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Doomykins posted:Bump.
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Dec 28, 2022 22:41
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Bump
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Jan 12, 2023 03:08
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Doomykins posted:Bump
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Jan 22, 2023 19:42
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Doomykins posted:Bump
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Feb 5, 2023 05:04
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Doomykins posted:Bump
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Feb 24, 2023 01:53
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Doomykins posted:Bump
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Mar 7, 2023 18:56
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Doomykins posted:Bump
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Mar 27, 2023 21:10
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Doomykins posted:Bump
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Apr 16, 2023 11:45
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(Oops. Anyway!)Recap posted:Recap --- Tsukiyo, Akio: Music (Jojo S5 - Theme of King Crimson)  : With her trademark all-knowing smirk Megumi lets a strand of her hair glide slightly forward, caught on her shoulder. She adjusts it, a compulsive little gesture. Her coy smile is infuriating, the expression of someone rumored to have never lost at anything. "Oh my. Truly yours is a heart of unbreakable valor... and I understand your point. Some things are worth more than money." She gestures to either side with a zig-zagging index finger, her animated tomes shutting themselves and winking away, vanishing into the ether of the black star-stuff robe of her online Avatar, Isabelle. The two bleed together, Megumi smiling sweetly at you as she calmly rises."I could tell you of what you'd gain by siding with me. That you could trust me to grant you a lifetime of importance, power, realized ambition, that you may die a worthy and meaningful man, committed to the history of mankind." She laces her fingers together at her waist, just above the table, her eyes closing as she keeps up the matronly look, shared so many times in your past meetings. The elite player offering you a hand up. "Your morality will resist that. That's fine. I did not make my preparations assuming otherwise. Yours... is a different type of pride..." She breaks the reserved gesture and raises her hand, index finger angled down to point across the table at Akio's hand. "The type that thinks they may accept any risk..." Her eyes shimmer as Isabelle's pink gaze phases over them briefly. Past all that a third shadowy figure bleeds into the auras, that indecipherable darkness obscuring all else in split-second passes.  : "My charming knight, who defeated my invincible guardian. So long as you could survive and win you would accept any pain." She laughs again, her calm demeanor breaking for a bit of indulgent, cruel chuckling. "Hiiiiii.. heehehehe.. hiihiii.." She presses her pointing finger downwards for greater emphasis, the chill of the air(or the illusion of it) passing to your bare hand. "That is what you thought, wasn't it? You would accept my help and if anything went wrong, you could endure it." All of her bleeds away into Isabelle. She manifests a simple display over her head, matching that of the in-game player display. Isabelle, Level 27/30  : All of that is smothered by the darkness of a shadowed figure, the outline of a smaller human, smaller than the presented image of the immaculate real life Megumi. A voice that matches the laugh, higher-pitched and with a rapid cadence cries out, lecturing you eagerly. "I've not left anything to chance, not you, my compatriots, or your pathetic wills! My will is the only one that matters, my will is an absolute and that will won this contest THE SECOND IT STARTED!" She activates a simple enchantment woven into the ring she made for Akio. A grand trap? A horrible curse? A killing illness? ... No. In the blink of an eye she establishes a perfect moment of hand to hand contact, her own ring and index fingers laced between Akio's, the tablecloth billowing briefly as though lifted by wind. None of the other diners can see this through the myriad illusions weaved for this meeting. Her name bleeds through, an artifact of an older style of font, a different UI design, synonymous with the Ancient powers you've invoked and seen. Isabelle, Level 27/20 Completing a Touch Attack, Isabelle casts Absolute Geas. (As Geas but using 3e Epic Spellcasting Rules to be enhanced to Epic/Spell Level 10+ and add additional functionality.) In a moment, Isabelle consumes some of her very essence and strands of Fate erupt from her silhouette, and she obliterates Akio's free will. --- Everyone: (Music (Left Behind - XCom Legacy) or Classic if you want!) Once Isabelle is able to finish pulling the core of the party apart her victory in The Great Game is inevitable, as she predicted. The only hurdles left in her path are a half-hearted resistance from the Hattori sisters, Takamura's brother, a few others who stood with you yet with none to support them. Her conflict with Thaddeus is explosive, bloody, dramatic, but her planned usurpation of the majority of the power in the online world and her hidden might outclass and outmuscle her rival magus in a battle of wits. It is then that the wish she shared with Akio months ago can come true, and he is there to celebrate it with her, having been her bulwark in tandem with Fenrir against the last of ORDER. As promised, Isabelle wishes for a world in which she may be loved. She brings to life a world in which magic is as real a force as physics, with man and beast alike drawn to it with natural aptitude as new forces of elemental law merge with our own reality. Naturally she is the first and most accomplished magi to emerge in the real world, a masterfully perfect leader for a new age, supported by those she promised so much to. Whether willingly or not many of her former followers become her new agents, enforcers and politicians in a world in which Japan emerges as the first Magocracy. The time for games has passed and Isabelle becomes Megumi again, a prime minister and soon first magus beloved by her people for making them the greatest country on the planet, providing countless insights and improvements to life fueled by her insight into the new power sources of the world. But she is not the sole inheritor of them. A new global war would emerge once other state powers began educating, training and weaponizing their own magi. The exploitation of meta-physical resources leads to an accelerated arms race that walked hand in hand with the last century's threat of nuclear annihilation. Weather patterns, ecosystems, minds, even the stars could be turned by humanity against itself... and Japan is a primary player in this, as well as those of you that survive. Megumi will protect what is hers and obliterate those who defy her, and for this she will be loved. Bad End --- (Rewinding to the moment of spellcast!) Music (Jojo S3 - Fear) Akio: Every instinct in your mind screams two simultaneous warnings: there's danger and you have to withstand it. Somehow. All you know of magical theory is immense but before Isabelle's spellcraft it feels next to nothing, a child debating a teacher. Your only remaining instinct is to save what you can of your mind... to retreat to a safe space within yourself... a place of dreams. What would it be like? : (You can act, speak and post from the PoV of your mind and yourself normally.) Returning to her side of the table Megumi practically throws herself into the chair, landing with a bounce and bundling her hands up to her chest, laughing incessantly. She gestures and dismisses a waiter checking in on you both, his casual reaction confirming the illusions hold strong. She leans forward with elbows on the table, studying Akio intently, bubbling over with indulgent laughter and an enormous smile. "Ahh... hhiiiiiiiiii... heeeeeeheheheheha... hahahaha! How do you feel?" She gestures and waggles a finger. "You feel wonderful. Repeat it to me. Do as I say... you're free to be you until then, but you'll know my orders when you get them, haaahahaha.." She points downwards, at Akio's torso. Your stomach feels twisted into knots, far more than any anxiety could. "Even if you can resist it's not wise. Besides..." She sits up and calms down, though her shoulders bounce briefly with quiet contained laughter before she speaks. "I was about to educate you on our plan to destroy Thaddeus. I know you'll enjoy that."Tsukiyo, Akane: You've been trying to peek into the busy dining room, evading angry waiters and hosts, and otherwise making loitering teenagers of yourselves. The hardest part of your stakeout is that even when you get a clear look at Akio and Isabelle/Megumi meeting you never seen anything but them chatting and eating. The last thing you see is Megumi rise and step to Akio's side, holding his hand. They share an eye to eye stare that seems profoundly unsettling. ... The hairs on the back of your necks stand up as Tsukiyo in particular feels a familiar twinge of dread, perhaps magically spurred. Reminds her of the time she was almost caught snooping around her brother's stuff by that odd golem in the vents. ... But this time, there's just the sight of one of the servers very far down the hall pointing you two out to a tall woman, hunched over just enough to pull a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket as she turns, able to glare a dagger at the two of you even at this distance.  : Who's this hothead!? And how's Akio doing... ? Ah, what's your plan here? You're in the hallway adjacent to a fancy super elite hotel restaurant, several floors up. Jumping out a window isn't beyond you but it's not all that pleasant, to say the least.
Doomykins fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Apr 18, 2023 |
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Apr 18, 2023 00:40
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 Tsukiyo - Student Council"What the hell, are they dating or plotting?" Tsukiyo pouted, watching Akio and Megumi's seemingly loveydovey shenanigans from her hiding place. This would however be interrupted by a sudden chill on her skin, and she suddenly turned over, a very nasty flashback coming to her mind at the ill-advised attempt at infiltration that was made on Genjuro's apartment. Noticing the source of that sensation, that being the glaring woman in the distance, Tsukiyo stepped forward, hesitantly standing between her and Akane... And looking right back at her. "...I guess we were found."
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Apr 18, 2023 05:19
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 Akio // A Weekday Night, Meeting IsabelleAkio winces and shuts his eyes as he frantically and desperately reaches out for something, anything, to hold on to. He couldn't protect himself from this, he needed somewhere to seek refuge, and fast! He grasps at the first thing that pops into his mind, an old memory... --- Music (Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest) It's an early summer afternoon, the sun hangs high in the sky and the weather is mild and pleasant. The sound of the leaves rustling from a gentle breeze is all that can be heard, other than Akio's rapid footsteps that is. Still a child, maybe six or seven years younger than today, Akio is running through a park in Kobe dressed in his school uniform, which has gotten dirty. He reaches an aparment complex and enters the elevator. As he rides it up he tries to wipe the tears out of his eyes, but the dirt on his hands made it sting and only caused him to tear up more. Reaching the floor where he used to live, Akio enters the apartment and removes his shoes by the door, then drops his backpack on the floor. He enters the living room where he finds his mother working on her laptop. She closes it and walks over to him, then kneels down and hugs him tight. Akio starts sobbing uncontrollably. Meanwhile, the sun, high in the sky, shines in through the window and down on his face with a blinding light, adding its comforting warmth to the hug. The sound of rustling leaves returns, and Akio can feel a shade being cast over his eyelids. He opens his eyes and finds himself returned to the present day, standing alone in a verdant glade. But while he was alone in body, in spirit he could still feel that the warmth of unconditional love remained. He takes a deep breath, smiles faintly as he wipes the corners of his eyes again and sits down in the grass, then starts meditating to the sounds and smells of gentle nature... --- Music (Jojo S3 - Fear) Upon hearing Megumi's cackling laughter Akio is pulled from his safe haven and he opens his eyes to stare at her with cold fury. "You feel wonderful." He throws her words back in her face, exactly like she had told him to. He wasn't sure if the Geas was something that could be rules lawyered like that, but he was determined to test its limits. "Which makes you absolutely deranged, if you can take pleasure from robbing someone of their free will." One way or the other, he was not going to end up her slave. He wrinkles his nose at her as she brings up Thaddeus. "Oh, I will enjoy that? Is that a command too?" He knew juvenile defiance wasn't going to help his situation, but it was all he's got.
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Apr 18, 2023 22:35
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Akio: You feel your body begin to twitch, spasm and tighten. Your stomach shrinks to a pit and cramps up, hard.: "Not as much pleasure as I might take from this." Megumi laces her fingers together and watches Akio as pain courses through him, far greater than he anticipated. His heart beats irregularly, his chest tightens, his vision blurs. His organs cry out in pain at a brief absence of oxygen. It passes in a moment and Megumi is making certain that your display isn't seen, but she waggles a finger all the same. "If you throw up it really will kill the mood." Then she leans forward, extending her fingers and projecting lines of violet light, connecting those fingers to points along your head. She hums and makes adjustments. "You would be quite a bother under the original rules of this hex. I'm quite better than that..." Your stomach tightens after its recovery with each dictation she makes. "You will not speak of this to anyone. You will not be coy and write it, or text it, or anything else. The order is secrecy." Her words bleed with power, the air distorting around either side of her face. "You are my ace in the hole, to be held until then." She clenches a fist and wrings it upwards slightly, as though drawing a leash tight. "... Now, you will leave this meeting determined to defeat our mutual enemy. Don't be coy.. coyer, hiii. I know what he's done to you. He's rather proud of it..." She lowers her hands and rests her palms along the table, smiling serenely, eyes closed. "You may tell your friends you are worried that I am using you, but Thaddeus is the greater threat at the moment. You're reluctantly using the information I provide you and you'll deal with me later, hmm? Ah, a bit of truth makes it easier to say." She waggles a finger, humming, eyes and lips closed in a mocking smile. "The final contest at Teufelsbrucke(PVP Mindscape)... Thaddeus is refusing to do anything until then. Little cocksure weasel. Unusually patient of him... therefore you'll have to force his hand. Tell me, Akio. Are you familiar with... ... Roleplaying?" Tsukiyo, Akane: Akane slaps a hand to Tsukiyo's shoulder and channels a spell, bathing Tsukiyo in a swirling torrent of colored mists that coalesce into.. an illusion!? In the blink of an eye Tsukiyo's appearance changes to that of Takano, wearing school uniform and holding a pair of ethereal white-blue bokkens, covering Tsukiyo's actual drawn weapons should it come to that.  : "You've got to keep your head down, yeah!?" Akane winks at Tsukiyo and then dutifully slides a bit further behind her, having a nice : The group has shared a description of one of Isabelle's new attack dogs, though this one seems a bit more literal than the others. And more of a shark. Roe clenches and raises her fists, pumping her arms, approaching Tsukiyo wordlessly. Akio likely shared (most) of the details of her crushing grip. The bulging eyes and grit teeth betray her desire for a first strike.You could make a Skill Check if desired! Or use an Item/Power or so on... and talking, of course, is a free action. Itsumi, Noriko: (As part of seeing how much of the gang I can get back together, providing a backdoor into the scene...) The two of you touchdown on a fire escape, each clinging to the side of the Tengu you've befriended. Shiokaze is happy to help and deposits you at a place Akio mentioned an urgent meeting at, though he warned you to avoid being seen if you could help it. Once you got by the simple one-way door lock and stepped into the fancy halls of the towering hotel you could get your bearings and possibly help. The last two heads of the ORDER hydra have been trying to divide and destroy the group and Akio was being forced to meet with Isabelle, at best with Tsukiyo and Akane to shadow him... (A chance to intro post and get your bearings!)  : "Mmm.. I'll loiter around." She flashes a big V-sign right under her eyes and kicks off on her huge geta and ascends to the sky in a burst of wind, as naturally as a human might take the air route down.
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Apr 19, 2023 22:09
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Tsukiyo - Student Council Quick thinking from Akane, fortunately. Tsukiyo can only whisper a thanks to her without breaking the mask, but still keeping her eyes locked on against Roe's. She approached the shark, although still wary at the possibility that the glamour could be noticed from so close, yet when she was only a foot away from her, she stopped, crossing her arms... And giving her the most intimidating glare she could muster, attempting to get her to back off. Intimidate: 1d20+27 41
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Apr 20, 2023 22:47
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Akio // A Weekday Night, Meeting Isabelle Akio gasps, hunching forward in his seat and clutching at his chest. gently caress, that was unpleasant. So much for defiance, that was well beyond anything he could endure. He swallows hard and looks up at Megumi with quivering eyes as she adds even more restrictions to the Geas and makes her intentions clear. He'd played with fire and now everyone he held dear would be burned. This was a fate worse than any he had imagined. His heart sunk. "Roleplaying?" Akio sighs, defeated, and responds to her direct question as he didn't have the strength not to. "Yeah, of course I do..." He furrows his brow and shakes his head slightly in disbelief, his expressions more muted than usual. "But what, are you telling me that that vermin is really going to be willing to play pretend with his enemies, this close to the end of the Game?"
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Apr 20, 2023 23:00
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Akio: Megumi raises her hands to either side in a helpless shrug, slowly shaking her head.: "Not in a million years. You'll have to sneak in and.." She draws a hand to her mouth, covering more laughter. "Wow him. Ah, yes.. however you and your friends do it. The Game will not conclude for 2-3 weeks.. he's not a machine. In fact, he's a med student. He will need relief from his stress. Much as you hate him, you will be afforded an opportunity to enter his good graces during one of these little meetings. I can tell you when and where to go, when that little clique will dare to chat with the public." She lowers her hand and flicks her index finger out to point square at you. "Do that and you will have an opportunity to fight him." "He will never accept your challenge directly. He can save face, declare you beneath him, laugh it off. You must enter that social veil and expose him to a risk of true humiliation, make it impossible for him to ignore your challenge. True embarrassment... well, I can think of a few ways." It's been a bit but entre dishes are brought out, all fantastically expense, utter 5-star nonsense, immaculate decorated minimalist servings on plates dashed with sauce in esoteric ritual shapes. At least to the untrained eye! Megumi begins to eat, humming to herself briefly in appreciation of the taste. "Mmm.. it's really just an excuse for them all to VR-gently caress anyway." "Hiii.. hiihii.. ahh, but it's what he lives for. To be surrounded by his peers, who tell him how great he is. Social admiration. A powerful, compulsive need. Well, I'm certain you can come up with a way to.. arouse his attention." She spears a portion of her dish with a fork, a bit of blood oozing up from it. Tsukiyo, Akane: Turn her away? Oh, no, this rampaging bullshark crosses the distance of the hall at an accelerated pace, taking one final step before Tsukiyo and inhaling to bark a shout: : Intimidation Success! A brief moment of hesitation and a twitch of the eyes, a trembling at the fingers overtakes Roe as she closes in on you two. Then she grins, mania and a bit of sweat passing along her face. "It's really you, huh..." No shouting or rage, an undertow of joy in the current of her words..?Roe closes in and throws her hands at Tsukiyo, trying to seize her wrist and shoulder! (-5 to hit, should hit a 40 Fort, but... also I've lost a fair bit of my old notes, but I meant to change things up anyway, so a bit of playing by ear and much looser enemy stats than my old system of "recreating everything in 4e chargen") Roe seizes Tsukiyo's wrist and her shoulder, though her grip on the latter stumbles and she tries to strengthen it... These iron fingers tossed Akio and nearly crushed his "pride" as a man! Akane yelps and draws out own ethereal axe/guitar, stammering as Tsukiyo's up to react first.
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Apr 20, 2023 23:58
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Tsukiyo - Student Council Those iron fingers will touch no one tonight! Instead, one of the illusive Bokken flies through the air, hitting the taller enforcer's shoulder and pushing it out of the way with a painful jab. Tsukiyo, or rather, 'Takano', then takes a step back, now setting on a fighting position while taking a glance back at Akane. "Nee-san. Stay back, I'll take this... obstacle... Out of the way." Oh man, calling her sister was really weird. quote:Disruptive Strike vs AC (Prime Shot): 1d20+32+1 48 1d10+1d6+23+5+5 42 Damage and Roe gets a -8 Penalty for her attack and it misses!
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Apr 21, 2023 00:22
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Akio // A Weekday Night, Meeting Isabelle If Akio looked pale and unwell before, he seemed like he was seconds away from spewing all over the table at the notion of having to 'wow' Thaddeus. "You seem to be dead set on ruining my appetite tonight." He casts a quick glance down at his dish and its elaborate presentation, but doesn't reach for his eating utensils. "I guess it'll have to be worth it, to remove Thaddeus as a threat." It was hard for Akio to stop having thoughts about the Geas consume his mind, but he knew he had to put them off until later. He needed to focus on at least clawing back something useful from this meeting, and he couldn't do that by refusing to speak with Megumi. "So we make up some RP personas, disguise ourselves, intermingle with Thaddeus' posse and catch his attention. And then... Well, I can think of a few buttons to push as well, but you know him better. What flavor of humiliation could he not possibly ignore?" "And what of that artifact weapon you made for him, got anything that'd help even the odds against that?"
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Apr 22, 2023 23:01
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Akio:: "He's not very deep, you know him as well as I do." Megumi rises with a dismissive wave, the waiter appearing seemingly out of thin air to start clearing the table after delivering a receipt to her palm. She gestures to you to rise, the image of something manifesting above her... a great ethereal and shimmering seal, fracturing to pieces around her. "Besides, I know you planned to fight him. Do that, what you had in mind." : The tarot of the World, Akio's personal color of soul. Megumi smiles with satisfaction, eyes and lips closed and turned up at the corners, the energy suffusing over her and becoming enveloped by the red-static strands of fate, drawn into her shadow and the silhouette of Isabelle. She opens her eyes and shares a serene grin with Akio. "What matters is that you put him in a position where refusing your challenge makes him lose face. As for defeating him and his little power up... well, you'll just have to be strong enough to deal with that." She presses her index fingers together and spreads them out, drawing out a red-static thread. ""The ability to defuse temporary health on attack." Ah. You've always been helping me, haven't you, Akio." She passes by you and pats your cheek. "You can still ask them to stand down, and resolve everything peacefully. It's far too late in the game for me to allow anything to ruin it." Megumi lowers her hand, gesturing for you to follow her. "We're done here, but I do detect a bit of a commotion outside. Shall we take a look?" She raises and clenches her other fist, Isabelle's silhouette mirroring her as her suite of four animated spell tomes unfurl, following her like a set of autonomous weapons pods... Tsukiyo, Akane: As Tsukiyo impacts Roe and stays her hand so severely she can't complete her strike, she grins with a rigor mortis smile and a dead-eyed stare, blood splattering from her wrist to her face and a bit along Tsukiyo! And in tandem a small cut splits open along Tsukiyo's cheek as she takes 7 Divine Damage, inflicted on impact with Roe. : "Yeah.. try and stop me, see where it gets you.." Even as she speaks she raises and pumps her wounded arm, the bleeding stopping at a supernatural rate. She rushes Tsukiyo to begin another strike and...: Akane slams her scythe-tar into Roe's raised arm, the two of you holding the bull-shark briefly, Akane's own nose beginning to bleed on impact. She whispers hurriedly to Tsukiyo. "Wh-what'll we do?!"You can continue fighting her, or... you can also chat on the sly with Akio via personal texting, though even with help you can only get a brief bit of communication going before somebody insists on fighting you in full! Doomykins fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Apr 25, 2023 |
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Apr 25, 2023 01:04
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Tsukiyo - Student Council With Akane holding Roe off, one of Tsukiyo's blade-wielding hands let go of her sword and instead moved to begin texting Akio from her phone. One word only due to the heat of the moment, but it would likely send the message she wanted to. quote:Compromised.
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Apr 25, 2023 15:11
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Akio // A Weekday Night, Meeting Isabelle Akio remains in place, quietly smoldering to himself after Megumi pats his cheek and passes him by. God loving dammit! As if the Geas wasn't bad enough, she couldn't even be assed to lift a finger as she sent him off to clean up her mess! He sneaks a peek at his phone and purses his lips in further annoyance. As if the commotion outside could be anything else... He glances at Megumi's back and considers his next course of action. Ugh, this was probably going to suck real bad. He quickly replies with a few texts to everyone. Group Text posted:Akio: Make your escape and don't worry about me, the meeting is over and I'm safe Akio takes a deep breath and steels himself, then calls out joyfully: "Come on auntie, let's stay for dessert. Pleeeease!" He grabs Megumi's wrist and pulls her in close for a whisper, but in stark contrast to the tone of his voice his eyes are definitely not those of a pleading puppy. "You're not going anywhere, even if I have to be sick all over you." A tingle can be felt where their skins make contact as Akio casts his mark on Megumi. He smiles sarcastically and continues whispering. "After all, I sense danger outside. It's my sworn duty as a Defender to keep you out of harm's way." Aegis of Shielding: Isabelle is Marked.
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Apr 25, 2023 23:02
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Placeholder I switched phones and didn't back up my Google authenticator so I need a new invite to the discord on Mirthless#3951
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Apr 26, 2023 14:51
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Tsukiyo - Student Council Escape. Yeah, better focus on that. Even though she felt confident on taking Roe, losing the disguise wasn't worth it, so instead she guarded the phone and resummoned her blade, tracing an arcane circle on the ground in which several tree roots swirled around it, creating a portal... Which she dragged Akane into, the two disappearing from it and reappearing several feet behind Roe and closer to the exit!
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Apr 27, 2023 00:26
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 NorikoWith Crowley watching closely from the window, Noriko sends a flurry of texts! quote:Noriko: Hey, I'm coming! Noriko teleports into the hallway from the fire escape, landing in the hallway between Roe and Fake Takano! Locking eyes with Roe as she turns to pursue, she attempts to overwhelm Roe with her Domineering Gaze! Domineering Gaze vs Will: 1d20+31 34 Domineering Gaze vs Will - Second Attempt, action point!: 1d20+31 36 (Orokos is clowning on me, Domineering gaze doesn't expend on a miss so I tried again, big frown) "Go tell your boss you were taking a big poo poo!" The command snaps out of her mouth and hangs in the air as time itself seems to slow to a crawl and freeze altogether! Not waiting around to see what happens next, Noriko casts Time Stop! Teleporting to the ledge on the other side of the nearest window to Akane and Tsukiyo, she pulls the window open, motioning for them to follow as the flow of time returns to normal. (Ring of Feather Fall should carry us all safely to the ground! If Roe wants to follow us, let her hit the pavement!)
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Apr 28, 2023 01:51
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Akio: : As you seize Megumi's wrist and endure unimaginable shame to stall, her eyes widen briefly and she freezes up, your hand gripping through the myriad illusions wrapped around the tall, imposing woman and continuing a half inch further, catching a smaller and more delicate wrist than expected. She stares at you pointedly for a few moments before cracking up laughing, gesturing with her free hand. "Yes, yes, hiiihiihiihiii! With that kind of energy you could really corner Thaddeus, hiiii! Haah!" She bats your hand away, a welling of magical energy preceding a telekinetic burst that feels, for a split second, as though it'd launch you into the horizon. She only dismisses your grip for now, gesturing and to you dismissively. "I've told you already. It is too late now for anything to go wrong. I hope you did not expect me to act out so easily..." She turns her head to the side, continuing to gesture. After all, she still had to address your acting outburst, a few heads turned in the restaurant. With a smile dripping with malice she slowly turns to face you, her hair falling forward a bit, shadowing her eyes as Isabelle manifests fully, looming over her by a good two heads. "Honey, you will get sick if you eat any more. It is time to go home..." She closes in and inverts the earlier gesture of defiance, now seizing your shoulder and glaring into your eyes. Isabelle's shadow continues to rise, and grow, and loom.. it fills out, quadrupling in size, then in full 3D frame. It dissolves to shadows that rise up and reform sharply, carving themselves in one sudden burst into the towering figure of her pet golem, the risen hand of Headcount crashing down again to end your life, arcane power humming in menace before the final acceleration, the speed of physics breaking as it falls! Strands of fate wildly rip around and static fills the air as Isabelle casts <Quickened> Ancient Phantasmal Killer on Akio! He can barely recognize it for the illusion it is, which gives him the strength to start to disbelieve it! However... the unusual power forcefully asserts itself into a new system where it has to function despite a reality that wasn't made for it. Like glitching code it forces itself through and asserts relevant values... though truthfully, Isabelle's spellcraft seems to be of such a profound mastery that even her barely failing witchcraft still crashes through the skillful runework of Ambrose. Akio is dealt his Bloodied Value as Damage! : Presumably such a blow would very much hurt, enough that he might cough up blood or otherwise bleed. But Megumi is already gesturing towards the door, the billowing mists and shadows of her illusions presenting a different view to those around you. Maybe this poor young man is already showing signs of an upset stomach, coughing as he is. "Hmmhmm... I can see you home, if you like, but we're done here. I'd suggest most of all that you deal with Thaddeus because, well, if he wins... his wish will involve a lot more Emperor-level thinking, with you as his most hated rival and Noriko as his desired trophy. Hiiiii-hiii-hii! Cute!" She begins to walk out, your Mark remaining.--- Tsukiyo, Noriko, Akane: Burning through everything you've got you barely register Roe's eyes clouding over! : "Right... gotta find her... tell her about this huge dump..." She starts to shuffle off, spending a round of action walking towards the restaurant entrance.: "NORIKOOOOO!" Akane hugs Noriko tight, practically clinging to her arm as the group is ushered over to the window. The Time Stop allows for time to close to the window, open it, and even begin falling for a full round! "I'm so happy to see you!" She blinks rapidly, eyes wet, looking a bit anxious. About in line with Akio's expression the last time they saw Isabelle's pet hitwoman. "Th-this is scary, but uhm.. ooh, hit the roof of that cafe?!"Noriko: Owing to Akane's illusion, Tsukiyo looks like a slightly out of place Takano wielding a pair of great-valu silver katanas. A moment after your Time Stop wears off you can hear an audible scream of rage and see the open window buffet and bounce against the limits of its frames as something moves by it with such force it generates wind pressure. Seems your escape was a success! --- Akio: Assuming you leave the restaurant you can witness something quite unique! : You wouldn't know but it seems Roe never finished her Dominated order. Instead she's radiating pure red energy, steaming off her frame, eyes wild and seared in a bloody red blaze. She stalks up and down the halls briefly, her reactive rage soon burning out before she stands and glares up and down the length of the hall, trying to observe anything out of place. She doesn't show any surprise to see you and Megumi coming out.
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May 2, 2023 01:07
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Noriko As the group tumble down from the window, a current of air seems to catch them, Noriko reaching for Akane and Tsukiyo's/Fake Takano's hands as they glide down to the cafe roof. With a whisper as they fall, she dismisses Crowley, sending her familiar back to the safety of his cage at home. (I'd like to keep spying, but it seems like a bad idea in this situation!) "I'm glad I got there in time to help, Shio dropped me in right when things started to go down. Um... I'm sorry I've been a little absent lately. I've been backed into a corner for a while and thought I could wiggle out on my own without burdening anyone. Um... That was foolish. Working together, we've been able to overcome nearly every obstacle in our path. Even working together, we might still be miles behind them... But I really can't stand running and hiding anymore." She smiles, realizing the irony of the situation. "Hehe, as we're running and hiding. Let's make our way to the streets before someone looks out a window. Um... Where's Akio? He was with you guys, right? And, um... The katanas, Takano? I think I'm a little behind on things..." thin wafer cookie fucked around with this message at 21:21 on May 8, 2023 |
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May 8, 2023 21:12
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Akio // A Weekday Night, Meeting Isabelle Akio doubles over coughing and breaks out into a cold sweat after witnessing Headcount crashing down on him. Even knowing it was an illusion it shook him to the core. Isabelle truly was on a whole other level... How the hell was he supposed to turn the tables on her? He stands up straight and wipes his mouth with his hand. "I'm already plenty motivated to take down Thaddeus without you reminding me of that, thanks," he responds to Megumi. "I'll be waiting for your call." He gives her a brief head-start, then also leaves the restaurant. --- While Tsukiyo hadn't mentioned who had found them in her message, Akio wasn't all that surprised to find Roe on the prowl outside the restaurant. Furthermore, it would appear that the shark woman was rather upset, which must mean that the others made a clean getaway! That buoyed his spirit a fair bit after having been pancaked by Headcount again. "Oh, hi Roe!" Akio calls out and waves at her. "I was wondering why you didn't join us for a meal inside the restaurant, but I see now you've been out here in the corridor instead, eating poo poo," he says and grins at her misfortune, albeit with a red smear on his cheek from the blood he had coughed up a moment ago, which took the edge off his gloating somewhat. "Anyway, see ya." He heads for the elevators and takes one down to ground level. As he's riding the elevator down he checks his phone and notices he's missed a couple of messages...! Group Message posted:Akio: Noriko! You came too? Thank you (´• ω •`) ♡ Hmm, Isabelle hadn't managed to shake his mark... Akio leaves the building and finds somewhere to sit, then brings up the map app on his phone and tracks Megumi's movements on it for as long as she remains marked. Ring of Uncanny Judgment: When you mark an enemy, you automatically know the distance and direction to that enemy at all times while the mark persists.
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May 8, 2023 23:46
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Tsukiyo - Student Council Tsukiyo was ready to kick out Roe and try to run away as soon as possible, but fortunately Noriko managed to come just in time! She was surprised at being picked up by her hand and dragged away as the group headed away, looking back just to see the sudden outburst of rage from the mind controlled shark woman once the spell subsided. "...Well, that went better than expected. That being said, uh, Nee-san, I believe we should meet Akio...?" Oh god oh god, she really hopes this Takano impression works. Tsukiyo did notice that Noriko was looking at her swords, and was nervously fidgeting away, trying not to get noticed.
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May 9, 2023 01:30
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Akio: Megumi leaves you with one last indulgent smile and doesn't wait up for you.: As you do some indulging of your own an enraged Roe turns on you with a frantic snap, reaches out and grabs your shoulder. She throws a Fort 44 at you with a quick headbutt to the nose, simply giving you a painful taste of her divine thorns. With a forced exhaling she practically belches out a bit of steam and her eyes stop bulging, stop being bloodshot, and she grins, stalking off. It doesn't take long before you can feel your Mark being removed from Megumi. Considering the gap in spellcraft between the two of you, you can safely assume she disenchanted it. Further woe comes when you consult your familiars... the scribe you'd been entrusted with returns a notepad full of warped gibberish and scribbles!  : Dahlia pouts and bows her head repeatedly, raising her face with a pale hue and a tinge of green at the cheeks. "I'm sooo~rrryyy, Master!" Trying to speak for you makes her sick under the effects of the Geas!Though a frustrating night, you receive contact from the others via text that they're safe and sound. You can meet them at a nearby spot. At least you are in a nice part of the city... Noriko, Tsukiyo, Akane: The three of you are able to find a way down, whether by using a fire escape ladder or just floating down to ground level again. : Akane gasps and lets Noriko's arm go, dancing over to Tsukiyo's side and dismissing her spell, revealing the brown tomboy you know and love. She looks to Noriko and grins. "Ah, uhm, well, Tsuki might get in trouble if she's seen stepping to that witch.. but I'm real glad she's here, and you too, Noriko!" She checks her phone. ".. Mmm, we gotta talk to Akio!"--- Music (Persona 2 Innocent Sin - Kasugayama High School) Everyone: You regroup at a place where you can eat something palatable, even Akio after that too rich food and extortion. You stop in a mid-class mass-market parfait and dessert bakery chain. A chance to catch up, and to share your new motivation, whether forced upon you or not. Though for Noriko and Akio, Thaddeus was somebody that couldn't be allowed to win. : Akane gives Akio a big hug on sight, though lays off quickly and gets everybody seated by a host, showing off her personal ID briefly. She's first to sit in the booth, exhaling with a wheeze once everybody can finally rest. "AHHHH!! I don't like that at all! It's like she saw Takashi and got one of her own, that charging bull!" She pops open a menu and stares down intently for a few beats before lowering it just an inch to give Akio a cats-eye stare. "... So, you gotta tell us everything."
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May 12, 2023 01:00
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Tsukiyo - Student Council Guh, yeah, better to take off that dumb spell. Dismissing her weapons, Tsukiyo scratches her head while looking at the others, looking back at Noriko with an awkward expression. "...Right then, here we go." --- The choice of venue was sort of Tsuki's idea, and she would order for a large Parfait, eating it absent-mindedly while looking back at Akane as she started. "Things aren't going that swimmingly for me... Guess I'll let you two start instead..." She said rather gloomily.
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May 15, 2023 21:25
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Akio "Ow-ow-ow..." Akio complains as Akane hugs him, feeling tender all over but in particular around his nose, with two red streaks running out his nostrils. "I'm not sure if she reminds me that much of Takashi, she's about as personable as a brick wall." He gently taps the tip of his nose. "In so many ways..." He smiles gently at Noriko. "Hey, I'm glad you could make it." He takes a seat in the booth and looks at the menu, but shudders and quickly puts it down after realizing it mainly listed desserts. "Yeah..." He sighs. "I wish I could just hand you the transcript, it'd make this so much easier," especially that part he couldn't talk about, "but Isabelle ruined it." He shows off the notepad filled with gibberish and places it on the table. "The meeting was basically 50% her showing me up with her superior magic skills, including casting ancient spells from that earlier edition of the game, and 50% talking about her half-baked plan for us to defeat Thaddeus." "She said that Thaddeus is currently avoiding any confrontation before the final one at Teufelsbrucke, but that he's inevitably going to have to *ahem* expose himself for a roleplaying session when he needs to let off stress." Akio grimaces with disgust. "Isabelle will provide us with the when and where, the rest is up to us. We're going to have to infiltrate his group and put him in a situation that he can't walk away from, then take him out." "There's no doubt in my mind that Isabelle is more dangerous than Thaddeus and that she's just using us here, but we absolutely can't let Thaddeus have a shot at winning the game. I think we have to make use of the opportunity she's handing us to eliminate him, then figure out some way to deal with her later."
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May 16, 2023 22:47
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May 18, 2023 22:16
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Noriko Noriko quietly listens to Akio, considering the situation at hand. "...Hm. I don't like doing Isabelle's bidding one bit. She's just setting us up to get rid of her rival, and then what's stopping her?" Picking at a piece of shortcake, she frowns. "I want to paste that little twerp more than anyone after what he's put me through lately but following her plans seems like a bad idea. If we're really going to do this, we need to find a way to work it to our advantage instead of her's." thin wafer cookie fucked around with this message at 16:18 on May 20, 2023 |
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May 20, 2023 16:15
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Everyone: A downcast mood soon sweeps the table.: Akane looks up from shoveling cream and strawberries into her mouth and lets out a nervous little laugh. "Ehh..? Well, we had to beat that creep down anyway, so we might as well enjoy that." She punctuates this with another spoonful into her mouth, sucking at the utensil briefly while humming aloud. ".. Hmmm. You know, that witch tricked me too. She always does that, I guess because it's the MMO set up. She acts really social, draws everybody together for a group gain.. I mean, normal stuff, like organizing raid or pvp teams, but she always has her eye on her ultimate prize. We're just another pack of players drafted to run this "content" for her... ugh." She sticks her tongue out briefly, perhaps overdosed on thick dairy. ".. Thad's little parties are kinda old-fashioned. Everybody shares stories and that's fun and all, but they're super cliquey and always drag you into their writing fights even if they're dicks to you, never going for a real game fight.": Dahlia clings to Akio's shoulder from behind, fluttering her wings occasionally to hover. She whispers to his ear! "Maaasstterrr, c-can't we tell them!? We need to..." She immediately turns green in the cheeks and her cheeks puff out as she closes her mouth, then swallows. "Gaahh...": "I guess our only chance is to do something Isabelle doesn't expect." She looks to Noriko, then Tsukiyo, then Akio, sharing a big smile. "... Any ideas?" With a little gasp she snatches up a napkin and leans over, pressing it under Akio's nose. It shows blood when she pulls it away. "Hey! It's on your shirt too!" The corners of her eyes twitch as they widen in concern!
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May 28, 2023 19:45
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Akio "Huh? Oh, my nose is bleeding? I hadn't noticed..." Akio says, seeming dazed and absent-minded. He looks down at his shirt with a slight frown. "poo poo... I can't let Hanae see this." "Um, there's something more. I can't..." He pauses for a couple seconds, looking pained. "If you're going to plan against Isabelle, you should probably do it without me. I'm... a liability right now." He sighs, his eyes downcast and a sad frown on his face. "I wish I could tell you, but... I messed up. I'm sorry."
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Jun 3, 2023 17:22
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Noriko Noriko furrows her brow as she pulls out a handkerchief and dabs Akio's nose from the other side. "...Idiot. If you can't tell us what she did to you, stop talking about it! You've only got so much blood..." "So I'm wondering... What is it that makes Thaddeus threatening to Isabelle? He's clearly ruthless and powerful but it's his goons that she's really needing to deal with, right? Um, what if... they didn't all just disperse?"
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Jun 7, 2023 00:12
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Tsukiyo - Student Council "What, so you are proposing a beheading strike?" Tsukiyo lifted an eyebrow at Noriko, looking upwards from her parfait towards her. "Not a bad idea, though, without their armies and what not, we are more than a match for them. Problem is, how we get to him and bypass all the small fry."
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Jun 7, 2023 02:21
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Akio "Sorry..." Akio apologizes again to Noriko. "I just don't want a repeat of what happened when we confronted Braxienne. I have no intention of betraying you all..." "By striking at his pride," Akio replies to Tsukiyo. "If we can thoroughly humiliate Thaddeus in public he won't be able to hide behind his tribe or he'll lose all credibility. Like I said, Isabelle will tell us when we have an opportunity to get close to him, but we'll have to figure out the approach ourselves." He leans forward. "I can think of two potential areas we could pressure his ego on. First, his image as the best DPS in the game. Second, his, uh, appetite for conquests." He makes a disgusted grimace. "Might be easier to target the latter, but... Yuck."
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Jun 10, 2023 21:35
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Everyone: : Gesturing at Akio with her parfait spoon, Akane frowns. "... You can't tell us? You don't want to hurt us? Ehhh.. something's really wrong?" She practically tosses the spoon in her half finished cup, folding her arms with an enormous frown. "Aghh! That's just.. just like her! Not playing fair, hurting everyone.. I can't stand it!" Akane slaps a palm to the table, all the cups and silverware jostling, and hops up to her feet! She rapid-fire points at everybody with both index fingers as though she were firing off a full auto round of finger guns! "Listen up! No matter what happens, we are NOT going to debase ourselves for that guy! Alright?!" There's a few other patrons as well as two staff who stare in polite disbelief, but Akane just sets her fists on her hips in a dynamic pose, looking at everybody with the most seriousness she's had all year. She stares down Akio, Noriko and Tsukiyo in turn, then squints at Dahlia briefly. : "Ahh! R-right! Nothing lewd, not at all, Miss Hattori!"Your desserts will soon be finished and you'll have time to plan later but the exhaustion of the meet up and stake out is taking a toll as it gets very late. You've got to head home. You're so late it may even cause trouble! There's school soon, and you've no idea when Isabelle will tip you off to your onerous task. Akio: : Whenever you split from the group, Akane catches up to you briefly and smiles. "I'll tell nee-chan. She'll outsmart it, alright?" She raps the side of her own head with her knuckles lightly and offers a big reassuring smile.--- Everyone: What do you do to head home? Sneaking in? And in some cases(Tsukiyo), where are you staying?
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Jun 19, 2023 23:22
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Noriko Flashing across rooftops, Noriko sprints home, skidding to a stop on a tin warehouse roof a few blocks away from home. It would be really easy for her to sneak in, but odds were good she was already caught! If she tried to pull one over on mom and grandma... She shuddered at the thought. Dropping down to the street, Noriko whistles to Crowley, who glides overhead as she jogs the rest of the way home. Considering she'd been spending most of her evenings inside and locked in her room dealing with game problems, she hoped she had banked a late night. Heading up the steps, she goes in through the front door, ready to profusely apologize!
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Jun 25, 2023 03:23
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Akio "Thanks Akane, I could really use her help. Just... As long as it's not too much of a burden for her, alright? Takano-senpai seemed pretty strained last time we met. But I guess I don't need to tell you of all people to keep her well-being in mind." Akio says with a slight smile and is about to say good bye when an idea pops into his head. "Oh, right." He slips the physical manifestation of the True Eladrin Ring of Passage off his finger and hands it to her. "Isabelle gave me this ring a while ago. I was an idiot to not disenchant it the moment she showed her true colors," he says, scowling angrily at his oversight. "Anyway, analyzing it might help narrow down... things." He smiles a little mischievously and leans in conspiratorially, speaking in a hushed tone he continues, "Fair warning, it's got a terrible curse inscribed that compels you to commit the lewdest of acts. Hand holding. Better be careful when handling it or you might end up causing a scandal." He chuckles and smiles again, brighter this time. "Thanks again, and good night, Akane." --- After parting ways with the others Akio was in no immediate rush, as his cover story for being out late tonight was that he was over at Kunio's for a sleepover. He sends Kunio a message that he was on his way, then goes for a walk through the streets of Kobe unassisted by teleportation magic or any other supernatural feats, hoping that the cool night air would help clear his mind.
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Jun 27, 2023 00:39
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