Dear reader! Whether you are new here, archive-reading and whatnot, or you are already someone who has been with us for quite a while, I would like to say a few words that I believe are best kept close to mind.
-This is an MLP quest. And more importantly, none of us are gratuitously cruel. So good things will happen on this quest, and I hope that enough good things have already happened to prove that.
-This is also a horror quest, so bad things will happen. Bad things might happen to good characters if you are not able to protect them, and you most certainly will not be able to intervene if you lack the tools to do so.
-And finally, this is a quest in which you jostle with powers greater than yourself, with all that it entails.
Please, do keep those things in mind as you go forward. But ultimately, this is also a quest in which it is hoped we all have fun! So if any of the above points is not exactly your cup of tea, or somehow make the experience as a whole "not worth it", then this quest might not be for you. Which is fine! Individual tastes are a thing, so don't think any more about it if you don't want to read anymore. And regardless, I hope you have a lovely day!
Readers should take their own mental health into consideration when voting and not subject themselves to triggering narrative elements like rape or constant mental torture of a friend just for the Greatest Good of a world that doesn't exist.
If those are fine for you or Regrettable is even more triggering, then GREAT! More power to you. But you aren't a bad or selfish person for picking the option that keeps the characters you've emotionally connected with safe. [REDACTED for spoiler warning]
This is a high intensity quest that doesn't hold back when it comes to horror and negative consequences. Take care of yourself.
-Silky Stream and Selene: A secret mission to spy on the newcomers! But alas, the two agents were busted by nopony less than uncle Pride himself. (Gain a better "in" with Pride, due to familiarity)
Baldomare, I thought you were our friend? Why didn't you tell us so Velvet could stay mad at Mareinette for longer; and thereby making it harder for Mareinette to get stuff out of her during rebinding :/
@BirdBodhisattva
Here's the question phrased properly, my apologies:
LIFE
Sacrifice the life of a sapient creature, and the passing of its essence shall boost the Ritual.
-Pony life: boosts every Aspect by a factor of +10.
-Changeling life: KNOCK +20, GRAIL +30, MOTH +40
-Gryphon life: ???
-Dragon life: ???
-??? "Blood has always been the currency of the world. Any world."
ARTIFACT
Destroy an artifact, and its Level will be applied (with a factor of +10 per level) on the Ritual. "This thing gently emanates the energy of an Aspect, but we need more than 'gentle' for this. Wring it for its every last drop."
REAGENT
Consume a reagent, and its Level will be applied (with a factor of +10 per level) on the Ritual. "Ink for the pen and fuel to the flame, grease for the cogs and gifts to the Name!"
The author does not intend to (and should not be interpreted as intending to) break the site's Terms of Service or site rules at any point.
None of the above subjects are condoned, glorified or encouraged by the author, and their presence in this story is purely for narrative purposes.
If you do not wish to be exposed to any of the subjects cited above, you should STOP READING IMMEDIATELY.
- - -
- - -
- - -
[X] Plan Pittauro, but with our SH Sacrament.
-[X] [AotL] Grail, with Pride
-[X] [FORGE] Create a Knock 2 Edge 1 Reagent. (45 bits, Free Action) -[X] [KNOCK] The Only Way Up
--[X] [KNOCK] Keep going up. You are so very close now. So. Very. Close.
-[X] [DETECTIVES] There are still changelings out there. Hunt them. Look for them, and for the ponies who colluded with them. (One of the chief expectations of the Bureau. Avert a future Catastrophe)
-[X] [CONSTABLES] It is less paperwork for you if they just help with the investigations. (NO ACTION from the Constables. GAIN a PERSONAL ACTION for Velvet Covers)
-[X] [COMMISSIONER] The Bureau is more than an institution, it is a gathering of dedicated ponies working towards a unified goal. Ingrain yourself with them. (Establish, increase, or salvage the loyalty of the Bureau towards you personally.) -[X] [SOCIAL] [TEACH] Teach Rarity, and make her a Disciple. (Free Action)
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Royal. Wedding! Royal. Wedding! Help. Plan. The Royal. Wedding! (Expand, and pick one more item from, the list of Royal Wedding opportunities)
--[x] "The Royal Wedding is a matter of national security, so of course the Commissioner must be involved. Yes, even on that time she went on a shopping spree with the Princess." (Free action. NEGLECT work at the Lunar Bureau. Expand, and pick one more item from, the list of Royal Wedding opportunities)
-[X] These are the skills that allow you to climb the Mansus
--[X] Attempt, even if foolishly, to untangle the webs of the Secret Histories
---[X] Investigate your current skills. To try to understand them, if nothing else. (Current progress 0/3)
--[X] Velvet Pride, your upstart younger brother, seems to be heartbroken. Or so the gossip goes. If you take the initiative to talk to him, you might be able to get closer to him. -[X] [JADE] "You do you." Let her do whatever she wants for once. It might do her some good, both mentally and personally.
-[X] [FLUTTERSHY] Ask for a favor, from your... mutual friend.
--[X] [GUARD] Our home.
-[X] [RARITY] Focus on your work.
-[X] [STEPPES] There is no guarantee he will be able to help you, but you will write him about… (WRITE IN)
--[X] [STEPPES] Ask for advice about how to bond with your brother
-[X] Jade's house is now adequately clean. Or at least sufficiently presentable for ponies to work on it. You should…
--[X] [SERVANTS] You need a place where you can safely, and discreetly, store items. Use the upper level of her house for it. -[X] [MAREINETTE] Incision of the Heart on Velvet: remove the Frightened Debuff (20 bits. failure only on nat1s)
-[X] [BALDOMARE] Find us a place where we can hold 3-circle rituals next turn (for Axe's summon). (rolls +80)
-[X] [SELENE] Go play, one last time. (Costs two actions. Goodbye, Selene.)
You are Lady Velvet Covers.
And right now, you are particularly focused on the "Velvet" part of your name.
You have returned home one day earlier than usual. And as much as you hesitate in admitting it, this is actually the first day of what will be a small vacation of yours. The Bureau is still hard at work, of course, and just this week the Bluebloods were formally charged based on all the evidence you have found so far.
You are not exactly familiar with the judicial proceedings of Equestria, but even you know that something of that level would usually happen in the lowest courts. And yet, Justice Fair Trial presided over the "opening shots" of what is being called the trial of the century. Also, that particular court session was… contentious. The principal counsel of the Bluebloods practically yelled defiance against Fair Trial, and demanded that his clients be judged by Princess Celestia herself.
He was then forcibly escorted out of the courtroom. And Fair Trial made it very clear that the Bluebloods would either follow procedures, or she would consider that they have decided to plead guilty on all charges.
Still, that is neither here nor there. The Bureau is hard at work, more and more evidence is still being collected and presented to the Crown's chief prosecutor, and your field agents have already been pulverized across several cities for their next assignment.
So, you are confident that… or at least you hope that things will be able to move without your constant supervision.
Which is why your schedule is currently set the way it is. You have arrived home a full day earlier, you and your family will travel to Cloudsdale in three days, and you will pass the following two weeks going to and from Canterlot from the clouded city every other day. Just for long enough to check in on the Bureau, and more importantly to make sure you have time for Cadance.
Because you already met the mare, earlier this week. And she practically has a fire in her eyes as she focuses exclusively on her coming wedding.
But you digress. That is something you will focus on, with prodigious effort, later this month. Right now you are…
Where were you again?
Right, right. The "Velvet" in Velvet Covers.
You have arrived home a full day earlier because, among other things, you want to make sure you will be able to speak to your little brother.
And that is what you are preparing to do right now.
Right as you arrived, Soft Sweeps was the first to seek you out. The young mare eager to report on what she discovered. You admit you were not sure of what results she would bring you. After all, the young mare is an overthinker and quite prone to bottling up her stress. But at the same time, she also has been taking great strides, becoming a lot more sociable with her support group and generally recovering very well given everything she has been through.
Still, you had no idea of how she would tackle the favor you asked her to do.
Part of you expected the "usual" kind of report you would hear from Ponpon. Maybe a broad, bird's-eye view of the estate as a whole, based on several pieces of information she managed to collect. Another part of you expected her to make it a group effort and recruit some other servants you know she is friends with to help her out.
Regardless, you were expecting something broad, reasonably reliable, and vague enough to give you an idea on where you would like to focus next.
You definitely did not expect a full report on Velvet Pride's own personal maid.
So, she did not just exceed your expectations. She definitely made you proud.
And you were sure to praise her for that, of course.
Furthermore, the things she told you armed you with a whole swathe of information. Because first of all, the things Softy told you about the maid's schedule confirmed that, indeed, you brother has been avoiding you. Soft's casual remark that "packing days are particularly hectic" told you that your brother seems to tie his schedule so he is returning to Canterlot at the same time you are traveling to Ponyville.
On top of that, you also learned that your brother's butler, a stallion called Subtle Glare, is even more important that the maid. Your Softy didn't have anything to tell you about him, but knowing he is a particularly relevant piece is already valuable in itself.
Of course, you were also able to glean enough to know when your brother finishes his work day.
So, you are out of the central mansion, and walking towards his building of residence, the moment your clock strikes at the correct hours.
You wish to meet him on that particular window where he has just put his pen down for the day, but hasn't yet retreated to his quarters. The precise moment where he can't claim to have other matters to attend to, but when there are still enough hours in the day for a relatively long meeting.
Granted, you don't know how long this will last, but it's best to have the available time and not need it than to have to cut a meeting short.
With that in mind, you walk your way up through the annex building, passing by the surprised servants as if your presence there was only natural, and stop right when you reach the door you assume leads to your brother's office.
If nothing else, you are sure he is in there.
You knock on the door, and a unicorn maid partially opens it to greets you. Her shocked expression only lasts a second, before she excuses herself to announce your presence.
That was probably Cantrip, you think to yourself. You think that was the same maid that was next to your brother when you first saw him, over a month ago. And her face definitely fit Soft's description.
Still, you aren't given much time to wonder about this and that. Because less than a minute later, the doors open once again.
"Lady Velvet Covers, Lord Velvet Pride is available to see you now," the maid says, lighting up her horn to open the doors wide for you to enter.
And you are immediately treated to your brother's serious expression, as he waits for you behind his large work desk.
"Hello, little brother," you say as you enter.
The doors are closed behind you.
And it begins.
- - -
You are not a mare who likes to improvise.
Granted, you can improvise. You have developed skills that allow you to improvise. Be it in social gatherings,unexpected meetings,or anything besides you know you are able to do something that might work.
But that's the thing about it that you dislike. You know that when you improvise, it might work. And you will take the extra work that goes into preparation over a lazy "might" any day of the week.
However, needs must. It has only been two hours since Soft Sweeps told you what she learned, and yet you realize that if you dally too long your brother will make himself unavailable. Perhaps he might even take an early train to Ponyville, just to keep his habit of avoiding you.
So, you need to talk to him here, and you need to do it now.
Although, you must admit you have a problem.
As you sit on the cushioned chair, staring at the stallion who is a curious mixture of both your parents, you find yourself facing a conundrum of sorts.
Specifically, you are not sure of how you want to start this conversation.
Because in truth, you and your brother are still strangers. The first time you saw him in your entire life was a few weeks ago, where you made a point of telling him you hope your family is kept in peace.
But after that? Well, you now know he has been actively avoiding you, from what Soft told you about his maid's routine. And you haven't exactly gone out of your way to talk to him either. His status as heir gave you the perfect excuse to "formally introduce yourself" to him at some point. But the ideal moment to do that was last month, and choosing to observe that formality now would be awkward at best, and an apparent disrespect at worst.
Furthermore, the true reason you are here is because of… well, there is no beating around the bush. You are here because of the gossip you have heard.
You are here because, just last month, you learned that somehow, for some bizarre and unexplainable reason, he was smitten by the Daughter-of-Axes. And that out of all available mares in Equestria, especially the ones that surround him such as his cute maid, he somehow fell for the very worst alternative possible.
But that was just the tip of the iceberg. Because after Axe's departure, you heard he became… moody, and quiet, and withdrawn. And any pony who is capable of adding two and two together knows the reason for that.
To put it simply, your little brother is lovestruck. He is lovestruck, and now that the object of his affection is gone he is heartbroken.
Still, that's it. That's what you know, and that's why you are here. You don't know anything else. You haven't heard any stories about what he tried to do, if anything. You have no idea if he even tried to court the blasted snakemare. And most importantly, you have only known him for two months, so you absolutely do not qualify as a pony he would be willing to talk to about this.
You are not his trusted older sister, who can guide him through the thorns and barbs of love. You are just a noblemare who happens to be related to him.
So how in the hay do you even…
…
You stare at him, and he stares back at you. It has been less than ten seconds since you entered his office, and less than five since you sat down. By all accounts, you should still be settling down and getting comfortable on your chair. And this level of silence is perfectly acceptable so far.
However, you realize that if you stay quiet for any longer, then the silence will stretch to the point it is uncomfortable. And if that happens, you will definitely lose any initiative you might have.
You are not a mare who likes to improvise.
Still, needs must.
"Lord Pride, I appreciate you meeting me on such short notice," you begin to say, putting a calm and polite smile on your face as you do. "I understand you are a very busy stallion, and how unreasonable it was of me to ask of your time. Still…"
You take a deep breath as you prepare for the plunge. There are too many variables. You have no idea what he thinks of you. You can't even begin to imagine how your father raised him.
Heavens, now that you think about it… do you even know what you want from this conversation? It would be good to get on your brother's good side. It would be nice to have a real brother, an uncle to your daughters, and maybe another piece of an actual family. But how much are you willing to invest in that? And how likely is it that you will be able to work against something your father had decades to groom and prepare?
You don't know. You don't have enough information.
Another second passes you by. No more time to think. You have to start talking now.
"Still, Lord Pride…"
[Solace to the love-struck, breakpoints 60/80/100/125]
You say that. Or rather, you blurt that out. An undignified sequence of words that sum up everything you are thinking, except that they also show you didn't think before you spoke.
Still, you know that crying over spilled milk only makes things worse. So, you hold back the urge to facehoof, and you stop yourself from cursing Axe at how she is causing you troubles even when she is not in the Wake.
And instead, you just keep staring at your brother.
That is until, to your surprise… no, to your shock, he begins to…
Wait, what?
What?!
Your schooled expression slowly crumbles into surprise, and then into honest amazement, as you watch your brother's face break.
Figuratively speaking, of course.
Still, as soon as he hear that damned name, his face slowly becomes pained. Pained, and then tired, and then hurt.
And you watch as the noble-blooded unicorn who you know almost nothing about… you watch as he slowly, but surely, assumes the very familiar expression of a stallion who is hopelessly in love, and who has no idea of what he should do next.
He speaks before you even have the chance to react. But his voice makes it clear that he is talking to himself. That he wouldn't be able to listen to you even if he tried, if you tried to speak up.
Because his mind is too filled with thoughts of loss and regret. And most of all, his mind is too filled with thoughts about her.
"Ah yes," he says, his voice as low as a whisper. But still, he sounds like he is physically wounded, even though you know his body is completely unharmed. "Yes… her…"
He says that, and then he lets out a long, heavy sigh. One that… that actually makes you feel bad for him.
Part of you is still reeling at the fact he is like this because of Axe. Part of you is still screaming in confusion, as you try to comprehend how… how such a romantically-minded stallion (you assume) fell heads over hoofs for her. And after only glancing at her for a few seconds, from what you have heard.
Still, that part of your brain is slowly losing strength. That criticizing, very-justified-Axe-hating side of you is slowly losing traction.
Because as you look at Velvet Pride… no, as you look at you poor little brother, you honestly can't help but feel sad for him.
"I don't… I don't even know what she likes… don't even know if she got the flowers I sent to her. Because of course I was too much of a coward to give them to her myself and…" he trails off, hoofs going to his head in a very undignified pose.
He is very far from the noble he is supposed to be.
But you can't even bring yourself to criticize him for that. After all, before being a noble, right now he is a stallion who is in love.
"But please, Lady Velvet… no, my sister," he says, suddenly looking at you with eyes full of dread. His eyes are filled with dread, but also with a desperate hope you can't quite name. And you already know he is going to ask a question that has been tormenting him for weeks, now, even though he has not yet spoken it. "Please, I need to know… you need to tell me… is Lady Axe married?!"
…
You…
Oh, to Tartarus with it.
Forget about plans. Forget about intrigue. Forget about the decades of history you have with your father, and all the related uncertainties that the stallion before you represents.
Right now he is hurting.
And you can't call yourself a pony if you don't try to do something about it.
"I… Well, Pride, I am not sure you are going to like what I have to tell you but…"
You say that, and you watch as the stallion's back goes straight. His ears raised and his eyes open in rapt attention. And you don't know what he knows or doesn't know about Axe. But you can tell that anything you say, anything at all, will be met with all of his focus and attention.
Still, well… you suppose knowledge is never kind?
He is clearly in love with her.
And he clearly doesn't know what that means.
Also, you don't know him nearly well enough to know what you should tell him or not. Whatever you say, be it encouraging or not, will be said from the perspective of a near-total stranger.
But sometimes, the best you can do is improvise.
He is still your little brother, after all. And maybe, just maybe, this is the first step for you to become his big sister.
You have a long conversation with him. And ultimately, you tell him about…
Velvet Pride is determined. However, even if his determination cannot be broken today, it can certainly be damaged. It can be mined, cracked, and even misdirected. Alternatively, it can also be reinforced.
Tipping the scales towards encouragement, or discouragement, will certainly make him veer in one direction or another. Or who knows, too much of either might just blind him and cause him to charge headfirst towards whatever his heart pointed him at.
Here, "encouragement" and "discouragement" refers to Pride's opinion of himself, or of his "chances" with the Daughter-of-Axes, as well as his energy to continue pursuing her.
You are acutely aware that you are working on very limited information. About both the Daughter-of-Axes as well as your little brother. This is a shot in the dark, but you are determined to make it your best.
(Thanks to your efforts, you have NO LIMITATION on how many options you may pick. Vote in plans.)
-[] "To put it simply, I don't think you should go for it."
-You will discourage Velvet Pride. Plain and simple.
-[] "Go for it!"
-You will encourage Velvet Pride. Plain and simple.
-[] "Any gentlepony knows that mares love gifts. And I would be delighted to help make any packages from you reach her."
-Convince Velvet Pride to provide "gifts" for Velvet Axe, and that you will deliver them in his stead. In truth, you will… well, you will technically use them for Axe's benefits. Several rare elements can be extracted from fancy perfumes, after all.
-He will provide you with two GIFTS. One gift can be either be used to pay up to 50 bits on any Lore-related activity, or they can be given to Axe as promised.
-Using a GIFT to pay for (part of) any Lore-related activity will anger Pride, as he will find out you did not uphold your promise (unless it is Axe's summoning ritual). Failing to give the GIFTS to Axe by the end of the turn she is summoned will also be seen as breaking your promise.
-Giving a GIFT to Axe as promised (or using them on her summoning ritual) will, instead, "merely" discourage Pride, since she will scoff at them.
-[] "Her schedule? Yes, I am aware of it. Don't worry, I can guarantee she will return in…" (WRITE IN WHEN)
-You will "promise" Pride that Axe will return. Sooner rather than later.
-Pride will be encouraged if Axe returns on the EXACT turn you promise.
-But he will be discouraged if your prediction turns out to be incorrect.
-[] "She is quite the adventurous spirit. Why do you think she was out of the estate for all those days?"
-Pride will be encouraged.
-However, he might have… stupid ideas. "Cushy noble stallion trying to do something more active" kind of stupid.
-[] "She is… a difficult mare. In fact, I never met a mare that is so hard to deal with. And I have two fillies!"
-Pride will be discouraged
-However, you will give him more realistic expectations. This might help him be prepared for what might otherwise be a shock.
-[] "I… I hope you don't tell her what I'm saying. But to be honest? She is a very lonely mare. She has… things going on."
-You do not know how this might affect him.
-This might also be seen as a breach of Axe's privacy. You can't know how she might react.
-Still, this is the plain truth.
-[] "The thing you need to understand about Axe is that she is… exotic. She is not… an earth pony mare."
-You will reveal to Pride that Velvet Axe, or rather the Daughter-of-Axes, is not actually an earth pony mare. She is, in fact, a snakemare. Although you never heard of that before yourself.
-This is NOT a "reveal the Lores to Pride" option. You will not tell him of the Mansus, or about the Lores.
-Still, you will reveal she is "magical". In a more-than-a-pony kind of way.
-You have no idea how Pride will react. You have no idea if Axe might be annoyed if she learns about this, if she will consider this a breach of her privacy, or if she will just not care.
-[] "Whatever you do, do not think of her as a damsel in distress. However, she is on a quest of sorts… she is looking for something that is very important to her."
-You will reveal to Pride that Axe is searching for "a key that only opens"
-You have no idea how Pride will react. You have no idea if Axe might be annoyed if she learns about this, if she will consider this a breach of her privacy, or if she will just not care.
-[] "Axe owes me a favor. So yes, I can arrange for a meeting. What? A date? Well, call it whatever you like."
-Velvet Pride will PARTICIPATE in the next action that Axe undertakes. And you will ORDER Axe to take him along.
-If the order is reasonably "long" such as an expedition, Pride will accompany her. If the order is "short" such as forging Wrong Keys, you will instead ORDER Axe to… "spend time with him". (Although write-ins WILL be permitted, to tailor that experience)
-In theory, Pride will be absolutely thankful to you, and will claim he owes you a great favor.
-In practice… you have no way of predicting how their "outing" might go.
-This could end poorly.
-[] Something else? (Write in)
Vote in PLANS. Six hours of moratorium.
Originally, your choices would have been a lot smaller, and a lot simpler. And I really meant it, a lot smaller and more limited. However, the groundwork you did, and your high roll result, warranted something more. You have a lot more leeway.
The write-in was added just in case you think of something I haven't. But they will pend approval before becoming allowable.
And finally, this is not a "game". Maximizing encouragements is not necessarily good, and discouraging him isn't necessarily bad. It is best to focus on what you want to TELL HIM, and use the further clarifications under each option as guides rather than the object of your focus.
What you decide Velvet wants to say will educate me on your intentions as much as the presumed effects of your choices. It will tell me of her state of mind and intentions.
SHIPPERS, THIS IS THE MOMENT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO ACT.
And that out of all available mares in Equestria, especially the ones that surround him such as his cute maid, he somehow fell for the very worst alternative possible
Velvet's own opinion on the matter, this vote aside
[] Plan No Taking Advantage & Letting The Chips Fall Where They May
-[Y] "She is… a difficult mare. In fact, I never met a mare that is so hard to deal with. And I have two fillies!"
-[???] "The thing you need to understand about Axe is that she is… exotic. She is not… an earth pony mare."
-[Y?] "I… I hope you don't tell her what I'm saying. But to be honest? She is a very lonely mare. She has… things going on."
-[Y] "Whatever you do, do not think of her as a damsel in distress. However, she is on a quest of sorts… she is looking for something that is very important to her."
-[NO] "Axe owes me a favor. So yes, I can arrange for a meeting. What? A date? Well, call it whatever you like."
I'm not sure about how the Axe side of things will fall with this vote though, so... (I'm not sure if we should reveal the quest part of things in my last subvote tbh)
I don't care about deliberately shipping Pride and Axe (as if that were possible to begin with), but it's probably a good idea to make sure his efforts won't go in a misplaced direction as his older sister..
@BirdBodhisattva Can we warn him against the damsel in distress business, WITHOUT telling him about her quest?
Whatever we finally end up picking this should be part of it.
-[] "She is… a difficult mare. In fact, I never met a mare that is so hard to deal with. And I have two fillies!"
-Pride will be discouraged
-However, you will give him more realistic expectations. This might help him be prepared for what might otherwise be a shock.
-[] "Any gentlepony knows that mares love gifts. And I would be delighted to help make any packages from you reach her."
-Convince Velvet Pride to provide "gifts" for Velvet Axe, and that you will deliver them in his stead. In truth, you will… well, you will technically use them for Axe's benefits. Several rare elements can be extracted from fancy perfumes, after all.
-He will provide you with two GIFTS. One gift can be either be used to pay up to 50 bits on any Lore-related activity, or they can be given to Axe as promised.
-Using a GIFT to pay for (part of) any Lore-related activity will anger Pride, as he will find out you did not uphold your promise. Failing to give the GIFTS to Axe by the end of the turn she is summoned will also be seen as breaking your promise.
-Giving a GIFT to Axe as promised will, instead, "merely" discourage Pride, since she will scoff at them.
Hmm. So, just to clarify, if we, say, use one of the Gifts to lessen the cost of DoA's summoning—assuming this can be done on top of the Wrong Key lessening the cost as well—and then give her the other gift properly, will he still be angry?
Because I'm just kind of imagining the narrative of Velvet telling him that DoA is a magical stalemate on a quest and that Velvet used one of his gifts to make sure she was available again. It would probably be very weird.
Anyways, I think I'm going to keep my hands off this mess aside from asking questions if people can't seem to work out actual meanings. I couldn't give two shits about shipping DoA and Pride, and just want him to stop being an issue.
I'm wondering how the Gift option would mesh with adjusting Pride's expectations tbh.
If we tell him a better (?) "gift" would be helping her with her Quest, I wonder how things would go?
Or: "I don't think it will go well, but if you want I can try (passing the gifts you mentioned along)"? @BirdBodhisattva what does Velvet think of saying something like these statements?
This is unlikely to end well, because 200% Axe makes that known in her complaining; and IMO its far less likely that healthy relationships could come out of one party being ordered to go on a date with another party?
(Blind Dates aside, but that's something completely different to begin with anyway)
Question, @BirdBodhisattva ; does using the "Gifts" to help summon DoA count as gifting them to her? After all, the Reagent section of Sacrifices says:
The way I see it, Pride will see Axe not having the physical Gifts and go ??? (it's not like we can reveal Axe needs to be summoned, and said gift is usable in the summon ritual unless Ericwinter's suggestion is confirmed).
Unless we could tell Pride that "the first Gift was sacrificed to bring Axe back" (along with the travelling Snakemare thing) and have him accept that?
Question, @BirdBodhisattva ; does using the "Gifts" to help summon DoA count as gifting them to her? After all, the Reagent section of Sacrifices says:
Huh, I did not realize that was how it was described. Hell, Velvet would be giving it to her in a way she won't refuse, unlike the normal manner! It's even better this way!
The way I see it, Pride will see Axe not having the physical Gifts and go ??? (it's not like we can reveal Axe needs to be summoned, and said gift is usable in the summon ritual unless Ericwinter's suggestion is confirmed).
Honestly though, if we go for the Gift option; IF it were possible I'd rather him just buy the reagents directly (no way fancy perfumes only cost 50 Bits.......)
Wow. "So, Axe, huh?" -- more piercing words have never been spoken! Very fun to get a good roll here, though I have no clue what the best choice is.
I really don't know what we want to tell him. I mostly agree with @Ericwinter that what I want from Pride is for him to not be an issue. I guess encouraging him is funny. There is that.
I don't want to betray Axe's trust. But I do wonder about the position she'll be in once we do get the Frangiclave -- it's a very weird space to have looked for something for an Era and have finally found it. It might be nice to have someone interested in you.
A few other more mechanical thoughts:
1) Axe's next action will not be the Frangiclave expedition, it would more likely be forging Wrong Keys (or idk, Canterlot expedition or guarding). So we can't use that as a date. I would really really like "being owed a great favour" by him.
2) Telling him at all about the Frangiclave seems... High variance. Maybe we get more resources to find it, but we're already pretty well-equipped (Baldomare search, Axe+whomever to explore). It would be nice if we could get help with the bits or whatever, but I really worry about a "too many cooks" issue. @BirdBodhisattva I'm guessing the whole "you don't know how he'll react" piece means we can't follow up with "and we have a plan to find that Key"?
3) Promising a return next turn seems... Fine? If we want to encourage him? Like we really do need her to summon her next turn, because Copper may/will probablt be trying to do the same.
4) Purely mechanically, gifts are a nice piece of flexibility? Bits are tight and it may be nice to have the option to save 50/100 (!) bits even if we don't ultimately use it. Assuming we don't mind the discouragement cost either. @BirdBodhisattva is there a meaningful difference in that option between giving one gift/two gifts? Like would he be even more discouraged if we gave two than only gave one?
Honestly, there's something to be said about not telling Pride about the whole Snakemare business and waiting for him to figure it out on his own after we induct him into the Lores eventually?
I think we need to both encourage this, but let him know what he is getting into. This is a harsh and unforgiving road he has chosen, but oh, the rewards.
Honestly, there's something to be said about not telling Pride about the whole Snakemare business and waiting for him to figure it out on his own after we induct him into the Lores eventually?
Mm. One the one hand, discouraging him hard would probably put him in a slump, and take away his energy to fuck around behind our back. Hard to bother messing with your sister when you're too busy being depressed… unless we also, you know, piss him off by using the gifts. Which would honestly be kinda stupid given the effort we put into making this happen.
On the other hand, if we encourage him a lot, and tell him to go adventuring, well… the problem may also solve itself. I would hope he doesn't outright die, but if he happens to get injured or something, we'll, that will also slow him down, and the dad might drag him back home instead of letting him fuck around like an idiot.
