“Human Resources” Shouldn’t Be This Literal: A PMMM/ProjectMoon Quest
- Thread starter Lepidoptera
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- library of ruina lobotomy corporation project moon puella magi madoka magica eldritch horror magical girl crossover eldritch protagonist female protagonist gore non-human protagonist suffering violence discussion is always good civ good decisions identity crises nuclear moth detected parenting powers activate
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
This fic is the complete opposite of Carmen's performance in Limbus. She got 2 Distortions with a couple more coming along, while in Limbus there was 1 Distortion with multiple E.G.Oist telling her to chuckle off.
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
It's funny how the Adult completely lucked into the perfect psychological weapon to use against Homura without even knowing it. She's never seen Madoka as a Magical Girl, so she has no idea how that specific weapon would seem to her. If the Adult did know, she would've moved the Crossbow Puppet out of the tower and to wherever Homura was assigned because she cares more about watching people suffer than keeping a proper position.
There is actually a condition to note when a person is has reached the correct mindset needed to pursue EGO Manifestation, though it hasn't been called as such in-story. Given all the time spent deciphering the cause of EGO Manifestation both in-story and out, it would just be poor writing for it not to happen at least once.
Ayin's really losing here. X got one Distortion to her name and will probably cause at least one more before the Act is done, and Carmen's been racking up the scores ever since X's light show at the end of the first Act. We haven't seen a single EGO user aside from X, who's cheating, since the story began while there have been four new Distortions since that same point. But four's not a fun number for this setting, so it'll need to change soon.
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The opposite, the chapter says that the main defenses are made around X, not the kids.
We do know Ayin is active thought, so it Madoka listening to strange voices in her head could be a good thing!
(I can see it rom there, Ayin tries to get Madoka to manifest EGO... and fails badly enough she distorts. That would be hilarious, well, and tragic, but mostly hilarious.)
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
That...yeah, I read that wrong.
Huh. What would even be the counter there I wonder? Given that DoSaM subsumes the world around her, her minions are themselves wacky dimensionally (The God Delusion) specifically.
Or is this another one of those "I'm so smart/Oh no!" moments from the Adult?
I still wonder what's he cooking from his end of things.
Maybe Isabeau's support is due to him? It's a pity we didn't get a vote for an interlude from...uh, what's her name? She hasn't appeared for a while...but the girl that Ayin was tailing.
I'd 100% just voted for her above all else had that been the case.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Nope, it was confirmed a while back that he was talking to one of Isabeau's daughters.
More precisely, it was Minou, the reason we thought it was Mami was due to the only description being *a blond girl*.
Minou is blond, and has been confirmed as hearing a strange voice.
Meanwhile, Mami would have told us if she was hearing Ayin, as we did ask every single one of our children to report this kind of things due to Carmen.
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
For upcoming chapters, would you prefer jumping between characters but keeping around the same point in time or sticking more to one group at a time but jumping back and forth in the story? This won't affect what happens in the story, and this isn't a vote, I just wanted to get an idea of what would be preferred.
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Exams are back, the next chapter will be out either tomorrow or the day after depending on how tiring it gets.
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Bleh. Just finished exams, and I'm totally wiped out. I think I might be coming down with something, so that's lovely. I'll try to keep to the intended schedule, though. Not like I need to get out of bed to write.
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
I'm feeling much better now, still taking a little bit of a break while my headache goes away but the next chapter (and another vote) will be up tomorrow. I'd apologize again for the delay, but I've probably written more apologies than actual chapters in recent times and I'm sure you're all sick of reading them by now.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
It's all fine and dandy my friend.
Don't worry too much, we can wait.
The grind against RR3 is occupying us anyhow.
You, on the other hand, are probably sick of hearing that it's okay to take a break and whatnot, so I'll just say that your effort at a consistent schedule is noted and appreciated.
2.6.5 - Judge, Jury, Executioner
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Chapter 154 - Judge, Jury, Executioner
In the silhouetted landscape of the Black Forest, the Abnormality looming over you is hard to make out. Their feathers are the same pitch black tone as the trees. Spindly yet thick legs suspend their body off the ground just above your eye level. The bird's wings hang down like arms, each one ending in a blackened, clawed hand. Their feathers are large but short, and their coloration makes them blend together with the bird's limbs to form a solid, imposing shape. The bird's neck is the worst part, too thin to possibly support their bandage-covered head and bent and twisted at impossibly sharp angles. Plain golden scales rest balanced in the crook of one of these bends, tilting heavily toward the left end. Judgement Bird's body looms over you as they step forward. You note with suppressed curiosity how the grass isn't pressed down by their footsteps, and how the tilted scale on their neck remains perfectly balanced without the slightest shifting even as its bearer takes their long, lurching steps. A few stray feathers, dusty white tipped with proud red, poke out from between the bandages covering Judgement Bird's head.
Light particles swirl unseen at your fingertips, ready to become weapons at a moment's notice. You glance around the endless trees, marking good positions to place your soldiers. Judgement Bird is weakest to Pale-classed damage, but doesn't have any outstanding resistances. If a fight breaks out, you will have no reason not to use your full arsenal. That said, you'd rather sidestep the issue altogether. An open area like this is the worst place possible to fight this particular Abnormality. You aren't stupid enough to believe an Abnormality will show mercy, but it doesn't seem impossible for you to at least divert their attention. Getting two Abnormalities to fight each other is a fairly basic strategy. You haven't been attacked yet, which is already a sign of unusual behavior.
"You're here." Judgement Bird says in a raspy, dry voice.
"It seems that I am. Were you waiting for me?" you ask, eyebrow raised.
"I knew you would come eventually." they croak. It's curious how old they sound. From the story of the Black Forest, you recall all the birds being presented with almost childlike mindsets and patterns of speech. Then again, Punishing Bird sounded a lot more mature than you expected too. "We were all told you would arrive eventually. It is your duty."
You pause to consider that statement. Do you even have the time to pursue it? You would really like some solid answers as to what led to the Abnormalities being sprung from the Library and what they've been told about you. You and Angela have theories, ones you're fairly confident in, but a clean answer would be more satisfying. You're ahead of schedule compared to the other groups thanks to Leonie, and there's no point in reaching the marker early since they all need to be broken at the same time. You can spare the time to chat.
"I've heard something like that from a few Abnormalities so far, but none have quit specified what they were told. Except Small Bird, actually, but they didn't have much to say. Would it be rude of me to ask you to fill me in?" you say. Judgement Bird leans further forward, the scale balanced on their neck still unmoved, then leans back decisively.
"You have spoken to my fellow Guardians? I see you bear the signs of their understanding with you." the Abnormality says. "If they saw fit to explain to you, I will do so as well. Though there is not much to explain."
"Hm? So how much were you really told?"
"They said that the one who once ruled the Facility had left and gone to a new place. We were asked to allow a connection to be made with you, and saw no reason to refuse." they explain. The connection described is probably let the Saplings, then. They let you see which Abnormalities you match with ideologically, or at least which ones approve of you, and then memorize new EGO gear from them. But was that really the only goal? It seems rather ambitious for an admittedly impressive interdimensional weapons smuggling operation. You had originally considered that the EGO you were obtaining was influencing you, but that's clearly not it since an Abnormality by nature cannot be affected by EGO corrosion. All it was was highlighting thoughts you already shared with the Abnormalities you linked with. What could that actually achieve?
"And when they said connection, how exactly- Wait," you pause, "how much time do you have for questions here? Because while I do have a lot of questions to ask, we both have work-" you gesture casually to one of the empty nooses swaying gently in the nonexistent wind, trying not to imagine a familiar body hanging from it. Your agents. Michelle. You. There are too many for your mind to settle on just one. "-that we must be doing. Is this going to be too much of a delay?"
"I can be patient." Judgement Bird says. You nod and proceed with your earlier question.
"So when they said you would be making a connection, what exactly were the words they used?"
"It is exactly as I had said before. They were not verbose in their request."
So just that there was a connection being made with you? "Allow" implies that some outside force is facilitating the bond rather than it being from either you or the other Abnormalities, but you already suspected that. Angela's tales of Carmen's interference in her life after the Corporation fell gave you cause enough to think she might do something similar with you. There's one way to be sure, though.
"And the person who spoke to you, did you know them? What did they sound like?" you ask. Judgement Bird tilts their head back, a few stray feathers tumbling from between their bandages, before returning their eyeless stare to you.
"None of us knew who the person speaking to us was. But their voice was warm, and they spoke with great sincerity." Judgement Bird rasps, and you sigh. That's as good as confirmation. Damn, you really can't catch a break. Ten thousand years following one parent's plan, and you're barely finished before the other decides to rope you into something. At least it's something. Now you just need to figure out what she wants from you, but that's more a talk you should be having with Angela.
"I see. I'm pretty sure I know who that is. Everyone seems to get that impression from her." A thought occurs to you. "Actually, did she never mention following me here? It's a pretty big deal to have left the Library. I'd think she'd bring it up at least."
"I cannot speak to other cases, but neither I nor my fellow Guardians truly have left the Library. We are only temporarily distended from it, and a momentarily lapse will draw us back." Judgement Bird corrects. "And no, they did not speak of this occurrence. While they talked of following you, I ascertained that such language was figurative. I do not believe the omission was intentional, though."
"What made you think that?"
"It is my purpose to judge all the creatures of the forest." Judgement Bird states plainly.
"And what exactly was it you judged about them?"
"It was an earnest and kind request that this person made to us. For that reason, we chose to answer the call. Just as evil must be punished for its sins, good deeds must be done because they are good. That is what is right." the bird declares, their wheezing and dry voice sounding steady and resolute if only for a moment.
Huh. An Abnormality acting out of the goodness of their heart… well, you suppose it's not unheard of. Especially with the Birds of the Black Forest in particular. Though the typical consequences of such actions don't require elaboration.
"Of course, they had also committed sins in the past. Many, many great sins. But I did not find the chance to weigh them." they continue, and your eyes rest on the scale unnaturally balanced on the Abnormality's neck. You doubt you'll be as lucky as your mother in that regard.
"Speaking of, I can't help but notice your neighbors at the moment. I'll admit, I'm a little surprised that you've stayed here rather than heading into the Emerald City to find people to judge." you say. You've seen Abnormalities, and Judgement Bird in particular, charge opponents they have no chance of defeating. Some, like a certain wolf, are a little more cunning, but they don't generally act with long-term self-preservation in mind. Maybe it's because defeat here means getting sent all the way back to the Library instead of just their containment cell?
"There is more at stake." Judgement Bird confirms. "To falter here and now would have the tug of correction assert itself. The creatures of the forest here still need me."
"Is there something wrong with the Library?" you ask, more out of idle curiosity than anything else.
"We are home there, in the Black Forest. Looking for the Beast, so we can be prepared. Protecting all the creatures within." The ancient creature's attention slips from your body for a moment, focusing on something far away before snapping back. "But the Forest is here too, so I must stay here for now. There are people who need to be judged."
And you're one of them, aren't you?
———————————————
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
In the silhouetted landscape of the Black Forest, the Abnormality looming over you is hard to make out. Their feathers are the same pitch black tone as the trees. Spindly yet thick legs suspend their body off the ground just above your eye level. The bird's wings hang down like arms, each one ending in a blackened, clawed hand. Their feathers are large but short, and their coloration makes them blend together with the bird's limbs to form a solid, imposing shape. The bird's neck is the worst part, too thin to possibly support their bandage-covered head and bent and twisted at impossibly sharp angles. Plain golden scales rest balanced in the crook of one of these bends, tilting heavily toward the left end. Judgement Bird's body looms over you as they step forward. You note with suppressed curiosity how the grass isn't pressed down by their footsteps, and how the tilted scale on their neck remains perfectly balanced without the slightest shifting even as its bearer takes their long, lurching steps. A few stray feathers, dusty white tipped with proud red, poke out from between the bandages covering Judgement Bird's head.
Light particles swirl unseen at your fingertips, ready to become weapons at a moment's notice. You glance around the endless trees, marking good positions to place your soldiers. Judgement Bird is weakest to Pale-classed damage, but doesn't have any outstanding resistances. If a fight breaks out, you will have no reason not to use your full arsenal. That said, you'd rather sidestep the issue altogether. An open area like this is the worst place possible to fight this particular Abnormality. You aren't stupid enough to believe an Abnormality will show mercy, but it doesn't seem impossible for you to at least divert their attention. Getting two Abnormalities to fight each other is a fairly basic strategy. You haven't been attacked yet, which is already a sign of unusual behavior.
"You're here." Judgement Bird says in a raspy, dry voice.
"It seems that I am. Were you waiting for me?" you ask, eyebrow raised.
"I knew you would come eventually." they croak. It's curious how old they sound. From the story of the Black Forest, you recall all the birds being presented with almost childlike mindsets and patterns of speech. Then again, Punishing Bird sounded a lot more mature than you expected too. "We were all told you would arrive eventually. It is your duty."
You pause to consider that statement. Do you even have the time to pursue it? You would really like some solid answers as to what led to the Abnormalities being sprung from the Library and what they've been told about you. You and Angela have theories, ones you're fairly confident in, but a clean answer would be more satisfying. You're ahead of schedule compared to the other groups thanks to Leonie, and there's no point in reaching the marker early since they all need to be broken at the same time. You can spare the time to chat.
"I've heard something like that from a few Abnormalities so far, but none have quit specified what they were told. Except Small Bird, actually, but they didn't have much to say. Would it be rude of me to ask you to fill me in?" you say. Judgement Bird leans further forward, the scale balanced on their neck still unmoved, then leans back decisively.
"You have spoken to my fellow Guardians? I see you bear the signs of their understanding with you." the Abnormality says. "If they saw fit to explain to you, I will do so as well. Though there is not much to explain."
"Hm? So how much were you really told?"
"They said that the one who once ruled the Facility had left and gone to a new place. We were asked to allow a connection to be made with you, and saw no reason to refuse." they explain. The connection described is probably let the Saplings, then. They let you see which Abnormalities you match with ideologically, or at least which ones approve of you, and then memorize new EGO gear from them. But was that really the only goal? It seems rather ambitious for an admittedly impressive interdimensional weapons smuggling operation. You had originally considered that the EGO you were obtaining was influencing you, but that's clearly not it since an Abnormality by nature cannot be affected by EGO corrosion. All it was was highlighting thoughts you already shared with the Abnormalities you linked with. What could that actually achieve?
"And when they said connection, how exactly- Wait," you pause, "how much time do you have for questions here? Because while I do have a lot of questions to ask, we both have work-" you gesture casually to one of the empty nooses swaying gently in the nonexistent wind, trying not to imagine a familiar body hanging from it. Your agents. Michelle. You. There are too many for your mind to settle on just one. "-that we must be doing. Is this going to be too much of a delay?"
"I can be patient." Judgement Bird says. You nod and proceed with your earlier question.
"So when they said you would be making a connection, what exactly were the words they used?"
"It is exactly as I had said before. They were not verbose in their request."
So just that there was a connection being made with you? "Allow" implies that some outside force is facilitating the bond rather than it being from either you or the other Abnormalities, but you already suspected that. Angela's tales of Carmen's interference in her life after the Corporation fell gave you cause enough to think she might do something similar with you. There's one way to be sure, though.
"And the person who spoke to you, did you know them? What did they sound like?" you ask. Judgement Bird tilts their head back, a few stray feathers tumbling from between their bandages, before returning their eyeless stare to you.
"None of us knew who the person speaking to us was. But their voice was warm, and they spoke with great sincerity." Judgement Bird rasps, and you sigh. That's as good as confirmation. Damn, you really can't catch a break. Ten thousand years following one parent's plan, and you're barely finished before the other decides to rope you into something. At least it's something. Now you just need to figure out what she wants from you, but that's more a talk you should be having with Angela.
"I see. I'm pretty sure I know who that is. Everyone seems to get that impression from her." A thought occurs to you. "Actually, did she never mention following me here? It's a pretty big deal to have left the Library. I'd think she'd bring it up at least."
"I cannot speak to other cases, but neither I nor my fellow Guardians truly have left the Library. We are only temporarily distended from it, and a momentarily lapse will draw us back." Judgement Bird corrects. "And no, they did not speak of this occurrence. While they talked of following you, I ascertained that such language was figurative. I do not believe the omission was intentional, though."
"What made you think that?"
"It is my purpose to judge all the creatures of the forest." Judgement Bird states plainly.
"And what exactly was it you judged about them?"
"It was an earnest and kind request that this person made to us. For that reason, we chose to answer the call. Just as evil must be punished for its sins, good deeds must be done because they are good. That is what is right." the bird declares, their wheezing and dry voice sounding steady and resolute if only for a moment.
Huh. An Abnormality acting out of the goodness of their heart… well, you suppose it's not unheard of. Especially with the Birds of the Black Forest in particular. Though the typical consequences of such actions don't require elaboration.
"Of course, they had also committed sins in the past. Many, many great sins. But I did not find the chance to weigh them." they continue, and your eyes rest on the scale unnaturally balanced on the Abnormality's neck. You doubt you'll be as lucky as your mother in that regard.
"Speaking of, I can't help but notice your neighbors at the moment. I'll admit, I'm a little surprised that you've stayed here rather than heading into the Emerald City to find people to judge." you say. You've seen Abnormalities, and Judgement Bird in particular, charge opponents they have no chance of defeating. Some, like a certain wolf, are a little more cunning, but they don't generally act with long-term self-preservation in mind. Maybe it's because defeat here means getting sent all the way back to the Library instead of just their containment cell?
"There is more at stake." Judgement Bird confirms. "To falter here and now would have the tug of correction assert itself. The creatures of the forest here still need me."
"Is there something wrong with the Library?" you ask, more out of idle curiosity than anything else.
"We are home there, in the Black Forest. Looking for the Beast, so we can be prepared. Protecting all the creatures within." The ancient creature's attention slips from your body for a moment, focusing on something far away before snapping back. "But the Forest is here too, so I must stay here for now. There are people who need to be judged."
And you're one of them, aren't you?
———————————————
Porccubus' Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
Schadenfreude's Sapling - Observation Level 2/3
CENSORED's Sapling - Observation Level EXPUNGED/REDACTED
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Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
[] Ask more questions
-[] Write-in what?
[] Flee
No point. You still need to locate and destroy the marker in the Black Forest and if the bird found you once they can do it again.
[] Be Judged
You can probably take it.
[] Fight
If you choose to ask questions, also select either Be Judged or Fight.
-[] Write-in what?
No point. You still need to locate and destroy the marker in the Black Forest and if the bird found you once they can do it again.
[] Be Judged
You can probably take it.
[] Fight
If you choose to ask questions, also select either Be Judged or Fight.
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Typo: Support.
Still would like to know who told that.
Also, another good reason it was a good idea to send X to the bird, we're the only one it would want to talk to.
Yeah, I am sure that X is going to deduce Carmen from that, and to be frank, it does make sense... but the fact is that he didn't say if it was male or female, and so Ayin is absolutely still in the running from only that.
Case in point, X just used she, Birb's answer with they.
We do have a slight resistance to pale damage....
Going for it, I can see some potential good things coming from it, if it works, we may well be able to have Judgment Bird stand down:
[x] Be Judged
[x] Be Judged
If we live through this and aren't significantly crippled (or our personal Doomclock advanced), this would be faster than literally any other option, making us able to go and reinforce another team. And if we get Judgement Bird's assistance from this...
If we live through this and aren't significantly crippled (or our personal Doomclock advanced), this would be faster than literally any other option, making us able to go and reinforce another team. And if we get Judgement Bird's assistance from this...
I want to add that *be judged* is still an incredibly dangerous option, I do believe it can lead to victory, but if it fails, it will be spectacular.
Everyone should make quite sure they consider all possibilities before voting for it is what I mean.
I wouldn't reproach to anyone to choose anything else here, this is a gambit, make no mistakes.
Everyone should make quite sure they consider all possibilities before voting for it is what I mean.
I wouldn't reproach to anyone to choose anything else here, this is a gambit, make no mistakes.
I think it means it was camping the control point specifically so the Adult didn't get her hands on it. Truly a team player.
It took me some time to work out that this wasn't about whether the Library was damaged or something, and she was just asking if the bird liked staying there.
Overall, damn, I don't even see a point asking it about anything because it's just going to respond with some cryptic metaphor that you can interpret however you want. Somehow the only Abnormality we've met so far that is capable of speaking in ordinary language is the Adult Who Tells Lies - maybe there's a philosophical point to be made here about shared norms of communication, hehe.
I think this part is really important because it shows the Bird's decisionmaking is mostly disentangled from its evaluation of 'sins' committed. Like, it's straight up saying Carmen's (?) sin-counter didn't matter when considering her request, and it's only relevant when the sins are "weighed", i.e. literally when the scales tilt and deal pale damage.
Maybe, in a roundabout way, it's offering us an 'out', and we can get through this without X's sins (ten thousand years' worth of them!) being judged. Or maybe this is a plea bargain type of thing and it'll go easier if we plead guilty. The bird sure is sending some mixed signals, which makes some sense given it's not used to being a corrupt judge.
[x] Be Judged
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
To Judge or not to Judge...That is the question.
X doubts herself. And the scale will always deliver a judgment. Bad or Good.
X is an Abnormality, but this is Pale damage. Especially since we know she has a weakness regarding that (which is slowly killing her). Sure it's 1.0 dmg, but it's Pale damage which narratively might hurt a hella lot more than the numbers we see usually.
No matter what this is risky.
Remember this, Judgment Bird has never never failed to deliver a death sentence whenever it attacks one of our employees. No matter who. Over the course of 10,000 years.
So I don't think it would be...wise to take the Judgement from it in this situation.
Sure, it could just be that we never see anyone qualify for the scale to judge as a good person...
But again, this is X we are talking about. She absolutely doesn't qualify for that even though it's in the past now. She has 10,000 years' worth of sins stacked up from other variants of "X" she absorbed into herself.
Our kids are relying on us, we can't mess up.
[X] Ask more questions
-[X] Ask it why the Adult who tells Lies hasn't tried to attack it yet. Even though by nature she should be more powerful than it.
--[X] Prepare for a fight, there's too much at risk to let it judge you.
X doubts herself. And the scale will always deliver a judgment. Bad or Good.
X is an Abnormality, but this is Pale damage. Especially since we know she has a weakness regarding that (which is slowly killing her). Sure it's 1.0 dmg, but it's Pale damage which narratively might hurt a hella lot more than the numbers we see usually.
No matter what this is risky.
Remember this, Judgment Bird has never never failed to deliver a death sentence whenever it attacks one of our employees. No matter who. Over the course of 10,000 years.
So I don't think it would be...wise to take the Judgement from it in this situation.
Sure, it could just be that we never see anyone qualify for the scale to judge as a good person...
But again, this is X we are talking about. She absolutely doesn't qualify for that even though it's in the past now. She has 10,000 years' worth of sins stacked up from other variants of "X" she absorbed into herself.
Our kids are relying on us, we can't mess up.
[X] Ask more questions
-[X] Ask it why the Adult who tells Lies hasn't tried to attack it yet. Even though by nature she should be more powerful than it.
--[X] Prepare for a fight, there's too much at risk to let it judge you.
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