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Whichever reality we try to make progress through, Tell them to shoot us in the legs if we start getting possessed again. I don't trust this harmonic brain vibration poo poo Also if it's changing maybe give things a brief chance to change in our favour. Obviously we can't wait forever but let's see if things improve, we may overlap with the other reality in a place WITHOUT multiple armed guards
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Apr 1, 2019 07:09
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Tree Bucket posted:I was going to suggest a plan, but instead had a brief, vivid and extraordinarily unpleasant mental image of what happens when you vomit while playing a whistlehorn. I imagine a miniature, unappealing version of a Las Vegas fountain show. Edit: How did I miss that yesterday was our third month running?! Good work, everyone! Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Apr 1, 2019 |
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Apr 1, 2019 17:38
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Let's use the cloak to sneak up on them since we kept it.
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Apr 1, 2019 23:41
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HBar posted:Ask Yor and Tisshst for advice on getting past the guards, they should know some things about dealing with other iO Shiamara. "What do you two think? You're iO Shiamara, what should we do to get past them?" "Well, generally shooting people works." suggests Yor. "We're going to have to phase into their reality to shoot them, though." responds Tsshst. "And they're definitely not aware of us, right?" you ask. "No saying for sure, but unless they're playing dumb they haven't spotted us." simplefish posted:Whichever reality we try to make progress through, Tell them to shoot us in the legs if we start getting possessed again. I don't trust this harmonic brain vibration poo poo "And is there any chance this Construct's form might change in a way that would help us out?" you ask Baradas, fighting another incipient dry-heave. Baradas' eyes close again, and move around a whole bunch under her eyelids. You look away, it's too much and it's going to make you puke. "Sorry, did that upset you?" she says when her eyes open. "Anyhow, it's hard to tell what's moving where. There seems to be some sort of pattern beyond space and time itself. This Construct is based around impossibly sophisticated willbringing." "I might have something for that." says Adanios. He flips through his book of cards, and shows one. "Ahl-hrt, Forger of Paths."  "It will compel an unobstructed path to come to us." You blink. "What, uh... what do you mean by that?" "Oh, that's impossible to say." replies Adanios. "Anything could happen. But an unobstructed path will come to us." "A path to where?" asks Tsshst, worried. "One likes to believe They know our intentions," responds Adanios, shrugging, "but again, no telling for sure. We're messing around with the Morality Play, here. They don't grant boons and take direction." "Is it necessary to screw around with the structure of this place?" whimpers Yor. "We can take out those two no problem if you just phase us over and we take the shot." super sweet best pal posted:Let's use the cloak to sneak up on them since we kept it. "Wait... I think I have The Plan." you say. You shake off the horrible vibrations in your mind as best you can. "By the way, Controllers have this thing about taking over my brain, so if I start doing anything strange or unexpected, just shoot me in the legs." "How will we tell?" jokes Eye Guy. "Ha ha ha. I mean if I do anything that compromises the mission." "How will we tell?" says Eye Guy again, grinning devilishly. "Why the Squiv did I invite you with us again?" "Someone's approaching." says Baradas, her eyes rolled back in her head. Adanios whispers to her, and she closes them instead.  "What, like another iO Shiamara?" you ask. "Just another person, that's all I can tell." she replies. "They're some distance beyond the door, I don't know how you people measure things." "It's getting a bit crowded in here for my tastes." you mutter, feeling increasingly tired and ill. 1.) Let's do The Plan: You put on the cloak, and sneak up behind the two iO Shiamara. Do something behind their backs, so they turn around and Yor and Tsshst can phase over and shoot them. Pretty slick, huh? Which means something's gotta go wrong. 2.) Let's see where Adanios' magical card leads, why murder random iO Shiamara when you can just twist reality to your whims? Inventory Characters Map Elsewhere in the Beaten Lands [A concurrent CYOA] Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Apr 2, 2019 |
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Apr 2, 2019 05:16
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Nothing against Phase In & Take Em Out but i secretly love Adonis' cards so 2
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Apr 2, 2019 05:29
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simplefish posted:Nothing against Phase In & Take Em Out but i secretly love Adonis' cards so 2 This entire universe/cyoa exists because of Stuff that looks Cool. Aesthetics is the fundamental force underpinning this world. So: magical card of Adios.
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Apr 2, 2019 06:41
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2. We don't even know if that door is somewhere we want to go, so let's see where They think we should be.
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Apr 2, 2019 07:13
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Fine then, heart of the cards!
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Apr 2, 2019 08:02
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Tap some lands and play the Magic card!
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Apr 3, 2019 01:49
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Sorry for the delay, I fell asleep after sampling a mystery potion. Entry should be this afternoon!
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Apr 3, 2019 13:05
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super sweet best pal posted:Fine then, heart of the cards! HBar posted:2. We don't even know if that door is somewhere we want to go, so let's see where They think we should be. Tree Bucket posted:This entire universe/cyoa exists because of Stuff that looks Cool. Aesthetics is the fundamental force underpinning this world. So: magical card of Adios. simplefish posted:Nothing against Phase In & Take Em Out but i secretly love Adonis' cards so 2 "I think it's best if we avoid confrontation. Let's see what Adanios has up his sleeve." you say. "Seriously, just warning you again, I have no idea what's going to happen here." replies Adanios. "Just do it! Do it! Al Hurt, Forger of Paths! Al Hurt, Forger of Paths!" "It's AHL-HRT, FORGER OF PATHS" Adanios' voice comes out deep and strange. He holds the card out in an outstretched hand, and the graphic warps and bends.  There's a sound--well, not quite a sound. It's a sensation inside your ears and brain, like something shifted out of place that was never designed to shift. You can see the iO Shiamara guards looking around uneasily. "Any idea how long this is going to take?" you ask Adanios, after several seconds go by. "What have I said? Have I not said I have no idea what will happen? Why don't you just wait and see like the rest of us are doing?" Adanios snaps. Wow. Okay, point made. He's clearly a little stressed out, but thox. You see the door open like an orange peel drying in the sun in stop-motion. A figure strides into the room, another iO Shiamara. He looks all around, and addresses the guards.  "What the thox is happening in here?" he demands. "What is that... sound?" He appears to almost glow. A bright amulet rests on his chest.  "I dunno, Kirramfver Zosist! It just started randomly!" one replies, kneeling low. "And neither of you touched the console?" he says, as if it's happened before.  "No, I swear it, Kirramfver!" the other says, sheepishly. "I know better, now!" "Then what the..." he looks suspicious. His hand wanders to his amulet, and his expression becomes one of rage. "INTRUDERS! Sync to reality Baxtra, converge on this position!" He raises a strange weapon and fires off a blast of crackling energy. "Holy thox!" you scream, and dive out of the energy's way. It tears into the Construct wall behind you, turning the surface into a bunch of glowing hexagons. It doesn't look like it would be pleasant on your body. Jecta-fire fills the air as you, Tisshst and Yor take shots from behind cover at the guards, who have shifted to your reality. The whole while, a moan fills the air, gaining in pitch and intensity. "WHAT IS HAPPENING, ADANIOS?" you scream. "WE ENDED UP IN A FIREFIGHT BECAUSE OF YOUR DAMNED PLAYING CARD! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GETTING AROUND IT!" Adanios obviously hears you, and doesn't bother responding. Well thox you too, Adanios. You hear a dying scream, and hope very much it's nobody on your side.  There's a cycle of multi-colored lights from the high, rounded "ceiling" of the chamber you're standing in, and suddenly space seems to plunge upwards. Ceiling? Seriously? The damned "unobstructed path" ended up on the ceiling? "What are we supposed to do with this?" you cry out, angrily. You fire more Jecta towards the enemy, who seem to be bearing down on you. If any o- Then everything lurches, and the room becomes unstuck in spacetime. Everything begins to pivot around an invisible axis in the center of the chamber. There's a chorus of alarmed sounds as everyone falls, and tries to clamber along the floor as it becomes wall. Another lightning blast of energy fires past you as you dive out from behind the cover which will soon be halfway up a wall. You strafe along as the floor moves under your feet, firing Jecta off at the super-powered iO Shiamara commander. "There's got to be a better way, Al Hurt!" you yell as the chamber continues rotating like a drum. Nobody can keep their feet any longer as the rotation gains momentum. Despite that, the glowing iO Shiamara rear end in a top hat won't stop taking crackling energy pot-shots at you. "Cut it out!" You shout at him. Suddenly, he teleports away. That absolute thoxer! You'd give anything to be able to just teleport as you slide, dry-heaving over and over, along the spongy interior of the spinning Constructor chamber. At last, you end up dumped into the sucking vortex that has formed on what was once the apex of the ceiling, now serving as an impromptu floor that did its job very poorly. You fall through into a very bright, very loud variant of Nothing. Upwards motion, downwards motion, all axial motion, it's indistinguishable. You are a consciousness, being blasted from all sides with the commotion of metareality, as if the whole of the Manifest were a go-box driving along and you have your head out the window. Maurice, you are not. Morani, you are not. You are a lantern with a flame, and fire burns in uncountable other lanterns. You can see them all, stunning in collective incandescence, beautiful in unique flickering singularity. You are moved to tears, no not tears but weeping like a first breath in a baby lungs branching brachiation trees veins rivers superclusters THE GRAVITOR A crystalline silence shatters into words. "I never... dreamed of something like this," says Adanios. "drat, Adanios, Ahl-hrt must be big on you." says Baradas, whistling.  "What was that? Where the Squiv are we?" "We're on a Temple Plane." replies Baradas. "An extremely unusual privilege, especially for mere Interpreters. I can't imagine what Al-hrt meant by routing us through here." You look around, bewildered. "Where's Yor?" you ask. Eye Guy cocks his head towards Tisshst, who is kneeling on the ground sobbing softly.  "Tisshst- what happened?" "He's dead! I dunno, he got shot back in the Construct, but- I was trying to help him, I was fixing his wound but- When we went through whatever that was-" she sniffles and sobs. "We were sitting down to loma nectars. He told me he knew he was- he was dying, and he couldn't enter where we were going. H-he told me he'd always loved me, and was sorry this was the only way he could tell me. It felt... it felt like hours." She's talking so quietly by the end, like a personal little prayer. "I'm- sorry." you say, lamely. There's a short period of awkward silence. "Well, uh-" begins Adanios, clearing his throat. "I suppose while we're here, let's visit a temple. See if we can't get something more out of these Morality Players." "Hey! We should be getting a move on to get back to the Construct, we don't have much time-" Baradas talks over you. "Time's not really a concern, where we are." Adanios speaks more politely: "Whats she means to say is time will not pass relative to ours in the real world. It shall be as if we just left, no matter how long we spend here. Well, except you would still age and die here, that's just unavoidable. Sorry if I gave anyone hope for an 'out' from the mortal coil, there." He chuckles in an embarassed, what-is-wrong-with-me fashion. Temples you may visit: The Temple of Kräator - A Deity of Wanton Violence and Graceful Combat, War, Conquest The Temple of [mir]Uongeon - A Deity of Longing, Love, Romance and Companionship The Temple of Naught|All - A Deity of Information, Ephemerality, Queries, Questions & Answers The Temple of Lirvob - A Deity of Satiation and Hunger, Fruits and Cereals and Soil The Temple of Fenrout - A Deity of Prognostications, Guesses, Wondering, and Hope The Temple of Abject - A Deity of Humanity, Charity, Ingenuity, Patron of the Dissolute Inventory Characters Map Elsewhere in the Beaten Lands [A concurrent CYOA] Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Apr 3, 2019 |
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Apr 3, 2019 23:20
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Ooh, decisions decisions. Funny thing about the ceiling - back when you asked Left or Right, I was going to say >LOOK UP in time-honoured D&D fashion. War is bad and we're trying to stop it so I'ma rule that one put. Romancr will just be this lovelorn chick and her dead boyfriend all over again, or maybe vivid recollections presented to us all in mind-and-reality-bending technicolour of eyeguy's Pump And Dump, And Other Conquests with the iO Schawarma he's met, and more. And frankly poo poo's weird enough with these images to want to avoid whatever twisted Karma Sutra that is. I first read it as Temple of Sanitation and I liked that so maybe that one? But maybe it's a trap and we'll like it so much we never leave and die of old age and contentment and GAME OVER But then I want to find poo poo out, especially about eyeguy, so maybe the temple of questions or temple of wonder? But I'm sure we'll get* with more questions than answers... *(I meant leave with, though maybe the deity will ask us how our day is going and other poo poo we have no memory of?) We are a pretty lost cause though overall so I vote Temple of the Abject simplefish fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Apr 4, 2019 |
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Apr 3, 2019 23:42
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Al Hurt is my new favourite wrestler. I'm imagining him as a big farmer dude, 6'6 and 300lbs. Big, fat, bushy grey beard, shiny bald head, dungarees style leotard. Grey hairy forearms. Sometimes in a straw hat chewing on a wheatsheaf (would also sometimed be smoking a pipe but pretty sure that's outlawed in today's entertainment wrestling image-conscious television)
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Apr 3, 2019 23:50
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His catchphrases are "I'M BLAZIN' THAT PIONEER TRAIL, BABY!" when he enters the ring (appropriate for the Forger of Paths) and when he wins he just shouts, meaninglessly, "YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTRY!!"
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Apr 3, 2019 23:54
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You don't have to choose just one, btw.
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Apr 4, 2019 00:23
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Time isn't an issue so we may as well visit all of them. Start with Fenrout to get some hints about the bigger picture, then Abject because they'll take pity on us, Lirvob because we need a lunch break in the middle of everything, [mir]Uongeon for advice on our companions, Naught|All to answer questions we have after all those other temples, and finally Kräator to get ready before we're thrown back into a firefight.
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Apr 4, 2019 02:36
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Brawnfire posted:The Temple of Abject - A Deity of Humanity, Charity, Ingenuity, Patron of the Dissolute They're all good, but I'm really identifying with this one.
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Apr 4, 2019 02:52
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Well, we've pretty much been wandering randomly and guessing at the correct path, and then violencing most everything in our way, so: The Temple of Fenrout - A Deity of Prognostications, Guesses, Wondering, and Hope The Temple of Kräator - A Deity of Wanton Violence and Graceful Combat, War, Conquest In that order.
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Apr 4, 2019 11:46
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What the Squeck, we'll visit them all (remind me how cavalier I was when I'm partway through an update.) I'll try to follow the order posted thus far.
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Apr 4, 2019 20:32
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Kräator sounds like the kind of patron who could help us overthrow the Constructor but as a Hunger voter I'd say Lirvob.
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Apr 4, 2019 20:47
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"The Temple of Fenrout seems like it might-" Before you even finish the sentence, a structure materializes before you; it is a glowing pearlescent building, small and ornate. At its very apex, a luminous bearded face staring into the sky above, mouth open as if bellowing.  You begin walking towards the temple, and suddenly find yourself within the building. White light glows all about, save for a single stark black stone plinth which stands at the center of the circular temple floor.  You and your companons circle the black plinth, examining it and the walls within the temple. There's so much mist and white light here it's difficult to see, but there are the light tracings of words on each stone block, hundreds tightly formatted like the words on a page. "What's written on the stones?" you ask no-one in particular. "History." replies Adanios. "The Future." he adds. "Both possible and impossible, that which will happen and that which won't." "I see." You didn't quite see, but you get the jist. You examine one block, which seems to be describing a series of decisions made by a woman named Fimmif at some point in time. Fimmif selects left; Fimmif opens the door; Fimmif goes through the door; Fimmif Requests a Booth; Fimmif Requests a Wine Menu; Fimmif Selects a Yellow Pormoigoin; Fimmif Selects a Breast of Roast Orquail with Roast Vegetables; Fimmif Decides-- It goes on like that, far past the point of your casual interest. You wonder if any of these blocks have you on there. "You're wondering where you are among the blocks, aren't you?" says two soft voices simultaneously.  You turn to see two people, a man and a woman, all in white clothing. They are tall and thin, like birch saplings, and carry themselves with subtle grace. Their faces seem to shift between positions oddly as they move their heads, both jumping ahead and lagging behind their expected positions. "Hullo," you say. "Is one of you Fenrout?" They appear amused. "You think that deities hang out at their temples? No, this is but a place of meditation to Fenrout, who blesses his/her followers with insight to the future and the will to carry on through a difficult present." "What do we do? Sacrifice something?" you ask. "No," replies the two. "Fenrout cares not for such ephemera. Any fatted calf you offered, Fenrout has seen this birth of its ancestors and the death of its progeny. No, you must simply look to the Aprysm and wonder." "Wonder." you repeat. You look to the black plinth; light seems to fall into it and disappear, inviting your brain to invent a myriad of unlikely images behind your eyes. Some of the shapes are familiar, others you have never seen but know you will... you wonder- What do you wonder about, regarding the future? Inventory Characters Map Elsewhere in the Beaten Lands [A concurrent CYOA] Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Apr 4, 2019 |
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Apr 4, 2019 21:52
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I really really need to know that Suvram will be okay.
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Apr 5, 2019 01:28
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Diid fimmif enjoy their meal? E: i'd like to ask for an extended deadline on this if that's ok? I get the feeling this temple malarkey will be a key point for us and i need some time to think about what to ask
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Apr 5, 2019 01:36
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simplefish posted:Diid fimmif enjoy their meal? I was looking at a temple per day for the next week, so if you're ok with tomorrow evening for Temple Fenrout, that works for me! Then I'll drop some answers and go to the next one. Hope y'all like temples! (Don't worry, you won't have to curry up a question for each one.) So think about anything you guys might like to ask about the future, but remember the answers might not be super clear--after all, the future's not the only future. Edit: Also, not to be a loser, but I wanted to thank all of you again for sticking with it so long, especially simplefish who was one of the first to click through to my other CYOA, which means a lot to me. These have been an excellent creative outlet for me, and every one of your votes is a fantastic challenge. Keep it up! Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Apr 5, 2019 |
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Apr 5, 2019 02:46
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Ask them what happens to the temple's records of the future after the events happen or fail to happen.
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Apr 5, 2019 03:42
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>Man, I wonder what this scene would look like if I were using that alternate choice device
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Apr 5, 2019 06:43
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I've been trying to think about serious questions, like "Is eyeguy truly to be trusted?" but he's standing right there and I have a bad feeling that they'd answer us aloud and make it really obvious what we asked in their answer, even if we only like thought it really really hard and hoped they're telepathic. Maybe "Where do you come from, you two acolytes or disciples or however you class yourselves? How did you come to live on this plane?" "I've been wondering a lot about shrunken head guy and how he can speak to us" "For that matter I've also been wondering about the nature of the constructor who also can talk directly into my blane. Are they outside of time like shrunken head guy, or just from one reality that got really powerful and somehow realised there were universal walls to be breached, or what?" If they tire of our questions just ask to be shown where on the walls to read about whichever character we want to learn about. It all seems to be grouped by person if fimmit is anything to go by. Brawnfire posted:I was looking at a temple per day for the next week, so if you're ok with tomorrow evening for Temple Fenrout, that works for me! Then I'll drop some answers and go to the next one. Hope y'all like temples! (Don't worry, you won't have to curry up a question for each one.) Cheers mate, I'm really enjoying these and the effort you put into them is obvious and appreciated
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Apr 5, 2019 11:26
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A coupleish more hours for questions about the ~~FUTURE~~ if yiz can come up with them. Simplefish, those ones above your final questions?
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Apr 6, 2019 00:27
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Yeah those will do for me for now, I hope we get some more contributions from people though!
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Apr 6, 2019 00:55
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Ask everything we can about the fight against the constructors. Should we defeat them? Can we? How? Taking down one at a time with a small band doesn't seem like enough when they have so many and can replace them so quickly. What does a path to victory look like? Why are they doing what they do? Can they be reasoned with? What if we tried to get their allies to turn like the Morani and the iO Shiamara collaborators?
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Apr 6, 2019 05:05
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I guess you guys have a few more hours because I apparently fell into a time dilation portal updating the other CYOA. I'm going to catch some sleep, so I'm not pushing out anything of lower quality than you've already come to expect.
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Apr 6, 2019 05:31
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Looking into the Aprysm, you feel as though your mind has become detached from your body. You wander into an inky black absence, which offers a free space for your thoughts to inscribe themselves. Tree Bucket posted:I really really need to know that Suvram will be okay. One thing immediately comes to mind, as is the case for any parent: your little one, Suvram, who is happily nibbling away at moistbreads in his knapsack home, which is steadily collecting dry little werxel turds. With all the danger you face, all the scrapes you get into, will he be okay?  A spectrum of lights spreads before you, like colored inks dropped into water. You sense positivity from some, negativity from others. As much as you'd like to inspect the positives, your nature attracts you to the negative. Aprysm posted:Fears yet unknown to you grip your heart. You see a strange Constructor device. You see Suvram in your hand. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? says the Constructor part of your brain. Something you don't want me to see? You're making a mistake looking at this. There's nothing good to come of the future. Maybe not for you. Definitely not for you. That unnerving statement compels you to forcefully suppress the Constructor-mind. It growls, but surrenders into the back of your skull. HBar posted:Ask everything we can about the fight against the constructors. Should we defeat them? Can we? How? Taking down one at a time with a small band doesn't seem like enough when they have so many and can replace them so quickly. What does a path to victory look like? Why are they doing what they do? Can they be reasoned with? What if we tried to get their allies to turn like the Morani and the iO Shiamara collaborators? The little tussle with the recalcitrant Constructor bastard squatting in your head makes you wonder about destroying the Constructors forever. How? Was it possible? Should it even be done? The spectrum of colors appears in your eyes again, mostly negative with one shining beacon of positivity deep within. The feeling that washes over you is one of absolute hopelessness. You strive towards that little green glimmer of goodness, try to stretch your mind towards the way of defeating the Constructors once and for- -an agonizing pain shudders through your mind and you recoil. What are they, these Constructors? How do they have so much power? Where did they come from? You get the sense that they are fiercely protective of their origins. There's a swirl of confusion as you try to probe at their beginnings. You can see it, though; you see the nascent sprout of their ugly, twisted presence, springing forth from the fecund soil of the iO Shiamara. Perhaps if you learn more about the iO Shiamara- -the pain is even worse this time, and it comes with a mental welt in the shape of a message: Do NOT look there. Whatever it was, the relationship between the Constructors and the iO Shiamara was very important to them. They were literally the soil from which the Constructors sprang, and their creative energies feed the Constructor's abilities to build their impossibly powerful Constructs. But they have a power they shouldn't have. You can sense the disquiet of the priests. "Perhaps you should ease off wondering about the Constructors." they say. "Fine, I'll try to skirt around it, but they're awfully important at the moment." What else was bothering you, besides the Constructors? How's this for surface level: Tunicate posted:>Man, I wonder what this scene would look like if I were using that alternate choice device Aprysm posted:You feel explosively nauseous, and look away from the screen. Holy thox. What the Squiv was that? Better not play with questions in that area, the "What If" device seems to be a bit of a knot in spacetime. simplefish posted:I've been trying to think about serious questions, like "Is eyeguy truly to be trusted?" A serious question indeed. The colors are muddled, ambiguous, positives and negatives in equal measure. You sense that Eye Guy will, at the very least, help you in your fight against the Constructors--but there's an ulterior motive. This is both your suspicion and the sense the Aprysm gives you. You probe a bit. Aprysm posted:"All this time, that's all you really wanted?" you ask, bitterly. Colorful, shiny matte blackness replaces the vivid vision. You have no idea what to make of that, really. Trust Eye Guy? Don't trust Eye Guy? Don't trust anyone, perhaps. super sweet best pal posted:Ask them what happens to the temple's records of the future after the events happen or fail to happen. You misunderstood, or rather you understand better now. The stones are no record, for that would be impossible and unnecessary. Why, how record all the decisions made and unmade in the whole of all realities? It's contradictory. No, this temple is a place of meditation, to contemplate and appreciate that which has been, that which will be, that which should have been, that which should be, that which has never been, that which never will be; the stones are decorated with appreciation for the beauty of the role of decision-points in the unending creation of the Manifest. You consider that even the mortared sides of the blocks are continuous with writing. So you are aware of the role of decisions in crystallizing the form of the Manifest; decision points are anchor facets for growth of probability, possibility. Uncertainty is a hotbed of multiversal creation, stagnation and rigidity of thinking much the opposite. Also consequentially, more and different minds in a universe have a creative potential beyond a small population of similar minds. Enough minds making decisions and you begin to generate what can be called cultural potential.  Cultural potential gives rise to beautiful and ugly metapersonas, a sort of stage play of deities projected by the whole of multiversal existence, known to most as the Morality Play. Many will observe and interpret the actions and dialogues of these projected archetypes, in hopes of learning more about the conditions of multiversal lives, how to improve them, how to strengthen the Moral Fabric. Practically everything you know in your daily life, everyone you encounter and everyplace you've been, is below the notice of the actors in the Morality Play. Multiverses are as atoms to them, molecules are constructs beyond our reckoning altogether. Who could truly comprehend a structure of which they are part, and of which they cannot see the whole? But again, those cultural potentials have the ability to raise individuals above the rest and attract the favor or patronage of these alien beings. It is hotly contested what path brings notice; naturally, the warriors believe it is undaunted conquest; the builders believe it is great architecture and spanning bridges; the mekanists believe it is powerful mekanisms; the lovers believe it is unbound passion; the explorers believe it is questing, discovery; the religious believe it is piety and asceticism; the authoritarian believe it is righteous order; the communal believe it is pristine equity. One thing most agreed upon was that it really helped if you died in the process.  They are all wrong. They are all correct. It could be said that it was all tautalogical, that the approval of the Gods in this case becomes self-congratulatory, as the Gods are projection of living being's creative force in the first place. But that's unimportant... no, it's of utmost importance really, but there's nothing to be done about it. It is the toroidal cycle nature familiarizes itself with. You'd be better off shaking your fist at the water cycle. These vaunted individuals attain their roles, given strange purposes and deep eternal mindsets. Some are tasked with the creation and maintenance of temples like this one. "In fact," say the priests, "we attained our own positions by simultaneously inventing the Chronitonic Prognostication Device in our respective universes--which, incidentally, is the only way the Chronitonic Prognostication Device can be invented, interestingly enough." "So the people in your universes can tell the future, then?" you ask, amazed. "Oh, no." they answer. "Both of our universes were utterly obliterated at once. But, here we are, servicing the temple of Fenrout." "We have heard some of the things you were wondering about at the Aprysm," the priests say, changing the subject. "and we believe they may be more well-suited for Naught|All. As we know you are visiting them later, would you mind if we forwarded the questions their way? The Aprysm is more of a fortune-telling device than anything, if you're looking for data Naught|All is all about that." "I'm hoping," you reply. "This Aprysm thing is pretty thoxed-up." "Agreed," says Eye Guy. "I do not like the things I saw in there." "There is much to be interpreted in the visions." reply the priests. Yeah, no poo poo. "Thank you so much," says Adanios, sensing the priests were subtly angling the lot of you towards the door. "And praise be to Fenrout." The priests smile as if Adanios had just said something cute. "The intent behind your words is noted." they say. Adanios frowns to himself. You appear back on the plane of temples. "K, we agreed on the Temple of Abject next, right?" you ask the group. There will be a short walk to the next temple, by which I mean I will post the Temple of Abject later on tonight. If the group wants a different temple first, say so now! Otherwise, see you later, croccigators! Inventory Characters Map Elsewhere in the Beaten Lands [A concurrent CYOA] Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Apr 6, 2019 |
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Apr 6, 2019 18:17
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There is a shamble of a temple, made of panels of woven reed. It's surrounded by a shroud of mist. As you walk into the mist, you feel as though every ache and injury and ailment is fading to nothing. The itching of your bolt-wounds and your bandaged, thoxed-up legs is relieved, the limp you'd grown accustomed to becomes a steady gait again. You stand up straighter, and breathe more deeply. The mist smells sweet, honeysuckle and riflenut leaves. You enter the temple.  "Hello! Hello and welcome, fellows." says a filthy, wild-haired woman sitting amid fleshy-leaved plants.  "Hey there." you toss back, with a wave. "I'm Maurice." "I am Lithik, Priest of the Temple of Abject. You are welcome here, Humans and iO Shiamara." she looks a bit distastefully towards Adanios and Baradas. "We prefer the Risen to remove themselves from the premises. This is a space for the Abject alone." The two of them back out, embarrassed. "Forgive the awkwardness, but the Risen already think they own the place whenever they visit, it's enjoyable for me to create artificial limits for them. They'll be able to enjoy the orchards while they're out there, anyhow." says Lithik, mirthfully. "So, this place is pretty earthy." "It is only natural," responds Lithik. "Abject are of the soil, of the clay and stone and metal, root and stem and trunk and fruit. We are grubs, we are maggots, we live off a layer of death on a sphere of lifelessness, and we revel in it. Do you turn from this Human truth?" You shrug. "I was just saying, it's a bit on the earthy side. Dank, moist. Misty." "I want you to sit." continues Lithik. "Make a circle." There's a circle there to be sat in; it is all tiny, smooth pebbles. There are larger stones towards the center of the circle. Several very big rocks sit at the very middle.  "Now what?" Eye Guy asks as the four of you sit cross-legged upon the pebbles. Lithik pokes her tongue out as she stacks rocks. "I'm building a tower." There's a long silence--save the clacking of stone on stone--as you, Eye Guy, and Tisshst watch the priest Lithik stack rocks. Eventually, you begin to stack some rocks as well. Eye Guy and, finally, Tisshst begin to stack rocks. Time passes swiftly, or does not pass at all. The four of you are laughing, smiling, comparing your ambitious towers and impossible archways. You forget everything you came here for, everything but the stones. "When I was alive," says Lithik, warmly, "I went to the beaches to the north of the city of Ovbermanel. They were never so popular as those to the west, because they were stonier and colder. It was perfect for me: I spent many hours each day doing exactly this. Just stacking rocks. One day, I was doing this, and someone came to my side. She put her hand upon my shoulder, pointed to a tall stack of rocks, and said 'did you build this?' I said 'of course, who else is around right now?' She laughed and said 'good job.' And that day, I became priest of the Temple of Abject." "You mean, all you did was build a really tall tower out of rocks, and you became, like, a saint?" you ask, a little incredulous. "Yep." Lithik says. She resumes stacking rocks. You look about at your companions, and at your own arms. You're an ape, an animal. You have hair growing on you, you have five digits per hand and you're bilaterally symmetrical. You feel the layers of your brain like an onion, from the complex and human to the core of raw animal nature, all wrapped in an angry Constructor candy shell. Of course. That's all the Constructors are, too. Just bigger animals, building bigger towers out of meta-multiversal rocks. It amuses you, to think that innate urge to put one stone atop another could translate to universes. It almost makes you feel for the Constructors at some level: they probably could not comprehend why so many oppose their great works. You frown. No, it is the iO Shiamara who build, and the Constructors have parasitically fed off that, used it as a springboard to unnatural things which disrupt the growth of the Manifest, the health of the Alltogether. "Don't ever forget what you are." Lithik says. What does she mean by that? A living being? An animal? A Human? A Morani? A Child of Two Worlds? She does not clarify. "What am I?" "Mortal." she says, closing her eyes. "Like the flame, you were kindled, you burn, and you will be snuffed out." "Like the flame, you are a point of light. The galaxy contains billions, and moves on heedless to their births and deaths, but this does not make them unimportant individually or collectively, for if there were no stars there would be no galaxy." "Oh..." you say, not sure what to do with that. Is she saying you're important or unimportant? Neither. Both. "So why should I do anything at all?" you wonder aloud. "Because you must. You must give, and you must build a better world. That is inside you, in your lifecode. It is circumstance which leads you astray from that purpose. And it is for that reason, swept clean of the ashes of memory, you were able to spring anew and give of yourself without thought." "You put one stone on top of the other." says Eye Guy, nodding. "One stone atop the other, and you're defying those who would knock down stones." says Tisshst, in a murmur. There's a few moments of contemplative silence. Lithik breaks the stillness. "Well, best if you moved on, but I'm very glad of your visit. I think you'll find many things are better for you now, and many things worse. That is the way of the Temple. But I have one more gift I want to give you before you depart." "What is it?" "You've struggled with the Constructor in your mind for longer than you can remember. Your mind-wipe gave you a brief reprieve, but it has been a Squivvish struggle that you have been heavily using alcohol to get through for years. I can help with with this, but you have to decide... would you like the Constructor mind suppressed forever? Or would you like it to be aligned with your own mind?" 1.) Suppress the vile thing, I've had enough of it. 2.) Align it with my mind, I can't wait to see what that entails. Inventory Characters Map Elsewhere in the Beaten Lands [A concurrent CYOA] Brawnfire fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Apr 7, 2019 |
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Apr 7, 2019 03:50
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Align. Just because it's bad now shouldn't mean it doesn't deserve a chance to become good.
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Apr 7, 2019 04:05
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super sweet best pal posted:Align. Just because it's bad now shouldn't mean it doesn't deserve a chance to become good. Yeah!
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Apr 7, 2019 07:33
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3. Keep it as is. The constructor brain is one rock on top of another. And simultaneously under another. To suppress it, or to align with it, that is a singularity. We contain multiutdes. It must be neither. It must be both. The struggle may not matter. But I can't imagine we will ever live a life without struggle. We struggle because we must. At least this is a must that may matter.
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Apr 7, 2019 09:35
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simplefish posted:3. Keep it as is. Before it was like a rock thrown at our tower by someone trying to knock it down. By realigning it we properly integrate it into our tower's structure.
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Apr 7, 2019 09:56
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Brawnfire posted:you're bilaterally symmetrical. literally nothing i've seen in this thread supports anybody in these realities even approaching anything near symmetrical
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Apr 7, 2019 11:29
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super sweet best pal posted:Before it was like a rock thrown at our tower by someone trying to knock it down. By realigning it we properly integrate it into our tower's structure. I don't know about that. The iO sharma build The construxtors build - it's in their name They're building their towers on top of ours, maybe the shape goes a little weird, but they're following their path, building because they must You want to talk about anyone disrupting what people biild it's Antonio Banderas and their cards and quills. And as far as we are builders, we are yet a tower. We were kindled: we were created to live - and die - with purpose. It is in our lifecode. We lost our memory but we are still us? More us, even? Our brain is layers. Inner, outer. Lower, upper. One on top of the other. Animal brain, person brain, constructor brain as the candy shell. It is all us, for had we not been made that way, we would not be who we are. We would not be lost. And if we are not lost then how, like Lithic, can we ever be found? simplefish fucked around with this message at 11:41 on Apr 7, 2019 |
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Apr 7, 2019 11:38
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We're trying to forge a synthesis with our antithesis. It wants to make us act like a Constructor, let's see what happens when a Constructor is made to act like us. Turnabout is fair play after all.
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Apr 7, 2019 11:59
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