EarthScorpion: Session 187 pre-session Gantt chart planning for the Season of Fire.
EarthScorpion: So Keris has one minor action in fire committed. And she didn't give orders for her kiddies, so they had an entire minor action to themselves with no veto from Keris. Because... uh, they don't listen to her Gales and the Gale is dominated by their Urge anyway and doesn't have the full emotional response of Keris.
EarthScorpion: So I'm going to declare their first actions of some level in Fire, and the Gale only gets Keris's mundane pool to try to talk them out of it if she wants to veto.
EarthScorpion: Haneyl is spending her first minor action on a Reaction + Bureaucracy roll to "find and hire a skilled mortal subordinate who can keep her affairs in Saata ticking along".
Aleph: KerisGale is A-okay fine with this as long as the mortal is trustable, and will merely remind Haneyl to self-seed them so they can't betray her and please not poach from the Hui Cha.
EarthScorpion: 5 successes - she hires a priestess-graduate of one of the accountancy colleges, and yes, Self-Seeds them and gets them used to doing what she says so she develops that Intimacy of devotion to Haneyl's needs
Aleph: Yay!
EarthScorpion: Keris doesn't get a say in
Eko's choice, but she's going to try to devote a whole minor action to get silly Sasi to understand how to make demons - assisting Sasi's own attempts.
Aleph: Keris would be very impressed and encouraging about that, and also both proud and rather surprised that she is capable of doing so.
EarthScorpion: Keris again doesn't get a say, but
Calesco is using Per + Investigation to try to investigate local divine courts, aided by Molian.
Aleph: Awesome. And, uh. Faintly worrying for the divine courts.
EarthScorpion: Probably the most concerningly for Keris,
Vali &
Zanara have been left in close proximity and Zanara has talked Vali into helping the "prettiness" of the estate. They therefore have gone on a redecorating spree in parts of the mansion, trying to maximise the aesthetic value of the interior (and also committing a certain number of crimes in Saata since Keris didn't leave them money to get certain things they want.
Vali: Phys + Occult heavy work.
Zanara: Reaction + Politics criminality (largely fraud and the like).
Aleph: ... crap.
Aleph: Hmm. Um... okay. Keris Gale is... going to swear a lot at Keris Prime, allow the criminality on the condition that Zanara does it all in disguises and faces that won't link back to Little River or Cinnamon, and save her efforts for trying to convince Vali and Zanara to limit their remodelling to the occupied-by-her-family wing that none of the local workers see the interior of and the underground areas that they're still clearing out and refurbishing.
EarthScorpion: Per + Pres to try to talk them out of it.
Aleph: Luckily Keris has a good base pool for this, and can play off the facts that the family wing is the only one they see anyway and focus on just shifting
where they do it rather than trying to stop them. 4+5+3 Eternal Matriarch Style+2 stunt=14. 4 successes. Dammit KerisGale.
EarthScorpion: They just ignore her.
Aleph: goddammit
EarthScorpion: Vali gets... ha ha, a hilarious 10 successes on 12 dice pool, so he gets everything he can done.
EarthScorpion: While Zanara gets 8 successes, and soundly scams several merchant princes and sets them blaming each other for the forged promissory notes.
Aleph: ... yeah, that's fine. Oh, did they liaise with Haneyl to let her know about it?
Aleph: She might be able to earn a profit from it~
EarthScorpion: Of course not. She might have told them no, or tried to get them to not buy so much nacre.
Aleph: oh dear
Aleph: Okay, so is that everyone?
EarthScorpion: Yep
EarthScorpion: Everyone else is either doing minor things, or is an asset used by others (like how Elly and Rounen are for Haneyl).
Aleph: Awesome.
...
[second strategic action]
EarthScorpion: So, Keris is going to be pressured by Jade Fox into taking two actions, both minor, into first finding a place to set up her silverworks, and then getting the building established and recognised in Saatan law.
EarthScorpion: Everyone has 2 minor or 1 major before Callibration
Aleph: Hmm. Okay. Hmm. Keris... may well go along with that, honestly. Hmm. Put that as conditional for the moment.
Aleph: The others...
EarthScorpion: Zanara is in a big sulk, and is acting up. Keris has to make a choice of to handle this, or she can put them in time out to calm down in her soul.
Aleph: Hmm. So my thought for Zanara was to mollify them - and also occupy them - by trying to get them and Piu enrolled in a Saatan dance temple-college. Both Zana
and Nara know from Flowering the Fairer Face that showing obvious demonic stuff in a temple-school will get them kicked out, given Saata's strong thing against demonology, so they won't act up or reveal things if they're at a temple-college for the arts.
EarthScorpion: Per + Pres to try to offer it up to them as an "I'm sorry" present, rather than a "sending them away from her attention" punishment.
Aleph: She will demand demonstrations of what they've learned at
minimum every week, and preferably every day or so, which should both convince them that it's an "I'm sorry" present where she wants to pay attention to them learning new things, establish Little River as a patron of the arts who enjoys her ward's talent for dance, and also give Keris some honest enjoyment because she does love watching Zanara dance.
Aleph: 4+5+3 Eternal Matriarch+2 stunt+9 Kimmy ExD {impossibly high standards, demands payment, patronage and kindness}=23. 10 sux.
EarthScorpion: Yeah, Zanara is mollified enough - plus, Zana gets to keep Piu as her fangirl and constant observer, which works as a bribe.
EarthScorpion: So that's marked out as a major block for Zanara
EarthScorpion: Calesco's investigation is a major action, so she only has a minor left, and she's going to block out relaxation unless Keris wants to give her any other orders.
Aleph: "Relax and instruct the islanders on the finer points of beekeeping" is just fine, yeah.
Aleph: I am inclined to ask Vali to help Ali set up a
super-mega-awesome-cool forge and then see if he wants to go back to Shuu Mua with Xasan and, specifically this time, look for some more Shogunate ruins with cool dragon stuff on them.
EarthScorpion: Hmm. That's probably a major, to have the kind of search to find something meaningful. And Xasan's going to take a lot of persuasion to go this year, rather than in the new year once things cool down a bit and after callibration gets rid of bad spirits.
Aleph: Ah, true. Hmm. Fair enough. Forge, then, and... hmm. I might ask if he wants to go back to the Spires (which could result in a femkerub maturation).
Aleph: He's been out in Creation for a while, and is probably missing home.
EarthScorpion: If given a choice, Vali'll probably take one doing family stuff, then head home to relax and vent some of the energy he's got built up being well behaved.
Aleph: Yeah. So that's him. Haneyl undoubtedly has her own plans, but, mm, Keris will ask her to do some in-depth research into Pretty Peacock's business and resources and family situation and so on. With the not-so-subtle hint that should Pretty Peacock suffer a terrible accident, Haneyl might wind up in control of some of her assets if they know enough about them.
EarthScorpion: Haneyl actually agrees to that, but then actually decides to take a month off back in her soul to check up on things back home - knowing she can get out again in Hell for Calibration.
Aleph: Yeah, that's fair.
EarthScorpion: It's one of the reasons she got someone to manage things - she doesn't want to admit it, but she's been away from home for nearly a year and she just wants to be home for a bit.
EarthScorpion: She's still littler in some ways than she wants to let on
Aleph: D'awww.
Aleph: Hmm. Keris
will, however, see if Rathan is amenable to being summoned and put in charge of the Second Sister operation along with some femkeruby.
EarthScorpion: He is, yes. He'll take both Mele and Oula with him, too, so we can show that on screen. And that's a major.
Aleph: Excellent. Eko is... being Eko. And may well find herself banished back to the domain before Calibration for giving Sasi a headache, because I'm honestly surprised she lasted two months.
EarthScorpion: Yes, that's... probably true. Heh. Everyone's showing up back home before the end of the year. Which leaves Keris.
Aleph: Hmm. I kind of
want to spend a major action beating my estate back into shape. But as long as Vali takes down the demon icons during his family time before going back, I'll leave it under its slow improvement with - I assume - Little Bird dealing with things? And set up my silversmithy like a good girl.
EarthScorpion: Yeah, you gave Vali the time in which to do that
Aleph: Awesome.
Aleph: Man, Little River's receiving hall is gonna be
badass.
...
Aleph: Hmm. Ali spent his life around the waterwheel system, he has the sketches Keris took of it while she was there, and now he's not dealing with a sick wife or the fucking Vakotans.
Is it within his ability to reconstruct it?
Aleph: Because if he could do that, it would be a big help to Keris as far as future replication on Shuu Mua went.
EarthScorpion: It'd be a challenge, certainly, but waterwheels aren't unheard of in the region so there are things to work from. It'd be a big project for him, but he could at least try
Aleph: Sweet
...
Aleph: Hee. I really like Ba-le and Little River's dynamic.
EarthScorpion: Sigh. Little River is playing Sakura, isn't she?
Aleph: I mean, I was thinking Tomo and Misuzu.
EarthScorpion: 
Aleph: Sakura doesn't have the subtle edge of hidden malice. Or the Black Lagoon psycho eyes, or a reputation for how if you're _too_ crude in her presence she will decapitate you and then make some calm comment about your manners being atrocious.
Aleph: But yeah, the contrast of the well-mannered Misuzu one who's very formal and well-spoken vs the raucous Tomo one who's crude and vulgar.
Aleph: It pleases me~
...
EarthScorpion: OK, so I didn't get everything done I wanted, but oh well, we'll handle the ball next game.
EarthScorpion: Unless you wanted to get anything else done?
Aleph: Nah, that's good. And I was starting to flag anyway.
EarthScorpion: So, how was that session? Any comments on how it went, the pacing, etc?
Aleph: It was good. I think we got a bit hung up on Zany, but I loved how her bit resolved, and I'm increasingly growing fond of Ba-le. : D
EarthScorpion: You like people who can play off you.
EarthScorpion: God, Ba-le let near Inks.
Aleph: hee~
EarthScorpion: And yeah, the Gantt stuff took longer than expected. I really do think Discord seems to go slower than Skype for no immediately obvious reason.
EarthScorpion: Is it just worse at grabbing attention when a new post occurs? I dunno.
Aleph: Dunno.
EarthScorpion: The Vali-Zanara stuff at the start was hilarious to come up with.
Aleph: lol
Aleph: I do
really like that dragon sculpture.
EarthScorpion: Hee.
Aleph: Is it, you know, a 3D thing around the edge of the room, or a sculpture in the sense of a relief sculpture on the walls? I was assuming the latter.
EarthScorpion: I was thinking of it as a 3D thing, made up of bits of Shogunate dragons that Vali pulled off different buildings and sculpted into one thing. Showing that Malfean Craft.
Aleph: That also works. : 3
EarthScorpion: ... heh. I think that's the first chapter in ages with almost nothing from the babies.
...
EarthScorpion: So, we've seen Mele.
Aleph: Hee. Yes. I like him. And yeah, this works nicely as, heh, a way for Rathan to get in contact with the orcamen.
EarthScorpion: He's a shameless flirt, a flatterer, and kind of an asshole under it. And, um, Oula is keeping her "I don't like any other firstborn breeds" streak going.
Aleph: Kek : D
Aleph: ... also, now now. She can tolerate Elly, sometimes.
EarthScorpion: And yes, it's now a game to make sure all the firstborns have different personalities.
EarthScorpion: Oula is... Oula is ItRG!Morgan, let's be honest here. Or, rather, Morgan is Oula.
Aleph: Sigh. Yeah, she really kind of is.
EarthScorpion: She's a bitchy, hard-working, clever girl who's good at putting her good face forwards to authority. Rounen is an uptight, fussy pretty boy. Mele is a laid back playboy. Elly looks from a distance like she's the quiet girl. Saji is the ditzy one.
Aleph: Ditzy diva one
EarthScorpion: And Vela is the strict, rules-enforcing moral absolutist
Aleph: : D
EarthScorpion: Sigh. Zanara likes a lot of their neighbouring siblings' keruby. They like Oula for her artistry and tattoos, they like Saji for being an artistic diva, they like Rounen as a patsy, they'll probably like Mele...
Aleph: poor rounen
EarthScorpion: Rounen is not well equipped to handle Zanara
Aleph: he is not, no
EarthScorpion: Heh. Mele was trying to suck up to Aleph. But was it better than sating that side of things than Elly?
Aleph: Not so much, heh. Mostly because he wasn't, hmm...
Aleph: He was trying to get something out of it.
Aleph: While to Elly it was just The Way The World Worked.
...
EarthScorpion: But yeah, the fail-forwards thing of strategic actions means that after you failed to find a place on your own, one of your contacts offered you a place that doesn't meet all your needs (it's not in a good area, and you can't buy it outright, just lease it) which means you're stuck in a relationship of sorts with her.
Aleph: Hee. And also grr *cracks knuckles*
EarthScorpion: Grr?
Aleph: Drowning is Definitely On The Table for whoever did that when I find them.
Aleph: Hmm. Thing is, either it was:
a) someone who knew I was looking for a property for a silversmithy before I even started,
b) someone who was watching me closely enough to notice very soon after I started looking, or
c) someone who has enough of a grudge against me that they set up a standing action to meddle in my affairs to purchase any land
Aleph: Hmm. One of the other three Hui Cha lords, maybe? Feeling snubbed? Or Pretty Peacock, though, hmm, I don't think I've poked her directly yet.
EarthScorpion: Possibly. Or someone who saw this newcomer go and buy an expensive estate and wants to try to track down where your money is coming from by getting you to play your cards. Little River
has drawn attention to herself.
Aleph: Ah, damn. I hadn't thought of that. A feint to make me show my hand.
Aleph: Shit. That widens the possibilities a lot.
Aleph: Heh. Luckily, they're not going to get much out of this - the money trail will just point back to Jade Fox's investment.
EarthScorpion: Yep. One of the advantages of getting hooked into society, rather than just mysteriously making money appear. And the nice thing about that is he, as a triad boss, has people he pays to obfuscate his funding.
