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Fandom MMOstuck [Skaian Route] [Chapter 7]

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AnimaDisciple

AnimaDisciple

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==> Winter Party: Happen


The time has come. After waiting and preparing, the winter party arrives, and with it an opportunity to relax and take it easy.


Let's see if you somehow screw things up.


> Arrival


> Tournament


> Tournament 2


The first couple of games are over, included the PvP tournament matches. After a hard battle, the victors are none other than Riven and Devona; or Team Rivona as Coco insists on calling them.


"Give them a round of applause, people! xD Team Rivona has triumphed over all others, and beat you all! XP Not that it means much, since we have no prizes set up for this...unless you consider bragging rights to be a prize WHICH THEY TOTALLY ARE!!! AIN'T DAT RIGHT, SISTAHS!!!!? :o "


Coco gives both members of Team Rivona thumbs ups and high fives, in what appears to be an imitation of a rap artist. Meanwhile, among the crowd, you spot some people reluctantly handing money over to...Gungal, who is grinning quite a bit. It seems he did won some bets.


And while the young troll is splitting his spoils with Qwentyn, you also spot Eloise and Marco making their way back to the party. EM goes to talk to them, and whatever is said makes Eloise sigh and nod, though not before glaring at Devona. The mutant girl seems to debate whether to go over there and talk to the teal blood, but a warning look from Coco (holding her megaphone) makes her decide to leave it for later.


Soon enough, the hyperactive robot girl is back on the mike. "SOOOOOOOO! :D It's time for the next event xD . The (Non) Talent Shows!!!!! :U


"We will hold 2 talent shows. The first one is the usual, boring one : / You go into stage, you do stuff, and if you're good enough you win > :P The second one, though... ^_^ is a bit different. In it, those you make the WORST number will win! ;D Neat huh? It was my idea ^u^


"You can get into teams, or go solo. Whatever floats your boat, though groups will be graded more harshly since you should be able to do more with more people 8^y That said, feel free to prepare any number! :D "


A short distance away, Kimiko coughs.


"...so long as it's safe and decent, and blah blah blah :P WHATEVER!!! Get to preparing now! And may the best (AND worst) one, win!!!!!! xD "





With that declaration, conversations pop up all around the place; people trying to see if X person would like to team up with them, wondering out loud what their number should be, etc.


Like before, you could go ask someone to team up with you, or wait for someone to maybe approach you. Or, you know, do a solo number. You also have some time to prepare, so you could go talk to someone if you wish to.


((Post your character's actions, and if you need me for a conversation, feel free to go look for me.))

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Riven: Pretend you're talented


Okay, no. You're not good at anything displayable. Well... There is the mixing thing, but it's been MONTHS since you seriously tried that.


Yep. Only one way forward. Time to bail.


...Or not. Well at least you can't royally screw up if Sapphy's your co-pilot.


You take Sapphy aside and figure out all the equipment you'll need and how you're going to mix the set. And finally your turn comes.


You start up the set with



, and as you do, you bring out a surprise.
You were going to save this for the condition that you might have to give someone nightmares. But this is far better.


You bust out [Forejudgement] for the first time, creating patterns with light around you and Sapphira. You try to time it with the music to the best of your ability. Swarms of tiny glowing spirit-like creatures, ghostly visions, and anything else you can think of that goes with your set. Occasionally, you throw in some of the symbols from the pendants you made this morning, just for a split second. That's something you don't want to spoil, but you just can't help it here.


For all you know, this could be the dumbest looking thing in the world. And the best part is, you don't even care. It feels amazing.


Finally, it has to end. So you bring it to a close with a song called



.
And that's that. You stand there for a couple seconds with your eyes closed.


Eventually, you open them to assess the damage.
 
REACTION:


The scene is by no means perfect. It's clear Sapphira and you both can improve your skills further, but your focus and effort and Sapphira's enthusiasm certainly charm some spectators. You also are a fair share away from 'sucking'.


Qwentyn, Sarah and Nadira are, of course, nothing but praise; clapping and even a 'whoop!' from Nadira. Sapphira beams at them, but her smile falls a little when she sees Gungal is entirely focused on his tablet's screen. The troll seems to be working urgently on something, which you bet has something to do with his presentation.


Devona also claps, making her enjoyment known, while Eloise and Blaire are discussing something with each other. It's likely those two stopped paying attention somewhere down the line. Kimiko and Anna also clap, though it seems to be more out of politeness than approval, while Dmitry simply doesn't care, inspecting one of his dolls up and down with a critical eye.


Oberon seems curiously surprised about something, but he seems to have enjoyed the show and claps too, along a smiling Marco. It's hard to discern what Hephaestus thinks, as the big dude does not move an inch and simply stares. Adeline seems unimpressed, but claps, while the Coco's are quite enthusiastic on their front.


Dana doesn't seem to quite like the music, but claps at Vlad's encouragement; simply because it's polite, he seems to tell her. Moros also claps, quite elegantly, while Hemera merely shrugs. It was 50/50 in her book. Finally, you spot EM clapping as well, though her expression is quite neutral.
 
Shauna: Draw a blank.


Unfortunately, despite Devona's help in restoring her to full strength after the tournament ended, Shauna was still a bit hazy after unleashing her wolf form in the last fight. Having forgotten entirely about the talent shows, she was standing around and struggling to come up with a coherent performance idea for a while. Finally getting discouraged and giving up, she wandered around the crowd for a while in a last ditch effort to scrounge up some ideas. Thankfully, some salvation came in the form of Sarah, Qwentyn, and Anna. Joining up with them as a back-up in their performance, the four of them quickly got to work creating the choreography to go along with their song choice, finishing just in time for the talent shows to begin.


MINUTES LATER...


Shauna had to excuse herself from the area while Riven performed, the loud music being overwhelming thanks to her enhanced hearing. She wasn't proud of that, but...the volume and intensity had simply been too much for her to handle. She did try to get back over when she heard the songs ending to clap and cheer, although by the time she got there she ran into her ensemble-mates getting ready to start up their performance.


Once the four of them got set up, Sarah was the first to come out as



. Shauna and Anna came out from opposite sides, as Shauna played the role of the various extras and townsfolk (and, at the very beginning, the apple tree) while Anna portrayed the young girl from the song with her movements.
As Anna danced and depicted this young girl's isolation due to her "curse" of mortality that the apples had given her (compared to the immortal townsfolk), Qwentyn came out as the young boy who chose to join her. The two of them together danced out the couple's freedom and happiness that came with their mortality as Shauna continued to depict extras and the like, dancing in the background.


As Sarah sang the last note of her song, the three dancers finished their part and the four of them formed a row in front of the audience to bow and await their reaction.
 
Ross: Fight the most amazingly awesome fight of your life.





You spend a few minutes after the tournament walking around, contemplating whether or not to join the talent show or not. Sure, you could probably pull off some cool stuff with your magic, but the spells are too valuable to just use here. You're leaning more towards just skipping out on this, until Marco approaches you. He wants to do something in the show with you, and you decide to join. The shirtless thing might bug you a bit, but you go along with it. After all the fighting you've done these past few days, you've lost quite a lot of the fat you had, and you're even starting to get defined muscles.


You try to think of some really good fight moves that you could apply here, and eventually come up with a really good one. Marco seems to like it too, and you two go away from the group of people to practice. Thankfully, it doesn't take long for you two to get the hang of it, probably because of your levels in Combat Training. You run through the movements a few more times, improving what needs to be as well as what you already know.


It's not long before the two of you take the stage, and you're quite anxious to start. The two of you begin a fierce battle, rolling around and slashing at each other, trying to land the finishing blow. Eventually, you manage to land a hit on him, cutting off what appears to be his hand. He gives a weak struggle before falling limp, you standing victorious. You give a laugh and help him up, revealing his cut off "hand" actually being a fake. The two of you bow to the audience before going off stage to let the next people take their place.
 
Aslin hadn't had anything prepared for the talent show. This was new to him; he never had been in one before. Neither had Rhys, for that matter. Feeling very nervous about going without knowing what everyone did, Aslin chose to go alone, and watch the other performances while going last.


Unfortunately, Coco wouldn't have that, so Aslin instead was slated to go after Ross's performance. First up, which surprised him the most, was Riven, who did quite the display with the lighting and the music mixing. Mixing. That's a thing? The music was very strange to him; as if it were more ethereal and fever-dreamed than something he actually just heard. Did he like it? It was very difficult to put an answer on it. It was very loud, and that definitely put it on a negative spin to him. But the music itself; volume notwithstanding, was...odd. Just plain odd. He couldn't put a finger on it. It almost reminded him of when he met the horrorterrors. A strange, almost serene kind of comforting interlayer, with a foreboding and overwhelming exterior. He would have to reflect on this more. Still, the lightshow with the last song was very impressive to Aslin, and that alone earned a good clapping from him.


Then came Shauna with her group. It was...a drama? Of sorts? Sarah's singing was pretty good, and Anna and Qwentyn's dancing were pretty outstanding as well with Shauna's own. It was a pleasant performance, though the material itself was quite...not really Aslin's thing. Still, he clapped.


Finally came Ross's performance, which only made him roll his eyes at seeing him and Marco mock-fight an extremely hammy and badly dealt fight scene, though the hand part somewhat surprised him. He didn't know that was a thing people could do. Part of him begins contemplating something heinous in the back of his mind, as the two finally left the stage. He was sure Eloise, at the very least, enjoyed the performance despite Marco "losing".


Thus, it was finally Aslin's turn. He wasn't quite ready yet--having not figured out what he wanted to do. However, it seemed the talent show was pretty straight-forward: do your talent on stage, in front of everyone. Just like acting, or performing a song. Acting and music... The fight scene with Ross and Marco, the acting and singing from Shauna's group, and the light show from Riven's mixing gave Aslin an idea. A crazy, crazy idea, but one nonetheless. Being forced on stage by Coco since he couldn't put it off any longer, the moment Aslin stepped in front of everyone the world seemed to vanish completely. Everything went silent (not only because everyone did), and Aslin no longer was in a twisted game held hostage by some Admin. No longer was he stressed out from so much deception and triple-agenting from all sides. No longer was he frustrated about Kimiko's deal, or with his own internal frustrations about Mary and the other Heroes. No. Today, on this stage, Aslin became an instrument himself.


First, he brought his guitar out, playing a



. Using a combination of [Lumokinesis], [sonokinesis] and [Yggkrae], Aslin began to feel out the music, letting the skill send the same sensations as the light around him shimmered, showing a countryside. "I wish to ask of everyone here to please turn off their translators. While it's good to know what a song is saying, sometimes a foreign tongue can spark imagination much greater than the understood lyric. This song was passed down from my family line. It won't make much sense outside of its intentional language." With that, the guitar faded off, as he began to change the tone and music once more. The music itself became serene, as each gentle pluck of the strings gave a strange, ethereal echo as phantom piano keys scaled in the background. It was at this point he was no longer just a person, but an amalgamation of music, acting, and stage presence.
Yn yr ardd mae hi'n gerdded,


i'r awyr ei gaze hiraeth yn ceisio.


Ar gyfer ei marchog,


bendithio dyn tun,


ddim yn gorymdeithio i ryfel yr wythnos ddiwethaf.


A wnaiff hi byth yn ei weld yn y cartref?


Beg eich Annwn cofleidio oer.


Roi i mi orffwys a thawelu,


y storm yn fy nghalon!


Pryd byddaf yn cyfarfod,


Fy gwerthfawr dyn tun?


Os gwelwch yn dda,


beg i chi ddod ag ef adref yn fuan.
As Aslin began to sing in Welsh, his eyes closed as he imagined the scenery, reflecting on the shimmering imagery made possible with [Lumokinesis], as a dull, hollow anxiety began to fill with uncertainty. A pause came after the second stanza, as the music slowed and became softer.

Ond yn fuan aeth y Brenin galw allan,


y frwydr wedi cael ei golli,


Ffowch cartref bellach yn erfyn i fyw eich bywyd!


Mae enaid unigol lleyg cudd,


ymysg ei frodyr laddwyd,


a gymerwyd gan yr Ochr Arall,


eu carcharor i ennill.


Newyddion lledaenu drwy'r deyrnas...


Ac ar ei chlustiau ei dynged ei gadael heb ei throi...
The imagery shifted to a massive battle, in which knights in armor resembling dragons fought against knights in armor resembling hawks. Furiously, the hawk knights fought on, but the might of the dragon knights were far too great, and their leader ordered retreat. As they left, a lone hand moved from under the corpses of several knights; grabbed and hoisted by the dragon knights who took their prisoner. The music began to change once more, becoming more energetic; more dramatic; more powerful.

Mae ei amheuon a laddwyd fel baeddod gwyllt,


ei dyn tun yn fyw!


Nid wyf am ganiatáu ei amser i ben,


cyn belled ag y mae fy anadl yn tynnu!


Yn ei ffrog hi yn marchogaeth ar draws y tir,


ei chwilio ddiddiwedd ac yn wir.


Ond o'r diwedd daeth o hyd ei dyn tun,


ar fantol yn barod i losgi!


Mae'r tanau llosgi tu fewn iddi galon,


ei dicter radiant fel yr haul,


Cododd gwaywffon gyda hi holl nerth,


y forwyn oedd yn ymladd ar!
Once more it shifted, as the woman from the garden ran to her horse and sought out her missing knight, traveling all over the land in search, before coming across an encampment with dragon knights; and one lone hawk knight stripped of his armor and tied to a pyre, ready to be burned. The woman screamed furiously and charged the camp, spear raised in fury. The music became more intense, as the feeling of anxiety and momentary despair became one of both hope and a powerful, gripping wrath of love and tension.

Trwy gleddyf a gwaywffon y gwaed yn sied!


Agorodd llawer o glwyf a gwaedu!


Trwy ddewrder a digofaint cyfiawn,


Fuddugoliaeth yn deall o'r diwedd!
The music suddenly became soft, as the imagery of the fighting dissipated into her standing along amongst a mountain of corpses, drenched in blood. The hawk knight slowly stirred to see a bloody woman standing above the slain knights approach, and gently placed a hand upon his face.

Gwelodd ei hwyneb ac a alwodd ei henw,


a dagrau welled fewn ei llygaid.


Roeddwn i'n meddwl y byddwn,


i wedi colli chi dywedodd.


Ddweud wrthyf pam nad ydych yn ofni,


gyda thân o flaen eich llygaid?


Oherwydd fy mod yn gwybod,


na fyddech yn gadael i mi,


meddai gyda gwên wan.


Yr ydych, wrth gwrs, fy forwyn haearn,


fy popeth, fy arwr, fy nghariad!


Felly, y ddau gariad o haearn cusanu,


a gorymdeithio yn falch yn ôl adref!
The maiden began to cry as the hawk knight called her name at the sight of her face, quickly cutting him down and trapping him in a fearful, yet relieved embrace. A sensation of warmth and resolution echoed, as the two lovers kissed, and rode home on their massive steed.

Ond os ydych yn meddwl bod,


y moesol yn ymwneud â ddewrder,


yna, byddwch yn dal i lawer i'w ddysgu.


Yr oedd cariad sy'n gyrru hi yn ôl at,


ei arfwisg, gwaywffon, a tharian.


Gallai hyd yn oed chi,


fod yn un o forwyn o haearn.


Mae cryfder bob amser yn,


eich calon.


Felly ewch a bod yn forwyn o haearn...


Fod yn forwyn o haearn...
The guitar became hushed as the imagery shimmered still. A dramatic pause hung, before the imagery showed the couple in their home, happy, and the maiden pregnant.


"...ar gyfer dyna y tynged dewis chi i ddwyn."


The guitar became slow and gentle, as the piano key sounds tittered and tattered off into a light chord, almost like the gentlest sprinkle of rain on a mild spring morning. With that, the imagery broke apart into sparkles of light that shimmered once more, before fading out bit by bit in a slow cascade downwards. Aslin took a deep bow, before finally leaving the stage.


If one was very perceptive, they could almost make out him holding back tears of his own, as nostalgia accidentally was sent out before [Yggkrae] finally ended behind the rest of the effects.
 
Riven: Sit back, enjoy the show


Of course your 'talent' went over about as well as you could have hoped. Figures. At least you had fun doing it, though, which is what's important. So you thank Sapphira for being your co-host, and take your seat to watch the rest of your friends take their turn.


Shauna's is... Well it's about what you expected. Singing, dancing, the like. You're not really one for musicals of this sort, but it was at least a little entertaining. You had no idea Sarah could sing so well though. You're pretty impressed.


When Ross goes up the first thing that crosses your mind is 'why is he half-naked'. The answer's pretty close behind, though. All you need to do is look at Marco. Cheezy choreography aside, It's kind of cute that he's trying to show off to you...


And then Aslin starts doing his thing. Clearly, he stole your idea. CLEARLY. Nah, it's more of a spin-off. The guy clearly has his own style. Where yours was just raw emotion, augmented by music and light, his tells a story of it's own.


You always were a sucker for a good fantasy love story, even some of the stupid ones...


To be honest, after that, you don't really want to see what's up next. You kinda hope it's someone you don't like so you can shut off your eyes and ears and float back into the storm of emotions from that one...
 
Talent Show: Go on...


Your numbers come and go, with the public reaction varying from case to case. Shauna's team is overall well received due to the skill of the members in both singing and dancing, though many comment that the song itself is pretty cheessy, and not of their liking. Marco and Ross's number is well liked by most of the Earth Players due to the pop culture reference (And Eloise), not to mention the combat skill, though it's said by some that it feels a bit plain. Aslin's is by far the most controversial; the kind you either really love or really hate. Most of that however comes from the presentation than from the story or song. Some people think it's dumb to turn off the translators, while others don't quite like the fact Yggkrae was used in such a fashion. But those who liked it, liked it really well, naming it one of the best numbers of the party.


After that come the rest. First Dmitry, looking quite focused on his own little world as he goes on stage. He brings out two dolls, one female and one male, and



. The whole number seems so unlike him that some people can't help but be surprised by the performance, while others take the chance to make some japes. Dmitry ignores all of it though, instead fixating his attention on Sarah. The fairy girl seems to like the dance and dolls enough to give him a smile and clap, and Dmitry goes off stage walking the victor's walk (while throwing curses and threats to the jape-makers).
Next comes the pair made by Eloise and Blaire. As the Teal blood takes the center stage while her partner goes to sit at the back, you wonder what they will do. Then Eloise starts doing a gymnastics routine, showing off her flexibility. It all goes normal for like 15 seconds before gasps fill the area. Eloise's arm broke! Only it didn't. As the troll keeps moving without the slightest sign of pain, it becomes obvious Blaire is using his lumokinesis to bend the light around her. In no time, Eloise's body morphs into a shapeless figure which does not dance or move as much as it flows. At times she's a whirlwind and the gentle movement of the breeze; at others, the stormy ocean and the wild crashing of waves. For three minutes the pair makes Eloise body narrate a dozen scenes, before it ends.


The number is thus named the most bizarre one of the night, with plenty of mixed responses.


Next comes Adeline, accompanied by both Coco's. Their number is a pretty normal one, with the Maid's asking the audience to suggest poses for them to take. Adeline then draws them with pencil and paper as fast as possible, before showing the public the result (which is great). The whole thing is quite fun at first, but it ends after only a few drawings to make time for the other teams.


Finally comes the number made by Devona, Vladimir, Hemera and Kimiko. Both Heiress and Denizen start flexing at opposite ends of the stage, while Devona and Vlad seem to prepare for something. A small city of boxes is brought on stage by EM, but she quickly leaves to be alongside Dana, neither of them participating. And then it starts. The Mage and Sylph bury both Troll and Denizen in bandages at a time, a deep red aura surrounding them for a few minutes. When the bandages finally lift, they reveal a pair of monstrous creatures: a great white gorilla-like creature with 4 arms and several spikes along its back, and a harpy-like thing with purely black feather-shaped scales.


The two 'monsters' brawl through the city of boxes, wrecking havoc as they go along their fight. The Trolls seems to enjoy it well enough; apparently it's a reference to their pop culture; but several people rightly question how Devona and Vlad can pull off such skill with the Blood Aspect when their powers are supposed to be mostly unreliable, and if such blatant misuse of Classpect powers isn't plain childish.


The number itself is pretty epic though, and by the end all 4 participants are sweating, panting and exhausted. They plop some jellos into ther mouths as they leave the stage, making way for the (Un)Talent show.


Gungal is the first to take the stage for this one, taking out a mike.


...and he starts telling horrible puns. "SO! What do you call the act of falling into a pile of cats? A CAT-astrophe!" *Badum Tsh!*


"AWWWW! Get out!"


The cries for mercy go ignored, and you're made to endure almost 5 minutes of truly bad jokes before Coco, Oberon and Hephaestus bodily drag Gungal off stage.


Nadira and Oberon come next, taking the stage to



. While neither can sing, you do appreciate the fact their dance steps are well executed (thanks to their condition and parkour-like skills). You might have almost called it good if it were not for the fact that both are using very hairy wigs and fake beards and moustaches. Plus their moves, while good, are clearly meant to be over the top and ridiculous.
Reactions are...mixed. Quite so.


Moros comes next, taking out a script and diving right into the performance of a fanmade play.


Moros performs all of the roles.


By the end, your brain can't process the sheer level of stupidity being shown to you, and you end up fainting.


15 minutes and an apology from the Doom Denizen later, Addie takes the stage once more; alone. She starts asking for volunteers to draw portraits of. They're all horrible. You enjoy having shitty cartoons drawn of you for a couple minutes before Blaire and Eloise retake the stage. This time, Blaire merely makes Eloise look like (what you assume are) Troll pop culture celebs and characters, before going right into very bad imitations. Thankfully, none of you are made victims of this number, likely due to knowledge it might upset some people (You DO wonder, though, if both trolls had that much sense).


For an instant, Coco #1 tries to do a singing number...with her megaphone, but she's dragged off stage by Kimiko and Blaire.


Finally, and unexpectedly, Hephaestus goes last. He silently offers a dish of black, slimy, bubbling substance to any brave soul who dares try it.


Those who did, quickly find out that it tastes like the best chicken dish they've ever eaten. Coco later explains the horrible presentation was Hephy's attempt at purposefull bad skill at something, though some do wonder whether or not masterly making something look repulsive isn't actually a display of great skill.


In the end, you're not sure how to react...


...


...


...


Afterwards, Coco rounds up everyone to start heading inside. Outdoor activities are over, and the food is being brought out. The Maid of Time tells everyone they can play around or talk while everything's being prepared and laid out, and shows the movie schedule for the Party: 4 movies, suggested by Coco, Sarah, Riven and Aslin. Aslin's a mystery movie, Sarah's one named 'Frozen' she apparently saw a trailer of, Coco's is 'Interstellar'; again, a movie made during the 2 Year gap between your last memories of Earth and the Game's start. Finally, the fourth movie is named Paprika.


Curiously, no Troll movies. Coco does mention some were proposed, but that the titles were so BS long and full of spoilers she ditched the idea after wasting 10 minutes of her robot life reading the title (Blaire is still going to watch it on his computer though).


Coco also mentions that people will be free to both assist and NOT assist the movie screenings, which will be played in no particular order on a mini-cinema-like room. Those who might not want to stay to watch a movie (and with over 20 attendees, it's likely some won't stay for all 4) are free to do other stuff: video games, board games, internet browsing, card games, making out in the closet (*Wink Wink* Shamiko *Wink Wi-Kimiko slaps Coco's head at this point), and much more based around what each person brought for the party. The robot girl also mentions to a few select number of you that the skydiving idea WILL go forward, but that you must not mention it to Kimiko whether you will actually participate or not.


And of course, all the while food is ready, freshly made and stuck in time for people to snack and feast on.


Once all 4 movies play, it will be time for the gift exchange.


Thus, while you wait for everything to be ready, will you do anything or talk to anyone? ((If someone wants NPC interactions, make sure to tell me. If no one does OR once it has all been done, make posts listing what each of your PC's brought for this part of the party, if anything at all. The first movie will be Aslin's, so Tess's will be the last post before I post again.))
 
Shauna hangs around long enough to pile up a rather immense plate of mostly meats from the buffet that's been laid out, her canine cravings driving her to dive in. Of course, this doesn't stop her from managing to pull Coco aside for a little bit to lay down her plans for Gungal...


Alongside all the various other things that happen as well.


After watching a few episodes of an immensely corny television show, Shauna heads out to watch the movies. She sticks around to see Aslin's mystery one as well as Frozen, although she slinks off afterwards to play Street Fighter II (which she brought) with anyone else who wanted to, proving to be...surprisingly, not that amazingly good at the game (she's...competent and knows a bunch of special moves, at least). She also takes a bit of time to custom-make two cards with the Art stuff and add them to her collection of gifts.
 
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Riven: Attempt to socialize


After the awkward note with Shauna, you decide you ought to have a word with some other people. So you do.


Yup. That went well. Though you're not sure if Kimiko likes you or hates you. Possibly both? Whatever. Time to settle in and enjoy a movie or two. And if not, oh well, maybe you can drag some people into racing with you while the movies you're not interested in are on.
 
Ross takes a few minutes after the talent show to rest. Housing the soul of that soldier, even if just for a few minutes was pretty draining. Once he catches his breath, he notices Marco and Eloise splitting up, if only for a few minutes. What follows from there is many conversations, ranging from serious to hilarious.


Ross takes the rest of the time to watch two of the movies. Paprika is a must, since Riven suggested it. Frozen, he already knew about. One of the few good things about his parents' business being in nearly every department was that he got to see quite a few things early from certain companies. Interstellar didn't seem like something he'd enjoy. Being a part of this game had kinda numbed him to sci-fi stuff.


By process of elimination, that means Ross will watch Aslin's movie. The time between that and Paprika is spent creating a new spell, one that will create the gifts he already has in his head.
 
Aslin: Handle the fallout


Well, those conversations sure were...strange. Part of him was a bit relieved him and Devona were able to argue civilly--he was beginning to think arguments were the death of him. The talk about Aspects, however, unsettled him...


The time had come, and movie hour had begun. Several people sat around the screen, waiting to see what other bizarre and admittedly stupid comedy Aslin would bring to them this time.


The screen darkened, showing several advertisements and trailers for other movies, before at long last showing the film rating, revealing his chosen film to be...!


The Princess Bride faded into view, and the movie started, eventually coming to a close.
 
Riven: Spice it all up!





Of course, you stick around for Aslin's movie. But inevitably, rhe movie draws to a close. And after his, it's finally your turn.


You have no idea how well it's going to go over with the crowd. But hey, if people dont like it, they don't have to watch it. So you pull up Paprika, press play, and settle in.
 
The party goes on...


Sarah stays to watch the princess bride all the way through, and expresses her desire to do the same for all of the 4 movies. Still, she does participate in other ways in the celebration: she chats with people during the breaks between each screening, sometimes even joining a group for a game. Her contributions to the party other than he movie turn out to be a dessert (a tart with lemon moose and blackberry filling) and a variety of songs she brings over to listen to with other people.


Her brother, in turn, stays only to watch Aslin's movie (planning to also watch Sarah's with her) and otherwise goes to play card games and gamble with others. He also claims to want to organize a small baseball match; a proposal Kimiko and Coco had turned down as a party game since it would take too long. Still, he thinks there's no problem if a few people want to play a small match or two, and so goes around inviting others. He also turned out to asj Hephaestus for some fried potato salad, which the Denizen had somehow managed to make look like a dish so refined people are wary of touching it at first; it might break and they would then have to pay.


Nadira...you have no idea where she is at first. She vanishes all of a sudden only to reappear some time later, her hair a mess and grinning like a fool. Turns out she is the only one to accept Coco's proposal for skydiving, which she loved. She says she will even try it again later, but not until she has eaten some and her stomach settles afterwards. Something that might take a while for the girl proposed not one dish for the party, but 25 of them. All of them spicy ones. From phaal curry to sik sik wat (Which is 3 letters away from being 'sick sick what'), Nadira dares anyone brave enough to try some and match her if they can. Other than that, Nadira turns out to have brought several videogames. Mainstream ones, in fact, which she wanted to try out only because they were the most popular of the 2013~14 period. From Assassin's Creed to Dark Souls, she tries them all, quickly getting bored each time before finally settling down for South Park The Stick of Truth, which is a satire and parody of the RPG genre in its entirety. Nadira turns out to love it, laughing out loud as she starts the campaign.


Anastasia is the exact opposite of Nadira though, taking on a passive role throughout the event. She watches some of the movies, joins Qwentyn's games and even signs up for baseball later on. However, the only thing she proposes for the party is a Russian dish: Rassolnik, which is a soup. Anna explains that she missed the taste of her homeland's cuisine, and quietly eats it while watching Paprika.


Oberon joins Nadira and others in their videogame plays, claiming to want to try out some of the whole gaming thing. Still, he gets tired after a couple of hours at it and, not feeling up to seeing a movie, ends up joining Marco in organizing various party games like Twister and Truth or Dare. Someone even proposes they play spinning the bottle, but the idea is shut down by Coco herself with her megaphone. The german youth also signs up for the baseball match, and his food contribution turns out to be a HUGE variety of sausages (Wurst) and some apple strudel.


Someone tries to make a dick joke here, but 6 of the party atendees are Trolls, 4 are asexual entities that are only taking on a human shape for a while, 1 is a Mage capable of shifting gender at will and another is a robot; meaning no one really finds it funny. Dmitry even thinks they're referring to the dick definition of being a prick.


Marco spends most of his time with the food. He's the only one to have beat Nadira in the sheer number of dishes brought for the event, mainly because he prepared a couple himself besides those he asked from Hephaestus; Troll and human both. He takes on Nadira's spicy challenge, talks with people about food, and of course helps Oberon set up some party games. However he's notoriously non-participative, taking on the role of spectator, referee and even commentator, but very few times does he actually jump into whatever the activity is. Rather, he's more interested in showing people his food pride: a pistachio pizza he calls Pizza Sul Mare.


It tastes amazing by the way.


Eloise is, surprisingly, not around Marco during the party. At all. She instead jumps around the party from group to group, doing whatever it is people are doing at the time and otherwise being the most sociable of those present; weird. She does seem to spend most of her time avoiding Devona and her party other than Blaire, who you spot speaking with her in various instances, often some distance away. Eloise also seems to keep her distance from Aslin, for some reason. Finally, her dish ends up being an Alternian Dessert: some...things which seem like bread crust shaped like shells, filled with brown stuff that's supposed to taste sweet: to Trolls. She also takes out a human dish, but for Marco only.


Dmitry stays for Sarah's movie, of course. Also for Aslin's but only because Sarah watches it as well. Other than that, you don't see much of Dmitry. Shauna's advice keeps him from creepily following the fairy girl around, and he instead goes to play with his dolls in some corner. Both Coco and Dana turn up to interact with him though, and the young troll even lets Dana play with his dolls; though only because EM is there to make sure he's nice to the Sylph, under unspoken threats of great pain and misery should Dmitry do otherwise. His dish turns out to be a pile of glitter dust, which is somehow important to Juggalos. When some comments that it's made from crushed bones and some drugs, you decide not to ask.


Gungal, other than making more bad jokes, is the head of the videogame department, bringing out a bunch of Troll arcades and inviting people to try them out, promising he has disabled all lethal features. And when his proposal for a FLARP session is turned down, the green blood invites the atendees to play some FNAF and be filmed while doing so; as it turns out, Gungal has a YouTube video. He also plans to take away Pewdiepie's title.


Don't ask.


Other than that, his 'dishes' being a bunch of troll snacks he brought for sharing, much to Hephaestus's ire. He also ends up challenging Devona to a round of Fiduspawn, to which all other 4 Trolls roll their eyes at, calling it a child's game.


The ensuing battle of Alternia's twisted version of pokemon is enough to guarantee horrible nightmares tonight.


Kimiko, on the other hand, presents the party with a huge dish composed of some form of sea creature as big as a shark. You would call it a fish, but you spot what seems to be feathers made out of scales (however that works), so you have your doubts. The Heiress invites humans to taste it if they want, promising it's not poisonous, but also warning that it's taste is very exotic to non-Trolls. Other than that though, Kimiko also doesn't do much in terms of organizing stuff. She sticks around from time to time to watch some bits of the movies, but otherwise she acts as the one looking over things and making sure nothing bad happens and nobody gets upset. Like a nagging mom.


Devona, it turns out, takes Marco's place in terms of Troll cuisine. She apparently asked Hephy to prepare lots of Alternian dishes, each looking as alien as you would expect from another planet's food. The mutant also follows Eloise's example and tries to participate in as many things as she can: watching a movie, signing up for some gambling and baseball later on, etc. You even spot Nadira whispering to her, likely to convince her to come skydiving with her later.


Blaire becomes the event's camera man, going around taking photos and videos of the party and those attending it. Like Gungal, he brings Troll snacks plus a dish which looks like a big donnut made out of seeds. It also vibrates. Why, you don't know. Do you want to? Anyways, Blaire (like was said before) spends a good amount of time with Eloise, playing board games with her and others; from human chess to what looks to be Alternian mahjong, also with lethal features disabled. At some point Blaire will pause the movie screenings to display his photos and videos, promising they will put each and every single attendee in ridicule.


Other than those main 12 you've interacted with, there's the Old Heroes. The non-Robot Coco and Adie pop in and out of sight often, the two likely going around doing BFF stuff in private. Robotic Coco is a swirl of activity, seemingly set on doing everything and being at all places of the party at the same time, going so far as to set up a live stream camera on the movie room so one of her eyes is constantly playing the scenes. She also uses her megaphone a bunch, distributes great amounts of junk food all around (Again, to Heph's ire) and even gets Shauna to help her prepare their 'surprise' at some point.


Vlad is very passive, not knowing about the party beforehand and having been busy with other matters earlier, so he contents himself with snacking, talking to some people and watching the movies. Though he does make a point to spend time with Dana, the red haired girl spending almost the entire event with EM and the Mage of Blood, playing with dolls and whatever catches her interest.


Hephaestus is as silent as ever, Moros makes sure to stay away from the food and those eating because of his stench and you do see him spend most of his time outside, EM stays with Dana and Hemera goes around, trying to convince some people to wrestle with her; plus, she's going skydiving later on.


And of course, as a special feature of it all, Coco very annoyingly invites (commands) people to come watch Interstellar, which seems to be her favorite movie ever. Weird.


...


...


...


And that's how the next hours of the Party develop. Your characters will likely have plenty of opportunities to relax, play and interact with the NPC's should they choose to join them in doing the activities narrated above. One way or another, the gift exchange comes after this, and afterwards the party's end...
 
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Aslin seemed quite neutral to everyone else's neutral responses to the movie, but mainly stuck around to watch more while everyone else left to play games and whatnot. The food, however, was what he was waiting for the most. Marco's dishes were damn near a total delight for him, generating a warmth he didn't quite expect to rise in his belly. Devona and Kimiko's food, however, had to be eaten very slowly while he tried to adjust to their exotic tastes. After remembering what grubsauce was, however, he had to excuse himself for a little while. Luckily, his fortitude saved him from spitting anything back up, and eventually returned...though incredibly fatigued. Finally, it was time to watch Coco's movie, Interstellar. It was painted all over his face how much the movie had him in quiet awe, though Millar's Planet made him raise a brow and give a confused look throughout it's entirety. Of course, the segments with the tapes made him cry--not nearly as much, however, as the entirety of the post black hole scene.


After the movie, Aslin quickly departed from the others, preferring to have some time alone until it was time to trade gifts.
 
Shauna, as mentioned, only stuck around to watch two of the movies: Aslin's (The Princess Bride), and Sarah's (Frozen). Needless to say, her response to both of those movies was overwhelmingly positive...as in, she (loudly) gushed and cheered during Aslin's movie to her favorite scenes and even recited some of her favorite lines, no doubt to the annoyance of everyone. As for Frozen, it was an awed silence instead.


She was humming "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?" and "Let It Go" for the rest of the party...well, off-key, anyway.


She did slip off during Riven's movie, however, remarking that she wasn't entirely prepared to go through that movie again.


Anyway, Shauna takes after both Devona and Eloise's strategy of taking part in just about everything; she plays video games, card and board games, taking part in all sorts of party games, gambles a bit (doing badly, of course), signs up for Qwentyn's baseball game, and generally does her best to strike up idle chatter with just about everyone when she wasn't either sampling just about every dish available or badgering Kimiko to join her in the various activities with varying degrees of success.


Notable incidents include...


Getting a number of odd looks from the other humans while she eagerly downed a number of the various Alternian dishes without any sort of hesitation; after a few comments, she outright said "Guys, I'm part dog now...I have to fight off urges to drink out of the toilet or eat from the garbage, why would I be bothered by weird food?"


Shortly after, she decided to take on Nadira's spicy food challenge. She managed to get a single bite in before rushing off in a panic (no doubt to everyone elses amusement), trying to douse her mouth with whatever she could find...


She also spent some time trading bad jokes with Gungal, which inevitably led to a short-lived contest as the two of them attempted to out-do each others' horrible jokes by making even worse jokes. Needless to say, it didn't go very long before people were begging them to stop.


After the Fiduspawn incident, Shauna spent about half an hour sobbing in a corner while cradling the horribly defiled dolls and repeatedly assuring them that "No one can hurt you now...".


She also spent a bit of time teaching Sapphira (and no doubt Oberon as well) how to play Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros, trying to get others to join in on the games as well.


And finally, she and Mecha Coco sneak off to set up her little prank (at which point she also hands over the gun-in-the-box she had made for Dmitry to her, saying she needed to change her gift at the last minute but figured that Coco'd find some sort of appropriately evil use for this spring-loaded prank in her stead).


After that, she settled down to watch Interstellar, although she got a bit restless part-way through and wandered off to do other stuff.
 
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Riven: Enjoy yourself, or something.


Where movies are concerned, there are only two you're super interested in. You stick around for Aslin's movie and are pleasantly surprised. And of Paprika is your movie, and it's been a while since you saw that.


After those you take one look at Frozen, and bail less than ten minutes into it.


After chilling with Ross for a bit, you grab some food. Nadira's challenge doesn't sound like your thing, so you bail on that. The alternian food, you're willing to try, and some of it is even good. But by 'good' you mean better than the food you got at the hospital cafeteria. You still wouldn't ever choose to eat some of it on your own. Just like earth food, you suppose.


After standing around for a while, debating whether to talk to someone or not, you figure it's pointless to try to make new connections before giving out gifts. So you throw out an open invitation to anyone who wants to race you in F-Zero, and in the meantime, you skip around and play some of the other games.
 
Ross only sticks around for a few movies, Princess Bride and Paprika, the latter of which seems more like what doing drugs would be like.


The rest of his time is spent trying a few foods here and there. Not too many spicy things, just typical foods. He also takes the time to start working on a new spell, at which point Riv comes over.


After they talk, Ross finishes up with his spell, a totally new one he calls [Creation Resonator]. A bit gaudy, but he likes it.
 
The time had come, and everyone split around the party area to engage in the long awaited Gifting Time! Ah, the moment when all congregate to understand and learn the true meaning of Christmas...


Getting gifts, of course!


However, before Aslin can really start, he's approached by someone...


Well. That happened. Aslin hoped that Dmitry would play it smooth and not ruin everything. He never did like relying on others for this kind of thing--they almost always didn't know how to be subtle.


Whatever, gifting time! Aslin was awaiting this throughout the party itself. It's the reason he spent so long working on gifts, after all.


And so he went off to give the gift that keeps on giving...


Of course, before his final gift to Kimiko, he had to take a detour and give his own party members their gifts! He hoped he would get better reception with them, at least.


....


Kimiko's rejection of her gift, alongside their little spat, had drained Aslin all of his energy. Before the party could officially end, he found a nice area to collapse on, and finally give in to the sweet, sweet embrace of sleep.

Of what arrogance does that child have?


It doesn't matter. Her answer is irrelevant.


Yet it still stirs. It still enflames the coals.


But why bother? Sleep is so much more important...


She will never understand, will she? I weep for her ignorance.


Yet I'm sure she has her reasons. She will come to understand in time. They all will.


If they won't, then they will pay the price of their sum.


Much weighs on their hearts. Will it anchor them, or will it crush them? Time will tell.


Time.


Time.


Time.


Time.


Time.


Time.


Time.


Time.


It matters little. It has begun.


And nothing will stop it.
 
As the gifting hour approached, so did Shauna to a whole bunch of people so that she could give them theirs.


Ah, gift giving. What a great feeling it is! Also, having a bunch of fun talks with all of your friends. And not-quite-but-nearly friends. And probably your enemies too, if you actually considered any of these people to be your enemy (which you don't).


Either way, that doesn't stop Nadira from making the end of a great day even better. Anyway, the rest of the night is spent playing all sorts of VIRTUAL SPORTS and DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES, all the way into the morning and without a single wink of sleep.
 
Finally. The moment you've been waiting for for what feels like MONTHS.


Riven: Give those gifts!


And you do, You go around to every single person and give them all a little pendant. Some exchanges being much more noteworthy than others.


After an unfortunate piece of news (more on that in a further post), you're approached by two of your favorite people. Except really, they're not that bad. At least they mean well.


With the party winding down and coming to a close you... slink off to the side. You're pretty wiped from the game of tag, and between some of the events earlier and the fact that you've just spent most of the day in the most crowded room you've ever been in, you're a little emotionally drained as well. So, rather than seeking out Devona (She probably needs some space from you, you figure), or hanging out with some of your new friends, you sort of just hang back and watch the people who stayed behind until it's time for you to pass out...
 
Ross: DO THE GIFTING THING


It takes a while, but the creation spell is finally ready. After using it, you create a few random stuff to test, like a chair or painting. It works just fine. You're ready to give all your gifts.


It's fun, for the most part. People aren't as enthusiastic as you thought they'd be, but that's ok, it's about giving and stuff. Once all the gifts are given, you have to talk to some people, and give some bad news. It's emotionally trying, but now you don't have to feel that guilty about keeping Coco's situation a secret.


When all is said and done, you stay at the inn room, sleeping to get your mind off today's events. Here's hoping that sleep comes easily and calmly...
 
And so, morning arrives...


They say that the rare, peaceful moments found within times of conflict are the calm before the storm, and as you are greeted the morning of the next day with a new message, you might find yourself agreeing.


The PM, it turns out, is another Session-wide announcement by the Admin. From the looks of concern and dread (and some horror) of those already awake, you confirm any suspicion of it being bad news:


[GM ANNOUNCEMENT]



​



[Players, greetings.


[Throughout the short run time of SBURB MMO I have been pointed out several times, by a variety of individuals, that my game could be improved upon both in terms of challenge and mechanics. I write you now to address these messages, as well as the overall situation of my experiment.








[Despite my best efforts to conceal this information, it's now widely known that the undead event of a few days ago was, in fact, a breakout by the Players who had lost their lives in this game. A breakout which was successful. Now the system I built is compromised, and even with my security back up I know Players will have an easier time escaping the Land.


[because that was always a possibility. Much like how LOBAG's storage of souls was kept a secret, so was the escape route I had left within. I have stated and now restate my desire to weed out the weak from amongst you. If the Obon Dungeon ensured those willing to kill continued on forth, LOBAG would allow those with enough determination to find their way back from that Land of death and decay. But then, among those individuals who escaped first, some refused to keep quiet about these secrets. They rebelled. And now changes must be made.


[but before I explain these coming changes in detail, I will address some further rumors about this game, and your current situation.]





And they do. The Admin comes clean about many things. About the Players being clones based off their real selves. About how 2 years have passed on Earth since the day they decided to install and launch the MMO. About how half of that time gap occurred because of how the Incipisphere is isolated from your universe's timestream, while the other half happened simply because it took time to track down and observe each of the 10,000 initial Players.


The Admin talks about how your Earth selves were being monitored from day one since thay bought the game. About how they researched about your individual histories, families and routines. About how your Earth selves continue to live life in peace, while you are here, struggling.


About how the copies you are weren't designed to last. About how, should the Eon's Ring stop stalling the effects of Time and aging, you would all rot within weeks. About how the Admin never really minded letting everyone go after the game was over, for they knew any revenge plot would whither in days along with its designers.


Weirdly, though, there's no mention of Trolls. Of Alternia. Aslin and Ross, of course, know what's going on with that. And they know Marco and Eloise know. But that's it. There's also no mention of the Condesce or Crocker Corp, even though you know she has plans for Earth. Shauna has glimpses through her Earth self. Ross and Aslin know Finn is in league with her. And of course, Gungal is her agent, though you doubt he is loyal to anyone other than himself.


But there's more: the videos Aslin saw while he was alone; of the Lands being presented as tourist attractions for both humans and Trolls. The Smuggler's Ring and their dealings with some Players, Sarah included. Crocker Corp.'s experiments with humans, Dmitry being their first successful prototype. And God knows what else.


Yet, not a peep on that end either.


Of course, there's even more.


[There's also the matter of the extent of my power. Many of you have begun wondering how much I am actually capable of. Whether or not I can kill you with a snap of my fingers. How vigilant I am.


[The answer to both of those matters is: very.


[My decision to not take more extreme measures with rebels and other troublemakers is not because I am incapable of doing so, but rather because they abuse the fact that this is an experiment and, as much as it pains me to admit, interfering with it too much would defeat the purpose of holding it in the first place. That's the main defense against me; something I admit I tried to keep under wraps.


[but that's pointless now. The information has spread. Too many people know for this to be of any use now. So, as I said before, things will now change.





==>[Turns will now be timed. Enough time to execute your planned action, but not enough to sit around and think of your next move. Enemies won't wait for your move any longer. Take too long, and your Turn will end.]


==>[skills are now usable out of combat. All of them.]


==>[safe areas may now be invaded by Underlings. No longer will I keep them from wandering too close to settlements.]


==>[skills no longer will be announced, and damage taken and inflicted won't be showed. Your menus will display the changes, but taking time to check them is a risk you must subscribe to now.]


==>[switching around equipment inside the Inventory will now take time. You must be careful when picking what to carry in your quick slots]


[Further changes will occur as we progress, but I am confident my point has been made clear. If intimidation won't be accepted by the rebels as an obstacle in this game any longer, I will then cease the embellishment and turn up the challenge. It puts my experiment at risk, but you have asked for this.


[Finally, a couple more points: You are probably wondering what the point of winning now is if your bodies will break down soon after the game is over. Well, fear not, for you are not unfixable. The 12 winners of the game will all get their lifespans returned to normal, while those who manage to gain my favour will also receive aid. And of course, individual research is always an option. But of course, if you choose to do nothing and 'wait it out' within the safe zones, then I say to you: you will die sooner rather than later. There's no salvation for those who don't fight their fate.


[but I am not heartless. During the next 3 days, the lower level Players will gain bonus Exp, and be able to take on exclusive Quests in order to give them a fighting chance. Not everyone will survive, I assure you, but everyone now has an equal chance. It's up to you to take it or not.


[As for the rule breaking, things will remain as they always have. My drones and agents will continue to try and uphold my laws and rules, and punish rebels. But I will no longer pretend that I am going to end your life then and there.


[That can wait until after the game.





[We have reached a milestone, and there's no turning back now. For better or worse, my vision will come true whether or not you want it. I suggest you don't try to fight the inevitable.


[Good-bye and good luck Players. Don't disappoint me.]


With that, it ends...


...


...


...


It's strange. The message, that is. You have noticed it before, but this time it's more blatant: The Admin contradicts themselves. They speak of following the rules and punishing rebels, but they are the ones leaving those possibilities open. They preach of fighting for one's salvation, yet also demand you all submit to their whims and their games as mere pieces to be discarded. They make it seem like obeying them is the answer to everything, but then admit that there are other options out there.


Just what's their angle? What's their goal with all of this fanfare?


And that gets you thinking: What else doesn't make sense? How well are you certain of things you believe you know? Who else is contradicting themselves?


You think of the other Players.


Kimiko and Devona...they are safe. You know their histories (or rather, some of you do) and their goals: To end the Condesce and Admin, to fix the mistakes made during SGRUB, to recover the lost confidence and faith, to destroy the Admin's plans.


But Blaire? He told Ross he is part of the group that made SBURB. Is that true? His goal is to also stop the Admin but...that is way too vague. And does he have other goals? He claims to have crossed paths with Gungal before, and has ill feelings towards him, but when did they meet? On Earth? Blaire claims to have been there but, as Shauna can attest to, he doesn't know a whole lot about your culture. Not only that, but Shauna may remember Kimiko mentioning that a lot about Blaire is an alias, and that he even hides the real nature of his powers. She says he can do a lot more than Lumokinesis.


Anna? She's an enigma. She's supposedly a new recruit working under Blaire, further deepening the contradiction of Blaire having been to Earth, but she doesn't like talking about herself. You know neither Kimiko nor Blaire tell her everything, and that she's prone to doing things out of her own initiative. You remember that right at the game's start she PM'd you to help her look for Kimiko. Now you know she disappeared to go scheme with Cetus, but those meetings where secret. Didn't Anna know that? All in all, she seems like a shitty subordinate.


Gungal? He is a mystery. God knows when he's lying and what he's doing. He is an agent of the Condesce, supposedly, but very easily began helping and negotiating with Kimiko. He also MUST have been around Earth, if he really is of enough rank in Crocker Corp. Is he even a clone? Or is he the real him? And what are his plans? He's been supposedly working on Aslin's plan to take over the game, but he's really not checked up on that front at all. And Shauna knows he's been working on it somewhat since he completed the memory helmet.


Oberon? He seems to be cooperating with Gungal. He has died several times, yet always returns somehow. He seems to hate Hugo and LOBAG. What happened to him in there to make him so set on his rebellion against the Admin? You have yet to see Eloise, Marco or Dmitry display similar shades of resentment about that specific experience. And what was his life like back on Earth? He seems more a pawn than a player, but that makes things even more complicated. He may not even realize what others are making him work towards.


Sarah and Qwentyn? You don't think much needs to be addressed there. They seem to have fairly normal backgrounds, are as clueless about the big picture as you are, and have simple goals: to be a hero due to Avla's inspiration, and to protect one's sibling. Sarah's Faerie nature might be of some importance, and the Smuggler's Ring is a definite threat, yet she doesn't seem to still make deals with them. She did tell Aslin she suspects something big about Dana, but it might not be a priority.


Nadira? She also seems pretty straightforward, though it's strange how she claims to want nothing to do with the rebel cause, yet so easily hangs out with the people directly leading the effort. Her dealings seem to go beyond her Party even, what with her meeting Blaire over the PK matter. And by her own admission, you won't be seeing much of her for a time.


Marco and Eloise? Definitely a weird pair. They don't know some things you do, but in turn seem to be aware of things you ignore. They are not loyal to you, but they also don't seem to be actively hostile. And their backgrounds are such a mess to decypher...not to mention how weird it is that two aliens to each other managed to get so quickly into a relationship that's actually working. And they each seem to have ties to Crocker Corp. though not in the same way as Finn does.


Dmitry? He's also weird. He's been supposedly conditioned to be and act as a Troll, and obey the Hemospectrum and Troll Hierarchy above all else, yet he's helping Kimiko and attacking Crocker Corp. bases in LOHAW? He seems like a bratty moron (and he is), but you can't help but wonder if he is working towards something big and just pretending he is too much of a little shit to care. His meeting with you during the Undead event and Mary's ambush was also weird. Kimiko didn't tell you he was working with her, sure, but she didn't tell him YOU were allies too? Well, she never say she didn't. Did he antagonize you anyways? Who knows...


And after them, there's others. The Denizens, for example. They seem to be united and working with Kimiko. They helped her, helped Marco's party escape LOBAG, helped rescue Coco and set up the Undead event. But is that all they want? To help? Or do they want something else? And are they on the same page? Riven knows only Cetus and Echidna seem to be aware (in a way) how to bring down the Admin. But what about the rest? And are they truly united? Psyche didn't want Cetus to know her soul was within Ross, yet she had no trouble telling Hemera, Hephaestus and Moros?


Then there's Prospit. They seem to also be pawns, the Prospitians. Blaire told Aslin they were being fed false information. But by who? The Admin? You can't forget how the WQ spoke of Prospit's goal of returning the Old Heroes to their Player status, yet they allied themselves with the Denizens (or Echidna at least) and they don't seem to be against the MMO Players becoming the new Heroes of Skaia. In fact, you have yet to hear them worry about the Old Heroes being slayed for their powers. Again, only Cetus and Echidna seem to actually DO anything for the Old Heroes (Dana and Adeline). The rest though? The one who has done the most for their Old Hero is Psyche, and she has only expressed worry over the Finns, nothing else. And you have NO idea what the deal between Coco and her Denizen is.


Derse? They seem like the more consistent group of all. They support the idea of replacing the Old Heroes, and make life hard for the Admin. They attacked the PKers, Admin hitmen, and tried to smuggle you out of the game at one point, if only to join them. But they also don't seem to be united. There is political power games going on there, and the Midnight Crew doesn't seem to be on the same page as the Mayor. And then there's the fact the MC don't age. How come? The Mayor is also quite old but at least his body reflects it. But Jack Noir and the rest? No. Even after they lost the Black Ring (why do they even have it? Didn't the BQ fall against the Admin along with Coco when they tried to Scratch the Session?) their youth remained.


Did they even recover the ring? What of the rest of the Royal Relics and their relevance? Of the White and Black Princes and Princesses? Of MR? Some carapacians work for the Condesce by MR's accounts. Why? How? So many questions...


Then there's the Horrorterrors. What do they want? Stop the Admin yes but, again, that's vague. They turned to Aslin for help but...why not Derse? Why not Kimiko? Though in the latter's case, Aslin knows full well about her intended Lusus. The royal Lusus. The Horrorterror Emissary, which...is the Condesce's Lusus currently...


Do...do the Horrorterrors work WITH the Condesce...?


There's Sapphy, and the melancholy she has been feeling for some days. She even admitted to Aslin she's still feeling that way; and might continue to, for all you know. Did something happen to her while you were separated? Is she acting strange in any way? You might want to check, this time more throughly.


And finally, there's the Old Heroes.


Mary, and her impotence. Mary and her words. She told you to pay attention to the words, and the meaning behind them. She asked you to listen to why people said what they did. To look beyond mere words and tears; to search for the meaning within. Was she trying to warn you with those words?


There's Leah and her fanatism towards a fake Admin (but does she KNOW it's a fake?). What has she been doing lately? And there's also Coco and her randomness and her clones. Are the MORE clones around? What's her relation to the Eon's Ring? What about what Aslin felt with his Yggkrae? Were those other 'angers' other Coco's?


Then there's Hugo and his...Hugo-ness. What did Blaire even do to him after he teleported away? Seemingly nothing but...maybe not? Afterwards there's Vlad, who by Dana's accounts was the leader of the Session. He wants his friends back and free, and seems to be the Hero best in control of his powers despite his depowered state. Or is it more knowledge than power? Didn't the Admin block memories too though?


There's Nagi, and his involvement with said mental block. Why did he choose to hide? The Horrorterrors say to stop the Admin but...why not let them in as well? Why can Hugo send people into his dreambubble but not the Horrorterrors? And there's Boye and Helene, that couple you don't know anything about other than Helene's Status as a SGRUB Player and a friend and sibling to Devona and Eloise. Boye? Nothing, really, other than a few remarks about his meek character.


There's Finn...both Finns...God knows what the problematic one wants. And what the white box contains.


There's the Dana who doesn't remember and is a child still. The one being looked after by Echidna, by Sarah...by that huge, green figure the Faerie girl spoke to Aslin about. The one who comes look for her from time to time. Her 'uncle'. The Cherub?


There's Nina; another one of unknown goals. There's Susy, and her desire to return to her kind. Adeline, and her newfound freedom.





And finally there's the Diary Dana. The one who made a mistake. The one who left a message for herself. But...was it really for HER? Why leave the Code Keys for others to find, then? And her younger self doesn't seem to want to even remember, going by her reaction to Ross's prodding. Just...what is her legacy? What were her intentions before dying? And die...in what way? If she means her mind...doesn't that confirm she knows she can't make her current self remember? Why do both Moons and each Old Hero have a Key? Why did Echidna? With the 12 Hero ones, 2 Moon ones, Echidna's and the one Kimiko gave you the first time...does that mean there's 16 Keys? 16 chapters?


And PM's dying words...S...Sylph? Maybe. She might have been wrong. PM claimed to have remembered but...what did she actually remember? You doubt she read the Admin's personal diary. Yet, even if she did make a mistake, it might be worth finding out what lead her to such a conclusion. What she saw before the memory block. That might tell you something important, even if she's wrong. Or she's not mistaken at all and it's the Sylph! Or the Seer! Or another S!


Wait a minute...maybe she's in the dreambubbles? Hugo can help you find out...and so can Ross and his Brooch...so...maybe...


Ugh! NO! It's too much! Too confusing! And there's the Heroes and Denizens you haven't even met! Who's working with who? Against who? Towards what?


One way or another, you know you can't address all of this at once. There's too much to do; too many fronts to watch. You will inevitably forsake something. So you must choose, you know this now. The time for real inquiry has come at last. You must start working towards a solid goal; investing time in a project. Whether it is in regards to the player base, the carapacians or any of the big players in this strange game...or the Admin themselves...


This message is an omen.


The storm has arrived.


Shit will start going down.


The time for a cascade has come.




[End of Chapter 4 of 8]

​



...


...


...


Much like Umineko, this RP's first half was the Question arc. Now comes the Answer arc. Time to finally crack down some mysteries! I have resumed most of what you know about each character and NPC above, just as a reminder. And of course I'm around for further inquiry.


Also, another reminder: I now have a much better idea of how things will unfold, and why. So not only are Quests going to change slightly in terms of rewards and conditions (but not general goals) but if in the past I shut down and idea you had in terms of plot points or long term projects, well, I might have changed my opinion. So try making a post stating your character's goals in this new arc, or PM me if you want to keep it a secret.


And again: You won't be able to do everything. You will end up forsaking one thing or another. So you must choose; not only what to do and who to focus on, but also if you will do it separatedly or as a team. I don't mind explaining things OOC, but IC, you won't learn everything. At least not in time to do something about it.


Hope you liked this LARGE post! ^_^


EDIT: OH! one last thing! I know keeping track of everything is a pain so if you want me to refresh you about what happened here or there, do tell me!
 
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The next day had finally come after the night was done, and Aslin found himself waking up in the afternoon as opposed to normally morning. A headache throbbed in his temple, but but thankfully the high VIT took care of it being anything more than a minor nuisance. After waking and taking a few minutes to reflect the party, Aslin rubbed his eyes with one hand, sighing to himself as he got off the ground and looked around. Everyone was already up at this point. Wanting to look for Sarah to drop the bomb, he stopped when his menu was giving the notice of a missed message...


...from the Admin.


Aslin could feel his stomach lurch, but opened it anyway. May as well rip the bandaid off in one go, right?


...


Seeing the Admin come clean about a lot of things surprised Aslin, but he quickly chalked those up as things he didn't care was known. It was what he omitted that Aslin knew was important. He would be certain to keep those details in mind. He was, however, even more surprised about the stat re-allocation. Figuring it was time to correct a broken path he walked thanks to a bad decision long ago, he opened his menu and got to work at shifting his stats around.


Strength: 0 -> 58


Intelligence: 71 -> 100


Agility: 3 -> 20


Willpower: 40 -> 15


Vitality: 36 -> 0


Luck: 0
​



Aslin could feel a slight bit more vulnerable having lost what basically amounted to only 6 Vitality thanks to his accessories. His arms ached for a solid few minutes, going as far to be actually pretty painful, before it stopped. Checking them, he noticed muscles were now where they were absent. Not only that, but he feels a lot more light and limber--funny given that he and Rhys weigh only 120 lbs. Overall, he certainly could feel the physical changes the new build brought. However, his new stat build would better compliment his armor and more preferable playstyle. That, and soon he'll be planning on retiring his current accessories for something much better. The inherent regen would prove to be dangerous from now on; having seen the inversion happen in the tournament. His current regen would lead him to only last two turns if he was lucky.


Putting all of that away out of his head, and picking his talents carefully, Aslin stretched, and started to look for Sarah.
 
Shauna yawned as the Admin's message popped up, rubbing her eyes as she scanned the changes. Standing up and stretching, she sighed. At least this was mostly a gain for her, she could overhaul her rather...oversaturated skillset and got a bunch of stat points. The Admin's message...well, it didn't really surprise her that they'd decided to reveal so much. After all, it fit their personality. The controlling type, chessmaster. Or something.


She was too tired to really contemplate it that much. But it was more or less just things she had already known.


STR: 35 -> 50


INT: 5 -> 0


AGI: 60 -> 60


WIL: 32 -> 32


VIT: 31 -> 51


LCK: 0 -> 0

​



These new stats and her newly redefined equipment made up in spades for some of her losses in talents, so it wasn't too bad overall. But everything the admin said...wait, did she know about the whole body deterioration thing? ...No, that one seemed new. And foreboding. She was going to have to work harder if she wanted to make sure everyone got out of this mess alive...everyone. After all, once this was all said and done there's still somewhere around ten thousand people without any real home to go to...


She needed to figure out how to defeat the Admin without destroying everything in the process...the rebellion idea was good, but that never really changed much. No, what Shauna needed to do was to start figuring out how she could do so. First step...well, she had to know who the Admin was. The last words of PM still weighed on her mind.

S.


She knew the real Admin was a Hero. One of them. Did any of the Heroes' names start with S? No...but Sylph and Seer did. Dana and Boye? It's not like she hadn't thought about it before...there was always the question of what the Diary was leading up to, and in all honesty if Dana WAS the Admin, it wouldn't be entirely surprising...


But on the other hand, there's Boye. She didn't know much about him, only what she had gleaned from others. Meek, somewhat...off, as she recalled Vlad describing him. After Aslin's comments about him, it made the whole process that much harder. After all, she'd have to fight him if she wanted her chosen Aspect...but she never really intended to, anyway. She wanted to gain Awakening rights so she could keep others away from him and Helene, to try to reason with them and find alternate solutions. After all, he was the Seer of Hope. If anyone could help her find her way on her path...well, it would be him. But...is it really that simple?


Everyone else seemed to lose something from the Admin's actions. The Heroes were trapped, driven mad and having their worst qualities amplified if they chose to cooperate. But Boye...according to Vlad, anyway, he gained from the situation. He found the girl he had always wanted and married her, after all. And he did seem to work for the Admin, despite...what exactly did he do? All she knew was he was as trapped as the others...but if he worked for the Admin...


Shauna sighed. This was too confusing...she needed to go down the route she'd started already. First step was to get her teammates and Devona and head over to Hugo's house in order to take care of his pets. After that, she'd follow his directions to seek out the Horrorterror that was his Denizen. She knew the Horrorterror wasn't fond of the Admin, after all, and it was the only lead she had to finding Mary. It might be possible to strike some sort of deal with them...in the best case scenario, perhaps even gain an ally? At the very least, she just needed the chance to reach Mary and borrow some of her hair. Hopefully Mary was still with that Denizen...of course, it would never be that easy.


She even had a plan to get through the temporal stasis field around Mary; she just needed to Time-Bless her Barrier skill. The ability to use things out of battle made that far simpler, thankfully...still, once she had that hair, she had Angelic Communion secured. A chance to be strong enough to really make a difference, as well as potentially invaluable allies. Maybe the Angels could help her find the right path? Either way, once the Mastery Skill was procured, she needed to find Boye. It had been in the books for a while, after all. She needed the Hope symbol, and more importantly, she needed answers. About who this person really is, about Helene, and no doubt about Marco and Eloise as well. Unfortunately, it seemed like the simplest solution wasn't viable...frustrating, since no doubt the two of them knew where the Seer of Hope and his Denizen hid in their land. Maybe if she was able to gain Eloise's trust...but that would take too long. Boye had to be the next stop on their list of Heroes to visit, after all. Well, he and Margaret, but...


And what about MR? Shauna had lost her, and she had made a promise she didn't intend to go back on. MR wanted to escape this game with her brother, and they had been so close before...well, before they had lost her. She had been captured, but...but the PKer. Calavera, apparently. She had been sent to retrieve her! Or something. And by the Midnight Crew! So...that meant that there were two options to follow that lead. Either the Midnight Crew on Derse could help, or she'd have to seek out the worst person she had ever met and ask for her help.


Both of those options had a pretty good chance of ending badly, but at least the Midnight Crew was sort of friendly. They also aren't guaranteed to know where MR is...granted, Shauna was suspicious that Gungal might know something about the whole mess too, but she wasn't going to start trying to pry into the guy's secrets. He was too guarded...though maybe there was a way? At the very least, he might be willing to use his connections to help them find their Carapacian friend.


Regardless, part of the plan had been to take Coco to Derse for...it was a sign of good will, right? It had been so long, honestly. But that would probably be a good place to start on the path to finding MR. All she had to do was ask Blaire to borrow Coco for a while, he'd no doubt be pretty eager to get her off his hands. Go to Derse, talk to the Mayor with Coco and hopefully find a way to get MR back. Maybe even delve into Derse's moon and find out what the deal with Coco's dream self is...or even God Tier her? Of course, that might not end too well...Coco isn't exactly the most stable of people as it stands, and ensuring she got god powers could end horribly.


Either way, after finding MR it was just a matter of rescuing BP and using the Portable Gate. By then everything should be coordinated, after all...


After that? Well...all that was so far in the future she had no idea what would come next. Befriend everyone, gain allies, Awaken in some manner that...well, didn't result in killing the Heroes. Maybe not even their Denizens, either...then it was a matter of gathering enough strength and information to create a cohesive means of defeating the Admin. Defeating the Condesce, too. Saving the world and all that...and finally, finishing the game of SBURB in the way it's supposed to end. Creating a new universe, one that can become a new home for the players and Heroes and everyone in between. After all, Earth wasn't really an option for a bunch of clones and aliens...and it wasn't really ever clear if Alternia was one, either. Probably not. Ultimately, they needed a place where they could call their own and start anew...
Shauna sighed, rubbing her eyes again. She knew what was up next, she just needed to find the rest of her party members so they could start setting up a game plan for the next few days. At least she had Sapphira nearby to help her find everyone, right? And there's Nadira too, who Shauna wished good luck on her party search (as well as requesting she stay in touch) before heading off to gather everyone.


-------------------------


> ???


Marco is greeted with a second PM message as he awakens, alongside the Admin's announcement.

Sender Username: NOT THE BEES!!


Purpose: A Simple Request


Message: Hi, Marco. I know I'm probably not really on your radar, so just to remind you: This is Lokuss. We didn't really talk, but we met during that cave mission with all the underlings. Tall troll guy with the big, spiky hair, blueblood, wears a lab coat and stutters? Right. Anyway, I figured you would be more open to this request, but could you and your matesprit please go and make amends with Karzti over whatever feud she had with the tealblood? Er, Eloise. I'm sorry for the uh, directness of that, really. But the thing is, I don't think she quite got the message that Eloise was trying to send with that..."prank".


I tried to tell her, but she was kind of convinced that Eloise's "prank" was less a prank and more of an outright death threat.


From the Subjugglators.


It turns out that the whole "filling a person's room with clown paraphernalia while they're sleeping" is sort of a calling card of theirs. I believe it's a psychological tactic, the whole "there is nowhere you can hide from us where we can't find you" sort of deal. At least, that's what she was screaming when she woke up to find that, among...other things. Needless to say, the whole thing is sort of on the extreme side of "pranking", even for trolls...honestly, it sort of crosses the line a bit. I'm...pretty baffled at trying to figure out what sort of horrible thing Karzti would have had to say to warrant that sort of a reaction, so...


Either way it freaked her out and she's holed herself up in her practice room in the Obon Dungeon. Science knows I've tried to reason with the girl about it and tell her what really happened, but she's not budging. I think if you two, or at least Eloise, tried to level with her about the whole deal, she might come to her senses and get over this mess. Preferably sooner instead of later. Either way, just go into the Obon Dungeon through the back exit, you'll find her in the talent training room. It shouldn't be too hard to find her, just follow your auricular sponge clots. Er, do you humans have those? Or, no...what do you call them? Ears? Follow whatever you call your auditory sensory organs.


...For the record, if your matesprit is curious about how I'm well aware of her being the culprit behind the prank in question, please remind her that not everyone requires that much in the way of sleep. That, and it's remarkably hard to be stealthy when you are carrying a truckload (scuttlelorry-load? I don't know if you humans understand the highblood vernacular, so...) of horns with you. And then dumping them out onto the floor. So yeah, I heard and saw her as she left.


So yeah, that's that. I'd appreciate it a huge amount if you could make sure this happens. I'm not sure what the whole feud was about, honestly, but me and my friends (...well, teammates...) are here to help you all and it's important that we remain on good terms with everyone.


That and, well, it's been two days since the incident and nothing. I assumed once tempers cooled that some attempt at amends would be made but since that hasn't happened, I figured it's probably time to take action and ask outright. Chivalry isn't dead yet, is it?


PS: Don't forget, she's in the Obon Dungeon. Go in through the back and follow your ears, you'll hear her.


Delivery: None.
 
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