1) Do you want to take Garrar with you on today's excursion?
(Note: Evie and Al-Khidr will be too busy designing a machine which can be used to restore Grimwood to his physical body. Therefore, Garrar is the only one of your companions currently available to you.)
2) Do you want to give Oswald Grey's shotgun to anyone?
3) Will you hand over Android Oswald's dead body to Evie immediately, or save it as a snack for later?
1) Garrar has a history with Rekindlers, so maybe not. Then again, shenanigans...
2) Who can use it best? I wanted to have it as a backup option in case our psychic powers are nullified or something, but if someone can put it to better use...
3) Android Oswald's body should probably be put in a Freezer until Evie can spare a minute. No one goes in there anyway. Hmm, I sound like a maniac, don't I?
I honestly don't know what to do with a dead body... and we did pick it up for Evie to search for useful parts, so.
Frida is like a cat that drags her kills into the house, but the kills are not even hers.
Sorry, Garrar, but not now, maybe later.
I actually thought about giving it to Glitch when we dig him out.
He's a robot, so he doesn't have to worry about the recoil, and having an option other than fighting up close and personal would probably be nice.
I didn't get as far as I wanted to with this next update, but I felt like going any further would be jumping the gun, so...
*
What the Cat Dragged In
When you wake up the next morning, you look around for the other members of the Time Travellers' Society. Grimwood is still doing his 'trapped as an incorporeal spectre' thing, Evie and Al-Khidr have started work on a device which they hope will free him, and Garrar has yet to rouse himself after gluttonously gorging on an enormous pile of roasted meat. At least, that's what the others say happened, and you see no reason to doubt them.
In the workshop he's sharing with Evie, you consider Al-Khidr for a moment. He stares blearily back at you. 'Frida… was there something you wanted?' he asks. Yesterday was very hard on him, what with nearly dying and so on, and it doesn't look like he's fully recovered.
'No, I was just thinking,' you say, although you want to say "yes". If you're going to fight against the malevolent cosmic beings who have taken over your life, you're probably going to need his help. He's the closest thing you have to have an expert on defeating eldritch abominations from another universe. It's something he has a history of doing. Back when he first started out, when he was an ordinary mortal, he fought against a nightmarish creature which was threatening to devour his home city – and won! Since then, he's become much stronger, wiser, and more powerful. If anyone can help you, he can. But it's not time for that yet. First, you need to lull the Chronarchs into a false sense of security.
'It looks like strenuous activity,' Al-Khidr mutters. 'Don't strain yourself too hard.'
'Yeah, I'm going to ignore that,' you say, lifting Android Oswald's headless corpse out of your extradimensional storage space. 'Hey, Evie! I got you a present!'
'Oh. A dead body. Just what I always wanted,' she says in a voice dripping with sarcasm. 'I suppose you expect gratitude from me?'
'Well, yeah. That would be nice.'
'All right, Frida. It's a lovely dead body,' she says, giving you a hug. Of course, she means it sarcastically. 'I'm very grateful. Would you like me to pat you on the head and say "good girl"?'
'Well, pet play isn't really my thing, but I'll try anything once. Maybe if we were somewhere more private, I might like that,' you say. 'Your bedroom or mine?'
She stops, frozen, suddenly realising what she just said. And how you replied. Cherry red blossoms in her cheeks, a blaze of colour in her porcelain face: she's blushing furiously. You lean closer, forcing her to take a step back, against the wall. She doesn't seem to have realised that she still has her arms folded around you.
Al-Khidr glances at the two of you and sighs exasperatedly. He indicates Android Oswald's headless corpse. 'I assume you want Evie to do something with this. There are wires and bits of metal I can see – was this some kind of cyborg? – but it looks like it's mostly made up of organic parts which are already starting to decompose. If you're not going to do anything with it immediately, it needs to be refrigerated. I'll go and do that now, shall I?'
'Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks!' you shout at his retreating back. Best wingman ever!
'Frida, that was… I think we made him uncomfortable,' says Evie, dismayed.
Standing on tiptoe, you're nearly as tall as she is. You gaze deep into those soulful grey eyes and…
What will you do? (Choose one)
[] Kiss her, you fool!
[] Don't kiss her. Say, "You can let go of me, now."
[] Do something else (write in).
[X] Don't kiss her. Say, "You can let go of me, now."
-[X] Stare at her lips and fantasize a little before putting the thought out of your mind.
Evie is emotionally vulnerable and trusts us way too much. It would be mad unethical for us to kiss her. That said, Frida the useless bisexual is an energy I can really get behind.
I used the same argument way back when we were exorcising despair demons from Evie using dangerous and unsolicited drugs. Still, I'm pretty sure Frida ( we ) isn't such a scumbag as to emotionally manipulate Evervae with her support, conditional on reciprocity.
Bottom line, if Evie says no after the kiss, then it's no, okay.
Her initial reaction will be telling, whatever form it takes.
Furthermore, this isn't an emotionally vulnerable moment for her, this is as close as we can get to normal for everyone at the moment. Forcing a relationship on her would be very unethical, but kissing her to see if she's open to the idea? She's never, in fact, indicated that Frida makes her uncomfortable. Exasperated? Sure. Annoyed? Yep.
Next you will tell me handholding is a crime.
Wait...
Heh. Evie and Frida's relationship – or even the possibility of them having a romantic relationship – is all kinds of messed up, for many reasons. (Eva is emotionally vulnerable, she has an out-of-control psychic power which demands that other people worship her, Frida has been keeping a lot of secrets from her, Frida gave her "dangerous and unsolicited drugs" for what she thought was a good reason, Frida promised the Chronarchs that she would betray Evie at a moment of critical weakness... and so on.)
But I find it all so amusing. Dear non-existent God help me, I do love it so.
The vote count is a bit disjointed, but three people have voted for "Kiss her, you fool!" and three people have voted for "Don't kiss her." Which means that Nevill's vote is the decider.
It's pretty clear that Nevill doesn't think that Frida should kiss Evie, at least not until the post-credits scene. Frida is disappoint. But that's the way it goes, sometimes.
Anyway, I'll get on with writing the next update...
Adhoc vote count started by Chandagnac on Apr 4, 2020 at 6:10 AM, finished with 10 posts and 7 votes.
Dreamily, getting lost in the limpid pools of her eyes, you think about what it would be like to kiss those ruby lips, to press your bodies so close together that it'd be as if you'd merged into one being. The beast with two backs, as Shakespeare's Iago called it. She's right there, so close to you. All you'd need to do would be to move a little closer. But… you know that it would be a mistake. She's an emotional wreck, she trusts you way too much and it would be wrong of you to take advantage of that. Even if it would feel really, really good.
You look away from her. Taking a few deep breaths, you manage to say, 'You can let go of me, now.'
She gives a startled squeak and hurriedly withdraws her arms from around you, pulling back away from you, sidling along the wall. 'I'm sorry,' she murmurs. 'You… you confuse me sometimes, Frida. I thought…' She shakes her head as though trying to clear it of something. 'I know I hurt you, when I used my aura on you, but I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I don't have full control of my psychic powers, not all of them. You understand that, don't you?'
'Yeah. Don't worry, I've forgiven you for that,' you say.
'Have you?' She sighs frustratedly. 'I still think that you're acting strangely around me. Why is that?'
'Evie, we don't have time for this now. I agree that we need to have a serious talk about… well, you know… but it'll have to wait until after we've won the Chronarchs' wretched game. Right now, there are too many tasks we haven't yet completed. You know that.'
She stares sadly at you for a moment, then says, 'So, wait until after I've ascended to a different state of being, then we can have a "serious talk" about what might have been if we'd had more time? Is that what you want?' She laughs bitterly. 'Oh, how tragic and noble of you!'
Not for the first time, you consider that perhaps you've done wrong by keeping so many secrets from Evie. You've lied to her, if only by omission. Of course, there are some things you literally can't tell her without the Chronarchs erasing you from existence, but she doesn't know that. You've hurt her. You didn't mean to, but you have.
'Maybe you should stay away from me, if you think that I'm such a threat to your chastity,' she says sarcastically. 'I really don't want to hurt you, Frida.'
'I know,' you say, feeling a lump in your throat and a burning sensation behind your eyes. It feels like you're about to burst into tears, but that's ridiculous! You're a fully grown woman – get a hold of yourself, Frida! You shouldn't be acting like a jilted teenager. 'I've made a mess of things.'
'Have you?' Evie gives you a considering look. 'I like you, Frida. I think you like me too. Do you find me attractive?'
You nod. 'Yes. Very.'
'And it's not because you're under the influence of my aura?'
Before you reply, you put your mental defences to the test. You built them strong: a sturdy fortress, impervious to outside assault. There's no way that Evie's psychic powers are having an effect on you right now. No, this is all you. If Glitch were here, he'd have something very sarcastic to say about all of this, like… well, he'd probably say, "WOW, FRIDA, I KNEW YOU WERE A MUSICIAN, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW SAPPHO WAS ONE OF YOUR TEACHERS," and then you'd reply, "Sappho wasn't a musician," and then he'd say, "I HEARD THAT SHE TAUGHT HER GIRL STUDENTS TO SING LOUDER AND HIGHER THAN EVER BEFORE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. SHE WAS A VERY CUNNING LINGUIST." Or something like that. Damn, you miss him so much.
'No, I'm not being controlled by you. I find you attractive because… you're very beautiful,' you say, after a long pause. 'I enjoy spending time with you. I care about you and I want you to be happy.'
Evie smiles angelically at you. 'Thank you, Frida, that's very sweet of you. You see, that wasn't so hard, was it? Why can't we be honest with each other?'
'All right, well… how do you feel about me?'
'You're cute, Frida. I admire your optimism and persistence. You're brave and funny, and you care very deeply about your friends. These are all things I find attractive about you. However…' Her smile fades. 'There's something you need to know about me: over the course of my life, I've had many love affairs. Some with handsome men, beautiful women, people who swore that they'd love me eternally. Sometimes, they were good people, people I cared about very much. Other times… in the midst of so much violence and destruction, fear and horror, misery and despair, loneliness and grief, all I wanted was a little comfort. So, I took what I could get: a few moments of peace, some affection, warmth and tenderness. And sometimes, that was a mistake. I've been with some very unsuitable men. Some of them were crude, boorish and vicious. Some of them thought they could own me. Some of them… well, I was lucky in that I was able to escape them by travelling hundreds of years into the past or future. Most other women do not have that luxury.'
'But all of your lesbian affairs turned out okay, right?' You give her a cheeky grin.
'Actually, no. A few of them turned out very badly. Jealous, hateful, poisonous women, some of them. But I suppose that I am at least partly to blame. You see, they wanted more from me than I was willing to give: I couldn't promise them my eternal love and devotion. I can't promise that to anyone, do you understand? And… some people don't like to know about my history: my extensive experience. They get angry and call me a "whore" or a "slut" or other names similar to that. Which is why I think it's important to tell you all of this before anything happens between us. And if you're repelled by any of it, I'll understand.'
'Ehh, I never thought you were a blushing virgin, anyway. Although, you do blush very prettily, heh.' In a strange mood of mingled defiance and wanting to tease her, you ask, 'Do you want to know how many men I've slept with? It's a number between five and ten.'
'No, I don't want to know.'
'In that case, why should it bother me that you've had lovers before?' you ask. 'Unless you've got any diseases which I should be worried about.'
Evie looks pained. 'No, I'm not diseased,' she says through gritted teeth. 'My nanites take care of that sort of thing for me.'
'Yeah, I'm not sure how I'd feel about getting into bed with you and the Von Neumann swarm,' you mutter. 'But never mind that. This conversation has been… uh, enlightening. But I really do need to get on with some work. And so do you.'
'Of course,' says Evie with a nod. 'Is there anything I can help you with?'
'Last night, I managed to open Vault Eight. There's some stuff in there which I know the Rekindlers will be very interested in. I'm thinking of trading it to them in exchange for the supplies you need. What do you think?'
'Oh, well done, Frida! Congratulations!' Evie claps her hands together. 'Yes, I think that's a good idea. I'm not sure the Rekindlers will have everything I need, but I'll be glad of anything I can get. Thank you.'
'Could you give me a list of what you need?' you ask.
'Yes, I'll write it down for you. Give me a moment.'
When that's done, you get ready to leave. Al-Khidr still hasn't returned. Presumably Evie was right: you two must have made him very uncomfortable. Oh well, too late to do anything about it now.
You have quite a long walk ahead of you. It's a good thing that you've got so much to think about along the way.
Okay, so... up until now, Frida's crush on Evie has been something to joke about. Like a lot of other things in this quest which I joke about. But I felt like if I was going to keep bringing it up, it needed to be more than a joke, more than a bit of "ship tease" with which to tantalize the yuri fanboys. Which is why I put some serious thought into how a romantic relationship between them might work, how Evie might feel about it, and what Evie might think about romance in general. I mean, if this is going to be part of the story, I feel like I should treat it with some respect. I hope that you'll enjoy my take on this. I'm not certain that everyone will, but... ehh, I'll do the best I can.
Anyway, I'm not going to ask you to vote this time. The story will continue after I've updated my other quest.
Frida: (muttering under her breath) "Okay, so I mustn't kiss Evie. That would be very wrong of me. I mustn't take advantage of her emotional vulnerability."
Evie: "But what if I want you to kiss me?!"
OR:
Evie: "Basically, even if I didn't find you attractive, if you came up to me and said, 'Let's have sex,' I might agree to it. Yeah... I'm so lonely."
Frida: "Um... well, I wouldn't advertise that fact, if I were you."
As far as I am concerned, I was completely fine leaving it at that. I had no desire to pursue this avenue of thought.
Then again, it looks like half of the playerbase do, so...
Evie has her own mission, and it's a long-term one unless the Chronarchs make it completely impossible or she gives up on it. I like Frida for what she is, a wandering bard who gets into various messes through ill fortune and her... irresistible personality. I am afraid that lifestyle is incompatible with Evie's goal, so the most they could get out of a "relationship" is a fling after which they both go their own way. And I know I won't find it satisfactory, just as I won't find it satisfactory if Frida ties herself to Evie's life goal of restoring her species.
...unless someone becomes a god and solves the matter instantly, I suppose.
[jk] If you recall, it was said that the fastest path to "victory" involved getting Evie over to our side.
Clearly, this is the beginning of Galactic Frida's universal harem.
I have to agree with Nevill, though; I was fine with it just being a joke. I'm honestly surprised that it worked out, really. Guess Evie's got a thing for awkward nerds, who knew!
With all that said, I... really don't want to backstab Evie after all this. After having given her a hint of a "possible future," a way to restore her culture, even if it's all a lie by the Chronarchs, I'm genuinely worried for what might happen to her and all the others if we do end up ascending ourselves, even if it's for a supposed "good cause."
I don't want Frida to be another friend she thought she could trust, could love, however briefly - only to be betrayed at her crowning moment, even if it was for her own good.
God, why do these things have to be so hard?
That was an awkward as hell conversation Frida had with Evie, though I'm not sure if it was because of me or if it really was just Frida with the proverbial foot in her mouth (as she does). Thoughts, anyone else?
I don't want Frida to be another friend she thought she could trust, could love, however briefly - only to be betrayed at her crowning moment, even if it was for her own good.
That's funny because this conversation has only redoubled my commitment to "betraying" her. Evie has been through a lot and she deserves a break. She doesn't deserve to be turned into the Chronarch's eternal chew toy. It's not like we can tell her what they have in store for her without being turned into chunky salsa. Unless some new factor shows up, all we're left with is betrayal.
... you do realize that I made that vote about Frida betraying Evervae right before her ascension as a believable lie to entice the Chronarchs with?
Fuck sacrificing ourselves for the great cause, I fully intend for Frida to find a way to screw everyone involved.
Honestly, I don't see Frida as a god, without possibility to drink cheap alcohol and make trouble across time and space.
As for romance.
See, I don't think it's all as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Sure, it'll probably result in tears and a huge crater on the side of some unfortunate planet, maybe even this one, but it's a growing experience for them both.
Frida, despite assuring herself she is a fully grown woman, is immature as fuck. She didn't use to have a cause, or a home, or friends, or family, or, ahem, morals. She was drifting through life, finding amusement where she can, never really caring about anything beyond herself. I am pretty sure this wasn't intentional on the QM's part, but her previous adventure in a zombie-infested city ended with a ragequit after she failed to solve a puzzle. And now she can't quit, unless she wants to die. Moreover, she found people she cares about and is in the process of acquiring something resembling sense of responsibility.
I would like for Frida to attempt a serious commitment in order to grow as a person and learn, even if it doesn't work out in the end.
As for Evie, she's seriously fucked, and really needs someone to rely on right now and also, you know, relearn how to enjoy life beyond senseless ceaseless slaughter of her species. It's not shameful to need someone to help you, it's what it is, I'm just surprised she's still functional, more or less.
Mind, this doesn't have to be romance, if Frida and Evie suddenly agree they aren't comfortable with anything other than looking at each other shyly and holding hands, ( platonically, you filthy shippers! ) but the prerequisites for romance ( attraction, affection, neither of them are monks sworn to celibacy ) are here, even if I still think that it'll be a horrible idea.
But, like, making mistakes is how we grow and all that, and hey, maybe they'll prove me wrong. Well, they could!
Yes, and I do stress everyone. Possibly including her allies and herself in it somehow.
Also, I second the distaste for becoming a divinity. Although if we get to be a wandering goddess... that might drastically increase our opportunities to mess with people.
What is this growing as a person you speak of? Frida is just the perfect size as a person, thank you very much!