Update is go!
Zeroth
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Say "thanks," when they compliment you and smile. Watch more of what's going on around you instead of staying inside your head. If eye contact's hard, stare at her forehead.
17 days ago
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- Joined: 10 yrs ago
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17 days ago
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Say "thanks," when they compliment you and smile. Watch more of what's going on around you instead of staying inside your head. If eye contact's hard, stare at her forehead.
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1 mo ago
@ColdAtlus: Cheems.
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2 mos ago
If commissioning an artist isn't possible, could look into using AI and then editing what it puts out. Lots of ppl are salty about AI art so maybe use a disclaimer, but it's an option.
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2 mos ago
1-liners become impossible if you actually write. What're your characters' 5 senses picking up? What emotions/thoughts do they have as they speak? What body language do they show? No bulli, just fact.
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2 mos ago
In the AI era, you can only get ghosted if you choose to be.
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Bio
On CST time, United States. Typically busy most of the week and do most posting/replying on weekends.
Most Recent Posts
Grunthor and Gren experimented with the materials they'd found while the others mostly discussed the creature they were going after next and how to bring it down. While putting together a few weapons either to share or solely for himself, Gren also helped himself to the fire as Esfir had "graciously" allowed. Lola, for her part, seemed content to observe for now. The female runt had been content to let Gren take the lead before, so maybe she was just the agreeable type. Although whether she'd risk traveling so much further from camp, and taking on a beast the Head Warrior had apparently given some cryptic warning about, was yet to be seen.
Grunthor found he couldn't bend the scales, but perhaps it was less their toughness or resistance and more the fact that, being as small as they were, it was hard to get enough leverage with just his fingers. Like when a piece of paper has been folded too small to fold anymore. And these metallic bits of scale from a chicken sized creature were both harder and smaller than a folded square of paper.
Esfir seemed in a hurry to get a move on, so regardless of how long Gren took to do his crafting and eating, or whether or not Lola spoke up, it seemed like the original four Runts would soon be on their way. The others had all pretty much passively accepted that they were following the "oldest" of the reincarnates, so when she struck out, they would too.
While traveling towards the North Cave, they would come across yet another Runt traveling in the opposite direction, keeping the camp to one side and the forest to the other. He was carrying what looked like...a deflated blue dodgeball?
But of course, whether they ended up negotiating with this Runt too likely wouldn't change their end-point destination, even if he ended up coming with them as well...So they would eventually arrive at the North Caves... [AREA CHANGE]
Punctured Slime was dismantled!
Usable Items acquired:
- Slime Membrane
- Slime Gel
Consumed: Partial Slime Gel
Consumed: Partial Slime Membrane
Activate [Ingestion: Slime] (Y/N)? Approximate Ingestion: 0 > 50%
Current Ingestion: Slime - 50%
Ingestible Skills [Slime]:
- [Blunt Damage Resistance]
- [Danger Scan]
- [???] - Further Progress Required.
Ingest Skill?
OR
Continue Biomass Accumulation?
Cutting the Slime open and feasting on the jelly within was a fairly intuitive process---they seemed like incredibly simple creatures, and perhaps that was appropriate for something so similar to an amoeba. Once he'd taken the edge off his hunger (truth be told, there wasn't actually all that much to the slime to eat, for while it was filled with gel, its body was also inflated by air, which was, of course, inedible) Agar continued his journey along the treeline. He carefully kept the camp in sight, a sound strategy for a new environment where he hadn't yet learned his way.
But as he continued on, he would soon see another group coming from the opposite direction. And they were headed on a path that seemed it would take them into the mountains. There were at least four of these other Runts, and they had the remnants of vaguely recognizable odors around them: Smoke and ash, blood, and...was that...barbecue?
If he wanted to speak to them, or maybe even join them, it looked like he might have to do it quick---they were all following a female who seemed very focused on getting to wherever this group had decided they were going. Were they all still on the hunt as well?
North Caves
Roughly an hour’s walk from the camp, in a northerly direction along the scrubby, gravel-covered slopes between the trees and the mountainside proper, a valley opened up where a fast-moving stream came down a long slope and meandered off into the woods. Within this valley, there were several cracks and clefts in the rock walls to either side, and one of these was larger and darker than the others. It looked to be a talus cave of some sort, where the collapse of rocks who knew how many eons ago created a roof that was piled high with detritus and topsoil over the years. A short climb would allow one to see over the lip of the ground and down into a slanted, slippery passage...but this open chamber of the cave was still somewhat cramped, and a much narrower passageway further into the depths sat at its back, where the shadows hid what else might lie down that path. Yet, one could feel a cool draft coming out of the rock, which meant there had to be more to this cave than met the eyes...
The climb here had been mostly uneventful, as the proximity of the Orc Camp had probably kept most of the more dangerous critters up on the mountain paths more subdued. Dire Rats could occasionally be seen darting here and there among the rocks, in a manner similar to squirrels in one's backyard, but without a concentrated effort these little critters would be quite difficult to catch. They could fit into such small spaces, and move so quickly, that if they wanted to hide---which they did, as even if they were predatory, Orc Runts as a rule were at least twice their size---they could do so before one could simply jump and grab them.
However, up in the vast blue skies, every so often the shadows of birds could be seen. They didn't circle like vultures, but rather simply passed over from time to time, so it was hard to tell if it was the same creature each time, or different ones. It was also hard to tell how big they were, or whether they might be observing, tracking, or simply ignoring the Runts. Nonetheless, they were an indicative sign of life from the environment. Once, one of these flying shadows did let out a very hawk-like screech, and sped up as it arced over the valley's roof, disappearing in an instant beyond the edges of the rocky peaks above.
Thus, did the questing Runts come to the next leg of their hunt...
@Lucius Cypher Nasty stuff noted. The description for Coilbone should be in the last update along with the claws, fangs, etc.
@ERode It's not that late in the day yet, after midmorning but not quite noon.
Okay guys, sorry again, I didn't get the update finished and tomorrow is going to be a no-go because of my class. So we're aiming for a mid-week update this time.
@ERode It's not that late in the day yet, after midmorning but not quite noon.
Okay guys, sorry again, I didn't get the update finished and tomorrow is going to be a no-go because of my class. So we're aiming for a mid-week update this time.
Because I got power back so late in the afternoon today, the update still isn't finished. Will do my best to get it done tomorrow after work!
Welp I just lost power thanks to a storm that blew in outta NOWHERE, so it'll definitely be tomorrow before a GMpost goes up. :/
@Zeroth
Assuming Unknown doesn't post doing so by then, could it be assumed that Gren does eat some parts of the tazelwurm to see what sort of powers he could get?
Sure. Any part in particular?
@King Cosmos@Unkown58@Guy0fV4lor
No need to rush or anything necessarily, just wanted to check in and see if you guys were working on anything before the update. It may be tomorrow on my end before it goes up.
No need to rush or anything necessarily, just wanted to check in and see if you guys were working on anything before the update. It may be tomorrow on my end before it goes up.
Just so you guys are aware, I'm working a kids' program this week after my normal job hours, so I may not be quite so available if PMs and such are needed. Planning on a full update this coming weekend though!
@ReusableSword Like one of those cheap dollar store rubber balls that wish they were like the red rubber dodgeballs of olden days.
Also the flavor is boisenberry.
Also the flavor is boisenberry.
The Fangs and Claws Vola had taken off the Tatzelwurm were about as one would expect--quite sharp, the fangs also seemed to have hollows for venom, and the claws were almost as broad as a pocket knife's blade while being just about as long. What the system called a Coilbone seemed to be the creature's spine, except parts of it weren't really bone at all, but something with a fatty, rubbery texture---in certain segments, the vertebral column could even rotate nearly 170 degrees before the rest of the bones began to twist along with it. Given how thin and flimsy the connective material was between these sections, maybe it had something to do with the creature's catlike nature---supposedly, the reason cats always landed on their feet and could fit into tight spaces was because some of their bones "floated" instead of being firmly attached to the skeleton. The eye was like a cold, icky, glassy marble. A bright, venomous green with a night black pupil.
With the Tungem Stick and a few extra handfuls of its leaves in their possession, the two runts headed for the smoketrail they'd seen earlier. A short walk brought them through some thick underbrush and into a small clearing, where they saw four other Runts seated around a fire and eating what smelled like some kind of spicy chicken---though by this point there wasn't much of the beasts left, and their fire was beginning to die down too since it had taken a while to cook their kills.
While Lazash and Akeno made small talk and acquired their skills, Esfir began cleaning out one of the Elwet's stomachs and Grunthor examined the changes in his bird's feathers and scales. Each of the runts saw the results of their Ingestion, and thankfully once they had chosen a skill it seemed the System provided more knowledge about it---and, in fact, even more information that wasn't "spoken" by the strange interface began to throb inside their skulls. The method to call up the power each of them had absorbed...with room for personal preference, even, and a mixture of their psychological intent with the resources of their new bodies as fuel. Magic Power and Stamina Power, it seemed, were the primary sources that Skills needed in order to work.
As Esfir moved on to gathering leaves and seedpods from the gnarled, foul smelling bush, some of the plant's black sap happened to drip onto her hand from the broken stems. It smelled exceedingly foul, like fresh dog droppings or the stomach bile one regurgitates when there's nothing left in their digestive tract. What was more, it was sticky like a fresh drop of acrylic paint, and attempting to wipe it off just smeared it the first few times before finally removing it. Yet even once the gunk was gone, the scent remained. Her skin also itched slightly, but it didn't seem to be an allergic reaction of any kind.
Grunthor examined the blackened feathers and expanded scales. The "fire hardened" Elwet feathers felt more like plastic than actual feathers now, and the individual downy fibers seemed to have melded together into an even surface. It was as if they'd turned from "real" feathers into those fake ones most sport archery arrows had. Meanwhile, the scales just seemed...harder, than before. And ever so slightly warped in their expansion, so that their outer sides were slightly convex. His finger found that they weren't really sharp (though maybe they could be, considering how thin they were) but they had a cold, almost metallic feel now. They were still only about twice the size of a human thumbnail...but if they were put onto something else, like say leather, in large enough numbers, maybe they could actually be used as lamellar of some sort?
The four began bundling up their belongings in preparation to head North, to the Camazotz caves---but just before they were about to leave, two more Runts entered the clearing. One of them was carrying the remains of a snakelike creature, and the other had a primitive looking stone hatchet...
Despite the Slime's panic, Agar was able to quickly catch up with it---the blobby monster didn't seem very fast given its lack of legs. Maybe if only one Runt had been around, it'd have staged an ambush attack from the tree, but faced with two it chose flight instead of fight. But Agar wasn't going to let it get away that easily!
The vengeful Runt leaped into the air, bringing down his body weight and his sharp rock onto the spherical monster! The Slime made a high pitched, phlegmy warble as the knapped blade sank deep into its body. It lurched with all its might to throw Agar off, but as the runt rolled through the grass, the Slime wobbled from side to side. It moved forward only a few more inches before, with a pitiful sound like a deflating balloon, it stopped moving and...seemed to leak some kind of plasma, shrinking down as the fluid formed a shallow puddle underneath it.
The enemy was vanquished!
Loot:
- Punctured Slime
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