Do You Want to Play a Game?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Sure, play a game or two.
You shrug and smile at your sister. "I guess we have a bit of time, sure. And, as both the instigator and the big sister, I suppose you have something in mind?" Giltless looks suddenly nervous again, and you wonder if you're making a mistake as Remilia grins.
"Of course! Come, come - we can't play anything in here, though." She leads the way through the castle, seeming to know it at least as well as you and Headless do, and takes you to the front door. She throws it open and clucks scoldingly at the lack of existence beyond the immediate grounds. "Well, this won't do at all, either." She takes a few steps out, right to the edge of existence, and then a world unfolds around the castle - almost literally. Just before she reaches the nothing that marks where your construct ends, rock churns into being, and beyond that grass and fields, and a forest past them, a town in the distance, and hills and mountains in the background, all except the initial rock springing from what came before like a pop-up book laid out in a line. Giltless makes an awed sound and looks around, although Headless seems more irritated by your sister's display of talent than anything else. When Giltless tries to rush forward, however, Remilia grabs her arm and holds her back. Before the child can become any more frightened, however, she snaps her fingers and taps Giltless's nose. "There is, of course, one more ingredient, and it is by far the most important." The temperature dives, from warm spring to chilly winter, and snow begins burbling into existence, spilling onto the new land and creating wonderful white world. Giltless squeals delightedly and runs out into the snow, slipping and stumbling until Headless catches up to her and starts showing her how to move in the shifting footing. You reach down to study the snow - it's ideal snow, that packs perfectly when you want it to, isn't too wet or too powdery … of course, that's to be expected, here, especially with your sister running the show. You sidle up to her and rest your head on her shoulder.
"… Why were you interested in the tower?" She turns her head slightly at your murmured question, surreptitiously glancing at the enormous crimson structure.
"It's not yours. It's hers, and I think its exterior is an indicator of her physical well-being. And as long as it remains unbroken, that which is you remains safe beneath it." You frown slightly as you consider her explanation, and she flicks your forehead with one finger before heading after Headless and Giltless.
"Ah! This is … this is … it's …." Remilia shakes her head at Giltless's attempted thanks and shrugs broadly.
"We're almost ready for the first game. We just need to make a costume change!" A heavy coat appears from nowhere and drapes itself over your face; you sputter and shake your head as you pull it away - it probably looks quite good on you, although you don't really see the point … but Headless and Giltless are putting on similar garments, so you roll your eyes and slip into it before turning to look at your sister. You blink and stare, dumbfounded, at the change she gets. Instead of winter wear, she has a highly formal outfit, quite fashionable, all in red and pink and black, complete with red sash and black almost-evening-gloves; even her eyes changed, from white sclera to red, and most obvious is the second set of wings below her normal ones. And on the whole, she looks sharp. She turns left and right before spreading her arms as Headless and Giltless approach. "Very final boss-ish, isn't it? Rather fetching, if a bit overdone … but I like it. So, the first game, I think, should be … a snowball fight." You blink.
"What, two on two? With you in that get-up?" Remilia laughs and shakes her head.
"Oh, no - I was thinking that, as befits my position as 'final boss,' that I could go against all of you." Headless covers her face with one mittened hand as Giltless looks at you, a little confused. You shake your head as your clones step out and stretch unnecessarily before adopting predatory stances.
"Hmm … six on one? I think we have a chance." Remilia laughs and bows. But it's only a chance - a lot depends on the rules ….
"Is … is that really alright?" You nod and pat Giltless's head.
"It is, it is. I don't lose, after all. I am completely unde-" You cough loudly, a feeble masking of your interruption.
"Reimu." Remilia scowls and puts her hands on her hips as you finish your coughing fit. "Sorry, sorry, something stuck in my throat," you respond innocently. Your sister stares at you suspiciously before harrumphing and turning back to Giltless; you stick your tongue out cheekily and Giltless giggles.
"As I was saying before I was … interrupted … here are my suggestions for the rules. Each team must be separated by at least ten meters - that means that no member of your team can be closer to me than ten meters. I may have two snowballs active at any one time, while each of you may only have a single active snowball at once. I need to be hit thirteen times - twice for each member of your party and once more to defeat me - while three hits will defeat any member of your party. No flight, no danmaku, and let's keep this at a reasonable level of strength and speed, hm? Any objections, suggestions, or other remarks?" You glance at Headless, the most likely to notice any glaring problems, but she simply shakes her head and crosses her arms. Remilia grins. "Excellent! Then, once we're the requisite distance apart, shall we begin?" Your team gets ready, although Giltless moves to be behind you and Headless. You pat her head as you toss your snowball up and down.
"Don't worry; you'll get the hang of throwing soon enough; just don't be hit and you'll be fine." She smiles at you, full of nervous energy - and just when Remilia reaches the ten-meter mark and you start to throw your snowball, two projectiles fling themselves out of the snow at her feet and hurtle toward you. You hear Giltless drop to the ground, but you're surprised enough that the other snowball smacks you right in the face. You start to glare at your sister - but it's not cheating, not by the rules she just laid out. Which doesn't stop her from being a dirty rotten cheater ….
The fight takes a long time to resolve, but you think it's mainly because your sister wasn't trying to win, just make the game a reasonable challenge. Just like with danmaku, she doesn't dart from side to side, or make other quick and jerky movements; instead, she glides, slowly and surely, and places herself so she just avoids the projectile. Of course, since she abides by the no flight and reasonable speed stipulations, she can't avoid every snowball. Curiously, your clones are the most effective … but then, they can coordinate their throws better than you, Headless, and Giltless can, so maybe it isn't so surprising. Headless is somewhat successful, too, charging forward to the minimum distance to unleash a point-blank throw that even your sister has trouble dodging, but then she often has to deal with Remilia's retaliatory attacks.
The fight finally ends with Headless and two of your clones out, and you and the remaining clone down to your last hit. Giltless had only been hit once, replicating her sister's charging attacks, although she had scored a hit on Remilia … and then slipped and would have been out if her sister hadn't jumped onto her to cover her. But eventually Remilia falls to the snow and returns to normal. Headless hurries to Giltless to make sure she's alright, but judging by the bubbly chatter you can hear, she's perfectly fine. You walk over to your sister and look down at her. She raises her hands and feebly waves them about; shaking your head, you grab her and pull her up.
"So what now?" She taps her lips.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps snow-forts? Or snow-men?"
"Can we play capture the flag again? That was really fun!" You look at Giltless as she rushes over excitedly, hands tapping together almost silently, then glance at your sister.
"Mm, with an extra person, though …." She blinks and cocks her head to the side as her expression falls. "Well, I mean - we could work with three teams, or two if we take out the clones, but that makes the balance all wrong. If we keep it at two teams, then whichever team has four people has an advantage over the other team. It's not that we can't play it, it's just …."
"It won't be nearly the same, and probably won't be as fun," Headless fills in for you. She hugs her sister from behind and gives you a piercing look. "But I'm sure that Flan will let you play with real people when she gets the chance." Giltless looks at you, but it's hard to tell if she thinks that Headless is just trying to make her feel better or if she doesn't want to get her hopes up.
"Well, it probably won't be soon, but with Satsuki, Meiling, Koakuma, Sella, and Leysritt, we could have two teams of three - and we could probably get some fairy maids involved, too! And you would be the one in charge, like when we played that game at the pool." She starts to smile when your sister harrumphs.
"And what are Sakuya and I, hm?" Giltless stares wide-eyed at Remilia.
"R-really? You'd want to play a game with us?"
"Of course! And I'm sure we could get a few more people - Marisa, for the chance to get a book or two from the library without having to fight Patchouli, and Patchouli to prevent that. Possibly Aya. And I'm sure we could get quite a few more people if we simply have a game-themed party." Giltless stares at her for a moment, and seems about to rush forward to give her a hug - but then she deflates.
"But … that's later, and not here, right?" Remilia nods gently, and Giltless takes a deep breath. After a few seconds she shakes herself and curtsies politely to your sister. "Um, thank you, Mi- um, Remilia. I … I did have a fun time. But, um, I'm … I'm a little tired, now. It was nice meeting you." She turns and scurries back toward the castle, leaving all three of you frowning after her. Headless stares worriedly after her, then nods at you and Remilia before heading after her sister.
"Did I perhaps do something wrong …?" You start to shrug, then decide against it and simply hug her instead. This is what you've missed for so long. It's … a shame that it took your sister being nice to Giltless to let you have it.
"Headless said she was worried about meeting you, so that may be it. I can ask her later about it." You squeeze her more tightly and bury your face in her neck; she leans back against you and you feel her fingertips stroking the top of your head. After a minute or two of just standing there, however, she shifts slightly - not enough to push you away, but enough to let you know that it's time to let go. She turns to face you, but … refuses to look at you. Maybe she feels guilty, or maybe she wants to go back to standing like that, but you can't tell from her expression; she controls herself too well.
"I'm afraid that tomorrow night we'll be leaving - I'll take you to Mid-Childa so you can finish your duties there. So you have only the rest of tonight and tomorrow to spend with Illyasviel before you have to leave her for a while. However, there is something else you need to take care of. We will be having a party when you return, and you have some ideas to take your friends to see Gensokyo. If you could let me know if you have any particular invitations you want sent out, and if you have decided on where you want to take your friends, I can get started on that. You don't have to get it done before leaving, but the earlier you let me know, the more likely it will be that things will go smoothly." You nod slowly, not quite unhappily. You … have been a little busy, and haven't gotten things done that you'd wanted to. "Then I suppose it's time to wake up." She snaps her fingers one more time.
What do you do?
[ ] Take a walk outside.
[ ] Wander through the library for a bit.
[ ] Go see Ilya immediately and make sure she's okay.
[ ] Find Deis and ask her what happened while you were gone.
[ ] Keep talking with Remilia.
- [ ] About Patchouli.
[ ] Invitations:
- [ ] No particular invitations.
- [ ] You'll get a list later.
- [ ] Hieda no Akyuu, the Chronicler of Gensokyo.
- [ ] Tohsaka Rin and her pet Archer.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Places to visit:
- [ ] You'll get a list later.
- [ ] Netherworld and Hakugyokurou.
- [ ] Eientei.
- [ ] Myouren Temple.
- [ ] Other?
DM Note: I'm sure you're imagining things. Also, the return of the dreaded separated vote! Invitations and Visitations will be counted separately from each other and from the vote on what to do next. Hakurei Shrine is already on the 'places to visit,' as is the Human Village - although if you want to pick someplace particular in the Village, that's fine. For invitations, you can be general ('someone that Deis might like to spend time with') or specific ('a cute little dimension-hopping vampire girl with gem-studded wings who's friends with an equally cute psychic ghost girl and everyone on their two spaceships'), although be reasonable - Flandre should have a reason for asking for a particular person/group/thing, so you can't just ask for something she isn't aware of. Some people might be getting invites even if you don't ask them, and you can invite people you expect to come (or at least get invited) anyway, such as Akyuu or Sanae, which would express an actual desire for that person to come and not just a form-letter invitation. Also, no sending of invitations to people from Mid-Childa - if you want to invite people from there, Flandre can go in person.
Please, no more than three suggestions for each, in order to keep things manageable.
You shrug and smile at your sister. "I guess we have a bit of time, sure. And, as both the instigator and the big sister, I suppose you have something in mind?" Giltless looks suddenly nervous again, and you wonder if you're making a mistake as Remilia grins.
"Of course! Come, come - we can't play anything in here, though." She leads the way through the castle, seeming to know it at least as well as you and Headless do, and takes you to the front door. She throws it open and clucks scoldingly at the lack of existence beyond the immediate grounds. "Well, this won't do at all, either." She takes a few steps out, right to the edge of existence, and then a world unfolds around the castle - almost literally. Just before she reaches the nothing that marks where your construct ends, rock churns into being, and beyond that grass and fields, and a forest past them, a town in the distance, and hills and mountains in the background, all except the initial rock springing from what came before like a pop-up book laid out in a line. Giltless makes an awed sound and looks around, although Headless seems more irritated by your sister's display of talent than anything else. When Giltless tries to rush forward, however, Remilia grabs her arm and holds her back. Before the child can become any more frightened, however, she snaps her fingers and taps Giltless's nose. "There is, of course, one more ingredient, and it is by far the most important." The temperature dives, from warm spring to chilly winter, and snow begins burbling into existence, spilling onto the new land and creating wonderful white world. Giltless squeals delightedly and runs out into the snow, slipping and stumbling until Headless catches up to her and starts showing her how to move in the shifting footing. You reach down to study the snow - it's ideal snow, that packs perfectly when you want it to, isn't too wet or too powdery … of course, that's to be expected, here, especially with your sister running the show. You sidle up to her and rest your head on her shoulder.
"… Why were you interested in the tower?" She turns her head slightly at your murmured question, surreptitiously glancing at the enormous crimson structure.
"It's not yours. It's hers, and I think its exterior is an indicator of her physical well-being. And as long as it remains unbroken, that which is you remains safe beneath it." You frown slightly as you consider her explanation, and she flicks your forehead with one finger before heading after Headless and Giltless.
"Ah! This is … this is … it's …." Remilia shakes her head at Giltless's attempted thanks and shrugs broadly.
"We're almost ready for the first game. We just need to make a costume change!" A heavy coat appears from nowhere and drapes itself over your face; you sputter and shake your head as you pull it away - it probably looks quite good on you, although you don't really see the point … but Headless and Giltless are putting on similar garments, so you roll your eyes and slip into it before turning to look at your sister. You blink and stare, dumbfounded, at the change she gets. Instead of winter wear, she has a highly formal outfit, quite fashionable, all in red and pink and black, complete with red sash and black almost-evening-gloves; even her eyes changed, from white sclera to red, and most obvious is the second set of wings below her normal ones. And on the whole, she looks sharp. She turns left and right before spreading her arms as Headless and Giltless approach. "Very final boss-ish, isn't it? Rather fetching, if a bit overdone … but I like it. So, the first game, I think, should be … a snowball fight." You blink.
"What, two on two? With you in that get-up?" Remilia laughs and shakes her head.
"Oh, no - I was thinking that, as befits my position as 'final boss,' that I could go against all of you." Headless covers her face with one mittened hand as Giltless looks at you, a little confused. You shake your head as your clones step out and stretch unnecessarily before adopting predatory stances.
"Hmm … six on one? I think we have a chance." Remilia laughs and bows. But it's only a chance - a lot depends on the rules ….
"Is … is that really alright?" You nod and pat Giltless's head.
"It is, it is. I don't lose, after all. I am completely unde-" You cough loudly, a feeble masking of your interruption.
"Reimu." Remilia scowls and puts her hands on her hips as you finish your coughing fit. "Sorry, sorry, something stuck in my throat," you respond innocently. Your sister stares at you suspiciously before harrumphing and turning back to Giltless; you stick your tongue out cheekily and Giltless giggles.
"As I was saying before I was … interrupted … here are my suggestions for the rules. Each team must be separated by at least ten meters - that means that no member of your team can be closer to me than ten meters. I may have two snowballs active at any one time, while each of you may only have a single active snowball at once. I need to be hit thirteen times - twice for each member of your party and once more to defeat me - while three hits will defeat any member of your party. No flight, no danmaku, and let's keep this at a reasonable level of strength and speed, hm? Any objections, suggestions, or other remarks?" You glance at Headless, the most likely to notice any glaring problems, but she simply shakes her head and crosses her arms. Remilia grins. "Excellent! Then, once we're the requisite distance apart, shall we begin?" Your team gets ready, although Giltless moves to be behind you and Headless. You pat her head as you toss your snowball up and down.
"Don't worry; you'll get the hang of throwing soon enough; just don't be hit and you'll be fine." She smiles at you, full of nervous energy - and just when Remilia reaches the ten-meter mark and you start to throw your snowball, two projectiles fling themselves out of the snow at her feet and hurtle toward you. You hear Giltless drop to the ground, but you're surprised enough that the other snowball smacks you right in the face. You start to glare at your sister - but it's not cheating, not by the rules she just laid out. Which doesn't stop her from being a dirty rotten cheater ….
The fight takes a long time to resolve, but you think it's mainly because your sister wasn't trying to win, just make the game a reasonable challenge. Just like with danmaku, she doesn't dart from side to side, or make other quick and jerky movements; instead, she glides, slowly and surely, and places herself so she just avoids the projectile. Of course, since she abides by the no flight and reasonable speed stipulations, she can't avoid every snowball. Curiously, your clones are the most effective … but then, they can coordinate their throws better than you, Headless, and Giltless can, so maybe it isn't so surprising. Headless is somewhat successful, too, charging forward to the minimum distance to unleash a point-blank throw that even your sister has trouble dodging, but then she often has to deal with Remilia's retaliatory attacks.
The fight finally ends with Headless and two of your clones out, and you and the remaining clone down to your last hit. Giltless had only been hit once, replicating her sister's charging attacks, although she had scored a hit on Remilia … and then slipped and would have been out if her sister hadn't jumped onto her to cover her. But eventually Remilia falls to the snow and returns to normal. Headless hurries to Giltless to make sure she's alright, but judging by the bubbly chatter you can hear, she's perfectly fine. You walk over to your sister and look down at her. She raises her hands and feebly waves them about; shaking your head, you grab her and pull her up.
"So what now?" She taps her lips.
"I'm not sure. Perhaps snow-forts? Or snow-men?"
"Can we play capture the flag again? That was really fun!" You look at Giltless as she rushes over excitedly, hands tapping together almost silently, then glance at your sister.
"Mm, with an extra person, though …." She blinks and cocks her head to the side as her expression falls. "Well, I mean - we could work with three teams, or two if we take out the clones, but that makes the balance all wrong. If we keep it at two teams, then whichever team has four people has an advantage over the other team. It's not that we can't play it, it's just …."
"It won't be nearly the same, and probably won't be as fun," Headless fills in for you. She hugs her sister from behind and gives you a piercing look. "But I'm sure that Flan will let you play with real people when she gets the chance." Giltless looks at you, but it's hard to tell if she thinks that Headless is just trying to make her feel better or if she doesn't want to get her hopes up.
"Well, it probably won't be soon, but with Satsuki, Meiling, Koakuma, Sella, and Leysritt, we could have two teams of three - and we could probably get some fairy maids involved, too! And you would be the one in charge, like when we played that game at the pool." She starts to smile when your sister harrumphs.
"And what are Sakuya and I, hm?" Giltless stares wide-eyed at Remilia.
"R-really? You'd want to play a game with us?"
"Of course! And I'm sure we could get a few more people - Marisa, for the chance to get a book or two from the library without having to fight Patchouli, and Patchouli to prevent that. Possibly Aya. And I'm sure we could get quite a few more people if we simply have a game-themed party." Giltless stares at her for a moment, and seems about to rush forward to give her a hug - but then she deflates.
"But … that's later, and not here, right?" Remilia nods gently, and Giltless takes a deep breath. After a few seconds she shakes herself and curtsies politely to your sister. "Um, thank you, Mi- um, Remilia. I … I did have a fun time. But, um, I'm … I'm a little tired, now. It was nice meeting you." She turns and scurries back toward the castle, leaving all three of you frowning after her. Headless stares worriedly after her, then nods at you and Remilia before heading after her sister.
"Did I perhaps do something wrong …?" You start to shrug, then decide against it and simply hug her instead. This is what you've missed for so long. It's … a shame that it took your sister being nice to Giltless to let you have it.
"Headless said she was worried about meeting you, so that may be it. I can ask her later about it." You squeeze her more tightly and bury your face in her neck; she leans back against you and you feel her fingertips stroking the top of your head. After a minute or two of just standing there, however, she shifts slightly - not enough to push you away, but enough to let you know that it's time to let go. She turns to face you, but … refuses to look at you. Maybe she feels guilty, or maybe she wants to go back to standing like that, but you can't tell from her expression; she controls herself too well.
"I'm afraid that tomorrow night we'll be leaving - I'll take you to Mid-Childa so you can finish your duties there. So you have only the rest of tonight and tomorrow to spend with Illyasviel before you have to leave her for a while. However, there is something else you need to take care of. We will be having a party when you return, and you have some ideas to take your friends to see Gensokyo. If you could let me know if you have any particular invitations you want sent out, and if you have decided on where you want to take your friends, I can get started on that. You don't have to get it done before leaving, but the earlier you let me know, the more likely it will be that things will go smoothly." You nod slowly, not quite unhappily. You … have been a little busy, and haven't gotten things done that you'd wanted to. "Then I suppose it's time to wake up." She snaps her fingers one more time.
What do you do?
[ ] Take a walk outside.
[ ] Wander through the library for a bit.
[ ] Go see Ilya immediately and make sure she's okay.
[ ] Find Deis and ask her what happened while you were gone.
[ ] Keep talking with Remilia.
- [ ] About Patchouli.
[ ] Invitations:
- [ ] No particular invitations.
- [ ] You'll get a list later.
- [ ] Hieda no Akyuu, the Chronicler of Gensokyo.
- [ ] Tohsaka Rin and her pet Archer.
- [ ] Other?
[ ] Places to visit:
- [ ] You'll get a list later.
- [ ] Netherworld and Hakugyokurou.
- [ ] Eientei.
- [ ] Myouren Temple.
- [ ] Other?
DM Note: I'm sure you're imagining things. Also, the return of the dreaded separated vote! Invitations and Visitations will be counted separately from each other and from the vote on what to do next. Hakurei Shrine is already on the 'places to visit,' as is the Human Village - although if you want to pick someplace particular in the Village, that's fine. For invitations, you can be general ('someone that Deis might like to spend time with') or specific ('a cute little dimension-hopping vampire girl with gem-studded wings who's friends with an equally cute psychic ghost girl and everyone on their two spaceships'), although be reasonable - Flandre should have a reason for asking for a particular person/group/thing, so you can't just ask for something she isn't aware of. Some people might be getting invites even if you don't ask them, and you can invite people you expect to come (or at least get invited) anyway, such as Akyuu or Sanae, which would express an actual desire for that person to come and not just a form-letter invitation. Also, no sending of invitations to people from Mid-Childa - if you want to invite people from there, Flandre can go in person.
Please, no more than three suggestions for each, in order to keep things manageable.
