BrokenPromise

Symphony of Espers

...Since everyone gets all the cast notes for free....

@ERode

Well, not all the cast notes. The ones associated with a higher quality genre can't be used. You can't use gold projectile with a silver genre as an example. Otherwise that is how we like to see them formatted.

Symphony of Espers

The OOC will have instructions as well as a character sheet template. It's already made, but I'd like to wait 24 hours or so for any other interested parties to show interest. There will also be example characters that you can use to get a feel for how stuff should/can be written out.

Symphony of Espers

Erode got it. The idea is that you can make a wide variety of melodies from the limited number of notes your esper has.

Also, I'm happy to see we're getting some interest after just three hours! I'll let this ride for a day or so before setting up the OOC. If you guys have any other comments or questions, Erode or I will be around.

Symphony of Espers

@ERode Ayyyyy, co GM!

@FamishedPants Can't wait for you to app Dan Eagleman for this.

@Vocab Thanks for the help with the Cost calculator, even if I did all the typing and you just found tutorials. *face pants*

@Majoras End Putting this up today was partially your idea, you get a mention too!

@Crusader Lord You post funny memes, so you're getting a poke.

@Rune_Alchemist I know you're not joining, but here it is in the flesh!

Symphony of Espers

music

Doctrine of Combat Supremacy

_{A google DOC that contains information on how to create glamors, melodies, as well as how other aspects of the RP works. It's a handbook for everything Synphony of Espers related!}

Pax Septimus Chronicle

_{Contains a brief synopsis of the RP’s “chapters” as well as each individual post.}

Melody Cost Calculator

_{Because math can be hard sometimes.}

Of course I believe the world has good and evil in it. But I do not believe that individuals have the power to display that particular dichotomy. A father providing for his family? A thief stealing to survive? Friends maintaining a healthy relationship? A spouse cheating on their mate? These are all people doing what’s in their best interest. I would even go as far as saying a serial killer isn’t evil. They’re just deranged, and the “hero” who stops them is protecting their interests.

But when an individual adopts a powerful idea? One strong enough to bring a group of people together? Now you have the power to do good and evil. The power of a god.

~Veronica

Symphony of Espers (SoE) Is a supernatural RP that takes inspiration from ”darker” superhero and magical girl genres such as Madoka Magica, Yuki Yuna is a Hero, Invincible, Watchman, Kingdom Come, and several others.

In this roleplay you play a group of individuals known as espers: powerful wielders of magical artifacts who do battle with even more powerful monsters, other espers, and sometimes criminals. An espers magic is not that of a crusty old mage. Their physical prowess is that of peak humans, and some go far beyond.

The balance of power in Pax Septimus has been knocked off it's scales, and now factions of espers are vying for control over the floundering city. But while the factions squabble amongst themselves, something much bigger is about to make its grand entrance...

The RP takes place in a fictional version of our world. While it looks mundane to most people, there are supernatural forces and energies that hide just out of sight. Monsters, Espers, and everything in between often try to operate away from prying eyes.

Espers are not born with their powers. They are drawn to areas that have a heavy concentration of mana. It is in these places that they will locate a grimoire; a magical artifact that lets them use glamours. These glamours are what give them special powers. They can change their appearance, fortify their strength, grant them weapons, let them use spells, and possibly other supernatural powers. It still isn't clear if espers are a result of a bloodline, a DNA mutation, or simply the grimoires themselves calling out to their chosen warior.

As soon as an Esper picks up their grimoire, their lives are changed forever. The young can imitate their favorite characters, the old can return to a prime they never had, and all can become heroes. But more than that, they become members of the supernatural world.

The espers are the star of the show, and come from many walks of life. The rich, poor, young and old are all capable of becoming espers. Espers often have to adjust their lives accordingly to make time for their new responsibilities. Most switch their jobs to monster hunting, but they still have connections to the mundane world. They must keep up appearances with their friends and family, spouses and children.

But espers aren’t alone. While espers are chosen by fate to wield great power, the magi have constructed their own artifacts to wield a different type of magic. These fellows are the ones more reminiscent of crusty old wizards.

Even on the less magical side, there are operators and suppliers that work to aid espers in a number of different ways. Espers may be the soldiers in the war against monsters, but they are backed by others who help maintain their equipment, training, quality of life, reputation, and a number of other conveniences.

Pax Septimus is a city located in north America somewhere in the middle of the east coast. During frontier era America there were many wealthy families who had moved in from England and/or Canada and lived there while the frontier continued to push into the west. With the harbor nearby, it became a hub for trade and still is today. It was a nasty place for slaves to live before the revolution, and during the 20-40's, more blood was shed when a mafia moved into the city. Pax Septimus is cursed; a city founded on blood.

Of course modern Pax Septimus does its best to not look that way. Its population density ranges well into the millions. The center of Pax is a bustling metropolis with a handful of skyscrapers, while the surrounding city is made up of much smaller buildings. There’s even a historic district where the art deco architecture has been maintained. Quite a few tourists stop by just to see it.

Sadly, like any densely populated area, there’s a fair bit of crime. The cursed city has yet to sate it’s appetite for blood.

Magic is a largely unknown thing. Magi have only recently been able to study it thanks to advancements in technology. There’s still so much they don’t know about it. Mostly what they have is an idea about magic called “memory theory.”

Memory theory states that mana is made up of memories. Mana is made in the brain while a human is alive and is released upon their death. There was some speculation that mana might have been proof that human souls exist, but this was later disproved when the levels of mana in people with forms of memory impairment made less mana over the course of their lives.

The more mana that’s in our atmosphere, the more likely it is for supernatural events to happen. This means more monsters, but also more espers to fight them. During the dark ages, there was barely enough mana to sustain more than a handful of espers at a time. But now with the world’s record population, there are espers wherever there are people.

Another odd thing about mana is that it can’t be consumed by anything but monsters. While an espers grimoire uses mana to activate, that mana temporarily changes form before returning to normal. This is a bit of a problem, as it means that killing off monsters before they can feed enough prompts more and stronger monsters to show up. Yet letting them feed also increases the chance that they will cause a catastrophe and generate even more mana. Quite the conundrum.

Monsters are not a product of our world. They come from another dimension called the elemental chaos. It’s not clear if the elemental chaos is a single world or many. No one who has entered the elemental chaos has lived to tell the tale, and those few who have witnessed monsters enter our world have seen a glimpse of it through the portals they use. Burning glaciers, electrostatic smoke, and floating lava are all anomalies that have been observed. The more religious scholars believe the elemental chaos to be hell, but that would not explain the glimpses of more tranquil scenery. Floating islands and other pleasant, yet surreal vistas also make up the elemental chaos.

Monsters come to our world to feed on the ever growing supply of mana. But most of the time this is merely the start of a vicious cycle. While all humans release mana when they die, they release far more when they are feeling negative emotions. Monsters cause tragedies so that more mana can be harvested. This excess of mana causes even more, and stronger monsters to show up, who continue to expedite the process. These eldritch creatures remain hidden and subtly spread despair. They are bearers of plagues, wars, and tragedies. The less patient ones might be content to start a mass shooting by driving someone mad, while the more careful and methodical ones will hold out for something much bigger. There are a few that are harmless, but many would not risk sparing them.

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, from giant kaiju to small rodents. While some have a humanoid appearance, they are different enough to never be mistaken for one. While some use magic to take the appearance of humans, their true forms have oddly colored skin or are too big to be real. It is not uncommon for them to have human level intelligence, but many monsters are little more than thralls or pets, willing to attack at their master’s command.

Perhaps the most disheartening thing about the monsters is their near immunity to physical harm and how their attacks rip through the most advanced armors available. This is why espers are dispatched to deal with monsters, as they are one of the few things that are able to harm them and resist their attacks.

As the case usually is with monsters, the danger to the public at large is often indirect. A monster will seldom try to personally execute a group of people. They will drive people mad, spread disease, cause accidents, and other heinous things.

The presence of monsters in an area can also lead to gangs, cultists, and even the mafia showing up in an area. Crime rates also tend to soar, as well as the presence of mania in the general populace. Sometimes it gets so bad that the local police force can’t handle it, and espers are asked to assist with the cleanup.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the monster conundrum. Kill them, and the growing mana supply invites more monsters. Spare them, and invite despair into the world.

Should the world’s mana levels get too high, it could attract something to this world that even the espers aren’t equipped to fight: an eldritch horror.

All espers in SoE serve one of three factions. Depending on who your esper serves depends on their view of the monster problem as well as who their allies are.

G.E.M.I.N.I. stands for “Government Esper and Monster Intelligence and Neutralization Initiative,” and is North America’s government run esper unit. It’s their job to slay monsters wherever they hide, as well as learn what they can about supernatural phenomenon like other espers and the elemental chaos. The US believes that the eradication of all monsters is the only sensible option, and that advancements in technology will eventually allow them to manage the growing mana problem. They are sworn enemies of Mavrick Alternative, and will attack espers that are known to be from that faction on sight.

Agents tend to wear darker colors. Usually formal outfits, but sometimes something closer to a military uniform. Their clothing is neat and tidy, as their kind are trained and very disciplined.

The head of the initiative isn’t really known, but Veronica is an up and coming researcher who’s been put in direct control of all GEMINI agents operating in Pax Septimus. Espers working under her can expect to frequently go out of their way to eliminate monsters and collect samples for her research. Occasionally she will dispatch her assistant “Binky” to do work too fine for a normal esper’s hands.

Maverick Alternative has been labeled by the government as a terrorist organisation, but they choose to view themselves as pragmatic heroes of the new age. They do not have faith in the government’s ideas, viewing GEMINI agents as bullies at best and murderers at worst. Rather than waiting for a scientific solution to present itself, The mavericks have faith in an alternative to killing every monster in sight. They instead try to communicate with them. They can’t reason with every monster, and some monsters drive a pretty stiff bargain. But at the end of the day, getting monsters to eat mana actually helps resolve the mana crisis now. It may cost a few human lives, but better than losing all of them.

Mavericks dress like punks, rock stars, gypsies, and other social outcasts. If you feel like an esper would describe their clothing choice as “non-conformist” they are likely a Maverick. Hair gel, hair dye, motorcycles, and showing skin are also clear marks of mavericks.

Heading Maverick Alternative is Billy Black, a larger than life man who’s always wearing a gas mask. He’s also a monster. Needless to say, many view the espers he commands as misguided souls that have simply given into his wicked magics, but the truth is that everyone who serves him does so willingly. That includes the plethora of women he surrounds himself with. But don’t be fooled, his ladies are a very important part of his organization, and one usually oversees any activity the mavericks choose to engage in.

The Freelancers acknowledge the presence of the two other factions, but don’t really participate in their feud. Their feelings about how to best deal with the mana problem are as varied as they are. Freelancers usually focus on keeping the mundane world in check, and only engage monsters if they are being a clear menace. They do not aim to anger either of the other two factions, as they might like to be hired by them at some point. Both GEMINI and Maverick Alternative put out bounties that any freelance esper with the “Shimr” app can readily take on.

Freelancers wear just about everything. There’s no wrong way to dress as a freelancer, though they do tend to avoid dressing up like other factions to avoid getting brutally murdered over a silly misunderstanding.

The freelancers have no leader, or rather their leader is the Shimr app. They ultimately decide who and what they’re going to do on their own. There are some inspirational leaders in the freelance community, but they are more looked at as aspirations or rivals.

The depraved are not a real faction. It is a title given to espers who are marked for death. They have done something so heinous that all the other factions want to kill them.

This usually works by making enemies of the government as well as the mavericks. Once they both put a bounty on your head, it’s only a matter of time before the freelancers are there to collect. Though upsetting the freelancers en mass can also have this effect. Once the freelancers are up in arms over whatever happened, GEMINI and Alternative will both be gunning for you to earn that favor.

Depraved do not live very long. The ones that do only survive because they have frightening powers or are very reclusive.

Every esper has a magical artifact called a grimoire. They aren’t really espers without one. Each one has 4 slots that each grants the esper a special kind of power.

All the details about what a grimoire can and can’t do can be found in the Doctrine of Combat Supremacy, but this offers a quick rundown of what each slot does.

This enables an esper to change their grimoire into a powerful weapon. Almost anything from a sword, to a bow, to a bazooka, even a chain whip. Regardless of what instrument is selected, each one has a situation it performs well in and not so well in. It is up to the esper to decide what type of instrument works best for them.

In addition to becoming sturdier than a normal human, an esper’s style can change their physical form. Some look just different enough to hide their true identities, while others experience far more radical transformations. All espers still have a human shape, but they can look pretty exotic. Some even age up or down!

Genre are what let espers cast spells called melodies. By stringing together magical notes, they can make highly customizable melodies for a variety of different situations.

Leitmotifs are something unique to each esper. They can take almost any shape. The sky’s the limit!

Q: Are there really only the above factions?

A: In Pax Septimus, GEMINI and Maverick Alternative are the two most powerful factions. There are other factions around the world of course. Other countries have their own esper agent programs, and there are other groups of monster sympathizers outside of Pax Septimus. But in the immediate future, none of them really matter as they have no bearing on what's happening in Pax Septimus right now. Other governments have no jurisdiction in America, as an example. If you'd like to play as an other country's agent or a sympathizer that isn't MA, a freelancer would be a good faction to pick. Though most government agents and sympathizers have the same ideas about the mana problem. So you could also pick GEMINI if your agent is working with the local American forces, or MA if your sympathizer is working with a larger group to complete their goal.

Q: Are we going to eventually visit other cities, countries, dimensions, realities, timelines, etc?

A: I've seen a lot of roleplays flounder when they reach too far. It's tempting to want to see how the world works outside a small area. It would be interesting to see how other countries handle the mana problem when they have different ethics than GEMINI, and who doesn't want to explore the elemental chaos? But I've found that when a plot (and it's characters) get spread too thin it's impossible for things to move forward in a satisfying way. If the RP lasts long enough, we probably will see the location of the plot move and other forces get involved. This is 100% not an adventure story though.

Q: Is the "Doctrine of Combat Supremacy" required reading? It looks sorta big...

A: Most of what's written in the DoCs are examples for glamors as well as extensive descriptions of notes that you may or may not make use of. I think that it would be a good idea to read the entire thing at least once, but the most important things to read shouldn't take you very long.

Q: I have a note idea, will you implement it?

A: If you have an idea for a note that helps Espers do something that seems reasonable, I may implement it. Do keep in mind though that notes can be combined into melodies for some fierce combinations, so I'm not looking for compound notes that are just a combination of other notes. There are also some things I refuse to put in the hands of espers, such as the ability to stop time or revive dead people.

If I do take a note idea, do be patient. It needs to be written to the DoCs in such a way that it is easily understood and can't be abused too badly. I also have GM posts to make and am constantly working on bettering things.

Q: When does my character get stronger? Can I change my glamors/notes after character creation?

A: As the RP goes on and I become more confident in its systems, the player characters will be allowed to upgrade or swap out their glamors. Changing glamors prior to advancement is something I won't normally allow. You may swap out notes, provided your character is not out on a mission, in combat, or about to be in combat, and never without the approval of a GM. Ideally though, this will only be done if you don't like how a note behaves in character. Espers shouldn't really have a reason to swap out their notes between fights.

Q: PvP?

A: The goal of the RP is to have espers fight for their cause, which is usually going to pit them against dangerous monsters, cults, the mafia, magi, and other such dangers. However, fights with other espers are also possible, as are fights with player espers. It is not the focus of the RP, but one of the reasons why some of the more complex systems for the RP exist is to establish fair play in PvP situations. players wishing to beat on each other is inevitable.

~ All forms of metagaming, godmodding, and the like are prohibited.

~ Keep OOC drama as low as possible. If you do have a problem, take it to PMs. Should you need the GMs, we frequently log into discord and check our PMs. You’ll have help within 24 hours most of the time.

~ If it's been a week since your last IC post without any word from you, a GM may take control of your character. They may not be there for you to take back if/when you return. To prevent this, please notify a GM if you won't be able to post for an extended period of time, or lose interest in the RP. Common courtesy.

~ You get 1 character. You don’t get another unless that one leaves the RP

~ SoE is a dark roleplay that deals with dark themes, but does so tastefully. Posts are expected to follow Guild guidelines. That means no gratuitous violence, and fade to black where appropriate.

~ If you're going to use colored text anywhere, please use a bright color that doesn't blend in with the background. The gray BG is pretty dark on some screens, and black and dark colors makes it hard to read.

Answers received, thank you. (Topic: Erotic Images and Smut)

Yea, what little money the forum gets from ads comes from google's adsense, which doesn't really like erotic content. So if you plan on doing an X rated RP, it would have to be done in PMs. Though if you hate writing in PMs, maybe you could just fade to black and write the naughty bits in PMs or google docs? That way you would at least do most of your posting on the forum.

As for how far you can go without needing to resort to that, I will say that I've written some "over the clothes" stuff openly that nobody seemed to care about. What few times I've gone beyond that my descriptions were so vague or flowery that nothing interesting was ever revealed. But if you're curious exactly where the line in the sand is drawn, it's a better idea to just tag a mod and then they can talk with their homies. They're a pretty chill group here, and don't actively scour the forum for problems to stop out or suggestions to answer.

@POOHEAD189

You do 1x1 stuff, right? What's your take on all this?

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Spreadsheet Master Race

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

@Luft

Spoilers for the end of Alternative

Lol @ me using spoilers for a game that's 20 years old.

I'm aware those games exist, but I was under the impression they would be more or less different flavors of Extra being that Takeru managed to end muv-luv and return all of the other realities to normal. If that's not the case, I might play them next year. otherwise, I can't say I'm too interested in another slice-of-life harem adventure, even if the characters are really charming. Though I'm sure my boy @FamishedPants will get on that some time.

Also gotta say I'm not too interested in the anime or movie. In the movie's case, I doubt you could do a very good job cramming 30 hours of gameplay into 2-3 hours of movie, if it's even that long. Yea, the fight scenes will look a lot better than those sliding sprites ever did, but I don't see it becoming the definitive version of this particular story. Extra on the other hand would benefit greatly from being animated, as it's more hijinks and slapstick than anything else. But that was the least impressive part of the games for me.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

I posted a list of games I was working through about a year ago, so I thought I'd post an update on it here.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Wow, what a ride! I feel like getting a bit more in depth with this one, but it's still going to be a spoiler free review. In fact, I'll talk about the whole series.

Muv-Luv Alternative is the third instalment in the Muv-luv series, with Extra being the first and Unlimited being the second. Not confusing, right? Anyway, it's hard to give an overview of the plot without entering spoiler territory. The series starts out as a romantic harem comedy set in a modern day Japanese neighborhood, complete with a business tycoon's daughter who is able to vacate and demo a town to build her ultra large mansion right outside the MC's house. But the series transitions into a no-nonsense, dreary alternate reality where the earth is being sieged by the BETA. On the upside, mecha are a thing now.

Yea, it's a wild ride.

Muv-Luv is an early 2000's VN, so it's still recovering from 90's trends. Extra feels more like an episodic harem anime, and is really more an introduction to the characters than the plot. Your main hoes are going to be Sumika; your sweet yet prone-to-punch next-door neighbor, and Meiya; the wealthy yet socially inept import. Joining them is Miki the wanna-be cat girl, Kei the delinquent, and Chizuru is the teacher's pet. There's also Mikoto, a strange survival expert, though he's a guy, so why would you want to romance him? All of the characters are pretty charming. Even your teachers and other minor characters are a welcome site. I can't really think of a character I didn't like. Though I must admit that the lack of a real plot did make Extra a bit more tedious. My friends kept telling me muv-luv as a whole was the best visual novel ever, and I kept waiting for the story to develop into the alien invasion. But few things in Extra are more dramatic than your average harem romance hijinks. Having said that, I did enjoy the side routes a bit more than the main ones. Kei and Chizuru have surprisingly dark backstories, but weren't so heavy that they felt out of place in an otherwise lighthearted VN.

And then there's Unlimited. It's really hard to talk about it without spoiling it, but this is where we are introduced to our main setting. I've seen a few reviews where they praise Muv-luv for its ability to expertly shift genres from the goofy harem modern to the alternate alien apocalypse. I can't say that was my experience. In the first scene of Unlimited, we're treated to a scene that happened near the end of Extra. Then we're just sort of dropped into the BETA apocalypse. Despite the change in setting, the tone does feel eerily similar to Extra in a lot of ways. One example is MC is still going to school, but it's to become a mecha pilot. One of the bigger changes is a lot of the super silly nonsensical stuff doesn't happen anymore. There are still jokes here and there, but they are more grounded and feel like they could happen in reality. Probably the biggest change is that unlike Extra which has branching routes, Unlimited is linear, with your choices only really determining which waifu you're going to end up with in the end. I had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, having alternate paths dedicated to characters you're interested in was really welcome in Extra. On the other, it was also kind of nice to just have all that woven into the main line and not have to hunt for Kei. Seriously Kei, it can be really hard to find the dialog options to see where you're sitting every day. Especially when I need to pick options related to other characters just to have them show up. And I'm suppose to remember where all of these are from previous playthroughs just to trigger your route? WHAT KIND OF SHIT IS THIS?!?!??!

And once you're done with that, you're ready for Alternative.

Calling Extra and Unlimited homework makes them sound a lot more boring than they actually were. But it's the truth. They were homework so that you could properly enjoy Alternative. By this point, Muv-Luv has fully pulled away from being a quirky harem anime and is ready to bring you full on no-nonsense BETA induced despair. And despair is not a word I use lightly with visual novels. Anyone will tell you about the handful of shocking deaths that happen in Alternative, but there's a lot of somber realizations that also help reinforce how utterly screwed everyone is. After spending several hours following Takeru (MC) as he trained to become a mecha pilot, it's rewarding to see him and everyone else engage with such horrific creatures. It's not all fights with the BETA of course. There's also a decent amount of political intrigue as you're introduced to other nations. There were a few times where the story lapsed into armchair philosophy, which always went on a bit longer than it had to, and there were some sizable info dumps that could have been managed in a more interesting way. But once I got hooked on Alternative, I pretty much played the last 15-20 hours of the game over a weekend. I don't recommend anyone do that, but it shows how much I enjoyed the end of this VN.

And I guess this is the part where people throw up their 10/10 score, and make some comment about how the score should really be higher and how Muv-Luv will never be surpassed ETC ETC, and those are all valid opinions. For me though, I think I'll give it a 9/10. It's a great story, and the only real holes I could poke in it were minor contrivances that could be chalked up to character quirks. The tech used in the game doesn't suffer at all. It's still more advanced than most other VNs I've played, making light use of 3D environments and sprite scaling to make characters appear closer and further away. But this is a 20+ year old game written in different times, and it shows its age a bit. A lot of the info dumping could have been done in a more interesting way. They spend a lot of time talking about how realistic the simulators for mecha training are, yet the writers opted to have instructors explain to Takeru How to best take down each type of BETA and raid a hive. Why not have Takeru experience and deal with this stuff in a simulator? The main route of Extra is also painful to get through if you aren't a fan of harem anime (like me), but is absolutely necessary for Alternative's more emotional moments to hit true. The series is an easy recommendation for anyone who's into VNs.

By the time I was done with those, I think I had 14-16 hours invested in Extra and Unlimited combined. Mind you that I cleared every route in Extra (struggling a bit to find Kei) and just did Unlimited once. My clear time for a single play of Alternative is about 30 hours. So it's quite a bit longer than the previous titles.

SYNTHETIK: I beat it via multiplayer, which was a pretty rewarding experience. I stand by my original review of the game: If You're done with Hades, it's worth a look.

Gris: Disappointing. I knew it was going to be a pretentious artsy platformer, but I didn't realize the experience was going to be so vapid. It's pretty, but that's it. The puzzles are too simple to be challenging, and are an exercise in tedium most of the time. The theme of grief is really shoved in your face and I doubt anyone could really miss it. Aside from a few well animated scenes, I don't see any reason to pick this one up. It cost as much as a deli sandwich, and somehow I still feel conned.

God Eater 3: I actually went back to playing god eater 2 for a bit, and holy cow, you really overlook all of the quality of life changes they made to the game. God Eater 3 is easily the best in the series, with every improvement imaginable from better camera angles to an upgrade system that makes sense.

The Fruit of Grisaia: I uh, heh. I'm still working on this. Needed to take a bit of a break after muv-luv.

Tales of Berseria: My prediction was right. It's as good as any other "tales of" game, with an amateurish story and fun gameplay. The story does have kind of a sour ending, which was expected but was still disappointing. Though it occasionally goes on sale for cheap, so if you want 50+ hours of JRPG action on your first playthrough for 15 $ or less, might be worth putting on your steam wish list.

Darkest Before the Dawn: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

”This post could use some flashy banners, just like old times.”

I remember when I use to make flashy 1 off banners for posts. What ever happened to those times?

”You quit.”

...

...

...

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Kimble VS Betty

---

At the arena, Kimble was stretching her legs at the side of the pool, readying herself for the upcoming match.

”This Betty girl doesn’t seem that tough!” She boasted to Alicia in the spectator stands as she moved on to stretching her arms.

”So what if she’s also gunning for Justine? That’s not going to make me go easy on her, nope! But I have to commend her for being prepared with her swimsuit.” She clapped her cheeks and took a deep breath before jumping over to the platform.
”I’ve gotten better since my victory over Penny!” She had her hands on her hips, looking proud.
”With my new technique, you’re going to be nothing but dust in the wind!”

Betty was standing at the other end of the oval shaped arena. Overall, the total area was a bit smaller than your typical Keijo island. It did give speedy combatants room to sprint towards each other and put on the brakes before slipping off the edge, but the narrower arena also meant veering off course could lead to an instant ring out.

”Maybe you should save it for Justine. I'm already dust in the wind.” She fell forward onto one hand, like she was doing a one hand push up. ”Of course, you’ll have to catch me first. And dust is pretty hard to catch once it’s airborne.”

"Hmph!" Kimble puffed her cheeks with her arms crossed.

"We're now live at the Keijo dome, with your hosts Dan The Dolphin and Pac-a-fist!" The Lesser Force's voice could be heard from the loudspeakers.
"Betty, one of our new competitors, will have to face against an experienced player with the much-acclaimed feat of beating the Queen of Steel Penny herself, the Highwind Hellion, Kimble! Will we see Kimble's famous Butt Gatling today? I sure hope so!"

Kimble be Lew a raspberry up at a camera.
"That's a spoiler, Dan!"

"Whoopsie!" Dan squeaked.

”Seems someone else has a favorite in this too, huh?” Pac-a-fist rolled her eyes before sloshing her drink around.

"Anyway, it's time to rumble in 3...2...1...And go!"

Something that Betty had been telling herself over and over again was that she would beat Justine at Keijo. It had, admittedly, never occurred to her that there might be someone else out there who was just as determined to face her down. Kimble may have been brainwashed by Justine as well and also wanted some form of catharsis. That was a possibility. But if she wanted it as badly as Betty did, she’d be able to prove it in the ring.

Betty took off like a bullet, taking a semi-crescent-shaped path to Kimble’s position. As she drew closer, she dove onto her hands and launched herself ass first at the twin tailed girl.

Kimble waited until the last moment, and then jumped backwards, over the edge of the platform, before she suddenly jumped again in midair, boosted by her Wind magic; she attempted luring Betty to overextend with her launch and bring herself off the platform.
However, predicting that Betty wouldn't be so easily fooled, she dropped to Betty's front and aimed a couple of quick jabs of her behind.

Kimble had correctly guessed that Betty wasn’t about to launch herself over the side. She had already fired herself at Kimble while she was still standing on the platform. Her reflexes were good enough that she was able to adjust as soon as Kimble jumped off the side. Betty lowered her legs like a pair of landing gear and drove her hands into the island. She slowed to a stop, with her butt pointed straight up in the air like a certain fighting game character. Maneuvering around Betty would be tricky, as she walked like a crab to keep Kimble as close to the edge as possible. Each swing of Kimble’s hips caused her ass to smack into Betty’s posterior.

Kimble grit her teeth as her blows made contact.
"Why do you want to beat Justine anyway?"
She asked as she twirled out of the way to avoid a counter, sliding easily on the platform.
"Did she also mind-whammy you?"

”And she sold me to the Mint afterwards.”

Betty had a pretty lean physique and lacked the curvature that most of the heavyweights had. But while the lines of her body were less impressive, there was less fat and more muscle. That gave her more control and grip for grappling.

Once she picked up on the tempo of Kimble’s thrusts, she dropped her hind below the next incoming strike and clinched one of her tails between her cheeks.

”That’s a starfish grapple!” Pac-a-fist turned to Dan. ”I think?”

"I think so too!" Dan added. "One of the more lethal techniques though it requires extensive buildup in muscle to achieve without injuring one's gluteus."

Betty kicked off the ground with both legs, but kept a firm grip on the island. If Kimble couldn’t escape, she’d be kissing the floor shortly.

Kimble grimaced twice, first with Betty's answer, and again when Betty went for the grapple on the tail causing Kimble to scoff with a blush...Followed by the tail popping off.

The smaller girl smirked deviously.
"Haa!"
Using the distraction of the fake tail to her advantage, Kimble accelerated herself by removing wind resistance from herself, and launched a barrage of attacks with her rear.
"Butt Gatling!"

“And there it is!” Dan commented. “After having Betty fall for her ruse, Kimble’s now using the legendary Butt Gatling, a move so powerful that she actually managed to defeat Penny herself with it! ”

Betty had whiffed her grapple, but at least she did so in such a way that it wasn’t hard to tuck into a roll. She released the island as Kimble’s blows came in. She allowed the attacks to hit and roll her away rather than digging in to maintain her position, Kimble would get to control a bit more ground, but that was fine for now. More interesting was that Betty could feel this girl’s magic working on the wind.

”You like wind too, huh?”

Betty didn’t roll far before driving her heels into the island and kicking herself backwards over Kimble. It looked like Betty might fly clean over the cat girl, but the wind suddenly changed direction and blew her directly into Kimble’s back.

Kimble looked proud at first for having landed her attack, followed by shock. In that moment of staying still, she was hit by Betty using her magic to slam into Kimble, sending her flying.
"Aahh!"
She was about to fall into the water when she swooped up, carried aloft by her winds. However, instead of being angry, her eyes sparkled.
"You're using the same magic as me! That's so cool! That means I won't have to hold back any more!"

”Just hit me with something already!” Betty bit her lip.

She began to spin around the arena, like the spoke of a wheel.
"Taake this!"
As she spun around the platform, she started another barrage, aimed at the very center where Betty was.
"Butt Hurricane!"

“What! A new move from Kimble!” Dan squeaked. “Combining the attacks of the Butt Gatling with her wind-based mobility, Kimble is intending to surround Betty in a swarm of slams!”

If Betty wasn’t fighting for a shot at Justine, she might have been able to be friends with Kimble. She wasn’t really mad at her, and her sudden mood change after Betty confirmed what had happened wasn’t lost on Betty either. She and Betty had many similarities, right down to being a little awkward in public spaces. But it was in spaces like this where they could learn more about each other than they ever could just having a conversation. You can’t lie about your intent in a physical contact sport like Keijo.

It was clear that Kimble possessed a much higher magical aptitude than Betty, but Betty wasn’t convinced that she was also her physical superior too. But being less magical just meant she had to be more creative with what she had access to.

She drove her heel into the island hard enough to break it. The resulting dust and debris allowed Betty to make a sort of barrier in front of herself. It would never hold up to an attack, but it was nearly impossible to see through. Wind users had great spacial awareness due to their mastery over air, but other wind users could usually counter that by moving the wind around themselves in unpredictable ways. This sort of tactic wouldn’t work for Kimble, as she she was flying towards Betty much to fast to hide her approach. But a veil could only keep Betty hidden for so long, as Kimble could probably just use some of her own wind magic to blow the whole thing away.

But that wouldn’t be necessary.

Betty sprinted out of the smoke screen and rolled forward onto her back. She kept a light pocket of air under her body so that the friction from sliding on her back would be non-existent. Meeting Kimble’s barrage of butt swipes was a single ass slide aimed at taking out her ankles.

”Ack! What? How?”

Kimble momentarily stopped her attacks to blow a gust of wind and scatter the dust, only to discover that Betty was no longer in there. She had been apparently been so confident, once again, of trapping Betty in her Hurricane technique that she had slipped out mid-attack and ambushed her, hitting her in the knees and causing her to spin wildly.

“Mayday! Mayday! Kimble’s been hit!” Dan shouted frantically.

”Nooooo-!”

Her scream was cut abrupt by the sound of splashing water.

“And she’s down in the proverbial drink! Betty wins!”

”That was a fast match.” Pac-a-fist raised a hand to her chin. ”Suppose if both combattents are quick, that’s only natural though. Hopefully no one was banking on a rematch between Penny and Kimble. What an upset!”

Betty couldn’t tell if the crowd was cheering in delight, or roaring with distain for the match they had just witnessed. But she didn’t care either way. With a hop, she plunged into the water and swam over to Kimble, who managed to surface some distance away from the float. The adrenaline from fighting someone with the kind of power and skill Kimble held was still present in her body. She wasn’t sure how Kimble would react to being approached by someone who had just denied her a chance at fighting Justine, so she kept her distance.

”Kimble, right?” Even if it felt like sirens were going off in her head, Betty lowered her steely resolve for the moment. ”I wasn’t sure what to expect from our bout. Your magic is strong, and yet-” How to pick her words in such a way that she wouldn’t offend. ”I feel like half way through the fight, your aura changed. You didn’t-” She turned her head sideways. ”You didn’t, let me win, did you?”

Kimble's head surfaced to show only her eyes and nose, and she made bubbles on the surface of the water, looking disappointed yet surprisingly content. When she climbed out and took a yellow towel from Dan, she sighed.
"Well, not entirely," she admitted in a low voice.
"When I made my first attacks, I was sure I'd at least get you to stagger a bit, yet you held your ground. Not even my Butt Gatling fazed you...I think it was the same for Penny."
She first looked sad, but quickly turned it into an annoyed duck face.
"I was stupid. I'm not beating Justine when I'm this weak...But I think you can, Betty."
She managed to smile a bit.
"She's going against Mariette, so there's a good chance you'll face her.”
She held a hand out to Betty, for a handshake.
”And when you do...give her bum a real good whoopin', all right?"

So it was that her first few attacks didn’t do the damage she was expecting. That was understandable. When you can down a colossus like Penny, having some new blood shrug off your first few attacks might seem disheartening. Regardless if it changed the outcome of the fight or not, Betty would have liked for the both of them to fight to their limit. She was unsure if she could beat someone with Kimble’s reputation initially. Had she jumped into the pool to save herself the humiliation of a staggering defeat, she wouldn’t be enjoying the victory she had claimed.

”I don’t think you’re weak, Kimble. Not when you can do so many cool things with wind magic. Is it possible I’m just strong?” She took the cat girl’s hand in her own and gave it a firm shake. ”And my name is not Betty Barton, nay, I am not a member of Crimson Cradle if I don’t give Justine a beating good enough for every mind she’s enslaved, every life she’s ruined, and every innocent she’s hurt!” Then with a loud pop, Kimble’s tail fell out from between Betty’s cheeks. ”Oh! Didn’t realize I was still clinching.” She picked up Kimble’s tail and presented it to her. ”I think you’re cool, Kimble. We should stay in touch, alright?”

Kimble humbly took the tail, cheered up by Betty’s kindness.
”Thanks, Betty. I’ll be rooting for you!” She then smiled widely at her offer.
”For sure! Bye!” She waved to Betty with the tail.

”..."

_{”...I’ll need to wash this…”}

...

...

...

---

I Don't Even Know, Man

---

”Aaaand we’re back in the Keijo Arena! Pac-a-fist here, Commentating alongside Dan the Dolphin!” In an unusual twist of events, Pac-a-fist had taken it upon herself to narrate the intro to this bout.
”Our next fight is taking place on the tower! Unlike the buoyant islands typically seen in Keijo, this one is anchored straight to the floor! Adamantium chains hold it right in place!” She huffed. ”Of course it usually gets broken by rambunctious magical girls, but don’t expect the island to float.” Her smile returned.
”And speaking of broken and floating, our match contains two people who had thought to be lost to time.Tenebra and Elroy!” With a giggle, she hugged Dan from behind. ”You have to announce them! I’m too excited, and I can’t be impartial with Elroy!”

“That’s right!” Dan added, squeaking in surprise Pac’s affectionate gesture. “First up is our first and only male contestant for this tournament, ELROYYY!” Dan could be heard clapping his fins over the loudspeaker.
“While lacking in certain aspects, I’m sure the lad will be compensating with high spirit and good sportsmanship! And hey, I’m sure more than one among our audience will appreciate the diversity!”

”Alrighty!” Erloy strode across the island in his full esper gear. A japanese style kimono rested loosely on his form, and a massive obsidian shield was in his hand. ”Can’t say I’m shocked to be the only man participating. But that mirror is too good a prize to pass up.” He swung the shield over his back, and it transformed into a coat that rested across his shoulders. The rest of his costume had turned into a pair of ankle long swimming pants. They were as tight as a wet suit, so it wasn’t hard to guess the shape of his lower body. His chest was fully exposed, revealing the type of beauty Greek sculptors depicted with their marble statues. ”Hopefully my opponent shows up soon. I know woman take longer to get ready, however…”

“Coming up next is a mystery opponent who had signed in at the last minute,” Dan continued. “An expert in bending reality, she might just twist her opponents into spaghetti...Oh, I think we should have some...yeah, right, TENEBRAAA!”

But Tenebra was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was curled up,hugging her knees on the corridor, her cheek flush and red, almost as if smoke was coming out of her.

"....A...boy. No ...one...told me." She said quivering. "I can't handle that boy…" She gasped as she stole a glance. A single look at the chiseled features had sent her burning. Skin to skin contact was out of question.

Dina was raising an eyebrow, as if trying to coach her. "Well, that was unexpected. Don't girls your age seek these things?" She thought.

"I'm...actually twelve…" She confessed, still refusing to budge.

"Oh dear." said Dina as she tried to pat her. "Guess we will have to forfeit."

And it was then when she realized. What the hell was that yaponski gremlin doing… going in that direction.

"Oi you El Rey, yeah, you, the male teen band boy." said an all too familiar pinkette. "How about you try fighting a real man?"

Dina just facepalmed. Well...that was one solution to forfeit, if they ever accepted it.

”Pink girl?” Elroy tipped his head. After a moment of thought, he shook his head with a smile. ”Man, woman, I don’t turn down a bout with anyone.” Elroy did not know who his opponent was, so of course he didn’t have any objections to a last second switch. ”If you wish to fight, get into position. Just know that I don’t show mercy to anyone, nor do I expect any in return.”

"Hah! You, I like." said Sakura. "Anyway i am substituting the weirdo-chan. I am Sakura and I am a man among men...also a loli now...why did I return my manhood?"

Sakura then assumed a combat stance, ready to take action.

”Ah! So my opponent has been switched!” Elroy chuckled. ”A shame, but I’ll make do. I’m Elroy, the Immortal Volcano. While I may look and act like a man, my opponents liken me to a beast!” Elroy stood in place, maintaining his elegant, yet sturdy posture.

”A sudden change? Well, I guess it’s not against the rules.” Pac-A-Fist slipped back into her seat. ”No trash talking this time? I guess we can start then.”

“Ooh, a last minute tag-in! How exciting” Dan added.

Pac-A-Fist cleared her throat. ”You ain’t from Michigan if you haven’t done this before! Cactus, one! Make that Bread!”

Elroy was in no rush to get to his opponent. He strode across the island with his arms extended to each side. ”We bring most of the same weapons into battle. Perhaps we have similar styles?” His pace started to quicken as he drew closer.

Sakura for the time being closed her eyes briefly, and breathed deep. In and out. In and out. Martial arts had the same root. A self-recognition. Discipline that created a mountain out of a pebble of a time. The search of self. Even if she was now a 9 year old girl. Even if this was a raunchy competition of swimsuits and nothing but blatant fanservice that he had once devoured greedily in a past life of vice. Even if her recent rash actions had alienated herself from a kind girl.

<<”One move at a time. Go beyond limits. Shatter mountains. Reach for the sky. Pierce the heavens.”>> She said in her native tongue, as her eyes opened, a spark of determination that betrayed her actual age, as she remained like a reed.

Rooted, yet fluid.

“Save your breath, boy. The fight’s not won on tongue wagging.”

By this point, Elroy wasn’t too far away. Maybe a second or two from striking distance. ”I meant no offense!” Elroy sighed. ”But if it’s action you desire…” Elroy pulled his lips into a grin. <<”It’s fine to shatter mountains, but you should leave the volcanoes alone!”>>

_{[Self][Push] = 12 | [Remaining MP] = 638}

Elroy performed half a somersault, rolling onto his back before jets of flame erupted from his shoulders. He kept his legs tucked against his chest as he slid across the island towards Sakura’s knees.

“And Elroy starts off with a bang!” Dan commented. “He’s really fired up now, huh?” Pac-a-fist only gazed at the arena with star struck eyes as a response.

Sakura tch’d.

<<Volcanoes are mountains.>> She said, as she manifested an absurd amount of clothing in her wake as she dodged with a jump, further catapulted by the momentum of the cloth creation. <<Eternal Style, Veil Quagmire.>> She mentioned as bows, ribbons and sashes fell in a heap.

“And Sakura counters with an application of her Eternal Style skill, leaving a fabulous trap!”

<<”Typical Japanese man, always oversimplifying.”>> As Elroy approached the heap of clothing, he kicked with both legs and returned to an upright position just on the other side of the cloth heap. <<”By that logic,you’re not really a man, are you?”>> He charged after the retreating girl.. <<”Pink girl!”>> His Japanese wasn’t perfect, but he could be understood. It was hard to tell if he was being mean or not, as his smile only grew as the fight went on.

<<”If you want to be a smart ass, first fix your fortune cookie manner of talking, boy.”>> Sakura did reply as she suddenly ducked under him as she landed, taking advantage of her small frame… and then offered a butt counter.

This is embarrassing as fuck, but better me than the girls! Sakura thought as her small frame targeted something well below the chest.

Elroy’s manly jewels.

There was a hard thump as Sakura’s tush smacked into Elroy’s crotch. ”Hngh!”

”Oh no! Is he-”

“Oof, that’s going to hurt!” Dan winced.

But Elroy recovered quickly. As fast as Sakura was, there would be no scampering away with her torso directly under Elroy.

_{[Self][Push][Damage] = 32 | [Remaining MP] = 606}

A sudden, violent burst of flames blew out of Elroy’s shoulders. He performed the fastest squat in the history of Keijo, with his rear slamming into Sakura’s back.

”Direct hit!” Pac-a-fist coughed into her hand. ”I mean, a counter attack. Nothing too special. Does anyone understand Japanese?” She tapped her fingers together.

“I do!” Dan answered. “But what a brutal squat from Elroy! He must have been to the gym!”

<<”It’s like you said ‘old man,’ tongue wagging doesn’t win the fight.”>> Elroy leaned into his seat, allowing his weight to keep the smaller girl pinned. <<”By the way, this is a contact sport, and if you don’t think I’m wearing a cup, you’d be mistaken.”>> he rapped on his crotch, which made a hollow noise.. <<”But why the hostility? You must want that mirror a whole lot more than I do.”>>

<<”Fucking Ikemen-new trash. All you want is to grope some oppai. Go die.”>> Sakura muttered as she grumbled.

<<Eternal Style: Cloth of Heaven>> said the tiny magical girl, creating a Sash between Elroy and Her. <<Energize!>>

Well, Sakura was never the most scientific savvy guy. Punching rivals rather than doing chemistry books. But she had found something interesting when trying to make use out of her mismatched abilities.

Turns out, static charged clothes were one hell of a shield. A surge would burst from under Elroy, pushing suddenly but just enough for the tiny martial artist to squeeze out. It wasn't for free of course. One of her straps had come undone and she had begun to bruise.

But now, a second sash had appeared, now levitating a certain distance around her, with the occasional crackling of electricity.

“Whoah! Sakura has freed herself from Elroy’s grapple!” Dan interjected. “I don’t know about you Pac, but I’m certainly shocked by such a smart escape!”

”I mean, it was okay...”

Dan rang a bell. “And that’s round one, everybody!”

<<”Hah! Nice!”>> Once Sakura had shifted free, Elroy’s ass came down on the island hard enough to crack it. <<”Hmmm, I won’t say you’re totally wrong with that first statement.”>> Elroy stood up. <<”If I have that mirror, I can remain in this world indefinitely. There’s a lot of people here that simply aren’t around anymore. My friends, people even closer, they’re okay here.”>> He grabbed his jacket and tied it around his hips. <<”So you’ll have to forgive me if I’m fresh out of mercy, pink girl. I’m sure you have your reasons why you want to win too.”>> Elroy folded his arms. <<”Are you sure you don’t want to tell me why you’re competing? I can’t hold a conversation very well when I get serious.”>>

Sakura stopped for a second, and then eyed Elroy. <<"My most sincere apologies. I had judged you a brat. But you are a man on your own, if such a thing is true. Comrades are to be cherished.">> Her gaze trailed towards the entrance, where a blushing mess of Tenebra still stood there. <<"Girl had it rough, after being yanked from the grave, to oppose an ikemen… Can't blame her if she could not even talk.">>

"So, El Rey-san. Let us put our conviction like true men. In our fists."

And then Sakura realized. "Aw shit, nevermind, this is a keijo match and I have this body. Fuck."

”It’s okay, pink girl!” Elroy crossed his arms in front of his chest. ”A smaller caliber bullet pierces deeper.” A surge of power welled up inside Elroy. His flesh, swimsuit, and even his hair seemed to develop hair line cracks that allowed a golden light to shine through.
The bell rang again.
”Round two, FIGHT!”

_{[Self][Heat Resistance][Ignite ] = 32 | [Remaining MP] = 574}

A surge of power welled up inside Elroy. The golden cracks all over his body belched out flames that covered his body. But the flames did not consume him. Instead, the flames seemed to invigorate him.

”He’s on fire!” Pac-a-fist hugged Dan and hopped up and down like a fan girl, with Dan’s nose bopping up and down even as he kept a shocked face.
”I mean-” she suddenly stopped. ”I wonder what he’s going to do next?”

“I think he’s going to go all out now!” Dan pointed with his fin while in Paca’s hold. “There he goes!”

The immortal volcano charged forward. His flames were licking at the air around him.

Sakura frowned. How was she supposed to fight someone who could set themselves on fire? Then she realized that setting himself on fire probably was for show. There was no rule that allowed direct magic damage from a Keijo attack. The sash tightened around Sakura, creating some sort of harness that began to spark and charge electricity.

He could do fire. But she could do lightning. The entire battlefield was bathed in the eerie, yet divine light of plasma as the lightning clothed Sakura very much like Elroy was bathed in flames.

“And now Sakura has covered herself in electricity!” Dan shouted.
“It’s a pyrotechnics show unlike anything I’ve seen before, folks! ”

“No, bullets pierce deeper because of speed.” Sakura said, and with a bout of static became a blue blur. “Gotta go fast.”

Behind Elroy.

To the side of Elroy.

Topside of Elroy.

Butt-diving in Elroy’s head.

Vanishing soon afterwards.

“Ahh, I can’t follow her movements!” Dan squeaked, now hugging Paca back. “I guess I'm too slow, even if I’m a blue mascot!”

”I got that reference!”

Sakura’s theory about Elroy’s flames proved correct, as her tush didn’t suffer a single burn no matter how many times it smacked into him. Her speed was definitely something that Elroy couldn’t match. A volcano was strong, heavy, and belched flames, but it was also immobile. But the “immortal” part of his name was not merely there for show. Elroy was jerked around by Sakura’s attacks, but every bruise she caused slowly shrunk away into nothing under the veil of heat. Death by one-thousand cuts did not seem like a viable strategy, at least not now.

”How about a crowd pleaser, pink girl?”

_{[Touch][Damage X][AOE][Push] = 140 | [Remaining MP] = 434}

Elroy’s fist turned into a glowing molten gauntlet, which he drove into the island where they stood. There was a loud bang as something deep inside the tower broke free. A large crack ran across the top of the platform, one that was wide enough to get one’s fingers inside. He leaned forward with both hands, and gripped the platform. The stands were filled with cheering as Elroy lifted a part of the island over his head, and gave it a shove. It flipped over entirely and sunk into the the depths of the pool.

”Elroy has fragmented the tower! We all knew it was coming!” She pointed at the scene as it unfolded in front of her. ”It seems like he’s acknowledged Sakura’s superior speed, and blew a cheese shaped wedge out of the side of the tower to limit the places where she can hide!”

Dan was hysteric. “Oh, what will these crazy players think of next!”

With just a bit less than half the normal surface area remaining, Elroy turned to look at Sakura. ”We can go smaller, if you’d like.” By this point, the fire that covered Elroy had gone out. But There was a glow around his body that suggested another spell was coming.

It was then when Sakura stopped, in full crane pose. For a brief second she smirked.

“Shatter mountains.”

She said, with aplomb, as she plummeted head first for the pool. Was this a self ring-out? No,it was something else.

Let’s use… water walking ninjutsu.

“Reach for the sky.” She said, as she cruised at surprising speed...so much in fact she was running above the water. Faster and faster. The air and the water seemed to follow the lightning, creating a huge waterspout.

Of course, this had the effect of surrounding Elroy’s platform with water… as well as raising the water level.

Elroy chuckled. ”You old men and your dirty tricks. Anything to avoid a fair fight.” He shaped his hand like a gun and pointed off into the distance. ”Guess I’ll use one of mine.”

_{[Beam][AOE][Push] = 96 | [Remaining MP] = 338}

The tips of Elroy’s fingers glowed red, yellow, then a brilliant white. Sakura was fast, but she still needed to make some pretty routine circled around the pool to raise the water level the way she was. Once Elroy had anticipated her movements, he fired.

While the charge took a few seconds, the projectile hit immediately. Right in front of Sakura’s intended path, a red hot beam of magma had struck the water directly in front of her. The attack itself wouldn’t hit, but it shoved all of the water within five feet of its location in every other direction.

“Shit!” Sakura did say, as the beam seemed to impact her, an explosion of water and lightning seemingly showing that Elroy might have hit home.

“Oh nooo! Sakura!” Dan screamed, and buried his nose in Paca’s embrace. “Tell me when it’s over! I can’t bear to look!”

”G-get your nose out of there!”

Alas, only a partway scorched swimsuit was left, fluttering in the wind. But where was Sakura?

She was riding the winds of said violent confrontation, up and away with another of her Eternal Style sashes.

Thank god I thought of Substitution Ninjutsu She gritted her teeth. She ruefully admitted that her old, more physically intensive kung fu training was not as useful for such a small body, and over time, gradually, she had been more and more convinced to change her martial arts style to suit her speed and hit and run tactics.

She, who had once scoffed ninjutsu and tricks in general as weak, was now having to rely on them. Incognito gave her a low profile, and she was speedy… creating clothes out of nowhere with martial arts reflexes took care of the last part.

Whatever this volcano guy was, cheap tricks wouldn’t hold him for long. Tiredness and cramps were accumulating in her body, as once again activated her lightning enhancement.

“Pierce… the Heavens.” She gritted her teeth, as she plummeted towards Elroy with all the speed and strength she could muster aiming her butt at his head.

If a blow couldn’t penetrate, she would do ten. If ten would not penetrate, she would do a hundred. If a hundred would not do the trick, a thousand would do. No fancy tricks anymore, just sheer raw grit and doggedness, head on.

Fear not the man who practiced a thousand kicks once, but the man who practiced one kick a thousand times.

Of course, given Elroy’s nature, it was more than assured he could feel very little, as she descended butt-twerking like a madwoman.

Yet, there was something else in Sakura’s butt-punches, not even she was doing consciously. She was rhythmically, flawless, attuned to her battle instincts. Like a drum, a drum that was only getting louder and louder inside Elroy’s body.

Resonance. A voice can shatter glass. An otherwise harmless wind can bring down trees and bridges. A drop of water can carve a mountain.

“Oh, she’s alive!” Dan lifted his nose out of Paca’s cleavage as he heard the crowd react to her survival. “Sakura’s still in the game, and going for a high-speed meteor slam!” Pac-a-fist was still reeling from Dan’s last stunt, and had nothing to add.

”There we go!”

Without Elroy’s veil of flames (and a bit because of Sakura’s persistence.) it did seem like the bruises were staying this time. Though Sakura believed that mountains and volcanos were one in the same, volcanos were capable of some movement. Her speed wasn’t so great that Elroy had to just take every blow that Sakura threw at him. She might have been willing to hit him hundreds of times, but could she hold on that long?

”To the last, I grapple with thee!”

_{[Touch][Damage X][AOE][Push] = 140 | [Remaining MP] = 258}

With another devastating punch, the area around them grew even smaller. Two-thirds of the remaining island sunk into the depths, leaving a small space for the two fighters to continue their fight. Maybe a few meters across with some generous rounding.

”There’s hardly anything left of the tower!” Pac-a-fist was leaning a bit too far forward in her seat. ”A solid hit could send anyone into the drink!”

“Hey! You’re blocking the view!” Dan attempted peeking past Paca. “I want to see too!”

With such a small arena left, Elroy stepped into the center and took a swing… anywhere! Sakura was fast enough to keep Elroy guessing, at least.

Sakura was reeling. The onslaught had not worked, and now she probably couldn’t sit in a while. Obviously at this rate cracking this guy’s defenses would be right next to impossible. But a mountain was as good as its footing, and the whole platform was damaged beyond recognition.

Sakura’s electricity began to increase, as the punches became more scarce. Elroy’s hit grazed her. But it was not because she was getting tired. She was saving it up.

The pink warrior jumped way up in the sky, using her sash as a parachute. The energy was now as if someone had turned a really bright light.

Take my flesh, my soul and my tithes…

Strike the unworthy.

“NARUKAMI!”

The pillar of Lightning that was her killing blow erupted from Sakura’s hand, propelling her even further upwards. Had this girl gone mad? She was using a killing blow at Keijo!

Well, she would, if her target was Elroy. The blast would then vaporize the platform under Elroy’s feet, thus ensuring he’d have no footholds remaining. Had he not rampaged by shaving bits of it, probably her killing blow wouldn’t have been able to destroy the remains of it.

The blast cast Elroy from the tower. The tower detonated in spectacular fashion, throwing tower bits and Elroy into the air.

”Well I’ll be…”

He was more thrown away than up. He hadn’t been harmed by the detonation, more thanks to his sturdy form than Sakura’s careful aim.

_{[Self][Push] = 12 | [Remaining MP] = 246}

He could keep himself afloat with his magic however. He didn’t possess flight, but a boost here and there might keep him out of the water.

_{[Self][Push] = 12 | [Remaining MP] = 234}

But even if he could stay dry, it was just a matter of time before he flew out of the arena. This would be a vertical ring out.

_{[Self][Push] = 12 | [Remaining MP] = 222}

Elroy landed gracefully, though well outside the bounds of the arena. He managed to coast between some grand stands and landed on his feet. He had just enough time to slide his hands into his pockets and watch Sakura fall in the distance.

Pac-a-fist took off her head set and placed it on the table in front of herself. She stared out at the battlefield, now nothing more than a pool filled with a few chunks of brimstone.

”…I’ll be right back. Announce the results, please.” She told Dan before excusing herself from the panel.

Sakura, spent from all the fighting, could only for so long… as her grip faltered.

Ah shit, I’m losing consciousness… that much water… not good…

Those were the last thoughts, when she hit the debris-filled water.

Dan’s nose drooped as he was left alone in the commentator booth.
“Oh, umm....” He suddenly switched back to a happy smile, as if he flipped a switch.
“And Sakura wins by a land ringout! Can you believe that? What a match, ladies and gentlemen! Truly kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time, phew!”

Sakura was pulled out by an unknown force, hovering over the battlefield. The silver-haired girl, Tenebra, had come to pull her out. She looked at the unconscious and bleeding Sakura in her arms. How could someone so little have so much confidence in herself?

She would have sworn this more than hot guy was nigh invincible, but she didn’t budge in her determination.

And she had taken her fight to the limit.

Tenebra floated slightly, a tear welling in her eye. “You did good…” She whispered.

…

…

…

”You know, you didn’t have to beat me.” Elroy still had a massive grin on as he leaned against a wall. ”You cost me my future and made a girl cry. That, and now you’ve gotta protect that girl in future rounds too! You’re kind of a bone head, aren’t you, pink girl?”

“My ass is on fire, shut up, pretty boy.” Sakura groaned, as she flailed about, more sore than the all-week martial arts tournament she had attended in her past.

It was then when said ass was further pummeled, when Tenebra became a blushing mess and had another of her meltdowns, dropping the limp body of Sakura on the floor.

“OW! Bitch!” the gremling snarled.

“Hi...I’m Tenebra. I like science and coffee.” She said, almost stammering.

It was then when the Regent made her presence known.

“Happy now, yaponski? You ran amok quite in a way.” The cat lady said, like a tired mother, as she began to apply first aid to Sakura with her magic.

”Well if it isn’t the No Show!” Elroy’s grin somehow got even bigger. If he wasn’t careful, it would be touching the base of his ears. ”Mentioning a bunch of random topics you like when you first meet someone seems like more of a kid thing to do. So I guess you’re way younger than you appear.” He looked back at Sakura. ”And you’re way older. You’d better not be trying to sneak back into school with that body, old man.”

“Eh, eh!?” Tenebra said, still dazed. Honestly, Elroy could say anything at this point, Tenebra would still be smitten.

“She’s still a brat for being sixty, messier Elroy.” Dina sighed. <<”And what’s with her calling her attacks?”>> She let a snip, before Sakura went wide-eyed at Dina.

“You...you speak japanese.” Sakura said, wide eyed.

<<”Know your enemy.”>> Dina said as she propped Sakura to a makeshift barrier stretcher.

“Fucking Neko-ojou-baba.” The foul mouthed pinkette interjected, raising her arm with all her might… and offering a middle finger.

Dina just sighed. “Anyway, messier Elroy… you mentioned being a dimensional traveller, yes? Not the first time I saw one. I do see an alarming trend of them being detached and desperate. Is it that bad?”

Elroy raised an eyebrow. ”Cat tails, I am a gracious loser, but I will not suffer such comments from someone who merely manages Keijo players. Were my sister here, pink girl wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Elroy dismissed Dina with a wave of his hand. ”I simply came here because a portal opened up in front of me. I did not know that worlds like this even existed until a few hours ago.” Elroy pushed himself off the wall, and his eyes lingered on no one in particular. ”Though it was nice to see some old faces. A shame I only have a few hours left, but just knowing they still exist somewhere will have to be enough.” Elroy walked away from the troupe. ”Well fought, pink girl. May your future conquests bring more happiness than tears.”

“I did not really mean to offend you, messier. I do know of people with similar pasts.” Dina would then offer a small bow as salute. “Safe travels, sire.”

It was Sakura who then spoke. “I’ll treat you to a drink in a proper Shinjuku place I know. Sometime.” The pink girl said. “When I figure out how to sneak in to drink sake with this body.”

As if stung by a bee, it was Tenebra who was the one who ran after Elroy. “Quickly, have you got a picture of your sister?”

He turned to face the girl. Elroy looked into Tenebra’s eyes for a moment before sighing. ”Yes, no show. I do.” He opened a wallet and opened it up to a fold out photo album that had a few pictures stashed in it. One of the pictures was of the red headed man standing beside an red headed woman. Like Elroy, her body looked like it had been lovingly sculpted by Greek marble workers. ”Her name is Regina. I was told she was still alive in this world.”

“Okay.” Tenebra said, before focusing for a bit… “Hmmm...Yes! I got it.! I can bring it back if you want it! I got her location!”

The corner of Elroy’s lips curled into a smirk. ”It’s fine, no show. Thanks for the offer, but my sister is still waiting home for me. Even if the Regina of this world misses me, what point is there in meeting her just to be forced apart again? Open up all those old wounds?” Elroy turned away from Tenebra ”Probably should have stayed away for Pac-a-fist’s sake too, but she wished for this. Might as well make the most of it.”

Elroy did not turn around a second time as he left the trope.

“We could get some-” Tenebra began to talk, before Dina put a hand on her shoulder.

“Therese… She’s not your type.” The cat girl said with a stern voice.

“Fucking ikemen…” Protested Sakura as the three went the other direction.