Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
Its possible the cause is the AMF the entire combat zone was under, in such a magic scarce environment the Starlight Breaker convergence effect probably would be ripping chunks off any spell not specifically designed to resist fields.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
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- Location
- Germany
[x] Sit somewhere conspicuous and wait for someone to talk to you.
I still want to mess with the two Rins, but that can wait.
I still want to mess with the two Rins, but that can wait.
[X] Go back to watching the dances.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are locked.
Party XVII
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Sit somewhere conspicuous and wait for someone to talk to you.
You carry your friends back up to the main floor, but instead of the ballroom you settle into a table in the entry hall - one that's just off one of the thoroughfares. You start to send a clone to get the maids, but they're already moving, and Ilya gives you a smug look. Hmm … so did she do that, somehow, or did Lulu? Well, it doesn't really matter; all you really need to do is make sure that they don't keep people from meeting you if they want. In the meantime, you settle on a smokescreen, quietly chattering with Ilya and Lulu about the mansion and what it holds. After a few minutes, a familiar face approaches the table.
"Ah, Lyrica! How are you doing?" The keyboarding poltergeist makes a face and drifts closer to the table, her keyboard floating behind her. "This is Lyrica Prismriver. Lyrica, this Lutecia Alpine, and this is Illyasviel von Einzbern."
"Ah, you're one of the musicians, right?" Lyrica makes a face but nods, and you giggle.
"Lyrica's the best pianist in Gensokyo," you say, and the poltergeist blushes.
"Eh, w-well … when you have my ability …." You tsk at her.
"You still learned how to play on your own, and your ability wouldn't do you any good if you weren't good on your own," you say sternly, and her face finishes turning bright red. Ilya giggles.
"A-Anyway … um, I'm here for Merlin," Lyrica begins, and you focus on her expectantly. "Well … um, she asked me to talk to you because she can't do it," she finishes quietly, bracing herself as if expecting a tantrum. You frown, and Ilya and Lulu give you confused looks.
"Is she giving up, then, or does she just want to delay it?" Lyrica blinks and stares at you, and you shrug. "I mean, if she just wants to give up on it, that's fine, but you're making it seem like she's afraid of me, specifically, for some reason." Her expression fixes itself in a rictus grin for a moment, before she relaxes and leans against the chair.
"Eh, well … she kind of is. I mean, she's afraid you'll get angry because of how things haven't been going well …." You cock your head to the side and Lyrica sighs.
"Um … what's going on?" You glance at Lulu, then look meaningfully at Lyrica, who shrugs.
"Well … the last time we had a party here, there was - um, something happened," she corrects herself after seeing Ilya, and shakes her head. "Flandre apologized for the incident, and my sister Merlin suggested that she could make it up to us by performing with us, singing while we played." Lulu's mouth falls open, and Ilya gives you a surprised look, and you manage to keep from preening. "Well, Lunasa wasn't really on-board with it, and I don't think it's really necessary, but once Merlin gets something in her head she obsesses over it. Problem is … well, when we compose music, we all work together, but none of us are any good at writing lyrics, and since Lunasa doesn't think it's a good idea, even the music is getting stalled out, since she isn't helping and Merlin's not really that good at coming up with a balanced composition. And now she's losing the will to continue, since Lunasa's being so grumpy about it. So it's not that she wants to give up, or anything, but she can't make it work right now, and unless she can get Lunasa to agree it'll probably never get going." She shrugs helplessly and you nod - you know what Merlin's going through.
"And she did say that your side would provide the song," you muse, and Lyrica nods. "Would it help if I talked with Lunasa and tried to convince her to help?" Lyrica stiffens and hesitates, then shakes her head.
"I … don't think you should. Merlin pushed this through on her own, remember, so unless she asks you to help, I think you should stay out of it." You nod in agreement and she finally relaxes. "… So you're okay with this?" You shrug and nod again.
"Sure. And if Merlin decides she can't get the three of you working together, it's okay if we don't perform something at all." Lyrica's eyes widen, and after a moment she nods quickly.
"If you really mean that … I'll let her know. If nothing else, she'll relax - and maybe she'll figure out how to handle Lunasa! Bye!" She pops out of her seat and, after nodding briefly in farewell, darts away, keyboard following behind her. Lulu frowns.
"Is she really better than you?" You chuckle.
"At playing the piano, yes. And at danmaku." You take another drink of your tea and start telling Ilya and Lulu about the Prismrivers - about how they're the only Gensokyoans you really have any contact with, even more than Aya, and how their mansion isn't too far from here, and about their musical talents. Then a shadow falls across the table, and you look up to see an oni woman with a single long horn coming out of her forehead. You tilt your head slightly to the side and she grins at you.
"Heh. Suika said the house leader was pretty tough, but she never mentioned you. You've got a lot of guts, standing up to Hidetsugu like that - not many oni who know what he's actually capable of are willing to risk it. I certainly wouldn't want to let him get a head full of steam without some distance between us." You nod back to her, accepting the praise.
"Is he really that strong?" The oni grins and pulls out the chair so she can sit down.
"Eh. Damn kimonos, they never fit right. Anyway, yeah, he's not just an oni, he's a magician, too. And he's old and experienced. He is just bad news if you try to fight him. Anyway, I didn't really come to talk about him, though - I'm Yuugi, a friend of Suika's. I want to thank you for helping her out earlier." You shrug simply.
"She asked for help, and this is my home. I'm not going to throw away hospitality and guest rights." Yuugi nods.
"Yeah, but you could've told your sister, or that magician who's keeping running everything, or any number of other things. Instead, you picked just about the best method of solving the problem there is and went right for it." You blink, utterly confused, and tilt your head almost horizontal. Yuugi laughs as your friends follow suit, albeit far less dramatically.
"The best? Really?" She nods.
"Yep. You let Hidetsugu save some face by dealing with the problem himself instead of having to have an outsider fix it, and the way you just sat through his spell-setting, you made it clear that you weren't worried about him - that you trusted him to be honest and forthright, even if you had to prod him into action. So he respects you and he owes you a bit, and probably there'll be a lot of talk about how much Suika really deserves her punishment." And here you thought that he was just trying to frighten you, or perhaps work himself into a frenzy; if you'd known he was preparing some magic, you probably would have reacted a bit differently. And Suika is being punished? You frown, and Yuugi nods. "Yeah, she's … she's a bit of a trickster, so the other oni cast her out. Not 'proper oni behavior' and all that. But if some oni are going to try to pull something like that … well, either there are problems with oni or oni society, and maybe talking about that will let Suika back in a little bit. Probably not for a while, if it ever does happen, but …." She sighs and shrugs. "Anyway, Suika's trying to get some alcohol back in her system - she accidentally wandered too close to that cordoned-off drink and started getting sick - but I'll make sure she gets something to thank you later." You smile and bow.
"Thank you, but it's alright." She nods and waves off your polite attempt at refusal; even hospitality and guest rights don't quite cover what you did for Suika, after all, since you could have simply made sure that the oni didn't do anything on the mansion grounds, and as long as you didn't collude with the oni in any other respects, you would have been perfectly within your rights. Interfering with greater politics the way you did isn't required …. Yuugi leaves after an exchange of good-byes, and you sigh. Remilia almost certainly knows more about this than you do, but you should make sure she knows about what Yuugi said fairly soon.
You look through your clones as you ask Ilya and Lulu about anything else they want to do, but neither of them are particularly enthusiastic about anything - they're fairly introverted people, and although Lulu is opening up, she's still only really excited around you or her family. The first thing that catches one of your clones' attention is the fact that your sister is in the same room, now - in fact, you glance up and she looks away from Yuuka for a moment to meet your eyes and wink before returning her attention to the youkai and her magician spirit friend. Nanoha, Fate, Vita, Megane, Agito, and Zest are all together now, walking in the front gardens. Bazett, apparently still in whatever state she was in after being invited to dance with Lancer, is sitting alone at a small table, while Illyasviel talks with Ilya and Miyu about something. Luvia and her other servants keep watch from another table. And in the ballroom, Deis and Tohsaka are talking with Ershin - or, rather, the strange girl inside it. Patchouli seems to have disappeared again, but since you don't see Marisa, either, she's probably gone back down to defend her library. Reimu and the shrine maiden are still together, although the other girl doesn't seem to be able to hold her alcohol at all. Aya, Hatate, and Alice are all together with, of all people, the Chronicler, sitting up on the balcony talking together. Now that's an interesting sight ….
What do you do?
[ ] Invite Remilia over so you can talk to her.
- [ ] Make sure Ilya and Lulu stay with you.
[ ] Go talk to Remilia.
[ ] Go talk to:
- [ ] Nanoha's group.
- [ ] Akyuu's group.
- [ ] Illya's group.
- [ ] Deis's group.
- [ ] Other?
- - Is there anything in particular you want to talk about?
[ ] Dance with your friends some more.
- [ ] Drag some of your other guests in as well.
[ ] Other?
You carry your friends back up to the main floor, but instead of the ballroom you settle into a table in the entry hall - one that's just off one of the thoroughfares. You start to send a clone to get the maids, but they're already moving, and Ilya gives you a smug look. Hmm … so did she do that, somehow, or did Lulu? Well, it doesn't really matter; all you really need to do is make sure that they don't keep people from meeting you if they want. In the meantime, you settle on a smokescreen, quietly chattering with Ilya and Lulu about the mansion and what it holds. After a few minutes, a familiar face approaches the table.
"Ah, Lyrica! How are you doing?" The keyboarding poltergeist makes a face and drifts closer to the table, her keyboard floating behind her. "This is Lyrica Prismriver. Lyrica, this Lutecia Alpine, and this is Illyasviel von Einzbern."
"Ah, you're one of the musicians, right?" Lyrica makes a face but nods, and you giggle.
"Lyrica's the best pianist in Gensokyo," you say, and the poltergeist blushes.
"Eh, w-well … when you have my ability …." You tsk at her.
"You still learned how to play on your own, and your ability wouldn't do you any good if you weren't good on your own," you say sternly, and her face finishes turning bright red. Ilya giggles.
"A-Anyway … um, I'm here for Merlin," Lyrica begins, and you focus on her expectantly. "Well … um, she asked me to talk to you because she can't do it," she finishes quietly, bracing herself as if expecting a tantrum. You frown, and Ilya and Lulu give you confused looks.
"Is she giving up, then, or does she just want to delay it?" Lyrica blinks and stares at you, and you shrug. "I mean, if she just wants to give up on it, that's fine, but you're making it seem like she's afraid of me, specifically, for some reason." Her expression fixes itself in a rictus grin for a moment, before she relaxes and leans against the chair.
"Eh, well … she kind of is. I mean, she's afraid you'll get angry because of how things haven't been going well …." You cock your head to the side and Lyrica sighs.
"Um … what's going on?" You glance at Lulu, then look meaningfully at Lyrica, who shrugs.
"Well … the last time we had a party here, there was - um, something happened," she corrects herself after seeing Ilya, and shakes her head. "Flandre apologized for the incident, and my sister Merlin suggested that she could make it up to us by performing with us, singing while we played." Lulu's mouth falls open, and Ilya gives you a surprised look, and you manage to keep from preening. "Well, Lunasa wasn't really on-board with it, and I don't think it's really necessary, but once Merlin gets something in her head she obsesses over it. Problem is … well, when we compose music, we all work together, but none of us are any good at writing lyrics, and since Lunasa doesn't think it's a good idea, even the music is getting stalled out, since she isn't helping and Merlin's not really that good at coming up with a balanced composition. And now she's losing the will to continue, since Lunasa's being so grumpy about it. So it's not that she wants to give up, or anything, but she can't make it work right now, and unless she can get Lunasa to agree it'll probably never get going." She shrugs helplessly and you nod - you know what Merlin's going through.
"And she did say that your side would provide the song," you muse, and Lyrica nods. "Would it help if I talked with Lunasa and tried to convince her to help?" Lyrica stiffens and hesitates, then shakes her head.
"I … don't think you should. Merlin pushed this through on her own, remember, so unless she asks you to help, I think you should stay out of it." You nod in agreement and she finally relaxes. "… So you're okay with this?" You shrug and nod again.
"Sure. And if Merlin decides she can't get the three of you working together, it's okay if we don't perform something at all." Lyrica's eyes widen, and after a moment she nods quickly.
"If you really mean that … I'll let her know. If nothing else, she'll relax - and maybe she'll figure out how to handle Lunasa! Bye!" She pops out of her seat and, after nodding briefly in farewell, darts away, keyboard following behind her. Lulu frowns.
"Is she really better than you?" You chuckle.
"At playing the piano, yes. And at danmaku." You take another drink of your tea and start telling Ilya and Lulu about the Prismrivers - about how they're the only Gensokyoans you really have any contact with, even more than Aya, and how their mansion isn't too far from here, and about their musical talents. Then a shadow falls across the table, and you look up to see an oni woman with a single long horn coming out of her forehead. You tilt your head slightly to the side and she grins at you.
"Heh. Suika said the house leader was pretty tough, but she never mentioned you. You've got a lot of guts, standing up to Hidetsugu like that - not many oni who know what he's actually capable of are willing to risk it. I certainly wouldn't want to let him get a head full of steam without some distance between us." You nod back to her, accepting the praise.
"Is he really that strong?" The oni grins and pulls out the chair so she can sit down.
"Eh. Damn kimonos, they never fit right. Anyway, yeah, he's not just an oni, he's a magician, too. And he's old and experienced. He is just bad news if you try to fight him. Anyway, I didn't really come to talk about him, though - I'm Yuugi, a friend of Suika's. I want to thank you for helping her out earlier." You shrug simply.
"She asked for help, and this is my home. I'm not going to throw away hospitality and guest rights." Yuugi nods.
"Yeah, but you could've told your sister, or that magician who's keeping running everything, or any number of other things. Instead, you picked just about the best method of solving the problem there is and went right for it." You blink, utterly confused, and tilt your head almost horizontal. Yuugi laughs as your friends follow suit, albeit far less dramatically.
"The best? Really?" She nods.
"Yep. You let Hidetsugu save some face by dealing with the problem himself instead of having to have an outsider fix it, and the way you just sat through his spell-setting, you made it clear that you weren't worried about him - that you trusted him to be honest and forthright, even if you had to prod him into action. So he respects you and he owes you a bit, and probably there'll be a lot of talk about how much Suika really deserves her punishment." And here you thought that he was just trying to frighten you, or perhaps work himself into a frenzy; if you'd known he was preparing some magic, you probably would have reacted a bit differently. And Suika is being punished? You frown, and Yuugi nods. "Yeah, she's … she's a bit of a trickster, so the other oni cast her out. Not 'proper oni behavior' and all that. But if some oni are going to try to pull something like that … well, either there are problems with oni or oni society, and maybe talking about that will let Suika back in a little bit. Probably not for a while, if it ever does happen, but …." She sighs and shrugs. "Anyway, Suika's trying to get some alcohol back in her system - she accidentally wandered too close to that cordoned-off drink and started getting sick - but I'll make sure she gets something to thank you later." You smile and bow.
"Thank you, but it's alright." She nods and waves off your polite attempt at refusal; even hospitality and guest rights don't quite cover what you did for Suika, after all, since you could have simply made sure that the oni didn't do anything on the mansion grounds, and as long as you didn't collude with the oni in any other respects, you would have been perfectly within your rights. Interfering with greater politics the way you did isn't required …. Yuugi leaves after an exchange of good-byes, and you sigh. Remilia almost certainly knows more about this than you do, but you should make sure she knows about what Yuugi said fairly soon.
You look through your clones as you ask Ilya and Lulu about anything else they want to do, but neither of them are particularly enthusiastic about anything - they're fairly introverted people, and although Lulu is opening up, she's still only really excited around you or her family. The first thing that catches one of your clones' attention is the fact that your sister is in the same room, now - in fact, you glance up and she looks away from Yuuka for a moment to meet your eyes and wink before returning her attention to the youkai and her magician spirit friend. Nanoha, Fate, Vita, Megane, Agito, and Zest are all together now, walking in the front gardens. Bazett, apparently still in whatever state she was in after being invited to dance with Lancer, is sitting alone at a small table, while Illyasviel talks with Ilya and Miyu about something. Luvia and her other servants keep watch from another table. And in the ballroom, Deis and Tohsaka are talking with Ershin - or, rather, the strange girl inside it. Patchouli seems to have disappeared again, but since you don't see Marisa, either, she's probably gone back down to defend her library. Reimu and the shrine maiden are still together, although the other girl doesn't seem to be able to hold her alcohol at all. Aya, Hatate, and Alice are all together with, of all people, the Chronicler, sitting up on the balcony talking together. Now that's an interesting sight ….
What do you do?
[ ] Invite Remilia over so you can talk to her.
- [ ] Make sure Ilya and Lulu stay with you.
[ ] Go talk to Remilia.
[ ] Go talk to:
- [ ] Nanoha's group.
- [ ] Akyuu's group.
- [ ] Illya's group.
- [ ] Deis's group.
- [ ] Other?
- - Is there anything in particular you want to talk about?
[ ] Dance with your friends some more.
- [ ] Drag some of your other guests in as well.
[ ] Other?
[X] Invite Remilia over so you can talk to her.
[X] Go talk to:
- [X] Deis's group.
-- [X] Ask Deis about the strange girl that is inside of Ershin.
--- [X] Talk to Tohsaka about the debt she own with Flan.
---- [X] Invite her to stay a few days as well.
Time for Flan to find out what going on with Ershin and the girl inside her armour. In the same time let about the debt Rin with Flan. And let invite her to stay at Gensokyo for a few days as well.
Flan also need to talk to others as well.
- [X] Deis's group.
-- [X] Ask Deis about the strange girl that is inside of Ershin.
--- [X] Talk to Tohsaka about the debt she own with Flan.
---- [X] Invite her to stay a few days as well.
Time for Flan to find out what going on with Ershin and the girl inside her armour. In the same time let about the debt Rin with Flan. And let invite her to stay at Gensokyo for a few days as well.
Flan also need to talk to others as well.
Damn, Klatchian Coffee don't shit around.
[X] Invite Remilia over so you can talk to her.
-[X] Make sure Ilya and Lulu stay with you.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
Vampire and Magician
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
"Why are you and Flandre so different?" Remilia cocked her head slightly and frowned at the magician sitting on a couch across the room. The book Patchouli was reading didn't even reach her chin, but it served as an effective shield all the same, letting her keep her head lowered, and all that Remilia could see easily were the purple eyes peering up at her.
"… I suppose it mostly comes down to how we don't think in different ways," she said. The sister under discussion was holed up in her music room, playing one of the pianos she still had - for understandable reasons, she preferred using those instead of one of the instruments scattered throughout the rest of the mansion. Patchouli snorted.
"How she doesn't think, you mean." Remilia fixed her with a harsh stare.
"Patchouli, I said what I meant and I mean what I said. Flandre thinks much more than you give her credit for - in fact, I believe she thinks more often than I do." The magician frowned and sat up, slender fingers sliding the book's black ribbon between the pages before closing it. Remilia smiled and focused, ensuring that her sister wasn't paying attention to them. Indeed, it was just the two of them; Sakuya was working upstairs, the familiar was in an office copying worn-down scrolls, and there were no absences or presences. "Admittedly, she often thinks after a particular occasion, reacting with instinct and emotion rather than considering her options - but that's something I do as well. Rather, what I don't think about is how I act, how others perceive me." Her smile faded slightly. "My own fault, I suppose, for building us into a noble power."
"But if you hadn't, then we wouldn't have met." The magician's objection was met with a snort.
"Please, Pache. Noble power. I could have built us into a mercantile power, stayed out of the continental conferences - after all, I was never considered a physical threat. I got my seat because I could scheme and connive and manipulate a region, and then I went and got my fangs stuck into a principality. That's why I got stuck with that Council nonsense. Lots of vampires cleverer than I am - you can tell because they never put themselves into positions like that. But … Flandre." Her eyes clouded slightly and she shook her head. "I put us into a human hierarchy. One that contained certain expectations. Oh, sure, vampires and magicians are two of the few groups that can mingle effectively with humans, but there are still rules. And by making us nobles, I put Flandre into a position where she believed she had to act according to those rules." Patchouli shook her head - not in negation, but in confusion.
"You act according to those rules …." Remilia chuckled and shook her head.
"Only when absolutely necessary. Most of the time, I'm simply me. Maybe that makes me a natural aristocrat. Maybe it makes me an arrogant bitch. Hehe. You've noticed that Flandre never swears? She's gotten it fixed in her mind - like many people who are placed in noble society without being comfortable with it - that proper nobles, especially ladies, don't curse. So, since she's a noble, an upper-class vampire - she doesn't. Meanwhile, I don't care. I don't think about what 'proper behavior' is. I simply do what I want, how I want, and people accept that as normal." She sighed and leaned onto the table. Lazily, she swatted the stones onto the floor, not even looking at the resulting pattern.
"… And her reaction to you telling her this was …?" A muffled laugh escaped the vampire.
"I think she thought I was being … condescending, or patronizing. That I was telling her it was okay if she didn't try, because I'd take care of things. Not that she took it insultingly - she knew I really meant that she didn't need to worry about it. But … she feels that she's a burden to me, so she wants to do things 'properly' so I don't have to concern myself over things like her behavior. … At least, that's how it was the last time we talked about things like that. It's … been a while." Patchouli watched the vampire for a while, then nodded when it became clear that she wasn't going to continue on her own. In the five decades since she'd moved into the mansion, she had learned some things about her friend.
"I think I see. Flandre feels that she is inferior to you, and instead of finding something she excels at and focusing on that, she latches onto something you have a natural talent in and forces herself to try and match you in that." Remilia sat up.
"Well, she knows that she's my superior when it comes to killing things. Sure, I'm the better technical fighter and I have magic, but when it comes to butchery and slaughter, she is better than I am, and she knows it. She's also rather good at some forms of diplomacy - she's quite capable of being charming and persuasive when she focuses on it. I'm better at the details, but I have to put in more work to be as good at relating to people as she does."
"Because you don't care." Remilia nodded and laid her head down once more.
"Right." Patchouli continued watching the vampire. Remilia considered her sister the most important thing, even after whatever had happened to cause a rift between them - and after fifty years, Patchouli was no closer to discovering what that had been about than she was when she had just met her friend. Flandre, too, considered her sister to be extremely important, perhaps even moreso than her own existence, but she wasn't so … dangerously fanatical about it as Remilia. She looked down at the book on her lap, supposedly a diary of a youkai that had been charged with escorting some human trader in China, and let her mind wander. Who was supposed to be the dominant sister? Was it Remilia - the planner, terrifyingly single-minded, utterly uncaring of inconsequential things, universally capable - who currently held the position of head of the Scarlet Devil Mansion? Or was it Flandre - who cared, was less generally capable but absolute within her sphere, and was … dangerously erratic - who currently held the unenviable title of 'Sister of the Devil'? Were they both supposed to be subservient to another entity? It would explain their particular skills, as well as Remilia's ebbs and flows of drive … but if that was the case, what had happened to that entity? Why had they been abandoned? Or had something else happened to leave them stranded and directionless …?
"… I see," she murmured. She met Remilia's curious gaze - most creatures were fairly uncaring of their origins, with humans being a particular exception, but Remilia turned excessive amounts of energy to the purpose of finding their origins, and Patchouli thought she understood why. "You are unable to be content." Remilia scowled and looked away. "The only real similarity between you two is that you both like messing with people, but Flandre is unimaginably less cruel than you are. Two sides of a coin." Remilia smiled as Patchouli's thoughts strayed to a dangerous subject - two sides of a coin were, after all one object, not two.
"That's true. Flandre is typically content to simply kill or obliterate her enemies, while I prefer to hurt them. Fortunately, I can usually make that happen." She grinned nastily at Patchouli for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, it's that time again. Sorry, I'm going to go see how badly humans are going to do themselves in this time. Everyone's been getting so grouchy since we left." She smiled happily at the magician, and her body flickered into a vast swarm of bats that scattered out of the library. Patchouli sighed, shook her head, and reopened her book. There would be time to work things out later. Time, at least, was something she was not short of.
"… I suppose it mostly comes down to how we don't think in different ways," she said. The sister under discussion was holed up in her music room, playing one of the pianos she still had - for understandable reasons, she preferred using those instead of one of the instruments scattered throughout the rest of the mansion. Patchouli snorted.
"How she doesn't think, you mean." Remilia fixed her with a harsh stare.
"Patchouli, I said what I meant and I mean what I said. Flandre thinks much more than you give her credit for - in fact, I believe she thinks more often than I do." The magician frowned and sat up, slender fingers sliding the book's black ribbon between the pages before closing it. Remilia smiled and focused, ensuring that her sister wasn't paying attention to them. Indeed, it was just the two of them; Sakuya was working upstairs, the familiar was in an office copying worn-down scrolls, and there were no absences or presences. "Admittedly, she often thinks after a particular occasion, reacting with instinct and emotion rather than considering her options - but that's something I do as well. Rather, what I don't think about is how I act, how others perceive me." Her smile faded slightly. "My own fault, I suppose, for building us into a noble power."
"But if you hadn't, then we wouldn't have met." The magician's objection was met with a snort.
"Please, Pache. Noble power. I could have built us into a mercantile power, stayed out of the continental conferences - after all, I was never considered a physical threat. I got my seat because I could scheme and connive and manipulate a region, and then I went and got my fangs stuck into a principality. That's why I got stuck with that Council nonsense. Lots of vampires cleverer than I am - you can tell because they never put themselves into positions like that. But … Flandre." Her eyes clouded slightly and she shook her head. "I put us into a human hierarchy. One that contained certain expectations. Oh, sure, vampires and magicians are two of the few groups that can mingle effectively with humans, but there are still rules. And by making us nobles, I put Flandre into a position where she believed she had to act according to those rules." Patchouli shook her head - not in negation, but in confusion.
"You act according to those rules …." Remilia chuckled and shook her head.
"Only when absolutely necessary. Most of the time, I'm simply me. Maybe that makes me a natural aristocrat. Maybe it makes me an arrogant bitch. Hehe. You've noticed that Flandre never swears? She's gotten it fixed in her mind - like many people who are placed in noble society without being comfortable with it - that proper nobles, especially ladies, don't curse. So, since she's a noble, an upper-class vampire - she doesn't. Meanwhile, I don't care. I don't think about what 'proper behavior' is. I simply do what I want, how I want, and people accept that as normal." She sighed and leaned onto the table. Lazily, she swatted the stones onto the floor, not even looking at the resulting pattern.
"… And her reaction to you telling her this was …?" A muffled laugh escaped the vampire.
"I think she thought I was being … condescending, or patronizing. That I was telling her it was okay if she didn't try, because I'd take care of things. Not that she took it insultingly - she knew I really meant that she didn't need to worry about it. But … she feels that she's a burden to me, so she wants to do things 'properly' so I don't have to concern myself over things like her behavior. … At least, that's how it was the last time we talked about things like that. It's … been a while." Patchouli watched the vampire for a while, then nodded when it became clear that she wasn't going to continue on her own. In the five decades since she'd moved into the mansion, she had learned some things about her friend.
"I think I see. Flandre feels that she is inferior to you, and instead of finding something she excels at and focusing on that, she latches onto something you have a natural talent in and forces herself to try and match you in that." Remilia sat up.
"Well, she knows that she's my superior when it comes to killing things. Sure, I'm the better technical fighter and I have magic, but when it comes to butchery and slaughter, she is better than I am, and she knows it. She's also rather good at some forms of diplomacy - she's quite capable of being charming and persuasive when she focuses on it. I'm better at the details, but I have to put in more work to be as good at relating to people as she does."
"Because you don't care." Remilia nodded and laid her head down once more.
"Right." Patchouli continued watching the vampire. Remilia considered her sister the most important thing, even after whatever had happened to cause a rift between them - and after fifty years, Patchouli was no closer to discovering what that had been about than she was when she had just met her friend. Flandre, too, considered her sister to be extremely important, perhaps even moreso than her own existence, but she wasn't so … dangerously fanatical about it as Remilia. She looked down at the book on her lap, supposedly a diary of a youkai that had been charged with escorting some human trader in China, and let her mind wander. Who was supposed to be the dominant sister? Was it Remilia - the planner, terrifyingly single-minded, utterly uncaring of inconsequential things, universally capable - who currently held the position of head of the Scarlet Devil Mansion? Or was it Flandre - who cared, was less generally capable but absolute within her sphere, and was … dangerously erratic - who currently held the unenviable title of 'Sister of the Devil'? Were they both supposed to be subservient to another entity? It would explain their particular skills, as well as Remilia's ebbs and flows of drive … but if that was the case, what had happened to that entity? Why had they been abandoned? Or had something else happened to leave them stranded and directionless …?
"… I see," she murmured. She met Remilia's curious gaze - most creatures were fairly uncaring of their origins, with humans being a particular exception, but Remilia turned excessive amounts of energy to the purpose of finding their origins, and Patchouli thought she understood why. "You are unable to be content." Remilia scowled and looked away. "The only real similarity between you two is that you both like messing with people, but Flandre is unimaginably less cruel than you are. Two sides of a coin." Remilia smiled as Patchouli's thoughts strayed to a dangerous subject - two sides of a coin were, after all one object, not two.
"That's true. Flandre is typically content to simply kill or obliterate her enemies, while I prefer to hurt them. Fortunately, I can usually make that happen." She grinned nastily at Patchouli for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, it's that time again. Sorry, I'm going to go see how badly humans are going to do themselves in this time. Everyone's been getting so grouchy since we left." She smiled happily at the magician, and her body flickered into a vast swarm of bats that scattered out of the library. Patchouli sighed, shook her head, and reopened her book. There would be time to work things out later. Time, at least, was something she was not short of.
Votes are still tied. Votes will not be locked until ... :shrug: At least six tonight, probably later. Possibly sometime tomorrow.
- Location
- Germany
[X] Invite Remilia over so you can talk to her.
- [X] Make sure Ilya and Lulu stay with you.
- [X] Make sure Ilya and Lulu stay with you.
SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
I'd like to point out that Flandre can create clones and fully realized splinter personalities. So.... Maybe what we're looking at are the remnants of one insanely powerful vampire.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are locked. It'll be a couple hours before the update is up.
Party XVIII
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Go talk to:
- [X] Deis's group.
-- [X] Ask Deis about the strange girl that is inside of Ershin.
"Well, if you don't have anything you want to do except hang around with me …," you trail off, but Lulu simply flops into your lap and wraps her arms around your waist.
"Hey, it's supposed to be my turn to do that!" Lulu sticks her tongue out at Ilya, but her teasing turns to slight shock when you lean over to hug Ilya.
"There. Now, I can't just sit here with you two all night, you know. So - up, up. Let's go see how Deis is doing." Lulu pouts until you gently bop her nose. "She isn't any more hurtful than I am, Lulu; she just looks at things from a different perspective. And until recently, she didn't have her own body, so she's probably still acclimating to things." Ilya nods seriously.
"I haven't been able to pin her down to anything concrete, but I'm pretty sure she's older than Patchouli, at least, even if a lot of that time was spent as a trapped spirit, basically unable to affect her surroundings. But she was able to observe a lot through Ershin, and she is very intelligent. Knowing that you're important to Flan, I don't think she'd tease you and your family without a good reason." Lulu nods sullenly, and you pat her shoulder.
"If you don't want to meet her, I think I can find out where Agito and the others are." For a moment, it looks like she might accept the offer, but then she shakes her head.
"I'm sorry, Flan. I'll behave, it's just …." She frowns, frustrated.
"Jealous?" You glance at Ilya, but the younger mage nods.
"I don't want her to get in the way of Zest and Mama. Even knowing she doesn't mean anything doesn't really help, but …." She takes a deep breath as you finally get ready to leave the table. "I'll be good, I really will." You smile and hug her, and Ilya nods.
"And Deis is observant, so she'll be good about what she says, too." Lulu accepts Ilya's support as you walk toward the door to the ballroom.
"Besides, I'll try to steer the conversation to something a little less personal," you say as you lead the little procession around, keeping out of sight of Deis's table. Even Sella and Leysritt seem to understand that you're trying to be sneaky about being sneaky, but they aren't very good about keeping up with you without being obvious. Surprisingly, Satsuki is the only one of your followers who is good at it, although Ilya seems to be more out of practice than anything else. It doesn't take long before you're in position, and you advance on Deis's table from behind Ershin; it isn't until Tohsaka spoils the surprise by looking at you that the suit of armor seems to notice your presence. The helmet slams shut after a meeping yelp, but Ershin can't actually escape before you catch it.
"Hello, Ershin! Deis, good evening. Tohsaka, glad to see you're enjoying yourself." You smile at them before turning your attention to the armor.
"Hello, Flandre. Your dress is well-crafted." You stare at Ershin for a long moment, then look at Deis, but she simply shrugs. You let go of Ershin's arm and it immediately glides away from you, stopping when its parallel with Deis.
"So, Deis … when did you have time to have a child?" She stares at you for a moment, then shakes her head as Ilya snickers.
"You really don't recognize her?" You shrug as Tohsaka frowns at the two of you.
"I haven't gotten a good look at her … and you don't seem to want to talk to me, but I won't force that issue just yet." Deis watches you for a moment, then shrugs as well.
"Well, she should still thank you, so - Ershin, open up." The armor hesitates for a moment as it looks at you, then the helmet pops up to reveal a rather cute young girl with bright green eyes and short, messy blonde hair. She tries to lean back without going deeper into the armor - obviously worried about being trapped. You frown at her - something about her certainly feels familiar. "Go on, introduce yourself." You glance at Deis for a moment, then focus on the girl again. She hunches her shoulders.
"… Thank you. I'm - Sept. For now." She almost glares at you as she speaks - in a weird French dialect - and your eyes widen as you recognize her. Deis sighs as you shift your attention toward her once again, but you wave her off.
"Hello, Sept. I'm Flandre Scarlet - I don't remember if I properly introduced myself the last time we met." You respond in the French you know, and the girl's eyes widen in shock before she drops into the armor. You frown and look at Deis. "Er … what did happen?" She smiles and sighs in relief.
"You would have to ask Patchouli. And the Scripture itself is -"
"I still have it! It's me, so I still have it!" 'Sept' leaps back up, now speaking in Japanese. Her eyes start to glow blue, but Deis snaps her fingers, sending a sharp jolt through the armor to disrupt the girl's concentration.
"That's enough, Sept. We don't need a demonstration right now." The girl looks terribly hurt by Deis's interruption, and Deis gives you an exasperated look. "Let me explain things, alright?" She does wait for the girl to nod before turning back to you. "Thank you. Carrot? Good girl. As I was saying, the Scripture itself is … sort of coterminous with her existence. Patchouli started talking about 'wave function collapse' and then she gave me a few … rather lengthy … dissertations by some people named Kilinan and Rethis, or something like those names, and then a few more papers to help me understand those. Near as I can tell, there's some kind of effect where normally either the Scripture or the girl can exist, but not both, but by channeling her magic through Ershin, they can both exist until they run out of mana. The only problem is …." She looks almost sorrowfully at the girl, who cocks her head curiously. "She is … confused. Lost. And using that ability makes it worse." You restrain a shudder and merely nod politely.
"I don't like being cold, though. I like it when I'm warm, like this." Sept pats Ershin when she says 'cold' and her arm when she says 'warm'. "So I like it when Ershin helps me, because then I can be warm and safe at the same time!" Ershin laughs in response, and Sept smiles widely.
"I do have one more question," you say, and she peers at you after ducking into the armor. "Why aren't you wearing a nice dress?" Her dress isn't bad, of course - but it's a plain and simple garment. She nods.
"Because I don't have one."
"… Why don't you ask for one?" She stands up and grins.
"Because I don't want one!" Deis chuckles. The argument, of course, is quite sound, and you bow your head in defeat. You glance at Tohsaka, who just shrugs.
"I was interested until I learned she was a soul used by the Church in some kind of permanent miracle. Now I don't want to know much else." She sighs and looks around. "And … I know I already owe you - a lot, for a lot of things - but … do you think you could introduce me to that girl in black who was shooting those lasers? That was … very interesting." You cock your head to the side as you think.
What do you do?
[ ] Unfortunately, you don't know where she is - she may have left the party already.
[ ] Agree to introduce her to Marisa.
[ ] Explain what you know about the mini-hakkero and how she was using that to power her magic.
[ ] Ask if she wants to stay a while longer so she can get proper explanations from people about things.
[ ] Other?
- [X] Deis's group.
-- [X] Ask Deis about the strange girl that is inside of Ershin.
"Well, if you don't have anything you want to do except hang around with me …," you trail off, but Lulu simply flops into your lap and wraps her arms around your waist.
"Hey, it's supposed to be my turn to do that!" Lulu sticks her tongue out at Ilya, but her teasing turns to slight shock when you lean over to hug Ilya.
"There. Now, I can't just sit here with you two all night, you know. So - up, up. Let's go see how Deis is doing." Lulu pouts until you gently bop her nose. "She isn't any more hurtful than I am, Lulu; she just looks at things from a different perspective. And until recently, she didn't have her own body, so she's probably still acclimating to things." Ilya nods seriously.
"I haven't been able to pin her down to anything concrete, but I'm pretty sure she's older than Patchouli, at least, even if a lot of that time was spent as a trapped spirit, basically unable to affect her surroundings. But she was able to observe a lot through Ershin, and she is very intelligent. Knowing that you're important to Flan, I don't think she'd tease you and your family without a good reason." Lulu nods sullenly, and you pat her shoulder.
"If you don't want to meet her, I think I can find out where Agito and the others are." For a moment, it looks like she might accept the offer, but then she shakes her head.
"I'm sorry, Flan. I'll behave, it's just …." She frowns, frustrated.
"Jealous?" You glance at Ilya, but the younger mage nods.
"I don't want her to get in the way of Zest and Mama. Even knowing she doesn't mean anything doesn't really help, but …." She takes a deep breath as you finally get ready to leave the table. "I'll be good, I really will." You smile and hug her, and Ilya nods.
"And Deis is observant, so she'll be good about what she says, too." Lulu accepts Ilya's support as you walk toward the door to the ballroom.
"Besides, I'll try to steer the conversation to something a little less personal," you say as you lead the little procession around, keeping out of sight of Deis's table. Even Sella and Leysritt seem to understand that you're trying to be sneaky about being sneaky, but they aren't very good about keeping up with you without being obvious. Surprisingly, Satsuki is the only one of your followers who is good at it, although Ilya seems to be more out of practice than anything else. It doesn't take long before you're in position, and you advance on Deis's table from behind Ershin; it isn't until Tohsaka spoils the surprise by looking at you that the suit of armor seems to notice your presence. The helmet slams shut after a meeping yelp, but Ershin can't actually escape before you catch it.
"Hello, Ershin! Deis, good evening. Tohsaka, glad to see you're enjoying yourself." You smile at them before turning your attention to the armor.
"Hello, Flandre. Your dress is well-crafted." You stare at Ershin for a long moment, then look at Deis, but she simply shrugs. You let go of Ershin's arm and it immediately glides away from you, stopping when its parallel with Deis.
"So, Deis … when did you have time to have a child?" She stares at you for a moment, then shakes her head as Ilya snickers.
"You really don't recognize her?" You shrug as Tohsaka frowns at the two of you.
"I haven't gotten a good look at her … and you don't seem to want to talk to me, but I won't force that issue just yet." Deis watches you for a moment, then shrugs as well.
"Well, she should still thank you, so - Ershin, open up." The armor hesitates for a moment as it looks at you, then the helmet pops up to reveal a rather cute young girl with bright green eyes and short, messy blonde hair. She tries to lean back without going deeper into the armor - obviously worried about being trapped. You frown at her - something about her certainly feels familiar. "Go on, introduce yourself." You glance at Deis for a moment, then focus on the girl again. She hunches her shoulders.
"… Thank you. I'm - Sept. For now." She almost glares at you as she speaks - in a weird French dialect - and your eyes widen as you recognize her. Deis sighs as you shift your attention toward her once again, but you wave her off.
"Hello, Sept. I'm Flandre Scarlet - I don't remember if I properly introduced myself the last time we met." You respond in the French you know, and the girl's eyes widen in shock before she drops into the armor. You frown and look at Deis. "Er … what did happen?" She smiles and sighs in relief.
"You would have to ask Patchouli. And the Scripture itself is -"
"I still have it! It's me, so I still have it!" 'Sept' leaps back up, now speaking in Japanese. Her eyes start to glow blue, but Deis snaps her fingers, sending a sharp jolt through the armor to disrupt the girl's concentration.
"That's enough, Sept. We don't need a demonstration right now." The girl looks terribly hurt by Deis's interruption, and Deis gives you an exasperated look. "Let me explain things, alright?" She does wait for the girl to nod before turning back to you. "Thank you. Carrot? Good girl. As I was saying, the Scripture itself is … sort of coterminous with her existence. Patchouli started talking about 'wave function collapse' and then she gave me a few … rather lengthy … dissertations by some people named Kilinan and Rethis, or something like those names, and then a few more papers to help me understand those. Near as I can tell, there's some kind of effect where normally either the Scripture or the girl can exist, but not both, but by channeling her magic through Ershin, they can both exist until they run out of mana. The only problem is …." She looks almost sorrowfully at the girl, who cocks her head curiously. "She is … confused. Lost. And using that ability makes it worse." You restrain a shudder and merely nod politely.
"I don't like being cold, though. I like it when I'm warm, like this." Sept pats Ershin when she says 'cold' and her arm when she says 'warm'. "So I like it when Ershin helps me, because then I can be warm and safe at the same time!" Ershin laughs in response, and Sept smiles widely.
"I do have one more question," you say, and she peers at you after ducking into the armor. "Why aren't you wearing a nice dress?" Her dress isn't bad, of course - but it's a plain and simple garment. She nods.
"Because I don't have one."
"… Why don't you ask for one?" She stands up and grins.
"Because I don't want one!" Deis chuckles. The argument, of course, is quite sound, and you bow your head in defeat. You glance at Tohsaka, who just shrugs.
"I was interested until I learned she was a soul used by the Church in some kind of permanent miracle. Now I don't want to know much else." She sighs and looks around. "And … I know I already owe you - a lot, for a lot of things - but … do you think you could introduce me to that girl in black who was shooting those lasers? That was … very interesting." You cock your head to the side as you think.
What do you do?
[ ] Unfortunately, you don't know where she is - she may have left the party already.
[ ] Agree to introduce her to Marisa.
[ ] Explain what you know about the mini-hakkero and how she was using that to power her magic.
[ ] Ask if she wants to stay a while longer so she can get proper explanations from people about things.
[ ] Other?
[X] Agree to introduce her to Marisa.
Compared to one being who split itself into two immature halves.
Theres also the Loki/Odin alternative, given their thematics.
After all who would turn two small children and then just abandon them eh?
Compared to one being who split itself into two immature halves.
Theres also the Loki/Odin alternative, given their thematics.
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