Ammokkx

Grimoiric Heart - A Magical Girl Adventure

"And... shoot!"

The sound of glass shattering was accompanied by one of the puppets being flung like a ragdoll away from its victim. A magical arrow had made its was through the window, pinning the creature against the wall, before several more rainbow-hued projectiles followed after. Some were still caught by surprise, others managed to dodge now that they knew what was coming. Once the trick no longer worked, a young girl leapt in through her newly-made opening, bow drawn at the enemy. Her

"Pageless! How dare you torment these people!" she shouted. "No matter how many times you appear, I will not let evil go unpunished! The magical archer Robin will be your opponent today!"

Robin fired off the glowing arrow inside her bow and proceeded to leap on top of one of the cubicles' walls. It was a delicate balance to keep, doubly so while wearing heels. Still, Robin stood atop its thin edge without even a hint of unstable footing. On the other side of the room was her current nemesis, a jack-in-the-box who clearly outranked the other mooks. "Are you the boss of these fiends? If so, then prepare for your judgement!"

Robin drew back the string of her bow again, her magical power gathering, then fired off her shot. Given the distance she was at, on top of her loudly announcing her presence, it was unlikely to hit. But it didn't need to; Robin had already achieved her goal. All eyes were on her now.

'Everyone... I'm counting on you!'

Who are your writing influences?

Nobody I'm consciously aware of. It's pretty much guaranteed I'll have gotten subconsciously influenced by one thing or the other, but I haven't looked at any single written piece and been like "yeah that is peak literature" and tried to ape it.

I'm aware that's a pretty big non-answer. Probably the reason why my writing's bad; I don't actually pay that much attention to who writes in which ways. Sure, I'll definitely enjoy certain authors, but I don't really care how they write as much as I care what they write. And, being the massive fucking weeb I am, my themes of choice will often come from some videogame or anime rather than a book, meaning my writing isn't suited to any form of traditional literature.

Speaking of videogame writers though, Natsuko Ishikawa is a goddamn visionary. Every bit of FFXIV she's written for are easily the best parts of the game, and her talent shines even through a localisation that changes a lot of elements as to how the dialogue is conveyed. (Speaking of which, shout-out to the lead localizer Koji Fox too.)

Keeping with Square, I'm also a massive fan of anything Yoko Taro's ever touched. I can't call him an inspiration for my own writing, though. You gotta think like that man if you want to write like him and I sure as shit don't. For one, I lack a sense of humor :).

Nexus: The battle for one's memories.

"Nee-chan? Why didn't you battle him?"

Lumia's question was late and delayed, but she hadn't gotten a chance to ask before Rui had retreated back to her classroom. Lessons would resume soon, though, and a couple of Rui's classmates had returned as well. So, instead of answering her verbally, Rui began to scratch her pencil against some notepaper, scribbling down her response.

"Got a feel for this deck. Can't win. Needs more cards."

Rui made sure to hold Lumia in front of the paper so she could see. The girl in the card crossed her arms. "Do you think so? That other girl seemed to struggle against you, though..." she replied in turn. Rui wrote down her answer again.

"She had a starter deck too. Haruto won't." she wrote. Rui looked up at the clock hanging in her classroom, nibbling on the back of her pencil. "I'll battle to win" she continued to scribble, "and I'm going to the card shop after school. He won't get away with hurting Sora." Lumia scratched her cheek, shifting nervously within the confines of her card. She looked like she had something to say. "What's wrong?" Rui asked her in writing.

"Well, your deck... it's not actually..." Lumia slowly tried getting to the point, but she shook her head before finishing the thought. After letting out a deep breath, Lumia gave Rui her most cheerful smile. "Nevermind. I'm just a little impatient to get our revenge, y'know?"

Rui's own expression softened after hearing those words. She wanted to thank Lumia, but the bell rang. Time was up. Rui quickly folded up the notepaper she scribbled on and put it away in her bag so she could dispose of it later. For now, she'd focus on her lessons. Then after that...

---

~After school~

Rui leaned back against the entrance of the school. She took out her phone to text Sora.

"I'm going to buy some cards. It's near the station, right? If you want to" was as far as she got before noticing the murmurs of students nearby. She thought she heard her name, so Rui perked up her ears and listened in.

"...had a fight."
"No way! With Haruto?"

Rui narrowed her eyes. What were they on about, she wondered? Rui stood up and left the table, sure, but neither of them raised their voices. Unless... "Good evening. Were you talking about me?" she asked of the duo of juniors.

"Oh! Senpai?" one of them reacted with surprise, not having seen Rui standing just a little ways away. "Oh... right, you're Kadomori-kun's older sister," the other murmured.

"You were talking about Sora?" she asked the two of them. One nodded and explained how rumor has it Sora got into a fight with Haruto during lunch break, but never got sent to the student guidance counselor. Rui's face turned into a frown.

"Don't joke about that. Sora would never," she defended his honor, even though it slowly dawned on her why he might've done so. In the back of her head she was already cursing that idiot for making a scene at school, but cursing herself more for not keeping an eye on Haruto. "Don't spread any more nasty rumours about my brother. If he steps out of line, I'll scold him for it myself." she warned the two first years. Rui made her way out of the school gates and opened her phone again. She edited her in-progress message.

"I'm going to buy some cards. Try to stay out of trouble, okay? I'll see if I can't pick something up for you, too."

Rui pocketed her phone when the message had been sent, then pulled up her scarf a little. She'd been on-edge all day and this new information only made the chill of the wind bite harder. Lumia had been quiet for a while, too, but maybe she didn't have something to say in the first place. Rui's eyes drifted to the sky. The weather had been nice for most of the day, but a bank of clouds was rolling in.

'Well, I guess the weather will suit me soon...' she thought to herself. Hopefully it didn't rain... if it did, she would be stuck inside that shop until the weather passed or she was forced to leave. She couldn't imagine what her parents would think if she came home drenched.

"Oh, right... mom would want to know if I'm back late," Rui mused to herself out loud. She sent her mother a text. Her phone would buzz periodically after that, almost like clockwork. Endless questions about where she was, what she was doing and telling her to come home as soon as possible. Well, that was what she was assuming in any case. Rui ignored it and kept walking.

Nexus: The battle for one's memories.

The walk back home was gloomy. The streets were darkened alongside the mood of both teenagers. Sora felt bad about the situation, that much was clear as Rui hear him talk. She couldn't say anything back to him. Not even when he commented on how they hadn't been close for years; the most she could muster was a soft "sorry" muttered between breaths. Actually getting home wasn't much better for the duo. Their parents began to yell at Sora. Rui cast her eyes to the floor.

'Stop it,' she thought to herself, gritting her teeth.
'It's not his fault. Why are you always blaming him?' those thoughts continued to rage, one after the other.
'Get angry me!'
'I'm the one that caused trouble!'
'Stop treating me like I'm special!' Rui blamed herself in her head, over and over. But she couldn't muster any courage to talk back to her parents. She was part of the problem, just standing there and allowing them to heap the blame onto Sora.

"I am going to my room, okaasan, otousan." her brother said. Rui turned and tried to call his name, but she was ignored, leaving her stranded there with their mother and father.

"Go back to your room and study, Rui. We'll make sure he doesn't disturb you again tonight," her father told her. All she could do was nod. She went back to her room, shut the door behind her and then leaned against it, similar to how she had done when she'd sent Sora out of her room.

"Nee-chan? Are you okay?" Lumia spoke up from Rui's pocket. The commander took her avatar out, said avatar able to see the tired expression on Rui's face.
"...People at my school play this game, too. Against a normal person, I shouldn't have to worry about losing coins, right?" she asked of her avatar. Lumia was taken aback.
"Eh? Well, no, you don't, but... does this mean you're going to battle?" Lumia asked her. Rui just nodded. Lumia gave her a serious look. "...And your wish?" she asked. Rui closed her eyes.
"My wish is..."

---

~The next day~

Normally Rui spent her lunch breaks going over her notes as soon as she got done eating, but today was a little different. Her school wasn't old-fashioned enough to lack a cafeteria, so she'd managed to find a spot there to sit down. Rui had already finished her meal and was taking time to sort through something else she'd brought to school: her deck. Box half-opened on the table, Rui carefully went through her cards one-by-one to understand what they all did. Lumia had her own little corner on the table, eyes upturned at Rui's focused gaze, but she was uncharacteristically silent. There wasn't much point to talking to her commander; if nobody else could hear Lumia, Rui would look silly if she started talking to some cardboard. So she observed.

Turns out, though, that Lumia was far from the only person observing Rui. "Hey, you're Kadomori right?" she'd get asked from a girl who approached her. Like Rui, she'd recently bought a deck to play with, but had trouble asking around for anyone to play with her. The two practiced against each-other. The longer the game went on, the more people started to crowd around Rui's table, another pair even settling down next to her to start a game of their own.

'...No commanders, huh?' Rui thought to herself. She got her bearings on the game, but she couldn't get what happened the day before out of her mind. It didn't affect her much; she won pretty handily against the other beginner. The game came so... naturally to Rui. She had to stop more to explain the rules to her opponent than she had to actually think about her own moves.

"Hey, she might be a genius at this!"
"It"s just beginner's luck, dude..."
"I didn't know Kadomori was into Nexus. Never seen her do something besides study."

Chatter surrounded Rui. People started arguing who should play against who next. Some of them wanted to try their luck against Rui, others wanted to help the other girl out. Only Lumia's voice, however, made a chill run down Rui's spine.

"Nee-chan! I feel a commander!" Lumia warned her. Rui couldn't answer; it'd be too suspicious, but she raised her head and looked through her crowd. One person wormed their way through the rest. The sight of them made Rui's hairs stand on-end.

"Rui! You play too?" Haruto asked her with a gentle smile, as if they'd never met yesterday. Even without Sacchi's snickering Rui had seen through the act well enough. "Would you like a match with me? I'm sure I could teach you some things," he politely offered. Haruto knew that with a crowd this size, Rui had a hard time making a scene.

"Haha... sorry, I think I'm done already, actually." was her answer. Polite, but firm. Rui stood up from her seat to collect her things. "Thank you for your company, everyone!" she said. some of the guys protested, insisting she stuck around, but Rui was equally insistent on leaving. On getting away from him. She couldn't believe he went to the same school as her. Haruto stuck around for a bit, chatting, giving some tips to the other newbie as she played against someone else, before leaving as well. The crowd- particularly the boys- talked about it a bit longer.

"So cold!"
"Weird how she leaves just when when Takahashi gets here."
"Maybe I should ask Kadomori out after school..."
"You don't have a chance with that frost queen, dude."

Grimoiric Heart - A Magical Girl Adventure

Name: 小刀禰 夕朱 _{(Kotone Yuzu)}
Age: 15
Appearance: Normal (Source), Transformed (Source unknown)
Description: When there's evil afoot, her confident showmanship steals the show! When there's not, our heroine is modest and kind to everyone she meets! This quiet beauty has admirers from all over, yet none can get close enough to unravel the mysteries of her heart...
Grimoire:
• Title: Noble Robin
• Description: The story of an archer highwayman who's chance meeting with a princess causes him to forgo his old ways. In pursuit of her love, he enters into an archery contest to show off his skills. The princess is swooned, but the two can never be together. In order for them to live happily ever after, Robin steals the treasures of her evil family together with his old friends. He scatters the new-found wealth to the peasantry before he and the princess elope into the woods.
• Abilities: Robin was a master archer, able to hit his mark no matter how far or narrow the target. Yuzu gets a bow and deadeye skills to match, conjuring magical arrows to fire off at the enemy. Robin was quick on his feet and now so is Yuzu, able to fire off volleys of arrows during any daring stunt without losing the slightest bit of accuracy.

Grimoiric Heart - A Magical Girl Adventure

There was mention of a potential discord server in the int. check. I didn't comment on it at the time, but I'm in favor of making one. I find they're useful for socializing with fellow RPers. S'pose it would be more about what everyone else thinks, though.

Grimoiric Heart - A Magical Girl Adventure

we'd rather see what you do thee characters IC than static information on a CS that, frankly speaking, we know is unlikely to matter much after a short while.

@KoL

I mean, I don't disagree. I forgo CSes almost entirely if I know the people I'm RPing with, or have had long enough of a talk with them. I know I'm guilty of steering off-course from my CS within 3 posts at most.

Not entirely sure how it works out when you don't know the people you're RPing with, but I ain't one to scoff at the chance to not have to care about my CS.

Grimoiric Heart - A Magical Girl Adventure

I know it's a very short sheet, but mimicking the example given by the GM, I tried to pack in as much as I could into as tiny of a space while still giving that 'flavor text' feel to it. If it needs more, though, I'm happy to try again.

I also thought about adding snares as an option to her archery (Like being able to have a chain following her arrow's trail, possibly creating a net when firing off enough of them ) but I didn't know how to word it. As it stands it's just magical arrows with pin-point accuracy even when performing acrobatic stunts. Idk if there needs to be more there, so I've left it out for now.

Oh and the fairy tale it's inspired off is Robin Hood, but I took some creative liberties with the whole "Similar beats but not the same story" thing. If I went too far off-track, I'll course correct it.

Grimoiric Heart - A Magical Girl Adventure

Name: 小刀禰 夕朱 _{(Kotone Yuzu)}
Age: 15
Appearance: Normal (Source), Transformed (Source unknown)
Description: When there's evil afoot, her confident showmanship steals the show! When there's not, our heroine is modest and kind to everyone she meets! This quiet beauty has admirers from all over, yet none can get close enough to unravel the mysteries of her heart...
Grimoire:
• Title: Noble Robin
• Description: The story of an archer highwayman who's chance meeting with a princess causes him to forgo his old ways. In pursuit of her love, he enters into an archery contest to show off his skills. The princess is swooned, but the two can never be together. In order for them to live happily ever after, Robin steals the treasures of her evil family together with his old friends. He scatters the new-found wealth to the peasantry before he and the princess elope into the woods.
• Abilities: Robin was a master archer, able to hit his mark no matter how far or narrow the target. Yuzu gets a bow and deadeye skills to match, conjuring magical arrows to fire off at the enemy. Robin was quick on his feet and now so is Yuzu, able to fire off volleys of arrows during any daring stunt without losing the slightest bit of accuracy.

Grimoiric Heart

Calling dibs on a Snow White with ice powers, because what could be a more natural fit?

@blackdragon

Summons (Seven dwarves) or poison (the apple), all things considered. Snow White is only really in reference to the colour of her skin.