You know what to do.

Hey Brun,

Before he went on a seven year hiatus, we hit a milestone and I gave the option for everyone to choose to move their skills from the Pyramid arrangement to the column arrangement if they wanted. I noticed Brun's skill are still in the pyramid. If you're happy with that, no worries, but you can definitely rearrange if you want.

I was actually thinking so many things changed about Brun by the end of Act One.  Not sure if sills would though....will look!

Trying to think of heraldry and house name.  That's /hard/.  Everything seems corny without the weight of years/tradition.

For heraldry, I've got:
-A field divided in half lengthwise, white/silver and sable/black.  A line of stars at the dividing line.  The central stars arms are different, a little longer and more like Euryleia's foils, crossed.

For name....  Brun of House Brun sounds wrong and too prideful for him.  House Stellamurus/Astramurus?  Means something like Wall of Stars.  It's what the People painted, so I was wanting to use it.

Man I hate typing on phones...  Skills not sills.

Yeah, I remember both you and Meara made changes to your aspects to reflect the character changes. You added a skill to your pyramid it looks like, but both Meara and Gwydion switched to columns to maximize that skill you each gained. Brun is free to do the same if he wants.


I love that.


Names are indeed hard. If you want that meaning, but aren't feeling the Latin, what about other languages? If you want to cleave close to the Arthurian inspiration, maybe Old English/Germanic, or Middle English? Venus, where Brun is originally from has nordic influences. I'm sure in his time in the Wreck, Brun probably saw influence from lots of languages and cultures. Pirates are pretty eclectic after all.

I am glad you liked the people's tribute. Their vigil outside of Euryleia's construction bay was my favorite part of the opening post to write. No! It was Arthur giving Gwydion all that responsibility. No! It was Meara being late to lunch with the Queen. No! It was the vigil. Ahhh...I can't decide! I love these characters!

Danish gets me.... Stjernevold
Which I kinda like....

I also kinda imagine a lot of folks making suggestions and recommendations to him.  Too helpfully.  It would all be rather overwhelming for him.

House Stjernevold

That does sound pretty awesome!

You could come up with House Words or a motto too.


Hahaha! Write it!

"House B-"
"No."
"Aw.

I definitely read that in the voices my brain uses for Meara and Freyr. XD

To continue with the levity, it was established in canon that Brun has a nice butt. Some spectators were admiring it after one of Brun's tournament wins, IIRC.

Potential House Stjernevold Mottos
We Lead, You Admire the View
Steel Will, Steel Buns
Perfectly Sculpted

Ha!  To both. Also same with the voices.

As for the mottos, this joke now makes so many I was considering sound dirty.  GOOD JOB

Sorry. =/

In fairness, pretty much anything can sound dirty with a little imagination and the right tone.

Glad I can be of service.

Also, Meara was going to suggest what I always suggest when someone asks for a name, because Titan A.E. lives rent free in my brain and I can't think of anything until I blurt out "Bob."

She does think Brun has a nice butt, though.  As does Freyr, but she won't say it out loud like Meara totally will at some point.

No need for apologies!  I meant good job.  Laughter is always welcome.

Bob is good, my reflexive go to is Steve.

Brun, given his training as a Venusian Prince, very likely purposely tailors his outfits to make as much use of his...assets as possible.  Though I don't suppose he would blazon it across his new potential House....  Maybe...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:44, Thu 13 July 2023.

Your Coat of Arms could just be Brun pulling a Nightwing.

"My ass is AMAZING and shall be displayed PROMINENTLY"

Alternatively, it could be something like Mikus Rampant.  Like from this episode of The Panalysts!

https://wiki.loadingreadyrun.c...Ep56_-_The_Dank_Ages

Also you should watch Loading Ready Run's stuff.  Glorious comedy.  I highly recommend QWERPLINE and The Panalysts as introductions.  Both function as podcasts but also have the full videos on YouTube.

This is but one of the six pieces of fanart of the coats of arms to come from the linked episode:

Glad you got a laugh. And, yeah, laughter never hurts. I'm grateful for all the chuckles I've gotten from you guys in the last couple days, for sure.

There.  I did it.  Good or ill.  Feels a bit rushed, but I think I got all  I wanted to in there...

Dude, that post is great. You did such a good job conveying Brun's stress. And that last bit with his guilt? So good.

Forgive me for needing to refresh on the fine details of Brun's background, but I don't have my OG GM notes anymore. Here's what I remember. Correct anything I get wrong. Brun had two older sisters (Sigrin and ?) who led a disastrous attack on the Wreck in an effort to stop pirates. They were killed. Brun was a Squire and was captured and they tried to ransom him. They couldn't get a Ransom, but Brun ingratiated himself and became a crew member of the Shadow King. Over a span of a few years, he used the spoils to build his own armour, Euryleia, and he went his own way. Is that right?

---

Now we are officially back together after all these years...

I definitely didn't have this on my July bingo card.

On the subject of Ships:

-I agree on Brun/Rose as I was rereading!  I was a little angry at Brun and the writers for not acknowledging that dynamic more early on and especially after the battle.  The I realized that's me.  I was that writer.

But, I also think Rose could easily be spun into Brun's antagonist.  She heard him mention the Shadow King....  Brother killed by pirates...  What if she found out pirates from that ship were responsible??

As for Meara and Brun, that would have to be a forced political matchmaking.  Meara represents the Platonic Ideal of what every Venusian Prince dreams of.   For Brun, she also represents the heroic princess that never came to his rescue in his darkest days.  He feels she is amazing and makes his heart skip, but he will never be good enough to attract her attention; tarnished goods.  And likely, a warrior princess might not really be what his heart wants anymore, deep down.  Euryleia is the warrior princess that rescued him.

Apparently I had thoughts!

In reply to MerLN (msg # 18):

That part wasn't specifically detailed, but your understanding is basically what I had.  I was playing with the swapped gender roles for Venus.  IE, he was the traditional captured "princess".  Only his family had no one left to send, couldn't afford the ransom and he really shouldn't have been out there "playing" at soldiering anyway...  Likely they blamed him for the death of his brave sisters.  They might even be right.  Trying to watch out for their helpless brother may have gotten them killed.  Brun likely believes it.

My current head canon (which is canon, I guess?), Would be that "ingratiating" himself covers a lot of dark, humiliating things that.... We don't need to detail.  But, he found bits of his sisters armor in the scrap on the King.....  Realized no one was coming for him or to avenge his sisters.  That he had disgraced himself and his sisters sacrifice by joining the pirates.

He built Euryleia, exacted a small revenge (which the crew of the Shadow King has NOT forgotten) and left to become a wandering Edge Knight.  To work to balance the scales

Oh!

What if something recognizable from Rose's brother's Armour was now part of Euryleia....

As anime characters, it is our duty to fulfill anime trope requirements. Brun/Rose hits every possible marker for that: they're compatible in all sorts of ways, they go from liking each other to being angry at each other and back in just about every scene together, and Brun has secrets that will definitely hurt Rose's feelings even though he didn't do anything wrong. That last bit is especially important, as it'll have to come out at some point after they get together but before anything is permanent, as the Misunderstanding. (In romance novels, this is generally between 66-75% through the book, but I haven't analyzed enough anime to get rough figures for that). If it turns out Rose has some secrets too, all the better.



See, now that's what I'm talkin' about. Giving her suspicions that she puts out of her mind until someone else points it out to her and she has to take it seriously, at which point things fall apart and they gotta figure out how to put it back together Or Else.

Eh? :D



This is the best Bingo ever. :3

If we recall, that's EXACTLY how Rose and Brun met.

Rose Sawyer used work on her Brother Allon Sawyer's Armour. Allon was a member of Baron Gehenmis's Household Guard. He will killed by pirates.

Remember, she showed up pretending to be into him until she confronted him about having parts of her brother's armour in his. Brun convinced her it wasn't him and even had her tell him about her brother. They were cool

Brun mentions the Shadow King during the evacuation and she lost her shit. But she saw that he displayed real nobility as well. At this point she has real cognitive dissonance vis a vis Brun. She really doesn't know what to make of him at all? If he really as charming and noble as he presents or is he just a sociopathic bastard?

I remembered the Shadow King moment.....  But forgot the other....  Until I remembered it and thought it was a new idea....

Well...  See?  It was/is a good plan...

Dammit!

Then....  We could double down as Gwydion suggested, in the spirit of Anime...

Maybe agents, or a specific as-yet-unnamed pirate shows or creates evidence that Brun was part of that specific pirate attack....  No Euryleia yet, maybe piloting some other pirate craft or on a boarding party....

Using it to crush his rep with Callisto refugees, as that attack was against that Barony, with the added problem of igniting Roses vengeance again....

Or...whatever you have in mind, Bossman!

I dig that I have such specific thoughts and ideas for these three and their story after this long.  Played and run other games for longer and don't have that!

Oh it's a great plan for all the reasons you guys pointed out. But, Brun will definitely have to pursue her at the moment as I think she's probably intentionally keeping her distance from him. Unless she comes for Revenge!

For a Venusian Prince, I offer a quote from Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "We should be woo'd and were not made to woo."

Brun I am afraid I can only reply with >=D for reasons.

With all the talk of shipping I just keep thinking of the conversation we had in the OOC about being oblivious and it makes me keep thinking of Meara being SUPER obvious to Irina (or whoever, just an example!) who is just missing all the signals left and right. She strikes me as the type whose definitely secretly into the romance holos in between her more cerebral pursuits. She's probably got all this pent-up energy, but because she's so shy never had a girlfriend or boyfriend. Meara is just throwing meatballs across the plate, but Irina is too busy making sure her grip on the bat is perfect to notice.

IC post should be up in the next hour or so. I am off today so, I am trying to write it now.

The timestamps for y'all are way too early in the morning for me.

I operate early now....  5:30 EST wake-up.  Not my preference, but whachagonnado?

On the other hand, I get to occasionally post from my phone and no one cares.

So, not all bad.

East Coooooooooast!

Same as Brun. I'm usually up pretty early too.

It sucks when you just naturally wake up at your normal time, even when you have the opportunity to sleep in though.

YES!

I can't sleep in anymore and I hate it.

Me: C'mon, Brain. We can get another hour, at least.

Brain: No. We're awake now.

Me: You know what? No! We are going back to sleep.

Bladder: I don't think so.

Me, getting out of bed: Goddamit!

Ah, my brain and my bladder.  My worst enemies when it comes to sleep.

Me: It's 2am I should be asleep.
Brain: You are going to now imagine an elaborate story setup that would make Wheels of Time seem modest by comparison.

Me: I am finally asleep.
Bladder: WAKE UP WE GOTTA PEE

They're conspiring, I swear.

Also, me getting out of bed before 8am is a genuine struggle regardless of when I fall asleep the night before OR how well-rested I am.

...

west coast best coast east coast least coast >.>

All of the truths today!  It's nice to know it's not just me....  On the other hand, if it's not just me...  It /could/ be a conspiracy....  Not just Meara's brain and bladder...  How deep does this go....

As a note, I work semi-outside with no AC....  My brain /may/ be cooking or I /could be right/.

AC should be a legal requirement in all buildings and vehicles.

No, I don't care where the building is or where the vehicle is registered.

I live in the Pacific Northwest and it gets hot in the summer sometimes (also I'm a snow child and anything over 69° F nice is too hot for me).

Also my roomie and I drove her (free, gifted with obvious reasons that will become apparent by the end of this sentence) car from Florida back home to here... with no AC, because the AC was busted.  We were told it was inconsistent, not completely broken.

My first car that I drove from my late teens until my mid-late twenties was a 1990 Honda Prelude that I has over 300,000 miles on by the time she gave up the ghost. She never had AC because she ran on R-12 and the price to have her converted over cost more than I had. So for years I rolled around in GA Summers with the windows down and the sunroof open. Needless to say Atlanta traffic was miserable.

I am so, so sorry.

It's all good. I haven't had that car for about 10 years now, but the one I currently drive has AC.

Also, on the topic of plot hooks for Brun/Gwydion/Meara I am working on a list of a potential ones for each of you and there are some good ones. Several are mutually exclusive depending on the choices you make in response to the setting or just personal choices you make for yourselves. Right now it looks like a big web. Of course, you three being you three are going to come up with brilliance that I can't predict, so it will be a web in flux. I just wanted you to know that I am over here in agony because I cannot share details. Spoilers are the anathema of joy.

I feel like the Emperor on the Golden Throne.

Hey, at least you've got your Text to Speech device!

*highfives West Coast buddy*

Our AC is mega loud and doesn't actually cool down the bedrooms, where my computer is and thus where I spend all my time, so we just gotta have windows and the front door open and a ton of fans creating a cross-breeze. It is mega-warm except in winter, when it's just pretty warm.

So during my re-reading of things to catch up, I absolutely missed Rose and Brun's early interactions being basically what we were suggesting. XD I might suggest that rather than trying to avoid Brun, she might be spending time staying closer to him at this point to either get a better read on him or simply because she likes what she's experienced more than she dislikes what she's heard. (I mainly say this because Brun having been the Damsel In Distress archetype and always being so down on himself means pursuing anyone is likely not in his wheelhouse, at least not anytime soon. She'd have to do some poking and prodding first.)

So, having put some thought into it, Meara is definitely a young woman with certain things on the mind.

The absence of Freyr and Iliza in that is because Iliza clearly only has eyes for Gwydion (it's okay to admire his smile!  That's not lusting!) and Freyr is as much a sister to her as one can be without being blood related.  Honestly, possibly even closer because of that.

Also she didn't really get much of a good look at Iliza before all the bad things happened so she's only really seen her in her trauma state, which is, ah, not exactly alluring.

If Gwydion ever does ask Meara for advice on how to cheer up Iliza, Meara's answer would be something like skeeball.  She's not very good at this but she's trying.

I was just playing a visual novel the other day, and the group cheered up by playing skeeball. It works! :o

Meara definitely hung out with Gwydion and Iliza after his victory over Sir L1-4MNT in the tournament. They partied together and Meara spent the evening sitting next to Iliza. But, she mostly spent the evening thinking they were adorable and trying to subtly wingwoman for Gwydion.

Best cousin ever. <3

I forgot about that!

Yeah, that would be why she wasn't having those thoughts about Iliza, then.

Lemme see if I can catch up with all that I didn't get to comment about...

-I agree that AC should be a legal requirement.

-I also had a car with "inconsistent" AC.  And that also meant didn't work.  Didn't drive it /that/ far though so, but all the driving was also in Georgia.

-I now know what R-12 is and why that was a problem.  Learned something!

-Knowing all the plot hooks and ideas, but not being able to share them...  The eternal struggle of the GM.  You want to share the brilliance, but the only people that would understand it all are the players and you /can't/ tell /them/.  I've tried telling others, but they don't care...

-Gwydion has seconded my position that Rose/Brun is all on Rose to push forward for whatever reasons she may have.  That's two votes.  Which feels like alot.  That's just math.

-It /is/ very hard to play skeeball and be sad.  But, I feel like Brun could find a way.  Poor, little lamb.

-I'm glad I'm not the only one who missed things after seven years!  And Meara does seem like the best cousin.

-Going back a bit further now.  Mikus Rampant is a hilarious phrase.  I now know what a Miku is and it made me feel OLD.  I also tried to figure out the difference between Miku and the Gorillaz?  I mean they are both virtual musical acts, right?  Or am I missing something....or just too old.  And I have been listening the Panalysts.  Good, silly stuff done seriously.  Thanks Meara!

So the Gorillaz are a group of actual musicians who perform and sing and are represented by animated characters (drawn by the same artist who brought us Tank Girl <3). Miku, on the other hand, is NOT a real musician. She's a virtual pop idol created by a computer program that lets you input lyrics and a melody and it will generate a "voice" for her, or you can buy one of the other vocaloids to get their voices and imagery instead. You do need musical skill, of course, but at no point are you performing the music or singing yourself. Think of Miku like a pop singer you can license, whereas the Gorillaz are their own band.

I mean, at this point Miku's sort of a real pop idol, what with having several live concerts under her belt at this point, but yeah, at her core she's a character face for the (formerly) VOCALOID program (now Piapro Studios) that's an incredibly robust synthesized vocal suite for the singing parts of songs.

This has been noted and will be handled appropriately. If I add extra eyebrows does it get more menacing? >>>>=D


I, too, now know what a Miku is.

:o

I am so glad Gwydion isn't there. He have to plug his ears and hum. His aunt's being diiiiirty. XD

Yes, but, you know, classy dirty. Because she's the Queen.

If I have learned anything it's that a group of ladies is just as bad about these things as a group of men.

I, for one, am grateful for the levity. Especially after the Arthur speech and the Iliza post. Good god that Iliza post was rough to write. And I'm not sure if I did it justice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:47, Sun 16 July 2023.

Poor Iliza has a lot going on, including, but not limited to:

1. PTSD
2. Survivor's Guilt
3. A boat load of Grief
4. A very sudden understanding of the fragility of life.

She was making an effort to drive Gwydion away as a way of hurting herself because she feels like she deserves that pain.  But Gwydion made it clear that he's not going anywhere.

It's going to be a long road before she's in a good place again, but I think she's taken her first step. Honestly, Iliza is a good microcosm for the refugee crisis itself.

Poor thing. She needs snugs. <3

Poor Iliza is about to hibernate. She's gonna drool all over Gwydion. =P

Gwydion, congratulations on being the first of you to unlock your free stunt for Chapter 2. Please add the following to your character sheet:

High As Hope: Your devotion to the Code of Chivalry inspires hope in the darkest hours. Once per session you can reduce someone else’s consequence by one level of severity (severe to moderate, moderate to mild, mild to nothing at all) by succeeding on an Chivalry roll with a difficulty of Fair (+2) for a mild consequence, Good (+3) for moderate, or Great (+4) for severe. You need to talk with the person you’re aiding for at least half an hour in order for them to receive the benefits of this stunt, and you can’t use it on yourself.

Yay. Team therapist powers activate! :D

Thank Goodness!

We needed a Team Therapist!

That makes sense.  I have now learned yet another thing.

I also dig how this game is quickly turning into the best polycule ever. XD

I'm over here planning out a kickass Chapter 2 with lots of fun, action, and interesting character moments.

Meanwhile, y'all over there cuddled up with the cute NPCs waiving "Bi-Bi-Bi" to the plot.

If you guys start a beach episode, I swear to god...

=P

Hee. Bikini knights. :3

Maybe...

Baywatch Knights?

This party is gonna touch all the butts. Every butt. XD

Dear god I spend one weekend doing things outside my house and y'all go on and write a novel together.

Also, Meara will definitely assist with the affection towards butts.

Meara, it was only so you had something nice to read when you got home. Honest!

Brun, I am going to accept your Fate Point to tag Avaluna's Forges (so please update your total) because the difference between 5 and 7 is the difference between tying and a regular success. That also means that 8 is the threshold for success with style. I'll allow you to Spend Another Fate Point if you want the success with style. It'll mean more progress, but you'd also be burning up those sweet, sweet, Fate Points very early. Up to you.

I accept!  Spent to tag One Man's Junk... Even while rebuilding in the finest forges of Avaluna, Brun still works in unorthodox ways with parts doing jobs they weren't originally meant for

Refresh is 3 and we just started, do we have 3 not the 4 my count shows?  So, I have 0?

Unless I successfully used Chased by Shadows to make the story more interesting?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:07, Mon 17 July 2023.

Honestly, it's been so long...Lets just assume four was the right total and you just spent three leaving you with one left.

*salutes* Yessir!

House Words: Once More

I have read through a lot of real world house/clan mottos.  They are not all great, so I feel good with this for my fiction

I feel like this is a chance to show the true face of humanity through all of history and choose a motto that is the equivalent of "Deez Nuts" in current times, but somehow sounds profound and mysterious generations down the line.

I did consider, but it's much harder and I couldn't stop chuckling.

Uplifted Corporate Slogans:
- "Never Stop Improving"
- "Can You Hear Us Now?"
- "Eat Fresh"
- "Just Do It"

Or just sayings and memes:
- "LEEEEEROY JENKINS"
- "Let's Do This"
- "Eat Me"
- "OK Boomer"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:22, Mon 17 July 2023.

"Once you pop, you can't stop"
"The Freshmaker"
"I'm lovin' it"

Or, for a lovely classic...

"GOOD GRIEF"

Thank you Charlie Brown & crew.

Nice!

I also try to imagine a battalion of soldiers roaring these as a Warcry.

Imagine a horde charging at you screaming, "I'M LOVIN' IT!"

Another solid choice is "It's not easy being green"

And the crest is just Kermit the Frog.

Is Meara invoking to spend a Fate Point or Compelling to see if the GM will give her a Fate Point? Because that could seriously go either way.

RIGHT

It's a COMPEL

Thanks for the assist!  I'll edit the post.

EDIT: And fixed.  Thanks again!

Meara owes Gwydion a favor now.  It has been written.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:26, Mon 17 July 2023.

Yaaay I halp! :D

I have so much Fate jargon well ingrained in my head even though I haven't played a proper Fate game in years. Like riding a bicycle. I love how easy this system is to just slide back into, like a comfy blanket.

Personally, I think Once More (Unto the Breach!) sounds amazeballs. I mean, I know Henry V was assaulting a wall rather than defending one, but still. The connection is cool.

My vote for the joke words would follow our previous callipygian train of thought. House Stjernevold: Much Back.

The glanceversation between Meara and Freyr had me chuckling.

Oh, and, technically it's only ladies at the Lunch, Meara. Venusian Nobility. No boys allowed.

I will get a post up this evening, so everyone check back in a few hours and there should be an update.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:39, Mon 17 July 2023.

Right, I forgot.  Venusian nobility has a sign that says "no icky boy cooties."  Edited to make it a woman who was being critical of Meara instead of a dude.

Also, all glanceversations between Meara and Freyr are subject to the Rule of Funny.

Once more unto the breach...  Once more having a place...  To keep going, to try again, to rebuild, just once more...  And then once more after that.


I'm sticking with it, but GOOD GRIEF and MUCH BACK are /really/ good the more I think about it...

I think Venusian nobility is fine with boy cooties, just feel that Venusian boys can't really be trusted with things like war, politics, responsibility, etc.  Its not really what they are for...

I'm imagining all the Venusian men as being Ryan Gosling giving interviews with Ken-brain active, and it's magnificent. Boy cooties are for funsies, not for thinksies. Also, high fives for Freya.

I'm going to enjoy this compel.

Oh yes.

That lady is going to be completely destroyed.

Exactly. They are fine with boys. They just think their place is largely at home taking care of their wives and household. Or as a trophy hubby. It's like 1950s-1960s sexist attitudes with the gender roles flipped. Valerie, the Queen of the Morningstar Matriarchy, marrying John Arthur as her EQUAL was pretty controversial to some people on Venus.

---

I will get a post up later today. I am doing my best to try and commit to an IC post every day as long we're able to keep up. Obviously everyone has RL obligations that take precedence, but so long as we have the momentum I want to try and maintain it.

I suspected it would be something like that, hence the "no icky boy cooties" being the most childish way to say "stay out of politics".

Oh man, that would mean the men have a power dynamic like noble ladies did!  Fold the arms, tap the foot, shame the spouse.  Not to mention the intricate social power plays going on among them while the men did their more open posturing.  It was an entire thing.

And if Meara pursues/is pursued by Irina, she'll be outside of that dynamic forever!

As for Irina, she cares about noble posturing as much as Meara, so she'll just be happy to have all sorts of resources to study and tinker with.

Also, GM, thank you so much for solidifying Meara's admiration of Queen Valerie.  Now it's only a matter of time before she tells the queen her husband's super cute.

This!  That's exactly the way I imagine it!  I've been trying to think through (for fun) how/why Venus developed this way.  The history that creates it.  Something in the early colonization efforts or a terraforming incident that women were generally more adapted for or able to adapt to.  Or, not even on a biological level, maybe the early colonization efforts was more woman-led,  thus a history of woman leadership.....  Which became trend.....which became norm....  Or both...

And I am now reading the "no icky boy cooties" painted roughly on the clubhouse and see that we were all on a similar page....

Oh man, poor Brun.  Stuck in one social dynamic only to have it completely inverted with a "healthy" dose of trauma.

And yeah, when I said "no icky boy cooties" I was thinking of Calvin & Hobbes and their clubhouse/tree fort.  At least one of the letters is backwards.

In reply to Meara (msg # 84):

Yeah, Meara, I think you have it all pretty much right. That's how I imagine it at well.

Meara would definitely have to be Irina's pursuer. I could definitely see Irina having a big ol' crush on Meara though. For one, Meara was sweet and friendly with her and took an interest in her interests. And took her side. AND let her work on a Venusian Armour. That is a really BIG deal. Armour is obviously super important in general, but Venusian armour is widely regarded as the best quality in the system. People pay top dollar for Venusian components and Venusian nobles jealously guard their familial suits. The fact that Irina tweaked the reactor to be more efficient shows she really has some chops and, ostensibly, shows Meara put real trust in her to let someone outside the family and trusted retainers touch it. Not sure if Meara thought about that though.

So yeah, now that you have me thinking about it, Irina probably has a serious crush. But, she's not going to show it. She's a lot more reserved than her sister.  Plus, I don't think she has seen any indication that Meara is even attracted to women at all. And if she had, I don't think she'd consider that Meara would be interested in her. From her perspective she just thinks they are friends, even if she really does admire her and may, occasionally, scrawl little hearts around the letter M on her datapad screen.

What are you thanking me for? I didn't do anything. That's just how Auntie Val rolls.

---

Brun, I imagine it happened because the men just killed each other in the civil war. MerGN-A lowkey engineered a crisis by purposefully letting too many people flee to Venus. It's covered in the History of the Realm thread.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:56, Tue 18 July 2023.

Poor Brun, indeed!  His worlds keep getting flipped and scrambled traumatically.  But he'll be fine.  Euryleia is actually talking back to him now!  This is fine.  He's fine.  None of this could be bad or indicative of long term mental concerns.

And OF COURSE it's written in the history and I missed it.....  That tracks perfectly.

Ah, I see Meara and Irina will be one of those couples.

Everyone around them assumes they're courting but neither of them have a clue they're mutually into each other.

Brun having a sexy avatar for his armour is totally normal.  Totally, 100% normal.  I'm going to laugh so hard if she basically looks like Rose.

I see it going one of two ways. Either exactly as you describe or else mostly opposite of Gwydion and Iliza.

See G+Il are like this picture book ideal of courtly romance. These two seem Fated and they somehow haven't even kissed yet! The entire realm is looking forward to their eventual wedding.

Meanwhile, M+Ir elope and are kind of just honeymooning it up in the carrier, deliriously happy together. Meara's mom went NUCLEAR when she found out, Auntie Val isn't happy, but she gets it. After all, her marriage to J.A. was subject to EVERYBODY having an opinion too. J.A. himself is lowkey on the couch right now because Auntie Val is pissed at him because, well, he's technically the one that performed the Ceremony.

"But Val, you should have seen their faces! Those girls were so--"

"You couldn't have waited?"

"No, Emergent Raid. Tier 3. They literally caught me running for the hanger. So we did it on the run. It was a brief ceremony, but Meara was such a beautiful bride in her flight suit. You should have been there, Val..."

"I would have been if you has anything resembling patience..."

"You're just mad we're not the only couple to start our honeymoon in an armour now..."

MerLN, the next day: Is something the matter with your neck, my liege? Sleep in the "Royal Bungalow" again?


Yep, just an Avatar. That's all. For sure.

Oh no!  Royally couched, he is.

But nah, Meara is one of those people who has totally dreamed up her wedding day.  She's worked hard to ensure she looks amazing in the dress, after all.

She'll also want all the details she can get about Val & J.A.'s romance.  Especially the spicy bits.


Everything is fine nothing is suspicious we are a hedge move along

**In Ahnuld Voice** She's not a tumah!!!

Sorry for the double post, but I just saw Gwydion's post and all I can think is, We're Sorry. The Prince you have tried to reach is not in service. Please, hang up and try your request again. Thank you.

A 4 will net a standard success on the Refugee effort as well.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:20, Tue 18 July 2023.

On the subject of being unavailable due to one's own brain, I was talking with Gwydion yesterday and ended up showing him a link to what's basically going on in Meara's head 24/7, which I shall now share with you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-SgFHED_2E

You're welcome.

Poor Gwydion has no idea how to handle being bonked into horny jail. He's new here. XD

He didn't even do anything though. He shorted out before he even got close to a bonkable offense.

Pfft, that's because we shifted to the next scene before the gratuitous bathing scene. :P

That's what Gwydion tells people. =P

Gwydion can talk when he shows up with his clothes buttoned up off by one.

Frantically texting Meara, "Help, a girl wants me to give her a bath, what do? Does this mean she likes me?"

XD

Meara just replies, "make sure to wash under her boobs"

Because she's super helpful and that's something you don't want to miss.  It's really easy to forget when you're in a hurry, and it's super uncomfortable if you forget.  It would never once cross her mind that he wasn't asking for advice on how to give the bath properly.

But also that is extremely useful advice. Meara coming through like always. <3

Meanwhile, Brun out here motorboating his way to the end of the human race.

Can't hear you.  Brun is too busy winning.  You guys go ahead.

For visuals on Euryleia's avatar: Somewhere between Nanami Kiryuu from Utena (for the anime aesthetic) and Mjoll the Lioness from Skyrim (for Nordic swordswoman).  Lean, predatory athleticism.  A warrior.

Mjoll in a flight suit was exactly what I pictured from your description!

Ha!  I did something right then.

Also, can't wait for some to check in on Brun and the hatch seals are somehow off by one...

Brun enters the cockpit and it's full of holo-calculations that prove that Brun's butt is mathematically perfect.

Euryleia is constantly making scans and calculations to ensure it stays that way by microadjusting the pilot's seat just so.

EDIT: I just read the IC post and am enjoying the OOC bits at the end of each one.

"My girlfriend is 18 meters tall and capable of warcrimes."

To be fair to Euryleia, all of us are capable of warcrimes.  A dedicated duck is capable of war crimes (although, as a duck, they cannot be held accountable).

Good thing Emergent aren't protected under the Geneva Convention!
This message was last edited by the player at 16:25, Wed 19 July 2023.

I thought the same thing!  I mean....  She might have an easier time in many cases.  Could possibly do it accidentally...

Or, perhaps, Bossman means that she can/might/will/desires to commit war crimes....

I also really like the idea of a duck dedicated to villainy skating by on the legal loopholes.

More like there is a reasonable expectation that she could successfully perpetrate a warcrime if she had the desire. She'd have to put a whole lot less effort into it in most cases.

Glad you like the OOC bits, Meara. It was mostly just me like "Why's Freyr got to leave just because it'll make for a really compelling arc for Meara? Why can't you just leave her there? Why must things change? Why?" and I just kind of left my internal thoughts there.

Then when I got to Brun's part, I did the same.

Then for Gwydion and I realized I WoT him when I said I wouldn't. So I HAD to FP him.

Hey, maybe I should change Brun's trouble to: My girlfriend is 18 meters tall and capable of warcrimes

Seems a more fitting Trouble currently...

Rose never had a chance.

If you want to change it to that or something along the same lines, you have my permission.

As far as Rose goes, I was going to have her pop up again for sure since you guys liked the idea, but if it gets flirty, I'm afraid we'll end up with Fatal Attraction, but with an M1-A1 Abrahams as Glen Close's character.

Pfft. I doubt Euryleia is the jealous type. She seems way too confident for that. And maybe a little too pervy, encouraging Brun to take Rose on a date in the cockpit so she can get video of all the best angles for later analysis (and light teasing). :P I'm still firmly on the side of Team Polycule. XD

Also this particular wall of text was surprisingly easy to run through, but I'll deffo take that Fate Point with a million thanks! n.n

I'm tempted to take a Trouble that's simply titled "Weh" with how Meara reacts to everything, but that seems a bit too silly.  Also way too easy to farm fate points with.

Weh. :P

I think Euryleia being confident and cool with anything sounds very funny.  Especially since Brun likely would very much not be.

Also, just a quick check to make sure I'm on the same page....  Other than MerGN-A and MerLN, chatty, human intelligence AI is not really a thing?  Like.... It might be regarded very suspiciously (for good reason) by most who are not Brun?

If things go the way they could, Brun might take Weh as well!  So need a ruling there.

Her having the attitude of having "You can't do for him what I can do for him. I'm a goddamn war goddess with an incredible rack that knows exactly what he needs and how to give it to him. Good luck, Bitch." is very on brand for her. But she also has her own sense of morality and expectations which I will let you discover in play.

As far as her behavior/existence, yes, it should throw up red flags for most people. There's definitely dumb "A.I." around . But there are only two Emergent. MerGN-A was the first and she tried to eradicate humanity. Is still trying. MerLN is the other and he was explicitly created to help humanity against MerGN-A. Even then, it took a long time for him to gain Arthur's trust. Euryleia, if she even is an Emergent, would only be the third.

Oh yeah, as a player I'm like "so MerGN-A is at play here right" but in character both Meara and Freyr have no idea so they can't even go "huh, that's weird".

Meara might ask how she can get laid with Brunhildr if she finds out, though.  She's got her priorities straight as a rainbow, that one.

**Sad Irina Noises**

Y'all are all crazy.

GM, put in work for this love interest.
Oh, me too! Me too!
Actually, I am going to bang my tank.
Oh! Now, I wanna bang my tank.

=P

---

Woo, we're finally all about to be in the same place!

I wonder. Did Gwydion ever ask Iliza how she came to have the chip she gave him. He never mentioned it. I didn't know if he was trying to avoid giving her a panic attack.

You say that as if Meara would not enthusiastically invite Irina.

Straight as a rainbow.

Well, maybe not.  Rainbows are straighter than Meara.  She just doesn't realize it yet.

Okay, see, now I'd kinda thought the chip's origin would have been brought up sometime during the initial "back at Avaluna" timeskip, and it totally slipped my mind to ask about it. But now Gwydion definitely doesn't want to bring up the chip's origin to Iliza until she's in a good emotional condition. He really wants her focused more on the future than on the incident that killed thousands of her people and obliterated her home. Though ye, if possible, he would have asked her about it shortly after her initial release from the infirmary.

Also, Gwydion will not be doing anything dirty with his Armour, because it isn't people to him. But he will bring Iliza in. :3

As for Brun's lady, I'm still convinced she's decent enough to not be cruel to anyone Brun likes. And I am super eager to see Rose's reaction to her. And how Euryleia considers her relationship to Rose, considering one of her components is her brother's. Maybe she's super protective of her. Maybe she thinks a relationship between Rose and Brun would be weird because she thinks of Rose like her sister. Maybe she thinks Rose is the only human acceptable enough for Brun, and does things like "oops" lock the cockpit with them in compromising positions because she knows full well that boy will never make a move if left to his own devices, and Rose moves too slow for her taste. Or maybe she's afraid Rose will turn on her and remove the component, though that seems extremely unlikely given Rose's behavior.

But ye, I do see potential romantic relationships as less antagonistic than what makes for proper drama.

I don't think Alon's defense matrix is on Euryleia 2.0. Basically only her neurocore is left from her previous build.

Roll a die, Gwydion. Odds mean you never had a chance to ask. Evens you did. Seems fair since we can justify going either way.

For the record, I feel like I've been very clear that Brun was not right in the head from the beginning AND that he always wanted to bang his tank.  Just didn't realize the option was available for him.

As a player, I'm right there with you Meara about MerGN-A.  Brun simply refuses to think about it.  Everything is fine.  This is FINE.

I am very amused listening to all the theories on how Euryleia will try to set Brun up for the strangest and most awkward situations with Rose.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:45, Thu 20 July 2023.

18:47, Today: Gwydion rolled 4 using 1d6 with rolls of 4.  Evens or Odds.

Looks like he did ask at some point early on!

I've also been taking the time to go over the Tournament thread to remember things that went on, and I am never unamused. Meara is hilarious. Freyr is just as adorkable as Gwydion. Mimi is the cutest smol that ever smolled. And dang, Brun is definitely the most ideal Knight out of all of us. Skilled in battle, smooth in society, and his butt is mathematically perfect.



Ooooh yeah. Well, it was part of her, so she might still take that into account regarding her relationship with Rose. :P

Mimi is cuteness incarnate.

Also, Rule of Funny would be that Mimi's mom gets given a title as a laynoble of sorts, so just enough to be considered nobility (but not landed) and made Meara's handmaiden, because that means Mimi's along for the ride.

But that's specifically Rule of Funny, and I can't see the in universe justification for that, unfortunately.

We don't really know anything about Mimi's parents except that they exist. Her mom might be exactly the right person to be given the position, and fully love Meara for having protected Mimi through the entirety of the Callisto Massacre.

I say it's good connection building and potentially good drama, especially since she'd be nothing at all like Big Sister Freyr, and more like Doting Mother Mimi's Mom.

Agree with Gwydion about the Tournament.  Has been an awesome read for literal years.  I don't think I have re-read threads from any other game like I did this one.

And I dunno about Brun being the ideal knight...  One of my favorite parts was when he tried to trick Meara by faking a weakness and she didn't take it.  Not because she saw through the ruse, but because it wouldn't be honorable!  He's used to being tricksy and cunning, but it doesn't work on honorable knights who don't take the bait...

Now the butt thing, sure.  That's ideal.  That's just canon now.

There are three guarantees in life.

Death, taxes, and the magnificent of Brun's butt.

Also, turns out Brun's Lady doesn't like strangers. Found the bit where she points guns at Irina and Rose when they climb in the cockpit. :P

Though technically now they're not strangers, and she's gotten to assess them under maximum stress conditions to see what they're like and how they treat her pet Knight.

For the Lady, Brun answers to Pet or Pet Knight.  It's FINE.

I was kidding a little about the trouble change, because then there would be two Euryleia centric aspects and variety is better, BUT...

How about switching and renaming?  Euryleia is my Everything renames to My Girlfriend is 18 m Tall and Capable of Warcrimes and becomes the Trouble.  While Chased by Shadows renames to Former Chief Armourer on the Shadow King.

The Lady remains his everything, but her existence will cause him such wonderful Trouble.  As she already has, distracting his GRAIL quest...

Chief Armourer greatly expands on what he was doing on the edge, what he clawed his way up to, and just why/how he was able to rebuild his own personal Venusian Armour.  Like maybe he promised that Armour to the Captain.....

Just some ideas.  Thoughts or rebuttals?

I am three hundred percent behind these changes. Oh the Compels.

Oh you have. You definitely have. That's why when you guys were talking ships from the first thread, I was like from my read, I was beginning to wonder if Brun might be asexual because, while very charming he seemed more intimate with Euryleia than anyone.


As a GM, Mwahahahahaha! I mean, Bruh, it's on the level. Probably. Possibly. Hopefully. Anybody else seeing those flashing red lights?


Me too! I feel like a lot of projection is going on with regards to her. I've put a lot of thought into how she interacts and wants to interact based on the text we wrote in part one. I hope given time she becomes as well liked as the Gehenmis sisters, Freyr, Mimi, J.A., or Auntie Val.

Y'know, until her sudden and inevitable betrayal.


I've already laid the groundwork for Mimi's return. I bet you can already guess how...

Group Poll time- Is Mimi's actual given name:
A) Amelia
B) Miriam
C) Naomi


Is it safe to assume he told everyone in the know? So I can just mention it IC later. Or do you want me to tell you OOC and you can tell the rest when appropriate?

Also, to be clear, Bors himself isn't lost. The only thing that they don't know where it is is the Dragon.


Yeah, this could be fun. Like she's lowkey a hardass compared to Freyr. Meara isn't allowed to binge on sweets, but she gets delicious homecooked meals. She has to mind her manners but she gets surprise playdates with Irina right when she's feeling down. Just spitballing.


If you're happy with your sheet, leave it.

If you want to make changes, you know my policy has always been "Your character sheet is a love letter to the game." Meaning, what's on your sheet is what you want to explore in the game. Like you pointed out, switching that aspect to a trouble, means that she'll become the focal point of the Chaos in his life, rather than his past. It certainly works,though not gonna lie in that I always thought Euryleia is my Everything is an amazing aspect. I think it worked in the best of ways. But maybe it's time to change? Maybe even temporarily. Oh god, the compels though. The compels, y'all.

My vote is: Miriam

I have no justification.  Just liked that one.

Brun is not asexual....  He has just spent a long time in places where he was used and abused, probably even did some using/abusing himself in his Climb.  So, he has /issues/ about intimacy, physical and otherwise.  He has thoughts and wants, but likely doesn't trust anyone not to use that against him.

Except of course when it comes to Euryleia...  Discarded by family, abused by pirates, but no princess (or prince) ever came to rescue him.  So he built one to rescue him.  He doesn't even really see that he rescued himself.  She did.  She has kept him safe.  Never hurt him.  Never lied to him.  And now she's awake!

So, CLEARLY, his unquestioning faith and adoration in his Lady is now /very/ much his Trouble.  Not necessarily from her doing things, but the lengths that he will go to to not lose her.  He is the Trouble (for now).

But now that I wrote it out...That's also just as clearly still Euryleia is my Everything.

BUT, Brun's spin-off manga arc is DEFINITELY called "My Girlfriend is 18 Meters Tall and Capable of Warcrimes."

I do like the Chief Armourer idea better though.  Makes his past more precise

There's definitely room to make all three work on the sheet if you want. Not hard to do in the slightest.

I love how Gwydion and I were on the same page with COMPELS.

Also, since now is a great excuse ESPECIALLY for Euryleia, if anyone wants to tweak the systems in their armour, let me know.

I will get an IC post up today, but it will be evening time EST.

I'm gonna vote for Amelia, because I still like Amelia Pond. Very fairy tale.



Oh! Ooooh that makes it different, then. I will take a moment soon to shift Gwydion's question more to how they're doing the rescue, if he needs to hop into his Armour or if it's a simple matter of sending a medical ship to pick Bors up.

And ye, he'd definitely have shared his information with the team during a meeting. It's important stuff. He'd probably also have brought Iliza herself to the meeting, as she hadn't been available for the prior one and is every bit as involved.



Oh my goodness, that's way better than what I was thinking. Totally opposite of Venusian parenting, but every bit as restrictive and shackling and full of expectations. :3




I am definitely of the mind that your Euryleia aspect should be your Trouble. Brun is obsessive about her. Blindingly and when people see the full extent of his obsession, they're likely to question putting him in charge of things.

I also think that the Former Chief Armourer aspect is perfect to put in as well. But as he's now also working hand in hand with MerLN to track down the GRAIL itself, I think something pointing to that absolute position of trust within Avaluna would also be appropriate.



I actually just put together Gwydion and Dyrnwyn in another game system, Battle Century G, and the mechanics of that game had me thinking of a few adjustments to add, like remote Bits to provide ranged cover and such. I'll be doing a chin-rubba, but I definitely did find new art for the Longsword and decided to name it at the same time. (The old art was a broken image I couldn't fix, even though the link itself still works. Weird. New art feels like a proper timeskip improvement, though. Also it's a Gundam.)

I also support the Doting Mother Mimi's Mom plan!  Just caught up in my own runaway train of thought.

And Dyrnwyn is the best name.  Awesome!  Now Gwydion just needs an overeager squire named Taran....

An an oracular pig?

Hmmm...  How about a cutting edge tactical analysis and prediction program? HNWN. Taran would prove to be surprisingly good with code and gets the most out of the program.

I'm gonna second Miriam because that's the name of the protagonist in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and she's adorable (when she isn't murdering demons, of course, what with being the proper inheritor of the Castlevania legacy).

Also, y'all had a fun conversation while I was sleeping again!  Although this time that was mostly because I ate something last night that did not agree with me and only just now managed to feel good enough to cat stay away from my muffin that's mine get on my computer.

I did in fact call in sick to work today.  Bleh.

I thought the same when I hopped on here this morning.

I hope you feel better! Being ill is never fun.

Looks like Miriam wins the vote!
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:26, Thu 20 July 2023.

Ooo. Miriam is pretty rad. I only just got and beat Bloodstained a couple weeks ago. <3

Also please do not die, it is illegal. Also the cat requires that muffin, because the cat has never before seen food ever and is withering away. Also illegal.

Gwydion clearly understands cats.

And I'm feeling much better right now.  I should be fine.

Just realized I forgot this in my Big OoC post earlier today. Meara has unlocked her stunt!

"See? I was listening!": Your family hired tutors of the highest caliber. Despite your antics, you payed more attention than you got credit for. Once per session you may spend a Fate Point to automatically Succeed at a Lore Overcome action, provided that the knowledge is something that you could have learned from a teacher or tutor.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:04, Thu 20 July 2023.

Oh my gods that's amazing.

I can't wait to use it at the most surprising time.

Glad you like it.

It seemed really fitting given the interactions with Freyr lately.

Gwydion and Meara get awesome, tailored stunts.  Brun gets to bang his tank.  I mean, everyone is getting what the hoped for!  WINNING!

Clarification to my Council posting: Brun's looking for an overview of who all was called to the council?  New or unexpected faces?  His mother?  Important stuff.  And general vibe of the group.  Though if anyone's vibe is off compared to the group, that might stand out?

Oh yeah, is anyone at this council not privy to the Super Secret Club Info?

Oh....  Now suddenly wondering if I am privy...  What's the Super Secret club info??

In reply to Brun (msg # 148):
Brun gets a stunt too. Pretty soon, I'd wager. I made the stunts when I plotted out the adventure because I knew where I was aiming for each of you.

Thanks for the clarification. I will make sure to include those details.

Have you given any more thought to changing your aspects? I only ask to make sure I am making GM decisions based on the right ones.

In reply to Gwydion (msg # 149):

Almost everyone. There's a bunch of Knights here. I'd say upwards of 70 at the moment.

The only people who know are you three, Baron Gehenmis, Iliza, Irina, Rose, MerLN, the King and the Queen. Grail info is need to know.

Love the art for Dyrnwyn, btw.


Gwydion is playing Dido on loop right now.

Aspects changed!  With the understanding of, for now at least, the Trouble is Brun's protectiveness/obsessiveness, not necessarily any problematic things the Lady is doing.

Right!  The GRAIL, I had forgotten... ;)

/And/ a Stunt?  Brun is just the winningest and /nothing bad will come of this/

Current new Armour design thoughts.  Original Euryleia reflected Brun's tricky, reactive style.  Euryleia, Reforged is more proactive and aggressive.

Head: The Lady, Herself: +4 Melee
Front: Starshield Countermeasures: +2 when Defending vs. Blast
Back: Rondel Missle Launchers: +2 Blast vs target with at least one shutdown system
Arms: Disruption Foils - When you succeed with sty!e on a Defend using Melee, inflict a 2 stress hit on opponent
Legs: Artemis Thrusters: Use Armour instead of Zeal in contests of speed

Nice! That looks so awesome!

Gwydion, did you want to add anything? If so, add when you can. No hurry. But if not I may try to get a post up over lunch break.

I've actually been thinking of changing "Heir to a Duchy" to something else, or perhaps altering "Berserker" to "Avenging Angel" or "The Fury", as Meara's still very much a berserker, but it's definitely more focused now.

Also, I've been thinking more about Meara's upbringing and realized that part of why she can't stop thinking of Arthur as cute is because she's not used to the "arm candy" being all authoritative and naturally confident when giving orders, and it's definitely awakening something within her.

In the immortal words of Spike Spiegel, "I love a woman who can kick my ass."

Absolutely! Feel free to make changes you think are appropriate. Just please let me know so that I am aware of the changes. The Fury is definitely a very fitting update.


Brun is living that dream right now.

Ooooooh....  I dig The Fury as a possibility.  The start of a legend...

And, Ha!  I can see the authoritative arm candy thing!  That makes sense.  He might seem a scandalous Bad Boy.  Not a proper demure, submissive gentleman more fitting for a Valkyrie.

And yes, from Spike's mouth to God's ears, Brun is living the dream.

Well, I've just changed Berserker to The Fury.  Now I'm a Russian cosmonaut who is constantly on fire!

Metal Gear has the best (and most ridiculous) lore.

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know.

Hi, sorry! I kept looking and thinking about what I was going to post, then not doing it because I was distracted. :P

I'm also doing a little thinking about adjusting my sheet and mecha, but don't have anything solid in mind just yet. Just a few adjustments based on Gwydion's relationship developments, and based on focusing his Longsword into a clever bulwark. Any thoughts while my brain is firing up are totally welcome!

What about a system that can try to force Emergent (or any enemy?) In his zone to target Dyrnwyn?  Or take a hit for friendlies in his zone?

Oh!  And just to add connectedness,  Brun and probably Irina could collaborate with Meara and Gwydion on Armour repairs/upgrades.

I think Meara will focus mostly on Irina for any upgrades to Brunhildr.  Not out of disrespect or anything, but she does have her Venusian reputation to worry about.

Also there might be a bit of bias for Irina.  Just a bit.

Oh hecc, that's a really solid idea. If I'm gonna tank, I better be able to get people to notice me. :D

And aw yeah, workin' with the Chief Armourer. :3

Also also I forgot to mention, Dyrnwyn is the name of a legendary fiery sword from Welsh (obviously) mythology. Energy sheath, pewpew! n.n And yeah, I totally forgot that it's in the Prydain novels beforehand. Oddly enough, as the same weapon. I was unaware until today that Prydain was supposed to be alternate history Wales.



Oh man, we should get some character art for Irina, if we can find some. Iliza uses Weiss from RWBY, though I imagine her closer to Winter (being all adult n'stuff).

Hey. Is Freyr somehow related to the Baron's family? They have the same hair. :o

In reply to Gwydion (msg # 161):

That sounds perfect, my dude!

Brun, those are all great suggestions!

Gwydion, you mentioned Gund-bits in an earlier post. You could have a stunt that grants a Vassal Rating equal to say your Vigor (which as long as your Skeletal Hyperweave Alloy system is up and going is 4). That'd give you a bit of ablative stress.



Honestly, I think Brun's stunt idea might be more useful overall though.

I don't think Freyr is related to the Baron's family. I feel like that would have come up already if so.

We can definitely give Irina a profile if you guys want. Get me art and decide on a portrait.

Brun, do you want one for Euryleia?

Aw, no, Meara got scolded because Big Johnny A misinterpreted the fire in her eyes!  She was asking because she wanted to know precisely who would be giving her orders in the field and what her specific duties would be precisely because she's not seeking glory.  That fire was "I am bound and determined to ensure we get out of this alive, and that includes me."

She is very aware that her going crazy in her first real battle only worked because she had a bunch of people watching her back.  Even if the goal is "rack up as many kills as possible", she's gonna make sure she doesn't put others at risk without actually communicating about it first.

She'll still probably get the tiny pupils and crazy smile, though.  That's just part of her charm!

If MerLN makes her show up as a priority target again without asking her first, though, she's going to have words with him when she gets back.

Also I can 100% understand why Arthur interpreted the fire as eagerness for glory.  It's something he's seen many times before.

In reply to Meara (msg # 166):

I may edit to clarify, because I didn't mean for it seem like a scolding at all. More like a kind of sober reminder. But, yes, he is cautioning her for exactly the reasons you mentioned.

I read it as a sober reminder, yeah, but Meara's like... early 20s at most and kind of an idiot about this sort of thing.  Not her fault, though!  Everyone's an idiot about things before they have a chance to learn.

She just wanted to know who was going to be directly above her in the chain of command and worded it weird.

Ooooh!  Fair!  And, since there's been time passing, there might be rumors milling about who Brun really was and that he didn't die at the hands of pirates like Mother Kotta reported...  For his part, Brun makes no mention of lineage or attempt any reconciliation with House Kotta.  He would like nothing to do with them.



The Chronicles of Prydain are some of my most favorite books.  Still have the original copies I bought at a school book fair in Ages Long Past.  Taran Wanderer had alot to do with my becoming a blacksmith.  So I was happily surprised when Dyrnwyn joined Gwydion!  I'm laughing now to know it was straight from the source Welsh and not Prydain, but I'll take it.



Sure!  I'll see what I can find...

So...

Brun is looking for young knights who might make poor decisions for selfish, personal reasons that might negatively impact everyone...

He'll discuss his findings with his self-aware holographic girlfriend about what they can do to mitigate the damage "those people" might cause.

IT'S FINE.

Hey, what are our rules for Skills, again? I noticed I have a +5 Melee and don't quite remember how we got there, and that there were two methods we'd talked about for applying our skills and I don't recall that either. Was thinking of shuffling some things around, bringing Melee down a bit, putting either Household or Lineage slightly higher, maybe taking the Blast skill at all.

And I'm going hog wild adjusting my Armour. XD Removing the Energy Gunblade, moving the Kite Shield to its spot, replacing the Self Repair Pack with Guardian Bits to provide that Vassal (rather than a Stunt, because I can't justify using it while outside the Armour and it feels weird), changing my Lore/Mark visor to a pure Mark targeting computer, that sort of thing.

Nothing's saved yet, so hopefully my computer doesn't decide to crash or reboot before I'm done with that. I think I'll adjust Guilt into something else more potentially useful. Rather than taking a distraction stunt, I kinda wanna keep it to something not combat-related, so maybe changing it to a Household or Lineage stunt. Maybe even connecting it to Iliza somehow. Or if I do make it combat-related, maybe giving a bonus to Blast when Creating Advantage against Emergent, representing weaponizing that crazy burst thing Dame Scipii did to knock 'em out.

In reply to Brun (msg # 169):
Euryleia and Irina have profiles now. Brun, you should be able to tweak Euryleia.

Which profile picture do you guys want for Irina?

In reply to Gwydion (msg # 171):

I gave you guys the option to switch to Skill Columns at the end of the first adventure. That link will explain how it differs from the default pyramid.

That all sounds great. Just let me know when you settle on something so I can be aware of it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:18, Sat 22 July 2023.

Awesome, thanks for the link! But you may wanna fix it, as you left "rpol.net" at the beginning. :P

Once I get a chance, I'll take some peeks around the webbernets and the portrait gallery to help in the search for Irina's image, but it's mostly gonna be suggestions to Meara. Also we should totally get an image for Mimi, too. Maybe an NPCs thread that can have image links so we dun gotta create player bodies for all of them.

In reply to Gwydion (msg # 173):

I fixed it. I didn't have the RPOL part in the URL, RPOL took it upon itself to do that. Apparently, RPOL thinks you are trying to link internally, unless you specify. Thanks for letting me know it was acting weird.

Mimi 100% will get a profile, though maybe not right yet. That's all I will say on the matter for now. ;)

With Skill Columns in mind, how can I go about shifting my skills around? Do we have the ability to just readjust things as we like with the amount of skill points we currently have, or should we be waiting for a Milestone?

Also I am fully expecting Mimi to turn out to be MerGN-A at this point, as is right and proper for harmless little girls in anime: they always turn out to be a mega powerful pseudo-deity. See also: Tenchi Muyo's Sasami.

EDIT: My contribution to the Irina image search: https://www.wallpaperflare.com...ople-wallpaper-penyi
This message was last edited by the player at 12:48, Sat 22 July 2023.

All of you have my permission to rejigger your skills according to columns arrangement, but with the caveat that you can only have one skill at Superb (+5). In my vast FATE experience, going any higher or broader than that just breaks things for a campaign like we're playing. I'd definitely encourage you guys to take advantage of the arrangement though.

I feel like this is a good representation of Irina, though the image has a bit of a pin-up vibe. It's probably Meara's daydream. I've always seen Irina as a bit of a tomboy when compared with her sister. If anyone knows what character that is and has a better image let me know.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:09, Sat 22 July 2023.

Okay...  Read up on the Columns and skills.  Its been a long while since I've looked at FATE.

It doesn't sound like we are getting a Major Milestone skill boost (probably fair with all the aspect switching and stunt additions!)

So, I can move around the skills I have in the current Pyramid to a more equalized Columns.  So, I could end up with....

Smith +4, Cunning +4
Armour +3, Intrigue +3
Chivalry +2, Mark +2, Larceny +2
Melee +1, Skulking +1, Blast +1, Zeal +1

In doing this, I looked closer into the OOC thread and discovered I LITERALLY asked for Euryleia to awaken...  And that I somehow felt that the Brun I ended up playing was not the Brun I wrote at the beginning.  But I can't for the life of me remember what the original idea was!

I don't think he started out as tragically messed up...

Also!  I would appreciate a refresher on adding photos to RPOL...  I notice that other folks pictures don't have a big PHOTOBUCKET banner across them either...

In reply to Brun (msg # 177):

That arrangement is valid, but I'd recommend bumping one skill up to Superb +5. Maybe something like:

+5 Smithy
+4 Armour, Cunning
+3 Chivalry, Intrigue
+2 Blast, Mark, Larceny
+1 Melee +1, Skulking +1, Zeal +1

My goal by the end of the game is to have you guys end up back in the pyramid arrangement again, but with your peak skill at Superb (+5) rather than Great (+4). Big Damn Heroes. That way when your tales end in tragedy and defeat it'll be that much more epic. Muwahahahaha!

Taking this route with Euryleia has been on the cards since Brun's earliest posts. The more you wrote the more I became convinced it was the right story to tell. Hence my comment back then that I was way ahead of you.

I think you guys probably clued in on the three Ur-themes/motifs for the game by this point. I took them from you guys. I think it's really interesting how each plays into the personal arcs and the overall plot as well.

As far as the Photobucket issue, use a different host to avoid their dumbass watermark. Does Imgur still do hosting? I feel like they went app only or something...but if they didn't they used to be good private hosting.

Brilliant, thank you!

As for that pic for Irina, that's Licca from God Eater: https://godeater.fandom.com/wiki/Licca_Kusunoki

I like this one: https://static.wikia.nocookie....97?cb=20200606183924

I updated my sheet! Changed my High Concept From Knight to Prince, changed "I Stand By Justice" to "I Stand By Iliza", changed Arthur's Nephew to Dueling Prodigy, adjusted Skills, and changed Guilt to Home Is Where The Forge Is.

Was kinda thinking of replacing Transparent Principles with a Trouble relating to his being put in charge of the refugee situation, but I think I Stand By Iliza covers that and a few other things, and is evenly Invokable and Compellable.

For Dyrnwyn, I changed the Heraldic Sensors to a Targeting Computer (+4 Mark), and Energy Gunblade to Attack Bits (+4 Blast). Decided not to go with the Vassals, because the self-repair pack is super useful.

That all sounds great! Thanks for letting me know.

I updated both Iliza's and Irina's descriptions. Let me know if there's any feedback. Y'all see if you can find a good profile picture for Irina. There used to be a website with a full gallery, but it doesn't seem to be there anymore.

More picture suggestions!

Euryleia: https://pin.it/5kuiO9V

Gwydion: https://pin.it/zmCEGXX

Mimi: https://pin.it/796qpEV

*slams fist on the table*

The Irina pic is perfect!  So's the one for Mimi!

Meara is going to be so unbelievably gay for Irina when she's in working clothes, oh my gods.

Being gay for engineer girls is a tradition going as far back as the days of Atlantis. By which I of course mean https://atlantisthelostempire..../wiki/Audrey_Ramirez

Truly, I think it's a time-honored tradition that dates back to the annals of history and beyond.

Figured out, found, and added/updated images.  I just can't find one image that gets the idea for Euryleia in my head....  Found a pretty good one for Brun though.  Maybe.

Using found art is HARD.

That engineer one for Irina is pretty dang good, though.  Meara stand no chance.

Oh! And I changed the skill list per your suggestion, Bossman.  Thanks!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:41, Sun 23 July 2023.

Just cuz I think too much....  Is Baroness Kotta at the Council? I'm sure some time progressed between the luncheon and now,  but maybe stress so about.   And as a Venusian Baroness, she have Armour...

Also,  not sure how long to wait for an inappropriate amount of time to remember about the Grail clue....

Just you wait! I mean, why must I be the one cursed with the burden on knowledge? Why?!


That's pretty much exactly what she looks like. Maybe the fastener on her overalls is kind of shot, it's not like it's a priority to get it fixed given everything else going on. Maybe she just doesn't like to wear it. Who knows?

Just in case they happen to bump into one another while Freyr is still there, I had been considering a scene wherein Freyr gives Meara The Talk. But it's not the talk you're thinking it is. But who knows if that happens. I don't have any control over where anyone is at any given time...Oh...wait a minute...


Yeah, found art is hard. There's always commissioning an artist, but it's really expensive. Could always try one of those newfangled AI generators.


All will be revealed in the next post, sir. I've already written my reply to Brun. Just waiting for Gwydion and Meara to either post or say pass. ;)

As far as the Grail clue, I am going to leave that up to you. Should you mention it now during the crisis? Should you wait? You've got Euryleia to think of after all. She's far from battle ready...
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Sun 23 July 2023.

aaaa I've been sitting here for 17 hoursish (on and off) refreshing the page and totally forgot I should have been making a post! :o

In reply to Gwydion (msg # 190):

S'all good.

Also, here's another possible Euryleia inspiration.

Dang, that's pretty good...

EDIT: Stole it.  Linked it
This message was last edited by the player at 13:40, Sun 23 July 2023.

I thought it was appropriate. Glad you like it. If felt especially fitting because, in my head, Euryleia is going to replicate the filigree that Brun gave her armor plates on her human avatar's clothing as closely as possible. Venusian armour is known to be beautiful and deadly and Brun doesn't seem like he would ever cut corners in this department.

No corners cut for Euryleia.  Though, carefully not making use of any identifiable Venusian (Kotta) motifs.  Original and unique to the Lady.

He is trying to be polite to avoid any Venusian (Kotta) reprisals regarding his Lady's Armour lineage.

The including Armour designs and artistry into her avatar is just perfectly suited to melt Brun.

Oh, Euryleia knows.

But she also does it out of pride. The same reason she so prominently displays the House Symbol, even though it's technically not officially adopted yet.

If like to spend a Fate Point to Compel!

Not sure what or who...  But I'm compelled to Compel...

Go home, Brun. You're drunk. =P

(Your desire to be compelled has been noted.)

Ohh...  Hmm....  Drunk Brun...  He'd be a sad drunk, surely?  He'd stop caring to maintain the mask...  Possibly a sad /angry/ drink...

Or!  Now he'd be a very happy drunk excited to tell everyone about his girlfriend...

"Have you met her?  She's simply wondrous and..." Leans in conspiratorially to add, "And a real tiger, if you know what I mean.". *wink*

Partyguest looks to 18m tall Euryleia in the Armour Bay, very certain he does not know what Brun means

I'm going to pass IC at the moment.  I can't think of much to post.

Also, you speak as if Freyr and Meara haven't had The Talk several times already.  Freyr is no fool.

That's a great question!  Hey Bossman!  How long till the Lady is fully armed and operational?

Brun is way ahead of schedule, so a few more days of hard work assuming he makes use of Avram's team as well. But he sure is burning the candle at both ends...

I will spend nothing on that because failure will also be very interesting!

Oh, that just gave me a brilliant idea that dovetails nicely with something else I had planned! Oh political intrigues!

So glad to help make Brun's life, and hopefully Gwydion and Meara's by extension, more complicated!

I can't say, but: >=D

Meara's life is complicated enough.  She's going to be losing her source of comfort cookies soon!

Narrator: She did not lose her source of comfort cookies.

Good news!  Brun knows an awesome baker.  A true artiste.

Just in case of any other cookie emergencies

Rule of Funny: It's the same person.

Because Freyr isn't baking cookies, she's ordering them.  There's only so much time in the day, and also, nobles don't generally cook!  Especially women.

A man's place is in the kitchen. *nods sagely*

Ha!  That would be good if it's the same Baker.

I bet Brun has lost any cooking skills his father taught him.  He lives on bland rationbars and melancholy.

Plot twist, the baker was Brun all along. How do you think he got his own supply of emotional support cookies while out on the Edge? :P

*gets a thousand yard stare*. There are no cookies in the Wreck....

In reply to Brun (msg # 212):

Truly, the greatest of tragedies.

Gwydion, would you prefer to reply to Meara before I respond to everyone? I just figured I'd ask since I don't want to mess up the rhythm of your interaction if you had something to post.

Also, yeah, lack of cookies is bleak.

I'm good with having a GM response before I get in a Gwydion response. Whichever of us finishes a post first. :P I say this because I've only just started writing my post but gotta zip for a bit.

I'll go ahead and post up then. Mine is ready to go.

Mimi is so adorable I am going to die. Maximum minimum. Ultimate smol.

Welp.  Gay Panic has happened, and it has somehow overridden The Cuteness That Is Mimi.

Brun is not missing out, dammit!  I don't want him to just hole up in the Armoury and only talk to his holographic girlfriend....

Unless, of course, Something Happens(TM) on the way. That's great too!
This message was last edited by the player at 10:05, Tue 25 July 2023.

Oh!  Meara!

Did we ever decide if Meara remembered a certain young Kotta boy from Noble Kid Days?  Or if she had listened to any of the rumours which might be out there of who Brun is?

He wouldn't bring it up of course.  Talking about your abandonment/kidnapping is a downer of a hanging out conversation.  He's nothing if not polite

EDIT - Gwydion too of course!  He just doesn't have that Venusian connection
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Tue 25 July 2023.

Freyr put it together rather quickly, but she also does not care at all, what with not being Venusian and having that bias (or being a horrible parent like Brun's egg donor).

Meara has most likely heard the rumors but has never cared to look into them.  She definitely hasn't put it together yet.

Gotcha.  So Freyr knows exactly who Meara "smacked down", but Meara probably doesn't

Meara knows she beat down someone with a patchwork (at the time) armour, impressive fashion sense, and a nice butt, who is generally polite and (from what she knows) generally someone who has their stuff together and can be relied upon in times of crisis to have a cool head.

Also, I realized Meara called Mrs. Moss "Miss Moss" and I'm sticking with it because in current society, when married, the woman's honorific changes, but not the man's.  So I figure in Venusian society, a married man changes from Mister to something else (possibly just making it French, so monsieur, with an abbreviation of Msr.).  So she'd call them Miss and Msr. Moss.

Also the Mighty Mimi.

Ha! Yes, also smacked down Brun.

But, I meant his "mother" in the earlier scene.

I guess being crushed by the Fury is now Kotta family tradition

And yes of course, Brun is the very soul of "having his stuff together"

Oh, right!  As for remembering, she probably met Brun's sisters and Brun was just "in the background," so even if they met, Meara wouldn't think it's the same person unless someone told her.

As for Baroness Kotta, Meara just never liked her, and now she knows why.  She does know that both daughters died and that the Kotta lad vanished at the same time, but she'd only know what Baroness Kotta has told people.  Freyr was no fool and did enough digging, because that's her standard practice when she hears anything about nobility, especially when it's directly from said family and sounds like it's not the whole truth (read: most of the time).  Freyr also wouldn't mind if Baroness Kotta 'accidentally' thought an airlock was the bathroom and 'just happened' to disappear one day.

I'm not saying Freyr would perform an assassination in Agent 47 style but Freyr would absolutely perform an assassination in Agent 47 style in this case if it was for the good of Venus (and/or Meara or Queen Valerie).

Meara's mom probably doesn't care so long as it doesn't cause trouble for her family and her family's reputation.  She's a political noble through and through - although one who does care for her daughter, even if she doesn't openly show it.

Added a profile for Mimi and Mimi's Mom (And Dad!) to the cast list. Meara, feel free to add a blurb for Mimi that covers her past appearance.

Brun, you have no idea how hard I am trying to resist have Euryleia troll Brun. To greatly oversimplify her, in my brain she's like 1/3 Mjoll the Lioness, 1/3 Vala Mal Doran, and 1/3 BT-7472, all wrapped up in a nice outfit that MerGN-A finds comfortable. The Vala bits keep poking through.

Already gave Mimi the description she needs!

Meara - LOVE the idea she remembers and liked the Kotta sisters.  Maybe remembers some wallflower younger brother of barely passing interest.

Bossman - that's an awesome mix (once I looked up Vala and BT). When I first saw the alphanumeric, my brain assumed and translated it as HK-47 from KOTOR.  She starts accidentally referring to him as a "meatbag" then has to try and cover it quickly.

Mess away!  He's absolutely devoted and would likely accept subtle abuse from his Dream without questioning.

Might need to rewatch/watch the SG1 arcs with Vala Mal.  Claudia Black was awesome in Farscape, so I imagine the awesomeness carries over.

Oh, it wasn't abusive. I just toyed with the idea of her sending a picture of her human avatar wearing only her boots to match the armored schematic. I figured it might read as manipulative though. It made her have fun seem disingenuous.

Y'all pick some profile pics for Irina, Mimi, and Sylvie. Fate point to the best choices!

Ha!  Yeah, that would probably be more suspicious than just abuse.

Alright!  I've got some options for Irina.

Female Scifi Human 454


Female Modern Business 568


Female Modern Casual 204


(joke entry, also a personal favorite due to how it was categorized) Female Modern Rugged 124


For Mimi?

Well, the joke entry above works as one option.

Also:

Female Modern Casual 740 & 741


Female Modern Casual 785


Female Modern Casual 819


As for Sylvie:

Female Modern Casual 744


There's unfortunately not a lot of choices if you want a portrait for someone who isn't pale af!

For Irina and Sylvie, I tried to stay as close to the pics we found for them as possible.  For Mimi, I just went with "okay what's adorable af we can easily match her pic to the portrait I know literally all of them but the middle one."

Those are great, Meara!

I've always pictured Mimi looking like Jasmine from the Boondocks, though now I picture her with light pink hair (which she apparently gets from her Dad) ever since you and Gwydion decided she had pink hair.

Of the choices presented, 568 is closest to Irina. Too bad there isn't a portrait in the gallery of the character we used for her description.

744 could work for Mimi's mom.

I was kinda hoping to find a cute biracial child portrait but I was unable to do so.  If you can find one, let's use that!

I was also hoping to find something more mature and/or maternal looking for Sylvie.

Meanwhile, Msr. Moss needs no portrait because he's just Sylvie's arm candy *nods sagely*

Yeah, I just added him to Sylvie's profile, because while he's around, I don't see him as being as major of a character as Mimi and Sylvie.

While we're on the subject of portraits, I found the perfect one for MerLN.




Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeard

That beard is glorious, but you would need magic to maintain it,

Worth it.

If my vote matters, the choices for Sylvie and Irina were the ones I'd have voted for.  For Mimi, I have looked through and 741 has got to be the closest/best.

Also, while looking...  I accidentally changed portraits.  Can't find the original, so I picked a new one....then did it again...  But then I found this one, so....  Pretty close?

Looks like you had Male Modern Rugged 248 before.

If you open the image in a new tab, you'll see the filename, and they're all labeled as "Gender/Category/Subcategory/number".

I was just about to post that very advice, but Meara made it first. XD

/portraits/m/mmr248.jpg

Also I'm alive!

Thank you!  My blacksmithing skills were NOT HELPING.

Also, am very surprised this portrait is under RUGGED....

Also, I'm surprised you've chosen a pretty long-haired boy when the character art you've chosen is a pretty short-haired boy.

Found art is HARD

Meara, take a fate point for your portrait work.

Brun, did you want to add anything before the next GM post since you've now been let into the gathering?

I'm working on it now, Boss!

Also fixed the character art...  took some time with an AI generator just to try it out.  Added one for Euryleia as well.

I've found that the best way to get the art you want is to commission it.

Worth every penny.  I've been doing that for pretty much all of my characters for the past five or so years.

As a former artist, I 100 percent agree.  And I instantly felt bad for trying the AI thing.  Probably won't do it again.  But am also unlikely to commission because I am a cheapskate when it comes to buying things for myself...

The world is complicated; like The Good Place taught us.

I wouldn't feel bad, Brun. I hundred percent agree that commissioned art is wonderful and I believe in paying artists very well for their work. I've commissioned art in years past. But that shit is crazy expensive and if you can't afford it, I don't think you should feel bad about using other available tools. AI isn't going to give you a result anywhere near as good, but using it doesn't mean some artist loses a job if you were never going to commission one in the first place.

I feel bad because I want to be commissioned-art spending...  But just can't. I remember how great it felt when I got commissioned work.

I can feel bad about a choice and still accept that it's the right one for me at this time.

As a side note, one of the best parts of being a craft fair crafter was trading.  We all wanted to support each other, but ready cash isn't always there for artists.  But trading?  That we could do.

Trading is awesome. I wouldn't have anything to trade. I guess I could GM games or something? It can end up being a lot of work,so there's plenty of billable labor. =P

Those are two different very different 'bads' for sure.

I'd love to make it rain on an artist with commissions. I feel like a Movie-Poster style piece for this campaign featuring you three would be cool.

I've actually got two artists who are my go-tos (I support both on Patreon and am also friends with them, what with having hung out with the both of them for at least two years via Discord), but as is the case with people who don't have the luxury to do art full time without having to pay all the bills with art alone (i.e. they have plenty of time to do art along with everything else they want to do instead of MUST ART TO EAT) and instead have full time jobs they do while doing art on their own time... they're just a bit backlogged.  One of 'em took six months to get a commission back to me (worth every penny and also worth the wait), and her style is the one I prefer when I'm not trying to get a character who is unfairly sexy (like, the kind who doesn't have to act or dress a certain way to be sexy).  Her boyfriend (the other artist) is who I go to for the rest of my characters.

But yeah, so long as you don't call the AI-generated pics "look at what I made I'm an artist" or are using it to 'finish' art others were drawing, I've no issues with using it as a tool and acknowledging that it's just a tool, not a method.

But yeah, I, too, would feel bad even just poking at the AI tools knowing how they were created, Brun, even though be all know it was for a cleaner edit than just poking around in GIMP or a similar program (EAT MY DICK ADOBE FUCK YOUR "SUBSCRIPTION" MODEL).  I feel you on that, as someone who once wanted to be an artist themselves (I haven't drawn for like 10 years and before that it was like another 5 so it's been awhile and I've lost SO MUCH SKILL).

Oh no, Meara is an Emergent! She has the same serial number as the dragon and she blue-screened instead of getting a nosebleed as genre conceit demands!

And this whole time I thought Euryleia Iliza Mimi was the only agent of MerGN-A embedded with the PCs...

I KNEW IT WAS MIMI!!

Ha!  You slipped!  I knew it couldn't be Euryleia....

Arting full time is HARD.  Arting part time can be very hard too....  I haven't lit a forge for at least 5 years now...   I worry about how much skill I've lost too, Meara.

I might have accepted GM services as trade.  Knowing the time and effort that can go with good Gaming, I would win at this trade.  So long as you really needed a dinner bell triangle or a fancy hook.

Nah, Meara's not an Emergent, but something is emerging...

In reply to Brun (msg # 253):
I would totally GM for an authentic dinner bell triangle. I don't really have anyone else to cook for. But I totally would.


Spoilers: It's Mimi's Emergent Programming.

I could use a display stand for some wall art...

But even if I did want to commission something and you had the means to fulfill the commission, I'm sort of broke at the moment.

Emergency vet bills are expensive!  At least the kitty is healthy and happy.

Who is this Dalibrad that's trying to sneak like he's been here the whole time??

Someone who thinks they're better than us, apparently.

Also, I like the fact that Gwydion and Brun are talking at one side of the table while all the girls are trying to get Meara and Irina to kiss on the other side.

I'd laugh so hard if someone decided to declare a toast "to the lovely couple".

I mean, I'm sure there's wine being served (and juice for Mimi).

In reply to Brun (msg # 257):

That's the character idea I mentioned in the discord chat. He is an NPC I stated up for Gwydion's arc, then I ended up fleshing out to a full PC sheet because I enjoyed the concept. But for here, he's just an NPC I foresaw a need for. I don't want to say more than that yet due to spoilers.

I do like that his fighting style with his armour seems to match Meara's a bit.  Dashing in and out with melee.

Still, Gwydion is the person who you don't want to get into a melee fight with.  I saw that +5 Melee!

Just read the IC thread.

Gwydion managed to avoid the bonking when Iliza jokingly teased him about a sponge bath.

Meara is probably going to horny jail though.

Yeah....  These guys with all their romantic shenanigans....  GEEZE.

Boss, you are allowed any characters you want.  You can even start a thread for your character too!  *Sits back to watch Bossman play all the parts*. Oh and they should all be completely accepting of surprise awakened AI intelligences.  For...reasons....

Oh, no, that would be entirely too much. Running a story for you three is enough.

And everyone is accepting of awakened AI intelligences. Fusion blaster, that's acceptable. Graviton beam, that's acceptable too.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:35, Thu 27 July 2023.

You can't sent Meara to horny jail!  Not after what Gwydion and Brun have done!

As for Meara's flirting prowess (and lack thereof), I have something to share in Discord on that subject.

Gwydion didn't even do anything! Iliza made a joke! She was in a very vulnerable state. Gwydion wouldn't have taken advantage of that situation or of her.

As for Brun, okay...yeah...Brun did stuff.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:22, Thu 27 July 2023.

Meara hasn't done anything either.

Thought about?  Absolutely.  Done?  Ahahahaahahahaha she's way too nervous and flustered to try.

Which is why she's still a free woman. I was lowkey expecting her to "accidentally" spill something on Irina.

Not in front of the guests!

If it was just the two of them, though... well, Meara is a horrible, horrible liar and exceptionally coordinated, so even Irina would be able to see through the ruse.

Yeah....  He did...  But in fairness, Euryleia is neither shy nor awkward. No risk of any social standing.  Brun is literally living in a dream.

Things are easier over here.  People are complicated, just fall for a possibly manipulative machine intelligence.  SIMPLE.

IT'S FINE

Could be worse.

Brun and Meara could have hooked up.

You want drama and scandal...

As for Meara and Irina, I've already got Meara's argument for why it's a good match ready.

See, Irina is Iliza's sister, and Iliza is matched with Prince Gwydion, who may as well be heir to Arthur's throne at the moment, so aside from kicking Iliza to the curb and wedding Gwydion herself, there simply isn't a better match!

see it's flawless reasoning there's no holes in it at all there definitely isn't going to be a Mordred to throw a wrench into things hahaha why would you think that

True.  That would have been much drama and scandal.  I mean, when Brun is found out there will be drama too....  Possibly jail and heads rolling...

That's a perfectly fine argument!

I think....  I think Brun might be the Mordred.  Sorta kinda.  We'll see.  He might not even rate that high, possibly just Patsy.

PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE PLOT BEHIND THE AI.

*pokes the plot behind the AI with a stick*

Don't say you weren't warned when Mimi replaces you with Meara-bot the second that Freyr is out the door.

Meara would be honored to be supplanted by Mimi.

That way she could run off with Irina.

Have fun with all those pesky responsibilities, Meara-bot!  The real Meara is busy watching Irina work on things with a twitterpated expression and not having to deal with politics anymore.

Also, Meara-bot won't be able to pilot Brunhildr anyway.

EDIT: For actual in game ideas instead of silly ones we just joke about, it would be pretty funny if Irina ended up with a romantic rival for Meara that Meara actually liked.  But it can't be Freyr, because of so very many reasons (Meara absolutely likes Freyr, but not in that manner, and I'm pretty sure Freyr wouldn't be an advantageous political match for her either for marriage.)

It would also be amusing (from a player standpoint) if Meara's mother (or someone else) tried to set up a political engagement for Meara anyway.

Look I just find romance subplots fun, especially if they're primarily comedic disasters.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:52, Thu 27 July 2023.

"That's it, Lizzie Meara. Look at the flowers Irina."

Keep your complications over there!

We established that Brun has a thing for Valkyries and bots....  A Meara-bot is too far!

But which one do I let manipulate me to the doom of all mankind!?!?!

Now I'm getting Nadesico movie vibes.

Also the correct answer, Brun, is "whichever one has the best evil laugh."

#Truth

Aw man, I never finished Nadesico so I never got to see the movie.

I got the full series on DVD at a GameStop for $5 because someone traded it in for store credit.  And got $1.  Like, I could get more for that waving it around on the street.

This was also something like 15 years ago.

Not familiar with the series, but $5 for a DVD set ain't bad.

Gwydion, you're up in the IC thread.

It's the second anime I was deliberately introduced to, right after (and the same night as) El Hazard. I'd caught a couple episodes of Dragon Ball before that while channel surfing, but that isn't quite the same as being sat down in front of a VHS collection.

Martian Successor Nadesico is a mecha harem dramedy about a cook who accidentally ends up as a battleship's primary combat mecha pilot, his childhood girlfriend is the ship's captain, and they steal the battleship to go handle the threat of the Jovian Lizards. (I still don't know what a Jovian Lizard actually is, but you need mecha to fight 'em.)

It's hilarious, and heartbreaking, and has this very MASH-like ability to switch between goofy characters and the horrors of war instantly. Highly recommend. I also highly recommend watching the Japanese version, because although the dub is great, there is a particular scene where the captain switches from speaking Japanese to English that she learned specifically for that speech, which provides some character exposition more than just everyone speaking English all the time already.

I knew this would happen.

I go to bed and the game posts explode.  Every time.

I'm sorry....

I didn't want to post....  They MADE me do it....

It's true. We did.

Y'all are being mean, picking on poor Meara with genuine love and support and promises of shenanigans!  How's she supposed to eat when she's being stuffed full of feelings, I ask you?

Yeah...  *Sniff*. All this love and support.... *SNIFF* Its a bad thing....

*Brun stares off like a dramatically tragic poet*

Look, if we were present when Brun needed love and support he'd have gotten it.  Best we can do now is help boost his confidence by acknowledging his superior, flawless arse and his skills at smithing that clearly are the reason Euryleia is now sentient.

Brun's a genius!  No other explanation!

And he gets to fuck the robot.  Living the dream, my friend, living the dream.

EDIT: On a more serious note, if Brun and Meara's roles were switched I genuinely doubt Meara would have come out even half as well-adjusted as Brun did.  And yes, I'm well aware that Brun only appears like he's fine.  Meara wouldn't even manage that much.  She'd probably just have gone feral.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:55, Fri 28 July 2023.

I feel like Iliza is going to go into Lunar Orbit when she finds out Irina likes someone. She's going to be sooooo excited.

I assume Gwydion will probably spill the tea, as the young folks say these days.

Brun /is/ living the dream. And a genius.  And a great butt.  Heck yeah.  The ball is rollin' up!  He deserves something nice and good and not at all problematic...  IT'S FINE.

And yeah, Meara feels like she would come out of such things swinging permanently to Angry Raging Meara.  I really dig the idea, by the way, of berserker emotions swinging strongly at all emotions.  Heart on her sleeve indeed.

Do the young folks really say that??  Then, to prove how old and out of touch I am, I googled it...

I still hear the phrase in song lyrics and whatnot for songs coming out more recently, and I've definitely heard some Vtubers say it, and if anyone's hip with the kids, it's the 30+ year old Vtubers.

Vtubers are gnarly, dude.  Totally tubular.

Now I have to Google Vtuber....  Dammit...

I'll help you out.

Names to look up:

Monarch/AmaLee
Ironmouse (also Ironmouse Opera, because she's classically trained as an opera singer)
Hololive (one of the most popular Vtuber agencies)

And, for my personal favorite...

Houshou Marine

Examples of why:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeSEiI4iXFA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV-5W7SFHDc (turn on English CC subtitles)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksBOppDOlCc (note exactly what she focuses on)

EDIT: Welcome to the rabbit hole.  There is no escape.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:22, Fri 28 July 2023.

Were there other story beats you guys wanted to hit with the dinner itself?

Obviously, afterward, Freyr and Meara will have a scene, Gwydion wanted to meet with Iliza, and Brun has work to put in on Euryleia.

Then we get to the part where the whole cast gets eaten by a dragon. That part will be fun.

I made one last note, for fun.

All Brun's intentions were met + actually eating.  Now he won't have to leave the cockpit...I mean the Armoury...for days.

I was looking for a moment to have him suddenly remember The Important Thing He Forgot, but I didn't catch one that felt right.

I mean, unless you want do mess with Meara some more (which is always fun), I think we're good to move on.

Ye, Gwydion just wanted a chance to mope about the situation with his friends. So far he hasn't had a chance to tell anyone what he just found out about his dad, but he doesn't wanna talk about it in front of Miss Moss and her mom.

Though if he makes Meara sad enough, Irina will have to hug her more, so that part might work out. "Why yes, I was using my family trauma to manipulate you two into smooching so I could squeal and gossip at my girlfriend about you. That was my father's plan all along."

I like how in the actual game thread we have one game going, and in the OOC chatter we have several much more messed up games going via commentary.

Well we can't let those other games slip into the IC thread yet, gotta stay wholesome for Mimi.

That's always been a staple in face-to-face games. Like half of table chatter is what's going on in the game, a quarter is unrelated stuff, and the remaining quarter is what I call the "crackfic" game where you laugh and make (usually running) jokes about the narrative unfolding in zany ways.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:43, Sat 29 July 2023.

Which is what's particularly great about this.  Doesn't happen much at all on PbP!