>>3096625
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OuroQM
Ask: https://ask.fm/OuroQM

Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Court%20of%20Swords%20Quest

>>3096625
The sun is high in the sky before you are able to drag yourself from bed. It’s a good deal more comfortable than the one you’ve got back home, not least because it had Adriana in it. You get the feeling that she woke some time ago, considerably before you did, but left two bodies behind for your warmth and comfort. So, when you wake sandwiched in a double embrace, why would you leave until you have to?
Adriana has her eyes shut, or at least, she’s shut the two pairs on either side of you.

“I can tell you’re awake,” you eventually say. “I can see you sweeping the street out through the window.”

Adriana lets out a sleepy little sigh.
“I wasn’t trying…”

“...to fake anything.”

You cup her cheek with your hand and watch as both of her bodies involuntarily smile.
“What are you trying to do then?”

“I’m doing my best…”

“...not to kill you.”

“Oh.”
The bed no longer seems quite as comfortable. The warmth stays but now it feels a little suffocating, imprisoned by soft flesh on either side of you. And as much as you like her, you’ll never truly be unaware of how easily she can destroy you. To someone like Adriana, you are nothing but a wavering candle flame. She can snuff you out in an instant, erase you with an accidental breath.
This is the closest the two of you can ever afford to be.
“I should go, huh?”

“If…”

“...you want.”
Her smile, a rare thing to begin with, has already faded. It had done so before you’d spoken, likely in response to your thoughts rather than your words.

“Sorry.”

“I’m sorry…”

“...too.”

You get up and get dressed. This mostly just involves putting your coat and cintura back on, since you hadn’t undressed but the events of the night have also left your vest in some disarray. It only takes a moment to fix yourself back up.

Adriana is, as you’d seen before, waiting for you outside on the street. This part of her is fully dressed and has a broom in one hand. She stops sweeping the moment you shut the door.
‘Goodbye, Sofia.”

“I’ll come back, you know. There’s no reason to sound so forlorn.”
You’re pretty sure you know what’s got her so down though.

“I just wanted to express...I mean, to...no. It doesn’t matter. It was a failure and I was a fool. I nearly inhabited you just from that alone.”

You’re not sure what to say here.


>”Well I still enjoyed it. I won’t ask it of you again though.”

>”Really? But I’d love to try it out again sometime soon!”

>”Probably for the best.”

>”How’s the baby doing?”

>Pay her back that kiss you owe.

>Ask her about her plans for today.

>”It was nice to have someone who can understand what I’m saying…”

>Other (Specify)

>>3096630

>”Well I still enjoyed it. I won’t ask it of you again though.”

We need to learn to wall off our mind against invasion, for the sake of more cuddling with Adriana.

>>3096630
>”Well I still enjoyed it. I won’t ask it of you again though.”

>>3096630
>”Well I still enjoyed it. I won’t ask it of you again though.”
>”It was nice to have someone who can understand what I’m saying…”

Vote called, writing.

File: Sofia_ceg.jpg (267 KB, 1500x1037)

267 KB JPG

>”Well I still enjoyed it. I won’t ask it of you again though.”

You should just be honest here. It’s not like you’ll be able to fool her.
“Well I still enjoyed it. But I won’t ask it of you again.”
It would be selfish of you to throw yourself on her, to force her to take the time and effort not to kill you just because you wanted a hug or something more.

“You understand.”
It’s not a question. She already knows, after all.

“Yeah, I get it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to avoid you or stop coming here, alright? You just shouldered a serious burden for me! You really think I’m going to avoid you just because you can kill me?”
She does scare you and both of you know it. But neither of you can ever say it.

“It’d be the sensible thing to do. I’ve killed a lot of people, Sofia. People who thought they were safe too.”

“Pfft. If it was that easy you wouldn’t have accepted the baby. Come on, why are you trying to scare me away?”

“Because...every day I feel like I understand you a little more. I understand just what a precious and beautiful person you are. And the more I know, the more I grasp.”
She’s a little short of breath all of a sudden.
“And the more of you I have, the less of you you have. Until one day all of you will belong to me and there won’t be any left of you.”

“But it doesn’t have to be that way. It wasn’t for Eduardo, right?”

“But I never once saw inside his head. And...and I don’t think I was ever in love with him either.”
The roundabout confession sends a little shock through your body, thrumming from head to toe. Too bad you’ll never know if she means it or not. It might be something else, distorted by the curse. Why would she love you?
“I really like you, Sofia. I want to have you. I want to surround you. I want to grow and encompass you and know every inch of you. Do you understand now how dangerous this is? I hold myself back every day but I don’t know if I can for you. Not for you…”

No, this isn’t the curse. She really has fallen for you. As far as you know, the first person in the world to ever truthfully mean it has just confessed their love to you. And this is the result? ...Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed in that bed last night. It seems to have sparked a flame that won’t burn out.

“Yes, it’s the truth,” she says, answering a question you didn’t ask, her cheeks flushing as she looks in any direction but you. “And if you stay here for much longer, I won’t be able to stop you from feeling what I feel. And then we’ll have to go back to the bed and after that I won’t be able to promise anything.”

It occurs to you that maybe spending a whole night essentially teasing Adriana wasn’t the brightest idea.

1/2

>>3096747

>Flee immediately.

>”I’ll be back later, I promise.” Flee.

>”Pfft, just go take a cold bath. Nine of them. You’re stronger than this.”


>”And give up on romance? No. I trust you. I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here and whatever happens will happen. You won’t kill me.”

>Other (Specify)

>>3096749
>”I’ll be back later, I promise. Preferably after we've both cooled our heads a little."
>"Also thank you. You saying that means a lot."

>>3096749
>”And give up on romance? No. I trust you. I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here and whatever happens will happen. You won’t kill me.”

>>3096749
>>Flee immediately.

Nope.

>>3096749
>”And give up on romance? No. I trust you. I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here and whatever happens will happen. You won’t kill me.”

>>3096749
>”And give up on romance? No. I trust you. I’m not going anywhere, I’m staying right here and whatever happens will happen. You won’t kill me.”

>>3096749
>”I’ll be back later, I promise. Preferably after we've both cooled our heads a little."

>>3096749
>>Flee immediately.

Vote called.

>Leave

Are you really going to pass up your chance for romance? After throwing so many coins into that fucking fountain? A little voice screams within you that you surely can trust Adriana. Surely you can just give in. It’ll probably all work out fine. Everything will be alright. You and she can just…
Are these even your thoughts? Is Adriana already contaminating you? Is this fog in your head just because you’re sleepy or is it because, despite her best efforts, she’s about to crush your identity?

You shake your head violently and stare down at the pavement.
“I’ll come back later!”
And then, without looking back even once, you run for your life.

*****

You don’t stop running until you’ve left Apocalypsis behind, at which point you lean up against a wall to catch your breath and in doing so, choke back a terrified sob. Did you make the right decision? Why did you want it so badly? And why can’t you stop wanting it?
Why does it have to be the one person whom you can never have? It could have been anyone else. But Adriana, the only person in all the world who you know can see you for you without the curse getting in the way...why does it have to be her?

You wish there was something you could do. Something to make her yours or, better yet, something to boil away this terrible yearning that now lives within your heart. The warmth of this morning is already so far removed from you and you feel its absence like an ache. Why shouldn’t you be able to wake up like that every day? Why isn’t it allowed? But it can’t be. It can never be. And all that’s left is the knowledge of what you can never have.

Maybe you and Adriana could have been something beautiful. You’ll never know. And the knowing of it hurts you worse than a death at her hands ever would.

*****


You wind back home, sitting on your bed. You try not to remember what you could have had and fail. You try to ignore the feeling like you’re bleeding out inside and you fail that too. Your fingers trace the fresh scar all along your neck. Adriana had helped you forget that.
You feel upset. You feel sick. You’d tried to grasp the rose but ended up with a fist full of thorns instead.

How foolish of you to have ever assumed that romance was for you.


>Find someone else.

>Throw yourself into your training.

>Isn’t Sabino’s thing today? You need to find a partner for that.

>It’s been enough time. Go back and visit Adriana again.

>Lie in bed and try to sleep the day away.

>Other (Specify)

>>3096951
>>Isn’t Sabino’s thing today? You need to find a partner for that.
Maccio
>>And snap out of it with the downie debby shit
>We lost, yes, it sucks, yes. we might need to save up for another full treatment to fix this once we beat this fucker again some time in the future. But Adrianna likes us for who we are. Romance or no. So stop it with the moping and move on with our life. Bad things happen, you either die or move on.

>>3096951
>Isn’t Sabino’s thing today? You need to find a partner for that.

>>3096951
Welp. This is bittersweet.

>Throw yourself into your training.
Let's exercise it out.

>>3096951
>Isn’t Sabino’s thing today? You need to find a partner for that.
Gloriana

>>3096975
Maybe you shouldn't have fled immediately.

>Isn’t Sabino’s thing today? You need to find a partner for that.

>>3096982
>Maybe you shouldn't have fled immediately.
I 100% prefer this situation than what could have happened.

>>3096988
Sure, but you the option to do a more tactful retreat was there.

>>3096982
>>3096951
Also forgot to link my vote.

Vote called, writing.

>Isn’t Sabino’s thing today? You need to find a partner for that.

Blegh. One thing’s for sure though and that’s that you’ll never feel better by just sitting around and sulking about it. You can’t afford to lose the whole day to sorrow, not when you’ve got Sabino’s ceremony coming up! He’s finally being accepted into the Rose Blossom Ring as a full member and he even invited you! An invitation that you semi-graciously accepted so you pretty much have to go.
So that’s it! You’re going to attend the commencement ceremony for the man who thoroughly humiliated you the last time the two of you duelled. The ceremony that he earned by trampling you underfoot. Try not to think about it.

The important thing is to put all this behind you. Your loss to Sabino, the situation with the mirror still trapped within the curtain, your loss and execution at the hands of Signore Terenzi, your inability to save your client, Giuseppina’s total failure to lift the curse she placed on you, the morning with Adriana...there’s a lot. You’re not going to deny that. But it’s hardly the worst thing that’s ever happened to you.
Did Imma d’Ambrosia ever falter over something as meagre as this? Well...yes, she did. She moped quite a lot, forever haunted by her doomed romance. But she’s a romance protagonist so she’s allowed to. You’re a real person and that means that every now and then you have to do basic life shit, no matter how gloomy you might feel.

You’re allowed to take one person with you to the event. Whomever you ask will be unable to tell you that they can’t come. So it’s your choice.


>Leonarda

>Maccio

>Vespa

>Adriana

>Gloriana

>Zuana

>Lapo

>Terenzi

>Someone else (More options)

>>3097064
>Gloriana

>>3097064
>>Maccio


>>3097067
Why her?

>>3097070
Because I want more Gloriana screentime.

>>3097064
>Leonarda
Haven't seen Nards in awhile.

Normally I'd ask one of the Adriana's but I think everyone needs to cool off for a day.

>>3097064
>Maccio

>>3097080
While I like nards too, I don't think this'd be a good place for her.

Vote called, writing.

>>3097160
does Monkey Sight still work if Sofia enters 2v2 games with Maccio?

>>3097185
Yes but only if she is comprehensively the victory. Sorry about the delay on this one by the way, computer just froze.

Computer keeps freezing but I think it’s finally stopped.

>Maccio

You haven’t seen Maccio for quite some time now. And he might be just what you need to clear your head. He’d love to come with you to a fancy Ring ceremony, wouldn’t he? And maybe you’ll be able to talk to him about painting and the things that you see when you look out at the world with his eyes. Maccio can be, with only one exception, relied upon .

So you just need to get in touch with Maccio and therein lies the problem. You’ve never actually reached out and contacted him before. It’s always been him coming to you. But you know where his family lives, you’d have to, considering the threat you once made to his older brother. But what would he really appreciate you just marching up and invading his family home?
You don’t know. It’s not like he’d tell you.

But anything less direct might take too much time…


>Just go there and barge your way in.

>Send a message and hope he reads it in time.

>Sneak in.

>Other (Specify)

File: freeshrugs.jpg (84 KB, 449x642)

84 KB JPG

>>3097357
>Other (Specify)
Walk up to the front, knock on the door and ask to see Maccio. That thing normal people do.

>>3097357
I support being a normal person. >>3097364

>>3097357
This >>3097364
And get a scarf or a choker to hide our scar.

>>3097357
>>3097364
This

>>3097370
Why hide it? Shit happened. We can hopefully remove it once we’ve gotten it avenged. Which given the fuckstick who gave it to us likes kicking people when we they are down? We’re likely going to face him again sooner or later.

>>3097388
>Why hide it?

Because we're a normal person who has emotional reactions to events, such as embarrasment, anger, and wishing to forget it ever happened.

>>3097370
I'll second the scarf

Vote called, writing.

>Just be a normal person for once in your life.
>You should probably change your clothes.

Or you could just walk up to the front door, knock and ask to see Maccio. Why wouldn’t you do that? It’s the normal thing to do. Not everything has to be an absolute burden or chore. You’re not sure why it didn’t occur to you. Are you just that used to having to rely on your curse to ease your passage?

*****

The d’Rosarre estate is on the edge of Aevum, near where it overlaps with the other two of the Three Virtues. It’s much bigger than the house you used to live in, a palatial mansion of soft red brick. Not quite the Casa d’Zaffiro but that’s hardly a black mark. Standing before it’s gates, you feel rather small. But that doesn’t stop you rapping on them and waiting for the doorman to notice you.
“Yes?”

“Hello! Is Maccio home? I’m here to see him.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No.”

“He does not like to be disturbed by strangers. You’ll have to wa-”

“Look buddy, just tell him that Signorina Pseudonym is here to see him. He should know what that means and he’ll come right down. Is that okay? Are you going to refuse me?”
You look around nervously, eying the curtained windows above. You don’t want to be spotted by someone who recognises you, you’re just trying to do things like a normal person would. Being confronted by Paolo or the like would just overcomplicate things.

“Of course Signorina.”
The doorman finds himself unable to contradict you and in his confusion, decides to just do what he said he was going to do. The gate grinds shut once more.

As you wait outside, you inspect your reflection on the canal. It’s scattered with petals but you can make yourself out pretty clearly. Your reflection is still looking at the gate but other than that, it matches you exactly.
And that includes the outfit you’ve decided to wear to Sabino’s ceremony.


>It’s just your duelling outfit. What else would be suitable for a duellist’s event?

>You’re wearing a scarf to the hide the scar. You don’t want to talk about it, not now.

>You’ve decided to dress fancy and buy a proper formal outfit.

>You’re actually dressed down, back in your casual training attire. It’s not like anyone is going to complain about you.

>Other (Specify)

>>3097488
>>It’s just your duelling outfit. What else would be suitable for a duellist’s event?
>>You’re wearing a scarf to the hide the scar. You don’t want to talk about it, not now.

>>3097488
>It’s just your duelling outfit. What else would be suitable for a duellist’s event?
>You’re wearing a scarf to the hide the scar. You don’t want to talk about it, not now.

>>3097488
>>You’re wearing a scarf to the hide the scar. You don’t want to talk about it, not now.
>>You’ve decided to dress fancy and buy a proper formal outfit.

>>3097488
>It’s just your duelling outfit. What else would be suitable for a duellist’s event?

>You’re wearing a scarf to the hide the scar. You don’t want to talk about it, not now.

Vote called, writing.

File: sofiaOP2.jpg (38 KB, 838x410)

38 KB JPG

>It’s just your duelling outfit. What else would be suitable for a duellist’s event?
>You’re wearing a scarf to the hide the scar. You don’t want to talk about it, not now.

You’re dressed in your newly tailored duelling outfit, as if you were travelling to meet with a client. To tell the truth, you’d been unsure about what to wear to a ceremony such as this. Sabino didn’t specify anything and you haven’t been to anything fancy for a fair few years. But surely nobody would fault you your duellist ensemble! As for now, it’s the best piece of finery you own and it’s a duelling event! You’re going to show up on-theme.
You’ve made one small change however. You’ve fished out an old scarf from somewhere in the pile of clothes scattered all over the floor back home that passes for your wardrobe and you have it wrapped around your neck. It doesn’t go well with the rest of your outfit but you don’t give a shit. You don’t want to have to field questions about your scar all day. Just thinking about it brings up twinges of frustration. Terenzi didn’t have to do that to you.

You’re still thinking about that when you hear the gate swing open and a familiar voice rings out.
“Sofia! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

You turn around and look up. And then up some more. Maccio is the tallest person you’ve ever met. If you can judge from his brothers, you’d wager that he comes from a tall family but even among them he is a giant. At seven and a half feet tall, he’s two feet taller than you and so the ensuing embrace that you are both unable and unwilling to escape from crushes you up against his abdomen.
“Blegh!,” you say when he releases you.

“Oh sorry,”he says, crouching down to see you eye to eye. His long hair, longer than yours, is unbound for once and cascades around the hard lines of his face in a chaotic mess of black curls. Soft green eyes stare out over the rim of a pair of half-moon spectacles, acting as a counterpoint to every other impression his huge muscled body gives off.
“It’s just that I didn’t know if I was ever going to see you again.”

“Oh?”
It’s all you have to say, otherwise too occupied drinking up the sight before you. It’s impossible to get used to Maccio’s presence. You have to stare for quite a long while to even see all of him. Or at least, that’s how you justify it to yourself.
He’s dressed simply in a long black tunic that’s belted into a skirt over a pair of breeches whose fastenings along his thighs and ankles allow them to trace the contours and muscle defintion of his legs just tightly enough to get your attention. He has a messy painter’s smock folded up in the crook of one arm.

“I abused your trust. And after your duel with that shameless woman...you handled it with exceptional grace.”

1/2

>>3097738

That’s right. You had abandoned Maccio without warning to chase off after your godmother and got thoroughly drunk with her, after which you never found him again. Whoops. He must have thought that you were still angry with him!
“Oh no, it’s not that. That was something else. Say Maccio, would you like to spend the day with me?”

“Pardon?”

“I’ve been invited to the commencement ceremony of a ...professional colleague of mine. It’s in an hour or so. Would you like to come as my partner?”

“In an hour? Sofia, you are excellently timed. Of course I can come.”

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Just a little landscape work. I’ve been painting my view from the window every day to try and practice my realism.”

You’re about to chime in with something about how that sounds boring but then you remember the pair of spectacles in your handbag. You know how to see with Maccio’s eyes. He sees the world in a vastly different way than you do, finding beauty and creativity in every misplaced detail. You don’t want to insult his work.
“Oh good. I’d like to paint with you sometime Maccio. I mean, not right now obviously but, you know, sometime.”

Maccio rises and leans back on the gate, the top of it barely shoulder-height to him.
“And what kind of ‘partner’ shall I be coming as?”

“Eh?”

“Recall the genera decorum of the thing, Sofia. I’m not a guest here, I’ll be the guest of a guest and they don’t just let you bring anyone. They’ll want to know the relationship between you and I. And to be frank, so do I.”


>”You’ll be coming as one of my dearest friends.”

>”it can be a ...date, if you want. If you think that’s cool.”

>”You’re someone I know from work.”

>”You’re my student, in a way. Have you kept up with that training regime I showed you?”

>Other (Specify)

>>3097741
>”You’re my student, in a way. Have you kept up with that training regime I showed you?”

>>3097741
>>>”You’ll be coming as one of my dearest friends.”

I'd have voted for Date if we didn't just run from a heart-ripper of a situation.

File: fleksnek.png (13 KB, 400x400)

13 KB PNG

I've got something I've got to do. So this vote will be left open for an hour or two.

>>3097741
>”it can be a ...date, if you want. If you think that’s cool.”
I'm voting for this exactly BECAUSE we did just run from a heart-ripper of a situation

>>3097741
>>>”You’ll be coming as one of my dearest friends.”
dial down the autism boys

>>3097741
>>”You’ll be coming as one of my dearest friends.”
>Or .. a date.

It's a circle of female duelists, that if you were interested in having a model, you could perhaps ask about without having to my birthright intrude. Seeing the world as you do I know you're a good artist.

>>3097741
>>”it can be a ...date, if you want. If you think that’s cool

Vote called, writing.

Wait nevermind, disregard that, vote isn't called. It's technically a tie still one vote is for both.

>>3098072
Can’t it be both? Like we’re friends,obviously, and Sophia wants romance but both between family issues and our birthright...

>>3098099
Fair enough. Vote called.

Whoops. I fell asleep accidentally. But I’m awake now.

>”You’ll be coming as one of my dearest friends.”

What should your answer be? The situation that had occured this morning only makes the answer all the harder to see. Why couldn’t it be a date? Why couldn’t you stuff a Maccio-shaped peg into an Adriana-shaped hole?
But that wouldn’t be fair to him. And that’s not even to say that you wouldn’t want to date Maccio, you totally would. You’d date almost anyone, that’s sort of the problem. But if you ever come to know Maccio in such a way, you’d want it to be for his sake, not just to replace someone else. That wouldn’t be good for anyone involved.
“That’s a very good question, Maccio. You’ll be coming as one of my dearest friends.”
What does it say about you that he counts for that? Most of your old friends vanished with your old life and the way they did so makes you think that they had never been your friends at all. They’d just been held in chains by your curse.

He smiles and you don’t know if it is truthful or not.
“It warms my heart to know I am such. Shall I go get changed into something more suitable?”

You think back to Maccio’s eclectic sense of fashion and then contrast it with his current outfit, casual but fashioned fine enough that it looks better in its pure black-and-cream simplicity than anything you own. You also note how casually it reveals the chiselled contours of his body in a way that’d look understated for anyone who wasn’t Maccio.
“...No, you’ll be fine. It’s a duelling event, right? Duellists prefer practical clothing.”

“If you say so. Shall we go?”
He extends a hand and you take it, feeling your hand engulfed in his. You look like a child in comparison to him but then again, so does everyone else. He takes short and slow strides so as not to pull you along.

“I believe it’s customary to link arms with a lady you are escorting,” you say playfully, trying to banish away the darker thoughts of moments before.

“I would but I fear it would be a most lopsided experience.”

“Hah.”

A minute or so of silent travel through the clean and gleaming streets of Aevum later, Maccio speaks once more.
“So where are we going? What’s it for?”

“My friend is celebrating his commencement into the Rose Blossom Ring. I don’t exactly know what it entails but there’ll hopefully be food and drink that we don’t have to pay for.”

“I could pay for you, if I must.”

“No you won’t.”

“The Rose Blossom Ring, eh? I’ve read about them. And your friend is a man?”

“Yes, I know. He’s apparently a bit of a rare case.”

“I’ve heard tell of other men in that Ring but I was told that they had to wear skirts and take the names of women.”

1/3

>>3098272
“I don’t know about that, Sabino wears pants when he duels. I mean, most duellists of either gender do, it’s just more practical. And those that don’t…”
An image flashes through your mind, of scarred legs kicking energetically from beneath an almost indecently short skirt. Gloriana Morello. You grimace and bury your feelings just a little deeper. This is supposed to be a happy occasion.
“He wears makeup though. Something about a rose being beautiful to look upon or something.”

“Their duelling style is focussed on the rose, isn’t it? It’s artistic themes and imagery. Have you ever seen it utilized?”

“You could say that.”
Most Rings are like the duelling profession in general, that is to say, male-dominated. The Rose Blossom Ring is the sole exception and you’re not sure how you feel about that. Obviously you have a vested interest in female duellists in abstract but if what Sabino showed you in the duel meant anything, they did so by establishing an extremely feminine duelling style that they teach to the majority of the Ring. So where did that leave people like you, women who choose more traditionally masculine styles? Are you just excluded from their definition of the duelling femme? Would you even be allowed to join if you qualified?
Maybe you’re just annoyed because that extremely feminine style kicked your arse up and down the length of Casa d’Zaffiro.

Your brief moment of introspection passes unnoticed by Maccio, who seems to be fussing with his own hair with his free hand as he walks. A red ribbon dangles freely from it.
“My clothes might be fine but my hair is a mess. Do you have a comb I could borrow in that handbag of yours?”

“Sure, go for it.”
A comb you don’t use nearly as often as you should. You pass him the metal comb and if it is significantly cruder than the ones he is used to, he makes no note of it as he gets to work. You watch, almost mesmerized, as his unruly hair is timed in less than a minute. A quick twist of his hand later and it is tied back and down his back by the crimson ribbon.
“I wish I could do that. Hey Maccio, do you want to have another race so I can learn how to do my hair that well?”

He laughs, deep and booming.
“Please allow a man a few secrets to call his own.”

“Oh if you insist. I’d rather learn your physique anyway and-hrmm. Maccio, do you mind if I ask what might be a personal question?”
You go ahead without waiting for an answer.
“I can’t help but notice that you only asked about what this was about after you’d agreed to come and we’d walked a while. Am I really that charming that just my offer alone was enough to lure you out before you even knew what it was about?”

2/3

>>3098274

“Yes, you’re as alluring as ever. Just say the word and I’ll go. But less importantly, it is a tenuous situation back at home. I’m glad to be out away from it.”
He goes silent and looks away, which is to say that he stops looking down. That’s all he has to do to stop you from even catching a glimpse of his eyes at this angle. It sounds like a touchy subject.


>Ask about it. Maybe you can be of help to him.

>Don’t. It’s not your business.

>Change the subject to recent events.

>Other (Specify)

>>3098277
>>Don’t. It’s not your business.

>>3098277
>Tell him we're willing to help if he wants, but don't ask for details.

>>3098277
>Don’t. It’s not your business.

Vote called, writing.

>>3098277
>Ah. Me too.

>Don’t. It’s not your business.

You decide to complement his silence with your own. It’s none of your business and the same goes for the secret that Ormanno had been blackmailing him over. If he wanted your help, he’d ask. That’s something you need to learn a little better. Sometimes you’ll only make it worse.

So with that in mind, you keep your mouth shut and just let yourself enjoy his company. This day already began terrible, there’s no need to invite further darkness within.

*****

The Rose Blossom Ring is located near the middle of Aevum so fortunately, it’s not that long of a walk. It’s clustered up near several other Ring-grounds, each one visible from several neighborhoods away as rising cylindrical structures competing with one another for attention. Most Ring-grounds are massive amphitheatres housing several ornate duelling grounds open for public viewing. There’s almost always some kind of duel happening, whether it be an actual duel hosted by a duellist with the authority to use the ring or a exhibition match to show off the Ring’s skills and styles to an adoring public.
The Ring-grounds of the Rose Blossom can easily be picked out, the outside of the chalk-white amphitheatre shaped into the unfolding petals of a vast stone rose.

“I’ve always thought this to be rather yonic,” Maccio says conversationally. “I suppose that’s fitting.”

“I think some people just have overactive imaginations.”

The grounds outside the Ring are covered in gardens, stretching in orderly blocks from the wall of the ampitheatre to the very edge of the island within the circular canal that stretches around it like a moat. Pale mauve roses bend down past the edge to drink deeply of the water. It’s a rose garden of course, patterns formed by roses of every possible colour. Red and orange and green and yellow and black blooms all stare up at you from a tangle of thorny stems. The air is thick with the stench and it brings back unfortunate memories.

The Ring is closed off to the public today but you just have to wave the invitation Sabino eventually managed to rustle up for you and the two are you permitted entry, making your way through the honeycomb of outer tunnels that form the outer ring of the colosseum.
You find yourself standing in the middle of a ring of seats, halfway up the amphitheatres wall. The inside of the colosseum is shaped like three circles intersecting, centered around three massive duelling rings floating in the water at the middle. Two of the rings are relatively normal, despite being decorated with ornate stone blooms. The third is unpaved, instead covered with soft earth and row after row of rosebushes. Knowing what you do of their style, you have no doubt that they still duel in it.

1/4

>>3098405
But for now, all three rings are absolutely covered in a throng of people, as are the rows of seats around you. The entire Ring has turned out to celebrate Sabino’s commencement. It’s relatively easy to spot Roses out from amongst the crowd, each woman proudly bearing the silver rose hanging from a chain somewhere prominent upon their person. Some hang from a vest, some from coats not unlike yours, others around necks or hanging between swells of cleavage. You’re particularly good at spotting those last ones. But despite the actual members of the Ring being outnumbered by their guests, it still manages to be predominantly women.
Outfits are all over the place, ranging from outrageously elaborate gowns with more in common with fortications than with clothing to practical duelling outfits like yours and Maccio’s to a few people here and there who are dressed far too casually, though you note that everyone in that state of disarray is a Ring member. You doubt any of the guests would get away with it. It’s a vibrant swirl of colour and in it all, the air around you is a heady mix of rose, sweat and a hundred different kinds of perfume.

Honestly, even if they hadn’t been wearing their sigils or had scabbards dangling from their belts, it still would have been fairly easy to pick out the actual Roses from the other women with your practiced eye. No matter what outfits and images they might pretend to, each and every one of them is a veteran duellist with the physique to match. Most courtesans and pampered ladies don’t have biceps like that.
Wandering around idly with Maccio, currently existing in that limbo where you only know one person at a party and nobody else has even really noticed you’re there yet, you spot a few points of interest among the crowd.

2/3

>>3098406

Higher up along the edge of the colosseum is a curtained box normally reserved for guests of honour. It overlooks the entire Ring-ground and if the curtain’s aren’t drawn back, whomever is within can be seen by everyone else. Sitting within, atop a gilded throne, is a red-haired woman wearing some spruced up version of some kind of military uniform, probably from the Lesser Realms. A rose-tinted jacket buttoned up along the right side and a pair of high-waisted white trousers frame a slender but powerful body and her expression is aloof and commanding enough to freeze the blood in your veins when, as her eyes roam idly across the crowd, she makes eye contact with you for just a split second. She leans forward and looks past you, leaning on her sheathed saber as if it was a cane. And though her jacket is festooned with regalia, dangling aiguillettes and shiny silver epaulettes, she bears no rose sigil. There’s only one woman here who wouldn’t need to declare their Ring status.
And standing beside the woman who is surely the Ringleader of the Rose Blossom is another woman who seems to embody the Ringleader’s exact opposite. Where the other is tall, she is short, where the other is commanding, she is shyly staring at the ground, where the Ringleader looks as if she was etched from stone, she looks as if a wind will blow her away at any moment. She’s wearing a poofy pink-and-black dress that spreads out in several diaphanous layers outside that of the main dress that calls to mind the petals of a rose. It swathes her nearly completely and her long brown hair frames a face that, while also somewhat familiar, seems to embody the very essence of a fragile and vulnerable beauty. A lot of people are staring at her and you can’t blame them.

Down below, one of the rings is being cleared out by a tall and lanky Rose wearing a surprisingly masculine outfit of a sleeveless vest and loose breeches tied around the waist and the ankles. Her blonde hair is shorn short. She’s directing the others aside and tapping the hilt of her sword impatiently. It looks like they’re going to have a few showman duels during the ceremony!

And off in the row of seats below you, you hear the bawdy laughter of a woman sitting atop a barrel of ale in an outfit that she is mostly overflowing. She’s got a pile of coins atop the barrel between her legs and seems to be challenging people to some sort of game. You can’t make out any further detail from this distance.

There are a dozen different such scenes of interest of course, but these are the only ones that interest you. And you can’t see Sabino anywhere!

3/4

>>3098407

>Approach the box.

>See if you can volunteer for a showman duel! You’ll get to show off your moves and maybe even claim a trophy or two.

>Go see if you can join in whatever swindle that girl with the barrel has going. Anywhere there’s a game, there’s a chance to win a trophy for your collection.

>Just mingle for now. No need to call attention to yourself.

>Ask people where Sabino is.

>Other (Specify)

>>3098408
>>Go see if you can join in whatever swindle that girl with the barrel has going. Anywhere there’s a game, there’s a chance to win a trophy for your collection.

>>3098408
>Watch some of the duels, be ready to pick out duelists and get them to play whatever is happening at the barrel.
We need to see the move before we can take them.

>>3098408
>>Go see if you can join in whatever swindle that girl with the barrel has going. Anywhere there’s a game, there’s a chance to win a trophy for your collection.

Vote called, writing.

>>Go see if you can join in whatever swindle that girl with the barrel has going. Anywhere there’s a game, there’s a chance to win a trophy for your collection.

“How are you holding up, Maccio?”

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Just checking. ‘Cause I’m going to need your help moving through this crowd. Can you be the prow, so to speak?”
In your experience, very few people don’t move out of Maccio’s way.

“Where?”

“Do you see that woman down there? On the barrel? You see how she’s running some sort of swindle?”

“...Yes?”
He sounds a little puzzled.

“Well I want in. I’m down to play.”

“I think I understand. You’re on the lookout for trophies, aren’t you?”

“What can I say? Even if most of the stuff I win outside of duels aren’t useful inside of them, I can always afford to be a more varied person.”
And it’s not like you can learn anything any other way.
“Now, lead the way!”

You vanish behind Maccio as he starts forward, your entire body hidden by his. It’s supremely easy to skip around in his wake as the crowd parts before him. Say what you like about Maccio but he certainly commands attention. You go more or less unnoticed.

The woman on the barrel straightens up as Maccio approaches. She’s wearing a rumpled pair of red breeches, a black frilly blouse with a plunging neckline and a red choker. Her black hair is tousled and spun through with gold thread. She waves at him with a ring-festooned hand.
You can’t spot a rose sigil anywhere.
“Ciao!,” she calls. “Does the big man care to test himself?”

“No,” you say, sidling around him. “But I do.”

The woman shrugs and bends down to tap the barrel she’s sitting on, pulling back up with a tankard of ale.
“Sure thing, sure thing. The rules are simple. You give me a coin and you take a drink. If you’re still sober enough to walk in a straight line afterwards, you win the current pot!”
She gestures crudely at the small pile of coins sitting between her legs.

“...Who are you? You’re not a member of the Ring.”

“And neither are you. I’m a guest, just trying to have a little fun. So why not give it a try? Worse case scenario, you’ve spent a coin for the best ale you’ll ever try.”

You may have misjudged this. Maccio could probably handle it but you don’t have Maccio’s, well, Macciosity. This doesn’t seem like a game you can just try and hope to win.


>Try it anyway! You may have a trick in mind to win.

>”Sure, I’ll be back in a few minutes to try.” Lead Maccio away and quickly use his help to devise a plan to win.

>”I want in on this.” Try and persuade her to let you run this game for a short while. You can be hard to say no to.

>”How about we play a different game instead?”

>Leave.

>Other (Specify)

>>3098477
>>Try it anyway! You may have a trick in mind to win.

>>3098477
>Try it anyway! You may have a trick in mind to win.
Don't kill the mood just yet.

>>3098477
>”Sure, I’ll be back in a few minutes to try.” Lead Maccio away and quickly use his help to devise a plan to win.

Vote called, writing.

>>3098407
They turned Sabino into a woman

>>3098515
My thoughts exactly.

>>3098416
Also this anon has it right. So unless we saw this lady do anything we aren’t getting shitbgot this trophy f we do win. And we’re fucking over our chances to get more too. Great job guys.

>>3098520
Seeing it beforehand is only required for duel techniques, for what it's worth.

>>3098523
Given that’s what they were likely wanting? And the fact we can only really pick up shit we’ve noticed? (Like our first crack at Maccio had much different selection than the second) combined with this likely taking us out of the party entirely? Not worth it at all.

>Try it anyway! You may have a trick in mind to win.

You rifle around through your handbag for a loose coin and flip it towards her.
“Sure, I’ll bite. As long as it’s not poisoned or got anything weird in it, right?”

“No, no humours or nothing. I don’t take part in that kind of business. All you have to do is down the tankard and walk in a straight line.”

“And you’ll give me all those coins?”
Not that you really care about winning money. You’re going to take something much more substantial.
“Then watch this!”

You raise the tankard to your lips and start to drink. A crisp fruity taste fills your mouth and as you continue to drink, you realize that you’ve made a mistake. Whatever this has in it, it’s serious! Your head is already starting to swim. Odds are that if you finish this you’re going to have trouble walking at all, let alone in a straight line.
“This..is a lot stronger than a normal ale.”

“It’s my special brew! But I promise you, there’s no tricks or gimmicks. If you’re stout enough to handle it, you’ll win.”

You probably aren’t.


>Just do it and hope it’ll work out. (Luck dependent)

>Gulp in as much as you can and then pull Maccio (or someone else) in for a kiss. Wash it from your mouth into his.

>Find a way to take a trophy from Maccio before you can finish the tankard.

>Just pour out the tankard right in front of her. What’s she going to do, say anything about it?

>Other (Specify)

>>3098527
>Just do it and hope it’ll work out. (Luck dependent)
let's get all of Sofia's losses out in one day

>>3098524
Well that's not really my fault.

Why didn't you guys at least try to come up with a plan?

The option was right there.

>>3098527
>>Gulp in as much as you can and then pull Maccio (or someone else) in for a kiss. Wash it from your mouth into his.

Fucking timezones. Sorry Maccio

>>3098527
>>Just do it and hope it’ll work out. (Luck dependent)

>>3098527
>Gulp in as much as you can and then pull Maccio (or someone else) in for a kiss. Wash it from your mouth into his.

>>3098527
>Gulp in as much as you can and then pull Maccio (or someone else) in for a kiss. Wash it from your mouth into his.


>>3098532
She’s going to lose more drunk off her ass m8

>>3098536
Because anons voting are the same idiots who voted in lamplighter and snackcatcher and pisssed away or lead last duel. They vote for instant gratification without thought or plan and fuck everyone and everything up worse for it.

If this works we should share the bounty with Maccio

>>3098557
Agreed. Damn shame we didn’t scout duels beforehand to get anything worth a damn.

>>3098527
>>Just do it and hope it’ll work out. (Luck dependent)

>>3098527
>>Gulp in as much as you can and then pull Maccio (or someone else) in for a kiss. Wash it from your mouth into his.

>>3098564
>>3098546
>>3098532
Why are you trying to screw us out of trophies we can actually use? Why are you trying to get us so drunk off the bat we cannot participate in the party at all and waste this opportunity?

>>3098564
>>3098546
>>3098532
You guys realize that when we fail we won't be able to do other things here right?

Vote called, writing.

>>3098573
>>3098576
I think it might be choice fatigue. People get tired of building plans and trying to succeed, so they start voting for the simplest option and hoping the QM carries them.
I know this feeling well. Though I just stop voting in such cases and hope the other players have good ideas.

>>3098581
>Ouro
>Carrying anyone

These shit for brains ought to know better by now.

>>3098576
>>3098573
>>3098554
I voted to view duel techniques first, but got completely shot down.

Now, we can't back out without looking like an ass. I don't really have an idea for how to cheat our way through without outing the birthright in a really obvious way, so I'm only betting on Sofia maturing up a little more or learning how to deal with shit without stealing abilities.

>>3098573
Because you want to suck dicks

Can't we just say "No, thank you."?

Why do we have to go through with this, it's only a game.

>>3098596
We could actually back out now, but we've already drunk a little bit. Do you have a party plan with the cup and half-consumed ale?

I dunno, pretend to be drunk and use the rest of the ale to paint a picture, making enough of a funny to graciously lose?

>>3098593
Ouro literally made it so the only way Sofia learns is either getting it beat into her for years or monkey sight. Trying to literally fuck over the rest of the event because you’ve got a hate boner for her is petty.

>>3098594
Not particularly. You just seem to be a shitter.

>>3098596
We had a chance to back down and still kept going. We’d look like an idiot and the loss of facevwould be worse than us getting drunk off our ass.

>>3098578
>>3098602
I can rescind my vote if you want, but I don't see the alternative as much better.

>>3098593
>I voted to view duel techniques first, but got completely shot down.

So you thought: 'Fuck it, let's get wasted so we can't view duel techniques later'?

Didn't try to mitigate anything by coming up with a plan for how to beat this? Just go gung ho?

I'm not sure I understand that thought process. I'm sorry I wasn't awake to second your duel vote, but you shouldn't piss away the whole evening because you didn't get your way.

>>3098616
I'm going to sleep. I'm sorry I wasn't able to come up with a plan that had more rewards than risks.

>>3098619
It's alright senpai. Have a good night.

>Gulp in as much as you can and then pull Maccio in for a kiss. Wash it from your mouth into his.

Well, here goes nothing. This might not be exactly within the spirit of the rules but what’s she going to do? Call you out on it? And if you’d wanted a dignified way out of this you should have planned out something beforehand or tried to challenge her to another game.
And besides, it’s not you who is going to be making the real sacrifice here. That’s Maccio. He probably doesn’t deserve what you’re about to do to him.

You drink deep, downing the rest and ballooning your cheeks to keep it all in your mouth, holding your head forward to stop it trickling it down your throat. You then reach up and tap a confused Maccio on the chest, beckoning him to bend down towards you.
And the moment he does, you fling yourself forward, grab hold of his face with both hands and kiss him on the lips!

It’s your first open-mouth kiss with anyone ever in your entire life. And you’re using it to win a drinking game.

To his credit, Maccio doesn’t struggle. Not even when the floodgates open and you let the booze wash out of your mouth and into his. He’s drinking second-hand. And you won’t stop and you can’t stop. You can feel his lips against yours. And in all that small electric moment, brain washed in drink and lips locked in an almost-perfect seal for the least romantic reasons imaginable, you are happy that it has all transpired this way. This is the right path. It has to be.

And then you break away and Maccio is spluttering and you are walking back towards your would-be opponent, placing each and every step in front of the other in a perfectly straight line.
“Check it. You can keep the coins by the way. I’m not here for anything so trivial.”

“Woah! Congratulations,” she babbles, unable to say whatever she means. You reach in and take your prize.


>A gold thread from her hair.

>A single coin.

>One of her many rings.

>Her choker.

>The tankard.

>Other (Specify)

>>3098622
>One of her many rings.

The choker sounds appropriate considering our new scar.

>>3098622
>A single coin.
I'd take the choker if it was black, that would look well with anything, but this one is red.

>>3098622
>A single coin.

>>3098622
>>A single coin.

Vote called, writing.

>A single coin.

You reach down between her legs and before she can react, take back the coin you’d just given her. It’s a tarnished silver, a scratch on one side defacing the image of some foreign queen.
“Here, I’ll just take this. You can keep the rest of the pot.”

Stepping back, you weigh the coin in your hand for a moment, still feeling just a little tipsy. You flip it up and watch it sparkle between your fingers. Yes. This has been a learning experience for you. You’ve learned something that only this huckster could have taught you. But what?

Truth be told, you don’t really know much about this woman save for her appearance and what she’s doing. But you can pull from that.


>Nickel Stomach: For as long as you have this coin, you can drink without limit. Alcohol has no effect on you and you won’t get drunk unless you want to. You are also resistant to other forms of ingested poisons.

>Going Bust: She’s a lot more well-endowed than you are, that’s for sure and she makes no attempt to hide it. But appearance is just another skill you can learn.

>Alewife: With this coin comes knowledge and skill. Knowledge and skill about brewing a really good ale, that is. Certainly the kind of stuff you could sell for money.

>Test Your Luck: You’re a pro at games of chance and other such swindles, no matter how well they’re performed. Once per thread you may either reroll a single dice or automatically succeed at a game of chance.

>Drunken Master: Should you choose to get drunk, it is only because it is making you better! Sure it still hinders you in every other way but how can anyone possibly read or predict your patterns when not even you know what you’re going to do next? How can anyone get an insight into your thoughts when you’re not thinking at all? While you are drunk you are impenetrable to all prediction, mind-reading or divination effects.

>>3098691
>>Test Your Luck: You’re a pro at games of chance and other such swindles, no matter how well they’re performed. Once per thread you may either reroll a single dice or automatically succeed at a game of chance.

>>3098691
>Test Your Luck: You’re a pro at games of chance and other such swindles, no matter how well they’re performed. Once per thread you may either reroll a single dice or automatically succeed at a game of chance.

I should note that for the purposes of say, Strike Pools, Test Your Luck can only reroll one dice in that pool and not the whole thing.

>>3098691
>Nickel Stomach: For as long as you have this coin, you can drink without limit. Alcohol has no effect on you and you won’t get drunk unless you want to. You are also resistant to other forms of ingested poisons.

>>3098691
>Going Bust: She’s a lot more well-endowed than you are, that’s for sure and she makes no attempt to hide it. But appearance is just another skill you can learn.

>>3098691
>Test Your Luck: You’re a pro at games of chance and other such swindles, no matter how well they’re performed. Once per thread you may either reroll a single dice or automatically succeed at a game of chance.

Vote called, writing.

File: Maccio_ceg.jpg (584 KB, 900x734)

584 KB JPG

>Test Your Luck: You’re a pro at games of chance and other such swindles, no matter how well they’re performed. Once per thread you may either reroll a single dice or automatically succeed at a game of chance.

Yeah, learning how to be lucky eh? That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. You could use a little more luck in your life right now to tell the truth. And as long as you’ve got this coin with you, you’ll be as lucky as this lady over here!
Just try to ignore the fact that her luck just failed her.

Maccio is bent double, still sputtering as he coughs up second-hand ale onto the seat beside him. You pat him on the back.
“Thanks Maccio. I could have done it without you but it’s greatly appreciated all the same.”

"I'll be alright," he wheezes. "But we have to talk about this later."

Flipping the coin from hand to hand, you look around to see that you and Maccio have drawn a bit of a crowd. You’re not used to being looked at by so many beautiful people! You don’t even have any makeup on!
Knowing this, you think you’d prefer to change things up now.


>Turn back to the alewife and give her a thumbs up. “If you want this coin back, how about you play me in a game for it?”

>Head on down to the duelling rings.

>Just mingle for a while and talk.

>Search for Sabino.

>Pay the box a visit.

>Other (Specify)

>>3098780
>Head on down to the duelling rings.
Let's just observe for now.

File: sleep.jpg (114 KB, 577x515)

114 KB JPG

It is very late so for now I must sleep. Vote will remain open until I wake, at which point I will resume updates.

Also received some Maccio fanart from Cegremo, though it implies that Sofia is standing on something fairly tall to look at him from that angle.

>>3098780
Turns out Maccio is obscenely hot. I imagined him more... square faced.

>Just mingle for a while and talk
Why not talk with Maccio now rather than later

>>3098780
>>Head on down to the duelling rings.

>>3098780
>>Turn back to the alewife and give her a thumbs up. “If you want this coin back, how about you play me in a game for it?”

>>3098788
This. Chat with Maccio at the same time.

>>3098780
>Head on down to the duelling rings.
>Talk with Maccio.

>>3098780
>>Head on down to the duelling rings

>>3098803
> though it implies that Sofia is standing on something fairly tall to look at him from that angle.
Maybe he's sitting.

All this rose motif reminds me of Utena. Is there absurdly feminine looking men spouting about the end of the world and such anywhere?

>>3098780


>Other (Specify)
Make it up to Maccio. Ask him if there's any place he wants to head to. Dueling ring, mingling with some ladies that caught his eye, garden?

I'm awake! Vote called and writing, thread resumes soon.

>Head on down to the duelling rings.

You take Maccio’s hand in yours and quickly leave, leaving the huckster to her games and her crowds. It’s nothing you want. Instead, with Maccio’s implicit permission since there’s no way you’re dragging him anywhere, you head down the rows towards the duelling rings.
“You say you wanted to talk?”

Maccio sits cross-legged on the ground in front of one of the seats in order not to block the view for anyone behind him. It also lets you look him in the face.
“You kissed me.”

“So I did. Trust me, it wasn’t exactly planned.”
You take a seat and watch the short-haired woman organize the duelling ring, motioning for others to step up and challenge her. It’s a showman duel so the Wake’s not involved. As a result, she and any of her potential opponents must keep their sabres sheathed and use wooden swords instead.

“I know why you did it. But I’d like to know about the feelings behind it, if any.”

“Is that so?”
Are you being mean to Maccio with this sort of stuff? You hadn’t really thought about it. And of course, he’ll never say so. But what about your resolve not to drag him into the wreckage left behind by Adriana? Have you recovered already?


>”Didn’t I already answer this question? You’re one of my best friends.”

>”Nothing important.”

>”What do you want it to be?”

>”It’s just a kiss, come on.”

>”What else could it mean?”

>Other (Specify)

>>3099652
>”What do you want it to be?”
Queue Sofia attempt at being suave.

>>3099652
>It was pretty nice. Look I told you before I like Romance, and given how my birthright works I totally cannot ever misinterpret things, nope not ever. Nor could I be overly forward.
>But between said Birthright and the fact you have Family issue like I, once did before I broke away from them, I did not want to impose.

>>3099652
>"Hey I don't just kiss anybody, even if the drinking game excuse was there. So you know..."
>”What do you want it to be?”
>"I'm not very good at telling how people feel about me, for obvious reasons."

>>3099659
This.

Let's take this slowly.

We just ran from romance with Adriana and promised to come back to what we know was a love confession and now we're flirting with someone we spend a lot of time with.

Sofia is a terrible person. I haven't felt like this much of a shitstain since Lamplighter. And Snakecatcher before that.

Maybe we really are horrible people.

>>3099692
We promised to come back not that we could be lovers, which isn't happening for very good reason.


Sofia may be a terrible person, but I don't think flirting with the giant hot guy she's been attracted too since the duel is a flaw.


AS for the other quests?

Lamplighter went straight into shitty person the second we nuked the city all to make our lives easier. Unsurprinsigly it did not, and any anon advocating for it seriously went lol suckers and laughed at the shit they caused.


Snakecatcher was doomed the second the voters decided the snake pussy was more important than anything else.


I staunchly called out against both but was yelled down by the mob each time.

Vote called, writing.

>>3099692
The issue is we can't be with Adriana without dying. That's a fact. We could have handled that last goodbye a hell of a lot better but we aren't abandoning her. We just can't really be an item like both of them see to want.

On the flipside here, most of these options seem like complete friendzones that are hard to come back from and I don't want to close this door in a matter of speaking. I'm not saying we jump his bones or anything, just put the idea out there.

That said I do agree that it feels way too soon, but shit all of these options suck.

>>3099692
We're horrible people all right. This is a game where things are done by majority post, the majority will choose the stupid option. I'm a little surprised by some of the choices anons are making given we just got a love confession in the very beginning of this thread.

In any case I'm not too keen on a romance with Adriana. I was always on team Maccio.

Also, even if we did decide to reject all romantic relationships with others and focused on Adriana. It's pretty clear that Adriana will one day lose her self control and we'll have an additional 10th Adriana running around one day.

Unless we found some sort of alternative or ability to block her from our minds to be with her.

File: thinkinGif.gif (1.88 MB, 480x264)

1.88 MB GIF

>>3099732
>Unless we found some sort of alternative or ability to block her from our minds to be with her.

Maybe we should ask our godmother about that sometime.

File: MaccioSofia.jpg (244 KB, 541x1000)

244 KB JPG

>>3099692
>We just ran from romance with Adriana and promised to come back to what we know was a love confession and now we're flirting with someone we spend a lot of time with.
Right now Adriana romance is a no-go if Sophia wants to stay alive. That has got to hurt.

As much as I want Sofia and Maccio to end together, this almost-date feels like Sofia wants to get over what happened last night (And using Maccio to do so).

>>3099740
>6' vs 5'11"

>>3099732
>Unless we found some sort of alternative or ability to block her from our minds to be with her.

Nobody voted for Drunken Master anyway.

>>3099740
D'awwww.

>>3099748
>Nobody voted for Drunken Master anyway
While that is hilarious a relationship where we can only be drunk most of the time doesn't seem like a great.

>>3099748
>Nobody voted for Drunken Master anyway.
I quit.

Enjoy your quest, guys.

>>3099750
Same opinion here, a relationship that only works around your loved one if you're drunk is completely unhealthy

>>3099753
Huh?

>>3099760
He's sour that we are crappy players that chose the most emotionally idiotic option.
Also, I was away so I didn't get to vote for Drunken Master if it was a way to block our thoughts from Adriana. But it's not great since a drunk for a girlfriend would be terrible for Adriana.

For the record, I'm not suggesting that it would have been a good ability for any sort of long-term relationship nor do I think you guys made a bad choice with what you chose instead.
That comment was a joke.

>>3099652
>>”What do you want it to be?”

>Other (Specify)
I wanted to win so badly... I couldn't think of another way.

>”What do you want it to be?”

You completely lose track of whatever you had intended to say. Why do you feel like there’s a pressure building up inside your head right now? Do you...do you want this? Do you really want to do this with Maccio today? You don’t know.
“What do you want it to be?”
It wasn’t meant to be that serious!

“I-”


You get your head together and interrupt him. You want to tell him that you almost never know how other people truly feel.
“Look Maccio, I know what everyone feels about me. I know what you feel.”
Fuck! That’s not what you meant at all!

“I know you do.”
Why can’t Maccio be able to read your mind? That made everything so much easier.

You make another stab at it.
“I can never misinterpret anything. And neither can I ever be too forward. There’s nobody that doesn’t want me. But...understand that I don’t want to impose.”
Can he see your true meaning?

“Oh, no matter who you ask I doubt you’ll find anyone who’ll say that you’ve ever imposed anything.”

“I know.”
That’s the problem.
“I know what you want. Me, right? I mean, uh….Look, whatever you want it to be, don’t answer that question. Just think about it. And keep thinking about it. And only come back and tell me that the answer is me once you’re sure of it.”

He says nothing. Good. Words are astoundingly useless here. Actively detrimental even. The two of you should judge one another by their actions alone. So in that case...what exactly have you been telling Maccio with yours? You’ve brought him on what is possibly a date. You’ve kissed him. Of course he wants to know what your intentions are!
Well he can join the club because you don’t know either. You’re a hot mess right now and you’re not thinking straight.

The silence drags on. Surely there must be something you can say or do to make this better.


>Introduce him to some other women. They can model for his paintings! He can spend the rest of the day with them!

>”I just wanted to win the game okay!”

>Focus your full attention on watching the duel.

>Wander off somewhere else.

>Kiss him again.

>Tell him about Adriana.

>Other (Specify)

>>3099854
>Other (Specify)
Grab his hand, squeeze and give him a smile. Actions, not words right now.

"Let's enjoy the rest of the day and watch some girls hit each other with sticks."

Well some words.

>>3099866
>>3099854

Yeah, this.
Also, as players let try not to do anything so emotionally outrageous as kissing people for no good reason? Our curse makes it ... open to misinterpretation

>>3099866
This.

Vote called, writing.

>Other

There’s nothing you can say to resolve this situation. Hadn’t you just established that? But there might be something you can do. So you instead you just reach out and place your hand in his once more. You give it a squeeze and smile up at him.
Words are lies, even when the curse isn’t involved. What had Maccio told you the last time you were together? You are the sum totality of what you do and nothing more. So you’ll put your faith in actions over words and hope that he understands you through that alone.

And wouldn’t you know it, he squeezes your hand back. You look up into his eyes and gaze into the void. It’s just as unpassable as ever. But you can paint over it with any colour that you want and sometimes you just have to. So you’ll close your eyes to the void and say it’s a pleasant day instead. And who knows? Maybe it really is.

“Let’s enjoy the rest of the day,” you say. “Watch some girls get hit by sticks.”

He doesn’t let go.
“Are you planning on joining in?”


>”Yes but only after I’ve seen what she can do.”

>”No. I’d rather sit here with you.”

>Other (Specify)

>>3099957
>”No. I’d rather sit here with you.”

>>3099957
>I might, I might not. I still need to find and make the courtesy hello to Sabino at least. But for now, women hitting other women with sticks.

>>3099957
>Other (Specify)
Maybe but I'm hoping to see the man of the hour. His name is Sabino, I think you'll like him

>>3099966
>>3100019
Voting for this.

>>3100019
God I really, really hope he isn't the scrawny girl we saw next to the leader person.

>>3100039
Pffft hahahahah! Sorry, I just imagined that right now. No wonder he so teasable.
I guess he really enjoys dressing up. There's nothing wrong with that, I bet Sophia is going to feel super jealous that he longs even more feminine than her and had won the duel

>>3100044
Whoops typo.
longs = looks

But I got weird echoes of Utena and the Rose Bride when iron lady and girly girl was described earlier.

>>3100039

You're suggesting that the leader didn't jump at the opportunity to engage in "couple cosplay" with her favorite toy during his initiation.

Face it, he looks good in a dress.

>>3100044
>>3100051
You assume they did not forcefully genderbend him to make him a full member of the Roses.

Vote called, writing.

>>3100044
Call it a hunch, but I don't know if he enjoys the shit the leader has him go through.

But then again he could have chosen to go to another group couldn't he have?

>>3100051
... Does Sabino even enjoy dressing up as a women? I'd hate to realize he's being forced to by someone he cares for.

>>3100054

I doubt that. His utility as a toy diminishes greatly in that situation.

Although I wouldn't be 100 percent certain this isn't an devastating prank: take a young and impressionable duelist, play with him while he's still a kitten and turn him out right before he stops being cute.

>>3100061
Every time the leader got brought up the kid winced like an abused puppy. I'm not going to pretend to understand the depths of their relationship but I'm not 100% if he cares for her or not.

>>3100102
I guess we shall have to endeavour to treat him with dignity since he's getting none.

File: 1468536745023.jpg (59 KB, 331x295)

59 KB JPG

>>3100107
That's going to mean no headpats or any condescending actions.

Can we handle that!?

>>3100133
Well, it's going to depend on what sort of person you want Sophia to be.
A bullying jerk with no empathy for his situation or good person who hopes that one day Sabino will tell the Leader to take her rose and shove where it don't shine... maybe he'll let us pet him in private if no one is looking?

>>3100133

Of course; the moment someone else does it, we're going to suddenly conclude it's gauche and below us to abuse him that way.

>>3100142
I was being a tad facetious

>>3100144
Hah, too true.

>Sabino!

“I might, I might not. Probably not though. Right now I’m kind of hoping to find the man of the hour. His name is Sabino and I think you might like him.”
You’ll refrain from mentioning how much of a cutie he is in front of Maccio, especially since you now suspect that this feeling might be somewhat compelled. You should at least try to respect him even when nobody else does.
Also your reflections apparently had sex so that basically makes you two in some sort of esoteric relationship, right? You’ll have to approach this carefully.

“You already told me his name. How did the two of you meet in the first place?”

“It was over a case. He was on probation at the time, a plucky young prodigy aching to prove himself. That’s why I let him win.”

“I see. Have you seen him?”

“No, not yet. At this point I think I’m just going to ask someone. Do you want to come with me?”

“Of course. I’m not particularly personally interested in the duelling game.”

“Right. Give me a moment then.”
You pull aside a passing lady, eyes latching onto the silver rose dangling down her bodice.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Sabino? The guest of honour?”

Beautiful eyes narrow. There’s so much makeup here that you feel almost naked.
“Sabino?”

“Yeah, he invited me you see. So I want to have a chat while I’m here.”

“Ah. They’re up there in the box.”

“That makes sense, makes sense. Are they at the back or something? I don’t see him.”

She just laughs coyly and effortlessly pries herself free.
“Try getting up there and giving it a closer look.”

It doesn’t take long to work your way back up the colosseum towards the box. Maccio is, as always, an excellent prow. And so before long you’ve breached the steps and are standing on the platform just below it. The two women you spotted earlier are still both here and are both magnetic to the eye.
The Ringleader is beautiful but in a sense that you’d call striking.Her makeup only accentuates the sharp edges that she doesn’t even bother to hide. Her red hair is bright where yours is dull and though she’s sitting down she has to be at least six feet. Maybe even taller than your godmother!
You vaguely recall telling Sabino that you’d love ‘a taller woman treating me like sexy garbage’. Somehow, all that feeling is personified in the woman before you, as if you were always speaking about her before you even knew who she was. She could probably knock you off your feet with a glance.

The other woman is beautiful but vulnerably so, like a flower that you must protect. She’s an inch shorter than you, though she’d seemed shorter from further away and she’s young. Granted, the Ringleader looks young too but in a sort of ageless ‘has probably had a lot of body tailorings’ sense. This girl, in her beautifully made face and her silly but expansive dress, just radiates a welcoming fragility.
1/2

>>3100278
She looks nervous and vaguely worried which instead of disconcerting you, it just makes you want to go up there and tell her that everything’s going to be okay. Maybe even pat her on the head.

They’re both occupied with talking to others within the box so neither of them even seem to notice you. If they look your way they’re looking at Maccio.
And though you scan the crowd of sycophants in the box several times, you can spot neither hide nor hair of Sabino. Where is he?


>Approach the Ringleader.

>Approach the Ringleader’s companion.

>Maybe he’s out behind the box, in the passages. You can probably find your way around there…

>Other (Specify)

>>3100279
>>Other (Specify)
Knock and announce yourself.

We should state our business and try to see where Sabino is. Gotta give him our congratulations

>>3100279
>Maybe even pat her on the head.
...

>Approach the Ringleader’s companion.
Let's get it over with boys. Rip that bandaid off. Man this is going to be awkward.

>>3100279
>Use context along with what the lady and Maccio said.
>Realize that the Ringleader's companion may in fact be Sabino.

I know it's for the players benefit, but man, Sofia ain't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, is she?

>>3100291
It's why I wrote my post as if sophia has no clue.
It's pretty damn obvious to us where Sabino is just not to sophia

>>3100304

We should be careful that there may be ritual going on here. Observe decorum.

>Approach the Ringleader.

>>3100279
>Realize sabino is possibly the companion from maccio's comments and her face being oddly familiar
>Approach the duo as policy and common courtesy dictates.
>knock first.

>>3100279
I'll also second to approach as common courtesy dictates. Whatever that might be in this Fae land.

If Sabino is just being forced to crossdress and not actually a girl now we really need to take him out drinking or something masculine.

>>3100348
... What would be masculine enough to make up for this though. Take Maccio, Sabino and Lanzo somewhere to play something like billiards in a smokey bar somewhere, drink fine scotch and smoke cigars?

>>3100358
Yes. We can't make up for everything that's happening but that's a start.

If we got the nickel stomach, wouldnt we be able to challenge all duelists ever to drinking contests?

>>3100377
I'd rather not, we're a duelist, not a competitive drinking sot

>>3100382
Hey, as long as you collect enough techs to win....

>>3100279
I'll change my vote to

>>3100319
since courtesy is nice.

Vote called, writing.

>Approach her companion.

You’re unsure of what the decorum here is so in lieu of that, you decide to visit yourself upon the most approachable one instead. That is, of course, the Ringleader’s companion. You climb up into the box and, with Maccio just behind you, make your way over to the soft-looking girl.
“Oh hello. Do you mind if I ask you something?”

She turns to look at you and she does, her eyes light up with sudden recognition.
“Sofia? I was starting to think you weren’t coming!”
Her voice is a trilling falsetto, the squeaky kind that’s almost a little too high-pitched to be real.

And the moment you hear that, the moment you see her response, long-obvious facts connect themselves in your mind. The girl’s demeanour, her familiar look, what Maccio told you earlier...it’s Sabino! It’s Sabino and yet this petite maiden is also undoubtedly a woman.

She smiles and curtsies.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Sabino?,” you say quietly. “You are Sabino, right?”

She gives you a pained look so cute that you just want to give her a hug.
“Not here, Sofia. I forgot you wouldn’t know. Here I’m Sabina.”

“H-have they done something to you?”

She laughs.
“What? No! It’s just that this is the Rose Blossom Ring, you know. And as members we’re free to depict ourselves however we like but when we’re at official Ring functions...there’s a standard that we all must adhere to. Nothing’s been done to me, I haven’t changed, it’s just that right here and right now, I’m a woman. I’ll be a boy after the ceremony is over.”

“Ah. And there are others like you here then?”

“A few! You didn’t notice them, I assume? They’re all very pretty girls and some of them try harder than others. Why, some of them even stay like it outside of ceremonies.”
She shakes your hand.
“Thank you so much for coming, by the way. I wasn’t sure if you would.”

“Well this is fine. I was just worried it was something weird. This is Maccio by the way.”

“Charmed,” Maccio says, bending down to offer his hand to the dimunitive girl. Sabina takes it and then shies away.

“You’re...very large.”

He shrugs.
“I get that a lot.”


>Ask Sabina about the Ringleader.

>Ask her about her mentor.

>”So what else are we doing today?”

>”Care for a rematch down in the showman duels?”

>”And you’re fine with this? It’s not forced on you or anything?”

>Pat head.

>”Want to go get drinks later?”

>Other (Specify)

>>3100559

>Ask her about her mentor.

>>3100559
>>Ask her about her mentor.
>Keep it light and friendly.

>>3100559
>So you have to sit up in the box the entire time?
>So what are these thing usually like?
>Ask her about her mentor.

>>3100559
>>”And you’re fine with this? It’s not forced on you or anything?”
After making sure nothing is wrong.

>Ask her about her mentor.


>Other (Specify)
Congratulations

>>3100559
>And you’re fine with this? It’s not forced on you or anything?”

>>3100581
>>3100559

Actually change this, I'm an idiot. He's not being forced, it's a Rose tradition. He takes it seriously even to the point of wearing make up during our duel. I had forgotten.

Congratulations are in order.
>Ask Sabina about the Ringleader.
>Ask her about her mentor.

>>3100559
>Ask Sabina about the Ringleader.
>Ask her about her mentor.
>”Want to go get drinks later?”

Vote called, writing.

>Ask her about her mentor.

Your first instinct is to ask and make sure that she isn’t being forced into this but then you remember the duel the two of you shared. Sabino had taken the traditions of the Ring very seriously. If Sabino had any problems with occasionally being Sabina, he wouldn’t have joined the Rose Blossom Ring. And besides, while she certainly looks nervous, that’s likely due to the ceremony itself. Not to mention that it’s kind of normal for her.
“Congratulations! You’re going to be a full member once this is all done, right?”
A right won by climbing over your defeated body.

Sabina blushes just a little.
“Thank you. It wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

‘Naturally. But where’s your mentor? Your sponsor? You wouldn’t stop talking about her before and now you’re all up in the box alone with your Ringleader.”

She stares at you blankly for a moment before comprehension dawns slowly across her face.
“I didn’t tell you? I could have sworn I mentioned it before. My mentor, Catalina d’Passero, is the Ringleader.”

“Are my ears burning? Shoo, shoo, just a moment.”
The voice is bright and energetic and yet also, beneath it all, utterly uncompromising. An iron fist hid poorly within a velvet glove. You turn as the woman in the throne rises to her feet. It’s as if a statue had moved. She walks over towards you with her sheathed sabre still in hand.
“Is my darling protege entertaining guests of her own without even introducing them to me first?”

“They’re just my frien-”
Sabina stops as Catalina d’Passero, her mentor and lover both, mistress of the Rose Blossom Guild and very likely one of the most elite duellists in all the City, pats her on the head. Her fingers twist through the long brown hair perhaps a little harder than they ought to. Afterwards the hand slides down Sabina’s head, caressing her cheek for just a moment before settling down on her shoulder in an unmistakable display of ownership.

“Hush,” she whispers into her ear, apparently uncaring of the fact that they are both in public. “So this is that Sofia, hm? Oh yes I know all about you. My student is a hopeless pillow talker.”

“Yes,” you say uncertainly, Meeting Catalina’s gaze is just as stifling as you imagined it. It’s as if her very presence carries physical weight. Something instinctual is telling you to sit down, shut up and to listen up because class is now in session.
It’s like...it’s like the hostile architecture techniques of the Magisterium localized within one person.

“Don’t worry,” she purrs, “I’m always willing to share. You’re welcome to her whenever you want.”

Sabina winces, doing her best to appear as if she is retreating from Catalina’s touch without actually moving.

1/2

>>3100821

>”The offer is appreciated.”

>”No thanks.”


>”Take your hands off of her!”

>Quickly change the subject to duelling.

>”This conversation didn’t concern you.”

>Oh no she’s hot.

>Other (Specify)

>>3100822
>>Other (Specify)
Change subject, pretend to remember that Sabina wanted to show something interesting about the Rose Garden before. This should get her out of lady clutches for a few minutes, then we can discuss things like friends. In private

Privately though think
>Oh no she’s hot.

>>3100822
>>”The offer is appreciated.”
Because it's polite and this woman could probably end us in a number of ways if she wanted, curse or no curse.

File: 1468351055204.png (21 KB, 180x204)

21 KB PNG

>>3100821
>Other (Specify)
"You know I've always been of the opinion that this kind of 'ownership' is a bit wrong. You agree don't you?"

>When she says yes because she has to agree with us.
"Maybe now that Sabina is a full fledged member you can ease up a bit you know? I think that's a good idea. You think that's a good idea right?"

Yes I am subtly using the curse to sway her mind on how she treats Sabino a bit. It's dirty, but our boy could use some slack.

>Anyways
>Change the subject to duelling.

If you guys don't agree with doing this I understand, but I think it's worth trying.

>>3100822
>”The offer is appreciated.”
"Sharing is Caring!"

>>3100822
>”No thanks.”
>Quickly change the subject to duelling.

>>3100831
So pretending to agree verbally but in reality not actually agreeing to it?

>>3100822
>>3100827
Actually, I'm changing my opinion to this


>”Sorry but this conversation didn’t concern you.

>Quickly change the subject to duelling.

>>3100855
That's the idea. She might take offense to refusal.

>>3100858
It just rubs me the wrong way. Sabino didn't even get to protest about the way she's basically pimping him out. I'd rather just politely advise that this conversation didn't involve her.

If we can't do that, let's change the subject to dueling because that way it's not an acceptance or a refusal

>>3100855
Exactly.

>>3100860
I feel you. I didn't vote for that. I'm voting to twist her mind into laying off a bit. Not sure if it would stick though.

>>3100860
Saying 'the offer is appreciated' isn't an acceptance or a refusal. We're saying 'We appreciate that you consider us worth the offer.' Nothing more, nothing less.

>>3100875
Why can't we just dodge the entire issue then by changing the subject then? That way we don't verbally slap Sabino in the face making him think we decided take up on her offer and we didn't accept it either.

>>3100834

Let's not offer help where it's not requested. Just because Sabino is uncomfortable doesn't necessarily mean he needs rescued. His position in this ring means a great deal to him, and it would be cruel to jeopardize it without warrant.

If you want however; she did give us an in:

"If that's the case, I accept your offer. I will have her company, or I'll take her coy refusal as a complement."

Then turn up a hand, making the decision point a physical one.

My vote is conditional: I want to do this plan if anyone else agrees with it. Otherwise.

>”The offer is appreciated.”
>Quickly change the subject to duelling.

Vote called, writing.

>>3100912
That's pretty good actually, though I'd rather not give Catalina the dignity of an answer at all. Subtly snubbing her by just changing the subject

>>3100912
Fair enough. Just bothers me.

>>3100929

These people trade in dignity and pride. Dealing in that will keep guards down and information flowing.

If we find that Sabino has a serious problem, that's the time when we can consider letting the Tyrant out to play.

Terenzi demonstrated the best application of our power: Carefully allow everyone around us to live undisturbed until they do wrong, then strike them with a power that's inexplicable and inviolable. The fact that our duel went south was unfortunate, but regardless of your thoughts on him, the ability to ambush an social opponent is significantly more useful than enjoying meaningless platitudes from them.

It's also a much more dangerous temptation: We can do incredible amounts of damage to a target if their first experience with our power is when we move to break them with it.

We frankly can do far worse than the Tyrant.

Anyways: Remember kids, Sofia is a good person.

>>3100822

>Quickly change the subject to duelling.

>”The offer is appreciated.”
>Quickly change the subject to duelling.

No, you shouldn’t intervene where you might not be needed nor wanted. Sabina certainly looks uncomfortable and to tell the truth, something about the idea about being romantically vulnerable to the person whom you are dependant upon strikes you as a little unfortunate. And you don’t like the idea of Catalina giving Sabina to you as if she was just some toy. That probably shouldn’t be Catalina’s decision to make.

“The offer is appreciated,” you tell her and for a brief moment, you do entertain the notion. Sabina has always been tempting after all. There’s just something about her that draws you in like a fly to honey. And judging by what you’ve seen, it works on a lot of people. You don’t like it. It’s unwholesome.
“So, have you seen the match that this ceremony is commemorating?”
Oh, the things you’ll do for Sabina. She better appreciate this later.

Catalina stares at you with hooded eyes.
“I have. It was an educational experience.”

“And you must be a pretty good duellist yourself, yeah?”
Anything to change the subject.

“Some would say that. Nowhere near as good as yourself, of course.”
She doesn’t look confused or puzzled with herself. She knows.
“I am the matriarch of the Rose Blossom Style and this little morsel’s teacher.”
She pulls Sabina in close, resting her head up against her bosom. The shorter girl just limply concedes to it.

“You must have taught a lot of people,” you say weakly. This ‘distraction’ is proving less distracting than you thought.

“Oh yes. I am an excellent mentor, far more than I am a duellist. I am possessed of an incredible gift for teaching, even for those who don’t want to learn.”

“Really?”

“Recalcitrant students are my favourite kind. The less they want to learn, the more I have to teach them. I’ve duelled many people who thought they were above me and my lessons but there is always something new to learn. Would you like a demonstration?
The ornate rose hilt of her sabre rises an inch as she thumbs it just barely out of her sheath. Is she...is she challenging you?

“Uh.”

“It would honour little Sabina here for her instructor to take part in at least one showman duel during her commencement. Would you be so gracious as to accept?”
There’s no doubt about it. She’s seen right through you and your opinion of her and in turn, is offering an ultimatum of her own. Back down or be humiliated in the duelling ring.


>Accept! You can win this!

>Politely decline and step away.

>”You’re not worthy of me.”

>Back down for now but talk to Sabina later in private.

>Other (Specify)

On one hand. We are going to be between being utterly destroyed or simply embarrassed.

On the other; This isn't a bad opportunity. We have some idea how the Rose ring fights, and this is an excellent opportunity to experience it's full power.

It mostly depends on how much Sofia is willing to jump back on the horse; because to chose to fight Catalina is to all but chose defeat for the sake of knowledge.

Personally however; I think we should defer to Maccio. We brought him as a guest, and it would be neglecting him to gallivant off to the ring without his thoughts.

And I'm totally not recommending it because it's going to chafe her just a little that we're intentionally leaving the decision to a third party. We let Maccio decide if he'd prefer us staying on his arm or watching a primo catfight.

I think it's win-win... but only if Sofia is willing to jump back into this both feet first.

>>3101059
>>3101028
Fuck it, I'll second.
>Defer to Maccio if he wants us to do this or not

If yes
>Accept! You can't win this, but you can learn some Rose Ring moves ahead of time in case you fight one again on the job.

If no
>Back down for now but talk to Sabina later in private.

>>3101028
>>Politely decline and step away.

Like, okay. This situation would be less harrowing if Sofia wasn't so...Sofia. Why?

Because literally everyone knows she's going to get her ass beat like a bongo drum. The trick here...is to actually not care. Treat it like training, and focus on survival and practice, not actually winning. There's no (actual) shame in losing to an opponent that's so far above you as to be ridiculous, especially if A: the opponent is gracious, B: you are gracious, and C: you actually get something out of the experience.

Unless you're Sofia. Whom in both curse and deed is kind of a massive selfish brat. (Albeit kinda learning, so, points there.)

I kind of want to vote >Agree in a demure fashion, just focus on practice.

But I don't think Sofia can really DO demure and mean it yet.

I almost wish we had all of Gloriana's moveset for this.

>>3101059
Basically, I'll back this.

>>3101028
>I would have thought duel, even a training one, would be beneath the Ringmistress of such an august Dueling club, especially when it comes to a public defender, regardless of their perceived skill and record.
>If you are offering a training duel, however, and my Plus one does not mind, I would be happy to partake of a training duel with you though Signora. Only a fool would seek not to better themselves.

...I just thought of something. Is tone of voice included in the curse? Can we just start inflecting things with a sarcastic tone when we want people to understand the exact opposite of what we're saying? Well, that wouldn't help the other half of the curse, but still

>>3101078

PP might work quite well against her if she's tying up her damage in the field hazard. I need to review how exactly Sabino's toys worked.

Underhanded deflection might be good. Of course, we're missing a bunch of toys to make our other toys better.

>>3101097
Yes it is. Sarcasm turns to sincerity.

>>3101108
Remember the Rose Garden thing will continually increase the size of the tech dice she can pull so UD might not matter in the long (or short) run.

If she is anything like Sabino, ending this early is the only real way to win. Of course we are doing this for training and she probably has better skills than Sabino, etc , etc

>>3101108
>Snicker-Snack: [TRICK]Your opponent cannot generate dice into their Technique Pool this round. By the end of the round, if they have tried to, generate a die equal to the largest diee they would have generated this way into your Technique Pool. This Technique cannot be used unless your Technique Pool is empty.


>Ring’s Chosen: [FLOURISH]Generate a d4 into your Technique Pool. If you possess the insignia of a duelling Ring and there are no Obstacles present, generate an Obstacle that matches your Ring. At the end of the turn, if the Obstacle was created by this Technique, transform Ring’s Chosen into it’s Ring-specific form.
>ROSE GARDEN TECHNIQUES
>Entangle: [TRICK]Target duellist is now Entangled until they lose a Composure Dice to an opponent’s attack. Trigger: When a duellist makes a Strike that does not damage Composure or when a duellist loses more than one type of Composure dice to a single attack. Cannot target duellists that have already been Entangled this duel.
>Sweet Scent: [FLOURISH]Generate a d4 into the Technique Pool. Trigger: Only when a duellist starts a turn Entangled.
>Prick: [STRIKE]Siphon all dice from Technique Pool into Strike Pool. Roll all dice in your Strike Pool to inflict damage. Trigger: When an entangled duellist loses Entangled.
>At the end of the turn, Ring’s Chosen transforms into Thorn’s Embrace!
>Thorn’s Embrace: [FLOURISH]Generate a d4 into your Technique Pool. If your opponent is Entangled, increase the size of the d4 by a number of sides equal to the number of d4s in the Rose Garden’s Technique Pool.
>Masterful Blow: [STRIKE]Siphon all dice from your Technique Pool to your Strike Pool. Roll all dice in your Strike Pool to inflict damage. If no dice are removed from their Composure as a result of this, destroy the single lowest value die in their Technique Pool.
>Skin Unthorned: [STANCE]Once this Stance is active, any Strike pool targeting you cannot roll d4s. They remain in the Strike Pool unrolled. Can only be active while you have a d6 in your Composure Pool.
>Executioner’s Blade: [STRIKE]Wait. Wait. Wait. Generate a d20 in your Strike Pool. Roll all dice in your Strike Pool to inflict damage. This Technique can only be used if your opponent’s Composure has been broken previously in the duel.

Vote called, writing.

Going to sleep. Good luck on the training