[IC] Deep Ground Online (Hiatus)

[TheWendil]

☀ The Colored Kings ☪
^{~Location: Purple Crown Academy Festival Grounds~}

“Oh ho ho ho, you cannot stop the unbeatable Super Trash-hey, wait a minute! No, wait, damnit….”

Dana’s voice would trail off into oblivion as Thomas casually closed the lid on her, the girl descending back into her weird smelling territory. To make matters worse, the sound of ripping duct tape indicated how truly trapped she was, though the trash can didn’t really put up much of a struggle. Well then, the threat of Super Trash had been evaded for now. Yet like a bat out of Hell, Dana burst out of the trash can, the lid going sky high and landing somewhere she didn’t care for.

The problem was that she had now appeared in Rufus’ trash can, shark grin still on her face. How she had moved from one can to the other was a complete mystery but probably something people wouldn’t question too much. Probably. Maybe. In any case, she noticed Rufus standing further away from her along with the Irish dude from the mall standing next to her. Or maybe he was Scottish? Whatever.

“Hey, aren’t you the dude who’s color blind?” she called out, completely ignoring the fact that Angus was already walking away from the scene. She could see he was talking to the Green King and that Cassandra person, a devious smirk on her face before she slowly sunk back into the trash can like a dark force of nature.

At the actual conversation, Kenji turned to glare at both Cassandra and Angus. Ok, so that marked two…where the hell was the rest of his Guild? “What? Alright, fine, fine. You can be the hostess who convinces people to dunk losers,” he said to Cassandra before pointing to Angus. “And you can be the loser who gets the first dunk. Or you can look for Alex and drag his ass to be the first dunk. Whichever works. Now that that’s settled, go and actually represent our Guild.”

With that, Kenji turned off with a huff and began the hunt for more of his Guild members. At least this way there would be at least someone manning the dunk booth. As tempted as he was to make Cassandra be the first hapless victim, seeing Alex get punished was a much more enticing idea for him overall.

At the Red Guild’s basketball booth, Michael gave a simple shrug to Aaron’s question. Emma was a loose flake so getting her to commit to anything was difficult in on its own right. But at least their attraction was doing better to Kenji’s. To the Red King, that was all that mattered for the moment.

Not too far away, Yoshino finally caught up to Retsu and glared with a small adjustment to her glasses. Her having fun? Like that was going to happen on a busy day like this. “You know quite well I’m this close to pulling my hair out Retsu. Isn’t your brother’s presentation happening soon? We need to hurry it up so I can pretend this day never happened,” she said, grabbing Retsu’s hand and near-dragging her in the direction of the stage.

When she did enter the backstage, she was surprised to see Eris of all people with…were those cookies? Well, they didn’t have time for that. Giving Eris a small smile and an appreciate nod, she hurried over to Asashi and the rest of the gang. They were slightly running off schedule now and needed to be on time for the performance.

“Retsu, get the projectors ready. Asashi, start the announcements for the show. Yuuno, drag your King over here so I can scold her. Everyone else, prepare for humiliation,” the Student President said, not noticing the flash of blue hair in the corner of her vision. When she turned to take a better look, it was gone. Weird.

On an random note, one new individual was looking upon the festival with great disdain. An entire gathering here…and not a single television event? This was supposed to be the future, right? Why did none of these students think of not doing a television event? Didn’t they have good taste?

---

@Lord of Evil, @Awesomoman64, @Lonewolf685, @Lucius Cypher, @Caits, @RoflsMazoy, @KoL, @Jedly, @Mega Birb, @McFazzer,@Flamelord

[Flamelord]

Masae Kanegawa

With all her stuff left in her locker, Masae could finally get on with actually enjoying the festival. Since Aderyn would be busy it meant she didn't have to wait around and could instead enjoy herself in the various attractions that the festival had to offer. Hopefully it would be worth the time to look into. She had some time before responsibility called once again.

Immediately present was the cafe being run by the Ivory Masks, and she made some note to check it out later. Because of her late morning she didn't really feel hungry at this point, and she wasn't friends with that many in the guild so didn't see the point in swinging around there before she had a need to eat. She had the feeling that they wouldn't really notice her absence, much less care. It wasn't as if she was a massive socialite or something. The same could be said for most of the food stalls around the school, though she might change her mind if she caught something interesting. But until now she had no intention of eating just yet.

So what else was going on? Well, there was the sports tournament in the gym, but that wasn't really her thing. There was the dunk tank, and she considered going by that at some point. It could be fun, even if she wasn't that confident in her aim. Nonetheless she got underway, wandering the halls of the school to see what there was to do around here. How bad could it be?

Indeed she had a fairly good time when it came down to it, exploring the various stalls. There were a lot of cultural stands that she enjoyed, both in terms of the music they played, the samples they offered, and the small crafts that were otherwise available to try out. She couldn't help but get a bit nostalgic, remembering her home country because of it, and she made sure to get a small memento if she could. She liked Japan and had settled in, but it would never be her original home. For now she perused the stands that lined the various halls and enjoyed herself. All in all, a fairly good day.

[Jedly]

Shiro Kawabata & Akane Himura

Everybody's heads but Akane's swiveled and affixed onto the new appearance, a girl who had managed to slip into the backstage as covertly as a specter. A mere whisper whose presence could only be noticed when willed. And this was in spite of her defining platinum hair to boot, a feat to be commended considering that the academy's hair pallet seems like something straight out of an anime. Well, the girl had willed her existence to be known, and thus it was bearing gifts and unknown tidings. Sans one individual preoccupied with her own craft. "Welp, things just got interesting! Shiro mentally commented behind a smirk whilst his comrades met the fresh Ivory member's appearance with glares full of skepticism.

Now had this been DGO, the boy could easily tell where things would have gone: Arms slave would have boxed in Eclipse Princess with his chains and perhaps chuck a tomahawk or two at anything that wasn't concealed by armor. Meanwhile Regality would call upon a late n00b or two and coax them from beneath the earth to grab hold of her feet, Rocket Lancer and Paper Moon would perform a simultaneous pincer attack from above and at ground level respectively, and Akane would probably materialize allusions as a prong on the psychological level. But he could also envision how things would go from there: Calling upon the omnipotent deities of RNGesus, Russian Bias turned German, and the first cruel developer who instituted the concept of legendary gear, Eclipse would catch any projectiles and shove them into the chains, then beat the shit out of Regality with is summons' limbs. She would continue to use those very chains to propel herself skyward, prostrate Rocket with his own lance and chuck his defiled chastity down at Moon, and then dip game just like that.

Of course this was just many of the potential outcomes to an in-game brawl, but since they were IRL, Shiro was busy worrying about the snipers currently zeroed in on everybody in the room except for Eris. The chick who he totally shipped with Asahi piped up in a mousy voice, but instead of propelling the ship further, Asahi had to first deal with the iceberg in his way. I.e., Ms. Affluenza. Since he wasn't exactly on her bad side, Shiro thought of this to be an opportune time to chime in. Though the student wasn't really on her good side either. "Oooooooh, quite the outfit you got there, Eris!" He exclaimed while swinging one arm over Asahi and placing the other under his chin, nodding as he scrutinized their competitor, "I'm sure Cassandra spoke volumes about it~! C'mon, Asahi, don't you see? Those are obviously gifts of appeasement, for even Eris Reinhardt lives in fear of the four-armed dab."

As per the usual, Eris' stoic defense remained impermeable to the chatterbox's spastic speech. The platinum proceeded to lock onto the only passive soul present.

Akane only caught a whiff of the sweet pastries and ground coffee after she was content with one of the many costumes hung up. The redhead slowly turned around to be faced by the person she least expected to have found their way backstage. For a brief moment a look of earnest surprise, but after realizing how many connections their opponent had, her face quickly slackened to display her fatigue. "Well they say money can't buy you happiness," She replied with her arms held out, "But it can sure as hell help out. The girl dropped her arms to her sides and then extended one out to her fellow fashion designer, "I'm sure you have experienced the feeling many times, but as you can tell I am slightly suffering a lack of sleep. Akane Himura." Akane squeezed the hand tightly, half-expecting a hair-thin needle laced with venom to be hidden on Eris' palm. While her gaze appeared to be meeting the girl's directly, in fact it was actually directed past her, targeting Asahi in particular. The mage's eyes seemed to scream, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOUR GUARDS DOING?! GIVE ME THEIR NAMES AND I WILL GIFT THEM THEIR GRAVESTONES." She put on a smile for Eris, one so perfect it would be a miracle if it was natural. "I'm currently preoccupied with a certain club, but should I come across some spare time I'll try to swing by, from one hobbyist to another.

The hand was released to take hold of the offered cup of Kosuke's loot, "Perhaps the audience will mistake your vomit to be part of the performance. Would really save us some funds on CGI." Well, this was Asahi's ballgame now. Of course he would try to unearth Eris' motive as quickly as possible, after all, the chick Shiro shipped him with was patiently waiting, somewhat confused.
@Lucius Cypher@KoL@Mega Birb@Roflsmazoy

[KoL]

Eris Reinhardt
^{Current Location: Purple Crown Academy, On the way to the Café}

@Mega Birb, @Jedly, @RoflsMazoy, @TheWindel, @Lucius Cypher

"I see, so that's how it's, then." Eris' expression looked bitter, a mix of disappointment and hatred. "It's only natural of those who have to rely on underhanded tactics to suspect of others' good will." Nevertheless, Eris made a point of correcting her posture and putting on a neutral face. She had done what she came to do and that was enough.

"Did Yoshino Tsugumi just smiled at my direction now? At least it looks like this effort wasn't a complete waste." Eris sighed, returning Yoshino's smile as the platinum-haired girl's expression eased quite a bit.

Eris patted her skirt, pretty much only to call attention to herself, before announcing her leave. "I suppose that I should take my leave now and let you prepare for your presentation. Just do me a favor, please. Don't let these go to waste. I would hate to see everyone's efforts ending on a random trash bin. That's not how I wanted this Festival to end." The last sentence to come out of Eris' mouth before she left the room came out as sort of apology, whispered in a way that probably only Eris would know what she said. After all, the usually harsh and next to impossible to deal with girl didn't wanted anyone to know that she was feeling a sting of sadness after the cold refusal.

And so, Eris went back to the Soleil. Or so she thought as she thought before bumping into a certain bored looking girl that had a semblance of Eris own looks... "Oh, apologies, I wasn't looking where I was walkin-" Eris' eyes grew wide when she finally looked toward who she had bumped into. "Gunnr!? What are you doing here?"

Yuuno Kurogami
^{Current Location: Purple Crown Academy, Gymnasium backstage}

@TheWindel, @Lucius Cypher

"I'm sorry, Goroshi-kun, I don't have time for that now. The Cobalt Bruisers and a good part of the Student Council are falling apart because of Bel-sama's insane orders. If I don't find her soon, I don't know what will happen." As Yuuno replied to Asahi, it was clear that she was distressed for having forgotten the big day. Even then, it wasn't like Yuuno didn't had her reasoning, right? Furthermore, there was no way in hell that Yuuno was going to go on a stage dressed to look like her Deep Ground Avatar, the dark-haired girl would prefer to be waterboarded than that.

"If even you don't know where Bel-sama is, Yoshinon, how am I going to find her? But, if I do, I'll be sure to bring her over an let you whack her. Maybe that'll put some reasoning back on Bel-sama's mind." Yuuno kind of apologized to Yoshino just as a speckle of blue coming from behind the stage caught her attention. "Is that...? Wait, come back here!" Yuuno shouted as she dashed after the blue specter, disappearing behind the stage as well. What the hell could Maribel want in a place such as that? That is, if what Yuuno saw was the elusive Blue King, to begin with.

Itsuko Kanzaki
^{Current Location: Fanged Rangers' Stand}

"Heh, so that's it. If you boys get someone to top that, tell me!" Itsuko said as she hit a full court shot with reasonable easy, finishing her attempt at the Harley's challenge, feeling quite confident no one in Purple Crown had the physique to do eight half court and one full court shot in a row. What to say of a shool where P.E. was more hated than Math, after all? "Anyway, I think it's my time to go back to another dunk or two. If you guys want you can always come and try to get this Tiger here soaked. Not that it'll be easy, heh!" Itsuko gave the ball back to Aaron, marking her name on the list of contestants to the Red Guild's prize, before striding off to her own Guild's attraction.

"Now that I think about it, we don't have any cool prize on our own stand. I have just the right idea to cover it." Itsuko said to herself, once again talking her thoughts out loud.

"Hey, where's Boss?" The blonde asked to the first person she met once she arrived at back at the dunk tank, who coincidentally happened to be none other than Cassandra, who was there standing. "I had just the best idea for a prize, it'll be here any moment." Just as Itsuko said, a delivery boy came in bringing the prizes she bought, a couple boxes full of tiger plushies. "Do you want to advertise it? I'll get to my place now. Just get a sign saying that who can hit the target and drop whoever is on the platform get one of these. Five dollars for three balls. By the way, you can have one as well, we are guild pals after all." Itsuko pushed one of the plushies on Cassandra's hand, not really giving the redhead much space to deny it.

Only when Itsuko finished her long-winded explanation, took off her track suit, leaving her in a competition swimsuit (naturally the type approved for the academy's students) and got back to the tank, she thought of something. "Hey! Do I know you from somewhere? I think I've met someone who looks like you other day, but I could be wrong. Anyway, I'm Itsuko Kanzaki, it's nice to meet ya." And, with that said, began the wait to see if someone would hit the target this time, after all the whole morning only a couple people did it. Though, the offer of (almost) free plushies made the line get bigger slowly, mostly with lovers and family members trying to get a present to their significant others.

Enyo "Eins" Reinhardt
^{Current Location: Festival Grounds}

"Oh, yes. I'm enjoying it, mom." Enyo, better known by her nickname "Eins", because she was the first born between the two youngest of the Reinhardt family's progeny, answered her mother's question with a decisive tone. It had been a few weeks since Eins left for their home country, to recalibrate her prostheses as usual for every year, while she was in her growth period, but it looked like it was an eternity ever since then. The stories Eins heard about the treatment her sister was going through while she was away, made Eins incredibly sad and angered that she couldn't be here to help Eris go through it.

"By the way, if you want to see Eris, she must be around the Gym. We have each other's GPS data, as you know." Eins had a faint smile in her face. In fact she had quite a bit more than just Eris' GPS data and contacts. The older of the Reinhardt twins was quite a good hacker, even if she couldn't hold a candle to the likes of CC and the Sweepers heads, but that was not what Eins was interested in after all; she did hacking as a pastime, instead of a way to cheat at Deep Ground like everyone else. "Oh, and the Computer Research Society will be holding a quiz competition. I don't wanna brag, but we got quite a good prize for the first place."

To say the truth, if Hildr kept tabs f her daughter's credit card expenses, she could have a good idea of what said prize was, since Eins had recently bought a few cheap smartphones and tablets, along with the reserves for a family on a thermal springs spa hotel for a whole weekend and put all that under the name of Purple Crown's Computer Research Society.

"By the way, I know that Gunnr is here as well... somewhere but, do you think that person came as well? I mean, I try to get him to come, but you can never be too certain. I swear, he and Eris are more like one another than any of us, that's why their stubbornness made them butt heads before." Eins gave out an exasperated sigh, before biting at the strawberry crepe she just got from the Soleil when they went through there.

[McFazzer]

Alex

Alex was confused. Having been dragged around by Bel all day he had little chance to talk to anyone or even relax. Kenji was probably pissed at him, but that seemed to be the Verdant Lord’s natural state of affairs with Alex. If he can’t please the guy, then he can just stay out of his way. Bel on the other hand was acting disturbingly like the Green King, the manic grin on her face gave Alex the vague feeling of being on the edge of a cliff and someone next to him, hand on his back and a single push would send him spiralling into a situation he had no control of.

As he was about to break away from the Blue King to go get a drink, he received a message that pulled a resigned sigh from his lips

“Yo, Alex? You there?”
“Roxy… you’re messaging me, even if I wasn’t here I’d still see it later”
“Shut up smart ass, one day that sharp tongue will get you in trouble :P”
“Nah, I’m only a smart ass with you and you’re not allowed to, you’re suspended~♪”
“Pssh, whatever. Did the auditorium thing really work?”
“What thing?”
“Y’know, the PA thing. Did Dad’s playlist get broadcasted??”
“Oh yeah. Yup, it did. Scared the hell out of me”
“Sweet. See ya in five on the roof okay? You gotta try it one more time”
“WHAT?! Why?! Bel, the Blue King herself, got me in her grip and I can’t just ditch her!”
“Why are you with the Blue King? Aren’t you in Green? Whatever, I don’t care Alex! C’mon, you know I’ve been planning this for ages! Ditch her royal highness and help me!”
“Fine, I’ll try. Y’know this probably won’t work anyway…”

Humming to himself about how he was going to get to Roxy, Alex realised he was back stage, Bel sneaking about.
“Bel… what are we doing here? I get it if you’ve got Kingly or Council stuff to do, but this is weird, you’re acting a bit weird Bel” the fact he was even back here gave Alex butterflies more than being glared down by Kenji. Or interrogated by Kenji… or anything by the Green King really.

“Roxy, hold off on your plan for now. I think Bel has something bigger in mind and I know you don’t like being a cheap follow-up act.”

---

As Alex was fretting along with Bel a navy-blue sedan pulled up outside the school and a tall, blonde, woman stepped out of the back seat, pulling on her jacket as she walked towards the festivities.

“Keep your phone on, Charlie. I love my girls, but I fully expect them to set the school on fire in the moments that I am here. Like oil and fire those two. Yes, Charlie, I know, but you know as well as I that they are quite more volatile than oil and water. Please park the car if you would be so kind.” At a brisk pace of a woman that knew her way around the school, she soon found the stage in sight.

“Please, girls… don’t break anything…”

@TheWindel

[Mega Birb]

Aaron Fletcher

The competition officially began, and things were rather disappointing from the start. Sure, Purple Crown had a much larger online presence than that of sports, but the near-constant sound of basketballs hitting the floor, walls, and backboard was starting to get annoying. Dressed in his signature peacoat and scarf combo, Aaron stood up in the bleachers keeping track of the shots every participant made, and each one they took. Up until a minute ago, the pitcher for Purple Crown's baseball team was solidly holding the lead at four out of ten half-court shots in favor of the Cobalt Bruisers...

Then she showed up. A blonde-haired girl in a jumpsuit, showing a little too much cleavage to be taking this seriously. The American glanced down at the clipboard in his hands. Itsuko Kanzaki of the Fanged Rangers, a nobody for all intents and purposes... then the baskets started adding up. One... two... three... four... five... six... he couldn't believe it. If the school had a record for this, it was being shattered right in front of a growing crowd. Seven baskets... it was at this moment that Aaron began to accept the fate of having to fight on the same side of a war as a clan of noobs. Maybe Mike would find something in a few of them, take them on a PKing prodigies or someth-. Eight. Eight was the final number before she stopped, only to smirk and throw him a confident look. His mind blanked as she requested a bonus for a full-court shot, the end of his pen smacking the clipboard a few times while he tried to think. Then it hit him, the Rangers did have a dunk tank right outside... full of various green sports drinks. "If you make this shot, I'll get in the tank and you can dunk me." He gulped slightly as the last word left his mouth, having just realized she might just sink that shot.

The girl made her way to the other end of the court, wound up, and threw...

A loud swish was heard, and the ball fell to the ground, bouncing several times before settling and rolling to the side.

"...Shit."

@KoL@TheWindel

---

Jiro Katsurou

Truth be told, Jiro was mostly indifferent to Eris' arrival. Sure, she had basically slaughtered him that one time in game, though they both had reasons for what started the fight between them. Eris had wanted to so away with the Sweepers, Jiro had wanted to protect the low-levels getting merk'd because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or just too ballsy. That wasn't a reason to hate someone in the real world, anyway. For the moment, he made sure to give her a polite nod before taking a sample of the dishes she had bought... and got a few distrusting stares. "What? Tickets to that cafe are expensive and the food's good." He popped a small pastry into his mouth, chewing on it while he dug the rest of his costume out of the box. Her actions seemed to be of good faith, maybe a final parting gift from her to the Strykers, or just a random act of kindness. Either way, he wouldn't complain.

At Shiro's mention of a dab, let alone one with four arms, the blue-haired boy groaned and assumed what was usually Akane's duty for a moment. He took a few steps back and shook his right hand loose, his eyes locking onto the small of his compatriot's back. In a single, fluid motion, he wound up and splayed his hand wide. A jump step and a follow through later, his the palm of his hand made solid contact with his back, a loud smack filling the room and a red hand print getting left behind under his friend's shirt. A classic Five-Star. "Just let it die already, Shiro!" He gave Akane a thumbs up before returning to the box, sorting through and setting himself up in costume.

@KoL@Jedly@Lucius Cypher

---

Aderyn Finch

Aderyn checked her phone, leaning back in her chair while she sipped on her coffee. Diving into her email, she noticed a message from a certain Broker of Fortune... and groaned upon reading it. She had rescheduled out of the blue, the excuse including something about a pair of pants. No matter, she could browse the festival without that worry now. She rose from her seat, leaving he stuff behind while she exited the Bat Cave, curious to see what the halls had in store for her at this busy time of year.

On her way through the halls, she passed by the gymnasium in time to hear a particularly loud swish from a basketball net, and a series of cheers and groans all at once. And just next to a door, a line was forming for a dunk tank. The Welsh girl smiled and blushed at the thought. Maybe she could win one of those plushies and out her feelings for Masae with it? "Hmm... you know what, one life to live." With that she got at the back of the line, heart racing for a stupid plan that would probably backfire horribly.

@Flamelord@McFazzer

[MarshiestMallow]

Cassandra hesitated, before taking a cupcake, still a little mortified at her comment. What on earth had cauased her to say something like that, aside from the fact that the Green King was loud, brazen and a little...uncouth. She swallowed, but she managed to keep from looking, she hoped, motified, nervous and embarrassed. Instead, she tried to project the slightly confident woman she had been,if only briefly, even a few days ago. She hoped she succeeded, even marginally.

A little relieved at being let off the hook for being dunked, Cassandra nevertheless wasn't Niave enough to think that she was completely off the hook-the only thing would be if she would let herself be pushed into participating in being dunked.

She turned to head towards the Dunk Tank, an odd calm coming over her, she glanced back at the retreating from of Kenji, persumably looking for more members. No, she definetely wasn't niave. If he could think of a good enough reason, he'd edge her into the dunk tank. And wouldn't that be interesting, for all of them? She approached the tank, thoughtful, and shifting, perhaps a little awkwardly, drawing in a breath.

She could be a hostess, right?
@Awesomoman64@TheWindel

[Flamelord]

Masae Kanegawa

Overall, the festival thus far had been pretty nice. Masae had a small bag with the collectibles that she had picked up from the various stalls she had visited, and it swung at her side as she walked through the halls of the school. She tried to not go overboard, but at these sorts of events it was impossible to keep from getting a few things. Though the food was more likely to vanish quicker than the other stuff.

She hadn't seen Aderyn around yet, and she hoped that the meeting she had planned was going well. Not that she had an idea as to why it wouldn't, given that her roommate was the sort of person who seemed to get along well with everyone who had gotten the opportunity o know her. It wasn't like she was meeting with strangers, so Masae was willing to give her the occasional thought without dwelling on it. She had plenty of other things to concern herself with.

All the while the clock continued to tick away. She'd talked with some of her friends when in passing, though she had stayed aloof for the most part so she could get some idea of what there all was in this place. She'd promised to link up with then in a bit, and that she would do. But now there were just a couple things that she wanted to check out on her own....

"Oh yeah, isn't there that quiz competition," she remembered with a snap of her fingers. That was something that would be worth checking out and competing in. She might not be the best at quiz bowl style activities, but if it was just a general quiz then she might be able to do fairly well at it. Then of course there was also the dance concert thing that was being put on, and she could hardly miss that.

For now though she headed towards the Computer Club room. At the very least she could see what time the competition was, and then plan out her schedule around that. Then she could decide whether to stick around or head for the concert. But overall, not a bad day so far.

[Awesomoman64]

Angus MacCallum

Angus was a bit flabbergasted at how quick Kenji was to throw him into the tank, especially after offering him a cupcake. ”Is he never not grumpy?” Angus asked Cassandra before taking a bite of the rejected cupcake. It was starting to make sense why he and Chiyo joined forces. After all, why be alone when you can work with the only other king with a stick up their ass. After washing the cake down with a swig of coffee he followed Cassandra to the dunk tank taking bites along the way. People could say what they wanted about the maid café, but those girls (and Rufus) knew their pastries.

When they arrived Angus immediately recognized the girl currently going into the dunk tank. ”Well if it isn’t Itsuko. Looks like we got the whole ‘screw you, Chiyo' Club together.” Setting his coffee and cupcake down behind the cashier's table he walked up to the dunk tank and talked to Itsuko directly. ”It’s your lucky day, lass. Kenj wants either me or Alex in that tank. So unless you or someone else is wanting to volunteer you’re off the hook.”

@Caits@KoL

[Lonewolf685]

R u f u s

It appeared that Rufus' efforts to save Dana were entirely unnecessary as Dana burst out from the trash car.

The trash can he had just left, empty of even the cupcakes he thought too dirty too recover.

"A curious knack for prestidigitation. I should look into that." Rufus said to himself before waltzing back to the can that Dana had just leapt from. She had already withdrawn back into the can, though this time he knew better then to start dumping the cupcakes inside until Dana made herself known once again. Without looking into the can he stood demure and proper, the tray of treats at the ready. "Are you going to share these with me, or do I need to give these to the yaoi boys you enjoy springing yourself upon? Also, I'm fairly certain Angus wasn't the color blind one at the mall."

@TheWindel

---

Hildr Reinhardt

"I see. Glad to hear it, dear."

It was a rather rare occurrence for Eins to be away from home for any length of time, so it really shouldn't have been any surprise that she was excited to take in the new sights and had apparently been looking into this trip for some time, if her knowledge of the Computer Research Society's prize was anything to go by. Hildr hadn't concerned herself with looking up details pertaining to prize's, though she was very familiar with the festival's layout as per the family business.

Hearing that Gunnr was here as well was something of a surprise she hadn't saw coming from her eldest child, the impression that she would have stayed at her own place and marathoned the latest TV series to catch her eye was firmly pressed into the Reinhardt matriarch's mind. Still, it wasn't like Eins would be wrong about stuff like this when she was the techy daughter.

"Eins dear, I'm going to go check on Eris, so you can either come with me now and see what she's up to at the theater, or you can meet up with us latter and surprise your sister with that prize I know you'll win." There wasn't any doubt in the mother's words as she beamed down upon her daughter. Before Eins had much of a chance to respond her mother chuckled and drew a handkerchief from her jacket to dap at the straw berry filling that stuck to her cheek. As she flittered about like any parent does when they want to embarrass their child in public by dabbing at her cheek and white stray crumbs from her lapel, Hildr said in a bit of a reproachful tone,

"And don't refer to your father so disdainfully. You don't have to like the man, but he still gave me many beautiful children that I will always thank him for, so at least call him Dad, or Old Man if you want to be cheeky."

@KoL

---

[MarshiestMallow]

Cassandra

Interacting with

Cassandra thought on that a moment, and she shook her head, not a no, more out of...exasperation then anything with a smile on her face, "He has his moments. Use to terrify the crap out of me, especially when I ended up with Jukebox and we crashed a vehicle...But I've come to realise there are others out there more terrifying. He's...Well. Bareable once you know how to deal with him...Mostly it's just defferance, and going along with what he wants, makes things easier, but sometimes you can get away with being crude" Like she hoped she herself just did. "All the colours are...difficult in one way or another. I think it comes from the fact that they are good players, and they have the positions that they have. its that I'm invincible complex, and it makes them arrogant, but I think he's just grumpy because everyone wasn't there and not all the guild is here yet" She said, blinking as Itsuko shoved the plushie into her hands. She took it, because otherwise it would fall the the floor, and stared at it for a moment.

"um. thanks?" She said, a little awkwardly, shifting the plushie, she tucked it under one arm, so she could have one hand free, watching as Itsuko got into position, leaving Argus to Itsuko, deciding that was something she didn't have to be involved in right then, she bit her lip, glancing about them, and taking a deep breath, she set the plushie down on the table, and readied herself, hoping she wouldn't mess up, because she thought if she did, she'd end up in the tank.

[Ryonara]

Hibiki Toho

As Hibiki waited she thought about yesterday. She and Itusko had a lot of fun running the dungeons and fighting mobs. She let her worries about the Ebony Strykers and all that behind just to play the game. While Hibiki was no stranger to playing video games, DGO was the first time she ever played any sort of Virtual Reality game. Everything felt so real, so dangerous, that Hibiki did have a hard time at fighting at first. Whenever she got hit it actually hurt. Sure there wasn't any injuries and when she stopped playing she wasn't even sore, but it felt all so real in her head. If it wasn't for Itusko, Hibiki would probably just keep using hit-and-run tactics, attacking the enemy and then running off to go hide until they lose interest in her before jumping at them again. While she claims that it's her fighting style, Itsuko could easily see through her lies. Hibiki was just a scaredy cat after all.

Yesterday's Memories

@KoL & @Ryonara

Collab

It didn't took long for the Rampaging Tiger to arrive at outskirts of the Ebony Strykers' territory while avoiding random encounters with her bike. "If they think that a fancy fence will stop a tiger from getting in there, they gotta think again, heh!" Tiger said to herself as she observed the Black City and its ramparts through a pair of cheap binoculars. She placed them back on her inventory when she was finished and revved the bike's engine, before dashing straight to the main gate. "At least this once I can make them the favor to ask to come in. It's not like they are gonna say no to people that may join their guild, heh!"

A few minutes later. "Thanks boys. If I get in, what do you say of going on a dungeon? I know some really amazing places. Anyway, all I need to do is go to the guild hall and place a request, right? ;3" Tiger winked to the duo of tanks that was on guard duty at the moment, for a moment it even looked like a sparkle flew from her blinking eye, though in truth it were Tiger's pearly white teeth that caught a flash from a nearby lamp. Then, she revved her bike again and zoomed to the guild hall, trying to find the exact place where Smitten Kitten would be. Getting in was way easier than she thought. All Tiger needed to do was say that she wanted to join the guild and use a bit of her "persuasion techniques" to convince the gate guards that she was just a harmless kitty. "I don't even know why they bother to have guys guarding this kind of place? Then again, I'm still up to see a boy that can resist this smile, hehe!" Tiger took a glance at one of the rearview mirrors just as she parked her bike at an alley, just in case she needed a plan B —or was it C?— and began to look around the Ebony Strykers' guild hall to see if she could find Smitten Kitten somewhere, while casually planting remote controlled pipe bombs here and there, for that "just in case" scenario.

Smitten Kitten was careful traversing the guild hall. Practicably, it was crowded of people who were just hanging out. But this wasn't the sanctuary, so she was still in danger of getting attacked and killed if they spotted her. Going out the front door was out of the question, so Smitten Kitten needed to sneak up to a higher level. Fortunately, there was an balcony that Kitten could reach if she could jump high. Double fortunately, Smitten Kitten was very acrobatic and just unlocked a new ability that allowed her to double jump. As soon as she was certain no one was watching, Smitten Kitten jumped out from the shadows. When she reached the highest point of her jump, Smitten Kitten was able to jump again, this time doing a backflip backwards and onto the balcony. She didn't wait to see if anyone was watching and quickly ran out of one of the windows. While the height may have been high enough to hurt another player, Smitten Kitten's new ability also allowed her to ignore falling damage, so she fearlessly jumped out of the second story window and onto the streets below.

What did catch Kitten by surprise was Rampaging Tiger already being here. Hibiki had just logged in, and already Tiger showed up! Though seeing that she was on a motorcycle, she must be a fast driver. Smitten Kitten waved at her new friend. "Hiya! Let's hurry before they spot us." Coping what she saw in movies, Hibiki sat behind Tiger on her motorcycle, though putting their bodies side-by-side, Smitten Kitten was very small. Pretty much childlike, just like Hibiki. Holding on tight Kitten looked over Rampaging Tiger's shoulder. "Ready when you are!"

"Whoa! You're already here? I thought I would have to go to a secret spot or something like this to find you." Tiger was a bit surprised, or perhaps disappointed, that she didn't actually had to enact a heroic rescue of her friend. Either way that was a good thing and saved them the time, even if she didn't got the chance to show off her skills to Hibiki. "Anyway, you're quite cute like that, eh? I'd say we're a hundred percent compatible." When Kitten Finally got on the vehicle and was ready to leave, Tiger started it and began to dash away. The bombs would end up disappearing if no one messed with them until their duration was up, so she didn't felt the need to take them back. The most important thing was to take Smitten Kitten away from here, fast.

"Hold tight, Kitten, I spotted a backdoor when I was getting in, we can go through it but it might be a bumpy ride." Tiger kept on moving to the wall, instead of going through the front gate. When she was near a particular place marked by a construction site, Tiger picked a grenade and threw it on the wooden board that was blocking an entrance to the Sewers, which could take them back to the neutral territory. "And, there we go!" She yelled as they entered the dark and damp underground scenario.

Doing as Tiger said, Smitten Kitten held Tiger's thigh tightly, peeking around her as they zoomed through. No one stopped them as they raced through the streets towards a sewer entrance. Kitten actually remembered that entrance as the same one she had met Corpse Collector before she was teleported to the Ebony Stryker guild hall. There was a slight pang of guilt as those memories surfaced. Kitten didn't want to admit it, but when she killed Corpse Collector she knew that it was a slippery slope before Kitten herself might end up like the people she hates. People who just use and manipulate others. Smitten Kitten hadn't really thought about it much, but she knew in the back of her head that even if she didn't really tell CC to do anything, even if she wasn't smart enough to actually control someone like her, Kitten had betrayed her. True, Corpse Collector deserved it. If it was Moon Rider instead, Kitten may have done the same, and for the same reason: People like them need to die. Hibiki was just still trying to accept that she's the one who has to kill them.

Eventually the two girls managed to get deep into neutral territory. Assuming the Sweepers aren't on patrol or some outlaws aren't roaming, they should be safe. "Whoa, that was my first time riding a bike! It was kinda scary, moving through those tunnels so fast." Kitten was a bit shaky as she stepped off the bike to stretch her legs. A short strut later and she was fine. "Okay! Now we just need to head to the Red Kingdom and find their king. We can get a pardon from him, and we can go do other things. I need to get stronger, and I heard of a good ruin that could help me level up."

"You'll get used to it in no time. It's nothing like one int the real world,heh! Someday I'll take you on a ride there as well" Tiger left the notion of when that day would be a bit vague, after all there were a few years until Itsuko was old enough for that. At least they could indulge on it inside the game as much as they wanted to. "Anyway, the Red King won't come to us so, hop in again." Tiger revved her bike once more, waiting for Kitten.

It was not destined to happen though because the sound of a large gunshot was heard right before the front half of Tiger's ride combusted into shreds of flame and metal. The faint crackle of electricity followed suit of this audible assault but judging from the initial gunshot, the perpetrator couldn't be too far. Indeed, as the smoke and dust cleared up, a single figure walked out of the debris with a manic grin on their face, the new girl walking slowly with all the confidence in the world, an evil gleam in her eyes as she swung her gun to rest on her shoulders.

"Good evening bitches. It's nice to be back and all that fuck shit, but frankly I'm pissed and I'm wanting to skin some people. Starting with your traitorous little ass Kitty."

Just as Hibiki was starting to relive that moment, Emma arrived. "Nya! Where'd you come from!?" Hibiki assumed a faux karate pose as if she was trying to defend herself, but it made her look more silly then threatening. When Emma offered one of the dumplings Hibiki tentatively took one. Emma was nice, but Hibiki didn't know the upperclassman very well. She was rather nervous about how Emma was like around newbies like her. "T-thanks! I ah, I haven't really thought about where to go. I figured you know... I could look at the cultural things, like Thomas said. M-most of the main events aren't going to be happening soon, but I guess we could stop by the guilds and see what they have set up too..." Hibiki grew gradually quieter as she spoke as if she had said something very stupid. She knew Emma wanted to go check out the guilds, but Hibiki... Hibiki wanted to pretend DGO was just a game for now. But the guilds and anything related to them aside for now and look at what the world has to offer outside VR. Maybe it was stupid though.

"W-where do you wanna go, senpai? I kinda don't really know where to start, so I'll just follow your lead."

@KoL

[TheWendil]

☀ The Colored Kings ☪
^{~Location: Purple Crown Academy Festival Grounds~}

“Nuh uh. Angus was totes the color-blind dude at the mall,” came the voice inside the trash can. Dana wasn’t even trying to conceal her presence anymore, the can rattling with each word she spoke. Still, free food was free food and she slowly opened the lid a little to peek out at the offered pastries. “Dun…dun dun. Dun, dun, dun. Dun dun, dun dun. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun,” snickered Dana, ready to pounce from her hiding spot and consume that which was rightfully hers.

Away from that bizarre scene, but not too far away, the girl called Gunnr halted in her step as she was confronted by someone that looked almost exactly like her. Well, Eris was a little short in some regards but the resemblance was uncanny enough. In response to the question, Gunnr shrugged.

“Mom dragged us out so here I am. Eins is here too by the way. You guys got a TV club in here or something? Or a movie theater? This place is only good for the food or the shows,” said the eldest Reinhardt daughter, noticing Eris’ sullen expression. “Did someone reject you again? Do….Do I need to flush their head in the toilet? Or should I force them on the dunk tank?” she asked, jabbing a finger in the direction of the Green Guild’s booth. Ironically enough, Cassandra was standing by with Angus and Itsuko as well.

Backstage, Yoshino was getting ready to put on this performance with Retsu and Asahi. This rather, dicey performance she might add. Bel was another problem and just as she was about to address her cousin, Yuuno was already out and about chasing…something. Surprised, Yoshino adjusted her glasses and went right back to work. They had to get this show on the road.

“Shut up Jukey!” Bel near hissed, slapping a hand over Alex’s mouth before shoving the both of them behind some heavy equipment. Her voice may have sounded harsh, but her visage still held her dark smirk. She waited, patiently, methodically for Yuuno to pass them by without sight or sound. She was very close to achieving her due payment…

Back outside, Chiyo suddenly stiffened upon her throne before a grin that matched Bel’s bled onto her face. Oh yes, she saw the blonde woman that had strolled up, carrying herself with a dignity unmatched. Almost giggling with glee, she waved a hand up high for the woman to catch notice.

“Welcome mother. I see you haven’t forgotten your daughter’s moment of triumph.”

---

@Lord of Evil, @Awesomoman64, @Lonewolf685, @Lucius Cypher, @Caits, @RoflsMazoy, @KoL, @Jedly, @Mega Birb, @McFazzer,@Flamelord

[Lucius Cypher]

ASAHI GOROSHI

Things were rather confusing to say the least. The show wasn't due until some time, but he felt like he only had seconds to live. Everything felt so... Intense. It was an odd feeling. Asahi had fought to the death before, get jumped by thirty guys, and even ran from the police, yet doing something like this festival song-and-dance seemed so much more... Important. Was it because he wasn't doing this for himself? Before, Asahi only got into trouble because he was being a fool, and other fools he calls his friends were just riding on his coattails. Now he had other people, followers even, who Asahi has never really interacted with before who were following him for what he says and what he does, instead of who his family is. He wonders if they even know what sort of things he and his folks do. Asahi wondered if it mattered.

Speaking of family Asahi received a message that made his eyes grow wide. "Guys... Guys. I'll be right back." Asahi abruptly left the backstage. He saw Retsu leave through another door and he was certain she received the message too. But she didn't matter right now. "I can't believe he's here. Why is he here? Why wasn't I told about this? I never even told dad about this..." Asahi never really talked about his family to anyone. It was just background fluff as far as he cared. He was Asahi first, and Goroshi second. Sure his dad makes him out to be the pride of joy of the family, but... Asahi wanted to keep being himself. He didn't care for the responsibilities or these duties thrust upon him. Perhaps he was just lazy. Perhaps, just a slight bit, Asahi didn't like the role he would be forced to play.

But at the same time, family was important to him. Some edgier folk might claim that family and the love it brings is weakness or painful, and there's no doubt that they are. But it's one of those things that Asahi can't honestly say he can live without. There was some things you can't do without family, or rather, the love that comes from being part of a family. Stupid things like annoy someone about little holes and stains in their shirts, or how their bathroom smells, or how they organize their clothes. And it's being part of a family that allows you to burden more serious things, things that only a true friend, or your own family can tolerate. Pretty much everything Asahi does he's only able to do because he has folks who care about him enough to watch his back, no matter how many times he messes up.

Even if they have to pay for it.

Asahi arrived just in time to see a black sedan pull up near the front entrance of the festival. Large men dressed in fancy suits came out of the car, and when they opened one of the doors a fairly plain and plump looking make, shaking and walking with a cane, came out with a younger woman assisting him. "Uncle!" The man, Asahi's uncle, didn't seem to really pay attention to Asahi. In fact his eyes weren't really focusing on anything, just sort of staring off in the distance. One of the eyes seemed dead and was just looking down at the corner. A slight bit of drool was forming at the old man's lip and occasionally when he coughed it sputtered into a messier glob of saliva, which was promptly cleaned up by his assistant. All in all, this fat, rather unattractive, brain damaged man was approached by both Asahi and Retsu in an embrace. Their uncle came to visit them.

RETSU GOROSHI

Retsu found this entire festival to be a complete and utter waste of time. She may not particularly like DGO, but even she felt like she could be much more productive there then here. Why on earth Yoshino gave Asahi any sort of responsibility for the Black Guild was beyond Retsu, and it was something the two were going to have a very lengthy conversation about. The red-headed step-sister had a very clear dislike of her biological brother and Yoshino knows it very well. Yet still the student counsel president, in her infinite wisdom, decided to make that fool in charge of this event. And including all the other responsibilities Yoshino and even her cousin Yuuno had to do, she chose to get Asahi involved, the same boy who can't seem to settle personal matters without involving ten other unrelated people.

It was times like this that Retsu wished she wasn't related to Asahi, or the Goroshi's in general. People say that you shouldn't care about who's family you were born into, that the only thing that really matters is what you do with your life. But that kind of thinking was usually thought by those with the prestige of bring born with a rich and powerful family like Chiyo. It was a privilege that you can't simply work for; it's not as if an embryo can work hard enough to be born into a family that doesn't have any stress or worries. It's the sort of unearned advantage that would let the likes of Eris have all the awesome skills and possessions she wanted without ever having to break her back or plot years in advance to make happen. Begrudgingly, even Retsu had to thank her luck that being part of the Goroshi family has given her ample means to learn the skills she has now, if only to one day escape their clutches and pretend that she was able to carve out a future for herself.

Because despite how much she hates the Goroshi family and what it would mean if she remained one of them, they weren't all bad. They weren't so black and white that Retsu could damn them without any hesitation. When she received a notification through her chip Retsu immediately dropped what she was doing and left. She didn't pay attention to anyone who called out to her or tried to stop her. She had somewhere she needed to be and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way. Bobbing and weaving through a crowd, pushing people down if they proved too thick to slip past, and Retsu eventually arrived at the entrance of the festival. There, a black car had just arrived. Large men in suits, obviously bodyguards of some sort, came out and were scoping the area. When the door opened, a pudgy man with a notable limp and a dopey face came out.

"Uncle..." Retsu's uncle, the brother of Retsu's father. Despite only be forty years old he looked like a man in his sixties, his clothing baggy and outdated even by the standards of other middle aged folk. He was wearing a brand that was at least sixty years old, and certainly looked like they were just as old. There were stains and holes in about every part of his garment as if he was some homeless bum, a sharp contrast to the finely dressed men protecting him and the sophisticated looking lady escorting the old man. But it wasn't as if he was looking like this because no one cared; he wore these clothes because that's what he wanted. An old warrior with his wounds, who never got the chance to die in battle. A reminder that not all scars tell a story about a epic battle or some heroic fight. They're just wounds upon wounds that would break even the strongest steel into a brittle, weakened stub. Yet despite his unappealing appearance and his rather pungent odor, Retsu went and gave this man a hug, even doing so alongside Asahi. Because this man was Retsu's uncle, and it didn't matter what he looked like.

[RoflsMazoy]

Kosuke sank back into a chair and sighed.

"Strawberry isn't my color today, though..." He muttered in Akane's general direction. "It's yours, and we haven't got a scene with me and you in it and I also doubt you'd want one like that either."

It had only just occurred to him that he was probably around way too much star-power. Granted, he wasn't technically around much of it in total; but he was pretty sure this much exposure would normally classify as a lethal dose for a social recluse like him. He didn't really know how Shiro did it. Clowning around in front of Eris who was basically a Princess and Asahi who was basically a mob boss and all. Maybe it was just because Shiro was an idiot. Kosuke certainly didn't feel that envious of him, he wasn't a masochist like he was.

All things aside, Shiro had helped him out a lot over the past week. He'd been dropping by a lot of people, Kosuke included; to check on them throughout the days preceding the festival. He'd also consumed a lot of his food because comparitively speaking, Kosuke was a pretty good chef.

"I feel like I owe you this." Kosuke said, getting up and walking over to Shiro.

He raised his arm, and then blatted Shiro on the forehead with a Karate chop.

@Jedly

---

Meanwhile, somewhere else

In a certain corner of the Festival, there was a large ruckus going on.

"He's over here! Corner him! He's rolling fast!" Were the shouts that rang out.

From out of the corner, a steel trash can came rolling in out of nowhere, barreling through the crowd. The innocent festival goers parted before it as several angry students ran after it. It rolled and bounced around another corner before violently crashing into another set of trash cans behind a stall, and stopping with the lid still tightly affixed.

"We've got you know!" Its pursuers said, breathing hard after a long chase.

They surrounded the fallen trashcan and pried open the lid, but all they found was a single note.

The trashman does,
what the trashman can.

Gaze not into the trashcan,
lest the trashcan stare into you.

On top of a nearby stall, there stood another identical trashcan. The lid popped open, just a tad, but observers could tell that there was some kind of lens shining from inside. The lid closed, the trashcan tipped over, and rolled away from sight before anyone noticed.

[McFazzer]

Chiyo and Boss

"Your moment of triumph, Chiyo? The throne is pretty, I only heard about this festival event at the last minute, so I must apologize. Were both you and Yoshino so embarrassed to have your mother attend that you both failed to tell me? That would probably be the first thing you two have agreed upon since... well, for a long time." Boss brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and softly smiled, eyes vaguely recognizing something manic behind Chiyo's grin.

"I imagine your sister is being a busy bee somewhere about. The day is young and I'm in no rush, we can find her once she is free."

"Quick to run off to her I see. How expected of you mother," Chiyo muttered to herself, leaving her throne behind to descend down the maid cafe. Kamen-San was left to wait by her seat while she met Boss at the entrance of the White Guild's booth, keeping a cool expression about her. "Yoshino is quite busy as you know mother. But I think she had a show or something going on soon. Best to see her put on her best performance," she said, trying to keep her voice as low of a hiss as possible.

"No, not quick. I rarely rush, you know that. So why don't you show me about your booth, Chiyo? I'm sure that you put a lot of work into this." Smiling at her daughter, Boss gestured Chiyo to lead the way, noticing Chiyo's tone that lead to the thinnest crease of her brow before justifying it as growing up.

"So how have things been? Neither one of my lovely girls ever seem to call or write unless I take the initiative, so we have a whole lot to catch up on. Still a King I see."

"Of course I'm still a King mother. Why wouldn't I be? Only the best can be expected of me and I am the best," Chiyo said, tone turning rather bored now. The initial charm of Boss visiting was beginning to die off, but it was evident that there was still something that had her excited. "The coffee is there, the drinks are here, the maids are everywhere else. There's not much to say beyond it being better than any other booth. Wouldn't you agree mother?"

"Well it is certainly the best booth I have seen here. You do have quite the crew, all the guilds pulling out all the stops. What do those free spirits without a guild do? Or are they simply ineligible for making a booth? It has been a while since I graduated and a lot seems to have changed." Boss pulled out a seat and offered one to Chiyo

"What do you recommend to drink, Chiyo?"

The White King took the offered seat, all the while snapping her fingers. At once two members of her Guild rushed over with drinks in hand, not even bothering to hand mother and daughter a menu. Two small and iced lattes were placed for them each, Chiyo grinning in satisfaction at their effective actions. "Reminds you of your own business, doesn't it mother? It's only natural people like us have the luxury to these kind of things," said Chiyo with a small sip of her drink. "I don't need to say it because everyone in this room is aware of it already. But for simplicity, the strong reign freely over the weak. Surely you're proud of all that I've accomplished here, right mother?"

Boss graciously accepted the iced latte and smiled at Chiyo. "It is very efficient, a well oiled machine. Still, don't step too hard on those under you, placate them and then you never have to worry about rebellion. The alternative is to act swiftly and decisively against a rising threat." Sipping, Boss sighed in content.

"You just have to find something wrong with it huh," Chiyo hissed, clenching her hands into fists. It was a sight how she could go from sickeningly sweet to downright bitter in a heartbeat but she was at it agian, straining a smile for her mother. "But oh course, silly me. Thinking I could make a perfect little model of my own. Not like Yoshino, right? Is that what you're trying to tell me mother?"

"Chiyo. If I meant to say that, that's what I would have said. Since I didn't say that, that is not what I meant. Simple as that. I don't act coy or deceptive with family, you know that, however I can see how what I said could be taken that way." Leaving the conversation at that, Boss sipped her iced latte in silence wondering why she can't say anything right to her daughters. But as the show began, captivating the attentions of all who bothered to pay attention, Chiyo continued to seethe in silent rage. In the end, Boss was still just paying attention to Yoshino over her. Even now their mother was gazing down from their perched spot of a balcony at the booth hosted by the Ebony Strykers.

"Yes, I'm sure you did. I guess that's why what happens next can just be taken the wrong way," Chiyo said darkly before the sound of a high-pitched squeel cut through the air.

-----

Alex

While the 'tender' mother/daughter was underway, Alex was shocked by Bel's reaction that was a rather... physical response to a question. Pinned against heavy equipment and with a vice like grip over his mouth, Alex tried to claw Bel's hand away from him, face turning a shade of red, but not due to embarrassment like normal, this was a degree of asphyxiation that he was becoming quite distressed by. Trying to fall down and away from Bel's hand, Alex saw her smirk in a far more sinister light that rocked him in a way he wasn't happy with.

"Kahn bree..." eyes glazing as his struggles grew weaker and weaker.

@TheWindel

[KoL]

Eris Reinhardt
^{Current Location: Purple Crown Festival Grounds}

@TheWindel

"They are here too? I-if I know that all of you were coming, I would have prepared in advance. I can't really do much the way I'm now. Wait, does this mean that..." The last part of Eris' sentence vanished into a a whisper when her sister just kept talking, asking about the two things that formed the core of Gunnr's hobbies, if one could say that sitting in from of the TV all day long was one such thing.

"We do have a Cinema Club, indeed. They should be making their exhibition at the AV room, right now. Do you want me to take you ther-" Once more Eris paused, when Gunnr asked about the reason why Eris looked so down. Did she let it so evident on her face that the downright cold rejection of her treats, whose only intention was to make sure the others enjoyed the Festival as much as Eris was --forgetting about Deep Ground if only for a day, had hit her so hard? It was not usual of Eris to be like this. Then again, the events of the previous weeks had spun Eris' world so many times that she couldn't tell left and right anymore.

"No, you don't need to worry about this, Gunnr. That was just... my reaping of the seeds I sowed, maybe? You don't need to hurt anyone because of this. The Student Council President would probably have a heart attack if more trouble happened during the Festival, anyway." Eris noticed the direction Gunnr was pointing to, the Green Guild's attraction and... Cassandra. Was this fate? No, such pitiful excuses didn't existed in the real world. It's just natural that Cassandra would be with her guildmates, after Eris left to tend to her own matters.

"Do you really want to go over there? If that's what you want, I think we can spare some time. You'll miss the movies, though. I heard that they had an original animation on schedule for the afternoon. Either way, I'm on my break now, so I can take you anywhere you want." A faint smile beamed on Eris' face as she took off her apron and folded it over one of her arms. At least when she was around her family she had to make sure to do her best, right?

Yuuno Kurogami
^{Current Location: Auditorium Backstage's Back}

@McFazzer @TheWindel

"Bel-sama? Are you here?" Yuuno's timid voice called as she tread unevenly on the barely discernible floor. "What's all this equipment for, anyway?" The glasses wearing girl wondered as she tried her best to avoid all the cables and equipment sprawled on wooden floor, which wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do, when all of the backstage was illuminated only by the faint glow of led indicators and emergency exit signs; all the other lights were off, since no one was supposed to be here a this time.

"Bel-sama, please respond! I need to talk to to you... about the Guild. I-Is there anything wrong with you? I'll do anything I can to help. Just, please... answer me." Yuuno continued to call for Maribel, while making her way to the emergency exit, the only place the Blue King could have wandered to, in Yuuno's opinion. Unless, of course, her daring blue-haired leader had climbed the stairs that led to the catwalks above the auditorium and then, the roof. But, "E-even Titania... I mean, Bel-sama wouldn't do something this dangerous, would she?"

"Kyah!" A sudden yelp escaped Yuuno's lips just as she was about to reach her destination. Despite all her care, she stumbled on a cable and almost feel face first into the floor. "Well, that does it, this is too much for me. When I find her, I'll be sure to not let Bel-sama get away from me again, even if I have to lock her up..." The dark-haired school girl grumbled to herself, a moment before getting out of the auditorium, trying to figure where should she look for the elusive Blue King, now.

Itsuko Kanzaki
^{Current Location: Fanged Rangers' Attraction}

@Mega Birb @Caits @Awesomoman64

"Oh, right! You can go all you want, I guess I'll extend my break a little then." Itsuko accepted Angus taking her place without any complaints. Its wasn't like she wanted more things to get stuck to her hair, after she pretty much finished washing it. "When you think about it, don't we kinda... somewhat work for the White King? I mean, it's normal to hate your boss, so it's not like this can't happen."

"By the way, now that you mention it, I got a special voluntary for the tank. He should be arriving at any minute, now." Itsuko said as she handed a felt pen to Cassandra. "I forgot to say, but whoever hits the three balls in a row, gets an extra large plushie. You can write this on the board if you want to. By the way, it looks like our fist customer is coming right now." Itsuko pointed to the incoming Aderyn, ushering Cassandra to go and greet her, like a hostess should.

Emma Fujioka
^{Current Location: On the way to the Computer Club Room}

@Ryonara

"Shomeshing culshural, huh?" Emma said while still gobbling down the unnecessarily unhealthy treats, before pushing it down with a can of soda. "Well, there's that pop quiz that the Computer Club is promoting. It should be beginning at any moment, so that they can ride waves of glory before the showdown between the Masks and the Strykers steal the spotlight of everyone else."

"If you want to, we can head over there right now, or you can try one of the other stands. Anyway, take one more of these before they get cold. It's not everyday that you get takoyaki this good this cheap." Emma unceremoniously pushed a couple more of the last takoyaki sticks she had on Hibiki's hand, while leading the way to the Computer Research Society's Club Room so that they could pick up the game before it began.

Eins Reinhardt
^{Current Location: Computer Research Society's Club Room}

@Lonewolf685 @Flamelord

"I'll not take part on the quiz, mom. I'm gong to be the hostess." Eins replied to her mom. A carefree smile graced the young Reinhardt's face as she let Hildr wipe her cheek.

Different from most others, the Reinhardt children weren't used to letting the thoughts of the masses influence them. In fact, such an act was very much welcome on Eins' side. "I wasn't being disrespectful, mom! It's just that, you know, dad got really hurt that last time. Getting used to cybernetics is hard..." Eins shot a momentary gaze in the distance --far out of the windows-- as she balled her right hand in a fist. The soft, yet unmistakable, soft whirl of servos serving forever as a grim remainder of Eins' own close call. "Then again, knowing how stubborn he's, I could be my lunch money that he's going to come. Seriously... the only reason Eris and dad fight every now and then is because both of them are harder to negotiate with than a grumpy mule."

After one lighthearted jab at her family's idiosyncrasy, Eins was back to her usual humor. "Well, I gotta go now, mom. Tell Eris and Gunnr that I'll see them later." Eins took her leave with a smile stamped on her face.

A few moments later and she was in the Computer club room, which had turned into an improvised auditorium. Naturally, as the Quiz Game's hostess, Eins was dressed in a --actually tame-- bunny girl outfit, making one question the kind of regulations that Purple Crown had for its students.

"Welcome and thank you for all who came to take part of the Computer Research Society's Quiz Game. I, Enyo Reinhardt, the club's vice president, will be your hostess today."

"Before anything else, let me explain the rules of the game. Whoever correctly answers ten of the twenty system generated questions will get a special gift. And, whoever has the best overall score of the day, will get a family --or maybe romantic~?-- weekend at a hot springs hotel, all paid. Hard questions are worth three points, medium are two and easy ones are one point That's pretty much it." Eins announced while reading some cards. A moment later she gesture for whoever was willing to take the challenge to take a seat on a long table across her.

"And... the first question is about: Easy Pop culture!" A press of a button, and a flashy monitor, later and a question popped up in big bold letters on the digital screen, along with a ten seconds countdown.

What's the name of the Beatles' 12nd album, which became famous for its iconic cover?

[MarshiestMallow]

Cassandra

Interacting with

Cassandra was coming to the conclusion that maybe being dunked wouldn't be a bad thing. It was certainly easier then being a hostess, regardless off getting wet in a rather unpleasant way. Still, she wouldn't have put it passed someone like Chiyo taking pleasure in knockin her into the water, and why give Chiyo more power then she deserved? While Cassandra was willing to give Chiyo a chance, if only for Eris's sake, she knew she could never like Chiyo, who seemed to use bullying-although Cassandra was sure Chiyo thought of it as power-to get what they wanted.

She drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. This was nothing. Just being plesant. She coculd do it. She wouldn't fall back to being what she had been. Yet she did grimace as Itsuko urged her to go forward, to great Aderyn coming forward. She nodded, rolling her shoulders and trying to relax, scanning her gaze around them, landing on Eris for the barest of moments. It was enough, however, and Cassandra stood straight, tugging at her shirt to make sure it was staight, and not askew, she wished for the briefest of moments that she had thought to wear something more appropriate, but she couldn't do anything about that now.

She approached Aderyn, "Hello, and welcome to the Green Guild's Dunk Tank!" she said cheerfully, pleased when her voice didn't quiver. "basically, you throw a ball, hope to dunk in...hmmm." she glanced back to see who was taking their go at the dunk tank, "Well its either Angus or Alex...but Angus is here, so why not him?" She looked back with a smile, giving a soft laugh. "Do it, and you get a prize, do it three times in a row and you get an extra-large prize!"

@KoL@Awesomoman64

[Flamelord]

Masae Kanegawa

The computer club room had taken on a different appearance from what Masae was used to, now arranged like a game show audience room or something similar to that. Considering what they had arranged that made sense, but it was still worth noting since it wasn't what the room usually looked like. Fortunately she had beaten the clock, and managed to arrive before the main event started.

With the time that was left before the quiz, she spent it chatting with the other people there that she knew. She went to the Computer Research Society every once in a while, but considering how busy she was some sacrifices in her time had to be made. Besides, with how often things like DGO invariably came up it wasn't like she had much incentive to be around. Who knew what sorts of groups had someone in the club? Okay, so she was probably being a bit paranoid, but she had learned that excessive caution was never harmful.

Still, that was a concern for another time. At the moment she just wanted to enjoy the festival, and that she did as she waited for the game to begin. Idly she wondered if Aderyn would show up, a momentary thought she quickly dismissed. She was probably busy with guild business, perhaps even actively playing right now. A shame that she would miss out on the fun for that, but it wasn't for her to decide. Aderyn would do what she wanted, and trying to stop her wouldn't get Masae anywhere.

At last the hostess emerged, and though it didn't do anything for her personally, Masae appreciated the nerves it took to dress up in a bunny outfit for this. It wasn't like she was required to do so after all, as far as the girl knew. This wasn't quite the maid cafe after all. Regardless of the speculation over outfits, Masae sat down with the others as she waited for the game to begin.

The game began, and Masae found that the first question was definitely easy, as the name attested. Even if she didn't know all the Beatles albums, there was only one with an iconic cover that she could think of, and it wasn't Sergeant Pepper. So she wrote down 'Abbey Road', and sat back to await confirmation of her answer.

@KoL

[Jedly]

Shiro Kawabata & Akane Himura

"Well, as much as I hate to say it, you aren't dead weight Kosuke. So I think I could manage dealing with an anxious stomach for at least one number. But as they say..." Akane smirked while Jiro and Kosuke performed a two-hit combo on the eccentric eye-patch wearer, "C'est la vie." Though her words barely registered over the cries of sorrow emanating from the boy now sprawled on the backstage floor in an overly dramatic fashion. A certified drama queen he was. A real thespian. Akane fixed the two boys with a nod of approval before the costumes called for her attention once more. She primly eased the last outfits onto hangars, labeled them with the names of the respective dancers, primarily background characters composed of low level Strykers. Thankfully most of the aforementioned players weren't high enough to don intricate gear, otherwise an IV line directly connected to pure caffeine may have been required to accomplish this feat. She patted down the last outfit and took a step back from the rack. The girl didn't have the energy to contain the sigh of relief and jubilation. But her job wasn't done yet. No, the show must go on, as they say. Yet they couldn't be judged if they decided to place a little intermission before the whole shebang.

"Well, that settles that." The healer spun around to only see Shiro still lying on the floor. "...Hey, Jiro, where's the trash? There's a lot of clutter on the floor that needs cleaning." Akane was of course referring to the piles of boxes, plastic bags, and packing materials scattered throughout the room. Yet her nonchalant words were misinterpreted as intended and got the orange-haired boy onto his feet in a second flat. She had to go to great lengths to hide the snide smirk.

"WHY DOES EVERYBODY THINK THAT THE COMICAL RELIEF IS ALWAYS A MASOCHIST?! I LIKE FUNNY STUFF. PAIN ISN'T FUNNY STUFF. AND THUS BY THAT THEOREM, I DO NOT LIKE PAIN." Shiro had to dedicate each hand to the inflicted areas to soothe the two sources of pain. Evidently his words fell of deaf ears. Or it's just that his comrades wrote off the series of pleas leaving his mouth as a Shiro moment, that he was being very Shiro-like. Well Shiro lives matter! Bitches also love cannons too, but that's besides the point. Or is it? "Wonder why Asahi suddenly dipped though?" He asked the gathered members as his eyes fell on the exit their leader vacated the premises through. The image of the spectacled girl from earlier came to mind, but while he totally shipped Asahi with her, he couldn't imagine the guy would up and leave for a dame he'd surely run into by happenstance later on. "Well anyways, we've got some time to roam, so go out there, enjoy the festival, and live your high school lives to the fullest extent! So in other words, spend an excessive amount of dolla on premium goods. Where I'm headed, you may ask?" The bunny on Shiro's eye patch gave off an especially adventurous vibe, "Wherever the wind takes me!" And with that the boy raced out of the room, his jacket flowing behind him just like a cape.

Akane raised an eyebrow at the odd spectacle and could only shake her head as a follow-up reaction. "Well, that being said, be sure as hell not to get my pride and joy dirty should you go parading around with your costumes. Or else. The corners of her lips curved into a smile that hid a true force of evil. "And since I'm probably going to save those sweets from Eris' gang for later, I'm rather hungry. Tag along if you'd like." She let the offer float there while she briskly made her way for the exit, only now did she register her empty stomach.

@Mega Birb@RoflsMazoy
(coolab with kimi tomorrow)