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vdate posted:I'll cast the dissenting vote here and say we should face Ignarius and the Tempers. We've not seen him in a while, and he seemed a decent enough sort. Easier to get along with than most of the team leads, anyway. Going with this. It feels lonely without Jodariel and Hedwyn here. When Jodariel was gone, everyone got messed up in their own way, especially Hedwyn who missed her the most. But now that he's gone, there's no one left to mourn him.
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Apr 16, 2018 02:33
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vdate posted:I'll cast the dissenting vote here and say we should face Ignarius and the Tempers. We've not seen him in a while, and he seemed a decent enough sort. Easier to get along with than most of the team leads, anyway. This is the very reason we shouldn't fight him. Give him a chance to build up and hopefully we can fight in the finals and know that whatever happens somebody decent will be making it out of this hellhole.
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Apr 16, 2018 03:10
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I think Udmildhe and her cultists should be kept as far away from the Liberation Rite as possible. Let us withdraw the Withdrawn from the tournament.
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Apr 16, 2018 04:13
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Let's fight The Tempers. When we next trash Udmildhe, it should be at the pinnacle of Mount Alodiel, in full view of the entire Downside, so her defeat is final and absolute. Fuckin' destroy her.
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Apr 16, 2018 04:29
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By my count, it's six to fight Udmildhe and three for Ignarius, so we'll be paying our favourite cultist a visit.
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Apr 16, 2018 04:47
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Are the demons just regular humans that grow horns from being in the Downside for too long? I thought it was kind of odd that Jodariel was just a big blond woman with horns, while Ignarius looks like Tim Curry from Legend.
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Apr 16, 2018 07:57
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A good poster posted:Are the demons just regular humans that grow horns from being in the Downside for too long? I thought it was kind of odd that Jodariel was just a big blond woman with horns, while Ignarius looks like Tim Curry from Legend. Correct. The longer the horns, they longer they've been down there. After we liberated Jodariel, Mae once wondered if her horns have started to recede, so, the reverse holds true as well when humans escape the Downside.
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Apr 16, 2018 08:20
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Ahhh I love this game so much and have so many words about the themes and junk but I'll save that for juuuust a bit longer. It's nice to see a different point of view; my first time through I freed Hedwyn and then Rukey, so it was quite different. With that in mind, let's smack down Udmildhe because if anyone should never get the chance to have a Liberation Rite it's her. A good poster posted:Are the demons just regular humans that grow horns from being in the Downside for too long? I thought it was kind of odd that Jodariel was just a big blond woman with horns, while Ignarius looks like Tim Curry from Legend.
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Apr 16, 2018 09:27
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Maple Leaf posted:After we liberated Jodariel, Mae once wondered if her horns have started to recede, so, the reverse holds true as well when humans escape the Downside. Oh huh, I read that line as Mae just wondering, without knowing whether or not they return to normal.
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Apr 16, 2018 10:47
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I wonder if how quickly you grow horns is a factor of your emotional state and outlook. If someone who loses hope turns into a demon quickly, or if people who turn into demons lose their hope. And if that's true, then how fast did old Soliam Murr turn into a demon, smothered by the shame of what he'd done to his empire? And did Gol resist the change because of his single-minded devotion to his mission, first to kill Soliam and then to fulfill his dream?
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Apr 16, 2018 19:54
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IMJack posted:I wonder if how quickly you grow horns is a factor of your emotional state and outlook. If someone who loses hope turns into a demon quickly, or if people who turn into demons lose their hope. It's an interesting idea. From the book it sounds like Soliam went demon almost immediately - there's been no account of anyone finding him in human form in the Downside; even Ha'ub doesn't mention him changing.
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Apr 16, 2018 20:02
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IMJack posted:And if that's true, then how fast did old Soliam Murr turn into a demon, smothered by the shame of what he'd done to his empire? Do we know what happened? And that he was exiled because of it? I must've read past it, if we do...
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Apr 16, 2018 21:45
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placid saviour posted:Do we know what happened? And that he was exiled because of it? I must've read past it, if we do... The story, as I understand it, from the bits that we've seen from the Book thus far: Armies ravaged the countries surrounding the empire of Sahr, expanding it as a tribute to the ego of Soliam Murr, its final emperor. Murr was a hands-off kind of ruler in the main, because he mostly didn't care what happened to his country, seeing the empire largely as a means to feed his ego. A Celestial Orb fell from the heavens and landed in the Downside sometime during this period, and Murr's chief advisor, Khaylmer Rope-Caller, suggested that the Orb was a treasure that would make a PROPER testament to Murr's greatness! Murr (being an egomaniac running his country into the ground in an attempt to self-aggrandize) was sold on this idea! Nevermind that nobody ever came back from the downside, or whatever - he had treasure to chase! So Murr sailed downriver of his own accord, but instigated by Khaylmer Rope-Caller. Depending on how charitable you feel, Khaylmer did this either because a) HE'D be in charge with Murr gone, or b) because Murr was running the Empire into the ground, and he figured sending him on a one-way wild goose chase was preferable to the alternative. En route to the border between the Empire proper and the Downside (possibly a gargantuan waterfall or something?), he saw the suffering of his people caused by his actions and felt a touch sketched out, but this didn't really take root until he got shipwrecked during the journey, and washed up in the Downside with nothing, accompanied by nobody. That's around when the scope of his fuckups really settled in. Overwhelmed by the realization of what he'd done, he figured he would just go ahead and wait for death, but instead an unusually intelligent imp found him and nursed him back to health - that imp being Ha'ub. Meanwhile, upriver, all sorts of people assume he's dead, but just to be sure, they send a cavalcade of assassins and Bad Enough Dudes downriver to finish the job if they're wrong about that. Among their numbers are both Sandra and the other Sisters of the Arch (an apparently publicly-recognized-and-sanctioned order of assassins), and Gol Golathanian, the Emperor's chief general. Back in the Downside, Murr has both been demon'd already and has decided to devote himself to repentance... somehow. Golathanian recognizes this when they meet again, and stays his hand. Sandra disagrees (or just doesn't care), and tries to shank him anyway. Golathanian and Ha'ub fend off Sandra and co., whom they take captive rather than killing. Murr, Golathanian, and Ha'ub then wander around the Downside, meeting and recruiting new friends (specifically, Saint Triesta Tithis of the Harps, Lu Sclorian the Hundred-Minds of the Saps, Underking Ores of the Wyrms, Molten Milithe of the Bog-Crones, and Jomuer Many-Mane of the Curs), and apparently shanking Titans as a bit of light entertainment. Eventually, they settled down, became 'the Scribes', wrote some number of copies of the Book of Rites , and started the Sportsball league as a means to allow people a way back to the Empire. I've tried to leave out stuff that I don't think Maple Leaf has posted the page for yet, but I'm pretty sure all this has been detailed, either in the book proper or in other in-game text. Anything I've missed, I'm sure somebody will let me know.
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Apr 16, 2018 22:40
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Kinda weird how many people are cool with just heading off into an inescapable netherworld that is so bad it'd later be used to punish hated criminals with banishment.
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Apr 16, 2018 22:51
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Really Pants posted:Udmildhe vs. Bertrude. HOT BOG-WITCH MUD WRESTLING ACTION This, Udmildhe. Bertrude is goddamned devastating. Probably the best murderballer in the game, depending how you feel about Objectively Incorrect Murder-Specced Pamitha. My lategame team where possible was Pamitha/Xae, Bertrude, and Whoever I'm Sending Upstairs Next Because I Probably Won't Be Using Them To Do Anything In The Match.
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Apr 16, 2018 23:34
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GunnerJ posted:Kinda weird how many people are cool with just heading off into an inescapable netherworld that is so bad it'd later be used to punish hated criminals with banishment. At the very least, I think Soliam Murr didn't think his cunning plan all the way through, while the others just wanted to be sure he was dead that badly. Also, at least in the case of the Harps I think they might be able to just fly out of the the Downside - that's why they're clipped before being cast down, so that they can't just fly out again.
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Apr 17, 2018 00:41
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vdate posted:Also, at least in the case of the Harps I think they might be able to just fly out of the the Downside - that's why they're clipped before being cast down, so that they can't just fly out again. I'm not so sure about that - if you could fly out, why couldn't the Highwing Remnants just come down and rescue their sisters that the Commonwealth threw below? I suppose they might just not care but I got the impression Tamitha was a pretty significant asset to them.
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Apr 17, 2018 00:44
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It's possible the route back upstairs (or the now-one-way delivery systems) functioned normally-ish prior to the ascension of the Scribes, or alternatively that Soliam Murr was just that darn confident that if he laid claim to the Orb that he could create an elevator.
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Apr 17, 2018 00:55
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GreyjoyBastard posted:It's possible the route back upstairs (or the now-one-way delivery systems) functioned normally-ish prior to the ascension of the Scribes, or alternatively that Soliam Murr was just that darn confident that if he laid claim to the Orb that he could create an elevator. Or Khaylmer left out a lot of detail when telling Soliam about the Downside, and Soliam was naive enough to trust that everything would be taken care of.
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Apr 17, 2018 01:34
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Tenebrais posted:I'm not so sure about that - if you could fly out, why couldn't the Highwing Remnants just come down and rescue their sisters that the Commonwealth threw below? I suppose they might just not care but I got the impression Tamitha was a pretty significant asset to them. Fair point, and one I hadn't considered. My comment was based on Volfred's passing note that the blackwagon can't fly high enough to just fly us out of here, which is what confirmed for me that the Commonwealth and the Downside aren't, like, separate planes of existence, just separated by some intense geographic barriers. Possibly the journey is rather too much for even winged folk to make under their own power - at least while carrying another of similar weight. (In general, the geography/topography of these places is pretty unclear to me, since it's obvious that in some places the usual rules don't apply. The Fall of Soliam is the big example there, since in the background of that arena there's a waterfall falling up into the sky. Presumably people don't use this as an escape route for the same reason that they don't swim down waterfalls in the real world.) vdate fucked around with this message at 14:45 on Apr 17, 2018 |
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Apr 17, 2018 14:40
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vdate posted:Fair point, and one I hadn't considered. My comment was based on Volfred's passing note that the blackwagon can't fly high enough to just fly us out of here, which is what confirmed for me that the Commonwealth and the Downside aren't, like, separate planes of existence, just separated by some intense geographic barriers. Possibly the journey is rather too much for even winged folk to make under their own power - at least while carrying another of similar weight. Though now that I think about it, the Downside could be the interior of a sort of hollow-world type model, and is found inside the world itself? I think at some point they in one of the texts they mentioned that the existence of Downside caused them to reconsider everything they thought they knew of the geography of the world. Given all of the other explicitly magical junk connected to the Scribes and Greater Titans it doesn't seem to be a long shot that the stars you see from the Downside aren't the same stars you'd see on the surface. Either that or some sort of magical demiplane that is reached by way of the falls.
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Apr 18, 2018 09:51
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Bacchante posted:. Given all of the other explicitly magical junk connected to the Scribes and Greater Titans it doesn't seem to be a long shot that the stars you see from the Downside aren't the same stars you'd see on the surface. Didn't one of the early text highlight bits say the Commonwealth worship the stars? I wonder if they see the Titan stars overwhelming the regular ones. And what it means for them. Maybe that is why we got a 15% success chance before even freeing Jodi.
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Apr 18, 2018 13:21
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I'm looking forward to seeing what's going on with the bog-witches now that we've got one. The giant fan aura wave looks pretty nice, but given how obstacles show up in these Rites we've needed a regular corridor shot so many times I wonder how useful it's going to be.
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Apr 18, 2018 20:17
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Glazius posted:I'm looking forward to seeing what's going on with the bog-witches now that we've got one. The giant fan aura wave looks pretty nice, but given how obstacles show up in these Rites we've needed a regular corridor shot so many times I wonder how useful it's going to be. 
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Apr 18, 2018 21:55
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  Gfy  : With the inclusion of a bog-crone of our own, we decided on cracking down on Udmildhe for some intense snake-person on snake-person action. Udmildhe shouldn’t be given any chance to advance at all, so it’s our job to head her way and slap her around a bit. : You are set to re-encounter the Withdrawn, led by Witch Udmildhe. However outlandish her intentions seem, one ought beware of her. : He then reveals what he has learned of her and her designs.  : Dread Design – Music: Her kind was known to be reclusive in the Commonwealth, yet she was brazen in her disdain for common values. She practiced the unspeakable.: Somehow, one day, her research into flammable reagents grew into an obsession with Yslach, despite widely-held belief that he is dead, or never did exist. But Udmildhe held that Yslach is merely dormant, and shall someday be reborn, with newfound hunger… which could only be sated by devouring the world.: Then at last could Yslach return to his glorious home – and Udmildhe would go with him. When Commonwealth officials showed up to take Udmildhe in for spreading unrest, she was all too eager to comply. After all, a sentence to the Downside meant being that much closer to Yslach’s resting place, where she believed she had much work to do… where the Withdrawn stood ready to assist. : You bid The Lone Minstreal a restful night, in kind. It is too late to take flight, so you expect to press onward come daylight. : Like I said when we first met Udmildhe, if anyone could really be called a ‘villain’ in Pyre, it’d probably be her. There are others that fit the bill, of course – Tamitha wants to kill everyone in the Commonwealth and Manley only cares about himself – but Udmildhe is actively trying to summon an eldritch god to devour the world.: That’s a lot to take in… let’s see who’s in the mood for a chat to try and help us parse what we just learned.  : You find Big Bertrude looking about the blackwagon in a disapproving way. She fixes her gaze on you. Her expression does not change. : Nrrrrggghh… such a clutter, added to this wagon, since we looked upon it last. Unsightly.: We remember thee, from our abode in Flagging Hands. Then, thou must be the Reading-One to whom Sandalwood referred.   : That one such as thee can extract meaning from that tome… ‘twas a feat we wished to witness for ourselves. Thy flesh has seen but the smallest fraction of the years which ours withstood, and yet, we are expected to believe that thou canst understand the Book of Rites….: I just noticed… it appears as though Bertrude is… missing skin and muscle from her right arm. Also, her horns are pretty long, if spindly… I wonder how long she’s been down here.: Then, she backs away, for someone else has joined you.  : Nrrgghhhh… we have been unable to locate a supply of rotworm gizzard extract among thy belongings. Other than that, we shall lodge no complaint, at present.: It is possible that Volfred has a small supply among his possessions here. If you would care to accompany me, we may yet procure some.: …That would be agreeable with us.: Then, after you, madam.: As they depart, you think you see The Lone Minstrel nod his head your way.: Tariq with the save. It was getting a little cramped in there.: Although Bertrude isn’t here to, uh, ‘witness’ us reading the Book, we might as well not waste time and give it a leaf or two. We’ve unlocked a handful of pages, after all. Gfy   : According to this, I had it wrong: Archbeast Sung-Gries wasn’t fought on the mountain; it was the mountain. Mount Alodiel was created when Sung-Gries was struck down, and the mountain became its skeleton; the Fall of Soliam is its eye, from which it can see the Commonwealth and all of the Downside.: It took all eight of the Scribes to strike down Sung-Gries. That’s badass. : We have a witch to hunt.: You rise early that morning, though Bertrude is already awake. She scowls at you. : Good morning, Reader. Bertrude. I trust your stay has been not too uncomfortable?: Nay, Sandalwood… the comforts of this place are not for us. Fly us forth from here, to lower ground. Let us get on with all of this. : The Reader here shall do so, once the group is ready. I thank you for your patience.  Gfy : My usual thing when I first take flight is to do a lap around the area and see if there’s anything new or interesting to see. The environment of Mount Alodiel might be different now that so much time has passed, and it’s raining pretty hard. : No such luck, though. However…. : … there appears to be something new that catches our eye here at Murr Pass, in the Sclorian Shore.: Soaring far above the Sclorian Shore, you notice Pamitha gazing down at the frozen cliffs below. : …That damned place, down there… I like it least of all, I think, among everywhere we’ve been. I’m thankful that there’s been no reason to return. : …Reminds me of my home, is all…. The Highwing Remnants… we all grew accustomed to the thinner air, amid the cliffs that breaches the clouds above your Commonwealth. : But, it was not the nicest place. Little wonder that my Sisters settled for a rather warmer base of operation in this land, there, by the Nest of Triesta.: …Anyway, I’m pleased to have to spend as little time as possible near here. Let’s fly on by, and go about our business. : …Something tells me there’s more to this place than that. The only time we’ve spent an extended period of time here is when we were passing through by boat on our way to our first Liberation Rite. To garner this must distaste for a place we’ve basically only glanced at seems a bit much.: Like a lot of things that are and were related to Pamitha, I’m sure we’ll learn more about what’s up here some other time. : Moving into Black Basin, we see that Barker’s set up camp just a little ways south from the Nest of Triesta, and that the Tempers are heading on their way to wherever their own stars are taking them.: I could knock on his wagonplane and say hello, but I’ve bothered the poor guy enough, I think. We don’t know what Ignarius’ crime is and our few short interactions with him have cast him in a mostly-sympathetic light. He doesn’t need us pissing in his cereal every chance we get. : On the other side of the basin, there’s Manley, dressing his wounds after his crushing failure at his one chance to gain his freedom. Hopefully, whoever he plays next will treat him with as much courtesy as I did. That cheating rear end in a top hat. : …Interestingly, there’s a place to play Sportsball in the middle of the ocean. We’ve never had the opportunity to play in the Isle of Khaylmer, and it looks like Lendel and the Accusers are here to beat us to the honour of having a round there. Maybe we’ll be invited there someday. : Moving southward, into the Sea of Solis, we see the Pyrehearts picking up and heading southward themselves. I give them a break too; as much as Sir Deluge is not a sympathetic character, we have more pressing things to do than just bother some old frenemies in the air. Besides, I doubt I could catch them before they cross the border into the next biome. : That’s Tamitha and the Essence…: …gently caress it, let’s ‘say’ ‘hello.’  : Would that these blasted Rites did not impose such arbitrary rules, then we would use our talons, here and now, rather than words.: Jodariel would have loved to hear you say that. : Know this, you fools. However high you may attempt to fly in that abomination, you shall always be beneath us! : Looking forward to our next Rite together, Tamitha! : Flagging Hands has exactly one point of interest on it, and, predictably, it’s on Bertrude’s House. Let’s see if she’s homesick already.: Bertrude slithers up to you as the blackwagon passes through the skies above her former abode.: Our kind, who lurk below; they would scarce believe we soar above them now. We told them, when Sandalwood came to fetch us, that we shall not return for some time. Our most-accomplished laborers, with whom we shared so many moons in exile… we trust that they shall carry forth the reputation of our services. For, we taught them all we know.: She seems almost nostalgic as she lists off the various services provided at Big Bertrude’s. Curses, balms, potions, powders, cleaning reagents, sleep medicines, fungicides, séances… Big Bertrude’s earned quite a name for itself throughout the Downside, for these and other things.: When we are finished here… provided we do not return from whence we came… we shall return to our establishment, and carry on our business there, for there is much demand.: I guess that answers that. ‘Homesick’ might be a bit strong of a word, but she definitely already misses it. It’s impressive that she managed to garage-start-up the most successful business that Wizard’s Prison has ever seen. I wonder if she and Ron are competitors at all, or if their demographics are too different for them to show up in each other’s radars. : Oh, hey Ignarius. Have fun in Flagging Hands. : And here we are, in Jomuer Valley, where our next Rite is to take place against the witch Udmildhe and the Withdrawn. Our final destination is the Cairn of Ha’ub, where, presumably, the imp Ha’ub the Swallow managed to strike down the giant pictured there. Our two travel options are the Shunt and Licksand – both equally-appealing names, if I ever heard them.: Before that, though, the Cairn has a point of interest on it.: The forbidden Cairn of Ha’ub lies below… not many exiles see fit to cross beyond it. Some fear that the listless remains of Shax Six Shoulders shall snatch them up if they attempt to cross. Others simply do not want to pass through to Flagging Hands.: I empathize completely.: Few know its true significance as we do… although, your adversaries the Withdrawn should be on their way there, now. Soon, you shall confront them once again.: All we have to do is decide on where to land.  : Both Mae and Pamitha were in the Liberation Rite to see Hedwyn ascend, but we had put Mae in before her, so we’ll be heading to the Shunt.: Also, it’s an interesting character quirk that Pamitha would be concerned with how the local curs are doing. Maybe she has a soft spot for curs? She implied as much with Rukey when we first met her, although that might have just been her being her default, flirty self.: Anyway! : You briefly wonder where they might be now and how they fare. You now have a little time before having to set forth by land. : You know the drill by now. Let’s see who wants to have a word with us. And we probably picked up a new souvenir from Jomuer Valley, now that we’re here. : Volfred’s looking pretty contemplative. Maybe he wants to share some thoughts about Bertrude?: Volfred is poring over a copy of the Book of Rites as you approach. He looks up at you and smiles.: …The road to freedom, written in a book that hardly anyone believes exists, and fewer still can read and comprehend. Sometimes I marvel how absurd all of this is, my boy. : Tell me something, though. I’ve spent so much time considering the Book, but known so few with whom I could discuss it in much detail.: You’ve had some time to turn through it by now, so… what do you think? Worth all the fuss? : Well, of all these options, I certainly wouldn’t find it ‘tedious.’ We’ve been given a life sentence for the crime of literacy, so reading is something that we’re clearly okay with taking the associated risks for. And, the Book of Rites has given us a first-hand experience into the world of Sportsball. It’s hardly a normal book, and it’s honestly anything but ‘tedious.’ And none of that’s even touching on its contents, like, have you read the drat thing? All of the stories in there are loving kickass!: That said, of the three remaining options… they’re all actually viable answers. I find it fascinating, for all the reasons I just listed, but also, considering there are still so many pages I haven’t unlocked, saying that I only skimmed the book is technically telling the truth – and, saying that I have no opinion would be correct if I didn’t want to try and talk about something I haven’t totally read through.: So, instead of answering based on any truthfulness or how thoroughly I’ve gone through the book, I answer based on Fred’s expression and expectations. The guy’s clearly looking for a fellow fan to gush with, so…. : You tell Volfred the Book has fascinated you, and that you have never seen anything quite like it. He nods slowly as you describe your experience with it.: I share your sentiment… to have in our possession a genuine artefact from a forgotten time… how much of it is exactly true, and how much of it is the Scribes’ retelling of events…: I find it endlessly fascinating to consider, I must admit.: He puts away his copy of the Book with care.: It is amazing that these volumes have survived for all this time, I think. Whatever they are made of has withstood the ravaging effects of time quite well.: Hah, looks like somebody didn’t quite make it to that chapter of the Book yet! : And the ideas there contained… they remain rather provocative, as well.: To think that the Commonwealth disavows of the existence of this Book, despite official recognition of the Eight Scribes. Although, the reasons why are in there, written plain. How fascinating that its secrets have been kept, for all this time.: Anyway, you’ll have to excuse me for my extracurricular interests in its teachings. I used to teach a version of its history. To have access to the real thing has brought me some small pleasure.: Hey, that’s news to me. Volfred was a publisher in his previous life – was he a professor, too? : He turns his attention to other matters, and bids you a good afternoon.: Well, neat, we got to gush with Fred about the Book a little bit, and we learned something new about our Sap overlord. All in all, a pretty relaxing talk.: All this discussion about the Book of Rites has got me hankering for a flip through the Book of Rites. We got some more pages to read, after all. Gfy    : With everything nice and sorted, we have some exploring to do. Mae seems to be in a big ol’ hurry to explore the muddy Shunt from top to bottom.: No one seems very much inclined to explore the blistering environs here, except for Mae, who is more upbeat even than usual. : A sacred bath in mud cleanses the mind! At least, I think it does, but, come look, come look!: I’ve heard of mud baths before, but, what makes this one sacred?: She draws you by the hand toward one of the muddy pits, and jumps right in, laughing. At first you are put off, and yet her joy is infectious. Soon, you are in better spirits, as is she. You return together to the wagon, where you find yourself with time and motivation to pursue your Vocations.  : I don’t think I’m hurting too badly for cash at the moment, but what I am hurting for is some Enlightenment. One of our recruits is seriously lagging behind, and all. Gfy  : Bertrude was asking earlier for us to demonstrate our amazing ability to read. This seems like as good a time as any.: Very well, then, educate us if thou canst.: You and Bertrude spend some time reviewing some of the specific aspects of the Rites, such as the properties of the Aura. You sense she gained something from it.   : drat, Molten Milithe has a pretty intense emblem.: With a new character comes a whole new plethora of perks for us to choose from. Bertrude’s first levels perks are Hex of Defeat and Hex of Victory (Bertrude does five additional points of damage to an enemy’s Pyre if her own Pyre is behind, or ahead, in Pyrepoints, respectively. Having both perks active essentially gives her +5 Glory across the board). Her second level perks, from left to right, are Greater Blast (Bertrude’s Aura can be cast at a wider angle, and it’s already pretty huge); Sudden Blast (the charge-up time before Bertrude can cast her Aura is significantly reduced); Vital Pounce (when Bertrude pounces at an adversary, all her stamina is instantly returned); and Serpent Swiftness (while slithering, Bertrude moves 30% faster and uses 50% less stamina).: And finally, her third-level perks are Stubborn Flame (if Bertrude’s Pyre is weaker than her adversary’s, all opponents take a -10 hit to Glory) and Feral Curse (once per Rite, Bertrude can salute her adversaries to turn them all into Howlers).: The two first-level perks both essentially do the same thing, so it doesn’t quite matter which one of those I prefer. And of the two third-level perks, I’m not a huge fan of saluting, and Stubborn Flame is a nutty bonus – characters with low Glory, such as imps and wyrms, would only be doing five damage per dunk.: That said, I prefer the two second-level perk in the opposite tree. Bertrude’s Quickness isn’t very high, but she’s actually pretty quick once she gets sprinting. Having more stamina to zip around the stage would be a real boon.: In the end, though, I’ve always preferred to be the tank, not the DPS, and nothing says ‘I absolutely refuse to die’ like doing more damage when you’re down and forcing your opponent to do less damage to you. : We confess thine observations continue to be of intrigue. : So, we’ve rolled around in the mud and we’ve brought Bertrude up a little more in line with the others. She’s still lagging behind by a level, but it’s way better than nothing, that’s for sure.: Let’s hit the road; the Cairn’s literally a few steps away.   Gfy  : If I were to guess… Bertrude? We just levelled her up and all. : Oh, not even close.: On the right hand side of our wagon, we have a new toy: a xylophone made out of bones. A xylobone, if you will. Running the cursor over the bones makes it play music, which is mindless fun.: We wouldn’t want to keep Mae waiting too long, though, as fun as it is to poke at some musical bones. We wouldn’t want her to think we’re ignoring her.: Mae seems to be talking to the blackwagon’s wall again. Though, this time, something seems to have come over her. : Little brother, what is wrong with me…? : What is wrong with me?: What is wrong with me?!: You are unsure whether to check in with her, or leave her be. : Jesus, what sort of question is this? If I were travelling or living with someone, and I started hearing them scream ‘what is wrong with me’ at nothing, hell yes would I want to get their attention. : Though Mae is clearly capable of surviving on her own, you do worry for her, and in this case make an attempt to reach out to her. : Oh! Um, hi, Mister, I don’t think I saw you there, just now, and so, my little brother here and I, we were just talking, for a little while?: Well, I was the one doing the talking, why, my little brother, he is just a wagon wall, so he cannot respond! He can’t respond, but, he can listen, and he listen really well.: Um, now, I’d like to get back to my conversation here with him, if you don’t mind, and you’re welcome to stay, though, if you like?: It seems Mae is doing all right, after all. : ‘Doing all right’ is not what I would call an outburst like that.: Mae’s clearly asking us to stay and hear her out. And I think the wagon wall might be some kind of coping mechanism – she doesn’t want someone that will talk back or offer suggestions or whatever: she just wants someone to vent to, and a wall isn’t about to run its mouth.: That said, I think she’s well aware that she’s talking to a wall, and getting some things off your chest to a person that can understand and sympathize with you is relieving, too. She’s probably too nervous to ask for a real audience and this is her way of getting around that. : You decide to take Mae up on her invitation and keep listening to her conversation with the wagon wall. Her little brother, as she calls it.: …Um, anyway, what was I saying…?: Oh! I remember. It’s that they always said that there was something wrong with me, but, they wouldn’t really tell me what, they just… they said that I was moon-touched, but, so what? So, then, the Scribes, they called me here, they are the ones who brought me here, not those… those people! They were so cruel, they always were so cruel.: I didn’t have a little brother at the time, no one that I recall, really, although, so much of it back then, I can’t tell how much of it I dreamt? Most of it, I didn’t want it to be true? But, I remember that they threw me out, they decided they would throw me out, and let the Scribes take care of me, they said. The Scribes, they would take care of me!: It was so very quiet here, and I was all alone, again, although, I think I liked it more? Being alone, down here, than being alone back there. : Back there, why, I would sometimes see families, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers… but here? There was hardly anyone at all.: But, I knew that I was closer to the Scribes! I knew that they were in the sky, above, and I did search for them up there, you know? And then, one night, I found them!: I saw the stars and they were falling to the ground, and I thought, why is it the Scribes themselves are crying, are they sad, and maybe, are they sad for me? Well, that was when I first saw you, little brother! With your help I would get closer to the Scribes. That way… maybe they could answer all my questions, don’t you think…?: But, I’m so very glad I found you and the others. I’m finally not alone! I’m finally not alone, and, more importantly, I think, sometimes I even feel that way, that I’m not alone. Maybe… as we get closer, maybe, I will get to feel that way more often, being here, or being anywhere, with you, and all my friends.: She falls silent. Though you were concerned for her at first, you sense that, now, she is at peace. She wanders off, faintly smiling. You sense you have a better understanding of her, now.  : Whoa.: Mae has always had a hard time with expressing herself, even though she’s really quite smart and her mind structures very eloquent sentences that her mouth can’t quite keep up with. But because she has a hard way with words, and because she’s particularly religious, she was deemed too different to be in the Commonwealth and she was cast down with the rest of the prisoners.: The only ‘crime’ Mae’s committed is that she sees the world differently – not even that differently, since the Scribes and the Rites and everything are real things and events that are taking place. Given that literacy is a crime worth a life sentence, this honestly shouldn’t come off as too surprising, but it’s intense to hear it straight from her.: Let’s, uh… let’s… : … see what Ron’s got for sale. : Hey, guys, come on in! Say, now, whatever happened to that smiley Hedwyn guy, did he really get out of here like I been hearing, or what?: You know, now that my mind’s on it, I wonder why Ron is down here. Same deal? Did the Commonwealth just not like him because he’s different? Or is he a native to the Downside? : The only new thing Ron has for sale is a big ol’ batch of Stardust. A Scoop of it, worth 46 coins, and it’ll raise my Talisman’s rank by 4.: That said, we, uh, have something we… no longer need. : I have a chunk of change to spend on just about anything in this shop, but there’s nothing here that I’m particularly antsy about buying. Not at the moment, anyway. The closest that comes to mind is the Lunar Glass, where any character with it moves 10% faster when they hold the Orb.: Or, maybe I could get the Ashen Coal, which gives me an additional seven Pyrepoints at the start of the match. Not a big number, but it can be buffed pretty easily.: I think I’ll hold off for now. See if Ron doesn’t pull in something a little more exciting next time. : You’re a good guy, Ron. : We travelled across the Downside to hunt a witch, and she’s going to be here any second now. Let’s slap a bog-crone around.: The mood is more dour than usual as you make preparations for the coming Rite. A hush has fallen over your fellow exiles, and a sense of dread hangs in the air. : Nnrrgghh… we sense the influence of one of our own. She is nearby… her mind, corrupted, calls out, screaming. Canst thou hear it, perhaps…?: She speaks of Witch Udmildhe, the adversary whom you expect to face this night.: The witch, she doth revere an ancient god undying… and unyielding, on this land, and on her consciousness. We may attempt an exorcism here, for the conditions are unique, and she may not be expecting us to be abetting ye.: However… ‘tis a risk. Upon her mind, and mine own. Although, a worthwhile risk, perhaps, nrrrgghhh.: Bertrude seems to think that Udmildhe can be weakened, somehow, through the coming Rite. Then, the stars above begin to shimmer with their strange light. : There… the star of Yslach. Our adversary worships it, and whom it represents. Fixate upon that star, Reading-One. If thou so darest, invoke it’s power. Do so, and our adversary Udmildhe, she shall be emboldened… but also left vulnerable, to our own sorceries. We may yet limit her ambitions, thus. : Wow, that’s a ballsy idea. Udmildhe worships and invokes the name of Yslach constantly – but if we invoke the name of Yslach, Bertrude will be able to work her own dark magics against Udmildhe in order to try and exorcise the grip Yslach has on her mind. We could walk away from this fight by neutering Udmildhe forever.: Provided we win. : We’ll see how this goes.   : Hrrrssss, what have we here… ye have returned, once more, unto our presence…. : Hrrssss?! We sense something among ye… who…!: Bertrude slithers forth, and gazes at her adversary.: Thou, maggot… we sssshould have known.: But Bertrude does not respond.: …Ye, Nightwings… that one ssshall be of little benefit to ye. That one’s sorceries are a mere pittance to the overwhelming might of Yslach. Ssssooon, ye ssshall sssee….: We’re about to find out, aren’t we? : Hold a moment, Reader.: The crone Bertrude slithers forth, wearing the raiments of the Rites.: Now that Bertrude is among our ranks, it would be best if you became familiar with her repertoire. You have no obligation to make use of her abilities, of course.: Good Bertrude…? Please, show the Reader something of your aptitude. : Nnrrgggghh… we expect thou shalt be soon inclined to bring our sorceries to bear. Long have we studied these Rites of thine… let us show thee what we know of them, thus far. : With a glory of 25 and a Presence of 20, Bertrude is our replacement tank, now that Jodariel is gone. She has a Quickness of 11, so she tends to drag her feet a little bit, but we’ll get to that in a moment.: Bertrude doesn’t leap through the air like Rukey or Mae: instead, she Pounces. Her flight arc is very large and she moves very suddenly: she can cover a much larger distance much faster just by jumping than most can be sprinting. However, to balance that out, you can’t adjust your flight path once you’re in the air, and she’s locked into place for a moment when she hits the ground. It also costs her all of her stamina. : Shut the gently caress up, Voice.: Despite her size and appearance, Bertrude is probably our second-fastest sprinter, behind Gilman. When she slithers, she really motors: she can cover a huge distance in a startling amount of time. However, when she does, her controls become very slippery, and if you overshoot your target, it can be difficult to realign yourself fast enough to defend. If you know exactly where you’re going and you have the precision to get there in one pass, Bertrude will be an extremely powerful character for you, mobility-wise. : And here’s the thing that makes bog-crones a truly unique class: their Aura Blasts look like this. Everyone (except Ti’zo) shoots their Aura in a long, straight row, directly in front of them: Bertrude, and all bog-crones, fan them out in a very wide shotgun-like blast that covers a significant area in front of them, but gets less effective over distance.: The idea with Bertrude is that you want to use her superior speed and larger Aura to get into the opponent’s face, and then blast them if she can’t overpower them with her Presence. And considering her Glory is so high, Bertrude is a character with a steep learning curve that very strongly rewards high-risk behaviour. If you can master her, she’ll probably be your best character.: Now, then, Reading-One… Know that our freedom is of little consequence to us. We side with ye because of Sandalwood. Because of his Plan. We shall aid ye in the Rites, and we shall aid ye in that Plan. Thus, we are at thy disposal, and await thy bidding. : Oh. Uh… that might be a problem.: Reading-One… thou invoketh the Star of Yslach. So, then, beware…. Through our sorceries, shall Udmildhe be cast into a hopeless doubt, about her faith upon her god.: It shall be done if we prevail. But only if. Our own mind shall perhaps be forfeit, otherwise.  : Okay, whoa now…: So, one of the Titan Stars has gimped my Pyre by 30 Pyrepoints, putting me down to 70. Another has buffed my adversary’s Pyre by 30, giving them 130. And, Udmildhe has a Talisman called Frozen Soul, which automatically lowers me by another 20, putting me down to 50. I’m half as strong as I should be.: Check Udmildhe’s Glory. She only needs two dunks to defeat me, and we just got the Unfathomable Plurnes star, which buffs her Quickness by eight. And if I lose this Rite, not only is Bertrude going to receive a permanent debuff (assuming nothing worse happens), but it would also mean that Udmildhe would get just that much closer to freedom.: She also has two imps at her side, and imps are very fast with massive Auras. It would only take four dunks from them to take me out too.: I’m, uh… I dunno, guys, that’s a bit much to swallow. I dunno if I should be going in with these odds.: Anyway, that’s for a little bit later. Right now, we need to decide on who to bring into this Rite against Udmildhe and the Withdrawn.: We can choose any three among Rukey, Mae, Ti’zo, Sir Gilman, Pamitha, and Bertrude. Cast your vote to see your three competitors get into the ring against the wicked witch!: Voting, as usual, ends in twenty-four hours.
Maple Leaf fucked around with this message at 11:18 on Apr 21, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 07:59
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We don't need Bertrude on the sidelines to weave her magic, do we? She can find time while on the Pyreball field, right? Bertrude, Ti'zo, Rukey
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Apr 21, 2018 09:22
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I said this to you before before but I'll say it to the thread: some Titan Stars are traps for the player, plain and simple. Those "adversaries gain +8 [stat]" stars? That's bait, asking you to lose the match. "Why is that?" you might be asking. Well, look at Maple's picture: the Unfathomed Plurnes Titan Star gives +8 (plus EIGHT!) Quickness. The regular Quickness of an Imp, say, is around 20. You're giving your opponents anywhere from a 30% to a 100% increase in their base stats. Couple that with increased AI capable of super good passing and interception and it's an almost impossible fight to win. I've seen Curs with auras larger than my Imps'! Oh, and the bonus Enlightenment you get for each of those Titan Stars is +2% or +3% to Enlightenment. Absolutely worthless for the effort. So here's who to take. Bertrude, Rukey, Pamitha. I want to see you win and not give Bertrude brain-rot, so don't play with any Titan Stars active except for the Yslach one.
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Apr 21, 2018 10:31
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Go with Bertrude, Rukey and Pamitha. Bertrude's -5 to enemy dunks when our flame is lower will be essential here; Rukey needs the enlightenment if we want to free him; Pamitha's moveset will be great for defending against imps and crones. Considering what we know of Mae's backstory, it opens the question of whether we even want to send her from the Downside in a liberation rite eventually. She said herself she's happier down here; she's no more abandoned than everyone else and she's closer to the scribes she worships. On the other hand, if we do send her up, she'd certainly have a place in the Commonwealth waiting for her with Hedwyn and Jodariel, so she'd be better off than before. And if the revolution succeeds, whatever society follows it would hopefully be much kinder to her and others like her.
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Apr 21, 2018 11:36
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Olive Branch posted:So here's who to take. Bertrude, Rukey, Pamitha. I want to see you win and not give Bertrude brain-rot, so don't play with any Titan Stars active except for the Yslach one. Sounds like a solid plan. Bertrude only just joined up, don't melt her brains yet.
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Apr 21, 2018 13:50
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Olive Branch posted:So here's who to take. Bertrude, Rukey, Pamitha. I want to see you win and not give Bertrude brain-rot, so don't play with any Titan Stars active except for the Yslach one. I agree with this.
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Apr 21, 2018 16:27
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Olive Branch posted:So here's who to take. Bertrude, Rukey, Pamitha. I want to see you win and not give Bertrude brain-rot, so don't play with any Titan Stars active except for the Yslach one. I'm agreeing with this.
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Apr 21, 2018 16:35
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Olive Branch posted:So here's who to take. Bertrude, Rukey, Pamitha. I want to see you win and not give Bertrude brain-rot, so don't play with any Titan Stars active except for the Yslach one. Also voting for this highly reasonable suggestion.
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Apr 21, 2018 19:25
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Bertrude, Mae, and Rukey. For the same reasons as mentioned above, except Mae is running a buff right now. And who knows? Maybe her faith with bolster Bertrude's. Also don't play with any Titan Stars active except for the Yslach one. Bertrude has a ton of Inspiration from the start, doesn't she. She's been studying the Rites, learning what she can, but now she can experience them firsthand. I've been in a situation like that. Having preconceived notions and fantasies that come from book-learning, thrust into the furnace of first-hand experience, is very tempering. The impurities are burned away but the solid parts are further hardened.
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Apr 21, 2018 20:02
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Bertrude, Mae, Sir Gilman, Yslach only, We can revel in the madness produced by releasing all the limiters on our opponents after we've put the whammy on Udmildhe.
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Apr 22, 2018 01:10
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Surprising nobody, Bertrude will be our forward with a unanimous vote, followed by Rukey and Pamitha as supports. Also, by popular request, I'll be turning off all the Titan Stars except Yslach - a good story is worth more than a tense match to watch, clearly!
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Apr 22, 2018 05:29
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Yeah, apart from an optional challenge all the Titan Stars seem way too crippling to be fair compared to the fairly lackluster benefits you get out of it? I guess the only Rite that really matters is the last one so there's little risk in trying it (especially on lower difficulties where you can just reset) but it does seem to be a very strange choice game design wise.
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Apr 22, 2018 11:23
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Eh, both of the pyre health stars are pretty easy (I can't be the only one who found the game stupid easy from around this point, right?  ), but some definitely feel not worth the effort given the marginal difference in enlightment gained.
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Apr 22, 2018 15:24
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Bacchante posted:Yeah, apart from an optional challenge all the Titan Stars seem way too crippling to be fair compared to the fairly lackluster benefits you get out of it? I guess the only Rite that really matters is the last one so there's little risk in trying it (especially on lower difficulties where you can just reset) but it does seem to be a very strange choice game design wise. The Titan Stars aren't meant to be fair, or to offer a reward that's commensurate with the difficulty they add. They exist for people who've already finished the game and are looking for an extra challenge.
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Apr 22, 2018 17:35
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Yeah, from here on out I think I'll be voting for 'all Titan Stars All The Time' but I feel like maybe risking Bertrude getting whammied on her rookie outing is suboptimal.
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Apr 22, 2018 22:41
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So if we sent Mae back up, would Team Mom and Team Dad end up taking her in? God, I hope so, otherwise that's just too depressing. Also, wow, the Blackwagon's getting chock full of souvenirs. Makes me wonder if the old Nightwings just... rolled without them? Or maybe they all got pawned off to Ron for startup capital for the next generation.
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Apr 23, 2018 06:36
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