- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Yes, but trying to create an explosion and failing catches us in the worst of both worlds. Because now all the gangsters drop what they're doing and try to shoot the crazy woman who's trying to blow them all up along with her.
Circle of Vengeance: Kung Fu Revenge Quest
- Thread starter Xantalos
- Start date
- Original Action
<o>U<o>
Cannon Fodder
But to be fair, shooting one target at a odd angle is a bit easier than getting into a firefight with multiple targets from different angles
and if it pays off, high risk should reap a higher benefit
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Shooting a target that has no logical reason to react as planned to gunfire, and getting the planned result, may not prove easier than shooting a target that has a logical reason to react to gunfire by becoming dead, with intent to make them more dead.But to be fair, shooting one target at a odd angle is a bit easier than getting into a firefight with multiple targets from different angles
I feel like there's an unexamined assumption here.
<o>U<o>
Cannon Fodder
You know gunfire can very easily cause fire right? Bullets colliding with hard surfaces very easily gets sparks onto flammable materials and has been the cause of multiple fires. Don't know where you're getting the idea that using gunfire to spark stuff is impossible.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I didn't say impossible, but it's not particularly likely. Basically, we're angling for a lucky trick shot.
Neither getting the exact trick shot we want, nor holding our own in the gunfight, are guaranteed! But personally I would rather be guaranteed to disrupt the gangsters' loading operations by shooting at them than have some chance of disrupting those operations by trusting to blind luck to ignite hopefully spilled gunpowder quickly with a ricochet bullet or something (and then getting shot at anyway if we fail)
<o>U<o>
Cannon Fodder
Well, we're not exactly trusting blind luck. There's powder around the room (not to mention the flammable ointments and such used for Burning Venom Palm) and we're a good shot, with ammo in reach. I'd argue that the more difficult part'd be finding the right place to shoot close to Glimmer than getting the shot off.
Also the pillars that Glimmer is using for cover are wooden. Hard to hide behind those anymore if they're ablaze.
[X] Tiger Among Scorpions
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Tiger Among Scorpions
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Tiger Among Scorpions
Glimmering Shell, Powder Scorpion Navigator
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
AT LONG LAST I HAVE RISEN - yeah, y'all know the drill. The next post is up on Ko-Fi and Patreon, and will be posted here in the next day or two. In the meantime, enjoy this rendition of Glimmering Shell, courtesy of Quiietjay:
I was able to make this happen thanks to Patreon and Ko-fi peeps, so a big thank you to everyone who's contributed to that. I'm probably just gonna be putting the money that comes in from that to fund more character art in the future until I can think of another way I can use it to improve what I do.
I was able to make this happen thanks to Patreon and Ko-fi peeps, so a big thank you to everyone who's contributed to that. I'm probably just gonna be putting the money that comes in from that to fund more character art in the future until I can think of another way I can use it to improve what I do.
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BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hell yeah. Also quite cute in a way.AT LONG LAST I HAVE RISEN - yeah, y'all know the drill. The next post is up on Ko-Fi and Patreon, and will be posted here in the next day or two. In the meantime, enjoy this rendition of Glimmering Shell, courtesy of Quiietjay:
Also works for a RYE skink, for that matter.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
'tis true! I just need to remember what the bbcode is to properly resize an image...and there we go.
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16. Glimmering Shell Pt.3
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
[X] Tiger Among Scorpions
-Start to attack the gangsters taking the pistols away with Alya's own guns.
--Use the chaos of the gangsters firing back to get Alya into a position where Glimmer can only approach from a small number of predictable paths.
---Exploit her unwillingness to hurt Alya in setting up a Typhoon Beneath the Waves attack.
-Start to attack the gangsters taking the pistols away with Alya's own guns.
--Use the chaos of the gangsters firing back to get Alya into a position where Glimmer can only approach from a small number of predictable paths.
---Exploit her unwillingness to hurt Alya in setting up a Typhoon Beneath the Waves attack.
If you let this standoff go on for much longer, you'll be left with nothing but an empty room and Glimmer's pitying expression as they leave. They'd probably cap the fight off with some pithy quote about how 'I hope you can let your anger go and we can talk this out as friends again' trollshit before scampering away. You aren't letting that happen if you have anything to say about it.
You duck out from behind your pillar and eye the closest Powder Scorpion, who's loading guns off the wall into a crate as fast as he can, nervously glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. He's pretty clearly just dumb muscle they pulled off the street, none of the salt-worn, sun-baked skin of your actual extended family. You don't bat an eye as you put a bullet through his skull, sending him careening to the floor. You walk up to his body and shoot him again just to be sure, then take the pistol he had in his hand for your own.
There's a few more of them to either side of you, and it takes a few more shots - and a few more fallen crew - before they collectively realize they're being shot at and the informal rule of 'don't interfere in fights the bosses have' falls to the wayside in favor of their own survival. A flurry of poorly-aimed shots sear past you, leaving red aftertrails in your vision as you dash back behind another pillar, glancing around the room as you consider your options.
[Getting into Position, DC 40-10(Confusion): 51, Success]
[Not Getting Shot, DC 50/30/10: 40, Minor Wound]
The guns are being ferried out of a door near the end of the hall, and so you move to block their exit, ducking and dashing erratically as you do in order to present a hard-to-hit target from the hail of red-tinged bullets flying your way. You get to the door and hit the Scorpion thug trying to escape with a flying side kick to the chest, sending him slamming into the wall with a wheeze of breath. The pistol in his hand goes off almost by accident as he impacts into the wall, and you're forced to throw yourself onto your back to avoid being shot dead in the chest. You're just a hair too slow, however, and the side of your neck lights up in pain as a chunk gets torn out by the bullet's passing. You snarl, grit your teeth, and spring back up to your feet, the motion sending a sickening tearing feeling up one side of your head. You dispatch the bastard with another pistol shot and probe at the wound - it feels like you've been bitten by a venomous snapping clam, and trying to turn your head to the side quickly proves to be an unwise move, but you're fine otherwise - Scorpion bullets have a tendency to cauterize most wounds, and you only got scraped.
[Baiting Glimmer: Autosuccess due to tactics and Skilled+ Snark]
"What's it gonna be, Glimmer," you shout, keeping your eyes peeled for any hint of the fishy bastard. "Will you come out and face me yourself, or should I just keep killing all your crew until you muster up the roe to do more than run and hide?" You give the corpse at your feet a stomp to the head, crushing its nose and cracking its teeth with a sickening crunch. "What was this one's name? You were always so pointed about learning the names of everyone you worked with." You stomp down again, and again, and again. The corpse's face is a bloody ruin, the imprint of your boot practically stamped into its soft flesh. "What was their name, Glim?!"
[Ambush Detection, DC 50: 45]
There's a rustle of cloth and you snap your head upwards just a hair too late. Glimmer crashes into you, having climbed up the support pillars and jumped down, and the two of you roll and tumble in a ball of frantic scrambling and thrashing limbs. You lash out, feel your fist connect with something, grab and pull inward while you thrust your knee up, and Glimmer's eyes bulge outwards ever so slightly. You bare your teeth in triumph and go to throw another knee, but they slither out of the way and scramble on top of you, pinning you on your side with an arm and a leg held bunched together in a vice-like grip. You struggle and strain, but can hardly even move.
Glimmer's searing yellow eyes stare into your own, their expression as unreadable as ever. "His name was Korburn," they say, their voice low and filled with something resembling regret. "He'd always wanted to sail."
"Fat chance of that now," you quip, and let out a gurgle as Glimmer shifts more of their weight on top of you, pushing the air out of your lungs. "None of - hgk- nunna you will ever see the waves again once I'm through."
"Cait." Glimmer puts their head right next to yours. "What are you so intent on seeing me dead for?"
You can't turn your head, but you hiss into their face all the same. "You sold me out to save your own slimy skin, gillbreather! That night on the Shaytan, when you let that grey-robed bastard get away because you couldn't ignore his whining. You fucked up, he got away, and you put the blame on my head!"
[Talking Their Guard Down, DC 50/30: 30, Minor Success]
The stifling squeeze Glimmer's got you in lets up, just a fraction. "That's … that isn't why that happened," they say, and their voice has a quaver in it that wasn't there before. "There are things you weren't told about why we came to Shelldrop, and things I know now that would've made me choose differently that night if I'd been aware of them."
"Then tell me, Glimmer," you say with placid calmness. "Look me in the face and tell me the reason you stayed silent while I was locked up and left to rot."
Glimmer's grip slackens yet more and you shift your body ever so slightly. You face them eye to eye, your foreheads almost touching, and you can feel the fingertips of one hand gently scraping at their belly. Conflict and indecision war in Glimmer's eyes, and they open their mouth and take a breath in, as if to say something.
[Typhoon Beneath The Waves, DC 70-15: 99]
You unleash the coiled knot of tension in your diaphragm and let it surge out through your arm, fingers pressed together like the point of a dagger. Your hand pierces into Glimmer's abdominal cavity as easily as reaching into a bucket of water, and the only thing that comes out of your friend's mouth is a shocked wheeze. You clench your fist, feeling slimy tubes squirm and pop around your fingers, and bare your teeth as Glimmer's lips gape and gasp in an oddly fish-like fashion. "On second thought, keep it to yourself," you growl, and smash your forehead into their snout, relishing the feel of cartilage cracking and deforming under the impact. You scramble out of their grip so you're standing over them and pull as hard as you can. Your hand comes free with a noise of wet suction, taking a tangle of ropy intestine with it. Your arm's stained a deep purple all the way up to the elbow.
[Coup de grace, DC 60: 54]
You're not given long to savor this victory - Glimmer may be hurt, but no adherent of Burning Venom Palm shies away from pain. One of their hands reaches up and grabs at the slimy coil of their own entrails linking your hand and yanks, hard. You're not ready for it, and are pulled off-balance, your head jerking forward. Glimmer's other hand rockets up towards your face, their webbed fingers suddenly wreathed in a corona of crimson fire. It's all you can do to intercept their arm, deflect it into your chest instead of your face. As you do that, you're forced to lean even further off-balance, and Glimmer takes that opportunity by planting a kick directly into your tailbone. You go tumbling forward, and tuck and roll as best you can, springing back up to your feet as you look for your opponent.
You turn to see Glimmer with both hands and feet aflame, pressing one hand to the dripping wound in their side. Their robe smoulders and the wound hisses wetly, but their eyes stay steadily on you. Their expression's gone blank again, and you can't make out what they're thinking, but you see how their weight shifts as they drop into a proper fighting stance. You've managed to make them forget their squeamishness for now, it seems.
Good. You'd hate for your catharsis to come from a squirming coward.
Alya Condition: Mild burn on upper chest, glancing gunshot wound to right shoulder. Right hand coated in entrails. Armed with 1 pistol.
Glimmer Condition: Mangled intestines; cauterized. Partially broken nose. Armed. Hands and feet aflame.
Situation Update: Glimmer's suffered a fair bit of internal damage, and it's largely thanks to Burning Venom Palm's conditioning that they're not drastically affected by the pain. You're not sure what their next moves might be, but it seems unlikely that they'll exercise the same leniency as before. 4 rounds remain until the pistols are fully packed, assuming the gangsters doing so are left alone. ???-2 rounds until Granny Flowers' arrival.
Burning Venom Palm - Beginner +: Before your imprisonment, you were a Smoldering Palm adept, and were readying yourself for the trials that would initiate you into the level of Ignited Palm. Those plans were cut short, but you haven't forgotten your training.
Firearms - Skilled: Having spent as much time doing inventory on guns as you have, it was inevitable that you'd wind up with some skill in them. It's no Infernal Meteor Fusillade, but you're a mean shot.
Snark - Skilled+: You've always had a knack for mouthing off to people, to the point that you find it hard to restrain yourself sometimes.
Wind-Style Thundering Bell - Novice +: You've literally just learned the foundation of this sub-style of Thundering Bell, but it's proven disconcertingly easy to pick up.
Typhoon Beneath The Waves - Novice: An advanced Thundering Bell technique you were shown that blends Wind and Water together. You don't think you're skilled enough to land it on anyone in a straight fight, but it might work as a surprise.
A Spark of Rage: You may choose to activate this once per fight, if there is cause. Briefly ignore the limitations of your mind and flesh. Lasts one round, and leaves Alya drained afterwards.
Firearms - Skilled: Having spent as much time doing inventory on guns as you have, it was inevitable that you'd wind up with some skill in them. It's no Infernal Meteor Fusillade, but you're a mean shot.
Snark - Skilled+: You've always had a knack for mouthing off to people, to the point that you find it hard to restrain yourself sometimes.
Wind-Style Thundering Bell - Novice +: You've literally just learned the foundation of this sub-style of Thundering Bell, but it's proven disconcertingly easy to pick up.
Typhoon Beneath The Waves - Novice: An advanced Thundering Bell technique you were shown that blends Wind and Water together. You don't think you're skilled enough to land it on anyone in a straight fight, but it might work as a surprise.
A Spark of Rage: You may choose to activate this once per fight, if there is cause. Briefly ignore the limitations of your mind and flesh. Lasts one round, and leaves Alya drained afterwards.
[] What do you do?
A/N: Intended to post this earlier, but alas, my brain decided it was a good time to try to braise itself with an annoyingly high fever that I developed for no apparent reason. Thanks, immune system.
In any case, the show must go on, and so it shall! Thanks to Noroboro and Brogatar for gifting me a frankly exceptional amount of money via Patreon, and everyone else who's deigned to support me, and more importantly, read my stuff. Let me know about any questions, criticisms, and the like you may have, and I'll address them as quick as I can.
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BungieONI
Seven gremlins in a trench coat
- Location
- Lickwidget
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Fish - Barrel
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
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- Location
- Virginia
[X] Fish - Barrel
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Fish - Barrel
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
- Pronouns
- He
[X] Fish - Barrel
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Fish - Barrel
17. Glimmering Shell Pt. 4
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
[X] Fish - Barrel
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
--Shoot Glimmer, a lot
--Try to maneuver her into the crossfire from other gangsters shooting at you, using your own movement and positioning as well as the shots you take
--If she closes use Burning Venom Palm and Wind-Style as needed to tear at points of weakness and fragility along her torso or head
The slight pause before your next breath hangs in the air for a small eternity. Neither you or Glimmer move, your eyes locked on each other in an unwavering stare. Something of an understanding passes between you, a comprehension more pure and unwavering than anything else you've ever felt. It overwhelms you, drowning out everything else - your thoughts fade, your pain vanishes, your identity falls away. Every grievance you have against Glimmer evaporates like a rainbow in the sea air, leaving only the utter certainty that in the next few moments, you will do the best you can to break your enemy, and they will do the same in return. You find yourself comforted by the clarity this brings to you. You will either kill, or you will die.
No other options exist.
You breathe out, and the hint of serenity that had been balanced on a knife's edge falls away. Everything begins to move very quickly.
First Volley, DC 50: 29, Miss
Your hand darts to your waist and snatches up your last pistol. You cock the gun, aim, and fire in one smooth motion, born from years of practice since you were naught but a suckling babe. You've done it so many times you know without even looking that you're right on the mark, the eye-searing bullet sailing straight and true.
You also know that Glimmer's already dodged it before you pulled the trigger, so you continue the motion, tracking your arm a little to the left and pulling the trigger two more times, sending red-white sparks searing through the path the navigator always defaulted to when they were forced to go empty-handed versus pistols. Always a duck and spin to their right - they'd caught you with it many times, and you remembered it well.
Of course, Glimmer had always picked up on their mistakes faster than you, and they spin towards their left instead. Your bullets fly through nothing but empty air, and you barely have time to pivot, trying to bring your guard up as they dash towards you with a powerful spring, closing the distance between you in a handful of strides.
Defending the Rush, DC 40: 18, Fail
You're too slow, still off-balance by the time Glimmer reaches you. Your head snaps back as they slam a hooking punch into your jaw, the flames on their hand leaving the stench of singed hair in your nostrils. You stumble backwards and Glimmer follows you, moving with textbook precision. They send a looping overhand screaming towards your head, then dig a brutal uppercut into your ribs when you raise your hands to block. Something crunches inside your torso and you gasp as a sudden, sharp pain stabs you in the side. Your breath won't go in or out and it takes an effort of will to un-blur your vision. Your eyes snap back into focus just in time to see the flaming club that is Glimmer's shin searing towards your face. There's no time to think, only react.
Regaining Distance, DC 50/75: 88-10 (Off-Balance) = 78, Success! +10 to next shooting attempt
There's no blocking something this close, or even dodging. You roll with the blow instead, ducking your head and letting the kick catch you on the shoulder. It knocks you down, and the force of the impact makes your teeth rattle, but you were ready for this. You catch yourself as you fall with one hand, inverting yourself in an elegant whipping motion that lets you slam a foot into Glimmer's head with a sickening thwack. The Deep One stumbles back, a bruise already forming along the side of their head, and you pounce at the opportunity, pushing off the ground with both feet as soon as you land. You crash into Glimmer with a flying stomp that sends them tumbling backwards, and quickly pick yourself up again. Bullets begin to zing by you as the lower-ranked Scorpions see that you're not entangled with their leader anymore, and you quickly duck behind a pillar after grabbing a pistol from a nearby corpse.
Second Volley, DC 40: 13+10 =23, Fail
You poke your head out and quickly retract it as a hail of flaming rounds come screaming toward you. The other gangsters have spread out to the corners of the room where at least one of them can get a shot off on you no matter where you are, and it quickly becomes a hassle as you're forced to focus on dodging their fire rather than shooting Glimmer. You dart from cover to cover, keeping a wary eye on your rival as you do. The one advantage of the crossfire is that Glimmer is forced to take their time in closing with you again, giving you a little time to catch your breath. After one bullet comes dangerously close to tearing your coat, you turn and shoot the offending gangster in the head, and you see Glimmer's teeth clench as they suddenly charge towards you.
Ride the Wave, DC 40: 43, Success, +10 to next melee roll
Glimmer crashes into you like a flaming riptide, but you're ready for their assault this time, and you dance nimbly backwards, the fast rhythm of Wind style letting you ghost out of the way of the Deep One's heavy, bludgeoning strikes and pop swift, snapping punches and kicks of your own in the short gaps between their techniques. Glimmer's forward pressure is unrelenting, and they don't seem to even notice it when you hit them, so you continue flitting back, evading everything they throw at you like a leaf tumbling on the breeze.
It won't work forever, of course. You're evading damage for now, but you can already feel your lungs starting to burn from the strain of so much movement, and Glimmer's settled into a rhythm you recognize, one they can keep up for many minutes at a time. If you stay on the defense you'll eventually slip up. You'll get cornered against a wall, or stumble, or simply get too tired, and that'll be the end of you. A sour taste comes into your mouth as you realize what you have to do.
Face The Flames, DC 50: 42+10 = 52, Pass
"Sometimes, my dear kitten," your father once told you, "There is no avoiding the things which hurt in our lives. You have to press into the fire which is burning you in order to snuff it out." Your father is a wise man, but you really wish he wasn't right all the time.
You time it just right - Glimmer swings a flaming fist at your head like a meteor descending from on high, and rather than ducking it like you had before, you throw your hands into a basic Burning Venom Palm posture called Rising Flame and explode forwards, catching the burning hammerblow on one upraised arm while your other hand snaps forward in a picture-perfect palmstrike to the face. As your foe's head jerks back, you extend your fingers and rake downwards, and feel the tips of your nails catch and slice into something very soft.
Glimmer staggers back, hands clasped over one eye. Blood flows like a river from underneath their fingers, and you leap at the opportunity, your heart soaring in vicious glee. You throw any notion of conserving your stamina out the window and simply hit Glimmer as many times and as many ways as you possibly can. Your fists and feet fly in scattered, irregular patterns, battering your foe from every direction and angle, landing upon them like leaves blown on the wind. With each blow struck, your breath gusts out of you in sharp exhalations, the hissing noise of rushing air rasping in your ears until it is the only thing you can hear. Glimmer is blown backwards like a piece of debris in the face of an oncoming gale, and you strike them half a hundred times in the space of seven heartbeats.
Keep Your Momentum Up, DC 30: 22, Fail
Perhaps, in your eagerness, you overextended. Perhaps it is a feature of a stylistic weakness, the manifold yet individually weak attacks of Wind style Thundering Bell proving a poor match against the grisly resilience of Burning Venom Palm. Perhaps it is that, despite everything, you did not truly believe that Glimmering Shell had it in them to truly commit to a fight. That once things got truly serious, became a matter of life and death rather than mere practicality, their soft heart would show.
Perhaps you simply had not anticipated that your former friend would so quickly learn the same lesson that your imprisonment taught you - that when you felt real pain, the only thing you wanted was to inflict that feeling on others.
They always were a quick learner.
You've just grabbed hold of Glimmer's fingers as their hands rise towards their face, intending to twist and snap, when it happens. Your rival twists their wrists sharply and jerks downward, breaking their own fingers in a chorus of gruesome pops in order to pull you off balance. You aren't expecting it at all, and your head goes flying forwards, only to be met by Glimmer's forehead. Your nose crunches inwards and all you can smell is blood. You reel back, suddenly choking on blood as it pours down your throat, and you're suddenly on the backfoot again, desperately blocking heavy, rhythmic hammerblows from Glimmer's forearms and shins as you cough and sputter. Blood runs down your chin and soaks into your fur, and the scent of it - yours and Glimmer's both, you realize - is so thick you almost retch.
Glimmer's hands have come down from their face, and the cut you made to their eye is on full display - a jagged, torn line going right through the middle of their pupil. Blood and clear, viscous fluid slowly leaks from the wound, and the remaining yellow of their eye has a pool of red leaking into it. The eye clearly can no longer see, and yet it seems to be looking right at you, its stare just as damnably calm as its unharmed twin. Something about the tranquility in that eye pulls a horrid tangled ball of vitriol and fear and vulnerability up from your stomach and up into your throat, even as you frantically fend off Glimmer's renewed assault. Your chest grows tight and your limbs become weak and the furious panic inside you rises higher and higher, until finally you move just a hair too slow.
The kick smashes into the already-broken ribs on your left side like a flaming steel bar. The pain is as if your lungs had suddenly burst inside of your body as you practically fly backwards, the skin under your robes red and blistering from the heat of the flames swathing Glimmer's shin. The ground deals a second blow to you as you land heavily on your back, and you seize up in paralyzed agony as you feel several things abruptly stab you in the back and side. Your breath hisses from you in an involuntary wheeze, and it occurs to you in a detached fashion that you've probably got a punctured lung. You try to move, but your only feeling starts and ends at the pain in your chest. At the knotted panic and resentment and confusion that's been growing inside you for weeks.
"Kill me."
The words have escaped your bloodstained lips before you even realize it, but faint as they are, they halt Glimmer in their tracks immediately. The Deep One straightens up, the light from their flaming limbs flickering ghoulishly off their brutalized face from below. They look like a walking corpse as they stand there, thoughts hidden behind the shredded gelatin of their maimed eye.
"Should have done it that first night," you continue, after a moment of silence. It's hard to talk - your voice is thready and weak, and you have to pause every few words for a shallow breath. You persist. "Would have been a kindness. If you just wanted me gone. Better than … this. Just end it clean."
Glimmer stares at you for a long, long moment, then silently shakes their head. Anger and grief rise into your mouth as blood bubbles out through your teeth. You shout, though you can feel things inside your chest tearing apart. "We were friends! I trusted you! We told each other everything! Did you hate me this whole time?" You cough, and wet crunching sounds rattle from within your throat.
Glimmer stands very still, then takes a shuddering, unsteady breath. When they speak, it's just as irritatingly calm as ever, but there's an undercurrent of conviction that hadn't been there before.
"When you and I were young, we promised each other we would be friends for the rest of our lives. I still hold myself to that bond, even if you don't consider it valid anymore. I…" Glimmer pauses, and blood begins to leak from their damaged eye, leaking down their face in rivulets. "I messed up, Cait, and you paid for it. I can't take that back, and I don't blame you if you hate me for it. All I can do is try to make it right."
"Right." You chuckle, a crackly, phlegmy thing. "Hard to know what that even means. What will you do, then?"
"You'll come with me back to the Captain," Glimmer states emphatically. They step forward and drop to a knee, looking intently into your eyes. "We'll explain everything, you'll be reinstated into the Crew, and everything will be like it was. Better, even! You've spent more time alive around the Death Orchid than anyone else in this city. That means you know better than anyone what she'll do next, and we know she'll come for you if she hears word of where you are. We can stop her rampage before anyone else has to die." They shake their arms, snuffing the flames there out with a whumph, and reach a hand out towards you.
"Please. Help me and I'll help you."
You look at that outstretched hand, the last opportunity you'll likely ever have to go back to your old life, and…
[] You grasp it for support as Glimmer helps you up. (Accept your defeat at Glimmering Shell's hands, and accompany her back to the Captain. Whether you intend reswear your loyalty in truth or simply want to gather information is up to future votes.
[] You crush it with the grip of a demon. (Activate Spark of Rage. Auto-resolves the battle with ??? result.)
[] Write-in: If you have a plan to fight Glimmer without the use of Spark of Rage, or some other course of action, put it here.
Alya Condition: Burns on upper chest, both arms and legs, various patches of the torso and face. Glancing gunshot wound to right shoulder. Left ribs shattered, punctured lung. Broken nose. Right hand coated in entrails.
Glimmer Condition: Mangled intestines; cauterized. Partially broken nose. All fingers broken. One gouged eye. General bruising pretty much everywhere.
Situation Update: You fought as hard as you could, but the whims of fate were not in your favor. You've been seriously injured and Glimmer's resilience seems to have increased tremendously since you last saw them. It would take a stroke of genius, or a madman's fury, to eke out any kind of a victory in a situation like this. ???-3 rounds until Granny Flowers' arrival.
Burning Venom Palm - Beginner +: Before your imprisonment, you were a Smoldering Palm adept, and were readying yourself for the trials that would initiate you into the level of Ignited Palm. Those plans were cut short, but you haven't forgotten your training.
Firearms - Skilled: Having spent as much time doing inventory on guns as you have, it was inevitable that you'd wind up with some skill in them. It's no Infernal Meteor Fusillade, but you're a mean shot.
Snark - Skilled+: You've always had a knack for mouthing off to people, to the point that you find it hard to restrain yourself sometimes.
Wind-Style Thundering Bell - Novice +: You've literally just learned the foundation of this sub-style of Thundering Bell, but it's proven disconcertingly easy to pick up.
Typhoon Beneath The Waves - Novice: An advanced Thundering Bell technique you were shown that blends Wind and Water together. You don't think you're skilled enough to land it on anyone in a straight fight, but it might work as a surprise.
A Spark of Rage: You may choose to activate this once per fight, if there is cause. Briefly ignore the limitations of your mind and flesh. Lasts one round, and leaves Alya drained afterwards.
Firearms - Skilled: Having spent as much time doing inventory on guns as you have, it was inevitable that you'd wind up with some skill in them. It's no Infernal Meteor Fusillade, but you're a mean shot.
Snark - Skilled+: You've always had a knack for mouthing off to people, to the point that you find it hard to restrain yourself sometimes.
Wind-Style Thundering Bell - Novice +: You've literally just learned the foundation of this sub-style of Thundering Bell, but it's proven disconcertingly easy to pick up.
Typhoon Beneath The Waves - Novice: An advanced Thundering Bell technique you were shown that blends Wind and Water together. You don't think you're skilled enough to land it on anyone in a straight fight, but it might work as a surprise.
A Spark of Rage: You may choose to activate this once per fight, if there is cause. Briefly ignore the limitations of your mind and flesh. Lasts one round, and leaves Alya drained afterwards.
———
So this went awful quiet for a while. I'll be honest, I wasn't even initially intending to continue writing this quest since I wanted to focus more on my other projects, especially since I've not been getting a ton of time to write as of late, buuut I was feeling stuck on RYE and this called to me, so, uh, yeah. Thank my fickle muse, I guess.
Y'all's plan was pretty decent, as an aside, fate was just not with you at all this round.