Now, Usually I'd agree with that and spare, and I really do, but I really feel that we might regret this decision, and if he does show back up one day for vengeance we might heavily regret it. If it was any other setting other then Ruina I would have gone for it, but I still feel like its a terrible idea. I have a feeling he isnt going to be grateful you spared him and will have totally learnt his lesson, if he starts another syndicate out of revenge, commits more atrocities just to get at you, it will be much worse.
Well, yeah, but that's the risk you take with this type of shit.
Besides, going off the logic of "That's how it is in the City", him causing problems cause we didn't finish him off falls under that umbrella. Not our problem he decided to become worse cause we didn't kill him. To use a phrase used before "That's that and this is this."
There's a reason by the end that phrase gets changed to "That's this and this is that".
And hey, if he does come back that means he'll be tougher. Which means more EXP.
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
[X] Just Kill Him. There's no real satisfaction to this. No thrill in the battles. You came into the fighting expecting something simple, and straightforward, but instead you got… this. There's a difference, you're realizing, between killing like this, and killing with something on the line. Too… cold-blooded to your taste. Whatever, just end him. It's practically a mercy.
[X] Fifty-Fifty. All equal, and fair-like. You like it. Simple, and clean. You both did your own fair share of the job. You think. Reward: 925,000 Ahn. Fair and Square.
If he hadn't been leading the Syndicate I'd be down with letting him go, but this really doesn't seem like a setting where a sadistic sister is enough to push you into doing that successfully. He had the skills and the will to get this crazy murder band going and I don't really want to let him do that a second time, with added 'you killed my sister' issues on top.
[X] Just Kill Him. There's no real satisfaction to this. No thrill in the battles. You came into the fighting expecting something simple, and straightforward, but instead you got… this. There's a difference, you're realizing, between killing like this, and killing with something on the line. Too… cold-blooded to your taste. Whatever, just end him. It's practically a mercy.
[X] Fifty-Fifty. All equal, and fair-like. You like it. Simple, and clean. You both did your own fair share of the job. You think. Reward: 925,000 Ahn. Fair and Square.
If he hadn't been leading the Syndicate I'd be down with letting him go, but this really doesn't seem like a setting where a sadistic sister is enough to push you into doing that successfully. He had the skills and the will to get this crazy murder band going and I don't really want to let him do that a second time, with added 'you killed my sister' issues on top.
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
[X] Just Kill Him. There's no real satisfaction to this. No thrill in the battles. You came into the fighting expecting something simple, and straightforward, but instead you got… this. There's a difference, you're realizing, between killing like this, and killing with something on the line. Too… cold-blooded to your taste. Whatever, just end him. It's practically a mercy.
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
Further up North, beyond your senses, a similar stand-off occurs. Mao, Vice-And-To-Be-Captain of the Scarecrow Office, perches on the rooftop of Youn's Trading Company. Poor Miss Youn curls up behind her, making herself as small as possible. Meanwhile, somewhere in this building, killers stalk for her client's flesh, and blood. She's tired, and she misses her home oh so much. Down West, Mori, Spy-And-Technician of the Scarecrow Office, drops from the ceiling, and unravels his arm. The Hunter beneath him expects it, and he bounces away, narrowly avoiding a cut to his neck. He glances behind him, and shoots the client a reassuring look, before turning back to the Hunter. In the Scarecrow Office, Daniel, Boss-Captain-Leader of the Scarecrows stares blankly at his own Office, blinking occasionally. In his mind, a ten-year-old war rages on. In the same room, Burke, Assistant-And-Administrator of the Scarecrow Office sorts through the job request files, checking and double-checking who could do what. He glances to the side, and frowns worriedly at his Boss. He's been less, and less.
Back to East, to the here, and the now, in the back of a church, Kai, daughter of a renowned Fixer, stands-at-a-still before a man nearly twice her size. Behind her, the unconscious body of her charge. The schoolgirl could not be that much younger than her. She will die first before she lets the girl leave her. His low stance, and the way he grips his blade tells her what she needs to know. Her own sword, Mother's Gift, vibrates, its cold flaking her own palm. In her warm beating heart, something cold thrums outward: anticipation. But then, a moment of weakness. Of distraction. She glances to the side, and spot Lily facing two of the Raizer Siblings, she adds, noticing the similarity of the two – the boy looks around her own age. Kai feels worry, and –
Well damn, Mao probably feels the weight of taking several jobs one after the other and probably would appreciate the break we end up giving her, Mori looks like he's facing a Syndicate member, Daniel is most likely dying to a disease/illness and Burke is responsible for assigning missions. Kai is worried about Lily but is it because she thinks that Lily won't hesitate to kill someone around Kai's age or younger?
Just a little something for the discussion from a few pages ago.
Holy shit... we got fucked up by just one person and Lily tanked two but ended up a human pin cushion. We need to xp in Fortitude to survive! Angela did nothing wrong. Carmen did everything horribly wrong. Rose, Apr 28, 2021Report
Should we actually speak up and spare the kid. I know it's Lily's decision but from the info Kai picked up he was the leader in name only and the sister was the real psycho. Binah Simp.Cat, Apr 28, 2021Report
@CalmingBeverage What do we actually know about Lily and her background? Aside from the basics: she grew up in the Backstreets, her Landlord is apparently a piece of shit and her philosophy is that the strong are the only ones who can wear their hearts on their sleeves. That is That and This is This.Tai, Apr 28, 2021Report
Well, you are grabbing lunch with her later this week so you'll find out more about her then
Here's a freebie though: did some rolls for which of Lily's stats would rise and lets say it's very interesting. This is the Will of the GM.CalmingBeverage, Apr 28, 2021Report
How about you? Lily. Eighteen. One-and-a-half week old Low-Grade Fixer. You have a goal – no, not just a goal: a dream.
So, is your dream worth more than him? Was it worth more than the people you've killed before, and will it worth more than the people you're going to kill after? Who decides that, then? Who decides the value of your "worth" and this boy's "worth"?
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
Honestly, I kinda want to hand him over to the girl and have her and her dad take him in. Partly because it's better than just leaving him alone and mentally shattered in the Backstreets (which is not exactly much better than killing him personally from a moral standpoint) and partly because how to finish the job is the client's decision. Do they want the gang completely dead, or do they want to try to rehabilitate the lone survivor? Either way, we're willing to do it.
Kind of wonder what difference passing all those failed skillchecks would have made though.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
Lily is not, I think, a person who likes being indebted any longer than she has to be, even if it might be healthier to put off repayment.
Yeah, that wasn't happening unless we were very lucky.
The way Lily was oddly philosophical and detached while fighting was honestly terrifying. Combine that with those failed Insight and Empathy checks, it made me come to a realization.
Lily seemed like she was empty. Empty just like everybody else in the City. Bravo QM, that was beautiful in a horrifying way. I do not want Lily to be like that ever again.
It also seems that a lack of Insight leads to the inability to stare at something, at someone, for long. To brush things off without a second thought, without truly facing it.
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Just a Little Better Well Rounded
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
A lot of points were talked about while I typing this up and I think I have to go for "sparing" him. I don't think anything good while come from him being alive, but I do believe that the act of "sparing" him will be better for Lily. Although I don't know if this is an act of Defiance against the City or just running away from what has been done.
I, personally, just want to pay back Kai for last time despite what she insists. Hopefully she will get a little more pride in herself. I do think the 50/50 split is good for that in all honestly, I could go either way here.
As for the XP allocation, I thought we only had the 700 XP and was doing the math if we had enough for Temperance and Endurance then I saw we had the 215 XP banked. It is very tempting to get Fortitude III, but after seeing Lily like that, I just can't. Sorry LinkOnScepter, it might be a knee jerk reaction but I just can't.
I don't really want to level Vision right now and want to save it for Fortitude III or perhaps something else, maybe Prudence. I would like Prudence at rank three at end game, but rank two would keep me satiated on that front for quite awhile.
We just saw here how important Empathy and Vision are when you're going full Repression, and since Repression is one of the few ways outside of E.G.O. to do harm to Distortions and Abnormalities, making sure our arsenal is solid seems key while we're still dealing with relatively weak missions and Distortions being uncommon and relatively weak on average
May I ask were you got Vision from? I saw Empathy and Insight but not Vision. Any narrative hints to hidden rolls I attributed to Justice II, did I miss something?
For me, seeing Lily like that was exhilarating. Not cause I'm trying to turn the poor girl into a monster or anything.
But cause it shows the training and combat experience is paying off.
Like I said, I want Lily to get stronger first. Strong in body and mind, so that once she starts becoming emotional it doesn't lead to a total crash as she comes up against something, or someone, who that stuff straight doesn't work on (I.e. Tanya, Greta, Eileen, really the entire Ensemble).
So, to get it out first, I changed how Repression works in this update. Functionally, it's the same. It does Sanity Damage. But rather than rolling for Melee to Hit, then Repression for Damage, I just immediately rolled for Repression both for Hit, and Damage. So just removing that extra step. It seems weird, looking back on it, why I initially decided that's how Repression's gonna work, since it was supposed to be its own thing as Justice's Combat Skill, like how Ranged, and Stealth are their respective Stat's Combat Skill.
Also, I might be changing how Sanity Debuff works in the future. I'm not sure how. Embarrassingly, while writing this update, I realized that I hadn't planned on how Sanity Damage Debuff would work, so I defaulted to applying the same Debuff as HP Damage Debuff. I'm not sure if this is fine overall, but… well, I'm really, really, really open to suggestions. Coincidentally, this is why this update took a little bit a while to write… that, and how to apply Repression into the narrative properly.
If I could offer some advice for the future when it comes to writing Repression attacks though:
At our current level, have our Repression be stuff that would scare people even if they're experienced fighters. Like in this fight where we kept fighting despite being a human Pincushion. Have us keep going despite the pain. Take stab wounds and just laugh them off. Get hit and act like it means nothing. Let the enemy try their big, finisher, super special attack, then we just block or laugh it off. Then we retaliate with attacks that aren't meant to hurt physically, but mentally and emotionally. Attacks that show nothing they do will stop us, and we could finish them whenever we want. Punches and kicks instead of using our Knockbar, throwing people into or threw walls cause we can, etc. etc.
When we start getting into higher levels, when Stats start getting into Ranks 3 and 4, that's when you can start pulling the more supernatural imagery.
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Fifty-Fifty. All equal, and fair-like. You like it. Simple, and clean. You both did your own fair share of the job. You think. Reward: 925,000 Ahn. Fair and Square.
For me, seeing Lily like that was exhilarating. Not cause I'm trying to turn the poor girl into a monster or anything.
But cause it shows the training and combat experience is paying off.
Like I said, I want Lily to get stronger first. Strong in body and mind, so that once she starts becoming emotional it doesn't lead to a total crash as she comes up against something, or someone, who that stuff straight doesn't work on (I.e. Tanya, Greta, Eileen, really the entire Ensemble).
Nah, I am not that pressed about it. It is mostly about not voting on something I would otherwise agree about with you but instead voting on something I confess to be based on a knee jerk reaction. (That my vote is based on a reaction, not that the option is itself.)
I am starting to come around to that Repression is just like that, being detached makes a lot of sense to me. It is the lines after the failed checks that shake me, who know a few short lines could have such an impact?
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
A crimson stained Lily
Birthed of the City
Has finally begun to Bloom
Of all her parts
Of all her traits
This is what I choose to groom
Now let's see her fate
There was no reason for this. Nothing more than a flight of fancy for me.
I prefer Just Kill Him option mostly because like or not Lily is a children of the City in many ways more than Kai for an example . And thing is that nothing in-character ever pointed to the Lily being truly aware of the City's cycle aside from "the well life sucks what do you gonna do about it?"
I prefer Just Kill Him option mostly because like or not Lily is a children of the City in many ways more than Kai for an example . And thing is that nothing in-character ever pointed to the Lily being truly aware of the City's cycle aside from "the well life sucks what do you gonna do about it?"
Well keeping him alive is the same, cause that's just leaving him for Sweepers and otherwise to come pick up the scraps. There's a reason "Spare" is in quotation marks.
Edit: Also, if you want to look at it in a pragmatic light: It's not our job to kill him.
Wu paid us to keep him safe and save his daughter. We have done both. He would only pay us to kill them all if his daughter was dead, which she isn't. Thus killing him isn't our job. And when the job is over, neither is protecting Wu and his daughter anymore.
And if he comes after us...so what?
We're a Fixer. That shit's apart of the job. The only person he could logically go after is Sun, and Sun is maybe cool with Mao? Meaning doing so would be a death sentence for the kid.
Everyone else is a bad idea or just gives us a bonus.
Landlord Lin? Guy's forcing us to pay to stay at his place. He dies, we don't have to pay him anymore. And he might not since he's still got connections with a Syndicate.
Mao? She's a Top Grade Fixer. She could take this kid and whatever shitty gang he drawls up. Rest of the office is the same...save for the Boss who might be kicking the bucket soon.
That only leaves Kai. The only one our worried about. But she should be able to handle herself.
[X] Just Kill Him. There's no real satisfaction to this. No thrill in the battles. You came into the fighting expecting something simple, and straightforward, but instead you got… this. There's a difference, you're realizing, between killing like this, and killing with something on the line. Too… cold-blooded to your taste. Whatever, just end him. It's practically a mercy.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Getting Tougher
-[X] 850 XP to Fortitude
Honestly, I kinda want to hand him over to the girl and have her and her dad take him in. Partly because it's better than just leaving him alone and mentally shattered in the Backstreets (which is not exactly much better than killing him personally from a moral standpoint) and partly because how to finish the job is the client's decision. Do they want the gang completely dead, or do they want to try to rehabilitate the lone survivor? Either way, we're willing to do it.
Unfortunately, they're not gonna. Wu has led the life of someone living in the Backstreets. He managed to build something out of it; a business, but more importantly, a family. But he's been in there, experienced it. He's a Cityfolk through, and through. Mia? She's young, and lived a sheltered. Naive, though that's not necessarily a bad thing, depending. It's not like she's blind to it. She did just get kidnapped, and got beaten, and cut up, and left to starve and everything.
Wu wants him dead. Wash his hands off this fucking mess, learn, as well as forget about this shit. Mia wants him to live, out of pity, in the same way one would to a limping, wounded stray puppy.
Lily just wants to get this shit done. Everything's in pain, and she looks like a fucked up pincushion. Kai doesn't have a particularly strong leaning on either -- but she does feel immense pity, though it's not the same pity that Mia's feeling. This one's more... shared.
The way Lily was oddly philosophical and detached while fighting was honestly terrifying. Combine that with those failed Insight and Empathy checks, it made me come to a realization.
Oh yeah, those Insight and Empathy checks were a treat to write. Anyhow, in this update, Lily got weirdly philosophical, and detached mainly because it's the first time she's using Repression -- and Repression's not some "mindless" bashing that Melee is. It's about pushing your thumb down, it's about slamming your foot down on the back of a downed enemy's head, and just smearing the ground with their face. It's about seeing what's making them tick, what they want, and not want, looking for the chink in their armor, then proceeding to rub salt, and acid on their wounds, and dig your fingers into them.
This takes a conscious effort.
I think I mentioned before that Repression is Advanced Intimidation.
[X] "Spare" Him. You'll just leave him there, leave whatever comes next come. This is not mercy, no matter how Mia the Schoolgirl sees it. This is hell. You'd know. He got nowhere to go. But whatever. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. If he ever snaps out of it, you are sure that in no way, will this bite you back in the ass.
[X] Forty-Sixty. Loathe as you are to cut your own reward, Kai deserves it, you think. Yeah. You'll admit it – the mission hinged on her, and she succeeded, and well… it's also to make up for last time. Reward: 740,000 Ahn.
[X] Plan: Well Rounded Lily
-[X] 470 XP to Temperance
-[X] 230 XP to Endurance
-[X] 200 XP to Vision
