Ariamis

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Miko successfully tripped the first suit of armor on the left as it approached, causing it to clatter and scatter into pieces as it hit the floor, revealing nothing underneath. This was followed by Ronin throwing magical discs that bounced on the right suit of armor coming in second, hitting it right in the chestplate, and the third one on the helmet, causing it to fall off. However, disturbingly, the suit only slowed down a bit by the loss of its head piece. The fourth armor deflected the discs with a swing of its halberd, but by then it was too late: the discs now bounced between it and the second one, causing one to hit the greaves and separate it, causing it to fall, while the helmetless armor lost a gauntlet.

As Alex’ clones intercepted the suits of armor before they could hit the twins with their far-reaching weapons, the twins prepared one last maneuver: with a finishing blow of the twins twirling around like in a dance, the last armors were knocked down.
While the battle was happening, Alex got to work with his newly acquired Artifact, and struck the wall of the corridor. As he did, pieces of the wall shrunk into cube-shaped objects and assimilated into the hammer by some magical osmosis. After a couple more strikes, a hole had been opened up into the wine cellar, to the surprise of the group inside.

Lily screamed in surprise as the wall was brought down.

”Whoah! Not what I expected.” However, her surprise faded quickly as she heard loud clanging and the twins attack, realizing a battle was unfolding.
”But I’ll take it! Let’s go, Gaia and Connie! Oh, and Branch Nose too!”
When she got out and witnessed the twins two-handedly defeat the enemy sentries, she blinked in surprise.
”Oh, nice work!”

However, by the time the group had reconvened, the twins noticed the pieces of armor shaking on the floor, and realized they weren’t done yet: the pieces rolled and hopped around, and began slowly rebuilding themselves. Lily took aim with her bow, drawing on the crackling bowstring and launching a shot at a chest piece, but it did not hamper the animated piece at all. She puffed up her cheeks in frustration.

”They keep respawning!” Lily cried. She nodded to Alicia’s suggestion, and kicked a piece of leg armor off of a boot it hopped on.

”Okay, let’s do that!”

“These other doors,” Branch Nose chimed in. “I suspect they only lead to the dining hall and kitchen, if this truly is a castle. The path I recommend is-”

”We’re going up, I got it!” Lily answered, and ran past the slowly regenerating armors to reach the stairs, having seemingly forgotten to stay and fight in her impulsiveness.

---

The Gryphon saw at the last second as Rachel came in with a downward-aimed blow with her mighty hammer, and attempted grabbing it with a beastly foreclaw, reinforcing herself with Beast magic to the point her muscles visibly bulged and trembled. The resulting impact, though lessened, still caused the bones in the forearm to crack and bend the limb. At the same time, Mayra took her chance, and charged in with a dropkick akin to a falling meteor, wreathed in dark flame. The Gryphon responded by folding a wing and similarly reinforcing it with beast magic, turning it spiny with sharp bones and vicious feathers. However, it proved futile before the strongest of Mariette’s posse, and the dropkick pierced through the wing, incurring only minor lacerations as the limb was punctured, the feathers set aflame.

The Gryphon screamed as it started falling in a wild spin, trying to correct herself with a combination of her remaining wing and Air magic. Rachel stood on a platform holding the bloodied hammer, and for the first time smiled at Mayra.
“You performed adequately…For the servant of a Horror,” she added with an adjustment of her glasses.

Down below, the additional reinforcements from Mac and MDP quickly turned the tide against the royalist defenders. MDP protected her marine allies with transforming spells, the enemy projectiles poofing into party paraphernalia and knocking out any soldiers in range with her staff, thus rendering them harmless. Others were petrified by Mac’s steed or trampled underfoot, occasionally swinging around one with a beak before throwing them into the masses.

Soon the spike-ridden, mauled, and pathetically hopping soldiers began to rout and flee from the castle battlements.
“Huzzah! We are victorious-” Mermaid Princess began to cheer, when a resounding sonic boom suddenly shot out: it was Gryphon, who now launched herself upwards like a fighter jet, glowing with green and yellow in a swirling vortex.

“IT’S NOT OVER YET, FOOLS! YOU ARE TO FACE THE WRATH…OF THE JABBERWOCK!”

When the wounded commander reached the top of the tallest tower, it latched on with its remaining claws…And with a caw, began to grow, and grow…And grow, until its wings blackened the skies themselves, casting the world below into shade. She had transformed so huge that the castle itself seemed but a toy in comparison, and the Mahou mere grains of sand. Its two eyes, like twin suns of fire, glowed from above. Storm winds began picking up, and as they did, a haunting song carried across them:

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.”

Then, one of the merman soldiers noticed that something had dropped from the sky as it was stared at by the Jabberwock, slicing it in the arm: it was a sword-shaped bone, with a sharp edge that dug itself deep into the earth, only stopped by the cross-shaped hilt, like an ominous monument.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

Then, a couple more bones dropped, and one of them hit a shark that had the burning gaze cast upon it, slicing its side as easily as a hot butter cut through sashimi.

“He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.”

And then, more bones began dropping, and more, each barrage foreshadowed by the orange light of the Jabberwock’s gaze.

“And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!”

As more vorpal sword bones fell, both the merman forces and the newly made allies were soon dependent on MDP’s protective magic, especially as soon they dropped faster and faster, until a rain of vorpal death ensued. Rachel was aghast as it created a barrier around herself and Mayra, a grimace on her lips.
“The fiend is unleashing its ultimate attack!”

---

The queen smiled in a sinister fashion as her request was followed up on by the majority of the formerly blind servants, and even gave a fleeting glance at Mika as she asked about unbirthdays. “Unbirthdays are wonderful, festive days. There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents, and only one for birthday presents. They are days to be celebrated. In fact, it is my unbirthday too, as it is yours.”
The queen had waited for the group to travel, and gently nudged Mariette through the portal when she stopped to glance back at Freya. She then saw the horrific guardian the ice Mahou had prepared to guard the next mirror…And a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame appeared on her rose-colored lips.

“Yes…What a marvellous split.” She opened a second portal underneath Freya, dropping her to the middle of the icy chamber. “Freya, the Union Beast…Once one with Shelyn…Beast within…”

She raised her Storyslayer.

“...Beast without.”

Then, she swung downward, vertically bisecting Freya in two symmetrical halves. Like with her decapitations, there was no blood, but a black, inky surface where the cut was formed. But unlike then, now the black ink bubbled, and soon overtook the forms of Freya’s halves. Then, beams of black light shot out from the black masses one by one, until they exploded in twin blasts of darkness, revealing a new Freya, free from Shelyn, who now had her own form.

“Now then, to show me gratitude, you shall deal with this brutish oaf,” she commanded the two, pointing at the icy monster that gradually started to stir from hibernation with low growls. As she was doing this, visibly distracted, Mariette was left with a quick moment to talk privately with Mika and Su.

---

Chloe learned that the flower people seemed to have been born from the magical curses embedded into the Grief Seeds, now activated as mana began to be drained from Penrose. To make matters worse, the spores seemed to sprout even more of these flowers, taking root in impossible places like on top of roofs or even on telephone lines, not to mention what awful effects must happen to those who breathe the magically contaminated air. Fortunately, it was not all bad news, as Chloe was then contacted by Viper:
“Bad news, I was found out: there were more Hearts with Third Eye than expected. Good news, they lost the trail. What’s the next order, boss?”

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Lily smiled back to Connie, and then turned to cheer Alex on as he disappeared into the tunnel.
”Good luck out there! And do try to find a way for us too!”
Afterwards, she waited, her hands behind her back as she lifted her heels intermittently, her usual happy mask starting to crack and give into anxiety.
Then, after a moment, she lifted her hands to her mouth as if about to yell, only to lower them in realization.
”Right, stealth mission. Almost forgot.” Branch Nose, still sitting on Gaia’s shoulder, simply shrugged.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Alex had successfully navigated through the tunnel: though he moved slower due to his bigger size making it more difficult to squeeze through, his barriers proved more effective, letting him also get through with only a single casting before he was out. His clone had touched the doorknob on the magically sealed door, and immediately discovered the consequences of such an action: the lock symbol on the door rune glowed, followed by a blast of magical energy that disintegrated the clone. That was when the suits of armor turned their helmets towards the three, then a second later their torsos, and finally they stepped out of their stands with heavy steps, brandishing their halberds with rigid yet menacing movement.

However, while the twins were immediately alarmed by the animation of the deadly decorations, Alex was preoccupied with the Carpenter’s hammer, and the enchantment to it: he discovered that it had the ability to convert inanimate objects into small cubes by hitting and storing them with the material in some kind of pocket space, and summon those same cubes too by hitting empty space and thinking of building something, as if he was in a game about crafting in a mine. At the same time, he also realized the hammer stuck to his grip, unable to be released.

---

MDP’s group of colorful friends all cheered as she whimsically led the charge, the various chess robots, winged lions, and wacky cacti following her into battle aboard a wildly speeding truck, the chess robots already beginning to throw projectiles, and the cacti shooting tiny needles in rapid-fire barrages. Mac also joined the fray, and the two magical girls found themselves in a battle between denizens of the sea and the royal army.

Up above, Gryphon smiled in a sinister fashion as her opponent claimed she would be fighting unconstrained. “GOOD! SHOW ME A GOOD TIME, WYRM!” And thus, as Mayra split from the scene both literally and figuratively, Gryphon began shooting at an ever greater rate of fire as she kept circle-strafing, trying to keep the group of Mayra clones in view. As she made her shots, some of them ended up hitting the castle walls, causing parts of it to shake and crumble, something even the infiltrators inside would feel as a sign of warfare. Mayra would slither from shadow to shadow, getting closer and closer…When she saw Rachel flanking the oblivious Gryphon, about to deliver a mighty blow with her hammer, and stealing Mayra’s chance at revenge.

---

The queen held a firm hand before Mariette as she took a hesitating step, and her eyes glanced down at her “daughter”. She raised an eyebrow as the intruders, instead of showing hostility, asked about a birthday. To this, the queen smiled, even as right to the side various formerly obedient servants of a Horror had come to a horrifying realization, reeling and coiling in fear and loathing.

“As a matter of fact, it is Alice’s unbirthday today,” the Queen answered in a creepily jovial fashion, and raised the stopping hand up to caress Mariette’s cheek, her own eyes still transfixed on the strangers. “I remember you two from the story…You are Alice’s friends, are you not? Well, as much as I would love to let you spend some playtime, we have much more important things to do, don’t we Alice?” She raised a hand to open a portal to the location of the next mirror, followed by lowering the caressing hand to her shoulder. “Let us be off. Oh, and before I forget,” she turned towards the pained servants of Asengav. “If you wish to be truly free, then follow me. Together, we can bring the truth to this despicable story, with no Powers, and no Grand Magistrate to stop us.”

---

Just as Chloe had suspected, strange magical flowers began to bloom all around Penrose, seemingly congregating on locations where Grief Seeds have been abandoned or buried. The flowers grew up from bare earth or even cracks in the concrete, and had eerie humanoid shapes, faces surrounded by petals, and limbs tipped with leaves. They seemed to chit-chat among themselves, sometimes to an agitated degree, all the while letting out glittering spores that began to fill the air, street by street…

An Idiot's Dungeon Union

For a while, Muste studied the group of adolescent monkeys that had dared to intrude upon their home. He recognized a pattern with their group: some were more inclined for power and use of handheld weaponry, while others were more similar to him, and channeled the arcane, or some other power he did not fully understand. As he did, the rats in his clothes began to slowly acclimate to the psionic network to the point of being able to convey their desires to him: simple as they were, they nonetheless possessed a will to scavenge, to collect, and survive, all admirable traits. However, now was not the time to forage and resupply, as more urgent matters were at hand. The illithid considered for a brief moment to explain in detail, but realized that the verminous employees would be more receptive to simpler suggestions. So, he mustered his psionic power, and conveyed a message to the wormtailed friends:

"Defend home, then return, then feed."

Hopefully, with the message's simple form able to be absorbed by the hive mind, Muste stopped behind a corner, as he listened to the cries of the despicable humans raise in volume, as they now began to take offensive in the guillotine chamber. He peeked behind the stone wall, and observed the new shrine that had been enacted: a magnificent monument to death and sacrifice, perfect for separating the precious shells from their owners' shoulders. He understood the curse that permeated the artifact, but noted it's sluggish activation: he decided he would need to jumpstart the ritual by placing a suitable offering. The decision was almost instant: the child in the pure white robes was the most dangerous, his holy magics an anathema to his compatriots, and the dungeon as a whole. He would not suffer his cherubic prayers to cleanse these unhallowed halls any longer. He reached out with his hands, which turned to tentacles as his disguise melted away, revealing a horrific monster with eyes glowing with magical power.

"Ia Ia Fhtagnh'n! Thunderwave!"

He shouted, and cast forth his powered spell, targeting it at the priest. If his calculations were correct, the force of the spell would be enough to cause the disgusting ape to stumble forward into the guillotine, followed by a downward slice of the rectangular blade, mercilessly decapitating him on the spot. Then, he would perform his trademark technique, honed over his last battle...And flee.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Lily nodded as Gaia came up with a plan using Connie’s magical expertise. With a wave of purplish vapor, her spell made towards the magical mollusks: the creatures’ snores turned erratic and restless, signs that they were captured in a hex that induced sleep paralysis, ensuring that they would not wake from their night terrors.
”Good job, Connie!” Lily cheered for her fellow magical girl with an approving pat of her hand on the latter’s shoulder. Next, Alicia suggested that the twins make their way through the passage, to which Lily added:
”Yeah, and Alex too! You three will make it through, I know it!”

Ronin was the first to enter through the maw of the stone walrus head into the passage. In a clever move, she used barriers to traverse through without touching the floor of the passage, avoiding any possible traps that relied on direct contact. Her self-applied barriers nonetheless proved vital in navigating through the cramped path, as the sleeping oysters and their blade-sharp shells scraped repeatedly against her magical defenses as if walking through a motionless wood chipper, eroding them at a slightly alarming rate. However, she only needed to apply the barrier once after passing around the corner before she saw light at the end of the tunnel, and emerged out, with Miko following right after.

The twins found themselves at a stone corridor very reminiscent in style to the ones in Justine von Visceral’s castle, back when they had begun their adventures in Penrose: There was a red carpet that ran through the center, and sconces set on walls lit the walls, showing banners of crimson red, all of them carrying the familiar emblem of the Wonderland tyrant. There were four suits of imposing plate armor on rectangular display stands, holding halberds upright and carrying Diamond insignias. The left end of the corridor led to a stone staircase that led to an upper floor, while the right end led to a more spacious area; based on the map and direction they entered, it was most likely the castle foyer.
There were also several wooden doors reinforced with iron.

The twins turned their heads, and saw one more door, though this one carried the same magical rune as the one they saw in the wine cellar. Based on the map and the turning passage, they recognized this to be the same door their friends were trapped behind. In addition, they now recognized the small passage they came from to have been stylized like a face with a wide open mouth. However, unlike the stone walrus, this one was wooden, and carved to resemble a strange man with a small hat and a square-shaped nose. Next to the passage was a wooden mallet with a hole at the tip of its hilt, hanging from a wall hook, reachable by hand from the floor. The mallet had the word “Carpenter” carved to its side.

---

After a long and probably torturous journey with a certain pastel-colored magical girl and her equally annoying entourage of freaks, Mac finally saw the royal castle in the distance, embroiled in a great battle of sorts, with various fish-like creatures and sealife battling it out on magically generated currents of water against the royalist defenders. And up in the far distance, a raging battle against a fearsome beast against a monster queen.

---

“Don’t get used to it!” Rachel voiced her disdain amidst the siege, performing a maneuver similar to a wall bounce off of a barrier to avoid a ballista bolt of earthshaking whirlwind from Gryphon.
The general of the queen’s army turned out to be quite a difficult opponent for Rachel as she pursued her through the open skies around the castle: the monster queen, much like a Mongol horse archer, was able to accurately shoot at any angle while circle strafing with unnatural agility, turning out practically impossible to engage at melee, which Rachel seemed to be limited to.

That is, until Mayra intervened using projectiles of her own, handed out by Brittany as she seemed to channel Mayra’s Big Backpack from proximity and pulled out bombs and vials of combustible concoction. Then, with her dragonian brawn, hurled them at great speed, bombarding the winged liontaur. The monster raised a clawed front foot to deflect some of the projectiles, but nonetheless was burned by the various explosives and chemicals, angering her immensely.

“FACE MINE WRATH, DRAKE, AND FALL!”

She screeched, and drew three immense arrows at once on her bowstring, focusing magical energy into them before they were launched in a spiraling triple barrage.

“TRIPLE MOCK TURTLE!”

Mayra was able to dodge one, deflect another with Rachel’s assistance, but the third one was coming straight at her…When Brittany jumped, having launched herself with some kind of firecracker. “SUPERMAN THAT (OH)!” She yelled, holding her fist before her like a certain caped crusader.
Rachel scowled. “NO!”

At that moment, the diminutive shopkeeper sacrificed herself for Mayra by letting herself be impaled by the arrow that blasted her off to the distance on impact, coughing up blood before falling, though she could glimpse Rachel hurrying to catch her.
“PITIFUL…” Gryphon taunted as she conjured a new arrow.

---

The queen quietly opened portals and followed after Mariette as she worked her magic with the next mirror, content with the family bonding time that she believed she was spending with her daughter. Though she knew she had little time to bask in maternal matters, knowing that there were eyes on her. And then, as they reached their next destination, Mariette was accosted by more of her minions, who seemed less co-operative. The situation escalated fast as suspicion and doubt quickly overcame these Horror cultists: despite their usefulness, she couldn’t stand the control that the Patrons had over their chosen soldiers, just like what happened with Alice long ago.

Her purple eye flashed, and she witnessed a stalker from beyond, the surveillance of Asengav provided by one more, secret servant. She would not stand for more spies to her work. She pointed her Storyslayer forward, and gathered great magic to it.

“I love my daughter, more than any mother could possibly love their child. All I do is but mere stepping stones for her to realize her destiny. To that end, I will do what must be done. All of you will be delivered from bondage…Even Blick Winkel shall not escape." Her eye flashed again, as she read the story.

"Severance!”

Then, she made a horizontal sweep before her…And all the girls previously bound to Asengav’s will now had their mindbending severed, their free wills restored. Even the secret watcher, whose true name was Nina, was met with this fate, having been cut through the letters of one word in the story itself.

Like black ink, the Queen shook off the smoky magic residue left behind on the sword, as a new line had now been written where before there was blank papyrus.

“Now then, if any of you continue to oppose my Ali-Tch! Intruders!”

Fully focused on them and her great story-shattering spell, the Queen happened to leave her mirror open and unattended in her lapse of attention, something which she would learn to regret immensely as Mika and Su both managed to throw themselves through the red mirror and into the room with Mariette and the Queen herself.

---

Chloe received a silent reply from Viper, a sign that she had received the new orders. However, only time will tell if she managed to warn her subordinate in time before she was caught by the Queen’s forces. Of course, Glimmr began popping off with alarmed posts about strange flowers that began to bloom from the magical populace of Penrose…

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Lily crossed her arms with a finger tapping the side of her head as she listened to Alex’ suggestion on the nature of the door.
”Yeah, I don’t think we should try opening it while it’s like that,” she spoke, and took a sidestep to Connie, taking her hand.
“Perhaps I could take a look at the passage?” Branch Nose chimed in while sitting on Gaia’s shoulder. “Even if it is dangerous, I would gladly sacrifice this body to protect you.”

When Alicia commented on opening the way forwards by directly ascending, Lily blinked, and craned her head up: there were no notable features to the vaulted stone ceiling.
”Whoah, you really think we could do that?” She asked.
”I mean, I guess we could, but that would definitely alert the guards,” she added, mirroring Gaia’s words from earlier.

As Miko squinted hard, she could barely make out a hallway of sorts behind the door of the room they were currently in, followed by another one running perpendicular: it seemed the walrus-headed passage ends up at the same location, though in a more roundabout way due to the passage making a circular turn. However, at that point the lines for other floors began to overlap too much to make coherent sense.

Ronin suggested drinking the bottle, and Lily shook her head.
”No, I think we should first check out the walrus head like Gaia suggested.”

Lily went closer to the gaping maw of the stone statue, and peered inside, assisted by Alicia’s magic: the passage was small, making it difficult if not outright impossible to walk without crouching. The passage made a turn towards the right before disappearing behind the corner. However, there was one very apparent quality for the aperture: there were tiny oysters littering the passage. They were scattered on the floor, on the walls, and even on the ceiling. One could hear a little high-pitched snoring sound coming from them, as if they were sleeping. However, the edges of their shells somehow audibly glinted with sharpness as light touched them.

Lily looked like she had swallowed an insect.
”Yikes…”

---

As Magical Dream Princess took charge, she led the truck in a bizarre parade. The creatures in the back cheered and threw confetti they had magically been given, making their trip a joyous one. Mac, having decided to keep her mount, took Mommy’s reins, and rode beside, attempting to strike up a conversation with Akhenaten. The black golem seemed confused by her made up impersonation, but otherwise let the theatrics proceed without interruption. Their trip was faster than expected thanks to MDP bouncing and skipping along, and soon enough they could see the desert give way to grassy plains and lone trees, with more verdant scenery up in the horizon.

---

Mayra’s Big Backpack earned its name, and was sizable enough for a small girl like Brittany to place her feet inside. By holding on to the dragon girl’s shoulders, she was able to ride in an unorthodox manner. Thus, the two headed out to join the Mermaid Princess’ army as they fought the defenders, gem-enhanced gunfire and shots of super-pressurized water flying out in every direction. As Mayra scorched the Wonderland royalists, Brittany threw bombs and vials to cover her chaotic forays into the enemy lines, the two proving to be quite a powerful combination despite their rather silly setup. The two soon caught the Gryphon’s attention as she attempted landing a hit on Rachel, and the inquisitor pursued her through the air with barrier-enabled jumps. The mighty monstergirl sneered.

“DRAGON OF DARK FIRE, YOU BESMIRCH THE GRACE OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS’ KEEP WITH THINE BUFFOONERY! THINE SENTENCE IS DEATH!”

And so, Gryphon began to shoot at Mayra: despite the dragongirl being able to dodge the initial shots of the giant arrows, she was not as swift when it came to the earth-shaking quakes and columns of raging wind that emanated from them as an after-effect, battering her around. But before a second volley reached her, Rachel intervened with a barrier.

“Keep her distracted so I can get close!” She yelled through the windstorm.

An Idiot's Dungeon Union

Muste had taken his time observing the filthy wrinkleskins, but unfortunately there was little he could glean from their primitive society other than the apparent leader his fellow disguised employee was speaking with. Maybe it was the outside air, or the lack of mana to infuse his sorcerous being with, but he was starting to feel tired. However, he did happen to see seven young invaders heading out towards the dungeon. While he kept a calm expression, the tips of his moustache subtly twitched; he had to return. He sighed as some familiar rats scurried up to him, and turned to leave for the woods, seemingly ignoring them. However, as he gained enough distance towards the woodland to hide his presence, he took his hat, and lowered it the ground, crouching down to offer the rats a ride inside the concave fabric and in any pockets.

Once the rats were onboard or back to the camp, Muste started to stalk the children, making sure to keep himself out of sight, even losing them at a couple of points to ensure he stayed undetected: he already knew their destination, so he managed to keep up. Once they entered the dungeon, he took a moment to wait, and then slowly stepped after, holding his book open and ready to ambush them the moment he heard sounds of battle. Of course, his disguise would be broken the moment he cast a spell or used his psionic blast, so he would wait until the last moment to maximize the surprise factor. After all, in a straight up fight he would be as sturdy as a squid on land: that is, not very sturdy at all. On the way, he could feel the surprisingly developed minds of the Chordata phylum thanks to their proximity, and subtly attempted forming a psionic network with their minds with his telepathic powers. After all, if the rats could form a proper hive mind, they would be substantially more dangerous, and thus useful.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Branch Nose had already taken a couple of heavy, plodding steps away from the castle wall when Gaia had stopped him with a gentle touch, causing his leaves to slightly sway in mild surprise.
“Oh? What troubles you, Blessed Nymph of Spring?” He asked, and received a most peculiar answer. “And you are capable of harnessing such mystic prowess? You children are wise beyond your years!”

Lily stopped, and turned to watch as Gaia performed the ritual, which lasted a minute due to the complexity of the spell: she drew forth the abundant mana of the otherworldly plane imbued in its natural life, and from the grassy ground grew forth a sapling bearing a single short branch: having seen his face before in a stream during their journey, the venerable tree recognized the visage as his own. Currently, it was like any other sprout, eyes closed as if asleep.

Branch Nose nodded as Gaia then explained how the spell worked. He smiled, fully trusting in the verdant maiden. “Very well. I shall now move back to my spot. When next I close my eyes, they shall be opened anew, in a new perspective.” Rachel glanced at Branch Nose as he now departed with more confident steps towards the woodlet, and raised an eyebrow as Miko revealed an interesting detail. Alicia’s followup question was met with a stern nod. “That is a possibility. But even if that were the case, she did not leave alone, which has me concerned.” She leaned over to look at the Super Map herself as well, and jabbed her finger on the map: for a moment, Miko wasn’t sure if she would puncture through the paper artifact. “This neutral party who left the room…It is not someone we know, hence why it is not marked as an ally or enemy. Let’s start our investigation by finding and interrogating them.”

While Rachel was making plans for their infiltration/assault on the royal castle, Gaia and Connie discovered that the former’s spell had taken root: the small sapling had opened it’s eyes, and spoke in a slightly high-pitched voice: “Oh, this feels…Strange. As if I am inhabiting a body outside my own,” Branch Nose explained as it pulled its two little feet out of the soil, uprooting himself and shaking off the dirt. “But now I can continue my journey with you! I cannot thank you enough, O Daughter of Persephone!”

As the group began to enter the secret passage or the front gates, Alicia’s final concern was answered by Rachel, who tapped the communicator device in her ear.
“I will stay with Branch Nose’s body, and rendezvous with Magical Dream Princess,” she briskly answered. Before Alicia had a chance to protest or otherwise question her, she raised a hand up to her.
“Alicia, you have the potential to be a great and inspiring leader. Not only for Beacon, but the magical community as a whole. I have seen a glimpse of it back at the factory, when you rejected the Mad Hatter’s distractions and took charge. But you still hesitate, just a little. I believe you need a chance to prove yourself, free from the influence of compatriots such as I. Now go forth, and enact justice upon these foul villains who would threaten our world.” As she said that, the group could hear faraway voices coming from the castle, a telltale sign of another wave of soldiers coming to investigate the ruckus outside.

Lily tapped her foot, starting to get impatient, and walked back to take Alex’ hand.
”Ok, let’s start with that, Rachel. Now let’s go already!”
Lily’s group headed inside the wall opening. They continued down the darkness of the secret passage, until they found a circular doorway that led out of a large wine cask and into the wine cellar filled with wine casks. The floor was made of red and white rectangles. There were also pillars with spiraling red and white lines resembling candy canes. Up in the wall near the tall ceiling in a corner was a stone face of a walrus with an open maw of pure darkness, the sides of the maw lined with its long tusks, the opening being wide enough for a person to enter. There was a sturdy metal door at the far end of the wine cellar with a magical rune glowing red on it in the shape of a stylized heart-like keyhole. However, most alarmingly, there was a small wooden table at the center of the wine cellar, with two items on it: an empty wine glass, and a wine bottle filled with black, mysteriously shining liquid labeled “DRINK ME”.
Lily crossed her arms while still holding on to her staff.
”Geez, that’s the most obvious trap I’ve ever seen! Is the Queen even trying?”

---

The Pennybot gave out a sigh of relief as the incident was resolved, or at least as much of one as a robotic replica could, and walked towards the truck’s driver’s seat.
“Agreed. We should get moving. Everyone climb aboard, please.”
Nefer sighed with a shrug, and placed a hand on her own shoulder, twisting her arm around as she also walked back to take the passenger seat on the truck.
“Welp, that was fun. But I suppose we should get the whole ‘save Penrose’ job done with. This little tussle gave me an idea for a new invention I can’t wait to tinker on~”
Akhenaten grunted, and climbed up to the open back of the truck, followed by various creatures both living and not. All in all, there was barely enough space for MDP and Mac if they squeezed together in the corner.

---

The Mermaid Princess shared in Mayra's enthusiasm, perhaps even to a fault, and laughed along with the chaotic dragon as they approached the royal castle in the distance. More troops began to emerge from the windows and battlements like Lily and Alicia’s groups had previously heard, led by the Gryphon herself. The mighty monstergirl let out an eagle’s cry that carried up to the heavens themselves, and took flight from the tallest tower, wielding a giant bow that shot arrows as large as ballista bolts: each shot was infused with both galewinds and earth-shattering power, and even pierced the sturdy shields and armor of the merfolk.

“WHO DARES DEFY THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, ALMIGHTY RULER OF WONDERLAND!” Her voice boomed out like a hurricane.

“EVERYONE WITH A JUST HEART!” Rachel bellowed back, and deflected one of the arrows with a barrier as the aquatic army rushed forth. And thus, an epic siege on the castle began.

---

Out of the void, a tentacle of black refractions emerged: like an inquisitive snake, or the finger of a being beyond mortal cognition, it slowly wrapped around Mariette’s hand, passing her palm, traveled up her arm, slithered over her eyepatch, and was about to touch her forehead: Mariette knew this was Asengav’s method to check on the mindbending condition of his chosen Mahou, and reapplying it in case of a sudden case of free will. However, just as it was about to make contact, Mariette spoke of her plan, and the tentacle stopped. For a moment, Mariette had to wait, as the tentacle shifted and refracted, shards of realities emerging in and out of its chiselled, glassy texture. Finally, it slithered back, looping briefly around her stuffed Bunny, before it retreated back to the infinite void.

Mariette then felt tentacles wrap around her feet, and she was suddenly pulled down into the “floor” of the blackness: but instead of submerging in something akin to liquid, it was like passing through a cloud that turned from solid to transparent, the misty aperture leading out from the mirror and back to the real world, causing Mariette to fall were it not for her own tentacles quickly pulling her upright before it could happen. The mirror then began to form black and purple swirling mists on its surface, like spiralling tendrils: the first step of the ritual had been completed. Mariette now knew that Asengav had approved of the plan, and it was up to her to complete the ritual by entering the other mirrors before the final one, where Asengav would reach forth using the Black Mirror.

However, shortly after Mariette was finished, she heard the Queen speak in an agitated voice:
“It seems you are done. Good.” She took a full gulp of her teacup, and smashed it on the ground. “The Mint found us, dear Alice.” She then stood up from the bird. “We must hurry to the next mirror. Also,” she mumbled as she opened two portals: one of them led to the next mirror’s location, and the other led to Gryphon, who was in mid-combat. “There is a Mint spy in the ranks! Royal Flush them out!” “Understood!” The commander answered, and the portal closed.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Lily blushed in embarrassment as the others caught up to her and Rachel, the latter having taken a moment to adjust her glasses as Alex addressed her, having expected the rescue to be successful. “Yes…You are correct, mister Shields. Stopping the Queen of Hearts is our highest priority. Miko, what does the Super Map reveal about the enemy base?” She inquired, having placed the head of the hammer on the ground and leaning her elbow against the pommel.

As the shrine maiden-esque Mahou observed the scrying artifact, she realized that an enchantment of some kind was disrupting the artifact’s operation: instead of showing separate floor plans, the map instead placed them exactly as they would be located as layers on top of each other, resulting in a mess of lines and shapes, with the most visual chaos being present in the middle of the map, and lessening at the borders. Similarly, the markers for residents were in a jumbled heap, with names overlapping with each other. However, the Super Map still retained the power to differentiate between allies, enemies, and neutral people. Specifically, there was one neutral person and one allied person near an enemy…And the allied person suddenly disappeared from the map with the enemy, while the neutral person began to move away from the location.

Meanwhile, Branch Nose hesitantly nodded to Gaia’s request. “Farewell then, everyone. I will be praying for your success, and that we meet again.” After the somber words were spoken, the tree walked back to join his non-sentient kin, his eyes leaking tears of sap. Lily bit her lip as she saw their tallest ally depart, and Rachel sighed as Connie asked about their pastel-colored friend. “Magical Dream Princess stayed back at the factory to look after the rest of the allies we have recruited as part of our crusade: given her capability for magic, I wouldn’t be surprised if she will swiftly find some way to quickly return to us.”

Lily bit her lip at Miko’s question.
”Uhh…She was kind of…Grabbed by Mayra, who proceeded to…distract the guards. Anyway, we don’t have time to wait! Mariette, no, everyone’s counting on us. Let’s go!” She transformed her bow to scepter form to better accommodate combat in a tighter space if necessary, and ran towards the moat. Rachel observed as Lily easily hopped over the moat of water next to the wall, and approached the passage. “I suppose we could also take this hidden passage. Then again, a pincer attack from multiple angles could prove fortuitous. What do you think, Alicia?”

---

Pen-Ken? Penr-Rose? Oh no...It's already starting. The Lunar Council's appearance seemed to be an isolated case, but with this...Even the Authors are starting to feel the effects. I need to hurry, before it is too late...

---

Nefer raised an eyebrow as Mac scried using her artifact, and puffed her cheeks. “Well, this is disappointing. Oh well, I suppose the exciting times have to wait for now.” She looked towards Akhenaten and nudged her head upwards. The very next moment, The black golem stepped next to Mac, and picked her up the arm, not too gently to intentionally hurt, but also not gently enough to spare her feelings. She was lifted just enough that Nefer could roll from under her and stand back up. She dusted off her clothes as the golem then let go of Mac, who saw from her vision of a scene that happened back at the factory:

Penny’s attention was grabbed by a strange machine, like a hollow cylinder with plenty of knick-knacks and doodads lining its circular interiors. Her spidery arms welded electronics and drew new cables into the guts of the machine, while she herself held a glowing gem, seemingly observing its effects when placing it into the machine. She sent a chessbot to gather scrap metal from its fallen comrades outside, and placed them inside the cylinder. Meanwhile, Justine was pouring what looked like a potion flask with a golden-hued liquid over Caroline’s stony body.
Cracks began to form on the statue, and a finger popped out of the statue’s hand, followed by another a moment later: slowly but surely, the younger sister was recovering from petrification.

Meanwhile, the false Penny rotated its head in a manner similar to a human expressing a negative answer with a head shake.
“Let me prove that I have not forgotten or misunderstood.” Her chest plate opened up just like the past Penny’s, revealing a lowered gun-like weapon. She dismantled the weapon with a spinning hand that unscrewed the bolting of the weapon at the base, and then removed the weapon, leaving her insides hollow.
“As you can see, the interior space of my design can only accommodate very small insects,” she clarified.
“I could also dismantle the weapons I have installed in my wrist and ankle slots, but I have deduced that this is sufficient evidence to prove my earlier statement as fact.”

---

The Queen of Hearts did not flinch even as Esther’s vines and branches threateningly crept closer…Until Mariette de-escalated the conflict. She gave a subtle smile towards the tree monster, and then a warmer one to Mariette.
“I am glad to see you have such stalwart yet diligent servants to watch over the mirrors, Alice.”
She then raised an eyebrow as Mariette requested a moment to convene with the monstergirl.
She cocked her head to the side.
“Very well, my lovely daughter…But do make it quick: we may run out of paper before we reach the back cover if we tarry.” Having said that, she created a portal, took what looked like a strange lavender-plumed ostrich-like bird…And sat on it, causing the creature to slightly hunch from the woman’s weight, its head drooping low. Another smaller portal retrieved a plate and cup of steaming tea, which she began to sip. “You have until this is empty, dear,” she stated.

---

The Mermaid Princess beamed as Mayra agreed to join in the war effort, and clapped her hands together in joy. “Ah, those words, it’s music to me! Now then, lead on, o dragon!” Brittany, seemingly elated by Mayra’s enthusiasm for her singing, nodded. As she and Mayra sped off, the river began to be magically shifted and bent towards the castle, the merfolk army flowing towards at unicorn speed. Then, Brittany began to sing, complete with rhythmic drums appearing out of thin air, and the merfolk and even the fish soldiers naturally joining as vocal backup:

Be a fish
We must be swift as the coursing river
Be a whale
With all the force of a great typhoon
Be a dragon
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark depths of the sea!

---

"Understood", Viper curtly answered Chloe's orders. "Returning to infiltration." She then disappeared from the vision of her orb. Chloe then began to scry the Queen of Hearts as the target. To her surprise, she actually managed to get a bead on her: she was in an underground cave of sorts, full of dark, twisted flora, and dimly lit by phosphorescent fungi. She was sitting on a strange emu-like colorful bird, sipping tea, while Mariette was some distance away, conversing with Esther. Suddenly, When her eye glowed purple, she turned her head to look at Chloe's direction straight in the eyes with a cold stare.

An Idiot's Dungeon Union

Muste smiled as the monsters seemed mostly agreeable to the proposal, having expected such from the summoned minions based on the impromptu employee satisfaction survey Zogi had brilliantly, in his mind, conducted. Zoppy requested the procurement of sundry the mutant goblin questionably considered commercially viable, and nodded. "I will see if I find anything fitting that description," he promptly answered. He would make a cursory look with occasional castings of Detect Magic, and if nothing enchanted would be foum,d he would nonetheless still make the effort to bring something with aesthetic appeal. And so, having equipped the minions with suitable equipment for storing materials such as bone buckets and the leather sack the adventurer left, having since been repaired with a cast Mending spell, the expedition set forth from the dungeon.

Having visited the outdoors once a day since the beginning of the employment, Muste had gotten used to the strain on stamina that the lack of the dungeon core's revitalizing magic caused, and was primarily the reason why the illithid had not ventured too far into the surrounding lands besides the small stream he had previously discovered. However, now that he was emboldened by a specific objective that would improve the well-being, and by proxy, the productivity of the dungeon, he would not let himself be deterred by his admittedly less-than average physical qualities, and pushed forth, mapping out sectors for the minions and fellow monsters to perform their search in. After about ten minutes of searching, the vocally expressed his enthusiasm for the mission: "Good work, my fellow employees! We are right on schedule. By my estimates, we will be at full operational capacity for the next hour or so. Until then, let's do our best." Of course, he wouldn't only be directing the survey squad: he also searched through the grassy bushes and under rocks, occasionally writing notes to his grimoire.

Just as the search turned to not produce anything useful, the kobold had procured wildflowers, which Muste planted into a bone bucket full of soil he had deemed the most fertile and suitable for growing plantlife based on his casting of Detect Good Soil: a spell he had developed based on an offshoot of Detect Magic, inspired by the time he spent in the woods, surrounded by nature. In retrospect, it might have been outside of his usual expertise of arcane knowledge, and more suited for a druidic career. However, limited as he was in his opportunities for poroper magical education, he decided to pursue magical knowledge wherever it would be found: the natural world was just another grimoire just waiting to have its pages read, after all.

Inspired by the discovery, Muste requested the rest of the monsters to simply gather soil, fern, logs and moss, and return back to the dungeon. As Zogi checked under the logs of fallen trees, the illithid also checked to see if there were any mushrooms growing near or even on the trees in the region. He also considered if they could bring back a whole tree for them to grow in the Grove, but deemed it impractical: it would require sunlight, which the dungeon could not currently provide even through magical means. However, the illithid envisioned a future dungeon level with a simulated forest, complete with artificial sunlight and an illusory blue sky cast overhead. Perhaps it was something only a mad mage could envision in an undermountain, but as a magic user himself, and one dedicated to developing a dungeon, only the sky was the limit.

Pleased to see Zogi's efforts in helping to direct the minions as well as scour the wilds on his own. After Muste had watered the newly made flower pot with water from the stream, the illithid saw that Salbjörg had passed by them, accompanied by the swarm of surprisingly clever members of the Rodentia animal order. He handed the flower pot over to the naga. "Once you get inside the dungeon, place this flower pot next to my bed. I will be coming back shortly." He then walked away, following after the Shahmaran. As he saw her in the distance transform and blend into the enemy crowd, he realized she was keeping herself hidden from the human camp, and understood that she was about to infiltrate the hairless monkeys.

That was when Muste had an idea. He flipped through the pages of his grimoire, and found a spell suitable for covert action: Disguise Self. Thus, Muste took on the form of an unassuming older man. Having disguised himself, he followed at a distance from Sal, with three goals: observe Sal's attempt at subterfuge, intervene in case something goes wrong, and make observations of his own about the humans. He wanted to see if there was some kind of hierarchy formed in their primitive society, any signs of upcoming danger, as well as any weaknesses the dungeon could exploit. He also enjoyed getting wtihin brain-smelling range, though he would refrain from sniffing: he would have plenty of time to do that when such a morsel was available for devouring. Of course, if he gets emotionally charged, whether by abundant joy, sorrow, rage, or even surprise, his moustache will slightly move prehensively, a flaw in his magical illusion.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Lily had turned mid-run towards the corner of the wall that led towards the front gate of the castle when Alex stopped her verbally, reminding the group of the bizarre enchantment that pervaded over the colossal fortification. She blinked as Mr. Kite spoke up, having forgotten the helpful guide that Magical Dream Princess had given to them alongside the rainbow unicorns.
”Right! Crossing eyes!” Seemingly more experienced with the ocular orientation than might have been normal, the green-haired girl navigated towards the secret entrance.

Once the group was in the shadow of the wall and out of sight of the main road, the animal companions, unaffected by the spell, handed the narcotic fruits back to Gaia before they clambered and flew towards the colored stones in the arch-formed section, and pressed each of them in succession. As a result, a rectangular section of the wall shifted to the side, revealing a stone stairway that led down into darkness.
”Yes! We can get inside!” Lily cheered. However, Branch Nose was less enthusiastic; the tall tree slightly bent downwards to look at the opening.
“The passage is too small for me to pass through…It seems this is the part when I must bid goodbye to you brave children.”

However, that was when the group heard voices in the direction of the main path.
”Oh? Did the soldiers already return? Or could it be…” She quietly approached the corner of the wall, her bow drawn at the ready.

---

Rachel nodded, agreeing with Alicia. However, she noticed that Miko seemed distracted. "Hm? You spotted a foe?" Miko’s Super Map revealed that Lily and the others were indeed just past the corner and claimed so. However, due to having to take a moment to review the artifact, Rachel had already taken off towards the corner, hammer in hand. “Sounds like a monster stalking local wildlife. I’ll deal with it before it attracts unwanted attention,” she spoke, and briskly walked up to the corner, only to meet face to face with Lily. The green-haired girl screamed loudly, while Rachel gave out an uncharacteristic little yelp of surprise, followed by a blush of embarrassment. “Lily! Quiet!” She aggressively whispered, causing Lily to clap her hands over her mouth.

---

Nefer had stepped out of the truck by the time Mac had presented the false hologram to the false Penny and others, a cheeky smile on her face. “Well, well well, I wish I could be called a good g-gwak!” She quickly found herself tackled and on the sandy ground, with Mac right on top of her, their faces mere inches away from each other. The look on the artificer magical girl quickly changed from surprise to a wide smile, her cheeks now red.
“Ooh, how rough~ I should have known you were into police roleplay, cutie~”
The lack of resistance, the blush on her cheeks…Mac quickly realized this was no impostor, robotic or otherwise. Akhenaten, who until this point had been quiet as a rock, grunted, stepping closer as a warning sign to Mac. However, Nefer simply gave an aside glance to the black golem. “Oh, Mackie-D here isn’t a threat. In fact, I wouldn’t mind being arrested by her, since I have been naughty~”

Meanwhile, the false Penny blinked as Mister Plier was summoned, and grabbed the sentient tool with her hands with a surprised look as it tried to open her up.
“Wait, you’re mistaken! There is nobody trapped inside me!”
With a single move, she wrestled the pliers down, and then lifted her hands as a sign of non-hostility, momentarily looking like she was dancing the robot.
“I am a spare built by Penny Prime. She sent me to deliver this truck and accompany Nefer. I believe she is still testing the duplicator, but will soon accompany us.” She glanced towards Nefer, who sighed.
“It’s true. While Penny and Justine are cuties, they’re a bit boring. Besides, I realized I couldn’t leave Aken all alone with my inventions. He can be a bit of a rockhead~”

---

The Queen smiled as she took Mariette’s hand. “Then let us depart! But where to go first? Penrose has so many sights, sounds, smells, touches and tastes…” She mumbled, as a new portal rose up from the floor. That was when Mariette heard the faint sound of a girl screaming, far below them: she recognized it as Lily’s voice. However, the queen did not hear it, absorbed in her next bout of rambling.
“Oh, I know! A lovely rose garden, hidden yet beautiful! Yes, a fine first jaunt for us, is it not, my dear Alice? After all…There we shall find our first mirror.”
And so, the portal opened, and the two stepped to a place Mariette recognized: it was the underground forest where one of Asengav’s mirrors had been placed: Esther’s den.
The queen let go of Mariette’s hand upon arrival, and outstretched her arms, slowly making a single spin around as she immersed herself in the gloomy, yet strangely serene atmosphere. “Ah, isn’t this nostalgic? So many pages ago, your thrall had taken root here, all part of a grand plan, once forgotten. But now, we shall reflect ourselves anew on the looking glass, so that we may see the truth of our destiny.”

---

As Chloe worked on setting up defenses for Penrose, she was contacted by Viper: she was now in her disguise of a masked Heart Commander, with the voice of an adult man to match.
“The Queen’s invasion force has arrived. Good news, Nykannis’ barrier has prevented us from proceeding. Bad news, the Gryphon is now running the show, with the Queen nowhere to be seen: I think she’s making her own move. Do I proceed with the sabotage mission?” She asked the broker.

---

Mayra deftly swerved back and forth, avoiding the haphazard gunfire that the Club soldiers shot from pegasusback, and even the more accurate sniper fire from the long-ranged Spade soldier after her and Brittany, who was of course singing the entire pursuit, accompanied by exciting chase music playing out of nowhere:

“One jump ahead of the slowpokes,
One skip ahead of my doom,
Next time gonna use a smoke bomb or two
One jump ahead of the hitmen
One hit ahead of the flock
I think I’ll take a stroll around the yard!”

The chaotic dragongirl, for once, had an actual plan: she led the pursuers right into the path of the Mermaid Princess’ mainland marine forces, a magical river enabling their rapid move across the plains and hills of the land. The magic rifles of the soldiers clanged uselessly on shell shields crafted in the high-pressure depths of the sea, and in return a great white shark chomped on them, followed by tridents skewering them where they rode, causing the pegasi to flee, having lost their riders. The mermaid princess, clad in beautiful coral armor that shone brilliantly in the sun, approached Mayra on the back of an orca whale, looking down on the fiery girl with utmost surprise. “Greetings, fair dragon!” She spoke, seemingly finding nothing strange about Mayra’s appearance, probably a first for her.
“You were pursued by the cruel queen’s soldiers. Perhaps you are also mounting a resistance against her tyranny? If so, then let us engage in jolly co-operation, so we may have freedom, and finny fun!”