ERode

Fate/Secondary Genesis

“Kanpai!” was Naoko’s own choice of toasts, raising her glass of wine before chugging it down with all the class of a sorority member. It was a nice, warm buzz after a stressful day, but it looked like, unfortunately enough, Sophie wasn’t willing to let gunfire slide as simply ‘typical American things’. Not when they could both sense the presence of Servants, after all. Turning to the pizza, Naoko ripped two pieces out and chomped them down as fast as possible, feeling the slight burn of hot cheese against her tongue, before washing it down with a glass of water. “Yeah, well, we’re not really selling it back. We’re just making sure that he, hm…understands the value of us keeping it safe from less scrupulous looters, and would reward us accordingly.”

She paused, eyebrows raising at the spies comment, before letting out a girlish chuckle. “And no, we’re not spies or treasure hunters or anything. Guess if I were to put it into words…me and Sophie’d be something like superheroes? Here to change the world for the better and all, guard dude! Anyways, gonna be heading out again to deal with this new bullshit, so could you grab that bag of kibble beneath the kitchen sink and feed my dog while we’re out? Yes? Great, thanksies~”

Naoko drew her Sig Sauer, checked the ammunition in the clip once more, and then grabbed her grandfather’s cane to give it an experimental swing. Her clothing came next, a tough leather coat going over her colorful t-shirt, while she forced her feet into combat boots as well, purchased at the local mil-sim store. A pair of gloves and a motorcycle helmet after, and Naoko decided she looked suitably combat-ready.

Well, she mostly wanted to stay home and laze about for the rest of the evening though.

“We got Netflix if you want to watch anything while we’re gone. Just don’t pick up any weird shows, yeah? And don’t touch the queue either. That’d be a bad time for the both of us.

Naoko spent another moment in the bathroom mirror, wondering if she pulled off the femme fatale look well enough, before marching out once more.

“Alright, Sophie, let’s see what the hell’s going on this time!”

One day she'll do the Master thing of hiding in a dungeon while the Servant does the heavy lifting, but for now, the Japanese magus felt buzzed enough for some evening protagonist-ing.
@DrowsyPangolin@Epsir

The Fated World Defiance

"November? Aha, I'm All- woah shoot!"

A stool was knocked over as Allereun practically tripped over it, the mage only managing to stabilize himself by slamming a hand into a shelf. The impact caused one of the small bottles of magic powder to get knocked out, and it was only by a miracle or a fluke that the brunette managed to bounce it back up with his foot, before catching it in his hand and slotting it back in place. Smooth. Super smooth, Allereun. He forced an awkward laugh, how definitely dying at how embarrassingly uncool he was. "Was gonna say Allereun Usheim," he continued, stepping into the back of the store to pull out a clean towel from a cabinet. Clothing was hard to find as well, but ultimately, he settled for a loose shirt, pants, and...

Apron or cloak, what would it be? A cloak would definitely be immensely helpful for suppressing his inappropriate desires and helping regain his professional veneer, but on the other hand, an apron...the way it'd hug her curves, the way it would accentuate her flat stomach and ample bosom, and how much of a cute little wife she'd look! Facing away from the customer, Allereun screwed his face up in true agony before, in a display of earth-shaking will, completed the outfit with the cloak.

"Here," he croaked, suddenly, inexplicably thirsty, "You can go change in the back room. And uh, just so I have an idea of what you need...what are you looking for here, Miss November? My shop doesn't really deal with perfumes, but I do have an excellent selection of sparkledust, if I say so myself."

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

Well, it was nice to see that some people's characters remained consistent. Shooting a grateful smile at Sammy's direction for inadvertently driving off the slacking waiters, Amaryllis marvelled at the bombastic confidence the child exuded, from her cutesy outfit (undoubtedly some form of cosplay, cause no Penrose private schools had that sort of uniform) to the sheer mass of her eyes. Children did have that sort of confidence though, didn't they? The fearlessness that allowed them to blow past societal expectations and ignore whatever dark and dastardly thoughts their surroundings were made of. She leaned forward slightly, sipping her ice water...and then realized that her plan of shoving all this free food into Sammy's direction was going to be foiled if this keeps up.

"No no, I insist," Amaryllis replied, one hand motioning towards the small mountain of appetizers, "I was the one to invite you, so please, go ahead and enjoy. Hardworking super sleuths need to eat lots to keep up the good work, right?"

Well no, not really. She could just have this to go if Sammy was really that resistant to the idea of free food.

Shaking it off, the blue-haired bombshell recentered herself, before pulling out the laptop from her backpack and turning it on. A couple seconds later, she typed in a couple keys, pulled up an application, and slid it to the side of the table for Sammy to see. What shone on the screen was a collage of browsers, each of them pointing to a different news report on a crime or incident within Penrose City over the last couple of weeks, the connection between them all being the mysterious circumstances in which they occurred. Some were random stabbings that happened in broad daylight, the perpetrator escaping without a trace after the fact. Others were more subtle, from the almost-instant disappearance of children being caught on CCTV to sudden, unexplainable spikes in aggression of predators housed in Penrose Zoo. "Well, so," she paused, wondering if she shoulda opened up with more banal small talk first, just ti get them both comfortable with talking, "Thoughts?"
@BrokenPromise

Fate/Secondary Genesis

Well, that was certainly a drive.

With a careless toss, Naoko unloaded the unconscious guard onto a soft leather couch, as she began to strip off her own outerwear. Though that crazy, broken-as-fuck, totally-cheating Servant never did end up doing anything terrible to Sophie (outside of the sort of verbal harassment that would get him publically lynched on social media), the stress-sweat that Naoko shed during her escape was still sufficient for her to want to flat out incinerate her clothing. Looked like the Winter Palace was going to be closed tomorrow as well, unless her Servant had Car Repair as part of her Autocrat’s Privilege. Ah, what a pain.

“Ah, what a pain,” she vocalized, swinging herself over to her refrigerator. The apartment suite was cramped, especially for the three people who were now living there, but the kitchen was nice and spacious at least, perfect for a food-truck owner’s experimentation. Popping open the fridge, she brought out yesterday’s leftovers, spaghetti and meatballs from Olive Garden takeaway, and extracted a frozen pizza sitting in the freezer as well. With the powers of the microwave and oven combined, dinner was procured with brutal efficiency, and the Japanese magus finally plopped herself onto a wooden chair. “Ey, Sophie, dinner’s ready. Mind opening a bottle of wine? Think surviving a day like this without actually losing anything’s a pretty good thing to celebrate.”

A pause. Outside, she could hear another ‘something’ brewing in the distance, but Naoko was human and chose to pretend her dull, human senses couldn’t pick that up at all. Instead, she scratched her old boy’s ears, the floofy golden retriever having found that the spot underneath the dining table to be the best for naps.

“Oh, uh, guard dude, you want something to eat too?”
@Epsir@DrowsyPangolin

The Fated World Defiance

Oh shit, there was someone there? Allereun certainly didn’t see that coming, not when he had performed the same action over and over again for the last couple of years with no mishaps occurring. Seriously, what were the chances of that? Less than being struck by lightning, for sure.

“Yeah,” the mage nodded, “That really wasn’t nice. Sorry ‘bout that, miss, can I…”

As the urgency of the situation began to fade, more important details about the woman before him emerged. Hair like ripe stalks of wheat, eyes as blue as autumn skies. A bountiful chest accentuated to sinful extremes by the wetness of her clothes, and an hourglass figure that simply could not belong to such a childish stature. Ears suddenly burning, Allereun visibly gulped, before quickly turning away.

“…I’ll go grab a clean towel for you immediately.”

In Ein's name, what on earth was such a beauty doing here?

✧ Talrae S2 ✧

Status

Health: 250/2300
Mana: 1000/3300

Strength: 30 + 5 [Power Treads] + 10 [Potion]
Agility: 70 + 5 [Skirmisher's Buckler] + 5 [Cutthroat Gloves] + 10 [Potion]
Intelligence: 0
Stamina: 10

Damage: +30 [Potion]
Defense: 16U 23P 19B 9C 0M

Skills

Polearm Wielding 50
Acting 15
Beautifying 10
Music 5
Light Step 15
Sewing 34

Equipment

Steel Spear (Mythic)
Cutthroat Gloves (Uncommon) _{+5 AGI}
Light’s Bane Cloak (Uncommon) _{Increase Hiding Chance}
Leather Armor (Uncommon)
Fancy Clothes (Uncommon)
Skirmisher’s Buckler (Uncommon) _{+5 AGI}
Power Treads (Uncommon) _{+5 STR}
Ring of Protection (Uncommon) _{+1% to all items' resistances}
Teleport Ring (Common) _{Teleport small distance, once per day.}
Jewelry x2 (Common)

Passives

Lycanbane - Increased Damage against Lycan-based Enemies

Light’s Bane Cloak Increase Hiding Chance
Ring of Protection Small Damage Reduction
Teleport Ring Teleport small distance, once per day.

Optical Mastery (6) User gains better eyesight during daytime, when the sun is present. They approximately gain 3 times clearer vision. Passive.
Light-speed Escape (8) User's body automatically moves a medium distance away at the speed of light when they fall below 10% of maximum HP. Passive.

Bounty (1/Universal) User gains D10 extra Renn whenever they receive Renn from GM. Passive.
Greater Bounty (5/Universal) User gains D10 extra Renn whenever they receive Renn from GM. Stacks with Bounty. Passive.
Grand Bounty (10/Universal) User gains D10 extra Renn whenever they receive Renn from GM. Stacks with Bounty and Greater Bounty. Passive.

Flexible (1/Lancer) Whenever an opponent misses a melee attack against the user, user may immediately move backwards or counterattack to deal low damage. Passive.
Practiced Steps (5/Lancer) User gains a low chance to evade melee attacks if the target is holding a short-ranged melee weapon. Passive.
Polearm Mastery (10/Lancer) User's normal attacks deal additional damage. Passive.

Summary

Casting Redeeming Glow to make herself an idol.

As the last fragments of the Warchief dissolved from the tip of her spear, Cecilia felt a weight being lifted off her shoulder. It was a small weight, one weight out of one hundred, but it was relief, nonetheless. She was still alive, and they had still won.

The girl pinched her cheek weakly, before grinning foolishly at the pointlessness of the action. It may be a game, or it may be real life, but this virtual world may as well be a dream. Pinching wouldn’t wake her up, would it?

Others were similarly mystified, the euphoria of the first victory washing over them even as the adrenaline seeped away, leaving them hollow and exhausted.

Skygod heaved himself up onto his feet, only for his knees to wobble and send him flat on his ass again. The middle aged man laughed and laid on his back completely, his eyes gazing up towards the sunset-sky.

From the mass of players in the distance, a girl in clerics’ robes sprinted the three kilometer distance to tackle-hug Nagi, rubbing her cheek against the older girl’s as the martial artist half-heartedly fended her off.

Arata, followed quickly by Tada, was already heading towards the next floor, seeking his next foe and ignoring the brash, proud vocalizations of his junior Marauder. Off in the distance, the less battle-inclined members of their party waved at them, and the ordinary schoolboy with an unordinary smile waved back.

Taleisen’s expression was less than happy. The raid had chewed into his finances the most, and the meager reward they received in exchange had the dapper Mind Aspect looking relatively undapper. Alongside a rugged warrior hold an abacus and a kid with a too-large backpack, he talked business at the jibber-jabber pace of an auctioneer, already plotting out how to play the market again.

Piggybacking on Willow’s slender back, Insomnant cut an odd figure as the armored fire-titan slumped in fatigue, unresponsive to the bladeless Duelist’s bad jokes. They headed away from massive dungeon door, and as the couple passed, Cecilia caught fragments of a vacation in the Flower Fields.

Killer Gram, on the other hand, hadn’t moved at all, and was instead making various motions in the air, no doubt sending messages to everyone he knew. For all his swashbuckling, cavalier attitude during the fight, the emotions on his face were easy to read in the aftermath. It grew graver and graver as his invisible communications continued, a stark contrast to the jubilations that other survivors felt.

Cecilia turned away before she could see any tears fall, and with a Sprint, she shot off, in search of familiar faces.

…

A new world opened up before them, one of storm and shadow, as humid as if they were in a sauna. Tropical was the term she’d use to describe it, and the stickiness that she felt only amplified the original grossness that lingered from four hours of non-stop combat. It was night time, and the light from her magic-enhanced eyes faded as a result, but flashes of lightning illuminated the backdrop of a city easily enough, and the ambient light reflected from the white sand beach helped too.

Just a couple of steps, relatively speaking, and they’d be able to recover fully from the cost that the boss fight took.

But before then, Cecilia had another job to do.

Though more than a few Trainers were present with their large, tamed monsters, Dubbstep’s Totoro was still fluffy enough to stand out amongst them. Sliding through the crowd and vaulting up with her new spear, Cecilia landed neatly on the bunny-beast’s head, before closing her eyes.

Another mask slid on easily, one that was totally unashamed and definitely saccharine.

“Hai hai, this is Last Genesis’s favorite idol, Ceci~” The girl struck a pose, balancing on one leg while both her hands formed v-signs by her cheeks. “Me and Dubbs are over here, so for the rest of my adorable fans, don’t be shy and c’mon over! And don’t be a stranger, cause I see you all lurking in group chat~!”

She struck another cutesy pose, and added a ‘kira-kira’ to it, before Redeeming Glow ensured that she really did light up, a star against the stormy light.

Altera: Of Departures and Deliverance

Sometimes you rolled a crit. Other times, you whiffed.

This was the other time.

Ettamri, sped by her steed and possessing abnormal strength, sent her lance flying through the air with force that few other humans could emulate. Though she lacked still the skill and experience that many other veteran soldiers possessed, her brute power and material resources made up for it, and the lance struck true.

But that was it.

Slimy as it was, the rolling toad’s flesh had naturally picked up thick amounts of soil, grass, and stone, the terrain itself creating a rudimentary armor around it, and that earthen defense had been sufficient in preventing the lance from piercing too deep before it was naturally flung off into the distance by the toad’s rotational force. No doubt, more blood had been drawn, but that was all that was, and, like a demented snowball, the rolling toad continued to accelerate further, Ash’s own skill with the bow being wholly insufficient for such a miraculous shot at the eyes. It was both offense and defense at once, and, worse than that, it looked as if the toad wasn’t even going to be able to stop of its own accord.

That didn’t matter, of course, to Matteo or Gwyn, who ran together, boots striking hard as they pushed their way through the tall grass. Even at full sprint though, it was clear that they were too slow, the building momentum of the toad ball gaining more and more speed as time went on. Neither thief nor priest ran faster than the other, but as time passed, Matteo became the first whose pace began to flag. A week of panhandling and soup drinking wasn’t enough at all to grant him the strength necessary to continue, and soon, it wasn’t Matteo who was pulling Gwyn along, but Gwyn who had to pull Matteo along.

And in such situations, there was no way that either of them would be able to dodge without sacrificing the other.

So, who made that choice?

Moments before they could both be flattened, Gwyn pushed Matteo aside, the thief tumbling away as the giant toad smashed into the priest. There was clear ‘thump’ before Gwyn was sent flying, the buoyancy of the inflated toad saving her, perhaps, from being crushed underneath, but also separating her from the rest of the group.

And there was no situation where a separated, prone priest was of any use.

The toad rolled on, gathering more earthen mass as it continued its path towards Gwyn.

If it rolled her over this time, there was no doubt that she’d be completely pulverized, nothing but a bleeding fleshbag filled with broken bones.

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

Sitting by a table at the back of the restaurant, Amaryllis absentmindedly stared out the window, ignoring the looks she received from other patrons, stirring a sweating glass of iced tea. With magic sealed as an avenue of mass murder, the more nefarious individuals of the magical realm within Penrose had turned to simply stabbing people instead. It was bothersome and disgusting, but it was also to be expected. A long sigh seeped between her lips, and she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning forward slightly to rest her chest against the table. Work never ended, and mundane murders only meant that it was out of her own expertise now.

Maybe she might as well just put on a cape and play as Batman? Maybe she shoulda wished for a secret base from those sisters too. And a transforming vehicle.

Amaryllis smiled. Nothing but flights of fancy. Her phone flicked out once more. She had come early to avoid a bad impression with the super sleuth girl, but it figured that she had come too early as well. And now everyone was staring. Ugh, feels bad to only purchase drinks and tell the waiters that kept gravitating towards her that she was still waiting for someone. Didn't help that other ladies were looking at her with vehemence and jealousy too. It wasn't like she was TRYING to grab their lovers' attention. Just that the last time she came to a restaurant with a 'full stealth' get up, the manager had called security on her. That had been an absolute joy. As the buxom girl stewed in her own thoughts, cutting the perfect image of a mysterious beauty waiting for a cruel lover who'd stood her up, a bowl of Caesar salad was placed by her table.

"Oh," the girl said, eyes flickering towards the waiter, "I, uh, didn't..."

"On the house, babe," the waiter (as tanned and blonde as any beach boy) winked. "Call me when you're tired of waiting."

"Uh..." Amaryllis awkwardly drifted into silence, before spooning herself some lettuce, her face only slightly screwing up with the flavor of the dressing. Man, she didn't even like salad, but it'd also be a waste of food if she just...let it sit, right? Wait, did this mean she was supposed to tip him afterwards? Actually, what the hell, he wasn't even the waiter that was assigned to her table!

...

Naturally, her eyes turned up again, in a manner that was unfortunately coquettish.

Yup, there were definitely more waiters heading in her direction, with more food items she never ordered.

As her Sword snickered in the bag she kept it in, Amaryllis simply hoped Sammy had a big appetite.
@BrokenPromise

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

Magical Maid Resolute Anne

"I'll fuck you up, cunt."
【☆】17 y/o | 5'9 | 139 lbs【☆】

Mana Crystal: A button of gold, with intricate, minute carvings of ivy along the rim. When transformed, it becomes the top button of the blouse she wears.

Virtue: Resolve, the decisiveness to do what must be done, and to do it competently, in a manner that leaves nothing lacking, but without such obsession that one is simply slowed by their need for perfection. Anne does what’s asked of her, and does what would bring the most benefit to everyone around her. That’s what work is, after all. If it was fun and easy and forgiving, it wouldn’t be what it is.

Magic
Competence – The magic to do the mundane. When transformed, Anne gains the ability to perform any mundane task at the highest level of human skill, as well as to manifest all the tools necessary to do so. If she needs to brew pre-existing tea leaves, she will be able to summon boiling water within a stylish kettle, as well as a fine china teapot and accompanying tea cups. If she needs to dissolve a body, the chemicals, as well as a vat large enough to contain that body will be summoned. The more unreasonable a task is, the longer it’d take for her to manifest the necessary tools for completing such tasks. If a task requires more than one person to complete it, Anne’s Competence does not apply.

Cleanliness – The magic to remove dirt and impurities. Anne can magically clean and repair things as necessary. Dirt and grease practically disappear in her presence. Messy makeup is erased and then reapplied. Giant holes in walls or craters on the road are patched up. When applied to humans, they attain a level of beauty akin to someone who has just spent a day at a salon or spa. When applied upon a crime scene, all evidence is erased, including the memories of non-magical witnesses.

Composure – The magic to maintain a standardized emotional state, regardless of the situation. A passive ability that grants clarity of the mind, suppresses unnecessary spikes in emotion, and shields one from magical mental influence. Though her Composure may inspire a similarly calm state of mind in others during times of crisis, this is merely an unintended side effect of Anne’s magic.

History
Anne lives with her grandparents, and works at a family restaurant that occasionally gets visited by shitty delinquents in order to supplement the meager pension they get. Her grandfather’s becoming senile, her grandmother’s practically blind, her parents are gone, and she does whatever’s necessary to continue living in the old family home. Most of the time, she cooks. When utilities stop working, she figures out why. She’s a regular in her school’s track team for the recommendation she can get. She takes self-defense classes at a local gym in exchange for babysitting the instructor’s kids during the weekdays. And even then, Anne still finds time to search and destroy the Vices lurking within the city.

Life’s hard, and the stresses build, but regardless of what happens, Anne still prefers it over death. For that reason, she works and she learns and she works and she learns, chipping away at the wall before her without regard to her cracked nails, her growing fatigue, hoping to crush herself until a diamond shines underneath.

Hoping to ██████████████████.

Others: When she can get away with it, Anne wears steel-toed boots and leather gloves.

Viscious Virtue (Dark Magical Girls)

I'll abuse Competence to steal her musical schtick next. థ౪థ