Avatar of BrokenPromise

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1 yr ago
The virgin "My post was so bad it killed the RP!" VS the chad "My post was so good it concluded the RP."
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Bio


W I T H R I G H T E O U S H A N D S





Did you know that Dante's inferno is called a divine comedy because things work out for the protagonist? Back in the day, the only two genres were comedy and drama. The only difference was that in a comedy, the protagonist is better off at the end, and a drama is the opposite. So that's why a story about going through hell can still be considered a comedy, even if it's not funny.

Name:
Broken Promise, BP, Boss

Age:
Old enough to know better, too young to care. (that is to say 30's)

Preferred RPs:
I Prefer to make my own, but will occasionally join something if it looks interesting. I'll join just about anything so long as it isn’t overly edgy/sweet, though it's rare for me to do. I don't do 1x1s too often either.

Preferred Roles:
I tend to play adorable characters everyone wants to befriend or proper assholes everyone wants to stay away from. I try not to play moral paragons or prime evils.

RP Conquests:
I've completed quite a few RP's off site, but most of them are on private forums or have simply been lost to the ravages of server crashes. As for stuff here, I'm sure everyone who sees me post in the off topic sections has seen me find an excuse to talk about Danganronpa: Tower of Carnage. It's a project that took over 4 years to complete and I feel pride not only for myself but all the wonderful people who helped make it enjoyable during its run. Re: Zero: The High Council Is technically my first, but it was just something I kind of took over and ended up ending the story after just six months. It finished, but eh...

Last RP I finished was Symphony of Espers which turned out pretty good.

RP's in progress:
For some reason I can't seem to stay away from Ari's magical girl RP, even if I'm not sure why I'm still in it.

As for my own projects, I'm doing Symphony on High to continue the gigachad adventures of the espers in Pax Septimus.

RP Graveyard:
I've been pretty fortunate on this forum. I think I joined one when I first came on the site that didn't really do anything, and there are a few 1x1 things that didn't go anywhere. It's disappointing when an RP ends before it can be finished, but I've come to look at them as learning experiences.

And then there's that london magical girl RP, and that dark magical girl RP. I think I'm done joining magical girl RPs for a while.

Other interests:
Videos
I watch a lot of educational videos on youtube. Usually as research for something I’m writing or purely because a topic interests me. I like channels like Tier Zoo and Daryl Talks Games, and I’ll also watch things like Critical Drinker or Literature Devil to deepen my understanding of story telling. Though I also like memes and jokes, to which I’ll find myself watching stuff like Sseth, but usually find myself surfing through meme videos. I gotta work on that.

Games
I have a rather long history of playing virtually every platformer to come into existence during the indie boom, as well as quite a few other indie games. I’ve played Meatboy, Binding of Issac, Gunvolt, Cuphead, Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt, Classic Metroid, Warcraft 3, Final Fantasy 7,8, and 14, Left 4 Dead, Shantae, Celeste, Danganronpa, God Eater, the list goes on. What I’ve played is kind of all over the place. I don’t play many games these days, I tend to pick things that look interesting and go on a decent steam sale.

Painting Minis
I do this in moderation. Otherwise, it's a pretty expensive hobby to start...

Music
I listen to everything, save most country/rap songs. I have too many favorites to name.

Personality:
Not one to take life or the internet too seriously. Is only serious about writing well and having a good time.

People to Insult:
Dalton is a Dingus.

Most Recent Posts

@thecatinaction

I mean to say that I see the value in determining certain things by chance, yes. You can also have strict rules, just so long as participation in an RP doesn't feel like a game. I'll admit it's a little amusing when the barbarian fails his STR check and bounces off a door, while the halfling bard is able to blow it off it's hinges with his shoulder. It's funny at a table surrounded by players to laugh at the dice rolls. Though most players on a forum will not be happy to have wasted a week narrating the barbarian trying to blow down a door.

Chance mechanics work better as a way to make events more unpredictable. I recently had a spin-the-bottle game going between a bunch of players, and I left my rolls entirely to chance. The interactions that the bottle game created were not ones that I would normally have thought of, but that was part of what made them so entertaining. Though as is always with chance, it can be kind of weird sometimes. That bottle really favored certain characters, and all of my characters got paired up with the same person.

Table top does not really lend itself well to a forum I feel. In play-by-post, you can genuinely clear a big event or two in a few months. on a table top, it can take twenty or more rounds to finish a dungeon. Figure 4-5 rounds per encounter. If each turn lasts a week, you've dedicated about half a year to clearing a dungeon. Meanwhile, a DnD group can get together and knock out a dungeon in a few hours.

PbP and TT may look similar on paper, but they are different animals. I enjoy them both for different reasons. PbP gives me the freedom to narrate my character's actions. I usually have a few days to think about how I'm going to react to something, be it an opponent or something one of my allies has said to my character. With TT, everything is faster and temporary. My character's words aren't being written to the internet, I'm expected to be more spontaneous with my choices. stats and perks limit what my characters can do, sacrificing creative licensing to make a "game."

Basically, PbP is all about (mostly) freedom story telling, while TT is more about serving as a game with rules that dabbles into story telling.

I don't find the two mesh very well. You can have a good PbP with TT ELEMENTS but to try to do both at the same time is always going to produce something for a niche audience.


“Checking the oil? Big kek!”

— Oros


Penrose was a mess, but that was nothing new.

Shortly after the rave concluded, corrupted girls continued to run amok. In response to this, Beacon dispatched squadrons of girls to deal with the mess. They needed to protect what few normals remained, as well as guard Beacon HQ from another attack. The Ascendancy was out in full force, and if you so much as looked like you were corrupted, you were put down.

Of course if you attacked them first, that hardly mattered.

Dova limped through the streets. The fish girl had an Olympic body, but her foe managed to land a good hit on her. She had been minding her own business when she spotted a beacon girl walking through the street. Fearing for her life, she got a few of her friends together and placed an ambush for her. Turns out the isolated Beacon girl was an Ascendancy scout and more than enough to execute them all.

The fish girl wasn’t sure how it happened. One moment they were all ready to fight, then the next moment they were crying in pain. Her friends sunk to the ground clenching their feet, and then something stabbed holes in them. Like the ground was firing bullets into their collapsed bodies. Dova almost fell victim as well. Her feet were filled with holes, but she refused to collapse. She ran through the streets, and her pursuer sauntered after her.

Dova had to wonder if the Ascendancy girl would be content with just killing her. Fates worse than death lept into Dova’s mind as she hoped for a savior. She turned a corner to break the Ascendancy girl’s line of sight and hoped to find someone close.

Dova didn’t believe in a higher power, but it seemed that someone answered her plea. There was an old car with what could only be a magical girl sitting on top of it. A pink haired miko with a black dress. She was looking into a black katana. No time to think, this girl was either going to save her or doom her.

”Please!” Dova gasped. ”Let me hide in the car!”

The miko didn’t hesitate. She sheathed her blade and hopped off of the hood, making no attempt to acknowledge Dova. The woman stepped around her, putting herself between the girl and whatever was chasing her. “Just remember, no one rides with Oros for free.”

”Thank you.”

The fish girl jumped into the car without another word. The windows were frosted over enough that she could look out, but anyone else would have trouble looking in. Dova would be safe as long as her pursuer was fended off or simply lost track of her. She didn’t wish any harm on this “Oros” girl, but better her than Dova.

Before long her pursuer appeared. She would never forget the nun with a giant cross. Her coat ended at the back of her knees, and she wore leggings that went half way up her thighs. She also wore gauntlets and grieves, yet her shoulders were left bare. She wasn’t wearing a habit either. There was a cross embroidered on the front of her uniform.

“Not a bad look.” Oros’s eyes went straight for the nun’s thighs. “Can’t believe you stole Alicia’s gimmick though.”

”You there.” The nun either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her comment. ”Where is the interloper?”

Oros grinned. “You’ve got to be Ascendancy if you talk like that.” She stepped off to the side and waved her hand at the blood trail going to the car. “Shit for brains didn’t hide her trail very well.” Dova would have stormed out of the car and kicked Oros’s ass if she was in better shape. Just as Dova gave into her anger, Oros stepped back in front of the car and folded her arms. “You’re not blind, right?”

The nun fret her brow. ”I do not appreciate your tone, samurai.”

Oros lifted her finger while keeping her arms crossed. “I prefer shrine maiden. Shinto maidens used katanas in their rituals sometimes. Or you can call me Oros.” She raised an eyebrow. “You got a name, nun?”

”Sasona.” The nun was relaxed at all times. Even as a frigged wind blew through the street, here eyes remained on the woman before her. ”I wish to vanquish the treacherous heathen and be on my way.” She spun the cross upright. ”Move from my path so I may deal with the corrupted witch.”

“Geahahaha! How do you manage to talk like that without making it sound forced? Does Beacon only recruit from a pool of historical LARPers or what?” With a sigh, Oros managed to calm down. “But getting back to your request, Sasona...” Oros scowled as her brow ridge dropped between her eyes. “No.”

”Is there a reason you wish to protect this monster?”

“I just feel like pushing your shit in. You look like a good fight.” she pushed her sword an inch out of her scabbard. Just enough to reveal the silver of her blade.

The nun gripped her cross with both hands. ”I expected a fight. I don’t know why I played along with you.”

“Remember this moment, Sasona.” Oros closed her eyes. “Right now, we are both proud fighters, sure of how this fight will turn out.” She took her time drawing her sword out. “But we can’t both be right. One or both of us will be brought low by this encounter.”

Sasona took a single step forward. ”I am part of the Ascendancy. I’m not one to be trifled with.”

“Oh yea? Well this is a solo Patron Observable Session Transcript, herein called a solo POST. I like my odds of winning this one!” Oros’s katana flew out of her sheath as soon as she initiated her charge. “Let’s WRASTLE!”

The distance between them was not far, maybe twenty or thirty feet tops. By the time Dova blinked, Oros had closed half that distance. Yet something had caught her feet. When she looked down to see what it was, black spikes were protruding through her feet and into her shins. Dova had been hit by a similar attack, but she didn’t have a chance to see what it was. But Oros wasn’t even staggering, even though it looked like she was being cut straight to the bone.

“That kind of hurt.” Oros pulled her leg back. “Interesting use of darkness. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone use it to attack like that.”

”You shouldn’t be surprised.” The nun kept her distance.

“Right right, the Ascendancy is filled with g I f t e d I n d I v I d u a l s. I haven’t forgotten.” Oros hopped out of the shadows and into a patch of light. “Let’s try that again.” Though Oros’s charge was stopped by the black spikes a second time. “What trickery is this? The road is perfectly illuminated!”

Sasona examined her fingers when she addressed Oros. ”Are you sure? Shadows cannot exists where there is light.”

“That so?”

This was twice Sasona had managed to surprise Oros. Ascendancy girls were in a different league than normal Beacon girls for sure. Dova was worried, but Oros didn’t seem to be. In fact, her little smirk might have been an indication that she had figured it out.

“I get it now, you used the darkness below the street. I can fix that.” Oros hopped into the air. Two giant insect wings sprouted out of the back of her uniform. That was all it took to keep her aloft. “And before you get any more ideas...” Oros’s body became bioluminescent. removing any shadows that might be lingering inside her body. A confident smile crossed her face. “Now our fight begins in earnest!” A black spike stabbed Oros through the chest, directly over her heart. Since she was almost entirely transparent, she could see the spike came from inside her heart, which was being fully illuminated. “What. Is. This. Shit?!”

Sasona forced a smile that was too wicked for a nun. ”You figured part of it out. I can control conceptual darkness too, including the darkness in your heart.”

“OF COURSE YOU CAN!”


Her smile only widened at Oros’s outburst. ”I’m not an opponent you can beat. If you surrender now I’ll make sure Beacon doesn’t treat you too harsh-” Something leathery and wet slapped against the side of Sasona’s face: a fresh heart.

Oros licked the blood off of her clawed hand. “You can keep it, I won’t be needing that slimy peice of shit.” There was a hole in Oros’s chest where her heart use to be. Oddly, the wound did not appear to be bleeding. Her blood seemed to stay in place despite there being a gash near her sternum. “Now if you can do that shit to my brain, do it right frickin’ now! I’m not in the mood for any more tricks! Put me out of my misery!”

”Tch!”

“So that’s your limit? I might have dark thoughts, but no one has a dark brain, right?” Oros grinned. “I hope we’re done flaunting ourselves like exhibitionists. I’m ready for a fight!” With her katana raised, she flew towards Sasona.

Sasona wasn’t going to remain on the ground, though, Her shadow locked around her feet and held her up in the air, growing to whatever altitude she desired. Her swinging arm was strong, and despite having the larger weapon, she could move just as fast as Oros could.

“Of course, why not also be a champ in physical prowess as well?”

Dova had to roll down the car’s window to observe the fight. They kept flying higher, trying to find a way to breech the other one’s defenses. Sasona flew past Oros and tried to catch her in her shadows, but the miko’s mode of flight was nimble enough to maneuver around them. Oros summoned a tentacle on her next pass, but the nun’s shadows would mince them before they took hold.

The nun fret her brow. ”How much longer do you plan on dragging this out?”

Oros’s eyebrows jumped. “We passed the 2k word mark already? Shit on a single! Better end this before it gets so long nobody reads it!”

The two contents took one last swing at each other before the force of the blows pushed them apart. Oros swooped upwards into a crescent dive, and Sasona pulled back her weapon for another swing. They were both preparing something. Shadows clung to the outside of Sasona’s cross, and Oros sprouted four tentacles.

Dova couldn’t risk blinking less she miss the whole thing. In an instant, the two came at each other. Adrenalin and her waning magical energies slowed everything down for her. The black nun and the glowing comet, tendrils of flesh and darkness, but the impact still eluded her.

Oros made the first move. She flicked her tentacles forward to grab a hold of Sasona when she got in range. Her opponent was ready with her own tentacles, which were made of thin blades of darkness that sliced through her fleshy restraints. Not a moment later Oros hurled her katana, but this too was thwarted, as Sasona simly swung her weapon and knocked it aside. Oros was close now. She was within grappling range, if without a weapon. Sasona had demonstrated greater strength and agility than Oros, so Dova was unsure what sort of move she could pull off at this point to save herself. But then she-

Woops, she blinked.

When Dova opened her eyes, she could see the two cruising towards the earth. But it wouldn’t be until they both crashed into the ground that she could discern what had happened. Once the smoke had settled, she could see Oros was hugging Sasona’s head against her breasts, which were stained with blood. Oros’s back was riddled with holes, and it seemed like her katana had found its way back to the fight and embedded itself inside Sasona’s ribcage. Dova was sure that they had killed each other, but it was Oros’s rumbling laughter that let her know who the victor was.

“Hey, how’s the headache?” Oros was slow to stand up, but as she did, Dova could see something emerge from her bosom. There was a crystal slab between Sasona’s forehead and Oros’s hammer space. Oros needed to stand up completely and take a few steps back for the entire slab to emerge from her hammerspace. “Ready for another go, I’ve got plenty of fight left in me!” Oros grabbed the alter with one hand and chucked it off to the side. Her knees were wobbling, a universal symbol of fading stamina and confidence. “Y-you’re still alive, right?” Sasona’s skull seemed to be in tact, but she was still hit in the head with a nine-hundred pound chunk of rock. Her eyes were partially open, unblinking. “Talk to me damn you!” She picked up the nun and gave her a shake.

”Mph…” She groaned before blinking. ”What will you do now, foul cretin?”

“Ah!” Oros pulled her into a hug. “I was about to say, I knew the ascendancy was stronger than that!”

”How shameful that you defeated me.” Sasona closed her eyes. ”No wonder they thought I should remain behind a desk. I’m just so weak and-”

“OH YOU SHUT YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW YOU SLUT!” And with that, Oros popped open the trunk of the car and tossed Sasona inside.

The fish girl blinked. ”I’m alive.” A wave of relief washed over Dova. Her friends may be dead, and she would have nightmares about this for the rest of her days, but she had survived. She climbed out of the car and prepared to leave. She didn’t care what happened to Sasona, so long as Dova could leave that was something worth celebrating.

“I didn’t forget about you.”

Dova had just walked past the back end of the car when Oros addressed her. ”What do you mean?”

“Well I saved you. Don’t you think I deserve a reward?”

”I-I don’t think I have anything to give.”

“Hah!” Oros placed a hand on Dova’s shoulder. “Surely you have something I want.” Oros motioned her eyebrows.

”I honestly don-!”

The wounded fish girl was picked up by a magical force and shoved into the back of the vehicle. “I’ll check the oil in a bit.” The trunk closed, shrouding Dova and Sashona in darkness.

”I don’t suppose you can get us out of here huh?”

But Dova got no response from the unconscious magical girl.




“Shit I should be dead.” Oros reminisced about the encounter while holding a bumper sticker.

A week later and all of the excitement caused by the rave had died down. Even magical girls could only stay wound up for so long regardless of how tragic an event was. The Independent hadn’t really followed up their performance with anything, so the rave became old news. Penrose was the type of place where even world ending events like Justine or Soth’s thing were quickly buried under.

“I’m so frickin’ bored, there’s no one to dooooooooooo!” Oros flicked the bumper sticker out of her hands and stood up. “Wait! I saved something for this occasion! I’ll run into someone important for sure!” She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a piece of buttered toast. “You haven’t failed me yet buddy, lead mommy to gold!” She bit onto the corner of the toast and started to run through the streets. Disguised of course.
The Even Better [IC] Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay Filler Arc Featuring A Spinning Bottle And Some Movies.


@Ariamis@AtomicNut@Ponn@FamishedPants@Card Captor@twave


Faith was simply overjoyed to be surrounded by all of her friends. Connie, Mia, Hildiebell, Hilaria, and even her mother was here! And they had friends and even they had friends. Being part of something so large was almost enough to put Faith in a euphoric state. She sampled the food, she conversed, and for a moment the dread of Lotus’s death had subsided.

”It’s not important~!” Faith reiterated to Hildie, who inquired about her run-in with the twins. ”What have you been up to?“

”Hey!” Mother pointed at the bottle. ”Quit stalling the game and spin!”

Faith laughed. ”Seems it’s my turn! Tell me how you’ve been when I get back~!“ Faith kneeled down beside the bottle and gave it a spin. And it landed on…

Alex again!?”

”R-really?“ Faith was not oblivious to Alex’s outburst earlier when Ronin kissed Lily. ”Well, I guess it’s going to be another game of truth or dare for Alex.“
”What are you, straight or something?”

”Hm?“ Faith turned her head, only to find herself pulling her head back when her mother’s face was practically against her skin. ”I-Is something wrong?“

”You heard me! I raised you in a progressive environment!” She pointed at Alex. ”Everybody else is doing it, you might as well too!”

”I-If you’re sure.“

Faith felt a bit uncomfortable as she approached Alex. He seemed kind of gruff, and in a relationship he was serious about. But maybe he just felt left out because mother hadn’t kissed him? She would have preferred the bottle pointed her towards anyone else. But it didn’t have to be a kiss on the lips or anything serious.

”Pardon me, Lily. I’m just going to, um, maybe if I stand over here?“ With Alexander and Lily so close, it was hard to maneuver around them. Then the corners of Faith’s lips curled into a smile.

”Hold on now, Lily spun on me before leaving~!“

She stuck her head between the two love struck teens and pushed their faces into her cheeks. ”Oh yes! I can feel the warmth of their bond passing through me and into each other! Oh ho ho ho~!“

Her mother closed her eyes and groaned. ”Alex looks busy. Did anyone else wanna spin the bottle? Or are we gunna watch some shitty movies?”
Looks like all the weapons are twice as stronk now. Does that mean th ether staff is a +2 now?
The heavy blade specifies it's 2 handed and offers retarded stat bonuses, which Is why it can't be equipped with other weapons I think. But if it applies to every weapon that would be kind of weird. Well, weird depending on the weapon. Guess we'll find out.
@FamishedPants@Mateotis@Majoras End

Wild week, But I got something up.

On the upside, this part is more chatty than figuring out stuff, so feel free to just roleplay and we'll see how it goes. The good shit is coming.


Mariette & Oros


‘… Wait, our banner is shaped like a heart?’

*Draws gun* ”Always has been.”

— Mariette & Oros


Oros and Mariette continued to stare in the direction of the subway. But there was no explosion, just the gradual reversal of the BAMF’s energies.

”Back in my day, killing a boss at least netted you a big explosion. There wasn’t even an interesting cut scene after this one.” Oros tried to put both of har hands on her hips, but one of her arms was missing so that was kind of impossible. ”Guess we’ll just have to make our own.” She turned to face Mariette. ”So Mary! Whatcha doing?” She approached the girl. ”You didn’t drop me in the ol’ pit of darkness. What’s up with that?”

Mariette sighed a bit. She really wanted to go in there and collect some more crystal, but if there was a build-up of energy as long as she was in there that may be a bad idea. In any case, there was an Oros approaching her, asking why she’d not been dropped into a hole of darkness… ‘Would you like to be dropped into the hole of darkness?’ Mariette asked, peering over at the girl with a mildly curious expression.

”Well yea! I’d love to finish fighting that thing! Along with anything else you’ve trapped in there!” She boxed the air. It looked a little weird with one hand. ”Of course, I’d rather get inside your hole of darkness.” Mariette wasn’t sure she had ever seen someone’s smile get so wide.

Mariette gave Oros a weird look. She exceedingly did not get it. Was she referring to her mansion as being her “hole of darkness”? ‘Er. Right. No, you don’t want to go there. I put things that’s going to be sacrificed to my patron in there. Unless you wish to be sacrificed, stay out,’ Mariette told her, but the thought had crossed her mind to stay quiet about it and just let Oros unknowingly sacrifice herself. She’d eventually decided against it, though. ‘I collect monsters to keep my patron happy. He takes magical girls, too, but I’m currently trying to avoid being a public menace, so I’m sticking to monsters,’ Mariette says her official explanation to her actions, framing it as a bit of a joke.

”Unfortunate, but I wouldn’t want to tick off ass n’gav by killing off all the sacrifices you collected.” Oros continued to step closer to Mariette. ”Now what do I get for helping you with all this?”

Mariette had to take a moment to look a bit confused. ‘If you mean for the bounty, I assume you will be paid for the successful joint dealing of the monster, same as I…’ she told, but… ‘… Or are you asking because you want to help me out in the future, too?’ Mariette asked, confused.

Oros didn’t stop walking towards Mariette until she was right in front of her. If she extended her hand, she could touch her. ”The bounty is old news now, the grand magistrate will dole out coins for that in the future I’m sure. Or perhaps it’s already happened? Liquid time is such a strange thing.” She raised her hand and placed it on her chest. ”But I was doing more than just collecting a bounty out there. I offered to protect you from all those shitsicles, and you made use of me. You netted yourself a few sacrifices out of the deal. I feel I deserve compensation for this service.” she tapped on her chest with her finger. ”Would you mind doing something for me?”

‘Oh…’ Right, yeah, there’d been such an offer. Mariette hadn’t promised any form of reward for that, but she supposed it merited consideration. Mariette turned towards Oros with a business-ready face and prepared herself a bit, the closeness making her subconsciously prepare her tentacles in her shadow. ‘Okay. What would you like me to do?’

”Well.” Oros leaned closer. She inhaled the air around Mariette one more time before letting her breath flow out of her mouth. ”What I’m about to ask you to do is something I haven’t gotten to enjoy in a long time. It’s something adults do as often as they can, to the point it becomes something of a ritual.” She took a lock of Mariette’s hair and started to play with it, looping it around her finger and allowing it to slide off. ”But it also requires trust from both sides. I’d like to think we have that after our fight together.” She closed her eyes as if remembering some distant memory, only for them to open again moments later. ”I’d like to teach you how to best utilize your tentacles. Would you like to do that with me?”

Mariette winced back a little when Oros leaned in. Something adults do? She looked a bit in alarm at what Oros was doing with a lock of her hair, and then continued to listen to her words, and upon Oros reaching the end-

Said tentacles sprouted out of Mariette’s shadow and made an attempt to grab Oros and lift her away from Mariette, or otherwise just make her back off if they didn’t get a grip of her. Mariette maintained a significantly alarmed and worried expression and summoned back Bunny to clutch him, looking in slight fright at Oros past her defensive tentacles. There were many things Mariette didn’t understand, but there was an unmistakable feeling in her chest.

This girl was dangerous.

But it seemed that Mariette’s tentacles were enough to lift Oros into the air and restrain her. Or if Oros’s maniacal laughter was anything to go by, it was something she was fine with being subjected to. ” That’s a yes then? Good!” Oros was splayed out like an upside-down Y, with her only arm pointing straight up into the air. ”Surprise tentacles are always a good thing. But you’ve watched me fight, so you know that this won’t stop me.” She gestured towards the scabbard at her side. ”I can draw that blade with more than just my arm. If I were a real opponent you’d want to remove that from my person.” Her limbs twitched, the tentacles pulled against her flesh. ”Mary, Your real goal is to make it so that I can’t even think about escape. The body and mind are interlinked. You can’t control a mind, but you can control a body. Limit their options and they’ll conform to your will.” She looked around herself. ”Remove my sword, or at least contain it. Also, try pulling my legs directly outward. Like I’m doing split. You’ll probably dislocate my legs, but it’ll make escape that much more difficult.”

‘Uh…’ Mariette breathed out, a bit confused. She knew how to neutralize a person, that hadn’t been the goal of the tentacles. Still, she felt safer with Oros over there now… With a frown she had one of the tentacles snap around the blade and pulled it away from Oros. Then, okay, guess she wanted that? Fine, then. She had her tentacles grip Oros legs and pull them to make her do a split with significant force. She wasn’t sure why.

”Yea, I can feel the burn.” Oros was looking at her legs, which were being pulled further and further outward. ”You’re stretching my ligaments to their limit, possibly my tendons too. I’m not a doctor so I dunno all that shit.” One of her legs twitched. ”This would be immensely painful, normally, probably”

Oros looked around herself. ”You could also wrap one around my neck if you wanted to. Not all magical girls need to breathe, but it’s still a vulnerable area you can use to get more control over someone. We can also just pretend it’s there, you’re doing fine so far.” A sly smile crossed her face. ”But you need to play with your target's emotions. It’s the only way to be sure you really have them trapped.” Her eyes trailed down the front of her own body. ”A woman’s body is precious. There are certain areas where they don’t like to be touched. I trust you know what those areas are?”

Mariette abstained from pulling a tentacle around Oros’ neck, wincing a little at the thought. She had in mind she’d have to knock someone out anyway in order to prevent them from using their specialization, but that aside. Then… target a woman’s emotions? … Certain places where they don’t like to be touched… A light blush appeared on Mariette’s cheeks, and she took a heavy breath. ‘… I do…’ she said, with some awkwardness in her tone of voice. Then, she held her hand forward to command her tentacles, and…!

And her tentacles chased into Oros’ armpits, waist and bottom of her feet, others still holding her restrained so she couldn’t escape while her tentacles proceeded to wiggle and attempt to mercilessly tickle her to death…!

For someone who was getting tickled within an inch of their life, Oros didn’t look to be too phased by it. Every once and a while she would twitch or wiggle her toes, but she seemed otherwise unphased by the attack. She wasn’t smiling though, so it must have been working. ”Did I stumble into Deviantart, or is this a Touhou fanfiction?” She sighed. ”Well, that works. Time for the final blow!” Her grin returned. ”Now that you’ve entirely broken your target's will, you need to enslave them. And the only way to do that is by giving them a kiss! Gotta be on the lips. Really screws with what’s left of their mind, trust me.”

Mariette looked downright confused that her vicious assault had failed to spur any reaction. She knew she was targeting the girl with the most atrocious of tortures… so why didn’t it have any effect? The portal girl frowned as Oros said some more words she didn’t understand, until it was declared it was time for the final blow. ‘A-a kiss…?’ Mariette winced, looking in alarm at the restrained girl some distance ahead of her. A kiss, really…? W-well, Mariette could imagine that it would be pretty confusing…

There was the faintest stir in front of Oros’ face for a second that could have implied a portal was going to open…

‘… I’ll… take your word for it,’ a somewhat blushing Mariette said, shaking her head over there, deciding she would not take part in that, squeezing Bunny to her chest with one arm.

The corners of Oros’s lips started to drop. ”Are you shitting me?” Her eyebrows settled over her eyelids. ”You’re going to give me blue vulva? Is that it?”

‘Blue v…?’ Mariette frowned and looked confused again. ‘… I’d rather not kiss… Isn’t kissing supposed to be for…’ Mariette said, squeezing Bunny before she mumbled something unintelligible, looking away from Oros awkwardly.

”For what? Spit it out already!” Oros growled. ”What, you got a girlfriend or-” Her eyebrows shot upward. ”You do don’t you? The hell is even going on?” The katana floated in front of Oros and showed her some images. ”Wha?” The flat of the sword hovered in front of Mariette’s face. In its shean, she could see a moment Mariette had thought was lost to time. She was kissing a magical girl in Justine’s fortress. That one girl with the magically healing kisses: Nancy. ”Who is this woman?”

Mariette winced a bit at the growl. No, she didn’t have a girlfriend. Mariette had sort of expected that Oros could return the sword to herself without trouble but…

‘Wha…’ Mariette looked a bit surprised. ‘… How could you possibly… see that…?’ she asked, in honest alarm. Not because it was an embarrassing scene, but because the existence of that kind of scrying was potentially outrageously ruinous.

”Oh right, I didn’t tell you about that!” Oros mood seemed to entirely change when asked about her sword. ”That’s Endless Eclipse, he’s a gift from my patron. He lets me see all kinds of shit.” The sword spun in the air. ”I figured you didn’t want to kiss me because you had a girlfriend, so I just asked ol’ Eclipse here ‘who’s the last girl Mariette kissed?’ and I got this image of you going in for the kill, haha, rawr!” She flexed her fingers like a tiger’s claw. ”I think there are a few limitations in how it works, like if you had kissed in a place I was unfamiliar with, or we never met, it probably would have been a lot more vague. Like, maybe it would have shown you kissing a silhouette or some shit. Fortunately I know a bit about you and I’ve been to Justine’s old crib.” Oros chuckled, then sighed. ”Oh well.” She blinked. ”So um, are you going to tell me, or?”

That was… an outrageously dangerous power. The kind of power that could so easily destroy Mariette’s whole operation, if she got the sense to ask about it. So…

‘… Yes, I was going to tell you about it, as soon as… whatever we were just doing was over,’ Mariette said, having her tentacles place down Oros again, sliding off her and back into Mariette’s shadow. Best make sure she never has reason to ask.

‘Once upon a time, Justine von Visceral had a plan to conduct a ritual to rid this world of love. She killed numerous members of Penrose to do so and made an attempt on my life, after I had unknowingly been used to accomplish the preparations of the plan. I proceeded to assist in her defeat in the Overcity. But perhaps, you already know this?’ Mariette asked, with a slightly tilted head. ‘Now she’s back, and I am expecting her to attack my Interdimensional Home when she has sufficiently prepared to do so. I am somewhat gathering allies to resist the attack…’ she said, then peered at Oros’ blade. ‘Tell me. If you desired to find Justine telling someone about her plan, or to find her telling someone when she’ll strike, would you be able to?’ Mariette asked. Because… really powerful scrying.

Oros shook out all of her limbs and stood up. There was a crystal growth on her shoulder. Much like the crystal BAMF they fought, it seemed that Oros was going to try regrowing her arm. ”I’m familiar with Justine, yes.” Oros walked towards her blade. ”Endless Eclipse works better when you’re hunting for visual clues. If she told someone the time, you’re shit out of luck. But we might be able to see who she talked to, or if she wrote a specific date as part of a letter.” Oros chuckled. ”Assuming this all happened in a place I can divine. The grand magistrate is pretty good at making sure critical information like that never gets found.” She picked up her katana. ”Oh, I should also note that beyond my own familiarity with a person or situation, it’s also helpful if others have witnessed what I’m trying to search for. One of the reasons your kiss was so easy to find was because forty-something girls were watching it. It wasn’t a secret. If Justine gave a resounding speech to a collection of magical girls, we might get something.”

Oros peered into the blade. Justine’s image showed up. The vampire opened her mouth to speak when Oros lowered her sword.

”Hey!” Oros pointed at Mariette. ”Do you think I’m a simp or something? This wasn’t what we were talking about! That girl you locked lips with.” She pointed at her hair. ”I have pink hair too! Do you prefer bob cuts? Is that it?” Oros sprouted a tentacle that grabbed her hair and held it up for her katana.

Mariette nodded to the explanation, inwardly relieved. With those limitations, Oros would be hard-pressed to discover certain sensitive information. And, even if she could find the location and time, she'd be hard-pressed to find out what was actually going on. Still, seemed like Oros wasn't going to let the matter of the kiss go…

‘At the time you viewed, I had depleted my mana in battle. The girl I kissed had the ability to replenish the mana of those she kissed. I decided it was not the time to be picky about who I kiss, and had my mana replenished in case I needed it, as we were behind enemy lines. … That's it,’ Mariette explained, a bit perturbed that she actually had to explain that kiss to someone.

Oros held her sword against her hair a bit longer before releasing a resigned sigh. ”I see.” Her eyes were cast at the ground. ”The only reason why it happened at all was because of extreme circumstances. You were in danger.” Oros lifted her head. She was grinning from ear to ear. ”A bit like now, really.”

Mariette frowned a little bit. ‘… A little bit like now, yes,’ she replied, a reply that worked regardless of which of the two possible meanings Oros could have meant that Mariette could think of.

”Now that’s more like it.” Oros’s crystal stump had turned into a crystal upper arm, and was still growing. Without breaking eye contact with Mariette, she sheathed her sword and held her hand up to her face. A bottle of “Pizzazz Breath” appeared in her hand, which she promptly shot into her mouth before shoving it into her clothes. Then she tiptoed over to Mariette so that they couldn’t have been more than a foot away from each other. She took a moment to examine Mariette’s facial features before relaxing her face. The crazy smile was gone, and the miko appeared to be in a state of tranquility. She closed her eyes and moved her face closer to Mariette’s, cupping her lips for a kiss as she did so. She only came about ninety percent of the way however.

Mariette had a bit-longer-than-a-split-second decision to make. unlike her player that took better part of a week

When Oros closed her eyes, Mariette silently stepped aside. She’d just avoid that for this moment.

‘I’m afraid that’s not a reward I want to give out ahead of time,’ Mariette said, breathing out. ‘Kisses are special things, after all.’

Oros’s eyes shot open and she turned to Mariette. ”Excuse me?” She stood up straight. ”So you gave me your phone number, but your intention this entire time was just-” Her entire body trembled. Mariette found herself taking a step backwards all on her own. ”You can’t just play with my heart!” A low gurgling sound in Oros’s throat grew louder until it became a growl. Then just a moment later, it turned into a roar. ”You’ve tempted me, there’s no going back now!”

Oros lunged For Mariette with both arms extended. Her new arm had just finished healing, and was ready for a test drive.

‘??????’ Mariette looked positively confused as she backed away, her tentacles lashing out to constrict and stop Oros’s assault, with more force the closer she got, all the while Mariette tried to manifest a portal underneath her feet to get several blocks away from this attack for now…!

The tentacles did not stop Oros for long. It was a simple matter for her to draw her sword and cleave through them. The second or so they bought Mariette was enough as she was able to escape through the portal moments before Oros’s outstretched arm could grab her.

When Mariette was safely away from Oros, she opened a few portals around the girl so that she could talk to her from a safe distance. But she noticed something strange. The light around Oros was becoming distorted, and a similar anomaly was happening just a few feet over Mariette’s head.

‘I…’ Mariette started, before she once again tried to drop herself through a portal to an apartment some distance away to avoid the anomaly, her tentacles regrouping to try to deal with the next “attack”. Mariette was still really confused. If she succeeded now, next she'd try to open a path to her Interdimensional Home, just to hide in for a couple minutes.

Gravity didn’t seem to be working right, which made it difficult for Mariette to fall into the portal. But the light disturbance over her head went away. Under her eyepatch, she could see Oros sniffing the air. Something had distracted her.

”Reinforcements? Seriously?” Oros shrugged her shoulders. ”Guess I went in too hard. Whatever.” A black shadow opened up behind Oros.

Mariette’s answer to not falling would be tentacles grabbing onto the other side of the portal and pulling herself through manually, although it’d take a slight moment before realizing. After having gotten partly through and then hearing Oros mention reinforcements, Mariette dared to peek out a bit, significantly alarmed at how it seemed like more than a few could suddenly pursue her past portals all of a sudden.

‘… I didn’t… mean to play with your heart…? I’m sorry?’ Mariette tried to say, but she wasn’t really sure what it was she was apologizing for and as such the words sounded a bit more like confused questions than actual apologies.

Oros pointed at one of the tiny portals that were observing her. ”W-why don’t you just go hide until the next season rolls around, huh?” Oros walked into the shadow as it collapsed on her. There was no trace of her left, and while Mariette was an expert at locating things, she had no idea where she had gone.

‘…’ A very confused Mariette was left standing and squeezing Bunny as Oros vanished… who knows where. Huh. That had been… a moderately disastrous attempt at making an ally. She didn’t understand what had gone wrong…

She’d later go home and tell the others at the mansion about this event, leading to Jelena laughing in her face and a couple others looking on awkwardly as Eli led Mariette aside to explain the alternate possible meaning of sharing phone numbers like that…




Meanwhile, on a far off dimension, Oros sat in the ruins of some long abandoned building. Behind her was the carcass of a monster she had recently slain. Something covered in scales and talons, but it was hard to identify. The creature had been decapitated, and there was a gaping hole in it’s chest. Oros was tearing out its ribs one at a time and cleaning the meat off of them.

”*Chomp* Can’t believe it.” Oros muttered between bites. ”Stupid girl, *Chew* stealing Mariette’s first kiss. Stupid *Swallow* reinforcements, always showing up at the *Chomp* wrong time. Stupid *Burp* magistrate, cucking me at every turn.” She used her sleeve as a handkerchief and blew into it. She sounded like the horn on a ship before it left shore.




...One awkward run-in with Amaryllis, Mika, and Faith later…

...In case anyone was curious about the time frame...





The Even Better Horror Cosplay Or...os


@Ariamis@AtomicNut@Ponn@FamishedPants@Card Captor@twave


”That so Alex? I didn’t realise you were into- Oh, Lily left.”

Oros noticed that the game of spin the bottle froze as soon as Shoggy embraced Shane. While it was understandable, it was always a shame when a man was too weak to take all of his girl’s kisses.

”Gotta keep things moving...” Oros hadn’t gotten her kiss yet, after all.

That was when Shoggy bumped the bottle, causing it to spin and land on Ronin!

”We have a winner!” Oros approached Ronin, ”Alright you! Now get in there AND PUCKER UP!” She placed a hand on Ronin’s back and gave her a firm shove towards Shoggy. Perhaps too firm for one as small as Ronin. ”And remember to spin the bottle when you’re done!”

Faith only giggled. ”I’m glad everyone’s having so much fun! I’ll have to talk to Ronin once she’s done with that other girl. I had no idea that was her~!” She turned to Hildie. ”Hildiebell! I um, I ran into some of your folks earlier… B-but that’s not important! You’re well I take it?“


*Sad toothy girl noises*

— Trixy


It was a rainy day out, not that it would effect Trixy’s scrolling much.

She was swiping her finger across her phone, reading all of Betty’s old messages. Most of them were one or two sentence responses, usually encouraging words about something Trixy had posted. The ones that weren’t were positive messages aimed at other members of Cradle. Betty got mad and flustered all the time, but when she was online, she made sure that everyone saw the best side of her personality. Trixy consumed these messages like popcorn. This had to be the third time she had read everything. She was appearing offline, so no one else would bother her.

Trixy was able to get over the rave. She fired on Mariette, she couldn’t save Cindy, she couldn’t stop Elvira. Trixy could accept that she had erred in these tasks, either for the right reasons or because the tasks were simply larger than her small organization. But Trixy was in the rave when Betty was captured. She was dancing with some Beacon girls when she was abducted. It felt like there was something she could have done. Even if there wasn’t.

Unlike everything else that happened that night, Betty’s disappearance affected Trixy’s life. Something that was there was now missing and incomplete.

The doorbell rang.

Trixy groaned. ”I’ll be right there!”

As Trixy walked to the door, she wondered who was waiting for her. Perhaps that puppet girl was actually an assassin all along? Maybe the Mint had located her home? Maybe Dusty hadn’t been killed and was returning? Yea, fat chance of that one coming true. She was already transformed, and had her rifle at the ready. Trixy pulled open the door, keeping her rifle out of sight.

”…Maria?”

Standing on the other side of the door was Maria, or ‘Remedy’ as she was more frequently called. She wasn’t wearing wearing much, considering the cold weather. Just a tank and jeans. She had to be freezing.

”I did not expect it to rain.” She was trembling.

”Did you at least expect it to winter? Come in!” Trixy placed her hand on the girls’s back and practically shoved her inside before shutting the door. ”What are you doing out this-” Maria started to remove her top. ”W-what are you doing!?”

”This shirt is wet.” She waved her hand over it. ”You can see through it. Any modesty it might have preserved is no longer present. I do not find it comfortable to wear when it is saturated with cold rain water.” Maria was stoic most of the time, but it was evident she was annoyed with having to explain herself. ”Do you have something else I could wear?”

”Yea.” Trixy extended her hand, and blue tank like the one she was wearing appeared in Trixy’s outstretched hand. ”Also, I couldn’t help but notice you’re wearing a bikini?”

Maria had finished removing her tank and was pulling the one Trixy provided for her over her head. ”Well, I am a water girl. I wear a swimsuit at all times. It’s not quite as comfortable as underwear, but it’s less awkward if a fight breaks out.” She tucked her shirt into her pants. ”The kitchen looks nice. You’ve updated the cook wear since I was last here.”

”Yea! It’s all garage sale finds, but it’s good stuff!”

”Mind if I look at your room?”

”Uh, I mean…”




The two girls sat on the edge of Trixy’s bed and looked at the poster covered wall.

”I forgot that I made this place a man cave.” Trixy was twiddling her thumbs. ”It’s not much to look at. Well, if you’re a girl.”

”Swimsuit models are pretty tame by today’s standards.” Her eyes locked onto the poster of a bear mascot. ”I never put two and two together, but your cal sign is based off the Penrose Middle School mascot, correct?”

”Yup!” Trixy giggled. ”I spent a lot of time dressed as Trix the bear. I attended all the basketball games. Penrose Middle School had a good team.”

”Did you play any basketball?”

”Me?” She shook her head. ”I was a bit old to be playing for the team, as well as faculty. I wasn’t especially athletic anyway. Too old to be a player, and too ugly to be a cheerleader. But my spirit was strong enough to shine through a mascot’s suit.”

”You’re one hell of a magical girl anyway.” Maria held up her hand. There was a wooden band wrapped around her finger with a heart shaped knot on it. ”Do you still have yours?”

Trixy raised her hand. She, too had a wooden band. Hers looked more like a lumpy mass. ”I’ve been hiding it in my handbag, but when I’m not on a mission I wear it at all other times.”

Trixy, Maria, and Blair were the three cradle agents left to defend Veronica’s foothold in Penrose. They weren’t enough to stop the Ascendancy or the monster invasions, but they persisted. They were quite the team. Blair had her physical might, Trixy had her strategies, and Maria was there to patch them up when they got hurt. Trixy would often joke about what a great team they were, and went on to give them all nicknames based on their role on the team. Blair was the arm, Trixy was the brain, and Maria was the heart. Together they were the trinity force. She made crude wooden rings for all of them. Trixy didn’t know if Blair ever wore hers, but Maria and Trixy wore theirs as often as possible.

”The trinity force lives on!”

”Heh, yea.” The maid looked between her feet.

”Which is why it surprised me that you wanted to shut us out.” Maria’s eyes became sharp and focused. ”You weren’t very subtle about it. You never log off.”

”I’ve just been appearing offline. I wanted to be by myself initially, and I just forgot to turn myself back online. Did you come here to check up on me?”

”You could say that.”

”You didn’t then?”

”Checking up on you implies that I didn’t know how you were feeling.” Maria folded har hands in her lap. ”I wanted to cheer you up.”

”Oh.”

”But you seem to be doing a lot better than I thought you were.” She smiled. ”How did the date with Samantha go?”

Trixy sighed. ”It went really well until she started spanking me.”

”She’s a Dominatrix then?”

”Wah?”

”Nothing.” She shook her head. ”I also came over here to talk to you about a possible job.”

”Doesn’t Veronica handle that?”

”Normally, but she’s left and has since stated that she doesn’t want me handing anything like this.” She raised her hand. ”It’s just a guard job. You probably won’t see any action. I’d hand it off to Eliza or Silhouette, but it seemed more like a Trixy thing.”

”Sure. What are the details?”






Once again,the cradle agents had been gathered in Veronica’s interdimensional mansion. Most of the usual girls were here. Samantha, Eliza, Maura, Tetrad, and Trixy were all present. As were Blair and Remedy, but they hardly interacted with anyone so they might as well not even exist.

Trixy sighed. ”Betty...”

Betty’s seat remained empty, and Veronica’s seat was occupied by a white and red fur ball. 

”We have some new blood though. Well, new to the table anyway.” Tetrad patted Ronin’s head. ”We recovered Binky, right?”

Ronin reached her hand up at being addressed and waved it to whatever onlooking crowd she might have, then took the hand down and focused on listening to what people were saying.

”My operations will be discussed in a bit.” The furry creature cast its gaze on everyone. As cute as it looked, it still had Veronica’s presence. ”Before we begin, does anyone have any concerns or information they wish to share?”

Since she already spoke to Veronica at an earlier point in time, Samantha shook her head. “Not on my end.” Sam did cast what could technically maybe sorta be called a sympathetic look at Trixy, who seemed to still be suffering from the loss of Betty. 

"Not a lot to note on our end. However..." Eliza spoke up, noticing Trixy's expression. "I've attempted to scry on Betty's whereabouts, see how she was doing."

The maid looked up from her slump and nodded at Eliza. ”I hope you find her soon.” She smiled. 

”Nothing significant to report then? good.” the critter hopped up onto the table. ”I believe I have discussed the possibility of Trixy taking over Cradle operations in my stead. I have since decided that such a thing would not be wise.” Veronica looked at Trixy. ”Operators function best when they are not in the field.”

Trixy hung her head. ”I was afraid you’d say that. But it’s understandable.” She shifted in her seat. ”It’s not because of the Mariette thing is it? I’m still sore from that punishment.”

”Hold your questions.” Veronica’s eyes flared red. ”I have assigned a new operator to Cradle, one who will look over things in my stead. You may have some reservations about this individual given that you’ve never met them. However, I wish for you to treat them the same way you would treat me. Her words are my words, her goals are my goals. I am the mother of the cradle, she is the wet nurse who will look after you in my absence.” The critter looked directly at Sil. ”If you have any questions you don’t feel comfortable asking her, you may ask Tetrad. She knows more about the situation than anyone else.”

The creature’s eyes went dark. It sunk into its own shadow which melted into mist. Everyone got the feeling it would be a while before they heard Veronica’s voice again.

Then at Veronica’s side of the room, something shuffled around in the dark. Before it could fully emerge from the shadows, the cradle agents could hear the stranger call out to them.

”Howdy y’all!”

What stepped out of the shadows was a woman with a green ponytail in a black dress. It was adorned with all manner of ribbons and jewels, and the more lustful of the cradle agents would be unable to take their eyes off the flesh of her bosom. ”Pretty nasty weather we’re havin’. I just tell myself it’s summer time somewhere.” She pulled the ribbon that held her pony tail tight before taking a seat in Veronica's chair.

Tetrad blinked. ”So yea!” She pointed at the newly arrived. ”Viridian! The Onyx Operative, our wet nurse!”

Trixy chuckled. ”Hello nurse.”

”If it’s easier for y’all you can call me Velma. Just don’t call me late for dinner.” She turned to look at Ronin. ”Well ain’t you just the cutest thang. Nobody told me our little Ronin was so garsh dang adorable.” She reclined in her seat. ”Got anything for me girls? Any naggin’ questions? Let’s tackle ‘em and then I’ll start this briefing as quick as a hiccup!”

Ronin grinned happily at Viridian's statement to her. She did like being cute.

Though it confused Silhouette at first, she understood this was likely some form of guise. A more affable demeanor to ease people in, to deceive foes, to… Wait, wasn’t Veronica about to hand the Cradle over to Trixy? She nearly shuddered. “I, at least, would prefer to know what you are capable of,” Samantha began, her mood having soured immediately after Veronica’s departure. “It speaks that Veronica would entrust operations to you, particularly because you are certainly not familiar to the rest of the group. But why is this? What do you bring to the table?” her questioning was certainly laced with aggression, though many could guess why. 

”That’s a fair question, darlin’. Or should I call you Sam?” She placed her hands together.

“It’s Silhouette,” she replied curtly. 

”It didn’t really make sense for Trixy to run operations, did it? The doll’s got a load of charisma, even little ol’ me can see that. But she ain’t got the power to back you girls up. She’d need to relay everythin’ to Veronica in order to activate any of her powers.” She spread her arms. ”Meanwhile, I can do everythin’ Veronica can do. She can truly focus on her thang while we hold the fort.”

‘Will you be our friend?’ Ronin asked. ‘Veronica always kept a certain distance, but I haven't given up Veronica! Tell me anytime you just wanna hang out! Ronin told the place where the critter once was while grinning widely. ‘... But yeah, you seem friendly, wanna be friends as well as companions?’

”Sure darlin’, I’d love to be your friend!” she pointed at Ronin. ”Oh, and while I’m sure Veronica would love to know you haven’t given up on her, I should tell you that Veronica has adjusted the magicoms so that she can’t be directly contacted. Another measure to ensure she can focus on the lab without distractions.” She looked at Samantha, who seemed even less pleased. ”Only I can contact her directly, and only in emergencies or for a daily report.” Her eyes moved back onto Ronin. ”I’ll let her know you’re thinkin’ about her, sweet pea.”

Ronin first giggled happily at that Viridian would be her friend, then made an  ‘aw’ sound at that Veronica wouldn't let her talk to her, nodding about that Viridian would let her know.

Trixy finished inspecting Viridian before asking her question. ”So you taking over for me is just a matter of convenience?”

”That’s right darlin’. It ain’t any more complex than that.”

Blair kept her arms crossed. ”I share in Silhouette’s skepticism, but if Veronica wishes us to follow her orders, I will.”

”No more questions? Alright then!” Viridian folded her hands together. ”Veronica did manage to pick up Binky, and they’ve been at the new lab site for a few days now. It was luck really. But they’re both safe and sound. All of the girls there are now official members of cradle, so it was an important step to strengthen our numbers. But she still has a lot to do before she can come back home.” A shadow appeared in the center of the table, which took the shape of Mariette. ”Y’all know who the portal witch is, right? Veronica has enlisted our help in protecting her from an upcoming attack. Turns out Justine’s set her sights on Mariette, and Veronica wishes for us to repel the attack at all costs. Seems our chance to get payback on the little bloodsucker is all too close.” Another shadow appeared in front of Samantha, Trixy, Eliza, and Ronin. A “key” rose out of the shadow. Though they looked like everyday items. Samantha’s was a pen, Trixy’s looked like a fork, Eliza’s was a ribbon, And Ronin’s was a tape measure. 

”These keys will let you enter Mariette’s dimension, once she interviews you and activates them at least. She wanted to interview all of you later. We’re unsure if Justine herself will show up, but given Sonia’s ability to teleport, she seems like a likely candidate to extract Mariette. That’s one of the reasons we’ve insisted she enlist Dan and his girls in this operation. Teleportation will be as difficult for her as escaping molasses is for a fly.”

‘Um,’ Ronin raised her voice. ‘Should I really have one of those? As I mentioned, I was forcefully recruited by Justine to join her in the attack on Mariette, despite that I actually wish to save her and her subordinates. I had been planning on playing along and enter with her and then make up a plan, but do we have a different plan of action here?’

”Well sweet pea, we were thinking you could have one just in case.” She giggled. ”But if you don’t feel safe with one, that’s fine, nobody’s forcing you to have one. Veronica didn’t inform me of her personal dealings with y’all.”

”I mean.” Tetrad pointed at herself. ”I could always have it, right?”

”Afraid not, sugar plum.” Viridian looked a little more grave when she spoke to Tetrad. ”We know Justine is gunning for us too, and the knowledge you carry is really secretive.”

With a groan, Tetrad propped up her head with her arm. ”I know the risks, if anyone gets access to my mind, everything gets wiped out.”

”I’d rather not risk it. We don’t even know if that’ll stop Justine. Her form of mind control is based on ‘turning’ people. She might not trigger the kill switch.” Viridian’s smile returned. ”Besides, you’re a cute little ball of entropy. Things are bound to get more wild than a bucking bronco with you around.”

”Then what am I going to do this whole time?”

Viridian pointed at Betty’s seat. ”I discussed it with Veronica, and she agreed. You’d make a great bodyguard.”

”WHAT!?” Tetrad slammed her palms into the table. ”Betty was abducted as a bodyguard! The hell are you smoking!? I want some!”

”That’s more because of how Veronica reacted in the situation. It’s less that I need a bodyguard and more you can monitor things better when not in the thick of it.” Viridian kept her eyes on Tetrad, ignoring any looks she might have been getting from the others. 

The gambler pinched the bridge of her nose. ”What utter bull crap!”

Silhouette recalled the last time she fought Justine and how chaotic it got. She wanted to hope that things would be smoother this time, but that wasn’t possible. No, it would probably get even worse. But there was something she wanted out of this. “So protecting the Portal Witch is our only objective in this operation?” Silhouette asked for confirmation. Anyone else in the room likely knew that she wanted Justine and even Sonia’s blood, especially after the events of the Rave. 

”Protecting Mariette would help us get on her good side. Veronica would rather have her as an ally than the alternative, and it means givin’ Justine what-for, so it’s a win-win y’all!” She pointed into the air.”Veronica would rather Justine be weakened so that she could be interrogated, but she’s dangerous, and killing someone of her ilk would be understandable. Twenty years without Justine is twenty years without Justine.”

"We should also expect Justine to have back-up." Eliza finally spoke up, having quietly observed the others. She was surprised Veronica got her a key; looked more like a ribbon if anything, but she wouldn't question it. The witch pulled out a phone from her pocket, the same one Justine gave Amanda, and set it down on the table. "Not only has she convinced both Mint and Beacon to assist her, she kinda tried to drag one of Maura's into this. Girl's dead set on Mariette being the cause of the influx of monsters..." she explained.

Viridian placed a hand on her chin, addressing Eliza’s information now. ”We were expecting Mint reinforcements, but if she’s got Beacon in her pocket, that could prove to be…. mighty interestin’.” She giggled. ”Mint and Beacon, former enemies of Justine unite with her to take on a timid little witch.” Viridian phased through the shadows and arrived at Eliza’s side. ”How long ago was this? What makes you sure she has Beacon reinforcements?”

Eliza tapped the side of her head. "It was before the rave happened, and after she had come into contact with Amanda and Ronin, from what I can tell." she explained. "Though knowing Beacon, and by extension, the Ascendancy, they might have other plans for Justine. Still, we should take precaution. I can't look that far into the future yet." she sighed.

‘That's a worrying thought...’ Ronin said about the Beacon and Mint thing. Otherwise she didn't have much to add.

”Interestin’.” Viridian returned to Veronica’s seat. ”If that’s true, Alicia knowingly hid information from us. We might need to take her down a peg in the future. But you know what they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. We’ll worry about Beacon after we thwart Justine’s plan.” She folded her arms. ”Any other questions darlin’s? I’ll contact Mariette shortly to interview those who are getting keys.”

“If that is all, then I would like to take my leave.”

”Not quite yet, Sil.” Tetrad tapped the table. ”Veronica said we were going to have a vote on what to do with Elvira. She’s interested in joining Cradle, she signed a contract and everything.” She looked at everyone. ”I think I talked to most of you guys about this.”

Viridian tapped her cheek. ”I do seem to recall Veronica saying something like that.” The corners of her lips flicked upwards. ”Even a single vote against Elvira will sink her. That was the deal, right?” She nodded to herself. ”Well alright then. I’ll abstain from voting, but y’all can give your verdict.”

Tetrad inhaled. ”I doubt my answer is going to surprise anyone, but I think she wants to turn her life around. Cradle did a lot for me, and I think she’ll be a welcome addition to the team. That was the impression I got when I interrogated her.”

”I haven’t changed my mind.” Trixy folded her arms and grinned. ”I was one of the first people to fire on her, but if Tetrad thinks she can change her ways, I say give her a chance. The more cute faces, the better.” She leaned towards Samantha. ”Having an idol on the team could be useful, right? In case someone needs a coach?”

“The only ‘idol’ we need is me,” Sil retorted, offended at the very idea. “That being the case, I don’t particularly care what happens to her. But considering my own circumstances, it should not matter what they did before. If she has a use and signs Veronica’s contract, then I see no real reason to object,” Sil expressed her honest opinion. 

Remedy shrugged. ”I don’t see any reason to damn her. The Mint is a crooked organization, they make fools of everyone who works under them.”

"We already agreed to give her a chance." Maura spoke up.

"And besides, she can't get away with pulling something behind our backs with me around. I can always deal with her if that's ever the case." Eliza added.

‘She's the cause of what happened at the rave, right? Or at the very least, she was in on it?’ Ronin asked, and bit together a bit. ‘I don't like that she did that. I probably haven't heard the whole story, but I don't like that she did that. That said, I'm not going to stand in the way of her trying to become better, if that's what she's trying, then go for it,’ she said. Besides, did she even have the kind of authority to make that kind of vote, here?

The last person to vote was Blair. ”Must be a blood moon tonight.” She chuckled. ”I’m going to agree with Silhouette again.”

”So it’s a unanimous vote to keep her around, huh? I thought y’all were harder than that.” There was an awkward silence in the room. The corners of Viridian’s were lowering before they popped up into a smile. ”But it’s what y’all want. I’ll notify Veronica with two shakes of a lamb’s tail. She’ll be put to work outside of Penrose for the time being. Maybe in the future you’ll see her again.” She clapped her hands together. Y’all are free to leave. Dismissed!”
List was updated. Now you roll a 1D14, Sakura has her old number back, patch notes, etc.
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