I would ask for the Inari to join me. I have no doubt she would make a good escort, but also I think fighting an enemy army with a superweapon would run counter to her skills.
Each of the others has something that helps them deal with multiple foes. The assassin uses stealth and poison to approach unseen and attack without the enemy being able to respond. The sharpshooter can attack from far away, on the high ground or behind cover. The Minotaur has earth magic and can likely shape the terrain to make chokepoints or cover. And the Grizzly has illusion magic which could spread confusion and panic among enemy ranks, which in turn prevents them from working together effectively.
The Inari, talented as she may be, has only her two swords. She may hold her own against one, two or maybe three opponents at once. But in any situation where she has to fight more than that she has nothing to even the odds.
Better to keep her in a situation where she can stay close to her charge and strike down anyone that dares lay a hand on him.
Atlach-Nacha, Mindflayer, Night Gaunt, Wendigo, Shoggoth.
Fuse with all five and become the ultimate spider/squid/slime/beastman/eldritch demon! Then turn the world into an abyssal mamono realm. It would take some getting used to but I could still turn back to human so that's neat.
Eh, if I say no my life is unchanged. I won't press it. Boring answer I know. XD
Ah ok, been a while since I played Crypt of the Necrodancer. I didn’t realize. I suppose Disco Descent would be more appropriate.
I was hoping someone would do a crossover! An underground lair that curses everyone to dance and move with rhythm. Seems like something mamono would come up with to trap men.
I step forward maintaining my pace, but once I get a closer look at the figure my eyes widen. A Minotaur!? Here!? I try to run for it but my body won't listen. Instead I end up slowly shuffling backwards as she struts forwards at the same pace. I try to move to sidestep her but awkwardly froze in place. No longer moving on rhythm, I try again and again to move but to no avail.
I hear a delighted laugh and turn to see the now much closer and scantily-clad Minotaur. She is significantly taller than I am. She leans down while still swaying her body in time with the mysterious music, a motion that makes it much harder to maintain eye contact...
"You look like you've got two left feet... ain't you ever danced before sugar?"
"Dance? Me?" Well... now that she mentions it, the only dancing that was ever done back in my hometown was during a few certain festivals, and I had always been too embarrassed to join in that particular tradition...
I try to play it off but I can't help but rub the back of my head, "I mean, it may have been a while but I don't-"
"Oh don't sweat it hun, I'll show you what to do!"
Before I can object one strong hand takes hold of mine while my other hand is taken and firmly placed on her waist.
She starts tapping her hoof in time to the music, "First things first is to find the rhythm! One, two, three, four..."
Huh, now that I'm listening to it, the song is actually pretty good... Before I realize it I'm bopping up in down in place.
"There ya go! Now we're gonna try moving... follow my lead! One... two..."
We start slowly at first, moving a step every other beat. I briefly notice as we move that the floor has started flashing colors. Once we make it to one side of the room, she smiles.
"Good! Now we're gonna go back. But we're gonna speed things up a bit! Keep to the beat! and One, Two, Three, Four!"
She keeps repeating her countdown to help me stay in sync and I don't freeze up again. What's more, the floor has now started flashing two alternate colors, creating a dazzling display as we move. I turn to her face and see the joy in her eyes and I find myself unable to look away. I had been watching my feet carefully but now I felt no need to.
We can move in any direction we want to now. She even allows me to take the lead. No matter how many turns no matter which way we move, she follows flawlessly. It was as if dancing was as essential as breathing for her. I was actually starting to enjoy myself... until I noticed the music was fading away. Then the lights suddenly went out.
"Wait, what's going on? Why'd everything stop?"
I couldn't see in the dark, but the Minotaur was mischievously staring down at her new catch.
"Looks like the song's over."
"Oh... well. That's unfortunate, I was starting to enjoy it."
"That's OK sugar! I'm sure we'll have plenty of other chances to dance..."
"We will? What makes you say that?"
Suddenly I feel myself being wrapped in a bear hug, "Oh, just a feeling..." ;)
The floor gives out from underneath us and immediately I feel a feeling of weightlessness. She laughs as the two of us plunge down deeper into the dungeon. As we fall I swear I can hear more music echoing from deep underground, as well as a chorus of gasps and cries of ecstasy...
Standing my ground despite my fear of total darkness, I fumble for my flashlight before I hear the sounds of water splashing.
Before I can turn on my light I'm tackled to the ground by something large, warm, and VERY wet. Naturally, I lose my grip on the flashlight and remain in darkness.
I can hear similar sounds of struggling and *thumps* on the ground indicating that the rest of my party is similarly restrained. I try to shake free but whatever has me has already coiled around my legs. Panic sets in as more coils wrap around my chest and arms and briefly over my face. I let out a muffled shout before the coil adjusts itself away from my airway and I take in a deep breath.
"This is a restricted area! What are you men doing here!?"
I respond, though I cannot see my attackers face, "I could ask you the same thing!"
I hear replies from my group, "We were stationed here by Weyland Industries." "Yeah! We were told keep mamono away from this area!" "Only we didn't get a hot tub and heat lamps..."
A snap of fingers can be heard before the lights are back on again. I can see three of our captors from where I'm restrained: the Apophis, Unagi and Ryu all have my co-workers similarly coiled, while I assume the others are behind me or off chasing the rest of our team. My eyebrow raises as I notice all of the mamono are bare naked.
Their supple chests rise and fall tantalizingly with each breath as droplets of water run down their smooth bodies. I look down and see coils of shimmering emerald scales leading up to one hell of a woman. She has long black hair, bright yellow eyes, what looks like a topaz gemstone suspended above her heavy bosom, dark tanned skin and very well toned arms and abs that are equal parts power and beauty.
She has a neutral look on her face as we stare at each others eyes, but then her coils squeeze gently and the Wurm smiles.
The Ryu addresses the rest of us, "Well, if we're ALL working for the same employer, why don't you gentlemen join us? It's a long night, and it's too cold to get out of the hot tub just yet..."
I look over at the bubbling pool and heat lamps. It had been months since the last time I stayed at a place with these kinds of amenities. I looked up to the woman towering over me, "I uh, didn't bring a swimsuit..."
The Wurm chuckles to herself and leans forward before running one of her claws gently down along the side of my head before lifting my chin up, "No worries handsome, neither did I."
(At least I didn’t gun down the poor loli. Though I guess kidnapping isn’t much better... what would you have done?)
I was surprised to see that the one responsible for the town's missing persons was the small girl before me. She wore a puffy dress with a large collar and a tiara adorned her head along with her species' trademark horns. Her curly hair bounced as she walked closer to me, looking up at me with those big wide blue eyes.
...Ok, she was absolutely precious. How could I bring myself to smite a monster like this?
But I couldn't allow myself to stare for too long... lest her magic overpower me and turn me into another one of her thralls. I still had a job to do after all. So I went for a bit of misdirection.
"Actually, I was just about to sit down for a snack." With a quick flick of my wand, I conjure up a dainty silver platter full of a variety of cookies. I then sit cross legged on the ground nearby and take one from the plate before slooowly biting into it and savoring it.
I can feel her spell losing power as her gaze locks onto the plate of sweet treats like a smart bomb. As I continue making a display of just how delicious they are, I see her begin to frown.
She looks to me again, "C-can I have one?"
I smile and reply, "What's the magic word?"
To my surprise, the girl puts her hands together and pleads, "Pretty pretty please with sprinkles and a cherry on top!"
I can't help but laugh at her excitement, and nod.
"Yay!" She kneels down on the floor and helps herself to the plate.
With her distracted as such, I quietly cast a simple sleep spell. It takes a minute or two to kick in, but she soon enough gives out a yawn before her eyelids close and she drifts off to dreamland.
I gather the Alice in my arms before starting the hike back to town. I plan to turn her over to the authorities before sharing the location of her hideout so that any thralls she charmed could be retrieved. I let out a sigh, another day another mission completed. I had secretly hoped that this would be more challenging, but life doesn't always give you what you want I suppose.
Since the Alice's head was resting on the young mage's shoulder, he didn't notice when her eyes fluttered open and she smiled to herself.
"Silly big brother! Now I've got you all to myself..."
Came to the thread super late. I only wanted to offer my two cents on what I would pick:
Tritonia + Liliraune
Embraced between two pudding soft bodies covered in sweet smelling nectar all while nestled in between the soft fragrant petals of a giant flower?
Yes please!
Genie dominates Witch
Genie: You and your parlor tricks are only second-rate!
Kimi no Na Wa also known as Your Name.
I laughed.
I almost cried.
I've seen some of the best movies of this generation and of generations past... I'd thought I'd seen everything...
On April 9th, 2017, I learned that I actually haven't.
Not only that, I swear I'm feeling less depressed and more willing to make positive changes in my life since I've viewed it.
...My only complaint was that the ending was open ended and left to viewer interpretation. I would have liked more closure after such an emotional film.
I would try to negotiate a long distance relationship where we visit regularly. Can't really leave friends and family behind.
Rolled a Cait Sith with the random page button... Hehe, kind of appropriate for a mamono that's apparently having trouble finding a husband. That's a bit too much fur for most people.
Yeah, let's see some more designs in that Workshop! There's only two right now.
Unless you count LordofSnakes's first attempt... which I kinda don't.
Two I kinda have a problem with are the Girtablilu and Hornet.
They're hot and all... but I REALLY hate needles. Those super thin ones they use in doctor's offices are bad enough, so I really don't want to be on the business end of one that's the size of my hand.
Oh hey, someone left a design on the workshop page. Looks promising, I should check that out later. ;)
So wait the normal werecroc is large and imposing but the Deino and Sarco are MUCH larger?
How big are they? Big enough to stand a head taller than me? Big enough to lift me off the ground with a hug? Or so big that I could use them as a mattress?
On another note, a size chart for different species would be a cool thing in the future.
Zoids, huh? For a moment I thought you were going for Beast Wars.
Spoilers
Has anyone tried to get the Champ's Belt at the end? You have to limit yourself to Princesses that fit a theme, but then you can command EVERYTHING within that theme. Sounds like a fun new way to play!