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So, too recap, Claudes dead, Chigaras dead, Asaga and Sola have left for home and Krysta seems to have turned on us, if this game had the guts, it'd force you to handle the next battle with Icari and some anonymous mook in Cosettes Ryder. It's amazing how instantly everything can turn to crap in an anime ain't it?
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Oct 25, 2020 03:05
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stryth posted:So, too recap, Claudes dead, Chigaras dead, Asaga and Sola have left for home and Krysta seems to have turned on us, if this game had the guts, it'd force you to handle the next battle with Icari and some anonymous mook in Cosettes Ryder. Well, on the upside, Claude's dead and Chigara's dead. TheGreatEvilKing posted:Ava is still the smartest in the room. To be fair, that's not a terribly difficult achievement. It's like having the best etiquette in Tekkadan.
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Oct 25, 2020 06:15
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stryth posted:So, too recap, Claudes dead, Chigaras dead, Asaga and Sola have left for home and Krysta seems to have turned on us, if this game had the guts, it'd force you to handle the next battle with Icari and some anonymous mook in Cosettes Ryder.
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Oct 25, 2020 08:33
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Aw, she's so happy. 
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Oct 25, 2020 11:03
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I told y'all this was gonna get stupid.
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Oct 25, 2020 20:54
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chiasaur11 posted:Well, on the upside, Claude's dead and Chigara's dead 
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Oct 25, 2020 21:20
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Episode 20: Blank and Pitiless as the Sun Part 1: The Paradox Contingency   Lieutenant? I'm so sorry, captain, I really am.  So … is killing me part of the Alliance’s “Paradox Contingency?” Funny how that has the same name as PACT’s ultimate weapon. The one I know I saw the Alliance destroy. That's classified, captain! Do you really think what the Alliance is doing is right, lieutenant? … I …*BOOOOOM*  Gah! Ah hell, that was way too much explosive. Captain! Commander! Some idiot sealed the airlock and … whoa!  What are you DOING, Kryska? You really were an Alliance spy? Got a problem with that, mercenary? Lower your weapon! Sorry. Orders are orders ... Stop! You said ... we were ... comrades in arms! Family! ... I … I trust you, Kryska ... You ...! ARGHH! gently caress! Can you walk, lieutenant? Don't worry, it's nothing … I ... You rear end in a top hat … scaring me like that ... I ... apologize.Later ...   Captain, we have both PACT and Alliance active sensors lighting up. They’re … both fleets are attempting to get an active lock on the Sunrider. I have a feeling that’s the least of our worries at the moment. What’s the Paradox Contingency, lieu … Kryska? … It's called a Tactical Paradox Warhead, or TPW. We were able to reverse engineer a few warheads from scans taken of the original Core. It’s much smaller than the original; small enough to be mounted on a torpedo. It's not nearly as destructive as the Core, but … well, that means it’s “only” able to destroy a planet and nearby satellites instead of a whole solar system. This was the Alliance's backup plan, wasn't it … to destroy Cera, the entire PACT fleet, and all their leaders. All with a single torpedo. T-the Alliance military plans for all contingencies, captain. We didn’t know how deep the prototype infiltration was within PACT … or the Sunrider. ... How many ships do we have to fight to reach the torpedo? The Alliance has nearly a hundred ships in system … and PACT about the same.  Sir. Ava? We are Cera's last line of defense against our enemies. The Sunrider still has one last fight in her. Heh. I suppose you're right … can we perform a short range warp to close the distance? Without ... the chief engineer, it is difficult to say. The jump will undoubtedly be rough. And the status of our ryder squad? Just the Phoenix and the Paladin, captain. (Asaga ... Sola … at least you two are safe ...) HEY! U-uh ... Who is this ...? This is a secure comm channel, you’ll have to ... You forgot about me!? IT'S COSETTE, YA DUMBASS! The prisoner you stuffed into the brig and then forgot entirely about!? O-oh! C-Cosette! I've heard what's going on from the security guards! There's no way I'm gonna die here without a fight and it looks like you've pretty much pissed off every power in the galaxy right now! Let me out and I'll fight for you! Captain ... there’s no way we can trust her. Heh. Well, it's not like things can get any worse. All right Cosette, you’ve got a deal. I'll let you out. And I hear the hanger crew even fixed up your ryder as a hobby job. Help us, and I'll protect you from the Alliance. Looks like we finally see eye to eye for once. All right! It's a deal! Even with three ryders, we are no match for the entire Alliance and PACT fleets. I know. This is going to be her last flight. All hands, this is the captain. We will perform an emergency sort-range warp jump to emerge in the heart of the Alliance fleet! From there, we will perform a frontal assault through their lines until we are in range of the vessel carrying the Alliance’s plant-killers. Ryders are to escort the Sunrider until she has reached her destination.  ... Awaiting your orders, captain. Warp!
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Oct 26, 2020 15:22
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No. This is beyond anime levels of stupidity.
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Oct 26, 2020 16:12
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Why are our warhead options limited to "conventional munitions" and "blow up sun"? I'm glad Kryska betrayed us for, uh, friendship though.
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Oct 26, 2020 16:35
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Are you just going to blap the one mission-critical enemy with the Vanguard cannon or something? Disregard gravitas, apply wave-motion gun?
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Oct 26, 2020 16:39
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:
You mean unbetrayed us, right? Is "uh, friendship" how they're calling it these days? Because I don't recall the game confirming it but she and Icari are totally loving. Zurai posted:No. This is beyond anime levels of stupidity. 
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Oct 26, 2020 17:10
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Omobono posted:You mean unbetrayed us, right? Yea, that. Meant to say "betrayed her homeland".
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Oct 26, 2020 17:50
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:Why are our warhead options limited to "conventional munitions" and "blow up sun"? Hey now, since I've been upgrading them our torpedoes have gone from single anti-ship munitions to full on anti-fleet weapons. Unrelated, but since I've been sharing naming conventions, I'm sure some of you know that I've been taking the episode titles from The Second Coming, by W. B. Yeats. It's one of those poems that while you may not have read it or know the title you've probably heard lines referenced in other places before. quote:Turning and turning in the widening gyre Maybe there's some thematic significance? Or maybe I just like it.
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Oct 26, 2020 18:05
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I laughed at Kryska's continued  after Cosette says to let her out.And oh, I've definitely seen that 'slouching towards Bethlehem' line quoted elsewhere before. What a poem for 2020.
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Oct 26, 2020 18:42
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Nice we're now somehow fighting against both superpowers at once.
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Oct 26, 2020 19:04
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Poor Sunrider, you were a cool ship, you didn't deserve to be trapped in this hyper anime nonsense. Certainly don't deserve to get trashed like you're gonna be after this.
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Oct 27, 2020 01:02
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stryth posted:Poor Sunrider, you were a cool ship, you didn't deserve to be trapped in this hyper anime nonsense. Certainly don't deserve to get trashed like you're gonna be after this. The White Base, the Macross, the Yamato... The Cool Battleship will never again look as good as it did the day it came out of the shipyard. I have no idea where the story is going to go from here, but It's an immutable law of anime. If the Sunrider hasn't exploded or been terminally hulled by the end of this LP then I'll be disappointed.
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Oct 27, 2020 04:05
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Zurai posted:No. This is beyond anime levels of stupidity. I dunno. Anime can get pretty loving stupid. It's definitely beyond Gundam stupidity, but even with how amazingly dumb Gundam can get, anime has much deeper depths.
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Oct 27, 2020 07:51
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Part 2: The Last Flight of the Sunrider It’s all fallen apart.  Now, here at the end, we have only our two remaining pilots and a freed prisoner to defend the Sunrider  Also some gunboats and for some reason three Mining Union frigates? I’ll be honest I’m not a hundred percent sure why these are here. Something that you can do that I haven’t taken advantage of is purchase additional units to be in your fleet. There’s a hard cap on how many of each you can have and if they get blown up you have to pay for a replacement, sort of like the torpedoes. MU frigates and gunships are just some of the purchasable units. I don’t think I ever actually bought any, but yet here they are.  They have an ability to weaken shields … but as we saw earlier the Alliance doesn’t put shields on its ships, instead relying on specialized shield cruisers to cover an entire fleet.  Anyway, Kryska happily murders a whole ship full of her former countrymen.  RIP Mining Union frigate #3. We hardly knew you, or why you were even here.  The torpedo carrying the Tactical Paradox Warhead is being carried by a specialized Alliance ship just off the map; our goal is to get the Sunrider through its escorts and to the far side of the map. The Alliance will continue to throw units at us until we do, including this carrier.   Should have come in from a different direction.  For a few turns I actually clear the map of all enemy units. Also pictured, the much slower Paladin being left behind as we dash for the other side of the map.  Having learned the folly of lining up in front of the Sunrider’s vanguard cannon, the next Alliance forces come in from two different angles. Unfortunately for them this means they can’t block us as we simply pick a few off and proceed to our objective. And just like that the final battle of the game is over.   I have the cruiser carrying the TPW on sensors! 100,000 kilometers, dead ahead! There are … still a lot of Alliance ships between us and them. All ahead, flank speed! Prepare to fire the vanguard as soon as we get in range! With luck we can ... Incoming torpedo! Close by …   Ah poo poo, looks like a torpedo got through their defenses. They took a pretty bad hit. How are you doing, soldier boy? WARNING: LOW AMMO  … Better than you ever could, mercenary. Want to take cover behind me? No! … But I probably should, you know. Just so you won’t worry. Ugh, this was the worst job I ever took!Meanwhile …  What a bunch of idiots! Did they really think I was gonna stick my neck out for them? Heh ... I'll just slip outta here while everyone's too busy trying to kill each other. They might have blown my fleet up, but I can still rebuild! They haven't seen the last of Cosette Cosmos, the terror of the stars!Anyway, she’s gone.  *cough* … Report! Torpedo impact to the starboard bow. Multiple hull breaches … we’ve got compromised armor all the way back to midship … the hanger is open to space and we lost the ryder bays on the starboard side ... Status of the vanguard? … Destroyed. We’ve also expended all of our missile and conventional cannon ordinance. Without the vanguard … That’s it, then. Kayto, we can still ... The Sunrider is lost, commander. Get everyone to the lifepods and keep them safe. I’ll take it from here. Captain, my place is on the bridge. That wasn't a request, Ava. All hands, this is the captain. Abandon ship. Repeat: abandon ship. … It’s been an honor, commander. … Are those what I think they are? Yeah. The Sunrider’s launching lifepods. PACT signatures incoming! I think … they’re targeting the lifepods!? Bastards. We’ve got to stop them! …WARNING: AMMO DEPLETED … yeah. Move, people! Ensign, I’m going to make one final sweep. Hold that pod for me; if you leave without me I swear I’ll haunt you the rest of your natural life! … ! (The door mechanism must have been damaged. That prototype … Lynn … she’s gone. Nothing I can do about it now. It’s time to go ...) We’re between those PACT ships and the lifepods, but … I’m pretty low on ammo. You? Out. Heh. Well, I guess we’re not even going to be a speedbump for them. … You know, when we got up this morning … this really isn’t how I saw this day turning out. Pfffffffff. Hahahaha. Heh. Hahaha. Hahahahahahahaha … Wait, shut up a second … new contacts, incoming!  Boy are you all lucky we checked the holo one last time before leaving the system! My idea. Irrelevant! Seraphim, start taking potshots at those cruisers, draw them away. Paladin, Phoenix, let’s start gathering up these lifepods. Alliance forces were already starting to fire on the PACT ships in the system … we’re going to be caught in a crossfire before not too long. The captain has a plan, right? Umm ... … This is Captain Kayto Shields of the assault carrier CSFS Sunrider. Last surviving vessel of the Cera Space Force. We traveled the stars, finding allies across the galaxy, with the hope of liberating our home world.      It was a journey filled with trials …   … but not without its triumphs, and moments of happiness.    We were hopelessly outnumbered … our mission was nothing but a longshot gamble against impossible odds. And finally we’re here, back where we started. Let it be remembered that on this day, we did not abandon Cera. Today, the Sunrider stood her ground! We did not falter in our defense of our family! Today, we gave the last full measure of our devotion to save our home! I’ll see you soon, Maray.  
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Oct 28, 2020 02:54
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This is the first update where I had to rewrite almost all of the dialogue to not be loving terrible. Like a good 90% of it, plus moving some scenes around. There are parts here near the end where at least one of the writers was phoning it in.
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Oct 28, 2020 03:56
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Another fun fact. I don't know this for certain as it has been many years and also I got the game after a major patch/addition but this right here is supposedly where the game ended originally. Which caused a whole lot of anger in the community.
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Oct 28, 2020 05:52
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Honestly, this would have been a good place to end it if they were going to produce a third game. Which, apparently, they're not.
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Oct 28, 2020 09:45
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I must go now. My home planet needs me. ~Kayto Shields died on the way to his home planet~
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Oct 28, 2020 09:56
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TheDavies posted:Honestly, this would have been a good place to end it if they were going to produce a third game. Which, apparently, they're not. Which is even more sad when you consider that, given how things stand, a third game would have likely seen Ava in charge...once she found a new ship anyway...and that would have been far better then Kayto's command ended up being I would imagine.
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Oct 28, 2020 10:28
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TheDavies posted:Honestly, this would have been a good place to end it if they were going to produce a third game. Which, apparently, they're not. I thought Sunrider 4 was coming? This one is 3.
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Oct 28, 2020 11:04
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TheDavies posted:Honestly, this would have been a good place to end it if they were going to produce a third game. Which, apparently, they're not. Yeah, I'm not sure where you're getting that from. Sunrider 4 is listed on their Patreon as the next game they are releasing, although the actual release date is still "TBD." I'm not a subscriber on Patreon so I can't see the posts but there seems to be a fair amount of material for the game already finished.
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Oct 28, 2020 15:25
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TheDavies posted:Honestly, this would have been a good place to end it if they were going to produce a third game. Which, apparently, they're not. I think not writing themselves into this corner would work better. AND THEN EVERYTHING WENT TO poo poo AND THE CAST LOST 50 IQ POINTS is not a great plot development.
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Oct 28, 2020 17:06
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I do not envy your rewrite task Moon Slayer, because Jesus does this not feel earned. So Alice possesses Chigara because her plan of "show up in a lone mech loudly ranting about destroying humanity, unable to understand that only being in one place at a time is bad for this goal" failed and shoots Admiral Grey to turn the alliance on each other. Ok, everything about the prototypes is both uninteresting and arbitrarily powerful because they're the writer's pets, sure. This causes the Alliance to try to blow up Cera because, uh, drama? Despite it being explicitly laid out that war crimes get Admiral Grey punished by the Alliance Progressive Party, and there's no indication the prototypes infiltrated Cera? Alice's speech about how bad humanity is is hilarious because I'm pretty sure she's just pissed her bf Arcadius got killed in PACT's expansion and decided to avenge him by wearing an elf mask like the world's worst superhero.
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Oct 28, 2020 17:09
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Exactly. Why does Fontana suddenly lose like all of his cool and composure after the Admiral's murder? He's been shown to be cool under pressure and a cunning pragmatist. Why does he suddenly lose his poo poo now instead of trying to play damage control? It's been established that nobody wants to continue the war.
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Oct 28, 2020 17:41
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:This causes the Alliance to try to blow up Cera because, uh, drama? Despite it being explicitly laid out that war crimes get Admiral Grey punished by the Alliance Progressive Party, and there's no indication the prototypes infiltrated Cera? The Paradox Contingency* is just that, a contingency should the worst-case scenario occur, which it did. Cera's not the target, the PACT fleet and leadership is. And the Sunrider too, probably. Cera is just the catalyst. We're not privy to the Alliance's decision making so who knows, maybe Grey didn't even know about it (in my version, anyway, originally he's the one who orders it). *That name is all me and I'm pretty proud of it. It sounds like the title of a Laundry Files or Artemes Fowl book.
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Oct 28, 2020 18:22
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reading the thread reactions is as good as, if not better than, the actual story 
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Oct 28, 2020 18:24
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Moon Slayer posted:The Paradox Contingency* is just that, a contingency should the worst-case scenario occur, which it did. Cera's not the target, the PACT fleet and leadership is. And the Sunrider too, probably. Cera is just the catalyst. We're not privy to the Alliance's decision making so who knows, maybe Grey didn't even know about it (in my version, anyway, originally he's the one who orders it). This is still a huge propaganda loss for the Alliance as they're killing Cera as accidental collateral damage. Fontana's successor can rightly point to the rear end in a top hat who missiled a peace talk and an entire planet full of innocent people because the talks were sabotaged by a third party - or, at worst, the other side of the PACT civil war. Unfortunately we have to nuke Cera because then the Sunrider can't just let the superpowers fight it out and go home, so...
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Oct 28, 2020 18:35
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The alliance can always just say the “third party” was PACT aligned, which, half true.
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Oct 28, 2020 18:42
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Part 3: Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost Suggested listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Ob7RWF-A8   My sister has failed. Instead of unifying humanity, her actions instead sparked a war which will threaten the very existence of the human race. I have ... been betrayed. By my own sister.*ZAP*  Now now, don’t feel too bad. I'd hardly say you were the only one betrayed today. Wanderer.  At least you weren’t blown up like poor “Claude.” Do you know what explosive decompression does to my skin? …  Forget it. Look, I did what you wanted. First I led the Sunrider to the sleeper in the Abyss … … and then I made sure your little doll could get it on with the captain. It was a real challenge, you know! I had to work hard! I had to work weekends. And -- despite the captain's obvious infatuation with me -- he was hitched up with Chigara in no time! After some... fake medical reports and assorted other arrangements, of course. quote:
 Ah, but there was another wrinkle in that plan! Somehow, the little Queen of Ryuvia could sense Chigara's connection to the prototype group consciousness. The “mindstream” as you lot call it. Poor girl … subconsciously she could feel that something was wrong with Chigara, but couldn’t tell exactly what. Trying to get the others to understand only to be ignored and dismissed as simply a girl jealous of her friend’s boyfriend ... It must have been … torture. Hahaha. But life's not fair~ You performed your mission admirably, wanderer. I know. But ... I’m a little confused on one point. So you sent Chigara to learn about humanity and to one day control them in the fight against the Ebon Fleet … So then why in the HELL did Chigara shoot everyone dead at the ceremony!? …  We initially sent C8 to keep watch on the then-Ryuvian princess after your warning about her eventual final awakening. It was mere happenstance that her path crossed with Shields’. From there, we sought to understand him so that we could eventually control him. But my sister apparently had plans of her own. While I was distracted organizing the prototypes throughout the galaxy, she brought PACT under her control and began secretly sabotaging my efforts. Somehow she hid the true extent of her hatred for humanity from me, and instead attempted to bring about the complete destruction of the human race. At the pivotal moment, she assumed control of C8 through the mindstream, and brought my plan to ruin. Aha, so you just wanted to enslave humanity, while your sister wanted to destroy it. Now, my sister and C8 battle inside the mindstream for control of the other prototypes. But what will emerge from that battle ... may not be either of them. I fear that the mindstream could become corrupted. Should C8 return, she will be … different. Well, good luck with all of that! Not my concern, really. I’m just here to clean up this temporal disaster. An entire fleet blown from its timeline and just dropped into this one? When people and things start moving through time willy-nilly and events get moved around all out of order, it's only a matter of ... ahem ... time until something reeaallly bad happens to the entire universe. I thought you prototypes could take care of it, but I guess not. Honestly, I don't care one way or another 'bout a boring thing like you prototypes. I think I'd rather take my chances with the other team now. Shields is dead. Oh? Somehow I doubt that man will die so easily. You will use your powers to change the timeline? What? No. Were you even listening? I told you, moving events out of order can cause huge headaches. Things stop making sense ... huge gaping plot holes get opened … and you know, when a plot hole opens up in the space time continuum the entire universe just kind of goes ... POOF! Exactly the kind of thing I'm trying to prevent here! No, I’m pretty sure Shields lives without my intervention. … The mindstream … she has already begun to … Bored now. Hey, why don't you just join up with us too? I’m sure I could make room on the team for … whatever that gothic thing you’ve got going on is. I decline. Oh well ... less competition for me. Go ahead and stay here and do ... prototype things … or whatever. My goal will not change. I will control humanity. Regardless of my sister's machinations. Yeah, good luck with all that. See ya!*ZAP*  ... (My sister. What have you done?)
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Oct 28, 2020 23:50
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I've performed a more in-depth examination of Chigara than I did in her initial checkup. The results of the examination show no areas of concern. Chigara is as human as any of us.
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so now Claude is Q and we're doing a time fuckery plot sure, okay
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Oct 28, 2020 23:58
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Oh god, instead of being dead Claude became incalculably worse.
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Oct 29, 2020 00:02
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Zore posted:so now Claude is Q and we're doing a time fuckery plot Claude as Q at least gives her something. If only she was A: not a character and B: Not Q
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Oct 29, 2020 00:05
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Probably closer to a Time Lord, though I've never actually watched any Doctor Who so that might not be the most accurate comparison.
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Oct 29, 2020 00:18
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Not Q. More akin to somewhere between agent Daniels and Timelord. Edit: Well I got ninja'd. cokerpilot fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Oct 29, 2020 |
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Oct 29, 2020 00:20
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The frustrating part is the whole PACT vs. Alliance vs. Neutral Rim and political side of this was the more fun part of the story. Even the dead ancient empire was okay, particularly as Solas is good. But this? We're going straight to the worst parts of anime town and it's the main plot, I see.
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Oct 29, 2020 00:20
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