voting times are fine wtih me if its means we will get very consistent updates and regular quests without you psuhign yourself. Even if it means possibly getting less done in any one vein>>4006161Supporting>>4006173
I've been thinking: We should probably have a better term for the mutations Daughters experience than "Corruption". That's not body positive, our party shouldn't be using that term when we've made the choice to find the beauty in our changes rather than see ourselves as freaks. I'm not sure what's a good neutral replacement, though. Best I have so far is Divergence, acknowledging that it's a move away from the human norm.
>>4006277what about "Adaptation"? Because it feels like it's using the base human template and adding more bells and whistles. And despite the totem system, it still uses Humans as the base foundation for its template.
>>4006283>it still uses Humans as the base foundation for its template.Whats wrong with that
>>4006283Maybe. To me, "Adaptation" suggests functional changes, and we haven't seen too many of those yet. It's mostly been cosmetic. Then again, Mara eventually turned into a dragon, so maybe we'll start seeing some functional changes as we get deeper into it. Like Shu's chitin getting enough coverage and thickness to provide protection, or something like that.
(Posting shortly, Gentlemen.)
>>4006161[That’s not a bad idea, honestly] You relent, switching your gaze from the multifaceted eyes of your swarmling to the pair of orbs in your own head, allowing you to stare out at Laoc from atop city hall’s imposing spire. [I’ll give everyone a little more time to work, then gather everyone at city hall to discuss what comes next with Jeraha…plus, I’ll see if I can’t get a hold of Ivey through her. Two birds, and all that]Your empathic channel surges outwards, echoing through your allies as your summons reaches far and wide across the sprawling streets of Laoc. Rath and November are the last to arrive in the cozy confines of city hall, the pristine floor-to-ceiling woodwork a testament to Laoc’s efforts in preserving at least some traces of the world that was. Your short brawler and her towering aunt take the empty seats across from you at the circular table, with Rath settling in next to the tall, ethereal Lara, while November silently scoots beside Francine, the lanky woman lost in thought. Gina’s seated on your right with the visibly drained pair of Julia and Dorian next to her, while Amara swings her feet in the chair to your left, her legs a few inches short of the floor. Holly’s leaning up against the wall to your back, stretching her arms above her head. The bartender brings a full suite of drinks to your table, the winding, branch-like tendrils that make up her arms allowing her to deftly supply you all with some much-needed libations. Sierra’s singular eye darts between you all, a cursory glance reassuring her that you’re all topped off with drinks before she leaves you to your discussion.“Couple items of note; I’ve contacted Ivey, so she and her Hyenas are en route.” Jeraha begins, casting you a nod before she brusquely addresses the rest of the table. “We’ve identified the bodies of those that succumbed to Hunger, too. Three of them are yours, the rest of the remains are going to the families or friends that survived. The ones you’re getting were loners, kept to themselves. They’re ones you fought, too;Her abrupt declaration catches several members of your family off-guard, and Dorian’s the first to voice that everyone present is thinking.“With all due respect Mayor…are you certain?” He asks, his even-keeled tone suitably diplomatic. “I’m sure the fallen must have had some-““I know how this world works, man.” Comes Jeraha’s curt interruption. “You and yours did me and mine one hell of a favor, and I’d be a piss-poor leader if I didn’t do my part to make sure you had the resources available to keep up with the Crucible.”He nods, leaning back in his seat as Jeraha rises from her seat.>>LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE: 15>>REMAINS COLLECTED: ONYX BUTCHER, BLOODY BATTALION, DART RAFFLESIA(Continued)
>>4006329“That’s all I had to say. Ivey and her team will be here shortly, so I’ll give you all some time to convene. You’ve all done a lot for Laoc. More than enough.” She says, bright eyes lingering on yours for a moment before she turns. “We’ve got it from here.”You watch her leave, the intent behind her words clear as she leaves your family to decide where to go from here.“It’s old news that we’ve got a lot on our plate, even aside from Laoc.” You begin, scanning the table with all eyes on you. “That said, I’d like to ask your thoughts on what to deal with next.”Julia and Gina glance towards Francine, prompting a darkly amused chuckle from the doctor.“I’ll just go ahead and get this out of the way, Darlings; I’m mulling over alternatives, but I’ve yet to come up with an alternative solution to the one you all so vehemently rejected.” Francine announces, re-crossing her legs, arms folded. “My original plan is still off the table, thank to you…though I’ll need some more time to come up with a viable alternative.”“We should go help the Pyreant Queen!” Amara interjects emphatically, bouncing in place as she looks up at you pleadingly.“Amara, the ants are p-plenty s-strong on their own…the p-people of Laoc need our help, here and n-now.” Julia counters, an uncharacteristically hard line in her statement. Dorian shoots you a pointed glance reminding you of your private discussion a few hours earlier as Julia continues to make her case to the rest of your family.“Shu and the D-Defiants are a symbol of hope, and we c-can’t just swoop in and save the d-day only to leave when the f-fighting’s over with. It’s j-just…irresponsible, I think.” She adds, looking around the table for support.“I’m inclined to agree.”Your focus snaps to November, her words echoing in the wood-lined space as hope sparks in Julia’s eyes. “Irresponsible is a good word for it, I think. I know time’s at a premium, but I think we have enough to spare for the people here. Not all of us need to be present, but…I want to help.”“That’s all well and good, but what about the cause of all this, huh?” Rath fires back irritably. “We can spend a couple of days helping Laoc rebuild, sure...and in that time, how many other towns are gonna fall when goddamn Rodan swoops over? Ignoring the root cause of a disease and just treating the symptoms? Now THAT’S irresponsible.”“Can confirm.” Francine adds cheekily, prompting a twitch of Dorian’s silver eyebrow.“I’d just like to say that Rath has a point.” Gina says, adjusting her posture in the too-small seat. “Amalgam or no, Laoc’s going to be alright without us. We have bigger fish to fry at the-”“People are hurting, Gina!”A single, unambiguously vehement declaration explodes through the space, and even Julia seems shaken by just how loud and clear her voice echoes through the hall.(Continued)
>>4006330Gina’s wide-eyed at Julia’s unexpected interruption, and Amara’s stock-still and she nervously glances between the three of you.“People are s-suffering.” The painter continues, visibly resisting the overwhelming urge to sink into herself and instead forcing her voice to be heard. “Laoc is in t-tatters, and we can d-do so much good here. I’m not saying everyone has t-to stay, but…even if it’s j-just for a little while, these p-people need our help.”“I…support Lady Julia’s stance.” Dorian declares, sitting a little straighter in his chair even as you catch the apologetic look in his eye.Ah, love.In any case, Holly’s remained silent and Amara’s gone quiet, waiting for the dust to settle between her family members during an uncommon disagreement.“Look, Julia…I’m not trying to be a dick.” Rath finally says, breaking the awkward silence with a gentle, weary tone. “I get it. Seriously. Helping people’s what we do, and we’re damn good at it…but exhausting ourselves here will only cause other people to suffer, and we can’t lose sight of the whole point of our journey in the first place.”“We climb the Cord.” Gina affirms, glancing around the table. “We end this, one way or another.”“THAT’S how we help people.” Rath says, gesturing towards Gina. “We stop the Crucible, then focus on the clean-up.”“Macro, then micro.” Francine mutters.“Uh...yeah. What the Doc said.” Rath mumbles back, unnerved at the source of support.“Lara? Holly? What are your thoughts?” You ask with a sigh, leaning back to glance at your first Dream Daughter as she just shrugs.“I’m up for anything! Just happy to stretch my legs.” She replies sweetly, wisely dodging the issue just before Lara answers your question.“I…I need to get back to Carroll’s Forest.” The Unnatural predator answers, the rustle of her movements causing her wings to shimmer in the soft candlelight of the table’s lamp. “I need to make sure that everyone that’s hiding there is safe, after that thing came through. I’d love to stay and help, but I have a responsibility to those under my care.”The soft light helps to obscure Rath’s disappointed expression, and as you look around at your allies you find their attentions trained on you……the only person whose opinion has yet to be voiced.>>Acquiesce to Julia’s request, and allow her to take Dorian and anyone else who wishes to stay behind and help while you meet Ivey when she arrives.>>Gently steer Julia away from keeping your family in Laoc. You can’t afford to get bogged down in crisis relief…there will be time enough for that after you attend to more pressing issues.>>Shelve Julia’s concern for the moment; Laoc’s not going anywhere, and there are other matters of importance you’d like to address with your family while they’re gathered here (Write-In).>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four hours. Thank you for your participation, and I do hope that your day is going well.)
>>4006331Write- In>"Julia i can not in good concience agree to leave anyone here for long. I wont ask you to steer away from your course but i ask that you limit yourself. These people have made it through rough times already and they will pull through again.">Glancefrom Julia to Dorian>"I think we will be fine for the moment so you and one perosn that also wishes to stay, Maybe two but no morecan help out in Laoc for a day or two. Afterwards i will need you again.">Look at lara>"Thank you for helping us out when you did. I know you have responsibilites and i wont ask you to stray far from the forest. I would be interested however to plant a fast travel point near your forest with the spoke so we can send people there or have you help us out form time to time without a lot of travel beign needed and you strayxing for long periods of time.">Look at the rest of the group mostly Amara and Gina>"I think we need more allies. So i ask you all if there is anyone you would think woudl be a good fit with the outlook we take on the world? And what do you guys think is the most pressign matter we have right now"
>>4006331>sigh, and meet Julias gaze.>"I get it Julia, i do, really. seeing these peoples lives upturned? seeing them suffer?">Shake, and sigh.>"Its not easy. its not fun.... but its not our place to be their crutch.">"We've already saved them. we've helped them, and sure, we can help them a bit more... but we arent their people. friends? allies? sure, but we are not Laoc. we wont be staying here, we CANT stay here. and because of the, the simple, undeniable truth is, they WILL have to learn to survive, to rebuild without us. they'll have to learn to take hope in people like us existing, over us constantly being with them. they'll have to learn to trust in the actions they dont see, over those done next to them.... and if we dont start doing that now, it'll only get harder for that to happen... for us, and for them.">"The longer we stay, the more we get involved, the harder it will be to pull away when we have to.">Sigh, and give Julia a moment to lt your words sink in.>"...that being said, you're sides also right. we have more than enough people to cover more than one issue at a time, and all going well, we'll have allies to help aswell.">hold out your hand, in a gesture of goodwill, and give her a soft smile. >"How about a compromise Julia? Laoc gave us a house here, if we need it. personally, with the Gear and waypoints, we dont need it, and i was thinking about making it a 'through-home' for allies to crash at or for Daughters we rescue to temporarily live in til they get their own, if they arent the adventuring type. But until all thats set up, you're more than welcome to use it.">"so the deal is this. you want to help Laoc? then you can. whenever you have free time, which ill happily try to give you.">"But if I, if WE need you, for something we deem immediate and important? you help your family until the issue is resolved. sound fair?">Sigh, and lean forward. >"I want to help these people, please dont undermine how much i feel for them Julia... but like i said, we cant be their crutch, and like Rath said, we have other people to help, and ways we can help them and others just as much, if not more, by keeping busy elsewhere. Laoc might need a boost, but it doesn't need all of us, nor can we afford for its suffering to swallow us up.">Let Julia respond, then either keep the conversation going as needed, or go meet Ivey.>Regardless, let Lara know she always has a seat with your family, and make sure she has something to remember and keep in touch with you by. also, ask her to send the Midnight Crew your way, unless they simply cannot afford to come.
>>4006338oh, for reference, our current list of Daughters-of-note to meet and evaluate is;>‘Nothing’ Girl, ‘Everything’ Girl, Hive Girl, UP Girl, Neuro Girl, Sound Girl.also, adding in;>>4006343>>4006331>If things settle with Julia, Let your family know about your unexpected meeting and offer from the Skintalker Reporter in the Alleyway, aswell as how it went and your concerns over it, but keep it clean and try and make it obvious it might best be a decision and conversation best left for when Amara has been made sure to have taken off her rose tinted fan-glasses.
>>4006354i knoq ir could bew however that Amara or Gina came across any other infor or maybe they picked up soemthing while they were walkign around that we werent breifed about by them
>>4006356We saw a bit of Nuckelavee in action during the Interlude Vein. Looks like she just wants to be left alone, she went "nothing personel, kid" on a Daughter threatening her but didn't touch the Daughter's allies after they backed away.
(Gentlemen, to clarify; if you allow Julia to have her way, then both she and Dorian will become temporarily unavailable unless you find yourself in a crisis situation. November has a high chance of doing the same as well, depending on how her conversation check with Rath goes shortly.)
>>4006332Code Veins' got some lovely OSTs that fit somber moods. Gah... the feels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3NRJnEk8As>>4006331>Acquiesce to Julia’s request, and allow her to take Dorian and anyone else who wishes to stay behind and help while you meet Ivey when she arrives.>Transition into other pressing details on your mind: Ozma's offer of information on her end.
>>4006356fair enough.>>4006362possibly, but we also need to know more about what her actual goals are to some degree.>>4006363hrm, kinda what my conversation is trying to avoid. mine was supposed to be a compromise more akin to, if we decide we need her on at least the main team they come, bunt unless its highly significant when off of it they can help out Laoc for a little bit longer.Letting them fully get locked out unless its that dire is not what i wish to settle on at all.
>>4006363I'm having trouble phrasing it for a write-up, but what I'd prefer is to cycle people through Laoc. It's not like we don't typically split off a field team from the rest of the party anyway. So we'd have it so that there would be two party slots assigned to helping with Laoc, that didn't have to be necessarily filled by Dorian and Julia but whoever was free. That way the Defiant Fools as a group would have a constant presence in Laoc until they get back on their feet. Dorian and Julia would start off being the aid workersm but if they're needed for the party we'd have Gina or November or whoever we swapped out take over.
Gah. I gotta leave for work.
>>4006366this really is a very bad idea. part of our strength, hell a significant portion of it, it our adaptability via all our different family members. fully allowing her and Dorian to be locked out, aswell as possibly November and even others, would do much more than just gut our numbers, it would significantly gut our adaptability and flexibility, and could very much outright screw us over. i dont think anyone on our team is wholly reliant on others, but we still HAVE significantly built our team around being a team and having so many characters to help cover eachother and adapt to situations when we can. cutting out 2-3 of those in a full lockout is honestly a crippling hit we cant afford, hence my compromise.
>>4006368i still dont like that, as it feel too much like a requirement that always filling could easily bite us in the ass. plus, while im sure not one member would be against helping, it would still feel like making it a job or a choice, which just could end up wearing the wrong way for those who, despite their good intentions, dont see it as so much as a necessity or major thing to focus on over time. just leaving spare time open is better i think. allows those who want to help to do so, while others can help as they wish or help on other missions, while no one ever is committed to being locked out if we need them or two things of utter importance taken care of.
>>4006362She probably wouldnt be too interested in talking but i kinda hope we can also get some of the daughter names that were in the other interludes even though we didnt see them probably not a great hope but a man can dreamWith how Nucelavee we might have to fight her if she goes for the cord. I hope we wont have to she seems a bit over our level right now....Sorry for replying a bit late Was hunting a bitch of a Lunastra
>>4006366(Code Vein has some superb music, and is about as close to a video game version of Body Horror Quest as I can get aside from Digital Devil Saga, of course.)
>>4006331>>Write-In>"I'm hesitant to leave anyone here long term. A big part of our effectiveness has been the versatility we have as a team. I think we can cycle through, though. We always split into field teams and support anyway. So let's make Laoc a temporary base while they're rebuilding. Jeraha's given us a building here, we can operate out of it in addition to the Lair. Whoever's not on the active team can help out here, give whatever assistance they can provide.">"I'd still like you and Dorian to be available to be called up, though, Julia. I get your point, I want to fix Laoc too, but if we need you chances are we'll really need you. And this way, even if you are called away you can at least know there will be someone here helping.">"Meanwhile, let's talk about ways to stop that flyer and prevent this from happening again. Firstly, Amara. I need you to teach me about the Skinternet. I want to get a spotting group started, recruit Skintalkers from all over to track its movements. Best case scenario we find a nest, but even if that's not a solution we should still be able to get some advance warning to other towns this way.">"On the topic of the Skinternet, I was contacted by a journalist of sorts earlier. Calls herself Orwell, offered to assist us in exchange for the scoop. She wants to liveblog us, basically, get exclusive access to our streaming rights. I told her I'd pass on the offer to the rest of you. Amara's a fan, I don't know anything about this woman, but we might be able to use her resources for both this and acting against West.">"Finally, there's one more resource that I'm very uncertain about using, but it's only fair that I tell you: Ozmas. She spoke to me and Gina, said that she just wants this all to end and is willing to help us with information if it speeds things along. I don't trust her, it's Ozmas, but you deserve to know she's an option. If anyone knows anything about the Apocalypse Amalgams, it would be the person who released them.">>4006381Yeah, she was fast. I hope we don't have to fight her until Dorian's leveled up Spring-Heeled Jack a few more times. Maybe get it to max.
Good to see you back BHOP. We missed you.
>>4006488(Likewise, Anon. Thank you for your kind words.)
>>4006490I absolutely agree, BHOP. I've been on board since the Third Vein, and this has been my favourite quest of all time to participate in. I'm so very glad you're back.
>>4006490>>4006549Been here since the begining and can confirm those Anons words. Been a wonderful and wild ride.
>>4006549>>4006556I only came in around Vein 17 or 18, can't remember which, but I share the sentiment. It got me back into quests, actually, reminded me of why I found these so fun.
>>4006490>>4006549I forget how or why I even found this quest, I'm not even a normal 4chan user so I got linked directly to it somehow but who knows where from. Came in just before Almath times and I'm very glad it's still going.Good thing I followed you on Twitter too or I never would have remembered the start date.
>>4006549>>4006490Been here since the fifth, and I've switched between active participation and lurking depending on how strongly I feel about the scenario at hand.This Is one of the best quests I've seen, with particularly excellent story and characterization. It takes a lot to get me so emotionally stirred up but this quest has done It...quite a lot, admittedly. That and your quest's mechanics have also proved inspirational, so I must also thank you for that.
(Gentlemen, I'll be posting as soon as I am able; work went later than I anticipated, so I'll be updating within the next hour.)>>4006549>>4006556>>4006558>>4006573>>4006576(Wow...thank you all so very much for your kind words. It means a lot that you all have stuck with the Quest this long, and I appreciate your encouragement and participation, one and all.)
>>4006331"I'm hesitant to leave anyone here long term, Julia.” You begin, exuding an aura of calm through the empathic channel that now envelops everyone present. “A big part of our effectiveness has been the versatility we have as a team. That said…I think we can cycle through, though. We always split into field teams and support anyway, so let's make Laoc a temporary base while they're rebuilding. Jeraha's given us a building here, we can operate out of it in addition to the Lair. Whoever's not on the active team can help out here, give whatever assistance they can provide."Julia’s smiling, about to voice her thanks when you raise your palm, giving her pause."I'd still like you and Dorian to be available to be called up at a moment's notice, though.” You gently interrupt, your caveat prompting the pale artist to cock her head to one side. “I get your point, Julia. I want to fix Laoc too, but if we need you chances are we'll *really* need you. And this way, even if you are called away you can at least know there will be someone here helping. Make no mistake, though; I need you or whoever else is here on call with Escher’s Gear at all times. Understood?”“Yeah...th-thank you, Shu.” Julia replies, looking up at you with her big, dark eyes, pausing for a moment before she looks around the table. “I’d actually like some t-time to think some things over, if th-that’s…”“Take all the time you need, Julia.” You say gently, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before addressing the rest of your family. “Now, let's talk about ways to stop that flyer and prevent this from happening again. Firstly…Amara, I need you to teach me about the Skinternet. I want to get a spotting group started, recruit Skintalkers from all over to track its movements. Best case scenario we find a nest, but even if that's not a solution we should still be able to get some advance warning to other towns this way.”Amara gives you a playful salute from across the table, and when you meet her gaze you realize that there’s another item that needs to be addressed. “On the topic of the Skinternet; there’s an interaction that Amara and I had a little while ago that I wanted to bring to everyone’s attention. Amara, if you’d be so kind?”“Huh? Oh. Oh yeah, Orwell!” Amara cries, her sudden burst of enthusiasm infectious across your empathic channel. “Can I show them?!”You nod, and with a series of arcane whispers she recounts your discussion with Orwell as the ‘wood’ around you reveals itself to be well-crafted biomass, once teased into the form of oaken planks and now chattering with a myriad of mouths.An unnerving surround-sound to compliment the soft tones of the jukebox in the corner, if nothing else.(Continued)
>>4006649“Isn’t she the coolest?!” Amara asks, rounding on you and your allies once she’s finished. Rath’s furrowed brow leaves little of her displeasure to the imagination, while November’s folded arms do the same for her otherwise inexpressive suit of armor. Francine’s brow is similarly cross, but more out of curiosity and contemplation than anything akin to contempt. Everyone else is suitably worried about the unwanted interruption you experienced, though no-one’s willing to object in the face of Amara’s boundless excitement.“Yeah sweetie, she’s…something else.” Gina smiles, her mind whirring as she turns this new element over, examining Orwell’s approach and intentions from every angle even as she offers Amara an appreciative grin. “So, you’re a big fan, I take it?”“The biggest!” Amara affirms, and from where you sit you cast a glance around the table.“The biggest.” You echo, and everyone present nods solemnly, slowly realizing the issues this particular little fandom could bring to the table.“Terribly sorry, but could you run it back a bit? Roughly a minute and thirty seconds in?” Francine slowly asks, steepling her fingers in front of her face, closing her eyes to listen with calculating intent. Amara cocks an eyebrow before relenting with a simple shrug, looping the audio once more.“Haha, don’t look so mad, I wanna help!” Comes Orwell’s eerily cheerful voice through the lips of her biggest fan. “Wasn’t hard to figure out, if you’re wondering how I knew. It’s not like your Proxy is the first to try and shake things up…operative word being *try*.”“That’s…thank you, Darling. That’ll be all.” The good doctor interrupts, raising her hand before threading her ungloved fingertips together in thought. There’s silence for a few fleeting seconds, and you catch sight of Julia whispering something in Dorian’s ear before he rises from the table.“If I may, I’d like to call a short break.” He says, nodding towards you. “Allow us to gather our thoughts for a while before we reconvene.”“I think that’s a good idea. Everyone? Take a break, refill your drinks and stretch your legs. We’ll meet back here in half an hour.” You announce, and you watch as Julia and Dorian slip away to converse privately while Francine rises from her seat in a daze, thrusting her hands into her pockets as she strides off in silence. Amara’s cat-like ears perk up at the same moment a wide grin spreads across her face, and when you blink she’s already halfway to the front door, yelling over her shoulder.“Some of my scouts are back, and they brought presents!” She declares, her voice fading as she throws the double-doors wide and disappears into the eternal dusky haze of the Fleshscape.‘Presents?’ You mouth to your remaining allies, and the group just gives you a series of puzzled looks and confused shrugs.(Continued)
>>4006651Rath keeps a wary eye on the door for a long moment before rounding on you, leaning forwards on one arm across the table.“So. Orwell.” She bluntly starts. “Sketch as hell, yeah?”“Maybe.” Comes your non-committal reply, paired with a heavy sigh as you take Julia’s empty seat. “I'm hoping that was more a first-impression kind of deal, like with the Midnight Crew."{And if it wasn't?} Gina asks privately across the Crimson Cord as Rath runs a hand through her short red hair.[Then we'll deal with that, too] You reply, scanning the room as you open the channel to your allies. [Keeping talk about Orwell limited to the empathic network would be wise. She's got the Skinternet, but our minds are one place she can't overhear]{Hopefully}, Gina adds grimly, prompting a quick scowl from you.In any case, the break was a good call given how heated the undercurrent of emotions was getting, though you admit you're a little nervous as to what your two artists are talking about. Francine stalking off on her own also gives you some cause for concern, though you can certainly guess at what she's grappling with at the moment. Your mind still churns with everything on your plate, but it's given something else to focus on when Lara turns to Rath, the two of them practically lighting up as they quickly slip into pleasant conversation...with November awkwardly sitting right next to them, trying her best to ignore her niece's flustered giddiness.You have a little time before the break's over with, and even with that short time frame, you intend to use it tactically.>>Take a moment before Amara returns to announce your concerns about Orwell, and gauge your family's thoughts on the matter via the channel.>>Talk to Francine, alone. She's clearly chewing something over, and maybe you could give her burgeoning ideas a little push in the right direction.>>Go talk to Julia and Dorian. They're entitled to their privacy, but you want to make your family's focus crystal clear. No ambiguity, no half-measures...you've had enough of those to last a lifetime.>>Follow Amara outside and see if you can figure out how deep her fangirling goes. You have one or two more questions about the Skinternet you'd like to bring up to her too, while you're at it.>>Listen in on Rath and Lara's conversation until everyone arrives...what? You need doses of cuteness where you can get it, no offense to Amara.>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, I'll be pausing here for the evening and doing something a little different. Voting shall remain open for the next four hours, with the next post to drop around 9:00AM Eastern time tomorrow morning, since I'll write it tonight. Thank you all for your time, participation, enthusiasm, and kind words, and I'll be around this evening if you have any questions, comments, or criticisms. I welcome it all, and I do hope your day went well.)
>>4006654>>Talk to Francine, alone. She's clearly chewing something over, and maybe you could give her burgeoning ideas a little push in the right direction.
>>4006654hrm, well im disappointed in the direction that tied vote went. Julia is letting this get to her way too much in my opinion. Vote;>Go talk to Julia and Dorian. They're entitled to their privacy, but you want to make your family's focus crystal clear. No ambiguity, no half-measures...you've had enough of those to last a lifetime.im just wholly unsatisfied with how things are left off with her here. if she wants to stay, shes a free individual, but i really do not think she is not understanding the issues doing so brings up for sure, among other things.
>>4006667>>4006662can we have Gina help us out on this? Shu can tackle one subject while Gina handles the other.
>>4006805I suppose thats an acceptable compromise, though which to which i couldn't say. would still personally prefer to talk to Julia ourselves, but as part of the compromise it might be best to ask Gina who she is more comfortable tackling.>>4006654>>4006662>>4006667>Do both, and ask Gina to help with the other. whichever she feels more comfortable and up to tackling.>Throw in a quip about how not putting everything on your shoulders was her idea afterall.
>>4006656oh, BHOP, heres something we never asked about but ive always been slightly curious about.What was up with Meg and the giant worm thing she came in on, but then if i remember just sorta discarded?
Oh, damn it, dozed off before making dinner. What did I miss? Okay, Francine is upset about there having been other Proxies to rebel, only to be brought back in line. Yeah, that's worrying. We need to beef up Francine's psychic defenses, then. I think Unyielding Spirit technically should work for that, what with downgrading any negative status effect on her.
>>4006827maybe, though ironically that does kinda help the case against her original plan more... just uh, not perhaps for the reasons we would want.
>>4006826(Ah yes; the Amalgam was in its death throes as Meg had just hollowed it out after a long fight. She was recuperating her losses when you stumbled across her, so she didn't have time to properly recover bio or level up. Its biomass was shorn through by her Core power's most devastating ability, so there was little left to use after she was done with it...merely an empty shell, in the end. It was rather amusing, actually; they ran afoul of each other while both were tunneling underground.)(I hope this answers your question.)
>>4006835haha, and yes it does. thanks.didn't know we fought her not at her best... actually, she came to us to be fair. not sure why she did that then, if she was not at her best. could we still have even stood a chance at that point if she wasn't weakened?
>>4006840(Meg's decision was unwise, as she was on the ragged edge of going Hunger-mad, so the odds of her making rational calls in the heat of combat were slim to none, especially how her Hunger manifested.)(It would've been a much closer fight had she been at full strength, and there would've been a high chance for B'ni to have to show her hand much earlier so that you wouldn't have gotten killed.)
>>4006835I figured it was probably something like that. Something she killed but didn't have time to harvest, kind of like the other worm that Zahira had. Kind of a recurring theme, there, giant worms that the killer doesn't have time to eat before someone forces them to use the biomass for something else.>>4006840Well, we had B'Ni with us, so I imagine if things turned really poorly that would have just lead to her revealing "oh, by the way, I'm actually level eighty-one, not level five" and crushing Meg. But Meg was definitely a lot stronger than Shu and Gina. Gladiatorial Swarm is a triple hybrid, and she had raised it to at least level three given that she could burrow with it, which means that Meg had a minimum level of seventeen compared to Shu and Gina's...I think we were around level four or five, total?
>>4006844>>4006846well, yeah, obviously B'ni could've crushed just about any foe we met. i more of meant within the context of what we THOUGHT we had. which BHOP graciously answered within said context. surprised she was on the cusp though, she was one of the ones i thought was more stable in that regard, as when we met her in the dreamscape her demeanor was exactly the same as outside and gave off the same 'i just wanted a good fight' impression.
>>4006851(Some Daughters seem perfectly fine, yet they're straddling the razor's edge of sanity. Meg's the kind of person where if she's *not* talking, then you know something's very, very wrong.)
>>4006855To be honest, I assumed she was already Hunger-mad when we fought her, and that's why she was so quiet in the fight. Like her Hunger was manifesting as a dissociative state.
>>4006855oh, well i guess Gina would know more about that, but she just gave off the impression she was just like that, even after meeting her in the Dreaming. though to be fair, i think we haven't talked to her much. what with losing Gina for a bit and her being more of the type to befriend Rath, etc.
>>4006864Speaking of Meg and Rath's boxing lessons, has Silvis tagged along for any of those yet? Have Meg and Silvis bonded over punching?
>>4006855>Meg's the kind of person where if she's *not* talking, then you know something's very, very wrong.That hits too close to us men. Most of us when we get stressed tend to bottle them up silently and stoically, and then slowly break under pressure in silence until the rage hits a breaking point and then violence happens.>>4006654>Ask November and Gina a request via channel.>{Gina I need your help. Francine's clearly mulling over the fact that her collective has an actual Inquisition system established, and mulling it over alone won't do her any good. Care to help her brainstorm?}>{November, can you do me a small favor? Ask Amara about how she came across Orwell on the skinternet, what does Orwell do, what does Amara like about Orwell. Don't interject or add your opinion, just ask and listen. Please? I don't want to put pressure on her or give out the wrong opinion, but just let me know what Amara thinks about her.}>Go talk to Julia and Dorian.
>>4006867we seem to have alot of people who make friends through punching the shit out of eachother.>>4006870well, we dont know its an inquisition. West Alpha might be enough, or she could have another method.also, id still prefer to let Gina have a word in who she talks to, and if we WERE going to assign them, you got that flipped. November is clearly close to some degree to Francine, and would do better talking to her. meanwhile Ginas closeness to us probably would make Amara more open to, well, opening up to us.
>>4006867(They have, and they're actually having a great time. Eloise has taken the two of them ice-skating, which I'm going to have to put down on paper sometime, just to render Silvis' fumbles in glorious text.)
>>4006880>well, we dont know its an inquisition. West Alpha might be enough, or she could have another method.West Alpha doesn't strike me as having the level of finesse needed to bring Proxies back into the fold intact. She's basically a hunter-killer drone. And the option to see things from West Tau's perspective in the Interlude voting mentioned that there were two people visiting her that she was terrified to see at her doorstep. I'm thinking that West Alpha probably has a partner, Alpha as the muscle and the other Proxy as the brains.>>4006882Oh, excellent. Good to hear that Eloise is getting along, too, I was worried she'd be too reserved to goof off with the alien. Silvis fumbling on ice, huh? Come to think of it, large amounts of ice are probably very alien to them, the Hexane planet (we really need to learn its name at some point) had two suns. You'd only get frozen water at the poles. This must be so weird for Silvis.
>>4006895>Back into the foldno one said the Proxies were brought back into the fold though, only they failed to 'go their own way'. that easily could mean many things, including just straight up death. we have no confirmation on what it means, only that it means Francine isnt the first to try and betray West Prime.
>>4006882I could imagine Churem developing a guilty pleasure for ice skating somehow. Like a normally uptight and stoic alien mall cop uproariously laughing in glee gliding around the ice rink would be a sight to see, until one of the Hexane chimes in and catches Churem in the act of being not so stoic. Speaking of ice skating, skating on thin ice down a river would be a thing that Eloise might've tried. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3O9vNi-dkA
>>4006880>alien birb that eats beesNOOO WHY ANON.
>>4006907(*'Birds and the Bees' ship intensifies*)
>>4006907because you just know someone out there want to specifically make constructs/amalgams to counter Shu.>>4006911truly, the skinternet is an unforgivable place.
>>4006899>no one said the Proxies were brought back into the fold thoughYes they did. From the last thread>It’s not like your Proxy is the first to try and shake things up…operative word being *try*.” Orwell explains off-handedly. “She’s just the first to make some friends before toeing the line, is all!”To toe the line is to comply with consensus and status quo and go along with what the group tells you to do. Orwell wouldn't have said that if the Proxies were just killed.
>>4006917nothing about that at all in any way means they were forced back into the fold instead of killed.
>>4006916>because you just know someone out there want to specifically make constructs/amalgams to counter Shu.There actually is a type of bird called the bee-eater. Let's hope we never fight a Hive Mistress whose constructs are those.
>>4006916>Truly the skinternet is an unforgivable placeIs that so Jon? Look at me Jon. Look what I have become.
>>4006931oh hey, ive got one of those on the list to post too haha.
>>4006931>>4006938(Unnatural Predators have quite the following on the Skinternet, as I'm sure you could imagine.)
>>4006920It pretty strongly suggests it. Like I said, that's what it means to "toe the line", that you're complying with the commands of your faction instead of being an individual. I suppose it's possible that Orwell is being heavily metaphorical there, and that she's using conformity as symbolism for death. But that seems less likely.
>>4006943Oh no. Now that Lara's been seen working with our group she's going to get so many DMs asking for gonopore pics, isn't she?
>>4006943oh god, have UPDs replaced cat and pet pictures?do skinternet photographers bribe them to act cute and animalisitc?>>4006946no, toeing the line means you're pushing the boundaries of what will get you in trouble. all its saying is, she met us and started to have us warm up to her before she actually started revealing herself as a traitor, which is what kinda happened. nothing about the saying implies at all how they were in the end dealt with, only shes the first not to be alone when it happens.
>>4006943>TIL sexy Monstergirls are still a thing.What's the most popular Monstergirl on the skinternet via rankings? Hellhound themed daughter? Catgirl themed daughter? bunny? Lamia type daughters? Centaur-girls? >>4006946>>4006920Either way, the end result is that the individualism in each proxy that "toes the line" is extinguished. Make that what you will, but it's clear that West Prime does not tolerate individualism and rebellion.
>>4006953im split between wanting to be mildly disgusted at the fact she probably will, and disturbed at my questioning of if she has that, due to her still being largely humanoid, at least after the metamorphosis.
>>4006959>do skinternet photographers bribe them to act cute and animalisitc?More like skintalkers coerce UPDs to let their feral instincts take over. like pic related.
>>4006959>no, toeing the line means you're pushing the boundaries of what will get you in troubleNo, it means to conform to those boundaries. The idiom comes from military inspections, where servicemen had to assemble on a line to be examined. You're toeing the line because you're exactly in position for where you're marked to stand, not because you're going over it.>>4006960>What's the most popular Monstergirl on the skinternet via rankings? Hellhound themed daughter? Catgirl themed daughter? bunny? Lamia type daughters? Centaur-girls? Everyone in the fleshscape is nasty, I'm going to say it's probably not something mammalian. Like eel Daughters are most popular or something like that.
>>4006979nope, it doesn't, not anymore anyways, nor any place ive ever seen. you are literally the only person to ever interpret it that way in my entire life, regardless of where it originally came from or meant.
>>4006960>>4006979(As for the most popular Unnatural Predator, I'll leave that a secret for now. However, I will say this; she's famous for reasons you wouldn't exactly expect, as her content is less 'Monster Musume' and more 'Mythbusters'.)
>>4006985>mythbuster monstergirl>with all the crazy questions and nonsense of the crucible.oh, well now you have my attention BHOP.
>>4006985>as her content is less 'Monster Musume' and more 'Mythbusters'Why am I imagining a West Proxy with Unnatural Predator traits and skintalking abilities? A Mythbusters segment on the skinternet would be perfect for a West Proxy to do science for "fun" that appeals to the general audience.
>>4006982It totally still means that. People use that meaning all the time. I don't know how you've never encountered this usage of the term in your life, but that doesn't change that it's quite common. Seriously, just google the phrase real quick and you'll see that "toe the line" is taken to mean "conform" by more or less everyone. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but you are wrong. >>4006985Oh god, Kari Byron survived into the Crucible and has a hybrid Unnatural Predator/Generator Core based around secreting plastic explosives, hasn't she?
>>4007010>Kari ByronShe's also got a lovely ass and a large arsenal of Gun Relics when it comes to the Gun and explosive myths.
>>4007010(On phone)No, im not. Its like how 'literally' is used differently now-a-days. Just because something had an original meaning does not mean thats what it means, and you simply assuming that because thats what it originally meant is wrong.
>>4007010>>4006982(Upon further inspection, I realize that I made an unfortunate goof; for some reason I thought 'toeing the line' meant to over-step one's boundaries, not to stay within one's limits. The original intent of Orwell's usage was meant to mean "Francine is the first Proxy to step out of line with allies by her side, instead of doing so while alone." I am terribly sorry for the confusion.)>>4007024(The last part for this particular Predator? Unfortunately, no, she has no firearms or explosives to speak of, though her powerset's inspiration does share a name with a particular type of weapon.)(The first part? Very much so.)
>>4007010>>4007033Also, compare both definitions we are putting forth. You'res makes no sense within the phrasing and context orwell is speaking there, especially compared to mine.
>>4007035No BHOP, it does mean that, your not wrong here, the other anon is because he doesn't understand language and phrases usages can change.
Ah, I never actually voted, did I?>>4006654>Ask Gina and November for help via empathic channel>Gina to speak with Amara about Orwell and November to speak with Francine about her worries, unless November thinks that wouldn't go over well. Things were awkward last time she tried to talk to Francine about it. If it would be a bad move, have them swap conversation partners.>We go talk with Julia and Dorian about their plans to assist with Laoc's reconstruction. What are they planning on doing to help here?>>4007039No, it makes just as much sense. It's Orwell saying "yeah, it's weird, most Francines don't manage to find help before they get pulled back into the hive mind". But whatever, BHOP was using the phrase wrong too.>>4007043Oh, fuck off. No, the phrase means "to conform". Just because you and BHOP both happened to be wrong (sorry, BHOP, but you are) doesn't make it mean something it doesn't. Seriously, just type the words "toe the line" into any search engine and you will see that the consensus is about conformity. Yes, the usage of terms can change, but in this case it hasn't. You're just both making faulty assumptions, only BHOP is willing to actually look it up and admit when he's wrong while you're being completely obstinate about it. Seriously, for every use of the phrase "toe the line" to mean "overstep boundaries" there are a thousand meaning "to conform". It is not unreasonable to assume that's what Orwell meant here.
>>4006982>>4007039Oi. Semantics are fun to argue like a pair of Jews and Theology, but we're getting caught up in the details. What IS relevant however is that we now know that Proxies attempting to rebel when they sense an opportunity to escape Prime's Thumb and inquisition has happened in the past and have almost always end in failure and repression. Francine's case is unique that she's able to gather allies before declaring her rebellion. And this also means that there are proxies among the collective who want to rebel and strike out on their own but find themselves either unable to or lack the courage. Francine's likely mulling this over in her mind about the possibility of a good alternative to the original "suicide Martyrdom" plan that we vehemently proposed. The fact that there are other proxies who also yearn for independence would give her inspiration of a sorts, but she's needs someone to bounce ideas off of.
>>4007052Yeah, you're right. Doesn't matter the particulars, the confusion has been cleared up. Let's just move on.So, okay, other rogue Proxies. I'm not sure if we can use them, though. "Doesn't want to obey West Prime" is not necessarily the same thing as "is a good person". It might just be the same selfish personality traits that Prime has leading the Proxies to want to work on their own research projects instead of being sacrificed for the good of the collective. The fact that Francine is the only one to try to acquire allies also suggests that other rogue Proxies may have issues with sociability and cooperation, which might make working with them impossible, But yes, it does present an interesting opportunity. We'll have to be careful, but if we can find ones that are willing to work with us they'd be a good source of second opinions.
>>4007048nope, it makes much less sense with your wrong definition, and you're simply in the wrong here. its changed, simple as that, and if you're too mentally dumb to realize a definition of a phrase might not be what its mainly used for anymore, thats on you. and nice ignoring of the fact i never said it did not originate or once mean what you said, in matter of fact, i said it could've sure. but that doesn't mean its still used that way, regardless of what a 'definition' says. i also never said it was unreasonable to assume orwell meant that, you're the asshat who refused to even aknowledge, even if its just regional, that the usage and meaning of a phrase could be different. as far as im concerned, you punted first, you can fuck right off, and evidence has been shown you're wrong about it only having one meaning nor that one being the only correct one.
>>4007059Also, it's probably giving Francine some doubts, because her plan was based on the idea that she was the only good West, so it would be perfectly acceptable and in fact noble for her to kill every West Proxy. But if there are other Proxies that are rebelling, then she'd have ethical issues with the virus plan, because what if there are others who are good people? She'd be murdering them, then. So this is good for us, in a way, it helps dissuade Francine from the self-sacrifice plan now that she as to consider that she might be sacrificing others, too.
>>4007052i mean, for one, just because they wish to rebel does not automatically make them any better than West Prime, in actions or goals. its also quite possible she has already weeded out any she cant trust. lets not forget, Gamma West was on her way to replace Francine, so even before she openly rebelled West Prime clearly was cleaning house, and knew what to look for potentially.
>>4007071could be, though my first thought was she was thinking she may not be the first to try a similar attack on the West Network or Prime. which might put her in further doubts and make her plan take even longer to formulate. though, while West and the Proxies are a major threat, not like we dont have plenty of major and secondary things to fill that gap at least.
>>4007079wasn't there a potential omake that we could've viewed featuring a West Proxy? I feel like we could've gotten more info had we chosen that interlude, but alas B'ni and Sam were pretty big in terms of relevance
>>4007103yeah. dont remember which proxy though. was a 'as a West Proxy packs up a lab, they meet someone who even West fears.'might of given us insight into the Proxies, but honestly the description at least personally sounds like a sneak peak to a later character(and possibly villain.) over actually focusing on the West Prime and her goals.
>>4007103Yeah. Here was the description in the vote:>>West Tau is making last-minute preparations in advance of Prime's ascension when she has two unexpected guests; one that inspires fear, and one that inspires something far more unsettling for the cold Doctor.Might have something to do with the First Daughter (I don't want to call her Alpha, we've got too many Alphas in this story). From what we saw in Alicja's interlude, the First would probably be pretty unsettling to the Wests.
(Gentlemen, I shall be heading to bed shortly. I wish you all a good rest when you get one, and a very good morning as well.)
>>4007125Good night, BHOP. Thanks for running.
>>4007125night, see ya come bright side.
>>4006656I personally dont like this new way of doing things i can see why you would want to. So i wont ask you to change it.So i will accept not being able to vote before waking up again which is usually to late to then still vote
>>4007210you could do what ive done, which is just wake up for the post to vote, then sleep again. with 4 hours(lets be honest, 5 hours as BHOP rarely is ready to post right as voting closes, not that i blame him or anything) now, thats like, legitimately more than a nap now between updates.
>>4006654[Gina? Mind if I ask you a favor?]{Oh, you've built up plenty of favors. Worked damn hard for them, too}Gina teases, a few choice selections of your restful evening flitting through your mind's eye at her prompting. {Ask away~}[Okay, first; damn you] You fire back, crossing your legs and fighting to keep the blush that's creeping up your neck at bay. [Second, I think both Francine and Julia could use some attention, and I wanted to leave it up to you as to which one you're up to tackling.You pick one, and I'll talk to the other]{Aw, is this you taking-}[-your advice to heart? Yeah, it is. No need to sound so amazed, GG] You counter, cocking an eyebrow at her from where you stand at the other end of the table.{*Pride*. It's pride you're feeling, Shu. Get used to it, you're awesome} Gina chuckles, making a show of tapping one slender finger against her soft chin. {Actually, what if we brought November in to talk with Francine, and I go talk with Amara? The whole 'Orwell' thing has me a little on edge, so who best to tell us about her than her number one fan?}[Good move] You say, watching Gina gesture to November as she risesfrom her seat. [Leave the artists to me, then]You make your way to the hall of doors where your artisans ran off to, and you're tempted to just knock on doors until you find the right one when the sixth one on the left is opened wide. Dorian steps out, lost in thought before he notices your approach, and even then he maintainshis reticent silence until you're right in front of him."Hey Dorian, are y-""Shu, I'm...yes, Miss Shu. I'm fine. Lady Julia would like to speak with you a moment." He says stiffly, gesturing towards the closed door as conflicted emotions billow off the young man like storm clouds. Before you can voice any inquisitions, he strides down the halltowards the double-doors, disappearing into the streets of Laoc in search of clarity. Reaching out, you take hold of the doorknob and ease it open, the hinges groaning the sound of bone-on-bone as you reveal a small bedroom, its high window allowing the light of dusk tobathe the room in scarlet-gold."Hey, I wanted to come and chat, but...is Dorian going to be alright?" You begin, glancing back down the hall with the door half-closed behind you."He'll b-be going with you. November t-too, when I talk to her after we're d-done here." Julia answers, gentle smile cast in the warm glow of the light streaming in through the tall window behind her.(Continued)
>>4007656"...I'm afraid I don't follow, if I'm being totally honest." You say slowly, studying the artisan's kind, dark eyes. She pats the seat next to her and you relent, sitting down as she begins to speak."Shu, I know I'm th-the only one that r-really wants t-to stay. Dorian's sweet, but he'd b-be staying for the wrong reasons. As for November, she...I get this f-feeling of guilt from her that I c-can't really place, but she needs to b-be with Rath. They're learning about each other, helping each other in s-so many ways, and that's r-really beautiful."You reach out with your empathic field in the face of Julia's inscrutable smile, and you find a host of opposites swirling in her heart. Fear, and courage. Submission, and defiance. Anger, and joy. Yet, despite it all, there's no trace of the turmoil you'd expect with all of that and more weighing on her mind...in the place of chaos and conflict, you're surprised to find a gentle calm. One that makes you more confused, than anything."Are you mad that so few of us want to stay?" You posit, trying to get a lead on how Julia's feeling, and the blond girl merely shakes her head."I understand where you're c-coming from...I do. There's a world at stake. *Our* world. Our present, our future, our...everything. That mission takes precedence. So, no. I'm not mad at you, or Dorian, or anyone. I d-don't blame them for not wanting to stay. I...k-kind of feel the opposite. I'm mad that I want to s-stay. I know in the grand scheme of things that one t-town pales next to the Cord and p-putting an end to all this...macro versus micro, like F-Francine said. Saving our world...it's a n-numbers game. I don't like it, but th-that's how it is."You're about to protest when she places a hand on your knee, meeting your eyes with her shining gaze.(Continued)
>>4007659"I'm not in control of anyone b-but myself, and I know that if I left now without trying t-to help Laoc's people more, then...I'd carry that with me, and I know it'd weigh me d-down. This is *my* thing, Shu. I d-don't expect anyone else in our family to drop everything j-just because I feel like I need to d-do this." She continues, chuckling softly in spite of herself. "I know focusing on the m-micro right now doesn't make sense, but I *feel* that it's the r-right thing to do. J-Just for a little while. Just...staying to help these people, to learn their n-names, to show them that there are p-people on the outside that aren't just willing to f-fight the good fight, but to stick with them when the f-fighting's done and all that's left is p-picking up the p-pieces."She swallows hard, her throat working to form her impassioned words"I'll k-keep a spoke of Escher's G-Gear with me. I'll b-be by your side in an instant if you n-need me. I'll even help you d-defeat the Mole before I go, or d-do anything else you need, b-but...this is important to me, Shu. I know it's n-not the logical thing...but I feel like it's the r-right thing. For me, at least. I didn't mean to g-guilt anyone b-back there...I'm not as eloquent as you or D-Dorian, so I feel like I could've m-made my point a lot b-better...I'm not sure if anything I s-said makes sense or not, b-but...it's how I feel, and I f-figured you'd want m-me to be honest, so...y-yeah. That's...th-that's all I had to say."There's a moment of quiet, and it's in during that brief reprieve that you realize Julia's hand is trembling. Not just her hand; you were so enraptured by her words and her eyes that you failed to notice her entire body is shaking like a leaf.Julia...she was scared to tell you all this. It's only now, as you take her hand in both of yours, that it hits you; you're fairly certain that this is the most she's ever spoken.......and it's in defense of a choice.>>Julia seems content to be the only one to remain in Laoc, and on-call at that. You have no issue with this situation as it stands, so you'd like to [speak with Julia some more/Go talk to one of your allies during the break].>>Since Julia realizes how this doesn't contribute to the over-arching goal, then maybe with a bit of discussion she'll realize that staying in Laoc's a losing battle. Julia's a kind soul, and she's just going to wear herself ragged, if you let her.>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four and a half hours, as I had to post a little early due to wrestling with some formatting issues that could most effectively be done from home.)
>>4007660>sigh, and nod. Give Julia a warm, sincere smile and a pat on the leg.>"Julia... I understand. I may not agree, but I do, really. I dont think anyone felt like you were trying to guilt them, or anything like that...">"But, you have to also understand where we're coming from. which i think you do.">Sigh, and give things a moment.>"Look... you control your own life. please understand, that what im about to say isn't said with malice, or anger. not with contempt or in-compassion. Know that I love you like family, a friend ill never be able to hate.">"...But im also a leader, by you guys choice. and one that, whether we like it or not, no matter how much i want to deny it or mitigate it... one thats accomplished alot in these three weeks, compared to what even some of the best have done in two years. Its fact, nothing more, and i hope to make sure i keep it that way.">Turn to look at her.>"But all of that was possible, because we, our family, stuck together. because we helped eachother first, or if we didn't, we did helped others at our own expense, together, as a team.">"If you leave. Ill have to remember that, even if having to doesn't make much sense. Ill have to remember, you chose Laoc and your own feelings over the team, over the family.">"Im not saying we wont want you back, or wont let you back, hah, lord knows i love you too much to not.">"But you also need to understand, if only from my perspective as someone who has to lead you guy, who you guys have chosen to constantly look to for the final word, what you leaving means aswell. what you choosing this over us and what we have put our lives on the line for means.">Let the air sit for a moment.>"I know it might hurt for hear all that... but its the truth. its how i feel. I mean what im about to say. I hope things go well here, i do, and i hope and will be more than glad when you're ready to return...">Turn back to look at her.>"But you're still ripping something out of us, both as a team and a family. You've seen it, you've experienced it. what can change in a day out there, let alone just a few hours. what we go through.">"...when you do return, you're gonna have to understand, everything could be different... and im gonna have to keep in mind, for our sake, the fact thats happened. thats the reality of it.">lean in, and pull her into a hug. a deep, hard one.>"Thats all im saying, in the end, i guess. Know im not holding this against you, im not trying to change your mind... but if i ignored the reality of it too, if i didnt say it... id not be able to live with letting you walk away. I hope no matter how me speaking my mind sounded, you understand that.">Go and see how things went with Francine and Amara, then meet with Ivey, if she has arrived.>>4007661yeah, and dont take this the wrong way, ive noticed since your return some lines have randomly cut out short and started back up below for some reason. trying a new method of typing/posting id assume?
>>4007664(The new style of formatting is entirely unwanted, I assure you. I despise it, and I'm trying to pinpoint where it's coming from in my text-porting process.)
>>4007666i figured, and hope you figure it out aswell.
>>4007660>"Julia...As much as I would like to disagree with you, I understand why you want to do this.">"A lot can change in just a few hours. Things could be different by the time you return. You yourself might change in the time you're away from the family.">"I hold no ill will against your choice, but please do keep in mind the consequences of the choice you make and how it affects others.">"We will miss you in the time you're away, staying here in Laoc, helping the town pick up the pieces until they can stand on their own two feet.">"I'll miss you for your tea and hospitality, Amara will miss you for being the kind aunt she sees you as...">Look in the direction that Dorian has stalked off to. A forlorn expression graces your face as one who knows what it's like to be heartbroken.>"Dorian will miss you, you know. Prior to meeting you, the bottle was his companion during the days in his old house. He will miss you greatly. To him, you are his rock. His constant. His source of stability in this maddening world who gives him the will to keep him going. The woman who welcomes him home with a warm smile on her face and a hot brew to soothe his stresses. Most importantly to him, you're woman he loves.">Spawn a pair of paired-jacklings, each of them having an exclusive channel of communication linked to the other. Hand one of them to Julia. The other will be for Dorian. >"I have no doubt that Dorian would be in constant yearning over your absence. But I think the comfort of hearing your voice over the phone will be enough for him to keep going. Until either we return to Laoc after one of our expeditions, or until Laoc has recovered enough to stand on its own.">Look at Julia in the eye. Dead serious but warm. >"But please, above all else. Don't run yourself ragged over helping the town while we're away. Please don't overexert yourself. Laoc may be a small town, but it's a town that has seen its fair share of hardships and has come out the other side ragged but intact. The town, and its townsfolk have survived much this far, they've shown that they are capable of standing on their own two feet.">Pull Julia into a deep hard hug.>"Take care of yourself. Please.">leave.
>>4007569I might try that today actually.I just hope to not kneecap my sleeping schedule too much with this.
>>4007661>Julia, I understand completely. First, I just want you to know that you're always welcome to tell me how you feel. Everybody on the team has the right to be honest, not only with the others, but also with themselves. And for you to take a stand on this tells me how much this means to you.>I would never force you to do anything you're not completely uncomfortable with. And even if I did, I know that leaving Laoc behind would eat away at you over time. Staying with us would help our team's flexibility, but it would also mean you wouldn't be fighting at 100%. I wouldn't dream of having you risk yourself while something so important weighs on your conscience.> Just promise me one thing. Laoc is full of people that need help and support. But you're a person too, Julia. Remember to prioritize yourself as well when you're working. You're one of the kindest people I know, and that's an amazing quality. But there's a difference between keeping people warm and setting yourself on fire to do so. You see what I'm getting at? Help people, but make sure to sweety boundaries for yourself as well. >>>4007687Include the jackling section, so that Dorian can keep in touch with her.
>>4007777*set boundaries for yourself, dang autocorrect.
>>4007687>>4007777wouldn't just making a set of hive phones or something work better? doesn't take up swarmling slots or make them rely on Shu for communication. not to mention any potential issues with privacy going through Shus Swarmlings.
>>4007782Gah. You're right. >>4007687>>4007660Amending my vote to add:>Order up a pair of Hive Phones for Dorian and Julia.
>>4007782You're right, that's way better.
>>4007660>>Julia seems content to be the only one to remain in Laoc, and on-call at that. You have no issue with this situation as it stands, so you'd like to [speak with Julia some more/Go talk to one of your allies during the break].>>Write-In>"I can't say I'm happy about this, Julia. Not because you want to stay to help with Laoc. You're doing something that you believe in and that will help people, I'm never going to be upset with you over that.">"But you know me. I'm a worrier. You're taking on a hefty burden, and you're going to do it without any of us. You're up for the task, I've got faith in you to tackle anything, but I'm still going to worry.">"Promise me that you'll take care of yourself. Not just keeping safe, but keeping relaxed. Don't run yourself ragged here. You deserve consideration, too. And if you ever feel that you need help, do not hesitate to call us. Or just if you want to talk, to me or Dorian or Amara or any of us. We all love you, and we're going to miss you while you're gone.">Add a pair of Hive Phones to any build orders for Relics we have.
>>4007660You nod solemnly, considering her words as you gather your thoughts with a sigh."Julia... I understand. I may not agree, but I do, really. I don’t think anyone felt like you were trying to guilt them, or anything like that...but, you have to also understand where we're coming from Look...you control your own life. Please understand, that what I’m about to say isn't said with malice, or anger. Not with contempt or any lack of compassion. Know that I love you like family, a friend I’ll never be able to hate."She begins to tense, but relaxes slightly when you give her hand a squeeze. “By everyone’s choice, I’m the leader of our team… and one that, whether we like it or not, no matter how much I want to deny it or mitigate it...one that’s accomplished a lot in these three weeks, compared to what even some of the best have done in two years. It’s fact, nothing more, and I hope to keep it that way. But all of that was possible, because we, our family, stuck together. Because we helped each other first, or if we didn't, we did helped others at our own expense, together, as a team."Julia casts her dark gaze to your side as you continue."If you leave? I’ll have to remember that, even if having to doesn't make much sense. I’ll have to remember that you chose Laoc and your own feelings over the team, over the family." You say quietly. “I’m not saying we won’t want you back, or won’t let you back. Lord knows I love you too much to not…but you also need to understand what you leaving means, as well. What you choosing this over us and what we have put our lives on the line for means."She nods, not daring to meet your eyes even as you exude an air of understanding across the channel.“I know it might hurt for hear all that...but it’s the truth. It’s how I feel. I mean what I’m about to say. I hope things go well here, I do, and I will be more than glad when you're ready to return..." You trail off, reaching out to tilt Julia’s chin so that your eyes meet before you speak once more. "…but you're still ripping something out of us, both as a team and a family. You've seen it, you've experienced it. A lot can change in just a few hours. Things could be different by the time you return. You yourself might change in the time you're away from the family. I mean it when I say that I hold no ill will against your choice, but please do keep in mind the consequences of the choice you make and how it affects others."She opens her mouth to say something, then closes it, opting instead to simply nod as she stares unblinkingly into your eyes.(Continued)
>>4007887"We’ll miss you in the time you're away. I'll miss you for your tea and hospitality, Amara will miss you for being the kind aunt she sees you as..." You emphasize, glancing towards the door with a pang in your heart. "Dorian will miss you too, you know. Prior to meeting you, the bottle was his companion during the days in his old house. He will miss you greatly. To him, you’re his rock. His constant. His source of stability in this maddening world who gives him the will to keep him going. The woman who welcomes him home with a warm smile on her face and a hot brew to soothe his stresses. Most importantly to him, you're woman he loves…so, to that end…”You hive twitches as a pair of Hive-Phone Swarmlings crawl from your spine, with one flitting over to Julia’s side on a pair of gossamer wings while the other clings to your shoulder.“Dorian may get lonely, but I think the comfort of hearing your voice over the phone will be enough for him to keep going…and I know the rest of us will want to hear your voice, too. Until either we return to Laoc after one of our expeditions, or until Laoc has recovered enough to stand on its own." You say, your tone taking on a harder edge, yet still tempered by the warmth in your voice. "But please, above all else, don't run yourself ragged over helping the town while we're away. Laoc is full of people that need help and support, but you're a person too, Julia. Remember to prioritize yourself as well when you're working. You're one of the kindest people I know, and that's an amazing quality, but there's a difference between keeping people warm and setting yourself on fire to do so. You see what I'm getting at? Help people, but make sure to set boundaries for yourself as well.”“I…I will. Th-thank you, Shu.” Julia says, her voice threatening to break. When you pull her into the tightest, warmest hug you’ve ever give your kind artist...she can’t hold back. You hold her like that for a while, feeling her heart strain under the weight of her decision and its consequences through the channel as your own chest aches from her choice. After a few moments, she asks you in a small, trembling voice to let her have a few moments to herself, and you’re happy to oblige.God, you need some fresh air.Throwing the double-doors of city hall wide, you take in a deep breath of Laoc’s air and immediately regret your decision. You almost gag from the lungful of moist, charred air you suck in, managing a discreet cough to dislodge the foul breath from your throat. Patting your chest as you scan the square, Gina and Amara are trotting up to you, with a pair of Joyous behind them, a collection of odd items held in their arms.“Presents!” Amara cheers, throwing her arms up in the air as her two clones ferry the Relics over for your inspection. “And there’s more coming, too! I’ve got two more of me following the pants-less woman over with her friends!”(Continued)
>>4007888>>RELICS ACQUIRED: Shalaev’s Shawl x1 (you now possess two), General Generator’s Succulent Sauce x2, Shipping Goggles x1, Mr. Bones’ Blockade Ball x1>>MR. BONES BLOCKADE BALL (consumable): A classic relic known by its name, this relic is composed of a mishmash of human skulls melded together in a tight ball the size of a softball. The skulls on the ball unnervingly rattle when shaken. To use, the daughter must infuse bio into the relic, wait 3 seconds, then throw the relic. Upon detonation, the Relic explodes into an army of skeleton constructs (10% bio per skeleton) that amble about and do their best to grapple and hold down the closest daughter they can find. The skeletons themselves are fairly weak individually but they provide a small yet crucial in aiding a daughter's escape or even provide a small buffer of protection. As an alternate function if the Daughter by shakes the relic 5 times within the 3 second timer before throwing the relic, the relic instead expands into a giant rolling ball of skeletons that automatically grapples anything within close range (costs 100/200/300/500% bio for Small/Medium/Large/X-Large size ball. Small size = 1 rook) upon detonation.Gingerly handing the ball of skulls back to the expressionless clone, you ruffle Amara’s hair as she darts past you, eager to show the rest of your family the fruits of her scouting.[So, how’d things go?] You ask, glancing to the brunette at your right.{Pretty well, actually. Sounds like Orwell’s more like her authorial namesake than his most famous work} Gina replies, matching your leisurely pace back up the steps. {Advocates her listeners to think for themselves, think critically, and be slow to trust. Cheerful about it, though. Keeps an undercurrent of hope in all her stuff, tries to give balanced coverage that’s equal parts good and bad news}“Hm.” You mutter aloud, mulling over the information before replying via your bond with the girl at your side. [Seems kind of counter-current to her offer to me, though. Telling her listeners to ‘think for themselves’ on the one hand while she’s offering to redact the truth for me, on the other?]{Oh, I’m not saying she’s not suspect, just that her approach is an interesting one} She says, smirking as she moves through the door you hold open for her. {A one-on-one interview should do wonders to help us figure out what she’s all about, and…pffhaha, oh wow. Check that out}Gina points as she suppresses a snicker, and you follow her line of sight from where you stand in the mezzanine to see Francine caught in an awkward hug by November’s towering bulk. To your surprise the doctor returns the gesture albeit hesitantly, heaving a sigh while patting the cyborg’s back before breaking contact after an appropriate amount of time. With that, Francine returns to her seat to wait for the meeting to resume while November strides up to you, voxel-voice low.(Continued)
>>4007889“I, uh…I think she’s brewing a better plan, now.” She declares, reaching up to rub the back of her neck, stopping when you wince at the screech of steel on chrome. “I couldn’t begin to make sense of the little summary she gave me and she’s still working out the kinks, but at least she has something positive to work towards…I think. She said she just needs to think it over for a while, is all."You nod, breathing a little sigh of relief as you glance over towards Francine as she sits, pensive as she stares out one of the main room’s high windows. While you’re still not entirely pleased with Julia’s decision, you suppose you’re going to have to just live with it, for now. At least Amara and Francine seem to be in higher spirits, and you know they’re going to need that in the fights to come. Really, Julia’s call to kindness couldn’t have come at a worse time, but you can’t blame her for how she is. Dorian’s own state of mind is going to be another factor you’ll need to keep tabs on, to say nothing of the roiling emotions you felt weighing on Julia’s heart…despite the empathic channel, conflicting thoughts and desires with no one prevailing feeling makes it infuriatingly difficult to address the issues at hand. Is there something deeper she’s dealing with? Is this her legitimately doing what she thinks is right, or is there another reason she wants to put some distance between her and the rest of your family? Maybe it’s all of the above…your empathic channel’s certainly no help in figuring out what’s really under her skin, in this case.You can only hope you made the right call by letting Julia have her way.>>Go ahead and assign tasks and teams to some of the issues you have to address. You’ve had enough talking; it’s time for action, and then you’ll Consume the remains of the fallen before heading out [ASSIGN ALLIES TO TASKS, COMPOSE TEAMS, EQUIP RELICS].>>There are one or two last thing you’d like to bring up to your allies before moving out or Consuming the remains of Laoc’s fallen guardians, and you’d also like to touch base with Ivey before moving out, too (Write-In).>>You still have a little time before the meeting resumes, so talk with [Ally or Dream Daughter of choice], then open the meeting once more.>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four hours. I hope you're having a good day, one and all.)
>>4007892(To clarify, the CONSUME vote will open this evening if the first option is chosen. However, if there are more things you'd like to address before leaving Laoc, then it will likely be delayed until tomorrow evening. I leave it to you, Gentlemen.)
>>4007891>>There are one or two last thing you’d like to bring up to your allies before moving out or Consuming the remains of Laoc’s fallen guardians, and you’d also like to touch base with Ivey before moving out, too (Write-In).>Bring up Ozmas' offer already. Even if we don't take it, because it's fucking OZMAS, the party deserves to know it's an option.
>>4007891>There are one or two last thing you’d like to bring up to your allies before moving out or Consuming the remains of Laoc’s fallen guardians, and you’d also like to touch base with Ivey before moving out, too (Write-In)>"I know it's going to sound scary, but Ozmas contacted me last night. They're offering information on their end from the Perspective of a person who's currently sitting in the big chair. No strings attached, catches. Ozmas seems resigned to their fate of fading away, but she's also wanting to help us see that the Crucible comes to an end."
>>4007891>>There are one or two last thing you’d like to bring up to your allies before moving out or Consuming the remains of Laoc’s fallen guardians, and you’d also like to touch base with Ivey before moving out, too (Write-In).>>Bring up Ozmas Offer about getting information from her her. >Ask the team to mull it over and give you their answer and if they want to take it what kind of questions they would want to ask.>If it works out with the timing go and meet Ivey and the Hyenas to touch base and if they have any questions about what happened here
And now I must leave for work.
>>4007906Farewell, anon. Have a nice day.
>>4007906(Have a good day at work!)>>4007908
>>4007891>There are one or two last thing you’d like to bring up to your allies before moving out or Consuming the remains of Laoc’s fallen guardians, and you’d also like to touch base with Ivey before moving out, too.>tell the team about Ozmas offer, and of course, the obvious reservations over taking it.>>4007892also folks, just realized a big issue here relating to Julia, possibly anyways. we STILL have not gotten things settled with Gemma damnit, and thats kinda important to do before we head to the AA with Magpie in a day or so aswell, as to a degree the decision on Gemma could affect if we need to really go at all, albeit we still might want to just meet them, our actual business there was only related to the Gemma shard there.
>>4007933Say, I don't believe the Tinker Tailor was mentioned as having returned yet. Where is she?
>>4007997(Ha, oh, she'll be by your side shortly.)
>>4008001(I was literally just typing out dialogue for her when you posted.)
>>4008001Nice. I want to see what she, Francine and Rath can cook up together. Gonna be some neat stuff.
>>4007944>gemmagod dammit. so many mixed messages and backlogs, it was bound to happen.
>>4008021I think we should talk to Gemma after we eat and level up. Julia said she'd still be available in the short term, so if we do need to resolve things with her and the other alter we can still do that. So we'll eat, head into the dreamscape while we sleep off the post-meal drowsiness, talk to Gemma with Julia and decide where to go from there.
>>4008038Maybe, we'll see how things pan out. Wouldn't be the first time its not been that simple, to say the least.
>>4007891Settling back down with your allies, you decide to address the elephant in the room…or rather, the Hexane."I know it's going to sound scary, but Ozmas contacted me last night. They're offering information.” You announce, prompting a wave of distrust that explodes across the empathic channel, directed at the one that occupies the throne at the top of the Cord. “No strings attached, no catches. Ozmas seems resigned to their fate of fading away, but she's also wanting to help us see that the Crucible comes to an end."“Haha, yeah, no.” Rath immediately snorts, leaning back in her chair as she fixes the ceiling with a wry grin and a hard stare. “Mother can go screw herself.”“Duly noted.” You sigh, glancing around the rest of your family. “What about everyone else? What’re your thoughts, and do we have anything we want to ask the Crucible’s acting Admin?”“Perhaps she’d have some advice about the Gemma situation, or some way to stop Dream Daughters from broadcasting like she was before we stopped her?” Gina offers, trying to get the conversation started despite your family’s reticence to even consider Ozmas as an option.Oh. Shoot, yeah, that’s still a thing.You just nod sagely, privately kicking yourself for letting Gemma’s shard slip your mind in the flurry of activity surrounding Laoc and, to a lesser extent, Julia herself. The room’s still silent, and after it lingers for a few seconds too long you heave a sigh.“Screw it. All in favor of talking to Ozmas, raise your hand.” You say, watching as Gina and Francine’s hands are the only ones in the room to rise.“Cool, cool. All in favor of telling her to fuck right off?” Rath counters, thrusting her hand in the air with everyone else’s hands mirroring hers, save for Dorian.“I’ve got lots of fun words for when we see her again!” Amara helpfully supplies.“Alright, well…that settles that.” You mutter, rubbing the bridge of your nose as you catch Dorian just staring down at the table, the scarlet paint that makes up half of his face twisting in place, first one way, then another. “Now, on to-“The sound of the tavern’s double-doors slamming against the walls opposite them brings your train of thought to a screeching halt as the hall is suddenly filled with the cacophony of boots tramping on wood, suddenly cut short by the bark of a familiar voice.“Glinthawk, climb up with Marco and get me surveillance.” Ivey orders as she strides into the main hall, the bartender alarmed at the sudden entrance. The tall, muscular leader of the Hyenas turns to a woman at her side; a lithe, antlered young woman with an intensely serious expression. “Blitzen, take the rest and find the groups Jeraha briefed us on. They’ll need all the help we can-“Ivey’s nostrils flare, her gaze whipping around to meet your eyes with a chuckle.(Continued)
>>4008205“Razorback, you’re with me. There’s someone I want you to meet.” Ivey says, calling over her shoulder to an unseen woman in the crowd as she makes her way over to your table. You rise as Blitzen darts out with the rest of the team, leaving a woman roughly Rath’s height and Gina’s proportions behind to walk over to her leader’s side, with Ivey practically twice her height. You meet the plump woman’s forest green eyes, and she gives you a once-over and a curt nod in that order, the trace of a scowl on her forehead. Her hair’s slicked back, the coarse black follicles revealing flecks of cracked calcite armor, the remnants of a recent fight clear on her face.“Razor, meet Shu. Shu, meet my right-hand gal.” Ivey grins, prompting the much-shorter girl to thrust out her hand for shake, which you take her up on.“Glad you all made it.” You say earnestly, wincing slightly at the sheer power behind Razor’s grip. “So, you met with Jeraha already?”“Aye, and she told us what you all did for Laoc.” Ivey affirms, giving you an appreciative clap on the shoulder.“It’s what anyone would’ve done.” You reply, and Ivey just laughs and shakes her head.“Humble as always, I see…AND I’ve gotta say, you’ve got the fastest-growing team I’ve ever seen.” Ivey says, nodding to your left as you give her a quizzical look. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”You turn, flinching when you’re met with a gasmask-obscured face, the owner peering up at you through dark lenses.“helloyesIamherenow. here’syourthingback.” Tinker Tailor greets with a rapid wave of her left hand, thrusting a tangle of metal and wires into your arms. Looking down, you find your Uzi fundamentally changed, the living cables squirming against your flesh, almost yearning for you to take hold of it and wrap your finger around the trigger.“What the…did you upgrade this?” You ask, almost afraid of the girl’s answer.“doalottathings. can’tkeeptrack.” Tinker replies with a hasty shrug. “sorryforthewait. hadotreturnwhatiborrowed.”>>UZI (Mk 2): The Uzi’s base form had been drastically modified, as it now tethers itself to the wielder’s very mind through an elaborate neuromantic weave. This upgrade sets the Uzi’s accuracy at a base of 100%, and allows the user to ignore up to two status ailments that would hamper the weapon being fired. Speaking of the firing, the Uzi’s owner may now make a single burst fire per round as a free action, though if they choose not to take this free action then the Uzi will be primed to automatically react against the first attack made against its owner in the following round, twisting the user’s arm as it unleashes a hail of lead against those that would harm its holder.After inspecting the revamped Relic, you look up to thank the artisan only to find her at the bar, giving Sierra a jittery order for a cup of coffee.Well, that was…something.(Continued)
>>4008207“I…yeah, I don’t know.” You sigh when Ivey turns back to you for an explanation, eyebrow cocked in amusement.“You meet all kinds, am I right? Anyway, I’m going to chat with Sierra to get the lay of the land, but if you wanna catch up over a drink, I’m game.” She says, turning to stride over to the bar and giving everyone present an eyeful thanks to her unfortunate choice of clothing. Razor just shoots you a glare before following suit, the entire last thirty seconds having left you utterly bewildered. You’re still off-kilter when Rath erupts from her seat, racing to your side in her haste to examine the upgraded weapon in your hands.“Holy…what’d she DO?! This is amazing!” She says with awe, gingerly taking the gun from your hands and cradling it in her arms like some kind of writhing, metallic infant.From over her shoulder you can see Gina stifling a laugh, and just behind the top of her brunette head you spy Julia and Dorian, the two of them sitting in awkward silence. Now that it’s needling at your mind, the Gemma situation is one you’d prefer to bury sooner rather than later…a prudent choice of words, if she insists on being a threat to Julia’s safety.Ozmas’ offer was really the last major thing you wanted to tackle with everyone present, so now that the meeting’s mostly over, Ivey has arrived, and Tinker’s returned, you have a few options in front of you.>>Since you’ve been reminded of it, you might as well deal with Gemma now, rather than later. You never know what’s on the horizon, and that’s something you want to put to bed before leaving Laoc.>>Catch up with Ivey to see how her job hunt’s been, and see what her connection is to Laoc…or, more precisely, to Jeraha. It might be prudent to bring up that Julia will be staying behind, as well.>>Take a second or two to speak with Tinker Tailor…what she did with the Uzi is amazing, and you’re intrigued to see what she, Rath, and Francine can come up with, if she’s interested.>>Talk privately (or not) with a member of your family, waking or otherwise (Choose ally or allies to speak with).>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four hours.)
>>4008212>>Since you’ve been reminded of it, you might as well deal with Gemma now, rather than later. You never know what’s on the horizon, and that’s something you want to put to bed before leaving Laoc.Just addressing the elephant in the room, mostly privately though, should be a priority with Ozmazes offer out of the way.and back to sleep again. Good Night anons
>>4008212>Encourage Rath, and maybe Francine too, to go and find out more about your local Tinkerer. its certainly something you know Rath would be interested in, at the very least. hand her a bit of biomass with a wink, just to get the ball rolling.>then, as awkward as it'll be, given everything and the timing, go talk to Julia about Gemma. at the very least,remind her you kinda need that dealt with before your rendezvous with Magpie, if nothing else.>Finally, if she and Dorian dont hold your attention, go and have your drink with Ivey. catching up over some drinks sounds exactly like what you need a bit of, even if some business will be mixed into the conversation.>>4008216also, id assume Lara has not left yet?
>>4008244(Lara's waiting to say her goodbyes until everyone's in a better position...namely you, Rath, and Amara.)
>>4008258alright, just wanted to double check, thanks.
>>4008235Good night, anon. Sleep well.>>4008258We should give her a Hivephone before she goes. One with video capability, if that's possible (maybe some Subversive Swarmling chromatophores repurposed as an LCD screen?) so that she and Rath can continue to have awkward "ooh pretty" moments over facetime.
>>4008244This sounds good. I like how encouraging our party members to talk to people is an option, it gives us some flexibility in our choices.
>>4008318does kinda sucks as i really do want to see and learn more about Tinker personally so we OOC will actually get to see the interactions and whatnot, but just another issue with having too many things to do with too little justification for Shu to do it herself, at least at the moment.
>>4008330I agree. There are so many things we need to do, and so little time to do them in. And out of all of the fantastic NPCs we've met, I would LOVE to know more about Tinker Tailor. For the brief appearance she has made so far in this quest, the adorable little weirdo has really stood out to me.
>>4008343agreed. she certainly does not need that coffee though.
>>4008343It's the rapidfire speech pattern, I think. All the words blending together is a good way to convey a character being somewhat manic and excitable, makes it very easy to portray her personality in a short interaction.
(If you all wish to interact with Tinker Tailor now or after you deal with Gemma, you're more than welome to; she's not going anywhere.)
>>4008392fair enough. still dont want to leave Ivey hanging, but if she'll be around later, yeah, would love it. got some ideas for what to ask her, certainly.
>>4008392I'd leave her until afterwards, then. We'll catch up on what she and Rath (and maybe Francine) have been talking about once we're done with other people.
>>4008392>motormouth >orders yet even more coffee Is Tailor Tinker suffering from a side effect of weaponized hypertension? Because that’s the only explanation I can come up with a girl who is that fast of a motormouth
>>4008562BHOP said she always talks fast, but her words blurring together is a result of her wind up key relic. i think. he said its at least partially responsible at least.though the coffee cant be helping.
>>4008562I think she just likes stimulants. She installed a wind-up clock Relic in her spine so that she can accelerate her thought processes at will, she likes being hyper. Given that she's almost certainly a Flesh Artisan, I'd guess she was the sort of artistic type that would mainline caffeine for more time to focus on her projects.
(Gentlemen, just out of curiosity; Julia's preference would be for you alone to join her in confronting Gemma, with Gina there to officiate in the waking world. Is this suitable to you, or would you prefer to bring the rest of your allies in to the mix? The ones that aren't otherwise occupied, that is.)
>>4008622im fine with that, especially if its what Julia wants.
>>4008622If we can add in some measure to prevent Gemma from locking us in. I don't expect things to go wrong, but if they do I want to make sure that we can bail.
>>4008639(Gina's presence would ensure that...and given you have the Silver Key, getting caught in a normal Dream Space against your will is now quite impossible.)
>>4008567>>4008582>>4008649Great...now I've got a relic idea in my head and I don't think Shu will like it if she comes across it...I've got a name and basic function for it. >NITRO SUGAR (Consumable): A relic whose name sake invites only the foolhardy and the thrillseeking to ingest it, or those who crave a massive sweet tooth. It tastes like diabetes and blueberries. A container of Nitrosugar will contain 3 doses. One dose, undiluted will send a daughter straight into a hyperactive state and triple their Action economy on the turn after the daughter has consumed a dose of Nitro Sugar, where upon on the turn after their hyperactive burst, their metabolism drops like a rock and limits them to 1 ACT per round with penalties to movement and reaction times for the rest of combat. WARNING: Consuming all three doses in one go ill advised! The sugar crash will cost your life!. Do not feed undiluted doses to constructs, THEY WILL EXPLODE!
>>4008655(Sugar would like twenty, please.)
>>4008649Oh, that's right, I forgot about the Silver Key. Alright, then, let's do it. I was worried that Gemma might be able to override Gina in this specialized instance, but her plus the Key is insurance enough for me. Okay, let's go in alone with Julia. >>4008655>Do not feed undiluted doses to constructs, THEY WILL EXPLODE!Keep out of Sir FuzzBuzz's hands, got it. No, Sir FuzzBuzz, just because you're a bee does not mean that all sugar water is good for you.
>>4008655haha, neat. though not worth it if you dont think you can end it in a single turn, and probably not if your AP is not above average. >>4008662oh dear, she might be one of the few to not have to worry about its side effects too.
>>4008662I'm sorry, my dealer won't tell me where they got them or how they make them. >>4008663There is a key operating word is in the warning that savvy daughters can exploit, and the key word is "undiluted doses". There's no rule saying you can't dilute nitro sugar to make it weaker and safer. Theoretically, if you dilute nitrosugar far enough, then constructs won't explode.
>>4008672>There is a key operating word is in the warning that savvy daughters can exploit, and the key word is "undiluted doses". True, but I wasn't thinking about applying it in controlled doses, I was thinking about Sir FuzzBuzz following his apiary instincts and getting into trouble. We'd have to make him vomit it all out as fast as possible, which I guess would also cause it to be refined into Nitro Honey.
>>4008678>Sir FuzzBuzz ingests a controlled diluted dose of Nitro sugar>Sir FuzzBuzz is now a constant vibrating blur of black and yellow, even when stationary.
>>4008678hrm, wonder if that would change its effects at all, as dangerous it would be to do. albeit we could just use throw-away constructs to test it out.
>>4008680On the plus side, it makes him really comfy to hug, works out all those knots in your muscles.
>>4008690or makes swarmlings good for purposes Gina has hinted shes wanted them for.
>>4008698As always: Kosi has been a terrible influence on every last person to interact with her, the audience included.
>>4008704i mean, to be fair, she was basically a living infection slowly consuming city and anything that walked into it. fits her personality.again, the true villain of the story has been with us all along.
>>4008212"Hey...what would you say to taking Francine over to the bar and chatting with Tinker?" You ask, eyeing the redhead as she marvels at the augmented Relic.Rath's citrine eyes snap to yours, and the moment you hand her a freshly-spawned swarmling filled with biomass, all it takes is a wink from you and she's practially dragging Francine by the sleeve to go talk to the hyperactive Artisan. Congratulating yourself on a job well done as Lara follows after your luminous brawler as if in a trance, you realize that you've given yourself an opening to deal with that which you'd forgotten."Julia...if you're up for it, I'd like to talk with Gemma. I think it's time we know where she stands." You begin reluctantly, seeing a nervous look pass over Julia's face before she simply nods, rising from her chair. Dorian's throat works as if he's about to say something, but he merely rises from his seat to give Julia a simple bow before you turn to the girl."I'd like for our talk to be under terms you're comfortable with." You say with your warmest smile, both of you clearly not looking forward to your talk with the Dream Daughter in the slightest. Wordlessly, Julia takes your hand and leads you back to the side room you found her in earlier, this time with Gina in tow and her Neuromantic abilities on call should things get out of hand. The two of you sit down in the same spots, only this time you have GG sitting across from you atop a ramshackle dresser. The brunette's eyes flicker with Neuromantic light, and you feel a small, familiar tug at the corners of your mind as Gina interfaces with your thoughts, ensuring that the three of you remain in control as you look to Julia."Ready?" You ask, and when she nods in the affirmative, you turn to GG.She closes her eyes, and you're falling, stomach in your throat as you tumble through an abyss with Julia by your side. When you land, there's no impact, no shock or trauma of collision. You just freeze, your hands and knees finding solid ground in the pitch-black void as you rise with Julia's hand clasped tight in your own. It's one of the Dreamscape's little paradoxes, you realize...a lightless space, with you and your friend rendered in perfect clarity.Julia's eyes catch something to your left and you turn, finding a simple door suspended in nothingness with Uzu standing before it."It's time, isn't it." She says, less of a question and more of a moment of truth. You nod, and she opens the way forward as light spills out from around the frame until your eyes can't take it anymore so you're forced to blink. When you and Julia next open your eyes, you're in a dimly lit space, a collection of computer screens occupying the whole of the wall opposite you. You've been here before, but where there once was over two dozen live feeds from Shards across the Fleshscape, there's nothing but a single ominous phrase scrolling endlessly across the bottom of each projection."YOU ARE ALONE."(Continued)
>>4008774The text is on an endless loop, and as your eyes trail down from the glowing wall to the figure hunched in a chair before it, there's a small creak as the seated girl turns to face you with accusing eyes."Shu." Gemma says, your name hanging in the air like a epithet."Gemma." You reply, your tone very much the opposite of hers."I'm sorry." Gemma says, though not to you. Her gaze is fixed squarely on Julia, the anger in her eyes dissipating as she looks upon her Host. "What I did, it...it was wrong. I get that. I just...you can understand it, can't you?""I...I d-don't..." Julia stammers, taking a step back when Gemma rises from her seat, hands outstretched."You and I, we're both lost, aren't we?" The Shard says, refusing to meet your eyes even as you step between Dreamer and Host protectively. "I don't know who I am without the others, and you don't know who you are when you're playing a part. We're both yearning to know who we are. You can feel that, right?"Julia's silent behind you, and with a glare you stop the other girl in her tracks."You put our family in danger, Gemma." You growl, voice hard. "You could've talked, and we would've listened.""No." Gemma counters simply. "No, you'd have done exactly what you did to Isabelle, and what you're doing to Julia; monologue.""No...no, Shu's j-just being a g-good fr-" Julia weakly protests."Julia's the one that makes sure Amara's taken care of, and yet you're the one who she calls 'Mom'?" Gemma interrupts, focusing solely on you for the first time since your arrival. "She's the real 'mom' of your group, and what respect does she really get? You pushed her into coming along and fighting, which is the last thing she wants to be doing. Dorian's content to put her in a little box, and what'll happen when things get rough? He'll do what all guys do when she dares to be herself. Is it any wonder she wants to leave, with all she's been putting up with? He'll leave after she makes a wrong move, just like-""STOP IT!"The room shudders with the force of Julia's demand, loose wires swinging underneath the eerie screens behind the insistent Dream Daughter."Just...s-stop it." Julia breathes, clutching her chest. "I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do, and I...you don't know what you're talking about, you d-don't...""Time passes differently in here...and I hear things. I know what you've been fighting." Gemma says, her voice just as hard as yours as she turns her gaze from Julia back to you. "She wants to be free. I want to leave. You're letting her go....so won't you do me the same courtesy?"Your nails dig into your palms at the heart of clenched fists."Or are you scared of giving up control? Are you scared of what people will become when your brood's out of sight? Out of sight, out of control, is that it?"You jaw tenses, then relaxes as you step back to put your arm around Julia. This anger, this vitriol...this isn't like Gemma.Or is it?(Continued)
>>4008777You've spoken with her...what, twice? Maybe three times? You don't really know her at all, you realize. Looking to Julia, her eyes are locked onto her feet, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. You thought you were getting to know her, but if what Gemma says is true, then...No. No, Gemma's deflecting. She's making a forced link between her and Julia in a bid for freedom, trying to force a divide between you that's based in fiction...right? All you know right now it that the conflict in Julia's heart is at a fever pitch, with the only clear emotion in the room being Gemma's desperation, which time and focus as honed to a spear's point aimed at reuniting her disparate parts.You're...you're not sure what to do. Free her? Destroy her? You're not...A subtle vibration at your hip reminds you of Yurei's strange Relic as the Silver Key hums idly by your side. A key...keys fit in locks, but this...your mind is filled with an answer, a solution that is neither creation nor destruction. You reach into your pocket, your fingers sliding across the orb's unnaturally chill surface. It's cold...and it's warm. It opens the way, and seals it off. It is a thing of contradictions, of everything, all at once...and it has made a part of itself known to you, in your time of need.Keys are for cages, for locking things away...and that's exactly what this can do.It's but one of many things.>>The Silver Key beckons. [Seal Gemma away in the Dreamscape, only to be released when the Crucible is over]>>Screw it. You have an Engine. You have a Forge. Gemma wants to leave so badly? Fine. You have a dozen different ways to get her the hell away from Julia. [Force Gemma into a construct body/other solution that involves her freedom]>>No...you're not scared of giving up control. You're looking at the bigger picture, and from where you're standing? Gemma's toxicity has no place in it. [Destroy Gemma]>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, I shall be pausing here for the evening. Voting shall remain open for the next twelve hours, with posting to resume in approximately thirteen, give or take as work demands. Writing the next morning's post was a decent experiment, but it threw me off too much for it to be a consistent strategy.)(Thank you all for your patience, participation, and enthusiasm, and I wish you all a restful evening. I'll be around for the next hour or so before bed, so any questions, comments, or criticisms you may have that I don't address tonight, I'll take a look at with fresh eyes in the morning. Take care, one and all.)
Dammit. All of this stemming from my write-in way back then in Vein #16-17. God dammit. Why did I set her on this path? Hindsight is torturing me over this.
>>4008792>Take a moment to stare Gemma down, then, simply scoff.>”You’re an idiot Gemma.”>”Ignoring the resource issues with letting you go, and the fact after what you pulled, you certainly haven't earned it over others in our dreamscapes, you’re forgetting one, simple fact; You’re a threat to other shards. Ones who DONT want what you want, ones that have proven their friendship and earned my trust. You yourself, with your actions and words, have proven what you are, in or outside my sight.”>”I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”>shrug.>”If you cant stand my speeches, thats fine. But to me, it just sounds like an excuse to ignore you have nothing to counter them with.”>Turn to Julia, and ignore Gemma. talk over her, talk around her, talk to JULIA.>"Julia... is anything she said the truth? no pressure, but no lies, please.">Sigh, and tilt her eyes up to look at yours, if need be.>"Im sorry, if you ever felt pressured, if you ever felt you were forced to fight when you didn't want to. But know, now or before, all you have ever had to do... is tell me what you wanted, and id try my best to accommodate you.">Smile and shrug.>"You're family, and we care about you, no matter what anyone says. heh, but even family messes up, and trying to help those you love can make you do things they may not want sometimes.">"And for what its worth, choosing me wouldn't be the first time we've questioned Amaras choices, now would it?">Chuckle, and step back, and toss Julia the key.>"Shes your Dream Daughter, its your decision Julia."Gemma, hurting or not, still has no excuse for not just TALKING to us or Julia, and for ignoring how she have VERY MUCH implied not agreeing with or wanting to stick to our plan to not consume EVERY shard. she needs to be reminded of that, if nothing else.also, as i put down, i do think it should be Julias choice, with as best us putting caveats for peoples safety in place.
>>4008819I want to point out the hypocrisy of Gemma railing against us for relying too much on Julia while trying to force Julia into the role of "Gemma's shard collection services". Because that gives her so much more self-determination, right? But every time I try it just flusters out instead of being anything coherent. Though I guess that at least gives Gemma her wish not to have Shu monologue at her.
>>4008887i hear ya, maybe something like...>Take a moment to stare Gemma down, then, simply scoff.>”You’re an idiot Gemma.”(or fool, if folks think idiots too harsh for Shu)>”Ignoring the resource issues with letting you go, and the fact after what you pulled, you certainly haven't earned it over others in our dreamscapes, you’re forgetting one, simple fact; You’re a threat to other shards. Ones who DONT want what you want, ones that have proven their friendship and earned my trust. You yourself, with your actions and words, have proven what you are, in or outside my sight.”>”I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”>shrug.>”If you cant stand my speeches, thats fine. But to me, it just sounds like an excuse to ignore you have nothing to counter them with.”>>"Meanwhile, here you sit a hypocrite. not only to you speak about freedom while want to take that choice away from your other shards, but you wish to coerce Julia into being your personal collection service for the dirty deeds.">>"Heres a monologue for you, short and simple; dont speak about coercion and freedom while doing the first and trying to steal the second from others, then maybe your anger and words wont ring hollow to me.">Turn to Julia, and ignore Gemma. talk over her, talk around her, talk to JULIA....this sound? with the new lines the doubled up points, obviously.
>>4008895Yeah, sounds decent. I'll probably still try to write up something coherent of my own, just to see if I can get my own thoughts in order, but this works for me if I can't.
>>4008898fair enough.>>4008792>>4008819Amending vote to;>Take a moment to stare Gemma down, then, simply scoff.>”You’re an idiot Gemma.”(or fool, if folks think idiots too harsh for Shu)>”Ignoring the resource issues with letting you go, and the fact after what you pulled, you certainly haven't earned it over others in our dreamscapes, you’re forgetting one, simple fact; You’re a threat to other shards. Ones who DONT want what you want, ones that have proven their friendship and earned my trust. You yourself, with your actions and words, have proven what you are, in or outside my sight.”>”I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”>shrug.>”If you cant stand my speeches, thats fine. But to me, it just sounds like an excuse to ignore you have nothing to counter them with.”>"Meanwhile, here you sit a hypocrite. not only to you speak about freedom while want to take that choice away from your other shards, but you wish to coerce Julia into being your personal collection service for the dirty deeds.">"Heres a monologue for you, short and simple; dont speak about coercion and freedom while doing the first and trying to steal the second from others, then maybe your anger and words wont ring hollow to me.">Turn to Julia, and ignore Gemma. talk over her, talk around her, talk to JULIA.>"Julia... is anything she said the truth? no pressure, but no lies, please.">Sigh, and tilt her eyes up to look at yours, if need be.>"Im sorry, if you ever felt pressured, if you ever felt you were forced to fight when you didn't want to. But know, now or before, all you have ever had to do... is tell me what you wanted, and id try my best to accommodate you.">Smile and shrug.>"You're family, and we care about you, no matter what anyone says. heh, but even family messes up, and trying to help those you love can make you do things they may not want sometimes.">"And for what its worth, choosing me wouldn't be the first time we've questioned Amaras choices, now would it?">Chuckle, and step back, and toss Julia the key.>"Shes your Dream Daughter, its your decision Julia."
>>4008792>"It's not about how Julia tends to take care of Amara, it takes a family, a village, to raise a child. Amara has Rath, Gina, November, Dorian, and even Francine. Heck even I look after her from time to time." >"It's not about your sense of control, Julia's control, or my control., it was never about control. It's about choice. It's about who you are in the dark, and the choice you made alone.">"Do you even know what Julia and I came here for?>let Gemma make guesses and answers. Shoot them down if she's wrong on any aspect. >"I came here with Julia to have a talk with you after so many adventures and finally finding a timeslot to focus on you and your shards.>"I came here with Julia to so we could discuss as a GROUP about how to deal with your other shards and to see if we can find some sort of compromise that we can all agree to, despite the possibility of having shards who yearn for independence.">"But instead I find you pulling...this on us." >"What you did behind our back, broadcasting where we are, where Julia is on the globe to the other shards? I cannot forgive that.">"But this isn't my choice to make Gemma.">Take out the key. >"This is Julia's choice to make.">Hand the key to Julia. put it into her hands and clasp it closed. Talk to Julia, ensure that Julia listens even if Gemma attempts to interrupt. >IF Gemma does attempt to interrupt: "You've already spoken your piece Gemma. I will not tolerate a hypocrite who further speaks of freedom and control who yet further attempts to coerce their host into becoming an unwilling one for all her other egos.">"Julia. I'm sorry if I ever put you on the spot, or even pressured you into doing things you aren't comfortable with.">"Sometimes, things in the family don't work out well. We all make mistakes sometimes. But that's what family's for. To help each other with any screw-ups we have.">"Know this. If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for." >"You've made the choice to stay at Laoc Julia. You said so because you said 'you felt it was the right thing to do'. I've done my best to follow your wishes.">"Now, when it comes to Gemma? She's your dream daughter. it's your choice Julia. You get to decide what to do about Gemma. You have control." >step back and let Julia decide. >>4008898>>4008903Care for some feedback? or are there any lines that sound good that we could mash together?
>>4008983eh, my one issue is that first part is kinda lying to Gemma. we very much came here to talk about her betrayal and what to do about it, not to talk about coming to a compromise or specifically about her shards. i also feel we had a good enough talk before about her shards, and instead of discussing things further, she very hastily shoved us out the door. its very much on her if she feels things did not get discussed enough, though like i said, not the issue we came in here for regardless.I also personally agree with the other Anon, in that the things you've put under to only say if she interrupts, should be said before then and regardless of if she does interrupt or not.Personally id prefer to just ignore her too if she tries to interrupt, but comparatively especially to my first concern, that ones purely opinion based, and understand at least wanting to try and shut her up if she does.
>>4008983I like the idea of pointing out to Gemma that we came here wanting to negotiate, and that if conversation has broken down it's because of her. Yes, we were here to deal with her going behind our back, but we were still open to making a deal. Gemma's the one who's decided to needle us instead of try to communicate honestly. Hell, what does she even expect to get out of this? For us to let her free, right? But she knows that there's no way we're burning a Sparagmos charge on reviving her properly, that's saved for family, so she'd be in a construct body. A construct that can't consume and assimilate the other shards. She's not making good decisions here, too focused on trying to establish control to pursue what she actually wants. Sam was the same way, really. Yurei, too, in a way. Time and again we find people who, instead of communicating honestly, do these bullshit power dynamic games instead. They don't try to come to an accord with us, they just shout "well, you're not perfect, so that means you're awful!" and hope that unsettles us enough they can establish dominance. Like, we'd listen to their problems with us and do our best to correct them if they weren't trying to use those problems as a bludgeon. But they always do, and that's what sets us off into the monologues.
>>4008792Supporting >>4008903>Take a moment to stare Gemma down, then, simply scoff.>”You’re an idiot Gemma.”I think idiot is justified>”Ignoring the resource issues with letting you go, and the fact after what you pulled, you certainly haven't earned it over others in our dreamscapes, you’re forgetting one, simple fact; You’re a threat to other shards. Ones who DONT want what you want, ones that have proven their friendship and earned my trust. You yourself, with your actions and words, have proven what you are, in or outside my sight.”>”I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”>shrug.>”If you cant stand my speeches, thats fine. But to me, it just sounds like an excuse to ignore you have nothing to counter them with.”>"Meanwhile, here you sit a hypocrite. not only to you speak about freedom while want to take that choice away from your other shards, but you wish to coerce Julia into being your personal collection service for the dirty deeds.">"Heres a monologue for you, short and simple; dont speak about coercion and freedom while doing the first and trying to steal the second from others, then maybe your anger and words wont ring hollow to me.">Turn to Julia, and ignore Gemma. talk over her, talk around her, talk to JULIA.>"Julia... is anything she said the truth? no pressure, but no lies, please.">Sigh, and tilt her eyes up to look at yours, if need be.>"Im sorry, if you ever felt pressured, if you ever felt you were forced to fight when you didn't want to. But know, now or before, all you have ever had to do... is tell me what you wanted, and id try my best to accommodate you.">Smile and shrug.>"You're family, and we care about you, no matter what anyone says. heh, but even family messes up, and trying to help those you love can make you do things they may not want sometimes.">"And for what its worth, choosing me wouldn't be the first time we've questioned Amaras choices, now would it?">Chuckle, and step back, and toss Julia the key.>"Shes your Dream Daughter, its your decision Julia."I just hope that the key is not something that will unleash some terrible monstrosity if it is fed enough. and if i am honest i dont want to consign a soul to oblivion... but rather that than seal her away. I think being sealed away(if it is even remotely like Sam's prison) would be even worse than killing her.....But the choice is ultimately Julias
>>4009081yeah, im hoping it wont too, but only time id think that could be an issue is if someone picked the dream Amalgam option, in which case it wouldn't technically be the Relics fault if it 'gets loose' in a way. otherwise, i feel like Yurei would've warned us on that. she may not agree with our plan, but she certainly isnt our enemy nor does it seem she wants us to fail, albeit if only because us beating her makes us the best alternative, but still.as for Gemma, i do agree deletion would be better than death. im more worried about the implication to basically turn her into what i assume a dream Amalgam is, which would be a specter that can freely go from daughter to daughter, possibly over any distance and almost certainly with no connection needed... and Julia might just be soft hearted enough to pick that over deleting her or torturing her.Hopefully though she wouldn't be much of a threat like that, she doesn't seem to be very dream capable, with the only caveat being her ability to possibly connect to her shards, which may make her specifically a threat to all of them at worst i think. still not really acceptable though to let happen, but as said, Julia should at least have some say here.
>>4009105The thing is with this scenario is that Julia's being put on the spot here. And I think the issue that I'm starting to realize with our write-ins is that we're monologuing again and basically putting Julia on the spot almost immediately after Gemma and Shu basically barraged her with opposing strong opinions. She won't be in the right of mind to make a sound decision if she's put on the spot.
>>4009081>I just hope that the key is not something that will unleash some terrible monstrosity if it is fed enough.It's probably not 'Umr at-Tawil, The Most Ancient One. Probably. We'll see more after using it with Knowable Kadath.>>4009108Yeah, that's where I'm having trouble coming up with a write-in of my own. Both avoiding a lecture and not putting too much pressure on Julia. It's not jelling. I think I might head to bed and try again after a few hours sleep. Whatever we say, it needs to make sure that Julia walks away from this in good spirits. Or at least accepting it and able to come back from this stronger.
>>4009105>>4009108>>4009116Am this Anon now on my way to work>>4009081 I am sorry I can't help out more with thisCould we maybe close what we are saying by telling Julia to come to a decision in her own time?Leave her with the key so Gemma can't pull anything and let her decide with her own mindThough I am a bit worried Julia will be overwhelmed by Gemma with words if we don't put Julia on the spot....To be honest I am pretty conflicted right now.......
>>4008794Several different things (although I'm a bit late)1 - Julia clearly has an opinion here but I seriously doubt she is able to properly voice it (kind of especially to us after we told her she's basically screwing the family over for leaving)2 - Gemma is alone (unclear to me why) and trying to make a connection with Julia. It's not exactly in a positive way for either of them, but if we want to save Gemma like Isabelle this is probably the way forward. Julia has probably been leaving Gemma alone just like we did with Sam and it seems like she's gone even more crazy (if she was ever sane to begin with)3 - Gemma is at least partially right about both us monologuing and Julia wanting to leave and/or being afraid of Dorian leaving. I feel like we should deal with that first rather than directly with Gemma because ultimately it is Julia's mind and should be her decision.I assume the Key has some sort of mute or pause button or something (or just create another side room). As mean as it is for someone so alone, I think we pause Gemma for a minute and talk to Julia first without interference about what she's been dealing with rather than the other way around (Julia is much more important after all). I think it's very possible that Julia and Gemma's situations are reflections of each other and are just making each other worse.>Tell Julia you had no idea it was this bad a situation, has she always been like this? Because if she has, then she might just be mentally unstable beyond saving>Ask Julia what about Gemma upset her>Ask Julia if something happened between her and Dorian, and if she wants our help or wants Dorian to stay with her. Losing Dorian for a bit is far preferable over losing Julia forever and making Dorian depressed>Finally ask her what she wants to do about Gemma, she seems alone and angry but similar to the way Sam was and I think Julia could bring her back to sanityOverall, this is Julia's head and I feel like us monologuing at Gemma while she's clearly not going to listen here is counterproductive.Regardless of anything, if she doesn't want to make a decision now I agree in giving her the Silver Key. Dream Daugters are seeming like they can have a much larger effect on the host psyche than we expect sometimes and hopefully this can mitigate it.
>>4009297changing my vote from >>4008983 to support >>4009297 and amending my vote:>"You have spoken your piece Gemma. I won't tolerate any more talk from someone who speaks of freedom and control who yet further attempts to coerce their host into becoming an unwilling one for all her other egos. Any further interruption and you will force my hand.">"But this isn't my choice to make Gemma.">Take out the key. >"This is Julia's choice to make.">Hand Julia the Silver key. >Tell Julia you had no idea it was this bad a situation, has she always been like this? Because if she has, then she might just be mentally unstable beyond saving>Ask Julia what about Gemma upset her>Ask Julia if something happened between her and Dorian, and if she wants our help or wants Dorian to stay with her. Losing Dorian for a bit is far preferable over losing Julia forever and making Dorian depressed>Finally ask her what she wants to do about Gemma, she seems alone and angry but similar to the way Sam was and I think Julia could bring her back to sanity>"Julia, this is your chance here. Whatever you do, it's your choice. I relinquish control over the situation to you."
>>4009297>>4009336Let's not say the "mentally unstable beyond saving" part. That is incredibly cruel. Telling someone that they're so fundamentally broken that there's no way to fix them is how you psychologically crush your enemies, not help your friends. Even if it's true, which I don't think it is. Also, calling it now: This is going to end with Julia taking her skin off. She feels like she's just wearing a mask instead of being a real person? She's going to take off her physical mask, then, the literal skin that she does not feel comfortable in. Maybe we should have seen this coming, now that I think about it, with Julia always wearing a costume so that the world would accept her. But skin is such a useful thing to have that the idea that she'd rather not have it never crossed my mind. Maybe that she felt equally comfortable skinned or not, but not that she'd prefer not to wear her skin. That it was a metaphor for her feelings of having to comply with societal expectations. Okay, so forget Gemma, address Julia first. We need to apologize to her for being stupid and not seeing that she was hurting, not realizing that we were leaning so hard on her for support that we weren't letting her be herself. Okay, I think I know how to phrase this write-in, now. Give me a bit, still got to put it together right.
>>4009336>>4008792Vetoing my own vote until I think of something better. Gah. This is so heavy to think about.
>>4008792>>Write-In>Turn to Julia, pull her into a hug.>"I'm sorry, Julia. I'm sorry for being an idiot. You were hurting, and I didn't see it, because I was relying so much on your strength. But you deserve better than this. You deserve to be happy as yourself, instead of who I need you to be, even if you're not quite sure who that is yet. I want you to be free to find that out for yourself.">"Don't feel any obligation to come back to us. If you want to when you've got this figured out, I'll welcome it, because I want to meet that person you're going to become. I'm sure she's going to be amazing. You'll always have a home with the Defiant Fools. But don't let that hold you back from doing anything you feel is right. Okay?">Squeeze Julia a bit tighter, then let her go and turn to Gemma.>"Now as for you, Gemma. I suppose I owe you some thanks for forcing this conversation. It's a bit hypocritical of you, yelling at me for using Julia when you were trying to force her into being your hitwoman. But hey, stopped clocks twice a day, right?">"In any case, I think it should be Julia's choice what to do with you. It's her head, after all. She should have the right to decide what to do with the people living in it.>Hand Julia the Silver Key. She doesn't have to decide right now, we'll give her the real one to hang onto once we wake up if she wants to think it over. Though if she could mail it back to us via Joyous Many once she does use it, that would be appreciated.Also, BHOP, have you ever played We Know The Devil? Because I'm actually getting some pretty strong We Know The Devil vibes to Julia, now that I've thought about it. Because...gonna put this in spoilers in case you haven't, because WKTD is great and I don't want to spoil anything: The skinlessness makes me think of how in the True Ending the girls all pull off their bodies to reveal something else underneath, something simultaneously horrifying and beautiful that better lets them embody who they really are. Also the general themes of the game with how society places and enforces crushing expectations of roles. Julia isn't an LGBTQ teen (well, I guess she's bi, I recall you said that in theory any character in the quest is a potential love interest) at a Christian conversion therapy camp like the girls of Group West, but it's a similar sort of enforced identity issue, where the person never even got the chance to find a real identity underneath it all.
>>4008792This is probably my final answer to the vote. My other votes >>4008983 and >>4009336 are null.>Write-in:>"Do you even know what Julia and I came here for?>"I came here with Julia to have a talk with you after so many adventures and finally finding a timeslot to focus on you, Julia, and your shards.>"I came here with Julia to so we could discuss as a GROUP about how to deal with your other shards and to see if we can find some sort of compromise that we can all agree to, despite the possibility of having shards who yearn for independence.">"But instead I find you pulling...this on us. Talking about freedom and choice all the while you're attempting to Coerce Julia into doing something without her consent in order to feed upon your other egos. Saying that Julia's silently suffering from all the pressure." >"What you did behind our back, broadcasting where we are, where Julia is on the globe to the other shards? I cannot forgive that.">"But dealing that sort of judgement on you isn't my choice to make Gemma.">Take out the key. >"This is Julia's choice to make." >"Julia... is anything she said the truth? no pressure, but no lies, please.">Let Julia respond.>"I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm sorry for being blind to your silent suffering.">"Sometimes, things in the family don't work out well. We all make mistakes sometimes. But that's what family's for. To help each other with any screw-ups we have.">"Know this. If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for." >Take out the silver key.>"This key, this silver key is a powerful catalyst in the dream world. It has the power to seal off Gemma in the dreamscape if you so desire. But it also opens doors. it opens the gate to the city of Kadath, the place that I once mentioned when I asked about seeing a city in the dreamscape. I don't know what lies in that city, nor what happens if we use the key. But its immediate use for now is a possible solution to dealing with Gemma by sealing her off in the dreamscape. If you truly think that Gemma is bothering you and you want her gone, the key is one possible solution.">"If the key is too much for you, we can talk this out. You, me, Gemma. Find a solution to this problem together.">Hand the key to Julia. put it into her hands and clasp it closed. >"You've made the choice to stay at Laoc Julia. You said so because you said 'you felt it was the right thing to do'. I've done my best to follow your wishes.">"Now, when it comes to Gemma? She's your dream daughter. it's your choice Julia. You get to decide what to do about Gemma. You have control." >"You have the floor to this discussion, and we have the time. And when you're ready to speak, we will listen.">step back and let Julia say her piece.>>4009397I'll also support this.
I kind of also want to tell Gemma that if this was about finding what she's missing within herself, since she's hoping reuniting with the other shards will help her piece the puzzle together and make her feel whole, that we would've helped find that something and fill the hole within.I'm tempted to fire back that if she's going to bring Isabelle into this, then Gemma can go ask her what she thinks herself and see how that turns out.I'll admit right away that I'd shy away from the destroying Gemma option, since her fractured nature as a shard means that if humanity is revived, it won't be her that comes back and gets a second chance at life, but whoever it was she initially made up. The individual that was divided into Gemma, Sia and the other shards may very well be revived either way whether or not they recombine, but Gemma would be erased forever.
>>4009418Please link your vote to >>4008792 if you have any write-ins that you would like to contribute. Your input is very valuable for us. it will help us consolidate and come up with a solid consensus through all of this on the best solution that we can come up with for everyone.
>>4008792Ammending my vote from >>4009081to >Write-in:>"Right now i think you are an idiot Gemma. Do you even know what Julia and I came here for?>"I came here with Julia to have a talk with you after so many adventures and finally finding a timeslot to focus on you, Julia, and your shards.>"I came here with Julia to so we could discuss as a GROUP about how to deal with your other shards and to see if we can find some sort of compromise that we can all agree to, despite the possibility of having shards who yearn for independence.">"But instead I find you pulling...this on us. Talking about freedom and choice all the while you're attempting to Coerce Julia into doing something without her consent in order to feed upon your other egos. Saying that Julia's silently suffering from all the pressure.">Just sigh in Gemmas direction. Then address Julia>"If it is true what she said Julia then this broadcisting situation just became a side objective in this conversation">Hug Julia>"No pressure, but please be honest with not only me but also yourself about this whole situation.">Let Julia respond>"I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm sorry for being blind to your silent suffering.">"Sometimes, things in the family don't work out well. We all make mistakes sometimes. But that's what family's for. To help each other with any screw-ups we have.">"Know this. If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for.">Adress Gemma and Julia>"I wont tell either of you what you have to do right now. Gemma for forcing me to have this conversation you have my thanks but not my gratitude. You are after all not only trying to turn her into your personal hit woman when we could have talked this out instead. No you also put her in danger by broadcasting her position.">Give Julia the Silver key we have and explain to her the power it holds.>"Its your chouice Julia what to do from here. Take your time to come to the conclusion that feels right for you. ">Lean in a bit closer and whisper>"But always know that the dfiant fools will always have a place for you. i love you like a sister... and if you want to stay here i am sure i can make due without Dorian for a day, if you need to have some time with him without anyone else be3ign able to interfere">Take a step back>"Well i tried but i still started monologuing... Julia, Gemma its your stage. You can kick me out if you dont want me here, though i would like to at least stay as an observer so i wont have to be fille d in on what consensus you two reached after the fact"
Well i am back again from work and had some time to mull things over....Feedback is appreciated
>>4009108>>4009116the issue you're overlooking is, that simply is unavoidable, unless we want to make the decision for her, which would be just as wrong.>>4009297i kinda disagree with this.the monologing thing is garbage and utterly deflecting, simple as that. everyone expresses themselves differently, and thats just how we do it. its neither good nor bad, and not tied to the issues at hand or being presented. the other issue is, we dont have time to let Julia handle it fully on her own time. sucks, but thats also the reality of it. Magpie has shown a pretty good tenacity for being willing to just do things on her own, we're lucky she held off this much, but shouldn't be surprised if she wont again. whether we or Julia like it, that puts us on a time limit, and one that her leaving the group makes it precarious for us to solve later at the last minute. as for the first one, the issue is, Julia has to find her voice eventually. sounds hash maybe, but its also the truth. unless she WANTS to step back and just let us take the reigns on everything, she simply is gonna have to realize situations like this exist and require her to make her own decision, regardless of how much she isnt up for it, if she wants to be her own person. we're already trying our best to do the right thing and incentivize her to actually BE her own person and make her own decisions, we cant do much more, and like i said, its simply a tough situation but one that needs to be resolved, whether we like it or not.Gemma is alone due to her own actions. unless she decades to change, that might be for the best, and wont change either. he unhealthy and destructive obsession with her Shards also cannot be ignored. she simply is not worth saving or compromising with if it jeopardizes people like Sias(?) safety and life.I do agree Julia is much more important here than Gemma though, sure, but personally feel if we ignore Gemma and dont address her, it'll leave too much hanging, and address Gemma first makes some sense and i think will(or at least can), better lay the foundation for talking to Julia and letting her have a more stable foundation to work from.
>>4009457>>4009402>"I came here with Julia to so we could discuss as a GROUP about how to deal with your other shards and to see if we can find some sort of compromise that we can all agree to, despite the possibility of having shards who yearn for independence."i still utterly despise this line, not gonna lie, and honestly cannot support even a compromise so long as this is part of it. look back at how both us OOC and IC have talked about the Gemma situation. that line is just simply, utterly, not the truth.since we first learned about Gemmas betrayal, both IC and OOC, all we have ever said on it or talked about is our concerns over her having betrayed us and what to do about it, and our frustrations over her not talking to us. we never once were saying we planned or were coming in here for any other purpose, and it just feels way way too much like an utter lie and being disingenuous to pretend it at all was a reason for this, and is highly hypocritical when then talking about her lying and manipulation us in return.also, though less a concern, she might know how we have been about her, as DDs seem to hear alot, so could easily turn out whole argument against us over that one line, as without a doubt its been a major focal point of ours even if you disagree it was our only one, but it certainly was enough of one id very much argue for her to use against us if we try and pull a line like that.
>>4009397>>4009402>>4009457otherwise, not gonna lie, not a fan of any of these, and like i said, its utterly ignoring the reality of the situation is, she and us dont have the room or time to LET her have it on her time. the last thing we can afford is to come back when it time to go with Magpie, and Julia has made a decision we literally cannot support and need to have an even longer discussion on. I get it, its Julia. we love her, we want her to have the best, and let her have her time on this. but the reality of the situation simply isnt allowing for us to just walk away and let this play out on its own time. we just dont have that luxury, and so neither odes Julia. Julia and Gemma also, whether they like it or not, not the only ones this affects or who has to be taken into account here, further making waiting and having a last minute decision unacceptable. theres also concerns for us and our families own safety, and even possibly goals, for leaving the key with her.
this stuff also annoys the crap out of me because you guys might not even wake up in time even if you're willing to discuss the points and compromise, making it feel like i cannot afford to even go to sleep, despite having had a headache.
>>4009468Your right this line is not good as it is.>"I came here with Julia to so we could discuss as a GROUP about how to deal with your other shards and to see if we can find some sort of compromise that we can all agree to, despite the possibility of having shards who yearn for independence."So how would this sound:>"Gemma. You probably know what we were talking about outside. You dreamdaughters see and hear a lot. I tried finding some time to talk about this with you earlier but a lot of things got in the way. I wanted to find a compromise about how to deal with the independently minded shards but after you put us all in danger and right now tried to make Julia your own hitwoman that option is pretty of the table for now. Because shit like that is something I just have to speak out against">>4009471Well I am awake and willing to discuss this. I want the best answer as much as you do
>>4009476yes, that line is very much better and on the mark. and even throws the truth in her face, that said unwillingness of us to discuss it further is literally only on her going behind our back on the issue. >Well I am awake and willing to discuss this. I want the best answer as much as you dovery true and very fair. though your very different timezone is the reason for that, and sadly seems to cause you trouble at other times.
>>4009477So a more agressive style of writing then?More pushy maybe even setting a hard time limit on how much time we are willing to give her?And of course telling Gemma that if she pulls that shit againwe will delete hereven if she could offer us the holy grail...Treason can not be tolerated and all that stuffI will try my best
>>4009482i mean, doesn't necessarily have to be aggressive, but i certainly think Gemmas in a position where a bit of bluntness might be necessary to smack back to any senses she might have left. even assuming she is right about some things here, like her going behind our back, she is not going about any of this the right way at all, and even assuming we wanted to help her, which im not even sure we do, but even assuming that, we couldn't even begin to make progress with her if we dont stand our ground, especially with what shes saying, and give a bit of push back for sure. though, i suppose that could be translated into being aggressive.as for the time limit and treason stuff, again, i kinda feel like we dont have time to let this sit to be honest, but certainly the warning about backstabbing regardless of how this plays out or Julias chooses i think is warranted.
>"Right now i think you are an idiot Gemma. Do you even know what Julia and I came here for?>"I came here with Julia to have a talk with you after finally finding a timeslot to focus on you, Julia, and your shards."* >"Gemma. You probably know what we were talking about outside. You dreamdaughters see and hear a lot. I tried finding some time to talk about this with you earlier but a lot of things got in the way. I wanted to find a compromise about how to deal with the independently minded shards but after you put us all in danger and right now tried to make Julia your own hitwoman. That option is pretty much of the table for now until we have resolved all of this. Because shit like that is something I just have to speak out against">be blunt about the following"* >"So instead of trying to truly apologize for the breach of trust you commited I find you pulling...this on us. Talking about freedom and choice all the while you're attempting to Coerce Julia into doing something without her consent in order to feed upon your other egos. Saying that Julia's silently suffering from all the pressure. This is not somethign i can tolerate. And about lettign you go. You havent earned that not by a long shot. Not the way you would want to go out there. And right now there is a shard out there that i actually respect and somewhat trust. YOu would be a threat to her as well, which you have proven with your actions and now your words in thsi very conversation">Sigh in Gemmas direction. Then address Julia>"If it is true what she said Julia then this broadcisting situation just became a side objective in this conversation">Hug Julia>"No pressure, but please be honest with not only me but also yourself about this whole situation.">Let Julia respond(continued)
>>4009488>"I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm sorry for being blind to your silent suffering.">"Sometimes, things in the family don't work out well. We all make mistakes sometimes. But that's what family's for. To help each other with any screw-ups we have.">"Know this. If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for.">Adress Gemma and Julia>"I wont tell either of you what you have to do right now. Gemma for forcing me to have this conversation you have my thanks but not my gratitude. You are after all not only trying to turn her into your personal hit woman when we could have talked this out instead. No you also put her in danger by broadcasting her position.">Give Julia the Silver key we have and explain to her the power it holds.* >"Its your choice Julia. What to do from here. I can give you some time to come to the conclusion that feels right for you. But sadly not a lot. If by the time we reunite with Magpie you havent come to a decission i will have to ask you to make one then and there.">Lean in a bit closer and whisper* >"But know that the defiant fools will always have a place for you. I love you like a sister... and if you want to stay here i wont stop you. But you are undeniably one of the big things keeping us alltogether. I am sorry if we pressured you. If in the future you ever feel like we are pressurign you jsut tell us and we will try to do anything to accomodate you">Adress Gemma directly before stepping back a bit>"But know that if you pull that broadcast again or do anything else that could endanger my family without talking about it with us first. I will delete you. No ifs and buts."Changes made = *I probably got a bit longwinded......
>>4009484Any thoughts about these>>4009488 >>4009489 ?
>>4009488>>4009489much better in ideas and overall, though id be lying if i didn't say i think some of the wording is a bit odd to me, but im 100% sure thats the language difference again causing that, which i dont blame you for at all. >>4008792>>4008903i guess ill personally go with;>Take a moment to stare Gemma down, then, simply scoff.>"Right now i think you are an idiot Gemma. Do you even know what Julia and I came here for?>"Gemma. You probably know what we were talking about outside. You dreamdaughters see and hear a lot. I tried finding some time to talk about this with you earlier but a lot of things got in the way. I wanted to find a compromise about how to deal with the independently minded shards but after you put us all in danger and now tried to make Julia your own hitwoman? That option is pretty much off the table for now until we have resolved all of this. Because shit like that is something I cannot sit by and tolerate.">"instead of trying to truly apologize for the breach of trust you commited I find you pulling...this on us.">”Ignoring the resource issues with letting you go, and the fact after what you pulled, you certainly haven't earned it over others in our dreamscapes, you’re forgetting one, simple fact; You’re a threat to other shards. Ones who DONT want what you want, ones that have proven their friendship and earned my trust. You yourself, with your actions and words, have proven what you are, in or outside my sight.”>”I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”>shrug.>”If you cant stand my speeches, thats fine. But to me, it just sounds like an excuse to ignore you have nothing to counter them with.”>"Meanwhile, here you sit a hypocrite. not only to you speak about freedom while want to take that choice away from your other shards, but you wish to coerce Julia into being your personal collection service for the dirty deeds.">"Heres a monologue for you, short and simple; dont speak about coercion and freedom while doing the first and trying to steal the second from others, then maybe your anger and words wont ring hollow to me.">Turn to Julia, and ignore Gemma. talk over her, talk around her, talk to JULIA.(1/2)
>>4009504>>4008792>"Julia... is anything she said the truth? No pressure, but please be honest with not only me but also yourself about this whole situation.">Sigh, and tilt her eyes up to look at yours, if need be.>"Im sorry, if ive been an idiot, if ive been unable to see how much you've been suffering in silence.">"Im sorry, if you ever felt pressured, if you ever felt you were forced to fight when you didn't want to.">But know, now or before, If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for.">Smile and shrug.>"You're family, and we care about you, no matter what anyone says. but even family messes up, and trying to help those you love can make you do things they may not want sometimes."> >"But know that the defiant fools will always have a place for you. I love you like a sister... and if you want to stay In Laoc i wont stop you. But you are undeniably one of the big things keeping us all together.">"And for what its worth, choosing me wouldn't be the first time we've questioned Amaras choices, now would it?">Gentkly set the key in Julias hands, and step back, giving her a reassuring nod.>"Shes your Dream Daughter, its your decision Julia.">Address Gemma directly one last time however.>"But know that if you pull that broadcast again or do anything else that could endanger my family or others again, without talking about it with us first. I will delete you. No ifs and buts.">Narrow your eyes.>"theres more i have to take into account here, than just whats going on here, no matter how much any of us dislike it."(2/2)>>4009503sorry, was well, doing this, while also trying to think things through.
>>4008792Ammendign my vote once again... Sorry OPInstead of supporting >>4009081 or>>4009457 any longer i will support >"Right now i think you are an idiot Gemma. Do you even know what Julia and I came here for?>"I came here with Julia to have a talk with you after finally finding a timeslot to focus on you, Julia, and your shards.">"Gemma. You probably know what we were talking about outside. You dreamdaughters see and hear a lot. I tried finding some time to talk about this with you earlier but a lot of things got in the way. I wanted to find a compromise about how to deal with the independently minded shards but after you put us all in danger and right now tried to make Julia your own hitwoman. That option is pretty much of the table for now until we have resolved all of this. Because shit like that is something I just have to speak out against">be blunt about the following">"So instead of trying to truly apologize for the breach of trust you commited I find you pulling...this on us. Talking about freedom and choice all the while you're attempting to Coerce Julia into doing something without her consent in order to feed upon your other egos. Saying that Julia's silently suffering from all the pressure. This is not somethign i can tolerate. And about lettign you go. You havent earned that not by a long shot. Not the way you would want to go out there. And right now there is a shard out there that i actually respect and somewhat trust. YOu would be a threat to her as well, which you have proven with your actions and now your words in thsi very conversation">Sigh in Gemmas direction. Then address Julia>"If it is true what she said Julia then this broadcisting situation just became a side objective in this conversation">Hug Julia>"No pressure, but please be honest with not only me but also yourself about this whole situation.">Let Julia respond(continued)
>>4009511>>4009511 (You)>>"I'm sorry for being an idiot. I'm sorry for being blind to your silent suffering.">>"Sometimes, things in the family don't work out well. We all make mistakes sometimes. But that's what family's for. To help each other with any screw-ups we have.">>"Know this. If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for.">>Adress Gemma and Julia>>"I wont tell either of you what you have to do right now. Gemma for forcing me to have this conversation you have my thanks but not my gratitude. You are after all not only trying to turn her into your personal hit woman when we could have talked this out instead. No you also put her in danger by broadcasting her position.">>Give Julia the Silver key we have and explain to her the power it holds.> >"Its your choice Julia. What to do from here. I can give you some time to come to the conclusion that feels right for you. But sadly not a lot. If by the time we reunite with Magpie you havent come to a decission i will have to ask you to make one then and there.">>Lean in a bit closer and whisper>>"But know that the defiant fools will always have a place for you. I love you like a sister... and if you want to stay here i wont stop you. But you are undeniably one of the big things keeping us alltogether. I am sorry if we pressured you. If in the future you ever feel like we are pressurign you jsut tell us and we will try to do anything to accomodate you">>Adress Gemma directly before stepping back a bit>>"But know that if you pull that broadcast again or do anything else that could endanger my family without talking about it with us first. I will delete you. No ifs and buts.">>4009507I get it i was just thinking maybe you didnt get a notification or something...Kinda silly of me... well goes to show that i am not 100% there right now....
(Gentlemen, I woke to a slew of superb write-ins. These look absolutely incredible.)>>4009397(I have played it, and I'm glad the vibes came across so well! It's a fantastic game, and I also enjoyed the makers' next creation, 'Heaven Will Be Mine'. It's intriguing if you haven't checked it out yet. In any case, I'm glad someone else here knows about WKTD.)
>>4009523Thank you for the compliment, but the devil is in the details in the tone we're trying to deliver and the core issue that we're attempting to diagnose when it comes to Julia's hidden issue and Gemma's apparent frustration, and that's what we anons are discussing over.
(Gentlemen, my morning has been taken up with last-minute meetings, so my posting may be somewhat delayed. Thus, I am extending voting an additional hour in case there is any last-minute tweaks you all wish to make before voting is locked.)
>>4009504>>4009472You're not wrong, anon. You're not wrong. >>4009538Thank you for this opportunity you've given us.
>>4009538hope the meetings arent too bad BHOP.>>4009530so... any thoughts or comments on anything? if for no other reason we have the time now for it, though if you dont, thats fine aswell.
>>4009544We've got another hour of voting time. Let me have a look-see and see what I can input. I'm currently juggling this and proofreading a cover letter for a job that I'm trying to apply for so my attention may be divided.
>>4009545oh, no, thats way more important. dont let us distract you from that at all.
>>4009545(Oh, that's way more important. I wish you the best, and I know you'll do great with the cover letter!)
>>4009538Hope it wont be too bad.
>>4009545You have way more important things to do. So you should do that first instead of worrying about this
>>4009472>>4009544(I missed the fact that you had a headache, Anon. I hope you feel better soon.)
>>4009560oh, its fine, but thanks for the concern. sleep got rid of it... at the cost of not the best sleep ive ever had. but still, better than a headache.
>>4009507>>4009511So I did a little reading and there are a few things in this vote that's bugging the hell out of me.why do I see frequent use of the "shrug" gesture? I know it could be justified as a character tic, but the words we say feel like they're conflicting with the body language and the body gestures that Shu subconsciously conveys. >But know, now or before, If you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone...All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for.">Smile and shrug.>"You're family, and we care about you, no matter what anyone says. but even family messes up, and trying to help those you love can make you do things they may not want sometimes."This part bugs the hell out of me due to how what we say and how our body language (a smile of reassurance and the shrug of indifference) is at a conflict. Why the shrug? it just defeats the point of our speech of how we go on about caring for family and a reassurance that Shu cares about Julia. If we really do care, we would go for a different gesture such as gently clasping her hand while still conveying the smile. I would also take advantage of gently clasping her hand with our own to palm the key and put it in her hands.
>>4009561>a fellow anon who got 3-4 hours of sleepOh hello. It appears that we are in the same boat for this day.
>>4009562i think thats just a difference in... culture?as thats not exactly what the shrug means there. its not a shrug of indifference, but one meant to convey causality. its more of saying 'what you gonna do?' than 'i dont care.' if that makes sense. its supposed to be Shu trying not to let Gemma or the situation get to her or Julia, a sorta 'shrugging off' of the damnation at us not being perfect. we cant be, but Gemmas points at least partially rely on us needing to be. we cant catch everything and cant always know exactly how deep even our families struggle goes, but we know now, so we're trying to do something about it now. to be fair, it fits the line under it compared to the one above it, which, well, was the point and what it was in relation to.
>>4009562While i didnt use taht particular emote in my own writing i can see why it woudl cause a certain dissonance.THough i think the shrug in combination with the smile is supposed to mean that no matter what she can come to us with her problems and we will be thereSmile -> I will be there for youShrug__> No matter whatAt least that is my interpretation.
>>4009562>>4009566>>4009568speaking of that, it does bring up an interesting point, which is that Shu has no 'culture' of her own to work off of, rather then our own, very different upbringings and culture, which, as stated here and probably before, probably does cause an interesting difference in interpretation and thus disagreements.and we haven't gotten much to work or build up on her off of others either, due to her kinda being the leader, which kinda defaults back to her and her soupy heady of how us Anons form her in the end.less saying much here, over i just thought it was an interesting point i just thought up i wanted to put down.
>>4009504>>4009572It also does highlight the sort of Character Shu has yet to develop into aside from having small vestiges and tics leftover from Sam. On the outside she's projected herself as this sort of fearless wise beyond her years girl despite waking up from the pod-womb about 3-4 weeks ago. On the inside however, Gemma and Sam does have a point. We as anons are basically the "brood/swarm" for Shu and we're just counseling wisdom to her, and it seems that like Julia, Shu relies heavily on our wisdom in order to make a decision. And it really puts into the point of what Shu really is if you strip away the template. but I digress.But there's also one line that feels so off.>”I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”It feels 'meta'. I get that it's an acknowledgement of Shu herself being aware of our counsel and the wisdom we try to provide, but the tone of it feels not warranted.
>>4009582huh?oh, no. that lines referring to the fact Gemma made a quip about how we use our swarm IC to keep tabs on things, and how Shu is saying she doesn't need that to see who Gemma is.that line has nothing to do with us, IC or OOC.
>>4009584Thank you for clarifying the intent behind the line, but the fact that the subject feels 'meta' and leans upon the 'meta wall' has me concerned about what "Shu's swarm" really is. Are they talking about us as the swarm in Shu's head? Because if it's confirmed it would explain Sam's remark about Shu's swarm when she addressed it.>"No. No, of course it didn’t. It didn’t occur to any of you.” She mutters, shaking her head. “I can hear them, you know. I can hear the swarm, buzzing around in your head. Arguing, picking at each other, going apeshit when you score a kill. A part of them despised Isabelle…a bigger part of them despise me, just like they despised that proxy out there. And then what? ‘Ooh, shiny new ability’ and she’s suddenly worth talking to. Your swarm changed their tune real fucking fast on that one.”Granted, Sam was in much closer proximity inside Shu and our conversation, but it feels like it's the same subject that Gemma here is referring to. >"Or are you scared of giving up control? Are you scared of what people will become when your brood's out of sight? Out of sight, out of control, is that it?"Dreamscape be dreamscape, but there seems to be hidden rules or traits that we aren't privy to when it comes to how much insight a dream daughter has about their host. You can explain away on how OOC or IC it is, but there's no denying that the implication of a connection between "us Anons" and what the daughters in the quest refer as "Shu's Swarm" is there.If the connection between us as "Shu's Swarm" is true, imagine if a daughter pulled something that would lock us anons out of agency as an ingame mechanic of putting Shu's core on lockdown during combat.
>>4009594honestly, this sounds like either something we need confirmation from BHOP on, or something we simply do not have enough info on. i still think whatever that is though, BHOP means for it to still be an entirely IC interpretation. not only due to meta issues, but also, well, locking us out of the game would be silly, to say the least.overall, thats still not a can of worms i think we even have the right can opener to open, if that makes sense?i will say, if it was that, and not a metaphor or Shus swarm outside the dreamscape(or, remember, she could be talking about other Dream Daughters, as they are not 'spying' for us.), it is interesting how only Gemma and Sam have even gotten some type of recollection about that, though it would make sense for it to be them two. Sam used to BE Shu, technically, so of course she may have a deeper connection to see those things. and Gemmas split personality might be her seeing Shu as a split personality. whatever the case, at the very least, i think it still makes sense and is not at all Meta, as if nothing else, what else but he swarm would Shu think Gemma is talking about? IC Shu has hardly seen or heard enough, or thought about it enough, to interpret that line as whatever the hell it was Sam meant by that line earlier.
>>4006160Good to see this back at the top of the catalogue.
>>4009603Personally, I'm still fond of the theory that Shu has parallel thought processes. Shu has some sort of mental super-speed, that's how us having hours to plan out actions in combat is reconciled with Shu only have seconds in-character. It makes sense to me if it's based in parallel processing, Shu having a bunch of thought tracks running at the same time. Shu doesn't notice because they all contribute to the same mental gestalt, but as you said Sam and Gemma have a different perspective on the idea of mental gestalts, seeing the individual moving parts of the machine as a whole.
>>4009670i could see it.i think i mentioned once, an interesting possibility could be Shu mentally is a Chimera. because the Crucible needs a 'soul' to dump into each body, but couldn't use Sams as she was eliminated, it just cobbled up data from leftover personalities in its data-banks to fill in the gaps.
>>4009674I wouldn't be surprised. Shu's clearly got some Sam bits in her, but there's plenty of other stuff in the mix. The parallel thought tracks manifesting traits from individual donors to Shu would make sense.
(Gentlemen, work on my end is rapidly devolving into a dumpster fire. Posting shall be suspended until a little later today, as I’m having to skip lunch to get everything back on track. Thank you all for your patience and understanding, and I’m looking forward to the next update, when I’m able to finish it.)(Also, on the topic of Shu's cognition; I will go on record by saying that other Daughters' comments have nothing to do with anything in real life, but rather something that has not yet been fully explored in the Quest as of yet.)
>>4009711So it started devolving. Sorry to hear that. I hope it wont devolve much furtherwas your lunch homemade? or would you go to some kind of restraunt or soemthing similar?
>>4009711oof, im sorry to hear about work. dont think any job should make you skip a meal, if im being honest. mind giving an estimate though? id assume after work, which i thinks usually about 5-6pm CST?>Also, on the topic of Shu's cognition; I will go on record by saying that other Daughters' comments have nothing to do with anything in real life, but rather something that has not yet been fully explored in the Quest as of yet.i figured it had an IC explanation, but thanks for clarifying even just that, helps alot.though might be misinterpretation, but your wording pipes my curiosity at the fact it sounds likes its not related to something entirely unknown to us, though what that could be, damned if anythings coming to mind.
>>4009711Take care of the dumpster fire. And take care of yourself and sanity before endeavoring to work on the next post, no need to rush. We've been very patient with you since the very beginning so don't worry. I've got to leave for work in 30 minutes myself. I did manage to finish that cover letter and send in the application. So now it's a waiting game for me, but the thought of me somehow botching the cover letter is haunting me now. >Shu's cognitionWell then, thanks for your input. It honestly never occurred to me that Shu never got the time to have a small moment to reflect upon herself, do some navel gazing, or even look at herself in the mirror to do some deep soul-level recollection and reflection.
>>4009722well, actually, haven't we done that at least once? though, to be fair, i think the furthest she may of gotten/the point of it then was just 'im not Sam, im my own person' possibly. though, good starting foundation at least.
>>4009711Sorry to hear that, BHOP. Make sure you get the chance to eat at some point, we don't want our favorite QM going hungry all day. And very interesting to have confirmation the mental stuff is something in-character. Though not perhaps what we're hypothesizing. I can't help but feel it has something to do with Shu being the only one to see Kadath when using Knowable Kadath.
>>4009729i could see that, though i feel like thats more a side effect of whatever it actually is, than being directly related probably. might still be a useful hint though, though nothing is still coming to mind.
>>4009734Oh, I didn't mean it was the direct cause. Just that the Kadath stuff is a symptom of whatever is weird with Shu's neurology.
>>4009734>>4009729Maybe that city is the place where Shus mindpieces are gathered and connected. Citys are gathering places so maybe her mind interprets the knot of her personality liek a city.There might be soemthign very interestign like dream relics or even an ability hidden there.Or maybe backdoor access to the cord or some other data repository of the crucible
>>4009736ah, fair. so we agree then it seems.also, maybe im thinking about it too much, but doesn't Shu having seen Kadath imply a strong possibility of 'great things' beyond just whats physically happening? especially as its clearly not entirely tied to the ability that she has seen it?>>4009740possibly. though like some have now said, Kadath could be more a consequence, over being directly tied to Shu like that. honestly, the Dreamscapes clearly got more going on to it than at first glance. id personally not be surprised to learn the Dreamscape has nothing to do with the Crucible, even if the Crucible can still affect it significantly.
>>4009714>>4009729(I have a sandwich in the fridge, so I'll be okay. Thank you for your concern!) >>4009720(I'd say a post between 4:00 and 5:00 would be accurate, the way things are going.)
>>4009740>>4009734>>4009729wildest deepest conspiracy time: Shu is actually an a host of Shub-Niggurath, and the overall story of Body Horror Quest is a bedtime story of how Shu(b-Niggurath) came to be known as Mother of a Thousand Young /conspiracy over.There is a connection to be made you know. Kadath is an ancient city and the home of the dream-gods of Earth, otherwise known as the "Great Ones". But it also does bring to question about Yurei. iirc, Yurei had Knowable Kadath in her character sheet and the silver key in her possession. We could ask her if she's ever seen or been to the city of Kadath. Because it seems that Shu's cognition and what she is on the inside seems to be tied to the dreamscape and Kadath.
>>4009740Maybe. I might be reading too much into it, but in the story The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath it turns out that Kadath itself was actually abandoned, and the gods had migrated to the "sunset city" that is a manifestation of Randolph Carter's memories. So it would make sense if Shu's dream-questing was a metaphor for residual Crucible memories being collated together.
>>4009722>>4009722Have a nice day at work, anon. I hope your application goes well, and I'm sure your fears of having done something wrong are nothing to worry about.
>>4009747Bhop, I don't know if you've come across this, but here's a mango that I found that you might be interested in.https://manganelo.com/chapter/ane_naru_mono/chapter_1>plot is basically: My older sister is Shub-NiggurathIt's a cute eldritch horror story
>>4009748That would be amusing i woudl have to say. But i kinda doubt that..... Where are the goat daughters and where the Cephalopd Daughters we will need them if that is to come to passAnd we would have to giuve up our Bee theme......... That can not be allowerd I refuse to believe it could beAnd that is a question we could ask her in our next Dram Daughter SegmentI will write it down next to all the other questions we might never get an answer for
>>4009748>that conspiracyif nothing else, i laughed.i agree we should ask Yurei about it though. actually, the Key could be what BHOP is referring to thats yet to be explored, or well, i guess more like what they key allows us to do i suppose.
>>4009755(Ha, yes, I'm quite familiar with that one when I was branching out from Junji Ito and trying to find Lovecraftian manga.)
>>4008792Your fingers graze the chilled chrome of the Silver Key as you just stare at Gemma for a long, hard moment before a sound of disgust escapes your lips."Right now I think you’re an idiot, Gemma.” You say, prompting the bespectacled girl’s eyebrows to shoot up. “Do you even know what Julia and I came here for? You probably know what we were talking about outside. You Dream Daughters see and hear a lot. I tried finding some time to talk about this with you earlier but a lot of things got in the way. I wanted to find a compromise about how to deal with the independently minded shards but after you put us all in danger and now tried to make Julia your own hitwoman? That option is pretty much off the table for now until we’ve resolved all of this. Because shit like that is something I cannot sit by and tolerate, and instead of trying to truly apologize for the breach of trust you committed I find you pulling this garbage on us."Gemma begins to raise her voice, but you raise your hand to silence her, forgetting that it’s the hand that holds the Silver Key. Suddenly, she’s yelling at you soundlessly, her voice lost to the powers of the curious Relic as she slowly realizes what you unknowingly did to her.”Ignoring the resource issues with letting you go, and the fact after what you pulled, you certainly haven't earned it over others in our dreamscapes, you’re forgetting one, simple fact; You’re a threat to other shards.” You continue in the face of her involuntary silence. “Ones who DONT want what you want, ones that have proven their friendship and earned my trust. You yourself, with your actions and words, have proven what you are, in or outside my sight…and I dont need my swarm to know what you are.”Gemma’s just glaring at you now, and you simply shrug, turning away from her impotent fury to the far more important person behind you."Julia... is anything she said the truth? No pressure, but please be honest with not only me but also yourself, about this whole situation." You say, and your heart breaks a little as she slowly nods. She doesn’t dare to meet your eyes until you take her face in your hands, the Silver Key dropped into your dress pocket. "I’m sorry if I’ve been an idiot, if I’ve been unable to see how much you've been suffering in silence. I’m sorry if you ever felt pressured, if you ever felt you were forced to fight when you didn't want to…but know, now or before that if you ever need or want something, be it some help or some time and personal space to yourself alone? All you need to do is to ask. All you need to do is to speak up, and everyone in the family will do their best to accommodate. It's what family's for."“I’m…n-not really used to that.” Julia whispers quietly, and she looses a little sound of surprise when you scoop her up into a hug.(Continued)
>>4009955"You're family, and we care about you, no matter what anyone says. But even family messes up, and trying to help those you love can make you do things they may not want sometimes.” You say, stepping back with a smile. “Know that the defiant fools will always have a place for you. I love you like a sister... and if you want to stay In Laoc, then I won’t stop you. But you are undeniably one of the big things keeping us all together."She’s bashful at that, even as you fix her with a serious expression."And for what it’s worth? Choosing me wouldn't be the first time we've questioned Amaras choices, now would it?" You jest, and Julia chuckles softly until you reach into your pocket, retrieving the Silver Key and placing it in her grasp. "She’s your Dream Daughter, Julia. It’s your decision, and no one else’s."You turn to Gemma one last time, stepping back to allow Julia to make her choice."Gemma, make no mistake; if you pull that broadcast again, or if you do anything else that could endanger my family or others again without talking about it with us first? I will delete you. This is not a warning, Gemma. It is a promise.” You declare, narrowing your eyes as she swallows hard…and with that, Julia has the floor. Dark eyes reflect the silver orb Julia holds in her grasp, staring down as the device’s use becomes clear to her mind. She’s quiet for a long moment, the room filled with the soft hum of the scrolling screens."Gemma?" Julia finally says, turning her dark eyes on the Dream Daughter. "I'm s-sorry we didn't talk more. You know…you c-could be whole again, and I could j-just keep wearing...this."Julia tugs lightly at her ill-fitting flesh as Gemma's eyes widen, desperate hope blossoming in her features, until..."B-but we'd just keep making the same mistakes, wouldn't we? You'd keep clinging to the collective, and I'd k-keep quiet about how I feel." Julia says, the smile fleeing Gemma's face as her Host speaks. "We *are* similar Gemma, but not in the way you think. Shu hasn't d-done anything wrong. Neither has Amara, or Dorian, or anyone else in m-my family. You and I have been using g-good things as crutches to avoid f-facing who we are. We've trapped ourselves by l-leaning on good people at the expense of turning a b-blind eye to what we can be if we were brave enough to s-stand on our own and figure out who the k-kind of people we can b-be if we stop hiding behind labels and m-masks."Julia shakes her head as she pauses, gaze lingering on Gemma’s awestruck eyes."If you or I had just...t-talked? To Shu, or anyone in our f-family? They'd have listened. They wouldn't have j-judged like you or I thought they might. We were both too s-scared of who we'd be on our own to admit that we'd b-be accepted if we were just honest with ourselves and w-with the people around us."(Continued)
>>4009958"Shu, I'd l-like..." Julia starts, stopping herself before turning back to Gemma. "I am g-going to ask Francine's help in making something so that even without the other Dream D-Daughters, you won't be able to p-put me or anyone else in danger. I am going to reach out to the B-Barbers and ask Sia how I can help you, too. She's learning how to b-be her own person, and you should have the option, t-too…your voice deserves to be heard, loud and clear.” The Silver Key hums in Julia hands, and Gemma’s slow breathing can be heard for the first time since you activated Yurei’s Relic. "We have t-time, Gemma. You d-don’t have to rush.” Julia assures her, reaching out and squeezing your hand. “I t-trust Shu. I know she's g-going to change the world, and stop the C-Crucible. So if I can take a l-little time to get myself centered and r-really understand who I am, then I'll be able to s-stop walking behind everyone and start walking s-side-by-side with them. I…I’m g-going to help Laoc. I’m going to help m-make a foundation for the f-future that Shu’s building. I’m going to b-become a better person. And I’m going to help y-you too, Gemma…”Julia steps past you, pulling the speechless Gemma into a half-hug with her unoccupied hand.“…if you’ll l-let me.” Gemma’s silent for a long moment as she studies Julia’s face, her emotions slowly opening in the wake of Julia’s earnest plea.“But…I’m…I’m alone, without them. I don’t know who I am without…” Gemma falters, taken aback at Julia’s kindness.“I’d like to f-find out who I am, and you w-want to do the same. How about we f-find out together?” Julia offers, pocketing the Silver Key to leave her hands free to take Gemma’s hands in hers as the dream starts to fade. Gemma nods, and your vision’s filled with darkness until you open your eyes to see Gina standing before you, concern writ large on her face as she looks between you and Julia. The blonde girl beside you opens her eyes as well, staring down at her hands before she musters the courage to look you in the eye.“I th-think…I want to give her some time. She knows she m-messed up, and I’m g-going to give her the chance to make things right…b-but if she doesn’t, then she knows the c-consequences.” Julia says, looking between you and GG as the two of you wait for your friend to speak on the larger issue that Gemma brought to your attention.“I’m…I’m s-sorry I d-didn’t tell you how I f-felt.” She admits, her stutter worsening with her nerves run raw. “I j-just…I saw th-that I was doing the same th-thing with you all that I was d-doing with my family before the Crucible, and I…I wanted to b-be strong enough to tell you what I f-felt, since I n-never got the ch-chance to say it t-to…”Julia swallows back tears at the memory of those the Crucible robbed her of, regardless of the conflicted emotions you feel roiling in her heart.(Continued)
>>4009960“It’s okay.” Gina assures her, sitting on the opposite side of the trembling young woman. “Self-betterment? I get it. I was a...hell, I was a straight-up monster before I resolved to change myself. Putting your foot down and trying to be a better you…that’s hard. Really, really friggin’ hard. But you don’t have to be strong to tell us how you feel, ‘cause we love you, Julia. We want to know how you feel, no matter what.”“Are you m-mad that I wasn’t more f-forceful?” Julia asks, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands as you just chuckle.“Nah, not really” You answer with a grin. “I think I put the fear of god in her with my ‘monologue’…and prompting her to see who she is aside from the other Shards is wise, I think. She’s your Dream Daughter, and it was your call. In any case, you’ve given her plenty to think about on top of a second chance. Now, what she does with it…”“…Th-that’s on her.” Julia finishes, nodding as she stares at the dresser on the other side of the cramped room. “I c-can see…I d-don’t really know h-how to describe it. I c-can see what I can d-do for Laoc, and what it c-can do for our f-family, t-too. I…there’s a l-lot I want t-to and learn about m-myself before I’m r-ready to ascend the Cord w-with everyone…if I t-tried it n-now, it would…w-well…”“Huh…yeah, I totally get that. Given what we know, the Cord *is* supposed to jack with your head and prey on stuff that’s below the surface.” Gina admits, mulling over Julia’s words. “So in a way, you were looking at the macro, if you think about it.”At that, Julia shrugs. “Y-yeah, I just…there’s a lot on my m-mind, and I always used m-my art t-to help me work through stuff. I th-think it’s the main r-reason I kept it together until y-you both f-found me.”“Glad we did...I don’t know what we’d do without.” You say honestly, putting an arm around the girl’s narrow shoulders.“Y-you’ll manage...and so w-will I.” Julia replies, without any sign of self-depreciation in her voice. “We’re a t-team, but everyone in our f-family is so, so s-strong. I j-just want to get stronger in the w-ways that matter, is all. Th-things will get tougher the c-closer we get to the Cord, and I w-want to make s-sure I’m okay with myself and m-my decisions…I th-think it’ll help me after all this is d-done, too.”>>You and Gina will leave Julia in peace while she collects herself, and you’ll go have that drink with Ivey in the meantime…you need it.>>There’s still one or two things you want to talk with Julia about. She’s going through a lot, and you want to be there for her.>>Even though neither you nor Julia used it, the Silver Key’s unusual properties aren’t what you expected…so maybe a visit to Yurei is in order to pick her brain about the thing’s capabilities, as well as what you saw when you last used it. >>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four hours. Your patience has been greatly appreciated, and I hope that your day is going well, one and all.)
Some mood music for Julia. Starts out very tense and fearful, but evolves through the song to a hopeful place.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpluEINasQA
>>4009963(Nah man, thank you, as always.)>>You and Gina will leave Julia in peace while she collects herself, and you’ll go have that drink with Ivey in the meantime…you need it.Offer a hug on the way out and ask if she wants us to send Dorian her way if we see him. Then let's see if we can tie up some more loose ends, specifically about Laoc with the Barbers. I think we should try and order a drink as we sit down next to Ivey if our bartender can work some flavor magic. I just can't resist the puns.Bricks and Ivy:- 3 thick slices of cucumber, muddled- 1 1/2 oz. vodka- 1/2 oz. St. Germain- 1/2 oz. honey syrup- 1/2 oz. lime juiceThere's another drink I'd send to Gina, and let her figure out the name:- 1.5 oz. vodka- 1 oz. vermouth - 1 oz. puree from a cantaloupe- 1/2 oz. honey syrup - 1/2 oz. lemon juice
>>4009961>>You and Gina will leave Julia in peace while she collects herself, and you’ll go have that drink with Ivey in the meantime…you need it.I want to know more about the Silver Key, but maybe not right this moment. Ivey is still out there waiting on us, let's talk with her before we follow up on that. Inform her about Julia staying, too, because Julia is a huge badass and they could work together well. Actually, Julia even kind of fits into their aesthetic already, she wears leather (well, untanned still-living skin) and has an Unnatural Predator skill making her a monstergirl. Okay, now I want Julia when we see her next to have picked up some personality traits from Ivey in her quest to become more confident, that would be hilarious.>>4009987I actually can't find what this cocktail's name is. What is it?
>>4010002Nice Melons, there's quite a few variations of it depending on what melon you use.
>>4010022Ah, I see.
>>4010027I'm a terrible person, and hope she would have as much trouble finding the name, only to find it at some point in the future, eliciting laughter.
>>4010032She really would find it hilarious, too. "Oh my god, Shu, you huge horny dweeb."
>>4009987Seconding.Talk to Ivey, tell her about Julia and her capabilities. Maybe the Hyenas can take our favorite sculptor under their wings, teach her a few things.>Ivey and the Hyenas teaching Julia how to be confident and sure of herself>Ivey giving Julia dating tips with Dorian>Ivey offers a horrified Julia assless chaps>Julia compromises, blending the Hyena leather look with her own taste in clothing>We come back to Laoc, and Julia looks like Sandy at the end of Grease, pic related
>>4009961well, that went well. hope things work out for ya Julia.>You and Gina will leave Julia in peace while she collects herself, and you’ll go have that drink with Ivey in the meantime…you need it.we can ask Yurei about it more later. im sure the keys gonna at least be more useful than first thought, but still, we can afford to wait on those answers for now, for sure.
>>4009961>>You and Gina will leave Julia in peace while she collects herself, and you’ll go have that drink with Ivey in the meantime…you need it.>>4009963It was well worth the wait though i overselpt a bit with my little nap....Speaking of..... I will go back to sleep now so i am ready for the day ahead. Good Night Anons
>>4010055it was a good scene yeah. though not gonna lie, Gemma being forced to be silent wasn't what i was expecting. kinda was looking forward to Shu just ignoring her a little ill admit haha.its ok, i just assumed BHOP was responding in the same timezone i asked in and overslept a bit too, though luckily its hardly the most complicated vote this time. hope you sleep well Anon!
>>4010055Good night, overseas friend. Sleep well, and we'll see you in the morning.
well, i guess the Gemma situation is... well i dont want to sat resolved, but certainly at least satified, for now.it does bring up the issue though, of, well... we really dont have a reason to go to the AA anymore. again, sure, we might still want to check em out, but technically we no longer have business with the, which was our excuse to hold Magpie off from... whatever she had planned there. I mean... we really have no reason to meet that shard thats there anymore. i dont think were really in the consumption game anymore, and hell, honestly im suspicious of if that shard ever wanted to be consumed in the first place, or if Gemma was just lying or bending the truth. dont get me wrong, still want to hang out with Magpie more, just saying our excuse here and the situation for it might not be as justified anymore.
>>4010124Yeah, I've been thinking of that since Julia said she wanted to stay behind. It seemed like one way or another we were going to lose our excuse for following Magpie and making sure she doesn't get herself killed in a gunfight. I'm not sure what we could say for why we're going now, maybe that we think the Altar might know stuff about the dreamscape that we're curious about? They do pursue chemically-altered consciousness, they actually might have some insights to the Kadath issue.
>>4010140...i mean, we could just be honest with her?>"Hey, we DID have a legitimate reason to hold you back... but things changed and now we dont. HOWEVER, you old smoking bird, you're my friend, and i care about you, you alcoholic shit, and im worried you might be going down a bad path, and worse, might be going it alone when you shouldn't and dont have to. so please, just this once, shut up and just spend a day or whatever wandering around an addict hippie community with us, if only to put our minds at ease, ok?"
>>4010141It's less that I want to lie as to our real reason for wanting to come with her (since she knows it, it's super obvious we're just worried she's going to get into a big dumb gun fight without any backup) and more that I don't want to explain this bit of drama to her if she asks "so, what was the reason you were using for coming along?". Because even if this actually had a quite positive resolution, man do I not get into it again. But I guess we can sum it up without having to explain the whole sordid mess.
>>4010152fair, but yeah we can just summerise it.>"Theres someone in the AA who has an... odd relationship with one of our dream daughters, but due to recent events with that dream daughter.... well having the two meet probably isnt a good idea right now, to say the least."
>>4009961You and Gina share a glance, and you don't need the Crimson Cord to realize what the other's thinking. Julia doesn't fight you on giving her a little time to reflect, so you and GG make your way back to the bar where you're immediately met with a glare of disapproval from Razor. She's at the bar with her tall, grinning leader, and you take Ivey up on her offer as she beckons you both to the seats beside her."What's been keepin' you busy, Defiant?" The Hyenas' leader asks as you gesture for Sierra's attention, a bit of unearthed memory giving you an idea."I'd like to treat my friend here to a Bricks and Ivy..." You announce, giving the tall woman to your right a good chuckle that helps cover up your second order, one that you whisper to the bartender."Honestly?" You sigh, getting comfortable on the barstool as you weigh the best way to answer Ivey's question. "Settling things with a Dream Daughter that's part of a fragmented collective who was broadcasting our location to some potentially bloodthirsty members of her hive mind, while maybe-kinda-sorta trying to convince a friend of mine to maybe not be Frank Castle for two whole seconds."Ivey just stares at you, unblinking."Never change, Shu." She laughs, finishing her drink as Sierra places her new one on the bar, and you lean over to address Ivey's ally."Razorback, was it? Would you like anythi-" You begin, interrupted by the other girl's pointed scowl."Fine, thanks." The girl replies gruffly, downing the rest of the amber liquid in her cup with in irritable swig. You glance to Ivey, looking for some sort of hint of what you could've done to piss off her friend, but she doesn't seem to have caught the exchange since it landed squarely in her downing half of the drink you ordered for her."Me an' mine are doing fine. Just got through tryin' to scrounge up some work, but seems like everyone 'cept Paloma's battening down the hatches with all the weird stuff going on recently. Wouldn't you know it, even she'd already got a hold of some people for a little project of hers, so...hey, 'least that left us open to help out here. And if people ARE looking to hire, then it's the sort of stuff any self-respecting merc wouldn't touch with a Fibromancer's ass-hair, unless they don't mind losin' half their crew." Ivey explains bitterly as Sierra brings Gina the drink you ordered for her, a particular vodka cocktail whose name remains your little private joke on your girlfriend's behalf. "Good to be back in Laoc, needless to say...wish it were under better circumstances, though.""Fond of the town?" You offer, and she just shrugs her muscular shoulders."Fond of Jeraha, mostly." She smiles, downing the rest of her drink without flinching. "She and I go back to when we first woke up. We traveled a while together while we got our bearings, then split. Always were on good terms, said we'd drop whatever and come help if the other needed it...and this sure as hell qualifies."(Continued)
>>4010294"She's singin' your praises too, in her own way." Ivey continues as you catch Razor's eyes narrow, her irate aura only growing the more you speak with her leader. "She can be a pill, but she's a great friend to have. And believe you me, she considers you one of her own now, after what you did."You nod, unable to shake Razorback's unnerving gaze. Her forest-green eyes pierce into yours, her pupils a black as gun barrels as you meet her unblinking intimidation with your own bewildered expression.What the hell's this girl's problem?{Heh, oh, I see what's going on here} Gina says suddenly, a knowing note in her voice as she speaks to you privately. {Hey Shu, just bear with me a sec, 'kay?}GG scoots off the bar stool and strides around to Razor, tapping the other girl on the shoulder and gesturing for her to follow her to the other side of the bar. "Mind if I borrow your number-one gal?" Gina asks Ivey, giving Razor a little wink that causes the other girl to scowl in confusion. "Won't be long, just wanted to get to know her! Have a girl's chat, and such.""Knock yourselves out. Any friend of Shu's is one of me and mine." Ivey answers good-naturedly. After a few seconds of hesitation the stocky Razor complies, watching you over her shoulder as she's led away by Gina, who just gives you a little wink before launching a barrage of questions.You're not sure what just happened, but you trust you Neuromancer to figure things out.(Continued)
>>4010301"Good on your girl, there. Razor needs more friends." Ivey sighs, give the pair a little wave before turning back to you. "Speaking of friends, everything alright with that blonde of yours? She and her man seemed a little out of sorts since I last saw 'em."You give Ivey the run-down of Julia's intent to stay behind in Laoc, leaving out the connection between the aforementioned Shards and your kind sculptress."Hey, even if she's the quiet type, she's an Unnatural Predator like the rest of my pack, so we'll make sure she feels at home." Ivey smirks, flagging Sierra down and ordering you and she another round. "Wait...does she drink?""As long as it'll mix with tea, I think she'd try anything." You guess, a statement that leaves Ivey pleased at the prospect of a new 'recruit'."Fantastic. She'll fit right in. So!" The taller woman barks, leaning her elbow against the bar. "Down to brass tacks; anything you wanna know before you take you leave of Laoc, or anything you think it'd be good for me to be abreast of? I appreciate catching up and all, but we're both busy women, Defiant. I've got a town to rebuild, and you've got a Cord to climb."...No matter how much you interact with Ivey, you're not sure if you'll ever get a solid read on her. WHile you consider how to answer and what to ask, you quickly scan the tavern, finding Amara and November engaged in a heated battle of rock-paper-scissors, with Sir FuzzBuzz officiating as he hovers nearby. A short distance away sit Rath and Tinker, engaged in a rapid discussion that even Francine seems to be struggling to keep up with. Lara seems content to hover near Rath, eyes glued to the softly glowing red-head as she continues to chatter on excitedly. Dorian's no-where to be seen, having likely taken another walk to collect his thoughts.>>Ask Ivey about what jobs she tried to take, and from whom. Ivey must've touched base with some bigger names, so getting an idea of who's looking to make moves might prove useful.>>Jeraha briefed Ivey on the situation, so ask for it straight; how long does she think it'll take Laoc to recover and what obstacles might they (and Julia) face?>>You can't think of anything you'd like to bring up, so finish you drink with Ivey and go talk to [Ally of your choice].>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, I shall be pausing here for the evening and going to bed early after a thoroughly exhausting day. I'll be available for the next hour or two so as to address any questions, concerns, or criticisms you may have. Voting shall remain open for the next twelve hours, with posting to resume in approximately fourteen, give or take. I hope you have a restful evening, and thank you for you patience and enthusiasm, as always.)
>>4010301What, does Razor have a crush on Ivey and is angry we're occupying her attention? I assumed she was just angry we ended the Hyenas' last job by killing their employer (it was only two days ago, after all), but if Gina is going "oh, it's like that, huh?" then I'm going with jealousy as my guess.>>4010304>>Jeraha briefed Ivey on the situation, so ask for it straight; how long does she think it'll take Laoc to recover and what obstacles might they (and Julia) face?>>4010309Thanks for running, BHOP. Sorry to hear that your day's been rough. Get some rest, you deserve it.
>>4010304>Order another drink ,and shrug. "Not gonna lie Ivey, after the two days ive had, the longer you can keep me from getting back to business, the better.">Chuckle, and give her a smirk. "We came to Laoc to have a day off after a pretty harsh bout. so, you can imagine how we all feel now.">Ask Ivey about what jobs she tried to take, and from whom. Ivey must've touched base with some bigger names, so getting an idea of who's looking to make moves might prove useful.>Try and get her talking about her teams exploits. her best gigs? her silliest? the epic moments she will never forget.>>4010309hope you get some good rest BHOP, you deserve it, truly.>>4010314BHOP did confirm one of Iveys high ranking teammates had a massive crush on her, and im not at all surprised Gina picked up on that.
>>4010318>BHOP did confirm one of Iveys high ranking teammates had a massive crush on her, and im not at all surprised Gina picked up on that.Did he? I don't remember that. Well, okay then, definitely Razor having a crush.
>>4010319not sure what thread, but i asked him about other characters of note on Iveys team, and sadly i cannot remember... really anything, except there were only two he really had fleshed out, one i think was tall, the other small, pouty, and had a major crush on Ivey.hrm, i cant remember if the little mask girl stayed with them or not either.>>4010309what happened to the Yurei phone kid? did she stay with the Hyenas, or did they just take her someplace safe?does Amara finally have a kid her age to interact with?
>>4010318>one of Ivey’s girls having a massive crush on Iveycite your sources please.
>>4010323i did,>>4010321unless you expect me to go and find BHOPs exact quote, in which case, i literally do not care enough about this topic to do that. ask BHOP himself if you care for confirmation that much.
>>4010323>>4010319(Can confirm. The main two members of Ivey's pack are Blitzen and Razorback, the latter of whom does indeed have a huge crush on their fearless leader.)
>>4010321>what happened to the Yurei phone kid? did she stay with the Hyenas, or did they just take her someplace safe?I believe she was already a member of the Hyenas, not someone that Yurei added to their group. In which case she probably is around here somewhere. Maybe one of the Joyous Many will run into her.>does Amara finally have a kid her age to interact with?She's got the Sororitas. Though I think they're actually a few years older than Amara. Anyway, yes, it would be nice if Amara got to hang out with the Hyenas' kid. They can bond over being little girl psychic scouts working for a gang of post-apocalyptic badasses.
>>4009961Just catching up after getting home, great job blending everyone's ideas. Better outcome that I had expected too.>>4010304Have we asked Ivey in the past about any of the Daugters we have been trying to track down? If not, that's another thing to ask about in addition to or instead of past jobs.
>>4010329im just gonna say it, as nice as having DDs is, its still not really a replacement in my opinion for having flesh and blood friends and family. also, was the girl? fair enough if she was, i just dont remember it getting confirmed.
>>4010329>>4010321(That young girl has been adopted by the Hyenas, and Amara will be meeting her soon enough. She's actually playing with the Joyous that have been following Ivey, right now.)>>4010330(I don't believe you've asked her that yet, no.)
>>4010335ah, glad to hear, and thanks for the confirmation. though, guess that means that Joyous failed on the stealth part of its mission at least... though i also dont think we asked Amara to track them... then again, you said she has like 30 of them out and about, and we maybe asked her to track like 10 people/places, so yeah, Amaras a go getter, i guess.
>>4010337(That particular Joyous joined purely out of wanting to play with the masked girl, actually. She was one of the few that wasn't trying to be stealthy. The second Joyous they ran across is another story, though.)
>>4010340oh, well ok then, that makes sense.i think. yeah, it does. probably.
>>4010333Yeah, I suppose you're right. It's nice to have the Dream Daughters, but them existing on a separate plane of existence does make hanging out with them a bit of a hassle. >>4010335Oh, good. Psychic scout buddies. Time to bond over being the most anime characters in the plot.
Back from work. I feel horrible, and am still trying to wrestle with the bronchitis that I got over christmas break.
>>4010420oof, sorry to hear that.and oh hey, that might be what ive had a mild case of for over a month now!
>>4010420I'm sorry to hear you're sick, and I hope you feel better soon.
>>4009977(Ah, one of may favorite tracks from that game. Thanks for sharing!)>>4010046(The allusion made me laugh harder than I thought it would.)>>4010420(Oh my word, I'm so sorry you're feeling poorly. I hope you feel better soon, so take it easy.)>>4010423(Good grief, you get better soon, as well. The holiday season wasn't kind to many of us, was it?)
>>4010426to be fair, 2019 was not kind to me at all, so honestly this is and was nothing comparatively. but hey, im still alive and not doing too bad all things considered, so hopefully thats a good sign for going forwards.also, damnit, so many pictures to post, yet i constantly forget to post one.
>>4010426>(Ah, one of may favorite tracks from that game. Thanks for sharing!)Yeah, mine too. I like Joyride better, but Silly Game is definitely near the top of the list. Alec Lambert is an amazing musician.
>>4010435(This artist's work is amazing and I am furious that I haven't run across it before. The humanized Godzilla art they've done is making me want to revisit the Kaiju Magical Girl story I'd cooked up a few years back.)
>>4010446....imuhh...well i like Kaijus BHOP, so ill give you that....
>>4010426>>4010446>Julia going from meek homely house-waifu wearing floral prints to Sexy-in-leather Bayonetta-level girl who struts with confidence and tease.Dear Lord. Dorian's gonna feel be flush with a different hue of red when he sees the wild side of Julia. Or the whole thing could horribly backfire given Dorian's current tastes.Have a "Praying" Mantis Nun.
>>4010454(I am the Elon Musk of bad ideas. For every Body Horror Quest, I have another five story ideas that should never see the light of day.)(But have no fear; this Quest is my sole creative focus to the exclusion of my many, many other terrible plots.)
>>4010462i feel like Julia still is enough of 'herself' despite her personal issues not to change THAT much.>>4010464i mean, to be fair BHOP, if someone told you they planned to run a story about eldritch lesbians in a meatball world thats a death tournament who have horrible body mutations, you probably would still look at them sideways at first even if you're into that kinda thing. yet this still turned out great.also, we talked about possible Atlantis gals before, and i happened to have found this.
>>4010464I hate to inform you that this terrible idea actually already exists, because Japan is a depraved place. Kaiju Girls, a show about the kaiju from Ultraman being reincarnated as magical girls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBWcVuASRMU
>>4010470>blobfish is mafia donperfection
>>4010472(Ah, foiled again, I see. Then again, my story was more 'Animorphs-meets-Madoka-then-henshins-into-Gamera' than 'Pretty Cure-meets-Ultraman', but I'm glad to see at least part of it's been done before.)>>4010470>>4010475(Blobfish as Mafia Don is best character.)
>>4010482>(Ah, foiled again, I see. Then again, my story was more 'Animorphs-meets-Madoka-then-henshins-into-Gamera' than 'Pretty Cure-meets-Ultraman', but I'm glad to see at least part of it's been done before.)Honestly, that would be more entertaining than generic monster girl moe tropes. I just wanted to share the depravity with you.
>>4010482oh god, as if animorphs didnt look painful enough, but now you level an entire city block and have that much growing pains? ow.and yeah, all those character designs are great, shame i cant find them separated though.oh, and this artist has becomes alot more active too, so got some good stuff from them in the logs aswell.
>>4010486(I'm very glad this artist is posting more, since their designs are always so great.)
>>4010304>Get another drink>"So how did you meet your team? Did you just kinda pick them up along the way?">"Do you only accept Unnatural Predators?">"Know anyone that might want to help out here as well? Would be nice to have some more people that were capable of defendign themselves and others... Reduce the stress and all that so something like this cant happen again....">"How long do you think Laocs gonna need to recover?"I am not gonna ask her if ther is anyone that might attack Laoc.. That would jsut add more to the pile of things we have to deal with. Lets not expand our list of tasks quite yet>>4010420>>4010423I wish you both the best and a quick recovery
>>4010304You grab Sierra’s attention and order another drink, and her ivory tendrils immediately set to work in crafting a Bee’s Knees for you while you shrug, turning back to the tall woman seated beside you."Not gonna lie Ivey, after the two days I’ve had, the longer you can keep me from getting back to business, the better." You answer with a tired chuckle, and the woman just gives you a knowing smirk. "We came to Laoc to have a day off after a pretty harsh bout, so you can imagine how we all feel now. But yeah…enough about us. What kind of jobs did you try and take, and from whom? Be nice to know who’s posting on the Fleshscape equivalent of Craigslist."“Eh, the biggest potential client we had was this Skinternet figure, goes by Paloma. Midnight Crew snapped that contract up pretty quick, though.” Ivey replies, ordering yet another drink as she rolls her neck this way and that, prompting a series of bone-shattering cracks to echo through the room. “Followed a lead from this one small settlement to the north, but by the time we got there the raiders we were gonna help ‘em out with had already been taken care of. They said a charred skeleton with a bitchin’ cape and a pack of Tindalos came to help, and ended up refusing payment. Said the weird-lookin’ Daughter just wanted to talk to them about you, actually.”“Me?” You choke, and Ivey just gives you a shrug of her angular shoulders before continuing to rattle off her failed job prospects.“Sounds like someone’s spreading the good word about you, friend. Anyway, next up we checked out the Apex Sisterhood, but that didn’t exactly pan out. You heard what happened to ‘em?” She asks, and you nod in the affirmative, deciding not to elaborate on the breadth of your knowledge on the matter. “Freaky stuff. Whoever did them in was a pro. Almost Mara-level, judging by how surgical it all was.”Ivey shivers, downing her glass and pausing a moment, as if wrestling with what she’s about to say next.“Ashamed to say I was desperate enough to hear out a job request from West Tau, but all we found when we got to her lab were signs of a struggle…and something that belongs to you.” She trails off, turning in her seat to glance over at Amara, of all people. “Thought you two had gotten separated until we realized the kid we found hiding in West’s cabinet was a construct. Not one for words, but she’s been keeping Anna entertained. Never saw the kid smile before she made friends with that construct of yours.”You cock an eyebrow, unfamiliar with the name until you recall the masked girl that had been following them when you first made the Hyenas’ acquaintance. You’re about to ask about her when the sound of raucous laughter explodes from where Gina’s sitting, as both she and Razor’s quiet conversation has escalated to a peal of laughter from both girls.(Continued)
>>4011064Gina catches your quizzical eye, and the only explanation you get for the unexpected shift in mood is a coy wave and a wink, with Razor’s scowl replaced with a wide grin and a bright blush in her cheeks as she covers her face in amused embarrassment.Ivey looks at you, and you look at her…and you both just shrug, happy the two are getting along regardless of whatever’s gotten them tickled pink.“Not sure what’d gotten in my girl’s bonnet when I told her we'd be meeting up with you, but glad to see she’s loosening up. Anyway, yeah. Far as jobs go, that’s about it.” Ivey continues, giving her ally a pointed glance over one shoulder while Razorback tries and fails to stifle her laughter. “Feels like everybody who’s somebody is either hiking to the Cord or battening down the hatches. Jobs are scarce, so as much as I hate that it happened, this whole Laoc thing couldn’t have come at a better time for me and my pack to have some direction.”“Speaking of your pack, I’ve been curious; how’d you meet your team? Did you just kinda pick them up along the way? Come on, I want to learn about the legendary Hyenas, so dish out the backstory already.” You nudge, and it’s Ivey’s turn to laugh. ““Ha, sorry to burst your bubble, but we kinda got rolling by accident. Razorback and Blitzen were the first ones I met after Jeraha and I split, and when people heard about a bunch of Unnatural Predators banding together and rocking some leather, well…word got around, one way or another. Not that we’d turn down anyone who isn’t, but we’ve kinda carved ourselves a fun little niche with who we got in the pack.”“Favorite exploits?” You fire off with a grin as you hear the door open behind you. “Best gigs? Silliest? Epic moments you’ll never forget?”“Oh God, I don’t even know.” She groans, in spite of her grin. “I wouldn’t know where to start…”She suddenly cocks her head, ear aimed at the door.“…and it looks like our ‘legendary’ tales will have to wait.” She sighs, just before Blitzen throws open the doors of the tavern, striding over with haste and giving Ivey a stiff salute.“Ma’am, we’ve located the groups in need. Ready to move on your command.” She reports, her shrill voice causing Ivey to wince before glancing to you.“Sorry to cut things short, but me and mine’ll take it from here.” She says with a grin and a wink as Gina and Razorback return to your side. “You done good, Shu; we got this.”(Continued)
>>4011065“I ‘preciate what you did for the people here…and sorry for earlier.” Razor interjects with an earnest smile, thrusting her hand out for another shake. You take it, relieved to find she isn’t throwing her bone-crushing strength behind it the second time around. “Your girl’s alright, Defiant.”“So I’ve been told.” You reply with a wink towards the brunette at your side, even though you’re still not quite sure where the change of heart’s come from.“I second that. All of it.” Ivey says, rising to lead her teammates to Laoc’s aid. “Looking forward to working with Julia, and good luck with whatever weirdness you turn up next, Defiant.”You wish her the same, and with that, the Hyenas leave the bar much quieter than when they arrived.“So, I have to know.” You begin, turning to the brunette at your side. “What’d you do to melt Razor?”“Well, she didn’t know you were taken, for one. Second, we had a little bonding moment over being women of fine taste. It’s no wonder she’s so smitten, I totally get it.” She replies with a sly grin.“…What’re you talking abo-HEY!” Comes your yelp of protest, Gina’s sudden pinch catching you off-guard and drawing your allies’ attention to you. Quickly taking stock of the eyes on you, you find Rath and Tinker Tailor still immersed in conversation with Francine and Lara on the outskirts, and you also realize that Dorian’s still absent…come to think of it, you haven’t seen Magpie recently, either.Then again, if Magpie doesn’t want to be found, you’re pretty sure you’d have a bear of a time tracking her down.>>You’re sure Dorian’s processing things, and you’d like to give him a little longer to work through stuff. Meanwhile, you’d like to talk to [Choose an ally] before wrapping up in Laoc. After that, you’ll deal with the Guardian’s Remains and decide you next destination.>>Try and find Dorian…he’s still not back, and you’re getting worried about him. He seemed pretty upset at being told to go with you, and you’d like to know what he’s working through. After that, it’s time to CONSUME and head for parts unknown.>>Given Ivey’s mention of what happened to the Apex Sisterhood, you’d like to touch base with Magpie before you leave Laoc, then CONSUME and gear up for the next leg of your journey.>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four hours. I’m aiming to have the CONSUME vote this evening, if all goes well and if that works for everyone’s schedule. With 15 points to assign, it won’t be a terribly lengthy affair, and please also know that Julia will continue to keep pace with your main team’s levels while in Laoc thanks to Ivey’s hunting parties.)
>>4011067>Try and find Dorian…he’s still not back, and you’re getting worried about him. He seemed pretty upset at being told to go with you, and you’d like to know what he’s working through. After that, it’s time to CONSUME and head for parts unknown.though i still want to talk to Tinker, but actually, Tinker will probably involve forging, it just would make sense, and leveling up first would give us a boost to work with, so it might actually make more sense to catch her afterwards anyways.>>4011068doing it tonight would be stupendously preferred over tomorrow night, i can tell you that.speaking of Julia, i do personally think she should probably get a smaller cut this time. it sounds like she'll be ok anyways, but even if its not much, even such a small boost to the others could make a much needed difference for her absence. sorry Julia, but its the nature of your choices, nothing more or less.
>>4011067>>You’re sure Dorian’s processing things, and you’d like to give him a little longer to work through stuff. Meanwhile, you’d like to talk to [Choose an ally] before wrapping up in Laoc. After that, you’ll deal with the Guardian’s Remains and decide you next destination.>Talk with Holly and maybe have her go with us to meet Amara we have a possible new frined for her that she might like to get to know in person>"So how was it to stretch your legs? I hope the limits your body has were not too bad durign the fight">"I know it hasnt been too great since we got interrupted by that Amalgam and all but i still hope you had fun nontheless"Move with Amara to Anna if she hasnt met her already>>4011068Does that mean she will autolevel or will she level once she gets back to the party?
>>4011072If we were to cut her part down. Would it be comepletely or just cut it by one level or something?Leaving Julia with no extra levels from us would make sure everyone else would get three Levels.
>>4011067>Try and find Dorian…he’s still not back, and you’re getting worried about him. He seemed pretty upset at being told to go with you, and you’d like to know what he’s working through. After that, it’s time to CONSUME and head for parts unknown.We have a hivephone to hand to Dorian and some talk about how his girlfriend's feeling and the real reason why she wants to stay. Needless to say, I think the honeymoon phase of their romantic relationship (the part where they're going around and having cute dates and courting each other) has reached a new stage where each of them will have to learn more about themselves in the time they are away from each other. Dorian's a Brooding Byronic type of boy so letting him stew things over by himself won't do him any good. >>4011068I'll be okay with it aside from being unable to give adequate voter input by next update It will be in the middle of dinner rush for me and that's when I'm busy, it's a shame I'll be unable to provide commentary or valuable insight on Dorian's Romantic woes by the next update. I'll maybe be able to catch the tail end of the voting period and provide at least one point of input if I'm lucky enough to get back to the computer by 8:30, assuming the next update is posted at 5 with a 4 hour voting time.Question: Since Julia went into the dreamscape with Shu to have a serious talk with Gemma, would that mean Julia is eligible for a Kadath point?
>>4011067>Gina pinching Shu's legs.>Not going for an ass-slap. bhop pls, how could you.
>>4011064>“Followed a lead from this one small settlement to the north, but by the time we got there the raiders we were gonna help ‘em out with had already been taken care of. They said a charred skeleton with a bitchin’ cape and a pack of Tindalos came to help, and ended up refusing payment. Said the weird-lookin’ Daughter just wanted to talk to them about you, actually.”Uh, Charon, what you doing? Not to say I'm not happy you're helping people, but why you evangelizing about us? Last we heard you were working on a plan and were recruiting for it, are you using us as part of your recruitment pitch?>>4011067>>Try and find Dorian…he’s still not back, and you’re getting worried about him. He seemed pretty upset at being told to go with you, and you’d like to know what he’s working through. After that, it’s time to CONSUME and head for parts unknown.You okay, buddy? I know the girl you like is working through some stuff and that makes you worried for your relationship with her, but it's not about you. She likes you, Dorian, she just wants to be sure she likes herself.>>4011076No it wouldn't. That would be fifteen points between six people, three would get left out. I don't think it's worth it, if we're going to be unbalanced anyway. Let's give Julia a normal share, emphasize that she's still part of this family. Two points each, with an extra to allocate to whoever we decide needs it.
>>4011079it was an ass pinch, not a leg pinch most likely.>>4011076id be fine just leaving her with 1, to help stave off the hunger, but otherwise i dont think she would need anything atm. she will also be in a relatively much safer environment too. so due to November thats 6 people and 14 points if we do that. we'll have 2 extra points to choose where to put em. to be fair even if we gave Julia a full share, 15 cannot be evenly split 7 ways either... or 6 ways.odd number counts are annoying, i suppose.
>>4011081yeah, Charon might be putting us on the spot it sounds like... not sure im ok with that honestly.i mean, i trust their intentions are well meaning, but still. and agree to disagree on Julia, guess we're gonna have to have a more heated debate even on points distribution this time around.
>>4011081Yeah your right my bad. I forgot to include Dorian when i counted the people eligble for consuming>>4011084I think i would be okay with giving those two points to maybe Francine? She is still behind the level curve even though she got such a strong boost from Yurei
>>4011088maybe.level curse shes still behind, but stats wise she actually has at least caught up if not started to get ahead compared to others. oddly she seems to have balanced herself out pretty quickly.if we could ensure Amara and Dorian got good Biomass boosts, id say one to each of them. they are severely behind on biomass, and for Amara at least that does matter a good bit. Dorian too, but less so.
>>4011094your right Amara needs a lot of Bio to cast those big spells we need her for.So i think i could agree on that when it comes to a vote
>>4011094Well, we've got three Cores to allocate, those would give substantial Bio boosts. Also, I suspect Bloody Battalion's Core would merge with Queen Crimson or Red Death and turn into an Augment, so putting her Core on Amara or Dorian wouldn't just be us spending a level on nothing but stat boosts.Alternatively, going with just the skills already on them, their Generator skills both give good Bio increases. Accumulated Charge on Dorian and Oxygenic Artillery on Amara, put levels into those.
(Gentlemen, what I'll likely do is post close to when the voting period's over for this current segment to deal with whatever you choose to do, then open the CONSUME vote at around 8:00PM Eastern time if that works for everyone. Starting any earlier in the evening doesn't seem to have worked too well in the past, but if anyone has any major reservations over the 8:00PM start time, please let me know.) >>4011077(I'm not near my notes right now, but I'm pretty sure that her interaction with Gemma would qualify, yes.)>>4011074(She will have a pool of level-up points that you'll be free to assign once she joins back up with you.) >>4011072(Putting the level-up vote before Forging was so that you'd have the most stats to work with, yes.)>>4011079(Oh, Gina absolutely pinched the butt.)
>>4011100>(Gentlemen, what I'll likely do is post close to when the voting period's over for this current segment to deal with whatever you choose to do, then open the CONSUME vote at around 8:00PM Eastern time if that works for everyone. Starting any earlier in the evening doesn't seem to have worked too well in the past, but if anyone has any major reservations over the 8:00PM start time, please let me know.)Works for me, I'll be free then.
>>4011100Well fine i will make sure to be up for that time God i hate that i am so far away from America right now
>>4011099sure, that could work. worse case we could compact them down into just stats too. really will depend on how those actually work, of course.as ive said, really dont think we need any new abilities on anyone(except maybe Francine), though like always maybe something will be good enough to replace something.>>4011100that works, sure. wont make the game planned for tonight, but its not the one my actual friend is running so thats fine.
>>4011107come to Texas, buy a gun and a cool hat and live the dream! though honestly anywhere not the west coast states or New York isnt all that bad.
>>4011110maybe in a couple of years if work brings me over there. Right now i am in a contract and would like to learn a copuple of extra things as well befroe i step out into the open market againthough i already have the cool hat part down....
>>4011100>8pm CONSUME VOTE I won't be able to start arbitration when the process starts and it's likely I'll be a bit late to the party when voting begins, but I'm fine with it. Talking to Dorian and seeing how he'll react to Julia staying...that I'll miss and that's what I'm worried about. >>4011094>Amara and Dorian needing a bigger Bio pool.Agreed. >>4011081>Charon running the equivalent of a Door-to-door mormon preacher asking people if they've heard about their lord and savior Shu. Charon please. Helping people's fine and all but the exaltation of Shu and her family is unneeded. The moment people start looking at us like we're Jesus is the moment a cult forms, and when a cult forms, zealotry begins, and when zealotry begins...that's when things get messy, and we very much do not like to see that turning ugly and stagnant with every negative stereotype the word "cult" brings. People looking up to us like a folklore heroic archetype as inspiration and example of who/what they could be if they better themselves and do the right thing? I'm fine with that. but please keep it in moderation.
>>4011112understandable.hope it goes well for ya Anon!>>4011116yeah, thats what im worried about. that and Charon could be accidentally falling for the trap of not understanding cultural, emotional, and mental differences between our species too. not that i think they're oblivious, only that thinking like an alien(him to us in this case) cannot be easy to do, or even remember to do.
>>4011125I'm hoping that it's just them acquiring support for us when we hit the Cord, or something like that. BHOP said that Charon and Ringo were recruiting for a plan, maybe that plan is just "provide aid for the Defiant's party when besieging the Cord". And they're talking about us just because they're trying to convince people that we're worth fighting alongside. At least, this is what I hope, and we've all learned what hoping gets you in the Fleshscape by now, so I'm probably super wrong.
>>4011132i mean, it could be that, and even part of it, but i do feel like Charons got to have something else in mind. seems just a bit too...blunt, for their personality. but we'll see.
Just finished a previous Crucible. Pretty short and with no story attached to this one.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oUZI-ILUMl_5woMDO7VLm_7DLSzU-OKjuRNsSDuMmFs/edit?usp=sharing
>>4011276A Crucible taking place on an artificial world with multiple species. I like that a lot, the fleshscape having to adjust to a weird geography and biomass having to adjust to mimicking multiple different biochemical bases. Cool.I'm not too sure on Aromatic Alchemist being a Fibromancer replacement, though. Feels more Humoral Paladin to me. I'd say that instead of it being the Pitched's Fibromancy equivalent, they just don't have Fibromancy and have this alternate Humoral setup.
>>4011067You thankfully don’t have to venture far to locate your missing painter, finding Dorian anxiously pacing a ring around city hall.“Hey.” You greet simply, prompting the artist to pause his ceaseless circle.“Miss Shu.” He greets, giving you a polite bow even though his attentions are clearly elsewhere. Glancing down, you note that even while he’s standing still, his foot’s tapping with nervous energy.“Mind if I join you for a lap?” You offer, and he takes you up on it as the two of you begin to pace city hall in silence as you wait patiently for him to speak.“When I was drinking, I didn’t used to do…this.” He begins, gesturing down at his legs as the two of you walk side-by-side. “It’s an unfortunate habit from when I was younger, I’m afraid.”“Doesn’t strike me as all that bad.” You comment, stretching your arms above your head. “Better than the alternative.”“You mean the drinking?” He asks pointedly, and you remains silent for a moment before he merely chuckles. “Ha, I suppose you’re right. I’ve been cutting back, but perhaps I could stand to nix it entirely.”“You know she’s not running away from you, right?” You posit, leaning over a bit to make eye contact with the young man’s front-facing focus. “She wants to find herself, to be a better person. She’s wrestling with a lot, but I think she just wants to be the best version of her she can be.”“Yes…yes, I hope so.” He sighs, glancing your way and taking a moment to compose his thoughts before he continues. “…I believe that I’d like to do the same. I’d like for whatever future we may build together to be one that sits upon a foundation that’s made of the best versions of ourselves, as far as we can manage. I…hope that makes sense.”“Dorian, with your vocabulary I don’t think you couldn’t not make sense.” You tease, and he just makes a face at your casual butchery of grammar until the two of you share a laugh.“I suppose I…I don’t want to put any restraints on the kind of woman she is, even unintentionally.” He continues, tucking his hands in the pockets of his scarlet overcoat. “My father put enough limitations on my family, and I’ll be damned if I ever repeat that mistake.”“You’re not your dad, Dorian. I don’t think you could be even if you tried.” You assure, raising an eyebrow as he gives a little shake of his head.“I believe the pitfalls of his thinking are easier to fall into than I’d expected. Perhaps I’m not as draconian as he ever was, but I’ve been reflecting on my own paradigms.” He muses, breathing in deeply as the two of you make a left turn at the corner of the building you’re circling around. “I had an idea of the future I think I was clinging onto a little too tightly. When Julia said she wanted to find herself, I…well, I’m ashamed to say that I panicked at the thought of her growing without me.”(Continued)
>>4011363Wordlessly, you retrieve the other Hive Phone from your pocket, handing it over to your friend as he fixes you with a questioning look.“She wants to stay in touch, Dorian.” You say, pressing the other half of the Swarmling pair into his hands. “The two of you want to grow and be your best selves before you move forward…despite how scary it can be to spend some time apart, it sounds to me like you’re both working towards the same thing.”Dorian looks from the bio-tech communicator to you, his single azure eye glinting with a flicker of optimism.“I…good. I know she’ll do great things here, and I know I have some things to work on before I consider myself truly worthy of being with her.” He says with a smile, pocketing the device as you cock an eyebrow his way.“Oh, come on. You’re the perfect gentleman.” You counter when the two of you pause at the step of city hall, having come full circle.“A gentleman I may be, but she is the sun, the moon, and the stars in my sky. I just hope that I can become the sort of man that gives her all that lies beyond them.” He replies eloquently, staring out at the city as his snow-white hair is ruffled by either the breeze or some choice flexing of his core power.“You never know...” You ponder, staring out alongside him. “…she could snore. You cool with that?”He turns to give you a withering stare, and you just stick your tongue out from the corner of your mouth teasingly. He just snorts inelegantly, his regal facade broken by the most juvenile of gestures as you share another brief laugh. You’re relieved that he seems to be in higher spirits than when you found him, and he rounds on you once he’s caught his breath with a heavy sigh.“I…thank you, Shu, and sorry to worry you.” He says with a half-smile, nodding up to the hall’s imposing doors. “Well…shall we get ready to go?”You consider it, though if you’re being completely honest you think you may have been dreading this part.You consume, gear up, and then it’s off into the unknown……you can only hope that you and the ones you love are prepared for what lies ahead.>>It’s time. [CONSUME. 15 LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, WITH 1 INSTANCE OF ‘KADATH’ TO TRIGGER FOR JULIA]>>There’s one last thing you want to bring up to Dorian before you gather everyone together to consume the remains (Write-In)>>Write-InYOU ARE IN CONTROL
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next four hours, with the CONSUME vote to open at around 8:00PM, Eastern time. I’ll hold off on posting the level-up list from the Guardians until then to give everyone a fair start, and I do hope your day is going well.)
>>4011364>>It’s time. [CONSUME. 15 LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, WITH 1 INSTANCE OF ‘KADATH’ TO TRIGGER FOR JULIA]>>4011367I will go and take a nap now see you soon one and all
>>4011364>It’s time. [CONSUME. 15 LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, WITH 1 INSTANCE OF ‘KADATH’ TO TRIGGER FOR JULIA]Dorians doing fine it seems, nothing else to really say to him honestly, just wanted to make sure he was ok.>>4011373yeah, think ill be taking one of those aswell.
>>4011364>>It’s time. [CONSUME. 15 LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, WITH 1 INSTANCE OF ‘KADATH’ TO TRIGGER FOR JULIA]Cannibalism time, go! Actually, wait, weren't we going to make the Arbiter's Appetite available to the rest of Laoc when they were consuming their dead? Did that happen off-screen?Also, good to see that Dorian is handling this well. I was worried for a moment that he'd be really upset with himself because he felt that he was part of what was holding Julia back, but it seems to be mostly a passing bit of self-loathing.
>>4011364>>It’s time. [CONSUME. 15 LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, WITH 1 INSTANCE OF ‘KADATH’ TO TRIGGER FOR JULIA]Oh boy, I've been waiting for this ever since the end of the last thread back in December.
>>4011385(Arbiter' Appetite has been in use behind the scenes, yes.)
>>4011364>>It’s time. [CONSUME. 15 LEVEL-UP POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION, WITH 1 INSTANCE OF ‘KADATH’ TO TRIGGER FOR JULIA]IT'S TIME>>4011503You and me both.
>>4011503Indeed. Even if, as always, we'll be up long past when we should go to sleep.>>4011512Oh, good. Everyone gets ghosts in their heads.
>>4011512How ae the townsfolk taking to the opportunity that they will not have to deal with the thought of not picking up the dream daughter versions of their loved ones due to arbiters appetite?
>>4011723(They're slowly going through the process, and one of the Joyous has temporarily retrieved Arbiter's Appetite for your use, to be returned upon the completion of your CONSUME round.)(Slight spoilers here, but they'll get along well without it; Jeraha possesses a Relic that can temporarily become a duplicate of any Relic it's exposed to, for the duration of a single Vein. They'll be fine, and you don't have to worry about Arbiter's getting duped once the Vein ends.)
>>4011503yeah, same.>>4011735good to hear, though not exactly the hardest to just pick it up once we need it again id imagine.
>>4011735Interesting Relic. I imagine its something along the rarity lines of the Appetite....But its nice to know our own consumption wont stop the townsfolk, merley slow them down
(Bamboozle imminent. That crossed-out fifteen simply cannot stand.)
>>4011364When you and Dorian finally re-enter the tavern, you're met with the rest of your assembled allies, plus a few Joyous to round out your little group. They know what's about to happen, and with a silent nod to Sierra, she leads you all to the end of the hall of doors you found Julia in less than half an hour ago. Sierra's tendrils reach out to the knobless door, sneaking around the thin gaps in the frame until you hear a soft click, and with that, she swings the door open before you.The stench of fresh blood and seeping viscera hits you full force, whatever's been done to the room to prevent the Fleshscape from reclaiming what came from it now forcing the meat into some sort of stasis. Rath nearly gags, while Amara inhales deeply, more curious than anything as both she and Francine peer around your shoulder before you turn to the rest of your allies."Alright..." You say simply, looking to each of your family members in turn. Glancing over them, you see Lara and Holly hanging back, one waiting to say her goodbyes, the other entertaining herself by seeing how far her limbs will rotate in her borrowed, and blessedly sated form. You look to your allies again, and you can tell by the looks in their eyes...they've worked up one hell of an appetite."Let's do this."You say, and that's all they need before the feast begins.>>PARTY LEVEL UP: 15 POINTS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION>>NEW ABILITIES AVAILABLE FROM GUARDIANS: https://pastebin.com/9KBQ25jkYOU ARE IN CONTROL
GENTLEMEN. IT IS TIME.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5j5rRvAvY4
(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next fourteen hours, with posting to resume in approximately sixteen, due to several individuals being out tomorrow at my place of employ.)(I'll be around for the next two or three hours to address any questions or concerns you may have, and I wish you luck in the voting process. Thank you all for your patience and participation as always, and I do hope you all get some rest when you can.)
>>4011829so, how long before we start things off gentlemen, and anyone else want to be the artiber like we usually have?personally id say start at 7:30-45 CST myself.
>>4011829Did the townsfolk make use of the T-5 Forge that we offered?
>>4011820It begins. Are we going to tackle coming to a consensus character by character, gentlemen? Or should we just post full lists? I'd prefer the former, for sanity's sake.And we're all going to need a minute to look at this pastebin.
>>4011827Indeed it is.As always the all important question......How do we want to split the points we can consumeMy vote is two for everyone but Julia who gets only one in addition to her Kadath level and one extra point for Dorian and Amara
>>4011829>>4011833That and the Spare Sparagmos Engine?
>>4011835definetly one character at a time
>>4011820>while Amara inhales deeply, more curious than anythingOh, Amara. You and your unsettling comfort with butchered human corpses. I love you, sweetie, but sometimes you scare the shit out of me.>>4011831Yeah, I'm good with a moratorium of fifteen to thirty minutes.>>4011835By character, that's how we've been doing it since the Spiraling Fear and it's worked pretty well. Only way to get things done efficiently.
>>4011837getting a bit ahead of yourself mate, probably best to let everyone look over the options first like i suggested here; >>4011831>>4011835see above.
>>4011835>>4011831We do this like we always have ever since the Monastery. Character by character basis. But we first we need to hold consensus on point distribution.
>>4011843yes, agreed, but what abilities are up for grabs could effect how people want to spread points, hence i still think that should be given time before starting.
>>4011833>>4011838(They have, supervised by Jeraha. They've mostly been duplicating their own Relics with the T-5 Forge, since the majority of the Relics the general townsfolk possess are things that help them in everyday life, and not combat-based Relics. As for the Engine, they've gotten some use out of it, but the Forge has definitely seen more use.)
>>40118317:45 CST (8:45 EST) please.
>>4011849>Relics used for mundane utility. Now I'm curious. what sort of relics have they made?
>>4011850>>4011841>>4011839>>4011835im fine with that.everyone ok with me arbitering things, or anyone else want to do it? im more than happy with either.
>>4011849>>4011849What happened to Angry Hornet Girl's corpse? Did we recover her corpse or did the fleshscape NOM her corpse before they could recover it?
>>4011857I could do the arbitration. You did arbitration of our previous feast iirc. I'd like to take the duty this time.
>>4011857i dont really care who does. as long as i dont have to do the arbitratiering at three in the morning
>>4011864sure, go for it.
>>4011829Okay, some questions:1. Would any of these skills merge with existing ones on our party?2. Can Hunter's Honor count as a ranged attack for purposes of Blade's Bounty, given that it can make thrown weapons?3. Is Spring-Heeled Jack eligible for the range boost of Yearning Noose?
>>4011859(She had family in Laoc, and her corpse went back to her two sisters. Her ability set didn't really have anything unique as far as Hive Mistresses go, I'm afraid.)>>4011855(Things to help with simple tasks, such as Generator-based heating and cooling systems, Humoral water filtration tubes, and other things of note. If you'd ended up helping Jeraha set the shopkeep's place back in order, she'd have pointed out a few.)
>>40118721: (They would not, as they are all markedly unique in how they grow and evolve compared to anything else you possess.)2. (Yes, it can.)3. (Absolutely.) (Gotta go fast.)
>>4011884Okay, that's about what I figured/was hoping for. Oh, an additional question: Does Blade's Bounty do friendly fire, or are allies safe from it? Because I'm thinking it could be really good on Shu, but if it would harm our team then it's not worth it.
>>4011893Gina would benefit more, she's a Neuromancer who can use Calcite spikes as Terrain attacks, as well as being our primary Terraformer. fShu's already got enough on her plate.
>>4011829A question, BHOP: If Dorian were to gain Humoral Network, would his Paintlings count as Humoral Paladin constructs, for the sake of the bonuses granted?
>>4011893>>4011894getting ahead of yourselves, but Amara is the best for that by a large margin.
>>4011884Would the Humoral Network boost the effect of the Dominus Line?
>>4011898I agree, just imagine hybridizing Hunter's Honor with Stygian Arsenal at higher levels.
>>4011901i disagree. no one but Francine, and even her its iffy, at all needs more level-able abilities, even for that, and its not that good of one to get and use levels on for that either.non of the options are worth adding to anyone's list or replacing anything on them, besides like i said i do think Francine could live with a singular extra one.
>>4011893(It *does* do friendly fire, unless of course the allies in question have a way of mitigating the damage or know it's coming. If they know it's coming, then they get a considerable boost to dodge it, but there's still a chance they'll get hit.)>>4011897(Oh, absolutely.)>>4011899(It would not, at least at its current Tier. Higher tiers boost a greater range of stats, just for your information.)
>>4011894>>4011898I admit it's probably not the best use of our points for Shu. But creating a massive field of Firmament's Spirals, all of them producing the Fear To Tread effect, would be absolutely devastating. But no, you're right, that's a really situational use and probably not something we should spend points on.
>>4011901>>4011905Amara also stays out of CC, or more specifically brawls, to make proper use to if too.
>>4011906Ah okay probably not worth it then right now>>4011910I think the Arsenal could be molten down for stats. it does give a large BIO boost
MORATORIUM IS OVER. COURT IS IN SESSION.Gentlemen, let us begin the counsel. Our first Topic of Debate is the point distribution.We have 15 Points available for consumption, with 1 point exclusive to Julia due to the circumstances of Knowable Kadath.Persons eligible for the 15 points:>Shu>Gina>Rath>Dorian>Julia>Amara>FrancinePersons Ineligible:>NovemberPersons eligible for Knowable Kadath:>JuliaPersons Ineligible for Knowable Kadath:>Everyone else.Begin submitting proposals to this post.
>>4011906>>4011893easy to negate Friendly fire with that though, if you read its description and realize with Shu we always have a terraformer with us.>>401191715 points total:>Shu, 2 points>Gina, 2 pointsRath, 2 points>Dorian, 3 points>Amara, 3 points>Francine, 2 points>Julia, 1 point, 1 kadath
>>4011917my proposal>Shu x2>Gina x2>Rath x2>Dorian x3>Julia x1>Amara x3>Francine x2>Julia: Kadath x1
>>4011921>That Rath mistakei literally copy and pasted then entire block of text. its in the middle of the text chunk. literally HOW????????? thats like, computer type eldritch nonsense going on there.>>4011916yeah, theres only one core im personally not melting down, and its for Francine.and just a reminder, just incase folks forget, we still get the Dream Daughter if we melt it down, so no worries on losing them for that.
>>4011901>>4011908Anons, any input on the point distribution?
Alright, so here's my take on the consume options.>STYGIAN ARSENALNot great, not awful. Synergy is nice in that It seems investment in this skill gives bonuses to other calcite skills entirely or at least partially. Could be good for Amara if we're willing to invest, but I'm not currently wanting to.>ARMORY OF THE INFINITEA great augment for Amara imo. This would let her instantly rearm herself If she were disarmed, but far more importantly she can cheese her blade stacks by immediately cloning another identical blade with identical 'modifications', letting her spend a load of built stacks twice.>BLADE'S BOUNTYConsidering her power over the fleshscape, this Is also good for Amara. It gives her a nasty AoE that would combo with Armory of the Infinite. Build stacks, throw stacked sword at fleshscape, obliterate everything in radius, retain stacked sword for melee.I think we should take both of the augments for her but not the core.>PULMONARY LEGIONGood, could potentially let us create a legion of dream-daughter fighters, but who would get It? I don't know. I'm neutral about this one.>BLOODIED STANDNot really feeling It. It's a skill designed as an emergency measure to keep people alive but It's not something we should rely on.>HUMORAL NETWORKWould this work on Dorian's constructs? If so this Is potent just for that.>VIOLENS TETRASTIGMANo. Is It good? Absolutely, but I want nothing to do with It personally. >PHEROMONIC PREDATIONWhile It would be yet another investment for Shu, It would combo very well with her and likely end up as a 'all of your minions are my minions' style ability and make her un-challengeable In swarmling fights. >YEARNING NOOSEThis affects Spring Heeled Jack? Holy shit this is busted on Dorian. Dorian has to get this for sure.
>>4011917Two points for everyone, Amara getting the leftover for three. Her Health is still fairly low, let's give our daughter Daughter some room to raise it while still getting things she'll use.>>4011906If we melt down Stygian Arsenal for stats with the Refine function on the Sparagmos Engine, can the aesthetic shift it causes in Calcite constructs remain even? Just because I do quite enjoy the idea of Amara wielding this pitch black katana, maximize her anime quotient.
>>4011943(If you want her blade to be a black as night and more dramatic than the stroke of midnight...then by all means, I'll allow it.)(That gives me an idea for a re-color Relic, though.)
>>4011936anon. Any input on point distribution or are you abstaining?
>>4011936ill withhold discussion til we get to character voting as always, to keep things clean and simple.>>4011943my issue with that is, Dorian and Amara need the Bio boosts the most, but Amara uses more Bio, so she needs to take Legion in my opinion, for the extra boost, and Dorian a melted down Stygian, for the second biggest but smaller boost. aesthetics simply isnt a good enough reason to to give them out as better suited, especially if only getting stats out of it.
>>4011923>>4011921I'll support this distribution
>>4011954>>4011943>>4011925>>4011923Gentlemen, thank you for your input. Votes have been tallied. the following points will be distributed as thus with a majority consensus:>Shu x2>Gina x2>Rath x2>Dorian x3>Julia x1, Kadath x1>Amara x3>Francine x2Next article of debate. To ensure that we do not get any further confusion, We shall discuss the point distribution for Julia, our lovely wallflower who's staying behind in Laoc to learn more about herself.1 Point Kadath (please apply only to abilities on her current character sheet, cannot be used to CONSUME from pastebin)1 Point (can be used to CONSUME from pastebin)Please submit your proposals to this post.
>>4011967Julia, 1 point, 1 Kad;>Seasonal Oppression>Elemental Digestion(Kad)Both could use some love.
>>4011967Level UP JULIA x1 + Kadath>Kadath: Elemental Digestion>SEASONAL OPPRESSIONthe digestion will be very useful for her and the oppresion is gonna need soem more power to become even more devastating
>>4011969>>4011973Seconding both of these votes.
>>4011967Honestly, I don't see much in the way of new things for Julia to get, none of the Augments do much for her and she's got enough other skills to not bother with picking up new ones. I'm fine with the Oppression and Digestion combo. I'd like to upgrade Artisanal Appetites, see where that skill goes as it evolves, but I can't put a point into both it and Oppression. Supporting >>4011969
>>4011967My proposal is this:>Seasonal OppressionWe could really use the upgrade to Seasonal oppression since we can't apply Knowable Kadath to Frozen Fury or Depressive Weight.>Kadath: Bloody RipperBloody Ripper is because it's one of the basic foundations of Carnivorous Carver, we upgrade that, and our Carnivorous Carver's ability is multiplied.
>>4011973>>4011969Sounds good to me.
>>4011981i dont think Bloody Ripper has enough kick to it to really be worth it over just upgrading what it went into or another personally. its good, sure, but not so much so to really be worth the Kadath work around.
>>4011981I'd rather amp up her secondary abilities some, at least for now. Julia's doing good on single-target DPS, expanding the abilities of Bloody Ripper or Carnivorous Carver aren't too important. But she's going to be away from the party and won't be able to rely on us for support, so I think until she's gotten used to working with the Hyenas I'd feel more comfortable with her getting a boost to her defense and crowd control skills. Help keep her safe while she adjusts.
>>4011983>>4011981>>4011979>>4011976>>4011973>>4011969Gentlemen thank you for your input. Votes have been tallied. With a super-majority vote of 5:1 The following proposal passes:Julia:>Seasonal Oppression (1 Level-up point)>Elemental Digestion (1 Kadath point)Points left: >14 level up points>0 Kadath pointsNext subject of debate: Francine. Our Black sheep of the West Collective, once cold, now warming up to the family albeit slowly. Points available for Francine: 2Please submit your proposals to this post.
>>4011995Francine, 2 points;>Unyielding Spirit>Violens TetrastigmaI think Francine could put Violens to AMAZING use, and it would fill a ‘melee’ gap i think she does have in her list, even with Luohans, which is actually more defensive in nature. That, and it fits her unraveling theme really well i personally think. Worse case, im sure we could triple hybrid it to mitigate its appearance effects, and i can even see some potential options to do that in her set already. Spirit just to see how it can aid her more.also doing it in opposite order than usual i see, not that im complaining, just amusing.
>>4011995Level UP FRANCINE x2VIOLENS TETRASTIGMA (core)YEARNING NOOSE I think the Core could be very useful for her to herlp her regain Health for herself to then heal people without having to need to switch targets with her creations stringsYearnign noose is useeful fo rh er to iuncrese the strength and reach of her Core
>>4012001Seconding.
>>4011948>>4012001BHOP, how would Noose effect Luohans Hands? because i think Creations doesnt really need the range boost? but if its not that impressive for Luohans, Noose isnt worth it at all on her.
>>4012004could you please link your vote to >>4011995 It makes it easier to count later on
>>4011995>Yearning Noose>Luohan's HandsYearning Noose because Creation's Strings drops off in effectiveness with range, so that's a natural upgrade to give it. Luohan's Hands because Francine is primarily a reactive fighter and that supports that combat style.>>4011999Francine's got a Vitruvian power, anyway, so if she gets Tetrastigma she should avoid most of the aesthetic issues. Keep her mostly humanoid.
>>4011995My proposal:>Yearning Noose>Luohan's handsYearning Noose would help Francine greatly with her core ability, allowing her more distance and range with her tether and increases her full-power siphoning to Medium range instead of close range. Luohan's hands helps out Francine when she inevitably needs to get in close.
>>4011995Seconding this vote:>>4012001
>>4012013>>4012017hopefully BHOPS still around, but its strength doesnt drop off that much from what we have seen to make Noose at all worth it just for her core, and with Hands being a counter via being hit that i dont even think relies on 'range', though that depends entirely on what qualifies as a melee attack. is a tentacle still attached to the attack still melee, or only 'melee range'?though looking, i think the votes already been decided, as i think we have 5 people(stable people at least)?
>>4012008(It would essentially extend the activation range of Luohan's hands from melee to short range, allowing even projectile attacks to trigger the counter attack, and even that counter range is extended by one zone due to Yearning Noose's effect.)
>>4012001>>4011999>>4011995changing to support this though, as my main goal is to get her Violens, so the other point can be sacrificed.
>>4012001Upon second consideration, VIOLENS combo's extremely well with YEARNING NOOSE (which Is especially nice if It improves upon LUOHANS counters), and the aesthetic issue Is lessened on Francine, yes? In that case-Supporting.
>>4012028(CORRECTION: the expansion would be from SHORT to MEDIUM range for both the counter's activation and the attack range of the resulting counter-strike. Apologies, I've been reading up on other systems and my wording was off.)
>>4012028oh, fair enough. guess its acceptable on her then, sure. if only because its an augment.
>>4012028So are you saying if a projectile attack triggers Luohan's hands, would the resulting counterattack throw the projectile back or would it trigger Francine and prompt her to move towards the direction of the projectile attack in order to counterstrike in melee?
>>4012039(So, if someone threw a projectile towards her, then Francine would literally unwravel, reaching across the distance to slap their shit with the resulting counter. Tossing the projectile back is more Amara's game, and Luohan's Hands is built to trigger more melee boosters that it gets as it levels. Basically, Noose enhances Francine's melee range with Fibromancer techniques.)
>>4012034In light of these weird range boost interactions, I'm now regretting not putting Luohan's Hands on Gina with the vision-channeled Neuromancy that Neon Ascendant gives her. She could shoot karate lasers out of her eyes, if we had given her that.
>>4012047ok, now im laughing at the image of Francine just bitch slapping someone from across the battlefield while calmly saying 'you stop that.'
>>4012054(That's precisely the kind of imagery I wish to invoke with the good doctor.)
>>4012049(Kosi would be so proud.)
>>4012059is it bad that i want to see Francine have to deal with a group of adorable well meaning but utterly science denying and kinda dim hicks... alone?
>>4011999>>4012001>>4012013>>4012017>>4012020>>4012033Gentlemen, thank you for your input. Votes are Tallied:The following proposal passes:Francine:Unanimous consensus> Yearning Noose (1 point)4:2 Majority>Violens TetrastigmaPoints left:>12 Level up points>0 Kadath points:Next subject of debate: Our Adorable yet simultaneously unsettling magical-ninja-catgirl Daughter, Amara. Points available for Amara: 3 points.Please submit your proposals to this post.A Gentle reminder to >>4012033, please properly link your post. I counted yours as a courtesy. Future proposals will not be valid if you don't properly link your post.
>>4012082Amara, 3 points;>Armory of the Infinite>Blades Bounty>Pulmonary Legion(Stats only)Pulmonary give the most Bio, and thats what Amara needs.And with the charge build up on Amaras swords aswell as her being able to launch them like spears with Oxygenic, imagine what she could do with those two augments, especially together?
>>4012068God damn it, I'm now imagining a Humoral Paladin Core based on the really horrifying types of quack medicine, like the turpentine diet or eye bleaching. There's probably a black salve Relic that actually does draw out toxins, isn't there? Fuck, I am genuinely angry at myself for imagining this, I made the body horror too real.
>>4012090(Good things await in the Quest, Anon.)
>>4012082>Pulmonary Legion(Stats only)>Armory of the Infinite>Blades BountyAs long as we launch the blade it should do what >>4012088 suggests but otherwise it will give Amara back a weapon that has zero charges after she slashed someone with it(sicne the weapon will be in the state it was jsut before it was removed from her grasp)
>>4012090honestly 'quack medicine' probably does exist in the Crucible, yeah. would be horrifying yet kinda neat to see though. imagine we find an entire hospital running on quack medicine abilities and relics?
>>4012082 (Much appreciated) Here's my suggestion>Armory of the Infinite>Blades Bounty>Sygian Arsenal (Stats and Aesthetic only)That aesthetic Is too cash to pass up on, and has good HP gains and she needs It. The augments combo far too well to pass up on.
>>4012090>>4012096That daughter better be dressed as a plague doctor or else we RIOT
>>4012098i mean, while its more a backup, id still say being able to instantly get the blade back if someone knocks it out or melts it down before she can use the charges is still a good ability aswell.>>4012102i highly disagree, Amara uses significantly more Biomass than Dorian, so while they both need it, its a terrible idea not to give her the bigger boost, especially as Aesthetics alone is not at all worth it nor a good reason not to do so.
>>4012103(SOON.)
>>4012082My proposal:>Pulmonary Legion>Infinite Armory>Blade's BountyAs much as I like Stygian Arsenal, Pulmonary Legion helps out Amara more in the fact that it allows Amara to spawn her many many dream daughter friends like the Sororitas, Sasha, and Churem. That and the fact that it provides the stats that Amara needs desperately.
>>4012096Oh dear god no.>>4012100Francine, please hurt them. Hurt them with your words. I mean, you're not exactly a great scientist yourself (she's clearly brilliant, but she does things that no sane scientific review panel would approve of), but you at least know what science is supposed to be.>>4012103No, no, quack doctors want to give an impression of respectability and non-threatening sagacity. They're trying to appeal to the people who are intimidated by fancy medical degrees telling them what is and is not good for them. The quack doctor Daughter would probably be a Vitruvian and dress like an average suburban mom, seem as "normal" as possible.
>>4012106Can we not refine Pulmonary Legion? the fact that it allows Amara to spawn her Dreamdaughters like the Soroitas, Sasha, and Churem, which would allow Amara to project a more formidable combat force. That and it finally allows Amara to finally summon "Bloody Stands".
>>4012116Oh God. Are you saying that the quack doctor is an anti vax Facebook mom?
>>4012115as stated, i disagree on basically everyone left on getting new abilities without recycling an old, and certainly dont think any level-able ability left is at all worth taking. plus, Shu will be able to call out her friends in time anyways, that ability just leaves her with zombies basically. not Amaras style.>>4012116>mfw when you are the one the doctor needs to bitch slapbring it you fancy ball of parasitic yarn!
>>4012122see>>4012124i disagree heavily with not melting it down. she also does nto at all need that with how potent and numerous she can get her Clones. its doubling up uselessly with even more level spread.
>>4012122But she has a stand. its name is Queen Crimsonand i also think gettign a Spiritus Construct for them woudl be better
>>4012123>>4012116Anons. are you voting or abstaining? please submit your proposals.
>>4012123Yeah, she's going to be real into essential oils, and thanks to her Humoral Core those will be a thing that actually exists for her.
>>4012115>>4012082>>4012102It's clear I'm not going to win, but I'm fine with that. We're getting the augments, which Is what's important. Switching >>4012102To support>>4012115If we're going to get legion, she should at least put It to use. It's a very solid dream daughter spawning ability.
>>4012082I'll second this proposal:>>4012088She needs those stats.
>>4012132Right, sorry, got distracted fuming over quack medicine. >>4012082>Pulmonary Legion (Refine)>Armory of the Infinite>Blade's BountyCompromising on Pulmonary Legion. I'd rather give Amara Stygian Arsenal so that her Health would break 2000%, but I'm fine with putting that off until the next level if it makes this go easier.
>>4012082Apologies, I changed my mind. Switching my vote from this:>>4012150To support this:>>4012115
>>4012164>>4012142>>4012115it really is not worth it. she already has way too many levels to spread points around too, its cutting the stats she gains in half, and overlaps horribly with Joyous, which honestly is already much better at that same goal. it also doesn't even let her actually interact with them, as they're only repilcants, which again, isnt Amaras style. its just doubling up on something we already have, just making Joyous stronger would suit her significantly better, and even if we wanted something like that, Spiritus would suit her personality much better, but Shu can already cover that for her in the long run, without needing massively extra level drops.
>>4012184i mean, seriously, with how we have been told Spiritus will work, longterm no one else needs a DD ability, as Shu can just make the shell and put any of their DDs that want out in one, but just have them hang out with their 'owner' instead of Shu, as theres no range limit on them.
>>4012164>>4012151>>4012142>>4012115>>4012098>>4012088Gentlemen, thank you for your input. Votes have been Tallied. The following proposal has been passed:Amara:Unanimous consensus>Blade's Bounty>Infinite Armory>Technical Unanimous Consensus>Pulmonary LegionPoints left: >9 Level up points>0 Kadath pointsBefore we move on to the next subject, it has come to my attention that there has been some conflict over whether or not we should refine Pulmonary Legion into the stats rather than leaving it as is. For that I'm imposing a lightning round on whether or not to refine Pulmonary Legion into stats rather than leaving as is. Vote Yay to refine Pulmonary legion, Nay to leave it as is.Please submit your proposals to this post. Lightning round ends in 10 minutes.
>>4012210Yay.
>>4012210>yaymelt it down. its needless overlap, more levelables we absolutely do not need, and we have a much better way to do what it does, both in Theme of Amara and our family, and via being significantly more cost effective to do, aswell as making them higher quality.
>>4012210>Yayis this a Disgaea Reference?
>>4012210>Yay
>>4012213>>4012215>>4012216>>4012221>>4012224Gentlemen, thank you for your input. 5 votes for Yay, to refine Pulmonary Legion into stats, and 1 to abstain (myself)The Updated proposal has been passed.Amara:Unanimous consensus>Blade's Bounty>Infinite Armory>Pulmonary Legion (Refined into stats)Points left:>9 Level up points>0 Kadath pointsNow for our next subject:The "Man" who broods on his very "enthusiastic" walks, A man made of blood and bloody passion for Art: Dorian GardnerPoints available for Dorian: 3 Level up points. Please submit your proposals to this post.
>>4012239Dorian, 3 points;>Spring Heeled Jack>Accumulated Charge>Stygian Arsenal(stats only)I still like the idea of keeping Jack and Charge side by side, though my intention here is not to hybridize myself.Dorian also needs a Bio boost, but not as much as Amara, so he gets the lesser stat only Core.
>>4012239Here's my suggestion>Spring Heeled Jack>Accumulated Charge>Yearning NooseImprove the speed, improve our ability to benefit off our speed. Increase the benefits to his stacks and hopefully how fast he gains them. Simple and solid.Additionally, possible Hybrid with SHJ and AC. He's fast now, but imagine if he were as fast as lightning. Imagine if his melee was even more lightning enhanced, while reducing the amount of things to level on his sheet.
>>4012241Dorian need the stat boost to his Bio much more than Noose. he doesn't use Bio as much, but he still does use it alot in a good few abilities, especially for how far behind in it he has gotten. melting it down should make it a non issue going forward from now on.
>>4012239>STYGIAN ARSENAL (core), molten down for stats>Accumulated Chargemore BIO and more electric stuff for him>YEARNIGN NOOSE
>>4012241Donrians Stas are not that high so we should get him a core to improve those.It will aslo improve his regen by a bit as well., Soemthing he is already pretty good at but is beign outpaced right now
>>4012239My proposal:>Humoral Network>Yearning Noose>Stygian Arsenal (Stats only)Stygian Arsenal has good stats for Dorian, and Dorian's considered our team's Regen King. Yearning Noose would greatly benefit his Resplendant Thread and his Spring Heeled Jack.Humoral Network would amplify the paintlings he tosses about, and provide him even better stats.
>>4012239>Stygian Arsenal (Refine)>Yearning Noose>Humoral NetworkStygian Arsenal just for stat boosts. Yearning Noose will both enhance his Threads and his speed. And Humoral Network can be incredibly powerful given the huge number of constructs that Dorian can make. It's a minimum of a +70% to his constructs speed and durability (50% base, +10% for Scarlet Terror, +10% for Red Death), even if he only has a Matron or Sibling active that's still a big boost. Throw in a few dozen Bloodlings and it becomes stupid broken.
>>4012239Sounding this build:>>4012245
>>4012241I would rather wait on Hybridizing Spring Heeled Jack and Accumulating Charge, the problem is that Spring Heeled Jack and Accumulating Charge are not eligible for Knowable Kadath, so if we hybridize them now, we won't be able to upgrade the individual abilities any further. I would rather wait before we hybridize.
>>4012245>>4012241>>4012250>>4012251>>4012255i also dont think Noose is at all worth it on him. he has one ability that would use it, but we have never had issues with its range with it, which is all Noose would upgrade on it given its caveat. it would give something already long range added range, when its never been an Issue and Dorian can not only close the gap, but BENEFIT from closing the gap. he doesn't need its range bonus. its also powerful enough too, if it even gave the power boost, but the wording says otherwise.
>>4012257BHOP said that it would enhance Spring-Heeled Jack, too. Giving him Noose makes him faster, not just have more range on his Threads.
>>4012210Apologies, I forgot about Humoral Network. I retract my vote posted here:>>4012255And second these votes:>>4012250>>4012251
>>4012260he doesn't need to waste a point on an augment like that, when he can just upgrade Jack itself. its a waste of an augment, as just putting the point into Jack will help his speed, but also help Jack move further forward to other benefits, while Noose is stagnant. it doesn't do enough we cannot get elsewhere with more.
>>4012264>>4012251>>4012250he does no rely on his construct enough for them to need Network, and with him closing the gap her literally negates its usefulness by usually being where or being able to get close easily to get them where they need to be.
>>4012239I think i will adress my own vote to go from>>4012245 to >STYGIAN ARSENAL (core), molten down for stats>Accumulated Charge>Humoral Network
>>4012239Since >>4012256Makes a good point about waiting for hybridization-Switching>>4012241to>>4012251>>4012250Yearning noose increases threads, and for SHJ It increases not only speed, but Dorian does bonus damage based off speed, and has his alpha strike from SHJ too, Yearning should increase the damage of those as well as his speed.
>>4012270>>4012273see>>4012269>>4012267>>4012257
>>4012267Eh, fair. I guess I'm just getting excited by the prospect of a guaranteed speed boost. I'll think about it.>>4012269This, though, I don't want to budge on. We should be using Dorian's constructs more, especially now that he can make Matrons and Siblings on demand.
>>4012250>>4012239I'm altering my proposal to >Stygian Arsenal (stats only)>Spring Heeled Jack. (Do not Hybridize)>Accumulating Charge (Do Not hybridize)Dorian's Fear aura at level 4 would help deal with Neuromancers and other enemy phantasmal conduits who perform concentrated actions. It's been way too long since we leveled up.>>4012270>>4012264>>4012273I'll count your posts as votes to go for >Stygian Arsenal (Refine)>Yearning Noose>Humoral Network>>4012269>>4012267You make a good point.
>>4012281my point wasnt we shouldn't be using his contructs, my point is the way they work, especially on him, they do not need defense or speed. thats just not how they work. they glue or poison that can move, people dont and have not defeated them based on beating them to death, especially due to their liquid nature.
>>4012276I read your posts, anon, I just disagree. Noose being 'stagnant' because It's a passive is no problem, because It pushes the potential of both of his fibromancer abilities farther. Now no matter what, both of them have increased range and power. Wherever they would end up upon being capped, they're now better upon completion than If we hadn't taken this ability. To give two enhancements to two abilities Isn't minor.
>>4012281Matrons and siblings only appear when our allies are out cold, not when Dorian or our other allies are conscious. Besides, Dorian's only limited to summoning one of them at a time.
>>4012239Altering my vote >>4012251 to>Stygian Arsenal (Refine)>Spring-Heeled Jack>Humoral Network
>>4012276there is nothing in there that makes me reconsider not takign the Network. Ican see the Noose part from it but i think the network will be useful. since he can spawn them for free when moving >>4012283i would like it if you didnt do that since i explicitly stated what i wanted in that post you linked. I know it makes more work but i am no longer a fan of the Noose
>>4012287well, your're wrong. its not that big or even potent an enhancement, especially over what can be given elsewhere. it IS minor, because neither ability will actually benefit from it significantly, or even really at all in ways that matter enough. >>4012291the network is worse than the noose is uselessness and wastefulness.
>>4012286>>4012289Dorian can summon Matrons and Siblings at any time now.>RED DEATH (Lvl 8): Fear is a creeping, spreading thing. Now, upon a foe witnessing one of their allies or constructs suffer a critical hit at Dorian’s hands, all foes within line of sight will automatically be inflicted with an instance of FEAR. Additionally, Dorian’s Paintlings will now coalesce into one of his potent familiars if enough are present, with a percentage meter now provided to show how close they are to combining. (HEALTH REGEN +30%, BIO REGEN +20%)He just has to pile up enough Bloodlings and they combine into one of them. Now, Matrons and Siblings have Dorian's full power set, though specialized for damage and defense (Matron) or speed and criticals (Sibling). Imagine an optimized Dorian with enormous speed and defense boosts added on top of that.
>>4012289i think stygian is at least guaranteed, if you want to lock at least it down for cleanliness sake?
>>4012300and i still disagree thats really worth it, albeit id also have to see the actual cost for the coalition.
>>4012300>>4012302also how long it can take, as it may rarely be worth the effort to summon them that way, especially given Dorians playstyle.
>>4012301I'll try to narrow it down. Tracking down who votes for what is hard, even harder is when I'm arbitrating and a few anons are simply saying "I'm seconding this post" and linking their votes to me, and some of them have changed their minds.
>>4012300>>4012302>>4012308fuck, sorry.also, if it uses up them being able to spawn on allies when they go down, i disagree its worth it, as it could leave a very useful safeguard out of position.>>4012310trust me, i understand.
>>4012308So he just makes some in advance and has them follow him around. Or when we're preparing for a fight, like the Mole and Phalanges we're going to have to gear up for.
>>4012291Apologies. I've read your post now and I'll rectify that.
>>4012315and i disagree that happens often enough to get something to boost them.also what i said too late for you to catch right above your post.
>>4012314>also, if it uses up them being able to spawn on allies when they go down, i disagree its worth it, as it could leave a very useful safeguard out of position.I don't think it would. Pretty sure those are all their own separate slots. BHOP, if you're still awake, can you clarify if Dorian spawning Matrons and Siblings for himself prevents them from being summoned for others?
>>4012317Thank you.I guess you jsut misread. its understandable when you try to arbitrate and have nearly a dozen votes to go through
>>4012325i mean, it sounds like it would, and like with DD summons, they are pretty unique and special constructs. it would fit what we have seen, for them to be used up like that.
>>4012337Well, if they're not their own separate slots for each individual, then only the first person downed in a fight generates one of Dorian's familiars, and I'm not sure that's true. I could have sworn it was supposed to be one per customer. But maybe I'm misunderstanding.
>>4012346nah, its only ever been one of each that has spawned(we have had more than two people go down before), one mother, one sister.never seen a second of one spawn either.
>>4012302(It takes a mere twenty Platelings to generate a Familiar, so given some aspects of Red Death, it's possible he could summon one as an after thought when he runs, now. Additionally, unless the Inklings are called to split or go off in separate directions, they'll automatically join together at the end of a given round if left alone. Again, just so you know how it works so that you can plan accordingly.)>>4012310(You're doing a magnificent job with arbitrating, I must say. Very well done, I know it's not easy, so thank you for doing this.)>>4012314(Following up on the above, thank you as well for doing so in the past. You did a fantastic job, truly.)>>4012325>>4012337(Even though Dorian's Familiars aren't like Dream Daughters, they are classified as 'Unique Constructs', like Mara's human form or some high-tier Hive Mistress abilities. Thus, only two of them may manifest at any given time, as much as I wish I could rule otherwise. Given how they work, they'd be utterly broken now, otherwise. I'm sad you haven't seen them in action that much, because in playtesting they're absolutely brutal.)(Finally, I shall be turning in for the evening. Best of luck, and any questions that are posed past this post are ones I shall address first thing in the morning, if you'd be so kind as to link them to this post if you'd like them answered promptly.)(Thank you, and have a great night, one and all.)
>>4012349Actually, there has been. Just found it in the Yurei fight. Both Amara and Rath went down, each of them spawned a Matron. So yeah, they're separate slots for each party member. Dorian can spawn his advanced familiars without worry about leaving his friends without backup bodyguards.
>>4012352>>4012353BHOP says otherwise, so i personally think keeping them as a safeguard is much more important. also both are called 'matrons', that was one of each spawning.
>>4012352Sleep Well OP
>>4012353(Blast it all, that was a mistake on my part. A Matron and Sibling spawned, not two of the same. My apologies, and thanks for catching that.)
>>4012352Dorian's familiars are that powerful? In that case, Humoral Network will be even more of an advantage.Thanks for clarifying, BHOP, have a great sleep!
>>4012352yeah, thanks for the answers, and sleep well.how much are inklings? 5%? yeah, 5% 20 then for 100% biomass. ok, fair not bad, but still dont think its worth the Augment for them, and again, his inklings dont need it. they are made to be safe guards first and foremost, and would prefer them to be ready for that.
>>4012290>>4012283>>4012273>>4012270>>4012264>>4012240Gentlemen thank you for your inpu- Yikes. I've never seen a contested and messy voting process like this. Let me try to narrow it down. From a poll of 6 votes (including myself) here are the resultsDorian:Points available for Dorian: 3 pointsUnanimous Consensus:>Stygian Arsenal (Refined into stats)Contested:Humoral Network (4 votes)Accumulating Charge (4 votes)Spring Heeled Jack (3 votes)Yearning Noose (3 votes)Well then. It seems aside from Stygian Arsenal, we have two runner ups unless I somehow