Flamelord

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

It always felt that there should be more to teleporting, like the poof of smoke when Nightcrawler did it, or the shimmering lines of a Star Trek transporter. Sometimes there was a glow of light, but otherwise it was a fairly simple and straightforward process enabled by intricate magicks. One minute you were there, the next you were elsewhere. And now that she was elsewhere, it was time to go to work.

Her gaze swept the area, quickly locating the wendigos on the scene. There were a lot of them, and more than a few civilians in imminent danger too. She'd need to act fast to prevent anyone from falling at the hands of these monsters.

Before she could swing into action, Aurelio appeared to assist her. She'd thought he might be going to the Industrial Sector, but with the numbers here she didn't mind the help. More for the civilians than for her own sake. "You know me, i like to be where the action is," she replied with a nod.

As Aurelio swung into action, she materialized her bow and pulled on the drawstring. Glowing arrows sprang to life, and with an ease born of memory she shifted and fired. Bolts flashed across the open space and struck most of the wendigos. While they may have hurt, that was not the main goal. Her focus was on distracting them away from the civilians and pulling their attention to her by providing a threat for them to deal with.

"Five to one odds? it's almost a fair fight," she called, adding her verbal barbs to Aurelio's. Now they just had to see whether her plan worked, and what she'd do once she had ten angry wendigos trying to kill her.
_{@Shifter_Master@Ariamis}

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Unlike many, Alicia had not been particularly troubled by the events that had taken place over Christmas. Sure, some bad things had happened, but few of it had affected Alicia personally. Instead she had gotten to build a warmer relationship with Rachel. She'd gotten to spend time with Kimble, and she had received nice gifts. To say nothing of the presents she got from her Beacon provided family.

With a new year, she was feeling refreshed. It seemed the headaches and crises of the past year might come to an end at last, even with lingering villains lurking in the shadows. But she would handle those threats as they arose, and hopefully pre-empt some of the worse fighting.

Another day brought the usual work, Alicia writing up her reports of what patrols had seen and identifying potential trouble areas. Before she finished though Elora spoke up, reporting monster attacks in progress. The locations of the attacks weren't too much of a surprise, but perhaps that was experience talking. She'd fought at those sorts of locales before after all.

"I suppose I should," she conceded after a few moments. "I'm still working out that balance of personal involvement and delegation, but I don't want to seem too aloof from things." She was still working on fitting into the role of leader, at least at this scale. It was different from leading a team in a fight.

Penny was quick to head out, and Alicia began moving for the teleporters as well. "I'll head to the hospital. Our duty is to protect civilians after all." And errant park benches. The thought popped in unbidden, but she brushed it to the side as she made her way to her particular destination. It was time to go to work once more.

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

Alicia Hayden

Name: Alicia Hayden

Age (Magical Girl): 15

Age (Before Magical Girl): 22

Gender: Female

Gender (Before Magical Girl): Female

Appearance:

Untransformed

Transformed

Specialization: Light - Alicia can fire beams of light to attack with modest attack power, single targeting, and long range. Can use a blazing sword of light in melee. Can use spells that see through deceptions like illusions, good at finding things, and capable of Purification (between Fire and reinforcement). At an advanced level she can force others to reveal secrets to her.

Out of costume she is always aware of when people lie to her, with the potential to become more powerful.

Weapon: Ranged, Melee, Bowsword
Requiem's Dawn- An ornately decorated longbow with ammunition both magical and ordinary. At full draw it can punch through both armor and flesh, and she can use magic to launch more than one arrow at once. Has since been upgraded to make the limbs bladed weapons, which can be turned into swords when separated.

Coins:

3 Silver, 18 Bronze

Power: Barrage - Specializes in suppression, casting a lot of small spells in a row, and she can add secondary explosions to her larger spells.

Third Eye - Possess The Sight, providing the ability to see the flow and after effects of magic, as well as providing a precise sense of magic, and the ability to see Overcity entrances. Has been enhanced beyond the normal capabilities of Third Eye to provide additional benefits, including the ability to see in magically-created darkness.

Perks: Enhanced Outfit - An improved uniform that channels magic better, and provides serious protection to the point of shrugging off axes and heavy weapons fire.

Sorcery - Alicia has experience with the mystical art of Hoodoo, which she can even teach to normal people after some lessons. It also lets her use magic when untransformed.

Get out of jail - When imprisoned or trapped Alicia can rarely choose to teleport to a random safe location, which is guaranteed to have the supplies or facilities she needs to recover. Easy return and the area remaining safe past arrival are not guaranteed.

Blood Magic - Magic can be fueled with health rather than Mana, though obviously this can be dangerous to your general well being

Wings - Alicia's magical girl outfit has been graced with Wings, allowing her to glide from any height as well as fly (albeit with some difficulty)

Dual Weapon - To deal with the new threats rising all the time, Alicia's bow has been augmented to also serve as an effective melee weapon in addition to its previous abilities. This affords her greater adaptability in combat

Patron: Beacon

Patron Benefits: Shine Spark: The spark has always been a powerful thing, but as times move forward even the strongest things can be beaten. This was Beacons answer to all those that were finding ways to subvert the Spark defenses.

Alongside it's normal benefits, this upgraded Spark grants immunity to any attempt to forcibly change or control the mind and rather than being a gentle shield it is capable of retaliating with force against the would be assailants.

Perfect Life -The Beacon gives you the Fake Parents perk, and will defend them from monsters.

Gifted Item - For her service to them in the Justine crisis, Beacon has given Alicia a Mystic Artifact in the form of an ornamental scythe that allows her to see glimpses of the past, present, or future related to whatever she wants to know.

Patron Drawbacks: Vow of Patience - Alicia vows to show forgiveness and be merciful to those who do wrong, Build a sense of peaceful stability and harmony, resolve issues and arguments respectfully, and act with a forbearance that comes from moderation

Excommunication - Don't play by the Beacon's rules, get kicked out and killed on sight. No cooperating with Horrors, dark magical girls, monsters, or the Ebon Mint, no using Black Coins, no killing other Beacon girls.

Patron Goals:
Low Priority: Protected normal magical girls from harm
Medium Priority: Purified/killed corrupted foe
High Priority: Disrupt a Horror's Ritual

Fighting Style: Alicia is primarily a ranged fighter par excellence. She will hang back and provide support for melee fighters, taking out mobs and backing up her allies with powerful magic. If fighting solo she will do her best to keep her distance, hammering away at her opponent and wearing them down until she can shift to the offensive and deliver the coup de main with an overwhelming onslaught of magical force. Wings allow for additional mobility in her fighting style to better leverage range. This is augmented by her blood magic.

If she is pulled into melee she uses her magic to fight defensively while aided by her swords. If an opening can be found she will push for it, otherwise she will attempt to regain distance to a point where she has the advantage.

Stats (Untransformed): These start at 3. CYOA options indicate if they apply out of costume as well.
STR: 3
AGI: 3
VIT: 3
MAG: 4
LCK: 3

Stats (Transformed): These start at 4.
STR: 9 (+1 Silver Coins) = 10
AGI: 9
VIT: 11
MAG: 11 (+4 Gold Coins) = 15
LCK: 7

Personality: Alicia does her best to live up to the virtue that she has taken on as part of Beacon, and she would consider herself a fairly patient person who does not relish the thought of violence. Nonetheless she will approach conflict with a firm conviction, even if she tries to look for alternative paths when possible. Putting civilians and the uninvolved in danger is a particularly good way to earn her immediate ire in that regard. Compared to her fellows she is not necessarily so immediately judgmental of monster girls and darker forces, though this does not apply to the Ebon Mint and those who serve Horrors.

As a normal girl Alicia works hard and has an upbeat attitude, always looking forward to whatever the day might bring, even if it's a challenge to look on the sunny side. She tends to be more charitable than is perhaps good for her, but doesn't mind helping those who ask for her aid even if they aren't affiliated with Beacon as she believes that the best way to carry forward the mission is to show their good side at any opportunity. She also has a soft spot for music, specifically soft rock and classical music, and cares a lot about her family. Fortunately being in Beacon means she doesn't have to worry about them, giving her a bit more peace of mind.

Does have a bit of a darker side when it comes to grudges, which she may hold on to and prosecute longer than is healthy. Is also not the best at dealing with her own stress. But don't worry about it, I'm sure it won't be a problem.

History: Alicia grew up with a fairly normal life, the eldest of three siblings and the one who felt the weight of family expectation upon her. She did her best to live up to the family values, and to represent them well. She did not want to let her parents down after all. Yet she always had this nagging suspicion that there was something missing, that she could be something more. She just didn't know what it was. It would take her time to find out. She went to college, planning to become a teacher so she could give back to people much like she had been raised to. Yet she was not content simply giving up her life so easily. During break she went traveling, exploring the world a bit to try and find herself, and to resolve herself to what she was going to do in the future. A fact made all the more ironic when she was approached by a Puchuu from 'The Beacon' one day.

So she became a magical girl, learning how to fight, to harness her powers and use them in a manner that lived up to the ideals that Beacon upheld. She also chose her virtue as required by the Beacon, and settled into a new life with her family. She went out to fight, and soon got quite a bit of experience as a magical girl. Along the way she also met a strange traveler who claimed to be from another dimension. After buying them a meal they struck up a good friendship, and now work together when it is needed or convenient. Her friend doesn't go out and fight, but for more covert things it works out well.

Following the effort by Victoria Reales to unite the magical girls of Penrose, and her subsequent assassination, Alicia found herself increasingly drawn into the developing crisis that came from it. Playing an integral part in the establishment of cooperation between the Beacon and Penny Asimov, her investigation into what had happened did not turn up many results, even as she was involved in several fights across Penrose.

Eventually a lead was found, revealing the culprit to be one 'Justine von Visceral', worrying to the Beckoners. Forging a temporary compromise with Mariette Pedersen, who had found herself in opposition to Justine after being betrayed, a coalition was rallied and plunged into the Overcity. Fighting their way to Justine's castle, Alicia ended up not being present for the final battle that took place as she was elsewhere in Justine's castle. Nonetheless, she was able to help free some of Justine's servants from the control she held over them, before they escaped as Penny destroyed the castle.

Following that, Alicia was able to find and free Janet from her corruption through the use of a potion she gained via wish. Shortly thereafter, Penny revealed her alliance with the Ebon Mint, and through developments spurred by an altered Janet/Jenna, a White Coin was created and used to free her from her previous patron.

With friendships growing, it all culminated in a massive battle at a graveyard in town. The world was nearly destroyed by the Horror Soth, only to be thwarted at the last second. Alicia helped in that battle, and was made to assist in the integration of the ex-Horror Serenity, plus the reformed Regina Bates into the organization. They were spirited away to a pocket dimension for several months, and returned to a city that had been occupied by the Ascendancy, a branch of Beacon who served to counter threats too difficult for normal Beacon branches to handle.

Arrested for treason due to vanishing for that length of time, Alicia was successfully able to argue their innocence. In doing so she was made leader of the Penrose branch of Beacon, and sought to show that they could handle matters in the city. But a devious trap at a large party undid all of those efforts, preventing the peaceful removal of the Ascendancy from the city. Feeling guilty over the deaths caused, Alicia struck a bargain with Justine Von Visceral and other powers to stage a raid of Mariette's dimensional base, as she held her responsible for many of the things that had happened in Penrose.

This raid worked out in some ways, but she left it feeling unfulfilled. Bad guys had been beaten, plans prevented, but little of it was because of anything she did directly. And she had been forced to compromise in ways she did not like. One Christmas event later, and she now steps into the New Year, seeking a solution to the situation that she is in one way or another

They
Incantation: "Chains of Darkness, break! Light, shine forth!"

Additional Info:
-Traded Platinum Coin for Wing Perk
-Traded Ruby Coin for Dual Weapon
-Traded White Coin for Third Sight
-Currently in possession of an Arrow of Temporal Displacement, and a Blessed Fairy Bolt

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

And here we go again

Alicia Hayden

Name: Alicia Hayden

Age (Magical Girl): 15

Age (Before Magical Girl): 22

Gender: Female

Gender (Before Magical Girl): Female

Appearance:

Untransformed

Transformed

Specialization: Light - Alicia can fire beams of light to attack with modest attack power, single targeting, and long range. Can use a blazing sword of light in melee. Can use spells that see through deceptions like illusions, good at finding things, and capable of Purification (between Fire and reinforcement). At an advanced level she can force others to reveal secrets to her.

Out of costume she is always aware of when people lie to her, with the potential to become more powerful.

Weapon: Ranged, Melee, Bowsword
Requiem's Dawn- An ornately decorated longbow with ammunition both magical and ordinary. At full draw it can punch through both armor and flesh, and she can use magic to launch more than one arrow at once. Has since been upgraded to make the limbs bladed weapons, which can be turned into swords when separated.

Coins:

3 Silver, 18 Bronze

Power: Barrage - Specializes in suppression, casting a lot of small spells in a row, and she can add secondary explosions to her larger spells.

Third Eye - Possess The Sight, providing the ability to see the flow and after effects of magic, as well as providing a precise sense of magic, and the ability to see Overcity entrances. Has been enhanced beyond the normal capabilities of Third Eye to provide additional benefits, including the ability to see in magically-created darkness.

Perks: Enhanced Outfit - An improved uniform that channels magic better, and provides serious protection to the point of shrugging off axes and heavy weapons fire.

Sorcery - Alicia has experience with the mystical art of Hoodoo, which she can even teach to normal people after some lessons. It also lets her use magic when untransformed.

Get out of jail - When imprisoned or trapped Alicia can rarely choose to teleport to a random safe location, which is guaranteed to have the supplies or facilities she needs to recover. Easy return and the area remaining safe past arrival are not guaranteed.

Blood Magic - Magic can be fueled with health rather than Mana, though obviously this can be dangerous to your general well being

Wings - Alicia's magical girl outfit has been graced with Wings, allowing her to glide from any height as well as fly (albeit with some difficulty)

Dual Weapon - To deal with the new threats rising all the time, Alicia's bow has been augmented to also serve as an effective melee weapon in addition to its previous abilities. This affords her greater adaptability in combat

Patron: Beacon

Patron Benefits: Shine Spark: The spark has always been a powerful thing, but as times move forward even the strongest things can be beaten. This was Beacons answer to all those that were finding ways to subvert the Spark defenses.

Alongside it's normal benefits, this upgraded Spark grants immunity to any attempt to forcibly change or control the mind and rather than being a gentle shield it is capable of retaliating with force against the would be assailants.

Perfect Life -The Beacon gives you the Fake Parents perk, and will defend them from monsters.

Gifted Item - For her service to them in the Justine crisis, Beacon has given Alicia a Mystic Artifact in the form of an ornamental scythe that allows her to see glimpses of the past, present, or future related to whatever she wants to know.

Patron Drawbacks: Vow of Patience - Alicia vows to show forgiveness and be merciful to those who do wrong, Build a sense of peaceful stability and harmony, resolve issues and arguments respectfully, and act with a forbearance that comes from moderation

Excommunication - Don't play by the Beacon's rules, get kicked out and killed on sight. No cooperating with Horrors, dark magical girls, monsters, or the Ebon Mint, no using Black Coins, no killing other Beacon girls.

Patron Goals:
Low Priority: Protected normal magical girls from harm
Medium Priority: Purified/killed corrupted foe
High Priority: Disrupt a Horror's Ritual

Fighting Style: Alicia is primarily a ranged fighter par excellence. She will hang back and provide support for melee fighters, taking out mobs and backing up her allies with powerful magic. If fighting solo she will do her best to keep her distance, hammering away at her opponent and wearing them down until she can shift to the offensive and deliver the coup de main with an overwhelming onslaught of magical force. Wings allow for additional mobility in her fighting style to better leverage range. This is augmented by her blood magic.

If she is pulled into melee she uses her magic to fight defensively while aided by her swords. If an opening can be found she will push for it, otherwise she will attempt to regain distance to a point where she has the advantage.

Stats (Untransformed): These start at 3. CYOA options indicate if they apply out of costume as well.
STR: 3
AGI: 3
VIT: 3
MAG: 4
LCK: 3

Stats (Transformed): These start at 4.
STR: 9 (+1 Silver Coins) = 10
AGI: 9
VIT: 11
MAG: 11 (+4 Gold Coins) = 15
LCK: 7

Personality: Alicia does her best to live up to the virtue that she has taken on as part of Beacon, and she would consider herself a fairly patient person who does not relish the thought of violence. Nonetheless she will approach conflict with a firm conviction, even if she tries to look for alternative paths when possible. Putting civilians and the uninvolved in danger is a particularly good way to earn her immediate ire in that regard. Compared to her fellows she is not necessarily so immediately judgmental of monster girls and darker forces, though this does not apply to the Ebon Mint and those who serve Horrors.

As a normal girl Alicia works hard and has an upbeat attitude, always looking forward to whatever the day might bring, even if it's a challenge to look on the sunny side. She tends to be more charitable than is perhaps good for her, but doesn't mind helping those who ask for her aid even if they aren't affiliated with Beacon as she believes that the best way to carry forward the mission is to show their good side at any opportunity. She also has a soft spot for music, specifically soft rock and classical music, and cares a lot about her family. Fortunately being in Beacon means she doesn't have to worry about them, giving her a bit more peace of mind.

Does have a bit of a darker side when it comes to grudges, which she may hold on to and prosecute longer than is healthy. Is also not the best at dealing with her own stress. But don't worry about it, I'm sure it won't be a problem.

History: Alicia grew up with a fairly normal life, the eldest of three siblings and the one who felt the weight of family expectation upon her. She did her best to live up to the family values, and to represent them well. She did not want to let her parents down after all. Yet she always had this nagging suspicion that there was something missing, that she could be something more. She just didn't know what it was. It would take her time to find out. She went to college, planning to become a teacher so she could give back to people much like she had been raised to. Yet she was not content simply giving up her life so easily. During break she went traveling, exploring the world a bit to try and find herself, and to resolve herself to what she was going to do in the future. A fact made all the more ironic when she was approached by a Puchuu from 'The Beacon' one day.

So she became a magical girl, learning how to fight, to harness her powers and use them in a manner that lived up to the ideals that Beacon upheld. She also chose her virtue as required by the Beacon, and settled into a new life with her family. She went out to fight, and soon got quite a bit of experience as a magical girl. Along the way she also met a strange traveler who claimed to be from another dimension. After buying them a meal they struck up a good friendship, and now work together when it is needed or convenient. Her friend doesn't go out and fight, but for more covert things it works out well.

Following the effort by Victoria Reales to unite the magical girls of Penrose, and her subsequent assassination, Alicia found herself increasingly drawn into the developing crisis that came from it. Playing an integral part in the establishment of cooperation between the Beacon and Penny Asimov, her investigation into what had happened did not turn up many results, even as she was involved in several fights across Penrose.

Eventually a lead was found, revealing the culprit to be one 'Justine von Visceral', worrying to the Beckoners. Forging a temporary compromise with Mariette Pedersen, who had found herself in opposition to Justine after being betrayed, a coalition was rallied and plunged into the Overcity. Fighting their way to Justine's castle, Alicia ended up not being present for the final battle that took place as she was elsewhere in Justine's castle. Nonetheless, she was able to help free some of Justine's servants from the control she held over them, before they escaped as Penny destroyed the castle.

Following that, Alicia was able to find and free Janet from her corruption through the use of a potion she gained via wish. Shortly thereafter, Penny revealed her alliance with the Ebon Mint, and through developments spurred by an altered Janet/Jenna, a White Coin was created and used to free her from her previous patron.

With friendships growing, it all culminated in a massive battle at a graveyard in town. The world was nearly destroyed by the Horror Soth, only to be thwarted at the last second. Alicia helped in that battle, and was made to assist in the integration of the ex-Horror Serenity, plus the reformed Regina Bates into the organization. They were spirited away to a pocket dimension for several months, and returned to a city that had been occupied by the Ascendancy, a branch of Beacon who served to counter threats too difficult for normal Beacon branches to handle.

Arrested for treason due to vanishing for that length of time, Alicia was successfully able to argue their innocence. In doing so she was made leader of the Penrose branch of Beacon, and sought to show that they could handle matters in the city. But a devious trap at a large party undid all of those efforts, preventing the peaceful removal of the Ascendancy from the city. Feeling guilty over the deaths caused, Alicia struck a bargain with Justine Von Visceral and other powers to stage a raid of Mariette's dimensional base, as she held her responsible for many of the things that had happened in Penrose.

This raid worked out in some ways, but she left it feeling unfulfilled. Bad guys had been beaten, plans prevented, but little of it was because of anything she did directly. And she had been forced to compromise in ways she did not like. One Christmas event later, and she now steps into the New Year, seeking a solution to the situation that she is in one way or another

They
Incantation: "Chains of Darkness, break! Light, shine forth!"

Additional Info:
-Traded Platinum Coin for Wing Perk
-Traded Ruby Coin for Dual Weapon
-Traded White Coin for Third Sight
-Currently in possession of an Arrow of Temporal Displacement, and a Blessed Fairy Bolt

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Though a bit out of place in the investigation for the moment, Alicia did her best to remain attentive. She wasn't ruling anything out, even when Penny suggested that it might have been the Mint. It very well could have, though at the same time they were also a pretty convenient scapegoat. So she would still retain some flexibility in judgment.

She nodded as Rachel laid out what she was going to do next for the investigation. "Sure," she replied with a small shrug. There wasn't much to report on her end, though she supposed she could do a general thing laying out the course of events. She'd worry about that more when she got back to HQ.

"I noticed that. I guess all that keijo practice built up a bit of respect." However it had come back, Alicia was not going to feel bad about it. She'd been trying to build a partnership with Rachel, and at long last it seemed like it might be paying off.

Despite the party ending, she remained determined to hold firm and enjoy the moment. Glancing over to Kimble, she flashed her companion a warm smile. "Well, I want to find a souvenir before we head back. It's only a disappointing party if you let yourself think of it that way. Dan's got enough stuff on these islands that I'm sure we can find something."

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Arriving at the scene, Alicia was not surprised to find a small crowd already gathered there. With the announcement Dan had made, it would be a shock if there had not been a flock of people present to investigate the theft. As it was, things seemed to be well in hand at the moment.

Glancing towards Mariette, Alicia kept her voice low even though she was aware it was a moot point with portals. "I think there's a decent chance." If not Mariette, then someone in her organization. Even before her unmind warping she'd been trying to act the part of a good guy. While it seemed silly to stay here if she was the culprit, she could be trying to divert attention from Asengav and his followers.

Still, she was pleasantly surprised as Rachel gave the dimension a stay of execution based on the crime that had been committed. "Well then, I guess that worked out," she noted to Kimble with a shrug. It seemed their job here was done.

So she thought, at least until Rachel asked for her help. Stepping over, Alicia began heeding her powers once more. Those predisposed to mistrust them would no doubt claim she was just lying, but she would try to convey the facts regardless. Once Sally finished, she nodded to Rachel. "I'm not getting anything that says she's lying," she said, to Rachel more than anyone else. a pity her scrying wouldn't be of much use at the moment, at least until they knew what to look for.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

Seated in the restaurant that Kimble had guided them to, like most Alicia was taken off guard by Dan's announcement. Of course one culprit immediately presented itself. Mariette's group had probably done this on purpose, not willing to risk the possibility that they might have their plans ruined by losing. And as servants of a Horror, it wasn't like they had any particular negatives for making Dan mad at them.

With Kimble grasping her arm, Alicia rose to her feet as she processed the news. "We may want to find Rachel first," she mused, though whether they could get to her before she got to the feast hall was another matter entirely. "You know, before she declares that she won the tournament by default." Even if she didn't go through with destroying the place, she might still try to take it out on Dan for losing the mirror that he was supposed to be looking after. And that would be bad, at least as far as their reputation with everyone else was concerned.

Taking one last sip of her drink, Alicia headed out with Kimble to go and do just that.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The beach dimension was abuzz with activity as contestants prepared for the next round of matches in the tournament. Most of that talk was about the dramatic finish to Penny and Sam’s match, as well as the confrontation that had taken place between Rachel and Finn afterwards. Some talk was spared for other matches though, as people touted their favorites and discussed the wacky maneuvers on display.

Having gone to the concourse with Lily and Alex for food, Alicia had procured herself some Dippin’ Dots ice cream to enjoy. She had grown tired of popcorn for now, and so had defaulted to ice cream even though it was technically winter at home.

In the midst of that, she spotted Kimble amongst the crowd. She had a feeling that the girl was looking for her, but it had been too soon after her match for them to meet up. So she took the initiative and made her way over whilst waving. “Hey Kimble!" she called.

Coming up next to her girlfriend, she ate a scoop of Dots. “Nice match, though I’m sorry things didn’t work out like you hoped they would.” She knew the feeling.

”Alicia!”
Kimble yelled, initially elated to see Alicia.
When she brought up the match however, her cheery demeanour changed into an embarrassed frown, her eyes having averted down to the ground.
”I-It’s okay,” she answered, and looked back up at her.
”It was a learning experience for me. I was conceited, and thought I’d easily win. Actually, umm...” She bit her lip.
”...There’s something I need to tell you, Alicia.”

Alicia gave a small shrug to the first comment, not terribly worried by Kimble’s slightly soured mood. “Hey, it’s fine. There’s not much point in competing if you don’t think you’re going to win,” she pointed out. Sure, Kimble hadn’t planned on winning the whole thing, but gunning for Justine meant she had to have some level of confidence about her skills.

However, Kimble’s warning caused her to slow with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Not that she allowed herself to show it. “Sure. What is it?”

Kimble first looked around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping on them, and then spoke in a more quiet voice than usual:
"I didn't actually win in my match with Penny...She took a dive." She put her hands to her face.
"I was so stupid. I really thought I managed to beat her. Can you forgive me?" She asked with a sniffle.

That tension released with a feeling of relief that washed over Alicia. Stepping over, she patted Kimble’s shoulder as her girlfriend wilted under the weight of her own feelings. “Of course I forgive you. It’s not like you were deliberately trying to mislead us,” she pointed out.

She ate another spoonful of Dots before adding to her point. “And as far as not getting to fight Justine goes, I know the feeling,” she added. It had happened to her more often than she might like.

Kimble lifted her hands from her face, her eyes having turned slightly wet from tears.
”Thank you, Alicia...” She answered softly, and leaned her head against her shoulder. For a moment, she was quiet, enjoying the time the two of them could spend together.
Then she spoke: ”I couldn’t get to fight against Justine again...But I don’t mind. As long as I can be with you, that’s all that matters to me.” She blushed.
”Anyway, it was quite crazy what happened with Penny’s match, right?”

“You might be able to ask Justine for a match outside of the tournament if she doesn’t get roughed up too badly,” Alicia noted with a gesture towards the arena. Unlike her own efforts, it seemed unlikely that someone would render it meaningless to do so.

The mention of Penny’s match brought yet another frown as she reflected on what had occurred. “It was. Some people are way too competitive.” And she meant that to include both Sam and Penny, given the escalation had been far from one sided.

”I just hope neither of them got injured too badly,” Kimble spoke softly, looking out towards the distance.
”Especially Penny. If she can’t continue competing, Rachel might end up winning.”

“I’m not sure,” Alicia conceded with some chagrin. “Time stop’s one of those things that takes a lot of effort to use, doesn't it?” The fact that it had been employed here did not speak well to the physical state of either combatant, to say nothing of how it had ended with referee intervention.

A shrug then followed. “Still, imagine dying in a keijo match. No self respecting person would be able to live that down.”

”That would be very embarrassing, yes,” Kimble responded with a nod.
”Anyway, wanna go somewhere before the matches start? I heard of a new shop that’s opened up close by We could visit that if you’re not too busy.”

Alicia could definitely agree that dying in a keijo match would be super embarrassing. If only because of the methods used and nothing else. But they both seemed to move on past that quickly enough, perhaps to forget that very occurrence.

Before she could forget entirely, Alicia took the opportunity to focus once more on what really mattered. “Listen, all I’m saying is that you shouldn’t feel too bad. I’ve got robbed of resolving things with Justine, Mariette, and Regina. You get used to it eventually. It’s just a matter of tempering your expectations. But you can still talk to her if you want.”

The mention of a new store caught her attention, though she wasn’t sure if it was necessarily her interest. “Most stores are new in Dan’s dimension, relatively speaking. But alright.” She didn’t mind checking out something new, though hopefully she didn’t miss the final match by leaving like this.

With a decision made, the two of them headed off to the destination Kimble had decided upon.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

The Keijo tournament had begun, another round of pageantry and heated competition as the snow was traded for the sun kissed sand. Having done what she could to assist Rachel and Kimble, Alicia had returned to the stands to watch how it all went down. There were enough people competing as it was, she didn’t need to add to that.

One match had concluded already, and another was going on between two of Mariette’s posse. Alicia wasn’t as interested in that since she didn’t know the people involved. They were probably all working together anyway to get their precious mirror.

Because of that lack of distraction provided by the match, she noticed a familiar figure making her way up the stands. ”Hey Lily!” She called to the girl, waving and directing her to the open bit of stand near where she sat. She fully expected Alexander to show up in a few moments, but the opportunity to chat was worth it.

She’d wait until the girl had taken a spot next to her. ”Well, this Christmas thing really went out of control, didn’t it,” she noted with a nod towards the Keijo arena.

Lily and Alex were at the spectator seats. Lily was holding a big tub of popcorn with melted butter on top, intently following the dramatic events in the matches.
”"
”Woo! Go ice girl! Go beast girl!" She yelled, until she noticed Alicia calling out to her.
”Oh hi Alicia!" She waved enthusiastically to her, and tucked the tub of popcorn under her arm before grabbing Alex’ hand.
”She’s got great seats over there, Alex, let’s go!"

“Uh, okay I guess” Alexander shrugged and let himself be dragged off by Lily, while holding on to his own tub of popcorn

The two took their new seats, with Lily sitting between Alicia and Alex.
”Well, I guess it kind of did," She answered with a sheepish smile.
”But at least the feast hall didn’t turn into a food fight."
She extended the tub towards Alicia.
”I got some popcorn from Dan! Wanna try some?"

Alicia wasn’t sure her seats were that much better than the ones Lily and Alexander already had, but she wasn’t about to argue the point as they relocated to join her. ”Sure,” she agreed, taking a handful of popcorn when it was offered to her. It was pretty good too, just the right amount of toppings to enhance the flavor without being overpowering.

Idly munching on the popcorn, she gestured towards the stage. ”I guess so. Do you have any bets as to who’s going to win?”

“Do either of you even know the girls down there well enough to make any kind of bet? I mean, I have no idea who either of them are, so I’m not sure if what we’ve seen so far is all they’re capable of” Alexander piped in.

"I don't know either of them," Lily answered, "But I think the fluffy girl's gonna win it! She looks really strong!"

Admittedly, Alicia had been speaking of the tournament overall rather than this match, but she didn’t feel like correcting Alex. ”I saw ice girl earlier during the sculpture carving competition, and I think I saw her during the raid too,” she offered. After a moment she hummed in thought. ”That said, she seems to be lacking in energy. So I suspect it’ll be her opponent.”

“Fluffy?” Alexander wondered, not quite sure which one Lily was talking about “Although now that you mention it; an Ice Magic user in ice sculpture sounds like cheating. I was in a team of three for that, and we had to carefully carve our block of ice. While an Ice user could have probably just out right made their own into whatever shape they wanted. Hell, they could even make it bigger and add some weird additions if they wanted ”

Lily pointed to Freya in the arena in response to Alex' question.
"Yeah, her! You can tell she's a Beast girl by her menacing aura~"
She grasped a fistful of popcorn and stuffed it into her mouth as she listened to the two talk about the Ice specialist.
"Ice magic may make it easy, but our ice sculpture came from the heart! No magic can replace that, I think. But I do wonder if Dan took points off of cheating or not. I'm gonna ask him later!"
She turned to Alicia.
"Anyway, I heard that you trained Rachel in Keijo. How did that go?"

”Do all beast spec users have a menacing aura?” Alicia asked as she glanced over at Alexander. He was a beast spec, wasn’t he? But he didn’t give off a menacing aura, at least to her.

Lily leaned against Alex with a cheeky smile.
"Nope! Alex here may seem like a grump, but he's the sweetest guy around~"

Leaving aside her own magically aided show in the ice sculpting event, Alicia instead addressed the question that had been posed to her. ”Training would be a strong word, more like some pointers,” she replied with a shrug. ”She got pretty into it once she started treating Keijo like a somewhat serious sport. Whoever wins is going to have to work for their victory against her.”

Alexander snorted at the mention of Keijo as a ‘serious sport’ “I’m sorry, I just have a really hard time taking this insanity seriously” He shook his head “I mean, this feels more like something straight out of a lewd cartoon, than an actual sport. There’s a reason I only tried it once.”

Lily blushed at Alex' remark.
"Yes, Keijo can be a bit embarrassing, but it's also so much fun! I mean, the whole competitive nature to it is so compelling. And when you're right in the midst of it, it's...liberating." Lily reminisced as she looked out to the arena.
"Like that time I dueled Amaryllis...I really felt like our hearts were closer to each other."

Alicia could understand how Alex felt, and certainly she had a hard time treating it seriously too. But given the stakes involved in this particular contest she had little choice. ”Once you get past the particular tools used it’s not that much different from soccer or volleyball,” she pointed out. ”A sport where you can only use specific parts of your body to accomplish a goal.” But that was as far as she’d go in defending the thing.

After a few moments she shrugged. ”Well, anything to keep the mirror out of the wrong hands.” And by the wrong hands, she meant Mariette’s hands.

“I guess” Alexander shrugged as well. “I don’t know, I guess I’m feeling a little bitter that this nonsense had to come and interrupt my first real Christmas. I mean, I was just starting to really get into the spirit of things, when the turbo bitch had to come and ruin the mood.”

“Yeah...” Lily mumbled with a pout.
“I think Dan done goofed when he gave that mirror to Mariette in public and made Rachel mad. He’s kind of an idiot. But I hope the time we’ve spent here has been fun, Alex.” She looked to him with an apologetic look.
“I know it has been for me, at least.”

“I have enjoyed myself, for what it’s worth.” He nodded at her “But I guess shit like this is par for the course in Penrose. It almost makes me worried what will happen on New Years.” He snarked the last part.

“Yeah, I’m glad-OHHHH, SHE’S DOWN!” Lily practically jumped up to stand from her seat when Freya struck the finishing blow on her opponent.

“Wow, that match was great, even if it was a bit short! I hope the next one will last a bit longer.”

It turned out that Lily’s wish was granted, as the next match did last longer. However, it was the final match of the first round between Penny and Sam...And it didn’t end well.

Lily alone saw the moment in stopped time, her eyes wide open at the fact Penny managed to barely save herself from what otherwise would have been a guaranteed victory for the black-haired girl. Afterwards, she shook Alex’ shoulders.
“No way, she stopped time, and still couldn’t knock her out! Penny’s way too strong!”
Then, after the most intense combat the arena had ever seen, both of them collapsed, having to be carried away by Maura and Dan.
“That’s terrible! Why would they push themselves that far?” She asked, her face having turned pale.

Alexander shrugged and sighed “Who knows. I don’t think they have any kind of personal stake in this, so my only real guess would be pride, subberness, or something else like that. But it does feel like a bad omen, doesn’t it? I just hope that the other matches don’t end like that”

"Yeah, same here…" Whatever remained of Lily's joy had crumbled into a sad frown, followed by alarm as she saw what looked like a new source of conflict. While it seemed to end peacefully, Lily still seemed to be afraid.
"Was that Finn and Oliver over there? They looked angry…"

The next match was a far cry from the one before it, to use the greatest of understatements. Where there had almost been something akin to uncertainty on the part of one of the combatants, the match between Sam and Penny was more like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, and both of them breaking. Some part of Alicia wasn’t completely surprised, remembering how Sam had gone after Rachel at the Rave, but it was another thing entirely to see.

Looking over to Alex and Lily as they conversed in the aftermath of the match, Alicia could not relinquish her troubled expression. ”Who?”

“A couple of guys we met while Lily was teaching Justine how to play Keijo. They’re new in Penrose.” Alexander explained “We only really met them one time, so we don’t really know them that well. But they seemed like okay guys.”

“I think they’re with Maura and the Crimson Cradle, but I’m not super sure,” Lily added.
“Anyway, it looks like the first round matches are over.” She stood up. “Wanna go get a snack? I’d like to check up with Sakura and Justy before the second round starts.”

”I see,” Alicia mused with a thoughtful hum. Unaware of the bold declarations Finn was making, she proceeded to shrug whilst worrying. Still, if there was anyone who could recover it was Penny. After everything that had happened, it would be kind of silly for her to die in a keijo match of all things.

As Lily rose, Alicia followed a few moments later. ”How are you still hungry after all that popcorn?” she asked incredulously. Was this a Lighting/Time spec thing? Did they have increased metabolisms requiring them to eat more? How come none of the girls had mentioned this before? Or maybe she was just overthinking.

“No clue. She’s been like this for as long as I’ve known her.” Alexander answered, and then looked over to his now empty tub of popcorn “...but yeah, more food sounds nice. I just hope nothing else crazy happens while we’re away.”

Lily’s cheeks turned red as she pouted.
“I can’t help it, okay? When I get the case of the munchies, I gotta eat! Anyway, let’s go get a jumbo-size popcorn so we can all get to share it!”

It seemed she would not be getting an answer to her question. Alicia mentally shrugged to herself and put the matter aside for now. “Sure. Let’s go.” Maybe she could find Kimble while they were there. They’d have a decent amount to talk about with how her match went.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

While Elroy claimed to have not been dead this whole time, Alicia was not sure how much she believed that. Still, that was one issue where she didn't much feel like arguing about it either, so she pushed past that for now. There were plenty of other things to spend her energy on.

Instead, she shot him a skeptical look. "Regina may have been purified but we were not friends. Before she left anyway." He might have thought that she was being grouchy, but to some extent this was a reasonable reaction when the last she'd heard of him involved helping that Horror in trying to destroy the world. and they'd never been particularly friendly before that either.

After a moment she shrugged. "Still, good luck in the upcoming tournament." She glanced over to Rachel, and then considered who else would likely be competing this time around. "You'll probably need it."

_{@BrokenPromise}