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HOLLOW SUN: 24.9%

IN PROGRESS -

[X] HELLION UPGRADE: PHASE RESONATOR

(Hellions have a longer operation time.)

[X] RESEARCH: SERAPHIM COMMAND MODULE

(Unlocks Virtue-class Command Units.)

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>>27496180

Welcome back, sir. The drones missed you. They still look up to you.

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Above you: The achingly blue sky, a perpetual breeze whispering through the trees. Brilliant colours - Orange and brown and yellow and green -

...But no red. Never any red.

It's a little slice of paradise - A world locked forever in flux, the seasons changing as gracefully as a performer taking a bow; The serenity untroubled by the thrill of birdsong, the growl of engines, the rain that turns the beautiful, crisp fallen leaves into a welther of mulch and slime-

STAGE: TIR NA NÓG

Here, it's always autumn.

Here, the leaves continue to fall.

"I've...waited for a *long* time, Joker-kun." Cybele's voice is soft, nostaglic - Sweetly melancholic, her eyes distant as she gazes out over the crystal-clear lake, her brown eyes so very distant. Inside the raised pavilion, there's the faintest scent of sandalwood and mint, a numinous fragrance that lingers without fading.

Small wisps of vapour coil upwards, from the pot of tea on the table; You've seen her hold the cup, caressing it with her slender fingers, as if savouring the smell - But never drinking, not even once. Her silhouette strikes you as something deliberately beautiful, her kimono falling in soft waves over her form.

"-All of us, we've been waiting for a long time." You're not sure if she's talking to you, or to herself. "For that special person..."

She draws a slow breath. "There's only *one*, you know. Each of us - Each of the Hyades - we *know* that our partner's out there, somewhere. Just knowing that..." Her lips curve, upwards, in a faint little smile - "...It's like being in love."

Her gaze goes to you, at last. "So ~ I was really happy to meet you, Joker-kun. After *all this while*...After *all this time*...My voice finally reached you."

"After all this time, you finally heard me - My one and only partner."

(Continued)

>>27496422

The way she talks - It's singsong, dreamy, with the faint lilt of someone used to talking solely to herself. In the gentle sunlight, she looks enchanting and elegant and not like a doll at all.

"So that's why - I know you'll accept my Emblem. Because - That's the way things are *meant* to be."

She says it with absolute certainty, like it's an immutable law - Gravity, maybe, or the fall of night. There's something fey in her expression, a tension that's betrayed by the slight tremble of her fingers -

"You...*are* going to be mine, right? Joker-kun?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27496440
>>27496422

Because that isn't fucking creepy at all.

>>27496440
i... dont know how to reply to this. watashiwa, we demand your presence-how did we deal with cybele last time?

Pretty sure one of my players lurks this quest. Not sure how I should feel about this...

>>27496440

"First. Before I consider your offer. Did you get the information I asked for? Was you able to uncover anything?"

Once again, I will throw my support behind teaming up with the healer. As I said several threads ago, having ANYTHING that allows the recovery of HP in a setting without even the humble health pot becomes stupidly broken incredibly quick. We DID regenerate Booster after having it shot out of our chest, case in point, with the Nihl.

>>27496486

Yeah, it sure as hell is. But we can use that. She's solely devoted to us. We even turned her down and she could not stop thinking about us. That's fucking Yandere levels of devotion. We can use and exploit that to our own gain later.

>>27496422

Welp. Guess we found out who the yandere girl is, after all. WE NEED AN ADULT.

>>27496520

He replied with

> "You know what? It's not like either of us are going to get a better deal. I want to be the LAST Red Joker. I'll win for you--if you join me in breaking this rotten excuse for a game."

>>27496571

Beat me to it. Typing on a phone is suffering.

>>27496440
"I have to admit I am seriously tempted Cybele. I'm already stuck in this game and I'm not going to get a better offer from anyone.

Though before I accept it would you mind telling me who the other Hyades have chosen? I like knowing who I am going to have to kill."

>>27496422
>...But no red. Never any red.

Look down. Even on our armor?

>>27496422
>"After all this time, you finally heard me - My one and only partner."

Snort with laughter. "So, there IS a chance for spaghetti-san after all. "

>>27496639
then this.
>"I have to admit I am seriously tempted Cybele. I'm already stuck in this game and I'm not going to get a better offer from anyone.

See how she reponds....
Then this theme, minus the agreeing part.
>>27496571
"i think want to be the LAST red joker in this rotten excuse for the game."

>>27496440
>"You...*are* going to be mine, right? Joker-kun?"

"If that's true... then you should know who I was before the joker"

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>>27496528

Cybele...pouts. She gives you a look that says, at once, that she's been unfairly put upon - And that at the same time, she's humoring you. It's a very complicated look.

She sets her teacup down. Porcelain clinks, lightly, her slim fingers stroking the tablecloth. It's startling to watch her do that, while you're encased in your red armour: Seeing the whole world through your ocular sensors, the faint whirr and hiss of your crimson plate - The weight, the solidity, the ratcheting myomer-fibres that serve as your muscles - informing itself upon you.

"I...couldn't find Hecate," she says, gazing out and over the tranquil lake. "-That Player doesn't exist any more. I can see everywhere she *isn't*, and it's anywhere."

Her gaze meets yours. "But - I know where the Fatal Abyss is."

A haze rises from the waters - As if breathing dark smoke, not vapour. The sky blurs, too - Spoiling the illusion, regular hexagons fizzing into conjoned screens...

Beyond-

A black lake, the waters deep, fanthomless. Grey stone, crude blocks of it, with a texture - A vivid colour - an irregularity - unlike anything else you've seen in the Red World. Something clicks in your mind; You're looking at brick, concrete, crude and gritty, mounded to form a kind of artificial island rising up from black waters-

STAGE: COCYTUS

From within - A gleam of gold.

It's only a moment, but you glimpse black plate and lines of striated gold - The hot yellow light of tachyon wings slicing through the gloom, brushing aside the darkness like a veil. The shape is blocky, irregular, crude and makeshift-

It's a throne. A throne made from the shattered remains of buildings, hacked together and forced into alignment with immense effort, not with skill - Melted together, into a single glassy mass, radiance zig-zagging off the shining veins that hold the cracked pieces of tile and stone in place.

The pellucid blue flames of glowing eyes, like will o' wisps.

And a name:

IXION

(Continued)

>>27496746
>"I...couldn't find Hecate," she says, gazing out and over the tranquil lake. "-That Player doesn't exist any more. I can see everywhere she *isn't*, and it's anywhere."

Either the red world lied to us, or she's lying to us - or she's trapped somewhere beyond the reach of the red, like in pazuzu's nihl sphere or something.

>>27496769

That, or we're too late and she.... didn't make it. We haven't heard from pazzy in far too long.

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Servoes whirr as that head swivels, with the sharp machine-precise angle that comes with targeting sensors - And you realize, with a start, that Ixion can *see* you. Something is *happening* on the other side, as the gold-and-black figure spreads ebony arms-

The air chatters with distortion, urgent ripples boiling across the surface of the lake-

...The connection fizzes away, to nothing.

Black.

>>27496639

"I...don't know *all* of them," Cybele admits - Her expression going troubled, as she ticks them off on her fingers. "Alura has her white knight. Zayin has her brute. Psyche has her silver angel, and Uzume had her pet swordsman..."

Her voice is oddly shy, as is her gaze. "And...I have Joker-kun to fight for me."

>>27496714

She shakes her head, slowly. "...You've always been the Red Joker. From the first time I saw you - You've always been who you *are*."

>>27496571
>>27496698

Cybele clasps her hands together - Her eyes shining. Her kimono rustles, as she rises to her feet ~ Drawing closer to you, one slow step at a time.

"-Really~?" she breathes - In a voice hushed, but filled with a kind of breathless adoration. "Joker-kun...You're really going to accept me?"

Her face is almost glowing, with a kind of quiet happiness ~ Even as she looks down, a slow flush in her cheeks. "Joker-kun ~ W, will you become mine?"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27496912
well, im out on an archive binge. too much at stake, and i must have missed the last thread. dont screw up too badly

>>27496746

That is some seriously badass armor.

>>27496912
"Yes Cybele, I'll accept you and your offer."

>>27496958
Joker Quester has always had the best taste in mecha art

>>27496912
>Her voice is oddly shy, as is her gaze. "And...I have Joker-kun to fight for me."

>>27496969

Not QUITE so fast. Lets play this out. Voted against - for now.

"I don't know why fighting is necessary. I wish did, but.... I just want it to stop."

>>27496987

I honestly think we should accept it. She's crazy, but it's a kind of crazy that's centered around us. extra healing can't hurt, after all.

>>27496912
>"Joker-kun ~ W, will you become mine?"

>>27496912
>She shakes her head, slowly. "...You've always been the Red Joker. From the first time I saw you - You've always been who you *are*."

Hrrrrnnnnng. She doesn't know who frost cestus is. This means her information access is incomplete..... or pazzy's is HIGHER.

Trust but verify, Trust but verify, Trust but verify, Trust but verify.... fuck it, we got hit where it hurts.

Quietly. "She's really gone, isn't she? "
Long pause.
I"m not sure I can return your feelings right now, right now or... But you're making it hard to say no."

"What is it you see in me, anyway?"

>>27496912

We still need to snap that photo. Argent scoffed at the fact, saying it was preposterous that there could be unarmored players. HERE'S YOUR PROOF, JIM.

"Hey. I'm not getting any younger. I think. Let's do.... it? How does this work, exactly? The last time three times I became One with someone, I turned one Player's soul into clothes and the other two I ate."

>>27496912
but... will it be over? will it end once we finish?

What would i have to do, under your command?

>>27497038
im holding off going and accepting, this is a big thing, we dont even know anything about her or what we do under her

>>27497038

Well, we saw enfer reject the smiler's emblem. We might be able to reject it later.

Then again, it may be undoable soul bonding.

>>27497056
>We still need to snap that photo. Argent scoffed at the fact, saying it was preposterous that there could be unarmored players. HERE'S YOUR PROOF, JIM.

Oh yes. Good idea. Take a picture of her/us - use a rifle bit to snap the shot :D

>>27497065
>im holding off going and accepting, this is a big thing, we dont even know anything about her or what we do under her

Pretty much this. We don't really know how it works. The hyades seem kinda.... scammy. Rope you in, promises, true love, beauty, powers - and then leech essence offa you because you're fighting in their name.
Should never forget its a bargain. Whatever we get, it comes with their agenda attached.

>>27497065
that seems a decent middle ground of options. find out more before confirmming or denying

>>27496987
It's the Red World, the only way we'll get the fighting to stop is by killing everyone else.

The reason fighting is necessary is because words can't accomplish the same things that violence can accomplish.

And some part of us likes it, or at least is so used to it that it can't imagine living without it. Violence is part of our life, it has been for a long time. Sure we intend on finishing this game, but that doesn't mean we should start whinging about how sad violence is.

>>27497047
She likes us because we're the killiest guy out there. We're the Red Joker, the one and only, we're a rock star but for slaughter. And we can use that. Also probably some other stuff.

>>27497065
We kill people for her. We help her with her battles, and honestly we're almost certainly going to face the champions of the other Hyades even if we don't take this offer at some point, and she helps us with ours. It's pretty simple at its core.

Allies are rare, allies that can heal even more so. We could really use an edge and she needs a legbreaker. Aren't mutually beneficial relationships wonderful?

>>27497065
thirding information, the middle ground is a good step in the right direction

(My apologies, gentlemen: Lost the connection for a while, there. Working on the next post now.)

>>27497106
>Allies are rare, allies that can heal even more so. We could really use an edge and she needs a legbreaker. Aren't mutually beneficial relationships wonderful?

I agree with this train of thought, but I DONT agree with signing the contract without reading it first, if that makes sense.

>>27497131
This anon has the right idea

>>27497047
>Hrrrrnnnnng. She doesn't know who frost cestus is. This means her information access is incomplete..... or pazzy's is HIGHER.
>Trust but verify, Trust but verify, Trust but verify, Trust but verify.... fuck it, we got hit where it hurts.

Working theory that a death-state/afterlife area is possible, but restricted.

Simple test - see if cybele can spot kotone.

>>27497131

I say we go for it. We've been very amibgous, but we should have turned her down right from the start if we were going to do it. /tg/'s been waffling about things like that.

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>>27497207
Hey, what's the worst that can happen?

> "I don't know why fighting is necessary. I wish I did, but.... I just want it to stop."

Cybele cants her head to the side, her expression blank - Puzzled, uncomprehending. She doesn't understand you, but she's trying to look like she does; That it matters, to her.

>>27497047

> "She's really gone, isn't she? "

She doesn't say anything, for a long time.

Then: "...Yes."

It's very soft, and she can't look you in the eye when she says it.

> "What is it you see in me, anyway?"

Cybele's slim shoulders quiver, as she looks up -

"It's just..." She's blushing, a flush which grows deeper by the moment. "Joker-kun, can't you *feel* it? When I'm near you - It's like...It's like watching the sun come up." Her hand presses up against her heart, her fingers curling in a fist - "That's why - That's why I'm *really* happy you're...a *boy*. That way..."

Her voice dies down into a low mumble, one that you're probably not supposed to hear.

>>27497065

> "What would i have to do, under your command?"

"Just...The same thing you've been doing," Cybele says. "-Win for me."

>>27497047
>>27497056

Blink-click. A moment captured - The lines of her face slightly distorted by the neon glow, like a filter.

> "Hey. I'm not getting any younger. I think. Let's do.... it? How does this work, exactly? The last time three times I became One with someone, I turned one Player's soul into clothes and the other two I ate."

"I...ummm." Now that the moment has arrived, Cybele seems oddly shy - Or is that nervous? She casts back and forth, looking down at the ground - Then back over her shoulder, flustered. "I - I've never actually..."

She draws a slow breath, calming herself.

"You...Maybe you could k-kneel?"

[ ] "...All right."
[ ] "-Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
[ ] "Don't be nervous."
[ ] "Actually, I'm not sure about this..."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27497223
ah, our own personal birthday skeleton has arrived. your take, please, wata? you are the spokesperson of JQ

>>27497225
I havn't been winning 'for you'. ive been winning for my own survival. explain what this world, your world, requires of me.

[ ] "Actually, I'm not sure about this..."

What does this require of us? is it shonen tournament time? seek and destroy? burn the lands (city) and salt the earth (the red one)? what do you want us to doooooo....

>>27497174

Fuck it, i think i just figured it out.

So we know that Hecate walked around the real in her player form, yes?
Using nihl_sphere tricks, I assume.
Because, hell, its her ONLY option.
And she's clearly a hyades, which are able to be brought to this world with a sphere's influence.

We know the star arcade had stolen cryopod tech.
We also know pazzy has the other sphere, and probably another eye.

We also know that certain violet stuff can manifest the player into the real.
But if there's no body to form it around, there's JUST the player.

The thing is, pazzy is PISSED at hecate for betraying him(i'm guessing he used to wear her emblem or something, and she took an eye to escape), and I doubt she'd off him so quickly.

So he has the means to bring her to the real, the motive to make her suffer, and the smiler gang to keep her prisoner.

If i'm right - then Rook's move against the Smilers is the best thing we can do.

I bet she's trapped in the Real. That's why she's effectively vanished an no one can find her. Because she's NOT in the red

... which gives me an idea of how to find her.

>>27497225

Oh god, this is all a big metaphor for sex, isn't it? Somehow, the whole fact that the hyades are fixtated on ONE GUY makes the whole thing infinitely more creepy.

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>>27497223

>what's the worst that can happen

Pretty sure Joker already has experienced the worst that can happen.

>>27497225
"Alright Cybele. Take your time, don't rush it. You'll be fine.

I'll win for you no matter what I face."

Do what she says, kneel, follow her directions.

>>27497247
We fight the other Hyades and their champions, we kill them and allow Cybele to become the one and only Chalice Queen. It's not that complicated.

>>27497264
I'm pretty sure that it was explicitly mentioned that Hecate was something different from the Hyades.

>>27497283
do we know that thats all we do? i get a creepy vibe from this one, and dont trust her

>>27497299

She's creepy, but she's a young woman. There's a kind of weird attraction she has, that's actually kind of romantic.

>>27497225
>"You...Maybe you could k-kneel?"

Smile. "Like being knighted? No. If we do this, its -together-. I just.... "

[x ] "-Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

>>27497299
>do we know that thats all we do? i get a creepy vibe from this one, and dont trust her
You're not the only one. This is creepy fangirl stalker: The con artist , as a PLAYER CLASS.

I'd find it really amusing if we delayed the convergence or hte chalice queen tournament/race by not choosing or something, tho.

>>27497225

D'awww, she's all shy now. Gives me confidence that this isnt' some kind of trick, because she's every bit as out of depth as we are.

KNEEL BEFORE YOUR QUEEN.

>>27497299
Creepy, possibly, but she's been rather upfront, straightforward, and honest with us as far as I can tell.

She likes us an awful lot, wants other people dead, and doesn't want to die herself. It's not rocket surgery.

>>27497322
I doubt we would delay anything. If we don't act as her champion another one of the Hyades will probably sic their champion on her and murderize the fuck out of her.

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>>27497309

>young woman
>weird attraction

Yep. Totally Caster. And Now I can't see our Yandere voyeur any other way.

as red joker, we have been fiercely independent to a fault so far. do we want to kneel in front of a girl because shes a little socially awkward?

>>27497339
being cute is part of the trap. not a penis-trap, trap of service
>>27497343
we cant tell if she's being truthful or not, and the majority of things in the red-world system are actively trying to dick over everything else for their own advancement

>>27497232
Make clear that we have a life outside the Red World--friends, a lover, and other relationships that don't exist in the Red--and that while we're willing to fight to win back the chance to be real for her, we are the loyal type and it was first come first serve on Red Joker's affections. Like:

>>27497225
"Saori... If we do this, I want there to be no misunderstandings between us. Red Joker is only half of who I am. I have a life outside the game, and in that life I have someone I care about. I *will* win for you, but I can't be yours in all the ways you want. Take heart though; I am the loyal type, and once I make a promise I keep it."

Unrelatedly,we should ask her what she thinks of the previous Chalice Queen running around.

>>27497275
Red Joker is so much Shirou it's not even funny. It's hysterical.

>>27497322
>>27497339

"Like being knighted," Cybele echoes, her voice shivery with tension - But there's a grateful gleam to her eyes.

> [x] "-Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I..." she hesitates. Then - "-I *hope* so."

>>27497283
>>27497339

Your armour whirrs softly as you take a knee. The position isn't an uncomfortable one - The control surfaces of your crimson plate adjusting to your stance, flexing and sliding. For a moment, there's just the gentle surrusation of Cybele's breath, the faint rustle of her long sleeves...

-And then her hand comes to rest on your high-crested helm, her fingers spread. You're aware of her touch, but you can't really feel it; There's a faint tic as she shifts her stance, visibly steeling herself - Her body drawing taut with tension, as she moves her hand to your shoulder...

Nothing happens.

Nothing happens.

Nothing
.
.
.
.
And then her hand melts *into* you.

(Continued)

>>27497367
I want to kneel in front of her because I'd like her healing powers and the other benefits that come from having one of the Hyades having a vested interest in our survival. It also grants us a degree of control over who becomes the Chalice Queen, which is good because I'd much rather that it be someone on our side instead of someone like Alura Une.

We've already gotten into a scrap with one of the Hyades and her Champion at separate points, it's foolish to think that we won't have to fight them even if we don't choose to work with her.

>>27497397
We're a bit like Shirou, though we're a different sort of crazy in many ways.

>>27497397

(My apologies, I missed that.)

>>27497397
>Red Joker is so much Shirou it's not even funny.
Archer where?

>>27497367
>we cant tell if she's being truthful or not, and the majority of things in the red-world system are actively trying to dick over everything else for their own advancement

Precisely this. The nature of the red world is to prey. The hunters prey on the other hunters, the smart hunters prey on the bounty of the collectors, the black joker parasitically subverts others...

The red joker armor is the only thing we've come across which represents SYMBIOSIS.

The question i suppose, is whether the hyades do as well.

>>27497423
but then we HAVE to do things. im not liking this one bit. before, we could probably talk with most candidates, now we have no chance of amicable relations. we sacrifice everyone else for this one, and cybele is too crazy, even amongst the jokers acquantances

>>27497423
>I want to kneel in front of her because I'd like her

Urgh, you're falling for the tits trap and the beer trap.

Do you know why we liked hecate so much?
She didn't say she loved us. She didn't SAY things.
She DID them. She was an active role, than people vying for our affection, standing up waving their hand, trying to get a piece of the joker.

Anyway. The joker's inability to say NO to ladies is finally coming back to bite us. We should maybe put the foot down.

>>27497451

The thing is, my meta-sense is tingling, and I'm almost tempted to say this is something we really SHOULD do because... it seems kinda forced. It keeps ocming back up, the oracle says we might be made for each other (ships of stars, two spheres, the prophecy didn't have to be about HECATE)

>>27497439

>Archer where

Archer died during the last Grail War. Anon took up his Armor. We're Archer.

>>27497423
Who says it's different? When given a chance to save someone Anon hurls himself forward, his abilities and knowledge base are idiotically specialized (switch Swords with many and various Guns) and thus deficient in some areas expected of even novice Players, and his kindness wins him admirers even as it gets him in trouble.

>>27497439
In a weird way, Akira. He was built from pieces of all the former finalists. Wonder what he got from Red Joker?

>>27497443
>The red joker armor is the only thing we've come across which represents SYMBIOSIS.
Untrue; Pythia is also a symbiote. The Hollow Sun also functions in a similar manner; we defeated its guardians (mechanical and computerized) and so were recognized as its caretaker.

It's so *wrong* - Her fingers wriggle and slide, and you can feel them - You can feel *every one of them* - and you reject, you deny, you refuse to feel...But there's a intimacy to it, beyond extreme - A *sharing* that's profound and profoundly wrong as she reaches into you, *through* you...

It hurts. It hurts beyond belief.

Worse than the Vitruvian device, worse than anything you can imagine. It's as if your soul if being flayed, and pieced back together with duct tape - Years passing in a thermite blaze-

If you were human, right now, this would kill you. It burns like white phosphorous, spastic jerks twitching in the myomer bundles of your armour, surging through your limbs as you convulse - But then your vision fizzes over with static, as the Red Joker's plate locks down; The only thing that stops you from writhing on the floor, as a universe of pain is crammed into a shattering moment that transcends agony.

You can *hear* - Dimly, very dimly - you can *hear* your armour fizzing, burning - A light like a blue supernova, a furious iridescence, blazing forth; A symbol burning before your eyes, an abstract icon that swirls and undulated in tangled, confused lines...

It's a miracle that you're not screaming. The Red Joker won't let you.

It lasts *forever*. Until, blessedly, the absolute black of oblivion descends - And your mind folds up upon itself, and slides away.

(Continued)

>>27497501
>Untrue; Pythia is also a symbiote

Okay, good catch.

But that doesn't mean they're not RARE and going against the flow of the murder game.

>>27497499
I'm so rejoicing right now.

>>27497451
She's not that bad. Compared to Alura Une she's a glowing example of sanity.

Sure she's a bit obsessive, but it's in a good way, she really likes us. And she lacks of a moral compass when it comes to killing people, but we have a lot more blood on our hands than she does. We don't get to claim any moral high ground just because we sometimes feel bad about it.

Honestly, we're a lot crazier than she is. We're the right amount of crazy for each other. She needs people dead and gives us a lot of obsessive attention and love. We're very good at killing people and as evidence by how we act around women have a need to feel loved.

>>27497493
Like the time that she healed us when we brought her into our world, and when she looked into things for us.

>>27497501
We're a bit more psychotic. We're much more of a brutal murder machine than he is, and we leave a trail of destruction in our wake. Also Shirou does what he does for others because he can only find happiness through making other people happy, we do what we do because we have a need to be liked. We're more selfish than Shirou, at least in my interpretation of the RJ.

>>27497537
>waifu

Seriously, we're taking her word, an obsessive yandere stalker, that her biggest rival has dissapeared? anon wouldnt give up on hecate in any circumstances, thats the type of crazy he is. she accepted him for both his real life, the life he used to have, and the red joker he now has. Cybele? shes crazy, and in love with the idea of the red joker serving her more than anything else. and now we're her lapdog. but, as >>27497493 said, it keeps coming up, and will do so until we give her a definitive yes or no

>>27497575
ignore waifu, dont know how that got there

>>27497575

The OP is probably laughing at us as we dig ourselves into an even deeper grave. He's probably throwing even more chicks at us just to unleash the shitstorm at a later date.

And after we are thoroughly thrashed we will share an isolation cell with Ron Paul who will constantly whisper in our ear, "Why didn't you listen?"

>>27497575
>Cybele? shes crazy, and in love with the idea of the red joker serving her more than anything else. and now we're her lapdog.

Anyway. Regarding my IDEA to find hecate:

So, there's this link to a player's Body. Its gotta be there, somehow.

because you keep on going back to your body, every time. Instead of someone elses.
>>27497264

So now that we found her body....
Use the nihl sphere and *concentrate* on her impression of her that we found from The Big Question we asked of the Red World itself.
If there's a link there, it will find it.
Then we do detective work.

Goddamnit, its a LEAD. We owe it to her to follow up on it.

Period. No matter what else, we try.

>>27497606
quiet, shadow master

I miss doom paul

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>>27497617

A strange, shimmery twitchness spreads across your visual field, like water spilled across the floor. Like the ground racing up towards you - Knocked out of the here-and-now, and into...Into-

You're not sure what you're seeing. Just shapes and silhouettes, stuck in shades of blue and black - Crawling around the very edge of perception. You can taste, dimly, the cloudy flavours of ruin in your mouth; Feel the small, broken body as your smaller hand quests out in front of you-

There's grit and dust in the air, and it makes your eyes water - Makes your lungs sting. You can feel a sickening warmth dappling your side, a growing sleepy weakness that engulfs everything...

And above it, the cold, clear orb of the moon.

So full, so silver-

-As the sky dapples to red.

***********************

The light is gone for a long time.

Slowly, very slowly, your armour comes to life around you. Your sensors are alive with machine code - The script scrolling up across your HUD, past ammunition loadouts and charge meters and the alien symbols you've grown used to.

It's dark, as you rise to your feet. For a moment, you wonder if you're still blind - But no. You can perceive shapes, the curving transparency of the dome around you...

The autumn paradise is gone. Around you, you can make out - Through something that's almost clear panels of glass - the infinite blackness of space...And, far, far below, the great orbs of the Red World and the black moon.

Cybele's heaven has been reset.

Back to factory zero.

(Continued)

>>27497575
I really don't think she's lying to us about stuff. If she really wanted to deceive us she would be portraying herself as more sympathetic and less unconcerned with the deaths of all the other players. She's been self-consistent, and any evidence we've found relating to the Hyades has fit with her story. She hasn't hid any of her crazy.

And sure it's possible that everything she did and said was an extremely elaborate ruse, but that's not a line of thought that leads anywhere productive.

>>27497630
>Cybele's heaven has been reset.
>Back to factory zero.

This, more than anything, makes me believe this was a mistake.

Argus system to On.

Since the Joker's armor has the capability to integrate with virtually anything we've decided to shove into it, what's stopping us from simply picking up another Symbol besides the probable killswitch implanted directly into our brain?

We can circumvent that by getting a higher system access.

>>27497630
well, now we have a crazy yandere stalker... INSIDE OF US

>>27497656
>We can circumvent that by getting a higher system access.

Emulation chip, bro.

Also, we should slave the reality-shattering graviton cannon to the hollow sun, so its power accumulator that charges it fees the hollow sun.

>>27497537
>We're a bit more psychotic. We're much more of a brutal murder machine than he is,
Though I agree with the first in theory, dunno if I agree on the second. While Red Joker takes a certain amount of pride in his skills, he tries over and over to convince people that fighting him is a bad idea because he's way more hardcore than them. If he were a brutal murder machine he'd not give anyone warnings or call for surrender. If anything, he has a survivor's mentality. He's resigned to the fact that most everyone in the Red is a compulsive gambler who gambles with their life and knows that if he leaves them alive they'll see it as a sign of weakness and keep. Coming. Back. And the most persistent ones probably start getting closer in the real world.

Makes me wonder if there was an incident involving Kazuya or Natsumi that hammered home the need to finish what other people started, buy that's neither here nor there.

>>27497617
>because you keep on going back to your body, every time. Instead of someone elses.
Except Hecate is a special kind of Player that wears their real body in the Red; called a "Moratorium". Which in this case is a term that means "Stay of execution". Probably significant, I think. Her memory from Mimir's Well suggests that she might have returned to her body anyway, but her EEG is still null.

>>27497669
Do you mean the Manifold Tower?

>>27497684
>Do you mean the Manifold Tower?

Yes! That thingie.

>>27497684
>er memory from Mimir's Well suggests that she might have returned to her body anyway, but her EEG is still null.

Then.... we should ask cybele what she can do for the body, since we are her anchor, her link to the real

>>27497721
Jack shit all. The problem is with Hecate's mind/soul/Essence; although her body is in bad shape her problem is that she lacks her animating spark.

>>27497733
>Jack shit all. The problem is with Hecate's mind/soul/Essence; although her body is in bad shape her problem is that she lacks her animating spark.

a) you don't know that, b) healing powers are rare enough that they're pretty unquantifiable beyond their users and c) because the red world/real world injuries cross over and carry over, its possible even plausable that treating the -real- body(an impossible miracle cure!) will carryover to the RED.
Shit goes both ways.

And it doesn't hurt to try

>>27497766
That reads so desperate it hurts. What makes you think Cybele would be honest even if she could do it? "Sorry Joker-kun, my power only works on you" is also possible.

>>27497766
And you expect the yandere to actually help us save hecate and that her powers work in the real? Hell i'm not even sure she's telling the truth about not being able to find her

>>27497809

Expect? No.

Willing to try and quantify her powers? Yes.

All is silent. The only illumination in the vast, dark space spreads forth from you - Hanging in the air, sketched forth in wavering beams of light. Her symbol is abstract, yet startling in it's simplicity - A circle cradled by a serrated crescent. It burns blue, for a phosphorous instant...

And then it fades away.

> CYBELE'S EMBLEM: A sign of CYBELE'S favour, this unique Crest increases your maximum HP to 200%. In addition, you can infuse her Emblem with energy to repair your damaged armour - At a ratio of 3:1 from your COBALT BOOSTER, or 2:1 from your METER. This function can also be used to recreate severed limbs, effectively overriding the damage.
> When this power is utilized, Cybele's Emblem is revealed: While healing, the sections remain vulnerable until the process is completed. Cybele's rejuvenation can also be used to neutralize certain Codebursts and status effects, albeit at a significant cost.
> Cybele's Emblem can only be used on yourself.
> (i.e. - When the Emblem is in use, your damaged components gradually remateralize, over a brief period of time. Until they're fully repaired, they can be disrupted by continued damage.)

For a brief moment, Cybele's mark smolders on your pauldron - Before the blue fires dim, and darkness falls once more.

>>27497653

You trigger the Argus System - The milimeter-wave sweep taking in the massive, empty space around you. The sensor sweep scans, searching...

Cybele's curled up on the floor, her legs drawn to her chest - Her body folded around herself, her black hair cascading down her smooth back. Her shoulders quiver, in faint sobs; She's weeping, with little rise or fall; A low, constant crying.

[ ] "...Are you all right?"
[ ] "What happened?"
[ ] "-That *hurt*."
[ ] "I wasn't expecting that."
[ ] "The whole sphere - It's gone dark."
[ ] "Cybele? Can you hear me?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27497838
"What's wrong? The whole sphere, it's gone dark.'

>>27497838

TWO HUNDRED PERCENT

Holy shit, she's given us a HP boost as big as ALL THE ONES WE HAVE put together. Combine that AND healing, albeit expensive healing.

DAMN.

>>27497915
And all it took was being enslaved to a crazy woman.

>>27497838
>[ ] "...Are you all right?"

Hold her

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>>27497838
>> CYBELE'S EMBLEM:

Holy Shit.
If all the hyades marks are of this level, no WONDER kraken's been giving us a run for our money.
... and we've been COPING. My god, red joker armor <3 u.

Well, anon, you certainly got your healing potions.

Op, is that 200% BEFORE additions from things like the sinistral?

>>27497858
Agreement.

>>27497838
>[ ] "The whole sphere - It's gone dark."
Initial thought. That was WRONG and it HURT.

Then go over to her, and pick her up. That was intensely personal and painful for the both of us looks like.

I was thinking about the hollow sun. We idlocked it. But we're the RJ, and it can be transfered.
So.... I have to wonder if she stuck that in us, or the joker armor - and will transfer to the next player to wear it.

Either way, if someone ganks us, they get the hollow sun as a bounty.

If anyone realizes this, its gonna make people gun for us even MORE than they do already, holy shit.

>>27497838
"Cybele? Can you hear me?"
"What's wrong?"

>>27497915
>http://pastebin.com/T2Wq28Ew
as big as the SINGLE UPGRADE WE ALREADY HAVE. im... not sure if worth it. it is a pretty good thing, but im really getting a shitty vibe from her. this emblem better not be able to affect us if she wants it too. dont wanna get a sudden burst of mind-numbing, burning white-hot pain whenever we look at anything female

>>27497936

You asked for this. You could have stopped it. Joker Quest always has consequences.
If we got scammed, welll....

Pray we made the right decision.

And think about consequences and other people's motivations next time before going OOH LOOT AND GOODIES.

(personally, i THINK it's gonna work out. She just gave up her heaven to power us - and we're gonna need to be there for her and stop her from going crazy while she rebuilds it. Practically, i think its gonna cost us essence income to power our faustian pact for immortality. We just hope she cares for us as much as she said she did... and continues to feel that way )

>>27497936
>but im really getting a shitty vibe from her.

my guess is that she.... used our innate player power/armor skill thingie - like how the red joker has CHARISMA - and turned it into a conduit for HER power instead. A transmutation of our luck interitance.

that's the kind of fuckery that would involve getting your fingers inside someone's soul to do

For anyone curious, the episode guide's been updated to 61.5. A lot to go over in that session; but I actually just forgot to hit submit.

>>27497968
>And think about consequences and other people's motivations next time before going OOH LOOT AND GOODIES.
Thanks for the reminder, if my suspicions about Palladium Rook are borne out he's going to want us along on a raid. If that happens, turn him down. He's staying out of it because him attacking the Smilers will drag Argent's people into direct confrontation with the Smilers (and thus put Natsumi into the position of having to fight other Players again); instead tell him Red Joker is going to do it alone.

>>27498003
>instead tell him Red Joker is going to do it alone.

haha oh my.

I've been WONDERING when we're gonna start going on the killing path again, and try to level up some more.

i want to see what sort of special bonus we're gonna get if we get the Essence Discount to 5.

Anyway. level up rewards. Lets start planning now. What's on our list?

Carnifex lvl 2? Its already good, so making it better or safer to use is always good.
Tier 5 weaponry? Either we need MORE METER to unlock it, or due to the jigsaw reconfiguration of the joker's high-tier weapons, we need to unlock his full arsenal.
The new ability we get from improved defense is probably worth it too.

What else?
Lucifer bits can be snagged from the hollow sun, right?

Anyway, main thing is I'd like to verify if we can unlock the INCINERATOR through level up menu - because that means the hollow sun lets us buy class abilities.

>>27497933

(My apologies - It's a flat +50% boost. From 150% HP to 200% HP.)

>>27497934

She stirs, slightly, at your words - You can hear her breath hitch, your footsteps clanking on the floor with each step: It feels colder, somehow, the place stripped down to an aching hollowness. Cybele flinches, as you settle yourself next to her - But she doesn't pull away.

>>27497929

It's...an extremely strange sensation. Your endosteel arms are vicing and mechanical and cold - But Cybele seems to take an obscure comfort it in, leaning back against you; You can feel - Not really *feel*, but you're aware of - how she's trembling.

Her pale hand rests on your arm - It slips, slightly, as she tries to find a handhold - settling for a grip on your wrist, half-sitting, half-slumped.

"-I thought..." she begins, in a small voice. "I thought it'd feel - I thought it'd be..." She shivers, as if cold. "...less like that."

Her voice breaks; Her breath cycling in a slow *hiss*, as she visibly composes herself. "...It *hurt*," she admits, her voice shaking - Clutching weakly at you, as if drawing some small measure of strength from you. "It's not supposed to...It shouldn't - hurt so *much*..."

She rubs at her eyes, sniffling - Sounding very, very vulnerable, all of a sudden. Vulnerable - And afraid.

>>27497858
>>27497933

> [ ] "The whole sphere - It's gone dark."

"Is it...?" Cybele cranes her head back, her gaze tilting up - As if only just realizing what's changed. Her eyes squeeze shut; For a moment, there's a flicker of colour - The vague hint of it, at the very edge of perception...

-Before she shudders in your grasp, a sharp bark of effort wrenched from her throat as she spasms.

"I can't...I *can't*," she manages, a catch to her voice; "Why isn't it...?"

Her words linger in the air, a ghostly echo - The pallid unlight dancing over her skin.

"-I don't like it," Cybele murmurs, her voice wavering. "I'm...still scared - o-of the dark..."

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27498050
"You don't have to be afraid. I am far scarier than anything that may be there and I'll keep you safe.

Just take it one step at a time, it'll be alright."

>>27498050
>It *hurt*," she admits, her voice shaking - Clutching weakly at you, as if drawing some small measure of strength from you. "It's not supposed to...It shouldn't - hurt so *much*..."

"The red joker armor's special. A survivor. Perhaps the ultimate survivor. It was probably fighting you. "

Hold her, and.... deploy whichever one of our weapons glows the brightest. Plasma? Fusion gun?

I think fusion, accumulate a single charge, and because of the manifold tower just hold it indefinitely for light.

Poor cybele. We can't just leave her here :(

Continue active scans. Find the terrain in this place. It is, or was, a ship. There should be a control panel around somewhere.

>>27498050
"...STILL scared? I hadn't realized that it had been dark before."

>>27498050

It looks like something went seriously and badly wrong, here. She clearly didn't see this coming at ALL.

I'm getting a whole 'the morning after a bad lay' vibe from this. Can we use the Nihl Sphere to bring her back to Earth for a bit? I think she'd appreciate it more than being cradled by a robot.

>>27498107
>It looks like something went seriously and badly wrong, here. She clearly didn't see this coming at ALL.

I'm thinking hecate's chamber fucked with this hardcore.

We're gonna have a seriously bad day awakening.

After all, hecate DID warn us not to stray.

>>27498107
>It looks like something went seriously and badly wrong, here. She clearly didn't see this coming at ALL.
Maybe she just doesn't know the process of knighting a Player as a Hyades hurts like seventy bitches.

>>27498107
Just a few seconds seriously drained the sphere last time. I don't think we can keep her in the real long enough.

>>27498045
I say that less because I want all the experience for Red Joker and more because I think the political situation between the Smilers and Argent's faction means that offensive action by persons of the latter won't be taken as rogue elements acting on their own. Besides, Argent brought us in basically to kill people because his faction isn't supposed to. This is more of the same.

>>27498050
"I didn't use to be, but sometimes I can't sleep because it means closing my eyes. I don't think I've told anyone that before...

"What year was it when you came to be here?"

>>27498107
Fuck no. It's already near death; we're never pulling a stunt like that again.

>>27498128
>Maybe she just doesn't know the process of knighting a Player as a Hyades hurts like seventy bitches.

No, we had SOUL PAIN when we used the vetruvian device and the hollow sun, i think.

My guess is the RJ's armor is just a total bitch to modify

>>27498133
>Besides, Argent brought us in basically to kill people because his faction isn't supposed to. This is more of the same.

So, who are we taking into this mess with us.
The thief?

Because.... well, we probably want backup.

And, iunno, we haven't even heard rook's plan.

>>27498153
>So, who are we taking into this mess with us.

I think the Hollow Sun can take care of backup if we need it

Seems like the RJ armor doesn't just invade the matchmaking list.
It also refuses to be controlled. We ARE a JOKER after all.
Seems like our armor absorbed her powers.

I wonder if we can now anchor her to the real or something.

>>27498182
once. it can give us backup. once. do you people not read the damn quest? its the apocalypse army that we hold in reserve till the very end

>>27498093

Cybele's answer is soft, wordless - A sound of affirmation, low and deep in her throat.

>>27498106

She shakes her head. "...It's never dark in heaven," Cybele murmurs; To her, apparently, that's answer enough.

>>27498133

Her brow furrows. "I...don't remember," she says, slowly - reluctantly, as if the confession pains her. "-You forget, after a while. In this place...It's always *now*. Forever and ever and *ever*..."

> "What year was it when you came to be here?"

Cybele breaths out, a low, shallow sound.

"...Autumn," she says, in a small voice. "It was - The trees were so colourful, and the sky was so blue - That's all I remember. That's...the only thing left..."

> "I didn't use to be, but sometimes I can't sleep because it means closing my eyes."

She reaches up, to touch your face - Her questing fingers encountering red endosteel, your mono-optic sensor, sliding across the angular edges of your helm. "...I see," she murmurs, almost to herself.

"-You're like me...No wonder you're the one."

>>27498098

Your weapons flicker before your eyes. Which one? Plasma Caster, Fusion Annhilator, missiles, Phanlax Chain Mine...

-Ah.

The Cobalt Booster in your chest begins to glow - Shedding a soft, uneven light, that throws the wavering shadows into deeper relief. You're not sure how much time pasts, like this - With Cybele's breathing smoothening out, becoming regular, relaxing in a simple, unselfconscious relief, as if all the tension has drained from her form at once.

(Continued)

>>27498182
>I think the Hollow Sun can take care of backup if we need it

I don't want to blow our one hollow sun bullet on this.

The golden power armor suit that's self-assembling, tho?

>>27498186
Oh god. Did we just essence hijack ALL the power out of hear heaven?

>>27498192
>once.
If we need a boost.... I forget, did we grab the purple crystal from Totenaz's former lair? The one that was bait for a minor corrector hive?
If not, well, go walk into that trap and kick it's ass.
If we're gonna stomp their door down, we might as well take along an item that lets us do it in the REAL if we need to.

>>27498050
Find the control systems for this place. its possible its just a momentary power outage (OH FUCK OH FUCK WHATS HAPPENING IN THE REAL).
Then fix it. Send some of OUR essence to the place, using the helix gauntlet as a conduit to jump-start the place.

>>27498215
>You're not sure how much time pasts, like this
>>27498218
>Find the control systems for this place. its possible its just a momentary power outage (OH FUCK OH FUCK WHATS HAPPENING IN THE REAL).
>Then fix it. Send some of OUR essence to the place, using the helix gauntlet as a conduit to jump-start the place.

Ah fuck too late!

>>27498218
>If we need a boost.... I forget, did we grab the purple crystal from Totenaz's former lair? The one that was bait for a minor corrector hive?
>If not, well, go walk into that trap and kick it's ass.
>If we're gonna stomp their door down, we might as well take along an item that lets us do it in the REAL if we need to.
Good idea.
We can also farm a few correctors.
That's a very Joker thing to do:
Walk into a trap because you consider it a favorable position.

>>27498243
>Walk into a trap because you consider it a favorable position.

The smart thing to do would be to take a pair of plyers along.

IIRC it was baited such that touching it would trigger a forced transformation which was then instantly ganked.

So we want to get the crystal without using its charge, and THEN transform normally.

Basically come back with some tons and a box.

What's next on our list today, though? Dead drop, wasn't it? Don't lose sight of our plan for this in-game day.

>>27498280
This reminds me of how I sometimes play videogames.
First get the loot, then trigger the trap and earn even more loot.

>>27498280
I think we did the dead drop already.

>>27498218
>If we need a boost.... I forget, did we grab the purple crystal from Totenaz's former lair? The one that was bait for a minor corrector hive?
That one was actually going to be used ON Akira, by the Smiler who died holding it. The fact that the area is a Corrector lair is what prevented Akira from getting a nasty surprise on his homecoming.

Anyway, that crystal was consumed by the Nihl Sphere as Anon reached out to touch it. The one Argent has belonged to Helix Gygas.

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>>27498218

You look around. There has to be a control system somewhere, within reach - Some device, or mechanism that manipulates the world around you. But it's such a vast space, and the dimensions defy analysis - But then your Argus System probes deeper.

There's...*technology*...all around you. In the floor, in the clear walls, the air seething with potential. All of it out of sight; You'd theorize that it's in the hemisphere beneath you, the unyielding pitch-black floor.

*Beneath* you-

...You're not sure how Cybele does it. Whether she even *knows* what she's doing - Or if it's all instinctive. You-

You feel the very substance of your being flicker, in time with the slow, stately motion of the black moon. You're being drawn out of alignment again.

"...Not much time left," Cybele breathes - A note of urgency returning to her voice. A dull glow filters from her fingers; Slowly, reluctantly - Sullenly roused to life, against it's will - a screen flickers into existence, displaying a choppy image.

You make out - A tall form. Silver. Solid, but not bulky - Not walking, but *striding*, a distortion halo shading light across what looks like a cavern. He's not alone - Around him, you see forms in white armour, loping along on all fours - with an ivory flicker-flash, like a pack of wolves or hunting dogs-

"-That's him," she says - "Joker-kun..."

Her face turns upwards towards yours, a pale oval in the gloom -

"...I need you to kill him for me."

[ ] "...Who is that?"
[ ] "What are those things?"
[ ] "Where is he?"
[ ] "But...How will I find him?"
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

I wonder:
Can non-players see Relics?
Because the Nihl Sphere would make an awesome Red Pill.

>>27498323

>[ ] "...Who is that?"
>[ ] "Where is he?"

>>27498323
"One of the other champions? I've been meaning to ask, what happens to the Hyades who lose their champions?"

>>27498361
Eternal agony, obviously.

>>27498369
Well yes, that or instant death, but official confirmation is nice.

>>27498347
Dual nature Relics exist and can be seen by non-Players. That said, we're not using the Nihl Sphere to drag people in to the Red World, that's too energy intensive, and the one person who wouldn't need such dramatic action has had enough of our meddling.

>>27498243
>Walk into a trap because you consider it a favorable position.
You say trap, Red Joker says target rich environment.

>>27498323
so we are a lapdog to be sicced on opponents. rpg fetch-quests-but with murder!

Sarcasm aside, ask her who it is, and why do we kill him

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>>27498361

"I-" she bites her lip. "...I don't know."

A shallow breath rasps from her throat, as Cybele's voice fades out in your ears - Fading back in, with a staticky crackle. She nearly smiles, but it's a hollow one; The first half of her words doppling out. "-never had one before..."

> [X] "Where is he?"

The view - Through the hovering screen - pulls back.

Back.

Further back.

A note of deja vu strikes you; The Player - ARMAROS, your sensors tag - stands in the shadow of a great tower...A tower with the top shrouded in gloom, a cylinder that rises from the bowels of the earth. The loping figures in white armour scuttle up the surface, like ants - Silver filaments uncoiling from them, unravelling, sinking into it, questing to find the cracks and joins-

...It's a Manifold Tower. The one you triggered - Or something *like it*. A twin.

"Just - Focus on him," Cybele manages - "...I'll try - I'll try to *send* you there...Or anywhere you want to go."

>>27498460

"That's..." She nods in his direction. Her breathing quickens, from the effort...The buzzing, buzzing rising in your ears. "-That's Psyche's partner. I think - You're the only one who can beat him."

You can barely hear her, now - Your vision blurring over. You're being drawn away - Wisps of vapour coiling away from your limbs, as your hand casts a ghostly shadow over Cybele's form. You-

[ ] Focus on Ixion.
[ ] Focus on Armaros.
[ ] Focus on the Purgatory Stage.
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>27498498
may as well get sent to him. its about time for some shooty

>>27498524
armaros, whoops

>>27498498
Ixion's making like Orcus and Red Joker knows where to find the black lake (as much as he wants to forget forever). Purgatory is the boring option, especially since it leads to log-off and I can't think of anything relevant to do in the real world, although it would let us control how we leave the hospital.

On the other hand I don't like the thought of anyone toying with one of the Towers; that's Red Joker's job. Go to Armamos, and try to avoid losing any limbs.

We lead with "I'd be surprised if you got that working; the only way I've found to activate one is to be me."

>>27498498

(Gentlemen: I would love to continue, but I'm feeling especially exhausted today. My sincerest apologies for ending at this abrupt juncture - I'll do my level best to run a follow-up within a few days.

However, you've been a great audience - Again, I apologize if the writing was of uneven quality towards the end.

As always, good night and God bless: And I hope to see you again soon.

While I'll log ARMAROS as the first choice for the next session, rest assured that I'll check the topic in case a different decision is made, then amend the opening accordingly.)

>>27498604
Night then.

>>27498568

Fuck, that's a tough choice to make. Both of them look awesome, in that they have cool suits.

I'm actually leaning towards ixion rather than Armaros tho. Gold beats silver every time.

So is someone here interested in archiving the thread?
Hopefully someone who's actually capable of understand Roman numerals.

Then again, currently the quest gets more and more downvotes and suptg isn't all that important with the episode guide, anyway.

>>27498892

Yeah, I have no idea why there's so much downvote spam.

>>27498892

I've archived it, as Joker Quest 62. The number of downvotes surprises me, because I think that the writing quality has improved with each chapter. It feels like we're actually a mover and shaker now, and this was one HELL of a boost.

Still not sure how to feel about Cybele, actually.

>>27498323
>>27496746

OP, can I just say: Those designs are fucking cool. I'm totally stealing them for use in my mecha game.

>>27499091
The golden one is from Gatchaman Crowds.
All of these images are from anime and Japanese artists.

>>27496422

So we've learnt something interesting from this session. The Hyades are like...What, the destined 'mates' of certain players? On a one-for-one kind of exchange?

Cybele seems to have an unnatural affection for us, or it might be just because she's crazy. She's a weird mix of stir-crazy and yandere, but doesn't really seem to know what she's in for.

The question is, is this a two-way thing? Bishamon seemed completely smitten with the moon girl.

The whole concept sounds really fucked-up to me. Imagine if the partner was abusive.

>>27499285
>Bishamon seemed completely smitten with the moon girl.

That's not a surprise, the moon girl is probably gorgeous, whatever her name is.

Guys, I just got here and I was reading through and something stuck out to me over here >>27496912
>Psyche has her silver angel

ARGENT MADE A PACT.

>>27499558

I think she meant that Armaros made pact. But you're right, it may have been Argent instead.

Fuck, that guy looks pretty silver to me.

>>27499558
>Uzume had her pet swordsman
That is far more interesting.
We should visit Bishamon.

>>27499285
It's more like the Hyades pattern themselves after what they think their Player will like. Bishamon sees someone imperious and untouchable, Kraken gets someone fabulous, and Red Joker gets someone to protect and confide in. Except they're all nuts.

>>27499725

Cybele was actually too late. She should've patterned herself after Hecate, if she wanted a chance.

But yeah, their sheer crazy shines through. That girl is neither stable nor reliable.

>>27499285
>The question is, is this a two-way thing? Bishamon seemed completely smitten with the moon girl.

How I see it is that due to the Corrector Encounter, that ate frost cestus' heart while we were trapped in hell, is that ours is missing kinda.

But the red joker is like having another player's soul grafted onto ours; its a special armor with special properties because its EXTRA essence.
So we get by by being able to rely on the JOKER'S heart instead of our own.

>>27500399

I nearly forgot that! We're two Players in one, technically. Wonder what that means?

>>27500399
I never thought that was supposed to be taken literally, but now I wonder. I mean, Bishamon is crushing on Uzume, Cybele is smitten with Joker-kun and she says the bond is supposed to feel like being in love, but Red Joker doesn't seem to reciprocate. Wonder what's going on there.

Damnit. I hate time zone differences. Since I'm actually here and the thread is still alive, we should have told her we have a probable ally amongst the chosen ones. If the other chicks are as smitten with their choices as the one we have, think of the fucking damage we could cause if us and Spaghetti actually teamed up. Wata wanted to break the game? Well, there's no better way to break the game than to team up in a entirely deathmatch game.

>>27501252

>Uzume
>Cybele says the bond is supposed to feel like being in love

Oh god, did we just wing a Sekirei?

>>27501332

It seems to be the opposite, really. In Sekirei, the bond is a very glowy, very uplifting thing. The girl feels good and all that.

But here, it was agonizing for both parties, and the winger (Now there's an unfortunate turn of phrase) was utterly debiliated afterwards. Guess we're just not good in the sack.

>>27501374

That can probably be explained, as stated earlier in the thread, the Joker's armor resisting.

>>27501285

Our next encounter with Bish must have the opening line of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

>>27501332
Unlikely, their proportions have been reasonable.

>>27501512

Watashiwa, was wondering if you favored any of the girls so far? Hecate or Mio or a third option?

Because I like both.

>>27501496

Why should we tell him? If we tell him, it makes us a competitor by default. I really don't want to have to kill him.

>>27501285
Bonus:
We know where the last shard of Fatal Abyss is.
If we are lucky, we can redeem Thief and make a three-way rape train.

>>27501560
And he doesn't want to kill us.
So why not ally up and fuck the Red?

We just need to know the exact motivations of the Hyades. They are real girls, after all.
Maybe they want to become the Chalice Queen to return to reality.

>>27501533
Mio, though it would have been Asuna had I started participating

>>27501798
Because the Red Joker's reputation makes any cooperative endeavor with mutually exclusive goals a terrifying proposition. Even though Anon would not engage someone he was working with, keep in mind that most Players grow aggressive when they feel threatened or sense an opportunity. Bishamon's goal of survival means that he hasn't felt those urges in the same way, but now that he has a Hyade he could fall back into more typical patterns.

>>27502510
*started participating earlier.

Fucking spacephones I swear to God...

>>27502510
>Bishamon's goal of survival means that he hasn't felt those urges in the same way, but now that he has a Hyade he could fall back into more typical patterns.
But we know Bisha.
That might be helpful.

And now I wonder if they can abuse the situation with the twin that we killed. Maybe we can get her sister on a journey to world domination or something.

>>27502510
>Bishamon has always prioritized his survival over "winning" the game
>He knows that the RJ is an immensely powerful force who has ALSO been approached by a Hyades
>Bishamon is a smart guy and can into basic logic, so he understands that any boost he gets from his Hyades is likely to be equaled by the boost we get from ours, leaving us at the original equation of Red Joker vs Bishamon
>He knows better than to try Red Joker vs Bishamon
>EXCEPT NOW HE MIGHT!

Congratulations, now you've passed the boundary from necessary paranoia to stupid paranoia.

>>27498003
>Red Joker finally getting away from waifu drama/personal drama/Hyades shenanigans and getting back to killing shitloads of Smilers

My God, is it Christmas already?

>>27503151
I just realized that we are only in control during battle.
In the Real, women control us (and sometimes even in the Red).
And when they don't, other players do because of our passive matchmaking murder ability.
The Joker can never say no. He can only say yes.
Thankfully, "yes" can mean "let's murder dozens of people and nuke an entire building". So we at least have *some* control.

Also, I totally want to use EXEC_REND to destroy something in the Real. We could shoot a chain mine at Smiler HQ or something.

>>27503125
Except the Red World screws with people's minds. Look at Bardiel, he changed a lot from the person he was in the flashback. Look at Frost Cestus' peers from six years ago and Cybele now--long term exposure sucked away their memories and changed them. Kouichi's made of sterner stuff, but he's never wanted anything other than to survive the Red World until now. He should still be amenable to alliance but things are never that easy for Anon.

What happens if a player charges us and we use REND to block a tackle?

>>27503336
Except we talked with him about it already, AFTER HE HAD ACCEPTED. That was his best shot at us right then and there, when he had the boost and he knew we didn't. He let us walk away no harm no foul. And now we're hearing from Cybele that one of the Hyades just lost her "pet swordsmen." There is no reason to discard Kou as an option except for rampant paranoia. You literally just said "B-b-but he might be DIFFERENT now!" as an argument. Well, if that's the case, then odds are so are we so why were people advocating accepting her offer? And why didn't we consider the fact that he might be mentally compromised BEFORE we decided to do THE EXACT SAME THING? Be consistent in your yardsticks, goddamn.

THE BEST PART OF THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME.

Now I need that image from MGNQ

>>27503511
I think you've misunderstood. I'm saying the Red World seems to effect people sort of like the anime [C], where people involved in the battles in the alternate world become obsessed with winning more and more, to the point where they can't perform basic risk vs. reward calculations. We've seen a few examples of this: Bardiel's probably the best, since he seemed like a decent if rough guy in the flashback, and then there's the way that other Players trapped in the Red World went bad over time.

Kouichi's been more concerned with surviving than winning, but now he has a reason to want to win. I don't know if I'm reading this right, but it would be an interesting nightmare scenario. I'm not seriously advocating that we treat him any differently either, just making slightly meta observations.

If we are do team up with Spaghetti-san, we need to get him that damn blade. We've been putting it off for at least nine or ten threads now.