Ammokkx

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

I posted about this in the status bar already, but Tokimeki Memorial finally got a fully functioning fan translation. Brb as I vanish until I've 100%'d the damned thing.

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Soul Mirror

Kei's Location

C'mon... wake up already!" Kei was still urging his unconscious opponent, but no matter how hard he tried, the big lug couldn't be shaken awake. He raised his thumb to his mouth and bit down on it lightly. "This is bad... I'm going to need to need to call an ambulance," Kei told himself. He took out his phone, dialed the emergency services and gave as detailed of an account as he could. They told him to stay put and watch the other person's condition in case it got worse, so Kei hadn't much of a reason to do otherwise. He rose to his feet again, knees still a little shaky and looked around the area.

There, he spotted it. A figure dashing behind a corner just as soon as Kei turned his head to look in their direction. "...! Hey, wait a minute!" he tried to call for them, mustering up his strength to run after. When he'd made it to the area he saw the shadow from, though, nobody was there. Even if somebody had been, Kei wasn't sure he still had the strength to chase after them. Whoever the shadow was, though, had to wait; Kei felt his phone buzzing. Thinking it was the emergency services he quickly pulled it out again, only to find a text message from Aiya.

"I might be little late, someone collapsed at work after a duel. An ambulance had to be called. I'll be stuck answering questions for a bit. TTYL"
Kei's brow furrowed. "me too" he quickly texted, then followed it up with "some guy acting all weird. I won the duel and then he collapsed and i feel rly tired now"
Kei was about to pocket his phone, then changed his mind. He sent one more text: "can we meet up tmr? I need 2 talk about this"

Kei walked back to the unconscious person and slumped up against a nearby wall. Duel Disk still on his arm, he fetched his favourite card from his graveyard. Putting it up towards the sky again, Kei mused to himself: "Something weird's going on, Partner... and I have this really bad feeling about it."

---

Earlier...

The regional champion, Shinrei, was talking over the phone as he walked the streets of Kaleido city. "Are you sure it's here?" he said. "There's nobody around."
"Very odd," the voice on the other end said back. "The big guy should've been going back-and-forth in the same area for a few days now. They're simple in the head, from what I've gathered; it'd be strange for them to abandon their territory."
"Slipping out of winner's interview for this wasn't easy... you'd better not be wasting my time," Shinrei growled and continued to patrol the area. When he passes by a side-street he briefly glances into it. There he saw a young boy shaking a large man on the ground. Shinrei narrowed his eyes as that wasn't all he saw. Blinking to make sure it wasn't a mirage, he could tell a faint outline of something around the boy, while the man on the floor had nothing at all. Shinrei backed off for a bit, ready to duck out of sight at any moment as he continued to observe. Quietly into his phone, he said: "You said our target was a big, hulking man... not some frail kid out of grade school."

"What do you mean?" the voice on the other end said. "Your quarry should be- ...Ah. How odd... I don't know of any kids in that condition..."
The boy had called an ambulance and started to take a look around, which Shinrei took as his cue to leave. He heard a voice calling out behind him, but ran much too quickly to be caught. Once safe, he focused on his phone call again. Shinei said: "I don't care who my opponent is. I'm not showing any mercy. Every last one of them will pay, including him."

After this declaration, Shinrei cut the call. The emergency services would be here soon, and from the looks of it, that boy was intent on waiting on them. He couldn't confront him now. But Shinrei knew what they looked like, so all he had to do was wait for his opportunity later. Criminals always returned to the scene of their crime... and that boy would be no exception.

---

Prologue: End

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Soul Mirror

Aiya's relentless assault caused the man to clutch himself, doubling over as he took ragged breaths. He did his best to supress a scream, instead letting out pained groans and grunts. One hand was on the duel table in front of him. "I-Impossible... this pain... what is...?" he stammered out, weakly raising up his hooded head. The duel was over, and the dark mist that had been enveloping him slowly evaporated from around his body. "No... no! We... I can't go yet! How could we be separated?! What..." he rambled incoherently, then his gaze noticeably shifted to the cards on Aiya's side of the field. "Spirits... accursed spirits! I... Gaaaaaah!" he screamed out. The topmost card in his graveyard, Giga-Brilliant, was being eaten up by shadows. Before it vanished completely, the man looked up at Aiya again, the hood falling off his head. Even through the mess of dishevelled hair, Aiya could see the bags underneath his eyes and the dull look he had. The man hadn't slept in days.

"Where ... am ... I? ... Ryu ... ka...?" he stammered out. His voice was softer, his demeanour changed completely. He sounded confused. The man reached his hand forward, trying to reach out to her. The last bit of Giga-Brilliant was devoured by the darkness, and at that moment all life seemed to drain from the customer. He promptly collapsed, outstretched arm going limp over the table and taking his deck with him, scattering it all over the floor. There wasn't any response from him after that.

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Soul Mirror

"Such cruel words, my Ryuka..." the opponent said back to her, drawing another card from his deck. His grin grew into a slasher smile upon seeing his next card. "Hahaha... hahaha! This is perfect! Ryuka, by the end of this turn, I'll have shown you why you should be all mine!" he declared, sliding out two more of Scaradiator's materials. "I use my two overlay units to change that Reactan of yours to defense position!" he declared, the same scene as with Lorpar unfolding once more.

Reactan, Dragon Ruler of Pebbles ATK 1300 > DEF 700

The customer was far from done. "But that's not all... I summon my Digital Bug Cocoondenser!" he shouted, one of the devices on the circuitboard flickering to life. A heat rejector, meant to help cool the system, acting as a cocoon for a digital bug nurtured inside. The circuit underneath supplied it some power to make it stronger.

Digital Bug Cocoondenser: ATK 0 > 300

"This one can deactivate itself, switching to defense in order to bring back another piece of hardware from the scrap heap... yes, the same one I discarded last turn! I'll summon Digital Bug Centibit!"

Digital Bug Cocoondenser: ATK 300 > DEF 2000
Digital Bug Centibit: DEF 500

"They're two level three monsters, my Ryuka... you know what that means, don't you?" the customer said, waggling his finger at Aiya. "I'll make sure you never forget... I overlay Digital Bug Cocoondenser with Digital Bug Centibit!"

The same wormhole as was used to summon his Scaradiator opened up, with both of the declared monsters turning into streaks of light to swirl together in its center of gravity. "I'll let you see it, my Ryuka... the power which I've obtained... our beautiful form!" he yelled, the dark mist from before coalescing alongside the light of his monsters. "Xyz summon! Appear, Number 20: Giga-Brilliant!"

With an explosion, a new being rose from the portal. It was initially sealed, folded in on itself as it rose from the depths. Once it had settled itself on the field it suddently began to unfurl, sprouting limbs, wings and pincers. Two large, purple hind legs were supported by two smaller grey feelers at the front, and the monster towered over everything else on the field. It was coated in a metal armor, two wing-like portrusions making such clear as one of them had a brightly shining number '20' on it. The creature's eyes, tucked into the sides of its ant-like head, stared down at Aiya.

Number 20: Giga-Brilliant: ATK 1800 > 2100

The man started chuckling, then laughing. "How's that, my Ryuka?! Are we not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?!" he shouted, seemingly referring to the monstrosity. "Not only does our circuit make us stronger, but our effect is even more dangerous... By detaching one overlay unit, it brings the attack of all our monsters up by another 300 points!" he explained.

Digital Bug Scaradiator: ATK 2100 > 2400
Number 20: Giga-Brilliant: ATK 2100 > 2400

The customer spread his arms wide, seemingly never stopping with talking. "But that's not all! When Cocoondenser and Centibit were used to summon us, they gave us even more power! When I attack your defense-position monster, you cannot activate any effects! When I choose to attack, I can attack all of your defense position monsters! When I activate my next card, I can even deal the difference between your defense points and our attack as damage! Yes, I'll activate the trap that will bind us and you together, my Ryuka: Meteorain!"

The trap card opened up on the field of Aiya's opponent. As things stood, she was about to lose all her monsters to his attacks. However, now that his field had been cut down to just three cards by activating Meteorain, Aiya saw her chance to strike. "I activate three strike barrier! With this trap card, my monsters aren't destroyed!" she was quick to respond. The customer was less than pleased at this result.

"Feeble struggling...! Why won't you just give up and be mine already?!" he yelled at her. "I won't allow you to escape... if I can't destroy your monsters, I'll just shave away your life!! Scaradiator, attack Reactan!" he shouted, sparks once more flying towards Reactan. Due to Three-Strike Barrier, however, Reactan could endure the onslaught. Even though it couldn't be destroyed by battle, Aiya would still take piercing damage because of Meteorain's effect. Though she hadn't yet taken any damage up to this point, she would begin to feel something wrong very, very soon. While the flames of the overheating circuit scorched Reactan's stone body, Aiya's skin would begin to tingle and then hurt. Severely. It's as if she shared the sensation of her monster, feeling everything they did- pain included.

Aiya: 4000 > 2300 LP

"We're not done yet!! Steam and Reactan will both feel our wrath!" he declared, Giga-Brilliant quickly scuttling forward. It knocked into Steam, sending it flying across the field. As for Reactan, Giga-Brilliant bent down and aggressively chewed on it with its pincers, unable but still trying to tear Reactan to shreds.

Aiya: 2300 > 1900 > 200 LP

The customer huffed, as if exhausted, and said "How's that?! You'll be ours, Ryuka! We're sure to carve that into you! We're setting the last card in our hand and ending our turn!!"

The card he'd set was Lumenize. Even if Aiya could summon a monster with high enough attack to destroy the mad man's monsters, he'd be able to negate the attack and boost his own power. To him, it must have looked like Aiya had no chance to win.

Secundi Lux

---

---

"Cayman Sow..." Chie repeated inside her thoughts. An odd name to her, something unlike anything else she's heard before. She repeated it a few times in the safety of her own mind as her new partner guided the two of them through the initial steps of the dance. Chie was stiffer than when she'd danced with Selma, and this officer-to-be didn't take long to catch onto that. He commented on Chie's nerves, tried reassuring her. Didn't really help, in the end. Chie's clumsy dancing was but one of many factors leading to her continued discomfort.

"Is this the first time you've been to a ball, Chie?" the boy asked of her.

"Mhm... yeah," she gave as a short but clear reply. The boy went on about how most of the Ars Magi aren't used to this, prompting Chie to look up at him and tilt her head a bit. "Is that... so?" she asked. "I'm from Calcaria... I never went to something like this, there. My team all seemed familiar with it, though... so I thought I was just an exception," she explained, opening up a bit to her dance partner.

Chie briefly pondered her last statement, then opened her mouth again to ask something herself. "And you officers? Are you split into teams like us Magi?" she asked of him. "I don't know much of the officer school. Could you tell me a bit about it?"

The Status Bar

blinks

Uh.

I'm gonna be real, the very idea of this topic is kind of a fever dream to me. No, my answer is no. G'day.

Secundi Lux

---

---

One-two-three,
Three-two-one,
One, two, and three.

The dance didn't last long after Chie'd broken the silence and the two began to chat, but those last few minutes of practice bolstered her confidence enough to where she could stand tall upon the music slowing down. Selma, being her goofy self, continued the merry mood by being silly about Chie 'passing the test.' She giggled a bit, then in the corner of her eye, saw movement. Two shifting bodies behind Selma. Bodies behind Selma shifting towards her and Chie. At that point, Chie could only think one thing:

"Oh no."

Her worst fears were confirmed when it turned out to be two young officers from the academy, one tapping Selma's (rather impressive) biceps to get the giantess' attention. While there are certainly worse things than being approached by two striking young men, Chie didn't exactly have much experience with boys her age. It also doesn't help that the both of them approached Chie right at the height of her confidence, since it all drained in the blink of an eye. She still kept a straight face, though. Barely.

“Excuse me, as a member of the Officer’s Academy, I have to make a formal complaint. It’s not fair for the prettiest Ars Magi to only dance with each other,” one of them said.
"HNNNNNNN-" Chie screamed inside her head.

She shot Selma a glance. Selma didn't glance back. Great. Chie looked back at the two officers- damn it, straight into the eyes of the taller one- and gave him the least forced smile she could muster. Selma took the situation better than Chie did, what with taking the compliment in stride at all. She even accepted his offer of a dance, saying how she'd just taught Chie the ropes and-

"...Eh?" Chie mumbled as her eyes darted back to Selma. "Selma. You traitor." she thought to herself, her eyes wide open and her head bobbing to give a nod. The shorter girl helplessly watched the taller one take her partner's hand, already positioning herself for the next round of music to start. Like a not-so-well-oiled machine, Chie's neck slowly turned to look the other boy into his eyes. The taller one, which towered over Chie. She was going to get back at Selma for this later.

Chie was clearly a little more nervous than she was able to hide, scratching her cheek lightly and having her eyes dart briefly away and back to her prospective partner. Despite that, she still managed to make the first move on speaking up. "Uhm... if you're okay with me, I'll leave myself in your care," Chie said, folding her hands onto her skirt for a quick, polite bow. She then meekly reached one of them out for the boy to take. As she did, she also added one more thing: "I'm Masuzu Chie. Can I ask for your name, too?"

Nexus: The battle for one's memories.

"Then... Open."

With those two words, in a flash, the world changed around Rui and Katsuki. Rather than seated opposite at a two-person table, the two were now standing on opposing ends of the now-familiar battlefield. The thick mist, the floating islands and the humongous clock- all was as it should be. On one side, Rui's yellow; her opponent a soot black. Lumia and Sunako stood attentive on their commanders' tables, the former looking focused and the latter excited. Rui took note of her opponent. "Hm... black, huh?" she said loud enough for them to hear. "Haruto's red, Sora's green and your black... I wonder who's assigning these colours to us?" Rui flatly stated. Before either had a chance to comment further on it, a loud creaking noise came from up above. The clock had started to spin, slowly, and turned in the direction of Rui's yellow marker. "The first turn is mine..." she mused to herself, looking down and hovering her hand over the deck. Five cards slid off the top, nesting themselves in front of Rui.

"Careful, Nee-chan... I can feel she's unlike the commanders you've seen so far," Lumia tried to warn. It wasn't a hollow warning, either. Compared to Rui's three golden coins, four floated above Katsuki. The same amount as Haruto, when he'd preyed on Sora. Rui just put on a confident smirk.
"If she wasn't strong, then there'd be no point." Rui responded. She looked her opponent dead in the eyes, then said: "Make no mistake... I will win this."

After Rui's declaration, the battle began proper. She began by setting up a quick defense, which Katsuki didn't break through. Rui combined her attackers and incantations to control the field like she usually would, but it didn't phase her opponent. No, as it turns out, Katsuki's strategy wasn't hindered by Rui's usual playstyle. After a few turns, Rui looked at her deck, having been thinned out considerably since the start. She looked at her opponent, slightly amused.

"Your cards are pretty impressive, aren't they? They're like a poison, slowly sapping away my strength. Instead of going for my life cards, you'll just make me lose by not having any cards to draw." Rui commented on it. There was some manner of intonation to it, a mix of mild awe and sarcastic mockery. Whatever it was, it signaled she wasn't scared of Katsuki in the slightest. "If you're not going after my life cards, then why don't I? Judgement Bolt!" A bolt of heavenly lightning struck down, hitting both Sunako and Lumia as Rui did not have the needed cost to discard her hand.

"Nee-cha...? ...Aaaah!" Lumia cried out in pain. She collapsed onto her knee, both one of Rui and Sunako's cards shattering and going to their hand. Lumia weakly looked back. "Nee-chan...? Why...?" she asked, pained and (literally) shocked.

"I'm sorry Lumia, but..." Rui cut her answer short, glancing at the incantation that just got added to her hand. "Like I thought. Most of my incantations are stuck in my life zone. I need to take damage in order to evolve Lumia..." she thought to herself. Rui looked through her Trash, seeing only four incantations in it including the Judgement bolt she'd just used. For a deck like hers that relies on them, this was markedly bad luck. "Hang in there, Lumia. I need your power to win this." she asked of her Avatar. Lumia just turned her head forwards again.

"I knew it... you're like a different person on the battlefield..." she mumbled to herself, pained and betrayed. But Rui knew that even if Lumia hated her for it, she absolutely could not afford to lose. To that end, she looked directly at her opponent.

"Hey. I want to ask you something," Rui said with determination in her voice. "I won't ask after your wish, or your lost memories. But these battles... why are you fighting them?" she posed the question. "Do you want to make something come true? Do you want to get back what you lost? Or... are these fun to you?" Rui continued to elaborate.

She pulled her scarf up a little, clearly not being done talking just yet. "My little brother got caught up in this because of me. Because he was concerned about me. Now I can barely remember his friends, our time spent together, or even a promise I made to him when we were little... when I feel the weight of that bearing down on me, it's almost crushing." she exposited. Then she grinned. "But here, on the battlefield...? I feel like I can forget my worries. My heart pounds with each attack, with every card played. Adrenaline rushes through me when I consider the risks of defeat."

Rui looked skywards. "It's like I was meant to be here. Like I was meant to fight this fight. And what about you?" she asked Katsuki again.

---

Natsuko's face hadn't changed, but in her mind she was cursing Sora's lack of resolve. She needed to battle him. It couldn't be anyone else. Ema picked up on this, a hint of slight amusement on her face, but she didn't press that topic. No, Ema had someone else to respond to first.

"Do you think warning him is a good idea, nyaa?" she asked Wolf. "Sora clearly likes Natsuko, you know? He won't want you coming between the two of them." Ema whispered to him. She then sat upright, speaking up clearly so everyone on the room could and would hear. "Isn't it better for you two to fight a lot, nya? If you're low on coins, you should battle to get more!" Ema tried egging on the pair of boys.

Natsuko drew Ema closer to herself, clutching the little cat girl to her chest. "I get it, Sora-kun... I was scared at first too. I didn't know who to turn to, who to fight. I lost my first time, and it felt like the world would end..." she explained in an attempt to appeal to Sora's sense of empathy. "But... that's why you should battle me! We know each-other, and I'd never hurt you! Even if I lose, I'd never hate you for it! And if you lose, after my wish comes true... I can still help you! We can do this together!" she pleaded with him, seeming earnest.

Natsuko didn't give him any time to react. She immediately reached out for one of Sora's hands and raised it up between the two of them, tightly clutching it between both of her own. "Please, Sora-kun... battle me. I really want to do it with you."

Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Soul Mirror

"'Creep...' That's so mean, my Ryuka... but I'll show you soon enough. Soon I'll win this duel, and show you just how strong I am..." the man continued to drone on, slowly drawing his next card and grinning when he saw what it was. In between blinks Aiya could see a dark mist had enveloped the man again, like before. "I understand... you want to come out, don't you? We want to show her what you're like..." he mumbled to himself. "But not yet, not yet... it's not our turn yet. We have a much more important part to play."

The man added the card to the rest of his hand, then looked back at Aiya. The mist surrounding him dissipated again. "Haven't you realised it yet, my lovely Ryuka? On my field are two level 3 LIGHT Insect-type monsters... yes, level 3! When two or more monsters of the same level are on the field, I can do this!"

The man moved one of the bagworms' card over the other and, as he did, a vortex resembling a galaxy opened in the middle of the field. "Using my two bagworms to overlay, I can bring out a new monster! An Xyz monster!" he enthusiastically said. The two piles of junk on his field morphed into two shapeless bundles of light, then jumped into and mixed together inside the vortex. "Now... come on out, my first and favorite monster! Digital Bug Scaradiator!"

A bright flash of light blinded both players for a second, and from the portal, a rolling CPU fan shot out. It took to the sky, flying out of sight for a moment as a tiny blue beetle crawled out of the portal after it. When the fan came down, the bug caught it with its jaw, stopping the movement. It then scurried over the top of the fan, placing itself onto the other side and grabbing onto the electronic device with its hind legs.

Digital Bug Scaradiator: 1800 ATK

"I activate my trap card! Slip Summon!" Aiya would say as the card would rise up on her side of the field. Revealing its power to her opponent. As a dragon wearing a maid outfit would pop out onto her side of the field. "It allows me to summon a level 4 or lower monster in defense mode when you summon one!" She'd say. Eying the monster across from her. She hoped she hadn't made a mistake.

"The monster i summon is Parlor Dragonmaid!" She'd say pointing to her maid who would do a twirl before taking their defensive stance.

Parlor Dragonmaid DEF 1700

"Of course she has an effect when shes summoned, to allow me to send any dragonmaid from my deck to the graveyard" Aiya would say as she would look through her deck. "I choose Dragonmaid Lorpar" she'd say revealing the green dragon as she'd place it into her graveyard.

Still eying up her opponents strange mechanical bug.

"That's right, Ryuka... Keep playing with me, more and more..." the opponent mused again, reaching out for one of the cards in his hand. "But even as you summon more monsters, I'll just keep strengthening my own, with a field spell! I activate Bug Matrix!"

The area around the two duelists' monsters quickly shifted to a neon grid-based landscape, light and dark blues alternating. Orange streaks connected the monsters to various appliances and chips scattered on the board, as if the monsters themselves acted as the parts on the circuit. For Scaradiator, quite literally so as he nested his fan on top of the board and began spinning it around. The hooded customer gave a wicked smile. "With Bug Matrix, all my insects gain 300 ATK and DEF both..."

Scaradiator: 1800 > 2100 ATK

The customer reached out his free hand, palm open. "Now I'll battle! I'll use my Scaradiator to attack your weakened Reactan!" he shouted. Scaradiator spun his fan faster and faster to vent an overheating circuit beneath him. The fan couldn't keep up, though, as sparks ignited a fire on the board that soon shot its way toward Reactan, intending to burn him out.

Enshrouded by a lime-green glow, Aiya's dragonmaid would begin to shimmer. Its features began to shift, changing from a cute dragon girl eager to serve at the slightest convenience to a true dragon, strong and powerful. Lime-green feathered wings unfurled from the ball of light as she would take her position on Aiya's side of the battlefield.

"By the effect of my Parlor Dragonmaid, by returning her to my hand at the start of the battle-phase I can special-summon my Dragonmaid Lorpar!" Aiya would declare, Confident she would be ok due to its high attack power.

Dragonmaid Lorpar ATK 2700

"Now, don't think I'd let you destroy my monster so easily!" She'd declare activating another trick of hers as the card would raise up on her side of the field. "Attack Guidance Armor!" She'd declare, and upon her decleration, The Digital Bug that was attempting to destroy her monster would be blinded by the armor shattering in front of it, Causing the monster that its attack would be going towards to be Dragonmaid Lorpar instead. "It allows me to redirect your attack to Lorpar!"

"Kehehe... you fell for it!" the customer responded to Aiya's attempt at redirection. He slid his hand over the table to the black-bordered card he controlled. "Xyz monsters have one special property... the materials used for its summon also activate its effect, and you've allowed me to use mine! Scaradiator, force Lorpar to heel!"

Two shining, golden orbs floated into Scaradiator's jaw, who clamped down on them. Bathed in a hue of the same colour as those orbs, Scaradiator unfurled and spread its wings. The loud droning sound as Scaradiator lifted off made it clear how powerful the flapping of those wings was, if the strong gust created by it hadn't clued anyone in. The golden hue around Scaradiator flowed off its body and into those winds, colliding with Lorpar. Though she tried to resist, the gale forced her down onto the ground, a defensive posture while the monster itself turned blue to signal it going into defense position.

Dragonmaid Lorpar ATK 2700 > DEF 1700

The sparks redirected from Reactan to Lorpar connected. Though she may have been able to shrug it off before, her lower defense points made it so Lorpar succumbed to the flames that had ignited on impact. She still tried her best to shield Reactan, using her body as a barrier between Scaradiator and it, but ultimately closed her eyes and shattered into particles as she was destroyed.

Aiya's oppenent continued his turn with a confident grin. "This is fantastic... one less obstacle between me and my Ryuka... and to make sure of that, Scaradiator's other effect will now activate!" he enthusiastically shouted. The particles from Lorpar hadn't left the field, instead being scattered around. Scaradiator scuttled around the field, collecting them and rolling them up as they created a new, golden orb. "Any monster Scaradiator destroys will become its new overlay units... and now one more!" he said, picking up a different card from his hand. The circuit around the monsters activated, machine parts and LED lights kicking into gear. Another golden orb found its way to float around the customer's Xyz monster.

"Bug Matrix... with its effect, I gain another overlay unit by attaching a card in my hand... That's right, my Ryuka! I can use Scaradiator's effect over and over to force your monsters into another battle position! But even that doesn't end my turn..." he would continue, looking down at the last three cards in his hand. He placed one of them face-down on the field, then held up another one. "I know all about your deck... next turn, you can use the Parlor in your hand and call another dragon... so that's why I'll use Dragged Down Into the Grave!"

The customer dramatically revealed his card by flipping it in his hand. The field below them split in two as a chasm opened, with several ghostly hands clawing their way up from the depths of the world below. "Both players choose a card in their opponent's hand and discard it, then draw one more from the deck... but I have only one card to choose! I'll bury it together with your Parlor! Let's go together, Ryuka..."

The ghostly hands reach out to both players, grabbing both the cards the customer talked about. The card the customer discarded was the same as the one that he'd drawn for this turn, and as it got carried into the abyss, Aiya could just barely see it being a level 3 monster.

Both players drew a new card. The customer only briefly glanced at his. "Turn end, my Ryuka..."

I hate to say it...

So essentially it seems the style of RP I enjoy most is dying. Ok, well guess that's the way the cookie crumbles. 🤷‍♀️

@Tlstiffl

I don't think this is the conclusion you should be taking away from these answers.

We're in a busy time of the year, coupled with it generally being less popular than before, but it's by no means dead. I've been both in far smaller and far bigger RP communities than this, and even with about 1/50 the amount of people that are on this site, I've seen RP communities be active for years.

The thing is, on a mega board like this where anyone can start anything, you're bound to get a wildly different range of likes and interests. I, personally, am just about the resident Card Game Nerd™ on this website, and believe you me, I've had more than my fair share of trouble finding people to RP card games with ever since I joined.

RP isn't dying and it's not going to die. It'll get smaller and slow down, but there's always new young people getting into the hobby too. I know for a fact I RP less not because of the site's fault, but because I just... RP less in general. I have no drive to join 6 things at once anymore, and I also don't check the interest boards daily like I used to. Gotta understand that existing members are graying too, and either become more busy in life or move on to other things.