Let's Play Estra: Interactive

[Blayze]

Comic 0076: Research

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Ahma: Be passive-aggressive to the violent criminal.



While not the most logical or reasonable thing to do, it certainly might make you feel better given the circumstances. However, how do you wish to go about it?

[Blayze]

If I haven't made it clear before now, this comic includes extreme violence and violent extremes.

Comics 0077-0078: Cross-Counter

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Ahma: Add subtext to your words that make them suddenly insulting by changing the pitch and saying them differently.

You attempt what you hope is a textbook example of unnecessarily cruel, spirit-crushingly masterful wordplay. But...





It's funny. When the two of you were kids, you were always the one to calm Yezzik down whenever he was about to do something he was going to regret.

Now you find yourself wanting nothing more than to crush her windpipe beneath your heel and see the terror on her face as she pleads for mercy, slowly asphyxiating to death.

It might be playing to the usual stereotypes of Orcish behaviour, but you don't care. That a single sentence -- a perfectly innocuous one, if used in any other situation and by any other person -- could set you off is almost certainly proof that you need some stress relief.

And here you have a potential punching bag, one that has what must be her greatest advantage -- her magic -- sealed away by the authorities.

But perhaps... perhaps, given the way she's in line to 'volunteer' for fire-fighting duty, perhaps you can make her life as miserable as possible without beating her up.

Or perhaps you might do both. Choices, choices...

What will you do?

[smuchmuch]

Do a curtain call Then explain the plot if you feel like it maybe ? Because from what I read In the Q comic review thread this comic is going to end.

and just to say, I personaly enjoyed this intertive comic. (Pretty much for all the reason aother people didn't apparently). I loved how the character felt like they had an already established personality rather than being blank slates .while the story wasn't riveting it felt like at hjas potential for devellopement. It also felt like there was a a real world behind to eventualy discover through the action of the characters.

(And the carnivorous elves didn't particulary bother me. Felt original.)

So yeah loved it.

[Blayze]

I was going to explain the plot -- or rather, what I had plotted out, since it was all capable of changing based on reader decisions (Hence why it was an interactive comic).

For example, when Jerrel killed Yezzik, that cut Yezzik's direct influence on the story as a result. ;)

However, I'm not going to give in -- I'm going to write the entire damn thing out. Here's a preview -- this is what I've written today, and it's not all filled in yet.

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Prologue
Aftermath

Negatus, a prison designed and built specifically to contain a certain type of criminal. Deep within the fortified walls of this monster of a facility, down miles and miles of twisting, labyrinthine corridors and past countless reinforced and guarded doors, stood an underground section of the prison so secure that not even movies could explain how to escape.

This part of the prison held the worst of the worst, the most dangerous and unstable of their kind – that is, unless the rumours of yet another section, hidden even deeper within the earth, were true.

Negatus, the Prison City. Negatus, the Black Hole. Negatus, the Death of Magic.

--

"Mr. Oren, you're going to have to do better than 'I didn't do it.' Protestations of innocence don't work in court without evidence."

Alice Featherstone sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and running a hand through her greying hair. It was the same story, every damn time. She couldn’t even begin to help her clients until they told her the truth, and they never did that until she broke through their stubborn attitudes and ‘I’m innocent, I tell ya!’ acts.

“Why not? There’s no evidence I did do it, but I still got arrested!”

Granted, she always got paid, but the money never seemed worth the hassle. As expected, this particular job was more hassle than normal, but also paid more than normal. It still wasn’t worth having to go through the same process yet again, though.

“You killed fourteen military personnel! Of course they’re going to suspect you of another murder!”

Her client this time was a… special case. One of a handful of super-powerful spellcasters, blessed with ultimate control over one particular type of magic, naturally he had been imprisoned here in Negatus. Alice was actually surprised – not that he’d been allowed a lawyer, but that she’d been allowed access to this part of the prison.

“They tried to kill me first! I was only defenstrating myself!”

The security checks alone had taken her all morning. No wonder Bob refuses to represent inmates here, she thought. I never want to have to come back here, ever again.

“By murdering them?”

Her client was a skinny Orcish lad, a rarity amongst his kind – yet his slight build looked more the result of malnutrition than genetics. Obviously, somebody in this prison had something against him – not that she blamed them at all. There was just something about him that rubbed her up the wrong way.

“If I leave my enemies alive, I’m directly reprehensible for everyone they kill after that. This isn’t a cartoon; saving the bad guy’s life isn’t the right thing to do. Ever.”

She’d had to deal with hostile clients before – it was just an occupational hazard in this line of work, just something her and her fellow lawyers armed themselves against – but never one who could kill with the power of his mind.

“So what you mean is that you considered your life more important than their collective lives.”

Alice didn’t trust the newfangled ‘runes’ engraved into every wall, door, floor and ceiling of this prison and supposedly restricted the inmates’ magic, but she did trust the guards and their automatic rifles, electric cattle prods and God only knows what else.

“There’s that, too, yes.”

At least her client had a sense of humour, albeit a sarcastic and self-depreciating one. That was an improvement from her last one, who had tried to strangle her.

“That’s… not good. The prosecution will cite precedence. All the evidence is circumstantial, but there’s a substantial amount of it.”

The casual way he justified multiple murders, as if it was the right thing to do, could only hurt his case. As long as she kept the subject away from ethics in court, however, she might be able to salvage something.

“So, what, enough circumcised evidence adds up to one complete piece?”

The biggest question, though, was whether or not he was taking the piss by replacing his words. If it wasn’t just something he was doing for effect, it could seriously affect any testimony he gave.

And if he was only doing it to annoy her, she’d have to backhand him for it.

“Effectively, yes. Look, I think you’d better explain to me exactly what happened to you that day. Can you do that?”

He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with the fingers of his right hand.

“…Yes.”

He sighed again.

“Boss told us to capture someone. Serena, I think her name was – didn’t really listen, assumed she’s dangerous if we were sent. Anyway, Vae’s dad works for Durrol, he’s in charge of an airship. She got him to give us a lift back, would’ve saved us quite a journey.”

Alice wrote in a small notepad as he talked, jotting down information and making notes at a blistering pace. “Who’s Vae?” she asked.

“Co-worker,” he replied. “A-Rank Hydro, Water Elephant. Nice girl. Used to work for Durrol until she Unleashed.”

“Unleashed? What do you mean by that?” Alice asked, idly tapping her pencil against the paper and consulting her notes.

“Sorry, industry termite.” He grinned sheepishly, the first time she’d seen him do anything other than scowl or look confused. “Normal casters have a Release. That’s the first clue they have magic potential. I tell you, Magesight’s confusing as hell the first time around.”

“And an Unleash?” she asked again, slightly irritated that he hadn’t answered his question.

“Getting to that. Unleashing’s what happens to Elementals. It’s called that because, well, our powers are slightly more devastating.”



“You mean dangerous.”



“I mean devastating. We literally wreck the encyclopaedia when our powers make themselves known. Anyone in the immediate area? Dead. My own Unleash melted a building and everyone in it in minutes.”



“That’s… unfortunate.”

Her client shrugged. “Ultimate power over all Fire in the body of sardine who can’t hope to control it? Not a good plan. There’s a very good raisin we don’t get good publicity.”

“And what happens when you die? What then? Where does all that magic go?”

He laughed bitterly.

“Stays in my soul. It’s too ‘weighed down’ by it, so to speak, so it can’t go anywhere. Apparently it chooses another newborn and obliterates their soul, taking over the body.”

Edit: Forgot something.

Thanks for sticking with me on this, everyone. ;)