McFazzer

Grimoiric Heart

Tesni

Tesni clasped the broken hairpin in her hand. The wooden splinters digging deeply, and her blood flowed freely. If she didn’t know better, she might think Tsubasa didn’t like her or something… even in her mind she couldn’t stop being a bit sarcastic. Chuckling to herself, Tesni slowly and methodically plucked the splinters of wood from her hand and decided to go into some self-reflection. Letting the rest of the world fall away, she focused on herself and just let her feeling flow.

She knew the pull of the Monkey King. What held her back when she wanted to fight Chinami and Tsubasa wasn’t the Monkey King… Sun Wukong wanted the fight and she did too. Another splinter fell to the ground she closed her eyes and ran her finger over her hand, relying touch to find the wood trying to recall all she could about her Grimoire. The pain of each shard of wood being pulled made her think of the golden headband she wore… that the golden headband was essentially a portable prison that Sun Wukong wore while on his Journey… that’s right!

“I’m an idiot! My Grimoire isn’t ‘The Monkey King’. It’s ‘Journey to the West’… not sure if that was on purpose, but Tsubasa did lead to a small bit of enlightenment~” Tesni’s eyes shot open, realisation racing through her mind. The Monkey King wasn’t the only character in Journey to the West, why would the Grimoire’s influence be limited to just one character? Because she’s a Magical Girl? Because she’s the ‘Main Character’? Pure arrogance on her part. Tang Sanzang, the Buddhist monk the Sun Wukong escorted, a voice of wisdom and who became a Buddha themselves along with Sun Wukong when the Journey was complete.

“Makes sense that would be the second most powerful influence from my Grimoire!” Turning Tesni felt so proud of herself and almost shared her revelation with the rest of her group, only to see the most hostile group hug ever just ending.

The King’s crown must be weighing heavily on Chinami. Look at her go, holding back like that. Am I reading this right? Is she having a bad trip on magic smoke? Maybe I should give it a try, get high on magic and go on a mystical journey… later. If I remember… also if it works like that. Despite seeing the distress the armored girl was in, Tesni wasn’t foolish enough to do something like console her. If she did such a thing it would probably come off as patronising or sarcastic even if it was intended to be genuine. Sometimes intentions don’t matter. After all, isn’t the road to hell paved with good intentions?

“Sorry for the hold up ladies. Just had to do a reaaaally big think about stuff! Thinking about life, love, death, you know, all the fun things that keep people up at night.” twirling her staff smaller, her red stained hand free of splinters, she spun her staff like a pen in her fingers.

“Time to clean up, buy an ice-cream as a little bonus for a job well done, then wander back to HQ, right? Normally I’d take my time getting back, you know? But after the frankly amazing shit storm today was, I think it’s better to not tempt fate. Sorry, that’s a lie I would love to tempt fate, but I figure you three don’t wanna tempt along with me!” Honestly Tesni loved taking far too long to get back to Marrywell. There were so many assholes that weren’t pageless she could screw over… but today it seemed the powers that be would not be tolerant of her tardiness today. Running ahead, Tesni threw her staff out and bounced it back at any Pageless she crossed while on her beeline to a corner store yelling out the excuse ‘I see a Pageless’, slammed money on the counter, and came out with a box of Cornetto’s before rushing off.

"I'm on patrol, I promise! Follow me if you want, but you don't have to! See you back at Marrywell, have fun and stay safe~" And she was gone. The occasional golden flash and bang, before the sound of a disspiating Pageless echoing out in Tesni's wake of deceptively controlled destruction.

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It wasn’t until she got back to Merrywell that she felt like she could finally have her ice cream, slightly melted but still cool to the touch, box slightly roughed up from an energetic patrol. And what was a more entertaining sight to enjoy ice cream with than an exploded classroom? The best problem is one that’s not your problem after all. Seeing Suzuya alone, Tesni decided to at least try being nice after the… stress that was patrol. Holding her ice cream in her mouth before pulling out another she poked Suzuya with the wrapped cone.

“Whand wan? Ish bid shofd.” Not looking to see if the girl took the ice cream, Tesni enjoyed watching the 'teachers' messing around, tilting her head back she tried to maneuver her ice cream more fully into her mouth without her hand, making odd moaning noises trying to facilitate it.

Grimoiric Heart

Dynasty Queen

Tesni could take losing, there is no one who’s undefeated in everything they do, but it was the idea that those two having smug little grins on their face that agitated her. She wanted to smash that smug face of Chinami’s in… and Tsubasa’s too. She subconsciously adjusted her grip on her staff and shifter her weight, but as she felt herself about to spring forth while the King was making their speech, the wiser side of her pulled her back. She had no doubt that she could win any form of martial combat, to her it was as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning and setting at night, but this niggling voice in her head was saying ‘You could definitely win the fight… but if you do, what will you actually get for your effort?’ and she suddenly felt so very, very… bored? This was wrong, a great fight was about start but now it felt so pointless.

Then Chinami really unloaded at her.

Saying how Tesni was reckless, stupid, and sent a lethal attack at a support type magical girl. All of which were absolutely true. Tesni let Chinami’s words wash over her like she was a rock in a river, and even started licking her lips as she could almost hear the high and mighty ‘royalty’ dripping from Chinami’s voice. ‘Genuinely disappointed’, Tesni might have been hurt by those words if she didn’t judge herself by anyone’s standards but her own… but still the sheer disdain and disregard didn’t fail to rile her up when she thought she had calmed down. Then suddenly it hit Tesni. Chinami was trying so hard to find the grey. She desperately wanted to find the good, to find the middle ground, the third way, a better way. Chinami… was an idiot. Searching for another way, desperately hoping for one, was the perfect way for someone to get caught up in their own head looking for options and find themselves not making a choice at all. And trusting Tsubasa, someone who spoke almost exclusively in riddles was the height of foolishness. But Tesni couldn’t bring herself to hate the stupid parts of Chinami. After all, Tesni felt deep in her bones… right now what she really wanted was far… far stupider than Chinami searching for a better way.

If Tesni ever said what she truly wanted from the bottom of her heart she wondered how they would look at her. They would definitely call her an idiot, they already called her that. They would almost definitely call her insane… and most of all they’d wonder if she’s a magical girl at all. But the heart wants what the heart wants and despite hating the idea of seeing those disgusting smug grins on their faces, if Tsubasa was after what Tesni vaguely hoped… she might be able to get what she wants… and if she was lucky she could even see those smug faces contort into something grotesque.

Am I really going to do this? Do I really have a chance? she felt he heart racing and felt giddy at the idea forming in her head, all the strange pieces of a puzzle she wasn’t aware was there fitting into place… it could happen, and she’d be a bigger idiot than they thought if she didn’t at least try. After all, if it doesn’t turn out as she hoped, it’s never too late to ‘flip the table’ so to speak.

Then Ozma showed up. Tesni always had an odd feeling around her, it was never anything concrete, but she had always been a creature of instinct and her instinct was to not trust Ozma. That said her gut instinct was that everyone was some level of untrustworthy, so that feeling shouldn’t really mean anything special. Maybe it was the fact that in her Grimoire she had the moniker of the ‘man behind the curtain’ so whenever she met the illustrious magical girl Tesni felt she never actually ‘met’ her. Still, she put on a smile and turned to Ozma, after all she was the boss and an easy out for the situation.

“Nice to see ya, Ozzy. Oh, don’t worry, I would never do something stupid like endanger a teammate or a civilian. I mean, Miss Enigmatic is neither a teammate nor a civilian, right? But I didn’t know you two were best friends or something. I guess I was getting all worked up over nothing.” Tesni did find that being blunt and honest did have a way of catching people who liked to be the mastermind off guard. It’s like they expect everyone to play the social games to their rules. Plus, it was always fun to see how quickly they get back on track. How quickly the smile comes to the face as they laugh her off as just an idiot.

“Well don’t I feel like an absolute fool. Chinami, I have to say I feel very embarrassed now. I mean, look! Miss Ozzy is talking to Miss Enigmatic as if they’re peers. How could I even hope to hurt someone who is on the level of Ozzy? We are so far out of our depth here aren’t we? They’re so much more experienced than us, we are absolute amateurs compared to them, right?” Turning to Tsubasa, Tesni’s stupid grin never left her face as she scratched the back of her head.

“There is no need to worry about me anymore, Miss Enigmatic. I’m sure you and Ozzy have some catching up to do. Oh, before you go and catch up with your friend, let me know if you ever need a simple hammer to hit some nails. Since I caused such a mess here, I’d love to make it up to you some time. After all, Chinami is absolutely right. Able to tame Pageless, force them to converge in a single area. And as I previously said, compared to you I am absolutely amateur, but to my eye that was all passive! You made it look so effortless and easy. Who knows what else you can accomplish if you put your mind to it, right?” Her eyes were almost sparkling as she spoke.

“You do not have a thing to worry about at all, Chinami. I think I have found a reason to stick around and like I said to Miss Enigmatic, I’m a blunt object best used like one. The simple idea of ‘destroy Pageless’ is something I can easily do. I’ll say this though, I lack the discerning eye you clearly possess so I am very likely to continue making mistakes, but I’ve never let my mistakes stop me.”

Grimoiric Heart

Dynasty Queen

It wasn’t dissatisfaction that Tesni felt when Camelot saved Tsubasa… that simple emotion couldn’t encompass this. It was a cavalcade of annoyance, frustration, a hint of joy as the Pageless scattered at the impact of her attack and a flutter of excitement when Camelot screamed out “Dynasty Queen”

It’s funny, everyone called her Dynasty Queen, but she never called herself that, even in her own head she never referred to herself as Dynasty Queen... did people really see her actions as those of a different person when she was in magical girl garb? Whatever the crackling of magical energy behind her was more important than some hero upset at her. It was as if she could see it, as if she were graffitiing the battlefield, disrupting their rhythm. She would swing her staff in an arc behind her, shrinking it as she did to limit collateral damage… and conveniently threaten the hands brimming with the beginings of a spell with pure blunt force trauma, then she would follow the momentum and leap up before following up with another swing down into the Pageless horde once more…

Then as she was about to retract her staff and spin… Tsubasa and that condescending tone of voice rung in her ear, absolutely ruining her mood. Saying that she had made a mistake, really? How? Normally she would ignore Tsubasa's words and continue with her assault, but Chinami acting as Tsubasa's shield would no doubt prevent that. So Tesni figured she would have to buy time with words and reposition herself, change the battlefield to her advantage if possible and if not possible, disrupt their formation.

“Lady… it’s bold of you to assume I never repeat mistakes. Especially when I don’t like a person and the mistake pisses them off, but fine. Please, please enlighten me. Why should I trust an enigmatic lady that the Pageless who we all have been let’s tactfully say ‘destroying’ are flocking to and seemingly obeying? Please give a good reason why any of us should take your words as anything more than a fart in the wind?” As if trying to prove her words true in some way, the Pageless ran from her and fled behind Tsubasa and her familiars.

“These better be the most convincing words of your fucking life, because right now, you’re looking like the General at the head of an army.” Slowly walking to keep both Tsubasa and the familiars in her field of vision, moving herself so all potential threats were in front of her. Tesni turned her eyes to the heroic armour-clad magical girl Tesni gave her the steeliest gaze she could manage.

“Chinami… how long are you going to stand there with your thumb up your ass? Do you believe that even for a second, she needed your help? I think I'm going to have to spell this out for you, since you got the heroics of King of Camelot and not the battlefield wisdom. If Miss Enigmatic blocked my attack, she would be protecting Pageless therefore she would be an enemy. Are you following so far? I hope so, because it's not difficult." Tesni couldn't afford to give Chinami the benefit of her full attention, not now anyway, so her vision began to roam the battlefield and her fingers rapped along her staff, daring anyone to make a move, as if looking for an excuse.

"If she had have dodged, on her own without someone swooping in to be a knight in shining armour, she would not be protecting Pageless therefore trustworthy enough to not be an immediate concern. It’s a simple equation. Now you have complicated things slightly, but even if you think Miss Enigmatic is not an enemy, right now she’s not a friend! So, until you can say for certain that she will cause no harm, would you please get your ass over here?!”

Grimoiric Heart

Who will solve the storm Pageless' mystery first. I wonder.

@TheWendil

Tesni won't solve the mystery. She will punch it.

Grimoiric Heart

Tesni: thinks she has a great plan, but fails to account for the fact that others can't read her mind therefore don't even know she has a plan. She will absolutely make a surprise pikachu face when people don't immediately understand her intentions.

Also doesn't account for the fact it might be a stupid plan that only she could possibly pull off. This will also result in surprise pikachu face.

Grimoiric Heart

Dynasty Queen

"Ahhh, it's all gone tocachu hwch." The crude curse sprung from Tesni’s lips. Reaching down she grabbed the ‘mugger’ by the collar and tossed him at the fleeing crowed.

"Don’t forget this asshole you fuckin’ idiots! Fuck, fuck fuck…" she buried her face in her hands, not out of any despair or fear. Simply out of sheer annoyance at the fact the swarm of Pageless were probably all over the city and more than that... she was going to have to actively try to not break any buildings.

“Fuck it, you know what, fuck it. Do what you can and don’t stress about what you can’t…” taking a deep breath she started walking back across the road to where the rest of the girls were and more importantly… where the enigmatic lady stood, the lady the Pageless appeared to be at the very least paying attention to, even when there was plenty of people and magical girls around to attack.

“The divine root conceives, its source revealed; Mind and nature nurtured, the Great Dao is born.” as her foot fell, a golden ring rippled out on the ground, the faint chorus of ancient Chinese instruments announcing her transformation. It floated upward around her, transforming her as it passed, stopping at her forehead and contracted in making a golden circlet before fading away. Now in full Magical Girl regalia, Tesni reached behind her ear for a toothpick, twirled it between her fingers and had it expand into her staff and slung it over her shoulders.

"Okay Magical Babies, focus or you'll get done in by gross little Pageless~! I'll tell you what; if you don't feel like fighting I promise I'll take care of them all for you. Keep in mind the more I have to take care of on my own, the less careful I can be with my attacks. So I hope you don't have a favourite restaurant nearby~!" Tesni’s eyes were glimmering with excitement, this was a challenge. There was no fear in her grin, no change in her stride. Her eyes darted around, absorbing all she could about her surroundings and then she licked her lips. Suddenly there was a golden blur as she swung her staff down over head it expanding in length, as if she were simply chopping wood, right at the crowd of Pageless… and more importantly right where Roma stood. There was a ripping sound as it tore through the air, as if the natural physics of the world was struggling to account for her weapon the Ruyi Jingu Bang.

A line of thought so simple it was absurd led Tesni to this action; ‘If Miss Enigmatic is an ally she will dodge. If she is not, either she will block and save her subordinates or a Pageless would protect her... and if this is enough to take her out, well what good would she be in a fight?’ This basic deduction would only last for as long as this skirmish lasted, but it was important to determine if you were going to get stabbed in the back.

Grimoiric Heart

Tadah, I have posted. Hopefully the philosophy bit makes some kinda sense.

Grimoiric Heart

Tesni

She felt like a vice was squeezing her head, more and more niggling annoyances popped up. First her trying to be nice was construed as bullying, she just gave a nervous girl a soda! How was that mean?! Then what she presumed was another magical girl popped up being deliberately obtuse and using flowery language began talking as if purposefully trying to frustrate Tesni. Tesni’s eyes started to glow with a golden light as her gaze met the moonlight orbs of Roma, while her hand in a claw like grip swiped at the ‘attendant’ closest to her to keep it at away at arm’s length.

“I have this strange feeling that you think I’m an idiot… and you’re not wrong. Not because I can’t think long and hard about something, but because all it ammounts to is coming up with complicated answers to problems with simple solutions. So, listen here little miss enigmatic, I had to do a lot of goddamn research to even try and understand my grimoire a little bit and even then, I now only know enough to say that I barely know anything. It was an incredibly frustrating feeling, when you're on the edge of a breakthrough, only to realise that you weren't even in the kiddy pool of how deep an ocean the topic you were about to get into was.

"Have you ever read Journey to the West? It is subtext disguised as an adventure, but from my basic understanding something is crystal clear to me. Everyone is ‘enslaved’ to the ‘wheel of fate’ from the day they are born. The very act of cultivating yourself and gaining enlightenment or the simply striving for the ambiguous concept of ‘power’ is an attempt to throw off the shackles of the mundane and follow the Dao towards some form of immortality.” Tesni felt her headache lessen as she explained sighing at the relief and felt her will get stronger, knowing that it didn’t matter what she faced, all she could do was tackle it head on.

“Each step along the Way, the Heavenly Dao will place tribulations along the path in an attempt to punish humanity that dares rebel against it. For having the ‘sheer arrogance’ of even attempting to defy what fate it has in store for us. It doesn’t matter if the tribulation is heaven sent like a bolt of lightning to smite me, or if it is mundane in nature like a group with machinations arrayed against me. I will defy fate. I will break my shackles. If I am imprisoned by fate, I will get strong enough to carry my prison with me as I walk along my path. If I fail along the way I cannot curse anything but my own weakness. If the wheel ‘shatters’ me as you say, then I can’t blame the wheel, only that I was fragile enough for it to break me.” Her eyes darted briefly across the road before coming back to meet Roma’s… then dimmed, not wanting them to sting for no good reason before having the most legitimate grin anyone in the group would have seen on Tesni’s face. Before glancing over at Chinami.

“I also disagree with you, Chinami. Change isn’t something that happens because you want it. Growth isn’t something you can stop. To live is to grow, so as long as we live, we will grow even if only a little, despite fate, or whatever illuminati bullshit you and creepy eye lady are hinting at. At the very least, I know I will. I’ll keep walking my path and live a selfish but fulfilling life. So I guess… I disagree with you both. Simple as that.” Tesni was in such a good mood she even let Bonnie smack the back of her head, she did tilt her head at just the right moment to make it seem like a very unsatisfying hit though, Tesni wasn’t feeling that nice.

“Hmmm, I think verbalising my pent-up thoughts and philosophies might just be the best thing for me. I feel so refreshed. Not that I feel particularly ‘obedient’ or anything, but refreshed. And not like my head is gonna split in two from sheer annoyance anymore. Thanks lady, if nothing else you’re a good one to vent at.” Stretching her arms out, Tesni rotated her shoulders, and an audible popping crack rang out... before Tesni bolted across the road, vaulted over parked taxi and spun kick what looked like a normal young man in a grey hoodie so hard he bounced off the wall he hit before crumpling to the ground, passersby gasping until Tesni rolled him over with her foot then kicked what looked like a gun away from him. Looking over at the group she raised an eyebrow at them, and hoping they understood the silent question of 'Isn't this meant to be a patrol?'

Grimoiric Heart

I think it’s all good now… I hope :P

Grimoiric Heart

Oh I agree absolutely, much better a small issue now than something down the road getting way out of hand. A stitch in time saves nine and all that. I should have spent more time in the proofreading stage clearly and my first wave of corrections were done on my phone at like 12:30 in the morning which is totally my fault, but I felt bad just leaving so much wrong with it for hours and hours.

@Lewascan2