It was warm, but thankfully not as hot as yesterday. That was your first thought when you woke...
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Functional Sorcery [Mage: The Awakening / Naruto]
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0.1 - The Beginning
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
It was warm, but thankfully not as hot as yesterday. That was your first thought when you woke up this morning. Kind of quaint, looking back on it now. How things were that...simple.
Then again, how simple can life really be in The Village Hidden in the Leaves?
You are a twelve year old child, belonging to:
Named:
...and you thought you had a pretty normal go of it, all things considered. Then, things began changing. Everywhere you went, you would see...symbols out of the corner of your eye. Now, you lived in a Ninja village, so a bunch of weird pictographs around the place wasn't exactly world-shattering news.
When those pictographs began shaping themselves into shapes, eyes and different representations of plants and animals is when you realized there was a problem extending beyond simple graffiti. Life still went on as normal, but you started getting odd glances every once and awhile. Sometimes you would catch yourself walking forward in a trance, forgetting where you are in a brief panic-inducing moment.
For now, though, that's just a little fraction of your life. Midterms at the Academy just passed, and you scraped by with an almost perfectly average grade. You sigh; this wasn't a new occurrence considering you've never really been able to excel at the Ninja Arts. Sure, your classmates would call you:
...but you never considered yourself particularly:
[x] Strong
[x] Smart
[x] Sociable
Beyond that, though? You've never quite gotten the hang of Chakra. That's a pretty big deal, considering it's the foremost building block of the entire Ninja world. You understand the concept, that it's a mix of the physical and spiritual energy of your body, but every time you want to try and call it forward...it just feels like your body would rather be calling up something else. It hadn't really bothered you before, but with your little problem taken together with the newly-appearing symbols, you're starting to suspect a greater issue at hand. You weren't sure what to do, so you kept going on with your life while keeping a close eye out for anything else unusual.
While you still catch symbols out of the order of your eye that you're pretty sure aren't clan symbols, what you end up noticing about the world around you is...peculiar. Specifically, you notice how life in the village isn't the sunshine and roses life you hear about in The Academy. Sure, you've never been outside the walls before and judging by some of the older ninja and people you see around with injuries you're not in a hurry to leave, but all of a sudden you're seeing a lot more of the darkness in the world. Sometimes, walking home at night, you hear yelling coming from an alleyway and something that sounds a lot like laughing men. Even just walking on the same route to The Academy everyday, you only now notice the group of three or four scary looking people smoking next to the alleyway, who glare at you as you try to look at them.
Most glaring, however, is what you see around one of your classmates. As a not-particularly outstanding student you don't attract a lot of attention in class, which means you're free to stare as Naruto Uzumaki pulls his latest stunts in class. Naruto...is different today. Everywhere he goes, you see those symbols. When you're outside training, the impressions his shoes leave on the dirt leave symbol. His doodles connect to the symbols. At one point during training his shirt flies up and you swear you saw a symbol on his stomach!
It's driving you nuts. These symbols everywhere are actually intruding on your life, and enough is enough!
You go to sleep that night, resolving to do something about these symbols tomorrow.
...What do you dream of, that night?
Among your dreams, the cries of the person in the alley and the glares of the men haunt you... but they come from every alley, each one a variation of the crimes you think you've seen over the years, but never quite grasped what was going on. Inside your dreams, you can punish them....
Then again, how simple can life really be in The Village Hidden in the Leaves?
You are a twelve year old child, belonging to:
[x] No one. You're another Orphan of the Nine-Tails attack, regrettably. Still, the Hokage put you and many other orphans into the Academy program, which thankfully you're doing okay in, so you're not left out in the cold yet.
Pros: Independence
Cons: Lack of Support
Cons: Lack of Support
[x] A Civilian Family. Being a ninja just isn't in the blood, which makes a lot of sense considering how poor you are at it. You think you'll be able to pass, but you have an itch that you're meant for something more.
Pros: Support
Cons: Lack of Independence
Pros: Support
Cons: Lack of Independence
Named:
[x] Insert Name Here
[x] Gender?
[x] Gender?
...and you thought you had a pretty normal go of it, all things considered. Then, things began changing. Everywhere you went, you would see...symbols out of the corner of your eye. Now, you lived in a Ninja village, so a bunch of weird pictographs around the place wasn't exactly world-shattering news.
When those pictographs began shaping themselves into shapes, eyes and different representations of plants and animals is when you realized there was a problem extending beyond simple graffiti. Life still went on as normal, but you started getting odd glances every once and awhile. Sometimes you would catch yourself walking forward in a trance, forgetting where you are in a brief panic-inducing moment.
For now, though, that's just a little fraction of your life. Midterms at the Academy just passed, and you scraped by with an almost perfectly average grade. You sigh; this wasn't a new occurrence considering you've never really been able to excel at the Ninja Arts. Sure, your classmates would call you:
[x] Strong
[x] Smart
[x] Sociable
[x] Smart
[x] Sociable
...but you never considered yourself particularly:
[x] Strong
[x] Smart
[x] Sociable
Beyond that, though? You've never quite gotten the hang of Chakra. That's a pretty big deal, considering it's the foremost building block of the entire Ninja world. You understand the concept, that it's a mix of the physical and spiritual energy of your body, but every time you want to try and call it forward...it just feels like your body would rather be calling up something else. It hadn't really bothered you before, but with your little problem taken together with the newly-appearing symbols, you're starting to suspect a greater issue at hand. You weren't sure what to do, so you kept going on with your life while keeping a close eye out for anything else unusual.
While you still catch symbols out of the order of your eye that you're pretty sure aren't clan symbols, what you end up noticing about the world around you is...peculiar. Specifically, you notice how life in the village isn't the sunshine and roses life you hear about in The Academy. Sure, you've never been outside the walls before and judging by some of the older ninja and people you see around with injuries you're not in a hurry to leave, but all of a sudden you're seeing a lot more of the darkness in the world. Sometimes, walking home at night, you hear yelling coming from an alleyway and something that sounds a lot like laughing men. Even just walking on the same route to The Academy everyday, you only now notice the group of three or four scary looking people smoking next to the alleyway, who glare at you as you try to look at them.
Most glaring, however, is what you see around one of your classmates. As a not-particularly outstanding student you don't attract a lot of attention in class, which means you're free to stare as Naruto Uzumaki pulls his latest stunts in class. Naruto...is different today. Everywhere he goes, you see those symbols. When you're outside training, the impressions his shoes leave on the dirt leave symbol. His doodles connect to the symbols. At one point during training his shirt flies up and you swear you saw a symbol on his stomach!
It's driving you nuts. These symbols everywhere are actually intruding on your life, and enough is enough!
You go to sleep that night, resolving to do something about these symbols tomorrow.
...What do you dream of, that night?
[x] Storybook fantasies of you adventuring with mythical beasts, and a blue tower covered in thorns.
[x] Fighting a shadowy copy of yourself, and making amends before taking on the world, along with a dark tower extending dark roots into the ground where it stands.
[x] Walking through the village, a long-crumbled ruin, and picking up a heavy lead coin. In the distance, a pale tower stands where the Hokage's tower should be.
[x] Flying through the clouds during a thunderstorm, remembering every peal of lightning. You're racing to a pulsing red tower, hanging over you.
[x] Being out in the wild, and bringing down a huge beast with your own hands. As you build a fire, you see a green tower covered in vines though the trees.
[x] Fighting a shadowy copy of yourself, and making amends before taking on the world, along with a dark tower extending dark roots into the ground where it stands.
[x] Walking through the village, a long-crumbled ruin, and picking up a heavy lead coin. In the distance, a pale tower stands where the Hokage's tower should be.
[x] Flying through the clouds during a thunderstorm, remembering every peal of lightning. You're racing to a pulsing red tower, hanging over you.
[x] Being out in the wild, and bringing down a huge beast with your own hands. As you build a fire, you see a green tower covered in vines though the trees.
Among your dreams, the cries of the person in the alley and the glares of the men haunt you... but they come from every alley, each one a variation of the crimes you think you've seen over the years, but never quite grasped what was going on. Inside your dreams, you can punish them....
[x] The Strong Act.
-[x] Teach Them a Lesson
They have no power here. They never really had power at all. With the world bending to your whims, you'll crush this trash like the human refuse they are.
-[x] Take What You Need
Maybe they do have power here... but what they are doing with that power is wrong. If you're to stop them, you need to take that power from them and make it yours.
-[x] How Dare They?
Who cares about power? Who cares if you're putting yourself at risk? This is wrong, and you aren't going to stand around and do nothing anymore!
-[x] Show Them Their Place
This world is yours. These people are yours. Crime and chaos have no place in your world, so you won't stand for weak-minded thugs taking out their insecurities on others.
[x] Fools Rush In.
-[x] Study. Plan. Adapt.
Only an idiot picks fights they know they can't win, but you aren't alone; Konoha teaches teamwork and infrastructure, so use it! The closest Military Police station is right down the street, so memorize the faces you see and then sneak away to mobilize officers quickly - you don't have a reputation for pranking, so you'll get the benefit of the doubt as an Academy Student.
-[x] Your Fears Don't Rule You
You know these dreams for what they are: Distractions. These apparitions are just your fears, dragging you down when you could be spending this time centering yourself, becoming more in-tune with the pleasurable rush of your dream-world powers.
-[x] Teach Them a Lesson
They have no power here. They never really had power at all. With the world bending to your whims, you'll crush this trash like the human refuse they are.
-[x] Take What You Need
Maybe they do have power here... but what they are doing with that power is wrong. If you're to stop them, you need to take that power from them and make it yours.
-[x] How Dare They?
Who cares about power? Who cares if you're putting yourself at risk? This is wrong, and you aren't going to stand around and do nothing anymore!
-[x] Show Them Their Place
This world is yours. These people are yours. Crime and chaos have no place in your world, so you won't stand for weak-minded thugs taking out their insecurities on others.
[x] Fools Rush In.
-[x] Study. Plan. Adapt.
Only an idiot picks fights they know they can't win, but you aren't alone; Konoha teaches teamwork and infrastructure, so use it! The closest Military Police station is right down the street, so memorize the faces you see and then sneak away to mobilize officers quickly - you don't have a reputation for pranking, so you'll get the benefit of the doubt as an Academy Student.
-[x] Your Fears Don't Rule You
You know these dreams for what they are: Distractions. These apparitions are just your fears, dragging you down when you could be spending this time centering yourself, becoming more in-tune with the pleasurable rush of your dream-world powers.
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0.2 - A Path Walked
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
-[X] Take What You Need
The first few dreams had been nightmares, really, with the dark figures lurking at every corner and screams of half-remembered victims torturing your slumbering conscience. But finally, after days and weeks of the same horrors haunting you at night, the realization had crystallized: if that's what they were going to do with their power, they didn't deserve to have it. No, that power was yours for the taking.
Yes...You can see it now, playing over in your head. You walk past them, scared and unable to look them in the eye. The next time you pass them, you give them a defiant glare. The next time you see them, they're unable to meet your eyes. Next time, you're taller and tougher than them. Next time, it's you who's in the alleyway, staring the toughs down as they walk by, unable to meet your gaze.
Next time, they're not there at all. Next time, you're looking for other toughs to menace at night. Next time, you see ninja bullying some men in a dark street.
They shouldn't have that power, YOU should...
---
[x] Storybook fantasies of you adventuring with mythical beasts, and a blue tower covered in thorns.
When you were younger, mother read you stories of magical animals that the Ninja could summon as partners in battle or simply travelling companions. You never quite paid rapt attention to them, yet you're pretty sure huge-legged spiders and clown-faced bears weren't among the list. Some of the denizens in this dreamworld could be classified as monsters, but every time you became frightened the dreamworld simply shifted to a new location, devoid of the strange creatures.
Yet the tower was always in the distance.
Eventually, you noticed people with fantastical features and surrounded by color and life, and they were flying towards the center. On a whim, you tried to see if you could join them, and immediately took to the air in your dreams once more. You saw them then; the prettiest people you've ever seen in your life!
Yet...there was something wrong... Hehehehe...
As you flew and laughed with them, you noticed how they looked at you a little too long, or how they smiled a little too wide...
Thankfully, the base of the tower wasn't far, but is someone behind you...? HAHAHAHA
---
[x] Sayaka Izumi
You snap awake in your bed as you almost feel you just got pushed out! The afterimages of your dreams still swirl in your head as you rub your eyes.
"Maybe Mom's right, I might have to go to sleep earlier..." You think to yourself, yawning and stretching for the morning.
Speaking of, the bang on your door makes you jump a second time.
"Sayaka! It's time to get up for school, dear!"
"You didn't have to be so aggressive about it, though." You grumble to yourself, safely out of mother's earshot.
As soon as you take your first few steps off of your bed, you feel...weird. Not sick, exactly, but like you've been spinning in circles and your eyes are trying to adjust. It only takes you a second to push the feeling away, but you worry this is yet another mystery connected to these symbols. Fortunately, you haven't seen the symbols around your house yet, so you can at the very least continue with your morning rituals in peace.
It doesn't take you long to get ready, and when you walk to the Academy you don't see those toughs in the alley.
You smile. Today feels like it's going to be a good day. Hehehehe...
You take a step into the room and sigh. There was still ten minutes before class began, but it looks like most of the seats were filled. Actually, when you look at your assembled classmates, you realize that...one of them is missing?
But they're clearly there - HAHAHAHA, REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS A GIFT, HAHAHAHA
You duck back through the door and lean against the wall, the dizziness from this morning coming back in full force. Someone....someone in there feels wrong. You can't really describe it, but when you look at them you feel like...like they're there but not there but something else that's them but not them is in their place and-
No. That seat was your seat. That person...you don't remember that person. You can clearly picture a smile and a laugh, but it was you, not-
You're pulled out of the craziness when you feel a gentle but firm clap on the shoulder. Who...?
"Sayaka? Are you feeling okay?" Your teacher, Iruka Umino, asks. You look up and see concern in his soft brown eyes, the same look he gives all the other students who go through a hard time. You remember that same look being given to Ino Yamanaka, when her and Sakura Haruno got a little too aggressive in their taunts. You even remember him giving the same look to Naruto Uzumaki, the village pariah and apparently source of all the world's problems, if some of your neighbors would have you and your family believe. Your family has only been a part of the Hidden Leaf for about six years now, but it seems like every other day the neighbors have a new story of the boy accosting them some way.
When you saw him for the first time in the Academy, you...had trouble believing some of the stories.
You shake your head, "Yes sensei, I'm okay. I just felt lightheaded for a bit."
He scans your face for a moment, probably to detect whether or not you're telling the truth, kinda like how your mom would. The thought of it make you smile just a crack, which seems to put Iruka at ease.
"Alright," Iruka smiles and lifts his hand from your shoulder, "In that case let's get to class Ms. Izumi. I've got an especially exciting topic to talk about today."
You get a feeling he would say that about every day, if prompted. Still, you dutifully follow him inside, and breathe a sigh of relief when the seat you looked at before no longer seems so strange, empty as it was.
--
You find yourself back in that storybook land, near the base of that big blue tower. From here you can clearly see a huge bramble of thorns covering the base of the tower. Yet, that wasn't the most remarkable thing...
You appeared to be in some sort of outdoor ballroom, with a massive chandelier that appeared to be hanging from the sky itself. The beautiful figures from earlier were dancing, some were eating by a large table, and still others were laughing and flying around. As soon as you step foot on the ballroom floor, two things happen. Oh my, is that our new arrival?
First, a marble-pearl-white throne rises at the other end of the ballroom, and you feel a pull towards it. No, they're not due till later. This is the other...
Second, as you make your way to the throne, the people stop and stare. You watch them line up at your side, before getting on one knee and bowing their heads in deference to you. Oooh, I love this game!
As you sit on the throne, the crowd cheers with their too-wide mouths and their too-wide eyes. Before you have time to think of a plan to run, the center of the ballroom changes.
There's a circle of flame, and inside of it are the people from your boogeymen, the street toughs who've been intimidating you in your dreams.
The...fair folk(?) are looking at you expectantly. You're not sure what they want out of you...?
After a moment's hesitation, the people seem to grow annoyed. The smiles become taut and taunting, and suddenly the street toughs were replaced with your classmates!
Juuuuuuuddggeeeeee!
You hear a whining tone from all around you at once. Judge? Judge them? You're not punishing them; some of these people are your friends!
--
Not for the first time and hopefully the last, you snap awake from your terrifying dreams. After class, you slink away embarrassed. It's not as though you were the only one sleeping, or even the only one reprimanded judging by the look Iruka was giving Naruto as you left.
As you pass through the threshold of the classroom, you look back at your seat, remembering the morning's events.
A smile and a laugh...
Who was it that was never there, never was?
[x] Sakura Haruno
[x] Ino Yamanaka
[x] Hinata Hyuga
[x] Kiba Inuzuka GM: One of these is not like the other. xD
The first few dreams had been nightmares, really, with the dark figures lurking at every corner and screams of half-remembered victims torturing your slumbering conscience. But finally, after days and weeks of the same horrors haunting you at night, the realization had crystallized: if that's what they were going to do with their power, they didn't deserve to have it. No, that power was yours for the taking.
Yes...You can see it now, playing over in your head. You walk past them, scared and unable to look them in the eye. The next time you pass them, you give them a defiant glare. The next time you see them, they're unable to meet your eyes. Next time, you're taller and tougher than them. Next time, it's you who's in the alleyway, staring the toughs down as they walk by, unable to meet your gaze.
Next time, they're not there at all. Next time, you're looking for other toughs to menace at night. Next time, you see ninja bullying some men in a dark street.
They shouldn't have that power, YOU should...
---
[x] Storybook fantasies of you adventuring with mythical beasts, and a blue tower covered in thorns.
When you were younger, mother read you stories of magical animals that the Ninja could summon as partners in battle or simply travelling companions. You never quite paid rapt attention to them, yet you're pretty sure huge-legged spiders and clown-faced bears weren't among the list. Some of the denizens in this dreamworld could be classified as monsters, but every time you became frightened the dreamworld simply shifted to a new location, devoid of the strange creatures.
Yet the tower was always in the distance.
Eventually, you noticed people with fantastical features and surrounded by color and life, and they were flying towards the center. On a whim, you tried to see if you could join them, and immediately took to the air in your dreams once more. You saw them then; the prettiest people you've ever seen in your life!
Yet...there was something wrong... Hehehehe...
As you flew and laughed with them, you noticed how they looked at you a little too long, or how they smiled a little too wide...
Thankfully, the base of the tower wasn't far, but is someone behind you...? HAHAHAHA
---
[x] Sayaka Izumi
You snap awake in your bed as you almost feel you just got pushed out! The afterimages of your dreams still swirl in your head as you rub your eyes.
"Maybe Mom's right, I might have to go to sleep earlier..." You think to yourself, yawning and stretching for the morning.
Speaking of, the bang on your door makes you jump a second time.
"Sayaka! It's time to get up for school, dear!"
"You didn't have to be so aggressive about it, though." You grumble to yourself, safely out of mother's earshot.
As soon as you take your first few steps off of your bed, you feel...weird. Not sick, exactly, but like you've been spinning in circles and your eyes are trying to adjust. It only takes you a second to push the feeling away, but you worry this is yet another mystery connected to these symbols. Fortunately, you haven't seen the symbols around your house yet, so you can at the very least continue with your morning rituals in peace.
It doesn't take you long to get ready, and when you walk to the Academy you don't see those toughs in the alley.
You smile. Today feels like it's going to be a good day. Hehehehe...
You take a step into the room and sigh. There was still ten minutes before class began, but it looks like most of the seats were filled. Actually, when you look at your assembled classmates, you realize that...one of them is missing?
But they're clearly there - HAHAHAHA, REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS A GIFT, HAHAHAHA
You duck back through the door and lean against the wall, the dizziness from this morning coming back in full force. Someone....someone in there feels wrong. You can't really describe it, but when you look at them you feel like...like they're there but not there but something else that's them but not them is in their place and-
No. That seat was your seat. That person...you don't remember that person. You can clearly picture a smile and a laugh, but it was you, not-
You're pulled out of the craziness when you feel a gentle but firm clap on the shoulder. Who...?
"Sayaka? Are you feeling okay?" Your teacher, Iruka Umino, asks. You look up and see concern in his soft brown eyes, the same look he gives all the other students who go through a hard time. You remember that same look being given to Ino Yamanaka, when her and Sakura Haruno got a little too aggressive in their taunts. You even remember him giving the same look to Naruto Uzumaki, the village pariah and apparently source of all the world's problems, if some of your neighbors would have you and your family believe. Your family has only been a part of the Hidden Leaf for about six years now, but it seems like every other day the neighbors have a new story of the boy accosting them some way.
When you saw him for the first time in the Academy, you...had trouble believing some of the stories.
You shake your head, "Yes sensei, I'm okay. I just felt lightheaded for a bit."
He scans your face for a moment, probably to detect whether or not you're telling the truth, kinda like how your mom would. The thought of it make you smile just a crack, which seems to put Iruka at ease.
"Alright," Iruka smiles and lifts his hand from your shoulder, "In that case let's get to class Ms. Izumi. I've got an especially exciting topic to talk about today."
You get a feeling he would say that about every day, if prompted. Still, you dutifully follow him inside, and breathe a sigh of relief when the seat you looked at before no longer seems so strange, empty as it was.
...
Iruka, bless his heart, loves his job dearly. That might be why he can't tell when his lessons are exceptionally boring. It's not as though he's a bad speaker, but the material he talks about is as dry as the entire Land of Wind. Thus, somewhere between a quarter and a half of the class promptly fell asleep an hour into the day. You included.--
You find yourself back in that storybook land, near the base of that big blue tower. From here you can clearly see a huge bramble of thorns covering the base of the tower. Yet, that wasn't the most remarkable thing...
You appeared to be in some sort of outdoor ballroom, with a massive chandelier that appeared to be hanging from the sky itself. The beautiful figures from earlier were dancing, some were eating by a large table, and still others were laughing and flying around. As soon as you step foot on the ballroom floor, two things happen. Oh my, is that our new arrival?
First, a marble-pearl-white throne rises at the other end of the ballroom, and you feel a pull towards it. No, they're not due till later. This is the other...
Second, as you make your way to the throne, the people stop and stare. You watch them line up at your side, before getting on one knee and bowing their heads in deference to you. Oooh, I love this game!
As you sit on the throne, the crowd cheers with their too-wide mouths and their too-wide eyes. Before you have time to think of a plan to run, the center of the ballroom changes.
There's a circle of flame, and inside of it are the people from your boogeymen, the street toughs who've been intimidating you in your dreams.
The...fair folk(?) are looking at you expectantly. You're not sure what they want out of you...?
After a moment's hesitation, the people seem to grow annoyed. The smiles become taut and taunting, and suddenly the street toughs were replaced with your classmates!
Juuuuuuuddggeeeeee!
You hear a whining tone from all around you at once. Judge? Judge them? You're not punishing them; some of these people are your friends!
--
Not for the first time and hopefully the last, you snap awake from your terrifying dreams. After class, you slink away embarrassed. It's not as though you were the only one sleeping, or even the only one reprimanded judging by the look Iruka was giving Naruto as you left.
As you pass through the threshold of the classroom, you look back at your seat, remembering the morning's events.
A smile and a laugh...
Who was it that was never there, never was?
[x] Sakura Haruno
[x] Ino Yamanaka
[x] Hinata Hyuga
[x] Kiba Inuzuka GM: One of these is not like the other. xD
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0.3 - Stand and Watch Them Fall
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
After a little over 40 hours of no internet, I finally coax my modem to enough life to let me post.
[X] Sakura Haruno
---
You wrinkle your nose as you leave class.
HAHHAHAHAHA, JEALOUS OF HER ATTENTION, OR AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE? DOESN'T MATTER TO ME! THANKS!
Who even has pink hair? That's not a thing real people have.
---
You walk outside, and just take some time to feel the afternoon sun on your face. You've admittedly been spending a lot of time in your dreams lately, and while that might work for your friend Shikamaru, you're not sure you're comfortable just sleeping the days away.
Speak of the devil, Shikamaru and his friend Chouji, who was also in your class, weren't that far from the Academy grounds. There was a small hill just up the road that occasionally bloomed with some nice flowers, and today it seemed blooming with a 'resting' Shikamaru and docile Chouji. You start up the path nonchalantly; You weren't the greatest friends with either of them, but if they went out of their way to talk to you then you wouldn't mind. As you make your way to the top of the hill, you realize that most of your classmates haven't left yet. It would seem that the Academy 'yard' has become a decent hangout spot after school if you had nothing to do.
Hm, good to know. Why do you suddenly know this...?
"Oh, hey, Sayaka!" The brown-haired boy waved over to you from the patch of soft-looking grass he was sitting on. The dozy boy lying on the grass beside him turns his head over to where you were walking, cracking open a single eye. It didn't seem like he took issue to your presence, so you casually diverted off your path and walked over to them. Chouji enthusiastically moved over to make room for you to not have to sit on the slope, and Shikamaru...seemed to go back to sleep.
Eh, good enough.
"Hello Chouji, Shikamaru." You smile and greet them politely. It would be hard to tell right away, but after reading and learning about the history of the village, you remember that these two have seriously powerful and respected families. Best to afford them some measure of respect.
Chouji flashes a bright smile as he pops open a bag of chips from...somewhere, "You can siddown ya know, we don't bite!" Chouji says, before popping the first of his snack into his mouth. Shikamaru sighs, still not making any attempt to move any time soon.
"Maa...too much effort." At Chouji's bark of laughter, you see a small smirk form on the sleepy boy's face.
You smirk, "Sitting down, or biting me?" You say, before plopping down cross-legged on the grass. Without missing a beat, Shikamaru cracks open one eye to look at you.
"Yes."
Peals of laughter erupt from the other boy, as you can only smile and roll your eyes. While the Nara practically embodies laziness wholecloth, you give him a lot of credit for how smart he is. The difference between Naruto and Shikamaru sleeping in class is that when Nara gets woken up, he at least has the right answer over whatever ridiculousness Naruto thinks would pass as an answer. Speaking of answers...
"So, Sayaka, how'd you do on the midterm? Iruka-sensei says that it was supposed to be super telling of our progress so far. I think I did pretty good!" Chouji beams. His friend merely huffs in responses.
"Hardly. Tests like that aren't good indicators of being a Ninja. Although as such as I hate taking tests, it'd be less troublesome if that's what being a Ninja really was like." Shikamaru sighs.
"Maybe you're cut out to be a teacher, then~! Easier to make and grade tests than take them!" Chouji smiles, lightly jabbing his friend in the side. Shikamaru just grunts at the hit and gives a heavy sigh.
"...The future is just troublesome. I'd rather go back to sleep." Shikamaru says, before turning over and putting his back to the both of you.
Chouji just laughs, and as the back and forth continues you tune out a bit to think about what the two clan-ninja boys said. This Midterm was really that big of a test?
You pretty much aced the written exam, but did pretty poor on the physical portion. If being a Ninja is a lot more like the latter than the former...you might be in some trouble. On the bright side, you still have about three months to try and catch up to where you probably should be.
Also on the bright side, the amount of symbols appearing in your life seems to be slowing down. You were ready to do something to take care of them, but it would appear that it's something that will take care of itself? Maybe?
You shrug to yourself. It's not like the symbols have actually hurt anything yet.
Anyway.
After a little bit more friendly chatter, you decide it's getting a little late and you've got to get back home soon. Father closes up shop a little before dusk, and while it's hardly orange outside yet you know that waiting until the last second is probably a bad idea. So, with that, you bid goodbye to Shikamaru and Chouji and return to the path you take home.
Once you get back into the part of Konoha that could be classified as 'the city', you spot Ino Yamanaka and a group of her civilian friends chatting near one of the more popular hangout spots, a small inner-city park. When you meet her gaze, she smiles and waves pleasantly. That was new, as you'd never really interacted with any of your classmates. At least not enough to get a friendly wave from one of the most popular girls in The Academy, anyway. You briefly contemplated going over to talk to them; after all, what good would studying or training do when you could make friends that could help you out, or maybe just hang out with. That sounds...nice.
---
Eventually, night would fall and your dreams would come once more. As your head hits the pillow and you close your eyes, you brace yourself for the monsters straight out of a bad Genjutsu...
...
...but nobody came.
That's not to say it was a dreamless sleep. After passing through the normal phases of sleep, including some oddly colored flowers and situations half-remembered, you feel yourself wrenched from hazy sleep to the stark state of lucid dreaming. At least, with only a single path forward made of light and being surrounded by an inky darkness, you're hopefully dreaming. A reaction sparks within you to try and break these images as if they were Genjutsu, but with your abysmal skill with Chakra you doubt it's even worth the effort even if this was a Ninja technique.
As you took your first steps down the glowing path, you saw streamers of color flow beside you. white and Green mixed together, pulsing to a drum beat you don't hear. Yellow and Red tear back and forth like lightning, just above your head. Greys and Black slough along the path behind you, moving at a steady but slow pace. Now that you're looking, a brown and purple also trail behind you in sheets of light rather than the pulsing streams of the other colors.
While it's all very bizarre, there's still something...comforting about the presences.
Just as you think that, a wind kicks up. From ahead of you, light and dark blue flow towards you. If the lights were streams and sheets before, these colors are positively gaseous. As they slowly reach you and begin to encompass you, a feeling rises from you that is very unfamiliar from within your dreams. You feel...calm.
Which all goes away as a feeling of WRONG comes sharply from the left of you, blasting away every color as well as your feeling of security.
Another PULSE comes from the right, and suddenly the light behind you and in front of you shatters. You're alone until-
IT explodes into existence on your left side. You scream reflexively and fall to your knees as a force crushes down upon you.
HAHAHAHA, IT COMES TO US AFTER ALL! AND IT'S NOT EVEN SPARKED INTO ITS FULL POWER, DELICIOUS!
Its voice sounds so much worse than nails on a chalkboard, and the pressure is so heavy-
Enough.
That second PULSE heralds the existence of another...but you feel the pressure lifting...as you find the strength to stand you see it-
Just as you see his face it's like your eyes skip over oh god what is his face-
I understand why you're here, but don't you think you're a bit early?
HAHAHAHA, NEVER! IMAGINE IF WE TAP INTO ONE BEING THAT WILL AWAKEN IN THE MOST POWERFUL VILLAGE?
Every time The Left speaks, the pressure builds and it hurts-
I don't care. She'll come to us if she wants to. You remember just as well when you came to me, A̵̡̛ͦ̎ͯ̊̇͌̓͌̅ͧ͌ͭ͘͝s̡̢ͣ̋̈́̽͒͋ͮ̐ͣͥ̍ͮ́̊̾ͤ̿̚̚̕͘͝m̵̧̛̎͂̈́ͧ̌ͤ̑̃̒͑̓͡e̷ͨ̅̓̐͌͑ͮ̉̆ͦ̒̉ͭͦ́͘͟͡u̵ͥͧ̌̈́͒̀ͪ̋ͬ̚҉̵͠s̴̢͋͛̆ͧͬ̈ͧ̐̑ͬ̚̚͡r͂̓͌ͦ̕r̴̢͛ͮ̌̃ͤ͌̃̀ͭ̎͊ͦͣ̿r̵̵ͭͮ͋͂ͮ̓̉̒̌̿̑̓͆̏̽̽ͪr̡̨̨̃̒̏̀ͦͬ̑̀̃ͬ̒ͨ̿͂͌ͯ̚. I never ask for your kind to join this path, you do it of your own will.
YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN SOFT OLD MAN, I WILL MAKE THIS ONE KNEEL BEFORE I LET HER SLIP AWAY WITHOUT ULTIMATE POWER!
Ultimate...? But the pressure hurts and it's so heavy
Then I'll have her Stand.
Just like that, the pressure...well, it's not gone, but you can Stand.
He would give you power with no discipline. I would as well, of course, but you should approach me on your own. That being said...
You feel the pressure encroaching around your throat...
Why do you Stand? What Virtue keeps you from falling to your knees in deference to True Power?
I...can't...
You can't...understand...why is this happening?
WHAT KEEPS YOU STANDING AGAINST THE DARK? GIVES YOU POWER AS THE WORLD PUSHES YOU DOWN?
I understand that this is all confusing and new to you, and I'm sorry you have to make such difficult choices. But us...friendly spirits...try to keep our cards on the table.
YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU KNEEL. YOU WANT TO BE A NINJA? YOU WANT POWER? YOU WANT TO WIN? KNEEL!
Stand. Find us later if you must, and I promise it won't be that hard, but Stand.
You're...choking now. The pressure is forcing your knees to buckle, but...something inside...you see flashes of friends, flashes of good people doing good work, people standing in the face of tragedy, and...
--
Why do you Stand?
[x] For Charity
[x] For Hope
[x] For Justice
[x] For Temperance
[x] For Prudence
[x] For Fortitude
[x] For Faith
[x] KNEEL
While we're here, what did you spend your time on?
[x] Training your body
[x] Studying for the last of the tests
[x] Cultivating some real friends.
[X] Sakura Haruno
---
You wrinkle your nose as you leave class.
HAHHAHAHAHA, JEALOUS OF HER ATTENTION, OR AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE? DOESN'T MATTER TO ME! THANKS!
Who even has pink hair? That's not a thing real people have.
---
You walk outside, and just take some time to feel the afternoon sun on your face. You've admittedly been spending a lot of time in your dreams lately, and while that might work for your friend Shikamaru, you're not sure you're comfortable just sleeping the days away.
Speak of the devil, Shikamaru and his friend Chouji, who was also in your class, weren't that far from the Academy grounds. There was a small hill just up the road that occasionally bloomed with some nice flowers, and today it seemed blooming with a 'resting' Shikamaru and docile Chouji. You start up the path nonchalantly; You weren't the greatest friends with either of them, but if they went out of their way to talk to you then you wouldn't mind. As you make your way to the top of the hill, you realize that most of your classmates haven't left yet. It would seem that the Academy 'yard' has become a decent hangout spot after school if you had nothing to do.
Hm, good to know. Why do you suddenly know this...?
"Oh, hey, Sayaka!" The brown-haired boy waved over to you from the patch of soft-looking grass he was sitting on. The dozy boy lying on the grass beside him turns his head over to where you were walking, cracking open a single eye. It didn't seem like he took issue to your presence, so you casually diverted off your path and walked over to them. Chouji enthusiastically moved over to make room for you to not have to sit on the slope, and Shikamaru...seemed to go back to sleep.
Eh, good enough.
"Hello Chouji, Shikamaru." You smile and greet them politely. It would be hard to tell right away, but after reading and learning about the history of the village, you remember that these two have seriously powerful and respected families. Best to afford them some measure of respect.
Chouji flashes a bright smile as he pops open a bag of chips from...somewhere, "You can siddown ya know, we don't bite!" Chouji says, before popping the first of his snack into his mouth. Shikamaru sighs, still not making any attempt to move any time soon.
"Maa...too much effort." At Chouji's bark of laughter, you see a small smirk form on the sleepy boy's face.
You smirk, "Sitting down, or biting me?" You say, before plopping down cross-legged on the grass. Without missing a beat, Shikamaru cracks open one eye to look at you.
"Yes."
Peals of laughter erupt from the other boy, as you can only smile and roll your eyes. While the Nara practically embodies laziness wholecloth, you give him a lot of credit for how smart he is. The difference between Naruto and Shikamaru sleeping in class is that when Nara gets woken up, he at least has the right answer over whatever ridiculousness Naruto thinks would pass as an answer. Speaking of answers...
"So, Sayaka, how'd you do on the midterm? Iruka-sensei says that it was supposed to be super telling of our progress so far. I think I did pretty good!" Chouji beams. His friend merely huffs in responses.
"Hardly. Tests like that aren't good indicators of being a Ninja. Although as such as I hate taking tests, it'd be less troublesome if that's what being a Ninja really was like." Shikamaru sighs.
"Maybe you're cut out to be a teacher, then~! Easier to make and grade tests than take them!" Chouji smiles, lightly jabbing his friend in the side. Shikamaru just grunts at the hit and gives a heavy sigh.
"...The future is just troublesome. I'd rather go back to sleep." Shikamaru says, before turning over and putting his back to the both of you.
Chouji just laughs, and as the back and forth continues you tune out a bit to think about what the two clan-ninja boys said. This Midterm was really that big of a test?
You pretty much aced the written exam, but did pretty poor on the physical portion. If being a Ninja is a lot more like the latter than the former...you might be in some trouble. On the bright side, you still have about three months to try and catch up to where you probably should be.
Also on the bright side, the amount of symbols appearing in your life seems to be slowing down. You were ready to do something to take care of them, but it would appear that it's something that will take care of itself? Maybe?
You shrug to yourself. It's not like the symbols have actually hurt anything yet.
Anyway.
After a little bit more friendly chatter, you decide it's getting a little late and you've got to get back home soon. Father closes up shop a little before dusk, and while it's hardly orange outside yet you know that waiting until the last second is probably a bad idea. So, with that, you bid goodbye to Shikamaru and Chouji and return to the path you take home.
Once you get back into the part of Konoha that could be classified as 'the city', you spot Ino Yamanaka and a group of her civilian friends chatting near one of the more popular hangout spots, a small inner-city park. When you meet her gaze, she smiles and waves pleasantly. That was new, as you'd never really interacted with any of your classmates. At least not enough to get a friendly wave from one of the most popular girls in The Academy, anyway. You briefly contemplated going over to talk to them; after all, what good would studying or training do when you could make friends that could help you out, or maybe just hang out with. That sounds...nice.
---
Eventually, night would fall and your dreams would come once more. As your head hits the pillow and you close your eyes, you brace yourself for the monsters straight out of a bad Genjutsu...
...
...but nobody came.
That's not to say it was a dreamless sleep. After passing through the normal phases of sleep, including some oddly colored flowers and situations half-remembered, you feel yourself wrenched from hazy sleep to the stark state of lucid dreaming. At least, with only a single path forward made of light and being surrounded by an inky darkness, you're hopefully dreaming. A reaction sparks within you to try and break these images as if they were Genjutsu, but with your abysmal skill with Chakra you doubt it's even worth the effort even if this was a Ninja technique.
As you took your first steps down the glowing path, you saw streamers of color flow beside you. white and Green mixed together, pulsing to a drum beat you don't hear. Yellow and Red tear back and forth like lightning, just above your head. Greys and Black slough along the path behind you, moving at a steady but slow pace. Now that you're looking, a brown and purple also trail behind you in sheets of light rather than the pulsing streams of the other colors.
While it's all very bizarre, there's still something...comforting about the presences.
Just as you think that, a wind kicks up. From ahead of you, light and dark blue flow towards you. If the lights were streams and sheets before, these colors are positively gaseous. As they slowly reach you and begin to encompass you, a feeling rises from you that is very unfamiliar from within your dreams. You feel...calm.
Which all goes away as a feeling of WRONG comes sharply from the left of you, blasting away every color as well as your feeling of security.
Another PULSE comes from the right, and suddenly the light behind you and in front of you shatters. You're alone until-
IT explodes into existence on your left side. You scream reflexively and fall to your knees as a force crushes down upon you.
Its voice sounds so much worse than nails on a chalkboard, and the pressure is so heavy-
Enough.
That second PULSE heralds the existence of another...but you feel the pressure lifting...as you find the strength to stand you see it-
Just as you see his face it's like your eyes skip over oh god what is his face-
I understand why you're here, but don't you think you're a bit early?
Every time The Left speaks, the pressure builds and it hurts-
I don't care. She'll come to us if she wants to. You remember just as well when you came to me, A̵̡̛ͦ̎ͯ̊̇͌̓͌̅ͧ͌ͭ͘͝s̡̢ͣ̋̈́̽͒͋ͮ̐ͣͥ̍ͮ́̊̾ͤ̿̚̚̕͘͝m̵̧̛̎͂̈́ͧ̌ͤ̑̃̒͑̓͡e̷ͨ̅̓̐͌͑ͮ̉̆ͦ̒̉ͭͦ́͘͟͡u̵ͥͧ̌̈́͒̀ͪ̋ͬ̚҉̵͠s̴̢͋͛̆ͧͬ̈ͧ̐̑ͬ̚̚͡r͂̓͌ͦ̕r̴̢͛ͮ̌̃ͤ͌̃̀ͭ̎͊ͦͣ̿r̵̵ͭͮ͋͂ͮ̓̉̒̌̿̑̓͆̏̽̽ͪr̡̨̨̃̒̏̀ͦͬ̑̀̃ͬ̒ͨ̿͂͌ͯ̚. I never ask for your kind to join this path, you do it of your own will.
Ultimate...? But the pressure hurts and it's so heavy
Then I'll have her Stand.
Just like that, the pressure...well, it's not gone, but you can Stand.
He would give you power with no discipline. I would as well, of course, but you should approach me on your own. That being said...
You feel the pressure encroaching around your throat...
Why do you Stand? What Virtue keeps you from falling to your knees in deference to True Power?
I...can't...
You can't...understand...why is this happening?
I understand that this is all confusing and new to you, and I'm sorry you have to make such difficult choices. But us...friendly spirits...try to keep our cards on the table.
Stand. Find us later if you must, and I promise it won't be that hard, but Stand.
You're...choking now. The pressure is forcing your knees to buckle, but...something inside...you see flashes of friends, flashes of good people doing good work, people standing in the face of tragedy, and...
--
Why do you Stand?
[x] For Charity
[x] For Hope
[x] For Justice
[x] For Temperance
[x] For Prudence
[x] For Fortitude
[x] For Faith
[x] KNEEL
While we're here, what did you spend your time on?
[x] Training your body
[x] Studying for the last of the tests
[x] Cultivating some real friends.
0.4 - The First Choice Is Easist
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
[x] Train your Body
[x] Fortitude
---
Everything becomes quiet. You feel the choking sensation around your throat attempting to bring you to your knees...
...AND YET YOU STAND.
Things happen quickly, now. You only have a small platform of white light left to stand on in the darkness, but it's enough.
"I won't..."
At once, the choking sensation becomes so tight, but in the next instant you feel that power broken. It's like all of the weight ran off of you like water, and compared to earlier you almost feel like you would float away.
WHAT! YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND AGAINST ME, HE WHO COULD CRUSH YOU WITH SO MUCH AS A THOUGHT?
I think that's what she said, yes.
You ignore the discourse happening around you, focusing on the energy you feel flowing through your veins. It's still an infinite blackness in every direction that hurts to think about, but you look down and find light coming off of you, illuminating at least a little bit of the endless dark.
"You might..." You begin, lungs swelling with power and conviction and purpose, "...You might have the ability to kill me without even trying, you might be able to grind up my soul into dust...BUT I WILL NOT YIELD!"
--
Even considering you were still dreaming, the next thing you remember is just a blur. When the light receded, you found yourself back in the storybook dreamland. Right in front of you was the blue tower, its base covered in a thick bramble of thorny vines. You almost feel like you're on auto-pilot, as if your body knows what to do and your mind is just going along for the ride. You can still look around, and you do; the strange spirits that were trying to get you to punish your friends
You look at the summit of the tower, high above where you stand. You feel yourself cast your arms wide, as if you are trying to hug the tower.
"I'm done." You finally say. You're choosing your words now; while the rest of your body isn't cooperating it seems your mouth is. "I'm done having this stupid stuff control my life. My freaky dreams, those symbols, the Academy Tests...The only one who controls my life is me."
At once, the bramble shifts towards you, as if responding to your hug request. You feel yourself being embraced by the thorns just as-
VPOOMPH
--
...just as you wake up to the sound of Mom pounding on your door, again.
"Sayaka! It's time to get up for school, dear!"
You sighed, Maybe I should tell somebody about these dreams, just to double-check that I'm not going crazy.
...or maybe you are going crazy.
You shake those thoughts out of your head. That kind of thinking can only lead to some really bad places. A couple of bad games can't mean that you're going crazy, right?
...right?
You purge the bad ideas from your head a second time. Today's gonna be a good day. Today will be a good day, you're sure of it.
It only takes you a couple minutes to get dressed and get ready, and just as you finish you pause in front of the mirror in your room. You see a brown haired girl with deep blue eyes stare back at you, she's about average height but pretty lean compared to the rest of her classmates. She doesn't seem that memorable; she looks fast, but not strong. She's smart, but no one calls her a prodigy. She has friends, but she's no Yamanaka. Nothing memorable, nothing unique, nothing to scream that she is the protagonist in some grand adventure of epic proportions. It would be far better if this girl just stays in bed, forgets about everything, and chooses to live a normal sleepy life.
You choose, instead, to walk out the door towards the Academy.
--
Muscles still feeling a little sore from your training yesterday, you're dreading the beginning of class. Physical Education is going to be rough today, especially because for some reason you've been feeling a lot more heavy since you woke up today.
"Good morning, class!" Iruka shouts merrily as he walks into the classroom. His assistant Mizuki trails in afterwards, which is a curious sight. Usually Mizuki spends his mornings away from the classroom, preparing the Academy Training Yard for class or otherwise doing teacher stuff. It's not like you had strong feelings, mind, Mizuki seemed like a decent enough teacher. Although he was pretty absent-minded, which was a dangerous fault when you teach the village prankster.
However, as you watch Mizuki enter the room, your head begins to hurt. You scrunch up your face as the sharp pain reaches a head...
And then everything slows. All of a sudden the dull browns of the wood in the Academy walls and desks give way to the shimmering, brilliant silver lines filling your vision. Coils of silvery light wrap around most of your classmates, and many of them trail off. It's hard to follow some of them, since they go in different directions or split away from each other. Some things jump out to you immediately, though. A few of the coils don't seem...healthy. Mizuki, especially, seems like his coils are very thin and hard to focus on. In fact, it seems like the only coil you can follow is one that leads directly to Naruto.
Naruto himself is the other strange sight. Where others have silver ropes that writhe and flow freely out in many directions, Naruto only has solid GOLD lines branching off of him. They form straight angles as they endlessly plunge through the air to their destinations, and it seems like Naruto is connected to everything. Bars of GOLD connect him to...eight different students directly? There's a bar that leads right to you too, but it seems to...wink in and out, like the connection isn't certain. Another conspicuous absence is the fact that there's no connection you can find that links him to Mizuki. Even with the other students that Naruto doesn't seem directly connected to, you can spot GOLD bars coming back to the Academy to connect to the other students.
When there's an unbroken link to Iruka-sensei, and a complete absence of a link to Mizuki, it makes you wonder. First, it makes you wonder what the hell you're even seeing, but after the dreams you're not sure you could even be surprised at this point. Indeed, symbols of what looks like alphabet characters twisted into several different ones at once are the most prominent, glowing a soft blue on the Academy walls. You've learned to ignore those, as after the dreams they seem to be the most common, but now that they're glowing you can't help but wonder if you're not in some strange Genjutsu after all. Or if you're actually casting it.
On a more meta-level, you're realizing that you're spending a lot of time thinking about stuff. As you go down that spiral of thinking about thinking about things, you feel the headaches bubble up again, and brace yourself for the peak...
And time moves normally again. The coils and bars are gone, replaced by the normal sights of the Academy blackboard and posters.
Similarly, your perplexion is pushed to the side as Iruka dives right into the lesson. Thinking comes later, now comes paying attention.
--
You sigh as you leave class, moving to the field where you talked to Shikamaru and Chouji a while ago. They're not there, but it still feels like a calming place to be for the moment. It turns out you didn't have PE today at all, Iruka called it a 'reward' for how good most everyone did on the Midterm Test and let the class out early. This leaves you with a lot of free time that you can spend doing whatever. You take a moment to think about what's all to be done today...
You could go train some more. Your body still seems heavy, and there seems to be this foreboding sense of PANIC in the back of your mind as if you're missing something important. Maybe if you work out some, you'll be able to figure out the problem? You could even ask someone to come train with you!
On the other hand, you might want to spend some time figuring out what happened today. The headaches came and went throughout the day, but it seemed like so long as you consciously didn't want to watch time slow down again and see the tendrils and symbols reappear, then they wouldn't. You wonder what would happen if you did.
Then again, you could also hang out with some of your friends without any of the training stuff. You don't really do that very often, so it might be nice to meet some of your other classmates, or just generally be around people. Speaking of people, you can't remember the last time you visited your dad in his shop. Maybe now would be a good time and go see him? It's pretty hard to see him sometimes, because he doesn't get home until late most days.
You also see Naruto exit the Academy from where you were, and your head throbs a bit remembering the GOLD bars.
You sigh. You could also just go back and nap for a while. Sometimes these headaches get really annoying.
[x] Training Time
-[x] Alone
-[x] Write in
[x] Testing Out This Weird Thing
[x] Nap City, Population Sayaka
-[x] Find Shikamaru
[x] Socialize
-[x] Naruto
-[x] Ino Yamanaka
-[x] Write in
[Choose Two, ordering matters. You can also select to do the same thing twice, as long as you're doing it with different people if applicable.]
[For example you can train twice, but only with one partner once. You can Nap and Test alone as much as you want, obviously]
[x] Fortitude
---
Everything becomes quiet. You feel the choking sensation around your throat attempting to bring you to your knees...
...AND YET YOU STAND.
Things happen quickly, now. You only have a small platform of white light left to stand on in the darkness, but it's enough.
"I won't..."
At once, the choking sensation becomes so tight, but in the next instant you feel that power broken. It's like all of the weight ran off of you like water, and compared to earlier you almost feel like you would float away.
I think that's what she said, yes.
You ignore the discourse happening around you, focusing on the energy you feel flowing through your veins. It's still an infinite blackness in every direction that hurts to think about, but you look down and find light coming off of you, illuminating at least a little bit of the endless dark.
"You might..." You begin, lungs swelling with power and conviction and purpose, "...You might have the ability to kill me without even trying, you might be able to grind up my soul into dust...BUT I WILL NOT YIELD!"
--
Even considering you were still dreaming, the next thing you remember is just a blur. When the light receded, you found yourself back in the storybook dreamland. Right in front of you was the blue tower, its base covered in a thick bramble of thorny vines. You almost feel like you're on auto-pilot, as if your body knows what to do and your mind is just going along for the ride. You can still look around, and you do; the strange spirits that were trying to get you to punish your friends
You look at the summit of the tower, high above where you stand. You feel yourself cast your arms wide, as if you are trying to hug the tower.
"I'm done." You finally say. You're choosing your words now; while the rest of your body isn't cooperating it seems your mouth is. "I'm done having this stupid stuff control my life. My freaky dreams, those symbols, the Academy Tests...The only one who controls my life is me."
At once, the bramble shifts towards you, as if responding to your hug request. You feel yourself being embraced by the thorns just as-
VPOOMPH
--
...just as you wake up to the sound of Mom pounding on your door, again.
"Sayaka! It's time to get up for school, dear!"
You sighed, Maybe I should tell somebody about these dreams, just to double-check that I'm not going crazy.
...or maybe you are going crazy.
You shake those thoughts out of your head. That kind of thinking can only lead to some really bad places. A couple of bad games can't mean that you're going crazy, right?
...right?
You purge the bad ideas from your head a second time. Today's gonna be a good day. Today will be a good day, you're sure of it.
It only takes you a couple minutes to get dressed and get ready, and just as you finish you pause in front of the mirror in your room. You see a brown haired girl with deep blue eyes stare back at you, she's about average height but pretty lean compared to the rest of her classmates. She doesn't seem that memorable; she looks fast, but not strong. She's smart, but no one calls her a prodigy. She has friends, but she's no Yamanaka. Nothing memorable, nothing unique, nothing to scream that she is the protagonist in some grand adventure of epic proportions. It would be far better if this girl just stays in bed, forgets about everything, and chooses to live a normal sleepy life.
You choose, instead, to walk out the door towards the Academy.
--
Muscles still feeling a little sore from your training yesterday, you're dreading the beginning of class. Physical Education is going to be rough today, especially because for some reason you've been feeling a lot more heavy since you woke up today.
"Good morning, class!" Iruka shouts merrily as he walks into the classroom. His assistant Mizuki trails in afterwards, which is a curious sight. Usually Mizuki spends his mornings away from the classroom, preparing the Academy Training Yard for class or otherwise doing teacher stuff. It's not like you had strong feelings, mind, Mizuki seemed like a decent enough teacher. Although he was pretty absent-minded, which was a dangerous fault when you teach the village prankster.
However, as you watch Mizuki enter the room, your head begins to hurt. You scrunch up your face as the sharp pain reaches a head...
And then everything slows. All of a sudden the dull browns of the wood in the Academy walls and desks give way to the shimmering, brilliant silver lines filling your vision. Coils of silvery light wrap around most of your classmates, and many of them trail off. It's hard to follow some of them, since they go in different directions or split away from each other. Some things jump out to you immediately, though. A few of the coils don't seem...healthy. Mizuki, especially, seems like his coils are very thin and hard to focus on. In fact, it seems like the only coil you can follow is one that leads directly to Naruto.
Naruto himself is the other strange sight. Where others have silver ropes that writhe and flow freely out in many directions, Naruto only has solid GOLD lines branching off of him. They form straight angles as they endlessly plunge through the air to their destinations, and it seems like Naruto is connected to everything. Bars of GOLD connect him to...eight different students directly? There's a bar that leads right to you too, but it seems to...wink in and out, like the connection isn't certain. Another conspicuous absence is the fact that there's no connection you can find that links him to Mizuki. Even with the other students that Naruto doesn't seem directly connected to, you can spot GOLD bars coming back to the Academy to connect to the other students.
When there's an unbroken link to Iruka-sensei, and a complete absence of a link to Mizuki, it makes you wonder. First, it makes you wonder what the hell you're even seeing, but after the dreams you're not sure you could even be surprised at this point. Indeed, symbols of what looks like alphabet characters twisted into several different ones at once are the most prominent, glowing a soft blue on the Academy walls. You've learned to ignore those, as after the dreams they seem to be the most common, but now that they're glowing you can't help but wonder if you're not in some strange Genjutsu after all. Or if you're actually casting it.
On a more meta-level, you're realizing that you're spending a lot of time thinking about stuff. As you go down that spiral of thinking about thinking about things, you feel the headaches bubble up again, and brace yourself for the peak...
And time moves normally again. The coils and bars are gone, replaced by the normal sights of the Academy blackboard and posters.
Similarly, your perplexion is pushed to the side as Iruka dives right into the lesson. Thinking comes later, now comes paying attention.
--
You sigh as you leave class, moving to the field where you talked to Shikamaru and Chouji a while ago. They're not there, but it still feels like a calming place to be for the moment. It turns out you didn't have PE today at all, Iruka called it a 'reward' for how good most everyone did on the Midterm Test and let the class out early. This leaves you with a lot of free time that you can spend doing whatever. You take a moment to think about what's all to be done today...
You could go train some more. Your body still seems heavy, and there seems to be this foreboding sense of PANIC in the back of your mind as if you're missing something important. Maybe if you work out some, you'll be able to figure out the problem? You could even ask someone to come train with you!
On the other hand, you might want to spend some time figuring out what happened today. The headaches came and went throughout the day, but it seemed like so long as you consciously didn't want to watch time slow down again and see the tendrils and symbols reappear, then they wouldn't. You wonder what would happen if you did.
Then again, you could also hang out with some of your friends without any of the training stuff. You don't really do that very often, so it might be nice to meet some of your other classmates, or just generally be around people. Speaking of people, you can't remember the last time you visited your dad in his shop. Maybe now would be a good time and go see him? It's pretty hard to see him sometimes, because he doesn't get home until late most days.
You also see Naruto exit the Academy from where you were, and your head throbs a bit remembering the GOLD bars.
You sigh. You could also just go back and nap for a while. Sometimes these headaches get really annoying.
[x] Training Time
-[x] Alone
-[x] Write in
[x] Testing Out This Weird Thing
[x] Nap City, Population Sayaka
-[x] Find Shikamaru
[x] Socialize
-[x] Naruto
-[x] Ino Yamanaka
-[x] Write in
[Choose Two, ordering matters. You can also select to do the same thing twice, as long as you're doing it with different people if applicable.]
[For example you can train twice, but only with one partner once. You can Nap and Test alone as much as you want, obviously]
0.5 - Knowledge is Pain
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
[x] Testing Out This Weird Thing
[x] Nap City, Population Sayaka
-[x] Find Shikamaru
---
As the headaches threaten to peak just at you begin thinking about them, you suppose you should take care of that first. It's just as well; this certainly will be the most interesting thing you do today. As the headache bubbles to where you're think you're about to lose it, you focus and time shifts.
There we go. Now, the alphabet characters are blue lines in the ground as opposed to being seemingly carved into the walls. That's good; you'd have hated to accidently damaged something with your weird ability. As you ponder the latest symbol in the grass, you wonder if this isn't actually some secret ninja Kekkei Genkai? You're not from a ninja family...but you could have a super secret latent bloodline!
HAHAHAHA- Wait, you're serious? Hang on, let me laugh harder. HAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAH
Hmm, if that's the case, you wonder what all you can do with your secret technique. You turn around and focus on Naruto again. It kinda hurts to try and follow all of his GOLD bars at once, but you're getting a handle on it. Now that you're focusing on him, you can see that he's not just connected to people, but places too. In fact, if you follow with your eyes the bar that seems to be going to...
...huh. Guess Naruto really wasn't kidding about the Hokage thing. You wonder...what else can your power reveal about Naruto? You look at him...
...
...Nothing? No, that can't be right. You want to see all of Naruto's Connections, what they mean.
As if a switch was flipped as soon as you thought that, the connections winked out, and then they all came back at the same time, filled in. You count ten...twenty...thirty...Kami, was Naruto connected to everything in the village?!
You growl internally. This isn't what you wanted, you wanted to see everything. As you focus even harder, the sense of WRONG creeps back on the edges of your perception. You're Reaching, but you feel something unlock...Naruto...
Information floods your senses. These GOLD bars aren't a joke, Naruto is swimming in some serious stuff. You see...you're not sure if this is actually happening, but you feel yourself in a different scene. You're just outside the village, the weather is dark, cold and windy. You can see the walls of the Hidden Leaf in the distance though the surrounding canopy of trees...just how far away were you? As you look around in the clearing you're standing in to try and get a sense of where you were, you fail to contain a gasp as you discover Naruto and...is that Sasuke Uchiha? The Uchiha prodigy, sole survivor of that massacre years ago? You heard about it in passing (although you heard about it in passing frequently), it seemed as though the Uchihas used to be a pretty big deal in Hidden Leaf.
You felt bad for Sasuke, but with how he acts in class, and especially towards the girls in his "fan club", you can't help but think he might be developing a slight attitude problem. Still, if he lost his family, you suppose it makes sense. But that doesn't explain what the two of them are doing out here...
"Damn it Sasuke, talk to me! I don't care if I gotta pound ya and take ya back to Kakashi-sensei for answers, just tell me why you're leaving!" Naruto yelled as he crouched down, almost looking like he was going to pounce on the Uchiha heir.
"Hn. You don't understand, idiot. Everybody has got a different road they have to walk down in life. Mine is just taking me out of this stupid village." There's...nothing in Sasuke's voice. You hear the cold, biting tone of his phrasing, but either Sasuke's heart isn't in it or he's...
You look frantically between the two of them. It's obvious they can't see you, but that likely means you won't be able to stop something terrible from happening.
Naruto growls, "You...LIAR! I KNOW you Sasuke Uchiha! And the Sasuke I know is a mean, cold bastard, but you know just as well as I do that when Kakashi-sensei said, 'Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash,' WE ALL took it to heart! I know that this shit with your brother is on your mind-"
You see Sasuke's eyes flash with emotion for just a second, but what you saw was...pure hatred.
Naruto continues, "-and damn it, when the time comes I'll be happy to help kick his ass with you. Because we're a TEAM!"
Sasuke pauses, as if he's carefully planning his next words. "You're wrong."
It's hard to tell, but Naruto's reaction probably outdid yours in surprise.
Sasuke turns his back on Naruto, (and the Leaf Village itself, you grimly note) and speaks very slowly, "If I just spend my days palling around with you, I'm never going to get the power that I need. You don't seem to understand..." Sasuke trails off...
Four figures shuffle in the darkness of the treeline, stepping out into the moonlight. Things get hazy as one of them opens their mouth, "But we're more than happy to demonstrate, Naruto Uzumaki..."
The haziness overtakes the scene, and you find yourself back in front of the Academy. Except...something feels WRONG...
Time still feels pretty slow, but there's an even slower creeping sensation around the edges of your vision. The grass becomes a deep red color when it's in the corner of your eye, and you can't help but smell something terrible, almost like something's rotting...
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Ugh! Is that...the PRESENCE from your dreams feels like it's trying to invade your mind...this rotting, this corruption...it has to be from him....
You will not let this Stand.
Instinctively, you understand that you can't let this junk out into the real world. Maybe this is just a side effect of your weird ability and is safe in small doses, but right now, you're not letting this stuff out. You begin to focus really hard as you draw in a deep breath.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the corruption draws itself out of the grass and the air and flows into you.
It hurts.
A lot.
Somewhere in the process you think you're about to pass out, but just as you consider dropping to the ground the pain stops, and time begins to move normally again. Mechanically, you bring a hand to your nose and wipe away a good trickle of blood that seems to be leaking from you. It's hard to think with the all-encompassing ache in your head and in your body. It hurts like hell, but you endured.
Before Naruto can turn around to see you and ask some questions you wouldn't be able to answer, you spin on your heel (bad idea, ugh) and stumble down the hill farther into the meadow. You're not sure where you're going, but for right now, your destination is anywhere but here.
---
You feel like you've traveled feet in the time it takes to blink, your headaches are getting so bad. You started walking away from the academy, you're sure, but try as you might you can't seem to figure out where you are between the flashes of PAIN-
...And now you're on the ground. Awesome. You lay there for a while, contemplating life and how you managed to find yourself crumpled in an admittedly pleasant meadow somewhere in the village. It's tempting to blame the dreams for all this, and you're even further tempted to drag that blame over everything that's happened to you in the recent days. You feel a dark cloud press against your thoughts at that; Maybe you really weren't cut out for this lifestyle, if you can't get a handle on your ability. Yet that didn't feel like your super cool technique, it felt other...
As you slink further and further into sadness, a shadow appears and passes over you.
"Huh. Weird, usually I'm the only one here."
Shikamaru?
...whatever, sure. "Well, usually I'm not crumpled on the ground, but there's a first time for everything. Came to steal a quick nap?" You snap at him. Inwardly you wince a little, you don't mean to be rude but it still hurts.
You see the shadow on the ground in front of you shrug, "Probably. Unless you're busy laying there by yourself...?" He asks that as a question, but you sense more than a little annoyed sarcasm in his voice. Rude, but fair.
"No, by all means." You say, letting out a heavy sigh. You consider mustering up some more venom, in an attempt to get him to leave you alone with your misery and not ask questions, but deflate at the last second. It's Shikamaru. You doubt you're going to be asked a million questions, especially when you're both in a perfect napping spot, evidently.
You see the shadow's head bob a bit- Shikamaru nodding? -before the shadow compresses and you hear Shikamaru laying down on the grass, likely resting with the downward slope of the little hill you're both on over your haphazard mess of limbs near the foot of it. Your eyes become slightly unfocused as the wind picks up and you watch the grass away back and forth...
...It's quiet. You snap back into reality as you hear Shikamaru yawn and shuffle, reminding you of his presence. You feel pretty embarrassed on reflection; you took his sleeping spot and snapped at him for it. That's...not a super cool thing to do, you realize. You shift uncomfortably, wondering if you should apologize.
Shikamaru sighs behind you, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I promise I'm not just being passive aggressive."
Well. The wording of that makes you suspicious of the opposite, but the sheer bored neutrality in his voice makes you believe he's...trying to be sincere at least.
---
Eventually, your eyes droop downwards as the pain becomes more of an annoyance in the back of your head rather that the throbbing menace it was. Somewhere in your mind you're worried you're about to be pulled into another surrealist nightmare, but one final yawn is all it takes to finally put you out.
HAHAHAHAHA wait, what? Where are you going? Is that the Deep-...fuck.
Oh, you're back. Cool. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
You wake up with a gasp, as was becoming more and more common. As your heart beat settles and you scan your surroundings to try and figure out how you managed to be kidnapped from your house and taken to this field-wait.
As your memories come flooding back, you feel your face go hot as you realize you didn't mean to sleep this long. The blue of night illuminates your surroundings, giving everything a very peaceful look. You smile, taking in the sight of nature before you pale and realize what this means.
You weren't home before nightfall.
---
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I promise I'm not just being passive aggressive."
[x] Talk About It
-[x] What, Exactly?
[x] Keep Quiet
What two Colors do you grasp?
[x] Blue - Time
[x] Teal - Fate
[x] Green - Life
[x] Purple - Mind
[x] Brown - Space
Now for the Out of Character Votes. Read the above explanation on Paradox for context, if you don't know what this vote is.
[x] Contain Paradox
[x] Release Paradox
[x] Specify when you want to Release/Contain
[x] Nap City, Population Sayaka
-[x] Find Shikamaru
---
As the headaches threaten to peak just at you begin thinking about them, you suppose you should take care of that first. It's just as well; this certainly will be the most interesting thing you do today. As the headache bubbles to where you're think you're about to lose it, you focus and time shifts.
There we go. Now, the alphabet characters are blue lines in the ground as opposed to being seemingly carved into the walls. That's good; you'd have hated to accidently damaged something with your weird ability. As you ponder the latest symbol in the grass, you wonder if this isn't actually some secret ninja Kekkei Genkai? You're not from a ninja family...but you could have a super secret latent bloodline!
HAHAHAHA- Wait, you're serious? Hang on, let me laugh harder. HAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAH
Hmm, if that's the case, you wonder what all you can do with your secret technique. You turn around and focus on Naruto again. It kinda hurts to try and follow all of his GOLD bars at once, but you're getting a handle on it. Now that you're focusing on him, you can see that he's not just connected to people, but places too. In fact, if you follow with your eyes the bar that seems to be going to...
...huh. Guess Naruto really wasn't kidding about the Hokage thing. You wonder...what else can your power reveal about Naruto? You look at him...
...
...Nothing? No, that can't be right. You want to see all of Naruto's Connections, what they mean.
As if a switch was flipped as soon as you thought that, the connections winked out, and then they all came back at the same time, filled in. You count ten...twenty...thirty...Kami, was Naruto connected to everything in the village?!
You growl internally. This isn't what you wanted, you wanted to see everything. As you focus even harder, the sense of WRONG creeps back on the edges of your perception. You're Reaching, but you feel something unlock...Naruto...
Information floods your senses. These GOLD bars aren't a joke, Naruto is swimming in some serious stuff. You see...you're not sure if this is actually happening, but you feel yourself in a different scene. You're just outside the village, the weather is dark, cold and windy. You can see the walls of the Hidden Leaf in the distance though the surrounding canopy of trees...just how far away were you? As you look around in the clearing you're standing in to try and get a sense of where you were, you fail to contain a gasp as you discover Naruto and...is that Sasuke Uchiha? The Uchiha prodigy, sole survivor of that massacre years ago? You heard about it in passing (although you heard about it in passing frequently), it seemed as though the Uchihas used to be a pretty big deal in Hidden Leaf.
You felt bad for Sasuke, but with how he acts in class, and especially towards the girls in his "fan club", you can't help but think he might be developing a slight attitude problem. Still, if he lost his family, you suppose it makes sense. But that doesn't explain what the two of them are doing out here...
"Damn it Sasuke, talk to me! I don't care if I gotta pound ya and take ya back to Kakashi-sensei for answers, just tell me why you're leaving!" Naruto yelled as he crouched down, almost looking like he was going to pounce on the Uchiha heir.
"Hn. You don't understand, idiot. Everybody has got a different road they have to walk down in life. Mine is just taking me out of this stupid village." There's...nothing in Sasuke's voice. You hear the cold, biting tone of his phrasing, but either Sasuke's heart isn't in it or he's...
You look frantically between the two of them. It's obvious they can't see you, but that likely means you won't be able to stop something terrible from happening.
Naruto growls, "You...LIAR! I KNOW you Sasuke Uchiha! And the Sasuke I know is a mean, cold bastard, but you know just as well as I do that when Kakashi-sensei said, 'Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash,' WE ALL took it to heart! I know that this shit with your brother is on your mind-"
You see Sasuke's eyes flash with emotion for just a second, but what you saw was...pure hatred.
Naruto continues, "-and damn it, when the time comes I'll be happy to help kick his ass with you. Because we're a TEAM!"
Sasuke pauses, as if he's carefully planning his next words. "You're wrong."
It's hard to tell, but Naruto's reaction probably outdid yours in surprise.
Sasuke turns his back on Naruto, (and the Leaf Village itself, you grimly note) and speaks very slowly, "If I just spend my days palling around with you, I'm never going to get the power that I need. You don't seem to understand..." Sasuke trails off...
Four figures shuffle in the darkness of the treeline, stepping out into the moonlight. Things get hazy as one of them opens their mouth, "But we're more than happy to demonstrate, Naruto Uzumaki..."
The haziness overtakes the scene, and you find yourself back in front of the Academy. Except...something feels WRONG...
Time still feels pretty slow, but there's an even slower creeping sensation around the edges of your vision. The grass becomes a deep red color when it's in the corner of your eye, and you can't help but smell something terrible, almost like something's rotting...
Ugh! Is that...the PRESENCE from your dreams feels like it's trying to invade your mind...this rotting, this corruption...it has to be from him....
You will not let this Stand.
Instinctively, you understand that you can't let this junk out into the real world. Maybe this is just a side effect of your weird ability and is safe in small doses, but right now, you're not letting this stuff out. You begin to focus really hard as you draw in a deep breath.
Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the corruption draws itself out of the grass and the air and flows into you.
It hurts.
A lot.
Somewhere in the process you think you're about to pass out, but just as you consider dropping to the ground the pain stops, and time begins to move normally again. Mechanically, you bring a hand to your nose and wipe away a good trickle of blood that seems to be leaking from you. It's hard to think with the all-encompassing ache in your head and in your body. It hurts like hell, but you endured.
Before Naruto can turn around to see you and ask some questions you wouldn't be able to answer, you spin on your heel (bad idea, ugh) and stumble down the hill farther into the meadow. You're not sure where you're going, but for right now, your destination is anywhere but here.
---
You feel like you've traveled feet in the time it takes to blink, your headaches are getting so bad. You started walking away from the academy, you're sure, but try as you might you can't seem to figure out where you are between the flashes of PAIN-
...And now you're on the ground. Awesome. You lay there for a while, contemplating life and how you managed to find yourself crumpled in an admittedly pleasant meadow somewhere in the village. It's tempting to blame the dreams for all this, and you're even further tempted to drag that blame over everything that's happened to you in the recent days. You feel a dark cloud press against your thoughts at that; Maybe you really weren't cut out for this lifestyle, if you can't get a handle on your ability. Yet that didn't feel like your super cool technique, it felt other...
As you slink further and further into sadness, a shadow appears and passes over you.
"Huh. Weird, usually I'm the only one here."
Shikamaru?
...whatever, sure. "Well, usually I'm not crumpled on the ground, but there's a first time for everything. Came to steal a quick nap?" You snap at him. Inwardly you wince a little, you don't mean to be rude but it still hurts.
You see the shadow on the ground in front of you shrug, "Probably. Unless you're busy laying there by yourself...?" He asks that as a question, but you sense more than a little annoyed sarcasm in his voice. Rude, but fair.
"No, by all means." You say, letting out a heavy sigh. You consider mustering up some more venom, in an attempt to get him to leave you alone with your misery and not ask questions, but deflate at the last second. It's Shikamaru. You doubt you're going to be asked a million questions, especially when you're both in a perfect napping spot, evidently.
You see the shadow's head bob a bit- Shikamaru nodding? -before the shadow compresses and you hear Shikamaru laying down on the grass, likely resting with the downward slope of the little hill you're both on over your haphazard mess of limbs near the foot of it. Your eyes become slightly unfocused as the wind picks up and you watch the grass away back and forth...
...It's quiet. You snap back into reality as you hear Shikamaru yawn and shuffle, reminding you of his presence. You feel pretty embarrassed on reflection; you took his sleeping spot and snapped at him for it. That's...not a super cool thing to do, you realize. You shift uncomfortably, wondering if you should apologize.
Shikamaru sighs behind you, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I promise I'm not just being passive aggressive."
Well. The wording of that makes you suspicious of the opposite, but the sheer bored neutrality in his voice makes you believe he's...trying to be sincere at least.
---
Eventually, your eyes droop downwards as the pain becomes more of an annoyance in the back of your head rather that the throbbing menace it was. Somewhere in your mind you're worried you're about to be pulled into another surrealist nightmare, but one final yawn is all it takes to finally put you out.
HAHAHAHAHA wait, what? Where are you going? Is that the Deep-...fuck.
Sayaka Izumi's Dream said:
Oh, you're back. Cool. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
You wake up with a gasp, as was becoming more and more common. As your heart beat settles and you scan your surroundings to try and figure out how you managed to be kidnapped from your house and taken to this field-wait.
As your memories come flooding back, you feel your face go hot as you realize you didn't mean to sleep this long. The blue of night illuminates your surroundings, giving everything a very peaceful look. You smile, taking in the sight of nature before you pale and realize what this means.
You weren't home before nightfall.
---
So, Paradox. For all you Mage Players, this is probably old hat. This is mostly for the Naruto fans, or for any Hardcore Mage guys who don't understand why Paradox exists in the Naruto-verse.
Paradox as a bunch of different explanations, and I'm actually taking a hybrid of oMage and cMage as the one present here, but basically Paradox is what slaps you upside the head for doing something too magical. Ether you stretched the suspension of disbelief too far for the casual onlooker, or you Reached for the power to upgrade a spell's effect, power, duration, how many people it hit, etc. Paradox comes from the Abyss, which is the BAD PLACE you keep feeling on the edges of your perception. There's a whole bunch of bad shit there, scary demons are just little gnats in comparison to what you could invite in.
Basically, the more powerful you upgrade a spell, the bigger the change that things will go wrong. This isn't supposed to be a discouragement, more of a warning. If you ask, "What's stopping us from stopping Time during Sand's Invasion in the Chunin Exam for the whole entire village and just shanking all of them?" I'll respond with, "Nothing, but it'll hurt."
That's because you have two ways to deal with Paradox, once it's generated. (More on preventing Paradox in the first place as you realize your true situation)
The first way, and the way Sayaka automatically did it due to her Fortitude Virtue, is to contain the Paradox within yourself. Now, it's not a sure thing you'll even contain it all (It's absorbed by your Wisdom dice, where Wisdom is the 'morality' stat in a broad sense), but for each one you do you'll take a point of Bashing Damage. That's just fancy talk for saying it'll hurt to contain it, but it won't kill you outright.
Then again, you took around half your health in Paradox here, but it was a learning experience.
The other option, and the automatic occurrence for any Paradox you fail to maintain, is to simply release the Paradox into the world. This can have any number of effects, mostly determined by a combination of how much paradox you're releasing and how mean I'm feeling. Notable high-paradox effects include corrupting a patch of space nearby, randomly shifting your spell around so it does something else, or summoning an anti-reality where the world is dominated by a cannibalistic nobility at maximum fuck-up levels.
Then again, you wouldn't have taken half your health in Paradox if you released it. Give and take.
Paradox as a bunch of different explanations, and I'm actually taking a hybrid of oMage and cMage as the one present here, but basically Paradox is what slaps you upside the head for doing something too magical. Ether you stretched the suspension of disbelief too far for the casual onlooker, or you Reached for the power to upgrade a spell's effect, power, duration, how many people it hit, etc. Paradox comes from the Abyss, which is the BAD PLACE you keep feeling on the edges of your perception. There's a whole bunch of bad shit there, scary demons are just little gnats in comparison to what you could invite in.
Basically, the more powerful you upgrade a spell, the bigger the change that things will go wrong. This isn't supposed to be a discouragement, more of a warning. If you ask, "What's stopping us from stopping Time during Sand's Invasion in the Chunin Exam for the whole entire village and just shanking all of them?" I'll respond with, "Nothing, but it'll hurt."
That's because you have two ways to deal with Paradox, once it's generated. (More on preventing Paradox in the first place as you realize your true situation)
The first way, and the way Sayaka automatically did it due to her Fortitude Virtue, is to contain the Paradox within yourself. Now, it's not a sure thing you'll even contain it all (It's absorbed by your Wisdom dice, where Wisdom is the 'morality' stat in a broad sense), but for each one you do you'll take a point of Bashing Damage. That's just fancy talk for saying it'll hurt to contain it, but it won't kill you outright.
Then again, you took around half your health in Paradox here, but it was a learning experience.
The other option, and the automatic occurrence for any Paradox you fail to maintain, is to simply release the Paradox into the world. This can have any number of effects, mostly determined by a combination of how much paradox you're releasing and how mean I'm feeling. Notable high-paradox effects include corrupting a patch of space nearby, randomly shifting your spell around so it does something else, or summoning an anti-reality where the world is dominated by a cannibalistic nobility at maximum fuck-up levels.
Then again, you wouldn't have taken half your health in Paradox if you released it. Give and take.
[x] Talk About It
-[x] What, Exactly?
[x] Keep Quiet
What two Colors do you grasp?
[x] Blue - Time
[x] Teal - Fate
[x] Green - Life
[x] Purple - Mind
[x] Brown - Space
Now for the Out of Character Votes. Read the above explanation on Paradox for context, if you don't know what this vote is.
[x] Contain Paradox
[x] Release Paradox
[x] Specify when you want to Release/Contain
Last edited:
0.6 - Do you believe in Magic?
Spector29
It Only Gets Worse From Here
*blows off dust*
Well, College is a struggle this year. But I like running Quests despite my sporadic updating schedule. So let's get rolling once more for a while, see if we can't get out of the Academy. Also as a reminder, whenever dice are rolled, 10s explode.
--
[x] Talk About It
-[x] The scene from the vision you got and what it might mean, in theory. Aside from maybe your going crazy
--
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I promise I'm not just being passive aggressive."
Well. The wording of that makes you suspicious of the opposite, but the sheer bored neutrality in his voice makes you believe he's...trying to be sincere at least. You sigh. Might as well; this stuff has been building up inside you with no outlet for kami knows how long. Might be good to let some of it out?
"...Yeah, okay. I've just been getting really terrible sleep lately, I guess." You cast a look over to Shikamaru, but his eyes are closed already. Was he even listening?!
"Oh? Is that why you stumbled here like you picked a particularly bad fight and lost?" The Nara heir asks, lazily. You're a bit miffed, because that sounded like an insult, but you're more surprised than anything that he even saw you. Apparently you're not as observant as you thought.
"...Basically. Whenever I do get sleep I get these weird...dreams, or visions or something. They're usually garbage symbols, but...lately Naruto is showing up in them-"
"Dreaming about Uzumaki? Hn. Don't see the appeal, but he's certainly got less competition than Uchiha." Shikamaru says as your face lights up in a blush.
"N-No! Not like that! Him and his stupid bars give me headaches more often than not!" You half-shout. You know it's a bad response as soon as it leaves your mouth. You wanted to tell him, but...gentler.
Shikamaru turns his head to you, opening his eyes slowly. "Can't say you're too different from most then, with how troublesome he is. Bars, though?"
You sigh. This isn't helping your headaches go away. "I...I dunno. Lately it seems like I've been able to see things. Real things, not dream hallucinations or anything."
Shikamaru holds his gaze, wordlessly prompting you to continue. "I've been seeing...connections. Friends look like they're connected by a single ink brush stroke, Sensei was connected to his desk by a...circle-ish thing."
"And Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. He kept his voice neutral, but he was sitting up now. This could be a good thing or...
"He...He was connected to everything. By big gold bars, too. And-" Your voice hitches as you arrive at the...difficult part.
"-and after class, when I saw him leave, I...I got another dream." You gulp. "Naruto and Sasuke were...fighting."
Shikamaru snorts, "Oh? Shocking turn of events there."
Undaunted, you continue, "No...They were outside the village. It...looked a lot like Sasuke was running away and Naruto was trying to stop him and..."
Shikamaru was at full attention now, not that he was showing it openly. "And?" He asks, voice carefully measured.
"And...it didn't end well for Naruto." You look Shikamaru in the eye, hoping to all the kami above and below he doesn't report you for this. You could get in a lot of trouble. I mean, are you calling the scion of one of the most noble ninja houses a traitor? Kinda, but not really, but maybe it could be taken that was and isn't Shikamaru's dad a big deal oh kami oh kami what did you do
"But...it's probably just crazy dream stuff, huh?" You awkwardly try to laugh off the building panic-
Nope, he's still staring at you, seemingly trying to read your soul. You don't dare break your gaze.
After what seems like a literal eternity, Shikamaru nods. "Probably. I wouldn't worry about it."
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.
"Although..." Shikamaru drags out the word long enough to be noticeable. "It'd be interesting if you could do it again, huh?"
Was that...Was that an invitation to demonstrate? Or a careful choice of words saying that he's letting your accusation slide?
What do?
--
[x] Teal - Fate
[x] Green - Life
At the last second, the surge of teal and green reached you before you fell into consciousness. FATE's voice seems a little louder when you first wake, and you sense a little...more coming out of the nature around you. It feels nice.
--
You weren't home before nightfall.
Your dad was going to kill you. You can't imagine what would happen when you got home, if only there was a way...
...the nudge of FATE pulls at you in the back of your mind. Maybe you could use it...?
Well, here goes nothing...
You form an image in your head first. You see yourself sneaking into your window on the second floor...no, your parents will notice you've been gone, going back into your room to hide won't help, would it? You could try giving your dad the puppy eyes; dad is normally pretty weak to that, so if your special ability could help...
---
What do?
[x] Yeah...
-[x] ...Let me show you.
-[x] ...Too bad it was a dream, huh?
What Image do you form in your head?
[x] Write-in
Note on those worried about Paradox for the first vote: Sayaka isn't forcing anyone else to see what she sees, so it's not like she's producing a magical effect. That doesn't make it the right decision, but it's not automatically the wrong one.
Well, College is a struggle this year. But I like running Quests despite my sporadic updating schedule. So let's get rolling once more for a while, see if we can't get out of the Academy. Also as a reminder, whenever dice are rolled, 10s explode.
--
[x] Talk About It
-[x] The scene from the vision you got and what it might mean, in theory. Aside from maybe your going crazy
--
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want. I promise I'm not just being passive aggressive."
Well. The wording of that makes you suspicious of the opposite, but the sheer bored neutrality in his voice makes you believe he's...trying to be sincere at least. You sigh. Might as well; this stuff has been building up inside you with no outlet for kami knows how long. Might be good to let some of it out?
"...Yeah, okay. I've just been getting really terrible sleep lately, I guess." You cast a look over to Shikamaru, but his eyes are closed already. Was he even listening?!
"Oh? Is that why you stumbled here like you picked a particularly bad fight and lost?" The Nara heir asks, lazily. You're a bit miffed, because that sounded like an insult, but you're more surprised than anything that he even saw you. Apparently you're not as observant as you thought.
"...Basically. Whenever I do get sleep I get these weird...dreams, or visions or something. They're usually garbage symbols, but...lately Naruto is showing up in them-"
"Dreaming about Uzumaki? Hn. Don't see the appeal, but he's certainly got less competition than Uchiha." Shikamaru says as your face lights up in a blush.
"N-No! Not like that! Him and his stupid bars give me headaches more often than not!" You half-shout. You know it's a bad response as soon as it leaves your mouth. You wanted to tell him, but...gentler.
Shikamaru turns his head to you, opening his eyes slowly. "Can't say you're too different from most then, with how troublesome he is. Bars, though?"
You sigh. This isn't helping your headaches go away. "I...I dunno. Lately it seems like I've been able to see things. Real things, not dream hallucinations or anything."
Shikamaru holds his gaze, wordlessly prompting you to continue. "I've been seeing...connections. Friends look like they're connected by a single ink brush stroke, Sensei was connected to his desk by a...circle-ish thing."
"And Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. He kept his voice neutral, but he was sitting up now. This could be a good thing or...
"He...He was connected to everything. By big gold bars, too. And-" Your voice hitches as you arrive at the...difficult part.
"-and after class, when I saw him leave, I...I got another dream." You gulp. "Naruto and Sasuke were...fighting."
Shikamaru snorts, "Oh? Shocking turn of events there."
Undaunted, you continue, "No...They were outside the village. It...looked a lot like Sasuke was running away and Naruto was trying to stop him and..."
Shikamaru was at full attention now, not that he was showing it openly. "And?" He asks, voice carefully measured.
"And...it didn't end well for Naruto." You look Shikamaru in the eye, hoping to all the kami above and below he doesn't report you for this. You could get in a lot of trouble. I mean, are you calling the scion of one of the most noble ninja houses a traitor? Kinda, but not really, but maybe it could be taken that was and isn't Shikamaru's dad a big deal oh kami oh kami what did you do
"But...it's probably just crazy dream stuff, huh?" You awkwardly try to laugh off the building panic-
Nope, he's still staring at you, seemingly trying to read your soul. You don't dare break your gaze.
(Resolve + Composure) 6d10 -> 2, 10, 10, 10, 8, 1, 3, 9, 2 = 5 Successes = CRIT
After what seems like a literal eternity, Shikamaru nods. "Probably. I wouldn't worry about it."
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.
"Although..." Shikamaru drags out the word long enough to be noticeable. "It'd be interesting if you could do it again, huh?"
Was that...Was that an invitation to demonstrate? Or a careful choice of words saying that he's letting your accusation slide?
What do?
--
[x] Teal - Fate
[x] Green - Life
At the last second, the surge of teal and green reached you before you fell into consciousness. FATE's voice seems a little louder when you first wake, and you sense a little...more coming out of the nature around you. It feels nice.
--
You weren't home before nightfall.
Your dad was going to kill you. You can't imagine what would happen when you got home, if only there was a way...
...the nudge of FATE pulls at you in the back of your mind. Maybe you could use it...?
Well, here goes nothing...
You form an image in your head first. You see yourself sneaking into your window on the second floor...no, your parents will notice you've been gone, going back into your room to hide won't help, would it? You could try giving your dad the puppy eyes; dad is normally pretty weak to that, so if your special ability could help...
---
What do?
[x] Yeah...
-[x] ...Let me show you.
-[x] ...Too bad it was a dream, huh?
What Image do you form in your head?
SPELL CASTING TIME!
A spell as the following characteristics at it's base level:
One Potency
One Turn / ~5 Second Duration
1 Target / 1 Meter Scale
Self/Touch/Thrown Range
Takes 3 Hours to Cast
Now, you can upgrade all of this (usually) at the cost of getting -2 dice to actually cast the spell, as well as Reaching, which increases Paradox Risk. However, there's not a limit on how much Reach you take to upgrade a spell.
-2/-4/-6/-8 to Spell
1/2/3/4+ Potency.
2/3/5/10 Turns.
2/4/8/16 Targets, or can affect bigger targets, or goes from roughly Small Room/Large Room/Floor/Ballroom or Small House.
+1 Reach gets:
Change Spell's Primary Factor from Potency to Duration or vice versa.
Instant Cast Time (Does not give -2 to roll)
Added Spell effect, depending on spell. (Usually does not give -2 to roll)
Why would you ever Reach? Well, besides that middle option being pretty important in a fight, sometimes you just need moar powah. Fear not! You don't have to embrace the Abyss and start throwing around Paradox like it doesn't matter. All spells get one 'free' Reach for every dot you have that meets or exceeds the Arcana requirement.
If I lost you there, don't worry, I have examples.
Say Sayaka wanted to cast Interconnections again. That's a (Fate ●) spell, and Sayaka currently has (Fate ●●). So, since she has two dots that meet or exceed its requirement, she has two Reach that she can have that do not risk Paradox. If you wanted more, It's a 1-1 trade: 1 Reach = 1 Paradox.
Last thing, a spell's Primary factor is automatically increased by one per Arcana dot you have minus one. So instead of Interconnections having a base Potency of one, it would have a base of two because you have (Fate ●●) and 2-1 = 1.
This page will let you know your limits on how creative you can be at your level. Remember, you can do literally anything with your magic, it's just a question of if you have enough dots.
Magic (MTAw)
For Spellcasting votes or any write-in which you want to cast a spell, you can ether:
A: Describe an effect, maybe some specific spell factors you want.
or
B: Stat out a spell and effect exactly. If you go this route, please format as [x] Name of Spell
[.spoiler=Spell Name]
Potency:
Duration:
Scale:
Range:
Cast Time:
Reach:
[./spoiler]
...and I'll take care of the rest.
Welcome to Magic!
A spell as the following characteristics at it's base level:
One Potency
One Turn / ~5 Second Duration
1 Target / 1 Meter Scale
Self/Touch/Thrown Range
Takes 3 Hours to Cast
Now, you can upgrade all of this (usually) at the cost of getting -2 dice to actually cast the spell, as well as Reaching, which increases Paradox Risk. However, there's not a limit on how much Reach you take to upgrade a spell.
-2/-4/-6/-8 to Spell
1/2/3/4+ Potency.
2/3/5/10 Turns.
2/4/8/16 Targets, or can affect bigger targets, or goes from roughly Small Room/Large Room/Floor/Ballroom or Small House.
+1 Reach gets:
Change Spell's Primary Factor from Potency to Duration or vice versa.
Instant Cast Time (Does not give -2 to roll)
Added Spell effect, depending on spell. (Usually does not give -2 to roll)
Why would you ever Reach? Well, besides that middle option being pretty important in a fight, sometimes you just need moar powah. Fear not! You don't have to embrace the Abyss and start throwing around Paradox like it doesn't matter. All spells get one 'free' Reach for every dot you have that meets or exceeds the Arcana requirement.
If I lost you there, don't worry, I have examples.
Say Sayaka wanted to cast Interconnections again. That's a (Fate ●) spell, and Sayaka currently has (Fate ●●). So, since she has two dots that meet or exceed its requirement, she has two Reach that she can have that do not risk Paradox. If you wanted more, It's a 1-1 trade: 1 Reach = 1 Paradox.
Last thing, a spell's Primary factor is automatically increased by one per Arcana dot you have minus one. So instead of Interconnections having a base Potency of one, it would have a base of two because you have (Fate ●●) and 2-1 = 1.
This page will let you know your limits on how creative you can be at your level. Remember, you can do literally anything with your magic, it's just a question of if you have enough dots.
Magic (MTAw)
For Spellcasting votes or any write-in which you want to cast a spell, you can ether:
A: Describe an effect, maybe some specific spell factors you want.
or
B: Stat out a spell and effect exactly. If you go this route, please format as [x] Name of Spell
[.spoiler=Spell Name]
Potency:
Duration:
Scale:
Range:
Cast Time:
Reach:
[./spoiler]
...and I'll take care of the rest.
Welcome to Magic!
Note on those worried about Paradox for the first vote: Sayaka isn't forcing anyone else to see what she sees, so it's not like she's producing a magical effect. That doesn't make it the right decision, but it's not automatically the wrong one.
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