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Yeah, a decker convention of *all* places is the absolute worst place to drop Blitz's name
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Apr 7, 2024 04:14
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 07:55 |
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Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! posted:the noodles are traditional. no further questions Poil posted:Gobbet might end up worshipping the thing. JT Jag posted:Yeah, a decker convention of *all* places is the absolute worst place to drop Blitz's name
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Apr 7, 2024 05:47
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quote:It's too late, Nancy. At least a dozen people have already eaten from the thing. We can't shut it down now, and we sure as hell can't let anyone know about it. If people were to get sick, the show could be held liable! Look. If it's any consolation, I've been poring through the logs of old shows to see if anyone had mentioned the Noodle Extruder, and I found something. This is amazing. Deckers discussing how eating lovely noodles is part of the convention makes for a fun tidbit about tradition and habit. Then the noodles being made from nothing makes for a great punchline. But the bit about the conversation having happened every year for fourteen years adds just the right absurd and horror. I mean, what if you were the person writing the e-mail and realizing you've already had that exact same talk for so long? I love it.
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Apr 7, 2024 14:25
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I think it's that it's different people realizing the same thing year over year, since the Con presumably changes venue and staffing is dependent on who's contracted for it. I'm not sure if the version you propose or the way I saw it is scarier.
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Apr 7, 2024 14:34
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I always assumed different staff as well. Maybe the catering was an attempt to break The Curse of The Noodle Extruder?
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Apr 7, 2024 14:39
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Poil posted:I always assumed different staff as well. Heh, I like that. You could make an entire story about every day folks trying to get by under management's usually idiotic decisions, until they realize they are trying to break a noodle making machine curse. Maybe that's what the story has been gearing up towards to all this time. Think about it, Gobbet is in love with food, and she will fall in love with the machine. Isobel realizes it's tied to her past. Racter will marvel at the wonders it conjures out of nothng, Gaichu and gunshow will be Gaichu and Gunshow. And then, at the very end, when they finally found out who attacked their father figure... It was the noodle making machine all long. 'Cause the father figure wanted to change the menu for the convention and the machine didn't like it. It's got everything, drama, betrayal, and noodles.
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Apr 7, 2024 18:20
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Ofc, the machine communicates its instructions in the bowls of noodles themselves, the contents twisting into eldritch symbols which must be obeyed.
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Apr 11, 2024 07:30
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Turns out the machine was behind it all, including our foster father's disappearance. This is going to be a cool final fight.
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Apr 11, 2024 12:58
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You're spaghetting closer, but I think we're already pasta the point of hints and allusions. The noodle machine is our father.
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Apr 11, 2024 13:13
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Hmmmm...you know, we never have checked if we are a sentient pile of pasta or not...
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Apr 11, 2024 14:42
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That's it - doing my next playthrough as a shaman of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
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Apr 11, 2024 15:00
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The noodle machine was originally created by someone trying to harness the power of an Asian cousin of the Flying Pasta Monster. It is powered by that unfortunate mage’s soul.
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Apr 11, 2024 15:37
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Fighting Trousers posted:That's it - doing my next playthrough as a shaman of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Noodle me this, Batman. Udon know what I broth to bear against you as I wheat and see what the city shall become, pho real. Ramen.
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Apr 11, 2024 15:55
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You folks are on a roll with the noodle related puns. I'm just picturing some random decker at the con waiting in line for noodles. Then some person in front of them falls to their knees and goes "daddy? Daddy, where have you been all this time?" starts crying and hugging the machine. And someone behind the decker just mumbles "not again..." Mindopali fucked around with this message at 18:11 on Apr 11, 2024 |
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Apr 11, 2024 17:57
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Apr 11, 2024 18:30
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You are one beautiful, beautiful person.
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Apr 11, 2024 20:47
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Apr 12, 2024 01:45
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You didn't need to change the character's name - as listed on page 3 of the thread, Shin Black is already an existing instant noodle variety. It's literally why Shin Black is named that in this LP. It's the slightly smoother and fancier version of regular Shin Ramyun.
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Apr 14, 2024 13:02
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There's a name. And then there's feeling the noodle machine that you have always been. One holds so much more potential. Mindopali fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Apr 14, 2024 |
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Apr 14, 2024 14:13
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Part 39 - Backroom Conflicts  Barely has Is0bel made it out of the elevator, where a chance encounter almost ended our hopes for an only mildly violent run, when she's stopped again by some kind of commotion in the hallway leading to the door we're very patiently waiting for her to open for us.      Great. Another roadblock.[Is0bel's small voice chirps out, echoing your words.]  Great, another roadblock.Oh, now we're back to repeat mode? Guess we better watch the sarcastic remarks before she ends up pissing off someone troublesome again. Doesn't seem like she needs our help for that part anyway. [With an exaggerated motion, the troll swings her head toward Is0bel.]  YOU, dwarf-girl! Help me! Theesh--[She hiccups mightily. The sound reverberates in your ears.] ...Theesh DREKHEADSH want me to leave! Becaush I'm a TROLL! Uh... what's happening here? None of your business. You're not even hotel staff - you shouldn't be back here at all! Now clear... nnght... clear the way and report to your manager - quit fighting me, drat it! - before I talk to him for you!Great advice! Nobody in this room, er, that room, is having a great time tonight so let's please just go our separate ways and let everyone involved do their jobs in peace. [The former door guard stares at Is0bel. Recognition dawns on her face.]  Hey, I remember you. You said that you had to meet some caterers up on six. What are you doing down here? Well, here we go again it seems. Alright, let's try to keep things non-confrontational, these two don't seem to be in any better mood than that last guy. Plus we're dealing with the actual security this time rather than just the threat of it. Okay. Say "I was just checking to see if anybody down here wanted a drink." Just checking to see if anyone needed a drink. You, uh... you want a mojito?[The man strains against the troll's drunken efforts. His brow is beaded with sweat.] You... aah! You shouldn't - HOLD STILL! - be here. Not even to offer drinks![The troll looks down on Is0bel and issues a mush-mouthed plea.] IGNORE these pigsh and HELP me! I'll take the runt on the left, you take the right! [Is0bel stares into the PDA. She looks irritated.] To hell with this. It's a waste of time, and we've got a schedule to keep.[Her hand moves towards her weapon.] What do you mean? What schedule? Okay, not being a social butterfly is one thing, but this is like watching an actual social rhinoceros just smashing violently into everything talkative she comes across. What the hell can we even say to salvage this one now, nothing good comes to mind at all. Ugh, schedule... catering... food... Wait, maybe we can try to repeat what we did earlier with those runners, a namedrop of something sufficiently specific and well-known enough to give her some credibility. We did read some horror stories about something that might fit the bill on Shadowlands not long ago. It's a long shot but hey, at this point... Say: "My work schedule. After I'm done here, I need to pull a double-shift at Uncle Tse's House of Pork."  You work at Uncle Tse's? That place is a vomit factory.[Is0bel's voice goes deadly serious.] I know. ...Look, just hurry back to the kitchen and get out of our hair.[She steps aside to let Is0bel pass.] That was close.[There is a brief pause, then she mutters a response under her breath. The mic barely picks it up.] This is exhausting. No more improvisation for me, I'm done with this. From now on, I'm your parrot - just tell me what to say and I'll say exactly that. After what almost happened in the elevator, I think that's a good call. She's almost the door anyway and the path seems clear, surely we're spared any more random encounters from h-  Gah!    You can't be serious, now it's the catering manager himself?! This has got to be some kind of curse at this point, maybe that guy we knocked out was real close with some jerkass deity or another. Urgh... I got turned around. These hotels all look the same to me.  Turned around? There are signs all over the place![His cheeks slowly begin to turn red.] What are you doing wandering around back here at all? You should be in one of two places: the show floor or the kitchen. Period.And why is everyone's so drat angry all the time too, can't we at least meet someone chill for a change? I didn't know. I'm new here. "I didn't know. I'm new here." Yeah, no poo poo. I don't recogniz-- MEANWHILE...  Wait, excuse me? What?[He leans in. Gets in your face. You can taste the onions on his breath.]  I said that it's time to get off the damned demo kiosk! You've been hogging it for way too long, and there's a line here!Can you seriously not be here and do this right now man Just give me five more minutes, and it's all yours. "Just give me five more minutes, and it's all yours." What's all mine? What are you talking about? You aren't even one of our employees, are you? Do I need to get security? I *said,* that's enough! I've been following the devs of this software for *months* now, and I traveled seventeen hours to try it out myself. You do *not* get to tell me that I flew here for nothing. Get the hell off the kiosk or I'm calling security!You know what fine, go call your precious security. Hell, why don't we all call security together, make it a real nice moment of mutual bonding before they gun us down and finally free us from whatever endless nightmare touching this cursed kiosk apparently dragged us into. Get out of my face before I break your damned nose.[He bristles with rage.] Oh, you wanna get physical over this? *Huge* mistake, asshat. I'm not just an enthusiast, I'm a *shadowrunner.* Last chance. Get out of my way or I'll put you in the ground. [He brings up his wrist to stare at the screen, a frown etched onto his face.] But she's been hogging the kiosk for nearly a half an hour already-- You'll live. Besides, you're *supposed* to be scoring us water bottles, remember? NovaHott is in dire need of refreshment. It's true. I'm parched. ...Yeah, all right. Tell her sorry, I didn't think this would take so long.[He shoots you an accusatory glance.] You'll all get your water soon. ...Well? You gonna speak up and tell me what you're really doing back here? I already know that you're not one of my employees. You've got about five seconds before I call security.Well, for better or worse this farce gets to continue on a while longer, impressing those runners earlier with our bullshitting seems to have ended up getting that particular fly to buzz off somewhere else. Now there's just this other one left. Alright, maybe something like... I'm here to check up on the vendors here at the show - tech vendors, the catering crew, all of it. To make sure that the reputation of our venue isn't tarnished. "I'm here to check up on the vendors here at the show - tech vendors, the catering crew, all of it. To make sure that the reputation of our venue isn't tarnished." ...Oh. You're like a secret shopper, that sort of thing.[He stares down at Is0bel, a newfound respect on his face.] Well. I hope you'll tell your employers that Pastry Magic & More! Catering went above and beyond the call of duty to respect your hotel and its rules. I, uh... yeah, I will.   Okay, the door switch is now literally RIGHT THERE, this has got to be the end it. Swear to god, if that sculpture turns out to be some goddess of food serving and demands her to recite the Mystic Rites of Catering or else she'll call security on us, we're gonna tear this building off its foundations and toss the whole drat mess into the bay. Although, there is that other unlocked door there, and it's awfully difficult to pass those by without at least a peek...  - Fun fact: The real reason we took this long to pick up Is0bel's run was specifically to unlock and read that one Shadowlands thread about the House of Pork because it enables the dialogue choice for getting past the drunk and two guards peacefully without 5 Intelligence or the Socialite etiquette. Like with most of the thread topics, its appearance is tied to the number of missions finished. - Also I wouldn't be surprised if this mission had the most unique portraits for any run in the series, there's a whole lot of them at any rate. --- In another example of this run having pretty stringent dialogue requirements, while the 5 Intelligence choice works right away, using the Socialite etiquette choice to try and fast-talk your way through drunk-and-guards encounter also requires a (relatively easy) Charisma check afterwards. It connects to the same conclusion in the end so it's not repeated here. Hey, I remember you. You said that you had to meet some caterers up on six. What are you doing down here? (Socialite) Tell them: "Sorry, I had to get more fuel canisters for the chafing dishes. We were told that you had some here." We needed more fuel for the chafing dishes, the buffet is getting cold. There was supposed to be some here. Why would we keep cooking supplies here? If anything, they'd be in the kitchen. (Charisma 4) Say: "Look, I only know what I'm told. My boss said to come here, so I did." Look, I only know what I'm told.[Her voice is firmer now. More confident.] My boss said to come here, so I did. You do what your rear end in a top hat boss tells you, don't you?[She tilts her head toward the now violently hiccuping troll.] Nice embellishment.--- Befriending the three runners earlier pacifies "Matchstick" and is practically an automatic clear through the catering manager encounter, but you can always simply decide you've had enough: ...You do *not* get to tell me that I flew here for nothing. Get the hell off the kiosk or I'm calling security! Oh, to hell with this. Change of plans, Is0bel - we're going loud. drat right we are. This was a stupid idea to begin with - we should play to our strengths.[The catering manager's eyes go wide as she reaches for her rifle.] (As a side note here: There's a couple of these mentions of Is0bel's "rifle" in this mission, likely unfixed references to the point in development when she still used a sniper rifle instead of a pistol.) I'll handle things on this end.[The decker in front of you must see something in your expression that he doesn't like. Slowly, he begins to back away.]  Well. This promises to be... interesting.[Koschei rears back on its hind legs. An attack posture. Racter smiles back at you.] Come, my friend. Let's make some noise.--- If the runner group wasn't befriended with the difficult skill checks or (half-bugged) cranial deck topic, the dual-conversation tightrope must be walked the hard way. This can go wrong for example like this: ...you do *not* get to tell me that I flew here for nothing. Get the hell off the kiosk or I'm calling security! Get out of my face before I break your damned nose. Oh, you wanna get physical over this? *Huge* mistake, asshat. I'm not just an enthusiast, I'm a *shadowrunner.* Last chance. Get out of my way or I'll put you in the ground. "Get out of my face before I break your damned nose."[The catering manager's eyes go wide. He puffs out his chest and stalks toward Is0bel, screaming.] You will *not* threaten me, you pathetic little rodent! I'm going to haul you out of here *myself!* Look, I'm here to do a job. Get out of my hair and let me do it, and I'll be on my way. What, are you a tech reviewer, or something? Never mind, don't answer that - I don't care. If you wanted special time and consideration with the kiosk, you should've arranged that with the devs *ahead of time.* But now you're wasting everybody's time, including mine. "Look, I'm here to do a job. Get out of my hair and let me do it, and I'll be on my way." A job?! I don't know what you're here to do, but it sure as hell isn't serving food for my company. You must have stolen that uniform![He slaps a button on the PDA that he wears on his wrist.] There. The guards are on their way, you little maniac. Enjoy talking to *them* about this.--- Or it can work out well, for example like this: You aren't even one of our employees, are you? Do I need to get security? ...You do *not* get to tell me that I flew here for nothing. Get the hell off the kiosk or I'm calling security! Be my guest. I work for this hotel's owner. The security team is going to take my word over yours. Oh yeah? And what do you do here, exactly?[He stands, hands on his hips, his jaw thrust out.] Tell me why I have to wait on you. "Be my guest. I work for this hotel's owner. The security team is going to take my word over yours." You work for the owner? So, then, you're not a Pastry Magic employee?[He sounds skeptical.] So, then... why are you wearing one of our uniforms? I'm here to gauge customer satisfaction with the show. We're trying to decide whether to host DeckCon again in '57. Collecting candid interviews with convention-goers and subcontractors is part of that.[The decker continues to stare, hands on his hips.] ...Huh. Well, uh... did I pass? I mean, did you get what you need from me? I really want to get my hands on that software, and I'm not leaving until I do... but I don't want my eagerness to get in the way of the show coming back next year. "I'm here to gauge customer satisfaction with the show. We're trying to decide whether to host DeckCon again in '57.[She levels her gaze at the catering manager.] "Collecting candid interviews with convention-goers and subcontractors is a part of that." Was that what this was? Some sort of weird interview? And I suppose that you were wearing one of our uniforms to throw me off balance, that kind of thing. To see if I'd make a scene.[She nods.] Mm-hmm. Well... I didn't. Please make a note of that in your report.
Kanfy fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 20:12
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This high-tension sequence is one of my favorite parts of this game.
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Apr 22, 2024 03:09
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Isobel, the end result of this mission better be worth all the crap we’re dealing with on your behalf. Seriously, the final mission of Dragonfall was less tense than this.
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Apr 22, 2024 06:40
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This has to be one of the weirdest mission in the game. Not due to weird technology or magic, we'll get plenty of that later, but just for the tone shift. We went from being pursued by half the armed forces on a city and forced to work for a kingpin in shady business to leading a socially ultra awkward nerd through a computer convention while also having to handle conversation on our end and wonder if the gods just abandoned us. Great update Kanfy, as always.
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Apr 22, 2024 19:45
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This is honestly one of my favorite missions in this game for exactly that reason. It's different without feeling like it's set in some other universe.
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Apr 22, 2024 20:42
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 07:55 |
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In the developer's commentary, they mentioned that since Is0bel is a serious, humourless character, they wanted her mission to be silly.
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Apr 22, 2024 21:28
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