>>1801665
It fortunately doesn’t take very long to find her after a bit of guesswork- she’s in the HQ’s Break Room, scowling at nothing, or maybe herself. From what you know about her, that last one is more likely.

You hadn’t actually been in here before, and you’re kind of surprised to find it’s fairly elaborate. Sink, complete with dishwasher and some complimentary dinnerware. Large double-sided fridge. There’s a vending machine with a decent variety of snack foods and drinks there- heck, there’s a synthesizer for more elaborate meals...well, elaborate to a point. That and the price ranges are looking kinda steep on that one. Thirty small motes for a macaroni and cheese meal? Bah.

Still, none of that matters much; not with Mono’s head on the table and looking like she wants to hit something.

She glances at you, and her scowl softens slightly, but doesn’t disappear. When she breaks eye contact with you, she lets out something that could be called a slight whine. “I screwed up.”

>Don’t say anything. Just let her get it out.
> “Eh. It happens. It’s never fun, but it’s not like I’m flawless...”
> “Yeah. And now you’ll know to do better.”
> Other

>>1801666
>>Don’t say anything. Just let her get it out.

15 minutes more due to start of thread. Here's hoping.

>>1801666
>Don’t say anything. Just let her get it out.

>>1801666
>> Other
>You didn't. Specially for a rookie on her first ever mission against a crazy maniac. we knew what could happen the moment we brought you in, and performed as best as someone in your position could.

>>1801699
Seconded.

Mmmmm...I could likely work with this. Writing.

>>1801666
>>1801675
>>1801691
>>1801693
>>1801699
>>1801722
You’re not entirely certain how to approach her at the moment, and that results in you staying quiet for now...you’re not sure what to do with your hands right now. Maybe you’ll try out one of those meals…

Maybe after she talks, though. Now’s probably not the best time for that. The way she drums her fingers makes you think she’s got something to get out, but if she’s not talking, then-

“-I don’t think I was really expecting what we did.” Ah, there we go. Her voice is smaller, more tired. “I mean, I know what you said, I GET it, I really do. But I guess I just didn’t...y’know...internalize it yet. Not until just now, honestly.” She adjusts her chair a bit to better face you, and you can see a strange look in her eyes. It’s not...not bloodlust, no. Something like that determined look you’ve seen others get when it’s time to put up or shut up. Goodness knows you’ve worn that look yourself constantly. “I guess part of me thought it’d be a lot of wandering around and occasionally doing jobs that- that might not’ve been all that nice, sure, but seeing all these new places and having all these new experiences would be the main thing. And that’s not the case, not like you didn’t tell me like, ten times. So when I actually got into a firefight, I just...”

Okay, okay, enough of the pity party. “You did fine enough.”

Mono has the audacity to look shocked. “But- but I couldn’t do any of my orders, or-”

“Last I checked, you tried to do ‘em anyway.” you shrug. “You didn't screw up. ‘Specially for a rookie on her first ever mission against a crazy maniac. Honestly, most rookies don’t get a job that dangerous. But, decided to take a chance on you. We knew what could happen the moment we brought you in, and you performed as best as someone in your position could.”

An eyebrow goes up...and a small smile starts to blossom. “...y’really think so?”

“Yeah. I mean, obviously you’ve got some stuff to work on. You CANNOT get surprised by sniper fire anymore.” she nods in agreement on that front at least. “And you’re going to have to get used to kills sooner than later. Good on you for helping with the kill secure, by the way.”

“Oh, yeah…” she actually blushes at this a bit. “I kinda...yeah, got mad.”

Makes sense. “Good. Use that.”

Finally, she seems calmed down again. “I will. Thanks for this, by the way. Still gonna take some time to get used to, but...well, not like I have much choice, huh? I made this decision, so I’d best start handling it.”

Now she’s getting the picture.

“So, what’s next?” she asks.

That’s...a pretty good question. Your downtime is precious...

>Suggest up to four things to do. These will be done over the next week.

>>1801864
First of all, get shitfaced. That was a scary-if very quick- mission.
Then keep training mono, and find her a tutor. i think we had in mind getting her someone that could teach her how to crowd control, or something.
and finally talk with owlia and cylica to see how are they doing? i dont know.

>>1801864
1. Combat training, to get acclimated to the sounds, smells, and terror of combat.
2. Look into equipment that can help in the short term, like a shield drone. Yes, Owlia can likely build one cheaper and better, but not without that 200 Mote Lab she won't, and Mono needs something sooner than that.
3. See if she can learn another form of magic, like energy projection or body augmentation.
4. Get a personal defense weapon.

>>1801864
>>1801876
Wait, things for Mono to do, or Miranda? Because my list is mostly for Mono.

Sorry, this was mostly for Mono.

>>1801881
So you're good.

>>1801864
See if she can learn to use her magic to enhance her physical abilities like us.

Like I said in the other thread, getting it to the point where just humming silently to herself or playing it in her head would be ideal. If not, try to learn a different type of magic, that spell is vital

Gotcha, gotcha. Writing!

>>1801875
>>1801876
>>1801907
>>1801864

Well first of all, the fact that she still no means that she still has to get used to combat situations. She's not going to become an expert in a week, but you can certainly get her started on that front. You'll have to talk with Lorelei about how to set up a proper schedule with her, since you did say that she was going to be starting things off. “I'll get in contact with you soon enough. I need to set a few things up for you- like making you a proper schedule so that you can get properly hardened up. The fact that you managed to recover as you did is impressive, but you're going to need more than that.”

“Right...I guess it would be better if I got started on that sooner than later. Maybe if I spend some time at that clinic…” she starts to get up, but you put a hand on her shoulder, stopping it.

“Actually, don't get too used to going there very often. It's useful, but I don't think it's where your big potential talent lies, after all.”

“What, you mean my singing?” She cocks an eyebrow. “Yeah, we were kinda talking about that, but…I wasn't sure after now.”

“Well, I'm pretty sure it's still a very potentially valuable skill. We just have to figure out how to be able to use it in an active combat situation,” you explain. “The Intersection has quite the number of interesting individuals. I'm pretty positive we can find at least one that does some kind of singing based magic that can help tutor you. Honestly, I'm curious to see what extent your skills can reach.” At least, that was the hope. You're sure you've heard of aural-based magic before... but what you're not certain of is how common it might be.

The confused look on her face makes you pity her...but at the same time you’re actually kinda excited. “Well, I mean...what else do you even think I could do? I thought that kinda magic was all I was good for, spell-wise.”

It’s too much to resist a grin and a pat on the back. “I think you’ll be surprised. Anyway, keep yourself fresh, and keep training.”

As you leave her in higher spirits, a frown forms on your face. You hope searching for a bard or something won’t be too hard…

A very basic search on your FutureSight shows there’s at least 4 in the city, thank goodness. As for quality, though...

>Roll 4d20 for search efforts.

Will post results later tonight, but will continue proper tomorrow.

Rolled 14, 7, 1, 11 = 33 (4d20)

>>1802038

Rolled 5, 12, 6, 6 = 29 (4d20)

>>1802038

Rolled 13, 5, 16, 11 = 45 (4d20)

>>1802038

Rolled 13, 15, 11, 2 = 41 (4d20)

Meh results. Probably gonna take a while. I hope she does manage to get gud.

Rolled 16, 12, 5, 15 = 48 (4d20)

>>1802038

its good to know that at least one wont be a comlpete hack.

>>1802038
>>1802053
>>1802064
>>1802070
Ugh. Two of them you dismiss out of hand- they’re very basic ‘hobby’ tutors, nothing that Mono would really benefit from. As for the other two, however...well, they still don’t SOUND the best, but they might at least be worth looking into.

>Latreux’s Lovely Lyrical Lessons: Interested in perhaps learning how to properly carry a professional tune? I’m all too ready and willing to teach even the most basic of singers how to become veritable muses, capable of singing at their best, and for any and all social situations. Price: 40 Small Motes per lesson (4 lessons per week.)

A quick check on the local infonet reveals that Latreux is a former singer himself; apparently aside from stage and spellsinging, his skills lie in teaching his students poise and grace, as advertised, and he has a surprisingly strict teaching style. From what you can surmise, Mono’s bound to pick up focus and likely strong presence and voice projection- meaning that Mono’s effects would have a much wider range. It DOES note that he has a bad habit of imparting the lesson of ‘losing yourself to the music’, however. So chances are if you needed her to adjust what she’s singing or evacuate from a situation, she’d be less reactive.

>Miana’s School o’ Barding: Do you sing like a chump? Wanna give your vocals a bump? To whom do you go if your throat’s feeling slow? Miana’s the name, singing’s my game, so learn under me and your tunes won’t be lame! Price: 50 Small Motes per lesson (4 Lessons per week)

The details on this one seem like Miana is a flighty bard, and tends to adjust what she’s teaching day by day. She also seems to be more about inspiring people to find new songs and creative methods of singing about things, as well as ‘reading the crowd’. She’s noted to have surprising skill in teaching breathing and endurance lessons as well- when she feels like it. Chances are Mono learning under this gal would be able to adjust her subjects quickly, but by all accounts she’d be taught to have ‘one eye out for your next song at all times’, so the effects would likely be less thorough.

Hmmm…

>Go with Latreux- Adds ‘Imperious’ option to song styles (Crowd Control, directly affects opponents), + to Mono rolls that involve sustaining a song, very long vocal range. If you need her to change songs/relocate, will ALWAYS take a minimum of two turns to refocus and reroll.

>Go with Miana- Adds ‘Heartening’ option to song styles (Empowering, directly affects allies). + to Mono rolls that involve starting a song, can reroll immediately if she needs to change songs or relocate, effects of non-Heartening songs are lessened.

>Other

>>1803272
>>Go with Latreux- Adds ‘Imperious’ option to song styles (Crowd Control, directly affects opponents), + to Mono rolls that involve sustaining a song, very long vocal range. If you need her to change songs/relocate, will ALWAYS take a minimum of two turns to refocus and reroll.

>>1803272
>>Go with Miana- Adds ‘Heartening’ option to song styles (Empowering, directly affects allies). + to Mono rolls that involve starting a song, can reroll immediately if she needs to change songs or relocate, effects of non-Heartening songs are lessened.

>>1803272
>>Go with Latreux- Adds ‘Imperious’ option to song styles (Crowd Control, directly affects opponents), + to Mono rolls that involve sustaining a song, very long vocal range. If you need her to change songs/relocate, will ALWAYS take a minimum of two turns to refocus and reroll.

I'm thinking Mono needs to take part in a few more joint missions before she can go solo, so the best for now would be improving her range and focus so she can contribute more meaningfully while staying out of the deep end of shit. She can pick up flexibility later.

>>1803272
>Go with Miana- Adds ‘Heartening’ option to song styles (Empowering, directly affects allies). + to Mono rolls that involve starting a song, can reroll immediately if she needs to change songs or relocate, effects of non-Heartening songs are lessened.
The hit to mobility will make Mono into a big immobile target.

>>1803272
>>1803307

>>1803323
a valid point. changing my vote to:
>>Other
She should learn mental parallel processing instead. Learn to partition her consciousness so that one part focuses on singing and the other can maintain combat awareness.

>>1803333
>>1803272
You know, i like the idea:
>Other
>She should learn mental parallel processing instead. Leave those teachers for later.

>>1803272

Supporting >>1803333

>>1803333
Yeah, I'll also support this.

>>1803272

>>1803333
>multitasking is a good skill toi have

Otherwise I'm voting for Miana

>>1803272
>Other

Find an Opera singer so that she can learn Absolute Dominion in a set space around her, limiting her range but being able to completely control reality within it quickly and while moving.

Sort of like >>1803333 where she can fight and sing at the same time without breaking her concentration because she's using the two together to control the environment around her.

So she could sing herself light to jump up in a crescendo, then sing herself crashing down like she weighs ten times as much, increase the tempo to haste herself or sing a dirge that wraps around the enemy like molasses.

Sing in 7/5 time to blink around.

>>1803272
>>1803607

What are Monos combat skills again? I can't remember from the testing she did.

>>1803620
She's decent with rocket launchers and assault rifles, her furry pawsies :3~ stop her from using other stuff adequately. Amateur swordsmanship and no real experience.

>>1803607
If only we had not killed the phantom of the opera! A cabaret or revue would work as well, it's essentially the same thing

...Okay, I gotta put SOME limits on y'all.

First, as for >>1803333, I'll be honest, I have no clue how I'd write that. Been sitting here for a bit thinking about it and I got nothing. Either way, what you saw is what she has available to her.

She might be able to learn such skills as >>1803607 in due time, but not immediately.

>>1803673
awwww.
well, could we at least teach her first to keep singing under fire, and keep singing while moving/us moving her?

>>1803673
In that case, I'd rather wait a bit and try again later. The first one makes her too much of a target, and the second's power up abilities for others doesn't grab me for some reason.

>>1803655
Mono is bad with handguns and sniper rifles, average with assault rifles, great with heavy weapons like rocket launchers, and pretty good with energy weapons like laser and plasma rifles.

>>1803655
Mono has no furry paws. just very big hands.

>>1803677
Both teachers presented would be capable of that, as they're both battle experienced. Sorry if I didn't imply that well enough.

>>1803655
Also what >>1803694 said.

File: tumblr_n5hdptNNqb1r2c4soo1_500.gif (866 KB, 500x249)

866 KB GIF

>>1803673
So what about a KPOP dance/vocal instructor then who can teach Mono how to move with the music and to use it to buff herself up or do distracting illusions?

Because honestly Mono is really below the rest of the team in regards to physical ability.

Yes.

I want her to dance fight.

>>1803718
That would be Miana.

>>1803701
could we try to teach her that ourselves? you know, she sings, and we launch small fireworks in her general area, until she is able to keep singing under sniper fire.

Okay, so, I get what you guys are wanting to focus on, and it seems like Miana would be your best bet in regards to mobile singing. I should remind you that this simply adds to her skillset, and she'd still be able to sing songs with different purposes/battlefield changes.

>>1803749
That can be folded in, although like I said, she will at least learn the basics of 'singing under fire/when in danger' anyway.

This is a bit more iffy than I'd have expected. So are you cool with Miana or would you rather not bother?

>>1803837
its cool

>>1803837
>>1803852
I mean just looking at this it's a bunch of people wanting to munchkin or powergame and Have It All in one single choice. These are all things she can develop down the line if necessary. I'd love to see Mono go Mary Poppins on someone's ass but we're getting off track.

Baby steps

>>1803837
Stick with Miana.

>>1803869
It's not about being a munchkin or powergaming: not trying to stack the deck in our favor is simply stupid, from an in-character point of view.

No, the problem is not considering the cost; something this useful would be in high demand, and command a high price. A price that Mono would not be able to afford, given the prices that the other instructors are charging already stretched her budget.

>>1803837
I'm cool with it. I mean, this is just a skill to learn and build off of. Personally I think people trying to power game are missing the point, because we can always see another teacher later I presume, or the one we didn't pick this time.

That, and the fact that how you use skills in this quest seems more important than what the skills are.

So it becomes a question of style. I doubt Mono is ready to be a solo operator any time soon, but she's also just too weak IMO to work as a support that also needs dedicated protection, taking one of our two hitters off the job.

So she needs to be flexible enough to defend herself and switch support between whichever teammate needs it at the time.

Lori for scouting and ganking, Randy for applying pressure and beat downs directly to the forehead, Izzy the all rounder providing sniper support, suppression, and snacks.

Also swords for defending Lori or Mo as needed.

But seriously. Next job we should list her role officially as providing Sniping, Swords, Suppressing fire, and Snacks and make her responsible for acquiring local desserts. Now that we're an outfit we have to uphold the traditions of magical girls across time and space for taking the time for sweets.

>>1803852
>>1803869
>>1803899
>>1804142


You’re not the biggest fan of it all, but you’ll settle with Miana for now. Ideally Mono will learn and grow from this, while still being able to put her own spin on everything that she does. There's probably more than one way for her to go from here, but that's for later. Baby steps. You’ll let her know later, after she's done recovering. In the meantime, she's still a bit lacking physically. While you're not sure if there's anything that can be done by herself, you do have an idea or two as to how to maybe assisting that little issue. You just need to see if she's currently available…

Owlia and Cylica’s apartment is a bit more Spartan than you would expect, although all things considered, you can't say you're too surprised. They did just get started as well, after all. You can still tell that they manage to make it at least look rather ostentatious, while at the same time not having much of anything at all. Fancy lamps, carpeting, and some old portraits. Not a whole lot of anything else though aside from a desk that's clearly meant to be a very basic crafting station, judging by the various small machines, and crystal shards scattered about on it.

“Soooo… something to help out the new girl? I guess that's doable…” Owlia mutters, spinning around in her chair as she loses herself in thought. “I've got enough extra resources stashed away for now that I can probably make a couple of basic crystals, but anything serious is going to need a full laboratory.”

“I'm working on that,” you assure. “This would just be something for the short-term, so that she can at the very least going missions without having to literally be carried by us in order to get around at a reasonable pace.”

She lets out a hum of understanding, and turns back to her desk. “Whaddya want? Like I said, the stuff in my suit and especially the kind of gem I put in myself are no goes, but I can probably make you one or two decent shards. They'll still give her a little extra kick! Lesse… with the stuff I have available to me right now, I can make either a Power Shard, for extra muscle and all that… a Flight Shard, for rough terrain and a bit of extra speed...or a Shield Shard, for emergency defense. None of them would last very long, though,” she says as she thumbs through her available ingredients. “You'd be lucky if she got through a mission with one of them still functional.”

Hm. “What about your more technical stuff? Like those anti magic drones?”

She shakes her head. “Same story. Until I can afford my own lab, those are out of the question. Honestly, I don't think I even have the supplies to make one at the moment. I'm sure I will eventually, but not now.”

>Ask her to make a Power Shard
>Ask her to make a Flight Shard
>Ask her to make a Shield Shard
>Nevermind. Don’t worry about it.

>>1804211
>>Ask her to make a Shield Shard

previous thread isn't archived

>>1804211
>Ask her to make a Power Shard
Muscle is good for everything.

>>1804211
>Ask her to make a Shield Shard

Shield it is. Writing.

>>1804211
>>1804223
>>1804264
>>1804278

“How about a Shield Shard, then?” something like that should at least be able to provide her with some token defense, which frankly you think she sorely needs.

She nods. “Makes sense enough. I can probably get you one by early tomorrow. The roughest part of this all is just really compressing all of the necessary materials into the proper crystalline form. With shards, that takes far, far less time to do, so nothing to worry about. If I can buy, or maybe build a proper full-sized compressor, I could slam out shards in less than a day, even. Until then though, I pretty much got what you see here, and a few other tools in my bedroom.”

She turns around, already measuring out a few ingredients and priming a few tools. “I have to admit, I was a bit worried at first about whether I would even really be able to replicate my crystals in such a different environment, but from what I saw before, I shouldn't have any major issue being able to purchase reagents from the right suppliers. At least I hope I won't have any issues…” she frowns briefly, and then turns to you. “Actually, thinking about it, it would probably be beneficial on all sides if you were to occasionally pick up any kind of notable magical object you come across, especially if it's of a mineral sort. I've got enough tools to dissect and study a few things, and it would probably save money in the long term rather than just buying absolutely everything. Especially if it's something that might be unique. You know how I live for research!”

You have to admit, that's an interesting proposition. You'll have to spread the word, and keep on the lookout.

She turns back to our work, and you're mildly wondering if there's anything else that you wanted to talk to her about.

>Ask her how’s life with Cylica now.
>Ask how she’s getting used to jobs.
>Ask about her day in general.
>Nah, she’s okay for now. Leave.
>Other

>>1804337
>>Ask how she’s getting used to jobs.

>>1804337
Well we can show her the flamebringer and baron's rapier. We still got that cool gravity stone in the flamebringer?

>Ask how she’s getting used to jobs. Been to any weird places?
>Does the intersection live up to your expectations?

>>1804337
>>Ask how she’s getting used to jobs.

guys, do you remember if we still have some of the stones from the frontier world(other than the one on our sword)? maybe Owlia might find them useful

>>1804350
We did buy a bunch of ammunition didn't we? I'm quite sure we didn't shoot every single one of them

>>1804354
i'm pretty sure there should be some in the crevices of our couch or in the cornes of our apartment.

>Basically, in exchange for time and materials, Owlia (with the right resources) can learn to make some really cool shit.

>COMPLETELY unrelatedly, I've been playing XCOM2 a lot lately.

Also, sorry for the short run, but I gotta dip. work an all.

>>1804361
Actually I got a "pre-EA" bio ware feeling from it.

>>1804364
Thanks for running!

... wait so should that mean we bring corpses back now?

>>1804337
>Ask her how’s life with Cylica now.

>>1804361
I like the game but I can't play it anymore since it feels like I'm wasting my life just waiting. Animations and actions take too long, it takes like 5 seconds just to shoot at one alien. I even used the console hacks and mods to speed them up but I still feel like my time can be spent doing something else.

>>1804391
>"Miranda, what are you doing?"
>"Hm?"
>"We're extracting why are you holding on to his corpse?"
>"I'm, ah... made a friend who's a taxidermist, it's for them."
>"'Randa, YOU don't 'make friends.' Drop the body and stop being a creep."
>"Meh"

>>1804391
would owlia be more like vahlen, shen senior, shen lady, or tygan?

>>1804549
I feel like she'd be more Vahlen then anything else.

>>1804337
>Ask how she’s getting used to jobs.

>>1804337
>Ask her how’s life with Cylica now.
>Ask how she’s getting used to jobs.

Allo, folks.

>>1806164
'ello

>>1806164
Allo Allo

>>1804337
>>1804342
>>1804346
>>1804350
>>1804397
>>1805819
>>1805891
It’s a couple of seconds of awkward standing about before you figure upon a topic. “So, how’s the job treating you so far?”

Her response is a shrug without looking your way. “Eh, fine enough. Only been on two so far, but the process seems simple, so long as not everyone gets as uppity as the last guy. Not sure that'll happen very often, but if it is then... I'm still pretty sure that I can handle it, yeah. Especially with Cylica with me.” She ends up giving a small chuckle at what you presume is a memory of the recent events. “I’d be surprised if every mission we took involved us having to essentially foreclose on a giant vault of gold!”

You end up laughing a bit, too; you doubt she'd end up in such a situation often, but the imagery is funny. You’ll have to get that story from her one of these days.

“I'm curious about the city still, though. Haven't really had a whole lot of time to explore yet, y'know? I guess I'll get around to it eventually, but in the meantime I must admit I'm intensely curious as to the process of value to Mote transference. I can't help but feel that if I would dig too deep into THAT, however, I wouldn't live to replicate the process.”

“Entirely plausible,” you concede. You're not sure if anyone really questioned how it was done, and you're pretty sure more than a few people got told not to. There's no way absolutely no one wondered.

“I'm hoping eventually Cylica works out her own issues as well. I, mean, like... while she likes the place? She's constantly stressed, or worried people aren't going to take her seriously. She keeps acting like she’s still queen. I keep telling her that we can be however we want to here, and that no one’ll care, but from what I can tell, she still hasn't quite let go of that whole nobility thing. Then again, I suppose I'd be stupid to think that she'd be quick to leave that behind, even IF it's for her own good…” Her face has a worried crease on it, but it soon disappears from sight as she turns back around. Her hands and work is notably slower, though.

>I’d suggest being more direct about it. This isn’t a place where you can get by on just airs, and she should’ve understood that. If you can help drill that in sooner, the better.
>She’ll figure it out in due time. Might best be a lesson learned on her own.
>Do you want me to say something about it? I don’t know how well she’ll take it from me, but I could try.
>Say nothing but good luck. She’s a big girl, she’ll decide what to do herself.
>Other

>>1806286
>>Say nothing but good luck. She’s a big girl, she’ll decide what to do herself.

>>1806286
>>She’ll figure it out in due time. Might best be a lesson learned on her own.

>>1806286
>Well as long as people see her attitude as endearing she'll live. She's going to take it too far with the wrong guy one day, should be a learning experience.

10 more minutes due to start of run.

Hookay, writing. Don't worry about her. Well, I mean you can worry but don't worry.

>>1806286
>>1806295
>>1806299
>>1806301
It's not really your place to interfere with that, you decide. “Honestly? She'll figure it out in due time. I mean as long as people see her attitude as endearing, she live.”

You get a small snort of rueful amusement from her for that one. “And when they don't?”

In response, you shrug again. “Then they don't, something probably goes wrong, and hopefully she'll be smart enough to figure it out then and there. Learning experience.” it would also probably be amusing in one way or another. Kind of a shame that most likely when it happens, you wouldn't be there. You wouldn't mind watching it. “Really, I would say not to stress yourself over it. You just keep working on what you're doing.”

She gives a half smile, but nods. “Fair enough. Thanks. She’s out shopping right now, so I don't think that she'll run into too much trouble just with that. But if she ever did, well, at the very least I can be there for her.”

“Eh, not a problem. Lemme know when the shard is done.” As you leave, you find yourself sighing in relief. Hopefully you wouldn't have to deal with problems like this very often. You'd much prefer to people just manage to do their job as best as they could. Then again, if they couldn't, you suppose it was your duty to find out why. Which could lead to this again…

Well, nuts.

But, that can be worried about later. You’ve got some things set up for Mono. Lorelei’s got her classes to help deal with her head issues, and Izumi has other work. What about you?
You could probably try to work on a new technique...it’s been a while. Or maybe see about better facilities for the HQ. You CAN put your own funds into the HQ’s funding pool… Then again, might be better to just relax and see what the time off brings.

>Look into better HQ facilities (upgrade)
>Start developing a new technique.
>Relax for a while and see what the days ahead bring. (Random Encounter)
>Other

>>1806455
>Start developing a new technique.
this reminded me, didn't the issue with out healing hands come up in the past? with how we need to concentrate to heal up ourselves or others, and be in proximity for the latter as well. If not I'm sure anons have other things in mind for new stuff. like that lightning or focused pulse or zone scanner based radar, something like that I can't recall clearly that came up in the past threads since how long.

other than that can't think up of much, I'm sure we don't have much funds left remaining for the HQ facilities.

>>1806455
>>Look into better HQ facilities (upgrade)
Altough i doubt we have enough money for a new facility.
then
>Start developing a new technique.
Maybe something like a minefield, that can stun or explode.

>>1806475
>Maybe something like a minefield, that can stun or explode.
doesn't light trap already do that?

>>1806455
>>Start developing a new technique.

>>1806455
Can't we continue developing the technique we were working on earlier? IIRC we tried to upgrade the flux wave to not make us sick

>>1806455
>Look into better HQ facilities (upgrade)
>Start developing a new technique.
If these are mutually exclusive go with technique.

>>1806503
You could. General development was that it blurred your eyes a bit, but that was it after some training and field usage.

Anyway, new technique it is! Writing the setup.

>>1806481
apparently its only a trap. i was thinking on something that (in a general sense) won't trap you, but will create a minefield (or just a mine) that either explodes or stuns you

>>1806530
about that...

>Light Trap- 1000 MP
>She conjures a circle of light energy that manifests as a glowing ring. Should anyone but her step into it's radius, the trap triggers, blasting the entire area with light energy. Is notably non-effective on floating/flying creatures- you have to hit the ground.

as far as I can see it IS literally a magic mine that explodes into light energy. constricting someone is the orbital ring's job, in case you meant that by trapping. or you mean you want a more spmmable version with reduced effects? or something subtle than a glowing ring?

>>1806455
>>1806473
>>1806475
>>1806496
>>1806504
Alright, yeah. It’s been way too long since you’ve decided to get creative. Your control over energy is expansive and relatively thorough- you’re pretty sure you should probably update your personal repertoire.

Offensive magics and techniques; that is to say, techniques where you directly and overtly attack the enemy somehow, are where you shine brightest. They’ve always been the simplest for you to nail down the basics, even if the advanced and modified uses take some time to perfect. Defensive techniques- stuff that directly protects you or others from outside damage- are...difficult to form, but generally once you got them, you got them. It’s harder to improve on a defensive technique- far too many cases trials to really make yourself confident in them, so it’s rare you try. Support techniques, stuff that modifies yours or someone else’s state of being, are, while not unknown to you, tend to be extremely simple comparatively, but the ways you can adjust your mana to yourself especially tend to lead to a multitude of usages.

>Try to come up with an interesting technique! Depending on what it’s classified as and the general complexity of the technique, that’ll determine how difficult it is to roll for its general learning. I’ll take the techniques thought up and give you some detail on them in the next update, so that you can be better informed on what to try to work on. I'll let this go for about 30-45 minutes.

>>1806624
>Magi (Sticky) bombs
Basically a combination of the magi blast and the light trap in a compact form.
Once thrown, the bomb would stick to the first thing it touches, let it be a wall, the ground, or the face of a hapless minion, and it detonates when miranda wills it or when its attacked. She can also "disarm" them, and they will dissapear harmlessly from whatever surface or face its attached from.
Its power would vary from a firecracker, up to a real bomb.

Damn, this is hard.

>>1806624
>Dynamic Entry
An offensive technique where Miranda charges herself with mana and uses it to move at incredible speeds/teleports her to a target location and upon reaching the destination the mana surges out and creates an explosion.
Greater charge means faster movement and a greater explosion.

Teleport variant: instantaneous movement
Movement variant: the velocity can let you MACH punch suckers in the nuts.

>>1806744
Giving it a bit more thought, the teleport would use a fixed mana cost while movement has a charge.

>Femme Fatale
Like the Flux Wave, Miranda sends out a wave of mana that alters others perception of her. By alternating the current she can make them feel different emotions directed at her- pheromones on crack. Small amounts of mana only has a subtle effect and is nearly undetectable while larger amounts of mana will instill stronger emotions and can even be great enough that they feel compelled to act.

Who doesn't want a voluntary meat shield or force another party to instigate or escalate a situation so you can blow their brains out and claim self defense?

>>1806624
Shotgun Punch - by concentrating her mana into her knuckles, Miranda fires a burst of magibeams in a cone centered on her fists into whatever she makes contact with.
Jackhammer - a flurry of Shotgun Punches, making a veritable wall of beamy death.

Back! Huh. Alrighty. Let's see what could come of these...

>>1806624
>>1806721
>>1806744
>>1806781
>>1806783

With a bit of thought, you’ve come up with a couple of techniques.

For offense, being able to maybe modify your magiblast a bit further...if you could maybe combine it with a light trap’s manual trigger, that could prove to be a nice little substitute for sticky grenades. It would take a bit of mana to compress something like that, however, much less keep it from detonating on impact...still, you have the general processes for both halves, it’d just be setting it up together...right?

>Magi-bombs
>Offense
>Estimated Initial Mana Usage: 750
>Estimated Learning Difficulty: Moderate

But then again, what if you made yourself the explosion? A massive discharge of volatile mana would probably cause some serious devastation- you honestly would be able to do the detonation part with little difficulty, you feel. In fact, that you could probably do by the end of the day, accounting for testing of impact. But a simple explosion? Nah...could be something more to it, right?

And that’s when it hits you. You’d need to gather mana for that- most people generally...well, they get on guard when it’s clear someone’s doing that. You personally try not to let it show too much, but the amount needed for this? You’ll likely have people fleeing or trying to stop it before it goes off. Which means...you need to have a way to do it without them knowing, or at least close in quick. Maybe if you allowed a reconstitution of the latent mana on a surface level- you recall Izumi mentioning something about her Extreme Tension working similar...it’d take some exhaustive practice, but it could probably be done. Hell, you’re pretty sure your control of mana is as good or exceeds hers- you might be able to move just as fast, if not faster- although for much shorter period of time.

>Dynamic Entry
>Offense
>Estimated Initial Mana Usage: 2000+
>Estimated Learning Difficulty: Moderate-High

Hm...maybe this is all a bit too much for your first recent foray. Maybe something a bit similar would work- something that augmented your already powerful physical techniques. Adding a bit of extra bang to your pow shouldn’t be too much work at all, actually! It’s kinda astonishing you’d never bothered to consider this before- well, no. You never really NEEDED it. And it COULD be a waste of mana sometimes...but it’s still an idea. You’d still need to practice if only to make sure that you didn’t end up wasting mana or perhaps didn’t time it right, while still making sure it had enough strength to not be useless.

cont.

>>1806959
>Shotgun Punch / Jackhammer
>Offense
>Estimated Mana Usage 100 (100 * x) for Jackhammer
>Estimated Learning Difficulty: Easy

Letting your mind wander a bit, you find yourself wondering about possible non-offensive possibilities. With the Flux Wave being your most recent thing, you find yourself wondering if maybe you could spin something off that. Maybe something that could adjust their perception? You’re honestly not sure if you can do that. Possibly. Or maybe at least adjust something about them? If you can make them sick, can you make them sad? Angry? Happy to see you? Wonder if some kind of ‘mana hypnosis’ is possible. Ugh, you can’t even begin to say- if you were to try this, you’d probably need to ask Lorelei AND Izumi for help in figuring it out. But you can’t deny that being able to sway people, targets, and other enemies would be INCREDIBLY useful- particularly alongside Mono or Lorelei’s own set of skills. Still, exuding that much mana in such a precise way...that’d be a tall order until you got the hang of it.

>Femme Fatale
>Support
>Estimated Initial Mana Usage: 5000
>Estimated Learning Difficulty: Extremely High

So, the question here is: What to work on? What to take from concept to reality?

>Magi-bombs
>Dynamic Entry
>Shotgun Punch/Jackhammer
>Femme Fatale
>Nevermind.

>>1806965
>Magi bombs
Right now they should work as impact grenades, and they fit nicely on our loadout. Also, they don't wast that much mana and they arent that hard to learn.

>>1806965
Lets work on dynamic entry and femme fatale. Dynamic entry seems easy enough, and learning it might help some with femme fatale.

>>1806965
>Shotgun Punch/Jackhammer
Something simple to start with, and it'll provide some mana control for anything more complicated.

>>1806965
>Dynamic Entry

Can I vote for my own? Otherwise
>Magi-bombs

>>1806965
> Magi-bombs

What happened to us improving our shocking touch/energy field into ultimately a sort of chain lightning / lightning field?

Last I remember before the crossover there was some talk about using our energy beams at low power to guide the electricity or some such.

>>1806959
>>1806965
>Magi-bombs

>>1806965
>>Femme Fatale
this legitimately seems to be way to good of an ability not to use it, since you can do major fuckery if you can actually alter peoples minds on that scale, even if its hard to learn for a while.

>>1807144
my only complaint with that ability is that is extremly hard to obtain, and it nukes around half of our mana reserves. Hell, it cost even more than the nebula buster

>>1807156
It's way high yeah, but we should be able to dial down the mana consumption and thus the effect. At least that's what I wrote in the suggestion.

Handler, is the MP cost a baseline or a minimum?

>>1807069
No one remembered it.

>>1807167
MP cost is baseline- you can tone it down with practice. You have to learn how to do it, then use it a set number of times on missions (or spend precious time practicing) in order to properly refine it and thus lower the mana cost.

Anywho, alright! Magi-bombs it is!

Which means that it's TIME FOR ROLLS!

Easy = 5d20. Best of three.

Rolled 3, 19, 19, 15, 17 = 73 (5d20)

>>1807172

Wait, no I'm stupid. That's Moderate.

So 3d20. Sorry.

>>1807176
Roll again, please.

Rolled 10, 3, 6 = 19 (3d20)

>>1807177
tch

Rolled 9, 4, 15 = 28 (3d20)

>>1807172

Rolled 13, 1, 10 = 24 (3d20)

>>1807177

>>1807172
I remembered it :(

Can we have a pastebin of upgrade ideas for future referencing by the way?

>>1807199
Probably a good idea.

Anyway, not the best result...apparently there are unforeseen complications. Writing!

>>1807208
The sticky part of the bomb sticks to us before we can throw it?

>>1807208
if we keep our hair intact, is a win

>>1807249
> New technique gained - reactive armour

Mana balls compressed by a light field that sticks to you. When enemies hit you, they are blasted away by the explosion which also propels you away from them to safety!

That's how explosions work right?

Actually I wonder if we could use the principles behind the Flux Wave to "harmonize" our mana blasts to not affect our allies.

>>1807277
you know, i like this idea. it sounds fun, supposing we can get a way to not get hurt by our blasts

>>1807172
>>1807180
>>1807188
>>1807194
Thinking about it, the Magi-bombs are a pretty solid bet for you. They have a base that you already know, and while the complications of combining them might be there, you're pretty sure you can at least spot any problems with excellent accuracy. Not to mention, you'll have to spend a lot more time in the training clinic, which may not always be available to you. Still, you resolve to try your best.

-----

Three days later, and you walk out of the training clinic, sore, dusty, lacking a bit of hair and overall frustrated. While you expected to have a fairly easy time with developing the technique, it seems that the reality of the situation is a bit more complex. Being able to conjure a blast that's not volatile on touch is proving to be more dicey than you thought, and having the formed mana have viscosity as well is proving to be a real bugbear. At the moment, what that means is that the blast simply sort of splats into the ground, with little more than a wet popping explosion that doesn't do anything more than mildly inconvenience someone. Well, either that, or the energy just doesn't seem to want to leave your hand, which has its own troubles. Especially when it detonates prematurely.

At least no one's commenting on the extra forehead you're suddenly showing. Or the singed split ends. There were plenty of people in the test dummy area looking at you, though, and it might just be your paranoia acting up, but you think several of them were laughing at you. Either way, you get the feeling it'll be a bit before you can use this technique in a real fight. You just really need to get the mana consistency down. One way or the other works, it's just doing them together...bah! Outside of the clinic you can’t blast anyone (as hard) at least, so maybe tomorrow you can-

cont.

>>1807353
“Hey! Hold on there!” What? You don’t recognize that voice, but turning around you see a duo of...you’re not sure who they are, but they look related. They both have sky-blue hair, wild and spiky, and both with matching green eyes and the same freckled, tanned faces filled with mischief. One guy, one girl. Maybe fraternal twins? The girl’s a bit more full-figured, but it sits well on her, while the boy is more gaunt, and at least a head taller. Either way, that’s not what’s got your attention, now. What’s got your attention are the outfits they’re both wearing...or rather the logo. They both have simple T-shirt and jean pants on, but the symbol on the front is unmistakeable.

What do two Interdiction Outgoers want with you?

The girl of the pair has a grin on her face as she catches up to you. Saw you workin’ out new stuff earlier. Not much luck, huh?”

You just raise an eyebrow, but she doesn’t seem to take any offense. Instead it’s her partner that speaks up. “Relax, we know how that is. Sucks to not figure out something soon as you get the idea for it. Been there, done that. Doesn’t happen anymore, but I still remember those days.” He shrugs like he didn’t just puff himself up, but you don’t let your annoyance show.

“Anyway,” the girl continues, “We’ve been seein’ ya around more often lately. Wasn’t sure what outfit you were from fer a bit. Was wonderin’ if maybe you wanted to join me, my bro, and some others for a lil’ card night.” She waggles her eyebrows. “It’s gonna be fuuuun! And seein’ what we saw, you’re gonna need a breather anyway.”

...What? Interdiction were notoriously grandstanding at times, and most of their members, you’d heard, were rather full of themselves- not that they couldn’t be, with the power they their ranks threw around. Interdiction had the privilege of being the only one the three big outfits who had a five-member squadron ENTIRELY made up of Rank A+ MGs. Even one Rank A was capable of pounding you into the dirt, as much as you hated to admit it. A+ Ranks could sneeze and blow up a country, or steal secrets in seconds….at least, according what you knew of them. There weren’t a lot of running around. And most of them in Interdiction tended to stick with their Outgoer group. So why invite an outsider like you?

Well...not like there wasn’t an opportunity to find out.

>...Sure. Where at?
>What’s the catch?
>No thanks. I’m busy.
>Other

Agh, gotta go. Will resume tomorrow!

>>1807355
>...Sure. Where at?
>What’s the catch?

whats the catch first though. If we get even a hint of being some kind of joke just fuck off.

>>1807355
>>...Sure. Where at?
>>What’s the catch?

>>1807355
>>What’s the catch?

>>1807355
>What’s the catch?
Yeah, they might honestly want to be nice.
But when's the last time a superstar invited you to a card game with other superstars?
And we're the scrub off the street in this scenario.

>>1807355
>...Sure. Where at?
> What's the ante?

It's Gambling. The "catch" is that you have to pay to play.

Aside from that we're the operational head of a company that just expanded / started up among whom the members are include a newcomer woman who just not only beat but destroyed the Crystal Challenge of a major and well reputed high end brand.

They're probably scoping us out as possible competitors. Gauging if they could steal Cyclia away from us since it's unusual for a mediocre company to acquire such high end talent, or if there's more talent in the company than our records show and maybe it would be good to subcontract out to us or incorporate us somehow instead of headhunting just her.

>>1807355
>>What’s the catch?

>>1807355
>>1807367
>>1807369
>>1807372
>>1807406
>>1807460
>>1808786
“Can’t say I’m not interested. What’s the catch?” you ask as you give them a pensive look. All the girl does is smirk casually, her expression giving you a feeling of someone who's well prepare to give a pitch.

“No real catch- at least, nothing that you would be opposed to, I don't think. We got ourselves a buy-in of twenty, but it's not like you can't make five times that back, or more in a hand!” She still has that insufferable smirk on her face. “And ‘sides, after we did a little bit of asking, we realized that there's been a couplea tongues wagging about ya. Or at the very least, the group you're with. Thought you might be worth extending a hand out to.”

Well. You're not sure whether to be humbled or suspicious. “That so?”

“Yup!” She doesn't seem to be particularly put off by your visible distrust. “Promise, you're going to have a heck of a time. Might even make some new friends, who knows?”

“Talk about friends in high places, right?” the boy asks, a similar grin on his face. “Sis has been talking about this game for a while. Thing is, we hate playing without a full group of five. And we might have to cancel if you don't accept, so hey! You'll have an in with the real big dogs.”

… yeah, that's about par for the course for Interdiction. Hm...well… “Sure. I’m in.”

You’re immediately clapped on the back by the girl, a wide grin on her face. “AWESOME. Great. Okay, meet us at the main building in two hours- you know where, right?” You nod- the Interdiction main office was just on the edge of the Outgoer’s District. Wouldn’t take you too long to get there. “Fantastic, we’ll catch ya later. C’mon, Nero, let’s get the snacks.” She bounces off, a clear spring in her step.

“Comin’, Claudi.” The boy in question just gives you a wordless two finger salute as he and his sister head off.

You can’t stop yourself from settling into a frown. You’re going to have to stop doing that so much…

...but when you feel like you just took a step too far in the pool and are barely keeping your head above water, you can’t help it.

> That meditation room sounds like it might be a good idea…
> Maybe you should talk to one of your friends about this. They might have some advice.
> Other

>>1809166
dropped my everything, sorry.

>>1809166
>> Maybe you should talk to one of your friends about this. They might have some advice.

>>1809166
>> Maybe you should talk to one of your friends about this. They might have some advice.
>> Other
Talk to Sal about it. He (it?) would have the best insight into whatever hidden motives Interdiction may have here. And then talk to lorelei, she seems the best equipped to help out with any kind of gambling or subterfuge.

>>1809166
>That meditation room sounds like it might be a good idea…
Gotta get ourselves in the right state of mind.
>Other: Tell Sal about it
I don't want to presume the worst of the competition; back at the Intersection, we're all acquaintances, not enemies. But even so, better to be cautious.

>>1809166
>> Other
Talk to sal about it(and if he knows some poker tricks), then fix our missing hair.

15 minutes to go due to start of run.

Alright. Sal it is. Writing!

>>1809166
>>1809172
>>1809181
>>1809184
>>1809186
Thinking about it, you'd probably be better off and getting a bit of information about who you're going to be playing cards with. If not personally, then in general. Maybe Sal would know something about them. You're not entirely certain what he'd be willing to say, but anything's better than nothing.

Hopefully.

----------

When you tell him what occurred earlier you see a shining light, before you're suddenly ‘graced’ with his fluid presence. “Ooooooh, oooh, ooooh!” Judging by the wiggling that he's doing- which honestly kind of hurt your eyes a little bit- you have to think he's either nervous or happy about this. “Thiiiis is going to be very interesting. The faaaact that they saw fit to invite you to a social function means that we finally caught the attention of the big boys. Graaaaaanted, it may not being that they consider us to be on the same level as them, but at the very least it means that they know we exist.”

“So… is that supposed to be something good or bad?” you find yourself asking.

“Cooooould be either, or both. Means that they miiiiiight be looking into trying to get us to do some work for them, or possibly even try to absorb us into their fold. Of course, the woooooorst option is if they decide that one of ours would be better off with them, and make a play for them. Iiiiiiif they ask about your experiences, then more impresssssssive that you make your exploits sound, the more interested they'll be in you. Of course that could mean they'd be more liable to give you priority iffffff it comes to a subcontract, and having friends in such a place is only liable to be good...but, then agaaaaaain, if you don't want them sniffing around our with offers, I suggest keeping things relatively basic. Not to mention if you do that they miiiight see us as...well, intruding on territory. They’d be more aggressive in taaaaking good jobs.”

“Well. That’s a lovely choice I have to make,” you can’t help but grouse.

“Interdiction is raaaaaather big on puffery,” Sal says in the most verbal approximation of a shrug you can get from him.

Great. So depending on what you want to risk, that'll affect how you talk to them. If nothing else, you can probably just decide that later on during the actual conversation. In the meantime… you suppose you should look into refreshing your card skills.

--------

Lorelei is more than game to practice with you after you catch her coming back home, and a quick spread of cards is laid out on her kitchen table after a quick shower and fixing of your hair. “Okay, so you know how to play, I know that already. You're pretty good when it comes to cars in general, but let's go over a few things in regards to playing the players, not the game. Tells are important. Knowing how to stop giving them off yourself, more than trying to spot them in others. So...let’s play a friendly game, and I'll see if you might be showing something that you shouldn't.”

>Roll 5d20, Best of 3.

Rolled 9, 8, 19, 19, 5 = 60 (5d20)

>>1809419
Come on starborn curse, don't fail me now.

Rolled 4, 2, 9, 13, 14 = 42 (5d20)

>>1809419

Rolled 19, 16, 10, 11, 14 = 70 (5d20)

>>1809419

Everyone has at least one weakness...writing!

>>1809419
I think our best "bet" here is to play conservatively. Yeah we won't win like that but we'll stay in the game and be able to socialize longer.

If they call us out on it, we can just say that the price was high but fair.

Maybe risk a sudden big Gamble near the end if we have a good hand.

I also kind of wonder how sensitive they are. They're pretty high end so they might be able to read us.

Can we do a little mana shift with our flx wave to "fake" a tell when we have some bad hands and when we fold? Like just oscillating our mana frequency a little or leaking a tiny bit? Then we can do it again when we have a really good hand to make them think we're bluffing and go all in.

They already saw us suck with the Mana Bombs so we can tell them that we have some trouble with fine control. We do raw power well, but we're trying to be less sloppy. We can even tell them about our new Meditation room and ask them for advice on meditation.

As a bonus it's true.

If they really are that arrogant then they'll probably be smug about it and think that it's because we're nervous about playing with the Big Boys.

And if they call us out on it when we trick them they'll have to admit they were "reading" us and hat we fooled them.

We can probably do it twice if we change it a bit to fake "excitement" nervous and then do the same "bad hand" nervous that we would be doing consistently up until then.

We can check if it's working by bluffing a couple of times with it and seeing if they call us on it.

>>1809471
>>1809462

I mean I don't think that was too bad. Slightly better than mediocre.

>>1809489
How is 19, 16, 19, 19, 14 a bit more than mediocre?

>>1809505
really, we take the best individual rolls?

Good God how do we ever expect to fail anything.

File: 0046_11.gif (73 KB, 468x240)

73 KB GIF

>>1809530
Because d20's is the tool of the devil

>>1809530
It's as I call it. Not always best individual. Sometimes it's best overall total.

>>1809545
Man I just roll and don't stress about it. You do you. I figure you have some sort of balancing going on behind the scenes.

>>1809545
Call me Marcie

>>1809419
>>1809440
>>1809450
>>1809462

Later, you find yourself in front of the Interdiction main building. It's an ostentatious place, full of silver and green and has the appearance of some sort of high-tech castle. There's steel ramparts, towers, and even overly large, heavy double doors. Frankly it be impressive if you weren't kind of disgusted by the sheer opulence. You half expected to be an absolute Renaissance Fair inside.

However, when you get in, you're rather surprised. It actually reminds you more of a very upscale hotel then anything. Plush red carpeting, very fancy oak desk with a uniformed receptionist, and a very large foyer with various employees walking about, all in the outfits standard colors. You can see a number of different hallways, leading off a various areas, but it's the receptionist that you need to talk to.

“Hello! Welcome to Interdiction, the greatest mercenary group in The Intersection! For what reason are you here?” Wow, she sounds really robotic. Although to be fair, you're not sure if she's not.

You can't help but notice that there's several others looking at you strangely, but you can ignore that for now. “I'm looking for-”

“Heeey, so you made it!” you're quick to turn around, and see the girl that you were called what's called Claudi approaching you with an ear to ear grin on her face. “Bro’s already with the others helping the setup. Come on, I'll show you to ‘em.” Without even waiting for a response, she begins down the western hallway, and you find yourself following.

The walls are lined with various portraits of individuals, each with names underneath them. “So, I dunno if you've been in here before, but all these are basically our earliest members, and best earners. Most of them are still with us, but some of ‘em decided to move to another field of business after they have themselves a good, long career here. Of course, everyone that does can enjoy some niiice benefits.” She turns around, still wearing that grin. “Interdiction takes care of its own- so long as they help take care of us too. “What’s mine is yours, y’know? We’re family.”

“Makes sense,” you offer.

cont. 1/3

>>1809720
She makes a turn, and walks through a door into a wide, wide hallway, where you see if separated by a large glass wall, and several other people on the other side. At first, you're wondering what it's for, but then you see the entire thing shift and change, and suddenly you find yourself looking at a forest scene- a lush, thick green area, with many rocky outcroppings and even in the sounds of birds and various other fauna. The individuals in the now-forest suddenly split into two teams, and run in opposite directions. “Our own personal live-fire, life situation trial room. For when we get a mission that doesn't require us to leave immediately, we can get an approximation of the locale, and put it into our own custom creation database to get an idea of the tactics we want to employ. Really helps us be efficient!” yet again, she doesn't seem to wait for a reaction before she continues walking. It's getting annoying.

However, she goes past the room, and opens the door to another room. This one's a lot smaller, and it seems to be more of the break room than anything. “Our quick break room. Got custom synthesizers so we can make sure to have the good stuff before we go out on jobs. Still not where we're going, through.” another door, and this time she heads down a shorter hallway, before turning to the right, and heading down to flight of stairs. “We’re headed to La Quiet Hall.”

La Quiet Hall is apparently a small room, that seems to be relatively isolated. It's a small room, with what seems to be some kind of softly glowing violet light, giving the room a subdued and strangely comforting atmosphere. The whole place kind of resembles a bar, with a small selection of various wines and alcohols on one wall behind a seating area, and in the center, a single round table, with a pair of large half circle couches surrounding it. There's another doorway off to your right, but before you can think about it too much, your attention is directed to the other three individuals currently sitting around the table, each with a glass in hand, and a small plate of fruit and vegetable snacks.

The first guy that catches your attention is a rather big fella, currently munching on some carrot chips. He seems to resemble an ogre, but his slicked back hair, lack of tusks, and pig nose, say otherwise. He's no potbelly, but his physique isn't all that muscular. Of course, that doesn't mean he's not strong by any means. His eyes are large, and sharp, and when they settle on you, he gives you a quick scan, before nodding and raising his hand in greetings.

cont. 2/3

Rolled 9, 8 = 17 (2d13)

>>1809751
You offer a respectful nod back.

Nero is sitting to his right, simply smirking at the big guy munching, before he turns to you and gives you that same two-finger salute. “Yo. Glad to see you made it. Like what you see the place? It's pretty deluxe.”

“Pretty obvious,” the last of their little group snarks. He's a thin fellow, actually on the small side though. You can't quite see his face because it's covered by a hood. It doesn't seem like he's human, however. His eyes are too small, and you can't see any actual pupils in them, and his face is a bit too slanted. You can see ridges next to his mouth and where his nose would be, and he speaks with a guttural hiss that nonetheless still manage to sound like it's coming out of a cocky young teenager. “Probably shouldn't insult the girl's intelligence if you don't want her to do her best at wiping you out tonight.”

“It's a possibility,” Nero chuckles good-naturedly.

“Alright, you two goofballs, let’s get it all straight,” Claudi responds as she takes a seat at the table. “Miranda, was it?” you nod. “The big guy's Rochwald, and the guy who likes to pretend he's the edgiest thing on any plane of existence is Zerin. They're both my squadmates. So you can get an idea of my suffering.”

Rousing, mocking Boos erupt from the table at that declaration. Claudi takes it in casual stride, though. “You'll all love me again tomorrow. Anyway, game is Hold ‘em. Aces High. Buy-in is twenty, we go until last guy or girl willing to stay in. Zerin, you dealin’?”

In response, he snatches up the cards impossibly quick, before beginning to shuffle them with a flourish. “Good luck, everyone. And by everyone I mean me.”

With that, the cards are dealt, the first motes are dropped, and the game begins. Let's see what you got...

"So, Miranda." Nero starts. "Just what were you tryin' to do earlier today? What we saw looked like some kinda...goop blast?"

"Goop blast?" Rochwald asks. "A blinding technique?"

>Response?

>>1809817
... A sticky bomb. Shit didn't even stick, all I managed to do was sometimes throw magical snot about.

>>1809817
> I'm trying to gain more control over my mana blasts so that I can have more options. Delayed blasts as mines, maybe. But the fine control of power as opposed to raw output isn't where I've focused a lot yet lately.

Anyone down for using our ability cycle/destabilize our mana signature slightly to see if they're reading it and then using that in the poker game?

>>1809844
Sure, I'm cool with that

>>1809857
I figure if it's small enough to be noticeable if hey look but not disorientating then it should be fine.

If they say something we just blame iout on nerves. It's like a mamagical fidget.

>>1809817
Still working on it. A sticky mana bomb.

>>1809857
>>1809882

Also I might just be paranoid by it's titalky possible someone here can spot intentional lies. So we might want to consider we want to be technically telling the truth, or deliberately lying a bit about things.

Poker is great for interogatoong and observation due the stress and intense focusing already happening.

File: dice gods.png (31 KB, 981x722)

31 KB PNG

>>1809891
Are you high? But yeah, as long as we don't have to roll for it...

>>1809817
>... A sticky bomb. Shit didn't even stick, all I managed to do was sometimes throw magical snot about.

>>1809891
dude, it's a card game. you don't get invited to those if you can detect lies. Also it's hold'em. you can't really lie on those.

Writing! Also I'm trying something out that may not work so forgive me.

>>1809839
>>1809922
>Shit didn't even stick
Oh, it stuck sometimes. It just mainly stuck on us...

>>1809906
. . . . Maybe a little.

But I mean this isn't just a social function on either end. It's networking, and they approached us so they've probably done some investigation and are assessing us.

Trying to read on how we measure up to our rep and what rumors might be true or not, and what we might be capable of for growth in the future.

Rolled 13, 1, 10 = 24 (3d13)

>>1809817
>>1809839
>>1809885
>>1809922
>>1810067
Hm. 9 and 8. Not the best start, but maaaybe could lead to something…

Wordlessly, Zarin throws 3 more motes into the pot.

“... A sticky bomb.” you mutter simply. “Shit didn't even stick right, all I managed to do was sometimes throw magical snot about.”

Nero chuckles briefly as he calls. “Aha, that’s an interesting way to describe that. You got yourself messed up a bit earlier, too, I noticed. I wouldn’t say it didn’t stick at all..”

“Yeah, mistakes do that,” Claudi grins as she also calls. “But, eh, you seem fresh now!”

“At least we can practice without risking such failure in the field,” Rochwald speaks as he folds his cards. His voice is baritone and strong, and clear as a bell. “Training is all too vital to keeping us alive on the battlefield, and helps with other facets of life as well.”

Zarin sighs, and you get the distinct impression he’s rolling his eyes. “Excuse him, he’s our resident ‘all serious all the time’ guy.”

“Until he gets some wine in ‘im!” Claudi crows, as Rochwald gives a huff.

“I concede my affinity for good wine is...great.” He admits. “However, I have been trying to correct that! And doing very well indeed!”

“Eh, we all have our vices, big man,” Nero calmly says. “In a fight or out of it. Like, remember the Blackstone mission?”

“Oh yeah. You and your obsession with android girls.” Claudi says.

He shrugs. “Hey, they’re too perfect sometimes. And you’re not much better, what with trying to find whatever new snacks are lying around.”

“I’m a gourmet.” she casually responds. “It’s hard to resist the call of new cuisine.”

“Aheh...my only flaw is my lust for a good fight.” Ziren says casually. The entire table laughs at him at this one, and he scowls as he reveals the flop. "Bah. I'm sure the young lady over there knows what I mean. She has the eyes of a warrior!" He looks at you with a recovering grin. "Tell me, the thrill of a good fight, the sheer RUSH of pitting your own skills against a trial of your choosing...to be able to do so daily is fantastic, isn't it?"


>Keep playing this one out. (Will role for general result)
>Let this one go.

and

>"I guess I can understand enjoying a good fight."
>Stay silent.
>Other

>>1810196
Well they sure have COOL AND GREAT facilities, but that doesn't impress me much no sir.
Miranda is all about the job, as long as she can have a drink and a drive and sleep in her own bed all that stuff is superfluous.

>>1810209
>Keep playing this one out. (Will role for general result)

>"I guess I can understand enjoying a good fight. It's better than a bad one. Either way I get paid, that's all that matters."

>>1810209
>Keep playing this one out. (Will role for general result)
>"I guess I can understand enjoying a good fight."
>other: But I like a well completed mission even more.

>>1810209
>>Keep playing this one out. (Will role for general result)

>"I guess I can understand enjoying a good fight. It's better than a bad one. Either way I get paid, that's all that matters."

>>1810209
>>Keep playing this one out. (Will role for general result)
>"I guess I can understand enjoying a good fight."
>other: But I like a well completed mission even more.

>>1810209
>Keep playing this one out. (Will role for general result)

>Other

I dont mind a good fight, but it's better when I'm getting paid for it, and best when I'm winning.

Locked, and writing. Get ready to see if you're lucky or not.

Rolled 4, 7, 3, 10 = 24 (4d20)

>>1810209
>>1810229
>>1810253
>>1810262
>>1810280
Hm. “Well, "I guess I can understand enjoying a good fight. It's better than a bad one...” Ziren’s smile grows a bit, but you can see his face drop as you finish the sentence. “But I prefer a well-completed mission more. Either way, I get paid and that’s what matters.” Decent flop, King, Ace, 10. Ziren’s smirk lessens, but he says nothing as the bets continue.

“I see you understand, eh? Rochwald says with approval. “It is a matter of performing at your best!” Wait, where’d he get that glass of wine from? “The satisfaction of a job-well done exceeds any normal pleasures…” he says as he takes a sip of wine. “And I enjoy it so.”

“Oh, come on, I’m sure she’s got SOME hobbies- I bet she hangs out with those others in their outfit, right? I’ve seen the, uh, the sword girl show up sometimes. The one that loves guns and stuff. I forget her name, long black hair, really traditional sounding- but I learned earlier that she was part of the same group as you. Silver Eye, right?” You nod in agreement. “See?”

“Silver Eye...why does that name ring a bell…?” Ziren wonders. “Bah, I’ll figure it out eventually. Let’s keep going, I’ve got motes to win!"

The next round of betting is done; and the game continues.

>1d20+2, best of three.

...well this hand shouldn't be hard to win. Unless your luck's shit, of course.

File: dice gods.jpg (37 KB, 752x375)

37 KB JPG

Rolled 8 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>1810476

Rolled 17 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>1810476

>>1810503
Try that again.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>1810476

Rolled 1 + 2 (1d20 + 2)

>>1810476
>>1810514

>>1810515
you forgot the modifier my man

>>1810476
>“Silver Eye...why does that name ring a bell…?” Ziren wonders.

"Did you ever have a cake for a teammate's birthday, leave it alone for a few minutes, and return to find a silver lizard man shoveling it down his face hole with his hands? I work for him."

>>1810555
Seconding. Make sure to look extra grumpy.

>>1810555
eeehh, let's try to not badmoth our own company, it's immature, and it could reach unwanted ears.

>>1810612
I can agree with this, let's stay neutral.

Back. Writing.

>>1810476
>>1810491
>>1810500
>>1810546
Sadly for him, it turns out that he's not winning anything at least for now. He very quickly has to fold after the turn card is dealt, and Nero is quick to follow. Claudi is visibly nervous, surprisingly, but what she locks eyes with you, as collected as you are, she manages to school her face into something far less telling, and calls your bet with an even voice, sending things to a showdown.

Judging by the sardonic grins on the other boys’ faces, it's pretty clear they know what's going down, and as you both reveal your cards, you can see that she was sitting on nothing but a pair total, while you lucked out and managed a straight, the turn and River cards being a 7 and a Jack. Claudi’s left rolling her eyes with a smile on her face as you collect the current winnings. “Not bad for the first round, girl!” Nero says. “Lesse if it holds.”

“I'm still holding on to my prediction that she's going to clean you out,” Ziren says. “I bet she's a card shark, ain'tcha?”

The last bit is directed at you, but Claudi interrupts before you can respond. “Ha, y’think? Like you thought we were gonna be able to trick that demon kid that one time, and he ended up trying to eat you?”

“Hey, sometimes you gotta take a risk,” Ziren responds, before turning to you. “She’s talkin’ about an accident a while back where one of our targets was this squirrelly little demon kid. Was causin’ one heck of a mess, tried to bring down a giant meteor on the planet for some reason or another. Well, I figured that he'd be more amenable to maybe settling differences in a bit of sport.”

“What ended up happening was that this idiot here tried to distract him by challenging him to a game of… what do you call it again?” Claudi asks.

“Tasquash,” is the response. “It's a unique sport from my home planet,” he explains to you. “It's rather complicated, but the general idea is that it's like the sport called basketball, with a few… exciting alterations.”

“He thought he could maybe challenge him to a game and use the obscureness of the rules to cheat.” Claudi continues. “Problem is, the demon kid had some sort of freaky magic that let him play the game near perfectly. End up causing a whole lot more trouble and ultimately resulted in us losing a optional objective, ‘cause we had to blow it up in order to make a distraction. Thanks a lot for that, by the way. I still thought it was a stupid risk.”

“Eh, I thought it was clever enough,” Nero responds. He looks at you, but doesn’t say anything as the next hand is dealt- is he expecting you to weigh in?

>Say something. (What?)
>Remain silent.

>>1810991
>"I blew up a meteor once, made one hell of a bang."

Actually, gonna pause it here for tonight and resume tomorrow.

>>181099

>Hey if the kid was beating you so badly why didn't you just let him win and keep challenging him to a rematch if you just needed a distractio? Kids love winning, he probably could have gotten really into kicking your ass at the game. I bet he would have ended up doing that villain gloating thing and I mean once they start going off about themselves they're almost impossible to stop. Toss in the occasional "how can you be this strong" or "But you can't be beating me at this" and that's another 10 minutes of monologue easy.

>>1810991
>"reminds me of my latest mission. We had to fight a meta that could steal powers. by the time they called us, he had absorbed like nine dudes. It was an interesting fight."

>>1811912
>>1811033
I'd rather ask them questions about their story than myself but I'm fine merging all the responses too.

>>1811033
>>1811912
>>1811797


Hey, folks. Here, and writing!

Rolled 1, 2 = 3 (2d13)

>>1811033
>>1811797
>>1811912
It takes a bit to consider what you want to say, but you find yourself talking as the next set of cards are dealt. “Never thought about just continually challenging him to a rematch?”

“Whatcha mean?” Ziren asks, pausing briefly.

“Kids love winning,” you explain. “He probably could have gotten really into kicking your ass at the game. I bet he would have ended up doing that villain gloating thing, and you know how villians like to monologue. Start acting incredulous about it and that's another 10 minutes of talking right there.”

There's a brief silence around the table as everyone thinks on your suggestion. Then a sudden burst of laughter from Claudi and Ner before the former speaks. “Welp, that’s it, she’s replacing you, Ziren.”

“Screw off!” Ziren yells as he throws some motes in the pile. “It was a GOOD PLAN. He just had some unexpected abilities!”

You allow yourself to wear a thin smile. “Honestly, though, that’s not too dissimilar to something that’s happened to me, pretty recently.”

“Yeah?” Nero asks calmly, though you can see by the small lean in he’s rather interested.

“Yeah. We had to fight a meta that could steal powers.” A group of shivers goes around the table as everyone internalizes your words.

“Ugh. Power thieves.” Ziren comments. “Never liked having to handle them. They're always so greedy and unhinged. Either that, or they're beyond overconfident. Or both.” you kind of feel like you should say something to that, but you hold your tongue for that one. “Was he any of those or all of the above?”

“All of these above,” you answer with a grimace. “By the time they called us, he had absorbed like, nine dudes. It was an interesting fight.”

“How’d it end?” Claudi asks.

“Blew him and the museum he was in up. Kind of had to in order to make sure he wasn't going to survive it. One of the powers he had was regeneration, so pays to be thorough in those cases.” Hm. Claudi’s looking at you curiously.

“A whole museum? Any casualties?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.

“A couple of heroes that stayed behind to try and take the guy down. No one else that I know of. We managed to use them as a distraction to get him in a vulnerable position, but they were in no shape to escape the blast.” No one seems to really bat an eye to that, simply nodding. “It wasn’t the biggest thing I’ve blown up, so I was pretty sure I measured it well enough so that no one outside of it would get impacted too hard. Biggest thing was a meteor. Made a hell of a bang.”

A soft whistle comes from across the table as Nero throws some motes in. “Meteor, huh? That’s pretty heavy. Stopped an impact event? I’m raising, by the way.” He says all of this smoothly as he throws in 20 more small motes. The rest call.

>Call
>Raise
>Fold

>Yup. Fainted afterwards, but I did it. (Embellish)
>Nah, it was just something that would’ve trashed the AO, nothing else. (Truth)
>It wasn’t a big one, but it was big enough to be a threat. (Downplay)

>>1813764
what is our hand right now? and the one in the middle?

>Nah, it was just something that would’ve trashed the AO, nothing else. but still, those little buggers can be a bother, specially when the contractors begin to panic when you have to let the meteor get into the atmosphere for you to stop it.

>>1813799
Your hand is the two I rolled- in this case, Ace and Deuce. I won't worry you about suits. This is preflop bet. I won't go through the whole hand (like I said, I'm trying something with how to run poker with dice that's not poker dice) and just write out a general idea of things with occasionally interjections.

>>1813764
>>Nah, it was just something that would’ve trashed the AO, nothing else. (Truth)

was the meteor bigger than the island in thread #28?

>>1813819
No.

>>1813764
>Fold
>It wasn’t a big one, but it was big enough to be a threat. (Downplay)

>>1813819
a meteor that size can erradicate the earth.

Hm. Alright. Writing.

>>1813764
>>Nah, it was just something that would’ve trashed the AO, nothing else. (Truth)
>call

We're not getting anywhere puffing our chests out in the company of a bunch of badasses who are way stronger than us.

>>1813764
>>1813799
>>1813819
>>1814185
>>1813851
You wave off the suggestion as you turn your cards down. “Nah, it was just something that would’ve trashed the AO, nothing else.”

“Aw.” Nero leans back, disinterested. “Sucks.”

You shrug. “I mean, they can still be a bother, ‘specially when the contractors begin to panic when you have to let the meteor get into the atmosphere for you to stop it.”

“Bah, contractors always tend to panic when things don’t go right as they want,” Ziren complains. “Half the time, they end up making things more difficult when they do.” This is met with a round of nods from everyone else at the table.

“I just try not to say anything to them.” Rochwald remarks as he tosses some motes in. “They tend to be far too flighty with how they want the operation to progress, and I find it very frustrating to have to constantly adjust my tactics. Of course I will do so if needs be, but it is still disheartening to have to do a suboptimal job in some respects.”

“It's happened before, it'll happen again, big guy.” Claudi remarks as she raises. The showdown starts, and she ends up taking the pot with three of a kind. “Kinda like that if you keep your mind wandering.”

“Damn!” Rochwald swears. “I'll have you know the game’s just begun!” cards are collected, and dealt, and the game continues.

Talk quiets down for a bit as the lot of you proceeded to focus a bit more on the game itself. You don't take as many pots as you like, and it's clear that the others know each other's gambling styles fairly thoroughly. You're an unknown, though, and that does help with unpredictability. Around a half hour later, you're sitting on a decent a stack of motes that you calculate as equaling out around 8 Large and 30 Small. Claudi’s got about what she brought with her, Ziren’s near out, and both Nero and Rochwald are sitting pretty; at a glance you estimate they’ve raked in a total of about 15 Large each- with you clearly not having quite as much to play with, you tended to ease out whenever someone decided to raise big.

cont.

>>1814276
“So, no more complaining about not being able to hit the clubs when I win, and take your reasons away from you, right?” Nero asks Ziren smugly.

“Crystal.” He responds glumly. “Not like I’m just gonna- WAIT!” He suddenly shouts, startling everyone at the table, yourself included. “Crystals! That's where I heard your group name before!” Why is he pointing at you like you've been hiding something? “One of yours went and beat the Fifty Crystal Challenge!”

Almost as one, the rest of them rear their heads back in surprise.

“Wait, that was one out of her group?” Claudi asks. “I’d heard rumors it got beaten, but I never bothered ta look into it…”

“No, yeah!” Ziren grins like the cat that caught the canary. “They've been trying to kind of keep it on the quiet, because they’re embarrassed. Rules say they had to put out a notice, though, so they just kept it on like, a tiny little banner. But I got a friend who works there, and I just remembered that he told me about it the other day. He thought it was hilarious, said she had cheerleaders too, and HE recognized ya. Called you- he called ya ‘Silvery Something Solutions, some low-rent group I’ve seen advertised here and there.’”

“Damn, girl,” Nero smirks. “Wonder how she pulled that off…”

“You’re not hidin’ any miracle workers from us, are ya?” Claudi says as she gives you a light smile.

>Not particularly. She just got lucky.
>She’s pretty good at what she does, yeah. Her and her friend both.
>Well, if you want to talk miracles, what about a singing reality warper?
>Other

>>1814281
>>Well, if you want to talk miracles, what about a singing reality warper?

>>1813829
>>1813876
If the island we blew up was bigger than the meteor, how was the meteor the biggest thing we blew up?
Was it about the size of the explosion rather than the size of the object?

>>1814281
>She hates to lose
>Well, if you want to talk miracles, what about a singing reality warper?

>>1814323
The explosion was amped by Izumi powersharing, and the nature of the crystal itself amplified the effects as well to a significant degree. Meteor was the biggest thing you blew up unaided. At least outside of your home dimension.

>>1814281
>>Other. Smile, and laugh it off. "what can i say? i get lucky with the people i recruit"
dont give them reasons to get people from us.

>>1814368
ok that makes sense

Locked. Telling (and giving) them the old song and dance. Sorta. Maybe.

Writing!

Rolled 4, 5 = 9 (2d13)

>>1814281
>>1814323
>>1814324
“Well, she DOES hate to lose…” you admit as the latest cards are drawn. “Although, if you want to talk miracles, what about a singing reality warper?”

Again, you seem to have the rest of the tables interest at that proclamation. “Come again?” Rochwald asks.

“A singing reality warper. Joined up a couple jobs back. She can sing, and completely change the environment in a hard illusion. Can allow for near instant cover with just a tune, and can confuse any marks like that.” It’s weird hearing yourself talk up your allies to others, but it seems to be working well enough. “Going to be a real big asset once she gets enough experience under her belt.”

“Oooooh. THAT’S neat. What’s her name?” Claudi asks, chin in her hand.

“Mono,” you respond. Not like they wouldn’t be able to figure that out easily enough anyway- shouldn’t hurt just telling them. “Like I said though, she's new. Still got some stuff to work out.”

“Hmmm.” Nero seems to lean back at that, but his smile still remains as the cards are drawn. “Neat. Seems like you’re building up a bit over there, huh?”

“You looking to get a lot more people soon?” Claudi asks. “Maybe going on a hiring spree? Or is that going to be it for now?

>Well, I’ve been thinking about looking for a couple more, but that’s it.
>If anyone interesting shows up and wants to work for us, I’ll give them a shot.
>Nah, I’ve already hit my limit in leader problems…
>Other

>>1814675
>>I want to see how the current setup plays out for a bit before actively lookin for more members.

>>1814675
>>If anyone interesting shows up and wants to work for us, I’ll give them a shot.
>>Other
Warn them of trying to snipe members, Miranda is blunt, not dumb.

>>1814675
>If anyone interesting shows up and wants to work for us, I’ll give them a shot.

>>1814675
>>We are taking it easy for now. If anyone interesting shows up and wants to work for us, I’ll give them a shot.

It's locked, we're writing!

>>1814675
>>1814713
>>1814716
>>1814720
>>1814749
“I guess if anyone else interesting shows up and wants to work for us, I'll give them a shot. But for now, I'm not really actively looking at the moment.” frankly, you're fine with that. You still need to get used to this whole leadership thing anyway, not that they need to know about it too much.

Most of them seemed to shrug their shoulders at this, although Rochwald nods in understanding. “It is good to get to know your new recruits before you start looking for others. A lower number of people to keep track of means your unit keeps cohesiveness.”

“Less people to play with on some nights, though.” Ziren comments. Then he gets a shit-eating grin on his face. “Or less people to go visit, ah, other good friends with.” Another raise.

Claudi’s expression is one of someone who just smelled something rotten, but thinks the source is kind of amusing. “And by ‘good friends’, you mean those life-like android girls in Club B-Type in the Festival District.”

Ziren just gives her a flat look. “...you just are never going to let that lie, will you? What's so wrong with having those tastes?”

“Nothing!” she throws her hands up in supplication, even as the grin remains on her face as she calls. “I just kind of find it funny. Considering how all the time you talk about how you like fighting things with flesh and blood, and all that talk. Just kind of seems funny that you'd be, you know, into the exact opposite.”

“That's the exact reason I prefer ‘em,” answers in the tone of someone who has to explain something very simple to a child. “The approximation is more than enough for me, and it doesn't trigger my bloodlust.” Huh. Edgy though it may be, it actually makes a bit of sense.

“I mean, c’mon, sis. Not like you don't have some funny thoughts yourself sometimes.” Nero seems to drain the smirk from his sister onto himself, as she goes something close to pale.

You're unsure whether to speak as she starts up. “Nero, I SWEAR-”

“Lizards. Snakes. Reptiles, anything with scales does it for- WHOA, easy, easy!” that smirk is quick to turn to panic as she seems to stand up to wallop him one, and he flicks his eyes between her and you to you with something close to pleading in his eyes. “Come on, everyone's got something that gets their motor running! No shame in it, right? Ziren’s got his robochicks, I got my big girls, Rochwald has I dunno, he’s got something, heck, I mean- Miranda, help me out here! You’re a girl, you’ve got stuff, right?!”

You're not entirely certain why they’d ask you- you're not friends with them, but…

>Yes. (Don’t elaborate.)
>Honestly, I’m pretty vanilla.
>I’m not really that kinda person…
>Other

Also roll 1d20, please.

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>1815003
>Yes. (Don’t elaborate.)

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>1815003
>Yes. (Don’t elaborate.)

Something something they need to unlock the rest of her social link if they want to find out what she likes.

Yeah this is fine. Writing!

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>1815003
>>Yes. (Don’t elaborate.)

>>1815003
>>1815054
>>1815068
>>1815206
A simple ‘yes’ is all they get out of you, but it seems like that's as much as is needed...at least, it's enough to stop her from wanting to beat her brother bloody, even though she gives him a glare for the ages. “Not gonna tell you what, though,” you say as soon as Nero opens his mouth. “Can’t say I know you guys well enough for that.”

“Fair ‘nough,” Nero says. “But, just goes to show. Everyone has something special about ‘em. In more than one way, y’know? Now, I think we got ourselves a hand to finish…”

It's another win for you, as you end up with 3 Queens, against his three tens. As you take the pot again, he nods in approval. “Been doin’ alright so far,” he says. “You got yourself a nice little pile.” he looks over to his pile, one a fair deal bigger than yours. “Don't think you're in any trouble losing anything in it right now, but you never know. I'm a pretty good gambler!”

Well, you're not really a gambler, but you're very good at reading people. And if you're reading him right, you're going to need to be more careful for the rest of the night.

>And done for the night! We'll finish off this card game tomorrow.

Miranda does actually have a kink/fetish but I'm not saying what it is.

>>1815229
>Miranda does actually have a kink/fetish but I'm not saying what it is.
but we are her, that's not fair jokingis it clowns?

>>1815323
It's not clowns. In fact Miranda doesn't trust clowns. She's not scared of them, but she's generally antsy around them if she isn't in The Intersection.

>>1815353
It's old gentleman butlers

>>1817690
old gentelman butlers in magical girl outfits