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Post by empireoffire on Feb 22, 2018 19:42:18 GMT -6
Alright, look. Justice continually gets screwed on support votes. Every. Single. Time. He's also the only one who puts in the work to do strategy stuff. Yeah, he coulda said all that stuff in a less prickish way. But you both decided to respond as assholes instead of taking the high road or even just trying to meet halfway. I don't care about any meaningless "high road", if someone's going to be a jerk about an ultimately petty subject, then I'm going to answer with a response I feel they deserve. I would've gladly met halfway -- most of my support votes include a few of other people's suggestions because I want everyone to have some kind of share -- but only if they were civil about it. Since he so clearly isn't, I went the opposite direction. You called someone's ship "garbage" and "stupid" despite this particular vote having nothing to advance, impede, or otherwise have anything to do with it, threatened to quit if you don't have your way while saying we'll get everyone killed without your clearly expert guidance, and displayed nothing but rudeness instead of calmly discussing what you feel should be done and why, and attempting to politely convince us. That's not "reasonable", that's wanting everyone to mindlessly vote for what you wantn which you're already getting in half the game. It was relevant. I'm getting screwed over in battle because of non battle choices. Harv has become completely unusable, the party balance is completely out of whack, and all of the supports are stacked on Lily and Gale unevenly because of a ship war or some **** like that. Also, I fail to see how me quitting is a threat to anyone. I was telling you I didn't want to be involved if that's how things were going. That's got nothing to do with threats. It's just an explanation for me leaving when this ultimately ends in everyone pushing me aside again. And yeah, I did say you'd all get everyone killed without me. Because the past trend is when I'm not around, things start going to ****. You can't argue with facts. And you clearly all recognize it because nobody has made any attempt at making plans aside from me. Not even a suggestion. Or, heaven forbid, we care about this little thing called "story", and thus are more compelled to see more of characters we like, or see interactions that seem interesting, rather than flood characters we don't care about (in my case, Harv) with bonuses because of stats. I personally haven't said anything during combat partly because I don't feel like I fully grasp the system and felt more confident back when we had multiple choice, mostly because I'm more interested in the story aspect. If it'd get you off your high horse of entitlement, though, I'll gladly start throwing in my two cents. |
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Post by SpringForest on Feb 22, 2018 19:59:04 GMT -6
I don't mind if you pick a few supports for fun. Even I do that. But there's a severe lack of even distribution that ****s me over. Don't like Harv? Fine, don't give him supports. I won't use him. But when all I can use are three or four units at a time because only they have proper supports and class changes, I get ****ed over pretty fast.
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Post by SummerCrow on Feb 24, 2018 14:46:20 GMT -6
Alright, now that it's been a few days it's time to put on the big-boy pants and move on again. Since people can't just be civil, you're all going to PM me your votes for supports! Starting right now. I'm ignoring all the previous votes here.
Except for Violet. Violet's fine.
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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 3, 2018 3:13:51 GMT -6
This turned out super-well, once I finally got all the votes in. I'm gonna stick with this method from here on.
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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 10, 2018 0:12:41 GMT -6
"I'm not going to be any crueler than I need to," Lily says.
"Ha... haha. Just try me. Some prissy little princess can't put me through worse than I've already seen!" Amy boasts.
"Shut up. I've already knocked you out once, I'm already worried about looking at you too hard. For a manakete, you're pathetically weak," Lily taunts.
"Someday, you're going to regret not just killing me," Amy sneers.
"We'll see."
"I can't watch this. Excuse me, Princess..." Isana mutters. She slinks out of the room silently.
Lily stares after her, then sighs. "Hawke. Go make sure she's alright," Lily orders. She looks at the expression on his face. "She's disarmed, injured, and chained up. I'll be fine for a few minutes."
"...As you command, Princess," Hawke says. He marches after her.
He finds her outside in the alley, leaning against the wall and absently tracing a pattern in the sand. "...Hello," she says.
"Hey," Hawke answers.
The two stare at each other for a moment, then Isana goes back to staring at the ground. "Did you need something?"
"The princess was worried about you and wanted me to check on you."
"I thought as much." Isana closes her eyes, then smiles at Hawke. "Tell her I'm fine."
"Will I be lying?" Hawke asks.
"Who can say? Even if it's untrue, though, you wouldn't be lying. I'd be lying through you."
Hawke scowls. "Lying comes as easily to you as breathing, hm?"
"Indeed. Lying's a great way to stay alive if you aren't great at fighting. Even when I fight I rely on feints and fake openings." Isana shrugs. "I'm going to take a walk around the city. That should make me feel better."
"If you aren't back by sundown, I'll come looking for you."
"Oh? Afraid I might turn traitor?"
"I'm afraid you might get lost. Or abducted. We can't be sure what sort of unsavory types may be around."
"Your concern is touching," Isana says. She strolls off.
Hawke returns to report to Lily.
Isana decides to head to the town gate and wander into the desert. She marches out a few hundred feet until she finds a decent spot in the sand, then flops onto her back and closes her eyes. "So warm..."
She's awoken a few minutes later by the flapping of wings kicking up a small gust of sand. She sits up, choking and spitting.
"Sorry!" Storm says. "Are you alright, Isana? I saw you lying here and thought... well, I'm not sure what I thought exactly, but I assumed something had happened."
"No, I was just napping. I'm still tired from all of my injuries, and that fight exhausted me," Isana explains.
"It would be safer to sleep in the inn, wouldn't it?"
"Perhaps. But... I just don't want to be there right now. Besides, all this sand reminds me of my home."
"Home, huh. Y'know, I just realized I don't really know much about you. I just assumed you were born and raised in Regna Ferox."
"Nope!" Isana says.
"So... where are you from, then?" Storm asks.
"That... is a secret," Isana teases.
"Why? I'm curious," Storm asks. "I'd like to know a bit more about you."
"Hmmm..." Isana considers for a moment. "Alright, I'll tell you. If you'll let me ride your pegasus over the town for a bit."
"Deal," Storm says. "Hop on."
He helps Isana climb onto his mount and the pair fly over the city for a few moments. Isana stares down in awe. "It's been a long time since I've gotten to fly, though I'm more used to dragons than pegasi."
"You mean wyverns?" Storm asks. "Wait, are you saying you're from Terranus? That's about the only place a non-soldier could have found them other than Carcina..."
"Actually, I'm from Valeria. Same as you."
"Huh? But... You said that sand reminded you of home?"
"Oh, a sand dune and a snow bank feel pretty similar. Just warm instead of cold!" Isana giggles. "Could you drop me off here? I need to get some supplies in case we head into the desert. You should probably get a robe and headdress yourself."
"Ah... You think so?" Storm asks.
Isana nods. "This store can probably help you." She points over Storm's shoulder. When he turns to look, Isana turns and starts to walk off. She raises her hand and waves. "See you later!"
"Bye..." Storm says. He walks into the store and is surprised to find Rakim in here, trying on a robe himself.
Rakim notices him and nods. "Sir Storm."
"Hello, Rakim. Where's Janice?"
Janice waddles out from a fitting room wearing a white robe, complete with a headdress and sandals. She clutches at the robe and tugs on it awkwardly. Rakim bends down to help her adjust it. "I wanted to make sure she'd be ready in case we had to slip off into the desert."
"Heh. You're starting to really take on the role of a guardian," Storm says.
"...Yes, well. It's the least I can do, considering how much I ruined her life."
Storm's smile fades. "Ah... Right. Sorry."
"There's no need to apologize. You've done nothing wrong," Rakim says.
"You don't..." Storm begins.
Rakim cuts him off. "I merely had the misfortune of choosing the wrong employer and took too long to correct my mistake."
"...That's probably a good way to think about it," Storm says.
"I still owe this little one my protection. At least until I can find a proper home for her."
Storm and Rakim's conversation trails off. Janice looks between the two of them, she seems to sense the tension in the air.
"S-so, could you give me a hand with the robes?" Storm asks awkwardly.
"Sure," Rakim agrees. He helps Storm select an outfit that fits over his armor. Storm pays for it, then heads out.
As Storm walks out, Quinn walks in. He finds Rakim kneeling down and explaining to Janice. "Make sure you wear your hat whenever you're outside, alright?" Rakim says. "Otherwise you'll get a sunburn very easily. It will also keep the sand out of your eyes."
"...Kay..." Janice nods.
"You're taking her with us?" Quinn asks incredulously.
"I can't leave her here," Rakim says.
"But it's dangerous out in the desert," Quinn says.
"It's no less dangerous here, especially once people come looking for that dragon," Rakim counters. "Besides, I have experience traveling in Terranus."
"If you say so... But the desert isn't the only threat. What if we fall under attack again?" Quinn asks.
"I have faith in the princess. We won't fail. Even if something happens to me, I'm sure someone will take my job of watching over Janice. Am I wrong?"
Janice waddles over and grabs Quinn's tail. "Uncle... Quinn."
"...Ugh. Yeah, but it would be easier to just make sure nothing happens to you..."
"Kuuuuurt, I'm bored," Gale complains.
"What, just because Lily's... busy?" Kurt says.
"Maybe... Kind of?" Gale answers.
"So what do you expect me to do about it?" Kurt demands.
"Are you familiar with this town at all?"
"Not really, no."
"Great! Let's go for a walk together," Gale says. "Anywhere."
"You're acting weird, Gale. What's going on?"
Gale's ears twitch and she winces. "Let's go. Quickly."
"...Oh. Right. Yeah, let's go. Lily will send for us if she needs us."
The two of them wander through town, eventually ending up near the docks. They find Harv wandering around, talking to various merchants.
"Excuse me for a moment," Kurt says. "I need to see a man about a horse, as they say. You want to go check on Harv?"
Gale nods and jogs over. "Hey, Harv. What're you up to?"
"Ah, greetin's, me lagomorphic mate," Harv says.
"Er?" Gale mutters.
"Yer, uh, ears. And tail? And fur? Like a rabbit."
"Yes? I'm a taguel. We're like rabbits. It's not a secret. But what's 'lagomorphic' mean?"
"It means like a rabbit." Harv explains.
"Why didn't you just say it like that?"
"Force o' habit. Wanna help me shop for a bit? Gotta find new stock t' buy 'n' ship 'n' sell. I can usually get better prices when I've got a cute girl wit' me."
"You want to use me?" Gale asks. She pouts.
"Jeez... When ya put it that way, I sound kinda awful, huh...?" Harv says.
"I'm just teasing you. Of course I'll help!" Gale says. "I help Dad with shopping sometimes, but I've never shopped in Terranus. This is going to be interesting."
"Are you well, Carin?" Sorina asks.
"Ah! Y-yes, of course," Carin squeaks. "I took a few scrapes in that battle, but nothing serious. How did things go on your end?"
"There wasn't any trouble. The enemy was completely distracted with you."
"Oh... That's... great! Great, really. I'm glad," Carin stutters.
"I'm sorry," Sorina says. "I should've been there to protect you."
Carin shakes her head violently. "No, no. We all have our parts to play. I can't ask you to always be at my side. Even if you do make me feel safe..."
"I'm glad to hear that, but I still worry about you. I know you don't like fighting, but I'd feel safer if you learned enough to defend yourself."
"I started using offensive magic..." Carin reminds her.
"Good! And we're going to keep practicing until you stop worrying me."
"Fair enough. But... first, I need to go check on Stella, OK?"
"Huh? Ah, sure. I think I saw her upstairs."
"Thanks. I'll be back in a bit." Carin walks up the stairs and shortly finds the blue-furred cat laguz dozing in a seat illuminated by beam of light streaming through a window. "Stella?"
"Rrk! Mmph. Nrrrrgh..." Stella mumbles as she starts stretching.
"Are you OK? You got hurt pretty bad," Carin calls out.
"I'm fine," Stella promises. "Just a scratch, really."
"You almost died!" Carin protests.
"Mrrrrrow. I said I was fine," Stella grumbles. "I've had worse."
"No you haven't," Carin says "Liar."
"Hmph. You're perceptive, for a beorc," Stella admits. "But I'm not stupid. Tell me what's really bothering you.
"...I dunno. I don't like fighting, I guess. That's why I became a healer. But... But those enemies were everywhere! We couldn't get away from them. They were targeting us specifically!"
"Yeah? And?" Stella demands.
"...And... it was scary?" Carin mutters meekly.
"Ha! I laugh in the face of danger!" Stella places her hands on her hips. "We healers need to be prepared! We're high-priority targets! Don't worry, Carin! I'll teach you how to fight. In the meantime, stick close and I'll keep them safe!"
"...OK."
Lily slumps over her dinner, eating slowly. Almost everyone else has already gone to bed, other than a few left to take shifts guarding the prisoner. Judoc pokes his head in and notices her moping.
"What's wrong, Princess Lily?" Judoc asks.
"Ah? Ah..." Lily adjusts her posture and sits up. "I'm fine, Judoc."
"It's a bit too late to hide it from me now, Princess." Judoc walks in and takes a seat. "So, what's wrong?"
Lily stares down at her plate and doesn't answer.
"You, uh... don't have as much of a stomach for the whole torture thing as you thought, do you?"
"...Sometimes we have to dole out harsh punishments," Lily says.
"I see... But it's not always easy, huh. Gotta be honest, I'm glad I'm not in your shoes," Judoc admits.
Lily snorts. "I've heard that once or twice before. But more often the opposite."
Judoc starts to respond, then pauses. "...Sorry?"
"It's not your fault." Lily sighs and puts her spoon down. "It'd probably be easier if she didn't look so much like me."
"Do you... want someone else to do it?" Judoc asks.
"Are you offering?"
"...No."
Lily closes her eyes. "I want to finish my dinner alone, please. Could you do me a favor and keep anyone else out until I'm finished?"
"Yeah, I can do that much..."
Lily steels herself and heads back downstairs to spend some more time with her prisoner before bed.
The manakete, suspended by chains around her wrists, looks up as she enters the room. "Ha... And here I thought we were done for the day."
"What gave you that idea?" Lily responds. This woman... Lily soon realized there was a reason for the long dress she was wearing. Her body is covered in dozens of scars of various sizes and ages. Her fake brand is tattooed on the back of her hand.
"You ran off so suddenly last time," Amy says mockingly. "Don't have the stomach for this sort of thing?"
Lily's mouth tightens. She grabs a dagger from her belt. "I will do whatever must be done." She walks up and stabs it into her thigh.
Amy chokes back a gasp, grinding her teeth together in a furious snarl. She tries to kick out at Lily with her other leg, but Lily grabs her ankle. She rips the dagger free and holds it up threateningly. Amy whimpers, blood now pouring down her leg.
"Oh, it sounds like you're starting to understand your position," Lily says.
"D-damn you..."
"That's 'damn you, Princess,'" Lily corrects her. She stabs into Amy's foot this time. "Now. I'm going to have a healer make sure you don't die, then I'm going to go to bed. And I suggest you use that time to think very carefully about what you want to tell me when I wake up. Because, like I said, I'm not going to be any crueler than I need. But that also means I won't be any nicer. Do you understand?"
Amy looks away.
Lily pulls the dagger free, then presses the edge against one of Amy's toes. "I said 'do you understand?'" She presses hard enough to draw blood.
"...Yes," Amy says. And then she screams as Lily slices.
"Yes what?" Lily demands.
Amy gasps for breath.
Lily reaches up and grabs her cheeks, fury in her eyes. "I said 'yes what!?' Or should I take a finger, too?"
"Y-y... Ye-yes, P... Yes, P-Princess..." Amy says, tears in her eyes.
"That's better. Now. I'm not asking for much. A little respect, for one. And I want to know who you are, where you came from, and why you want me dead. And you're going to tell me those three things as soon as I wake up, or I'm just going to keep ratcheting up the pain. Do you understand?"
"...Y-yes, Prin... cess..." Amy mutters.
"Good." Lily turns and storms out of the room. She pauses to order Carin to treat her. "I cut to the bone, but you should still be able to save it. Be kind and caring while you treat her, understand?"
"Y-yes, of course..." Carin mutters.
"Good," Lily repeats. She sets up a rotation of guards, then storms off to bed.
She's awoken by a pounding on the door before the sun rises.
"Princess! The prisoner's escaped!" Kurt calls.
"...Of course..." Lily spits out. She rolls out of bed. "Send Storm and Hawke out immediately!"
"Right! You need to head downstairs!" Kurt calls out. Lily can hear him running down the hall to carry out her commands.
Lily makes sure her nightgown is decent, straightens her hair, then steps out into the hall. She makes her way downstairs, racking her brain to think of how she might have escaped. She finds a trio of Sorina, Levi, and Judoc outside the entrance to the cellar. Sorina and Judoc are half-asleep, like they're in a daze. And then Lily guesses what happened. As Storm and Hawke fly off overhead, Lily marches over. "Where's Isana?"
"Inside," Levi says. Her points his tail towards the cellar door as he helps Sorina up.
Lily is surprised. "You already caught her?"
"Not exactly..."
"Princess, I'm sor-" she says.
"You were drugged," Lily interrupts. She throws open the doors and steps into the dimly lit basement.
She's surprised to find Isana, sitting on the floor with Amy's chains wrapped around her. "Hello, Master..." she says meekly.
Lily is surprised. "Why are you...?"
"...I'm sure you know I'm the one who let her go," Isana says softly. "I thought about running with her, but..."
"...But what?" Lily asks.
Isana looks down and doesn't answer. "I... don't know."
"You're trying to distract us so your friend can escape," Lily accuses.
Isana winces. "N-no, I just... It didn't feel right. After all I've already done to you. So I... came back. And... chained myself up. So you'd...know I wasn't going to try to escape."
"Why? How could you do this?"
"...You saw Amy's body, right? All the scars and... everything. And look at me. Hardly a scratch. She's... saved my life more times than I can count. I couldn't... I c-couldn't just... The thought of her... and you... and..." Isana sniffles, then produces something in her palm. "Um... H-here." She tosses Lily a small stone.
Lily examines it for a moment, then turns back to the entrance. "Levi! Get Stella and Nevyn and see if you can track her. She's on foot!" She looks back to Isana. "You kept her dragonstone?"
Isana nods. "I couldn't... I couldn't let you hurt her anymore. But I can't... I can't let her hurt you, either..."
"..."
(A) Kill her.
(B) Let Isana take Amy's place.
(C) Decide your next move before deciding what to do with her.
(D) Chain her up and leave her behind when you leave town.
(E) Forgive the person who's already screwed you over multiple times.
(F) Forgive her, after some punishment. Since apparently Lily's already dancing on the edge of evil overlord, so now we just need to nail down how evil.
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Post by empireoffire on Mar 10, 2018 0:46:12 GMT -6
C. Tracking Amy's more important than beating someone.
Could even lead us somewhere important.
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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 11, 2018 15:17:38 GMT -6
"Damn it. I'll deal with you later!" Lily spits. "Sorina, Judoc. You're guarding Isana now. Chain her up carefully and check her for hidden lockpicks. Including her hair and mouth. I know her tricks."
"Not all of them," Isana says. "...But I'm not going anywhere. I'm here of my own will."
"Forgive me if I'm a bit hesitant to trust you..." Lily mutters. She storms off just in time to bump into Kurt as he comes down the stairs. "Levi, Kurt. With me. She's on foot, and injured. If you were trying to escape this city, how would you get out?"
"A ship?" Levi suggests.
"Maybe," Lily agrees. "Take some people and head over to the docks."
Kurt is deep in thought. "Do you... remember how some of her troops seemed to appear out of thin air earlier?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember what Isana gave me? Back in Mala?"
"...Warp powder," Lily says. "But I checked her. She didn't have anything like that."
"But maybe her troops did!" Kurt says.
"...Damn it! Where would the town guard have taken the remains?" Lily asks.
"Probably to the guard station by the main gate. Kurt, you take the docks. I'll go with Lily."
Lily and Kurt run towards the guard post, a few others following behind them as they awaken. They find three men injured outside the entrance. "They're alive, but they need a healer, now!" Levi says with a glance.
"I've got them!" Carin calls out.
Lily and Kurt barge through the door. They find a wounded, bleeding Amy bashing a guard across the head with the flat of handaxe. She notices Kurt and Lily, then grabs a sack from a table. She holds up a handful of powder.
(A) "Hold it!"
(B) "Running away, huh? Coward!"
(C) "Why didn't you kill the guards outside!?"
(D) "If you leave, Isana dies!"
(E) "...Go."
(F) "You won't survive using that stuff with those injuries!"
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Post by VioletCipher on Mar 11, 2018 19:10:19 GMT -6
B A is too weak C is just a strange bit of dialogue D either she doesn't care at all or it'll just hurt E just nope F Maybe but, I don't really care if she dies at this point
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Post by empireoffire on Mar 11, 2018 22:59:38 GMT -6
Bluff with D. Isana says she has saved her life "more times than [she] could count", so obviously they care about one another and she would be more likely to submit quietly.
Not like we'd do it (at least, I wouldn't bump off our refresher unit), but she wouldn't know.
I don't see A or B doing much of anything.
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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 18, 2018 0:48:59 GMT -6
"If you leave, Isana dies!" Lily yells.
"And you think I care about what happens to that traitor?" Amy asks.
Lily narrows her eyes at her. "Yes."
"Just because we were comrades once doesn't mean I'll give my life for her."
"Go, then. Enjoy imagining what I'm doing to her," Lily says threateningly.
"You're bluffing."
"I'm not. She's betrayed me, as well."
"...Damn you," Amy mutters softly. "I didn't truly want to kill you before. But now I'm going to enjoy it." She raises her hand and throws down the warp powder, disappearing in a flash of light.
Lily closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "Damn it," she whispers.
Levi looks around. "...Get a healer in here. It doesn't look like she killed anyone."
"I'm leaving you to deal with things here," Lily says. She storms off, back to the inn. Back to deal with Isana.
When she arrives, Sorina rushes over to her. "Princess Lily! The prisoner came back and tried to free Isana!"
Lily stops in her tracks. "What?"
"We were watching Isana, when she just appeared out of nowhere," Sorina explains. "She nearly collapsed when she arrived, but she still tried to attack us. She was saying something about her dragonstone..."
Lily remembers the small lump in her pocket. "And?"
Sorina leads Lily back into the basement. "And we disarmed her and chained her back up. We treated her physical wounds, but she's in poor condition."
Just as Sorina said, Lily finds Amy and Isana tied together in the center of the room. Isana is silently staring at the ground.
Amy slowly looks up at Lily. "You've got what you want. Now let her go."
You're going to need to decide what to do here because there's so many options it's overwhelming.
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