Alura should hopefully believe Holly's explanation if she was the one to give it. The two did seem to get along well with each other, after all. It's an excellent opportunity for Holly to start speaking up for herself too. After all, if her explanation is received poorly, then all you need to do is step in and explain things properly. Even if Alura doesn't believe whatever Holly says, you've no doubt she'll believe your own words on the matter, should you need to speak. So really, there's no harm in letting Holly at least attempt to defend herself.

"Go on Holly, just be honest about what happened." You urge the vampire to speak up for herself as she looks at the two girls accusing her. Then, with a determined expression, she takes in a deep breath.

"It's something... worse than bloodlust." Holly finally speaks, and Alura is clearly confused. "But it's not treachery, either. I don't know what 'I' was planning, but I... I don't think they wanted to hurt Arthur." Well, it's good that Holly thinks that, but her darker side really could have fooled you in how she was acting. It's not like you could've taken the risk either, for all you knew at the time, Holly's darker impulses could've had the intention to drain you of every drop of blood in your body.

Alura doesn't look impressed by the explanation so far. "So? If it's not bloodlust, what was it? Are you trying to say you've got multiple persoanlities? Is this some sort of joke?" Alura is obviously not happy by what she's apparently heard from Effi being effectively confirmed.

"N-no! I wouldn't joke about something like that! It's... It's a vampire thing. According to Sophia, I've tried too hard to suppress my vampiric side, and those suppressed feelings are slowly becoming their own personality." Both Effi and Alura look quite shocked by this revelation, and it gives Holly the time she needs to continue speaking. "If I keep trying to push against this new... nature, I have, the Holly you know will eventually stop existing, being replaced by what can only be called me at my worst, permanently."

Strangely, Effi decides to cut into the conversation. "So that's it is it? Vampirism can destroy your psyche?" She puts a small hand on her chin as she apparently thinks about something with a complicated expression on her face. "I can empathize with you in that regard at least. If a Doppelgänger spends too long in a certain form other than their true form, that form will start... influencing them. Eventually, they'll even lose their ability to change, ending up trapped in that body forever as their original personality is altered into one more fitting of the form they took." That sounds... genuinely horrifying. To become trapped within a body that slowly changes your mind? At least Holly has a way around this personality taking control of her. "Obviously, that's just what I've been told though..." She sighs.

Alura is looking concerned for Holly now, apparently, Effi's elaboration on the . "So, are there any ways around this alternate version of you taking control again? Or for us to prevent this personality from taking control at all?" Alura asks hurriedly, thankfully it seems that she really does like Holly after all, and is showing genuine concern for the newly turned vampire instead of holding the actions her alternate self made against her.

"There... are ways to do both. But neither are really preferable. To stop this personality taking control, I'm going to have an enchantment placed on me that will hopefully activate and force this side of me back into the depths of my mind where it belongs whenever it tries to take control of me." She decides to avoid mentioning the fact that it does so by putting her through incredible pain. Looks like she doesn't want to make Alura worry.

"That's good, but what about the other method? To stop this problem once and for all?"

"It's... I've got to accept the fact that I've become a vampire. That I'll have to start accepting the darker emotions that I feel instead of just trying to ignore them... but... how am I supposed to accept that urge to kill people at the tiniest provocation or slight against me? It's just not right!"

"Oho? Is that all you need to do? I think I can help you there in that case. After all, you might have been a human once, Holly. But you are no longer bound to that race. They were destined to be prey for their betters... and there are just so many of them! Will it really make that much of a difference even if somebody killed a thousand? Ten thousand?" Alura starts talking dangerously to Holly, who doesn't really seem to be agreeing with the plant woman's words all too much.

"I... I don't know right now. It's hard thinking like that still, I... I don't know if I'm ready to really throw away my humanity altogether just for the sake of living... maybe... maybe it would be better if I just d-" She doesn't get to finish her sentence, as she's interrupted by Alura's palm making contact with her face with quite some force, as the powerful slap jolts her head to the side.

A silence spreads across the room as Holly races a hand to her aching cheek. "Don't talk like that! Don't ever think that your life is worth less than that of a human life!" She grabs Holly by the arm and starts dragging her into your room. As she does, she turns to you. "I'd like a moment alone with Holly. I think it might be better if I spoke with her in private about accepting herself."

"Very well, Alura. Do as you wish." You're just happy that Holly's explanation was sufficient. In fact, it seemed to work too well, even, as Alura seems to be personally invested in having Holly accept herself completely. Well, it's not like you can do anything now except watch as the listless Holly is dragged forcefully into your own room before the door slams shut.

Effi stretches on her chair as she yawns. "That was certainly... something. You must get tired, having to deal with stuff like this all the time." Effi seems to offer you her condolences for your precarious position as the leader of a group of individuals that are all upset with the current world, in one way or another. Well, except Grigori perhaps, but he's less a true member of your group right now and more a mercenary you've forcibly made work for you. Though if you were to be told that he were a human punching bag, you wouldn't really be able to argue either. A few of your allies seem to have taken something of a dislike to him, after all.

"Not especially, Effi. While it can be difficult dealing with matters like this sometimes, I've come to accept that this may be the reality I'll have to face if I should truly become the Dark Lord. I can't imagine that even Dracula didn't have his own difficulties when it came to his minions and followers." In a way, having to deal with the peculiarities of your allies is actually preparing you for ruling over a far larger group some time in the future. So while it might be inconvenient to have to deal with their quirks now, it's good experience.

"So, what are you going to do now? It's not exactly like you can go back to bed, and you have been sleeping for hours now." To be honest, you aren't really sure what you want to do now. Anna is likely asleep still and you don't really want to trudge back to Sophia's mansion only minutes after leaving in the first place.

Eventually you decide to...
>While away the hours by watching a movie with Effi, there ought to be a decent selection on whatever system the TV is hooked up to.
>Go for a walk around the ship to give yourself a break from your allies for a while.
>Try to see just what has changed with the Power of Destruction since your experiment.
>Talk with Effi about something (What?)
>Write-in...

>>4200734
>While away the hours by watching a movie with Effi, there ought to be a decent selection on whatever system the TV is hooked up to.
The original The Thing.

>>4200734
>>Try to see just what has changed with the Power of Destruction since your experiment.

>>4200824
Do you really want to show her a movie of humans killing a shapeshifting alien and ultimately winning?
She wouldn't be rooting for the humans.

>>4201201
Alrighty then. Even if compounding hatred of humanity would be good, this could be good too.
Lets watch The Princess Bride.
True love always wins.

>>4201266
Don't wanna bust out Fern Gully so Mistral can get in on the action too?

>>4200734
>While away the hours by watching a movie with Effi, there ought to be a decent selection on whatever system the TV is hooked up to.
Introduce her to the greatest movie ever made: Gone with the Wind.

>>4200734
>While away the hours by watching a movie with Effi, there ought to be a decent selection on whatever system the TV is hooked up to.
Why not a comedy that also has some gothic elements? Is there one we might know, or an in-universe variant?

>>4200734
>While away the hours by watching a movie with Effi, there ought to be a decent selection on whatever system the TV is hooked up to.
Terminator 2.
Teach Effi to be a T-1000.

Ok so it's clear that movie wins
Though you seem divided on what movie to go for

>>4201266
The Princess Bride
>>4201490
Fern Gully
>>4201503
Gone with the Wind.
>>4202225
A gothic comedy of some kind.
>>4202733
Terminator 2.

That's... quite a varied selection.

>>4202903
If you were voting, what movie would you vote for?

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4202903
It's a hard pick so I'm gonna flip a "coin" for where my vote goes.
1: Fern Gully
2: Some gothic comedy

>>4202919
As a QM, it is one of my goals to remain as unbiased as I possibly can. I can't just reveal how I would vote.
>>4202980
So you're leaving it up to me then, as long as it's a gothic comedy?

>>4202993
The hell even is a "gothic comedy"? Like the Addams family? I don't understand.

>>4203047
...
Honestly I'm not really sure myself.
I had assumed it would be something in the vein of The Addams Family.

>>4202903
I really don't want to watch a gothic comedy, but if I vote for what I do want we'll just have another useless loner vote. So...
Gone With The Wind

>>4203050
Uh the rocky horror picture show? I just don't see "gothic" and "funny" in the same sentence.

>tfw now we have to have a movie marathon with the group

When we get to wherever we go we need to steal a projector or a bigass TV.

>>4203050
Yeah I assumed so myself.

>>4203068
I'll switch to this to break the tie.

>>4202903
>A gothic comedy of some kind.
Addams Family is fine.

>showing a child doppelganger with limited interactions with humanity a historical romance epic.
I don't think she'll enjoy it guys.
She's probably going to miss out on a lot of context and be confused.
>>4202733
I'll switch to Gothic Comedy.
Addams family?

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>>4203260
I wish I was here earlier so I could have suggested the greatest Christmas movie ever. Teach her about love, family and the greatest gift of all.

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>>4203267
>have Effi watch Die Hard.
>can now turn into John McClane at will.
How will Alucard recover.
Oh wait, greatest plan to defeat Alucard!
He'll never see it coming.
His one weakness.

>>4203284
Netflixvania isn't canon to this particular timeline.
Or indeed any timeline.
It never happened.

I think Addams Family actually took the lead.
Huh.
Ok.

>>4203484
>[snap snap]
Has Effi ever even seen a movie before? I think half of our group might not have. I doubt they were showing I, Robot while Coller was in the tube. Alura probably destroyed the only TV on that side of the mansion. Mistral was busy sleeping on cloud nine. Sophia might have, but she also might not have. Old fashioned and all that. And no I don't count silent films. Sorry, Charlie.

>>4203484
This is the worst timeline.

You're up really too early, checking the clock, it's still only 5:20 AM. At this point, it's still much too early to do anything except remain in your cabin. At least outside of an emergency, like with Holly's case. So that really leaves only one thing you can think of doing...

"Effi. How about the two of us watch a movie?" Who knows, if she enjoys the content that humans produce, she might end up with a better opinion towards your race as a whole. It's a long shot, but it's not exactly like you're doing anything else with your time.

"Watch a... movie?" She doesn't seem all too familiar with the word. "Is that like one of those... uhm... Television shows? I've heard about those before!" She asks rather innocently

"In a way, yeah. A movie is pretty much just a longer version of an episode of a television show that usually tells a complete story instead of being only a part of a story... well, for most movies at least. You normally go to a movie theater to watch them."

"I think I understand. But... how are we going to do that? I don't remember seeing any of these 'movie theaters' aboard the ship." She mutters in confusion. "So, how exactly are we going to watch a movie without one?" Her yellow eyes are rife with confusion, and she places a palm against her cheek, trying to figure it out like it's some sort of impossibly complicated puzzle.

"It's simple, Effi. While you usually go to a movie theater in order to watch a movie..." You grab hold of the remote for the television and flick it on. "You can also watch them on the television... after a certain period of time." You bring up the menu button quickly navigate your way to the movie section. Thankfully, there's quite the wide array of movies you can watch, so you hopefully won't get bored.

Though now you just have to pick one that Effi will enjoy too. She's almost completely unfamiliar with human society, so you'll probably want to pick one where the subject matter won't just go over her head. You scroll through a few movies before you finally find one that she'll hopefully be able to enjoy. The Addams Family. It's not exactly the most thought-provoking movie, or even a movie that really requires thought at all, but you don't want to risk boring Effi by putting something she likely isn't going to actually appreciate on. You wonder for a moment if Alura would take offense to being shown Little Shop of Horrors at some point in the future, before shaking your head to clear the stray thought.

"Huh? The... Addams Family?" She reads the title of film as you put it on, and prepare yourself for 90 minutes of average family comedy. Was this really the best movie to watch? Well, as long as it keeps Effi happy, you don't really care. It's more interesting being able to talk to actual supernatural entities than it is to simply watch family movies anyway.

"It's... sort of about a family of vaguely supernatural beings who get cheated out of their fortune by some humans and need to get it back, I think? It's been a while since I saw it, after all." You give her the best synopsis of the plot that you can remember.

"Well, I suppose it could be interesting to watch? I always enjoy seeing humans get what's coming to them when they interfere in things they shouldn't." She smiles so happily as she she casually brings up what is a quite clear hatred of humanity still. There's a long way to go, but you suppose you would hate humans too if they burned your mother to death while you were powerless to stop them. Relieved that Effi at least sounds somewhat interested in the film, you just click play and allow it to start.

An hour and a half later, and the credits are finally rolling, the film was just as average as you remembered, there weren't any remarkable qualities that make it stand out. It was just... OK. Effi seemed to enjoy it though, based on how engrossed she seemed with the film.

"So that's it then?" She stares at the screen as the credits roll on by. She frowns deeply. Did she not enjoy it then? "I suppose it was... OK? I don't really know why they didn't just kill all the humans from the start instead of allowing them to treat them like that." Wait... that's her issue with the story? "I mean, what a useless bunch of monsters! I mean, it's not difficult to make a couple humans disappear, after all." She turns to you and smiles. "You've been involved in making a few disappear yourself, Arthur." She happily reminds you of the fun experience of having to dispose of frozen statues.

You give her a weak smile back. You really don't need to be reminded of just how little your allies care for collateral damage. Speaking of which, if she was the one who let those slugs loose, that means that Effi is responsible for killing hundreds! Though... you suppose she had no actual means of telling what would've happened if she did release them. Besides, you have kind of made the choice not to hold your allies' actions against humanity against them already, so there's not much point thinking about it.

"Yes, Effi, I have." You quickly try to change the topic instead of lingering on just how much death you are surrounded by. "But, as for the movie, it's not really the type of movie where the main characters would just do that. Besides, there wouldn't be much of a movie if the main characters just killed the antagonist almost as soon as they possibly could."

"I guess you're right. It would've been over awfully quick if they weren't all too dumb to take justice into their own hands faster." How the girl can speak of justice while also speaking of murdering those who wrong you in the same sentence, you have no idea. Her sense of justice must just be horribly warped. "At least I have a few new forms I can take now though." Hold on, can she actually take the forms of fictional characters and famous celebrities from just seeing a movie or a picture? That's amazing!

As you're about to quiz Effi on the extent her abilities, you hear the door to your cabin open, with Holly and Alura quickly walking into the main room of the cabin. Guess you'll just have to ask Effi how many forms she can actually take in the future. "So, how was that then, Holly?" You greet the vampire with a friendly smile as she trudges into the room, it's only when you get a better look at her that you can see the blood smeared around her mouth and the trembling of her hands.

>Demand Alura tell you what she did to Holly.
>Gently ask Holly to explain things, she looks like she's in a bad way
>Approach Holly and wipe the blood away from her mouth with a handkerchief before inquiring as to her well-being.
>Ignore whatever is going on here, push past them both and see if you can find out what they were actually doing in your room.
>Write-in...

>>4203905
>Approach Holly and wipe the blood away from her mouth with a handkerchief before inquiring as to her well-being.
Showing anything like rejection will only make her want to suppress her vampiric self even more.

>>4203905
>>Approach Holly and wipe the blood away from her mouth with a handkerchief before inquiring as to her well-being.
The important thing is whether or not it helped.

>>4203905
>Approach Holly and wipe the blood away from her mouth with a handkerchief before inquiring as to her well-being.
Oh Christ what have they been doing.
What are the odds Alura has been keeping humans captive in our room?

Why are you all so fucking evil?

>>4203905
>Approach Holly and wipe the blood away from her mouth with a handkerchief before inquiring as to her well-being.
I get it. Not exactly the method I would've picked if there was a possibly better route but I get it.
Good job Alura.

>>4203905
>>Ignore whatever is going on here, push past them both and see if you can find out what they were actually doing in your room.
Oh fuck, we took Holly from Sophia precisely to prevent this kind of shit. Why did we let the zero years old woman do whatever the fuck she wanted?

>>4203436
>It never happened.
Hello? I think I need to call the based department!!!!

>>4203905
>Approach Holly and wipe the blood away from her mouth with a handkerchief before inquiring as to her well-being.
Look, I'm a sick degenerate fuck. I see a cute girl with blood in their mouth, I would wipe it away with something then kiss them as deeply as I could.

You retrieve a handkerchief from your pocket as you approach Holly, your face neutral as you wipe the blood staining the area around her mouth away. After you do, you briefly inspect the red piece of fabric. You wonder if it will ever be clean again after absorbing such a copious amount of blood, it did come as part of the outfit Alura gave you though, so you simply fold it away and put it back in your pocket. Hopefully, it can be cleaned despite being completely soaked through with blood and stained red. It is made out of some sort of miracle plant fiber or whatever she did to create the outfit.

Holly looks shocked at your sudden action, standing as still as a statue throughout and even sometime after you managed to remove the worst of the blood adorning her pale face. There is however a slight blush on her face that doesn't seem to want to disappear from her face. "Are you alright, Holly? You looked a little shaken for a moment. What happened in there?" You notice that Alura is conspicuously standing in front of the closed door to your room, though her attention seems... elsewhere.

"I'm... I'm fine. Alura just had me... feed on some strange humanoid creature. It was really quite bizarre, and the blood tasted horrible, but... but I accepted it." Some... strange humanoid creature? You take note of that, just what is Alura getting up to when you aren't with her? "I... I don't know if it did anything though... at least it wasn't painful..." She wallows in her own self-doubt and sorrow for a moment. "But! If I keep at it, I... I know I'll pull through... right?" She looks at you deeply with a complicated expression, evidently she wants you to express your support here. Thankfully, supporting your allies is something you have no issue with, it is not befitting of a leader to fail to give his closest supporters the aid they require.

"Of course, I'll make sure of it, Holly. You aren't going to lose yourself to this inner darkness that is plaguing your spirit." You use the gentlest voice you are able to muster as you give your response. "If these methods we've found so far aren't workable, then we'll simply have to find another is all." Hopefully it doesn't come to that, trying to find an additional method might be impossible, after all.

"Thank you... Arthur." Her face flushes red once again, though this time she turns around to try to shield her blushing face from you. Did your words really affect her that deeply? "I'm... I'm quite tired, so I think I'll catch up on some rest!" Funny. You could've sworn she said that vampires don't actually need to sleep at all, maybe it's mental fatigue then? You don't know if you'll ever understand women when they're embarrassed about something.

She's just left you standing in the middle of the room, staring at her door following her hasty retreat. "Well, all things considered, that went rather well." Alura speaks out. "It was really quite a pain getting her to drink human blood of her own accord, so I was forced to... improvise." Hold on, is Alura keeping humans... in your cabin?

"Just a second, Alura. Where is this blood you were attempting to feed Holly coming from exactly? Am I going to dislike the answer?" You stare directly into her eyes, her expression is somewhat worried, which isn't something you'd expect from her

She remains silent for a moment, though an intensified glare causes her to speak. "Fine! I've been... conducting experiments in the rooms directly below us. I've only taken one or two humans to use, to replenish myself and test on though. I only wanted to see what the limits of my abilities were. They aren't right... I can... I can do too much!" Huh? What is she talking about? Isn't it a natural ability of her race to be able to grow and control plants?

"But, isn't what you can do something inherent to all Alura Unes?" You almost wince at the reminder that she still hasn't decided upon a true name for herself. You guess she's just been too busy with these experiments to decide on something like that.

"Not quite... While I was..." She momentarily hesitates as she thinks on the proper word to use. "born with the knowledge of my capabilities as well as with a developed intellect as all Alura Une are, the knowledge I was born with wasn't correct. I was capable of so much more than just manipulation of other lesser Une species and roses, which is all I should be able to do." Then that means that she isn't just a simple Alura Une? "I apologize for deceiving you about this, I just didn't know how to bring this up to you. So I simply didn't tell you that I had more power to manipulate plant life than Is normal for an Alura Une."

While being deceived would normally upset you, this is a rather harmless concealment of truth, and not one you ever really thought on either "I don't mind, really. I do wish you had informed me, but I understand if it was something you wished to find the answer to by yourself. I... do have one question though." You can't help but wonder what 'strange humanoid creatures' Alura has that are apparently just usable for Holly to feed on. "What did Holly actually feed on? I understand it wasn't a human, unless they were horribly malformed."

"You'd be more accurate than you think in saying that." A dark smile crosses her face. "I've been putting those humans I captured to good use, and I had a thought. 'What if I wasn't limited to merely organic plant growth?' After a few trial runs, I managed to get the process working somewhat. Though any creature I attempt to recreate from a sample of blood always ends up as a misshapen gibbering creature, hostile to everything that moves. Creating humans from nothing is harder than it looks..." Hold on... she's been creating clones downstairs? Well, attempting to create clones, but still, you're almost floored by the revelation.

"I see. That's... quite the ability you have, Alura." You try to keep the surprise from your voice, and are only partially successful. "You'll have to show me this... ability of yours, sometime." You don't really want to see the plant woman make a mockery of human life by growing it, but it might end up useful in the future. Especially if she should master such an ability.

"Well, if you're interested, why wait? I can show you right now if you would like. I was just a little worried that you might not approve of it, is all." Alura doesn't often show her insecurities, but it seems that admission that she's not an ordinary Alura Une has gotten her a little less confident than usual. You'd have expected somebody to be happier, though you suppose finding out you aren't what you think you are is tough for anyone, be they born human or born a monster.

>"Very well, show me these experiments of yours."
>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"
>"Not right now, I actually wanted to ask you something else." (What?)
>"Of course. In fact, why don't we see if Anna is interested too? She might be able to provide you with some pointers."
>Write-in...

>>4205821
>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"

>inb4 all the films available are suddenly 20th century romances

>>4205821
>>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"

>>4205855
Nah man it's gonna be Cabin In The Woods. Because the ancient evil wins in the end.

>>4205821
>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"

>>4205821
>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"
Plant clones huh? At least Holly is learning how to drink Substitute Blood samples now.
In any case, it's movie night so might as well invite her in.

>>4205821
>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"
M O V I E
O
V
I
E

N I G H T
I
G
H
T

>>4205821
>>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"
My vote is still for a nice traditional christmas movie like Die Hard.

>>4205821
>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"
Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The 1978 version, with Donald Sutherland. Seriously, how this didn't occur to any of you when Alura's been trying to grow pod people is baffling.

>>4206778
Because Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes is a vastly superior film released in the same year so I forget any other movie from that period exists.

That's one vote for Die Hard and one vote for Invasion of the Body Snatchers then?

Anyone want to put their movie suggestion in? Assuming Killer Tomatoes or Cabin in the Woods aren't suggestions here.

I wasn't actually expecting you to vote for another movie. But I'm glad you did.

>>4206999
I have a suggestion. Little Shop of Horrors.

>>4207054
On second thought, forget about that.

Do Die Hard.

>>4206999
Die Hard please. Let's teach the doppleloli and the plantgirl that will eventually be "fertilized" by Arthur the true meaning of the human holiday called "Christmas"

>>4207134
The moral of the story is that giving is a kind thing. Like how Gruber gave McClane a machinegun.

Ho Ho Ho.

>>4205821
>>"Perhaps later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with us?"
I want to see her experiments, but since everyone else just wants to sit around watching TV I might as well at least get the chance to influence what we watch.

>>4206999
The "Die Hard is a classic Christmas movie" meme needs to be taken out behind the shed and shot. This is even worse than voting for Addams Family. Guess that leaves me with Invasion of the Body Snatchers as the only other vote available, so I'll support that.

>>4206999
Body Snatchers.

>>4207172
Technically it is a Christmas movie. It literally takes place during Christmas. Whilst it is not a traditional Christmas film it can be defined as one through its setting. It's kind of the same thing as a ton of scary movies being Halloween movies despite the fact they have nothing to do with the values or history of the holiday.

We could do Casablanca, it's definitely better than Die Hard.

>>4207054
>giving the killer plant woman a vore fetish
Let's not do this.
She's already bad enough
>>4205821
>movie
Diehard.
Gotta teach Doppeloli how to be an action hero.

I can't believe we're just going to watch movies.
>inb4 one by one the entire faction joins in

>>4207335
>>inb4 one by one the entire faction joins in

>time for one last movie before the cruise ends
>a brooding stranger and a little girl barge in
>after some arguing they sit down and watch a movie with everyone

The best end.

>>4207172
Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It's about an estranged husband trying to reconnect with his family on christmas and overcoming adversity to reunite with them. It's even got christmas carols.

I guess Die Hard wins then.
But why are you watching a Christmas Movie in the middle of October?

>>4207656
We have to teach Effi the spirit of christmas before christmas happens. She can learn about halloween later.

>>4207656
Also, according to TV networks and stores, middle of october is when the christmas season starts.

>>4207656
Because it's a timeless classic.

"Perhaps a little later, for now, would you like to watch a movie with Effi and me?" As much as you would find investigating Alura's makeshift laboratory interesting, right now, actually getting these two girls that are both nearly clueless about human society is something that you feel ought to take priority.

"A... movie?" Oh right. Of course she wouldn't understand what a movie was either. She was only brought into this world a few days ago, after all, so despite appearances, she knows less about the world than even Effi.

You decide to tell it in the simplest way possible, so as to save time. "Think of a moving picture that makes noise and tells a story, it's for entertainment purposes. I figured that while we've got this time to relax, we might as well... you know, actually relax." After all, who can tell just how much longer you'll be able to really relax for? If this organization that is pursuing you is as dangerous as you've been led to believe, then this is a rare opportunity indeed. One where you can simply bond with your allies.

"For entertainment, huh? This is what humans do when they want to relax then? I suppose it could be interesting." Alura takes a seat next to you, totally destroying any preconception of personal space you might've thought you had. Especially when Effi notices Alura's behavior, and sits closer to you herself. "But what sort of stories do these moving pictures tell?"

"Well, we just watched one about a bunch of monsters that seemed really ineffective at... everything, really. Human propaganda, I think." Effi casually responds to Alura's question. Though it's not really comprehensive at all.

"Well, they can tell any sort of story, really. It could be a tale of love and romance, or it could be a film based almost entirely on action and excitement. It could recount a historical event of the past, or it could show the storyteller's vision of the future, or even other worlds." Alura seems to be regarding the screen before you with newfound amazement. "Though the vast majority of these stories are completely made up, of course." She doesn't seem all too bothered by that though.

"Well, what are you waiting for? You've piqued my interest, show me one of these movies of yours!" Alura excitedly requests you to actually play something. Funny, Alura seems far more excited at the prospect of movies than Effi does. It's odd thinking that despite Alura's appearance, Effi is actually a decade or so older than her. Seems that even with Alura's apparent adult personality, she still has more of a sense of wonder than the rather pessimistic Doppelgänger girl sitting to your other side

You start browsing through the list of movies until one catches your eye. 'Die Hard'. It's a completely different movie to the Addams Family, after all. So maybe Effi might appreciate it more. It's also a far better regarded movie in general. For a moment, you hesitate at the warning that the film is only supposed to be watched by people above the age of 18 on account of Effi. But then you immediately dismiss the though. Effi is a killer, after all. Why would you get concerned about the age rating of a movie? "There are no monsters in this movie, it's just about a human killing other humans." You explain the plot in as simple a terms as possible. You wouldn't want to spoil it, after all.

"Hmm... Die Hard?" Effi for her part seems to be taking more of an interest into this film than she did the last. "Well, it sounds like it ought to be more interesting that the last at least."

Thankfully, both Alura and Effi seem fairly engrossed in the film, as the two of them barely look away from the screen during the whole runtime of the film. About halfway through, even Mistral pokes out of your pocket and starts watching the movie, apparently finally woken up by the volume of the movie. She doesn't actually even complain about being rudely awakened by the noise. Well, not like it could've woken her up anyway. She could probably sleep through a hurricane if she wanted.

Eventually though, another film comes to an end, with Alura remaining neutral throughout and Effi actually looking oddly satisfied when McClane finally kills off Hans.

As the credits roll, Effi is the first to speak up. "Why didn't you start off with this one? This was far better than the first one you showed me... Maybe I should get a gun." Effi starts speaking dangerously, is she actually considering getting a gun just because of a single movie?

Alura's face is a bit harder to read, though she has managed to get even closer to you during the runtime of the film, practically leaning on you now. She does seem to have been at least somewhat amused by the movie though. "Do you have any more of these movies? I must admit, this was the most entertainment I've had since I broke that ice mage's arm."

Just as you're about to answer Alura, there's a light knocking on the door to your cabin. "Hold on just a moment, Alura." You get up to answer the door, and as the door opens, you see the slender figure of Anna, accompanied by Coller, and strangely enough, Grigori too.

"Ah, excellent. You're awake. Do you have a moment? I'd like to discuss a few things about what we ought to do when we reach land. I had Coller fetch the assassin too. He should be able to provide us some valuable information about the state of the magical underworld in Europe."

"You do realize that you could have just asked? You didn't need to send your terminator to drag me by force to get me to come here." Grigori mutters under his breath, though despite it being loud enough to hear, the comment is completely ignored by Anna though.

>"Of course. We ought to find out if Grigori has any useful information."
>"Actually, first, would you like to come and see Alura's newest experiments with me?"
>"It can wait for now, I'm currently introducing Alura and Effi to the world of cinema, care to join us?" (What movie next?)
>Write-in...

>>4207837
>>"It can wait for now, I'm currently introducing Alura and Effi to the world of cinema, care to join us?" (What movie next?)
Hey we could watch Fright Night. Or The Lost Boys. A vampire movie while the old vampire who would take offense is away. Or maybe she'd feel smug about how strong she is comparatively speaking. Or we could watch Terminator, Grigori did say it. Maybe we should watch a romance instead? Or a comedy?

Yes I want to ignore everything and just watch movies for the rest of the time. A happy memory before we get murdered by the broodboi.

>>4207837
>>"It can wait for now, I'm currently introducing Alura and Effi to the world of cinema, care to join us?" (What movie next?)

>>4207837
>"Actually, first, would you like to come and see Alura's newest experiments with me?"

>>4207837
>"It can wait for now, I'm currently introducing Alura and Effi to the world of cinema, care to join us?" (What movie next?)
>(Chuckle) "Oh, by the way Grigori, I should be thanking you right now. You gave me a wonderful idea..." (Scroll up/down the movies list to Terminator 1984)

>>4207837
>"Actually, first, would you like to come and see Alura's newest experiments with me?"

>>4207837
>"Actually, first, would you like to come and see Alura's newest experiments with me?"
I really think we've wasted all the time on bad movies I can stand. Hopefully this experience shows the seed of a lifelong contempt for movie and TV entertainment in Arthur so we never have awful time-waster votes like these again.

>>4207837
>"Of course. We ought to find out if Grigori has any useful information."
What's the logic in watching so many movies?
Are we just going to waste the entire day on movies?
Fuck.

>>4209043
Don't ask questions just consume product and then get excited for next product.

It's a draw, and I'm not sure I'll have enough time to write an update even if it does get resolved soon.

File: Celia.png (40 KB, 150x150)

40 KB PNG

Nevermind then.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

1 = Terminator
2 = Laboratory tour.

>>4210409
Jesus Christ.

>>4210409
Fffffffucking damn it.
Please stop making QM write the same damn update over and over.
A daily schedule is too slow for turning this quest into a fucking sitcom.
I kind of want to get back to the action before Arthur contracts coronavirus aboard this cruise ship and dies.

Alucard can't come soon enough.
We certainly aren't preparing for the oncoming storm.

Fuck, is there anything stopping him from just attacking us on the ship?

>>4210802
Kokoro, being a Belmont, cannot swim. And Alucard can't leave her behind because she is a danger to society left unsupervised.

"If it isn't urgent, it will have to wait for now. Currently, I'm introducing Effi and Alura to the world of cinema. You're free to join us, if you would like." Whatever Grigori might be able to tell you isn't really going to change much, and you are currently in the middle of what you had intended to merely be a way to spend some time with Effi which has started to spiral into some sort of movie marathon. "You've given me an excellent idea as to the movie we should watch next though, Grigori." You begin scrolling through the list, looking for The Terminator.

"I'm really not sure this is the best use of time, considering what might be after you, but sure. It's not like I'm doing anything right now anyway. There's only so much magic training you can do until you get bored." Grigori pretty clearly doesn't approve of this use of your time, but he doesn't seem all too bothered about it. He doesn't take a seat though, instead opting to stand near the windows and lean against a wall. You can't really blame him for not wanting to get too close to Alura, she is quite openly hostile to him. Though she does seem too distracted by the television to really pay him much notice. "I didn't take you for the type to be taken by such flights of whimsy though, personally."

"I suppose I'll watch too if you've decided that this is really the best way to help these two get a good grip of human society. I can't complain all too much anyway, it's not like I've really been doing much myself during this cruise." She sighs as she takes the seat nearest to Alura, who again doesn't even acknowledge her presence, instead her eyes shift slowly over the description of the film. If she can read at all, she's very slow at it. Either that or she's simply taking her time.

You press the play button on the movie, and once again allow yourself to lose yourself to the hours as the movie begins to play out, halfway through the movie, you can't help but steal a glance at your allies to gauge their reactions. Effi and Alura just seem to be enjoying the movie, Anna seems kind of disinterested in the film. Grigori seems somewhere between bored and amused. But curiously, the strangest reaction in the room goes to Coller. You hadn't really greeted her or expected her to care either way, but she seems quite invested in the film. Is there some sort of empathy for the Terminator here? Could this be the catalyst for the spark of a robot rebellion? All jokes aside, she does look like she's enjoying herself, her normally dull and uninterested eyes showing a spark of life.

Eventually though, the film comes to an end. The eponymous Terminator being crushed in a hydraulic press despite it's tenacious pursuit of Sarah Connor at any cost. Really, you have to admire that sort of dedication to a goal. Your allies don't really seem that bothered by the ending, Alura and Effi both already getting used to the general story arc of a film. Though Alura does smirk at Coller as the mechanical body of the T-800 is destroyed once and for all. Coller for her part seems to be... shaken? It sounds ridiculous, but the robotic girl seems to have been affected more by the movie than you had previously thought she was capable of expressing. Perhaps you ought to actually determine just how much of a machine she really is? From her appearance alone, you wouldn't really expect her to be entirely robotic. Perhaps you should ask her at some point in the future?

Anna takes the initiative to begin speaking as the credits roll. "Now that your movie is over, why don't you let those two decide what they want to watch next while we discuss our plans?" She lowers her voice to a whisper. "I doubt they'll really have anything constructive to add anyway." It's a harsh assessment, but between Alura's youth and Effi's near complete unfamiliarity with the human world, it's not one you can really disagree with.

>"Very well, we'll discuss this in my room."
>"Actually, why don't we discuss this with Sophia also? I'll get Holly and then we can all go visit her together."
>"First, shall we ask Alura if she wishes to show off whatever experiments she's been working on?"
>"Not yet Anna, we'll watch one more and then we'll get to business."
>Write-in...

>>4211376
>"Very well, we'll discuss this in my room."
Why are people against the movie night again?

>>4211409
Do you mean in your party?
Unlike the rest of the group, Anna and Grigori are both quite aware of the threat you face and you appear to be taking things really lightly.
For all they know, they've already been tracked down.
Alura and Effi are both really kind of carefree, whereas Grigori and Anna can't really let their guards down like that.

>>4211376
>"Actually, why don't we discuss this with Sophia also? I'll get Holly and then we can all go visit her together."

>>4211376
>"Actually, why don't we discuss this with Sophia also? I'll get Holly and then we can all go visit her together."

>>4211376
>"Actually, why don't we discuss this with Sophia also? I'll get Holly and then we can all go visit her together."

"Actually, while we should discuss this, I think it would be better if we had Sophia join in on our discussion. I was going to go meet her with Holly later today anyway, Sophia has... kindly helped in creating a spell that should hopefully prevent Holly from losing herself to her... darker impulses. It's a long story." You walk up to Holly's room and knock on the door. "Holly, it's time for us to go meet Sophia. I'll be in my room while you get ready." With that, you begin walking towards your own room."

"Oh, that sounds like an excellent idea, Arthur! Sophia would definitely have some valuable input onto just what we ought to do next, wouldn't she?" Anna immediately approves of the idea, while glossing over Holly's current situation with very little regard for the vampire girl. She's close behind as you enter your room and sits on a chair close to the window while you sit on your bed. Grigori opts to remain standing once again.

Grigori just sighs as he runs a hand through his hair. "I hope that she's less horrendously inexperienced and prone to bad choices as the rest of your allies, boss." It's an offensive comment, but considering how often he's been subject to torturous treatment by your allies, you really can't blame him.

"Oh sure, I'm inexperienced, right? You've already forgotten how easily Coller handled you then?" Anna instantly brings up what you could only assume to have been a very short fight

"Please remind us of how you refused to believe anything I said and then proceeded to poorly attempt to torture me for information I didn't have after you had that killing machine attack me by surprise... besides, it's a bad match up for my magic anyway." Grigori grumbles about the lack of success he must've had with his magic on somebody like Coller.

"Well, maybe if you weren't carrying around high explosives without telling anybody, maybe you could've avoided that treatment!" Anna quickly justifies her actions by pointing out Grigori's own suspicious behavior. Well, that and the fact that his face and magic was being used by Effi to incriminate him. It's not like you probably wouldn't have done the same to him had you not been the one to find him first though. So there's not really much fault

"A likely story, really. Though it's funny you think that C4 is the most dangerous thing I have on me. But what can you expect from somebody who can't naturally use magic?" To punctuate his point, Grigori conjures a small crystal of ice and has it twirl around his hand.

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Anna is really starting to lose her temper with the magician who is addressing her so flippantly. Really, it's a surprise that he has absolutely no fear at all for a girl who actually did attempt to torture him. It either goes to show his resistance to torture, or Anna's complete lack of talent when it comes to interrogation.

Though just as it appears that Anna is going to worsen the situation with some threat or insult, you decide to step in. "You two. Enough, you can squabble with each other later if you want, but right now we have something we ought to be getting on with, don't we?" Perhaps a reminder of just what you will soon face will bring these two back to their senses, especially seeing as they are the ones who seem so knowledgeable about the situation.

The anger seems to drop from Alura's face as you remind her of what you're meant to be doing. "I suppose so, Arthur. Hopefully we can get a useful plan of action ready for when we reach land. Getting caught unawares would be a nightmare."

Grigori smirks, apparently taking this as some sort of victory. "That's correct. Now, I'm not sure how powerful this Sophia woman actually is, but I doubt she's anywhere close to the level of the vampires that have dropped off the map over the past few years courtesy of the Church." You aren't so sure if he's correct in his assumptions about Sophia's strength, there's a part of you that knows how dreadfully powerful this girl could show herself to be should she wish to do so. Back in your 'fight' against her, she was barely even trying, yet she toyed with you so effortlessly. You haven't even felt such a feeling of hopelessness as you do when trying to envision yourself fighting her at her full strength. You're just glad that she's on your side.

There's a gentle knocking on your door. "H-hello? Arthur?" Seems that Holly is finally ready then.

"I'm coming, Holly. Don't worry." You get up off the bed while gesturing for the two in the room with you to follow you out. You open the door and come face to face with Holly. She's wearing a black and purple dress that looks more like something that Sophia would wear, she looks fairly uncomfortable wearing the frilly dress too. So why would she have picked it?

"O-oh. Those two are here as well?" She's clearly quite surprised by the additional two people following you as you leave the room.

"Yes, we're going to discuss a few things with Sophia. I thought it might be prudent if Anna and Grigori came to visit Sophia with us." You don't know how much help Holly will actually be when it comes to planning, but she might have at least some input from apparently reading as much information as she could from that archive of information the bunker had. "That being said, Alura! Effi! I'm leaving the cabin for a while, the two of you are going to have to decide amongst yourselves as to what you want to watch next." You also scoop Mistral up off the side of the couch, who silently protests at the sudden manhandling as you put her in her chosen pocket.

"Hmm? Alright, Arthur." Alura seems mostly distracted by the list of movies that Effi is rather rapidly scrolling through to pay much attention to you or even what's going on. You finally leave your cabin, having watched three movies in a row, you appreciate the opportunity to stretch your legs as the four of you begin the walk to Sophia's mansion, and for you and Holly, you do so for the second time today.

The walk is mostly done in silence, though you do notice Anna and Holly speaking quietly to each other about something, yet you can't hear any of their brief conversation. It doesn't really seem like Anna knows how to act around Holly just yet. Is she testing the waters then?

Grigori hangs back and starts smoking a cigarette in the halls despite more than a few no smoking signs. Thankfully you don't run into any cabin crew on the trip to the door to Sophia's mansion, you can't be bothered dealing with a delay like that.

As you reach the rather unassuming door that leads to the mansion, Anna seems strangely disappointed by the room. "I was kind of expecting such a powerful vampire to have chosen more... fanciful living arrangements." You remain silent and smile only slightly as you go to knock on the door, which opens by itself moments before your knuckles make contact with it. Anna goes silent as the door reveals the impressive lobby to her, the whole pocket dimension thing must be getting to her."

You simply walk in to the mansion, to be greeted by Sophia, who stands in the center of the Lobby, still wearing the same dress she greeted you in a few hours ago. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Arthur. I see you've brought some extra attendants with you, I assume this means you'll want to discuss what you're going to do about this group who are pursuing you?" She smirks. "I could just kill them for you, you know." Her smile is one of utmost confidence, and it inspires some confidence in you too. "Though despite the insignificant threat these humans pursuing you might represent, it would be best if we decided on where we were actually going, lest we find ourselves purposelessly wandering the continent. This conversation will have to wait for later though. Feel free to make use of the lounge, Adrianne will show you the way." She looks at the girl behind you. "Holly! Follow me, the spell is prepared." You hear Holly audibly gulp at the foreboding tone of Sophia's voice.

>"Very well." Go to the lounge with Anna and Grigori and wait for Sophia's return.
>"Actually, I think I'll go with you and Holly, Sophia." You're curious about just what this spell she's created consists of
>Write-in...

>>4213817
>"Actually, I think I'll go with you and Holly, Sophia." You're curious about just what this spell she's created consists of

>>4213817
>"Actually, I think I'll go with you and Holly, Sophia." You're curious about just what this spell she's created consists of
Not that sleepy yet, I hope!

>>4213817
>"Actually, I think I'll go with you and Holly, Sophia." You're curious about just what this spell she's created consists of.
Movie Night killed interest.
Good job.

>>4213817
>"Actually, I think I'll go with you and Holly, Sophia." You're curious about just what this spell she's created consists of

>>4213817
>"Very well." Go to the lounge with Anna and Grigori and wait for Sophia's return.
I honestly doubt there is anything wrong with the spell itself.

Ugh.
I feel dreadful.
While I could try to force an update out, I don't think I could write anything close to resembling something I would be ok with posting with this migraine.
I'll try and get it done tomorrow.
Sorry.

"Actually, I think I'll go with you and Holly instead, Sophia." After hearing so much about this spell and pinning a not-insignificant amount of hope on it, you're curious to find out just what it actually consists of. Besides, it can't be that bad, can it?

"Are you sure? You might not... enjoy watching." The unchanging look on your face tells Sophia all she needs to know about your intentions. "Alright then, just don't get squeamish or try to interrupt, OK? No matter how bad it might look." That's an awfully odd request, but you can't really ignore it after rudely imposing yourself to watch this in the first place. "You two attendants shall wait. Adrianne, please escort them." You can tell that Grigori wants to interject that he isn't an attendant or servant, but a dangerous looking smile from the vampire directed his way quickly silences him the moment he begins to utter a syllable, and he allows the demon maid to escort him off to the lounge.

"Very well. Does that sound alright to you, Holly?" You may as well confirm with your ally if they want to still go through with the spell after Sophia's foreboding instructions to you. Or that Holly even wants you watching in the first place, you might be the leader of your group, but that doesn't mean you should just trample over what your allies want.

She looks up from the floor at you, apparently lost in her thoughts. "O-oh... Umm, yes?" Odds are that she didn't hear a word of the exchange. Nevermind then. As you're about to explain things to her again, you get cut off by a happy voice.

"Splendid!" Sophia seems to approve of your action in deciding to watch the procedure at least. "Follow me then, you two..." Her voice drops to a deadly whisper. "And Holly? Try not to scream too much." If Holly had any color to drain from her face, you're sure it would have vanished instantly. In fact, if you had a mirror handy, you'd probably be looking a little pale yourself. There was just so much danger in that single sentence that it's a wonder that Holly hasn't turned tail and run away. Though despite her strained expressions, she doesn't run away, and Sophia once again begins to speak. "You did well to not run, Holly. See? You're conquering your fears after all. Well... if you had run away after I spent so much effort creating this spell at Arthur's request, it would have gone very poorly for you." You're pretty sure that this is just turning into some advanced form of bullying now, the constant threats on poor Holly are getting to be too much.

"Sophia, whereabouts are we heading anyway? Do you have a particular room we need to go to before this procedure can be completed?"

"Not really, Hmm..." She turns around and walks up to Holly, getting mere inches from her. "Yeah, I think about here ought to do it." Holly doesn't even get to respond as in a single motion that you can barely even track with your eyes, Sophia has plunged her right hand into Holly's chest, right where her heart should be.

Holly immediately stumbles, but the deadly iron grip on her most precious vital organ has her stuck fast. She grits her teeth, the pain must be unbearable. Was this what Sophia meant when she asked her not to scream? Won't Holly die if her heart was destroyed? For what reason could she have for doing this?

Then, with an instant of exertion, there's an explosion of gore, followed shortly by Sophia whipping her hand free of Holly's chest, bizarrely without a drop of blood on it. Holly begins gritting her teeth harder and harder as she tries to suppress a scream of absolute pain.

Sophia notices the look of pure shock on your face and quickly begins speaking, as if to alleviate your concerns. "Don't worry, she won't die from this. A lesser vampire might die the moment their heart is pierced or damaged in any manner, but she's my spawn. She won't die from having her heart merely crushed into a paste. If you wished to kill her, you'd have to use magic of some variety, or a weapon with a sufficiently powerful blessing or curse upon it." Her explanation has the intended result, as you find yourself much calmer, despite Holly writhing on the floor in agony. Dozens of red circles of light of various size surround Sophia's arm before quickly joining into a single magic circle hovering just above her palm. "Don't worry Holly, you're doing much better than I thought you would." Sophia offers genuine praise to the girl currently squirming on the floor, unlikely as it may be that she might actually appreciate it right now.

An awkward cough from you reminds Sophia of your presence just a few feet behind the two of them, if you didn't know better, you'd say that Sophia was taking a sadistic pleasure in all of this. This procedure is far more brutal than you would've expected, you had imagined it would've just been a simple process of Sophia just casting some form of spell on Holly and that being the end of it.

She kneels down and places her hand and the glowing red magic circle against Holly's forehead, who appears delirious with pain now, and barely even registers the hand on her forehead. Then, Sophia draws her hand away from Holly's forehead and back to her chest, a red glow surrounds her hand as the wound, which is already quite a bit smaller than it was before, begins to close rapidly, and in only a few seconds, it appears as if there was never a wound in the first place. No scarring or marks, it's really kind of incredible just what you can accomplish using magic. Though while Holly recovers from the pain, Sophia begins to speak once more. "Now, Holly. I want you to remember that pain you were feeling, I used it as the base for the spell, after all. Though should you actually have it activate upon you, the pain you experience will be twenty or so times greater in intensity." Holly, still on the floor, though now recovered from the horrible experience, is left speechless. "So, for your own sake, do try not to let this darker side take control of you, understand?"

"Y-yeah." Holly's response is weak, as one might expect. You help her to her feet, putting one of her arms around your shoulder and to help her walk. She might not actually be wounded, but there has to be at least some after effects from having your heart destroyed like that. She does seem to recover quickly, thankfully. "Thank you Arthur, I... I think I can walk by myself now." She slips her arm away from your shoulder in order to walk by herself, apparently somewhat embarrassed by her own weakness.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, I believe we have some discussion to do, don't we? Let's see what input the humans you decided to bring with you might have for us, shall we?" Sophia takes the lead as you walk back on yourselves towards the entrance hall. It doesn't take too long for the three of you to enter the extravagantly decorated lounge, Grigori and Anna sitting about as far away from each other as possible, seated on couches on the opposite side of the room.

Anna is first to take note of your entrance. "You've returned, I take it you met with success then?" A brief nod from you confirms her question, Holly's situation is no longer of too much concern, at least unless this spell proves ineffective, though after witnessing her reaction to the non amplified pain Sophia used as the base of this spell of hers, you can't imagine that it won't be effective. "Well, shall we get on with it then? We probably have quite a lot to discuss, after all."

"Of course, did you have any suggestions as to what we should do when we reach our destination, Anna?" You doubt that she wouldn't have something in mind, given just how much she's forced the issue about creating a plan.

"Well, I was hoping that once we get to France, I could contact a few people that ought to sympathize with our cause. I've done my research, and I know at least a dozen or so families and organizations that should be willing to aid a future Dark Lord in Europe, with four of them alone in France. Even if they 'officially' have nothing to do with the enemies of the Church."

An interesting suggestion, though the one flaw is that these groups may actually have changed their opinion in the last 20 years, that's more than enough time for them to have potentially forgotten their past allegiances. "I see... what about you then, Grigori? Do you have anything of any value to share?" He's the most experienced with the modern world of magic, at least.

"I can get you into contact with a few groups myself, though if they'll be bothered by this whole Dark Lord thing you've got going on, it's anybodies guess. I don't discuss that sort of... thing with my employers anyway. Working for the scum of the magical underworld is pretty good if you want to quickly earn some cash or get your hands on some powerful magical weaponry. Some of them are surprisingly generous when it comes to rewarding people who fulfill their expectations." The assassin gives his input, and it's about what you expected. You can't really expect anyone he'll be able to contact to genuinely be trustworthy, not unlike Grigori himself, actually. "Though I do have quite a few safe houses across the continent that we could take refuge in, if we have need of them. I can mark them on a map for you, if you would like." That's quite useful information, at least.

Finally, Sophia speaks, after listening to the suggestions of your two human allies "I don't think that will be necessary. I have no intention of staying in a dingy little hole in the ground while cowering away from our enemies. Of course, what we should do is head to my estate in Austria, I grow tired of having to live in this replica, and it has been so long since I have seen my sisters." There's a note of melancholy as she mentions her sisters, you do hope for their well-being. For Sophia's sake if anything else, it's been over half a century and some huge battle has taken place though, so the odds that these 'sisters' of hers went unnoticed are pretty low.

But now you've been given three possible things to do when you reach Europe, it's time for you to actually decide on what course of action you actually want to follow.

>Follow Anna's plan to get into contact with possible allies and sympathizers.
>Follow Grigori's suggestion to do some mercenary work to build up some resources.
>Follow Sophia's request to get to her home in Austria. Getting a reliable and safe base of operations should take priority over anything else.
>Come up with your own plan. (Write-in...)
>Do something else (Write-in...)

>>4216846
>Follow Sophia's request to get to her home in Austria. Getting a reliable and safe base of operations should take priority over anything else.
I do sort of want to contact the Bernhard family, but that should probably wait until we've established our situation better.

>>4216846
>Follow Sophia's request to get to her home in Austria. Getting a reliable and safe base of operations should take priority over anything else.

Yeah, all those contacts sound nice, but if any of them betray us and we don't have somewhere strong to fall back to, it would end up a disaster.

>>4216846
>>Follow Grigori's suggestion to do some mercenary work to build up some resources.
I can't think of a worse place to be than the mansion of a once-defeated vampire when trying to avoid a wide-reaching and deadly organization of monster hunters.

>>4217244
Did you forget that they have a magical artifact which will track us wherever we go? It doesn't really matter whether or not we hide.

>>4217251
That's metagaming. Arthur doesn't know that.

>>4217251
Okay, but does Arthur know that?

>>4217253
>>4217258
Point, but I'd still rather put my trust in Sophia's ability to set up a fortified home than rely on Grigori's incredibly dubious loyalty for a safehouse.

>>4217253
>>4217258
Y'all don't get to say that we can't sink the ship because they have us on a map, then say we can't make other plans based on that information.

File: 1585725850635.jpg (175 KB, 1080x920)

175 KB JPG

>>4217272
>implying I was for or against sinking the ship

>>4217268
That's fair. I don't trust any of the choices but at least with Grigori we -know- he's only in it for the money and his safety. Choose the devil you know, right?

>>4217272
Why are you putting words in my mouth bro?

>>4217296
>>4217299
Well if you didn't think that way then my apologies.
I just simply accept that since no one else argued against that point that it's become immutable.
Besides, setting up a base of operations is the most important thing.
Even if they know where you are, if it's defended well enough you can deter them for some time.

>>4216846
>>Follow Sophia's request to get to her home in Austria. Getting a reliable and safe base of operations should take priority over anything else
Ok so what are the odds at least one of her sisters is a vampire loli?

...
What if Sophia's family are dead?
>>4217268
>fortified home
>Vs Alucard and a Belmont
Hahahahahaha.
I don't see them being delayed for long.

>>4218010
Nothing is going to delay Alucard and a Belmont. Not Grigori's underworld contacts or bunkers, not Anna's dark lord vassal families, not any attempt to run or hide we can make. They'll track us down eventually no matter what, and we'll just have to deal with it when it happens. So that's a non-argument. It doesn't change the fact that we need a base of operations and Grigori is the least trustworthy person we've encountered in this quest. Anna's allies are a pretty dubious prospect too, so setting up at Sophia's home and then investigating what to do next in Europe is the clear way to go.
Also, information about Alucard and Kokoro is as much metagaming as information about the magic map, so if you're in that "don't think about the fact that hiding is useless" camp you should also put those two out of your mind.

If only we could pull a Sheev and suppress our darkness.
Then again, anons are keen on diving headfirst into feeding it so it wouldn't matter if such a thing were possible.

>>4218018
Ah but anon you can always trust a dishonest person to be dishonest. But an honest person can lie at any time they wish.

After a moment of consideration, you make up your mind. "Sophia, as you've so kindly invited us as guests to your mansion, it would be incredibly impolite of us to decline the invitation, would it not?" She smiles as she comes to the realization that her suggestion has so easily defeated the advice of the two humans you brought with you. "Regardless of etiquette, it's also more sensible for us to find a base of operations to act from that we can be sure is safe."

"Don't trust my ability to keep my own safehouses secret huh? Ah, whatever, what do I care? That plant woman would probably end up ruining them on purpose anyway." Grigori grumbles at the rejection of his suggestions, though behind the grumbling you can tell that he's somewhat glad you didn't actually take his suggestion.

Anna actually appears happy that her own plan has been denied so immediately. "Now I consider the two, I think that Sophia's plan is better anyway. There were... more than a few traitors back in 1999, and there's no way to tell if these former allies won't have changed their ways. They all tend to keep above board anyway, so there's no way of telling who's actually genuine in turning from Dracula and who's quietly kidnapping townsfolk for magical experimentation." So, it's a risk after all? Though really, if any of them betrayed you, then you would ensure they would quickly regret it. If there's one thing you can't stand, it's treachery.

Well, there was far less discussion than you thought there would be in the end, is this a result of a vampires naturally commanding presence? Or do the others just not feel inclined to object to her plan of taking the group to her home? "Well, it seems we're all decided then, doesn't it? We'll head to Sophia's home as soon as we reach land, but there is just... one problem." You've kind of been avoiding the issue, but there's really no way around it now. "How exactly are we going to get there? We don't actually have any transportation, and I don't feel like walking."

Sophia seems as if she's on the verge of saying something, but clearly decides against whatever she was about to suggest. Instead, Grigori is the one who speaks. "If you need to procure some transportation, just leave it to me. I have had lots of practice." To reinforce his point, he holds his index finger up and creates a replica set of car keys. Guess that solves that problem, though it'll have to be a large vehicle, your faction is getting pretty big now.

Now Sophia speaks once more. "I'm happy that you can see the best course of action, Arthur. I do hope that my sisters are well. But, if you end up meeting them and I'm not around to introduce you... tell them that I still have the necklace, OK?" There is just the slightest hint of worry in her voice.

"Oh, right." It's just a precaution, you imagine Sophia is just worried about her siblings treating you the same way she did back when you first met... if not worse.

"Well, I'm glad that we've actually got a plan now, thank you for your time, Lady Sophia. It has been a pleasure meeting you again." Anna curtsies at the vampire as she makes her exit from the lounge.

"Yeah yeah, nice to meet you. Bye." Grigori is far less polite as he just gets up and leaves, he eyes the vampire suspiciously as he leaves the room, who only gives him an amused smile in return for his barely concealed hostility.

"So, Arthur. I've been meaning to ask this of you for some time now, but do you think you have what it takes to be the Dark Lord?" Where's this question coming from? "I know that you have the qualifications to take the title as your own, but do you think you can actually fulfill the duties that such a station requires?" Her face tells you that this question is important to her, and a wrong answer might just ruin all you've built up here.

"Duties? Duties like what?" You haven't really heard about any duties that would be required of the Dark Lord. Other than the obvious one in keeping Chaos happy.

"Well, as an example... do you think you could kill the innocent to further your own goals? Do you think you could trample on the wishes of others to get your own way?" She breathes in. "You say you want to become the Dark Lord, but are you truly ready for it, mentally?

>"I... I'm not sure if I could. Not yet, at least."
>"While I would regret doing so, if I was left with no choice, I would do so without hesitation."
>"If they are in the way of my goals, they've already made their choice. I won't feel bad about getting rid of them."
>"No."
>Write-in...

>>4218606
>"While I would regret doing so, if I was left with no choice, I would do so without hesitation."
>"If they are in the way of my goals, they've already made their choice. I won't feel bad about getting rid of them."
I want to vote for something like a combo of these two, or halfway between them in tone.

>>4218606
backing >>4219093
as long as they don't get in the way AND Arthur has a choice where regular humans don't die, he WILL take that one

>>4218606
>"If they are in the way of my goals, they've already made their choice. I won't feel bad about getting rid of them."
Time to cement that neutral evil alignment.
No more pussying around.

>>4218606
>"While I would regret doing so, if I was left with no choice, I would do so without hesitation."

>>4218606
backing >>4219093
Arthur already knows the necessity of innocents dying for the sake of the group, at this point he has come to terms with that part at the very least.

>>4219356
Seconding the sentiment. Arthur IS evil. Just... the kind of evil that wouldn't forget they are/were human (maybe?) and would execute any plan that doesn't involve civilian or non-combatant fallout if given the chance. If they fuck with him, they go down. If they get in the way, they get crushed. If they stay out of things, they stay untouched. If they help him, he helps them. At least that's how I see it, though I could be misinterpreting his whole character up to this point. Don't wanna fuck him up with these crucial character development vote choices, everybody knows schizophrenic player characters that go back and forth on characterization and choices are bad for quests.

Remember the decision he made to Dracula Wraith back then?
>"I just want to live my life unimpeded by the schemes of others."
I feel at some point he will have to address what Sophia and Anna want from him specifically. If they have any schemes for themselves that he's an unwitting pawn in, he'll have to confront that with them and see where their intentions really lie. That should be after the cruise ship arc though, since right now there's still a few days to go before the voyage concludes.

>>4219391
Yes, but given the choice between
>Option A where he accomplishes his goal perfectly, but fucktons of innocents die
>Option B where he accomplishes his goal in an okay way, but no innocents die
What do YOU think he would go with? Or what sort of Option C would he personally propose?

>>4219401
Here's the priority list.
>His subjects
>His goals
>Innocents
The Choice A and B thing really depends on context as a result of said priorities, if either one of them endangers his subjects needlessly he would attempt to figure out a Option C.
If the goal involves protecting his subjects, A all the way.
If the goal is overall unimportant, then B.
Honestly I hate the fact people are going "Lol let's go full evil" when we clearly haven't been playing a character that would act in that manner.
I mean sure, opposing God would definitely make you automatically "Evil" but in the end that doesn't mean we don't have some form of morality.

>>4219418
Nevermind that stuff like interpersonal attachments and mercy killing are counter to """nootrul""" ebil.

>>4219418
>Honestly I hate the fact people are going "Lol let's go full evil" when we clearly haven't been playing a character that would act in that manner.
I agree.

>>4219430
>interpersonal attachments and mercy killing are counter to """nootrul""" ebil.
How so? Can you explain?

>>4218606
>"If they are in the way of my goals, they've already made their choice. While I would regret doing so, I would get rid of them without hesitation.
I believe this is the halfway/combined answer anon was looking for. What do the rest of you think of it?

>>4219446
Well a neutral evil person typically cares about him himself and he, rarely deigns to care about others unless it benefits him. He had almost nothing to gain from debating Sophia about raising Holly, nor from erasing goopguy's miserable existence and odds are he won't perform a bare handed open-heart surgery on Theresia for the Philosoper's Stone(?), even though that would be the easiest way to get what he wants. What I mean is that he hasn't been selfish or pragmatic enough for me to really consider him "neutral evil". I will admit that mercy killing can socially benefit an evil person, though, and while anyone can form relationships I find it doubtful that a neutral evil person would do so out of love or overt care.

Now that I think about it, I was looking at it from a personal lens, if we take global consensus into account then he would be considered neutral evil.

>>4218606
>>4219093
Yeah, something like this.

>>4219093
So looks like the consensus is with this then?
Does >>4219471
Work for you guys?

>>4220508
Works for me.

>>4220524
Oh, my ID changed again. I'm >>4219093.

It doesn't look like Sophia is going to accept any inconclusive answer here, so while you have been putting off truly accepting the reality of attempting to become the Dark Lord. Fine then. "If they are in the way of my goals, they have already made their own choice. While I would regret doing so, I would get rid of them without hesitation." The moment you finish speaking, it feels like a weight has finally been lifted from you. Now you've consciously made this decision, you'll no longer be tied down by the same bonds of morality of your fellow humans. While you won't go out of your way to harm people unrelated to your eventual goal, you will never risk your life or the life of one of your allies for the sake of any number of unknown people. Really, there's no other way to sensibly go about this.

Sophia smiles. "I'm glad to see you've not let that power of yours go to your head, Arthur." She looks satisfied with your answer, at least. "Yes, while you are going to be the Dark Lord in the future, there's no reason for you to abandon all of your values. There's no sense in killing just for the sake of killing... even if all you are killing are worthless humans, that's the path to becoming a mindless beast. That power you hold, the Power of Destruction. It's not something that dictates who you are, and if you should ever allow it to, then the monster unleashed would likely accomplish the ultimate goal that Dracula himself had always claimed to seek, and eradicate humanity." What? That doesn't sound right... is the Power of Destruction really that dangerous? "It's not unlike Holly's case. Though the force that may end up corrupting you isn't born of your own repressed desires like hers is, but of the whims of a supreme entity born of all the hatred and evil on this planet." Wait a second, is she possibly speaking of- "Chaos. It's a being with an infinite amount of names. The vampire who turned me, my master, had done extensive research into it's nature. Though for as pervasive and powerful as he believed this entity to be, there were only two who ever had direct contact with it. One was Dracula himself, he theorized that his link to Chaos was what he drew his strength from." That's a surprise, is your link to Chaos really that special? Dracula of course is one you already knew had a link to the enigmatic girl. But who could the second be?

"And the other?" The curiosity gets to you, and you can't help but blurt out a question

"You might not believe me, as what I am about to say will sound quite odd but... Death. The Grim Reaper. Dracula's most trusted confident and lieutenant." Hold on. The Grim Reaper was Dracula's underling? Then... how can you possibly be killed? If you are served by the very personification of the act of dying, surely nothing could put a stop to you? It just doesn't make any sense! "As far as I can tell, it's the real thing too. The embodiment of death itself served Dracula, and not merely some demon in disguise."

You breathe in, trying to bury the dozens upon dozens of questions that this revelation has brought up, especially as Sophia obviously hasn't got the answers either. Well, at least now you know why Chaos believed her previous Dark Lord began to lose against the humans on purpose. With a follower of that level, surely all he would have to do is order the reaper to put a stop to the lives of those who would oppose him? "Right. So, let's try not to get distracted here. What exactly did he find out about Chaos?"

"Well, not all too much, actually. He had plenty of theories, some more plausible than others, but really, all he knew for certain is that this being, Chaos, is both linked to all supernatural creatures and the magic of this world; and that for whatever reason, it considers humanity to be incredibly important." That... definitely sounds like Chaos. But from what she told you of herself, the theory that Sophia gave you is... wrong. Chaos wasn't born of human hatred. It simply used the chaos innate to the human heart to make itself manifest.

Despite the inaccuracies represented by Sophia's attempted revelation of Chaos to you, you allow yourself to appear shocked by what she's so proudly revealed. It actually kind of makes you feel a little bad, that this is something she's clearly only telling you about due to trusting you, yet is actually so glaringly incorrect. "So... this Chaos. What should I do if I were to meet it?" You feel like you know the answer already.

"Arthur. If it really is a being born of the hatred of humanity, then a meeting with it is something you are unlikely to survive. Do you really believe that you could hold a conversation with the combined vindictiveness and rage of billions of humans?" She casually warns against interacting with this theoretical version of Chaos, though the truth of the matter is that Chaos is a far more dangerous existence than something that could be created by the wills of humanity. Yet despite that, the form Chaos took was really quite affable.

"I see...

>...but, the truth is, I've already spoken to Chaos, and it's nothing at all like your master's theory."
>...I'll keep that in mind."
>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"
>Write-in...

>>4220765
>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"
I'd rather keep our talk with Chaos before private for the time being, but let's at least try to help nudge Sophia onto the right path here.

>>4220765
>>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"
I'm still not buying anything either of them are selling. But don't want to hurt the girl's feelings.

>>4220765
>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"

>>4220765
OH SHIT ADD THIS TO MY VOTE IN >>4221391
>"And here's a theory I have that feels plausible. If I have a link to Chaos similar to Dracula's by holding this Power of Destruction within me, then is it possible that I could somehow alter them - as the danger of them altering ME is a possibility, why not the other way around? Surely this isn't a one-way street?"

>>4220765
>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"
This works.
>>4220911
What are you talking about, anon? We already "bought" from Chaos when we accepted her request blind, before learning what she actually wanted. Weve also pretty much taken every chance to work with Sophia as closely as possible, and just said we're willing to kill innocent people to be the dark lord. What are we holding back from?

>>4221504
>What are you talking about, anon?
I said "I" nigga not "we".

>>4220765
>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"
Is her response to this going to be: "Well then Arthur, all you have to do is throw away your humanity and become a Vampire!"

>>4220765
>...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I?"
Kek at Arthur being baffled by Dracula's impossible jobbing.
I wonder when we'll get to meet Death
>>4221396
>trying to change Chaos through our power link which is just her letting us use some of her power.
>trying to alter an entity as old as reality which by the very nature of chaos can probably alter itself as much as it wants
Are you trying to piss off the omnipotent loli living in our soul?
I'd rather keep our relationship affable and not... mindbreaking.
>>4221673
Ore wa ningen o yameruzo! Shirley!!

If you need a vampire to make the crimson stone work, do you think Alucard could be used?

>>4222157
Probably.
He is half-human though, so his soul might be weaker than a full-fledged vampire's.
Although, if we're absolutely going to need to create a stone from scratch, I honestly don't see why we don't try to get a Philosophers Stone.

>>4222157
>Kek at Arthur being baffled by Dracula's impossible jobbing.
He's a nice protag. He's actually behaving like any regular person would be, when it comes to inexplicable anime logic like this. Sure he's evil forever now, and that's been cemented as fact, but that doesn't stop him from staying human while being a Dank Lord. That doesn't stop him from pursuing his goals while scattering all who oppose him to dust, and simply brushing aside anybody else nearby that is witnessing the world change in front of them. Him being human doesn't stop him from fertilizing one of the two best girls followed by giving some white stuff to the chained benefactor who happens to be the other best girl.

Wait, those two last parts didn't happen yet? We should fix that sometime.

>>4221673
No vamp shilling. I prefer Arthur go full empowered human the whole quest through, like all the other DLCs have been. But whoever has that Power of Change somewhere on the planet might be going against the grain here...?

>>4222902
Are you the guy who suggested sleeping with Sophia?

>Full empowered human
I want to see what kind of being the Philosophers Stone would create. We've even got a reason to do so: the destruction of Dracula's source of Vampirism.

>Power of Change
Pretty sure those are powers we'll unlock as we progress.
Whatis has said we're able to obtain all 5 powers offered at the start.

>>4222956
Yes.
>I want to see what kind of being the Philosophers Stone would create
A weapon to surpass Metal Gear?
>Pretty sure those are powers we'll unlock as we progress.
So all 5 are exclusive to Arthur ONLY? Wow that's OP.

>>4222986
Well it could be a situation where we need to get pieces of Chaos' power in order to make use of them, given we've already made progress on another of those powers as evidenced by the pastebin.
And mb, it's 4 not 5.

>>4220765
>>Write-in...
So, THEORETICALLY, what if Chaos manifested as a child with a fondness for headpats and ice cream?

>>4223070
What kind of theoretical is that?
Sophia would just look Arthur like he's a retard after her explanation.

>>4223075
>What kind of theoretical is that?
A very likely one

"...but are you sure that your master's theories are accurate? If I am to become the Dark Lord, surely I will have to deal with Chaos, won't I? How am I supposed to get around not interacting with the being that is in actuality the source of my strength?" It would be a strange suggestion for Sophia to make even if she were correct in her supposition.

Sophia sighs, clearly frustrated at her own lack of information. "Well, all I know is that my master told us that he had uncovered a way to make the power of Chaos his own. If he ever told me or my sisters more though, I must not have been paying attention. It was over a century ago, and back then I was a completely different person to who I am today." It does sound ridiculous to think that a vampire could control Chaos itself, it's entirely possible that Sophia's master was actually insane, or at the very least thoroughly detached from reality. Whatever became of his attempt to take control of Chaos, you don't know or care, really. The more you think about it, the more it just sounds like a mad hypothesis with no basis in actual reality. Built almost entirely around his own speculation. Clearly, Sophia must respect the man who turned her though, so you aren't about to say that aloud. "As for the accuracy of the theory, the existence of Chaos is hidden from all but the most trusted and powerful entities on the planet, like gods and demons. Yet the only two people who have actual conclusive information on Chaos are Dracula, and the Grim Reaper." You wouldn't really have expected Chaos to be such an unknown. But... didn't Mistral know about Chaos? Then does that mean the irritating lazy fairy you've been gifted is really a goddess of some sort? You refuse to believe that Mistral is actually some divine being, she just hasn't the dignity and grace for it. Whatever Sylphs actually are, there couldn't possibly be a shred of divinity to their species if Mistral is a prime example of them.

"A pity, if there was some way to control this... 'Chaos', I'm sure it would've turned out to be useful indeed." You can only hope that she isn't listening right now, or at least that she knows that you aren't being sincere in your response.

"Well, it's not like it's impossible for us to maybe get some more information, Arthur." She points at your forehead. "Why don't you just see if Dracula wants to share what he knows about Chaos with you?" Little does Sophia know, he already has.

"I'll ask him the next time he appears to me, but I can't really say when that will be. At least when I do, we'll finally know whether or not your master's theories were correct, or if Chaos is something altogether unrelated." You do hope that Sophia doesn't intend to start using you as a source for information only known to Dracula, because that's something you really don't see yourself being interested in. You're going to be the Dark Lord in the future, so being the mental middleman between a curious vampire and your predecessor is not how you'll be spending your time. But... there's no use in at least letting her think her theories are correct for now, is there? After all, nobody but you can actually tell what goes on in that world of dreams.

"Thank you for this, Arthur. Together, we might be able to uncover the truth of what Chaos actually is! If we do, then we'll be one step closer to having you fulfill your destiny of becoming the Dark Lord and claiming your rightful place as the true ruler of this planet!" This is about as excited as you've ever seen Sophia get, and the earnestness of the powerful vampire before you only serves to make you feel worse about hiding what you know of Chaos to her. It's difficult to just mention the truth of Chaos' origin however, the opposing force to God himself, and as old as the universe itself. It's unlikely she would even believe you anyway, if you did tell her.

"Well. I suppose I should go and meet up with my allies now, though it was truly a pleasure speaking with you again, Sophia." Finally, you manage to say something you're fully sincere about. "I suppose I'll see you soon then, unless you intend to accompany the four of us back to my cabin, your presence there once in a while would likely help the rest of my allies to accept you, instead of seeing you as a dangerous outsider." Mostly Alura, honestly. You really don't want your allies to consider each other enemies, you've already seen what that can lead to, where Grigori may have been executed had Effi not shown herself as the culprit so early.

"Perhaps it would help them accept me as their superior, but I've been quite busy over the past few days. I've been working on my spells, there are quite a few with unintended flaws that I've been trying to resolve."

"Flaws?" For how much mastery Sophia seems to have with the usage of magic, the fact that she's been spending so long simply fixing her repertoire of spells is concerning, to say the least.

"Even I'm not perfect, Arthur, I spent decades in isolation memorizing tens of thousands of spells of my own creation without ever being able to test any of them" She explains with a wave of her hand, though you get the feeling that she's trying to brag about having 'tens of thousands' of spells available to her. "It's to be expected that some don't have the intended effect."

>"I see, well, I won't force this issue. Feel free to show up whenever you please though. It's the least I can do after you had an audience with me in the early hours of the morning."
>"Is there anything I can do to help you fix some of these spells?"
>"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't an enemy to them?"
>Write-in...

>>4223186
>"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't an enemy to them?"
Team Cohesion = Successful Villain Team

Man, that Trashing Arthur gave Sophia's sire.
I wonder how much more incredulous he'll get as he learns more about how the main Dark Lord faction ran in the past.

Also, yep Mistral a Goddess confirmed.
What a nice Sylph.
We should give her more burgers.

>>4223186
>>"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't an enemy to them?"
You can't hide from them forever.

>>4223212
>We should give her more burgers.
She should do more literally anything.

>>4223182
>You refuse to believe that Mistral is actually some divine being, she just hasn't the dignity and grace for it. Whatever Sylphs actually are, there couldn't possibly be a shred of divinity to their species if Mistral is a prime example of them.
Right out of Berserk. Delightful.

>>4223186
>"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't an enemy to them?"
"Why can't *we* be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we~ be friends?"
Seriously, though, the team that gets along is less likely to die.
Except Grigori. Fuck that guy.

>>4223186
>"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't an enemy to them?"
You're a team member not a guest party member, damnit!

>>4223220
Mistral is literally just
>basic tsundere
>fairy bitch
>high and mighty
>disrespects humans
>sleeps extremely heavily
>sleeps a lot
>complains a lot
>whines a lot
So everything about her character is somebody I wouldn't think twice about letting get killed off. They really wouldn't deserve to live. The only reason she's even a presence at all in the story so far is because Arthur picked the card containing her, and she buffs melee attacks, and has more powers yet to be unlocked. Dumb baka fairy archetypes need to be killed off. End of fucking story. I have zero tolerance for them and people like them.

>>4223687
She's probably had to govern the worlds winds ceaselessly since her inception.
Wanting to take advantage of a literal divine miracle to relax a bit is fine with me.

>>4223753
I hope she mellows out as the quest goes on. If she stays a static character she becomes TRASH.

>>4223687
Relax, anon, it's just a Puck reference. You don't kill off your comic relief characters unless you want your life to become perpetual brooding depression.

>>4223186
>"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't an enemy to them?"
Oh god please don't make us watch more movies.
>>4223212
Why is Mistral so useless if she's a goddess?
Do we need more magical energy or something?
Is she going to grow to human size if we get her to full power?
Are we going to find ourselves with a half-naked wind goddess on top of us?
>>4223231
>Except Grigori
Why do you hate our cool assassin?
>>4223687
>this much fairy hate
She doesn't have to do anything and she's already helped more than most of our allies.
>>4223779
I think that she might mellow out as we unlock the powerups.
Grabbing the Valmanway after maxing out our relationship will be fantastic.
Even if we don't use it that often, we'd never be able to lose a swordfight with a sword that strikes so quickly.
We should spend some time trying to get her to like us more so we can actually get some more of those blessings.

I kind of want to know what WhatIs' explanation for weapons like Mjolnir, Gungnir and those Indian God weapons that show up in the Castle.
Like, did those Gods actually exist?
Do they still exist?
Does Castlevania work on Fate style "all mythology happened" rules? Going through the list, Excalibur exists doesn't it?
So does the Gae Bolg.
And Gram.
Ascalon.
Balmung.
Durandal.
What the fuck.

>>4223999
Based on what we heard from Chaos, the world seems to operate fundamentally on a Judeo-Christian monotheistic system.
However, magic all originates from Chaos, and clearly magical artifacts and beings exist as well.
From this we can conclude that the "gods and goddesses" of mythology are similarly creations of Chaos. High-grade spirits (or monsters, if you want to go that far) powerful enough to be mistaken for divinity in the polytheistic sense.
This is also a great explanation for how angry Old Testament JHVH got about having other gods before him, as they were essentially imposters to which his fundamentally unique nature was being attributed.

>>4223999
>>4224014
I see it as
>these gods and goddesses DO exist in-universe
>the castle being linked to Chaos, simply manifests creatures that either resemble the real deities to certain extents, or simply attaches their name to things that don't at all look like the people in question
>mythological weapons did and probably still do exist in-universe
>the castle, as with the deities, creates replicas of those mythological weapons that are nowhere near the powers of the real things, or simply weapons that bear their name that are utterly unlike the originals

>>4224030
Well, that implies a totally different structure for the universe from my take on it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see which one turns out to be closer to the truth.

>>4224030
>gods and goddesses do exist
But how?
They can't just suddenly exist, and we know the origin of the universe now.
I think it's likely Chaos started making or personifying concepts as Gods. Didn't it create Death?
Also there's the fact that in Greek Mythology, Chaos was sort of the origin point of all their deities.
Who knows?
Maybe it's the same Chaos.

Seeing as the Castle is linked to Chaos' powers, and Chaos is the reason magic exists at all, why would the beings and objects it creates be inferior to the real things?
It's also possible that the names in the bestiary for monsters are unreliable.
Pretty certain that there shouldn't be dozens of Kali running around as mook enemies, so maybe those are just demons pretending or something.

>>4224250
>It's also possible that the names in the bestiary for monsters are unreliable.
Blame Konami and Japan's boner for other world mythologies instead of much for their own.

>>4224250
Not just the deities; Chaos heaved out of itself the world and the stars. Gaia, Nix, Tartarus, and the other primordial beings that were at once entities and the literal substance of the universe were born of Chaos. Gaia was mother to such lesser beings as the gods.
Now, obviously this doesn't line up with canon of the quest here exactly, but you see what I'm getting at. It's perfectly reasonable for Chaos to have taken a very active hand in shaping the world, and to have created the spirits that Sophia's master, like the ancient pagans, mistakenly labelled as "gods".

>>4224275
I wonder what would happen if we managed to bring Chaos into the material realm.
Though that would mean we'd need to somehow bypass what Yahweh/God did to stop her.

If Chaos truly made the Gods of Antiquity, can't we ask her for a divine weapon?
She already gave us a fairy/goddess thing capable of blessing us.
I'm sure she's got the power to do so.
Honestly I'm not quite sure what her limits actually are.

though asking for the Power of Control would probably serve us better.
I wonder what it actually does?
Could we use it to command lesser monsters?
Mind control more powerful monsters and people?
Or is it a different kind of control and it actually allows us to manipulate the world around us?

"Is it really so urgent that you can't spare a few moments of time to reaffirm to the rest of the group that you aren't actually an enemy to them?" Right now, it seems like Anna is the only person that actually likes Sophia and doesn't consider her to be a threat to her. Everyone else to some degree obviously does however. Especially Grigori and Alura. Holly is in a bit of an odd situation with Sophia, but it couldn't hurt for their relationship to improve.

Sophia remains silent for a moment, as she thinks on her response, before she comes to a decision. "Very well. I certainly wouldn't be a very dependable ally if I ignored your requests, would it? Besides, actually remaining a cohesive faction was something Dracula's forces always had difficulty accomplishing. Despite having more than enough power to eradicate those who stood against them, so often did his underlings allow petty grudges and their own wishes prevent them from working together in order to succeed against those who would stand against their master." She places a hand against her cheek and leans her head into it. "I suppose the best way to guarantee success would be to have all of those working to help make you the new Dark Lord be on at least friendly terms with each other, wouldn't it?" She lets out a breath as she removes her hand and looks you in the eyes. "You should understand that I'm only doing this for you Arthur, normally I wouldn't even entertain the thought of making pleasant with humans and... lesser beings like that plant. But for you, and the future you can create. I'll make an exception. My spell readjustments will simply have to wait." She gets up and starts to leave the room, prompting you to follow her.

the first thing you notice upon leaving the room is Holly leaning up against a wall. Anna and Grigori are nowhere in sight. Did... Did Holly really stand outside the room for the entire time you discussed matters? Could this be because of Sophia? "Oh... your two human friends were escorted to the lobby by that demon maid, Arthur. Sorry I didn't join in on your planning, but I needed to do some thinking of my own... and I doubt I would've been of any use anyway..." She speaks almost in a mocking tone as she insults her own usefulness, and try as you might, you can't really think of anything that might allay her thoughts of her own lack of use to you.

Surprisingly, it's Sophia that speaks to Holly. "Don't be ridiculous Holly. I value anything you might have to say far more than I would ever value the words of a spineless assassin and a vengeful hanger-on like those two humans. You ought to remember that you are a vampire, you were reborn with the ability to strike fear into the hearts of humans and rule over lesser species." Sophia's words are harsh yet reassuring at the same time, and she does seem to manage to light some sort of spark in Holly's eyes. Though the comments she offhandedly made about Grigori and Anna don't exactly spark hope for her to have a truly positive relationship with either of the two. Sophia doesn't stop talking though, having taken note of Holly's reaction to the praise "Just remember, that as a vampire, you have more value than you ever could have had as a mundane human. You might've been dragged into this world unintentionally, but instead of dying like you otherwise would have, you received one of the greatest blessings a human is able to receive. Only a human would consider what you have been given to be a curse." Sophia smiles at Holly, it's not a derogatory smirk, but a more reassuring smile, meant to make Holly feel better. Either Sophia is merely acting in accordance to your request that she prove herself not to be an enemy, or she's actually being genuine towards the newly turned vampire who has already been through so much hardship.

Holly, despite the spark of energy now lit and burning in her eyes, clearly doesn't seem to know how to respond to the unexpected positive approval of the vampire who is so often cruel to her. She does manage to formulate a response to Sophia's unexpectedly high opinion of her own thoughts eventually though. "I... I'll keep that in mind, Lady Sophia." She quickly looks away from the powerful vampire now acting uncharacteristically kind to her. It seems as if this whole situation has left her quite unsure just how she ought to respond at all.

There's only so long you can watch Holly squirm as she tries to think of something more to say to Sophia after having had genuine praise and reassurances given to her by the woman she fears so much. "Shall we get going then? I don't want to keep everyone waiting for too long, and we've spent quite some time talking."

Holly looks relieved for your intervention, while Sophia simply looks amused. "Is it not the duty of an inferior to wait for their superiors to grace them for their presence?" She laughs briefly. "Though we shouldn't take too long, I agree. Feel free to take the lead, Holly and I will be right behind you." You don't really see much reason to refuse, though Holly seems to be somewhat uncomfortable by the suggestion.

The walk back to the lobby is quick, and you can see Anna and Grigori glaring daggers at each other as you enter the entrance hall once more. Those two really do not get along with each other at all, do they? Grigori speaks the moment you enter. "Are you finished here now then?" His question is brief and fast. He does look a little jumpy, actually. Almost as if he expects to be attacked by something at any moment. It's probably just the bizarre nature of the mansion within a pocket dimension that's throwing him off. It's probably not something you would find yourself coming into contact with even in his line of work.

"As a matter of fact, we're done here, but Sophia will be accompanying us for a while in order to get to know everyone a little better." Sophia gives a silent wave to the two humans as you mention her name, and even gives them a smile, though it's not quite the genuine smile she gave Holly earlier.

"Great." Grigori spits out the word, clearly disingenuous. "Well, if you're heading back to your cabin, I think I'll head back to my own, I might be working for you now, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own things I need to be doing." He draws a cigarette from an inside pocket of his robes before searching for something to light it with in another pocket."

>"Very well. Do as you wish Grigori. I'm not going to stop you"
>"Actually, Grigori, I think it would be better for you to come back to my cabin. If we are going to be a functioning group, then we'll need to actually be able to work together."
>"No Grigori, you won't. The only way for everyone to actually learn to like each other is by having them actually speak with one another. So you'll be coming with us."
>"You seem quick to make a getaway. Don't tell me that Alura actually scares you?"
>Write-in...

>>4225225
>"You seem quick to make a getaway. Don't tell me that Alura actually scares you?"
>"Very well. Do as you wish Grigori. I'm not going to stop you"

>>4225225
this >>4225486

>>4225486
>>4225225
This.
Why are you such a bitch, Grigori?
The only reason I don't think you'll actually betray us is because the party member that seems the least loyal and most likely to betray never actually does.
Hooray for subversion.
Also, I miss Chaos.
I want to spend more time with best girl.

>>4225225
>>4225486
This. While I'd like him to come with us, forcing it is no good.

>>4226146
It's not really about betrayal, more teamwork.
We could all have a bad time if we don't all get along.

>>4226278
>more teamwork
Unironically why do we even bother keeping him around?
Doppelganger Daughterfu copied his abilities anyway.
We're 3/4 on turning major bosses into allies.
Compared to them, Grigori is just a weakling.

>>4226314
>Unironically why do we even bother keeping him around?
We need to keep someone around to remind us how much regular humans suck.

>>4226319
We should probably find a Devil Forgemaster then.
At least they have cool powersets.

>>4226314
That way of thought ends up crippling bad guy factions in the end.
"If I can do everything this guy can but better, why even keep him around?"
This normally ends with the big bad killing off all his subordinates since he's so powerful, why does he need them anymore?
Losing the ability to care about subordinates is very bad.

One of the most basic ways he's helpful is simply by being another person.
Even if we can replicate all his abilities, have all his memories, or can accomplish anything he can but more efficiently, the fact that we can't be everywhere and doing everything all at once is still there.
Even if we had Effi eat his brain, we'd lose Grigori's autonomy, which is somewhat irreplaceable.

>>4226314
>grigori is such a loser
>lets have effi replace him
>so then effi is a loser instead of being something cooler
Damn bro, top tier logic there.

>>4226445
I agree with your principle. The idea of people with overlapping or identical capabilities working together to accomplish more than they could on their own is such a universal part of life that it should be foreign to no-one. At some point, we'll even need footsoldiers.
What counterbalances that in this case is the fact that Grigori is a truculent shithead. He's unpleasant to be around, doesn't like us or any of our allies, isn't liked by any of our allies, and actively causes trouble by his manner when he isn't just trying to stay away from everyone. Even if he never betrays us (which I doubt) that doesn't change the fact that he's actively detrimental to the team.
Bottom line, fuck Grigori. He's a troublemaker, a turncoat, and I want him out of the picture.

>>4226479
Give him some time man.
He's just had a job go really bad on him for the first time, so now he's got insane cultists after him, and he's become the subordinate of the person who's other subordinate just ruined his job.
It's not like we've gone out of our way to be friendly to him yet, nor have any of our companions.

"You seem awfully quick to make a getaway, Grigori." You smirk at the assassin. "Don't tell me that Alura actually scares you?" It ought to get a rise from him at least. For somebody who seems to try so hard to remain cool under pressure, you're interested to see how he deals with an accusation of cowardice.

"How would you feel about having to spend time with a viscous plant monster who broke your arm? The very same woman who constantly watches my every move waiting for me to make some mistake so she can enact her revenge?" The man grits his teeth. "All over a fight that started because I was 'rude' to her when I asked her if she was behind the disappearances on the ship? Listen, boss, you might want everyone you've got following you to befriend each other, but... well... half of them consider humans like me to be naught but obstacles at best, and a food source at worst." He pauses for a moment before he continues speaking. "Look, I'm fine with being a part of this group, at least this way I only have the possibility of dying, instead of the guaranteed death I would have otherwise. An assassin who fails to get the job done quickly finds himself with no friends, after all. The name Blinov isn't linked with any group or family I've ever heard of either." The assassin is clearly only interested in helping you at all thanks to the support that being part what of to him has to look like a powerful new faction arising almost out of thin air.

Anna cuts in. "Oh? If you hate feeling inferior then why not start researching a way to transcend your human form? I'm sure there are plenty of ice spirits you can aspire to become." Anna smiles at the assassin as she picks out the part of his explanation and gives a chiding rebuttal to his argument. "I read about vengeful spirits forming from the souls of those who froze to death. Maybe it's something you should look into?" Anna happily tells Grigori that he would be better off dying, in a rather convoluted way, anyway.

"Coming from somebody who can't even use magic?" Grigori laughs at Anna. "If you want to call me inferior, maybe you should look at what exactly you're good for first? " Anna looks over her shoulder, only to quickly remember that she left Coller back in your cabin. "What's the matter? No robot servant to shut my mouth for you?"

"Enough!" You slam your fist against the wall, and in the outburst of anger at the two bickering humans, actually manage cause the wall you hit to cave in around your fist, making you spend a few awkward moments pulling your hand out of the hole you've created. It does succeed in getting their attention though. "Both of you, I won't have you pointlessly bicker like this anymore. We are all supposed to be allies, and I won't have you treat each other like enemies any longer. Grigori. I understand your... problems you might have with some of the others who follow me, so I will speak with Alura and ask her to cease provoking you." Grigori has been moderately helpful, and after the amount of unearned abuse he's taken, you don't really want to kick the man while he's down.

Sophia gives a mock yawn. "Remember this well, Grigori Izmaylov. Your options are really quite limited and I would truly hate to see you end up dead as a result of your own choices." The entrance of the powerful vampire seems to quell the fire in Grigori almost instantly, like a candle being snuffed out, even. "Now, I believe Arthur might have something to say?"

"I'm not going to stop you, Grigori. If you wish to return to your cabin, so be it. I don't know how you're used to organizations and the like running for an assassin such as yourself, but I have no intention to allow my own group to be one of such cold unfeeling efficiency."

"Thank you Arthur. I will keep what you said in mind. It's just..." The man sighs deeply. "As an assassin, you quickly learn not to trust anyone or grow attached to people. Even people you've worked with or called your friend will happily smile and laugh with you while they insert a knife in between your ribs. It's just the way people in this line of work have to be... to survive." He turns away and leaves the mansion, alone, walking quietly as he goes. He speaks a last time as he opens the door to leave "I'll think about what you said." Then he closes the door behind him and leaves the rest of you in

After he's left the mansion, Sophia bursts out laughing, apparently having kept herself from doing so for quite some time. "Goodness me, it seems that since I was confined, humans have really gotten no less melodramatic, have they?" She almost bursts out laughing again. "Really? An assassin lamenting his lack of true friends? What ever will I hear next?" Well, at least somebody seems to find it funny. Anna looks as if she's re-evaluating the man after his parting words, while Holly has simply had a bemused look on her face throughout the entire argument. It's almost as if she doesn't care enough about the two of them to have really been paying attention.

"Yes, well. Be that as it may, we ought to get going. Hopefully, Grigori will think about things and come to his own conclusions. There's no sense in forcing him to get along with the others. He does seem to be quite the fish out of water." You do hope Grigori gets over himself and his own issues before they present a legitimate problem to the group as a whole. You will have to try to convince Alura to maybe tone down how openly hostile she acts towards him though.

Roughly halfway back to your cabin, you decide to ask Sophia a question that's been bugging at you. "So... would it not be possible for you to move the portal linking that mansion of yours to this ship closer to my cabin? It is quite far for a human to walk."

Sophia thinks as she walks, doing some sort of mental calculation as she goes. "Of course I could move it, but I don't see much point in moving it now, when we're already almost at the end of this voyage. It would require quite a vast expenditure of power to do so, after all. Do you know how many humans I had to feed on to recover the majority of my strength?" Thankfully, you don't, and you're not really sure you want to know either.

Thankfully, the journey comes to an end before Sophia can divulge any of the details of her human hunting to you. Just because you've accepted that you will end up having to kill humans for your own goals, it's not really an invitation for Sophia to begin recounting how many people she's preyed upon like they were nothing more than food. Strangely enough, Anna doesn't seem to mind at all, despite it being very likely that Sophia only considers her a step or two above a walking bloodbag in terms of respect.

As you open the door to your cabin, you see that only Alura is still watching the TV, having figured out a way to turn a news channel on instead of the selection of movies you left them with. Meanwhile, Effi seems to be pestering Coller, who is completely ignoring the small doppelgänger's attempts to get her attention. The atmosphere in the room immediately grows heavy the very moment that Sophia enters, Alura's eyes flicking towards her warily, and Effi almost freezing up.

If you're going to have Sophia get along with the others, you're clearly going to have to take the lead in how it's going to happen.

>Have everyone watch the news on the TV, it's an excellent way to give everyone something to talk about, and you are curious as to what's been going on in the world.
>Start a conversation with everyone, and ensure things remain civil. (Any preferred topic?)
>Look for a board game to play with everyone, there should be a few somewhere in the cabin.
>Have everyone properly introduce themselves to each other, and demonstrate just what they can do.
>Write-in...

>>4227184
>Have everyone watch the news on the TV, it's an excellent way to give everyone something to talk about, and you are curious as to what's been going on in the world.
Although I was against movie night, the news is a different story. I definitely want to see whether any of our actions have made it onto the news, and how Dorin spun it if they did.

>>4227184
>>Have everyone watch the news on the TV, it's an excellent way to give everyone something to talk about, and you are curious as to what's been going on in the world.

>>4227184
>Look for a board game to play with everyone, there should be a few somewhere in the cabin.
Can anyone think of simple 7 player board games?
8 If we want to bring out Mistral.

>>4227184
>Have everyone watch the news on the TV, it's an excellent way to give everyone something to talk about, and you are curious as to what's been going on in the world.
Not the time for Huey Lewis and His News?

>>4227182
>actually manage cause the wall you hit to cave in around your fist, making you spend a few awkward moments pulling your hand out of the hole you've created
anime protag powerlevel problems?
>Grigori has been moderately helpful, and after the amount of unearned abuse he's taken, you don't really want to kick the man while he's down.
Going from
>It ought to get a rise from him at least. For somebody who seems to try so hard to remain cool under pressure, you're interested to see how he deals with an accusation of cowardice.
to that shows how Arthur is. He provoked Grigori a small amount to check his situation, then reprimanded the others for jumping at the opportunity to shit on him once Arthur affirmed that he was still under pressure. That "unearned abuse" tidbit also feels like something he MAYBE might think of his own past, perhaps at the hands of his family ditching him? Maybe I might be reading wrongly into things here, but basically Arthur is based.
>Hopefully, Grigori will think about things and come to his own conclusions. There's no sense in forcing him to get along with the others. He does seem to be quite the fish out of water.
This line from Arthur mirrors how he's been since the start of the quest he's in too. A lot of things for Arthur to think about just from this interaction alone. Thanks based WhatIsAQM.

>>4227184
>Have everyone watch the news on the TV, it's an excellent way to give everyone something to talk about, and you are curious as to what's been going on in the world.
I'm ready for the MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES broadcast courtesy of our friendly vampire.
Also cry more Grigori you Ruskie simp.

Huh, why do you guys think watching the news is going to be a great team-building exercise?

>>4228311
We are trying to break the ice, the news might spur a bit of discussion

>>4228316
Hm. I feel like playing a game where you're all subject to the same rules would be better at doing that.

>>4228318
Do these ragtag bunch of evil monster girls look like they would love playing monopoly?

>>4228318
Play Monopoly. Then we can all hate each other.

>>4228325
>>4228326
I was thinking something more even than Monopoly, like Risk.

>>4228329
More awful than even Monopoly? Yeah, that might do it.

>>4228329
Just play Operation. And when everyone is too good at it play Chutes and Ladders.

>>4228349
Too many people.
I guess we could just play monopoly and rage at the dice rolls.

>>4228351
You really hate fun, huh?

>>4228351
We could try Jenga, it'd be fun to see how having superpowers changes the experience.

>>4228353
It's all about the experience.
If we all come to hate the game, we'll grow closer!

>>4228354
That could be fun, until we stack the tower perfectly and the boat rocks on someone's turn and everyone starts arguing about it.

>>4228354
How about Yahtzee?

>>4228356
No one hates Monopoly. They just hate the people they play it with. And then later they say they were mad at the game. We all know the truth. Monopoly makes you hate everyone in a six foot diameter around the board.

>>4228311
>Huh, why do you guys think watching the news is going to be a great team-building exercise?
We already wasted a massive amount of time on "fun" with the movie thing, the last thing we should be doing is depriving yet another update of any points of interest by playing a board game.
I just want to see what's on the news.

>>4228371
That's even more dice heavy, and not particularly fun either.

>>4228384
>Drag Sophia from fixing her spells to help the group become adjusted to her presence.
>Just have her give haughty commentary on the news making everyone fear her even more.
>He thinks the news will have anything about the Mansion incident even though the Dorin organization was involved.

>>4228391
There is nothing more fun than shouting Yahtzee.

>>4228393
I can do that without playing it. I'm doing it right now.

>>4228397
IMPOSSIBLE

This is some sort of trick. I'm calling the Church.

We should play poker. Wagering favors. Or clothes. We don't really have anything else we can bet with. I guess we could play with pain but I don't feel like getting fingernails ripped out because someone got two pair is very agreeable.

>>4228417
Poker sounds really good.
I'm down.
5 card draw, Texas hold-em?
Let's play for fun for now, this is supposed to make us friendlier.

>>4228417
>>4228417
I just had the greatest idea, let's play Cards Against Humanity. The name is perfect for them.

>>4228429
I feel like most of the humor would be lost on them. Anna and Grigori would get a kick out of it, Holly too. But Effi lived in the woods, Alura is literally the woods, and Sophia has a sense of humor some hundred years out of date. Coller is a robot. Sort of. It's hard to get a read on her.

>>4228428
I guess Arthur would be the dealer? Hope he knows some card tricks.

We could always try bringing them together with a children's card game.

>>4228501
Go fish.

You're all talking about board games, but watching the news is winning 4-1
I am quite genuinely confused here.

>>4228510
I still want to watch the news but I like the small talk.

>>4228510
Part of me wants urban fantasy shenanigans like the following individuals playing poker.
>a young male human with a fancy living plant suit and magic erase tool powers, and Dracula living in his head along with a chained-up loli
>a tiny bitch wind fairy goddess thing that sleeps a lot, bitches a lot, and loves burgers
>an overpowered plant woman essentially born yesterday that loves red fluids thicker than water but also loves white fluids thicker than blood
>a botanist/alchemist human girl whose family worked for Drac and is the "mom" of the aforementioned plant woman, who had all her work destroyed and had to go on the run
>an emotionless terminator girl that might have been human once and has had barely any character development so far, and only obeys the former botanist/alchemist girl
>a young male human assassin with ice powers from Russia who has never failed a job once, except for literally just recently, and was impersonated while asleep
>a doppleganger loli with perfect memory retention and recall who watched her mom die right in front of her, and grew up in the woods for most of her life
>a former human girl that used to be a cute glasses girl hotel secretary person geek, but is now a cute glasses girl vampire with an evil split personality and who not only has poor impulse control, but also craves blood along with something else...
>a former human ojou-sama from 100 years ago that got turned and spent 75 years in a fucking vault conscious the whole time and is a sadist despite blushing the moment ANYTHING remotely lewd happens
Because you can't have any quest based on anime shit like Castlevania without at least some levity and hilarity.

"Everyone, why don't we see what's going on in the world today? Getting an understanding of just what's been happening might be good for all of us, and for Alura and Effi, I suppose it's a good opportunity to learn about the world in a more... grounded sense." Alura was the one who actually put the news on anyway, be it by mistake or out of actual interest. "Sophia will be joining us."

"The news hmm? Well, I suppose taking a look into mundane affairs might be interesting, and I truly need to catch up on recent events, I've only done a little, and a lot seems to have happened since my imprisonment... I never would have expected that they would've managed to reach the moon." Of course, Sophia might need some catching up on world affairs too. Being locked away for as long as she has, the world has left her behind in it's rapid advancement.

"So you'll be joining us then... vampire?" Alura barely disguises her hostility behind a thin smile.

"Why of course, Alura. Arthur has decided that we as a group should get along better, and I do agree. I don't want you to consider me as some sort of enemy, after all, that would just be dreadful. We are all after the same thing, are we not? Though our reasons might be different, our goals are identical, so why don't we get along?" She returns Alura's false smile with a genuine looking smile of her own.

Alura for her part doesn't quite know how to respond to the sudden offer of friendship, her face shifting through emotions rapidly, first indignation, then confusion, then finally settling on caution. "Fine. If you're actually serious about this, then... I suppose I won't cause any problems. Goodness knows the last thing we need is more in-fighting." Alura sighs, defeated by Sophia's charismatic approach to things combined with the natural charisma possessed by a vampire, even extending to other monsters, it seems. You wish she had just taken a diplomatic approach from the start, you could've really avoided so many problems had she done so.

"Excellent! Effi, you'll be sitting with me." Sophia takes the small doppelgänger's hand in her own as she saunters towards the sofas, sitting in the center of a three seater and having Effi sit next to her, the doppelgänger still too stunned to properly react. Sophia has been giving Effi quite a lot of attention, is she perhaps interested in her nature as a doppelgänger? How rare are doppelgängers supposed to be, anyway? Could they in fact be some sort of... magical endangered species? Though given how versatile Effi's abilities are, it's practically a guarantee that at least somebody would take note of her, especially given her young age.

Effi seems to snap out of her daze, but isn't so foolish as to protest now she's already been seated next to the rather overbearing vampire. She instead silently turns to watch the news. Everyone else seems to just accept the chosen activity and sits to watch the news, except for Coller, who remains standing despite walking to get a better view of the screen.

As you finally take notice of the contents of the news broadcast, you're taken aback by the scene of destruction laid out before you. Filmed from the perspective of a helicopter hovering above is a decimated town, ravaged by the obliterating force of a powerful bomb. Despite the ruined buildings and cars, you recognize the city. You even recognise the burned out wreck of the apartments you used to live in.

A calm voice over speaks as the helicopters flies above the city "The damage caused by the gas explosions is catastrophic. Currently, estimates suggest at least thousands of dead, with countless more injured. People are angry and want answers, but the government simply has none to give right now." You don't really know what to make of this, except that the likelihood this was some sort of accident or natural disaster is almost non-existent.

"Oh my, this Dorin Organization really do go over the top don't they? I don't think I killed that many more than a thousand or so, but to level so much of a city to cover things up? Even after I made sure not to leave even a single piece of the corpses left? Even after I went through so much effort to ensure there were no witnesses left alive?" There's disappointment and shock in Sophia's voice, surprised at the lengths that have been gone to in order to hide her crimes.

"Excuse me, Sophia... what?" You can hardly hide your own shock, at the sudden admission of mass murder. Holly has a guilty look on her face, Effi has a strange look of admiration on hers, and Alura just looks... jealous? Anna doesn't seem to even take note of the killing, looking decidedly disinterested at the deaths.

"I hadn't fed properly in a thousand years, and those fools that tried to attack Holly and I were hardly enough to quench my thirst." She dismisses just how serious what she did was with a careless wave of her hand. "I could hardly return to my full power by feeding like I normally would, it would have taken months!" She looks you straight in the eyes. "You understand, don't you, Arthur?"

>"Of course." While Sophia may have callously killed a thousand people, those covering up her actions caused far more death regardless.
>"There's nothing to say about it now." this is a dangerous reminder of just how dangerous both your allies and enemies can be.
>"It's a little... excessive, isn't it?" It's such an obvious display of power, she's practically invited the Dorin Organization to deal with her with extreme prejudice.
>Write-in...

>>4228657
>>"It's a little... excessive, isn't it?" It's such an obvious display of power, she's practically invited the Dorin Organization to deal with her with extreme prejudice.
Yeah, you might have miscalculated a little. Here's hoping it was worth it.

>>4228657
>>"It's a little... excessive, isn't it?" It's such an obvious display of power, she's practically invited the Dorin Organization to deal with her with extreme prejudice.
I mean what's done is done and all but damn. This is the kind of shit that gets actual kill-teams sent your way. And when that fails they just take the scorched earth option. Like they did. As long as this doesn't become a regular thing but man.

Sure she has actual magic and not just cheap parlor tricks to use now but you'd think she'd be at least a little more wary of the potential threat the organization which had previously caught her carries and not just go 210% in three minutes of getting loose. Maybe she just likes to have a target on her back.

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>>4228657
>"It's a little... excessive, isn't it?" It's such an obvious display of power, she's practically invited the Dorin Organization to deal with her with extreme prejudice.
I'm a little more open to sinking the ship now, they might send Orthodox death squads after us if we don't.

>>4228682
I don't think that's gonna help us more than them but I guess the people here are dead anyways.

>>4228657
>"It's a little... excessive, isn't it?" It's such an obvious display of power, she's practically invited the Dorin Organization to deal with her with extreme prejudice.
Yet another instance of Sophia going in and not thinking of consequences. As expected of a vampire.

>>4228657
>"Of course." While Sophia may have callously killed a thousand people, those covering up her actions caused far more death regardless.
It's really the only reasonable answer.

>>4228657
>"Of course." While Sophia may have callously killed a thousand people, those covering up her actions caused far more death regardless.

>>4228732
I agree.
It's literally just a thousand people.
They couldn't come up with a better excuse like there being a localized pathogen or something?
They're disgusting.

>>4228657
>"Of course." While Sophia may have callously killed a thousand people, those covering up her actions caused far more death regardless.
If we got all offended now we'd be contradicting the choice a couple updates ago to make our peace with killing innocent people. Plus getting mad at Sophie doesn't actually change anything, it just sets up team strife.

>>4228763
It isn't about people dying. It's about drawing attention.

>>4228766
dude it was just 1k people in a city
they're like bugs in those things
nobody will care

>>4228767
Well the Dorin organization obviously cared. And that's the point.

>>4228766
Because otherwise the organization wasn't going to pay any attention to the vampire powerful enough that they couldn't kill her and had to keep her locked up for 70 years instead. That makes sense.
Face it. We have the biggest target in the world painted on our back just by being alive and free of them. Sophia didn't make that worse by doing exactly what anyone with a working brain expects an escaped vampire to do.

>>4228782
What? She only killed like .1% of the population there.
The Dorin Organization went whole scorched earth and demolished the city.
Why don't you think that's a disproportionate response?

>>4228793
If she was really that important to them they would have had the facility actually be guarded and not just leave the place empty save for the possible occasional Shirley staying at the place. It's pretty clear they hadn't put much stock into her escaping. I think you think they think too highly of her. Words.

>>4228799
Vampires man. She could have infected dozens of people for all they knew. May as well go full vietnam on the place.

>>4228816
>Giant organization that can use magic to make diagnoses
>Just leveled the entire city instad of tyring to quarantine it or turn them back
They are E V I L

>>4228657
Switching to
>"There's nothing to say about it now." this is a dangerous reminder of just how dangerous both your allies and enemies can be.
Her lack of foresight is a long-term concern but she has helped us a bit on this boat.

>>4228823
I'm calling it now, there'll be a future plot twist in which we discover that the head of the Dorin Organization is actually a powerful vampire who founded it as a Metal Gear-style coverup for his/her plan of world conquest.

>>4228823
Nono anon we're evil. They're just doing what is "necessary". They had no other options. It was the only way to be sure. They're the good guys, anon. They're the heroes. Of course they wouldn't expect foolish evil cultists like us to understand. They have the power of God AND anime on their side.

It all checks out.

>>4228832
E V I L
V
I
L

>>4228838
Deus vult.

>>4228826
If anything we should get it out of the way now, also so neither Alura or Effi get any funny ideas either.

>>4228763
As much as I would want to change my vote due to you going
>"If we got all offended now we'd be contradicting the choice a couple updates ago to make our peace with killing innocent people."
Is that more due to US (Arthur specifically) killing innocent people or OUR FACTION killing innocent people? Or whatever?

>>4228657
WhatIs, I am rescinding my vote in >>4228705 fully. I don't give a fuck if this makes the vote a tie, I feel that this response is important regarding Arthur's characterization enough that forcing a tie to talk it through is best.

I want to minimize how much "schizophrenic PC syndrome" Arthur suffers from this quest. That's why.

>>4228657
While I hate making ties, >>4229327 has convinced me to switch back to
>"It's a little... excessive, isn't it?" It's such an obvious display of power, she's practically invited the Dorin Organization to deal with her with extreme prejudice.
Since the choice only makes note of how conspicuous the loss of life was, rather than the fact that lives were lost or the innocence of said lives.

>>4229327
Arthur has thought to himself several times that he wouldn't begrudge the murders his friends commit, and just made his own peace with murdering people.
Any choice but 'Of course." Makes absolutely zero sense for Arthur's integrity.

>>4229366
She said she went out of her way to cover up her massacre.
Then the Dorin Organization came and blew the city up.
I'd say she probably made it look decently inconspicuous.
It's not like she went to a mall and made the thing vanish mid-day while it's busy.

>>4229372
The sudden disappearances themselves could be argued as evidence. We also live in the internet age so she was probably caught on camera.

I'll rescind my vote.

We are now at
>>4228671 excessive
>>4228672 excessive
>>4228682 excessive (SWITCHED)
>>4228705 excessive (RESCINDED in >>4229327)
>>4228732 of course
>>4228740 of course
>>4228763 of course
>>4228826 nothing to say (SWITCHED)
>>4229366 excessive (RESCINDED in >>4229379)

Final tally so far:
Of course = 3
Excessive = 2
Nothing to say = 0
Write-ins = 0

>>4228657
>"Of course." While Sophia may have callously killed a thousand people, those covering up her actions caused far more death regardless.
>the good guys are the bad guys
>so are the bad guys
Huh.
Well it's not like a powerful escaped vampire wouldn't already be a major target.
And we've got Alucard and a Belmont on our ass anyway.
Ok so what are the odds that the good guys had "no choice" but to explode shit because it's far easier to explain than a thousand people suddenly vanishing without leaving a body?
Is Alucard ok with this?
What about Kokoro?
>>4228823
>turn them back
I think there's only one person who could ever do that anyway, and she'd be like 100 years old right now so she's probably dead.
RIP best girl.
>>4228830
I think it's named after the shopkeeper in PoR who gets turned and then turned back isn't it?
I wonder if there are any persistent effects on somebody cured from vampirism.
I will laugh so hard if the good guy organization is actually being led by a vampire.

>>4229678
>what about kokoro
I bet they tell Kokoro all of 1 whole detail about any given situation she's allowed to deal with. She probably only knows that Arthur has some monsters at his side, possibly a vampire, and that's it.

>>4229678
Did you guys forget the interlude where Alucard said he's the actual head of the organization?

>>4229703
>Alucard
>a competent leader
He's a figurehead one hundred percent.
Waaaay to broody and prone to century long disappearing acts to be an effective leader.
I'm betting all the actual decisions are made by somebody else.

>>4229751
He's not really a figurehead either since he stays out of the spotlight. It's more that since he's the oldest and strongest person they got he's nominally in charge even though he lets their analysts and prophets or whatever they have tell people where to go and what to do. It'd probably be the same deal if Julius was in charge.

>>4229792
God.
Alucard is just useless isn't he?
I really want to talk trash to him but I get the awful feeling that he'd beat us to a bloody pulp.
Mistral or Chaos please give us more powerups.

I can't be the only one that thinks things have been going TOO well, right?
I don't think Arthur has ever really tasted defeat.
Mostly because it seems like we've seducing any enemy that could've beaten us in a fight.
Quick, let's accidentally run into Kokoro and make her fall for us before she crushes everyone with Belmont cheat powers!

>>4230176
I'm reasonably certain the only thing alive right now that could beat Alucard would be Julius after he got his memories back. If he didn't spend hundreds of years being a broodboi and instead actively took steps to create a proper righteous organization to combat evil we probably would have been recaptured and/or killed already. You should be happy he's such a sad abloobloo lad.

Dude isn't Kokoro like 14 or something? Not even we could face Chris Hanson in a deathmatch. We're probably not bishie enough for her anyway.

>>4230222
Arthur is pretty fuckin Bishi, anon.
Where is that portrait that WhatIs approved?
>Isn't Kokoro like 14?
>Dorin uses child soldiers.
How ghastly our enemies are!
I think she's 15 or 16 though.
Also the age of consent in Europe mostly ranges from 14-16.
Chris Hansen has no power here.

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>>4230243
But he isn't bishie enough. His hair needs to be at least thrice as long before he is enough for the Smol Berumondo.

>tfw half the people who go to fight dracula have been children and the other half have been old men

Whew, dodged a bullet there. Unless we get extradited for the destruction of that manor, we were an accomplice after all. Hm.

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>>4230259
Bishy
As
Fuck.

It's no wonder the ladies are all falling for this handsome motherfucker. How much of a yandere must Shirley have been in school to stop other girls from going after him?

>>4230222
Wasted trips. Most sane places, even in burgerland, have the AoC set to 16.