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"What do you mean, Doc?" You demand, your unblinking focus trained solely on Yurei's last, desperate bid to defeat you as Francine rubs the bridge of her nose.

"In short? She's gone too big, too fast." The good doctor sighs bitterly. "She can't sustain this form for more than a few hours at most with what little power she has left, so this isn't nearly the same level of threat that Uzu posed."

“And if we just leave?” Dorian asks, glancing back to where his colorful constructs cradle Amara’s unconscious form between them. “What’s stopping us from leaving this thing to run itself until it just stops?"

"Very little, aside from the possible destruction and Hunger-based chain reactions it might provoke in any nearby settlements or errant Daughters, respectively." Fran replies casually, even as her glasses bounce back down her nose as another titanic step sends a rippling shudder through the Fleshscape. "...Though I'd imagine that's probably the only reasons you'd need, Darlings."

A choice, then. With Amara down for the count, getting an update on any forthcoming reinforcements is mostly out the window, and even though your group is a dozen strong, almost half of them are elements you're not entirely comfortable with...some moreso than others, as you chance another furtive glance at Isabelle.

Your empathic channel envelops your family and the titan both, a whirlwind of emotion swirling within reach of your extrasensory gift...a fool's gift, to be sure. From Gina's trepidation to Rath's fury at the entire scene, from Julia's desire to help Yurei to Dorian's barely-restrained urge to take his love and Amara in hand and run as fast as he can to the waystation. Francine duels her own overwhelming curiosity as the flame of a soldier's resolve flickers in November's heart. The Barbers...well, they're just happy to be here, and as for Isabelle...

...she's tired. So very, utterly tired, but beyond that there's something you cannot quite put your finger on. Hope? Regret? Shame?

Much like the creature Yurei birthed into existence, she's feeling all that and more, all at once. You begin to speak as you stare up at the pure, unbridled storm of negativity and turmoil that is Yurei, the Yume Gashadokuro.

You speak, and in doing so you take the futures of everyone present in your hands, once more.

>>Form Real- and Dream-World Assault teams from the following (Shu, B'ni, GG, Rath, Julia, Dorian, November, Francine, Rosa, Sia, Betty, Sugar) There is no current party limit for either assault team.

OR

>>Rescue the members of the Hyenas along with any stragglers, and evacuate while you can. You're not endangering your family by trying to interrupt Yurei's last gasp of power.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

Well that just leaves us with the uncomfortable question:

What happens if Yurei dies, but the dreamworld collapses on the Dream Team before they could escape?

(Gentlemen, I hope you are having a good morning. Voting shall remain open for the next two hours.)

>>3863035
>>Form Real- and Dream-World Assault teams
we took this fight, its our responsibility to see it til its end, and prevent it from harming bystanders.

>Dream Team
>> Shu, Rath, Francine, Sia, Rosa, Betty.
Shu, Rath, and Francine will all do better in the dreaming where they can make up for their exhausted states easier. Sia for some neuromancy and Mind fuckery inside her, Sia should know all about how a broken mind works. Rosa and Betty to just fluff up the numbers for us.

>Real Team
>> Isabelle, Gina, Julia, Dorian, November, Sugar
>Goal; Keep it here, keep it busy, keep it contained.
Ginas Terraforming and Neuromancy will do wonders for that, and Julia and Dorian are both the healthiest and together have the best other methods possible to keep her from going wild. Isabelle is just a powerhouse who would do better in the waking i think. November because im not even sure if she needs to sleep, so unsure she can even enter the dreaming. Sugar due to having Terraforming aswell to help beat this thing down and contain it at a distance.

>>3863047
a good enough one so far.
hey BHOP, when can we expect your responses for in the last Vein you think? no rush, take your time, just want to know if you are trying to get them out as you can, or plan for it to be a evening only thing.

>>3863051
I disagree on Isabelle. We fought Isabelle in the Dream World once, so we know what she's fully capable of.

>>3863047
Morning, BHOP. How long has it been since last turn, in-character? Did that pause when we thought Yurei was done for count as one turn or more?

>>3863059
well yeah shes capable in either, but i still think shes more capable on the outside. that, and she's hardly the one mentally to throw into the horrible muck that will be Yurei's mind. we already fucked up with her being here n the first place, the least we can do is not force her to have to deal with that nonsense too. hell i dont want us to have to deal with it, but someone has too. plus, if Yurei has many mental mindfuck tricks inside of herself, Isabelle will be the most likely to be affected or fall for it i personally think.

>>3863035
This is no Question

>>Form Real- and Dream-World Assault teams

>> Shu, Rath, Francine, Sia, Rosa, Betty.

Shu, Rath and Francine need to recover and they can do that best in the dreamworld while her body heals.
It would also be sucide to not have at least one Halo in there to ward against Illusions and such. Also Shu might be needed to give things a presonal touch to lay her to rest

>> Isabelle, Gina, Julia, Dorian, November, Sugar

That Anon has also given good reasons and a plan to do things like that

>>3863059
Isabelle is not by any stretch of the imagination stable enough to confront what is a massive nightmare that is probably very close to what is in her own head.
She will do better in the waking world by being a massive nuisance and distraction with little fear of death and massive regeneration

>>3863051
I'd like to have Gina on the inside. The Neurotic Halo gives her a big advantage in dreamscape combat. Having her terraform out here might be effective for slowing the Yume Gashadokuro down, but Yurei might still have immunity to terrain.

>>3863065
i think thats immunity to terrain effects, like touch terrain slowing down movement or the spiral. Gina can still slam a pillar into her or terraform terrain around her to trap her, like what affected her with the ice cocoon.

and while Gina would be helpful within, i disagree we can afford to have her there instead. Francine just compared Yurei to the Spiral, and the one issue there is, that thing moved fast and took a shiton to even slow down. the outside team will need her to keep it from causing further muck, hell even with Gina they still might struggle to slow her down properly.

plus, most if not all Ginas Halo advantages deal with our own Dream Daughters, which im very unsure we can rely on having and im against taking the risk on. maybe if BHOP confirmed something there, but otherwise theres no actual real advantage to having her in there.

>>3863069
>>3863065
And what about November? Mind of Platinum would give us a walking zone of stability in the dreamworld. And Dreamworld's supposedly the place where Neuromancy and Phantasmal Conduits are at their strongest.

>>3863071
i dont think she can enter it. she also wouldn't do us any good in there unless it makes her ore re-activate, instead of be dead. plus, wouldn't platinum still work and help on the outside? hell, id argue more, as it would be potentially be cutting off her physical forms connection to its dream half, which seems to be exactly what we want, according to Francine.

plus, its possible that outright makes her incompatible with walking around in the Dreaming, and/or might backfire and affect us in there too, simply by merit of we do kinda need Yurei's mind to be at least be stable enough for us to have dream ground to stand on, and who the hell knows what Platinum would do to that.

>>3863072

It kinda wraps around to the question that I asked earlier and no one tried to give a plausible answer posted >>3863043

If we're splitting the teams into two, with one team entering the dreamscape and the other team staying in the real, how will the dream team get out if the portal to the dreamworld collapses on them before they could fully escape? Yurei's existence is what keeps the rift open.

>>3863069
>i think thats immunity to terrain effects, like touch terrain slowing down movement or the spiral. Gina can still slam a pillar into her or terraform terrain around her to trap her, like what affected her with the ice cocoon.
I suppose. Didn't really think about that idea because it would require some huge terraforming effects to effectively do it, the Yume Gashadokuro is kaiju-sized. Might be possible.

>and while Gina would be helpful within, i disagree we can afford to have her there instead. Francine just compared Yurei to the Spiral, and the one issue there is, that thing moved fast and took a shiton to even slow down. the outside team will need her to keep it from causing further muck, hell even with Gina they still might struggle to slow her down properly.
Agreed, I'm just not as sure she'd be the most effective way to keep Yurei stationary. Not on her own, at least. It might work if we left Rath out here, though. Phantom Limb-boosted punches automatically knock down the opponent, Rath could keep the Yume Gashadokuro pretty well occupied all on her own. Partner her with Gina burying it as well and I think that would keep it occupied pretty well. Even if we do bring Rath with us inside, we should open up by punching Yurei down and then Shu and Gina (and any of the Barbers with terrain alteration) partnering to bury her. Also try to sever any key connections we can. Julia possibly still has sixteen ACTs and +480% Damage, Critical Chance and Critical Damage this turn, she can probably sheer through Yurei's cervical vertebrae once they're on ground level with her.

>plus, most if not all Ginas Halo advantages deal with our own Dream Daughters, which im very unsure we can rely on having and im against taking the risk on. maybe if BHOP confirmed something there, but otherwise theres no actual real advantage to having her in there.
Neurotic Halo level seven makes her great at tearing through enemy dreamscapes. And even if it wasn't, she's still a strong Neuromancer, it would be very effective.

>>3863076
I dont think we will enter the Dreamscape as a physical existence via teh channel Yurei has hewn into reality. We go in there like we always did. Via Neuromancy.

At least that is my opinion. Our bodies need rest and if we go in there via Neuromancy we will be at our best. Which we will have to be to distract he rlong eonough for her to burn herself out

>>3863078
>>3863072
You know. Rath's ability for punching titans to hard that they automatically fall down prone is a better crowd control tool than relying on Gina's Neuromancy alone.

>>3863076
well hey, to be fair, i thought you were asking BHOP and that sounds like a BHOP question. i literally have no idea, we have never had to do this before or seen anything to give us context. but Francines no slouch in her knowledge so i trust shes right that this is our best shot, meaning regardless of those risks we have to send someone in.

either we just get punted out, have to make a mad dash for the exit, or theres a chance we get caught in the literal dreaming and the next story Arc is us wandering through it til we find a sufficiently powerful Phantasmal to get to let us out, or something, are my guesses.

>>3863078
Gina will have Sugar helping at least, to some degree. will take the pressure off both of them a bit.

you're ignoring Sugar is also a Terraformer, and Dorian can slow her down too.

i still disagree she would be better served in the dreamscape.

>>3863082
i disagree. not because its not a good ability or would help, but we dont know if Yurei has immunities to that, and Rath is in no position to risk it.

>>3863082
Rath is also the only one to specifically have trained to fight in the Dreamscape, which BHOP said gives her some form of advantage in there.

>>3863084
It might be a "this only works once" sort of thing, but it's the best way to open up the fight.

>>3863047
Bhop, does Yurei still retain the adaptive Immunities from the combat in the last vein?

Her immunites gained from the fight against her in the 31st vein: IMMUNE: Stun, Terrain, Acid, Slashing, Cold.

>>3863084
>i disagree. not because its not a good ability or would help, but we dont know if Yurei has immunities to that, and Rath is in no position to risk it.
She shouldn't be. Knockback/knockdown wasn't one of the conditions that Yurei made herself immune to. A solid hit should down her. Francine can heal Rath real quick if you're worried, and their Dual Tech would let November pay the Health cost to activate Phantom Limb.

>>3863086
Depends on how literal a battle we have inside Yurei's mind. I think Rath could still be effective if it's more a metaphorical battle just because she's good at cutting through bullshit, but I doubt boxing skill will be a big factor.

>>3863043
(There's no way to tell, I'm afraid.)

>>3863051
(Regarding your spoilered question, I'll likely end the session earlier this evening to give me some time to address that and touch up the Relic and Swarmling sheets a bit, too.)

>>3863061
(It's been three turns.)

>>3863069
(Gina would be strong in the Dream or the Real.)

>>3863071
>>3863072
(Given the nature of Yurei's creation, November's entrance into the Dreamscape would be...interesting.)

>>3863089
(Yurei does not keep her immunities, no.)

>>3863096
So does that mean she starts off with a clean slate of immunity slots that she can adapt to? Or does that mean she's unable to gain new adaptive immunities? There's a difference, and I want to know that distinction.

>>3863096
>(It's been three turns.)
Ah, darn. So the boost from the fourteen enemies downed in the last turn of stage two of the fight have faded, and Julia isn't still a badger-shaped tornado of punches.

>(Yurei does not keep her immunities, no.)
Oh, okay then, let's get that terrain shaping in place. Knock the Yume Gashadokuro down, drop some Fear To Tread on the area, terraform some restraints over the major bones and also the ribs.

>>3863096
>I'll likely end the session earlier this evening
sound reasonable enough.

>November
you're not really giving me confidence there with November. we really dont need 'interesting' here, we need guarantees about the best moves, and that just sounds like it could end horribly. Novembers Platinum should still have an effect from the outside, i think thats still our best bet for this to go even mildly smoothly. mind you BHOP, talking to everyone here, not really you.

>>3863092
>>3863097
yeah that is a very important difference here.

>>3863092
it was implied heavily to be way more than just boxing techniques.

>>3863099
>it was implied heavily to be way more than just boxing techniques.
I don't recall that. I remember her training with Meg on her boxing form in preparation for fighting B'Ni. When did they go over mental combat techniques?

>>3863101
no idea, but BHOP confirmed Rath specifically trained on Dreamscape fighting techniques and now had an advantage to it after the fact.

>>3863035

>"I know it's tiring, and I can tell everyone is just about sick of this fight. I am too. I think after all of this, we should go to Laoc and just relax and enjoy the day. No, we WILL go to Laoc and relax."
>Wrap one hand around Isabelle, give her a measure of comfort by having her lean on you.
>"But letting Yurei run amok is something I cannot rest my conscience on. Not after what happened with Uzu and the Monastery."
>Guilt seeps into your speech at the mention of the Monastery.
>"So for just one more fight, lets put this starving ghost to rest. Yurei must be tired."

>>3863101
>>3863102
its was OOC info said by BHOP, to be specific, not something said or shown IC.

>>3863097
>>3863099
(You've effectively overloaded the Calcite Halo with your last assault so it's completely deactivated, and since it was what was giving her the adaptive immunity, she's completely vulnerable to any and all status effects and damage right now.)

>>3863099
(Considering that Heather Neeson's dreams, flashbacks, and regrets were so hurtful that she opted to become more machine than woman should give you some idea of what she'd bring with her when you venture into Yurei's mind.)

>>3863102
>>3863101
(Can confirm. Rath is fairly resistant to Dreamscape shenanigans thanks to spending time with Meg.)

>>3863105
yeah that sounds exactly like the reasons we dont want to bring in Isabelle.

>>3863105
>Overloaded a maxed out Calcite Halo.
Jesus.

>>3863108
>>3863101
It also tells us the Criteria that Waking Daughters need to have in order to safely venture in the Dreamworld.
Stable daughters that have dreams that are relatively easy to deal with when their past catches up to them in the dreamscape.

>>3863103
>>3863035
im not so sure im comfortable giving Isabelle that sorta affection. gonna have to Veto that.

>>3863111
Yeah, same here. At most a hand on the shoulder. Arm around her is too much. Even for Isabel, I think, let alone Shu.

Anyways, if Yume Gashadokuro Yurei has lost her Stun immunity, do you think it's worth it to open this fight up with Gina hitting her with the Neurotic Stun while we get the terraformed bindings in place? Or do you think there's a possibility that while not immune, her general psychic haze could cause negative effects from jacking in like that? I mean, we're going to jack in anyway, but for all we know Gina making a connection will suck her into Yurei's dreamscape and she'll be forced to be on the mental assault team.

>>3863115
that entirely depends on if the Halo stun counts as its own sorta thing. it forgoes normal neuromancy, so id think maybe it doesn't actually dig that deep. might literally just affect the nervous system, unlike alot of Neuromancy which seems to affect the actual brain to a degree.

i still think Rath should go inside and Gina stay out, but im fine now adding an opening to put them to better effect.

>>3863035
>>3863051
adding on;
>Have Shu, Gina, and Sugar work together to hold Yurei Back a second, be it Terraforming and/or Halo Stun, so Rath can be pumped full of what Health and Bio Francine can really afford to pull from others and give her, to get her Stun Punch off on Yurei, before the two teams split up and go on their assignments.

>>3863103
I think we need to have a talk with Isabelle first before we give her any more affection but kind words.

We also have to think about what Rath would interpret that gesture as. She still hates Isabelle. Just getting her to tolerate her presence after the fight will be difficult enough. She hates her enough to completely ignore the masive enemy in front of us and if we want to stand a chance she can not be allowed to become distracted by somethign as minor as that. You should also think of Shu. Isabell ahs jsut woken many painful memories and physical contact could be very uncomfortable for both of them. Not to mention such intimate contact might cause Isabelle to loose it again.

>>3863115
I think Yurei will be pretty difficult to bind as her body is no longer completely bound by our reality. I would imagine that she could be something akin to a deamon as we have to dislodge her anchor in the material and immaterial planes of existance to truly defeat her. SO she will probably be still very resistant to most effects we can inflict on her.

I think the stun itself will be ineffective due to the nature of her power. Not impossible just improbable as her core is still active i think

>>3863035
>>3863103
Amending this vote.
>"I know it's tiring, and I can tell everyone is just about sick of this fight."
>"But letting Yurei run amok is something I cannot rest my conscience on. Not after what happened with Uzu and the Monastery."
>Guilt seeps into your speech at the mention of the Monastery.
>"So for just one more fight, lets put this starving ghost to rest. Yurei must be tired. I'm sure you are too. I think after all is said and done here, we should go to Laoc and just relax and enjoy the day. No, we WILL go to Laoc and relax."

>>3863115
Maybe, but I don't really want to rely on Terraforming and stunning a giant skeleton alone. It's easier to pin down and bind a prone skeleton than a standing skeleton. Remember Ashen Vagrant?

Anyways, we're running out of voting time, lets come up with a plan.

Dream Team:
>Shu, Rath, Sia, Francine, Rosa, Betty
Real Team:
>November, Isabelle, Gina, Dorian, Julia, Blood Sugar

Opening plan/Round:

Rath:
>Smash Punch Opening, We'll fly you up so you can cave the Skeleton's chest in with a Smash Punch in order to knock it down. Aim for the Sternum.

Shu:
>Fly Rath up on a Knighted Grappling, Escort Rath with a squadron of what Knighted swarmlings you have so Rath can get a clear shot at Knocking down the Skeleton with her SMASH Punch.

Gina and Shu:
>Combined Terraforming arts, Manipulate mud and Swampwater and have it wash over

Gina:
>Stun the Skeleton, at the same time, Terraform its legs with the Mud + Swamp Water so that Rath's Smash Punch will have a bigger effect
>Then Collaborate with Shu to cover the rest of the Skeleton with Mud and Swamp Water. Gina Does the Liquid Freezing while Shu works on Covering the Skeleton with as much Slurry as possible.

>Dorian:
>Relic loadout change: Minus Manus Caelorum (Sent to Julia)
>When the Skeleton is down, Run around as fast as you can and throw as many paintlings onto the Skeleton, Have the Paintlings mix with Shu and Gina's Terraformed Swamp Muck to provide them more liquid Biomass to terraform them with.

Julia
>Relic Loadout Change: Equipped Manus Caelorum (Given by Dorian)
>Expend as many attacks to build up stacks on the Skeleton
>Then Double the stacks so that the stack count for Malleable flesh hits 23 STACKS.

November:
>You're on anti-ghost duty. Keep the Real Team safe. If we're visibly jacking into the Skeleton instead of going through a Portal into the dreamscape, keep our bodies safe.

Francine:
>Tether to the Dream skeleton.

Barbers:
>Support us in any way possible.

>>3863124
i dont think there were any ghosts of the sort November would need to face.

also Yurei is still immune to Stacks so Julia cant do anything with that. stack Immunity was from her core, not the Halo Immunity gains she has lost, and id imagine she at LEAST still has her core working in some capacity. because of that the Relic is still better on Dorian too.

>>3863118
Yeah, it does seem to target peripheral instead of central, that might make it safe to use.

>>3863119
>I think Yurei will be pretty difficult to bind as her body is no longer completely bound by our reality. I would imagine that she could be something akin to a deamon as we have to dislodge her anchor in the material and immaterial planes of existance to truly defeat her. SO she will probably be still very resistant to most effects we can inflict on her.
Yeah, I'm expecting her physical properties to be weird, but I hope that she's at least material enough to be held down. Knock her down, terraform restraints over her bones.

Okay, battle plans.

>>3863035
NOVEMBER
>Place Amara in the tank. It's mobile and armored, the safest place for her right now.

FRANCINE and Shu
>Use Creation's Strings and Dominus Bloodline to redistribute and boost Health to get people into as good a shape as possible, put emphasis on Rath since she's in the worst shape.

GINA
>Halo stun the Yume Gashadokuro, use this jack-in to also terraform terrain around Gashadokuro's feet to unsteady it

NOVEMBER and RATH
>Use Familial Armament to power a Phantom Limb smash with November's larger Health pool, knock Yurei over when stunned

GINA, SHU, any members of the Barbers with terraforming
>Construct restraints around the bones of the Yume Gashadokuro. Tie down the long bones of its arms and legs, as well as some loops through the ribs. Don't let it have any leverage

>ALL
>Divide into parties for combat
>Dream world: Shu, Rath, Francine, Sia, Rosa, Betty
>Real world: Gina, Julia, Dorian, November, Sugar, Isabel
>Standing orders for external team to keep Gashadokuro restrained while working to cripple her. Gina focus on making sure it stays buried and unable to move its legs. Melee combatants attack lumbar vertebrae, attempt to sever lower body so it has to crawl if it escapes bindings. Dorian should summon SIBLING constructs if has the chance, have them assist in his work. Julia and Blood Sugar inflict whatever debuffs they can. November keeps any non-moving bodies safe in her tank while maintaining Mind of Platinum aura and being ready to fire a shell into the spine.

File: Shibari - a questionable (...).jpg (100 KB, 610x801)

100 KB JPG

>>3863124
>>3863035
Amending this vote:

>"I know it's tiring, and I can tell everyone is just about sick of this fight. I'm sure you are too. I think after all is said and done here, we should go to Laoc and just relax and enjoy the day. No, we WILL go to Laoc and relax.""
>"But letting Yurei run amok is something I cannot rest my conscience on. Not after what happened with Uzu and the Monastery."
>Guilt seeps into your speech at the mention of the Monastery.
>"So for just one more fight, lets put this starving ghost to rest. Yurei must be tired.

Dream Team:
>Shu, Rath, Sia, Francine, Rosa, Betty
Real Team:
>November, Isabelle, Gina, Dorian, Julia, Blood Sugar

Opening plan/Round:

Rath:
>Smash Punch Opening, We'll fly you up so you can cave the Skeleton's chest in with a Smash Punch in order to knock it down. Aim for the Sternum.

Shu:
>Fly Rath up on a Knighted Grappling, Escort Rath with a squadron of what Knighted swarmlings you have so Rath can get a clear shot at Knocking down the Skeleton with her SMASH Punch.

Gina and Shu:
>Combined Terraforming arts, Manipulate mud and Swampwater and have it wash over

Gina:
>Stun the Skeleton, at the same time, Terraform its legs with the Mud + Swamp Water so that Rath's Smash Punch will have a bigger effect
>Then Collaborate with Shu to cover the rest of the Skeleton with Mud and Swamp Water. Gina Does the Liquid Freezing while Shu works on Covering the Skeleton with as much Slurry as possible. At the same time, Have Gina Lockdown Yurei's Core ability.

>Dorian:
>Relic loadout change: Minus Manus Caelorum (Sent to Julia)
>When the Skeleton is down, Run around as fast as you can and throw as many paintlings onto the Skeleton, Have the Paintlings mix with Shu and Gina's Terraformed Swamp Muck to provide them more liquid Biomass to terraform them with.

Julia
>Relic Loadout Change: Equipped Manus Caelorum (Given by Dorian)
>Expend as many attacks to build up stacks on the Skeleton
>Then Double the stacks so that the stack count for Malleable flesh hits 23 STACKS.

November:
>You're on anti-ghost duty. Keep the Real Team safe. If we're visibly jacking into the Skeleton instead of going through a Portal into the dreamscape, keep our bodies safe.

Francine:
>Tether to the Dream skeleton.

Barbers:
>Support us in any way possible.

>>3863126
Changed a few actions. Had Gina Lock Yurei's ability down while Terraforming at the same time (Thank the spine relic) in order to allow Julia to build Stacks on Yurei.

>>3863128
Shibari anyone? Because of Yurei's Yume Gashadokuro form having Japanese origins, I couldn't resist adding in a Japanese style binding on the skeleton.
pic related for how it looks. Now apply that to a skeleton.

Additional fun fact: Before it was turned into a sexual fetish, the Shibari binding method was an actual method used to bind criminals.

>>3863133
Gina cant choose what she locks down is the issue. that ability is just too unreliable to ever trust.

>>3863133
>Changed a few actions. Had Gina Lock Yurei's ability down while Terraforming at the same time (Thank the spine relic) in order to allow Julia to build Stacks on Yurei.
Isn't it random which ability Gina locks down? She couldn't reliably knock out Yurei's Core. And now I'm imagining her getting lucky and managing to lock out Calcite Halo and the Gashadokuro falling to pieces. "Oh, that was easy." Probably not on the list of skills she can disable for that reason, though.

>>3863137
>>3863135
Damn.
It does however bring into question on what Julia could do in the Real. Julia's ability to find out and empathize in the dreamworld would help out since Badger Monk can't provide any other utility other than stacks. I'm doing this just in case it is successful.

Also, Yurei's Core is Vitruvian, the ability that allows Yurei to assume Giant Ghost Skeleton form is probably Phantasmal Conduit in Nature.

>>3863137
yeah, it is random, which is why we never use it. fights already have too much randomness as it is to rely on a gamble as big as that. if we could unhook the lockdown and try for another random role it might be worth the risk, but it gets locked in for the entire fight what it locks down once you use it, and that just really doesn't make it worth using. even if it could keep rolling it still feels incredibly iffy to waste time trying.

>>3863137
>>3863135
If you do have alternatives, please share, otherwise this is an option that Gina could do with the action economy provided by the Spine and an avenue for Julia to help out in keeping the Skeleton down.

>>3863150
no, its not. she needs the spine to do both the Stun and Terraforming. the Stun forgoes any and all other Neuromancy actions, but the Spine MIGHT be a work around. still she only has two Acts and that alone is two Neuromancy actions.

>>3863150
Julia is still simply strong. she can still help out with simple strength and ability to keep Yurei distracted from other targets, as she can actually take a hit while Gina cant, and/or Gina and Sugar being directly attacked would distract them from their jobs. having her around to act as the target will still help just by doing that.

>>3863145
its too big a risk to waste Ginas actions on a gamble.

>>3863145
Yurei's a giant ghost skeleton because of the Calcite Halo, it's apparently a "Siege Mode" that it unlocks at level fifteen. And now I'm kind of disappointed that we hybridized Gina's Halo, if this is the sort of stuff level fifteen Halos give. It's just five more levels. Say, we technically got the Neurotic Halo from Meg, does that make it a valid target for Knowable Kadath? BHOP did say that Kadath could target skills that had been put into hybrids.

>>3863150
As mentioned in my plan, I want our melee attackers knocking out Yurei's spine. Julia is not limited to her stacks, she has very good melee damage in general. Carnivorous Carver claws plus Sculptress of Flesh speed plus Elemental Digestion touch damage means that she does amazing melee damage even without inflicting stacks. Plus, she'll be close to Yurei and laying on the Seasonal Oppression field, that should mess with her, too.

>>3863133
>>3863035
Amending vote one final time.
>"I know it's tiring, and I can tell everyone is just about sick of this fight."
>"But letting Yurei run amok is something I cannot rest my conscience on. Not after what happened with Uzu and the Monastery."
>Guilt seeps into your speech at the mention of the Monastery.
>"So for just one more fight, lets put this starving ghost to rest. Yurei must be tired. I'm sure you are too. I think after all is said and done here, we should go to Laoc and just relax and enjoy the day. No, we WILL go to Laoc and relax."

>>3863115
Maybe, but I don't really want to rely on Terraforming and stunning a giant skeleton alone. It's easier to pin down and bind a prone skeleton than a standing skeleton. Remember Ashen Vagrant?

Anyways, we're running out of voting time, lets come up with a plan.

Dream Team:
>Shu, Rath, Sia, Francine, Rosa, Betty
Real Team:
>November, Isabelle, Gina, Dorian, Julia, Blood Sugar

Opening plan/Round:

Rath:
>Smash Punch Opening, We'll fly you up so you can cave the Skeleton's chest in with a Smash Punch in order to knock it down. Aim for the Sternum.

Shu:
>Fly Rath up on a Knighted Grappling, Escort Rath with a squadron of what Knighted swarmlings you have so Rath can get a clear shot at Knocking down the Skeleton with her SMASH Punch.

Gina and Shu:
>Combined Terraforming arts, Manipulate mud and Swampwater and have it wash over

Gina:
>Stun the Skeleton, at the same time, Terraform its legs with the Mud + Swamp Water so that Rath's Smash Punch will have a bigger effect
>Then Collaborate with Shu to cover the rest of the Skeleton with Mud and Swamp Water. Gina Does the Liquid Freezing while Shu works on Covering the Skeleton with as much Slurry as possible.

>Dorian:
>When the Skeleton is down, Run around as fast as you can and throw as many paintlings onto the Skeleton, Have the Paintlings mix with Shu and Gina's Terraformed Swamp Muck to provide them more liquid Biomass to terraform them with.
>Attack Yurei's Spine

Julia:
>support Dorian

November:
>You're on anti-ghost duty. Keep the Real Team safe. If we're visibly jacking into the Skeleton instead of going through a Portal into the dreamscape, keep our bodies safe.

Francine:
>Tether to the Dream skeleton.

Barbers:
>Support us in any way possible.

(Writing now, Gentlemen.)

File: Rosa, Leader of the Barbers.jpg (195 KB, 1000x1000)

195 KB JPG

>>3863035

"I can tell everyone is just about sick and tired of this fight." You begin, glancing among the assembled Daughters as a pang of guilt weighs on your heart. “But letting Yurei run amok is something I can’t abide, not after what happened with Uzu and the Monastery."

"So for just one more fight, let’s put this starving ghost to rest. Yurei must be tired. I'm sure you are too.” A glance to Isabelle, black hair shielding her expression from your eyes. “I think after all is said and done here, we should go to Laoc and just relax and enjoy the day. No, we WILL go to Laoc and relax."

A ripple of hope blooms in your allies’ hearts, at that.

But first, your plan.

“Rath, Francine? You’re with me.” You declare, tearing your eyes away from the scene before you to lock eyes with the Barber’s eccentric leader. “Rosa? Would you, Sia, and Betty mind accompanying us into the Dreamscape?”

“So we’re…you could say we’re…” Rosa begins, barely restraining her gleeful expression. “…a Dream Team?!”

“What about Sugar?” Sia asks, her arms still folded from earlier as she blatantly ignores her leader’s pun.

“With you and Rosa’s permission, I’d like to have her on Gina’s team, out here.” You explain. “Sugar, Gina, and everyone else will keep this thing occupied in the real world with terraforming and relentless attacks, while we put its core to rest. Sound good?”

After sharing a few assorted glances the Barbers reluctantly agree, and with that you turn back to Gina as your marching orders go out across the empathic channel. She cups her palm against your cheek, the warmth of her hand a welcome reprieve from the chill moors around you.

“I’ll be fine, Shu.” She assures you with soft words and a gentle smile, your unspoken worries evident over your bond. “Kill me once, shame on her. Kill me twice, shame on me, right?”

You shoot her a worried scowl, and she just chuckles as she shakes her head. “We’ll be fine. She feels…different. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think we’ll be alright.”

“…Okay. Alright, I trust you.” You relent. Rath, Francine, and the Barbers are at your side as Dorian’s familiars retreat to the Metall Geschoss with Amara. Within a few short seconds, everyone’s in position, November funneling her remaining strength into her niece for the opening blow, with Francine topping off Rath before running back to your and the Barbers’ side. Another thundering footfall, and Yurei is almost on top of you and your family, her skull tilting down to leer at you with empty sockets before she leans, opening a single, massive hand to smear you all across the moor in a single swipe of her bony talons.

[Now] You order, and everything happens, all at once.

(Continued)

>>3863217

Rath disappears, leaving a fresh crater in her wake as she leaps, her empowered jump carrying her at blistering speed towards her foe. You watch as Yurei’s sternum buckles, caved in by a single punch thrown by your furious red-head that sends the towering abomination toppling backwards. The haze that covers the field is blown back by the deafening collapse, and just as Yurei begins to rise your terraforming blends with Gina’s to seize the titan’s limbs, rock candy-like crystals reinforcing your efforts as Sugar brings her powers to bear. Yurei’s body begins to flicker, struggling to phase her body through the restraints as you fight against the clock, a Knightling catching Rath mid-flight and swooping her back to your side.

[Gina, send us in]

She nods, her arms flickering with amethy-

You expected some resistance, some measure of barrier that would have fought back against your intrusion into Yurei’s mind. What you get instead is the feeling of being drawn into her very being, getting sucked body and soul through a sieve and pulled deep into her tumultuous existence.

You’re back in her mansion…*a* mansion, of a sort. It is and it isn’t, every surface of the vaguely familiar space tinted with a dark cinnabar light, the very weight of the air surrounding you becoming a stifling, suffocating thing, to say nothing of…

“Goddamn, it’s fucking freezing in here.” Rath grumbles irritably, wrapping her arms around herself to stay warm.

“I’d offer you my coat, but alas. Seems we’re both resigned to this chill, unfortunately.” Francine sighs, glancing around your eerie surroundings.

“Yeah, and who’s fucking fault is that?” Your brawler fires back, with Francine opening her mouth, then closing it as she swallows her reply.

“Sia, could you…?” Rosa begins, pausing as her friend’s hand raises to stop her.

“Already on it.” She replies as your allies begin to shimmer, their very being becoming an ill-defined, nebulous thing. You can make them out, but it’s only with the power of your empathic field that you can tell who’s who among the Daughters surrounding you.

“Visual Aphasia.” Sia states, answering your unspoken question flippantly. “Explains my face’s lack of explanation, and should help us avoid detection for a while, or at least give any attackers some pause.”

A creak echoes out from somewhere in the depths of the aged home.

“…hopefully.” Sia adds.

(Continued)

File: The Mansion's Reflection.jpg (300 KB, 908x1200)

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>>3863221

“Intriguing.” Francine murmurs to herself, peering into the dim, reddened rooms that lie beyond the hall where you currently stand. “Not the rooms as they were, but…memories, perhaps?”

You spare a few, furtive glances into the rooms the doctor mentioned, finding a classroom, and office, and a study where the library and event space should have been.

“We’ve fought a couple of dream-based assholes in our time and your fighter seems pretty strong here, so we both stand a good shot independently. If we want to be quick about this then we could split up, your people and ours.” Sia offers, with Betty giving an exaggerated shrug behind her while Rosa cocks an eyebrow at her. “We go stealth, each of us run through the place to find Yurei. We knock this out, double-time.”

“Any particular reason for your haste, Darlings?” Francine queries, still examining the doorframes that yawn open around you all.

“Sugar’s a sweetie, but she’s prone to biting off more than she can chew.” Rosa guiltily replies, and you’re about to speak when a sharp, prolonged creak echoes out from the floor above you.

“Whatever we do, we’d best not tarry here long.” Francine murmurs, her voice low. “Yurei wouldn’t have let us in so easily if she didn’t have some countermeasures. She may be Hunger-mad, but she's still a threat.”

“Together or apart, doesn’t matter to me.” Rath barks, impatience plain in her clipped tone. “Let’s just get this shit over with. The sooner Yurei’s dealt with the sooner…”

She pauses when you raise your finger to your lips, nodding at everyone to remain silent in this Dreamscape, for what it’s worth. As you weigh the options before you, Rath’s implication rings clear in your mind.

The sooner Yurei’s powers fade…the sooner you’re rid of anything she’s brought into your reality.

>>Stick together, and explore the [Classroom/Office/Study] together.

>>Three and three, you’ll cover more ground here if you split up. Your team will explore the [Classroom/Office/Study], while the Barbers will investigate the [Classroom/Office/Study].

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Voting shall remain open for the next two hours, Gentlemen. Technical difficulties on my end kept me from posting the update for the last hour, so my sincerest apologies for the delay.)

>>3863225
>Split up three and three

>Our Team will go to the Classroom while the Barbers go to the Office

Yurei is a programmer. Something tells me she probably has a facination with technology that probably started in her younger times. She could have also been a professor/teacher of course but i think the Classroom will give us the best chance to try and identify what her trauma is. Though we will probably have to meet up with the Barbers again to exchange what we learned and then go and investigate the last point being the study where i ssupsect Yurei will be

But to lay her to rest we need to understand her and we need to start understanding her fast.

The Barbers will be fine with Sia as their guide

>>3863229
So long as your work is not on fire again its all good OP
It actually gave me soem more free time to work on chapter 8..... where you will get to see a bit more of Melissas and Gabis Powerset. I managed to get over my writers block that had kept me on the first page for weeks now as i reworte the intro again and again.....

>>3863225
>Stick together
>smile, and put a hand on Rosa's Shoulder. "We do this together, side by side, everyone having everyone's back."
>Turn to Sia, and give her your respect at what you are about to ask her, as it could be difficult and personal. "Sia, and and all idea here would be appreciated. any tips or hints too. besides being our Neuromancer here you... have a unique perspective on dealing with scattered and unstable minds. anything at all you think could help, we will need."
>This is the dreaming, the limits arent what they are in life.
>Send forth a wave, a swarms swarm of recursive swarmlings to search and scan each room and in every bit of detail you can muster. use your Halos and Empathic Field to pry and dig into this place, not just as a physical location, but as what it is; Dreams, Memories.
>You may not know Yurei well, but you know what she has said and wanted, you know she had loss. Find those, and you should find her. otherwise, something should give you a hint of her location.
>otherwise, the physical group should go to the Classroom.

>>3863236
i am very against splitting up. Yurei is still powerful, this is her mind, and worse, she is a strong Phantasmal. the last thing we need is to make it easier for her to take anyone out, and/or permanently split us up, or any number of tricks. we're stronger together, mentally and physically. stronger then she could ever hope for. that, and many tools we would need on both teams are on only one person.

>>3863229
oof, thats terrible, never fun when that happens. glad its working now though!

>>3863221
>“Yeah, and who’s fucking fault is that?” Your brawler fires back, with Francine opening her mouth, then closing it as she swallows her reply.
Um...not Francine's? Rath, you feeling okay? Why are you blaming Francine for that? Don't tell me that Yurei's mind-palace has some sort of conflict field driving up tensions.

>“Visual Aphasia.” Sia states, answering your unspoken question flippantly. “Explains my face’s lack of explanation, and should help us avoid detection for a while, or at least give any attackers some pause.”
Oh god. Sia's a Neuromancer specializing in agnosia. Well, that's terrifying. Definitely not one to make enemies with.

>>3863225
>>Three and three, you’ll cover more ground here if you split up. Your team will explore the [Classroom/Office/Study], while the Barbers will investigate the [Classroom/Office/Study].
Us to Office, Barbers to Classroom. Yurei mentioned "hitting her stride" in her programming career and no longer fighting for scraps. Her professional context sounds of interest, then. Let's check that out while the Barbers see what her education was like.

>>3863229
It's fine.

It's a shame though, my shift starts earlier than usual, so I won't be of much help. amateur exploration of the psyche of a person is something that I kinda like to do, so I'll do my best to provide what I can before I have to leave for work soon.


>If we have to split up, then we'll stay tethered together.

>Have Shu spawn Hundred Handed Tether chains that can variably lengthen and contract, with a Jackling at the end of each arm that connects them to the Barbers. That way they can still get the benefits of Neurotic halo protection and the hand chain link system can retract them super fast if they need a quick escape, while providing a Communication system via the Jacklings.

I'm neutral in Splitting up.

In any case, lets review what we know of Yurei.

Her plan is basically setting up "The Matrix" with her as an overseer.
She is a career programmer where she must've struggled in the early years of her career.
She must've experienced a personal loss at some point in her life from her early testimony and dialogue.

>>3863236
I've hit a roadblock in Carter's escapades. Also, work, family, and my cat are giving me a hard time concentrating.

The Library will likely reveal her pasttimes and hobby, the Classroom must be her struggles, but the office is the struggles of her career.

>>3863240
i think Rath was just angry, and blaming Yurei. remember, Francine gave her coat to Isabelle, its Isabelle being here Rath is angry about, not Francine. Francine just made the mistake of reminding Rath Isabelle is around, not that she is directly angry with or at Francine.

>>3863243
>>3863240
>>3863236
you three as asking for things to go absolutely fucking terrible splitting up. its exactly the type of moment someone like Yurei would be waiting for.

>>3863221
So the bitch can phase though solid matter... or at leat attempt to god that would be a nightmare of an ability if on a regular daughter. here it is bad since she is just a massive bonemech and has her core so we cant even really stun/ debuff her with any efficency.

But luckily her ability seems to not be perfect and she proably has not full control over herself and her powers since she went hunger-mad and is breaking apart right now.

>>3863238
>>3863245

Hm what you say makes some sense.

I think however that this place is still limited by her own mind. it is obviously based upon the Mansion even if the places are in different locations in the real world.
And if she could jsut split us up without any hope to reconveigne she would have done so the second we entered her mind. Split Disorient and move in for the kill. I think this place might be under her control but not only her concious one. She still wants everythign to stay together and make sense even in the state she is in. And our subconcious is a beast that brings up many things we cant control why should Yureis be different just because she has better control over the concious part of her mind?

I get your worries i really do but i think they are exagerated do to what i brought up right now

If you have counterpoints to this please tell me

>>3863245
>i think Rath was just angry, and blaming Yurei. remember, Francine gave her coat to Isabelle, its Isabelle being here Rath is angry about, not Francine. Francine just made the mistake of reminding Rath Isabelle is around, not that she is directly angry with or at Francine.
Oh, that's right, I forgot she gave her coat to Isabel.

>you three as asking for things to go absolutely fucking terrible splitting up. its exactly the type of moment someone like Yurei would be waiting for.
Maybe. But haste is also of importance. So if we're not going to split, we need to figure out where the most important location is. I'm inclined towards the office, because of her comments about her programming career. Anyone else think a different one will be of more importance?

>>3863225
>>3863245
Thank you, never split the party.

Yurei seemed to lean heavily on her programming experience for understanding the world so office is probably the best bet for our understanding her.

>>3863229
Hey bhop, if Yurei inner psyche anything like like Sam's inner psyche, then there's got to be an emotional attachment to each of the three places: Library, Office, and Classroom.

Are there any emotional connections from each of those places? Things like desperation, frustration, hope, optimism those sort of emotions.

>>3863249
The office will definetly be very important Yurei is a very driven woman. So work should turn soemthign usable up.

The second location is a bit more difficult to pinpoint however. I would personaly say that the Traume she experienced was probably soemthing in her puberty or early adult life (or third possibilty she lost someone who still went to school) so the Classroom should be a good place to start

The Study could be the place she worked from of course or it could contain a hint to the Trauma since she could have gotten the news there first and then tired to cope with it there

Difficult decisions

>>3863252
No...It's more like...Yurei falls back to her programmer's mindset as a coping mechanism to the stresses of everyday life. Like Sam with her coping mechanism of wanting control, and Isabelle with her obsession.

>>3863248
not truth at all, she may not even know were here yet. shes scattered, but just like with the Uzu fight, not without ability to do tactics or think things through. the simple fact is, she may still be limited, but that doesn't mean she cannot do anything. splitting up 6 people who just entered and are prepared for anything is alot harder then 3 people who are searching through clues. even in the dreaming timing matters.

i highly disagree with all of that. the minute she's calculating, she already was willing to sow chaos and break any barrier to defeat us, she wont be any different here, desperate, and making a last attempt to win. she may be stuck in her memories, but the second we start interfering with those, she will see us as a threat and come for us, one way or another, and splitting apart will only make that easier for us. we're strong, but she is stil a major threat, and taking down only three of us will be tremendously easier for her then a group. further splitting us apart will be too. if she tries to do anything mental, the less people around, the less to interfere with that, and pull someone out of their own nightmares or other scenarios.

this also feels exactly like what a calculating mind would do. give us too many options, force us apart, then trap us when we arent together and take out the easier kills. nothing about splitting up does anything but play exactly into her hands, no matter her level of control or sanity. even the most basic of predators know a split party is easier to take on.

>>3863249
no, we are not in such a Haste as to put our only major advantage on the line. putting yourself in more danger and playing into your opponents hands and advantage is never worth it.

Office or Classroom ,but my bet is on Classroom. Loss usually hits harder when you are younger, so that easily could lead to the foundation of her entire being. she lost someone when she was young, maybe many people, and so she became a programmer as a way to try and wrestle control and order into her world.

>>3863253
(It's difficult to pin down, but in general you feel negativity from the study and classroom, while the office carries positivity around it but with an undercurrent of trauma at its core.)

>>3863257
>>3863252
>>3863253
>>3863255
plus i mean, starting at the closest we see to 'the beginning' is usually a good bet too. some other things might not even make sense without knowing what her furthers back foundation is.

>>3863255
>>3863257
Yeah, I can see Classroom for the early life trauma. She lives in a mansion, what business does she have complaining about the problem of want and resource scarcity? Unless she didn't always, and she's very new money off of that programming dosh. Does make me wonder what she's doing living in...Missouri, I'd guess, from what context clues we have to the pre-Crucible location. You're some big bucks programmer and you're not living in some massively-gentrified hotspot on the West Coast?

>>3863258
Hmm. That fits with what she said about hitting her stride in her career.

>>3863260
work from home? i cant see it being too hard now-a-days to do that kinda work from... basically anywhere to anywhere. could be she couldn't move, or couldn't bring herself to, so cut some sorta deal with the company. maybe freelance work?

that, and/or the company is playing the money game. of course we have a Missouri branch, cheaper land and less competition on the doorstep, or something like that.

>>3863257
If she is as strong as you claim it is impossible for her not to have noticed us enter.

This is her palace of dreams and hopes our very beign here disturbes things to a massive degree already before Sia pulled her invisibility trick

Those were several seconds we were very loud in and that she could have used to split us up. if she has such total control over this place she would have noticed immediatly and seperated us. Then again Raths outburst could have been Yurei trying to interfere with one of our party members already

I am a bit conflicted between speed and strength in Numbers.

But lets say she notices us and wants to split us. She can still do taht even with all of us standign around each otehr. Distance means next to nothing int he dreamscape its a realm of pure thought She could just have moved us all into diferent corners/versions of the same memory the moment we start poking at them

She is quite possibly likely to be able to support several dozend trains of thought at once.


>>3863259
That is something i can agree on

>>3863260
Probaly work from home. I have a friend working as a programmer who works most his time from home and only goes into the office if someone wants soemthing form him that can not be explained via a call or contains sensitive information

>>3863225
>>3863243
Amending my vote:

>Spawn a group of Stealthed Jacklings and tag everyone with them. They'll function as our wireless private comms channel that will allow us to communicate with each other at the speed of thought, Activate the Neuromantic Halo Lockdown. Secure the private communication channel.

>Visit the Study or classroom, priority on the classroom.

>>3863238
recursive Swarmlings might be viewed as programming bugs in Yurei's mindset. that'll tip her off too easily. Lets keep it more low profile.

>>3863267
Work From home in terms of programming career more or less equates to Freelance work. Freelance work is a very harsh environment for a programming career, where one can't really secure food on their plate unless they find a company they can shack up with.

>>3863271
>Work From home in terms of programming career more or less equates to Freelance work. Freelance work is a very harsh environment for a programming career, where one can't really secure food on their plate unless they find a company they can shack up with.
Maybe this is just the darkest timeline, and gentrification has spread ever farther out from Silicon Valley until you need to hit the Mississippi to find reasonable property values. Yurei has an eighteen hour commute to work every day, this is why she's so fed up with physical reality.

>>3863274
>>3863270
>>3863240
Can't we boost Sia's Visual Aphasia and agnosia? Have her invisibility cloak cover the entire group by having Shu, Rath, and Francine boost Sia's power with their own neuromancy branch abilities.

>>3863270
nah, we know for a fact the 'physical' still matters in the dreamscape. theres also the fact that no matter how you slice it, even if it is only purely 'mental', we still have much more mental power together than separate. two Neuromancers can still block, negate, or undo anything she tries better together than separate, and Shu herself isnt the strongest one so splitting leaves her without Sias aid and her team super vulnerable.

no matter how you slice it, sticking together gives us better odds against her, by a large magnitude, no matter what and what level she is capable of.

>>3863271
so would us jacking into anything, even ourselves. id argue that would alert her much faster then a bunch of tiny things going about their business. make her react faster too, as its not just 'objects', it would be use directly trying to pierce into the dream or affect it. she either will know we are here or she wont, and you were the ones wanting to act fast, and this allows us to act faster without splitting up.

I must leave for work I wish to stay and bounce ideas off of you fellows in helping exorcise the tortured programmer but I can't. good luck.

>>3863280
Lets say we go with stickign together and have our swarmlings move around to all areas except the classrooom or should we send them there too?

If we can make her think we are tackeling everything at once she might try to divide and conquer by splitting them away from us while we stay with Sia under the cloak and go throught the classroom to find the starting point of the red thread that will lead through her memories

I think i am starting to warm up to your plan. There are some things we will need to hammer out i think but we can work that out

The Telepathic channel could be interesting but instead of activatingthem immediatly keep them just on everyone in case we get seperated. it will cut bakc a bit on our ability to search the place but we can potentialy keep up communications if she manages to seperate us anyway


>>3863283
See you later

>>3863280
Three Neuromancers, Francine has Neuromancy even if it's a more indirect sort than ours. But it's also a sort specialized for gathering information on the target, once we actually decide on a place to go I imagine Francine will be able to get a lot of insight into what it represents. But that might be what alerts her, so we should try to minimize our signature until such time.

>>3863283
Have a nice day, anon.

>>3863292
I don't want to draw her attention any more than is necessary, even if it's away from us. Chances are she can do a widescale response to her mind palace being invaded and we'd get caught in a response to swarmlings. I do like the idea of leaving Jacklings on everyone just in case we need them. If she does become aware of us, having those already spawned and ready to use would be very helpful.

>>3863292
well, sending some to explore the rest was part of my plan yes. we can have them help in the classroom i guess but might not be necessary with all of us there.

>>3863283
(Have a good day at work, and good luck.)

>>3863306
But the missign swarmlings in one location could tip her off to where we really are and she might send in more elite units like the leftovers of her dreamdaughters

I can see however that she might at first just give a wide sweeping resposne and send a response to everywhere within her dream Palace and only send in tougher things when they encounter stronger resistance


>>3863307

One thing OP Ever since i read the "Ahriman" books i just adore the concepot of a mind palace where all memories are stored and if you master it you can live through your own memories at will and even sort through them like a libary. I think Yurei will be something similar

>>3863316
i mean if you think having Swarmlings along with us will help for any reason then sure.

>>3863319
I dont think they will be necessary

>>3863225
Ammending my vote from >>3863236 to

>Stay together
>"Everyone has everyones elses back. We do this together"
>"Sia, an idea on where to start? My guess would be the classroom to find the beginnign of the red thread we can follow trhough this I think your own experiences could help us with dealing iwth her quite posssibly fracturing mind. "
>Give everyone a Jackling but leave them dormant on their form only to be activated if necessary.
>"A lifeline should we get seperated."
>Send forth a wave, a swarms swarm of recursive swarmlings to search and scan each room and in every bit of detail you can muster. use your Halos and Empathic Field to pry and dig into this place, not just as a physical location, but as what it is; Dreams, Memories.
>You may not know Yurei well, but you know what she has said and wanted, you know she had loss. Find those, and you should find her. otherwise, something should give you a hint of her location.
>otherwise, the physical group should go to the Classroom.

>>3863322
We should also have Francine gather what information she can with her glasses. Those are practically purpose-made to analyze a psychic construct like this.

>>3863335
I think that is unnecessary. Francine will be there with us and we all will take a look at the room after we have come there and seen what we could see.
I think that would be unnecessary since we dont know what the place looks like and so we dont know what places we can even use the spectacles on

>>3863335
>>3863356
do relics even come into the dreamscape anyways? regardless, Francine will use them if she thinks they would be helpful, id imagine.

>>3863356
I meant as part of the "figure out where to go" part. The Spectacles give information on the target's intentions, we are currently inside Yurei's mind, knowing her intentions could help guide us. Like, if the intention reads as "trying to keep Shu from seeing X", that tells us we need to go look at X.

>>3863359
I think they do if they are part of the daughter but iam actually not sure.... A question for OP

If they do she could have a dreamversion with the Sui Armor she had had in the real world. She was probably intimitly familiar with the suit

>>3863307
Do relics come with into the dreamscape?

>>3863361
Probably could work but i think it will be kinda difficult since she we see part of her not all of her

>>3863364
(Relics do manifest here, yes.)

>>3863249
>>3863245
at work, found a brief period of respite.

Rath and Isabelle’s relationship feels like a burned bridge. Isabelle clearly has regrets about her past actions, but she’s also remorseful for the fact that there will always be someone that hates her guts for what she did to them.

>>3863371
i apologize for the...pun(?) here, but i think Rath and Isabelles relationship is a bridge best crossed when we get there.

i mean, i get it, and why you bring it up, but not much we can do about it now. and honestly, i dont really blame Rath. its only been like 2-3 days IC for one, and Isabelle didn't just cross a few lines, she sailed over them on calcite skates. I really dont feel we have a right to ask Rath to forgive her, at the very least, if thats what you're going for.

>>3863225

Okay then. With someone who can manipulate memories and present illusions, I recommend staying together. I would hate to end up attacking/be attacked by an ally due to illusions.

That said, I'm good with >>3863322 in general, but as part of our purpose is to pull Yurei both inward while Gina keeps her focused outward, I suggest we also send out our swarm basically everywhere, to A. see where Yurei doesn't want us, and B. to make Yurei focus on multiple locations all at once. I know I'll be shot down hard on this, but I'd even consider going loud with full Cicadaling.

>>3863371
Yeah, I expect much awkwardness when we get back to reality. I think that someday in the future Rath might be able to forgive Isabel, but as >>3863372 said it's been two days. It's something that may come in time, but right now not something to worry about. Hell, Isabel might not even be corporeal by the time we get out of here, with Yurei shutting down she might fade before Rath gets a chance to interact with her. Or last just long enough to say "I'm sorry, everyone" before disappearing back into her crystal, my sense for the dramatic makes me think that's likely.

>>3863371
I think by now the best thing we can do for now is to stop Rath from murdering Isabelle before we had a chance to talk. afte rteh Yurei fight

God i get Rath and it might be necessary for her to let off some steam by pummeling Isabelle a second time....

At lest she wont stick around for longdue to being a conduit tied to Yureis Powers. If Yurei dies so does she and goes back to sleep

I just really hope that we dont wake up to find Isabelle trying to murder Gina again. Not that she would stand much of a chance right now. It would mostly be the princiuple of it. In that case i would be for full purge mode to kick her back into her own little corner....

>>3863375
we’re here to put Yurei’s mind to rest and at peace, not ruin her death by making loud cicada noises.

>>3863381
no, we're here to stop a giant phantasmal skeleton from rampaging through the countryside. thats it.

>>3863372
>>3863379

That bridge I feel is Isabelle's to try and rebuild. If and only if Isabelle tries would I even initiate a talk to Rath about such a thing as the far future potential of forgiveness.

>>3863381

Then we need to at least hurry, because I'm horrified by the prospect of putting Yurei to rest and coming back to find her physical form has smeared someone across the fleshscape. You're right though, I shouldn't let those fears destroy what the Defiant stands for either.

>>3863384
I am sure things will beocme violent and loud soon enough

There is always a circumstance and time whe to go full pink Mohawk. The beginning of the Yurei Fight was one such time and place this is not the right time nor place. WE willl ahve to go in wearing our best trenchcoats so that we dont stand out to much

It is also one of my big contentions with staying together but that one anon >>3863383 is right. Splitting up while faster also can get us into trouble faster

>>3863384
We'll hurry. We won't split up, because this is a haunted mansion (in retrospect, it should have been obvious not to), but we can still move fast. Multiple information-gathering tools are in play, we've got a large party to deal with whatever we find in here, I think we'll be good.

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>>3863225

"Everyone has each other’s back. We do this together, with these as your lifeline should any of us get separated.” You declare firmly, no room for argument in your voice as five dormant Jacklings flit over to each of the women gathered in the scarlet hall. Lifelines now in the hands of your allies, you turn to the girl whose face you couldn’t begin to describe. “Sia, any idea on where to start? My guess would be the classroom to find the beginning of the red thread we can follow through this, and I think your own experiences could help us with Yurei’s current frame of mind.”

“Stuff like this, you have to start at the beginning.” Sia affirms as you send forth a wave of Recursive Swarmlings into the surrounding rooms, your Halo and channel pulsing through the halls as the sheer weight of Yurei’s grief presses down on your consciousness. “You can get cute and work your way back, but people are linear. They grow and move forwards, healthy or no. You want to figure out why that nutjob wanted to put everyone in The Sims, then start as early as you can.”

Looking towards the door to the classroom, you can sense fear and regret emanating from the space beyond.

Beginnings is it, then.

You reach out, fingertips grazing the space beyond the frame when you find them caressing the angle of a dog-eared page. The binder laying open before you is filled with complex forms and figures, filled corner-to-corner with a nigh-unreadable shorthand that makes your head swim. You notice that the corner is occupied with a cramped set of doodles, a collection of surprisingly well-drawn fantasy characters with some assorted stat blocks off to one side. To your right lies a much smaller notebook, filled with a far more readable script.

“You done?” A voice to your left asks, and you’re met with a pair of tired eyes belonging to a much younger face. “I don’t want to miss anything, so are you done?”

A teenage Yurei cocks her eyebrow at you, and you slide the binder back to its rightful owner.

“Yeah, thanks.” You reply, catching the eye of Rosa, Sia, and Betty in casual clothes, scattered in various seats throughout the space, while three seats away and within your direct line of sight sits Rath, utterly bewildered at the academic setting you now find yourselves in. Light streams in through a large set of windows to illuminate the lecture hall, and a bright college campus stretches as far as you can see. Exaggerated by memory for sure, but...this is hardly what you expected to find when you set foot in here, watching Yurei furiously jot down notes as the teacher lectures on with a familiar voice.
Francine’s diction and projection allow you to hear her easily despite the distance, and she falters for only a moment as she realizes she following a script written by a mind that’s not her own.

(Continued)

>>3863225

A vibration runs up your leg as a phone buzzes next to you, and it’s when Yurei gives a little irritated grunt that you realize it belongs to her, tucked into her jean pocket.

“Hey, there’s gonna be a party at Chi Kappa tonight. Starts at ten. Interested?” The faceless mannequin beside Yurei asks, and she just mutters a reply you can barely hear. The stand-in just fades away as Francine settles back into the flow of the memory, launching into a discussion of…bytes, you think? You’re ill-prepared to comprehend any of what’s being said, given that you’re clearly in an advanced class for something you know nothing about.

Yurei’s phone buzzes again as a cloud begins to roll over the sun outside, slowly casting a hazy pall over the deathly still campus. Glancing back to her page, you see her smile as she abandons her notes to put the finishing touches on what you assume to be some sort of stylized dress, worn by a small hobbit-like woman who’s sporting a small, quiet smile. A knight in armor, a rugged farmer, a stoic, yet serene princess; all of them are rendered in loving detail, the illustrations flowing from the young woman’s hand with inspired ease.

Another buzz, and her pen scratches the paper as she curses under her breath, the sky outside darkening as rain clouds roll across the sky beyond. The girl next to you seems…content, if annoyed at whatever she’s avoiding. She’s a solitary sort of being, shut off from what’s going on around her…even as the sky grows ever darker outside, the lights doing their best to keep the growing gloom at bay.

You glance past Yurei to meet Rath’s eyes, and the look in her eyes tells you that she can feel it, too.

Something’s coming.

>>Dig a little deeper. Ask Yurei about the class, and maybe a little about herself.

>>Keep things light by asking Yurei about the fantasy characters in her binder.

>>Cut straight to the point and ask Yurei about who’s blowing up her phone.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Voting shall remain open for the next two hours, Gentlemen.)

>>3863439
>'Act your part', to keep suspicion down and get her to open up easier.
>"Yurei? something wrong? i can feel you're phone vibrating in my spine, no offense. some guy not letting you go or is something more important going on?"
>Nod to Rath to keep a lookout, and see if you cant use your swarm as a sensory array to see what may be on its way. you dont want to be caught off guard here.

>>3863439
Where to start.....

We could start by going to talk about the characters eh is designing.It appeasr to me that she probably wanted to be a designer of some kind. Or at least that was part of her dream. It is quite possibel people did not really approve of her hobby/pastime. She appears to be a bit of an outcast by choice. Trying not to interact with the other people. I could imagine she is a passionate Gamer and would probably greatly enjoy things like WoW and stuff like that.

Digging Deeper might come of as unnatural and could trigger a violent reaction without telling us much about her as a person. She is probably invited to somethinga she does not want to go to.

So i will say to be cautious and ask her a bit about her phone blowing up

>"Hey. I can feel your Phone vibrating from over here. Is someone pestering you again?"
>Nod to Rath to keep a lookout, and see if you cant use your swarm as a sensory array to see what may be on its way. you dont want to be caught off guard here.


>>3863448
I would try to avoid names as that will give away our not belonging immediatly. We dont know what name she used in school or later in life. I would guess that Yurei is a monicer she put on herself in some game and then just used it going forward in the crucible. Not somethign she used while in School

>>3863460
my guess is, she was much more interested in fantasy. Roleplaying, Games, Etc. but then something bad around this time, probably related to this phone call maybe, shattered the idea for her. here she is, carefree, doodling, ignoring what she thinks is a parent or sister or someone who thinks shes a slacker, when in reality, unlike usual, this call was important, this call was something he needed and wanted to know immediately. and instead she ignored and got mad at it for ruining her doodle.

it doesn't feel like that important a memory. she probably doodled and got phone calls like she thinks shes getting all the time. yet this time, something was different. because it wasn't just 'another phone call' or 'another annoyed family member' or something. we'll see, of course, but seems like the case. an important question of course, will be exactly whats in that phone call, and how that makes her flip flop from her love of fantasy to a dedication to coding.

>>3863470
It is the start and all heroes journeys start with a single step of misfortune hitting the main protagonist.

We have to find out what this first step was and what exactly it meant to her. Then we will probably have to follow her life up to the point of her meetign us and dying by our hand. We will probably have to shoulder her sadness and trauma to truly put her to rest. But as you say we will know more after this memory and then we will also have made her mad..er at us

>>3863470
I'm thinking it's more of a release valve. She's taking an advanced class despite still being in the "teenager" age bracket, so a couple years early at least. Her notes are extremely detailed and other students apparently asked to copy them often enough that we could land in that context. And her eyes are tired even this early, though that may just be some self-image thing where that's so much a part of her identity by now that she projects it onto her past. Still, I think the evidence is pointing to her being extremely driven and using her art and gaming as a way to decompress. Possibly her drive is externally-imposed, maybe by a really demanding parent?

And then, yeah, I think something bad probably happened and she's being called about it, only for her to later regret having ignored it. Something that convinced her that the physical world is not worth existing within. A less likely alternative is that she does answer the phone, winds up invited to an event where things go bad, and that's what leads to her trauma. "Oh, if only I hadn't picked up that phone, I never would have gone there and gotten into that trouble." But like I said, less likely given the evidence we have.

>>3863439
>"Hey. I can feel your Phone vibrating from over here. Is someone pestering you again?"
>Nod to Rath to keep a lookout, and see if you cant use your swarm as a sensory array to see what may be on its way. you dont want to be caught off guard here.

>>3863474
i wouldn't call Yurei a hero. this feels like its shaping up more to be a tragedy than a heroic tale.

>>3863479
maybe, i was never saying she wasn't driven or anything, only especially given her demeanor and the situation, the art feels like something shes care more for than the class. shes a child genius type i think, but one who's just being one to please others, not herself.

(Headed home now, Gentlemen. I'll post when I can, and thank you for your patience.)

>>3863439

"Hey, I can feel your phone vibrating from over here." You whisper, Francine's lecture nearly drowning out your words before they reach their intended recipient. "Is someone pestering you again?"

"Sorry, I...it's my Mom." Yurei whispers back, responding to the subtle prodding of your empathic field even as you shoot Rath a pointed look, glancing to the window for her to keep a watchful eye on the darkening window. "Asked her if I could change majors. Didn't go over well. We've had a stalemate for the past week, and it looks like she broke first."

"...Shouldn't you answer it?" You say, watching a veil of black rain sweep across the campus.

Another buzz.

Another twitch of Yurei's eyebrow.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Then...

Thrusting her hand into her pocket, she yanks the phone free and flips it open in frustration, slamming it against her ear as black rain begins to beat against the glass like a thousand angry fists.

"What?!" Yurei hisses, Rath rising from her seat and frantically trying to shuffle her way to you as the world outside goes pitch black. "I'm in class Mom, what do you wa-"

Silence.

No fists against the glass.

No chaos in the classroom.

Just cold, unfeeling silence.

You and Rath could be anybody, for in this moment you're both nobody to the girl next to you.

This is how it happened.

A single word, uttered not by the young adult next to you, so clever and defiant...but murmured softly by a little girl, scared and alone for the first time in her life.

"what?" Yurei asks in disbelief.

It's in that moment that her world comes crashing down, the dream cracking all around as you and your allies are sent into a tumbling freefall through an abyss of disjointed mannequins and shattered glass.

(((I cCan SssMELL yyOU, DDefiant!))) Yurei howls, her furious screech echoing in the broken abyss. (((ttHHis iS mmY MinD! Myy PasT! iiiI wiLL eEnd yyOU, Dddefiant! iI Will SsHOW yyOU tHE mEanIng of LllOSS!)))

It's more than you can bear, the pain and rage that stabs into your mind from every direction. You screw your eyes shut and pray for it to stop, the wind roaring in your ears as plummet, hurtling through pitch darkness while you sit quietly in a cold, white hall, the only sound to be heard a gentle beeping from nowhere and everywhere, all at once, interrupted only by the sound of your own harsh breaths.

You look up to see Rosa, Sia, and Betty sitting across from you, and a glance to either side reveals Francine and Rath.

"...Fuck me, man." Rath mutters with a shuddering breath as the Barbers try to steady their collectively racing hearts. "Shit, is she on to us? She didn't feel close, that big-ass void just felt like..."

"Trauma." Sia interrupts, voice as steady as she can make it. "We didn't do anything wrong, but it was still only a matter of time 'til Big Boo realized what was up. That abyssal shit was how she remembers all that, in a weird sort of way."

(Continued)

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>>3863692

"We played along, as well as could be expected." Francine says quietly, glancing up and down the cavernous halls as faceless figures begin to emerge from the doors, going about their routines in what appears to be a hospital. "Yurei's actively searching for us, but if we keep on the move, it'll be harder for her to detect our precise location, even moreso if we can play along well enough with the memory."

The figures are close, now; a faceless, silent multitude that scurry to and fro, smocks and nurses outfits too perfect to be anything resembling reality. No one looks your way. No one even seems to care that you're here. You're just waiting in silence. Silence, except for...

Beeping.

Slow, steady beeping, coming from the four open doors to your left. The one closes to you smells of cut grass and morning dew, refreshing and quite at odds with the palpable despair that seems out from the half-open door. Opposite that is a room with the door thrown wide, and despite the chill that persists in the hall, you feel a strangely pleasant warmth emanating from within. Further down on the same side is a half-cracked entrance that's allowing a few faint rays of orange light to show from under and around the door, while opposite that...

...the door is closed to a cold, unwelcoming place, a deadly frost having settled around frame and doorknob, both.

Doors down a vast hallway...it's strangely familiar, though you couldn't quite say why. Of all the questions you have, the echo of Yurei's vengeful threat leaves only one relevant and ringing in your mind...

...how deep do you want to go?

>>Enter the room that smells like Spring.

>>Enter the room that's warm, like Summer.

>>Enter the room that glows with the light of Autumn.

>>Enter the cold, unfeeling room of Winter.

>>Exit the hospital. Yurei's drawing in, and delving deeper is exactly what she expects you to do. Instead, retreat to the Dream-Mansion and delve into the [Study/Office] to throw her off your trail.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, I shall be pausing here for the evening. Voting shall remain open for the next thirteen hours with posting to resume in approximately fourteen. Thank you for your continued participation, enthusiasm, and patience, and know that I'll be popping between here and the 31st Vein to address questions in the former and post my thoughts on your replies in the latter. I hope you've had a good day and I wish you a restful evening, one and all.)

>>3863692
ah, so yeah. someone died, probably not a fun death either, be it fast or slow. either her Mother herself or the only supportive family member she had. Mother is probably the safer bet, and regardless of who its certainly probably the only person she really had.

>>3863700
hrm... tough one. but its not happy thoughts that made Yurei who she is.

>>Enter the cold, unfeeling room of Winter.
>But send a Jackling into each of the other rooms, and have them prepared to flare with a mental image of yourself if necessary to try and pull Yureis attention, even for a moment, in the wrong direction, if you feel her true self drawing near.
>Have Rath prepare to Burn bright, literally and metaphorically. if Yurei's memories in this room start to feel overbearing again, let Raths literal heat mixed with her emotional heat enhanced via your Empathic field act as a counter balance, but only if it is necessary to stop or lessen the overflow of emotions onto yourself that may leave you vulnerable.

>>3863704
same to you. been an interesting thread at least, not surprised but still not exactly what i expected. while not all the pieces are in place yet, gotta say im interested in what the twist is gonna be. this just feels... too typical, for just how adverse to some things Yurei is. or maybe, its just hard to visualize as it was, her typical trauma mixed with the crucible giving something most who go through this never would imagine; their perfect escape.

regardless, as ironically cold as it is gonna be, im more interested in how this is/can help us defeat her, as id imagine that is at least part of the point. not exactly had this situation before so we'll see how it works i suppose.

>>3863700
Why am I getting deja vu right now? This is a weird thing to feel like we've done before. I'm about 99.999% certain we haven't, yet it's incredibly familiar for some reason.

>>3863704
Thanks for running, BHOP. Have a nice evening.

>>3863714
Yeah, it doesn't really fit together, what we've seen so far and what her pathology is. Like, okay, mom died, so she wants to make a world without death by uploading everyone into the Cord. But then where the hell does all that stuff about want and scarcity come from? It wasn't a very well-reasoned argument, really, because she told us that resource scarcity was a huge problem in the same breath that she claimed that everyone living inside the Cord won't pose any RAM issues because the Crucible breaks conservation laws. Either matter and energy are limited in supply or not, you can't have it both ways. So if that's something she believes, then it's such a deeply entrenched belief that she's able to have doublethink about it. There's got to be something that twists it further and gets her really convinced about this.

>>3863730
yeah, i get what you're saying.
only guess ive got is, more losses pile on this one. maybe greed hits? maybe her mother is in a savable position, but resource scarcity due to the rarity of the disease or something is her 'real' killer? i mean... technically it works and is possible but... i dunno, that option feels hollow to me, and i cant quite word why. feels way too much i guess like she would be blaming the wrong thing, as in that case, its less resources, more just bad luck.

id also say maybe something more common but money got in the way but... well, i guess she could be on scholarships but i still feel like signs so far have pointed to money not being the biggest issue for her family, and even if it was, theres still options there, and usually when its a truly bank breaking issue, its over something that being rich still may not of been able to solve. dunno, any idea for that part of it i can come up with jsut feels like shes making excuses or something along those lines, and/or not that big of a twist to truly explain her ideology. not impossible, just... i guess underwhelming, as the reason.

like, and this is gonna sound dickish, but yeah those situations suck, they are terrible, but at the same time, they arent uncommon. and to have that be what broke and entrenched her that hard? well, it makes her seem super weak and fragile, even compared to most people. but hey, maybe that will be the point, who knows?

>>3863704

Back from work.

UGH. Dining manager is asking for anyone to fill in for Tomorrow and came to me because no one else volunteered. When I was supposed to have tomorrow as my. day. off. Fucking hell. Way to go, co-workers. Doesn't even help that we're already shortstaffed.

>>3863736
>>3863730

Now that I'm back, Hopefully I can help piece parts of this disjointed scenario together with the freudian clues that Bhop has sprinkled in.

Also. Why do I get the feeling that solving this requires us pulling an INCEPTION on Yurei? Calm the source of Yurei's trauma, help her get over her delusion somehow. Plant subconscious suggestions?

>Why am I getting deja vu right now? This is a weird thing to feel like we've done before. I'm about 99.999% certain we haven't, yet it's incredibly familiar for some reason.
Remember how we found out Sam's true trauma and downward spiral of manipulation? Same thing.

>>3863756
the context for Sam was alot different though. both in how we went about it and got to that point.

honestly as much as i have gripes over Yurei, if such an inception thing was possible, id be against it. thats just wrong, in my opinion. feels hypocritical to fight her over the right to choose, then go into her head and twist her thoughts to manipulate her, on her 'deathbed' no less. dont even think its the main point, but if she is gonna get over herself, she does it herself, not by any underhanded trickery from us.

>>3863736
And it all comes back to the big problem I have with Yurei's plan, namely "why does any of this require a virtual world?" You've got (according to her) unlimited energy and mass from the Crucible's physics-breaking. Even if you don't, the rest of the solar system is within reach, because you've also got the incredibly powerful technologies that can be derived from the Crucible's biology. And you've got those incredible technologies. It can be on Earth as it is in your artificial Heaven. The tools and resources needed to make a better world are already within humanity's grasp, the only reason it would not be would be due to institutional apathy and corruption letting problems go unchecked. But that's a thing that could easily happen in the virtual world, too! Even more so, really, since she's planning on being the solitary administrator for all minds.

>>3863756
I'm sorry to hear that you got volunteered. I hope that it's a slow day tomorrow, at least.

>Remember how we found out Sam's true trauma and downward spiral of manipulation? Same thing.
Nah, there's something about this specific scene, being in a hospital with weird seasonal door things and the worry that we might have to withdraw quickly. I don't know why that feels familiar to me, but it does.

>>3863761

>honestly as much as i have gripes over Yurei, if such an inception thing was possible, id be against it. thats just wrong, in my opinion. feels hypocritical to fight her over the right to choose, then go into her head and twist her thoughts to manipulate her, on her 'deathbed' no less. dont even think its the main point, but if she is gonna get over herself, she does it herself, not by any underhanded trickery from us.

And you are correct about that. It's hypocritical of us.

Let me get some food first. I'll post my analysis of what I'm seeing and deducing so far.

>>3863768
>Seasonal Doors.

Wait. I have it. Those doors represent the seasons of life. This is a hospital, and the seasonal doors represent the health of the patient. Yurei's significant loved one.

>Spring: life is at its prime. Hope is abound, with the patient still healthy and full of vitality despite the initial sickness
>Summer: Life continues, a steady routine is maintained. Despite doubts, hope still remains for a cure.
>Autumn: Despite the treatments, all the money thrown at the doctors, the disease progresses, and has entered terminal stage. It's just a matter of time now. Despair and desperation sinks in.
>Winter: Death. The final sentence. The Nail in the coffin. The patient that resides in that ward is dead or on their last breath.

More to come. Let me get some food dammit!

>>3863768
yeah, not much i can say really, i agree overall, with the caveat you are giving some things up actually as ive said in past conversations by going in a virtual world too.

>The Deja Vu
you might be infectious because the way you just worded it kinda made it hit me a bit too. might just be a naturally familiar scene or something for people who like this genre though, perhaps.

>>3863756
also yes sorry you got volunteered too.
they at least give you a new day off? any protections for turning that stuff down? depends on... alot of factors really, but there are places where you can say no to that without getting fired on the spot.

>>3863777
sound like cancer then, though could be something just as bad. you get some food though, yeah.

>>3863777
>Wait. I have it. Those doors represent the seasons of life. This is a hospital, and the seasonal doors represent the health of the patient. Yurei's significant loved one.
Maybe, but I think there's more than that. Spring and autumn are both half-open, summer is fully open, winter is closed. Put that in a circle, it's the door opening and closing from summer to winter to summer again. Suggests a cyclical thing going on, to me. Maybe a recurring health problem, going into remission only to relapse, time and time again? And then something unexpected happens during a spring period that cuts the cycle short despite it looking to improve, and that's why there's a sense of despair coming from the spring door.

>>3863709
I'm opposing the plan to enter the Winter door. Us opening it and breaking in would tip Yurei off the easiest. Yurei has an ability that allows her to vent jets of Freezing wind. So she must've sealed that door for a reason.

>>3863888
her not wanting us in there also means it probably has the most important information for us to gather. we need that info, we're not here to respect or console Yurei, we're here to stop her. and anything she doesn't want us to see has the greatest chance of helping with that. hell, even if you wanted to help her, you're not going to be able to without knowing what she truly fears enough to lock away.

as for garnering her attention, we already have that. we stick around these doors at all, she's gonna find us. the best we can hope for with any of these doors is the plan to distract her to work, regardless of the one we go through. i also think you're wrong that its related to her powers, over simply being related to winter and its connection to the darker outcomes/emotions here.

>>3863894
>her not wanting us in there also means it probably has the most important information for us to gather. we need that info, we're not here to respect or console Yurei, we're here to stop her. and anything she doesn't want us to see has the greatest chance of helping with that. hell, even if you wanted to help her, you're not going to be able to without knowing what she truly fears enough to lock away.
I wonder what it means that the Spring door is open, then? Shu is sensing despair coming from it, but it's not sealed like Winter is. So the thing that Yurei doesn't want seen is not the thing that gives her despair. Oh, I just had an awful thought. Remember how Rath and Gina were comparing Yurei's home to Silent Hill? What if she mercy-killed her mother, Silent Hill 2-style? And her pathology centers around how she copes with the guilt of having done that.

>>3863954
well, im unsure thats entirely true, i mean i see some merit to it but;
>...the door is closed to a cold, unwelcoming place, a deadly frost having settled around frame and doorknob, both.
seems to imply to me some actual emotion behind the door, not just pure coldness itself. more like the cold and closed door is symbolic, not just Yurei casting ice on it.

really, we simply dont have enough info here to fully know what the hells going on. spring could be despair because its the beginning, her Mothers or others first day of their slow decline. despite the sickness not being anywhere near its worse yet, in some ways those first days can probably seem the worst, due to the outright freshness of the news and no frame of context like in the middle for if its even gotten a little better.

meanwhile the Winter door still to me feels like the true trauma, her true reason for all this. cold, unwelcoming, closed off. all the things that one would feel towards the end, the memory that stings, the true loss. but such is how im reading it, and we shall see.

>>3863954
>>3863894
So then what do we disguise ourselves as in this section of the dreamscape hospital?

Francine's got the profession as an actual Medical doctor as her background so she might be able to walk into any of the patient rooms without rousing suspicion.

But everyone else will need to blend in better. Rosa...Rosa could blend in as a hospital patient who needs to be bound in a wheelchair strapped to a lifesupport system judging from the profile picture Bhop gave us.

Rath would act like a visitor.

Sia would be a Nurse in surgical scrubs and surgical mask.

Betty....I'm not sure. Receptionist?

Shu could pose as patient or an Intern doctor in training that rides behind Francine's coattails.

Am I missing anyone?

Depending on which door we enter, we may have to re-arrange our disguises.

Also, not everyone should have to go into the room, we should have some of our team members keep watch outside the door in order to fit in with the hospital setting.

>>3863972
Im still against splitting up and i dont think our appearance is that big a deal. Sia has the face cover thingy on everyone which should help them be ignored, and just like the classroom i think the memory itself will fill us into the roles it needs, as it was.

Now that we actually have Yurei's attention splitting up even with just a door(more important than you think considering how memories seem to shunt us off to who knows where half the time with just a few steps) isnt a good idea. Some people will just have to be wall flowers, as it were, unless its one of those rooms just chalk full of people or her other/person got alot of visitors from a large family.

>>3863964
If Spring was the beginning, then going by Sia's advice we should head there first. But we don't have the time to hit all of these rooms in sequence, and we don't actually know it's the earliest point. Darn.

>>3863972
We should fit into the memory on our own, Francine didn't need to actively become the teacher role in the classroom. And space isn't fixed in this place, so having some people outside the door might not actually be possible. Once we open it up we all get sucked in or the like.

>>3863979
In any case;

We can slowly deduce that Yurei's trauma stemmed from the powerlessness of watching a loved one slowly wasting away and knowing that they're on a timer.

The additional fact is that Yurei got the call from her Mother's phone number while Yurei herself was in college. Yurei apparently had changed majors after much intense arguing with her Mother and got her way. So it must also be Yurei's mother that's in the hospital ward room. We just don't know the exact cause of the disease.

This is what I'm compiling right now:

>Classroom: College Years, possibly 2-4 years in to College, Yurei's struggles in her college life, signs of butting heads with Mother, but then Yurei gets the Call
>Hospital: 4 stages and distinct Memories associated. Spring summer, fall, winter. Yurei's frequently visits to her Mother. At least 4 significant visits, probably within the span of 1 year given the 4 seasons. Will need to check dates for confirmation.
>Study: Speculating that Yurei is torn between her studies and the instinctual frequent need to visit Mother. Given the fact that Yurei's visited her mother only 4 times, this might take place during her mother's internment in the hospital or after her mother's death.

>Office: Post college, making headway into Yurei's career life. Past is buried, Yurei is a self made woman, yet the trauma still stings.

Anyways. More important information can be found by checking the Patient records on the foot of the hospital bed, if we have that sort of information, we can get a better understanding on how that trauma ate Yurei up from the inside as well as seeing how Yurei behaves during each visit.

>>3863700
I will support this>>3863704

The most important information can always be foun in th darkest and most uncomfortable places to look. And as such the darkest places usually reveal the most about someone.

but after that we should probably leave this part of ehr mind we are already pulling enough attention as is

Which migh tnot be bad. By calling her back into the dreamscape she has to divert more and more resources to this plane and her skeleton form should weaken

>>3863980
Yeah you're right, and that is our best bet fir the start, but im personally thinking we only are gonna have time to hit one more door here. Figured if its only one potentially, and we're gonna have to fill in some gaps anyways, then we can still get alot of info from the end while the end will also tell us some things about earlier ones too. If winter door is the end, but it still at least feels very important.

But it could be a trick too. We aren't getting any emotions from it, well we are, but Not super direct or powerful ones. And we know despair probably played a major role in all of this, so that one may be a good idea.

Really depends on which of the two you think she is trying to use to distract from the other, with the issue being she has Abilities to potentially make either one a trap/distraction from the other.

Despair is more out of place here though for its season, but that could also be on purpose.

>>3864155
It is somewhat odd to think that any of the doors are valid, when you think about it. Why have a 25% chance that intruders guess right when you could have a 0% chance by not putting the information you want to conceal in an accessible room? Make everything a trick or trap. The fact that we're finding valid information therefore says to me one of two possibilities. The first is that she can't do that, that there's some rule of how her mind palace works that says that she can't completely isolate a room. The second is that she can, but she hasn't, and the obfuscation we're seeing so far is just a natural part of how her dreamscape is laid out. Like the door being closed is not because she's actively trying to conceal it from us, but because that's just symbolic of something she doesn't want to face and is repressing her emotions over. I feel like that one is more likely, given that she doesn't know where we are thanks to Sia's agnosia field. So it's likely neither is an intentional trick, just different information being presented with no guarantee it fits our priorities.

>>3863700
>>Enter the cold, unfeeling room of Winter.
>>Write-In
>Try to get a sight of the other rooms through their doors without actually entering them. Have Jacklings poised to enter rooms at same time we open Winter door, just in case it relocates us dramatically upon opening. Prepare for Rath flaring passion and Francine emotional dissection as a way to bust out of any overwhelming memories.
>Also have members of Barbers with us ready to do what they can to contribute to information gathering and/or dreamscape disruption. Rosa using boiling blood in a metaphorical sense, perhaps.

>>3864194
well, I wasn't thinking she was actively doing it, so much as a subconscious thing. one or the other was her wanting to ignore the other.

and if it is active, you're ignoring it could still take concentration and effort she has a limited supply of to change them, so she might only be able to afford to change one. but that does imply she would know where we are, sure, but even without it she could be shotgunning her whole dreamscape or taking some guesses. less 'i know where you are', more 'i just sensed you in this area, so where are you likely to go next.'

but we'll have to see i suppose. ill admit it's unlikely just not a possibility to be ignored.

>>3864135
i think you clicked on the wrong post?
though, it wouldn't be the first time we've given some control over to BHOP, im just unsure if this is the moment for that.

>>3864219
Yeah I clicked the wrong post
Thank you for making me aware of it
>>3863704
I am out right now so I will ammend my post from my phone from>>3864135
To support this>>3863709

Sorry about the confusion

>>3863700

Considering her aversion to violence, greed and the like, I have a sneaky suspicion that Mom was the target of the kind of horror that lives in our own world, no fleshscape needed. Let's see what dark Winter of the soul pushes Yurei.

I'll buy in on the Jackling dummies/Rath ideas of >>3863709 as well.

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>>3863700

You rise slowly, careful not to touch any of the faceless staff as you gesture for Rath to follow you to the frozen door. The others join you, Rath’s hands igniting as she seizes the doorknob. She struggles to pry the door from the frame as you send out a trio of Jacklings, one for each of the other rooms to serve as a decoy in case your hunch promptly backfires. A gust of frigid air whips across your face as the door gives way, and when you open your eyes you’re met with a cold, empty room, save for a figure sitting in a chair by the far window, gazing out at a world blanketed by white. You’re alone with the weary-looking figure, but you can feel the allies you’ve brought with you, looking through your eyes as the six of you occupy the same space in this lonely memory.

Yurei looks almost exactly as you first met her, the patient’s bed immaculate and empty as your foe just sits and stares out though the frosty glass. Glancing down you, realize you’re in a nurse’s uniform, a clip-board clutched to your chest.

“I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t be here.” You say reluctantly, reciting rote lines from a script that isn’t yours.

“When did Lucy die?” Yurei asks, not bothering to avert her gaze from the glass, chin in her palm as she leans on one elbow.

“I’m sorry, Ms. DeGasperis passed away late last night.” You explain, confused. “What’s your relation to her?”

“None. Just a friend. She didn’t have any family left, so I…” Yurei trails off, finally turning to face you with her exhausted expression, dark circles under her eyes. “…I haven’t seen you here, before. I’m guessing you’re a new hire? Who’d you interview with? Lorraine?”

“Y-…yes, how did you…?” You stammer, the clipboard cold against your chest.

“I’ve spent a long time in these halls.” Yurei replies with a wry, tired smile. “First my mom, with her brain tumor. Then my husband and his hemorrhage. Now…well, turns out some things run in the family.”

“…Oh.”

“That’s life. Lucy here, she’s had it much worse.” Yurei says, staring at the empty bed. “Ms. DeGasperis lost her first husband two years into their marriage. She was twenty. She remarried seven years later, had two beautiful children…and then lost her second husband in a car accident, along with her daughter. Her son overdosed seven years ago, and…she wound up here. Alone, at the end.”

“That’s awful.” You breathe.

“That’s life.” Yurei says again with a bitter sigh. “I first set foot here when I was in sophomore year, and if there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that no matter how bad it is for you, there’s always someone that has it worse. There are so many good people in this world. People with hopes, loves, dreams...”

Yurei nods towards the bed once more as the room slowly gets colder.

“…and this is what they get.”

>>Ask about [her Mom/her Husband/Herself/]

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Voting shall remain open for the next two hours, Gentlemen.)

>>3864300
Vote;
>Nod, and thank her for her willingness to keep others company and that you're sorry for her loss.
>Then, head back to the main mansion, then for the Offices. Have your defenses ready to try and draw Yurei off and away from you.

Ah, so i was right she lost more than just one person. And she herself also ended up in a bad health state, surrounded by good people who also suffered.

Yeah, i get it, i do Yurei... But thats life, thats still an important, sad part of life... And as blind as you are to it, you yourself wouldn't care so much, be os passionate, have grown so strongly into what traits you that are good, without that loss and suffering. You yourself are an example of why those sad, horrible things still matter.

And there it is... The crux of her resolve. The underpinning of why she wanted to create the 'The Matrix'.

First her Mother, then her husband, then seeing the tragedy of one of her closest friend experience the same thing but worse.

>>3864310
And, again, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FORCED UPLOADING? Yes, fine, create a virtual universe without death. But everyone's brain is already being backed up by the Crucible, Yurei! We can already have clinical immortality. And being alone when you die? Your plan would make everyone more alone because they'd be in an isolated solipsistic dreamworld.

>>3864300

Sometimes I hate empathizing with our foes... but it's what keeps us human. Yurei's loss is terrible, but not the horrors of violence and greed that she talked about wanting to stop. All of these deaths were random chance, the poor luck of fate. Something changed later, something that turned her from despair to disgust, unless she was trying to tell us what she thought would get her the ideal world where bad things didn't happen to good people.

I think we need to head to the Offices, see where things went from here.

>>"Life, and death, are not fair. It's about what we do in the face of that. You kept one soul company into the final darkness. You did a beautiful and good thing. Ms. DeGasperis wasn't alone at the end. She had you. Thank you."
>>Head to the Offices.

>>3864313
Yeah, but for me it still wraps back around to choice. That's fine, really, if she and others want to run away. I still dont like it, but that would be their choice.

But it should still be others choices not to run away from that and risk that suffering. Its not her choice and never should be anyones to make others avoid that.
yes i know we have talked this to death and i apologise for that.

>>3864323
She missed lucys death actually, though i do think the thought still counts, but still.

Also i get and am ok with trying to be a but comforting to her, but i do think we need to do it 'IC' still at the moment, and am unsure that one is. Feels too odd for a nurse caught off her guard, too much like Shu for the illusion to hold i think.

>>3864322
Yeah some pieces are still missing here but its a good chunk to start seeing the full picture. My guess is, in offices, we're gonna see her have to deal with greedy folks who throw others under the bus for profit.

By itself not much, but stacked atop a shiton of loss i can see it still affecting her, if only due to their uncaring nature, over their outright 'evil' nature or something.

>>3864310
>>3864322
>>3864324
I think the point is that it her idea of 'The Matrix' Stemmed from the idea of seeing constant suffering. If she could create a world where people like those who have terminal illnesses don't have to suffer the slow death at an early age.

>“I’ve spent a long time in these halls.” Yurei replies with a wry, tired smile. “First my mom, with her brain tumor. Then my husband and his hemorrhage. Now…well, turns out some things run in the family.”

>some things run in the family.
Wait a minute.

Does that mean Yurei's got a Hereditary health problem involving her brain? If her mother died of a brain tumor, and her husband died of a brain hemorrage... what sort of brain problem did Yurei have?

>>3864323
>"Life, and death, are not fair. It's about what we do in the face of that. You kept one soul company into the final darkness. You did a beautiful and good thing. Ms. DeGasperis wasn't alone at the end. She had you. Thank you."
Remove the first half of that statement. It's too recognizable for Yurei. It would break the script too hard because it's too much like Shu to say the first half of the statement.
change it to:
>"You did a beautiful and good thing. Ms. DeGasperis wasn't alone at the end. She had you to keep company. Thank you."

>>3864303
Bhop, some obligatory ambient music for Yurei's Dreamscape from our pov.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv5UAdAa9v4

>>3864330
She was there as she was dying, even if not at the moment of death.

>>3864333
Fair edit. I know I'm prone to flowery phrases in my writing. So, yeah, let's tone it to your change.

>>3864333
Well yes, thats what i said, i just said i dont think she has a right to force people to avoid suffering or the risk of suffering, especially the way she is doing it.

And yes something medical was going on with Yurei too.

And that edit works, yeah.

>>3864300
>"You did a beautiful and good thing. Ms. DeGasperis wasn't alone at the end. She had you to keep company. Thank you."

>Leave for the office, make sure to close the door on the way out. It will be our next destination.

Classroom, Hospital, We've got a pretty clear idea on Yurei's life, but we need one final piece of evidence to figuring out the crux of Yurei's motivation: How does she grow from the final trauma of her life. She's lost her mother in college, then her husband post-college programming career, and now one of her closest friends.

>>3864330
That begs the question, what sort of counterargument are we going to throw at Yurei in order to make her snap out of her delusions? It's got to refute the central argument of her philosophy, not the main argument of her solution. We've got some key pieces of the puzzle.

Also, not gonna lie. I'm liking this kind of puzzle challenge where we run around trying to perform an exorcism for the restless hunger-mad ghost that is Yurei. It's a nice change of pace too.

>>3864358
Well, like i said earlier, she herself is the perfect example of how all that loss and suffering can make good traits/people. Well, sorta. She went a bit too far but not for bad reasons, at least so far.

But hey, look at our family. They're all wonderful people, yet it is loss and suffering that truly made them understand what was important to them, it was people being willing to help them through all that that made them understand life and what they really wanted from it more.

Also, she is trying to stop the uncontrollable aspects of life by taking away people's control over their lives.

>>3864358
>That begs the question, what sort of counterargument are we going to throw at Yurei in order to make her snap out of her delusions? It's got to refute the central argument of her philosophy, not the main argument of her solution. We've got some key pieces of the puzzle.
I'd suggest we go after the "dying alone" part. Point out that the problem of people being isolated from others by the whims of fate isn't going to change if she puts everyone into a simulation where they're all partitioned in their personal dreamworlds. People are just going to feel more alienated from their fellow human beings, less able to feel like they have any connection to others. The problem Lucy faced is only going to multiply, our hedonic needs may be met but we won't be happy.

It's like the Culture, which is what Yurei's goal most resembles. Everyone is happy in their perfectly hedonically-optimized Orbitals, with the Mind AIs doing their best to keep them all having as much fun as possible. But a recurring theme of the Culture books is that the Culture don't have a greater sense of connection to the world, and so they find themselves going on these grand missions to bring their way of life to the rest of the galaxy in order to feel like they do. Only Yurei wouldn't even provide that because she's got to keep everything contained, so humanity in her scenario would just flounder entirely.

>>3864300
I will support this write in>>3864358

>>3864360
also i feel like i should say mire here, but i got distracted by getting blood drawn fir the first time ever and am eating lunch, so, i apologise if it feels lacking as argumental points.

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>>3864300

"You did a beautiful and good thing, Ma’am.” You say, Yurei’s sad eyes meeting yours from across the room. “Ms. DeGasperis wasn't alone at the end. She had you to keep company…thank you."

The older woman just nods thoughtfully, returning her gaze to the static-white snowfall as you take your leave. Gently closing the door behind you, your allies re-appear before you in the cavernous hall as you lead them to the hospital’s exit, the softly glowing sign above it flickering out of existence as the mansion reappears around you.

“Alright.” You start, taking a deep breath. “I figure we’ll hit the offices next, then maybe double-ba-“

You’re interrupted when the mansion’s double-doors are flung open, a woman tumbling to the floor with Yurei hot on her heels. The blonde woman scrambles to get back to her feet, but with a burst of frigid air Yurei launches herself skyward, a second blast bringing her heel deep into the woman’s chest with a terrible crunch that echoes through the hall. A pained groan is cut short by Yurei’s boot on the other woman’s throat, and you watch as your allies stand guard…only they’re not yours at all in this violent memory, but rather softly flickering Geists at Yurei’s beck and call.

“You, stay here and keep watch.” Yurei commands you, sweeping her eyes across your allies. “The rest of you, scour the mansion. If you find anyone, bring them back here, alive. Exterminating them is up to me.”

The girl underneath her heel groans again, prompting a swift kick across her jaw.

“You have no right to speak, not a single syllable more.” Yurei hisses with cold fury. “Amalgams. There are hundreds of those things crawling across the world, but hunting Daughters for…what? Food? Sport? Whatever your reason, your powers could’ve helped make this world better, but what do you do? You turn a nightmare into even more of a terror than it has any right to be…and that?”

Yurei’s eyes narrow.

“That, I can’t abide.”

The helpless woman’s eyes widen as frost spreads across her throat, freezing her last gasps before Yurei presses down one final time. The woman’s face buckles in as Yurei’s foot slams down onto the floor, the sound of the woman’s shattered skull echoing throughout the space. Suddenly Yurei’s narrowed eyes go wide, and she whirls around to focus her attention as she peers the mist-laden moor outside the mansion when your own vision flickers out. Spending only a half-second in darkness, when you re-focus you find yourself occupying the eyes of a stranger, slowly emerging from the mist to the sight of Yurei, poised dangerously just inside the mansion’s mezzanine.

“You.” Yurei breathes with a mixture of disbelief and fear.

“Me.” You intone in a deep, familiar voice.

(Continued)

>>3864467

“My Dream Daughters, how did you…” She falters, then grimaces. “…no, of course you could. Are you here to kill me?”

“I’m not here for you…at least, not in the way you think I am.” You say, stopping a few yards away from her as Yurei takes a cautious step back. “I heard tell of a Daughter, a Vitruvian and Master of Dreams who proclaimed she wanted to make a better world to all who’d listen. Even more impressive is the fact that this woman, this defiant soul has busied herself with laying low any who’d make themselves a threat to their fellow man. So tell me…”

You cock your head to one side in idle curiosity.

“…are you that woman?”

“I…I am.” Yurei replies, standing a little straighter despite her trembling fear at your countenance. “I’d imagine what I’m trying to do has labelled me a threat to those who’d rather things stay the way they are. For those who think there’s only one way to win this thing. Those who’d perpetuate this cycle…or worse, return us to the ways things were.”

Yurei hesitates but a moment before striding forwards, glaring up at you despite the foot of difference in your height.

“So, now that you know who I am, and what I stand for...” She says, voice dangerously low. “…are you here to kill me?”

You just chuckle as you remove your calcite helm, shaking free your head of silver-blonde hair.

“As I said before; I didn’t come to kill you...” You say, Mara’s voice flowing from your lips.

“…I came to hear the Master of Dreams tell me her grand plan.”

Her eyes go wide in the second before you blink, and you’re suddenly surrounded by cubicles, dimmed screen savers bouncing around the screens tucked in every stifling box. The office space seemingly stretches out infinitely in every direction, and as you whirl around you find your allies trying to catch their bearings.

“So did you guys…?” Rath mutters, her question answered by your nod and those of the other women present. Glancing around, you realize the endless space has three different themes, each one drastically different. The section you’re at the edge of is pristine and shining, the cubicles almost non-Euclidian in their configurations. The one to your right flickers between light and dark, the bulbs suspended overhead barely illuminating a few sparse, run-down desks and chairs. Finally, to your left is an unfortunately familiar sight; biomass, veins of scarlet and azure that grow and pulse over the ruins of the office space.

“Feels like we’re doing a pretty good job of not rocking the boat.” Sia mutters, stretching her arms in front of her. “Here’s hoping that lasts, huh?”

>>Venture further into the fresh, brightly-lit cubicles.

>>Approach the dim and depressing area.

>>Explore the bio-choked ruins of the future office space.

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next two hours. Apologies for the delay, as it's been nothing but appointments and meetings, today.)

>>3864470
So Yurei had a run in with Mara while taking over the Mansion

She was probably in her office when the crucible hit and as such woke up there.... That must have been a shock as well. Would be interesting to see hwo she reacted to that.

I think the brightly lid cubicles are when she started her programmers career when she was full of optimism and hope while the dima rea is probably around the time when she was just a gear and probably when her husband died.

If we want to learn more about how she started to devlop the hatred of how things were we would have to start form her optimistic place and then go to the dim area

I can imagine that she would fidn the fleshscape like the garden eden and a possible new start after her depressing time at the office.

>Venture into the fresh, cubicles
>"I think i have an idea as to what Yurei had here and that the fleshscape after her initial adjustment period was probably like a present form heaven or something. So if we follow the same logic we should start where she would have at least some faith in a brighter future"

>>3864472
Sorry to hear your day has been so busy

>>3864470
>>Approach the dim and depressing area.
seems like where the worst of her time here would come from. though maybe getting something positive from her life for a change would help our case, but not if later on it just turned to ash anyways, as she would just use the later stuff to override the earlier. though i am making assumption on order hear, ill admit, the theme of her life and such would indicate to me things get worse for her more often then getting better.

also, neat to know Mara visited her, but not surprising either. If i thought about it, i probably could've guessed that, but its... whatever it is, where its such a non-thing you just dont. its so obvious something that could've happened id never think to mention it. not that its not interesting or a neatly written scene mind you.

also, possibility then she started the crucible in her office, neat, though it could be she just visited it afterwards. i like her stance on not hunting daughters, but that ones kinda a given for people in our positions to be for, except under very specific cases. it also sounds like a stance she had at a time when Amalgams were much more common, so there was less of an excuse for it. now though, i could see some areas having no real choice. which doesn't make it ok, but only understandable.

>>3864472
oof, yeah i understand. had a doctors appointment myself this morning.

>>3864467
>“Amalgams. There are hundreds of those things crawling across the world, but hunting Daughters for…what? Food? Sport? Whatever your reason, your powers could’ve helped make this world better, but what do you do? You turn a nightmare into even more of a terror than it has any right to be…and that?”
I feel like this is at least somewhat hypocritical. Hunting Daughters for food is of comparable villainy to trapping them in the Cord. Because Daughters don't really die, they just get transitioned to the dreamscape, and unless their consumer has an ability like Secluded Mind then nothing bad is going to happen to them once there. In fact, becoming a Dream Daughters gives the consumed access to their own malleable virtual reality to play in. Brief moment of suffering, non-consensual uploading to the dreamscape, access to personal VR playground. Tell me Yurei, how is that different from what you're planning on doing to every Daughter on the planet? At least these Daughters you're fighting are getting something out of it, all you want is to force your ideals upon everyone else.

Also, as a side note, just realized that Yurei's Core is definitely a reaction to her experiences with illness. It protects her against status effects, stacks and corruption, exactly what you're expect from someone terrified with the slow decay of the flesh.

>>3864472
No worries, BHOP. Sorry to hear your day's been hectic, though.

>>3864477
>I think the brightly lid cubicles are when she started her programmers career when she was full of optimism and hope while the dima rea is probably around the time when she was just a gear and probably when her husband died.
Alternatively, it could be the other way around. Remember her comment about how she hit her stride as a programmer and stopped fighting over scraps? Dim could represent early days when she's struggling and feels like it's all pointless, bright could be later career where she's respected and doing well.

>>3864470
>go to the dim and depressing area
What Yurei is in the dark.

>>3864498
She kinda reminds me of an adept of the Adeptus Mechanicus wanting to achieve unity with what she percieves to be a pretty much omnipotent(or somethign close to that) being by stripping away her own flesh and that of everyone else. While she does not replace it like the DOs have done the esscence of what she tries to achieve is a society based in data and leaving behind the weak and flesh that has been left wanting where every day can cause you massive suffering.

I think if something like virtual reality would have been invented she would have probably left for it and played in her own version of reality until her body gave out

>>3864498
huh, yeah i somehow looked over how hypocritical that is. i mean, im against consuming daughters unnecessarily(mind you, not saying you aren't aswell), but yeah, it has similar effects as uploading to the Cord. hell, it even has similar threats and drawbacks, aka, outside forces could still kill or tamper with your vessel. which, yeah is your point. theres also something to be said about how theres trauma involved in getting forced consumed and put inside someones head, but if anything, that just brings up the point that could happen forcing everyone into the Cord too. unless you plan to forcefully wipe everyone's memories, in which case, fuck you Yurei.

more ammo for the pile i suppose. nice catch on her core too.

>>3864503
yeah, we cant know for sure, which is why for me personally, i just think if its 'clear trauma' or 'not clear trauma', we will be served better by finding out her trauma.

>>3864505
i can see it. me personally, im honestly paranoid of any tech that will come up that plugs into your spine or brain. fuck you hackers and corporations, people mess with eachother enough without that bullshit.

>>3864508
I can see the applications fo that kind of tech and while i personally like the thought of becoming more than human through the use of technology i agree that the manipulation of someone thorugh the very technology that keeps them alive is something incredibly dangerous

We would need massive safeguards and probably decades of testing before something like that would be considered even close to legal. But maybe it would be completely outlawed once the first people get turned into mindwiped servitors to plant bombs or commit criminal acts..... Kinda like what happened in the Deus Ex Series with all people using prosthetis becoming hacked at the same time and turning to violence and causing chaos

There are postives to something like that as wel but they would rely on people not being massive dicks to each other So people stop being people...... its a sad reality

>>3864512
yeah my issues exactly. im just not personally willing to give people another avenue into my head. id be part of an anti-Neuromancer and Phantasmal inquisition probably easier than id like to admit, honestly. certainly the first goal id have after learning they exist is to get hard defenses against them.

everyone has their line where they are willing to take risks, or conversely not let anything lack to defend against, and that type of stuff is a personal line of both fear and personal ideals/convictions id be in the picket lines over, not gonna lie. albeit hey, others can take that risk, you just try to force a society where i have to have that shit to buy breakfast or something and we're gonna have a problem.

>>3864512
Mostly, I'm glad that the technology is advancing relatively slowly. Gives us time to come up with decent security systems along the way. Right now it's a struggle just to receive sensory data from the brain, let alone transmit it, so we've got time to develop protective measures before we start the full cybernetic integration you'd need to actually take control over a person like that. That stuff is decades away.

Oh, yeah, need to properly vote. Let's see...I'm going to go for the fresh cubicles, just for the difference in perspective. We've seen Yurei fresh and innocent, we've seen her depressed and aimless, we've seen her resolute and kicking ass in the Crucible. Let's see her at work, in her element.

>>3864470
>>Venture further into the fresh, brightly-lit cubicles.

Also, just noticed that her minions in attacking the mansion were Geists. Where the hell did she get Geists? Why didn't she use any when fighting us? Those things are seriously dangerous due to not registering as part of the Crucible to a Daughter's body, even if she was using human Geists instead of the Hexane ones from Almath that would still be a powerful weapon. Did she lose her stock somehow?

>>3864532
i could imagine so. they also were said to need an emotionally charged place, so its also entirely possible she herself wasn't enough to last, and/or whatever item(s) she had that were were lost or ran out of juice, as it was. that, and they still have free will, so maybe they just left her on their own, if they are like the last Geists.

also Votes a tie, dangit. never feels right for these to become a dice roll.

>>3864535
>also Votes a tie, dangit. never feels right for these to become a dice roll.
Oh, it is. I missed a vote, I thought I was breaking a tie. Whoops.

(Gentlemen, I'm headed home from work, so I'll consider voting reopened for the next half hour or so if anyone wishes to break the tie.)

>>3864470
>>Venture into the fresh, cubicles

>>3864517
Actually, an anti-mind manipulation group gives me some interesting story ideas...

>>3864569
I really dont want to go fir the bright area over-
>>3864589
Oh nevermind what i was gonna say doesn't matter now.

(Back home and writing now, Gentlemen.)

>>3864470

In silence you take the lead, forging a path deeper into the endless expanse of cubicles. There's little rhyme or reason for their layout, with each cramped space boasting a random height, though always adhering to either a dull blue or drab grey. You're not sure how long you spend navigating between the winding gaps between the stalls before you become aware of the rumbling coming from underneath your feet, but the gentle swaying of the overhead lights draws your eye

"We're still off the radar...not sure what that's all about." Sia mutters in response when you and Rath look to her for an answer.

"Mounting success in the real, perhaps?" Francine muses, and you can only hope she's right as you press on into the nonsensical labyrinth. The second time you're given pause in your wanderings is when you hear the tell-tale clicking of keys, rapid-fire typing echoing off thin, yet stifling walls. Rounding a corner, you see Yurei as she leans back in her chair, staring at her screen with her arms folded in frustration.

She groans, throwing her head back as she stares at the ceiling, her face a little brighter, a little less weary than you've gotten used to. You approach, and you're suddenly wheeling up to Yurei in a chair of your own, two sealed cups of yogurt in one hand and a pair of spoons in the other.

"Hey Sarah, how...what's this?" Yurei asks as you thrust one of the cups into her hands, followed by a spoon a few moments later.

"Celebratory yogurt for being two weeks away from going gold....duh." You say with a wink as you peel back the lid of your banana-flavored carton and dig in as Yurei does the same to her strawberry. “So, how’s the coding?”

“Programming. Network programming, specifically.” Yurei corrects, her eyes shifting back to her screens. “And it’s…work. Easy to get lost in.”

“How’s hubby?”

"Great." Yurei replies with a smile, spooning a small bit of reddish yogurt into her mouth as she relishes the taste. "He doesn't know I know, but I think he's taking me out for dinner this weekend since we've both been so busy."

"Aww, neat!" You chirp happily, spooning another bit of food onto your tongue as Rath rushed by with an armful of coffee cups, while Sia passes her while texting furiously. You swallow, just as a scrap of paper by Yurei's elbow catches your eye.

"Hey, what're those?" You ask, nodding at the homely, happy farmer on the torn page, rendered with loving detail. Yurei starts, sliding her chair to itnerruptyour line of sight in embarrassment.

“Oh, you know, just some doodles." She says disparagingly, but all it takes is your cocked eyebrow to make her break.

"Fine, just don't laugh, alright?" She pleads, and you just roll your eyes.

"Yui, you're fine." You fire back, prompting your friend to explain as Francine settles back into work in the cubicle opposite you.

(Continued)

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>>3864719

"Okay, so...I when I was a kid, I…I wanted to make games.” She begins, voice faltering as she corrects herself. “*A* game. One game, really. I loved these stupid little slice-of-life sims. Animal Crossing, Stardew, Harvest Moon. They were places where everything was just…okay. Where no one has to get hurt. I wanted to make an MMO like that. Where people could exist, and just be at peace, living out their little virtual lives.”

"So like...no fighting?" You say, a little confused. "Do you level up, or...?"

"You can, but when you try to hurt another player you'll kind of...spin off into your own session, and your avatar in the other person's world will get controlled by an AI, for a...well, a hypothetically seamless experience. I'm toying with that or just a system where there's no collision...oh, and there's a little bit of language in it, but it's in a system that no-one can understand. Kind of like Journey, if you've ever played that."

"Hm, yeah." You mutter back as you swallow, and Yurei's eyes light up.

"Excellent! So yeah, basically like that, where you can't hurt anybody, and you just explore and...live, in this endless, procedurally-generated world."

"Wow, that's...ambitious." You reply, mulling over her idea. It's a cool concept, but something about it doesn't sit right with you.

"I know it's silly, it's just...I don't know." She says hesitantly. "I'm working on all this porting and networking, and there's so many games out there that are just chaos and whatnot but there's also a big market for games where you just...chill out. Go shear some sheep and plant a garden with your neighbors. No grand adventure, no big bad, just...life, lived peacefully."

For a long moment, the girl your body calls Yui is thinks in silence, a sad, strange look in her eye before she snaps out of her reverie and back to reality.

"So, um...what do you think?" She asks nervously. "It's stupid, I know it is."

From a pet project to a vision of humanity's future...whatever happened to make her elevate her idea to a paradigm for human existence certainly didn't happen here or overnight, but it happened all the same...

...and all the while, you can feel an ever-growing tremor, a low rumble through the entirety of Yurei's Dreamscape.

The questions ringing in your mind are 'when' and 'how', as you weigh how to reply to Yurei's own query.

>>"Not at all, Yui. I think you should pitch it, it'd be a great alternative to most of what's out there!"

>>"I think it's a little...bland? I mean, I get the appeal, but wouldn't that get old after a while? Day in, day out, no 'downs', just 'ups'?"

>>"So...do the players really have choice? If you're just spinning off iterations of the game any time someone's a dick, then why even have the option?"

>>"Yeah, but...procedural generation *and* iterative sessions? How'd that even work?"

>>"It's neat and all, but...is something else on your mind, Yui?"

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, I shall be pausing here for the evening. I'd intended to press on, but several nights of little sleep and a busy day have finally caught up with me, I'm afraid. Thus, voting shall remain open for the next thirteen hours, with posting to resume in around fourteen, give or take. I appreciate your kindness, participation, and patience as always, and I'll be around for a short while longer before heading to bed somewhat early. I hope you had a good day, and I wish you a restful evening, as well.)

>>3864735
>several nights with little sleep
BHOP HOW COULD YOU.
You look like Yurei, baggy eyes and almost about to collapse.

>>3864730
Okay so she came up witht he idea of what is pretty much the matrix without violence and fencing people of if they try and do something violent.

Great........ she tries to make the perfect happy world and while i get the appeal of a world with no conflict and just exploration in absolute and perfect harmony..... Humans can not survive that for long without going mad. It is nice as an escape for a couple hours but nothing more. Humans are craetures of Turmoil and conflict. Our souls kinda die when we have reached perfection. there would be nothing left to strife for and it would one day descend into complete self destruction to have anything happen at all.

>"I think it's a little...bland? I mean, I get the appeal, but wouldn't that get old after a while? Day in, day out, no 'downs', just 'ups'?"
>"people need change and freeedom. Isnt that why most people play games? To escape the world for a limited time? It might be nice for a time but i think some time in the future players would try to exploit the game to cause conflict and pain to whatever they can reach just to get a little more feeling form the game."


>>3864735
Go and get your Rest when you need it OP.
my own day was nice i played some Kill Team with a firend to get back into the system and i had some good fun
Do you have the questions you wanted to ask in the last vein about prewritten and ready to post or not?

>>3864730
i want to go with;
>"So...do the players really have choice? If you're just spinning off iterations of the game any time someone's a dick, then why even have the option?"
as honestly, thats a very damn good question. i think i know the answer, of course, but from a game design point of view that just sounds silly. plenty of games simply dont allow you to hurt other players at all, so adding it in just to punish players seems silly, at least from a game design perspective. clearly, her little fantasy was being influenced by real world ideals too, but still.

it may sound silly, but im very disappointed that Yurei's idea for humanity is literally just her old game fantasy. not in a 'BHOP wrote this poorly' way or anything, mind you, its a perfectly fine story element, its more of disappointment not exactly in her, i mean it is, but like... really girl? i know that doesnt make much sense but thats how id describe it.

but, the only choice that really makes sense is, and my actual vote;
>Stay on script. her friend would've had a very specific response here, or at least idea for one. you cant risk going too far off what her friend would say, so you'll leave this one up to the memory.

>>3864735
you get some sleep BHOP. this is... a surprisingly slow Vein so far, and not in the 'you aren't posting much' way, dont mean that, but in a 'things are super calm in whats happening' type. i expected Yurei to either find us by now, or something to have happened alot more.. severe, to force our hand or make us think we dont have time to continue. instead, we somehow haven't really felt a true need to rush. makes me paranoid we're doing something wrong actually.
i'd assume your further questions in the last Vein are postponed til tomorrow? perfectly fine if they are, just asking so i know if i should be paying attention to it or not.

>>3864750
There’s actually an mmo like that that actually exists. It’s called “Second Life”

>>3864750
im honestly against any of those responses. we're info gathering here, not trying to actually have a true debate with Yurei yet. we pick the wrong option here, and it could very well speed up or even break the immersion, as it was, and ruin our chances to learn more. we simply dont know Yurei's friend enough to know let the Memory pick, unlike with the nurse where the line of thought was a very clear and easy one to know she would take.

>>3864754
Okay.... havent really heard of it. I am not big on the whole mmo thing.

But you still only go there for a limited time. If you would have to life there forever you would probably go somewhat mad after maybe a couple months or years i would guess. Is there any form of resource scarcity in that game?

>>3864757
you actually make a good point i am probably to tired to think about that form that point of view

I will probably head to bed soon as well

>>3864746
(I...really do, actually. Hrm.)

>>3864750
(I shall, and I wasn't able to get as much work done on the questions as I'd like, so I'll wait until tomorrow to post them.)

(Also, I'm very glad to hear you had a good day, it sounds like you had fun.)

>>3864753
(Honestly, the slowness wasn't what I anticipated, either. You've been doing surprisingly well so far, though the difficulty is ramping up, as I'm sure you can tell.)

(And yes, I'll be holding off on posting those questions since I don't have them in a state I'd like quite yet.)

>>3864754
(I feel like an utter goof for not remembering that until you mentioned it. It was fascinating when I first learned of it.)

>>3864766
well i hope you get some good rest.

for what its worth, like i said in my post(sorta), i do understand the urge to want to argue with Yurei, im just saying now's not the time and there are consequences to timing it wrong, especially considering the circumstances. we'll get our moment to have more words with her, im sure of it, but best to save our ammo til then.

>>3864778
No talking! sleep!

also, there’s no such thing as “catching up on lost sleep”

>>3864778
and i look forward to those questions.
you get some Rest BHOP, before you have to start resorting to Coffee vein drips.

>>3864753
>>3864730
Adding in;
>See if Sia, Francine(with her swarm), or your own swarm cant figure anything out about the growing Tremors.

my guess here is, Yurei either is getting angry at being unable to find us, and so is starting to try and bring the whole dream down so its back to the usual dreamscape void place, or the more memories we unravel, the more unstable her mind is getting naturally via unwanted emotions and the like.

or worse, both.

>>3864786
>also, there’s no such thing as “catching up on lost sleep”
technically no, but the term is meant to say 'i haven't gotten proper sleep and thus had bad days for several in a row now, so i want to get a night of proper sleep to break the cycle.'

its a mental thing too, as breaking the cycle can make you feel better about your situation and self aswell.

Am >>3864786


Okay...
I'm getting the gist of things now.
>>3864788
>>3864766

>"Celebratory yogurt for being two weeks away from going gold....duh."

>Going Gold

"Going Gold" is a terminology in the Videogame Industry where a game studio as finished coding its game and stating that it's all ready for publishing and finalization.

Given what we can put together so far:

>You notice that the corner is occupied with a cramped set of doodles, a collection of surprisingly well-drawn fantasy characters with some assorted stat blocks off to one side.
>Glancing back to her page, you see her smile as she abandons her notes to put the finishing touches on what you assume to be some sort of stylized dress, worn by a small hobbit-like woman who’s sporting a small, quiet smile. A knight in armor, a rugged farmer, a stoic, yet serene princess; all of them are rendered in loving detail, the illustrations flowing from the young woman’s hand with inspired ease.

Yurei was a brilliant programmer with a mind for fantasy. She probably liked Fantasy RPGs and wanted to be a game developer. So she had a huge mindset for traditional Fantasy games. It took lots of arguing against her mother but she won.

Then came the phonecall that lets Yurei know that her mother got a seizure from a Brain tumor.

We then went to the hospital, we didn't go through spring, summer, or Autumn, but we could infer that each ward had a patient who was significant to her life given that Yurei was like who she was in the Winter room. Exhausted physically, and weary of suffering and death. Current speculations: (Spring: Yurei's Mother), (Summer: Yurei's Husband), (Autumn: Mrs. DeGasperis's First husband?), (Winter: Ms. DeGasperis)

So here we are. Yurei's prime of her career. She's made it into a game studio, and her skills at coding has led the game studio to be close to publishing their game.

From what I could gather and speculate about the other office space options:

the dimly lit office room of depression is probably Yurei's time at the game studio after her husband's death and the death of Ms. DeGasperis. Yurei's all alone in the game studio working on her midnight coding, where a co-worker might've stumbled upon Yurei burning the midnight oil either working on the game-studio's game or her own personal hobby.

The Bio-encroached office space, it might be Yurei's time of awakening. Given that there was an eclipse before the Crucible hit, then that would tell us that the Crucible hit Earth midday. She must've awakened early given that her subjective time-clock told her that 4-years have passed.

>>3864730
>"So...do the players really have choice? Wouldn't it be frustrating if the game ruined all of the player's progress if they threw a hissy fit and broke a vase during their session and caused a reset?"
>"I-I mean it's a really great idea! but...it's not a game that I would play all the time. Sometimes, I like to play fighting games, like Smash bros."
>Try to stay on the script.

>>3864891
it shouldn't be an issue to 'stay on script', if we actually vote and let that happen, much like how Francine and others naturally knew and were even compelled to say the actual memory lines, which is still think is our best option to just let it happen, instead of forcing or risking any line. honestly all but the first and maybe the last one feels like Shu herself is tainting the line, which could end very badly for us.

Best to just leave well enough alone for now.

Blarg, fell asleep after dinner, what did I miss?

>>3864730
Okay, so creating this sort of non-conflict environment has been a goal of hers for a while now. It doesn't really seem like the sort of thing that would really work, though. In order for the session-splitting to be seamless the interactions between players can't be particularly complex, or else it would be obvious what's happening. Maybe you can be upfront with the player instead of conceal the splitting, but it doesn't seem like that's the intent. And if you did, it would probably just lead to player dissatisfaction with this weird mechanic trying to limit how they play. Players do not like it when you try to force gameplay methods on them, check out this Game Maker's Toolkit episode on "protecting players from themselves". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L8vAGGitr8 (I think the bit about Mark of the Ninja also brings up the point of how mechanics inform play, so having PvP at all suggests to players that such a thing is an intended feature and they'll feel betrayed if you punish them for doing what they think they're supposed to). So you've got to keep this fairly minimal, which fits with the Journey-based language system where everything is abstracted and super basic. Interactions between the players have to be kept to a minimum so that when the mind piloting an avatar gets swapped out for a drone it's non-obvious.

But even that doesn't really work because Journey only ever expects to have two players in a session at once and Yui wants to make this an entire MMO-based massive server. Which one, does not work if language is so minimal, MMOs are fundamentally a social experience and so this restricted communication will harm it. But two, how are interactions handled if there are multiple players on a server and I strike one of them? It would cause contradictions if the struck player experienced the AI version of me while everyone else interacted with the real me, so I've got to be isolated from the entirety of the community for "crimes" (for there may be good cause to strike them, or it even being an accident) against a single member. What you'd get is a single community with its members slowly being exiled to their own pocket universes and replaced by AI drones. That might give you interesting data as a social experiment, but it's a very unsatisfying gameplay model and would be even less satisfying to experience in a more complex VR simulation. This is a flawed game model, Yui. I'd like to tell you that, but I don't know how in-depth your coworker's understanding of game design is and so we'd probably break character. We're programmers, but apparently not game programmers or you wouldn't feel so sheepish saying you wanted to make a game.

But seriously, Yui, just don't have PvP., it will work so much simpler. Or confine it to dedicated PvP zones where everyone consents to it. Like Runescape! Be like Runescape, Yui.

>>3864996
anon. Yui is Yurei's Coworker. Shu is RPing as Yui.

>>3864999
No, Yui is Yurei's real name. The memory we're inhabiting is named Sarah.

>>3864719
>"Hey Sarah, how...what's this?" Yurei asks as you thrust one of the cups into her hands, followed by a spoon a few moments later.

>"Yui, you're fine." You fire back, prompting your friend to explain as Francine settles back into work in the cubicle opposite you.

>>3865004
>>3864999
(I can confirm that Yurei's real name is Yui.)

>>3864891
>>3864730
>"So...do the players really have choice? Wouldn't it be frustrating if the game ruined all of the player's progress if they threw a hissy fit and broke a vase during their session and caused a reset?"
>"So if you're trying to make a game like "Second Life"...what about sports like football or boxing? Would that be included in the MMO?"
>Try to stay on the script.
>"Overall, it's a neat game idea. Is it playable? Can I play-test it sometime soon?"

>>3864730
Alright now that my mind is not as clouded by being tired anymore i have taken a new outlook on what i want to do

Ammending my Vote from>>3864750 to
>Stay on script. her friend would've had a very specific response here, or at least idea for one. you cant risk going too far off what her friend would say, so you'll leave this one up to the memory.
>Signal for Sia or Francine(with her swarm) or your own swarm if they can bring some light on what is causing the tremors
>If nothing is forthcoming go with
>>"Yeah, but...procedural generation *and* iterative sessions? How'd that even work?"

>>3864730
>>Write-In
>Stay on script as much as possible, adjusting words to sound more natural to the memory
>"No, it's a cool idea. That session splitting idea sounds like it would be a hassle to program, though. Why not just leave out PvP?"
>Try to contact rest of team via empathic field, see if they know what's happening with the tremors.

>>3864730
>>3864753
>>3864788
well, utterly defeats the point of trying to stay on script, but if everyone else is gonna break that point and make trying to stay on script pointless to add to orders, im gonna at least get what of the options said id prefer voted on.

>Stay on script. her friend would've had a very specific response here, or at least idea for one. you cant risk going too far off what her friend would say, so you'll leave this one up to the memory.
>See if Sia, Francine(with her swarm), or your own swarm cant figure anything out about the growing Tremors.
>"So...do the players really have choice? If you're just spinning off iterations of the game any time someone's a dick, then why even have the option?"

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>>3864730

"That sounds really cool, but...do the players really have a choice?” You ask after finishing your cup. “If you're just spinning off iterations of the game any time someone's a dick, then why even have the option?”

“Well, yeah…yeah, of course they have a choice.” Yurei replies irritably as she leans back in her chair. “It’s just if they decide to be a jerk then they get to be that way, while their victim’s not suffering for the other player’s decision. Everybody wins.”

“Also, procedural generation *and* iterative sessions? How'd that even work?" Comes your follow-up, and the moment the words are out of your mouth you can see the other woman’s shoulders drop, her tone becoming defensive and bashful in equal measure.

“Procedural generation’s kind of a pain, yeah. I think that part’s probably a good many years off in an MMO setting…” She admits. “…I have some hope for the iterative sessions, though. If Mara says the Cord can do it then…”

Yurei pauses staring into her cup as she blinks, as your blood runs cold.

“I’m sorry, what…what were we talking about?” She murmurs, eyes scanning the surrounding cubicles as if she’s searching for something.

“You were going to tell me about your game!” You reply cheerfully, scrambling to save face as a stronger tremor shudders through the Dreamscape.

[Status, everyone?] You call out across the empathic channel.

“Yurei’s physical form appears to be under tremendous strain thanks to your family’s efforts.” Francine replies immediately in her clipped, businesslike tone. “That, and our work in keeping Yurei’s true mind occupied trying to sniff us out has allowed the damage they’re dealing to stick. We’re making excellent progress.”

“Spooky’s getting closer and crazier, though.” Sia chimes in. “From where I’m sitting I can see that the undergrowth and darker areas of the office are starting to creep in. It’s all starting to get muddled the more she breaks down, and the more it breaks the more cracks Yurei has to peep through to get eyes on us.”

“Guys, we gotta move.” Rath pipes up tersely. “All three office scenarios are trying to clump together, and the Yureis in them are getting sucked together.”

“Hey Yui, sorry for keeping you so long.” You begin, trying to take your leave as your attention re-focuses on the girl sitting in front of you. “I know you probably wanted to get back to…”

It’s then that you realize she’s just staring at you, her tired eyes flitting between yours as you can feel the gears turning in her mind, the tremors beneath your feet intensifying.

(Continued)

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>>3865316

Wordlessly, you stand, backing off with a forced smile as Yurei just stares at you. The empathic field flares as you find your allies, with Francine being the closest to your side as you see what Rath and Sia were talking about. The entire office space, from cubicles to lights, is starting to curl in on itself like a dying spider, the endless cubes rising on either side of you as the dream begins to succumb to the strain. Francine seizes your hand and pulls you along as she breaks into a run, racing to rejoin your allies as you run past Yurei with a tear-streaked face shuffling past you with one hand on the maze-like walls. A flicker of recognition flares in her eyes as you dash past her, with Rosa and the rest of the Barbers rushing out of a nearby hall to follow in your frantic steps.

Rath rounds a corner several meters ahead of you, and the moment Francine takes her hand you find yourself catching your breath in the mansion’s mezzanine once more…but not quite. Cold, impersonal white blends with warped wood, cheaply-built cubicle partitions jutting out of the patchwork walls at impossible angles. Glancing around you realize the Study’s changed, as an unnatural chill wafting from the space sends a shudder up your spine at the same time that a tremor runs through the mansion’s misshapen halls. The Dining Hall is now a biomass-choked jungle, while you could swear you caught the glimmer of white armor and platinum-blonde hair disappear into the door that leads to the Engine and Forge.

“Christ…Shu, the layout.” Rath groans, head whipping around as she takes your surroundings in. “It’s the same. It’s not the same place, but to her, it’s…”

It hits you, in that moment. The reason the clinically pale halls seemed so familiar when you first saw them. The mansion, the hospital. The nurses, the maids. Warped reflections of each other, sorrow reflecting sorrow. Whether she realized it or not, Yurei surrounded herself with the very echoes of her darkest memories…and at the very end of the hall, at the very heart of the mansion, you can feel her.

The tremors are coming faster, now.

A terrible, rhythmic heartbeat that’s beginning to fail its master.

The path is open to you, should you choose to cut straight to the heart of this dying dream…

…You just have to wonder if you’re ready to bring it all crashing down.

>>Just a little further, and you’ll have the context you need to put Yurei to rest. Examine the [Unbearably cold Study/Bio-choked Dining Hall/ Softly humming Forge Room].

>>You’ve seen enough, and you have what you need…it’s time to end this, once and for all. [Confront Yurei]

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next two hours.)

>>3865319
well, expected that kinda. knew we should've picked the gloomy area. we could push one more further, but guarantee if we do, she will come to us, instead of us to her. i think we have plenty of context, besides maybe how deeply involved with Mara she may of been, but thats not really something i think we need. Unless you're worried Mara was secretly deeply on Yurei's side or something, but my own guess would be she just saw Yurei and her method as an option to keep on the table, like everyone else in her folders.

>You’ve seen enough, and you have what you need…it’s time to end this, once and for all.

>Send yours and Francines Swarmlings forward, to eat any pre-placed traps or attacks she may naturally have, or simply lash out with at any who approach.
>Slowly approach, have everyone close together, Sia and your Neuromancy ready to block what may come.
>as you reach the entrance to the heart, stand firm and all out. "This is over Yurei. you've already lost. you talk about ending pain, preventing loss? what you've become out there wont do anything but make others suffer. thought you said you were above all this, better than it. then prove it. theres still some sanity kicking around in here, use it to help us stop this. no matter our differences, even you should know going down rampaging the countryside wont do anyone any good."
>"Im giving you your last words, last chance here. This fight didn't have to happen, but you left us no choice. it doesn't have to end like this, kicking and screaming into the void. you've feared and denied reality your whole life, let us help you come to terms with it before the end."
>"Or we can put you down the hard way, no tact or words. and you'll be alone in your dying breaths. and no one deserves that."

>“…I have some hope for the iterative sessions, though. If Mara says the Cord can do it then…”
So Mara came to Yurei and asked about Yurei's grand plan, but apparently Yurei's personal dream project was still on the paper and theorycrafting stage and without any prototype builds. And then Yurei mused about using the Cord's power to simply refine her pet MMO project after Mara mentioned that the Cord has the power to do so.

>Francine seizes your hand and pulls you along as she breaks into a run, racing to rejoin your allies as you run past Yurei with a tear-streaked face shuffling past you with one hand on the maze-like walls.

That Yurei must've been from the memory scene of Yurei being alone in the office crying her eyes out.

>>3865319
I would like to know what she and Mara talked about or if what we have seen maybe even is a fragment of Mara that was left here to help Mara should she ever have to fight Yurei

Well the only way is forward probably.. Mght as well make it an encounter on our terms(as much as that is possible within the dreams of another)

God Francine can just pump those Ichthyoids out since we dont have to worry about BIO. She can just send out over 80 in a turn since her BIO does not run out.... Thjose are some nice bonuses since she does not have a limit

Otherwise i will support >>3865326
Its a good way to tell her that this does not have to end in further bloodshed but we are ready to push her beyond the brink if she does not let go

>>3865319

Is there any emotional resonance coming from any of the locations? what about the emotional resonance from where Yurei is directly located?

>>3865335
(Some from the Study, and a powerful pressure coming from Yurei's Core.)

>>3865337
Is there any specific emotions picked out or is it too faint and vague?

>>3865340
(Anger, denial, and exhaustion...the last of these more acutely than the others.)

>>3865319

>You’ve seen enough, and you have what you need…it’s time to end this, once and for all. [Confront Yurei]

>"Yui. You can stop looking for me, I'm right here. I've been through your memories. I saw day you got the phone call about your mother. I witnessed your husband's death, I saw the tragedy that struck Mrs. DeGasperis and her family. I saw your creative talent for game making at college with those doodles of Fantasy characters. I learned about your dream pet project about an iterative procedural generated MMO World where violence was forbidden. I saw the times you were happy with your husband, the times where you frequently visited your loved ones. All of that and more."

>"I saw all of those things and I can't help but feel the emotions...the sorrow behind it. You never really got over it didn't you? You never got the time and place to grieve for losing your mother, your husband, your friend, you never got the time and place to accept the reality and move on. That's why you kept on pushing and pursuing your passion project as a way of coping with the losses in your life. The Procedural MMO. A way to escape the pain and sorrow that happened throughout your pre-Crudible life. Before, you were doodling in the margins and making statlines in making a Fantasy mmo with knights, princesses, and adventure. But Your mother's death changed all of that. You couldn't see anything else in a game except for the escapist fantasy it provided.

>"It's escapism. And when you boil Video games down to the core? Video games a form of escapism. A way to postpone the harsh truths of reality. But you can't stay in that bubble forever. Just like real life, we have to go back and accept the harsh truth of reality and put our noses back to the grindstone."

>"I know you're tired Yui, you're angry, you're in denial, your Yume Gashadokuro form is literally breaking down as we speak. You probably have several minutes before this dreamscape breaks down completely."

>"Instead of dying alone, angry, exhausted, surrounded by your darkest memories...how about this?"

>Use Neuromancy to search through Yurei's memories for what her mother looked like, Conjure it up and assume the form of Yurei's Mother. Then open a memory door to Yui's wedding.

>"We play out a happy memory, where everything is right in the world for you. Your wedding with your husband, with your Mother attending, happy and healthy."

>>3865349
im... against this, heavily. taking the form of her dead mother? besides if she was even alive for the wedding, whew, thats insulting as all hell. that entire last part just sounds like she would backlash to wanting to rip us to shreds over trying to meddle with or interfere with those memories, and id not blame her one bit either.

>>3865349
>>3865319
Amending my vote
>You’ve seen enough, and you have what you need…it’s time to end this, once and for all. [Confront Yurei]

>"Yui. You can stop looking for me, I'm right here. I've been through your memories. I saw day you got the phone call about your mother. I witnessed your husband's death, I saw the tragedy that struck Mrs. DeGasperis and her family. I saw your creative talent for game making at college with those doodles of Fantasy characters. I learned about your dream pet project about an iterative procedural generated MMO World where violence was forbidden. I saw the times you were happy with your husband, the times where you frequently visited your loved ones. All of that and more."

>"I saw all of those things and I can't help but feel the emotions...the sorrow behind it. You never really got over it didn't you? You never got the time and place to grieve for losing your mother, your husband, your friend, you never got the time and place to accept the reality and move on. That's why you kept on pushing and pursuing your passion project as a way of coping with the losses in your life. The Procedural MMO. A way to escape the pain and sorrow that happened throughout your pre-Crudible life. Before, you were doodling in the margins and making statlines in making a Fantasy mmo with knights, princesses, and adventure. But Your mother's death changed all of that. You couldn't see anything else in a game except for the escapist fantasy it provided.

>"It's escapism. And when you boil Video games down to the core? Video games a form of escapism. A way to postpone the harsh truths of reality. But you can't stay in that bubble forever. Just like real life, we have to go back and accept the harsh truth of reality and put our noses back to the grindstone."

>>3865334
>>3865355
so... think Yurei will actually even talk to us? im betting we will maybe get one more round of talking if we're lucky, but i doubt this isnt going to end in a fight. can't see her backing down now, especially as her sanity is technically gone but for some few strands hanging on.

actually, i wonder if thats kinda deaths door clarity thing here? technically shes already dead, so how would that even work here?

>>3865393
I dont think we will be able to talk a lot to her. Her mind is splintering ever faster. She is broken already. I thinkj the best thing that Deaths door clarity can give her is the fact that she has to let go or she will destroy so much and become the monster she wanted to fight so much.

And she might be able to let go of her desire to create what amounts to the matrix and might just be convinced to become an advisor and intel source for us. If she can get over the fact she has doen quite a few bad things and does not just want to sleep forever. With how tired she is she might just want to do something similar to Isabelle

>>3865402
im... we'll see, but honestly im against keeping her around at all if she doesn't repent from her plan. unfortunately keeping a powerful Phantasmal with a maxed Halo in anyone's head sounds exactly like asking for worse then the Gemma situation to happen. if anyone could do worse than what Gemma could do as a Dreamdaughter, its Yurei.

>>3865403
What i said was for when she would realize that the amtrix plan is not a good plan on its own. If she is completely unrepentent we have to crystalize her or remover her soem other way...... Its a good thing the Dos are still around because we might just have to visit them to ask Cassandra to help us remove Yurei if she should get into someones head.

Because really we cant just squander the Halo after we overloaded it so it could be safely consumend. I at least am greatly against wasting the Halo. It just does not feel right. I know that it is a risk we take when we consume her that we get her anyway even if we do not take her core.

>>3865410
its... really not worth it in my opinion. at all. Unless we can make sure the Halo nonsense doesn't activate and we do not consume her(if it comes to her being a hard set enemy), then its not worth the risk, the damage she could do in anyones head outweighs having the Halo.

also, we cant rely on the DOs here, Cassandra said we wouldn't have another chance to talk with her, implying she would be too busy with her own part in their plans after we left to help anymore.

>>3865418
>>3865410
We need to ask Bhop about the halo interactions upon consumption. We clearly overloaded the Calcite halo, and fought a hard fight against Yurei.

>>3865342

I hope Bhop will shed some light on this matter with a ruling when it comes time to consume Yurei.

>>3865418
OP has stated here that the halo is completely deactivated after we overloaded it so it should be safe to consume. But a ruling form OP would be nice on that thing

Sauce >>3863105
and Question linkage to OP>>3865342

>>3865428
>>3865430
its combat capabilities sure, and BHOP has more than once answered a question with wording still only meant for whats being asked, even if it sounds like it means more. but id imagine the actual anti-consumption mechanics are a separate thing that id not be surprised if has its own backup system as it were. is my thoughts on it anyways.

this doesn't do anything for the fact Yurei herself is a dangerously potent Phantasmal, albeit if we just avoid consuming her Core with Appetites that ones a much less dangerous scenario. maybe Gina can block her from being saved too, if it comes to that. maybe Gina can in general do something here, with the Calcite Halo and all that. we'll see i guess, certainly not gonna let us consume her without Gina triple damn checking that hunk of geist-flesh. or geist-bones i suppose.

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>>3865319

“We’ve seen enough.” You declare, Banelings beginning to spill forth from your hive as Francine’s arms unspool, allowing a squirming school of ancient fish to writhe out from the gaping stumps. “It’s time to end this.”

You lead the way into the heart of the mansion, to the very seat of Yurei’s delusion with Rath on your right, Francine on your left, and the Barbers bringing up the rear as the twin swarms surge through the halls. The mansion warps as you calmly advance, spears of wood and twisted constructs torn apart by the storm of chitin and scale as you begin to speak.

"Yui.” You begin, eyes focused forward. “You can stop looking for me, I'm right here. I've been through your memories. I saw day you got the phone call about your mother, I know what happened to your husband. I saw the tragedy that struck Mrs. DeGasperis and her family. I saw your creative talent for game making at college with those doodles of Fantasy characters. I learned about your dream pet project about an iterative procedural generated MMO World where violence was forbidden. I saw all of that and more, and I can't help but feel the emotions...the sorrow behind it.”

The entire house creaks and shudders as a tremor rips through it, a trembling death throe that you feel reach all the way into your chest.

“You never really got over it didn't you? You never got the time and place to grieve for losing your mother, your husband, your friend, you never got the time and place to accept the reality and move on. That's why you kept on pushing and pursuing your passion project as a way of coping with the losses in your life. The Procedural MMO. A way to escape the pain and sorrow that happened throughout your pre-Crucible life. Before, you were doodling in the margins and making statlines in making a Fantasy MMO with knights, princesses, and adventure…but your mother's death changed all of that. You couldn't see anything else in a game except for the escapist fantasy it provided.”

(((iiTS NOT a ffFAntASY! I ccCAN mmake A wWOrLd Whe-)))

"No, Yui.” You interrupt, your empathic channel flaring out through the hall as its walls begin to tear apart, a swirling void yawning between the cracks. “It's escapism. And when you boil Video games down to the core? They’re escapism, too. A way to postpone the harsh truths of reality. But you can't stay in that bubble forever. Just like real life, we have to go back and accept the harsh truth of reality and put our noses back to the grindstone."

Your and Francine’s swarms part, and you find yourself standing before the entrance to Yurei’s inner sanctum, reduced to little more than a fragmented door on broken frames, floating in a vast abyss through which swims fading memories, like fish in an endless black sea.

"This is over Yurei. You've already lost.” You affirm, reaching out with both hands and pushing the doors wide as a tide of emotion washes over you.

(Continued)

>>3865447

Pain. Denial. Frustration. Despair.

And, through it all; utter exhaustion weighing on every thought, on every raw nerve of what’s left of Yurei’s consciousness. The tremors, only a few moments ago so tremulous and terrifying, are now reduced to an erratic pulse, a heart struggling to keep its host afloat when it’s being pulled in two opposite directions. Around you, you see glimpses of familiar scenes interspersed with your family’s frantic struggle outside. Julia bloodied, bruised, and defiant, having carved off the titan’s left hand while Dorian and Isabelle race over its torso, carving deep grooves into bone and Geist, alike. Gina and Sugar keep the titan bound with flesh and crystal while November’s clawing her way up its chest, her very presence anathema to the crumbling colossus.

And finally, in the center of the abyss rests a throne upon which sits a set of frail, deteriorating remains. Its fleshless skull tilts up at your approach as a beast emerges from the back of the decrepit chair. It’s an Amalgam-like Geist, a cobbled-together warrior assembled as a last ditch effort to repel the inevitable…

…to repel you.

“You talk about ending pain, preventing loss? What you've become out there and in here won’t do anything but make others suffer. You said you were above all this, better than it? Then prove it. There’s still some sanity kicking around in here, use it to help us stop this. No matter our differences, even you should know going down rampaging the countryside won’t do anyone any good."

You stride forward, the Geist’s malformed hands tightening on the back of the chair, even as its talons begin to flake into nothingness.

"I’m giving you your last words, a last chance here. This fight didn't have to happen, but you left us no choice. It doesn't have to end like this, kicking and screaming into the void. You’ve feared and denied reality your whole life, let us help you come to terms with it before the end."

Your swarm and Francine’s roil behind you as one, Rath’s skin beginning to glow and sizzle as her fingers curl into fists.

"Or we can put you down the hard way, no tact or words. You'll be alone in your dying breaths…and you know better than any of us that no one deserves that end."

(((I…I dDDon’t…I jJust ddidn’t want anyone to hurt.” She begins, her maddening voice slowly evening out to something resembling a fragile sanity. “I know it’s…I know the plan has flaws, but…what else is there? What else, when there’s the Hunger? Horrors beyond the stars? When we as a species just hurt, and hurt, and…”

Eyeless sockets lock on one of the errant thoughts floating around the throne, your family’s struggles displayed in graphic relief.

“What…what are they fighting for?” She asks quietly. “What world are they fighting to create?”

She knows.

She knows her dream is dying alongside her.

So...what takes its place?

>>Write-In

YOU ARE IN CONTROL

(Gentlemen, voting shall remain open for the next two hours. Apologies for the delay, and I hope your day is going well.)

>>3865430
>>3865434
(The answer hinges on yours, actually. However, if there remains a risk inherent in consuming Yurei's Halo or Core after all is said and done, then I'll absolutely tell you, so no worries there.)

>>3865448
>"There's the day to day life that goes on despite the Crucible Yui. The little things that keep our spirits up despite the Hunger, the despair, and the violence."
>"Show Yui our memories of the drinking games, of our party with the Midnight Crew. Relaxing, laughing. Having story time with Amara."
>"They're fighting to live another day. To make the most of their days on this precious planet earth. Regardless in the end if the planet was consumed by the horrors beyond the stars or if they succumb to the hunger. They're fighting for a world where they can be themselves. A world where they can be what they really wanted to be."

>>3865450
GAH Of all the timing.
This sort of speech I somewhat excel in but I have to leave for work now.

>>3865457
So this is the most I can input for an answer.

>>3865448
>Smile, and look to the dream bubbles
>"They're fighting for love. for family. for freedom."
>Look to Yurei, and shrug, smiling.
>"They're fighting because they have hope, hope not that people can be different, no, they KNOW people can be different. they are proof of that, them and all my family."
>"No, they're fighting for the hope that we can give people a choice, a chance to grow and be more. they're fighting so that everyone may make their own decisions, may learn from their pain, suffering, love, and pleasure, all of it."
>"The crucible came, and it tried to force us to be different, to change who we were and what humanity was. they fight to stop that, to give Humanity back its freedom to choose its own path, to be what it wants. everyone, individually."
>Sigh, and put a hand on Raths shoulder. on Francines, on Rosas, Bettys, and Sias. give each of them a smile.
>"They and us are fighting exactly because reality is hard. exactly because it is cruel, and terrible, and sometimes so, so sad..."
>Look back to Yurei, and offer her a hand aswell.
>"But if we try, if we work together, if we allow people to be people, humans to be humans... sometimes, they'll surprise you. they'll take that pain, that misery, and they'll learn. they'll grow. they'll learn to help others and end suffering where they can, help where they can."
>"But they cant do that, if you dont let them. if they dont have the freedom to fail, to fall, to see the depths of where life can drag one down to, so they know why dragging others up is so important. you cant learn if you arent free. you cant get better if you are caged. you stagnate, you becomes lazy, complacent, uncaring."
>take a few steps forward, extend your hand further.
>"they're fighting because reality cant be defeated, it cant be ignored. it will always be there, it will always be a threat, a pain, a terrible thing..."
>"... so we fight to make it something better, to make it all mean something. here, now, where we stand and where we live. and we would love to show you, love to help you understand, that no matter how bad it is, no matter how terrifying it looks..."
>"...That something good can come from it all, that hope can flourish here. in Reality, as Humanity. all you have to do Yurei... is stop being afraid, and give it a chance with us."
>If she lets you, take her hand, or if she seems to like it better, let her come to you.

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>>3865450
thats fair i suppose. we'll see how this plays out then.

and like always, no worries on the delay. have a neat picture over the work troubles.

>>3865450
The delay actually worked out well for me, I spent most of the day away at lectures. This way I only missed one vote.

>>3865448
I have been staring at my screen for the last hour and i am doing nothing but drawing blanks..........

I will support >>3865460
it captures pretty well what i was trying to scrape together in my own words........

Well back to writing chapter 8... there is someone that needs murdering the more conventional way