Acid Soup
Acid Soup by FRACTAL |
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In a strange world where even one's past and self are malleable, Lowry sets off in search of what she's lost.
As one might perhaps expect, she ends up finding more than she bargained for.
This article contains spoilers! You were warned. |
Major Characters
Lowry Lewis
The apathetic, hairless cat protagonist. Catagonist. Got something stolen from her, but she doesn't know what. Wants to at least fix her BF before dumping him. Age 22.
Reiss
Lowry's current boyfriend. Broken. His OS was mugged and he can't talk/acts differently.
Sweat
Lowry's best friend. A fallen angel. Knows lots of things and cannot lie, which is useful if you can get past its... colorful way of speaking.
Ne
A foulmouthed bear with an 8-ball motif and mouths on his hands. A thief by trade. Doesn't like to rat on his coworkers.
Rabies Rex
Lowry's abusive canine ex. The leader of a gang of junkyard dog greasers, though his authority has been usurped lately by his new girlfriend. Has a habit of taking people's eyes from them.
Jolene Drool
Rabies's new girlfriend, also a canine. Unfortunately for Lowry, Jolene is the only half-decent sawbones left in town who can fix Reiss. Cunning, vicious and manipulative.
Chidori and Nanako
Delinquent bunnies that watch Lowry's back. They are in a gang called the Sukebun, fittingly. Chidori is the second lieutenant of the gang, and Nanako is her kobun. Protecting Lowry has cost them dearly before.
Supporting Characters
Effe
Sweat's friend with benefits. Hasn't appeared again since walking bowlegged out of Sweat's apartment.
Tunamouth
Another cat. A former coworker of Lowry's. The name is quite literal.
Gretchen Gott
Eyeball-headed lady under Sukebun protection. Idolizes the gangster life.
Junko
A Sukebun with a car. The only character important enough to get her own stat sheet.
The Oyabun
The leader of the Sukebun. Her name is Sachi.
Belial
Another angel Lowry's familiar with. Came down to Earth for sex, drugs and rock 'n roll.
Sada
A Sukebun Lowry knows. The Oyabun's first lieutenant.
The Mortician
A vampiric shapeshifter who can posthumously extract things (like memories) from someone. They run a pawn shop/morgue that sells all kinds of odds and ends, usually picked off of corpses.
Cain
A fallen/risen? demon. He got fired from Hell somehow. Doesn't get along with angels, naturally.
Bronsted
Lowry's brother. They've grown distant.
Whisper
The Mortician's thrall, a homunculus bound to their service indefinitely through a legal loophole. Has taken a liking to Lowry, probably because she doesn't treat him like crap 24/7. It's kind of a low bar.
Kei, Momo and Ruri
Sukebun muscle sent to escort Lowry.
Sloane
Jolene's daughter of 18. Her boyfriend Johnny got beaten into paste by Nanako.
Boris
Jolene's second husband and Sloane's father. Suffered a tragic "accident" involving a toilet and repeated head trauma.
Mutter
Sloane's pet mutt. It's a bit of a Goofy/Pluto situation.
Plot Summary
Chapter 1
Lowry leaves her apartment to ask around looking for her stolen goods. She's stopped by Chidori and Nanako, who ask her to pick up a delivery for them when she sees Ne. She visits Sweat first, and it suggests Ne knows something. Sweat tags along with her. When Lowry gets to Ne's apartment, Ne is slow to give out information at first. It's been six and five months since Reiss and Lowry's thefts respectively, and he suggests the trail has gone cold. When Lowry brings up the delivery, she finds out it's actually a hit job. On Chidori. In exchange for not killing him on the spot, Ne gives Lowry back four stolen memories she didn't even know she was missing and his email correspondence with whoever set up the hit. It's getting late and it's unsafe to be out after dark, so Lowry spends the night at Sweat's place. Reviewing the stolen memories, she catches glimpses of her old self: her old boyfriend's cruelty, seeking Chidori's protection from Rabies, romantic moments with Sweat, and a mysterious exchange with Reiss. In the morning, Lowry heads to Chidori and Nanako with evidence of the hit. While Nanako heads out to beat Ne into a bloody pulp, Lowry and Chidori reminisce about newly remembered old times. Oh, and Chidori and Nanako getting their eyes clawed out by Rabies. Fun times. Suddenly, Chidori comes back covered in blood and bits and announces there is a problem.
Interlude 1: Rabbit Soup
Nanako got to Ne's apartment, but he'd already bailed. One of Rabies's goons was poking around too, and she beat him into a bloody pulp. On the way back to tell Chidori what happened, she runs into Gretchen, who asks if she could join the Sukebun. Nanako tells the walking eyeball she doesn't have the guts, and Gretchen swears she'll stand right in the same spot until Nanako acknowledges her determination. Moving on, Nanako heads upstairs and fills Chidori and Lowry in. Chidori is furious that Nanako murdered a rival gang member without her approval. They are called to a meeting with the Oyabun to atone for their mistakes. Nanako cuts off her own ear as restitution.
Chapter 2
Lowry receives a polite but firm invitation to dinner from Jolene, an odd picture from Ne, and remembers she didnt't tell Reiss where she was going. She asks Sweat to come with her to dinner at Rabies' as protection, but it's too afraid to go. It fills us in on who exactly was getting pummeled by Rabies in our recovered memory - itself. Lowry explores other options for an escort. She manages to secure a Sukebun detail, and arranges a trade of blood with the Mortician to afford a contract with Cain. After a rest at Sweat's to recover from giving blood, she goes to Belial to ask the questions she can't ask Sweat directly. Finally, it's back to the apartment and off to the Junkyard (Rabies & Jolene's headquarters) with her bodyguards. Lowry and Jolene have a pleasant chat over dinner. Jolene announces she and Rabies are getting married, and asks Lowry to help kill her soon-to-be groom. Somewhat confused by this turn of events, Lowry agrees. Everything goes much better than expected.
Gallery
Official
Some bad-future hypotheticals |
Concept art |
Not canon. Or is it? |
Outfit swap with Cleveland |
Fan Art
By Apollo |
By frogchirps |
By mouse |
Lowry in Neko Atsume By Brom |
By existential_maggie |
Some of the cast as Tiny Cat People By glassbetelgeuse |
By Brom |
By JiggyDino |
By JiggyDino |
By JiggyDino |
By JiggyDino |
By JiggyDino |
By Helio |
By Buckwheat |
By Buckwheat |
By Buckwheat |
Quests by FRACTAL |
Series: FudgeQuest | DeerlingQuest | loretta quest | Sad Girl Club | One Night Only Fractal Drunk Quest | Maroon Quest | Christmas in Retail | Acid Soup | One Day Only Fractal Stoned Quest One Shots: Katherine Quest | Datequest | GG's Horrible Space Adventure | LOVE. | The Florist of Whiterun | Durian Boy | Wild/Weary | Placebo | Trashy Vampire Romance Novel Collaborations: ID | A Doll's Circus | Apollo's Drunken Drunk Quest |