1. Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
    Dismiss Notice
  3. Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
    Dismiss Notice
  4. If you wish to change your username, please ask via conversation to tehelgee instead of asking via my profile. I'd like to not clutter it up with such requests.
    Dismiss Notice
  5. Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.
    Dismiss Notice
  6. A note about the current Ukraine situation: Discussion of it is still prohibited as per Rule 8
    Dismiss Notice
  7. The rules regarding NSFW links have been updated. See here for details.
    Dismiss Notice
  8. The testbed for the QQ XF2 transition is now publicly available. Please see more information here.
    Dismiss Notice

Those Blessed with Talent

Discussion in 'Questing' started by Darkened, Feb 26, 2015.

Loading...
  1. Arkeus

    Arkeus Crazy cat guy

    Joined:
    May 20, 2013
    Messages:
    4,193
    Likes Received:
    3,870
    How do you react to Miren?
    [ ] Agree for now. Then turn around and tell Willow as soon as you're not alone.
    This is the coward option. As in, "not daring to do anything in front of her but calling the law on Miren". Not only would it probably mean Miren dies/is carted away/bad things, but it would also not fit LB at all.

    Oh, and this mean we'll lose both of the children as contact (Miren and Rocky Ox), which means we'll lose the socialization potential we had there.

    [ ] Agree for now and keep it secret. She's just trying to take care of herself... and Ox for some reason.
    The empathy option. It lets us try to build rapport with them. The issue is, well, beginning our relationship by being bullied, at least in Miren's mind, is not a great start.

    [ ] Refuse! So what if she's scared or bad things happened to her, it's not like she's the only one.
    The prideful option. It might very well help us build some kind of 'rival' rapport with her, or even a dominating one, but it's also super-arrogant and sidainful of other people's suffering, not something LB was known for previously.

    Also, it can backfire fast.

    [ ] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?
    The Defensive option. In this it will be about knowing we can't let her walk over us or it will set the tone of the relationship. It's not easy to have a rapport with her from that, but it shouldn't be particularly hard, either, as long as we are careful.

    Can obviously backfire.

    [ ] Write-in
    This is what I want to do, but I am still puttering around trying to think of something good. I'll let my brain try to catch up a little longer, I think.
     
    Anaerobie, rcnr and Darkened like this.
  2. Pandemonious Ivy

    Pandemonious Ivy Making the rounds.

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2015
    Messages:
    48
    Likes Received:
    36
    [X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

    (Rhetorical question which lampshades her actions to shame, but could possibly work as a subtle threat, depending on how she takes it. Either way, I think it would get her to ease up.)
     
  3. rcnr

    rcnr Dangerously Chuuni

    Joined:
    May 9, 2014
    Messages:
    3,287
    Likes Received:
    3,371
    []I already said I'm not a princess, and I don't care if you call me "madame" or not. We're both the clan's property, but I'm way more valuable, and I'm sick of people pushing me around just 'cause they're stronger.

    I'm fine with her conditions, but we can't just let her think she can get to us with threats, we'll lose a lot of our leverage if she knows that whatever weird magic we have, we're intimidated by what she puts on the table.

    We have perfectly servicable Charisma, and we aren't going to improve it by backing down from a challenge. I want to introduce the seeds of empathy while maintaining our social dominance. We've both been through some shit at the hands of people much more powerful than us, and although we understand how bad it is, we're not going to go back to that for anybody's sake.

    We acknowledge our weakness but are confident despite it. We remind her what'll happen if she hurts us, but at the same time draw attention to the similarities in both our situation and mindset.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2015
    Nolrai2 likes this.
  4. Arkeus

    Arkeus Crazy cat guy

    Joined:
    May 20, 2013
    Messages:
    4,193
    Likes Received:
    3,870
    I'm not sure your sentence is, well, a response to what she is saying. I like the actual goal you have here, but it should probably be re-worded.
     
    rcnr likes this.
  5. rcnr

    rcnr Dangerously Chuuni

    Joined:
    May 9, 2014
    Messages:
    3,287
    Likes Received:
    3,371
    I was trying to respond to
    with that, but you're right that it's little awkward since there's a gap between the two lines where we glare snd nod. I'll definitely remove the first "and".

    The question dodge was intentional. Little Bee doesn't want to mess with her or Ox, but in the face of a threat like this the only thing Miren will get is a very defensive "You can't touch me, and fuck you for trying."
     
  6. Arkeus

    Arkeus Crazy cat guy

    Joined:
    May 20, 2013
    Messages:
    4,193
    Likes Received:
    3,870
    Another thing- going 'we are both the clan's property' when we are a servant for a ten-year contract who is mistress of the place, and she is a slave we can have whipped with a snap of our hand, seems.... a bit of a misrepresentation. It's not just being "more valuable".
     
    rcnr likes this.
  7. Falconis

    Falconis Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2014
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    1,699
    >Trying to threaten us
    [​IMG]


    You lost when you showed your fear
    [X] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?

    I'm willing to throw her a bone however if anyone else can live with it.
    - [] Offer to act like this never happened if she releases you and your family immediately.

    Will check back when I can
     
  8. rcnr

    rcnr Dangerously Chuuni

    Joined:
    May 9, 2014
    Messages:
    3,287
    Likes Received:
    3,371
    Is it harmful to let her think that? At worst, she finds out we're capable of it and not only did we not do it, we didn't even bring it up as a possibility. It's backing for our confidence, and credit to our character.

    I don't think Little Bee is concerned with or comfortable with the exact power dynamics between herself and the servants, with the "not Mu clan" thing and being surprised Miren is scared of her, so I can see her not noticing the power gap in a stressful situation and jumping to the most familiar thought process, which is "You would've run from Mu if you were able, so you're screwed if you go through with it because they'll find you."
     
  9. wayne82444

    wayne82444 Experienced.

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2014
    Messages:
    4,866
    Likes Received:
    9,230
    [X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

    Agreeing then turning around and telling Willow seems like a waste of one if not two of the characters that we presumably got from the staff vote (my guesses on what that got us was the healer, Miren, and Rocky), agreeing and keeping it secret leads to us being bullied by Miren. Refusing outright with either given choice seems to have a huge chance of getting us hurt worse if not outright killed, so going with one of the writeins is likely a lot better.

    Between the two I actually like Pandemonious Ivy's more because it seems more empathetic, and pissing off Miren when she has a hand around Little Bees throat and is scared seems kind of bad. While rcnr's sounds good as well I can see it possibly confirming in Mirien's mind that Little Bee is some kind of whiny noble brat or something, given that it involves complaining about being pushed around by stronger people. Besides that Pandemonious Ivy's also seems like it fits better after having stopped to think about it for a second, while rcnr's writein seems like those first angry words Little Bee held back.
     
  10. DOOMPOTATO

    DOOMPOTATO Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    May 7, 2014
    Messages:
    417
    Likes Received:
    482
    [X] I had no reason to fuck with either of you before you choked me and hurt my friends. I still have no reason to fuck with you if you put me down, because I understand being afraid for the sake of your friend or whatever Ox is to you. If you hurt me, we both die. So let me down and leave me alone.
    Don't back down, but don't let her aggression make us act in a way that validates her
     
  11. redaeth

    redaeth Stubborn pedantrist

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2013
    Messages:
    8,334
    Likes Received:
    6,811
    [X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.
     
  12. Jiven

    Jiven Most Excellent Lurker

    Joined:
    Feb 19, 2013
    Messages:
    4,642
    Likes Received:
    4,360
    [X] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?
     
  13. john doe

    john doe Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2014
    Messages:
    306
    Likes Received:
    161
    [X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.
     
  14. Arkeus

    Arkeus Crazy cat guy

    Joined:
    May 20, 2013
    Messages:
    4,193
    Likes Received:
    3,870
    I'm not sure if asking a slave what she would do "if she were in the mistress's shoes" is a good way to earn anything but hatred.
     
  15. Sirrocco

    Sirrocco Tiny but ambitious squid

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2015
    Messages:
    14,523
    Likes Received:
    67,779
    [x]write-in/plan Sirrocco/micromake

    "You're bluffing." You croak it out, a hoarse whisper.
    "Th' fuck you say! I can kill you right here, princess!"
    "Still bluffing. You don' wanna die. Kill me, an' yer dead for sure."
    That shakes her up a little, but she's still trying to ride it - grasping at arguments, just like some of your street rat friends would when their excuses started to fall through.
    "Yeah? Well maybe I don't care about that so much. My life sucks here, an' if you're gonna go an' make it worse..." still, she slackens up, just a bit. Makes it easier to breathe.
    "Naw. You're a slave. If you were gonna kill yourself by pissing people off, you'd have done it already. Don't need to worry about me making things worse, though. I need you." You do your best to smile, in a friendly fashion. You suspect it comes off looking a bit grotesque, but you work with what you have.
    "What? What do you need from me?"
    "Well, stop choking me, and stop crushing my cat, and back up off of me a moment and I'll *tell* you." She does step back a bit, moving warily. Autumn shade goes to give her a clawing, but you hiss at him to stop and come to you. He complies, making unhappy noises. You gather him up in your arms, and Mountain Peak Blossom gathers more tightly around you and you... no. Can't afford to let go just yet.
    "Listen. I'm all fucked up. You can see that, right?" She looks at you like you're a moron. "Well okay, yeah. I need to get better. I *need* to get better - and the only way I'm gonna get better is to train... and we're in the absolute middle of nowhere, and my doctor sure isn't going to spar with me, so that only person I have that I can train with is *you*."
    "What? Princess - you're broke. I'd call you half broke, but you're *all* broke. How th' fuck are you gonna spar with anyone, let alone me?"
    "I can, okay? I'll talk with you about details later... after I've had a chance to sleep *without* someone choking me. Just... you help me out with this, and I'll make sure that your life gets better, not worse. Okay? Better deal than the one you came in here for, right?"
    She looks at you suspiciously, then turns and walks out, the door closing behind her.
    Finally, you let the shuddering come.

    I'm sure that Darkened can write it better than I can, but the argument I wanted to put forward was *really* long-winded as a single statement.
     
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2015
  16. PineTreeq

    PineTreeq Know what you're doing yet?

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2015
    Messages:
    236
    Likes Received:
    321
    [X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.
     
  17. BFldyq

    BFldyq It's pronounced Be-Fled-Ick

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2014
    Messages:
    15,738
    Likes Received:
    18,102
    [X] Isn't this jumping the gun? I mean, your a crippled 11 year old. You won't be fucking anyone for years yet.
     
  18. massdefect76

    massdefect76 Getting sticky.

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2015
    Messages:
    64
    Likes Received:
    11
    [X] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?
     
  19. LeoAbogos

    LeoAbogos Versed in the lewd.

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2014
    Messages:
    1,142
    Likes Received:
    2,536
    [X] That's not how this works. First, don't fuck with people and their family when you're asking for a favor. Second, if you want anything then you apply yourself, prove yourself, to earn it. I'm not giving out free rides.

    I'm not 100% at the moment, so it's more open to interpretation than I want, but I don't think that causing Miren to reevaluate us is necessarily a bad thing. I think it's too early for the buddy-buddy sympathy angle, but hell if I'm about to acquiesce to her strong-arm tactics. Not when it's shaking. Basically, this lets her know she doesn't have to worry about tyrannical bullshit, but that's -if- she's doing more than the bare-minimum. Her setting the terms of this relationship isn't going to happen. I'm sure her circumstances suck, but they're not going to get any better in any real sense if we treat her with kid gloves. She seems like the type that needs to learn to choose her battles. Kudos on this stunt though, she's got copper brass ones.
     
  20. Arkeus

    Arkeus Crazy cat guy

    Joined:
    May 20, 2013
    Messages:
    4,193
    Likes Received:
    3,870
    [X] That's not how this works. First, don't fuck with people and their family when you're asking for a favor. Second, if you want anything then you apply yourself, prove yourself, to earn it. I'm not giving out free rides.
     
  21. Sirrocco

    Sirrocco Tiny but ambitious squid

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2015
    Messages:
    14,523
    Likes Received:
    67,779
    Huh. No response to the write-in/micromake? If people don't like it, could I at least get a bit of disagreement and/or constructive criticism?
     
  22. Falconis

    Falconis Not too sore, are you?

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2014
    Messages:
    422
    Likes Received:
    1,699
    Well, I've been away but here goes.

    First off, good enthusiasm! I'm sure Darkened appreciates people enjoying the quest so much that they'd want to do this. However, it's in bad taste to ... essentially try and write the scene for the GM.

    Omakes are fine (depending on GM preference, but I think Darkened is fine with them anyway), however it's up to the GM to decide how the scene does, and writing your vote this way is likely to leave you, anyone who supported you and perhaps even the GM unsatisfied with the result.

    As a general rule of thumb, 'always leave room for the GM to build around your idea/vote'.

    Again, omakes are fine, and detailed votes are fine. However putting them together just creates an inferior version of both.
     
  23. Sirrocco

    Sirrocco Tiny but ambitious squid

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2015
    Messages:
    14,523
    Likes Received:
    67,779
    I wouldn't normally have written it that way. In fact, I started out writing it as a shorter bit that was just what we would have said, but getting it all out in any way that made any sense at all as actual conversation required more than one speaking's worth - she wasn't just going to let us talk on and on for an extended period. Likewise, I wouldn't expect it to go exactly like this unless we rolled particularly well *and* I guessed/grokked characterization well... likely more of a scenelet that could be broken up and used for what parts were useful.

    I was a bit surprised to hear that you found it in bad taste - I've seen similar things in a number of other quests (mostly on SV) that worked pretty well and were well-received. I certainly wasn't trying to dictate outcomes to Darkened, and I apologize if I came across that way.
     
  24. redaeth

    redaeth Stubborn pedantrist

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2013
    Messages:
    8,334
    Likes Received:
    6,811
    ... Hmmm, a thought. Miran knows we control monsters thanks to our class, it is kind of obvious given our friends, and she probably knows we are a charismatic monster ourselves. What if she is afraid of losing her free will? Becoming one of those dead eye slaves Little Bee has seen in the pens thanks to class magic. She probably has no idea how our class works after all. She wouldn't know it works off of willing partners, and that it only extends to monsters and not devils.

    She calls Ox a toy, why? Because she thinks that is how we see our pets.
     
  25. BFldyq

    BFldyq It's pronounced Be-Fled-Ick

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2014
    Messages:
    15,738
    Likes Received:
    18,102
    Devils are monsters. Check the front page, there's a tab explaining about Monsters and their classification.
     
  26. redaeth

    redaeth Stubborn pedantrist

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2013
    Messages:
    8,334
    Likes Received:
    6,811
    Hmm, so we can Blood\Friendship Bond a Devil then given both skills say Monsters and not Beasts. Welp, my guess on her fears probably have some merit then.
     
  27. Darkened

    Darkened Experienced.

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2014
    Messages:
    3,552
    Likes Received:
    7,923
    Mistake from earlier terminology. Fixed. LB's class skills aren't generally designed to work with devils. (Whether they would...)
     
  28. BFldyq

    BFldyq It's pronounced Be-Fled-Ick

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2014
    Messages:
    15,738
    Likes Received:
    18,102
    I see you~

    I suspect trying would give us an event skill. And maybe lead us down the path of upgrading our specialty?
     
  29. Sirrocco

    Sirrocco Tiny but ambitious squid

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2015
    Messages:
    14,523
    Likes Received:
    67,779
    Friendship bond might be worth it, if it worked. Tricky, though. Blood's almost certainly not.
     
  30. rcnr

    rcnr Dangerously Chuuni

    Joined:
    May 9, 2014
    Messages:
    3,287
    Likes Received:
    3,371
    [X] That's not how this works. First, don't fuck with people and their family when you're asking for a favor. Second, if you want anything then you apply yourself, prove yourself, to earn it. I'm not giving out free rides.
     
Loading...