Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
ultima333
Lazy Snug Youkai
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
No, sorry I'm still not sure. Do you mean Miyu is the strange person that has Reimu upset and the Tengu worked up? There's far too many people here who can be referred to as a 'simulacrum'.
I think Flan is referring to this:
SolipsistSerpent
Endlessly Devouring
Ah, the Tengu are flipping out about the Lunarians. I could see that.
But like I said, there's too many simulacrums at this party: The spare Remilia, Flandre's clones, Ilya, Illyasviel, The Other Illyasviel, Leysritt, Sella, arguably Fate, etc.
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- Location
- Germany
[X] Go to Lulu and help explain the duel.
@SolipsistSerpent: Remilia's hostess copy was the only one called a simulacrum though; and besides, clones with divergent personality (Fate and Einzbern homunculi) aren't purely imitations, so I think it's pretty clear?
@SolipsistSerpent: Remilia's hostess copy was the only one called a simulacrum though; and besides, clones with divergent personality (Fate and Einzbern homunculi) aren't purely imitations, so I think it's pretty clear?
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Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Terminology weasels! Terminology weasels everywhere!
Right, so Flan is using the term specifically, rather than generally - that is, to her, a simulacrum is a magical copy/creation that operates on its own. Homunculi are not simulacra, neither is a clone. Flan's clones, being mana constructs, do qualify. Arguably, Illyasviel - and Archer and Berserker - do as well, because their bodies are mana constructs. (At which point discussions about what qualifies as 'people' and whether a term that fundamentally describes an object should be used to refer to a person, and whether or not conflation is possible, among other things. Magicians have had heated debates regarding this and other subjects. [Also shocking, acidic, frigid, sharp, illuminating, etc ...])
Aya is flipping out about Yocchan, yes. Hatate hasn't seen her before, though, so she doesn't know what's going on, either.
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Party XI - Duel Talk
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Go to Lulu and help explain the duel.
Well, your sister allowed her to come in - invited her, even - so she won't cause any trouble on her own, so there's no reason for you to involve yourself with her. Instead, you walk toward Lulu and Illya's group, and after a moment's consideration you have the outside clone move to keep an eye on the hedge maze. Bazett sees you approach, of course, and nods once to you before turning to watch for more threats. Tohsaka and Luvia, ostensibly here for the same reason as Bazett, seem more intrigued by the surrounding youkai, and frequently watch the duel. Miyu does seem to be taking notes on the duel, and Illya seems to be giving her suggestions. "Sorry about that, Lulu. Just had to scatter the birds." She turns around, nodding and smiling.
"It's fine, fine! Ah, tell me about this!" You giggle and turn her back, then drape your arms over her shoulders. Agito looks up from her sitting position and shakes her head.
"Right, so the first thing - neither of them are very good," you begin, prompting surprised gasps from the others. "I mean, I'm not exactly the best at danmaku, either, but they aren't thinking ahead at all, and they aren't paying attention to positioning. It's true that any duels they'd have experience with would be out in the field, where there aren't any obstacles, but that doesn't really excuse colliding with walls like that." Just after you finish, the circling ice fairy slams into the corner of the arena, and is only saved from even more humiliation by the youkai's failure to take into account possibilities like ricochet or simply dropping. Instead, as the stunned Cirno falls down, a stream of red bullets chases after her until she shakes off the confusion and regains control. You shake your head. "It's not that you can't chase an opponent with danmaku like that, but the dark youkai isn't using that to set her up for anything. Maybe things will get better once someone uses a Spell Card, but it's more likely that we'll have to wait for some better people to come along."
"Maybe you could demonstrate for us?" Lulu gives you a pleading look, but you shake your head regretfully.
"I'm not that good either -"
"Diamond Blizzard!" You nod as haphazard barrages of danmaku are flung out from the ice fairy.
"You don't have to call out your Spell Card, although it is polite. This one is … not a very good one."
"It looks like she's just throwing them out at random. Perhaps like a certain monkey?" Tohsaka glares at Luvia.
"That's why it's not very good. Spell Cards are supposed to be elegant and beautiful, and winning is as much a matter of impressing spectators as it is to actually beat the other person. So a childish tantrum like this isn't good."
"Ah! Is that why your Spell Card flowed so smoothly around me like that?" You squeeze Lulu and she giggles.
"Yep! Although a lot of Spell Cards do have some element of randomness or targeting, so the other person can't just memorize how it goes and never be in trouble, that's suppose to be a secondary element. Making it the whole thing like this is … well, I've already said." After a minute, the storm of danmaku ends, and Cirno yells impotently as the youkai grins, and a huge mallet of ice forms in her hands. She charges toward the youkai - and then swings the hammer early, crashing into it as she uses it as an impromptu shield against the wall of blades that shot out of the ground toward her. You glance at the overseer, who looks very upset, then at the apologetic youkai as she tries to say something to the fairy. Cirno suddenly breaks into tears and flies away, fleeing the arena and leaving the youkai worried and unhappy. "… I don't actually know what that was about, though …." The youkai descends to meet the overseer, and … a drunken fairy would explain things. You sigh and shake your head. Fortunately, the next pair of duelists are already approaching, and you stare harshly at them. Marisa dueling publicly instead of making her way to the library is odd enough, but for the other shrine maiden to be dueling as well …. The overseer nods at them and they walk into the arena before flying into the air.
They circle about each other a little, Marisa on her broom, and then the shrine maiden flies straight up before slashing at Marisa with her gohei. Streams of danmaku, shaped vaguely like serpents, shoot toward Marisa, swerving toward the magician as she dodges nimbly to the side. The others gasp at the obvious difference in skill between them and the previous pair. Then Marisa returns fire, sweeping a pair of lasers toward the shrine maiden and forcing her to spiral as she ascends - and then Marisa immediately throws out a Spell Card. She shoots upward, turning around as she passes the shrine maiden, and begins firing streams of gold, star-shaped danmaku. The shrine maiden dodges them and her snake-danmaku fly out more quickly. You chuckle as the gold stars fall toward the ground. "Flan?" You gesture at the ground of the arena and the magic circles that now cover it. Illya, Miyu, Tohsaka, and Luvia all inhale sharply and lean back.
"That looks like Shoot the Moon. It's actually a two-stage Spell Card. The falling danmaku isn't all that dangerous on its own …." As a magic circle sucks in the danmaku and reaches critical mass, it fires a silvery beam into the sky, just barely missing the shrine maiden. Within moments, the rest of the magic circles begin lighting up and firing, slightly staggering their beams to try and trap the shrine maiden. "Marisa doesn't like fancy danmaku much, and this one is very sneaky for her. You have to keep track of the danmaku she shoots down and the danmaku that fires back up." And when the lasers reach a certain point, they scatter back down as more gold stars, repeating the cycle ever more ferociously.
"Why doesn't she just start off with all the magic circles firing?" You frown at Tohsaka.
"Because that's not what danmaku and Spell Cards are about. Yes, she's perfectly capable of putting magic circles in a sphere and ordering them to fire at everything within, but Spell Cards are supposed to be defeated. Making one that isn't actually beatable is cheating." You look up at the dodging shrine maiden. She doesn't look too distressed, although she isn't shooting back at Marisa, either - a mistake, given the mechanics of Shoot the Moon, but if she wants to pray for a miraculous survival, she's allowed to do that. You look back, and sure enough, the girl in the hat is looking up, too, although she has a worried look on her face.
Unfortunately, the shrine maiden weathers the storm, although it looks like she grazed a little too closely sometimes - her formal outfit is a bit ragged and at least one cord has come undone, flapping in the wind. As Marisa swoops down, however, the shrine maiden activates a Spell Card of her own. Danmaku spins around her, a column reaching from the ground to the top of the arena, a perfectly ordered succession of danmaku, and you sigh. "And this is why most high-class Spell Cards have either specific targeting or some randomness," you say as Marisa easily slips between the ranks of danmaku, keeping her lasers trained on the shrine maiden, and it doesn't take long for the Spell Card to collapse under her assault. Not that the shrine maiden is done yet - they simply return to the original pattern, firing at each other with danmaku. "And the duel continues until either one side is too tired to keep going, or until the Spell Cards have all been used." You explain a bit more about danmaku courtesy and rules - abiding by the agreements, not reusing Spell Cards, and so on - until your clone notices Nanoha, Fate, Homura, and Madoka leaving the hedge maze. Homura and her companions head for the mansion - presumably your sister gave them some method of ingress - but Ilya leads the others toward the danmaku arena. You frown; you're not sure when the next pair of good duelists will arrive, and it would be easier if you could show Nanoha and Fate a danmaku duel right now ….
What do you do?
[ ] Take everyone to the concert area and listen to the Prismrivers.
[ ] Stay by the arena until another pair of duelists arrives.
- [ ] Talk to the overseer.
- [ ] Talk to everyone else.
- - About?
[ ] See if Marisa will duel you so Nanoha and the others can see what it's like.
[ ] Other?
Well, your sister allowed her to come in - invited her, even - so she won't cause any trouble on her own, so there's no reason for you to involve yourself with her. Instead, you walk toward Lulu and Illya's group, and after a moment's consideration you have the outside clone move to keep an eye on the hedge maze. Bazett sees you approach, of course, and nods once to you before turning to watch for more threats. Tohsaka and Luvia, ostensibly here for the same reason as Bazett, seem more intrigued by the surrounding youkai, and frequently watch the duel. Miyu does seem to be taking notes on the duel, and Illya seems to be giving her suggestions. "Sorry about that, Lulu. Just had to scatter the birds." She turns around, nodding and smiling.
"It's fine, fine! Ah, tell me about this!" You giggle and turn her back, then drape your arms over her shoulders. Agito looks up from her sitting position and shakes her head.
"Right, so the first thing - neither of them are very good," you begin, prompting surprised gasps from the others. "I mean, I'm not exactly the best at danmaku, either, but they aren't thinking ahead at all, and they aren't paying attention to positioning. It's true that any duels they'd have experience with would be out in the field, where there aren't any obstacles, but that doesn't really excuse colliding with walls like that." Just after you finish, the circling ice fairy slams into the corner of the arena, and is only saved from even more humiliation by the youkai's failure to take into account possibilities like ricochet or simply dropping. Instead, as the stunned Cirno falls down, a stream of red bullets chases after her until she shakes off the confusion and regains control. You shake your head. "It's not that you can't chase an opponent with danmaku like that, but the dark youkai isn't using that to set her up for anything. Maybe things will get better once someone uses a Spell Card, but it's more likely that we'll have to wait for some better people to come along."
"Maybe you could demonstrate for us?" Lulu gives you a pleading look, but you shake your head regretfully.
"I'm not that good either -"
"Diamond Blizzard!" You nod as haphazard barrages of danmaku are flung out from the ice fairy.
"You don't have to call out your Spell Card, although it is polite. This one is … not a very good one."
"It looks like she's just throwing them out at random. Perhaps like a certain monkey?" Tohsaka glares at Luvia.
"That's why it's not very good. Spell Cards are supposed to be elegant and beautiful, and winning is as much a matter of impressing spectators as it is to actually beat the other person. So a childish tantrum like this isn't good."
"Ah! Is that why your Spell Card flowed so smoothly around me like that?" You squeeze Lulu and she giggles.
"Yep! Although a lot of Spell Cards do have some element of randomness or targeting, so the other person can't just memorize how it goes and never be in trouble, that's suppose to be a secondary element. Making it the whole thing like this is … well, I've already said." After a minute, the storm of danmaku ends, and Cirno yells impotently as the youkai grins, and a huge mallet of ice forms in her hands. She charges toward the youkai - and then swings the hammer early, crashing into it as she uses it as an impromptu shield against the wall of blades that shot out of the ground toward her. You glance at the overseer, who looks very upset, then at the apologetic youkai as she tries to say something to the fairy. Cirno suddenly breaks into tears and flies away, fleeing the arena and leaving the youkai worried and unhappy. "… I don't actually know what that was about, though …." The youkai descends to meet the overseer, and … a drunken fairy would explain things. You sigh and shake your head. Fortunately, the next pair of duelists are already approaching, and you stare harshly at them. Marisa dueling publicly instead of making her way to the library is odd enough, but for the other shrine maiden to be dueling as well …. The overseer nods at them and they walk into the arena before flying into the air.
They circle about each other a little, Marisa on her broom, and then the shrine maiden flies straight up before slashing at Marisa with her gohei. Streams of danmaku, shaped vaguely like serpents, shoot toward Marisa, swerving toward the magician as she dodges nimbly to the side. The others gasp at the obvious difference in skill between them and the previous pair. Then Marisa returns fire, sweeping a pair of lasers toward the shrine maiden and forcing her to spiral as she ascends - and then Marisa immediately throws out a Spell Card. She shoots upward, turning around as she passes the shrine maiden, and begins firing streams of gold, star-shaped danmaku. The shrine maiden dodges them and her snake-danmaku fly out more quickly. You chuckle as the gold stars fall toward the ground. "Flan?" You gesture at the ground of the arena and the magic circles that now cover it. Illya, Miyu, Tohsaka, and Luvia all inhale sharply and lean back.
"That looks like Shoot the Moon. It's actually a two-stage Spell Card. The falling danmaku isn't all that dangerous on its own …." As a magic circle sucks in the danmaku and reaches critical mass, it fires a silvery beam into the sky, just barely missing the shrine maiden. Within moments, the rest of the magic circles begin lighting up and firing, slightly staggering their beams to try and trap the shrine maiden. "Marisa doesn't like fancy danmaku much, and this one is very sneaky for her. You have to keep track of the danmaku she shoots down and the danmaku that fires back up." And when the lasers reach a certain point, they scatter back down as more gold stars, repeating the cycle ever more ferociously.
"Why doesn't she just start off with all the magic circles firing?" You frown at Tohsaka.
"Because that's not what danmaku and Spell Cards are about. Yes, she's perfectly capable of putting magic circles in a sphere and ordering them to fire at everything within, but Spell Cards are supposed to be defeated. Making one that isn't actually beatable is cheating." You look up at the dodging shrine maiden. She doesn't look too distressed, although she isn't shooting back at Marisa, either - a mistake, given the mechanics of Shoot the Moon, but if she wants to pray for a miraculous survival, she's allowed to do that. You look back, and sure enough, the girl in the hat is looking up, too, although she has a worried look on her face.
Unfortunately, the shrine maiden weathers the storm, although it looks like she grazed a little too closely sometimes - her formal outfit is a bit ragged and at least one cord has come undone, flapping in the wind. As Marisa swoops down, however, the shrine maiden activates a Spell Card of her own. Danmaku spins around her, a column reaching from the ground to the top of the arena, a perfectly ordered succession of danmaku, and you sigh. "And this is why most high-class Spell Cards have either specific targeting or some randomness," you say as Marisa easily slips between the ranks of danmaku, keeping her lasers trained on the shrine maiden, and it doesn't take long for the Spell Card to collapse under her assault. Not that the shrine maiden is done yet - they simply return to the original pattern, firing at each other with danmaku. "And the duel continues until either one side is too tired to keep going, or until the Spell Cards have all been used." You explain a bit more about danmaku courtesy and rules - abiding by the agreements, not reusing Spell Cards, and so on - until your clone notices Nanoha, Fate, Homura, and Madoka leaving the hedge maze. Homura and her companions head for the mansion - presumably your sister gave them some method of ingress - but Ilya leads the others toward the danmaku arena. You frown; you're not sure when the next pair of good duelists will arrive, and it would be easier if you could show Nanoha and Fate a danmaku duel right now ….
What do you do?
[ ] Take everyone to the concert area and listen to the Prismrivers.
[ ] Stay by the arena until another pair of duelists arrives.
- [ ] Talk to the overseer.
- [ ] Talk to everyone else.
- - About?
[ ] See if Marisa will duel you so Nanoha and the others can see what it's like.
[ ] Other?
- Location
- Germany
[X] See if Marisa will duel you so Nanoha and the others can see what it's like.
Considering Marisa's game protagonist status and our centuries of isolation with very few chances for dueling, could we even put up a decent fight?
And relatively early during our travels, IIRC there was a comment about Flan not having memorized most of her spellcards and therefore being unable to recreate/use them - does she have her full deck with her now?
Considering Marisa's game protagonist status and our centuries of isolation with very few chances for dueling, could we even put up a decent fight?
And relatively early during our travels, IIRC there was a comment about Flan not having memorized most of her spellcards and therefore being unable to recreate/use them - does she have her full deck with her now?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
As far as danmaku goes, Flan is really not that good; her main difficulty comes from having very powerful Spell Cards. So, no, not good odds of winning, but Flan knows that.
And, yes, she has access to all her non-Violet Detector Spell Cards.
[X] See if Marisa will duel you so Nanoha and the others can see what it's like.
She tends to have too much fun.
Flan is an Ex-boss, presumably because she's not very good at the beautiful part and VERY VERY good at the too much kill part.
She tends to have too much fun.
[x] Take everyone to the concert area and listen to the Prismrivers.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
@Entropy Judge, a question. What is Zelretch opinion on Gensokyo? Judging from the side story Yuyuko Visit he manage to find his way to Gensokyo and had paid a visit. If he did come for for a visit, did he manage to prank the mansion residents? And what is the mansion residents opinion of him?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Zelretch has no knowledge of Gensokyo or the mansion, apart from what Rin was able to tell him before she left (he strongly hinted that going might be a good idea). He has never been in the mansion - if you're thinking about the 'fucking magician' line, that's Remilia still being salty about Patchouli. Way, way back in the beginning of the quest, Flandre found the portals already active, remember? Remilia had wanted to set up a nice 'safe' tour for her and Flan to go on together; Patchouli thought that separating them would be healthier for both of them, and accidentally-on-purpose left the portals active when Flan could find them.
... In unrelated news, Fantasy Kaleidoscope 11 appears to have offscreened the Kaguya fight? And then 12 is supposed to be Remilia vs. Mokou? ... *strangles self*
Magicians. Their job is to think they know better eh?
asdx
Superior Sword Fairy
- Location
- Texas.
And conjure up things that eventually kill them.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Patchouli's Profile in PMiSS said:
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Party XII - Flandre Scarlet, 5BBRR, Sorcery
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] See if Marisa will duel you so Nanoha and the others can see what it's like.
You sigh and shake your head, then look up at the magician and shrine maiden - Marisa's too good, the shrine maiden too inexperienced. They'll be finished before the others can get here. Indeed, despite using another Spell Card, the shrine maiden is definitely losing badly. So if you want to show them how a Spell Card duel works … you'll have to do it yourself. "Hey, Lulu? Can you make it so that the Barrier Jacket makes clothes, but doesn't add any of that protective stuff?" She frowns but nods.
"I … yes, I can. It should just be a matter of adjusting the settings. Why?"
"So, can you do it right now?" Her expression turns suspicious, but she holds out her hand for Loki, and you smile cheerily. Once she has the Device in hand, you give her a hug. "I'll be right back!" You fly off toward the overseer. She glances at you before returning her attention to the duelists. Soon enough, they come down, and the frog-hat girl bounds over to greet the shrine maiden while you ascend to see Marisa. She doesn't look particularly happy to see you.
"Oh, Flandre … came to watch my duel?" She perks up a bit at the thought of publicity, but you have to shrug.
"Kind of. You were here, so I could use your duel to show some of my guests some danmaku," you begin, gesturing back at the others. "But, I was wondering if you could have a duel with me? Some of my other guests are coming over now, and I'd like to show them a good duel, too."
"Actually, I was hoping to get down to the library before Patchouli knows anything's happening …." You shake your head at the flimsy protest and see if any of your clones have seen the magician.
"She already went back down, I think. She met that mind-reading youkai at the gate." Marisa scowls and groans.
"… Three cards." You pout, but she just shakes her head. "I'll duel you if we keep it at three cards." You wave your hands placatingly.
"No, no, it's fine. Just thinking about which three to use." She nods, then bobs her head down toward the overseer.
"Well, let's go talk to her about the rules, alright?" Without waiting for your response, she glides down. You follow her, quickly sorting through your Spell Cards. The only one you can't use is Four of a Kind, since your clones are already busy, but apart from that …. "Oy! Got another match lined up. Three cards each. Ah, bombs?" She looks toward you and you shrug. You don't have any you can use, but -
"Lady Flandre." Marisa jumps, squawking indignantly, and the overseer's head twitches to the side. Is it a vampire thing, or are you just so used to her appearing that she can't surprise you just by doing that anymore? "Miss Patchouli asked me to give you these." She hands you three small pieces of paper, about the size of Reimu's sealing tags, and your eyes widen as you recognize the designs on them.
"Thank you!" You bounce forward and squeeze Sakuya tightly. "Give that to Patchouli for me! Ah, if you're fine with them, yes." The overseer nods.
"Three Spell Cards each, three Bomb Cards each. Standard rules, including declaration of Spell Cards?" You nod as Marisa smirks.
"You betcha. Just a friendly duel, though, no penalties or anything." The overseer nods.
"Are you ready to begin now?" They both look at you as you look toward the hedge maze, then back at your friends. You nod to yourself.
"Give me a couple minutes. I'm going to explain something to Lulu, and the others will be here by then." They nod, and Marisa walks back into the dueling area, stretching her arms, as you return to Lulu and the others. Her eyes are practically sparkling.
"Ah, you're going to do it? You're really going to do it!" She hugs you excitedly, and you smile as she bounces back.
"I am, yes. Ilya and the others should be here in a minute or so -" She nods rapidly.
"Yep, I'll tell the others so they can come see, if they want." You blink at the interruption, then shrug.
"Well, I just want to let you know that I'm probably going to lose." Her expression cracks and you nod, patting her head gently. "Maybe one in five chance I'll win. Marisa is very good, and she has good Spell Cards. Anyway, you got my Device adjusted?" She recovers from the shock and nods happily.
"Yes. Defensive abilities have been disabled - ah, is this why?" You nod and she relaxes a bit more. You take Loki back and activate the Barrier Jacket, then hug Lulu again. Then you take out your Bomb Cards and slip them into your left wrist cuff, while your Spell Cards go in the right one. Then you take out Laevateinn. Now you're ready … and Ilya and the others are in sight. You wave at them.
"Alright. It shouldn't be too long." You give Lulu another hug, pat Agito on the head, and nod at the members of Illya's group, then return to the overseer. "These clothes are okay, right?" She blinks, then steps forward to feel them, then conjures a danmaku bullet to hit you with. It certainly feels like you don't have any extra defenses, and she nods, satisfied. You bow, then enter the arena. The invisible walls shimmer lightly and you nod to Marisa.
"Ooh, so that's what the light show was about." She grins, then nods her head, spins her broomstick, and leaps into the air, mounting the stick and flying off. You simply float up after her. The first phase of the duel is about to begin.
You've never been very good at danmaku - it's just play, even if it is fun, and you can't take it really seriously or else you might do something against the rules, and your natural inclination is to take hits unnecessarily. True, you're a vampire, so you're naturally sturdy, but you don't have a positive win ratio against any of the other residents except Koakuma, who uses Patchouli's weaker Spell Cards. Meiling wins as often as she loses, and you've never beaten Patchouli, or Remilia when she actually tries to win. You either take too many hits, or you focus on dodging and so can't shoot back as well. Fortunately, danmaku and Spell Cards aren't that important, but …. You shake your head and douse your thoughts as Marisa suddenly darts off, starting the match. The first phase of a danmaku match is almost always one of positioning, establishing who's the dominant duelist and who's going to set the tempo. Marisa swerves, keeping her broomstick pointed toward you as a spreading barrage of green energy missiles surge toward you. Forced to respond within human limits, you have a hard time weaving between them, although you don't lose track of Marisa, and you manage to accurately return fire with a stream of arrowhead danmaku. Your opponent has a fierce grin on her face - is she enjoying this?
You place a hand on your first Spell Card. Originally, matches always ended when one side ran out of Spell Cards, but standard rules require that both sides be out of Spell Cards unless someone has forfeited or been rendered unable to continue. Some youkai would simply never declare their final Spell Card, leading to duels being endurance matches of danmaku rather than actual Spell Card duels - little better than a regular fight. And for you to beat Marisa - it looks like your one in five chance is gone, because she is being serious today. You're unlikely to run her out of energy, you probably can't hit her frequently enough to make her give up, and beating more of her Spell Cards than she does of yours is … possible, but unlikely. She's almost as good as Reimu, after all. Still, that's what the inter-phases are for. You nod and pull out the first Spell Card.
"Taboo 'Forbidden Fruit'!" Marisa's face freezes in confusion - an understandable reaction, considering you've only used this Spell Card a couple times, and never against her. Four familiars - little more than animated magic circles for you to pour energy into - fly out, arranging themselves in a huge box-like formation bracketing you and Marisa. The first wave of danmaku erupts from the five of you simultaneously: a glittering, constantly-expanding sphere of bullets from you, and perfectly precise waves of bullets from the familiars. Marisa nods, grinning once more, and begins hammering at you while you're forced to be stationary by the Spell Card. It's frustrating, not being able to move, but a smile creeps onto your face regardless. Marisa dodges the first wave easily, and the following waves of blue danmaku from the familiars. By the fourth wave of red danmaku, though, she's spending as much time dodging the increasingly dense bullets as she is shooting at you, and her accuracy is faltering. The question is: will she bomb? Patchouli said that a lot of youkai still look down on bombing, but this is one of the situations where it's called for: when a Spell Card is set up to force a damage race and the attacker, for one reason or another, doesn't have the power to win by breaking the Spell Card. Of course, your Spell Cards render you immune to damage from bombs - but the danmaku would still be wiped out, partially resetting the Spell Card and giving Marisa some breathing room. And, of course, the timer would still be going down.
She doesn't bomb, instead giving up the offense and devoting herself to grazing and dodging - impressive, but almost the worse decision. She doesn't have your physical and mental endurance, so forcing herself to perform increasingly-difficult acrobatics and maneuvers is going to wear her down and make it more difficult to deal with later Spell Cards. You glance at your friends, taking advantage of the forced penalties of the Spell Card, and your eyes widen as you see Deis and Tohsaka. And Ilya is sitting on Berserker's shoulder - is she explaining things you missed earlier, and helping Lulu tell the newcomers what's going on? Unfortunately, the Spell Card ends before you have time to really figure out what's happening - a draw, since Marisa wasn't able to break it but didn't forfeit the Spell Card or get defeated. You could declare a second Spell Card immediately - some people with lots of Spell Cards like to chain them in quick sequence, to wear down their opponent - but doing so is somewhat rude. Instead, you return to the set-up phase, dueling for position and tempo, until Marisa declares her first Spell Card.
"Love Sign 'Non-Directional Laser'!" Ten familiars surround the magician, spiraling around her, firing lasers. You raise an eyebrow - Patchouli's done something similar, although she didn't make it a Spell Card. Half the familiars spiral in a direction counter to the others, and they shift orientation to keep you on the same plane as Marisa starts throwing out waves of star-shaped danmaku. Your frown turns to one of confusion - this isn't a difficult Spell Card, not unless there's another trick to it that hasn't been brought into play. Still, you weave through the sprays of danmaku, graze past the lasers, and keep a steady stream fire on Marisa. The Spell Card breaks, a clear victory for you … but she doesn't look disappointed or worried at all. Perhaps, unlike you, she started with an easy Spell Card to try and put you off-guard? Of course, she has more Spell Cards, and she's seen almost all of yours already. Still, buoyed by success, you presser her intensely during the inter-phase, trying to keep her off-balance, then activate your second Spell Card.
"Taboo 'Laevateinn'!" You grin - it's not a particularly difficult Spell Card to beat, but it's one you like, and it's lots of fun. You swing the burning blade around, slashing danmaku in broad patterns as you keep focused on Marisa, but she knows the Spell Card too well, and she's fast - she doesn't even need to turn away to put on the speed needed to outrun your charging sweeps. Maybe, now that everyone's more used to Spell Cards, you can make in improved version? Maybe with all of your clones helping …. As expected, Marisa breaks the Spell Card, leaving you tied at one point each and one draw. Maybe you have a chance? As you weave through her bullets and return fire, you study her appearance. She's breathing a little heavily, probably still a bit tired from your first Spell Card, but she doesn't look too battered. You'll have to step up the intensity of your attacks …. Of course, thanks to Loki repairing itself, it's difficult for her to come to an accurate judgment regarding your condition - you're physically superior, as well, so you have a higher damage tolerance, too. Well, Spell Cards aren't supposed to be completely fair … only mostly fair.
"Loving Sign 'Double Spark'!" Your grin vanishes. Marisa's Spark spells are pretty dangerous, after all - and this one doesn't seem to hamper her movement much! She darts around, then settles into position to track you, and you plummet earthward as twin lances of light erupt into massive, converging beams of power. The shield set up by the overseer crackles in response, but you're too focused on avoiding the barrages of star-shaped danmaku to pay much attention to that. Hopefully it'll hold and you won't have to worry about a super Master Spark blowing up half the guests. That would be bad. On the other hand, now that she's firing, Marisa's speed and maneuverability have been greatly hampered, and you pour danmaku at her in a constant stream, letting up only when a second pair of Sparks surges through the air toward you. A desire to close in, to push and smash with claw and rod, rises and you force it down. The irritation that comes with that, however, you have a harder time dealing with.
Maybe that's why you don't completely dodge the third pair of Sparks. Worse, one of the twin beams hits you nearly dead-on, driving you back into the overseer's barrier, and you bite through your lip as pain fills your body. This … most youkai would give up when faced with this kind of power. Forfeit the rest of the match and go rest somewhere without stars and laser beams. You fall toward the ground, slightly dazed as the power pressing you against the barrier vanishes, but the thumping of the star danmaku does little except further damage Loki's Barrier Jacket. You shake your head and dart for the other side of the arena, easily passing through the fourth pair of Sparks before they finish coalescing, but the star danmaku is too thick for you to comfortably fire back at Marisa. Instead, you approach the magician - and when the fifth set of Sparks erupts, rather than dodge them, you activate one of your Bomb Cards, pouring the stored energy through Laevateinn. Fire surges out of your sister's precious gift to you and you slash through the incoming beams of energy. The surge of power from the bomb buoys you, repelling the power of the blasts as the blade clears a swath of danmaku, and with that breathing room established you unleash your danmaku on the singed Marisa. It's too late, however - as the sixth set of Sparks fades, the Spell Card disengages. A draw, at best - and Marisa will probably break your third Spell Card, while you're too tired and battered to make a good showing of whatever her third Spell Card will be. Well, as they say: strike while the human's burning ….
"Forbidden Barrage 'Starbow Break'!" Marisa dives as your final Spell Card activates, attempting to avoid the initial barrage - and succeeding in that, but it probably wasn't worth crossing paths with a familiar and getting blasted to the side. Still, it's only a minor setback for her, and once she establishes some distance she rights herself and unleashes a torrent of danmaku at you. Fortunately, the Spell Card allows some movement, so you're able to box her in a bit by crossing your own waves of danmaku with the streams falling from a familiar. Of course, you're up against Marisa - maybe it would have done something to that shrine maiden, but the magician sees through your scheme and makes a minor adjustment in altitude and position. Even so, the Spell Card is almost finished before she manages to break it. You circle each other warily for a moment, neither of you firing danmaku - either of you could disengage and withdraw from match at this point. You probably can't force a draw, so you'll most likely lose, and while her withdrawing would make the match a draw instead of a possible win, it wouldn't reflect particularly badly on her. And you did get a couple good hits in …. She grins and shakes her head.
"Nah, I'm going to keep going." You nod once, then shift danmaku styles - rather than a stream of arrowheads, now you're going to fore orbs that burst into smaller bullet danmaku. The direct damage is lower, unless you manage to hit the evasive magician dead on, but if you have to focus on dodging then you're more likely to get some hits. "Comet 'Blazing Star'!" You frown, wondering what kind of Spell Card that is - and then Marisa charges at you. You aren't sure if you manage to dodge it or if she avoids you on purpose, but you tumble back, away from the wash of power that you're pretty sure is a Master Spark. That's not the problem, though - you jerk your head to the side, toward where Marisa was headed, and plummet when you see that she's already preparing for another charge. You avoid this one more easily, and as a result you actually notice the star danmaku flying out in her wake. You fire danmaku at her, wondering if you should use the stream instead … but with how quickly she turns and charges, and having to keep track of danmaku, especially in your condition, this is better. Maybe if you hadn't gotten hit by that Spark …. And you're not even going to bother trying to bomb. It would probably work, but if you miss the timing you won't hit her, and even with danmaku rules she's still flying like a tengu and a collision will hurt even through the bomb's power. Instead, you chip at her each time she turns around - but, all too soon, the Spell Card ends on its own. You blink, confused, then release your breath and slowly inhale. Marisa flies over, looking rather worried. "You okay?" You force a smile and nod weakly, dismissing Loki's Barrier Jacket, and she smiles. "Ah, yeah, that's a nice trick." She glances at the scorched patterns on her witch's dress, then shrugs and floats back a little. "Well, that was fun! Gonna have to think up how to deal with that first one before I come back here. See ya!" She swoops down to wave at the overseer, then flies off over the rest of the party. That's … not entirely forbidden, but if she stays up there she'll be asked to land. Of course, she knows that …. You shake your head and slowly descend to the ground, waving at the overseer. You rock gently on your feet as you land - and then you're bowled over by Ilya and Lulu, babbling angrily and worriedly. Apparently, you weren't supposed to get hit by the giant laser beam. Who knew?
What do you do?
[ ] Walk around for a bit, let everyone know you're fine.
[ ] Go to the concert area.
[ ] Let Ilya and Lulu tell you what to do.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: Rules Text: The next player to be dealt damage loses the game.
You sigh and shake your head, then look up at the magician and shrine maiden - Marisa's too good, the shrine maiden too inexperienced. They'll be finished before the others can get here. Indeed, despite using another Spell Card, the shrine maiden is definitely losing badly. So if you want to show them how a Spell Card duel works … you'll have to do it yourself. "Hey, Lulu? Can you make it so that the Barrier Jacket makes clothes, but doesn't add any of that protective stuff?" She frowns but nods.
"I … yes, I can. It should just be a matter of adjusting the settings. Why?"
"So, can you do it right now?" Her expression turns suspicious, but she holds out her hand for Loki, and you smile cheerily. Once she has the Device in hand, you give her a hug. "I'll be right back!" You fly off toward the overseer. She glances at you before returning her attention to the duelists. Soon enough, they come down, and the frog-hat girl bounds over to greet the shrine maiden while you ascend to see Marisa. She doesn't look particularly happy to see you.
"Oh, Flandre … came to watch my duel?" She perks up a bit at the thought of publicity, but you have to shrug.
"Kind of. You were here, so I could use your duel to show some of my guests some danmaku," you begin, gesturing back at the others. "But, I was wondering if you could have a duel with me? Some of my other guests are coming over now, and I'd like to show them a good duel, too."
"Actually, I was hoping to get down to the library before Patchouli knows anything's happening …." You shake your head at the flimsy protest and see if any of your clones have seen the magician.
"She already went back down, I think. She met that mind-reading youkai at the gate." Marisa scowls and groans.
"… Three cards." You pout, but she just shakes her head. "I'll duel you if we keep it at three cards." You wave your hands placatingly.
"No, no, it's fine. Just thinking about which three to use." She nods, then bobs her head down toward the overseer.
"Well, let's go talk to her about the rules, alright?" Without waiting for your response, she glides down. You follow her, quickly sorting through your Spell Cards. The only one you can't use is Four of a Kind, since your clones are already busy, but apart from that …. "Oy! Got another match lined up. Three cards each. Ah, bombs?" She looks toward you and you shrug. You don't have any you can use, but -
"Lady Flandre." Marisa jumps, squawking indignantly, and the overseer's head twitches to the side. Is it a vampire thing, or are you just so used to her appearing that she can't surprise you just by doing that anymore? "Miss Patchouli asked me to give you these." She hands you three small pieces of paper, about the size of Reimu's sealing tags, and your eyes widen as you recognize the designs on them.
"Thank you!" You bounce forward and squeeze Sakuya tightly. "Give that to Patchouli for me! Ah, if you're fine with them, yes." The overseer nods.
"Three Spell Cards each, three Bomb Cards each. Standard rules, including declaration of Spell Cards?" You nod as Marisa smirks.
"You betcha. Just a friendly duel, though, no penalties or anything." The overseer nods.
"Are you ready to begin now?" They both look at you as you look toward the hedge maze, then back at your friends. You nod to yourself.
"Give me a couple minutes. I'm going to explain something to Lulu, and the others will be here by then." They nod, and Marisa walks back into the dueling area, stretching her arms, as you return to Lulu and the others. Her eyes are practically sparkling.
"Ah, you're going to do it? You're really going to do it!" She hugs you excitedly, and you smile as she bounces back.
"I am, yes. Ilya and the others should be here in a minute or so -" She nods rapidly.
"Yep, I'll tell the others so they can come see, if they want." You blink at the interruption, then shrug.
"Well, I just want to let you know that I'm probably going to lose." Her expression cracks and you nod, patting her head gently. "Maybe one in five chance I'll win. Marisa is very good, and she has good Spell Cards. Anyway, you got my Device adjusted?" She recovers from the shock and nods happily.
"Yes. Defensive abilities have been disabled - ah, is this why?" You nod and she relaxes a bit more. You take Loki back and activate the Barrier Jacket, then hug Lulu again. Then you take out your Bomb Cards and slip them into your left wrist cuff, while your Spell Cards go in the right one. Then you take out Laevateinn. Now you're ready … and Ilya and the others are in sight. You wave at them.
"Alright. It shouldn't be too long." You give Lulu another hug, pat Agito on the head, and nod at the members of Illya's group, then return to the overseer. "These clothes are okay, right?" She blinks, then steps forward to feel them, then conjures a danmaku bullet to hit you with. It certainly feels like you don't have any extra defenses, and she nods, satisfied. You bow, then enter the arena. The invisible walls shimmer lightly and you nod to Marisa.
"Ooh, so that's what the light show was about." She grins, then nods her head, spins her broomstick, and leaps into the air, mounting the stick and flying off. You simply float up after her. The first phase of the duel is about to begin.
You've never been very good at danmaku - it's just play, even if it is fun, and you can't take it really seriously or else you might do something against the rules, and your natural inclination is to take hits unnecessarily. True, you're a vampire, so you're naturally sturdy, but you don't have a positive win ratio against any of the other residents except Koakuma, who uses Patchouli's weaker Spell Cards. Meiling wins as often as she loses, and you've never beaten Patchouli, or Remilia when she actually tries to win. You either take too many hits, or you focus on dodging and so can't shoot back as well. Fortunately, danmaku and Spell Cards aren't that important, but …. You shake your head and douse your thoughts as Marisa suddenly darts off, starting the match. The first phase of a danmaku match is almost always one of positioning, establishing who's the dominant duelist and who's going to set the tempo. Marisa swerves, keeping her broomstick pointed toward you as a spreading barrage of green energy missiles surge toward you. Forced to respond within human limits, you have a hard time weaving between them, although you don't lose track of Marisa, and you manage to accurately return fire with a stream of arrowhead danmaku. Your opponent has a fierce grin on her face - is she enjoying this?
You place a hand on your first Spell Card. Originally, matches always ended when one side ran out of Spell Cards, but standard rules require that both sides be out of Spell Cards unless someone has forfeited or been rendered unable to continue. Some youkai would simply never declare their final Spell Card, leading to duels being endurance matches of danmaku rather than actual Spell Card duels - little better than a regular fight. And for you to beat Marisa - it looks like your one in five chance is gone, because she is being serious today. You're unlikely to run her out of energy, you probably can't hit her frequently enough to make her give up, and beating more of her Spell Cards than she does of yours is … possible, but unlikely. She's almost as good as Reimu, after all. Still, that's what the inter-phases are for. You nod and pull out the first Spell Card.
"Taboo 'Forbidden Fruit'!" Marisa's face freezes in confusion - an understandable reaction, considering you've only used this Spell Card a couple times, and never against her. Four familiars - little more than animated magic circles for you to pour energy into - fly out, arranging themselves in a huge box-like formation bracketing you and Marisa. The first wave of danmaku erupts from the five of you simultaneously: a glittering, constantly-expanding sphere of bullets from you, and perfectly precise waves of bullets from the familiars. Marisa nods, grinning once more, and begins hammering at you while you're forced to be stationary by the Spell Card. It's frustrating, not being able to move, but a smile creeps onto your face regardless. Marisa dodges the first wave easily, and the following waves of blue danmaku from the familiars. By the fourth wave of red danmaku, though, she's spending as much time dodging the increasingly dense bullets as she is shooting at you, and her accuracy is faltering. The question is: will she bomb? Patchouli said that a lot of youkai still look down on bombing, but this is one of the situations where it's called for: when a Spell Card is set up to force a damage race and the attacker, for one reason or another, doesn't have the power to win by breaking the Spell Card. Of course, your Spell Cards render you immune to damage from bombs - but the danmaku would still be wiped out, partially resetting the Spell Card and giving Marisa some breathing room. And, of course, the timer would still be going down.
She doesn't bomb, instead giving up the offense and devoting herself to grazing and dodging - impressive, but almost the worse decision. She doesn't have your physical and mental endurance, so forcing herself to perform increasingly-difficult acrobatics and maneuvers is going to wear her down and make it more difficult to deal with later Spell Cards. You glance at your friends, taking advantage of the forced penalties of the Spell Card, and your eyes widen as you see Deis and Tohsaka. And Ilya is sitting on Berserker's shoulder - is she explaining things you missed earlier, and helping Lulu tell the newcomers what's going on? Unfortunately, the Spell Card ends before you have time to really figure out what's happening - a draw, since Marisa wasn't able to break it but didn't forfeit the Spell Card or get defeated. You could declare a second Spell Card immediately - some people with lots of Spell Cards like to chain them in quick sequence, to wear down their opponent - but doing so is somewhat rude. Instead, you return to the set-up phase, dueling for position and tempo, until Marisa declares her first Spell Card.
"Love Sign 'Non-Directional Laser'!" Ten familiars surround the magician, spiraling around her, firing lasers. You raise an eyebrow - Patchouli's done something similar, although she didn't make it a Spell Card. Half the familiars spiral in a direction counter to the others, and they shift orientation to keep you on the same plane as Marisa starts throwing out waves of star-shaped danmaku. Your frown turns to one of confusion - this isn't a difficult Spell Card, not unless there's another trick to it that hasn't been brought into play. Still, you weave through the sprays of danmaku, graze past the lasers, and keep a steady stream fire on Marisa. The Spell Card breaks, a clear victory for you … but she doesn't look disappointed or worried at all. Perhaps, unlike you, she started with an easy Spell Card to try and put you off-guard? Of course, she has more Spell Cards, and she's seen almost all of yours already. Still, buoyed by success, you presser her intensely during the inter-phase, trying to keep her off-balance, then activate your second Spell Card.
"Taboo 'Laevateinn'!" You grin - it's not a particularly difficult Spell Card to beat, but it's one you like, and it's lots of fun. You swing the burning blade around, slashing danmaku in broad patterns as you keep focused on Marisa, but she knows the Spell Card too well, and she's fast - she doesn't even need to turn away to put on the speed needed to outrun your charging sweeps. Maybe, now that everyone's more used to Spell Cards, you can make in improved version? Maybe with all of your clones helping …. As expected, Marisa breaks the Spell Card, leaving you tied at one point each and one draw. Maybe you have a chance? As you weave through her bullets and return fire, you study her appearance. She's breathing a little heavily, probably still a bit tired from your first Spell Card, but she doesn't look too battered. You'll have to step up the intensity of your attacks …. Of course, thanks to Loki repairing itself, it's difficult for her to come to an accurate judgment regarding your condition - you're physically superior, as well, so you have a higher damage tolerance, too. Well, Spell Cards aren't supposed to be completely fair … only mostly fair.
"Loving Sign 'Double Spark'!" Your grin vanishes. Marisa's Spark spells are pretty dangerous, after all - and this one doesn't seem to hamper her movement much! She darts around, then settles into position to track you, and you plummet earthward as twin lances of light erupt into massive, converging beams of power. The shield set up by the overseer crackles in response, but you're too focused on avoiding the barrages of star-shaped danmaku to pay much attention to that. Hopefully it'll hold and you won't have to worry about a super Master Spark blowing up half the guests. That would be bad. On the other hand, now that she's firing, Marisa's speed and maneuverability have been greatly hampered, and you pour danmaku at her in a constant stream, letting up only when a second pair of Sparks surges through the air toward you. A desire to close in, to push and smash with claw and rod, rises and you force it down. The irritation that comes with that, however, you have a harder time dealing with.
Maybe that's why you don't completely dodge the third pair of Sparks. Worse, one of the twin beams hits you nearly dead-on, driving you back into the overseer's barrier, and you bite through your lip as pain fills your body. This … most youkai would give up when faced with this kind of power. Forfeit the rest of the match and go rest somewhere without stars and laser beams. You fall toward the ground, slightly dazed as the power pressing you against the barrier vanishes, but the thumping of the star danmaku does little except further damage Loki's Barrier Jacket. You shake your head and dart for the other side of the arena, easily passing through the fourth pair of Sparks before they finish coalescing, but the star danmaku is too thick for you to comfortably fire back at Marisa. Instead, you approach the magician - and when the fifth set of Sparks erupts, rather than dodge them, you activate one of your Bomb Cards, pouring the stored energy through Laevateinn. Fire surges out of your sister's precious gift to you and you slash through the incoming beams of energy. The surge of power from the bomb buoys you, repelling the power of the blasts as the blade clears a swath of danmaku, and with that breathing room established you unleash your danmaku on the singed Marisa. It's too late, however - as the sixth set of Sparks fades, the Spell Card disengages. A draw, at best - and Marisa will probably break your third Spell Card, while you're too tired and battered to make a good showing of whatever her third Spell Card will be. Well, as they say: strike while the human's burning ….
"Forbidden Barrage 'Starbow Break'!" Marisa dives as your final Spell Card activates, attempting to avoid the initial barrage - and succeeding in that, but it probably wasn't worth crossing paths with a familiar and getting blasted to the side. Still, it's only a minor setback for her, and once she establishes some distance she rights herself and unleashes a torrent of danmaku at you. Fortunately, the Spell Card allows some movement, so you're able to box her in a bit by crossing your own waves of danmaku with the streams falling from a familiar. Of course, you're up against Marisa - maybe it would have done something to that shrine maiden, but the magician sees through your scheme and makes a minor adjustment in altitude and position. Even so, the Spell Card is almost finished before she manages to break it. You circle each other warily for a moment, neither of you firing danmaku - either of you could disengage and withdraw from match at this point. You probably can't force a draw, so you'll most likely lose, and while her withdrawing would make the match a draw instead of a possible win, it wouldn't reflect particularly badly on her. And you did get a couple good hits in …. She grins and shakes her head.
"Nah, I'm going to keep going." You nod once, then shift danmaku styles - rather than a stream of arrowheads, now you're going to fore orbs that burst into smaller bullet danmaku. The direct damage is lower, unless you manage to hit the evasive magician dead on, but if you have to focus on dodging then you're more likely to get some hits. "Comet 'Blazing Star'!" You frown, wondering what kind of Spell Card that is - and then Marisa charges at you. You aren't sure if you manage to dodge it or if she avoids you on purpose, but you tumble back, away from the wash of power that you're pretty sure is a Master Spark. That's not the problem, though - you jerk your head to the side, toward where Marisa was headed, and plummet when you see that she's already preparing for another charge. You avoid this one more easily, and as a result you actually notice the star danmaku flying out in her wake. You fire danmaku at her, wondering if you should use the stream instead … but with how quickly she turns and charges, and having to keep track of danmaku, especially in your condition, this is better. Maybe if you hadn't gotten hit by that Spark …. And you're not even going to bother trying to bomb. It would probably work, but if you miss the timing you won't hit her, and even with danmaku rules she's still flying like a tengu and a collision will hurt even through the bomb's power. Instead, you chip at her each time she turns around - but, all too soon, the Spell Card ends on its own. You blink, confused, then release your breath and slowly inhale. Marisa flies over, looking rather worried. "You okay?" You force a smile and nod weakly, dismissing Loki's Barrier Jacket, and she smiles. "Ah, yeah, that's a nice trick." She glances at the scorched patterns on her witch's dress, then shrugs and floats back a little. "Well, that was fun! Gonna have to think up how to deal with that first one before I come back here. See ya!" She swoops down to wave at the overseer, then flies off over the rest of the party. That's … not entirely forbidden, but if she stays up there she'll be asked to land. Of course, she knows that …. You shake your head and slowly descend to the ground, waving at the overseer. You rock gently on your feet as you land - and then you're bowled over by Ilya and Lulu, babbling angrily and worriedly. Apparently, you weren't supposed to get hit by the giant laser beam. Who knew?
What do you do?
[ ] Walk around for a bit, let everyone know you're fine.
[ ] Go to the concert area.
[ ] Let Ilya and Lulu tell you what to do.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: Rules Text: The next player to be dealt damage loses the game.