Make a Contract With Me! [Lag Backup Thread]

[Orm Embar]

Hmm, what kind of force does a detonation from the Impactor impart? Maybe we could use it as a kind of emergency propulsion system, in lieu of enhanced speed? That'd be pretty costly, though. We have only fifteen units of energy remaining in the Gem.

 

[Pipeman]

Hmm, what kind of force does a detonation from the Impactor impart? Maybe we could use it as a kind of emergency propulsion system, in lieu of enhanced speed? That'd be pretty costly, though. We have only fifteen units of energy remaining in the Gem.

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Given that it probably violently throws us around I kind of doubt it's viable for anything than desperately gaining enough distance to shoot them again by throwing us and our opponent in different directions.

I think we might as well take Silver Bullet 4 to give us an attack that deals large amounts of damage to an opponent. Its quite effective against an Average Witch, so going to Miki would be a better idea with Bullet 4 then going to Aoki. My biggest worry about Aoki is that currently, the MC does not have any experience fighting witches, and I rather not get thrown off the deep end for our first battle.

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There I kind of have to disagree.
I don't really doubt our ability to deal with an average Witch as we are and going to Mitakihara would most likely also have us deal with Magical Girls which makes the utility of getting something else more valuable.

 

[Vindictus]

Mentally updated MC to 'idealistic utilitarian transhumanist'.

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Well, given the situation? He kind of has to accept that he's now transhuman, whether he likes it or not.

If he was genuinely Transhumanist, he'd probably suggest that EVERYONE get's 'Uplifted', if I recall correctly- Transhumanism is, after all, about raising humanity up- not a single human.

 

[Guile]

A soul gem for everyone and a kyubey in every home!

A good running platform, to my eyes.

Edit:
Oh, and after reading some more of the SB thread (god help me), I'd definitely go for Darklight's suggestions.
Replace Arsenal with 'Efficiency' or 'Diffident' or something, put in two points.

 

[Rihaku]

I don't know if I would say he is a transhumanist, though he's aware of their parlance and ideas to a good degree. Probably still closer to a normal humanist.

 

[Alectai]

Yeah, sorry for blowing up on you over at SB Rihaku, it's been a shitty week, and watching everything slip further and further into Spec Ops: The Line when I was hoping for something a bit less... Well, grim then your normal works just started getting the steam coming out of my ears.

It's not even that anyone's wrong, they're making the right decisions under the circumstances, I'm just super worried that we'll have a character who destroys everything with the very best of intentions.

 

[Orm Embar]

Why, lag? Why?

 

[notgreat]

I think taking 70 of the gem and giving her the other 20 is the right choice- that's enough left to just about refill a normal gem, and we were only expecting to get 70 or so out of it anyway.

It's a nice gesture that only costs us a little bit.

 

[Orm Embar]

I think taking 70 of the gem and giving her the other 20 is the right choice- that's enough left to just about refill a normal gem, and we were only expecting to get 70 or so out of it anyway.

It's a nice gesture that only costs us a little bit.

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I'm more concerned about the implications of us trusting a complete stranger with the spoils of our labor.

 

[Pipeman]

I'm more concerned about the implications of us trusting a complete stranger with the spoils of our labor.

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As long as we at least attempt to get something out of it, I doubt you can really call it overly trusting.
At the very worst it's somewhat ill advised.

 

[Orm Embar]

As long as we at least attempt to get something out of it, I doubt you can really call it overly trusting.
At the very worst it's somewhat ill advised.

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If we want to negotiate, we should do so professionally. Opening up to the first person we meet is not indicative of a stable personality and our single experience with fellow Magicians should definitely push us towards caution/mistrust.

Analogy time: You're homeless and need money to eat, when some random girl comes up to you and asks for one of these ten dollar bills you just found, because her friend wants a snack from a vending machine. Sure, you could still eat with less money, but you were kinda looking forward a night not spent starving. This comparison isn't completely accurate, but that's basically how I imagine Hitori sees the situation.

On a semi-related note, I'll personally slay anyone who advocates going "~nyan." Just... no.

 

[Pipeman]

If we want to negotiate, we should do so professionally. Opening up to the first person we meet is not indicative of a stable personality and our single experience with fellow Magicians should definitely push us towards caution/mistrust.

Analogy time: You're homeless and need money to eat, when some random girl comes up to you and asks for one of these ten dollar bills you just found, because her friend wants a snack from a vending machine. Sure, you could still eat with less money, but you were kinda looking forward a night not spent starving. This comparison isn't completely accurate, but that's basically how I imagine Hitori sees the situation.

On a semi-related note, I'll personally slay anyone who advocates going "~nyan." Just... no.

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Yeah, that write-in is definitely the more retarded one of the two.
Still, I see the counteroffense less as us opening up to the first person we meet and more as a conscious decision that an informal approach should be more successful than a professional one.

 

[Pipeman]

Fucking lag.

I think I'll just go into a bit more detail over why I believe the counteroffense is going to be more successful.

Basically, the situation we are meeting Mami in is not a very good one.
We just took a Witch that was presumably in her territory, Mami never heard of anything like Magical Boys, there is the possibility that she saw the end of the battle and therefor knows how powerful our weapon is, we may also have acquired a somewhat intimidating figure, which is only worsened by the fact that we are likely forgetting to breath, a large amount of Kyubeys has recently been killed in the area, our Kyubey may act different than the one she is used to, and there is the possibility that she'll notice how much of the Grief Seed we need to clean only part of our Soul Gem which will only make us seem all the more dangerous.

Given all of this, she has a damn good reason to be wary of us, we need to do something to mitigate that somewhat and I don't think a detached and professional tone combined with us possibly mentioning that we have need of more energy for an unspecified purpose (Could we be any more ominous?) is really going to put her at ease.

Honestly, the somewhat nerdy and awkward personality should serve a lot more to make us seem less threatening and may even have her conclude that the more off-putting parts of us are basically us being a bit chuuni, Otakuing over our new magic or something.
Essentially, what I'm counting on here is that Mami is likely to be more receptive to an emotional appeal than anything else and the fact that she apparently still has a very amicable relationship with Kyubey in spite of being a veteran MG even gives us IC reason to think that, since it suggests Kyubey's tactic of "emotionally reassur[ing] the Magical Girl with vague promises and deflections" seems to work well on her, and that's on top of what the fact that she's playing mentor for someone else in spite of MG dynamics tells us about her character.

 

[Serous]

I'd personally prefer to save up to get Lvl 3 Speed, rather than get scope. Lvl 3 should be the 2x increase, allowing us to reach the limit of what we can do without preprogramming. Furthermore, our rate of fire would be significantly faster, which would be very important.

 

[LightMage]

I think Lvl 1 Scope and Lvl 2 Speed is best.

Level 3 Speed puts us over the 2.00 mark, while level 2 gets us at 1.75x which is nearly double our current speed. While Scope helps with the slight hit to Accuracy that higher Speeds cause according to Rihaku.

I also agree with Pipeman's reasoning on our course of action.

 

[Vindictus]

FUCKMOTHERING LAG.

Ah, okay. Let me see... So, we ended up going to Mitikahara in the end. Damnation. I wanted us to get some real results.

... Hmm. Mami is teaching an unnamed Puella the ropes? We may be in the first cycle, then- Or prior to the cycles altogether.

Whatever the case, giving our grief seed away is a bit annoying... But, if we must have 'Diplomacy', we can make a different approach.

[X] Smile awkwardly. "Ah, so you're teaching someone? I hate to interfere with your training excercise. Tell you what- As an apology, how about we team up for the next few? It's safer to fight in a group, I'm sure..."

 

[Guile]

Could be Sayaka, could be Madoka, could be someone else.

Incidentally, have we considered having Hitori be gay? That would nip all the ship wars in the bud nicely. We're in love with that Jou kid, maybe. We had a tearful goodbye scene offscreen. We had to leave to protect him! It'll all be better in the end...

 

[Khiruki]

Incidentally, have we considered having Hitori be gay? That would nip all the ship wars in the bud nicely. We're in love with that Jou kid, maybe. We had a tearful goodbye scene offscreen. We had to leave to protect him! It'll all be better in the end...

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Sure. That'll be a first. And Lili would be delighted.

 

[Orm Embar]

Not really interested, sorry. The whole shipping thing isn't a concern at the moment.

 

[Guile]

Not really interested, sorry. The whole shipping thing isn't a concern at the moment.

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Ah, but by the time it becomes a concern, we are already embroiled in them!

 

[Thomasfoolery]

Honestly I don't feel the whole pre-programmed thing is as big a drawback as it's being made out to be. Things like reloading can be pre-programmed fairly safely, and there's likely to be situations where we simply don't have the luxury of worrying if our movement pattern has been anticipated because if we don't move as fast as possible we'll be dead. We'll probably want to try to get our ultimate before worrying about that to much though if I understand the mechanics of the support correctly.

 

[Rihaku]

Ahh, it's nice to have a lag backup thread.

 

[Orm Embar]

Ahh, it's nice to have a lag backup thread.

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Indeed it is. 543 words, for the reaction recently posted in the main one.

 

[Vindictus]

Ahh, it's nice to have a lag backup thread.

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Uhhuh. Now, if we could get the other 75 or so players to use it...

 

[Serous]

I don't see the grief seed as a very large issue. With 45 units, it is more than sufficient to fully cleanse the seed of an average MG.

Thinking about Tetsu, I'm thinking he was contracted by a separate faction of Incubators, while the ones in Miki belong to another.

 

[Orm Embar]

Incubator on Incubator warfare? Sounds like a catfight to me.

 

[Rihaku]

Christ, the lag is unending. Fuck, I'd hoped to go to sleep early today, but I haven't even had a window to properly read the full thread.

 

[Winged One]

Sure. That'll be a first. And Lili would be delighted.

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Alternatively, he gave up sexual desire with breathing.

But yeah, being gay in a town where everyone important is female is a perfectly valid way to stop the Waifu Wars, and more effectively than magical asexuality. Romance isn't all hormones, after all.

Anyway, more stats makes Arsenal Replication 1 more useful with allies, so let's get some more Speed.

 

[Vindictus]

The Most Dangerous Game

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Well. I suppose eating grief seeds is kind of like cannibalism, isn't it? But on the other hand, the transformation from Magus to Monster is a quite dramatic metamorphasis- Almost as great as the one from Man to Magus. I wonder if it really counts as cannibalism for any of the three to consume one of the others.

The Witch you'd found with thorough exploration; dispatching Kyubey as an additional spotter, it had been the work of mere hours to track her down. By the movements of the possessed, shambling infrequently towards some origin, you triangulated the position of her innermost lair before healing them. Those points of entry and egress which were isolated enough from common foot-traffic, you marked, as well as the swiftest routes to public transit or, if your reserves failed you, the hospital. Unable to penetrate the creature's outermost barrier, you were unable to safely scout what lay within. There was nothing for it but to venture in yourself. Given the nature of your powers, one would swiftly land a decapitating blow on the other - or so you thought.

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So. We've tracked the witch down to her Labyrinth. Unfortunately, as I had suspected from the start- A Sniper Rifle does not work outside the boundary between the Witch's Realm and reality. This is unfortunate, but predictable.

Once within the crystal murk of her Labyrinth, though, it was clear that either she was unaware of your entrance or toying with you. The familiars she had deployed stood silent vigil over a glistening stream, whose gravel was diamonds and banks sanded gold. Skulls and skeletons floated on it, were buried in its bed or washed up on its shores, gilded by the sand. One by one you slew the familiars from a ledge hundreds of meters away, the report of your weapon drowned out by distance and the water's gurgling. Slowly and carefully you advanced, meticulously picking off her sentries, until you saw a group of humans wander in, mesmerized, their eyes locked on the gems. If you exposed yourself onto open ground to intercept them, your chances of infiltration plummeted...

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Fortunately, it seems that there are opportunities for us to find sniping posts within the lairs. Useful. Killing off the familiars one by one leaves us with a clear path to the devil at the heart of the labyrinth... Oh, wait. Tourists.

A cohort of familiars marched out to collect them; cursing, you came to a decision. These you targeted one-by-one, painting the reticules in your mind, and then rolled a single bullet in your palm. It grew gunmetal grey, oddly transparent, filled with tiny spheres.

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Great. We get to save the tourists. Why am I even surprised? If it was put to a choice, SB would inevitably have chosen to be a humanitarian of the not-fun kind anyway.

You chambered the round and fired, and the crack of thirty-six reports alerted her forces at last to your presence. Lumbering golems of gilded glass rose out of the stream, water sheeting off of them in luminous waves. Diamondoid sprites rose, their wings buzzing angrily, out from behind a hill that blocked your vision. Your cloak trailing behind you as you ran, you chambered another round and squinted down the sights; without the rhythmic bobbing imposed by breath, you could freeze your upper body into a stable firing platform while your legs sprinted furiously. Another shot left your rifle, this one ordinary, but its effects were anything but.

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We got spotted? DAMNED TOURISTS FUCKING UP EVERYTHING. Hmm. Well, on the other hand, we are only facing mooks of various level. If we couldn't handle some familiars and... Whatever the hell those golems are... We would have no chance against the Witch we're hunting down.

The knee of a golem shattered under a colossal impact. It lost its balance and toppled, huge chunks of unstable glass shearing off: a crashing, shuddering near-disintegration that pulverized all sprites in the path of descent. Its falling limbs struck others, and like a chain of giant's dominos they stumbled, ponderously wobbled, and fell. Those few sprites that survived, you picked off as you ran, drawing on the memory of pigeons and sparrows felled by your rifle. The glass shrapnel that now covered the ground crunched beneath your gentleman's shoes as you crested the hill and beheld the source of the stream.

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... BWAHAHA. "Once, I guarded a witches labyrinth, just like you. Then? I took an arrow bullet to the knee." Okay, that was worth revealing ourselves.

Cavorting around a translucent spring was a figure, pale and spindly tall, with cerulean butterfly wings. Its curves almost suggested a feminine figure, but its movements were childish, innocent. From the outermost termination of its wings, sprites swarmed continuously, as if the border between wing and open air were just a gradient, a suggestion.

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Fae Witch? Hmm. Constant spawning of familiars from the wings. Could be a problem if we don't kill it fast- Zerg Rushes are not something a sniper is specced to take care of.

And, the center of her dance, the maypole which she circled, was a mountain of corpses, flensed clean of flesh: a great pillar of skeletons from which sprang a waterfall in four directions, casting a great prismatic shadow over the scene of the Witch's merriment. That there would be rainbows, even here...

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... Hey witch, I like the cut of your jib. How about you and me team up, I've got a few people I'd like to disappear~

You rolled a bullet in your palm.

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No game, eh? Pity. We could have had our own Rochelle!

The tungsten slug that resulted fit the rifle's chamber oddly, yet perfectly. Without hesitation, you aimed and fired. Subsonic but massive, the round carried no sonic boom. As the shield-breaker round was about to strike her center of mass, however, one wing flickered - and re-appeared, positioned to deflect the shot. The slug struck the wing and tumbled, rolling and smashing, each revolution a tsunami wave of flowing, crushing force. With a sound like a toppling cathedral the wing came apart, the primary site of impact rendered into so much glass dust.

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Ah, so we broke a wing. That should either halve or quarter her faelings, which is a major benefit.

As the monster turned her attention to you, lifted up by her swarm in lieu of wings, you drew another bullet forth - this one white, pale, almost plasticine in appearance. As you chambered the round it rushed you, mannequin-esque legs turning into a full sprint, solitary wing beating maniacally. A piercing, world-drowning shriek emerged from it, a high-pitched tintinnabulation of sheer berserk fury, and you feverishly worked on healing your ruptured eardrums as you tacked to strafe, running perpendicular to her charge.

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... And the swarm is used to bouy her up, rather then attack us. Well, at least we don't have to deal with the Boss Fight having swarms of mooks interfering. That's a plus.

Unprepared for her incredible speed - was everything faster than you!? - however, soon you found yourself staring down the Witch, which clumsily formed her hands into a hammer-fist, ready to strike. You had time only to pull the trigger.

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Of course everything is faster then us! We're a support type. We're supposed to have a tank drawing aggro, not to deal in direct combat! Stupid voters not keeping to a single sane build, this is why we can't have nice things.

The world erupted. A crater appeared in the rhinestone earth, punched there as if by an angry god. You flew away from its center, managing with superhuman precision to control your limbs, your flight, and land dozens of meters away on your feet. Any explosion that contained enough force to propel you so completely and so far ought to have been accompanied by an organ-smashing shockwave and lethal g-forces, but the emanation of your impactor round defied Newtonian laws. It was an absolute Aristotelian impetus, an ideal of force given form. Yourself and your possessions it merely propelled.

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Hammerfist? Sorry, bitch, but you've been one upped. Also, we're immune to the shockwave of our own grenade-round analogue thing. Useful. Do you have any idea how often blowing yourself up with your own grenade happens in games? It's a pain, really.

Towards all else, it was not so merciful: huge wounds pocked and marred the surface of the Witch, gouges that were nearly ravines. A full third of her frame was bent concave, having deformed to accommodate the explosion. And yet she stood, unbowed if not unbent, and charged again, emitting her shrill battle-cry. It brought to mind a mother bear protecting her cubs, but what did she so ardently defend?

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THE SHINY. Obviously, the witch was a former spacebattler who wished literally for the shiney! I wonder how that could possibly have led to them witching out-? Eh, not important.

With scant moments to act, you chambered another impactor and fired at the midpoint between you two, jumping as you did, so that you sailed with lurching speed up into the air. Moving as fast as your form would allow, your finger completed the dance of unload-chamber-reload, and sent a shot hurtling towards the waterfall pillar.

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Hey, lets test and see if the scenery is fully destructable! Also, hopefully the witch will defend the shiny, instead of murderganking us in retaliation for killing it's toy.

Immediately the Witch turned, moving to intercept, placing her own body between the round and her skeletal pile. Her hands splayed forward desperately, almost beseechingly, as you drew and chambered another round.

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Hahaha... Sorry, honey. You had your chance.

NOW WE BURN THE WITCH.

The first shieldbreaker hit, and her left arm imploded along the axis of its transit; even as it came apart, she was pivoting, placing the socket of her shoulder in the path of that tumbling, destroying slug, sacrificing half her torso entire to finally arrest its momentum. It very nearly touched you, that resolve, that singleminded determination to protect. But then you thought of the people who those bones had belonged to, and pulled the trigger. Then you pulled it again.

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Oh boy, we killed her for the sake of dead people! How appropriately moral. Perhaps we should go save kittens from oncoming trains, next?

And again.

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... Yup.

And again.

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Uh huh.

And again.

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I'm beginning to think we have a problem.

Only when there was nothing left of her but fragments of crystal, did the tower of bone finally collapse. Its base, you saw, was a spine of gold. In time, however, all those things which belonged to the earth returned to it - the glistening stream, the cave of treasure, and the remains of those killed in its pursuit. All that remained was a pellucid orb, a wisp of steel and silver: the objective of your hunt.

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We win. Now, GET IN MAH BELLEH!

A Grief Seed. You picked it up, twirled it in your hand - all that butchery and strife, for this little thing? - and touched it to your Soul Gem. Gratifyingly, the blackness began to fade.

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Good. Now that we've got some juice in the tank, we can start doing some real work.

"Um, excuse me..." You turned to see a girl, your age or a bit older. Blonde, with hair in twin curls flanking her face, and a uniform, gold and black, that resembled an unarmored dragoon's. She held a musket in her hands, pointed neutrally at the ground, but her expression was a mix of apprehension and sheer confusion.

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HOLY CRAP WHERE DID YOU COME FROM. When did Mami learn Ninjutsu? No, really. This is the second time we've been gotten the drop on, and we're supposed to have nigh-supernatural senses.

"I'm sorry if this comes off as insulting, but are you...a Magical...Girl? If you could, would you mind leaving some of that Grief Seed? There's a novice I'm showing the ropes to, and, ah, I suppose we just tracked this one down after you did." As Kyubey darted out to perch on your shoulder, regarding her, her eyes widened.

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... Yes, we're a magical GIRL. That's why we look so manly and handsome- [Looks at description of MC]

Oh hell, when did we turn into Sasuke? Shit. This is because we voted to avenge our family's death, isn't it? How cruel thou art, oh GM.

"Kyubey!? You're alive? Oh my gosh, when we found bloody copies of you everywhere, we were so worried...what's going on?" 


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"Insert generic misleading but technically truthful excuse here, sir or ma'm or other!"

Yes, you would like to know the answer to that question as well.

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In relation to what? What Kyubey's plans are? Why you're here, instead of the Corpse Garden? [Actually, I am somewhat curious about that, as I thought Big Game Hunter had won until Mami popped in] Why this bitch is asking you for your phat lewts?

---

Experience has shown the Incubator is unlikely to be forthcoming; it will likely just emotionally reassure the Magical Girl with vague promises and deflections. On to what you can actually control: how will you respond to this girl's request? You would really rather not share the Grief Seed - at the rate it's filling, you're unlikely to reach even half your full power - especially if this is some sort of trick.

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Called it. Also, IC justification for NOT handing out grief-seeds like candy!

[ ] Assertive, Counteroffense - In as friendly a manner as you can, of course. Let your full, somewhat nerdy, personality out, and hope that sincerity excuses any awkwardness. Write-ins will help.

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WHAT nerdy personality? So far, MC has been straight up murderbro, going all ubermensh Rambo on everything. I see little nerdiness to show off.

[ ] Professional, Detached - It's best to stick to what you're good at. You seriously doubt there is any established custom of Magi sharing their kills. Extract yourself from the situation and re-orient on your true task: killing Tetsu Shiniichirou.

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It's a brand new day, yeah the sun is high~
And all the birds are singing that you're gonna die~!

[ ] Change the Subject - Run down the Grief Seed while interrogating Kyubey / the girl as to why she is so confused. You don't look like a girl. Even if you did have somewhat articulate features, your musculature should make it well obvious, no? That implies that the idea of a male Magician is so alien to her as to be nearly unthinkable. (The other options will likely explore this as well, but not while trying to run down the Grief Seed)

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I call this the 'Megadouche Maneuver'. Because, see, it involves being a giant fucking douchenozzle that is not satisfied with just being a douche- No, this douche has to spray douche all over everything. Why? Because he fucking can.

[ ] Assent - Well, you could always agree, and give half the Grief Seed to them.

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Hahaha-NO.

[ ] Write-In - Many options available here.

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Limited only by SB's imagination and wit!

Okay, so it's pretty limited.

Also, now that you have Silver Bullet Level 4, here's the final level before you need Ultimate 3+ to progress:

Level 5: Silver Bullet - A round of pure silver; significantly inferior muzzle velocity, accuracy, and penetration profile. Penetrates and dispels magical barriers, defenses, and state effects along its flight. Ignores supernatural toughness to inflict wounds impervious to magical healing. So long as it remains in the system, the bullet will erode the target with an irresistible toxin that weakens and disrupts all forms of magic, hampering any expression of superhuman abilities. The triumph of cruel reality over ideals; the final death of wishes and nightmares.

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Ooh, an even better bullet. SB is going to bust a nut over this one!

 

[Serous]

Reactions 3647 words
(517 words) http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/make-a-contract-with-me-pmmm.267727/page-132#post-11704660
(662 words) http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/make-a-contract-with-me-pmmm.267727/page-133#post-11705361
(543 words) http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/make-a-contract-with-me-pmmm.267727/page-136#post-11707007
(1210 words) http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/make-a-contract-with-me-pmmm.267727/page-137#post-11707290
(715 words) http://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/make-a-contract-with-me-pmmm.267727/page-137#post-11707429

Not done by me, but reposting here