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[X] A many pieced ensemble of white silk
[X] Ask her if she hates herself.
 
Can I ask people to consider the thematic implications of both of them wearing something alluding to concubinage as their dress when they first meet? I think it's both amusing and rather fitting.
 
[X] A concubine-inspired creation of white ropes
[X] Ask her if she hates herself.
 
[X] A concubine-inspired creation of white ropes
[X] Ask her if she hates herself.
 
BiopunkOtrera said:
"The one thing I'd say is that she's perhaps anthropomorphising. We've seen this behaviour in several species yes, but it reflects differently. The Neredi are alien enough we don't quite know what they will do."
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reading back through this, it's interesting to imagine what colonial organism does for class/hierarchy dynamics, yeah. How do you create distinctions between individuals when those individuals aren't individual and can swap parts and such? Of course, actual class systems often have little to do with the individual, so perhaps it's not so strange that they'd work even if the dividuals under them are swapping around and trading places and such.

The way Purple Crested Diplomat broke up and remade themself into PCD2 feels like it should be relevant here, but I can't tell if that was about them reorganizing themself mentally/socially? or if it was primarily ceremonial. Also them introducing themselves to us with 'names' that are just job titles says something, but again, not sure what. (My money is on that they don't tend to value themselves as discrete individuals beyond Doing One Specific Thing, hence the Names As Job Titles - if they join a new faction or move to do a thing or espouse new philosophy, they reorganize themselves to match)
BiopunkOtrera said:
How they would have chosen to express it for your benefit, you who takes the unit as essential and its disuniting as the end, to be salved with memory and mourning. For them, it's the natural way of things, not worthy of remark. What made Second Level a good diplomat was her grip of that gulf. But it's not a gulf that will be as wide with the Communion, on whom you still impose the shadow of death.
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Indeed.

(Also apparently, sometimes they are reorganized to join new factions, which is. Messy to think about!)
BiopunkOtrera said:
Leftists who want to turn Hera into yet another councilist republic without any form of competition between people. The press lambast them as a collection of losers and those too meek to compete, and for their potential alliance with the unmeasured.
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I don't know who that is - is it another word for the Clocks, given the anti-operationalist thing?
BiopunkOtrera said:
To the sides of the gates seems to be an ongoing protest. A series of signs and hanging floats: "What about the mould?" "No Revolution Against the Black." "General Action Needed! Conflict Specialists Not enough!" Context tags take you into an obscure catalogue of local politics about some kind of contamination affecting communities in the city's lower parts.
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I am imagining trying to destroy black mold with a gauss rifle :V
BiopunkOtrera said:
You've heard Gynoids are low narrative, but they seem animated here, talking quickly with fast hand motions. The sight of them causes a feeling of contentment to bleed over from Alex's mind.
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I mean she made/helped a robot (slave, we presume?) revolt, so she has my vote for that

Also, Mira going 'oh nothing will happen it'll blow over' right up until it doesn't is Very Amusing. Something something the revolution is impossible until it is inevitable something something
Estro said:
Can I ask people to consider the thematic implications of both of them wearing something alluding to concubinage as their dress when they first meet? I think it's both amusing and rather fitting.
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Works for me, tbh!

[X] A concubine-inspired creation of white ropes
[X] Ask her if she hates herself.
 
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  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by BiopunkOtrera on Sep 24, 2024 at 5:37 PM, finished with 21 posts and 18 votes.
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  • Voting
    • Interval 101: Scylla
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    • [X] Ask her if she hates herself.
    [X] A concubine-inspired creation of white ropes

    "Do you hate yourself?"

    Chalita makes no reply. You see her deliberately flick her eyes away from you, see her pretend she doesn't see you, doesn't care. That all that matters to her is the L of Chrysanthemum HQ troops arranged around her.

    There's consternation all around the hall. Some people are trying to flee. The main doors open to admit another wave of Las Desconocidas, weapons up, each surrounded by a constellation of drones and attack remotes. The hall, full of movers and shakers, operatives of Firewatch and various other people who maybe thought they were very tough is suddenly extremely suppressed.

    You decide it would be best to raise your own hands.

    There's a click of heels and the assault troops part to allow two figures into the room. One is Mara, dressed in formal whites and gleaming pink flowers, her hair layered up in a complex style that adds to her apparent height. Beside her another liaison walks, taller than Mara with deep purple hair and very red lips.

    "Well now." Mara skips up easily onto the steps in front of you and tips your head up with a perfectly manicured finger. With the aid of the steps and her heels you do actually need to look up to see into her eyes. Pastel blue tunnels into darkness. "Stella and Mirareki. I thought I'd find you here. You never could resist plunging straight toward Scylla in the end." Something in what she said catches in your mind, and you try not to let it show; you're helpfully distracted from it by her next words. "Nice dress." The finger moves down to your collar then flicks down the ropes for a moment, making you feel the entire outfit against your skin.

    "Who's your friend, Mara?" You ask, feeling a flush of old lust at her touch.

    "Liaison Viola. I think I told you about her." Viola Marin. Of the Chrysanthemum's expansionist faction. The one who was backing Chalita? Has Mara managed to turn her? You try not to fixate on Mara's words, and wonder if there's some hidden meaning. She most definitely did not signal that Viola had changed sides. Indeed she drew your attention back to what she originally told you of her. That she was an expansionist and a Chalita supporter.

    But if that's the case, why authorise this raid? The Chrysanthemum don't really like to remind most of the worlds on their side of the border of their army of loyal HQ killers, and so Las Descondocidas are usually deployed sparingly. This is not something the Chrysanthemum would do on a whim.

    "We were able to reach an understanding." Viola says. "My apologies Chalita, but I'm afraid you've gone a little too far. In light of certain facts that my college has brought to my attention."

    Chalita once again makes no comment. You feel a little annoyed by her silence. You were hoping, perhaps, that the old version of you might be a more charismatic villainess, rather than this cold regard. "I want an advocate," she says. "I dispute your jurisdiction."

    "Dispute away." Mara turns away and nods to the troops around her. "Take her away."

    One of Las Desconocidas slings her rifle onto her back where Chalita won't be able to grab it and steps forward. Chalita doesn't resist as her hands are yanked up behind her and a restraint system is applied. It actually looks a lot like the dress she's wearing.

    "What about us?" Mirareki says. "I'm a member of the press, and I was not with them."

    "Hmm." Mara sashays over to her and smiles down, "I suppose I could let you both go. You've been acting as my agents a little after all." She glances back at Viola, then back at you. "But I'm afraid you'll need to be processed first." She snaps her fingers. "Take her." Two Las Desconocidas step forward and grab Mirareki, forcing her into another restraint set. As they do, you feel the ropes of your dress suddenly harden and yank you close, forcing you to your knees.

    "Mara–!"

    She smiles. "Don't be like that Stella. Surely this is preferable?" She walks down and shakes out a blindfold. "Just relax, and enjoy. I'll make sure of the next bit." The silk cloth pulls tight across your eyes, and the world cuts off around you.

    In the dark, you think about what Mara said. It feels obvious that things aren't as solved as they appear. Mara is being subtle, but she wouldn't act this way if she'd actually turned Viola.

    Could you just be imagining all this? Could it, actually be over just like that?

    "Alex." You say in the dark space of your mind. "What do you think?"

    "I think you're right love, I don't think that it's done yet."

    You run back through what Mara said word by word. The mention of Scylla is interesting. You run a quick word match. Scylia was a monstrous goddess said to consume men who sailed to war on old earth. Normally simply used as one half of a cliche, 'Scylla and Charybdis', set against her sister, or lover, the great whirlpool. Heroes had to steer between them carefully to avoid both dooms. But what does that have to do with anything?

    Maybe it doesn't. You've heard Charybdis in the context of Mara before. Back on the yacht, back on Nereid, when you met her again for the first time. One of Mara's flunkies asked another one - Medea Virgo, who picked you up - about the 'Charybdis files'. In your presence. A ridiculous opsec breach, unless it was deliberate.

    Isn't this an insane chain of logic? Yes. On the other hand, this is the kind of insane chain of logic that you get from talking to a Liaison. Also, you're sure of it. More than Mara's words, her affect was just wrong. Gloating, sure, but not with the same reassurance that she'd take all responsibility that she always had after a mission.

    You feel yourself lifted up and put down in a seat. You can hear protests around you, then feel a vehicle lift, the slight inner ear effects of flight. There's some shuffling around, the sound of people being taken off the lifter, but you aren't.

    "Stella?" Mirareki says.

    "I'm still here."

    Another flight, a drop. Cool night air and city sounds. Your dress loosens off and an armoured glove pulls away the blindfold. Two Las Desconocidas are offloading you at a rural transit stop. It's in a field, a sudden brightly lit space amid the gloomy fields, two platforms standing next to a two lane monorail track stretching off in both directions.

    "The Liaison says live a happy life." One of the two Chrysanthemum troops says as they turn back to the lifter.

    Mirareki watches them go with a glare, then sighs. "Do you think it's really over now?"

    "Maybe." You rub your eyes <<No. Mara was trying to signal me that it wasn't. Did you notice?>>

    <<I didn't, but then, if she was trying to signal like that she'd tailor her body language and the like to single target given that other Liaison was there.>>

    <<Does the term 'Scylla and Charybdis' mean anything to you? 'Charybdis files'?>>

    <<You said her people mentioned them when you met her, but I don't know anything now that I didn't then.>>

    <<Maybe it's not the files. Maybe it's the meeting itself.>> You get a sudden flash of inspiration and access the mirrors of public information databases that the Deep Ship continually downloads. Accessing Chrysanthemum public records, you run a check for Medea Virgo.

    Status: Missing in Action. Last reported, Hera.

    <<There it is.>> You say. <<We need to find Medea.>>

    <<Okay. But how. It's not going to be that easy to raid a Chrysanthemum database.>>

    You think for a moment. You may want to do several things, but you need a place.

    [ ] If she's missing in action that means that probably means she was in danger. You should start by checking into what all those conflict specialists were doing.
    [ ] The best thing to do here is to find help. A group who you can really trust. It's time to try to contact Ever Dancing Flame's Cult
    [ ] The other obvious lead you have here is Firewatch. Local Firewatch was obviously compromised by Chalita. You could try to pull on that thread and hope it takes you to Medea, or something else useful.
     
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    • [X] If she's missing in action that means that probably means she was in danger. You should start by checking into what all those conflict specialists were doing.
     
    [X] The best thing to do here is to find help. A group who you can really trust. It's time to try to contact Ever Dancing Flame's Cult

    I'm a little behind on things but given that we've just been dropped in the middle of nowhere, with nothing, help seems like the single most critical thing we need right now.
     
    Princess_Hex said:
    [X] The best thing to do here is to find help. A group who you can really trust. It's time to try to contact Ever Dancing Flame's Cult

    I'm a little behind on things but given that we've just been dropped in the middle of nowhere, with nothing, help seems like the single most critical thing we need right now.
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    Aren't we still on the same planet, "at a rural transit stop"? It's not like we're in life-threatening conditions. I assume that rendezvousing with the team is just a matter of taking the monorail back to where we were.

    [X] If she's missing in action that means that probably means she was in danger. You should start by checking into what all those conflict specialists were doing.
     
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    [X] The best thing to do here is to find help. A group who you can really trust. It's time to try to contact Ever Dancing Flame's Cult

    I agree with Hex. I'm also curious what the cult will be like (If it's still around). I imagine that most gals don't have such a personal relationship with EDF.
     
    [X] The best thing to do here is to find help. A group who you can really trust. It's time to try to contact Ever Dancing Flame's Cult

    Yeah, get some other pieces on the board, instead of trying to dance alone on someone else's palm.
     
    [X] If she's missing in action that means that probably means she was in danger. You should start by checking into what all those conflict specialists were doing.

    Checking in with the cult could be fun, but seems a little premature somehow.
     
    [X] The other obvious lead you have here is Firewatch. Local Firewatch was obviously compromised by Chalita. You could try to pull on that thread and hope it takes you to Medea, or something else useful.

    I just think they're neat.
     
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