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Toki Wa Sengoku: It is an age of warring countries. The world is stained by hundreds of years of continuous war, with no end in sight. This is but one tale of the land of Tenra… Our players are Waffleman_ as Jugemu, a wandering samurai Rather Watch Them as Natsuyoda, a kugutsu monk unseenlibrarian as The Dead Man's Gun, a restless spirit Alien Rope Burn as Yurie, also a restless spirit ProfessorCirno as Blade Cutting Through Rebellion, a kongohki sentrygun as Asuka Kaneko, a miko weaponsmith OoC/recruit thread is here. ZERO ACTS Jugemu Your aimless journey has taken you to Heishu province, on the western continent. You've taken a break from your ambling, stopping at a crossroads inn to get out of the sun and take in some food. A humble cup of tea and a bowl of unadorned udon is all you can afford - you have to manage your precious stock of copper coins until the next bit of odd work comes your way. Your meal is coarse and common, but serviceable. The innkeeper gives your samurai markings the hairy eyeball, but you're the only person in the inn right now and your money spends just as well as anyone else's. You're fairly certain he didn't spit in your drink - the vulgar little merchant may hold you in disdain, but he's not suicidal. You lean back against the rough plaster wall, taking in the simple pleasure of not roasting out in the midday sun. Given your choice of the seats in the house, you picked the sensible one - against a wall and near the door. As such, you're afforded the chance to hear the men outside approach. Well, one of them. You heard him coming down the road. The other one, who sounds like silk on silk when he moves, is either incredibly stealthy or something odd's going on. The two sit down on one of the benches outside, silent until the innkeep comes to take their orders. Silk orders tea, the man you heard coming orders sake. Once the innkeep has gone back inside and starts banging around in the kitchen, you hear a loud, almost musical metallic sound from outside. "There's your money. Don't ask how I came by it." That's Sake. "It is a matter of professionalism, yours and mine, that I will not count it. I cannot fathom why you might attempt to short me," says Silk. If that was money, it was a whole hell of a lot of it. Large quantities of gold make that noise. Nothing quite like it. The innkeeper brings their drinks and retreats, leaving just the two of them and you alone, together. One long slurp, then ceramic hitting loose dirt. "Alright," says Sake. "Let's do this. Time's wasting." Silk does not seem as hurried. "Similarly, it is my obligation as professional to elucidate the terms of our arrangement. You have seen my client list, and you are aware of my skill. Nevertheless, should you perish during the surgery, your payment remains with me in full. If you have any final obligations or desires, now would be the time to address them." Sake grunts. "I've made my peace. Drink your damned tea and let's get on with it. Mino... may not have much longer." You sit there for a moment, as Silk finishes his beverage. You watch the sun filter through the cracks in the roof, feel the rough plaster against your back and the smooth wood supporting you. There are a limited number of options regarding that particular conversation. It's a familiar one. What, if anything, do you do? Natsuyoda It is midday in the depths of summer when Gi-Jimon calls for you. You watched little Konoe scramble all the way down the temple steps to where you were sweeping, beneath the leaves dancing in the sun. It takes her a few seconds to catch her breath - it is a big hill, after all. "Sister Natsu, the master wants to see you right away!" The little girl trails you all the way back up the stone steps. She's always been fond of you, ever since Gi-Jimon brought her to the temple after her parents were killed in one of the local wars. She's not particularly adept at contemplating the mysteries of the four-fold path, but she's handy with a broom and loves to pick the weeds from the cracks in the temple plaza, and that counts for a lot for Gi-Jimon's acolytes. You've always been one of her favorites - you stayed up with her the night she was brought to the temple, wiping her tears. Gi-Jimon is in his usual place, taking the sun beneath the great temple bell, a relic from busier times. He stands up and gives you a bow. "Natsuyoda. Thank you, Konoe, you may go now." He sits, you sit, and Konoe sits. She's either deliberately not taking the hint or hypnotized by your hair again - it's even odds on either. "Sister Natsuyoda, my student, disciple of the Tsukyumin style, it is time. It is the dawning of a new day-" "It's afternoon," Konoe volunteers. Gi-Jimon coughs into his hand. "The time has come, Sister Natsuyoda, for your next great task as you venture down the four-fold path. As food nourishes our bodies and allows us to grow, as refined discourse stimulates our minds and pushes us to examine our thoughts themselves, so must you take the next step and experience the body of Creation itself." The old monk rises to his feet, striking a pose. "Natsuyoda, you must now go and spread the word of Shingon Buddhism, so that others might-" "Whaaaat? Noooooo!" Konoe has latched onto you, pinning your arm to your side. "Natsu can't go!" The little girl looks up at you, eyes already awash with tears. "You can't! I love you, Natsu!" "Hrmm," says Gi-Jimon. What do you do? The Dead Man's Gun It's raining. Profusely. It rains a lot in Izumo. Just something about the place. Maybe it's all related - the rain, the great numbers of ayakashi, the strange landscapes. Maybe it's all just chance. You decide to make for the nearest village. Your puppet body will be fine, but you might rust in this downpour. And there's something in you that likes to be warm. You trudge through the muddy plains and arrive at the village - you're not sure of its name. There wasn't a sign. There is, however, a familiar noise cutting through the rainstorm. Gunfire. An old man holds the crane stance out in front of the town's inn. He looks like a shaky fellow at the best of times, and the mud and the gunfire aren't helping matters. Standing in the doorway to the inn, silhouetted by the rosy light from inside, is a young man in loud clothing. He holds a cheap revolver, six-cylinder, probably fifty caliber, inferior milling marks all across its frame, rust in the barrel's rifling. Disgusting. The youth in the loud clothes fires another shot into the mud by the old man's feet. This is apparently a signal of some kind, as the old man tries to hop from one foot to the other, changing his stance. The sudden motion nearly drops him into the mud, and it's obvious his joints pain him as he moves. The younger man laughs and reloads. What do you do? Yurie You're somewhere off the road between Fuchina and Nishiseki. You just brushed through the checkpoint, somewhat to the consternation of the guards posted there. But on a rainy night like this, there's never really any safe place for mortals. Which is fine by you. You heard something back in Nishiseki about a colony of haunts and specters, which sounds promising! You take in the moonlight and the ethereal currents, and make a best-guess kind of navigation towards where you think a ghostly village might be. On the way, you see a light far up a sheer cliff face, where there should be no light. The sounds of muffled struggling and cursing drift down to you through the raindrops. It's probably not a good idea to just float up there, because that's impolite if it's other ayakashi in their home, and it tends to scare the hell out of everyone else. Luckily, you're experienced at this kind of post-mortal situation, and you know the secret. You become incorporeal, sliding into the rock of the cliff so that just your eyes and the top of your head stick out and then float up. Now that's thinking! The noises get louder as you get closer. Grunt, thud, thump. Grunt, thud, thump. "Try it again, I think you almost got it that time!" "Oh, shut up. Do you want this thing or not?" "Well, yes, of course I do. Do you need me to give you a hand?" "Ha ha ha. You're not funny." You peek over the edge of the cliff into the tiny little room someone's dug out of the side of it. Lantern-light illuminates the scene. A small shrine is in the back of the tiny cave, glinting dimly in the flickering light. Standing, and occasionally jumping next to it is an umbrella with a foot instead of a handle and one eye in the center of its body. It flaps and jumps, kicking at the shrine with its solitary foot, grunting as it does so. The lantern turns around. The flickering from its mouth as it opens and closes makes it a little hard to look right at when it talks. "Oh, hello there. I don't believe we've met. Ta, we've company!" The karakasa stops kicking the shrine and turns to face the burabura. "drat everything, do you want this doodad or not?" "No call for that when there's a lady present." The umbrella's eye furrows. "Ugh. Hello, so good to meet you, whatever. Look, lady, you've got hands, don't you? Can you carry this thing back to the village?" Well, no point in staying concealed. These guys are pretty harmless, except to whatever it is they've taken an interest in back there in the- Oh. It's a meikyo. Oh. What do you do? Tankyuusha Vulture says this is the last job he wants you to do before he gives you the location of the oni tribe. You're not sure about his angle. He's evasive, slippery all the time in his dealings with you. You're his iron hammer, though. Break this, hit him, take this. Always for one more tidbit of information about the village. You cornered him last night. He barely flinched when you punched a hole through the wall just above his shoulder. His heart might be as cold and steely as yours. "Fine, fine. You've held up your end of the deal, and it's fair that I hold up mine. You know the landmarks, but this last one's for where to find them. All of them. His name's Kurebayashi..." Now you follow Kurebayashi's footsteps through the mud up the hillside. The little hut burns despite the rain, glowing behind you. You don't hurry. His glasses are broken and there's nowhere to go but down from here. Motion from the right. You pivot and catch the little weasel by the collar. His dagger glances your shoulder joint and snaps, shattering on the beautiful steelwork. He howls in frustration and fear. Mostly fear, as you hold him above the gorge by his increasingly-frayed collar. Your arm is steady as a mountain as he starts to slip through his fancy, mud-covered tunic. "Dammit, no!" He screams and cries. "No no no! Whoever it was, I'll pay you triple! Just let- put me back on the ground!" Well, that was smarter than most of the people you've dealt with today. You don't put him down, though. "Vulture wants his money." Kurebayashi stops flailing for a second. His eyes lock onto yours through his bent frames and broken lenses. "Vulture? Vulture? That two-bit piece of poo poo? I knew someone'd try and muscle in on me, but drat him twice, Vulture?" For a brief moment, your target sputters with disbelief instead of fear. "Okay, okay, okay, okay. You in there- forget triple. You put me back on the ground, you march right back into the city and kill Vulture, put him up on the gate or something, and you can forget triple. I'll make you my partner. Big, strong... uh, whatever like you can make a lot of money hunting oni-" The raindrops, Kurebayashi, the distant flash of lighting, all of it freezes as some interlock deep inside you clicks over. The moment lasts and lasts and lasts. What do you do? Asuka Well, once again you're in a three-way standoff, but this time it wasn't your fault. You're fairly certain of that. It had started off a lovely warm summer morning. You had set up your portable stall, ingeniously designed (if you do say so yourself) so that the whole thing hinges out of the trunk you haul around, in the marketplace of whatever town this was, like you do when you need some R&D funding. You'd pawned a few of your less attractive creations off on some farmers dragooned into the latest inter-dominion war when something that looked quite like a mythical dwarf barged on up and demanded you vacate his spot, or else his decidedly un-dwarflike friends would be forced to move you. This was preposterous, you replied, as this was a free market and by definition no one has a "space," and besides, if he was interested in hawking his wares, he could set up anywhere he liked and the natural progress of commerce would reward the better vendor, and what was it he sold anyway? Protection, he said, and he and his friends pulled pistols from their sleeves. You informed him he was not likely to protect much with those guns, as they looked to you like lumps of pig iron that someone had mistakenly filled with black powder and lead tailings. You picked up one of your newer models, a reciprocating shotgun with a fine filigree on the barrel, which in and of itself was the product of a particularly clever roller-press you designed, so that you could show him a proper form of protection. It was at this point one of the town guards arrived on the scene and completely misinterpreted the circumstances. Now you have the little angry man and his very large angry companions pointing guns at you, the guard pointing his rifle at them, and you have a shotgun and a complete misunderstanding in and on your hands. What do you do?
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Apr 26, 2014 06:29
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Yurie There's a moment of curiosity as she floats forward, trying to see around the two youkai, but then... bristles at what she sees, her hitodama flaring a bit at the dark as her features take on a sour note. It's a spooky turn, but the thankfully relaxes a moment later. "Ennnh? What do you want that for? They're bad luck, you know...", she says, floating closer. "... who's shrine is this, anyway? It's kind of rude to just kick it..." Her protest is weak, though, coming from a who-am-I-to-judge tone. Peering at the mirror, her pale features are reflected as she reaches out to touch the frame. Then, her reflection in the mirror looks aside, away from her outside, and starts to look around. If nothing else, mirrors were still very much her realm, and interfacing with it should come simply. She turns to the other two yokai, putting her finger to her lips, but even as she looks away from the mirror, her reflection is acting independently, examining its surroundings. Yurie will use Interface to try and puzzle out the purpose of the mirror. Let me know if a roll is needed, if any. pre:Yurie, Armour-Haunting Onryō
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Apr 26, 2014 08:07
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Archetypes: Onryō, Wanderer,
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The Dead Man's Gun This feels familiar. Way too familiar for the Gun's comfort- emotions going back to the core of its making. There's a blur, and he's now standing between the young man and the old, looming protectively in front of the latter. He tilts his head so his face can be seen under the broad-brimmed hat he was wearing to keep off the rain. Even then there's not much to see- light actively avoids him, so there's just a bare hint of eyes and a vague impression of shadowed features. "Enough." The voice is hoarse from lack of practice. And also seems to be aimed towards the young man's weapon, rather than the wielder. pre:The Dead Man's Gun Age: ? Sex: Male-ish Concept: Cursed weapon bearing the sins of those who used it before. Archetypes: Living Weapon, Paragon Karma: 85 Attribute Penalty: 1 Primary Attributes: Body, Senses, Station Station Requirement: 5 BOD: 5 AGI: 6 SEN: 8 KNO: 3 SPI: 6 EMP: 6 STA: 5 Vitality: 12 Soul: 18 Wounds: L: ()()()()()() H: ()()() C: ()() D: () Fate: Emotion: Regret 3 Goal: Find Peace 2 Destiny: Goal: Uphold the Spirit of Justice 2 Aiki: 1. Skills: Marksmanship 3, Willpower 3, Art of War: Black Wing Gun Style 4. Yohjutsu Superspeed (11 times per session) Incorporeal, Projectile Attack 4, Undying 3. Weaknesses Taboo: Cannot turn down a challenge to a showdown 4 Goal: Atone for the crimes committed by previous wielders 4 Equipment: Secret Martial Manuscripts Equip Cost: 65 Weapons: The Gun: Masterwork, Ayakashi Light soulgem revolver, (Damage +9, ROF 3, Range 50m Ammo 6, Station 5. The Ideal Gun: Damage +15, RoF 9, Range 100 meters. Using Falling Star Shot: Damage +24, RoF 3, Range 50m. 25 extra soulgems. unseenlibrarian fucked around with this message at 12:41 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 26, 2014 08:20
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Jugemu Yoshida Brothers - Akai Tori As the conversation goes on, Jugemu silently sips his tea. From the context of the conversation, he can already tell what type of surgery Sake is paying for. He had had a similar conversation years ago, in his life before his travels. His hair, red as flame, and the markings on his skin remind him of what he lost as a result of that conversation. The decision Sake was about to make is a decision that should never come lightly. Normally, he'd stay out of the conversation, but today he's feeling a little nosy. It wouldn't hurt to ask them if there was any work anyway. He tilts his bowl of udon into his mouth, finishing off the broth, sits up, and walks outside to engage the two men. He decides to sidestep the subject of their previous discussion for now. "Excuse me, sirs. Do you know where a wandering swordsman might find work nearby?" pre:
Waffleman_ fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Jan 16, 2015 |
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Apr 26, 2014 16:33
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"Jugemu"
Age: 25 Sex: M
Concept: Wandering masterless samurai
Archetypes: Wanderer, Samurai
Karma: 65
Attribute Penalty: 0
Primary Attributes: Empathy, Agility, Spirit
Station Requirement: 2
BOD: 5
AGI: 7
SEN: 5
KNO: 4
SPI: 7
EMP: 8
STA: 4
Vitality: 12
Soul: 22
Wounds:
L: ()()()()()
H: ()()()
C: ()
D: ()
Fate:
Goal: To be truly free
Emotion: Hatred of Weaknesses
Emotion: Samurai Calm
Skills:
Information (3), Notice (3), First Aid (2), Willpower (3), Melee Weapons (4)
Equipment: Walking stick, traveling clothes, Samurai build
Equip Cost: 35
Special Abilities: Samurai transformation
Weapon: Greatsword-Damage +5
Battle: 3 (+3 to BOD, AGI, and SEN when activated)
Regeneration: 1 (1 point of Vitality a round)
Soulfind: 1 (Sense human or larger life in a 10m radius)
Possession: 1 (Binding shiki)
Soul Point Cost: 5 to activate
Duration: # of rounds equal to spirit
Soulgems Implanted: 15
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Yurie The lantern straightens up. "I want it so that we can take it back to our village. It would look quite lovely in the square." The umbrella gives the mirror another fluttering kick. "He wants it because he's vain." "Quiet, you," his counterpart says. "In any case, those ridiculous shamans with the masks leave them all over the countryside. They won't notice one missing. Oh, I say, try not to touch that bi-" You touch that bit, and you are elsewhere, rendered in shades of blue light. When you assume control of an armuor, it's like walking through a fine house - discreet sections, and personal to its owner. Private. This is a city the size of a continent, and it grows detail as you gaze at each section you can see, which is somehow all of it, until it's not. There is the impression of hundreds of people milling by you, all running apparently urgent errands, zipping past like a wasp in flight. You go unnoticed, at first. Just a ghost in the system. Then the glimmering city fades around you, the world goes grey, and Something looms out of the darkness above. You're fairly familiar with malevolent presences, and this is sure as hell one of them. Something turns its attention to you, like being pinned in a spotlight of flame (flames), scouring every detail of your being, and the pressure is terrible to fathom- You're back in the cave. The meikyo has cracked where you touched it, sending spidery filaments through the formerly-pristine surface. "Oh, drat," says the lantern. "Do you still want the thing," says the umbrella. "No," says the lantern, sighing. It hops down and out of the cave, huffing at you as it bounces past. The umbrella follows it, pausing only a fraction of a second to give you what you assume is a conspiratorial wink. For your Destiny, you are Marked: Known to the Priesthood. The Dead Man's Gun The youth pauses for a moment of reflection, then gently lowers the hammer on his gun, returning it to its holster. "Get out of here, old man," he sneers. The smile on his face doesn't leave. His eyes focus on what he thinks are yours. His hand hovers over the butt of his pistol. You watch him. He tenses. If you're going to draw on him, make a Marksman roll. Jugemu These two may as well have stepped straight from your imagination of the scene into reality. Sake is a peasant lad, probably one of the bigger lads in his village. His clothes are dyed with colors that you don't often see in these parts - he's come a long way, too. He stares down at the dirt, eyes wide beneath his ragged mop of hair. Silk, on the other hand, is the very picture of a refined onmyoji. Fine black robes, entirely free of dust from the road, ridiculous peaked cap, well-manicured and boney hands, and piercing eyes locked onto yours. The corners of his mouth twitch up and down, briefly, before he takes a drink of his tea. His gaze never leaves yours. "No! No," says Sake, staring down at his discarded cup. "Be gone, samurai. We don't need your kind around here." His hands clench and snake around themselves. Emotion Matrix for Sake: 1, 2. He hates you, and if you had to guess, it's for what you are. How much are you going to press the issue?
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Apr 26, 2014 21:43
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Jugemu Jugemu gives a wry smile and places a hand on his chin. He notices that there's some stubble growing. It's been a few days since he could get a good shave. Another task for the list. But back to the matter at hand. "No need for my kind, eh? You say that when you're sitting here having the exact same conversation I had years ago?" He glances over to the onmyouji and gives a slight nod, as if to confirm with him the contents of the discussion.
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Apr 26, 2014 21:50
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The Gun The Gun almost rises to the bait- he almost, almost draws his true body out of the holster and aims at the young man. But the old man is safe for now, and leaving, so instead he squares his shoulders, shakes his head in what could be read as disappointment, and starts to turn to go as well, with another croaked, hoarse word. "Don't." If the young man's paying attention, he may notice that the figure that just intervened in his entertainment doesn't leave footprints, despite the rain. The Gun's going to go Incorporeal instead of drawing down- if he decides to shoot me in the back, well, at least it'll just go right through. Of course, if the guy actually directly challenges me, my taboos kick in. So here's hoping it doesn't go that way. unseenlibrarian fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Apr 27, 2014 |
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Apr 27, 2014 00:55
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Asuka "Whoa, whoa whoa hey, what good is any of that going to do?" Asuka slowly walks up to the dwarfish man after tossing the shotgun into her trunk, hands to the side as if directing everyone to put their guns down. "Look, I know and you should know that guns like those misfiring are just going to ruin your hand forever. Tell you what, you seem like an enterprising sort and all that's holding you back is the tools of your trade there. How about I just give you this and we can consider it an investment for the future, maybe get yourself something that won't jam every other shot?" Digging into her haori and ensuring she makes plenty of noise clinking around what few coins she actually has in doing so, Asuka pulls out a single ryo and offers it to the stubby man. Not really a ryo of course, that'd be stupid! But it looks well enough like one, and most of these country folk haven't handled enough gold or lead to really know the difference. The lead coins don't sound anything like gold clinking against each other, but between the real gold in her pocket and only handing over one this couldn't possibly fail! You know, until he tries spending it. "Now, doesn't that sound a whole lot better than a bunch of wasted shots and wasted time?" pre:Asuka Kaneko, Child of Gold Age: 24 Sex: F Concept: Misguided Inventor Archetypes: Taira Agent Miko, Gunsmith Karma: 56 Attribute Penalty: 3 Primary Attributes: Knowledge, Station Station Requirement: 6 BOD: 5 AGI: 5 SEN: 7 KNO: 7 SPI: 4 EMP: 2 STA: 6 Vitality: 9 Soul: 22 Wounds: L: ()()()()() H: ()()() C: ()() D: () Fate: Goal: Complete The Golden Child 3 Emotion: Greed 2 Skills: Interface (3), Shinto (2), Marksmanship (3), Notice (2), Information (3) [1 AP] Equipment: Amafuda Pass, Meikyo Soul Mirror, Interface Helm, Gunsmith's Kit Equip Cost: 30 + 16 Weapons: Handcannon "The Golden Child" (Masterwork, Oddly-Shaped Rifle) Damage +8, RoF 3, Range 50m, Ammo 7 SMG "The Silver Spoon" (Large, Painful-Looking Repeater) Damage +5, RoF 3, Range 30m, Ammo 12 Shotgun "The Lead Stocking" (Ayakashi-cursed Scattergun) Damage +6, RoF 5, Range 20m, Ammo 10
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Apr 27, 2014 01:42
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 The foot of the hill is, by all logic, the final stop for the trail of leaves, seeds and dust that is the monastery steps. Natsu wouldn't let Konoe be tasked with sweeping the landing. After all, Natsu's a being of service; though the need is different, her approach is still in a similar mind. So when Konoe rushes down the steps to tell her of news, her first reaction is to hold up a hand. "Please, Konoe, don't strain yourself." ----- The news of her release burns slowly until Konoe's arms ensnare her. A tricky social situation after having known Konoe almost as much as Gi-Jimon. Natsu places her free hand to her lips to think. The hand then slips into the rosary on her trapped wrist and jimmies the string of beads until it's switched hands. She presents the rosary to Konoe while indicating the string on her other wrist. "You see, the beads spell Natsu-Kaminari. My thunder. When you hear the bellowing of summer storms, hold these close to you. I'll feel your grip, like I do now, and shout my own thunder at the clouds and make them stop. I'll always be with you, right here, and you'll be with me too. We'll always remember each other, Konoe!" She brushes Konoe's hair, looks to Gi-Jimon and mouths, "Thank you, sensei." pre:
Double May Care fucked around with this message at 02:36 on May 14, 2014 |
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Apr 27, 2014 01:50
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Age: 23 Sex: F
Concept: Seeking nirvana based on her master's teachings
Archetypes: Kugutsu Runaway, Fist of Merciful Kannon, Hard Luck
Karma Cost: 75
Attribute Penalty: 0
Primary Attributes: Agility, Empathy, Station
BOD: 6 Vitality: 11
AGI: 8 Soul: 16
SEN: 4 Wounds:
KNO: 3 L: ()()()()()()
SPI: 5 H: ()()()
EMP: 8 C: ()()
STA: 6 D: ()
Fate:
Misfortune: Death of your most precious thing (3)
Goal: To be the strongest in all Tenra (4)
Emotion: Stronger than the Heart (3)
Skills:
Unarmed Combat (4), Art of War: Fist of Merciful Kannon the Thousand-Armed (3),
Notice (3), Pursuit (3), Persuasion (3), First Aid (2), Willpower (2)
Equipment: Sun of Summer amulet, Summer Thunder rosary
Equip Cost: 0
Martial Arts: Damage +10
Special Abilities: The Butterfly Dream
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Yurie Gritting her teeth openly, Yurie's bangs fall forward in anger. What she's angry at isn't clear, though, and she's no longer immediately in danger... and so she relaxes for a moment, like clouds shifting to fair weather. A few blinks, and she exhales her fury, and looks after the two as they make her way towards the exit. "W-wait, you two have a village?", she finally realizes as she makes her way after hurriedly, leaving the meikyo behind without much more thought on it. That was strange. She hopes she isn't cursed by some greater spirit, but isn't that already the case? Can she be more cursed?
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Apr 27, 2014 02:21
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The kongohki pauses and seems deep in thought...before hurling the man, to the ground next to the chasm, and, moving faster then any person of flesh and blood can, drawing a sword almost as tall as it was, bringing the blade to Kurebayashi's neck. The konohki's blank white face-plate stares impassionately, synthetic hair trailing down it's back. It's voice comes out as a metallic rasp. "...You have earned my curiosity. Tell me about this oni hunt. Tell me everything about this oni hunt. Where you hunt. Who else hunts. How rich it has made you. And then tell me about the money you owe Vulture. You have earned only my curiosity, and that is all that keeps the weapon on this side of your neck. I can find your money without you if I truly need to." pre:
ProfessorCirno fucked around with this message at 11:57 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Apr 27, 2014 18:39
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Jugemu The onmyoji's gaze is calm and still. Of course, the same can be said of snakes about to strike. He's not trying to strike you down with the force of his hate or anything, but you're not exactly getting friendly vibes off of him. Strictly speaking, you are trying to poach his client. Sake, meanwhile, is trying to reduce you to ash with his eyes. His temper pushes him over the edge - he gets up and in your face, heedless of the danger. "I'm nothing like you, monster! Whore your blade somewhere else! A woman's life is at stake!" The Gun You had hoped, for just a brief moment, that it might not come to this. You turned and walked away. Three paces and he shot you in the back. Then again, and again, with increasing desperation. Across the street, you watch the slugs chew into the general store's sign, mixing a rain of splinters with the drops from the sky. The young man with the gun stands there, smoke curling from his piece, chambers empty, an expression of confusion and mounting horror on his face. Now might be a good time for zinger. Asuka The thugs are a little dumbfounded by someone who'd put their gun away in a standoff. It's enough to give you time to try things your way. Looking back on the scene, you will suppose there was really no way a situation like that would have defused itself peacefully, but really, who could blame you for what happened next? Your fake coin flips gently, even serenely through the air, and bounces neatly off the little gent's forehead. Unused to having money literally thrown at him, the dwarf flinches, tracking the muzzle of his gun into the bicep of one of his buddies before it goes off. The watchman is understandably alarmed by the sudden discharge of weapons and starts lighting up the thugs. The wounded criminal seizes up and fires his own weapon, which ricochets off one corner of your display stand and strikes the little guy in the kneecap, who in turn had just fired a shot at the watchman. The unwounded goon catches a rifle round in the throat and goes down, but not before his own shoddily-made firearm bounces off the hard-packed dirt of the street and discharges into the back of his companion. The other goon staggers and collapses backward onto his wounded employer. Back up the street, the cop is howling and clutching at his shattered shoulder. None of which was your fault, of course. Your Destiny is Marked: Cursed Weapons From A Cursed Weaponsmith. Natsuyoda It takes a little time, but eventually Konoe stops crying. The little girl gingerly plucks the prayer beads from your hand and hugs them tightly. Gi-Jimon takes the child's hand in his, and you all share a moment of quiet reflection, punctuated by some occasional sniffling. It is a long moment, and so very brief. Your Destiny is Emotion: Stronger than the Heart, because that was stone cold for a kugutsu. Take an aiki for the bit about the prayer beads. Yurie The two spirits stop, maybe a few paces down the cliff. Their orientation 90 degrees from normal doesn't seem to trouble either of them. "Well, I say village," the lantern burbles with pride. "It's really a small community, only perhaps a dozen or so of us, but a community all the same, very friendly, very-" "It's a dumping ground for animate objects," the umbrella says. The lantern grumbles. Oddly, the weirdest thing about this scene is the paper lamp, hanging off a cliff in the middle of the rain, isn't getting wet. Of course, you've got some curious standards of weird these days anyway. "Don't call it a dump, it's our home. Have some pride." The umbrella rolls its eye and gives a disgruntled flap. "It's not even the biggest congregation of yokai I've been a part of, let alone the biggest around. You remember what Zuzu said about that one place? There are spirits living there - sorry, miss - staying there bigger than our whole 'village.' That's something to be proud of, great big community like that." "Oh, that's just silly talk and you know it. We'd know about a spirit village that large." "Not if they were hiding, see, like the legend says! A ha!" "Oh, stick it up your runner. It's not like either of us will ever travel that far, anyway." Well, that's interesting. Unless you really want to banter with the animate objects here, you can assume you get a direction out of them and we'll move on to the first act. Tankyuusha Kurebayashi spills his guts. It's up to you whether that's literal. That's not your only loose end. Vulture's still out there - he's put all the other oni hunters out of business. You can imagine how he pulled that off. What do you do?
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Apr 28, 2014 02:58
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Jugemu The boy reminds him too much of himself. Even his motivation is similar. This conversation is dredging up unexpected memories that the swordsman would rather forget. Jugemu holds out both hands and takes a step back from Sake. "Hold your tongue. I'm not looking for a fight. Everybody has their reasons, and it's not my place to pry. However, a word of advice. Many in Tenra aren't as cool-headed as me. If you decide to go through with this, you'll need to watch that temper of yours. People will treat you the same as you are treating me, and flying off the handle will be an easy way to make enemies."
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Apr 28, 2014 03:16
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The Gun The Dead Man's gun does not turn around, but simply sighs. "The way of the gun is not a path for everyone." There's another sigh- as much the gun remembering that it has to take in air to speak as exasperation. "It is especially not for you. There are other paths to walk. I advise you to find one." He starts to walk again. "A peaceful path. Far from here." He turns around as he's standing in the light of the lamp over the inn's entrance- even when his face should be fully illuminated, it's still in shadow- just a suggestion of features, and the gun's last words, just before he turns and heads inside to find the warmth and respite from the rain he came here for in the first place, is an emphatic, "Go quickly."
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Apr 28, 2014 03:42
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Yurie Hurrying after, Yurie floats partway down the cliff, before ducking as best she can under the umbrella. "Oh, it sounds like you do fine, but, ah... where's this Zuzu? Where did she say it was?" She tries to keep it cool, keep it casual, but it there's an edge of worry to her voice. This sort of rain does reminder her of having a steady roof over her head. And, yes, a ghost can get wet, and be unhappy about being wet. She's just entirely less likely to die of exposure. After getting directions from the tsukumogami, she makes her way off in that direction. Maybe she should have asked the umbrella to come along, she wonders, as the rain continues to fall. Well, it'd probably be a bad idea, all things considered...
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Apr 28, 2014 05:07
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Tankyuusha The armor was clean when it returned. The rain helped. He ensured just a little bit of his blade was still red though; appearances mattered. And, of course, he had the money. By the time he made his way back to Vulture, he knew the job he had in mind. The kongohki knelt in front of the hunter on arrival, laying out the sword in his hands to show the stain. "All your money has been regained. All your rivals are dead. Tell me of the oni. And tell me of your hunt." The lost soul's hand did not hold the hilt. It didn't need to. It was fast enough. But first, the information. Always first, the information. Always second, the fleeing.
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Apr 28, 2014 05:46
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Jugemu The kid takes a deep breath, jabs a finger toward your face, and then loses his nerve. With a gritting of teeth, he storms off into the depths of the inn. Silk sits there on the bench, eyeing you until he finishes his tea and follows his client inside. Your Destiny is Emotion: Samurai Calm. The Gun The inn is silent for the rest of the night. The barkeep hands you a key and takes your money without comment but for his wide eyes and shaking hands. The young man disappears into the night. Your Destiny is Goal: Uphold the Spirit of Justice. Take an Aiki for delivering a one liner and then ruining everyone else's evening. Yurie "Oh, somewhere west of here, in the mountains." West of here is one of the larger mountain chains of Izumo. So, theoretically possible, but... "Ol' Zuzu's moved on," the lantern says. "Messenger spirit, y'see, gets antsy if she stays in one place for a while. But you follow this road, you'll get to that neck of the woods eventually..." Tankyuusha North, in the mountains. He was very clear on that, eventually. You're long gone into the night before anyone can find what you've done. They won't forget it, though. Not for a long time. Your Destiny is Emotion: Criminals Are a Cowardly and Superstitious Lot. Everybody: don't forget to award Aiki. It is entirely appropriate to post just to dump a chit on someone.
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Apr 28, 2014 08:02
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Jugemu As the two enter the inn, Jugemu sighs. This was nothing new. "I suppose with that, there's nothing for me here." The samurai turns on his heel and walks away from the inn, onward to wherever his feet take him.
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Apr 28, 2014 15:41
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Waffleman_ posted:"Hold your tongue. I'm not looking for a fight. Everybody has their reasons, and it's not my place to pry. However, a word of advice. Many in Tenra aren't as cool-headed as me. If you decide to go through with this, you'll need to watch that temper of yours. People will treat you the same as you are treating me, and flying off the handle will be an easy way to make enemies." Have an Aiki for calm-scolding like a boss.
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Apr 28, 2014 19:08
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Asuka Jumping at the first shot and doing her best to stay low for the rest, Asuka dives back to behind her trunk for cover. She fumbles her golden pistol from its holster and peers out from behind the trunk, the barrel following her eyes. But... it was already over, just a bunch of men on the ground groaning and bleeding and maybe not the best place to be when the rest of the guards come around. Tipping the trunk's lid closed with her shoulder, Asuka hefts it up, takes a quick detour to pick up the lead coin (that was a lot of work to make it look nice!), and starts on a fast walk to somewhere not here. Somewhere very not here.
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Apr 28, 2014 19:32
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Aiki for Asuka, because triggering horrible chain reactions of destruction by being entirely well-meaning is pretty great.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:06
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Right. I think that puts closure on everyone's zero acts, but I am posting to make sure I haven't missed anybody. Are we all good to go?
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Apr 29, 2014 01:58
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Good to go.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:11
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Yeah, I'm good.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:16
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I'm fine with moving on.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:17
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Giving an Aiki to Natsuyoda because that was, indeed, smooth, and another Aiki to Tankyuusha for being worryingly frightening. Ready! 
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Apr 29, 2014 05:28
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Yep, I'm good to go.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:32
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LAUNCH!
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Apr 29, 2014 05:59
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Yurie and Tankyuusha It's a cold, lonely night for cold, lonely people. Therefore it's fitting, under the full moon, that the two of you should meet at a crossroads east of the mountains. Hungry ghosts recognize their own. In this stark land, dim and foreboding, you each take the measure of the other. Make yourselves some Emotion Matrix rolls. Depending on how long this takes, I may make the rolls for you guys and then offer any relevant bribes at the time of posting. We'll see how it goes for now. The Gun The Gun leaves town at dawn. It's fitting. It travels for several days in isolation - there's not much out on this part of the world, and the road exists as a relic of some forgotten highway for soldiers decades if not centuries past. The plains give way to hills. Mountains, purple and grey like a corpse, stab from the earth in the distance. The road'll take you to a pass. But the pass means more people. People like... Natsuyoda Bidding farewell to your fellow priests, acolytes, and friends, you set out into the big wide world. The temple lies on a foothill beside great purple mountains, colored like the sky at sunrise and beautifully serene. Mitsami, what passes for a big city around here, lies on the other side of the mountain range, so you decide to head to where the people are. More life, right? As you understand, there are yet larger cities elsewhere on Izumo, and even those pale in comparison to the metropoli of the central continent. Your path will take you skirting down the mountains to Ochiai Pass, which will put you on the road to Mitsami. With the entirety of your rather limited worldly possessions on your back, it should take you just a few days. And who knows what excitement may greet you on the road? Sanshan, one of the junior priests, was a traveling merchant before he joined the temple, and he had all sorts of stories about the strange and interesting folk you can meet when you're out and about. One time, he even traveled with the party of a regent, which sounds fulfilling, for some reason. Bedding down at night takes some synthesizing of Gi-Jimon showing you the basics and some deep-seated desires to clean and beautify, but eventually you get the hang of it, and you awaken on your third day of travel bright-eyed and ready to face the new knowledge of the day. It doesn't take long before you meet your first fellow traveler! He's an odd-looking fellow, wearing a broad-brimmed hat and carrying a pistol at his side. He looks awfully pale. Curious! Natsuyoda and The Gun meet up. Roll your respective EM dice. Jugemu At this point in your life, you've spent a good few years on the road, wandering from place to place, seeing what life brings you. Today, it's brought you a pleasantly sunny afternoon and an open road heading through the mountains to the coast. A trip out to the seaside seems like a pleasant idea in this early summer weather, and there's bound to be some kind of action in a port city. You don't see carefree days like this very often - Tenra can be a desolate place far more often than it should. Life as a mendicant has exposed you to countless facets of existence, but funnily enough, the more you see, the more it looks the same. A month or so back, you passed a column of wounded soldiers shambling in the opposite direction. The only thing that made these men unique, different from any other tragic collection of souls on Tenra, was what was missing from them. An eye here, a limb there. In suffering, they became distinct. Just like Sanjuro said, war and conflict don't change, but a battle changes those who fight it. Thankfully, there shouldn't be any battles to fight today, nor hopefully any in the near future. You've heard Mitsami's a peaceful little port town, just big enough to be interesting without drawing the undue attentions of its regent or the Priesthood and their lackeys. Hmm. Funnily enough, there's something you haven't seen before. Up ahead of you is a young woman, walking by herself. That's not particularly unique. The large trunk that rolls on wheels of its own is. It seems perfectly sensible on the face of it, but you've never seen anything equivalent in all your travels. Perhaps it says something about your jaded existence that you can somewhat accurately judge a person's uniqueness by their luggage. Asuka Not your most successful sale, but any deal you walk away from is a good one. You get the hell out of town, stopping at a roadside shrine a few hours away to check the meikyo network. So far, nobody's figured out the set of blinding incantations you use to log onto the network undetected, Southern or Northern, and you're able to check the local traffic to see what's up. After perusing the latest reports, you decide to head west. There's supposed to be a town on the coast out there, which ostensibly means a continually-refreshing market for new buyers and a wider availability of materials, but perhaps more important, it's dull out that way. No reports from that neck of the woods in ages, and if this nonsense about an unauthorized intruder on the network up north is true, anybody headed that way would be diverted to deal with the supposed emergency. Smooth sailing, so to speak. You and the trunk squeak along the western road. Pretty light traffic around here, mostly rustics. Nobody's wanted to buy anything so far. Then this guy with really seriously red hair comes up from behind you. More importantly, he's got the tattoos and carefully-covered implants of a samurai! Those guys love weapons! Dare you hope, a potential customer? Aaaand Matrix rolls from you two as well. E: I forgot Zero Intermission. I blame it on this post being written on hour twelve of work today. No sublimating fates, but you can increase any of your fates by one point. You can make a Fate Roll if you desire, or keep any Aiki you've started with for the first act. grassy gnoll fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 06:29
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I'll keep the aiki I have for now, and fates at their current level for the moment. Emotion Matrix roll: 31. Hatred? Awkward.
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Apr 29, 2014 12:46
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Emotion roll 64: Thirst for your blood. Yeesh, that doesn't really work. I'll bump up Samurai Calm to 2. I'll keep the rest of my aiki, leaving me with 5. This is the last edit, I promise. Waffleman_ fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 14:40
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Emotion Matrix is 65, or Blood Relative. Which is odd for a kongohki, but maybe there's something about her previous life or someone similar from her past she's forgotten...? Increasing her Hatred of Armours to 4. No Aiki, so no Fate Roll to make just yet.
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Apr 29, 2014 15:22
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EMOTRIX: 2#1d6 5 2 52 - Master. "Their every word, their every act, teaches you about the world." I've left Tankyuusha's backstory mostly vague, so it's possible they ARE, somehow, blood related. I'm not quite sure why death-robot would meet a young girl and immediately swear fealty to her, though v  v. We may want/have to change these ones, heh.Kongohki already start with one Fate higher then normal, so I'll leave that as is. No Aiki to roll.
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Apr 29, 2014 16:21
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64: Thirst for your blood... Sure, Natsu can feel a certain unease about him, considering the first person she's met on her journey is armed and pale as a sheet. If anything, Natsu will stay on guard... unless I get bribed to take something else.  Raising Misfortune: Death of your most precious thing to 3. Now that she's alone, she's feeling the need for her creator more than ever. Since I have two Aiki to spare, I'll roll one before we begin and get 4 Kiai. ProfessorCirno posted:EMOTRIX: 2#1d6 5 2 I'll give you an Aiki to nudge to that to Shock (53). Alien Rope Burn posted:Emotion Matrix is 65, or Blood Relative. Which is odd for a kongohki, but maybe there's something about her previous life or someone similar from her past she's forgotten...? Likewise, an Aiki if you go for A Dark Flame (66). Double May Care fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 18:18
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51 - Soulmate. Even weirder when you factor in what Waffleman got! I'll bank my Aiki for now and bump my Greed fate up a point.
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Apr 29, 2014 19:14
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Don't forget you can increase any of your Fates, up to and including all of them. UL, I would very very strongly recommend you either increase at least one of your Fates or spend an aiki to buy a new one at rating 2. There's at the very least no drawback to increasing your Fates, and no benefit by not doing so. While we are bribing each other, you can spend your own aiki to move another player's impressions, as RTW is doing. The Gun and Natsu - UL: I'll give you two aiki to take Soulmate, and RTW, one for moving to Blood Relative. I like the idea of our manufactured folks getting along, and perhaps having an as-yet undiscovered connection. Yurie and Tankyuusha - Cirno taking RTW's bribe seems like the best option, so I'll let that one stand. ARB, I'll top the other offer on the table and give you two aiki for taking Strange Interest. Asuka and Jugemu - ha ha what the gently caress. Okay. I'll offer you one aiki each to move to Deja Vu and Goodwill, respectively. Keeping in mind everyone is welcome to stay with their intensely weird results and we can see how the story plays out from there.
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Apr 29, 2014 22:42
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If you weren't going to offer me anything, I was going to use an aiki to move to it anyway, ha. I'll take it. I'll also take that aiki and do a fate roll, giving me a good 5 kiai. Waffleman_ fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 22:44
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I could use the Aiki! So I'll take the 2 aiki one from grassygnoll, and do a Fate Roll If you're letting us round out our fates, I'll up Destiny: To Be Truly Free to 3 and Marked: Known to the Priesthood to 3. Alien Rope Burn fucked around with this message at 04:23 on Apr 30, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 23:02
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Also once you and your scene partner have both settled on a Matrix thingy, go ahead start talkin', freaking out, whatever it is that's appropriate for your reactions.
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Apr 29, 2014 23:51
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Oh, whoops, didn't realize it was potentially all of them. Destinies start at 2, then? I'll bump Golden Child up to 4 and Cursed Weaponsmith to 3 as well if so, which just about fits inside my Karma. While I'm a bit tempted to see just how ridiculous Soulmate would go, I think I'll play it safe and go for the bribe to Goodwill. Insomuch as Asuka can display goodwill. Asuka Hey, you don't see many of those. Usually all shacked up with scarlet swords and guns, but... Unless he's hiding it, doesn't look like he has anything but that sword. He should really think about fixing that! Asuka stops and raises her hand up at the man in greeting. "Hoy, samurai. You look like you forgot something this morning. Luckily, you've run into just the person to fix that problem." Asuka pats the upright trunk and grins. Samurai are supposed to have a bunch of money, right? Or something like that?
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Apr 30, 2014 00:27
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