FamishedPants

Re: Zero: The High Council

Later gators.

Re: Zero: The High Council

---

At some point, Alistair had retrieved his phone, turned it on, and had been inputting something into it. He was still paying attention, however, and listening to the two young men was beginning to irritate the haughty man. "Really? I'd have thought this week-long getaway might've helped you both get over that pessimistic attitude. You'd both be better off without it. You both did fine aside from tha----"

Alistair then paused suddenly. "Wait, it's only been a week?" he closed his phone.

The realization dawned on him. What felt like months, or year even, had only taken place over the last week? What kind of bullshit was that? All of his suffering, all of his achievements... were made within the past week? He genuinely felt like more significant events happened here in this world than anything he'd ever experienced on Earth. How was that even possible? Truly, it took him by surprise.

Well, no matter. What was important was his decision. Would he return to the life he once had, or stay here? Seemed like a rather obvious choice though. He looked at Sandra. "Do you, or any of those others understand exactly what world I was stolen from? A convenient one, that's what. One with internet and air conditioning, with cars and cellphones! Much less random death and girls who can't appreciate my respectable dancing capabilities, too." he added pointedly.

"Still... I suppose I'll be staying behind."

The obvious answer. Alistair Archibald was a man of his word. He did not intentionally break promises and he always repaid a debt, for not doing so is something only a coward would do. He prided himself in being much more than that sort of being. And with the promises he'd made, he was going to be here too long to return home. He still had that date with Captain Crunch that hopefully would end with his cheeks not being red and his abilities as a dancer not being questioned. He also had to repay Irene for her hospitality. And even the good doc, Donovan, hadn't been forgotten. Though of course the priority here was the promise he made to himself.

"Stopping the High Council is something I can get behind. They're not getting off so easily, not after what they've done." he eagerly awaited the day when they were no more. He couldn't imagine anything giving him more satisfaction.

Alistair intended to hand his phone to someone returning to their world, as it now contained a message that would hopefully provide some closure to his family. Not that he cared that much about them, but it would feel wrong to just let them think he went missing. That would be leaving the wrong impression! Given that he'd never again turn up, they might get wrong idea that he was mugged and killed or some other unfitting death for a man such as he. Naturally, he wasn't returning home and it was HIS choice. He wrote some story about finding his true self by taking a lifelong journey or something. They probably wouldn't buy it, but he'd already written the story and he wasn't going to rewrite it for them.

The reality was that this was just an excuse to send his phone back so he wasn't reminded of how inconvenient this world was in the future, anyways.

Help! My Whole Town Is Stuck In This Fantasy World! (Interest Check)

I am Ferdinand von Aegir.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

S i l l y S h a d e

"...with Chloe, I suppose..."

Samantha Howard

Sil-ly's just too embarrassed to admit the coding for yours truly made it impossible to work up motivation to change the header, but thanks, Chloe~!

Shade

Chloe received possibly the closest thing to an expression of fear Silhouette had ever expressed, at least publicly. As if Silhouette’s very life was in danger, even she could not mask the terror she experienced at the moment. Naturally, this was all in response to Chloe’s threat to not have her over for coffee again. It truly was a frightening thought. At least to Sil.

Shade, however, shook her head in apparent disgust. “Really? It’s coffee! COFFEE! How are you so obsessed with tar-tasting muck?! It’s nast-EEEEEEE!” Another strong, sharp pinch let Shade know she was saying something Silhouette did not like. “Anyways, if we were to set up a date, I’d much rather chat over something a lot more befitting of cute girls like us. Like tea, or juice, or anything that isn’t coffee~!”

Like Chloe, the twins naturally took notice of the dolphin who explained their situation to a degree. They, too, were unsure what the deal with it was, but at least they had some form of idea of what they were doing here. Sil did not look pleased, in contrast to Shade, whose eager looked betrayed she loved the outcome.

SIl worked up the courage to finally speak in a proper tone as she began to answer Chloe. “...actually, it would be best if I met with Vero---” obviously, before she could finish her sentence, Shade answered for her.

“Of course we do, right Sil?” clearly uninterested in actually listening to what her ‘sister’ had to say, Shade continued. “I wonder what sort of stuff they have in there? Hmm~ Hmm~ There’s so much stuff to do, and so many cuties to do it with~ Hey, so are you interested in any event in particular, Chloe?” she asked as they began walking towards the boutique.

“Hmm, does bothering beacon count as an event?” Chloe asked with a giggle. “Since we're not supposed to be fighting, I feel like I could almost get away with murdering them...with my cuteness, of course, eheh!” Chloe walked after Shade, making sure to make sure Sil hadn't decided to make a break for it.

“Hmhm, aside from that though...eeeh, maybe Keijo?” She frowned. “Ah, definitely gonna do a stage show later. I have just the thing in mind.” She grinned at Sil. “Can't really think of much else that interests me. Stuff like surfing, jet skis, aren't really my thing, so I'll probably be socializing, mostly.” Reaching the Boutique, Chloe stepped inside...now, she just needed to wait and find something to surprise Sil with, heh. “What about you, huh? Can't imagine a cute girl like you is gonna pass up on a stage show. Shame we can't do it together.”

Shade laughed as they entered the boutique. “Of course not! I’m not so cruel as to deny everyone here a chance to watch me shine!” Sil rolled her eyes from behind the idol, but Shade did not notice. She was clearly too focused on the thought of performing. “But was there a rule against duets, or possibly groups? I don’t mind sharing a stage with other cuties.” she placed a digit to her lips. “Well, even if that’s the case, there’s other things we could do together too! That Keijo thing sounds fun! And maybe some volleyball, too. Mmm, but sunbathing also would be nice~ Ah, there’s so much to do, I wonder how much time we have to do it all? I hope I can at least get acquainted with a majority of the girls here. It’s hard to do it in Penrose…” Shade’s expression momentarily darkened, but only for a second. She then turned to the girl behind her. “What about you, ‘Sis’?”

Not expecting to be dragged into what she probably believed to be a pointless conversation, she couldn’t answer immediately. She took a moment or two, then forced out an answer. “Umm, well… I’ll just rest and maybe…_{do the water gun fight.”}

“Come again? You gotta speak up! When an idol speaks, the whole world needs to hear it!”

_{“...water gun.”}

“Water gun?” Shade couldn’t hide the shock. Silhouette and her were technically one and the same, but clearly she was unable to predict that answer. It was so… “Childish! What kind of taste do you have? Pfffffffft! Ahaha, how old are you? Thr--EEEEEEE!”

Silhouette pouted after pinching Shade. “...shut it.”

The idol was still laughing. “Thinking about it, that does suit you. Wouldn’t you agree, Chloe?”

“It does!” Chloe laughed brightly in response. “I bet she'd imagine herself as some super secret spy agent trying to take out targets like in those cheesy action films.”

“Haha, yeah, that’d be funny, wouldn’t?” Shade grinned as she gave Sil a nudge with her elbow discreetly. Silhouette almost narrowed her eyes at the idol, but realized the act would serve no purpose, so she remained quiet.

Now in the boutique, Chloe took a quick look around. It had some pretty great stuff here. Pool noodles, sunblock, rentals for surfboards. Maybe she could join the two of them in volleyball or something? Wasn't her thing, but hey, she wasn't one to not meddle where she could.

...was that one of those photo booths?

She flashed the clone a grin. “Hey Shade.” She tilted her head in the direction of it. “You said something about a photo earlier?”

Shade’s elation was evident when her pupils turned into stars. “Yes, yes I did! We should all take some pictures together~!” she immediately pulled Silhouette towards the photo booth, uninterested in anything else the shop may have offered at the present moment. “Hmm, I’d love us all to be in a few, but…” she looked towards Chloe, smiling devilishly. “How about a couple with just the two of us? And Sil can do the same, too~!”

“I nev--”

“Ptooie, you don’t get a say, grouch.”

“...”

Though Silhouette was obviously plotting a way to pay this ‘sister’ of hers back judging by her unpleasant expression, she did remain silent as asked.

“That's a wonderful idea!” Chloe gave Sil a friendly nudge. “Come on, it'll be fun.” Deciding that was temptation enough. Chloe grinned, grabbing the other DMG by the arm. “I call dibs on going with Sil first! We can do ours last after we get Sil, so she doesn't have a chance to run, hehe~”

“W-wait, I--” Silhouette’s protest was cut short by the light shove her ‘sister’ gave her into the photo booth.

“No excuses~!” Shade snapped. “Taking pictures with fans is part of an idol’s job, y’know!”

“But I’m not…” Sil, perhaps realizing that explaining herself was clearly not going to work, sighed. “But why do you even want to take pictures with me? I don’t understand…”

“Tsk, Sil, if you haven't figured it out yet then you're really not as clever as you should be.” Now inside the Photo booth, Chloe looked over a few of the options presented to them. “Mostly because it's fun to bother you.” She giggled. “You do this most adorable blushing thing.”

Of course saying such things caused Sil to redden before she could (and she definitely intended to) fervently deny the claim that she ‘adorably blushed’. “...I don’t see the app--” Silhouette was cut off not by Shade this time, but herself. She couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence, remembering how she felt when she watched Mika back at the graveyard. No, she most certainly could see the appeal. But she couldn’t say she enjoyed being the “Mika” right now. “...Well, if that’s your thing, I suppose it’s alright…” she could do nothing but resign herself to her fate of taking pictures.

That was all Chloe needed as an excuse to bother Sil further. “Eeeh? So you do like this sort of thing?” A rather concerning giggle left her lips as she fiddled with the settings on the booth. “I'm kind of curious as to how red I can make your face, heh.” Before Sil could do anything, Chloe had already pressed the button for the pictures. “Smile and all that!” Just before the first picture would be taken, Chloe would reach over, pull Sil down so their faces were level and smoosh their cheeks together.

The strained, awkward attempt at a smile Silhouette was performing was replaced with a beet-red, embarrassed one as she made skin contact with Chloe. “H-hey, you’re way too close…!” a couple of pictures were taken before she could separate the two of them. “W-what are you thinking? Don’t… invade my space like that…”

“Hey, don’t have all the fun without me~!” Shade chimed from outside the booth.

“Ahaha, personal space is a myth you know.” Chloe laughed. She wasn't about to let Sil get away so easily though. She latched onto Sil's arm, tiptoeing so she could whisper right into her ear. “Aha, besides, we both know you like it, don't you?” She took a quick step back, giggling brightly. “Ah, right. Here I am being too selfish. Have some fun, Shade!~”

Chloe didn’t hear an outright rejection from Silhouette before she suddenly found herself being pulled back into the booth. “The one I want to spend some alone time with is you, silly~” she gave Chloe a look over before grinning. “You are definitely a cute one too. I wouldn’t mind having you in a group with me and a few others, you know. Can you dance?”

“H-huh?” Chloe hadn't expected that. “I thought we were here to bully Sil.” She giggled. Dance, huh? Well she most certainly could...but she wasn't sure if she actually wanted to. She had something she really wanted to do with someone else....but hm. “I can certainly dance. Got an idea for the stage show, huh?”

“We are, we are. She needs to be humbled, that arrogant little devil. But,” Shade’s smile widened. “You’re cute, so I won’t waste an opportunity when it presents itself. An idol like myself needs to strike while the iron’s hot~!” she playfully poked Chloe’s side, then glanced at the options for the booth while Chloe continued speaking. She hadn’t settled on any particular one before Chloe brought up the stage show, but Shade was obviously waiting for that. “Yes, yes~! Naturally, I would love to put on a performance for everyone here. And considering how easy that dolphin...thing, whatever it was, made it sound, it should be easy to set up. That’s why I want to do a group thing while I have the chance. And I’d love for you to be a part of it!” Shade glanced outwards, towards Silhouette. “You and I won’t be the only ones going up on stage, either~”

Heh, so that was her goal. Smirking devilishly, Chloe returned her attention to Shade.“Heh, that sounds great! Sign me up then. A pair of cuties like us need to shine where we can.” Chloe cozyed up next to Shade, grinning brightly. Hm, she'd have to finagle things so she could do two, but that should be fine. She'd just have to put her own plans for later. “...We should totally put Sil as the front girl, too. And give her a solo or whatever.”

Shade lit up, ecstatic at Chloe’s eagerness. “That’s right! The greatest stars shine brightest, after all.” Now knowing what filters she wanted to use, she chose the one that had cute stars on the border of the picture. She and Chloe would have to get close to both fit in the middle of it, but she wasn’t worried about that in the least. “I suppose I could step down just this once, since I’m sure it’d be such a delight to see how she reacts~” she looked at the center of the camera, pulling Chlole as close as physically possible, raising two fingers in a peace sign, clearly expecting Chloe to do something similar. “Stardom, here we come~”

“Aha, yea.” Chloe giggled. “I just wanna see how she reacts to being the center of attention.” She was curious as if to Sil could actually pull it off. It'd be legitimately wonderful if she could, but hilarious if she couldn't. Did she care about either result though? Nah. Once Shade had picked the filter, Chloe wrapped an arm around the other girl, mimicking her own pose with a playful grin, wink to the camera and a peace sign. “For the lovely fans!~”

The booth flashed as they had their pictures taken, and right after, Sil poked her head into it. “...aren’t you guys do---!” she suddenly found herself being pulled into the booth by the mischievous Shade. “H-hey!” the idol yet again ignored Sil’s complaints, quickly taking another picture before Sil could get away, striking a similar pose but with the addition of Sil caught under one of her arms, looking rather confused.

“That makes all of us~!” Shade cheered. “This should for now! But our performance will have a bunch more cute pictures of all of us, I’m sure!”

Silhouette pried herself from Shade’s clutches, eyebrow raised. “W-what are you talking about?”

“We’re gonna do a live show later, Sil-ly! And you’ll be the center! Aren’t you excited?”

Contrary to Shade’s belief, Silhouette was certainly not excited at the prospect. Sil glanced over to Chloe with pleading eyes, perhaps hopeful that Chloe would tell her this was nothing more than a joke Shade was playing.

“Aahaha, don't give me that look, you little starlet. You're gonna finally get your chance to be an idol! And we have just the thing in mind for you.” Chloe grinned deviously. “I do hope you don't mind showing off that adorable body of yours.”

All the light left Silhouette’s eyes when she realized her last spot of hope had been taken from her. “I-I don’t think anyone would want to see that…”

“Nonsense!” Shade interjected. “You’re a cutie, like us! Of course people would want to see that! To be praised, to be acknowledged, to be remembered… you don’t want any of that?”

“N-not particular--”

“Bah, you’re doing it and that’s that! Consider it an order, agent!”

“But you’re-”

“Done listening to you! You’ll take your stardom and you’ll like it! Chloe here is nice and cute enough to jump on the stage with you, and you’re going to let her down? What will we do with you? What will Veronica do with you, hmm?”

Sil became docile at the mention of a certain person. “...Well, if you aren’t going to give it up, I suppose I can…”

“Excellent~! Hear that, Chloe? We’ve got ourselves a center!”

“Wonderful!~” Chloe giggled. “Come on, don't be so dejected. You'll be a star after this! The number one Idol in all of Penrose!” The dark magical girl playfully grinned. “I bet Veronica will be head over heels for you, hehe.” Chloe laughed impishly. “I bet she might even fall for you. I know I would, hehe!” Coughing slightly, Chloe glanced out the boutique door.

“...speaking of Veronica, I got a date with her so if you two cuties don't mind, I think I've kept her waiting long enough.”

Shade giggled. “If you get Chloe to fall for you, then you have no reason to think you’re not a looker~!” she tried to tease Sil, but the other girl was focused entirely on a different point.

Sil eyed Chloe with suspicion. “What do you need with Veronic--”

“You can’t be rude like that, Sil-ly!” she pouted. “Especially with a fellow member of the group!”

“Geh..” like a child being scolded by their mother, Silhouette shrunk back. “...fine, whatever.”

Shade watched over Sil for a moment to make sure her point had gotten across, before properly addressing Chloe’s intended departure. “Mm-mm~! It was fun to hang for a bit, we look forward to working with you in the performance later!!” Shade stepped out of the booth and hooked her arm with Sil’s. “Both of us did, right?”

“I’m no---EEE” This time, it was Sil yelping. Shade had given her a rather firm pinch on her arm that startled her.

“Right, Sil?” she asked again in a firm tone.

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...I didn’t mind it…”

Shade narrowed her eyes at Silhouette, but eventually sighed and looked back to Chloe with an apologetic face. “That’s the best we’ll get out of her, I guess. Well, see you then~”

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

E m i l y

"Man that wire scene from Ghost Ship was crazy, don't you think?"

— Emily

Emily was so excited to see all her different sisters in a non-violent scenario that she had decided to remain quiet for the most part. It goes without saying she wasn't particularly concerned that she couldn't contact Jonald, given how cruel he was. Instead, she thanked Shannon from saving her from losing the contest when the ghost ship arrived while splashing water around, and she did offer a 'Wow' and 'ooh' as she walked around the deck, but she was content with watching how her sisters interacted with one another. She remained this way until she reached the center island, where a gorgeous resort awaited them.

"Wow." she wasn't quite sure what to think. She'd never been to a place as beautiful as this before, and even if she had, she probably wouldn't have ever been able to enjoy it. But maybe now she could. "Ooh." the possibilities excited the fire girl. Volleyball could be a very fun way to pass the time, even if she wasn't good at it.

She gazed curiously at everything but eventually found herself drawn to the help desk, where Shannon had rung the bell and another girl questioned their situation. "I know what you mean. We don't know why we're here." Emily nodded. "But I hope things continue to be fun." she wanted to add, 'I could use a break.' but felt that to be too selfish of a thing to say.

S i l l y S h a d e

"P-prepare for trouble...!"

Samantha Howard

"And make it double!"

Shade

Beaming a smile that gave the blazing hot sun a run for its money to Lily, Shade puffed her chest out in pride. "Sister? It's a bit embarrassing for an idol to be related to someone so... plain, don't you think?" Shade suddenly felt a jolt run through her body starting from her arm. Sil had, of course, pinched her in irritation. "A-anyways, yeah, that works. And I'm glad you can recognize a cute idol when you see one. You're a looker yourself! A uniform on you and you'd fit right in beside me." she encouraged, but then added, "Well, maybe behind would make more sense. I'd naturally be the center."

Spotting Alexander, she gave a sly smile. "Or maybe not. It's a tough biz, and relationships are seen as a betrayal to fans so that won't work. Though I suppose I can't blame you. He's easy on the eyes~!" she gave Lily a playful nudge, and then followed as they crossed over to the main island.

Silhouette never strayed too far from Shade, using her as a barricade against social interactions while she was vulnerable. The entire trot over to the main island was a quiet one for her, but Shade hummed a tune as they neared the place, obviously excited to see what was in store for them. She stared in awe at the place they wound up, but did not have much time to gawk. Shade did nothing to prevent Chloe from rousing rosey red cheeks from the assassin. Sil tucked herself even further behind Shade, grumbling something inaudible.

_{"S-shut up, p-p-p-p-penis face...!"}

Despite being summoned to deal with any interactions, Shade didn't seem too interested in shielding her 'sister' from Chloe. "No reason to be ashamed, because cuteness should be spread as gospel." she told Sil in an attempt to encourage her to come out of her shell. It did not work, however, and Sil merely tried to give a defiant expression, which fell apart rather pathetically. Shade sighed. "In any case, if even 'Coffee Girl Chloe' thinks you're cute, you should really be hap--EEEEE"

Shade felt another, stronger pinch this time. "AH! I was just teasing~" Sil was pouting from behind Shade. "Anywhoo~" ignoring the irritated Sil, Shade faced Chloe, sizing her up. "You..." her eyes narrowed at the girl. "...you're just plain adorable in that! It looks so cute and innocent~! And to think that Sil here only cared about your coffee! Oh, how I'd adore the chance to get a picture with you! Grumpy butt here wou---EEEEEEEEE"

This pinching thing was beginning to look like it was going to be a common thing throughout the trip.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

AHHH EDIT WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

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Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

H i l a r i a

"Free food is the best food~!"

— Hilaria

The silver-haired magical girl eagerly returned the handshake. She was positively beaming, a clear indicator she was delighted to meet more people on the island. Because the more people there were, the more chances she might have to be useful, after all. In any case, she appreciated being introduced to others, and had no problem allowing Helga to give her surfboard a brief glance. "Yes~ Yes~ Mars is my cute defender of those in need of saving~! He's just dressed for the occasion right now~" she giggled, glancing sideways at her shield now currently disguised as a board.

Hilaria then eyed the girls the others were waking up. They were obviously not the kind of people who woke up early without a good motivator, but she'd met more than enough people like that for it to not bother her. All she hoped was that they'd begin to enjoy themselves the more this event went on, whatever it may be. The confusing nature of this situation was not entirely lost on Hilaria, even if she might've given the impression otherwise. The boogie board incident that introduced her was a test to see if she was still as capable as she was before she woke up.

That, thankfully, was the case.

The worry about what could have sent her and the others there was in the back of her mind as the two girls were successfully roused from their slumber. One of the girls seemed especially concerned with Hilaria herself, showing jealousy at... her breasts? Hilaria looked down at her own chest, a brief lapse in her cheery demeanor, but she didn't seem upset at Julia's comment. When she looked up at Julia, she was frowning.

"You don't have to apologize, but they're not all they're cracked up to be, you know~" she sighed. "When I'm not transformed, they're such a pain to deal with~ It's horrendous~!" she sighed, but then as if remembering something, shot Julia the most determined, powerful expression she could muster and squeezed her arms towards her chest, to emphasize her assets. "Oh, but they're not all bad I suppose~! Sometimes, when I wear and do stuff like this, boys buy me lots of food and that's good~! Hilaria loves food~!"

Having said this without a shred of awareness, one could only imagine Hilaria was fairly ignorant on certain matters. She decided to listen and watch as the others tried to figure out what they would do, and after violence was proven not to be the answer they needed, she looked towards Mika with a smile as the girl hopped in front of her. "Hilaria could never deny someone who's this excited to be a star~!" she nodded just as eagerly as Mika was jumping.

She laid her board down on the sand. "Hmm~?" she took a second to think it over, then spoke. "Three~! We can hold~ three if we really try~!"

S a m a n t h a

"I'll get through this!"

Samantha Howard

Where had all of her confidence gone in this dire moment? Silhouette couldn't answer that question. She was a violent assassin who cared little about trifle matters such as public opinion and embarrassment. But if that was the case, why, then, was she unable to speak properly or even at all? Her voice had all but left her, as well as any hope of salvaging this mess. Everyone present could see she was vulnerable! It goes without saying the thumbs up Tetrad had given her did nothing positive to her situation.

A-alright, clearly there's some empathetic girl trying to cause disorder... yeah, that has to be it, I just need to calm down!

_{"I'm not an m-m-m-m-masoc....!"}

...damnit.

Silhouette had come to understand that in this state, it was physically impossible for her deal with Chloe's teasing. Or even hold a conversation. She lamented the fact she was looking so pathetic in front of Veronica, and decided she must do something about this unfortunate turn of events.

...Um... but how can I... when I'm basically a shadow of my former self right now...? Wait! That's gotta be it!

She now knew what she had to do: she had to stop all the ghosts that were coming through use 'that' technique. It was one she had yet to perfect, and it could potentially backfire on her. But if there was even a 1% chance it would work, then her only choice was to try it!

With the plan in her mind, she patiently awaited her chance to escape. She stubbornly still attempted to speak when Lily complimented her, but it turned out no different than the other two times. But eventually, Chloe left Sil alone and that provided her the opportunity to vanish from sight.

She immediately separated herself from the rest of the group, and found a secluded space on their island. This was the best she could do to minimize the damage were things to get out of control.

"Alright... then lets begin..."

Silhouette focused as hard as she could on working her magic, and soon her own shadow moved from beneath her feet to a space in front of her. It momentarily paused as she gathered more and more mana, and then finally it began to take shape. Though drawn out, the process was similar to making a normal schatten, because she was desperately trying to get this right. The shadow took Sil's shape and became a tangible person standing before her... but then it changed drastically.

The silhouette of Silhouette slowly began to become colored. Skin, eyes, hair... it soon became nearly indistinguishable from a normal person. But instead appearing as an exact copy of Silhouette, it resembled her human form much more closely. The oddest thing about it, physically speaking, was that in a very small area around her, the air darkened, as if she was absorbing the light around her. This formed a small, dim outline of her that one could notice if they looked closely. There was also the fact that this thing was not wearing the same swimsuit as her.

It wore a bikini that left little to the imagination, colored mostly a gradient of black and pink. The top was tied at the front, where it formed a pink bow. A long black scarf accompanied this.

Swimsuit

S h a d e

"The dazzling star makes her return!"

— Shade

"Hello, world!" the schatten spoke in a very cheerful voice, excited at its newfound life.

Silhouette sighed in relief. Last time she attempted this, her schatten adopted the personality that had a fascination with blood, carnage, and war. Needless to say, its introduction was a lot more violent and a lot less acceptable. For the purpose of dealing with other girls, this particular schatten should suffice. She'd implanted the persona she made up when traveling to the Overcity last, which would hopefully mean it had no problem being in a swimsuit.

"Hey, you aren't feeling weird, are you?" Sil asked the schatten. "Like you want to start a fight or something?"

The schatten looked at her, then smiled. "Of course not, Sil-ly! I'm a cute idol, why would I want to do that?"

Silhouette ignored the pun she made and yet again sighed. "That's one good thing, then. Since you're not violent, I'll be using you to... well... speak, as I can't be bothered to do so with the other girls." she explained.

With a nod, the schatten giggled. "It's no use trying to make excuses! I'm a part of you, after all! Just admit to your cute shadow idol that you're embarrassed and she'll be glad to help you~!" she gave a smug smirk as she waited for Sil to answer.

Clearly, she had made a mistake. Why was her own shadow giving her lip? This was absurd, she should obediently do what was asked of her without question, or so Sil thought. But the fact of the matter was that she couldn't think up a persona on the spot right now and she wasn't confident she'd get this trick right twice in a row. For now, she would have to deal with this smug little shadow.

"I-I need your help because I seem to be incapable of wearing a swimsuit without freezing up. Yes, I'm embarrassed. Is that suitable? Can you help me now?"

"My my, no need to get all grumpy. I'm just playing with you~" she laughed. "I'll always be willing to help my... err, self, I suppose. But first, there's an important matter we need to discuss!"

"What is this important matter?"

"I don't have a name, duh!"

Silhouette shook her head. "It's Shade. How do you not know your own name? I had a name for that guise."

"I don't know." she shrugged. "I'm not the one who made me. Or, well, I mean I am but... ah, this is too confusing! An idol like me should focus on shining brilliantly, not dealing with this kind of stuff. But... there's still one more thing!"

The exasperated sigh Sil gave before asking yet again "What" was a loud as one could get.

"The thing is... we both have the same font color right now, and that simply won't do!" Shade pouted.

Silhouette scratched her head. "What... are you talking about?" there was a short pause. "Do you have something against 'red'? I think it fits, don't you?"

"Yeah. It fits YOU! Not me, I'm a cute idol. Besides, I'm pretty sure others have the same color. I am special, so I need my own color!"

"...okay. I don't really understand but what do you want me to do about it?"

Shade frowned. "I want you to help me decide, Sil-ly! There's so many, I can't just decide which one is for me without a second opinion!"

Samantha was seriously beginning to question whether or not the murderous schatten was preferable to this one. But she'd already come so far, so she may as well try to speed things up. "I don't think I'm the best person for this sort of task but I guess throw some at me and I'll see which one fits?"

"Alright! How about... blue?"

"...no. Why would you even think about that one?"

"Um, yeah it's dumb but I really just wanted to separate myself from you, is all!"

Sil narrowed her eyes. "I'll just pretend I didn't hear that. Lets get on with it and throw me another."

Shade raised a finger to her lip and thought. "Um, what about... pink? Does it look cute?"

"It's not a horrible choice like the last one, but Hilaria's text is too similar."

"Yeah, you're right. Then what about blac---" Shade was immediately cut of by Silhouette.

"I will forcibly have all memory of Shade erased from my mind if you mention that color."

Shade shuttered, knowing full well that Silhouette was being serious. "O-okay. Then how about turquoise?"

"...why do you keep asking about blue colors when I already told you it won't work? And besides, that's literally Emily's color. Can you take this seriously or not? This post has run on for long enough."

"...Mmm, okay. Then for realsies this time! I'll give this one my all!" Shade tried her best to make a serious facial expression but failed to do so, the result being rather cute. "Okay, I got it!" she clenched her fist, then stared Sil straight in the eyes. With an exhale, she spoke with gusto.

"Two colors! How about this? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Silhouette was genuinely surprised. "H-how did you do that...?!"

"...a lot of coding for a disappointing result, if we're being serious. It might not be worth it to do this every time."

"Well, I've grown tired of this whole thing so you're sticking with that. Now come on, lets go." Silhouette allowed no time for debate, and took off towards the group of girls she'd arrived with. As a member of the Crimson Cradle, finding Tetrad and Veronica was no issue at all.

Of course, when she did approach the others, she allowed Shade to lead the way. Her demeanor becoming timid once again. But Shade had no problems whatsoever speaking aloud and drawing attention to herself, as Sil ironically became her shadow. "Heya~! Seems we made it just in the nick of time! A neat yellow bridge to get us to the other side? I'd prefer a red carpet but I guess that just means I have to earn it~!" Shade quickly took off towards the construct, with Silhouette following closely behind her in a manner similar to a nervous child. If Shade had sleeves, Sil would surely be holding onto one.

Re: Zero: The High Council

---

On a less gay note...

These times were strange, frantic, and quite frankly, rather confusing. Alistair Archibald could say with perfect confidence that only a month or two ago he would have laughed at the mere thought that he would be eager to take Captain Crunch out on a second date. Yet here he was, neck-deep in murderous cultists, doing just that. But the situation did not escape him, and a dark thought entered his mind. In movies, such promises were often followed by the failure to uphold them, often because of death. This was troubling, but there was evidence that real life did not adhere to movie standards. He was naturally the main character of this 'film' and if he was not able to defeat the foes that had stood before him up to this point, to achieve anything of real value, then it had to be that fictional tropes were simply that -- fictional.

Or rather, he so desperately hoped that was the case.

"Tch."

He couldn't let his mind continue to wander, however, as the situation had yet to settle. He understood the importance of keeping civilian casualties to a minimum, but he would have appreciated just a little more assistance on the front lines. Only one other person stayed with him, and through all the fighting and the commotion, Alistair had temporarily lost track of Ashton. He was focused on keeping them from being overwhelmed, so he was not sure if that meant Ashton had been slain or something else. But such thoughts would eventually be answered when, even in the thick of everything, Alistair felt something...wrong.

There was no way he was just going to ignore whatever this was, so he made his way to the source of this feeling.

...

...

...

"At the very least, you can't stop me from facing my death standing up!"

Moments away from his impending death at the hands of Gris, Ashton displayed courage in a situation where many would express cowardice and fear. Death, even in their case, was something to be feared. It was not only often painful, but it hindered their progress and could potentially be permanent at any given instance. Yet even still, the boy did not cower.

And because of that, Alistair would have no qualms about ensuring his continued survival.

"I like your attitude."

Though Huma had been spoken a moment prior, his compliment had more oomph to it than his incantation. But the results should have been the same either way. If Gris had continued forwards without defending himself against the projectile that was launched his way, then he'd suffer a fatal wound. If he immediately continued or otherwise did not stop his charge, then I'd have to rewrite the rest of the post please don't do it he'd be met with further retaliation.

Alistair did not look very pleased, his eye mostly catching on to the woman that Belrigger was fighting. She certainly was familiar. "Sandra? So she's the source of this feeling..." he was unable to prevent the slightest hint of disappointment from showing on his face, having obviously hoped she would be an ally rather than an enemy, but he wasn't distraught and clearly he wasn't going to miss any sleep over it. To liken it to something, it was like he ordered ice cream at McDonald's and they told him the machine was broken.

He wasn't surprised.

Needless to say, if they had to fight, he wasn't too likely to hold back. But he already knew there was no way he could do that against someone of her caliber. Admittedly, he would have to do his best to ensure she couldn't get away with holding back on them. A thought that was very unappealing to someone like him.

Alistair's breathing slowed. "Odessa." he called to her in an almost calm, serene state. "From this point on, I doubt things will get any less difficult. They'll probably get worse." a long pause occurred before he continued. "That being the case, we need to give this our all, and I can't do that without you."