A, better seen screwing her than hugging her.

One more idea, a cute idea that can happen in the background while Cat is floating around doing whatever:

What if Kelsey decides to let her favorite levitating MIRROR BALL artifact float in the air?

And then Svart dims the lights in the gymnasium and shines some spotlights on the floating mirror ball?

The lights hittinf the disco ball will reflect a bunch of small sparkling lights to shine around the gymnasium like twinkling stars, adding to the zero gravity experience to make everyone feel like they're in space?

Edmango 2022/04/03(Sun)13:53 No. 1028185 ID: 0838d6
File 164901920915.png - (11.81KB , 500x500 , C3_158.png )

> PARTY - LETS GET FRISKY
You decide that you're both in a good enough mood and feel absolutely rad that if you don't take an opportunity to fuck the brains out of this hot and sharply toothed lady you'll likely never get the opportunity again. She also seems to be quite into it, which is kind of surprising, considering how you wouldn’t consider her to take this kind of risk. With a quick motion you toss your vest off, revealing your bare chest and give Iraphena an Eyebrow wiggle, looking her up and down like you're about to have a meal.

Or you would do that if she wasnt intimidatingly doing the exact same thing as you. She's about to remove her dress, but you quickly dive underneath and slip your arms through the sleeves and your head through the neck.

Iraphena: The fuck are you doing?
You: It just looked really comfortable in here
You: Plus then no one would see what we're about to do.

With a deft motion that you wouldn't have thought possible at the moment, you pull out your dick and pop on a condom. With a quick thank you prayer to Gena, you begin to grind your hog against her now absolutely drenched panties. For the first time, you see her genuinely blush. Before giving you a glare. You're worried for a split second you misread her signals before she speaks and completely clears your concerns.

Iraphena: Well! WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR?!?
Iraphena: COME ON, DO IT YOU COWARD!

She lifts her legs up and locks your hip in place, making it that much harder to get your dick into her, but also that much more arousing. You see her smirk at you, attempting to wrangle some sense of control out of the situation as she grinds herself against you. You can feel the flesh of her lower mouth against yours, her panties having slipped to the side at some point. And her breathy light moans cooing in your ear. There's a moment when you consider teasing her entrance, but raw carnal lust fuels you as your cock glides into her vaginal entrance with ease. It's a bit loose, and you remember that she was a size queen, so you quickly use your mods to thicken your rod to the best of your abilities and she positively shudders under the experience, gurgling under the first of what you expect to be many orgasms.

The place seems to darken and you see twinkling lights fill the rec center. You think someone's putting on a lightshow, but your reverie of your surroundings is abruptly broken by her speech.

Iraphena: Is that HUFF all you HNNG got?!?
You: That PANT is not, actually.

Edmango 2022/04/03(Sun)13:53 No. 1028186 ID: 0838d6
File 164901922369.png - (8.36KB , 500x500 , C3_159.png )

> PARTY - THE BIG NUT
You begin to follow your practiced motions, twisting and thrusting, grinding and loosening, her grip on your body tightening with each thrust. She's biting down on your neck, hard, and you can definitely feel yourself bleed, but you couldn't care less because this feels fantastic. The euphoria coupled with sex in a public place, definitely visible to others is doing wonders for your arousal. You can feel her absolutely shudder and you can also hear the telltale moans and plaps of sex reverberate throughout the room. At least one other cluster of kin is out there fucking too.

You feel a heat rise through your loins slowly, building intensity as any pretense of hiding your actions goes out the window. You start to fuck her, hard, her barely restrained moans and your equally barely restrained grunts start to grow louder and louder as you growl into and nibble her actually quite soft ears.

You both climax, hard, as you feel your seed spurt into your condom, it's your first time having sex with this ring on and it surprises you when your normally short climax becomes a more elongated one, like several mini climaxes as you feel yourself fill that condom a bit more than you were expecting and even feel a light bulge in her belly. Luckily Gena knows her shit and these are some XL capacity condoms.

She refuses to let go of you as you feel the zero-g start to lower you to the ground, softly, you land on your ass, Iraphena still on top of you and take a look at the rest of the room.

The first thing you notice is Jerry splayed out on the floor, covered in black lipstick like he was kissed all over the place, even on his pants and an absolutely gremlin-like Gena giggling like mad.

Then you see a cum-coated Andrea laying on top of maple. There's also a still deep mid makeout Willamina and Zarah amongst the others. You uh, might have incited a full blown orgy. Neat!

Edmango 2022/04/03(Sun)13:54 No. 1028187 ID: 0838d6
File 164901926104.png - (12.06KB , 500x500 , C3_160.png )

> PARTY - POST-COITUS
As you look around the room you also notice that it's a mess, like a bigger mess then you'd have expected, there's juice splattered against the walls, some kin strewn about on the rafters, and quite a few of them look dizzy and even toss a few glares your way. You wonder what that could be about. You roll your eyes and try not to think about it but also notice out of the corner of your eye a naked Nicky, looking happy, confused, and covered in fairy dust. Her crotch especially. Nice.

The fairies are nowhere to be seen, but their carnage is evident. There’s lampshades everywhere somehow, and Nicky isn’t the only one covered in dust. Xana’s face is absolutely plastered in the stuff too, and you think you see her mounting a kin or two in the corner just out of sight. You look around and see a lot of clothes missing from kin, and think you can spot out of the corner of your eye a nest up in the rafters with a bunch of bras, panties, undies, shirts, HEY THAT'S YOUR VEST, and a pleased Mint and Taranis watching over the crowd, looking towards each other conspiratorially. You feel Iraphena's pleasured quaking subside as she coughs briefly to get your attention.

Iraphena: That was acceptable, I suppose.
Iraphena: Definitely below average, but acceptable.

You let out a huff and roll your eyes. She's not making eye contact with you as she says this. You get the feeling you did a HEAVENLY good job, contrary to her words. This is about as good of a time as any to talk to her privately, no one looks ready to move yet. Pick 2.

A. Why do you antagonize everyone?
- Get to know her and her motives a bit more
B. Why are you so nice to me?
- Get her to be more open with you
C. How confident are you about what’s coming?
- Get to know her future plans
D. Can you get Cannie to chill?
- Try to grease the wheels and reduce Cannie's aggression
E. Is Isabella okay?
- Find out more about Isabella
F. Other
- Suggest something else to talk about
- Or let her ask a question instead
- If you let her lead the conversation she might ask you a HARD question or two
- Or just leave, though you're stuck in her dress

A & E.

>>1028187
DE

B and F.

B, because you really need to open things up a bit more with her. She still doesn't even know that you know she has precognition. So, give her a chance to explain herself some more. She's afraid of you, because she doesn't know what to expect from you as she does everyone else.

And F, because that's just fair. Let her ask a question, and answer one of hers. It'll help clear the air between you both.

Anywho, Taranis stole your cool vest, so make sure you take the dress when you leave. You can't just walk around topless, you're a civilized gent.

> Definitely below average, but acceptable.
woah woah woah, forget all the choices, this sounds like a challenge! I think it’s time to really make her be honest

By fucking her senseless

>:3

Keep in mind We still have 2 questions left we can still ask and 3 favors as part of her deal to let her talk to someone about our power scanning. the only thing that represents a FAVOR is D, getting Cannie to CHILL.

Mainly B so we can understand each other more, If she finally reveals her Precognition, be honest and tell her you're not sure why you're a blindspot, but you did learn something about innate skills, like Saba's UNDERSTANDING, and that maybe that blindpot thing might be an innate skill, but you're unsure, it's definitely not an awakened power you're aware of.

I am torn between D (to help get Cannie to calm down and it is considered a favor instead of a question), and F (letting her ask a question as it will help mend bridges, and it doesn't use up another question or favor)

B and E. Isabella's been out of focus for a while, how is she?

>>1028187
A,B.

>>1028187
>>Iraphena: Definitely below average, but acceptable.

OH? That sounds like a challenge.
Tell her that "We guess well have to try a little harder next time, if she can take it." Maybe tease her a little too, Cat's still inside her I think?

>>Choices
B and E

Edmango 2022/04/05(Tue)17:08 No. 1028325 ID: afe7de
File 164920369036.png - (9.54KB , 500x500 , C3_161.png )

> PARTY - PILLOW TALK
You’re still slightly hard post nut, you could just twist your hips a bit and cause her to coo, so you do. Just to drive the point home, she did just knock on your game and she DID just climax more times than you did. She squeals at your actions, still sensitive and quivers before holding you tighter. You quirk an eyebrow at her and let the unasked question sit for a moment.

Iraphena: I yield…
Iraphena: You were a good fuck even if your cock is too small…

You roll your eyes at her incredulously, it’s not your fault she takes things that are way too big on a normal basis. You shrug and get to what’s really on your mind.

You: So, big miss SIZE QUEEN, what’s the deal?
Iraphena: Whatsoever could you possibly be referring to
You: Why’ve you been on and off nice but also firm with me?
You: You seem to be quite an ass to most other kin
Iraphena: You couldn’t, no, wouldn’t possibly ever understand
You: How’s about you try me?
You: Call it a leap of faith
Iraphena: HAH, to be one who is capable of taking anything on faith
Iraphena: To have hopes beyond what you can see
Iraphena: How I envy you and yours.
You: Uhh what?
Iraphena: You want to know why I’m nice, fine, I’ll tell you.
Iraphena: It’s because you're unpredictable.
You: I’m pretty sure I’m predictable
You: Like it was unlikely I wasn’t going to fuck Andrea
Iraphena: Everyone’s fucked Andrea, that’s not even a question

She gives you an eye roll and looks at you. You quirk an eyebrow at her and consider, do you talk about her precognition, do you goad her into talking about it, fortunately it looks like you don’t have to.

Iraphena: Fuck it you’re dense, I mean you’re literally unpredictable
Iraphena: I can get information about future events and you’re wiped from existence
Iraphena: Despite being here
You: Uh, what?

Edmango 2022/04/05(Tue)17:08 No. 1028326 ID: afe7de
File 164920370005.png - (12.00KB , 500x500 , C3_162.png )

> PARTY - EXISTENTIALISM
Iraphena: I mean to any seer worth their salt, to any sort of precognition, you simply
Iraphena: DO
Iraphena: NOT
Iraphena: EXIST
You: But I’m right here!
Iraphena: And you can adjust events to a point where even two attempts at seeing the future
Iraphena: Done at exactly the same time, drastically change!
You: So you’re nice because I'm unpredictable?
Iraphena: Sure, let’s just go with that
You: So you’re rude to others because… you can be?
Iraphena: No, I’m rude to others because if I’m nice to others I die in multiple other timelines
Iraphena: And NO, I don’t want to talk about it.

You shift uneasily under her garment, forgetting that you’re still attached at the hip. She grunts pleasantly and so do you, easing the tension in the moment.

You: Change of topic?
Iraphena: Yes, please.
You: How’s Isabella doing? Is she okay?
Iraphena: Oh, like you care.
You: Well I actually do, I kind of didn’t get the whole running away in tears thing
You: Liminal or whatever his name was just told her that she looked quite guilty
You: Without looking at her mind you
You: And then she literally ran off, no other words spoken

You intentionally leave out the part where you saw the spirits communicate, unable to understand them at all. You think that Liminal might have made the spirits say something to each other and it might have gotten heated. But still lacks context.

Iraphena: I reiterate, why do you care?
You: Because even if she’s spreading rumors around about me I have some level of empathy
Iraphena: Ugh, fine. She’s doing miserably.
Iraphena: She left town this morning, earlier than normal.
Iraphena: She’s going to a beach or something
Iraphena: Kept whining about Max, yelling about Willamina
Iraphena: She gets in these moods sometimes but this time was somehow worse
Iraphena: Claims he’ll never talk to her again
Iraphena: Max, by the way, is Willamina’s dead brother
You: I know.
Iraphena: Yeah, that bitch has some problems, no matter how much me or Cannie try to help
Iraphena: But she puts up with my attitude so I can’t really complain
Iraphena: I’m 95% sure she has a power but I’ve got no clue what it is, probably spirit related

Edmango 2022/04/05(Tue)17:08 No. 1028327 ID: afe7de
File 164920371816.png - (9.49KB , 500x500 , C3_163.png )

> PARTY - SEPARATION
Iraphena: As much as I love the sensation of my tummy being overfilled with cum
You: Hey, I wore a condom!
Iraphena: You still came a lot
Iraphena: But I think it’s time we split up
You: Ughhh, fine
Iraphena: You can keep the dress on though.
You: What about you?
Iraphena: It’s after dark, kin can get to see my tits today
Iraphena: Not like I’m the only topless one out here
Iraphena: I’m in a good enough mood to not care.

It takes a few minutes of squirming before you separate, she pulls the condom out. It’s uh, actually quite a load. Maybe a gallon? No about a liter of cum, how the fuck? Your balls aren’t that big, uh, guess that artifact was more potent than you gave it credit for. She downs it, quickly and lets out a belch before blushing slightly and the telltale high hits her.

Iraphena: Ahhh, a high mod, nice. My buzz was wearing off.
You: Oh yeah, I guess I’m a bit too drunk to notice the high
Iraphena: Eh, your loss.

The crowd has thinned significantly as everyone’s heading outside. It looks like the rain subsided. You think there was something about fireworks but are broken from your reverie by Iraphena again.

Iraphena: So, I have a question for you Mr Goodnut over here
You: Uh, yeah
Iraphena: What’s YOUR deal
Iraphena: You can’t just have a detection power that’s all purpose
Iraphena: And I’ve done some research the old fashioned way and I know you’re a new one
Iraphena: And I know you already knew what I could do ahead of time
Iraphena: You don’t have a great poker face

Your heart sinks in your chest for a moment. Does she know, no, she couldn’t know. Maybe she has some guesses. What do you say?

A. The truth
- Iraphena will respond to you with her true feelings on the matter
B. Lie
- Iraphena will tell that you’re lying
C. Other
- Something else happens that saves you from this awkward engagement
- You still got a neat dress, even if it’s a bit too big on you.

A and C. Tell her, but do it with style.

Your max energy is 11 rn, but we need 15 for this (Plus, we may be out anyways due to AWAKENING Nipha earlier, so best to top off regardless). Grab Sunshine and give him a big lick to get a hit of fairy dust (or lick someone else who got covered during fairy shenaniganry. Nicky is my real top pick, I say go with her)

Take Iraphena's hand, and upgrade her Passive Precognition.

Iraphena just put a lot of faith in Cat, telling him about her powers (which to her knowledge he didn't know about). You have to imagine she's in a similar boat to us, having a power that would get her kidnapped by the Hero's League to be put to their purposes if word got out about it. I mean, she said it herself.

Iraphena: No, I’m rude to others because if I’m nice to others I die in multiple other timelines

If she opens up and lets people in, even a little, she's dead.

In spite of that, she made the decision to reveal herself to us. She gave us information that we could use to take her down by sharing with the wrong people, so I think we should do the same. Upgrade her power, and let her know that the only reason you're here is to keep that on the down-low. Who knows? Maybe that'll be an important step to fully clearing the air between us, and forming a bond.

You know what, yeah. She is putting a HUGE risk to her life revealing this bombshell to us. I think A is fine since it seems like she is in a very similar situation to us.

BUT ask to use one of the 3 favors you got to have her keep it a secret from EVERYONE before you reveal it! not even to the person she told you about back in the friendly bean that she revealed your "detection power" to the other day or nunitus. You already told Willamina, Andrea, Rudy, Nipha, Gena and Cannie, Mint but that is all. Maybe also ask a second favor to use her precognition to protect us too from people like the Heroes league and even anyone from Nunitus.

I do kind of like the idea of revealing it by upgrading her... however, when we scanned her, here is what we got:

Level [2] Passive Precognition

Cost [15] Energy to upgrade

Level [5] Precognition + MOD

Cost [1048576] Energy to upgrade

Cat only has 11 energy, 4 points off from upgrading her passive precognition.

Himitsu pointed out licking fairy dust to power us up, but would that give us the energy to do that? also Willamina might get upset at us licking her mother... she's already mad at Sunshine for wanting to fuck her mom.

HOWEVER, last I checked, Cat has 155/250 achievement points (he got the 50 points from poker night), and upgrading energy is 10 points each. so if we upgrade her passive precognition, that means we'll have to spend 40 achievement points, bringing us to 115/250 (this is all assuming he did not get any new achievements from awakening Nipha and doing other stuff since we last checked.) UNLESS we can use fairy dust.

but mainly, I'd spend the 40 achievement points to increase our energy to upgrade her passive precognition and then upgrade her.

Also is it midnight? we used up all our energy awakening Nipha and we can't awaken or upgrade someone until midnight... If it's not midnight, tell her to wait to meet you at midnight and you'll show her rather than tell her. Otherwise, lets just enjoy the party until then. though I think it is past midnight because she said Isabella left this morning, and that was after Oriel suggested that idea. So Isabella must have left sometime after midnight,

we're winning Iraphena over with PASSION, now lets incite the CHANGE.

>>1028327
I think she meant if she's nice, then she'd develop a conscience and stop working with Overmind, or Overmind would suspect she's developed a conscience and is at risk of rebellion, which would get her killed. Think about it, what could kill someone with powerful active precognition, decent passive precognition, and a massive collection of artifacts? Nothing less than a professional hit squad.

If you tell her your power, she will be forced to tell Overmind, because her life is on the line. She can't "be nice" to you and keep quiet about something that big.

No reason to lie, though. Let's just tell her the truth about some things, but not the big secret.
I don't know if this counts as A or C: Tell her that you could tell she had precognition just from how she acted when you met, and also what people said about her. She can evade other people figuring her out via her power, but it doesn't work on you, so she couldn't keep you from finding out.
Also, yeah, your power is more complicated than just detection, but you refuse to tell her the details, for exactly the reasons you claimed. You would be harassed, if not outright kidnapped and used like a tool. You don't want to share her fate.

>>1028329
Aren't we empty of Energy right now?
If we're not, using it on someone would be good.

>>1028333
If it's midnight then no. If it isn't, then yes.

>>1028331
> Cat only has 11 energy, 4 points off from upgrading her passive precognition.

That's why I'm saying to grab some fairy dust and lick that shit. It's straight up magic, if anything can put you over your limit for a few crucial seconds it's that. Get it from the source and hold Sunshine in one hand if you have to.

>>1028337
I kinda doubt faerie dust is enough to bring us from 0 to past our cap...
Also I wonder if Iraphena hasn't upgraded her passive precog on purpose? Maybe it's already annoying...

OH lol I just realized she drank the tea, so it's already been upgraded! It's going to cost more than 15 energy now.

Lie that your power lets you sense unawakened powers too, and when she points out you’re lying say that you’re lying for a good reason.

Tell the truth... about getting the appraisal power from the Demon Eye Amulet.

C. Talk about how well the dress fits you.

>>1028327

I say we do a LITTLE of A. Dont lie, but dont tell the entire thing.
Admit that Cat's power also lets him tell exactly what power others have as well as how strong their powers are. Hint at it letting him alter peoples powers as well, but be vague about how it works.
We shouldnt say anything about being able to awaken people though, and if she tries to dig, tell her we might tell her more when we're sure it wont get either of them in trouble.

And hey, if Iraphena ever gets tired of the world being predictable, or needs some chaos to shake things up, maybe she should hang out with Cat more.

I kind of don't think upgrading her passive precog unannounced is a good idea. This is a woman whose life is dominated by her ability to see the future. Her every interaction with every other person is colored by it, she has no surprises and little to look forward to, and it is clearly wearing on her. Upgrading the one that she can't turn off to be more powerful/detailed/accurate sounds like making her life worse, and for what? A moment of dramatic flare?

>Most of A (because playing it completely safe is a boring story)
Tell her yeah, it's not JUST detection. Right from the start you could touch somebody and get a list of their powers' names and levels, though not details on how they work, and, generally a message saying not enough energy to upgrade.

One more point for full A: Cannie knows the full truth. If we tell Iraphena ourselves, we can use a favor to make sure she keeps it to herself, as Polt suggested. If she finds out the rest from Cannie, then she might be upset enough with us to report it. Even if we gave a partial truth and used a favor to make her not say anything about our powers to Overmind, there are workarounds she could employ to follow the letter of the favor rather than the spirit.

Between Cannie and Iraphena, I'm nore willing to place my faith in the elf staying true to her word, especially her favors, than I am Cannie keeping her mouth shut. Especially if we buold a bond with her, and with the threat of mutually assured destruction om the table. ("One word to anybody, and Willamina will make sure everybody knows about your ability. How many people out there do you think would be interested in precognition? The Hero League will probably take some interest for sure.")

>>1028382
Above all else, lying to her and threatening her are the two things we should avoid.

Cannie already knows, so anything Cat says thats a straight up lie can be easily disproved, even without her breaking her word, and it just makes him look like a jerk, and not a very smart one besides.
Just be honest and tell her we're not comfortable giving it all away yet, especially considering Cannie flew off the handle when we told her everything up front, and that without going into details, people finding out about Cat's power would be as bad, if not worse than people finding out about Iraphena's. Thats something shed probably understand. We just need to build more trust before we go that far.

C) Just tell her you told Cannie and then she pinned you the ground and called you a weakling who didn't deserve what he got. You don't want a repeat of that, and she needs to know how Cannie describes it.

A. Tell her the truth, she risked her safety telling you about herself , it's fair you tell her about yourself. use favor to have her keep it secret, and also use your second HOPE ENERGY POINT to hope she keeps it secret. If we can reveal it by upgrading her somehow, great!

Probably best to get it out of the way and be honest with her to clear the air between us and show we dont want bad blood with her by telling her on our own terms about us than to have her snooping after we lie and make her think we are sketchy and get wrong ideas about us.

Make it clear what happened between you and cannie after you told her, and your fears of Nunitus and The Heroes League knowing about you as you already know that angels had took control of them.

>>1028327
A - Truth, but still easy on the details and heavy on the food for thought.

Cuddle up and whisper in her ear and massage her, make it seem like you're just playing with her a bit more. Remember that she has her Choker of Read Emotions, so she'll know what you're feeling as you talk about it. So yeah, no lies. They're pretty pointless.

>It's a difficult situation for you both, to trust
Admit that you appear to be deeper in this situation than you have any right to be, but you still genuinely didn't know about much of anything of this a week ago. Yes, you haven't been honest about the full extent of your ability, duh. You, too, very much do not want to become endangered by becoming familiar with someone and oversharing. See how that works?

It's hard to trust when both sides thinks the other is more than a bit sus. That's one reason for the wall between you. That can be worked on though, so you will try a bit harder, but she needs to understand that there's like a vanishing opportunity here for one of you to say fuck it and go for broke truth-wise. You're just not sure it CAN be you who fully cracks first. Maybe, in a specific situation, if she'd be willing to put in some trust of her own.

To be fair, you ARE taking some gambles with trusting other people, many of them also more or less strangers, based on what your ability can tell you and to some extent your gut, so why should Iraphena be any different? Well, attitude, power and associates play a part. She's too connected... came off as too risky a gamble, but you didn't want to exclude her totally either, make an enemy of her and whoever she was with - or was pulling her strings. You get that she's just trying to make the best of a raw deal, given the state of the world and the future. She might have gotten the impression that's all she CAN do - or that this is, at least, the best of her options.

So. Here's a few things you CAN reveal and you HOPE (!) it won't come back to bite you in the ass. You'd love some reciprocity, but you're not going to insist on this favor-for-a-favor bullshit today. You think both of you are just trying to make the best of a bad situation, after all, so here's a few gimmies that should be... safe-ish, given that you can literally not trust the walls - or air - to not have ears of late.

>Things to (safe-ishly) reveal
- Yeah, you haven't been honest about the full extent of your power. One thing about them is that you can also identify the specifics of others' powers, she pretty much figured that out already. The rest... is not something you'd reveal in the open. There's one place where you'd feel comfortable doing so, but you'd need Willemina's permission. (Invite Iraphena to the Winnebago to let her in on the whole deal, since it's shielded from most means of scrutiny.)

- You're in touch with someone from another world that was punk'd by dungeons and all that follows. Listening to them describe it has been, uh, illuminating, and has enlightened you about the comment she made the other day about whom to be concerned about. You think you're starting to get it now. (Mint's story, angels being super-powerful 'cleanse first, cleanse again later' types.)

- You know why her Sage's Leap tea didn't work as well as she probably wanted. Sage's Leap tea only ups the least powerful power a single step. Since she has more than one power... ah well. By the time you realized, she was already drinking it. So it goes.

- You bought the amulet. It's useful.

- You can verify Isabella has a spirit. Amulet let you see it, but that's all you'll say about that. You don't want to dump all of someone else's secrets, even someone who's shown themselves unstable. You'd like to resolve things with them somehow. It's... a messed up situation, Isabella's whole deal, the more you look into it. If Iraphena knows anything that could help... well. Maybe you can ask that as a FAVOR or something?

- You don't actually know why you're immune to her future sight. It came as a surprise, though you did make an educated guess that it might be something like that based on how she, some sort of precog, was acting around you. You've taken it to be a good thing. That stuff you do might matter, stupid and arrogant as that may sound. Good or bad though, if someone knows your future, they're going to act on it, manipulate you, try to control you, or even kill you to head shit off, yeah? You don't need a bunch of precogs - present company excluded - making moves on or for you on top of everything else going on in your life at the moment, so you're just glad to have that grace.

She should definitely consider the ramifications though. If some newly Awakened gonzo can have this protection against future sight, why not others, and that's why the future's in such a flux? There likely are those who move far more subtly than you have, and with more power for that matter. Perhaps the futures once seen shouldn't be all that informs her decisions? She may have been depending on this knowledge too much - not that she would have felt she had much of a choice. Perhaps it sucks to be told that, but eh. You're worried about everything you tell her somehow being the wrong thing that'll get back to someone else and get you in debt, chains or killed, so it's pretty even, yeah?

- You have a spirit of your own now. Literally your brother's spirit, thanks to the ring she gave you. Thank you so much. You got to see your bro again. For that alone you'd have fucked her silly. She did good, whatever else comes of things.

Give her a hug and a pat on the back.

(Mix and match the above reveals as appropriate, don't have to be all, or even one.)

Edmango 2022/04/07(Thu)17:52 No. 1028551 ID: 0838d6
File 164937912994.png - (9.14KB , 500x500 , C3_164.png )

> PARTY - HOPE
The pit in your stomach is back, and you can't just ignore it. This... There's a lot of reasons why this makes you uncomfortable. You see a lot of yourself in her story, especially the part about being in an incriminating position where one slip up could lead to your death or worse. You really get it.

The decision you are making is nerve wracking and you feel an unusual amount of pressure on your very being. Every instinct inside of you is screaming for you not to do this, not to share, that it's a terrible idea. You tune out these voices, these detracting thoughts and are still left with a pressure, like the cosmos doesn't want this encounter, as if fate itself is trying in ever minute ways to push you away from this decision, against you. You're visibly shaking and you see the briefest hint of concern on her plump face.

No, you refuse to break down here, to give up. And then you feel something, that bud of HOPE inside of you. The one that a scant few days ago you began to nurture and use. It asks you, begs you to tug on it, to lean on it. Like this scenario, this moment was what it came here for. To help you, to forge this particular bond. The pressure builds as you make the decision and at first, the words don't come out. But little by little that pressure recedes, and you can feel that invigorating feeling of HOPE trickle through your system. You're going to tell her the truth, no matter what your insecurities might tell you.

You: F-first thing's first
You: I'm calling in a favor
You: You cannot speak of what I'm about to tell you
You: Cannie already knows and she got pretty pissed about it
Iraphena: Oh?
You: I-I-I I mean it.
You: Imagine the difficulty of the faith you just put in me
You: But compound the consequences
Iraphena: I don't see how-

There's a moment of recognition in her eye as she looks at you, your posture, your mannerisms, your confidence despite the terror you visibly show.

Iraphena: Huh...
Iraphena: I... No transaction needed, but if it's that serious...
Iraphena: Why risk it? I know I only did it in weakness just now...
Iraphena: And you don't even know the full extent.
You: Nor do you know mine
You: Nearly everyone I've confided in is a near complete stranger
You: I can only trust one kin from my past

Edmango 2022/04/07(Thu)17:52 No. 1028552 ID: 0838d6
File 164937914825.png - (8.43KB , 500x500 , C3_165.png )

> PARTY - THE HARD TRUTH
There's a pause, there's no one in the room, no one except a lone cockroach. You look at him and he stares at you, before responding.

Rex: THE ROOM IS CLEAR, I'VE CONFIRMED IT

He then scurries away, off in some crack in the wall. Has he just been watching the whole time? What has he even been up to? You set that aside and take several deep breaths. You won't share it all, not all at once, but there are some things you can share now.

You: I haven't been fully honest about my power
You: About the full extent at least
Iraphena: Duh, but go on
You: I can also identify specifics of others' powers
Iraphena: Oh.
Iraphena: OH...
Iraphena: That uh
You: And there's one not so tiny detail I can't reveal here
You: Maybe I could share that bit later, with Willamina's permission
You: In a more enclosed space.

You then briefly summarize what you know, how Mint shared her story. Surprisingly, Iraphena heard the same story nearly Verbatim from Krasla, her slave. He's been running errands and so hasn't been present. You verify that Isabella has a spirit, but don't elaborate on the details. You verify that the ring she gave you had your actual brother's spirit in it.

Iraphena: Wait, he's alive? Truly?
You: Yes, and I'd have fucked you silly alone for that
Iraphena: Well you already did
You: For that alone you gained a significant amount of goodwill with me

There is... a pause in her actions, a reverie in her thoughts. Like she's trying to remember something, but can't quite put her finger on it. Before she snaps her fingers.

Iraphena: I just recalled.
Iraphena: I told myself that I needed to get this.
Iraphena: Well future me did, years ago.
Iraphena: That it was important.
Iraphena: I completely forgot.
Iraphena: That's the problem with my power, too much info
Iraphena: Too much change and everything... bleeds together
You: And that's another thing, I genuinely don't know why I'm immune to it
You: To your precognition, and that maybe...
You: Maybe that means what I do *does* matter
You: I know it's hard to trust, but I HOPE...
You: That this doesn't bite us in the ass.

There's a somber silence that fills the room. You can vaguely hear murmurs of kin up on the roof, but it's a distant noise that you filter out. She walks forward and takes you into a hug, a tight one. You return the gesture.

Iraphena: You know, when I touch you, I can't see anything at all
Iraphena: Of the future I mean
Iraphena: Not passively, not actively
Iraphena: But we're still here, still alive
You: Maybe The futures you've once seen shouldn't inform all of your decisions?
Iraphena: Easy for you to say, you haven't lived my life

She laughs mockingly at herself, but doesn't break the hug. You hear her let out a quivering breath.

Iraphena: Don't make me regret trusting you
You: I could say the same thing to you
You: I mean, if it's all a gamble, what's one more roll of the dice?

Edmango 2022/04/07(Thu)17:52 No. 1028553 ID: 0838d6
File 164937915925.png - (10.71KB , 500x500 , C3_166.png )

> FINALE - FIREWORKS
The hug breaks and the two of you make your way to the rooftop. You can hear Landi, Random and Sunshine excitedly talking to the crowd as the telltale screech of fireworks begin to shoot up into the air. Iraphena takes a seat on a nearby bench, leaning against the railing and waves you off, wanting a moment to herself.

You’re going to give her the full truth later, of that you’re sure.

A. Sit next to her anyway
- Increase your bond with Iraphena
B. Go back to your group
- Increase your bond with your friends
C. Request specific fireworks
- Increase your bond with those who like what firework you make
D. Other
- You could ignore the fireworks and look for or do something else
- You get the feeling whatever you do now will be important

AUTHORS NOTE: The thread will be ending in the next few updates.

A. Go sit with her, and imagine the future you want. That idea is what you're going to do your best to make.

A. This is your moment to turn her from a frenemy, to a friend.

A - You like her.
She's got a nice rack.
She's good in the sack.
And most importantly:
She's a balanced mix between a practical strategist and a compassionate caretaker. You don't want to make enemies with good people.

A. She's pushed people away all the time due to her precognition telling her to do it for her safety. She needs to experience friendship.

But no more talk about the future, and stress. Instead, talk about things that interests her, like the BATTLEBLADE club she frequents at and any silly stories she knows from it. Maybe we'll Learn about how Kazu had to wear a shock collar during the club activities, and then we can talk about how Kazu once had a mullet when we knew him back in the city 5 years ago, and we even had a weird hairstyle too Back then.

Just had an awesome idea, and it involves knowledge from Edyellorange's other quest:

In Plush Quest, Mimi said that Irah loved sweet stuff.
So if Irah is supposed to be a reincarnate of Iraphena, what if that means she likes sweets too? She did eat our donut after all.

With that in mind, we also have 2 packets of Sweets that we've been feeding to Rex, with one of the sweets packets being open. But now that Rex has beef jerky now, why dont we just give Iraphena our unopened sweets packet for her to enjoy now or later, and bring our bond up with her a little more?

Is there anything in Iraphena's dress pocket? If there is, return it to her.

Edmango 2022/04/09(Sat)16:38 No. 1028706 ID: 0838d6
File 164954749301.png - (14.05KB , 500x500 , C3_167.png )

> FINALE - YOU CHOSE THE ELF
You see Iraphena's dismissive wave, and notice your friends all piled up in a corner watching the fireworks and decide to sit with her. She gives you an incredulous look and then sighs.

You: I'm not going away that easy
You: You can't just push me away
You: I mean uh, you could, but I think you need a real friend
Iraphena: I…

The fireworks begin to burn a bit brighter than normal for a moment, it almost looks like lightning from up here, you stick your hand in the pocket of your new dress and fetch a pair of sunglasses out from it, you hand it to her.

Iraphena: Thanks, I forgot about those.
You: Want some sweets?
Iraphena: Mmmmmm yes.

You stick your hand into your pocket, the sweets still there from earlier and hand her one, biting one yourself. They're a bit hard, but just as good as they were a few days ago. She seems a bit happier at the moment, content almost.

You talk to her a bit about battleblade club, you talk about random things that don't make sense, and you talk about life in general. Despite the fireworks going on around you it's a quiet moment, one of reflection and calm. And in a weird way, you feel like you made a friend today, one that felt so distant a goal before.

There's a pause as you notice shadowy figures around you, outlined by the fireworks, for a moment you panic, but then you realize it's just Willamina, Andrea, Gena, Nipha, and Rudy. They look at eachother and nod before reaching out and tickling you. You're caught off guard, you yelp and laugh, Iraphena cocks an eyebrow at this scene and you reach out and tug her into the mess. For a moment, there's concern that the others will reject her, but they don't, and time passes as you all watch the fireworks together.

Maybe things won't turn out so bad after all, not if you can have moments of respite like this. You drift off to sleep, comforted by your new friends.

Edmango 2022/04/09(Sat)16:38 No. 1028707 ID: 0838d6
File 164954753348.png - (12.25KB , 500x500 , C3_168.png )

> DONJON UNDERGROUND, OVERMIND'S LAIR
Overmind: Why... are you late with the report?
Grunt: Sorry, sorry, there was just uhhh a lot going on
Overmind: Explain
Grunt: Light 247 claims one of our workers set a diner ablaze
Grunt: And and nearly blew her own cover
Grunt: She also has ramped up activities near the dungeon in Lyst
Overmind: And what of Iraphena
Grunt: She gifted us one half-dragon servant for use
Grunt: Reports of a newcomers to lyst, several Awakened
Overmind: Any promising ones?
Grunt: Old marks, none pliable
Grunt: One seems suspicious, but Eye 017 claims it warrants no further study.
Grunt: Strangely, reports from Lyst are... scrambled
Overmind: Explain
Grunt: Like someone who knows our codes is there subverting the insects
Overmind: Hmmm
Grunt: Co- er, Overmind if I may...
Overmind: What was that?
Grunt: I er
Overmind: No, go on, say it

The woman gets up from her chair and takes off her hood, leaning into the masked grunt. The grunt starts to shake, terror visible deep in her bones.

Overmind: Say my name
Grunt: C-c-cobbler I'm sorry Overmind I'm sorry.
Overmind: HahhaHAHAHA hahaHA hahah
Overmind: Your expression was so good, hahaha
Grunt: Please no, it was an accident I-
Overmind: Oh, lighten up, literally, I think fireflies would look nice this time of year.
Grunt: Please

There's an audible snap as the woman clicks her fingers together and the grunt in front of her dissipates immediately into a burst of fireflies, they filter out of the room slowly, a few lingering behind and swirling around Overmind’s outstretched hand.

Overmind: Hmm, Lyst huh?
Overmind: I'll give Iraphena some more time, she did bring me a good toy.
Overmind: Bring in the half dragon!

There's a pause and silence in the room for a moment.

Overmind: Shit I forgot
Overmind: Eh, I'll just make a new one

She snaps her fingers again, this time, a new grunt, exactly the same in appearance as the old one slowly forms from cockroaches that seep in from grates in the floor.

Grunt: Yes my queen
Overmind: Call me Overmind
Grunt: Understood my queen
Overmind: UGhhh, why couldn’t there be more cicadas around here

> END OF THREAD 3

Edmango 2022/04/09(Sat)16:39 No. 1028708 ID: 0838d6
File 164954758461.png - (10.41KB , 500x500 , C3_169.png )

> AFTERWORD
EDMANGO: Wow hey there y’all, what a ride! Thanks for sticking with me throughout this whole process. Catalyst was the first quest I started on this site, but I think it’s time I put it on pause for a bit. Time for a Hiatus on Catalyst, at least for a bit.

> WHY THE BREAK?
EDMANGO: Well there’s a lot of reasons, mostly that because it was my first quest I made some… questionable decisions with the intro and with escalation, another is that I want to work on something else. I also have concerns about the length of what I had planned. This feels like a story that would take 10+ threads to finish and I want to find a way to tell it more concisely.

> WHEN WILL IT BE BACK?
EDMANGO: No idea, but when it comes back it will likely be a timeskip, or a reboot, or a side story, or something else entirely. I really like what I’ve done with the story, especially in this chapter, but feel that I made some writing mistakes that I now know how to handle better.

> CAN I MAKE MORE CATALYST THEN?
EDMANGO: Anyone who wants to make a quest or content using characters and ideas from CATALYST is totally free to do so, if you get impatient and wanna make your own spinoff or sequel or continuation feel free! I’ll even say it’s canon unless you murder all the characters, then I’ll say it’s double not canon and feel sad.

> WHAT’S NEXT
EDMANGO: Next up is my take on the towergirls formula, I’ve got the basic plotline down and the chart nearly done, so I’m excited. Should be about 2 months of quest, maybe a bit more or less depending on what happens.

> Q&A (ASK ME QUESTIONS)
EDMANGO: I will now accept questions for stuff you wanna know!

Is LYST going to have a happy ending? Are they doomed or is it gonna be okay?

What was some actions we took through the 4 threads that took you by total surprise?

What happens if one were to mix all three slushee flavors together? (Unless that is a total spoiler)

Your 5 favorite CATALYST characters?

might have more questions later.

What do Iraphena's sunglasses look like? I bet they're an artifact too, everything she owns is an artifact.

>>1028708
do you think the reason the wealthy are so against synthetic insect-based meats is because they fear we'll start to crave more bugflesh, being horrible bugmen in disguise and all?

EDMANGO 2022/04/11(Mon)15:34 No. 1028922 ID: 0838d6
File 164971645791.png - (11.85KB , 500x500 , C3_170.png )

> Is LYST going to have a happy ending? Are they doomed or is it gonna be okay?
EDMANGO: That's a spoiler!
EDMANGO: It's not set in stone, but I like how you went for Iraphena, that'll spice things up for sure.

> What actions took you by surprise
EDMANGO: Not getting a weirder dick
EDMANGO: How heated the cannie debate got
EDMANGO: How you guys accidentally gave Nipha an OP set
EDMANGO: Seriously, I didn't realize the combo power

> What happens if you mix all three slushee flavors
EDMANGO: You vanish from the material plane and ascend
EDMANGO: But if you're not prepared that just means you die

> Top 5 Catalyst Characters
EDMANGO: Nipha and Andrea tied for first, Gena, Iraphena, Trey vaguely behind them.

> What do Iraphena's sunglasses look like?
EDMANGO: Well they look like sunglasses with four lenses, two on each side. They're decent quality but not a special brand or anything

> Do you think the reason the wealthy are so against synthetic insect-based meats is because they fear we'll start to crave more bugflesh, being horrible bugmen in disguise and all?
EDMANGO: That’s certainly why Overmind wouldn’t want that, thats for sure!

> BYE BYE FOR NOW
EDMANGO: Thanks for reading y’all!
EDMANGO: Go check out my new CYOA based quest
EDMANGO: It’ll certainly be something!
https://questden.org/kusaba/quest/res/1028895.html