Total length: 28654 words / 122 minute read.
-There have been 117 messages posted over 119 days since the first -post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .98.
+Total length: 29826 words / 127 minute read.
+There have been 122 messages posted over 120 days since the first +post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of 1.01.
This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over email.
@@ -304,8 +305,8 @@ story entirely.Paths:
@@ -577,8 +578,8 @@ otherwise worse off than you.WHAT DO YOU DO
+href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-11/msg00070.html">www +++Shouting in the direction of the grampus “Yo! That dude is definitely +going to forget us. We’re almost the definition of forgettable, I mean +it’s not like we’re some kind of murderous hobos or something!”
+While shouting Corraidhin takes aim, and slings his magic missing at +the figure, aiming for a kill. (Meta: I’d like to spend that xp now, +lets take this sucker down).
+After the missile flies loose the skeleton begins to pull Corraidhin +back into the hull of the ship, he kicks desperately at the boney +clutches desperately trying to break free.
+“I always knew I’d go out fighting some undead spooky thing. If you +don’t become a necromancer, you end up some necromancers thrall.” at +least, that’s what Kevin used to tell me. I always thought he was being +melodramatic.
+As the skeleton drags Corraidhin back through the hatch he grabs the +dagger, in a vein attempt to ready himself.
+“I guess this is it my Stabby friend, time to show these Skeletons +what happens when you back a Sysorceor into a corner”
+And with that Corraidhin activates his fork bomb.
+
~
+++While feeding their jellyfish bites of wasabi pear and watching the +sysorcerer investigate the hull, Inky eventually notices movement in the +direction of the ship’s deck in the form of a figure crawling out of the +hatch with a bundle. Inky squints at the retreating form. Could it be +another retrieval team, or a rogue agent? Master Corraidhín would +probably not be pleased if the crystal melon were to fall into unknown +hands, never mind of those whose names don’t start with the letter “B” +and end in the letter “r”.
+Sparing a brief second to lament the waste of a perfectly good snack, +Inky reaches into their bag and lobs a spiky chestnut cluster at the +figure’s breathing bell from the opening of their bubblebee, followed by +a glass bottle of blahoblin shoe polish. The glass shatters on impact, +sending the dark, sticky and somewhat pungent substance all over the +figure’s (punctured) breathing bell and face.
+As Inky’s bubblebee floats up a little closer to the figure, Inky +tosses a smaller bottle at the figure, this time of some synthetic blood +from another brick that Inky had set aside for experiments of a +different sort. At the last moment the thruster accelerates, Inky throws +their paring knife at the bundle where the cord hugged the figure’s +waist, before veering away just as quickly as the horkosgrampus nearby +catch a whiff of the blood.
+
RETCON: It has been brought to our attention that
+the scp spell does not move an entity, but merely
+copies it from one location to another. As such, the original merbear
+and tardigrade are still on the deck of the SS RSS. Their facsimiles are
+present near where Inky used to be.
Okay so two extremely interesting and complicated things happen all +at once and in quick succession. It’s very chaotic and explosive and +cinematic.
+THING THE FIRST
+Corraidhín aims his shootin’ finger—the one that resolutely, +emphatically mashes the Enter key when deploying to production—at the +floaty thief. The very same second he fires off the magic missile, he +sees the figure jerk as a small projectile first punctures its jellyfish +helmet and then coats its entire cranial area in black ink.
+It screams, “Aw, fuck!”
+The breathing bell is having none of this shit, thank you very much, +and detaches itself from the figure’s head and starts to propel itself +away. As such, the figure no longer has access to breathable air.
+It screams, “No, wait!”
+And then a fine blade juts out from the bubblebee severing the cord +connecting the floating bundle to the would-be thief. The blade scoops +out a hunk of flesh from the thief’s hip in the process.
+It screams, “Ouch! Stop, I wasn’t going to…”
+The horkosgrampus—kind of lazily drifting about thus far—stir from +complacency at the first scent of blood. But they snap to ravenous +attention at the first utterance of a possible lie.
+Finally (an instant later) the magic missile strikes its target and +the thief splatters like a wet paper bag full of soup hitting the +ground.
+It sputters and coughs and screams, “I wasn’t going to! Please, you +can have it! I wasn’t going to take it! I don’t even want it! It’s +yours!”
+And the horkosgrampus fucking lose their minds. They stop being mere +toothy scavenger whales, and instead become the ravenous, wrathful +instruments of the god of oaths and promises. They descend upon the liar +in a fury of teeth and tusks. First Mate “Lucky” Three-Fingered Gerald +cackles with depraved, unhinged mirth as he is torn to shreds. In the +end a single golden orb—his false eye—is all that is left of the +would-be thief of the second Ginnarak Crystal.
+The eye and the crystal slowly emerge from the horkosgrampus frenzy, +hovering suspended above the harrowkrake trench.
+THING THE SECOND
+Remember there are two extremely interesting and complicated things +happening all at once?
+The second thing is this.
+First, Corraidhín lets loose his magic missile at Three-Fingered +Gerald. Then, as he is being pulled down by the undead pirate skeleton, +he lets loose a fork bomb.
+The fork bomb is also known as a ‘rabbit attack’ because the rapidity +with which it spawns new processes resembles the fecundity of breeding +rabbits.
+So here’s what it looks like. The skeleton pulls Corraidhín downward. +Corraidhín points and clicks. Pew, pew. A single small sea bunny slug +wriggles its way between the skeleton’s fingers where it has a hold of +the sysorcerer’s ankle. Another two wriggle out. Then four, eight, +sixteen. In an instant there are dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions +of the tiny slugs in the hold of the ship.
+Everything, every living entity, every process, light and sound and +thought itself, it all grinds to a halt as the sea bunnies continue to +multiply until billions and trillions of them squeeze and burrow their +way amongst molecules, betwixt atoms, and into the quantum foam between +subatomic particles.
+The ship and everything on it and inside it—including the original +merbear and tardigrade—collapse into a singularity. It continues to +exist in this moment in space and time but only as a static snapshot of +the moment that its operating system crashed. It is a mirage, a core +memory dump, a segmentation fault, a flickering feedback loop, the same +two to three seconds endlessly repeating: Corraidhín backed into a +corner, and pointing a finger at a skeleton, and then BANG! over and +over and over again.
+Corraidhín, you can continue to act and move, but your have become +unhinged and unattached from this moment in space and time. You can +interact with entities inside the ship, but will struggle mightily to +comprehend and interact with entities outside the fork bomb.
+Outside observers see the SS RSS become paper thin and translucent as +it starts to lose its footing in this plane of reality.
+WHAT DO YOU DO
+Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria
--At Master Corraidhín’s confirmation of the crystal’s - presence within the shipwreck, Inky moves the bubblebee closer - above the opening in the hull, adjusting the angle of the - headlights so that a little more light falls over the gaping - hole should the rest of the party wish to enter the ship - through it.
-Next, Inky pulls out some wasabi pears from their bag, - biting into one before dropping the others one at a time - several paces apart, starting near the bow of the ship in a - trail until a few roll down into the hole and land in a hollow - thonks somewhere inside the ship.
-Inky then settles near the opening, partly-eaten pear in - hand and waits for the source of the rustling sounds to - emerge, if it decides to emerge at all.
-
From their vantage point, Inky sees a figure crawl up onto - the deck of the ship through a hatch from somewhere below. It - appears to be wearing a breathing bell and a vest of weighted - sandbags similar to yours. It is carrying a bulky bundle tied - to its waist by a cord.
-It freezes when it sees the merbear and the tardigrade on - ship deck. But then the bears are teleported to safety a few - meters from the inkling. The figure looks around curiously and - shrugs. It casts off some sandbags and starts rising up - through the water toward the happy manta ray and the restless - horkusgrampus. It looks down in your direction as it goes. Its - face is somewhat blurred and obscured by the breathing bell, - but you see a glint of gold as the light of your bubblebee - reflects off one of its eyes.
---Ah ha! Our prize is near then. And it looks like that bolt - forced that squid monster thing back into its hole. Likely - we’ll be alright to plum the depths here.
-Thank goodness our bears are safe, I should probably move - them somewhere out of harms way, just in case.
--#!/bin/sh -safety=$(find /ocean/* -perm 644 | head -n 1) -for bear in merbear tardigrade; do - sudo usermod -a -G party $bear - sudo scp /ocean/shipwreck/$bear /ocean/$safety - sudo chown corraidhin:party /ocean/$safety -done -sudo chown -R 770 /ocean/$safetyThat should ward them sufficiently, now only the party - members can come and go freely, and they’re part of the party. - I’m positive nobody will complain, they might, but there won’t - be anymore bolt mishaps this way at least..
-As Corraidhin finishes his relocation spell he creeps - closer to the hull of the ship. “Lets see what we’re dealing - with here..” he sticks his head into the opening looking about - inside the wreckage, a small orb of light illuminates the tip - of his right hand pointer finger, and he uses it to carefully - probe around the opening as though it were a flash light.
-
Corraidhín cautiously explores the breach in the hull of - the SS RSS. You poke your head in and see the cargo hold of - the ship. The remains of some of the ship crew are here, long - since picked clean by ocean critters. Their bones are bleached - white and they grin mirthlessly at you. They are nestled in - and amongst the spilled contents of several large chests: - jewelry, gold coins, precious stones litter the floor of the - ship.
-You do not see any lumpy, multi-faceted, blue and gold - crystal melon here.
-The ship is resting mostly on its side, so its sloping - “floor” is actually the ship wall. The hatch up to the upper - deck is to your right, and as you enter the hold, someone or - something shuts the hatch closed.
-A skeleton by the hull entrance crawls forward, trying to - block your exit. And two more start to claw themselves up and - free of the ship’s treasure, and they start to advance toward - you.
-WHAT DO YOU DO
- - ]]> --+Oh thank goodness, I thought I killed that innocent bear! I - should probably be a little more careful with my spells..
-Nonetheless, we need to shed some light on what’s going on - here, no sense in diving into the clutches of some evil sea - creature blind.
-Gather himself, Corraidhin casts a fzf on the ship, - searching for the creature inside
-+
sudo fzf $(pwd)At Master Corraidhín’s confirmation of the crystal’s + presence within the shipwreck, Inky moves the bubblebee closer + above the opening in the hull, adjusting the angle of the + headlights so that a little more light falls over the gaping + hole should the rest of the party wish to enter the ship + through it.
+Next, Inky pulls out some wasabi pears from their bag, + biting into one before dropping the others one at a time + several paces apart, starting near the bow of the ship in a + trail until a few roll down into the hole and land in a hollow + thonks somewhere inside the ship.
+Inky then settles near the opening, partly-eaten pear in + hand and waits for the source of the rustling sounds to + emerge, if it decides to emerge at all.
+
From their vantage point, Inky sees a figure crawl up onto + the deck of the ship through a hatch from somewhere below. It + appears to be wearing a breathing bell and a vest of weighted + sandbags similar to yours. It is carrying a bulky bundle tied + to its waist by a cord.
+It freezes when it sees the merbear and the tardigrade on + ship deck. But then the bears are teleported to safety a few + meters from the inkling. The figure looks around curiously and + shrugs. It casts off some sandbags and starts rising up + through the water toward the happy manta ray and the restless + horkusgrampus. It looks down in your direction as it goes. Its + face is somewhat blurred and obscured by the breathing bell, + but you see a glint of gold as the light of your bubblebee + reflects off one of its eyes.
--t e n t a c l e
+Ah ha! Our prize is near then. And it looks like that bolt + forced that squid monster thing back into its hole. Likely + we’ll be alright to plum the depths here.
+Thank goodness our bears are safe, I should probably move + them somewhere out of harms way, just in case.
++#!/bin/sh +safety=$(find /ocean/* -perm 644 | head -n 1) +for bear in merbear tardigrade; do + sudo usermod -a -G party $bear + sudo scp /ocean/shipwreck/$bear /ocean/$safety + sudo chown corraidhin:party /ocean/$safety +done +sudo chown -R 770 /ocean/$safetyThat should ward them sufficiently, now only the party + members can come and go freely, and they’re part of the party. + I’m positive nobody will complain, they might, but there won’t + be anymore bolt mishaps this way at least..
+As Corraidhin finishes his relocation spell he creeps + closer to the hull of the ship. “Lets see what we’re dealing + with here..” he sticks his head into the opening looking about + inside the wreckage, a small orb of light illuminates the tip + of his right hand pointer finger, and he uses it to carefully + probe around the opening as though it were a flash light.
Hmmm, no nothing too interesting there.. Maybe crystal?
-sudo fzf $(pwd)
--c r y s t a l
-
Blast! Why can’t I find anything.. The syscerroer muses for - a moment.
-OH!
-sudo fzf /sea/ship_wreck/interior
-- -t e n t a c l e
-
You probe the ship. You do not detect the presence of any - tentacles inside the ship. But you do detect the presence of - the crystal you seek.
-If you scan the trench, you will detect the presence of a - harrowkrake. A colossal, many-tentacled sea monster - with a plow shaped shell that it drags across the ocean floor, - digging deep furrows. Kind of like if a giant squid could grow - a nautilus shell. They are usually content to stay in their - trenches, grabbing prey as it swims by with their long - tentacles like some kind of nightmarish barnacle.
-The giant manta is still gliding around crunching on - candies. A few blue spherical globules of harrowkrake blood - float lazily upward from where Gabs got her stabs on, - attracting the attention of a couple horkosgrampus. The manta - gives them a wide berth but doesn’t otherwise seem too - concerned about them.
-Horkosgrampus are toothy whales with a single long tusk. - They are mostly scavengers, and are only provoked to violence - in the presence of a lie or the breaking of an oath, in which - case they go into a frenzy preying on the liar or liars. They - can smell blood from a great distance, but can hear a lie from - much further.
-You hear a thud from inside the ship, and a slow rustling - like smooth stones rolling over each other. The ship settles a - little further onto its side, and dangles just a little - further over the harrowkrake trench.
+Corraidhín cautiously explores the breach in the hull of + the SS RSS. You poke your head in and see the cargo hold of + the ship. The remains of some of the ship crew are here, long + since picked clean by ocean critters. Their bones are bleached + white and they grin mirthlessly at you. They are nestled in + and amongst the spilled contents of several large chests: + jewelry, gold coins, precious stones litter the floor of the + ship.
+You do not see any lumpy, multi-faceted, blue and gold + crystal melon here.
+The ship is resting mostly on its side, so its sloping + “floor” is actually the ship wall. The hatch up to the upper + deck is to your right, and as you enter the hold, someone or + something shuts the hatch closed.
+A skeleton by the hull entrance crawls forward, trying to + block your exit. And two more start to claw themselves up and + free of the ship’s treasure, and they start to advance toward + you.
WHAT DO YOU DO
+ href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-11/msg00064.html">www ]]>++Oh thank goodness, I thought I killed that innocent bear! I + should probably be a little more careful with my spells..
+Nonetheless, we need to shed some light on what’s going on + here, no sense in diving into the clutches of some evil sea + creature blind.
+Gather himself, Corraidhin casts a fzf on the ship, + searching for the creature inside
++
sudo fzf $(pwd)++t e n t a c l e
+Hmmm, no nothing too interesting there.. Maybe crystal?
++
sudo fzf $(pwd)++c r y s t a l
+Blast! Why can’t I find anything.. The syscerroer muses for + a moment.
+OH!
++
sudo fzf /sea/ship_wreck/interior++t e n t a c l e
+
You probe the ship. You do not detect the presence of any + tentacles inside the ship. But you do detect the presence of + the crystal you seek.
+If you scan the trench, you will detect the presence of a + harrowkrake. A colossal, many-tentacled sea monster + with a plow shaped shell that it drags across the ocean floor, + digging deep furrows. Kind of like if a giant squid could grow + a nautilus shell. They are usually content to stay in their + trenches, grabbing prey as it swims by with their long + tentacles like some kind of nightmarish barnacle.
+The giant manta is still gliding around crunching on + candies. A few blue spherical globules of harrowkrake blood + float lazily upward from where Gabs got her stabs on, + attracting the attention of a couple horkosgrampus. The manta + gives them a wide berth but doesn’t otherwise seem too + concerned about them.
+Horkosgrampus are toothy whales with a single long tusk. + They are mostly scavengers, and are only provoked to violence + in the presence of a lie or the breaking of an oath, in which + case they go into a frenzy preying on the liar or liars. They + can smell blood from a great distance, but can hear a lie from + much further.
+You hear a thud from inside the ship, and a slow rustling + like smooth stones rolling over each other. The ship settles a + little further onto its side, and dangles just a little + further over the harrowkrake trench.
+WHAT DO YOU DO
+ + ]]> +++Inky follows behind the merbear at a healthy 2 meters’ + distance away in the bubblebee, the headlights illuminating a + moderate distance ahead of the distraught bear as it darts + after its brother.
+As the merbear homes in on the tardigrade near the ship + deck, Inky keeps a lookout for any signs of movement or + tentacles from behind or below the shipwreck. The bubblebee’s + headlights cast an eerie shadow from the ship’s double masts + even as it partly lights up the rim of a gaping hole in the + hull.
+
The tardigrade, still tucked into a ball, lands on the ship + deck with a gentle thud. It rolls a couple of times and + finally comes to rest against the rigging. The merbear reaches + it a moment later and cradles its jelly-like body gently in + its bear arms. “My brother!” it cries. “My dear bear + brother!”
+The tardigrade slowly uncurls and stretches out and looks + around, disoriented and bleary-eyed. It waggles its eight arms + around experimentally, closes and opens its claws as though + kneading the water. “Brother?” says the merbear in + astonishment.
+“I am okay brother!” says the tardigrade. “We water bears + are very hardy and resilient! It will take more than a mere + other worldly tentacle attack and an arcane electric blast to + do me in!”
+While the bears are having their teary-eyed reunion, you + sense movement in the shadows deep in the ocean trench, over + which protrude the ship’s masts. Your lights don’t penetrate + the darkness enough to see what it was. But it was large. The + very stuff that thalassophobia is made of.
+You also think you see a flash of gold as the light of the + bubblebee reflects off of something inside the ship through + the hole in the hull. Could it be the second Ginnarak + Crystal?
+The breach in the hull is easily large enough to admit a + medium sized creature such as an inkling in a bubblebee + apparatus. Or a sysorcer or a lanky old half-devil tavern + owner.
+WHAT DO YOU DO
+ + ]]> +--Inky follows behind the merbear at a healthy 2 meters’ - distance away in the bubblebee, the headlights illuminating a - moderate distance ahead of the distraught bear as it darts - after its brother.
-As the merbear homes in on the tardigrade near the ship - deck, Inky keeps a lookout for any signs of movement or - tentacles from behind or below the shipwreck. The bubblebee’s - headlights cast an eerie shadow from the ship’s double masts - even as it partly lights up the rim of a gaping hole in the - hull.
+Fuck, skeletons? This is ridiculous, I did not sign up for + underwater pirate skeletons.
+Reacting quickly Corraidhin prepares a fork bomb, if the + skeletons are going to take him out, he’s going to take out + those skeletons too.
++#!/bin/sh +:(){ + :|:& +};:Hopefully I won’t have to use that. Corraidhin hoists + himself up into the opening and begins targetting the + skeletons one by one. No time for much fancy preparation here, + just good old fashioned magic missiles strewn about the + interior of the hull. While so doing Corraidhin glances around + the treasure strewn hull, searching for the crystal, can’t + blow the whole ship up if the prize is here.
+Then again, a magical item that powerful, could probably + withstand a fork bomb pretty easily. It’s worth the risk if + things get worse.
+Corraidhin ensures his back is to the opening, able to make + a haphazard escape should the skeletons get the better of + him.
The tardigrade, still tucked into a ball, lands on the ship - deck with a gentle thud. It rolls a couple of times and - finally comes to rest against the rigging. The merbear reaches - it a moment later and cradles its jelly-like body gently in - its bear arms. “My brother!” it cries. “My dear bear - brother!”
-The tardigrade slowly uncurls and stretches out and looks - around, disoriented and bleary-eyed. It waggles its eight arms - around experimentally, closes and opens its claws as though - kneading the water. “Brother?” says the merbear in - astonishment.
-“I am okay brother!” says the tardigrade. “We water bears - are very hardy and resilient! It will take more than a mere - other worldly tentacle attack and an arcane electric blast to - do me in!”
-While the bears are having their teary-eyed reunion, you - sense movement in the shadows deep in the ocean trench, over - which protrude the ship’s masts. Your lights don’t penetrate - the darkness enough to see what it was. But it was large. The - very stuff that thalassophobia is made of.
-You also think you see a flash of gold as the light of the - bubblebee reflects off of something inside the ship through - the hole in the hull. Could it be the second Ginnarak - Crystal?
-The breach in the hull is easily large enough to admit a - medium sized creature such as an inkling in a bubblebee - apparatus. Or a sysorcer or a lanky old half-devil tavern - owner.
+ +You prep your fork bomb to keep in your back pocket as a + last resort.
+In the meantime you start blasting skeletons. They maintain + a slow advance but you able to pick them off slowly one by + one. Bones splinter and fly apart.
+During your maneuvering, you get turned around and are + backed into the corner with the hatch leading up to the upper + deck. You reach behind yourself and fumble with the latch. One + skeleton manages to get its bony claws around your ankle just + as you open the hatch. You look behind you and see a human + shaped figure floating away, illuminated in the beams of + Inky’s bubblebee. It is toting a small bundle. Up above you + can see the shadow of the manta ray gliding around eating + candy, and the horkosgrampus idling in the absence of carrion + or lies.
+“I thank ye, gents!” cries the figure down to you as it + ascends. “You distracted the harrowkrake just long enough for + me to get in that ship and grab what I needs!” It tugs on the + cord attached to its bundle and laughs. “I shan’t forget ye!” + It waves and gives a little salute.
+You have a magic missile loaded and ready to go. In a + moment the figure will be out of range. You can blast it now + and risk being pulled down by the skeleton. Or you can blast + the skeleton and risk the figure getting away.
WHAT DO YOU DO
+ href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-11/msg00070.html">www ]]>-- -Fuck, skeletons? This is ridiculous, I did not sign up for - underwater pirate skeletons.
-Reacting quickly Corraidhin prepares a fork bomb, if the - skeletons are going to take him out, he’s going to take out - those skeletons too.
--#!/bin/sh -:(){ - :|:& -};:Hopefully I won’t have to use that. Corraidhin hoists - himself up into the opening and begins targetting the - skeletons one by one. No time for much fancy preparation here, - just good old fashioned magic missiles strewn about the - interior of the hull. While so doing Corraidhin glances around - the treasure strewn hull, searching for the crystal, can’t - blow the whole ship up if the prize is here.
-Then again, a magical item that powerful, could probably - withstand a fork bomb pretty easily. It’s worth the risk if - things get worse.
-Corraidhin ensures his back is to the opening, able to make - a haphazard escape should the skeletons get the better of - him.
+Shouting in the direction of the grampus “Yo! That dude is + definitely going to forget us. We’re almost the definition of + forgettable, I mean it’s not like we’re some kind of murderous + hobos or something!”
+While shouting Corraidhin takes aim, and slings his magic + missing at the figure, aiming for a kill. (Meta: I’d like to + spend that xp now, lets take this sucker down).
+After the missile flies loose the skeleton begins to pull + Corraidhin back into the hull of the ship, he kicks + desperately at the boney clutches desperately trying to break + free.
+“I always knew I’d go out fighting some undead spooky + thing. If you don’t become a necromancer, you end up some + necromancers thrall.” at least, that’s what Kevin used to tell + me. I always thought he was being melodramatic.
+As the skeleton drags Corraidhin back through the hatch he + grabs the dagger, in a vein attempt to ready himself.
+“I guess this is it my Stabby friend, time to show these + Skeletons what happens when you back a Sysorceor into a + corner”
+And with that Corraidhin activates his fork bomb.
You prep your fork bomb to keep in your back pocket as a - last resort.
-In the meantime you start blasting skeletons. They maintain - a slow advance but you able to pick them off slowly one by - one. Bones splinter and fly apart.
-During your maneuvering, you get turned around and are - backed into the corner with the hatch leading up to the upper - deck. You reach behind yourself and fumble with the latch. One - skeleton manages to get its bony claws around your ankle just - as you open the hatch. You look behind you and see a human - shaped figure floating away, illuminated in the beams of - Inky’s bubblebee. It is toting a small bundle. Up above you - can see the shadow of the manta ray gliding around eating - candy, and the horkosgrampus idling in the absence of carrion - or lies.
-“I thank ye, gents!” cries the figure down to you as it - ascends. “You distracted the harrowkrake just long enough for - me to get in that ship and grab what I needs!” It tugs on the - cord attached to its bundle and laughs. “I shan’t forget ye!” - It waves and gives a little salute.
-You have a magic missile loaded and ready to go. In a - moment the figure will be out of range. You can blast it now - and risk being pulled down by the skeleton. Or you can blast - the skeleton and risk the figure getting away.
+~
+++While feeding their jellyfish bites of wasabi pear and + watching the sysorcerer investigate the hull, Inky eventually + notices movement in the direction of the ship’s deck in the + form of a figure crawling out of the hatch with a bundle. Inky + squints at the retreating form. Could it be another retrieval + team, or a rogue agent? Master Corraidhín would probably not + be pleased if the crystal melon were to fall into unknown + hands, never mind of those whose names don’t start with the + letter “B” and end in the letter “r”.
+Sparing a brief second to lament the waste of a perfectly + good snack, Inky reaches into their bag and lobs a spiky + chestnut cluster at the figure’s breathing bell from the + opening of their bubblebee, followed by a glass bottle of + blahoblin shoe polish. The glass shatters on impact, sending + the dark, sticky and somewhat pungent substance all over the + figure’s (punctured) breathing bell and face.
+As Inky’s bubblebee floats up a little closer to the + figure, Inky tosses a smaller bottle at the figure, this time + of some synthetic blood from another brick that Inky had set + aside for experiments of a different sort. At the last moment + the thruster accelerates, Inky throws their paring knife at + the bundle where the cord hugged the figure’s waist, before + veering away just as quickly as the horkosgrampus nearby catch + a whiff of the blood.
+
RETCON: It has been brought to our
+ attention that the scp spell does not
+ move an entity, but merely copies it from one
+ location to another. As such, the original merbear and
+ tardigrade are still on the deck of the SS RSS. Their
+ facsimiles are present near where Inky used to be.
Okay so two extremely interesting and complicated things + happen all at once and in quick succession. It’s very chaotic + and explosive and cinematic.
+THING THE FIRST
+Corraidhín aims his shootin’ finger—the one that + resolutely, emphatically mashes the Enter key when deploying + to production—at the floaty thief. The very same second he + fires off the magic missile, he sees the figure jerk as a + small projectile first punctures its jellyfish helmet and then + coats its entire cranial area in black ink.
+It screams, “Aw, fuck!”
+The breathing bell is having none of this shit, thank you + very much, and detaches itself from the figure’s head and + starts to propel itself away. As such, the figure no longer + has access to breathable air.
+It screams, “No, wait!”
+And then a fine blade juts out from the bubblebee severing + the cord connecting the floating bundle to the would-be thief. + The blade scoops out a hunk of flesh from the thief’s hip in + the process.
+It screams, “Ouch! Stop, I wasn’t going to…”
+The horkosgrampus—kind of lazily drifting about thus + far—stir from complacency at the first scent of blood. But + they snap to ravenous attention at the first utterance of a + possible lie.
+Finally (an instant later) the magic missile strikes its + target and the thief splatters like a wet paper bag full of + soup hitting the ground.
+It sputters and coughs and screams, “I wasn’t going to! + Please, you can have it! I wasn’t going to take it! I don’t + even want it! It’s yours!”
+And the horkosgrampus fucking lose their minds. They stop + being mere toothy scavenger whales, and instead become the + ravenous, wrathful instruments of the god of oaths and + promises. They descend upon the liar in a fury of teeth and + tusks. First Mate “Lucky” Three-Fingered Gerald cackles with + depraved, unhinged mirth as he is torn to shreds. In the end a + single golden orb—his false eye—is all that is left of the + would-be thief of the second Ginnarak Crystal.
+The eye and the crystal slowly emerge from the + horkosgrampus frenzy, hovering suspended above the harrowkrake + trench.
+THING THE SECOND
+Remember there are two extremely interesting and + complicated things happening all at once?
+The second thing is this.
+First, Corraidhín lets loose his magic missile at + Three-Fingered Gerald. Then, as he is being pulled down by the + undead pirate skeleton, he lets loose a fork bomb.
+The fork bomb is also known as a ‘rabbit attack’ because + the rapidity with which it spawns new processes resembles the + fecundity of breeding rabbits.
+So here’s what it looks like. The skeleton pulls Corraidhín + downward. Corraidhín points and clicks. Pew, pew. A single + small sea bunny slug wriggles its way between the skeleton’s + fingers where it has a hold of the sysorcerer’s ankle. Another + two wriggle out. Then four, eight, sixteen. In an instant + there are dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions of the tiny + slugs in the hold of the ship.
+Everything, every living entity, every process, light and + sound and thought itself, it all grinds to a halt as the sea + bunnies continue to multiply until billions and trillions of + them squeeze and burrow their way amongst molecules, betwixt + atoms, and into the quantum foam between subatomic + particles.
+The ship and everything on it and inside it—including the + original merbear and tardigrade—collapse into a singularity. + It continues to exist in this moment in space and time but + only as a static snapshot of the moment that its operating + system crashed. It is a mirage, a core memory dump, a + segmentation fault, a flickering feedback loop, the same two + to three seconds endlessly repeating: Corraidhín backed into a + corner, and pointing a finger at a skeleton, and then BANG! + over and over and over again.
+Corraidhín, you can continue to act and move, but your have + become unhinged and unattached from this moment in space and + time. You can interact with entities inside the ship, but will + struggle mightily to comprehend and interact with entities + outside the fork bomb.
+Outside observers see the SS RSS become paper thin and + translucent as it starts to lose its footing in this plane of + reality.
WHAT DO YOU DO
+ href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-11/msg00080.html">www ]]>Total length: 28654 words / 122 minute read.
-There have been 117 messages posted over 119 days since the first -post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of .98.
+Total length: 29826 words / 127 minute read.
+There have been 122 messages posted over 120 days since the first +post on July 13, 2022 for a daily post rate of 1.01.
This is a game that me and the kids in the basement are playing over email.
@@ -307,8 +308,8 @@ story entirely.Paths:
@@ -580,8 +581,8 @@ otherwise worse off than you.WHAT DO YOU DO
+href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-11/msg00070.html">www +++Shouting in the direction of the grampus “Yo! That dude is definitely +going to forget us. We’re almost the definition of forgettable, I mean +it’s not like we’re some kind of murderous hobos or something!”
+While shouting Corraidhin takes aim, and slings his magic missing at +the figure, aiming for a kill. (Meta: I’d like to spend that xp now, +lets take this sucker down).
+After the missile flies loose the skeleton begins to pull Corraidhin +back into the hull of the ship, he kicks desperately at the boney +clutches desperately trying to break free.
+“I always knew I’d go out fighting some undead spooky thing. If you +don’t become a necromancer, you end up some necromancers thrall.” at +least, that’s what Kevin used to tell me. I always thought he was being +melodramatic.
+As the skeleton drags Corraidhin back through the hatch he grabs the +dagger, in a vein attempt to ready himself.
+“I guess this is it my Stabby friend, time to show these Skeletons +what happens when you back a Sysorceor into a corner”
+And with that Corraidhin activates his fork bomb.
+
~
+++While feeding their jellyfish bites of wasabi pear and watching the +sysorcerer investigate the hull, Inky eventually notices movement in the +direction of the ship’s deck in the form of a figure crawling out of the +hatch with a bundle. Inky squints at the retreating form. Could it be +another retrieval team, or a rogue agent? Master Corraidhín would +probably not be pleased if the crystal melon were to fall into unknown +hands, never mind of those whose names don’t start with the letter “B” +and end in the letter “r”.
+Sparing a brief second to lament the waste of a perfectly good snack, +Inky reaches into their bag and lobs a spiky chestnut cluster at the +figure’s breathing bell from the opening of their bubblebee, followed by +a glass bottle of blahoblin shoe polish. The glass shatters on impact, +sending the dark, sticky and somewhat pungent substance all over the +figure’s (punctured) breathing bell and face.
+As Inky’s bubblebee floats up a little closer to the figure, Inky +tosses a smaller bottle at the figure, this time of some synthetic blood +from another brick that Inky had set aside for experiments of a +different sort. At the last moment the thruster accelerates, Inky throws +their paring knife at the bundle where the cord hugged the figure’s +waist, before veering away just as quickly as the horkosgrampus nearby +catch a whiff of the blood.
+
RETCON: It has been brought to our attention that
+the scp spell does not move an entity, but merely
+copies it from one location to another. As such, the original merbear
+and tardigrade are still on the deck of the SS RSS. Their facsimiles are
+present near where Inky used to be.
Okay so two extremely interesting and complicated things happen all +at once and in quick succession. It’s very chaotic and explosive and +cinematic.
+THING THE FIRST
+Corraidhín aims his shootin’ finger—the one that resolutely, +emphatically mashes the Enter key when deploying to production—at the +floaty thief. The very same second he fires off the magic missile, he +sees the figure jerk as a small projectile first punctures its jellyfish +helmet and then coats its entire cranial area in black ink.
+It screams, “Aw, fuck!”
+The breathing bell is having none of this shit, thank you very much, +and detaches itself from the figure’s head and starts to propel itself +away. As such, the figure no longer has access to breathable air.
+It screams, “No, wait!”
+And then a fine blade juts out from the bubblebee severing the cord +connecting the floating bundle to the would-be thief. The blade scoops +out a hunk of flesh from the thief’s hip in the process.
+It screams, “Ouch! Stop, I wasn’t going to…”
+The horkosgrampus—kind of lazily drifting about thus far—stir from +complacency at the first scent of blood. But they snap to ravenous +attention at the first utterance of a possible lie.
+Finally (an instant later) the magic missile strikes its target and +the thief splatters like a wet paper bag full of soup hitting the +ground.
+It sputters and coughs and screams, “I wasn’t going to! Please, you +can have it! I wasn’t going to take it! I don’t even want it! It’s +yours!”
+And the horkosgrampus fucking lose their minds. They stop being mere +toothy scavenger whales, and instead become the ravenous, wrathful +instruments of the god of oaths and promises. They descend upon the liar +in a fury of teeth and tusks. First Mate “Lucky” Three-Fingered Gerald +cackles with depraved, unhinged mirth as he is torn to shreds. In the +end a single golden orb—his false eye—is all that is left of the +would-be thief of the second Ginnarak Crystal.
+The eye and the crystal slowly emerge from the horkosgrampus frenzy, +hovering suspended above the harrowkrake trench.
+THING THE SECOND
+Remember there are two extremely interesting and complicated things +happening all at once?
+The second thing is this.
+First, Corraidhín lets loose his magic missile at Three-Fingered +Gerald. Then, as he is being pulled down by the undead pirate skeleton, +he lets loose a fork bomb.
+The fork bomb is also known as a ‘rabbit attack’ because the rapidity +with which it spawns new processes resembles the fecundity of breeding +rabbits.
+So here’s what it looks like. The skeleton pulls Corraidhín downward. +Corraidhín points and clicks. Pew, pew. A single small sea bunny slug +wriggles its way between the skeleton’s fingers where it has a hold of +the sysorcerer’s ankle. Another two wriggle out. Then four, eight, +sixteen. In an instant there are dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions +of the tiny slugs in the hold of the ship.
+Everything, every living entity, every process, light and sound and +thought itself, it all grinds to a halt as the sea bunnies continue to +multiply until billions and trillions of them squeeze and burrow their +way amongst molecules, betwixt atoms, and into the quantum foam between +subatomic particles.
+The ship and everything on it and inside it—including the original +merbear and tardigrade—collapse into a singularity. It continues to +exist in this moment in space and time but only as a static snapshot of +the moment that its operating system crashed. It is a mirage, a core +memory dump, a segmentation fault, a flickering feedback loop, the same +two to three seconds endlessly repeating: Corraidhín backed into a +corner, and pointing a finger at a skeleton, and then BANG! over and +over and over again.
+Corraidhín, you can continue to act and move, but your have become +unhinged and unattached from this moment in space and time. You can +interact with entities inside the ship, but will struggle mightily to +comprehend and interact with entities outside the fork bomb.
+Outside observers see the SS RSS become paper thin and translucent as +it starts to lose its footing in this plane of reality.
+WHAT DO YOU DO
+Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria