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Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

New Week
Monday, May 18th and Tuesday, May 19th
Music

Akio: Taking Kane dead seriously given his experience, you resolve to test defenses, starting with his and ending with your own. Strong feints lead to well-earned physical contact with jabs, elbow and grip! But Kane steadies himself with noticeable strain and applies a counter-momentum to your wrist-toss, barely staying on his feet. In a bit of desperation he strikes hard at your forearm, a bit too hard for a spar. The shock enables him to back away and reset your positions. In the following exchanges your dedication to endurance yields a win by points, if not in domination.

: "Wh-what the hell was that.." Kane breathes heavily, bent over with hands on his knees. "I'm sorry, but you're too good for.. uh, you.. you know, a guy who just joined.." Catching his breath he straightens up a bit and tucks the rim of his hat, not giving you any eye to eye for this chat. However you want to wrap things up your continued efforts in Karate grant you +1 Courage.

Itsumi: Ryo and Madoka look to you expectantly.

: "You're in charge, Sunny. What do we do?" Madoka grabs your arm and pulls you into a friendly one-armed hug, now dominating both of you casually.

: Ryo sighs. "You stick with what works, right? The older stuff works better anyway.. and yeah, Itsumi, it's on you. How you approach this guy is pretty important since he'll freak out and burn you if he thinks you're too much trouble." He doesn't bother trying to extract himself from Madoka's side but just casually thinks. "You need to be at a spot where he can't blackmail you.. or.. he won't, because he'll get burned too. At least that's how they do it on crime dramas."

: "You know how else they do it on crime shows?" Madoka lets Ryo go and brandishes her free hand at him in a finger-gun. "Pow~"

Your participation in Cheer Club yields +1 Charm and dedication to Student Council leads to +1 Academics.

Noriko: Continued attendance for Fencing(it's not that bad!) leads to +1 Courage. As Head Spook of the Occult Club you naturally inherit a boon of +1 Charm as well. The pretty young teacher sets the treats on the spot you indicate and the other students gather around to help themselves.

: "Even if I lie...? Oh!"

: Miss Sawashiro looks positively intrigued when you bring up spook chat. Her eyes light up and her eyebrows rise. "Ohhh? I really think.." She laces her fingers together to think for a bit before bubbling over with child-like glee. "I'd get my boyfriend a promotion! Then he could propose!" She sighs dreamily and positively radiates sunny warmth, the other students basking in the glow of somebody's sincere heartfelt wish. The teacher perks up and gives a little wave as she departs. "Have fun and don't forget to clean up!"

: Akane pops up beside you, furiously chomping through a pair of the cookies. "Two brought together... cross-roads, decisions..." She peers at you expectantly and you both share a nod. "The Lovers Card!"

Takashi: Your weekly activities lead to expected gains! Track earns you +1 Courage and maintaining focus in Mathematics leads to +2 Academics! Numeric bros before gossiping hos, as they say.

Tsukiyo: You head out of class and part ways with your followers, Miho staying over at your place for a night.

: "Awww, Adachi-sensei is a really good teacher. Tsuki, you should join! I'd join Math Club if I had time..." Miho pouts a bit but helps you study, granting you a sorely needed +1 Academics.

---


Wednesday, May 20th
Music

(You've got time to shop before this meeting.)

Everyone: You've agreed to meet after school at a local police station with Yuki, to examine Takamura's remains at their morgue. You arrive at the neatly kept station and Yuki is waiting for you outside, dressed in a long skirt with leggings on and a light coat over her usual. Seems the sudden drop in temperature got to the fashionable among you.

: She looks good today, her eyes clear. "Hey everyone!" She bows her head to your group and offers to lead you in to vouch for your permission to look at the body. She sounds a bit stilted but speaks politely with the officer at the front desk, who soon passes you all in to speak to an officer who simply inquires:

: "So, what're you here for? Some family stuff? This guy ain't got none." You can practically feel Yuki's spirit drop a little.

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Nov 20, 2018

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Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Monday, May 18th and Tuesday, May 19th
Music

Akio: Offering up a great deal of self-depreciation and awkwardness, Kane sighs, then chuckles as he gets up.

: "You even suck at apologizing, Akio.." He adjusts his cap and smiles. "But I guess that's just your way of trying to be friendly. I appreciate it." He points at you with a small flick of the wrist. "You can have this one, it'll make finally kicking your rear end feel all the better." Karate Club wraps up smoothly and Felix joins you guys afterwards, Kane in a good mood.

Itsumi: : Madoka takes one of the pictures and nods to you. "I'll keep an eye out at least!"

: "Well.. I only really know this one girl." He hands you a picture. "Second year student, name's Ichiko." Your friends wish you well and the school day ends. You have several moving parts in this blackmail scheme. Now your actions can pull it apart...

Noriko(and Akio, if he'd like!): Your club members are completely transfixed! Everybody sits as instructed and follows along with the utmost seriousness in the rituals. Things even seem to get darker as you move along, growing quieter as after opening invocation you move onto the convocation ritual.. to actually beckon the desired figure.. everybody is dead silent unless prompted to join in the ritual, utterly convinced that error at this point would be deadly!

...
...
...
Music

Things shift into absolute darkness without you even being aware of it, no natural light entering into the room from any point. The features of the classroom fade away and you feel warmth from either side as hands grip yours, Akane to one side, Akio(or Fransisca) to the other. As the convocation continues and completes successfully in your own eyes you can feel things getting dreadfully cold... Fransisca's grip on your hand feels very strange before her position is fractured and jumps in reality to the side, her body encased in the glass coffin of the Other World(if Akio isn't here.) Eikoh is contained as well, your other hand gripped very tightly by Akane with a tremble as something that is not Furfur rises in the center of the circle, a fracture in the ethereal bindings rising above the drawn circles allowing thousands of corpses to bleed into the space. They come together and compact, occupying a space far too small for such a thing, yet viewed as though a hundred feet away.



".. have not... thee bargained... for much to date? .."

: Akane shifts to the side and comes closer to you, grabbing your forearm with both hands. She whispers to you "Noriko! S-send him back!"

" .. but we... are bound by contract... and will not... weep for thine excess. .." The voice is without human tone, completely senseless, the one sound that rises above the silence demanded in the face of so many dead. What is a tragedy is repeated so often that it becomes impossible to assess, only a statistic, and above that comes the voice of otherworldly business. A faded transparent representation of a concept is conjured by the corpse mass, offered before Noriko to see and understand.



".. a bond with Furfur... is not beyond me... but... bid your friend... know her limits. .."

You have a brief moment to consider accepting a Contract to awaken the Support Persona Furfur, but the absolute dread of this place reminds you of old agreements in terrible places. Akane whispers to you again: "Don't do it! Dismiss him!"

---

Wednesday, May 20th
Music

Akio: Your powerful enchantments insure that nobody even notices accidentally that you're carrying the bag of ritual materials!

: Confidently raising his #1 Father mug, the Cop gives Noriko the raised eyebrow of authority and doubt. "Extended family? They refused all contact, little missy. And anything religious can be done at funeral! What're you kids really going at now?"

: Red-faced, Yuki steps up beside Takashi and bows her head, speaking confidently despite her own feelings. "I'm sorry, sir, but we would like to see Takeo. We are all the family he has, his friends and co-workers. He was my boyfriend and did not get on well with his immediate family, who were themselves black sheep with the others." She raises her head and smiles, her eyes wet. "But he was good to us, and we want to see him one last time." She makes a show of taking Takashi's arm for support. "They.. they can't really afford to do anything but cremate him, s-so..." She sniffs loudly.

: ".. alright, I get it!" He nods to Takashi. "Mechanics sticking together, huh? The way he died, I hope you guys ain't doing nothing shady on the side." He chuckles just a bit before catching himself and clearing his throat. "I'll show you the way. No funny stuff, got it?" He squints at Noriko, Tsukiyo and Akio!

Downstairs in a modern, clean yet foreboding police station morgue you come to a small space that can't possibly process more than a pair of bodies at a time, with storage room for eight at best. There's the scattered belongings and signatures on official documentation of a single mortician, suggesting this place handles small-time cases that would otherwise see their way to a bigger station. A single sheet is draped over the remains of their one occupant, who the office steps over to and explains to you with a friendly but stern set of guidelines.

At your leisure you can pull back the sheet and examine Takamura's remains. The documentation and a toe-tag identify him as "Hamada, Takeo". Once the officer departs to give you privacy Yuki steps over to the staff desk and sits down, looking away from the table.

: He looks familiar to Akio, minus the piercings. Markedly similar to his online Avatar of a blue oni, he's a well-built young man with a few odd scars from cuts about his torso and arms. Several scars around his hands suggest getting familiar with hard work and dangerous bits of metal intimately, the lifelong symbols of a blue-collar man. He looks remarkably clean aside from the autopsy scars on the torso and the fact that his closed eyes are ringed by half-inch circles of seared flesh.

---

House of Fortune
Music

Takashi(Passive Insight): One of [PACK] is online. <Mad> Jubilette.

Feeling rising anxiety from the approaching crowd and the building chaos your group pushes forward to the Northern door, the large blue gateway leading further into the House of Fortune. By default almost nobody enters this area, invitations extended by spoken(typed) word and social graces to the mysterious master Controller of Order. The presence of Headcount and the promise of similar powerful Golems wards off even the boldest, most brazen boundary testing. Now those boundaries are broken and you cross over into the secrets of the House of Fortune.

...
...
...

Even the most unobservant looter quickly realizes that halls upon halls of the House are empty! Copy-pasted floors, walls and arches! Empty space, everywhere! The same identical blank line with doors of unresponsive planks bolted into the walls! The brutal execution of creative work is enough to make a Mindscape aficionado sick! All that's left(as Akio soon unconsciously realizes) is to make your way to the glorious elevator shaft beckoning guests towards the top levels. Idle curiosity may lead a visitor to examine the other floors before they reach the top, but disappointment is sure to follow as every floor past the first is the same: empty, lifeless, soulless down to the most basic construction.

The elevators are forged of fictional white-silver metal frames that invite you to step into building pools of magical energy suspended between them, imbuing occupants with levitation magic before giving them a propulsion in the desired direction. The entire affair is decadently high magic. With a pleasant hum and a spoken "Ding." you arrive at the top floor, a gorgeous hallway leading to a massive doorway. To Akio's relief it seems Braxienne is missing, despite all roads leading to this single path. What else could she guard?



Standing before this entryway are two figures imbued with potent magical energy, looking a bit more advanced than the traditional fantasy and high magic design of Headcount. They do not share the trademark colors of their Master, made of muted colors with a steady yellow aura. Their latent energies leak out around their head, neck and shoulders where it drifts around them in pleasant swirls until completing a full circuit around them and filling out spheres. It is an impressive array of passive defenses resting beneath the most ominous sign, bold markers indicating they are Level 27.

They wait passively so long as you keep your distance, granting you first strike. (Everybody is up! Enemies act Saturday Night, assuming at least one PC attacks and alerts them by then!)




Guardian Golem: Damage Taken: ??? AC/F/R/W: 30/30/30/30
Mage Armor: Does not take Half Damage on Missed Attack
Mage Armor: Takes Half Damage from Blasts and Bursts

---

Meanwhile!
Music

Outside of the House of Fortune are a great deal of players caught up in the excitement of a unplanned event!! The more craven are testing the decorative qualities of the goods inside the ruined first floor, the curious are streaming things from their point of view as they survey the damage and discuss the battle, and the normal player is simply confused, staring into the remains of the field and wondering what's going on and if they're in any danger! Among all of this a Large-sized player Avatar walks with a steady gait around the perimeter of the auction house, staying outside of it. He passes to a divide between building zones and actually pauses to politely ask players nearby to step aside, though you'd assume in a game like this that most bodies do not have full collision detection. As he steps down the makeshift alley a whirlwind of shlorping noises follows him, a tidal wave of yellow-brown slime crashing through a few players and overtaking them, pulling them a few squares before their weight naturally drops them out of the thinning fluid.

: The spread-out oval of traveling slime reaches a desired spot and the front border comes to a stop as the rest rushes into that spot, congealing and condensing until the full wave comes to a stop in the shape of a vaguely humanoid girl wearing gaudy jewelry, scale and dancer accessories. Despite the coquettish design she stretches unnaturally and jiggles occasionally, her full frame rising to nearly ten feet tall. "Don't run from me, you fat gently caress! Invite me to your group!" <Mad> Jubilette of Fenrir's [PACK] berates her companion with the [ARCH] tag!

: Twelve feet tall, an odd blending of richly saturated cartoon colors and surreal horror, an animated set of red lips with a shark's approach to dental design, the Architect flashes a wall of serrated teeth down at his associate. "There's no need to be rude." Hulking hands attached to massive arms bulging with muscle tense under a set of neat white gloves and full blue sleeves with a tidy red vest. The rest is blue as well, nearly his entire body masked by a blue body-stocking with only a belt of strange tools and weapons to provide any contrast. The architect is simply known as Bobbins.

With a calm deliberateness he produces a small packet of decorative documents from a foot-wide filing cabinet bolted onto his belt, his giant fingers tapping through the papers in an animation masking that he is typing. A moment later he produces a Party Invitation and grants it to Jubilette who practically slaps it out of his hand in taking it, some goo left behind in the contact. Together the two turn to a blank slab of wall on the side of the House of Fortune and wait until a hidden outline of stone dissolves, revealing a matching elevator shaft. Like Isabelle's inner office, these function with an open air frame-work that invites you to step into thin air before imbuing occupants with levitation and propulsion, guiding them in a chosen direction. The two giants descend to hidden depths... after a few moments they arrive in a comfortably furnished hall, leading to an obnoxiously golden little meeting room.

: "THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE BOB! And Jubi, great! IT'S AWFUL! THEY GOT HEADCOUNT!" <Secretary> Braxienne of [ORDER], Isabelle's little Goblin witch cohort, has traded in her Dame Chic secretary outfit for traditional leather and chain robes and is carrying a wicked little wand and orb pair, flailing her arms and hopping around in a state of despair.

: "Why don't you tell me what's going on? I'm here to help." Bobbins voice rings out smootly, a calm dulcet tone of a deep, manly bass. He reaches out and delicately pats Braxienne's head with the palm of his hand to halt her.

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Nov 20, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Monday, May 18th and Tuesday, May 19th
Music



A chorus of laughter offered by every type of person's voice you can imagine rings out, all gradually growing hollow, from young to old, from man to woman, from haggard to joyful. All grow old and fade and the orb remains impassive, the gaps serving as a face barely quivering as it "speaks."

".. this is... a simple term.. you alone.. may suffer.. your bond is granted... this is... true power!! .."

Your soul awakens Furfur, a worthy combatant at this stage in the game!

quote:


Furfur (Star *****)
Furfur is the 34th spirit of the Goetia and a great and mighty Earl of Hell. He appears in the form of a deer with a fiery tail. He will always lie to the summoner unless he is forced into a summoning triangle. He can force the love between man and wife and is also capable of raising violent storms, with thunder, lightning, and mighty blasts of wind. Furfur rules over 26 legions of infernal spirits and his seal must be worn when he is summoned.
Maziodyne (vs Reflex, Range 8, Burst 2, All Creatures, Deals 2d8+8 Lightning and 1d8+8 Thunder Damage)
Mazanma (vs Reflex, CB 2, All Creatures, Deals 2d6+8 Force Damage and Push 2)
Mafrei (vs Fortitude, Range 6, Burst 1, All Creatures, deals 2d6+8 Unresistable/Nuclear Damage. If the target does not have an Ongoing Damage effect on it, apply Ongoing Nuclear 5(Save Ends.) If this hits a Creature with Ongoing Damage or Save Ends effect, deal an additional +40% damage with this spell and increase the Ongoing Damage by +40%)
Guillotine Blade (vs AC, Melee, 1 Target. Deals 4d8+16 Physical/Necrotic Damage. Add +5 to Hit/Damage against Prone target)
Thunderous Fury (1/Day, Primary vs AC, Melee, Target 1. Hit: 3[W] (d6 on implements) Thunder Damage and Target is Dazed UEOMNT. UEOMNT, each of your allies gains bonus to Attack rolls against the target equal to your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma Modifier(pick highest. Costs 2 Fortune Points)
Immune: Thunder, Lightning
Weakness: Radiant, Psychic(+50%), Physical

".. now, disciple of darkness.. know truth.. this game is beyond the reach.. of the noble.. .."

: Akane seems a bit happy to see your commitment to her but is still looking very anxious. As the orb speaks she swats your shoulder and frowns severely. "Noriko! D-don't you care about yourself?!"

" .. there are other paths to power.. take thy bond forged with another.. SHATTER IT."

A black wind howls through the room, sending all of the closed blinds flying and banging against the windows and the doorway! The remaining cookies are upended and scattered around the room!

".. know our terms.. thou shalt demonstrate thy understanding.. take a bond forged of the arcana.. shatter it.. and harvest thine new power.. do not hold thyself.. in ignorance of the true meaning of this edict.. if the path exists.. others have hewn it.. but as show of our host's good faith.. success in this endeavor.. shall earn thee a second boon from us.."

The darkness begins to retreat. Natural light creeps back in as the Other World slowly bleeds away and the mass of bodies begins to break away, falling in a long sea of soundless bodies. Before long you'll be back in the real world, Eikoh and Fransisca amused and bewildered by your out of place reactions to the fun little ritual that didn't work because "obviously such things aren't real."

But like before in the Ancient Ruins Run you feel the heavy weight of a demand upon you. The last one expired at the end of the month. They say Devils are of a severe, literal temperament. There's no need to tell you how things work twice.

: Akane gives you a big warm hug once you're back in the real world, waving off at the others. "I-I fell for it, I got scared, shut up..." They marvel at how the room got messed up though and that maybe they really did feel something, just a little. Akane lets go of you and fidgets with her hands, looking away from you for a bit. When the others are out of earshot, she murmurs to you. "... You don't have to do so much... I don't want you to get hurt either."

---

Wednesday, May 20th
Music

: Yuki looks up as two of you come over to comfort her, looking downcast but a bit steadier than usual. She accepts and grips Itsumi's hand with both of her own, smiling. "I'm OK, thanks. I'm really happy you guys are her.. here with me." She sniffs, her eyes a bit wet, still strained from the showing against the officer. She repeats the hand-holding with Akio, her eyes widening a bit at the telling of the story. "Uhm!" She looks a bit red, like something flashed through her mind that shouldn't. "I.. I really don't understand, but it's a nice thought, thank you." She laughs a little and squeezes Akio's hand. "Ehehe, did you know him really well? You make him sound like your big brother..."

---

House of Fortune
Music

(Everybody's up, next round Tuesday Night!)

As you approach the sentries they react to a proximity and clear line of sight, straightening up and marching towards you with steady, regal strides. As though broadcast by a building-wide speaker system a ridiculously ornate combat anthem plays, almost feeling out of place compared to the larger menace of the last guardian you faced!

Tsukiyo draws her firearm and takes a shot but is just a bit off the mark!

Moving in tandem, the Guardians step towards Akio as a duo! The further back one pauses for a moment before charging to strike in sync with the closer sentry! The charging strike is parried by the heavily metaphysically armored swordmage but the closer of the two raises his blade and imbues it with overwhelming energy! With efficient speed it comes down in a powerful cleave, splashing past Akio in an energy blast that strikes Itsumi as well! (This Guardian, being closer, is affected by Aegis.) The splash buffets the two for 20 Force Damage!

Akio, Itsumi: (I can't stop anyone else from reading this, but in the interest of good fun I politely ask the other players not to.) You actually take 5 Force Damage each, the blasting effect greatly exaggerated!


Guardian Golem: Damage Taken: ??? AC/F/R/W: 30/30/30/30
Atk +27, Cleaving Melee
Mage Armor: Does not take Half Damage on Missed Attack
Mage Armor: Takes Half Damage from Blasts and Bursts

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Oct 8, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune

Slamming into the first Guardian, Takashi's vicious headbutt would usually rely on the density of his otherworldly opponent to provide a counter to his powerful momentum... yet it doesn't come! He's carried forward by his own lunge and forced to Slide One and Prone into the space the Golem occupied as it is sent swerving and flying like a popped balloon!

The energy surrounding it flickers repeatedly and solidifies before forcing the image of a towering sentry to reform and realistically collide with its fellow. The impact causes the energy barriers to crackle loudly and to transmit the full brunt of the Brutal Slam before the first golem soundlessly flops to the ground.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th

Invoking the otherworldly ritual, nothing immediately happens. Handling Takeo's corpse feels awful, to say the least. Even the best VR and your trips through the Other Worlds didn't involve moving a Human body. The odd stiffness, the strange weight, the cultural taboo... it feels awful. To his credit his body settles into the sitting position naturally, as though he was meant to be hunched over with his elbows set against his thighs. Once Noriko completes the incantation things are deathly silent.

Yuki is respectfully quiet but scrunches up her face as the quiet drags out. She begins to speak when she's frozen perfectly still and encased in a glass coffin, the police station peeling away in a rush of oncoming shadows. Once the whole of the world around you is pitch black a new wave of stark whiteness pin-pricks through the floor beneath Takeo's body, the edges outlined in stark blue that rapidly surges, retracts and repeats, each time widening the hole. After a few moments a cool breeze chills the room as the white erupts through the shadows as fast as they came, overtaking it and remaking the surroundings!



You appear beneath high cliffs on a mountain-side, thick forests rising from sand that belongs at the bottom of the ocean. Above you the frozen wave of a volcanic eruption's magma slowly oozes over the side of the cliff, having already engulfed and begun to shrink and burn the trees. If time was functioning as it should this would be an amazingly dangerous place to be in. The sky around you does not reflect the world as you know it, instead being a look into the ocean surface far above, where shafts of moonlight pierce through and illuminate the sea floor? But you are dry and able to breath and nearby you can hear the movements of strong river rapids.

In the center of a clearing made by awkward chops and rough tears that have felled about two dozen trees is a large pair of log shacks. Rough stonework in one belies the appearance of a forge but the craftsmanship begs you to consider a more accurate description. Opposite the two is a massive rift in the mountain wall, beneath the falling magma, where a reliable cold iron pick has been striking into the earth, the marks both fresh and ancient, suggesting a continuous effort of unfathomable dedication.

Sitting up in the middle of all this is the same man Akio saw when he was crushed by Headcount, a guy strikingly similar to his online Avatar but taller. Wearing some rough clothes stained grey and black by years of work with coal and a massive black-stained kimono that he wears openly like a huge coat, he looks a bit pale white and at times translucent, but all the same confident and cocksure. Takeo raises a crudely wound bundle of ethereal fabric set round burning grass and salutes you all before sitting up from the same position his body was in, the corpse vanishing back to the concerns of reality.


Music

By one of the work tables is a large bowl of delicious looking blue-brown apples, which (taking some liberty since Plut's on vacation) attracts Tsukiyo's attention. Takeo strides over and swats her hand, waving her off good-naturedly. "Hey, you eat anything down here and you can't go back, ya dig?" He chuckles and strolls over to the rest of the group, stopping to ruffle Noriko's hair. "Not bad, spooks. You're pretty cute in real life... wish I could remember your name though..." He shrugs, then looks over and points twin finger-guns at Akio and Takashi! "Hey fellas, no taking it easy, OK? Real men don't die easy!"

Chuckling again, Takeo runs a hand through his own hair before finishing a drag of his make-shift cigarette. "You guys wanted to talk to me?"

---

House of Fortune
Music

Akio, Insight: Invading the fortress of the world's best controller? You'd expect some traps, some tricky bits, a pretty strong boss battle. Isabelle certainly put her credentials on display for all to see, practically daring them to throw an attack and see how fast the guards destroy them. Having the pick of Epic level players be on her side in ORDER makes it unlikely anyone would go the distance, so to speak. And if they do... these illusions are designed to bait out their continued resolve! Their design and passives suggest dangerous, prolonged opponents but in reality they are paper tigers, intended to scare invaders into bad decisions or wasting resources.

As if on cue your burst and Itsumi's strike destroy the first Guardian, dispersing it entirely. You discover that Illusions suffer a Healing Surge of Damage when hit by Close Burst or Blast attacks. Although their shields do reduce your damage the disruption more than makes up for it. Even the combat stats on these monsters is a trick!

: "Oh! He died so fast!"

: "Nyehh, lucky break!"

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th
Music

: Takeo winks and points to Noriko with one finger gun as he lowers the other. "Mori, right! Time kinda wanders here so.. I'll probably forget that. But I won't forget that you really are as cute as your Av!" Bang! He chuckles and ruffles Akio's hair before tapping his forehead and gesturing for him to raise his head. "Hey, it's Takeo. And no problem, I got just the thing you can do to pay me back."

He grins. "You got a resurrection spell?" He waits a bit for things to start to grow awkward and laughs. "Don't worry about it! Besides.." He looks to the side, at the great rift in the mountain. "I don't think we're meant to go back. Well, it's not that bad a place. I think in time I'll eventually invent myself a real bike. That'll make traveling more fun, yeah?" He chuckles again and heads back to the table, grabbing one of the warped apples and taking a bite as he sits.

"So, what'd you come to see me for? I uh, yeah, I kinda remember my struggles back then.. I think I dragged you guys on board to get good folks as support." He doesn't chew but his mouth has cleared. He takes another bite. "Nothing bad, ya know? But I think you've probably run into some of the bad bits. I wanted to.." He stops to think after a passing look of mental disconnect. "Well, I think I would've mentored you into something to help me out. And help someone else out.." He takes another bite and scratches his head. "It's ready distant to me now, sorry about that."

---

House of Fortune
Music

Tsukiyo one Hit! Weasel Miss!

Under combined assault the second Guardian is torn apart and dissolves into arcane essence, the remains of both "golems" dissipating rapidly. The path to the grand office ahead is opened and Akio recognizes it as Isabelle's own.

Inside is an alarmingly dull room. A perfectly flat and grey luxury room framing, absent almost any furniture and certainly not decorated. The only thing that breaks up all of the smooth marble and tile floors is a single heavy desk set in the back center of the square, where Isabelle usually met Akio.

Upon the desk rests a simple device with convoluted pipes, ratchets, widgets and arms that steadily weaves and powers itself, banding together streams of violet power before committing to an entryway where they vanish. Atop the device is a rotary dial with six selections, each button colored. An extra blank space separates the circle, presumably to insure it runs smoothly or as part of some resetting mechanism, you have to assume.

Trying each of the six settings dramatically alters everything in the room, spontaneously creating new arrangements of furniture with luxury seatings, transmutes the material everything from the floor to the ceiling and even furniture itself is made of and even decorates the room. It goes so far as to provide new lighting in styles that provide hues to match or compliment the button selected.

However, none of the six settings or the default blank setting offer any method of progression. No doors, passages or even windows. At least the exit remains constant.

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Jan 12, 2019

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th
Music

: Takeo is silent for a while. "... Yeah, I remember her. You don't meet the one very often. A lot of guys here never even did it at all.." He smiles warmly. "I was pretty lucky."

"Turning against them.. hmm. Yeah, bear with me. This was awhile ago. Uhm.. well, originally there was the four big guns. You know, Wolfie as the tank, that lizard wizard as the damage, snooty chick as the wizard and Bishop as the healer. They grouped well and got along. Just kinda how them games went, when people work well they form that kinda clique. They started bringing on folks they liked, got along with them or thought they were competent, had something special. Guild formed and the good just kept getting gooder, became best in the game. Took on some of the other folks you know. I fell in like that with them, kind of a fun game to hop in and blow off some steam." He finishes the apple with a final bite and leans back, looking skyward. "Was a nice change in that kinda game.. you got good with skillful poo poo instead of burning time. Kinda like how you guys are coming up, yeah?"

"Ah, anyway." He lowers his head and leans forward, relaxing as he tells the story. "One day something came up. It was the first time a lot of us felt something.. else. Something outside. You know what I mean. Like this but different. Real bad, like all the stuff you gotta keep in your head so you can get through life without going crazy. Supposed to just be a sort of rare Mindscape everybody thought but we started seeing personal things. I saw my dad. I dunno what brought it up but there was a lot of hot talk between everybody, especially if you were epic level or tougher. Half the officers wanted to pursue it. The rest wanted to seal it. Me and.. uh..." He thinks. "... My pal, dude was a lawyer in real life. A weekend warrior type. Blade? Anyway. We got to talking and you know.." His eyes widen a bit as he clearly experiences some mental connections forming(or reforming!)

"It wasn't even a fight, or bad blood! We were asked to help somebody who was in real bad trouble.. maybe with the big devil, like in the game.. and there was a split... some folks were helping, some refused, others were walling people out or didn't want to get involved.. it's like anyone who knew about the game was a possible threat. Or maybe a few of them didn't want to risk their own lives. I guess that's fair, but I had to help. Help.. I forget.. sorry, man. Well, we couldn't work with a lot of them, they wouldn't let us.. and I think me and Blade knew that once you weren't part of that clique, you weren't getting in. We had to do something on our own."

He cups his chin and thinks. "Anyone who remains is either in on it.. trying to get in on it.. or even doesn't know any better... or maybe there's something else there. Sorry. That's about as best as I remember it."

---

House of Fortune
Music

Passive Perception(All): When adjusting the room to cobalt blue settings you spawn a set of elaborate bookshelves and a trio of luxurious padded reading chairs set around an ornate golden low table. A large volume detailing antiques is open on it, a matching golden sliver of paper-thin metal serving as a bookmark. The pages describe ornate iron filing cabinets, similar to a rustic appearance in the Ruby Red setting. However once spawned these prove to be locked by a complicated device made by three simple locks connecting to a larger glyph on the surface of the bottom drawer. A simple test of any individual lock in the trio lets a sufficient Dex character bypass it with Thievery(Weasel auto-passes) but none of the three yield any change in the locked status of the cabinet.

: "Huh! Tricky stuff!" Weasel ambles around the room each time it changes, trying to pick up and pocket anything that looks smaller than a desk. The wonder of the books of the Cobalt Blue room seem lost on him.

Arcana: Dedicated goofing around tests each button and finds them working, as well as the reset function. Rampant silliness doesn't threaten to damage or overwhelm the device which simply pauses time by split seconds to accommodate repeated or sudden shifts. If any of you are standing in a space where furniture would appear you're blinked to the side in a subtle whmph.

Channeling focused precision, Akio grips the top of Noriko's hand for a moment(Redd gasps off-screen) and aligns their auras with the arcane streams moving through the machine. They can briefly see the flow of energy in totality... and a hidden outline of a seventh button where the reset dial is! This is advanced stuff.. simply using the reset dial isn't enough. You must actively channel and provide arcane energy of your own before using the dial, activating the 8th Room! This is the Blank Slate of Isabelle's true office! Everything shifts, including the hallways just outside!



A perfectly measured square room has been split into a practical combination of library and office. In the far corners of the ceiling on either side are melon-sized golden orbs set in ornate metal frames. They briefly broadcast veils of light that adjust everything in the room to your individual vision: lighting, hue and even decor shimmer and reform, taking on design choices you would find pleasing without altering the function. The chair Akio sits in animates itself and shakes him out before shrinking, twisting and narrowing to the proportions of shorter woman! Behind the desk a massive pure golden frame erupts, the material far more lustrous than that of the Fake Room. It pulls itself into a tidy square and fills itself with tomes of practical spellcasting theory. On the left side of the room a beautiful opal mirror shimmers into existence, hanging on the wall. Opposite that blooms a portrait of <Mage>_Isabelle, the World's Best Controller. She wears a nebulous robe that looks as though it was pulled from the night sky, reminding you of the artifact armor pulled from Headcount.



The desk transmutes to widen into a roomy crescent moon design and modifies the Decor Device, transforming it into a floating display of ethereal orbs that looks like a holographic solar system suspended above several linked metal circles. There are options to modify the room's layout six times again based on the familiar hues of Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black and White. There's also a Grey option to return to the original seven options(False Blank, Ruby Red, Cobalt Blue, Emerald Green, Topaz Yellow, Obsidian Black and Diamond White) to facilitate investigating the clues Takashi sniffed out.

You get the feeling the true path forward will be in the 7 Ascended Rooms. The default there would be Isabelle's Office, followed by the 6 options to transform it.

(Fake: False Blank, Ruby Red, Cobalt Blue, Emerald Green, Topaz Yellow, Obsidian Black and Diamond White)
(True: Isabelle's Office, Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black and White)

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jan 12, 2019

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
(As a point of reference that came up earlier in the thread or OOC but I'm putting here now, DDW the in-game MMO launched roughly a year ago. ORDER came to prominence about six months after that. This is widely known IC knowledge.)

---

House of Fortune
Music

Dungeoneering: Whenever you switch away from Isabelle's Office the portrait and mirror vanish as the walls rearrange, the East and West walls always being covered by furniture or tapestries. When you return to Isabelle's Office(or the True Neutral Room) they respawn.

Switching to the True Black Room despawning every piece of furniture but the desk. The walls are soon blanketed in thick iron chains hanging loosely, the movements of other appearing pieces cause them to rustle and jangle. A large iron torture rack builds up in the center of the room and blooms a pair of small surgical tables with full spread of cutting and splitting tools. The corners of this room fill out with ominous altars to malformed idols and too orderly piles of skulls. Everything is fastidiously clean despite the suggested theme..it might be unnerving in real life but in a game like this there was no real way to commit somebody to enduring kidnap and torture. The room feels as though it were never used and simply added to round out the options.

The bookshelves behind the desk on the raised Northern wall are gone in this setting, leaving a large green-black cobblestone opening, a massive blank rectangle between the curtains of chains.

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Jan 12, 2019

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

quote:

Chat inquiries

Perception, True Black Room: There's nothing unusual about the blank stretch of wall along the North. It's large enough for a nice bit of decoration.

The True Red Room does not have the filing cabinets! It is a luxury bar!

The halls outside have shifted in appearance. They remain the same shape, with no new additions or routes.

Dahlia glides out as far as she can to investigate any changes in the environment. From Isabelle's Office to the Elevator, nothing is different outside of the change in appearance. Going any further exceeds the 20 Square limit.

---

False Neutral Room: Inside is an alarmingly dull room. A perfectly flat and grey luxury room framing, absent almost any furniture and certainly not decorated. The only thing that breaks up all of the smooth marble and tile floors is a single heavy desk set in the back center of the square.

Ruby Red(Fake Red): A room of record keeping with a few old, rustic desks and antiquated typewriters. A large filing cabinet has a trio of locks on the bottom shelf, however when a lock is picked it resets back to locked within a few seconds.

Cobalt Blue(Fake Blue): Reading room with a set of elaborate bookshelves and a trio of luxurious padded reading chairs set around an ornate golden low table. A large volume detailing antiques is open on it, a matching golden sliver of paper-thin metal serving as a bookmark.

Emerald Green(Fake Green): An indoor garden with orbs that broadcast synthetic sunlight. Dozens of potted plants of various sizes ranging from hand-held to as big as tires are arranged around a simple lemniscate(or Infinity Loop) pattern that passes by some sets of iron benches.

Topaz Yellow(Fake Yellow): Arrangements of quality tools and work benches with functions for the modification and repair of traditional gear. Includes a few stocks of generic consumables like quivers of arrows and packs of bolts.

Diamond White(Fake White): A cozy dining room with a small, self-contained multi-use oven where arrangement of runes allows for different effects and intensity of them.

Obsidian Black(Fake Black): A collection of small to medium sized cages designed for living creatures. One is occupied by a creature the size of a house cat with the body of one and the face of a snowy owl, full wings tucked in at his shoulders as he snoozes peacefully on four paws. A set of grooming tools and a collection of molted feathers is neatly kept near the cage, along with three heavy bottles pre-filled with a featureless leaden elixir. They are labeled with simple wrappings and gorgeous calligraphy as Flask of Cat's Reflexes and Owl's Wisdom. There is no evidence of anything set up to feed the creature but you have to remind yourself that this is a game and it is just data. All the same his cage is stocked with new toys of yarn and rough leather and the cage is neatly titled Rüdiger.



Isabelle's Office(True Neutral): A perfectly measured square room has been split into a practical combination of library and office. In the far corners of the ceiling on either side are melon-sized golden orbs set in ornate metal frames. They briefly broadcast veils of light that adjust everything in the room to your individual vision: lighting, hue and even decor shimmer and reform, taking on design choices you would find pleasing without altering the function. Decorated with the mirror and the portrait of Isabelle.

True Red: A glamorous luxury bar with all manners of ways to pretend to get drunk and to add real visual blurring to your game UI. Behind the bar is a decorative display of dozens of different high-end looking bottles arranged in order of ascending height from front to back, creating a pleasing visual centerpiece.

True Blue: An almost empty room, the primary attraction here is the return of the lemniscate, this time as a set of four layered atop itself at set intervals like a blooming flower. There are eight points where the floor itself is drawn up and frozen in place as large points around the room, the whole of it looking like one continuous work of quicksilver. Arcane power floods the room on this setting.

True Green: This setting causes the walls and ceiling of the floor to expand ten fold and turn ethereal as projections of sunlight and clear skies beam into a significant expansion of the previous garden setting. Despite the massive increase in size the room is still fully contained and going too high or too far meets an invisible wall. The variety of plant life is greatly improved and a gazebo has been spawned with a small set-up to sit and relax.

True Yellow: A room almost cramped to the point of phobia, almost all of the office is occupied by an insanely complicated machine with room for a few people to stand and line up with Human sized openings in the machine. Examining the machine reveals it is an "Imbuing Station" that could provide buffs of some sort but several complicated and empty inputs suggest you don't have the materials or know-how to do anything with it.

True White: The room is layered over with luxurious velvet carpeting, wall-lining curtains and simple decoration, allowing for a few places to sit and a raised corner where an enchanted piano plays itself soundlessly. Occasionally the echoes of a distant melody pass along the silent room. Standing by the desk is a heavily shadowed figure that is also perfectly ethereal, wearing a Velvet Uniform. They're rather small and appear a bit delicate, the size of a young child. Any attempts to interact with the figure inevitably fail and the most likely reason would be that as you are not Isabelle, her attendant will not recognize your existence.

True Black: The walls are soon blanketed in thick iron chains hanging loosely, the movements of other appearing pieces cause them to rustle and jangle. A large iron torture rack builds up in the center of the room and blooms a pair of small surgical tables with full spread of cutting and splitting tools. The corners of this room fill out with ominous altars to malformed idols and too orderly piles of skulls. Everything is fastidiously clean despite the suggested theme..it might be unnerving in real life but in a game like this there was no real way to commit somebody to enduring kidnap and torture. The room feels as though it were never used and simply added to round out the options.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th
Music

quote:

'but... you had to help someone? who needed helping, and why? what can you tell us about the situation?"

: "It's no problem, Mori. I got no idea how long I've been doing my own thing here. It's hard to remember a lot of things. I figure when you die, you're meant to move on. It's like.. do you remember when you were born? Prolly not..." He takes a drag of his makeshift cigarette and exhales. "Hmm. Who needed help.."

"I knew a few of the ORDER players, obviously.. we got along, they liked my style, or I wouldn't be there at all. So I was fond of a few of 'em. They could be real stuck up, snobby sons-a-bitches.. I really had it in for uh, this college student rear end in a top hat, heh heh.. real silver spoon fucker." He rotates the remains of the cigarette to check the size, figuring he owes it one final draw to finish it off. "Shhh... when some new folks came to us, something changed. Way I see it, there wasn't a "Great Game" going on. Then somebody... started it up."

He gestures, the burning grass fading away to nothing in his index and middle finger. "They made the first deal. We didn't know what they meant. They just needed help, bad. That's how he deals, the devil. It's like mafia goons. They don't want you to make the payments and if you do, you better pay more than you took out. So you get terms that are bad or that you can't do alone. We were tore up about how to help this newbie and what to do about the new game. Especially if the stakes were... ya know, real." He looks up and sighs.

"I woulda bought my own lot and a diamond ring the size of my fist... anyways... well, I daydream about it! I think about it, that's all! Everybody wants to make it big, but it ain't right, getting what you want and torching folks along the way. It ain't me. Me and Blade knew we had to help and the rest, they just saw the prize. Fuckin' guild politics took over, the cliques closed ranks. We got burned and somebody reached an agreement. That's when we left and ORDER started pushing that hard world first status. Best of the best. And I think at the end of the day it's because there was no other choice. You wanna win that contest, you gotta be stronger than anyone else." He sighs and rubs his hands together. "There's things a man does, when he sees injustice he should get madder than he's ever been. That's how I felt.. then to feel helpless and be shut out.. prolly why I got guys like you to try and make a difference. I'd do the right thing even if nobody wanted me to!"

He gestures and the half-smoked cigarette reappears in his two-finger grip, where he relives smoking it before dropping it to step on and snuff out the embers with his toes. "The rest of them, they think they knew better, or they'd win the game and the deals and pull ahead. I didn't like it. That Devil, he makes them deals but he doesn't want to help. He pushes you in ways that cause you to hurt others to succeed. That's what tore me up. Whoever began the game, whoever set the board? They got the worst of it, the biggest need to reach the top. It's like the rest are bettin' on a race horse."

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

(Responses to chat-room inquiries.)

-You can pick up items and carry them from room to room so long as it isn't large furniture.

-The Owlcat potions are not for the Big Imbuer. Consumables for the Big Imbuer will be labeled as such. The Owlcat potions are stand-alone.

-In the Fake Blue Room, the bookmark opens to a picture and summary of an elegant chandelier being used in the True Red room(The Bar.) The book has pages of unrelated furniture and antique decorations, titled Elite Picks(Deco. Catalogue VII).

-Things are consistent from reset to reset across the rooms, and things done in one room don't change the layout of another.

-While moving pots in the Fake Green Room's garden you discover a small iron key, hidden beneath a random mid-sized pot's bottom.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

Passive Perception: Largely ornamental, the chandelier clearly won't support a grown person's weight. Instead of candles or electrical lighting, the chandelier is lit by a single massive orange orb at the center, which broadcasts light that reflects through the glass decorations. The inside of the orb holds a dancing, concentrated flame.

Using Mage Hand: After a painstakingly protracted amount of time spent rotating the orb you unsocket and remove it from the chandelier. Though difficult to read against the light it casts and the grain of the material it is engraved with a clear "Imbuer Element: Flame" This doesn't change much in the chandelier, though it does make it safer in case of accidents.

-Examining the chandelier without the light obscuring things, one of the connecting links in the chain to the ceiling is a second iron key.

Crowley: Crowley seizes the key, which comes out of place with surprising ease. The removal triggers the dispersion of a band of ethereal force and gravity kicks in, the chandelier crashing to the ground and shattering. This makes a very loud noise but the removal of the flame source was a wise first step.

Filing Cabinet: With two of the three keys, you are able to unlock and stabilize two of the three locks on the filing cabinet.
This seems to be the trick: the locks must be unlocked simultaneously. Freezing two in place simplifies it greatly and Weasel auto-picks the third, opening the cabinet.

Inside is a third iron key.

Earlier, fighting Headcount posted:

: "And these Overseer challenges are ridiculous, I get the feeling Isabelle doesn't like many people!

: Redd chimes in during all this puzzle solving: "Is that it? A lot of this magic is based on occupying the same space."

: "I don't get this kinda stuff... nyeh, how about a guide? Check online!"

Moving the Portrait: You remove the Portrait and come across solid wall. You refrain from walking into it to complete the joke. As you pick up the portrait the figure of Isabelle painted on it speaks in her voice, which is that of a colder, older woman. Reminds you of a teacher. "Lets hope you're not as clumsy as you look."

Take Portrait/Mirror to Big Imbuer: Touching items to the Imbuer yields no change to any of the items or the Imbuer itself.

When you hold the Mirror up to the Big Imbuer, it reflects one of the armor slots being occupied by an obscured figure wearing armor. The armor is imbued with energy and clearly enhanced before the mirror's additions fade away.

When you hold the Portait up to the Big Imbuer, Isabelle's Shade laughs: "You'll never get this one."

Present Iron Keys to Portrait/Mirror: Holding the keys up to the portrait, Isabelle's Shade covers her mouth and giggles. "Have you tried using all three keys together?"

Holding the keys up to the mirror, they reflect the same three keys, but they have hairline cracks.

Using all three Iron Keys at once, without picking any of the locks on the Cabinet: You close the filing cabinet drawer and relock each of the locks. You then insert the three keys together and unlock all three locks without using Thievery to pick any of them. Once used, the iron keys are pulled into the locks and vanish, the key-holes replaced by solid metal.

The drawer's surface shimmers and when opened reveals a different compartment, lined like a luxury good box or a fancy cigar case with cushions. Inside is a belt made of silk cloth straps embroidered with gold woven into thread, the embroidery continuing past each individual strap to connect to the next. This is done four times in total, each line made of different colored silk with red, blue, yellow and green lines. The item pulses with fine power and is warm to the touch, yet the DDW UI does not immediately identify it. You can still try it on.

Show Belt To Portrait: Isabelle's Shade raises a hand to her cheek, her eyes widening as her eyebrows rise. "I guess there's more to you than I thought... but it's the last handout you'll get from me."

Tsukiyo equips the Belt: The beautiful multi-sash belt is revealed to be a

quote:

Great Acrobat's Cincture of Vivacity
Passive: When you spend a Healing Surge during combat that would grant HP beyond your Max, gain the extra HP as THP.
Passive: When you roll Acrobatics, roll twice and use either result.
Passive: +1 Reflex(Typeless), +2 Initiative(Typeless)

An amazing, powerful sub-artifact find! Oh, and Tsukiyo's Avatat Flagello immediately shimmers and transforms into a Male approximation of itself, outfit and gear adjusting to fit new dimensions, as well as chest-piece adjusting to shorten sleeves and provide an open bare chest. His new appearance suggests a crafter's hand attempting to make them appear a bit more traditionally attractive in a heroic sense.

Tsukiyo: The cincture welds itself to Flagello's waist and cannot be removed. It is Cursed! On the portrait Isabelle's Shade giggles unceasingly. With some measure of relief you realize the change is only in DDW and not real life.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

Drinking the owlcat flask: Tsukiyo declines!

Present Flame Essence to Mirror: A disappointed frown looks on at the Big Imbuer failing to activate. At least nobody's on fire, but one of the component slots in the device is still empty.

Present items to Mirror: When held up to the mirror the potted plant reflects not a plant, but your own severed head neatly half-submerged in the dirt.

When held up to the mirror a decorative bottle from the bar reflects an obscured figure diligently arranging the bottles centerpiece behind the bar.

Touch Enchanted Piano: Your hand goes through the solid material. Illusionary!

Examine Keys Played for Pattern: You focus intently on watching the order of the notes being pressed. There isn't a secret message here, but spending so much time focusing on the music and hearing the occasional echoes leads you to remembering the theme as familiar.

Examine Book and Bookmark in Mirror: You examine the book from the Fake Blue Room's library... inside the mirror the bookmark is removed and the book is turned to a new page, revealing the countertops that make up the shape of the True Red Room's luxury bar, including the centerpiece island in the back.

Examine Bar through Mirror: The mirror is unresponsive, and there's only decorative bits behind the bar to simulate the appearance of a real workplace.

Use the Mirror to sweep an entire room!: When you use the mirror to reflect every inch of the room, you discover one thing that stands out(assuming this is from Isabelle's Office, or the True Red Room): the door out to the halls changes to a different door-frame! Heavy doors of a strange, silver-bronze material with mithril framing and elaborate violet runics carved in. The double doors are shut and ethereal, behind them is the original hallway leading into Isabelle's office.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

Examine the Bar Centerpiece closely: You examine the centerpiece closely(assuming take 20 on Perception.) After meticulously checking each individual bottle you discover an Essence of Pure Magical Power, labeled for the Big Imbuer!

Closing the Doors: This does not change the mirror reflection aside from removing the view into the hallway. The doors line up perfectly, but when opened again it's the same hallway.

Examine Essence in Mirror: A smiling obscured figure steps into the imbuer wearing magic plate mail. They step out with a higher quality of armor.

Big Imbuer: You can add an additonal +1 bonus to one of your armor sets. The armor will also gain Fire Resistance 10.

Open Doors from Isabelle's Office(True Neutral) with Mirror: No change.

True Red Room: No change.

Every Other Room: When observed from the True Black Room... the closed office doors merge into the ethereal doors, which turn solid and merge with the solid doors. The two open simultaneously, revealing a shimmering ethereal hall! It is short and heading in a different direction towards a new descending elevator opening.

When you observe it with your eyes, the hall is ethereal. Touching ethereal matter causes your hand to pass through it without contact, and below the hall is endless darkness.

When you observe it through the mirror, it's solid.

The True Black Room remains throughout this, the room with the torture rack, necromantic altars and the large blank space opposite the Southern Doorway, on the Northern Wall.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

Mirror on Oven: Nothing revealed.

Pet the Owlcat: Rüdiger responds affectionately and nuzzles the top of his head into your palm. He cherishes your attention. Demands it!

Add Feather to Elixir: You insert one feather into one elixir. The feather dissolves into pure magical essence and the elixir immediately takes on a perfectly clear turquoise color, as though made of liquid mineral!

quote:

Elixir of Owlcat's Features x3

Grants +4 Dexterity and +4 Wisdom for 1 Day. Does Not Stack.

As a consumable, you can carry and keep the elixirs and use them at any time. You get the feeling the Big Imbuer is not so accommodating.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

Mirror sweep the True Black Room: No change.

Mirror the Blank Space on the Wall: Nothing revealed. Bringing them close together, the Mirror is about the same size as the blank space, a little smaller.

Hang the Mirror on the North Wall, True Black Room: The ethereal hallway solidifies in the mirror and does so in reality with an audible series of sounds, a symphony of stone setting and metal being affixed. If you turn your head backwards to look it shifts back to ethereal in your vision, but it maintains solid form in the mirror, so long as the mirror remains on the wall.

A polite soft applause comes from the Portrait.

Walk into Mirror: You attempt to walk into the mirror, but it remains solid.

: Noriko looks a little embarassed. "uh... i thought it might work"

Leave the room while walking backwards: You take a blind leap of faith when you take the first step out of Isabelle's Office and into the hall. To your immense relief it remains solid. When every member of the party has left the room in this way, Isabelle's Office closes itself off.

The doors open again and the room has hard-shifted to the True White Room, which shifts again before your eyes into a Velvet Room. The shadowed attendant manifests this time, a darling little boy with short white hair dressed in a neat velvet uniform. He bows to you before stepping aside and vanishing.

: "You did it!" Redd chimes in happily over party chat.

: "Piece a cake!" Weasel nonchalantly pitches the Portrait over his shoulder. It vanishes in mid-air to respawn back in the True Neutral room.

: Shikome manifests in her uniform and claps excitedly. The hallway leading to the elevator entry remains stable, solid and open. "I can help you here!" You can now synthesize and replace Support Personas.

Isabelle's desk manifests in the Velvet Room and transforms, this time displaying a small projected information screen, like a high fantasy take on a computer that matches the rest of the shifting room's decor. It details the development process of Headcount from the initial traditional Iron Golem to the terrifying doorman he is today.

"... absence of Bloodied status reflects insecurity in attackers... on kill Weakening effect quickens pace at which intruders feel ineffective. Panic sets in as they feel they are not making progress and he is killing them. Failure to remain composed makes it difficult for group to coordinate, failure to control Headcount leads to accelerated energy gain. Energy levels change behavior, unknowns lead to further confusion. By Levels 2 and 3 a party wipe is guaranteed."

There is an entry for recording voice waves, revealing that Headcount's input is a heavily modified and deepened recording of Isabelle herself. The final file is open and unfinished. Defeated.mp4. When played...

: "Why bother? This will never come up."

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Oct 26, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th
Music

: Takeo cups his hands together and looks away, his eternal grin becoming tight lipped as he speaks with a hint of regret: "Yeah. I guess it didn't go so well. You gotta take my words for this stuff.. I don't remember specifics so good.. just the feelings I clung to so hard." He looks up and smirks. "I went to see Bishop because most importantly: I won't give up on somebody making a bad call. There are lines.. you can't cross without goin' too bad. But until then.. hell, even a bit after then, you owe it to them if you really care to try and change 'em."

"I went back there and I raided Royal's because I had to send a message. There was someone.. I think.. that newbie in trouble.. I had to tell them I was ready to stand by 'em. Or maybe it was Bishop himself.. part of that tight clique, trying to vacuum up all the power in the game. The video game, that freaky occult poo poo that just started, they're the same." He sits up and gets up, slamming a fist to a palm! "I think you must've saw what happened or heard about it? I wasn't gonna die in the MMO. I remember the sense a'.. wonder, and a bit of bein' impressed the first few times I ran something of Bishop's. Kinda creativity and dedication they say you should burn in your career, heh. But hey, I got used to it, his precision. Thing about perfect machines that run the same way every time is they're dependable 'til they're predictable. I went to take him down and it was goin' pretty well... until somebody pulled off my goggles."

"All I remember from then is the feeling I'd been outdone. Here I was tryin' to rally you guys and step up as a new group and I guess I'd gone too far. I remember..." He squints and rubs his chin. "Overwhelming power. I was fried by magic." He chuckles. "I remember malice before I left.. in-game. I got some nasty letters." He holds the thoughtful stance for a bit then laughs. "That's it. I guess I just tried to do the right thing and stepped on somebody's toes!"

Takeo peers over to Itsumi and gawks a second, caught off guard by the request. "Yuki.. hmm.." He puts on an air of thoughtfulness. "Tell her.. we always got the time we had together and I'm stayin' busy here." He flashes a big thumbs up. "She's gotta stay busy too." He strides over and pats Itsumi on the shoulder. "Got that? Good!"

Your surroundings melt away as though mist dissolving, the heat of the real world evaporating everything rapidly. Takeo gives everybody a self-assured single wave. The tile of the Morgue shifts back into view and Yuki's coffin dissolves, your group left standing around Takeo's body. It is under the sheet again, laying still and dignified, never touched in the first place. Yuki peers over to you all expectantly, looking a bit anxious... but there's no sign she has waited long.

: "Uhm.. did... did it work?" She tenses her hands, fingers laced together in an unconscious gesture of prayer.

---

House of Fortune
Music

: "W-well, she's the world's best controller. It kinda goes that she'd use a bunch of puzzles and smart bits to throw back anyone with power. Don't feel too bad! I heard that she actually got her start in PvP. Switched over when people stopped fighting her. Won every time or something?" Redd muses over party chat as your group checks Isabelle's shared files.

quote:

: "To account for Headcount's considerable boosts, an equivalent number of flaws must exist. Several of these are designed to ameliorate their drawbacks within the system itself. Force damage is rarely resisted, ignores the defensive benefits of becoming insubstantial in most cases, and is rarely resisted by only the most archaic Personas of the least popular Arcana. Although Headcount is simple-minded and his AI is almost purely mechanical, creating the most efficient loops removes possibilities of exploiting. Finally, significant weights are adjusted to allow for unusual benefits in exchange for unusual player interactions. Consider it an underlying philosophy of game design: no matter how challenging an obstacle, a path forward must exist. So long as Headcount can be defeated, he can be created and legally assigned in-game."

Text in Isabelle's own voice further chronicling the design of Headcount. Seems to be saved to be shared with others... Akio could only assume Braxienne, though the others might figure the rest of ORDER are aware of their golden goose's guard dog. A sheet accounting for ridiculous amounts of "fata morgana" currency donated by Royal, Charlotte, Thaddeus, Isabelle and Bishop explains the sheer power that could be baked into the guardian. Bishop is the largest donator by 3:1!

At the end of the design document you witness a curious pair of notes: Isabelle's Office was designed as a "for fun" activity.. and Headcount is the only monster accounted for in the entire House of Fortune! The "Level 27" Golems outside her Office were simple illusionary traps.

: "Nyoohohoohoo heh-hey. When do the rest of us mighty heroes get summa that treatment?" Good ol' Weasel lets out a low whistle as Akio and Noriko have a quick pash.

---

Meanwhile...
Music

: "That's one dilly of a pickle, little missy." Bobbins is still sitting with Braxienne sitting on his knee. He takes a moment to pat her on the head as she wrings her hands and whines.

: "Headcount was all we had! Now those bastards are gonna waltz in here and take all kinds-a treasure! You can't just put up a fancy place like this with this kinda access and not put anything in it! It won't do nuthin'!" In times of great duress an astounding Jersey accent overtakes this Japanese girl pretending to be a nutsy Goblin dame.

: "Don't be stupid, you silly little bitch!" Jubilette oozes around the two and flails her hands from side to side, bits of ooze flying about as she giggles. "We're here! We'll loving smash them!" She swirls around the room until she finds some of the inlaid metal circles and runic projectors that would be at home in Isabelle's Office. She slaps one and brings up a display screen. "You've got HOW much morgana in this place?! FUCKIN' GIMME SOME!"

: Bobbins rises, plucking Braxienne up in two fingers by the collar of her outfit and setting her on the table gently. "It's an expected folly. They defeated Brave Fenrir and must figure that the cat is out of the bag on ORDER winning future PVP engagements." He inhales deeply through his mouth before coughing a bit. Sliding thumbs into his belt, he draws up the hem of his waistband, belly and chest bulging. "We'll buy some time and see who we can call on to help. I know just the fellows to reinforce us." Plucking a very tiny Human-sized smart phone from his belt, Bobbins raises it gingerly to his full mouth and begins to politely chat. "Moshi-moshi? Zinger-desu?"

: Jubilette oozes over to the table and splashes over Braxienne, who burns the excess away with a touch of violet flame. "SEND ME IN COACH! Come on! BOSS ME UP!"

: "Hmpfffhhh. We got a special guest today too, I'll be busy with him next. You take care of things!" Braxienne skips off the table and takes up a seat at the projected screen, sliding her fingers expertly along the inlaid circles and making multiple loops of different constructions and directions, the metal and her fingertips igniting with magical power that bleeds across the floor and follows Jubilette as she slides out of the room...

---

House of Fortune
Music

Finalizing your Personas, radical spiritual epiphanies and any other Short Rest business you can think of, you depart the Velvet Room and head for the large Elevator. Unlike the single person levitation shafts this is an older model of fancy electrum-lined brass and fake gold inlay, a large segmented box built into a set of chains that will lower it.

: "All aboard! It'll be easy from here on! What're they gonna do, send a second Headcount after us?" Your cheeky friend saunters onto the elevator and leans against the button panel, waiting to press the solitary option. Once you're all aboard your destination Vault is selected and the ornamental doors slide shut with a heavy ka-clank, ratchet-et-et-et-et, hisssss, thrummmuud. Everything locks into place and the elevator descends.

---

Music

Considering that this is a video game and not a real physical space with a need for accounting where things actually are, you find that the elevator ride is taking considerably longer than you might like. There are openings in the ornate framework of the elevator box but they only allow a view of the extraordinarily long metal shaft you're in. Occasionally fresh air from vents is pumped in.

: "Shouldn't there be a load zone? ... Oh! Guys, something is happening! Heads up!"

One of the vents unleashes a belch of noxious, acrid gas and vomits black sludge into the elevator! You can hear things rumbling and banging around, metal straining as something moves through it and pushes the boundaries! Weasel lets out a loud "YEEE-HEEEIIIIKKEEES!!!" and draws his bow, holding an arrow Readied!



Grey Ooze: Deals 12 Acid Damage on entering square or starting turn in square. Can be targeted and has Defenses of 0/0/0/0

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Jan 12, 2019

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th
Music

: Relaying Takeo's words makes Yuki smile sincerely... but pain flashes across her eyes before she looks away, sulking. "... Sorceress..." She peers across the room, looking down at the floor. "... You're all really nice to come by, but.. I... I know what's really going on. You all stood there for awhile... I just wanted to believe in anything for a little bit..." Something in her voice chokes briefly. "... Am I really that stupid, that you could cheer me up like lying to a little kid about Santa?"

(Can wrap up this scene here, though anyone can pull a last reply here. Definitely need a reply from Takashi minimum.)

---


Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 21st-23rd
Music

Summer showers bring the rest of the week to a slow murky slog or a refreshing overcast coolness, depending on how you feel about mankind's oldest enemy, The Sun. School continues as normal and you attend your club activities for the second time in the week. By the weekend things have improved to overcast!

Everyone: On Thursday you receive parental permission slips for a planned field trip! Naoki's Coastal Spring Break from Friday, May 29th to Tuesday, June 2nd! A special annual trip offered to all classes with a sizable fee, as expected from a prestigious top-tier school. Tsukiyo can note with some frustration that it is organized and sponsored by the Student Council.

You have enough free time to choose two bonds or other leads to pursue as well as one choice of +Charm, +Academics or +Courage. You feel you've learned enough to pursue or make an educated guess about Joker's true identity. You feel that a definite lead on ORDER's inner circle is necessary and perhaps Tsukiyo can provide that through her brother, Genjuro. Itsumi has a lead on talking to the other girls Ichiro was seen with.

Social Bonds Summary.

---

House of Fortune
Music

Itsumi: Itsumi advances to the ooze and joins in striking it. She uses Energizing Strike and grants 14 THP to Noriko!

Each strike causes the ooze to recede and shrink the dangerous terrain.

As the elevator continues to steadily descend past subtle bumps in metal ratcheting lines and the chains clink, red static flickers across the air preceding a loud burst of literal static. Small gramophone horns protrude from the corners of the ceiling and a haunting voice drifts out of the speakers.

: "It's a player! It's not like we came in unseen! Anybody who's online and has permission could come in from Isabelle's end!"

On cue a calcified palm smashes through one of the grates in the wall and a surge of mixed white, brown and black sludge pours out, a silhouette in the middle forming from the white parts of a gown splashing together into the shame of a large lady! She never forms arms, instead having streams of thicker white ooze that sways back and forth through the rest of the darker sludge like a disembodied hand guiding the swishing cloth of a wide dress.


<Mad> Jubilette [PACK]

: A harsh girl's voice screeches with a gurgling, blobby sort of background noise, a Japanese speaker yelling some gratuitous English: "SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER!!" Surrounding by a swirling tide of black tar ooze Jubilette rears up for height before thrusting her head forward and vomiting a stinking mass of green goo over those close to her! Itsumi and Akio take 24 Poison Damage, Noriko takes 12 Poison Damage and new ooze is spawned! Jubilette laughs and sloshes about, her body bubbling and occasionally popping to discharge steam. The green sludge does the same, visible clouds of rot swirling around the leftover ooze on the floor. The stench is overwhelming!

Weasel looses a readied shot! He misses!

Damaging somebody's Weakness, Jubilette's frame swells! Her mass bulges up in all the right spots and her black ooze churns to make room for a sudden surplus of new sludge!

(Everybody is up! Next round Saturday Morning!)



Ooze can be targeted and has Defenses of 0/0/0/0
Grey Ooze: Deals 12 Acid Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Green Ooze: Deals 12 Poison Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Black Ooze: Immobilize and Grappled by Jubilette on entering or starting turn in square. Acrobatics vs Reflex 34 or Athletics vs Fort 37.

Jubilette: Damage Taken: 0, AC/F/R/W: 31/37/34/34
Attack +20
Large
[X] Toxic Spray (Close Blast 3x3, Recharges)
Weakness Bonus: +1 to next AoE size

quote:

Itsumi: 69/111, 8/10 Surges, Resists: Necrotic 20, Cold 20, Radiant 20, Weakness: Acid, Force, Poison

Weasel: HP: 81/81, AC/F/R/W 26/24/29/24, Speed 6, Initiative +17, Atk +18/Imp +15, 1d4+11 Dam
Acro+22, Ath+15, Stealth+22, Thievery+24 [ ] Second Wind
Cues: Flank, Melee, Ranged
Encounter Cues: Dazing, Blind 1, Action Point
Daily Cues: Blind CB3, Mark from Ally, Mark from Self, Difficult Terrain Burst 2

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Nov 3, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune
Music

(Everybody is up! Next round Tuesday Night!)

Like a walking talisman Weasel misses his next shot, drawing in bad fortune so you don't have to experience it.

Torching Jubilette reveals a Fire Weakness! She howls in pain as everybody lays into her with amazing ferocity! During this time, amazingly, she Bloodies! What a pushover?!

: "SUCK ON THIS!" Jubilette spirals upwards from her Prone in a whirling, flailing tornado of goo, the still burning fire upon her spreading to the black tar bits of her body, the white of her dress and arms stretched to the breaking point as she forces full momentum into the returning downward impact! Flaming goo explodes everywhere as she detonates an exploding wave of angry bubbling hot tar across the floor, splashing Akio, Itsumi and Tsukiyo for a halved 16 Fire Damage, engulfing and briefly toasting Takashi for the full 32 Fire Damage! The explosive burst burns away the Green Goo it touches and the Black Goo beneath her... and in the wake of the impact you see Jubilette's silhouette melting away, burning to ash! (This counts as proccing Bloody and Kill effects.)

Suddenly a trio of slightly smaller Jubilette's erupt from the drying husk and Shift significantly, attempting to flee but ultimately only to stand from Prone, their absconding interrupted! You'll need to pursue these shapely sludges as your feet and legs begin to heat and burn, fabric catching fire quickly and metal overheating dangerously! Gah! It's everywhere!

Fortunately it seems that Jubilette isn't swelling despite dealing Fire Weakness to at least Noriko.

Akio: Designate one Jubilette for Mark + Shielding Fire
Tsukiyo: Designate one Jubilette for Quarry.
Noriko: Designate one Jubilette for Curse.



Ooze can be targeted and has Defenses of 0/0/0/0
Grey Ooze: Deals 12 Acid Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Green Ooze: Deals 12 Poison Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Red Ooze: Applies Ongoing Fire Damage 6(Save Ends) on entering square or starting turn in square. Damage Stacks, one Save clears.
Black Ooze: Immobilize and Grappled by Jubilette on entering or starting turn in square. Acrobatics vs Reflex 34 or Athletics vs Fort 37.

Jubilette: Damage Taken: 276 -> 180/180(White) + 180/180(Orange) + 180/180(Pink), AC/F/R/W: 31/37/34/34
Attack +20
Medium, Curse(Noriko), Quarry(Tsukiyo), Mark(-3 Akio), Shielding Fire(Encounter)
[X] Toxic Spray (Close Blast 3x3, Recharges) [X] Lava Splash (CB1, Recharges)
Split: Shift 3 and "respawn"
Slippery: Slow limits Speed to 3
Weakness Bonus: +1 to next AoE size
Weakness: Fire

quote:

Weasel: HP: 81/81, AC/F/R/W 26/24/29/24, Speed 6, Initiative +17, Atk +18/Imp +15, 1d4+11 Dam
Acro+22, Ath+15, Stealth+22, Thievery+24 [ ] Second Wind
Cues: Flank, Melee, Ranged
Encounter Cues: Dazing, Blind 1, Action Point
Daily Cues: Blind CB3, Mark from Ally, Mark from Self, Difficult Terrain Burst 2

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
Wednesday, May 20th
Music

: "You'll get them, right?" Yuki smiles. "I'll believe in that much, Takashi... thanks." Not offending her in this delicate time, your bond with Yuki grows stronger. And weighing the stakes, learning of someone else who may need help or even be in danger, your bond as Ailuridae or a group of good friends grows stronger. Those abusing others for the sake of the game must be stopped!


Thou shalt have the blessing of the Fool arcana...

The Fool arcana climbs to Rank 4 as you close in on the true mystery behind Takeo's death. Your Support Personas of the Fool arcana grow to +3 Attack/Damage/Healing!


Thou shalt have the blessing of the Death arcana...

The Death arcana rises to Rank 2 as you get closer to Yuki. Your Support Personas of the Death arcana grow to +2 Attack/Damage/Healing! You still feel exposed to the dangers of falling in combat... perhaps if you kept providing support to her?

: As you all depart the police station, Yuki bows her head to the group. "Thank you for coming along.. and, uhm, thanks for cheering me up.. and.. not calling me stupid, eheheheh." As you depart from your unlikely meeting place with Takeo, the shade of something violent and brave awakens in your Soulshell.

quote:


Susano-O (Fool *****)
In Japanese mythology, Susanoo, the powerful storm god of Summer, is the brother of Amaterasu, the goddess of the Sun, and of Tsukuyomi, the god of the Moon. All three were born from Izanagi, when he washed his face clean of the pollutants of Yomi, the underworld. Susanoo was born from the washing of the nose. Susanoo used Totsuka-no-Tsurugi as his weapon and is known for the slaying of Yamata no Orochi.
Grand Taru Kaja (CB2, 2 Allies OR 1 Self. Next Non-Persona Attack has +2 Attack, +2 Damage and Ignores 10 Points of DR)
Vorpal Blade (vs AC, Melee, 1 Enemy. Deals 3d6+6 Physical Damage and Crits on 19-20 with a 5d6 bonus. Change d6s to d10s if cast while at full HP)
Magarudyne (vs Fortitude, Range 8, Burst 2, All Creatures, Deals 2d4+6 Thunder and 1d4+6 Lightning Damage)
Masukukaja (CB 5, Self and Allies. Gain +2 Speed UEONT. Costs two Fortune Points)
Bravery: Add +2 Speed to Charges
Immune: Thunder, Lightning
Weakness: Radiant(+50%)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune, 5/15
Music

(Everybody is up! Next round Saturday Morning!)

(Adjusting ooze aura colors.)

Upon slaying one of the smaller Jubilettes the oozeling violently explodes in a horrible splashing mass of angry tar, Grappling Tsukiyo! This also keeps Tsukiyo within the burning Red Ooze, reigniting him!

Weasel holds his strike for now...

With a howl of rage the (white) Jubilette surges forward in a charge, ignoring Akio's defenses entirely as she simply splashes directly into him! Most of her mass keeps going, washes over him and congeals on the other side of him, Akio Grappled and firmly stuck to the angry jelly! Weasel lets out a loud "YIKES!" and Shifts away! Outclassed and cursed to never roll above above an 8, Weasel fails to strike at Jubilette! His whiffed blow plinks off Akio's defenses as she slooshes to the side and thrusts him into her place! Akio moved to F16, overriding Forced Movement Resistance!

180ing her head without any accompanying bones snapping Jubilette angrily retches toxic sludge all over Akio, blasting him for 27 Poison Damage! Still firmly Grappled, Akio's in a pinch!

The Third Jubilette swears loudly and surges to the North, vanishing into one of the vents. A moment later a great deal of acidic ooze begins to drip down from the Elevator ceiling in one corner!

Edit: Noriko is at J8 and Grappled in the following maps.



Ooze can be targeted and has Defenses of 0/0/0/0
(Note: Only Black Ooze can share space with other Ooze)
White Ooze: Deals 12 Acid Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Green Ooze: Deals 12 Poison Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Red Ooze: Applies Ongoing Fire Damage 6(Save Ends) on entering square or starting turn in square. Damage Stacks, one Save clears.
Black Ooze: Immobilize and Grappled by Jubilette on entering or starting turn in square. Acrobatics vs Reflex 34 or Athletics vs Fort 37.

Jubilette: 71/180(White, Bloodied) + 145/180(Orange) + 0/180(Pink), AC/F/R/W: 31/37/34/34
Attack +20
Medium, Curse(Orange, Noriko), Mark(White,-3 Akio)
[X][ ] Toxic Spray (Close Blast 3x3, Recharges) [ ][ ] Lava Splash (CB1, Recharges)
Split: Shift 3 and "respawn"
Slippery: Slow limits Speed to 3
Weakness Bonus: +1 to next AoE size
Weakness: Fire

quote:

Weasel: HP: 81/81, AC/F/R/W 26/24/29/24, Speed 6, Initiative +17, Atk +18/Imp +15, 1d4+11 Dam
Acro+22, Ath+15, Stealth+22, Thievery+24 [ ] Second Wind
Cues: Flank, Melee, Ranged
Encounter Cues: Dazing, Blind 1, Action Point
Daily Cues: Blind CB3, Mark from Ally, Mark from Self, Difficult Terrain Burst 2

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Nov 10, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune, 5/5

Itsumi's Turn posted:

Standard: Energizing Strike the ooze at F10 to clear it, give Flagelo 14 temporary hitpoints
Move: to E12 via F10 which was just cleared, making two jumps to avoid the ooze which both auto succeed.
Minor: Ardent Surge: give Ambrose a surge + 5d6+6 hp, healing him to full

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune, 5/15
Music

(Everybody is up! Next round Monday Night!)

Weasel snipes the last bit of black ooze next to Akio to give you guys a tidy corner. He dashes into it, feeling safe with his back to a wall!

Embracing his athletic prowess Takashi follows Jubilette to the elevator roof, leaping to the vent opening 10 feet off the ground and scrambling around it to 20 feet above the elevator interior. He spies Jubilette newly engorged and Large again, her white features overflowing as she spews a budding ball of doom into one spot, acid eating away at the metal of the elevator roof! Without fear he bounds into her and slams her out of her charging attack, the roof collapsing and acid flooding in everywhere beneath the tiles where the acid droplets splattered! The overwhelming amount of lethal ooze spills over into adjacent squares and Jubilette screams in shock and anger as she lands in the elevator below, utterly surprised! Jubilette Grants CA to all this Round! Noriko is standing in Acid for 12 Acid Damage!

Unable to see Noriko, Jubilette barrels forward and unknowingly splorts her right into her mass, the enlarged Jubilette simultaneously Grappling Noriko and dragging her along for the ride! Jubilette whirls from side to side howling in rage, spitting at Itsumi, Weasel and Akio! She deals 20(+4 Weakness) Acid Damage to Itsumi, 22 to Weasel and 18 to Akio! She laughs and begins to swell, bubble and boil again. The feeling is... not unpleasant, for Noriko. Sort of like an awful chunky spa. The trail of the spat acid is generous enough to coat the floor leading to its targets! (Though it does not cover your starting squares this time.)

Weasel takes the Acid better than you'd expect, having the same resists he would grant as Overseer.

(Note: Takashi is 20 feet overhead on the roof! Assume any white tile square in the South-East is open/broken roof. There's also the same vent he entered, as well as vents at F18 and K18.)



Ooze can be targeted and has Defenses of 0/0/0/0
(Note: Only Black Ooze can share space with other Ooze)
White Ooze: Deals 12 Acid Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Green Ooze: Deals 12 Poison Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Red Ooze: Applies Ongoing Fire Damage 6(Save Ends) on entering square or starting turn in square. Damage Stacks, one Save clears.
Black Ooze: Immobilize and Grappled by Jubilette on entering or starting turn in square. Acrobatics vs Reflex 34 or Athletics vs Fort 37.

Jubilette: 0/180(White) + 102/180(Orange) -> 207/250 Large, AC/F/R/W: 31/37/34/34 (Currently: 29/35/32/32)
Attack +20, +18 Damage
Large, Immune Fall Damage
Acid Spit(At-Will), [X] Second Wind
[ ] Toxic Spray (Close Blast 3x3, Recharges) [ ] Lava Splash (CB1, Recharges)
Split: Shift 3 and "respawn"
Slippery: Slow limits Speed to 3
Weakness Bonus: +1 to next AoE size
Weakness: Fire

quote:

Weasel: HP: 69/81, AC/F/R/W 26/24/29/24, Speed 6, Initiative +17, Atk +18/Imp +15, 1d4+11 Dam
Acro+22, Ath+15, Stealth+22, Thievery+24 [ ] Second Wind
Cues: Flank, Melee, Ranged
Encounter Cues: Dazing, Blind 1, Action Point
Daily Cues: Blind CB3, Mark from Ally, Mark from Self, Difficult Terrain Burst 2
Acid Resist 10, Poison Resist 10

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Nov 10, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune, 5/15
Music

(Itsumi, Akio and Takashi are up! Round advancing Tuesday Night!)

Tsukiyo: Moving through red square causes Ongoing Fire 6(Save Ends.)

: "IT'S JUST.. NOT.. FAAAAAIR!" Jubilette screams and rears up to unleash another boosted lava splash, only immolating a single brave skellie! The burning tar overtakes the acid on the floor, mixing together until it is just burning black sludge! Suffering overwhelming damage, Jubilette splits!

Akio: Choose one Jubilette to be Marked.



Two of the Jubilettes move to the nearest vents! The third is heading for the nearest unoccupied vents! They all trail the sticky black tar, the base of her composite ooze!



Ooze can be targeted and has Defenses of 0/0/0/0
(Note: Only Black Ooze can share space with other Ooze)
(Note: Takashi is 20 feet above on the roof!)
White Ooze: Deals 12 Acid Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Green Ooze: Deals 12 Poison Damage on entering square or starting turn in square.
Red Ooze: Applies Ongoing Fire Damage 6(Save Ends) on entering square or starting turn in square. Damage Stacks, one Save clears.
Black Ooze: Immobilize and Grappled by Jubilette on entering or starting turn in square. Acrobatics vs Reflex 34 or Athletics vs Fort 37.

Jubilette: 0/250 Large -> 180/180 White, 180/180 Orange, 180/180 Pink, AC/F/R/W: 31/37/34/34 (Currently: 29/35/32/32)
Attack +20, +18 Damage
Medium, Immune Fall Damage
Acid Spit(At-Will), [X] Second Wind
[ ] Toxic Spray (Close Blast 3x3, Recharges) [ ] Lava Splash (CB1, Recharges)
Split: Shift 3 and "respawn"
Slippery: Slow limits Speed to 3
Weakness Bonus: +1 to next AoE size
Weakness: Fire, Force

quote:

Weasel: HP: 69/81, AC/F/R/W 26/24/29/24, Speed 6, Initiative +17, Atk +18/Imp +15, 1d4+11 Dam
Acro+22, Ath+15, Stealth+22, Thievery+24 [ ] Second Wind
Cues: Flank, Melee, Ranged
Encounter Cues: Dazing, Blind 1, Action Point
Daily Cues: Blind CB3, Mark from Ally, Mark from Self, Difficult Terrain Burst 2
Acid Resist 10, Poison Resist 10

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune, 5/15

(COMBAT OVER! Short Rest!)

quote:

Weasel: HP: 81/81, AC/F/R/W 26/24/29/24, Speed 6, Initiative +17, Atk +18/Imp +15, 1d4+11 Dam
Acro+22, Ath+15, Stealth+22, Thievery+24 [ ] Second Wind Surges 6/9
Cues: Flank, Melee, Ranged
Encounter Cues: Dazing, Blind 1, Action Point
Daily Cues: Blind CB3, Mark from Ally, Mark from Self, Difficult Terrain Burst 2
Acid Resist 10, Poison Resist 10

With a haughty shriek the Jubilette(White) that you surround and beat down explodes into a fresh pile of sticky black tar. The others are not so impeded and slither with double moves off into the vents, vanishing up the sides of the elevator shaft, presumably... the roof is empty and the continued descent of the elevator rapidly takes them out of sight. Jubilette escapes with barely enough Surges to pass as a Player! In the aftermath of cleaning the goo, ooze, tar, sludge, acid and puke out of the elevator with generous At-Wills you discover a maiden's viscous neon-toxic green slipper heels! They're unisex if the man is confident in himself!

quote:

Toxic-Lime Green Kicks
Spongy, Comfy, Squishy, Kicky! These hip mis-matching little booties make girls look good and boys look quirky! They've got beneficial properties aplenty and bounce to spare when it counts!
Passive: Whenever you are Slowed, your speed is 4 instead of 2.
At-Will(Minor): Stand from Prone
Daily(Imm. Interrupt): If you would fall 20+ feet, negate fall damage and fall to the appropriate tile. Then Shift 3 to a tile of your choice, bouncing over obstacles. Does not work if you do not land on a solid/suitable surface in the initial fall.
Acid Resist 5

The elevator continues to descend.

: "What a crazy dame!" Weasel wrings some sludge out of his booties and takes to self-confident flexing during the Short Rest to restore his HP via Surges.

: "We're hitting the final stretch. Be ready for anything!"

---

House of Fortune, The Vault, May 15th



The elevator finally halts and with a pleasant ding opens. What looms before you is a shimmering ghostly image of a massive arcane seal. It doesn't seem to lead anywhere but you're sure that it's instead a literal marker for an extra-dimensional space. Crack that and the loot is yours! It's close enough to step onto but any contact with it and it's obvious that it is shifted into another dimension, completely ethereal! You'd have to shift into the same dimension or shift it back somehow..

You're standing on a massive metal platform and to your sides and behind you are massive steam-work and techno-magical devices constantly moving. Countless assembly lines move mundane items and pitifully enchanted minor magical items by en mass. All of the lines lead to and from open rooms, room upon room of three types of craftsmen work endlessly in a robotic trance. Variations of Isabelle's violet-haired magus in various crafting boost outfits endlessly produce and enchant simple gear for sale. By their sides are drably dressed effigies of a Goblin woman assisting the Isabelle alts. Although there are at most a dozen Isabelles and a half-dozen Braxiennes they are flanked by hundreds of simpler clockwork mannequins that are producing and providing the mundane goods and the simple materials needed to automate all of these processes!

It's mind-boggling... and seems to be off-limits, not actually part of the Mindscape dungeon. The full breadth of ORDER's money making process stands before you!

: "Gahh! Look at all those Avatars! They must be doing real money sales!" Weasel follows up Redd's outburst with a low whistle of admiration.

Nearby a set of magical projections line up and finish playing the latest Doom E. Kins advertisement for Amazing Valu! They're followed by a live broadcast of <Princess> Royal_Boner in her remade Mindscape, providing a live cover of an impossibly sweet idol song! It's cut in with her heavily modified zombie vocals and Bard jamming with twin scythetars.

---

Meanwhile...
Music

: "OHHHHHH! <Bay-Bee!> This is perfect! Oh man! To think I'm not seeing this live! But I can't be live, cause I'm dead! Ohhh!" Zinger <the Singer> has joined the ORDER lot behind the scenes, rocking out openly over a mic without headphones to Royal's jam.

: Surging in from a side room comes the battered, oozing and bruising figure of an enLarged Jubilette, scowling and weeping tears of black tar. "TURN THAT poo poo OFF YOU loving NERD! PUSH! TO! TALK! AND HEAL ME"

: "<Babe!> Here you go!" Breaking it down with his hand-held scepter, Zinger helps Jubilette recover! "But hey, you got trashed! You're capped off but outta juice!"

: Donning her "traditional" caster robes, Braxienne sighs and takes up a pair of tomes that look like neat ledgers. "It's what she asked for, and she knew the risks."

: "As we all do." Bobbins rises from his casual seat and lumbers over to the universal portal Jubilette blinked through. "Shall we?"

---

The Vault
Music to 2:27

A segment of the looming lock dislodges, extends and rotates 90 degrees, transforming into a flat platform. A tear in space materializes, large enough for several figures to enter, two of which are Large! They have screen-names and like the rest of the lock they are ethereal and intangible! The platform slowly lowers on a mechanical rail, allowing you to size up your foes... and them to do the same.


<Mad> Jubilette [PACK]


Sunder_Life [D-Born]


Blue_Beauty [D-Born]


Mura <the Devout> [HOLY]


<Secretary> Braxienne [ORDER]


Zinger <the Singer> [RAD]

Dancing to the front of the group the wild skeleton brandishes his scepter and shifts the music track before beginning to BREAK IT DOWN! "<HEY BOY! HEY GIRL!> This place is off-limits, ain't no way you can spin it, your break-in led by dimwits, yours odds of success?" He raises the mic to absolute silence! "Heh! No takers, just ribbits!"

: A giant coming up behind him plucks him from behind with two fingers and sets him aside before resetting the Music(to 2:27.) It's ... Bobbins [ARCH], a very faithful recreation of a boss enemy from a retro game, a hulking monster in simple, cartoony clothes with a belt of magical gear around his wide waist and a colossal blade-toothed grin sitting atop it all on a blind, grotesque mouth. Where the rest of ORDER aside from Jubilette are normal-sized, Bobbins towers above all others, as wide as he is large! "How do you do, Ailuridae?" He speaks with a deep voice in a respectful tone!

Their forms and features are solid but they stand upon the shifted platforms of the vault entrance, intangible and out of reach, yet so close you could swing at each other right now!

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Dec 26, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?
House of Fortune, May 15
Music to 2:27

: Jubilette stretches her face out into an extra large sneer and flails a few gooey fingers and bits of ethereal spittle at Noriko. "Burn all the stupid god drat powers you want! That was the idea, bitch!"

: "Now there's no need for that sort of tone.."

: "It's fine for this one. Memento_Mori's a two-bit hide and snipe, the worst of the controlling lot. You'll see. We'll smash through your two-bit melee nova clump and chew through your back in a hot minute." The big boy with bronze scales crosses his arms and stands confident, a classic savage look with not much to his gear than amulet, bracelets, anklets, waist-guard and loincloth. A bandolier of barbed javelins sticks out over one shoulder.

: "You haven't even seen half of us, man-slut!" The hypocritical blue-scaled gal leers at Flagelo and sticks out a forked tongue.

: "Really now, this is beyond the pale.."

: Like a true pro Braxienne doesn't even return Akio's look. She regards the entire group coldly before animating one of her ledgers and consulting it, writing quickly. "Yes, you've got quite the empty boast there, you air-headed mimbo." She tut-tuts and sweeps the ledger with one finger, the animation prompting it to close. "Defeating Headcount was an unpleasant surprise but your little tantrum ends here."

: Jubilette swells and looms up and hisses back at .attak's come-on, brandishing a single angry fist. Bobbins fails spectacularly to placate her!

: "Hey now! All these rude vibes, all these harsh words, it's just a game, <why you gotta be mad?>" The back-up chorus doesn't add much to the proceedings.

: "I'm impressed you got through the office, so I won't pretend you don't have a bit of talent. But you're crazy if you think ORDER doesn't maintain a bench.. and you're sadly fresh-faced if you didn't know it." She pushes up the bridge of her glasses and sways her shoulders a little. "You've already lost. You'll find that quality hounds beat out little trash raccoons, Ailuridae."

: "Yeah-ahh, heh heh! We're ready for ya!"

SUDDENLY!

quote:

[Sunbright] Yells: HEY! GET THE gently caress OUT OF THE WAY
[Sunbright] Yells: WE DONT WANT ANY PROBLEMS WITH YOU
[Sunbright] Yells: BUT DONT TRY US OR YOU'LL END UP AT THE NEAREST loving GRAVEYARD
Sunbright] Yells: AND THATS NOT A THREAT, IT'S A loving PROMISE

: With an enormous hammer-fist slam Bobbins strikes the platform the ORDER group is standing on so hard that the ethereal effects flicker rapidly and shift off with an awkward *ZOT*! He lets out a truly agitated growl as he jabs a finger into a console button and the ethereal effect returns before leaning forward and bellowing at the top of his lungs! "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!? YOUR BAD MANNERS COULD ONLY BE EXCEEDED BY YOUR BAD MANNERS! We're all here to enjoy a good bit of competitive fun and this is the sort of toxic mess we're reduced to?!" He thrusts a finger forward to point at your group! "I think you'll find that we've all made great efforts to be as powerful and deserving as we need to be, and furthermore your arrogant nature only betrays your gross immaturity!" It sounds and feels like you set off one of your parents! "Ailuridae, hear this! This vault of the Order of the Divine Way will NOT fall to the likes of you! Our finest magical defense will not even afford you the chance to enter it, so I suggest you take your ill-gotten gains and depart!" He pulls back and clenches both of his fists, his giant teeth grinding for a second.

: Braxienne covers her mouth for a coquettish giggle. "Well... you heard the man. We'll be waiting for you. I believe you're familiar with the quote "the House always wins"?" The group of ORDER guildies and flunkies turns to depart, vanishing into the portal into the sealed vault.

: "<YEAH! Believe it, baby!>" The final boy Zinger pauses to pose and flaunt at you for a second before a very large hand reaches out and drags him in with the rest.

---

(Map coming tomorrow!)

You'll need a way to deactivate the Plane Shift Defenses... luckily there's a physical path leading the other way and more of this strange factory to explore. Nearby is a large array of magically projected holo-monitors and a small gilded brass stand similar to the desk-top device in Isabelle's True Office. There's a round opening to insert something the size of an apple and the stand is oriented to be facing the ethereal Vault entrance. The row of monitors shifts away from the aftermath of Royal's song and plays an advertisement! An irritatingly catchy jingle plays!

: The amazing dancing dog-headed salesman Doom E. Kins moonwalks onto the set and mixes several fad dances from the Macarena to Gangnam Style to Dabbing and Flossing. It's terrifying. He comes out of his last choreographed desecration with his trademark 180 heel spin and double point! "Hey! Players, are you tired of long(LONG!) walks back down poorly designed hallways, too large dungeons and complicated, redundant puzzle points!? Then have I! Got! A! Value! For! YOU!" He slides two feet to the right and a decorative stand displaying today's great sale materializes atop a perfect velvet pillow!

"The Pouches of Shard Acquisition! Normally a bank-buster at 25,000 Gold per pair, we're practically giving these away at 10,000 Gold per pair! How can we do it!? It's easy! WITH GREAT VALUE!" He pauses and points directly at the camera as the camera zooms in and out rapidly to emphasize the point! He holds both paws out to either side in a magnanimous shrug. "But there is a minimum purchase of two pairs! This is value so great it can't be denied!" He pantomimes summoning a mystical arcane wyrm that is slowly empowered by residual magic until it is an overwhelming engine of destruction, all from an original one-mana investment! It blows away the enemy battlefield with raw VALUE!!!

He points at YOU(YES YOU!) again! "20,000 Gold gets your four pouches! Two linked pairs! Each pair of two is linked to its partner, so be sure to label them correctly! Simply insert any material up to 3 solid pounds into the opening.. as long as it'll fit.." The pouches are the size of small hand bags. ".. And it can be claimed and removed at any point from the companion pouch! Wow!" He inserts a full-sized long sword point first into one pouch and a blank-faced illusion tries to withdraw it from the other pouch, impaling their hand and dissolving. Doom E. reaches out and grabs it without any difficulty then whirls around, drawing the sword out in a slash!

"BUY TODAY!" There's a little pair of openings beneath the main line of projectors. One accepts money, the other will produce the items purchased.

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Jan 12, 2019

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

Agreeing to help Kunio meet "the girl of his dreams", all you know is that she goes to Nekketsu High. At least thanks to your efforts and Tsukiyo's you can freely approach the school without worrying about starting trouble! You know several people at Nekketsu already... what can you do to help this love-sick young boy? He joins your group to hoof it to the school(or some other meeting spot, if you want to arrange it, and with who?!)

: "Again, thank you guys. This really means a lot to me. They say everybody has the one, and man, imagine going through life knowing you missed your soulmate.. saddest thing I can imagine." Outside of Naoki grounds, Kunio is openly smoking as he walks, still wearing his uniform.

: "Why are we helping this guy again? Trying to help him to find a girlfriend is like trying to teach a dog to fly." Tsukiyo says while face palming.

: "If you didn't want to help then why did you tag along in the first place..." Akio mutters irritably, but then seems to have an idea and raises an eyebrow at Tsukiyo. "Unless you have some other reason to visit Nekketsu?"

: Kunio radiates some good cheer with a grin. "Yet despite that thorny exterior, the firey rose Chavez has come to help me, the beauty of her heart shining true." He takes a fresh drag.

: "I came here to ensure that you guys don't harass anyone at Nekketsu and ruins the relation between the schools again!"

: "...anyway," Akio deadpans. "Kunio, I still don't understand how we're supposed to find the girl you're looking for. Are we just gonna go in there and sneak peeks at girls at random?" He instantly regrets his poor choice of words and squirms, "uh, n-not peek, I didn't mean, um, nevermind!" He nervously clears his throat. "But, um, it'd help if we knew what she looked like."

: "Yeah, it would be a really bad idea if your plan is to start peeking on girls." Tsukiyo says, her eyes focused on Akio on a death glare. "Specially if the others found out about that."

: "I didn't mean peek as in peek! It was a slip of the tongue!" Akio holds up his hands in front of him to try to pacify Tsukiyo. "I meant it more in a visually identifying a person that matches a given description kind of way."

: Kunio thinks for a moment and shrugs. "Well, you know how girls are. Classic Japanese beauty, you know? Uh.. tall, sporty? Tough-lookin' but still cute. I thought since you guys know folks over there you could spread the word?"

: Noriko snorts. "that's half the girls at Nekketsu. we can't exactly go around asking everybody... do you have more to go on? hair color? eye color? ...bust size? weapon type?"

: Caught in deep self-reflection for a moment, Kunio eventually breaks his contemplative pose to raise a finger with a look of fresh epiphany! ".. She was modestly endowed!"

: Itsumi shoots Kunio a look. “Is that really all you noticed???”

: "No, no! But things were moving quickly, lots of coming and going, business with you guys. I didn't want to interfere." You did find Kunio in Other City, moving about freely. You're not quite sure how things would look on his end.

: "So what, you want to pick up every girl in Nekketsu and make a bust size chart of them?" Tsukiyo says, already dreading the answer.

: "Can you girls really be surprised that Kunio-senpai noticed her fiery spirit and her looks?" Takashi interjects, "We weren't exactly taking our time to scrutinize everyone's personalities during the rally. And how do you think Nekketsu boys would describe you three?" he gestures to each in turn, "Tsuki-chan would probably be a sporty beauty, Itsumi-chan would be a classic Japanese beauty, and Nori-chan is probably described as a haunting beauty. That's just how boys are when they haven't met you yet."

: "hmph. i would think anyone who would have become infatuated with me at a glance would at least know i was pale and dark haired." Noriko rolls her eyes. "without anything to go on we have to narrow it down to girls who were in our sphere when we were moving through the area. off-hand... that's miyuki, anne, shiokaze, and that woman from the karaoke bar, at least. all of them fit that description, i think? i didn't record their bust size... i think Anne will be the toughest route for you to be on at this point, given that you and Akio accosted her earlier. we do need to return her uniform, though, so we at least have an excuse to meet her..."

: "I bet Akio remembers their numbers! He's got a mind for the smallest details!" clapping a hand to Akio's shoulder to shake him, Takashi grins broadly, breaking in to a laugh to show he meant it only as a fun jab between friends, "But I doubt it was the woman from the bar. The Miyuki girl seems like a good candidate if anyone knows how to reach her."

: "I am absolutely sure it isn't Miyuki-san." Tsukiyo says while glaring right at Takashi and Kunio.

: Not at all deterred by a fierce Chavez glare, Takashi asks, "Why? She seems like a tough, athletic beauty just like Kunio-senpai said."

: Kunio nods along. "Could be.. and a classic beauty, too. I think it can't be that redhead then."

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

Approaching Nekketsu not too long after the school day is over you can see a steady number of people coming and going, and a great deal participating in athletic training. You have to start somewhere, is there anyone in particular you seek out?

: For Tsuki that description is likely to be Shiokaze! Well, actually the real reason is that she wants to inflict those two jerks on each other.

: "hmmm... maybe we should speak to their banchou? i'm sure that might be awkward after Tsukiyo savagely destroyed him in front of his entire school, but... it's going to be much worse to just walk up to girls and start asking. i think we need an 'in'."

: "You know what? I think I know the perfect girl for Kunio-san. She fits his description and is great personality-wise. Itsumi-san, do you still get in contact with Shiokaze?"

: Akio winces at Tsukiyo's suggestion, was she really trying to set Kunio up with an actual yokai!? "Er, I don't think Shiokaze is Kunio's type. Why don't we go see if we can find Miyuki first, just to cross her off the list if nothing else?" he offers. "Uh, which club was she in again?"

: "she wasn't even around much when we were here last, though..." Noriko notes. "i'd be surprised if it was her. it probably can't hurt to try, at least, if she's in a good mood. she might just try to kick our asses for skulking around school grounds again, though. it's not like we signed a peace accord."

: "We gave back their dumb trophy. That has to count for something, right?"

: Kunio cups his chin in a show of more advanced contemplative thought than usual, perhaps due to considering something that isn't cup size. "I hear Nekketsu's banchou is like a wall of iron... It'd be a good fight." He lowers his hand and faces the horizon expectantly, a cool breeze rushing by you all.

---

Recalling an offhand comment from when Tsukiyo went on a date with him... inadvertently... you head to one of two full gyms on the campus. Inside you find a wide array of young men and a dedicated split group of women trading blows with boxing gloves. In one of the rings is a misplaced older man.. no, it's a familiar student, his face contorted in rage and focus as he spare with another similar steroid casualty. You also know Fujio as Mr. Heart online, a rare honorable sort of ganker.

: "Uh. Hey Fujio-san." Tsukiyo says while giving am awkward bow. "We kinda have a... A stupid request to make." Her expression sours, showing her utter contempt with the current situation. "We need some help finding a certain girl who our 'friend', Kunio-san, thinks it's his dream match..."

: Your initial greeting is hard to hear over the commotion of the gym, not to mention Fujio being in the middle of exchanging blows. A second try yields a raise of his head as he turns. "Tsukiyo?" In the dropped focus, Fujio's opponent steps in and slams a right into his stomach! ... He doesn't notice! Those six pack abs are as tight as steel! With an "ORAH!!!" Fujii spins back and delivers a right cross, sending his partner flying even through the headgear. He sheds his own helmet and hops over the ropes to join your group. "You need my help?! Just say the w.."
Kunio and Fujio lock eyes.

: "You."

: "Him." Everything goes dead quiet.. except for the rest of the gym.

: Takashi steps between the two older boys, putting his arms up as if to ward them away, "We're all friends here. Past grudges are ended. We came to Nekketsu for a noble purpose, not to start a fight. And rest assured if you two start a fight, I'll end it," the younger boy says with bravado, "or else Tsuki-chan will have to get her hands dirty."

: "That's fine, I hear this dog was already neutered by two Naoki girls in a row!"

: "It takes a dog to bark when he has no strength in his bite... If that's the way you want it..."

: At the idea of fighting Takashi, Kunio sizes him up and Fujio raises a glove! "I knew it'd come to this one day!"

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

: ... At mention of Tsukiyo, Kunio relaxes his stance and Fujio looks away, rubbing the back of his head. "As the lady says.." "Ah, sorry, Tsukiyo!"

: Tsukiyo kicks Takashi's knees and gives an apologetic bow towards the Banchou of Nekketsu. "S-sorry for all that stuff before too. But yeah, we are here on the behalf of... Kunio-san as we said before..."

: "A certain girl? Go on, but I think every woman at Nekketsu has decent standards.."

: "go ahead and ask him what he remembers about her." Noriko remarks with a smirk. "he's after all of Nekketsu..."

: Kunio raises a finger and declares with pride: "A tall, sporty beauty. Classic beauty look, you know? Elegant black hair, modest figure. That kinda thing."

: Fujio rubs his chin and grins. "Yeah, that's not bad.. uh, er.. well, sounds kinda like Miyuki."

: "No it doesn't...!" Tsukiyo says, her teeth and fists clenched. "It must be someone else, right, Fujio?"

: "Well it'd be easy to check.. she wanted to see you again anyway, Tsukiyo. Try the archery club, they're in the west field."

: "O-Oh! Hm... I... So maybe we should take a look there, I guess." She crosses her arms.

: Akio can't help but roll his eyes at Tsukiyo. "So we can finally go see Miyuki now? You sure you wouldn't prefer to run in to some more of Kunio's old rivals first? I don't think the entire school was here to witness the scene..." Remembering how she seemingly randomly and brutally kicked Takashi in the knees, he quickly clears his throat and starts walking with hurried steps. "Uh, the west field was it? Let's go! See ya Fujio!"

: Noriko glares at Kunio with mild irritation at his suddenly jogged memory, but apathy wins the day. She shrugs. "fine, let's get this over with."

: "Yeah, let's go! The longer we wait the more trouble we may run into!"

: Fujio waves off Itsumi's concern and gives her a friendly smile. "It's no trouble, miss!" As you go Fujio calls out to Akio and Takashi: "Hey fellas, we give guest tours around here if you think you got it in you for a few rounds!" He grins and gestures over his shoulder to the boxing ring. Kunio raises a middle finger in response and Fujio laughs.

: "Uh, yeah, maybe some other time, Fujio," Akio replies as he walks away. Getting sucker punched by some Nekketsu thug that probably spent all day fighting didn't seem that appealing to him, not that he thought he would necessarily lose to him! But, well, they were on an important mission and all...

---

Following Fujio's instructions you head to the West Field and see a handful of students firing upon targets. A small cluster of them are watching the mirror of the stoic warrior from online take aim and consistently shoot for the center ring that outlines the bullseye.

(Continued)

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Nov 20, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

Meeting Miyuki

: As you depart the boxing gym you can hear the distinct onomatopoeia of cluck cluck cluck..

: Akio had only briefly seen Miyuki from a distance back when they visited Nekketsu that night, and he couldn't quite remember if that had been in the other world or not, so he doesn't bother waving at her. He looks at Kunio and makes a subtle nod in her direction. "What do you think, Kunio? Is that her?"

: "Miyuki-san!" Tsukiyo waves at her, rushing to the front before Kunio gets his chance.

: The students quickly share excited recognition and warnings about the "thug queen of Naoki" before clearing away, Miyuki looking over and grinning sheepishly when she recognizes you. "Tsukiyo-san, hello!"
: "Hi! It's been a while, huh." Tsuki says while blushing a bit. "Hm, are we interrupting something?"

: As they enter the field, Takashi assesses the tall girl who so distinctly matches her avatar, trying to judge her against Kunio's description. It was a fair bet, he had to admit. As they get closer, he switches his attention to Kunio, trying to watch for the spark that will signal the older boy's reaction. Still, he does wave to the girl, and bow slightly lest he be considered rude.

: Kunio looks from side to side, well aware he's being checked. He offers a patient smile and shakes his head.

: Miyuki shakes her head and looks past Tsukiyo for a bit to the group she brought with her. "No, it's good to see you.. ah.. why are you all here, though?"

: Tsukiyo looks nervously towards Kunio's direction, a cold sweat forming on her forehead as she feels an ill omen...

: Noriko scowls slightly at Kunio. "...really?" crossing her arms, she considers the other candidates. "...she was a student, right, kunio? not an older woman?"

: ...Only for a wave of relief to wash over her. "We... Were brought here by Kunio-san who wants to find someone he met." She lets out a drawn sigh. "Someone who's probably really unlucky, Miyuki-san. He says it's someone who's tall, beautiful and cute, so we came here to meet you fi-." She blushes midway. "Wah!"

: Miyuki smiles, caught off-guard, then whispers to Tsukiyo in confidence: "That boy is a devil, you know? He fights like an ogre."

: Kunio grins to Noriko and rubs the back of his head. "Maybe it was. You really think I got a chance? I'll be graduating this year and all.."

: "...you're a monster, kunio. at this point anything could happen. i'll hope for the best on your may-september romance."

: Kunio grins. "I'm old enough to keep my September honest. Love is pure in all forms.. well, most."

: Miyuki whispers to Tsukiyo: "There are a few girls that I think I look similar too.. some are more.. ah, unkempt."

: "...That was my plan, but the other insisted..." Tsukiyo whispers back.

: "That one is probably behind the school, on the hills." Miyuki peers over Tsukiyo's shoulder and smiles at the others, speaking to everyone in the group. "I believe a girl like that might behind the school grounds, resting on the hills. Perhaps you could go visit her.. Tsukiyo, would you like to join me?" She gestures towards the targets

: Kunio nods and grins. "Take yer time Tsukiyo. We know where to go."

: As the boys look like they're checking out, Noriko mutters to Kunio. "i can't believe they're putting up with this... um." after a moment of consideration, she balls her fists. "hold on a sec!!" Pushing past Akio and Takashi, she returns to the gym, steps up to the edge of the ring and points at Fujio with aggressive determination. "you're posturing awfully hard for somebody who loses a lot of fights... you don't know when to quit, do you? i have a reputation on campus to uphold. the fencing club doesn't look down on challenges from meathead boys."

: "Uh, Noriko? What are you doing?" Akio raises his eyebrow at her. "I don't think he's interested in a fencing match..."

: She glances over her shoulder at Akio. "ah, no... don't misunderstand. i was just planning to beat his rear end."

: "Oh, ok." Akio nods. "Wait, what!?"

(Continued)

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Nov 20, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

The Great Boxing Lesson Fight! Pt 1

: Fujio's eyebrows shoot up, his eyes widen, he's utterly shocked! A few other boys are watching now and crack up laughing. A few are watching for Akio's reaction. He laughs and waves a hand, dismissing Noriko. "Woah now, little missy. There's no need to be vulgar!"

: "oi." Noriko crosses her arms. "i'm not your little missy and if you're too much of a coward to fight me then i'll declare myself the winner. maybe i'll start a girl gang and let you join up. if you're tough enough anyway."

: A chorus of "ooohhhs" rises! Laughing it off in good spirit, Fujio gestures off to the side. "Well, I can teach you the basics. Get some loaners from the girl's club, rookie!"

: Noriko gears up. what have i gotten myself into... she thinks, but doesn't let her doubts slow her down. he's such a pushover online, i couldn't let him just get away with that...

-Some of the Nekketsu girls help Noriko pick out things in her size and correct her choice of gloves to something that fits well. Once she's geared up they share words of encouragement! "Give him one on the chin, it's made of glass!" "You've got this!"

-As Noriko gets ready a pair of boys idly chat. "How lucky is he to tutor such a cute girl?" "It's his charm, you get swept up. Blessed bastard."

:Akio catches up to Noriko as she's changing, staying outside the changing room and talking through the door, of course! "Noriko, you can't be serious about this! I'm not saying that you're weak, but this might not be where your strength lies... How are you supposed to beat Fujio at boxing?

-One of the girls body blocks Akio from getting too close to the locker rooms so this conversation involves a bit of shouting!

: Hearing Akio making commotion outside, Noriko finishes suiting up and heads out. "thank you. he doesn't think very hard sometimes." she bows to the Nekketsu girls with an apologetic smile before turning back to Akio. "hm... i am serious about it, though." she grins, a mischevious flash in her eyes - and something else. Up close, Akio can see a faint black ring of... something... lurking on the edge of the iris in her right eye, like an undulating blob of ink. When noticed, it seems to quiver and then draw inwards, disappearing. "i'm not worried about my strengths and weaknesses right now. i feel like expressing myself through my fists today."

: "is that..." Akio gapes at the black presence in her eye. He shakes his head. "Why? Who cares about what Fujio said. Is this the first time someone taunts you or tries to make fun of you, or what? He wasn't even aiming for you..."

: "it's not about what Fujio said." Noriko states, shaking her head. "it's about what Heart said. i don't have to put up with second-rate ganker trash taunting my boyfriend." she crosses her arms, looking firm. " besides, this is how they sort out their pecking order and i'm obligated to attend a club on Nekketsu school grounds. i can't just tolerate casual disrespect like that."

: "You're not going to change your mind, huh?" Akio shrugs in defeat, then takes off his bag and his jacket and throws them to the ground. "Just what kind of boyfriend would I be if I just stood idly by while you entered the ring with that thug. I've got a few weeks of karate practice, you know, I'll beat him up!"

: Noriko rolls her eyes. "i don't need you to come save me, dummy. but..." she shrugs. "i'm not going to stop you, either. i'm going in, if you want to help, help. just don't get in my way...." she says with a sly smirk, as she heads to the ring.

: When you're ready and go in, Fujio sizes up and takes a relaxed but passable stance. "You know we take everyone seriously here, so give it your all, you two. I'll teach you well!"

: "At this rate I'm not sure who I'm trying to save. You, Fujio, or me..." Akio mutters as they head toward the ring.

: Noriko prepares herself for combat. Her experiences in Nekketsu athletics had been limited to fencing scenarios, so she felt she might have a standing against head-on attacks at least, but she didn't really know much about defending her flanks. She glances over at Akio and feels glad for the help, even if she was trying not to show it. Focusing inward, she feels the strands of fate connecting herself to her Persona. Taking a deep breath, she centers her inward self, imagining Memento-Mori standing in a boxing ring in the other world, taking the same stance as her. She looks at her fists, glancing down for a moment to see them wrapped in barbed chains instead of gloves, only to see them return to normal after an incredulous blink. She raises her fists, ready to fight!

: "Yeah, well, maybe I'll be able to teach you a lesson or two as well..." Standing inside the ring barefoot and without gloves, Akio narrows his eyes at Fujio as he takes up a karate stance. "In manners, that is."

: In Noriko's mind's eye she can see the looming silhouette of Heart, twice her height, twice as wide and clad in heavy plate and his mask. Fujio gently tests your guards with a few thrown jabs. As Akio faces his primary hand, those from Fujio's right arm are stronger.

: Noriko stays just at the edge of Fujio's reach, trying to keep a sharp awareness of his positioning. She could take shortcuts in fencing if she knew her blow would connect first, but she'd have no such luck in a real fight. Sidestepping the first couple of swings, she waits until he's preoccupied with Akio and steps in long enough to aim a punch at his side.
Streetwise: Brawlin': 1d20+24 30

: Since it was the first time he faced a boxer, Akio sticks to the form he was most comfortable with. It had been enough to beat Kane once, so he was hoping it'd work well against Fujio too. His number one priority was to make sure that bastard didn't lay his hands on Noriko, so he goes on the offensive and tries to keep him busy with a barrage of jabs and kicks. Fujio was going to die tired!
Endurance: 1d20+21 37

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

The Great Boxing Lesson Fight! Pt 2

: Noriko and Akio decide to really let Fujio have it! He immediately sets his hands out and forces Akio to a halt by pinching his headgear between both fists. ".. Hey, no kicking." When Noriko uses her tentative knowledge of brawlin' to give one to his side when he's not lookin', Fujio just grunts. "Come on, take it seriously." He sets back and puts up a thick guard, both of his forearms held before him from elbow to fist in straight lines together! "Try some jabs."

: Reconsidering her approach, Noriko steps back and shifts on her feet for a moment. he's underestimating us... Shifting back in, Noriko sends a flurry of jabs at Fujio, putting a bit of eldritch pepper into her swings, blows coming in like her gloves were padded with iron. Intimidate: 1d20+24 40

: "How about you take it seriously," Akio says, clearly frustrated by his lack of progress. "Are you gonna stand there and hide behind your defense all day or what?" He throws a few jabs at Fujio, futile as it may be. Athletics: 1d20+18 27

: You're determined to get a rise out of Fujio! As you lash at his guard you can feel the mind's eye view of things bleeding into your vision, Akio's too now. But Ambrose is muted, ethereal. The hulking form of Heart glowers through the guard at both of you, eyes glowing in the mask. Fujio's voice cuts in: "This is serious! Just a spar, right? And weight classes exist for a reason.." Heart raises both hands and slams the ground, a Thorn's Strike lashing at both of you in the mind's eye and pulling Memento and Ambrose forward, adjacent to Heart. He applies his Warden's Mark to you both. In reality, Fujio grins through his guard for a second before moving his arms. "Youch.. not bad, small fry. Why don't we test your guards? Take a good stance."

: Noriko shifts back again, trying to stay at a comfortable distance as much as she can with Fujio's superior reach. Staying low and ducking behind her fists, she meets Fujio's gaze for a moment and her right eye blooms black, the inky substance flowing outward until only a glowing amber iris remains, only to have it return to normal as soon as he blinks. The uncomfortable sensation of seeing the unseeable makes her e?xce?edi?n?gly har?d to ?l?ook? ?a?t?. (Shift back, Curse, Eyebite)

: Akio winces. This was quickly getting out of hand. Just a spar? Yeah right! They were hardly just boxing anymore. And how come both Noriko's and Fujio's personas were fully manifest while his wasn't!? That part was actually pissing him off. Though he didn't know how she'd done it, he could understand that Noriko had advanced somehow, he'd seen that presence lurking in her eye before they entered the ring, but Fujio? He's demonstrably worse than that lout? What the hell!

: As Noriko steps back Akio moves between her and Fujio, gritting his teeth as he raises his fists in front of him. Without the protective wards and the rest of his arcane magic he didn't really see himself being able to stand against Heart in any meaningful way. But he wasn't just gonna give up either. He'd resolved to protect Noriko, and so he would, dammit. (Utility: Dragon Scales. +2 AC)

: As you might expect Fujio only trades in gentle, telegraphed blows to test Noriko's guard. She finds it easy enough to meet the blow and in the field of the mind's eye, Memento Mori is able to take Heart's blows without breaking a sweat. "Not bad!" And then Fujio hooks around Akio's thick beginner's guard and places a glove in his cheek, not using full strength but still giving him a surprising knock. "Tighten up, don't just freeze! React! There aren't many guards that can stand in place all day!" In the mind's eye, Ambrose is left to smolder in his absent ethereal state. Something is burning in the other two, an inner force that fuels them entirely.

: Waiting until just the right moment, Noriko steps inside Fujio's guard. "my turn." Delivering a swift uppercut, she slips past his fists and delivers a stunning blow to his chin. Putting him off-guard, she looks to Akio. "get in there!" (Shift in, Hand of Blight as a melee touch attack, target grants combat advantage UEONT)

: Akio reels back from Fujio's strike. 'Don't just freeze?' Like his footwork even mattered in this fight! Feeling heated up, and spurred on by Noriko, Akio goes at it once again and tries to land a punch on Fujio.

: Fujio takes a couple's combined strike to the chin! In the mind's eye Heart is blasted with wave of rotting shadow energy before a shift back to reality where Akio clips him in the side of the jaw! He grins. "Yeah.. now you get it!" He then drops a foot into a mini-squat and goes to deliver an uppercut to Akio!

: Alright, he scored a clean hit! Akio grins with a look of self-satisfaction. Heh, maybe this wasn't so difficult after all. Even without his persona to help him, he could still take on that big thug, no problem! Uh, wait, where did Fujio go? Athletics: 1d20+18 Natural one!

: And in the next moment Akio is on his back, looking up at the ceiling! Fujio chuckles and takes up his pose while facing Noriko but doesn't advance. "You want to count for him?" Inside the mind's eye, Heart's matching chuckle rumbles inside his helmet, his voice old and wizened. "Oiii, Mori. You're clearly taking things seriously.. and you've got that kinda spirit everybody likes! Maybe I should've asked you out, eh?"

: Ow god dammit! Akio groans in pain, lying on the ground covering his mouth with his hands. He hadn't been in this much agony since he took that fateful fall at the arcade. But he didn't think Fujio would accept a game of hex maidens so he could regain his honor this time... Was that blood he was tasting in his mouth? Ugh, he must've bit his tongue. While he felt dizzy, Akio doggedly gets back up on his feet again, though it takes him a minute and his legs felt quite unsteady.

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

The Great Boxing Lesson Fight! Fin!

: As in the moment as she is, Noriko still feels a pang of concern when Akio takes one to the face and hits the mat. "Akio!" Reacting impulsively, she forgets her strength for a moment and delivers a rain of haymaker punches, each blasting hit pushing Fujio back a bit further, until she sends him stumbling back to the ropes. (Lash of the Long Night: Push 7) Rushing to Akio's side, she helps him up and checks him over to make sure he's okay. "dummy... you should have worn gear..."

: Noriko uses clever movements and raw aggression to beat into Fujio's guard until he backsteps himself to the rope. Fujio chuckles as he goes willingly. "Hey, you know in a real fight, counters rain in against that kind of storm.." Helping Akio to his feet, the mind's eye field of view asserts itself as Heart rumbles with a throaty laugh. "After all, everybody likes the idea of a goth girlfriend... well, the joke online goes "big tiddy goth gf." I guess in your case the siren song would go a bit flat."

: Looking past Noriko, Akio regards Fujio with a look that spelled only death. "Hey Fujio, Heart," he says, his gaze unwavering, his voice cold, yet betraying something smoldering underneath. "I believe I promised you a lesson in manners." Ambrose shakes off the etherealness, eyes burning with indignation and boundless arcane power, and he unsheates his sword. Finding a sudden surge of strength in his legs, Akio springs forward with surprising speed and is upon Fujio in an instant, and puts his entire weight behind his fist, and slams it right into Fujio's face for all he's worth. "You're supposed to treat ladies with respect, you piece of poo poo!" Move: Eladrin Swordmage Advance. Free: Melee Basic Attack. Standard: White Tiger Rage

: In a surprise development Akio's overwhelming emotions blaze through the mundane, endowing him with a chance to clock Fujio clean in the chin with his naked knuckles! He rattles his brain in his skull for a moment and becomes utterly dazed, his legs going sideways as he stumbles to the side, clinging to the rope. "Woah!"

-The gym is swept with some gasps and cheers and a great deal of gossip. As quickly as it came, Ambrose falls muted and ethereal again.

: When Fujio starts being crass, Noriko can feel her hackles start to rise, but she can see the anger building even more in Akio. Stepping aside, she lets her man do his work, watching intently as Akio expertly decks Fujio. Moving up to him, she kisses Akio on the cheek. "...he had that coming. thanks." she says with a smile, wrapping an arm around his waist. Turning to Fujio, she points her other gloved fist at the stumbling boxer. "...hey, meathead oaf. are we continuing?" she has a slightly bemused tone to her voice, the taunt clearly not serious. "maybe next time you call a <QT Goth GF> flat, you'll make sure her boyfriend isn't bare knuckle boxing." Quietly, she adds to Akio: "...you really should have worn pads and gloves, though."

: Once he recovers Fujio straightens up to full height and steps over to you with full frame, arms raised with his forearms and gloves out straight. He stands before you both for a moment before extending his hands to give you friendly bops on your hands with his gloves. "Right! Good spar!"

: Akio puts his arm around Noriko as she leans in and kisses her on the top of her head, then speaks quietly to her. "Well, I wasn't really in it to have a friendly spar... But yeah, you're right." The hand he threw the punch with hurt like hell and he had to do his best not to let it show in front of Fujio and everyone, especially when Fujio bops his hands with his gloves. Still, he considered a little bit of pain well worth the satisfaction of sending Fujio reeling after he insulted Noriko. He knew how sensitive she was about that...

---

: Once Fujio and Noriko have a chance to change back to civvies, Fujio invites you over to a water cooler. He drinks like a horse, using the same cup eight times. "Hahaha sorry if my banter was out of line! I thought I'd humor your attitude... you should use the headgear next time, Akio! Ah, but if you trained hard you'd make a fine outboxer. Blinking around, hit and run.. your style, eh?" He finishes another cup and thinks for a bit. "But you're lacking something.."

: "You brought that attiude on yourself, you know. But as long as you're willing to apologize, I think we're fine." He looks over to Noriko, it was her call to make after all. He looks back to Fujio. "Lacking something? What do you mean?"

: "If you're in the game, it's a contest of will, yeah? Anyone ashamed of their desires can't win.. in the end, you'll yield."

: "it was a little grating but i took it in stride." Noriko grins. "thanks for the spar, Fujio. um... it seems like the link between us and the other world is still tenuous... i've been able to tap my persona for a little while, but... the others are still just short of it."

: "The reason my bond to my persona isn't as strong as yours is because I'm... ashamed of my desires? That's what's holding me back?" Akio crosses his arms and furrows his brow in deep contemplation. "Do I really have something I'm ashamed of? I'm not even sure exactly what my desires are..." His eyes dart over to Noriko for a second, and he smiles shyly to himself. Well, some of them were obvious... But what did he want out of the game? He wanted the strength to protect and support those he loved, of course, but that was hardly something to be ashamed of. No, there had to be something else too, something inherently selfish that he was keeping from himself. So what was it he desired that he couldn't even admit to himself?

: For some reason his thoughts wandered to that lowest point in his life, in the wake of his mother's death. At his school he was a nobody, a loser with no true friends. He never mentioned what happened to any of the other students because he knew no one would've cared. Each day his feelings ate away at him, and he had to keep it all inside or open himself up to be hurt even more. He felt so lonely, so insignificant. So helpless. What he wanted... "I want... to matter. To get that which I think I deserve. I hate losing. Even ending up in second place leaves a foul taste in my mouth when I've set my sights on the top. What I want is to be second to none. I want to win the game and claim the power, and then I will use that power to lead all of humanity into a golden age, and everyone will know it was because of me. That is my selfish desire." Akio could feel a smile spread across his face as he finishes. It felt great to finally grasp it.

: Fujio caps off your statement with a low whistle. "We're alike! You know.. you guys keep thrashing me and my friends, and I can't stop you and that's the job I went for! It really got at me when we split over it.." He raises a fist and pumps his forearm. "But feeling bad for myself because of what they think.. it wasn't a way forward. So like you, Akio, I'll become a great champ. World heavyweight!" He grins. "Then I can have a nice house, give my folks a nice house, lead a few charitable causes.. be a businessman, all the great champs do that kinda thing." He chuckles and seems bashful for a moment.

Akio: Acknowledging your wish, Ambrose emerges from your shadow to overtake and become it! .. Metaphorically, within your mind. You gain an additonal +1 Bonus to Support Personas of the World, and a universal +1 to all others. Also, you can use all of your powers as a Swordmage IRL.

: Noriko smiles at Akio, giving him a hug from the side; In the mind's eye, she's still Memento-Mori - grinning proudly at Ambrose. "you did it! it's about time, heheh." leaning up to whisper in his ear, she adds. "...you matter to me, you know! ...but i'm not going to lose."

: Fujio seems to have his face mixed up in consideration of something, then decided that holding back isn't his style. "Hey, Noriko. Do you mind if I ask.. where you got those scars?" He tried to sound as respectful as possible, like he was controlling his tone for a teacher.

: Noriko seems a little startled by the question. "that's... awfully forward." she frowns and looks away. "i do mind, to be honest. they're... personal." she sighs. "i know you're not trying to be rude though. i had a knee replaced. and part of my femur needed to be rebuilt." she reaches down and knocks on the bone, making a dull clang. "i don't really want to talk about why."

: ... Oh! Is that.. a single tear! Fujio has his fists curled up and is biting his lip as he grirs his teeth. "Woooahh..." He lets out a low exclamation of awe. "Noriko.. that's the bravest thing I've ever seen!"

: "ehhh?" Noriko seems confused by the reaction. "how do you mean?"

: "It's a line all the guys like from one of the old banchous.. a scar is proof of the pain somebody's endured!" He looks a bit embarrassed. "Sorry! I just got to thinking about all you must've put up with and to keep going.. it's way too much! It's inspiring!" This is it. This is the purest strain guy thought pattern in Nekketsu.

: "heh. well... thanks." Noriko smiles, feeling a little weird about the idea, but relieved. She hadn't really thought about her scars that way. Akio was kind about the ones he'd seen, but he was her boyfriend! "...i'm starting to get more comfortable with them, at least. it helps to hear that. thank you."

: "I look forward to the title match," Akio replies to Fujio with a grin after he finishes telling him about his desire to become the world heavyweight champion. It seemed like kind of a waste to use the wish on just becoming good at boxing, though... Akio smiles warmly at Noriko as she hugs him and hugs her back. In the mind's eye Ambrose affects his trademark smug smirk. "Hehe, thanks. May the best caster win," he whispers back to her. He remains silent as Fujio asks Noriko about her scars. He was dying to know himself, of course, but he'd promised her to not go snooping in her past. He hoped she would tell him soon...

-Against all odds you feel closer to the hard-hitting Nekketsu boy! You can feel a bond growing...



Thou shalt have the blessing of the Emperor arcana...

When you Second Wind, you may stand from Prone and clear Slowed.

... Now Akio and Noriko needed to see how Kunio was doing!

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

Miyuki and Tsukiyo

: Tsukiyo smiles and picks up a bow. "Ah sure." She looks behind and notices Noriko and Heart-san heading to a dueling ring. Oh thank god, she thought to herself. "I've practiced a bit of archery with grandma when I was younger... Not a staple of our style but she said it helped strenghten the upper body..."

: Offering to let you take a few shots with her bow, Miyuki's touch is initially cool when she gently guides your arms to correct your form. "Your grandmother? I heard the Chavez family has a peculiar school." It doesn't take long for things to feel heated... ... after all, she was just shooting herself, so Miyuki has already worked up a light sweat!

: "Yeah... Grandma said that her father in law and grandpa brought their family's Nitoryuu style when they went to her country and after they married she tried to mix with the combat martial arts of her own..." She lets down the bow for a second and tries to wipe the sweat on her own face. "Then things got a bit too dangerous there and they decided to return to Japan so they could develop the style on a more peaceful atmosphere..."

: Miyuki chuckles nervously. "Too dangerous? Isn't it just a dojo?"

: "It is! But when the coup started, Grandma and Grandpa knew that the Dojo would be targeted to support the government and train their troops... That's why they went here."

: Miyuki seems impressed somehow.. she helps you line up another shot. "I suppose that makes me think better of you.. a rebellious streak is admirable, if rebelling for noble reasons."

: "Hmm..." Tsukiyo gives a sly smile. "Is that why you enrolled for Nekketsu? I mean, the school has a a reputation."

: She shakes her head. "I live two blocks away. Nekketsu does it's work, but I like it! It's a good school with an amazing staff and spirit.. I'm honored to be a part of that, even as a normal student." She laughs a little. "To think of how mad I got when you ran wild over here."

: Tsuki blushes and scratches her head. "I'm sorry about that... It's just that things went a bit awry when me and Itsumi-San had to investigate here..."

: She nods. "Well, it all worked out in the end. I admire what you did for the schools."

: "Ah..." She blushes a bit. "T-Thank you. But I mean, it's what things should have been between us to start with." A pause. "The schools, that is."

: "And I very much admire what you did for everyone there, too." Once you've got a good stance down Miyuki lets you shoot a few times without her aid. You can swear(Passive Perception) that you pick up on a bit of red in her face as you blunder through your words and make light slips. Once you've nailed some satisfactory shots Miyuki clears her throat. "Ah, did your friends find what they were looking for...?"

: Tsukiyo's heart skips a beat, and she gives a smile upon noticing the change on Miyuki. "Ah... I-I think so." Seems like her hunch was right all along?

: Miyuki smiles. "Should you go check on them?" It seems that if things were going to go any further, it'd be up to you..

: "...Not really, I think they can manage fine." Tsukiyo says while shaking her head. "Hm, where are you going after practice?"

: Miyuki shrugs. "Probably heading home."

: "Hm, you want to pass at the nearby arcade for a bit on the way home?"

: She smiles again. "Sure, but I'll be a bit. Why don't you check on your friends? Meet me at the rear gate."

: Tsukiyo smiles back and after giving a handwave, heads towards where Itsumi and Takashi are.

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

They Meet! Pt 1

-Back with Takashi and Itsumi...

: Takashi patently ignores all the japes and jeers, not much different from his life at Naoki of late, if a bit more direct. He has no desire to clown on amateurs, he was here for the older boy's benefit. Clapping Kunio on the shoulder, Takashi offers a sober grin, "Come on, Kunio-senpai, lets check those hills out and find the girl of your dreams. How can she experience love at first sight if she never sees you?"

-Heading around to the back of Nekketsu actually takes you to a pathway dug and reinforced through the dip between two hills, a sunflower lined rear entrance to the school as prominent as the front. Landscaped and wild plant growth tops the handful of low hills not flattened in terraforming the rest of the city.

: "Hey! Shiokaze should be around here somewhere... this seems like the kind of place she'd hang out at!" Itsumi says as she moves further along the pathway, scanning for any signs of the (likely disguised) tengu.

-Resting atop one of the rolling hills is the familiar sight of a raggedy vagarant, the tall and muscular illusion of a nearly-feral high school girl. Perhaps she would look like Miyuki or any other Japanese woman if they lived off the land for a year. Hayate(Shiokaze's disguise name) lounges on top of the hill where the wind blows without any obstruction, one leg kicked up on top of the other and bouncing on her knee.

: Wearing a Nekketsu jacket, a long skirt(with spats) and a pair of geta with single points, Hayate looks like your first thought of a lady banchou. Tape-wrap chest cover, open jacket on the shoulders, wearing a bunch of random shinto and christian amulets long and small around her neck. Just a normal everyday monster. She peers up and gives a single friendly one-off wave to Itsumi.

: Waving back at Hayate, Itsumi leads Takashi over. "Hey there! How's it going?" she asks in a friendly tone.

: "Wingtips," Takashi says in greeting, his trademark smile fixed in place, while he searches the older boy for any signs that this is the girl of his dreams.

: Hayate sits up and with an effortlessly rise that generates a breeze hops to her feet, beaming and slapping Itsumi on the back. "Hey sunshine! You're not causing trouble are y.."

: Takashi addresses thin air as Kunio has already stepped past him. He calmly interjects between Hayate and Itsumi and takes Hayate's hand off Itsumi, cupping it tenderly between both of his own hands. He looks her eye to eye, a rare boy as tall as a monster. "Miss." He doesn't know her name!!! "I love you. Marry me." Only this guy could be more brazen than Fujio! At least he sounds confident!

: Itsumi steps back and looks at Takashi and then at Kunio silently.

: Hayate peers past Kunio for a second at Itsumi to read her reaction! As expected she looks to Takashi when Itsumi does!

: Takashi mouths, "I have no idea," at both Itsumi and Hayate.

: Hayate uses a full rising ax kick to boot Kunio down the hill, sending the older boy rolling for a bit. She rounds on you both and yells! "If this is your idea of a joke it isn't funny!"

: "No joke, Wingtips. Uh, our older classmate is quite serious," knowing full well the shape of her wrath, Takashi moves to assist Kunio - conveniently out of Shiokaze's immediate range! - offering his hand to the other boy with a whispered, "She's spirited."

: Kunio rises with a hand clasped to Takashi's forearm, grinning widely. "She's perfect."

: Hayate seems a bit unappeased by Takashi's response.. and knows Itsumi best anyway. She crosses her arms and waits for a reply!

: Itsumi elbows Takashi directly in the kidney before he leaves, whispering, "Wingtips?!? Stop that." before stepping forward towards Hayate. "We had no idea what he was going to do, honest! All he told us was that he had seen an attractive girl here during the rally and that he wanted to meet her again..." Diplomacy: 1d20+23 24

: Hayate pinches Itsumi's cheeks(gently, for Shiokaze) and bares her teeth in a giant scowl. "You think I can't meet a guy any time I want, huh?!" She relents and crosses her arms, clearly in a foul mood. Takashi and Kunio return and Kunio holds his hands up in a pose straight out of TV drama.

: "Please, Miss.."

: "HAYATE." Shiokaze hisses her alias.

: Kunio blushes. "Hayate, as welcome as the breeze itself.." He closes his eyes and soaks in the poetic meaning for a moment. "Please, I.."

: Hayate lunges a finger out in a scolding point! "What would I want with some weakling spaz bugging me anyway!?" Kunio deflates a bit.. love is cruel.

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

They Meet! Pt 2

: Takashi puffs his chest up on behalf of Kunio, "Hey now, Hayate-chan," the honorific is remarkably dry, "Kunio-senpai is the farthest thing from a weakling, and I should know. If.... Sunny? ... Itsumi-chan went through all the trouble for you to meet him, the least you could do is give him a chance."

: Hayate rolls her eyes openly at Takashi, setting a fist on her hip and grumbling out loud. Kunio gives Takashi a hidden thumbs up before sweeping back in for a round two! "Oh Hayate-chan, of all the dynamite ladies that thrash about Nekketsu, you are by far the baddest." Young love is amazing to behold! Hayate's eyes kind of glaze over as she disregards whatever he says.. it's not going well. She mumbles something like an insincere thanks, bad attitude spilling all over the place. It's painfully awkward. Isn't there something to connect them!? You know Kunio's weird and Shiokaze's.. dim, sometimes? Kunio's likes are pretty obvious.. Shiokaze's not so much.

: "If you'll excuse me a minute.." Hayate interrupts the little serenade and steps over to Itsumi, towering over and glaring down at her for a moment before picking her up at the waist and walking away, carrying her like a pet.

---

: Kunio looks to Takashi and sighs heavily. "It's rough, man. Putting yourself out there. I wish I knew her better..." Hmm.. if you're going to sell this guy as a wingman, how much do you really know about him?

: Takashi pats Kunio on the back, "Yeah, but love is worth it," trying to think of what Shiokaze would be interested in, Takashi tries to recall the times he's interacted with her. Itsumi had once said that Shiokaze couldn't stand to see a cute boy sad? Maybe that could work? (skill roll to intuit what else Shio finds attractive) Insight: 1d20+17 37

: You take stock of what you know! Shiokaze is actually a Tengu, you've got no idea about her age but she likely isn't a teenager. Her anger and dismissal remind you of common low self esteem behavior: put up a shell, reject everything and you never have to risk putting yourself in anyone's hands. She hangs out with the Oni who eclipse her in strength. Maybe she's right about Kunio.. compared to monsters. Likes heavy drink. The wind. Strange fondness of religious accessories. You really gotta stretch here. Hmm. Tengus have huge wings of raven feathers, are strong and fast, can balance on their geta effortlessly. Their long noses are said to be cure-alls, if you can actually cut one off. In the form of Hayate, Shiokaze has an average nose.

: Rubbing the stubble he has continued to cultivate, Takashi finally settles on how to approach the Tengu - “Okay, Kunio-san, I think I know a better way to approach this,” he smiles at the older boy, suddenly almost as confident as Kunio usually is, “your confidence is one of your best features, but, well, it's also a weapon! Hayate-san is like a beautiful bird, and when we came in too hot, she was bound to be spooked!” he punctuates with a fist into his open palm, “we’ve got to talk her into it, ease her in, so it's her choice to run into your arms.” Looking around the hilltop, Takashi’s eyes land on exactly the tools to pull this off, a patch of wildflowers, none of them especially beautiful in their own right, “There!” he points, “help me gather some of these. A bouquet of wildflowers for a wild beauty!” hopefully Kunio will join in, but either way he begins pulling together an assortment. When they have enough for a modest bouquet, Takashi looks for something to tie them together, and presented with no better options, he asks the older boy for a shoelace - “Trust me!” - with the makeshift twine in hand, he ties a quick knot around the flowers, handing the completed product to Kunio.

: “Alright, last, and this is key… when she gets back with Itsumi-chan, you’re going to shyly offer her the flowers as apology, and say something like - I’m sorry I was so forward, Hayate-san, my heart ran away with my mouth. I thought you might like these. I’m sorry I didn’t have any red string to use, so they would be more special. - use your own words, or pull from mine, as long as you mean them,” he grins at the boy, “and I think you do mean them, so that shouldn’t be hard. The next bit is going to be considerably harder… but again, I need you to trust me,” Takashi’s eyes flash with that confidence again, “I’m going to insult you. And I’m not going to be nice. But you have to resist the urge to immediately retort, and know that this is for a bigger goal. When I say something about you being a <baby>, I want you to round on me and punch me as hard as you can,” his expression remains serious, “You can’t pull this punch. I don’t think Hayate-san likes me that much, so she’ll probably like that, but more importantly it shows you’re protective of things you care about… namely that growing affection for her, and that even if you are sensitive you aren’t weak.”

: He squares up with the older boy, his grin filled with excitement, “You’re with me, right?” (diplomacy to lace the plan with pieces meant to interest Shiokaze, from the wildflower hearth gift, the symbolism of the red string, and the display of weakness and strength) Diplomacy: 1d20+15 34

: Kunio listens intently to your wise counsel, unexpectedly providing a random bit of white string for the bouquet tie. He nods along with your plan until frowning at the mention of the punch. "Takashi, you're quite the support.. but..." He crosses his arms with bouquet in hand and takes on a powerful stance of denial. "Even fake enmity between friends is dishonest. Remember the sovereign law, my friend. Bros Before Hos."

: "Not that she's a Ho. But our bond of brotherhood should not be twisted for romance." He relaxes and shakes his head. "It's like building a city upon sand."

: "I can respect that, senpai. I am not a dishonest person, by nature," he shakes his head, "The gift shows you are remorseful for being so forthright, a gesture of parallel weakness and strength, but not enough. That just gets us back to the where we started. The thoughtfulness of the gift might carry it a few steps further," he begins to pace, when the way forward seizes him again, but he keeps pacing "At least its a good start, maybe we can come up with something better before they get back."

---

: "Aaa!" Itsumi yelps as she is picked up and carried away. She pauses for a second, trying to determine what Shiokaze would be looking for. Insight: 1d20+16 27

: Shiokaze clears the rear gate to put cover between you two and the others and sets you down on your feet, then gushes to you in a high, nervous voice. "What the hell are you doing!? How could anyone be so forward!?" The Shiokaze you know seems to be genuinely naive or slow at times but possessed of natural wisdom. Supernatural being, naturally. Her story of dedication to Joker suggests a noble loyalty and a sense of romance.

: Itsumi tries to calm Shiokaze down, "I didn't expect that from him! I mean, he may be a little over the top and, well, forward, but he's a good guy! I don't think he would do anything to hurt you!"

: Shiokaze deadpans right back at Itsumi. "Yeah, he couldn't hurt me. Chhh." She's a bit red about the cheeks though..

: Tsukiyo approaches Itsumi and Shio, a bit confused. "Uh... So what's going on here?" She notices the expression on the Tengu and a frown forms on her face. "...Hey Icchan... Should I smack Kunio?

: "I didn't mean physically!" Itsumi replies. "Aww... you look embarrassed... there's nothing wrong with dating. Besides, dates are fun! Well, usually anyway, and if it's not, you can always leave! It wouldn't hurt to give someone who's this emphatic a shot!"

: Shiokaze blushes anew. "Shut up.. I was hurt once. I didn't like it.. you don't know how hard it hurts to just leave!"

: Frowning, Itsumi replies, "No, I don't, but I can only imagine how hard it must be... you can't let one loss end future relationships though. You can't find happiness if you don't try to!"

: Crossing her arms in her usual wound up grumbling, Shiokaze stess for awhipe before glaring down at Itsumi. "And.. are you trying to be happy? After what we talked about last time?" (Nekketsu sneak in, when Itsumi was talking about Takashi)

: “I am... it doesn’t seem to be going terribly well though. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna give up on dating though!”

: Dropping her stance of powerful refusal, Shiokaze perks up and peers hopefully into your eyes, Itsumi! She grips your hands with crushing them. "W-we'll do it together then! I'll back you up too! If it goes bad for you, I'll break his legs, ok?" Ah, now there's two Madokas in your life. But it looks like she's ready to go and shortly..



Thou shalt have the blessing of the Lovers arcana...

You gain an extra Feat that must be chosen from your Class Feats if possible, Racial Feats if not.

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Early Week of May 18th, Mon-Wed(18-20)

The Hanged Man Social Link, Sometime After School...

They Meet! Fin

: Shiokaze and the others return to Takashi and Kunio on the hill, Shio looking as defiant as ever! Kunio steels himself and steps up to offer a bouquet of nearby wildflowers to her! "Forgive me, Hayate-san. My heart was overcome, and ran away with my mouth.."

: Shiokaze accepts the gift and brings it up to smell, her face covered but her shoulders untensing.

: Tsukiyo whispers to Itsumi and Takashi. "Mission accomplished, right?"

: Takashi motions subtly to Tsukiyo, a wait gesture meant to convey, Maybe, but we need to see if Shio is onboard.

: Kunio executes what looks like.. a Takashi flourishing gesture!? "Wild flowers.. for a wild beauty." He winks without shame!

: Shiokaze's expression is still hidden but a muffle bit of laughter comes from somewhere... things still seem a bit muted though!

: Tsukiyo sighs. "Well, I guess that's... Approval from her."

: Cracking his neck with a quick motion, Takashi prepares himself as best he can for the consequences he's about to eat. Maybe literally. For young love. "Well, maybe Hayate-san just isn't all that interested in love at her age, she'll end up an OL in no time. We tried, at least. Too much of birdbrain maybe," he keeps going heedless, "Can't even see what's under her big nose," he takes a deep breath, smelling the hilltop air.

: Her free hand reflexively darting up, Hayate passes two fingers along the tip of her illusionary nose, eyes bulging with anger. "WHAT'RE YOU SAYING!?" She moves to pass Kunio but he whirls around, grabbing Takashi's shirt collar!

: "Takashi! What the hell are you getting at?!" He's incensed! His eyes are focused!

: Tsukiyo's eyes widen and she just looks at Takashi in bewilderment. "W-Why!?"

: With a toothy smile, he looks down at the larger, older boy, with sudden angry hands on his collar... but this was the plan, "I don't think I stuttered, senpai. You can do a lot better than this listless, probably sloshed as we speak, wide mouthed, ~weird~ girl. She's going to end up chained to a desk somewhere in a few years, unable to enjoy a nice day like this ever again, and you deserve better than that."

: WHUMPH! Kunio belts Takashi dead center in the stomach! A monstrous surge of power impacts, forcefully cramping his innards with a discharge of force that soon comes to a controlled halt! He was ready for this, he's fought literal monsters, but something about this punch threatens to forcefully give up Hanamako's delicious lunch he ate earlier! In the shadow of the mind's eye he becomes aware of something driving this guy, something huge! Kunio lets go of Takashi's shirt and coughs, glaring to the side, but not at him.

: Seems like Kunio can take care of that himself. Tsukiyo crosses her arms as she takes a step back. "Apologize to them already."

: Having readied himself for the blow, Takashi accepts the pain as it rolls through him, letting himself fall and be seen to be hurt... any easy act with as much as that punch hurt! [Use Ignore Pain to have some reserve left afterwards] Curled into a ball to cradle his fragile stomach, and protect against afterattack, he mumbles something that might be an apology.

: "... Oh!" He seems to become more aware of what he's doing. "... Well, ah, you shouldn't talk to a lady like that..."

: Hayate grabs Kunio from behind in a hug, leering over his shoulder and laughing. "How do you like that, dog-breath?!"

: "Ah, come on, surely you two can get along?" He blushes and laughs a bit.

: Laughing too, they look like a couple. Hayate grips Kunio's shoulders and excitedly asks: "Come on, forget him! Hey, you wanna see my favorite bridge?!"

: ... Not at all confused by that invitation, Kunio is delighted to accept! "Of course, my spring breeze."



Your Soulshell Bond with Kunio reaches its peak! Hanged Man caps at Rank 5 and your Bonus increases to +3 AC and +4 Attack/Damage/Healing for Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana! A life-long friendship is forged! This Bond can never be broken!

: Coming up on the group with a bruised Akio in tow, Noriko arrives just in time to see Takashi take one for the team. "...ehhh? bird-chan...? really??" Catching the eye of her fellow Odinson, she gives Kunio a nod of approval, as if to say, "i see that you're a man of taste."

: Shiokaze was the one Kunio was into!? That pairing seemed inadvisable for so many reasons... But Akio still felt hopeful that they would be able to pull it off. "Sorry, we got a bit... waylaid. But it looks like things went well?" He gives Kunio a thumbs up.

: Tsukiyo shakes her head and shrugs. Takashi's need to do that whole bad guy shtick seem to work but to her it seems that those two were already 'compatible' from the start. In any case there's no more need to waste time here...

: Itsumi stares at Takashi, bewildered by his course of action, and even more confused that it worked. “Wow,” she simply states, “are you ok?”

: Freeing a hand from his bruised midsection, Takashi raises a shaky thumbs up for Itsumi's benefit, "Never better," he rasps.

---

-Later that evening while spending time with Miyuki at the arcade.. just friends? You two are having a good time but she never takes any, ah, initiative!

: Let's take it easy for now!

-You have a good time with a friend and just that!

---

A happy turn of fate... but there's still more to this story... but that shall wait for a later day...

(Fin!)

Doomykins fucked around with this message at 05:45 on Nov 20, 2018

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Wednesday, May 20th

After Visiting The Morgue

: Waiting for the others to clear out, Noriko lingers a bit at the doorway to the police station while the others clear out. "hey, Akio... can you walk with me?" she seems a little pensive, as a lot had been on her mind. "not... straight home, though."

: "Of course..." Akio gives Noriko a curious look, wondering what she was thinking about. As they leave the police station, he reaches for her hand. "Where do you want to go?"

: She thinks for a moment while she considers where she is. Taking his hand, she starts to walk. "...i've seen a spot a few times going out flying with crowley... it's an old shrine in the woods near here. i don't think anyone even remembers it's there... i, uh, hope that's not creepy but... i'd like a little privacy."

: "Ah, it sounds a little bit creepy, but if it's with you I don't mind," he smiles, hoping to make her feel a little bit more at ease as they walked. He could feel a lump of anxiety lingering within him from what happened at the morgue, and he imagined she felt something like that too. Even so, he couldn't help but be curious what she wanted privacy for...

: "thank you." she leads the way wordlessly for a few minutes until they're on less crowded streets, the buildings thinning out to make room for houses, and then trees. "...there's a lot i wanted to talk about. to start with... the house of fortune."

: When Noriko mentions the House of Fortune Akio tenses up, the memories of what happened in the fight against Headcount rushing back to him. "I... did die..." He squeezes her hand and closes his eyes to take a deep breath, then lets out a long sigh and opens his eyes again. "Just like you did. It was only thanks to Takeo that I came back. I don't want to think about what Satan would've asked of me if he hadn't..." He shakes his head despondently, his eyes downcast.

: "things on the other side ask... uncomfortable things." she shudders a little, thinking of her experience with Satan, the corpse demon at the occult club, and... Nyarlathotep. "...you're sweet, Akio... and kind... and you have a strong sense of justice. you have to dirty your hands for these things. i... i worry that you don't have that in you. and... that's a good thing! but... there's no alternative when you're faced with the choice. that's why you need to stay safe. i thought if we just tried our hardest and played to our best we could make it through this without anyone else having to go through that and i was wrong. we haven't been careful enough."

: "I'm glad that you think that of me." He smiles a little and squeezes her hand again, but more tenderly this time. "And you're probably right, maybe I wouldn't be willing to go as far as other people would to win the game. But to defend myself? To defend you? ...I think you'd be surprised by just how little I would hesitate. I thought so too..." he lets out a sigh and frowns. "It was my fault, I should've just backed off. I let myself forgot that it wasn't just a game. I was careless... I'm sorry for making you worry."

: "i feel the same way about myself... i pushed us to go to the house of fortune, even when you objected... i didn't bring the right spells or use the right abilities. i played... no. i fought poorly. we all made mistakes. we're all still playing the game, and that's the difference... they aren't. i came in thinking i was going to give Isabelle a black eye and when i left all i could think was 'thank goodness she wasn't waiting for us'" Taking a turn into the woods, they move off the road and up a slightly overgrown hilly path. "that's what made me vulnerable, i think... when..." she hesitates. "...you haven't really asked me about it. and i haven't really wanted to tell you. but when my class change happened... i lost some time."

: Akio remains silent as they walk to the woods, though his mind was racing. He wanted to find the words, to tell her why Isabelle hadn't been there to meet them, but he was too worried how she'd react to say anything. He was thankful for the change in subject, but knew he had to tell her sooner or later. "What do you mean, lost some time?" he asks, sounding worried.

: "i went someplace else for a while. it's... hazy. i felt like i was gone a really long time, but when i came back it had only been a few seconds. when i try to remember what happened i can recall the vaguest details, but thinking about it makes me feel sick. i think the link between our world and the other world is the thinnest there. something heard me on the other side. one of the patrons of the game."

: He looks at her with clear worry now. "You class changed into warlock... This patron... did you form a pact with it?"

: "...no.... yes?" she grits her teeth, as if trying to recall the details was painful. "nothing made sense there... it wasn't like going to Hell. it was like i was... nowhere. an abscense of a place. what i met there... i don't known if it even could have asked me for anything concrete. that didn't seem to be it's way of doing things. Satan was an old-fashioned devil, like from my books. all purpose and decorum. everything done for a reason. deals made at his own price. i don't remember much of my meeting. i don't remember how long it was in that place. i didn't even remember at first what it wanted, but it keeps coming back to me in my dreams. D̵̷͘o̶̢ ̢W҉̕h̶͡a̵̡t̴ev͜e̕r̢̨̀ ҉̢͢Y̸̸͘ǫu̸͏͝ W̨is̸h͝.͟ i don't think it meant it like a dismissal... more... like an order."

: "It speaks to you in your dreams?" He tightens the grip on her hand, as if he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go. "I remember thinking how deep the shadows were that covered you when you were in that place. I tried reaching out to you, but I couldn't... This being you're speaking of... it doesn't seem benevolent to me, Noriko..."

: "it wasn't. i don't think any of the forces behind this game are. but... i didn't... don't. feel like i'm being used. i feel... in control of my own destiny, for once. if my own will is the means to something else's ends... i'm okay with that."

: "So the order it gave you, you think it's telling you that you're in control? I hope you're right, but I can't help but worry it'll start demanding something more of you... You'll let me know if something like that happens, right?"

: "i think it was telling me to take control. to assert myself if i want what is mine. to stop letting things happen and make them happen instead." They reach the top of the hill and come to a clearing in the woods, an old overgrown shrine in the center, not completely forgotten but badly neglected. "...which is really why i wanted to talk to you, anyway. it's time... i told you about what happened before i moved here."



: "This place is nice," Akio says as they arrive at the shrine. When Noriko tells him what she wanted to talk about, he turns to face her head on, takes both her hands and smiles at her. "Noriko... Whatever it is, you don't have to feel worried. Okay?"

: She squeezes his hands and smiles, with a hint of melancholy in her expression. "i don't. that's why i'm telling you now... i trust you. i... i..." she turns a little red in the face. "...um... anyway... can you sit down here?" she motions to a weathered old bench, a little dusty but still in sturdy shape and waits for him to sit. "...it's almost been two years since the accident happened. late July. i'm... not looking forward to the anniversary. we... we took it really hard last year." She glances around the temple for a moment, like she was looking for something in particular. "we... were on vacation. the whole family. mom was feeling sick but i really wanted to go to the beach, so dad took us in his car. it was me, him... and my sisters." she walks off to the edge of the temple, stepping behind a pillar. "hey, um.... can you stay there please?"

(Continued)

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Wednesday, May 20th

After Visiting The Morgue

: Akio blushes a little as he considers which word she was hesitant to utter, then does as she asks and sits down on the bench and listens carefully. He'd already assumed her dad had died in an accident from picking up a detail here and there when they were together, but he hadn't known about her sisters. Thinking about his own sisters, he could only imagine how hard it must've been for her, how sad she must have felt, to the point where his eyes almost begin to well up. "Okay, I'll stay..." What he really wanted to do was get up and embrace her, but he remains seated on the bench.

: Peeking out from behind the pillar, she gives Akio a look. "you'd better stay there! i'm not kidding!"

: "I swear, I'm not moving!" Akio calls out, now really curious what she was up to.

: "we were headed down a winding road... i can't really remember if we were coming or going from the beach." the tone of her voice is distant; cold and sort of wistful. "my sisters were being loud and getting on my nerves... so i unbuckled my seatbelt so i could turn to yell at them. i don't think dad had time to react to the truck. the driver had been drinking and came around a corner in the wrong lane. he hit us head on. i remember... total chaos. we were all screaming... we slammed into a rock wall and the car flipped. i was thrown out of the windshield. everyone else was trapped inside the car. i couldn't move, at all... i could hardly even feel anything... i remember there being a lot of blood." There's a long pause, and from behind the pillar Akio can hear a faint rustling sound. "i was fading in and out of consciousness. i couldn't do anything but watch when the car started burning. i... i don't know if my dad lived through the impact, but... my sisters..." she wavers a little on that last note, before quickly adding. "...don't come back here! i... i know you want to, but... let me finish, okay?"

: "I will..." Akio remained seated. He laces his fingers in front of him as he listens, trying to imagine what it was like to experience all that. It was horrifying...

: Noriko takes a few deep breaths before she continues, recentering herself, just like Yasuo had taught her in therapy. Focusing on her breath flowing in and out of her lungs, she calms her nerves quickly and continues. "i don't remember being saved. i was sure i was going to die... i have flashes... lights... a lot of concerned murmuring. mom crying in my hospital room... i was out for a couple of months. i needed dozens of surgeries. my whole body was ruined... if... if this had happened ten years ago, i wouldn't be able to walk. most of the bones in my body were broken... and i lost a lot of skin as i was scraped across the pavement. completely crushed one of my shoulders. i was cut all over from the windshield... one of the nurses told me they were digging safety glass out of my arms for hours. I broke my back and was partially paralyzed - they fixed that, but... i was in physical therapy for a long time. i missed the rest of that school year."

: "Oh Noriko..." Akio didn't know what to say, or even if he should say anything. He could feel tears rolling down his cheeks.

: After a pause that feels like an eternity, she continues, sounding a bit more vulnerable. "...they haven't announced it yet but we have a beach trip coming up soon. Akane told me after she found out from her sister. i didn't really want to go... we can't afford it. i have so many bad memories around the beach now. and... my body..." she shudders. "...when i came back to school i was hurting all the time. physically and emotionally. i tried to go back to my old life but nobody seemed to want to talk to me. i think i made them uncomfortable... people don't want to think about death, about getting hurt. i was a reminder of what could happen."

: "i came back to my... first year of high school. last year, in Osaka. i couldn't focus on flower arrangement anymore... everything i made was so weird. i... i liked them, but they stood out too much. i was having a lot of tension with the club president... i tried going to gym class, but... they were all so mean about my scars. not always to my face, but they'd leave mean notes in my locker and spread rumors behind my back. i got a medical exemption after a few weeks... because i tried to... um..." she stops. "...i don't want to get into that. but... i wasn't doing well. we came up to midterms and i didn't study at all. i didn't want to be at school. i skipped a lot of classes and didn't really have any friends, just people i'd smoke with when i was dodging class. when midterms came around I failed so badly that my mom pulled me out of school."

: She steps out from behind the pillar, moving out of the dim light so he can see her. Wearing a short black camisole and some gym shorts, most of her skin is visible. Her body is covered in scars - both her legs, her arms, with some of the worst around her right knee and shoulder - the shoulder scars seemed subtle before, but seeing the whole picture, it's rather brutal. She lifts the right side of her camisole up a few inches so he can see the patch of shiny scar tissue, going from her thigh to just below her chest. It's absolutely gigantic. "that one needed skin grafts... it was maybe the worst part of this whole mess. the road tore my skin up like a ginger grater." Turning around, she lifts the camisole again to show a scar running up the side of her spine, and more patches of shiny skin. "i... wanted you to see this. before the trip. i'm going to go. i'm not going to hide anymore."

: It was difficult for Akio to look at the scars of the one person he least of all wanted to see hurt, but he didn't want to shy away either. He gets up from the bench and approaches her so he could see her scars more closely. He wanted to be familiar with each and every single one of them. "You're so brave..." he says, his fingers gingerly tracing the scar on her right shoulder as he regards her body with reddened eyes. "And so strong to be able to come back from something like that." He follows her arm down to her midriff, to her largest scar. "I know first hand how cruel one's classmates can be, and that's not something you should've ever had to endure, least of all after going through something so horrible..." He closes his eyes for a moment, tears escaping his eyelids. "Sorry, I shouldn't be the one crying..." He quickly wipes his cheeks and looks her in the eyes her with a smile. "I'm so glad you finally told me." He slides his hand around her back and hugs her. "We'll make some new, better memories at the beach, alright?" Still holding her, he presses his lips to her right shoulder. "You're beautiful, Noriko."

: Noriko flinches at first but tries to force her body to relax, as uncomfortable as she is. Trembling, she leans into him. "...thank you. i was really worried about this for a long time. i'm so glad... i..." she trails off, choking up a little. She sways with him for a moment before continuing. "...things have been difficult for so long, i've been so miserable. but, even with all that's going on... i feel like my life is returning to normal again." she leans up and kisses him, breaking off after a long moment with a sudden shiver. "it's getting a little chilly, so, um. i'd better get dressed." she says, suddenly red in the face, as if she's just realizing how embarrassing this whole situation is. "...will you walk me home?"

: Seeing Noriko's red face, Akio blushes in return, as if he only just realized how little clothes she was wearing as he held her close and they shared that long kiss. "Of course I will," he says and rubs her back to make her a little warmer. He steals another kiss before he lets her go. "I'll, uh, wait on the bench again while you get dressed. I-I won't p-peek, I promise!"

: "th-that wasn't the embarassing part!" All the same, she gets dressed behind the pillar. On the way out of the shrine, she pauses. "um... sorry for the disrespect..." she deposits a handful of coins into a dusty old saisen box, the dull sound of coins hitting wood signaling the lack of traffic the place gets. Turning, she makes a bow before the shrine before they head down the path.

: "O-Oh, right, sorry!" Akio takes a seat and waits for Noriko to change. He slouches forward as he sits there, trying to sort out all the thoughts and emotions that were running through his head. After a moment he lifts his eyes and looks at the pillar Noriko was behind, and he smiles. As they leave he follows her lead and puts some money in the box too. "I'm sure they don't mind," he says and offer her his arm. "Shall we?"

(Fin)

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Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

quote:

Thursday Afternoon, May 21st

Akio Meets With Naoki Staff!

Akio decides to home in on a Takeo's mystery brother, armed with the surname Hamada and a determination to things right. So it is that once school concludes for the day he knocks on the door of Naoki's faculty office, waiting to speak to a teacher or administrator! After a moment the door is opened and a woman a bit shorter than him answers, a friendly young woman and popular with the boys, Miss Sawashiro. She teachers English and History.

: "Hello.. hnn.. Yamamura!" She smiles, pleased to recall his name by memory. "It's such a relaxing day, isn't it?"

: "Ah, um, h-hi, miss Sawashiro." Akio flusters a bit and bows politely. He'd kinda been hoping that none of the teachers that knew him would be there, but he counted his lucky stars that he at least wasn't faced with Matsubara-sensei! "Y-Yes, I guess it's that kind of weather, when you just want to be inside and take it easy..."

: "Would you like to come in for some tea? We can sit by the window and drift off together!" She smiles and gestures to her side. Inside are several faculty members, minus Matsubara's huge form.

: "Tea? Oh, um..." Akio felt like a deer caught in the headlights. When he'd practiced what he would say beforehand he hadn't considered being invited in for tea! Which means that he was flying blind now... uh oh. "S-Sure, that sounds nice!" He accepts the invitation with a nervous smile and enters the room.

: You're allowed in and can really bask in how nice the lounge is. Miss Sawashiro guided you to their break room and before you know it you're both seated opposite one another on very nice luxury couches, holding matching cups of cirtus delight in little cat-shaped mugs drawn from a six-pack by the sink. Sawashiro smiles at you, sitting alone in a love seat. "Now what did you need help with?"

: "Ah, well, it's just, um..." Akio looks down into his tea and takes a sip as he tries to pick his words carefully. Sawashiro was nice and he didn't want to lie to her, but it's not like he could tell her everything either, not that she would believe him if he did. "So... There's this guy I'm worried about. He's been menacing some of my friends and done some other bad stuff too." He looks up from his cup. "Oh, but I'm not here becauase I'm trying to get him into trouble! I just learned that his brother passed away recently, and, well, it seems like he's fallen in with the wrong crowd since. Some of the people he's hanging out with seem to be downright devils, haha..." Well, they were literally onis. "Um, well, the thing is, I'd like to maybe try to talk with him, but I don't actually know who he is or where to find him. I only know him from this online game we both play. I know his last name, and that he's a Naoki student, but that's about it... Do you think that you could help me find him in the school network?"

: Miss Sawashiro sips her tea and listens intently to your concerns, then puts on a winning smile. "Why don't you tell me his name and we can all have a good chat together? If you air your concerns, he'll be more understanding towards you!" With the setting sun cast as it is through the window beside you, you have a brief premonition of a future Itsumi sitting opposite you! It's uncanny! Sawashiro stirs her tea as she waits for your reply.

: Huh. In this light Miss Sawshiro sure seemed a lot like Itsumi... Akio was taken aback by the odd premonition and becomes lost in thought for a moment as he watches her stir her tea. "Oh! Um." Suddenly realizing that he'd yet to give her a response, he gives his head a quick shake to snap out of his bewilderment, then averts his eyes and looks down into his teacup again. "I think it's great that you're the kind of teacher that really cares and wants to help her students," and he really did, "but I think he might just run away if I bring a teacher to talk with him. I-If it's okay with you, I'd like to try to talk with him alone first. I want to make sure I'm not mistaken about everything too. It could get pretty awkward otherwise..."

: Placing a hand to her cheek Miss Sawashiro seems touched by your words. "Thank you, Akio." She considers your plan very intensely, clearly caught up in the logic of your suggestion. "Well, that's true, that young people respond to authority in certain ways.. driving away a troubled young man is the last thing I'd want to do! Well, perhaps I can..."

: "How do you do, Sawashiro." A tall older man in an immaculately kept business suit steps over. You recognize him immediately! Principal Kunieda! His old yet toned features, his elegantly kept full beard in a stark white, his no-nonsense demeanor! The polar opposite of the eccentric vice-principal from Nekketsu! Kunieda looks over the seating arrangements and opts to stand at the table. "A matter of discipline should be addressed head on, don't you think?"

: Sawashiro laughs a little and nods, in clear respect to a superior. "That's true, that's true. Maybe we are being too indulgent."

: Kunieda gives you the time-honored authority figure sizing up. "How about that young man's name, Yamamura?"

(Continued)

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