>>992738
ACK! I'm all for experimenting, but we Probably shouldn't do this when we have a date planned! Listen to Bobby's warnings, don't mix all three!

Actually, lets use our amulet to see what it has to say about each flavor. Weren't we told somewhere these Slushees grant powers or something?

Uh, considering Roach will have multiple bodies, don't we need a bigger enclosure? The one picture I saw of it, it'd be barely big enough to contain like 4 or 5 of him before it gets too crowded. It's definitely a "portable insect carrier", not a living space.
Maybe you can look up prices on larger terrariums online. Something that'd be big enough to put a hollow artificial log or something in there, to hide the fact that you've got a swarm of roaches in your room.
Hmmm... do you have any medical supplies? You could also get some useful things to be able to pull out of your coiling ring in a pinch. Like, a multitool, some duct tape... and a lighter.
Deposit like 10bux into your ATM.

Are we ever going to give Roach a real name?

Use demon eye to investigate the slushie flavors.
Try White if there's nothing interesting about them.

Oh, and use demon eye to investigate Peanut's glasses.

Compared to what we have planned, I don't think there's any meaningful gift we can find here.
Though, perhaps some beer or wine would be nice with dinner?
What goes good with alfredo?

Make a three flavor mix slushie to see what it's effect is. We were warned against it, and I wanna know why.

Condoms. Because, uh, one may not be enough any longer because of reasons (Andrea).

>Wot else
A neat gift to bring to the Willemina dinner date, perhaps? A premium beer to share, a half-decent wine bottle or something the like. Nothing to get real drunk off on its own, but something to enjoy or take the edge off the difficult conversation you're sure to be having once you dump... however many things on her.

>Roach stuff
I wonder where you can get a small plant fit for their terrarium? Could just nab something from the park, but eh... might be better if you got someone with a green thumb to suggest a good plant that would survive for a bit. Though I guess Roach themselves could tend to and water it with a bit of care.

Hmh.

Could also look into getting Roach a spare COMM they could use. For emergencies or their own edutainment. They got anything like that here?

Ask for an open terrarium, buy the turkey jerky and some sponges.

Voting against getting a three flavored slurpee, way too dangerous to try risks so close to date time
Voting for a white slurpee

Getting some wine is a wonderful idea for the date.

Also, why not text Cannie and tell her to meet you at the mart instead? That way we can take our walk as we travel back to the Hapless stone and be there in time for the date.

Edmango 2021/03/24(Wed)00:29 No. 992874 ID: afe7de
File 161657094239.png - (69.63KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_174.png )

> Investigate the SLUSHEE flavors.
You head over to the SLUSHEE machine in the back, Bobby’s not there this time and do a quick demon eye scan on the flavors.

White Lyluk Slushee - gives you +3 COOL for 2 hours after drinking
Red Lyluk Slushee - gives you +3 POWER for 2 hours after drinking
Blue Lyluk Slushee - gives you +3 INTELLIGENCE for 2 hours after drinking

Huh, they provide stat bonuses. Also, there’s quantifiable stats in reality?!?!? What is this a videogame? You decide to get the White flavored SLUSHEE, you were almost tempted to get a triple flavor combo, but Bobby’s words echo in your mind as you were moving to do so:

Bobby Slurps: but don’t mix all three together, you don’t wanna know what happens.

You think that you should be prepared for Something strange to happen to you were you to actually do it, maybe on a day where you don’t have an important date coming up. You also walk around the store looking for a few other things and find a WINE BOTTLE for 5 BUX, it’s a relatively cheap one, but you’re going more for a symboic gesture than an actually good bottle of wine. You also deposit 10 BUX into the ATM, that’ll tide over your COMM bill for a few weeks.

You also find a SHITTY MULTITOOL it’s 5 BUX and looks like it’ll break after a bit of use. There’s also a DECENT MULTITOOL for 25 BUX that looks like it won’t break as easily. You find DUCT TAPE easily enough, that’s 1 BUX and a 3 pack of lighters for 1 BUX. Damn, you’re kind of surprised by the prices here, every-thing’s so much cheaper than it was in the city. If you still had your previous job in the city you could probably live pretty well off in this town with what you earned. And there’s a few people in town who smoke too, better be careful not to fall back on that habit, you quit a few months ago and have a hard time refusing smokes when offered.

Edmango 2021/03/24(Wed)00:29 No. 992875 ID: afe7de
File 161657097642.png - (8.39KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_175.png )

You also briefly consider getting Roach a COMM but decide against it for two reasons. First, Roach mentioned he was illiterate. Second, Roach communicates telepathically, so there’d be no way for him to actually communicate. Eventually you reach the front of the store and see Peanut again, he’s closed whatever magazine he was reading, you catch a glance and it says “Chicks Monthly,” he quickly ushers it underneath the table but you saw it. You also take a moment to scan Peanut’s glasses.

Strong Prescription Glasses - The thick lenses allow for it’s user to see things with clarity up close at the penalty of making their long sightedness poor.

Nothing strange there, but you feel kinda bad for Peanut, he looks pretty young and already has bad vision, hopefully it doesn't get much worse.

You decide to buy the following:

A pack of sponges - 1 BUX
A small saucer - 1 BUX
Nicky’s Turkey Jerky - 4 BUX
Sweets - 2 BUX
A White SLUSHEE - 1 BUX
Cheap Wine - 5 BUX
Duct Tape - 1 BUX
3 Lighters - 1 BUX
Shitty Multitool - 5 BUX

For a total of 21 BUX. He shoves them all in a paper bag while you pay the balance. You have 10 BUX remaining in your wallet and 10 BUX on your Bank Card. You’re curious about who the manager of the place is so you decide to ask Peanut before you leave.

You: So whose the manager here?

Peanut: Who? Val? Yeah, he’s our manager, works here in the mornings till like uhhh 3/4PM then heads home early. Nice dude, puts up with a lot of crap from the suppliers for us so our job is easier.

Edmango 2021/03/24(Wed)00:29 No. 992876 ID: afe7de
File 161657099106.png - (6.79KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_176.png )

You thank Peanut and head out to the streets, walking to the Hapless Stone. Your hands are full and so you just drink the SLURPEE casually as you walk there. As you arrive you notice that the place is a bit more active, but you ignore it and head upstairs to your room. You see a few roaches in the terrarium but when you try talking to Roach it looks like he’s not there. Probably still out scouting Isabella or something, hey, at least this means he’s starting to gather a swarm.

You put the pack of sponges next to the terrarium, putting one inside and then fill a small saucer with water and put that in there too. The roaches then start playing in the water which you find amusing, but also concerning because you don’t think you’ve ever heard about roaches playing in water before. You toss a sweet and a piece of jerky in there and put the rest of the stuff in your ring.

Edmango 2021/03/24(Wed)00:30 No. 992877 ID: afe7de
File 161657100220.png - (16.63KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_177.png )

You then head back out to the Hapless Stone Proper and notice it’s quite busy. Cannie’s also there too, you were thinking about walking with her, it’s 6:45PM, you probably have enough time to do ONE more thing if you don’t want to be late to dinner. What do you do?

A. Talk to Maple
B. Talk to Trey and Oriel
C. Talk to The Wine glass Woman
D. Talk to Fivin and Nicky
E. Talk to Cannie and Adriana
F. Talk to the Raptor
G. Talk to a Random Townsperson
H. Do something else

>>992877
Hang with Cannie like you said you would. Scan her armband since it's got a demon eye on it.

Maybe you can ask her why she's not with Nunitus anymore.

Wood is gone. Must be investigating...

lets go talk to Cannie and Adriana. Give Cannie the Slurpee as an apology for not answering the texts earlier. Tell her you have a little bit of free time to take a walk, but let her know you also have plans to meet with someone on a date at around 7:50pm that you don't want to be late for. (date starts at 8 actually, but it is best to say 7:50 to make sure we aren't late)

Maybe we can see what Andriana's power is also?

But make sure you set you COMM's alarm to 7:30 so that you can make sure you know when to head back to the post office and see Willamina during the walk.

Also ask Adriana if she wants to walk with you and Cannie as well. Because of those the wild animals getting burnt recently at nights, it might make things a bit safer during the walk if she, a cop, came along. Plus the more the merrier!

we need to find out who wineglass head is

If we only have time for one thing before the date, then lets take that walk. You did promise Cannie you would see her after all.

Someone remind me why we bought wine for the dinner date? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to buy wine at the dinner table?

>>992896
The dinner date is at Willamina's place I believe, not at a restaurant or the Hapless Stone.

Go see what the punk girl and the policewoman are doing hanging together. Offer to go for a that walk with Cannie to stretch yo legs before dinner (and discuss side-job options, her sister, her guild or whatever else comes up naturally).

>Offer Cannie the slushee
Already drunk. Cat's COOL(er) now.

>Slushees give stat bonuses
Wait, stats are a thing too? Or is that just Slurps' reality distortion power talking?

>>992877
>Maple
>Raptor
>Wine glass
>one thing
AAHAAAAAGAAAAAAAGHGGAAAAAAAAHAAAGGAAAAAHAAAAAGGHGGAAAAAAHAAAAGGAAAAGHAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We promised Cannie we'd walk with her, we can also check in on bunny sister.

Going with E.

If those two are together I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying to get laid.
Not sure if we should butt in since we don't have time to potentially join in.
We can just fight Canine tomorrow or something to make it up for it.
Read the room. If they flirten, go talk with the raptor or wine glass

>>992913
Adriana is not Andrea, though I could see why you'd mistake one for the other with the current face-con.

>>992916
Ah.
Carry on then

Lets put our slushee coolness power to the test by trying to convince Adriana to join our walk. If she needs a reason, tell her there is something you wanted to tell her about some concerns regarding her sister you wanted to discuss where we're not in a highly crowded area with what she tried to do with you earlier today.

> Chicks Monthly
UM... Vocabulary check; does the word 'chicks' have a different connotation to birdkin?

> What do.
We promised Cannie we'd walk. So we walk.

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)00:24 No. 993032 ID: afe7de
File 161665706685.png - (13.06KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_178.png )

> Talk to Cannie and Adriana
> Scan Adriana
You head outside of the Tavern and head towards the familiar voices of Cannie and Adriana. They’re both outside having a smoke and chatting about women’s wrestling it sounds like. Cannie stares you down as you approach, taking a long drag of her smoke. You also put an alarm on your phone, it’ll ring when its getting close to your date. As you approach you also check Adriana for powers and find that she DOES NOT have powers.

Cannie: Well well well well well. Look who finally decided to show up. I’ve been waiting a WHOLE 5 MINUTES. Tsk Tsk, slow to text and slow to arrive.

Adriana just chuckles and puts out her cigarette.

Adriana: Breaks over, gotta go on patrol now. You two have fun, watch out in the park, hopefully there won’t be any more burnings but you never know.

You: Aww, I wanted to invite her on our walk.

Cannie: Wow, Cat. You want to have TWO ladies on your arms while you walk, some kinda playboy we got going on over here? I’ll admit you look about 3 points COOLER than normal. Maybe it’s the turtleneck.

She puts out her smoke, puts an arm on your shoulder and shoves you playfully so you start walking with her. You make small talk until you reach the park, you don’t really talk about anything substantial, you get the feeling she really was just bored and wanted company. You’re really glad she didn’t offer you a smoke, it’d be hard to resist with how stressed you’ve been all day.

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)00:24 No. 993033 ID: afe7de
File 161665707973.png - (11.40KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_179.png )

You decide to take the moment since nothing’s going on right now to scan her armband.

Nunitus Initiate armband - An armband with the sigil of Nunitus on it.

Nothing special. You cough lightly, and decide to start a conversation.

You: So uh, Nunitus a big guild or something? I was from the big city but I never heard of them before.

Cannie: Well, they’re not a big guild in the traditional sense, they’re a medium sized guild with like uhh 30 awakened, maybe 50 kin total. What lack in numbers they make up for in intel, of course they go on dungeon runs too, heck I was even a porter for them on a few runs. It’s a decent gig.

You: There a reason you’re not with them? I get the impression you’re still attached to them, you know, armband and all.

Cannie just shrugs while you walk, letting the silence sit for a bit before responding.

Cannie: I just… I dunno, I messed up this one time, didn’t follow procedure and picked something up I shouldn’t have. Caused someone to lose an arm in the process of them saving me. I mean they had healers so it’s not like they lost lost it, but it still felt bad, so I left.

Cannie: Maybe I’ll awaken one day and go back, but even if I’m good at scrapping and fighting there’s only so much I can do without an artifact or Awakened power. And they don’t just give those out willy nilly to initates.

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)00:24 No. 993034 ID: afe7de
File 161665709168.png - (9.58KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_180.png )

You: … I think it’s good you have something to want to go back to, probably people back there that miss you… I’m sure it’s not impossible to get something, I mean Miss Iraphena’s resourceful and full of money, ever thought of asking her to help you out?

Cannie: Yeah, just ask your friend to empty their pockets so you can gain superpowers. There were some moments when I deeply considered it, but I’d rather scrounge up the money myself or hope for some random act of god to happen for me to get it. S’ why I’m doing these weird jobs and living with mom, they pay well and I can save up to hopefully you know, eventually get a power.

You: I thought you came to terms with not Awakening?

Cannie: Just cause I came to terms with it doesent mean I’ll stop trying. I’m just going about it in a different way. If I had your favors and Questions maybe I’d even be able to get there faster. SIGH.

Cannie: Pisses me off she’s giving you so much attention just cause you’re awakened. Never offers favors or shit like that to mundanes like me, just whoever benefits her the most. Bitch. I remember this one time she gave Isabella a fucking question for our birthday, said it was for both of us but Isabella redeemed it without even asking me, wouldn’t even bat an eye when I wanted one too.

Cannie: Sorry for ranting, she’s my friend, but like, sometimes she pisses me off, like at dinner. What the fuck was up with that, putting you on the spot like that, bribing you, and then nearly hiding Isabella’s power status. S’ like there’s some big ol’ conspiracy going on.

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)00:25 No. 993035 ID: afe7de
File 161665711046.png - (10.41KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_181.png )

You: Yeah, it was pretty weird, Im still stressed out about it and about how Miss Iraphena’s been acting. But being broke as I am it’s hard to not look at that kind of stuff as a cupcake hidden in a nest made of needles.

You: Anyway, so what’s this about the Cornea removal thing?

Cannie: Oh yeah, this human dude, name’s Random. He introduced me to this doc at the morgue, you ever wonder where replacement eyes come from? Like the ones they use in surgery? Well it turns out people have to cut the eyes out of recently dead people and store them. It’s pretty squick work, but it pays hella dividends. Even if you have a 1/5 success rate they still pay you well cause not many people want to actually do the job. I actually work there about half the week. Good source of BUX.

You: Yeah, that’s pretty squick, but I guess it’s a neccesary job.

Eventually you reach a nice little clearing, there’s dirt and scuff marks on the ground, looks like people come and go here a lot. Cannie turns around and looks at you, raising her arms and cracking her knuckles.

Cannie: So, we doing this? Or are you going to tell me what they wanted you to hide at dinner so much they lied to my face. Or both? I’ll reward you if you chose both. I’ll even let you get the first hit in, and use whatever weapon you have on your person, I’m sure you stored your pistol somewhere on you, I’m assuming its a mana pistol if it’s a real pistol please for the love of god don’t use it.

You can see Cannie’s getting pumped up. You definitely have enough time to fight if you chose to do so and make it to dinner, you might be a bit tired though.

>>993035
I like to play things close to my chest, lets scrap!

>>993035
A reward? What kind of reward? Tell her you don't want to tell her, because it might put you both in danger.
A spar sounds great, actually, we can do that regardless. If the reward is something useful and not just a kiss or a fuck or something, we can say this after the fight, in a whisper:

Tell Cannie she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Doesn't she think the timing of the burnings is a bit suspect? They started happening immediately after you and Isabella arrived in town. Now, you don't have a fire power; you demonstrated what yours was at dinner... but does Isabella? Obviously you would never accuse Isabella of doing that kind of thing for no reason, but... what if she was under orders? Who in town could give her orders like that?
All these things she could have figured out on her own. You aren't telling her any secrets at all, got it?

We can fight her. We are going to need to train ourself before the apocalypse, best way to start is now.

IMPORTANT: let her know that when your comm's alarm goes off, you have to get back to town as you have something planned. (plus it'll be best to keep Isabella's powers secret)

If you use a mana pistol, just be aware that it can damage clothing. Be careful where you shoot... unless she doesn't care about any of her bits being exposed.

Also IMPORTANT: Don't worry about getting tired after the fight. We can use a stamina liquor to re-energize ourself before the date. (Just make sure you don't let Cannie know you have stamina liqours or else she will demand a round 2.)

But yeah, lets keep Isabella's power a secret. She did help give us those favors after all, and I don't want her to try anything malicious towards us if she found out we squealed (Willamina said she was manipulative afterall.) Don't even imply she has powers.

Strip off turtleneck (dont want it getting damaged or sweaty) and prepare for a fight.

Dont need to tell her about Isabella's secret

>'s like there's some big ol' conspiracy going
Well, there is. Several, probably.

Though Iraphena has no obligation to help her out it does sound like she and Isabella have kinda kept Cannie out of bigger leagues. Maybe they did so for a reason, Cannie seems like she's got a reckless streak and Iraphena can see the literal future so if they're really friends or even just good acquaintances maybe she 'protected' her by keeping her at an arm's length? If you look at it charitably.

Iraphena would, after all, know if someone's fit to survive the super life. Less charitably speaking, if Cannie was going to awaken to a power on her own any time soon, I think Iraphena would've cultivated her more - like she apparently did with Isabella?

As for Isabella... well, that's its own mess to unravel, really. We know little of her motivations to act self-serving. Could maybe ask Cannie if she's always been, uh, acting that way? Also, out of curiosity, which one's the older of the two?

>fite me
...ah well. Strip off yo 'neck, crack yo knucks and get ready for some hard knocks.

Though adjust your alarm to go off a bit earlier so you can tend to any bruising or bleeding and tell Cannie to lay off on the head - you'll do the same for her.

(Don't pull any weirdness, like revealing what your coiling ring does, or giving her a power in the middle of the frickin' fight.)

>reveal truth (+fight) for a reward
Tell her that if she absolutely punks you and gets you in a hold - so you have time to chat - you'll tell her SOMETHING about what was up during dinner.

If she don't win... well, maybe you'll give her another shot, later! You both know she's not dumb and that she saw something go down during that dinner - and she'll keep pulling on it until she's got her answers, yeah? You don't mind that, it's just... you also don't want to get in too much trouble right now. Especially not with Iraphena and Isabella, who both know YOUR secret now and could do some potential harm to your life with it.

Thank her for not using THAT as blackmail to get the truth, by the way.

Time to get topless, cuz were bout to throw down!

Isabella clearly wants to keep her powers a secret from Cannie. Saying something WILL cause drama and WILL damage thier relationship temporarily. It may also make Isabella somewhat hostile towards you.
... That said, from what we know about her, being on Isabella's good side brings no benefit.
Cannie's straight forward nature and hunger for awakening however could make her an easily trusted and valuable ally.

After the fight, tell her the truth. Tell her you read the room and lied due to her sisters obvious discomfort.
But then also offer another fight, and another secret, tomorrow night. Same time, same place, IF she can hold her silence and rage on this matter through the day.

Fight! Keep everything that happened at the group dinner a secret at all time. Backstabbing Isabella by telling her secret to Cannie after she helped us get those favors would not be a good idea because if we tell Cannie Isabella's secret, Isabella is going to blab to everyone about our power! (Even though we only told them we can detect powers, it is still going to cause trouble if other people knew that aspect about our power)

If it is legal to use your mana pistol for rough housing, go ahead. If not, dont bother with using a pistol. Dont wanna get in trouble

>>993035
there has never been anything so appealing in this moment as getting into a bare-knuckle facemasher contest, lets fucking GO

Get ready for the Fight, and dont tell

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)23:31 No. 993165 ID: afe7de
File 161674027137.png - (11.81KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_182.png )

> Strip
> Set alarm a little early.
> Let's Scrap!
> Use your Mana Pistol

You put your hand behind your back and pantomime grabbing something from your back under your belt, pulling your Mana Pistol out of the ring. It's a good thing it doesent make any light or particles when it's used. You then toss it to the floor and take off your turtleneck, revealing your bare chest. You then take out your COMM and update the alarm so it goes off a little earlier.

You: Yeah, I'm down to scrap. Though uh, I have somewhere to be when my alarm goes off. And uh, I've got a mana pistol yeah. I think we should also make some ground rules like no hitting the face if we can avoid it. And uh, I'm kind of hesitant to share any info about that, I don't want Isabella or Miss Iraphena blackmailing me.

Cannie: I'm sure I can handle Izzy, I doubt anything you say will end up affecting Ira though . Rules sound fair. And don't worry about hitting me with the pistol, I have backup clothes at home in case they get torn up, plus I'm mostly fur anyway, luckily Mana Bullets only really damage inert matter like clothes and objects and not fur and skin.

She follows your lead and takes off her Nunitus armband, vest, comm, and something else, tossing it in the same pile of your clothes. She also takes off her shoes for good measure, revealing her beast-like paws. Her tail is wagging in excitement. She then triapses over to a position opposite to you, about 8 paces away, too far to reach you by hand, but close enough she could sprint up to your location with ease. She then picks up a rock and begins tossing it in the air while she turns around and faces you.

Cannie: I'll even be fair. You can take the first move, but I won't go easy on you.

This is your first time fighting in a while, but here's what you remember about your combat skills.

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)23:31 No. 993166 ID: afe7de
File 161674028479.png - (11.29KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_183.png )

You weren't trained in a traditional martial art but developed your own style of GUN-KATA on the streets. It's a form of martial arts involving guns and melee weapons at a close range, usually used in conjunction with your fists, but a baton or stick works too. You're actually quite GOOD at it.
You're FORTITUDE is ABYSMAL, so you'll want to end this fight quickly or risk being exhausted after several rounds. (will gain 1 disadvantage per round while Exhausted)
You're OKAY at just SHOOTING.
You're OKAY at MELEE combat.
And Your SPEED (reflexes) is OKAY, but you need to focus to actually dodge anything with reliability. (using the dodge action)

If you're disarmed of your gun your combat capabilities do drop significantly, so be careful!

You: So, who's older out of the two of you?

Cannie: We're twins. She took more after our other mom. Though, TECHNICALLY I'm older.

Cannie's letting you have the first move, what do you do?

Edmango 2021/03/25(Thu)23:31 No. 993167 ID: afe7de
File 161674029898.png - (11.25KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_184.png )

-COMBAT TUTORIAL-

Most characters have 2 action points to spend, an action point can be spent to do a thing like one of the following:

Attacking
Using a Skill
Grappling
Using an Item
Moving
Dodging/Blocking
Aiming
Etc. Feel free to make up actions or skills for you to do.

You can double up on actions at no penalty, and some actions will give you bonuses to hit or avoid being hit or even to the damage you deal. At the end of every round you will also have a chance to gain Advantage and Disadvantage points, these must be spent IMMEDIATELY. Advantage points can be spent on the following

1 pt -
a minor effect like causing your enemy to stumble or bump into an object and be momentarily distracted, thus increasing your chance to hit them.
or you can add a small object related to the scene that would be advantageous to you or say that things are positioned in an advantageous way for you.
2 pts-
a moderate effect like causing them to drop their weapon or fall prone, thus causing them to have to spend an action to get it back.
or you can add a medium object related to the scene that would be advantageous to you, like a rusty knife or random tool.
Or you can force your opponent to take strain by taunting them or causing them to be uncomfortable or by stressing them out.

You'll never have more than 2 points to spend at a time, but you can spend it on 2 minor effects instead of one moderate effect if you like. But be careful, Disadvantage points have to be spent on an opposite effect, something that causes difficulty for your character or party, get creative, failing can be just as fun as succeeding!

Your opponents can gain Advantage and Disadvantage just like you can, but unlike you, your opponents have to chose what their advantages and disadvantages are before you act and chose yours, so you'll have that information before you act!

Cancel the fight, girl with animal friends creeping up on you

>>993167
We're being watched. It's the forest lady. She must know by now that you Awakened one of her animals...

Shoot, and prep a dodge. She's gonna throw that rock.

first, Shoot at rock to knock it off her hand, second, prepare to counter attack/dodge/ if she runs towards you and starts attacking. We'll need to lure her at close range since that is the only thing we're good at GUN-KATA, a close range fighting style

I'm sure those are just regular ol' animals. Nothing to worry about.

>>993167
You've got company...

Circle around Cannies right side and point this out, when she turns to look, shoot her in the back.

ACT1 - Dodge mode (she might throw the rock)
ACT2 - Shoot her left foot (target snapshot with aim to stagger/trip)

Ignore any casual observers (animal or not) for now.

Close distance and open with a high kick

Shoot at arm holding rock, prepare to dodge

remember: instep, kidney, solarplexus. Stomp, poke, pistolwhip.

ruin mobility, put in the pain, knock the wind out.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)00:51 No. 993290 ID: afe7de
File 161683148679.png - (10.85KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_185.png )

> Mention your audience
> Shoot her

You point out that there’s someone watching you in the forest, Cannie turns around and you shoot the hand that was holding the rock.

The shot HITS, dealing some damage to Cannie, causing her to drop the rock on the ground.

Cannie: HEY, So you play dirty huh? Alright then.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)00:51 No. 993291 ID: afe7de
File 161683149796.png - (62.99KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_186.png )

> Prep a dodge
You remain motionless, but adopt a crouching stance, readying yourself to move at a moment’s notice as Cannie bends down and pounces forward. Beast-kin are naturally more athletic than other races and she does this with a natural ease. She circles around you and as you turn to face her you come face to face with her leg as she attempts to kick you in the chest.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)00:51 No. 993292 ID: afe7de
File 161683150839.png - (10.00KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_187.png )

Her kick HITS you, knocking the wind out of you. But because you were DODGING you take a little less damage.

She’s tough. And just from that exchange you can tell that her POWER is GOOD, and she’s GREAT at melee as you expected. This won’t be a fight you win if it lasts a long while, you need to hit her hard and fast.

You feel GOOD right now, and can keep fighting. Cannie on the other hand looks GREAT, you wonder if your shot to her hand means she’ll be using her other limbs to fight.

It’s Your turn, what do you do?
You also gained [1] Advantage point from your amazing shot! You MUST spend it now.

>>993292
>knocking the wind out of you
I'm hoping this is something you've had practice dealing with, otherwise the fight's already over.

Spend that 1 advantage to have her slip on some gravel so you can get a good couple shots off on her. One to the torso, one to the head.

1st action: aim
2nd action: gunkata
Advantage: your friend roach showed up and is concerned for your well being! He can read Cannie's mind and tell you what moves she is about to use next and you can prepare accordingly

(Deleted my previous two posts, I forgot we can double up on actions)

Advantage point: The small knockback from the kick brings you a little closer to a stick, and you grab it. You now have a melee weapon along with your gun, which makes it good for your GUN-KATA technique!

Double up action: Now that she is close range, we got her where we want her. use your GUN-KATA technique with your stick and gun! Go for the legs to slow her/trip her up a bit. As the narration said, we gotta hit hard and fast.

Minor advantage: Because you dodged, Cannie's kick had to overextend to hit, so she's actually off-balance for a second - increasing your chance to GRAPPLE.

ACT1 - GUNKATA her. Target a knee if you can, make her further stumble. Combo it into...
ACT2 - A GRAPPLE THROW, to launch her into a prone state and further increase your own advantages.

(Sending a melee powerhouse to the dirt because they focused too much on kicking your scrawny ass and not enough on defense is typically something you've found to be pretty satisfying.)

Updated the Catalyst Quest Log https://questden.org/wiki/CATALYST/Log

>>993302
This is what I was going to suggest besides the fact that this guy’s managed to figure out the specifics for me.

>>993305
This is pretty much what I suggested too in my post before I deleted it, lol (except the advantage point was to get a stick instead of the off-balance of her kick. this advantage point is also pretty good though.)

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)15:51 No. 993402 ID: afe7de
File 161688551645.png - (9.74KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_188.png )

>>993293
You regain your composure after a moment. You’ve been in a few fights before, but you’ll probably be down if you take 2 more blows like that. 3 if you’re dodging.

> ADVANTAGE - Cannie is off balance for a second
> GUNKATA her knee
Barely a second has passed since you were hit and you notice that Cannie is having trouble regaining her footing and stumbles for a bit, her leg is still in the air, so you get in close and try to smack your gun into her knee muzzle first.

You BARELY MISS, firing a wild shot through her legs, it hits a tree in the distance and you hear a branch fall, along with some squeaks from some kind of animal or maybe your observer.

But your maneuver did successfully ruin Cannie’s balance further as she had to twist her leg into a difficult position, so you decide to follow up with a GRAPPLE THROW, tackling your body into her you wrap your arm around her waist and under her leg, lifting with all your might.

Cannie: Getting a little FRISKY aren’t we?

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)15:52 No. 993403 ID: afe7de
File 161688553459.png - (61.04KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_189.png )

You SUCCEED in GRAPPLE TOSSING her to the ground, she lands face first and takes a little bit of damage from it.

Cannie: OOF.

You see Cannie struggle to regain her poise, but don’t expect her to twist her body around her waist to deliver a low kick. You raise one of your legs in an attempt to dodge.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)15:52 No. 993404 ID: afe7de
File 161688554375.png - (50.34KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_190.png )

Her kick HITS you in the left leg, you wobble a little bit but regain your balance. It wasn’t a heavy blow, but it does remind you to keep on your toes against your opponent.

You see Cannie get on all fours and you try to back up about a foot but your leg bumps into a rather large piece of wood, making it hard for you to maneuver any way other than towards your opponent without leaving yourself open for a blow.

You feel DECENT right now, Cannie looks GOOD. Your experience fighting other beast-kin on the streets leads you to believe that from her posture she is going to try to pounce on you and pin you down, but it could be a FEINT.

It’s your turn, what do you do?
You gained [2] Advantage points this round! You MUST spend it now.

You almost have her pinned, glomp onto her and fire a few rounds into wherever you can make contact!

moderate Advantage: Cannie is now very dizzy after that hit in the head, she is very likely to miss now, even if you don't dodge.

Pick up wood as a melee weapon, and double up on Gun-Kata!

LEAP into the air and FRONTFLIP into a devastating HEELDROP to her head.

(Advantage) Your form is PERFECT.
(Advantage) Cannie is left AWESTRUCK by your most GRACEFUL flight.

Moderate Advantage: You step back over the BIG LOG, reaching down and grabbing the convenient branch still sticking out of one end as you go, pulling it up into a raised position.

It's TOO BIG to hold on to for long (or fully lift!), but the IMPROVISED COVER should substantially aid in your ability to BLOCK or MITIGATE the damage of an incoming attack this turn.

ACT1 - Ready a BLOCK, with the temporary aid of your hefty new friend.
ACT2 - GUNKATA Cannie in the side. She can have some lost air, too.

>>993413
Sadly, Cat's FRONTFLIP HEELDROP skill is ABYSMAL and any attempt at it better left for being adventurous in a GYM (where at least they might FACEPLANT on a soft MATTRESS).

>>993433
Are you suggesting a FRONTFLIP HEELDROP would require BOTH advantage points pull off, but Cannie would continue her POUNCE anyway, leading us to miss and land in a sorry pile on top of that furball?

Because that would also be an acceptable outcome.

ADVANTAGE: She makes it obvious that she isn't going for a feint; she's yet to determine whether or not you're a monkey worth bluffing for.
ADVANTAGE: Her stance is awkward; her leap will go high and short, leaving her wide open to:
ACTION 1: a midair gunshot.
ACTION 2: You dodge forward under the arc of her overblown leap.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)22:41 No. 993490 ID: afe7de
File 161691009627.png - (43.46KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_191.png )

> M. ADVANTAGE - Cannie is dizzy from the hit on her head, likely to miss her next attack.
> Do a FRONTFLIP HEELDROP

If you’re being honest, you’d admit that your ACROBATICS skill is NONEXISTANT, but the image of you doing this cool move to show her that you’re a threat worth taking seriously overwrites your very genuine knowledge that you’re probably going to fail this maneuver horribly, but on the other hand, if it succeeds, you’ll probably deal a CRITICAL HIT. It’s a gamble, but if you don’t take any gambles now, you’ll probably lose the fight.

You adopt a sprinter’s pose and you can see a gleam in Cannie’s eyes as she backs up a little bit and grinds her paws into the dirt. It seems you’re both going to pull out all the stops for this move. The two of you dash at eachother and when you’re about a meter or two away from eachother you both leap into the air.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)22:41 No. 993491 ID: afe7de
File 161691010760.png - (10.81KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_192.png )

In what must be a stroke of luck or genius you manage to perform the very first front-flip of your life, bringing down your right leg and right arm onto Cannie. You manage to get a shot off and deal a CRITICAL HIT to her head and chest, tearing away some of her clothes.

You’ve been thrown heavily off balance though and were not prepared for Cannie to stand straight up grab you by the waist, and attempt to suplex you.

Edmango 2021/03/27(Sat)22:42 No. 993492 ID: afe7de
File 161691012010.png - (118.84KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_193.png )

She SUCCEEDS in a comical reversal of your previous maneuver and slams you down on your back. It definitely hurts.

You’re both PRONE on the ground, you think that maneuver was a one in a million shot and hope it has helped you turn the tides of the fight.

You feel BAD right now, and from the sounds of it Cannie isn’t in a much better position, you think she’s feeling pretty BAD right now too, but can’t confirm it without looking at her.

Cannie: FUCK, that hurt. PANT PANT. Did you just do some sorta front flip?!? PANT PANT The FUCK… WAS… THAT…

It’s your turn, what do you do?
You gained [1] Disadvantage point this round! You MUST spend it now. Suggestion: The rock Cannie had earlier is conveniently by her hand so she picks it up.

>>993492
Ok sure, disadvantage: she gets the rock back.
Don't even bother getting up, just shoot her in the face.

>>993493
Yup, no need to move, just start blast'n before she knocks your teeth out.

Laugh, "I saw a dwarf luchador do it once"

Disadvantage: We've lost hold of our gun! It's nearby but can be contested!

Roll supine, then pounce on her! Far from optimal, but it's now or never to end this fight!

We're both Bad, which I'll take as meaning first good strike decides the match!

As such, I recommend putting it all down on a solid, no-frills punch or elbow to the kidney, solarplexus, or tit. Quickly now!

Disadvantage here is, as suggested, contested gun! We're in a race to see who can get last shot off first here, either to force concession or deny them the use of the gun!

Disadvantage: Her hand pressed against your crotch as she slammed you down, and it's left you distracted.

Lock at least of one of her arms down from behind and aim for her torso.

>>993503
Pretty much this.

chaddest move: awaken her in the middle of the fight.

>>993522
Would be funny, but Im against awakening her. I feel it'd be more meaningful if Willamina is the first person we awaken tonight, and should save our energy for her in case we want to give her a strong super power that may use up a lot of our energy.

Actually, here is an awesome disadvantage: from the intensity and stress of the battle, Cannie awakens on her own (not from Cats power)

Edmango 2021/03/28(Sun)16:39 No. 993582 ID: afe7de
File 161697476031.png - (14.54KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_194.png )

> DISADVANTAGE - Dropped and Contested Gun
> Pounce on her and try to end the fight!

You: GASP Ha ha, Ha COUGH ha. I saw a PANT dwarf luchador do it once.

This fight will probably be determined by the outcome of this move, either you hit first, or she wins the fight. You spin around and without getting up, POUNCE on her.

Your maneuver is a SUCCESS, you’ve got her pinned down and you can smell her sweat and breath. But she’s struggling to reach for your PISTOL with her left hand.

Cannie’s breath smells faintly of meat and smoke and her body has a sweet musky scent that you usually associate with Beast-Kin. But now’s not the time to get distracted by those kinds of thoughts, you try your hardest to pin her down and stop her from reaching the gun.

Cannie FAILS to grab your gun but in the process gets her arm completely free.

This is your last chance, you see her winding up her arm for a shot at your shoulder. You know that she’s STRONG enough to take you out with the next hit, so you aim at her chest hoping you can hit something, anything, and get her to concede.

Edmango 2021/03/28(Sun)16:46 No. 993590 ID: afe7de
File 161697518217.png - (12.30KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_195.png )

You managed to HIT her in the stomach, her raised arm falls down and with a cough she responds to you.

Cannie: I give, COUGH uncle, SPITS fuck, you won.

You collapse on top of Cannie, your head falling beside hers. You’re aching and EXHAUSTED, you used basically all of your stamina in that fight. You’re both breathing heavily and you can feel Cannie’s body heat. You look up and notice your spectators have vanished. It’s quiet in the forest sans your deep breaths and the occasional cough. Eventually Cannie pats you on the back a few times and pushes you off, causing you roll to the side.

It’s at this moment that your alarm goes off. It’s the sound of wind chimes with an ever increasing intensity. A few nearby birds flee the scene at the sound and you can see them flying off in the distance. You force yourself to get up, still pretty EXHAUSTED and silence your phone. Cannie then speaks up breathily, she looks only TIRED now, she’s probably used to this kind of thing so her recovery rate is probably pretty quick.

Edmango 2021/03/28(Sun)16:46 No. 993591 ID: afe7de
File 161697520151.png - (13.29KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_196.png )

Cannie: Fine. Keep your damn secret for now. Hopefully you’ll just tell me eventually.

You hear the sound of ripping cloth and turn around to see Cannie’s bare chest.

Cannie: Might as well get rid of this thing, torn to shreds anyway.

You’re a little flushed and start fumbling with the pile of clothes, you notice Cannie looking your way and tilting her head.

Cannie: Well, what are you waiting for? Take a picture. You won.

You: Huh?

Cannie: You won so you get a picture of me. Oh right you’re not a part of the fight club so you don’t know. It’s our custom here when you beat someone down to take a picture as a memento to remember the loser so you don’t get conceited and forget all the people you fought.

You: Huh, never heard of that custom. You’re topless though is tha-

Cannie: Who cares about that shit, it’s just my tits.

You shrug and take a picture of Cannie’s topless, slightly bruised body, saving it to your phone.

Edmango 2021/03/28(Sun)16:46 No. 993592 ID: afe7de
File 161697520951.png - (9.98KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_197.png )

You both get dressed and start walking back, you’re a little slower than she is from exhaustion, but she matches your pace as you walk back to town.

Cannie: Thanks for the scrap, that was a good workout. Didn’t actually expect you to put up a good fight. Even if a lot of it was you getting some LUCKY SHOTS in on me.

You: It was good practice, you know, making sure I don’t lose my edge since I left the City.

Cannie: Anything you wanna talk about before we split off and you go do your thing?

You can ask Cannie a single pressing question you have about Lyst or it’s Residents, what do you ask?

We need to uncover the mystery of what dark powers fuel the slurpee flavors, and harness it for ourselves.

Ask her about slurpee magic.

All friendly and familial bonds aside, who here in town would you trust the most if you had like... a serious personal issue that money or violence couldn't fix?
Put another way, Who do you think is the real-est of them all?

Yeah, we'll keep Isabella's power a secret for now. She is keeping ours a secret after all.

Ask her if she can train you every now and then, as you want to get stronger. Not every night of course, as there are some things you might want to do on different nights (we'll need to train ourselves to get stronger to prepare for the apocalypse)

But I think the most important thing to ask is Isabella's relationship with Willamina. Tell her you notice some hostility between the two and know that they used to be friends. Ask how their friendship fell apart.

once she is gone, drink your STAMINA LIQOUR to regain your energy so you aren't tired for the date! two if you have to.

>>993592
Alright. Ask her why the doctor's been avoiding you. Does he have some kind of diagnostic power?

I'm tempted to ask stuff about Isabella or Iraphena but they are clearly keeping her in the dark so it's useless. I DO want to warn her about them though. Just tell her that she should be careful around them. They have a lot more power than she knows.

Cannie would have the best insight on Willamina's and Isabella's rivalry. Ask about their hatred towards each other.

>>993602
This seems prudent to ask.

Gotta agree Cannie's input on why Isabella's gotten such a dislike for Willemina might be interesting to have.

As well as chugging a stamina potion, if they're not too expensive and won't, like, ruin your appetite.

>>993602
Yup, ask and chug a stamina potion.

Oh, and can you tell what that extra item was she dropped? Maybe you can ask about that for free.

Edmango 2021/03/29(Mon)01:04 No. 993645 ID: afe7de
File 161700506123.png - (14.49KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_198.png )

>>993602
> Talk about Willamina and Isabella’s rivalry?

You: Yeah actually, what’s the deal with Willamina and Isabella’s rivalry? Willamina doesent like her and Isabella seems REALLY aggressive when it comes to her.

Cannie: Hmm, that’s a little complicated. I was there for most of it but bare with me for a moment.

Cannie: So Me, Isabella, Maxamillian and Willamina used to be best buddies basically. We’d hang out, go exploring, play Supes and Villains, hang out at the abandoned Paper treatment plant. You know, kid stuff. We were also really close, like we’d joke about making out and actually do it kinda close. AAAAANYWAY, we all got along really well for a long time but then like about a month before the fire Max confessed that he was in love with Willamina, something about how he was waiting until he was accepted to confess.

You: Well, we are in Midlands south after all.

Cannie gives you a look but continues anyway.

Cannie: Well Willamina didn’t take that very well and ran off to me and Isabella crying and I tried to console her but Isabella FREAKED the fuck out. I’ve never seen her more angry in her life. Well Willamina was already a wreck so I consoled her while Isabella left to cool her head. To be clear, she wasn’t mad at Max, she was mad at Willamina for rejecting her brother’s love because she DESPERATELY wanted him to love her.

Cannie: From that day forth Max was just… different, he acted different, like he barely recognized us, when we were together things were really awkward and he wouldn’t joke anymore, Willamina huddled behind me always, and Isabella tried furiously to flirt with him. Honestly it was like primetime TV, you can’t make this shit up. It was around this time Isabella started blaming Willamina for his change, at first she was really vocal about it but then she was just really passive aggressive. I stood up to her a few times and she usually stopped when I was there, but still, it was pretty gross.

Cannie: Then the fire happened and I was devastated. I remember the day before Willamina hanging out saying her folks were coming to celebrate her brother and she didn’t want to be there. I told her she could come stay with me if she wanted, but her family said it was important that she be there for him. Anyway, Isabella was acting really strange the day of the incident, said she would go to the house and profess her love to Max in front of the whole family. She headed out that night but then the fire happened and everything was a blur. When I asked her what happened she said she got sidetracked by someone and reached the house too late, that it was already on fire and Trey and Gruk were there.

Edmango 2021/03/29(Mon)01:04 No. 993646 ID: afe7de
File 161700507216.png - (43.33KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_199.png )

Cannie: Okay, so after that happened I remember consoling Isabella and her saying that it’s Willamina’s fault this all happened. She really believed and blamed her for what happened. But from that day on she just pretended to be all sweet when she was near Willamina as she recovered and she was adopted into our family. Probably helped that she had time to steam it over while Will recovered. Then, at just random times she’d pull on Will’s heartstrings when she thought no one was around, or try to make her life difficult. I just thought it was her pulling pranks since we were just teens, but now that I’m older I recognize it as it being a bit more malicious than that.

Cannie: Basically what I’m saying is that Will’s in the right in hating Isabella, but Isabella has just a very wrong outlook on the whole situation. Willamina’s told me about the more heinous things she’s done and I reprimanded Isabella for it but she just said she wouldn't do it again, and then proceeded to do it again. She’s my sister and I love her to bits but even that’s going a bit too far. It only really calmed down after Isabella got into college in the Big City, I moved there with her and got into Nunitus, she introduced me to them. I got buff, but then I came back to live here and found that not having Isabella breathing down her neck really calmed down Willamina. Anyway, Long story short, there’s beef.

You: Uh, wow. That’s a lot to take in. I uh, don’t really have a response but um. Thanks for sharing that, I kind of get a better idea of things now. That uh. That really sucks. Is Isabella um, please don’t take this the wrong way but is she psychotic?

Cannie: She’s only really psychotic about Will and Max, other than that she’s a perfectly normal and good younger sister. Oh, also, if you ever want to turn on Willamina she REALLY likes headpats. Just like go to town. Oh, and for fairness’s sake Isabella’s is if you can get a good belly rub in. I’ll keep mine a secret just so you can’t use it on me when we scrap. We ARE scrapping again by the way. At fight club or otherwise. I’m not going to be satisfied until I win more than you do. Anywho, I’m dipping here, laters champ.

Edmango 2021/03/29(Mon)01:04 No. 993647 ID: afe7de
File 161700508498.png - (15.28KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_200.png )

>Take a Stamina Liquor
Cannie rounds the corner and salutes you as she leaves. You’ve been given a lot to process but you’re a bit too tired at the moment, so you pop a stamina liquor out of your ring after checking your surroundings and chug it. You store the EMPTY BOTTLE in your ring, best not to litter. It takes a few minutes as you’re walking but you start to feel more energetic until you’re back to your normal energy level. You’re still in pain from the fight, but it’ll pass. Though if you were to get in a fight right now, you’d say your condition only improved from BAD to OKAY, but the drink makes you feel as if you were DECENT.

You reach the post office and this time you don’t bump into the pole outside. You pull the bottle of CHEAP WINE from your ring while no one is looking. You don’t see Willamina, but notice that it’s 7:55PM, so you decide to check your COMM. Looks like you’ve got messages from a few people but you skip to the one from Willamina.

Willamina: Heyo, when you get here, come around the back of the building, my house is attatched.

You reply with an emoji of a person running and a thumbs up. Then type “I’m hereeee” and put your comm in your pocket. You walk around the building and notice that its kind of nice, there’s a glass window next to the door that’s covered by a curtain but you can see a light and a shape moving behind it. You can also see some potted plants on the outside and a small table with two chairs and an umbrella. The top of the building is covered in Ivy of some kind and it gives it a real rustic feel, you can see why Willamina would like the place. You get ready to knock but hear shuffling and decide to wait. You’re a little sweaty still and you hope she doesen’t mind. It’s almost time for the BIG DECISION you’d be lying if you said you weren’t nervous.

Edmango 2021/03/29(Mon)01:04 No. 993648 ID: afe7de
File 161700509562.png - (11.90KB , 500x500 , Catalyst_201.png )

Willamina opens the door.

Willamina: Well heya PRICK, glad to see you make it on time, foods almost DONE.


END OF THREAD 1