You are Charlotte Fawkins, dashing heroine, detectivess, adventuress, heiress, sorceress, etcetera. Three years ago, you drowned yourself in a quest to find a long-lost family heirloom; nowadays, you're just nobly c̶a̶u̶s̶i̶n̶g solving problems with the help of trusty retainer Gil and MIA snake/father Richard. Inexplicably, many people tend to "dislike" you, though you've never done anything wrong in your life.Right now, you are infiltrating Headspace inside the body of your nemesis' lackey, Everard Kurz. You're currently in a tour group composed of yourself, Headspace CEO(?) Casey Kemper, and Gil... except that Gil's been brainwashed. You're still working out what to do about that.Also, Virginia's dead. She died. She wasn't dead when you last saw her, or maybe she was, or maybe she should've been— it wasn't good, what happened to her. Or to you. She was you at the time, you mean, but it didn't feel— it didn't look— it looks worse on the outside. Or maybe you just can't notice how bad it gets on the inside. Or maybe you're just that good at handling it. You and your sorcerous bloodline. Even if you're not aware of any direct sorcery, except what you saw at the party: the earth sucking at your father's feet. Henry's fangs. (He really does have those, even now.)The god that never happened. You have a daring heart, Wyrm-daughter...>[ID: 2/14]Even though you're in a great position, tactically speaking— Casey oblivious, Everard locked down, Gil in arm's reach— you're in a strange mood. It might have something to do with almost dying multiple times. Or with the sphere/sun/red stuff thing. Or with a continuing lack of Richard. Or with Gil, in arm's reach, but still miles away: he barely looks at you. Or with being in Everard's body, which you're avoiding thinking about, but there's only so much you can avoid. (If your poor aunt knew...) Or with Virginia, who looks like a lizard got stepped on. She didn't die from that, though. There's a crossbow bolt in her eye socket.A couple minutes ago Casey's talkie-thing started squalling. It's not like it wasn't before, and it's not like he was pleasant to the operator before, but he really flipped out this time. You think maybe he thought he was done with the interruptions— and so did you, a bit. If you had a little stability, you could think of a proper plan. As of now, you have nothing, and Headspace remains conspicuously un-blown-up. It's all been so much harder than you expected. A tiny nasty bit of you wonders whether Pat was right to scoff...(1/3)
...but it's quickly squashed. If anything, your commitment to the mission has redoubled: you can't leave empty-handed after all that, can you? Remember what leaving the kidnapping mission empty-handed felt like? You're here for the long run: either you'll win or it'll kill you. Two options. It killed Virginia. Somebody killed her, in any case, on purpose. Crossbow bolts don't just grow from bone— or on trees. In a manse, given a chance, everybody'd just pack a gun. Unless they happen to be some kind of stupid, smarmy, self-righteous, better-and-smarter-than-you-and-everybody lame sad gangly coward. Right?Ellery was here. Is here, you'd imagine, close by. Was here, with Virginia, minutes ago, no longer. (You didn't walk back: Casey yanked the corridor and it bent back on itself.) You told him not to come, but you should've known he wouldn't listen. Couldn't listen. Too much of a stupid horrible asshole to listen. God-damnit! At least you know who the other intruder is— one of them. God knows who the other one is. Knowing your luck it's Horse Face.Ellery was here, and you haven't told Casey, though maybe he knows already. He knew Ellery at some point. He's currently looking at the body, same as you, lips taut against his teeth, the picture of a man who'd throw an unholy tantrum if it wasn't for his important honored guest right there. That's you. You feel special. Gil is blank, blank, blank, like there was never anybody in there at all, like you imagined him. You regret the Headspace tee-shirt. You get sad any time you look.That's why you don't look. That's why you missed it, almost, except for the hairs on the back of your neck standing up. Isn't that hackneyed? You thought it was a Josey Hatchcock thing, except you felt it: a disturbance, a frisson, the hairs, and an ineffable sense of... of... a familiar sense of...You don't have time to put your finger on it. If you did, maybe you would've looked past Everard's eyes and seen it for real, Gil's body standing hollow, the skeins outside, and you would've expected what was coming. Instead, you watch dumbly as Gil's dead face flexes and resets, as his body twists, as he jolts and kapows his fist straight into Casey's chin— and jams his other one down, grabbing the talkie, and yanks it and shoves you hard and takes off like his life depends on it. Which you suppose it does, given Casey.(2/3)
Then you're here and he's gone, footsteps banging away, until all of a sudden those are gone too. Did he fall? Jump? Fly. Beetles. Aha. Ahaha! Suck it, Casey! Of course some stupid brainwashing wouldn't stick! Not to your retainer— your best one. Casey has gone maroon, which is funny, but maybe a bad sign overall. Now that you're thinking about it.Were Gil's eyes blue?No. No time. He's getting away! Can you even track beetles? Uh... yes! Of course! The bigger issue is not letting Casey come along. Or maybe you should trust Gil's plan and stay here? To really solidify Casey's belief in you? Think fast!>You are at 2/14 ID. >[1] You need Gil back. No question. >>[A] Say something fast and incoherent about "apprehending" Gil, then take off ASAP. It might be suspicious, but by the time Casey thinks of anything, you'll be gone. If you want to catch up with Gil, there's no time to waste. >>[B] Or maybe you can take your time, since you have an easier way to contact Gil? (How? Write-in.) There is an answer, but I'll take alternatives if they're plausible.>>[C] Write-in. >[2] Hey. Hey. Deep breath. Positive thinking. Rushing after Gil once led to... uh, Virginia. Let him go and see where this takes you.>>[A] Play it casual. Tell Casey that you're more interested in Virginia's murder. Does he know anything about the bolt? Have there been other deaths? Where exactly is the security team in all this? Or, uh, Management? You've hardly seen either.>>[B] Play it exasperated. You're sick and tired of all these interruptions. You want to get to the finale of the tour already. You know, where Casey shows you the (explodable) center of Headspace operations?>>[C] Write-in.
>AnnouncementsWelcome back to Drowned Quest Redux! Despite the extended break, I got almost nothing quest-related done. Too busy. But we're back now, and this thread will surely go smoother than the last two... right? >ScheduleOne a day, occasionally more if the first one was short. There may be sporadic half-updates (no options) if I start writing too late in the evening, sorry in advance. I am in the PST timezone.>DiceWe use a 3d100 roll over degrees of success system with crits. The base DC is 50. Modifiers may be applied to the roll or to the DC as relevant. The # of rolls that match or exceed the DC determine the result. Probabilities may be found in the Dice and Mechanics pastebin.The degrees are:0 Passes = Failure1 Pass = Mitigated Success2 Passes = Success3 Passes = Enhanced Success0/1/100 = Critical Success / Critical Failure / Critical Success [regardless of other rolls]>MechanicsThe (typical) MC has a pool of 14 Identity ("ID"), which may be considered both HP and the measure of her current sense of self. It may be lost through physical, metaphysical, or emotional damage. It may be regained through write-ins, designated options, and at reasonable narrative points, including sleep. It may be spent on a flat +10 bonus to rolls, as well as on more elaborate metaphysical effects. Dropping to 0 ID is bad.>Archivehttps://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=drowned%20quest%20redux>Archive (nicer)1-4: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-IhGrvvy5DAGXpk1VWBeSLN19IIDjP4YnUjroUEplDo/edit?usp=sharing5-9: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BFsue8klDevUAuCvVb2V3ktsBvdvYmAhGIDhhscKHDE/edit?usp=sharing10-14: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NFrr6hT9Ho8ThW-n86zqzf9SxTzya65c2XRBSaWZIhU/edit?usp=sharing15-19: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XE8ygoN6nWucvZEqmBeoQ9jKNdc6V_FOvrrIitRi3dU/edit?usp=sharing20-April Fools: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NqCgQYDq5NajT36m9dxkpZE85mqMMjClsz-gu9FYKtQ/edit?usp=sharing25-29: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11aZ013qySgw0wWawb2SHra3ExtJrs6FLQaCp9S7udUU/edit?usp=sharing30-34: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1COMiZB7lKEu756_CS-lfaID2oMtHVMGBVLjXrXmMBHQ/edit?usp=sharing35-38: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZkI18l-PNI7i-HQdQmqTJJvUM-iLKBBCNpvSC-POhk0/edit?usp=sharing39-40: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1asjG0cNqn1nlyqoxHxr5nV6BiIHu2YAFS6LhZR5zjkw/edit?usp=sharing>Twitterhttps://twitter.com/BathicQM>Pastebinshttps://pastebin.com/u/BathicQM>Recapshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1VPJwXzTpv4lO_t6R3jA32NLbKjdIZjtJlRFsWQgBMnM/edit?usp=sharing>Ask the characters (or the QM), get a drawn response eventuallyhttps://curiouscat.live/BathicQM>"Redux"?This quest is a loose sequel to the original Drowned Quest, which ran for eight short threads in 2019. Reading the original may help with context in very early Redux threads, but is not required.>I have a question/comment/concern?Tell me!
>LAST TIME ON DROWNED QUEST REDUXAnthea Aves, the woman in the diving suit, tells Gil that she's chasing down Real Ellery-- who apparently has intentions to blow Headspace up and himself with it. She erroneously concludes that Charlotte must also be there to stop Ellery, but Gil sheepishly tells her that they're there to blow Headspace up themselves... but safely! And with an evacuation plan! Anthea is skeptical, but a sudden power outage encourages her to bring Gil along-- except Anthea would like to rescue the prisoners of the "Thinking Machine" first, while Gil would like to steal Casey's walkie-talkie. His daring attempt to do so is quickly aborted: Casey grabs him and threatens him with Friendification. Gil's effort to shoot an unsuspecting Casey in the face fails, and Casey does with him what he will. Elsewhere, you are still under the powerful, Law-enhanced sway of the red stuff-- but Teddy intervenes, and you awaken mostly nude inside a blood-filled container. (While you were mucking around with the mystery sphere, Headspace claimed your abandoned body.) After escaping, you finangle your way onto an invisible roof, from which you can see Headspace's ever-shifting layout... including where Casey, Everard Kurz, and the still AWOL-Gil are. You leap at the chance to find your retainer and descend from the roof, only for a tour guide-ish Gil to open the door to your darkened room.Hastily, you assume the persona of Claudia, who claims to Casey, Everard, and Gil that she saw Virginia's body melt. All of them accept this pretty blithely, including Gil, who is evidently under Casey's influence. Pissed, you ditch Claudia, let the red stuff overtake you again, and chase the trio down. Your attempt to physically reclaim Gil is halted when Casey electrocutes and Everard pins you, but you sneakily possess Everard to escape. Virginia's limp, mutated body is hauled off by Management, and you pick Everard's brain, learning that he doesn't know much about you, that he's heard all about Headspace's depravities (though not their motive for them), that Headspace is partnering with Ramsey to "back a winner," and that Ramsey and co. are located to the west of you, near the town Thatsall. Casey begins to give you the side-eye, but you threaten Everard into deflecting his suspicion. Safe in your disguise, you head off on the tour.Meanwhile, Gil, trapped in his own mind, is aware, awake, and deeply guilty about "fucking things up" for Lottie. In his attempt to escape, he finds himself face-to-face with... himself. Other Gil is an abrasive prick who, confident that Gil will only make things worse, refuses to let him leave or wake up. After their confrontation gets personal-- and physical-- Gil concludes that "Other Gil" isn't another Gil at all, but actually, literally just himself, a manifestation of all the doubt, fear, and self-loathing that plagues his mind. It's a little embarrassing, but it does mean that Gil can just walk out, and he does.(1/2)
Outside is a swamp polluted with Headspace merchandise. Gil flies up to get a better vantage and spots Teddy, who's going fishing, and who asks Gil to join him. Teddy's idle conversation starters turn pointed, and he tells Gil that maybe he wanted Casey to brainwash him, that he self-sabotaged his attempts at bravery. Gil gets offended, but Teddy clarifies that he means it subconsciously: that Gil's primitive 'fish brain,' committed to preserving his life and (deeply negative) self-image, kicked in. Gil isn't sure what to do with this idea, or with the bite on his line. Teddy has vanished.Gil struggles to reel in the heavy fish, but manages to tap into Teddy's fisherman knowledge and hauls it up successfully. His catch is huge, nasty, covered in Headspace trash, and has human eyes. They're Gil's eyes, and the fish is evidently a metaphor for the fish-brain Teddy was just talking about. Despite his irritation with the clunky symbolism, Gil pities the fish, and tries to help it the best way he knows how: by tricking it into swallowing the blessed idol he got from Horse Face earlier.This wildly succeeds in healing the fish, which is blasted free of mud, pain, and Headspace influence... as is Gil, shortly thereafter. He's suffused by divine water and light, feels (in retrospect, humiliating levels of) infinite love for everybody he knows, and is spat out into the hand of a god. A real god? Probably not-- it doesn't talk-- but it does show him an inscrutable red-and-white wasteland, lit by a sun and a dark moon, populated only by a two-legged lizard-thing.Then it's back for the spin cycle, as all the muggy love-stuff is rendered sharp, clear, and clean, and Gil is spat out a few feet outside his vacant body. He takes a few moments to evaluate. Then he reclaims his body, punches Casey in the face, steals his walkie-talkie, and sprints off down the hallway. ----->TO-DOImmediate goals:- Find Gil (again) - Navigate "Below"- Find a way to harvest your memories of Annie- Get the siphons back from Casey, then put them up (12 remaining)- Optionally, do something permanent about Jean Ramsey's vile lackey (whose body you are inside) Short-term goals:- Punish Casey for his cruel brainwashing of YOUR retainer - Blow up HeadspaceLong-term goals:- Resurrect Annie- Return Claudia- Regain your missing memories (...if possible)- Attend your richly deserved Game Night- Use, extract, or otherwise deal with the Wyrm stuff you got going on- Find Jean Ramsey and her snake; challenge her to epic single combat (probably); reclaim the Crown- In the meantime, continue collecting and storing Law (4/16)- Make friends (who are not named Gil)
Mysteries:- Who or what is Namway Co. and Headspace Corp.'s “Management”? What did they want with the clone of a snake? What do they want with a massive store of Law? If they're snakes... what does that mean?- What kind of company(?) does Richard work for? What is its endgame? What does it want with you? What is its relationship with Management?- Who is Horse Face investigating, and why?- Who wiped three years of your life from your memory? Why? Can Richard really not remember them either?- What is the Herald? Why does it keep showing up? What does it want? What are you supposed to forgive yourself for, exactly? (You haven't done anything wrong!)- When is the world going to end? How?- Do you have a destiny? Is it God-related? It's a good destiny, surely?- Why does Richard keep developing stab wounds?--->Don't forget to scroll up and vote!
>>6110457>2ANo quest work done but a bunch of sweet new art I especially like Ellery in >>6110456
>>6110457>[2] Hey. Hey. Deep breath. Positive thinking. Rushing after Gil once led to... uh, Virginia. Let him go and see where this takes you.>>[A] Play it casual. Tell Casey that you're more interested in Virginia's murder. Does he know anything about the bolt? Have there been other deaths? Where exactly is the security team in all this? Or, uh, Management? You've hardly seen either.Seems like a slightly smarter option.
>>6110457>[2] Hey. Hey. Deep breath. Positive thinking. Rushing after Gil once led to... uh, Virginia. Let him go and see where this takes you.>[B] Play it exasperated. You're sick and tired of all these interruptions. You want to get to the finale of the tour already. You know, where Casey shows you the (explodable) center of Headspace operations?
>>6110457>[2] Hey. Hey. Deep breath. Positive thinking. Rushing after Gil once led to... uh, Virginia. Let him go and see where this takes you.>[B] Play it exasperated. You're sick and tired of all these interruptions. You want to get to the finale of the tour already. You know, where Casey shows you the (explodable) center of Headspace operations?>Who or what is Namway Co. and Headspace Corp.'s “Management”? What did they want with the clone of a snake? What do they want with a massive store of Law? If they're snakes... what does that mean?They want to use the Law to end and remake the world they want it remade, they know Snakes have the mechanism/knowledge to do that, so they want to collect Snakes and force them to end the world. >What kind of company(?) does Richard work for? What is its endgame? What does it want with you? What is its relationship with Management?Snakes want to end the world but they want to do it the right way, unlike Namway. >Who is Horse Face investigating, and why?What, not who.>Who wiped three years of your life from your memory? Why? Can Richard really not remember them either?Richard. To keep Charlotte pliant. No, because he wants to keep Charlotte's memory double-blind. >What is the Herald? Why does it keep showing up? What does it want? What are you supposed to forgive yourself for, exactly? (You haven't done anything wrong!)It's Charlotte's delusional image of herself from the future from when her ego got too big right before the world ended trying to stop the world from ending. >When is the world going to end? How?Soon. Too much Law in one place.>Do you have a destiny? Is it God-related? It's a good destiny, surely?Yes. Probably. Yes.>Why does Richard keep developing stab wounds?Snake HQ is in London.You can end the quest now, your mysteries have been solved.
>>6110457>>6110901+1
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6110655>>6110853>[2A]>>6110901>>6111056>[2B]Flipping for it.>>6110655Two of them are actually older pieces, but it's possible I haven't posted them before (or at least recently). I'm a big fan of the Ellery one too-- it reminds me of something from a contemporary art museum. tfw all my art is outdated since Charlotte literally stole his sun motif>>6110901Now this is some detectiving Charlotte would be proud of. You got one of these nearly right and four of these half-right. I will not tell you which.
>>6111062>[2A]Writing. By the way, since anon >>6110901 started the trend, I'd be interested in seeing other people's takes on the current Mysteries list. No pressure-- I'm not over here assigning homework-- but it's great information for me on the QM side, so I can laugh at how terribly wrong you guys are... just kidding. It's a good way for me to gauge how well I'm doling out info, as well as how clued-in I should be writing Charlotte (since I try to keep her roughly on par with player knowledge). Post if you feel up to it.
Always a rough start getting back into writing after a while off, and you guys picked the longest and most complex option on my end (I'd expect no less). I spent a lot of time brainstorming and less time writing, so I'll have to get back to this tomorrow. At least it's a weekend.In the meantime, consider >>6111064. For science! Maybe I'll even tell you how right you are.
