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Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - We Need The Paperwork Done By 5

Where are you from?
Anidus - 1
The Dreamlands - 0
Kadath - 2
Graveyard - 3
I don't know. - 12
The Island - 9


Who are you from?
I am NOT a cultist. - 3
I'm just taking in their local flavor. - 14
It's more of a 'safari hunt' kind of tour. - 4
I am a cultist. A Lord, as a matter of fact. - 0
Cult? - 7


LOADING...

...LOADING

(Vax had some new surprises for my body last night, will need a little more time today)

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Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



Wait what's that about our kitty owners and an eternal apocalypse?

Black August
Sep 28, 2003



Crocell stares at the ceiling with a slack posture before she decides to speak.

"Confirm D-21 as psychotic."

Yan'Tyr mmhm'd, and underlined something she had already written down a while ago. The old troll readjusted her papers, preparing to leave. They had to cut the entire thing short thanks to a buzzer that informed them they were needed for reception duty... so it'd be a quick cut and chase on some already frustratingly sloppy research. "Disaster tourist I'd guess? They don't know where they're from, so likely Awakened. Suicidal if they think sightseeing those cults is fun."

Crocell considers. "Psychic ability strong enough to stall the autoread... so don't try that again until we get a qualified Agent in here. No other abilities obvious yet." She rubs her mossy hair, cold expression tinted by clear exhaustion. The last thing to do before running out the door was to assign the specs of the product, which meant an estimate of its initial value, its potential danger, and its ability to rebel against corporate mandates. While this could and would be adjusted later, an accurate first assessment had to be clear to guide the gaggle of other employees who'd come later to pick up the work. Messing it up meant potential lost resources, needing to replace employees, or worse, undervaluing the product. So being the experienced Agent she was, Crocell gamed the system. She goes down to initial value and circles 'Gold', past that to the corporate risk and marks it a '7', and finally threat rating, checked off on 'Moderate'. From these initial parameters, it'd be simple to adjust without raising the ire of the management. Easy.

But the Agent didn't care about the official assessment. The rating she wanted used a system that the management had made absolutely sure to scour from all paperwork and memory. Crocell had learned it from Yan'Tyr and many of the other employees acquired during the Great Takeover, and she admired its simplicity. The dryad clears her throat, and looks at the obsidian troll. She deliberately shuts off her psychic pad, as well as her earpiece. "What do we keep in mind if we have to continue research here?"

The tired giant rests on her hands, staring at the figure slowly pacing the cell.

"Euclid-Red."

Crocell is surprised. "Not Yellow?"

Yan'Tyr stands up with rock-cracking joints, heading for the door. Crocell follows with a last look back, before her companion gives her reason. "It was the only thing found alive in the entire Superevent perimeter. Either they caused it, came out of it, or they're tough enough to survive it. That's Red."

It's left at that as they hurry off to meet with the delegates. When you have guests like The Beautiful Prince, Duke Sauber, and one of the Council of Ulthar, then you dropped what you were doing and you made them happy. Especially when the list of clients who weren't liquidated was rapidly shrinking.


JT Jag
Aug 30, 2009

#1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver
lmao if they show us off as a potential product to Duke Sauber he's gonna slaughter everyone in the building

Blood-oaths are a big deal

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 203 days!
im being pretty lazy picking cwsitg because they're highest level. seems to be winning though.

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

I’m going Pitch Black Cat because they can teach us catmouflage, which I still think would be absurdly useful.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - Catcalled

Cat What Swims In The Ground - 7
Pitch Black Cat - 2
Dead Cat - 6
Prince Cattington - 3
9th Cat - 2
Stinky - 1
Chips - 1
Cornstarch - 0
Chowder - 1


LOADING...

...LOADING

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Black August posted:

LOADING...

...LOADING
These crises don’t just cause themselves, you know!

habituallyred
Feb 6, 2015
drat, was it chowder or cornstarch that were fruits of nepotism.

edit: twas chips

habituallyred fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Jun 7, 2021

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 203 days!
anyhow i don't think cats like it when someone tries to sell their own person to them

JT Jag
Aug 30, 2009

#1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver

Hodgepodge posted:

anyhow i don't think cats like it when someone tries to sell their own person to them
Yeah but they might also find it funny

Probably less of an immediately violent reaction than if Duke Sauber found out, but also if they did piss off Cat What Swims In The Ground they'd be way more hosed.

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 203 days!

JT Jag posted:

Yeah but they might also find it funny

Probably less of an immediately violent reaction than if Duke Sauber found out, but also if they did piss off Cat What Swims In The Ground they'd be way more hosed.

im not sure if the tyrant will have an easy time showing the appropriate fealty to cwsitg but on the other hand the tyrant kinda gets cats and also appropriate fealty is knowing the proper time for pets and maybe a tummy rub

the tyrant might make a big show of it which might actually amuse cwsitg

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



I mean, on the one hand, I can't see the Tyrant being subservient to anyone else. On the other hand, they're cats, and "being subservient" means "petting them and opening tins of wet food for them", plus every villainTyrant needs a cat to stroke.

Yeah, I like to think that the Tyrant aspect would be fine with cat overlords.

Edit: Wait, they took all of our items, including the Moloch Buster. Which means they gave Burner essentially backdoor access to their secure facility. Has there been any indication how Burner or the Lords in general feel about MC&D? As in, will Burner's first reaction to spawning at the Moloch Buster be to point it straight down and fire when she realizes where she is?

Randalor fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Jun 7, 2021

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

Are they gone?










...yeah, they're gone. The brief uplink to the etherboard gave me just enough reflection to feel out two other minds close to me. Swirls of icydeep blue and a raw obsidian density. Nothing more than that. I start to pace the room, fist tight to knuckle-white, the monotony of paper shoes shuffling giving me something to focus my discontent at.

I need to keep a tight lid on. This has to be something to do with the Fae. Has to be. A dream- I need to remember a damned dream. I know I'm being watched as we speak; one of the screens plainly shows me from a corner angle. There's nothing visible in the corner it's supposedly viewing me from, and that's absolutely not the only thing watching me.

My mind races. I grab it, pull it back, squeeze, and demand it take it slow enough to think through an initial plan.


(IQ - Think.) 10 - [1]+[1]+[3] = 5 - Success.

...

Ok. This is a bad situation. They can suppress most of my abilities, and revealing my Tyranny will lead to them figuring out a way to shut it down, no doubt. I have no weapons. No materials; I could start to tear apart the room, but I wouldn't get far before they'd stop me. They can feed and water me with automation. They can interrogate me remotely. I can't foresee anyone or anything entering the chamber, so I can't get out that way.

I keep pacing the cell. Time passes, and I'm already losing track of a count. For all the clarity I have, none of it is giving me a way out of this. I may be in here for days. Weeks. Months. Long enough that eventually, a scythe will come knocking. Long enough that Kwiat...

Stop. Don't end up there. I keep pacing, slow and deliberate, forcing my biology to refuse the chemical sway of panic. My fingers burn from where nails dig into my palms, the necessary details of the dream still out of my grasp. No doubt there's something in the chamber stopping the ability to descend to the Dreamlands as well. So how. How do I get out of this? How do I survive? There's no solution. Little hope.

I step over the kitten running across my path, making sure not t-



(Will - DO NOT SCREAM) 19 - [6]+[6]+[5] = 17 - Critical Failure!

I scream, leap back, smash into the wall, and collapse on the floor with the wind knocked out of me. I groan and curl up, while the little kitten wanders to me and starts to loudly mewl in protest of my ruckus. I sit up, noticing I've ripped one of my paper shoes, and hold my head while my heart slows back down.

Then, with incredible patience, I address the kitten by asking it how the HELL it got in here. It responds by rolling over and pawing at the tatter of my shoe, claws yanking some strips off. I sigh and reach down, petting the kitten. I want to ask how it knew I was here, but the moment I open my mouth it races off to a corner of the chamber. To escape through an open vent. That I'm absolutely positive was NOT there a second ago.

I scramble more animal than I'd like, but I don't dare allow the kitten to leave my sight. I force myself manically into the small opening, wriggling my way through while I watch the kitten clumsily catwalk ahead of me in the dark passage. I can make out metal, plastic, circuitry, all of it dense enough to hold a million unknown functions. Looking past the kitten, I can make out an exit to another chamber. I pull myself out, birthed from metal guts and back down onto cold flooring, rolling once before I look back through the vent to s- annnnnnnnnd it's gone. There is no vent. There's just a smooth stone wall.

I flip around with my hand going for my gun, grasping at air before I turn it into a clenched fist. But there's nothing to court my tyrannical intent. Unlike my chamber, this one seems practically rustic. Stone floors, no monitors or special markings, no magic or psychic killing materials built in. There's a door like my cell had, but it's locked. The kitten scampers around, before it starts playing on top of the what the cell is meant to contain.

A machine... complicated looking. I have no idea what it does, how it works, or if it'll help me.



Which means I'm going to start messing with it immediately.

Rubix Squid
Apr 17, 2014
ALL HAIL THE KITTY!

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

"I know what absolutely none of these buttons do, but I'm going to press all of them." :allears:

Black August
Sep 28, 2003



I sweep my eyes one more time, to make absolutely sure we're alone in here with the machine. I look it over, finding the baroque of a hundred metal-glass parts. There's a great deal of lights, colored liquids, crystals, and even more specialized pieces. I pluck at some strings, fiddle a few knobs, and spend time trying to see how easily I can activate or sabotage it.

The kitten plays while I work, stressing my mind to understand what the thing even does. I figure out that I need to sit in it where there's an obvious indentation for space, putting controls within arm's reach. The controls look like they move and calibrate the crystals, lights, and color vials in a splaying order. Tinkering with that for a while gives me a result; a screen lights up, informing me that it's now set to 'Palette 1'. A little more tinkering into different orders makes the display change, going from Palette 1, to 7, then 3, 5, 11, 9... I force my calm while I operate, until I figure out that there's 11 preset combinations I can make it bring up.

Some more experimentation lets me know that, when a palette is selected and a button is pressed, the crystals and lights all re-align their position to be further up and surrounding me; another button lights up afterwards, and I press it with little hesitation, already prepared to bolt if the device turns out to be a casual murder machine.

But that doesn't happen. With 'Palette 2' selected, the machine begins to hum and sing, thousand of minuscule gears and conduits coming to life. There's a wonderful bubbling noise as the vials start to boil and glow with their liquid color, which feeds to the crystals and the lights. Their saturation intensifies until I have to shield my eyes from a sudden overexposure; the machine powers down not a second after, the devices all retracting. I... don't know what it did. I stand up slowly, itching my head in wonder. But when I pull off a strain of hair with the itch, and then turn to look into a crystal's reflection, I understand the function of the machine.



Ah. Huh. I examine myself all over, noticing the distinct change in my coloration. Body, hair, eyes, the suit... all a new shade. I don't feel any different, though. I sit back down and work the machine again, setting it to Palette 1. Thankfully, and as I suspected, that one seems to return me to normal. But now like the kitten trying to combat the moving crystals, I'm curious. I peek at the door, and then start to quickly select each palette, and see what it does.



Mmm... no. Too much like those plant women.



No.



Eh.



I don't need more red in my physiology.



Steel blue. Like it, but don't feel like it.



Everything is- it's inverted. I can't help but gawk at how weird it makes me look, before I move on.



Mmm. I'd rather this color stay hidden in my mind.



And I'd rather keep my saturation from going this bright. There's one more left, but.



...it makes me uneasy for a reason I can't articulate.

Disappointed, I start to set the colors back to my true shades, when I notice that I can go past 11- onto a 12th Palette. This setup makes the machine start to hum laboriously, as additional crystals and light projectors all align into an intimidating shape. Pleased, I let it finish its setup, and then smash the button.









Nothing happens. I smash it again, and then realize I can't depress the button at all. It's locked into place, and on the display screen under the palette selection, there's a warning that informs me I need to provide clearance. Since I don't have that, I give up for now and reset the machine back to give me my original palette, before I get off. I make sure everything is the shades I came in with, before I start to pace the room with one and a half paper shoes.

What the Hell do I do with this? I could keep experimenting with the machine, by trying to break it open and seeing what's inside. I could try to leave the cell now, and make my way out into the danger of the unknown halls beyond. I could wait for someone to pass by, giving me the drop and a chance to arm myself. Or I can just wait here, and see if my absence next door is noticed. No idea if this room is being observed...

So I have to make up my mind, fast.

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Let's paint ourselves the twelfth colour! What could possibly go wrong? (And Paprika Blue will appreciate it - we never did retrieve her stuff, after all.)

Any theories on why we're so averse to white and purple?

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



White I would guess is just because it goes against the Dark aspect of Tyrant. As for purple... no idea, either reminds Tyrant of someone from their past that they can't remember, or maybe they just don't like purple as a hair color?

Arcanuse
Mar 15, 2019

Dunno about purple. White brings Smiercia to mind?

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - Color Me Surprised

Mess with the palette machine to see what it gives me. [Perception Check] - 14
Leave the cell and head out. - 4
Wait for someone to pass by, and get the drop on them. [Stealth Check] - 5
Wait and see what happens once they realize I'm gone. - 0


LOADING...

...LOADING


In addition, let's do a brief code peek at the names of each of the palettes seen.

1. BASE
2. Brown
3. Green
4. Redhead
5. Purple
6. Cherry
7. Blue Steel
8. Invert
9. Silver
10. Gold
11. Tourmaline
12. The 12th Palette

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Ah, that makes sense - I'd thought tourmaline was more of a hot pink.

Hodgepodge
Jan 29, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 203 days!

pumpinglemma posted:

Ah, that makes sense - I'd thought tourmaline was more of a hot pink.

its hard to represent as a color because its actually closer to mother-of-pearl than an actual color, I think?

i like the idea of using a more complex pattern/texture as a color though. bismuth would be an awesome "color."

Randalor
Sep 4, 2011



Oh... oh dear... I think I just remembered what the unknown color probably is. We like bright neon pink and Nicholas Cage being Nicholas Cage right? The Colour Out of Space is both Cthulhu-mythos related AND colour related.

OneWingedDevil
Aug 27, 2012

pumpinglemma posted:

Let's paint ourselves the twelfth colour! What could possibly go wrong? (And Paprika Blue will appreciate it - we never did retrieve her stuff, after all.)

Any theories on why we're so averse to white and purple?

Looks like the "white" color was actually silver. So Tyrant just doesn't like wearing Silver Mind's color, makes some sense given their general paranoia that they'd think of "hiding" that color. It's a weapon, to be kept carefully concealed in midnight dark until needed.

Randalor posted:

Oh... oh dear... I think I just remembered what the unknown color probably is. We like bright neon pink and Nicholas Cage being Nicholas Cage right? The Colour Out of Space is both Cthulhu-mythos related AND colour related.

Given we're in the LC wing of MC&D, it makes sense that a tool secretly could connect to a thing like that.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

I wander back to the machine, feeling a combination of curiosity and sheer spite. It demands I at least try my hand at tinkering, especially at the expense of whoever is trying to cage me.

Spidering, I lean and crawl towards the device's back to take a look, the kitten pawing at my shredded shoe while I lay down. I look around carefully, gently handling the underside to see where it might open up.

(PE - Show me the way in.) 13 - [4]+[3]+[5] = 12 - Success.

...yes. Right here. There's a hatch I can make out, small and baroque in style. I cram my jagged nails into the outline, finding a catch, and begin the labor of tearing it off.

(ST - Six-Pack Lockpick) 19 - [3]+[1]+[5] = 9 - Success.

There... a little yanking... and then I WRENNNNNCCCHH and immediately flip over, because I grossly overestimated how hard the panel would be to take off. It flies out and smashes into the ground, creating a racket as bad as my earlier scream. I wait a beat. The kitten mewls in annoyance. I swallow, and then peek inside of the color-changing device.



...huh. Uh...

(IQ - Uhhhhh...) 10 - [5]+[4]+[3] = 12 - Failure.

I sigh, and lie back on the floor for a minute. I clench a fist, feeling my tyrannical intent starting to cloud my judgment. But then I get an idea. I leap up and turn the machine back on, forcing it into the 12th Palette selection mode. When the crystals and arrays lock into place, I lie back down and peek into the guts again. Nothing... wait, no. Something did change, but it's hidden behind the strange arrays of glass circuits and colorgears. Hm.

I make up my mind. Exhaling, and making sure the kitten isn't too near, I reach out to touch my hand to the crystal guts of the machine. My eyes close. Then, my fist clenches, and I make the royal of my demand.


(!Midnight) 15 - [6]+[6]+[3] = 15 - Success... by a hair.

[-3 HP]
HP: [ 15 / 21 ]
FP: [ 14 / 14 ]


It proves much more difficult than I anticipated. I struggle, my fist closed tight as blood begins to seep from the nails, my face iron with furious focus. I feel my gravity seep into the delicates, gently powdering them into a fine gemdust, grinding down with a precision I'm not used to or fond of. But with the steady burn of my blood, it's soon cleared out, rendering the machine inert. The prizes inside are now mine to take.



Plugged into dozens of different slots are small crystal containers, sealed and filled with a rainbow of unusual colours. I peek through them carefully, looking for... a... there! At the very end. One vial that is larger and more durable than the rest, filled with a color that I can best describe as chromatically aberrant. I reach in and gently WRENCH it out of the socket, making sure to rip the cable going into it out of the machine. There. I have it. The 12th Palette. I carefully pocket it, wary of how easily it can break when I don't have any gear to protect it in, and then stare at the machine.

...

No. I won't completely destroy it, as good as it'd feel. The kitten is too close by. I look down at my gemdust-soaked jumpsuit, and get one more idea before I go. I reach in and find a black vial. Without hesitation, I rip it out and shatter it with a single stare, and watch as the concentrated color splashes onto my suit, and gently alters its orange shades to be a dense black, glittering with a starfield of colors. It'll have to do until I'm safe in my suit again.

I head to the door slowly, and lean up to peek out the viewport. Nothing but- but it's red. Why is the lighting outside red? Was it a moment ago? Is this from the color machine? I test my luck and try the handle. Not locked from the inside- the door pops open easily, with a soft hiss and release. Deathly slow, I lie down and then peek outside to see up and down the hall.




Dark. Quiet. Red. Something crawls up my spine to gently tickle my brain with the promise that there's danger waiting, and that I'd have to face it with my hands. I step outside once I'm SURE nobody is coming, and watch as the kitten charges ahead of me. I notice that the cell is called 'C-330' - there's no more information than that. The kitten races down the left hall, scampering with exuberance. I swear and follow; it's my only lead. I tear off the paper shoes before I go so I don't slip on the smooth-polish floors.

I go past several more chamber doors, but I always duck under the porthole so I'm not seen by anything inside. Each one had the letter M, C, or D, paired with a number. I'd love to look and loot, but every second I spend idle compromises my escape. So I keep running after the kitten, through red silence, until I come to a much larger door that informs me I'm about to exit from 'Emain Ablach South'.

Only, I'm not leaving; it looks like the lights are red for a reason, as I hear a tremendous commotion somewhere past the door, which is blocked. It's already too late - I've been seen.


[Shadow: Damnation Demands Death]

Regallion
Nov 11, 2012

On one hand, i have no idea what we can do to survive NUCLEAR POLLINATION.
On the other hand, it's not deimos, so the other options are not too interesting.

FAT BATMAN
Dec 12, 2009

I like how “Ogre Werewolf” sounds like a huge threat, but is winning the poll because at least it’s something where we can have some sort of grasp on the nature of its threat.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - The Doom That Came To Emain Ablach

Agent Ladan - 5
Ogre Werewolf - 7
Chjotzo - 6
Nuclear Pollination - 5


LOADING...

...LOADING

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

Minor correction I forgot going into this boss fight. The character has 19 HP since they don't have the ST bonus from Red's shroud. Current HP is now 15/19 - giving them a tiny freebie. Damage is reduced by 1d as well from going below the ST 20 threshold.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

It's a split-second assessment.



I'm in deep poo poo.

In front of the exit is an enormity of murdering sinew, hulk-shaped and tooth-long, weeping furious as claws elongate into the throat of a well-gone Agent. Through the door I can hear distant sounds of carnage; animal howls, pained screams, intense confusion. But my attention has to be on this one threat. As the monstrosity eviscerates its victim, it begins to speak with a choked tone.

"THIEF! THIEF! THIEF! THIEEEEFFFFF!"

The word is said with a loathing I can smell. Tears obscure the monster's blank eyes, and even when its victim is dead, it still shakes it and rakes it and makes wild demands. "GIVE IT BACK TO HIM! GIVE IT BACK!! OH KAIGEN! KAIGEN! BRING IT BACK TO HIM! EVVVERY HUMILIATION WILL BE HEALED. MIGHT! MIGHT! MIGHT! MIGHT!"

Each growling shout punctuated by another clawstroke, turning meat to ribbons to shreds to mush. The powerful giant sinks to its knees, crying even harder as it fruitlessly pulls apart the dead corpse, squeezing out blood and organs as though they hide what it's looking for.

That's when it sees me, twisting its head with a gasp. I can make out the unnatural wolf-shape of its face, twisted into open-mouth slavering. It rises and stalks towards me, hands open with pleading.

"GIVE IT BACK TO HIM. PLEASE! YOU MUST GIVE IT BACK TO KAIGEN! THIEF! THIEF!!!"

I crack my neck, well aware how much smaller I am, its claws each as big as my hand. I have to get past it somehow. I have to survive and understand what the Hell is going on.


TYRANNY: [ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][60%]

! BOSS FIGHT !
OST: War In Hell



BOSS FIGHT LOG posted:

Kaigen's Faithful weeps, "OH MY KAIGEN! MIGHTY MIGHTY KAIGEN!"

It wipes the tears away to see me properly while I stare and ready myself.

[Passive] The Silver Mind's reflection reveals foresight.

'One of the few ogres chosen to become a werewolf under the Beast. The lunacy of the Moon mingled with the Dreams of Might, creating something too strong to remain stable in the face of their Emperor's loss of his destiny. They have nothing now but the fanatic need to restore him to his promised future.'

* It's a Faerie and Werewolf.
* Its mood is MOURNING, ENRAGED, and DETERMINED.
* It has Giant ST, Athletic DX, Dull IQ, Adamant HT, Average WL, Alert PE.
* Its Defense is Evasive.
* Its DR is 5.
* It's Weak [x2] to Psychic, Vulnerable [x3] to Silver.
* It's using a Mighty Rood.
* Techniques: [Mighty Hews] - [Howling] - [Throatless]

BOSS FIGHT LOG posted:

I lean down, ready to match its grief-tensed reflexes. The ogrewolf rakes its claws on the metal walls as it stands, showering sparks through the redtint air. It's an ogre, so I provoke its need to test its strength by suddenly grabbing its hands to lock and push.

(My Strength) 19 - [1]+[5]+[1] = 7 - Success by 12.
(Its Strength) 30 - [1]+[5]+[4] = 10 - Success by 20. Winner.


I now know how strong this beast is.
Strong enough to lift me up and toss me like a sack of stupid poo poo.

(Wall Slam) 14 - [3]+[3]+[4] = 10 - Success.
7 damage!

HP: [ 8 / 19 ] [Half HP!]

Something almost breaks when I impact with the metal. I flop down, forcing air back into my lungs while I autopilot to standing. Straight fighting isn't going to work. I need to focus. I need the Silver.

(!PSI ESP Dark a) 11 - [6]+[3]+[1] = 10 - Success.
(WL - Resist) 10 - [2]+[5]+[6] = 13 - Failure.

I force open my third eye with the gravity of my intent. It shines, casting the thoughtlight of Silver's pure nature through the mental space of the corridor, catching the ogre wolf full blast. All it can think now is SILVER, its world turning to gleaming rays of brightest grays.

[Inflicted 'Terrible Pain' status!]

STATUS EFFECTS posted:

PAIN
You have a penalty to all DX, IQ, WL, and Skill rolls. This is -2 for Moderate Pain, -4 for Severe Pain, and -6 for Terrible Pain.

It doesn't even scream, all its agony expressed through violent body language. My psychic touch tells me it's already in an emotionally devastated state, which I've amplified to lunatic heights. It charges at me, the fourway choice telling it Frenzy is the only response allowed.

(Mighty Hews) 14(-8) - [5]+[1]+[1] = 7 - Failure... But Only By One.
(-6 for Terrible Pain) (-2 for Defense)

Even in the mist of its pure pain, the ogrewolf nearly takes my face off. I lean just far enough to weave away from the claw train, watching the metal wall take a gouging. It forces me backwards, which isn't ideal. I have to get past it, and I don't have enough blood or offense to directly take it on. I need to bring the Silver Mind to my will again, and I need to push it to its limit, forcing it if necessary. I inhale, ignoring the burning in my body. I search the reflection dimmed by my darkness. Where is it...

PSI Collodial Biology ε
PSI Silver Flash ε
PSI Braincurse Ω
PSI Mirror Ω
PSI Clouding ε


THERE.

I raise my fist, clenching it.

(!Tyranny) 17 - [1]+[6]+[6] = 13 - Success.

I've looped the Silver Mind through my closed hand. I pull it taut, and I make my demand.

(The Silver Mind is f͠or̛c̸ed͞ to try PSI Braincurse Ω.) 16 - [4]+[5]+[4] = 13 - Success by 3.
(WL - The Kaigen Faithful tries to resist...) 8(-6) - [3]+[4]+[2] = 9 - Failure by 7.
(-6 for Terrible Pain)

https://i.imgur.com/4zBHlSN.mp4

The blue of my mutant neurons flare with the power of the most dangerous silver. I can feel them clean and hot in my skull, my darkness now contrasted against the purebright. I enact my intent, the psychic signals sending their terrible payload directly into the fragile glass of the ogrewolf's naked brain. Millions of neurons activate in unison, each of them sending a screaming demand with no regard for coordination or contradiction.

[Inflicted 'Agony', 'Retching', 'Suffocating', 'Stunned', 'Seizure' statuses!]

I know the Silver Mind loathes the idea of using this technique, but I wasn't going to give it a choice. The only kindness I afford is that I won't voyeur the nature of the psychic attack. I simply let it take its course. I can run past now, or...

(Bloodlust) 16 - [4]+[2]+[3] = 9 - Success.

Or I can raise a red fist to an empty Heaven before I leave.

Victory enough.

HP: [ 8 / 19 ]
FP: [ 12 / 14 ]
[The Silver Mind is reviled.]


..where is the kitten? No sight. No time.

The door is forced open and I'm running through. I feel my stressed neurons, still afterburn hot, vent their psychic exhaust with a searing silver expansion of extrasensory lances, crashing down the halls. I stumble and lean on a wall for a critical few seconds, seei


The Silver Mind posted:

He was pacing mad. For the first time since you met, you're genuinely afraid of him.

The Psychic has just found out that something has fundamentally changed. Something you and Aitvaras are aware of, but he isn't. The reflection of your mind sent him into shock, a storm of anxiety and anger. He moves with energy he can't seem to shake out of his thin limbs, hands clawing at bookshelves and pulling apart pillows.

You know he isn't mad at you. He's afraid with you, the colors of his emotions reflected cleanly and clearly into your thoughts. Just as the tide becomes unbearable, he shuts it down with an immediate regulation of thought, silver turning it all to a sad slow ice.

He sits down, and doesn't touch his coffee. He has to ask you one more time, just to hear it in your voice.

"This wasn't always our life?"

ng flashes of nonsensical sights and sounds and colors. They become more intense as I rush the hallway to try to find a way out to safety, nearly tripping over a score of apples on the ground. I -tripleap over them onto more wooden floors, f

Iron posted:

It was going to be her only way of getting out of this. Push every blessing of iron as far as divinity could call, crushing, ripping, bending every assault directed at her. It was inconceivable chance she'd be brought in the moment a breach happened and came through and let her fight free. She could escape.

eeling bile in my belly, still hungry for a meal. I pause for a second and look around. Wooden floors. Copper railings. Magitech installations. A shaft in the center of the room, to accommodate an enormous treestalk flowering with thousands of ripe apples of a dizzying variety of color, texture, material, scent. I ignore it and try to figure out where to go to leave.



I need to feel the gravity. I raise my fist and...

(!Midnight) 15 - [6]+[4]+[6] = 16 - Failure.
[-1 HP]
HP: [ 7 / 19 ]


And I fall over as the pain redoubles and I can't even th

Vorpal posted:

He walked with ease, claws clicking on the marble flooring of the locked down reception halls. Formerly locked down. As his lovely guide calmly informed him, the facility was compromised by an attack from no less than four separate fronts. He looked at his fellow guest, who swam serenely in the marble floor. They are smelling the air though; they sensed something curious.

ink which way is up.
Up.
I have to get up.


(Will - Stand.) 19 - [6]+[4]+[1] = 11 - Success.

TYRANNY: [ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][ X ][70%]

I cut the pain loose out into the dark, and get back up with ease. My shadow is dense. I go right and up some presented stairs without context to guide me.

On the way, I find and grab an apple that's within reach. I need to eat something.
[Voting ends later tonight.]

JT Jag
Aug 30, 2009

#1 Jaguars Sunk Cost Fallacy-Haver
Bubblegum blue has consistently been used as shorthand for healing in the past, which we could use.

pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Oh good, looks like Sauber and The Cat What Swims In The Ground have caught our scent. So the big question is, who's attacking? Agreed that healing would be pretty good right now, so it's worth taking the blue apple. Although there's meant to be an apple for every tag in the game's code - I could see the appeal in experimenting...

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002
When has choosing pale gone wrong?

Marluxia
May 8, 2008


There's something fundamentally wrong with the colour orange, isn't there? Every time it's come up as an option when there are colors, it's not a normal result right? Let's try it out!

Rubix Squid
Apr 17, 2014

JT Jag posted:

Bubblegum blue has consistently been used as shorthand for healing in the past, which we could use.

Good enough for me.

Nick Buntline
Dec 20, 2007
Doesn't know the impossible.

pumpinglemma posted:

So the big question is, who's attacking?

I would assume one force is Kaigen's followers given the fight and the note about the werewolves being activated (there's a chance the Werewolf Ogre was Kaigen's rep from the Earmur action, got captured afterwords, and has just been here ever since, but that seems unlikely).. Presumably the Burner Cult are also attacking given Nuclear Pollination being a possible option earlier (the other two being the MCD Agent and Chjotzo who is another escaped Euclid Yellow). Merkja is possibly also here, but she may be an escapee rather an attacker (unclear from the text). I would guess the other 1-2 are Dreamlands/Mythos forces upset with MCD's position/actions in the current apocalypse - Celephais and Leng were cited as not present at the auction and seem likely options (the latter was because of "natural disaster" that might have been our actions at the camp, so they could very well be here for us).

Actually, going down the list, there's a non-zero chance they're all here for us specifically - Sauber and the cats will definitely (probably) help if they realize we're the Ambassador, but anyone else who makes the connection between us and both events might be even more pissed at us than MCD.

Black August
Sep 28, 2003

VOTING CLOSED - An Apple For Every Day

Pale Lavender Apple - 2
Silk Yellow Apple - 2
Leaf Green Apple - 0
Musou Black Apple - 3
Ruby Red Apple - 1
Bubblegem Blue Apple - 7
Transparent Orange Apple - 2


LOADING...

...LOADNG

Regallion
Nov 11, 2012

Eh, musoublack would have probably made us kill one thousand mooks single-handedly, but i guess some healing is also good enough.

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pumpinglemma
Apr 28, 2009

DD: Fondly regard abomination.

Whoa. Bird of Night is obviously Hunter, and Giant of Light could be Moulder given that it’s a mountain. Does that mean Doubler is the Mouse of Sight?

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