BrokenPromise

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Golden Trove was a pretty boring place at night. Everyone was getting ready to turn in for the night, so everyone had to be super quiet and not make a sound. Most of the hotel staff had gone home, with just a handful of people working at the reception desk, security, phones, room service, and there was also a manager present. Most of them were playing with their phones or idly talking with one another to stay awake. Mika found most of them boring, and were far less exciting than any magical girl business. Fortunately, she had Boteg to play with. They were sitting in a lounge on one of the top most floors. Boteg was reclining on a leather couch with a cup of coffee, and Mika had a colorful book in her hands, sitting right beside him.

”So what's this?” Mika had a child's “learning” book in front of herself. The page showed a picture of an alligator, and also notified the reader that “A was for Alligator!”

”Bumby back.”

”Sort of?” Mika held the book closer to Boteg. ”It's an alligator! Can you say that? Al-ee-gay-tor?”

”Bumble back.”

”Noooooo!” She giggled before turning the page. ”Could you at least makes sense. This is a bumble bee. Can you say bumble bee? Bum-Bull-Bee?”

”Fuzzy Fliers.”

”Okay, that one amused me. At least it sort of makes sense.” Before she could turn the page again, she noticed that Boteg's hand was twitching. But as a beast girl, she could smell his fear. ”Is something wrong.” Mika closed the book and set it aside.

”Terrible, one's, champion, is near.”

Mika's heart skipped a beat. Ever since she joined, she had heard about the terrible one's champion. How it was Amber's goal to ultimately kill the champion, and now that responsibility was being passed down onto her and Su. It wasn't a task to be taken likely. If this terrible one wiped out all the gold dragons, then their champion had to be pretty fearsome as well. Undoubtedly something unwholesome. Something beyond human, but without humanity. Or maybe it was just more of Boteg's crazy talk, and it was just some innocent Beacon girl who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

But Mika was excited, regardless.

”Leave it to me Boteg! I'll do battle with your demons and avenge your family!” She didn't wait for a response. Newly minted magical girl or not, she had to defend her patron. While she was running up the stairs to the roof, when she was sure there weren't any cameras pointing at her, she started to speak her incantation. She was transforming on the move.”Tooth and claw, beak and paw, It's me you saw!” A fully transformed Mika emerged onto the roof, There was enough lighting that her superior vision could see everything pretty clearly. Though it didn't seem like they had arrived yet. On arriving on the roof, it dawned on Mika that she wasn't sure where her opponent was coming from. They could actually just access the hotel from the bottom floor. She could ask Boteg for instructions to get to them, but there was a pretty good chance she wouldn't understand them. ”Should I start yelling? I really don't want to wake anyone up.” Mika scanned the adjacent building before spotting Penny on an adjacent roof top. ”There!” She transformed into a cheetah mid sprint and ran towards the magical girl. Normally cheetahs are capable of clearing an eight foot gap, and even a magical cheetah would have a hard time clearing a parking lot and an intersection just to get to another building. Fortunately Mika was able to give herself the wings of an eagle to coast the rest of the distance. As soon as she landed, her body turned back to normal. Her ears went back as soon as she pointed at the mechanical magical girl. ”Are you the terrible one's champion?!” She blinked a few times after realizing how stupid that probably sounded. ”Did your patron cause the genocide of every gold dragon in existence?” That wasn't much better. She opened her hand and momentarily averted her eyes. ”I'm new here, call me Mika.” There was a grin plastered on her face. Yes! This was perfect!

Su gave Helga a nod and took a full step back. She could transform quickly, so there was no need for her to reveal herself at this time. If at all possible, it would be best for Helga to deal with any new people without needing to interfere. The fewer people that new she was a magical girl, the better.

”Sky Scare.” Boteg's voice rang out in her head. ”The terrible one's champion hath made it's presence known to me. Thou apprentice hath taken it upon herself to defend thy patron. ”

Su folded her arms and leaned against a nearby fence. ”I'm nearby. If she needs any assistance, contact me.” This was not a great situation to be in. How inconvenient for the champion to just appear out of nowhere when her attention was divided. If it wasn't for this random appearance, she'd have flown back right now. But she wasn't going to lose Helga. Not after what they had been through.

Re: Zero: The High Council

Starting location, Priestella

Mirt was as stubborn as they came, but he was faster than he looked. By the time the giant wolf bumped into the wall, Mirt had already changed sides. He was ready to break the beasts legs with his fist, not once letting up on his offense. But the wolf was very in tune to the old man's position. And with its remaining eye, it was able to spot him. Mirt didn't even have time to punch before the wolf slammed it's body into the opposing wall. Everyone could see a smear of blood trailing after the wolf.

DEATH COUNT : 10

But the knights were ready to attack, an went unseen by the wolf. They simultaneously swung at its front legs, severing them from its body. The wolf continued to snarl and snap around itself, even with the front half of it's body forced to the ground. However, It was unable to turn around in the small corridor, its struggles only serving to pump more blood out of its legless shoulders.

That was when Mono and his knights appeared. Once the wolf had wiggled its way over to him, he pointed at the creature and snapped. ”Al Huma.” The effect was not instantaneous on something so big, but already the creature was slowing down. It snorted and groaned, still putting everything it had into trying to devour Mono. ”Al Huma!” the wolf's head twitched before sinking to the ground. The blood oozing out of its eyes and arms had been frozen solid. The beast had been slain. ”I do not pretend to have perfect memory.” Mono stepped towards the trio. ”But I don't remember giving you fucking permission to fucking open the fucking door!” He pointed at Anyon. ”Nor did I tell you to involve a fucking civilian in a fucking fight with a fucking devil beast!” He pointed at Mirt's body, which was still plastered against the side of the wolf. ”I'm not even going to ask how this happened you fucking degenerates!” Mono extended his hand over Mirt's body. ”Huma.” Mono wasn't very proficient when it came to healing magic, but he knew a little bit. He certainly wouldn't be able to heal all of Mirt's wounds, but he was a tough old bastard and he'd at least be able to walk out of here.

GUESS IT'S STILL JUST : 9

Mono turned back towards the knights. ”Where the fuck is Sir Walter? Did he put you up to this?”

---

Meanwhile, the non-natives ran into the kitchen. It was not the armory they had originally expected it to be. There was a table for the chef to prepare food on, several counters, a bucket for water, a small stove, but most of it was very, very old. There was nothing sharp or metal in sight. What really grabbed everyone's attention was the window with a large, friendly looking colored man peeking through it.

”Oh, well hey guys!” He leaned into the window and placed his hands on either side. ”You really shouldn't be walkin' around in there. They say this place smells like the witch. I can hardly believe it myself to be honest.” He chuckled. ”How about you guys come with me? I've got a clinic in the gold quarter. We can talk about life over some tea. There's no reason to hang out in here.” He stepped away from the window and folded his arms. ”Life can be unfair sometimes, but that don't mean you need to hide out in a spooky place like this. I'm serious, let's eat together.” For some reason, Alistair felt like he could trust this man. He certainly had better odds with this man then waiting for the knights to show up. And since his companions were more or less following him, they all agreed to go.

---

”Near the docks”, Cham, Priestella

With Wisp deescalating the situation, Aer stood up right and moved her spear behind her back. Not that she had fully uncovered it, but at this point there were few other things it could be. "That sounds agreeable, Wisp. You'll have to forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical about that being your real identity. You don't quite look like what I've heard. But I'm sure someone can verify it's you." She turned to face the non-natives behind herself. "I do not actually believe any of you are cultists or bandits. I'm sorry if I caused you alarm, but it was necessary and, in the long run, will likely be beneficial to you." She looked back at Wisp, but continued to speak to the teenagers. "We can vouch for you, but it will be up to you to explain exactly what happened." Aer started to walk towards the golden quarter. "One of the captains should be this way. We'll get you papers in no time."

---

Center road, The Golden Quarter, Priestella

Vasilis smiled and shrugged his shoulders. ”Up to you Irene. I'm just thinking about all the other damsels that might need saving.”

”I'll definitely remember your names. Tee hee!” Fritzi would have liked to socialize equally with all of them, but she was a merchant, and serving the customers came before talking to them. Especially since most of them had taken an interest in patting the head of the street performer. As long as everyone's needs were being catered to, there was no reason to interfear. One by one, she took their choices and set them on the counter.

Once Hiro thanked them, Vasilis scratched the back of his head. ”Ey! I'd want someone to help me out too. Besides, this is the kind of stuff Irene wants to do.” After a brief pause he added. ”And what I wanna do!”

A cart rolled into the golden quarter, and Fritzi immediately took notice. ”A doctor's wagon? Was there another fight?” After it came to a stop, Alistair, Flame, and Father Whiskey all stepped out. Followed by a...

”Doctor Donovan?!?”

The large black man placed a hand against the side of his neck. ”Everythin's okay. Old man Fumble Foot was excited, so I got to take my wagon with me just to make 'im happy. You know how it is.” he chuckled to himself. ”If you folks want to wear somethin' other than those clothes, I'll gladly pay your way. Fritzi has an eye for fashion. Just look at her. Girl dresses like a slum dog and somehow looks more regal then the noble folk!”

”Please stop! You're going to make me blush!” She covered her cheeks with her hands. ”Oh, Hiro!” Fritzi leaned across the counter. This caused her suspenders to pull tight against her breasts. ”Are you into footwear? I've got something here on clearance, and you're buying so many clothes I don't think boss will mind if I throw something like that in.” She wasn't really asking. Fritzi was already going for the shoes,

Ashton, Aaron, Yuki, wisp, and Aer were walking by just as the medical wagon showed up.
"Mile's emporium looks busy to today." Her eyes darted among all the people. "Wait, were they kidnapped too?"

Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage (Finished!)

”RRRGGHHHAAAAHH!”

The situation in the Study didn't make Lucy very happy. Jezebel and Thomas had to be insane. That was the only thing that made sense. All the nonstop violence had to have twisted them. If Thomas was willing to kill himself... She couldn't even finish the thought. This entire situation lacked any and all logic. And it was making her irritable.

She was walking around in the floor three resort. Lucy suspected that this was the furthest she could position herself from the Study. Here, she wouldn't have to be part of that zoo of a situation.

*Crack*

Lucy let out a yelp and hopped backwards. There in front of her was a piece of glass that had snapped under her foot. This was a little alarming to her. It was a small piece of glass, small enough to go unnoticed by the otherwise worldly prodigy. But she indeed had stepped on some glass, and it didn't belong there. Now that she was looking at the ground, she could see a few more pieces. There wasn't a lot, none of them were any larger than her fingernails.

”Oh no.” She told herself. ”Lucy Fairglave has put up with just enough crap today!” She took hasty steps foreword. ”My butler should be doing this!” But her butler had died last night. Lucy's heart felt like it was beating out of her chest, but she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. When she turned the corner she could see an aquarium. It wasn't anything new, just a decorative aquarium filled with some exotic plants. What was new was the hole in the side of it. Someone had broken one of the glass windows that went around the thing. If the traces of blood were evident of anything, someone might have tried to gain acess by punching through the glass. But with that nightmare of a case behind her, she wasn't ready to believe the situation was that simple. Lucy scuffed her way over to the opening and looked inside. The break was towards the bottom of the aquarium. If someone was reaching their hand in here, it was at the base of all the plants. Lucy stuck her hand inside and pushed some of the leaved out of the way. It seemed like someone had scooped out something at the base of the plants. Lucy wondered what it was that someone might have needed from here. Her first thought was that someone wanted to gain access to the plants. But they were all very big, and she didn't know what anyone would want with any of them. There didn't appear to be any animals or stones either, and even if there was, she couldn't think of any uses for them. The only thing in here was dirt. She couldn't think of a lot of uses for the dirt. But the dirt was from around the roots. Which as everyone should know, they contain a very low concentration of nitric acid. If Thomas acquired this, he could- ”Wah!?” Lucy pulled her hand out of the aquarium and stood up. ”His bomb, was a dud!?”

---

Denis and Thomas walked side by side towards Marianne's room. Thomas casually applied the nitric acid solution to his arms with a cotton swab. It discolored his skin, but it stopped the bleeding immediately. "Well, this shouldn't take too long if we both do it." Thomas placed a cap on the vile and slid it into his vestments. "Open the door, spy. Neither of us wants a repeat of the Phoenix project."

”We save everyone.” were Denis's only words before swiping the handbook.

---

”Oh, it looks like quite a few of you are awake tonight! I wonder why?” Monokuma's giggled. ”Just a refresher, If you plan on fighting Kyra, take the red badge, but if you're going to fight Geina, take the blue one. ” Monokuma placed his paws on his tummy. ”And let's make it easier for you to find us. It's not like my daughters have anyone to hide from. Kyra and I are in the carnival of carnage, and Geina's in quarantine, where she belongs.” The bear laughed. ”Alright boys and girls, IT''S TIME TO GET YOUR GAMBLING FREAK ON!” the screens went dead.

Mary had been watching Caora all day, and it didn't seem like Jezebel or Thomas had made a move for him after the thing at the study.

”Everyone.” Denis's voice came over the announcement system. ”Please come to second floor patients quarters. Very important.” That was all Denis said before abandoning the Reception desk. But what was everyone else doing during this Night of Carnage?

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Thanks for inviting me into the mod team, @Ariamis! I hope to do you and this RP proud!

Alright, so I read the discord, and I see people are having mixed reactions, and more importantly, questions about the new module. So I'm just going to do a quick Q & A here based on what I saw so that nobody has to back track through discord to see what's going on.

Q: Why is Veronica her own patron now?

A: The full answer is still a mystery IC, and I'd like to keep it that way a bit longer. But for those that have been following along, you may have noticed that Veronica is currently very dissatisfied with the mint. She knows she's being left in the dark, and is starting to distrust them. Crimson Cradle is an organisation that represents people who she can trust.

Q: Why does she get cool powers that aren't available to other patrons?

A: Veronica is not a Puchuu, Lesser force, Deity, or Horror. She's a magical girl, which isn't something you can find among the base patrons. Thus, her benefits are unique.

Q: Is it me, or is she stronger than other patrons? Feels like a power play...

A: The only real benefits her agents get are some weapons and artifacts that are no stronger than normal, but have a bonus benefit/drawback attached to some of them. Veronica's agents have always been able to communicate with each other. Any unique benefits/drawbacks an agents gets will primarily relate to how many cradle weapons you can have and how Veronica regards you.

Cradle supply isn't nearly as powerful as the Puchuu's emergency reinforcements, And veronica doesn't offer perks like the Lesser force's focused (a severely underrated benefit), Bonus stats like Deity's Paragon, Beacon's spark, ETC. There are plenty of advantages outside the Cradle. Not to mention Veronica is watching them all the time. All. The. Time. Just think about that for a second, and wonder if you'd want that for you character knowing that she's the type that would dispose of you if she doesn't like you.

That and taking a shower is never the same when you know your boss can drop in without you knowing.

Q: Do you have to be a Crimson Cradle agent to get red coins? When will we be able to get them?

A: The Crimson Cradle discovered how to make red coins, but was it ever said that Crimson Cradle agents had access to them?

Sadly, this is another IC secret that will not be reveled at this time. But rest assured that everyone will get access to them at some point. They are a gift to everyone in the RP, and not a device to make people flock to Veronica. Even without the coin, I'm tempted to file a restraining order on some of you. Begone Thot!

Do also remember that the point of this roleplay is to tell stories about magical girls and their adventures in Penrose, not roll up the sickest, baddest meme to face roll other memes in a battle royale style gauntlet.

Also, the RP is about more than just battles. Annabelle is the only magical girl that has been able to successfully recruit the Bates. And it was because she had a thousand dollars and some burgers laying around. If she had Flexibility instead, she'd be using it to dodge one of Regina's bullets. (she'd fail btw) Also, while it's true that Lily is one of the weaker magical girls, she also has one of the strongest alliances. She's have the easiest time beating most of the monster characters because she has her bad-boy husbando with her at all times and has virtually every other magical girl on speed dial.

If you're excited about the module, great! I'm glad you like something that I put energy into creating. If you don't, well, all I can really ask is for you to give it a try. Be patient, Don't jump to conclusions, and remember that Ariamis and his co-gms are here to ensure the RP can be fully enjoyed by everyone. That means putting an end to OP shit and doing our best to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Non-Combat orientated characters in combat orientated RPs.

Just wondering what everyone's experiences are with this topic, or even if it's ever come up.

For clarification, I'm not talking about the archetype who constantly tries to find a peaceful resolution to everything. Including the time those assassins broke into their room in an attempt to murder everyone. Though I suppose we could include them in this discussion. I'm talking more about characters who are not tailor made for combat. Support characters that have other ways of interacting with the story. Maybe they're a mechanic who's involved with finding ways of improving the combat suits, Or a potion seller who got sucked into an adventure.

I can't say I've come across such characters very often, But they usually benefit the RP in a big way. Obviously they more come into their own out of combat, but it can sometimes be interesting to watch them overcome their fear or try to fit themselves in a fight that makes sense. I'll have to share some stories when I have more time to write.

But I was wondering how RPG feels about it.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

(And Helga Too)

Mika parted her cat ears so that Helga could pat her head. She didn't say anything back to Helga, but her widening grin and closed eyes were a clear indication that she was enjoying the attention. When Helga turned around to face Su, her expression changed. Her eyes opened up to half mast as her grin continued to expand. She reached out and stroked the top of her snake's head, which was wearing the same face she was.

”Gah!” Was all Su could manage before Boteg cut in.

”Tis most splendid!” He approached Mika, who at this point was innocently playing her flute again. ”Thou shall go forth and bring the terrible one's champion to justice! Then mayhap we shall celebrate with most bountiful feast! One made from ocean sprinklers and valley runners!”

Mika giggled. ”We've got to teach you some modern English. Hey, can you pass me your laptop?”

Su still didn't trust Mika. But that was hardly something that needed to be pressed at the moment. It wasn't like she could pose much of a threat to Boteg. However...

”Huh?” Su was yanked out of her thoughts when Helga asked a very important question. ”Um.” She lowered her head and her bangs covered her eyes. ”I'm... Actually not sure where we should start looking.” After allowing herself a moment to regain her composure, Su lifted her head back up. ”I don't know where Mariette or Eli are, but I know they are friends with a certain group of genies. They should be easier to find.” Helga and Su transformed back into their normal appearances ”Hopefully it won't cost me a wish this time, but I doubt fate will be that kind to us.” The duo turned a corner to walk down a flight of stairs. Soon enough they would be on the street, actively searching for their mark. Maybe no one saw Mariette, but someone had to have seen the djinn sisters.

---

@Vocab@Majoras End

Something landed behind Katelyn.

Eliza was not going after her particular quarry in a very discreet way, and neither had Katelyn. It shouldn't have been a surprise that more magical girls would become alerted by the wanton destruction. Perhaps the stranger had simply been watching Eliza, waiting for his moment to strike, before Katelyn showed up.

The individual in particular was none other than Elroy Bates. Eliza would have recognized him from the battle at the garage if she could remember the encounter. He had come out of his monster form and walked away from that fight. Katelyn likely had no recollection of this individual. He was covered in blood, and gripping a blood stained paper note. If either of them had third eye, they might have noticed him using shadow magic to blend into a nearby building before jumping to where he was now. Otherwise, he would have seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"And alllll I need to finish my shopping list is some monster wings." Elroy tossed the bloody piece of paper off to the side before flashing a grin. "...But nobody said they couldn't come from monster girls!" He pulled the shield off of his back and let it slam into the ground. The chains wrapped around it's surface were moving suspiciously. "Lizard lady! Chicken little! Let me have the wings off of your back! You'll find you'll fit into a lot more dresses when you don't need to squeeze your wings into them. Take it from an incubus who has no wings of his own!"

Regina was laying on her belly on the roof of a nearby building. Her sniper rifle positioned in front of her. She might have been able to get a clear shot at Eliza, but Katelyn's attack put both girls into a building to the left to Regina position. Regina wasn't really set up to fire directly into the office building at this angle. That wasn't to say she would be useless, but the types of attacks she could use were more limited. Her psychic shots couldn't permeate solid objects. "Remember the part about ambushing her, Elroy?" Regina grumbled to herself. She currently had a very impressive array of spells cast around herself. She couldn't be seen or heard by those outside her spell, at least under normal conditions. Her cover had been blown too many times for her to believe she was safe from all forms of detection. But at least now they had the ability to shut down their auras.

”Please don't be upset with Elroy.” One of the converted beacon girls placed a hand on Regina's shoulder, rubbing it slightly. ”If you'd like, we can rush them.”

"The less you guys do, the better." Regina looked through her scope. "I want you to be a surprise for later."

Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Moirai
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Paragon, Blessing, Gifted Item | Monster Form, Big Brother, Arrogance, Vendetta
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03

STR: 10 | AGI: 08 | VIT: 11 | MAG: 17 | LCK: 05

Earnings this post: Zilch

Total: 2 Gold, 85 Silver, 82 Bronze

Of course, Tonya was also going to be present for this conflict. How many times was her shower going to get interrupted today? Well, it didn't matter too much. So long as fate was going to pay her for this, she'd gladly abandon a shower to assist a fellow monster.

---

Veronica was not one to stand idle for very long. She had many girls under her control, and was often touching bases with one of them at any given time. But Veronica did find time to do things that didn't directly pertain to her duties with the Mint. She was currently sitting in her office reading a news article. The newest article marked “Penrose Preternatural” in particular caught her interest. The story was already covered on a different page, but it was done in a way to make the story believable to normal humans. This story was made for the magical girls who could understand what actually happened. Veronica did find it unusual that both stories were written by the same writer: Charlotte Suthers. While it was clear to Veronica why it was done this way, it seemed like a good way to lose credibility with those less magical in nature. Not that many people would remember such things anyway. They had been doing things this way for the better part of two years, so it must not have been an issue. It was just a mental note Veronica made to herself every time she noticed it. Her job was not that much different than that of a journalist. While the end goal was different, both dealt in intelligence.

And if the apology by Charlotte Suthers was any indication, it seemed like her intelligence wasn't very good.

It is foolish to believe that intelligence and information are the same thing. A rumor, a source, a story, all were forms of information. But information needs to be verified before it can be transformed into intelligence. The reporters in this instance should have been verifying everything they were seeing. Assuming that there were no beacon girls present when not all of the magical girls had been verified was extremely ignorant on the part of the independent's reporters, or “agents.” Charlotte Suthers may have dumped all the blame on the reporters, But her presenting bad intelligence was not entirely their fault. A few simple questions could have revealed a “lack of information,” and she would have gotten her facts correct. Instead, she decided to run with her “information” that made for a better story. It was one thing to report a grizzly murder, but the idea that Beacon was turning their back to the whole thing was vastly more interesting. But that likely blew up in their faces. The fallout must have been spectacular to write an edit nearly as large as the story itself. There must have been a huge backlash from a lot of beacon girls. There was very little that could save the credibility of Charlotte Suthers, her editor, and the independent at this point. At least in Veronica's eyes.

But Veronica was not faultless on the front of relaying bad intelligence. She had just received word this morning that there was a plant in her organization. One that had her sending Sam after one of her own girls weeks ago. Unfortunately, the reclusive nature of Ebon Mint meant that she could never properly verify the sources of her information. It was rare for Veronica to ever receive true intelligence. She had recently taken steps to make communication between her agents more transparent, but she wasn't sure if it would be enough. There had to be more she could do, to make sure she wasn't a victim of bad intelligence again.

Before Veronica could pursue that thought much further, she got a call on one of her lines. She lifted a finger to her ear.

”Ugh...” an exausted groan escaped Veronica's ear piece.

“Binky?”

”Gah!” Binky's yelped. ”Veronica! I didn't expect you to call back!”

The coin broker folded her arms. “You just called me.”

Binky was one of Veronica's older contacts. She was pretty easy to identify because she looked more or less like a virgin sacrifice. In terms of magical girl powers she got the short end of the stick. While her magic would normally be very potent, her specialization is making fast food appear out of nowhere. She can make Chinese, burgers, even pizza if she really focuses. Binky is also relatively cowardly, and prefers to stay out of combat. Normally that is not an option for a magical girl. However, Veronica has recruited her as a researcher. Her ability to create food and duplicate herself makes her adequate for such a task.

”Right right, that's right!” Binky wiped her mouth on her arm. ”I haven't slept in thirty-six hours. So I'm a little exhausted.”

“I don't want to hear excuses, do you have anything to report?”

”Right right, I'm sorry!” Binky sighed. ”It's about project scarlet.” She laughed. ”I got a reaction!”

“From the coins?”

”Yes! They work!” Binky gasped. ”This is, a very big first step. Even on its own this could change the world forever!”

Veronica smiled. “You're not done until you reach the end goal, but I'm glad progress is being made.”

”That's not all though. These mutations.” Binky flipped through some pages. ”I've never seen anything like it before! I've documented it all but-”

“I'll have to stop by to take a look.”

”Yes! Please!” Binky's voice was shaking with excitement. ”Please bring toilet paper, and some change. I haven't been able to do any wash for two weeks straight, and I'm not sure how much longer my underwear is going to last. It's really itchy.”

“Of course. I will get you all squared away as soon as I can.”

”Alright, I hope you come soon. My clones are starting to bully me.”

as soon as she ended the call, she looked at the web page for the Penrose Independent. Someone had written a comment. Apparently not everyone was as unforgiving of bad intelligence as Veronica was. But that was fine. Not everyone had what it took to be a decent coin broker. Though given who posted, that didn't surprise Veronica. Regardless, that was hardly important. Veronica had been getting reports of a nuisance. Perhaps it was time to deal with that just to keep things quiet again.

---

@Crusader Lord

Nevermore caught a lead that directed her into a fairly dark alley. Allegedly Veronica was spotted here frequently, and it would be a good place to search for her. But as soon as she flew inside, the world started to turn very dark. Almost as if the sun had fallen out of the sky. But even in total darkness, Nevermore was able to see. What the raven might have been surprised by was the tar-like substance forming in the darkness. It bubbled and popped, and soon completely surrounded the bird. Nevermore was now flying inside a giant sphere no wider than the alleyway. She had to keep circling to stay aloft.

“It is not wise to search for an Ebon coin broker.” Veronica's voice seemed to come from all angles. “Why are you looking for me?”

”Ahhh! Jeez, you and Lord Soth seem to come from the same school of ‘scaring a bird 101’. What’s next, i get sent to find a dancing penguin only to trigger Second Impact?

Ah, but yes my master does have business he wishes to do with your group! He wants to acquire one of your proprietary coins to give to his magical girl to use at a chosen time! It is something that would of course put her in the Mint’s Debt and at your service, yes!

And in return for his sending a servant of his into your service, he desires certain resources in return!”

“Hmmmmm.” Nevermore couldn't see it, but she could picture the owner of the voice rubbing her chin in thought. “It's not very common for me to offer a coin, especially at the suggestion at a horror. It's not especially difficult for me to locate magical girls. I do not see what makes yours so special.” Several things started to poke out of the all encompassing tar wall. Once the tips of Nevermore's wings started to brush them, they stopped. It became apparent that they were the tips of various weapons. “I would like to know what it is that your lord requires, and what makes him think one worthless, mind bent girl is worth my time.”

”She is the magical girl of Lord Soth! The Infinite Abyss! The Emptiness of the Void! The Great Lord by which all returns to in the end, yes!

She can tap into Lord Soth’s great power! She can project the void into her darkness, and erase your problems and enemies away, yes! Free cleanup duty for messy situations is also possible, due to her powers! Her magical might is high, and her willingness to serve is good as well, yes! She can be put to work very well, hmm!

All my Lord Desires in return is a corpse. Be that of a young girl exposed to magic, or that of a deceased magical girl, yes! All to study how to better craft magical girls on his part in the future!

Is not a living servant a potentially fair trade for an unmoving, useless corpse, hmm?

If this does not work, then what else might the Ebon Mint want of my lord in payment for his request? He possesses many things, yes, many things from around the universe as well that he has acquired in his immense work!”

“Create magical girls?” Nevermore was not left in silence this time. She could clearly hear a growl as Veronica formed her thoughts. “If Soth is so quick to throw away one of his magical girls for a corpse, then maybe he can make his own.” An object was fired out of the tar and struck Nevermore hard enough to knock her off course. Fortunately, the weapons retracted and the tar vanished. Nevermore was able to crash land beside the projectile; a black coin.  ”I pity you raven, there on the floor. You'll get this coin, and nothing more.”

Then the darkness faded, and her presence seemed to disappear.

Nevermore stood up again, checking her feathers over and trying to shake off the rude landing. The raven mumbled a few words under her breath in an alien tongue, but swiftly snatched up the single Black Coin in her talons. She then tried to get up in the air again, before a sudden gust of wind sent her flying down again, crashing into the open dumpster in the alley, having been sent off course again by….sudden forces at play.

”Rahhh!” the raven squaked from the dumpster, voicing frustration at having landed in-, ”Wait, is that a dead rat sitting on top of half an onion-topped stuffed crust pizza?! Score!!!

After a brief moment to take a bite to eat, which was in retrospect far faster than a normal bird should be able to eat, Nevermore hopped up onto the edge of the dumpster. The Black Coin was firmly in her talons, though before she could say more an inky black orb appeared in the air in front of her. It lacked the same nature as that broker’s, er, sphere? Hard to tell that overall shape of the place when she had been having to keep flying to avoid drowning in tar or running into points objects.

’Ah, your mission was to this end a success, my servant?

Then come, embrace the darkness and return to Annabelle’s side. The coin shall remain in my care proper till’ the chosen time when it will be used. Just as you told the Broker.’

Nevermore rolled her eyes at the situation as Lord Soth’s voice bounced around inside her skill, but regardless she hopped off the edge of the dumpster toward the orb. In an instant, the orb swallowed up the raven and itself, both disappearing in the blink of an eye and without a trace.

Plans for the future

If this forum were to ever crash and burn though (which has happened to me in the past) I would try to back up anything that I felt was important. Then over time, I would probably wonder why I felt the posts and such were even worth saving, and will likely leave them behind.

I remember the memories, the struggles, and the satisfaction they brought me when I was actually writing. But for some reason, reading the posts themselves bring me less joy as the RP fades into a memory and my ability to write improves. The memories are the real hallmark of wonderful RPs, and the text itself becomes less important over time. I still remember my first RP. It spent many years on my computer, but the words we wrote together couldn't live up to their memory. I no longer possess it.

Any contacts I wish to keep are nestled away in discord somewhere. If the forum falls, I'll still have my connections.

Mahz has shown up to fix problems in the past. Even though the silly vacation banner has been up forever, the forum crashes have since stopped. And if he doesn't, it will affect me very little.

Nice fear mongering, BTW.

RPGC #19: Beware The Metal Age - Discussion

Anyways. I’m happy you found it entertaining. Heh, how many other works of mine have you read, I wonder? How long have you been here that I don’t currently remember? Oh, well, anyways. Thank you for the review~

@PlatinumSkink

Just your last entry when I started reviewing, admittedly.

Oh, and I'm a guy. Waifu avatars confuse everyone. I'm not sorry.

@Calle

So you did mention what they were after. Fair enough. I must have been growing restless. I'll blame Frizan's narrow deadline for the votes anyway, heh.

Word budgeting is a writer's tool, and there's not really any easy way to estimate unless you practice. Because I always count my words after writing a post, I can usually guess how much I've written withing a few hundred words. But a lot of things factor into how long a scene is from your writing style and how detailed you choose to make a particular scene. Writing is kind of magical in that a quick brown fox can jump over a lazy brown dog in just ten words. But it can also be blown up to a hundred words if I want to make it a bit more dramatic, or even a thousand words if I want to add in some backstory.

To start though, you just need to decide on how many scenes you want to have and how long the story has to be. As an example, Let's say I want to write a story about a man who goes to war. I may want to write a story that has 6K words and has 3 arcs. The first arc is the man telling his family he's going to war, the second arc is the war itself, and the third arc is him returning home and seeing how much has changed. I would start writing with the idea that my budget was 2k words for each arc. If I start to go over, I could just prune the current/former arc or decide that the next arc will just be shorter. But maybe my second and third arc are shorter than expected and I have an extra 1.5K words to play with. Maybe I could write a 4th arc where he visits the enemy nation if it helps the idea I'm trying to establish with my story.

Just something to play around with. Some people find it helpful, others distracting.

Re: Zero: The High Council

Starting location, Priestella

The giant wolf immediately took notice of flame and was prepared to pounce on him. The creature's height and long legs made it very quick, and Flame would not have normally been able to get out of the way. However...

It proved to be a great distraction for Mirt, who was able to jump onto the creature as it ran by the window. The wolf's attention shifted to its newest passenger. It thrashed about, stomping all over the table as it attempted to buck Mirt off of it's back. But it was no use, and the monk's fingers went straight into the beast's eye unimpeded. But it didn't wimpier. The wolf only growled in response.

It seemed like all Mirt did was anger it further.

At this point, the wolf was threatening to trample the two knights and the girl traveling with them. Not that any of them were on the wolf's mind at the moment. It was just building up speed before leaning against the brick walls. If Mirt continued to hold on, he would surely be ground to bits between the wolf and the fortified wall. But falling under the wolf's back paws presented it's own challenges...

For the non-natives, it seemed like the path to the kitchen was clear. And with the knights showing up, this couldn't have happened a moment too soon.

---

Center road, The Golden Quarter, Priestella

Vasilis grinned as he watched the “foreigners” inspect their surroundings. ”It's like this is all new to them or something. They must be from really far away.” He thought out loud. The knight turned to look at Irene. ”Ready to head back?”

It did not take long for everyone to get to the Golden Quarter. Vasilis stepped out of the cab first, and helped Irene, Chieko, Aerith, and Hiro down in that order.

Fritzi nodded along to Hiro's questions. ”Well, if you want to blend in, it's more than just a question of what to wear.” She raised her finger in front of Hiro's nose. ”It's wear you want to wear it!” She cast her hands of to the side, presenting some fine tunics, each dyed a dark shade of red, blue, or green. ”If you plan on venturing into the noble district, clothes like these would make you blend right in! They're just the right blend of casual and majesty. Fine enough for a noble, while modest enough to wear anywhere in the city. Classy yet practical! But they aren't strictly a mark of the social elite, merchants and some commoners wear them.” Her hand moved to a row further back, which featured similar outfits. Though even at a glance, it was easy to see they weren't as fine. The stitching was much simpler, and the colors were brighter, but looked washed out and flat. ”These are a bit more comfortable, but are less likely to impress a noble. But these are my fastest sellers. The quality is decent enough for most commoners, and everyone loves the price! Just stay out of the noble district.” She slammed her hands against the counter top. ”But if you really want to blend in, you've gotta accessorize!” Fritzi stopped speaking the moment Hiro's hands dove into his pockets and pulled up nothing. She stared at him, mouth hanging agape. There was a twinkle in her eyes, like any second the flood gates would open. ”...Whaaaaaaat?” But then Irene passed a bag of coins to Chieko, and she sighed. ”Um, yea, I'm sure you could trade with someone around here, but YAY! You have money now!” She winked at Hiro before planting her hands on her hips. ”Trading away your belongings for some quick cash is a slippery slope, and I wouldn't advise doing it.” She folded her arms. ”So, what's everyone buying? And do you have names? I'd like to make you guys repeat customers. I feel like there's a lot I could offer you guys!”

---

”Near the docks”, Cham, Priestella

The situation thoroughly confounded Aer. There was little to no chance of these people being forieners if they didn't have the paperwork. No one was allowed inside the city without some documentation. It wasn't a sure thing, but it was highly unlikely.

They couldn't have been bandits. Firstly, the outfits really drew too much attention. That wasn't something a bandit would wear. Even if they did, there was no reason to come prepared with such a lame story. It was also extremely risky to present a magical device that they had stolen from one of the locals. They also outnumbered her, and had plenty of opportunities to go for their weapons.

They might have been cultists. This was a theory that was showing a lot more promise But she had heard that they were fear mongers who often wielded powerful magic. At least when travailing in a group, it made sense that one of them would be strong enough to protect the others. The only thing that might have made sense was for this demihuman to secretly be a cultist in disguise. But there was no reason to leave his side and surrender to Aer. Even if this was all just a ruse to get Aer surrounded, there were plenty of hostages around. If they were willing to take advantage of the situation, there were plenty of avenues of escape. But they had intentionally separated themselves from their savior to surrender to Aer. That didn't make sense to her. The only way it made sense was if they were more scared of this demihuman than they were of the authorities. And they seemed plenty scared of the authorities. However unlikely, they must have been telling the truth.

"Just... Stand off to the side for a moment." Aer walked past the boys and pointed her weapon at Wisp. It was still wrapped up in cloth. "I see you don't have a problem disturbing the peace." She slid her feet apart and landed in a stance, with the shaft of the object resting in both hands. By this point all the bystanders was giving her plenty of space. "I thought your name sounded familiar, but there's no way you're part of the Compass." She fret her brow. "Put out that fire before I do it for you."