>>40549604
>You have [1] New Messages

Shad, you bastard. How I've missed you.

>>40549604
>Check on Tsubaki

>Check on Tsubaki

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>>40549631

And it's good to be back.

I had a busy couple of weeks, went to go and visit family for awhile, ran some games with some close friends, and even somehow found the time to sit down and start watching Dai-Guard.

Incidentally, Dai-Guard is awesome. It also has one of the best rocket-punches I've ever seen.

>>40549604
>You have [1] New Messages

>>40549604
>Check on Tsubaki
>Fuss over Tsubaki
>Cuddle Tsubaki

>>40549604
>You have [1] New Messages
welcome back

>>40549604 (OP)
>You have [1] New Messages

>>40549604
>Check on Tsubaki
>Fuss over Tsubaki
>Cuddle Tsubaki

Finally. Join us at QQ? Gonna praise your name and all that jazz.

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>>40549604

Logically, the first thing you do is check on Tsubaki.

She's actually all buckled in and excited for the landing, face practically glued to the window as she watches Shinatsu grow closer and closer.

"Did you sleep well?" You somehow manage not to yawn out. Immediately, she whips around and latches her arms around in you a tight hug, golden eyes glittering like honey as they meet your own. You can't help but grin back at the sight of it. There's just something so very beautiful about seeing her happy.

"Yes mother, I did!" She giggles. This is when you notice your reflection in the window and realize that your hair is... well, it's still on your head, even if it seems to have gone every which way. You laugh right along with her, as the plane pulls closer to the city.

Then Al-Azif chirps at you, announcing a single message. That gets you to blink in surprise, something which Tsubaki catches just as quickly as you do.

"Is something wrong, mother?" She bites her lip, worry already clearly written across her features. You just smile and ruffle her hair, partly to reassure her and partly to get back at her little laugh at your expense. Thankfully, the gesture reassures her, and you pull out your grimoire to find out just who sent you a message.

>Kimihiro.
>An old Butler?
>Jubei?

>>40550100
>>An old Butler?
>

>>40550100
>Jubei?

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>40550100
1 is the old butler, 2 is Jubei.

>>40550100
>An old Butler?

>>40550100
>Jubei?

>>40550100
>Jubei?
Nice to see you back, Shad.

>>40550100
>>An old Butler?

>>40550100
>An old Butler?

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>>40550100

The message is from... Jubei?

Clicking play, the holographic image slides open, the old cat's bemused smile more than apparent.

"Howdy there, Alice." He greets with a nod. "Jus' callin' to give you a heads up. I heard from that old shop-keep you're on your way to Shinatsu." His expression sours a little. "Now, be careful over there, you hear? Ol' Hazuki ain't been right in the head since his wife died, and the rest of NOL forces over there are under somebody else's thumb, one way or another." He seems to consider something for a moment, before sighing, plugging in what you armagus recognizes as new contact information.

"Now Eddie's.... Well, he's Eddie. You're better off just meeting the 'Gentleman Adventurer' in person. But he's a got a good head on his shoulders, and a good heart in his chest, somethin' growin' awfully rare these days among people in his position. Drop 'im a line if you need some help in the city, and he'll come runnin', but do me a favor, alright? Make sure his damn fool head stays attached to the rest of him? He's a little... excitable, without his wife around."

"That said, have fun, and I hope it all pans out for you." With that, the message ends.

You raise an eyebrow, but shrug. If he's an acquaintance of Jubei, you'll trust the man.

>Establish contact with the 'Gentleman Adventurer'.
>Another Message?
>You're landing! It's time to get off the plan and everything!

It's great to see you again, Shaderic.

>>40550100
>An old Butler?

>>40550613
>Another Message?

Now, this is interesting...

>>40550613
>Another Message?
>You're landing! It's time to get off the plan and everything!

>>40550613
>Another Message?

>>40550613
>>You're landing! It's time to get off the plan and everything!

>>40550613
>>You're landing! It's time to get off the plan and everything!

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>>40550613
Man, I'm slow.

Sorry for the Valkenhayn voters, but by the time I saw your votes, I'd already mostly done this update.

Incidentally, there's a special reward for the person who can guess who Eddie is.

>>40550613
>Another Message?

>>40550668
Slayer (Guilty Gear) gone dimension hopping?

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>>40550714
Nope!

I'm actually co-opting a named Blazblue character from canon, albeit one I'm pretty sure has never actually appeared in any of the games and that I only know the name of thanks to the wiki.

If/When he shows up, I hope you guys like him.

>>40550100
>Another Message?

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>>40550613

And another message. You're popular today, it seems. Though you don't recognize the address it's coming from, making you actually a little suspicious. Not too many people should have your contact information, after all.

In fact, it should just be Jubei, Kimihiro, and the Kaka Elder.

Still, you hit the play button anyway.

This time the image isn't that of a one-eyed cat, but a distinguished looking butler. With pale hair the color of platinum and the hard lines of age drawn across his face, he still comes across as a very gentlemanly sort.

"Greetings." He even speaks in a surprisingly cultured and british sounding voice, despite 'Britain' not really existing anymore. "I do apologize for the abrupt message, but at this time I am currently unable to contact you directly due to being rather busy with other duties." So he wanted to approach you, but was too busy to do it in person? Or maybe you left before he could get into contact with you. "My mistress would like to have a word with you at the earliest convenience, and I wished to deliver an invitation to her estate in person. Unfortunately, since we no longer now your exact location, I was forced to send you this message instead." So it was because you moved.

"In any case, when you wish to arrange an appointment, simply contact me at this number and I shall strive to ensure our schedules cooperate and that the meeting between yourself and my mistress may be had at the earliest opportunity. Until that, farewell and thank you."

And that's it.

It's a little odd, since you don't really recall ever doing anything that would pique the interest of someone with a butler.

Then, with a quiet thud, you realize something... You've landed in Shinatsu.

>Ask Shizune some questions about Shinatsu (specify)
>Call someone back (specify)
>Do something else?

>>40551142
>Ask Shizune some questions about Shinatsu (specify)
how bad is the relationship between the miners and the NoL? have there been strikes, violence, attempts at mediation, etc?

>>40551204
This

>>40551142
[x] >>40551204

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>>40551204

As Shizune walks back into the main cabin, you ask her a question.

"Just how bad is the relationship between the miners and the NOL?" She grimaces. "That bad?"

"Who do you think arranged for our radio to be sabotaged? Or for that pirate fleet to show up to chase down a single Greytail?" That's not exactly reassuring. "But the primary issue is that the Nobility want the mine. It could be a major source of income for the entire city, and a big boon to whoever's in control of it. But, even if they can't decide who among them gets it, none of them want it to be in beastkin hands." She plops down on the couch opposite you, tail swinging around onto her lap.

"They've bribed, threatened, and intimidated their way into control over most of the city. As a result, we can't get the engineers or the equipment we need to set up the mine. Down in the lower districts... We're not exactly made out of money, you know?" She sighs. "I'm one of the most successful people to walk out of there in years, and I'm just a pilot. We've managed to pay for stuff before, but when most of the gear is destroyed by customs in an 'accident' or just bought off the docks before we can get our hands on it... It's getting a little hard to have faith."

"About the only thing we really have control of, is the land itself." A quiet pride lights itself in her eyes. "They can threaten us all they like, but down there, we own the land. And they're not just gonna kick off the dirt they pushed us all down on in the first place." She goes quiet for a moment after that.

"... We wouldn't have anywhere else to go, anyway..." The comment is quiet, almost a whisper.

>Ask further questions. (Specify)
>Call Someone (specify)
>Head out into the city!

>>40551547
"Do you have any sympathisers?"

>>40551547
>>40551626 this
then
>Head out into the city!

>>40551547
>Head out into the city!

>>40551547
>>Call Someone (specify)
>>Head out into the city!
Call Valk back and tell him where you are at.

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>>40551626

"Do you have any sympathisers?"

"For a given value of the word." She sighs, falling back further on the couch. "Most of 'em can't commit a lot to another city. You represent that old shop-keeps biggest investment in a long time. Lord Hazuki... Well, he didn't care about us, but at least before he'd keep the lesser nobility under his thumb and out of our hair. But he hasn't done much in years, which is probably why they're all going out of their way to try and seize as much control as they can."

So your resources are minimal, the legitimate authorities will be doing whatever they can to obstruct your work, and the people are only holding on due their stubborn pride and the realisation that if they sell out they'll literally have nowhere else to go.

OK, then.

You have your work cut out for you.

It takes you a second to read Shizune's expression, and another to realize why. She seems surprised.

Because you feel excited. You feel challenged.

You feel an opportunity to change the fate of an entire city.

Tsubaki fall in step next to you as your boots begin to make their way to the door, happily humming as you step out of the air-conditioned plane and into the 11th Hierarchical City of Shinatsu.

... And oh dear lord, it's muggy as hell outside the air-conditioned plane.

It's like walking into a wall of water that you can somehow breathe through. Just getting used to the atmosphere takes you a second, and Tsubaki nearly keels over next you.

"Right, the city's kinda humid this year." The beastkin says casually as she walks down the ramp like there's nothing weird with being able to breathe air so thick you could practically cut it with a knife.

"So, are you going to go straight to the mine? Or do you want to get settled in first? Maybe introduce yourself to the various families?"

>Straight to work.
>Beds. Beds sound nice.
>Let's get the introductions out of the way.

>Any questions you want to ask along the way? (specify)

>>40551947
>Let's get the introductions out of the way.

>>40551947
>>Let's get the introductions out of the way.

>>40551947
>>Let's get the introductions out of the way.
Also text or call Valk back

>>40551947

>Let's get the introductions out of the way.
Test

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>>40551947

"Let's just... get the introductions out of the way..." It's almost a fight to get the words alone out. When you have a minute, you're going to have to spend some time adjusting your personal ars and creating some kind of air conditioning barrier or something. This atmosphere is just so infuriatingly hot and humid that moving around is a pain.

And yet, Shizune can just walk along with that gigantic and fluffy looking tail looking cool as a cucumber.

She nods, pace picking up as you all slowly start your descent deeper into the city. Meanwhile, you dedicate your attention to absorbing details. Unlike Kagutsuchi's steady, if slightly chaotic, progression of levels the ends up giving the city a cone-like shape, Shinatsu's built more like a messy set of plates constructed on top of one another. And in the middle, there's a tight cluster of silver sky-scrapers reaching up into the sky, leaving everything else to be cast in their shadow.

You idly suppose that this is where the nobility live.

Your own journey takes you across the 'plate', before you start descending again. You further and further away from the towers, the buildings getting more and more ramshackle... until, surprisingly for a hierarchical city, there's space between buildings. Thick vegetation worms it's way through the ruins of ancient looking construction projects, while nature reclaims bits and pieces of the city. It's honestly not exactly what you were expecting.

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>>40552349

"Side effect of no one wanting to live there." Shizune explains, eyes casting a nostalgic gaze over the emerging fields and the beginnings of a forest. "After the Dark War, there was practically war for space. But when the Hazuki's built their towers, they started to concentrate the population in the middle of Shinatsu. And it's a trend that's been kept up for a long time. It made the land around the edges cheap, so back then we just bought it up and cannibalized whatever we could. Eventually, it became like this."

It's honestly quite pretty, if a little barren. It's a big change, compared to the urban Kagutsuchi, even it's gardens weren't quite so wild looking.

"So, who do you want to meet first?"

>Nanaya Clan
>Kuzunoha Clan
>Pendragon Clan

>>40552363
>Kuzunoha Clan
Raidou?

>>40552363
Do we know anything about the families?

>>40552363
>Nanaya Clan

... well, they are all interesting names..

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>>40552374

Technically, Kuzunoha refers to the mother of Abe no Seimei, and in general has been used as the last name of various supernaturally related personages over the ages...

But I'm a massive nerd for SMT, so...

>>40552375
Nanaya is Shizune and Makoto's clan, so they're the most obvious.

Kuzunoha, see above.

Pendragon is one of the names used to King Arthur, and I'll let you draw your own conclusions there.

>>40552405

That's the idea.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>40552363
1: Nanaya Clan
2: Kuzunoha Clan

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>>40552363
>>40552438
>But I'm a massive nerd for SMT, so...
In that case, I'm voting for Kuzunoha Clan.

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>>40552493
>DMC

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>>40552682

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>>40552363


"Kuzunoha then..." You mumble, the breeze through the trees giving you and Tsubaki enough refreshment to keep going.

The gravel road splits, and soon your find yourself actually passing through rice paddies, the scrubs of trees and other wild things soon disappearing. A few people working the fields glance up at you, those with beastkin ears perking up first, but a lot of regular humans working alongside them noticing just as fast.

Oddly enough, most of them have eyes the color of pale silver.

Their hair can run almost the entire gamut of colors, but so many of them have silver eyes.

It's a little odd, to be sure.

Eventually, you see a cluster of houses in the distance. As you grow closer, it's very clear that they're all a little aged and patchwork, but each house is still very clearly well maintained.

Soon, you cross paths with a woman who's gaze almost seems to look right through you.

When Shizune opens her mouth, the womans holds up a single finger, and continues to stare, eyes drinking in details while she seems to think about something.

>Introduce yourself
>... What's she doing?
>Engage counter-staring!

>>40552363
>Kuzunoha Clan

>>40552704
>>Engage counter-staring!
I always thought if she and P4MC did a fusion with themselves it would just be Raidou Kuzunoha.

>>40552704
>Engage counter-staring!

>>40552704
>Engage counter-staring!
Can we cheat? Do we know a way to cheat? We should totally cheat.

>>40552704
>>Introduce yourself

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>>40552704

You stare right back, refusing to be intimidated like this.

Gold and silver eyes meet, and she can see the challenge in your own gaze. Stopping their search from before, they lock onto your orbs and steel themselves, preparing for a fight.

For a long moment there is nothing but silence and the passing of wind.

"... They've been doing this for awhile now. Did they freeze up or something?"

"No, I think Mother just doesn't want to lose, and neither does the other lady... should we leave them like this?"

"... You know, what, I'm thirsty. Why don't you just lie in the grass for a bit, and I'll bring back some drinks, alright?"

"OK. Thank you miss Nanaya."

Your eyebrow twitches a bit, and you think you catch your opponent's own brown move a little, but neither of you give up, even when your eyes begin to water.

... Five minutes later, you're beginning to wonder if perhaps this was not the wisest use of your time.

Shizune's returned with a small case of drinks, and is diligently passing them out to the gathering crowd. There's a few whispers among them, but you can't pay too much attention to those.

You need to focus on this battle of wills.

>Roll 2d20. First roll for you, second for the woman.

Rolled 19, 10 = 29 (2d20)

>>40552964
WE SHALL NOT FALTER

>>40553051
>>40553061
read the fucking sticky

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>>40552964
>>40552964

For the longest time, neither of you move.

Your eyes remain locked on one another, even as your feet spread apart and fingers wriggle just above your hips, itching to draw. An imaginary tumbleweed rolls by, while a guitar begins an ancient ballad in your mind and the sun beats down.

The breeze blows, and a man whistles as he pass you.

The sun beats down, as your eyes begin to burn, your opponent's veins becoming more and more pronounced, until...

She blinks.

And the spell is broken.

You're standing in a small crowd of people, rubbing at your own sore eyes, secure in the knowledge that you won a staring contest with a stranger you met on the road.

Coins change hands between a few parties, chatting amicably all the while as you and your opponent recover from your little duel.

"Naoto Kuzunoha." She sticks her hand out.

"Alice Zief." You reply, taking her hand and shaking it. She nods in turn, as though something had been confirmed for her.

"A pleasure. You're the engineer Mr. Watanuki contracted, correct?" You confirm this, and the conversation begins in earnest.

Naoto is one of the primary leaders of the Kuzunoha Clan. There's a few others, but most are busy with one thing or another. As one of the youngest, she was the one with the least cluttering up her schedule, and was sent to meet you on the road and determine if you had the qualities to perform the desired work.

Somehow, you get the feeling she wasn't talking about your ability to perform your job.

>Ask Naoto something (specify)
>Meet another clan. (Pendragon or Nanaya?)
>Something else?

>>40553305
Ask her how safe our daughter will be here. Are the people hampering this project the types to go after family members for leverage?

>>40553305
Ask about the position the Kuzunoha Clan holds in Shinatsu.

Ask about current status quo as she know it.

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>>40553305

"There is one thing that concerns me." You admit, voice low and quiet, as your gaze turns to Tsubaki, laying down on the grass and staring up the sky, pointing up at the clouds and chatting with another girl sitting next to her. Naoto follows your eyes and nods, face turning stern.

"While they haven't yet resorted to such means, I imagine if you were more successful in your endeavors, they might feel the need to enforce their will in more unsavory ways." Steel glints in her eyes, sharp as daggers. "But I doubt any agent of theirs would be able to sneak past us, one way or another. And if they should try force..." She smirks, a subtle and minor thing. "Well, they'll be limited to mercenaries. Ones who don't know these lands, and likely won't be able to work their way through our more... esoteric, defenses."

Automatically your eyes sweep the area, searching for evidence of these defenses, and although you don't find anything obvious, a test of the seithr concentration from your grimoire reveals an unusually weak concentration of the stuff for this altitude. A few possibilities exist for why that could be, but you have a feeling that Naoto's intending to keep that a secret unless her hand is forced.

"Each family has their own defenses." She continues. "The Nanaya use the forest itself as a weapon, and facing the Pendragon straight on is not something anyone inclined toward reason would do. Whoever you have looking after her, I guarantee that they will be able to keep her safe."

That's reassuring then, even if it's a little bit sparse on details.

>Ask Naoto something else? (specify)
>Meet another clan. (Pendragon or Nanaya?)
>Something else?

>>40553453

Ask current situation about her clan.

>>40553453
Meet the Nanayas.

Is Shaderic kill?

>>40553589
>hasn't even been an hour yet
But yeah, Shad needs to get faster.

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>>40553589
>>40553626

I've been experiencing technical issues with my connection.

Thankfully, they seem to be resolved and I'll now be able to get back to updating.

Although seriously, I'm kind of annoyed. It seems like half the time I'm running these, I get sick, am too tired to play, have to go into work, or run some other kind of errand that cuts into this...

And on the day I get back into things at a decent pace, I start having connection problems.

Seriously, it's kind of annoying.

>>40553717
There's a reason that people say that QMs are cursed. Try to think of one that doesn't run into some kind of issue on a regular basis, they're nearly non-existent.

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Oh shit you're back! This is truly a great day!

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>>40553379

Asking for details about the Kuzunoha clan itself gets you a bemused smile and a raised eyebrow.

"We're farmers." You just look right back at her and return that exact same expression, your own brow arched ever so slightly higher. "Well, also do our own information gathering on the side." She admits. "Mostly it ends up boiling to knowing who to talk to in order to get the best prices for our goods, but there have been occasions where for the good of our allies we've found out where to look for unique goods and services. The fact that we are not all beastkin helps as well." She nods at a passing fox-kin who snorts as he passes.

>>40553390

"Stalemate." She says outright. "We haven't been able to get the resources to get the mine up and running and they're not going to run us off the land anytime soon."

>>40553545

You exchange a few more pleasantries, before a runner grabs her attention.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I have to go take care of something. I hope the rest of your stay in Shinatsu is pleasant." And like that, she turns on her heel and strides after the messenger, eating up the distance until she disappears elsewhere in seconds.

Shizune rises from her place on the edge of the road, Tsubaki trailing quickly after.

"Well, let's head to the next one then." She stretches her arms out, before leading you onward.

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>>40554041

The path takes you through the Kuzunoha's little village, before exiting out the other side. The rice paddies go on a little bit further, but end almost abruptly at the edge of a forest. Stepping under the foliage, it almost feels like you've entered a different world entirely. Unlike the scrubland of before, this is a thick and wild looking place, choking out the light and covering everything in green shadows.

Thick roots break up the narrowing path, and you're forced to watch your step. Tsubaki gets used to the difficult terrain rather quickly, while your guide simply glides over it like she was walking on flat and level ground rather than balancing on roots and broken up boulders, her path steadily working itself higher into the trees until she's striding between branches while you and Tsubaki pick your way across the ground.

You think you get why Naoto mentioned the forest itself being a weapon.

Progress is slow, and you're beginning to think that maybe you're going in circles. You're not sure where you're going anymore, and if you didn't have your grimoire keep track of time, you'd probably have no idea what time it is at all.

Still, eventually you emerge in a clearing, albeit one just as dark as the rest of the forest. Squirrel-kin children laugh as they chase each other among the tree branches, while a few others replace the tile roofing on surprisingly traditional looking homes.

A stern looking matron emerges from one, her eyes immediately zeroing in on you, before charging towards you lightning quick.

>DODGE
>COUNTER
>BLOCK

>>40554051
>BLOCK

>>40554051
>COUNTER

>>40554051
FEIGN A COUNTER
DO A DODGE

>>40554079
>>40554110
>>40554151
sasuga /tg/

>>40554051
>>DODGE

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>>40554051

She's coming at you so fast-!

You're already gathering seithr for a block, but if she's even half as strong as Shizune you already know it won't be enough. Instead, you opt for a different trick.

Her outstretched fist hits your barrier inches away from your face, cracks almost immediately riddling the defense, casting her victorious smirk in red light. An expression that quickly turns to confusion when the shield doesn't disappear, instead growing brighter and brighter while your already back stepping away. She tries to wrench her arm free, but instead drags the whole construct toward her while you're putting the finishing touches on it.

Planting a boot on it, she just barely manages to get her hand free before she kicks it straight up.

As soon as it disappears past the branches, you can hear the detonation as the modified defense Ars goes off.

"Points for quick thinking!" The matron grin, giving you a thumbs up. "An important trait for any wife! But do you really think I'll let you steal away one of my daughters, just because you can block a single blow? Think again, rogue!" And with another arrogant smirk, she charges you again.

Behind you, there's a very resigned moan of "Not again, Mom..." that sounds very much like Shizune's.

>BLOCK
>COUNTER
>EXPLAIN

>>40554329
>>COUNTER
Now we just HAVE to beat her.

>>40554329
>COUNTER
"I like her, she's fun!"

>>40554329
>BLOCK
WHILE WE
>EXPLAIN

>>40554329
>COUNTER
At this point there's no way we're backing down.

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>>40554329

Somehow, you realize there's only one way forward through this mess.

And that's through.

You've been drawing in seithr constantly since the fight began though, so at least you have some options...

>Roll 2d20, one for you, one for attacker.
>Supply clever tactics and witty one-liners for bonuses!

Rolled 19, 19 = 38 (2d20)

>>40554464
Appeal to her sense of motherhood and wanting to set up her daughter with something strong

Rolled 10, 17 = 27 (2d20)

>>40554464

>>40554464
Uh... tactics. Try the same thing we did before, but have it detonate instantly?

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>>40554467
>>40554495

Tie and one where she leads... Do we have a valiant third roll in the audience to save you guys?

Rolled 9, 5 = 14 (2d20)

>>40554598

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>>40554467
>>40554495
>>40554602

Ouch.

Looks like a tie, with the overall score leaning ever so slightly to Mama Nanaya.

Let's see how that works out for you...

>>40554629
I would have suggested my plan, but I'm not sure how Shizune would have reacted to us asking her mother to marry us.

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>>40554464

She's fast.

But this time, you have a little more energy to play with, and a better idea of just what skills she's going to use. Overwhelming physical power, in concert with raw speed to overwhelm any defense you can mount. One thing that is abundantly clear, is that you can't afford to make this a straight up slugging match.

So you don't.

You use trap barriers like that first one to buy you space and time, while throwing up every bind you can to try and slow her down while you gather energy for a real show-stopper.

Unfortunately, she's learned a bit from you as well.

Rather than using her fists to slug straight through your barrier and risk getting trapped on them, she's switched to a style based around flat palm thrusts that just knock the entire things out of the way, while she practically dances around your chains or just speeds straight through your AoE Ars. She's even managed to knock a few of your explosive barriers straight at your using leg sweeps, and her eyes are sharp enough to pick out the difference between the delayed and instant detonaters.

It's a lightning quick game of chess where she controls the tempo, much as you hate to admit it.

If this were your entire game-plan, you'd probably lose this fight as soon as she got bored playing around and went straight for your throat. Fortunately, you've got an ace burning a hole in pocket.

>MACROSS MAGIC MISSILE MASSACRE
>GRAVITIC DISTORTION
>BARRIER CRUSH
>SHINESPARK
>ASTRAL FINISH! (Make up a finishing move)

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>>40554709

... You are amazing and I wish I had read this before I finished and threw up the update.

>>40554722
>>GRAVITIC DISTORTION
Up you go!
Down you go harder!

>>40554722
>GRAVITIC DISTORTION

>>40554722
>GRAVITIC DISTORTION

>>40554732
That's exactly why I waited to long to post it. Now you'll have to wait until Shizune isn't present, and we'll get away with it.

>>40554722
>GRAVITIC DISTORTION

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>>40554722

For another moment, you concentrate on your defenses, carefully reading her footwork and pace, learning everything you can about the way she moves.

Then, you focus on putting the finishing touches on your final card.

Predictably, this means your ability coordinate everything else gets weaker and in a few second the beastkin has blitzed through, racing at you while strafing using quick dodges. The speed is nearly unreal, and she's less than five feet away from you when you finish casting, arm already drawn back for the the mother of all haymakers.

But you're a step ahead of her.

Her foot slams down, the other surges forward and then.. that first foot doesn't budge. It's almost comical how close she comes to falling on her face, but she recovers almost immediately.

"Up you go-!" Seizing control of the distortion, you rip her straight off the ground and a good thirty feet in the air. For a split second she hangs there, absolutely gobsmacked.

"Down you go HARDER!" You force the distortion straight back into the ground at an acceleration rate of 19.6 meters per second per second, exerting twice the force of normal gravity.

The vibrations as she hits the ground echo in your bones, wind from the impact blowing your braid straight out behind you. The earth cratered where she fell, and you feel yourself worrying that you might've just killed someone.

"Not too shabby. But really..." The woman grins, tail shaking off dust as she walk out of the crater. "... Did you really have to destroy my clothes like that?" And it's about that that it hits you that not everyone constantly wears reinforced or other magical clothing. "I mean, you really wanted us to get to know each other..." She give you a saucy wink.

That lady looks way too young to have a kid Shizune's age.

>FULL RETREAT!!
>STAND YOUR GROUND!
>ADVANCE!

>>40554972
>STAND YOUR GROUND!

I refuse to retreat, but advancing sounds like it may not be the best thing, or maybe it is, hard to tell.

>>40554972
>ADVANCE!

BRING IT ON

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>>40554999
In this case, the choice is slightly more... metaphorical.

It's more how you're reacting to her 'advances' on top of her advance.

>>40555020
Oh yeah, that's perfectly clear. Which is the main reason I refuse to retreat. I'm just not sure that advancing on her advances is the greatest idea.

>>40554972
>STAND YOUR GROUND!
Tsubaki is RIGHT THERE. She's not old enough to be exposed to such things!

>>40554972
>STAND YOUR GROUND!

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>>40554972

You just grit your teeth and swallow.

You're here, and you've made it through her assault. You're not just going to let her walk all over because she's naked and young and so very perky-

You bite your lip and refocus entirely on her face.

When she realizes that you're not really reacting much, neither running away nor acting like a moonstruck fool she just tuts a little, planting her hands on her hips.

"Really now, am I getting so old that I can't even-"

"MOM!" The woman pouts, but at least gives up on the innuendo. Shizune for her part looks mortified enough to just keel over and die, even as she's whipping her jacket off to throw at her mother. To be honest, you're pretty thankful for that too.

It buys you some time to get your thoughts in order.

>What the hell was that about?
>Introduce yourself.
>... Can we just move directly to the Pendragon from here, and call it a day?

>>40554972
>ADVANCE!

>>40555182
>Introduce yourself.

>>40555182
>Introduce yourself.

>>40555182
>Introduce yourself.

>>40555182
>Introduce yourself.

>>40555182
>Introduce yourself.
And welcome back, shaderic.

I, for one, was waiting for more sexy mage shenanigans. With a dash of what the hell is going on whaaaaat.

>>40555182
>Introduce yourself.

> not teaching Tsubaki how to seduce people while battling

>>40555296
She's too young! She's far too young!
How old is she, again?

>>40555296
Chances are she'll get to learn it from us eventually, let's just give her a bit more time before we start seducing people we fight.

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>>40555182

Somehow, you find yourself in a little room, sitting around a low table while your sip green tea.

It's sort of surreal.

As the snacks go around the table, you introduce yourself and make the acquaintance Hanabi Nanaya, who... isn't at all apologetic about attacking you out of the blue for reasons no one sitting here has adequately explained.

You sip more tea, and wonder why they couldn't serve something actually sweet to drink as Hanabi smiles at her daughter, who is doing her level best to glare the woman to death. Shizune doesn't want to go into it, and Hanabi's having far too much fun dancing around with innuendo totally inappropriate for Tsubaki's virgin ears, for you to really want to spend much more time here.

But it's getting late, and it has been a long day.

You'll just have to woman up and do your best tor protect your precious daughter's innocence from that pervy woman!

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>>40555432
Aaaand that's it for the day, I think.

It's been a long session folks, but holy shit did we get a whole lot done today.

As usual, I'm going to stick around to address comments, questions, and concerns.

At the current time, I'm thinking about alternating this quest with Retired Mascot, so it might be a whole two weeks before our next session.

Or I might not, and just decide to keep on going with Phantom Genesis. No idea, yet.

Anyway, it's been a hell of a night folk, and I hope you all had as much fun as I did.

>>40555305
The Blazblue timeline's a clusterfuck. She's more than nine, but less than 13 at this time, I think. Call it twelve, maybe?

>>40555491

... how is a foxgirl produce squirrelgirl? She takes after her father?

>>40555491
>Or I might not, and just decide to keep on going with Phantom Genesis. No idea, yet.
Yes, yes please

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>>40555503
Milfy squirrel girl pictures are something I had a little bit of trouble acquiring, so I made do with what I had.

Hanabi's a squirrel-kin, just like Shizune and Makoto.

>>40555491
See, far too young!

>>40555491
Will you write smut?

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>>40555545

Eh, maybe? I've written smut before, but there's that, and then there's running a smut thread. On top of that, I'm not sure I want to deal with people trying to steer the game towards lewds. I try to throw in a little ecchi now and again, but I don't really want it to dominate the story. Put in some time waifu-ing someone, or engaging in Hikaru Genji plans and-

Oh god I've brought up the Hikaru Genji Plan when Tsubaki's your daughteru. I am a horrible person.

>>40555670
I'm honestly way more interested in having an actual story with maybe some occasional ecchi than outright smut. If someone wants smut they (or you) can just write up a pastebin. This quest has way too much potential to throw it all away for yet more smut.

>>40555670
Terumi when?

>>40555739
>>40555670
Honestly, I don't see smut dominating the plot ever, even if you do include it.

>>40555670
> I've written smut before
Where?

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>>40555750

Terumi is currently in Kagutsuchi feeling incredibly frustrated.

This may or may not be because of things you fixed for Kimihiro fucking the snake up enough to let a certain shop-keeper get away from him without being stabbed dead.

It could also be because the heir to the Yayoi went missing, and he has no fucking idea where that kind of important piece to his plans went.


>>40555812

There's a little bit off stuff on QQ, but most of what I've done has ended up on private boards.

>>40555885
>There's a little bit off stuff on QQ, but most of what I've done has ended up on private boards.
Please. Please share.

>>40555885
Will Noel actually be able to make it through the military academy without her rock?

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>>40555970

That's a kind of creepy way to put it, friend. Most of my stuff on QQ never really went anywhere, and the private stuff... it's kind of private stuff between friends.

If you really want to though, you can look me up on QQ.

https://forum.questionablequesting.com/

>>40556018

>Implying you aren't already rippling the fuck out of the timeline.

Incidentally, no one's guessed who Eddie is yet. Do you want to be spoiled, keep guessing, or find out via surprise when you finally call him up?

>>40556066
I can't find you man ;_;
Just wanna read your stuff.

>>40556066
Spoil me, spoil me!

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>>40556092

Are you sure...?

It's Edgar Vermillion.

.... It just occurred to me we are probably MILF ourselves...

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>>40556373

You say it like MILF is a bad thing.

>Engages zero effort in hiding the fact that he likes his women with bountiful curves

>>40556373
Christmas Cake is the correct term.

>>40556487
Well, we don't know if we are over 25, anon. We do already have kid, adopted she may be, which means we are mother...

>>40556486
Curve aside, I guess this means we can make Tsubaki and Noel together again! ...wait, that probably put Terumi's plan back on track. Damn.

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>>40556519

You're talking like half the reason I started this quest wasn't to fuck with an incredibly smug asshole and to see how many ripples I could conceivably work across the blazblue timeline.

There's a reason I plopped you guys down about ten years prior to the games, after all.

>>40556625
I mean, if we make Noel and Tsubaki meets, it may rerail Terumi's plan enough to restart it. Which is baaaad, yes?

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>>40556646

Well, it'd also require her to wield the Izayoi and sort of get subsumed by it, which I don't imagine will be happening in this timeline because I don't think you guys will let her start wielding a weapon that makes it's user blind/get possessed.

And if you did get your hands on the Izayoi, you'd probably disassemble it and scatter the pieces in the sea of fog.

Anyway, sorry I seem a little contrary about this. Canon likes to chase it's tail around the constant peril and dystopia, so I'd like to steer things in a lighter direction.

>>40556848
Soooo
We can totally introduce them then encourage them to hold hands?

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>>40556872

Yep.

You could even try to teach Noel how to cook!

>>40556957
you're asking the impossible mate

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>>40556848

Well, it'd probably be a better idea to alter the Izayoi to do none of the things you just said, even if it'd come at the cost of some firepower. And then watch Terumi's plan crumble when he realizes the lynchpin of it just lost all the properties he wanted it to have.

Whoops!