Circle of Vengeance: Kung Fu Revenge Quest

After extensive thought, I've finally caved and made a Discord sever, as well as a Ko-Fi and Patreon. My reasoning for this is laid out below, but links first.

On Ko-Fi/Patreon and Why I'm Starting Them:
I'm not the fastest updating QM, this is no secret. Part of this is due to the standards I hold myself to - I don't like making sub-par work and often doing things good takes time. Part of it is due to personal inconsistency - that is, not being diligent with putting time aside to write. This used to be a far bigger thing for me, but not as much now. The biggest thing standing in my way of writing as much as I'd like to right now is, put simply, the need to earn a living. Gotta dedicate a certain amount of my time to earning money, and more often than not, time I'm doing that is time I can't write. Simple math.

Therefore, I've decided to, well, open up the option for people to support me if they want to. This has always been something I've been leery of doing, since I don't like asking for things or feeling indebted to people. Therefore, the Ko-Fi and Patreon (both offer the same benefits, Ko-Fi just gives me a larger cut) are focused on being a means of giving more goodies to whoever signs up for them, rather than acting as a tip jar or anything similar. I intend to use the money from them to try to make my stuff better first and foremost - do more art commissions, spend more time writing, give y'all more stuff to enjoy. I'll be fine regardless of how much or little money comes in from them, of course, and I'll keep writing regardless. Additionally, nothing's being paywalled - some of the tiers have some early access and behind-the-scenes stuff, but everything I make will always be released for everyone to enjoy at no cost.

In summary, look at those as a way to get bonus content and enable me to write more frequently if you like my stuff and wanna see more of it. Choose whichever platform you prefer, but I do get more money from Ko-Fi. Zero obligation to donate, I will make stuff regardless.

On Discord and Why I Made One:
In the past I've expressed my hesitancy on making a discord server for my quests, since I saw a fair few where a sort of information gap developed between those readers who were able to chat with the QM on Discord and those who didn't. I didn't enjoy that idea, and still don't - quests are a somewhat egalitarian way of enjoying and influencing a story, and I want to try to keep it that way. However, I also can't ignore the amount of community and communication that I've seen go on in quest-related discord servers - I was under the impression that making one would leech discussion away from the thread, but looking at examples like Rhunrikki Strollar, it instead seems to multiply it. With that in mind, I put a good chunk of time into polishing the server I made up into a welcoming place to foster all sorts of discussion.

@soulcake also gave me a pretty good way of addressing the information gap, that being regular Q&A drops. If you join my Discord, you'll notice that each quest category has a question and answer channel. Once questions build up in those, I'll answer them and then simply cross-post the answers to their relevant thread. Might let me keep a consistent record of my WOG statements to boot. I hope by doing this I can help people enjoy the benefits of easier communication and a shared general space that a Discord offers, without turning it into a secret cabal that only the privileged few know about. Who knows, I might even be able to do other stuff with it in the future.

Anyway, that's it from me, I'm off to bed, links are at the top of the post. Ping me with any questions or concerns and I'll get to them when I'm able!

Glimmer's always been the better martial artist between the two of you. Their capacity for learning new things has always seemed boundless to you - they absorb knowledge like a sponge, memorizing patterns and picking up facts with frankly ridiculous ease. It's something to do with their relative youth compared to their lifespan, you think - by Deep One standards, Glimmer's barely even an infant, even if the two of you are the same age. Whatever the reason, it's enabled them to outcompete you at almost everything the two of you ever tried, at least in a technical sense. Glimmer's kicked your ass many times in friendly sparring, but never had quite the stomach for violence or hard work that you did.

You snatch up a pistol from the wall behind you, the handle sliding smoothly into your palm as you level the barrel at Glimmer's center mass. You pull the trigger and a part of you rejoices at the familiar feel of a gun kicking in your hand as the red-wreathed bullet arcs towards your once-friend.

[Glimmer attempts to dodge, DC 35: 100]
[Glimmer's reaction to being shot at, DC 60+15 (Your Intentions Divined) to close the distance: 21]

Glimmer barely even moves, shifting their body ever so slightly out of the way. This microadjustment is all that's needed for your shot to sail harmlessly by them, and they walk almost leisurely to a nearby table, dodging three more followup shots with similarly trivial movements - a cocked head here, a small pivot there, letting your bullets miss by mere inches. Their face is languid and unconcerned, wearing the same deadeyed expression they always get in combat, showing no sign of any emotion. It's like fighting a gods damned statue, and is just as frustrating to witness as it's always been.

They palm a pistol from the table and line it up with you in an eyeblink. A bloom of smoke erupts from the barrel and your body's already moving on hard-learned instinct, twisting out of the way.

[Dodging Glimmer's return fire, DC 35: 37]

It whizzes by you, close enough that you can feel the wind from its passage caressing your shoulder. You're pretty sure you haven't been hit, but don't leave it to chance, dashing behind one of the support pillars. A few more shots whir by you as you move, none coming quite so close as that first one.

[Recognizing Intent, DC 25: 41]

They could've hit you, you realize as you catch your breath. You've competed with Glimmer often enough to recognize when they're actually trying to accomplish something, and they had you square in their sights as they leveled that barrel at you. They could've shot you, but they didn't. Why, then?

"The hells are you playing around for, fishface?" You grab another pistol and cock it, peering quickly around the sides of the pillar. You can't see Glimmer anymore, which means they must've taken cover somewhere too. "Lost your nerve when you have to do the dirty work yourself?"

The reply comes from somewhere to the rear of the room, though you can't pinpoint exactly where from. "Is it so hard to believe that I don't like the idea of seeing my oldest friend bleed out on the floor?"

"And yet you had no trouble staying silent while I was locked away for something you did," you hiss back.

There's no reply, and you take a moment of satisfaction in that as you plan your next move.

[Premature Round End Due to Plan Failure]

Alya Condition: Unharmed, behind cover and armed.
Glimmer Condition: Unharmed, behind cover and armed.
Situation Update: Glimmer's seemingly unwilling to actually hurt Alya, and seems to be trying to stall long enough for the pistols to be evacuated. 4 rounds remain until they're fully packed, assuming the gangsters doing so are left alone. ???-1 rounds until Granny Flowers' arrival.

Suggested Actions (Note - all of these will provide 'okay' results - alterations or write-ins are required for higher reward):
[] Fire the Help - Start to attack the gangsters taking the pistols away - this will likely force Glimmer to respond.
[] Play for Distance - There are plenty of guns available to you - engage Glimmer in a gunfight until they close the distance with you or one of you gets shot.
[] Exploit Their Softness - Reluctant to hurt you, eh? Good thing that doesn't go both ways. Find Glimmer and get up in their face, relying on their lack of willingness to seriously hurt you to allow you to cross that gap.
[] Write-in (use one of the above as a base, or write your own)

A/N: Sometimes plans don't go as expected, and unfortunately this was one of those times. Fortunately, you didn't lose much except for time, and found a little more out about your opponent.

Also, Alya's makeshift character sheet has been updated with a Snark skill of Skilled+. I feel this is suitable for, well, her. Do feel free to @ me with any questions, or ask me a question in the Discord server I have - the answers will get posted to the thread, so there's nothing lost either way. Also if you want to see the updates a day early and see behind the scenes stuff, I've got a Ko-Fi or Patreon where you can access that.