[BitPR²] OOCVII: Kidnapping aunts for fun & profit

[King539]

Huh. Would Senshi and Narsica's inevitable revenge quest be fine.

[Lord Raziere]

Huh, if thats how its going to be, I think I've joined too late. And Narsica didn't turn out quite as well as I expected, so if its going to be ending soon, I might as well save Narsica for some other time to modify and make a different version of her thats a better more well-designed character sometime else.

[Kuroimaken]

Huh. Would Senshi and Narsica's inevitable revenge quest be fine.

They would be, since we can actually work them in amid other plots.

I'm really sorry to have to do this guys, but the fact of the matter is that the longer the game stretches, the bigger the risk of it dying without a proper ending. The last iteration of this game is basically proof of this.

[Frozen_Feet]

... I'm in this game only because of Senshi and Narsicaa at this point. Raziere, if you drop Narsica out, I'll have 50% less stuff to do in near future.

As for the rest, Kuroi's post marks the point where I officially cease to give a crap about the rest of the game.

[Kuroimaken]

As for the rest, Kuroi's post marks the point where I officially cease to give a crap about the rest of the game.

By which you mean what, exactly? I'm not sure I follow.

[KnightDisciple]

... I'm in this game only because of Senshi and Narsicaa at this point. Raziere, if you drop Narsica out, I'll have 50% less stuff to do in near future.

As for the rest, Kuroi's post marks the point where I officially cease to give a crap about the rest of the game.

Dude, we have a shot at actually finishing one of these games. The first one technically ended, but it didn't really resolve. The 2nd one died. This one is half-dead, and a good chunk of us who've been playing a couple of years are losing steam. I love some of the stories that have been told, but I'm losing steam and motivation for this game.
Kuroi's proposal to try and focus us in a bit on a few key plots is what I view as the best shot to at least resolve some plots. I'm sick of plots just kind of...petering out without resolution.
I've been part of BITP games for, gosh, it's probably been close to a decade around here? And they never seem to resolve. I'd like this one to break that mold.

[King539]

FYI, anyone can reply to Yama's intro post.

[TherianTheorist]

Welp, three days left before I'm deprived of my main comp for a long while. If I'm not back from my life by february first, feel free to pester me about it.

I kinda feel like a liability as it is, but there's no getting out of this.

[Lord Raziere]

... I'm in this game only because of Senshi and Narsicaa at this point. Raziere, if you drop Narsica out, I'll have 50% less stuff to do in near future.

As for the rest, Kuroi's post marks the point where I officially cease to give a crap about the rest of the game.

Well here is the thing: Narsica doesn't really seem to be one of my better characters, at least not right now, I don't know what direction to go with her yet, and I'd thought that she would develop into something better as I roleplayed along and got something more consistent and playable down, but if the RP is ending, well I don't know if Narsica is developed enough to be satisfactory for an ending to my tastes, y'know? Just doesn't seem to be the time,thought I'd have the time to develop but nope, so I don't know what to do with her because as she is now, I don't know how to wrap it up sufficiently. I just started her y'know, and I though I'd have more time, but now its like....how do I possibly develop her so that she is a character fitting to end on? Can't figure it out.

[Frozen_Feet]

If you really can't think of a way to get ahead with her, you can leave her in Shinigami custody. No harm done.

However, I think you could get somewhere by just interacting more with Seji and improvising. Talk it through with King539.

[Ammutseba]

Draken and I had quite the adventure lined up for Nuala... but I would be amenable to a change in timeline if it will help other players.

[Kuroimaken]

If you really can't think of a way to get ahead with her, you can leave her in Shinigami custody. No harm done.

However, I think you could get somewhere by just interacting more with Seji and improvising. Talk it through with King539.

I agree with this sentiment. Besides, while the point is for us to bring this to a satisfactory conclusion, the sticking point here is satisfactory. We're not in a hurry per se, we're just trying to keep from adding too many things that'd make the RP collapse under its own weight.

[Ammutseba]

What direction should I be going, now?

[Kuroimaken]

Whichever one points to NEFARIOUS PLOTS.

[Draken]

Draken and I had quite the adventure lined up for Nuala... but I would be amenable to a change in timeline if it will help other players.

Sorry about the delay, I was out of town until last week and I just get cranky about posting when I am not home.

And then I am just lazy otherwise. Should get that rolling again soon.

In the while, feel free to double up on timelines. Honestly, things moved much more smoothly when we didn't care about those much.

[KnightDisciple]

That "meanwhile" bit probably is going to cause Koutarou to spontaneously get a chill down his spine.

[Kuroimaken]

That "meanwhile" bit probably is going to cause Koutarou to spontaneously get a chill down his spine.

I'm certain he will be attributing that to the horse tranquilizers sedatives he was administered to stay in bed and that he's powering through at the moment.

[King539]

My justice sense back is tingling itching!

[KnightDisciple]

Right, so, looking at the Royal Guard roster, Wan Li Lin is a non-factor, Saruhiko's an NPC, and Nicklance hasn't been on GITP since November which means Orihime's effectively an NPC. So Frozen, you can directly involve Zheng Li Lin in the current meeting, or they can be in the background like the other 3. It's also up to you whether they go down with the others or "guard the fort" with Saruhiko and Orihime.
Honestly sending just 3 Guard makes some sense anyway, and means it's not completely overwhelming. Gives us 3 good fights to do, which considering our current reduced roster is about right.

[Kuroimaken]

*Koutarou looks at the RG meeting*
*hands in a report of Wan Li Lin's activity and the undoctored footage of his attempt at diplomacy*

"Yeah, you guys have fun, I have a religious cult led by an eldritch abomination to squash."

[Frozen_Feet]

That would've worked if he'd done it immediately after dealing with Wan. It's his unwillingness to do that which makes him liable for accusations.

[Kuroimaken]

Wan's elimination of Central 46 and the fight with Wan itself threw a wrench in those plans. Koutarou's short term priorities shifted to recuperating and returning C46 to activity - thereby restoring Noble rule to Seireitei and ensuring that he was not, in fact, the sole administrative leader of Soul Society for however long this took.

It's not that I disagree with you, but that plan was unfortunately not practical at that point. (And from a meta standpoint, we have other plots to develop in the meantime.)

EDIT: Also, upon re-reading the conversation between Koutarou and Wan Li Lin, I honestly cannot understand how (aside from the fact Wan Li Lin superceded his authority, of course) Koutarou rushed to confrontation as so many people have put it. I mean, technically, WLL did break the law with his indiscriminate use of Bankai in Seireitei grounds - against the noble ruling body and a member of Gotei no less. Having greater authority does not necessarily mean the law doesn't apply to you, even if you do so arguably in pursuit of your duties (with Saiyuri at least, he did it practically for kicks).

[Frozen_Feet]

Yes, but proving Wan was breaking the law would require Koutarou to prove the Royal Assassin didn't have Royal permission to assassinate people. Which Koutarou isn't qualified to do himself, so he would have to come before the Royal Guard and trust their judgement anyway. No matter which way you shake it, it always comes down to that, and the longer Koutarou delays biting the bullet, the worse it makes him look. It's a grand example if running from the police.

[Kuroimaken]

Well, his having to trust the Royal Guard to be merciful was never really in question. After all, he beat up one of their own.

It's not as if any of those delays are really by design, either. My question was more aimed at why people are talking about it like Koutarou was quick to turn to violence.

And on a separate note, how would Koutarou be able to prove that? Wan's ramblings aside he couldn't really know one way or the other. At best, he could ask Zheng Li Lin to testify to that effect, but he has no IC way of knowing the Red Pheasant went half-cocked on a power trip. From Koutarou's perspective, even if Wan's actions were in no way correct, he still had the authority to carry them out. (Let us not dwell too long on why the idea of the Royal Guard overriding both Central and Gotei Command without an internal chain of command is a horrible, horrible system. )

[Frozen_Feet]

And on a separate note, how would Koutarou be able to prove that?

He flat-out can't, that's why I said he's disqualified. The only people who could are other Royal Guard members. That's the Catch-22 he is dealing with & I'm starting to sound like a broken record now, since this is just paraphrasing what I said in my last post.

[Kuroimaken]

I was asking more as a thought exercise than anything else, really. Perhaps more to the point, one might ask what Wan's actions would actually accomplish given the scenario at hand. Y'know, aside from him getting his kicks out of killing people.

[Frozen_Feet]

Wan was pretty open about what it thought it would accomplish.

[Kuroimaken]

Um, yeah... but there's kind of a laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge gap between his thoughts and reality.

[Frozen_Feet]

From your perspective. It's not a given such a gap would be visible from any other.

Ergo "Wan's actions were bad" and "Wan's actions were illegal" are not so easily bridged.

[Kuroimaken]

But individually, either of those statements could be true, at least from Koutarou's perspective, and it's not like he could use anyone else's to begin with.

Mostly, he acted against Wan because his actions had a negative impact, rather than their potential illegality (of which he could not be sure). Not being illegal is not the same as not being stoppable.