Randomguy

Persona: Black Crown

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Hikari turned to Thespian, who introduced herself as Shirona Hoshino earlier. Hikari didn't recognise the name, but it seemed like the opposite wasn't true, judging by the 'oh' she exclaimed earlier when Hikari introduced herself.

Not that it would narrow it down, a lot of people knew of her, in any case. Though considering Thespian seemed to be about her age, then maybe another student at Hane High? She supposed it would make sense that Seji, being a student of Hane High himself, would find recruits going into the same school.

Though the implication of having so many Black Crow users gathered in the same school meant that it was more common than she had thought, or there was something special about their school.

Well, that was probably a thought better addressed later after she knew for sure just how many were students of Hane High or alumni like Toma. For now, she'd best reply to Thespian.



"The wish our target asked for was 'Freedom to do as they'd like'. The connotation meant 'absolute freedom', but there is no such thing as absolute freedom to do whatever you wish, as long as we live in a civil society. We're bound by the unspoken social contract to follow the rule of law, live and let live, respect the rights of others, and so on. Those are the sort of things that made humans congregating into communities, societies, and nations possible. An innocuous manifestation of the wish for 'Freedom to do as I like' could be something like being able to play loud music as much as you want, suppressing your neighbours' 'free will' to protest, forcing them to consent to that loud music being played. That's relatively harmless, but if our target is of the more disreputable sort..."



"...Well, I'm sure we all can imagine all sorts of immoral things a power that would make consent irrelevant could do. From being able to walk out of any store with unpaid goods to...worse. Hopefully, it's nowhere as bad as the worst scenario of...well...I don't need to spell it out, do I?"

@Digmata

Kimetsu no Yaiba AU: Temen-ni-Guru (Arc 2)

Did Mamushi just became demon recently? Because Tenko has demon sense so, it seems weird if she had been a demon for a while and they're in the same class.

Persona: Black Crown

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"Fake gold, huh? Well...I suppose that makes sense. If you could simply bring actual gold or other valuables from the Metaverse to the real world, no doubt unscrupulous people with access to the Metaverse would have already done it, and the economy would crash. Incidentally, can you bring out things from the Metaverse? It seems like an easy way to commit fraud and forgery for untrustworthy individuals," Hikari said, observing one of the jewellery pieces from the crate as they worked to make room for the team.

Even if it was a fabrication, it was not as if the average person would be able to tell fake jewellery from real one. IF they could bring out things from the Metaverse, then people with Metaverse would have a way to produce cheap imitations with 0 production cost.

Hikari continued moving the crates, finally letting out a sigh of relief as they finished, looking a bit winded as she sat on one of the crates they had set aside, listening to Seiji, or rather, Noblesse.

Physical activity was never her forte, but at least in the Metaverse, it was doable. In the real world, her arms would probably have given out by now.



"Freedom to do as I like...? That...could potentially be a very troublesome manifestation of the app's power, right? Considering—"

Hikari stopped for a brief second, as she hesitated telling them what she had inadvertently done to her friend with the app, especially after knowing some of them went to the same school. No doubt, they had heard about how she allegedly 'stole' her friend's crush, and perhaps had their perception of her coloured by the rumours.



"...Considering what seemed to be the scope of the app's power, a wish such as 'Freedom to do as I like' could have horrifying ramifications for people the user used it on, maybe even stripping their free will," she finished with a small frown, deciding not to use the anecdote of her own experience with the app, giving in to her fear of being judged.

Persona: Black Crown

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Hikari looked around as some of the members gathered around started to introduce themselves. The woman—wearing a domino mask and white shirt—introduced herself only as 'Free', whereas the man introduced himself as 'Baron' alongside his real name, 'Osamu Ichikawa'.

She felt as if the woman's voice was familiar, but she could not quite put it. Likely someone she had not interacted with in length, but perhaps they ran in the same circles, maybe in one of the social gatherings she had attended as the daughter of her affluent family?

Regardless, what little recognition she had of 'Free' was dwarfed by 'Baron' or 'Osamu Ichikawa'. A second grader, like her, with a reputation of being a troublemaker, rumoured to even have criminal records from Middle School. They weren't exactly in the same social circle—not that...Hikari had much of a social circle in the sense of friends rather than admirers—but it was hard not to hear of Osamu Ichikawa.

Still, as someone with her own brand of gossip in the high school rumour mill, she would strive not to judge him based on rumours alone.



"It's good to meet both of you. My name is Hikari Kasuga, though as far as my 'code name' is concerned, it's Signora. I look forward to working with all of you," Hikari said with a smile, opting to divulge her real name like Osamu. After all, she already divulged it to Toma, and presumably, they would know each other's real identity once they meet outside the Metaverse anyway.

Daggerheart: The Witherwild

Speaking of Bards...

Matthew Mercer playing a bard be like:

Kimetsu no Yaiba AU: Temen-ni-Guru (Arc 2)

TENKO MARIA THOMPSON

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Himari's unceremonious kick that ushered the Rumble Hashira out of the room left Tenko flabbergasted; it was as if Himari cut through the tension of the room and had it dissipate into ether.

Tenko understood the awkwardness of having a man barging into the women's onsen, of course. But it was not as if they were naked. The towel covered more than swimsuits some women would wear back in the United States, after all. Then again, the Japanese tend to be more reserved and particular about these sorts of things, as she had come to learn.

Nevertheless, she breathed a sigh of relief, seeing a chance to de-escalate the situation. She turned to Guen, about to say something to the former Hashira once more, before she started speaking first. Of how she felt the Demon Slayer Corps weren't doing enough to find Hikaru's killer, and that they had, essentially, let a demon lord fly under the radar, responsible for the disappearance.

The Demon Slayer Corps was not perfect, and thus, in that regard, Tenko was sure that if Guen's heavy-handed methods were what managed to track the demon, it would make an argument for utilitarianism.

But we were not God. We do not have omniscience to know that the 'sacrificed lives' would balance the right way in the end. And that it also neglected the harm killing innocents did to the soul of the utilitarian. Even if more lives were saved in this world, was that worth the eternal life of Guen's soul?

And that was the problem with utilitarianism, wasn't it?

In their pursuit of ‘good outcome’, they are liable to forgo true moral good that transcends material things, which the consequentialist is concerned with.

Still, with Guen like this, it wasn't the time to preach or moral philosophising.

"...Guen-san. If there is a demon roaming free that is endangering innocent people...of course, I will help you defeat it. With or without the Corps' approval. But that doesn—"

Tenko stopped suddenly.

How could she not have noticed until now? Was it because she had been sensing the demon all the time while they were in the onsen that she had simply pushed it to the back of her mind? Or that the whole altercation between Guen and Miyuki distracted her?

How could she not have noticed...that a demon was right in front of the onsen?

"...On second thought. Let's postpone that discussion. There's a demon just in front of the onsen entrance. We should go."

With that, Tenko stood up, as she promptly headed back into the women's changing room.

Persona: Black Crown

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Hikari mulled over Seiji’s explanation.

Kingdom…a domain where a Black Crown user’s authority was exercised, encompassing a large swath of area, such as the entirety of Shibuya. If the authority itself was granted as a response to the desire entered on the Black Crown App, then a kingdom could be said to be a manifestation of that wish in full.

Hikari then tried to extrapolate it to her own authority, for contextual comparison. Her authority, Inversio Invidiae, compelled those who envied her to act nicely toward her, instead of acting upon their jealousy. If it manifested as a kingdom, then…the entirety of Hane High would be the domain, and everyone who had the slightest thoughts of envy toward her would automatically be compelled to be amicable and pleasant instead?



She shuddered. She felt guilty enough using her authority on her friend, who was slandering her over a misunderstanding. She did not even realise what the Black Crown app would do; rather, she wasn’t even sure if anything would happen. But even so, once it was activated, the effect was undeniable. And she had robbed her friend of her free will, essentially.

She cannot imagine doing that to the entire school, let alone an entire district like Shibuya. She did not know what sort of authority the ruler of this ‘Shibuya Kingdom’ possessed, but if it were anything like hers, she could only imagine the damage that it would have done.

That was exactly why she agreed to join Seiji’s team. To make amends for inadvertently—yet carelessly—robbing her friend of her free will, merely because it was convenient.

“I have some questions, Mi—Noblesse,” Hikari corrected herself, using the codename that Seiji had given her when they met.



“What exactly is the authority exerted over Shibuya? Do we know? Also, after we entered our desire into the Black Crown app, it displayed the message ‘Welcome to Black Crown, Destined Ruler’. I wondered what ‘ruler’ it was referring to, but after hearing about the concept of kingdoms…do you think that whoever created the Black Crown app did so with the intention of having its users create kingdoms?”

Kimetsu no Yaiba AU: Temen-ni-Guru (Arc 2)

TENKO MARIA THOMPSON

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"G-Guen-san? What are you doing here?" Tenko stammered as she saw Guen leisurely taking a bath at the onsen, as if there was no standing order to bring her into custody to possibly be executed.

She, of course, had heard about how she snapped after the death of her fiancé. A Demon Slayer going rogue to the point of what she did was a huge deal, considering their policy on keeping their existence secret. No normal person without being able to use breathing technique would be able to go on a killing spree as Guen did, after all.

The problem was even more exacerbated by the fact that she was a Hashira, the highest-ranking member of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Losing a fiancé would certainly be a cause for grief, a deep one. But if the rumours were true, that was no excuse to slaughter innocents. Even if she only killed the yakuza members, they were still people who might have repented for their sins. The only times when killing is permitted were in self-defence or when they have no other options, such as how Tenko saw the act of slaying a demon.

And such was the case with Guen. Tenko would rather that she make amends rather than be executed. Still...if she really went on a rampage the way she did indicated that she was not in a good mental headspace, and possibly unstable, so they should tread lightly here.

"Guen-san...umm...I'm glad to see you're okay, but—"

As Tenko was in the middle of her reply, Guen turned to Miyuki and provoked the young girl, before Miyuki shouted back in vehemence.

"Guen-san, Miyuki-chan, maybe you two can—"

Ignoring Tenko, Miyuki attacked Guen—or at least attempted to—before the Hashira deftly avoided her attacks, before strangling Miyuki with her towel. Immediately, a chilly wave of bloodlust filled the onsen. An intense feeling of being frozen in place, as if standing in a calm yet deadly wintry land covered in permafrost.

At that moment, faced with Guen's intense bloodlust, even for a split second, her mind couldn't help but wander to the unsavoury rumours about Guen. Filled with worry for Miyuki, she moved. At the same time, a man rushed into the onsen, carrying a katana.

Tenko's eyes briefly glanced at the man. The Rumble Hashira. She never met him personally, but she had heard of him. After a brief grateful nod at the man, she turned back to Guen.

"Guen-san, please...release Miyuki-chan, and we can all talk things through. There's no need to get into a fight here."

Kimetsu no Yaiba AU: Temen-ni-Guru (Arc 2)

TENKO MARIA THOMPSON

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“…I think that if there is a demon, it would be our duty to ascertain their motives and ensure that innocents who are visiting this establishment would not be at risk,” Tenko said, as she watched Himari entering the woman’s bath.

Knowing the existence of demons like Chozen and Yanagi meant that Tenko did not think merely because a demon was at an onsen that they were there for nefarious purposes. But it was also true that demons such as Chozen and Yanagi were the exception, not the rule.

That was why the Demon Slayer Corps was for, after all. The protection of the innocents against demons.

Still, it was also true that an escalation might end up endangering the innocent people in the onsen. The demon, who might not be inclined to cause violence initially, might do so the moment they see a Demon Slayer nearby.

She still sensed the demon…no, several demons? In the vicinity, but given that there was no commotion, it seemed likely that no violence had started. So for the time being, it seemed that the demons were content keeping the peace.

She sighed, “…I still think that we should investigate, but I will defer to both Hashira present, for now.”

"Though we should probably launch a formal investigation on this establishment later," she added to Jae-Eun

Tenko then adjusted her ribbon once more, before taking it off, preparing to join Himari in the onsen.

Daggerheart: The Witherwild

Arnannel

“Listen here, I don’t really care about that either way. Just tell me—"

Arnannel words were cut off as the old hunter suddenly cursed, his eyes looking at something in the distance.

It did not take long for Arnannel to notice what the hunter was looking at, a large aurochs that was advancing toward a young girl.

Given the size, it was clearly not a normal auroch, the fact that a herbivore wandering this close to a settlement notwithstanding.

Arnannel's first guess was another case of a Witherwild-affected creature, but there was no way to know for sure right now.
Like the old hunter, Arnannel took out his weapon, nocking an arrow on his bow.

He resisted the urge to click his tongue in frustration. If he were his father, he would have asked nature itself for assistance, roots and vines stopping the beast’s movement. Unfortunately, as was tradition for the Clan of Sylrowen, an elf of his age would not be learning the druidic art just yet. He knew enough to speak with animals, but he doubted this one would listen. Not that he would make it in time to speak with it before it rushed the girl over, in any case.

Pushing the thoughts of what-ifs away from his mind, Arnannel took a breath before aiming. With its attention fully on the girl, rampaging beasts such as this tended to be vulnerable to arrows from a distance, which was why diversionary tactics were essential in a hunt. This girl might be an inadvertent diversion, but something that held the beast’s attention nevertheless.

He swiftly released his arrow, aiming at one of its legs, hoping to stop it.

OOC

Arnannel attacks the aurochs with shortbow, using 1 hope token for the Guerilla Warfare experience for an 'ambush'