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>>36618854

HOLLOW SUN: 2.5%

http://pastebin.com/yNqFkgMZ

RESEARCH:

[X] POSITRON LANCE
[X] DISTORTION CANNON
[X] REACTIVE PLATING
[X] FIRMWARE UPGRADE
[X] RESEARCH: SUPERHEAVY CHASSIS
[X] ARC CHARGER
[X] CHOIR BEACON
[X] GRAVIMETRIC NEXUS
[X] VECTOR TRAP

VOID ANCHORS:

ORIGINAL HIVE
THE TRIBUNAL
NARAKA
THE VAULT
TUSITA

HOLDING: 0 (VECTOR GEIST: 1)

RED COMET GUIDE:

http://pastebin.com/LJAfQmXy

Why do these always show up so late my time ;_; fuck my timezone.

>>36618922
It's not too late for me, but I usually never make it to the end of a thread.

>>36618949

I was about to sleep, but I don't mind staying up for another hour or two.

>>36618961
For me it's right during the day, from around 10am to 6pm.

Above, the sky burns. The light has turned an odd, murky color, a violet hue that suggests sickness or some kind of disease. Smoke moves in the wind, swirling and spinning, thick plumes of it - Contrails of fire squirming heavenwards, scads of ash drizzling down from choking black clouds. Like bright tears, luminous projectiles lance down; A sizzling pyrophoric deluge, like burning hail, hissing and spitting into searing fireballs where they impact the black waters.

And at the heart of the maelstrom - At the laserpoint of battle flaring at the focus of the vast emptiness of the boundless and eternal ocean - the Condemner and [KURA] and the Apex Blade strike so fast the noise becomes one long ringing tone. Exchanges flash, as your weapons lurch in your hands - Containment field and molecular steel flaring with discharging energy, with sizzling webs of photonic light and arching azure flame.

Bishamon is a whirlwind. You rain blows - You hail blows - at each other, sparks and vapor curling from the blade edges. With one hand, with *one sword*, he's holding both of yours at bay - More than that, he's *driving you back* in a relentless straight-ahead march, each blow a step and each step a blow. Servoes whirr in your left arm, as you free your wrist with a hacking downswing - Clashing energies bark, as you rip the Condemner at him in a crosswise stroke, KURA's robust cleaver blade slicing at his side-

His speed is astounding. Your armor smokes with deep gouges, as the Apex Blade moves like a ribbon of blue fire - The guttering flame whirls and loops and strikes in hynoptic arcs, a wavering line against the black. Each time he lands a cut, warnings flare on your HUD, the hell-glow of the writhing light rendering him into a stark black silhouette, a storm with a sword-

(Continued)

I don't know what I'll do after Jokerquest concludes, though. It's pretty much THE reason for me to be on 4chan.

>>36619016
Wait, couldn't we use our microwave generator in this situation?

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>>36619058
He does have head vulcans.

>>36619016

The exchange is furious, the clash utterly asymnetrical. There is no common language in the fight, no shared basis of technique. Hovering above the burning waters on wings of jetair and plumes of vernier thrust, every stroke is improvised, the gale dragging at you hard.

Bishamon - Kouichi - is trained to his skill by years of practice. And as for you...

-A lifetime, down in the dark. The echoes of a hundred years at war.

The Apex Blade cuts you across the helmet, shattering one lens unit, and rakes a deep gouge down your cuirass and hip. Severed cables spark and spit, tiny flames clawing their way across your armor; Hydraulics groan as you hold Bishamon's sword at bay in a one-handed bind, the Condemner's field crackling in moaning protest...

-And KURA hacks into his right knee with a brittle CRUNCH of impact.

"Damn-" A sliding backdrag fouls your stab; Bishamon reels away, his blade lashing high - You slash with KURA, in an attempt to block-

His sword goes through your right hand in a line across the base of the thumb, severing your armored fingers and the upper half of your palm, shearing through your hand actuator in a single stroke. KURA's grip snaps, something liquid and black jetting out of your ruined hand; The Apex Blade circles, tracing a burning circle in the air-

And your riposte slashes a vane from his kabuto helm. From above, the next burning comet collides with the fizzing waters, and erupts in a shockwave of engulfing flame.

(Continued)

oh fuck its joker time my sleep schedule damnit op

>>36619080
>His sword goes through your right hand in a line across the base of the thumb, severing your armored fingers and the upper half of your palm, shearing through your hand actuator in a single stroke.
So, where exactly does the Midas gauntlet sit?
On our wrist? On our lower arm?

>>36619108
Well it's a gauntlet.

>>36619108

The entire area of your lower arm and hand.

>>36619120
>>36619136
I thought so too.
But I was of the impression that the gauntlet can't be cut.

>>36619141

Wasn't the gauntlet on our LEFT hand anyway?

>>36619145
Right. Left is Sinistral and Argus.

>>36619145
Top section of the character sheet shows where everything is.

>>36619080

(Apologies, my mistake - It should be 'jetting out of KURA's *hilt*.')

>>36619108

(It's your entire arm. And yes, he cut through it.)

The world goes white, as your sensor baffles cut in. The ear-shattering blast is a grumbling drone, the overpressure flinging you both aside; Sound returns first, the spit and crackle of boiling flame. Then light and color, the Assault Shroud's nanofiber smoldering, shedding scads of material like burning autumn leaves.

The Condemner is in your left hand; Your right is maimed, the Hand of Midas gleaming with the peerless light of priceless orichalcum. Columns of flame continue to shed their smoky light, the Aquila System correcting your tumble, righting you - Your autoreactive talons just scraping the surface of the black waters, fighting for stability-

And then you see Bishamon, a heartbeat before your sensors register his presence. He's wobbling, thrusters flaring, vectoring to the side - Thin wisps of smoke trail from his damaged leg, one vane of his helmet ending in a jagged line. He's circling, the sullen blue flames of the Apex Blade burning low...

Then comes a distinctive *whoosh* of exhaust, your targeting systems lighting up with incoming projectiles.

Missile launch.

Backlit by the red glare of the launch, you see the bulky shapes bristling from Bishamon's shoulders - Heavy launchers, single-use and cumbersome, still glowing as they sketch themselves into existence. Not an integrated system; Some weapon, some Relic he's secured in secret...

-How much has he been keeping from you?

And then the air fills with the whip and chop of gunfire, as his head Vulcans spit double-helix lines of shot at you: the impacts stippling plumes along the water's wavering surface, ranging shots as the roar of the darting, tumbling missiles - Six of them - reaches a crescendo.

HP: 181.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 56%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 88.2% (ON FIRE)
METER: 27%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>36619169

(To clarify: Your right arm is intact, but your hand is basically destroyed. You've taken some sensor damage in that exchange, and lost some armor from your torso - Bishamon's gunfire is gradually eroding that. KURA is also damaged.

Bishamon's taken severe damage to his leg, and is missing his left hand. He's no longer on fire, but he's lost some of his armor with minor damage to his head.)

[] Tau gun.

Also JQOP, does Crisis Arm have access to the cartridge system?

>>36619169
Shrike Blades + Slake lasers should take them out.

>>36619169
So we fought Bishamon in melee and now he fights us at range.

Kite backwards with Aquila, abuse the AoE of the inertia field to hit the missiles with our right Vulcan.
Put up the Sinistral on our left.

Heal our torso armor.

Skewer any missiles that the Vulcans don't hit with shrike blades.

After the missiles are dealt with, continue dual Vulcan fire on Bishamon while firing a few missiles.
Do so while kiting and using the after-images.

>>36619198

(Unfortunately, no.)

>>36619204
Oh, right.

I'm >>36619209.
Use the Tau to shoot at Bishamon while using Slake to kill the missiles, instead of using the Vulcans to remove the missiles.

>>36619169
Argus + chain mine, intercept the missiles with submunitions and direct the rest at Bishamon.

>>36619212

Damn, some of those freezing attacks could be useful.

It's upgradeable to get it, right?

>>36619169
>"You really are Phantom Edge's successor. Makes me glad you didn't accept his blade."

Use the Hyades mark to repair our arm, EXEC_Harrow using Assault Shroud and detonate the Capa against the missiles.

>>36619230
>EXEC_Harrow using Assault Shroud and detonate the Capa against the missiles
Dude, did you take some kind of hard drug?
I don't even.

>>36619169
Heal the hand and sensor damage. Can we jettison the burning section of the shroud? Better yet, fire the burning portion as shrike blades at the missiles. Use Slake to cut the rest down.

Switch the Condemner to gun mode and emulate it. Enter Burst mode and fire the special attack for both, then draw and emulate the Immolator for napalm good times.

>>36619191
No Tau Gun. You have to be stationary for that and Uzume is raining meteors on the battlefield.

>>36619255

Can't we Tau the battlefield?

>>36619268
The Tau has a small area of effect. Everything inside it is vapor, but there's not much there.

>>36619239
Meant EXEC_Swarm.

>>36619288

Mm. I was thinking to start attacking the battlefield and just dodging Bishamon.

>>36619169
>Some weapon, some Relic he's secured in secret...


Shoud decoys/afterimages - jettison the flaming shroud bits for the maneuver. The heat source should only serve to confuse his guidance system even MORE, while also putting out the shroud..

>>36619296
Bishamon is faster than is. That's a bad idea.

>>36619169

Transfer to Aquila Hover system, use Abruption jets to move away while we do other evasive maneuvers. We want to fight at range for a bit, judge his new opportunities.

Don't use meter. Go for tier 3+4 weapons.

>>36619296
It's a giant endless ocean, emphasis on endless. The only thing we have that could do it is Leukocyte's tachyon disintegrator set to "indiscriminate obliteration". And that would drain Joker completely dry and also not advance our goals.

>>36619312

Damn, alright.

Voting against tau because this is a terrible idea against a fast-moving target.

use the right weapon for the job: Vulcans. Spammy, high rate of fire, don't need a working arm to use them

>>36619255
Thinking about it more, that last thing we need is less armor in this fight. Don't activate the Carnifex, just boost the Condemner.

>>36619316
Don't you? They have triggers.

>>36619316

I was suggesting using the Tau on the battlefield. It seems I've vastly overestimated the Tau's range.

>>36619321

I always thought they popped out of fore-arm sheaths.

>>36619316
either way ,we need to heal up our hand again. We're not goign to win this one with busted weapon-limbs

>>36619329
They do, but they also have trigger-grips.

>>36619324
It's range is huge, it's the area of effect that's limited.

>>36619329
They do, and then you pull the trigger to fire them.

>>36619204
>>36619223
>>36619255

With a spidery hiss - articulating with eerie, whirring grace - Slake's subarms unfold from your back, the cybernetic limbs spreading wide: Each mounts a Cobalt Laser, the thrum of the Fusion Cells going active mingling with the industrial claws that unclench with a pistoning clatter-

Bright spears of ice-white energy lance forth. The beams are eye-searingly blue, with a furious white core - their slashing track clawing the first rocket from the sky, the second canting wildly to the side, wobbling; When it detonates, the ensuing fireball engulfs the third, and they commit mutual fracticide. The sonic burst of the explosion sheds glittering sharpnel, expanding into a cloud of churning, intense smoke.

Fragmentation loa-

Your sensors flicker, hunting - Denied. Your HUD wavers, coming back with ghost readings as microparticles shimmer in the air, electromagnetic disorientation snarling across your targeting system.

*Not* fragmentation missiles. Chaff.

Your targeting cursors wavers, the veil of night - Of burning smoke - becoming thicker still. The nanomaterial colony of your Assault Shroud denudes further - Stripping away the burning shreds - hiltless, single-edges Shrike blades filling the air in a hail of knives; Half-glimpsed through the smoke, Bishamon's wavering form vectors aside - You hear the splash of his heavy launchers hitting the water, the scrape and clatter of glancing impacts...

(Continued)

>>36619362
>*Not* fragmentation missiles. Chaff.
Fuck, should have known.

...Signal Booster would have been useful now.

>>36619408
Chaff burns. Well, explodes really. Hope Kouichi knows to get away if the Immolator comes out.

>>36619302

(You're actually already using the Aquila System. It's how the two of you have been rapidly manuvering and fighting on the surface of the water. Taking the Abruption Jets suggestion, though.)

>>36619198
>>36619230

> "You really are Phantom Edge's successor. Makes me glad you didn't accept his blade."

"-There's a lot of things I regret, Joker." Even distorted by the snarl of IR jamming, the ghostly squeal of feedback, Bishamon's voice is oddly level - The smoke hides everything, the glow of fire lighting the roiling haze from within. Sickly orange light, guttering flame; You can't place the direction he's coming from, as you switch from sensor-feed to visual-only, your optic sensors rotating. The hairline crack fizzles with green motes, schematic lines sketching themselves into existence as your right hand curls around the grip of the Tau Gun...

There, in the smoke - Movement. Shrike Blades whip and chop as they slash through the gloom: They connect with scraping, pinging impacts, sharp metal-on-metal, the screeching notes telling of juddering impacts, splintering against Bishamon's armor-

He comes through the smoke. Through the fire, wisps of grey vapor trailing in his wake like a comet's tail. Bishamon's sword blurs in a slicing arc, too *soon* - The flames of the Apex Blade have guttered out, and he can't expect to hit you at this distance...

Instinct saves you. Your Abruption Jets flare, and the brutal acceleration wrenches you to the side, your endosteel internal skeleton lighting up with stress alarms - It feels like your spine is about to snap. From Bishamon's sword comes a powerful linear distortion; A line, a crescent, an arching wave that sweeps away from him and razes a rippling wave through the churning waters.

(Continued)

>>36619459

Your Shrike Blades shatter. They splinter apart, mowed through by that invisible scythe - Some of them shiver apart, like swords of class. Others emit a chiming ring, sheared in half *lengthwise*; The fragments are still falling as the razor wave misses you by inches, so close that the tailwinds pluck at you-

As you raise the Tau Gun in your newly-restored hand, and wrench the trigger.

The antimatter blast crosses the narrow distance. The smoke boils apart before it, curling upon itself in a choking fog - the tracking laser misses wide, cutting a searing line across the turbid surface that becomes a rising fug of steam; Overextended, Bishamon has no time to evade-

He turns *into* the blast, hunching over, shielding himself with his shoulder plate. His mangled left arm actually *glows* with a weird anti-light, for the briefest span of a second - the molecules juddering out of alignment, in the instant before they become energy-

And then the entire limb explodes.

The blast swats him away. The detonation is a plosive bang, a sound that hits you in your physical core: It takes his shoulder with it, a hail of sharpnel whizzing out in all directions - Instant amputation, the skeletal internal structure snapping like a twig as the explosion flings him aside.

He hits the water, and plunges beneath the surface as it churns into a boiling froth. Dim light flares within the murk - You must've hit his stabilizers, a plume of steam rising from the impact zone.

HP: 200.7%
COBALT BOOSTER: 28%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 53.9%
METER: 22%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>36619526
Is the chaff still airborne? Also, is meter down because of the repairs?

>>36619526


Would our vulcans, cobalt lasers, immolator be able to hit Bishamon underwater? If not, i think we should make use of our hailfire chaingun.

>>36619574

(It's down because of Slake, actually. You did make up for some of it with the Tau Gun, however.)

>>36619526
Does any of our equipment work under water?

I'd suggest taking to the skies and then using a weapon that can work under water.

Would boosted chain mines be able to track him?

>>36619578
It would at least make a lot of steam, which we could hide in to strike at an opportune moment.

>>36619578

Can we lightning him while he's underwater?

>>36619578
>>36619597

(Kinetic weapons - definitely. Energy weapons would lose quite a bit of their effectiveness.)

>>36619607
Hailfire Chaingun on Midas Gauntlet.

Do we have a light kinetic weapon for our left hand?

Also, heal our torso and sensor.

>>36619590
Oh of course. Thanks.

Use the Argus to scan for him underwater. If Kura's still out, dismiss it. Switch the condemner to gun mode and... Wait I guess.

>>36619597
We're at tier 1, no mines.

>>36619601
Do you remember the price of using the lightning? No more jetpack. I don't fancy our chances while swimming.

>>36619526
>"So what are you going to do about those regrets, noble samurai? Going to ignore everything and hope that you'll either stop caring after killing a friend or dying?"

>"Aren't you the one who bragged about having the greater conviction? You can't even be honest with yourself about what you want."

>>36619601
I like the sound of that.

Also, Explosives are deadly as fuck in the water due to the increased density transmitting the pressure wave better.

Depth Charges, yo. Or a big enough explosion that we don't have to be accurate

>>36619626
rapidly heating the water would also work if we had a way of doing that. Emphasis on rapid. Or supercavitating it.

>>36619626

We shouldn't use lightning. Perhaps ramp up some meter with the chaingun, so that we have enough for an argus guided mines.

>>36619634

Can we heat it with energy vulcans? Do we even use our default vulcans anymore?

>>36619617
The only one in the armory has shit for range. Just emulate the chaingun.

Oh and get mobile. Bishamon remains effective in the water.

>>36619666
>Just emulate the chaingun.
...It's a two-handed weapon.
How the fuck would we use a second one?
The right hand has the Midas gauntlet, the left doesn't.

>>36619634
We have our microwave, but it likely isn't THAT strong.

By the way, can EXEC_SWARM swim?

>>36619660
While plasma's hot, it's nowhere near hot enough to do anything like that on the necessary scale. Seriously the plasma slugs are tiny.


Now, there IS Leukocyte and the Distortion Cannon. But it'll drain Joker dry, take too long and almost certainly miss.

>>36619683
We can hold an emulated one in one hand. It's not likely to it anything at range without dumb luck, but the charging elements are what limited it.

Hey, what about baiting?
Drop a Shroud decoy into the water. Costs 50% shroud, but he might attack it with the sword.

>>36619526
Ahh, what poor timing, it would have been nice to ask him if he regretted falling in love, with emphasis on love.
Oh well, one limb down, three to go. The Axel Grips may be useful today.

Also chances are his Hyades will do something, with him in the water.

>>36619683
>...It's a two-handed weapon.
Nope, it can be wielded with one hand. Problem is that we only have a single charging element in our left hand while the chaingun requires 2.

Side note for later fights:
The Sinistral's lvl 2 mode requires it to connect to a charging element.
Now that we have four of those, we can actually make effective use of it.

As a reminder:
It allows the shield to take on the properties of an energy-based attack and makes it more resistant to that damage type afterwards.
It also turns into a melee weapon when necessary.

Very good for certain one-trick-ponies. Wasn't there someone who used lightning against us as his preferred mode of attack?

>>36619719
> The water begins to stir. Slowly, it forms a spiral sucking downwards, rapidly spinning faster and faster. Suddenly it explodes in a geyser as Bishimon flies at us in the center of a waterspot. A blur of speedy motion he is spinning around like a top at the tip of an oceanic spear that is headed straight for us.

>>36619719
Keep those in reserve. Emergency use only. Might be sooner rather than later actually.

>>36619741
Helix Gigas is Joker's right hand.

>>36619578
>>36619597
>>36619617
>>36619620

Sparks ascend to the heavens like lost prayers, born aloft on the rising current of heat. Even here, the fires continue to burn: The Aquila System switches to vertical thrust as the Tempest Scrander takes over, turbine power building up within - Crimson particles scattering in your wake, as Slake's limbs fold against your backpack. The gyroarm extends, the Hailfire Chaingun's mass linking with the Midas Arm - the barrels chugging to life, beginning to rotate...

And then muzzle crackles with fierce flash jags, as you begin to fire. The chaingun thunders, a belt of shots spitting forth in a concussive rain of gunfire - Tracers whine and flash as they streak into the water, slashing into the murky depths: Things lurk within, as cannon-smoke blossoms around you, the ocean's surface juddering like a live thing. The violent flurry of rounds blitzes the surface, ripples expanding in broad circles - The fires are clearing the chaff from the air, but achingly slowly, narrowing your perception to the simple track of your mono-optic sensor...

-Any moment now, Bishamon is going to breach the surface.

Any moment now-

>>36619622

The only answer to your words are the snap and crackle of distant flame in the stiff wind. Green light ambles over your form, the gashes in your armor beginning to seal over, replaced by new plates: Motes bleed through the air, surrounding you in your own personal incandescent haze...

---------------------

Faster now, each graceful pass of pale hands shaded with worry. The toothed mouths of the mechanism bites deep, as the gears continue to rotate: Thin trickles of blood well from flawless skin, rivulets trickling into the etched lines of the intricately-worked symbols.

The third motion.

[土]

---------------------

The Demense trembles. The world shakes.

The ocean recedes beneath you, as a whirlpool begins to form - The black waters receding, sucked away into the event horizon.

(Continued)

>>36619764
>>36619746
Haha, holy shit man, you may have called it.

>>36619782
Too bad that she won't ever call the sky due to our advantage.

That would be hilarious.

>>36619782

I just went with the rule of cool. A drill that can pierce the Heavens, as it were.

Sadly, I have to go drive my sister to her car in 5 min.

Christ. whatsherface is crazy powerful.

>>36619796
Wonder what happens if she draws fire.

>>36619800
>>36619782
She literally rewrote the stage to be land based.

>>36619764
By the way, how exactly does the PHALANX CHAIN MINE detonate the mines? Will the mines stick around and ride the waves, waiting for a chance to detonate on Bishi? Or are they sensitive enough to be knocked and destroyed by the surging tides?

Cobalt-boosted would be more effective because of the loadout, but lose effectiveness because of all the water. Argus may work.

Actually Argus might just be good in general, so would Harrow.

>>36619847
I know what you're saying, but if feels like she's just trying for a tidal wave attack, but since he can no longer skate the water, she might just be removing it.

>>36619847
Meh, close enough for me. He just pierced the earth instead of the Heavens with his SPIRAL POWER!!!!

You take this stuff too seriously, sometimes, Wata.

>>36619861
How so? You still could be right, I just saw that she was drawing the character for earth, when she drew the character for water before.

Also, whoever suggested Aquila deserves mad props, this cost Uzume big time.

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>>36619764

From beneath - Fangs of stone, emerging. Black mica daggers thrust heavenward. Water draining away, down deep crevassces, past the looming shape: More fortress than pagoda, sprawling, vast...

-A castle.

Beneath the fat gibbous moon - swollen, corpulent and lightless - the alien architecture rises from the forest below, pushing away from the descending swamp. The spire is jagged and thorny, a black silhouette against the red night, rising from the jumble of odd-angled trees in the thickly forested woods beyond, all made colder still by the moon's eerie unlight.

Things - Like bats, like whirring shadows - come in sudden waves across the palace, screeching murder...And then they're gone, their cries ringing in the distance, a call to nothing good. There are no windows along the rising inner walls of the feudal-era castle, the dimensions warped and oddly exaggerated, like a thing glimpsed in a dream...Or a nightmare.

But even here, there are the strangest touches - A garden that now bristles with thorns and corrupt growths, the mighty earthworks that mound the dark curtain walls, like skins of armour ten meters thick. A stained-glass facade and crystalline ornamentation, delicate minarets and burnished cupolas twisting into spikes stabbing grimly at the sky.

A Hyades's demense - Her personal heaven - girded and twisted for war.

At the highest point of the castle, cold light burns. It is meant to recall the guttering illumination of lamplight, but it is something of a much harsher hue.

(Continued)

>>36619858
>but if feels like she's just trying for a tidal wave attack
... The kanji means "earth".

>>36619947
Is she trying to force close-quarters encounters?

What purpose could this have?

>>36619947

Crisis arm and start punching the castle?

>>36619999

We're shit at close quarters, which is why she's trying to force it.

>>36619970
...You sure...showed me...
Start looking around for the castles moat.

>>36620003
Why?

>>36619947

Breathing hard, now. Lips pressed together in a thin line, delicate features contorted in effort. The mechanism continues to turns - A gasp of muted pain, as the rising spikes dig into the soft flesh beneath the nails.

There is no time left.

The fourth movement.

[木]

--------------------------

From below, you hear a hiss - A sound like indrawn breath...

And the air fills with black-fletched arrows.

Dozens of them. *Hundreds* of them. A volley, aimed skyward - rising towards you like reverse rain. You never see the firers - Perhaps they are merely willed into existence, a hail of darts meant to pin you to the sky as they drizzle through the night. Spears, too - Black stalks against the orange glow, a flurry of shafts launched without discrimination, without pause...

The carved grotesques - Bat-winged gargoyles, stone lions, an odd choice for this distinctly Eastern castle - are coming to life. Red light flares in stony eyes, as the first creatures take to the air: Flying, impossibly, on stone wings. They spill from the roiling haze in huge numbers, their spears glittering in the curiously dull like - Fletched darts falling like rain, the murmur building, becoming a roar.

The first flight rises to meet you, with axes and granite swords and great halberds as - Surrounded by prowling stone lions, flint fangs sparks as they narrow the cordon - the light at the highest point of the castle continues to shed it's cold illumination.

HP: 210.5%
COBALT BOOSTER: 40%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 47.2%
METER: 26%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>36620016

Token "I'm not going to play by your rules" gesture.

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>>36620028

(My apologies, forgot my image.)

>>36619914
I don't follow moon rune witchery, sorry.

>>36620028
We've already got the chainguns out. Just start shooting the fliers. And start laughing. Fly towards the light, to be goimg somewhere. Argus Scan for Bishamon.

"Cybele, where's Uzume?"

She's planning to activate a superpower of some kind? It's the five elements, though I don't think we saw the second.

>>36620028
Oh, okay. So, scan and find where the Hyades is hiding.

Remember the last time we fought an army in one of these battles?

>>36620078
That one's tree, or wood in this context.

>>36620087
She skipped either Fire or Metal.

>>36620091

Hmm, so she's got... fire and... metal left?

Fire OR metal. We didn't see the second.

>>36620104
Wata, I want to continue to antagonize you because I dislike the fact that you namefag, but thank you for telling me that.

>>36620108
>>36620111


Heart. BY YOUR POWERS COMBINED, I AM CAPTAIN JOKER.

Fire could have been the Chaff?

>>36620118

So it's DEFINITELY metal left, and we need a way to shield ourselves against material attacks.

Our shield doesn't only defend against energy, right?

>>36620108
>>36620111
Hmm. Bishamon did his sword trick earlier. That could be metal. There was also the meteor storm, which could be fire. Keeping with the whole stage theme I think it's probably metal left.

>>36620112
Love you too anon.

>>36620118
That was a Relic weapon.

So where *is* Bishamon right now? did we lose track of him?

>>36620151
That's assuming there are only the five Chinese elements, though.
She could still suddenly pull out light or darkness or something like that.

>>36620151
I hope that one day your real life gives you enough of an identity that you stop having to seek one on an anonymous forum.

Also, okay, so metal is next. So? Lets focus on the job in front of us boys. Find the Hyades, take her out. Bishimon showed us the way, but we god distracted by not getting ours killed, and then not getting our face sliced off.

>>36620151
>There was also the meteor storm, which could be fire. Keeping with the whole stage theme I think it's probably metal left.
True. Water and Earth are likely elements that create the stage while Fire and Earth are the ones that modify it. Metal will likely be the one that affects the player himself (Bishamon's Burst Mode).

>>36620168

If it's days of the week, then we still have Metal/Fire, then Sun and Moon.

>>36620028

Use Swarm from the assault shroud to counter the gargoyles.

>>36620205
That's most of the booster though. Not actually against it, just that pointing that out.

>>36620205
Seconding this, as nobody else has come up with a plan.

We just have to damage their wings so they can't fly.

Hell, we can even use this as an opportunity to build up meter while strafing the archers with the cannons.

>>36620087

Gunfire blitzes the air, the Hailfire Chaingun's barrels gouting flame. The muzzleflash is a spear of illumination that rakes through the crimson night in a jumping lick of flame, the metal snake of the munition feeder coiling back - Fat and heavy - against your backpack. The weapon makes a grinding metal noise as it begins to fire, a storm of shots ripping across the flyers - Fragments of stone flake off their forms in puffs of abraded smoke, the first one outright exploding into rubble. Black sand bleeds from the rents, as their hovers shapes chip apart and splinter, along with fragments of weapons, wooden hafts, broken mail rings-

-They're less sturdy than they look.

The Tempest Scrander flares at your back, the acceleration punching you forward. You have the Sinistral up, as the wave of arrows punches into you; The flurry of shafts clatters from your armor, splintering against the Sinistral's humming field, the bright wedge of the energy shield cutting a burning line before you-

Beneath you, the forest catches light. Darts glanced from your crimson plate, scarring it - But lacking the force to penetrate, as your sweeping gunfire rakes through the incoming flock. Stray rounds wither the trees beneath, shredding the brush cover into a green haze, spattering tree trunks with sand and chips of stone. Splintered trees collapse alongside splintering statues: A moment of focused gunfire is all it takes to claw them from the air, your shots exploding in their ranks, blowing their forms apart, punching them back.

And down. You're mowing through them, each explosive shot caving in chests, punching through raised stone shields, detonating heads into gritty granite dust, snatched away in the sliipstream of your flight-

The Hyades is getting desperate, now.

(Continued)

>>36620226

Where's Bishamon?

>>36620261
We should probably keep our guard up before he shanks us from a blind spot.

>>36620261

relying on cheap tactics and hiding inside the castle probably.

>>36620261
Preparing an Iaijutsu attack.

Or another relic weapon.

How about we wait for the continuation and see?

>>36620221
>>36620205

But even *that* is a distraction - Like the rain of arrows that clatter futilely against your plated legs, against your back, flung aside like jackstraws in the rippling turbulence you leave in your wake. At your back, the Tempest Scrander begins to vibrate horribly, the note of its engines changing from a whine to a hard, labouring rasp - A lucky shot, a minor victory, the rest doing little more than to chip the red hue from your armor, leaving scarred grey behind...

-And in the instant before the bone-crunching clash, as gargoyles raise their weapons in postures of stiff attack, maws ratcheting open to expose stony fangs, lances driving at your crimson form-

EXEC_SWARM erupts around you. Your Assault Shroud denudes to shreds, from the grand sweep of a coat to a loose cloak that trails from your shoulders. The air fills with an infernal buzzing, buzzing, ravenous armor-consuming parasites swirling forth like a halo of flies. The sound of their wings is a humming, purring noise, like the murmur of war, darkening the sky around you...

They engulf the fantastical flying shapes - Gargoyles and phoenixes and stone dragons - gathering thickly, gnawing at stony wings, clustering like a blight cloud. The first shape plummets, descending, smashing a swathe through the forest below: They're falling from the air, straining to keep aloft, as you plough through them like a fugitive meteor.

>>36620261
>>36620087

Through the whirling ruin, through the thrum of death's-head locusts and gleaming red eyes, through the sounds of the castle's last guardians yielding - Bitterly - to gravity, you key the Argus System. The green wave expands outwards from you, scanning, searching-

Directly ahead, as the castle's highest point: Power. A system-rending spike, a flare, almost visible with your bare sensors - The archaic facade conceals elaborate technology, intricate mechanisms.

It occurs to you that not all of this may be real-

(Continued)

>>36620312
Waiting might be fine, but at this point it seems like setting the castle ablaze might be a good idea.

However, I'm not sure he even can use most of his advanced sword techniques with just the Apex Blade and a missing arm. But the castle exists for a reason, I suppose.

>>36620347

Do we have that flamethrower thing?

>>36620347
DISTRACTION CARNIFEX, Obviously.

While we're dicking about here, he's healing up.

Knock down the tower and see what happens.

>>36619169
OP, that's bullshit, I thought the Midas Gauntlet was unbreakable. You've said so in earlier threads.

>>36620361

Carnifex bad, at least for this battle.

>>36620358
The Immolator? Yeah, always.

>>36620361
No Carnifex.

>>36620358
>>36620361
We do, read the equipment sheet.

It feels like it might be time for Cobalt Missiles, for more reason than just one. I hope they can at least get past the arrow swarm.

>>36620372
To be fair, it's weaker to physical attacks, but honestly, I'm still shocked at how easily it broke.

>>36620372
We're up against Phantom Edge's true successor and he scored a big fat crit. I'm not all that surprised

>>36620392

Immolator mode 1, then. Let's burn that fucking castle down.

If we can, Crisis arm in one hand, immolator in the other.

Heat with Immolator mode 1, punch with crisis arm, then make immolator mode 2 explosions in the holes.

>>36620410
>>36620392
No, this is bullshit. We got attacked by Shielddude before and the Hand didn't give then. OP said, in text, that it couldn't be broken; even if everything within it crumbled to ash, melted into sludge or snapped like twigs, the armour itself is irresistible.

It's not a massive deal but I'd like to know why it gave. Also, this battle is fucking awesome.

>>36620376
>>36620391
>>36620392

WH40k - Carnifex is used to distract the enemy from units that are actually more effective tactically, because it's a big scary unit. Especially effective because they are quite tough, you can lose the battle while fighting against it.

>>36620372

(You're right. I'm going to depart from the narrative for a moment, to explain how this works: All Players have two relevant measures of HP for each 'hit location' - Armor and internal structure. Armor takes the damage first, before internal structure begins to denude.

The Midas Gauntlet's armor does not denude, which makes it extremely hard to damage the arm. It doesn't, however, stop the arm itself from being disabled - Especially on a critical hit. A result of a destroyed hand acutator and a disabled weapon could have been described in different ways, but Bishamon was using an extremely lethal - And extremely sharp - Relic weapon with his specific and relevant passives, resulting in that specific outcome.

A more appropriate result would likely have been Bishamon slashing into the shoulder or wrist joint, damaging the mechanisms that allow you to control your hand - Or simply cutting your fingers off.)

>>36620344

A spear - Driven by a stony hand - punches into your side. The shaft snaps; Your armor dents, but doesn't give. A marble knight, propelled by obsidian-flecked griffin's wings, stabs at you again with the jagged half of his trunctuated lance...

Your Hailfire Chaingun is out of position. Your Crisis Arm explodes into his helm, and reduces everything above the neck into powder. The golem still claws at you, stabbing heedlessly - The same mindless thrusts - before EXEC_SWARM's parasites gnaw through those elaborate wings. The flying statue yields to gravity with poor grace: It drops away, tumbling down, down, down, to a bone-crunching impact far below.

It doesn't matter. You know where you're going: Into the light.

>>36620003

In the instant before impact, the guardian lions snarl defiance at you - They look formidable, a wall of carved stone and red jade eyes, a sternly unmovable bulwark-

You lead with the Crisis Arm.

(Continued)

>>36620392
Really? We gave the best sword user in the game one of the best swords in the game, and he's probably upgraded it since. If anyone can make it look easy, it's him.

>>36620429
Immolator can't burn stone. Besides, the entire thing is basically illusory in nature. There's no point to destroying the castle when there's real places to be.

>>36620429
It's not quite the castle itself that's the threat, just the tower, It's probable that the Hyades is in the very top of the tower playing with some fancy Relic gizmo that can manipulate the stage far easier, so it's that which needs to go down, rather than the castle itself. We need point explosions, it's probably protected anyway.

>>36620455
Thanks OP. I was just weirded out because you made a big deal about the shell of the Hand of Midas not breaking last time and it seemed like a key feature of the Daegal suit.

Stay based.

Also, OP, what's the most lethal CQC weapon we've seen in game?

>>36620518
>Also, OP, what's the most lethal CQC weapon we've seen in game?
Wouldn't that be the Fatal Abyss? The Thief instantly cut a guy into sashimi with it and and a single fragment was enough to let Bishamon cut down a few hundred Hellions with a single strike.

>>36620466
Drawing techniques with the Apex seems awkward at best. But it is interesting that attuning might still an option with Hollow Sun weapons.
They seem come-as-is.

(My apologies, made an error there.)

>>36620455

When you connect, the sound is louder than anything you could possibly imagine, like a siege weapon, like a battering ram against the gates. The hammering shock of the bombardment is so all-encompassing, so total, it echoes through the Demense in a pealing thunderclap, masonry crashing down on all sides, the air wobbling with heat distortion as superstructure and girderwork alike gives way-

The concussion rips a titanic hole three times your size in the side of the castle, and you land with the ruinous impact of an artillery shell.

Inside-

Inside, fine steps lead up to a long hallway. The white walls keep the distant rumble of war - the patter of debris, the fall of shafts and toppling forms on the high roof panes, stony figures smashing down with blunt, brutal impacts - at bay, the wood polished to a mirror-bright sheen. You can see yourself reflected in the gleaming surfaces, your form somehow distorted: Hunched, prowling on armored hooves, autoreactive talons scraping the ground as you stride forward. The high vanes of your Tempest Scrander smoke in your wake, your Crisis Arm shrouded with a twisting corona of dissipating energies.

Stone dust cakes the edges of your crimson armor. You can observe - Through your Argus System - the incrementally increasing damage you've done to the grand hall: The spreading cracks, the shot holes, the destroyed detailing, the collapsing statuary you've left in your wake. Golden light knifes into the chamber, gilding everything, giving the room a soft, burnished feel.

On either side - Elaborate paper screens. At the far end of the broad hall, away from the ragged hole you've punched in the ceiling that opens it to the crimson sky, a grand pair of double-doors stand.

HP: 192.3%
COBALT BOOSTER: 0%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 3.5%
METER: 26%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>36620553
No reason to keep anyone waiting. Walk to the double doors and punch them open. Oh, and use the Immolator to burn the screens. Just in case.

>>36620573
Is the Swarm still active?
This seems like a good point to recall it.

Also, did it grow from killing those enemies or does it require "real" enemies to multiply?

>>36620588
We could walk across the hallway while rotating 360° and shooting in all directions with our Vulcans.

>>36620588
>>36620573
I would suggest blowing the doors down with the Tau, but I do agree with the death match in the burning castle.

Hopefully nobody actually dies.

>>36620591

(They weren't actually that threatening, or entirely real, hence why your Meter hasn't increased at all. You cleared them out like a nuclear blast.)

>>36620562
We've had the option to upgrade almost every Relic we've gotten from the Hollow Sun, up from the Emulator Module and down to Sotto Voca. They are powerful as is, but there's still room to grow, with a few exceptions.

>>36620606
I like that even better. Why make it easy to take counter-attacks?

>>36620573
>"I hope you don't mind me roughing up the interior, Uzume. The place doesn't have nearly enough pizazz for what is about to happen, so I'll do you a favor."

>>36620573
>>36620628
Ah, I suggest that we have either the CONDEMNER or IMMOLATOR prepared in the free hand. Hopefully the former.

Sinistral and Condemner to cut apart all of the paper?

>>36620591

(I would say that it isn't active. That was, however, a very clever way to handle what could have been a 'tarpit' encounter - Which is why you managed to bypass the defenders almost completely.)

>>36620588
>>36620606
>>36620660

You pace forward. The corridor groans beneath your stride.

The screens have the filmy near-translucence of exquisitely expensive paper, with fine, subtle markings that recall distant images - the moon at dusk. Cranes in flight. Gryphons and angels and flowers, captured in fleeting brushstrokes. There is an aching loneliness to the art - For art it is, beautiful and delicate and isolated beyond belief.

With a care that borders on reverence, you turn the Immolator - In your right hand - to the screens, and discharge a gout of liquid flame. They dissolve, their edges drifting away on the smoky air.

The Tau Gun forms in your left hand. You level the heavy weapon - The distortion line of the antimatter charge churning the air to a boil, a gathering inhalation that subtly warps the space around it. Braced, you squeeze the trigger-

In confines of the narrow corridor, the noise is overwhelming. The blast annihilates the doors like a wrecking ball, with a monstrous bang of decompression: An explosive voiding like the crack of doom, the echoes of that single shot ringing forever as you stand, the Nova Cannon smoking, anti-matter condensers whirring as they cycle...

The room beyond is vast. It is a straight path of black stone, none of the angles quite true. The air hushes out against you...

And the first torches, one on either side, blooms to life. Another pair, then another, picking out the columns of black marble, threaded with mercury - the dull gleam of the odd, heavy bands of metal worked into the very substance of the walls - and the great seal on the far end, rotating slowly as it latches into place, becoming flush with the far walls.

A lock with no key.

(Continued)

>>36620704
Well, the idea is to flush out anything that might be behind the screens. Fire is good for that, melee less so.

Is there any chance that next charge cycle we could start the Red Comet upgrade that improves its armor? Because I just realized that we could put Regios in the Comet and she'd be very, very hard to kill there.

>>36620743
Good idea.

The issue is of the upgrade will be finished in time.

Breaching Spikes might also be very useful. It would allow her to escape handily.

What was her fighting style again?

>>36620743
B-but we're getting those handguns.

>>36620768
Definitely.

As well as another thing that I forgot what it was.

>>36620763
Electricity and swords. Probably sticks an enemy with a sword and uses it as a lightning rod, but I'm not sure.

>>36620768
Honestly, if people can wait one cycle we'll get a lot more out of it all. Do the upgrades to the Comet/Cherubs/Chayots first, then do another mass upgrade for Joker. Signal Booster, the guns, and another Relic.

>>36620768
>>36620773
No, we have light weapons already, there are far more important things we need to research, if you want relics that badly, push for the Skyshaper.
They might be references to something far more powerful, but the risk is far too huge, especially when they are stated as weak by the Hollow Sun itself.

>>36620790
>Honestly, if people can wait one cycle we'll get a lot more out of it all. Do the upgrades to the Comet/Cherubs/Chayots first, then do another mass upgrade for Joker. Signal Booster, the guns, and another Relic.
You just made me think of how we didn't get the Limiter when we should have.

But yeah, that is workable.

I wish we could invest into transformation servoes, to later upgrade them into relics that we can hand out to allies.

>>36620790

> Wait one cycle

It's almost end-game.

>>36620790
Forgot to add, Positron Designator for Leukocyte. Bunch of benefits all at once.

>>36620800
I actually agree, but curiosity has its place. We got the Emulator because people were curious, and that worked nicely.

>>36620814
Exactly. Relic unlocks are instant. Research takes time. The more time we can give research, the better.

>>36620830

I'm saying there might not be a next time. That's what I'm saying.

>>36620814
It's been endgame for like, 30 threads now.

>>36620830
Whatever, we still haven't even used the Leukocyte.

Remember, whoever reveals their power level first loses.

Anyways, let's wait until the end of the thread to discuss upgrades, see where we're at.

>>36620855
>gold
Aaaaaaaaaalrighty then.

>>36620849

Yeah but it's the last fi--

>>36620855

We DBZ.

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>>36620735

Bishamon stands before the ceiling, his blade lowered before him. The venomous green torches gutter in an unseen wind, making a low rumbling sound. The darkly shining surfaces of his breastplate and greaves gleam, as if freshly polished.

Correction: His *blades*.

The Apex Blade and his own sword, buried in the stone before him, as his restored hand curls around the grip - His fingers flexing, making a fist against the hilt.

"Joker-"

His voice smokes. His swords screech as they cut their way out of the stone floor of the landing, drawn from the ground. A low hum begins, a hum that brings with it the bewildering sensation of being pulled in all directions at once, as if spectral hands are clawing at your armor.

"-I won't let you take *her*, too."

--------------------------

In the chamber beyond, filled with a thousand paper cranes-

Panting breath. Fast, like a wounded animal. The mechanism is silent, now - A pale arm hanging loose, broken. Midnight hair falls over paler features, her head down; Her faded kimono caressing the taut lines of her form.

The fear is inside her now - Ancient, cold, like the voice of a dead star. In her heart, it whispers:

All things die.

The fifth movement:

[金]

In the last chamber of her private Heaven - A heaven that is becoming very much like hell - Uzume waits...

-And hopes, hopes, hopes.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 113.5

TO BE CONTINUED

>>36620830
To be honest, I would also very much like Cthug- Rubicante and Cagnazzo, and I wouldn't fight against it if there was a large player vote for it. But I would still like to get them after the Skypshaper, if possible. But majority vote wins, so...

>>36620867

That's supposed to stand for metal, I think. I almost want that relic guitar we missed.

>>36620869

(Gentlemen: My sincerest apologies for the short thread. It is extremely late for me, and I have work tomorrow - Unfortunately, I'll have to continue things next week.

This does look like a natural end-point, however. As always, you've been a wonderful audience - Good night and God bless, and I hope to see you again soon.)

>>36620885

That's alright. I understand the feeling. I hope you're not affected by the storm, JQOP

>>36620869
Whelp. We might be done here.

Told you the castle was just a distraction while he healed up.

Man, too bad we can't psyche him out while we whip past him and kill his hyades.

Of course, he might still try to kill us afterwards. Probably. Oh well.

So, there's three "interesting" relics.
Then there's the Hellion Launcher and Distortion Halo.
One is just a gun with a special effect, while the other would replace Slake.

Research has to come before relics, though.

And then there's the augments. We'll never get anything done on the Shroud anymore.
Getting the capacitor for the Scrander would make sense.
Both for the Argus would make a LOT of sense.

So, should we prioritize research discussion?

>>36620885
Night OP, thanks for running.

>>36620885
>Natural end point

You mean BRUTAL CLIFFHANGER? BECAUSE YES, THAT'S CERTAINLY A CHOICE YOU COULD MAKE.

But seriously, thanks for running. I feel it's a testament to how good this quest has been that I feel very upset by it stopping here.

If I knew where you lived, I would break into your house and force amphetamines into your body and tell your work that you died.

>>36620911
>>36620912
So, apparently someone is completely butthurt about Watashi's namefagging.

>>36620735

> With a care that borders on reverence, you turn the Immolator - In your right hand - to the screens, and discharge a gout of liquid flame. They dissolve, their edges drifting away on the smoky air.

Is this THE coolest image ever, or what?

>>36620924
I really don't mind. It's oddly flattering.

>>36620935

Watashiwa x NiseWatashiwa OTP

>>36620929
Joker really doesn't appreciate the fine arts. But he loves his guns.

>>36620885
>>36620912
Make sure you save his notes, I want to know the secrets of this quest, our biggest breakthroughs and screw-ups, those game-changing elements we created or walked right over, the time when OP may have had to stop writing and laugh at what horrible thing the players had done and he did not intend. And what would have happened if the players brutalized Cybele with her first appearance.

Also, I'm starting to feel cheated by the fact that Cybele only seems to be able to heal, even if Uzume seems to have more than what typical Hyades have at their disposal.

>>36620967
To be fair, Cybele gave us a few really neat Codebursts.

>>36620990
She's given us a "lot", certainly, but she changed the entire nature of the quest, and we had so many opportunities to avoid having anything to do with her. We're immune to her charm effect, OP doesn't even want to use plot based railroading here.

>>36621014
Well, yeah, she is a bit of a plot tumor and bringer of ethical dilemmas.

>>36620967
Didn't all of his notes burn? Twice?

>>36621023
That was AC-Guy. JQOP had his computer suffer total system failure twice. Which reminds me, you did invest in external/cloud storage after the last incident, right OP?

>>36621023

The first time was us romancing Hecate I think.

>>36620935

If we're all Watashiwa, then no-one is Watashiwa.

I thought about just copying his posts comepleely too, but that seemed dickish.

>>36621049

And stealing his name isn't?

>>36620967

(The Hyades are something I've been thinking about for a long time, narratively. There were a wide variety of potential characters, and most of them have already shown up - And, in most cases, perished.

It was extremely difficult to select the appropriate partner for the main character. Hence, I left it to a roll-off.

Also - Not really a spoiler, since it's already been alluded to - the older Hyades tend to be more powerful than the younger ones. Not necessarily by virtue of age alone, however.

At any rate - Good night, gentlemen. It's a shame that work cuts into my available time so severely.)

>>36621023
She almost feels like an expansion pack to a game, crazy-ass side adventure that is almost just as important as the main plot, but with absurd new enemies and powers to be gained, but with the reward that they may all be used in the Main Story.
But everything happening here has large tie-ins to the end-game, so oh well.
But now that I think about it, if the Hyades event never happend, the focus would be on the Various Jokers, and the Red Jokers memory.

>Game Complete! True Route Unlocked! Continue the game with unlocked powers!
>How to play:Turn down Cybele and pursue the secret of the Jokers Memory.

OP, if/when JokerQuest concludes, can we have New Game +?

>>36621129

(I would love to, but it seems unlikely. Hopefully the campaign outline I plan to eventually release - If I ever get my notes into order - will cover most of the details. And, of course, I can always be reached at my e-mail, where I'll be happy to field questions once things conclude.

It wouldn't really be the same thing, of course. There'd need to be a drastic change to the mechanics and the plot to avoid a retread.

Also, it's taken close to two years to get to this point. I'm not sure if I have the capacity to do it all over again.)

>>36621129
JQOP already mentioned before that if he decides to continue Questing after finishing JQ, he will either continue one of his "one-shots" or make something entirely new.

He apparently has a big bag of quest concepts he wants to play around with.

>>36621096
It'd still be going on in the background, wouldn't it?
I think it's more a consequence of our focus on Mio's route, like picking routes in F/SN.
So if we'd picked another girl, there would've been different events.
For instance, I think picking Kotone would've led to more research on the Joker's Memory.

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>>36621061
Hey now, there's stealing his name to annoy a namefag, and then there's shitting up the quest with duplicate posts.

They might not be the same as yours, but I do have standards.

And I can't help but notice that you're also a name-fag.

Anyways, I'm kind of sad that the Hyades took away from other storylines as >>36621096
pointed out, but I've still enjoyed it.

I hope JQOP does a full explanation thread after the end.

>>36621156

I don't have your e-mail, sadly. Can I give you mine? :^)

>>36621161

Kotone's ending could never be anything but horrifically dark.

>>36621061
Again, I really don't care. I'm not using a name for attention, it's my way to avoid shitposting and catching bans for it.

>>36621094
While I haven't cared much for the Hyades arc (it's swallowed the rest of the plot from the start), I think Cybele's theme contrasts with Joker nicely. especially when Hellebore is also considered. Cybele is about healing through gentle illusions. Hellebore is the stark, all-consuming void. Joker is the one bringing the end. Makes you wonder.

>>36621156
Second playthroughs are always faster though. And you get to skip chargen.

Anyway, see you next week.

>>36621094
>>36621096
Ah, by the way, I'm not trying to imply that the Hyades are a waste of time, many amazing characters have been introduced due to their relation with the Tournament, want-to-punch or want-to-hug many have been interesting, and this battle itself has been absolutely crazy.

>>36621161
Quite likely, but I do find it humorous if the Joker were to fall into a mysterious hole one day, and find dozens of high level players all murdering each other indiscriminately, with him not even being the cause.
>Why does everyone have glowing tattoos?

>>36621174
jokerquestop@gmail.com

>>36621156
Well, it'd be hilarious if we could make one of these "go back in time and unfuck everything" things, where we could finally play one of the masterminds by virtue of having knowledge of the future, instead of being more of a pawn with an agenda.

>>36621214

Thank you, Wata :)

>>36621156
But I do hope that we discover the secret behind Jokers Memory before the end of the quest, I think we have at least SOME time before the climax.

>>36621223
At the same time, it's possible that everything will become even MORE screwed up. Yay!

>>36621250
>At the same time, it's possible that everything will become even MORE screwed up. Yay!

>Joker tries to get Hecate on his side without flirting
>He tries to encounter Mio and make her fall for him far before she meets us canonically
>Tries to handle the Natsumi situation in a better way
>Tries to not piss off AP
>Actively helps Akira with the Fatal Abyss, as it actually worked the last time

There's lots of room for hilarious shenanigans.
Also, a surviving Hecate would mean no NIHL for us.
...Then again, Hecate with NIHL could have interesting effects on Cybele, as she had much more control over it than we do.

>>36621250
We'd activate the Hollow Sun a full month early, and keep Pazuzu from tearing a chunk out of it/Kouichi from slaughtering the shells. That alone means we'd win by default.

Of course we'd probably burn bridges with Argent even earlier and piss off the Black Tri-Stars by preemptively obliterating Phantom Edge, but nothing's perfect.

>>36621286
We'd kill Pazuzu in Nara Dreamland. Nihl get.

>>36621310

I was under the impression the Sun only appeared because we used the black hole launcher in an odd place and the red world filled in the gaps.

>>36621310
>We'd kill Pazuzu in Nara Dreamland. Nihl get.
So, do you imagine us carrying over our equipment?
Because that would be fucking hilarious. Especially due to the time paradox.

And what would we do about Ixion? Just avoid the fuck out of that fight?
Or would we collect a proper raid force?

Fuck, we'd know the composition for each of these situations. We could prepare easily.

We could also make the raid much earlier.

>>36621286
>>36621310
Well, We've tried to emulate what Hecate could do with the Nihl quite a few times, usually with less-than-impressive results.

It seems like it would be extraordinarily overpowered if one day, the Joker stood in the middle of the Red, and thought to himself; I want MORE power/weapons/relics. The Nihl would probably show him the way, under proper circumstances. Even act as the key, as well.

OP doesn't want to give us more chances.

>>36621326
I feel like we've discussed this before, but I'm just trying to recall if the coffin w/ Daegal had anything to do with it.

>>36621096
You've totally bummed me out. Jokers Memory is what I'm really interested in.

>>36621156
If we do RP, I want to be Corrector/Black Joker aligned. Imago and co seem to be where its at, cool stuff wise.

>>36621425
Fuck, RP, I meant replay the game. Sorry.

>>36621425
I would prefer to research a mind scrambling thing, with the help of AP, to prevent the Hyades mark from affecting our people.
Then I'd gear up everyone and go to town with an entire strike force of upgraded nutjobs.

>>36621425
I want to see the kill everyone route, myself.

>>36621456
That would also be fun.

Full amoral Joker. No attachments to anybody.
Just running around, killing people and taking their essence.
And then sperg about our upgrades everywhere.

>>36621326
The Hollow Sun--or rather, the Armor of Midas--was hidden under the Black Cardinal's base of operations. Akira got word that Pazuzu had been spotted in the area, but we found Kaiser instead. The coffin we detonated was the Hollow Sun in a sealed form, and it grew as the Spire died.

Destroying the Spire did lead to a bunch of new Hives appearing though.

>>36621345
We could go alone and not use the Tau Gun. That would be enough, Ixion's difficulty was entirely self-inflicted.

Equipment and all the rest would be entirely up to OP's decision re:game balance. I think that just having foreknowledge would be best, Shadow Hearts 2 good end style. "Here comes Baphomet again" and all that.

Maybe we'd get to see more info about upgrades.

>>36621491
>Maybe we'd get to see more info about upgrades.
It would be interesting if Joker's increased experience with those items would allow him to get more power out of them.

Or how about a Frost Cestus New Game plus?

Hmm, also, why didn't we ever Nihl the Hyades barriers?

>>36621515
As is? Baphomet would kill him, game over. Bad match up in my opinion.

>>36621544
The hardest part would be to build meter.
He does have a charge move that would allow him to get in close enough for finishing punches afterwards, though.

Threadly reminder to put more into Hellion research/upgrades and to ramp up Hellion production

>>36621515
>>36621485
>>36621456
>>36621444
Who doesn't want to be the Next Black/White Joker?

Create a Slaughter House Nine gang. Fight the entire Red World. Laugh as we make everything bad forever.

>>36624016
I just had a wonderful idea:
Instantly seek out all of the Manifold Towers once we begin the Quest.
Activate them all.

It would lead to pure hilarity.

When we pull the trigger on the Hollow Sun, I'd like to play temporarily as one of factions' players or mooks getting caught up by the Hellion threat everywhere. Just to see how the average player stands up against the pimped out hellions.

>>36624340
Man, that would be an awesome interlude.
Multiple view-points, in-battle upgrades and a sense of hopelessness as all of the controllable characters die slowly.