BrokenPromise

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

"When your header’s this big, you don’t have room to include anyone else’s!"

— Chloe Irving

"Boy are you in for a treat!" Chloe led her girlfriend in front of her hidden army. There, filling the space of a football field was an array of blood red skeletons. Because Ruby wasn’t familiar with warhammer 40K, she did not know the name of each unit, but she could tell she was standing in front of a terrifying force. The ones in front were simple skeletons in armor, wielding magical swords, spears, and shields. Behind several rows of them were larger skeletons, easily three times the size of a man. They each had an extra pair of arms, and had either a greatshield and a halberd or a sword in each of their four hands. Further back were even more monstrous abominations, which looked like large animals divorced from anything resembling a man. There were also “Gothizard Harvesters” like the one that was used as a bodyguard at the meeting. Further behind them were rows of trebuchets, but made out of bone and with legs instead of wheels. It definitely looked like an army that an eldritch horror could conjure. "Tada! What do you think? I can answer any questions you might have."

Armies were not really Ruby’s scene. These were things she usually avoided as a Djinn. Wishes people made under those circumstances didn’t tend to turn out well. At least she didn’t really have to worry about those compulsions anymore. As she surveyed the sheer number of creatures, it certainly felt intimidating. She would whistle. ”Wow. These are from your patron, I assume?” It wasn’t really that hard to identify, but she didn’t know all that much about Chloe’s other patron.

"Sort of." She tapped her fingers together. "Without getting too into the weeds, I was supplied with some undead mages that specialize in creating things like this. They’ve been building this little army for a few weeks now, but I added a few of my own touches." A grin crossed Chloe’s face when she thought about the gothizard devastators they had made. The bony abominations that were made from the “penny papers” before all of the Mint research was destroyed. And then there was another surprise, but no point in popping the lid off of that yet.

Not far away, Harmony was standing aside running the numbers and assessing all the units in preparation. She would turn to the two as they approached. ”Ah, good to see you Chloe. I was just making sure your army was in order.”

"I figured as much." Chloe didn’t fully trust Harmony yet. She understood that Harmony was very much for Mint and against the Queen, but she was also a potential competitor in the future. Though something like this couldn’t be fully hidden from the Mint, so she had reluctantly told her about it. Some of Chloe’s other minions were also present, which was the only reason she trusted Harmony wasn’t going to try and turn this to her advantage. She hadn’t told Harmony about the Gothizard Devastators or her surprise. At the very least, she wouldn’t be able to figure out exactly what they were. That was the most important thing. "Any word from the other factions? Is the Tin Princess ready to roll yet?"

Pausing for a moment, Harmony would check up on what systems had some insight to the meeting. ”Not completely sure. I believe she is in another meeting I am not present for. I expect more action to come once that’s finished.” After a couple seconds she shrugged and gave a awkward smile. ”Penrose isn’t the most organized group I imagine.”

"Understatement of the year…" Chloe rolled her eyes. "So! How closely have you been observing my minions? Probably close enough to know they aren’t exactly your average magical girl fodder, right?"

”To a degree. I can’t say I understand a lot about magical creatures like these. It’s like... book smarts. You know a lot of information, but it’s very different in practice.” She would try and explain. Having a load of data dumped into her head didn’t automatically mean she had command of it all. The AI wasn’t really built for that purpose.

"Well! I was just about to explain what this is to Ruby, so you can listen in." She turned away from the AI to look at her girlfriend. ”I don’t think it’s a secret to say that a lot of magical girls have died in Penrose. Sometimes the overcity area, but you know, it’s just… something that kind of happens a lot. Especially if we include the rave." She turned to her armies. ”Nagash works in souls. So many souls. Each of his creations are made by fusing the strongest parts of various souls to bone, and then animating them to be obedient servants. Normally, they would not be terribly powerful. I mean, compared to a magical girl, that is. Even if they are made up of several human souls, souls do have their limits." A smile crossed her face. ”Which is why all of these guys are made from magical and monster girl souls! I hunted everywhere for resurrecting magical girl souls,though the bulk of them came from the rave." Harmony likely knew that the whole fiasco was Chloe’s doing. Ruby hopefully didn’t. Regardless of what was offered, it had always been Chloe’s goal to get her hands on a large sum of monster girl souls and a few ascendancy souls for this very purpose. The cycle of reincarnation would likely cause her creations to break down after a decade or so, but they should be able to do some fighting in this upcoming battle without any issue. "It’s almost poetic, isn’t it? The dead returning to defend Penrose one last time…"

Listening intently, the details didn’t seem to bother the holographic girl all that much. Hard to say exactly why that was, but not having any connection to the magical girls in question probably went a long way. ”Impressive. I don’t imagine that is an easy task.” With more details, she could better identify the essence of souls with her Spirit magic.

Ruby herself had not ever seen anything like these creatures before. Though she could not say she was surprised. Magical girls were magic after all and that power can be used in many different ways. But to Chloe’s observation. ”It does have a poetic note to it.” It still a bit awkward given that Chloe was likely involved with some of these creations. Most were probably unrelated though. ”So what is the plan for them? Will they be with whatever the others are planning, or will they be in another offensive?”

Chloe wrapped her arm around both girls and pulled them into a huddle. "Well, things have been dragging a bit, haven’t they?" She grinned like a shark. "These guys were always going to be a distraction, but if everyone is still twiddling their thumbs then maybe I have to be the point of the spear.”

”Ooh, that sounds fun. What did you have in mind?” To Harmony this sounded like an interesting challenge. Already her mind began to reach out and craft scenarios of how best to move each piece. Not that combat was exactly her strongest area, but enough overlapped that it wasn’t that hard to imagine what could be done.

"I’m just going to start the attack myself!”

Harmony noded along. ”Mhm. And that would divert some of the Queen of Heart’s forces away from where the others will be going.”

Chloe grinned. "Possibly all of it, if the other teams keep stalling.”

Ruby was a little less enthusiastic on the matter, though it would probably take a while longer than she was thinking to attack. ”Shouldn’t we wait until their meeting is done at least? That way we aren’t left without backup or for them to have the chance to start whatever it is they have in mind.”

"Time isn’t on our side, queenie knows as much.” Chloe wrapped her arm around Ruby. "If there’s something that big group huddle we were all in taught me, it was that nothing happens around here until a fight starts. Maybe the meeting pans out, maybe it doesn’t. I don’t see how kicking the hornet’s nest could hurt. Maybe putting wonderland under siege will give our allies room at the negotiation table. Mary likes to work alone, and I’m sure she can adapt to whatever we do.” She winked.

”Okay. Do you need me to do anything specific?” Harmony would look over to Chloe. ”Oh, would you like me to try and predict our success?”

Chloe swung her eyes off of her waifu and onto the digital monster girl. "I think I have everything covered, but sure, calculate our success. I’m curious.”

With a nod, Harmony would direct her processing and magic to foresee the possible outcome of their assault. Her visage would flash and blink as traces of light zip up and down her body. Her eyes would glow bright as she zoned out. ”I see your forces are able to prevent the flanking by Wonderland’s armored forces and capture the army base.” A moment later, she would return to normal and gasp out loud. Recoiling, Harmony would and grasp at Chloe and move in close. ”Y-you should not attack alone.” She would whisper in a hushed, but urgent tone.

"Why is that?” Chloe continued to grin.

Chloe clearly didn’t know what Harmony has seen in her vision. ”I saw your head in front of a castle surrounded by the bones of Nagash’s troops.”

"Really now? My head in front of a castle? And it wasn’t attached?” Chloe held her chin when she looked over the army. "That’s awfully specific. I thought for sure you’d give me a probability. But if I’m doomed to fail, I suppose I shouldn’t lead the army.” She placed a hand on her hip. "I’ll just have to hope that the hekatos are up to leading the army.” She pointed at a necropolis stalker "Sakura! Lead the charge! Do what you were born to do!” The giant skeleton moved to the front of the army. "It’s not like we have much of a choice at this point. The queen is all seeing, so we are forced to attack sooner rather than later.”

”Usually it is data. I think the events are close enough that they are clearer.” She sighs. ”I’m glad it was though. I don’t want to see you killed.”

It was a shame that Chloe hadn’t gotten to know Harmony earlier on. Maybe if she had, she would have been able to involve her more deeply in her machinations. Initially, Chloe was pissed when she realized Harmony was going around acting like her own free agent, but it was starting to seem like that was just a quirk of her being a monster girl rather than some deep seated desire to run everything some day. She wrapped her arm around the girl’s waist and pulled her close. Chloe was shoulder to shoulder with both girls. "With any luck, the others will get here soon.”

Sakura pointed one of its four swords towards wonderland, and the entire army started to move. Extremely disciplined, all possessing the exact same ability and moving as one cohesive unit. Humans could not move with such unison, and even the more monstrous of the ossiarch moved with machine-like precision. Even though each of those creatures had a soul, not one of them was acting with anything more but single minded devotion. Fanatics in everything but name.

"Could you tell Penny that the siege has started? My army got spotted.”

Symphony on High

"Miko are just weeby versions of nuns, you know?"

— Elroy Bates

@Ponn@Majoraa

And why would Elroy talk with Ashley? Each faction had its own slander. Freelancers were a bunch of dumb money grubbing wannabes, Maverick Alternative were monster loving terrorists, and GEMINI was a collection of murderous sociopaths. If this was just a payday for him, then “saving innocents” was just an excuse to see some guts splattered all over the wall.

The Bates brother's shield had a well documented ability to absorb impacts without letting the wielder feel any of it. Ashley was reminded of this when her techno blasts smashed into the shield with no visible change in Elroy's momentum or trajectory. As she had surmised earlier, they would need to get around him if they were going to neutralize him.

Elroy barreled forward like a train himself. Raven took a deep breath and rushed him. But he was hidden behind his shield, which was spewing flames out the side. With a hop, Raven rolled off to the side and fired at Elroy. This wasn’t anyone’s first rodeo. The legendary freelancer shielded the side of his head with his gauntlet, and the bullet rebounded off of Elroy’s fist. She wouldn’t have time to fire again before he rolled a ball of magma at Raven. She hopped out of the way just as it popped into a puddle of lava.

Taking advantage of the opening Raven indirectly provided, Cereza opened fire on Elroy, saving one arrow specifically to shoot a piercing melody at his arm; an attempt to disarm him of his shield. But a sudden twitch of his arm pulled the shield in front of the projectile. While such a melody would pass through most defences, the obsidian esper was exceptional and the projectile stopped at his shield. He pivoted off course from Ashley and slammed into Cereza hard enough to roll her onto her back. Without missing a beat, he lunged for Ashley, leading with his gauntlet.

Meanwhile, Cerise quickly moved to follow after Raven. Ashley had her own shield, she’d be fine without hers. The scarlet haired miko tossed her own melody at Raven, one of crimson light, and one to keep her shielded from Elroy’s attacks for a little while. Though Elroy wasn’t who they had to worry about presently…

A flame appeared on the end of Bobo’s gun, which was now leveled at Raven and Cerise. With a gasp, Raven grabbed Cerise by her collar and hopped back just as the napalm was fired in their direction.

Finn and Mika both had the same idea of taking on Lexi, though while Mika preferred a straightforward approach, Finn placed himself behind her. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth opened once she realised she was surrounded. Finn and Mika swiped at the same time.

Their attacks hit nothing but air.

The nun before them shriveled and waved, like a mirage vanishing in the summer heat. Just as the agents were starting to assess the situation, a projectile flew out of the darkness. It looked like a lamp with four feathered wings. It smashed into Finn’s back and sent him skidding off the edge of the train. The train was only a few feet off the ground, but at the speed it was moving at, the fall would be near fatal to a normal human. Moreover, he wouldn’t be participating in the rest of the operation.

But Mika didn’t care about that. She looked to see where the projectile had come from and noticed the shadows melting off of Lexi in the distance. It was like she had never moved from her spot, provided this too wasn’t some kind of illusion. She renewed her resolve and scuffed her way towards Lexi, weary of what getting hit by her melodies could do.

Meanwhile, the spirits were no longer just orbiting around. Shovel brandishing specters howled before charging the length of the train towards the Gemini agents. They only had a few seconds to act before they were set upon.

Death of the genre

I do sort of understand this point but it is hard to argue with the forum visitor numbers posted for all to see on the front page that has gone down considerably from what I consider the heyday of RPG (and other forums).

It's not as if I can't find RP's if I want to - rather, it is the opposite - but moreso that the amount of fresh blood is diminishing quite heavily.

@Dion

Visitor numbers no longer reflect hidden users or even "guests." I've seen 500+ people roaming casual and that was just a month or so ago. And new people join the forum all the time. I think the bulk of them are less social because that's a lot more interesting on Discord.

Again I see your point, but I used to be a group-RPer only (and even looked down on the gooners in the 1x1 section) and the experience was only different because there was a million RP's back then (granted 50% of them were a variation of (Fandom) in Equestria, but soit). I'd kill for a group RP that works for me but my tastes are no longer satisfied by "Naruto: with a twist" so I do most of my writing on other forums now -- even there, though, the issue is persistent in that group RP's tend to die extremely quickly nowadays compared to before when a bunch of no-life kids sat around writing 5 posts a day. I don't think I look for a GM that has understandable rules, but I look for a GM that can just run the RP in a way where people stick around. It doesn't have to be super well constructed if it's fun and the GM is genuinely involved, which a lot of them don't seem to be (and never were! This is a problem as old as time, but back then you'd just replace it with a different one). That's more of a critique on the GMing styles that seem to be prevalent though, and less about the platform.

@Dion

I feel like group RPs have gotten a lot more original, or at least they haven't diminished as much as the fandoms have. Again, there's no shortage of stuff for me to join here, so I can't relate to your experiences.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Oh hoh! You’re approaching me?"

— Sink Queen

”No no, nothing like that." Sink Queen “reassured” Nyxia when she asked about fighting other Miseria. Moments afterwards, Earthshaker showed up to announce that they weren’t looking for more Miseria to fight, but that she would take more information about the giga miseria. ”I don’t think either of you gets it. I’m not really in the business of helping others. I told you about them for my own amusement, that’s all. But since you two are so polite, how’s this?" She pointed at the sky. ”Once the sun goes down? They get much stronger. So avoid doing that until you get stronger." Sink Queen continued to walk inland until she disappeared from sight.

”Let us go?” Morganite laughed. ”Wuda kicked ur butt if ya kept hurtin’ da hostages on yer ‘sacred ground’. Am just glad yer dun bein’ kinky.”

Pearl had started utilizing her magic to mend the beach goers. She didn’t answer Earthshaker, but it was after she said she didn’t want to fight that she began working on the pedestrians. One by one, they were consumed in a blinding light, only to wake up and stumble to their feet. ”Let’s get the hostages out of here.”

It didn’t take a lot of effort to guide everyone off of the beach. Many of them were delirious, but several of the beach goers had never fallen unconscious, and were happy to guide their friends and family off the beach as fast as possible, as it was no longer safe.

What had once been a fun event with hundreds of people was now an empty wasteland. The beach was naught but cratered sand, and the peer had been obliterated during the pirate miseria invasion. Broken timbers reached out of the ocean like souls drowning in the river Styx, and the dutchmen’s crash site had irreversibly damaged the beach.The bedrock had been cracked wide open and dumped much of the sand back into the ocean. The Hibusa girls had certainly left their mark here.

"Don’t worry guys, I remembered to switch it off the indomitable panda spirit this time.”

— Suki Oyama

It all worked out in the end, huh?

Of course Oros always wanted to come to the beach, but any time she tried to get the group to do something that she wanted to do it tended to blow up in her face, or get shot down instantly. Despite early difficulties, it all sort of worked out in the end. They had gotten stronger, and they even encountered Shatterscape! She wondered why she had been hanging around. Was she backup in case Acid Drop failed in her duties? That sounded more insane that what just happened, and Oros was having a hard enough time believing her eyes.

She stood upright and held Acid drop like an infant. Her arms extended under her armpits. Well, if Nyxia was going to keep having fun, Earthshaker was probably going to entertain her, and it seemed like Shatterscape was going to respect Earthshaker’s authority. That meant that Endless Ecstasy should be having fun too. And what was more Tsubomi-esque than a nap on a hot day?

She found a spot on the beach that hadn’t been cratered and rolled out two towels. She places Tsubomi on one and sat on the other, propping up her tendrils like a parasol. She spotted a clothes catalog in the sand and picked it up. Oros flipped through the pages in a blur, but immediately slowed down when she got to a page with a woman modeling in her underwear.

She drew her cellphone and powered it up to check the time, and was also greeted with Kate’s fake smile in a wedding dress. She sighed before her eyes drifted onto her slumbering partner. She quickly snapped a picture of Tsubomi and went to change her wallpaper. With a few quick swipes, it had been switched over. But Oros wasn’t quite done yet. She scrolled over to Kate’s photo and with two quick swipes, deleted the image off of her phone. A smile crossed her face as she put her phone away and returned to perusing undergarments.

Battle Toyale — Christmas Rumble!

I didn't really plan on posting this late. Here it is anyway.

Arena Application

Kurosame

Black Shark

23 | Female | 11 Ounces | 6” Tall
ABS/PVC Body | | Polycarbonate Weaponry | Weeb Water

Description

A foul ronin who may have watched too much Naruto.

Appearance

She looks very similar to the RONIN Figma figure by Goodsmile/Max Company, with different accessories and a slightly different construction. All of her clothes/accessories are made of various plastics and are designed to snap on via alignment pegs, and aren’t part of the underlying figure. (Specifics are in the part section)

Without such dressings, Kurosame’s frame is painted in a brown body length body suit with a few gray belts here and there.

Unlike the original model, her odachi is sandwiched between two clear pieces of plastic, with some bubbles floating around in it. You can’t be an anime sword woman without a giant sword. (Again, more in parts)

Materials

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)

It’s a durable, rigid plastic. ABS is resistant to many chemicals, including acids, alkalis, and most solvents. It also has a pretty and smooth surface, making it the perfect plastic for toys. The ABS used in Kurosame’s construction is FR-ABS, which is ABS that has been mixed with fire retardant compounds. This raises the melting point to about 500 degrees fahrenheit and makes it so that the ABS cannot catch fire.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

PVC, while durable, is inferior to ABS in terms of strength, hardness, and even heat resistance. However, all of the PVC used on Kurosame has been mixed with a flexible additive, making it behave closer to hard rubber than brittle plastic. It’s flexible but remembers its shape. IT’s used in between a lot of ABS parts to act as a cushion, much like how a knight would wear a gambeson under armor to distribute the force of a blow. Sometimes, it’s better to bend than to break.

Polycarbonate

This material is seriously strong, being over two-hundred times as durable as glass and used in place as bullet proof glass in certain applications. It’s nearly indestructible, has a higher melting point than even FR-ABS, and is very rigid. The only downside is due to its manufacturing process it isn’t easy to manufacture into complex shapes. It also scratches easily, which is partly due to its extreme inflexibility.

Parts

Body

Weight: 10 ounces (Includes all wearable accessories/clothes/armor)
Size: 6" Tall
Material: ABS

Kurosame’s core body is designed similarly to a Figma action figure, only a greater emphasis has been placed on interchangeability of accessories and durability over aesthetics, while preserving articulation. Figmas tend to have a range of motion similar to that of a normal human, with greater flexibility in the upper legs and shoulders thanks to some hinged ball sockets. The wrists and feet are also pin sockets that allow for complete rotation. Some of the additions to Kurosame that makes her different than a normal Figma is that her clothes can be entirely removed. Kurosame’s body has “Barbie doll anatomy” and is painted up to look like she’s wearing a body suit. Her figure also has various alignment holes on her head, arms, legs, hips, and back for accepting various accessories or outfits. Her hair and face are interchangeable accessories and are not part of her core.

Wet Suit

Weight: N/A
Size: N/A
Material: PVC

Kurosame wears a body conforming wet suit. It covers most of her body, save for her head and hands. The wet suit is made of several pieces that are slipped over every part before the joints are joined together, preserving articulation. This does mean that her wet suit has “openings” around all of her joints, but all of these joints are “skirted” and thus difficult to exploit without very precise attacks. The wet suit is only a few millimeters thick and has openings for the alignment holes where her armor fits.

Big Kasa

Weight: N/A
Size: 2.5" wide
Material: ABS & PVC

Kurosame’s hat has a small caged viewing hole that can let her see through it if need be. A layer of PVC on the underside to make it behave like a helmet and dampen blows that would hit Kurosame. There’s a pin in the center of the underside to help it stay on Kurosame’s head.

Warrior’s Hakama

Weight: N/A
Size: N/A
Material: ABS & PVC

The giant skirt-like garb Kurosame’s wears. Two ABS halves that lock together and pin on either side of the ronin’s waist. The Hakama’s many layers are jointed at the waist to allow more mobility for the legs, while still being rigid. There’s a ring of PVC on the inside of the waist to dampen shock to the body, should the Hakama be struck with force. The ribbons and belts are also jointed to avoid snapping off and increasing the realism of some poses.

Kote

Weight: N/A
Size: N/A
Material: ABS & PVC

Kurosame does not wear much armor, as it would interfere with her ability to swim. However, she does wear some arm guards. They go from her forearms to her wrists with only the smallest opening on her inner elbows for flexibility. Like her other armor, the kote is made of ABS plastic with a flexible PVC backing and pegs to hold it to her body.

Water Barrier Odachi

Weight: 1 Ounce
Size: 6” long blade, not including handle
Material: Polycarbonate

A nigh indestructible sword, thanks to the two pieces of Polycarbonate that encase the Odachi on either side. It’s suppose to look like a barrier of water that’s formed around the sword, but it’s turned the Odachi into some broad bladed weapon. The blade has been sharpened as much as a plastic blade can be, with the back half left blunt should the wielder choose to half sword with it.

Water knives

Weight: N/A
Size: A little longer than an inch
Material: Polycarbonate

Two slivers of Polycarbonate that look like little more than glass needles. Kurosame does not keep these on her person.

Stand

Weight: N/A
Size: N/A
Material: ABS

A stand with a three joint boom that is used to hold Kurosame in dynamic poses that would normally put her off balance. The stand is robust enough to hold her about a centimeter off the ground for some cool aerial poses. It is capable of supporting Kurosame from any of her alignment holes. When plugged in, Kurosame can maneuver it as if it were an extra limb. However, she does not keep the stand on her person.

Extra Bobs and Bits

Weight: N/A
Size: N/A
Material: ABS & PVC

Like a Figma action figure, Kurosame comes with two additional faces and four extra pairs of hands, which are not on her person.

Powers

Aqua Lung

Kurosame Is capable of shooting water out of her mouth and manipulating bodies of water near her.

She has a reservoir in her torso that is filled with water. This delivers water to her head, which can then be “spit out” of her mouth like a dollar store squirt gun, a water jet cutter, or somewhere between. She can also focus it into a laxer focused stream or fan it out like a cone. When fully focused, it’s capable of cutting through materials, albeit cutting through harder/thicker materials slower than softer ones. When fanned out, it will not cut at all but has a strong ability to push. Kurosame can choose to ignore the recoil of this ability if she so chooses, as it’s sure to easily move the 11 ounce toy. The water jet’s effective range is 1o inches, after which it’s strength drops off quickly. There is a small valve between her shoulder blades that can be used to fill her chest cavity again.

Kurosame can also do some light water bending, moving water through the air and flinging it around with her mind. Within 50 inches, She can get her water moving fast enough that it hits with the force of an adult man’s punch (Or smack, if the surface area is larger) her intended target. Up to 150 inches, she is capable of “a toddler’s clumsy push” and cannot use her water bending beyond that range. Kurosame cannot bend more than 3 cups of water at any given time.

Hammerspace

You aren’t really a toy based on Japanese cartoons if you’re female and don’t have access to a hammerspace. With this, Kurosame is capable of storing items that she would never be able to carry on her person. It’s effectively a pocket dimension, but might just be her empty display box.

To place something in her hammerspace, all Kurosame needs to do is reach for a space that is hidden from view. Under the rim of her hat, behind her back, even under an opposing arm works. Anything that is in her hammerspace will appear in her hand when she chooses to reveal it. Stashing something in her hammerspace is just as easy. The only limit to what she can stash is it fits inside an 8x6x3 inch space and is something Kurosame is strong enough to hold. She does not need a hand to pull things out of her hammerspace, and can “shake” things free with some effort. Her stand can simply appear in place so long as the alignment hole it’s attached to isn’t directly in her field of view.

Feats

Water Born

Kurosame’s specialty was water based fighting and is no stranger to the depths. She knows how to get the most out of her body when she is under water. She can swim faster than most other toys and has an easier time getting around under water. In addition to this, she can hold her breath for several minutes.

Yokai Anatomy Study

Kurosame has fought various foes, from humans to monsters to magically animated furniture. Her past experience gives her some insight into what her opponents may be capable of.

Personality

Kurosame is a “kuudere.” Non-weebs would describe her as being emotionally detached or too cool to show emotions. She can be kind of sassy towards her opponents and isn’t above going on long rambling monologs about the philosophy of fighting, loving, and the color green. Talking is a free action right?

Bio

Some say she was the daughter of a politician, others a concubine who fled the clutches of her emperor, but nobody really knows who Kurosame was before she took up her title.

What is known is that she was found by her master (Kuroburu, a reknown samurai) and took on her new identity shortly after that. She was raised and trained as a samurai, and he helped her tap into her arcane powers. Her ability to manipulate water was able to aid her in combat, and she was frequently dispatched around rivers and sea side villages to settle disturbances. They started her off on bandits, and as her skills grew, she went on to fight Yokai and other foes that were too disturbing for the average samurai. Anything to honor her liege lord and preserve harmony in his lands.

But the happy times don’t last forever. A long lived liege lord is surrounded by more political intrigue than A Song of Ice and Fire could even serve up. Unfortunately, her liege lord was assassinated and her master ordered all of his samurai to commit seppuku to preserve their honor. Thing is, Kurosame was quite accustom to running away and beating down her problems, so that’s what she set off to do. Going against the wishes of her master was a dishonorable thing to do and she was promptly branded a ronin.

Kurosame could never step foot on land again, so she took to the sea and lived as a pirate. What happens out at sea isn’t truly known by anyone but her crew, but there are plenty of rumors. Some say she married a pirate king and rules over 30,000 pirates with her husband, others say she’s become a shinobi who swims to land to assassinate her targets, only to disappear in the waves once night falls. Others believe she is finding other ways to aquire power so that she can return to land, kill her liege lord’s assassin, and recover her honor. Nobody really knows. Whatever it was, it somehow lead to her becoming a toy.

Symphony on High

”Proud type? Is that your type?”

— Regina Bates

@Vertigo@The World@Nakushita

While Himiko did her best to skate responsibility, and Cirilla summoned a shadow creature too nebulous to be described, it fell on Marrie to act as her team’s face.

Nova flicked some ash off the end of her cigarette. ”You have a dragon, launcher girl, and those two nuts behind you.” Smoke seeped out of the corners of her mouth. The nicotine could be smelled from the far end of the train. ”Don’t think it would be fair if I didn’t assist, you know?”

”I don’t need any help.” Lenore was already walking forward. ”Why don’t you keep the queen safe?”

”Keep me safe…” Regina laughed. ”I’d take on the lot of these guys myself just for a laugh, but this is a job at the end of the day. And Marrie? I’m not a ‘proud type’ or whatever. I’m a thrill seeker. It’s the only reason I fought Highway to Hell with Elroy and myself. You should have been there. I bet you’re curious how we were able to win so easily.” Her body was wreathed in flame. ”But since you weren’t, I’ll reenact the highlight reel!”

Regina sprinted forward, as did Lenore, but both were obstructed when Nova lobbed a plume of smoke over their shoulders. It struck the back of the train and obscured them from view. The Mavericks wouldn’t have much time to set up before they appeared.

Himiko’s hunt for damage by the front of the train didn’t turn up much. There was evidence that the train had been burned in various spots, but no clear indication of what caused them. Hmmmm, what could have done so much fire damage?

Symphony on High

"Sounds like you kids need an attitude adjustment."

— Elroy Bates

@Ponn@Majoraa

Elroy had tried to lighten the mood, but the GEMINI agents remained stiff. Ashley, rather bluntly, stated that they were not the same, painting her own cause as just and Elroy as just another money loving freelancer. It was a stereotype that Elroy should have been plenty used to. Then Finn stood up to spit out some edgy protag dialog, but Elroy erupted into laughter half way through it. He refocused his eyes on Ashley.

"Yes yes, I’m sure you try very hard." His lips curled into a sneer. "Purging curable thralls and slaying innocent monsters is all for the greater good. I’m fortunate gear boy was there, otherwise you’d have killed violin girl and Trisha. For the greater good. His blackened scars started to turn gold. "I’m sure your intel on Holy Roller showed how wicked they really are. There must be tons of footage circulating about such a dangerous behemoth. You’re funded by the US army, and you must have access to tools I could only dream of. Forgive me for my ignorance.“ The air around his shield distorted as it heated up. "Speaking of big paydays, I understand you got a promotion. I didn’t realize GEMINI rewarded failure, but I guess killing a bartender and attempting to kill his daughter is what it takes to climb the company ladder." As small as the event had been, too many people were alive to leak the operation after the fact. The Shadow Wizard Money Gang or Maverick Alternative could have told a friend of a friend. He looked down at Ashley like she was an insect. "You’re right, techno girl, we aren’t the same at all!"

Elroy grabbed a cross shaped pendant from around his neck and held it up to the sky. The specters howled, spun about, and descended towards the back of the train. It would take them a moment to congregate, but the freelancers began their attack immediately.

Lexi pointed her staff into the heavens, and the freelancers pulsed with light. The air around them was filled with a smattering of feathers, and the three of them charged. Elroy brought his shield up in front of himself and howled while the nuns piled in behind him.

"Orion?" There was hardly any time to form a plan, but it was clear Raven was going to follow Ashley’s lead.

Though even without her input, the twins had already moved on the defensive. Cerise stepped up next to Ashley and raised her own shield over the two of them in anticipation, and Cereza aimed to fire her bow at first sight of an opening.

”Betta’ talk quickly, hon! We can’t keep ‘em back forever!”

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

”Nawt da pants! And am nawt talkin’ bout da bite I’m gettin…”

— The Magnificent Morganite

Morganite’s uniform did not have a lot of cloth areas, especially below the waist. But the back of her knee had a small opening that Shatterdscape was able to sink her teeth into. The pinkette’s pupils shrunk and her hair stood up on end.

”Wut da hell?” She shook her leg vigorously. ”Why ya all so kinky? Knock it off!”

Shatterscape held on for as long as she could, but what was the point? Two of her companions appeared to be unconscious, Oros was cradling one of them, and Nixia seemed less interested in fighting and more interested in making smart remarks. No decisive blow was coming. With Shatterscape’s body “reorganized”, Morganite’s shields were free to assist, and one of them swept the large handed girl aside. The knight reached for the bite mark and ran her hand over it.

"Are you okay?” Pearl kept her wand trained on Shatterscape.

”Iz fine.” She hurried over to Pearl and stood in front of her. ”But dat won’t work so well da next time!”

"I wish I was Morganite… Or the beach.”

— Suki Oyama

Oros had wanted to be more than a leash for some retarded beach goers in this fight, but it seemed like everything had been handled okay without her. Aside from Acid Drop, none of the other Hibusal girls looked worse for wear. Even Shatterscape looked like she was dealing with her 2 V 1 alright. All things considered, they turned out alright.

She stroked Acid drop’s head. This wasn’t the first time she had seen her go all out like this, but it happened infrequently enough that Oros never knew when to expect it. She had powered herself up to the point where she was a match for the captain, and nearly defeated him in a single attack.

But this power had a cost. Acid Drop wouldn’t be leaving the house much.

While Oros considered what she should do during her partner’s moment of vulnerability, something came out of the ocean.

"Hello lovelies!"

"It’s me!"

— Sink Queen

Tentacles were not an ideal choice for land travel, largely because they had no solid structure. The few octopuses that had evolved for crawling on land needed to use their suction cups to drag themselves from one shallow pool of water to another. Such a mode of travel would never work on a sandy beach. But magical girls could seldom followed the rules of the conventional world. On land, her tentacles wound together to form a long dress, and she moved as if her dress was hiding a pair of exceptionally long legs.

”You were able to summon a giga miseria." Sink Queen placed her hands on her hips. ”I hadn’t doubted you lot for a second! But now that the beast has been slain, what are you going to do?"

Morganite and Pearl didn’t have a strong reaction to Sink Queen’s presence. They briefly glanced in her direction befor looking back at the Hibusal girls.

Symphony on High

@Vertigo@The World@Nakushita

Trixy tipped her head when Cirilla thanked her. ”Eh? What for?” Though after Marrie jumped, it seemed like she had changed her mind and retracted the statement. ”I don’t get it, I’m so confused…”

The espers didn’t have much difficulty landing on the train’s back. In fact, the muscle and fat-like fibers were a relatively soft thing to fall on. It was warm too, and everyone on board could feel the pulse of a giant heart pumping blood through the train. The train’s ribs felt firmer under foot, but were just as disgusting as the rest of Crazy train. Now it was time to figure out what was causing the behemoth to behave so erratically.

Or it would have been.

The center of the train was struck by a fireball, filling the the air with the scent of cooked hamburgers. The fireball had come from a makeshift hot air balloon. The balloon itself looked like it was made out of tarps and blankets, with an esper shooting a torrent of flame into it. That esper was unmistakably Regina, and the two nuns she was with were Nova and Lenore, who the two freelancers would recognize easily enough.

”Hahahahahahaha!” Regina’s laughter cut through the storm before her balloon slammed into the side of Crazy train. The nuns hopped out and landed on either side of the ruinous meteor, who tumbled to her feet and dusted herself off. ”Oh hey, I know who you are!” Regina pointed at Marrie. ”You’re the sweet summer child that uncovered the whole Hand deal. I guess you still can’t wrap your head around killing monsters, huh? You should have been there when we terminated Highway to Hell.” She chuckled.

Lenore grinned like a shark. Her eye glowed like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm.”I’m just here for a rematch.”

Symphony on High

"Oh shit, it's dat boi."

— Mika Fang

@Ponn@Majoraa

As everyone jumped on the train, Mika stopped for just a moment to look in Binky’s direction. But as soon as Ashley called everyone aboard, she joined the other five espers on top of Peace Train.

The behemoth was massive. Even Mika had difficulty scaling the side of the thing. The wheels were as big as she was, and despite the squadron’s size, all six of them could have stood side by side on top of the train. As soon as everyone had gotten to the top, it started to move again. Binky threw herself off to the side as the train screeched past her.

The robed specters turned to look at the newly arrived. They floated into the air and swirled overhead, hissing at the agents that were here to bring down the train. A minor complication, and an expected one. If they could find Peace Train’s weak point, they could destroy it before it did too much damage.

But another complication would rear its head shortly.

The Train was stopped again. The espers had to struggle to keep their footing, but the train started to move again before long. As it picked up speed, a field of wind pushed back the rain, which soared over head along with the specters. But that wasn’t a complication. The complication had just finished scaling the front of the train, and was flanked by Lexi and Bobo. He dusted himself off and slammed his shield into the top of the train. His red hair waved in the wind like a bonfire, and he pointed at the espers with an outstretched finger. One by one, he called out their names.

"Miko Twins, Cat girl, Gear boy, Spy girl, Techno girl." A grin crossed Elroy’s face. "You aren’t here to stop the holy roller, are you?" He looked at Mika "Heard about what happened at the church. Are you doing okay?"

"I was." Mika fret her brow. Her voice didn’t hide her dissatisfaction with the legendary freelancer. "But since you know what happened, you must also know you’re working with my partner’s murderers."

Elroy’s smile vanished, but he stood his ground. "Hate the employer, not the employees. Sometimes you need to do something that feels wrong because the outcome you want is right." Ashley couldn’t be sure, but she could swear Elroy’s eyes lingered on her for a bit as he said that. "...And protecting this train is right for me. Speaking of protectors, I see why Gear boy is having so much trouble with his love life. He surrounds himself with women wherever he goes!" His grin returned. "Hard to believe you were Pax Septimus’s first folk hero. I thought for sure you’d stop working with the government as soon as you rescued Betty."