BrokenPromise

The Status Bar

I mean the post doesn't even argue about trolling, or even those who spam there.

@SleepingSilence

Why would I "argue" about something we all agree on? I'm looking for insight, not an echo chamber. I'm sure we can all agree flame wars = the suck, yea?

And I know it's a pipe dream, but if people would just stop feeding the troll, they'll fade away on their own, what they want is your attention and some people are giving them exactly what they want.

@Izurich

For better or for worse, RPG has always been a pretty lax place where mods are chill and don't aggressively hand out ban sentences. And when they do, they are always appealed. The result is that there are no real repercussions for bad behavior, but also users can breathe a little easier and don't need to worry about rule lawyering mods unless they really ask for it. I don't think that's a bad thing, but it does become a problem when you have a system that can easily be abused such as the status bar. The much easier solution would be to hold users more accountable, but I don't see that happening.

The Status Bar

You remove the status bar, they’ll find other avenues for trolling, such as posting “venting” threads, are we going to remove the ability to post threads too?

@Izurich

Vent threads are banned FYI.

But a venting thread is like a poster, where a status bar is more like a chat overlay in an MMO that has no permanent off button. I can ignore a poster easily enough. A chat overlay on the other hand pushes anything interesting off the front page as soon as a flame war breaks out. I don't find them similar at all.

—and this would require Mahz to show up again—

@Kuro

Yea, which is why I think defaulting to hidden would be for the best, because anything beyond that is going to require Mahz to look over the code. Hell, even that might be beyond the capabilities of the mod team. But I'm more looking for people's opinions than a fix.

The Status Bar

Is the status bar a useful tool that benefits the community, something that’s just there, or something that actively hurts the community?

I fall into the camp of people who believes that the status bar could be made better, like default to a hidden state. While I do believe it has merits, it has doing far more harm than good.

I’m aware you can hide the status bar, but it reveals itself over time. Moreover, it's out there in the public eye. Someone who has yet to register for an account can see the status bar and everything that goes on there. This is why it would be good if it was hidden by default. At least that way people have to actively look for it.

People occasionally use the status bar for status updates, but I feel they don't need to be broadcast to the forum at large. They would be just as useful if they only showed up on your profile. That's where I'd look if you were slow to post. Barring that, you could also just write something at the top of your Bio.

What’s that? You want to advertise your new RP? Directly below the status bar we have two other bars that show the newest interest checks and roleplays. I can't speak for everyone, but I've gotten to the point where I don't know why I click on status bar RP advertisements. Half the time it's in a sub section I don't feel like participating in, and the other half it's something I'm not interested in. We have sections dedicated to interest checks, and are sorted by tags and writing level. But if you must have a status bar, a user interested in joining a new RP could just unhide it.

Some people say we just need mods, but the regular mods are our status bar mods. They've been doing a good job, but they have real lives and things do crop up in their absence.

But what are your thoughts?

Edit: The title has been made less click-baity, and I adjusted how I worded my stance slightly.

Grimoiric Heart

When you get older, you have other obligations. Meeting with relatives, writing cards, doing taxes, shopping for gifts, all that stuff kind of mounts and leaves less time for RPing.

Symphony of Espers

@Izurich@mantou Your job was to recover the client's daughter and slay "Tony" so that he no longer had to fear shakedowns from the mafia. While he has no obligation to pay you, he was pleased that you at least got his daughter out of that mess. He has agreed to provide the money, but did not relinquish the BMW. As weretigers are vengeful creatures, he's opted to use it to get as far away from Pax Septimus as he can.

Symphony of Espers

@ERode@Majoras End As a reward for almost locating a missing person, your next meal at "The Nerine Vista" will be paid in full! Just let me know when you guys feel like enjoying true elegance and style.

Grimoiric Heart

The girl seemed to quiet down after Stripes spoke to her. This was an agreeable outcome. Often hostages that weren't entranced by magic would ask a bunch of silly questions like why a larger than life tiger could talk, wear a witches' hat, or any other silly question that might force its way into their panic filled minds. It wasn't something Stripes could empathize with. Even the first time she used her book to transform, she wasn't scared or filled with uncertainty. It was more like "Oh? So this is something that can actually happen." Stripes understood most magical girls thought their first transformations were a dream of some sort, at least when they were her age. Younger magical girls often had an easier time adjusting to magical life, but most older girls have an idea of how the world is suppose to be, and often reject their new reality because it doesn't mesh with the one they think they know and love. If anything, Stripes found the "normal" behavior of trying to justify it all as a dream to be strange. Who cares if turning into a magical girl is real or not? If it's real, great. If not, why ruin your dream by calling it an illusion? People put way too much emphasis on trying to be correct all the time.

With the girl's shirt in Stripe's mouth, the back of her head was pressed up against her pink nose. It didn't obstruct her breathing, but it was impossible for Stripes to breathe without also being reminded of whatever the girl washed her hair with. Unless she never showered WHICH IS REALLY GROSS OH MY GOD SHE PUT HER MOUTH ON IT! So long as she didn't struggle too much, this should be easy.

Unfortunately, she wanted to know her name. This was unfortunate because people only ask you your name if they want to learn more about you. What was following this question was any number of questions about the magical world, how she came to be, and a slew of other questions that Stripes had answered for countless other magical girls and refused to do again. Because when you give someone information, they start to see you as an asset they can make use of and talk to you more. But this girl had Stripes in checkmate. They had just met, and there was no reason for her to assume that Stripes had her best interests at heart. She hated to admit it, but she almost wished the girl was still swearing her head off. Annoying? yes, but it was the difference between listening to bad music and an estranged family member: Both were annoying, but one you had to listen to if you wanted to ensure your mother/boss didn't get upset.

"Stripes." She replied. Tigers couldn't actually talk, that was more managed with magic and such. Which was fortunate for the girl, as Stripes likely wouldn't be able to talk with her mouth full.

It was not long before Stripes spotted the glow of the grimoire. IT didn't look like a hard location to get to, but Captain Goody-two-shoes was marching herself and her collection of minions in the same direction. Given the way Stripes's power was divided among the number of nearby friendly combatents, she really couldn't think of a magical girl that she synergized worse with. Regardless, she could tell just by the changes in the girl's behavior that the grimoire was likely hers. Stripes should have known better. Who else would ask a one ton killing machine their name but someone eccentric enough to be a magical girl.

"I'm going to set you down soon, so be prepared to run for it." Stripes snorted into her hair. "Save your questions for later, please."

Stripes's last act as a majestic tabby cat was to create eight balls of light that hovered over her back. with a crack, they surged ahead and whistled through the air. Each one struck a different pageless, reducing their heads to black pulp. But after that, her form started to shrink. The future magical girl's feet would start to drag on the ground as Stripes's form shrank. For a brief moment, Stripes was in her base magical girl form, biting onto the back of the girl's shirt, but she promptly let go and adjusted her hat on her head. She wasn't going to be of any help here, in no small thanks to Captain Bad-Despair. That wasn't to say the cluster of other magical girls didn't sour the situation further. The sudden appearance of Ethereal Rose and her dark suitor were particularly troublesome. Anyone who wanted to make small talk while fighting was not someone Stripes could enjoy. Not that it didnt make sense for Rose, as her, uh, thing did most of the heavy lifting. The massive pageless in the distance was a tempting target, but there were enough magical girls present that she didn't need to risk her life for what would be a meager contribution. She couldn't even manifest spells right now.

But none of the events that transpired here really upset Stripes. After doing this for a few years, it became expected. There was no anger or sadness, just pure apathy towards the situation.

"Excuse me, moving to the back." Stripes walked past the magical girls that were rushing towards the monstrosity and the grimoire.

Symphony of Espers

Alright, so just a few quick notes:

-As you're likely aware, there have been a lot of melody note updates. Posting them here would be too tedious, but there's a full list on the discord. It's mostly been buffs to buff skills, reworks of redundant notes, and nerfs to prevent exploits. Modification notes need to be looked over, but they should be more or less fine until the player espers get stronger. I'm tempted to make [Blink]'s speed dependent on its rank, since I think blinking with progressively larger objects isn't really why people use [Blink] to begin with. But for the moment ima just let it ride as-is. I'll go over that stuff next downtime.

-Speaking of downtime, several players have asked for an extention, and the survey numbers are kind of low. I don't see any reason to kick things off first thing next year. Especially since I know my boy Dalton is going to be inebriated during the new year. So you guys have an extra week to finish writing collabs, reading collabs, wrapping up bounties, etc. Official operation start time will be on January 8th-9th of the new year, EST.

Till next year.

Grimoiric Heart

Posts are a jumble of timey-whimey things, aren't they?

Symphony of Espers

Back in the past, after way too long a wait, Penny charged Oros with her giant fist pulled back. ”You try my patience, cultist!”

”Again with the blind charging, shemale?” Penny was pretty fast, but Oros could avoid attacks like this in her sleep. She turned her body sideways and allowed Penny’s fist to graze her nose before slamming into the concrete wall. Dust and a hail of stones filled the room. Once it settled, Oros looked at herself. ”Oh man!” Her eyes went all over her outfit. ”The artist did a nice job! I mean, it’s not a 200$ commission, but look at my little outfit! Look at my big hair! Look at everything!”

”What are you babbling about? you looked like that when you came in here!”

”Yea, I guess the patrons saw it weeks ago when the Grand Magistrate showed them.” She looked at her reflection in her katana. ”Anyway, now that our sheets are done I’m just gunna take a look at-” Her eyes shot open. ”The hell?! Challenger Grade? Ranks that are above S? A leitmotif that copies other leitmotifs AND has its own powers on top of it? Huge ass mana pool? As well as all that other bullshit?!” Oros grinded her teeth. Her eyes were daggers, and they were pointed straight at Penny. ”Even in other portions of the multiverse, you’re still an over powered piece of shit, aren’t you?”

The iron queen only grinned at Oros’s frustration, even though she had no idea what she was talking about. ”Am I to understand you realize you’re no match for me? This is your last chance. Surrender now or-”

Oros erupted into laughter. ”Wrong again, you Teal-haired Tumbltard!” Oros brought her sword up in front of herself. ”You think I’m scared of some stats? I’m a Grand Magistrate’s Patron Champion. Your power level is entirely arbitrary in this situation. I’ve got commissioned art and everything, there’s no way I can die here. The only thing that’s up in the air right now is if the Grand Magistrate will try and save you.”

”The nerve!” Penny raised her hands, and the lenses in her palms lit up a brilliant blue. ”I will ensure your death is slow, humiliating, and painful!”

”Sounds hot. When do we start?”

Oros

Old, But Still Sexy | Female | Depraved | Meta Game
Endless Eclipse | Greatsword | Physical | Arcane Blight
Dark Garb | Number of the Beast
Inner Beast | Nature | Therianthropy
[Poison, Transform], Pull, Heal, Purify, Restrain, Pierce, Damage X, Blink, Portal, Bend, Transplace, Delay, Zone, Full Extend, Homing, Multi-Cast

DAMAGE: A | SPEED: S | SENTINEL: E | 1186

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: A | CHAOS: B | 1250

Vs Penny

29 | Male, Female Esper Form | Depraved | Combat Module
Omnissiah | Fists | Physical/Arcane/Chaos | Omni Slash
Immortal Machine | Immortality
Binary_Signal | Metal, Lightning, Gravity | Trinary_Signal
[Quake, Mass, Paralysis, Speedster, Weightless, Suspend], Damage X, Pull, Slow Fall, Channel, Shield, Reflect, Magic Sense, Construction, Summon, AoE, Full Extend, Full Enhance, Powerful, Homing, Multi-Cast

DAMAGE: SSS | SPEED: SS | SENTINEL: SSS | 2000

PHYSICAL: S | ARCANE: SSS | CHAOS: SS | 2000

Diplomacy has failed!

THE CARBUNCLE ATE ITSELF!!

TELLING 1

Get motivated, white boy!

With a pool of mercury nearby, there was no reason for Penny to conserve her massive pool of mana.

She reached a hand into the hallway and filled it with twisting metal and electricity. Then for good measure, the whole mess activated a forcefield around itself. Even Oros would have trouble getting through that, Penny assumed.

Penny: [Diamond Touch][Full Enhance][Powerful][Construction][Multi-Cast] =490, 1510 remains

”We could fight anywhere in Bastion, and you confine us to a concrete box?”

But Penny wasn’t done, as a second melody was coming. Penny’s palms glowed like road flairs in the dark. There wasn’t another esper in the world who could launch an attack like this, but that was why she was the strongest esper in the world. A beam filled with sparks and shrapnel raced towards Oros’s position,

Penny:[Diamond Beam][AoE][Damage X][Paralysis][Suspend]][Quake][Full Extend[Powerful] = 1440, 70 remains

There wasn’t any room for Oros to hide. Her options were to dive into a pool of mercury and hope Penny missed, or attack Penny at which point her sword would bounce off her chassis. The fight had only started, and Penny had Oros right where she wanted her.

Oros shrugged her shoulders and tossed a critter into the pool of mercury. She then looked straight at the material beam headed straight for her head. There was no time to evade. The beam slammed into Oros’s chin, throwing her head back before detonating into charged shrapnel. But when the melody expired, she lowered her head and grinned. Not a single piece of metal remained in her skin.

”Spicey, got anything else?”

Oros: Number of the beast: 6 6 6 -1 attack, 6 debuffs = 5 0 6

Penny growled. ”You tanked that entire attack?”

”Yea, I was a little surprised too, given how many different effects the [Paralysis] note can create, That’s gunna have to get nerfed later.” She was sitting on her butt, and one of her arms hung limply at her side. ”Wait, no, that was paralysis in all four of my limbs, suffocation, disorientation, suspend, and quake. So I resisted all but my arm going numb and being shaken to the floor. Yea that needs to get nerfed. It's a shame my melodies won’t be strong enough to break these hexes. At least talking is a free action, so you can’t interrupt me. But that also means I can’t stall for time.”

”Stall for what?”

”I just think your bathwater is really gross and needs to be changed. ”

The small critter Oros had dumped into the mercury turned into a portal. The mad esper had been prepared for Penny’s seemingly endless supply of mana, and had set up a portal earlier to drain it.

Oros: [Bronze Projectile][Portal] = 80, 1106 remains

Penny charged towards Oros. She didn’t really care if she hit her or not, but coming into contact with the mercury would cause her mana to restore. Oros held her sword in front of herself, but it did little to slow Penny’s charge. The iron queen drove her fist into Oros’s stomach before carrying her through the portal. Wherever her mercury was, Oros was coming along with her. But she wasn’t going to show any signs of damage from Penny’s efforts.

Oros: Number of the beast: 5 0 6 -1 attack = 4 0 6

”Still glad you started a fight with me?” Penny crossed her brow.

”I’m not happy because I started a fight, I’m happy because I’ll end it!”

Oros had set the portal on the ceiling of a warehouse that hid one of the entrances to the Bastion. Below it was a cement mixing truck, and the mercury was all falling into a hopper that funneled everything into its bowels. Before the last of the mercury slipped into the mixing tank, Penny managed to touch the liquid metal.

Penny Mana = Max! 2000!

But Oros wasn’t just standing by while this happened. Mana surged into her limbs, causing her muscles to bulk up. While most espers were gifted with peak human strength, Oros could temporarily grant herself the power of a silverback gorilla, capable of lifting nearly two tons of weight.

Oros: [Diamond Self][Transform][Full Extend] = 150, 956 remains

Therianthropy: Might of a Silverback, 36 seconds.

A katana couldn’t do much to layers of titanium alloy, but Endless Eclipse was an instrument. It was an indestructible piece of flat steel that could take any abuse its holder could put it through. With the strength of an ape, Oros’s attack was sure to do more than mar Penny’s paint job. She rammed her sword under Penny’s arm, which sent the queen spiraling into the iron wall supports. Oros was able to grab a hold of the cement mixer and take a hard landing. Though she hadn’t endured any damage from the fall.

Penny’s chassis was dented under her arm, but otherwise sustained no injuries. The iron pillar she slammed into took far more damage than she did. Though the wound she had endured inhibited her movement a bit. it wasn’t possible to lower her arm all the way. ”I think you made a bit of an oversight. Allow me to show you.”

Penny charged towards Oros while weaving a series of melodies. The first was to phase a spell inside the cement mixer. Once it blew up, she would be rolling in mercury again. It was also possible Oros would get caught in the blast. Meanwhile, her second melody was a copy of Oros’s own beast magic. Now Penny also had Oros’s immense strength on top of her own powers. And why not? She’d heal away that bit of damage too.

Penny: [Diamond Spawn][AoE][Damage X][Multi-Cast] = 500, 1500 remains

[Diamond Self][Transform][Full Extend] = 150, 1350 remains

Therianthropy: Might of a Silverback, 36 seconds.

Combat Module: Heal any wound for 100 mana, 1250 remains

Oros’s grined as she stepped away from the cement mixer. It exploded not long after, ripping the vehicle to shreds. Shards of metal and yellow dust filled the air. But there was no mercury to be found. ”Fun fact time!” Oros pointed at what remained of the mixing truck. ”If you stir elemental sulfur and quicksilver together, you get mercuric sulphide! You just gotta slap ‘em around a bit, like you’re their pimp or something.” Her smirk only grew wider. ”You weren’t hoping to bathe in mercury through the whole fight, were you? Be a shame if you couldn’t beat me fair and square.”

”Says the assassin resorting to trickery!”

Penny did not respect her opponents. It was a fact that she had no equal, and anyone who fought her would be ground to dust. The fact that Oros needed to prepare so much before their encounter proved how weak she was. Though it was bothersome that Oros knew so much about her powers. Mercury’s effect on her was a closely guarded secret. Someone was helping her, and they would be dealt with in time.

Penny balled her hands into fists. ”Fight me head on!”

”Guess I can try.”

Oros had only one hand to hold her great sword with, but that would change. Her inner beast surged with energy, and tore its way out of her rib cage just under her defunct arm. Until her other arm recovered, this was the best she could do.

Oros: [Gold Self][Transform][Full Extend] = 120, 836 remains

Therianthropy: Extra Arm, 36 seconds.

Penny’s strength was equal to Oros’s, and her speed was even greater. The cultist was clearly on her back heel as Penny’s attacks forced her towards a wall. As amusing as it would be to draw out Oros’s demise, Penny had other matters to attend to. A single debilitating melody would doom the assassin. But her mana was limited, and she didn’t want to waste it if she didn’t have to. It would be some time before she could amass that much mercury again.

Something that Penny had been holding off on using was her ability to copy her opponent’s leitmotif. It wasn’t something Penny liked to do, more out of her own pride than anything else. But since Oros had proven to be a pest, there was no reason not to make use of it now. Her eyes opened a bit wider than usual as soon as she did.

What. The. Hell.

The world opened up to Penny in ways both horrific and wonderful. Like Oros, she could now get a glimpse of the future and better understand her opponent’s powers. She could see her every ability and understood them as completely as Oros did. But also like Oros, her world felt artificial and beyond her control. The future was already written. She could sense there was a fight at a police station, as well as one outside the Bastion with a pretend queen of Pax. Penny would also go missing before any of this transpired. She may have looked like a machine, but Penny was also a human esper, and these images even gave her a tinge of fear. The idea that her unfortunate fate was set in stone was not something she agreed with.

It was during this brief existential crisis that her opponent swung their sword at her.

Oros: [Diamond Touch][Piercing] = 40, 796 remains

No, Oros would swing their sword. It seemed that Oros also had the ability to see her opponents actions just before they happened. This ability now belonged to Penny too. Even the notes Oros used were not hidden from her. No wonder she was impossible to blindside with her attacks. But if Oros was all knowing, that just meant that she needed to deliver an attack that couldn’t be avoided. Now that Oros had committed to an attack, Penny should be able to use her slightly greater margin of speed to deliver a counter punch right at Oros’s ribs. And…

Oros: Number of the beast: 4 0 6 -1 attack = 3 0 6

”Whoa!” Oros hopped backwards after Penny’s attack connected. ”Stranger danger! Can you poke me somewhere less sensitive next time?”

Another confident smile crossed Penny’s lips. Oros’s resilience was no longer so frustrating now that she understood it was a front. She could take three more attacks and turn invincible for six seconds. After that, she’d bleed like anyone else.”Perhaps you’d prefer it if I took you to a massage parlor?”

”Do they tickle people in a massage par-... Ohhhhhh!”

Again, Penny wreathed her arms in lightning and steel. She plunged her fist into the ground, and the same twisted steel barrier from before erected on either side of Oros. The walls closed over her head to form a ceiling, and then dropped behind her to form a wall of jagged, electrofied spikes. Oros’s sword may unmake any enchantment it cut through, but a barrier this durable was beyond the ability of her blade.

[Diamond Touch][Powerful][Full Enhance][Construction][Multi-Cast] = 490, 760 remains

Over the next few seconds, Penny threw a series of quick jabs at Oros. Each one she blocked would just push her backwards into the spikes. This forced Oros to use her strongest defensive ability. Over the next few seconds, every puncture and bruise Penny inflicted would heal instantly.

Number of the beast: 3 0 6 -6 seconds of invulnerability = 3 0 0

”You know for a non-binary robot, your computing ain’t half bad. ”

”It seems we’re in agreement.”

Oros could resist her attacks for a few more seconds, but her “Number of the Beast” was dwindling and wouldn’t save her much longer. Oros could try to blink out of the way, but she was cornered and couldn’t aim around Penny. She might be able to create a portal, but that would just lead back into the concrete room where she was just as trapped. All of Oros’s other notes were too weak to do anything to Penny or didn’t fit the situation. But the Iron Queen was aware that she was dealing with an unorthodox opponent. Penny needed to deny Oros as much as possible. An AoE Paralysis melody would suffice. She’d be helpless before her resounding blows.

Penny’s fist was covered in the magic of her next melody. She could practically taste her opponent’s defeat. She thrust her fist towards Oros with confidence.

”You’re finished!”

[Diamond Touch][AoE][Full Enhance][Full Extend][Powerful][Paralysis] = 560, 200 remains

Oros was between Penny and a hard place, and she was going to die there.

…

…

…

Regardless if Penny wanted to admit it or not, her life was on the line. Any screw up she made was something that Oros could take advantage of and spell her end. But that made it all the more confusing when Penny handed Oros such a big opening. When a Patron Champion commits to an action in a Patron Observation Station Transcript, or P.O.S.T., that’s it. No takesie-backsies. Because Penny committed herself to an attack, she would not be able to react regardless of what she divined. That was why “Meta Game” was so useful against the Iron Queen. It was hardly a perfect form of divination, but Penny’s tactics held no surprises for Oros. She was so focused on ending the fight that her strategies were simple and easy to understand. They were obvious to her as soon as she acted. Every action was designed to kill her opponent, and Oros hardly needed to metagame to understand what she was doing. No matter how powerful someone was, that sort of mindset would never defeat an esper like Oros. But that didn’t mean that Oros could do whatever she wanted. If there was justification for an action to be “retconned” because Penny could react to it, Oros would lose her advantage. It was just in this instance Penny's ability to metagame wouldn't be able to aid her.

While Penny pounded the crap out of her, she wove a few melodies of her own. Oros would have no problem casting two melodies if she was discreet about it. She formed two man-eating pythons on her back. Their size was far larger than normal, but Oros could keep them concealed behind her billowing hair. They were curled up and ready to strike. But the important part was that they each had a portal inside their throats.

[Diamond Self][Portal][Transform][multi-cast] = 360, 436 remain

Therianthropy: Man-eating snake, 36 seconds.

[Diamond Self][Portal][Transform] = 250, 186 remain

Therianthropy: Man-eating snake, 36 seconds.

And now, all Oros had to do was wait.

Her opportunity came when Penny prepared her second melody and thrust her fist towards Oros. But that was when Oros revealed her secret weapon. She ducked as the snakes lunged for Penny and opened their mouths as wide as they would go. While Penny was a bit faster than Oros, she wouldn’t be able to pull out of a straight she put all of her weight into. Her fist plunged into the mouth of one snake, and came out the mouth of the other. By the time Penny realized what was happening, it was too late. Even if Penny could stop her arm, Oros’s other snake was striking, moving Penny’s own fist towards her face as fast as the snake could strike.

”No you.”

While Penny had incredible defenses, her fists were even more impressive. It always turned its damage type to whatever her opponent was weakest to. Even in Penny’s case, her physical defense was far outclassed by her own weapon. Even as Penny tried to pull Back, Oros’s snake guided the iron queen’s own fist to its target. Penny’s melody triggered as soon as she punched herself in the face. Even as lightning filled the area, even as Oros’s body shut down, her own incredible strength drove her fist through her head. Omnissiah was massive enough to not only decapitate Penny, but also shattered her torso into a hundred pieces. Blue hydraulic oil stained the floor like blood, and her circuitry arced and sputtered before losing all power. Oros collapsed into what remained of her opponent and lost consciousness.

Second by second, Penny’s chance to counter attack ticked by. Oros laid in the hydraulic fluid, defenseless, practically begging for a finishing blow, but it never came.

Oros lifted herself out of the blue oil. She was used to being covered in entrails at the end of a fight, but now she felt like she had just changed the oil in her car. after swinging the oil off of her sword, she lowered her gaze to her opponent's remains.

”Shattered, just like all your old relationships.” She squeezed her sleeve in a vain attempt to rid her uniform of oil. ”But you got me wet, so I guess you have some potential.”

Then, Oros’s body froze. She suppressed the urge to meme when she realized what she had accomplished. A single tear rolled down her cheek. How long had she been waiting to fight Penny in an arena where she could lose? How long had she wanted to pay her back for hurting her friends? It didn’t matter now. All the preparation, suffering, and sacrifice had paid off. The haters didn’t think it could be done, but they were all wrong. The joy erupted from her lungs in a warcry that shook bastion to its core. The empty halls were filled with her voice, and none of the corpses stirred.

Though as her voice died down, Oros could hear a clapping sound. She turned to look at who it was, but it was someone she was expecting. A young girl in a purple dress strut into the warehouse. Once she had Oros’s attention, she folded her hands behind her back.

”The queen has fallen, and by a single pair of hands.” She skipped towards Oros. ”I’ll be honest, I didn’t know what to think when you said you could beat Penny with a cement mixing truck filled with sulfur and your wits.”

”Just gotta be smarter than your opponent. Barring that, make sure the patron overseeing your fight likes you more. ” Oros shook her head and smiled. ”Speaking of patrons, this has got to be the most petty I’ve seen mine act in a long time! Haha!”

”You say such strange things. I don’t understand it, but you get results so I won’t question it.” With a shrug of her shoulders, the girl folded her arms. ”By the way, we just cleared out the entire Bastion. Penny’s generals, lieutenants, commanders, you slew all of them.” Her hands moved onto her hips before she leaned towards Oros. ”You do know what a power vacuum is, right?”

”I’m not too concerned with it, if only because I know who’s filling the vacuum.” Oros took a seat on the floor. ”Uncle Sam and Alternative have been eyeing this shit hole for a while. Best case scenario, they wipe each other out. Worst case scenario, they have an uneasy truce that inevitably breaks. Either way, the Iron Queen’s reign ends.”

”I’m just not sure why you dealt with the queen like this. She could have been a powerful ally.”

”The short answer is two parts.” Oros raised her fingers and wiggled them. ”Firstly, everyone in a given area has urgency. You kill the most urgent person in the area, and their urgency is divided among the survivors. Shemale had so much urgency that no one else really mattered. Now that we’ve taken them out of the picture, everyone gets some urgency. Even us.” She shook her fingers. ”Secondly, we kind of have history together, and I hate their guts. Just a bonus reason, we’re the good guys. Kicking the bad guy’s ass is sort of our thing.”

”I see.” The girl in the purple dress ran her hand through her hair.
”So we’re just going to parade her body around Pax Septimus to establish your power?”

”Nah, it’s tempting though.” Oros wiped her finger through the hydraulic fluid. ”I’m not ready to be the most urgent person in Pax Septimus. I’ll let the other ring leaders hold that title while I prepare.”

”Then what is next?”

”Next they gotta patch lightning. Holy shit AoE [Paralysis] melodies suck.” Oros looked over at the girl. ”We also need to do something with your alias.”

”What’s wrong with Aria Rizzo?”

”Yea, see? That’s what I mean.” Oros pointed at her. ”There’s already a Patron Champion in town with the name Aria, so it could get confusing if we call you Aria too. Besides, there’s no real reason to hide your real name here. Everyone who wants Sharr Webber dead is long gone.”

Sharr groaned. ”Fine. I think it's a little silly, but I'll play along.” Oros was looking around herself. ”What is it?”

”We’re not done here.” Oros rose to her feet. ”Shemale would have turned into a human corpse.”

But then why had Penny not acted? While she could heal any wound with a hundred mana, she presently only had two-hundred mana, and judging by how fragmented her body was, it probably wasn’t enough to put her together. Maybe she was just hoping that once Oros and Sharr walked off, she could revert back to her human form and sleep this loss off. But after searching a bit, Oros could see the reason why Penny was still alive. There was a glowing chip that served as her central processing unit.

”Nice hustle, but I don’t do repeats.”

She drove Endless Eclipse into the chip.