Kawaii Cataclysm (Inactive)

Game Master BastianQuinn

A game of Magical Girls using the "Magical Fury" rulebook. [Maps]


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Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Tenshi looks annoyed for a moment as she's fluttering through, guiding them to the memory in question. <I... know. We're finding this stuff out the hard way. Trying to get her trinkets back. Black miasma plant things trying to kill us in the dreamscape. Really not good. Think she's sleeping right now. How do you know all this?>


Male Iris

Junpei brushes himself down as he returns to his prior form.

@Sora: Well...Kazue ending up being part of my first introduction to all of this. I pacted in the first place because she was about to be killed. I saw the trinkets she had out at the time turn into a broom and pool skimmer and hit the floor when she reverted, before one of the others trapped her in some death-cage thing. Then, when I ended up in the greenhouse, I remembered the same broom and pool skimmer used to be there when I saw where they were now distinctly not. I don't know what happened, just that Okami-sama did it. How much do you know about it?
Umm...thaaaat reminds me. I think I have the pool skimmer on me, but the broom got destroyed due to other circumstances when Kazue made her getaway. So...I've got one trinket, but I don't think you're getting back the other one.

Junpei makes a point of ruthlessly suppressing the memory of Paresh's death. He didn't want to relive it, and odds were he would have ended up sending it over the network had he let the thought enter his mind.

Sovereign Court

Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

Shanhaz... Not Suzu. Not even human. Kiyomi had expected this but she still had hoped that she was mistaken in some way.

What Shanhaz says about Juno only opens up more questions. So becoming a "magical girl" meant playing host to some primordial being that could manipulate her decisions for her own ends? Kiyomi certainly did not sign up for that.

It's Shanhaz's last statement that drains the color from Kiyomi's face. 「I'm... pregnant?」 Bearing a child at a young age, with no answer for who the father is... that would be scandal enough. And the thought of the child not even being human... Kiyomi thinks back to her first night as a magical girl, how she took the essence of a horrifying aberration into herself. The consequences of that.

「I can't let that happen.」 She stands up, taking a deep breath. 「I have a... meeting with Yuki soon. Hopefully she will have some more insight and we can put this matter to rest.」


Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

<I think we honestly know less than you, for now. Whatever the crazy old lady did, it... left Kazue very shaken. I'll... try to think of a way to get the other trinket back, or break that particular pact and maybe get her back to some sort of normal. I'd suggest staying away from the greenhouse... her magic seems to be plantbased. Definitely avoid any topiaries, as well.>

「One of the other girls just told me that they have your pool skimmer, and they seem to know more of what happened. So at least there's that taken care of. Your... broom, on the other hand, we'll need to try to figure out something for. Can a trinket be unbroken?」

After she's filtered through the sent thoughts... those memories were sort of like dreams... she tacks on to the end, <Kazue and Paresh are friends, and the strongest Kazue is on the best terms with him, I think. So if you can contact Paresh, much as I don't like that thieving Tanuki-bound survivor, he's probably got Kazue's best interests at heart. I'm gonna be at the mall around noon, I don't blame you if you don't want to snub boss-lady, though. Probably best not to wind up in her crosshairs, but I just don't care anymore.>


Male Iris

@Sora: Think her current state may just have something to do with having made 6 trinkets. She's got a seventh of her soul left in her, and as much as that makes her powerful, it means she's lost a lot...one of the others couldn't get angry any more after making a bile trinket, for example. Every one of those trinkets had a cost like that, and apparently making that many trinkets puts you at risk of becoming a...Star Child? I didn't get told what it is, just that it's bad.
...Definitely avoiding plants.

Something hitches mentally as Sora continues. Strongest Kazue? There was probably a magical explanation for that. 'Thieving Tanuki-bound survivor'...

@Sora: ...Paresh died yesterday. I saw him die. Cut apart and turned to ashes saving Chrysanth from the same fate. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk about him like that, because I'm having a very hard time pushing down that memory, let alone avoiding accidentally sending it over to you too.
Chrysanth took his cane as her own. She bound his ashes to it.
Now? They're sharing a body, as I can tell. And...

Miyako/Paresh, transformed outside with the massive harpoon in them.
Sorry. Let's just say they're not doing well. At least you agree Paresh is safe to go to.
If you find anything at all I can use, please tell me. Send the memories over. Whatever's appropriate. I think I'll talk to Paresh now.
Probably not going to the meeting. I don't feel comfortable with the chance I might find Okami-sama there.

Junpei takes a moment to calm himself down. Yesterday just kept following him around, and he was sick of it. Deep breaths, deep breaths...he wasn't planning to make another mask after what happened last time.

Alright...next up.

@Paresh: Hey. It's Junpei. And...you know Kazue, yesterday? I know who's responsible. Okami-sama. The greenhouse, with the broom and pool skimmer and without. The same pair of items in the alleyway. The parts of his dialogue with Sora that confirm she was aware that Okami-sama had done something, and the warning away from plants. I don't know specifically what happened. But I do know she did something. I figured you should know about this.


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[Sheets] [Map]

@Junpei: The nice old lady? She was just in a few minutes ago. She came in as soon as visiting hours started and left after visiting a few different rooms. I though she was helping out, handing out flowers...

There's a pause.

@Junpei: Shame... I really like tulips. Blasted the bouquet she left in our room, just in case. Looks conspicuous as hell, but I'm not exactly floating in under the radar here. I'll have to duck out before they decide to ship us out to an underground bunker. You guys have a base of operations?


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Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

FWIW, Tenshi would likely like Paresh if not for built in hatedar. :P

<Or maybe he was the cane, that might be a Tanuki power. Kazue said she couldn't get angry outside anymore...> Tenshi replies, sounding distracted as she pores over the new memory. <I'm not sure if it's the object or the essence, or some combination, that determines it, but some magic is a lot easier than others, it feels like. One of my trinkets does something on its own. Tanuki are shapeshifting tricksters, I don't know much else about them, but the Lore is just a google away. I don't think I get service in here. Good luck!>


Male Iris

@Paresh: Wish I did. I can tell you Sora is planning to be at the mall at about noon, so that's a start. You can trust her with this stuff. If you know who Okami-sama visited, it's probably worth remembering.
You in any condition to get about after the other day? And how's Miyako doing? I don't actually know if she can hear this right now.

Talking is good, but he probably had things to do too...
Like breakfast. Dammit. He was hungry.
Junpei rushes back home.


[Sheets] [Map]

Kiyomi:
It’s a tiny bit early, but you believe in being punctual. The household is at your disposal as you prepare for your brunch with Yuki.

Left alone in your room, Tomoyo has woken up. She’s waiting at the breakfast table, which is not set for breakfast. At first, you’re worried about Tomoyo, until you realize it’s almost ten and Shuji hasn’t set out breakfast.

Peeking in on the kitchen, you expect to find the slob passed out in the cellar with the spirits, but instead, you find a note scrawled on the back of some kind of flier.

Taking sick leave to help a friend move house.
~Saito Shuji

Shanhaz peeks over your shoulder. 「Odd, that. He could have said it was a family emergency... Jack’s still here. The poppit won’t need to eat, but I don’t think it likes me. If you take it with you, keep in mind that you can use it to access the Dolls domain; however, it may not work the way it worked for Sakura. It has those knives too. That would put you above your mother and the rogue knight on the power scale. Wealth, Dolls, Shadow, Fire... and Star-touched as well... You are a force to be reckoned with... I would definitely keep the poppit away from your mother and her mentor. Can’t say why.」 She winks.

Junpei:
You notice a missed call from Lys. Who even uses a phone to make calls anymore?

>Hey, it’s Lysander. I can definitely do sooner. I figure you want to steer clear of the cafe if you’re calling out. I’ve got a place that would be around where I’ll be this afternoon. I’ll send you the pin in a second. Be there around ten? Thanks, man. Look, it’s unreal hearing from you again. I can’t wait to catch up. Sorry I didn’t touch base as soon as I got into town. Work’s been hell. I’m sure you know the feeling.< There’s something in his voice that rings as odd. The map pin he sent is a conveyor belt sushi place by the park uptown.

When you get back inside, Chūsuke is cleaning up. He looks a little worried that leaving them out overnight might have messed up his new fish molds. You’re pretty sure they’ll be alright.

What does Chūsuke do when he has a day to himself? He’s probably strapped for pocket money since buying that kit. How open are you about your plans today? You’ve got an hour or so before ten. What do you do?

Tenshi:
You pass into the image of Kazue’s last encounter with Perdita, the previous Naiad. Aquamarine and navy threads of this memory lace together at the edges of something like a spotlight, and the setting is unclear. It looks like this memory is being provided by one or more of your more clairvoyant allies.

Naiad stands in a flowing tule dress, the picture of fae beauty. If you’re familiar at all with Greek mythology, she might have been better named Echo. The trepidation is plain on on the girl’s face as Khutulun sidles into the scene in full armor, bristling with heavy weaponry.

Damn, Khutulun, it’s not that bad, is it? What did Obachan have to say? Were we right?」 Naiad laughs nervously as Khutulun continues to advance. 「Paresh says Ayatori is moving to bring in more blood, like he senses we’re not going to cooperate. He’s at the mall now, getting ready.

The claymore rings free out from over Khutulun’s shoulder, comfortable in a one-handed grip, and she turns to start pacing around Naiad. 「Paresh... Ahn~ He is so right.

Naiad nods, a long, silver hammer appears in her hand. Her eyes unfocus, the pupils dilating while points of light blink in and out of focus in front of her. 「So... So they’re seeding the Star Children on purpose. Making too many trinkets isn’t a side effect, it’s part of their breeding cycle, like I thought. Khutulun, we have to stop them. Especially if-

Stop!」 Kazue shouts, and the two images look up. Khutulun pausing moments before skewering Naiad through the back. You’re fed a few supplemental images from the magic that permeates the reconstructed memory: A small girl and a redhead, leaving behind their trinkets as they are killed, juxtaposed with Paresh and his trinkets getting destroyed in the tightening of bladed chains, and the end of this memory: Perdita and her hammer being destroyed in one stroke. The warning puts the hairs on the back of your neck on end as Khutulun’s gaze fixes on you- on Tenshi, her immortal rival.

Senshirou:
As you snap the picture, you notice three notifications waiting in your messenger app. DelpicKnight’s little dolphin icon stares into your soul.

May stuffs the heap of clothes inside, gives the apartment a scan, and ducks back out, pulling the door closed behind her. “She must have had an early meeting.” She chuckles nervously. “I guess I’m on my own for breakfast.” Her eyes tell you she was a breath away from inviting you to join her, but it’s registered that the two of you might have parents who are looking for you. You’ve gotten the look a lot since you moved out.

May!? Not you too.」 Down the hall, another former starlet stands: Saito Emi and a man who could be her father or elder brother. Emi’s dressed in hospital scrubs and a fluffy black coat. Her arm is in a simple sling. The man with her has unbuttoned chef whites over casual clothes.

The man looks familiar, like you might have seen him once or twice. He seems uncomfortable, looking over the three of you. He’s got his phone out, like he was consulting directions. The phone’s odd chamfered shape and dual lenses, which you can see over his calloused hand, are also really familiar.

May turns to your sister, taking back the tray of breakfast food. “I’m so sorry to get you caught up in this. You probably have somewhere to be.


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Cismale/Complicated SN Alex Brooke
Stat Block:
Hope: 4~Magic: 0~Trauma: 2~Fate: 3

Sorry for the hiatus there, needed the right 'push' to get back into the groove.

Catching up:

For protagonist of the previous chapter, the best 'fit' is a tie between Tenshi and Junpei, with both of them pushing the action from their various angles, with the 'tie-breaker' between the two being Tenshi, for both going outside of the bounds and learning how to dance along the threads of the Dreamlands.

With the discovery of the second trinket and what it both revealed and how.... malleable Naiad found themselves becoming under it's apparent influence, the poisonous garden that is being a person of power/magical girl is starting to reveal the dangers hidden beneath the shiny exterior, and it has influenced the nuances around their Ideal.

Whether this is a positive or a negative remains to be seen.

As far as their fear went, Alex's 'dodging' of things both made things worse AND theoretically made things better, but now with so many different factions and angles and such a confusing mess with everyone bellowing their own orders it's worse than just 'not being certain who was in charge'. The answer was terrifying, and that has marred them a bit.

Taking Trauma for that, because it seems to fit. It also helps focus him on the group some more, theoretically.

Discovering that Kiyomi may be their half-sister has given Alex a strange sense of Hope, and a connection to this mess that they weren't anticipating when this all began. The mystery of 'just how he knew' about the location (armory) beneath the Mall is also very disturbing, but instead of running, it's pushed him to want to learn more.

The twisted aspect is still fresh, and it hasn't had time to fully 'settle' for Alex to parse it properly. As a result, the Fate involved with that decision is still yet to be learned.

Sleep. Slumber. The Little Death. Coma. Perdition.. Perdit... Perd...

It was hard for Alex to get to sleep, despite the feeling that sleep was a much needed thing. They desperately needed the time to recharge, away from the mental turmoil of the previous two nights... was it only two nights so far?

It felt like a lifetime...

Finally, though, he'd managed to slip into sleep, and then dream, as unfamiliar images and ideas started flowing though him, much like the water of the 'other form'.

And then, suddenly, an expansion of the brief snippet of memory he had yesterday, the one that left him nearly incapacitated and running for his life, the savage woman with the massive sword... they were talking to them?

Something important, because the woman was loaded heavier than that one billionaire in the comics with the metal suit and all the weapons. Something about a war, about needing to stop something from...

...DYING!
...Dying....
...dy..
...I can't die yet... I haven't seen 'The Jolson Story'

Alex was woken from his slumber by Zeek, sitting on his chest. The poor puppy is then hastily yet carefully placed back into the backpack as the sailor wonders yet again about the madness that has permeated his life in the past two days.

@All If we cannot hang together, then we will assuredly hang separately

Donning an exceptionally loud tropical shirt, a non-descript black t-shirt beneath it, khaki shorts, he sets out to do the 'tourist' thing once more, making sure to have an extra change of civilian clothing with him this time just in case, and heads out with gusto!

@Dawn WatchLocRequest: Residential Gardens?


[Sheets] [Map]

Alex:
@NotPerdita:Seems like a rival meeting is getting set up at the mall. It's Sora, Kazue, Junpei, and <Paresh> so far.

@Dawn Watch: A lush flower garden on the west side of town in sight of the bay. The image carries faded memories of an archery dojo that was burned down.


Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Tenshi had wondered if this had happened before or after Perdita's memory... but with Junpei's help, she knew the order of events... now.

「This is after you met with Crazy-Plant-Lady. After she tried to kill you and did... something to you. But... is it the trinkets or the poison?」 she asks, the memory helpfully paused at Kazue's intrusion. 「Good choice of words.」 she says, catching Khutulun's gaze. Did Kazue really hate her that much? Or was it Oba-chan who'd done this? Or... the trinkets?

「Which pieces of her gear do you not remember?」 she asks, as her grip tightens on her wind-and-fire wheel... half-expecting the scene to continue to play out in as dark a manner as she expected it to if they tarried too long.


[Sheets] [Map]

Tenshi:
Kazue has drawn her tanto, bracing the hilt of the knife against her palm. 「That big f@~+-off sword, and the spear on her other shoulder. The katana broke, and I don’t know where the wakizashi went, it was missing before I went to see Ninsar, but she should also have a tanto. If she has a free hand, assume it’s the tanto. Everything else is magic, and I can’t hurt anyone with them, but don't let her so much as touch you with a trinket. Even if you manage to survive, they'll break your trinkets. Kuso! I’m such bullshit to fight. Tell me that’s not what we’re doing... Oh, that saxon! Where'd I get that?

Kazue reaches out and is surprised to find a stubby saxon blade slide from the aether.


Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

@Airi: <Uh... is the trinket you have a sword or a spear when transformed?>

Tenshi's chestwings flutter.

@Bubbles: <Hey, so... What did you do to survive Khutulun trying to kill you? It would come in quite handy about now.>

Tenshi's hipwings flutter.

「So... you're saying don't let her touch me or don't let her touch my trinkets..? Do you want to fight her? Do you feel like that's something you need to do?」

Tenshi's eyes move between Perdita and Not-Kazue, 「Cause I personally favor getting Bubbles out of here... what happens if we pull a memory out of a memory, I wonder..?」


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Cismale/Complicated SN Alex Brooke
Stat Block:
Hope: 4~Magic: 0~Trauma: 2~Fate: 3

Alex can't help it, the wisps of dream and memory that was not his get yanked out in response to Tenshi's inquiry.

@AngryBird:[u]A very painful memory of having steel shoved through one's body and apparently going to 'mostly dead'.[/u] That isn't me, but it was me. Don't ask me to try and figure it out beyond that. And if you're poking at my dreams, please make that one go away. Thank you.

Sovereign Court

Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

Kiyomi winces every time Shanhaz uses the word "it". 「She is a person... right?」 That Tomoyo is not exactly human had not occurred to Kiyomi before this point. Still, she looks, speaks, and feels like a person. That would be enough for Kiyomi, at least until given a reason to think otherwise.

「Stronger than my mother... huh?」 Again, a thought that had never occurred to Kiyomi. She expected, desired to stand beside her mother as equals, though deep within herself she had expected to always be... just a little less. But Shanhaz says that using Tomoyo would make her even greater than her mother...

Kiyomi glances at Tomoyo. Even in the form of a maiden, she has those innocent eyes that just make you want to protect her. Kiyomi imagines herself with Tomoyo sitting in her lap, petting her hair and seeing her smile... though her mind cannot settle on depicting the child or the young woman.

「If we could just find a way to make her a child again...」 Kiyomi whispers to herself, too quiet for Tomoyo but possibly within Shanhaz's ear. She could go to school, be with her family again. Grow up happy. Kiyomi-onee-chan could protect her and make sure that she is away from all of this death and destruction. That was the key point; regardless of any other circumstances, Kiyomi wanted to ensure that Tomoyo does not get hurt. Therefore, exploiting her domain is simply not an option.

「Well, I am plenty strong already. If problems arise it will be my responsibility to handle them.」 She moves to Tomoyo to pet her softly on her head. 「I'm sorry, dear, but I have some business to take care of. Su... zu?" she pauses with a wince, wondering if the djinn would correct her. 「"If you could, please show Tomoyo-chan the books and games we have. Let her do whatever she likes... within reason, of course."」

Kiyomi brushes off her skirt and moves to the hallway. 「"Well, I'm off. I promise when I get back we can do whatever you like together, okay Tomoyo-chan?"」 After receiving her response she sets off, feeling a little bit more resolved somehow.

I'm not sure of the geography, but if the cafe is within walking distance of the mansion she would walk, otherwise she would take the plainest car available that would not immediately tip her off as being a Shirakawa.


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Male Iris

@Sora: Big sword. Think the spear was the broom that broke.
Junpei's mental voice comes through rather rapid, and decidedly freaked out...also, rapidly switching between its male and female variants.

After Alex's grim message, had Junpei started to feel uncomfortable. After the image of the flower garden where they were meant to meet, which is suddenly FAR more terrifying than it ever was before, it was an effort of will not to suddenly freak out. His current expression was a mix of determined control and affected calm which was only barely enough to cover the absolute panic in his mind.

No way in HELL am I going to that meeting. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zero. NO.

Junpei spends the rest of the time getting things together in an attempt to achieve some level of calm. Helping Chūsuke clean up and assuring him things will be fine. Putting something light together just to take the edge off, and making something for Chūsuke too if he finds his brother hasn't eaten. Calling in to confirm he wouldn't be at the cafe today.

There was also the moment he took in private to rig up a spell with his ipod and the borrowed pool skimmer that was intended to let him know just what he wasn't being told that he really needed to know. Whatever the important thing to him that was hidden in their words was, it'd be recorded on his iPod. There was a setting added to the ipod too, that would cause whatever was just recorded to be whispered in his ear while it was active. A private stream of sound, like his echo tunnel.
Well, that was the intention, anyway. Hopefully the magic would work out.
Emi had been a bad enough shock, but Okami-sama's secrets were far more than he was ready to handle, let alone deal with the consequences of not knowing. He wasn't getting caught out of the loop again.

Recorded Secrets: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) = 8

If I need another roll to do everything I said:
Getting it all set up: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7

Once it's all done, he lets Chūsuke know he'll be meeting up with Lys and a couple of other people before he leaves.

I figure Chūsuke just occupies his time at home. All things considered, I figure he's a little sedentary.


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"Ao"

Ao was hoping that the things that he was noticing were not all linked. Really, really hoping that all he was going to get was a scolding for missing a text. His opening of the message was stalled by the exclamation and other individuals that showed up, replacing the phone in his pocket as he looked at his sister, warily noticing the awed expression on her face.

「Oh no! It was no trouble at all!」 Kyou at least managed to remember her manners, relinquishing the tray to May, glancing back and forth between the door and the two new people in the hallway.

He knew that expression. There was a conclusion that she was reaching, and before she could blurt it out, he spoke, giving a polite bow. 「We do have to get our shopping put away, but it is a pleasure to have met you, Carmine-san. Let's go, Ki-chan, I've got a message from work that I need to read.」 She acceeded, and as they made their way by the two other individuals, he gave a slight nod, saying 「Excuse us」, as they passed by. The man got a slightly longer look from Ao, as he tried to place his face.

Once they turned the corner, his sister once again distracted him from needing to check his phone, turning to walk backwards. 「I think they are famous people」, she said excitedly. 「Did you see all the pictures on the walls?」

His response was terse. 「Didn't look. Bags are heavy. Walk faster.」


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[Sheets] [Map]

Kiyomi:
The drive with Jack is uneventful. He swears he’s “just an American who can drive good,” and that there’s “no hokum in these old bones.”

Out the windows you can see the full moon, hanging sullenly over the tops of the houses. In the sunlight, your unnatural glow is less noticeable. Despite your intention to roll in under the radar, you’re surprised to find no heads turn when you duck out of the car.

As you leave to enter the cafe, Jack breaks the relative silence to say: “-put you an’ her first. Don’t let this be another of your mother’s board meetings.” He pauses, chewing a toothpick, and adds: “Just don’t go all Romeo and Juliet or nothin’. Yer too young for that.

Inside, the painted windows fill the cafe with colors. A short round woman in a paisley furred coat meets you at the door with a wide smile. “Welcome to Wonderland cafe. All ways are the Queen’s ways.” She gestures to signs that point out the bar, the tables in the middle of the performance area, and the private booths. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any way will get you there.

What do you do?

Junpei:
Sorcery 8: +1(Equipment) +1(Sound) +1(iPod) +1(target) = 12: Gain 1 Magic as you resort to sorcery to quell your paranoia, but building this feature into your trinket is child’s play, and you’re inspired to run the voicemail through it as a test.

Lysander is pained to use his friends in this way, but he hopes he’s picked the right park, and that you’ll somehow tip Aratani’s hand with your reaction to the message. There’s no indication in this words how he got from “meeting at noon” to “at a park”. The end of the message is sincere. At no point does he doubt your friendship.

After cleaning up, Chūsuke settles into his beanbag chair to play Yomawari. It’s a little out of his age group, mostly for the horror aspect, but he only plays during the day. You played through it last year, and didn’t find anything to warrant the constant nagging you’d have to endure to keep him from playing.

The place Lys picked is a long trip from where you live. You’ve got a bike, but this may be more of a bus trip. The bus uptown is going to be crowded at this time of day. You can bring your bike with you, but it’ll be a pain to keep track of. You’re reminded of Alex’s stone dog, Sora’s dream traveling... even Kazue’s comet spear; however, you’ve already got drain on all three of your trinkets, and it’s not even noon yet. What do you do?

Tenshi:
Kazue lunges forward, grabbing a shocked Naiad by the wrist and guarding with the saxon in her left hand. 「This is not f%+*ing Star Wars, Sora, let’s get the f#*# out of here!

Khutulun swings the claymore, cleaving the indistinct ground where Kazue stood. Then, she slides under her blade, bringing her left hand into an upward arc towards you.

Or, like, eat her. I don’t- I don’t know what that will do.

What do you do?

Senshirou:
You’re able to disengage from the meeting before your groceries melt; although, as you pass you pick up on a familiar scent. It’s a heavy, garlic scent mixed with clove cigarette smoke. The man definitely works with you, you’re almost certain that was @Trussed_In_Me, the man in the next cube over. He gives you a subtle wink as you pass.

Once you’re home, Kyou starts putting the groceries away, and you check your messages. There’s the message from before which asks you to gather practice materials from home and head to the temple. You don’t exactly have a work shift, you usually just pop in and work on the backlog when you aren’t being sent to set something up. This seems pretty serious though.

@Paper Tag:Sending a geo-tag. Client needs min 9 Containment scrips and as many wards as you can get together. The tag indicates the park down the street.

While you’re reading, you get another message from an unknown number: 42-42-564. that’s the wrong park

What do you do?

Alex:
You catch a bus headed for the garden. You’re way ahead of schedule, but it doesn’t hurt to do a little reconnaissance.

Not many folk take the bus out of the city so early in the morning. There’s a man hanging out at the front of the bus, speaking excitedly to the busdriver. You overhear the word dream-eater. In the back of the bus, a gaggle of highschoolers are staring at their phones. A QR code has been stuck on the back of every other seat that faces forward.

The map is updated.

Sovereign Court

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Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

She nods politely to Jack; it was rather unlike him to offer advice, so Kiyomi chooses to take it to heart.

Kiyomi is not terribly surprised that none of the employees make special note of her; part of the reason she likes this place is that it is somewhere she can go without being a Shirakawa for a while. She is proud of who she is, no doubt about that, but it is nice to relieve the stress of her responsibilities, and a cafe with a silly theme that others of Kiyomi's ranking would never enter is a good place to do that. She was sure that some of the employees knew who she was - they had to, after all - but she appreciated they had the tact not to mention it. Though even with all of that Kiyomi would not come here so often if the tea was not as good as it is.

"A private booth for two, please." She leaves Yuki's name and a brief description of her with the greeter, informing her of the second customer. When shown her seat she looks over the menu more times than necessary, suddenly feeling very fidgety.


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Male Iris

Junpei groans, and grabs his bike as he heads for the bus. He was probably going to need it due to some crap coming up that day.
It was honestly tempting to see if he could make a trinket with his bike to get around with, but it was frankly a bit stupid to use a fragment of your soul up just to save yourself a bus trip, no matter HOW convenient a magical bike would be.
Well, it probably wouldn't STAY a bike, but that wasn't the point.

As he goes about things, his mind turns to what his newest spell told him from the voicemail. There was...something going on with Lys. He definitely knew more than he'd first thought. Probably more than he did in general. From what he did seem to know, he might have to be more careful about what he said to him.

He wanted to be open with Lys. It sounded like Lys wanted to be open with him too.
But in the end, neither of them could.
And so, it hurt them both.

Junpei plugs in his earphones, and lets the first song that comes on fill his mind.


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Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

"Nomph." is the rough equivalent of the noise that occurs as Tenshi makes the snap decision to overindulge. But still, in the back of her mind, was the intent to leave the spear intact. She'd always intended (since the moment she'd realized the possibility) to steal the spear and abscond with it, returning it to the original Kazue, using her magic to reforge it from their imaginations... that should work, right?

May Bastian have mercy on Tenshi's soul.


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"Ao"

「Work is calling me in」, he said, mentally going over whether or not he could fill the order from what he had on hand here, and coming to the conclusion tht it was not possible. At best, he only did one or two a day at home when he was not working, just to try different things, but those got brought into work once he was satisfied with them. Slowly, some of what they were supposed to do was starting to make some more sense, but that was following some more research into how they were supposed to work and that was not even counting the style. That also reminded him that he would still have to go in, to hear what his boss had to say about the picture he took.

「-looo? Earth to nii-chan!」

He had not noticed his sister had stopped putting the groceries away and was waving her hand practically in front of his face. Laughing, he blinked, coming back from chasing the thought that he got lost in and waved her hand away from in front of his face. 「Hm?」

Kyou rolled her eyes, exasperated that she had to ask the same question, probably for the third time. 「How long will you be gone? It's your turn to cook!」

He made a face at her as he went to go change into something proper. 「A few hours. I have to go into work, then deliver something. I'll be back by this evening.」 As he headed into his room, he was replying to the messages he received.

@DelphicKnight: Insufficient supplies at home. Passing by Temple. ETA 30min.
More symbols than I could understand. Are they all valid?

{Included photo of the door}

@42-42-564: Apologies, I do not have your information. Who is this?


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[Sheets] [Map]

Kiyomi:
The woman leads you to a booth in the back of the house, and across from the stage area. The booths are separated from the tables by a low wall so you have a clear view of the production without anyone being able to see you. At the moment, a tiny woman lounges in a tall throne over a farcical court of colorful characters. It looks like one of the other patrons has been sentenced to reciting some strange English poem.

The table’s centerpiece is a castle of cards made from tarts, each with a cartoonish bite shape in one corner. The menu is written into an aged storybook and lists reasonable items like Queen’s Court Coffee, Cheshire Chai, and Oolong the Ways, as well as less identifiable items such as How Doth the Little Crocodile, and Turtle Soup, which is actually a boba tea.

A server in a white suit with a spade on her lapel follows in on the cheshire cat’s tail, filling your glass with water. It takes both of you a moment to recognize each other. Your server is the awkwardly aggressive young woman from last night. She’s much prettier out of makeup.

Junpei:
One of your neighbors was waiting at the bus stop with you, but they made it clear with their body language that they weren’t going to engage.

When the bus arrives, you load your bike into the rack and hop on board. After scanning your ID, you turn to find the bus is packed, and not just with people. Every available bin is stuffed with balloons, baskets, stuffed animals of every description, and most disturbingly, flowers. This bus stops at the Hospital before it goes further into the city, and after last night, there are many folk who are kin to those affected by the philosopher's stone spell.

One of the few faces you recognize is the girl from last night with the gun. She looks different without the long pink wig, but you’re good with faces in and out of costume. You really don’t know much about her. She’s wearing denim shorts, a graphic tank, and a plaid overshirt. If she’s carrying her gun, you have no idea where she’s keeping it. It does remind you of the other gun you’ve seen recently. Lysander had a gun last night.

As you decide whether to speak to her or not, she pulls the cable that calls for the bus to stop. Looks like this next one is her stop. This’ll be the Obusa University stop. The closest one to your work.

Tenshi:
Dreams have had something like flavor and texture before. The man on the bus had been a buffet of tart sorrows. Kazue’s carnal occupation had been like greasy fast food.

The taste of Khutulun makes you violently, physically ill.

It would be easier if she were being possessed or controlled. It may have been acceptable if she had been driven by… anything sane. Instead, you get a taste of life with one essentia, and it’s your least favorite.

In a word, Khutulun is dry. No sense of self, no spite, no mortal imperatives, no fears, no fatigue, only a desperate need to use others. Murder, rape, it didn’t matter as long as it was intimate, intense, and gratifying. The only sane directive left in the hollowed out husk of your friend was a vague sense that Perdita was important. You see exactly what Khutulun did to Naiad, without the filters imposed by Tiresias, Alex, and the girl herself.

A part apart; A fate undone;
By blood and rote, I seal this heart;
Bind this spirit; turn the lock,
And rise, again, to keep the watch.

Naiad’s death had been no short, clean thing. When she was done, Khutulun played with the girl’s gore, chanting the words of the pact as she watched the life fade from the Shooting Star’s eyes. Only then did the body begin to burn.

Trauma Shift
You’ve gained a Fear of intimacy. If you let it get in your way, you’ll gain Fate. It can also be used to keep yourself out of trouble, but I can use it to create an obstacle, or force you to roll to Stay Calm.

Senshirou:
Your boss responds immediately.
DelphicKnight: Ameture work, and scattershot. I’m surprised they got 3 right.
DelphicKnight: {Alarm.gif}
DelphicKnight: {Lock.gif}
DelphicKnight: {Aegis.gif}
DelphicKnight: PaperTag found someone who doesn’t want us inside. I will sending mere4sight to look into it. Cut your meeting short if you can. We need all hands.

The other number does not respond while you shake down your room for materials. You go to your codex first: a notecard case full of paper tags carefully inscribed with each of the many intricate patterns of prayers and prose you’ve been taught. All of them merely technical aides or flashcards. In this case, you shuffle through to find the Containment tag.

This one was especially beautiful as a piece of calligraphy. There’s something about secular poetry that makes for a pleasing wall hanging. You happen to have two very nice ones in your room. One of which is hanging above your mirror.

It’s odd, the other two “correct” illustrations weren’t the sort of thing you usually did. One looked geometric, and the other was in a different language. Still, you’re confident you would have picked them out as the “best” looking of the other symbols.

Sovereign Court

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Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

「Oh. Hello again.」 Kiyomi had largely dismissed from memory the strange encounter with the older woman, having been rather irrelevant compared to everything else that had happened the night before.

This second meeting brought those memories rushing back to the front of Kiyomi's mind, primarily the girl's brazen and overtly sexual commentary. It would be easy to dismiss if she had acted a typical drunk and horny school girl, but the subject of her interest made it harder to ignore. 「She likes girls. Like me. ...I'm not that bad, though. Right?」

The revelation that... Tsuchi-san, was it? Was actually quite pretty when not overly painted did not help matters. Kiyomi adverts her eyes and takes a sip from her drink before saying, 「I would like to hold off on ordering until my companion arrives, thank you.」


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Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Tenshi was reminded of a very american way of viewing food. That you needed to watch what you ate, or you'd have a heart attack.

What the new sequence of memories did to her hummingbird heartbeat was nothing short of that... but her body had already shown its ability to cage the breakneck pace of adrenaline that this form poured through her. That didn't stop her fight-or-flight from being triggered though.

With Kazue grabbed in one hand, and Perdita in the other, almost as an afterthought, Tenshi flees madly through the dreamscape, being chased by the visions in her own head. She can't remember the string of explitives and protestations that followed along the black comet tail, but one word echoed far beyond.

@All: STOP!

As she slams into the original dreamscape she'd met with Kazue in, she relinquishes her grip on both hands, panting. She retches once, and then there's a popping sound, a trick taught to her by one of Aratani's people and taken too far: Tenshi had caught her thumb inside of her fist and squeezed. The pain made her forget all about the need to vomit, something she couldn't risk, knowing what she'd just eaten. What would happen if she lost her stomach after something like this?

The thought was almost enough to make a bile pact, just in case. Or was bile just anger...

@All: Trinkets are dangerous. Only make in times of need. Don't know enough. she manages over the relay.

She'd definitely eaten the spear, the assault of memories that flooded her mind had seen to it that nothing of that dream remained, save what she'd held in her hands. But she could remember everything perfectly. She couldn't see anything else when she closed her eyes. So she gripped her head for a moment, and did something else Aratani's people had taught her. She focused. There were things there that weren't terrible, look past what was and see the good. She'd never been good at just seeing the good in things, but just this once, she had a vested interest.

Rather than all of the things that Khutulun was doing, Tenshi focused her mind on the details of her equipment. The image she'd projected on Kazue's mind was just negative space where the black was, and while that was art of a sort, medium mattered, and a soul was hardly a medium to leave black as a form of expression.

Her pastels appeared once more in her hands as she began to fill the voids, the blacks giving way to more blacks... but with points of light, drawing out constellations that slowly flared to life, filling the empty space as she worked with the pencils, placing each of Kazue's missing trinkets back into the frame of her portrait, breathing life into them and her. Each was separate and distinct, due to the chosen color palette, but only at their core.

The process felt like hours, but by the end of it, hands steadied only by the precision made necessary by the art - her coping mechanism - pushed her up and away from the wall, to admire what she'd made if only for a moment. Perdita was forgotten, for now. And what was inside of Tenshi wasn't ever going to grace the image she'd made. She'd left Kazue with all the colors and kept all the black.

「I... have to go.」 she says, before vanishing from Kazue's dream.

Make her Whole: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 6) = 12

Reappearing in reality had never felt so real. It felt like dropping into a sauna, her world was on fire. The sunlight pouring in through the window pierced her mind like needles. Tenshi hadn't experienced much in the way of hangovers, but she was fairly certain this was a sort of one. She stumbles over to the window to pull the blackout curtains shut, but then is left in the blackness that results, only the light from the other room remains. Her animal mind rails against the darkness as she throws the curtains back open. Her stomach turns as a response to all of her sudden movements, she retches throwing open the window, and heaving herself towards the fresh air, but catches her thumb once again. Pain shoots up her arm - she'd done a number on it. Tears don't come, even despite the retching as she pushes herself away from the window and back into the room. She slides along the wall, back falling into the embrace of the corner of the room. Picture frames tumble off of the wall in her movement, as she descends into a fetal position in the corner, porcelain skin wrapped in sable feathers.


Male Iris

Junpei's eyes go wide at all the flowers, before noticing all the other fixtures with them and realising why they were there. His panic dulls slightly, and melancholy rises up to take its place. Was what I did...enough? Are...all the people they're visiting. Are they going to wake up as they were? Did I do enough? Could I have ever done enough? The question floats about his mind, as do thoughts on the way everyone acted during the crises that day.
In all of it, two interactions stand out. Coming to Iskandar with his concerns, and his supposed enemy agreeing to stop fighting to see what's happening...and Aratani, his supposed ally, proving her willingness to nuke the place and everything - everyone inside it, without so much as a single warning.

Something felt so very wrong about that.

Junpei's only derailed from his train of thought by Sora's sudden message, nearly jumping from the sudden shouting in his mind.
@Sora: You put pieces of your SOUL in those things, and lose aspects of yourself with them. What on earth have you learned that's even worse than that?!
It still comes through panicked, but instead of the inconsistent switching, the voices of both Junpei and Iris ring out in harmony with each other as they express their shared abject terror.

Trying to shut out everything else, Junpei finally fixates on the gun-toting girl. She was the one that Juno was with the other day, wasn't she? And that gun of hers. That had to have been a pain to get a hold of, let alone bringing it about. And that was without mentioning Lys, who had an even BIGGER gun.
They had a reason for carrying those things about, didn't they? No normal person goes to meet a friend WITH A GUN. Same goes for DJing.
And thinking about it, do those two have some sort of dimensional pocket like he had for their guns? It'd explain why they weren't seen carrying them about. He couldn't think how Lys would be able to go about normally carrying that massive firearm of his without anyone batting an eye without SOME sort of magic being involved.
...dammit, Lys really had some explaining to do.

After a moment's indecision, Junpei latches onto the girl's ear. Even if she wasn't part of Lys's gunslinger crew, she probably knew about the strange things going on after being with Juno that day. She might listen. Keep an eye out on Juno's behalf, even. And if she didn't have any involvement in this? She'd probably just think she was hearing things. It was a low risk, compared to what good it might do.
Making sure not to look anything out of the ordinary, he sends his message.
「Be careful around plants. And be especially careful if an old lady offers you flowers...or anything else, for that matter. You don't want what she's offering.」


"Ao"

Noting the proper examples of the tags, Ao straightened his tie, clipped it to his sleeveless white shirt with a tie clip that he had splurged on, the head of the clip resembling a calligraphy brush, and took a calming breath as he looked at himself in the mirror. 'That someone else has symbols up is Not Relevant. It's a large world, and interests are varied. This is Not Significant. Just do your job.'

He pretended not to notice that his exhalation was a little uncertain.

After that, he was out of his room and on his way to the door, picking up his bag from the hallway stand, and tucking his phone into it. His codex was in his pocket, as well as on his phone, and he was set. 「See you later, Ki!」, he called from the hallway, only to get an annoyed sound back in return. Laughing, he grabbed his keys and headed out. He most certainly did not go the same way they had come to reach their apartment after meeting May, even if it took a little longer.


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Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Doo-DOO-DEE, we're sorry, the Angrybird you are trying to reach is not in service. Please check the Angrybird or try your call again later. Thank you. Good bye.


[Sheets] [Map]

Kiyomi:
The young woman’s eyes flick to the glass across from yours as she transparently works out the intended occupant. 「I’ll bet- I mean, of course.

You feel a spike of panic that draws your eyes to the wall, but there’s nothing there.

The young woman bows and shades her face with her server book. There’s something that’s got her flustered, and by the look of her, it’s not something she’s used to. You’d say she’s starstruck, except she looks like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She keeps looking you up and down as she backs away from the table.

Fortunately, Yuki isn’t too far behind her. The focus of your affections shuffles in wearing cutoff denim shorts, a graphic tank you don’t recognize, and an old plaid overshirt that’s rolled at the hems from over-washing.

She slides into the booth and promptly drops her very expensive-looking phone into your water.

She opens her mouth to say something, but bites her tongue, looking around as if to ask where you want to start.

Junpei:
Holy shit! As if DK wasn’t enough. Whichever one of you this is, I’ve got it, okay. We’ve been hunting the dryad for ages. Pro tip: it’s never actually her.」 Your truth device has nothing to add.

The bus empties at the hospital. You’re left a few minutes alone on the bus to mull over what you’ve learned, contemplate the angry red moon as the sun rises to meet it, and coordinate with contacts.

When you finally reach the sushi bar, Lys is sitting between a tall stack of plates and a laptop. He looks up from his phone, unagi nigiri held at the end of a fork.

He hasn’t shaved since yesterday, but it looks like it's been a month. European facial hair is nuts. Seeing you, he can’t help but chuckle as he pulls down his headphones. 「You have no idea how happy I am seeing you.Let’s not start with work, seeing you is what’s keeping me sane through all this. I used Japanese to emphasize the remark. I’ve been practicing the phrase for the last hour, and I hope that reads as sincere.

He closes his laptop and carefully sets his phone face-down on the table.

He looks sheepishly at the stack of plates he’s made.>Sorry, it’s been a rough morning and work makes me hungry.< My talent is physically taxing, and I have to eat to recover. >How’s your brother?<

Tenshi:
Desperation 12: +1(pastels) +1(dreams) +1(Kazue) +1(IDEAL) +1(FEAR) +3(Trauma) = 20: You perform the anathema and re-create a bartered soul, gain 1 Hope, and you may gain an aspect of your choice. (Domain, title, ideal, wish, even a trinket of unknowable origin. The ball is in your court) Khutulun gains Stars as the Domain of her recovered trinkets, and they are no longer pact trinkets.

For a moment the room is quiet. You’re given a respectful period of time to recover (given the circumstances) before the kettle sets off. A man in a black vest and chartreuse collared shirt pours the scalded milk over a pair of mugs. He scoops some white fluff into each mug and stirrs, shaking some chocolate sprinkles onto the fluff. “May and Emi are on the roof having breakfast. I thought we could take a minute to settle down before you go. I’m your Brotherhood spotter- no need to panic or exchange pleasantries. Our interactions will be purely pragmatic. Hot chocolate?

Senshirou:
Outside, it’s a ghost town. As noon approaches, an angry red moon hangs impossibly in the sky.

The sense of loneliness doesn’t abate when you reach the temple. Usually, someone’s in the office, but today the place is so empty the crappy printer in the back is stuck shooting out paper without anyone to reseat the network cable.

If there was ever a time to snoop, this would be it. You can see that the Ofuda hanging on the walls are the usual protective, fortune, and productivity charms you might find in the kind of place that sells hell money. -Better quality, of course. No screen printed crap here.

You have a few Containment amulets in your cubicle, but you also notice a pretty conspicuous one on simple4sight’s cube, under his nameplate. If you could get a couple more, you’d have a decent chance of finishing.


Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Man... that's... difficult. So I've sat here for like two hours trying to figure out what to do. Looked at trope pages to see if there were themes to grab hold of, jumped through homestuck to come up with ideas. Both void/darkness and light had some really nice opportunities. Healing, of course, fits the fiction as well, for possible domains. Ideal and Wish don't inherently fit the fiction for me. A trinket would be cool, of course. But I think the most fitting option is the Title. I can't think of any aspect that better fits my character and her scooby doo antics than becoming Truth Seeker Tenshi.
Also, really glad to be able to jump into fitemode to break away from her blue screen moment.

Tenshi jumps a few inches away at the sudden intrusion - not by the man but by the sharp burst of air from the kettle. Her wings flutter out ready to take to the sky - despite the fact that that would be completely impossible. Her hand grazes a piece of broken glass in the process, dripping red that seemed somehow out of place with the ebony and ivory of Tenshi's form.

「Who- What-?」 The hummingbird heart beat to life and the fierce tengu pride - what was he doing in her nest!? - both came to the fore as he told her not to panic. Just who did he think he was? Her flight response settled by his desire to tell her she wasn't in any danger left her fight response at the fore.

Her eyes narrowed, brows furrowing, as she looked over him with scrutinous intent. 「Yes. With extra marshmallows.」 she said, tersely, as she pushed herself away from the wall, and started out of her room into the hall and onwards into the kitchen. She had no idea where the broom was, with all the cleaning nothing would be where it was supposed to be. It didn't matter just now, though.


[Sheets] [Map]

Not Vorpal Knight Tenshi? Also, having a blood pact, Tenshi (and Sora) wouldn't bleed. -unless you want to heal your dreamcatcher pact.

"You'll have to excuse me, my Japanese is not very strong." the man stirs in the rest of the fluff and drops a handfull of marshmallows into one cup. "You could attack me. I've taken no precautions against it; however, it doesn't end well for you. I am a lucid dreamer, and my dreams are a bit more hostile than you're used to." The man says this as if he were talking about two other people who were about to fight to the death. "We have bigger fish to fry in any case. Our associates are in grave danger. I've done my part in leading the Brotherhood on a wild goose chase, and most of the Dawn Watch knows better than to go near the garden, but most is not going to be enough. The sailor and the doll are still set on confronting the archer, and it is a trap set by the dryad."

The man sets the mug with the marshmallows on the table, then walks to the door and steps out. He turns on his heels and stands just outside the threshold where he sips his hot chocolate delicately. "Anything else I'm forgetting?"


Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Hm. I thought changing 'blood' to 'sweat' would move the pact from blood to sweat. So she kinda said it wrong to try to make a sweat pact instead of a blood pact. She should have a Tengu pact and a Sweat pact, unless the Tengu pact came with giving up blood? Also, Vorpal Knight Tenshi could be pretty cool on its own as well. I hadn't considered that. I'd leaned strongly towards her chalk becoming a spear in fitemode now. Perhaps there's more to think of... I'd intended to turn the charm bracelet into her blood pact. :)

"Thank you." she says, still tersely as he adds the marshmallows. She was working hard to keep the Tengu portion of her down... but he seemed to understand the problem, as he moved outside the door. She nods to him, and collects herself for a second. "so, so much." she says, though whether it's tied to the 'Thank you' or the 'Forgetting things' isn't a question she intends to answer. She flips open her phone, which appears in her hand, and makes a few taps. She then looks over the phone for a moment, then glares at it. And does a few more taps. And reads for a moment longer.

"So... you're after a tree nature spirit? Or... a bug that doesn't change much from when it was a baby?" she pauses, and shrugs after a moment. "I think that sounds like the same person I really want to meet. Spews black stuff all over everything. Leaves people extremely injured and badly broken? What can you tell me about what Perdita and Kazue were on top of before she did that..." she tap-a-taps the phone, then rolls her eyes and pulls out May's book, "Miasma" the book disappears. "thing. Wait, okay, there was a girl being attacked by the black sand as well, at the mall last night. She was protecting us from it. Like Bubbles, but not Bubbles. Ugh... blue water girl that was made from water, fought a big plant monster spewing black stuff. Same dryad? What does the black stuff do?"


[Sheets] [Map]

I think I forgot to update my notes when you changed your mind on the essentia. That's on me. Tenshi still bleeds then. I'll make sure to correct my notes.

"This one was tricky. It took me a few tries to get right, but here is where I say: it's a fungus that selectively erases memories." The man looks up from his drink as he blows on it.

Sovereign Court

Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

Kiyomi stares wide-eyed for a moment at the misplaced cell phone before eventually pulling it out of her cup and sliding it back over to Yuki. 「There are worse ways this encounter could begin, I suppose.」

「Ahem. So. I believe you have as many questions about the situation as I do. So how about this: I will ask you a question, you will answer truthfully, then you ask me a question, and I will be honest in turn. Agreed?」

Assuming she complies, Kiyomi begins. 「Your weapon is clearly not natural. How did you get it?」


[Sheets] [Map]

I found it in with my brother's stuff. I know how to clean it, how to make the bullets... -silver in a hollow point jacket. DK seems to know more than I do, but it's all need-to-know with him.

Tsuchi slides by, pouring Yuki her drink.

Thank you.」Yuki takes her phone off the table and drops it in her own drink. Ms. Tsuchi forgets to ask for your orders and shuffles away.

Did your friend recover? The girl I- who tried to kill you? DK said you guys could... That she might not be dead-dead.


Male Iris

Junpei has one resounding thought as the girl gets off the bus. Well, two.
I KNEW IT!
Oh crap.

-----

As he hears Lys's greeting, Junpei suddenly stops, blinking at the surprising intake of information from a simple hello to a friend.
He spent an hour practicing that? And...man. I really mean a lot to him, don't I?
He hears a giggle in his mind, and nearly jumps...his other voice. At least, it doesn't feel like someone else.
Yup. I mean, you've been friends for just about forever, let alone the fact you're his first friend here. He's our best friend, dammit! Of course you mean a lot to him!
A carefree smile spreads across Junpei's face, of the kind he wouldn't have expected to have after a day like yesterday. As the tension he felt before begins to melt off, he starts moving again and takes a seat. 「Same to you, Lys. I really needed this.」

Junpei starts going for the sushi as well, feeling the need to fill the hole in his stomach. >Relax. Nothing wrong with being hungry. Chūsuke's still his usual self. Though admittedly, I've recently been informed people have been giving him some trouble again. Wish he'd talk to me about these things...I hope things aren't too bad for him. At least Mom hasn't caught wind of it.< Junpei's smile falters a bit, and he sighs. >Can't make him talk to me, though. Couldn't get him to open up about it last time.<
He realises what he's doing, and shakes his head clear. >Now's not the time to be talking about something like that, though. How've you been doing yourself?<

Sovereign Court

Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

「Okay, so I guess she is doing that on purpose then.」 Kiyomi chooses not to waste one of her own questions on that oddity.

Kiyomi's grip on her cup tightens at Yuki's question. Did she really have to start there? 「No, Yuki... She's... she's gone. Her sister is staying with me.」

Kiyomi manages to hold back any tears and tries to turn the conversation elsewhere with her next question. 「Who is this 'DK' person you keep mentioning? Is he your boss?」


[Sheets] [Map]

Kiyomi:

Yuki eyes the fancy phone. The muscles in her jaw work and she licks her lips. She’s as willing to move on from her question as you are. 「DelphicKnight, the guy from last night with the blunderbuss. He’s really just middle management. Hugues is the boss. There are ranks in the Brotherhood, but they’re so trivial DK seems to hand them out on a whim.

What about your mother? Is she really in charge of the local coven?

Junpei:

>It’s admirable that you aren’t tempted to just... take care of that for him.< Given my job is to track them down, I’m very familiar with how easy it is for folk to take that turn. His smile is softer, wary and wistful. He finishes his plate and starts scanning the belt. >Finishing my degree took me through a few countries. Different languages, different trees... otherwise not much changes. I got caught up in France for a while before I ended up back here.< I met the leader of the Brotherhood in France after spending a few years putting off responsibility. I don’t want to talk about why I left.

Lys’ phone makes a dramatic brass ‘bramm’ sound. Your friend glances at it, but does not check it.


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Male Iris

Junpei swallows, and his eyes fall down to the table. >I...< He looks up. >...even if I took this into my own hands, it doesn't fix the core problem, does it? There's so much more to this stuff than what you see, or hear about. So much that people don't get, let alone know to look for.<
>Even if I was willing to throw magic at it...it wouldn't fix anything. Not really. Hell, I've seen far, far too many times how easy it is to go overboard and make things worse.< Ever so slightly, Junpei bites his lip.
...food? Maybe food will make us feel better. We need to eat more.
...probably.

Junpei grabs a plate, and gets eating. His smile starts to perk back up again.
Yeah, that's a bit better.
Junpei glances over to Lys's phone when it goes off, but only for an instant. Not worth commenting on. >Sorry. Really need to stop doing that.< Junpei takes a breath. >Anyway, are you telling me there was nothing interesting abroad? I'm sure there's more to see than you're telling me. Where else did you go? Anything to do there I might be interested in?< Junpei grins.

Sovereign Court

Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

「My mother is in charge, as far as I know.」 Shanhaz had mentioned a mentor of her mother's, though Kiyomi knew not who that was, or if mother answered to this person or if she simply took advice from them. Mentioning it now would only confuse things and open up questions Kiyomi did not know the answer to.

「So... this Brotherhood of yours. What are its goals? Should I feel threatened by them?」 Kiyomi stops as she realizes this is technically two questions, and looks away as if avoiding eye contact would make it more likely to slide.


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Cismale/Complicated SN Alex Brooke
Stat Block:
Hope: 4~Magic: 0~Trauma: 2~Fate: 3

Alex had been looking out the windows on the bus ride, just trying to be the tourist he garbed as.

But the passenger up front and his odd conversation really put him ill at ease, and the lack of solid reponse from the person he attempted to contact wasn't helping either.

Curiosity ALMOST pushed him to pull out his phone and take a look at the QR code on the seat in front of him... until he saw all the kids all face-down in their phones... More like they're drones than actually... Why did I think that?

Instead of looking up the QR code, he instead takes a picture of it, and goes back to his semi-daze as the bus continues its journey.

@AnyInterestedParty:Can QR codes be used to subvert individuals 'in the know'?


[Sheets] [Map]

Alex:
The view over Obusa bay is majestic and terrifying. As the sun and moon traverse the sky to presumably meet at noon, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the moon is glowing.

@Miami Vice: You saw them too? No idea, man. Lots of Phantoms out there, no telling how they’re luring in locals. This one would have to be strong to get something physical popping up all over town. -or a deli is having its grand opening. I’m in no shape to take risks.

The bus lets you off in front of the park-and-ride across from the gardens. There are walking paths that wind around and through the brilliantly colored flower beds, but a wide trellised walkway cuts a quick path to a tall gazeebo.

While you survey the area, you notice the orphaned twin, squatting near a bed of flowers.


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Hashimoto Sora 「」 Trauma 1 ~ Magic 1 ~ Hope 1 ~ Fate 2

Tenshi sits quietly for a moment. "So... a mage who makes all of their trinkets, gives all of their essences for power, or survival... would they still be driven by their memories if they didn't come into contact with that stuff? Or, would we always become completely hollow shells?" she wraps a rag around her bleeding finger, before looking down to it, and taking the cup that had been offered her in both hands. Her eyes soften as she looks at the marshmallows sinking into nothingness in the chocolatey abyss. Apt.

"Could someone be brought back from that..? What would happen if we tried?

@Bubbles/Windy/Sparkles(that's Juno!): Does anyone know where Notbubbles is? Watery nymph thing?

@Bubbles: Probably. Made several symbols at home, symbols worked; one of us pulled us into an arcade game back at the mall. Might be them. Also, I ate the dream. Also, what is the QR code doing?

@Windy: Remember you asking; learning more. Saw one of us alive with no essence.

"How certain are you?" she asks, suddenly hardening once more as she looks up, prefacing the man's answer with a bit of pathos. She didn't mean to be a jerk. But she was going through... a lot of things.


Cismale/Complicated SN Alex Brooke
Stat Block:
Hope: 4~Magic: 0~Trauma: 2~Fate: 3

@All: Glowing Moon and Sun meeting at mid-day can't be a good thing, can it? Ice Queen[u]Juno[/u], didn't the twin go home with you? What is she doing at the gardens? Not approaching, yet.

Two pictures are taken, one of the girls on the bus with their absent stare into their phones, one of the girl sitting next to the bed of flowers.

While Alex WANTS to approach, there's too much weird going on to risk it quite yet. Maintaining a safe distance he attempts to circle the perimeter, taking note not only of the flora and fauna, but also all water supplies for the garden -- just in case he needs to draw on it later. He does it in proper 'tourist' style, though, following sidewalks and paths that *do not* enter the garden, taking pictures every so often of apparently random things...

Closed Channel (GM):

@Phantom Admirer: You have eyes on me, who and where are you?

Sovereign Court

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Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

@All: Not sure who you are referring to, Tenshi. Assuming they are not our Naiad I do not think I have met this person.

@Naiad: Tomoyo-chan is where? Y-yes, she did come home with me... My maid was supposed to be looking after her (Kiyomi's tone is clearly annoyed here). Would you be so kind as to make sure she is okay? I have another engagement at the moment but will take her off your hands as soon as I can.

Though silent, her face does little to hide her emotions; Yuki can clearly see the mixture of frustration and worry. 「Alex seems to be a relatively trustworthy sort, but... Well, if he does anything untoward I will find out and I will kill him. No need to worry about that. But why would Su-Shanhaz just let Tomoyo wander off like that...」


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[Sheets] [Map]

Kiyomi:
Yuki scoffs. 「Your mom has nuked the town twice now. If she knew where our office was, we’d be done. Our mission is to protect all the normies from shit like that, and when we’re not late, you’re doing our job for us.

Ms. Tsuchi scuttles past the table, attempting a tactical flyby meant to take your orders.

Yuki stands and hisses at the woman like a cat, and the scuttle turns into a run.

Sorry- that ganguro slut pisses me off, just… in general. Not- not like I’m jealous.」 Yuki rakes her hair back and sits down. She’s shaking, but she’s still presenting the remains of a tough exterior. 「Sucks, though. I could use some tea.

Look, Kiyomi, why am I here? I had no idea about your family until DK upped my clearance last night. Before that, I figured- I dunno. I figured I was lucky? -that I should enjoy your attention while I had it, but now? I just feel stupid coming out here to ‘keep tabs on you’ because I don’t see how that’s not what you’ve been doing since we met.

Junpei:
Gain 1 Hope as you and Lys take time to connect and unwind from the stresses of your respective worlds.

Lysander’s laugh shakes loose from deep in his chest. >True, there were sights to see, experiences to bury myself in. Admittedly, I spent most of my time with the experiences. I met like-minded people. Germany, especially, opened my eyes to just who I was. Their electronica scene is enormous. I realized I’m not that great at making music. I went broke more times than I can count, and spent most of my time in a prison of one kind or another. Mostly bad relationships. I am terrible at dating. I ate truly terrible food. I drove fast cars. I kissed a man in the street in broad daylight. Europe welcomed me where Asia could not, but it was not home. They were never you.< He chuckles again, scratching his neck.

>You don’t have a bow that needs stringing, do you? An allusion to Homer’s Illiad. -I know you’ve probably got scads of women throwing themselves at you. I regret voicing my previous statement.<

Tenshi:
The man takes a careful sip, not terribly bothered by your tone. “Okay, I know these. The body is dust and returns to dust. The spirit echos thereafter. Essentia are the glue that tie the two: impulses the spirit must master.” The odd man’s tone shifts from recital to speculation. Where the cryptic poetry seemed to fit his serious, executive playboy appearance, his tone turns to tired nonchalance. “I think if you run out of essentia you become a Phantom. They’re like chains. Hugues calls them the seven deadly sins. They’re the base animal needs that hold you back from enlightenment, or whatever, but they also keep you grounded- keep you human.

Another careful sip. “The next answer goes: The wayawrd knight made a gift of her heart, and thus her heart was healed. It makes it sound like the usual love conquers all crap, but that didn’t work last time. Plus, you guys seem to do nothing but fall in and out of love, and you still die. I think it really means the trinkets don’t stop draining you of your humanity. Giving them away, you give that essentia a chance to grow back. When Junpei started using the spear, Kazue started to recover.

He watches you peer into your drink, and shouts right with you: “How certain are you?” He takes another sip. “I’m not. I’ve just had a few more whacks at it than you. I’ve tried everything here. Coercion, rhetoric, blind guessing, reverse psychology, but you’re not in a good place in this chapter- and not really ready to trust after whatever you just did to the knight… but I have a theory. ‘Cus you’re the dream witch, so I think instead of picking a response...” the man leans back and seems to tap the air. “I open the gallery.

In the air between you, hundreds of scenes materialize like dioramas built into bubbles. They’re dreams of a sort. At a guess, they’re a hallucination. Below each is an short title. “Bad Deidric Romance End”, “Bad Sora Romance End”, “Neutral Perdita Revival End”, “Neutral Cure Paresh End”, “Bad Sakura Kills Everyone End”, “Bad BB-Pop Reunion End” and so on, and so forth. None of them seem to end well. The romances are bittersweet at best, and everything else either spirals out of control, or clearly depicts a catastrophic result of one of the earlier conflicts.

I think I’ve got the good end this time. I’ve never made it to the third day with so many of you still alive.

Alex:
@Dawn Watch: I don't see it being a problem, darling. The moon isn't our enemy. What's the harm in a portentous eclipse?

@Shuishou: All war is deception.

@Miami Vice: Yare yare daze... Who set this up like this? (An image of you riding Zeek in an alleyway as others look on. A pair of aviators slides down out of the sky like a bad gif and perches on your face, and someone says “yeeeaaahh!” in the background) This is Paresh and/or Chrysanth. Mostly Paresh, but Chrysanth is recovering. I’m headed for the mall, like I said. Not sure why the address changed.

The garden, as one might expect, is teeming with plant life. Other than a few paths, the only entry is a small outbuilding on the north side that’s closed off with a fence. There are several small ponds and stone fountains in addition to an intricate sprinkler system.

At one end of the garden, you come across a dedication plaque. Purportedly, the garden is dedicated to the crew of the USS Ōsumi, an amphibious transport dock used in the reconstruction of Obusa after a meteor strike. Among the crew, you find your father’s name.

Sovereign Court

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Kiyomi Shirakawa
Stats:
Hope: 3 ~ Magic: 3 ~ Trauma: 2 ~ Fate: 3

「What? No! No, that's not what this is at all!」 Kiyomi's voice quivers. 「I... I never knew what my mother was. She never told me. I only found out when I went to the mall two days ago, and became one myself.

「I... I didn't spend time with you to spy on you. I never had any reason to think you were more than the transfer student, who is smart, and strong, and confident, and pretty, and, and...」 Kiyomi sinks her face into her arms, her ears bright red. 「I like you, Yuki. When I... kissed you, last night, that was not the way I wanted to do it but. I did want to do it.」


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Cismale/Complicated SN Alex Brooke
Stat Block:
Hope: 4~Magic: 0~Trauma: 2~Fate: 3

"Zeek, could you go check on the kid, please, the one that was two last night? Be careful, and don't get hurt."

Alex asks the pooch companion to do some legwork as freedom is gained from the sailor's backpack.

@Dawn Watch: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. When should we expect our next daily delivery? [u]SUBTEXT Indicated:[/u]'The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress', by Robert A. Heinlein

Private Chats Ongoing:

@Shuishou: Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions.

@Pareshanth:I've gotten two messages today. One for the gardens and one for the mall. Nobody's on Nobody's Side. [u]SUBTEXT Indicated[/u]Nobody's Side - Chess

@DiSov:Having someone check on Tomoyo-chan now. Currently investigating gardens will take a few. Didn't expect father's name. Please Stand By.

First last night in that hazy maelstrom of a nightmare, and now the marker...

Alex looks for a bench to sit near the plaque, and tries to remember what if anything was said about the time in Japan.

I'm missing something important. What am I missing?


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Male Iris

As Lys continues, Junpei does his best to ignore the activity on the Magic-chat, listening, eating and smiling happily.
And then, the subtext spell delivers the the four words capable of breaking through the sheer obliviousness Junpei exhibited before.
WHAT?!
He...oh god, there might have been something to those rumours.
What now? I...I don't know how to respond to this.
What do we do?
You realise you're talking to yourself, right? I have as much idea as you do.
...the things that happen because of magic.

Junpei finishes the last bit of his plate, and hopes nothing's showing on his face. He keeps grinning, but it's just slightly uncertain. >Alright, now you're losing me. Obscure references aren't my forte.< He rests his forehead on his hand and taps his head, a thoughtful expression on his face, before taking it away again and sitting back up. >Nope, nothing...though thinking about it, I'm pretty sure every girl I know is either uninterested or convinced I'm gay. Probably both, actually.< Emi excepted...there's a thing he didn't need to remember. >Even if I was in that situation, I...I'm not sure what I'd do? I mean...that leads to a whole bunch of stuff I've never really thought about.<

He pushes his fingers through his hair, and wipes his hand from the top of his head down the side of his face. >I don't have a clue what to do with that type of attention. I don't know what my feelings are when it comes to that stuff, what type of person I am where relationships are concerned. It seems like such a normal thing for everyone else, that their preferences and all that come naturally to them, and they just...don't, to me. If there's anything that calls to me, I don't have a clue what it is.<
>Just...how on earth do I explain this? I've heard people talking about how they're attracted to what they see, be it people they know, or people they don't, close friends and lovers or passing acquaintances...I don't get any of that. I've just always seen...people, I guess. Just...what they look like. Who they are, if I know them. But even then...nothing like that<

Junpei his face in his hands, and groans. >Dammit, why am I ranting on about this? Where's this coming from? I've never even thought about this before..< He groans again.
Aren't I acting strange...he has to see something's up. I can't even imagine what this looks like to him.
...we can't ignore this now that we know, can we?
Couldn't no matter how much we wanted to.

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