BagFullOfLizards
Some bag, mostly lizards
- Location
- A bag
Looking forward to digging out the factory(?) they found. Hopefully Beeps will have some siblings soon!
Hug Your Destiny [NSFW] - Explicit / Kink (Trans Protag)
- Thread starter The_Letter_K
- Start date
- Mature Fantasy Romance
I wonder what gay mysteries are hidden Under The Ground o////o nothing salacious or kinky i bet.
BagFullOfLizards
Some bag, mostly lizards
- Location
- A bag
Gay Archeology is a truly undervalued field 😄
Chapter Fifty-Nine - Sleeping Dogs
The_Letter_K
Certified Character
- Location
- ...IJ_LM...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I hadn't expected digging it out to be the easy part, but according to Faust and her doodads, the structure was sound beneath the ground, and we just needed a way in. Apparently the material was old, like, way old, and made of things we no longer understood, so there was little concern of collapse. Whatever this place was, that detail had impressed Charlotte.
"They don't make buildings this size out of Startanium, Faust, are you sure your machine got that right? We'd be standing on unfathomable wealth just from the walls alone, let alone whatever they'd been built to protect. Run it again, that can't be right."
Beeps had shaken her head, simply saying; "Correct."
Charlotte had gone quiet after that. She looked pale.
There was more discussion as we set about finding the way we wanted in.
"We will need to aim for the front bay doors, we have no way to know what we are here to achieve, communication issues being what they are." Sally'd said. She had gestured at the green, boxy, floating transparent mess that was apparently an exterior map.
I'd squinted, looking at the confusing overlapping light, trying to puzzle out which side was closet to me. Lots of eyes made this harder, I was seeing through it at too many angles to really make sense of it in my head.
"You mean those tiny little things way at the bottom there?"
"Those 'tiny things' are two stories tall."
After that, I went to sit next to Charlotte, there was something down there the size of a city. I understood some now of how she felt. This was much bigger than I had thought.
Still, eventually we'd found our angle of attack, and with no need to uncover the whole thing, and with coaching from Sally about the width and the angles, I set about 'cleaning' the ground, consuming it whole. I wasn't able to keep down nearly so much as I could pick up, but it was extremely easy to just kind of engulf it and roll it away like a big muddy ball, depositing it far enough away it wouldn't cause us issues.
I did notice less and less got spat back out every trip, though. I hoped the changes to my appetite weren't permanent, or we'd be in a lot of trouble when we got back to Morningwood. I didn't think Twinkle Star would be impressed if I started gobbling up her roads every morning.
Less than half an hour to dig a shallow wedge into the earth that led down nearly half a mile. Once the façade was exposed, and the doors finally freed, a surprisingly humbling three quarters of that depth was all building.
As awe-inspiring as the sight was, lines and lights tracing the exterior, some still flickering, functional, it grew stale as we failed to gain access.
Beepatrice was speaking to a panel in her musical tongue, beyond the understanding of anyone born in the modern era, but you didn't have to be able to speak the language to understand the question from the door kept changing, but her answer stayed the same, repeated over and over. After five minutes of no apparent progress, Faust decided she'd had enough and had tried to carve her way in.
That had been a mistake.
I was well on my way to being a living living room, but this building had me beat by a scale beyond my understanding. It was absurd, but I was certain it was alive, because when Faust splashed it with her powerful magic, over Beeps' wide eyed protest, and Samael's sudden, startled scream of; "No, don't-!", the building… well.
It got angry.
Sally and I had both seen Beeps pull out her cannons before, more times than we could count, so we knew what we were looking at when the walls came alive, and I suspect that was all that saved us.
It fired without bothering to rev up, without stopping to flash ominously, and without pausing to shout warning, it simply shot to kill.
Sally's shield was up a split second before the red-white light washed over us all, and I pulled us all in tight to let her shrink it.
The screams were more surprise than fear, no one else had had time to realize what happened. Charlotte was in shock at the size of the thing, Amy and Blackberry had been distracted. Thagolynn wasn't even down here with us, having left to spend more time napping, being bored out of her mind. Had it not been for us not being able to trust her in our house alone, I might have thought to leave her behind. If we'd been a second slower, there's a real chance she'd have been the only survivor.
Then, Samael, with trembling fists, and clenched jaw, let out a furious growl.
Then Samael, with haunted eyes, with fear on her lips, began to sing.
It took only a moment for the assault to cease.
"What…" I asked, "What was that?"
"This is an old facility," she said, tightly, glaring at Sally with a fury I'd yet to seen on the normally melancholy, somewhat irreverent Valkyrie, "It was built to kill things meaner than you. Much meaner. There was a time the Monster Lord was a ferocious, miles-long Dragon, the kind that didn't have tits and a sex addiction. His influence spread through the monsters of the land as Lilith's does now. This place was built to keep those things out. You don't rate, none of us do." She shoved her way to Faust inside our little sphere, and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Don't. Challenge. It."
She waited until she saw something in Sally's eyes, contrition maybe, before continuing. "I told it I was an Angel of the Chief God, and to stand down. Invoking that authority puts our visit here on a timer, unless you all want to try your luck slaughtering a heavenly host?" She scoffed. "It will take time for the Chief to pull together a force she's willing to risk corrupting still strong enough to fight us all, but if we're still here when she does…"
Faust nodded, shaken. "Is…" she asked, "Is it safe to drop the shield?"
Samael narrowed her eyes. "If we're done picking fights with ancient death machines, yes." She paused. "But, I invoked authority I don't have anymore, and I expect She's-"
Faust dropped the shield.
And Samael was struck by lightning.
"They don't make buildings this size out of Startanium, Faust, are you sure your machine got that right? We'd be standing on unfathomable wealth just from the walls alone, let alone whatever they'd been built to protect. Run it again, that can't be right."
Beeps had shaken her head, simply saying; "Correct."
Charlotte had gone quiet after that. She looked pale.
There was more discussion as we set about finding the way we wanted in.
"We will need to aim for the front bay doors, we have no way to know what we are here to achieve, communication issues being what they are." Sally'd said. She had gestured at the green, boxy, floating transparent mess that was apparently an exterior map.
I'd squinted, looking at the confusing overlapping light, trying to puzzle out which side was closet to me. Lots of eyes made this harder, I was seeing through it at too many angles to really make sense of it in my head.
"You mean those tiny little things way at the bottom there?"
"Those 'tiny things' are two stories tall."
After that, I went to sit next to Charlotte, there was something down there the size of a city. I understood some now of how she felt. This was much bigger than I had thought.
Still, eventually we'd found our angle of attack, and with no need to uncover the whole thing, and with coaching from Sally about the width and the angles, I set about 'cleaning' the ground, consuming it whole. I wasn't able to keep down nearly so much as I could pick up, but it was extremely easy to just kind of engulf it and roll it away like a big muddy ball, depositing it far enough away it wouldn't cause us issues.
I did notice less and less got spat back out every trip, though. I hoped the changes to my appetite weren't permanent, or we'd be in a lot of trouble when we got back to Morningwood. I didn't think Twinkle Star would be impressed if I started gobbling up her roads every morning.
Less than half an hour to dig a shallow wedge into the earth that led down nearly half a mile. Once the façade was exposed, and the doors finally freed, a surprisingly humbling three quarters of that depth was all building.
As awe-inspiring as the sight was, lines and lights tracing the exterior, some still flickering, functional, it grew stale as we failed to gain access.
Beepatrice was speaking to a panel in her musical tongue, beyond the understanding of anyone born in the modern era, but you didn't have to be able to speak the language to understand the question from the door kept changing, but her answer stayed the same, repeated over and over. After five minutes of no apparent progress, Faust decided she'd had enough and had tried to carve her way in.
That had been a mistake.
I was well on my way to being a living living room, but this building had me beat by a scale beyond my understanding. It was absurd, but I was certain it was alive, because when Faust splashed it with her powerful magic, over Beeps' wide eyed protest, and Samael's sudden, startled scream of; "No, don't-!", the building… well.
It got angry.
Sally and I had both seen Beeps pull out her cannons before, more times than we could count, so we knew what we were looking at when the walls came alive, and I suspect that was all that saved us.
It fired without bothering to rev up, without stopping to flash ominously, and without pausing to shout warning, it simply shot to kill.
Sally's shield was up a split second before the red-white light washed over us all, and I pulled us all in tight to let her shrink it.
The screams were more surprise than fear, no one else had had time to realize what happened. Charlotte was in shock at the size of the thing, Amy and Blackberry had been distracted. Thagolynn wasn't even down here with us, having left to spend more time napping, being bored out of her mind. Had it not been for us not being able to trust her in our house alone, I might have thought to leave her behind. If we'd been a second slower, there's a real chance she'd have been the only survivor.
Then, Samael, with trembling fists, and clenched jaw, let out a furious growl.
Then Samael, with haunted eyes, with fear on her lips, began to sing.
It took only a moment for the assault to cease.
"What…" I asked, "What was that?"
"This is an old facility," she said, tightly, glaring at Sally with a fury I'd yet to seen on the normally melancholy, somewhat irreverent Valkyrie, "It was built to kill things meaner than you. Much meaner. There was a time the Monster Lord was a ferocious, miles-long Dragon, the kind that didn't have tits and a sex addiction. His influence spread through the monsters of the land as Lilith's does now. This place was built to keep those things out. You don't rate, none of us do." She shoved her way to Faust inside our little sphere, and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Don't. Challenge. It."
She waited until she saw something in Sally's eyes, contrition maybe, before continuing. "I told it I was an Angel of the Chief God, and to stand down. Invoking that authority puts our visit here on a timer, unless you all want to try your luck slaughtering a heavenly host?" She scoffed. "It will take time for the Chief to pull together a force she's willing to risk corrupting still strong enough to fight us all, but if we're still here when she does…"
Faust nodded, shaken. "Is…" she asked, "Is it safe to drop the shield?"
Samael narrowed her eyes. "If we're done picking fights with ancient death machines, yes." She paused. "But, I invoked authority I don't have anymore, and I expect She's-"
Faust dropped the shield.
And Samael was struck by lightning.
Last edited:
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So, with this restarting a bit I've been thinking about where the story is going and the themes. Warning: I Think this will probably sound a little pretentious? I hope it inspires K a bit, anyway!
My first thought was - why is this part of the story called "Hug your destiny"? It's a cute name, but it also pretty directly calls to mind Lilac's arc here - she has to embrace herself, her identity, her new role as a monster, all those things. There's a lot of steps in the story that have already gone towards this, like corrupting someone, the name. But I think the biggest one, and the one introduced early, is Charlotte's arc in relation to her. Charlotte is brought in quite early in the thread, and she's a heretofore unmentioned figure from Lilac's past - not just another human who Lilac could have related to, but a paragon of that vision of humanity.
One thing Charlotte gets used for is complicating and really digging into what that means - what humans have to do and be in this, in a way that Lilac never quite represented in Contact. Charlotte is more judgemental of mamano, more threatened by them, and more willing to condemn other humans for corruption. She's not happy to do this, but she considers it important and isn't as easily swayed by the same things that Lilac 'fell' for previously.
To really have an theme on whether to "hug your destiny" the story does require a temptation - some reason to resist it, some reason to change course. And Charlotte is basically the only person positioned that way in the story? Sure, Faust does some awful things, but Lilac clearly doesn't judge her for that and wouldn't turn around just because of a few people getting hurt or turned undead. But Charlotte's idealism and fear of her feels more deeply affecting, and a real challenge to work through - and there's the tension between just going for the corruption (as Magenta would advise) and trying to talk her around in a way that's more Lilac's style.
I feel like this is probably going to come to a head soon, especially with Samael maybe hurt here? So that's why I wanted to kinda poke at the themes and predict things. This is isn't the last chance for tempting Charlotte or embracing things, but it feels like a big one either way.
My first thought was - why is this part of the story called "Hug your destiny"? It's a cute name, but it also pretty directly calls to mind Lilac's arc here - she has to embrace herself, her identity, her new role as a monster, all those things. There's a lot of steps in the story that have already gone towards this, like corrupting someone, the name. But I think the biggest one, and the one introduced early, is Charlotte's arc in relation to her. Charlotte is brought in quite early in the thread, and she's a heretofore unmentioned figure from Lilac's past - not just another human who Lilac could have related to, but a paragon of that vision of humanity.
One thing Charlotte gets used for is complicating and really digging into what that means - what humans have to do and be in this, in a way that Lilac never quite represented in Contact. Charlotte is more judgemental of mamano, more threatened by them, and more willing to condemn other humans for corruption. She's not happy to do this, but she considers it important and isn't as easily swayed by the same things that Lilac 'fell' for previously.
To really have an theme on whether to "hug your destiny" the story does require a temptation - some reason to resist it, some reason to change course. And Charlotte is basically the only person positioned that way in the story? Sure, Faust does some awful things, but Lilac clearly doesn't judge her for that and wouldn't turn around just because of a few people getting hurt or turned undead. But Charlotte's idealism and fear of her feels more deeply affecting, and a real challenge to work through - and there's the tension between just going for the corruption (as Magenta would advise) and trying to talk her around in a way that's more Lilac's style.
I feel like this is probably going to come to a head soon, especially with Samael maybe hurt here? So that's why I wanted to kinda poke at the themes and predict things. This is isn't the last chance for tempting Charlotte or embracing things, but it feels like a big one either way.
I finished catching up on this a couple days ago, and I like what this story does. I've always enjoyed "corruption" stories, both with and without gender stuff. A lot of corruption, however, is skin-deep and doesn't hold up to close examination. Our heroine has accepted the touch of darkness, her skin is now purple-blue and she's sex-positive! How diabolical!
In the context of erotica, it often seems to come down to purity/sexual norms vs hedonism, and it's just not as interesting to me as seeing a character slowly betray the morals that have defined them. A paladin who "couldn't win against cock" vs one who came to decide that humanity wasn't worth their protection.
MGE is very much in the first category, and I'm not sure I've seen any stories try to address that premise from a thoughtful and serious perspective. MGE Demons are evangelical, seeking to spread corruption, but Lilac is set up to approach that from a very different perspective than the original authors intended. Why shouldn't everyone want an end to mortality and scarcity? Is being a thrall to the demon lord really worse than the suffering inherent to the human condition?
I kind of wish we got to see Magenta's reaction to Lilac's "seduction" of Elsie. "Damn, this is boring as hell. Why is it working?"
I think this is why Charlotte is so thematically key to what's going on. Lyle never really resisted becoming Lilac, and Charlotte is the only force in the story pushing back against "corruption." And honestly, it's kind of fuzzy? The only compelling reasons to resist seem to be punishment from outside forces- retaliation from the chief god, and one's placement in the afterlife. They're fair reasons, but not especially satisfying ones. "You can't do this because I'm the one in charge" is when parents tacitly admit to losing the argument. I'm curious where her character is going to go.
As a final thing, even though this is a yuri work, I appreciate Jack Flash offering us a somewhat healthier vision of this world's masculinity than 'brainless livestock'.
In the context of erotica, it often seems to come down to purity/sexual norms vs hedonism, and it's just not as interesting to me as seeing a character slowly betray the morals that have defined them. A paladin who "couldn't win against cock" vs one who came to decide that humanity wasn't worth their protection.
MGE is very much in the first category, and I'm not sure I've seen any stories try to address that premise from a thoughtful and serious perspective. MGE Demons are evangelical, seeking to spread corruption, but Lilac is set up to approach that from a very different perspective than the original authors intended. Why shouldn't everyone want an end to mortality and scarcity? Is being a thrall to the demon lord really worse than the suffering inherent to the human condition?
I kind of wish we got to see Magenta's reaction to Lilac's "seduction" of Elsie. "Damn, this is boring as hell. Why is it working?"
I think this is why Charlotte is so thematically key to what's going on. Lyle never really resisted becoming Lilac, and Charlotte is the only force in the story pushing back against "corruption." And honestly, it's kind of fuzzy? The only compelling reasons to resist seem to be punishment from outside forces- retaliation from the chief god, and one's placement in the afterlife. They're fair reasons, but not especially satisfying ones. "You can't do this because I'm the one in charge" is when parents tacitly admit to losing the argument. I'm curious where her character is going to go.
As a final thing, even though this is a yuri work, I appreciate Jack Flash offering us a somewhat healthier vision of this world's masculinity than 'brainless livestock'.
- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah, I Don't know if she really represents any sort of intellectual argument - Charlotte doesn't enjoy her work enough to really champion her position or anything. She thinks it's necessary but doesn't go further than that.
Emotionally, though, she's sort of positioned as "what would everyone think of you" as an argument I guess. All the people in the village, how would they look at Lilac now? What does that fear mean for her? Which isn't necessarily strongly compelling but it's a question that no one else is in a good spot to raise.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yeah!! This is exactly what I liked a lot about the story as I was reading through! MGE stories have always been interesting to me because there's that underlying question of "How do I make this work?"
There's the immediate option of just having a sex obsessed nonstop monster girl relationship—and this feels like what many stories choose—but as the first story demonstrated, this is not something that comes without flaws (one of said flaws being that incubi can practically be parodies of the original human). But importantly, the other ways don't come without flaws too! What if Faust had proceeded with the original plan and turned Lilac into a skeleton, with all her memories being converted to match? Could that not be just as harmful as incubization? Then there's other issues such as the need to have some sort of influx of spirit energy as Lilac is struggling to come to terms with in the second book.
But regardless, it feels ultimately that the book is about what can work for you. Lilac alped because this was what would work for her. There's the clashing of ideals with Magenta, her need to almost force people to bring them into her standing and what works for her whereas Lilac is tending to needs. There's a reason the girl turned into a Trumpart instead of just another Demon.
And returning to the point, this is something that works (thank god) for Lilac and all her wives. And so, that wraps up the struggles in the first half but I love love love how it continues forward in the second as well.
What happens when what works for you comes into conflict with others? What if you think your methods would work for others? Could it? There's so many questions to be asked in a world like MGE and the story's been doing a wonderful job at answering them.
There's the immediate option of just having a sex obsessed nonstop monster girl relationship—and this feels like what many stories choose—but as the first story demonstrated, this is not something that comes without flaws (one of said flaws being that incubi can practically be parodies of the original human). But importantly, the other ways don't come without flaws too! What if Faust had proceeded with the original plan and turned Lilac into a skeleton, with all her memories being converted to match? Could that not be just as harmful as incubization? Then there's other issues such as the need to have some sort of influx of spirit energy as Lilac is struggling to come to terms with in the second book.
But regardless, it feels ultimately that the book is about what can work for you. Lilac alped because this was what would work for her. There's the clashing of ideals with Magenta, her need to almost force people to bring them into her standing and what works for her whereas Lilac is tending to needs. There's a reason the girl turned into a Trumpart instead of just another Demon.
And returning to the point, this is something that works (thank god) for Lilac and all her wives. And so, that wraps up the struggles in the first half but I love love love how it continues forward in the second as well.
What happens when what works for you comes into conflict with others? What if you think your methods would work for others? Could it? There's so many questions to be asked in a world like MGE and the story's been doing a wonderful job at answering them.
Damn, The Chief ain't happy about that. Also very in character for faust to start blasting without thinking
Yeah, the fact this story doesn't ignore the flaws, but also really digs deep into how this could work is super interesting! Charlotte as a character is one I find particularly interesting; it's heartbreaking that she wants the gang dead, but it's even MORE heartbreaking because she believes that they would genuinely be better off if she did. Or that her friends are already essentially dead in a way, which I think is something that she's having to face as untrue the more she interacts with everyone.
At the same time, I can't blame her entirely for what she believes. Not only was she raised and trained to fight mamano, the instant she got captured they put her in a cage fight against terrible odds with a fate worse than death (in her mind) waiting. I can only hope that as she spends more time with the gang, she'll eventually come around, or at the very least give staying a chance. More than anything though, I really hope it's her choice.
Back to the present, I really like the idea of forunner/ancient civilization with hyper-advanced tech, so I can't wait to see what's inside the ruin!
Yeah, the fact this story doesn't ignore the flaws, but also really digs deep into how this could work is super interesting! Charlotte as a character is one I find particularly interesting; it's heartbreaking that she wants the gang dead, but it's even MORE heartbreaking because she believes that they would genuinely be better off if she did. Or that her friends are already essentially dead in a way, which I think is something that she's having to face as untrue the more she interacts with everyone.
At the same time, I can't blame her entirely for what she believes. Not only was she raised and trained to fight mamano, the instant she got captured they put her in a cage fight against terrible odds with a fate worse than death (in her mind) waiting. I can only hope that as she spends more time with the gang, she'll eventually come around, or at the very least give staying a chance. More than anything though, I really hope it's her choice.
Back to the present, I really like the idea of forunner/ancient civilization with hyper-advanced tech, so I can't wait to see what's inside the ruin!
The_Letter_K
Certified Character
- Location
- ...IJ_LM...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Happy to see so many of you giving such thought to it, it really makes it worthwhile to know the writing is seen and actually considered by those on the other side of the screen, it's a huge motivational factor and I really appreciate it! I can't comment too much bc spoilers, obviously, but I hope you enjoy what comes next!
Chapter Sixty - Interlude - Charlotte (Eight) - Rice Paper
The_Letter_K
Certified Character
- Location
- ...IJ_LM...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
(Content Warning - PTSD)
Enemy Territory
The Darklands
Interdiction Zone 176 – Avoid At All Costs
Not Avoiding It
Day 14 of Capture
Early Evening
My first dive into an old world dig, all this technology, this lost knowledge, and it has to be shared with Mamono. Mamono I know, sort of, but that's cold comfort. I'm not supposed to know Mamono.
Except Samael, that is. And Beepatrice, I suppose. But then, we all treated both of them as harmless, and look at them now. Samael practically drooling every time she thinks I'm not looking at her. It makes me sick to remember her as she was and see her as she is. I've run out of puke to give to the idea, but I still get queasy. And Beepatrice? She's currently actively attempting to break into a facility so secure none of should know it exists. If I had an ounce of control over the violence of my body I'd have killed us all myself. We should not be here.
Beeps, unaware of my thoughts, or uncaring, kept on. Her constant refrain, over and over, in the tongue of the ancients. I never learned to sing it myself, obviously, that's forbidden knowledge, but I recognize what she's saying from Samael's slip-ups over the years.
"Dead," she says.
The computer speaks again, some new variation on the same question, again and again.
"Dead," she repeats.
It asks.
"Dead," she answers.
It rumbles.
"Dead," she responds.
"Dead," again.
"Dead," and again.
"Dead," it's truly endless.
"Dead," she's been at this for almost five minutes now, and while progress must be occurring, it's excruciating to watch. This wouldn't be so hard if I could enjoy where I was, what I was about to see. But I'd kept track, roughly, of where we were, relative to where we'd been, although Blackberry's stunning speed was difficult to accept. If we did more training to pass the time, her regimen would need adjusting, to say the least.
"Dead." But as we plodded on, my stomach sunk lower and lower as my mental map drew us closer and closer to Interdiction Zone 176, one of the really bad ones. The kind that was on the shortlist called; 'die for asking too many questions'.
"Dead." Whatever was down here, I'd be killed just for knowing about it. If I hadn't already been going home to die, that would have changed today. Hooray for morale boosters. Already too doomed to be doomed again. I strained against the contract to strike at them as they got closer and deeper, but I had to 'give them a chance'. A bit broader than I'd intended it to be when I put it out there. I'm not sure anyone even knew I was trying it. Even Samael didn't seem to react, and if she couldn't tell I was being restrained, I didn't know anyone who could.
"Dead." The unearthing of the gargantuan megaplex was nearly as ominous as the ride over. Startanium. All of it. At least I knew now what kinds of things I could be killed for knowing. And wasn't that a funny thought? Forbidden knowledge of forbidden knowledge. It's recursion all the way down.
"Dead." Whatever lay in wait inside, to build a complex of this size out of such rare materials, rare even in the old world, durable beyond durable, impervious beyond impervious, whatever was inside was worth ensuring no one ever got inside, and that it lasted until those with the right to retrieve it returned.
"Dead."
"Dead."
"Dead."
They'll be here any day now, I'm sure.
"Dead." I couldn't help but want to speculate about the technology within, so far beyond anything I'd ever seen, Beeps herself aside.
"Dead." Although.
"Dead." While most people wouldn't catch it, on seeing Beepatrice again, I couldn't help but notice she was more than sixty percent modern material components. There's a certain quality to the manufacture of oldworld tech, and much of her shell, her limbs, parts of her torso, and even her face… Notably lacked it. When she'd come back online the very first time, she must have been torn to shreds, left to scavenge enough to move, piece by piece.
"Dead." A grim story, and one I could commiserate with her on, in a way, dragging yourself forward, come hell or high water. I'd let her know I sympathized, but all I'd do is remind her of the times she'd now gotten free from, and long since, unless I missed my guess. After all, that fateful day those years ago, when she arrived in town, she appeared in perfect repair to my untrained eye.
"Dead." I wondered if she knew how to repai-
"No, don't-!"
What?
A sudden movement shook me out of complete distraction just in time for the complex to come alive with fury, and I replayed the previous moments in my head as Sally's shield held and Lyle pulled us close to aid her.
Ah. Faust. I should have been paying attention, but I got too excited at the prospect of the oldworld knowledge. The same reason I was denied joining the delving parties before, and now proven wise. I was too interested.
Distraction is death.
If I had been thinking, I could have predicted her and put a stop to this before it began. Oh well, perhaps this will drive them off, and we can go h- go back to Morningwood, instead of tempting fate.
Then Samael began to sing.
And the walls ceased their assault.
I stared at her in horror. What was she doing? She had pushed it just by openly conversing with Beeps, but using the Ancient Tongue with the Authority of the Chief God to manipulate oldworld tech, as a Dark Valkyrie? I started to shake. No… No, doesn't she know she'd be-!?!?
"-and I expect She's-"
Light like fire split the sky from nowhere and everywhere at once as cloudless day gave way to divine retribution.
All centered on her, on Samael.
"NO!' I grabbed her as she fell. "Sammy! SAMMY!"
Oh shit oh fuck oh god
her skin is
like rice paper
the smell the smell oh god not her please the smell of meat
theblackened crust its all fallingoff
"I'm so sorry so sorry I forgive you its okay its okay I don't hate you please Sammy no god please not you"
the fire is everywhere the villagers are screaming I killed them I killed them I killed her its my fault
no no no no
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Enemy Territory
The Darklands
Interdiction Zone 176 – Avoid At All Costs
Not Avoiding It
Day 14 of Capture
Early Evening
My first dive into an old world dig, all this technology, this lost knowledge, and it has to be shared with Mamono. Mamono I know, sort of, but that's cold comfort. I'm not supposed to know Mamono.
Except Samael, that is. And Beepatrice, I suppose. But then, we all treated both of them as harmless, and look at them now. Samael practically drooling every time she thinks I'm not looking at her. It makes me sick to remember her as she was and see her as she is. I've run out of puke to give to the idea, but I still get queasy. And Beepatrice? She's currently actively attempting to break into a facility so secure none of should know it exists. If I had an ounce of control over the violence of my body I'd have killed us all myself. We should not be here.
Beeps, unaware of my thoughts, or uncaring, kept on. Her constant refrain, over and over, in the tongue of the ancients. I never learned to sing it myself, obviously, that's forbidden knowledge, but I recognize what she's saying from Samael's slip-ups over the years.
"Dead," she says.
The computer speaks again, some new variation on the same question, again and again.
"Dead," she repeats.
It asks.
"Dead," she answers.
It rumbles.
"Dead," she responds.
"Dead," again.
"Dead," and again.
"Dead," it's truly endless.
"Dead," she's been at this for almost five minutes now, and while progress must be occurring, it's excruciating to watch. This wouldn't be so hard if I could enjoy where I was, what I was about to see. But I'd kept track, roughly, of where we were, relative to where we'd been, although Blackberry's stunning speed was difficult to accept. If we did more training to pass the time, her regimen would need adjusting, to say the least.
"Dead." But as we plodded on, my stomach sunk lower and lower as my mental map drew us closer and closer to Interdiction Zone 176, one of the really bad ones. The kind that was on the shortlist called; 'die for asking too many questions'.
"Dead." Whatever was down here, I'd be killed just for knowing about it. If I hadn't already been going home to die, that would have changed today. Hooray for morale boosters. Already too doomed to be doomed again. I strained against the contract to strike at them as they got closer and deeper, but I had to 'give them a chance'. A bit broader than I'd intended it to be when I put it out there. I'm not sure anyone even knew I was trying it. Even Samael didn't seem to react, and if she couldn't tell I was being restrained, I didn't know anyone who could.
"Dead." The unearthing of the gargantuan megaplex was nearly as ominous as the ride over. Startanium. All of it. At least I knew now what kinds of things I could be killed for knowing. And wasn't that a funny thought? Forbidden knowledge of forbidden knowledge. It's recursion all the way down.
"Dead." Whatever lay in wait inside, to build a complex of this size out of such rare materials, rare even in the old world, durable beyond durable, impervious beyond impervious, whatever was inside was worth ensuring no one ever got inside, and that it lasted until those with the right to retrieve it returned.
"Dead."
"Dead."
"Dead."
They'll be here any day now, I'm sure.
"Dead." I couldn't help but want to speculate about the technology within, so far beyond anything I'd ever seen, Beeps herself aside.
"Dead." Although.
"Dead." While most people wouldn't catch it, on seeing Beepatrice again, I couldn't help but notice she was more than sixty percent modern material components. There's a certain quality to the manufacture of oldworld tech, and much of her shell, her limbs, parts of her torso, and even her face… Notably lacked it. When she'd come back online the very first time, she must have been torn to shreds, left to scavenge enough to move, piece by piece.
"Dead." A grim story, and one I could commiserate with her on, in a way, dragging yourself forward, come hell or high water. I'd let her know I sympathized, but all I'd do is remind her of the times she'd now gotten free from, and long since, unless I missed my guess. After all, that fateful day those years ago, when she arrived in town, she appeared in perfect repair to my untrained eye.
"Dead." I wondered if she knew how to repai-
"No, don't-!"
What?
A sudden movement shook me out of complete distraction just in time for the complex to come alive with fury, and I replayed the previous moments in my head as Sally's shield held and Lyle pulled us close to aid her.
Ah. Faust. I should have been paying attention, but I got too excited at the prospect of the oldworld knowledge. The same reason I was denied joining the delving parties before, and now proven wise. I was too interested.
Distraction is death.
If I had been thinking, I could have predicted her and put a stop to this before it began. Oh well, perhaps this will drive them off, and we can go h- go back to Morningwood, instead of tempting fate.
Then Samael began to sing.
And the walls ceased their assault.
I stared at her in horror. What was she doing? She had pushed it just by openly conversing with Beeps, but using the Ancient Tongue with the Authority of the Chief God to manipulate oldworld tech, as a Dark Valkyrie? I started to shake. No… No, doesn't she know she'd be-!?!?
"-and I expect She's-"
Light like fire split the sky from nowhere and everywhere at once as cloudless day gave way to divine retribution.
All centered on her, on Samael.
"NO!' I grabbed her as she fell. "Sammy! SAMMY!"
Oh shit oh fuck oh god
her skin is
like rice paper
the smell the smell oh god not her please the smell of meat
theblackened crust its all fallingoff
"I'm so sorry so sorry I forgive you its okay its okay I don't hate you please Sammy no god please not you"
the fire is everywhere the villagers are screaming I killed them I killed them I killed her its my fault
no no no no
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
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- Location
- Somewhere!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ah, there's the lever. I was wondering what might get Charlotte to move, and I think being forced to confront her feelings for Sammy is probably the key.
If Faust can save her, does that convince her to stay?
If Faust can save her, does that convince her to stay?
- Location
- Earth, probably.
- Pronouns
- None/Any
I'm not sure if that alone would be enough to convince her to stay, but it's gotta make her start to re-evaluate things, right?
RadiantPhoenix
Trudging up the Hill
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If nothing else, Faust can definitely reanimate her.
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
It sounds like the base was asking about a bunch of people, presumably those higher than Beeps in the hierarchy. And eventually if Faust hadn't gotten bored and messed it all up, Beeps would eventually be acknowledged as the highest surviving authority and thus able to authorize entry.
Poor Sammy. Poor Charlotte. Damnit Faust!
Poor Sammy. Poor Charlotte. Damnit Faust!
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Geez, this is really not a good situation for them, though... Charlotte's going to be going through some really hard stuff and needs someone that truly knows her to be there for her. Beeps knows her, but I'm not sure if she knows her well enough to comfort her through her traumas.
Samael is likely the best way to work, but this relies on her being able to be healed and for Charlotte to not be too stricken by Samael being... you know, nearly killed.
This would be bad in most circumstances, but they're also now on a time limit for any forces from the Chief God to come by... Maybe it'll end up with Charlotte having to defend Samael? Agh..
Samael is likely the best way to work, but this relies on her being able to be healed and for Charlotte to not be too stricken by Samael being... you know, nearly killed.
This would be bad in most circumstances, but they're also now on a time limit for any forces from the Chief God to come by... Maybe it'll end up with Charlotte having to defend Samael? Agh..
Chapter Sixty-One - Faust Interlewd - The Oath
The_Letter_K
Certified Character
- Location
- ...IJ_LM...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Scowling at the sky, shame evaporates, dwarfed beneath fury as it surges, cold and cruel.
You think to take from me?
You think to command Death?
Fool, but you have become complacent.
No one embraces Death without my acquiescence, for indeed, I AM DEATH HERSELF.
And I.
Do Not.
Consent.
For the tears in those eyes, you shall pay.
For the tremor in that voice, you shall pay.
For the scars on her mind, I shall rend your rule.
Mark now this day, your last mistake, for it portends the end.
I shall come for you without mercy, for in my life I have received none from thee.
When the world scorned Sally Franks, she created Faust von Frankenstein, in perfect vengeance. How much more shall I do, having now been scorned by thee? Having seen the extent of thine cruelty in the eyes of those I care for?
I shall teach you the meaning of contrition before God.
This.
I.
Swear.
You think to take from me?
You think to command Death?
Fool, but you have become complacent.
No one embraces Death without my acquiescence, for indeed, I AM DEATH HERSELF.
And I.
Do Not.
Consent.
For the tears in those eyes, you shall pay.
For the tremor in that voice, you shall pay.
For the scars on her mind, I shall rend your rule.
Mark now this day, your last mistake, for it portends the end.
I shall come for you without mercy, for in my life I have received none from thee.
When the world scorned Sally Franks, she created Faust von Frankenstein, in perfect vengeance. How much more shall I do, having now been scorned by thee? Having seen the extent of thine cruelty in the eyes of those I care for?
I shall teach you the meaning of contrition before God.
This.
I.
Swear.
The_Letter_K
Certified Character
- Location
- ...IJ_LM...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Next chapter is cooking now but I'm going to give people time to get some feelings out on recent events in-story. I'm going to post Chapter 62 (no earlier than) Monday morning, so if you want to speculate, you've got room to breathe.
RadiantPhoenix
Trudging up the Hill
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hm... it occurs to me that I'm not 100% sure that Samael's dead yet.
It seems likely, but the characters haven't really had time to process the full details of what's happened yet.
It seems likely, but the characters haven't really had time to process the full details of what's happened yet.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Being a burn victim tends to really suck, so it's entirely possible that she's at least briefly still alive despite being horrifically damaged.
The question is whether Faust can keep her that way.
The question is whether Faust can keep her that way.
RadiantPhoenix
Trudging up the Hill
- Location
- USA, Earth
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Reanimating dead Mamono as undead is generally considered an easy feat for necromancers.
Raising the dead unchanged is more difficult.
I'm not sure how easy it is for a Lich to keep someone alive, and we don't know exactly how injured Samael (whose name keeps making me think of "Green Eggs and Ham") is.
The_Letter_K
Certified Character
- Location
- ...IJ_LM...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Update is finished and it will be posted tomorrow morning pending edits for formatting.
It's a Beeps Interlewd, so the formatting is tricky
It's a Beeps Interlewd, so the formatting is tricky