Constellations (Worm/Okami)

Candesce · Jan 17, 2017

AbZHz101 said:
She already has. Remember?

Not with Emma watching, she hasn't.

FluffyCloudSheep · Jan 17, 2017

Meanwhile...

Oni Lee-*stares*
Oni-*blinks* *sits*
Oni Lee-Drinks Tea

It's quiet.

Krika · Jan 17, 2017

Heretek said:
Don't forget this little gem.

Oh huh.

That's good news right there.

AnimalKrazed · Jan 17, 2017

UnwelcomeStorm said:
Black Dogs seem to show up in a lot of cultural depictions of ghosts and spirits! I was specifically looking at a barghest for this, but there's like a dozen other possibilities. I love cross-cultural phenomena, they're neat.

I knew IT!! I KNEW IT!!

If you'll excuse me I am going to go hide under my bed now. Throughout highschool I had a, not-quite-but-almost, fear of Hellhounds thanks to that one episode of Lost Tapes.

uju32 · Jan 17, 2017

UnwelcomeStorm said:
Yuuta thought back to the youkai's illusion of 'Karen.' Blonde hair that, in hindsight, seemed inclined to curls, and a slightly too-wide mouth. A tall, thin body. The spider's veil had been unsettlingly familiar, and Yuuta had to wonder exactly why it had chosen such a guise. Wonder, but not touch with a 10-foot pole if he could avoid it.

Except for the blonde hair, that's an almost exact copy of Taylor.
It's an interesting look at Emma's mindscape that someone with those features was someone she associated with safety.
Wonder how the spider demon pulled it out of her head.

Vindictus · Jan 17, 2017

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
In that vein, there's a really nice article on snake/firebird/dragon myths around the world, visible with a bit of fiddling here.

'Download this and alter it to run in HTML-'

Nope. Not doing that.

Shadowcub · Jan 17, 2017

Wow Emma.........you have things in common with a spider demon. What.....a.....surprise.

Czlyydwr Llrngwl · Jan 17, 2017

Vindictus said:
'Download this and alter it to run in HTML-'

Nope. Not doing that.

Or don't and open it in a text editor. You'll just have to skip past the tags in that case. (Not hard, the actual HTML is minimal.) I'm not sure what you think will happen anyway... you do have all the usual antivirus and anti-scripting and anti-popup stuff installed, right? If not, you should have more immediate concerns than a file hosted on a site that doesn't serve files up as HTML pages.

Torgamous · Jan 17, 2017

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Or don't and open it in a text editor. You'll just have to skip past the tags in that case. I'm not sure what you think will happen anyway... you do have all the usual antivirus and anti-scripting and anti-popup stuff installed, right? If not, you should have more immediate concerns than a file hosted on a site that doesn't serve files up as HTML pages.

What'll happen is I'll have gone through a lot stranger steps to read something than is justified in this day and age.

Czlyydwr Llrngwl · Jan 17, 2017

If you're too lazy to change one character of a file name it's probably too long and complicated for you anyway.

Torgamous · Jan 17, 2017

It ain't lazy if you're on a phone.

Angurvddel · Jan 17, 2017

Krika said:
You know, Yuuta is basically playing the role of Sophia here.

Both of them rescued Emma from a stressful situation in which she was almost taken advantage of, during which they were mostly calm and handled the situation without falling apart, and then followed up with her afterwards.

The difference is that Yuuta doesn't have a messed-up idea of how the world works and is pretty well grounded thanks to his Baachan, so this might turn out well for Emma.

Yeah, Sophia's pretty bad at fixing stuff.

Sophia: There! I fixed it!
Yuuta: .... Did you just glue that broken plate into the shape of a really crummy shiv?

Czlyydwr Llrngwl · Jan 17, 2017

Okay, I can see that, having been dropped back to using a PSP for internet access more than once by hardware failures in my real computer. It's probably a long enough derail at this point to drop it anyway.

Chojomeka · Jan 17, 2017

Hmm maybe Emma will end up being Taylor's apprentice miko?

Torgamous · Jan 17, 2017

Only if Sunny insists.

Gindjurra · Jan 18, 2017

AnimalKrazed said:
For me, the first thing to come to mind was the Hellhound. Not Rachel's PRT-friendly codename but the actual thing. Cause why not. What could possibly go wrong.

Well, it could also be Sirius Black playing a prank...

Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
Or don't and open it in a text editor. You'll just have to skip past the tags in that case. (Not hard, the actual HTML is minimal.) I'm not sure what you think will happen anyway... you do have all the usual antivirus and anti-scripting and anti-popup stuff installed, right? If not, you should have more immediate concerns than a file hosted on a site that doesn't serve files up as HTML pages.

While it isn't impossible for malware to lurk in a plaintext file, it's so rare as to have never actually been seen out in the wild. Malware in .rtf has been seen, though it's quite rare these days. Most text file malware is found in .doc files. If there is no executable code, it's almost (but not quite) impossible for it to contain malware.

silver_king16 · Jan 18, 2017

UnwelcomeStorm said:
November 2nd

I'm pretty sure halloween is at 31st of October, what happened on the 1st of November? For the entire chapter, its alright but not as good as the rest though. I find it somewhat lacking of something.

Pax_Empyrean · Jan 18, 2017

silver_king16 said:
I'm pretty sure halloween is at 31st of October, what happened on the 1st of November? For the entire chapter, its alright but not as good as the rest though. I find it somewhat lacking of something.

What, like... the 1st of November?

shinkicker444 · Jan 18, 2017

We don't speak about the first of November.

ThoughtMaster · Jan 18, 2017

Pax_Empyrean said:
What, like... the 1st of November?

All Saint's Day in the Catholic faith, and, I think, Guy Fawkes day in the U.K.

Burning Baron · Jan 18, 2017

ThoughtMaster said:
Guy Fawkes day in the U.K.

That's the Fifth.

Scify · Jan 18, 2017

ThoughtMaster said:
All Saint's Day in the Catholic faith, and, I think, Guy Fawkes day in the U.K.

You forgot the Fifth of November, even if you remembered the Gunpowder treason and plot!

UnwelcomeStorm · Jan 18, 2017

I've said it a couple times already I think? But, while Taylor was explaining Samhain to Yuuta, there was one detail she forgot...

Wikipedia said:
Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.

The chapter begins around 4:30 AM on Nov 2, the first chance the heroes have had to actually sit down and relax since around 6 PM, Oct 31.

Deus · Jan 18, 2017

NemiTheNen said:
Man, Emma got off easily here. If a Baachan heard her be so disrespectful she would have recived stern looks and melonbread would have been withheld

Ah, The Old Grandma Monologue Technique.

Datcord · Jan 18, 2017

UnwelcomeStorm said:
34

Oh, thank goodness. After the week I've had....

The employee cafeteria on the Rig was not a morgue,

Bonesaw: *sigh* "We can dream, though."

the air was disturbed equally by clinking silverware and the weary groans of the damned,

(Office workers.)

the other employees up and about at such an hour avoided the corner of costumed heroes like they had the plague.

Bonesaw: "Stop taunting meeeeee!"

He wished, dearly, that his voice could pull objects as well as push them away.

"And then you....
"Second Triggered, yes."
"Because you-"
"-really wanted a pot of coffee. Yes."

"Start a petition," Assault offered, the hero actually laying on a bench with his head pillowed in Battery's lap.

(Assault is actually not tired in the least... but he's smart enough to take advantage of a chance when he sees it.)

"There must be a way to stop Christmas from coming."

*puerile giggle* I'm told Lexapro might help you there.

"They're not just cartoons, they're classics. Next you'll tell me you don't know who Snow Miser is."

"Who?"

"Oh my god, woman."

And that's how Battery ended up spending 24 straight hours watching holiday specials.

Mercy was granted in the form of Miss Militia,

Now that's a little extreme, don't you think? He's just exaggerating, you don't have to ki-

who reached across the table and used her power, shaped as a golf club, to shove the carafe closer.

...oh. *coff* I knew that. (Also, anyone who doesn't think a golf club is a weapon has never been hit with a 9 iron in the shins.)

Triumph thanked her and started casting about for a cup.

You pansy! You HAVE a cup! It's what's currently holding the coffee!

Uber and Leet caused a ruckus, but nothing like this.

Privately, Miss Militia still refused to believe there was an Earth Aleph game that revolved around "X-TREME TRICK OR TREATING" and required two chronologically adult males to extort candy from civilians.

I remember that-- Uber walking around wearing that giant burlap sack.

Leet, of course, covered himself in stitches and wore a patchwork dress. The year before, he was Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. The year before that, he was "Evil Peach." (Uber has, wisely, decided not to comment on or ask why so many of Leet's "spooky costumes" require him to pretend he's a woman.)

I kinda lost track of the Console after that giant bird shoved Puppy in the Bay.

Couple of things:

We know Fenja or Menja was there.
Apparently, Assault's become British?

What was happening on your ends?

*puerile giggle*

Chessman, who was face-down and asleep next to a stack of long-cold pancakes.

You know, Danny, if you'd just TALK TO YOUR DOG-BLESSED DAUGHTER, you might have been able to spend this shift at the Temple, relaxing and having fun.

even Miss Militia had a few bags under her eyes.

Long story involving Leet's newest Halloween invention: Auto-deploying, self-adhering treat bags.

...okay, it's not that long a story.

"I literally do not sleep, and I'm not that awake." Miss Militia ground out between her teeth.

Okay, I laughed. I laughed like a sonuvabitch.

"He cheats somehow," Dauntless yawned,

Okay, here's the secret: Armsmaster actually does get tired. But to hide it from his coworkers, he creates a series of short-lived clones of himself... and then he eats their souls. It's better than coffee, really.

"Oh, and I think I have a girlfriend now. Or maybe I'm engaged? The Baachans weren't really clear on that point, heh."

...*facepalm*

Oh, god. I wish I could blame this on Sunny, but... it's BAACHAN. (And Velocity.)

...bets on his girlfriend and/or fiancee attending Cornell?

"Hello, sir," Yuuta carefully did not sigh, "Is Emma awake? Grandmother sent me with melon bread."

Ahhhhh, and now things become clear. (Also, it's a good thing he didn't sigh. Baachan would KNOW.)

Baachan Said So, and thus, here he was. He really, really hoped this wasn't the start of a trend.

Uh... Yuuta? I don't know how to tell you this, but....

As though Yuuta's grandmother wouldn't divine any such misconduct and take appropriate measures.

Baachan sees all. BAACHAN KNOWS ALL.

Yuuta muttered some platitude to assuage him,

"A rolling stone gathers no moss... but evidence shows that they DO gather a metric shitload of drugs."

And damn, maybe he'd have to re-think his dismissal of this house as not being real upper-class now that he'd seen the inside. Someone here had good taste.

Emma's little sister. Her mom wanted everything chromed, her dad wanted everything in brutalist, and Emma originally wanted giant pictures of Taylor with hearts on them on every wall. ...DON'T YOU TAKE THIS FROM ME.

Yuuta knocked on Emma's door, heard a wordless reply from inside, and took that as permission to enter.

*facepalm* Damn it, Yuuta. Don't do that! Down that road lies harem protagonism!

Yuuta had preferred to let the old woman take charge of that, since she'd have way better judgement for dealing with shellshocked girls than he would. He'd been right, of course, but it seemed even that was going to find a way to bite him in the ass:

...what, the shellshocked girl? Well, if you're into that....

No matter. Baachan set you straight.

*glances at The Chart*
I'm sorry, but I'm incapable of accepting that as a possibility.

"What do you want?" the Crazy Chick muttered from the safety of the Blanketcave.

If her next question is about air speed velocity of swallows....

Yuuta sighed. "It's melon bread-- you had some at my place, remember?

"Remember? I asked you if you wanted to taste my Grandmother's melons and you got all weird?"

Best to nip this in the bud.

OH LOOK A BOTTLE OF SCOTCH WELL I'D BEST GO TALK TO IT

"Look-- Crazy Chick-- I get it, okay? You almost got eaten by a spider and that sucks. It happens."

"Now, get over it, or I'll tell you about kappas, these scars on my butt, and why I don't trust toilets any more!"

No, no don't think about it, just act like you know what you're doing.

Yuuta's figured out the secret to success in life! "Fake it 'til you make it" WORKS.

Yuuta scoffed. "Yeah you are. You're crazy, but not that crazy. Anybody'd be scared of a spider."

Hey! That's vile slander, my good sir! Spiders are adorable!

Look at that! YOU LOOK AT THAT AND TELL ME IT'S NOT ADORABLE!

"And I'm not crazy!" The girl abruptly flung her blanket down with the outburst. "I know what I saw!

A weather balloon reflecting the light off Venus?

You saw it too, it was there, it was real, and--

-it was DEFINITELY just some swamp gas.

Yuuta felt a small trickle of guilt for his word choice.

...felt what? I think you meant "hilarity"?

He sighed, and decided to risk the Wrath of Baachan by sitting on the foot of the girl's bed, uninvited.

And THAT is when Baachan leapt out of the space between clock ticks and slapped him in the back of the head.

Yuuta thought back to the youkai's illusion of 'Karen.' Blonde hair that, in hindsight, seemed inclined to curls, and a slightly too-wide mouth. A tall, thin body. The spider's veil had been unsettlingly familiar, and Yuuta had to wonder exactly why it had chosen such a guise.

I have MY theory! *gestures pointedly at The Chart*

Wonder, but not touch with a 10-foot pole if he could avoid it.

Yeah, you... do NOT want to pull the pin on THAT grenade.

Sure, the guys all ribbed him for it, but they weren't quite as mocking about it now that they'd had to help clean up the greasy smear that had been 'Karen.'

It wasn't so bad... right up until one of the guys had suggested they get BBQ after they were done.

Getting to boss people around on threat of the Oni being upset was pretty great.

Wait. When you say "Oni", do you mean Oni Lee or...?

Yuuta revised his opinion to a 20-foot pole,

You fool! It should be 21 feet! Every GM knows the 20 foot pole trick and plans for it, now.

Hell, I don't even think I've ever even heard her say your name, I had to ask your dad. I dunno what twisted nemesis thing you've got going on, but it's one-sided, I can tell you that much, Crazy Chick.

*wince* OUCH. That's gonna be a hard wallop to Emma's whole worldview.

Emma stared at him from her sanctuary, jaw dropped and eyes wide.

"But how will she notice me if I don't keep teasing her?!"
And Yuuta revised his estimate to a 20-light year pole....

"Just-- yeah, go! And tell Ba-whoever to leave me alone, too!" Oh, hell no.

Oh, Emma. Oh, honey, no. BAACHAN HEARD THAT.

Yuuta turned and gave the girl a swift poke to the forehead, pushing her back with a startled squeak. "Nu-huh. You listen here, Crazy Chick. I don't care what you do, but I do care what you say. Her name's not Ba-whatever. 'Baachan' is a term of endearment, from 'Obaasan.' It means Grandmother, and it's used by family." She started to scowl, and he poked again, silencing her. "If she wants to let you call her baachan, that's her business, but you will respect that privilege. Got it?"

For the record? I *really* liked Yuuta's speech here. I appreciate that he's not willing to expend the energy to change Emma's opinion of him in the least bit, because he doesn't really give a shit. But when it comes to his Baachan... oh, you WILL respect his Baachan or he will make you respect her. (Or regret it if you don't.)

I like that about Yuuta.

See you later, Crazy Chick.

Baachan: "New grand-daughter-in-law in the side pocket...."

Dead Pann said:
Tarantula's are freaky, yo!

You shut your mouth! Tarantulas are adorable and cuddly.

Ellf said:
I want to see Lung's reaction to youkai around.

"...oh, fuck THIS." followed rapidly by drunken sobbing.

(Because no matter WHAT he does... he already knows he's going to end up in debt to Sunny even more.)

Constellations (Worm/Okami)

Soft and Comfy

Caw Caw!

XENO

"Sell ya a door Learn gull," Czly/Celly for short

Aspiring Gynoid

"Sell ya a door Learn gull," Czly/Celly for short

Aspiring Gynoid

I am Large. I contain Multitudes

"Sell ya a door Learn gull," Czly/Celly for short

Behold! QUEEN MONKE!

Aspiring Gynoid

This position needs more entrenching.

It always starts with a lighthouse.

BARK! BARK! BARK!

I will sing you the giggle of my people.