I agree.
[X] Laugh
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Grail Mutants on fire off the shoulder of the A1. Myrmidons stalking the streets of New Orleans. And you think this is supposed to impress me?"
Fate/Ethereal Order
- Thread starter Squirtodyle
- Start date
I agree.
[X] Laugh
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Grail Mutants on fire off the shoulder of the A1. Myrmidons stalking the streets of New Orleans. And you think this is supposed to impress me?"
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
[X] Laugh. Really, she honestly though the simulator was up to snuff? It's clearly not the standard order simulation if it didn't involve Servants, but it was just shoddy. Landing from an airplane crash with no serious injuries, then finding a mundane still alive, then teleporting Slavic mercenaries? It's petty, it's spiteful, but you figured it out, and maybe having it pointed out will take the wind out of her sails.
- Location
- USA
[X] Laugh. Really, she honestly though the simulator was up to snuff? It's clearly not the standard order simulation if it didn't involve Servants, but it was just shoddy. Landing from an airplane crash with no serious injuries, then finding a mundane still alive, then teleporting Slavic mercenaries? It's petty, it's spiteful, but you figured it out, and maybe having it pointed out will take the wind out of her sails.
Heh, I fucking knew it.
[X] Laugh. Really, she honestly though the simulator was up to snuff? It's clearly not the standard order simulation if it didn't involve Servants, but it was just shoddy. Landing from an airplane crash with no serious injuries, then finding a mundane still alive, then teleporting Slavic mercenaries? It's petty, it's spiteful, but you figured it out, and maybe having it pointed out will take the wind out of her sails.
[X] Laugh. Really, she honestly though the simulator was up to snuff? It's clearly not the standard order simulation if it didn't involve Servants, but it was just shoddy. Landing from an airplane crash with no serious injuries, then finding a mundane still alive, then teleporting Slavic mercenaries? It's petty, it's spiteful, but you figured it out, and maybe having it pointed out will take the wind out of her sails.
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
Random other thought I just had; the alternative choice back there was 'wait around in the snow to try ambushing an unknown number of assailants with your bare hands instead of running away leaving the injured mundie to sit and spin'. I think either way Olga would've been disappointed, because either way Ed cares about other people. This choice just happened to make it more apparent and harder to explain away. Also considering the simulation deliberately placed Shankar there having improbably survived the crash albeit crippled, Olga designed it just to fuck with any applicant with a sense of compassion thus the anger option is double-most appropriate.
[X] Get angry. You made a poor decision in saving someone's life? What, a mundane just isn't important enough? No, whatever reasoning she has for her callousness, it's not good enough. You're an Enforcer, sure, but that doesn't mean you're heartless, doesn't mean you'll kill just to make things easier for you. You're better than that, even if she isn't.
LaRed
Are you stupid or something
- Location
- Mou Ikkai hell
[X] Get angry. You made a poor decision in saving someone's life? What, a mundane just isn't important enough? No, whatever reasoning she has for her callousness, it's not good enough. You're an Enforcer, sure, but that doesn't mean you're heartless, doesn't mean you'll kill just to make things easier for you. You're better than that, even if she isn't.
[X] Get angry. You made a poor decision in saving someone's life? What, a mundane just isn't important enough? No, whatever reasoning she has for her callousness, it's not good enough. You're an Enforcer, sure, but that doesn't mean you're heartless, doesn't mean you'll kill just to make things easier for you. You're better than that, even if she isn't.
- Location
- France
[X] Laugh. Really, she honestly though the simulator was up to snuff? It's clearly not the standard order simulation if it didn't involve Servants, but it was just shoddy. Landing from an airplane crash with no serious injuries, then finding a mundane still alive, then teleporting Slavic mercenaries? It's petty, it's spiteful, but you figured it out, and maybe having it pointed out will take the wind out of her sails.
- Location
- Ireland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Voting will close at midnight GMT as usual, so just under 23 hours.
Commonwealth1991
Thanks, I hate it.
- Location
- United States
[X] Get angry. You made a poor decision in saving someone's life? What, a mundane just isn't important enough? No, whatever reasoning she has for her callousness, it's not good enough. You're an Enforcer, sure, but that doesn't mean you're heartless, doesn't mean you'll kill just to make things easier for you. You're better than that, even if she isn't.
- Location
- Brazil
[X] Laugh. Really, she honestly though the simulator was up to snuff? It's clearly not the standard order simulation if it didn't involve Servants, but it was just shoddy. Landing from an airplane crash with no serious injuries, then finding a mundane still alive, then teleporting Slavic mercenaries? It's petty, it's spiteful, but you figured it out, and maybe having it pointed out will take the wind out of her sails.
Saturday
Say I Tried
- Location
- Kingdom Come
[X] Get angry. You made a poor decision in saving someone's life? What, a mundane just isn't important enough? No, whatever reasoning she has for her callousness, it's not good enough. You're an Enforcer, sure, but that doesn't mean you're heartless, doesn't mean you'll kill just to make things easier for you. You're better than that, even if she isn't.
- Location
- Ireland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Voting closed. Update will be tomorrow!
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I missed the deadline 'cause I'm kind of a fuckass and I fell asleep with the tab open on my laptop BUT I COME BEARING EFFORT POSTS so we'll settle on "Tenfold has once again done nothing wrong ever in his entire life".
It's a solid position to have in general tbh.
I wanted to highlight this 'cause it's a low-key thing but the repetition caught my eye and it's kinda...genuinely pretty engrossing the implications. And the little details it paints into Ed-boy's character how he's legitimately kind of a-
Well, a hypocrite honestly.
He's got a streak of empathy and compassion sure, too much to be good for a Magus, much less an Enforcer. And he's got a kind of well-cultivated disdain for the Dipshit Wizard Upper Class (aka What If Boris Johnson Could Command The Fundamental Truths Of Reality). He's capable of conceptualizing the existence and emotions of people who aren't himself (dangerously disassociative for a Magus). But beneath it all there's this foundation of- Edward's both better and worse than he thinks he is. "How dare they treat people like they're disposable" he says, as he deliberately fans his anger so he can work his Magecraft better. "I'm not leaving him behind, because I'm a good person and also, equally important, Fuck Them". There's a kind of pervasive element of insincerity to him if that makes sense? His own emotions are constantly but non-obviously managed so he can milk out the best results. He hates being a running dog for the Clocktower but that doesn't actually stop him from following orders. And when push came to shove he abandoned the pilots instantly (I mean fair, it was an accurate read of the situation that he didn't have time to save them) but it wasn't even a moment of indecision or hesitation on his part and he only really felt vaguely guilty after when one was still around and uh-
Kicking.
Edward's kinda like that one guy in a group of assholes who, in his head, is only an asshole ironically and is constantly low key mocking All These Other Fuckers for being Such Dickheads; low key secure in the knowledge that because he's self aware that makes it better.
And just not really consciously twigging to the fact that the end result isn't really all that different. Or meaningfully distinct. Edward cares, but it's left ambiently ambiguous as to whether he cares about doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, or doing the right thing because it means he gets to feel Better Than Them.
Olga Marie wrenching the gears on the simulation to try to forced Edward's hand like an asshole GM pissed off at the party for trying to save this One Particular NPC they got weirdly attached to is fantastic.
"He survived the plane crash, he'll be dead in minutes, he just has time to croak out a pitiful plea before-"
"I'm gonna save him."
"He- excuse me?"
"I try to save him."
"Well uh- I mean. Roll it?"
>aces all the rolls
>stabilizes NPC
>outpaces the pursuit mobs
>eventually just fudge a hit to kill the fucker before you have to write him into the next arc and the entire table goes up in flames
It's a solid position to have in general tbh.
I wanted to highlight this 'cause it's a low-key thing but the repetition caught my eye and it's kinda...genuinely pretty engrossing the implications. And the little details it paints into Ed-boy's character how he's legitimately kind of a-
Well, a hypocrite honestly.
He's got a streak of empathy and compassion sure, too much to be good for a Magus, much less an Enforcer. And he's got a kind of well-cultivated disdain for the Dipshit Wizard Upper Class (aka What If Boris Johnson Could Command The Fundamental Truths Of Reality). He's capable of conceptualizing the existence and emotions of people who aren't himself (dangerously disassociative for a Magus). But beneath it all there's this foundation of- Edward's both better and worse than he thinks he is. "How dare they treat people like they're disposable" he says, as he deliberately fans his anger so he can work his Magecraft better. "I'm not leaving him behind, because I'm a good person and also, equally important, Fuck Them". There's a kind of pervasive element of insincerity to him if that makes sense? His own emotions are constantly but non-obviously managed so he can milk out the best results. He hates being a running dog for the Clocktower but that doesn't actually stop him from following orders. And when push came to shove he abandoned the pilots instantly (I mean fair, it was an accurate read of the situation that he didn't have time to save them) but it wasn't even a moment of indecision or hesitation on his part and he only really felt vaguely guilty after when one was still around and uh-
Kicking.
Edward's kinda like that one guy in a group of assholes who, in his head, is only an asshole ironically and is constantly low key mocking All These Other Fuckers for being Such Dickheads; low key secure in the knowledge that because he's self aware that makes it better.
And just not really consciously twigging to the fact that the end result isn't really all that different. Or meaningfully distinct. Edward cares, but it's left ambiently ambiguous as to whether he cares about doing the right thing for the sake of doing the right thing, or doing the right thing because it means he gets to feel Better Than Them.
Olga Marie wrenching the gears on the simulation to try to forced Edward's hand like an asshole GM pissed off at the party for trying to save this One Particular NPC they got weirdly attached to is fantastic.
"He survived the plane crash, he'll be dead in minutes, he just has time to croak out a pitiful plea before-"
"I'm gonna save him."
"He- excuse me?"
"I try to save him."
"Well uh- I mean. Roll it?"
>aces all the rolls
>stabilizes NPC
>outpaces the pursuit mobs
>eventually just fudge a hit to kill the fucker before you have to write him into the next arc and the entire table goes up in flames
Chapter Four: Director Animusphere
- Location
- Ireland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The first thing you do is look around.
You're laying in something like a cross between a bed and a pod, cushioned beneath your body with raised white walls about a foot on either side of you. Above you is some kind of headset, you can only assume the main piece of whatever simulation they intend to put people through, though part of you is wondering how in the hell they managed to do it. Everything is cold and white and very obviously mechanical, but that doesn't seem to matter when it comes to working their mysteries. Marrying magecraft and technology was meant to be difficult, but then again, if they really were in some isolated wilderness then maybe the heightened mystery from abandoning civilization could be enough to balance out the-
A delicate thumb and forefinger pinch your chin between them and pull your gaze from the side to look directly up at Animusphere.
"You will look at me when I am talking to you, Dempsey."
Part of you is almost shocked into silence from the sheer audacity. The delicate dance of magus and Enforcer was that the magus got to denigrate and look down on the dogs who had abandoned the one true pursuit of an magus worth their salt, but the terror that Enforcers instilled in magi was still there, under the surface. If she was willing to not only insult you, but actually force you to look her in the eye after you try get your bearings? When they've tricked you into thinking you were still en route, when in actuality they'd taken you into the bowels of this metal monstrosity in the middle of who knows where? When they've made you think you were attacked, that you were dragging someone back with you to help them, that you failed to save them?
There's the spark you're looking for.
You scowl, pushing yourself up to sit and slapping away her hand. She meets your gaze without flinching, though she's less intimidating now that you realise that you tower over her, even while sitting down on the bed. When you speak, you're not speaking with the restrained politeness that you use to mollify the nobility in the Clock Tower when you disrespect them by breathing the same air as they do. No, your voice is like a cracked whip, a chained animal, fury barely held back by the fact that Animusphere isn't alone, and her company happens to be armed. You'd rather not get shot in real life just after avoiding it in the simulation, but you just can't let it sit, not after what she's said and done, how she's treated you like a plaything to be jerked around and then chastised for complaining about it.
"I was thinking that there was a man down that I could still save, ma'am." You relish the way her nostrils flare out as she sucks in an angry breath, but you're not done, not by a long shot. "Just because he was a mundane pilot wasn't any reason not to save him. Was I supposed to let him bleed out in the snow, or get executed while I ran away? Pardon, ma'am, but fuck that. If he's on our side, then I'm going to do what I can to make sure he comes back safe, even if he's not a magus. Just because you don't give a damn doesn't mean anyone else doesn't, so if that displeases you, then you're welcome to sit down and shut up while I do the actual groundwork for whatever this mission is, since I'm sure you'll be kicking back with your feet up!"
She looks at you the way you'd imagine she looks at particularly loathsome bugs that manage to escape her boot time after time, but when she speaks, it's not in the imperious, holier-than-thou tone you've come to expect when you're being lectured about your place in the world. It's frustrated, angry, almost indignant. You've struck some kind of nerve, you think, but you're honestly not sure when.
"Dempsey, I am your commanding officer. If you speak to me like that again, then I will destroy your Mystic Code, wipe your brain until you are a drooling vegetable, and ship you back to the Clock Tower on the next plane out of Chaldea. Am I understood?" You suck in a sharp breath as you realise that for all the simulation was a lie, you still can't feel that familiar weight around your torso. That's enough to make you freeze all by itself, and when she looks expectantly towards you, it's all you can do to force yourself into a short, jerky nod. You don't trust yourself to speak, but that's fine, because she continues on.
"The only reason the pilot was mundane in that simulation was because a magus pilot would have made you question it earlier. The purpose was to test your ability and your temperament, your decision-making. You might be capable, but it won't mean anything if you can't make the right decisions. You were the target. If you had left, the attackers would have wasted time trying to confirm your death at the wreckage, and the pilot could have distracted them further. That was the correct choice. All of our members here understand the risks, and understand that they may die in the line of duty. That is what they signed up for. Those who weren't comfortable with that, we shipped back home and erased their memory of this place. If someone dies, it's unfortunate, but it's not worth losing even more people just to satisfy your own delusions of heroism."
You want to talk, want to interrupt, want to challenge her, but in the space it takes you to take a breath, she's continued on. "You could instead have hidden and waited to ambush them, leveraging your superior skills and the advantage of surprise to defeat them, which would give you the chance to interrogate them while we sent out a rescue team. You could have learned more about who was trying to stop us, given us valuable information, or failing all of that, you could have at least made things safer by rooting out one threat to us right then and there. Instead, you chose to save one life, letting whoever attacked us run free, and putting your life in danger as well! So, Dempsey, I'll ask you again: what were you thinking?"
You're thinking that you dearly want to punch her, but you'll hold that part back. On one hand, what she says makes...enough sense you can't dismiss it out of hand. A magus flying a plane would have made you freeze up from the sheer incongruity, and if that made you suspicious already, there was every chance you could have figured things out far sooner with the bizarre streak of luck you had that landed you in the perfect situation to be tested. Everything she's saying, that they're soldiers, that they signed up knowing they might die, that he put himself in danger to save someone who was willing to be lost, that all makes sense too. For a moment, you can almost believe it, almost let yourself think that she really, honestly, truly was impartial, and that the reason for everything in the simulation was entirely for the purpose of testing your honest reaction.
And yet.
You were the target. That was just a matter of course. It couldn't have been one of the pilots, couldn't have just been that whoever attacked you wanted to destroy the transport, wanted to plunder it, wanted any number of different things. You were the only magus on board, and you were the target. It was just logic, wasn't it?
She could talk about how egalitarian she was for hours, but that was enough for you. She was like the rest underneath whatever mask she decided to wear.
"...I don't like leaving people behind, ma'am." For a moment, you smell smoke, but you shake your head a little and banish the memory. Swallowing pride time, just like the Clock Tower. "I understand. In the future, I'll do better." But you're not going to apologise, and you're going to be better your own way.
"Hmph. See that you do. There's a briefing in two hours, but you're free to explore until then. The band on your wrist is a communicator and map. So long as you're in the main control room in two hours and you don't cause any disruptions, you're free to wander." She turns on her heel like she's already forgotten you exist, and when you stand up and roll your shoulders, you pause before calling out to her again.
"My Code. Where is it?"
She doesn't even answer verbally, just turning to point at a metal box in the corner of the room, before the door slides open with a hiss. Her two guards follow her out, and then you're alone.
You almost punch something, but keep your cool at the last second. Anything in this room could be expensive, vital, and hard to replace. Instead, you all but wrench open the box, giving a little sigh of relief at the familiar shimmering of polished steel when you do. You hold your hand out and let your circuits sing just the smallest amount, a mere trickle of power that the links of chain beneath you respond to. A thought, and the blade at one end lifts up and slides under your coat, link after link clinking together as you return your Code to its proper place. When you're done, the length of chain is securely wrapped beneath your coat, and the comforting weight makes it easier to stay calm after your conversation with Animusphere. Everything seems to be in order, you can control it as well as ever, and the blades are still sharp as hell, tucked flat against the underside of your forearms.
You can live with this, as long as you've got your little comforts.
Tapping the little glowing button at the top of the small band on your wrist brings up a holographic display, and a few more taps on the display itself brings up a map. You've got two hours to kill, and you could honestly use a chance to cool down after that conversation. A couple of places catch your eye, and you take a moment to decide where you want to visit first.
[ ] The medical wing. Being under for as long as you were might have complications, and you'd rather have some kind of medical assurance that you're fine instead of just assuming based on the fact that Animusphere didn't seem to consider it important.
[ ] The cafeteria. Considering that you've been under hypnosis, drugged, or otherwise kept out of your right state of mind for as long as it took to get to Chaldea, you quite literally can't remember the last time you've eaten, and your stomach is making it known that it's not happy with this state of affairs.
[ ] Your room. They've marked out personal quarters for you already, where hopefully what meager possessions you brought with you will already have been delivered. You can't exactly have a nap after so long sleeping, but if you're lucky you might have time for a smoke and a shower.
[ ] The room marked "Laboratory". You're not quite sure what they'd be researching here, but you suppose that an isolated facility somewhere in a snowy mountain range would be a pretty good place to do whatever they want without oversight.
[ ] The control room. It might mean running into Animusphere again, but if you could find someone else, you might be able to get some answers about where you are and what exactly you'll be doing before the briefing.
You're laying in something like a cross between a bed and a pod, cushioned beneath your body with raised white walls about a foot on either side of you. Above you is some kind of headset, you can only assume the main piece of whatever simulation they intend to put people through, though part of you is wondering how in the hell they managed to do it. Everything is cold and white and very obviously mechanical, but that doesn't seem to matter when it comes to working their mysteries. Marrying magecraft and technology was meant to be difficult, but then again, if they really were in some isolated wilderness then maybe the heightened mystery from abandoning civilization could be enough to balance out the-
A delicate thumb and forefinger pinch your chin between them and pull your gaze from the side to look directly up at Animusphere.
"You will look at me when I am talking to you, Dempsey."
Part of you is almost shocked into silence from the sheer audacity. The delicate dance of magus and Enforcer was that the magus got to denigrate and look down on the dogs who had abandoned the one true pursuit of an magus worth their salt, but the terror that Enforcers instilled in magi was still there, under the surface. If she was willing to not only insult you, but actually force you to look her in the eye after you try get your bearings? When they've tricked you into thinking you were still en route, when in actuality they'd taken you into the bowels of this metal monstrosity in the middle of who knows where? When they've made you think you were attacked, that you were dragging someone back with you to help them, that you failed to save them?
There's the spark you're looking for.
You scowl, pushing yourself up to sit and slapping away her hand. She meets your gaze without flinching, though she's less intimidating now that you realise that you tower over her, even while sitting down on the bed. When you speak, you're not speaking with the restrained politeness that you use to mollify the nobility in the Clock Tower when you disrespect them by breathing the same air as they do. No, your voice is like a cracked whip, a chained animal, fury barely held back by the fact that Animusphere isn't alone, and her company happens to be armed. You'd rather not get shot in real life just after avoiding it in the simulation, but you just can't let it sit, not after what she's said and done, how she's treated you like a plaything to be jerked around and then chastised for complaining about it.
"I was thinking that there was a man down that I could still save, ma'am." You relish the way her nostrils flare out as she sucks in an angry breath, but you're not done, not by a long shot. "Just because he was a mundane pilot wasn't any reason not to save him. Was I supposed to let him bleed out in the snow, or get executed while I ran away? Pardon, ma'am, but fuck that. If he's on our side, then I'm going to do what I can to make sure he comes back safe, even if he's not a magus. Just because you don't give a damn doesn't mean anyone else doesn't, so if that displeases you, then you're welcome to sit down and shut up while I do the actual groundwork for whatever this mission is, since I'm sure you'll be kicking back with your feet up!"
She looks at you the way you'd imagine she looks at particularly loathsome bugs that manage to escape her boot time after time, but when she speaks, it's not in the imperious, holier-than-thou tone you've come to expect when you're being lectured about your place in the world. It's frustrated, angry, almost indignant. You've struck some kind of nerve, you think, but you're honestly not sure when.
"Dempsey, I am your commanding officer. If you speak to me like that again, then I will destroy your Mystic Code, wipe your brain until you are a drooling vegetable, and ship you back to the Clock Tower on the next plane out of Chaldea. Am I understood?" You suck in a sharp breath as you realise that for all the simulation was a lie, you still can't feel that familiar weight around your torso. That's enough to make you freeze all by itself, and when she looks expectantly towards you, it's all you can do to force yourself into a short, jerky nod. You don't trust yourself to speak, but that's fine, because she continues on.
"The only reason the pilot was mundane in that simulation was because a magus pilot would have made you question it earlier. The purpose was to test your ability and your temperament, your decision-making. You might be capable, but it won't mean anything if you can't make the right decisions. You were the target. If you had left, the attackers would have wasted time trying to confirm your death at the wreckage, and the pilot could have distracted them further. That was the correct choice. All of our members here understand the risks, and understand that they may die in the line of duty. That is what they signed up for. Those who weren't comfortable with that, we shipped back home and erased their memory of this place. If someone dies, it's unfortunate, but it's not worth losing even more people just to satisfy your own delusions of heroism."
You want to talk, want to interrupt, want to challenge her, but in the space it takes you to take a breath, she's continued on. "You could instead have hidden and waited to ambush them, leveraging your superior skills and the advantage of surprise to defeat them, which would give you the chance to interrogate them while we sent out a rescue team. You could have learned more about who was trying to stop us, given us valuable information, or failing all of that, you could have at least made things safer by rooting out one threat to us right then and there. Instead, you chose to save one life, letting whoever attacked us run free, and putting your life in danger as well! So, Dempsey, I'll ask you again: what were you thinking?"
You're thinking that you dearly want to punch her, but you'll hold that part back. On one hand, what she says makes...enough sense you can't dismiss it out of hand. A magus flying a plane would have made you freeze up from the sheer incongruity, and if that made you suspicious already, there was every chance you could have figured things out far sooner with the bizarre streak of luck you had that landed you in the perfect situation to be tested. Everything she's saying, that they're soldiers, that they signed up knowing they might die, that he put himself in danger to save someone who was willing to be lost, that all makes sense too. For a moment, you can almost believe it, almost let yourself think that she really, honestly, truly was impartial, and that the reason for everything in the simulation was entirely for the purpose of testing your honest reaction.
And yet.
You were the target. That was just a matter of course. It couldn't have been one of the pilots, couldn't have just been that whoever attacked you wanted to destroy the transport, wanted to plunder it, wanted any number of different things. You were the only magus on board, and you were the target. It was just logic, wasn't it?
She could talk about how egalitarian she was for hours, but that was enough for you. She was like the rest underneath whatever mask she decided to wear.
"...I don't like leaving people behind, ma'am." For a moment, you smell smoke, but you shake your head a little and banish the memory. Swallowing pride time, just like the Clock Tower. "I understand. In the future, I'll do better." But you're not going to apologise, and you're going to be better your own way.
"Hmph. See that you do. There's a briefing in two hours, but you're free to explore until then. The band on your wrist is a communicator and map. So long as you're in the main control room in two hours and you don't cause any disruptions, you're free to wander." She turns on her heel like she's already forgotten you exist, and when you stand up and roll your shoulders, you pause before calling out to her again.
"My Code. Where is it?"
She doesn't even answer verbally, just turning to point at a metal box in the corner of the room, before the door slides open with a hiss. Her two guards follow her out, and then you're alone.
You almost punch something, but keep your cool at the last second. Anything in this room could be expensive, vital, and hard to replace. Instead, you all but wrench open the box, giving a little sigh of relief at the familiar shimmering of polished steel when you do. You hold your hand out and let your circuits sing just the smallest amount, a mere trickle of power that the links of chain beneath you respond to. A thought, and the blade at one end lifts up and slides under your coat, link after link clinking together as you return your Code to its proper place. When you're done, the length of chain is securely wrapped beneath your coat, and the comforting weight makes it easier to stay calm after your conversation with Animusphere. Everything seems to be in order, you can control it as well as ever, and the blades are still sharp as hell, tucked flat against the underside of your forearms.
You can live with this, as long as you've got your little comforts.
Tapping the little glowing button at the top of the small band on your wrist brings up a holographic display, and a few more taps on the display itself brings up a map. You've got two hours to kill, and you could honestly use a chance to cool down after that conversation. A couple of places catch your eye, and you take a moment to decide where you want to visit first.
[ ] The medical wing. Being under for as long as you were might have complications, and you'd rather have some kind of medical assurance that you're fine instead of just assuming based on the fact that Animusphere didn't seem to consider it important.
[ ] The cafeteria. Considering that you've been under hypnosis, drugged, or otherwise kept out of your right state of mind for as long as it took to get to Chaldea, you quite literally can't remember the last time you've eaten, and your stomach is making it known that it's not happy with this state of affairs.
[ ] Your room. They've marked out personal quarters for you already, where hopefully what meager possessions you brought with you will already have been delivered. You can't exactly have a nap after so long sleeping, but if you're lucky you might have time for a smoke and a shower.
[ ] The room marked "Laboratory". You're not quite sure what they'd be researching here, but you suppose that an isolated facility somewhere in a snowy mountain range would be a pretty good place to do whatever they want without oversight.
[ ] The control room. It might mean running into Animusphere again, but if you could find someone else, you might be able to get some answers about where you are and what exactly you'll be doing before the briefing.
----------
Q/N: So, ended up being so exhausted I couldn't get this out yesterday, but hopefully this isn't too bad. This is mostly a tie-in piece to open up Chaldea to Ed, in all honesty, but I hope that I could at least make it an interesting argument. For the vote, you will have the opportunity to visit more than one location, but you won't be able to visit them all, so keep that in mind when deciding which parts of Chaldea you want to see most, as well as who you might meet while you're around there.
EternalObserver
eYe Gaze baCk
- Location
- The Void
[X] The cafeteria. Considering that you've been under hypnosis, drugged, or otherwise kept out of your right state of mind for as long as it took to get to Chaldea, you quite literally can't remember the last time you've eaten, and your stomach is making it known that it's not happy with this state of affairs.
FOOOOD
FOOOOD
Spear
Sun-In-Rags
- Location
- North Macedonia
[X] The cafeteria. Considering that you've been under hypnosis, drugged, or otherwise kept out of your right state of mind for as long as it took to get to Chaldea, you quite literally can't remember the last time you've eaten, and your stomach is making it known that it's not happy with this state of affairs.
Foooood. Foooood!
...I might be letting my actual physical hunger dictate this decision.
Foooood. Foooood!
...I might be letting my actual physical hunger dictate this decision.
[X] The cafeteria. Considering that you've been under hypnosis, drugged, or otherwise kept out of your right state of mind for as long as it took to get to Chaldea, you quite literally can't remember the last time you've eaten, and your stomach is making it known that it's not happy with this state of affairs.
ZerbanDaGreat
Daemon Noble of D E M O G R A P H I C S
- Pronouns
- They/them
Ed: "please step on me"
Olga: "What?"
Ed: "What?"
From zero to Threatening Brain-Damage in 3.5, Olga's on a roll already!
Ed: "I'm thinking ya basic."
Olga: *gasps*
Don't be silly Edward of course the inferior class couldn't be the focus of the simulator storyline, think rationally. Olga-Marie "If you're not a mage then it's into the cage" Animusphere has the right idea.
Pff, I like that. It both shows that he's dealt with the likes of her enough to know how to say what she wants to hear, and that he's petty enough to leave himself a technical 'gotcha'.
"Ed, this is Die Hardman. Check your cufflinks for the mission details."
Okay, full disclosure here, I mostly want to send Ed here in service of Plan LOCATE ROMAN. Whether he's here or not is probably the biggest deciding factor in whether or not we should start panicking about the future of Chaldea and this quest, and while granted he could still be rewritten as a red herring even if he is here that's just a nice early cue to start scanning for foreshadowing and hints. Also on the less metagamey side of things I feel like a guy who just got drugged and flown to the bottom of the globe only to be immediately flung into VRChat and assaulted by disturbingly high-quality furry playermodels or whatever it is the kids do on the Vive would want to have a checkup to ensure everything's alright before my second-highest pick which is 'go smoke and shower and chill at the room'.
Fake Edit: Okay I changed my mind and I've decided that that's a big coward move and I should be less of a lil' bitch, though I'm leaving my reasoning there anyway because it's still true. Whether Roman's here or not, we'll learn in due time. A much more interesting option would be to take a look at the lab, because there's no end to the kinds of things that could be cooking in there to have fun poking at even if we don't run into DaVinci, assuming of course s/he is even here which is also not guaranteed but my point is it's less directly metagamey to go check. Also as an Enforcer I feel like Ed would be naturally drawn straight here since after 'they could do whatever they want here without oversight' his natural second thought would be *heavy sigh* 'okay where are the warcrimes and how many babies did you use to power it'.
[X] The room marked "Laboratory". You're not quite sure what they'd be researching here, but you suppose that an isolated facility somewhere in a snowy mountain range would be a pretty good place to do whatever they want without oversight.
You don't have to justify yourself to us you silly slut. Any update no matter how small or late is worthwhile, that's what being a QM is all about. Because you owe us freeloaders NOTHING
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[X] The cafeteria. Considering that you've been under hypnosis, drugged, or otherwise kept out of your right state of mind for as long as it took to get to Chaldea, you quite literally can't remember the last time you've eaten, and your stomach is making it known that it's not happy with this state of affairs.
[x] The medical wing. Being under for as long as you were might have complications, and you'd rather have some kind of medical assurance that you're fine instead of just assuming based on the fact that Animusphere didn't seem to consider it important.
So because they're okay with dying for the good of the cause, we should just let them die even if there's a chance to save them? Every man for himself, and who cares if that person might be one of the best pilots in Chaldea's employ whose help we could use later on.
I get the rationality of how Ed could have definitely saved himself if he had acted differently, instead of risking his own life to save Shankar. But the only reason the attackers were able to catch up and still pose a threat to Ed's life was because it was a simulation and they got to defy normal physics.
If it weren't for the fact that it was a simulation, Ed would have almost definitely been able to get Shankar and himself to Chaldea, or at least closer to a rescue party.
Yes, once they start going to Singularities, there will be Servants with powers that you can't possibly predict or anticipate, but in a situation where the attackers wouldn't have access to Servant summoning, saving Shankar would have been possible. Olga just manipulated the outcome of the simulation so that it could look like she was still in the right.
She doesn't even present this as a superior option because it would have had a higher chance of saving anyone's life. It's about getting information on the enemy. About making the enemy weaker.
There is a lot of logic to her argument, but it's obvious that she doesn't actually prioritize saving individual lives. Granted, this is Fate and we all know you can't save everyone that there is in the world, but sometimes being able to save the people in front of you is all that you can do, gods be damned.
She's correct, and she's not wrong about Ed trying to play the hero, but she's not exactly right either.
Rambling aside, there are too many good options...
FOOD. HUNGRY. PLEASE EAT ED.
No matter how hardened of an Enforcer you think you are, you can't survive off of wild grass if there isn't even any.
To me, the biggest thing here is a chance to smoke. He's clearly gone a while without his literal drug of choice, and he's stressed. I don't know if he's literally addicted but he's definitely craving it and the comfort it brings him.
There's room for a lot of shady shit to be going on, even if it IS for protecting humanity. Wanting to know about it now will keep any 'necessary sacrifices' from being a surprise later on, even if Ed might not have ideas on how to fix things.
Medical checkup could also be important but Ed knows his body better than any doctor that he's only just met. If he has trouble keeping his food down or anything else comes up while wandering around, he'll at least be able to let the doctor know something's off instead of just walking in because he
So I'm fine with putting that option off for now.
[X] Your room. They've marked out personal quarters for you already, where hopefully what meager possessions you brought with you will already have been delivered. You can't exactly have a nap after so long sleeping, but if you're lucky you might have time for a smoke and a shower.
Getting angry at Magus nobility makes you a stinky boy, Edward. And it will good to make sure you have any other important belongings too.
Shut up and get enough sleep. Also shut up and realize you're already doing great with this quest.