Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
[X] Accept Ginga's offer and watch the interviews.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
... I have no idea why I keep forgetting to do this :/
EDIT: Votes are locked.
... I have no idea why I keep forgetting to do this :/
EDIT: Votes are locked.
Last edited:
Wasting Time Watching Television
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Accept Ginga's offer and watch the interviews.
"Hmm … well, if it's not too much trouble, sure. Thank you." You hold a half-bow toward Ginga for several seconds. She smiles and nods her head.
"Alright, I'll go get that set up. Did you want to watch them anywhere in particular?" You shake your head.
"Wherever I'm out of the way is fine." Ginga nods.
"Alright. I'll be back in a couple minutes." She gets up and walks to the terminal in the wall, leaving you and Cinque alone. Cinque leans forward uncomfortably and looks at you.
"… You haven't asked about it," she says. You turn your head to meet her eye, holding her gaze for several seconds, then shrug.
"If it were something really important, you or Ginga would have made sure I knew by now. Since you haven't, that means it's something that might or might not be important. Either way, I'll find out what it is eventually. So there's no sense bothering someone who doesn't like me." Cinque stares at you for several seconds, then looks down at the table. She's definitely uncomfortable with the situation, but if she's not going to press her sister to tell you - or just tell you herself - it must not be particularly important. Either that, or she's willing to see how far you can throw Nove if it does turn out to be something you consider important. You look over at Ginga, but from where you're sitting you can't see what she's doing. Another minute passes before she pumps her arm victoriously and turns back to you. Seeing you already watching her, she waves you over.
"Alright, so he's done a couple hundred interviews that the Bureau has recorded," she begins as she leads you out of the cafeteria. "Most are pretty short, less than ten minutes, and I think the longest one is half an hour." You nod and she guides you into an unused room with a large 'U'-shaped table. She keeps the lights dim, and when you sit down in the middle of one of the table's arms, she activates a screen on the opposite wall before handing you a small device. "Just a remote for this room. Press this button if you want to pause the current interview, and this to start it; that's rewind, fast forward, and that's skip. Any questions?" You look at the remote. Those two are ….
"These are for sound control?" You point out the two buttons and Ginga nods. "Okay! I think I'm fine for now, then."
"Alright. I'll be somewhere around the facility if you need anything." She starts to walk out.
"Ginga," you say, and she turns around. You give her a sweet smile. "Thank you, Ginga." She stares at you for a moment, then smiles back.
"You're welcome, Flandre." She closes the door when she leaves and you start the recordings.
The recordings start with a date and the name of the interviewed individual, and while you don't actually know what the 'current year' is, you can tell from the changes in Korosh's appearance that he's been doing this for several years, at least - his grooming improves, and his manner becomes more suave and less blunt and heavy-handed. Something else that quickly becomes apparent is that the Bureau doesn't actually have all his interviews, as the dates are occasionally irregular and he refers to interviews that you don't see. His earlier interviews also have him being less sure of himself, and he 'loses' the interviews with decreasing frequency as time goes on. He tends to lose rather gracefully, although when facing a personality like his own a loss drives him to the same exasperation and outrage that he drives others to.
His opinions are rather clear, at least early on; as time goes on, his reduced directness makes it difficult to tell if and how they changed. Three traits seem to define his interactions with his 'guests'. First, he believes in an absolute rule of law - there are no extenuating circumstances for anyone. All that matters is whether or not the individual or group is, in fact, guilty of the crime. Relatedly, his thoughts on judicial sentencing is that it should be less variable and harsher in general. Second, he believes that Mid-Childa should greatly industrialize itself, relying more on machines and semi-Intelligent Devices to run things instead of the current focus on humans. And while there are concerns that such a path would lead Mid-Childa to a path of pollution and self-destruction, he believes that current magical and technological advances are enough to keep that in check. And, finally, he believes that any government in which the military - including former members of the upper officer corps - holds any kind of power is one that is doomed tragedy. While he may or may not be correct, you find his reasoning to be … flimsy, at best: the nature of the mind of an individual who is willing to fight his fellow humans is such that they are far too 'goal-oriented' and not 'objective' enough to successfully run a functional government.
Some of his interviews are evenly-fought contests, and others have one side or the other run the loser into the ground. One amusing interview is with Admiral Lindy Harlaown; she deftly parries every attack he makes, always with a smile on her face, and manages to pull a win by forcing him to drink green tea with rather a lot of cubes of sugar. His expression is quite amusing as he tries to swallow it.
You pause the recordings between interviews and stretch. On the one hand, you've only watched a small part of the interviews, and they're all older, so he could have changed. On the other hand, based on his interview with Auris, he doesn't seem to have changed much, if at all, and he's certainly callous, arrogant, and clever. Depending on how feels about you, and what he believes about you, an interview might be tolerable - he can be charming and personable, after all … or it might be that he doesn't like you and you'll be wanting to flay him alive after fifteen seconds.
What do you do?
[ ] Keep watching the interviews.
[ ] Take a nap until Satsuki wakes up.
- [ ] See about doing a trial run of a game of her choice.
- - [ ] Try to get the others involved.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: It's mid-afternoonish.
"Hmm … well, if it's not too much trouble, sure. Thank you." You hold a half-bow toward Ginga for several seconds. She smiles and nods her head.
"Alright, I'll go get that set up. Did you want to watch them anywhere in particular?" You shake your head.
"Wherever I'm out of the way is fine." Ginga nods.
"Alright. I'll be back in a couple minutes." She gets up and walks to the terminal in the wall, leaving you and Cinque alone. Cinque leans forward uncomfortably and looks at you.
"… You haven't asked about it," she says. You turn your head to meet her eye, holding her gaze for several seconds, then shrug.
"If it were something really important, you or Ginga would have made sure I knew by now. Since you haven't, that means it's something that might or might not be important. Either way, I'll find out what it is eventually. So there's no sense bothering someone who doesn't like me." Cinque stares at you for several seconds, then looks down at the table. She's definitely uncomfortable with the situation, but if she's not going to press her sister to tell you - or just tell you herself - it must not be particularly important. Either that, or she's willing to see how far you can throw Nove if it does turn out to be something you consider important. You look over at Ginga, but from where you're sitting you can't see what she's doing. Another minute passes before she pumps her arm victoriously and turns back to you. Seeing you already watching her, she waves you over.
"Alright, so he's done a couple hundred interviews that the Bureau has recorded," she begins as she leads you out of the cafeteria. "Most are pretty short, less than ten minutes, and I think the longest one is half an hour." You nod and she guides you into an unused room with a large 'U'-shaped table. She keeps the lights dim, and when you sit down in the middle of one of the table's arms, she activates a screen on the opposite wall before handing you a small device. "Just a remote for this room. Press this button if you want to pause the current interview, and this to start it; that's rewind, fast forward, and that's skip. Any questions?" You look at the remote. Those two are ….
"These are for sound control?" You point out the two buttons and Ginga nods. "Okay! I think I'm fine for now, then."
"Alright. I'll be somewhere around the facility if you need anything." She starts to walk out.
"Ginga," you say, and she turns around. You give her a sweet smile. "Thank you, Ginga." She stares at you for a moment, then smiles back.
"You're welcome, Flandre." She closes the door when she leaves and you start the recordings.
The recordings start with a date and the name of the interviewed individual, and while you don't actually know what the 'current year' is, you can tell from the changes in Korosh's appearance that he's been doing this for several years, at least - his grooming improves, and his manner becomes more suave and less blunt and heavy-handed. Something else that quickly becomes apparent is that the Bureau doesn't actually have all his interviews, as the dates are occasionally irregular and he refers to interviews that you don't see. His earlier interviews also have him being less sure of himself, and he 'loses' the interviews with decreasing frequency as time goes on. He tends to lose rather gracefully, although when facing a personality like his own a loss drives him to the same exasperation and outrage that he drives others to.
His opinions are rather clear, at least early on; as time goes on, his reduced directness makes it difficult to tell if and how they changed. Three traits seem to define his interactions with his 'guests'. First, he believes in an absolute rule of law - there are no extenuating circumstances for anyone. All that matters is whether or not the individual or group is, in fact, guilty of the crime. Relatedly, his thoughts on judicial sentencing is that it should be less variable and harsher in general. Second, he believes that Mid-Childa should greatly industrialize itself, relying more on machines and semi-Intelligent Devices to run things instead of the current focus on humans. And while there are concerns that such a path would lead Mid-Childa to a path of pollution and self-destruction, he believes that current magical and technological advances are enough to keep that in check. And, finally, he believes that any government in which the military - including former members of the upper officer corps - holds any kind of power is one that is doomed tragedy. While he may or may not be correct, you find his reasoning to be … flimsy, at best: the nature of the mind of an individual who is willing to fight his fellow humans is such that they are far too 'goal-oriented' and not 'objective' enough to successfully run a functional government.
Some of his interviews are evenly-fought contests, and others have one side or the other run the loser into the ground. One amusing interview is with Admiral Lindy Harlaown; she deftly parries every attack he makes, always with a smile on her face, and manages to pull a win by forcing him to drink green tea with rather a lot of cubes of sugar. His expression is quite amusing as he tries to swallow it.
You pause the recordings between interviews and stretch. On the one hand, you've only watched a small part of the interviews, and they're all older, so he could have changed. On the other hand, based on his interview with Auris, he doesn't seem to have changed much, if at all, and he's certainly callous, arrogant, and clever. Depending on how feels about you, and what he believes about you, an interview might be tolerable - he can be charming and personable, after all … or it might be that he doesn't like you and you'll be wanting to flay him alive after fifteen seconds.
What do you do?
[ ] Keep watching the interviews.
[ ] Take a nap until Satsuki wakes up.
- [ ] See about doing a trial run of a game of her choice.
- - [ ] Try to get the others involved.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: It's mid-afternoonish.
Sinsystems
Patron Librarian
[X] Keep watching the interviews.
-[X] Skip ahead to around the time you first showed up in this dimension.
-[X] Skip ahead to around the time you first showed up in this dimension.
Kinda now want to use him to test ourselves in debates, try surpass the admirals skill at it at least.
[X] Keep watching the interviews.
-[X] Skip ahead to around the time you first showed up in this dimension.
No doubt he want to make the Bureau look bad. It just what kind of knowledge he seek from Flan?
[X] Take a nap until Satsuki wakes up.
- [X] See about doing a trial run of a game of her choice.
- - [X] Try to get the others involved.
Remilia's the one skilled in politics. Flandre is kinda too direct for subtleties, I think.
Until now! Our time will come and we will make remi proud of our political elegance!
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
First Impressions
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Remilia hung in the air over the city, great wings beating slowly, and frowned down at the earth. This was the place she would find something she would come to treasure … something that her sister would loathe. The apparent contradiction seemed to be what had drawn her here - how could she treasure something Flandre despised? Curiosity drove her, more than anything else. Certainly, it was no desire for expansion … while the land of the Swiss was the easiest area for her to expand into, it was full of insolent, insular entities that she would have to browbeat or eliminate in order to increase her influence, and that would cause a fuss. Besides, they currently served as a buffer zone between her and the First. Her frown turned to a scowl as she studied the city - and the army sprawled across it. They would come to grief soon enough, as likely as not, but right now they were simply irritating.
Motion far below attracted her gaze. Not many moved at night, particularly with such furtiveness, and she allowed herself to drift lower as the dirty girl crept clumsily along the road. Then a squad of soldiers began fussing, and the girl scurried into the brush down the way. Amused, Remilia dropped, transforming herself into a small bat as she fell, and landed daintily on a branch overhanging the road.
"Damned Swiss. Can't even keep track of a little girl!" Another soldier rapped his comrade's head.
"Don't care to, you mean. She's a witch-girl, remember?" He spat at the supposed naïveté of the locals, and Remilia turned her head to look at the filthy child who shivered in the dirt, arm clamped over her mouth. Her body shook in a series of coughs, muffled by the arm, and Remilia cast a general scrying at her. Indeed, she wasn't human … and a second array showed that if she continued on this path, she would die. A third indicated that she was linked to whatever treasure Remilia find - so she swooped off the branch and toward the girl. She landed in the girl's hair and, ignoring the feeble attempts to swat her, managed to tangle herself in the long, matted tresses. And then, squeaking loudly, she 'tried' to fly off. After a few seconds, the girl couldn't help but whimper at the pain, and they weren't so far that the soldiers couldn't hear once she moved her arm to use both hands to try and remove Remilia.
"There you are, little city-girl! Fell off the path, did you? Come, come, let's get you back inside, so we can go back to bed, hm?" Finally discovered, the girl finally spoke, a thin, raspy voice … full of condemnation and bilious insults. That lasted for all of ten seconds before she fell against him, victim of a severe coughing fit, and the soldier clucked his tongue loudly. "Can't even take care of your hair, Demoiselle? Adam, come help get this thing out of here." Another soldier gently unraveled the twisted knots of hair that Remilia had tangled around herself as the first soldier held the shaking, coughing girl - and when the bat was free from her hair, she simply collapsed, unable to hold herself upright even with the soldier's help. Remilia flew away, but turned back to follow the soldiers as they carried the girl back toward the city, eventually ensconcing her in a small carriage. Remilia followed the vehicle through the city as it slowly trudged on, the horses ambivalent about the poor lighting and wanting little else but to return to their shelter. Eventually it stopped at a modestly large building … one that seemed to have seen fighting recently. The inhabitants - the girl, two soldiers, and an officer - left the carriage, letting the coachman drive it back to the stable, and approached the home. One of the soldiers pounded on the door, and then they let themselves in. The other soldier took the girl deeper into the house, but the officer and the door-knocker waited in the entry. Invisible, Remilia flew inside and settled on a desk to listen. A middle-aged woman irritably stomped into the entry, but paled when she saw that not merely a soldier, but an officer waited for her.
"Ah, so good of you to see what is the matter. Madame, we have caught your charge for you. Again. She is still filthy, still sickly, still underfed. If you cannot - or will not - uphold the duty you were assigned - to keep track a single sheltered girl - then you will be punished for wasting military resources and your family will lose its privileges. There will be no more warnings." The woman started to respond, but paled further and swallowed her words when the officer put his hand on his sword. "You understand? I am tired of having my men woken up to chase after a little girl. I do not care if you think she is born of the Devil himself; a nurse was required, you agreed to the position, and so you will do your job." The woman nodded jerkily, fear and fury warring beneath the rigid mask of her face, and Remilia waited patiently for the soldiers to leave. Within a minute, the other soldier came down and they did … and so did the woman, withdrawing back to her own chambers. Remilia flew through the home, and when she found the girl's room she shifted into a misty form to slip under the door before returning to the bat shape. The girl's window was shut tight, and she squeaked. The figure on the bed twisted to face her.
"… You. That … damn bat …." The girl coughed and sat up before chuckling darkly. "Light … light is …." Remilia watched as trembling fingers sought out a small oil lamp - and without any material aid, it flared to life, revealing the girl's face twisted in anger. "There you are. Hehe. I'll kill you now." Remilia landed on a short wardrobe as the girl's quivering fingers pressed against each other. A spark of blue light whipped across the room, striking her in the neck, and she regarded the girl for a moment before revealing herself in her true form. The girl's eyes widened.
"… You know, if I had been nothing more than a mundane bat, that might have actually killed me," she said, adopting the local dialect smoothly. She was, however, not prepared for the girl to rush forward and throw her arms around her in frantic, desperate joy.
"It worked! I … I didn't think it would work! Thank you, thank you!" Confused, Remilia let the girl sob against her chest for a moment before gently pushing her away.
"… For what?" The girl's expression froze in shock.
"… You … you didn't come to be my familiar?" Remilia stared at her for a moment before shaking her head, and the girl's strength failed completely. All that kept her from falling in a heap on the floor was Remilia's own grip on the thin shoulder. Still curious, still seeking that which she would treasure, Remilia carried the broken child to her bed as footsteps sounded in the hall. The door opened abruptly and Remilia turned to face the woman, eyes gleaming red.
"Return to your room. In the morning, begin treating this girl properly." The woman stared at her for a moment, then nodded once and withdrew. The compulsion, placed as it was on such a weak-willed individual, would last for years. Remilia turned back to the girl and rapped her knuckles against the girl's forehead. Emptying amethyst eyes focused blearily on her. "Why don't you explain what is going on? What is so important that a child like yourself would try to escape out of the city, much less try summoning a familiar?"
The girl's name was Patchouli, and she had haltingly explained her circumstances. How her family, fairly weak for magicians but of a long line, had been one of the patrician families of the city. How, when revolutionary fervor swept the city, her home had been one of the few places of bloodshed … and how she had barricaded herself in the family library for almost a month. How she had desperately cast half-remembered spells to summon familiars during that time. And how, when the French came, one of their leaders had dismissed her protections effortlessly, rendered her incapable of fighting back, and stolen her most treasured possession - a grimoire that had been passed through her family, that allowed a skilled and powerful enough user to make the leap to a true, complete magician. For that single tome, she had tried to escape her home-turned-prison, had ventured, alone, farther from the place of her birth than she had ever gone in her life, under any circumstances. And then, exhausted and weak, she had collapsed into sleep.
Remilia landed and walked into Patchouli's home. She had the grimoire - had read it as she flew back to the city. It was nothing she could use, not without a great deal of effort, and would grant her little … and what it would grant was not worth the price she would have to pay. What, then, was the treasure? She looked at the tome, then looked up, as if peering through the ceiling and floor to stare at the sleeping girl. Nodding to herself, she silently walked up the stairs to the girl's room. There, she left the grimoire.
"What were you dreaming about?" Remilia opened her eyes to look at the magician sitting against her. Though her back was to her, she knew her friend had a slight smile on her face, as she always did when she found the vampire 'sleeping' in the library.
"I wasn't dreaming. I was simply remembering the first time we met." Patchouli turned away from her book to look at Remilia, a rare smile of pleasure on her face.
"… I remember. It was -!" Far too quickly for the magician to react, Remilia reached out and pulled her down, wrapping her wings around to shield them from view. The book fell to the floor.
"Not now, Pache. There are children watching." Her wings unfurled and she gave the magician a delicate kiss on the cheek, then quickly undid one of the ribbon charms in her hair. A red one, of course. She wrapped it around her finger and kissed it, then slithered away from the couch, waving her finger. "I'm sure you know what you need to do to get this back," she said temptingly, then fell away into a swarm of beribboned bats. Patchouli still lay on the couch, emotions bubbling within her chest. How would she punish her familiar and her apprentice?
Motion far below attracted her gaze. Not many moved at night, particularly with such furtiveness, and she allowed herself to drift lower as the dirty girl crept clumsily along the road. Then a squad of soldiers began fussing, and the girl scurried into the brush down the way. Amused, Remilia dropped, transforming herself into a small bat as she fell, and landed daintily on a branch overhanging the road.
"Damned Swiss. Can't even keep track of a little girl!" Another soldier rapped his comrade's head.
"Don't care to, you mean. She's a witch-girl, remember?" He spat at the supposed naïveté of the locals, and Remilia turned her head to look at the filthy child who shivered in the dirt, arm clamped over her mouth. Her body shook in a series of coughs, muffled by the arm, and Remilia cast a general scrying at her. Indeed, she wasn't human … and a second array showed that if she continued on this path, she would die. A third indicated that she was linked to whatever treasure Remilia find - so she swooped off the branch and toward the girl. She landed in the girl's hair and, ignoring the feeble attempts to swat her, managed to tangle herself in the long, matted tresses. And then, squeaking loudly, she 'tried' to fly off. After a few seconds, the girl couldn't help but whimper at the pain, and they weren't so far that the soldiers couldn't hear once she moved her arm to use both hands to try and remove Remilia.
"There you are, little city-girl! Fell off the path, did you? Come, come, let's get you back inside, so we can go back to bed, hm?" Finally discovered, the girl finally spoke, a thin, raspy voice … full of condemnation and bilious insults. That lasted for all of ten seconds before she fell against him, victim of a severe coughing fit, and the soldier clucked his tongue loudly. "Can't even take care of your hair, Demoiselle? Adam, come help get this thing out of here." Another soldier gently unraveled the twisted knots of hair that Remilia had tangled around herself as the first soldier held the shaking, coughing girl - and when the bat was free from her hair, she simply collapsed, unable to hold herself upright even with the soldier's help. Remilia flew away, but turned back to follow the soldiers as they carried the girl back toward the city, eventually ensconcing her in a small carriage. Remilia followed the vehicle through the city as it slowly trudged on, the horses ambivalent about the poor lighting and wanting little else but to return to their shelter. Eventually it stopped at a modestly large building … one that seemed to have seen fighting recently. The inhabitants - the girl, two soldiers, and an officer - left the carriage, letting the coachman drive it back to the stable, and approached the home. One of the soldiers pounded on the door, and then they let themselves in. The other soldier took the girl deeper into the house, but the officer and the door-knocker waited in the entry. Invisible, Remilia flew inside and settled on a desk to listen. A middle-aged woman irritably stomped into the entry, but paled when she saw that not merely a soldier, but an officer waited for her.
"Ah, so good of you to see what is the matter. Madame, we have caught your charge for you. Again. She is still filthy, still sickly, still underfed. If you cannot - or will not - uphold the duty you were assigned - to keep track a single sheltered girl - then you will be punished for wasting military resources and your family will lose its privileges. There will be no more warnings." The woman started to respond, but paled further and swallowed her words when the officer put his hand on his sword. "You understand? I am tired of having my men woken up to chase after a little girl. I do not care if you think she is born of the Devil himself; a nurse was required, you agreed to the position, and so you will do your job." The woman nodded jerkily, fear and fury warring beneath the rigid mask of her face, and Remilia waited patiently for the soldiers to leave. Within a minute, the other soldier came down and they did … and so did the woman, withdrawing back to her own chambers. Remilia flew through the home, and when she found the girl's room she shifted into a misty form to slip under the door before returning to the bat shape. The girl's window was shut tight, and she squeaked. The figure on the bed twisted to face her.
"… You. That … damn bat …." The girl coughed and sat up before chuckling darkly. "Light … light is …." Remilia watched as trembling fingers sought out a small oil lamp - and without any material aid, it flared to life, revealing the girl's face twisted in anger. "There you are. Hehe. I'll kill you now." Remilia landed on a short wardrobe as the girl's quivering fingers pressed against each other. A spark of blue light whipped across the room, striking her in the neck, and she regarded the girl for a moment before revealing herself in her true form. The girl's eyes widened.
"… You know, if I had been nothing more than a mundane bat, that might have actually killed me," she said, adopting the local dialect smoothly. She was, however, not prepared for the girl to rush forward and throw her arms around her in frantic, desperate joy.
"It worked! I … I didn't think it would work! Thank you, thank you!" Confused, Remilia let the girl sob against her chest for a moment before gently pushing her away.
"… For what?" The girl's expression froze in shock.
"… You … you didn't come to be my familiar?" Remilia stared at her for a moment before shaking her head, and the girl's strength failed completely. All that kept her from falling in a heap on the floor was Remilia's own grip on the thin shoulder. Still curious, still seeking that which she would treasure, Remilia carried the broken child to her bed as footsteps sounded in the hall. The door opened abruptly and Remilia turned to face the woman, eyes gleaming red.
"Return to your room. In the morning, begin treating this girl properly." The woman stared at her for a moment, then nodded once and withdrew. The compulsion, placed as it was on such a weak-willed individual, would last for years. Remilia turned back to the girl and rapped her knuckles against the girl's forehead. Emptying amethyst eyes focused blearily on her. "Why don't you explain what is going on? What is so important that a child like yourself would try to escape out of the city, much less try summoning a familiar?"
The girl's name was Patchouli, and she had haltingly explained her circumstances. How her family, fairly weak for magicians but of a long line, had been one of the patrician families of the city. How, when revolutionary fervor swept the city, her home had been one of the few places of bloodshed … and how she had barricaded herself in the family library for almost a month. How she had desperately cast half-remembered spells to summon familiars during that time. And how, when the French came, one of their leaders had dismissed her protections effortlessly, rendered her incapable of fighting back, and stolen her most treasured possession - a grimoire that had been passed through her family, that allowed a skilled and powerful enough user to make the leap to a true, complete magician. For that single tome, she had tried to escape her home-turned-prison, had ventured, alone, farther from the place of her birth than she had ever gone in her life, under any circumstances. And then, exhausted and weak, she had collapsed into sleep.
Remilia landed and walked into Patchouli's home. She had the grimoire - had read it as she flew back to the city. It was nothing she could use, not without a great deal of effort, and would grant her little … and what it would grant was not worth the price she would have to pay. What, then, was the treasure? She looked at the tome, then looked up, as if peering through the ceiling and floor to stare at the sleeping girl. Nodding to herself, she silently walked up the stairs to the girl's room. There, she left the grimoire.
"What were you dreaming about?" Remilia opened her eyes to look at the magician sitting against her. Though her back was to her, she knew her friend had a slight smile on her face, as she always did when she found the vampire 'sleeping' in the library.
"I wasn't dreaming. I was simply remembering the first time we met." Patchouli turned away from her book to look at Remilia, a rare smile of pleasure on her face.
"… I remember. It was -!" Far too quickly for the magician to react, Remilia reached out and pulled her down, wrapping her wings around to shield them from view. The book fell to the floor.
"Not now, Pache. There are children watching." Her wings unfurled and she gave the magician a delicate kiss on the cheek, then quickly undid one of the ribbon charms in her hair. A red one, of course. She wrapped it around her finger and kissed it, then slithered away from the couch, waving her finger. "I'm sure you know what you need to do to get this back," she said temptingly, then fell away into a swarm of beribboned bats. Patchouli still lay on the couch, emotions bubbling within her chest. How would she punish her familiar and her apprentice?
- Location
- Voidbetweenstars
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are locked.
More Interviews
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Keep watching the interviews.
- [X] Skip ahead to around the time you first showed up in this dimension.
You skip forward until you reach a point you recognize - and now you know that the current year is '0075' … perhaps a little arrogant, to be sticking so many unused digits in front like that. His first few interviews are somewhat interesting, and while you don't know the people he's talking to, he is badgering them about the formation of Riot Force 6. One of the more interesting nuggets of information to come from that line of questioning is the fact that, due to their higher levels of power, the commanders all had output limiters placed on them. You'll have to ask Fate if those were active during your little fight with them.
His next interview is … actually very interesting. His chosen target is Verossa, somehow, but the wall behind them shows you, at the hospital, just after you hopped out the window and dropped Ginga. Based on the angle of the shot, the photographer must have been somewhere on the ground, but he managed to capture an arrogantly haughty expression on your face, one that you don't usually use.
"Inspector Acous, just what happened at that hospital?" Verossa shakes his head.
"I'm afraid that an inspection is still underway. If the cause can be determined, I'm sure it will be made known as soon as possible." Korosh snorts at the response.
"And the one who dealt with the problem? I'm not surprised to see that the Bureau is keeping up its attempts to indoctrinate children. And just what have you done to her, to give her such odd new appendages?" Verossa sighs heavily. Your own hackles rise in irritation at the insult to your wings.
"To the best of my knowledge, nothing untoward as been done to her. She recently arrived on Mid-Childa -" Korosh leans forward aggressively.
"How recently? Arrived from where? Inspector Acous, surely I don't need to remind you of all people that there were several hundred people in that hospital prior to that tragic event, and after that little girl entered, this is what we saw!" He gestures at the wall, and the close-up image of you is replaced by an image of the hospital itself - and then there's a torrent of red power that scythes chaotically through several windows and the barely-visible horde of the vampire. And a few seconds after that, a seeming-corpse is tossed out the window to land on the road outside. "If the Bureau is conducting experiments on children, Inspector, I think that's a far worse thing than simply indoctrinating them!"
"The Bureau does not conduct experiments on children, nor does it condone -"
"Bullshit!" Verossa leans back in surprise as Korosh leaps to his feet and begins a blisteringly venomous tirade. To his credit, the smartly-dressed Inspector maintains his own composure, and after several long seconds, he simply stands up and walks away. The video cuts out with the furious Korosh still ranting threateningly. You frown; that's definitely very … odd behavior, and it doesn't make Korosh seem very trustworthy. His next video, a week later, is not an interview. He starts off apologizing to the absent Verossa and for his behavior, explaining that he had been somewhat ill and not thinking particularly clearly. After that, however, he resumes lambasting the Bureau for its actions - and the actions not taken - in the hospital incident. And then he returns to you, first attacking the Bureau for using a child so obviously and deliberately. Then he shows images of your fight with Nanoha and the others - images of you snarling furiously at Signum, of multiple spells holding you in place, and of Hayate's attack that defeated you.
And this fight, he explains, proves that you were experimented on by the Bureau - how else could a young girl fight against so many top-class mages, and why else would they not arrest you after defeating you? Especially taking into account your actions immediately prior to them fighting you, which involved slaughtering armed criminals and property destruction. Moreover, there is the fact that you fought against the Gadget Drones, and were attacked with lethal intent by the Combat Cyborgs. The fact of your survival and easy elimination of the Cyborgs lends further credence to the idea that you were experimented on - no normal human could take those strikes and survive, much less ignore them as easily as you did. And then … you vanish entirely, just like an experiment that wasn't going very well and was attracting too much attention.
Of course, with you gone, he isn't able to learn much more about you, although he continues to press for information, especially in the wake of Gaiz's exposing of the High Command of the Bureau's misdeeds. He also pushes his own beliefs more frequently, explaining that this is exactly what he meant by tragedy coming from a ruling military class … never mind that the Bureau was only shattered by a high-ranking military man stepping forward, with most of the damage actually coming from after his death in a car crash. Which strikes you as a pretty inept parry; Gaiz's death would of course be looked into, and any possibility that he was assassinated rather than a victim of accident would reflect badly on the Bureau, so only the most incompetent people would think that killing him would be beneficial. Of course, that does agree with his belief that military people are too goal-oriented to actually think about the consequences of their actions ….
His whirlwind interviews target many people - other reporters, minor Bureau officials you don't know, mages who are leaving the Bureau, and personnel who chose to stay. He even interviews Captain Captain, and you shake your head at the revelation that her first name is also Captain. That interview goes nowhere, as Korosh is unable to resist prickling her about her name. He simply shrugs and smirks at the camera before complaining about military people not having a sense of humor. You also see his first interview with Auris Gaiz, which is also cut short due to his bad behavior - he switches between obnoxious almost-flirting and insulting her father; unlike the captain, she punches him in the mouth before storming off.
You sigh and shake your head. It looks more and more like he's simply going to try and attack the Bureau through you - and while he can still do that if you refuse to have the interview, it probably won't be as effective due to your not being there to feed him his own intestines. On the other hand, you can be very persuasive, and if he does like you he might be willing to restrict the interview to less troublesome topics. Or you could just bully him. That would probably work.
You stand up and leave the room; Satsuki will be awake shortly, and you should probably be somewhere she can find you. Nove is standing in the hallway, and when you look at her she pales and takes a deep breath. Maybe she's finally worked up her nerve?
What do you dot?
[ ] Stay and listen to what she has to say.
[ ] Making sure you're there for Satsuki is more important.
- [X] Skip ahead to around the time you first showed up in this dimension.
You skip forward until you reach a point you recognize - and now you know that the current year is '0075' … perhaps a little arrogant, to be sticking so many unused digits in front like that. His first few interviews are somewhat interesting, and while you don't know the people he's talking to, he is badgering them about the formation of Riot Force 6. One of the more interesting nuggets of information to come from that line of questioning is the fact that, due to their higher levels of power, the commanders all had output limiters placed on them. You'll have to ask Fate if those were active during your little fight with them.
His next interview is … actually very interesting. His chosen target is Verossa, somehow, but the wall behind them shows you, at the hospital, just after you hopped out the window and dropped Ginga. Based on the angle of the shot, the photographer must have been somewhere on the ground, but he managed to capture an arrogantly haughty expression on your face, one that you don't usually use.
"Inspector Acous, just what happened at that hospital?" Verossa shakes his head.
"I'm afraid that an inspection is still underway. If the cause can be determined, I'm sure it will be made known as soon as possible." Korosh snorts at the response.
"And the one who dealt with the problem? I'm not surprised to see that the Bureau is keeping up its attempts to indoctrinate children. And just what have you done to her, to give her such odd new appendages?" Verossa sighs heavily. Your own hackles rise in irritation at the insult to your wings.
"To the best of my knowledge, nothing untoward as been done to her. She recently arrived on Mid-Childa -" Korosh leans forward aggressively.
"How recently? Arrived from where? Inspector Acous, surely I don't need to remind you of all people that there were several hundred people in that hospital prior to that tragic event, and after that little girl entered, this is what we saw!" He gestures at the wall, and the close-up image of you is replaced by an image of the hospital itself - and then there's a torrent of red power that scythes chaotically through several windows and the barely-visible horde of the vampire. And a few seconds after that, a seeming-corpse is tossed out the window to land on the road outside. "If the Bureau is conducting experiments on children, Inspector, I think that's a far worse thing than simply indoctrinating them!"
"The Bureau does not conduct experiments on children, nor does it condone -"
"Bullshit!" Verossa leans back in surprise as Korosh leaps to his feet and begins a blisteringly venomous tirade. To his credit, the smartly-dressed Inspector maintains his own composure, and after several long seconds, he simply stands up and walks away. The video cuts out with the furious Korosh still ranting threateningly. You frown; that's definitely very … odd behavior, and it doesn't make Korosh seem very trustworthy. His next video, a week later, is not an interview. He starts off apologizing to the absent Verossa and for his behavior, explaining that he had been somewhat ill and not thinking particularly clearly. After that, however, he resumes lambasting the Bureau for its actions - and the actions not taken - in the hospital incident. And then he returns to you, first attacking the Bureau for using a child so obviously and deliberately. Then he shows images of your fight with Nanoha and the others - images of you snarling furiously at Signum, of multiple spells holding you in place, and of Hayate's attack that defeated you.
And this fight, he explains, proves that you were experimented on by the Bureau - how else could a young girl fight against so many top-class mages, and why else would they not arrest you after defeating you? Especially taking into account your actions immediately prior to them fighting you, which involved slaughtering armed criminals and property destruction. Moreover, there is the fact that you fought against the Gadget Drones, and were attacked with lethal intent by the Combat Cyborgs. The fact of your survival and easy elimination of the Cyborgs lends further credence to the idea that you were experimented on - no normal human could take those strikes and survive, much less ignore them as easily as you did. And then … you vanish entirely, just like an experiment that wasn't going very well and was attracting too much attention.
Of course, with you gone, he isn't able to learn much more about you, although he continues to press for information, especially in the wake of Gaiz's exposing of the High Command of the Bureau's misdeeds. He also pushes his own beliefs more frequently, explaining that this is exactly what he meant by tragedy coming from a ruling military class … never mind that the Bureau was only shattered by a high-ranking military man stepping forward, with most of the damage actually coming from after his death in a car crash. Which strikes you as a pretty inept parry; Gaiz's death would of course be looked into, and any possibility that he was assassinated rather than a victim of accident would reflect badly on the Bureau, so only the most incompetent people would think that killing him would be beneficial. Of course, that does agree with his belief that military people are too goal-oriented to actually think about the consequences of their actions ….
His whirlwind interviews target many people - other reporters, minor Bureau officials you don't know, mages who are leaving the Bureau, and personnel who chose to stay. He even interviews Captain Captain, and you shake your head at the revelation that her first name is also Captain. That interview goes nowhere, as Korosh is unable to resist prickling her about her name. He simply shrugs and smirks at the camera before complaining about military people not having a sense of humor. You also see his first interview with Auris Gaiz, which is also cut short due to his bad behavior - he switches between obnoxious almost-flirting and insulting her father; unlike the captain, she punches him in the mouth before storming off.
You sigh and shake your head. It looks more and more like he's simply going to try and attack the Bureau through you - and while he can still do that if you refuse to have the interview, it probably won't be as effective due to your not being there to feed him his own intestines. On the other hand, you can be very persuasive, and if he does like you he might be willing to restrict the interview to less troublesome topics. Or you could just bully him. That would probably work.
You stand up and leave the room; Satsuki will be awake shortly, and you should probably be somewhere she can find you. Nove is standing in the hallway, and when you look at her she pales and takes a deep breath. Maybe she's finally worked up her nerve?
What do you dot?
[ ] Stay and listen to what she has to say.
[ ] Making sure you're there for Satsuki is more important.
Okibruez
(Verified Mid-Boss)
- Location
- Dreams
[X] Stay and listen to what she has to say.
No reason to be rude, and if she's actually going to say something to Flandre, then either it's really important, or she's finally worked up a bit of a spine and that should be... I hesitate to say 'rewarded' but that's what comes to mind.
No reason to be rude, and if she's actually going to say something to Flandre, then either it's really important, or she's finally worked up a bit of a spine and that should be... I hesitate to say 'rewarded' but that's what comes to mind.
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