Those Blessed with Talent

[Arkeus]

How do you react to Miren?
[ ] Agree for now. Then turn around and tell Willow as soon as you're not alone.
This is the coward option. As in, "not daring to do anything in front of her but calling the law on Miren". Not only would it probably mean Miren dies/is carted away/bad things, but it would also not fit LB at all.

Oh, and this mean we'll lose both of the children as contact (Miren and Rocky Ox), which means we'll lose the socialization potential we had there.

[ ] Agree for now and keep it secret. She's just trying to take care of herself... and Ox for some reason.
The empathy option. It lets us try to build rapport with them. The issue is, well, beginning our relationship by being bullied, at least in Miren's mind, is not a great start.

[ ] Refuse! So what if she's scared or bad things happened to her, it's not like she's the only one.
The prideful option. It might very well help us build some kind of 'rival' rapport with her, or even a dominating one, but it's also super-arrogant and sidainful of other people's suffering, not something LB was known for previously.

Also, it can backfire fast.

[ ] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?
The Defensive option. In this it will be about knowing we can't let her walk over us or it will set the tone of the relationship. It's not easy to have a rapport with her from that, but it shouldn't be particularly hard, either, as long as we are careful.

Can obviously backfire.

[ ] Write-in
This is what I want to do, but I am still puttering around trying to think of something good. I'll let my brain try to catch up a little longer, I think.

 

[Pandemonious Ivy]

[X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

(Rhetorical question which lampshades her actions to shame, but could possibly work as a subtle threat, depending on how she takes it. Either way, I think it would get her to ease up.)

 

[rcnr]

[]I already said I'm not a princess, and I don't care if you call me "madame" or not. We're both the clan's property, but I'm way more valuable, and I'm sick of people pushing me around just 'cause they're stronger.

I'm fine with her conditions, but we can't just let her think she can get to us with threats, we'll lose a lot of our leverage if she knows that whatever weird magic we have, we're intimidated by what she puts on the table.

We have perfectly servicable Charisma, and we aren't going to improve it by backing down from a challenge. I want to introduce the seeds of empathy while maintaining our social dominance. We've both been through some shit at the hands of people much more powerful than us, and although we understand how bad it is, we're not going to go back to that for anybody's sake.

We acknowledge our weakness but are confident despite it. We remind her what'll happen if she hurts us, but at the same time draw attention to the similarities in both our situation and mindset.

 

[Arkeus]

"I don't care what you think about me. I'll play the good little toady in public, but don't fuck with me, and don't fuck with Rocky either. He's my toy, got it?"


You're prepared to bite back a retort when you realize that her arm's shaking. Is she scared? Of you? You're not sure why anyone would be, and it's kind of a nice feeling to be scary. No, if you were a slave, taken from your family and then told you belonged to some strange noble girl with weird animals, you'd be pretty scared too.


So you hold back your first angry words and reconsider. Autumn doesn't really look that hurt.

Click to shrink...

[X] And I already said I'm not a princess, and I don't care if you call me "madame" or not. We're both the clan's property, but I'm way more valuable, and I'm sick of people pushing me around just 'cause they're stronger.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure your sentence is, well, a response to what she is saying. I like the actual goal you have here, but it should probably be re-worded.

 

[rcnr]

I was trying to respond to

Oy, princess or whatever you are. I'm only going to say this once, so lets see if your ears work a little better than the rest of you, got it?"

Click to shrink...

with that, but you're right that it's little awkward since there's a gap between the two lines where we glare snd nod. I'll definitely remove the first "and".

The question dodge was intentional. Little Bee doesn't want to mess with her or Ox, but in the face of a threat like this the only thing Miren will get is a very defensive "You can't touch me, and fuck you for trying."

 

[Arkeus]

Another thing- going 'we are both the clan's property' when we are a servant for a ten-year contract who is mistress of the place, and she is a slave we can have whipped with a snap of our hand, seems.... a bit of a misrepresentation. It's not just being "more valuable".

 

[Falconis]

>Trying to threaten us

You lost when you showed your fear
[X] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?

I'm willing to throw her a bone however if anyone else can live with it.
- [] Offer to act like this never happened if she releases you and your family immediately.

Will check back when I can

 

[rcnr]

Is it harmful to let her think that? At worst, she finds out we're capable of it and not only did we not do it, we didn't even bring it up as a possibility. It's backing for our confidence, and credit to our character.

I don't think Little Bee is concerned with or comfortable with the exact power dynamics between herself and the servants, with the "not Mu clan" thing and being surprised Miren is scared of her, so I can see her not noticing the power gap in a stressful situation and jumping to the most familiar thought process, which is "You would've run from Mu if you were able, so you're screwed if you go through with it because they'll find you."

 

[wayne82444]

[X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

Agreeing then turning around and telling Willow seems like a waste of one if not two of the characters that we presumably got from the staff vote (my guesses on what that got us was the healer, Miren, and Rocky), agreeing and keeping it secret leads to us being bullied by Miren. Refusing outright with either given choice seems to have a huge chance of getting us hurt worse if not outright killed, so going with one of the writeins is likely a lot better.

Between the two I actually like Pandemonious Ivy's more because it seems more empathetic, and pissing off Miren when she has a hand around Little Bees throat and is scared seems kind of bad. While rcnr's sounds good as well I can see it possibly confirming in Mirien's mind that Little Bee is some kind of whiny noble brat or something, given that it involves complaining about being pushed around by stronger people. Besides that Pandemonious Ivy's also seems like it fits better after having stopped to think about it for a second, while rcnr's writein seems like those first angry words Little Bee held back.

 

[DOOMPOTATO]

[X] I had no reason to fuck with either of you before you choked me and hurt my friends. I still have no reason to fuck with you if you put me down, because I understand being afraid for the sake of your friend or whatever Ox is to you. If you hurt me, we both die. So let me down and leave me alone.
Don't back down, but don't let her aggression make us act in a way that validates her

 

[redaeth]

[X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

 

[Jiven]

[X] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?

 

[john doe]

[X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

 

[Arkeus]

I'm not sure if asking a slave what she would do "if she were in the mistress's shoes" is a good way to earn anything but hatred.

 

[Sirrocco]

[x]write-in/plan Sirrocco/micromake

"You're bluffing." You croak it out, a hoarse whisper.
"Th' fuck you say! I can kill you right here, princess!"
"Still bluffing. You don' wanna die. Kill me, an' yer dead for sure."
That shakes her up a little, but she's still trying to ride it - grasping at arguments, just like some of your street rat friends would when their excuses started to fall through.
"Yeah? Well maybe I don't care about that so much. My life sucks here, an' if you're gonna go an' make it worse..." still, she slackens up, just a bit. Makes it easier to breathe.
"Naw. You're a slave. If you were gonna kill yourself by pissing people off, you'd have done it already. Don't need to worry about me making things worse, though. I need you." You do your best to smile, in a friendly fashion. You suspect it comes off looking a bit grotesque, but you work with what you have.
"What? What do you need from me?"
"Well, stop choking me, and stop crushing my cat, and back up off of me a moment and I'll *tell* you." She does step back a bit, moving warily. Autumn shade goes to give her a clawing, but you hiss at him to stop and come to you. He complies, making unhappy noises. You gather him up in your arms, and Mountain Peak Blossom gathers more tightly around you and you... no. Can't afford to let go just yet.
"Listen. I'm all fucked up. You can see that, right?" She looks at you like you're a moron. "Well okay, yeah. I need to get better. I *need* to get better - and the only way I'm gonna get better is to train... and we're in the absolute middle of nowhere, and my doctor sure isn't going to spar with me, so that only person I have that I can train with is *you*."
"What? Princess - you're broke. I'd call you half broke, but you're *all* broke. How th' fuck are you gonna spar with anyone, let alone me?"
"I can, okay? I'll talk with you about details later... after I've had a chance to sleep *without* someone choking me. Just... you help me out with this, and I'll make sure that your life gets better, not worse. Okay? Better deal than the one you came in here for, right?"
She looks at you suspiciously, then turns and walks out, the door closing behind her.
Finally, you let the shuddering come.

I'm sure that Darkened can write it better than I can, but the argument I wanted to put forward was *really* long-winded as a single statement.

 

[PineTreeq]

[X] Ask her, if she were in your shoes- weary, stressed, and in an unfamiliar place- how would she react to having her friends threatened directly in front of her face.

 

[BFldyq]

[X] Isn't this jumping the gun? I mean, your a crippled 11 year old. You won't be fucking anyone for years yet.

 

[massdefect76]

[X] Refuse! The streets have taught you that if you give anyone an inch ever, they're going to just walk all over you. How can you let the staff do that?

 

[LeoAbogos]

[X] That's not how this works. First, don't fuck with people and their family when you're asking for a favor. Second, if you want anything then you apply yourself, prove yourself, to earn it. I'm not giving out free rides.

I'm not 100% at the moment, so it's more open to interpretation than I want, but I don't think that causing Miren to reevaluate us is necessarily a bad thing. I think it's too early for the buddy-buddy sympathy angle, but hell if I'm about to acquiesce to her strong-arm tactics. Not when it's shaking. Basically, this lets her know she doesn't have to worry about tyrannical bullshit, but that's -if- she's doing more than the bare-minimum. Her setting the terms of this relationship isn't going to happen. I'm sure her circumstances suck, but they're not going to get any better in any real sense if we treat her with kid gloves. She seems like the type that needs to learn to choose her battles. Kudos on this stunt though, she's got copper brass ones.

 

[Arkeus]

[X] That's not how this works. First, don't fuck with people and their family when you're asking for a favor. Second, if you want anything then you apply yourself, prove yourself, to earn it. I'm not giving out free rides.

 

[Sirrocco]

Huh. No response to the write-in/micromake? If people don't like it, could I at least get a bit of disagreement and/or constructive criticism?

 

[Falconis]

Huh. No response to the write-in/micromake? If people don't like it, could I at least get a bit of disagreement and/or constructive criticism?

Click to shrink...

Well, I've been away but here goes.

First off, good enthusiasm! I'm sure Darkened appreciates people enjoying the quest so much that they'd want to do this. However, it's in bad taste to ... essentially try and write the scene for the GM.

Omakes are fine (depending on GM preference, but I think Darkened is fine with them anyway), however it's up to the GM to decide how the scene does, and writing your vote this way is likely to leave you, anyone who supported you and perhaps even the GM unsatisfied with the result.

As a general rule of thumb, 'always leave room for the GM to build around your idea/vote'.

Again, omakes are fine, and detailed votes are fine. However putting them together just creates an inferior version of both.

 

[Sirrocco]

Well, I've been away but here goes.

First off, good enthusiasm! I'm sure Darkened appreciates people enjoying the quest so much that they'd want to do this. However, it's in bad taste to ... essentially try and write the scene for the GM.

Omakes are fine (depending on GM preference, but I think Darkened is fine with them anyway), however it's up to the GM to decide how the scene does, and writing your vote this way is likely to leave you, anyone who supported you and perhaps even the GM unsatisfied with the result.

As a general rule of thumb, 'always leave room for the GM to build around your idea/vote'.

Again, omakes are fine, and detailed votes are fine. However putting them together just creates an inferior version of both.

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't normally have written it that way. In fact, I started out writing it as a shorter bit that was just what we would have said, but getting it all out in any way that made any sense at all as actual conversation required more than one speaking's worth - she wasn't just going to let us talk on and on for an extended period. Likewise, I wouldn't expect it to go exactly like this unless we rolled particularly well *and* I guessed/grokked characterization well... likely more of a scenelet that could be broken up and used for what parts were useful.

I was a bit surprised to hear that you found it in bad taste - I've seen similar things in a number of other quests (mostly on SV) that worked pretty well and were well-received. I certainly wasn't trying to dictate outcomes to Darkened, and I apologize if I came across that way.

 

[redaeth]

... Hmmm, a thought. Miran knows we control monsters thanks to our class, it is kind of obvious given our friends, and she probably knows we are a charismatic monster ourselves. What if she is afraid of losing her free will? Becoming one of those dead eye slaves Little Bee has seen in the pens thanks to class magic. She probably has no idea how our class works after all. She wouldn't know it works off of willing partners, and that it only extends to monsters and not devils.

She calls Ox a toy, why? Because she thinks that is how we see our pets.

 

[BFldyq]

... Hmmm, a thought. Miran knows we control monsters thanks to our class, it is kind of obvious given our friends, and she probably knows we are a charismatic monster ourselves. What if she is afraid of losing her free will? Becoming one of those dead eye slaves Little Bee has seen in the pens thanks to class magic. She probably has no idea how our class works after all. She wouldn't know it works off of willing partners, and that it only extends to monsters and not devils.

She calls Ox a toy, why? Because she thinks that is how we see our pets.

Click to shrink...

Devils are monsters. Check the front page, there's a tab explaining about Monsters and their classification.

 

[redaeth]

Devils are monsters. Check the front page, there's a tab explaining about Monsters and their classification.

Click to shrink...

Hmm, so we can Blood\Friendship Bond a Devil then given both skills say Monsters and not Beasts. Welp, my guess on her fears probably have some merit then.

 

[Darkened]

Hmm, so we can Blood\Friendship Bond a Devil then given both skills say Monsters and not Beasts. Welp, my guess on her fears probably have some merit then.

Click to shrink...

Mistake from earlier terminology. Fixed. LB's class skills aren't generally designed to work with devils. (Whether they would...)

 

[BFldyq]

Mistake from earlier terminology. Fixed. LB's class skills aren't generally designed to work with devils. (Whether they would...)

Click to shrink...

I see you~

I suspect trying would give us an event skill. And maybe lead us down the path of upgrading our specialty?

 

[Sirrocco]

Friendship bond might be worth it, if it worked. Tricky, though. Blood's almost certainly not.

 

[rcnr]

[X] That's not how this works. First, don't fuck with people and their family when you're asking for a favor. Second, if you want anything then you apply yourself, prove yourself, to earn it. I'm not giving out free rides.