While I wouldn't mind continuing, I'm in a lot of other games at the moment so I may just mothball Luci for the future.
Search Posts
What Darya said. Take what time you need and best wishes from me as well.
"I'll do it, I'm terrible with a crossbow. Besides; I left it back at the Heart, it was a loaner." She admits to Sario as she sees her approaching the door. When everyone's ready, she flings the door open.
Luci had remained quiet for a while. Mostly it was just because she hated having to talk over the storm but also because she was as clueless about the head thing as most of the others. She was certainly glad when Darya offered to destroy it. She was, however, quick to respond when Sario gave her warning and moved to find a safe spot.
"Will you just go down already?!" Luci complained as she struck again.
With just one demon left, Luci pressed the advantage.
Sharing Darya's grin, Luci ran forward and swung at the demon as well.
Sticking to her original plan, Luci focused on the one engaging Darya to bring it down quickly and give them more breathing room.
Yeah; let's do this!
Cursing at being stuck in the gas still, Luci struck out at the demon Darya was aiming at. The quicker they could whittle the demon numbers down, the better.
Sorry to hear that, Azura. Like the others said; take what time you need.
Cursing as the demon struck her, Luci retaliated with a heavy blow of her own.
Someone in a Discord server I'm part of shared this image as a joke, I think it does a pretty good job showing off the height difference between Luci and Darya. :P (If that doesn't load, I'll sort something out in the morning.)
"Oh this won't be pleasant," Luci muttered to herself before charging through the cloud alongside Darya.
"Oh yeah," Luci said eagerly, sword at the ready.
Yay, Overly Sarcastic Productions! :D I'm still shocked how quickly Red was able to bash that picture out, given its quality - she sent me a message through Patreon on the 29th saying she'd start on it in "a couple of days", finished product was sitting in my email the following morning.
Listening to what had happened, Luci tried to think of what demons they might've been... Luci's thoughts:
...
... ... *chirrup, chirrup* Sadly; the more cerebral parts of her training hadn't quite latched on. That particular instructor's preference for low-cut tops probably hadn't helped.
So, a couple weeks ago I increased my Patreon support level for Overly Sarcastic Productions (they're a YouTube channel that gives summaries of myths, literature, history and discussions on literary tropes but in a clever and entertaining way) - one of the rewards from that level is that Red, the woman who does the myth and trope videos and does all the artwork for the videos, draws a picture of a character of your choice in the chibi art style she uses for the videos.
"Oh, it's not gonna be fun digging them out of there if they did."
The pleasure circuses mentioned in there also make use of cybernetics for various things. Not sure if I should link it or not, but there's a bit of art from one sourcebook for the BT RPG that shows the dressing room for one and it's got one woman who's gotten herself a mermaid tail (and is hanging from a harness in the dressing room because she can't walk on the tail) while a catgirl is fixing her makeup. So if you ever see a BattleTech character who's cyber'd themselves up to look like a catgirl, odds are they're from the Magistracy*. :P *Not because of any technological advances, just because everyone else has a dim view of using cybernetics if you don't have to. The Magistracy's economy and education kinda tanked when the Star League fell - former was too reliant on tourism (which died off pretty quick once the Succession Wars started) and the latter lost funding because of the former.
So, random thing - BattleTech is bloody amazing, spent all of ANZAC Day yesterday playing it (credit to Harebrained Schemes for releasing it on an Aussie public holiday, even if that was most-likely by accident). And, rather than make my protagonist in that be a replica of myself or use my online handle for his callsign... I decided to re-create Luci (albeit as a human, of course). Commander Luciana "Paladin" Moretti of the mercenary company Moretti's Marauders. Now if she could just stop lining the cockpit of her JagerMech with bullet-magnets... Three head hits in one round, bloody dice roller in the game has it in for me. EDIT: I also had her family come from the Magistracy of Canopus because I feel like this game's Luci would love it there: The Magistracy of Canopus is famous (or infamous) for its strong emphasis on social freedom. So long as all involved are consenting adults and no one is being harmed, Canopians are free to pursue any activity they desire. While such mores can be construed as hedonistic (and indeed the Magistracy was strongly influenced by the New Hedons movement) there also exists a strong epicurean strain to this pursuit of pleasure. Artistic expressions are further encouraged by generous government subsidies, allowing writers, painters, sculptors and actors to concentrate on creating bold new expressions in both popular and serious art. This includes examples of erotica, though most exist for serious purposes rather than simple titillation. Nevertheless, a thriving adult entertainment industry has made the Magistracy a magnet for tourists wishing to partake in the many delights the realm has to offer, or catch a showing of the traveling "pleasure circuses." Regulations exist only insofar as to make sure employees in these professions are well-paid and not being mistreated.
Hey; I've probably had more fun with Luci than most of my other characters so no way in hell am I ditching Golarion's Most Un-Paladin-y Paladin. :P
"And even outside of Mendev, I'd be shocked if everyone else near the Worldwound didn't have some sort of defences against it. I mean it's bordering, what?" She raised her hands as though she were gesturing to a map, going counter clockwise around the Worldwound. "Mammoth-obsessed raging lunatics, orcs, people used to fighting the undead, alien robots, and us. They're not gonna be expanding quickly in any direction, even if the whole wardstone network's down."
"A bit of each of the first three - we're headed to Truestone Quarry to search for survivors and supplies, and we're probably gonna be reducing any demons we come across to a pulp. Sounds like we'll be doing a bit of that last one when we get there."
"'Hookin' for good' is a bit of an oversimplification. Not the full extent of what I'm considering, either." She'd been about to tell Iomenna she was right to go when Azura made her interjection. "You couldn't have tried for something a bit more subtle? Taldane's that flexible a lang- no, forget I said anything; you'd just make a remark about flexibility and we'd be back to square one. Anyway," she stopped talking for a moment to drain the last of her coffee, "now I'm ready to go."
Azura:
"When we get back from the quarry, you're explaining that little change in full," she whispered back. "Also, a little warning next time? These fangs aren't just for show." "I'm no Crusader either - like I said before, I was just gonna join the city watch or something here in Kenabres and try to save up to start on a little project I've had in mind. The one I mentioned the night before the attack."
"To be fair, Alexa, I did tell you to leave when I saw Azura get that look in her eyes." Luci said between mouthfuls of coffee. "And you're not the only one not sure what to do after this is over - I was just gonna join the city watch or maybe a garrison force and both of those options were off the table the minute everything started to explode."
Luci's hand brushed along Azura's back as she passed, wondering just how the aasimar could look so good even while dishevelled. Then again; she wasn't needing to tie her hair back for potential combat like Luci was. "It's not a bad idea," she replied, "we were going to head out to the camp once we were done in the quarry, but having another group check it out as well could save us some time. Even if they just do a quick scouting run. Probably best to leave that one to Iomenna's call; I'm no strategist so couldn't say whether it's worth the risk or not." She smiled at the mention of the portraits. "Yeah, I'm sure you will. Although I hope you remember what I said would happen if a... certain subset of those portraits became public."
A part of Luci had been concerned that she wouldn't able to relax enough to enjoy intimate company until things calmed down. A lack of privacy compared to what she was used to, concerns about the city or something happening while she was indisposed. Fortunately her concerns had been unfounded, leading to a very pleasant evening. And following morning. She actually hadn't realised how tense she'd been until afterwards - not from the lack of sex beforehand; she'd gone weeks without before so a few days was no issue - but what had happened to the city must have stressed her out more than she realised. A night for her to forget it all with pleasant company had been just what she needed. The morning wasn't needed, but it hadn't taken much persuading. ************************************************************************ Luci couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's enthusiasm. "Oh we will, you can count on it."
Bath Party: Luci brought her tail out of the water to wave to Azura as she left, lowering it back under the surface as the beautiful aasimar closed the door. Rather than just lie idle, though, it found its way to Darya's calf, gently rubbing the leg muscle with its broad spade-shaped tip.
"It's a shame I don't want to keep Alexa waiting too long," she said, "I think this is the most privacy we've had since the attack."
Bath Party: "Yeah, and I can think of a couple of girls she and I 'met' who are acutely aware of it," she said with a smirk, knowing where Azura's imagination would be going and curious to see Darya's reaction to the mental image of what two nimbly-tailed tieflings could do for a girl.
Bath party: "Makes me wonder how you girls'd react to another tiefling I met in Nerosyan who almost came back to Kenabres with me," she said, leaning back in the tub, "she had the same kind of tail I do. Quite the experience to be on that end of the equation for once."
Bath party: Luci couldn't help but roll her eyes at Azura's remark, even if she saw it coming. "Pretty sure you've used that line in the past. A few times, if memory serves."
Bath Party: “Oh for,” Luci said, laughing, “I keep forgetting that you never miss a chance for that.”
Bath Party: Luci had been tempted to make a remark about the "really big boobs" - ideally something that emphasised her own contribution to such - but was enjoying Azura's hands on her neck and shoulders too much to bother.
"I'm sure you'll know just how to bring it up... a phrase which sounded a lot better in my head."
Bath Party: Luci managed to close her eyes before Azura poured the water over her. She was sure the water was also giving Darya quite a sight as it came down across her chest.
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you had something in mind for tonight," she joked, "hope you can wait for after Alexa's done her portraits or do you want to keep the poor girl waiting?"
Bath Party: "Hah! Fat chance; way I heard it, Grandpa Sforza was not happy about his daughter falling for a carpenter's son. Her older brother had to do some finagling with the finances to help get them out of the country. Mind you; Uncle Alessandro managed to not get caught, thankfully, and he's always been in line to inherit the estate so who knows? Maybe after he inherits he'll write Mum back into the will. Which, I'm sure, would be quite the scandal among Westcrown's elite, a tiefling joining their ranks and seducing their daughters."
Bath Party: Luci seemed to relax further into Azura as she started the massage.
"Nah; nobody other than my immediate family ever made the connection, I don't think the story about Giovanni ever spread too far outside of Cheliax, or if it did then it never lasted. It wouldn't surprise me if that's why I became a tiefling; there's stories of stuff like hair and eye colour skipping generations so why can't demonic mutation do the same?" "Well, other reason nobody made the connection is probably because so few people here know I'm descended from Chelish nobility. Sforza's my mum's family and she'd married Dad and taken his name before they even arrived in Kenabres."
Bath Party: ”Something from before mum’s family became Chelish nobility, so this was centuries ago,” Luci explained, sighing as Azura’s fingers worked their magic, ”story goes that an ancestor on that side of the family, Giovanni Sforza, was a demonologist. Not the classic ‘muahahaha, now I shall conquer the world’ kind, but the sort who studied demons for ways to kill them. Story goes that he published his findings both for academics and the scholars of royal courts, but also put out more plain-language versions meant for the rank-and-file soldiers who’d be doing the actual fighting.”
”But after a while he just stopped publishing demonology books for some reason - apparently the reason changes every decade or so in Cheliax and even varies based on who you ask - but invested the money he’d made well and got patrons to fund his research in other areas. Couple generations or so later, Raphael Sforza rescues a nobleman’s daughter and the Sforza family joins the ranks of Cheliax’s nobility, while Giovanni is reduced to just a rumour.” ”Anyway, if Giovanni was a demonologist and did write those books, maybe he found a way to redeem them. A lot of ‘ifs’ there, though; even if he did exist and did write about that stuff, gods only know who still might have a copy of a limited-run book from at least five hundred years ago. And who’d be on this side of the continent.”
Bath Party: "However you'd manage it, it could end up taking long enough that they'd be glad for the immortality," Luci remarked, "can't imagine it would be a short process. Probably even endless; like a recovering addict trying to maintain their sobriety."
Lucy couldn't help but lean into Azura's hands as she started. She always found washing and combing her hair awkward thanks to her horns, she'd learnt to work around them, but didn't envy Azura. At least her mother had worked out early on to dull the tips and drilled it into her as habit. "On the battlefield maybe, but there's more to handling what's happened that hitting things with swords. Funny; saying that and what we were talking about before about redeeming demons... makes me wish the rumours about my family were true."
Bath Party: "Probably something to do with those crystals mentioned in that note we found in the Tower," Luci said as she started to scrub herself down, "if mortal mages keep working out new ways to use existing spells or magical effects, what's to stop the demons from doing the same?"
Azura & Darya: "No, I'm pretty right," Luci said, just enjoying the water for the moment, "just glad to relax and not have to worry about things trying to kill us or anything. Which I think's happened about as much in the last couple of days as it did in the first whole year of my training."
Azura and Darya: With how many girlfriends, lovers, and friends-with-benefits Luci had had, one would think she'd almost be jaded at the sight of a beautiful woman being undressed by another beautiful woman (and the latter undressing her as well), thankfully that was clearly not the case as her eyes roamed across the two aasimar while moving to make Azura's work removing her armour easier and undoing her braided hair.
As she walked to the tub she managed to resist the urge to sway her hips for their benefit - she didn't want to keep Alexa waiting too long and if she started behaving like that then they'd be here for at least an hour. Such thoughts faded as she stepped into the water, the warmth making her realise just how sore her muscles had gotten between the fighting and hauling of the day, drawing a relaxed sigh out of her as she sank in. "Gods I needed this," she muttered as she relaxed in the water. She looked over at Azura at her suggestion and ran a hand through her own hair. "Now that you mention it, it could do with a brush - if I don't take care of this for too long it starts knotting up like crazy. And might be worth making sure it looks good for Alexa's drawing."
Azura, Darya, Alexa: Luci wasn't much more restrained with the food and drink than Alexa was, only going a bit slower out of reflexes born of possessing a not-inconsiderable crumb-catcher on her chest.
"If you're sure," she replied to Alexa's suggestion that she could wait, "I guess Darya and I did end up with more of the physical labour."
Luci paused in surprise for a moment after Azura's quick return. "Okay, does she have a sixth sense for people making innuendo-ish remarks? Because you'd think the one descended from a succubus would have that." Luci didn't actually know if there was a succubus somewhere up the family tree, but it sure as hell wouldn't surprise her.
"Knowing Azura, I'm starting to wonder just how big a tub she's talking about."
"That is not what I meant and you know it," she said, playfully nudging Azura with her elbow. She was starting to wonder if Azura had always been this direct or if that was something she'd picked up while Luci had been off training. |