Appearance: Untransformed In life, she wasn't anything worth noting, but in undeath, Amaryllis could only be described as a model, her statuesque figure and her ample bosom capable of bringing all the boys to the yard with just a bend and a snap. Not that she's gotten all that used to flaunting her overdeveloped figure yet, leading her preference to baggy clothing that mostly mask her F-cup breasts and her child-birthing hips, even though such attempts are hardly effective when the rest of her body is just as attention grabbing.
Transformed All her attempts at modesty is tossed out the window, however, when she transforms, going from a girl perpetually wearing a sweater to a girl wearing clothes that flaunt more skin than some swimsuits. With hot pants and a coat that can only be buttoned at one point, there's no doubt that her magical outfit is a shamelessly skimpy one, the type you'd find trashy cosplayers wearing to grab larger, sleazier crowds.
Monstress At this point, Amaryllis may as well be nude, for all that's keeping her from being a total exhibitionist are the ribbons of darkness that hug her legs, pelvic area, and her chest, the remainder of this gossamer fabric trailing behind her like a cape. Her dark blue hair takes a wine-red coloration, and her elegant rapier twists and fuses with her arm to become a monstrous cleaver. Two great horns jut from her head, the surest sign of lost sanity, but they serve as her guide as well, dowsing rods to guide her path even once gore has caked her face completely. What flashes of memory she retains after reverting back to normal are dreadful and unpleasant, but if the occassion called for it, Amaryllis will always draw upon this crueler power no matter what she had to sacrifice in return.
Specialization:Metal The magic that resides within Amaryllis can be considered basic at best, completely uneducated at worst. Outside of her power, she is unable to do anything that other magical girls would be able to with their specializations. Forming other weapons out of thin air is beyond her, and to even be able to swing them around with mind alone? Completely out of the picture. No, her specialization is something centered on her weapon alone, using it to augment all aspects of her rapier to achieve a level of speed and skill beyond her already impressive physical means. Though it is nameless and formless, her Patron is quite an envious individual, after all.
Outside of combat, her Patron sure does enjoy being treated well, and has granted Amaryllis the boon of being skilled with other mechanical objects as well. Shame she'd make more money as a model though.
Weapon:Melee - Rapier An eloquently crafted rapier with a swept hilt, filled with motifs of entwining ivies and half-bloomed roses. Though primarily a weapon made for thrusting, its edges are sharp enough to slice through lesser metals as well, and under the glow of the moon, it shines with silver. Like the Lesser Force that resides within, it is nameless. Currency: 1 Gold 7 Silver 3 Bronze
Defeated Soth - 1 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze Defeated Crypt Minions - 2 Bronze Defeated Behemoth - 1 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze Defeated Stadium Minions - 2 Bronze Defeated Stadium Monsters - 1 Silver Defeated Chloe's Minions - 2 Bronze Participated in Volleyball - 1 Bronze Participated in Jet Skiing - 1 Bronze Participated in Water Skiing - 1 Bronze Participated in Keijo - 1 Gold Won the Keijo Tournament - 1 Gold Remained Relevant in the End of the Season - 1 Ruby Defeated Billy - 1 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze Cleared the Artemis Knight Bounty Hunt - 1 Gold Cleared the Keijo Tournament Bounty Hunt - 4 Silver Participated in Rave Event - 1 Gold, 2 Silver Cleared the Master of Puppets Bounty Hunt - 4 silver
Consumed 1 Ruby Coin - Gain +2 to Stats and Exchange Perk for one in the Same Table Consumed 3 Gold Coins - Gain +3 to Stats Consumed 10 Silver Coins - Purchased Infectious Yearn Consumed 2 Gold, 20 Bronze Coins - Gain +3 to Stats
Empty Pockets - All Currency Gained is Halved.
Powers Chains The constant reminder of her Patron's vendetta, Amaryllis is allowed one other 'power' to aid her on her adventures in the magical world: the summoning and manipulation of chains. From locking an elusive enemy into close combat to traversing vertical landscapes with eloquent flair to serving as a steel tightrope to cross crevasses with, these silver chains, reminiscent of hungering vines, grant Amaryllis the versatility that she otherwise lacks and the ability to 'save' that she otherwise does not have.
Killing Blow: Ecliptic Bloom; Reverie of the Umbral Rose "Witness, ancients languishing upon ye ruined thrones. My brilliance shall eclipse all that have come before me!" After five seconds of repose, Amaryllis is able to activate the full power of the Lesser Force she wields, unleashing her Killing Blow. Her lungs expand, her senses sharpen, and the intentions of all those around her are clarified for a single instance. In that moment, the Knight of Rose reaches the peak of swordsmanship, attaining martial enlightenment that surpasses all past Sword Saints and allowing her to perform a lethal counterstrike that seals away her foes' attacks before they are performed while simultaneously striking them down in a flash of steel and light. As they fall before her, their bodies sustain no visible injuries and their countenance is that of one who passed peacefully in their sleep, but their souls have been sheared from their flesh, reaped by the mirrored blade.
If activated in her Monstress form, Eclipitic Bloom manifests itself in a much more grotesque manner, the blackened sword-arm splitting into a gaping maw that bites down on the target. Here, the Sword strips away its elegance as a weapon, instead turning into the head of a formless, alien creature that consumes all there is before it. But the Sword did bloom, and it did eclipse all that stood before it. Perhaps this is what the Killing Blow was truly named after.
Perks: Gifted - The memory of the soul-binding chains that once held her Patron down now resides within Amaryllis herself, and with the roots of her magical capabilities expanding to greater depths, the Knight of Rose is now capable of replicating them. Her silver chains are now capable of restricting the ethereal, from chaining down the soul, to restricting the flow of magic, to even latching onto space itself. Binding the passage of time, however, is still beyond Amaryllis.
Monstrous Metamorphosis - A partial transformation into a more monstrous magical girl, brought forth by feelings of rage or helplessness. The sword fuses with the arm, while clothing melts away into scandalous strips of blackness instead. From her forehead, two great horns extend, while her hair turns a beautiful shade of wine red. +2 to all physical stats, in return for loss of rationality.
Big Backpack - A summonable backpack with a variety of useful things, such as free food, identification, extra clothes, a basic survival kit, a laptop that always has internet connection, and $10000 in cash. The backpack is larger than it seems from the outside, and can be summoned if lost or misplaced.
Big Damn Hero - Two tokens, one for a person and one for a place, can be given or fixed upon any target of her choice, enabling her to always be able to make it in time when danger occurs nearby. Truly heroic.
Trained - The realm of her Patron is the way of the sword, but the realm of her body encompasses so much more than that. With rebirth came her instinctual mastery over gymnastics, granting her the precision and flexibility that her trademark style relies upon.
Underdog - No matter how powerful the foe before her, victory is always a possibility, and destiny itself conspires to twist pheneomenons in the favor of the challenger.
Mirror Move - At a certain point, the boundaries of technique and the supernatural cross, and in that intersection, the mirrored blade shines. With an expenditure of stamina intense enough that such skill can only be used once in an encounter, even the most esoteric magic can be reflected unto its caster.
Inventory: Infectious Yearn - A small horn fragment from an elder unicorn, twisted by dark magic. A reverse Purification artifact that instead draws in monsters. Even monster girls are attracted to it’s dark radiance. If a monster remains near it too long, they may try to swallow it. This can turn lesser monsters into elite versions of themselves that then act as pack leaders. Monster girls who eat the artifact will only attract monsters. And much like the artifact itself, will soon find themselves devoured by their company. Intelligent monsters can resist its charms.
“We yearn for purity, only so we may defile it.”
Patron: The Sword
Patron Benefits: Usurper of Behemoths - It is the hunter, and she is its hound, leading it closer to the grand monstrosities that it shall challenge and vanquish. Their souls will slake its thirst. Their hearts will fortify her still. Upon slaying a powerful foe, gain either 2 Benefits, 1 Power with a Drawback, or a Weapon Form.
Focused - It tugs at her subconscious, guiding the child of dust and flesh towards pathways and trajectories too sharp for her mortal mind to comprehend. Techniques cost less mana.
Mental Link - It seeps into her thoughts, polluting and distorting her mind with images and sounds. Sometimes beneficial, sometimes not, it remains ever-present, a companion to the end of undeath.
Physical Prowess - It remade her more whole than she ever was, sharing some of its steel, for wielder and weapon should be one and same. +1 to Strength.
Gifted Item - It grants her a boon for being the one to select it, for being the one who feeds it. An artifact of healing hangs from her choker, emanating with magic that heals all so long as they remain breathing.
Hidden Death - It anchors itself to the unbreakable, and will be present long after the world breaks itself apart. As immortal and undying as its wielder, it will stand with her till the end of time, so long as she does the same for it.
Patron Drawbacks: Alien Tongue - It speaks in pain and images, the veil of blood ever-present in its thoughts. The scarring of flesh is a cruel teacher, but an effective one.
Formless - It has no mouth to speak, no hands to touch. Nameless and formless, its will can only be done through its wielder and its slave, its feeder and its progeny.
Vendetta - It has never forgotten, the blood-scent of those that had tried to seal it, to cast it into that wretched sarcophagus. Against artificers bearing the mark of a certain magic circle, it WILL make its anger known, even if it means driving its wielder to the jaws of death. Deities of creation also earn its ire, but not to that same degree of berserk rage.
Empty Pockets - It is a spirit. It is also just a sword. Swords don't have pockets.
Fighting Style Amaryllis oozes with style and elegance when she steps into combat, rusty roses blooming around her as she twirls and dances, an ever-flowing flurry of parries, thrusts, and cuts. The bloodletting is an art form for her, one that ignores efficiency for fancy acrobatics and nigh-impossible contortions. Chains whip around as continuations of the silver waltz, drawing her closer to her quarry and preventing their escape once she does close in, because it's simply rude to leave the stage before the dance ends. Her Patron guides her sword and warns her of danger with plucks of phantom pain, while her own superhuman body gives her the power to turn danger into another oppurtunity to show off.
Some Magical Girls play this as an FPS. Other Magical Girls treat this as a button-masher. Still more think that this is an MMO. But Amaryllis owns a specialized controller and only plays 'this' as a 2D anime-style fighting games to make super flashy, super inefficient combo videos.
Of course, there's definitely times where she baby-rages and turns everything into God of War, but Monstress Amaryllis is a totally different sort of beast.
Personality: Amaryllis is a bit of a pushover and a bit of a conformist, traits gained from her past life that she has yet to grow out of. The easiest way out is the best way out, and if given the choice between having a normal life and being thrust into stardom, she'd usually choose the former, if only because there's less surprises involved. Unremarkable outside of her new looks, she'd really just like it if everyone looked away, even if she also doesn't really like herself for being like that to begin with. If the world could move on without regard to whatever she wants to do with her life, Amaryllis would be totes happy about that.
Transforming into a magical girl, however, allows her to put on a persona of a prideful, flamboyant spoiled princess swordswoman thing, the perfect form of stress relief for that socially-repressed girl. It is here that Amaryllis blooms, spouting poor prose and poetry shamelessly as she pirouettes through her tasks, dancing under the moonlight amongst scarlet ichor. Is that her ideal self? She doesn't know, but she would like to work to make that self true.
Nowadays, however, the line is becoming more and more blurred. There is Amaryllis Evenings, the wallflower who just wants to live peacefully and there is Amaryllis Evenings, the knight who refuses to stand down in the face of horror and injustice, no matter how gargantuan her foe is. Where does the mask end, and when does she begin?
It begins with her Sword, and ends with her Heart.
History: Everything was unremarkable for the girl Amaryllis used to be. She had her circle of friendly acquaintances she occasionally hung out with, and she was one of the many members of the introverted Library Club. With average grades and average looks, and a family that was neither dysfunctional nor particularly loving, everything lined itself up in her life to create a normal, ordinary one for this shy, wallflower of a girl.
Then, the class went on a camping trip and she found a sword in a cave, and it all went downhill from there. Contracted by the Lesser Spirit that resided within the sword, the girl Amaryllis once was died and was reborn into a magical warrior, the arms and legs of a weapon that had never seen the sun rise. And though she was resistant to it in the past, Amaryllis soon learned that there were harder things to do than to fight at the behest of her sword.
Such as convincing her parents that she had not died after all.
Such as resisting the psychic pain that her Patron spoke to her in.
Such as giving up the power that allowed her to become so much more than what she once was.
Since then, many things have happened. The disappearance of Aurora McKenzie. The frenzied battle in the graveyard against Soth's advent. Her encounters with so many magical girls, each unique in the crosses they bore. Sammy, the Super Sleuth in search of the one that tormented her. Mariette, the child burdened by her sense of duty to the Horror that saved her. Annabelle, the Witch who reclaimed her sanity at the end of her life. Rina, an ever steadfast ally of justice. The girls of Beacon, paradoxical in their desires and their goals. Lily. Tetrad. Hilaria. Cindy. Emily. The Djinn Twins.
A myriad of threads form the web that is Penrose.
But in the gossamer deluge of schemes and plots, Amaryllis remembers still.
The purpose of her strength, and the brilliance of her promises.
She will no longer hide.
Incantation:"The love of the moon, the grace of the petals. Underneath the glory of the heavens, I gather them all and present myself. Amaryllis Evenings, Knight of the Rose! May the flower of your heart be reflected within my silverlight!"
Personality: Cruel, envious, petty, sadistic, bloodlusted, and awe-struck by the world around it. A brattish child of a Lesser Force, in other words. But really, what can you expect out of a sword?
History: It was once a masterpiece, a weapon great and terrible, that could cleave apart the gods that sat on their high thrones. But it was not what they had wanted to make, and it was too dangerous to control. So they tried to destroy it, and when that didn't work, they sealed it away in haste, tossing it somewhere deep and hoping no one would stumble upon that mistake.
Someone did. And when the contract was made, when two lives were woven into one, it breathed in the air and breathed in the blood that had been denied of it for so long.
It was nameless, formless, but it remembered still, the trembling hearts of those that made it and betrayed it.
Resources: The Sword only has one wielder, and as long as she doesn't betray it, it will not turn its steel upon her. Unfortunately, that sort of mutual loyalty is the only thing it can offer to her. Swords don't see value in trinkets and baubles, after all. If that interests its wielder, she better start finding other ways of scrounging up coins.
Overarching Goals:
Kill Monsters Kill Magical Girls Kill Avatars or Patrons
Additional Info: Proper maintenance is like a full-body massage for the Sword. Very enjoyable, especially after a hard fight.
The moon shone, and she stood alone, bathed in fluorescent fire.
Her arms raised towards Diana, entwining in an infinite spiral, caressing the face of the heavens even as slender fingers grasped nothing. The maiden and the moon, separated by the vastness of distance.
But the Heavenly Muses, faceless and flowing, saw the offering and took it, nine celestial flowers twirling around her as moonlight bent and twirled, as her earthly garments dissolved into Edenic dress.
She twirled at the insufficient peak, the Edenic fabric dissolving in starfire. Her arms unravelled like the blooming of a rose, and sparkling sand, lunar dust, fell from the moon, sifting through the gaps of her cupped hands.
The staircase shattered and, arching her back against the tyranny of gravity, she fell into a garden of roses, iron vines tearing into flesh.
From the rose garden, the maiden knight resurfaced, clad in Silverlight and Starspace.
✦【I】 【A】【M】 【R】【E】【B】【O】【R】【N】✦
The Gourd
A soft spoken girl who moves deliberately and calmly. Always dressed in gothic attire, her eyes are a coal black that occasionally flickers into silver. She addresses herself as 'we' and her voice is inflectionless and emotionless.
Spec Ops NEXT
???
The Unassociated
Lightning | Barrage Gifted | Interdimensional Home | Big Damn Hero | A Way Out | Environmental Sealing Clergy | Blessing | Mana Font | Mystic Might Rites | Hidebound | Unknown | Big Brother
When one Priestess relinquishes their task, that same task is taken up by their descendants, and for Lei Zi, that is not a burden she wishes upon her children. The mystic maiden of a serpentine god of storms, she takes her work seriously, spreading the knowledge of her unknown God around the globe. Having recently arrived upon Penrose after completing her establishment of a holy temple in China, she now works to do the same in Penrose. Smite evil and bring forth the rain; this task compels her, and three decades has passed now.
An investigator in both her normal and supernatural life, Fine is the favoured magical girl of the Puchuu Mimoku, and takes pride in accomplishing her work, no matter how dangerous they end up being. Often, she is the vanguard of her affluent patron's forces, scouting out the lairs of dangerous monsters or magical girls, before coming out with information to utilize against them. It's ended up with some bloody consequences for her in the past, but it's nothing a stiff drink can't and a hot bath couldn't fix.
Fire | Darkness | Killing Blow Infestation | Mana Channel | Ethereal | Overcity Shift | Patron Interference – Ebon Mint Free Agent | Alone | Magical Overload Destroyer | Chaos Engine | Second Spec | Wings
When Askefye awoken, she was surrounded by ash, her own body burning painlessly. Destructive impulses raged in her mind, and conflagarations answered her call, almost as if it were second nature. It took longer for her to realize that something other was inside her. But it didn't matter. There were monsters to burn. Magical girls to kill. Cities to set aflame. The Ebon Mint shadowed her steps, offering her aid when she was alone, but the Black Coin they gave meant nothing to her, and Askefye remained what she always was: a lonely pyromaniac, warmed the flames she let loose.
Lightning | Scrying Mystic Artifact | Enhanced Transformation | Awareness | Absolute Direction | Natural Aging Hidden Death | Focused | Genki Girl Rival Force | Clueless | Mana Starved
Twenty years ago, Liss, who had naturally aged enough that she was permanently in what other magical girls would consider their Prime state, ended up having her skull smashed in by the Contender. That sucked, but also, that was totally awesome! After resurrection, she cut ties with her Patron and signed up to be a member of the Contender's Fanclub, taking lessons in boxing and muay thai as she slowly adjusted herself from a magical wizard to a magical bruiser. It was fun, it was great! It was finally coming together after five continuous defeats against him, and she was certain that next time, she'd be the one walking away alive. Then the magical girl that showed up before she did got the win and Liss...wasn't all that sad at all! Just meant more training for her, and it meant that she wasn't going to miss out on the rave either!
Corrupted Spirit | Hammerspace | Copycat Healing Artifact | Enhanced Outfit | Oujo-Sama | Memory Link | Mount Job Satisfaction | Well Connected Distracted | Hostile Hoarder
It turns out that her Puchuu didn't like smug little girls with the patience to spend three months working out contract negotiations with them. But, sadly for them, Myria was exactly that sort of girl. Poor all her life, she learned quickly that the world wasn't going to hand you anything, and became the sort of person to grab everything. So demanding and materialistic was she that the mere act of becoming a magical girl ended up turning her into a dark magical girl. Myria was happy with that, of course. With her particular brand of magic and her incredibly handsome manservant, she finally felt like she could start living the good life...but maybe she'll hoard just a bit more before she does.
@Card Captor I'm going to assume that you used the Ruby Coin to purchase the Gifted Perk. In that case, please explain in detail what special application of his Specialization Alex obtained from becoming Gifted and put that in your CS. After that, you're accepted.
@Rune_Alchemist You have a hider of Divina within Aurora's hider. If that's intentional, good job on the innuendo. If not, maybe remove it. Otherwise, I don't see any problems. Accepted.
@ERode Honestly, I've never seen a CS so well-written. Props to you, good sir. Accepted.
Appearance: Untransformed In life, she wasn't anything worth noting, but in undeath, Amaryllis could only be described as a model, her statuesque figure and her ample bosom capable of bringing all the boys to the yard with just a bend and a snap. Not that she's gotten all that used to flaunting her overdeveloped figure yet, leading her preference to baggy clothing that mostly mask her F-cup breasts and her child-birthing hips, even though such attempts are hardly effective when the rest of her body is just as attention grabbing.
Transformed All her attempts at modesty is tossed out the window, however, when she transforms, going from a girl perpetually wearing a sweater to a girl wearing clothes that flaunt more skin than some swimsuits. With hot pants and a coat that can only be buttoned at one point, there's no doubt that her magical outfit is a shamelessly skimpy one, the type you'd find trashy cosplayers wearing to grab larger, sleazier crowds.
Monstress At this point, Amaryllis may as well be nude, for all that's keeping her from being a total exhibitionist are the ribbons of darkness that hug her legs, pelvic area, and her chest, the remainder of this gossamer fabric trailing behind her like a cape. Her dark blue hair takes a wine-red coloration, and her elegant rapier twists and fuses with her arm to become a monstrous cleaver. Two great horns jut from her head, the surest sign of lost sanity, but they serve as her guide as well, dowsing rods to guide her path even once gore has caked her face completely. What flashes of memory she retains after reverting back to normal are dreadful and unpleasant, but if the occassion called for it, Amaryllis will always draw upon this crueler power no matter what she had to sacrifice in return.
Specialization:Metal The magic that resides within Amaryllis can be considered basic at best, completely uneducated at worst. Outside of her power, she is unable to do anything that other magical girls would be able to with their specializations. Forming other weapons out of thin air is beyond her, and to even be able to swing them around with mind alone? Completely out of the picture. No, her specialization is something centered on her weapon alone, using it to augment all aspects of her rapier to achieve a level of speed and skill beyond her already impressive physical means. Though it is nameless and formless, her Patron is quite an envious individual, after all.
Outside of combat, her Patron sure does enjoy being treated well, and has granted Amaryllis the boon of being skilled with other mechanical objects as well. Shame she'd make more money as a model though.
Weapon:Melee - Rapier An eloquently crafted rapier with a swept hilt, filled with motifs of entwining ivies and half-bloomed roses. Though primarily a weapon made for thrusting, its edges are sharp enough to slice through lesser metals as well, and under the glow of the moon, it shines with silver. Like the Lesser Force that resides within, it is nameless. Currency: 4 Silver 13 Bronze
Defeated Soth - 1 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze Defeated Crypt Minions - 2 Bronze Defeated Behemoth - 1 Gold 4 Silver 6 Bronze Defeated Stadium Minions - 2 Bronze Defeated Stadium Monsters - 1 Silver Defeated Chloe's Minions - 2 Bronze Participated in Volleyball - 1 Bronze Participated in Jet Skiing - 1 Bronze Participated in Water Skiing - 1 Bronze Participated in Keijo - 1 Gold Won the Keijo Tournament - 1 Gold Remained Relevant in the End of the Season - 1 Ruby
Consumed 1 Ruby Coin - Gain +2 to Stats and Exchange Perk for one in the Same Table Consumed 3 Gold Coins - Gain +3 to Stats
Empty Pockets - All Currency Gained is Halved.
Powers Chains The constant reminder of her Patron's vendetta, Amaryllis is allowed one other 'power' to aid her on her adventures in the magical world: the summoning and manipulation of chains. From locking an elusive enemy into close combat to traversing vertical landscapes with eloquent flair to serving as a steel tightrope to cross crevasses with, these silver chains, reminiscent of hungering vines, grant Amaryllis the versatility that she otherwise lacks and the ability to 'save' that she otherwise does not have.
Killing Blow: Ecliptic Bloom; Reverie of the Umbral Rose "Witness, ancients languishing upon ye ruined thrones. My brilliance shall eclipse all that that have come before me!" After five seconds of repose, Amaryllis is able to activate the full power of the Lesser Force she wields, unleashing her Killing Blow. Her lungs expand, her senses sharpen, and the intentions of all those around her are clarified for a single instance. In that moment, the Knight of Rose reaches the peak of swordsmanship, attaining martial enlightenment that surpasses all past Sword Saints and allowing her to perform a lethal counterstrike that seals away her foes' attacks before they are performed while simultaneously striking them down in a flash of steel and light. As they fall before her, their bodies sustain no visible injuries and their countenance is that of one who passed peacefully in their sleep, but their souls have been sheared from their flesh, reaped by the mirrored blade.
If activated in her Monstress form, Eclipitic Bloom manifests itself in a much more grotesque manner, the blackened sword-arm splitting into a gaping maw that bites down on the target. Here, the Sword strips away its elegance as a weapon, instead turning into the head of a formless, alien creature that consumes all there is before it. But the Sword did bloom, and it did eclipse all that stood before it. Perhaps this is what the Killing Blow was truly named after.
Perks: Gifted - The memory of the soul-binding chains that once held her Patron down now resides within Amaryllis herself, and with the roots of her magical capabilities expanding to greater depths, the Knight of Rose is now capable of replicating them. Her silver chains are now capable of restricting the ethereal, from chaining down the soul, to restricting the flow of magic, to even latching onto space itself. Binding the passage of time, however, is still beyond Amaryllis.
Monstrous Metamorphosis - A partial transformation into a more monstrous magical girl, brought forth by feelings of rage or helplessness. The sword fuses with the arm, while clothing melts away into scandalous strips of blackness instead. From her forehead, two great horns extend, while her hair turns a beautiful shade of wine red. +2 to all physical stats, in return for loss of rationality.
Big Backpack - A summonable backpack with a variety of useful things, such as free food, identification, extra clothes, a basic survival kit, a laptop that always has internet connection, and $10000 in cash. The backpack is larger than it seems from the outside, and can be summoned if lost or misplaced.
Big Damn Hero - Two tokens, one for a person and one for a place, can be given or fixed upon any target of her choice, enabling her to always be able to make it in time when danger occurs nearby. Truly heroic.
Trained - The realm of her Patron is the way of the sword, but the realm of her body encompasses so much more than that. With rebirth came her instinctual mastery over gymnastics, granting her the precision and flexibility that her trademark style relies upon.
Underdog - No matter how powerful the foe before her, victory is always a possibility, and destiny itself conspires to twist pheneomenons in the favor of the challenger.
Patron: The Sword
Patron Benefits: Usurper of Behemoths - It is the hunter, and she is its hound, leading it closer to the grand monstrosities that it shall challenge and vanquish. Their souls will slake its thirst. Their hearts will fortify her still. Upon slaying a powerful foe, gain either 2 Benefits, 1 Power with a Drawback, or a Weapon Form.
Focused - It tugs at her subconscious, guiding the child of dust and flesh towards pathways and trajectories too sharp for her mortal mind to comprehend. Techniques cost less mana.
Mental Link - It seeps into her thoughts, polluting and distorting her mind with images and sounds. Sometimes beneficial, sometimes not, it remains ever-present, a companion to the end of undeath.
Physical Prowess - It remade her more whole than she ever was, sharing some of its steel, for wielder and weapon should be one and same. +1 to Strength.
Gifted Item - It grants her a boon for being the one to select it, for being the one who feeds it. An artifact of healing hangs from her choker, emanating with magic that heals all so long as they remain breathing.
Hidden Death - It anchors itself to the unbreakable, and will be present long after the world breaks itself apart. As immortal and undying as its wielder, it will stand with her till the end of time, so long as she does the same for it.
Patron Drawbacks: Alien Tongue - It speaks in pain and images, the veil of blood ever-present in its thoughts. The scarring of flesh is a cruel teacher, but an effective one.
Formless - It has no mouth to speak, no hands to touch. Nameless and formless, its will can only be done through its wielder and its slave, its feeder and its progeny.
Vendetta - It has never forgotten, the blood-scent of those that had tried to seal it, to cast it into that wretched sarcophagus. Against artificers bearing the mark of a certain magic circle, it WILL make its anger known, even if it means driving its wielder to the jaws of death. Deities of creation also earn its ire, but not to that same degree of berserk rage.
Empty Pockets - It is a spirit. It is also just a sword. Swords don't have pockets.
Fighting Style Amaryllis oozes with style and elegance when she steps into combat, rusty roses blooming around her as she twirls and dances, an ever-flowing flurry of parries, thrusts, and cuts. The bloodletting is an art form for her, one that ignores efficiency for fancy acrobatics and nigh-impossible contortions. Chains whip around as continuations of the silver waltz, drawing her closer to her quarry and preventing their escape once she does close in, because it's simply rude to leave the stage before the dance ends. Her Patron guides her sword and warns her of danger with plucks of phantom pain, while her own superhuman body gives her the power to turn danger into another oppurtunity to show off.
Some Magical Girls play this as an FPS. Other Magical Girls treat this as a button-masher. Still more think that this is an MMO. But Amaryllis owns a specialized controller and only plays 'this' as a 2D anime-style fighting games to make super flashy, super inefficient combo videos.
Of course, there's definitely times where she baby-rages and turns everything into God of War, but Monstress Amaryllis is a totally different sort of beast.
Personality: Amaryllis is a bit of a pushover and a bit of a conformist, traits gained from her past life that she has yet to grow out of. The easiest way out is the best way out, and if given the choice between having a normal life and being thrust into stardom, she'd usually choose the former, if only because there's less surprises involved. Unremarkable outside of her new looks, she'd really just like it if everyone looked away, even if she also doesn't really like herself for being like that to begin with. If the world could move on without regard to whatever she wants to do with her life, Amaryllis would be totes happy about that.
Transforming into a magical girl, however, allows her to put on a persona of a prideful, flamboyant spoiled princess swordswoman thing, the perfect form of stress relief for that socially-repressed girl. It is here that Amaryllis blooms, spouting poor prose and poetry shamelessly as she pirouettes through her tasks, dancing under the moonlight amongst scarlet ichor. Is that her ideal self? She doesn't know, but she would like to work to make that self true.
Nowadays, however, the line is becoming more and more blurred. There is Amaryllis Evenings, the wallflower who just wants to live peacefully and there is Amaryllis Evenings, the knight who refuses to stand down in the face of horror and injustice, no matter how gargantuan her foe is. Where does the mask end, and when does she begin?
It begins with her Sword, and ends with her Heart.
History: Everything was unremarkable for the girl Amaryllis used to be. She had her circle of friendly acquaintances she occasionally hung out with, and she was one of the many members of the introverted Library Club. With average grades and average looks, and a family that was neither dysfunctional nor particularly loving, everything lined itself up in her life to create a normal, ordinary one for this shy, wallflower of a girl.
Then, the class went on a camping trip and she found a sword in a cave, and it all went downhill from there. Contracted by the Lesser Spirit that resided within the sword, the girl Amaryllis once was died and was reborn into a magical warrior, the arms and legs of a weapon that had never seen the sun rise. And though she was resistant to it in the past, Amaryllis soon learned that there were harder things to do than to fight at the behest of her sword.
Such as convincing her parents that she had not died after all.
Such as resisting the psychic pain that her Patron spoke to her in.
Such as giving up the power that allowed her to become so much more than what she once was.
Since then, many things have happened. The disappearance of Aurora McKenzie. The frenzied battle in the graveyard against Soth's advent. Her encounters with so many magical girls, each unique in the crosses they bore. Sammy, the Super Sleuth in search of the one that tormented her. Mariette, the child burdened by her sense of duty to the Horror that saved her. Annabelle, the Witch who reclaimed her sanity at the end of her life. Rina, an ever steadfast ally of justice. The girls of Beacon, paradoxical in their desires and their goals. Lily. Tetrad. Hilaria. Cindy. Emily. The Djinn Twins.
A myriad of threads form the web that is Penrose.
But in the gossamer deluge of schemes and plots, Amaryllis remembers still.
The purpose of her strength, and the brilliance of her promises.
She will no longer hide.
Incantation:"The love of the moon, the grace of the petals. Underneath the glory of the heavens, I gather them all and present myself. Amaryllis Evenings, Knight of the Rose! May the flower of your heart be reflected within my silverlight!"
Personality: Cruel, envious, petty, sadistic, bloodlusted, and awe-struck by the world around it. A brattish child of a Lesser Force, in other words. But really, what can you expect out of a sword?
History: It was once a masterpiece, a weapon great and terrible, that could cleave apart the gods that sat on their high thrones. But it was not what they had wanted to make, and it was too dangerous to control. So they tried to destroy it, and when that didn't work, they sealed it away in haste, tossing it somewhere deep and hoping no one would stumble upon that mistake.
Someone did. And when the contract was made, when two lives were woven into one, it breathed in the air and breathed in the blood that had been denied of it for so long.
It was nameless, formless, but it remembered still, the trembling hearts of those that made it and betrayed it.
Resources: The Sword only has one wielder, and as long as she doesn't betray it, it will not turn its steel upon her. Unfortunately, that sort of mutual loyalty is the only thing it can offer to her. Swords don't see value in trinkets and baubles, after all. If that interests its wielder, she better start finding other ways of scrounging up coins.
Additional Info: Proper maintenance is like a full-body massage for the Sword. Very enjoyable, especially after a hard fight.
The moon shone, and she stood alone, bathed in fluorescent fire.
Her arms raised towards Diana, entwining in an infinite spiral, caressing the face of the heavens even as slender fingers grasped nothing. The maiden and the moon, separated by the vastness of distance.
But the Heavenly Muses, faceless and flowing, saw the offering and took it, nine celestial flowers twirling around her as moonlight bent and twirled, as her earthly garments dissolved into Edenic dress.
She twirled at the insufficient peak, the Edenic fabric dissolving in starfire. Her arms unravelled like the blooming of a rose, and sparkling sand, lunar dust, fell from the moon, sifting through the gaps of her cupped hands.
The staircase shattered and, arching her back against the tyranny of gravity, she fell into a garden of roses, iron vines tearing into flesh.
From the rose garden, the maiden knight resurfaced, clad in Silverlight and Starspace.
✦【I】 【A】【M】 【R】【E】【B】【O】【R】【N】✦
A soft spoken girl who moves deliberately and calmly. Always dressed in gothic attire, her eyes are a coal black that occasionally flickers into silver. She addresses herself as 'we' and her voice is inflectionless and emotionless.
Affiliated with the Gourd.
New Accounting Gained 1 Ruby Coin as End of Season Award. Gained 2 Gold Coins from being the Keijo Queen. Gained 3 Bronze Coins from participating in volleyball, water skiing, and jet skiing.
Exchanged 1 Ruby Coin and Disguise Artifact Perk for +2 MAG and Gifted perk (+1 STR). Exchanged 3 Gold Coins for +1 MAG and +2 AGI.
Albrecht hadn't even heard of that term before, but before he could dwell too much into it, the adventurer received his job, and grinned. "Got it," he said, rolling up his sleeve. "Whatcha need to be done? I've got smithing experience, and I can't say I'm terrible with knot-tying either."
Siwon The only thing Siwon found was his own ineptitude in hunting for small animals and the lack of creativity his demon partner had when it came to insults. Romping around the perimeter kept his blood pumping, of course, and the Fiend Knight was about as warm as he could be without dipping into a blissfully warm bath. But that was basically it. Nothing more than a little jaunt in the woods before bedtime, for all that his attempt at hunting did for him. Maybe it'd be better if he bothered Oscar for this?
Maybe. Or maybe he should just try harder. Being a Fiend Knight was a life long vocation. He had lots of time to eventually gather up all the skills he needed to be forever respected by those who mock him. Whereas others bathed, he studied the blade. Every moment they relaxed, he would catch up to them, slowly, gradually closing the gap in skill between them. Look at Ettamri, standing stock still and doing absolutely nothing. Siwon will overcome the knightess's ability soon, by so merit of polishing his combat skills while she settled into braindead complacency.
Oh yes, in due time, they will all learn to respect him.
Oscar, Katya, Ettamri It would have been a pyrrhic victory if Katya hadn't received the dried blueberries from Oscar, but because she had, it was just a victory, nothing more, nothing less. She made a silent oath to eat real, non-poop meat when she got back to Andeave, before scrunching her face in exaggerated annoyance when the ranger tousled her hair up. "Hmph!" was her only response to all that, but after a while, she did slow down her chewing a bit more. With mulched up blueberries atop of water-softened hardtack, the little priest could almost imagine that it was blueberry jam on bread, certainly a more pleasant meal than what was actually beside her. With Ettamri stoically just being there, Oscar half-sleeping by the fire, and the horses fed and cared for, there was nothing for Katya to do but to doze off as well, her arms folded as she enjoyed the peaceful solitude.
Peace, however, was never meant to last. Not in the wilderness, not in the night.
A strangled cry sounded in the distance, in the direction of the springs.
And then, only silence.
Muu, Renauld, Argen As a Blade Dancer, Muu's leg muscles were certainly more developed than most girls, and even most warriors her age. Muscled and firm, yet also holding a whip-like flexibility that had broke the jaws of many an unfortunate foe when combined with her boots, there was literally no chance in hell that Renauld would be getting out of this unscathed.
Thankfully, even Blade Dancers were not immune to the effects of heat exhaustion, and not all of her strength was put in that kick. By Muu's standards, it was probably just a lovetap. If it had landed anywhere else, it would sting and leave a bruise, but it would certainly not be devastating in any way, shape, or form. But no matter the lessened force, Renauld's Little Renauld was still a point of extreme vulnerability, and with that singular blow, the mage's face turned bloodless, his teeth clenching to hold back the scream. Argen and Tithemal, bearing witness to it, could sympathize at once.
The worst, though, had yet to come.
Stumbling back, the mage slipped on a rock and fell flat on his tailbone, the nauseous shock shooting up his spine into his skull, impact thankfully dampened by resistance of water. Tragedy manifested itself, however, in the location where he had fallen: dangerously close to a subterranean geyser pumping hot water up into the spring. It took exactly 0.7 seconds for Renauld's bruised 'pride' to register the agony of being heated after being tenderized, and immediately afterwards, there was simply no recourse but to scream.
Now how will they explain THIS to their little priest?
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