Lurker > MariaTaylor

Macina could read his thoughts at that moment.
Even if she didn't have her particular gift, she saw it in his eyes.
"I want to pay them back for killing my brother," is what Erensworth left unsaid.
And Blackwater responded with a silent; "Me too, but it's all hopeless."
Macina made a mental note of those thoughts and kept silent.

Reggie squirmed in his chair. "The folks in Marietta are enjoying peaceful times right now."
"The war in Northern Rock ended only ten years ago," he went on.
"I don't think they'd like to be dragged into fighting again, but...."
"Perhaps, for a noble cause..." Reginald sounded uncertain.
To the extent that even his thoughts seemed in turmoil and Macina couldn't read him.
Even Reggie didn't know exactly what he wanted to do yet.

"You want to go to Catharsis, by ship, I assume?" Martin asked.
The Spade had jumped right past the participation vote and was already planning logistics.

"This is one possible avenue of attack," Liona Brezwicz told him.
For some reason it felt like she was deflecting from the true answer to the question.
"But it sounds as if you are interested in waging such a campaign, Martin?"

Martin sat up straight in his chair. "My talents are best utilized in war."
"If you're offering me an enemy to fight, I find it hard to refuse."

Macina knew from personal experience that Martin was not just saying that to sound cool.
The guy probably did not have much interest in anything else.
To put it bluntly, if it happened away from the theater of war, Martin probably did not care.
That made him a valuable and dangerous general.
However, in times like this, he was probably a bland and unfulfilled guy.

Rutherford, following up on his earlier remark, had this to say:
"That is the kind of ambition I could see myself fighting for."

For some reason, Blackwater, who was seated beside him, gave him an odd look.

Lana nodded at each in turn. The mood seemed generally enthusiastic, Blackwater exempted.
But there were some who had not spoken their minds yet.
"And what of High Point? Northern Rock?" Lana looked to Rainn. "The Undercity?"

Rainn scratched his nose.
"I think if they knew such important decisions were being made, they would not have sent me."
That is exactly what he was thinking. Macina read his mind.
But, he said something else. Something a bit more delicate.
"I'm not against the idea, but I think I'd like to contact the Elders in Undercity."
"Um, what I mean is," he began to stumble over his words like before.
"D-Don't postpone your little discussion just on my account."
"Cause, you know, what I think probably doesn't matter too much."

Sen laughed to himself and leaned over the table so he could get a better look at Rainn.
"Come on, man, they sent you here as a representative. You should be more bold."

"Is that what you plan to do?" Liona asked Sen.

"Sure, why not?" Sen smiled a stupid smile. He put his hands on the table.
"Heck, I think this sounds like a great idea. People in Arland are strugglin' too."
"If we go and cause hell for those Fairies it might give relief to them guys in the West."

"Well, historically, the Arlanders have not been our allies," Reggie reminded him.
"Still, I really like your spirit, kid. This is the true mettle of a Knight of Northern Rock, then, isn't it?"
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

"We'll defend our lands," Sen was the first to reply.
Reggie thumped the table. "Damn right. This kid knows what it's all about."
"I'd fight as well," Martin added, simply.
Macina found herself looking at the people from the Tundra.
"I doubt they'd bother me. Why should I do anything about it?"
That was the expression that Rainn seemed to be showing, but he was keeping silent.
Of course that kind of meek idiot would never think beyond his own self.
Macina had to speak up in order to prevent those without courage from fleeing.
"All of us here would fight to defend our homes," she said. "I don't doubt the courage of this council."
She didn't believe that but she said it anyway.
It was important to preserve the mood at the table.

Lana smiled a crooked, close-mouthed smile at her.
"Yes, I think so too. The people of Esland are really amazing."
Lana, definitely, believed what she was saying.
She actually saw the best in people. All of them, even the ones gathered here.
"But I got to thinking something. There might be something even better than defending our lands."
"Our chance to do something... something.... amazing. To make our mark on history."

Macina felt a weird tingling sensation in her arms. Just what was that?

"Instead of waiting around for the enemy, why don't we go after them first?"
Lana Lake was thinking. Those were the words that were trapped inside her.
Only... no. She had actually said them out loud. Such a meek girl actually said such ridiculous words.
"Like never before in history. Not only to stop the invaders, but go where they are and soundly destroy them."

"You want to... go..." it was Blackwater who uttered his first words since the council began.
He had an incredibly pretentious look on his face, as if he wanted to call her stupid.
"--Ahem. Forgive me, My Queen, but, surely you don't mean-"

"Why not?" Macina Mocol asked.
Oh. That was the feeling she had felt.
The building of curiosity inside of her.
Something that wasn't quite as familiar as it had once been.
Because no one had ever proposed something ridiculous in front of her.
Not in a long while anyway.
And to hear someone say that 'surely Lana didn't mean it.'
And 'surely it would be impossible to win such a victory.'
Macina only caught herself wondering the same thing she had always wondered.
Why not? Why couldn't they do it? Why couldn't they win? Why couldn't they at least try?
Her hands went to her legs and she felt her fingers curl.
They were shaking with anticipation now.
She had a big, toothy smile that she was wearing and her eyes were wide.
"My Queen, I think this sounds like a fascinating idea."

"Thank you, Lady Mocol," Lana replied. "But I would still like to hear from the others."
She took a moment to catch her breath again. "Even those who disagree with me."

"My brother died on Catharsis," Blackwater felt the need to remind the room.
"He was caught unawares on a foolish quest, and perished from prime ignorance."
"Such a death is sad but forgivable. He could not have known the Fairies would invade."
Blackwater shook his head. "This kind of endeavor seems unforgivable, by contrast."
"We know where the enemy is and we know they are dangerous. Why go there just to die?"

Kennedy Erensworth leaned on the table and looked at the other man, giving him a deep stare.
"My brother died there as well." He crossed his arms and locked his hands on his elbows.
At that moment, Erensworth looked pretty intense. "That's exactly the reason I want to go back."
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Just to listen to the ramblings of a weak and absentminded young Queen?

"I think I'm the kind of ruler who will probably make things worse," Lana said at last.
There was an odd determination to those words. "Because of my foolish ambitions."

It was Rutherford who spoke up first.
Beastmaster was what Sen had called him, but Macina knew him by another name.
"Gentle Knight" was what he had been called during the war.
Reportedly he had been the type to always treat prisoners kindly.
Additionally, whenever he occupied an enemy city or stronghold,
He was known for letting the people there wander freely and continue their daily lives.
Perhaps, though, this kind of "Gentle Knight" was the reason why things had mended so quickly.
After the Disputed Kingdom found peace with Frantz only ten years ago.
One would expect there to be more animosity that still lingered.
But, honestly, maybe it was guys like Rutherford who had always made a strong impression during the war.

"My Queen," Rutherford said, "I think it all depends on where your ambitions lay."
"There are some things I would certainly fight for. Even if it made my life worse."
"I'd probably like to try it. And others... well... some things are difficult to inspire me."

"I feel the same way," Lana told him with an awkward, close-mouthed smile.
Macina had been trying not to pay attention but it was hard not to notice.
When Lana spoke you could see that some of her teeth were crooked,
and she had what looked like a few extras as well.
Getting a clear glance was difficult and it would be rude to stare, especially at the Queen.
However, when Lana smiled, she always smiled with her mouth closed.
The Queen continued. "I'm not afraid of facing hard times if it means making the world a better place."
"But I don't want to go forward alone. I want to know that I have the support of the people."

Reggie nodded enthusiastically and looked to Lana.
"All of the people of Esland, from the Tundra down to High Point in the South."
"I see you've brought them from all over the Realm, my Queen."

"Well, what is your ambition then?" Martin Spade asked, flatly.
"It seems there are some here who know of it already."
"The rest of us are merely waiting for your-..." Martin's words trailed off.
He realized he was getting to be a bit too blunt, especially when speaking to a Queen.
His eyes drifted to Liona Brezwicz and his mouth closed on its own.

Macina found herself studying those at the table as well.
Who here would know of it already?
Liona for certain, and likely Dalamar as well.
It was interesting that Martin himself had been kept out of the loop.
But based on his prior comments he clearly didn't know.
Macina looked to the man on her right, Kennedy Erensworth.
Earlier he said that Lana had called him here to have a meeting, but he had stayed after.
That meant that he likely knew details of whatever she was planning.

"If we are invaded by the Fairies, what do you think will happen?" Lana asked the room.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

[Questions]

Macina Mocol was a girl who had always had a lot of questions in her life.
"Macina," her father had said. "You can be a warrior or you can be a lady."
"You can't be both. You understand that, right?"

"... Why not?" Macina had asked him.

To this day she continued to live that same philosophy.
A flower could grow on the battlefield, and it could still grow thorns.
Whether she was right or wrong she wanted to live her own way.
And, ultimately, if someone told her something she wanted to know why it had to be that way.
If they couldn't give her a good reason then she'd never listen to them.

This will be important later.
So remember it.

Sen, the Knight of Northern Rock, was seated to her left.
At the declaration of Lana Lake, the Queen of Esland, that idiot oaf had just...

CLANG!

"W-Wait? She's the Queen? Seriously?! HER?!"
That's what his eyes seemed to be saying.
And Macina could see those words on his tongue.
She had always had the ability to read people's speech.
And before that idiot oaf could release those incredibly rude words into the world around him.
Before those words could touch the ears of the Queen,
Macina had to act.

CLANG!

Macina elbowed him as hard as she possibly could.

"Oof!" was the only sound that escaped Sen's lips, as he toppled back into his chair.
As his ass thumped into the seat, his gaze shifted to the girl sitting to the right of him.
However, what he found was not what he expected.

Sen put on his best intimidating stare and was ready to glare daggers at the person who had just hit him.
And he expected, in return, to find a cool stare.
Probably, Sen picture in his mind, a scene like this:
So I'm super pissed off because this girl just elbowed me.
I turn to glare at her. She's trying to stare me down like she isn't intimidated.
But then she sees the manly fire burning in my eyes and she lets out a yelp.

Instead, what he saw... was this...

Sen turned toward the offender, his eyes howling with pain.
And Macina-

...--wasn't even looking at him!

She was patting down her skirt as she adjusted her seating carefully.
As if she had not just done that. As if she was just trying to get comfortable.
"Had she only--? Bumped into my by accident, maybe?"
Those are the thoughts he was having now. She could read him still.

Macina had to smile internally to herself.
As that idiot oaf was surely confused beyond belief,
His animal brain could not comprehend what had just happened.
Sen's mouth slowly closed and, with an angry glare, he slumped into his chair wordlessly.

The Queen continued.
"Life in Esland is easy now. Easier than it has ever been in our lifetimes."
"I think everyone here can agree with me when I say that," Lana continued.
"But I do not claim to take credit for this. No... it's by coincidence... that I managed to reign during such times."

Liona glanced sideways at the Queen, and looked as if she wanted to say something.

Instead, Lana caught her breath and continued. "Well, anyway,"
"I would say I'm more the type of ruler who has a different design."
"Maybe... this doesn't sound so nice to say it out loud, but... this is just the way it is."

Macina didn't say anything, but she could tell what the others were thinking.
Lana Lake was not that great at public speaking. She definitely wasn't a Beautiful Royalty type.
She didn't appear to be strong. And she certainly wasn't bold.
Half of them were probably wondering why they ever wasted their time coming here.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

I feel like Alex would be pretty good in arena. being able to heal yourself up to 15 in a format that generally has less burst, plus it comes with an 8/8 body.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

MrSmartGuy posted...

What you want to do first is play through the tutorial and click on the owl at the home menu to get a few more orbs. Play through a few of the first level's missions until you accumulate 20 orbs

will I always continue to get orbs by playing through story missions or is there some kind of cap on this? basically I'm just curious if there is any way to get orbs other than logging in every day and getting them at a snail's pace
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

btw are you guys fine with this amount of set up or are you like ready to get back into the action?

because honestly I love writing this kind of stuff and developing the characters but I always have this anxiety that people are going to get bored if I don't send them back into the more dramatic situations like battles and such
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

looks terrible and cheesy

in all the best possible ways
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

a fun little esland map for my geography Fools


---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Lana


---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

There was a very odd Mismatched Palette Girl sitting beside Martin.
Honestly, Rainn had no idea how he hadn't noticed her before.
But the reality was that there was some kind of mystical quality about her.
She definitely stood out.
The moment he consciously laid eyes on her he knew she was freaking weird and unique.
Maybe even just as much as that Y guy sitting on the other side.
"I'm Sunday. I came here to make Friends," Sunday told them all.
For some reason, Rainn got a creepy feeling.
It was the same as with Blackwater.
But different somehow.
She wasn't scary because she worked with Death Magic or anything like that.
She was just scary because she was different.
The fear of the unknown.

Beside the Palette Girl was none other than Jessie Lawlier, who basically needed no introduction.
Still, she gave a very humble one. She rose to her feet and leaned on the table unsteadily.
Rainn heard that she had hurt her leg badly during one of the recent wars,
But he didn't know the whole story.
Consider she had very apparent troubles with her balance he supposed the rumors must be true.
Jessie told them that even though she wasn't from around here, she considered Esland her home.
She was just as invested in this world as any of the rest of them.
And, somehow, Rainn found himself believing it.
Heck, he'd probably believe just about anything she said.
Meeting the Jessie Lawlier in person was like...
Heck, it was like meeting the Elf Queen or the Prince of Trumpets from any other fairy tale.
Or maybe it was something like meeting a Queen?

The girl seated in between Jessie Lawlier and Liona Brezwicz did not have much presence.
She was slumped down in her chair with one heel up on the seat, and her other leg hanging down.
Her hat was half worn on her head, and messy hair tumbled out from beneath.
Her eyes, the color of burned ivory, seemed to soak in and absorb everything around her.
But she wasn't reflecting any of it.
She was pale skinned and somewhat frail, but had an odd and distant strength to her.
Like maybe she was capable of more than you'd guess at a first glance.
Then, as Rainn saw her face, he remembered another story he had heard long ago.

The Tale of the Disfigured Daughter.

Her cheeks, forehead, and nose were an odd flush.
It was as if she had been standing out in the cold, only she hadn't.
Noticing it like that it made the same flush on the tips of her ears stand out.
But, most striking of all, were the red markings that decorated these same regions of her skin.
The King of Esland was rumored to have been impotent,
But finally one of his Queen's who he had locked in a tower bore him a child.
A daughter. One who had been marked by scars and didn't appear in court very much.

But if the King had died not too long ago, then-...

"I'm Lana Lake," the girl replied in a soft voice. "Thank you all for coming."

CLANG.

That would be Sen, doing something embarrassing.

[A New Story Begins]

1. Who should serve as the next POV Character?
A. Continue with Rainn.
B. Aster Crawford, the Scholar from High Point
C. Macina Mocol, a Honey-Haired Maiden
D. Someone Else (WRITE-IN)

(Seriously if you want just write anyone else in. I don't even have a strong idea yet since I was planning to have the introduction just be one part but it's getting too long already and will require two parts.)
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

And to his left was Y, a strange man who claimed to have come through some kind of.... Portal.
Rainn had heard about them finding some kind of Gate during the recent expedition.
But he didn't think he'd see a person from another world so soon.

After that was a man named Rutherford, a Knight of Frantz.
He stood up to introduce himself and gave a very formal impression to the room.

"Say, Ser Rutherford," Sen asked suddenly, not reading the mood in the room.
Since he had a question, he simply cut in. "Didn't they used to call you Beastmaster?"
"You know, like them guys out in the West of Arland...?"

Reggie scratched his nose. "Oh, yes. I'd heard about that too. I was wondering, but-"

Rutherford smiled. He answered them in a wise and measured tone.
"I've never thought of myself as anyone's master."
"But I have made very good friends with some... creatures that weren't Human."

The creepy looking man to Rainn's right reached out his hand.
He touched Rutherford on the arm and guided the other man to his seat.
Then, the creepy guy simply curled his fingers together.
"I'm Blackwater," he said simply.

Rainn felt a chill run down his spine.
He knew of the Blackwater Clan. Necromancers, the whole lot of em.
Then, he realized, everyone was looking at him.
Rainn's eyes grew wide and he jumped to his seat.
His chair shrieked loudly as it almost fell over.
It was followed by the sound of Sen chuckling.
Then Rainn looked around the room once more.
"Name is Rainn. I'm from Undercity. We... we weren't summoned but-"

"Queen Lana was hoping that anyone who heard the message would come,"
Liona replied to him, kindly. In a way she was cutting him off, but, he didn't feel insulted.
Rather, it felt more like he was being rescued from the awkwardness of trying to put together a complete sentence.
"We weren't able to send a messenger to every single holding across the continent."
"But we are glad that you could come, Rainn."

Sen pounded on the table. "Darn right."
"You gotta be here to represent your people's."

Everyone stared at Sen for a moment.
Then they looked to the person who had seated to Rainn's left.

"I'm Kennedy Erensworth," he told them. "My father worked with Aldus, who used to work for the King."
"Lana asked me here to give some advice on geography and other matters."
"Figured I'd stick around and see things through." He gave the room a nod.

After Kennedy sat down, a very pretty young woman named Macina rose.
She took a moment to flatten out her skirt and take a proper posture.
It made Rainn feel stupid, how calm and collected they all seemed.
And him nearly falling out of his chair like some bumpkin.
He was thinking so deeply about it that he barely heard anything Macina said.

By the time he snapped back to attention, Sen had already introduced himself and was pointing his thumb at the next guy.

"Martin Spade," Martin said bluntly. "You all know who I am."
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Rainn glanced around the room for a moment and wondered if he really belonged at this table.
There were people here so famous that even he could instantly recognize them.
Liona Brezwicz, the Sworn Sword of the Queen of Esland.
Jessie Lawlier, probably one of the greatest heroes of the living age.
Especially notable for killing the Glass Heart Witch who had plagued the Tundra years ago.
Though Rainn was young enough that he hadn't really lived under the rule of that Witch anyway.
Still, everyone knew the freaking story and it was an awesome one.
He'd gone to bed many nights after hearing his ma or pa tell him that story.
Lawlier was a freaking badass. He saw there was an empty seat next to her, too.
Then he started sweating profusely and decided to take the nearest seat instead.
Best to stay among his own kind. The other urchins who just wandered in here by accident.

Rainn looked to his right and immediately saw a creepy guy staring deeply into his eyes.
"Ah!" Rainn let out a quiet bark.
However, in this kind of atmosphere, it really cut through the silence.
Everyone turned to look at him for a moment.
And he felt like a darn fool.

Thankfully, however, a familiar sound came from behind to break the tension.
CLANG. Sen entered the room just in time to rescue him from the social embarrassment.
Although his armor wasn't really all that shiny. At least he was a Knight.

"Then you must be Ser Sen," Reggie remarked, with a cool appraisal of the other man.
"Yes, a Knight of Northern Rock sure makes a strong impression."
"What a dashing suit of armor... I'm Reggie, by the way. Er, Lord Bartlesby."

"..." Sen didn't say anything for a moment.
Then, Rainn noticed, the tall man looked somewhat embarrassed.
"... Thanks. About the armor, I mean. Yeah. I'm Sen."

Rainn glanced around the room.
He wondered when the Queen was going to arrive.
Honestly, if one thing was going to make this trip worth it...
Being able to see the Queen of Esland would be fantastic.
He imagined she must probably be beautiful.
That was, like, a rule of Royalty.

Lady Brezwicz stood from her seat and regarded the room with a cool stare.
Amazingly, she did not have to gesture or make a sound.
Everyone fell silent as all eyes fell upon her.
"Thank you for your polite nature. It appears we have succeeded in gathering some truly noble allies."
Liona smiled at him and Rainn felt his heart sink into his shoes.
"Why don't we each introduce ourselves, then?"
"Before we proceed I find it best if everyone is on speaking terms."
Liona inclined her head slightly. She wore a humble expression as she spoke next.
"For those who may not know, I am Liona Brezwicz. The Sworn Sword of Queen Lana."

Rainn looked around the room again. But where was the Queen...?

To Liona's left, Reginald Bartelsby was seated.
Reggie introduced himself very enthusiastically for the fifteenth time today.
He even joked about how he had already greeted each person once before.

The next was a researcher from High Point.
He introduced himself as Aster Crawford.
Apparently he had come here representing the School of Magical Arts.

Heck, Rainn didn't even know such a school existed.

Dalamar was seated next to Aster. He was a Goblin who had worked closely with Queen Lana.
Apparently he knew the Iron Knight very well, which made him a surprisingly important figure.
Being a scholar as well, it was no surprise he had drawn Aster to him.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Rainn shuffled nervously as the guards checked their papers.
Surprisingly, they were both let in without any questions.
They went along talking and barely even stopped to acknowledge the soldiers.
"Well, Undercity wasn't sent an official summons."
"But we heard the Queen was looking for members to form a council."
"Figured we should be on it, I guess."

"You guess?" Sen raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't your idea, then?"

Rainn shook his head.
"The elders decided on it. They also chose to send me."
"Honestly I'd rather be at home in my lab."
Although he said it out loud he wasn't sure if he believed it.
Rainn had gone on quite a journey and seen lots of amazing things.
Sure it felt good to complain and say he'd rather still be at home.
But, honestly, given the choice, would he do it all again? Probably.

A man named Martin Spade came to meet with them in the Reception Hall.
Martin led them to different dorms where they could unload their supplies.
However, Martin also made it clear that they wouldn't be delaying for long.
It seemed both Rainn and Sen had been the last to arrive.
And today was the scheduled day of the meeting.
Heck, since Rainn wasn't even summoned, it was more like everyone was just waiting on Sen.

"Early birds all got the worm, huh?" Sen asked as he dropped his bags in his room.
"Well, I'll be right along, then. Why don't you show this kid where to put his stuff?"

Rainn went with Martin, but Martin wasn't nearly as chatty as Sen was.
It was odd. Especially considering how inflamed Sen had seemed at first.
He very quickly opened up and became friendly once given the excuse.
Sen seemed like... probably... the kind of person with strong emotions.
For that reason he could get annoyed quickly but also was very quick to cheer up.

Martin, on the opposite end, seemed like a very cold person.
He mostly stared ahead while walking, and led Rainn around the palace.
He didn't have the patience to wait whenever the Undercity patron stopped to admire the scenery.
Then again, for Martin, maybe this kind of castle wasn't so special.
And if Martin ever went to Undercity he'd admire the dwarven architecture there.
It was definitely a 'grass is always greener' type of situation.

Well, probably anyway.

After unpacking his things, Rainn was brought to one of the ready rooms.
This had been set up as a makeshift location for the Council to meet on short notice.
Even in the Palace, finding a spacious room which was comfortable was not always an easy task.
They needed to accommodate over a dozen people and each person had to be able to actually hear each other.
It wasn't like they could just use a dining hall or a presentation room.
Research rooms were too small.
Bedchambers were too personal.

In the end, though, there were rooms like this that had been used for military matters.
Briefing and debriefing, mostly.
And, in a sense, this was a military and political strategic meeting anyway.
So it seemed fitting.

"Ahoy there," A man in fancy garb rose from his seat. "Lord Bartlesby, at your service."
"But you can call me Reggie." Reggie glanced at Martin. "Is this the guy?"

"Does he look like a Knight of Northern Rock?" Martin asked bluntly.

Reggie chuckled. "Ah, another surprise visitor."

Martin just rolled his eyes and went to take his seat.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

The man CLANGED over to Rainn and took the paper.
"Let me see this," he demanded. He took the sheet and uncrumpled it.
His eyes scanned the pages for a few moments.
They had some information about Rainn's quest,
As well as specific directions on how to get where he was going.
The man, after reading them, looked at Rainn. "You're goin' to the Palace?"

Rainn nodded.

"What's your name?" the man asked.

"Rainn," Rainn said.

"I'm Sen," the other man told him. "Did the Queen summon you?"

"Weellll...." Rainn averted his eyes. "Not in such a specific way."

Sen took the paper and handed it back to him.
They stood there staring at each other for a few moments.
Then, finally, Sen snapped. "Well? Let's go."

"Oh." Rainn jumped. "Okay."

The two began to walk together.
Rainn got the impression that Sen must have been going to the palace as well.

After a while of silence, Sen finally continued talking.
"The girls here are cute, aren't they?"

"... Y... Yeah...." Rainn replied.

"It's different in Northern Rock," Sen explained. "I'm guessin' you're not from around here either."

"Undercity," Rainn told him. "Tundra."

"Did you stop on Frantz on your way here?" Sen asked him.

Rainn nodded. "Mhm. They told me not to stop but I was tired."

"Yeah, we got a bit of a lizard problem round Northern Rock," Sen half apologized.
For some reason his tone was steadily growing more easy over time. "Hope they didn't bug ya too much."

"Oh... It's..." Rainn didn't know what to say.

Sen fiddled with his gauntlets as he continued to walk.
"Did you catch any of the stage shows in Frantz while you were there?"

"Well," Rainn looked off to the side, glancing in some windows as they passed.
"The stage shows were like fifteen silvers. I didn't..."

"Jeez," Sen shook his head. "They used to be cheaper."
"Still, it might be worth it. Maybe go on your way back?"

"Mm." Rainn didn't say anything. He heard about the Frantish stage shows.
But, honestly, he wasn't sure he understood it.
They paid money to watch people stand on stage and recite lines from a story?
A book was a hundred times cheaper.
And if he wanted to hear someone tell a story, well..
There were plenty of inns where a drunk old man would buy his round and tell him a story or two for free.
Why would he ever pay that much money to go see something like that?

"The Frantish girls are cute too," Sen told him. "But you gotta be careful."
"Everything in Frantz is all about politics. The people there're all weird."
"Manipulative, I guess, is the word. Never say what they're really thinkin'."

Sen continued to lecture him on various things as they walked to the palace together.
Apparently the Knight from Northern Rock wasn't really sure why he had been sent here either.
However, his the commander of his garrison heard that the Queen was looking for experienced knights.
Well, all of their most experienced knights were busy with some other situation.
So they decided to send Sen instead. It was probably fine.
Sen was pretty much great at kicking ass.
If she needed anyone to kick ass then she'd definitely be happy that they decided to send Sen.
Although, if she needed someone to make plans or give advice...
Well, in that case, she might be a bit disappointed at Sen showing up.

"What about you?" Sen asked as they arrived at the Gate.
"You said you weren't really summoned, right?"
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Blushing, he looked at his feet and hurried on across the through way and toward the market square.
If Rainn had known the market was going to be twice as crowded as the gate he would have gone around it.
But, it was hard to say he regretted it either.
There were people here crowding both sides of the streets.
Shops lining every single alleyway and carts outside of shops.
And peddlers carrying goods or removing them from hidden stashes in their coats.
Wands, rings, crystals, food, tools, weapons, clothes, anything he could think of was here.
He didn't need to go and find the tailor to have clothes made.
Rather, if he needed clothes, he could find them here in the same place as anything else.
And he had a wider selection than any he had ever known in Undercity.

His mouth hanging open, Rainn held onto his purse tightly once more.
This time it was more about the self control of not allowing himself to spend any.

Rainn stopped for a moment to check his directions again.
He could actually SEE the palace from here.
It was freaking huge.
But that didn't mean he had any idea how to actually get there.
"Gods above and below!" Rainn exclaimed.
After affirming his course, he started heading up Maple Street.
However, his gaze turned back and he ended up looking to the market again even as he departed it.
In addition to the wares for sale there were other...
Well, needless to say, woman in the Tundra didn't look that good.
Maybe it was because there was more variety here.
Or the class of women in the big city was just higher overall?
It could have been their greater access the makeup, hygiene, or their sense of fashion.
Whatever it was, definitely-

THUMP.

Rainn bumped into something hard and metal.
"Cute..." he muttered, while rubbing his cheek.

Slowly, his gaze turned back the other way.
He still had a stupid smile on his face and a distant look in his eyes.
However, he snapped to attention as he saw the person he had bumped into.

It was a tall, angry looking man wearing black armor.
"Who the hell are you callin' cute?!" the man said to him.
The armored man grabbed Rainn by the collar of his shirt and nearly lifted him off the ground.

"Ah... um... no...." Rainn protested weakly. "You see..."

"Jeez." The man put Rainn down. "Just watch where you're going."
He turned the other way and walked off.

Rainn wiped himself down before proceeding forward.
However, after a few minutes, he realized that he had been following this guy for a while.
He wondered if-

CLANG.

The man's armor rattled as he came to a very annoyed sounding stop.
He spun around. "Why are you followin' me?!"

Rainn didn't know what to say to that.
He raised his hand and pointed forward.
"I'm..." he looked at his directions again.
They were crumpled up in his hand. "... going this way."

"Well take the long way to wherever," the man told him.
"I'm gettin' sick of you already."

"I don't know another route," Rainn replied.

"You're tryin' to piss me off, aren't you?" the tall man retorted.

Rainn shook his head. "I'm not from around here."
He held up his directions.
"These are the directions I have. It's the only way I know how to go."
"And I really have to get where I'm going. It's important."
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

[The Council of Esland]

The Porter's Gate was built of arched stone of a reddish tan tint.
It was wide enough for two wagons to fit through at once.
Right now there were more than ten lined up trying to go either way.
And foot traffic was pushing through on both sides.
Rainn hesitated.
He looked up at the tower on the opposite end of the Great Wall.
This was the heart of Esland.
When you say "I'm going to Esland" you mean the country Esland,
Or, you mean here. The capital city of Esland.
Where the royal family lives and there's a palace and all that jazz.
The city of Esland at the ruling hub of the country of Esland.
Or something like that.
It was impressive. Not like anything he had seen before.
And he stopped at Frantz on the way here too.
Who wouldn't?
The trek over the mountain had been a hassle.
No one in Northern Rock had been very hospitable toward him.
They were all too busy focused on their own survival.
There were freaking lizards in the forests south of the mountain.
Someone should really go and clean those things up.
Maybe he'd tell the Queen that.
Imagine her face when he showed up all the way here from Undercity just to complain about their reptile problem?

Heh.

But, nah, that wasn't the reason Rainn had come here.

He took out a snack bar made of hardened grain and honey.
Rainn sat down on the back of one of the wagons and munched on it.
He supposed that pushing his way through an annoying ass crowd was one way to get into the city.
But honestly he wasn't used to this big city life and these big city folk.
Pushing through a crowd wasn't something he was socially conditioned for yet.
And he liked his personal space.
Better to sit down here and have a relaxing-

"Hey, you! Get the hell off my cart!" someone shouted from up ahead.

"... Hm." Rainn took another bite from his granola bar.
Then he leaned off the back of the wagon and took a glance toward the front.
"Oh. Sorry." Rainn tried to give a friendly smile. "I was just resting my legs."

"I didn't ask why you were sitting," the driver shouted back at him.
"I told you to move! Get off! And don't touch any of my stuff!"

Rainn let out a sigh and got to his feet again.
Guess pushing his way through was the only way to get in.
Or, he wondered, maybe he should just take a nap out here till it got dark and traffic died down?
Heh.
Nah, that wasn't an option. He had important stuff to do.
It was going to be a shoving match, then.
"Welcome to the big city," Rainn grumbled to himself.

Rainn was holding his coin purse in his hand by the time he got to the other side.
He could have sworn he felt someone grabbing for it.
Paranoia got the best of him and he didn't feel comfortable just leaving it hanging there.
He had heard the term 'cutpurse' before after all. He wasn't just some country bumpkin.
Far from it.
Undercity might be in the middle of the freaking Tundra but it was a city... after a fashion.
Definitely, though, it was nothing like this.
He craned his neck and looked up at the tall buildings and wondered what they were.
Probably great research halls or factories where they produced mountains of gold.
Actually, no.
As he quickly found out they were just apartment buildings for common folk.
One lady was even hanging her underwear on a clothesline out the window to dry.
Rainn had definitely never seen a woman hang her underwear outside where anyone could see them.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Ariel
Negaduck

offer is off the table
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

I have some saves coming up in like 5 minutes

if someone updates I will save whoever they want
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Tinkerbell
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Rapunzel
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Aladdin
Alice
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

fortune telling is a great plot device when they reveal that the fortune teller is actually a scammer or that it's just a series of coincidences...
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

still waiting on pk2k, lefty, JeffRaze, possibly others?
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Sir Reginald von Bartlesby, duke of the lands of Marietta : A representative who was summoned from one of the larger holds in the Esland realm.

Martin Spade : The representative of the Spade Family. Another Esland rep.

X Erensworth : Waiting on a replacement name for this guy but I do have a pretty good idea of what I will use him for in the story.

Ser Rutherford Hayes : A Frantish Knight who was sometimes known as "Beastmaster." Rumors of his death have been somewhat exaggerated.

Daven Blackwater : A member of the Blackwater Clan who bases their activities out of some of the dwarvish ruins in the Tundra. Despite being pretty secretive and isolationist they did choose to send a representative. However, this is because Daven has ties to a certain person here...

Rainn : A representative of Undercity, who was not sent a summons. However, they found out about it through other means. Rainn himself was probably not particularly stoked to go but he was elected. Seeing the big city should be fun, at least. Might be worth hearing what the Queen has to say.

Sen, Knight of Northern Rock : This guy is honestly pretty clueless and isn't really sure why he was sent. More on this later. Good at punching things!
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

I'm gonna need an alternate first name for Jesse, since there's already a very important character named Jessie in the story.

on that note I can probably begin writing later today!
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

GOGZero posted...

I see what you're saying. Kinda fun for a speed run type level.

transience posted...

simple and straightforward. totally fine for a first level. hoping the level complexity increases but that you're able to keep the straightforward aspect of your levels.

yeah, glad people at least liked the potential! this was just the first sequence of rooms I created during the dr wily/dr light tutorial. my plan in the future would be to create a pretty large stage with potential for either fighting difficult encounters or alternate routes for speed running.
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

SUNSET

45734

Just a few screens of ambushes, nothing too difficult. Interestingly I found it more fun to try and run through the level as quickly as possible rather than stopping to fight every encounter. Some of them you have to fight, though.
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Se7enthrust posted...

Moon Base Landing ID: 43759

was able to play this without crashing. it's... okay. beginning is pretty straightforward. middle section seems like it's just designed to annoy the player. like during the checkpoint with all the flying enemies nearby. one starts just above you, and each time you respawn it seems almost impossible to avoid being hit by him. so you just placed an enemy there that automatically hits the player every single time they respawn?

also stuff like the spikes that kill you when you try to go down the drop near the end of the stage if you walk off the edge too fast. just 'what.'
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Falling Blades worked without crashing

that was

... weird
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

only under specific circumstances
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

@Gatarix

Rainn is workable as well. I don't think the ability to make and control golems is exactly a common ability. though I would like a more official submission which gives at least some more information on where he is from and why he'd be interested in participating.

(obviously when you created him you didn't know the scope and details of the quest, but yeah I'm looking for a little more information here than on a typical submission of a character that just walks into a door, rolls a 1, bites his tongue and dies)
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Oh, quick note:

Remulel and Y can be submitted by lefty and pk2k if they wish to continue those characters into this postgame quest. However, lefty and pk2k are NOT obligated to resubmit these characters. They can introduce something new if they wish.
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

The Knights of Esland

In this postgame Lana Lake, the Queen of Esland, will be calling upon a council of those from all the Kingdoms on the eastern continent in order to wage a certain campaign. The exact nature of the campaign has been decided but the objectives have not. It will be up to the members of the council to decide where to best spend their resources.

The members of the council will be made of player-generated characters from different places in the Eastern Kingdoms. These include but are not limited to:

Esland: Essentially all of the eastern kingdoms are ruled by Esland and Queen Lana. Aside from the other large kingdoms worth mentioning, everything else on the map would just be listed within the borders of Esland. Even those other kingdoms are considered to be part of Esland, but they have some measure of independence. Anyway this is a huge area and includes many large noble houses. For that reason, there will probably be multiple people from noble houses in Esland who will be invited to join the council.

Frantz: The Frantish Kingdom is situated at the border of the Northern Mountains and has maintained its independence for a long time. However, they are essentially a vassal of the royal Esland kingdom. Because they just waged a large scale campaign of their own in the North, it's unlikely they'll be able to contribute much. I'd prefer if only one or two characters come from this region since it was already a heavy focus in the last game (Rutherford is a good qualifier if Ed still wants to submit him)

Northern Rock: Once known as the Disputed Kingdom, these are essentially the mountain fortresses that border the Northern Tundra. They rebelled against the crown for a long time but have since come back into the fold. There are a lot of mercenaries and knights here but it's honestly mostly smallfolk just trying to make a living. Still, it's possible they would send some representation to such a council.

Tundra: The areas north of the mountains which are nearly inhospitable. There used to be a dwarvish kingdom here long ago but it has not really existed for quite some time. You largely have nomadic humans, those who camp in the dwarven ruins, and secretive magical societies. If a player wishes to create a representative of the Ravens to send to the Council they may do so. Otherwise, I may just re-use Mara or simply not have them send anyone depending on how crowded the roster is.

High Point: The southern cape where the shrine to Hepertine was built. There is a mountain here as well but it's nothing like the northern ranges. These lands were previously undeveloped but they have experienced explosive growth in the last ten years. Alura Badaura, a Priestess, also invited her husband here from Arland. So, in a weird way, High Point also serves as a sort of embassy to the Arland empire which is on the western continent. I'm fine with High Point characters being submitted and if we get like one person from Arland I wouldn't be too unhappy. I don't want the roster flooded with Arland characters and if only a few are submitted I don't think I'd like if one of them was from Arland since this is supposed to be a quest for the sake of Queen Lana. Doesn't make sense for people to come across the ocean just for her sake when they have their own war to fight.

There are really a few major qualifications I'm looking for here in submissions.
1. Mortality. No Devils, Demons, Angels, Outsiders, etc. Normally I don't place restrictions on characters but these really should be typical human and fiend races.
2. Relevance. Your character should not just be some random guy or girl. They need to be a person that would be sent to an important meeting.
3. Purpose. I want to know where they come from and why they came to the council.
4. Scope. Don't submit an overpowered character who can solve the quest in five minutes.

And with that... Let's get some OFFICIAL SUBMISSIONS!
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

foolm0r0n posted...

MariaTaylor posted...

book littlefinger = "wait, THAT GUY was playing everyone?"

For real?

lmao why does any book reader tolerate even 1 episode of this show

yeah it's a pretty huge difference. to be fair, though, LF and Stannis are probably the two characters MOST dramatically and negatively affected by their show representation. so it's only a huge deal if one of these two is your favorite character. although for a lot of book fans (myself included) they definitely easily place within your top characters. so yeah...

I will say I've found it difficult to get hyped about the show, especially over the last few seasons. but it's still decent to watch.

anyway one of the big things about Littlefinger in the books is that he doesn't appear as much nor does he state his intentions outright as often. a lot of scenes involve people seeing him from a very limited point of view and needing to take his words at face value. he almost always puts on a mask of a pretty unassuming guy who is just fairly nice, and is good at his job. some people do know that he's a bit ambitious but because he comes from a very small family and doesn't have much political capital to begin with they find it very difficult to see him as a threat (he uses this to his advantage by overstepping his boundaries and often making huge moves behind the scenes).

he also disappears from the books for large portions of time, during which he's offscreen manipulating events such as the murder of joffrey or other things. I don't think the show did a great job at stressing how important it was the littlefinger actually left king's landing well before the wedding which is a good move to take himself off the list of suspects. it's really not until the later books where he reveals in private how much that he was responsible for that even the reader starts to get an idea of how much he was capable of. this is during the scene where he kills lysa which is wayyyy more awesome in the books.

and there's lots of indication that he has plenty of other insane plans in the works. for example in the books he has been going around collecting wards and buying up debt from houses all over the realm, especially in certain key locations. for this reason many readers speculate he is about to make some sort of HUGE play in which he'll leverage these advantages to force a bunch of people to side with him, and none of them realizing just how powerful he's become until he reveals his full hand.
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

The Broken Order : The Knights of Frantz who had departed on this journey were all vanquished in battle. It was all Remulel could to do return the cloak of Adams to the Iron Knight and Queen Mina. Though their strength had diminished, the Frantish Kingdom could always rely on their allies in Esland to support them. The bonds between the two countries grew stronger than ever. While an opportunistic ruler might see this as a chance to seize power, rather, instead, Queen Lana of Esland saw this as no different from helping any other friend in need.

A New Costume : Clarine, having escaped from her post in Sea-Quartz, discovered the Ribbon Dress. She was able to change her costume and her personality to some extent as she needed. Her goal was to act as a Frantish aristocrat and blend in with the nobility there. However, as with all things, she failed miserably at this and became a social outcast instead. Rumor has it that Lady Clarine has gone forth to find new costumes and expand her range of abilities by changing into them.

Scavenging Ravens : Mara Raiev returned to her order with boundless technology, artifacts, and information that she retrieved from the SECRET LAB. With this information they were able to gain a huge advantage over the remnants of the Red Magi Circles and chase them out of the Northern Tundra. Most curiously they made it their goal to seize the tower which had once been held by the Glass Heart Witch. None could yet guess what purpose the Ravens had here, or why they found this a valuable location to capture... or why the Reg Mages had been pilfering the place to begin with.

Now You See It, Now You Don't : Patry and Vambrace were able to escape during the confusion of the final battle. Considering the purpose of the experiments in the SECRET LAB was to destroy human society, Remulel made an important note to track these assholes down later and exterminate them. If nothing else he felt like Short would probably be happy if he squashed that bug and ruined his life's work.

A New Home : Y spent some time in the Frantish Kingdom and was amazed at the culture which humans and fiends had built there. However, he decided to go south with Remulel to the Kingdom of Esland. It was there that he met Dalamar, a Goblin who served as one of the chief advisors to Queen Lana. Dalamar was incredibly intelligent and curious, and was deeply interested in the portal below Ishiene's Labyrinth... as well as the world of Sea-Quartz. Although at times it felt like he was being grilled for information, Y was just happy to have someone that he could talk freely with. Dalamar and Remulel also helped him adjust by finding him a place to live and teaching him that staring was rude, among other important rules of human society.

Journey to High Point : Remulel last went on an excursion to the Shrine of the Wind in High Point, at the southern cape of Esland. Ever since Hepertine, the God of the Winds, made contact here it had become a bustling center for scientific research as well as religious advancement. The nearby school was one which Carwen had attended and then taught at. He figured they may want to know what happened to her. And, on some level, he was also interested in seeing whether or not he could hear Hepertine's voice if he prayed here. However, there was a shrine maiden who told him that's not how prayer worked. She kicked him out of the temple.

My New Friend : Sunday was able to become friends with the Princess of Esland. Although no one is really sure how this happened. Or why so much trust was placed in a stranger. Or what her intentions are. Oh well. There's probably no way this could go badly, right?

[Coming Soon: The Knights of Esland // POSTGAME]
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

SeabassDebeste posted...

Littlefinger in the books is supposed to be liked and seen as non-menacing. Since I saw the show first and since Aidan Gillen really resembles the physical description of Littlefinger, I'm 100% unable to picture the books' LF the way GRRM meant!

book littlefinger = "wait, THAT GUY was playing everyone?"

show littlefinger = "yeah, that's the guy who tries to play everyone."
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

[Aftermath]

"... Ugh..."

Remulel was holding his side in pain. He was badly injured. All over his body felt hurt.
It seemed like dying and being brought back hadn't really improved his health all that much.
Plus has face felt warm and stung from the fresh blood running freely.
That must have been a deep cut he received just a moment ago.

"Is this it? Am I going to bleed to death here?"

"No," a voice answered him from the darkness.
It was Mara Raiev. She was kneeling beside him.
Just where the hell had she come from?
Watching this entire time?

"I suppose your chance to land a decisive blow never came?"
Remulel half taunted her. But he couldn't blame her for not acting.
"Waited too long again..."

Mara took out a phial of elixir that she had looted from the laboratory below.
"Well, I figured I would let you land the finishing stroke."
"It was in your best interest to look cool here."
"For me..." Mara paused for a moment, letting the magic do its work.
Remulel felt a slight burn but his wounds were mending.
He'd at least survive long enough to go and receive treatment.
"I'm fine if no one notices my contributions."

Y looked at the two there, hesitantly, and tried to work up the courage to say something.
Being hot blooded in battle was one thing.
But having a conversation with beings from another dimension could be a bit nerve wracking.
Was he really built to handle this kind of social anxiety?
"Um..."

Remulel curled up in a ball for a moment, seeming to shudder the pain away.
Then he slowly unfurled himself and crawled to his feet.
"Y, I think we did it there. Didn't we?"

"Yeah." Y was still in disbelief himself. "I guess so."
Had he really helped all that much, though?
Maybe. He must have.
Maybe victory could not have been seized if it was Remulel fighting alone.
Who was to say?

"Do you think... " Y hesitated.
His eyes drifted to the corridor that led east.
"Do you think I should return home?"
Honestly, this place was scary as hell.
Just what kind of world had he stumbled into.
With monster like that lurking around seemingly every corner...

Mara thumped him on the head.
"Come outside first. There's something I want you to see."

The trek down the Long Passage was darker than the first time.
There were no more flares or torches left.
They felt their ways along the wall and moved toward the sources of light that came from the first floor.
The chambers here were lit.
The signs of battle and struggle were still visible in the halls above ground.
Kobolds and heroes, the Imperishable Knight, all corpses now.

Then, the group approached the Large Gate.
This is the Seal that had been broken.

A Seal is meant to separate the 'Inside' from the 'Outside.'

Since coming here, then, Y and the others had only spent time on the 'Inside.'
Y stepped across the threshold. His eyes were burning as he looked up.
This kind of brightness was not something he was used to.
The light of the full sun, shining down on him.
Shining down on the world.
Filling it with brightness and a vibrancy that he had never known before.
This was it.
This was John's dream, and Joe's dream, that he had lived on to experience.

And, a little bit, it felt like... maybe...

Y had fulfilled some wish of his own by seeing it.

He lit up. Glee ran through his body.
The mood of the Neonite escalated. All of his emotional signals spiked.
Then, he pushed his fists into the air and let out a shout.

"WAAHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
---

Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

tigger
moana
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

I have two more FREE SAVES coming in a few minutes

get them while they're fresh
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

tiana
scar
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

who do I save
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

it's TV logic basically. everything that happens is based in the idea that the audience knows that littlefinger is a villain. even though jon and no one from the north has even met the dude. for some reason sansa has to keep his involvement a secret. this is because we, the viewers, know he is a villain. even though the characters do not and so in-world it makes no sense. since this is TV writing all the characters on the show would just magically know and they'd be like "WE CAN'T TRUST LITTLEFINGER." even though they have no reason to believe this.

same with everyone being super ungrateful to him even though he saved the north with his army at no personal benefit to himself. in the real world people would be kissing the guy's ass. but since we, the audience, know that he is a villain the show runners feel the need to baby us and have everyone act suspicious and cold toward littlefinger.
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

I wouldn't participate
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

Aladdin
Alice
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

1: tower of mind flayers
2: not sure? maybe a loose reference to Ugly Annie's 3 summons
3: truman's golden hand?
4: not sure? franchise fatigue maybe? hahaaa
5: ANGELS
6: traitor girl miri EVIL
7: ALIENS (sums it up pretty well)
8: LABORATORY

the first one is obvious, last four are pretty straightforward. I struggle most with 2-4
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

XIII_rocks posted...

Bane_Of_Despair posted...

jesus what the fuck

I know the game has problems but there is no way it's THAT bad

I finished it last night. It's a really good game. I'm puzzled by the venom quite frankly. I'm not an apologist, I'm not saying "well it's ok if you ignore this and this and this", it's just genuinely pretty good. Not without flaws, no.

They just shouldn't have released it with all the stupid glitches. Or the bad facial animations - I don't really care about that, but it clearly helped ignite this vicious campaign against it. I'm acutely aware that the version I have is somewhat enhanced thanks to updates but that doesn't really excuse what has happened here.

And I was constantly reminding myself in my playthrough that it will likely never get a sequel, but even then I find myself very interested in solving the various mysteries that are still out there. There are loads of intriguing, dangling plot threads that I really want to be able to pull on.

I'm pretty psyched about all this though since it means I'll be able to get the game for cheap. the internet hate machine is good for something, at least.
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg

in that case yes best shoes and possibly cutest as well

CONFIRMED
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Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
http://i.imgur.com/1KnydFa.jpg