>>1020237
THIS so hard, I couldn't have said it better.

B. These guys are complete tools.

B, but we steal their dark knowledge afterword's. This god of theirs is intriguing, and could be worth while to follow. But not with fools.
An active god deserves competent followers.
Like us, not them.

B

I think it's in your best interest to burn this bridge soon

A. Mostly to commune with the eldritch god, not necessarily to help this group of cultists. I expect if we go the route of betrayal it'll be very difficult to perform the ritual. Though maybe not impossible with the journal.

>>1020237
Your logic is flawed.
Yes, we figured them out, but our argument only held weight with the villagers due to finding the coin, which we only found because we had ZAN, and that was pure luck. We also had zero evidence on SVART, just a feeling that his performance was pre-planned.

Their biggest mistake was CHU UK. He was just wandering around in the manor, easily spotted from outside, and was probably their least dangerous STITCHED due to him not having any arms. But hey, that's exactly why MIMI and not-SVART are bickering. They aren't complete fuckups. Even if they were... we could just help them not be so terrible at it!

They're also NOT EVIL. They are doing it pretty much how we would do it- claiming those who have sinned and then not even treating them that badly. Remember, the STITCHED are not suffering- their dreams are pleasant. The eldritch god they worship isn't evil either.
I'm guessing CHU UK only attacked us on sight because he was ordered to. It's not that they're feral, they're being controlled.

That said, I think MIMI is the most dangerous one among them. She is probably smarter than she lets on, and is planning to use IRAH and the cult for her personal benefit. What she did to CHU UK was cruel and based on a personal grudge.

B) Agreed, they're all buying into a black hole, no matter how intelligent they pretend to be. But that comment about the Loom - they know about the other cults. That is information you will need going forward.
You're also intrigued by forbidden rituals. Despite the general wrongness of turning people into zombies, they have their niches.

Yeah, we're going to be burning bridges either way; might as well make it B on account of the whole "endangering innocents" thing on top of all the scientific ethics violations, especially since we might already have everything we need to become self-taught once the dust settles. (Looking at you, book, evil goop, plus idol and various charms for reference.)

Regardless of which path we take, though... I think it's prudent that we warn SVART about MIMI acting dumber than she is. It could make our betrayal sting a bit less for him, regardless of the outcome, and in the event that they both escape, I'd want him to put a stop to whatever's going on with her because I have a feeling it's somehow gonna be worse than what they've already been doing.

B
I think with that information, we got enough information to give to Da Crone once we leave.

But consider secretly researching into the anatomy book, and the journal once we get out of here. I see Cob interested in making abominations, but only on her own terms, not theirs. The secret santa gift might be able to help with that.

If we're leaving not-SVART alive after betraying him then yeah I'll agree with warning him about MIMI.

We want to kill Mimi that hard? Weren't we sent here to make sure she's okay? Ideally, we break up the cult and her brainwashing.

>>1020272
You're a bit confused. DA CRONE sent us here to get proof that MIMI was up to no good.
MIMI was responsible for stitching CHU UK and his two girlfriends together. There's no way she's brainwashed.

>>1020236
I am very interested in this. I pick A. I feel like the group itself may not be evil itself, we just happened upon evil followers of the group. Honestly, Svart is not good, but I am not sure he is really evil either given what he has said. Mimi on the other hand is absolutely rotten, and it seems like most of this mess was caused by her using the cult's knowledge and resources for revenge rather than the cult itself.
Even if we do eventually betray Svart and such, that doesn't mean we have to betray the rest of the cult, which is implied to be much bigger than just three or four individuals.

Betrayal through poison kisses seems like a fun way of doing this. Just let mimi go first so that she can distract Irah while Ka Xu can save us (An said she is sending him)

If we tell Svart about Mimi being dumber than she looks before betraying him, just make sure to tell him AFTER we free Mimi so she doesnt hear.

Edmango 2022/01/13(Thu)13:52 No. 1020390 ID: 0838d6
File 164211074915.png - (10.68KB , 500x500 , p174.png )

> DECISION - BETRAY SVART
Your moment of indecision has passed, after learning more you couldn't be more clear-headed about the situation. You won't be joining them. You think about this situation for a moment.

At first you were going to mentally claim that they were all idiots if you, a random stuffie, could figure this all out in a few days. But this actually isn't true, you don't know everything about this situation, and their biggest mistake was actually leaving CHU UK out there for someone to find. Even then you feel like this move should have had a purpose behind it, something you don't quite get. Perhaps it was even a challenge or due to a disagreement within the ranks of this group.

And then you think about your companions, you think about Ka Xu and then An and her very attractive butt, huggs, and smooches. Yeah, you won't be getting anything like that with them. You'll admit Mimi is physically attractive, but you despise her at this point. She's more malicious and full of malice than you first realized. You even worry that she's trying to manipulate the cult for her own purposes. You take a deep breath and speak, ready to lie through your porcelain lips.

You: I... Accept... for now.
Svart: Fluuuufff yeah!
Mimi: Uuuughhhhh but you suck so hard
Svart: Actually you suck pretty hard Mimi
You: I uh, need to use the outhouse though, gimme a sec?
Svart: Oh, yeah, sure.
Svart: Damn, I might get a bonus out of this.
Svart: Well, our next destination is BLANKETBURG
Svart: You can tell your buddies to meet you there if you want.
Svart: Might be a while though.
Svart: Though we'll be making a stop somewhere hidden first for you two

He points towards you and Mimi before smiling smugly to himself. You see Svart has completely fallen for your lie as you step outside, the Blizzard has nearly subsided as you see the snowfall become gentler. You see Ka Xu in the distance talking to what looks to be BELLA. Beside her is something you were definitely not expecting, it's a PAPERLING HOUND. It looks similar to that one paperling you caught as a child. You shake your head and pace over to the outhouse, emptying your bowels as a knot of anxiety forms in your stomach.

Do you make any preparations?

A. INFORM KA XU AND BELLA
- You could walk over and let them know the situation
- You can BRIEFLY say something to them without alerting Svart
- A [BRIEF] statement is about 6 seconds of words
- The longer your statement to them, the more likely he'll be suspicious
- What do you tell them?
B. IMMEDIATELY RETURN
- Increases your odds of success
- Svart will have his guard down
- You could also sneak in another question or statement
C. OTHER
- Suggest some other preparation

And how do you betray him?

1. SMOOCH AND STUN
- Apply the PARALYSIS POISON to your lips and SMOOCH Svart
- Due to the nature of the poison and your act you will ingest some too
- You will have [1 UPDATE] to act before you become parylized as well
- Svart may try something in the moment if he realizes he's being tricked
2. SNEAKY POISONED NEEDLE
- Attempt to sneak attack him with a poisoned needle
- If you miss you will start combat
- You get the feeling Svart will be hard to hit
- You get the feeling Svart might try to flee
- You get the feeling that there will be consequences should you fail
3. CALL FOR BACKUP
- Get Bella and Ka Xu over there and attempt to blitz Svart
- You will have the numbers advantage
- This will make noise, potentially alerting Irah to your location
4. THE QUITTER’S WAY OUT
- Pop in briefly and say you've changed your mind
- You get the feeling Svart will be disappointed
- You get the feeling Mimi will carry a grudge
- You can then go do something else
5. SOMETHING ELSE
- Suggest something else to do
- Some suggestions wanted to free MIMI as well as doing other actions

> THOUGHTS
[ANCESTOR] I'm disappointed in you
[INSTINCT] Oh thank stuffing we didn't do that
[DESIRE] This feeling in our stomach sucks...
[INSTINCT] It's called Anxiety
[DESIRE] Well I'm ANXIOUS we won't get more smooches if we fluff this up

Option 1 feels like our best choice for catching Svart, because its success is based entirely on him accepting a smooch from us. Poisoned needle would be a sneak attack, and honestly I just don't trust our odds of us beating his perception. Calling Ka Xu and An would put the action economy in our favor, but none of that matters when Irah showing up could be an instant loss condition, one that could even result in our allies getting seriously hurt since they haven't been warned about how strong Irah is yet. If An or Ka Xu tried to attack him or Mimi, we could walk away with a rather grave loss.

We're about to be unconscious, which means if there's anything Ka Xu and Bella need to know, we have to tell them now. It's tempting to tell them about the coin, but they're probably going to be too busy with us to swing by the cave and help Jack and Gyob in a reasonable time frame. If they have the chance and are willing, they'll go coin or not. So instead, I suggest keeping it as brief as you can.

"Svart's Mimi's ally. Gimme'a minute."

Apply poison to lips, and get ready to smooch. Feel free to take your one update before it kicks in really starting to snuggle with him, insisting that if shit's gonna get serious when Irah shows up that you get to enjoy your time until then. It's only fair, he traded for smooches earlier, so now you're demanding affection for joining his group.

A. "Gimme cob note, need you in there next [update]. Cant explain now."
(Point to an's when you say you need him there next update)

1. Smooch and stun, become the trap. Use warmth to make him not expect a thing and keep him ignorant. (Maybe let Mimi leave so that she can go distract Irah.)

Next update we'll leave a note for Ka Xu and bella to tell him to take Cob and captured Svart and the others out of town and we'll use that remaining update to try to bind Svart up with the hq stone chain until we pass out. Afterwards it is out of our hands.

Oh yeah, use warmth to calm your anxiety, and maybe to not make Ka Xu worry too much.

>>1020390
A, 1.
A: Tell them "I've exposed Svart, wait for me to poison him"

Edmango 2022/01/15(Sat)15:45 No. 1020494 ID: 0838d6
File 164229030828.png - (10.25KB , 500x500 , p175.png )

> PREPARATION - POISON AND TALK
You take one deep breath, then a second. You use your WARMTH to calm your anxiety. You hope this works. You reach into your bag and pull out the paralysis poison, after being treated by KA XU it's this thick and viscous substance. Just enough to coat the edge of a blade or, in this case, your lips. The poison is a brilliant tint of YELLOW and you wonder if you could just get some sort of LIPSTICK in this color later. You carefully apply it to your porcelain lips and after a moment it's done. You're careful not to ingest any and test saying a few words, confident you won't consume it. Unfortunately you understand that you WILL be poisoned as soon as you start making out. It's inevitable, and it's a sacrifice you're willing to make.

You confidently stride towards your companion, who notices you and walks over with a guarded BELLA and a somewhat excited paperling. You approach and Ka Xu is about to speak when you put your finger to your mouth and he closes his. You've thought this over carefully, so you briefly speak.

You: Give me the Cob Note.
You: Svart is on Mimi's Side.
You: Come inside next [UPDATE].

He hands you the notepad and pen and you dash to the Sheriff's office. You kept it brief and quiet, hoping no prying ears nearby or inside there heard you. You pray for a miracle to no one in particular as you step inside, confident about the next step of your plan.

Edmango 2022/01/15(Sat)15:45 No. 1020495 ID: 0838d6
File 164229032161.gif - (24.12KB , 500x500 , p176b.gif )

> BETRAYAL - SMOOCH AND STUN
You open the door with confidence in your stride and you look at Svart. He looks back at you with a smirk and you pull out the key to Mimi's cell, as you slowly walk towards it.

You: There's a hatch or that window over there,
You: Bella and Ka Xu are outside the inn, so you might want to be discreet
Mimi: Wait you're letting me go, you're really joining
Svart: Hot damn!
You: You owe me smooches Svart, right now.
Svart: Uh
You: You're making me give up on the rabbit and she's fluffing hot
You: You OWE me

Your WARMTH aura is practically bubbling in this room, affecting those around you, to feel just the intensity of your emotion. You let Mimi out and she quickly dashes out the window, looking at Svart with pause.

Svart: I'll catch up, you're the priority here apparently
Svart: See Nyuh in a few days

Mimi nods and sticks out her tongue at Svart before dashing away into the night. You think you hear thumping in the distance as she closes the window, but disregard it before heading over to Svart. You wiggle your eyebrows at him, signaling your lustful intent towards him. The two of you pounce at each other lips to lips, hands to supple plush. You notice Svart quirk an eyebrow but you tug on his hair as a distraction, you know he likes that.

Edmango 2022/01/15(Sat)15:45 No. 1020496 ID: 0838d6
File 164229033953.png - (13.71KB , 500x500 , p177.png )

> POISON - TRAP SUCCESS
You have to admit he is a good kisser, and part of you DOES think he's kind of attractive even if he associates with MIMI and is a bit heavy on the theatrics. Maybe in another life you could have been companions. You start to feel a little sluggish, and notice the Svart starts to as well, he breaks away from the smooch, panting, much like yourself.

Svart: Woah, I've never felt... lightheaded like this
You: Me... neither
Svart: Fuck, Mimi was right you were a… poisoned fruit

He collapses on top of you and you feel a sharp pain in your chest, you look down and see that he's pierced you through with... something, it hasn't gone very far in, so you use your remaining strength to yank it out. It's a small stone nail, the tip is slightly smudged purple, you don't really feel anything and push Svart off of you, onto the floor, he's panting and speaks briefly before passing out.

Svart: You... smart... stuffing... ass...
Svart: I... think... I... love... you...
Svart: Welcome... to... the... team…

Your vision feels slightly shaky, you can feel the poison taking effect, but you're hanging on, your size coupled with your ASH-KIN biology is making the poison take longer to affect you.

You're going to pass out after you do ONE thing.
You can hear Ka Xu and Bella approaching.

The [NOON] is almost over.
What do you do?

A. WRITE A NOTE
- Your hands are shaking
- The more you write, the more illegible it will be
B. TIE UP SVART
- Use your deeply ingrained trapping skills
- You know how to make easy knots even with such little energy
C. FLEE
- Exit the Sheriff's office
- Maybe you can belt out 3 or 4 words before falling unconscious
D. BLEED
- Widen the wound left by Svart
- Ka Xu might do something drastic to Svart if he notices it
- There’s a fixed chance that you’ll remove whatever he jabbed into you
E. OTHER
- Do something else

> THOUGHTS
[ANCESTOR] Hmm...
[INSTINCT] Uh oh, did we get spiked with STITCHED blood?
[DESIRE] Is it fluffed up that I found this to be kind of hot?
[ANCESTOR] Yes
[INSTINCT] No

Bleed the zombie poison out

D, Let's bleed this junk out.

Mainly I just want to see what Ka Xu will do to Svart if he sees us injured and unconscious. It'll be good to know that the friends we chose over Svart's gang are willing to kill to avenge us. Plus, it undermines Svart's final act against us, and I'm down to take away all this dude's wins.

>>1020496
I bet the purple stuff is needed to commune with the Entity. Let it happen. Not-Svart said it would require some pain, and so you probably can't just swallow it. Plus he just welcomed you to the team.

A: "Purple is good, tie svart up"

My plan is to commune with the Entity then talk to Svart when you wake up. Try to convince him to join you in a splinter group, to get away from Mimi. He can also help you control the remaining STITCHED, to keep them docile and see if you can help the more innocent ones break free. Not sure what to do with the scumbags, tbh. Might want to ask An about that.

>>1020500
Seconding. Also write Mimi is EVIL and underline evil.

>>1020497
>>1020498
That's kind of a terrible idea. Firstly, it may not work (we could even end up pushing whatever it is further in). Second, we don't have steady hands at the moment, we could end up killing ourselves.

>>1020500
And that's a thirding. Maybe cross out "good" and write "not bad" underneath.

Write "MIMI is smarter than she acts," tear that part out, slip it into SVART's pocket.

>>1020504

The chance of us killing ourselves is very low, considering it wasn't even enough of a possibility to be listed with the choice. We should have enough control to possibly expel the liquid from us.

If we go with the note, let's write to Ka Xu and Bella instead of Svart. Those two can actively act, whereas Svart is out for the count for the moment. If we want to tell him anything, we'll have the chance later when he's restrained. Just some simple instructions should suffice

"Got infected, tie up Svart"

Let's not call the purple junk good yet until we know exactly what it's going to do, but just let them know that it's in us in case it causes us to do act strangely.

>>1020511
I don't think we should write that last part. Kind of verbose, and we can probably tell him ourself either when we wake up with him bound, or when we find ourselves in some dreamlike state talking to eldritch gods in Apocrypha.

>You think you hear thumping in the distance as she closes the window
I think that was Irah coming over. Thankfully we let Mimi go to distract him just in time to get him to leave like Svart ordered.

We probably just got initiated, like it or not. But luckily we don't have to join them now that Mimi and Irah left. Svart did say we'll catch up with them in a few days, so whatever happens to Svart here, Irah and Mimi won't know and won't attack the town as they head to Blanketburg unaware of what we did to Svart for now. Don't be surprised if you start hearing the tentacled iris talk to you now and get you curious about certain things.

What do? write the note: 'Tie svart up, get people at inn, svart, and me out of town.'

I want to take Svart prisoner as we leave town if possible. We should have enough people keep an eye on him so he won't escape his bindings with his skills as we get him to a more secure prison out of town.

I don't think we need to write Mimi is evil, the town already knows that as we already jailed her earlier, so it's just a waste of time writing that. We don't really need to talk about the purple cotton blood, at least not until we wake up.

After you write whatever, use your remaining strength to throw the HQ stone chain at Svart for Bella and Ka Xu to deal with, It will be out of your hands afterwards. lastly, turn on your warmth to help comfort you as you go unconscious. Use that as your beacon to reality in case you get caught in the dream svart talked about.

>>1020520
Probably want to include any survivors not in the inn, if we're going with this version of the note.

We know the inn is safe though, why tell them to get people to leave it?

>>1020524
Mainly for safety reasons. If stuffies stay in town, and Irah at some point suspects the town imprisoned or killed Svart, he could one day attempt revenge against the villagers. This place is pretty much a ghost town anyway and no longer safe now with abominations walking around. Plus it is safer to have multiple people watch over Svart as we leave woodwater to Da Crone as they decide what to do with their lives, and we dont know how long we'll be out with us being poisoned, or when the blizzard will pick up again to prevent us to leave

Tho if inn is really safe with Irah and Mimi gone, we could probably write instead "Tie svart up, take us to inn, keep eye on Svart."

>>1020525
Oh in the long run sure, we'd want people to leave. That wouldn't require a note.
Svart's absence won't be considered suspicious for a few days, since he told Mimi he would be delayed.

>>1020520
>They know Mimi is evil
The reason we underline evil is to emphasize that she is the only truly evil one. The cult doesn't seem evil per se, even if they are our enemy right now.

>>1020525
We dont really need to tell them to take us to the inn or out of town, pretty obvious thats what they should do without us wtiting that.

Edmango 2022/01/17(Mon)16:14 No. 1020625 ID: afe7de
File 164246489194.png - (12.46KB , 500x500 , p178.png )

> SLUGGISH ACTION - WRITE A NOTE
Your knees are weak, your arms are like licorice, you can feel a faint pulsing in your head, like needles are being jabbed into it. You let out a weak grunt as you grab your COB NOTE. Your arms are shaking but you get the first line out quickly and sloppily.

TIE SVART UP

It’s legible, you think. You fall to the floor on your rear. You think you hear a large crash and shouting, but you can’t focus. Your breathing is slowing, there’s not much time. There’s a rattling near your chest, something vibrating, you vaguely feel some foreign energy in your body. You rely on your [INSTINCT] to write the next part, ignoring this feeling.

GET STUFFIES AT INN, OU-

You drop the pen, picking it up again, you try to finish your thought, but just can’t. The only real words that are legible are STUFFIES and INN. You hope Ka Xu can interpret this as your body falls lifeless, crashing the rest of the way to the floor. You see a panicked Ka Xu rush in, you gesture to the note and he looks at it. He looks like he’s yelling, but you can’t understand him. You black out.

> PARALYSIS - “THE DREAM”
You feel… flashes of moments, glimpses of themes and ideas, but as they enter your mind, you forget them.

ONE…

Time passes and you begin to… feel… yourself, but it’s not yourself. Your porcelain is hard, but it’s got a crunch to it, and is more plated. You’re flying through the air. You’re small, nearly the size of what you remember being your pinky at one point, and you are aimless.

You feel something, something off in the distance, you fly off to it, it’s loud, rumbling, and made of a reflective and terrifying material. You recognize it as your enemy, as the one that slaughtered your kin. You CHIRP, and it feels RIGHT, like this was the sound you were meant to make, like this was what you were meant to do. You dive into the machine and heat suffuses your surroundings, shards of this hard material eviscerate your surroundings, and you die.

TWO…

You see yourself flying towards that same device, only this time you remember what happened. You remember what you did. You CHIRP towards your companions, but they ignore you, so you CHIRP at the skies, screaming in the only way that you know how and stop to the side, confused. Awareness begins to suffuse your being. An awareness that an insect should not have. A figure approaches, at first you assume it to be an ASH-KIN, but this figure is different, fleshy like a PAPERLING, but blurry and indistinct.

???: Well you woke up faster than expected
???: It even looks like you’re aware
???: [CURIOUS]

You don’t know how to react to this being, their form blocked out by the sun, this sun, more a true sun than your world’s. You see them lift an appendage and place it under their head. You understand this to be them pondering something.

Edmango 2022/01/17(Mon)16:15 No. 1020626 ID: afe7de
File 164246495339.png - (12.62KB , 500x500 , p179.png )

> THE DREAM - A FRIENDLY CONVERSATION
THREE…

???: Hmm, the connection isn’t stable
???: I can only do so much, but let’s get your brethren to help give you a VOICE

Your mind is small, yet bursting with awareness as you slowly realize exactly where you are. THE DREAM, as Svart called it. But what kind of dream is this? What’s going on? You feel a slight prick to your being. It feels like the prick is near your core, if you had one in this body, but also not, like it’s not really there. But in a few moments several of your current kind come near you. You intuit them to be CICADAS, your kin. They chirp in unison as you sing the song of your kin.

You: CHIRP CHIRP CHI- You pause for a moment
You: Wait, You pause, no I pause
You: Wait, what?
You: I can hear myself?
???: Great, it worked!
You: You can see an intense fervor in the man in front of you, his eyes staring at you
You: Not with greed, but with curiosity, a purer curiosity than any being you’ve ever seen
???: Your internal monolog is in the second person?
???: That’s WILD
???: I didn’t even have to intervene and break you from the cycle!
???: You must be some special bug, sorry, plush
You: You can’t see- I can’t see your form-
???: It’s okay to speak however is the most comfortable to you!
You: You thank the formless being in front of you and consider your next action

You get the feeling that time both has no meaning here.
And yet, that your time here is brief.
Time will pass with each action you take.
The being cannot hear these words.
What do we do?

A. You: Should you take a closer look, so as to appreciate it’s form?
- You will see what the figure in front of you looks like
B. You: Should you ask the figure a question, so as to properly understand your situation
- Ask a question
C. You: Should you leave, returning from whence you came
- You get the feeling you will be leaving soon anyway
- There might be hidden benefits to doing this
D. You: Should you look around, it appears that you’re no longer in a forest
- Look around, your environment has changed without your knowledge
E. ???: Or we could introduce ourselves, it’s only polite after all
- You get the feeling the being will ask you some questions as well
- You feel compelled to answer
F. ???: Or we can get you a proper body, it usually takes your kind a bit to pop out
- Adjust your form to something more useful and familiar
- There might be hidden benefits to doing this
G. ???: I have so many SUGGESTIONS and IDEAS, you must be SPECIAL
- Other, do something else

> THOUGHTS
[INSTINCT] -No response-
[DESIRE] -No response-
[ANCESTOR] -No response- And is quite upset about it

F. Shape your dreamself!

F and then A!

F.
Then E, and G, if we can.

A! New dream, who dis?

>>1020626
F, E
B: Why do you remember being a bug?

F, and A mainly. E If we have time

Oh oh oh!
REALLY IMPORTANT THING:

Ask to let Ancestor see what's happening.

(Why do I get the feeling this figure can actually hear us suggestors? And not just Cicobler?)

>>1020700

If we wanted to bring any stat into the realm of perceiving things, I think Instinct might be more inherently useful. None would be super helpful though, as they likely don't have enough context to tell us what's up.

That's assuming they can't see what's going down, could just be they can't talk right now. We can get their feelings after the fact in that case.

>>1020703
I'm not sure I'd call Ancestor a stat.
Besides, it's not because of Ancestor's usefulness, it's because they want to see, really badly.

I personally don't want Ancestor here, at least not until they apologize for saying they were disappointed in Cob during a very emotional moment. >>1020390

>>1020712

Yeah, Ancestor's a brat who whines when we don't appease their curiosity. He literally just tried to convince us to team up with Svart and Mimi because it seemed "interesting", and got pissy when we didn't. Let him stew for a bit to think about the quality of his advice.

>>1020704
>>1020712
>>1020714
I'm sure ANCESTOR would change his tune real quick once we hammer it through his thick, ethereal skull that it was a calculated move and that we don't actually need to align ourselves with those ass-clowns to get at that sweet forbidden knowledge.

Edmango 2022/01/19(Wed)16:05 No. 1020751 ID: afe7de
File 164263712411.png - (7.63KB , 500x500 , p180.png )

> THE DREAM - BUILD A BODY
FOUR…

You: Your mind wanders as you consider what kind of body is “proper”
You: You feel at home as this insect, as this cicada, but you also find it to be lacking
???: Ah that’s actually pretty normal
???: Let me help with that
You: You hear the snapping of fingers, it’s sharp, but different from a chirp, you wince
You: Pain assaults your senses for the briefest of moments, and then it’s gone
???: There, that’ll probably help with the Dysphoria
???: And with the uh, forceful exertion of your thoughts

Your thoughts have returned to their rightful place, inside your mind. Each individual bit seems to flow a bit easier than before, however, your INSTINCT, DESIRE, and ANCESTOR are still quiet. You wonder briefly if they ever were your thoughts before discarding the notion and examine your new body. It’s like an Ash-Kin, but with some tweaks. Your two arms have turned to four, with smaller ones underneath. Your porcelain mask remains the same, but you feel small nubs sticking out of your head, antennae? The rest of your body is part plush, part carapace, a strange mixture, but it’s not unwelcome. And the last addition, a pair of wings, gently flitting behind you.

You: Thanks.
???: Anytime, you have to WANT it or I can’t really do much anyway
???: This is YOUR dream after all

Edmango 2022/01/19(Wed)16:06 No. 1020753 ID: afe7de
File 164263716229.png - (9.16KB , 500x500 , p181.png )

> THE DREAM - INTRODUCTIONS
FIVE…

You: So what do I call you?
???: Hmmmm, well your kind likes to call me by a more descriptive name
???: Quite a few of them know me as the [TENTACLED IRIS]
???: But I like to be called [STEVE], that first plush kind of made it a *BIG DEAL*
Steve: To call me that, so it stuck, it’s not even my honorary name
Steve: Though I theorize it’s likely to do with mental corruption more than anything
Steve: I still don’t know how things translate to your [REDACTED]

You look at Steve, tilt your head and crook an eyebrow in confusion. You think he just said something, but it sounded like a rocky waterfall. He moves a limb to his head and apologizes.

Steve: Sorry, sorry, you can’t comprehend some things yet, you’re still quite young!

You pout at that, you’re an adult, how old do you have to be even. You slightly grumble before your curiosity starts to get the better of you. You actually need to FOCUS to look at Steve, so you start to do so and speak. Steve’s form sharpens and what appears in front of you is a plush, well, not a plush exactly, there’s something wrong about them. Their arms and hands appear normal, but if you focus just right, you can see that he’s actually made up of writhing tentacles. Your mind tingles in a painful manner as you look at him, so you get a glimpse of everything else before stopping your ogling.

Steve’s head isn’t actually a head, it’s a mask, made of some material, porcelain you think, and on it is an eye, that same eye from the idol. It blinks occasionally, but you can see that there’s something behind the mask, hair? A Head? It’s hard to tell. The last thing that you notice is a bright orange shirt, with some strange symbol on it.

Edmango 2022/01/19(Wed)16:06 No. 1020754 ID: afe7de
File 164263717235.png - (5.62KB , 500x500 , p182.png )

> THE DREAM - A (FRIENDLY?) WARNING
SIX…

The world around you starts to shake as you feel a brief pain coming from your chest, Steve’s eye frowns, which is a strange thing to say because it’s just an eye.

Steve: Aww, I thought we’d have more time
Steve: Guess you gotta wake up
Steve: Well you know how to talk to me now
You: I uh, no, I don’t!
Steve: Wait, you weren’t chosen by them?
Steve: [CURIOUS]
Steve: I like you kin, I’m sure you’re destined for greatness
Steve: Oh and one last thing

Steve gets closer to you as you feel an ominous tension in the air. The formerly jovial Steve now has a more stern eye towards you that gets closer before stopping before your face.

Steve: Do not trust the remnants of [PURIFICATION]
Steve: They find souls like yours to be [DELICACIES]
Steve: Okay byeeee!

Edmango 2022/01/19(Wed)16:06 No. 1020755 ID: afe7de
File 164263718876.png - (10.17KB , 500x500 , p183.png )

> INN - RUDE AWAKENING
You awake to a start, your body moist for some reason, but you’re warm, you’re safe. You see KA XU, AN, and ZAN huddled around you, looking concerned. The sound of lips smacking fills your ears and you look to the side only to see DRIFT and PLUM making out with reckless abandon and BELLA just watching excitedly from the side.

Ka Xu: COB! COBBLER! OH THANK THE LOOM!
An Borealia: We were so worried!
Zan: Were you there? Did you see anyone?
[ANCESTOR] Did you see anything? What happened?
[INSTINCT] Something obviously happened
[DESIRE] I want to know too…

Your mind’s a little jumbled at this point, you vaguely remember what happened, poisoning svart, getting jabbed with purple gunk, having a dream with a weird eye guy. You touch your chest, your wound is bandaged, but you feel something gooey on your chest. You stick your hand down your inner shirt and pull out what you assume to be the remains of your WOODEN CHARM. It’s become a gnarled and slimy black wood that you immediately discard.

You guess it took away that purple stuff, and maybe it did something else too. You get your mind together and scope out the situation. Gyob and Jack defeated THE STITCHED and only sustained moderate wounds. Your GUSTSTONE has been returned to you, and they’re packing their things, leaving at NOON, which is coming up soon. Svart’s also tied up using your HQ CHAIN, but is unresponsive, even to stabbing, which apparently was tried at least once by one of your companions.

Ka Xu: Now that you’re awake, we can set off, first to DA CRONE, then to goddess knows where
You: Yeah, yeah that sounds good
You: Think we can get anything out of this
Bella: Actually yes
An Borealia: We’re all leaving, no one’s staying in town after this.
You: Oh, and An
An Borealia: Hmm?
You: I want Mimi’s dagger, I have a feeling it will be VERY important.

An hands you the confiscated dagger, which you immediately put away. Bella then steps forward and provides you with some OPTIONS. You get the feeling you should leave as soon as possible, so as to not let them get back to Svart, at least not before you can interrogate him.

A. An Borealia: We could take a look around the [LABR. RESIDENCES] I know of a few spots I haven't checked
- Roll twice on the loot table, gaining 2 guaranteed loot
- Roll one search check to see if you find anything else
B. Bella: There’s also the SCHOOL, I have some books there, information is sometimes better than beads
- Visit the school and collect some books
- You’ll find AT LEAST 1 useful book there
C. Ka Xu: So I talked with some kin and there’s ALCOHOL in MI SNOW’S, but IRAH’S stock was cleaned out
- Get a few bottles of alcohol
- Everyone will probably get drunk later
D. Zan: Or we could leave early, I don’t feel like it’s safe here
- Leave early
- Forgo extra loot for guaranteed safety
- Svart will not have a chance to escape
E. You: Or maybe we should do something else
- Other
- You cannot interrogate Svart as he is unresponsive

> THOUGHTS
[ANCESTOR] What happened? Cmoonnnnn telll meeeeeeeeee
[INSTINCT] What if it’s not something we need to know
[DESIRE] I just want to know because that’s my thing
[YOU] Do I tell them?

Tell the stats the warning so that INSTINCT can watch out for them and DESIRE doesn't set its sights on them, but don't reveal the rest. Honestly just because I want to bully ANCESTOR.

D: GTFO. Fuck discarded loot, GUARANTEED SAFETY! With our shit rolls, we gotta take whatever chances we can get to not have to make more of them. If we stay for anything, we're either gonna roll bad on the loot, Svart staying restrained, us not running into trouble, or more likely all three. And if we roll bad on loot then we don't get anything for our risk.

(The fact that it's guaranteed SAFTEY specifically implies that there may be something particularly dangerous waiting for us if we roll bad, probably a pissed off Irah when they catch onto our treachery after Svart doesn't show.)

We don't need booze, we already have WEED.

Books are tempting, but not worth running into Irah on our way out.

And as much as I'd like to smooch An and Ka Xu, we'll have all the time in the world for that after we get out of here. (Though a quick peck with both of them shouldn't take any extra time).

>>1020755
>Gyob and Jack defeated THE STITCHED
Wow, I was sure they were dead. How many Stitched were there?
Speaking of which, did anyone see a really fucking big one? It seems likely that Irah and Phoenius are... merged.
Did any of the cultists see Svart being taken to the Inn? If not then they won't think it odd that he's late; he told Mimi that he was staying behind! We're actually pretty safe.
Has anyone seen Dator in the past couple days? He might be a cultist, or he got stitched... or he ran away, maybe.

>the other entities inside your mind want to know what just happened
Hmm. Okay how about you make a deal. They tell you what they really are, and you tell them what you just saw.

>what do
Ask if Svart bled purple when he was stabbed. Tell your friends that he's not actually Svart, but one of Phoney's cloth-kin friends wearing Svart's face. Also that his awakened ability is being able to manipulate locks at will so it's going to be difficult to keep him imprisoned. Additionally, tell them he can control THE STITCHED, and drop the bomb on them that THE STITCHED can be saved; they are trapped in a "dream" that takes willpower to wake up from. If any of the defeated STITCHED are still alive, keeping them that way would be the most humane thing to do.
Lastly, bring not-Svart with you. He'll wake up soon I expect.

If you can talk to An and Ka Xu in private, tell them about the Tentacled Iris. You just met him, and he's not evil, just very curious and otherworldly. Possibly amoral. You plan to meet him again later, once you find out exactly how, and use the cult's research for more ethical experimentation.
Like, for instance, the contents of the journal that we need to translate.

>where to go?
B. The school. Maybe we can find a translation guide for the language of the journal? Also, we can loot some of the more valuable books to sell elsewhere for beads!

How come nobody suggested revisiting the mine? There's wood ore there for sure and maybe the cultists left something behind. Fess up about the secret entrance at the peak. Shame we couldn't use it to ambush the cultists but it looks like we did as much as we could anyway.

Hell yeah, loot time!
Don't reply to the voices in your head. Except for us. You can trust us. We are your only real friends.

>This is YOUR dream after all
OH! I figured out how the STITCHED Dream works. They're in Irah's dream! I'm guessing that the purple stuff can be attuned to a specific person before injection. The stuff Svart injected you with wasn't attuned to anyone, so you got a dream where you are in control.
We really need to find out how to make it. Glass is involved, huh...? If only not-Svart was awake.

> GYOB & JACK about to leave.
Definitely talk to them before they go:
"I uh... take it you didn't get through to MORTIFER?"
"Er... Did MI SNOW show up, for that matter?"
"Come to think of it, has ANYONE seen DATOR? It'd be one thing if we knew for sure he was LOST, but his fate's completely UNKNOWN to me as of now."
"And you're sure you're okay, now? Nothing WEIRD happened? It's fine to tell me - if nobody else."
Sure, there are decent odds that their answers will be predictable, but I think there's a chance that they'll let something INTERESTING slip.

> What do.
Well, there's some easily bootable stuff in the INN that shouldn't take any time, really: there's the ANATOMY BOOK and SUNSTONES, just off the top of my head.

Other than that, yeah, I say we bug out as soon as we can. We do NOT want to have an encounter with IRAH, I imagine.

> Tell the voices?
'Long story short; we don't trust anyone who worships [PURITY] to a significant degree. Like, more so than KA XU's casual faith, I think.'

'Also, calm down, ANCESTOR. Part of the reason I chose to betray them is that I am, like, 90% sure we don't actually need to align ourselves with them to access what they know. Think about all the stuff we got from them - the BOOKS, the DAGGER, the IDOL, all that GOOP!'

>>1020758
>Lastly, bring not-Svart with you.
Clarifying this: I mean have An carry not-Svart around, so he's not left alone to pull some escape artist bullshit and run off.

D. Get outta dodge! But not before everyone here who doesnt have one takes a sunstone from Mimi's room. The travel back is gonna be cold. We should probably take Mimi's journal with the travel routes for further proof for Da Crone and further information.

As for Ancestor, tell them that you were deeply hurt by their comments of being dissappointed in you, and would like an apology before you consider letting them know what you learned.

Maybe let someone borrow a page from your cob log to write and leave a brief note for Mi Snow's brother Mi Mary in case he decides to return and see's the town empty while we take the sun stones for us and the other stuffies to keep (maybe plum can write the note)

Oh yeah, give Jack the pay voucher and tell her it's for the needle she gave us (since she gave us back our gust stone)

>>1020782

It's just a piece of paper with a bead scribbled on it. I don't think she'll need it back, it seems like something she hastily wrote to give you some indication of value.

>>1020784
I know, but I think it'd be a goofy thing to do anyway to make the group smile and have a laugh. (clears up some space too)

Edmango 2022/01/21(Fri)16:00 No. 1020893 ID: 0838d6
File 164280962212.png - (15.92KB , 500x500 , p184.png )

INN - LEAVE ASAP
You get up, your body rested and have a small meal with everyone that was prepared with some supplies. You suggest leaving as soon as possible, glancing over at Svart occasionally. You're not sure what you're going to do with him other than keep a close eye on him until he's ready to speak.

You know there's things in town that could be worth some beads but your safety is a priority. You go to snag the rest of the SUNSTONES but KA XU already beat you to it, having handed them out to those kin that need it, he hands you an extra one, keeping one for himself. Plum takes the SEWING SUPPLIES, and KA XU snags a few WARM BLANKETS. Zan bemoans her lack of funds and needs to start over, making a simple cloak with your help to hide her arms.

Eventually [NOON] rolls around and everyone has their supplies. Plum has gotten her gear and is wearing a small satchel. Drift has a rather large bundle of things, Bella has some food and books, and Jack has appeared with a small wagon being towed by Gyob. You can hear the jingling of items inside. As you look at the wagon, you turn and look past it, at where the general store was.

> TRAVELING - A CONVERSATION WITH JACK
You see, instead of the plastic boards of a house, a splintered mess. The building has been torn asunder by something or someone with rather great strength. You point at it and ask what happened. Ka Xu and Bella give eachother a look and say they'll talk about it on the trip.

As you begin your journey you opt to talk to jack. You were told that they only sustained moderate wounds, but she's absolutely covered in bandages and stitching made by a wooden needle. You're surprised she's even conscious. Gyob is similarly damaged, but pulls the cart anyway.

You: How many were there?
Jack: The woman counted four and sighed
You: The two of you took on FOUR of them?!
Jack: The woman nods, tired.
Jack: Asking if the Ash in front of her needs something.
You: Did you... Did you manage to save anyone
Gyob: We did what we had to

Your face grows ashen and an expression of helplessness threatens to rear its head. You hoped for someone, anyone, to survive, but maybe that was too much to expect. The wagon hits a bump in the road and you swear you hear a groan from inside the wagon, but you shake your head, thinking you imagined it. You hand Jack the IOU and a smile cracks on her face. She takes it and thanks you, shaking her head and laughing slightly.

Edmango 2022/01/21(Fri)16:03 No. 1020894 ID: eedbeb
File 164280982262.png - (12.10KB , 500x500 , p185.png )

> TRAVELING - A CONVERSATION WITH KA XU AND BELLA
A day passes and you've cleared most of the snow. Ka Xu and Bella both approach you and drag you away from your smooching session with An to talk to you.

Ka Xu: So we saw something
Bella: Yeah we saw what broke the GENERAL STORE
You: was it Irah?
Ka Xu: Not exactly, it was like...
Bella: Imagine an Ash-kin one and a half times your size
Ka Xu: Now imagine it had like 8 limbs, all made of PORCELAIN
Bella: And there were like... strings attached to it's limbs like a PUPPET
Ka Xu: On it's back there was like a ribcage
Bella: And I could have SWORN I saw Irah in there, like normal Irah
Ka Xu: And the face, it was like an ash... but wrong, with a shattered jaw
Bella: And it's voice... It sounded like a kid
Bella: Not like Irah at all, more like Phoenius than anything
Bella: I think that was his face, but I couldn't tell
You: That sounds terrifying
Ka Xu: We got you out as soon as it left
You: Ugh, well I guess it's good we didn't fight it
Ka Xu: *shudders*
You: What about SVART, did he bleed PURPLE when you stabbed him?
Ka Xu: No, it was darker than normal cotton, but no.
You: Hmm
You: I really think he's not Svart, but someone else

You had a theory that the cotton inside a stitched or replaced stuffie would be purple but that might not be the case, that or he's suppressing it somehow. You let out a sigh as the journey continues, your companions left to ponder on that thought.

Edmango 2022/01/21(Fri)16:03 No. 1020895 ID: eedbeb
File 164280983836.png - (11.36KB , 500x500 , p186.png )

> TRAVELING - DISCLOSURE
You move inward, walking in deep thought as you try to actively commune with your thoughts. They feel... different now, or is it you that feels different now. Before they kind of felt jumbled, but now it's almost like you have a sense of self that's seperate from these thoughts. It's a strange sensation, and you feel a strong affinity towards [DESIRE] and [INSTINCT] but a slight repulsion from [ANCESTOR]

You think briefly about telling them what you saw, about telling your companions what you saw too, because telling your companions would be the same thing as telling your thoughts, but first you want an apology, and for your [ANCESTOR] to calm down.

[ANCESTOR] You did not chose wisely
[ANCESTOR] It is in the flame's nature to disclose its displeasure
[ANCESTOR] In my nature
[INSTINCT] We made the right call
[DESIRE] I just want smooches okay
[YOU] Then I guess you don't want to know what happened
[ANCESTOR] This ember is deeply apologetic for their actions
[INSTINCT] So quick to change sides…

You're not sure how you feel about this, but talking directly to [ANCESTOR] gives you a feeling that it's a little afraid of you. It's almost like your internal monolog was strengthened in that dream. You decide to share some information, gathering up AN BOREALIA and KA XU to save time. They listen as you describe the dream, but do not tell them the name of the being, that you formed a new body somehow, or about the warning out of caution.

You: So I think it's not an evil entity
You: Just... really weird
You: I'll need to figure out how to speak with him again
Ka Xu: Be safe about it Cob, this all is weird
An Borealia: What if you turn into one of them?
You: I get the feeling I won't somehow…

There’s silence for a bit, everyone’s tired, but glad to be out of the town. You keep a constant eye on Svart and even swear you sometimes see a smile on his face, so you kick him a few times, but his expression remains mostly neutral.

Edmango 2022/01/21(Fri)16:04 No. 1020896 ID: eedbeb
File 164280984948.png - (9.62KB , 500x500 , p187.png )

> THE STUFFED TAIL - DA CRONE
You make it to the STUFFED TAIL, the place is a lot quieter than before, most of your group takes a seat in a booth and you spy DA CRONE who looks at you expectantly. She seems to be looking through your group for someone, probably MIMI. Ka Xu motions for you to talk to her, you were the one who was given the QUEST, so you should be the one to finish it. He says you could probably get one of them to back you up if you needed help, but no more than one.

You’ve gained a SUNSTONE and a WARM BLANKET
Your inventory has been updated

> THE STUFFED TAIL - THE LAST CHOICE
Plum grabs your sleeve as you get up and tells you that DA CRONE is actually quite old, likely dying soon. She never revealed her age, but Plum saw through the documents and could guess that she would die within the year.

You think about all the things you learned, you think about all the kin you’ve met, the deaths, and body-stitching, and the stress. It’s weird that this is going to be genuinely over soon. Well, not the cult business, there’s still so much to do on that front. Your time in WOODWATER went by so quickly, but it felt like months.

Who do you bring with you?
A. Ka Xu
B. An Borealia
C. Zan
D. Plum
E. Drift
F. Bella
G. Jack
H. Gyob
I. An unconscious Svart

What do you say?
1. [DESIRE] The truth
- Present the IDOL, MIMI’S NOTE, your account of the events, the PURPLE BLOOD, and anything else you think might be relevant.
- Da Crone will believe you and live out her remaining days in deep depression
2. [INSTINCT] Lie
- Present just MIMI’S NOTE, and her version of the events
- Da Crone will live out her remaining days in ignorance
3. [ANCESTOR] Both
- Present a mix of lies and truths to her
- Results may vary

DA CRONE will reward you no matter how you respond, but the thought comes back to your mind that she is an old woman, likely to die soon. Does she deserve the truth, or to live out her final days ignorant but otherwise unaware?

She wanted to know what was going on, so tell her the truth. Bring Zan.

"So, uh... Mimi snapped.
There was this serial killer in town, and he tortured Mimi before she managed to kill him and she lost her mind, so she joined up with a cult that was hunting the killer down, and then they found out the mine was still chock-full of wood, so they zombified half the town to make mining slaves. We're posting a bounty on her head, for the safety of others.
You, uh... you can stab her cult recruiter a few times if you want."

D, Bring Plum. She's someone Da Crone clearly knows and likes given her description of the young stuffie at quest's start. Beyond that, Plum seems like a smart kid, and may know how best to comfort Da Crone (or if lying wins out, she seems reasonable enough to not contradict you or spill the beans).

1, We have to tell Da Crone the Truth.

It's going to hurt her. Telling her this truth will result in her spending her remaining days depressed and despairing.

But this is her granddaughter, a stuffie that she likely spent a fair bit of time raising given that we never heard mention of Mimi's parents. Da Crone noticed quickly when Mimi began to change, and came all this way out to find the truth of what happened to her. It's clear that despite all of the hateful things Mimi had to say about Da Crone, Da Crone loves Mimi. We should respect her feelings and hold nothing back.

If we asked Da Crone if she wanted to hear an awful truth or a happy lie, I truly think she'd choose the truth. You take the good and the bad with love, and I think we should respect Da Crone's feelings above what would be best for her.

>>1020902
Agreed with this.

Also, maybe actually confront GYOB & JACK afterward about who or what you heard groaning in the cart. If they try to lie unconvincingly: "It's fine, I'm sure you have your reasons for hiding them. Could you give them this when they come to, at least?" Hand them a folded bunch of COB NOTE PAGES you quickly wrote in. "It contains a PRIMER on what I've learned about the CORRUPTED COTTON and the GOD its bearers allegedly hold communion with - I got the info from NOT-SVART's attempted recruitment pitch when I was alone with him and MIMI."

>>1020896
1, kinda 3. Basically, the truth, but lie about Mimi's motivations and moral fiber.
Tell her about the cult, but that Mimi seemed caught up in it out of love for Irah. Also that their victims were apparently bad people, in some way or another, but maybe some of them were merely associated with bad people. You don't know the town's history after all. Ask her if she knew anything about the people who got turned into Stitched. What did they do to deserve it?
It's possible she's ignorant though so you can at least tell her what Svart said.

Speaking of which, Svart is 100% pretending to be unconscious. Do not leave him alone for a second. At some point you're going to want to try to talk to Svart in private, see if he'll drop the act if he thinks he can sway you.

Bring: Ka Xu, An, Bella, Svart.

Oh, and if we're confronting Jack and Gyob about the wagon, we need at least An with us. They might be dangerous.

I kinda want to just lie, let her know that Mimi set out for blanketburg for better opportunity with Irah, and then everyone else left because she was pretty much the only one giving people food and warm rooms.

If we tell the truth, make sure to tell her for what it's worth, Mimi is making a name for herself, and potentially going to make huge changes to this world.

Important: whatever we tell Da Crone, use your warmth throughout all this.

Going with Glum Plum on this, she seems to be the most likable person in Da Crone's eyes. An as a second place if not Plum.

>Zan bemoans her lack of funds and needs to start over

hmm... maybe we can sell the wood ore Zan had, and split the beads with her to help get her back on her feet? unless... does she want to join our clutch? An as well? I guess it depends on what they want to do with their lives after what happened. Be sure to ask Ka Xu if he is alright with the idea of building our own clutch. It'd be cool to have a team with one ash (us), one cloth (ka xu) and one fluff (an and/or zan) If they join us, we can use the wood ore for when we train to be a shaman potentially or something instead of selling it.

As for Svart, we should probably find some authority figures to turn him over to a higher grade prison. let them know what happened, and warn them of his escape artist abilities,

perhaps do this after we interrogate him for answers for lingering questions we might have

>>1020896
Go with 3, but only lie through omission if possible.

Edmango 2022/01/23(Sun)16:15 No. 1021116 ID: afe7de
File 164298331625.png - (13.62KB , 500x500 , p188.png )

> DA CRONE - WHAT HAPPENED
You decide to bring PLUM with you, she’s a credible witness who DA CRONE is familiar with and has probably worked with for years. You also assume from how much she knows that they’re familiar to an extent. You briefly talk to PLUM about the game plan, planning to tell the truth… MOSTLY… You decide to only lie by omission from a few key details so as not to leave her spiraling into a terrible amount of depression or worse, but you both agree that she deserves to know what happened.

You begin to weave a tale, a tale both about you, and the town. Of a small town girl with big aspirations, of one caught up in love. About a woman corrupted, associating with bad stuffies, and eventually falling into the wrong crowd. Plum suggests that she might not have known it until it was too late. You see DA CRONE droop at this but continue on. Plum chimes in periodically to provide details you couldn't have or to soften some of your more direct words. You tell her about the murders, and how she participated in at least one, but then ask a question.

You: Were uh, were Chu Uk’s crew, Mi Snow, and Mortifer bad kin?
Da Crone: *sob* They weren’t ALL bad, PHI SO and ZAN were alright.
Da Crone: Even if ZAN was a bit horny, but who hasn’t been there
Da Crone: I blame myself, I was too promiscuous while I raised her
You: What about Mi Snow and Mortifer?
Da Crone: I never talked to Mi Snow
Da Crone: But Mortifer… Is… is he dead?
Plum: *nods*
Da Crone: It’s almost a relief
Da Crone: I… We… I did him favors…
Da Crone: Just to keep the inn running

You decide to change tracks, not wanting to delve deeper into something that you can tell is slightly traumatic for her. Instead you continue on, mentioning that PHOENIUS’S crew were the ones responsible for the mess, and that there were in fact cult things going on. You show her the Idol and hand her Mimi’s letter. She pockets it, promising to read it later.

[YOU] CMON!
[DESIRE] I wanted to read that
[INSTINCT] WHY
[ANCESTOR] Sigh.

You skip over describing her mutilating or modifying others, thinking that’s a bit too much, but don’t hold back on that there were ABOMINATIONS wandering around. She gasps and you can almost see relief on her face, relief that she got out.

Edmango 2022/01/23(Sun)16:15 No. 1021117 ID: afe7de
File 164298334103.png - (16.49KB , 500x500 , p189.png )

> DA CRONE - YOUR REWARD
You end your discussion by explaining any questions she has, going into detail about what the STITCHED were and what you found out about their creation, but at the moment you’re unsure on most of the mechanics. Just that they were sewn together with wooden needles and something was injected into them. She asks about how they could do this and you also describe that you theorize that some of them SWAPPED BODIES somehow, but you can’t confirm how that happened either, or if it’s something more concrete. She sighs and looks both stressed and interested, but grasps her shoulders to calm herself. Your WARMTH comforts her, but this seems to be something your warmth can’t fully take care of.

Da Crone: I… I don’t have long…
Da Crone: I’m sad to hear my little boy, I uh, girl is going down a DARK PATH
Da Crone: But I trust they know what they’re doing
Da Crone: Even if it’s terrible and terrifying

You scrunch your face at that and give Plum a look, you’re both a little confused at how okay she is with the situation after hearing all of that but don’t interrupt her.

[b]Da Crone: The LOOM works in mysterious ways, stitching our paths with purpose
You: …
Da Crone: Thank you for helping, here, your reward and then some extra.
Da Crone: I don’t need much anymore anyway

Da Crone hands you a small plastic box and a bag. Inside the bag is 50 BEADS and a single WOODEN COIN with the symbol of the loom on it. You expect it’s worth at least 20 BEADS, but aren’t sure if it’s magical.

Inside the box is a necklace made of fine stone chain, it's of EXQUISITE quality, probably the best stone you’ve ever laid eyes on and your mouth even waters a little bit at it with DESIRE, well it is yours after all. You nearly failed to notice that attached to the chain, with a hole drilled inside, is a transparent sphere. It looks like a bead, or like it’s made out of ROCK CANDY, but seems to be both harder and more fragile. You tilt your head, pouting, and ask what it is to DA CRONE.

Da Crone: I’m not sure, someone in the family used to know, but we were told just to protect it
Da Crone: And that it was PRICELESS. I always assumed that was a joke.
Da Crone: It looks like ROCK CANDY but has no flavor
Da Crone: I would have given it to MIMI, but… she was never really mature enough for it
Da Crone: *SIGH* and now this has happened. No, you take it, as thanks for…
Da Crone: Indulging an old hag like me…

You’re pushed away as Da Crone sits there in silence, waiting for you to be out of eyeshot before opening her letter. You curse again, wanting to know what was even on it.

Edmango 2022/01/23(Sun)16:16 No. 1021118 ID: afe7de
File 164298336850.png - (18.67KB , 500x500 , p190.png )

> PLUSH QUEST - FINAL QUESTIONS
You decide to head over to GYOB and JACK with AN, planning on asking, just to be sure, if they had a living STITCHED in their wagon. You’re stopped as you approach by GYOB.

You: So, did you capture one alive?
Gyob: I think it’s best if you don’t push that line of thought
Gyob: Listen, we were the ones who dealt with them
Gyob: And we were in the town longer than you, well, not An
An: Is- Are they okay?
Gyob: No.
You: We… We can help!
Gyob: Thanks, but please don’t inquire farther
Gyob: Jack got hurt in more ways than one
Gyob: Please trust her.

You absolutely do not trust this, but are tired from all of this, so you drop it for now. You’ve got Svart and Zan anyway, you doubt you’d be able to handle one more STITCHED anyway. You sigh and leave, booking a room with ZAN, AN BOREALIA, and KA XU. You shove a tied up Svart in the closet and tie up the closet, just to make sure he won’t escape. Part of you is wondering if he’s going to be alive with how he ‘s eaten nothing, but another part of you says fluff Svart, if he needs food he’ll wake up and say something.

> PLUSH QUEST - FINALE
The four of you lie in bed and just talk for a while. Occasionally you can hear An or Zan crying, and sometimes you join in. After a while Ka Xu offers you all some WEED just to calm down and you all indulge. You pour out your WARMTH and DESIRE, making everyone feel better and so you pose a question to the group.

You: Want to build a CLUTCH?
You: Us and whoever we slowly grow?
Ka Xu: I think they’re good stuffies, I got to know Zan a bit too, and she’s super cool
Zan: I’m really not
Ka Xu: See, denial means that she’s totally a badass
An Borealia: I… I don’t have anywhere else to go, but you’re WARM and NICE
An Borealia: And I don’t want to say goodbye like that again.
Zan: We won’t. I Won’t and I will find them
Zan: You said it was BLANKETBURG?
You: That’s what he said
Zan: I… I want to go there
Ka Xu: And we still have to deal with Svart over there
You: Maybe the book has more in it
Ka Xu: You know, BELLA is a historian, she might know that language
An Borealia: Oh right, yeah, and failing that she might know where to find out how to read it
You: Tomorrow, we’ll worry about this tomorrow
You: But I just want Cuddles and Smooches
Zan: Same
An Borealia: You’re speaking my language
Ka Xu: I could be convinced to smooch a bit

And then they did.

> PLUSHQUEST - INVASION OF THE BODY STITCHERS - END
> THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Edmango 2022/01/23(Sun)16:16 No. 1021119 ID: afe7de
File 164298339192.png - (14.80KB , 500x500 , p191.png )

> AFTER-WORD - THOUGHTS FROM THE CREATORS
EDMANGO: Wow, unholy shit, we made it everyone! PLUSH QUEST - INVASION OF THE BODY STITCHERS ended with a text count that’s a bit bigger than CATALYST PART 1, but still managed to finish. It’s been a wild 3 months, nearly exactly!

EDMANGO:My intent with this was to make a sort of enclosed story that could be read and enjoyed independent of future PLUSHQUEST threads, and I also experimented with a lot of new mechanics I had in mind last year whilst I made CATALYST and SHARDS. I look at PQ as a sort of refined shards, taking [TIME POINTS] and using them in a more defined manner like DND.

EDMANGO:There were a lot of moments that I wrote a ton of planning and ideas and then kind of scrapped and rewrote things, at least during the initial prolog. I was trying to figure out exactly WHERE plushquest would go, and in the end, I think it went somewhere magical, not-quite-horror yet still with tension and lots of mystery. I think I have a thing for making mysteries and murder mysteries.

EDMANGO:There are some open threads I left to be teasers and plotlines for the future, but I tried to at least wrap /some/ of the stuff you could find out by the end. Enough to keep you interested, but not enough for you to yell at me (lol) for not finishing.

TIPPLER: Wow, it feels like it’s been a long time since we started this collab and I’m glad we got a strong finish. Getting to see behind the scenes was entertaining and all in all it was a good experience.

EDMANGO: Now we get to the fun part

> SHITPOSTS AND THE AFTER QUEST DISSECTION!
That’s right everyone, I’m going to answer questions for stuff you want to know, and I’m also going to disclose how I ran things, as well as other stats like hidden locations, etc.

EDMANGO:And all the while our good old fish Tippler is going to make shitposts based off your requests.

EDMANGO:Want to know what it’d be like if Cob actually talked to Irah? Request it and he’ll make a goofy doodle! I’ll be using those images as filler for the just MASSIVE infodump I’m going to do, revealing spreadsheets and other ideas, but keeping just a few secrets so as to tease you.

> THANKS FOR READING!

>>1021119
What if we went further into the mines?

You said once on discord an enemy rolled a 20, and caused stuff to happen early on the second day. Who was that, and what happened?

Shitpost: Draw Zan's newfound cuddling potential by having her hug two stuffies at the same time! That potential is of course not actually all that great, since due to arm placement the arrangement they have to use is actually pretty awkward.

Questions: (apologies, I have many)

-What were Plum and Drift hiding in that last convo at the inn?

-What has Hari Tomo been doing this whole time?

-Can you tell us at what points different stuffies were taken?

-Why was Chu Uk in the abandoned residences anyways?

-Was Zan waking up scripted or luck?

-Who snuck into our room at the inn and what were they doing?

-What was the coolest thing we missed out on?

-Why was Dator on the roof that one time?

-Why the fuck did Ancestor tell us to make chains, what did he think we were going to do with stupid-ass chains?

-What would have caused us to lose the journal if we showed it?

-What were some of the most interesting behind the scenes rolls that we didn't directly see the results of but definitely made an impact? Like improbable odds being beaten or something

-What would have happened if we stuffed our pants? Fuck bathrooms, they're suboptimal

shitpost: Mi Snow and Mi Mary interaction.

one other question: some of the characters were based off of other characters you and rml made and others were created by other artists. may you explain which characters were based off of whom, and which artists did character designs for others (if they're comfortable with you sharing of course)

WHO WAS ROOF?

Man, we didn't get to see who it was JACK & GYOB held onto. I do wonder if asking about that is in poor form due to it being a suspenseful future thread-hook (pun intended), but I'm also [CURIOUS]! At first, I thought it was MI SNOW because MORTIFER would have been harder to hide, even in all that, but given DA CRONE's extra spicy testimony about MORTIFER's relationship with at least one local business owner (and the assumption that MI SNOW was only a true monster to her brother alone)... (In fact, given she was a former employee, I wouldn't be surprised if much of her destructive amount of STRESS was caused by the very same...) Of course, this is assuming they're the only two who could have survived - DATOR could be a "war-crime" character himself, for all we know.

Heck, if it isn't too spoilery, it might be interesting to know exactly which four STITCHED got mega-deaded by the happy couple.

>>1021124
Most of these questions are good, too.

I wanna see what Phi So looked like...

What if ashkin had highly articulated feet instead of hands?

>>1021181

Better yet, what if they had highly articulated tongues instead?

At the start of the body stitchers story, we saw Irah shivering in the cold, but we turned our warmth off before we walked past him to talk to drift. Was Irah shivering a baiting method to get us to use our warmth on him, whether we decided to talk to him, or have our warmth on while we walk past him? What would have happened if we kept our warmth on on our way to talk to drift? Would he and the cult spy on Cob more and see if her warmth had potential for an abomination experiment? Did we dodge a bullet by turning off warmth at that time?

Edmango 2022/01/25(Tue)12:18 No. 1021279 ID: 0838d6
File 164314188629.png - (10.19KB , 500x500 , p192.png )

> What if we went further into the mines?
I had a mini-dungeon planned for you, where it was a series of rooms to explore. It'd be mostly a stealth mission where you could find the remaining stitched that were there, find the wood stash, and potentially deal with IRAH and PHOENIUS early on.

Though you completely skipped the whole dungeon and ended up right next to the boss room, so it was feasible if you had a good strategy to actually confront them.

> You said once on discord an enemy rolled a 20, and caused stuff to happen early on the second day. Who was that, and what happened?
So there were a few Nat 20s that happened on day 2, but the one that caused interesting stuff to happen was that JACK and GYOB had made a secret tunnel from the lake to the general store. There were 2 secret paths, that one and the one from the mountain to the mines.

Another nat 20 was on Plum trying to get Drift to not try to run out of the city and cause a scene.

> What were Plum and Drift hiding in that last convo at the inn?
They knew where Bella was, she was hiding with them at the chapel and wanted to be kept hidden because she overheard Mimi and Irah making evil plans

> What has Hari Tomo been doing this whole time?
Hari Tomo had a whole adventure in the election, but otherwise has been playing bodyguard to the shaman. Hari Tomo is actually a not-secret badass. I wanted to write them as a sort of like reformed assassin, has the big hunting skills and finds all this trivial because they're used to literally hunting other stuffies, but their backstory is still in flux.

> Can you tell us at what points different stuffies were taken?
Absolutely! I tried to do around 1/night but that fell off after I had to figure out logistics and because you clumped everyone up together and found Chu Uk, causing plans to drastically change.

At the end of DAY 1 [NIGHT 5/5] Mi snow was taken by a cultist that was terrified by Chu Uk and some cultists
At the end of DAY 2 [NIGHT 5/5] Stuffies snuck into Mortifer's place and enacted a plan to capture and STITCH him

Then you kidnapped Zan, found Chu Uk, and the blizzard stopped everyone from moving, so no more actual kidnappings happened

> Why was Chu Uk in the abandoned residences anyways?
Because the cultist who used Chu Uk to capture Mi Snow couldn't carry both Mi Snow and Chu Uk, so they dropped him off there until someone could snag him. Which would have happened if you took any longer to find him and bring him back

Edmango 2022/01/25(Tue)12:18 No. 1021280 ID: 0838d6
File 164314190829.png - (11.52KB , 500x500 , p193.png )

> Was Zan waking up scripted or luck?
Half and half. I rolled sanity checks for everyone a few times on the quest, all but one failed, and I made the one that succeeded Zan because I'm biased and like Naz, fight me, she's the best.

> Who snuck into our room at the inn and what were they doing?
Svart, he was testing your perceptiveness and if you'd wake up. Funny thing is you BOTH failed your perception and sneak rolls, so you thought it was something weird, and he thought he wasn't seen

> What was the coolest thing we missed out on?
Hmmmm, this is a toughie. Missing out on talking to Irah at all. Not getting to see monster Phoenius is probably the biggest thing I'm sad you didn't get to see. Oh, and the fight at Mortifer's when he was being captured.

> Why was Dator on the roof that one time?
He was watching you... [CURIOUSLY]

> Why the fuck did Ancestor tell us to make chains, what did he think we were going to do with stupid-ass chains?
Chains are a useful trap component and are strong enough to hold a stitched and maybe even something bigger for a round or longer. [ANCESTOR] thought it was a good preparation that never panned out, hence why he's always disappointed.

> What would have caused us to lose the journal if we showed it?
Svart + Mimi didn't know you had the journal, nor did they know where you got the idol. But if they knew you had the journal, there's an 80% chance they would not let you leave with it as it's kind of a *big deal*. Fun fact, the journal does not belong to Irah, Mimi, Svart, or Phoenius.

> What were some of the most interesting behind the scenes rolls that we didn't directly see the results of but definitely made an impact? Like improbable odds being beaten or something
And now we get into the SECRETS!!! Here is a doc with every action taken by everyone in the game. I'm going to have to let you know that there are SPOILERS for certain things in it. Like what DATOR was really up to, so read at your own risk!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MMfT23-ttSbO7T-c1Hg9RzB3abio10ZKj8eXKlzduTU/edit?usp=sharing

I've notated a lot of stuff up to day 4, day 4 was a little more straightforward so notes were less needed

> What would have happened if we stuffed our pants? Fuck bathrooms, they're suboptimal
Gross question, pass.

Edmango 2022/01/25(Tue)12:18 No. 1021281 ID: 0838d6
File 164314193653.png - (79.48KB , 500x500 , p194.png )

> Some of the characters were based off of other characters, who made what?
Mortifer was made by Pawn_01
- Angry foreman man
Mi Snow was made by Detective Caillou
- They were also intended to be alt Rain from SHARDS
Irah was made by Poltergeist Ethanoic Acid
- They were also meant to be alt Iraphena from CATALYST
Carto was also made by Poltergeist Ethanoic Acid
- He was meant to be the hint guy!
Ame Gyob was made by Tippler
- But I named him as a joke
- The joke is his name is BOY GAME backwards but I misspelt it
Glum Plum was made by Himitsu
- I asked permission before shipping plum with Drift
Mimi was made by my friend Toni
- His twitter is @polygonheart
- He makes nsfw art
Svart was made by my friend Deady
- He just wanted to have a flirty goblin boi in there
Zan/Chu Uk/Phi So/Marcie/Ra Mona all originally belong to RML
- I just kidnapped them, swapped their names around, and stitched them together
- Zan is here to stay in PQ
- Yes I'm unfairly biased

Everyone else was an original creation of mine, or a rework of some other character from a quest to fit a role.

Fun fact, everyone had an archetype I tried to have them follow, stuff like THE JOCK, THE ACADEMIC, THE FOOL, etc.

> WHO WAS ROOF?
Pre Dator, [CURIOUSLY] watching

> Who was in the wagon, I HAVE TO KNOW, PLEASE
Mi Snow! I think she's going to cause the most drama later, more than a Mortifer would anyway, Mortifer's a depressed angry, Mi Snow is a drunk and aggressive angry. All other "THE STITCHED" have been eliminated.

> What if ashkin had articulated x instead of hands?
Please chose your answer from the following helpful statements:

What you like feet? You some kind of bean connoisseur? Pervert!
What you like tongues? You some kind of smooch connoisseur? Nice.

Edmango 2022/01/25(Tue)12:19 No. 1021282 ID: 0838d6
File 164314194671.png - (11.50KB , 500x500 , p195.png )

> Was Irah a secret genius bating you to use [WARMTH]
Nope! He was just cold and walked outside conveniently at the right moment! You did dodge a bullet because he would have been the one stuffie to be like oh shit thats a useful cotton-line.

I'm real sad you never got to talk to the little chihuahua man, just this squeaky voiced gangster. I wanted to get you guys to talk to the main antagonist at the VERY beginning just so I could mess with you, but alas.

> How did PLUSHQUEST mechanically function
Wow thank you planted member of the audience, I'll happily explain!

Plushquest mechanically handled like a game of dnd in a lot of aspects, after the first half of day 1 I switched to a d20 system and handled rolls that way. Where it differed from a normal quest, just me doing the events I had planned, was that everyone had 2 actions a turn, an action could be a move, or doing a thing, or engaging in a conversation. And I had a hard rule of having to write 1-2 updates in advance of what you were doing, only able to tweak things if you interrupt someone else's action.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MMfT23-ttSbO7T-c1Hg9RzB3abio10ZKj8eXKlzduTU/edit?usp=sharing

That doc actually breaks down everyone's actions so you can see what I did. It was like I was playing a game of delayed chess against you all, moving 2 other units while you moved yourself (and sometimes ka xu or an). Everyone had a thing they were GREAT, GOOD, and BAD at. I didn’t give Cob a thing they were BAD at though because your die rolls were bad.

I got 2 actions to move npcs an update, and got 2 free moves to do whatever with per update, be it weather or moving someone not moved by my actions. It was totally a lot of fun!

I had made the enemies TOO GOOD in some respects, so I started having them make small mistakes, but it turns out that was unnecessary and you found a secret tunnel and the best hidden items in the game, so whatever! Screw planning, accept chaos!

Also, I randomly rolled everyone’s alignment at the beginning of the game to shuffle things around. Originally I had set up BELLA to be an antagonist, but I decided to randomly roll for everyone instead. After the roles were assigned then I got to work! Fun fact, there was 1 acolyte (mimi), 3 cultists, and 1 Phoenius! Everyone also had a favorite item and you gave SVART his favored item, which was why he liked you so much!

Mimi was a level 1 adventurer like you, but the other cultists had varying levels and stats, it was meant to be hard for you, and it turns out it did in fact make some things harder.

> How did Phoenius work?
This wasn’t a question that anyone asked but I wanna talk about it. Phoenius is in fact alive and thinking and can move, but he’s still waking up and finds movement very hard. Irah is piloting him like a giant robot using strings. Irah’s like one of the few stuffies in this quest that can use magic and has an actually useful cantrip. Unfortunately, I can’t reveal what it is unless you wanna be SPOILED. DM me if you cant contain your curiosity.

> How did BODY STITCHING work?
While the exact mechanics are hidden due to plot reasons, there is a procedure that lets you swap cores with a body, thus taking them over. It’s an annoying procedure, and you can use it to make new bodies and go into them. Fun!

Edmango 2022/01/25(Tue)12:19 No. 1021283 ID: 0838d6
File 164314196931.png - (10.47KB , 500x500 , p196.png )

> PLUSHQUEST -INVASION OF THE BODY STITCHERS- FINAL STATS
> Total images - 185
> Average Images per update - 2.46
> Total Unique Suggestions - 526
> Ave suggestions per update - 7.1

> Most common "Trait" - [DESIRE]
- This basically means you MOSTLY did things following with DESIRE
- This was calculated by my checking the vibe of everyones suggests
- And then what action you took, and comparing it to a list

> Second most common "Trait" - [COMPANIONSHIP]
- Picking to go with your buds in the end swayed this off of [CURIOSITY]
- But the difference is by like 2 points

> Posts with WEED jokes - 6

> Smooches gained
- Svart
- An
- An again
- Svart poison smooch
- An while you were travelling
- The cuddle pile (+3)

> Secrets Missed
- General Store Secret tunnel
- What Dator was up to
- At least 2 instances of glass objects
- The cultist's old base in the abandoned labr.
- Gyob's Cabin interior
- Mortifer's bead vault (completely emptied out)

> Total pages in google doc 412 (including final posts)

> YOUR FINAL RANK
I'd score you at a [B] ranked, you did better than average due to some rolls and the most stuffies survived, but you didn't defeat the main antagonist, and Mimi got away. You would be at a C rank, but you caught Svart and rescued Zan.

Your rank is [SWEET YET POISONOUS COPSTITUTE] because you didn't really antagonize anyone other than MIMI, and had a good play, with a bit of venom when you need to, oh and “fuck stitches, become copstitute” was a hilarious line I still think about

Edmango 2022/01/25(Tue)12:19 No. 1021284 ID: 0838d6
File 164314198794.png - (13.01KB , 500x500 , p197.png )

> WHAT’S NEXT?
Well, Next is CATALYST. I’m going to have Tippler draw images for Catalyst updates now, and we’ll go from there. We’re looking at an *every other day* schedule, similar to what the end of PQ did, starting next month. My plan is to work with tippler to get through to the end of this arc in CATALYST and put it on a hiatus.

SHARDS will continue to be updated on days that I’m free (typically 1x a week) and once CATALYST is over I’ll evaluate my next project. A proper LUST QUEST quest is on my mind, as well as an SCP-like romp in an interdimensional Wal-Mart. Either way, my plan is for the thread to be half the length of what PQ was, I want to focus on shorter stories with shorter text per update. A future PQ installment might also be on my mind, but it will certainly be lighter and way less heavy on the mystery aspects because I just obsess over them haha.

Once again, thanks for reading everyone!

Congratulations on capping off another AWESOME quest!!!

Another question: Will ZAN and MI SNOW get to have their own introductions to [STEVE], or did IRAH'S dream-prison nonsense make them miss out on that opportunity?

I wanna see Phi So!

Also: I don't know why jack and gyob are keeping Mi Snow a secret from Cob... Maybe Jack has the same idea we do- to use the cult's secrets for her own gain.

Congratulations on completing a fine quest so stuffed with ideas, threading the needle to have your audience in stitches!

>Pre Dator
ohhh,

so does that mean there could be an Al Yin in the future? lol