A Conjuror's journey
Barnes
Laughing on the outside, laughing on the inside
- Location
- Definetly not my parent's basement
If we end up voting for only openly displaying Destruction spells, could Louise use Clairvoyance instead of Recall to find her preferred partner? There's a risk of someone else finding her first as she travels through the forest, but it'd be more subtle than teleporting.
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
In this situation specifically, yes. It isn't like you can't use it later, but for this vote it's intended to cheat by teleporting to the person you want as a partner.
Yeah, that'd work too. Clairvoyance isn't visible to anyone other than the caster, so nobody will know that you're using it. You're also correct about the risk as well.
- Location
- Vancouver
Could we write it off as Recall being her semblance if we pretend the destruction spells are just dust effects? I know clairvoyance is a thing, but there's a chance someone else could to get to us or them first so I don't want to take chances. Also Recall is pretty useful so it'd be nice if we didn't have to hide it, and it's not like there aren't semblances that do similar things.
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
You could and it would be easily believable, but are you sure you want to use the excuse of Semblance so early? There's a chance you'll need it later if you want to keep things a secret when you inevitably go chasing situations for shenanigans.
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Vicjer
The One Who Knows Less Than Nothing
- Location
- The Space Between Spaces
Yeah, I'd rather claim something like our healing spells as our semblance. That's much more likely to come up than Recall will be.
Hence my plan: call Tsun to us, while Hinata tracks down Vicky, and then they track us down. That way we've got both halves of our team partnered up with each other, and we've got a better shot at getting the whole team together.
Sure, there's still the chance of Tsun running into someone else (not Hinata, though, she'll be fine), or someone else finding Louise or Vicky before their intended partners find them, but the odds shouldn't be too bad .
Hence my plan: call Tsun to us, while Hinata tracks down Vicky, and then they track us down. That way we've got both halves of our team partnered up with each other, and we've got a better shot at getting the whole team together.
Sure, there's still the chance of Tsun running into someone else (not Hinata, though, she'll be fine), or someone else finding Louise or Vicky before their intended partners find them, but the odds shouldn't be too bad .
- Location
- Michigan
[X] Only use Destruction spells that can be passed off as Dust.
[X] Stay put and call Tsun to you.
-[X] Have Hinata track down Vicky, then meet up with you afterwards.
It'd probably be really funny to have Tsun be on someone else's team ("This is Tsun our deaf team-mate he... he doesn't really do much, just groan and occasionally walk into walls, but his semblance is awesome! He can take any injury and still be fine! I saw him get decapitated once. He got better though.) but I think he should probably stick with Louise.
We still need to ensure that Louise and Hinata/Vicky grab the same chess piece so Hinata can be our bodyguard and Vicky our social buffer but that'll be easier than the partnering part.
[X] Stay put and call Tsun to you.
-[X] Have Hinata track down Vicky, then meet up with you afterwards.
It'd probably be really funny to have Tsun be on someone else's team ("This is Tsun our deaf team-mate he... he doesn't really do much, just groan and occasionally walk into walls, but his semblance is awesome! He can take any injury and still be fine! I saw him get decapitated once. He got better though.) but I think he should probably stick with Louise.
We still need to ensure that Louise and Hinata/Vicky grab the same chess piece so Hinata can be our bodyguard and Vicky our social buffer but that'll be easier than the partnering part.
- Location
- Vancouver
Yeah, those are good points. Alright, I'll switch it over to trying to find Blake with Clairvoyance
[X] Only use Destruction spells that can be passed off as Dust.
[X] Track down Blackie through Clairvoyance
[X] Only use Destruction spells that can be passed off as Dust.
[X] Use Clairvoyance to find Hinata
[X] Use Clairvoyance to find Hinata
Barnes
Laughing on the outside, laughing on the inside
- Location
- Definetly not my parent's basement
Really enjoyed this last update, especially Louise's new ultra-great sword, which is a term that I've never heard before (apparently it's a Dark Sould thing?) but I love the idea of the smallest character getting the biggest weapon. And holy crap is training brutal when healing magic is involved! I wonder how Hunters and Huntresses will view Louise & friends pain tolerance?
I agree with @Vicjer's plan of calling Tsun, as despite the comedy potential anyone else partnering up with Tsun would be facing quite the disadvantage, especially if Louise is not on their team; Tsun's programming isn't really up to acting as Beacon student without Louise there to directly control him, is it? But I also agree with @Blueshift's reasoning that Louise may benefit from having an actual person be her partner. I think Hinata's bag of tricks edges out Blake in sheer versatility and usefulness and the heiresses have gotten along pretty well together, but I wouldn't be opposed to Louise making a new friends. Honestly, I think Louise could partner up a-okay with any of Team RWBY; Ruby with their shared fascination of weapon augmentations, Weiss as a fellow noble, Blake due to their prior interactions, and Yang due to her similarities with Vicky.
QM noted that there's no guarantee that everyone will pass the entrance exam (and there's no guarantee that Ozpin won't tweak the canon exam in response to Cynric's four enrollees), and I don't think it's be the worse thing it Tsun didn't make the cut if Louise finds a different partner. Worse comes to worse we could get him a job as a janitor/Louise's manservant or stuff him in a closet/under Louise's bunk.
Additionally, I think Blake has the least attachments to Remnant of all the canonical Team RWBY, so she may be a good potential candidate for Team Cynric to cultivate going forward.
I agree with @Vicjer's plan of calling Tsun, as despite the comedy potential anyone else partnering up with Tsun would be facing quite the disadvantage, especially if Louise is not on their team; Tsun's programming isn't really up to acting as Beacon student without Louise there to directly control him, is it? But I also agree with @Blueshift's reasoning that Louise may benefit from having an actual person be her partner. I think Hinata's bag of tricks edges out Blake in sheer versatility and usefulness and the heiresses have gotten along pretty well together, but I wouldn't be opposed to Louise making a new friends. Honestly, I think Louise could partner up a-okay with any of Team RWBY; Ruby with their shared fascination of weapon augmentations, Weiss as a fellow noble, Blake due to their prior interactions, and Yang due to her similarities with Vicky.
QM noted that there's no guarantee that everyone will pass the entrance exam (and there's no guarantee that Ozpin won't tweak the canon exam in response to Cynric's four enrollees), and I don't think it's be the worse thing it Tsun didn't make the cut if Louise finds a different partner. Worse comes to worse we could get him a job as a janitor/Louise's manservant or stuff him in a closet/under Louise's bunk.
Additionally, I think Blake has the least attachments to Remnant of all the canonical Team RWBY, so she may be a good potential candidate for Team Cynric to cultivate going forward.
The Emerald Forest
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
Unlike the rest of the prospective students, Vicky's team hadn't been dumb enough to let her or the others' weapons out of her sight and they were therefore the first out to the cliffs the next morning.
Or rather, that was the plan until they'd been rebuffed by a green haired man in disheveled clothes. His speech was rapid and ceaseless as he talked about the importance of fairness and surprise for the event, but he did praise their work ethic and initiative in waking up early to try discovering more about the initiation. She was sure that that was the only reason Louise returned to the locker room without making a fuss about it.
Still, it left her and her intended team with nothing to do other than watch the people around them chat and try to guess what the initiation would be like. If nothing else, they at least hashed out a basic plan while waiting. Hopefully it would be enough.
As their prep time drew to a close, she watched a blonde boy approach a pair of girls as they talked. The redhead seemed cheerful enough at his interruption in her conversation. The short white haired one on the other hand quickly grew furious and stomped her foot at something the boy said. His responding to her temper by brushing her off didn't help either and Vicky would have thought he'd even angered the redhead since she'd pinned him to a distant locker with her spear, but for the guilty apology she'd shouted across the room.
The redhead's raised voice made everyone else in the locker room look, which is how Yang spotted her team's hiding place between a set of lockers by the door. Dragging a girl in black and red, Yang grinned and waved excitedly. Vicky felt her lower half wave a pedipalp in return and she still didn't know whether to be embarrassed, proud, or concerned about that development.
Yang at least only paused for a second before finishing her trek and asking, "You guys ready for-"
"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff? Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." A familiar voice said from the intercom.
"Vicky, we're leaving, say goodbye to your... friend." Louise ordered with a sneer toward Yang's exposed abs, pulling Hinata by the hand as she marched out the door.
"Nicer than she seems, huh?" Yang asked, resting a hand on her hip.
"I'm sure she's not a bad person, right?" The black and red girl weakly defended as the pair followed Vicky out the door.
Unsure how to answer that correctly considering the prickly pinkette's record, the ex-super hero pretended not to hear the question. She might like the girl, but it was kind of a miracle Louise hadn't ended up labelled as a Villain on Earth Bet. It wasn't her fault and Vicky knew that she tried, but the pinkette just didn't have what would be considered a modern sense of morality.
"Right?!"
She ignored the concerned repeat just as hard as the first.
-------------------------------
"For years, you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin began once they were all on their platforms. "Toda-"
"Really? That idiot spent five minutes with his breastplate on backward." Louise cut him off, pointing toward the blonde boy in white armor.
Scowling, the headmistress replied, "While I have my doubts as well, it would behoove you not to interrupt the headmaster while he is speaking. For that matter, I don't recall accepting transcripts from you or several others here, young lady."
"It's fine, Glynda. I personally approved their enrollment."
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Goodwitch sighed, "Ozpin..."
"As I was saying." The grey haired man spoke over his underling. "Your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald forest."
When he didn't continue, Glynda reluctantly took her turn in what was likely a pre-written speech, "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... Today."
Rolling her eyes at the pitiful whine coming from Yang's sister, Louise shared a look with Hinata. She would send Tsun to find Vicky as soon as possible, but the shy girl was the one Louise felt most confident in partnering with. After all, the two of them had brought down almost all of the alien leadership back in X-com's realm.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin picked up the explanation, aborting a sip of his drink. As if spurred on by Ruby's whining, he quickly continued, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Rather than listen to the chattering of the other initiates, Louise quickly motioned for Hinata to lower her headband. If the old wizard wanted to play that way, then they'd just avoid eye contact with everyone!
She barely paid any attention to the rest of his words. All that mattered was that they were given free reign to use lethal force, the objective was to loot a temple at the Northern end of the forest, and they were going to be monitored. When he opened the floor for questions, Louise raised her hand and scowled as the idiot boy beside her nervously asked, "Yeah, um... sir-"
"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin ordered, blatantly ignoring them both.
"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." The boy blathered as the white haired girl on the end of the line was launched into the sky. More people began to launch as he fidgeted. "So this-"
Rather than let the worthless boy waste her chance, Louise raised her voice over him and asked, "What are the rules on eliminating the competition?"
"Define eliminating."
"Will I be disqualified if I kill or maim another team to take their relic?"
A moment passed where the man sipped at his drink before he replied, "Miss Valliere, I'm afraid that would be against the rules."
"But you said we were to defend the relic we gather as we return, that implies that somebody will be trying to take it." She reasoned, not at all bothered by the horrified looks sent her way by the human obstacles on either side of her. "In a real scenario like this, an enemy wouldn't hesitate to reclaim their objective from the enemy."
"True, I suppose you have a point." Ozpin admitted, drawing those same looks his way as he took another sip. Two more students were flung into the sky before he finished by saying, "But that would still be against the rules, so no."
Crossing her arms defiantly, she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Of course he wouldn't make it easy.
"Ow!" Vicky complained as her springboard ineffectually slammed into her underside. When it continued to do so in rapid succession, she threw up her arms and grumbled, "I get it, I get it."
While she walked over to the cliff's edge and began to climb down, the mechanism beneath them all apparently chose to make up for lost time by throwing the rest of them all at once. Most of the students managed to control their fall with some manner of confidence, but the blonde boy showed his uselessness again by flailing and screaming in a completely undignified manner. As if she hadn't heard the wizard's words, the redhead spun in the air and threw her spear at the boy.
Louise might have complained about that once upon a time, but now she simply held her tongue and smirked as she descended into the canopy. If the other girl wanted to remove herself from the equation by impaling the imbecile, then she would happily let her and accept the loss of both opponents.
Waiting until the last moment before impact, Louise used her armor's enchantment to cancel out her momentum and touched down effortlessly. If what Ozpin said was true and they were being watched, then she probably would need to refrain from using any obviously visible spells other than single hit elemental Destruction spells. Fireball and Ice Spear could be passed off as Dust use, but magic like Rune and Cloak spells would be noticeably different. By the same logic she obviously couldn't use Recall, Invisibility, Healing spells, Ward, Telekinesis, Levitation, or Illusions in general unless she was careful not to be caught. One or maybe even two similar ones could be claimed as a Semblance, but not all of them.
Clairvoyance though was perfectly acceptable since nobody else could see it.
Following the golden trail of light through the forest, Louise stared hard at the ground so as not to risk meeting anyone's eyes by accident. Gunshots slowly began to increase in frequency as she traveled and she had to ignore three people she'd run into before a low growl caught her attention.
Rather than look up to see the creature, she closed her eyes and leapt over the beast before sprinting off into the bushes. It took a few seconds for the thing to howl and give chase, letting her know it was one of those 'beowolf' creatures that Master Cynric had compared to werewolves. Three more howls answered and if werewolves were anything like Cattleya's werebear form, Louise didn't want any part of that nonsense.
Dashing across a small creek, she rolled under the pounce of another beowolf before gripping her wand-sword with a rising spin that unleashed a blast of Ice Wall. Not waiting to see if her attack had managed to trap the beast, she kept running with her eyes to the forest floor.
Five minutes later and she was starting to flag. Despite the training they'd done, she knew that she couldn't keep up the pace indefinitely. Her stamina just wasn't that great yet since she'd never actually needed to do something so strenuous as constant sprinting; either being able to hide, win, or Levitate to safety. Since she couldn't fly without giving that secret away and keeping her eyes closed meant she couldn't fight, there weren't many options. The Grimm didn't even have the decency to set off her skin-tingling Djinn-mod when they got close, the whore-sons.
Status: Tiring.
Magicka: (11900/12000)
Choose 1:
[] Stop running and fight.
[] Keep going as is, Hinata can't be too far away now.
[] Write in.
----------------
A/N:
Dark Souls just popularized the term, it's basically those game/anime swords that are not only up to double the length of a greatsword, but ridiculously wide and thick as well. I thought it would be a good fit for her since she has the strength and skill to use it effectively, aura to keep it from possibly straining the weak point that is the handle with it's weight, and can use it as a shield since she's so tiny! The last part gave me the idea to incorporate a gattai feature with her old sword.
Or rather, that was the plan until they'd been rebuffed by a green haired man in disheveled clothes. His speech was rapid and ceaseless as he talked about the importance of fairness and surprise for the event, but he did praise their work ethic and initiative in waking up early to try discovering more about the initiation. She was sure that that was the only reason Louise returned to the locker room without making a fuss about it.
Still, it left her and her intended team with nothing to do other than watch the people around them chat and try to guess what the initiation would be like. If nothing else, they at least hashed out a basic plan while waiting. Hopefully it would be enough.
As their prep time drew to a close, she watched a blonde boy approach a pair of girls as they talked. The redhead seemed cheerful enough at his interruption in her conversation. The short white haired one on the other hand quickly grew furious and stomped her foot at something the boy said. His responding to her temper by brushing her off didn't help either and Vicky would have thought he'd even angered the redhead since she'd pinned him to a distant locker with her spear, but for the guilty apology she'd shouted across the room.
The redhead's raised voice made everyone else in the locker room look, which is how Yang spotted her team's hiding place between a set of lockers by the door. Dragging a girl in black and red, Yang grinned and waved excitedly. Vicky felt her lower half wave a pedipalp in return and she still didn't know whether to be embarrassed, proud, or concerned about that development.
Yang at least only paused for a second before finishing her trek and asking, "You guys ready for-"
"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff? Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately." A familiar voice said from the intercom.
"Vicky, we're leaving, say goodbye to your... friend." Louise ordered with a sneer toward Yang's exposed abs, pulling Hinata by the hand as she marched out the door.
"Nicer than she seems, huh?" Yang asked, resting a hand on her hip.
"I'm sure she's not a bad person, right?" The black and red girl weakly defended as the pair followed Vicky out the door.
Unsure how to answer that correctly considering the prickly pinkette's record, the ex-super hero pretended not to hear the question. She might like the girl, but it was kind of a miracle Louise hadn't ended up labelled as a Villain on Earth Bet. It wasn't her fault and Vicky knew that she tried, but the pinkette just didn't have what would be considered a modern sense of morality.
"Right?!"
She ignored the concerned repeat just as hard as the first.
-------------------------------
"For years, you have trained to become warriors." Ozpin began once they were all on their platforms. "Toda-"
"Really? That idiot spent five minutes with his breastplate on backward." Louise cut him off, pointing toward the blonde boy in white armor.
Scowling, the headmistress replied, "While I have my doubts as well, it would behoove you not to interrupt the headmaster while he is speaking. For that matter, I don't recall accepting transcripts from you or several others here, young lady."
"It's fine, Glynda. I personally approved their enrollment."
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Goodwitch sighed, "Ozpin..."
"As I was saying." The grey haired man spoke over his underling. "Your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald forest."
When he didn't continue, Glynda reluctantly took her turn in what was likely a pre-written speech, "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... Today."
Rolling her eyes at the pitiful whine coming from Yang's sister, Louise shared a look with Hinata. She would send Tsun to find Vicky as soon as possible, but the shy girl was the one Louise felt most confident in partnering with. After all, the two of them had brought down almost all of the alien leadership back in X-com's realm.
"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin picked up the explanation, aborting a sip of his drink. As if spurred on by Ruby's whining, he quickly continued, "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."
Rather than listen to the chattering of the other initiates, Louise quickly motioned for Hinata to lower her headband. If the old wizard wanted to play that way, then they'd just avoid eye contact with everyone!
She barely paid any attention to the rest of his words. All that mattered was that they were given free reign to use lethal force, the objective was to loot a temple at the Northern end of the forest, and they were going to be monitored. When he opened the floor for questions, Louise raised her hand and scowled as the idiot boy beside her nervously asked, "Yeah, um... sir-"
"Good! Now, take your positions." Ozpin ordered, blatantly ignoring them both.
"Uh, sir? I've got, um... a question." The boy blathered as the white haired girl on the end of the line was launched into the sky. More people began to launch as he fidgeted. "So this-"
Rather than let the worthless boy waste her chance, Louise raised her voice over him and asked, "What are the rules on eliminating the competition?"
"Define eliminating."
"Will I be disqualified if I kill or maim another team to take their relic?"
A moment passed where the man sipped at his drink before he replied, "Miss Valliere, I'm afraid that would be against the rules."
"But you said we were to defend the relic we gather as we return, that implies that somebody will be trying to take it." She reasoned, not at all bothered by the horrified looks sent her way by the human obstacles on either side of her. "In a real scenario like this, an enemy wouldn't hesitate to reclaim their objective from the enemy."
"True, I suppose you have a point." Ozpin admitted, drawing those same looks his way as he took another sip. Two more students were flung into the sky before he finished by saying, "But that would still be against the rules, so no."
Crossing her arms defiantly, she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Of course he wouldn't make it easy.
"Ow!" Vicky complained as her springboard ineffectually slammed into her underside. When it continued to do so in rapid succession, she threw up her arms and grumbled, "I get it, I get it."
While she walked over to the cliff's edge and began to climb down, the mechanism beneath them all apparently chose to make up for lost time by throwing the rest of them all at once. Most of the students managed to control their fall with some manner of confidence, but the blonde boy showed his uselessness again by flailing and screaming in a completely undignified manner. As if she hadn't heard the wizard's words, the redhead spun in the air and threw her spear at the boy.
Louise might have complained about that once upon a time, but now she simply held her tongue and smirked as she descended into the canopy. If the other girl wanted to remove herself from the equation by impaling the imbecile, then she would happily let her and accept the loss of both opponents.
Waiting until the last moment before impact, Louise used her armor's enchantment to cancel out her momentum and touched down effortlessly. If what Ozpin said was true and they were being watched, then she probably would need to refrain from using any obviously visible spells other than single hit elemental Destruction spells. Fireball and Ice Spear could be passed off as Dust use, but magic like Rune and Cloak spells would be noticeably different. By the same logic she obviously couldn't use Recall, Invisibility, Healing spells, Ward, Telekinesis, Levitation, or Illusions in general unless she was careful not to be caught. One or maybe even two similar ones could be claimed as a Semblance, but not all of them.
Clairvoyance though was perfectly acceptable since nobody else could see it.
Following the golden trail of light through the forest, Louise stared hard at the ground so as not to risk meeting anyone's eyes by accident. Gunshots slowly began to increase in frequency as she traveled and she had to ignore three people she'd run into before a low growl caught her attention.
Rather than look up to see the creature, she closed her eyes and leapt over the beast before sprinting off into the bushes. It took a few seconds for the thing to howl and give chase, letting her know it was one of those 'beowolf' creatures that Master Cynric had compared to werewolves. Three more howls answered and if werewolves were anything like Cattleya's werebear form, Louise didn't want any part of that nonsense.
Dashing across a small creek, she rolled under the pounce of another beowolf before gripping her wand-sword with a rising spin that unleashed a blast of Ice Wall. Not waiting to see if her attack had managed to trap the beast, she kept running with her eyes to the forest floor.
Five minutes later and she was starting to flag. Despite the training they'd done, she knew that she couldn't keep up the pace indefinitely. Her stamina just wasn't that great yet since she'd never actually needed to do something so strenuous as constant sprinting; either being able to hide, win, or Levitate to safety. Since she couldn't fly without giving that secret away and keeping her eyes closed meant she couldn't fight, there weren't many options. The Grimm didn't even have the decency to set off her skin-tingling Djinn-mod when they got close, the whore-sons.
Status: Tiring.
Magicka: (11900/12000)
Choose 1:
[] Stop running and fight.
[] Keep going as is, Hinata can't be too far away now.
[] Write in.
----------------
A/N:
Dark Souls just popularized the term, it's basically those game/anime swords that are not only up to double the length of a greatsword, but ridiculously wide and thick as well. I thought it would be a good fit for her since she has the strength and skill to use it effectively, aura to keep it from possibly straining the weak point that is the handle with it's weight, and can use it as a shield since she's so tiny! The last part gave me the idea to incorporate a gattai feature with her old sword.
Last edited:
PieceThruWar
Not an eldritch abomination
- Location
- The Server Farm
Ha! I hope you got a screenshot, cause otherwise you look like a crazy person!
- Location
- canada
[X] Keep going as is, Hinata can't be too far away now.
No threat here is even worth a second's glance vs the importance of getting to Hinata. Because even if we don't meet up with others on the way to her, if Louise is too slow then someone else could meet Hinata instead, thus compounding the risk.
No threat here is even worth a second's glance vs the importance of getting to Hinata. Because even if we don't meet up with others on the way to her, if Louise is too slow then someone else could meet Hinata instead, thus compounding the risk.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
This is pretty funny.
We can sense others who aren't Grim through our skin, right? So we'd know if anyone is around before we open our eyes?
...does it count as an eye contact if we Blind them?
- Location
- Budget Quota Hell
I gotta say, we've made some questionable decisions in this quest, but I'm legitimately very happy with how Louise turned out. Kudos, SV. Kudooos.