Think the Getting the Gang back together plan is my current preference.
Not terribly picky on what we choose for our martial option between Venting or fighting local wildlife.
Org forming is a no brainer. Not a fan of selling the shard, and getting stonks seems to be the best stewardship option atm.
Echo the sentiment we shouldn't use the mayor papers for a fake tax law. Sneaking into the arcade does seem like an alright bet. I don't feel strongly about the hospital option, and investigating the police seems a bit risky still.
Talking with the treehouse gang is probably my personal preference for our learning action. Having Buzz buzz help seems straightforward. Don't have strong preferences for Porky's action, though getting an informant or snacks sounds okay.
[]Org and Setup:
-[] Vent Your Frustrations
-[] Found an Organization
-[] Buy Stock in the Baseball Bat Factory
-[] Try to Sneak into the Arcade [PORKY]
-[] Just Read Some Books [BUZZ BUZZ]
-[] Help Around the House -[] (Porky) Try to get a...mole?
Right, switched some stuff around since we can't do two intrigue actions. Buying stock in the baseball factory is basically the only real Stewardship option we can take if we don't want to sell the meteorite, since healing people with PSI isn't really on the table right now. I do hope that the Baseball Factory Deal will still be on the table if we take this action. It'd probably help raise CD's mood.
Still sticking on sneaking into the arcade. I really do think that getting useful info on the Sharks is important and that we should meet with Frankie sooner rather than later. Consolidating the criminal presence in the town underneath ourselves is gonna be important if we want to unseat the OPF.
For Learning I'm leaning towards just having CD read some books. With Buzz Buzz's help the first tier is guaranteed, so long as we don't roll a Nat 1, and the second tier isn't too far off. It'll be a good bonding activity between CD and Buzz Buzz and honestly working on some book learning might help CD get some self confidence back. Really proving that she isn't just a mindless brute and shit like that.
Org forming is a clear option. Not only does depression only get removed if we use personal actions, but we need an org both for actually getting the Passive Income and for Being able to potentially deal with styuff like recerd in future (we might have been able to stop this had we had the option to speak as a personal action).
As for what type? Well whilst I have a strong preference for Criminal, I imagine it doesn't actually matter that much - Most of us want specific formats purely for the implementation of one or more strategies, but the thing is many of those can be used regardless of which one we start out with. I still prefer criminal because I think that the lack of limitations on how we can act is worth the poor starting reputation and that Said reputation can be improved if we work at it, but given the current situation i can see a lot of advantage to going corp.
As for buying stock... I'd actually request if people consider burning some EXP on that, if we can't use one of our allies on it? We only have 7 stewardship and the tier 1 is at 40, with tier 2 at 80. I'll try and finish my own omake that I've been struggling on, but like... right now, theres a 1/3 chance for an outright failure here, and I want to lower that chance and potentially make the tier 2 easier.
Buying stock would make accquiring the factory easier once we form a corp, regardless of type, so I really want that to succeed.
No real thoughts on the others and it's in5 the morning here. I only woke up because my alarm isn't set to ignore weekends.
No, no, it's fine! You can post things like this any time. I'm sorry if I threw the next turn up too quickly, I just was antsy after having taken so long with the turn results last time. Didn't want to leave you all waiting any longer.
OK I feel like trying to figure out with the police deal about the fresh breeze movement I mean it's weird that by thinking putting up signs would help people I don't trust it.
I also think cd might need to talk to other people and maybe watching movies would help Plus we might get a chance to know the other kids better
"A pirate is a scoundrel who takes, and a privateer is a mercenary that delivers."
Holy goddamn shit that is a good line. Reading this whole Omake was wonderful. You nailed the atmosphere and the genuine dread that Wolf instilled, despite never raising his voice. Pigma, Leon, and ESPECIALLY Wolf was written in character. I liked how you worked in reports of the UFOs into the omake and sprinkled in references to the Starfox games, F-Zero, and even Monkey Island of Lechuck booze is anything to go off.
You captured the dangerous, draconian nature of Starwolf masterfully and it was a treat to read this.
This was a nice, humorous little setup! It's amusing to see a gardener's reaction to the slugs be so intensely violent. Having a big burning murder pit for the attack slugs contrasting their gentle demeanor. I also liked your descriptions, especially the match-stick one!
This was an unexpected but very well written Omake. The setup with CD finding a strange bat and thinking back to the conversation her siblings had with her felt very in character. CD smashing a crow into space and stunning Buzz Buzz into cursing was pretty funny. You also got the color-text pretty spot on (I should PROBABLY get around to putting proper hex-codes down for the characters colors at some point).
Overall this was a very fun Omake with a surprising amount of depth and meat to it for an otherwise amusing premise. Excellent job!
…If this is a "Town with No Name" reference then that's impressively subtle. If not, now I have to live with the realization that would actually *fit* into the Outlands.
Anyway, this was a VERY cool Omake! I have to say I love your dedication to doing the LiveALive series in 8-Bit Dystopia. Working with a theme and playing with an already great game gives your Omakes a lot of charm.
I recognize Half-Fast Pete from some Atari game. Pairing him up with Maddog and having their contrasting personalities, and fight styles, honestly makes them a great duo. You did a great job characterizing Pete, who otherwise doesn't have an established personality.
A short, but rather emotional and ominous Omake. I appreciate the tone you've set and the appropriate night time 'feel' of the whole thing. Touching on the running theme of parental neglect/issues feels appropriate. I particularly like the ending. Also, it has a cat in it, and everything is better with a cat!
Writing Sam and Max dialogue is hard, but this was pretty on point! I genuinely laughed at several points and was smiling the whole time reading it. These two nutballs would fit right into the city. The Happy-Happiests are pretty spot on for something they'd encounter in one of their zanny murders, Americana and all. Also, I like the "rabbit uplift(?)" line. As if the setting itself isn't totally sure what the hell Max is.
This was a very dense, satisfying Omake. I'm not particularly familiar with the D&D cRPGs, but I do recognize references to Jagged Alliance, Metal Slug, Metal Gear, and a lot more. All fit connected rather seamlessly. I think you did a good job justifying orcs, etc from the cRPGs in the setting of 8-Bit dystopia. It all works pretty well in the outlands.
Though since D&D is connected to a larger non-video game 'franchise' in a sense, I feel it disqualifies it from really working in 8-Bit Dystopia. Similar to how there's a lot of anime and movie games from the same time period that don't work for similar reasons. However you certainly managed to capture the proper D&D feel, cRPG or not, with your omake!
We should do a SPORT welfare! Free/affrodable healthcare and opportunities (including money) for people to do SPORTS in leisure time! CD would be a super Sepp Blatter for the common good!
(Super Sepp Blatter constantly obsessed with ALIENS of course)
We should do a SPORT welfare! Free/affrodable healthcare and opportunities (including money) for people to do SPORTS in leisure time! CD would be a super Sepp Blatter for the common good!
(Super Sepp Blatter constantly obsessed with ALIENS of course)
I mean, we can do this with basically ANY organisation we found.
Corp? Sport themed corp with great healthcare package and even it's own mini league. Criminal can use something similar to help with our rep and basically allow us to clean up our image Yakuza Style. And Archaic... well, it depends. As it says, pros and cons varies, though a likely theme is probably appealing to some form of Earth Nostalgia.
What I think we really need to consider is how we expect to play as an org. How do we expand, get funding, and deal with acting in situations where our opponents have a PR or legal advantage, it's strengths and weaknesses?
Kinda like a TF2 class or Final Fantasy Job, but for a giant group of people.
Certainly an option, but again - what does being a neighbourhood watch mean for expanding, or trying to buy out a company, or what bonuses we get and what limitations we have?
We can do community organising as any Organisation Type. The question I think we need to ask ourselves is what kind of playstyle we want.
In the case of a Neighbourhood watch (and this is mostly me spitballing), I imagine we'd get maybe a better time with rep and making connections withing communities we've expanded into, but struggle with expanding and need to find ways to counter hostility to those not in said community. We'd probably also need to act in line of the desires and expectations of said communities, or need to spend time trying to shape them so that we gain more freedom.
In the case of the Sports association, outreach might be easier as it's less inherently local, but martial operations would be harder to justify because that's not sports stuff. Which would mean we'd likely need a way to have a greater amount of plausible deniability for those moments.
Like... an example I'm mentally using is "What would it take for us to have a group break into the Monotoli Tower if we need to?". Not just in terms of how much we could do 'legally', but also how we'd even have influence in the local area to carry such a thing out.
Edit: to showcase what I mean, Metapharms answer would be "Use Ridleys Space pirates or some other Mercenary group to perform the act whilst we can argue we have no connection at all." But that also requires that they build up and maintain a group like the Space Pirates without the connection being discovered.
Of course, other thought experiments can be done to showcase where a groups difficulties might lie. like acquiring passive income for criminal groups (possible to do, but harder to do legitimately, though far from impossible).
if we're talking about a faction right now, i'll bring up the idea of a more "secret society" vibe again, can be done regardless of being corporate or criminal. easier to apply something like that to our goals and as a bonus it would be really cool :)
for now though just want to get some discussion on what the best choices to make in this turn are, especially regarding martial/intrigue/learning(Diplomacy and stewardship are hopefully clearer-cut). here's my thoughts on some currently popular choices (and some guesses on possible results to consider. let me know if any parts are a mess lol, I can only re-check it so many times)
(as a summary (because I want to both say tons of things and have people read what I'm saying) i'm good for any plan that has beating up something safe-ish, founding a faction, investing, doing some proactive investigation where it'll be most useful and getting a good chance to chill. multiple ways to achieve this, personally on board with ones that are more likely to raise our stats since that's useful long term)
~
Martial's a competition between beating up whatever and beating up animals
doing whatever is harder to anticipate the results of while animals is more reliable. both should suffice to vent with, so it's a matter of if the potential risk is worthwhile. it's specifically accessible because we're depressed right now, but that might just mean it's not as helpful long-term/cause is to do something dumb.
it will probably turn out fine if we end up fighting the sharks (that'll just improve our rep:), but what do you think will happen if the cops get called/there's unexpected consequences? if we can get a tier 2 success that might be good enough to mitigate pyrrhic victory-style side effects, does anyone know if that's a safe bet?
if we can rely on it working out then it would be worth picking, but probably not otherwise. definitely has the vibe of recklessness which is setting off warning bells for me
diplomacy is a shoe in for making our organisation. while talking to franky has some advantages, it just isn't worthwhile to put off getting a faction, because the benefit from that would be way larger.
stewardship only has three actions open right now. each of them has consequences, but I think we can handle investing
selling that meteorite means we won't have it later and we're unlikely to get the full benefit. works if we need emergency funds, but don't need to do that for now. probably a waste unless we have a good use for more funds, and it might close off future options?
healing will draw attention we might not be equipped to handle, and would happen at a -20 malus this turn. if we do it, next turn would work better for sure.
investing will take a significant amount of our funds, but we can probably deal with that? if we put them to use and it works well that's solid progress to improving our finances. (conversely, failing would dump up to 6 down the drain)
I'm totally biased, but investing now, healing next turn if needed sounds like a solid plan.
with intrigue we can make some risky schemes, or investigate the sharks/police
none of the schemes stand out to me personally as worth the risk. would give funds, but not as a source of income? robbing the hospital might work but we only have one shot, so possibly better with a faction?
in terms of investigation, sharks has lower DCs than the police but if it fails that might hamper getting along with them later? which is important to consider if we might be planning positive relations. also not sure if there's much benefit to be gained, if we use a diplomacy action later that might give us some info anyways. possible results are revealing frankystein or possible weaknesses in security, but that's only useful if we
investigating the police meanwhile is a pretty high DC challenge at 75/90. feels like the risk is managable since we're just poking around, but that's just me. if we succeed, this would equip us to respond pre-emptively to their plans, which could be really bad if left ignored?
learning is a good spot for relaxation(either reading books or going to a movie night), but it's debatable what works best here. reading is safer and the movie night is riskier, but if we fail here it probably isn't the end of the world unless other problems pop up at the same time
reading pros: has three tiers of success if we roll well, and potentially a pretty tangible reward. it's also a way to distract us from various issues. cons: it's work, so might be boring/stressful in a different way? could also probably be done as a personal action in the future anyho
movie pros: option might go away after this turns so best to do it while we can. it's also a good opportunity to boost relations with this group since we're forming a faction now. cons: if it goes poorly it's going to really harm cass's social battery/might strain things with the faction.
buzz buzz personals all seem helpful in different ways. if we have a particular need for opportunities, boosted stats or loot, then those (spying, practicing, finding stuff respectively) actions would be good? PSI especially might unlock a different ability which could help training/give us more options
in the mood for helping around the house since it's more relevant right now, but it's debatable if it's worthwhile. would make things nicer for kart/floppy though which sounds worthwhile
porky personals are generally unreliable but that can't be helped. loafing/finding snacks could give them a bonus to some actions(broadly helpful, but hard to anticipate), whilst getting a mole should help our intrigue more against that specific faction(or get rumours in general), if it works out it might be good, but I wouldn't expect much? mole would be good if we can trust porky's loyalty/reliability, but I want to let them snack/chill to keep them happy before they *need* to be kept happy if that makes sense.
that part's not the end goal, effect of it was more like a "get more attention for it, convince people to support movement" thing (so propaganda)
we have no clue what it's like later, but probably will damage support for organisations even more (even if they're legal ones, it might be like the city lockdown but worse. making actions harder/limiting what's available, that sort of thing? nasty stuff if we're trying to unionise and/or beat gygass collaborators up)
A day in the Life of B.H. Pirkle.
(events occur around the end of turn 3, start of turn 4)
7:00 – Waking up
As your mind begins to rouse itself from slumber, you manage to groggily lever yourself into a semblance of an upright position upon the king sized bed. As you rub your eyes and get their dried mucus onto your silken nightclothes, you try to recall the dream that you had as best you can.
You can vaguely remember a baseball game, and that your team was composed of seven foot purple men? What was it called… the Jaggers? And then, when it was your turn to bat, you had instead been using a rubber chicken. The other team claimed that you were in fact using a turkey, and that this was cheating that disqualified you from the game.
Dreams, of course, can be deeply strange things.
7:45 - Breakfast
You help yourself to what you consider to be a humble meal of Poached egg and salmon (artificial of course. You aren't made of money) Kedgeree, with an assortment of local real fruit on the side. You don't particularly notice when the ketchup you've slathered over your meal drips onto your napkin. You are far more concerned with the morning paper.
The news about the lights worries you greatly. You had been reassured that the Traitor had been located. In order for the extermination to be so clearly visible to the populace means not everything went as planned. It gives rise to the fear that you might be caught.
Already the gears of your mind turn, churning out a story to give to strong. Or at least a subtle prodding towards whatever you want him to believe. Were he to realise the truth, then the veteran of the Invader wars might well decide to actually use the power he holds.
It is a matter for later. For the moment, you instead decide to finish your ketchup with egg and salmon.
9:30 – Managing your Corporation.
Keeping the various spinning plates of your small empire from falling down is something of a challenge.
You have other people to manage that. You tell yourself this isn't laziness, but the art of delegation.
In truth, you do not own any one company. You own several much smaller ones, many of them focus upon the use of one of the few areas of actual greenery present in the Eagle Quarter. Producing real wood floorboards, paper, toothpicks. The list goes on. Plant life is almost nonexistent in the City outside of Eagle Quarter, and this gives you a niche.
One of the advantages is that you're able to charge a premium for the 'sustainably sourced' products. It's not even that much of a lie. Replanting does happen, even if the rate is far slower than the amount of timber you source. But you tell yourself that such is simply the needs of the market and profit, and out of your hands.
You fired everyone who had told you about the need for deadwood, or of a diversity of tree species. Until you found someone who told you what you already needed to hear. An opinion you could use to justify extorting people for even more of their currency.
You also sell products that are not labelled as being sustainably sourced, of course. Significantly cheaper. Those who can't take the former inevitably use the latter.
They are the exact same product. Both of them cost significantly more than it takes to produce. This makes you feel intelligent, as though this were not some scheme based off low cunning.
You watch how the money rolls in.
11:35 – Meeting with Captain Strong
"Captain, please, I don't think you need to be a detective to figure out this little mystery."
The chief of the Onett Police Department stands ahead of you, arms folded behind his back, face inscrutable behind his sunglasses. His form of hand to hand combat might be rudimentary, elements seeming to have more style than substance – something that seems out of character for the man – but he could still almost certainly break you like a twig.
He will not, of course. Captain Strong is far too principled a man to sieze power like that. Unlike you, he supposes to have a code that he believes in. A method by which he absolves himself of all responsibility.
"Frankly speaking Sir, I'd be hesitant to make any such snap judgements. There's blood at the scene, and the remains of some of the Lamps seem atomised. At least one looks like it was turned into some eerie modern art sculpture."
"Well come on. Your movement gets all it's signs vandalised, My third house gets robbed blind, and then someone goes on this kind of a bender stirring up trouble? It's obviously one of the brats that your Fresh Breeze movement is focused on. Some snot-nosed punk who doesn't want to be disciplined, acting out against their elders and betters."
Strong raises one eyebrow questioningly. "And the Melted Asphalt? The lights seen from the edge of town? The hole in the forest canopy that looks like someone shot straight at one of the mountains?"
You shrug. "Only thing I can think of that would do that would be a Super Scope or something. Modded probably. Brat uses it to grab a bunch of lamps for target practice – maybe with some lackeys – and then shows off and fires at max power, gets hurt by the recoil."
Strong looks as though to make an argument, but pauses. Your points line up with his pre-existing worldview, and it allows him to continue his crusade against that which he sees as opposed to Law and Order.
"I will take your observations under advisement sir."
You smile internally, an issue painted over.
14:55 – Council Meeting
Following a lunch break in which you attempt to flirt with a secretary with the sleaze you think passes for charm, it is time for a meeting with the city council.
It is not, of course, a real council. Any attempt as such might result in you losing even a fragment of the control you possess over Onett and its inhabitants. No, instead this is more akin to a boardroom meeting for a corporation, just where the focus is on the town instead of you lining your pockets.
Two items on the agenda you know are non-negotiable. First of these is preventing the removal of the blockade.
This is easily dealt with. You have successfully hidden the true balance of power in Onett for years, pretending to be a humble 'Mayor' beholden to the Polices whims. You claim to be unable to do anything to shift Strongs mind. More importantly, you are able to play down the effects of the blockade, noting that many in Onett run small family units instead of major businesses. You skirt around the fact that those who do not fit into this paradigm will be left starving as time goes on.
The recent conflict gives you another lever. The threat of an assailant armed with an energy weapon helps to reinforce the idea of a need for protection. That the blockade may prevent anyone else getting their hands on such a weapon.
Then, refusing to lower the costs of healthcare. You again need not worry too much. The hospitals and insurance companies will back you on this. You argue that the increase in animal attacks and the fear of violence from River City refugees that managed to slip in before the police bloakcaded the City are putting more pressure on companies. Isn't it only right for them to charge more, and to dissuade those whose injuries are not truly worth treating.
These are not the reasons you argue such. It is because you fear that if you do not, if you act to betray your new superiors, then it will all come down on your head. And so, you try to preserve yourself, even as you know these decisions will leave individuals unable to pay their rents of heal their wounds.
There is, after all, only one more item on your agenda.
18:30 – The Meeting of utmost importance.
It is late. You sit in one of your offices, surrounded by various plants and assorted paraphernalia. The majority of your employees have left for the day, and those that have stayed would have no reason to come here. You are as alone as you can be, deep enough within your City hall that none would hear you even were you to scream.
Such a situation might be dangerous for you, if you were to be attacked. The Security you have put in place means that any who enter this building would need to be a master of Unarmed Combat and infiltration. Only one of the former exists within this location, and he is a pushover who would even serve you unfalteringly.
You frown, adjust your sunglasses, and state to no one that any human can see:
"We need to talk. Now."
And that is where I finally enter.
The attack slugs and antoids hidden behind the various ornaments, chairs, and other accessories of the room reveal themselves. My terminals, in this instance. My eyes and ears, and in such numbers with a degree of exertion, able to carry my voice.
"I assume you wish to discuss the incident with the Traitor?"
"You said that they were going to be taken care of." You hold yourself back from shaking, either from fear of from rage. "What part of this looks like a quiet assassination?!"
There is no excuse to be given. Even if deception were an option, it's use here to give an illusion of greater strength would be ill used in dealing with the issue.
"None. Jaeger has not reported in since that night. Given they resorted to an Omega level attack, it can be assumed that there was an unexpected element. Until we can determine Jaegers status, it would be best to assume that he has been Killed in Action."
"You mean to tell me that your Tin-Can getting killed by someone that powerful in my town is meant to put me at ease?!"
"Jaeger was a specialised unit, focused on attacks that might ignore the defenses of one such as Bzz Bzz, in addition to the usual enhancements that Starman units receive. It is plausible that this unexpected element was merely well suited to take advantage of the situation. Jaegers psychological evaluations showed a desire to make up for their failures in the previous conflict, for example."
"You promised me that there wouldn't be any trou-"
Someone screams, only to try to stifle it soon afterwards. You and I both immediately turn towards the door, to see a human male in one of your office-workers attire.
Hypnosis is applied immediately, but this human seems to have more resistance than expected. Perhaps possessing latent PSI ability, or having unknowingly awakened it. Has the Traitor gone even so far as to spread such secrets?!
…No. Not to someone this pathetic, cowering at your feet. This is merely poor chance, that is all.
The eavesdropper attempts to speak, in spite of his warbling vocal chords. "I… I just… I came to g-get my noteboo-"
"Emmanuel was it?" You step in, voice shifting to a calm composure that is utterly fine with the situation. It throws the human off, the panic they'd expect to see in you not present. And since you are not panicking then this situation, strange as it is, must somehow be fine.
"I suppose I'd have to break the news eventually. Come inside"
The whelps eyes shift over the array of my spawn, clearly uncomfortable at their presence.
"They won't touch you, kid. You have my word on that."
You have no power over them, but this seems to satisfy his fear enough that he tentatively steps inside. You shut the door behind you with an unhurried click.
"What are they?!" he whispers, tension evident in his tone.
"My new… business associates shall we say, aren't exactly from Princeps, see."
"But you mean…They're aliens!"
The look of disappointment on your face almost appears genuine. "Emmanuel… I thought that you were better than this."
"…Wha-?"
"Come on now. The universe is a big place – you really think every alien lifeform out there is going to be like the Invaders?" you sigh. "These guys are only here to deal with one of their own. A traitor, someone dangerous. Only reason I haven't said anything is because I don't want people to jump to conclusions"
You manage to weave a dash of truth into a litre of lies, and it manages to persuade your fool of a worker into questioning his stance – if only because he suddenly wonders if he is truly a 'good person'.
"Of course, there's also the fact that they're willing to pay. A bunch of extraterrestrial tech in exchange for the life of their backstabber. Something that can really help to put Onett – hell, maybe Eagle Qaurter on the map. Maybe even be able to get the Big Three to actually respect us for once. Think about it, kid. Imagine what we could do with that kind of backing!"
The man ceases to pay attention for a moment, swayed by your words, lost in thought. The thoughts in his mind, though vague and hard to discern due to his resistance, seem to dance with promises of power and riches. It is no doubt greed and personal gain that dance through his mind before the bullet does.
You retch, as though you haven't just taken advantage of the young mans trust in you in order to execute him with impunity. You throw the silenced pistol out of your hand as if it burns you, the act of actually committing violence somehow more repugnant than all of your behaviour thus far.
For a minute, then two, then five, you simply heave, trying to convince yourself that your actions haven't truly happened. Trying to figure out how to deal with this and return to your eternal grifting of a mayoral position.
"I'll get a bunch of cleaners in tomorrow." You declare, voice raspy from having to stop yourself from vomiting. "The kind who don't ask questions. Hit em with your weird Psych-power or whatever it is."
"And the issue with the Traitor?"
"I'll find a way." You snarl, "However strong this ally of theirs is, I've got Strong in my pocket and the entire damn OPF. Every damn person of repute listens to me, and only those Snot-nosed Sharks and that Wily-Wannabe come close to actually trying to defy me. This is my town. You just keep your end of our bargain, you oversized termite."
As one, the Slugs and Antoids nod – or attempt to – in acknowledgement. You assume that this means I consider you an equal – or more likely, a particularly hard to replace underling. That I am so bound by Giygas' edict to engage in secret that your position is vital enough to be respected.
You do not know the truth.
I cannot stand being in the same room as you, you bloated, disgusting filth.
You, Pirkle, are the truest form of humanity. You lack any virtues, and even those far more evil than you at the very least show ambition – a sense of purpose, of drive! But you… you are merely a snivelling, porcine stain upon the universe, willing to sell out your own kin and people in the faint belief that you might profit. You show your species as it truly is, with all it's delusions of righteousness stripped from it.!
You, alone, are proof enough justify the slaughter of your entire kind down to the last, mewling, helpless infant! The call for your extermination would be a horror were it any other form of life, but seeing you, I know full well that seeing their mutilated corpses will fill me with the reassurance that those such as you have been prevented from sullying existence itself!
And you? You shall help me. Aid me. You shall scrape and simper, wheedle and plead. You will sentence your species to extinction, and never even consider that I am merely saving you for last that I might savour it.
My spawn shall flay the skin from your still living flesh. They shall lay their eggs within your eyes and wait for them to hatch. With Lifeup, we shall give you life enough to prolong your torment. Your throat, of course, shall be saved for last, that I might relish in your screams.
So smile, you worthless sack of excrement, at the belief that you might go on without 'getting into any trouble'.
I promise you – your eventual fate will be no trouble at all.
Gah, but this update has felt like work instead of Fun.
Been wanting to write something like this All Janurary. Initially, it was meant to purely focus on Emmanuel and have an expanded verison of the eavesdropping, attempt to talk him round, and then subsequent 'early retirement' by Pirkle, but that just never clicked in any way. Guy was too much white bread- bland and uninteresting. I tried to make him into a petty selfish little person, but not one who deserved his fate, but just... couldn't quite get the mindset.
So I made this instead something going over Pirkles Day. In some ways it was easier, going through section by section, trying to make him simultaneously a huge extravagant POS whilst also not even having the decency to stick with it. Just real slime. That was kind of fun to write. As was trying to do the thing of writing a first person story mildly disguised as a second person one, though I think I went too heavy with Titanic Ants real disdain bleeding through.
As for Titanic ant, if you come away thinking maybe they have a point, I have utterly failed in writing this. TA is written as using the actions of a single man to justify indulging in the genocide of countless people. I don't think I managed to get that across enough personally, though I tried to showcase how they see all humans, not just Pirkle, as beneath them. Pirkle is just the excuse they give themselves to feel morally righteous and let themselves enjoy it.
There's a lot I'd consider rewriting about this, but this was increasingly fighting me, and honestly, I think I'm even only going to add Colours and stuff in later. I've got work tomorrow and I'd like to actually rest for the evening dangit.
Might try to do another JSR interlude, whilst keeping it short. Stuff that's happened in quest has given me something to work with I think.
I still like the Onett Youth League idea. Not only is working with fellow kids/teens fitting, but I feel like they're more likely to take idiots from some random punk kid. Plus, given Cass's stated aspirations vis-a-vis sports and the like, I feel it ties in nicely with her backstory and vibe.
"We've had Tarokichi for years doc, I don't think he's sick or anything just… old." Akira's voice was quiet, even morose. An odd tone for the bright young boy.
"You do realize my expertise is in technology, correct? Biology and medicine aren't exactly my wheelhouse, especially for animals." It wasn't a lie exactly. Tobei was certainly 'less' knowledgeable when it came to biology and medicine.
He knew enough to turn himself into a cyborg after all.
"I know, but you're the only guy I can think of. The vet just said he was old, and Matsu is no help here." Akira dropped his rag on the table, halfway through cleaning a bunch of nicknacks.
"His medical expertise is limited to bandages isn't it?"
"Yeah." Akira absentmindedly scratched a bandage on his chin. The boy was still getting into street fights on the regular.
"I just… I'd be sad to see the little guy go, and my sister really loves him. I don't want to make her sad."
Empathy immediately rose in Tobei's chest. Kaori, Akira's little sister, was young and sickly. Much of Akira's time was spent trying to fill her life with joy.
She never knew her mother and lost her father years ago. Losing a beloved pet too would've been another blow to the poor girl's heart.
"There may be something I can do…" Tobei said slowly.
"Really? I'll take anything you can offer doc!" Akira clapped his hands together like he was begging.
"Hold your horses, young man! This isn't a decision to make lightly!" Tobei smacked him on the knee with his walking stick.
"Ow!"
"I cannot save the turtle as it is. No matter what I do its body will still age and degrade as per normal. What I can do is transfer it into a new, mechanical body."
"Wait so… it'll be a turtle cyborg? Sounds kinda rad actually."
"If you intend on going through with this I need details!" Tobei produced a notebook from seemingly nowhere. "Do you want it to be big or small? Does the new body need to be capable of any specific tasks?"
"Let's see…" Akira scratched his head, seeming to think before he snapped his fingers.
"He's been trapped in a real small body for so long, I think he'll enjoy a bigger one. Also I uh, get into fights a lot."
Tobei stared at him blankly, taking in the bandage on his face
"Maybe I could use him as backup? Oh and uh, try to make sure the robot body's still cute and turtle-y. We're doing this for Kaori, remember?"
"Okay… large, cute, turtle-like, and combat capable. I can work with this. Let me make the body first, then we can get Tatoimo transferred over."
"His name is Tarokichi." Akira corrected.
"Yes, that's what I said."
"Whatever you say doc. How long is this gonna take?"
Tobei checked the clock. It was well past noon, approaching evening already "I should be done by tomorrow morning. Expect me after breakfast."
"That fast? This is why you're the best doc!" Akira pumped his fist in excitement.
"Yes yes, now if I'm going to get to work I'll need focus! That means no annoying teenagers asking silly questions." He waved his staff as if shooing Akira.
"Alright, I should be getting back anyway. See you tomorrow!" He sauntered off, hands in his pockets.
Tobei waited until he heard the front door close before he rapped himself over the head with his staff. It's not like it did anything, since so much of his head was cybernetic.
"That was an awfully stupid decision for a genius! What could possibly possess me to use the same technology I ran away from all those years ago?"
Liquefaction. Just the thought of it brought him unbidden into a memory Dr. Toei was never angry about being less famous or well-known than the greats. It took a lot of arrogance to look at a man like Dr Light, and consider yourself better than him.
Toei was also an old man, old enough to have survived the invader wars and staked his claim during the infancy of what would become The City.
His work was stranger and more insular than the greats, more niche you might say. It meant he had to work off of lesser funding and do odd jobs to make ends meet, but it was a fair price to pay to do whatever he wanted. In this case, studying new ways of combining biological and technological materials.
Also, the psychic giant robot hidden in the nearby ruins. He had a lot of interests okay?
He honestly didn't remember how he came to the realization, of what combination of chemicals and subjects resulted in his first success. It wasn't very impressive, just a puddle of melted flesh from an already dead lab animal..
He called it Liquefaction.
Refining the process was surprisingly simple, but due to limited funding, it took a very long time to make his first prototypes.
Animals whom he had partially liquefied and given rudimentary cybernetics. After a short adjustment period, they would use the cybernetics as if they were their own body.
The process wasn't perfect, but making it that far at all was invigorating. With this kind of technology, it would be possible to make new, seamless cybernetics. Breaking down the nerves and muscles to create a perfect connection between the body and the machine.
Oh if only that was what it was used for…
"You need to hide."
"Excuse me?" Dr. Toei looked up at the man. He was wearing shades, a biker jacket, and had a vibrant green mohawk. His jacket labeled him as a member of the 'Crusaders,' an anti-corporate group in the region.
He had a scar over his left eye, and another on the part of his chest peeking over the biker jacket. Despite that, he looked young, barely an adult.
"You gave some of my boys cybernetics for cheap, that's why I'm giving you a warning. Robodyne is on its way." He crossed his arms, towering over Dr. Toei in a way that should probably be intimidating.
It really wasn't.
"Please, I'm an independent scientist. I doubt a megacorp cares about little old me."
"They're very interested in your work actually." He threw down a folder full of papers. "Read that, if you can stomach it."
Scoffing, Dr. Toei opened up the folder and started looking through the files. They were about Robodyne, specifically, it's 'badniks'
Oh. The badniks had biological components.
Scratch that, a lot of biological components. Brain chips and Biofuel?
"I think I know where this is going. They want my Liquefaction so they can experiment with improvements or alterations to these… biological components"
"Well too bad!" He tossed the folder away. "Like I said I'm an independent scientist. I can do what I want."
"I don't think you understand. Your compliance isn't important to him, and I'll prove it to you." The Crusader whistled.
On cue a pair of crusaders approached, carrying the broken shell of a badnik between them. "This was sitting outside your lab, watching you. Keeping tabs on you. As soon as they realize this one is broken, they'll probably send another."
"... This is really happening?" The shield of disbelief broke like a pane of glass struck by a hammer. He shouldn't be cold, his prosthetics manage his temperature perfectly.
So why is he shivering?
"If… if Robodyne is after me, I could just…" The words died in his throat. Wilycorp was already starting to become a police state, and his skill set would make him valuable. Where else could he go?
"The corporations don't care about you or me. Only what we can offer to them, and what they can take from us. This research? Cybernetics, liquefaction, and whatever else is in that shiny noggin of yours?"
"They would kill to have you."
The lead Crusader took off his glasses, letting Tobe see the scar over his glassy left eye. "We can help you run away. Change your name and let you hide in plain sight. You have my word."
"What will I owe you?"
"You won't owe us anything. Sticking it to Robodyne is good enough for us. We can still do business though, if my boys ever need a prosthetic, or you want us to sell your goods on the black market."
"I suppose that's the best I'm going to get…" Toei turned a sad eye towards his laboratory, knowing he would most likely never see it again. "There are some things I need to keep, but I expect the rest will just be destroyed."
The crusader leader nodded his head. "We'll take care of that. As long as it's small enough to fit on our bikes."
"What do I call you?" Toei asked before the crusader could leave.
"Lawless. But you can call me Matsu" "If I still had lungs I'm sure they would be screaming right now…" Tobei griped as he dragged the empty turtle robot behind him. Luckily as he turned the corner to the Bright Sparks Orphanage, Akira was standing outside by the swing.
"You're late doc! I thought you were going to be here early."
"Well I would have been, but my matter transporter exploded! I had to take a much less scientific route here. Walking."
"So this is gonna be his new body huh?" Akira tried to lift the robot, immediately staggering under the weight. "Seems cool!"
If the Orphanage matron thought it was strange to see Akira and an old man walk in with a 6-foot-tall mechanical turtle in their grasp, she didn't say anything about it.
"Hey, Kaori!" Akira set the robot down in his room, stumbling back a little "This is gonna be Tarokichi's new body!"
"Are you sure? It's a little big isn't it?"
"Am I sure? I'm the brilliant doctor Tobei! This will work perfectly! Now where's Taroimo?"
"Tarokichi."
"That's what I said!"
Kaori carefully held out the turtle to Tobei. He could immediately tell that the little guy was sick. Slow and weak, even for a turtle.
"Don't try to watch, or help. This is delicate work, and I don't need you kids ruining it!" Tobei walked to the corner of the room, using the robot to hide his work.
He was well aware that watching their childhood pet melt would be concerning to them.
After successfully liquefying the turtle, he turned back to the robot and placed the small container into its back, before fitting the "shell" back in place.
"Behold, Taroimo!" The mechanical turtle shuddered slightly as it stood, visual receptors winking on and off as it booted up. It stumbled slightly, clearly not used to walking on two legs, before quickly stabilizing.
"Tarokichi? Do you remember me?" Kaori slowly stepped forward, looking shy.
"Of course he does." Akira tapped his forehead. "You've been feeding and taking care of him for years. He wouldn't forget that."
"Kahhh- Kay Ore Eee." A bright, digital voice stopped the kids short. "Kay Or E… Kaori!"
"Taroimo can talk? Wait. Damnit now you've got me mixing his name up old man!"
"Tarokichi!" Kaori threw herself at the turtle robot, wrapping her little limbs around the cylinder that made up its torso.
Watching the kids cuddle with Taroimo, knowing that it was the result of his actions, of his research.
Maybe Liquefaction was worth something after all.
Another one for Live a Live! Like I said Akira/the Near Future is a good one to loop into this Quest. What with being about a psychic teen fighting corruption and all that stuff. This particular chapter is a bit of a fusion dealy. Toei was the doctor's original name, it was changed to Tobei in the translation for the sake of not stepping on Toei the company's toes. I'm also pretty sure that Tobei canonically did run away from corporate life with the help of Matsu, I just connected the dots to the 8-Bit Dystopia
I'm not 100% happy with the flashback but, I didn't know exactly what form a recruitment from a Corporation would look like. Especially for Eggman since he doesn't have any big-name supporters or subordinates, unlike Wily. I think I did well enough though.
Also don't ask me how the Steel Titan got there. I have no idea. In the source material, it's a Babylonian Mech. I don't know how to fit that shit in 8 Bit Dystopia.
Certainly an option, but again - what does being a neighbourhood watch mean for expanding, or trying to buy out a company, or what bonuses we get and what limitations we have?
We can do community organising as any Organisation Type. The question I think we need to ask ourselves is what kind of playstyle we want.
In the case of a Neighbourhood watch (and this is mostly me spitballing), I imagine we'd get maybe a better time with rep and making connections withing communities we've expanded into, but struggle with expanding and need to find ways to counter hostility to those not in said community. We'd probably also need to act in line of the desires and expectations of said communities, or need to spend time trying to shape them so that we gain more freedom.
In the case of the Sports association, outreach might be easier as it's less inherently local, but martial operations would be harder to justify because that's not sports stuff. Which would mean we'd likely need a way to have a greater amount of plausible deniability for those moments.
Like... an example I'm mentally using is "What would it take for us to have a group break into the Monotoli Tower if we need to?". Not just in terms of how much we could do 'legally', but also how we'd even have influence in the local area to carry such a thing out.
Edit: to showcase what I mean, Metapharms answer would be "Use Ridleys Space pirates or some other Mercenary group to perform the act whilst we can argue we have no connection at all." But that also requires that they build up and maintain a group like the Space Pirates without the connection being discovered.
Of course, other thought experiments can be done to showcase where a groups difficulties might lie. like acquiring passive income for criminal groups (possible to do, but harder to do legitimately, though far from impossible).
So in case of "archaic Sports association" (and I propose "Sports and Culture Association", kinda like ISCA, but with wider "mandate", and since it's the game, both more effective and funnier than original). Even real-life ISCA ventures into things like "green city" and "health initiatives". And 8-bit Association could easily go into museums and theaters.
Or, say, create a movie theater where Treehouse Boys would be showing their weird Earthern movies for passive income - and possibly for propaganda.
So the association is kinda - yes, it's sports, and it's culture, but it's also a bureucratic body with physical properties, business side and the security "department".
So it can totally do financial crimes (cough Sepp Blatter cough). But it cannot sell the drugs and it cannot send goons to break into the private citizen's homes.
It could do espionage - an Intrigue Action to "break into Monotoli Tower", and possibly have some Martial encounter (but the goal would be to evade it in that case). But it cannot straightforvardly invade the said Tower guns blazing.
Regarding the Martial things - it can go "strategically offensive, tactically defensive" - for example lay claim on a piece of land as "we are going to build a stadium (or a park or whatever) here", and if the local gang would decide to attack it (as we, say, would interfere with them selling drugs there, or building a secret doctor evil superwepon to hold town hostage and extort money) - we would be able to defend Martially. And if the gang would go too far then probably even covertly attack them at night Martially.
But we would not be able to attack them unprovoked and proactively. (To infiltrate them proactively - yes, and if it would turn into fight, well then it would)
This organization would be able to attack actively nefarious artefact-gathering operation in desert - on the grounds that "it belongs in (our) museum!". But if the bad guy would be publicly and "lawfully" exhibit it in his own gallery - then the attack would be impossible (but theft possible).
On the non-Martial side, "could the org do SCIENCE about the artefact" - the answer would be "yes, but the museum should come first".
Could it study and make a big robot for Porky to drive and participate in RoboSports (and use it for Martial)? Yes. A tank or an assault helicopter - no. Study some historical tank ("culture") and draw some insights on what to do against it - yes.
Could the "security wing" have wepons? Yes, especially non-lethal, but also the police stuff. Flamethrowers and cannons to level whole buildings? No. Some bigger guns to use if the enmy would attack with Big Robot? Well, yes, but only for defense against big stuff.
Passive income is easiest. Sell the tickets to the events. Accept sponsorship and advertisement. Take bribes (Blatter!). Sell merch. Provide (affordable) healthcare. Do the barrel roll.
"Why bother with this at all?" is an obvious question - well, my answer is that this would go directly against the grain of "values" of the setting, in terms of charity and compassion, and doing this as Sport&Culture instead of "Armed Resistance Revolutionary Group"/"Cool Gang"/"Secret Organizaton of Heroes" could be hilarious on contrasts. And much less generic. And also I believe it could have very 8-bit vibes, like where Mario is a plumber protagonist istead of a secret agent, and Sonic runs really fast in sneakers instead of shooting rockets and lasers.
The biggest flaw of all this is that Crosswire wasn't too hot about this idea. And that could possibly mean that this would not vibe really well with a questmaster. And that's a really serious flaw.
wasn't too hot about this idea. And that could possibly mean that this would not vibe really well with a questmaster. And that's a really serious flaw.
It's not a true Quest if the Questmaster doesn't offer real choices.
As long as it's authentic, fitting for the character and setting, and not desired purely as a joke, then I don't see why I shouldn't allow such options to be discussed and considered by all of you. It all comes down to voting after all.
Unless someone wants to name dramatic, plot important character "Assblaster 5000" I don't want to tell you guys 'no' to otherwise interesting possibilities.
There are no unfun choices, however from how the idea was initially pitched I was worried you all might unintentionally hinder yourselves.
It's one thing for a bad roll or a misinformed decision, failure is fun.
However I don't want to give you guys trap options in regards to something as foundation as faction creation.
However I won't comment on the idea itself, I'll just remind you all of some facts CD would know in character:
CD has been informed and knows for a fact that an alien entity intends to commit genocide on the Eagle Quarter, and after that the whole City.
CD has had two attempts made on her life so far (one by a lamp) and knows the enemy is bound only by secrecy, not by laws or morality.
However, from the state of the town, even CD is aware the enemy is more then capable of manipulating the constraints and laws of society against any who might oppose them.
Not even their own mother was safe from the enemy's influence or plans.
I have no doubt you can all make things interesting and functional, no matter what you chose. Just keep these things in mind going forward~
It's not a true Quest if the Questmaster doesn't offer real choices.
As long as it's authentic, fitting for the character and setting, and not desired purely as a joke, then I don't see why I shouldn't allow such options to be discussed and considered by all of you. It all comes down to voting after all.
Unless someone wants to name dramatic, plot important character "Assblaster 5000" I don't want to tell you guys 'no' to otherwise interesting possibilities.
There are no unfun choices, however from how the idea was initially pitched I was worried you all might unintentionally hinder yourselves.
It's one thing for a bad roll or a misinformed decision, failure is fun.
However I don't want to give you guys trap options in regards to something as foundation as faction creation.
However I won't comment on the idea itself, I'll just remind you all of some facts CD would know in character:
CD has been informed and knows for a fact that an alien entity intends to commit genocide on the Eagle Quarter, and after that the whole City.
CD has had two attempts made on her life so far (one by a lamp) and knows the enemy is bound only by secrecy, not by laws or morality.
However, from the state of the town, even CD is aware the enemy is more then capable of manipulating the constraints and laws of society against any who might oppose them.
Not even their own mother was safe from the enemy's influence or plans.
I have no doubt you can all make things interesting and functional, no matter what you chose. Just keep these things in mind going forward~
True. I was really more thinking in terms of the aesthetic. At the very least, I do want to tie it into CD's sports dreams, it just feels fitting for the character. And some sorta youth group makes both thematic and practical sense from my POV for reasons i've mentioned before IE because this is Earthbound on the first front, and because a group of fellow kids/teenagers are, let's be real, far more likely to listen to some random punk 16 year old (and far less likely to be in on it).
Unless someone wants to name dramatic, plot important character "Assblaster 5000" I don't want to tell you guys 'no' to otherwise interesting possibilities.
It's not a true Quest if the Questmaster doesn't offer real choices.
As long as it's authentic, fitting for the character and setting, and not desired purely as a joke, then I don't see why I shouldn't allow such options to be discussed and considered by all of you. It all comes down to voting after all.
Unless someone wants to name dramatic, plot important character "Assblaster 5000" I don't want to tell you guys 'no' to otherwise interesting possibilities.
Nah I didn't mean that you would say "no", I meant that it could be less fun to you. And at this point this quest is very good and I don't want it to become a chore for you (that would be really sad).
When it comes to organization aesthetic, particularly naming, part of me wants to make it something...American, as in it references old America in someway because I think that fits for somewhere like the Eagle Quarter, itself a mirror to the US on Princeps.
Part of me wants to go further and do both this as well as name it after another organization in gaming to better fit the setting as a whole. Not sure if that is actually possible while keeping to the cutoff limit however.
regarding the above faction discusion, something like a sport and culture association might be contrary to established factions, but that wouldn't make it "cool", or have style, or whatever.
broadly speaking, I think you don't need to throw out existing organisational structures in order to oppose the status quo(other people opposing the status quo included, don't worry a lot of those suck too). I'm more focused on direct actions than the emotional metaphysics in play and this might be shortsighted of me, but it's also shortsighted to refuse to confront the city's situation and how other factions won't play nice. like, doing something that isn't as effective out of an attempt to be different might not mean anything? we don't need to be archaic to make a difference.
(on top of impacting enjoyable to write the quest is,) a lack of coolness could in universe actually cause issues getting set up. we want something people can buy into, but at the same time *want* to participate in, and this might trip stuff similar to that whole "some people would never join a corp" line. (not exactly, depends on what the faction type actually ends up as)
if it goes against typical values a lot of people are going to be weirded out by it of course, but it's also awkward to buy in to? like, once this turn resolves we'd show a bunch of people our alien corpse. hard to tell what happens afterwards, but immediately starting a nonprofit/administrative body sounds sort of out there, and would probably harm recruitment (considering we're talking to teens).
it would also be weird to try and exert influence while we're working at a small scale? important to remember that to do all of this stuff, we'd either need to convince or force people to, and there'd probably be a lot of issues with establishing a movement like this from nothing. it's usually done by goverments working in a non-hostile environment. things tend to develop over time, while we could start small it would probably look very different. (though it is fun to focus on what we could potentially do later)
to be honest it's good to get ideas out there, but we might actually need to know more about faction building before it's possible to make decisions. (maybe we won't even get major options other than corp/gang/other and the customisation is more of an iconography deal?)
need to see what options are availab,e how we can satisy
~
sorry about trying to tear down this idea and if my points were *super weird*, just feels more important to play to our strengths.
if we're going to be resisting something, a robust/dispersed group structure would be really reliable and let us exert influence wherever we can/need, at the cost of force concentration which probably wouldn't be our strength regardless. psychic powers can let individual people be more effective and being in small groups makes it harder for gygass to try and kill everyone? which is really good to prevent
I've previously suggested flavours of focusing on our psychic healing, (expanding on it by training anyone else we can/research/infastructure etc) with an attempt to subsume/compete with the hospital industry everyone hates. if it works it could probably work really well
this can be done both as a corp or a gang, either works
as a corp, we could market ourselves as a spiritual health group (that actually works). recruit/sell to new age retro hippies and various other people, be able to cover various psi-based actions we're doing, especially important ones like trying to prevent possessions and other manipulations. market that as a product and get people who don't know about gygas to support what we're doing
as a gang, we can lean heavier on the secret society/cult angle. do similar stuff to the corp, but with more aggression/discretion, focusing more directly on our priorities and methods to achieve them. it might also help us get to the bottom of whatever's going on with medusa, focusing on our personal stuff sooner, whichever way that results in. (best case scenario, legitimate divine assistance)
(just because we choose something that's classed as a gang/corp, doesn't mean we can't be nice. both of these would give us more influence in areas that are needed to directly help people, so it's pretty efficient. )
