questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Huh. So that Red was the Red God Delusion?
“Human Resources” Shouldn’t Be This Literal: A PMMM/ProjectMoon Quest
- Thread starter Lepidoptera
- Start date
-
- Tags
- library of ruina lobotomy corporation project moon puella magi madoka magica eldritch horror magical girl crossover eldritch protagonist female protagonist fluffy gore non-human protagonist suffering violence discussion is always good civ good decisions identity crises nuclear moth detected parenting powers activate
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Well I would be closing this vote about now, only it appears we have a three-way tie. So I can't exactly do that, it seems.
Kermie
Just A Karate Bugman/Bugwoman/Bugthing
- Location
- Somewhere On The Planet
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Uh oh. What now?
Ask X what option they prefer?
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
I just wait for somebody else to vote and that person decides who wins.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
Vote team Argalia.
Having two color-level combatants be free to help out both groups is more beneficial.
Argalia's area should be resolved quicker than the other two groups too so we can help them even quicker.
Having two color-level combatants be free to help out both groups is more beneficial.
Argalia's area should be resolved quicker than the other two groups too so we can help them even quicker.
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CanIChangeMyName
Just a passing through rider fan, remember that!
- Location
- What are you a cop?
Kermie
Just A Karate Bugman/Bugwoman/Bugthing
- Location
- Somewhere On The Planet
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Judgement is passed, and by quite a small margin. I must say, I didn't anticipate this outcome.
Alas, this post was a missed opportunity to congratulate us for grabbing defeat out of the jaws of victory?
(Well, more seriously, in the end this vote ran off vibes and trust or lack thereof, there's only so much strategy one can do out of the given information here?)
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Though it's too early to be certain, I'm predicting a schedule of three additional days before the next chapter is released.
As a side-note, I work better under pressure. Please berate or criticize me if I fail to meet any promised deadlines.
As a side-note, I work better under pressure. Please berate or criticize me if I fail to meet any promised deadlines.
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Sidestory 21 - The Royal Family
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Sidestory 21 - The Royal Family
Isabeau de Bavière's chambers were the height of luxury. She would accept no less, after all. She was royalty, the greatest ruler to ever live. Lavish ballrooms, tables ready to hold feasts for hundreds, and whatever else she could desire were set throughout her region of the Emerald City. All empty save for the scuttling of her Familiars. This much was as it should be.
But even as she left her domain and approached the Wizard's court, the imperfections marring her halls mocked her. The gleaming green crystals fitted to every decoration, the polished black stone floors, the cold and lifeless silver furnishings. They were all the marks of someone else. Not her colors, not her symbols, not her chambers. They were, like the very life she reclaimed, all the arrogant charity of the Emerald City's false regent.
Isabeau was not a person prone to excessive pride. She understood perfectly her worth in the world, and acted accordingly. When that scheming sorcerer returned Isabeau's life and the lives of her precious daughters to her, the rightful Queen of France was grateful as any monarch rightly should be when bestowed such a radiant gift. Had that been all, she would have repaid the Abnormality tenfold once she had reclaimed her empire. It was the place of a ruler to repay subjects who render them such magnificent services, and Isabeau was a great and generous ruler indeed.
The offer to collaborate against the creature that had schemer against her was unexpected, but Isabeau found the idea of partners that were less inferior to her appealing. A queen needed a court, and it wouldn't do to fill it with merely hollow puppets. The Wizard of Oz would have made an adequate advisor. Intelligent, powerful, and capable of contributing something special to Isabeau's rule. All traits she wishes to see in a subordinate. Would have, if not for one terribly unfortunate snag.
If the Wizard had only contended to place herself as Isabeau's equal, she could have tolerated it. Someone so useful could be allowed some eccentricities. And on the surface, that was how Oz had presented their arrangement. She called Isabeau a partner, did not dare to order her around, and gave her her own territory with which she was free to do as she pleased. On the surface, the Wizard was somebody she could tolerate. But Isabeau was no fool, and so she saw the truth beneath that facade. These halls may have been granted to her, but they remained the Wizard's colors. To be considered a partner she could tolerate, but an inferior? A subordinate?
Absurdity. The depths of disrespect, to not just attempt such a ruse but expect Isabeau not to notice? Utterly unthinkable.
A scowl marred the queen's face as she threw open the doors to the Wizard's Court, denting the intricately-carved crystal as she did. Shadows stretches in every direction beneath her, writhing eagerly for their chance to force their way into the light. She would indulge that craving soon, and not just for her part in the plan. It would be a relief beyond measure to finally silence the Wizard's smug aura once and for all.
"Isabeau," the Wizard chided, chided! She sat in her towering throne, far above the empty center of her court. The walls were lined with rows and rows of seats and stands filled with petrified people, all either kneeling in supplication or howling in agony. "Just the person I was looking for! It seems some pests are creeping into our territory. Now, while I wouldn't dare make any demands of you so abruptly, but-"
Isabeau could not wait any longer. The darkness under her erupted, disgorging chittering and crawling creatures that no person could name. They rose up beneath her feet, and in just a few steps she stood above her would-be "superior". A worm-like thing with a gaping mouth rushed towards the bejeweled Abnormality, spewing sickly sweet smoke from its maw, only to be suddenly sliced in half by a protruding spike of murky green crystal.
"Oh? So you're really choosing this?" The Wizard didn't even have the dignity to look surprised. Just smugly smiling up at Isabeau from her throne, resting her head in a clawed hand. "You're aware that the Alchemist, the Daughter of the Sun and Moon, is making its way through the Emerald City right at this very moment? Is now really the time to be airing your grievances?"
Isabeau could not help but laugh as she looses another wave of creatures towards the conniving Abnormality. A flash of green light from the Wizard's hands, and the chittering menagerie became a garden of tangled emerald statues. Improperly balanced as they were, they crashed in a cacophonous mess against the court's floor. "On the contrary, it makes it the perfect time! And isn't it rude of you, speaking of lesser matters while I'm right here in front of you."
The "Daughter of the Sun and Moon". The Wizard had built them up to be some beastly rival that would encroach upon them without compromise, demanding an alliance of either were to be able to stand in its way. She hadn't been lying about that, Isabeau could tell that much, but the fool had failed to account for the fact that the Alchemist was a ruler like Isabeau was. The Wizard, for all her pretension, was not. And Isabeau could easily understand the heart of a fellow ruler.
It would be much easier to negotiate with someone who cared for things as Isabeau did. And if all went well, perhaps she could find herself an advisor after all. Corbeau had been straying recently, and a little adjustment might be needed to set her on the right track.
The darkness around Isabeau disgorged another horde which died as quickly as the last, but their spilt vitae boiled with horrid power and spewed forth a torrent of not-light that slipped past the Wizard's quickly-conjured guard. It struck with enough force to throw her back against her throne, filling the air with acrid smoke. The Abnormality waved away the fumes with a dimmed smile and flicked a wave of dagger-like shards outward.
Isabeau let them pierce the worthless husk she had sent, watching through its eyes as it dissolved into a pile of swarming vermin. The Wizard may have made herself lord over a city. But she was a queen. She was fated to rule the world.
—————————
In the Emerald City's depths, in a room that is at once cold and heartless and filled with every luxury one could desire, a gleaming golden circle tore open the air.
"That certainly took you long enough." Corbeau muttered as she stepped through the portal.
"It should have taken longer." Minou said with a hint of hesitation as she stepped in after. Corbeau stared flatly back at her, and she winced. "If this prisoner is as important as X has told us, the Wizard should have made it practically impossible for anyone to break in. But I was able to untangle the defensive enchantments in minutes!"
"Well, we've checked, haven't we? She's here." Lapin commented. Indeed, the prisoner was at the predicted location.
The girl was wearing some sort of soft garments that covered her body down to her toes. They were torn in several places and weathered in others, stained with lines of tears and patches of dried vomit. Her pink hair looked a shade paler than it had in the provided images, and had fallen out of her pigtails into a ragged mess. She laid on what was more like a sheet of rock than a bed, shivering and softly weeping.
"Hm. She's protected by some sort of enchantment. Aside from that, I can't tell anything that's wrong at a glance." Minou observed. "I'm a little impressed, actually. You'd need to be a real professional to do something like this without leaving a single mark on your subject."
Her sisters didn't share Minou's intrigue. Corbeau stared at the sobbing girl with mixed disgust and pity while Lapin shifted nervously from one foot to the other.
"Well, she's not dead. Though I don't know how long that'll be true. Can she even hear us?" Corbeau muttered before turning to Madoka. "Hey girl, can you hear us? Are you still in there?"
The prisoner made no reaction until Corbeau casually reached out to shake her. She flinched away from the brief moment of contact, pressing herself up against the wall. Her weeping was interrupted by a wet, ragged cough.
Ugh. This was just sad. Normally Corbeau could take a little gratification out of watching somebody weaker eat dirt. They deserved it, not being strong enough to stand up for themselves. Failure in the battlefield meant death no matter who you were. Corbeau succeeded, other people failed, she lived and they died. It was simple. But this was just… no. The only thing she felt as she looked at the heaving wreck on the bed in front of her was pity and a creeping urge to go bathe until she felt clean again.
"As long as she's alive and her position's been confirmed, our job's done, right?" Corbeau said, her voice edged with tension.
"It is. We can leave to fulfill the other tasks Mother gave us." Minou answered.
Great. Corbeau just wanted out of here. She'd feel better once she'd had the chance to kill something. Maybe one of those weird monsters the Wizard kept around. They weren't Witches and she didn't know much about them, but they still looked like they'd put up a good fight.
"Before we go, we should probably confirm something." Lapin interceded, still looking nervous. Corbeau repressed a sigh. If Lapin was worried about something, it was probably worth worrying about, but she still wanted to get out of here. "Mother asked us to check for this girl because that X person said they were important."
"That's correct." Minou affirmed.
"And Mother's working with them because she thinks they're similar?"
"Her exact words were 'an agreeable attitude', but I believe that is how Mother feels." Minou agreed. Corbeau felt an uncomfortable prickle run down her spine.
"Could you simply explain your point, Lapin? We are in a war zone now, and this time there are some worthy competitors on the field. It would be better to go quickly." she interrupted. Another choking cough echoed in the background.
Lapin glanced nervously from side to side, looking for a moment very much like the animal her mask was designed after, then answered.
"The Alchemist is going to be mad if somebody important to her ended up like this. And we were the first people to check on her. If they find out we didn't do anything-"
"Mother will protect us." Minou insisted. "She cares about us. She wouldn't let somebody else take out their anger on her own children like that."
The tension that had been building in Corbeau's mind snapped back, becoming a spike of jagged frustration. "Can you really say that, Minou? Did you already forget what you did- what she made you do to me?"
"I-It was Mother's decision! You were the one who didn't do as she asked, everything would've been fine if you had just followed orders!" Minou stuttered, taken off-guard by the sudden burst of emotion.
"I always followed orders!" Corbeau cries back. The slick, oily feeling of Grief creeping up her Soul Gem began for a moment before it was shunted away. She barely noticed. "I did everything Mother asked, and she just threw me away the moment I stopped being useful!"
"Mother didn't throw you away! You made a mistake! But it doesn't matter now, everything's fixed! We're all together again!" Minou insisted. Her voice was strained, cracked, desperate.
"She doesn't care about us unless we're useful! Why can't you understand that?"
"She loves us, and we love her! Why does anything else matter?"
"I don't!" Corbeau's anger shattered with that final cry, leaving only raw hurt behind. "But I love you and Lapin. I don't want to see you get hurt. And Mother… she'll hurt us. If she wants to. And I'm not strong enough to stop her."
The room went quiet save for the wet sobbing of the prisoner in the corner. Minou stared at her older sister, shock easily visible through the mask covering her face. Slowly, she pulled it away and let it dissolve into golden sparks. With no barriers to hide her, she met Corbeau's gaze. The older Magical Girl discarded her own mask, revealing the tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"It's not her fault. Mother does love us, she really does." Minou defended. It sounded weaker than before. "But she hasn't been well. And that damned French girl made it worse! It's all her fault, it's because of her that Mother was like that! But she'll be better soon! The Alchemist promised to fix her, and then things will be the way they used to be!" Neither Corbeau nor Lapin were assured by Minou's pleas. The manic energy that had possessed her for the moment drained away to exhaustion. "You remember her, don't you? When she was better?"
"Minou…" Lapin's voice trailed off as she let her own mask fall to the ground and pulled her youngest sister into a tight embrace. "I know you don't remember it as well as we do. You were too young. But Mother…"
Corbeau's voice was hollow and worn of emotion. "It didn't happen all at once. The way the look in her eyes changed. Any real love she might have felt went away piece by piece. All that's left is a shell. But even that shell is strong enough to do whatever it wants, and we have no choice but to obey. We're too weak to make a difference."
Lapin released her hold on Minou to embrace her other sister. Corbeau fell limply into her arms, forcing back her tears. She had to be stronger than this, she had to be.
"Do you really think that someone, anyone, could change that?" she croaked.
"I want to believe that they can." Lapin said, a hint of hope entering her voice. "But we need to make a good impression first. So maybe we should see about helping that girl out?" she continued, indicating to the prisoner still weeping in her awful bed.
Corbeau stared at her sisters. It didn't make her happy. It didn't bring her peace. But if it had even a chance of keeping her sisters safe…
"All right, if you insist. I'll stand guard. Technical work like that is more your area of expertise than mine, anyways."
She'd always accept it.
Isabeau de Bavière's chambers were the height of luxury. She would accept no less, after all. She was royalty, the greatest ruler to ever live. Lavish ballrooms, tables ready to hold feasts for hundreds, and whatever else she could desire were set throughout her region of the Emerald City. All empty save for the scuttling of her Familiars. This much was as it should be.
But even as she left her domain and approached the Wizard's court, the imperfections marring her halls mocked her. The gleaming green crystals fitted to every decoration, the polished black stone floors, the cold and lifeless silver furnishings. They were all the marks of someone else. Not her colors, not her symbols, not her chambers. They were, like the very life she reclaimed, all the arrogant charity of the Emerald City's false regent.
Isabeau was not a person prone to excessive pride. She understood perfectly her worth in the world, and acted accordingly. When that scheming sorcerer returned Isabeau's life and the lives of her precious daughters to her, the rightful Queen of France was grateful as any monarch rightly should be when bestowed such a radiant gift. Had that been all, she would have repaid the Abnormality tenfold once she had reclaimed her empire. It was the place of a ruler to repay subjects who render them such magnificent services, and Isabeau was a great and generous ruler indeed.
The offer to collaborate against the creature that had schemer against her was unexpected, but Isabeau found the idea of partners that were less inferior to her appealing. A queen needed a court, and it wouldn't do to fill it with merely hollow puppets. The Wizard of Oz would have made an adequate advisor. Intelligent, powerful, and capable of contributing something special to Isabeau's rule. All traits she wishes to see in a subordinate. Would have, if not for one terribly unfortunate snag.
If the Wizard had only contended to place herself as Isabeau's equal, she could have tolerated it. Someone so useful could be allowed some eccentricities. And on the surface, that was how Oz had presented their arrangement. She called Isabeau a partner, did not dare to order her around, and gave her her own territory with which she was free to do as she pleased. On the surface, the Wizard was somebody she could tolerate. But Isabeau was no fool, and so she saw the truth beneath that facade. These halls may have been granted to her, but they remained the Wizard's colors. To be considered a partner she could tolerate, but an inferior? A subordinate?
Absurdity. The depths of disrespect, to not just attempt such a ruse but expect Isabeau not to notice? Utterly unthinkable.
A scowl marred the queen's face as she threw open the doors to the Wizard's Court, denting the intricately-carved crystal as she did. Shadows stretches in every direction beneath her, writhing eagerly for their chance to force their way into the light. She would indulge that craving soon, and not just for her part in the plan. It would be a relief beyond measure to finally silence the Wizard's smug aura once and for all.
"Isabeau," the Wizard chided, chided! She sat in her towering throne, far above the empty center of her court. The walls were lined with rows and rows of seats and stands filled with petrified people, all either kneeling in supplication or howling in agony. "Just the person I was looking for! It seems some pests are creeping into our territory. Now, while I wouldn't dare make any demands of you so abruptly, but-"
Isabeau could not wait any longer. The darkness under her erupted, disgorging chittering and crawling creatures that no person could name. They rose up beneath her feet, and in just a few steps she stood above her would-be "superior". A worm-like thing with a gaping mouth rushed towards the bejeweled Abnormality, spewing sickly sweet smoke from its maw, only to be suddenly sliced in half by a protruding spike of murky green crystal.
"Oh? So you're really choosing this?" The Wizard didn't even have the dignity to look surprised. Just smugly smiling up at Isabeau from her throne, resting her head in a clawed hand. "You're aware that the Alchemist, the Daughter of the Sun and Moon, is making its way through the Emerald City right at this very moment? Is now really the time to be airing your grievances?"
Isabeau could not help but laugh as she looses another wave of creatures towards the conniving Abnormality. A flash of green light from the Wizard's hands, and the chittering menagerie became a garden of tangled emerald statues. Improperly balanced as they were, they crashed in a cacophonous mess against the court's floor. "On the contrary, it makes it the perfect time! And isn't it rude of you, speaking of lesser matters while I'm right here in front of you."
The "Daughter of the Sun and Moon". The Wizard had built them up to be some beastly rival that would encroach upon them without compromise, demanding an alliance of either were to be able to stand in its way. She hadn't been lying about that, Isabeau could tell that much, but the fool had failed to account for the fact that the Alchemist was a ruler like Isabeau was. The Wizard, for all her pretension, was not. And Isabeau could easily understand the heart of a fellow ruler.
It would be much easier to negotiate with someone who cared for things as Isabeau did. And if all went well, perhaps she could find herself an advisor after all. Corbeau had been straying recently, and a little adjustment might be needed to set her on the right track.
The darkness around Isabeau disgorged another horde which died as quickly as the last, but their spilt vitae boiled with horrid power and spewed forth a torrent of not-light that slipped past the Wizard's quickly-conjured guard. It struck with enough force to throw her back against her throne, filling the air with acrid smoke. The Abnormality waved away the fumes with a dimmed smile and flicked a wave of dagger-like shards outward.
Isabeau let them pierce the worthless husk she had sent, watching through its eyes as it dissolved into a pile of swarming vermin. The Wizard may have made herself lord over a city. But she was a queen. She was fated to rule the world.
—————————
In the Emerald City's depths, in a room that is at once cold and heartless and filled with every luxury one could desire, a gleaming golden circle tore open the air.
"That certainly took you long enough." Corbeau muttered as she stepped through the portal.
"It should have taken longer." Minou said with a hint of hesitation as she stepped in after. Corbeau stared flatly back at her, and she winced. "If this prisoner is as important as X has told us, the Wizard should have made it practically impossible for anyone to break in. But I was able to untangle the defensive enchantments in minutes!"
"Well, we've checked, haven't we? She's here." Lapin commented. Indeed, the prisoner was at the predicted location.
The girl was wearing some sort of soft garments that covered her body down to her toes. They were torn in several places and weathered in others, stained with lines of tears and patches of dried vomit. Her pink hair looked a shade paler than it had in the provided images, and had fallen out of her pigtails into a ragged mess. She laid on what was more like a sheet of rock than a bed, shivering and softly weeping.
"Hm. She's protected by some sort of enchantment. Aside from that, I can't tell anything that's wrong at a glance." Minou observed. "I'm a little impressed, actually. You'd need to be a real professional to do something like this without leaving a single mark on your subject."
Her sisters didn't share Minou's intrigue. Corbeau stared at the sobbing girl with mixed disgust and pity while Lapin shifted nervously from one foot to the other.
"Well, she's not dead. Though I don't know how long that'll be true. Can she even hear us?" Corbeau muttered before turning to Madoka. "Hey girl, can you hear us? Are you still in there?"
The prisoner made no reaction until Corbeau casually reached out to shake her. She flinched away from the brief moment of contact, pressing herself up against the wall. Her weeping was interrupted by a wet, ragged cough.
Ugh. This was just sad. Normally Corbeau could take a little gratification out of watching somebody weaker eat dirt. They deserved it, not being strong enough to stand up for themselves. Failure in the battlefield meant death no matter who you were. Corbeau succeeded, other people failed, she lived and they died. It was simple. But this was just… no. The only thing she felt as she looked at the heaving wreck on the bed in front of her was pity and a creeping urge to go bathe until she felt clean again.
"As long as she's alive and her position's been confirmed, our job's done, right?" Corbeau said, her voice edged with tension.
"It is. We can leave to fulfill the other tasks Mother gave us." Minou answered.
Great. Corbeau just wanted out of here. She'd feel better once she'd had the chance to kill something. Maybe one of those weird monsters the Wizard kept around. They weren't Witches and she didn't know much about them, but they still looked like they'd put up a good fight.
"Before we go, we should probably confirm something." Lapin interceded, still looking nervous. Corbeau repressed a sigh. If Lapin was worried about something, it was probably worth worrying about, but she still wanted to get out of here. "Mother asked us to check for this girl because that X person said they were important."
"That's correct." Minou affirmed.
"And Mother's working with them because she thinks they're similar?"
"Her exact words were 'an agreeable attitude', but I believe that is how Mother feels." Minou agreed. Corbeau felt an uncomfortable prickle run down her spine.
"Could you simply explain your point, Lapin? We are in a war zone now, and this time there are some worthy competitors on the field. It would be better to go quickly." she interrupted. Another choking cough echoed in the background.
Lapin glanced nervously from side to side, looking for a moment very much like the animal her mask was designed after, then answered.
"The Alchemist is going to be mad if somebody important to her ended up like this. And we were the first people to check on her. If they find out we didn't do anything-"
"Mother will protect us." Minou insisted. "She cares about us. She wouldn't let somebody else take out their anger on her own children like that."
The tension that had been building in Corbeau's mind snapped back, becoming a spike of jagged frustration. "Can you really say that, Minou? Did you already forget what you did- what she made you do to me?"
"I-It was Mother's decision! You were the one who didn't do as she asked, everything would've been fine if you had just followed orders!" Minou stuttered, taken off-guard by the sudden burst of emotion.
"I always followed orders!" Corbeau cries back. The slick, oily feeling of Grief creeping up her Soul Gem began for a moment before it was shunted away. She barely noticed. "I did everything Mother asked, and she just threw me away the moment I stopped being useful!"
"Mother didn't throw you away! You made a mistake! But it doesn't matter now, everything's fixed! We're all together again!" Minou insisted. Her voice was strained, cracked, desperate.
"She doesn't care about us unless we're useful! Why can't you understand that?"
"She loves us, and we love her! Why does anything else matter?"
"I don't!" Corbeau's anger shattered with that final cry, leaving only raw hurt behind. "But I love you and Lapin. I don't want to see you get hurt. And Mother… she'll hurt us. If she wants to. And I'm not strong enough to stop her."
The room went quiet save for the wet sobbing of the prisoner in the corner. Minou stared at her older sister, shock easily visible through the mask covering her face. Slowly, she pulled it away and let it dissolve into golden sparks. With no barriers to hide her, she met Corbeau's gaze. The older Magical Girl discarded her own mask, revealing the tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
"It's not her fault. Mother does love us, she really does." Minou defended. It sounded weaker than before. "But she hasn't been well. And that damned French girl made it worse! It's all her fault, it's because of her that Mother was like that! But she'll be better soon! The Alchemist promised to fix her, and then things will be the way they used to be!" Neither Corbeau nor Lapin were assured by Minou's pleas. The manic energy that had possessed her for the moment drained away to exhaustion. "You remember her, don't you? When she was better?"
"Minou…" Lapin's voice trailed off as she let her own mask fall to the ground and pulled her youngest sister into a tight embrace. "I know you don't remember it as well as we do. You were too young. But Mother…"
Corbeau's voice was hollow and worn of emotion. "It didn't happen all at once. The way the look in her eyes changed. Any real love she might have felt went away piece by piece. All that's left is a shell. But even that shell is strong enough to do whatever it wants, and we have no choice but to obey. We're too weak to make a difference."
Lapin released her hold on Minou to embrace her other sister. Corbeau fell limply into her arms, forcing back her tears. She had to be stronger than this, she had to be.
"Do you really think that someone, anyone, could change that?" she croaked.
"I want to believe that they can." Lapin said, a hint of hope entering her voice. "But we need to make a good impression first. So maybe we should see about helping that girl out?" she continued, indicating to the prisoner still weeping in her awful bed.
Corbeau stared at her sisters. It didn't make her happy. It didn't bring her peace. But if it had even a chance of keeping her sisters safe…
"All right, if you insist. I'll stand guard. Technical work like that is more your area of expertise than mine, anyways."
She'd always accept it.
Sidestory 21 - The Royal Family
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
I like setting things on fire, so I'm all for it.
Meanwhile, the Regent in question: "I am sure she will be completely and utterly grateful for all I have given her. There is no way she would resent anything."
Isabeau's right, The Adult's not a ruler, but a parasite thinking she is a ruler.
She does not understand any notions of actual loyalty, reciprocity, or simple diplomacy.
Isabeau may not be a great ruler, her illusions notwithstanding, but she's closer to one than the Adult for sure.
That's because the Adult's an overconfident moron who constantly underestimate everyone.
Also, it probably was strongly specialized against X.
Ayin: "Well, little steps, am I right?"
Worst part? This isn't entirely false.
Isabeau is really suffering from a condition that makes it difficult for her to care about them, and removing it would probably help a lot in allowing her to begin caring once again. (That condition being: *She's a witch*).
And here is one perfect example of why those telling that you can't be pragmatic and do good things are morons. It is incredibly easy to justify helping others under a purely pragmatic POV:
They can help you later, others knowing you keep your deals and don't backstab will be more willing to work with you in the future, more people working on a problem means it is far easier to resolve, so helping others is just helping yourself anyway....
On the other hand, you can just as easily explain that doing bad things is not a way to go in the same way:
A general atmosphere of distrusts means everyone is not working on making things better, but on defending against the bad actors, which in turn means that the conditions you can reach are ultimately worse than if everyone was helping each other.
Life is not a goddamn zero sum game, with all the consequences of this thereof. Game theory shows that being being an aggressor is worse in the long run, all the time.
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Kalibrius
God of reflection
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
Thus why enlightened self interest wins the end game
Is it wrong to be selfish when you're building a better world
No
It's same reason why a man may clean his favorite park of litter or leaves a camp site better than he found it in a way
Afterall you could simply choose to do bare minimum needed..... or you could choose to improve things, make them better for you and others in the process
The path to a better tommorow or better future self is not to shun desire and to trudge on with determination
The paths first step is a simple one
You have to want it, want things to be better, for yourself to better
To embrace the desire for something better
Is it wrong to be selfish when you're building a better world
No
It's same reason why a man may clean his favorite park of litter or leaves a camp site better than he found it in a way
Afterall you could simply choose to do bare minimum needed..... or you could choose to improve things, make them better for you and others in the process
The path to a better tommorow or better future self is not to shun desire and to trudge on with determination
The paths first step is a simple one
You have to want it, want things to be better, for yourself to better
To embrace the desire for something better
I remember someone explaining a thing about carpenters making chairs, I think it was along the lines of:
Take three carpenters, and ask each of them to give you three chairs at the end of three days, they are only able to make one chair a day.
If one of them make a chair the first day, and steal the two chairs made by the others during the night, then, he'll be able to not do anything the last two days.
But the thing is, it also means that the other two will most likely not make chairs the last two days either, since they can't meet the quota anyway.
Which means that globally, you now have made three chairs in three days instead of nine.
Things only get worse when you begin to have the carpenters take measures to not have this happen again, thus not spending time making chairs. Now imagine that instead of chairs it was the cure for cancer.
And that's why evil is inefficient and ineffective.
I'm sure I lost part of the nuance, but hopefully the main thing got through:
If you want to lice in a world with lore chairs, stealing them isn't helping, and that's true of everything, time spent stealing ideas is time not spent coming up with your own ones.
Take three carpenters, and ask each of them to give you three chairs at the end of three days, they are only able to make one chair a day.
If one of them make a chair the first day, and steal the two chairs made by the others during the night, then, he'll be able to not do anything the last two days.
But the thing is, it also means that the other two will most likely not make chairs the last two days either, since they can't meet the quota anyway.
Which means that globally, you now have made three chairs in three days instead of nine.
Things only get worse when you begin to have the carpenters take measures to not have this happen again, thus not spending time making chairs. Now imagine that instead of chairs it was the cure for cancer.
And that's why evil is inefficient and ineffective.
I'm sure I lost part of the nuance, but hopefully the main thing got through:
If you want to lice in a world with lore chairs, stealing them isn't helping, and that's true of everything, time spent stealing ideas is time not spent coming up with your own ones.
questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
A good sidestory, we got glimpses into Isabeau and her kids' mindset.
Nice of Isabeau to notice how much of a Rat the Adult is. She basically stole that seat she's sitting on from Ozma.
The question now is whether X can finish her side of things fast enough to help Isabeau. Since the Adult likely is prepared for Isabeau's eventual betrayal.
In a sense, it is time for The Beast to purge the Evil it looked out for.
Nice of Isabeau to notice how much of a Rat the Adult is. She basically stole that seat she's sitting on from Ozma.
The question now is whether X can finish her side of things fast enough to help Isabeau. Since the Adult likely is prepared for Isabeau's eventual betrayal.
In a sense, it is time for The Beast to purge the Evil it looked out for.
- Location
- N/A
There is a problem with this, which is that what is "pragmatic" is determined by your goals, not your methods. If your goal is to create the most value for the world, or to do the most good for the most people, then obviously being evil would be inefficient - but the only people who think like that in practice are hardline utilitarianists.
Take your carpenter, for example. They have no incentive whatsoever to care about the number of chairs in the world, or even to care about whether the order is completed on time, so long as they fill their quota (absent social or legal consequences, of course).
Enlightened self-interest fails on a similar level, in that it provides no incentive to make any changes in the world. Change always comes at a cost, and if it can't or won't be paid the most anyone can do is maintain the status quo.
IMO this is a huge part of Lobcorp and Ruina theme-wise, and of Carmen's character especially. Selfish compassion is not enough in the face of a system that rewards the most ruthless, and if people treat life like zero-sum game it can and will (and has) become one.
Act 3 Plans
Lepidoptera
Mother of Monsters, Unverified Impuritas Civitatis
- Location
- Indeterminate Unknown
We're coming up on the end of Act 2, and while individual fates are still up in the air the general shape of the ending has settled by now. With that said, we still have a whole other Act left before this story reaches its close. And if this Act is any indication, it will turn out far longer than I had initially anticipated. Given that it will be the end of this story, this will be the last chance to explore certain aspects of the crossover. I'm not making any binding plans just yet, that's practically impossible in a Quest, but I do like to have an idea of what the future will hold and want to get a sense for the audience's feelings.
All that is to say that I am considering featuring one or more plot lines occurring within the City, forcing X to leave Mitakihara to go and engage with them. There was potential to start this at the start of Act 2 by dealing with the Wings, but that was turned down for in-story reasons. Would people want to see more of the ProjectMoon side of this crossover's setting in the last Act?
[ ] Explore the City
[ ] Stay in Mitakihara
All that is to say that I am considering featuring one or more plot lines occurring within the City, forcing X to leave Mitakihara to go and engage with them. There was potential to start this at the start of Act 2 by dealing with the Wings, but that was turned down for in-story reasons. Would people want to see more of the ProjectMoon side of this crossover's setting in the last Act?
[ ] Explore the City
[ ] Stay in Mitakihara
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questioningmeme
Just be yourself
- Location
- River of Light
I'm not too sure about this one.
I think I'll go with this tho.
[X] Stay in Mitakihara
I think I'll go with this tho.
[X] Stay in Mitakihara