>>1056163
Just to nip the potential counterargument that having more people (in this case, paladins full of righteous fury) storm your dungeon would be a good thing because of the Labyrinth Game; they would not be there for gold. They would breach the doors, kill or capture those inside, tear down the walls until they destroy the resurrection matrix, and then crucify the prisoners.

I kind of feel like that would sort of ruin the Labyrinth game.

Deem, your golem is getting very curvy. Your investor is likely to make sexual advances upon your person. While yes, you have seen everything before, the immediacy of this experience is likely to have a greater effect than you expect, so try to be prepared. It would also reduce the professionalism of their tour.

>>1056093
i like more mud it means more material to repair with or cut of to make into golems fast, can also store liquids in pockets or packets, other then that i really want to see a solid wellbuilt skeleton get as skinny as possible and make it as functional as possible then build onto that

1/3 Deem 2023/03/16(Thu)07:54 No. 1058710 ID: 675b2a
File 167897848987.png - (30.32KB , 800x600 , what_are_you_talking_about.png )

>Most people don't consider rotund bodies to be attractive, and people are more likely to do what an attractive person wants them to. Your weight is a detriment to you.
>Speak for yourself.
>Sitting there getting fat off your underlings’ worship and labor will tarnish your image with friend and financier alike.
>I'd say the biggest issue is going to be adventurers not accidentally calling her 'mommy' when she does boss-fight duty.
>Deem should either lose weight, OR bulk up more to maintain combat effectiveness.
>The curves sell the fecund theme, while the increased height and woody legs + horns balance that out, and the earth theme is always present.
>If we are really going to argue it, yes, your weight is... just a bit too much.
>Deem, your new form is looking very imposing. The wood highlights to your body are functional and look good, and the vine hair with flower highlights very is very attractive.
>Deem, your golem is getting very curvy. Your investor is likely to make sexual advances upon your person.
...

I don't want to hear it.

>I think Deem is going to need to take some direct steps to bring her size down a little and end the curse.
>Deem, you need to go on a diet. You really shouldn't have much trouble with that, since you don't generally need to eat and all this is the result of you trying to eat an earth locus into your control.
No, I am going to attend a feast in a few hours because preventing further loss of consciousness from a lack of mana is more important than vanity over my golem body's exact shape. I am about to contribute a lot of mana to crafting an item, my denizens have gone to some lengths to gather some mana rich ingredients and consuming more mana rich food was identified as the most reliable short term method to provide some reserves.

Curse breaking has been lower priority than everything else going on in my dungeon at the moment and I'll have another chance to break it before Olan's arrival if it's that important.

>This may sound weird coming from one of us, but you might want to put on more clothes...
I've worn less. This is fine.

>Would having Moriko drink some of the Locus Fluid help her see results from wearing the Covetous Ring faster, or make them more pronounced? Or any other change she's hoping to gain from her Mana Vacancy, I suppose.
I will let her know it is an option when I next have a chance to speak to her.

>Go test out your new capabilities with Merud once he wakes and see if he has any additional insights to glean.
I'll find him when he wakes up.

>...are you religious, Deem? I'd imagine not, but who knows. Are there gods that you just don't follow? How tangible are they?
What do you think?

>Becoming an earthbound false goddess could cause some overwhelming consequences depending on who catches wind of it. I am not sure you want a small army of paladins smashing your door down to smite the blasphemers and their heretical deity.
Aren't you leaping to some conclusions here?

>They would breach the doors, kill or capture those inside, tear down the walls until they destroy the resurrection matrix, and then crucify the prisoners.
No they couldn't, surely I'm still strong enough to... even if they did...

...

Whose benefit do you think the Labyrinth Game is for?

My denizens would die and then I would glut myself on vengeful atrocity. Yet another little calamity in a long, long, lo...

2/3 Deem 2023/03/16(Thu)07:55 No. 1058711 ID: 675b2a
File 167897851445.png - (36.56KB , 600x720 , its_mr_blue_sky.png )

Sleep.

Forget your name and still your sorrow.

Drown your spite in your bloody games.

3/3 Deem 2023/03/16(Thu)07:56 No. 1058712 ID: 675b2a
File 167897858379.png - (30.90KB , 550x750 , late_night_alienist_chats.png )

"Oh Deem you got bigger again." Reisarf says. "Did you get really hungry in the middle of the night?"

I shake my head. I'm outside Reisarf's little sleeping hut in the hidden valley.

"No?" I say.

"Oh it's a biggening thing again?" Reisarf says. "Those seem really popular right now! Who do you think is going to be the biggest?"

"Reisarf it's not a competition..." I squint at my alienist. Now something's bothering me. "Have you gotten smaller?"

"I'll try harder!"

"No! I -" I sigh. "Why have you changed?"

"Oh! I've been saving up mana in case you needed it, but right now we're testing if eating extra mana will make Stargazer fruit faster!" Stargazer looks at me from inside the hut, seemingly less happy at late night visitors.

"Did it work? Do you know if her fruit attract monsters too?"

"No it didn't. We think they might attract starspawn like her, that's the vibe we're getting off them. I'll tell you if we see any of those jellyfish! And I think being cursed has improved her mana absorption but her compression efficiency has taken a hit."

I inspect Stargazer properly. She is looking a bit chunkier.

"Do you mind if I take some of the surplus then?" I say. I guess I'll have the option of eating a bit less in the morning then.

Reisarf says yes on Stargazer's behalf and after some coaxing Stargazer puts her tail in my hand. We haven't tried out her Mana Battery with anyone but I get a smooth flow of slightly jellied feeling mana from her, which is a soothing balm that eases the numbed, leaky emptiness of my own stores of mana.

"Thank you Stargazer." I say, declining to pat her tail as she whips it out of my grasp. The slimmed down noodle wiggles at me aggressively. I wonder if she might be angry at me.

"Tomorrow please take as much of the raw mana as you like." I say to her. We're not using it for much else. She wiggles again.

>Would it be possible to use Reisarf's Matter Virus in conjunction with Hin's Gelforging? In particular, fusing the new Refined Slime with stone or cloth to make it a little more sturdy or workable sounds like it could make something potentially useful.

"By the way Reisarf." I say to my alienist. "Hin's started experimenting with her Gelforging, so if you have the time could you trying merging some of her products with other material?"

"Oh that sounds perfect! A lot of potential!" Reisarf says, nodding at Stargazer who nods back for reasons that escape me.

>For the swimsuit, correct me if I'm wrong but I assume you don't want to wear it.
I don't float, I don't exercise, and I don't particularly need more boob. So no.

>So I'd let Hin offer it to Reisarf to see if they wanted it as originally intended, and if they don't- see if any other denizen wants it before seeing if Kallia would buy it.
"Also there's a swimsuit for you that Hin made. It'll give you a little more stamina but it might have, ah, figure enhancing properties so if you don't want it..."

"I don't mind." Reisarf says. "I won't let you down!" She gives a jaw cracking yawn. "But sorry I'd better get back to bed. We have to start cooking early." She blinks. "Oh but why were you standing outside my house in the middle of the night?"

I blink.

>Number 4. That golem is good with her hands...
>As a visual representation of how you started out, keeping it around to contrast with the you that exists now could be a reminder of how far you've managed to come. It feels like you could use a little bit of uplifting sometimes, Deem.
"I was trying to work out which golem to keep with me, I think?" I grab a hold of the golem modelled after my original golem body. "This one I think."

Reisarf bids me a good night and Stargazer firmly closes the door.

I think that's everything I wanted to do before tomorrow.

I hear a rustle. Doyle is sneaking along the dirt path that services the little valley hidden behind my dungeon. I remain still, as he creeps along halfway hidden in the vegetation in the side of the path. What's he up to? Should I check this out or do I have enough on my plate?

Clearly, you have far too much on your plate.
Metaphors aside, however, is he still hungry for a little piece of Stargazer? I am quite curious how this tamed monster has been adapting to servitude.

Yes follow your denizen to whatever clandestine task he's about.

Also, did you lose time Deem? We catch glimpses of something here and there, secrets even you aren't allowed to know, but you losing track of yourself isn't something I've noticed in the past.

>>1058712
Of course we should watch what hes doing, it might be something funny

>Stargazer mad?
Stargazer might indeed have been a bit tetchy at the late-night intrusion and imposing. She's not some bonded mana container of yours, after all, even if Reisarf is happy to offer.

>Doyle
Let's leave Doyle be, your plate is indeed pretty topped at the moment and it seems he wants to be left alone if he's sneaking off like that. Perhaps he has some manner of secret hobby or something? We can always ask him about his late-night jaunt later. On that note, you could probably stand with giving him some one-on-one attention at some point, I'm just not sure now's the time.

>wat do
You could spend the rest of the night meditating, exercising your breathing to gather mana, and get a feel for your new abilities. You could try switching to Distill mode and loading a rote spell so that you can test it later in front of Merud, pending how long that takes.

Speaking of, absolutely chat with Merud in the morning regarding the, er, functionalities of your latest experiment in your form and function. Even the shrine and idol parts, though you may want to raise that topic delicately. Are there factions or people who might take offense to you inhabiting such a role, even if by chance or temporarily?

And yeah, give everyone a rundown of what occurred at breakfast.

>>1058712
>What's he up to? Should I check this out or do I have enough on my plate?
You must be really, really tired if you're considering letting a tamed monster of yours do stuff without your knowledge.

>Should I check this out or do I have enough on my plate?
Do you have plans for the rest of the night? Like, yes, you have a lot of stuff to do, but unless I'm mistaken all of it need to wait until the morning anyway, right?

On the subject of losing time... I don't think she is, so far at least. But just in case: Deem, hypothetically speaking, if something *was* altering your memories, what would be the easiest way to find out it was happening? There must be some signs you could look out for, right?

+1 to follow Belphejar

Checking up on him yourself won't be very stealthy. Send the stick golem.

1/1 Deem 2023/03/17(Fri)01:31 No. 1058813 ID: ee44de
File 167904191219.png - (34.64KB , 800x600 , secret_potion_party.png )

>Stargazer might indeed have been a bit tetchy at the late-night intrusion and imposing. She's not some bonded mana container of yours, after all, even if Reisarf is happy to offer.
I didn't burst into their house, Reisarf came out to talk to me. Perhaps I did accidentally interrupt something though, hopefully she doesn't hold a grudge.

>Deem, hypothetically speaking, if something *was* altering your memories, what would be the easiest way to find out it was happening? There must be some signs you could look out for, right?
...

>You must be really, really tired if you're considering letting a tamed monster of yours do stuff without your knowledge.
I don't demand my monsters spend every waking moment of their existence toiling for me.

>Checking up on him yourself won't be very stealthy. Send the stick golem.
It's still combined with the mud golem and Merud's been working on the two.

>Of course we should watch what he's doing, it might be something funny.
Hopefully it's something to give me some levity.

>Perhaps he has some manner of secret hobby or something?
As long as it's something healthier than spying on people in the bath.

>Yes follow your denizen to whatever clandestine task he's about.
I sneak after Doyle to the best of my ability. I freeze wheneve he pauses to look around, hoping to be mistaken for a rock or tree should part of me be exposed. I think I hear a rustle behind me early on, but I don't spot anyone following me. We reach a part near the valley wall, a tiny clearing dotted with flattish rocks that appear to have been dragged here and there's a small alcove filled with hollowed gourds and cracked and chipped containers. I get some strange smells when the breeze wafts to me from that directions.

One of Alkaline's hydra slimes is waiting here, along with one or two of the undeveloped slimes, all puffed up with liquid. The big slime pulls out the Waterbearer Wand. Doyle's potion contents are pulled out of him and stored. He sags from the loss of his vital fluids then the little slimes refill him.

Suddenly Moriko's imp is in amongst them, I didn't see her arrive. Doyle goes to run, but the imp kicks him and he subsides. She tosses a bunch of berries she was carrying into, then starts licking the juice from the squashed ones off her paws.

They wait a while longer, perhaps expecting someone else. Moriko's imp fidgets more and more.

Finally the imp snatches up one of the hydra slime's Bad Eggs and climbs on top of one of the rocks. Doyle quivers when she roughly tosses the volatile slime in. The slimes lounge around a very nervous cauldron gulper as the imp runs into the alcove to grab something else.

Are, are they bullying Doyle into making potions for them?

>Is he still hungry for a little piece of Stargazer? I am quite curious how this tamed monster has been adapting to servitude.
It looks like my other monsters are hungry for a piece of him.

What should I do about this? Should I surprise them, catch them in the act? I don't think I should let Doyle get walked over, and I should probably confiscate whatever ditchwater potions they've been brewing up. It looks like they've been doing this for a while though... and I think they were expecting someone else? There's been some planning put into this. Who's the ringleader here?

>>1058813
Hmm, I say you should hide to find out whos running things here first. And then ideally, you should find confront Doyle afterwards and help him settle things himself. Generally, the best way to deal with bullying is for the one bullied to no longer be a viable victim. Im sure we can help Doyle cook up something that will let him take any two of these. I mean, as long as the Ringleader isnt Alkaline or Hin or something.

Spot check: where are Alkaline and Chak?

I mean, I don't think we really want to discourage whatever this is just yet. As much as you can never trust an imp, this sort of self motivated ambition is something we've been seeking to encourage in Moriko in the first place, something she seemed to lose when her shadow separated. Or maybe something she was always suppressing, being honest.

Though really this isn't the definition of her learning to reign in that aspect of herself so she can be whole again, it's not something we should immediately interrupt.

I'd say continue watching. I want to see what it's trying to make. Or if it's just experimenting.

I wish there was an easy, clandestine way to get Moriko here so she could spy on it too, she might learn something this way.

>>1058813
Definitely wait and hide to see who's the leader here. It could be the imp though, don't discount that.

Apply more voyeurism!

If you're experiencing lost time, maybe you're the last guest they were waiting for! In which case, you're going to have to call it off. Doyle has rights too. In fact, he even has a doppelganger if they wish to continue this activity.

>>1058835
Back off for now, tell Moriko, have her take the lead in investigating further and figuring out appropriate disciplinary action for the imp.
Not the slimes, though - they're Alkaline's responsibility. Don't tell Alkaline about it until Moriko is reasonably sure she's not the ringleader.

>I think I hear a rustle behind me early on, but I don't spot anyone following me.

I'm guessing the ringleader is currently sneakily following *you,* so waiting for them to show up probably won't work?

>>1059702
whaaaaat, nooooo, that couldn't possibly be happening, come oooon

1/3 Deem 2023/03/28(Tue)23:52 No. 1059777 ID: f1f923
File 168007273177.png - (25.68KB , 750x750 , impdulgences.png )

>Hmm, I say you should hide to find out who's running things here first.
>I'd say continue watching. I want to see what it's trying to make. Or if it's just experimenting.
I suppose it would be prudent to see if this potential last invitee shows up.

>And then ideally, you should find confront Doyle afterwards and help him settle things himself.
What? But I can settle things. Right now.

>Generally, the best way to deal with bullying is for the one bullied to no longer be a viable victim. I'm sure we can help Doyle cook up something that will let him take any two of these. I mean, as long as the Ringleader isn't Alkaline or Hin or something.
Why are going down this convoluted route when I can just intervene directly? Barring the identity of this possible third conspirator being something spectacularly unlikely, they're all my denizens.

>Spot check: where are Alkaline and Chak?
They're both sleeping. Fitfully in Alkaline's case.

>I mean, I don't think we really want to discourage whatever this is just yet.
What? Sneaking around like this clearly shows they know it's something they shouldn't be doing!

>As much as you can never trust an imp, this sort of self motivated ambition is something we've been seeking to encourage in Moriko in the first place, something she seemed to lose when her shadow separated. Or maybe something she was always suppressing, being honest.
This ambition seems to be gorging on weak potions so as to do things like burp bubbles, get a stretchy neck for a few minutes, and just stare at nothing giggling madly.

>I wish there was an easy, clandestine way to get Moriko here so she could spy on it too, she might learn something this way.
...

I task a golem with bringing Moriko to me.

>Though really this isn't the definition of her learning to reign in that aspect of herself so she can be whole again, it's not something we should immediately interrupt.
I keep observing while I wait but they do nothing except badger Doyle to get refills and become increasingly incapacitated by all the potions they're drinking. Moriko arrives and gives me a look that says she has a lot of questions but restrains herself as I try to mime the situation.

>>I think I hear a rustle behind me early on, but I don't spot anyone following me.
>I'm guessing the ringleader is currently sneakily following *you,* so waiting for them to show up probably won't work?
Maybe the third visitor did spot I was here. No point in waiting any longer. Moriko has been cycling between incredulous looks and frowning, and seems to be itching to take action anyway.

2/3 Deem 2023/03/28(Tue)23:53 No. 1059778 ID: f1f923
File 168007279257.png - (27.39KB , 800x600 , guilty_parties.png )

We jump out of the bushes. I grab Moriko's imp, and she pens in the slimes. To my surprise, Doyle springs up and tries to run. The cauldron gulper bowls over my golem attendant and crashes into the bushes, running off into the night.

Never mind, we'll catch up with him later.

"So what have all of you gathered out here for in the middle of the night?" I try asking the imp in my grip.

Moriko's imp wriggles drunkenly. Umm, stargazing?

"Who were you waiting to meet out here?" Moriko says.

They weren't meeting anyone, Moriko's imp lies as she wriggles more frantically. But if they were, maybe a bird?

I try asking the same questions of Alkaline's slime. She doesn't know anything, where is she, who am I, how do I know she did anything, and who is she?

It looks like they're both playing dumb.

I sigh. "What have you been up to with Doyle?" I say, poking the imp's belly accusingly.

Nono, she's just getting fat, the imp offers as an excuse as she squirms. There'll probably be eggs soon. When am I going to lay mine?

Moriko makes a choking noise, I can't tell if it's offense or amusement. I stare at the imp. The imp titters.

I start shaking her.

"Deem!" Moriko says sharply.

"What have you been having Doyle make?!" I demand.

The imp looks like she's about to throw up. She wants the secret potions, the imp spills. If she drinks all these potions it'll be super tasty and feel really good and she'll be all magical! She'll be able to hammer anything she likes into a pancake, and make frogs out of shadows and squish them, and make pretty dresses, and make imps blow up, and make whoever she wants kiss, and go into people's dreams and mess around, and, and-

I'm not going to keep translating this.

"You shouldn't be sneaking around behind our backs, and you shouldn't be strong-arming Doyle into doing this." I say sternly.

>Have Moriko take the lead in investigating further and figuring out appropriate disciplinary action for the imp.
"Moriko's going to figure out an appropriate punishment for this!"

Moriko looks like a startled deer at this.

"Stay here." I say to the imp, leaving my attendant to watch her and the slime. "I need to talk to Moriko."

3/3 Deem 2023/03/28(Tue)23:53 No. 1059779 ID: f1f923
File 168007282173.png - (39.16KB , 700x700 , i_think_we_should_squish_the_imp.png )

>Not the slimes, though - they're Alkaline's responsibility. Don't tell Alkaline about it until Moriko is reasonably sure she's not the ringleader.
I explain to Moriko what I've witnessed so far, my speculation and the possibility the imp, Alkaline or one of my other denizens is the ringleader for organising these little potion parties. I don't have a clear idea of the whereabouts of my denizens once they're outside my dungeon, which is a problem since most of them now sleep up here in the valley, but Moriko says the imp wanders at night reasonably frequently. As I explain I'd like her to investigate though, she steadily looks more distracted and a little overwhelmed.

"Is there something you want to say?" I ask.

"Deem, you've grown?" Moriko says.

"Yes." I say tersely.

"No you're heavier - spiritually heavier." she hastens to add.

My irritation eases a little at this, Moriko continues to be quite perceptive about matters concerning the earth-pulse. I explain about my experiments with the seeds and the locus fluid and how I stumbled into activating an old magic, making my golem body a focal point for my dungeon and the Labyrinth Game.

"I think I understand." Moriko nods slowly. "I will endeavour to see what I can find to offer then."

"Be aware of your own Mana Vacancy first." I caution her. "Has the Covetous Ring helped you much?"

"Some I think." Moriko says, touching her hair band. There's a gold band there I hadn't noticed before. "I feel it's something other than gold I might want to seek though."

"You can use the fluid from the Orange Crags locus too if there's any progress you're hoping to speed up." I tell her.

She nods. "I think I will. Everyone else seems to be growing so fast while I'm standing still..."

"It's your own progress that matters, not how it measures up to anyone else." I tell her.

She stays quiet for a few seconds, then looks throw the bushes where the imp and slime are waiting. "Thank you for answering my questions. Now, you wanted me to determine an appropriate punishment for the imp?" she says uncertainly.

Maybe I should offer some suggestions on suitable disciplinary actions? I need to work out what I'll do with Alkaline's slime as well.

>>1059779
Tell her she doesn't have to seek your heart, it's right there.


Anyway the imp made Doyle brew potions for their own use, so the imp has to make something of equal value for Doyle in return. Perhaps some nice cauldron polish?

Punishment for the slimes could be to make them water haulers. They want to drink so much, they can fill their guts with something less tasty for a while. Maybe a long while, you can let Alkaline decide the duration and she’ll probably not be happy some subjects went behind her back.

Punishment for the imp... it needs to learn to be less selfish, no? Pursuing one’s own desire for strength can be well and good, but when that pursuit becomes ignorantly indolent (weak potions not gonna make you strong, impy!) and is to the detriment of those around you (weakening Doyle’s brews affects everyone else who uses them) and makes you lie without an punch of gratistur or guilt to the people who gave you an incredibly rare opportunity to grow and learn, it’s gone too far.

So, any special perks or goodies it enjoyed besides being Morko’s charge - or wishes to enjoy - in the Dungeon it’s henceforth going to have to earn by helping others with tasks they set it - tasks to be approved by Moriko. Now it’s GOTTA care what others think.

And... if it attempts to circumvent that or keeps messing up like this, you’ll teach it why Doyle was so easy to bully in the first place. For free.

>>1059779
>something other than gold
Hmm. Ask her for more info about that feeling. Is it a material she's craving? Or a certain type of object? The former could be she wants other types of valuable metals, or gemstones. The latter, perhaps she wants... more weapons? Does she have a craving for magical food? Or monster parts?

>imp punishment?
Well, you could make it do chores for a while. Or something like polish Doyle.

>slime played dumb, imp confessed
Get a confession from the slime too, see if she'll fess up as to who the extra person was. Alkaline needs to punish her... hmm. I wonder if Hin is the missing culprit here? She has a bit of a self-control problem when it comes to potions.

Odd that one of Alkaline's slimes could have such divergent ambitions. They're not under her direct control at all?

I bet you could carry Moriko on your horns. Remember to cycle your mana with her soon, mana circulation has positive effects and in this case the fecund magics will rub off on her. She's more easily shaped by the locations she spends time in and well, you are the number one location she spends time in.
Sit on the slime, bad and naughty slimes get put in the Deem crusher.
The imp should have to compensate Doyle somehow, like giving him a polish or making him a pot of snake and spider stew for him instead of in him.

Ok, hm. This isn't something to voice to her, but I feel like the imp's behaviour is reflecting Moriko's own worries, just filtered through that imp's- impness. Moriko is worried about not progressing compared to others, and the imp is looking for a get better quick option by bullying Doyle. I'd remind Moriko that a lot of your other denizens recent advancements have come from unexpected places so it might just be circumstances haven't aligned yet for her. We should probably take her with us on our next excursion though, it might help.

As far as punishment goes, restitution by doing something for Doyle is an option, but I think what would work better is to try and treat the root cause of the misbehaviour. The imp wants to get better, although what is a bit of a mystery since they just babbled off a bunch of stuff. The punishment should push them to get better but still clearly be a punishment. For example, if the imp wants to get real good at hitting things with a hammer, the punishment could be breaking rocks and/or extra hammer tutoring. Basically to impress upon the imp that they shouldn't seek out quick shortcuts etc.

Mainly I'm thinking the imp's punishment should in a way try to help with the worries Moriko has that the imp is expressing- plus resolving the reason behind the imp's bad behaviour will probably help prevent future occurrences.

For the slime, there is a trick you can do to maybe get them to spill the beans: Threaten to tell her mother. Punishment I'm not sure though, maybe leave it up to Alkaline?

>>1059791
>Sit on the slime, bad and naughty slimes get put in the Deem crusher.
I'm not sure that's a punishment, some people pay good money to have that sort of thing done to them.

>>1059803
So because some people get off on it, we can’t whip anyone anymore? Don’t be silly. Besides, she’s a slime.

>They're both sleeping. Fitfully in Alkaline's case.
That sounds like a nightmare. Nightmares can be distracting and reduce productivity. You should wake her up gently and comfort her.
>There'll probably be eggs soon. When am I going to lay mine?
Hopefully after your crack is repaired? The alternative sounds painful...

>>1059826
>nightmare
Oooor, there's some measure of feedback from this rogue slime, and she's having a weird trippy dream or feeling the anxiety of being caught.

Alkaline is going to want to be involved in deciding a punishment for her slime, I think. Not that we HAVE to go along with what she wants, but she's been very defensive about being taken seriously and having responsibilities lately, so she's likely to get pissy if the whole thing gets decided completely behind her back. Involve her in the conversation, maybe, unless she's still too messed up from those curses to participate.

As for the Imp... I'll second those who've suggested Moriko administer some rather intensive/brutal training as a punishment. It's appropriate to the nature of the crime, since if it wanted to get harder it can do so the hard way. And it could conceivably help Moriko too, in that they say teaching something is a good way to understand it better yourself. Granted I don't think anyone who says that was talking about teaching an Imp, but with Moriko at such an... open to influence stage in her development every bit helps. If the Imp reminds Moriko of her younger self, let it do what the younger Moriko did: learn.

>>1059791
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure trying to deliberately amplify Deem's influence over Moriko right now would be a REALLY bad idea. Back when Mana Vacancy was first chosen, Deem told Moriko she'd need to be careful around her and her Heart because her essence could be "overwhelming." And that was BEFORE Deem went all nature goddess and got a boost to spiritual weight. Influencing Moriko is great, but we don't want what makes her Moriko to be completely overwritten.

>>1059779
Make em clean Doyle with a toothbrush

Huh, wonder who the other one could've been.

Stargazer?

Maybe Char.

Certainly not Stargazer...

Regardless, I like the idea of brutal training for the imp. It's themed, it might have payoffs, and it might let Moriko work through some of her own issues with her disapproving family/mentor.

Also, don't lay it on TOO thick with Moriko. Yes, she's probably looking to "feel the earth pulse" again if you know what I mean, but even with her being more impressionable we don't want to mistakenly rub off a bunch of fecund on and cause some unintentional change in her.

How about "Be sure to come to me when it's time to start looking for what you desire." Deem level vague while still enough to get her mind wandering.

A couple thoughts occur:

1) Deem's new False Idle ritual ability requires "a large offering" to start up. And we have this huge dramatic feast planned for tomorrow. Is that going to count as enough of an offering to trigger it?

2):
>"By the way Reisarf." I say to my alienist. "Hin's started experimenting with her Gelforging, so if you have the time could you trying merging some of her products with other material?"

>"Oh that sounds perfect! A lot of potential!" Reisarf says, nodding at Stargazer who nods back for reasons that escape me.

Reisarf and Stargazer are going to try to use those abilities for cooking tomorrow, aren't they?

1/2 Deem 2023/06/02(Fri)07:06 No. 1065015 ID: b4e2d6
File 168571479413.png - (36.73KB , 600x800 , deem_crusher.png )

>This isn't something to voice to her, but I feel like the imp's behaviour is reflecting Moriko's own worries, just filtered through that imp's- impness. Moriko is worried about not progressing compared to others, and the imp is looking for a get better quick option by bullying Doyle.
>I think what would work better is to try and treat the root cause of the misbehaviour. The imp wants to get better, although what is a bit of a mystery since they just babbled off a bunch of stuff. The punishment should push them to get better but still clearly be a punishment.
True, part of the imp's misbehaviour seemed to be be fueled by a desire to become more capable. It seemed to be a mix of hammer skills and random magic that imp was interested in. Perhaps a hint Moriko would like to widen her focus? Hammering in hammer skills is easy enough, but I might have to think on the others. Secondment to Reisarf and Merud's work and using magic tools such as the waterbearer's wand perhaps.

>Any special perks or goodies the imp enjoyed besides being Moriko’s charge - or wishes to enjoy - in the Dungeon it’s henceforth going to have to earn by helping others with tasks they set it - tasks to be approved by Moriko. Now it’s GOTTA care what others think.
"From now on." I say to Moriko. "I think the imp is going to need to do some chores if she wants any more privileges than the basics of food and shelter. I'll have the others come up with things they need help with for you to approve, and if she wants anything from them she'll have to work for it."

Moriko nods at this.

>They say teaching something is a good way to understand it better yourself. Granted I don't think anyone who says that was talking about teaching an Imp, but with Moriko at such an... open to influence stage in her development every bit helps.
>If the Imp reminds Moriko of her younger self, let it do what the younger Moriko did: learn.
"But as punishment for Doyle, I think you should push her harder. A bit of time spent running her ragged and keeping a closer eye on her will probably mean less getting in trouble and she would benefit from developing her hammer skills. What do you think?"

Moriko nods again, looking less overwhelmed at the thought of imp management now I've laid out some advice. "I think I can manage that."

>The imp should have to compensate Doyle somehow, like giving him a polish or making him a pot of snake and spider stew for him instead of in him.
"I think some act to apologise to Doyle would be good as well, but I'll have to check what he might like once we find him again." He ran off to hide and does look like he'll be coming out any time soon.

>Sit on the slime, bad and naughty slimes get put in the Deem crusher.
We return to the others and I take a seat.

>Get a confession from the slime too, see if she'll fess up as to who the extra person was. Alkaline needs to punish her... hmm.
I'm not getting one, just increasingly desperate claims from my new cushion that she doesn't know anything about anyone. I must admire her commitment to playing dumb, even if it is frustrating the investigation.

>Punishment for the slimes could be to make them water haulers. They want to drink so much, they can fill their guts with something less tasty for a while.
>Alkaline is going to want to be involved in deciding a punishment for her slime, I think. Not that we HAVE to go along with what she wants, but she's been very defensive about being taken seriously and having responsibilities lately, so she's likely to get pissy if the whole thing gets decided completely behind her back.
That seems like a good idea, we have been steadily emptying the dungeon's water reservoir and it could stand to be topped up. I'll check with Alkaline once we wrap up here.

>Odd that one of Alkaline's slimes could have such divergent ambitions. They're not under her direct control at all?
They're a slime colony, not a hive mind. Alkaline can respawn the slimes making up her colony and they have ways to disperse information throughout a colony, but it's perfectly possible for something to only be known to a single slime or for a slime to have specific interests.

>Huh, wonder who the other one could've been.
>Stargazer?
>Maybe Char.
>Certainly not Stargazer...
>I wonder if Hin is the missing culprit here? She has a bit of a self-control problem when it comes to potions.
It would have to be another slime, Hin, Merud, Chakarchelou, Reisarf, Stargazer or perhaps some outside monster that's somehow sneaking in. Chakarchelou sleeps inside the dungeon and I haven't noticed him sneaking out in the middle of the night. Most of the others seem unlikely, but since they sleep in the valley (or wander all over the place in the case of the slimes) I can't eliminate any based on their comings and goings.

Since I have passed the duty of investigating to Moriko, I relay this reasoning to her.

2/2 Deem 2023/06/02(Fri)07:07 No. 1065016 ID: b4e2d6
File 168571486658.png - (19.12KB , 650x750 , asking_for_a_favour.png )

>I'd remind Moriko that a lot of your other denizens recent advancements have come from unexpected places so it might just be circumstances haven't aligned yet for her. We should probably take her with us on our next excursion though, it might help.
"And don't worry if your growth seems to be slow right now." I say to Moriko, making sure her imp is listening too. "Building a good foundation matters, and trying new things so you can pick a good direction to develop in. Things haven't lined up just right for you yet, but they will. I'll make sure you come on our next expedition in case opportunity knocks."

"Thank you." Moriko says, seeming to appreciate my effort to put her more at ease.

"Mow!" Moriko's imp says.

"Yes, maybe you'll get taller too." I say to the imp.

"More baths might help." Moriko says, which immediately curbs the imp's enthusiasm.

>Remember to cycle your mana with her soon, mana circulation has positive effects and in this case the fecund magics will rub off on her.
>I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure trying to deliberately amplify Deem's influence over Moriko right now would be a REALLY bad idea.
I want to give her space to develop in her own direction, not force her down my path.

>Tell her she doesn't have to seek your heart, it's right there.
It's in my dungeon actually.

>She's probably looking to "feel the earth pulse" again if you know what I mean.
I do not. I refuse to.

>Is it a material she's craving? Or a certain type of object? The former could be she wants other types of valuable metals, or gemstones. The latter, perhaps she wants... more weapons? Does she have a craving for magical food? Or monster parts?
I return to asking her about her progress with the Covetous Ring. If it's driving dragonish impulses, what exactly is resonating with her as something she should hoard as another base of power?

Moriko touches a brooch she has. "I helped Hin with some of what she was working on and in exchange she's made the gold I've found into something wearable. That felt right. I've worked some with Merud as well, with those worn puppet-ribbons."

"Mow!" the imp says.

"And been trying my hand as a teacher as well, yes." Moriko says. "I think," she continues, "That is what I want. To be well regarded. Having things like this, is possessing recognition of virtue. And so," she looks aside, "if I am to act as your knight, might I have a token of your favour?"

Moriko rarely asks for anything and judging by her flushed face, she's embarrassed to be making the request.

The problem is I don't have very many belongings that are appropriate! She might take my choice of token as an indication on how I want her to develop as well.

My current outfit is a few sheets of cloth and my more formal wear was made by her.

There's a few minor items that were made directly by me, but they're not ideal. From the night on the town, there's still a leftover golem-making potion and enlarging potion. It's at least a showcase of ability and a useful item to have in an emergency. The deemimic eggs made that night make things more like my golem body, which is the same problem of too much influence. I need to try something with them eventually, but this isn't the right case.

I'm not touching the flowers.

My Focus Medallion might help her. The resistance it imparts to spell channels should translate to helping inure her Mana Vacancy against unintended influences but this is a tiny benefit compared to using it properly. Also I've been wearing it to help stabilise my Heart fragment's broken spell channels.

I could try to quickly make her something? Or some other sign of favour. We're having the big lunch today with the ingredients obtained from the Orange Crags, perhaps a special meal for her?

Yes, perfect. Invite her to a dinner you made just for her. You should try some dishes from her homeland in case she feels nostalgic, like jelly donuts or hamburgers.

Why Deem, nobody had even mentioned flowers yet…
A meal (with delicious curse slime for dessert!) is a proper way to thank her, but not something you’re supposed to wear. Give her the enlarging potion as a sign that you wish her to embiggen her heart. The bottle will stick around and can be engraved with a symbol, hers or yours, as well as refilled from the bath. Surely, something you created in a drunken haze of hedonism will carry the purest, raw feelings of your heart.

I'm leaning towards making something. You could ask for 24 hours, then make something while the others sleep (or whenever works).

>>1065019
This seems sorta in the right direction, though maybe a little shoehorned. I guess she did only ask for a token, not a major artifact.

She mentioned Merud’s puppet-ribbons, and her first boss iteration had ribbons, didn’t it.

Why not make her a scarf or a ribbon in your colours, with some beneficial effect added to it? Token of respect, of your authority and useful to boost. Only trick would be what you could manage to imbue into it.

Or maybe you can enchant it later, make it a promise, so there isn’t any risk of bleed in her current state. She could then also offer her input on what she’d want the effect to be.

>>1065019
>>1065016
I think fancying up the bottle sounds like a good idea. Give it some flair, and maybe reshape it so she can keep it on her regularly.
Also, from what Moriko is saying, it sounds like what shes craving is really respect, or prestige. Surprisingly non-tangible, and thus harder to quantify, but at least it wont cost us anything to feed. I think everyone already respects Moriko a lot, but the issue might be showing it sincerely in a way she can actually recognize.

>slime won't spill the beans
That implies it's Alkaline. The slimes shouldn't have any other strong loyalties. Was it possible that when she saw you in the forest, she ran back to her room as fast as possible, and faked sleep before you checked? A faked sleep while nervous about it would certainly look like what you saw.

>token of favor
Well, it has to be something she can possess. A meal would only temporarily satisfy her desires. The potion idea is nice, especially refilling the empty bottle afterwards- perhaps you could skip to that part? An empty, or partially filled bottle is symbolic of her mana void... You have empty bottles in your alchemical supplies. Partially fill one with meaningful minerals. Colored sand would look very nice. You could choose the colors in a symbolic way or you could match her outfit's colors.

Pat imp on head.
I'm curious what Moriko would do if you just took off your outfit and handed it to her, but- Potion. The potion is good. It represents how you empower your servants, serving as a practical example of it. When it's used up, it could be filled with colorful sand art, raw mana like your heart, or even a tiny terrarium.

You suspect Stargazer? What was she annoyed about?

A token of favor for you champion would be something of a trifle that's personal too you. I'm not sure you own anything that's really personal, you have tools, you have wealth, but your wealth isn't in jewelry or trifles you can show off.

Do you still have the scarf you used to defeat Moriko in your first battle? It might work as a reminder of your bond.

>>1065032
>Do you still have the scarf you used to defeat Moriko in your first battle? It might work as a reminder of your bond.
That's a great idea

>>1065050
>Do you still have the scarf you used to defeat Moriko in your first battle? It might work as a reminder of your bond.
Yes! That's a really good idea! Let's do that!

>>1065050
A token of favor, in my opinion, is the kind of keepsake that gives you courage when your faith wanes. Since you two have this shared experience, I believe it would be a great choice, but I'm concerned it might be a memory of you winning her.

Perhaps you could create the token out of the scarf in a way that still makes it recognizable as that particular scarf while still symbolizing your relationship (as lord and knight, of course ¬¬).

Perhaps with some imbuement it could be a golem under her control. Some gold threads to appease the rings curse, and an enchantment so she could use it like Deem did in that battle? If such a thing is possible.

Maybe combine the scarf with glossid lacquer and gelforging to turn it into a laminated girdle, with a big bow on the lower back. Could still extend golemetry tentacles from the bow, but seems like a better fit overall for both magical-girl and samurai-formalwear aesthetics. Symbolically evokes core strength and support, rather than resembling a leash and collar, or the demonic prehensile hair she previously objected to. Also, belt is a more convenient mounting point for future trophies or upgrade trinkets, so, foundation.

1/2 Deem 2023/08/24(Thu)05:01 No. 1070681 ID: 3f7da0
File 169287847926.png - (20.52KB , 800x550 , a_token_of_appreciation.png )

>Do you still have the scarf you used to defeat Moriko in your first battle? It might work as a reminder of your bond.
That was just some cloth Merud found for me somewhere in the Golemeter's Guild. I didn't really keep track of-

Wait.

Moriko started tying her hair back after that. With a red piece of cloth...

She's beaten me to the punch.

>Yes, perfect. Invite her to a dinner you made just for her. You should try some dishes from her homeland in case she feels nostalgic, like jelly donuts or hamburgers.
>Well, it has to be something she can possess. A meal would only temporarily satisfy her desires.
I doubt those are authentic dishes. Still we're having a banquet tomorrow and it would be a good gesture. I'll see about preparing something for her.

>I'm curious what Moriko would do if you just took off your outfit and handed it to her, but- Potion.
Nothing, because I am not going to do that.

>Surely, something you created in a drunken haze of hedonism will carry the purest, raw feelings of your heart.
No.

That's stupid.

>Why not make her a scarf or a ribbon in your colours, with some beneficial effect added to it? Token of respect, of your authority and useful to boost.
I worry it would be reundant with what she already has. Still, something practical might be good.

>I think fancying up the bottle sounds like a good idea. Give it some flair, and maybe reshape it so she can keep it on her regularly.
>The potion is good. It represents how you empower your servants, serving as a practical example of it.
Yes, a flask I think. Something more convenient that these clunky stoneware potion bottles we're currently using. Two chambered, and I'll put what remains of the golem-making and the enlarging potions in it, as those are both expressions of what I can make, and will give her options in a pinch.

"I've had a thought of something you might appreciate," I say to my hammerai, "but I fear I'll need a little time to prepare it. I'll have to give it to you after today's lunch."

"Thank you." Moriko nods solemnly.

>Pat imp on head.
No. The imp has been very naughty and will not be receiving pats or pets of any kind from me this night.

>Also, from what Moriko is saying, it sounds like what shes craving is really respect, or prestige. Surprisingly non-tangible, and thus harder to quantify, but at least it wont cost us anything to feed. I think everyone already respects Moriko a lot, but the issue might be showing it sincerely in a way she can actually recognize.
"And thank you, Moriko." I say. "You've been a pillar of strength as we've fought to establish ourselves here. You've been there for us - for me - against all our greatest threats. It wouldn't have been the same without you."

Flushed again, Moriko excuses herself as her imp becomes rambunctious.

I will make a gift in the small hours of the morning now, but first I need to drop a somewhat squashed slime off with its progenitor and ask for Alkaline's opinion on appropriate punishment.

2/2 Deem 2023/08/24(Thu)05:02 No. 1070682 ID: 3f7da0
File 169287853105.png - (31.60KB , 720x720 , chew_the_fat.png )

>>slime won't spill the beans
>That implies it's Alkaline. The slimes shouldn't have any other strong loyalties. Was it possible that when she saw you in the forest, she ran back to her room as fast as possible, and faked sleep before you checked? A faked sleep while nervous about it would certainly look like what you saw.
She's been in her room in the dungeon the whole time. I elect to knock and she eventually answers. Her Toxic Shroud has been thickened up again, although so has the rest of her. She's more like a snowman than her regular self, complete with a rather substantial nose. Her hair and hands seemed to be hardened, more like drying tree sap than normal slime.

"What happened to you?" she asks.

I suppose last time we talked I was much less substantial, and possessed of much less vegetation. "I might ask you the same."

Alkaline hiccups. "You know why!" she says. "I took all those curses so I can get all strong and cool!"

Unusually forthright of her. "Well maybe I wanted to be strong and cool too." I joke.

"Nooo! You're so uncool!"

I bite back on the words 'I am very cool' because I haven't existed for thousands of years only to lose an argument with a sulky adolescent slime.

I sigh instead. "I warned you about going overboard." I say. "But you didn't listen."

"You just left me, and then you did this to yourself? So experimenting is fine if you're the one doing it?" Alkaline shoots back.

I am trying to juggle a lot but maybe I was hasty leaving her to deal with the consequences of her actions. I should have been more patient. But she keeps trying to race ahead and it's going to keep getting her in trouble. "Alkaline, I just don't want you to hurt yourself. You don't have anything to prove. What were you expecting to happen?"

"I want to be hot!"

I am rapidly losing track of this conversation. "I thought you wanted to be cool?"

Alkaline flushes greener. "You just don't get it!"

She goes to slam the door. I hold it open.

"We should talk about this properly later, but Alkaline I came here to tell you I caught one of your slimes up in the valley forcing Doyle to make potions."

"I wanted to go!" my royal jelly bursts out.

I look at Alkaline. She looks at me.

She tries to close the door again.

"Alkaline." I say. "Have you been bullying Doyle?"

The somewhat squashed slime I brought with me repeats she doesn't know who she is or where she is. I give her a look and she shrinks back into a puddle.

"He, he - Making potions are what he's for!" Alkaline protests.

It looks like I don't need to get Alkaline's opinion on how to punish her slimes because now I need to punish her as well. although perhaps I should wait for her to be less cursed and more able to do things like scrub Doyle and haul water.

Something in the pile of curses she's acquired seems to have loosened her tongue. I could likely uncover all the details of this secret potion party conspiracy by asking Alkaline some more pointed questions. I don't think she'd forgive me for abusing her vulnerability like that.

I certainly would not if it happened to me.

Still, how should I handle this spoiled slime princess of mine?

>>1070682
she must be punished.
>put her in the jar.<

Abusing Doyle is most uncool. Punishment: Diet and exercise, and being compelled to do so against her will. Or so she’s told, until she realizes that’s what she has to do anyway to become hot.
Just following orders is not an excuse for her slime, however. Assign her the tasks of helping Doyle until Alkaline is fit to take over.

> I could likely uncover all the details of this secret potion party conspiracy by asking Alkaline some more pointed questions.

It doesn't seem like there's much more to this than a bratty princess here doing what she knows she's not supposed to. Moriko's imp is involved probably just because it tagged along. There could be something more serious like an outsider meddling with your minions to weaken you, but there's no evidence of that to be the case yet.

> I don't think she'd forgive me for abusing her vulnerability like that.

Tell her that one of those curses seems to be keeping her from lying. You're not going to take advantage of that, but it should impress upon her that more is not necessarily better. She can be strong and cool, and hot, but not by hiding in her room and cursing herself.

Her punishment should involve... getting along with others, something that doesn't let her hide away like this. Definitely publically apologizing to Doyle, once you find out what Doyle thinks of all this. The curses should be their own punishment until you manage to remove the less flattering of them.

I don't think you could squeeze her into the jar like this.

>>1070689
This seems like the best solution. Ask alkaline what she thought would happen after you inevitably found out she was being a shit.

"I (still) look like this because I am putting the needs of others before myself. You look like this because you’re putting your needs above others. The similarity is only skin deep."
Don't push her on the truth curse. Do take a more proactive role in slime development moving forward. It's difficult but don't let her push you away.

>How do I deal with spoiled slime princesses
You sigh, kneel down and give her a hug or at least a gentle pat on the back and apologize for leaving her alone to deal with these curses, while you help loosen the worst ones. You say you could at least have offered some comfort and support, even if she willingly went in over her head despite your explicit advice. You lost your patience. You should not have.

But so did she, no?

Assert that fast growth tends to come at a cost more long-term approaches do not - unless one's lucky. For better and worse: she's a lucky gal, and never had to learn that lesson. She has been making great headway and taken risky bets that have paid off - but she must realise luck never holds up forever. Risks must be calculated, not rushed. She's a monarch in the making and needs to think of those around her, and of the consequences of her actions. The way she's acted - it's hurt her and others around her needlessly. You don't want to see your mistakes repeated those hurts turn into truly serious mistakes, or worse.

Does she know she was weakening her minions by serving them diluted random mixed brews from Doyle? Both spiritually and physically, they were becoming dependent on bullied brew for their strength and confidence. And random assorted potion ingredients would randomize their growth (right?), make it far more scattershot than it need to be. Luck would not favor all of them in what they absorbed from this.

The scheme also involved weakening Doyle's brew regularly, making him less able to contribute with a more properly potent brew. That hurt both his own growth and the dungeon's chances to make decent use of his more potent product. Yes, brewing's what he's good at, but brewing is oft a product of patience. There was such a needless waste from this - all done to hide the fact they were improperly using him so.

Moreover, she's broken trust. She's very clever, so knew well you would not approve of this treatment of Doyle. He is bound to this place too and deserves a chance to grow and find his place and strength. Did she really think you would not try to help him grow? You get that she might have felt... something about his regular act, maybe felt he was not pulling his full weight. But there was time still for him to come into his own. And the trust she broke? More so than just yours, she's broken the trust of Doyle, who is still also one of your charges and will remain so.

For now he's scarpered again, and you're not sure where he's gone or what he's thinking, and you're wondering when he'll pop out again. He's probably fearful he'll be punished for having kow-towed to the potion gang's schemes. Or punished by a vengeful slime princess thinking he tattled, rather than the random chance you discovered the truth. That's quite unfair on him.

Nudge her gently and ask her, leader to leader, how she'd make up for neglecting a minion of hers and letting them be bullied by foolish folk, some who ought to know far better. A ruler of a domain ought to think of such things, for when they mess up - or their underlings do - they're the ones who stand responsible and have to clean up and make amends.

Fortunately, it does help to have... a voice or two of reason around. Someone to bat ideas off of.

Now then.

Ask her how she would unfudge this mess. If she had to. You don't expect miracles here, just her honest assessment. She's young, naive, upset, cursed and wroth, sure - but challenge her mettle and see if she can use her glob for more than whinging or blaming.

There will still be consequences - but make her realize why they will exist. Get her started on realing she needs to make up for her rushed, rude, attempt at growth for, uh, hotness' sake.

>>1070689 and >>1070716 +1

You know Deem, your approach with Alkaline has failed so badly because you flip flop between coddling her and running away from the more emotionally engaged solution.

And that largely is our fault, an approach that balances the fact that children and teenagers are vicious little shits who constantly test their limits, while not being the oppressive tyrant that demands constant obedience and quashes any personal expression.

You haven't been a tyrant at all, and that's a bit of a problem. You can't impart years of wisdom to a vicious little shit with simple words. So you either let them make the mistakes and deal with the consequences. That's this. This worked. She's suffering for her hubris. It's not serious or permanent, she'll be more normal as she digests the slew of curses, it's the perfect lesson for her to learn.

For Alkaline, with Doyle it's different. Doyle is also a bit of an asshole but it's not good to treat your equipment poorly. I'm not... entirely sure we want to discourage this. We need to find out what she was doing.

If lets say she was getting the Imp and her slime to feed Doyle random ingredients to make into potions, and then testing the effects on the easily replaceable slime minion, and then upon finding it's not going to be immediately fatal or ruinous then tests efficacy of the resulting potion on Moriko's shadow imp...

I mean, that's just genius and great and you should be proud of that.

If she was just coercing Doyle into making strength potions or something stupid like that then punish her for real. I mean, I don't know what corporal punishment would be when were talking about a slime queen, so maybe just something directly embarrassing instead.

Kids don't really learn until you actually explain why they've done something wrong. They need to understand it. With Alkaline... I'd say press her for what she was hoping would happen, setting aside the specifics of what she did. Then you can go in with how badly she accomplished it and how much better it would have gone if she hadn't gone behind your back with it. Making it obvious how Doyle felt about it, like showing her how it reacts to her, might make her feel guilty as well.

Laying down the law on a rebellious teen just backfires every time. Gotta play it smarter than that

1/3 Deem 2023/09/22(Fri)20:32 No. 1072932 ID: ea6fca
File 169543995873.png - (42.44KB , 800x600 , smh.png )

>she must be punished.
>>put her in the jar.<<
>I don't think you could squeeze her into the jar like this.
What jar?

>It doesn't seem like there's much more to this than a bratty princess here doing what she knows she's not supposed to. Moriko's imp is involved probably just because it tagged along.
Maybe I'm just being paranoid then, assuming there has to be something more to it.

>For Alkaline, with Doyle it's different. Doyle is also a bit of an asshole but it's not good to treat your equipment poorly. I'm not... entirely sure we want to discourage this. We need to find out what she was doing.
I'm not going to change the punishment based on whether whether her mistreating Doyle produced something potentially useful for me. That's disgusting.

>Tell her that one of those curses seems to be keeping her from lying. You're not going to take advantage of that, but it should impress upon her that more is not necessarily better. She can be strong and cool, and hot, but not by hiding in her room and cursing herself.
"All these curses seem to have given you a flapping tongue, Alkaline, so I'll keep this short. If you just try to pile more questionable magic on, the results will be lukewarm at best."

>Ask Alkaline what she thought would happen after you inevitably found out she was being a shit.
"I will ask though, what did you think was going to happen when I found out?"

"You barely even noticed..." Alkaline says in a surly tone. She hiccups and then rallies. "You'd stop me having fun, because you don't want me to have any fun!"

"This was fun, was it?" I say. "Strongarming Doyle into sneaking out to brew up some party drinks for you, because that's 'what he's for'?"

This seems to have some impact, Alkaline shrinks into herself at my words.

>Her punishment should involve... getting along with others, something that doesn't let her hide away like this. Definitely publically apologizing to Doyle, once you find out what Doyle thinks of all this.
"You'll need to apologise to Doyle as well." I say. "And once you are feeling a little better, there's work to be done replacing some of the ingredients you've used up, and getting other things for the dungeon. I'll be expecting you to work under the others' supervision and to not try to rush in by yourself next time."

She stiffly nods in acknowledgement.

>She's suffering for her hubris. It's not serious or permanent, she'll be more normal as she digests the slew of curses, it's the perfect lesson for her to learn.
"Since you seem so determined to make your own fun, then you can suffer some of the consequences!" I prod her rubbery shroud with one finger. "Are any of these curses hurting you?"

"No!" Alkaline says, though she does raise one hand to cover her nose. "I could deal with a lot more!"

"Then dealing with those curses until they digest seems like an appropriate punishment."

"I could fix this if I got the right curse!" she says.

"Alkaline, doing something again and again in the hope it'll pay off this time is what leads gamblers to ruin."

2/3 Deem 2023/09/22(Fri)20:33 No. 1072933 ID: ea6fca
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>She has been making great headway and taken risky bets that have paid off - but she must realise luck never holds up forever. Risks must be calculated, not rushed. She's a monarch in the making and needs to think of those around her, and of the consequences of her actions. The way she's acted - it's hurt her and others around her needlessly.
I sigh. "You can't keep rushing things, and taking risks." I say to her. "You should only move when you're prepared, if you can."

"You would say that." she sniffs.

"Alkaline..." I say warningly.

"You don't want anyone to do anything without your say so!" Alkaline bursts out. "And you never want to do anything! Hin was sick for so long because you wouldn't commit to anything for treating her cough. The only time you talk to Stargazer and Reisarf is to tell them to stop doing whatever they're doing! With that goo glade, I got all the stuff the last time, and Hin came back super-strong the time before that and you didn't like that either!"

"I want you all to stay safe." I say.

"You don't want anyone to live! You got all huffy when Merud asked my friend Ophelia to come without asking you too!" Alkaline presses on.

"Friends?" I say. Now that priest girl is trying to corrupt her? "When did you become friends with that girl?!"

"You slept through it!" Alkaline shouts back.

I can't let myself get distracted by the machination of the sky-power. Alkaline's upset and lashing out. I try to get my own emotions under control.

"You keep making Moriko all mopey too!" my royal jelly continues. "You never know what you want for her! I've seen her giving you the look!"

"What look?" I say.

"The look!" Alkaline repeats. "You just keep leading her on!"

"I'm not about to start courting anyone, Alkaline!" I splutter. "And even if I did, it would hardly be appropria-"

"Who cares!?!"

Alkine pants, a little wild eyed. I stare at her in silence. Maybe you were right. Maybe those smutty books have been ruining her brain.

The silence draws out too long.

"We're not discussing this. You're taking too many risks and it's started hurting people Alkaline. I'll see you in the morning."

I close the door.

>You know Deem, your approach with Alkaline has failed so badly because you flip flop between coddling her and running away from the more emotionally engaged solution.
Shut up.

3/3 Deem 2023/09/22(Fri)20:33 No. 1072935 ID: ea6fca
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Despite the hour, I notice Merud's still in the Golem Totem, with a number of the golems. I go to check in on him. Hopefully I'm not about to discover there's some sort of golem fighting ring that has been started here too.

"Merud, it's the middle of the night." I say.

"Mmmm," Merud says, sipping from his mug. A slight jitter seems to be running through his entire body.

"How much cacoffee have you been drinking?" I ask him.

"Some!" he says brightly.

I sigh. "I'm fun aren't I?"

"What's brought this on?" Merud says.

"It's - no, never mind. It was a stupid question."

"You're certainly interesting." Merud says, looking me up and down. "And I think Alkaline might just have reached that difficult age - in record time, no less."

"Mmm." I agree noncommittally. Damn his wizard ears. I spot Centaur. "Why is that golem active again? I thought I told you to keep her dormant."

"Ah well I'm trying to understand the cooperative cores in the mixed golem we're trying to fix up." Merud says, pointing to the stick-and-mud golem. "Especially since I'm having trouble integrating clay into it, since the base composition is different. I hoped that Centaur's two cores and parastic golemetry might spark some ideas." He points at the sitting woody golem and gardening golem behind him. "And the green-thumb spores have caused a lot of growth of the woody parts so I'm having to reinforce other parts of the golem to accomodate it."

He nudges the golem-suit for the orange slime on the table. It's next to the slime itself, which is burbling happily in its pot. "And hopefully that will help for the new version of this. I wouldn't recommend frog leather as an export material by the way."

"And of course we haven't fully replaced golem losses from these last few attacks and expeditions." he says, running a hand down his face. "Though now I've got some burning questions for you! What have you done to yourself?"

I briefly explain my experiments with the locus fluid and incorporating vegetation into my golem body that has awakened a modified ritual spell.

"You seem to be changing things a lot more frequently since you've gotten your homunculus body." Merud nods along. "Do you think it's because you have more raw mana leaking out of your Heart fragment and encouraging changes, or are you just experimenting with your image?"

I blink. "It must be the first one." I say.

Merud looks at me for a moment and then nods. "I suppose it must be. I do wish we'd set aside some of your clay after you got cursed though. This'll add another factor on top." he sighs.

That's true. I have been ingesting the occasional piece of clay to allow some to be removed to discover if the inherent abilities and raw mana saturation my golem body has been building up might be reflected in other golems but... I haven't extracted any yet.

"Then we'll do it now!" I say, and immediately discover that my cursed state stops me from losing weight by pulling off excess clay like I did to provide clay for Centaur. Now my own body is defying me?!

"It's fine, it can wait." Merud says.

"No, we've missed one chance already." I say. "Don't get distracted, I'm committed to this now!"

"Deem..." Merud says.

How can I extract some clay?

get pregnant. funnel spare mass into child. objectionable enough to you that the curse is likely to cooperate. simple way to shed clay.

>>1072935
Well, you've got a pair of lumps on your chest that don't do anything. Could just pull those off.

>>1072935
remove the lumps

>>1072935
>"Then we'll do it now!" I say, and immediately discover that my cursed state stops me from losing weight by pulling off excess clay like I did to provide clay for Centaur. Now my own body is defying me?!
Deem? You look fine. Don't feel obligated to lose weight.

-A hot bath to soften your clay up
-Hug Centaur
-Add a Curse of Formlessness from Reisarf on top of the other curses
-Making more of those Deem eggs
-Chewing a piece of clay like gum to contaminate it instead of extracting yours

>>1072935
Well if you can't just pull it off yourself, could merud isolate a patch of it somewhere magically? Is there some sort of magical way a handful could be constricted into a ball and fall off on its own? Either way you might have to get damaged

Wait, Deem, what about Gigant Mode? Or Disperse Mode? Are either of those active right now?

>>1072935
Well, the golem sitting on the table seems to have two large spare globes of clay you can extract for yourself.

>>1072933
That curse was making her say things she thinks are true. Doesn't mean they are true, but if you've been giving her that impression then you have been doing something *like* what she's accusing you of. I know you've had some conversations with Reisarf that didn't involve scolding the two of them, but... maybe you should talk to them more often?

Just how much do you hate the idea of dating Moriko? If you are asexual then you need to tell her that.

>>1072935
>How to extract clay?
Have Merud do it. Just cut some off you or something like that. It's not like you're going to reflexively attack him in retaliation, right?

Hmm. Do you know what's wrong with Centaur? Why you can't keep it under control?
I wonder if you can just keep feeding golems to it forever, or if there's a limit to how much it's going to eat. Does it cost more energy to keep active the more it eats, or does it just generally get stronger when it eats golems? Maybe you could use it as a boss monster in either case?

Oof, that baby option would probably work, it follows the principle of forms golemetry seems to like and would probably allow you to bypass the curse. Would certainly be a price to your dignity and who knows what kind of unholy abomination your homonculous golem offspring would be.

Seems like it's a mental block though, if you lowered your defenses a bit you could probably let centaur leech some of it out of you. Merud might be able to if you let him too, and that'd probably be a tad safer.

And you don't need to take Alkaline so seriously. Hin is fine now and wasn't worried then. The independence of Stargazer and Reisarf is a good thing, they can get along without needing to be managed or direct all the time which is great. And Moriko?

Moriko is a hot blooded warrior and frankly, any relationship with you isn't going to be something any humanoid would be accustomed to. I'm never sure if you actually feel anything for her like she clearly does for you, but if you really want to give her something more what you need to do is what left such an impression on her in the first place.

Find a good earth pulse locus, cast reinforcement magic, and engage in glorious battle. If you desire a stronger connection, connecting through the earth pulse is the only way to do it without the layer of conscious bullshit you engage in to keep your mannerisms acceptable to the humanoids.

Alkaline is going through those rough teenage years. As much as you can't have her impugning your authority or outright rebelling like this, her self confidence and aggressive hubris are necessary traits for any queen. I think she really just needs to learn her limitations by outright failing a few times, hopefully in a context that won't cause any permanent harm.

You are Reisarf's boss and telling him no is part of the job. That's not to downplay the times you've said yes, however. His research, his abilities, and Stargazer's too are valuable to you and you might just want to reaffirm that with a conversation for your ego's sake.

You're plenty fun, Deem. Why do you think we stick around?

But maybe not so fun for a child wanting to explore her boundaries. It can be no fun being the parent either, for sure. But it is necessary work, if underappreciated. Rest assured most of Alkaline's words were those of a youth throwing perceived flaws back in the face of the guardian irritating them. The curse just meant she thought there was truth to all of it.

And honest feedback is... well, let's make what use we think we can of it, no?

*You could check with Reisarf and Stargazer if you're being overly nosy or fussy-careful, and holding them back or something. And TRY to socialize a bit more with them, though that do be hard.

*You could ask Hin some time if she thinks you could've moved faster with her cough. I strongly doubt she holds a grudge, but it might be interesting to get her perspective. Is it so wrong to be careful?

*Alkaline's choice of friend... makes sense. She's only met so many people in her entire life - and she's innocent of grudges. Just think about it: around here her only contemporary in relative youth is Reisarf and Reisarf is Reisarf. It is a given that Alkaline would find another youth interesting while they were here. So, to broaden her horizens and let her have some of that 'fun', once her punishment is done you could consider allowing her the freedom of a trip to town. Out of your original batch of minions, she and Doyle are the only ones who have yet to go, no? Giving them access would probably require some finessing, but neither should come off as too threatening or wild to the townsfolk.

*Moriko has seemed a little taken with you. Whatever Alkeline has read into it it is not something that's come from thin air. While I disagree with the 'stringing her along' bit, you have arguably taken an interest in turn in a way you have not with the others. You two share a... connection, be that as main boss and dungeon, or Moriko and Deem. What that is, means or could come to mean will be up to the two of you to figure out, mutual respecting tight-knit dungeon duo, or whatever - but one should certainly try to prevent situations in which Moriko (or you) becomes 'mopey'.

Good luck~

As for the clay: Merud cutting, twisting or tearing some off will probably work - it's not a curse of stasis or invulnerability, so "attacks" should work. Right?

>>1072933
>"I want you all to stay safe." I say.
That's a perfectly understandable reason for doing the things you've been doing. You had a previous group of denizens before you got sealed away, so now that you have a new group of denizens, you want to make sure nothing happens to them!

>"Who cares!?!"
She's got a point. Who cares? Nobody will judge you if you did start to court Moriko.

>>1072935
Deem, listen to Merud. He's right about this, it can wait.

Honestly, you already have several projects running right now, you don't need to be adding another one onto the pile! You're only stressing yourself out from trying to do all of these projects at the same time!

Just relax for now and focus on your current projects first before you attempt to do whatever it is you're trying to do now.

1/3 Deem 2023/11/14(Tue)02:42 No. 1077244 ID: d20dab
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>She's got a point. Who cares? Nobody will judge you if you did start to court Moriko.
I'm not going to court anyone!

>Get pregnant. Funnel spare mass into child.
ABSOLUTELY NOT.

>A hot bath to soften your clay up
>Hug Centaur
>Add a Curse of Formlessness from Reisarf on top of the other curses
>Chewing a piece of clay like gum to contaminate it instead of extracting yours
Ineffective, too slow or it risks contaminating the sample!

>Making more of those Deem eggs
>Wait, Deem, what about Gigant Mode?
>Well, the golem sitting on the table seems to have two large spare globes of clay you can extract for yourself.
I need to remove clay. Remove clay.

>Merud might be able to if you let him too, and that'd probably be a tad safer.
>Well, you've got a pair of lumps on your chest that don't do anything. Could just pull those off.
"Merud, clear the table! You need to grab my breasts!" I say, as I start untying the shoulder knot on my dress.

Merud blinks very rapidly. "Deem, calm down."

"I am perfectly calm!" I say, finally getting the wretched knot undone.

My golemeter immediately turns around.

"What are you doing?" I say.

"You said I shouldn't get distracted." he replies.

I growl as I pick up a knife. He's not going to distract me, especially since this just requires coarsening my golem body and a vigorous sawing motion.

Merud turns at the sound of two soft thuds. "You... already..." He looks queasy.

"Merud, I've been mauled by a bear. This is nothing." Still, out of consideration I move the shed clay to one of the shelves.

"You weren't always this... juicy." Merud says, rummaging through the golem making supplies for something to use as bandages as I try to mitigate the amount of sap my golem body is leaking by applying new clay to the torso. "Did you have to hurt yourself like that Deem?" he says.

"Yes." I say, cinching the bandages up. My chest feels strange, I'm going to have to do some tidying up of this quick patch job later. "Most of the other ideas were much worse."

He sighs. "You don't need to do something like this just to prove you can take action."

"Why do you say that?" I say.

Merud just gives me a look. "After telling off Alkaline for taking risks, regardless of whether this worked out or not you were going to feel vindicated."

I fiddle with the knife."Don't start analysing me Merud, I don't like it."

"Well you're no fun at all then."

"..."

I am perfectly calm and it would be ungracious - and monstrous - of me to stab one of my denizens with this knife. We manage some desultory conversation about golems with multiple cores instead.

>Hmm. Do you know what's wrong with Centaur? Why you can't keep it under control?
>I wonder if you can just keep feeding golems to it forever, or if there's a limit to how much it's going to eat. Does it cost more energy to keep active the more it eats, or does it just generally get stronger when it eats golems? Maybe you could use it as a boss monster in either case?
Golems tend to have quirks, they're just not usually this obvious. I can keep Centaur under control, as it's just certain orders are interpreted ambiguously.

Centaur's strength is that there's an unusual complexity of mana channels embedded in her - about two golems' worth. This would otherwise be difficult to achieve with the materials and level of skill in applied golemetry I am currently able to muster. Adding additional sophistication in mana channels would improve performance if they are assembled harmoniously, which they currently seem to be. That may not be the case if more are added, though feeding her chrysopears may assist with resolving conflicts.

Centaur's main drawback is she currently has two cores, meaning it occupies two of the linkages needed for me to supply power to and issue commands to golems. This could potentially be mitigated by doing more work to tweak her towards a command golem with subordinate cores as those are designed to be more efficient in terms of links, though it would risk undermining her current unique qualities.

>You're plenty fun, Deem. Why do you think we stick around?
Because you don't have a lot of options.

2/3 Deem 2023/11/14(Tue)02:42 No. 1077245 ID: d20dab
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At breakfast Hin does a double take, and then mouths the word 'fecund' at me. I'm not sure what exact expression crosses my golem's face but she seems indecently amused by it. Moving on, I meet Reisarf and Stargazer in the kitchen to prepare the ingredients liberated from the Orange Crags to make a lunchtime banquet.

To my surprise, Alkaline does show up to help.

"Oh you're really full of goo!" Reisarf says, on seeing Alkaline. "Well done, I think? I was going to try and make jelly for dessert, but do you think that'll be too much goo for you?"

"I could do a lot more! You don't know much about goo." Alkaline sniffs.

"Oh true it's more Stargazer's thing." Reisarf looks at her staff companion. "Though I don't think I'd be able to carry Stargazer if she was like you?"

Stargazer, who is inspecting the ceiling, wiggles.

"Maybe I could ride her instead?"

Stargazer wiggles some more.

"I'll make extra then!" Reisarf decides.

I sigh. "Reisarf, please don't try to fatten up Stargazer."

"I'm not fat!" Alkaline huffs. "You're fat."

I sigh again. "No-one's fat Alkaline."

Reisarf blinks. "Really?"

>You could check with Reisarf and Stargazer if you're being overly nosy or fussy-careful, and holding them back or something. And TRY to socialize a bit more with them, though that do be hard.
"Let's not get sidetracked. What were you thinking of doing with Stargazer?" I ask Reisarf.

"We were going to make crystals!" Reisarf says and does not elaborate.

"Could you explain?"

"Oh, well, making Stargazer fruit didn't really work out. But then we started thinking: those salt crystals grown in the cauldron golem were able to store a tiny amount of mana. If Stargazer can shed some more jelly, we can use Matter Virus to make better mana-storing crystals!"

It's my turn to blink. "That's a very good idea Reisarf!"

"Oh you think so?" Reisarf looks pleased. "I know you wanted me to talk about any experiments with Merud first but he's been really busy. And you said I should try to test things on frogs instead of myself, but we haven't been seeing many lately! It's been tricky."

I did say that before the trip into town, didn't I?

"Is there something you've been wanting to try, Reisarf?"

"Can we have your eggs?"

"My... eggs?" I say.

"From town." Reisarf nods. "They seem interesting and they might go bad if we leave them much longer."

Memories from one of those nightmares needle me. "You're not going to feed them to Stargazer to turn her into a girl are you?"

Reisarf laughs. "Don't be silly, she is a girl Deem!" Behind us Stargazer wiggles herself into an apron and picks up a knife to hand to Reisarf.

"A human girl." I correct myself.

"But you're not human?" Reisarf points out.

I shake my head. "You're right, I was being silly. You can have them."

Either it'll prove I was having absurd fears over nothing, or they'll propose to me and the gift of prophecy will once again be excruciatingly awkward.

Reisarf tilts her head. "You are a girl though, right?"

"I am definitely a girl, yes!" I say a little more forcefully than I intended.

We start cooking.

3/3 Deem 2023/11/14(Tue)02:44 No. 1077246 ID: d20dab
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>That curse was making her say things she thinks are true. Doesn't mean they are true, but if you've been giving her that impression then you have been doing something *like* what she's accusing you of.
So far Alkaline has not being retching and saying more blatantly untrue things so it seems she's processed some of these curses at least.

Strange things are continuing to go wrong around her though. Alkaline keeps somehow accidentally picking up ingredients without anyone noticing which is causing some delays. On a slightly more exciting front her hardened pieces are becoming brittle and exploding when she sheds a piece.

This might be worth talking through if she wasn't still being surly this morning. She didn't get much sleep.

Alkaline eventually drops a pot of soup, apologises, gets angry about apologising, and storms off to her room. This is a tempestuous time for her I can see. Her alchemical slime does loiter to help, though it isn't much help.

>Alkaline's choice of friend... makes sense. She's only met so many people in her entire life - and she's innocent of grudges. Just think about it: around here her only contemporary in relative youth is Reisarf and Reisarf is Reisarf. It is a given that Alkaline would find another youth interesting while they were here.
I will consider procuring more youths untouched by the wretched sky-power then. Though that imp hasn't been a great influence either.

>To broaden her horizons and let her have some of that 'fun', once her punishment is done you could consider allowing her the freedom of a trip to town.
Actually that's a far better idea.

As long as she stays away from that church.

>You don't need to take Alkaline so seriously. Hin is fine now and wasn't worried then. The independence of Stargazer and Reisarf is a good thing, they can get along without needing to be managed or direct all the time which is great. And Moriko?
>Moriko is a hot blooded warrior and frankly, any relationship with you isn't going to be something any humanoid would be accustomed to.

>Moriko has seemed a little taken with you. Whatever Alkaline has read into it it is not something that's come from thin air.
>I'm never sure if you actually feel anything for her like she clearly does for you.
I feel for all my denizens.

Speaking of which, I have one last thing to finalise. I would like to announce the new form for the Resurrection Matrix at the lunch. I've canvased my denizen's opinions and the following options seem the most promising:

Resurrection Spring: Revamping the planned baths to be a crystal grotto. My denizens rise to the surface in one of the pools. Focused mainly on soothing my denizens and helping them relax.

Icon Memorial: A statue garden. The skin of the statue flakes away when my denizens are resurrected to reveal them. Something that would help give my denizens a nudge in pursuing an idealised image of who they wish to be.

Underworld Stairs: A great door hiding stairs to dark depths. My denizens walk back into the realm of the living. Something to incentivise introspection and struggle, and help them shed lingering doubts and injuries.

Rejuvenating Garden: A fantastical garden where my denizens reawaken in oversized flower buds. A place dense in nature magic where I might be able to support other rare plants.

>>1077244
>Centaur's main problem is that it takes up two golem "slots"
Right, so if you fed it more golems then it would take up more slots, and you'd have to feed it pears too to keep the cores harmonious? Still, you can leave it inactive near the boss chamber, and activate it when other golems have been disabled by adventurers!

>>1077246
>I feel for all my denizens.
Do you feel any romantic attraction towards Moriko? That is the question she needs to know the answer to. You don't even need to tell us. Tell her. Even if it's something like "I'm scared to want a deeper connection, because then the inevitable loss will be felt more keenly"

>resurrection?
Well, the Spring has two drawbacks: either the denizen has to resurrect naked or their stuff gets all wet, and secondly if anyone else is in the bath they'll get disturbed.
As for the stairs... can Doyle even climb stairs? They seem like they'd be unpleasant for anyone who has trouble getting around due to a curse or body shape. What happens if you tame a giant snake? And what happens if someone falls back down while trying to get out?
That leaves the statues and the garden. I'll vote Icon Memorial because there should be some inherent benefit to the denizens' growth; it sounds like the garden has none.

What happens if you fall down the stairs?
First choice statue park, second choice stairs.

Either Resurrection Spring or Icon Memorial for me- the perks seem most appealing to me. The stairs' effects are nice too but that seems more like the kind of thing to do via interpersonal stuff.

>'Fecund'
Haw, Hin's great - and right. Take it as complimentary acknowledgement that you are successfully embracing your new theme.

>excruciatingly awkward gift of prophecy
At least you might get better mana storage crystals out of it. And so we *were* holding back Reisarf and Stargazer some, huh. Our slime princess may be more observant than you'd like. Or she just spent enough time with them.

>Resurrection Rework
They're all good and intriguing. Icon Memorial might be the best fit as you and your denizens are now. There's a lot of people searching for who - or what - they wanna be around here, and even the more languid ones have places they could be going. And hey, it's probably good for the ego too to have your own statuary. Maybe.

Alternatively I'd say the Garden. It seems like a lively location that can give you room to grow more sorely needed resources - and the place can be a relaxing spot in itself, suitable for wonders and whispered meetings under the eaves of leaves.

>Midnight Mutilations
You should offer apologies to Merud for being cranky and acting on it last night. He's not the worst person to have borne involuntary witness to someone's irate cutting of gordian chests, but humans generally don't enjoy bodily dissembly (or the seeming thereof) without training or sadism.

Your body has taken on hefty tinges of life lately. He really did seem a little off-put - maybe from how easily you went ahead with marring it in response to recent changes. That's something to consider. People will come to think of your main body as 'you', however true or untrue that is, and seeing damage come to it, even if actually superficial, will probably cause similar reactions as them seeing someone less durable getting hurt.

Anyway, look who's here! Give the li'l orange boi a careful nudge-hug from us, will ya? Are they holding as well as can be expected?

Ah, and one more thing. You might want to find Doyle if he hasn't come back. Shouldn't miss out on a feast for fear of consequences that are not his to own.

>>1077245
>"No-one's fat Alkaline."
Why are you lying to the girl?

>>1077246
I like the Icon Memorial. The
Rejuvenating Garden looks good, but the benefits are dependent on us doing things with it and we always have too many things to do.

If I'm reading this right...

Resurrection Spring- Dying and resurrection is less unpleasant and traumatic + luxurious baths

Icon Memorial- Statues can be made into a more ideal version of themselves, granting growth and something to look forward to in death, at the risk of temporary regret.

Underworld Stairs- An opportunity for reflection and introspection upon death. Good for mental growth and future survivability in battle, longer respawn time.

Rejuvenation Garden- Bare minimum nicer than current system. More green space for plants abd projects.

The spring should prevent your more sensitive denizens from getting negative conditions should they get killed, which would let you make your dungeon riskier and more aggressive.

The memorial will offer huge gains to strong minded, emotionally mature denizens, and painful, temporarily crippling lessons to denizens that are less so. You'll need to take better care of your denizens mental states.

The stairs will sharpen warriors and thinkers, but frustrate everyone else.

The garden offers you more opportunities for projects, or you could specialize it for some other alternative effect, if your willing to spend the time.


I'm split between the Memorial and the Stairs.

Hin and your Quazi-Dragon would love the Memorial, but you'd need to take even closer care of Moriko.

The stairs would significantly increase the growth of Moriko and your Wizards but you'd need to keep the rest of your denizens safer from harm than they are now.

Icon Memorial. Though I think YOU'D benefit from some introspection, the denizens would absolutely benefit from some image training and forethought regarding their ideal selves.

Guess you should find Doyle, though if you could swing by and give Alkaline some attention, you should. In a way that doesn't remind her if her slipping up, of course. Maybe mention the trip you're planning for her?

I have an idea:
Have chitin stalagmite statues grow from the ceiling and then fall into a pit leading to a hot spring. Each death will be a shocking dunk into the pool followed by sweet relief; death should not be something to look forward to, but what comes after should. Those that gain the will to break free before they're done dropping will be sprayed with the embers scattered through the pit as part of the chitin removal treatment, giving them permanent bonuses from the capacity of self-revival but making it harder to break free on future attempts.

>>1077246
The garden would be my pick. It can also reinforce the nature magic theme as well and provide a good place to relax. Spring would be my second choice

>>1077274
Well they technically dont have actual fat just more "flesh"/mass due to sort of being amorphous "organism"
Also we are in a medival era its near impossible for meat creatures to gain the seeming bulk we have

Alkaline isn't fat, she is a slime. Amorphous, able to control her shape at will normally. She currently has a weird shape due to a curse, but she's still not fat. Her mass is all functional.

Please either get with that girl or just tell her you are not interested. I really feel bad for her

1/4 Deem 2024/01/26(Fri)02:50 No. 1081883 ID: df47b5
File 170626625072.png - (41.11KB , 750x750 , deems_too_important_to_carry_things_now.png )

>Rejuvenating Garden looks good, but the benefits are dependent on us doing things with it and we always have too many things to do.
It's true, my horticultural efforts so far have mostly been golem gardening and frantic weed control. I haven't even had the chance to replant bomb flower cuttings.

>The Spring has two drawbacks: either the denizen has to resurrect naked or their stuff gets all wet, and secondly if anyone else is in the bath they'll get disturbed.
As I wanted to enhance my Resurrection Matrix to ensure more harmonious operation within my dungeon I will discount this option then.

>What happens if you fall down the stairs?
That would be very difficult to do and very bad.

>I think YOU'D benefit from some introspection.
No I would not. Introspection isn't going to let me work harder at pulling together a proper dungeon.

>You might want to find Doyle if he hasn't come back.
Speaking of pulling things together, I should make sure everyone is gathered now we're waiting on everything to finish cooking.

Doyle is still up in the valley, loitering in the bushes near the huts so I go up to recover him.

"I know I recruited you forcefully," I say to him as I carry him back. "But you need to stand up for yourself. Don't let people just bully you into making them potions. You're not here to be run ragged dispensing them at everyone's convenience."

Doyle wiggles in place.

"You like people trying your potions?" We are about to eat but... "In that case, is there anything you can brew up with what you have that would help with recovering mana?"

Doyle wiggles again and offers me a ladle of his contents. I drink it and feel my breathing ease.

A berry also sprouts on one of my horns. I thought I'd subsumed that part of the curse entirely into my False Idol ritual. I pluck it off and eat it, I'm already attractive to monsters with the power I have gathered so far, making this just another drop in a pond.

>Do you feel any romantic attraction towards Moriko? That is the question she needs to know the answer to. You don't even need to tell us. Tell her.
>Please either get with that girl or just tell her you are not interested. I really feel bad for her
I can't maintain the right distance. Having this golem body is causing confusion. I am deficient in love. I am barely a person...

Wait, no, this is stupid. I have a lot to organise and no need to wallow in melodrama or agonise over relationships.

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>The stairs would significantly increase the growth of Moriko and your Wizards but you'd need to keep the rest of your denizens safer from harm than they are now.
Unfortunately I haven't performed too well on that point and only expect one of my wizards to regularly need to escape death. Perhaps if my dungeon was more established this would be the better pick, but at this time it looks like I'm left with one decision.

>Icon Memorial might be the best fit as you and your denizens are now. There's a lot of people searching for who - or what - they wanna be around here, and even the more languid ones have places they could be going. And hey, it's probably good for the ego too to have your own statuary. Maybe.
It will be a good crystallisation of intent for my denizens. And a chance to show some pride in who they are.

My denizens start gathering for the meal. Alkaline is still very cursed, leading a gaggle of her slimes, and Merud has brought the stick-in-mud golem and Centaur, for reasons that presently escape me.

"That's an interesting mask you have there, Alkaline." Merud says.

My big slime raises her little hands to her face. "Stop looking at my nose."

>>"No-one's fat Alkaline."
>Why are you lying to the girl?
Fine. Alkaline is fat. Is that what you wanted to hear?

>Well they technically dont have actual fat just more "flesh"/mass due to sort of being amorphous "organisms".
Fine. Alkaline is mass amorphed.

But to head off any unpleasantness over the mass of Alkaline's nose, I change the topic by asking Merud on his choice of golems.

"Ah, I'm still trying to clean up the new one before Mr Nemellan's visit," he says, "and looking at Centaur in some different environments to better understand the behaviour of cooperative cores."

I nod. "Thank you for working so hard on it Merud, but don't overwork yourself." He looks tired.

>You should offer apologies to Merud for being cranky and acting on it last night.
Ngh, I wasn't cranky, but I suppose I did discomfort him.

"And I'm sorry for last night, I should have been more considerate."

"You should!" Alkaline says.

...

Apologising was a mistake.

>Maybe mention the trip you're planning for Alkaline?
Not until she's more ready for it. No need for her to try to rush getting uncursed on top of everything else.

Thankfully Reisarf and Stargazer are coming along with the food along with some of my golems.

"Before we dig in, I have an announcement to make. Thank you everyone for your suggestions, but I have decided to renovate the Resurrection Matrix into a statue garden."

"Will there be a big copy of your face on the wall?" Reisarf asks.

"No Reisarf, I'm not using your idea."

"Aww."

"Why did you want that?" Alkaline asks.

Reisarf scuffs one shoe on the ground. "I thought it'd be interesting."

The food is served and we chatter over the events of the last few weeks. A lot has happened since my trip into town. I've thankfully bid farewell to bad dreams, the frogs have been a consistent annoyance, Hin's ended up queen of a little slice of slime-stuffed forest, Alkaline's had her growing pains, Moriko's met her demonic side, and we've accidentally flooded the dungeon with verdant spores.

The meal is calming for me, mana-rich food recuperating more of my perilously low energy, and I can feel a secondary stockpile as my golem body locks some of the energy of this 'offering' away thanks to my Verdant Image. It's strangely reassuring to have one stockpile of power that isn't constantly bleeding away from me.

My denizens are looking refreshed too, I'm glad to have something to thank them for their hard work.

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It isn't the jelly donuts or hamburgers you proposed, but an attempt at a noodle dish was made, based off what little Moriko has said about her homeland and Reisarf and I putting our heads together.

I present Moriko her new potion flask as well. She seems happy but stays quiet in company. She's appreciative of it, that's enough for me for now.

Her imp is mostly behaving too, though extremely excited at all these new sights and foods.

>People will come to think of your main body as 'you', however true or untrue that is, and seeing damage come to it, even if actually superficial, will probably cause similar reactions as them seeing someone less durable getting hurt.
I suppose I will just have to be mindful of it. Remind them this isn't the entirety of my self.

>Give the li'l orange boi a careful nudge-hug from us, will ya? Are they holding as well as can be expected?
No, a suitable number of hugs is already being supplied by my denizens while they look after it. It's not dead yet, so it's doing better than I expected.

>>excruciatingly awkward gift of prophecy
>At least you might get better mana storage crystals out of it. And so we *were* holding back Reisarf and Stargazer some, huh. Our slime princess may be more observant than you'd like. Or she just spent enough time with them.
I bet she was just lucky.

Still, I suppose it shows I should have more regular check-ins with those two.

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It eventually comes down to just Hin and I picking through the leftovers, after my slime princess ends up retreating to her new slime lair in a sulk.

"Alkaline's looking extra healthy today." Hin comments.

"Don't get me started." I say.

Hin sighs. "Parenting's hard huh?"

I give her a look.

Hin straightens up in her chair. "Woah sorry, didn't mean to strike a nerve." She leans in. "Just... think about it though. Reisarf's got his head in the clouds half the time and Stargazer's up there with him. Merud can be pretty insightful but he doesn't know how to handle kids."

"Alkaline's not a child." I say.

"Sure she is." Hin continues. "Or at least she's acting like a dumb kid trying to convince everyone she's a grown-ass adult. Probably doing better than me at her age honestly, I joined a gang. Keep an eye out for imps or dinosaurs in leather jackets just in case I guess?"

"About that..." I say, and break the news of the secret potion party to her.

"There's a monster gang?!? And I missed out?!? Poor Doyle... but this is bullshit."

Anyway, who's left? Moriko! Moriko is either too intense or lost at sea with no hope of rescue. So sorry Deem but you're it for role models."

"What about you Hin?" I deflect.

"What, no! I'm like a big sister or cool aunt or something."

I rub my chin. "You've always seemed the responsible one."

"Cool big sis!" Hin insists.

>Haw, Hin's great - and right. Take it as complimentary acknowledgement that you are successfully embracing your new theme.
It seems to me there's still much to go in anyone embracing their role, but I suppose that's a matter for another day.

END CHAPTER 8