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- CONTEXT FOR CHARACTERS: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3741268&pagenumber=1
- <Dulcinea> Tada.
- <Spec> I should Jasper up
- * ningyou is now known as Reynard
- * Reynard does worryfretting boywitch stuff.
- <Spec> Ack; someone else is already Jasper
- * Charlotte is now known as Natalia
- * Spec is now known as Jasper_
- <Jasper_> tch.
- * Reynard scrutinises!
- * Dulcinea should be the one making Tch noises.
- * Reynard also wonders if she should switch her problem to Romanticism or something at the last minute :ohdear:
- <Jasper_> I have so many powers
- <Dulcinea> You think you've got a power problem, I'm using /wounded angel/ @.@
- <Natalia> Yeah, my character sheet is on google docs is eight pages long and I think I got off lucky
- <Natalia> -first is
- <Jasper_> Fortunately I can pretend I know nothing to start with and thus ease into it :V
- <Natalia> Reynard: Romanticism could be cool! It might be easier to express in immediate scenes than insomnia/nightmares, at least (Though that could also be cool if expressed)
- <Dulcinea> after gratiutous resizing and not putting msot of my powers on there in longform
- <Dulcinea> 6. :v
- * Reynard nod!
- * Reynard was mostly just thinking of expressing insomnia/nightmares by having him like....almost constantly jittery and fragileskittish and on edge >.>
- <Reynard> outside of like....moments where there are Good Reasons to talk about his horrible nightmares i guess
- * Natalia nods
- <Dulcinea> Well, they'll have something in common with Dulci
- <Dulcinea> Who also never sleeps because of shitty nightmares. Though their's are a bit more. >>
- <Jasper_> I think "Connect with someone" is going to be the most complex
- <Reynard> (which would probably go well with his sympathy/comfort bonus xp thing)
- <Reynard> idk the book talks about like
- <Jasper_> Oh, yes! What am I keeping an eye out for fo r each of you?
- <Reynard> drifting from capital-p Problem to problem, so i can probably uh
- <Natalia> Oh yeah, what are everyone's Xp emotions? For Natalia, it's sympathy/wincing
- <Reynard> see what works
- <Dulcinea> From Dulci?
- <Jasper_> Gratitude for Jasper
- <Dulcinea> Her SPEECHLESSNESS XP emotion, you know. Yelling, ranting, raving, making A GOD AM I Style speeches, and generally trying to get everyone to just stare and gape
- <Reynard> pity, empathy, or comfort for Reynard
- <Reynard> "It’s when people become aware of your struggles, of your personhood, and wish to toss you a little comfort in a cold and uncertain world. . . . In the form of an XP."
- <Dulcinea> Your bonus XP emotion is speechlessness.
- <Dulcinea> Like any good scientist, your role and your burden is to explain the world to
- <Dulcinea> all the people who just don’t get it. They are always wondering such things as “just
- <Dulcinea> how does that nightmare technology work?” or “how can it be that Leonardo de
- <Dulcinea> Montreal, who professes to loathe us with every fiber of his being, is once again
- <Dulcinea> helping out?” or “wait, why are there talking rats in Fortitude? How does that
- <Dulcinea> work?”
- <Dulcinea> It is up to you, with the unequalled beneficence of a de Montreal, to answer
- <Dulcinea> these questions in such a fashion as to leave them with little else to say. If they
- <Dulcinea> wish to demonstrate their speechlessness at the end of such an explanation or
- <Dulcinea> demonstration, they may award you an XP as follows:
- <Dulcinea> oh no that wasn't supposed to break into 40 messages
- <Reynard> DULCINEA DE MONTREAL is above such petty concerns as "paragraphs"
- <Jasper_> Hmm, how do I differentiate Reynard and Natalia?
- <Reynard> wincing sympathy seems less um
- <Jasper_> Aside from that I am done
- <RandBrittain> Done-ness is a useful thing!
- <RandBrittain> Okay, so! Did anybody have any questions they wanted to ask before we begin?
- <Natalia> I think with Reynard, you want to comfort her, with Natalia you just go "Oh, oh christ"
- <Reynard> idk i haven't read Natalia's section in the book but I assume it's more of a....
- <RandBrittain> One is moe and the other isn't.
- <Natalia> Yeah
- <Reynard> like uncomfortable slapsti--yeahthat
- <Jasper_> Who's moe?
- <Jasper_> And who isn't
- <Natalia> Reynard
- <Dulcinea> Reynard :v
- <Jasper_> Reynard is moe
- <Reynard> reynard-chan moe desu
- <Jasper_> And Natalia is black comedy
- <Natalia> Natalia is, like, desperate and miserable, but maybe not in a way where you want her to feel better, yeah, just in a way that makes you cringe.
- <Natalia> (I mean, at least at first. I imagine once we get to arc two and her dad dies, she might have more immediate mundane problems)
- <Jasper_> So it's the difference, to pull an example out, of someone being tucked in bed being all cute and miserable because they have a cold, and someone stoically wandering around town despite looking like a zombie because there is grocery shopping to do and they have -standards-
- <Dulcinea> Reynard's is Thumbs up, isn't it?
- <Natalia> Ah, yeah, I think so. That sounds familiar.
- <Reynard> like, the way of expressing it?
- <Jasper_> Oh, is Reynard male?
- <Reynard> ish
- <Natalia> :iiam:
- <Jasper_> Ah
- <Jasper_> I'd been reading it as a girl's name, it'd only just clicked that's not the dream witch's normal name :p
- <Jasper_> Is there anyone else's emoji I need to ready?
- <Reynard> stop me if this is dumb i guess but my thought was reynard kind of got The Genders what with the whole 'piece of a scary powerful nearly-world-ending witchlady going in his eye' thing and is kind of
- <Dulcinea> Reynard, IIRC, is having /gender issues/ due to being Melanie before, who was female, and Reynard now, who is male, and then - that
- <Reynard> 'i'm not dead so i'm still myself but my sense of self is kind of wobbly' and experimenting with presentation a little and kind of settling into um
- <Reynard> boywitchiness.
- <Natalia> Emoji XP is a stunningly awful concept. I'm just picturing someone playing out a scene and someone else responding with a picture of an eggplant
- * RandBrittain is now known as HollyhockGod
- <Reynard> a row of smiling poop emojis
- <Jasper_> :V
- <Jasper_> that wasn't a reaction
- <Jasper_> that's the emoji
- <Reynard> also belatedly i think thumbs up is more for doofystuff
- <Dulcinea> Man. AAah. AAAH. I hope I remember how this all works
- <Natalia> I thought it was more like a cheering-them-up gesture
- <Reynard> mine's uh
- <Reynard> i'll copypaste real quick
- <Natalia> Hahah, yeah, I'm a little worried, but here we go!!
- <Jasper_> I've -never- played before soooo
- <Jasper_> Wish me luck :p
- <Dulcinea> Also looking at the art it looks like Reynard wears rad dresses, so. :v Rad
- <Dulcinea> I HGed two sessions and that's it. >>
- <HollyhockGod> So. It seems you're all alive!
- <Reynard> "They express this with a wistful sigh; saying 'Sigh' or Ahh;' saying, 'Tragic'; or an understated statement of togetherness." The desire to comfort the Dream-Witch should be sincere, but it doesn’t have to be terribly profound. You don’t have to feel like her life is tragic — you just have to feel like expressing, “We’re all in this together.†Or “I hear you.â€"
- <HollyhockGod> In most cases that's normal.
- <Reynard> okayanywayssorry]
- <HollyhockGod> Some of you might have been metaphysically questionable recently, but right now you've all got lives.
- <HollyhockGod> So... who wants to be the first to get in their XP and tell me what they've been doing?
- <HollyhockGod> Just... the ordinary shape of your life, right now.
- <Jasper_> [I'm going to deferentially stand back so I can see how you guys type up stuff first so I'm not doin it rong]
- <Natalia> Natalia's been spending her time helping out at the bakery where her mother works. Like, maybe she started off working the register sometimes but her absolute lack of ability to connect to people made the owner gently suggest she works in the back, where she's sort of discovering an aptitude for baking.
- <HollyhockGod> Ah, so what's baking like?
- <Natalia> The thing that really appeals is the precision, I think. Like, there's a lot of measuring and following instructions and precise action and timing, so it's enough like my time spent training back home to be familiar, but still distant enough from the actual experience of it to not really bring up awful memories.
- <HollyhockGod> There's something very un-traumatic about a croissant.
- <Natalia> I'm just sort of taking time being lost in the procedures of baking, and maybe feeling a little bit of pride in my work. I assume there's a full time baker there, and we don't talk much, but sometimes when I really nail a tray of cookies or something, he nods at me and I don't really respond, but maybe I feel a little better about where I am right now.
- <HollyhockGod> This is a good opportunity to encounter somebody else, in spite of being back here to make sure that doesn't happen.
- <Natalia> Yeah, definitely.
- <HollyhockGod> Maybe somebody is delivering a fiendish-looking oven or picking up scones for orphans.
- <Natalia> Any takers on that?
- <Jasper_> Scones for orphans sounds like Jasper's kind of deal
- <Dulcinea> Well, /i've/ been preparing yet another of my magnificent devices: The abominable Outside Measuring Calipher! This is for the purpose of something that's been worrying me. As I have returned from the depths of the outside, from the Bleak Academy where I once learned, so too has the outside begun encroaching among the town. And as much as I search for answers, as much as I'm building devices and searching and looking for another
- <Dulcinea> answer, it seems as if there's only one answer: My return has brought the outside closer. So I must prepare, and find a way to hold off the strong dusts of the outside. What makes me know it was me? The Big Lake. The dusts have most often been sweeping out over the Big Lake, and I have had... dreams. Dreams of my death, returned to me. The death I had fled, there at Big Lake. It is said that the wicked drown in the lake- and I can't
- <Dulcinea> say I'm not a wicked person. And the lake, it has been /calling/ me. Why? I can only hope it's a conicidence, but I feel drawn there. Perhaps it's just because that's where the outside is starting to come in, but no. The outside is coming in because something wicked and bleak is here, and shall- Deserves to die there, perhaps. ... So I've spent perhaps an equal amount of time trying to avoid going to the lake and reluctantly
- <Dulcinea> investigating it, using my instruments to try to figure out where the outside's leaking in, and how to stop it. The rest of my time is spent in fortitude, trying to pretend nothing 's wrong, that I am just fine, and that I am not coming to my doom as I speak.
- <Dulcinea> ((Oh shit that was more than I thought)
- <Dulcinea> (Sorry >.<)
- <Jasper_> [I think you get a speechless for that already. Is that a thing you're allowed to do based on OOC stuff?]
- <HollyhockGod> Sure, the more the merrier.
- <HollyhockGod> So, Dulcinea is troubled by the Outside, and has built a set of calipers to measure it. That's not an XP action just by itself, though.
- <Dulcinea> (Since it was mostly about that, I'm going to put it towards The Outside Stirs.)
- <Dulcinea> (Mmn, true.)
- <Natalia> (As a rule of thumb thing, is emotion XP one per emotional event, or can multiple people go "Oh, that made me feel a thing" and give multiple XP for it?)
- <HollyhockGod> (Natalia got a reaction from the head baker, so that's Shared Action, although since that's not really much human contact she's probably going to get some Isolation.)
- <HollyhockGod> One per event is probably enough.
- * HollyhockGod throws an XP into the pot for Natalia's Shared Action.
- <HollyhockGod> Jasper?
- <Dulcinea> (I could provide more for an XP action in a sec. I'll let Jasper and Reynard talk, first)
- <Jasper_> Well, Jasper crashed in Fortitude and recieved a nasty noggin-bump that went down pretty quick due to being immortal and all. She's semi-aimless at the moment; she's got an instinct to do nice stuff and tends to end up helping out with chores and things she wasn't intending to get involved in, but no real idea of an end-goal or why she's down here and how she's getting back up.
- <HollyhockGod> If you're having trouble thinking of something, it might help to bump into Natalia or Dulcinea and interact with them for a while.
- <Jasper_> She probably also feels a little uncomfortable at the shrine given it's directly related to conflicted parent feelings.
- <Dulcinea> ( a slice of life at Jade's shrine might make sense, I feel?)
- <Dulcinea> (For that exact reason)
- <Jasper_> (I'm good with that)
- <Dulcinea> (Actually, I can tie something into that, if you'd like...)
- <Natalia> (Maybe we can do a Jasper/Dulcinea scene and a Natalia/Reynard scene, then? Maybe Natalia is working on something that's set to go to the Archive or something?)
- <Reynard> okay!]
- * Reynard sort of had a dumb idea for Reynard's first scene and it'd work better with someone else actually there >.> s-so.]
- <Dulcinea> For now, I stand in town- near Jade's shrine. A reminder of my 'finest' moment. Feh. Everyone cared when the sun blinked out, when the outside swelled and ate and infected the town, when metaphor and wrongness pervaded, when there was no hope and no light- but no one cared after. No one searched for why the sun had restarted. No one cared about that 'hero's sacrifice! No one loved or even THANKED the one who'd sacrificed their time
- <Dulcinea> and effort and part of their very BODY to bring that place back! Feh. No one cared. And why should I care? The people of this town, they aren't worth anything. They aren't worth my time. Perhaps a few. ... I stop my movements, settling down at the shrine, and stare. Up at the statues, and wreathes, and offerings to the dead Jade. ... Why should I care. I don't need thanks. I just need to do the job I'm here for.
- <Dulcinea> I... I don't need anything. Nothing at all.
- <Natalia> (So how much attention are we paying to intention rules here? Which might be a dumb question since we're playing the game and they're part of the game, but.)
- <Dulcinea> (Does that work for Slice of Life?)
- <Dulcinea> (Or, ah, did I overdo it again...)
- <Jasper_> I'm stood, broom in hand, staring wistfully up at the trees, with the sunlight streaking through. Technically there's a sun -everywhere-, I guess, but for some reason it seems to be on my mind a lot at the shrine. Or, maybe it's more the accusing maternal statues in the background. Accusing..? That feels like a bit of a mean thing to think about one's mother. Gah, I need to take
- <Jasper_> another walk to clear my head again, or- Oh! Someone new!
- <Jasper_> "Hey there!"
- <Jasper_> (Sorry; was just trying to think of a reasonable internal monologue)
- <Dulcinea> (IT's okay.)
- <Dulcinea> !!! I whip my head around all too fast, as I turn from the bench I'm sitting on- oh dear. Unfortunately, I appear to have miscalculated. If I am not mistaken, I am currently fall- OW. Yes. Correct. "Ah... hello."
- <HollyhockGod> I think that works for Slice of Life.
- <HollyhockGod> We're using the Intention rules, yeah, although how much they matter in practice is something we'll see.
- * Natalia has quit (*.net *.split)
- * Zegon has quit (*.net *.split)
- * Reynard has quit (*.net *.split)
- * Jasper_ has quit (*.net *.split)
- <Dulcinea> Well then.
- * Jasper_ (Spec@sorcery-169epd.cable.virginm.net) has joined
- * Zegon (Zegon@sorcery-22grg7.il.comcast.net) has joined
- * Reynard (Caoilainn@sorcery-7npp9g.user.start.ca) has joined
- * Natalia (Charlotte@sorcery-iit.jg8.209.173.IP) has joined
- <HollyhockGod> The Bleak attacks!
- <Natalia> (I was just thinking that I might need to burn some will to be good at baking but then I realized that The Prodigy probably lets me be perfect in baking 1-2 times a scene with absolutely no effort)
- <Jasper_> An appropriate time for extra mouths *nod*
- <Jasper_> [So I can slip an XP in any of my three quests, to be clear?]
- <Dulcinea> Just act natural. It's normal for nightmare scientists to be on the floor. Yes.
- <Dulcinea> (Emotion XP goes into a group pot that's split after, otherwise yes. IIRC.)
- <Jasper_> [Ah, aight, ta]
- <Dulcinea> (And quest XP goes to.. quests.
- <Jasper_> ...I really hope she's not hurt or something... "...Are you okay? You're still on the floor."
- * HollyhockGod remembers to put an XP in the pot for Dulcinea's Slice of Life.
- <Dulcinea> "... I'm fine." ... She noticed. My gambit to stay on the ground, pretending that this was perfectly fine, seems to have failed. So I slowly stand up, brushing off dust from my lab coat and shirt. "Mnn. Yes."
- <Natalia> (What was your scene idea, Reynard? Maybe we could have Natalia out on a delivery and meet you there if you needed to be somewhere)
- <Natalia> (Oh, also, if this channel has an owner so we can give ops, keeping the XP pot in the channel topic might be useful)
- <Jasper_> "Aha! I'm glad! I was worried you'd fallen and injured your back or broken your leg. I hear that's really easy to do if you fall from high enough!"
- * Jasper_ pauses at this juncture, before briefly looking up at the sun, estimating the distance, and shrugging.
- <Dulcinea> "Don't worry. I specifically caluculate all heights from which I fall, specifically to prevent things such as 'injury' from happening." I cough into my elbow, to punctuate my point.
- <Reynard> Reynard knitting and kind of drifting in and out cos sleepdeprived and OH THIS ISNT A CHRISTMAS SWEATER THIS IS A NIGHTMARISH VISION OF A PAST LIFE sweater WHAT HAPPENED, natalia coming across him, hijinks]
- <Jasper_> "Oh. Right!" I say, smiling blankly for a few seconds. "...Would you like to come into the shrine?"
- <Jasper_> Secretly, I'd kind of just like some company to stop me thinking about stuff and getting miserable and frustrated. That's not sunny. That's not sunny at all.
- <Reynard> in connection with the whole art shop and garden quest >.> assuming suspicious things can happen anywhere and not just in the art shop/cafe/garden/whatever]
- <Dulcinea> (Does everyone else know Jasper's her mom's daughter?)
- * Dulcinea blinks a few times. Mmn. Fleeing would probably be seen as 'rude' and cause problems later. So what should I do? Do I come in, and risk having to make small talk? ... Unfortunately, it seems that that's the case. So I nod once, and step into the shrine.
- <Dulcinea> "I suppose."
- * Jasper_ performs one of those happy claps. "Excellent! Would you like tea?"
- <Natalia> (Sounds good. Do we want to do that now and cross-play with Jasper and Dulcinea's scene?)
- <Dulcinea> (That would generally be how it goes, I think.)
- <Natalia> (I just wasn't sure if we were taking turns for clarity's sake or what)
- <Reynard> whichever sounds good!]
- <Reynard> idk if it'd make things Difficult or annoying for folk if um]
- <Dulcinea> "... Tea." Mmn. Tea is sometimes caffinated, and considering the amount of sleep I get... I can't sleep, so tea, coffee, and energy drinks have to do for my energy until I can no longer resist the urge to sleep at all, sometimes. Or else, I must depart far away from fortitude, and take a nice, long rest. And clean up the mess afterwards. "... Yes. Tea would suffice." I nod. It is a nod that conveys many things- acceptance, and yet,
- <Dulcinea> the sharp desire that I would rather be alone. Unfortunately, the layperson is only likely to be able to see one of these things, having not understood body language as well as the incomparable Dulcinea de Montreal.
- <Dulcinea> (IT's fine gosh)
- <Jasper_> [I don't mind. How much talking do I need to do the connections thing with Dulcinea though?]
- <Dulcinea> (The more RP the better)
- * Jasper_ lightly pats Dulcinea's shoulder. "Coming right up!" I say, cheerily, before heading through a door to busy myself. Dulcinea really -is- a funny fish; there's obviously something bothering them! It's not like I'd turn them down! Hmm, which teabag...
- * Natalia is walking down the street towards the archive, or wherever Reynard is, her hair blown dramatically by a wind off the lake, a basket loaded with pre-made and wrapped sandwiches held in front of her, a look far too intense for delivering food on her face. Finally, she arrives at the archive (or whatever) and knocks on the door, softly at first, but with increasing insistence and pace until she's rapidly pounding the
- * Natalia door, scowling with determination.
- <Dulcinea> Mmn. Jasper. A nice person, at least. Doesn't deserve someone like me. But at least they don't grate and whine and irk like some other people I could name. And they make nice tea. "Ah... tea." Tea isn't what I would normally drink, here... but it shall do.
- * Jasper_ returns with teatrays; a victory in anyone's eyes. "I don't know if you like sugar or milk, so I just got some of those little boxes with it in that you can pour." I say, sitting down adjacent to her.
- <Reynard> ACTION is nestled in a big fluffy chair in the foyer, skirts gathered around him like a mess of blankets, eyes half-lidded and laaaazily knitting *something.* (A sweater?) Well, he *was*. Until some *monster* jarred him right out of his little reverie. There's the sound of groggyfrantic apologies and heels on tile and soon enough, the great door flies open! "YeshellosorryI'mawakehowcanIhel--um," deeeeeeep breaths. "Um." He peers u
- <Reynard> "....how can I, um, howcanIhelpyou?" Yaaaa~wn. "I-I wasn't sleeping, honest! I, um....'sjust...."
- <Reynard> weh i hope i'm not overdoing this ;w; ]
- <Dulcinea> "Thank you." I take my cup of tea, and set it down next to me, before pouring... perhaps an unwise amount of sugar into the cup. Mmn. Sweet like sin. I take a sip, and find it... acceptible.
- <Natalia> (I think playing it up is a good idea! Have an emotion XP)
- <Natalia> (I'm having a big of trouble figuring out how to play up ridiculous tragedy in my current situation, but I'm sure that'll come soon. Though, maybe I could just push it.)
- <Jasper_> "Ooooh... That's a lot of sugar."
- <Reynard> perhaps your lack of BAKIN' BUDDIES is the real tragedy]
- <HollyhockGod> You could be stoic now, and keep your tragedy for when you're stalking the roofs at night.
- <Reynard> a cake baked alone is the saddest cake]
- <Reynard> desPOUNDent cake, if u will]
- * HollyhockGod groans.
- <Dulcinea> "Mmn. Yes. It is." Mmn... And that's another thing about Jasper. They claim to be the child of Jade Irinka, even to the point of taking the last name Irinka. Most people think that she's just getting really into worshipping Jade, but I? I wonder, really. Is that true? I would think taking the name of the person you worship to be sacrilige. No, I think she's the real deal. Though /what/ she is, is to be determined. I've tried not to
- <Dulcinea> mention anything about my... exploits with the sun. I'll let that come in time. "Mmn. Have you heard about the outside, lately?"
- * Natalia offers the basket she was holding. As she hands it over, it becomes clear that such was her dedication, her commitment to a safe sandwich delivery, that her grip on the wooden handle was cutting into her hand, a thin trickle of blood running down her wrist. In a low, flat voice, she announces. "Your order from Flour the Love of Bread has arrived."
- <Dulcinea> (are you sure you aren't playing Rinley? :v)
- * HollyhockGod groans again
- <Jasper_> "Do you mean outside, or Outside?"
- <Jasper_> "Because there's some lovely birds out today!"
- * Natalia quietly pulls a handkerchief from the pocket of her shorts and dabs at her hand before tying it around her palm.
- <Natalia> (And I'm gonna give Dulcinea speechlessness too, just to get into the habit of handing these out.)
- <Dulcinea> (I don't think I've really done anything de-speechifying lately :v)
- * Reynard gasp, eyes all wide! "H, h-hey! You're bleeding! Ishouldreally--...oh." He takes the basket with his free hand, juuuuuust a bit bewildered and worried. "...um....would you like some tea?"
- <Dulcinea> "Capitals, italics."
- <Dulcinea> "That one."
- * Reynard smallvoice. "....or disinfectant? F-for your hand? Or, um....oh, gosh...."
- <Natalia> (I felt like an elaborate internal monologue about the basic premise of another character was at least a bit on the way there)
- <Reynard> heehee]
- <Natalia> (I'm gonna say Natalia's taller than Reynard. That just feels right to me)
- <Jasper_> "Oh. Well, nothing especially recently..." I say, tilting my head back to scratch my chin. "I have wondered a little about it, lately, though. It's where my father... went. Is, I suppose."
- <Dulcinea> (I mean, if you want. :P)
- <Reynard> yeah! Reynard is tiiiiny.]
- <Dulcinea> "... Your father?" Mmn. Well. That's a question I should ask, before I tell her about my... Foibles. I suppose I should at least tell someone about all my work, but, her father? Her father's lost in the outside? Or is he one of the mad few that make it their home on purpose?
- * Natalia looks down at Reynard. "It is nothing." She looks away, clearly reflecting stoically on something, before looking back. "But, yes, disinfectant. And tea, if only for as long as it takes to disinfect."
- <Dulcinea> (Important question: What does Reynard wear)
- <Reynard> PAJAMAS]
- <Reynard> no]
- <Jasper_> "Oh, yes! You know; the Headmaster of the Bleak Academy?"
- <Dulcinea> ". . ."
- * Jasper_ blinks with doinks again. "...Are you okay?"
- <Dulcinea> No. Impossible. Impossible! This can't be, this isn't true- that's ludicrous! Sure, Jade was said to be- but no! No! It can't be, that man who naievely tried to kill me, and then settled for making me into a wicked, rotten thing- No! It's /impossible!/ "Ah." I say. ... I, I hope I/look/ as comfortable as I'm trying to, but I doubt it...
- * Jasper_ blinks, frowning. Oh no, I've uspet her. This isn't sunny at all! I reach over to rest my hand over hers, or on her shoulder, or... wherever's free and comforting. "Are you alright?"
- <Reynard> "A-ah, of course!" It just so happens that there's a little table and a number of similarly comfy chairs in the foyer, so Reynard yanks one over by the one he had been sitting in before, gesturing. "...um, i-if you don't mind waiting here, I'll, um...." The sweater gets unceremoniously tossed onto his chair, and then he's off, scurrying down some hall or another. [And it just so happens that, in the poor creature's rush to put the
- <Dulcinea> "YES!" I yell, staring directly at Jasper. "I AM PERFECTLY. FINE. YES." There. No dobut can be had! I , Dulcinea de Montreal, am /FINE./
- <HollyhockGod> It would probably be as well to wind this around to Shared Reactions somehow. We don't have to make too much progress on your friendship in Week 1.
- <Dulcinea> Someone born from him can only be tainted, can't they? They can only be foul, wrong- like me, I am wicked and wrong and- and surely, they must hide it, but they are too! No one could be PURE after this... No. I must. I must, I must /know./ A superior being like myself, we have /means/ to know such things!
- <Dulcinea> (Using SUPERIOR, a power from Glorious, the wound. Dulci wants to know if Jasper's being honest with them about being... nice, and kind, given their backstory- or if this is all some ploy from the Headmaster.)
- <Dulcinea> (I can CP the rules text, if you'd like)
- * Natalia lowers herself into the chair, and takes a deep breath as she puts pressure on her cut. It's a nice little room, and she leans back into the chair, closing her eyes, letting herself hum a little bit to a song she half-remembers, trying not to let the idleness nag at her.
- <Natalia> (And if this were in person, I'd hold up my At Peace sign.)
- <Dulcinea> (But after that's settled and Dulci knows- yep, they're not bein horrid- it'll probably go into Shared Reaction, yes.)
- <Jasper_> (I believe you! Jasper's serious about positive intentions here; she's probably pretty hard on herself about it but her worst feelings probably bottom out at confusion and frustration at the moment)
- <Jasper_> I put on my best frown. Fine, she says... But she doesn't -sound- or -look- very fine. She looks even more upset than she was before! "If you're not, that's okay!" I say, before smiling slightly, "Bad feelings are like wet books; if you leave them in they'll get crinkly and might get mouldy, but if you put them out in the sun it dries out quicker!"
- <Dulcinea> "I... I don't feel bad. I am fine, yes." ... She's not... she's not. She's not just some tool, thank goodness. She's... she's the real deal. Hrmph. What a fool, to try to show friendship to me. I am not a person who has 'friendships'. I do not take well to them. Hrmph. But fine. As it may be. I simply nod to Jasper, and sigh. I should at least tell her a bit. "If I am... honest, my work may have been causing me some stress lately."
- <Dulcinea> I can't tell her about why I was stressed- but perhaps I can tell her something else.
- <Natalia> (Reynard, just checking, your last post cut off at: [And it just so happens that, in the poor creature's rush to put the )
- <Reynard> oh, sorry D: ]
- <Natalia> (I'm guessing there was more to that, but I don't know if you realized it and waiting for a response from me)
- <Reynard> [And it just so happens that, in the poor creature's rush to put the tea on and fish out the first aid supplies, that the way he tossed the sweater aside, well....it is *festive*, huh? It's *like* a christmas sweater, except the colours are all wrong and the reindeer have eyes of stars and antlers of moonlight and santa's a sliiiiiiiightly unsettling witchlady and....ohdear.]
- <Jasper_> And my smile gets more natural and relaxed immediately! A little kindness fixes everything. "What's wrong with work?" I say taking a sip.
- <Reynard> i guess this is me putting up the Suspicious sign >.> ]
- * Natalia opens her eyes, and the song she was humming trails off as she looks at the sweater. "Oh. Ohh. Hm." She isn't quite sure what to make of that. This boy is perhaps stranger than he initially seemed.
- * Reynard eventually scurries right back into the foyer, bottle of disinfectant and a bit of gauze and bandages bundled in her arms! [And promptly pales a little as he realises he left *that* on display.] "A-ah!" (Cue awkward laugh.) "So, I, um, I'lljust, um..." He practically throws himself into the chair beside her, trying his best to cover *that* up, and sets the supplies are on the table.
- * Reynard starts to tend to her wound if allowed, fussing and wiping and bandaging and such! "The tea won't be ready for a few minutes, so, aah..." Fret, fret, deep in thought for a moment. "...so, um, if you want to stay a little longer....I-I mean, I'd like you to stay a bit! For, um. I-important bakery reasons. I mean, sandwich reasons! I mean, I-I have an order of, um....what do people usually order at sandwich shops?"
- <Dulcinea> "Mmn. Not work, but Work. It goes back to what I was saying earlier. Have you noticed... near the lake, especially, the outside has come in? The dusts of the outside whipping in, the foolish sailors calling it an omen- no , it may foretell sometning, but Omens are simply superstition! No, my /work/ is to find the reason for that, to drag the fragments of TRUTH out into the open, to seal and reinforce the town! Truly, the lake CALLS
- <Dulcinea> to me, for I am the ONLY one capable of fixing such a thing! For it is true, no other man or woman has even saw foot to attempt! No! For I, the Incomparable, Wonderful DULCINEA DE MONTREAL am the only one capable of fixing this! I am the one destined to save this place, ONCE AGAIN! I, Me, I!" ... "And this is a bit stressful. It's hard work, you know." I cough, and make a little 'ahem' noise.
- <Jasper_> [Okay, definitely speechless there]
- * Jasper_ is speechless as Dulcinea rants.
- <Natalia> Natalia hold out her hand, creating a scene that somewhat echoes the mouse pulling the thorn from the lion's paw. She lets Reynard speak, and then responds after a short, cold pause. "Sandwiches?"
- <Natalia> (And I'm going to hold up my Touched sign now. I think Reynard dressing Natalia's stupid pointless cut is a good trigger for that)
- <Jasper_> But after a few seconds there's another smile and headtilt. "Well, looking after the Big Lake is important; it was where I landed, and I know a lot of friends there! I'm sure they'd all be grateful for your work. Plus, it must be nice having a really clear idea of what you're striving for..." I say, glancing off to the side a little wistfully, before looking back, "But... At the
- <Jasper_> same time, it's unfortunate it's stressful. Would it be possible to help if you had more assistance."
- <Dulcinea> "Mmn. FOr the moment, I have found very little, and considering the due emotional distress of going out to the lake, this irks. I cannot simply stand by, however. I... I need to do this."
- <Dulcinea> "... Perhaps. A bit of help could be... possible, yes."
- <Reynard> i-is sandwiches very possibly like genuinely being a foreign concept to reynard too dumb :ohdear: ]
- <Jasper_> "Hmm... What kind of investigation are you doing?"
- <Natalia> (Hmm. I mean, he probably has Miramie's memories from when she tried to kill the world, or at least her good ones? Unless she cast off so much of herself that Reynard is just genuinely a 100% naive person now)
- <Dulcinea> "Now. Mmn." I look up at the statue of Jade, and shiver. Why her? If anything, removing my heart should have staved off my death. But no. All that I have seen, in my dreams- that which calls me to die. Jade Irinka. ... And here I am, willingly going along with her daughter, like a fool. But... perhaps it is nessecary. "Scientific. Currently, I'm collecting data in an effort to find the breach in the walls of Town and the
- <Dulcinea> Outside. The lake, being that it connects to many places, is naturally a place where these walls are weaker. But I have to find the exact spot on the lake where the breaches are, and... I am not good with water."
- <Dulcinea> "If.. you would like to help me with the third or fourth most important endeavor I have taken on.. I would not object."
- <Jasper_> "Ah! Well, I'm probably not much help with science, but I know a lot of sailors down by big lake!"
- <Dulcinea> "As an assistant only, you understand."
- <Dulcinea> "... That would help, yes. Though I have been tempted to construct a boat..."
- * Jasper_ smiles. "Sure. I'm always happy to help."
- <Dulcinea> Scientists don't smile. Wicked people don't smile. I don't have the happiness that clouds the hearts of lesser men. But still. If I did, this is where I would. Just for a moment.
- <Dulcinea> (Shared Reaction?)
- <Jasper_> (I'm good for that!)
- * Reynard nods excitedly! "Y, yeah! Sandwiches! Lots of sandwiches! But, um....but, we can talk about that later! Teatime isn't for worrying about work! So...." [Fret, fret. Cue a bunch of fumbling and flailing and Not Being Good At This and eventually working up to--] "...so how's, um, life?"
- * HollyhockGod hands out 2 XP for a mutual Shared Reactions.
- <Dulcinea> (And now we faaaade out for a bit, I believe.)
- <Dulcinea> (Since that scene's mostly settled anyways.)
- * Jasper_ collects the cups. "Well; for now, I need to do the washing up... I assume you've got stuff to do..?"
- >nickserv< help group
- -NickServ- Syntax: group [target] [password]
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- This command makes your nickname join the target nickname's
- -NickServ- group. password is the password of the target nickname.
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- Joining a group will allow you to share your configuration,
- -NickServ- memos, and channel privileges with all the nicknames in the
- -NickServ- group, and much more!
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- A group exists as long as it is useful. This means that even
- -NickServ- if a nick of the group is dropped, you won't lose the
- -NickServ- shared things described above, as long as there is at
- -NickServ- least one nick remaining in the group.
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- You may be able to use this command even if you have not registered
- -NickServ- your nick yet. If your nick is already registered, you'll
- -NickServ- need to identify yourself before using this command.
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- It is recommended to use this command with a non-registered
- -NickServ- nick because it will be registered automatically when
- -NickServ- using this command. You may use it with a registered nick (to
- -NickServ- change your group) only if your network administrators allowed
- -NickServ- it.
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- You can only be in one group at a time. Group merging is
- -NickServ- not possible.
- -NickServ-
- -NickServ- Note: all the nicknames of a group have the same password.
- <Jasper_> (Yeah, I think Jasper's going to finish cleaning and stuff)
- >nickserv< group Neopie cefalu
- -NickServ- You are now in the group of Neopie.
- * NickServ sets mode +r on Dulcinea
- >nickserv< identify ****
- -NickServ- You are already identified.
- >chanserv< register
- -ChanServ- Syntax: REGISTER channel [description]
- -ChanServ- /msg ChanServ HELP REGISTER for more information.
- >chanserv< register #thenetbreedsdreams Chuubogame
- -ChanServ- You must be a channel operator to register the channel.
- <Dulcinea> "Mmn. Yes. I'll meet you out there later today?"
- * Jasper_ stands back up with a pleasant beam. "Sure thing!"
- <Jasper_> [Is it also kosher to use the Connecting power after that chat?]
- <Natalia> Natalia looks away. "Life is... I came to this town not very long ago, and I still do not understand it. It seems like a good place. It is not as cold here as I am used to. I work in the bakery at day, and at night, I try to murder a snake." Her speech is slow, but precise.
- <HollyhockGod> I don't see why not!
- <Jasper_> [In which case I'll bind to exploring the lake with something like sailing or swimming for a superior skill?]
- <Dulcinea> (Sure. Don't forget some sort of physical change to fit with that/Leo)
- <HollyhockGod> That seems reasonable.
- <Jasper_> (Willing to take advice on the change, can't think of anything good for sailing. Gills for swimming maybe?)
- <Reynard> "O...h. Um." Fidget, fidget. The witch doesn't make eye contact. [Luckily, saved by the bell. Or in this case, a kettle-whistle.] "Oh!" In a flash of motion and a flurry of fabric, Reynard is off, eventually coming back with a tray! It's old and ornate and almost looks like a *part* of this place, and there's an arrangement of two teacups and saucers of milk and cream and sugar and....if nothing else, Reynard is serious about tea.
- <Dulcinea> (The same way Dulci wears elaborate scientific protective goggles in her hair, maybe diving goggles?)
- <Jasper_> (Everyone who isn't a monster is serious about tea)
- <Jasper_> (That works!)
- <Dulcinea> (Since, yanno, normal health level change)
- <Jasper_> (Yeah, probably not a huge feature)
- <HollyhockGod> Okay, so let's work this around to Shared Reactions, too.
- <HollyhockGod> Possibly involving you being mutually suspicious or something, since you're our two suspicious characters.
- <Natalia> (That sounds good)
- * Reynard sets the tray down on the [I say little, but it's somehow spacious enough to accommodate both the tray and the first aid supplies!] table, gesturing. "Here, um.....the only tea we had is this weird stuff Dr. Hayashi always buys." There's a sullen little mumble. "It tastes like library boo--...not that there's anything wrong with tea tasting like library books! I-I mean, um, it's not so bad, once you get used to it..."
- <Reynard> okay!]
- <Reynard> I-I mean. Maybe that snake's just misunderstood!]
- * Natalia pours herself a cup of tea and takes a long sip. She mumbles, "Hmmmm." as she looks away, looking at Reynard out of the corner of her eye. What strange tea. What a strange person.
- <Natalia> (So, I feel like I've reached a point where I'm sort of confident that Natalia's personal soundtrack is Elliot Smith during the day, and maybe something like the Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei openings at night. Like, going from sullen and reflective to heavy and frantic)
- <Reynard> ACTION scoops sugar into his tea, siiiiiiip. [Aaaaah. Now he's awake again!] Awake, and....andmaybealittleintimidated. Something about Natalia was....she didn't strike Reynard as being the average purveyor of sandwiches and such! There was something...not quite menacing, but something that made him wonder and worry and wait, what if that snake was a Good Snake or just a bit misunderstood or otherwise? Oh gosh, it's a little worryi
- <Reynard> did that cut off ;w; ]
- <Reynard> and, ooh? ]
- <HollyhockGod> Just after "worryi"
- <Reynard> Oh gosh, it's a little worrying, a little questionable that she'd say it so casually and expect him to be all oh-okay-that's-what-you-DO-with-snakes and.....
- <Natalia> (And it sounds like a good time to wrap it with a shared reaction, maybe)
- <Reynard> Yep.]
- <Dulcinea> (Oh! I was talking about Dulci's work at the lake earlier- that's a chapter option for their quest, can I grab XP for that?)
- <Natalia> (And just to contextualize that soundtrack thing, in case people don't have my exact musical range, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psLhTyj1sAY and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBocOfKYraY )
- <Jasper_> (Hm; would you say that offering a hand with Dulc's thing was worth the 'ting XP from Light of Hope?)
- <Dulcinea> (Yep.)
- <HollyhockGod> Dulcinea: Sure.
- <HollyhockGod> How can we work this scene around to a Shared Reactions, then?
- <Jasper_> Aww yis, ting XP
- <Dulcinea> (... And reluctantly allowing others to get involved with it, come to think. Is the 1/chapter 1/chapter/option or 1/chapter total on all of those?)
- <Jasper_> (Actually where do bonus XP go as well?)
- <Reynard> eek, just a sec ]
- <HollyhockGod> 1/chapter, for simplicity's sake.
- <Dulcinea> (XP from XP emotions: Whatever you want. XP from quests: That quest. XP from XP emotions, when that pool's divied out, wherever.)
- <Dulcinea> (Alright.)
- <Natalia> (Hmm. Maybe Natalia could ask about the sweater that Reynard was working on, and that way they could each have had a little time to go "This is the horrible thing that is part of my brain right now")
- <Dulcinea> (Since everyone's about used up their per chapter XP, we can probably say Jasper and Dulci didn't get much of anywhere getting data/sailing out on the lake- oh, and they could go up to the Archive for research material , to maybe meet up with the others, next week?)
- * Natalia looks back. "That sweater you were working on. I don't dislike it. It's a curious thing." She leaves the question unsaid, but definitely implies by her pointed glance at Reynard
- <Reynard> sorry, someone was at the front door ;w; ]
- <HollyhockGod> Dulcinea: I think it's reasonable to assume that we'll follow up on that as part of the second round of XP actions.
- <Dulcinea> (Alright.)
- <Natalia> (Also, this might just be a 'this is how I picture it' thing rather than a 'this is an actual thing' thing, but I have a strong inclination to say that if this was an anime, Natalia's adventures on the far rooftops would have strong elements of stylistic weirdness to them. Like, say, witches' barriers from Madoka Magica, where the medium changes a little in addition to just design style)
- <Dulcinea> (That's more of a tehcno thing, but I gotcha.)
- <Jasper_> (It does sound cool
- * Reynard kind of startles and *yelps*. "O-oh! Eheh. Um. That. Um. Idon'tknowanythingaboutimeanitwasjustoneofthosepatternsfrom--" And then he trails off! "From, y'know, um...."
- <Dulcinea> (Or you could probably just handle it as a Ritual)
- <HollyhockGod> Or just a very odd Slice of Life, since the actual adventuring isn't the focus in a Pastoral game.
- <Natalia> I've never seen a pattern like that. It fascinates me, I think.
- <Natalia> (Yeah. I figure it'd either be weird slices of life, or be in trouble actions.)
- <Reynard> "W...well, it's, um, it's a Christmas sweater! A totally normal, um....yeah! Y, /Yeah./" It's less a declaration than a meek little request to take him at his word.
- * Natalia nods slowly, maybe knowingly, maybe just feigning that she knows something. "Yes. A normal Christmas sweater."
- <Reynard> Wrap it up here, or? ]
- <HollyhockGod> Let's call that Shared Reactions, then.
- <HollyhockGod> That's a full round of XP Actions, which unfortunately is all I have time for tonight, but I think it gives us the shape of things.
- <HollyhockGod> Hopefully on a night when I can give a full three hours we'll be able to get through two rounds, and thus a full chapter, or even more, once we get used to it.
- <Natalia> Cool, that sounds good.
- <Reynard> Thanks for running this!
- <Natalia> Yeah, definitely
- <Reynard> a-also sorry i hope i didn't overdo stuff or kind of meander ;w;
- <Dulcinea> Ah, alright.
- <Jasper_> It was definitely fun!
- <Dulcinea> Anyways, let's split the pot, then?
- <Jasper_> Though I might need help with quest XP and arcs and stuff going forward
- <HollyhockGod> Yeah, the pot splits evenly so everybody gets 1 XP to apply as they like.
- <Jasper_> Ahhh
- <HollyhockGod> It's normal for things to go slowly at first. Once everybody develops relationships with everybody else it will be easier.
- <HollyhockGod> I mean, you kind of picked the four most socially-awkward and introverted characters, so it's normal.
- <Jasper_> Huh, really?
- <HollyhockGod> But we'll whip you into a Pastoral Adventure Squad yet!
- <Jasper_> I'd have thought Jasper would've been more socially outgoing, given she's got a remit to glue herself onto any problem that presents itself
- <HollyhockGod> Well, Jasper's not introverted, but she is currently pretty awkward.
- <Dulcinea> I would have played Chuubo if I realized no one else was going to. :P
- <Jasper_> I think we were expecting more people
- <Dulcinea> Quest status: 4/40 in Outside, 0/25 hidden library, 1/15 Natural Scientist
- <Dulcinea> Well, our Rinley was mia :v
- <Dulcinea> And also was a more depressing Rinley than normal too
- <Natalia> Yeah
- <HollyhockGod> Yeah, everybody please post your quest statuses to the thread just for convenience.
- <Jasper_> I think I got two XP overall but I'm debating where to put my other one
- <Jasper_> I should probably put it in sunny since that's the only thing I did this time
- <Natalia> I ended up putting mine in Thaw Your Heart just because I can foresee getting 35 XP one at a time being absolutely brutal
- <Dulcinea> Well, Dulci was probably super /grateful/ for Jasper's help, even if they'd never admit it
- <Dulcinea> So take an emotion XP for that :v
- <Jasper_> Mmm
- <Jasper_> Maybe the same with my mystic arc
- <Natalia> So putting genre/emotion XP in there is probably the intended thing
- <Jasper_> Yeah I'll probably put mine there
- <HollyhockGod> We can alter quest XP requirements if our pace is brutally slow.
- <Reynard> does Thaw Your Heart not have any of the um
- <Reynard> 'do x, get 5xp' things?
- <HollyhockGod> The proper length for IRC or PbP campaigns wasn't really playtested because it would take years.
- <Dulcinea> Well, IRC should /theoretically/ be somewhat like live games
- <Dulcinea> It'll pick up as we get used to it, I think.
- <Natalia> Reynard: Nope, it's just one at a time
- <HollyhockGod> It's faster than PbP but there are different social constraints. Especially since you can't tell if someone else is going to step up to a prompt if you don't.
- <Dulcinea> clearly, we should make this a skype game :v
- <Dulcinea> But fair enough
- <Jasper_> Yeah, the latter is big
- <Dulcinea> (I was joking, with my family situation no fucking way I'm going to be doing MAD SCIENCE RANTS. I'd annoy someone. >>)
- <Reynard> ohno?
- <Dulcinea> ANd yeah, true
- <Dulcinea> Nothing big I just have like a million people in my house :v
- * Reynard is gonna post her thing in a little bit if it's okay x: kinda feeling wugh and need to lie down
- <Natalia> Alright! Feel better
- <Jasper_> Yeah, take it easy
- <HollyhockGod> Sure, sure.
- * HollyhockGod is now known as RandBrittain
- * Natalia is now known as Charlotte
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