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>>37280554

HOLLOW SUN: 71.5%

http://pastebin.com/QhA7P9S4

RESEARCH:

[X] FIRMWARE UPGRADE
[X] RESEARCH: SUPERHEAVY CHASSIS
[X] ARC CHARGER
[X] CHOIR BEACON
[X] DIRAC TRANSMITTER II

VOID ANCHORS:

ORIGINAL HIVE
THE TRIBUNAL
NARAKA
THE VAULT
TUSITA

HOLDING: 0 (VECTOR GEIST: 1)

RED COMET GUIDE:

http://pastebin.com/hmcAYhRE

RESEARCH COMPLETE:

> [X] DISINTEGRATOR CANNON
> [X] VECTOR TRAP
> [X] POSITRON LANCE

UPDATES:

- ENERGY CONDENSER and POSITRON ACCELERATOR unlocked under HELLION UPGRADES.
- POSITRON LANCE ARRAY, PLASMA DESTRUCTOR and SPINAL REACTOR unlocked under RED COMET UPGRADES.
- TACHYON DRIVER and VECTOR DRIVE unlocked under HOLLOW SUN UPGRADES.
- MEGA-PROJECTS UNLOCKED.
- WIDOWMAKER, POSITRON SMARTGUN, GRENDEL and APOLLYON BUSTER unlocked under RELIC VAULT.
- FUSION GUN, POSITRON RIFLE and INFERNO CANNON unlocked under HELLION ARMORY.

>>37280574
>SPINAL REACTOR

Holy shit that's neat but what does it actually DO?

That smartgun. Vasquez would be proud.

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>As absolute pandomenium erupts - As the Red floods in - as the world folds in upon itself...
>All you can see is Mio's smile, that earnest, radiant smile-
>A perfect moment.
I expected this, but I'm still kind of buttflustered that we couldn't have this nice thing.

I say whatever pops out we kill it ASAP, and act grumpy while we're at it. No one likes a grumpy Grim Reaper.

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>>37280609

>>37280574
>APOLLYON BUSTER
OP, does that weapon completely disable all slots on the arm after being installed, or does that only happen while it's being used?

Also, what do we go for this thread?
We have three very nice Hollow Sun upgrades. Tachyon, Neutronium or Vector.

>>37280649
It sounds like while it's being used.

I'm really interested in it, since the binary translates to "sun crusher," which sounds pretty fun.

>>37280609
>I say whatever pops out we kill it ASAP
Well, yeah, we will.
Killing Cybele was kinda the plan.

...I wish we would know if the NIHL synergizes with her purple bracelet and if she would be able to handle the fact that we got a girlfriend.

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>>37280554
>and an unexpected confession.
Still laughing, days later. Evening OP, hope work isn't hitting you too hard.

Had a question. How literal is the need for a stabilizing element for those HS weapons? There's several ways to read that expression.

>>37280574
>upgrade stuff
Oh my god, how are we going to even approach this?

>>37280649
Why the Vector? I get the other two.

>>37280658
>she would be able to handle the fact that we got a girlfriend
Obviously no.

>>37280668
>Why the Vector? I get the other two.
It sounds like something teleporty.
Maybe a way to walk from the Hollow Sun to a remote location or something.

Fuck, there are so many upgrades that I'd love to get, as well as relics.

>>37280668
>Had a question. How literal is the need for a stabilizing element for those HS weapons? There's several ways to read that expression.
In /ghost/ I suggested the heavy fusion cell.

OP, can you do a what-if of Mio's confession last thread, where she says "Joker" instead of "Anon"?
It sounds like a wonderful clusterfuck possibility.

What I wonder:
Will Guardian AI v1 profit from Firmware Upgrade?
Or will it just unlock higher Guardian AI upgrades?

>>37280655
It's neutronium though, no storing it or putting it away. It could be an alternate version of Frost Cestus's signature weapon.

And the Sun Crusher was bullshit. It actually destroys star systems and was built with stolen Death Star funds? Yeaaaaah no.

>>37280658
>her purple bracelet
All the Hyades we've seen more than once have had an item like it. They're lesser forms of the Nihl Sphere with personal significance to the Hyades. Alura had hairpins/knives. Mio's hairclip is one as well, unless I'm completely wrong.

And absolutely not, good lord.

>>37280690
>In /ghost/ I suggested the heavy fusion cell.
Ghost?

And I dunno, a battery isn't exactly my idea of a stabilizer.

>where she says "Joker" instead of "Anon"?
Oh god yes.

>>37280746
>Ghost?
QTG is now ghostposting since the mod gained a vendetta.

>>37280746
Ghost-QTG.

>>37280754
>>37280756
So that's what happened to it. Clever.

>>37280754
It's not a vendetta, the mods decided QTG wasn't allowed. Stupid decision, but it's nothin' personell.

>>37280746
>And I dunno, a battery isn't exactly my idea of a stabilizer.
I was just guessing because it's the last weapon research in that category.

So, will we take a relic today?

>>37280754
What the heck is ghostposting?

>>37280773
Posting in the archives.
https://archive.moe/tg/thread/37249020/

>>37280778

They saw themselves as shepherds, with the peculiar benevolence that ignores what happens to the lambs.

But really, they were only sheep.

-------------------------------

What does it look like?

The heart of the black moon. A terminal structure of plates and spines and spokes - empty, aching. There is nothing, nothing to give any scale, as the world gathers around you - words like vast, huge...all inadequate, without meaning.

You do not materalize within the secret heart. There is no sense of transition, the abrupt moment where you begin *here* and end *there* - only a sense of distant weariness, the low sound of your footfalls through a starlight-dark and midnight-silent space. You are already walking, hearing only the whisper breathing through the eternal space; with only tiny, scattered specks of light to illuminate your way, the merest suggestion of spirals, lines, swirling runes...

Across a plain of lightless stone. Past walls that glow, softly, with an inner anti-radiance. Odd spaces open out into curious chambers, or turn back on themselves like a maze - Leading forward, ever forward, even when the ceiling soars away forever. For you, there are only glimpses - impressions - a muddled sensation of discomfort, as you travel through the vast halls; through grand chambers that bear no relation to any human design you have ever seen.

The ruddy glow seems to come from everywhere, and nowhere. Walls that seem solid part like smoke, guiding you on. There is no continuity to your journey - No linear sense of the passage of time, one moment flowing into the next. Just the weight of the future, like a shroud, an invisible burden that bows your shoulders beneath its weight-

You have, it seems, been walking for a long, long time.

(Continued)

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so hey. Dude. Duuuuuude.

Whomever was talking about kamen rider drive last thread?

Shit's awesome, thank you. Its some Redline tier funtimes.

>>37280766
There's a lot of ways to divide the charge. We can go for full unlocking and grab two of the facility upgrades. Or we can get one installation, a Relic, and a normal upgrade. Or throw it all into regular upgrades.

Before we go too far, I'd like to ask OP to go into just a little more detail about the Quantum Accelerator. Does it unlock more research, or just do as described?

>>37280816
>Redline
That good? Shiet.

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>>37280816
Get hype for Machine Chaser, the man whose actor I swear is familiar but I can't remember what other Kamen Rider character he looks like.

Also his henshin pose is pretty cool.

>>37280822
>>Redline
>That good? Shiet.
Finding out that shit's on youtube, free and in HD rocked my world and changed my standards for wasting time on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MPe7E1YrY4 if anyone cares. 1080p!

>>37280835
Man, not even that. Dimension Cab's appearance was when i was hooked. I couldn't believe they actually did it, and the camera-work was actually really impressive to get that effect of the detached arm driving around.
I could not stop cracking up and rewatched it like 5 times.

The show was good before that.... but that's the point I was willing to concede they know what they're doing and its worth watching.

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>>37280835
Hey! He stole my color scheme! Get back here, villian!

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>>37280789

You follow hallways dressed in diaspore and agate, and descend paths planed from solid onyx. Your shadow chases along walls carved from ivory and quartz, and you wait in the obsidian gloom for the next path to reveal itself, as you look down into an artificial chasm five hundred storeys deep, filled with lights and great, unknowable machinery.

Is this happening to you, now? Or are you remembering/have remembered/will remember this?

Or perhaps, somehow, you have always been here: You will always be here because there is no future - Everything that is about to happen never will.

Now is all there is.

Perhaps the path you navigate is but the twisting track that has taken you this far.

Here is one thread, almost straight - the bright sweep of the Misericorde's descent. That thread is tied to an infinite number of others, progressively more tangled - and the others to others still, some which splice back in closed loops, some of which curl outwards into the invisible distance. Every event connecting to every other, each acting upon every other in a matrix of force so complex that there is no such thing as a simple progression from one to the next-

But together, they form the key.

The road is now set, and thought it may be long it will end, as all things must.

-------------------------

SOON

-------------------------

Past a wide, tiled courtyard and a hall of asymentrical pillars - whose function you cannot begin to imagine - beyond a vault of smooth, polished beige that seems to have no ceiling, you reach the end. Great monoliths rise from the tiles like standing stones, irregular, cyclopean, all disorientating spirals and imbricating segments.

(Continued)

>>37280891
Time flow encryption.
That's some heavy shit.
You take a seed, which is the beginning of an existence, and then have that seed end up at a specific point under specific conditions to prove that this existence is the correct one.

Does this mean fate exists? Or does it mean the opposite?

(Gentlemen, my apologies. Lost the connection for a moment: Writing now.)

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>>37280891

When you return to yourself at last - When the moment ceases to flow - you stand within the secret heart.

Perhaps not the physical or geographic core, but the part of the dimensional construct buried most deeply in the interlocking lamina of warped space and time. An impossible space, past the hollow tunnels and tiled chambers; A sanctum, created for this moment - by no means the largest you've glimpsed in this place, but singular. Lacking the anti-radiance that ebbs from the walls and floors elsewhere; the lustrous material that composes the edifices grey, dissected, as if dead.

No, not dead.

Waiting.

The only light in the chamber is what you bring with you. Cybele's Emblem, on your pauldron - A twisting, burning rune, alight with emerald radiance. Something whispers in the darkness; the Hyades symbol pulsing and rippling, the light filtering through the coils and loops and whorls of the interstital architecture. Corospant ignites - Threads of electricity, twitching and crackling along the monoliths, around the central plinth, like neon ivy.

A flicker -

Blink. Cybele's symbol, the mark of a contract completed.

Blink. A writhing flicker, a flash - Hellebore's mark, the Emblem of a new path.

Blink.

[ ] Release Cybele's armor.
[ ] Release Hellebore's armor.
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

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>>37281079
>Release Hellebore's armor.
I can't wait for her reaction.

>>37281079
>[ ] Release Hellebore's armor.

it is time.

To save the world

[ ] Free: Void anchor this place. UNLMITED POWER WORKS

>>37281079
Shit, I can't even write this vote.
It's too painful.

Guys, do this for me. Or I'll go crazy.
WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS?

>>37281079
>[ ] Release Hecate's armor

Obviously won't work, so:
>[ ] Release Hellebore's armor.

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>>37280589

(It's a secondary reactor, with a capacity and regeneration ability of it's own.)

>>37280690
>>37280746

(I'll be sure to think about it.)

>>37280822

(Both, really. But you're coming close to the end of the upgrade tree, at any rate.)

>>37281079
Illuminate the place with the NIHL.

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>>37281103
>WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS?
Because this is the path we have chosen.

>>37281114
This. I don't entirely trust that we're alone.

>>37281114
This.

>>37281079
Punch the ground out of frustration.
Get Hellebore's armor.

We have a NIHL sphere, we have multiple freaky codebursts, we have Daegal, we are the Red Joker and we have enhanced access rights.
And yet there's nothing in our arsenal that could help in this situation.

>>37281147
That's a bit melodramatic, Anonymous.

>>37281079
>[X] Release Hellebore's armor.
We made our choice a long time ago. God forgive us, just about no one else will.

>>37281110
>Both, really.
Neat.

>But you're coming close to the end of the upgrade tree, at any rate.
Aww.

And, sorry, about the stabilizing element for the HS weapons? Is it elemental, physical or other?

>>37281147
We could make a different choice. We have to live with the consequences no matter what though.

[x] Release Hellebore's armor.

Cybele can suck it, we Mio now.

>>37281163
>We could make a different choice. We have to live with the consequences no matter what though.

Well, we have a Free choice.

Could we look around and see a different choice?

Could we unlock BOTH?

Perhaps there's something here for US. Jokers are special, after all.

>>37281178
>Could we unlock BOTH?
Do you seriously want Cybele to kill all of the Seisin girls?

>>37281178
Why would we unlock both? It'll just kill all of the girls AND we have to deal with having two waifus.

>>37281185
>>37281186

yeah okay bad idea forget i said it

>>37281178
>Could we unlock BOTH?
No. One Chalice Queen.

>>37281195
It might merge the two girls.
And kill the White Joker, in addition to draining all of the simulation bodies.

>>37281204
Doesn't work like that. One Essence body. One player. I'm sure there is a player who could mix and match, but that's a special ability.

Hey, can we call out for Hellebore?

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I really should have left the new Garo episode for later. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need some healing after this thread is over.
Or alternatively, a lot more suffering.

>>37281114
>>37281124
>>37281141

A seething violet light joins the emerald radiance - It *flows*, angling along the channels and whorls of the central plinth, a repeating pattern incising itself across the monoliths-

Stark, almost psychedelic symbols scrawl across the vast asymnetrical columns, floating sigils bright as neon. They make a high chattering, like the sound of swarming insects rubbing their wing cases. Involuntarily, the fingers of your golden, gleaming right hand twitch - the brilliant streamrs of code shining in meaningless repeats, their meanings lost to you, alien.

On your shoulder, the coiled, burning symbol of Cybele's Emblem writhe like snakes, fighting itself. Forming one run then the next, crackling like a log fire - written in liquid flame. The insect noise increases, purring, then sinks away-

The first sigil: Hooked, like a crescent moon, but also coiling upon itself. The second - Like the valves of a human heart. Bright, cold, elemental - without order, without arrangement, switching places and transforming, twisted into a single light.

Violet light-

Emerald radiance-

The marks of every Hyades that has existed, exists, will exist. If only you had more time - If you had someone to *teach* you, to decipher the alien symbols - to draw sense from the confusion, perhaps you could...

-but then the violet light is dying away, diminishing to a sullen, somehow guilty glow, a twitching aura that does nothing at all to illuminate the perpetual gloom around you.

>>37281228

Are you there, Hellebore? Are you watching this? Do you still exist?

Can she hear you?

There is a single door that cannot be opened, and you hold the key. On this moment, everything turns.

When the Hand of Midas comes down on the plinth - as Hellebore's mark flares with a blinding radiance, a light so elemental, so brilliant, that your form cannot contain it -

(Continued)

>>37281244
Aldnoah Zero continues today.

>>37281275
Only thing I know about that one is that Sawano's doing the music, and I really, really like what he did with Unicorn and is doing with Xenoblade X. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOzx6-VrsZY

>>37281312
The first season had no healing.
Then the last episode came and I couldn't contain my laughter.
It was like a self-aware parody of Urobutchi's tendencies.

>>37281275
Also, Dog Days.

I say we unlock the APOLLYON BUSTER, shit looks awesome.

>>37281315
And then 2/3 (maybe even 3/3) of the people killed turned out to be completely fine.

>>37281340
Well, yeah, it's kinda the essence of Frost Cestus.
Unfortunately, losing all equipment on an arm might be problematic, if it's for as long as the thing is equipped.
We would be forced to burn an upgrade on that thing.

>>37281353
>an upgrade on that thing
If anything it's like Adamant: Completely different playstyle required.

>>37281340
I kind of want to see what it does, but we have a lot of useful shit on that arm and we need strategic assets more than we need individual assets right now.

Did anyone else notice the Magma Cannon?

I mean its totally obvious, but its also ION CANNON MODE.

Giant stream of death-lasers from the sky.

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>>37281369
forgot my pic.

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>>37281269

It is no long violet or green or red.

It is white.

White light pours forth, alien and sterile. The air opens up into a bright, cold, white void somehow more hideous and terrible than the very depths of blackness as you light up like a phosphorescent flare, straight lines of dazzling, die-straight radiance linking you to each monolith like the beams of a cold sun, shooting from one to another until a geometric web of frosty light surrounds you.

There is a flash. The low beginnings of a monstrous noise. A deep groaning, a tremble from the very heart of the black moon; the sound is so deep you feel it rather than hear it, the fritiniency of chattering bugs increasing in volume. The air grows thick and sour, charged - Motes dancing in the narrow space, illuminating everything with inner fire. You become a mere silhouette, a trimming at the bottom of the world as everything lights up, like some vision of the ascent to heaven, the soaring staircase leading to the very heart of the sun-

The light-

-the light is taking you to pieces-

--------------------------------

The first light of the new day brings you pain.

It blossoms into a brilliant, blinding flash of spreading whiteness - Sensation returning at last. You can hear yourself breathing, hard - harsh - scraping nerves already raw, your costume clinging damply to your form, the heavy cloth weighing down your limbs. There is genuine disorientation, almost panic - the stuff of unplugged nightmares to come.

A blind *questing*, a collective moan-

(Continued)

>>37281363
OP mentioned that upgrades attune our body to the relic.
This might remove that drawback, as the requirement is explicitly a re-constructing of the limb.

Similar to how the Carnifex used to eject vital armor parts.

>>37281402
It still does, just less of it. Attunement doesn't get rid of a Relic's drawbacks, especially when the drawback is related to the entire point of the Relic. The Suncrusher is a ridiculously powerful neutronium fist. Upgrading it won't make it any less made of neutronium.

>>37281438
Yes, but it would reduce them.

>>37281453
Probably not. Neutronium weapons can't be stored as a tradeoff for their power. That means you can't switch it out midbattle, especially if it's a matter of modifying the limb. At best an upgrade would give it rapid ejection, but there's no guarantee that you'll keep a weapon you don't have on your person at the end.

>>37281381

A confused babble of voices:

> "-happening to him-"

> "-doesn't look-"

> "-up there?"

The words resolve into meaning at last, as the fog begins to clear. Kazuya's voice, taut with worry, his whisper low, harsh. Anon-

-Anon!

Get it together.

You're standing. That much is certain. You stand at the podium, your hand gripping something made of heavy, cut crystal and curving gold, a chalice so ornate, so decorated with ribbons and rosettes and abstract twists that the weight of it turns your wrist. The flickering lights continue, as the murmur of the dark ocean before you resolves into the vague shape of heads, of silhouettes, of seats - cameras continuing to flash, so they form a constant staccato murmur.

You're glad that you're leaning against it. Bleak exhaustion crashes over you, in a wave - You're not sure that you could stand on your own, if it came to that. The-

-trophy-

...is slipping in your grasp, and it takes all of your strength to hold on to it, as your glance takes in Kazuya - Still in his glittering coat, watching you with the worried intensity of a man perched on a precipice - as you feel the pressure of every eye on you...

Just the two of you, and hundreds of expectant faces. Your hands are clammy, your mouth dry-

...What were you doing?

"Anon - Say *something*!"

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37281489
"I'm fine. I think. What happened?"
Look for Mio.

I wonder what it looked like for the people around us. We fainted after Mio's confession and then a chalice appeared in our hands?
How large is the Chalice, if we are able to lean against it? Are we sitting on the ground?

>>37281521
This is an award ceremony, anon.

>>37281489
Nod at Kazuya and bow towards the audience
"On behalf of every person who has put their efforts and hopes into our performance, Thank You."

>>37281489
"I am here today because of many people. Some of them you saw onstage. Some of them worked backstage. Some of them couldn't be here today. And lastly, some of them are not here at all. To all of these people I can say just one thing: Thank you for what you've given me. Thank you for making me who I am."

"I'll make you all proud. This is just the beginning."

>>37281528
Then disregard my suggestion.

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>>37281572
>>37281580

For a moment, there is silence - A pause, to register what you've just said - and then, as you straighten from your bow, there is applause; cheers, the revebrating sound echoing the roll of the distant thunder beyond the walls. You're losing your grip on the trophy - But then Kazuya's hurrying to your side, helping you hoist it higher - which only makes the cheers louder, mingled with a ripple of laughter that makes the rounds. The furious approval shakes the hall, the dazzling light dimming at last...

-And it's all a blur, as Kazuya steers you into the wings.

You don't know when your legs begin to buckle, but you slump - gratefully - into the chair, as your unsteady breath calms at last, your pulse continuing to pound in your ears. The view through the stained-glass windows is oddly ominous; the sky is grey, roiling with black cloud. Your thoughts feel...scattered, somehow. Disconnected, wandering, as if in the hushed silence after an immense detonation.

"-Are you all right?"

Kazuya's voice is low, concerned, as he takes a knee; He's set the trophy to the side, perched precariously on a low table. Somewhere, dimly, you hear another round of cheering as the next winner takes the stage.

His brow furrows, at the unfocused look in your eyes.

"What *happened* out there?" he's asking, "-One minute you were fine, and the next...I thought you were having a stroke." He makes himself smile, but it's a poor one; "...Bit late for stage fright, yeah? It's almost over, after all - All that's left is meeting our adoring public."

> Look for Mio.

Kazuya's easy grin becomes a little pained, as he ducks his head. You're not aware that you said that out loud.

(Continued)

>>37281797

"They, uh..." He turns his head to the side; as if he doesn't really want to say. Then-

"...Look, it wasn't my idea, all right? Yui told me to tell you...*After*, y'know?" A deep breath; "-After...What happened on stage - Shino-chan, she..." He coughs, lightly, into the ball of his hand - Uncomfortable, a little fidgety, as he runs his fingers through his hair, taking a deep breath.

"-I think Shizuka-s...Sorry, Madame President...wanted to talk to her." He's not quite meeting your gaze, that awkward note lingering. Lower, this time, as if trying to convince himself:

"Listen - I'm sure it's going to be fine, all right? It's just that...Everyone was caught by surprise, really." Kazuya actually looks rather miserable, now; "And then Natsumi said she had somewhere to go - she was really upset - and we had to see it out and...Look, they didn't want us to make a *scene*..."

He lapses into silence.

"-I...didn't think it'd turn out this way, man. Believe me, I had no idea."

The low beep of your phone is the only sound in the silence, the faint buzz enough to make your teeth ache.

[ ] "Kazuya. Where is Mio *now*?"
[ ] "-Did Natsumi say anything else?"
[ ] "...Yeah, it caught me by surprise, too."
[ ] "So...We won, right?"
[ ] "-I don't feel so good."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37281841
>[ ] "So...We won, right?"
>>37281841
>[ ] Free

check phone

>>37281841
Mumble something about "at least she didn't call me Joker".

>[ ] "Kazuya. Where is Mio *now*?"
>[ ] "-Did Natsumi say anything else?"
>[ ] "...Yeah, it caught me by surprise, too."
>[ ] "So...We won, right?"

Might want to check the Red soon. We have a crying girl to kill.

>>37281841
>[ ] "...Yeah, it caught me by surprise, too."
>"I think I have a vague idea of what's going on. Can't say I'm pleased."
>[ ] "-I don't feel so good."

>>37281841
>[X] "Kazuya. Where is Mio *now*?"
"She stole the show. No matter what happens they can't take that from her. While she was on that stage, she glowed."
>[X] "-Did Natsumi say anything else?"
>[X] "-I don't feel so good."

>>37281872
>>37281880
>>37281902
>>37281933

> [X] "So...We won, right?"

"What do you think?" Kazuya casts a sidelong glance in the direction of the chalice - Despite everything, he can't help but smile. "First prize, too - *That's* one for the history books. It's going to make Asuna *really* happy, if she hadn't..."

"-You know."

Absently, he scratches at his cheek. "-I...kind of wish she was here to see it. But - what can you do?"

> [X] "-Did Natsumi say anything else?"

He doesn't answer, not right away. Not meeting your gaze.

Then, softly - "...I get the feeling that Natsumi's a little upset right now." He sounds hurt, bewildered; but almost resigned, as if he's been expecting this all along. "-You should probably talk to her, if you get the chance...Not like she's answering her phone, though."

> [X] "-I don't feel so good."

"Really? I couldn't tell." the forced levity in his voice dies away, as his smile slowly fades - "Seriously - You don't *look* good, Anon. You're all pale and...Man." Kazuya shakes his head, frowning. "-You're not sick, are you? You should probably head to the medical center or something, get some rest...It's been one hell of a day, that's for sure."

(Continued)

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>>37282146

> [X] "Kazuya. Where is Mio *now*?"

The urgency in your voice makes him blink, sharply; "I think...They were on the way up to the main campus," he says, reluctantly - "It hasn't been long - They're probably still making their way up, through the Festival grounds..."

Kazuya's words trail off, his eyes widening with a kind of dawning realization - "Anon...Don't do anything crazy, all right? If she's in trouble...You're only going to make things *worse*. It might not even be anything *bad*-"

> "She stole the show. No matter what happens they can't take that from her. While she was on that stage, she glowed."

Then, softly:

"She did, didn't she?" Kazuya says, almost to himself. His expression is still troubled, but - "...Yeah, they can't take that from her." The rest goes unspoken; perhaps he's decided that it's better not to say.

> Check phone.

One message, from an anonymous number.

The first, all caps:

> MAIN GROUNDS, FOUNDER'S STATUTE.
> NOW.

You make as if to stand-

> Might want to check the Red soon. We have a crying girl to kill.

The world sways, alarmingly. A spasm of nausea grips your guts, and you dry-heave until dark spots dance in your vision. Just *thinking* about the Red world - It makes your head ache, ache so much it feels like it's about to split in two. As if your nerves are being compressed in a vice - As if you've been burnt-out.

"Aw, no-" Kazuya's on his feet - "Aw man, you're *really* sick-"

His expression's anxious, now; "-They're going to drag us into an interview after this, you know? If you're going to throw up on live television-"

[ ] "-I'm going after Mio. Cover for me, won't you?"
[ ] "I'm going to find Natsumi."
[ ] "Listen - I can't explain it, but there's someone I need to meet."
[ ] "-I'll be fine. Let's get this over with, shall we?"
[ ] "Just...Let me catch my breath. For a moment."
[ ] "-Yeah, I should...I should probably head to the infirmary."
[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37282159
>[ ] "Just...Let me catch my breath. For a moment."
>[ ] "Listen - I can't explain it, but there's someone I need to meet."

>>37282159
>[ ] "-I'm going after Mio. Cover for me, won't you?"

Come on Kazuya, be a pal.

>>37282159
"I've got an urgent date. Please cover for me."
I hope that isn't Bishamon.
Maybe one of Argent's guys?

>>37282159

GET TO MIO. Above anything else, GET TO MIO FIRST before she's nabbed.

>>37280554
As a wandering /m/an that had the Exia in the OP catch his eye, I just have to say that APOLLYON BUSTER is an awesome name.

>>37282159
"What *did* Shino say?"
>[X] "Listen - I can't explain it, but there's someone I need to meet."

"You know how sometimes you get a headache after a test? That's what this is. It's been building for a long time, and now that it's over... I think I'll take next week off."

Text Mio. "No fair running away without giving me the chance to respond. See you soon."

Guys.
Cybele is still charged.
She can manifest herself.
She likely knows what we did.
AND SHE CAN ENTER THE REAL. Depending on what she can do, she might enact revenge with her spooky powers before they run out.

Hell, her ability is to copy stuff.
What if she summons a gun?

>>37282257
>Text Mio. "No fair running away without giving me the chance to respond. See you soon."
You know, let's hope that she doesn't know what happened.
Otherwise this SMS might sound a bit insulting.

>>37282250
That's par of the course for this quest.

>>37282272
How so? It's clearly a response to her confessing onstage, what with Anon being unable to respond.

>>37282300
Maybe she instinctively knows about her now being the Chalice Queen.
And we did tell her about that.

>>37282300
>>37282257
I don't think she's going to have her phone right now. And either way, ifShizuka (or anyone else) notices that Mio got a message like that, it will only cause her more trouble.

>>37282318
>[X] "Bad things are about to happen, and I think it's time to drop the charade."
If we say that, rephrase it a bit:
"If something crazy happens today, leave the place and go as far away as possible. And don't worry about Natsumi, Mio and me."

Then again, can ANYONE enter the Red here now?

>>37282358

That's giving away a bit too much. He'll probably think we're crazy.

>>37282159

> [X] "-I'm going after Mio. Cover for me, won't you?"

This is probably our ONLY chance to explain everything to Mio. If not, it's going to end badly.

>>37282435
>This is probably our ONLY chance to explain everything to Mio. If not, it's going to end badly.
First of all, there is no way we are going to have a chance to talk to her properly right now.
Second of all, we already explained things to her. She chose to ignore the truth.

(Gentlemen, is there a consensus on a course of action? Also, feel free to make purchases from the Hollow Sun/assign research at this juncture.)

>>37282159
>"I'll live."
>[ ] "Listen - I can't explain it, but there's someone I need to meet."

>>37282435
Pretty much agreeing with this.

We knew this was coming, now it's just a matter of controlling the amount of damage it does.

Tachyon Reactor or Neutronium refinery.
Advent Caster.
Heavy Fusion Cell.

Advent Caster might be very useful when we encounter allies who don't have Joker icons.

>>37282466
Go see the "mysterious caller", text Mio.

As for the Sun, Neutronium Refinery, Ignith Arrays, Seismic Disruptors.

Those or the tachyon suite.

>>37282478
>>37282525

We should probably see Mio first, because the caller is probably the Thief. Mio is the VIP in this one, and we've just given her the Chalice Queen's power.

>>37282525
>Quake Cannons
We Wipeout now.
This MUST be a bike upgrade.

>>37282551
Isn't it Rook?

>>37282557
RIP SCE Liverpool.

>>37282551
Shizuka and her crew aren't going to let us see Mio right now either way. It'd be just a waste of time. Dealing with the anonymous messenger and Cybele takes precedence.

>>37282571

Who gives a fuck about them? THEY don't know that Mio is now chalice queen. Why are we bothering with the school-life stuff, when we can just grab her and tell her what's about to happen?

>>37282582
Because we can't grab her? If you haven't noticed, Joker is in a horrible state and won't even catch up to them before they're back in school, at which point he'll be left helpless.

>>37282570
>RIP SCE Liverpool.
You haven't heard?

They are working on a PC game right now, under a new name.

>>37282525
>text Mio.
Change the text to "Be careful" or something similar. If someone notices that she got a romantic text, she'll be in even bigger trouble.

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>>37282626
Pic related. Send it.
She will understand.

> [X] "Just...Let me catch my breath. For a moment."

Kazuya backs away.

You breathe. Breathe.

It doesn't help much.

>>37282257

> "No fair running away without giving me the chance to respond. See you soon."

Your fingers feel too large, too clumsy, as you key in the words - your message winging it's way across the ether. You wait - a moment, then another - but no answer comes.

You feel your palms begin to prickle, in warning - Or premonition.

>>37282551
>>37282478
>>37282435
>>37282222
>>37282199

"Something wrong?" Kazuya's - as always - sharper than he looks. Perhaps he senses your concern - Or perhaps, it's just something in the air.

> [X] "-I'm going after Mio. Cover for me, won't you?"

"...What? Really?" His eyes widen, and he looks faintly alarmed - For a moment, he hesitates; You think he might be about to say something more...But then he shakes his head, his familiar grin returning. "Aaaah, fine. Hey, if you want to skip out on your chance at stardom...I don't mind." His half-teasing tone belies his words; "Anyone asks, I'll tell 'em you were sick or something."

There's a note of distinct relief to his voice, somehow - As if, despite everything else, you've somehow managed to put his mind at ease. The brief rest has done you some good; your mind is still jangled, and you can still taste quinine and acid. But your legs are finally obeying your commands, now, and you manage a stagger that firms into a walk-

"-There's the emergency exit; If you hurry-" That seems like the best bet, the serene green-and-white glow of the sign like a beacon in the distance - One that you stumble towards...

"Anon!"

Kazuya's shout makes your head turn - His smile turns a little sheepish, a little more honest, as he gives you a thumbs-up. "Don't let her get away, all right? Whatever you're going to do - Do it *right*!"

(Continued)

>>37282609
I hadn't heard at all. Thanks for the heads up.

>>37282673

Blessedly, the door opens without a creak, a sliver of pale grey light widening into a wedge.

The sky - What's *happened* to the sky?

The sky is steel-grey, shading to black - the great dome of the concert hall to one side of the festival grounds, brightly-colored streamers flapping bravely in the rising gale. Great masses of cloud gather overhead, flickering with sullen lightning, building the rotation that threatens a storm. Far ahead, you hear shouts - It looks to be an apocalyptic one, vendors hurrying to secure the booths, to drag weather-proof drapes over the exhibits and food stalls, canvas flapping in the stiff winds-

Somewhere, a tarp is wrenched free and wheels into the air, with the harsh, chopping sound of a kite taking flight.

A voice, tinny with static, comes over speakers - Almost lost in the rising moan, the shrill whistle of cold air that cuts through your coat like a knife.

> "All visitors, a Category 1 storm warning has been declared. All visitors, Category 1 is in effect; Please proceed to the nearest shelter. All visitors, a Category 1 storm warning is in effect..."

The grounds are packed. There are people flooding in, undammed, heedless of the warning; Or deciding to tally *just a little longer*, or flocking to the makeshift cafes and stores and indoor performances for shelter. Even from here, you can see the crowd gathering at the front of the concert hall; there's even a newsvan, for a local interest story - or what must be an especially slow week...

The fading sunlight - Grey, now - catches the silver foxhead of the Sterling Industries trailer, and the fenced-off black cabins of the Tokisaka Foundation, like the camps of two rival armies. In the distance, at the far end - On the second level of the three-tiered grounds, at the very foot of the long (Really, the longest) flight of stairs up to the Seisin High building-

-there is a distant gleam of blonde hair.

Somehow, you find the strength to run.

(Continued)

All right boys and girls, we're going full unlock this thread. Pick TWO of the following:

Quantum Accelerator
Neutronium Refinery
Tachyon Generator
Vector Drive

>>37282967
>Neutronium Refinery
>Vector Drive

>>37282967
Eh, why not. Neutronium Refinery and Tachyon Generator.

>Neutronium Refinery
>Tachyon Generator

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>>37282907

Now?

NOW.

-------------------------

They walk in silence. In the dimming light, their school uniforms are oddly colorless, without life - the faint crunch of last night's snow underfoot mingling with slow, leaden footfalls.

A deep, shuddering breath.

"Shino-chan...I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Mio's voice is low, soft - her gaze downcast, her hands clasped before her, tightly. The exhiliration of the moment has passed; and with it, the sense that somehow, somehow, everything is going to be all right. Her tresses flutter in the breeze, the caress of the rising wind enough to make her shiver-

Cold. And getting colder.

"-I...didn't mean to cause any trouble." Her words linger in the air, like an echo of themselves - almost a whisper, to match the mournful drone of the wind. In the grey light, everything looks desolate.

Shino stops, her hands clasped behind her back. She doesn't turn.

And then:

"You-" A pause, searching for the words "...really like him, don't you?"

"I-"

"-It's all right. Something like that...I understand how it feels, now. What you did - I *understand*." A soft laugh, almost shy - "When you were on stage..." Shino's voice trails off, for a moment - growing hushed, lost in memory.

"-I thought...You were incredible. To act like that - To really give it your all..."

A glance, over her shoulder - back at Mio.

"Amane-chan thinks the same way, you know."

"She does...?"

"Even if Shizuka-sama's angry at you - Whatever happens next...Saeki-chan, I think I understand you a little better, now." Shino's smile - A little shy - is heartfelt, as she turns to face Mio; Her head canting to the side, with a wink.

"-Haaauuu, to confess to someone - On stage - like *that*...It must've been...Well, I can't imagine~"

(Continued)

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>>37283176

"Ah-" the sound - the softest sound - merges a creak and a sigh; Mio's eyes going soft, moist with emotion - her shoulders trembling, a hesitant, hazy smile on her lips. "Shino-chan, you..."

"-Please don't cry." Shino's voice is a little hushed - "Because...this is *really* embarrassing to me, too. All this time, I've been - I've been *really* horrible to you, so..." Her shoe scrapes lightly against the ground, underfoot. "-So, I just wanted to say..."

The sky rumbles, one final time. As if on some unseen signal, the rain begins. The first raindrops patter against the cold stone; the first shouts coming from below as - with a slow, gracious inevitability, like the descent of night - the sky shades to red.

Shino makes a low sound. A sound of surprise, too soft to be pained; Her slim fingers going to her face, her cheek, cupping her eye - that side trembling, something between solid and liquid.

"Shino...chan?"

The rain begins to fall. There is something in the air - A smell, a scent. A black rain, a rain that tastes like tears.

"-What?" Shino's lips move, as a black stain spreads - Like branching veins, like arteries, stand out against her skin. When her hand comes away from her face, a red pupil moves in black sclera; as she stares, uncomprehending, at her hand. Each drop that falls swirls with black oil, with a chemical reek of acids and metals and burnt bone - A low hiss teased from her lips-

It burns her. The burns are already beginning to swell with blisters, with blisters that blacken and burst to release oil of their own that burns her burns again - Sizzling deeper and deeper into her flesh, in less time than it takes to think it. She flinches, making a soft sound of pain as she brushes it away, on instinct...

Except it is not on her skin, but *through* her skin.

Mio stops. She cannot speak, because her mouth is stoppered with terror.

What she can see doesn't look like Shino at all.

(Continued)

>>37283379

You're halfway across the concourse - your coat flapping in the breeze, now - when it begins to rain.

A drizzle, at first - Enough for you to carry on a few steps - as it builds to a downpour, a vertical torrent, as if the skies have opened up and the wrath of the heavens released. The rain; It soaks into your coat, your boots threatening to slip before you catch yourself-

When the first black bead lands on the curve of a knuckle, sliding away with treacley slowness, the realization courses through you in the heartbeat before the first screams begin, sounds of distant and desolate agony-

-It's raining Lachryma.

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37283379
...Killing the girls would have actually been more merciful than letting them live?

>>37283431
Huh, clever. Wonder how they seeded the clouds.

Nothing we CAN do except run for Mio. Try and get her to a shelter I guess?

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This was not part of the plan.
>>37283431
Keep running in the direction we saw Mio go. If the scream came from the same direction, follow it.

>>37283431
Short of attempting a NIHL spatial warp to get there quicker, we can only run.
...And then we have to get to Akira.

>>37282967
Neutronium and Tachyon.
Exotic matter is a go.

>>37283431
Oh dear.

Get Mio to shelter.

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>>37283446
>>37283482
>>37283496
>>37283501

You run. You run *faster*.

There are screams. There are pleas for mercy. There are things you glimpse at the very corner of your vision, things that will haunt you - Skin burnt, blistering, as the sky shades to a bloody, infernal red. You pound forward, as the world blurs around you, as the downpour becomes a torrent; Like hail, like a flood, until your lungs burn within you, until your vision blurs to mist-

How can so many people make so little noise?

You can't even see where you're going. Your coat is soaked through - Half-glimpsed shapes looming through the pounding rain, until you're merely staggering forward - it's like drowning, stumbling blindly ahead, that hellish glow coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. The world behind you vanishes; the world ahead is the vaguest suggestion of shapes-

Some heavy structure - An arch, or a retaining wall - falls, less than a meter to your right. It makes a noise like an avalanche, as it topples down; the shivering crash sending fist-sized chunks of stone bounding outwards. One of them clips your shoulder, and bright, furious pain flares - You stumble, but you don't fall. You have to - How far is -

-And then the light of annihilation blossoms on the horizon, visible even through the churning rain and atmospheric filth. It is harsh, bright. It is malevolent, a star of ill omen.

It means the end is coming, and fast.

But at least now you have a star to steer by.

(Continued)

>>37283668

Rain swirls in your face, as you struggle up the treacherous steps. Incandescent lightning booms like atomic blasts overhead in the murk. In the distant, past the grand spike of light, you glimpse a ragged tower - Your arms raised to protect your face from the monsoon deluge, as lightning jags the sky. All across the black silhouette of the alien skyline, rising up against the seething red of a distant sky.

Through the sheeting rain, the first suggestion of an ominous black shape-

...The Diadem.

The black weight of the thunderhead swirls overhead, rainwater hissing down from the upper levels as the spires of Arcadia become clear. You stagger, and fall into something that might have once been a person, a thin, clotting layer smeared against the stone. Your shoulder aches like a bastard - the light is blinding, as a sound comes out of the crimson night, so loud it bruises your soul.

It is part scream, part wail, part howl, a sound that blots out the fury of the storm.

It is Mio's scream, the scream of a girl who has awoken to find herself in hell.

In the sheeting rain, it is hard to define any real detail of the mass that is growing - Blossoming, like a flower in fast-forward. As you stumble onto the second tier, you realize, belatedly, that the rain has stopped here; the light makes your eyes water, the high, rising song of power in your ears-

(Continued)

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>>37283668
>>37283842
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>>37283892
The only thing lacking is for Cybele to go down and strangulate Mio.
And then Mio kills in self defense.

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>>37283842

The eye of the storm.

The light is dimming, smothered by itself. Engulfed by the rising mass of Lachryma, the black blistered bulk of it resolving into a fibrous mass, vast vines - Hundreds of metres long - rippling and dancing up into the sky, their thorns slicing the air above from the apex of the mass.

The cyclone of storm clouds, many kilometres above, rotating around the dancing limbs like a crown.

The sky - the crimson sky directly above - is bare of cloud. The alien stars that once glittered high above Arcadia are gone; Now all that remains is the vast, glowering shape of the black moon. There is a noxious odour, a charnel air - the faint gleam of pale yellow catching your attention at last-

-Chiffon Doll.

What remains of her.

Her form has been twisted and folded and spindled upon itself - those arching, graceful lines warped into new configurations, into a raised spire, a growth. It is a column of myomer and steel, shedding the emerald motes of Essence; Growing outwards, quaking with internal torment, sprouting from the earth like an unholy flower...

-And from the glow that comes within, from the light of her Essence Core, you know:

Somehow - somehow - she's still alive.

(Continued)

>>37283956
>Her form has been twisted and folded and spindled upon itself - those arching, graceful lines warped into new configurations, into a raised spire, a growth. It is a column of myomer and steel, shedding the emerald motes of Essence; Growing outwards, quaking with internal torment, sprouting from the earth like an unholy flower...
>-And from the glow that comes within, from the light of her Essence Core, you know:
>Somehow - somehow - she's still alive.
Sounds like the girls are currently having part of their essence absorbed.

>>37284013
>Sounds like the girls are currently having part of their essence absorbed.
Either Hellebore lied or Kotone is absorbing the essence.

>>37283956
>-Chiffon Doll
>What remains of her
Well, didn't expect that. Or any of this, honestly.
That's pretty damn brutal.

>>37284013
Think that this is how the essence absorbing works, actually.

>>37284028
If Hellebore lied...
Well, shit. We could have avoided all of this.

Then again, neither Bishamon nor Iron Ogre would have been dissiduaded by being stabbed with the Athame.
But it might have become our trump card against Alura.

>>37284056
Let's hope that their conditions rectify themselves afterwards.
Hell, we might recruit an army of school girls.

>>37284092
I, uh, don't think there's much rectifying to be done here.
I think that what's happening is that the red here is forcefully merging with the Real, as evidenced by Chiffon Doll being there, and by Shino's skin dripping away (?)

>>37284092
Hellebore didn't lie. Seems more like this plan was put into effect to snipe Essence away from the Chalice Queen system. Something like "If they're going to die anyway, why not use them ourselves?" The timing is interesting though.

>>37284152
>I, uh, don't think there's much rectifying to be done here.
See:
>Her form has been twisted and folded and spindled upon itself
There's a lot of rectifying to be done.

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>>37283956

The light, as it dims, is somehow growing more fierce. Malignant. Staggering, lethal flares ripping away from it in tongues of flame, and lashing arcs of energy splitting the sky like thrashing whips.

For the Shroud is falling, and the pieces are coming together at last as you approach the endgame.

Now, and only now, you can hear the song - the song that keens forth from the spire that Chiffon Doll has become, a weird song only wights or the soulless can sing. The sound revebrates, echoing into the distance, past the sound and fury; You wonder, dimly, how many have already died. How many have become spires, in their own right-

-And then there's a new sound, a new note in the symphony. A shape pushing through the winds, through the black rain, into the seething column of light. You find your footing, the agony of your shoulder fading to a dull ache; But perhaps that is no surprise at all, because there is little left to separate your flesh from Player armor.

Without the Shroud, both are one.

The figure that emerges is tall, well-favored. Threads of blood run down his left arm, the patient drip-drip-drip leaving tiny craters in the writhing carpet of twisting vines underfoot. But what drips from the wound is not red, but black; Like boiling oil, bubbling and popping, and it eats into the ground in hissing rivulets as the slice closes the way a smile slowly fades.

"Hello, Joker." Naoya Shiga's voice is - as ever - mild, as it carries across the narrow space.

"-I've come for my bride."

[ ] Free

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37284170
So, is he the Black Joker (In which case it would be Kotone) or is he someone else?
Pazuzu?

Anyway, I suggest Abruption Jets and boosted Crisis Arm right in his face, then a Carnifex pop to use the ejected armor shrapnel for a damage effect, followed by even more fisting.
Fuck that fuck.

>>37284225
He is the White Joker, anon.
Also, don't attack him. He is not so stupid as to come unprepared.

>>37284170
>"Don't be so hasty as to claim a girl as yours without even confessing first."
Keep moving towards Mio.

>>37284170
"Funny. I guess you haven't been watching the play, then."

>>37284170
"Sorry Joker. You do remember the part where I said this wasn't going to go like you expected?"

"Have you ever seen 'The Graduate'?"

>>37284225
White Joker. And this isn't a combat scene dude.

Hmm... actually, if we have the armor... tag him with the Argus System and activate the Distortion Cannon. Surprise motherfucker.

>>37284225

FUCK

HIM

UP

>>37284170
"I'm afraid she's made her choice, and I, mine.

She'll never be yours, Joker."

>>37284305
>"Have you ever seen 'The Graduate'?"
Can you explain the reference?

>Hmm... actually, if we have the armor... tag him with the Argus System and activate the Distortion Cannon. Surprise motherfucker.
FUCK. YEAH.
DO EET.

...Eh, wait, isn't the distortion cannon the one that nukes a large area by teleporting stuff inside?
Don't we have any pinpoint attacks?

>people voting to attack him
You guys do realize that this won't do jack shit, right? It's just going to be a repeat of what happened with Utopia Ruler

>>37284332
Yeah, the Tachyon Disintegrator.

We can't use the kinetic AEW because it will obliterate a large chunk of the city, but the Disintegrator is pretty pinpoint, and if we can hit him with it, it's all over.

USE THE TACHYON DISINTEGRATOR WHILE THE CONVERSATION IS HAPPENING. TAG HIM.

>>37284394
I wonder how much essence a Joker would yield.
But yeah, killing him is more important than essence.

>>37284420
>But yeah, killing him is more important than essence.
We won't be able to kill him right now anyway.

>>37284332
>Can you explain the reference?
The final scene is the main character bursting in on the female lead's wedding, shouting her name, and the two of them eloping together.

>>37284374
White Joker has several bodies scattered around the city. Killing one won't kill him. This could be enough of a surprise to knock out one of the bodies, though.

>>37284394
The reason I'm not all for that one is that if it misses it's all over in the opposite direction. Distortion still deals some splash damage.

>>37284464
>The reason I'm not all for that one is that if it misses it's all over in the opposite direction. Distortion still deals some splash damage.
Yeah, I favor distortion.
Just make sure to avoid collateral damage.

>>37284464
>White Joker has several bodies scattered around the city. Killing one won't kill him. This could be enough of a surprise to knock out one of the bodies, though.
It's still ultimately pointless, though. I'd rather not reveal any of our aces for something like this.

>>37284464
>White Joker has several bodies scattered around the city. Killing one won't kill him.
When did we learn this exactly? In our talk with Imago? Because I don't recall anything to that effect.

>>37284490
Also something I considered. Distortion Cannon is a teleportation event. They just see the end result, not the orbital satellite.

>>37284496
Remember the scene where Imago got crushed? Not the same White Joker that Akira fought.

Wait, does this mean we can now drive an oversized Tachikoma through Japan, with all of your friends on board?

>>37284527
I thought it was just WHILE going through some upgrades or modifications in the intervening time. He'll, I'm pretty sure we look radically different from when we first started out.

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>>37284299
>>37284317

And Naoya says, very quietly:

"We'll see."

>>37284225
>>37284307

You move. Faster than thought. Faster than ever before.

You have defied time and space before, but this is something else. This is something different, beyond the limits of the human body. Cracks open in your skin, in the split-second of acceleration; the pain fades to an ache, to a distant memory, as your nerves become myomer fibre-bundles. As your flesh becomes gleaming crimson plate, the ragged cloak of your Assault Shroud streaming out behind you as the static burst of your Abruption Jets flare to life...

-All in the space of a breath. All by the whim of your fury alone.

Your hand curls into a tank-wrecking fist. Static bursts flare at knees and elbow, carrying you forward in a singular moment; When you connect, the shockwave of impact expands outwards in concentric rings, your forms locked in titanic effort - Silhouetted in profile against the dying light.

Hoarfrost fumes against your fist, five unutterably white talons - the first cracks, the first flaws - skittering through the marble surface.

He is your twin.

He is nothing at all like you.

(Continued)

>>37284647
I wonder if the Sun Crusher would have been useful now.

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>>37284647

The imperfections of his form - From Imago's vision - have become part of the grand design. He has the mono-optic sensor, set within his helm - still white, in countless overlapping shades, ivory tusks bristling from his shoulders. A haze drags forth from his upper spine, a seething smoke-cloak; Shapes rise up within the mist, falling back into the churning waves as they lose themselves in the primordial mass.

But the Lachryma is inside him, too, black veins winding their way through his very substance, with the pulse of a beating heart. The cold light that issues forth from within is blue-white and utterly malevolent, as silver frost ambles down your arm, spreading like a cancer-

As one, you wrench away. A field of bitter cold wreathes him, like a shroud - White wisps of vapor twisting up and around his form like incense. Your Tempest Scrander flares, red motes bleeding into the air as you spring back; Great spikes of ice erupting from the ground before him, jagged columns that reflect your lethal form in a million gleaming facets. They grind apart, like a great maw, to reveal the White Joker's solitary form; His right hand rising, rising, curled around the grip of a familiar shape - Mirroring your own motion, the silver deathmask of the Carnifex gleaming -

YOU HAVE SOMETHING OF MINE, JOKER.

I WOULD HAVE IT BACK.

In his right hand, he holds-

It is an elegant shape. Long-barreled, graceful, the energy condenser glowing with gathering light. The faint tang of ozone, as the charge builds; the rotating cylinder of the primary chamber cycling, humming with death-heat-

-A Beam Magnum.

HP: 254.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 170%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 142%
METER: 19%

TIER ONE WEAPONRY UNLOCKED

>>37285035
>"And you were calling me cruel when you're the one who sees her as an object?"
>"You're one hell of a hypocrite, Joker. I'm almost impressed."

Time for Carnifex Lvl 2.

Did we swap out the Distortion Halo for the Slake, by the way? I think that was the consensus last thread.

>>37285035
Hey, he stole our elemental affinity!
Should we make a jab at that or is that showing our old weakness?

Shit, what do we do?
Counter with our own hand gun?

...Boosted Immolator. Secondary fire was the one that made a ball, right?
Let's fight ice with fire.
Use Argus scan and Condemner.

>>37285207
Also, use Booster to fire the Slake's Cobalt Laser once. Let's try to test his defenses.

Thank fuck for our new regeneration on the Booster.

>>37285035
"Funny. From where I'm standing it seems you're doing everything you can to be me."

Ice and lachryma? Immolator alt-fire. Activate Aquila and toss a line of shrike blades too. Pity we didn't grab Grendel.

Serious question: DO we want to hit him with the Distortion Cannon? And do we want to try and steal the Magnum? I say yes to both, keep an eye out for chances to use the Grips.

OP, what's the current status of Cybele's Emblem?

>>37285246

(It's still functioning, with no apparent drawbacks.)

>>37285035

Should we use the Condemner in cobalt laser mode to get close, and then switch to blade mode when close enough to strike? Do we even want to get into melee range of him?

>>37285258
Somehow that worries me more than anything that's been happening now.

Can we do an area scan with the Argus? What is our tunnel vision making us miss?

>>37285246
Shit.
I suggested the Immolator and forgot the Lachryma.
That makes it even better.

Man, that dude is a full-on imposter. We could probably fight him even as Frost Cestus.

>>37285258
Oh god.

I'm ready for my healthy dose of suffering and regrets

>>37285246
Do you think the ice and lachryma thing plus his more organic nature make the Sotto Voca viable here?

>>37285473
Today is the day of healing.
Dog Days. Aldnoah Zero. Joker Quest.

>>37285507
The ice would likely disperse the produced heat. Ice ability is basically the opposite of microwaves.

>>37285507
It'll debuff him, but the description suggests it's best used against high tech enemies.

>>37285540
The issue is that microwaves are absorbed by water.
Perfect for organics. Pretty shitty for a mechanical enemy who has a protective layer of cold water.

>>37285258
>inb4 Cybele hasn't realized that we betrayed her and is still waiting for us at the base of the Black Moon

>>37285174

(I don't believe so. You didn't have sufficient Hollow Sun charge to purchase the Relic last chapter - You're currently using Slake, and I don't recall the Distortion Halo being purchased.)

>>37285174
> "Funny. From where I'm standing it seems you're doing everything you can to be me."

He laughs. Then, and only then, does he sound like himself: It is not the laughter of the White Joker, but the laughter of Naoya Shiga. Perhaps he, too, sees the humor in it.

>>37285318

The sensor-wave sweeps across him, illuminating him with the chime of a target lock; Even as your left fist clenched around the Immolator, Slake's arms deploying like a spider's flickering limbs-

You fire. The Immolator's flaming bolts streak across the distance, and encounter the invisible envelope of freezing air that sheathes him - Even as his smoke-cloak extrudes twisting tendrils of writhing substance, your shots punching deep into the black mass-

...They penetrate, but they don't detonate. A heartbeat later, the Condemner stabs out a flurry of sapphire darts, the pulse laser lancing out in a constant photonic stream - it slashes into the White Joker's armor, wisps of vapor rising from the black spots of impact - Even as the actinic flash of your Cobalt Laser joins the fusillade, searing into him...

-And he minds it not at all.

The drone of your Tempest Scrander changes pitch - You know what's coming, even as he swings the Beam Magnum in line with you. Your Assault Shroud fans out into overlapping fractal blades, as the air fills with knives; the Argus Sensor registering a high-energy reaction, a subtle *shift*, a variation in your target's Essence signature.

The White Joker's helm seems to blur, for the space of less than a second. A shimmer, a heat-mirage, that echoes the hollow grin of a skull-

(Continued)

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>>37285683

There is a small, bright *flash*. A tiny dot of the purest light, incandescently bright - Expanding into a white line, brighter and longer and *closer*, the flaming edge of a huge expanding blast, a column of hungry sunfire that sweeps towards you as you burn retros, racing ahead of the annihilating beam-

Not fast enough. The shot grazes your right shoulder, caresses Slake; and the subarm *melts* like wax beneath a blowtorch, red alarms flaring on your sensors as it warps into uselessness-

>>37285287
>>37285207

-And then in the instant that the beam cuts out, you break towards him. The Condemner's phase field flickers with jagged licks of electrical force as the blade comes alive - the firing impulse sustained, a meter-long cascade of photonic light blazing forth as you bring it around in one unfurling *sweep*...

He takes a single slow step back, those cold blue eyes never wavering.

As if he has all the time in the world.

(Continued)

>>37285791

He has a sword of his own, in his left hand - A red-iron blade with an ivory crosspiece, droning with living force. It hammers into your face, so hard your helmet snaps back - Chips of armor spraying away as you reel beneath the impact, bringing the Condemner up-

Your blades meet. They *rasp* against each other, their overlapping power fields hissing and spitting. The White Joker moves as if he knows your every move before you make it; A rotating lateral slash, delivered with immense force, nearly breaks your guard - You actually slide back, your autoreactive talons digging deep furrows into the churning vines of the ground, the insidious frost spreading across your armor-

IS THAT ALL, JOKER?

His targeting signature fluctuates again, flickering in the backwash of sizzling energies. His smoke-cloak forms needle-sharp blades, hovering in a spread - Coalescing, combining, as they began to rotate in a perfect razor ring, one for each shoulder, their high whining hum matching your memory. Familar, somehow.

Smoke trails from the White Joker's Beam Magnum, the weapon cycling - the barrel glowing with the heat of discharge, fizzing to steam as it meets the bitter cold that cloaks him.

PERHAPS I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS SOONER.

HP: 201.2%
COBALT BOOSTER: 153%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 106%
METER: 13%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>37286030
"You're right. I should start taking this seriously."

Hell with it. Tyrant Flash 1 Carnifex 2. Emulate and fire the burst Condemner, dispel the shroud over the Midas, slot the Chaingun in the talon. Put the Immolator in the left hand and start napalming him.

Activate the afterimages and pray to god he doesn't land a solid hit.

>>37286030
>Coalescing, combining, as they began to rotate in a perfect razor ring, one for each shoulder, their high whining hum matching your memory.
...Wait, are those lvl 1 interceptors?

Also, seems like he's actually using the radio talk function. He's definitely experienced in the Red.

Shit, what do we do?

Guys, should we attempt to go for range and assault him with Tau and Vulcan, to see what sticks?
I have this feeling that he's more of a melee-to-mid range specialist.


...Wait.
I think I understand now.
His aura of cold is his burst mode. Just like how we have an aura of fire.
Should we go for it or should we collect some more information first?

>>37286114
Shit man, I love the way you think.

I feel like we're definitely going to need Rubicante's essence shot to really damage him.

Anyway, it looks like he already analyzed all of our usual equipment. It's best to rely on new tricks this time.

>>37286216
Oh, right, we sold him information about ourselves, remember?

>>37286140
I think he's got some hefty energy resistance that functions similar to our Joker's dodge against physical. In that case we go physical and see if we can coat him in the sticky stuff.

If this doesn't work we have two broad options left: Running and testing how much of a Red Joker he is. If we run we call up the bike. If we get super desperate we use the Misericorde on him.

>>37286253
Good thinking. What is your impression of Immolator damage right now?
It doesn't seem very effective.

We still have antimatter and plasma to test.

>>37286306
Energy weapons aren't particularly effective as a whole. His frost aura is sapping the area. Antimatter would do the trick, but the Tau Gun's wind up time is prohibitive. Anon here >>37286216 has a good point about Rubicante and Cagnazzo, though if OP is in a lenient mood we could pull out the Linebreaker for some fun.

>>37286245
>Oh, right, we sold him information about ourselves, remember?
That doesn't really matter, since just about anyone who cares can simply observe our battles and learn our attack patterns and weapons.
It's pretty obvious that both Legion and Aegis did some homework, since some of the tactics they used were clearly anti-Joker.

>>37286114

> "You're right. I should start taking this seriously."

The Tyrant Burst system ignites - A flare of eye-scorching brilliance, that bleaches all other colours to nothing. At the base of your spine, the Emulator module pulses; the schematic lines of a second Condemner sketching itself into existence, as the crusher of your Carnifex snaps down-

The White Joker's ivory form *blurs*.

Before the Carnifex can trigger. Even as the Assault Shroud deploy, afterimages boiling into existence - Before you can even bring your dual weapons to guard-

And now, only now, does the actinic blue light of his eyeslits flicker back to life.

He disabled his optic feed. Manually. This is beyond skill, beyond anticipation - He *knew* what you were about to do. And that *speed* - Blinding, impossible, beyond all reason -

Even as you lash out with twinned blades, his kick crunches into your left kneecap - A torsion injury that twists you off-balance, as your frantic parry beats his first blow aside; His second stroke slices through the hilt of your cloned Condemner, through grip, trunking, liner and core-

The third catches you vertically, just over the crusher of your helmet. The bonded ceramite does nothing to stop the blade of red iron - the *crunch* of feedback squealing through your sensors, as the entire faceplate is sheared off, peeled cleanly away, as though shaved by an industrial slicer...

You hit the ground with a juddering impact, sprawled on your right side. Somehow - miraculously - your optic sensors have survived; your vision a crazed mosaic through a myriad of secondary feeds-

The White Joker's shadow - Wavering, uncertain in the flickering light - slants across you. The blade of red iron is grounded at his side; His talons curling around the deathmask of the Carnifex, as if admiring the intricate icon of interlocked skeletal fingers.

(Continued)

>>37286639

This guy. This FUCKING guy...

>>37286639
He's reading our mind somehow, isn't he?
Quick, guys, spoiler everything again, like with Ixion.

>>37286639
What the fuck

Do we need Mio to come pull our ass out of the fire with her new armour? Are we supposed to lose this fight? Are we just rolling really badly? Because this asshole is ridiculous.

>>37286639
Wait, he's now got double carnifex?

Fuck you, dude.

>>37286639
Huh. Is this a chain of crits pr predictability rearing its ugly head?

>>37286770
It sounds like he's using his Carnifex while also knowing our tactics/the tells of our equipment.

But seriously, cutting his own sensor feed?
We shall take this as an inspiration. Joker needs to level his personal skill next.

Can we do a training arc where we fight in a cave, only with our basic equipment, with each segment training us in the use of another item or relic?

>>37286639
OP, does that guy ignore our inertia field or is he simply that fast despite the field?

>>37286639
Did is just ridiculous.

>>37286639
Yeah, so I really got nothing on how to fight this guy. The other opponents at least had patterns and weaknesses we could discern but Nagoya is just straight up OP.

>>37286792
We do that too. It's an automatic thing, even. The problem seems to be that he's a better Joker than Red Joker. Don't think that there's anything we can do about THAT. Except stop being Red Joker.

Hm.

>>37286887
Are you advocating we start reverting to Frost Census tactics? Punch him till he stops moving?

Or maybe Misericorde. If he wants to be Joker so bad maybe he's inherited the weakness, too.

>>37286714

It can't hurt to try it. Shoot him with the Plasma Caster.

>>37286887
I think the dice are just fucking us over

>>37286887
>It's an automatic thing, even.
Yes, but I always read it as being part of the system's integration into our body.

And this sounds a lot like players normally don't have that degree of control, similar to how we can do all kinds of shit that new players can't do because they still play like humans.

But now I wonder if we can do ad-hoc rerouting of systems to offset issues.

>>37286887
Honestly, this isn't even a case of bad rolling. The guy is simply several tiers above anything RJ has ever fought before.

>>37286887
Ooh

I did say that I really liked Frost Cestus' moveset. If we get to play as him some more, I'd be really happy.

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>>37286806

(I'm actually counting the effects of the Inertia Field whenever relevant. It's role in the narration has diminished, however, because it's slightly flow-breaking to describe the function. Rest assured that I've been counting in the bonus to Evasion on his kinetic attacks.)

>>37286761

(No, he only has a single Carnifex. To the explicit, the one you were using was technically his.)

>>37286639

AT LAST.

You get your gauntlets beneath you, levering yourself to your feet. Your leg joint shoots sparks, registering malfunction, myomer rupture, damage-

Silver filaments lance into nerve-connections and solenoids. The layered armor of his limbs expand into new configurations; A heartbeat before the thunderclap of detonation, buffering you with a hail of ablative shards. They *clang* from your armor, clattering from your form-

And as the echoes of the explosion dies away, the cloak of smoke continues to seethe forth from the White Joker's spine. Like you, he is a thing made solely for war; A thing of lethal elegance, stripped down to the very core. Red points of orange light dance within the writhing mass, blurring the edges of his form.

THERE WERE THIRTEEN OF US, DOWN IN THE DARK.

A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, THERE WERE TWO.

(Continued)

>>37286979
>(No, he only has a single Carnifex. To the explicit, the one you were using was technically his.)
And the Beam Magnum is ours.

Shit.

So, White Joker is sanic fast and ice.
But what is that smoke coming from his body all this fucking time?

And what are we? Shooty and nothing else?

Should we play to our strengths or should we go for Cestus' strengths?

>>37286979
>A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, THERE WERE TWO.
Well, shit. He has 10x experience.

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>>37286979
>A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, THERE WERE TWO.

>>37286939
Nah, we can control it. There's usually no point to since several turns pass before we retake control, and we never have time to learn enemy tells.

>>37286959
Frosty's way out of his league here. White Joker would carve him like a turkey.

However, if we DO get downgraded we're going to have to put a hold on any Hollow Sun purchases in favor of putting him through a Terminus Upgrade.

Honestly though, White Joker's a better Joker than Joker, so my thought was seeing if we could make him Daegal instead.

...Wait. Oh fuck, OP you absolute ass. We're about to find out first hand what it feels like to have a Hyades contract violently severed.

>>37287075
It's the cold. Just vapor.

>>37287138
Honestly, I'm just hoping that we'll pull the Rubicante on him while he's busy admiring his new form.

>>37287138
Do you think Codebursts could be our trump card here?

Consume might be the only thing that can put proper damage in.

>>37287180
>Play to Win master
>Gloating
Yeah, no.

He will now activate his super mode and pragmatically snap our neck.
Unless we can get in a critical hit, if he lacks attunement.
However, it's his natural relic. So he might have full attunement by default.

>>37287180
>>37287182
We're in another technically unwinnable boss fight. Time for a replay of Nara Dreamland's ending, with Cybele playing the role of Hecate.

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>>37287214
>with Cybele playing the role of Hecate
Time for more guilt!

>>37286979

The sword of red iron shrieks, as it cuts free of the stone. Flickers of lightning dance across the blade, as it turns ins his grasp.

JOKER

THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF DEATH WE TEACH-

>>37286931
>>37286714

The Plasma Caster erupts. There is a bang like a sonic boom, a flare of fire. The concussive backwash of the shot limns you in a superheated halo - vapor coiling from the heat-sinks, as he takes the blast full-on -

It is not a decisive blow. Wings of black smoke furl around him, boiled away by the furious alchemy of the blast; Ragged rents open up, bleeding mist, revealing the lethal figure beyond. The blast is diminished by the icy field that cloaks him, denuded further by the defenses that cocoon him-

-But he flinches.

It is the most natural thing in the world. A twitch, an involuntary flicker of motion - As abruptly, without warning, the White Joker's words cut out. Sheer, dysfunctioning shock slows him, checks him a step, makes him hesitate.

He did not see that coming. He did not expect it, or anticipate it, or respond with more than the instincts honed by a thousand years of slaughter.

You hear the crash of acid waves against a beach of black sand. But this time - As your fingers curl against the ground, as servoes whirr and hum in your arms - you feel the rising tide drag you to your feet.

The White Joker's head inclines in a nod.

TO THE DEATH, THEN.

Game on.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 117

TO BE CONTINUED

>>37287214
Wait, weren't we gonna kill her anyway?

I don't understand what's happening.

>>37287246
FUCK.

>>37287214
>unwinnable boss fight.
I really hate those, since most of the time they feel lazy. Those often either have the boss use an insta-kill attack or be invulnerable to damage. Is it really that hard to just give the Player some XP and maybe a "Not bad at all, but now I'll finish this" line after winning fight he's supposed to lose as a testament to his skill?

>>37287246
Holy shit, I was right?
Ok, guys. SPOILER. FUCKING. EVERYTHING. next time.

>>37287246

(Gentlemen; My sincerest apologies, but it is extremely late on my end - I hate to leave things at this cliffhanger, but I'm utterly exhausted.

I was actually quite certain that this would be a game over - Fortunately, I found myself surprised again. Good night and God bless: I'll do my best to run another session tomorrow, if possible, assuming the time commitments allow for it.

And yes - This is where the difficulty of the Quest scales up. A lot. I'm rather looking forward to how it turns out. As always, you've been a wonderful audience; I hope to see you again soon.)

>>37287333
Nice lucky trips.

Unwinnable boss fights are a good way to show that the player is outclassed.
But only when done correctly.

And then there's the speedrunners, who will expect some reaction if they win anyway.

>>37287363
Not just spoiler.
CONFUSE him. Make mutually exclusive suggestions.
And then make something completely different in the spoiler. Or confirm one of the suggestions.

>>37287382
Do you still want us spending HS charge?

>>37287382
>And yes - This is where the difficulty of the Quest scales up.
So this is the final test?
Shit, we gotta remember all of our fights and how we best won them.

And I seriously hope that we'll get a Carnifex and a Beam Magnum out of this encounter. And a level-up.
...I wonder if the Carnifex is retaining its damage. In that case we are working with a handicap.

>>37287402

(By all means. I actually asked the question - Prior to the fight - to see if you were going to make any more purchases that would be directly relevant. Relics, mostly.)

>>37287246
Fucking cheatcodes.

I thought he was just super badass. But he's a hack.

>>37287382
Shit

We didn't realise the gimmick of the fight until after he'd crippled us. This is gonna be tricky.

>>37287449
What would have happened had we bought the Sun Crusher before our charge?
I imagine the results would have been very different.

And would he have ripped off our Carnifex had we tried to activate it from the get-go?
I have a feeling that he feels insulted by us using it.

>>37287474
So are we, anon. So are we.

>>37287504
We have Aquila.
We don't need legs.

>>37287510
At least we don't read minds and pretend we're just stupid good at fighting.

>>37287449
Yeah sorry about that. We really picked the path of thorns didn't we?

All right, since we've used Slake we shouldn't swap it out. How about... the Dirge Caster Argus mod, Grendel and either the Positron Smartgun or the Linebreaker.

>>37287504
Emblem.

>>37287396
>Unwinnable boss fights are a good way to show that the player is outclassed.
True, but that's still possible without the insta-kill or damage immunity. It's just really disappointing when you meet a boss fight that you can't win against because he's simply invulnerable, rather than because he's simply strong as fuck. Especially when the vulnerability only kicks in halfway (hello Ys Seven), at which point you've already used more than half of your potions and items and just about learned the attack patterns.

Giving a player some acknowledgement for exploring the game beyond what he only needs to clear it is what makes going through the effort rewarding,

>>37287542
He isn't reading our mind, i think. He's just anticipating our attacks and reacting based on combat experience.
The spoilers just mean that Joker is doing the same.

>>37287577
Actually make it the Linebreaker for sure. We don't need a massive drain on the Cobalt Booster when we have one giant trump card to power.

>>37287577
>the Dirge Caster Argus mod, Grendel and either the Positron Smartgun or the Linebreaker
Sounds good.
Smartgun might be better against a quick target, but I feel that the linebreaker will be easier to handle.

>>37287650
>Smartgun might be better against a quick target,
To be fair, we have the Cagnazzo if we need to chase down a speedster.

>>37287585
That's one of the reasons as to why I don't play most RPGs.
I want my own, personal skill to matter.
Which include the ability to dance on a boss'es nose because I know exactly what he'll do.
And if the devs then give me a cutscene where I get barely beaten, I will feel insulted.

Then again, unwinnable is better than winning and having no event trigger afterwards. That is just bad.

>>37287585
Right. I'd just appreciate if they made it clear before the fight that it's supposed to be unwinnable, so you don't waste time and consumables and all that for nothing.

>>37287611
>The spoilers just mean that Joker is doing the same.
Huh? I don't really get what you're saying here.
How does that result in White Joker flinching and not anticipating our move?
As bizarre as it sounds, mind reading seems more likely somehow.

>>37287691
>Right. I'd just appreciate if they made it clear before the fight that it's supposed to be unwinnable, so you don't waste time and consumables and all that for nothing.
But that wouldn't have the intimidation factor.

As for the spoilers... He was toying with us, like we would do with ordinary enemies.
I imagine us using spoilers means that we are acting instead of thinking.
Which means less telegraphing of attacks, less hesitation, less tells and quicker reactions. And a flow of combat that we first learned in a world of black shores.

>>37287691
>Huh? I don't really get what you're saying here.
It means that Joker isn't thinking about what he's doing. Rather than fighting like a Player, he is fighting as a surviver, purely on instinct.
The memories of the Black resurfacing is an indication of that. He doesn't have time to think, to expect or to make strategies, so he'll just look at the goal and keep crawling until he reaches it.

>>37287691
See it this way.
Normal person:
>Think hard. Think long. Decide to draw Plasma Caster
>Hesitantly draw Plasma Caster, trying to keep hand calm and movement quite and inconspicious
>Hope that he doesn't see

Joker:
>Draw Plasma Caster with the memory of a thousand years of fighting, completely without prior hints
>Because the idea came in that exact moment, instead of being some kind of actual plan

It's the difference between the flow of combat and seeing combat from an outside (tactical) perspective.

>>37287691
>so you don't waste time and consumables and all that for nothing.
I got out of the habit of using consumables in FF4, in the paladin trial. Not only were you not supposed to win that fight, you weren't supposed to ATTACK. Good bye my stock of hi-potions and attack items. Still love that game.

>>37287276
Yeah pretty much. One of the Seisin girls--Shion probably--said that when a Hyades really loves her champion, sometimes she'll take the fatal blow for him, because she valued HIS life. Joker still can use Cybele's power, which suggests she still loves him and wants him to stay alive. Which makes it a thousand times worse, really.

>>37287849
>Yeah pretty much. One of the Seisin girls--Shion probably--said that when a Hyades really loves her champion, sometimes she'll take the fatal blow for him, because she valued HIS life. Joker still can use Cybele's power, which suggests she still loves him and wants him to stay alive. Which makes it a thousand times worse, really.
What happens if a Hyades tries to summon you during a fight?

Imagine Cybele summoning us to save us from White Joker.
Imagine the awkward talk that would ensue.

>>37287748
>>37287784
>>37287791
Well, okay, I can get that. Lucky I stumbled on the spoilers thing, then.

>>37287849
RPG's tend to fuck around with the usage of consumables, yeah. For instance, I was recently playing FF5 for the first time and using items relatively heavily, but in other games I have like, 99 elixirs saved up in case of emergency.

>>37287933
>RPG's tend to fuck around with the usage of consumables, yeah. For instance, I was recently playing FF5 for the first time and using items relatively heavily, but in other games I have like, 99 elixirs saved up in case of emergency.
That's why newer games have item limits. They are a subtle way of telling you that you should consume your items at a steady rate.

And yeah, you saved our asses.

>>37287931
>What happens if a Hyades tries to summon you during a fight?
Summoning functions are probably disabled during official fights to prevent abuse.

>>37287963
>That's why newer games have item limits.
It's more of a thing in older games. It's making a slight comeback with RPG-inspired games (see: DXHR, Dishonored), but a lot of RPGs don't do much of it. I think Wasteland 2 is the first game in a long while where I've had to think about what to keep in my inventory.

All this RPG talk has made me realize that I still haven't beaten Lourence in Trails in the Sky since he is basically as bullshit as White Joker.
Off I go, then.

>>37288114
I meant in regards to stacking, not inventory size.
Look at modern FPS, for example. You've got explosives and medpacks.
Both are powerful items and both have a maximum carrying capacity. And you are supposed to use them once in a while, such that you never overflow but also never consume them all.

For the next thread, I'd suggest that we see open posts as telegraphing and spoilers as actions.
This essentially means that we can feint.

Does anyone else have a problem looking at the archived thread

>>37288909
It's fucked, Jim. Looks like it copied the address and errored during archival.

>>37288114
>I think Wasteland 2 is the first game in a long while where I've had to think about what to keep in my inventory.

Stalker.

Also the gun-diplomacy factor is hilarious.

Your social competence is tied to the size of your largest equipped gun.

You want discounts? Equip an RPG before going to merchant.