The World

Symphony of Madness: Beach Trip

I probably missed / messed up something, but we'll see. Better to get feedback, so here she is.

CS

NAME:

Marrie Knight (Gale (sometimes))

AGE:

19

SEX:

Female

APPEARANCE:

Marrie stands at 5 foot 6 inches, though with her slouch she appears slightly shorter, with a toned but not overly muscled physique. Her black hair is almost always styled into twin-tails but would go to her shoulder blades if left down. Her eyes are brown and, until moving to Pax, usually partially closed in boredom. She has no scars or blemishes on her, except for a small brown splotch of skin on her right hip, a birthmark. She is usually seen wearing headphones around her neck if not on her ears.

Duck not included

Marrie's esper form changes her hair to blue and her eyes to an aqua color. She gains a blue track shirt and black skirt, as well as black stockings. Unlike her normal form, in this form she gains headphones that can't be removed, (and luckily do not hinder her hearing) and small markings in blue on her cheeks. Her birthmark disappears when in this form.

Esper

Beachwear. Beachwear?

Entirely non-symbolic:

The Ocean's Floor is Calling:

GRIMOIRE:

NAME: Summit - An azure shark tooth necklace. The shark tooth is serrated on the inner side.

INSTRUMENT:

NAME: Apotheotic Predator, Fenrir (Emerald) - In the simplest terms, a dagger attached to a retractable/extendable chain.
WEAPON: Dagger, Chain
DAMAGE: D (Physical)
SPEED: S
RANGE: B
FEATURES: (TBA)

More Details

A large knife with an 8 inch blade and a 4 inch grip. The blade shines with polished luster. The hilt is simply an extension of the blade; the entire thing seems to be made of a single piece of metal that was carved into a dagger shape as if it were from a piece of wood. The handle has small bumps on the sides that the palm touch that are not unlike those used for braille, though they are seemingly randomly placed. The front and back of the hilt are curved to better fit in a person's hand, and have small indents where the wielder's fingers would rest. The back of the blade is covered in smaller "blades," each is half of a right angle triangle of metal that has a bottom that is flat and sharpened, making a row of teeth that point their fangs towards the tip. These look not unlike shark fins, facing upwards. The top of the front of the blade is slightly serrated, and the blade curves inwards slightly just before reaching the guard, before curving back out into it. The guard is much duller than the rest of the knife, though it seems to be made from the same piece of metal as the rest. It extends 1.5 inches from the grip and curves slightly down towards the hand on the front and up towards the blade on the back. There is a marking of a moon engraved on the right side and a marking of the sun engraved on the left side of the guard. At the bottom of the hilt is a small ring, about 1.25 inches in diameter that spins independently of the rest of the knife, the only part that isn't from the same piece of material.

Marrie's Instrument has evolved a long string of tiny chains that are extremely dull metal and run from the pommel ring to a ring on Marrie's right middle finger. This ring is also connected to a bracelet that's tightly fit around her right wrist which a second chain connects past her fingers to the first chain. While the chains that connect to the dagger are incredibly dull in luster, the chain between her bracelet and ring is just as brilliant as the dagger's blade. The chains can retract to bind themselves around the bracelet in order to pull the dagger back to Marrie, or extend to a maximum length of 16.5 feet (three times her height) to be used as a ranged weapon. The weapon's retraction and extension is very fast when going to it's minimum and maximum lengths, and slightly slower to get to in-between lengths. The chains, while having very small links, are as sturdy as the rest of the Esper's weapon.

SUMMERTIME OUTFIT: Fenrir's beating the heat by being as cold as Hel; a Popsicle with a long cord (tied through a hole in the overly large Popsicle stick) attached to a life-jacket on Marrie's torso. (when transformed) (not shown in image)

STYLE:

NAME: Arctic Storm (Gold)
STYLE TYPE: Balanced
RESIST: D
SWIFT: D
SENTINEL: B
FEATURES: (TBA)

ALTERNATE SKIN (BEACH): Sure, a Sailor Uniform isn't really beachwear, at least not commonly, but at least the magic got the idea!

GENRE:

NAME: Jupiter's Footfalls (Platinum)
ELEMENT: Wind
CAPACITY: C (60 MP)
POTENCY: D
EFFICIENCY: A
MASTERED NOTES: Storm, Flight, Blink, Transplace, Heal, Stabilize
PROFICIENT NOTES: Damage X, Shield, Reflect, Purify, Dispel, Portal
BASIC NOTES: Magic Sense, Restrain, AoE, Quicken, Sky Call, Bounce
FEATURES: (TBA)

Backup:

NAME: Or You'll Get Smacked Up (Silver)
WEALTH: E (80)
QUALITY: C
STOCK: D
LOADOUT: Clip Light (10), Food (10), Kevlar (40), Rod (10), Medical Supplies (10)
FEATURES: (TBA)

PR:

NAME: Uh... (Bronze)
STREET: E
BOOK: D
INFLUENCE: E
FEATURES: (TBA)

LEITMOTIF:

FACTION: Freelancers
WATCHER: Glexaroth, Lord of Unreason
PERKS: (TBA)

TRIVIA:

The Deuteragonist

Marrie affectionally refers to herself as a "computer artist," though her meaning behind this is somewhat different than the common meaning. Fresh out of highschool, she found herself chasing both her dreams concurrently: programming and art of every kind. Even the makings of computers fascinate her, though not as much as the software that they run. She is a master of drawing with a mouse, though she's far better with a stylus or a pen, and her typing speed is around 65 wpm which, considering that she often overwrites her fiction and code alike, is a perfect fit. She tends towards comics and manga, liking that she can both write and draw for the medium rather than having to choose one or the other, and especially towards stories heavily involving high-tech. She's also highly interested, though not at all trained, in music to the point that she is almost always listening to some song or another on her headphones, even when it's not appropriate to do so.

Having grown up in the capitol of her state, Marrie is no stranger to cities, but lived her life introvertedly until recently so she has few social skills. It was on a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC that her confidence began growing. A popular vacation spot, she was dragged along by her single mother to the coast of the Atlantic Ocean where she bought a necklace that she thought was among the coolest she'd ever seen. And it was, in fact, the coolest necklace she'd ever seen because it turned out to be a grimoire. An azure shark tooth, in her hands it became an exquisite knife and the instrument of her change in form and, more subtly and over a longer period of time, her personality as well. This acquisition was only last year as the trip was to celebrate her soon-to-be graduation. It was this not so simple event that broke her from her shell and gave her the mindset to live on her own. Unfortunately, she was in no financial position to do so, given that she'd never had a job and her mother was barely making enough for them to get by together with decent living conditions.

It was a chance encounter back near her home when she was practicing her esper powers that gave her a chance to really grow. She had been testing her flight note when she was approached by a fellow esper who, after a long conversation, informed her about Shimr. From there it was a simple matter of following the money that led to her moving to Pax Septimus around a week ago.

Marrie believes that there are monsters who are good and monsters who are bad, but that both GEMINI and the Mavericks are simultaneously correct and incorrect. She believes that there should be an agreement between humanity and monster-kind that works best for both groups, but she doesn't quite know what that would entail. It's not right to sacrifice anyone, human or monster, who isn't a threat for the sake of anyone else. This simple idea means that GEMINI is not correct to destroy all monsters, nor is Maverick correct to tribute some humans for immediate results.

Previously On

"I have no enemies."
"Oh shit, there's so many enemies here!"

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"There's a rainbow under the moon."



The one place Rome can't reach.

---

As the primate pointed its wings at her, Acid Drop realized something: she was stuck in place. If she moved, those behind her would be injured or killed. If she stayed there, she might become too injured to fight.

---

"Tsubomi, I heard you got in a fight at school today. If that keeps happening, good grades won't be enough. You'll end up expelled."

Ah, yes. The school had told Mom and Dad about that.

"But dad, they were picking on ███████! f̶͕̭̙̏̓̀̆̍͠j̴̢̰̼͍̙̗͍̬̱̫͊̌͘n̶̗̗͚̱̘͍͕̩͉̗̔̅Ģ̴͈͕̥̦̝̪̰̘͛̎̍̉͆̓̚͘͠x̷͍̺͎͔̙̽͆̈́̑͐̂̿̂̊̕T̵̪̆̂E̸̡̘͖̻͔͈̎̆̀̐͑̉J̷̺͍̿͝V̸̧͓̭̋̈́̕r̶̘͒̑ ̶̡̮̖̫͕̱͍̥͕́̂̍̓͋̐Ẅ̷̨̺̪͍͚̹̩͈̭́͗̎͝Ẻ̵͍̘͍̖̉̇͛̈́ͅn̴̨̧̛̦͈͔̳̫͈͗̓̊̔͗͊́̑̾ͅg̴̫̘̘̮̘͐̉͝f̶̡͈͓̈́͌̔̚B̴̩̼̺̥̿͛̉b̵̧̧̯̼͔̔̀̈̔̔̕b̴͉̰͆̐̋̌̀̂́͐̈́͠͠ͅL̵̛̝̩̙͎̙̳̗̽̿̓̑̏̕͘͜͝i̵̞͖̦͓͔͛̑̇̄̎̈ ̶̧̛̜͚͍̭̠͔̠̾͗̌̍͛p̴͎̬͔̋͂̈́B̶̤̺͛͆̾̓̿͋̂̑͑̑ũ̶͙̱͔͎̬͛̈́͌̐g̷̛͔̀̋H̴̛͕͐̌͋͆͝ň̸̢͖̙̠̜̱͇̻̤̇̍͗̂͊̌͘T̸͓̫̮̙̬̼̅͗͆̀̓̔̈́̿̃̽ṏ̷̧̢̙͈̞̊̑̚k̴̥̠̙̙͉̮͍̜̏̈́͛̆͂̐̌̿̋̚O̵̙̮̰̫̿́̓͌̑̀ ̷͔̖̗̣͂́Q̵̢̨̢͎̪̠̘͙̈́̈́͘ͅò̶̥̞̻̼̮͕̬̖̒̈̃̐̍͒̓̚̚q̷̲̖̘̟͕̻̮̯͚̹̆́̐͗̆̂ş̸̩̗̭͇̺̗̠̘̦̎̀̀͠ͅb̶̧̤̭͙̤͓̏̕͜͠X̴̧̡͚̹͔̺̼͓͚͐̎͒͜R̶̜̠̬͈̦͈̺̻̠̈́̾͌͐̀͂̅̆̏͐̚͜C̴̡̘̞̰̖̫̲͗̀̀̀͂͒́̑͝͠t̵̝̉̅͛͒̊̎̐͑͌͑͘Z̵͉͇͇̼̤̤̭̗͎̖̆, ̵̡̞̟̩͑̇̊͑̇͑̾́̓̚͠a̸̳̟̱͓̻̞̘̭͑̀̓̾̑̅̽̅͘Ų̷̼̘̫̪͎̪͙͑̀̉͜ͅk̵̨͕̬̪͈͚̱͇̰̪͗̒̉̅͐̄͑̉̊G̶̛̘̲̰͚̪͖̀͋̏û̸̪̳̭̲͎͖̭̣͇͘͝T̷̛͔̩̉̉̏̈͌̀̅ģ̴̧̛̤̫̰̲̗̫͊̏̄̇̈́̓ǔ̸̱̖̩̹̲̥̆͊̏͊s̵̮̙̭̞̦̒͋̊͐̕͜ͅe̵̮̞̋̓̉̔!"

What was the reason for it? Something had happened, but the cause was too fuzzy to remember now.

"I know you want to protect everyone, and that's admirable. Keeping your friends safe is important. But you can't do things that will hurt yourself just to help someone else. Right now that's easy, you only have to tell a teacher about the bullying. But someday, you'll have to choose between saving someone else or saving yourself."

This was...

"No way! I'll save us both! You only have to choose one over the other if you've given up!"

That's right.

Yes, that's right, isn't it?

---

Acid Drop covered her eyes with her Devil Arm as the feathers rained upon her. She hadn't given up just yet, nor did she plan to just because some dumb ape could shoot at her.

As her body screamed at her brain from its new wounds, she remembered something else as well. All she had to do was get closer. If she couldn't get out of the way, she'd push through. And if she couldn't walk, she'd steal yet another thing from Tsubomi.

Suika's magic engulfed her body, not to boost it to its heightened performance, but to forcibly contract her muscles with a quick shock of energy. She was flung into the grown silverback, face-first. And when she collided with it, the force enough to move her but not her target, she grabbed it by the head with one hand and dug her weapon into its shoulder with the other.

Her blood was already mixing with its innards as it oozed from the dozen or so wounds its feathers had inflicted. C'mon, heart. Beat faster. Let's slow this monkey down to our level.

And beat it did, like the drum to an old song once beloved by its previous owner. But that wouldn't be enough, not quickly enough. Besides, if these chumps could do it, surely she could as well. And so...

Acid Drop bit down on the ape's neck as hard as she could.

As she did, she finally saw a duo of strange girls. One looked like the girl who had tried to catnap the Club's Mascot, and the other stuck out with her clothes more than anything. With the haze her mind had been in since learning that Tsubomi was the real 'her,' she didn't remember anything about the former. But if she had tried to capture their Mascot, chances were decent that she was a Magical Girl. As for the other... well, in for a yen, in for a thousand.

Those two suddenly found themselves feeling a mix of desperation and bravery. Maybe it wouldn't be enough to get them to fight, assuming they even could, but it would get them moving. If they were decent people, they might even start herding the others out of the danger zone.

That's when the apes, sans the one locked in place by Suika's arms, weapon, and teeth, found themselves under assault from... lasers?

"Tsubomi! There's still a part of Black Gate in there that wants friends. I felt it. If I can get you close, do you think you could use your powers to amplify that feeling?"

Acid Drop went to nod, only to find herself unable with the ape's neck still in her mouth. She reluctantly unclenched her jaw to speak, but decided to do something about the silverback first. With a quick pulse of magic, she spun Michi's familiar away just a few feet, just enough to get some space. She was breathing heavily at this point, but she still managed to say a few words in-between breaths.

"I think. I can do that."

Symphony of Madness: Beach Trip

You already know I'm interested, lol. Will be looking for a swimsuit for Marrie soon.

Do YOU have any interesting video game ideas?

@BrokenPromise

That does actually really help quite a bit! Like I said above, I'm just apprehensive to go all in when I don't think I can do the ideas I have justice yet, and interesting gameplay mechanics to try to build seemed like a good way to get closer to the point of confidence. (Plus the assets being a whole other skill set is yet another big wall, of course)

Best of luck with your game as well, it sounds really interesting, so I'm looking forward to hopefully someday buying a copy.

"Losing faith in the cool idea" is exactly the issue that keeps killing my attempts to make something basic but original game over and over every time I do a bit on it.

That idea at the end is actually really interesting too, maybe I'll try to use it some day. Actually, that seems like a good faux tabletop game. Which could be useful for various types of practice too...

Thank you for the input and story, and once more good luck with your own project!

Do YOU have any interesting video game ideas?

@SleepingSilence

Yeah, I should probably have been more detailed in my opener, but I have the engine and basic coding knowledge (though I'm nowhere near the level I'd like to be, of course) down already.

It's mostly the "want it badly enough" thing I'm stuck on. I don't want to go all in on an idea I love when I'm still feeling like I don't have enough actual hands-on experience, hence the search for interesting gameplay systems with which to gain more. You can only learn so much by copying simplistic games that already exist, and while I'm still not maxed out on that, I do think I'm getting closer to that point.

I already have an issue where every time I play a fun game I want to make something in that vein, lol, so that makes it a bit of a double-edged sword to just play a fun game for ideas.

Thank you for the input, though! Any and all of it is appreciated. Also, best of luck with the ideas you have and are keeping quiet!

Do YOU have any interesting video game ideas?

Edit: If you're reading this line, it means I haven't finished editing this post yet with more details.

I'm sort of floating in a void of not having a strong enough idea base to build into a game, and it's extremely difficult to make something without one. So I'm sort of trying to crowdsource it.

If you have any (in your opinion) brilliant ideas for a system in a video game (or story beats, though I'm more looking for ideas about the gameplay) then it'd be great if you could share them here. Even if nothing comes of it in video game form, maybe something will get stumbled upon that can inspire an RP or other project by someone else who reads it. Or maybe it'll just be an interesting exercise in creativity. I guess we'll find out later, assuming anyone puts any forward, lol.

Any and all genuine ideas would be appreciated. As would building on ideas that are already given; might as well try to work together, right?

Thank you for your time in reading this and possibly for replying as well.

Video Game Discussion: Part IV (The Gaming Industry in Decay Arc)

Falling back in love with games I haven't played in years.

DQM: Joker on DS, Palworld on Steam, even Minecraft for a certain mod's public server (and soon another mod that I'll singleplayer) are among them.

It's nice to have really good old games to fall back on when new games are too expensive for my pitiful wallet, lol

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Had a great example to learn from, Oros."



♪I don't know why but today feels like it's gonna be a great day♫

---

Acid Drop's head tilted to the side, the weed's trademark response to unexpected situations. It took only a moment to notice the pattern, but by then there was a King Kong to deal with.

"Mm. I see." Even at her words' newfound velocity, that was all she could say before the silverback lunged at her with its arm tensed to swipe against her skull.

Acting entirely on instinct, her body moved well before her mind understood what had happened. As it did, it also realized what had happened on another level. "How very 'human' of me." The words carried the same emptiness hers had always had, as if they could implode upon themselves at any moment.

As the final word left her lips, Suika's eyes trailed upwards to the underside of the ape's jaw. Her body, Tsubomi's body, and magic had registered the intent of the primate and ducked back before it could backhand her, then forward once more to hold it at bay with her own before the ape could pull it back to try again.

Suika idly wondered if Tsubomi would be this much stronger than Zassou had been until now if she hadn't fallen to darkness. With the girl still holding the silverback's right arm with her left, it reared back its left to smash the interloper like an empty tin can.

It never made it, its reach cut too short to reach, its balance thrown too far off. The negative emotions it had been fed were forced to be vomited back up by the weed, new and brighter ones shoved down its throat to replace them. It didn't send the ape back to its unevolved form but it was enough to send a shock through its 'muscles.'

For an instant, Acid Drop wondered if this was right. Tsubomi had always tried to be honorable, even in her illicit activities. She always wanted to be a hero, one who could reach out to those who had been discarded and bring them light. She had given her all passionately in everything she did, even when it might kill her.

There was no honor here. No hero to save the day. No rush of passion found from putting one's life on the line.

No, this was only a cleansing. Of bad thoughts and dark dreams. Of harsh emotions and deep fears. Of monkeys and their human typewriters. And most importantly, it was a cleansing of past and present grudges, though perhaps only one-sidedly.

Devil Arm swirling against her palm, Acid Drop pushed off with her hand that held the ape's arm and drove the now still blade under its jaw. A perfect performance, though she didn't know it, which mirrored Black Gate's own acting with Tsubomi once the stage had been vacated by the other actors.

As she pulled the weapon away from its newest victim, she ceased her feeding of the unconscious student body completely. She didn't know how much time she had, but the possibility before her was too tempting. In a single selfish act, she did what may have been the best option anyway, to prevent the school's populace from questioning these events.

Starting with those near Acid Drop's feet, everyone in the cafeteria was slowly engulfed in a wave of apathy, their emotions being stolen from them. She didn't have the storage space, but she refused to open the floodgates to what she already had. If she could be as precise as earlier on instinct, then she reasoned that she could do even better with effort.

Like a gas-burner... Use just the excess.

Acid Drop took a deep breath. She was at risk of wasting everything she took from the unconscious ones around her, but she pushed through the thought of failure.

This amount of effort wasn't enough to break her limits, but she already knew that. Besides, it would be enough, as long as she could simply bend them. In a blink, she found herself several meters further into the cafeteria, a large swath of monkeys defeated.

It wasn't enough. She'd only cleared just under eight percent of the remainder. As the rest turned and continued their push towards her, she began to doubt if her request to Oros and Evil Eye was wise.

No. It was too late, her hands had already been stained by hope. The encroaching troop couldn't take that away.

One-hundred eight. A waste.

A dozen more primates fell.

One-hundred four. Yet more wasted strength.

Another handful of monkeys, another few human trees picked clean of their bounty.

Ninety-eight. That was enough to refill, right?

One-hundred two. Too much.

Eighty-six. Too little.

Ninety-three. It would do.

The deluge of emotional fruit born from the sleeping humans had run dry. Even in her attempt to not waste any of her stockpile, she'd burned through enough to make room for more. She wouldn't be at a full tank if she needed it, but it would have to be enough.

As she glanced around the room to count the remainder, something felt off. The abnormal heat in her, their chest burned so brightly that it threatened to turn Acid Drop to ash. This was 'fun,' wasn't it?

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"It doesn't seem like Michi is having fun..."



Hey, I recognize that Elvis impersonator!

---

As she felt the impact of Suki slamming into her, Suika's mind, Zassou's mind, Tsubomi's mind, their mind, was filled with memories. Her memories, the child Tsubomi's memories, the old Tsubomi's memories, their memories.

The taste of blood and medicine as her head was nearly smashed open by the Miseria. The sound of a gun firing to save her.

An echo of giddy happiness at acing her first middleschool level test. Depression draping itself across her shoulders as the proof of her achievement was thrown by the wind into the river.

The moment that the bullet pierced her head instead of Suki's. The feeling of blood flying through the air and onto her arm just as she awoke.

A red shadow of overwhelming rage as she saw the thing that had stolen her body and thrown her life away simply ignoring her body's well-being out of apathy. The burn of all-consuming hatred flowing through her mind as she saw it considering dying, as if it owned her life, to get away from her.

The radiance of joy as she realized that her body was slowly coming back under her control. Elation as her magic began to listen to her instead of it, like a dog returning home after running away months prior.

The memories passed in a blink, but she felt them. She knew them, as if they had happened moments prior. Was she devouring the old Tsubomi's memories? Treating her 'corpse' as fertilizer for her own purposes? She could only hope not, and that was the last thing she thought before hearing Michi's words.

"Tsubomi could have stopped selling drugs."

As if that would prevent violent acts.

"Her clients could have stopped buying them."

Blaming controlled use of magic for evil actions of unrelated people?

"The school could have stepped up security."

It should have regardless, that's not the fault of your sister.

"The students and I could have had a back bone."

Is that why you hate yourself?

"The people who came after her could have given her another chance."

Do you blame your sister for what happened to her, then?

"Our parents could have done more to comfort her."

You can't fix what you don't know is damaged.

"Norah could have chosen not to take her life."

There it is.

Like lightning racing a train with no wheels down the track, her mind responded to each word at a pace Suika hadn't felt since prior to her trip to the beach. But even with the incomparable speed, she didn't have enough time to wonder why that was, because Black Gate said something else from her place above the Club.

"Humans are selfish creatures, unable to do anything that doesn’t benefit them."

Then it was a damn unfortunate thing that if there was only a single thing Suika knew about herself, it was that she didn't quite qualify for that title.

Still sitting with her back against the wall, Suika closed her eyes. She had never felt her heart, Tsubomi's heart, their heart, beating so quickly. But the feeling faded as she opened her eyes to find herself back on the stage of Tsubomi's mind.

---

Zassou, Suika, stood on the stage, unalone for the first time she could remember, at least in the role of a character. Before her stood the young-minded Tsubomi, clearly distressed at the situation as she looked out at the crowd of Miseria sitting below them.

That's right. Schrade said Miseria are emotions given form. Is that why they're here?

But that thought died like a fallen leaf when the audience stood to match them, clapping and cheering at a greater level than Suika had ever seen. The noise seemed to startle the flower bud, but Suika simply placed a hand on the top of her head and forced another smile.

"It's okay. They're applauding for you; all we have to do is take a bow in response."

Unable to mutter even a single reply, Tsubomi simply lowered her trembling head, taking Suika's hand with it as she did. And Suika allowed her body to follow in kind, the invasive weed taking a deeper bow than the flower, as if mirroring its intentions to bring the bud to the sun instead of itself.

After a moment, the crowd went silent, still on their feet and cheering with excitement. At least, the two onstage stopped hearing them.

"Why... why are they clapping for me?" the flower asked as her wavering mimicked her namesake blowing in the light breeze.

"Mm. They're glad that you haven't given up."

As Suika raised her head and hand, and Tsubomi drew back to her full diminutive height as well, the curtain began to slowly, ever so slowly, close.

As if the actors on stage had been reset, the duo stood, one fully and one in a slouch, as their view of the audience slowly faded away. Once the curtain was fully closed, only then did either of the two look away from it.

Tsubomi turned slightly to look up at the girl she knew as Suika. "Is... is this all real?"

Suika's fake smile shrunk at the corners of her mouth. "Everything is real, but it's not reality."

The wiry weed crouched down to be eye to eye with the yet to bloom flower. "We're in your mind, I think. You... had a lot of bad things happen to you." Even now, with more of the past Tsubomi being consumed for nutrients by Suika's being, she still was reluctant to risk the younger one's well-being by telling her the details.

"I think that's why you don't remember much, or anything. It's a response to the trauma. PTSD, perhaps. It could also be a result of nervous system overload, possibly. It's hard to know, even in normal circumstances, and magic makes it harder."

The young girl's eyes went wide. "Magic? What do you mean?"

Once more Suika's smile widened at her command, trying to reassure Tsubomi with it. "Mm. That's right, you have magic. You made a wish to help people, and it was granted, giving you magic powers. But don't worry about that right now. You should rest, and try to relax. Maybe you'll remember something." She didn't know whether that would be a good or bad thing if she did.

In an instant, as if responding to the words of the one in control of the body and magic, the stage melted away into Tsubomi's bedroom. Everything was there; from the well made bed with its clean bright yellow sheets to the gentle blue wall with a picture of Tsubomi's old cat Peach hung on it.

The desk she would presumably work at with its brand new alarm clock (not that she'd need one) sitting on it. The old but well-kept MP3 player that was set on the chair, plugged into a charger that ran below the desk, though Suika wasn't sure if it would work, given where they were.

The door, closed to give the girl privacy, was painted in a muted lime green, and across from it sat a large and round beanbag chair.

Finally, near the wall next to the bed sat Pretty, the beautiful large cat plush with its immaculate pink fur and bright brown eyes. She supposed that if pets tended to mirror their owners, maybe the reverse would be true as well. She could only hope that Tsubomi and Pretty would keep each other happy with their company.

As the body's original owner inspected her new, and with luck temporary, home, Suika opened the door and gave a wave goodbye.

"I'll be back, okay? I've got to take care of something. Take a break and relax."

With her hand above her head, she turned to go through and shut the door.

---

When Tsubomi's eyes opened again, Suika was being set on her feet by Oros, and her butt stung slightly as if she had been dropped on it. That minor pain was pushed out by the realization of what she was seeing. Red eyes shone in the dark, and soon enough there was light to see by.

It seemed it was time to begin the next Act. Suika raised her palms to slap her face on both sides at once just as the first monkey began its flight.

---

"I can feel Tsubomi feeling something..."



Such a pity...

---

But it was far too late. Suika had already burst open in a shower of color, revealing Acid Drop underneath. When the monkey that went for her reached her, it found its skull separated from its spine before it realized it had missed its target.

That wasn't right. Acid Drop wasn't sure how she had done that. She stared at the ground where the dusty remains had fallen, taking a moment to contemplate.

Ah, that had to be it. A controlled release, like a shot of steroids that was quickly burned through by the body. The vines growing from Tsubomi's corpse seemed to have mutated from the consumption of their victim. The old Tsubomi had left behind a more acute control of her magic for Suika to steal alongside everything else she'd taken from her.

She slowly raised her hand, still holding her Devil Arm, into her view. She didn't even feel the weight of it. Her eyes raised to look at another of the monkeys, but were quickly redirected towards the mountainside.

And then there was a roaring, and the ground shook. She could feel it, the mass of emotions that was dense enough to have its own gravity; it had to be a Giga Miseria. It had to be the Giga Miseria, the one that Schrade had defeated. It felt too familiar not to be. Which left her with few options.

But she'd decided already, since the moment her eyes closed in the club room.

Don't pretend to be sad for her. Pretend? That's right, she wasn't sad for Black Gate. She simply pitied her. 'Hey, don't do it, please!' Those were the words, right? They didn't matter. What mattered was getting Tsubomi to the sun.

... The sun? That's right, Miseria were weaker in the day. Why had the Giga Miseria awoken in the middle of the day? What an idiot. If that was the case, then...

"Oros." Suika's neck turned so she could face her partner, and she smiled. It was still a little uncanny, but she had certainly improved at it. "It's the middle of the day. Sleeping in is bad, right? So I'll wake these lazybones up, and you get the others to beat the laziness out of the bones of that guy the boss lady beat, okay?"

The words came from her mouth too quickly. It was like listening to another person entirely, like hearing the old Acid Drop from months earlier. But there was a softness to it, like a person who was talking to a cherished friend; something that had never been there in Acid Drop's voice. Yet even still, it held no emotion, only a new weight.

She looked back at the mass of sleeping bodies and the monkeys on them. She had an idea, an idea to drain the strength of the lesser Miseria she could now feel in the area, but now was a dangerous time to test that theory. She'd wait until nightfall. For now, though...

If the populace of the school slept through what was happening to them in the dream, she'd just have to find out how much they could sleep through. But she couldn't use negative emotions or she might summon a second Giga Miseria.

She felt her 'roots,' tendrils of her magic, spreading throughout the cafeteria, each bearing a different fruit. 'Joy,' 'anger,' 'sadness,' 'relief,' even 'lust.' Taking from each what she needed to feed to another. She'd envelope each person a different cocktail of emotions, as much of it as they could bear, until their bodies acted on their own to wake them.

And in the meantime, she'd slaughter a few winged primates.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

---

In the depths of an empty lake, there stood a flower. There stood a girl. There stood a puddle, reflecting back the rain that would soon submerge them.

A flash, a memory, a time when the flower broke through the frost to search for the warmth of the sun. A time when the rain was nourishing instead of drowning.

The wind began to pick up. The girl did not notice, but the flower did. It waved in the whirlwind, as if excitedly greeting the girl who watched it. An annoyance, but at least it was genuine.

As the girl stared past the flower and into the growing puddle beneath it, she did not see herself. She saw only the raindrops continuing to fall upon her.

She felt something sharp against her neck. She felt something warm and wet on her hands.

And then she stopped seeing.

---

There was the darkness again. Within it stood a teenager, and there before her stood a child. No, Tsubomi had been a child, barely fifteen when she lost access to her own life. Zassou was a child, an entity that had existed for barely more than a single year. The thing standing before the one who appeared teenage was a child. She wore the same clothes as the elder one who looked down at her. She wore the same face, a face the apathetic creature towering over her recognized from a mirror a decade prior.

"Wh-who are you? Where am I? What's going on?" the small one asked.

The older girl took a single step closer and crouched down, bringing her eyes level with that of the younger one.

"You don't know who I am?"

"No... should I? I don't know what's happening. I..." The words trailed off into the darkness.

"Mm. That's okay, Tsubomi. Things will be okay."

But the child did not recognize the words, nor the comfort they were intended to bring. "What... what does a flower bud have to do with this?"

She didn't know the name? Was this yet another roommate within Tsubomi's soul, a new being born even more recently than the weed had been...?

No. The crouched girl knew without any doubt that the one in front of them was Tsubomi. But why was she so small? Mental Regression? Were they inside her mind once more?

But the girl didn't seem to recognize her name, either. Retrograde Amnesia?

The older girl paused her train of thought. Why did she know those terms? She hadn't learned them in Hibusa... No, why did she recognize Tsubomi's appearance from ten years before Tsubomi lost her body? Why did she know the things the body's owner had done leading up to the event on the stage?

"Um..." the tiny flower fidgeted where she stood, looking away and back twice at the older girl. "Are you okay?"

The teenage girl didn't know the answer to that. Something had changed, something important, and it had happened while the two inhabitants of the body each had their own. If Tsubomi had lost her memory yet again, or worse yet if she had truly experienced Regression, then did that mean...

The crouched girl forced the muscles of her mouth into a smile, one that appeared much more relaxed and natural than any she had given to anyone in Hibusa Town. "I'm okay. Don't worry about a thing, alright, Tsubomi?"

The small one didn't seem to follow that request, still clearly uncomfortable. "Why do you keep mentioning flowers?"

Ah. She recognized the word, but didn't know it was hers? "It's your name."

"My name is... Tsubomi?" The child didn't seem happy or bothered by the revelation. The word felt odd in her mouth, like a foreign taste that she had never experienced and wasn't sure if her taste buds agreed with it or not. "Then... who are you?"

"I'm..." Zassou. That's right. She was the weed, the one who caused all of this. The one whose invasive existence had torn Tsubomi's life from her. The name truly was fitting. She almost opened her mouth to tell this to the one who gave her that name, when the memories she'd stolen alongside Tsubomi's future made her pause.

She was a weed that had intertwined its roots with those of a flower, there was no doubt. But neither she nor Tsubomi had ever given any further thought to that fact. But now, armed with the memories of the girl she'd taken everything from, she knew better. Lonicera japonica, japanese honeysuckle, suikazura. The plant that had only nontoxic nectar, bringing poison at all else. A rose by any other name, be it red or yellow, even green. In that case... no, because of that, because of the plausible deniability, there was only one thing she could be. Something that was true and untrue at the same time, akin to her own existence, her own identity. It was perfect.

The girl defined by her apathy let her smile shrink slightly, and told the child the name she had chosen for herself. "Suika. Call me Suika. It's nice to meet you, Tsubomi."

"You're called... 'watermelon?'" The flower once more seemed unsure of the texture of the word she spoke.

"Yeah."

It was a lie. It was a lie that she would make come true. It was a lie that she would bury under her skin, in the depths of her self. The symbol of summer, and the symbol of devoted affection. Even if she couldn't love herself. Even if Tsubomi couldn't love herself. Even if she couldn't love Tsubomi. Even if Tsubomi couldn't love her. She'd become a warm summer for Tsubomi to one day bloom in. She had to. Otherwise everything that happened since her vines twisted into her soul would be meaningless.

Zassou, no, Suika, had never had any goals. It had never had any desires. It had never had any dreams. But now one had blossomed upon it, a simple but difficult to reach place where she could safely cultivate a new life, for herself and her host.

The weed just didn't know how reach it. But it would find a way, even if it had to crawl up the side of Yggdrasil itself. Even if it had to wind its way alongside the walls of Babel. Even if it had to wilt away so its body could nourish the flower next to it.

The suikazura would climb.

---

"The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world." - Hermann Hesse, Demian



The law of the world can be only one: Is there no justice, or is there nothing but justice?

---

Between the two girls came a ray of light, like a spotlight shining down on the protagonist of the story, but neither was bathed in its light. The weed once more gave the flower a smile, and reassurance.

"Mm. Everything will be fine. Take it easy and rest."

With her words spoken, she looked up towards the light.

---

Tsubomi's body lay still, though with Suki still holding open her eyelids, she could see again. The body blinked, or at least tried to, having trouble succeeding with fingers in the way.

Suika slowly brought Tsubomi's hands to Suki's, carefully moving them away so she could blink a few times and sit up. A glance around the room, at a much quicker pace than she was used to, showed that Black Gate was there, and Evil Eye seemed to be upset with her.

As if by second nature, she felt Kiyo's ill intent against the goat girl. And so she stood, giving Suki a quick pat on the head, as if to say 'it's fine' to her partner.

It only took a few quick steps to be within arms reach of the dream weaver.

It only took another to be within her personal space.

It only took one final step to stand in front of her, so close that Black Gate could feel Suika's breath, had she been breathing with the force of a normal person.

In an instant, Suika had Black Gate held, too tight to be comfortable with how foreign the action was to the plant. It was not a reassuring hug, nor was it kind, though not for lack of trying. Rather, it was awkward and tense.

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to break the link you added to this chain of hatred." Suika gave her message, loud enough for the room to hear, careful not to say it too close to the goat's ear.

Suika still felt the cold of pointed steel on her neck. She still felt a thick, warm wetness on her hands. But even as she looked at them, pressed against Black Gate's back, she didn't see anything there.

"You won. But I don't think she was mad at you. No, I know she agreed with it." Tsubomi's body slowly released Michi's and took a few steps back.

"I don't know if your sister would be proud of you, but I hope we honored her memory with our acting." Her words were genuine, though without the emotional backing of a human being. Despite everything, Suika still felt nothing, only going through the motions of having empathy.

As she turned away, Suika gave one final statement to the one who had so hurt Tsubomi. "Mm. Next time you want to give someone a good day... Warn them first. Pleasant dreams are a good gift, but being put into one without warning can cause them to become unpleasant."

Finally feeling that she'd said what she needed to, Suika looked at the remaining members of the Detention Club in the room. Then to the broken window.

"Mm. Did something happen?"