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Razakai
Sep 15, 2007

People are afraid
To merge on the freeway
Disappear here
Some lords might potentially be killable, with luck and surprise.
Consider we know that Burner has 50 hp - our sword can do a good 1/3 of that per swing. Of course, we'd get instantly killed by pretty much any of her attacks, but it's not impossible that in the right circumstance we might be able to kill her. On the other hand, Hunter is incredibly out of reach, and Dancer has 99 hp, so we'd die for sure against either of them.
Bleeder, who knows? If he was as weak or weaker than Burner in terms of hp, an ambush might have potentially won.
This is all incredibly high risk though, but I could see if this was a 'real game' there'd probably be someone out there who pulled it off. This being a tabletop style system means combat is lethal and swingy, as opposed to a computer RPG or something where something higher level than you just means its numerically impossible.

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Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - How To Waste The Day With Chibber?

Go spend time with her on the waterfall stage. - 8
Stay in the room with her and decorate. - 5
Take her on a tour of the school. - 10


LOADING...

...LOADING

XkyRauh
Feb 15, 2005

Commander Keen is my hero.
I hope Kwiat reacts in some way to one of the rooms in the school, giving us some clue or insight that will benefit us in unknown ways. :D

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





Razakai posted:

Some lords might potentially be killable, with luck and surprise.
Consider we know that Burner has 50 hp - our sword can do a good 1/3 of that per swing. Of course, we'd get instantly killed by pretty much any of her attacks, but it's not impossible that in the right circumstance we might be able to kill her. On the other hand, Hunter is incredibly out of reach, and Dancer has 99 hp, so we'd die for sure against either of them.
Bleeder, who knows? If he was as weak or weaker than Burner in terms of hp, an ambush might have potentially won.
This is all incredibly high risk though, but I could see if this was a 'real game' there'd probably be someone out there who pulled it off. This being a tabletop style system means combat is lethal and swingy, as opposed to a computer RPG or something where something higher level than you just means its numerically impossible.

Either that or we just restore Kwiat without killing any of them, which is the route I suspect we're on.

placid saviour
Apr 6, 2009
Didn't we find like 2 weeks of food some days ago? We should probably feed ourselves and Kwiat.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

placid saviour posted:

Didn't we find like 2 weeks of food some days ago? We should probably feed ourselves and Kwiat.

Food consumption and stock management is automated by the game, outside of certain choices and situations presented. In general, if you have a healthy stock of food, Kwiat will be fine for the amount she needs every day. Even on low stocks, she'll still last a while without issue. The character will generally makes note in dialogue of when she is approaching danger. The biggest focus in the food clock mechanics is simply maximizing your food finds (without worrying about a majority of usual food management logistics), keeping diet consistent, and obtaining special and unique foods for their benefits.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

It might have been an unintentional excellent strategy to start a new game so close to holidays recognized by the game clock!

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

You dredge up enough shivering energy to kick the locker open, leaping with gun sweeping. Nobody there, but you feel a tiny point of pride for sticking the motion so well. You ride that small cheer into your next task, after you reach the roof access nearest to your room. With a deep breath and your cloak over your head, you shove the hatch open to scramble out, slamming it shut before you begin to run through the storm. It wasn't as bad now, and you knew to not try exerting yourself. Your spine flares with freezing pain, and you nearly fall over trying to make a jump down, but you cross the small distance well before your wounded karma can begin bleeding too much again. You slam the door shut behind you, gun out and ready.



Nobody here but us chickens!!

You hurry with worry to open the cage. Kwiat makes a racket of flapped wings and circling her corner of the room, and immediately allows you to put your arms around her in grateful greeting. You're so happy she's alive. You worry, you worry every every time she's going to be dead. You...



EGG!!!!!!!!!

You nearly crush your chicky with the hug you give her. She protests and climbs to seat on your shoulders and neck, as you lean down to examine her first egg since you saved her life a week ago. She was comfortable! She felt safe!!

ANXIETY: [ X ][20%]
[-Disquiet]

Just like he taught you.

It's easy to lie down with cloak and silk-packed bag. Kwiat sits on top of you, while you rest just long enough to stare with sleepy relief at the proof of life. You gently tap tap its shell, feeling the smooth surface, tipping it up and down. ...you could cook this. It was reliable food. It was sign of a healthy chibby baby. You stretch out your pain, anemia slowly mending from last night's tyrannical expense. You know if you thought too much on it, you'd spiral back down. So you get up, grab chicken and egg, shield both as best you can, and resolve to explore the school for sign of a stove.

You hype yourself up for the run. You open the door and rush for the hatch, holding tight to Kwiat tied up in your pack and cloak-covered. You know not to rush. Do not rush. You keep a steady pace, twitching at the awful feeling of the starry rain passing through you. But then comes the hatch. Climbing down from an unsafe height. The potential for failure.



(DX - Climbing Down) 11 - [1]+[2]+[5] = 8 - Success.
STÀRLIG͢H͠T̢ C̛L҉OUD
(DX - Climbing Down) 11 - [5]+[6]+[4] = 15 - Failure!!

The potential to slip your hand on the hatch, to go into backwards freefall, one second to contort to protect your most precious cargo. To land with snapping force on the stone floor.

(Fall Damage) 2d6 - [5]+[1] = 6
(Damage Location) 3d6 - [6]+[2]+[4] = 12 - Left Arm



Kwiat struggles in shock as you scream murder, your left arm and shoulder taking the force of the drop. She was safe, and that one thought pulls you out of the agony of your shoulder and arm bones shattering. Pure instinct and Tyrant ferocity drives you to stab you right hand's fingers into the wound, brain scream-blue in memory of the bubblegem magic. It remembers how bad the pain was the first time, your face shot to pieces.

(Bubbleblood Spell) 12 - [1]+[4]+[2] = 7 - Success!
S̢TA͟RL҉I͜G͢H̴T҉ C̵L͜OU͠D [LUCKY 7!]
(Bubbleblood Spell) 12 - [4]+[1]+[2] = 7 - Success!!
ŞTAR͘L̷IG̛HT ͠CLO̸U̶D [LUCKY 7!!]



You roll over, writhing, feet kicked out as you stand up and go walking catatonic, some unknown nature of the starcurse interacting with your damaged karma and the healing magic to make it quicken to a terrifying strength. You arm snaps back into place, your blood richens, your wounds mend, your hand cleans and closes, your torn veins patch, and all pain cools away into the softening sap of the blue flower. You run up and down the hall in a magic mania, biology in overdrive as it processes the immense matter restoration. Kwiat wriggles out of her pack and manages to chase after you, leading to a long minute of you being chased by her as you try to shake the coldburn sensation out of your restored body.

HP: [ 20 / 20 ]
[Lucky!] [Max HP!]
FP: [ 14 / 14 ]
[Lucky!] [Max FP!]

When it finally becomes bearable, you fall over sweating, eyes unable to close and limbs slapping on the stone. Kwiat pecks at your head, and then sits on your back, waiting for your fit to end. When it does, you roll over and pet her, wiping your wet eyes and testing your arm. You don't know what the living Hell that was, but you're just glad it somehow ended better than it began. You stand up, and make the resolution to NOT go outside unless the storm was absolutely over. Now you have no excuse to go hide in your room. You were fresh as a night's sleep, and cleaned inside and out of all red fears. You force yourself to absolutely not think about anything before. Your will grows iron with the new blood, making you walk with the easy intent of finally exploring the school for real while you waited out the storm.

Don't think about the scythe. Don't think about the despair. Just walk. Kwiat was safe with your pack worn on your front, your arms around her as you keep your gun in hand.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

The Blue Book posted:

"...that quite a few bugs can be used to alter known variables. Most of these windows for change are either dangerously unstable, or just too situational to be useful. But some of them, such as watertypes, have been recorded as glitching to unused/unknown types with strange properties, such as the tourmaline water that..."

"...agree that 'Deadwalk' is key to approaching the insane wall ramp of difficulty after..."

"...better (or unusual) ones include the Bloodstained Medal, Triple Bracelet, Level 9 Ring, Diamond Feather, Inventory!, Flamitt, Celestrix, Cheap Sunglasses, Paradise Pendant, Thunderdraw..."

"...as dangerous as Salted-Earth, whose Anti-Materiel Rifle means she hits HARDER than her Werewolf King form, which balances itself with..."

"...longest journeys to a Megalith. Onerunners continue to debate over the best route overall (without considering Megalith order or class), with most opting to take the White Square -> Black Jet Drive -> Deadfall -> Sister Sister Station route. While Park-255 -> Colourfall -> Raining Garden is significantly quicker, it risks..."

"...over 80 damage! Song Carolina shares this extreme damage variation in her attacks, earning her place as one of the Backup's Top 10 worst...."

"...leaving few ways to attack with or defend against karmic assault. Mad Zaul is the worst for this, due to the notoriously buggy nature of his karmic attacks, and the inconsistency with which is interacts with the crimes he accuses you of. User 'Four Lunch' provided an especially unusual and funny screenshot, where their onerun ended with Mad Zaul accusing them of stealing a 'Wraith Rose' (which they did not have and has not yet been seen), setting their karma to -1.3 million, forcing an instant death from a high-anxiety..."

LOADING...

...LOADING

Black August fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Dec 27, 2020

Regallion
Nov 11, 2012

Ah, good thing our karma is spotless and we are A good person who's never done anything wrong in their life

Antivehicular
Dec 30, 2011


I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

Time to check our pockets for Wraith Roses

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

First thing's first. You got an egg (which barely survived the fall) to cook. It'd do wonders to take your mind off of today's lineup of near-death experiences. You walk around whispering to Kwiat, pointing out the front door to warn her about stupid lovely death weather, taking her back to the classroom you occupied the first nights, hiding in the locker, and finally winding into the first unknown hall (gun drawn aimed out) you spot, ready for adventure. The adventure ends immediately, since the one main corridor you haven't gone down yet leads directly into what you want- a CAFETERIA!!!



Kind of. It looks like a combination kitchen and dining area, with scattered stone chairs and tables, counters and cupboards, plus a crusty old stove. Tittering, you hurry over and plop Kwiat down, carefully setting the egg aside to be used. Ok! Time to cook. TiiIIIIiiinnnnyyynnhhuuoohh dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy

The Silver Mind posted:

Her scream pierces, milky eyes bulged and claws raking the table. You freeze in place, staring at the huge old Hyaenidae. Didn't expect THAT reaction.

Hijgan thunders "LOOKIT' YAH! SHAMEFUL! ABHORREN'! AHHHHH THE JULIA SAVE MY EYES!! GONE TO NEED TRIAGE WHAT IMMEDIATE."

Yeesh. Minute ago, she asked you to pull up your shirt to see your stomach so she could assess 'the state of your famine'. Now she's banging pots and throwing spoons like someone war crime'd you. Sure, your ribs are poking out like your skeleton is ready to birth itself free of your papery flesh, but trying to explain things like 'war time rations' and 'food stopped EXISTING' falls on deaf ears. The aged gnoll grabs you and drags you to the back of her restaurant's kitchen, forcing you to sit.

"AIN'T NO SPACE 'ERE FOR THAT!"

...but you're taking up LESS space since you have less mass and...

"NONE OF THAT NOW, FOOL OF YOU TO WORK THE MINES AS A STICKBUG. GOTTA REMEDY. BUILD THE MASS! NO MUSCLE TO BUILD IF NO FUEL TO BURN."

You explain that Aitvaras has been making these incredible omelettes and you promise it's enough and that the colony really needs to-

"AHHHHHHHHHHH! FAMINE TALKIN' THROUGH YAH, ADDLIN' DEVELOPMENTAL BRAINS! BLASPHEMY, WON'T HEAR IT IN THIS SACRED SPACE."

She slaps the counter with a spatula, and starts to yank out ingredients with a skill over 50 years strong. She proves your self-lie immediately. The colony was starting to GLUT with food, ever since...

"YE'LL COME DOWN EVERY OTHER DAY. NO BUTS! BRING THAT SCRAWN OF A BOY WITH YOU, I'LL THROTTLE THE FAMINE OUT OF EACH YER BELLIES. SLOW N' STEADY KILL... HAW!"

Boar meat is slammed down with a room-shaking thunder. Dozens of the tropic spices. Cooking wines fresh from the vineyard. The pearly-bright eggs from Aitvaras' girls. Myriad colored vegetables.

"I'LL TORTURE IT TO DEATH I WILL! MAKE IT SMELL ITS DEMISE COMIN'. WON'T KNOW WHAT HIT IT."

Both doors are closed and locked. The stove was burning bright. Already the smells were congealing into their monstrous final form - there was no escape. Your famine was about to be brutally murdered.
dizzy dizzy dizzy dizzy just sit down a second, just sit and let your unhappy biology settle. Your brain and body tingle unpleasantly, not at all appreciating the extreme whiplash of the last 24+ hours. The dizzy spell passes, and you lean back up to look at the egg. Ok first... first you check the stove, and thank God there's some wood scraps in it. Carefully, you dip a finger into the seething celestial blood, resisting the intense pain as you gently smear it over the scraps, and then patiently wait for them to ignite. The continued starry storm outside leaves you hoping a tiny bit of cooking smoke won't be noticed.

Heated stone pan! With one egg ready! You bring Kwiat over, petting her proudly as you congratulate her. The egg goes into the pan and starts to cook right away. You awkwardly use a spoon to flip it around, and don't really cook it well, but you don't care. When it's finished, you rush it over to the table, and sit down to eat. Each bite is savored with praise for Kwiat, the plate licked shiny-clean, the fire put out.




ANXIETY: [10%]
[+Joy]

You feel pretty good. A little food in you, no more pain or exhaustion- even last night's encounter is being conveniently edited out of your recall. You stand up and repack Kwiat, poking around the kitchen for anything useful. But, no... looks like it was cleaned out. Just dishes. You make a note to yourself to steal about 6000 of those free salt packets at the fractal convenience. A shame since... oh, hold on. There's a tiny wood cabinet mounted in the corner you haven't looked in. You wander over and pop it open. Hey, food! It was just a box of those dried noodle things, but it was some extra grub.



Nothing else th... waaaaait a second. Some of the wood in the back is rotted and displaced. You yank at it and discover it slides out as a false panel. To your joy, there's STUFF hidden inside!!


Special Holiday Event! posted:

Oh holy holy day. But not for you, the doomed and the damned. Ok, maybe a LITTLE for you, with some gifts to soothe the dread of a failed existence.

[+4 Days Food!]
[+1 Potion!]
[+1 Scroll!]

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

PLAYER GIFTS
Looks like you've scored the first of a handful of Year End gifts! One magic potion, and one magic scroll. But what kind are they?

The Potion
The Scroll


(Voting will end later tonight.)

placid saviour
Apr 6, 2009
I'm going for a bubbly potion - 'tis the season for champagne!

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



I went with blue and white for the potion and scroll. No reason other than I don't trust any liquid described as "chunky".

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

The blue and bubbly potion is probably healing? No idea about the others. I think we're good on healing at the moment so I voted for a non-blue potion.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - Holiday Loot!

POTION
Chunky green liquid - 6
Airy clear liquid - 10
Bubbly blue liquid - 9


SCROLL
Foreboding white ink - 2
Organic green ink - 4
Messy gold ink - 18


LOADING...

...LOADING

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

You reach into the hidden cubby, and pull out a small vial and an equally-small wrap of papercloth. You stare them over, sensing their magic. Just up and trying to use them would be a waste (and dangerous), but you weren't exactly trained in enchantments. But maybe... well, the mushrooms growing on your brain WERE partly magic, as much as they were psionic. Maybe with effort, you could try to provoke a psychic signal through the mushrooms, into the magic of your biology, in order to discern the nature of the items by having it sent back through the mushrooms and into your mutant neurons.

You don't ACTUALLY think it through like that, though- it just comes as an attempted instinct.

(Perception) 13 - [4]+[6]+[2] = 12 - Success!
(Perception) 13 - [3]+[4]+[2] = 9 - Success!


The instinct proves true, as the incompatible of magic and psychic finds a way to speak with one another through the mushrooms. The liquid is... something to do with visibility and light. Does something weird with that, you're pretty sure. The scroll doesn't talk much, but it does give up a whiff of something like a jar of old pennies.

Satisfied, you pack them away for further examination later. Kwiat peeks over your shoulder as you creep back out of the kitchen, watching your six while you keep low and spend a moment to listen in the hall. Seems clear. With the storm still going, you decide to take a deep dive into any lower levels of the stone school for part of your tour.

Searching the areas you already know doesn't produce a stairwell going down, but you're positive you've seen parts of the school intersecting into the rock that proves there's a lower level, and you grow determined to find it - the distraction, despite frustration, was welcome. You talk to Kwiat more as you bumble around, turning the pack to hold her while whispering into her ear. You let her know that whatever happens, she's going to be safe. That you'll come back every time to make sure she's fed, that you're happy every time you see her, that you're so proud she laid an egg despite how stressful and scary everything is.



Your walk and talk takes you to another dead end. You look down the empty hall and then back at your chibbly, heading into it with the intention of flipping back at the wall. You stroke her head and listen to her content sounds. You tell her that she gives you strength, because she doesn't fear the scythe like you do.



You look intently into her little eyes, and tell her that she is the reason you will not give up and just submit to the End. For... for his sake.



You gently hold the back of her head, and PROMISE, with all of Heaven's strength, that you'll fight your mad best to destroy the Lords and liberate you both.



You swear, in the heart of Hell, that you'll do all you can to become strong enough to achieve that goal. So strong, maybe, that one day you'll tear up the firmament, cast away all that's hurt you, and create a sacred world where no chicken would ever have to be hurt again.



You- wait shouldn't you be at the end of the hall by now? You take another step forward as you look up, a split-second panic of pitch black contrasted against your perfectly visible body, before your foot catches and you stumble forward, dropping with an angry shout- your fear is almost overcome by how pissed you are at falling a second time. But you're confused again just as fast, as you realize you're still standing, despite the terrible dropping sensation. You try to move, liquid fierce in protecting Kwiat, but just drop to one knee as color floods back into vision.



...wha? Did you drop into a hole in the floor? It didn't feel like it, but here you are, in a water-logged stone cave. You draw your gun and keep Kwiat close while you stand to look around. You're sure you must have fell, but looking up makes your stomach drop- the ceiling was a ways above you, and there was no visible hole.

ANXIETY: [ X ][20%]

What the HELL. You breathe deep and hug Kwiat for comfort, forcing yourself to calm down to assess. This was too much like Camp, but there wasn't a lick of mushroom messing with you. Cold fear sober, you decide that keeping it together for your chibber was the priority, and casually begin to explore. With the gun out.

...at least it was peaceful. The stone cavern sings with myriad of waterfalls and underflows, the stones smoothed to gem-shine gleam from Earth's long affair with Water. Clear pools bubble in shelves and springs, while stalactites creates columns of rain where the cracks bleed the river through. Wandering deeper reveals no signs of life or exit, forcing you to sit and try to ignore the increasing pace of your worried heart.

ANXIETY: [ X ][ X ][30%]

It's alright. It's fine. It's fine it's fine it's fine it's fine ohhhh no no you're not trapped you're not going to die in here like an idiot. It's ok. You'll figure it out, you'll get out. Big, big cavern, has to be an exit if there's air to breathe, right? Ok... ok. You open your pack to have a snack, and set Kwiat down to give her some feed. But before you can even scoop it into your hand, she's taken off at a record pace into the cave. You gasp and race after her in a panic, forcing yourself to not shout when you call for her to slow down. She rounds a steep corner and vanishes under a small waterfall, which you bowl through while pleading for her to stop.

You're drenched. You're going to start crying, and you know you can't, because she's still too near and she'll hear and she'll get so so SO ANGRY about it. You wipe your face while babbling Kwiat's name, even though you know how MAD she'll be if she hears you say it. Your fear goes from hot to cold in an instant when you see Kwiat has reached a dead end, where raw gem glitters in the watery dark, shaped strangely and colored deeply. The jewels jutting from the rock have a nest-like shape, as though they grew in the patterns of celestial orbit... all of it surrounding something tucked against the stone, which Kwiat pecks at insistently, yanking at the goldpale hairs that grow from the iron bone.

You stare into the hollow sockets. You don't dare move, don't dare scream, even when your bones begin to softly vibrate, reverberating in harmony with the iron skull to form a whisperdry nonvoice within you.

(We are safe from her sight for now, Tyrant Child. As safe as any thing alive or undead can be, here...)






















(Inside the Dark End.)

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 204 days!
it seems this dying world has taken our oath seriously

Stage Beans
May 16, 2007

Hodgepodge posted:

it seems this dying world has taken our oath seriously

word is bond

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Looks like the potion might be invisibility! And the scroll is maybe lightning-aligned? That would fit with both the old pennies and the gold writing (which we’ve seen used for lightning before).

Also, I suspect we’d never have found that passage down if we weren’t holding Kwiat. We’ll have to see what the Blue Book has to say, but I think our bestest chibby might be key to breaking out of the game’s parameters and hitting Holy End.

XkyRauh
Feb 15, 2005

Commander Keen is my hero.
I figured "old pennies" was the smell of blood.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

LOADING...

...LOADING

Regallion
Nov 11, 2012

Okay Google, what percent of human body is gasoline?

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

As a reminder, the Gasoline God is one of Burner's four heaviest-hitting dryads, so this is confirmation that the cults mingle somewhat in Jandoubi. On top of that, the ultramutants feel like Bleeder's work, and we know Hider likes to hang out there. Sounds like a heckuva place.

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 204 days!

pumpinglemma posted:

As a reminder, the Gasoline God is one of Burner's four heaviest-hitting dryads, so this is confirmation that the cults mingle somewhat in Jandoubi. On top of that, the ultramutants feel like Bleeder's work, and we know Hider likes to hang out there. Sounds like a heckuva place.

it's always night in jandoubi

Black August
Sep 28, 2003



You keep your gun aimed RIGHT at the fucker's skull.

ANXIETY: [ X ][ X ][ X ][40%] [Talking Skulls = Bad News]

(I know. I understand. But if you shoot, the noise in here would deafen you.)

You don't blink. Not for a second. You keep the gun trained with one hand, and draw your sword with the other, making the slow trade to end up with the sword's point aimed RIGHT at the fucker's skull. You don't move too suddenly- Kwiat is still refusing to come to your side, plucking at the thing's beard.

(Stand as makes you feel safe. I will not and cannot move.)

You cut him off, asking who he is.

(I am one of the unliving. I am soul bound to endless bone. I was once the World King, for the kingdom of my mountain-kine.)

Your eyes dart around. You ask where his kingdom went...? God you wish Kwiat would stop pecking at the thing.

(Died. Like all else in the Fall. Because I am unlife, I did not Awaken like the rest. I passed through the void to this existence.)

You don't fully understand what that means, but you act like you do, and demand to know what he's doing here. You don't mention that you're not sure where here IS. Black sockets don't blink as they hold your gaze.

(I am here because this is where the Island left me after it sunk.)

The circled colors of the gems glitter in your eyes, casting Kwiat in a cloud of iridescence. You tense up when she flares her wings and climbs to roost on top of the speaking skull. You figure you can cut to chase, by asking if he was working for Śmiercią. For emphasis you walk forward and press the tip of your sword to the skull.

(No. I am not under Kostucha's banner. She would find me abhorrent, a reminder. She is Ending, and I found a way to cheat my End. Tyrant, Tyrant Child, I serve nothing now. I serve Mu.)

Well that tells you jack and poo poo. So now you're trapped in a pretty little cave with an insane beard skull. The sword droops, tip ploking against the ground as you back up to sit down in gloom. You give up, and ask the skull where you are.

(You are in the Back.)

the what

(You are behind, in the Back of the structure you were inside of. )

The way he vibrated that through your marrow- it felt itchy, strange, heavy. It felt too real, it felt dreadful. Your skin goosebumps as you stand up, anxiety making your neck burn under your collar. You silently tuck the sword away and grab Kwiat, squatting down to face the waterfall 'door' while you stay next to the skull. You couldn't put a finger on why, but you suddenly knew you absolutely did not belong here, and that you were in a unique kind of danger.

The skull keeps silent as you stew in your nerves, petting Kwiat and doing your best to keep her quiet. You're behind the Hideout... in the Hideout Back. A place you shouldn't be, COULDN'T be, but are.

You don't panic, but you can't calm your anxiety down. Too many little details now creep into your awareness. The unnatural flowspeed of the water. The eerie smooth of the stone. The complete lack of hot or cold- everything feels exactly the same as your body temperature. The light- casting wrong, coming from places with no sources, shadows not bending right. You tremble as you risk drawing in air, neither stale nor fresh, not a single scent entering your nose. You look at the skull, the World King, and you ask him point blank.

How do you get out of here?

(You're in luck, Tyrant Child. Now that you know you are in the Back, you can discover roads that lead out of it, or further across to go behind other fixed points in the timespace. Beware! Heed! Do not abuse it or take it lightly. The Back is loveless and hateless. Too much of its breadth is inescapable, void or without exit. It will entomb the careless.)

Oh. Ok. That sounds horrible. You push back your hair and fiddle with your tie while you force yourself to relax, scritching your chibbly's head with relief that she didn't have to starve to death in here.

(Exit from here, and follow the cave to the right. When you see a ledge down to a pool... leap down. You will leave the Back.)

You're standing now, tucking Kwiat into your pack as you consider whether you could trust this thing or not. It was obnoxious to realize there wasn't much choice in the matter. So you ask the World King if he needs a ride out too.

(No. The Back takes me where it wills, out of sight of the Island and its victims. But you are kind to offer, Tyrant Child.)

You stand at the waterfall gate, looking back at the lone bearded skull. There was no tone of voice to work from- just the vibration of bone. Maybe he meant that. Maybe he was a liar like the rest. You didn't believe it about yourself... but it felt nice to hear. So you tell him goodbye, as you vanish through the wet curtain into the Hideout Back. You move fast once you past the water, hurrying quietly down the right-path bend you find, until you're standing on a ledge above a small little pool of perfectly clear water. Just... dive in, and you'd be out.



...but where will you end up?

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

PLAYER CHOICE

CALLEVENT_mapdataload

[Happy New Year!]

Vox Valentine
May 31, 2013

Solving all of life's problems through enhanced casting of Occam's Razor. Reward yourself with an imaginary chalice.

I vote for CTF_2fort.

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 204 days!
lost_temple.scm

mu is the oldest face of god. in the void, still she is everywhere. oh discordia!

Antivehicular
Dec 30, 2011


I wanna sing one for the cars
That are right now headed silent down the highway
And it's dark and there is nobody driving And something has got to give

No arms, legs, eyes, or ears? The king's definitely devoted to Mu.

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Thoughts:

- "RM_fldcitwest_00" sounds like "flooded city west" to me. Jandoubi is both flooded and a city. This would be... interesting. The Backup in Jandoubi are on the outs with Dancer over actively wanting to die, which really isn't going to play nice with our promise not to kill any of them. And remember how Jandou Joe was the weakest of the ultramutants, and we only beat him with a glitch? And how Hider's there? I don't think we're ready for this. But there's significant upside potential, in that if we could get in with the Backup there it would be really useful.

- "RM_pluto_ev3" is self-explanatory. One of the Blue Book hints was "...yet to successfully resolve the conflict of Alyssa and the Plutos against their starmetal creation...", and I think Pluto can mean Yuggoth in Lovecraftian lore. Not sure how the fungi there would react to our mushroom mind - maybe positively? But on the other hand, we did basically bind it to our will.

- "LND_unlivmov_08" sounds like "unliving movie" - a reference to the Unliving Theatre from the Blue Book: "...the Unliving Theater. While it's one of the more difficult route options to the Bloody Megalith, it also provides an early chance to face a Gravedigger..." The Bloody Megalith is where Bleeder lives, which is scary, but the blue book excerpt makes it sound like somewhere that might be a good idea to go early despite that.

- "LND_czystygreen_02" I have absolutely no idea about. czy could be crazy?

- No idea what RM and LND mean. Might be RealM versus LaND, but I don't know what the distinction is. Maybe RooM versus LaND, and it's indoor versus outdoor?

Overall I went with LND_unlivmov_08.

pumpinglemma fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Jan 1, 2021

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



I went with Pluto because, at the very least, flooded city sounded like gamedev for Jandoubi, amd we know we would probably last about as long as a gnats fart in a hurricane there, and out of the three other options, it sounded the least likely-to-kill-us-instantly.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

[bOTING CL SED - ÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁ[/b]

LND_czystygreen_02 - 3
- 10
▯▯▯▯▯▯▯ - 10

_00 - 6


L ̀ ̢͢͡ ͠ ̴ ͘ ҉́ ͟҉̨ ͟ ̵O ̀ ̢͢͡ ͠ ̴ ͘ ҉́ ͟҉̨ ͟ ̵ ̀ ̢͢͡ ͠ ̴ ͘ ҉́ ͟҉̨ ͟ ̵
';0-3



OADbehind

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



Uh... crap?

Podima
Nov 4, 2009

by Fluffdaddy
Lol WHOOPS

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

hooooooo. wonder if the games gonna be stable enough to keep going at this rate.

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

That’s... probably not good.

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 204 days!
lol were going to glitch ourselves right to the holy grail

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StillFullyTerrible
Feb 16, 2020

you should have left Let's Play open for public view, Lowtax
so we met an undead dwarf king who had been cast into the realm Behind and now worships the concept of nothingness. That's p boss

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