BrokenPromise

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

It was difficult to see what was going on inside the dining room, but Nyxia’s superb hearing could pick up on a few things. She could hear her mother conversing with a servant, followed by some prepared laughter and her stabbing some salad onto her fork. It was not long before she could pick up on her father’s footsteps, and the much heavier footsteps of the stranger.

”Hisui! Our guest would like some curry bread. Heat it up for him please, as well as the saki.” He chuckled, obviously amused at the basic palette of the stranger. ”I appreciate you being so discreet about this matter. I don’t want anyone to know we’ve been robbed.”

”I can see that.”

”Even with those shades on?” The stranger did not dignify Mister Tsukishima’s bad joke with a laugh. And if her father’s groan was anything to go by, he didn’t dignify it with any sort of reaction. ”Let’s sit here.” They were close to the windows, far away from Misus Tsukishima’s chattering or anyone else in the room. ”So you finally found something out?”

”Finally?” The irritation was evident in the stranger’s voice. ”Mister Tsukishima, you must understand that I am not one of your servants. I’m a freelancer, and when you initially requested my help I was working for other people. You are very out of the way for me, and I thought we understood it would be some time before I could arrive.”

”I also paid you a lot of money.”

”All of my clients pay me a lot of money. And I think you’re about to get your money’s worth.”

Nyxia could feel the smile spreading across Mister Tsukishima’s lips. ”Yes. You implied that the serial numbers for the yen banknotes were useful.”

”It was.” The stranger’s seat creaked when he leaned back in it. ”The stolen money was gradually deposited in a bank account belonging to ‘Strong Arms,’ which is a construction supply company. At first I thought this was an attempt to ‘wash’ the yen, but the quantities were too small and inconsistent. Building materials are very expensive in Japan, and it would not be hard to wash significantly more money using Strong Arms. I considered the possibility that funds were simply used to buy building supplies.”

”Well that’s not very helpful.” Tsukishima groaned. ”There must be lots of construction going on. Strong Arms is in the city, isn’t it?”

”True, but that’s not where the money was stolen from. While there is lots of construction in the city, Hibusa town only has its flower shop. Apparently the flower shop burned down months ago when the funds were initially stolen. Shortly afterwards, they began a gradual reconstruction effort.”

”The Takahashi…” He practically growled the name. ”The gods dealt them a bad hand, as they did with my family. They don’t have a ton of money, but their daughter, Misoka, is a real gem. If my daughter was even a quarter as focused as she was…”

”It explained everything, from the timing of the robbery to when funds started to get transferred to Strong Arms. While preserving your confidentiality, I informed the owners that I was investigating a robbery and that I thought they were going to show up here. They agreed to let me check the bank notes once a customer had paid. I didn’t even have to wait a day before Mister Takahashi showed up. He paid for the goods and left, I requested to look at the yen notes, and the serial numbers matched.”

”Ho ho! And then you came here?”

”Not quite. You were adamant that you wanted your money back as soon as possible, so I stopped by their home in Hibusa town. I told them that I believed that they had money that didn’t belong to them. They were disappointed, but very forthcoming about it. I didn’t even have to prove to them that I had the serial numbers on the notes they were spending. They claimed that they found the money and had no idea where it came from and offered to give it to me. I’m a little surprised how easily they offered it up. But I figured it would be better if you or someone you deeply trust recovered the funds. We hadn’t discussed it, and I didn’t feel it was my place to recover them without consulting you.”

”Well that’s very good news. I’ll get in contact with them shortly. It’s unfortunate that I’m going to have to also tell them I’m pressing charges against them.”

”It’s too early to do that. We have no proof that they stole anything. They were up front about finding the stolen money and couldn’t have committed the crime themselves. Misoka was preparing for a charity bake off with several friends the night of the crime. Mister Takahashi would have been at work and with the family car, and Missus Takahashi would have still been recovering. Even if she had a bike, this is a very long distance to travel with a lame leg. Then there’s getting past your security… More than likely this was an inside job.”

”Couldn’t they have hired someone, or forbid, bribed one of my servants?”

”It could also be someone working out of spite, or a genuine interest in the Takahashi’s well being. They are something of local celebrities, as you’ve already alluded to with Misoka.”

”Either way, I’m pleased we’ll have our money back. How much will it cost to find out who caused the crime?”

”Let’s discuss that later. I don’t talk price on an empty stomach.”

Nyxia’s focus broke when she heard something knock against the side of the column she was hiding behind.

A familiar face…

“Come here often?”

— Rei Ishiko

Rei allowed Nyxia to acknowledge her presence before speaking. “It’s a good day to be outside, Nyxia. But I think I saw your dinner maid heading towards your room.” She pushed herself away from the wall. “See you tonight.”

BBC code questions

I probably could have just sent a PM to @LegendBegins but I thought it might be good to get it answered out in the open.

Legend my guy, I was giving unsolicited advice to @Exit for a problem I didn't fully understand. He wanted to put a table inside another table and not have it be all bolded, but then this happened. I told him to get a hold of you, but he's made it apparent he's too shy to talk to someone about his nerdy hobby on a forum based around talking to people about nerdy hobbies. But this brought two questions to my mind.

- Is it possible to change the functionality of tables on your end? It feels like tables would be a lot more useful if they just let us decide when a block was bolded or not with bbc code. Additionally...

- You were collecting code for something a while back. Did anything come of it? I do not remember seeing an announcement or anything.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"No super sexy combo banner, no thoughts, no vibes.“

— Suki Oyama

"Eh?“ Suki looked back across the room table at Tsubomi. "Jealous? I don’t think so.“ Suki didn’t remove the box from her head. From the side, she kind of looked like she was wearing a habit. Though if Kiyo was paying attention, she'd notice Suki's arm twitch as she typed something on her phone. It didn't matter if Kiyo noticed or not, or even if she was interested. Because she would get a message on her phone not much later. Unlike most of Suki's hastily written messages, it was very clear and lacked the usual barrage of emojis.

She's with a nine-out-of-ten babe and can't even manage a smile. She told me she thinks she likes being this way, or at least that she believes that she’s better off. I don’t think she really knows what she’s missing. I kinda want to make her feel something, but I don’t know how to go about doing it. But because she told me she wants to be this way it almost feels like I’m going against her wishes to even attempt it.



That bowl kind of looks like your hair. You should keep it.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

”Now that I’ve hijacked the GM post, I can have cool text under my banner.”

"Don’t you mean our banner?"

”Don’t you mean memetastic text?”

— The Triplets

”Am I seeing the whole picture?”

This was Ember’s sole focus for the day. She had been thinking on what happened a while ago with Tsubomi, on how it shifted their dynamic and why. If she were honest with herself, there were very few days she did not ask this question of herself. It seemed significant, somehow, that they now possessed bodies in Shuuko’s mental scape; perhaps they were becoming different people? No, they still shared their links.

It puzzled the schemer, for while the red-haired woman had many areas of expertise, magic and its strange, seemingly non-sensical interaction was not one of them. But who could she ask about it, when her best avenue of investigation might be the biggest threat to the Detention Club as a whole, not to mention completely untrustworthy? No, she would have to try getting to the bottom of it on her own. First, however, she needed to figure out what to do about the recent incident with Sylvia so she coul-

Shuuko’s body reeled from the impact. Ember could barely keep her reaction in check as the protector almost seized control by instinct, followed by a foul feeling bubbling up from the bottom of her consciousness. She should have paid more attention to her surroundings. Bumping into another classmate just because Shuuko had some troubles that were visible even to those without a keen eye did not suit a member of the detention club. Fortunately, Ember knew what to reply.

Frowning her brows, she had Shuuko’s eyes examine Misoka from top to bottom before she opened her mouth.

”Thank you very much for asking, however, there is nothing that troubles me.” She bowed her head at precisely polite incline,then she looked up and frowned her brows. ”What about yourself, though? Forgive me if I overstep, but you look like you have been dragged through mud.” Worry coloured her voice, the implied question clear in the undertones of her question: Did someone do this to you?

”Wha-” Misoka looked at herself over. ”Dragged through the mud? That’s hyperbole I take it?” It had to be. Her uniform was dry, if just a bit dirty. Though this was uncommon for a girl with Misoka’s qualities to look like a tomboy. She pinched the bridge of her nose. ”I see how it is. Very well.” Misoka turned around to depart when Roche greeted both of them. ”O-oh!” She fixed a smile on her face before answering the track captain. ”We’ve just met, actually.” She glanced over her shoulder at Shuuko before looking back ahead. ”And you’re the second person to comment on my appearance since my run-in here. I must really look horrible… If you think stretching can help me, I’m all for learning more about it. We can eat too, right? Or are you sustained by your training?”

---

"Maybe I’ll save the chadette thing for later…”

— Suki Oyama

Suki continued to watch the transfer student and Tsubomi interact. She had her head propped up on her fist and her eyebrows were high on her head. Not a lot had happened yet, but it felt like something was going to happen. A normal girl would have gotten bored or irritated with Tsubomi’s Tsubominess by now. Yet she seemed determined to help the strange student no matter what. It would be fruitless, of course. No normal girl could help Tsubomi with her problems, but seeing her work so hard with Tsubomi did give Suki some hope that maybe, when they finally met, she’d be just as patient.

The delinquent was a little too absorbed in the display and hadn’t noticed Kiyo’s arrival. She continued to stare off until Kiyo dropped her fist into the table. She did not hit the table hard, but that hardly mattered. From Suki’s perspective, someone teleported into the seat across from her, and was now filling her vision.

With a yelp, she swatted her lunch box towards Kiyo. But halfway through the action she realized who was seated with her, and promptly attempted to smack it off course. She clipped the bottom of it, and the lunch box spun in the air.Suki continued to frantically bat the thing, juggling it to and fro without letting it hit Kiyo. Eventually, she was able to catch her lunch box and set it down in front of herself. She closed her eyes. A sigh escaped Suki’s lips. Though when her eyes opened up again, she looked inside her empty lunch box and realized that something was amiss. She had brought Endless Eclipse in a black and red plastic bowl, which was no longer inside the box. When she looked up, Suki saw that the empty bowl had landed on Kiyo’s head.

She stared at Kiyo for a moment.

Then, Suki took her lunchbox and placed it over her own head. One corner of the box rested on her forehead while her pigtails came out at either side.

"Now nobody can read our thoughts.”

This was untrue though. The metal lunchbox on Suki’s head was far better at repelling mind reading than Kiyo’s plastic bowl.

---

”...Hello?”

The man called out, but Norika didn’t answer. She had the advantage of being up a floor and not in a place anyone could reach without a ladder or some extreme parkour skills. He wouldn’t be able to tell if she was even there as long as she stayed silent. She could hear him sigh, but he hadn’t left. If he had, she would have heard that truck of his start up again. Instead, he rang the doorbell. Again.

Before long, a servant came to the door. Norika couldn’t place the name, but it was one of the voices that belittled her every time she heard it. ”Who are you?”

”I was told by mister Tsukishima to get in touch with him directly.”

”Who are you?” The servant repeated.

”Mister Tsukishima told me not to say. I’m to get in touch with him directly.”

”When I go fetch Mister Tsukishima for you, and he asks me who’s bothering him, what should I tell him?”

The man hummed in thought. ”Tell Mister Tsukishima that a man wishes to see him, and that he says the numbers were very helpful.” The servant excused themselves with a grunt, and the front door swung shut. ”Fuck your mother.” He said it loud enough to be heard through the door. Things were quiet for a time, but the truck didn’t start back up.

The door opened again, this time the voice was far more familiar. It was Norika’s father. ”Apologies for that. Good help is hard to come by.” He laughed. Norika knew it was fake. ”I trust you bring good tidings?”

”I know who has your money.”

”...Ah, that is most fortunate.” He laughed. Norika knew it was genuine. ”The front step is no place to talk about such things. My wife and I are enjoying a meal, perhaps you’d like to join us?”

”Sure, but one thing. There was a girl by the-”

”Oh! Put her out of your mind…” He clicked his tongue. ”She knows the sun is bad for her, but she’ll stare at strangers instead of tending to her homework.”

”Whatever you say. What’s for lunch?”

”What would you like?”

They continued to talk as they passed the threshold of the door, but it was getting harder to hear them from her room.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Survey says...”

— Suki Oyama

Suki might have made a mistake.

While she had been the first person to get to the cafeteria, that didn’t mean she was going to be able to check everyone else who came in. There were a few more early birds, and then a flood of students entered. It was like watching a zombie hoard, only they all packed their own lunch and just wanted a place to sit down. Suki pivoted her head side to side to try and look around everyone, but there was a limit to what she could see from the “VIP” table. She scanned all the faces she could see, but none of them stood out as someone new. This was made all the more disappointing because Tsubomi was not the sort of girl who ever arrived first. Five minutes into her wait and Suki had finished eating the gelatinous blob of despair she made for herself. She spent the next few minutes licking her fingers, just to give herself something to do. Roche wasn’t here yet, so that was a silver lining.

Eventually Tsubomi appeared. Suki dried her fingers on her uniform and folded her hands in her lap. She went over the topics of discussion she wanted to have in her head. A lot of questions that she had never asked Tsubomi that needed to be answered now. Even if her partner had no emotions, she couldn’t help but wonder if there could be negative consequences to broaching certain topics with her. With foresight, she could see that after the thing with Kate she had stopped visiting the Detention club meetings for a time.

But none of it would matter, because Suki wasn’t going to have that one on one with Tsubomi.

Was that a transfer student? They looked new. Even if Suki knew a few names she could have, she hadn’t seen pictures of any of them. In fact, Suki found herself analyzing the girl’s shape and missed the first few words she said. She had a similar body shape to Suki it seemed. It was hard to tell, but that ill-fitting school uniform was definitely resting on a thinner than normal frame. Like rickety scaffolding wrapped in a tarp. Normally that would be a negative, as nothing that looked like Suki could ever approach cute. But her face made up for that and then some. Her hair was long and unkempt, she looked like she didn’t get enough sleep, and she had the most pinchable cheeks. Then Suki took in her mannerisms and how she held her body. Her cautious movements around Tsubomi, the less-than-confident tone she took with her, the position of her headphones, the prey coded behavior.

Suki’s body twitched, like a robot trying to process too much information. She carried the one from the lowest decimal place, added the girl’s merits, contrasted the shade of her hair and flesh against others she had seen. The proverbial gears were turning cherry red, the circuit board was arcing, but a verdict had been returned.

This was a super cutie.

It had been some time since Suki had beheld one, sans Kate. Tsubomi looked the part, but she didn’t really act the part. She was oblivious to how cute she was because she couldn’t feel romantic attraction. But maybe this girl would be different.

Though as Suki’s focus opened up, she realized that the girl seemed to be interested in helping Tsubomi. This caused Suki to sit up a bit straighter and reconsider her options. Yes, there was nothing to be gained by rushing over there now. Tsubomi and this new girl would be available later, but it was rare for anyone to willingly talk to her partner. It was rarer still for them to offer help. This was not something she could just interrupt.

Afterwards was another story…

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

Mr Banana was an obedient little monkey. He just sat there, unmoving as Haruna chided him. With unflinching eyes, he watched as his new companion flopped into her bed with dramatic flair. But nothing Haruna did would get the monkey to move. Not her squeezing another stuffed animal right in front of him, not her movements to and fro, not even eating a nightly snack in his presence caused him to move at all. It wasn’t until she dove off the balcony and the doors swung shut that the little stuffed monkey did anything. The doors caused a small vibration, and it caused the precariously perched monkey to roll off the side of the bag and land on his back. Mr Banana was looking straight at the ceiling. He would not move again without Haruna’s assistance.

…

…

…

"I’m too much of a chadette for my own good.”

— Suki Oyama

Why were so many teen romance novels based around school life?

As the years ticked by, school was starting to feel less and less important. Nothing interesting ever happened, her teachers wanted her to drop out already, even the detention club meetings were starting to feel increasingly tedious and pointless. At least she could look forward to going on a hunt with Rei later, even if some of the others were going to be there.

Speaking of, what the hell was up with the meeting yesterday? Seeing everyone show compassion for someone who absolutely didn’t deserve it was going to confound Suki for a while. After a good night’s rest, she decided that Tsubomi deserved a pass. She had learned that Tsubomi could be a little weird sometimes and couldn’t fault her for wanting to eat some emotions. The emotionless girl was still her partner and treated her the best out of everyone else present. Speaking of which, she needed to meet with her later today for various reasons.

Additionally, she needed to take a look at all the new transfer students today. She had no idea what any of them were like, but when you had already burnt bridges with nearly everyone outside of the detention club, you needed to keep your options open for new prospects. Even if school life sucked, there was always a chance it would turn around. Probably. Maybe. Not likely.

This created a bit of a dilemma. It was lunch time, and of course Suki was first to the food court. She could stay here and see if some new face showed up, or she could try to visit their classroom. It wasn’t unheard of for students to eat their lunches in their classrooms. The roof was also a possibility, but not for normal girls. Going to the roof level was forbidden in most schools, and it was crazy how many school dramas featured scenes in such a location. Of course that hadn’t stopped Suki from eating up there in the past, but she always had to do so alone. Tangent aside, it would be her luck to visit the classroom of said girls and miss them because they decided to go to the cafeteria to eat with their new friends. and she could miss Tsubomi. Not a great plan.

With a groan, Suki sunk into a chair and started to unbox her lunch. At the very least, she could be sure that Roche and Shuuko would be eating with each other and wouldn’t harass her too much. But ideally, Roche would eat out by the track or something without gracing the cafeteria.

---

It was lunchtime, and Shuuko had just left her classroom.

Her selves had not been feeling at peace since that happened, but she had to do her best to seem normal in front of the rest of the students. Her personal imbalance would rob her of her focus at the strangest times, such as now when her selves could scarcely decide what to do next. It was in this confusion that Shuuko ran into someone. It was nothing serious. A student had suddenly stopped and Shuuko hadn’t put on the breaks fast enough. Both of them had managed to keep their balance, but it felt horrible that it happened at all. Because it shouldn’t have happened.

”Um…” Shuuko took a look at the student she had collided with. It was Misoka. It was easy to recognize the popular girl. They had never spoken, but it was hard not to remember someone with so many accolades. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cut you off! I’m glad you’re alright.” She looked to the ground, but nothing had been dropped. Though there was something off in her appearance. Someone who was revered for their abilities and beauty usually had a glamor about them, but this girl looked tarnished. Her uniform was less than tidy, and there was dirt under her long, slender nails. ”Ah, I don’t mean to pry, but Takeko mentioned that you looked a little agitated recently. I think she’s worried about you.” Takeko was someone from Shuuko’s homeroom classes. They spoke infrequently, and were an acquaintance at best. She couldn’t even remember what she looked like. ”Is something bothering you?”

---

As much as Nyxia would love to be shooting up miseria,there was nothing to shoot. Not only that, but Norika couldn’t leave her home at this hour. There were too many servants that could enter her room, and her parents would notice she wasn’t there.

If only the view from her window could have been better. It faced the road and was lined with the cars of every servant who worked at the household. But the cars weren’t even that interesting. They were all new cars with the exact same model with the exact same white paint job. Her parents were obsessed with the color white, so they were likely gifts or Christmas bonuses for their hard work. But it looked so ugly and redundant from her room, and they were always there, every day, without fail.

Which was what made the black truck coming down the driveway so unusual. It was old, worn out, and had a diesel engine that rumbled unapologetically. It was a gigantic middle finger to prissy electric cars that were parked nearby. Norika’s home was too far out of the way to reach on foot, but most guests would arrive in a white car or by bicycle. It was rare for someone to bring their own vehicle.

Who stepped out of the truck was just as unexpected as the truck itself. The man’s outfit was probably more expensive than his truck, which was not saying much. His suit had just come out of a heat press this morning, and his shoes had been freshly waxed. His tie wasn’t tucked under his dress shirt, and his shades were trying to keep his hair out of his eyes. His right thumb was looped inside his pocket, and his left hand swung at his side as her approached the door.

After ringing the doorbell, he took a step back and waited. He reached inside his suit to grab a pack of cigarettes and popped one out with his thumb. He was about to chomp down on it when he noticed Norika through the window. He slid the cigarette back into the carton and looked back at her. It was difficult to read anyone’s thoughts, but harder still when they wore shades.

Battle Toyale — Christmas Rumble!

@Alucroas Technically Forge was the "next post" as of my last OOC post that you have responded to with a post.

Historically, @Pickled Piper seems like a quicker poster. They've been logging in pretty frequently until just a day before Forge's post, so they may not be aware that they're up to post yet. With any luck they just needed to be AFK for a while and will be back in time. We'll know as things progress, my scaly acid filled friend.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"For some reason the discord crew thinks now would be a good time for me to engage everyone in a group hug. Clearly they don’t know me that well. I don’t want to get shot by a deathray.”

— Suki Oyama

No matter how much Suki spoke with Tsubomi, it didn’t seem like anything she said got any kind of reaction out of her. Even waving her hand in front of the lethargic girl’s face did little. The delinquent sighed and folded her arms. "We need to find a-” Suki almost said “cure” until she remembered how useful it was to have a partner like Tsubomi. Yes, it would be beneficial to be able to turn her emotions on and off, but not outright leave her with them. Giving her emotions permanently would effectively kill the Tsubomi she knew, and it wasn’t like she was suffering much. At least, she didn’t seem to be suffering. It did suck that she was becoming more and more withdrawn from everything. It was unusual that she could notice this in a supposedly apathetic girl, Suki thought.

With her conversation with Tsubomi going nowhere, her attention drifted over to Roche. It seemed like all the rulekeeper had been doing recently was feeling sorry for herself. The beach thing was only a month or so ago, and now a spat with Rei had sent her into another downward spiral. The surprise? She was actually getting support. And not just a little bit either. Tsubomi had decided to work her magic on Roche’s emo ass, despite not having the strength to answer Suki’s questions. The sarcastic Kiyo was able to set her bullshit aside long enough to say a few encouraging words. Shuuko snapped out of her trance just to dive into Roche’s lap like a jealous lover. Even Nyxia, who she was pretty sure didn’t care for anyone, was able to find a few words in a rant about Rei that were definitely intended as a compliment. And of course, such a lovely exchange of affection for Roche wasn’t complete without her throwing a snide comment Suki’s way.

Meanwhile, what were Suki’s prospects? Roche was a no-go out of principle. Shuuko dropped nine points and Suki could never look at her the same again. Nyxia probably still hated her more than Rei, which was impressive given that all she had ever done was exactly what Nyxia wanted. Kiyo had already friendzoned her and wanted to be sisters. The boring sort of sisters that didn’t do taboo things together. And then there was Tsubomi, at which point Suki might as well start making out with her body pillow again. The other members didn’t matter because they were either in a relationship or hadn’t been around.

"Riiiiiiigggggghhhhhhhhhhhttttttttt…” Suki played with the lid on her zippo lighter while walking towards the door. "Welp, it doesn’t sound like Boss Baby is going to be here today, but it does sound like we’re going to go hunting tomorrow, which is what everyone wanted right? I don’t think we need to spend any more time here. Maybe then we can show Boss Baby how cool Roach is and get her that validation that she needs.” She laughed. "WEW! I think I’m going to treat myself today. I’m going to put some fresh underwear on instead of turning these bad boys inside out.” Once Suki got past the threshold of the door, she slouched, stuck a cigarette in her mouth, and power walked down the hallway.

She didn’t need them, and she had always knew that. Suki deserved something better than some selfish dark magical girlfriend. With the Gems infringing on their turf, there would be plenty of opportunities to get that ten out of ten light girlfriend that she always dreamed of having. She blew some carcinogenic smoke into the air before leaving school.

---

“That’s not how you do subtle foreshadowing, Suki.”

— Rei Ishiko

Rei and Willow were walking down a sidewalk. They didn’t talk, but Rei preferred it that way. Willow was the one person she never had to explain herself to. That didn’t mean she wasn’t prone to doing some very strange things, but it was easy to overlook her faults when she overlooked hers.

One of the pros of having a quiet walking partner was that you could focus on your surroundings. Above them, a high tech heroine soared overhead with a beat up cardboard box. Willow hadn’t noticed, and Rei flicked her eyes away from the sky before she could get noticed herself. It didn’t take the magical girl long to disappear behind a row of buildings.

In the past, Rei might have called in the rule keeper to notify them of the trespassing light girl, but there was no need. Roache said she would take care of everything, so she wasn’t going to worry about it. After all, seeing how the Detention club dealt with a surprise like this would be more interesting if she didn’t tell them about it. Calling up Roache would have been a hassle anyway.

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

”Finally, a boss character that's not weaker after you recruit them.”

— Mac Penny Asimov

While Mac’s parameters closely matched or exceeded Penny’s, and despite Penny never ever finding a non-magical girl target she couldn’t bust through like the kool aid man, the walls of Wonderland’s military depot seemed to be the one thing that was too strong to breach. She thought for sure that between her physical strength and gravity manipulation that she should have been able to tear through a simple metal wall. Was it reinforced? Not enough for Rachel the Righteous-hearted to be kept out apparently. With what appeared to be a fairly normal attack, she ripped right through it.

Mac couldn’t help but feel a little let down by this. It wasn’t that she couldn’t destroy a simple wall. Obviously she had a lot of value outside of that. But seeing the difference between her power and Rachel’s reminded her of something she had learned during the rave. Something that most other magical girls and their patrons were not privy to. Rachel was actually stronger than all of the cast combined. That had likely changed over time, but it didn’t change the fact that everyone present only possessed a small fraction of her power. She found herself joining in the Mad Hatter’s frustration. While this was probably the single biggest character moment for Alicia over her entire time in this reality plenum, everything was back to being a member waving contest where the grand magistrate’s patron champions ruled with their-

She sheathed the sword, and the madness dissipated.

The magical girls present were obliterating the drones so thoroughly that there was hardly a reason to get involved. But there was no point in breaking character here. The iron queen flew into action and dispatched whatever drone she could get her hands on.

She noticed Alicia giving her a weird look out of the corner of her eye. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say she doubted her disguise. But there shouldn’t have been a reason to doubt because it should have been evident she wasn’t Penny. They had all been in a big, boring, and long group huddle where it was explicitly said that Penny would be attending a talk or something. It was possible Alicia had forgotten this, but that would be a little embarrassing. More importantly, did that mean that Alicia sent Mac loose because she didn’t realize she was “Ashley” in disguise? Ashley’s absence and Penny’s presence would have made it evident to herself what was going on, even if they had not explicitly mentioned it. Alicia must have been pretty amped up. But perhaps Mac was reading too much into it. Maybe she just looked like that because she expected more out of someone who took on such an ambitious persona. Thinking it was the former was hilarious, but she’d outwardly pretend it was the latter to spare Alicia’s ego.

”It was stronger than I thought.” She nodded at the wall. Then Alicia mentioned something about not forgetting about the Hatter, and Mac saw an opportunity to both test Alicia and suggest her own course of action. ”I do not think it would be wise to ignore the Hatter.” She continued to move in her intended direction, calling over her shoulder to the sock wearing magical girl. ”If the eggs are so important, he will likely position himself between us and them.” Mac could try looking again, but it felt risky to do that for some reason. What were those feelings of inadequacy she had felt? ”We also mustn't forget what happened at Justine’s castle. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how all of those servants we killed were innocent magical girls that were bent to her will. The Queen of hearts likes playing with mind control too, and we can’t assume he’s willingly working against us. I'm going for the hatter, and I have no intention of killing him.”

It was a little tricky to fight and talk at the same time, but Mac was a professional. She wasn’t a hammer that could break steel, but an observant eye that could consider many possibilities. That was what she could bring to her team.

Symphony on High

Alright, PR upgrade status in 3, 2, 1...

@Ponn Gemini wanted to take out both behemoths, but they failed to take out even one. Maybe the doctor would have seen fit to demote Ashley, but she's working overtime right now so, you know, Ashley seems to be safe. Well, her rank is safe anyway. Perhaps fortune will smile upon her tommorow.

@Majoraa Finn went AWOL. That's not really something anyone smiles on, so his PR is going to drop down to bronze and, well, he's not going to count as a Gemini agent anymore. But I'll update that later. Like clockwork, perhaps.

@The World Billy was impressed with Marrie's stupidity bravery, and that she had enough grit to stay on her mission even as Crazy Train took to the skies. Even Raphael couldn't stay mad and made sure to sing her praises. This has caused Marrie's work to be valued higher within the Freelance community, and so she has attained a gold ranked PR. Hopefully she won't fog it all up later.

@Nakushita It's very likely that things would have ended differently without Himiko's sacrifice. But when the chips were down, she did what had to be done. The Freelancers will remember the time she finally broke even for a long time, but the dead cannot earn a wage. You may give your new character a silver PR as part of a Gemini recruitment program if you wish.

@TaintedMushroom Asher was bold at the start of the operation, but when the chips were down, the flame of ambition went out. But it's criminal that he's still at bronze, so let's get his PR up to silver. Raphael was impressed with him certainly.

@VertigoCiri can't catch a break. While she spends far too much time complaining about her proximity to other enemies, she did go toe to toe with Regina and didn't burn up totally. Maverick's mission was also completed, and she got a promotion. Ciri's potential is starting to register in everyone's minds.

@Kero Noah deserves a trophy for somehow managing to try harder than Marrie. She used a bit too much mana in the first leg of the operation, but even being just on fumes, she attempted to ride Crazy Train through the clouds while a dragon and angry rocket lady followed her. She's earned her keep, and Raphael's glowing review of her abilities has earned her a silver PR.

And lastly...

Make Some Friends You Losers!

You can't complain about the difficulty of the operation if you're going to go into it under equipped! A Backup is a free melody that you can use at any time. It might not seem like a lot, but having a melody in your pocket that can have notes you normally can't command is a really good thing. And you know what else? Everyone who has one may upgrade to silver, or make a new one that is silver. Discuss things OOC. It can be fun to get a powerup from another player or an NPC and then explain how you got it later. Your next operation has some truly sadistic opposition coming your way, so I hope you take me seriously.

Also I think only 2-3 of you have finished your upgrades, so make sure those come through too.