Perhaps For Love, Or Maybe Justice (A Tokusatsu/Magical Girl Quest)
- Thread starter Kermie
- Start date
- Original Superhero
- Location
- Philippines
- Pronouns
- He/Him
How TF did we get the exact same roll!?!?!?
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yes Axel, 2. ...
Wtf.....
Kermie
On Writing Hiatus, Still Questing
- Location
- Hell (An Unfinished Google Doc)
- Pronouns
- Any
1 in 10,000.
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Thats what I want to know! What are the odds?
I guess Kermie dice feels sorry for the last set of rolls...
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well then... yes. I got nothimg else to say, im flabbergasted.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'll take the last one.
E: A little below average but still workable.
E: A little below average but still workable.
ThaTrueRealmWalk
A blob of Galaxy, watching you through the Screen.
- Location
- Inside this TV
Oh my gosh! That's incredible!
If those two rolls are for the sisters- Damn they really do have the same brain cells
If those two rolls are for the sisters- Damn they really do have the same brain cells
- Pronouns
- He/Him
By the way, I had a thought for our first Void spell.
If the Void eats things... can we make a Void spell that... eats the Void itself? Like Ouroboros eating it's own tail. Just to erase the effects/presence of void where we come across it.
If the Void eats things... can we make a Void spell that... eats the Void itself? Like Ouroboros eating it's own tail. Just to erase the effects/presence of void where we come across it.
ThaTrueRealmWalk
A blob of Galaxy, watching you through the Screen.
- Location
- Inside this TV
Oh interesting! It might be a way for us to build up the void rage power too!
Talking about that this hasn't been updated yet!
Kermie
On Writing Hiatus, Still Questing
- Location
- Hell (An Unfinished Google Doc)
- Pronouns
- Any
Thanks! It's been updated along with a tutorial for Void Burst in mechanics.
Kermie
On Writing Hiatus, Still Questing
- Location
- Hell (An Unfinished Google Doc)
- Pronouns
- Any
Next time, on Perhaps Love, or Maybe Justice!
You lean back a bit in your chair. Whatever happens next can't be that bad.
"Uh, hey? Is your last name, "Kuromi", by any chance?"
IS THAT—
You are Kirata Kuromi, (first time in a while you've been proud of that last name), and right now you are shaking your sister (who's still alive, what the fuck) as you see her.
"YOU WERE ALIVE AND I DIDN'T KNOW?!"
"GIRL, I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
She's looking at the intended mark like she's a pathetic yet cute lost puppy on the side of the road. One that needs food, warmth, affection, and 14,000 yen in unmarked bills right now.
You lean back a bit in your chair. Whatever happens next can't be that bad.
"Uh, hey? Is your last name, "Kuromi", by any chance?"
IS THAT—
You are Kirata Kuromi, (first time in a while you've been proud of that last name), and right now you are shaking your sister (who's still alive, what the fuck) as you see her.
"YOU WERE ALIVE AND I DIDN'T KNOW?!"
"GIRL, I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
She's looking at the intended mark like she's a pathetic yet cute lost puppy on the side of the road. One that needs food, warmth, affection, and 14,000 yen in unmarked bills right now.
Last edited:
ThaTrueRealmWalk
A blob of Galaxy, watching you through the Screen.
- Location
- Inside this TV
Oh boy o boy
Nothing like a family reunion in order to get half of the archmages on Umbra's ass.
Cause are you reallllyyy gonna tell me that Kira is going to let them exist when she learns that her sister got Void cursed as well?
Honestly we really shouldn't be worrying about the Void glyphs, Kira is going to solve those in a week not by the power of Mom Friend but ANGERY SISTER.
Nothing like a family reunion in order to get half of the archmages on Umbra's ass.
Cause are you reallllyyy gonna tell me that Kira is going to let them exist when she learns that her sister got Void cursed as well?
Honestly we really shouldn't be worrying about the Void glyphs, Kira is going to solve those in a week not by the power of Mom Friend but ANGERY SISTER.
Pride 2.3, Pt 2: Why Are We Not Doing Transformation Poses?
Kermie
On Writing Hiatus, Still Questing
- Location
- Hell (An Unfinished Google Doc)
- Pronouns
- Any
Tuesday, February 27, 2080, 9:42 AM
Jun's Place
You are Himari Kuromi. You've had a long and difficult journey to be sitting here in Jun's room. From getting kicked out of your transformation and into a cliff wall (your back still hurts if you get up too fast, thanks Rei), to beating up a Shade… it's definitely been an eventful few weeks.
The ankle monitor on your leg weakly beeps, but by now you suspect that Jun's threats of tranquilizing you with it are completely empty. Literally, as long as you're doing the dishes he doesn't care. Aside from that, as much as you love the family you made in the Guild, there's no chance of you going back there. Especially when you can get good food for cheap with just a trip downstairs. Also, they probably think you're dead.
On a less depressing note, Jun's outside of the house right now, and he's tasked you to look after it. Akemi's with Rei right now, so that leaves you alone. To pass the time, you've just been studying the armor that the Archfiend of the labyrinth left behind. You can't bend it right now, but if you transformed, you'd definitely be able to manipulate at least a good chunk of it. First though, you need to figure out what metal it's made of and what magic, if any, it's enchanted with, so you've been searching on the web and going down more than a few wiki rabbit holes. How fun!
(RING… RING…)
You look up from your laptop screen to hear the sounds of Jun's phone on the table. You look around, before deciding in a split second. Fuck it. If Jun gets mad at you later, you can just do more dishes.
You pick it up without looking, but you recognize the voice immediately. It's Rei. "Hey Jun. Could you ping me the coordinates for your house?"
…is this somebody using an artificially generated voice to try to scam/kill you? "Uh… hey? Rei, why do you need that?"
Rei(?) begins to explain the smallest pieces of an explanation— but something stops her. You hear some thudding in the background, before the phone gets passed over to you. You lean back a bit in your chair. Whatever happens next can't be that bad.
"Uh, hey? Is your last name, "Kuromi", by any chance?"
IS THAT—
Your hands shake, as you practically have to grit your teeth in order to not scream into the phone. You thought she was dead! "Kirata?!"
"Sis?!"
You hear the sounds of tussling in the background, before you hear Rei's voice again. "Yeah, so, remember that Archmage I was talking to? Yeah, that's your sister, and I need your location so we can teleport to- not yet guys, I just need to talk with Himari for a bit longer- Jun's house with her. Because Akemi passed out."
"Why'd Akemi- y'know what, I don't care."
You've never sent somebody your location so quickly in your life, as you do just that and send a frantic text message Jun's way.
Tuesday, February 27, 2080, 9:44 AM
Jun's Place
You are Kirata Kuromi, (first time in a while you've been proud of that last name), and right now you are shaking your sister (who's still alive, what the fuck) as you see her.
"YOU WERE ALIVE AND I DIDN'T KNOW?!"
"GIRL, I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
Everything else seems like background noise, but you do manage to hear the sounds of a door opening and slamming shut behind you, and also Rei talking with somebody.
Himari takes a step back, opens her mouth, then shuts it again once she can't find the words. You almost do the same, but manage to get yourself together.
"You must have been that one girl from the Guild Rei briefly touched on earlier— what happened to your eyes!?"
"Void contract!" she says, hands flailing around wildly in an effort to explain better, "long story, me and Jun, that's the guy I'm living with by the way, are trying to fix it!"
"That's crazy! I'm going to kill whoever made you make that contract with my bare hands! Also, you're living with a dude?! Granted, it's Rei's friend, but still…"
"No comment on that, but yes, it is crazy! But like, you're an Archmage???"
You're about to say something else, or maybe just pull her into a hug, but you two are broken out of your collective insanity by Rei tapping both of you on the shoulder. She looks a bit ticked off. "Hey, Kuromi— no, not you, the Archmage— Akemi's still passed out on the floor."
Both of you look down and— yeah. That. Next to Akemi's body is a man with a purple streak on his hair and a panicked expression on his face. He checks Akemi's vitals, before addressing you. "Hey. What caused this?"
You kneel down to the floor next to Akemi. Himari follows you, carefully listening. "Well, you're Jun, right? I imagine Rei's told you about the Void, so…"
He fixes you with a steely glare. "Ms. Archmage, I think you're very cool, but right now I can't lose another one of my best friends. Twenty words or less."
"She got affected by a Void thing after we tried to remove her contract," you explain, "which then pulled us into a group hallucination."
He squints, before checking her breathing. "Twenty-two words, but close enough. Kuromi—"
"You want me to do this?" you ask.
"Not you— Himari. Himari, get over to Akemi's feet— no, you don't need to take off her shoes, I can vacuum later."
She does just that, and you watch her curiously. While you have words for her for joining the organization that killed your parents, you're going to wait for a better time to have an in depth conversation. But what are she and Jun gonna do? Maybe some sort of secret assassin technique? Or—
"Ok, now lift her legs up and start shaking."
Himari lifts Akemi's legs, which gets blood to her head. Jun winds up his arm, cocks his hand back, and slaps Akemi.
"WAKE UP!!!"
Akemi's eyes shoot open, and she flails around for a second. Jun just barely dodges what looks like an instinctive attempt to strangle him. Akemi brushes something off of her shoulder (the invisible cat-thing that Rei was telling you about?) before sitting up.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Akemi." Jun says, grinning, "How was the nap?"
Akemi touches a hand to her reddened cheek, looks at you, looks around the room, and then looks at Rei. She blinks in what you can only presume to be disbelief.
"…why's Kira here? Am I still dreaming?"
Rei shakes her head. "Nope. Kirata over here tried to poke your Void claw mark and sent us into a flashback from your days as a Cleaner. We went to hell for a bit, but we got back and teleported all of us back here."
Himari, bless her heart, chooses that time to let go of Akemi's legs and walk up to you. "Oh, and she's my big sis! Say hi to Kirata Kuromi!"
Akemi's jaw drops. She looks at you, before looking at Himari— and then looking at you again. She slaps herself on both of her cheeks, before pinching herself.
"Ok. If I didn't feel pain just now I'd swear I'm in a fever dream. Hey there, uh…"
You smile. "Just call me Kira. It's a fake name that I made close enough to my real name just for familiarity. Now, are you feeling ok?"
"Uh, decent? I don't feel any pain…"
[Kirata Mental Check; DC ???]
[d100=97. Crit Success!]
You look at Akemi, really look this time.
While it was absolutely not fun to go through one of the worst days of your life again, your head's starting to return to normal. And now that you can think clearly, something stands out to you. Isn't it suspicious that Akemi had a quick fainting spell and then got up so quickly?
You're pretty sure that Akemi isn't going to turn evil right in front of you. But this "Void" thing isn't just some mindless malevolent force. It's probably also cautious enough to not show itself until it's used against somebody for its intended purpose. Violence. Despair.
"Now that you're up, is there anywhere where you can all transform? If you're all really Magical Girls like Rei told me you were, it'd be nice for me to get a snapshot of your magical prowess."
Jun sighs. "No, it'd be too dangerous. Them transforming like that is usually all colorful and shit, so… Himari, what are you doing?"
Your little sister is… trying that old trick again, from back when you both wanted something from your parents. She's looking at the intended mark like she's a pathetic yet cute lost puppy on the side of the road. One that needs food, warmth, affection, and 14,000 yen in unmarked bills right now. Basically, she's giving Jun cute puppy eyes.
Granted, the "puppy-eyes" are kind of diminished by the fact that there's no light in Himari's eyes (which you really need to check out, something for later), but you've gotta admire the audacity.
"C'mon Jun, don't you have enough money to bribe the landlord for any damages? Besides, we've got my sister right here! Can't you let a girl show off her new moves at a family reunion?"
Himari has never said those words in that specific order before, and you all know that. But it almost looks like it's working.
You raise your hand to get both of their attention. "If it helps, I'm willing to cast a privacy shield around the entire roof. That should definitely make things easier."
Jun looks towards Rei, who shrugs. "Why not? Purrson says it's a good idea, and so do the roughly… nine different voices in my head. Sorry, ten. Akemi?"
"I'm up for it if you are."
Jun sighs. "Alright, everybody to the roof. The stairs are one turn to the left, just walk out of the front door and you'll see it."
"Ok, just give me and Himari a second." you say, raising up your cane a bit, "my joints usually hurt a bit when I go up stairs."
They all give their acknowledgement and tell you that they'll be waiting. As they leave, Himari looks at you with concern etched on her face. "Your lupus acting up again? Also, I'm pretty sure it's muscle pains, not joint pains."
As you scratch an itch behind your head, you can't help but grin. Looks like your sister didn't forget about you.
"Eh, it's gotten down to a manageable level at this point. I don't get visible rashes anymore, but I'll tell you how I got that to work later." you say. As you do, you also get a… very questionable idea. You've got to make up for a few lost years of not teasing your sibling, after all.
"I just wanted to tell you something in private," you say, as she leans in a tad bit closer, "if you're gonna try and seduce your boyfriend, you're gonna have to try harder than with those terrible puppy eyes."
"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIE—"
9:51 AM
Jun's Apartment Roof
Jun and the others are waiting for you. Rei is leaning against the wall, while Akemi is squatting down on the floor. Jun looks up from his phone. "You're here. Alright, you said something about a "privacy sphere". Can you put that up now?"
You nod, before handing your cane over to Himari. "Of course I can. Himari, hold my stick."
You clasp both of your hands together, and focus. Alright, what do you need for this…
You picture it before it happens. While it's definitely bigger than the small sphere you use to block out anybody while you're flying, the principle and Purpose of this spell remains the same. A symbolic "room", where the only person that can be let in is you… your friends… and your sister.
Alright, got it!
You intertwine your fingers together, and surge your prana, green rays emanating from your shoulder and hands. This amount of life energy isn't much for you- it just requires one deep breath from you to get it back.
Powerful gusts almost sweep everybody else off of their feet, but they manage to keep it together. Well, aside from Jun, who has to be caught by the wrist by Himari. Yikes.
The wind stops, before it becomes visible as gray clouds surrounding the roof's fences. The clouds whir faster and faster, and you have to make sure that it doesn't end up cracking any windows. With a twitch of your index finger and a mild mental alteration, the sphere becomes a semicircle centered around you and everybody else here. The clouds become clear, right before you take the final step. You take a step back, and separate your hands- before clapping again!
The clouds solidify, becoming a sphere of translucent, slightly green material. Slightly sparkly as well. From the outside, however? Nothing. Like a blank space.
You turn to the rest of the group, who are busy gawking at the basic spell you just cast. Honestly, you should have at least added some chanting and some constellations. "Well? That's pretty easy for an Archmage like me. Don't disappoint me now, guys."
"Woman, I don't think we can out-do that…" Jun complains, regaining his footing.
Himari is grinning, at least. "Hey, my big sis didn't get top 10 sorceress-"
"Top 5!" you correct her, "No. 6 alone is extremely mediocre."
"Top 5 sorceress in Japan for nothing! Now, let's show our style."
What happens next is at once extremely simple and extremely complex. SImple, in that it's just like what you saw in anime and with Sora and Akasuki. Complex, in that ow fuck your eyes so many colors.
Himari snaps her fingers, and begins to slowly be covered, arm-first, by blue pixels, which light her body with a pure white. You see a sheet of sheet metal fly past your head, which wraps itself around her arm.
Akemi summons a long katana out of seemingly nowhere, before unsheathing it. The blade of it is completely black, but it's still visible somehow. She takes off her red jacket, and as she swings it around, it transforms with a flash of light into a beautiful kimono, which wraps itself around her body. It even knots itself up!
Meanwhile, Rei's transformation is much more… noisy. And is she trying to become a scammer, with how much she's moving that card around and- oop, nope it's in her belt.
Driver On!
CHANGE! SYNCHRO!
LET'S DUEL! CARD SET - EMBLEMA!
Armor flies out of her belt, and flies around for a few seconds before attaching itself onto her body. Her blue bug-inspired eyes glow for a second, before they stop. Was she about to say a catchphrase or something?
With that, everyone is transformed… and that's it. Rei just stands there, hands at her sides. Himari is playing around with some metal on her arm, which bends and moves around almost as if it's liquid. "Oh, that's cool. But seriously guys, we should practice some transformation poses, because we're so bland. See, my sister agrees! Akemi, don't you agree as well? Akemi?"
You all look towards the girl in question, and you distantly hear Jun scream. Akemi seems to be… bleeding from the mouth? And her eyes are glowing a dark purple.
You act quickly before anything else happens. The familiar rush of wind mana runs through your veins, and in a blink of an eye, you fly up to Akemi, and plant a quick palm right in her stomach. You fly back right afterwards, and Akemi sort of crumples to the floor. Rei runs over to Akemi, while Himari runs over to you.
Both Rei and Himari say the same thing at the same time. "Holy crap! You good?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," you respond, "What about Akemi?"
Akemi is getting up from the floor. "I'm good, I'm good. Agh, Void almost overtook me there..."
You raise an eyebrow. "I was just smacking some sense into you, but the Void was going to "overtake" you? You should probably figure out how to stave that off."
"Don't worry, I have my ways. Actually, I'm feeling better than I have in a while now that I've transformed," Akemi says, readjusting her bamboo hat. "Though I might have to cancel that Tokyo trip I was gonna make with Rei."
The eyes on Rei's helmet light up as she talks. "I was already iffy with inviting you on that trip! It was a miracle that my bike survived the first trip, I don't think it'll survive the second."
Everyone laughs, and the tension breaks a bit.
After that's done, all of you just... sorta stand there. You already (gut) checked out Akemi for lingering Void influence and made sure that she wouldn't kill anybody, so...
"Anybody wanna practice cool transformation poses while we're here?" Himari asks.
1:01 PM
Jun's Apartment Roof
You are Himari Kuromi. Today's been the best day in a long time, especially now that your sister's here. You probably would have found her faster if you had just researched the Archmages, but since the Guild restricted what you could search up, it is what it is. As for your sister, Kirata happens to be sitting on a chair that Jun brought up, about halfway through this session.
As for your idea that you started on about three hours ago? It was half a joke, half an excuse to see everyone else in their transformed states outside of combat. It's just that... Akemi and Rei look so cool! Rei's armor is more "mechanical" compared to Hanzo's, but it's still really awesome how it can reconfigure itself so well. And Akemi's kimono is so elegant, and weirdly flexible and durable. You wanna know if it's made of the same fabric that your jumpsuit right now.
But as the funny transformation poses that you all try out begin to wear thin, Jun suggest trying them out in an actual combat scenario. Kirata's basically volunteered to be the smart-ass Skull Face that would try and shoot you during your transformations.
But it's, uh, still working?! Somehow?!
From her chair, Kirata raises a green, glowing arm. "Alright, this will be our thirtieth test. Remember everybody, your job is to deflect my blades of wind using your transformations. Go!"
Her "Self Defense Windblades" aren't razor-sharp like how Kirata says they usually are, but they still hurt like a bitch and go fast. Just how you like it.
A gray blast of air approaches Akemi, who immediately takes of her jacket. As she spins around, the jacket deflects the blade as it transforms into her kimono. The windblade goes flying off uselessly into the privacy sphere that Kirata set up. She finishes her spin and transformation in almost under three seconds, hand on her sheathed blade almost immediately. "Akemi! Here to... uh, no catchphrase yet!"
You've made a system where if you're gonna be calling out names, you may as well do them mid-combat in whatever order you transform. As Kirata launches another gust, you mentally note that it's your turn. As the windblade approaches you, you sidestep, and it goes harmlessly through your arm as your arm reconfigures itself into pixels. The windblade flies back around to hit you again, but you dispel it by blocking it with your sheet of metal mid-air before it attaches itself to your arm. You put a hand on the goggles on top of your head, and point forward. "Himari! Sis, you're gonna have to try harder than that!"
Another one approaches Rei, who doesn't even flinch. Despite having crossed arms, she almost effortlessly tosses the card from her hand down into her belt. Armor flies out into a web around Rei, deflecting the blade even as it comes back for more attacks. As the armor clamps onto Rei, pieces interlocking into each other, you swear you can hear her grinning. "And Striker Roze! Burning bright against the consuming darkness!"
She uncrosses her arms, and quickly slides into center point- quite smart as well, since you're pretty sure she's the most durable out of all of you. "Together we are... uh, we're still deciding on that, but this would be the part where we all shout our name triumphantly! And we'll burn bright enough to quench the Void!"
As you finish your transformations, you all drop them for the last time this day. Rei in particular looks pooped. "Wow, spamming that so many times feels weird. Let's stop here for today."
As you do, you hear Jun slowly clapping. "Man, I was expecting you all to give up on this idea, but it's genuinely impressive how you all can deflect attacks mid-powering up. No complaints from me here!"
Kirata gets up from her chair as well. With a flick of her hand, she dispels the privacy barrier, letting the afternoon sun in. "No complaints from me either. I won't be able to help you guys out all that much, but I'll definitely try and make some small space in my schedule. Nothing too dangerous for me, though."
As her phone buzzes, she turns her head to look at you. "Alright, I gotta go now! Any last thing you guys want to do, or..."
For a second, you're tempted to say nothing, and let her go off to do her important duties.
But...
"Hold up," you say, approaching her, "one last thing!"
Kirata smiles at you knowingly. "What is it?"
And you smile back. "Just wanted to say bye!"
And for the first time in a damn long time, you hug your sister.
1:06 PM
Jun's Apartment Roof
As Kirata leaves, you all wave her off. The green portal wavers for a second, right before it dissipates.
What an interesting girl.
Himari turns to you, happier then you've seen her in a while. "Wow! That was great. Wanna get lunch now?"
Jun's already ahead of you guys- literally. He's already at the stairway. "I just ordered delivery! Lemme get it from downstairs right now!"
As Jun walks ahead of all of you, you shake your head. "Man, Jun's always going ahead of us..."
Himari sighs. "It's just a part of who he is. Not much we can do to stop it." as she says that, she suddenly seems to become thoughtful, "On another subject, those roll calls were kinda lame. Well, not lame, but they could have been better. I respect Rei for reclaiming the "Roze" title, but seriously, what should we be named? As Magical Girls, I mean."
>She's right. You guys need more pizzazz.
Akemi puts a hand on her chin. "I've got a few suggestions, but I think Rei might have some good ideas."
Purrson floats up to your shoulder level as well. "Himari should be able to name herself anything that she likes- but I'd prefer if Akemi has the title Nobelle in her name. It's one of those things that came up while me and Akemi were living alone together."
You put a hand on your own chin, as you begin to think. "Well…"
[ ] [Himari] Himari will be called…
[ ] [Akemi Catchphrase] Her catchphrase will be…
-Himari's name should be formatted as Magical Girl [Insert Name Here].
[ ] [Akemi] Akemi will be called…
[ ] [Akemi Catchphrase] Her catchphrase will be…
-Akemi's name must start with the prefix "Nobelle". Don't ask Purrson why.
[ ] [Group Name] And when all of you are together?
-Any name spinning on "Umbra", "Guild", or "Archmage" is banned, for hopefully obvious reasons.
Red_I's Advice: >Just go with what seems right!
Atry's Advice: If you've been thinking about a name for a while now, then you should definitely raise that as an idea.
Gargoyle's "Advice": [👍] [GO FOR IT]
Author's Note:
@SolarGemX, anybody else who saw this chapter a second ago- sorry about that. I posted it too early and had to delete.
As for more pertinent ramblings, I've been waiting for this reveal for a while— it's been planned from the moment I came up with Himari's character design.
I just wasn't expecting it to be so happy… but hey. Dice of fate do be fickle sometimes. That's one of the joys of quests.
Happy voting heroes!
Jun's Place
You are Himari Kuromi. You've had a long and difficult journey to be sitting here in Jun's room. From getting kicked out of your transformation and into a cliff wall (your back still hurts if you get up too fast, thanks Rei), to beating up a Shade… it's definitely been an eventful few weeks.
The ankle monitor on your leg weakly beeps, but by now you suspect that Jun's threats of tranquilizing you with it are completely empty. Literally, as long as you're doing the dishes he doesn't care. Aside from that, as much as you love the family you made in the Guild, there's no chance of you going back there. Especially when you can get good food for cheap with just a trip downstairs. Also, they probably think you're dead.
On a less depressing note, Jun's outside of the house right now, and he's tasked you to look after it. Akemi's with Rei right now, so that leaves you alone. To pass the time, you've just been studying the armor that the Archfiend of the labyrinth left behind. You can't bend it right now, but if you transformed, you'd definitely be able to manipulate at least a good chunk of it. First though, you need to figure out what metal it's made of and what magic, if any, it's enchanted with, so you've been searching on the web and going down more than a few wiki rabbit holes. How fun!
(RING… RING…)
You look up from your laptop screen to hear the sounds of Jun's phone on the table. You look around, before deciding in a split second. Fuck it. If Jun gets mad at you later, you can just do more dishes.
You pick it up without looking, but you recognize the voice immediately. It's Rei. "Hey Jun. Could you ping me the coordinates for your house?"
…is this somebody using an artificially generated voice to try to scam/kill you? "Uh… hey? Rei, why do you need that?"
Rei(?) begins to explain the smallest pieces of an explanation— but something stops her. You hear some thudding in the background, before the phone gets passed over to you. You lean back a bit in your chair. Whatever happens next can't be that bad.
"Uh, hey? Is your last name, "Kuromi", by any chance?"
IS THAT—
Your hands shake, as you practically have to grit your teeth in order to not scream into the phone. You thought she was dead! "Kirata?!"
"Sis?!"
You hear the sounds of tussling in the background, before you hear Rei's voice again. "Yeah, so, remember that Archmage I was talking to? Yeah, that's your sister, and I need your location so we can teleport to- not yet guys, I just need to talk with Himari for a bit longer- Jun's house with her. Because Akemi passed out."
"Why'd Akemi- y'know what, I don't care."
You've never sent somebody your location so quickly in your life, as you do just that and send a frantic text message Jun's way.
Tuesday, February 27, 2080, 9:44 AM
Jun's Place
You are Kirata Kuromi, (first time in a while you've been proud of that last name), and right now you are shaking your sister (who's still alive, what the fuck) as you see her.
"YOU WERE ALIVE AND I DIDN'T KNOW?!"
"GIRL, I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
Everything else seems like background noise, but you do manage to hear the sounds of a door opening and slamming shut behind you, and also Rei talking with somebody.
Himari takes a step back, opens her mouth, then shuts it again once she can't find the words. You almost do the same, but manage to get yourself together.
"You must have been that one girl from the Guild Rei briefly touched on earlier— what happened to your eyes!?"
"Void contract!" she says, hands flailing around wildly in an effort to explain better, "long story, me and Jun, that's the guy I'm living with by the way, are trying to fix it!"
"That's crazy! I'm going to kill whoever made you make that contract with my bare hands! Also, you're living with a dude?! Granted, it's Rei's friend, but still…"
"No comment on that, but yes, it is crazy! But like, you're an Archmage???"
You're about to say something else, or maybe just pull her into a hug, but you two are broken out of your collective insanity by Rei tapping both of you on the shoulder. She looks a bit ticked off. "Hey, Kuromi— no, not you, the Archmage— Akemi's still passed out on the floor."
Both of you look down and— yeah. That. Next to Akemi's body is a man with a purple streak on his hair and a panicked expression on his face. He checks Akemi's vitals, before addressing you. "Hey. What caused this?"
You kneel down to the floor next to Akemi. Himari follows you, carefully listening. "Well, you're Jun, right? I imagine Rei's told you about the Void, so…"
He fixes you with a steely glare. "Ms. Archmage, I think you're very cool, but right now I can't lose another one of my best friends. Twenty words or less."
"She got affected by a Void thing after we tried to remove her contract," you explain, "which then pulled us into a group hallucination."
He squints, before checking her breathing. "Twenty-two words, but close enough. Kuromi—"
"You want me to do this?" you ask.
"Not you— Himari. Himari, get over to Akemi's feet— no, you don't need to take off her shoes, I can vacuum later."
She does just that, and you watch her curiously. While you have words for her for joining the organization that killed your parents, you're going to wait for a better time to have an in depth conversation. But what are she and Jun gonna do? Maybe some sort of secret assassin technique? Or—
"Ok, now lift her legs up and start shaking."
Himari lifts Akemi's legs, which gets blood to her head. Jun winds up his arm, cocks his hand back, and slaps Akemi.
"WAKE UP!!!"
Akemi's eyes shoot open, and she flails around for a second. Jun just barely dodges what looks like an instinctive attempt to strangle him. Akemi brushes something off of her shoulder (the invisible cat-thing that Rei was telling you about?) before sitting up.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Akemi." Jun says, grinning, "How was the nap?"
Akemi touches a hand to her reddened cheek, looks at you, looks around the room, and then looks at Rei. She blinks in what you can only presume to be disbelief.
"…why's Kira here? Am I still dreaming?"
Rei shakes her head. "Nope. Kirata over here tried to poke your Void claw mark and sent us into a flashback from your days as a Cleaner. We went to hell for a bit, but we got back and teleported all of us back here."
Himari, bless her heart, chooses that time to let go of Akemi's legs and walk up to you. "Oh, and she's my big sis! Say hi to Kirata Kuromi!"
Akemi's jaw drops. She looks at you, before looking at Himari— and then looking at you again. She slaps herself on both of her cheeks, before pinching herself.
"Ok. If I didn't feel pain just now I'd swear I'm in a fever dream. Hey there, uh…"
You smile. "Just call me Kira. It's a fake name that I made close enough to my real name just for familiarity. Now, are you feeling ok?"
"Uh, decent? I don't feel any pain…"
[Kirata Mental Check; DC ???]
[d100=97. Crit Success!]
You look at Akemi, really look this time.
While it was absolutely not fun to go through one of the worst days of your life again, your head's starting to return to normal. And now that you can think clearly, something stands out to you. Isn't it suspicious that Akemi had a quick fainting spell and then got up so quickly?
You're pretty sure that Akemi isn't going to turn evil right in front of you. But this "Void" thing isn't just some mindless malevolent force. It's probably also cautious enough to not show itself until it's used against somebody for its intended purpose. Violence. Despair.
"Now that you're up, is there anywhere where you can all transform? If you're all really Magical Girls like Rei told me you were, it'd be nice for me to get a snapshot of your magical prowess."
Jun sighs. "No, it'd be too dangerous. Them transforming like that is usually all colorful and shit, so… Himari, what are you doing?"
Your little sister is… trying that old trick again, from back when you both wanted something from your parents. She's looking at the intended mark like she's a pathetic yet cute lost puppy on the side of the road. One that needs food, warmth, affection, and 14,000 yen in unmarked bills right now. Basically, she's giving Jun cute puppy eyes.
Granted, the "puppy-eyes" are kind of diminished by the fact that there's no light in Himari's eyes (which you really need to check out, something for later), but you've gotta admire the audacity.
"C'mon Jun, don't you have enough money to bribe the landlord for any damages? Besides, we've got my sister right here! Can't you let a girl show off her new moves at a family reunion?"
Himari has never said those words in that specific order before, and you all know that. But it almost looks like it's working.
You raise your hand to get both of their attention. "If it helps, I'm willing to cast a privacy shield around the entire roof. That should definitely make things easier."
Jun looks towards Rei, who shrugs. "Why not? Purrson says it's a good idea, and so do the roughly… nine different voices in my head. Sorry, ten. Akemi?"
"I'm up for it if you are."
Jun sighs. "Alright, everybody to the roof. The stairs are one turn to the left, just walk out of the front door and you'll see it."
"Ok, just give me and Himari a second." you say, raising up your cane a bit, "my joints usually hurt a bit when I go up stairs."
They all give their acknowledgement and tell you that they'll be waiting. As they leave, Himari looks at you with concern etched on her face. "Your lupus acting up again? Also, I'm pretty sure it's muscle pains, not joint pains."
As you scratch an itch behind your head, you can't help but grin. Looks like your sister didn't forget about you.
"Eh, it's gotten down to a manageable level at this point. I don't get visible rashes anymore, but I'll tell you how I got that to work later." you say. As you do, you also get a… very questionable idea. You've got to make up for a few lost years of not teasing your sibling, after all.
"I just wanted to tell you something in private," you say, as she leans in a tad bit closer, "if you're gonna try and seduce your boyfriend, you're gonna have to try harder than with those terrible puppy eyes."
"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIE—"
9:51 AM
Jun's Apartment Roof
Jun and the others are waiting for you. Rei is leaning against the wall, while Akemi is squatting down on the floor. Jun looks up from his phone. "You're here. Alright, you said something about a "privacy sphere". Can you put that up now?"
You nod, before handing your cane over to Himari. "Of course I can. Himari, hold my stick."
You clasp both of your hands together, and focus. Alright, what do you need for this…
[Kirata Magical Check: DC 50/75/100]
[Autopass: (Archmage of Autumn)]
[Archmage of Autumn]
No. 4 in all of Japan. A sorceress with a free spirit.
When this character encounters a Magical DC of 80 or less, she may choose to forgo a roll and autopass it. (This perk may only be used a limited number of times per Week, usually once or twice.)
[Autopass: (Archmage of Autumn)]
[Archmage of Autumn]
No. 4 in all of Japan. A sorceress with a free spirit.
When this character encounters a Magical DC of 80 or less, she may choose to forgo a roll and autopass it. (This perk may only be used a limited number of times per Week, usually once or twice.)
You picture it before it happens. While it's definitely bigger than the small sphere you use to block out anybody while you're flying, the principle and Purpose of this spell remains the same. A symbolic "room", where the only person that can be let in is you… your friends… and your sister.
Alright, got it!
You intertwine your fingers together, and surge your prana, green rays emanating from your shoulder and hands. This amount of life energy isn't much for you- it just requires one deep breath from you to get it back.
Powerful gusts almost sweep everybody else off of their feet, but they manage to keep it together. Well, aside from Jun, who has to be caught by the wrist by Himari. Yikes.
The wind stops, before it becomes visible as gray clouds surrounding the roof's fences. The clouds whir faster and faster, and you have to make sure that it doesn't end up cracking any windows. With a twitch of your index finger and a mild mental alteration, the sphere becomes a semicircle centered around you and everybody else here. The clouds become clear, right before you take the final step. You take a step back, and separate your hands- before clapping again!
The clouds solidify, becoming a sphere of translucent, slightly green material. Slightly sparkly as well. From the outside, however? Nothing. Like a blank space.
You turn to the rest of the group, who are busy gawking at the basic spell you just cast. Honestly, you should have at least added some chanting and some constellations. "Well? That's pretty easy for an Archmage like me. Don't disappoint me now, guys."
"Woman, I don't think we can out-do that…" Jun complains, regaining his footing.
Himari is grinning, at least. "Hey, my big sis didn't get top 10 sorceress-"
"Top 5!" you correct her, "No. 6 alone is extremely mediocre."
"Top 5 sorceress in Japan for nothing! Now, let's show our style."
What happens next is at once extremely simple and extremely complex. SImple, in that it's just like what you saw in anime and with Sora and Akasuki. Complex, in that ow fuck your eyes so many colors.
Himari snaps her fingers, and begins to slowly be covered, arm-first, by blue pixels, which light her body with a pure white. You see a sheet of sheet metal fly past your head, which wraps itself around her arm.
Akemi summons a long katana out of seemingly nowhere, before unsheathing it. The blade of it is completely black, but it's still visible somehow. She takes off her red jacket, and as she swings it around, it transforms with a flash of light into a beautiful kimono, which wraps itself around her body. It even knots itself up!
Meanwhile, Rei's transformation is much more… noisy. And is she trying to become a scammer, with how much she's moving that card around and- oop, nope it's in her belt.
Driver On!
CHANGE! SYNCHRO!
LET'S DUEL! CARD SET - EMBLEMA!
Armor flies out of her belt, and flies around for a few seconds before attaching itself onto her body. Her blue bug-inspired eyes glow for a second, before they stop. Was she about to say a catchphrase or something?
With that, everyone is transformed… and that's it. Rei just stands there, hands at her sides. Himari is playing around with some metal on her arm, which bends and moves around almost as if it's liquid. "Oh, that's cool. But seriously guys, we should practice some transformation poses, because we're so bland. See, my sister agrees! Akemi, don't you agree as well? Akemi?"
You all look towards the girl in question, and you distantly hear Jun scream. Akemi seems to be… bleeding from the mouth? And her eyes are glowing a dark purple.
[Kirata Magical Check: DC 60/75]
[Autopass: (Archmage of Autumn)]
[Autopass: (Archmage of Autumn)]
You act quickly before anything else happens. The familiar rush of wind mana runs through your veins, and in a blink of an eye, you fly up to Akemi, and plant a quick palm right in her stomach. You fly back right afterwards, and Akemi sort of crumples to the floor. Rei runs over to Akemi, while Himari runs over to you.
Both Rei and Himari say the same thing at the same time. "Holy crap! You good?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," you respond, "What about Akemi?"
Akemi is getting up from the floor. "I'm good, I'm good. Agh, Void almost overtook me there..."
You raise an eyebrow. "I was just smacking some sense into you, but the Void was going to "overtake" you? You should probably figure out how to stave that off."
"Don't worry, I have my ways. Actually, I'm feeling better than I have in a while now that I've transformed," Akemi says, readjusting her bamboo hat. "Though I might have to cancel that Tokyo trip I was gonna make with Rei."
The eyes on Rei's helmet light up as she talks. "I was already iffy with inviting you on that trip! It was a miracle that my bike survived the first trip, I don't think it'll survive the second."
Everyone laughs, and the tension breaks a bit.
Akemi won't have to deal with anything nasty in her next combat! Her Magical goes back up by +2!
After that's done, all of you just... sorta stand there. You already (gut) checked out Akemi for lingering Void influence and made sure that she wouldn't kill anybody, so...
"Anybody wanna practice cool transformation poses while we're here?" Himari asks.
1:01 PM
Jun's Apartment Roof
You are Himari Kuromi. Today's been the best day in a long time, especially now that your sister's here. You probably would have found her faster if you had just researched the Archmages, but since the Guild restricted what you could search up, it is what it is. As for your sister, Kirata happens to be sitting on a chair that Jun brought up, about halfway through this session.
As for your idea that you started on about three hours ago? It was half a joke, half an excuse to see everyone else in their transformed states outside of combat. It's just that... Akemi and Rei look so cool! Rei's armor is more "mechanical" compared to Hanzo's, but it's still really awesome how it can reconfigure itself so well. And Akemi's kimono is so elegant, and weirdly flexible and durable. You wanna know if it's made of the same fabric that your jumpsuit right now.
But as the funny transformation poses that you all try out begin to wear thin, Jun suggest trying them out in an actual combat scenario. Kirata's basically volunteered to be the smart-ass Skull Face that would try and shoot you during your transformations.
[Himari Mental Check; DC 60/80/???]
[d100=97. Crit Success! Somehow!]
[d100=97. Crit Success! Somehow!]
But it's, uh, still working?! Somehow?!
From her chair, Kirata raises a green, glowing arm. "Alright, this will be our thirtieth test. Remember everybody, your job is to deflect my blades of wind using your transformations. Go!"
Her "Self Defense Windblades" aren't razor-sharp like how Kirata says they usually are, but they still hurt like a bitch and go fast. Just how you like it.
A gray blast of air approaches Akemi, who immediately takes of her jacket. As she spins around, the jacket deflects the blade as it transforms into her kimono. The windblade goes flying off uselessly into the privacy sphere that Kirata set up. She finishes her spin and transformation in almost under three seconds, hand on her sheathed blade almost immediately. "Akemi! Here to... uh, no catchphrase yet!"
You've made a system where if you're gonna be calling out names, you may as well do them mid-combat in whatever order you transform. As Kirata launches another gust, you mentally note that it's your turn. As the windblade approaches you, you sidestep, and it goes harmlessly through your arm as your arm reconfigures itself into pixels. The windblade flies back around to hit you again, but you dispel it by blocking it with your sheet of metal mid-air before it attaches itself to your arm. You put a hand on the goggles on top of your head, and point forward. "Himari! Sis, you're gonna have to try harder than that!"
Another one approaches Rei, who doesn't even flinch. Despite having crossed arms, she almost effortlessly tosses the card from her hand down into her belt. Armor flies out into a web around Rei, deflecting the blade even as it comes back for more attacks. As the armor clamps onto Rei, pieces interlocking into each other, you swear you can hear her grinning. "And Striker Roze! Burning bright against the consuming darkness!"
She uncrosses her arms, and quickly slides into center point- quite smart as well, since you're pretty sure she's the most durable out of all of you. "Together we are... uh, we're still deciding on that, but this would be the part where we all shout our name triumphantly! And we'll burn bright enough to quench the Void!"
Everyone in the group gained transformation poses and really efficient transformations! Permanent +2 to Initiative for them!
As you finish your transformations, you all drop them for the last time this day. Rei in particular looks pooped. "Wow, spamming that so many times feels weird. Let's stop here for today."
As you do, you hear Jun slowly clapping. "Man, I was expecting you all to give up on this idea, but it's genuinely impressive how you all can deflect attacks mid-powering up. No complaints from me here!"
Kirata gets up from her chair as well. With a flick of her hand, she dispels the privacy barrier, letting the afternoon sun in. "No complaints from me either. I won't be able to help you guys out all that much, but I'll definitely try and make some small space in my schedule. Nothing too dangerous for me, though."
As her phone buzzes, she turns her head to look at you. "Alright, I gotta go now! Any last thing you guys want to do, or..."
For a second, you're tempted to say nothing, and let her go off to do her important duties.
But...
[Himari Social Check; DC 50/70]
[47+6=53. Good Success!]
[47+6=53. Good Success!]
"Hold up," you say, approaching her, "one last thing!"
Kirata smiles at you knowingly. "What is it?"
And you smile back. "Just wanted to say bye!"
And for the first time in a damn long time, you hug your sister.
-Through the bonds of sisterhood or something, Himari gained +3 to her Social stat!
-Kirata Kuromi joined the team! Kinda! She'll either accompany you on one Minor Action or help out Himari with something once per week.
-Kirata Kuromi joined the team! Kinda! She'll either accompany you on one Minor Action or help out Himari with something once per week.
1:06 PM
Jun's Apartment Roof
As Kirata leaves, you all wave her off. The green portal wavers for a second, right before it dissipates.
What an interesting girl.
Himari turns to you, happier then you've seen her in a while. "Wow! That was great. Wanna get lunch now?"
Jun's already ahead of you guys- literally. He's already at the stairway. "I just ordered delivery! Lemme get it from downstairs right now!"
As Jun walks ahead of all of you, you shake your head. "Man, Jun's always going ahead of us..."
Himari sighs. "It's just a part of who he is. Not much we can do to stop it." as she says that, she suddenly seems to become thoughtful, "On another subject, those roll calls were kinda lame. Well, not lame, but they could have been better. I respect Rei for reclaiming the "Roze" title, but seriously, what should we be named? As Magical Girls, I mean."
>She's right. You guys need more pizzazz.
Akemi puts a hand on her chin. "I've got a few suggestions, but I think Rei might have some good ideas."
Purrson floats up to your shoulder level as well. "Himari should be able to name herself anything that she likes- but I'd prefer if Akemi has the title Nobelle in her name. It's one of those things that came up while me and Akemi were living alone together."
You put a hand on your own chin, as you begin to think. "Well…"
[ ] [Himari] Himari will be called…
[ ] [Akemi Catchphrase] Her catchphrase will be…
-Himari's name should be formatted as Magical Girl [Insert Name Here].
[ ] [Akemi] Akemi will be called…
[ ] [Akemi Catchphrase] Her catchphrase will be…
-Akemi's name must start with the prefix "Nobelle". Don't ask Purrson why.
[ ] [Group Name] And when all of you are together?
-Any name spinning on "Umbra", "Guild", or "Archmage" is banned, for hopefully obvious reasons.
Red_I's Advice: >Just go with what seems right!
Atry's Advice: If you've been thinking about a name for a while now, then you should definitely raise that as an idea.
Gargoyle's "Advice": [👍] [GO FOR IT]
Author's Note:
@SolarGemX, anybody else who saw this chapter a second ago- sorry about that. I posted it too early and had to delete.
As for more pertinent ramblings, I've been waiting for this reveal for a while— it's been planned from the moment I came up with Himari's character design.
I just wasn't expecting it to be so happy… but hey. Dice of fate do be fickle sometimes. That's one of the joys of quests.
Happy voting heroes!
Last edited:
- Location
- Philippines
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] [Akemi] Akemi will be called Nobelle Termina
Uh... This is the only vote I have for the moment. I'll be leaving the rest to the others.
Edit:
[X] [Group Name] Re-Alight
This is inspired from what @dolcevita said about our group's theme. And I think this should get the message across
[X] [Himari] Himari will be called Magical Girl Pneuma
Got inspired by @ThaTrueRealmWalk to use a reference to Xenoblade.
Uh... This is the only vote I have for the moment. I'll be leaving the rest to the others.
Edit:
[X] [Group Name] Re-Alight
This is inspired from what @dolcevita said about our group's theme. And I think this should get the message across
[X] [Himari] Himari will be called Magical Girl Pneuma
Got inspired by @ThaTrueRealmWalk to use a reference to Xenoblade.
Last edited:
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That was a nice chapter, sisterly bomdimg/ribbing. We practice transformation sequences (and hey it gave a bonus to initiative, two 97's go brrrr) and NAMES! Already made a list like 2 chapters ago and I homestly like Nobelle Termina for Akemi. Himari om the other hand...may need some slight work. Its either Altergeist or Soul Hacker for me. But oh gods catchphrases and team names... I am not ready. Still not sure why people picked my suggestion for Rei's.... Gonna need to think about this one...
wat the fuck Jun....
I believe the second Akemi is supposed to be Himari?
[X] [Akemi] Akemi will be called Nobelle Termina
[X] [Himari] Himari will be called Magical Girl Pneuma
[X] [Group Name] Lumina
Last edited:
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Hmm...catch phrases... I think Akemi could use something with the words Free or Unchained. Symbolizing her breaking away from her past and her hopes for a peaceful/free future? Maybe add a bit from her perks or skills? Himari on the other hand... hmm.
Akemi: Unbending and Unchained/Unbound! I fight for the dream of freedom! Nobelle Termina!
or maybe
Unbending and Unchained/Unbound! I cut the path towards freedom! Nobelle Termina!
Himari: Released from the shadows and heading towards a brighter future! Magical Girl Altergeist/Soul Hacker is here!
or maybe
Surging from the web ready to battle, Magical Girl Altergeist/Soul Hacker is here!
As for a team name....
Tri-Hope? (Veto from QM, for future proofing)
Twilight Stars?
Something with Eclipse in the name? Maybe Eclipsed Hopes?
Yeah these are my two cents, feel free to dissect it people. Also don't be scared to make you're own suggestions for names and catchphrases. Seriously, only me and Zetalike gave names last time.
Akemi: Unbending and Unchained/Unbound! I fight for the dream of freedom! Nobelle Termina!
or maybe
Unbending and Unchained/Unbound! I cut the path towards freedom! Nobelle Termina!
Himari: Released from the shadows and heading towards a brighter future! Magical Girl Altergeist/Soul Hacker is here!
or maybe
Surging from the web ready to battle, Magical Girl Altergeist/Soul Hacker is here!
As for a team name....
Twilight Stars?
Something with Eclipse in the name? Maybe Eclipsed Hopes?
Yeah these are my two cents, feel free to dissect it people. Also don't be scared to make you're own suggestions for names and catchphrases. Seriously, only me and Zetalike gave names last time.
Last edited:
SolarGemX
The Crystalized Sun
- Location
- Somewhere in the Cosmos
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ehh.. give it a day or two. Let the creative juices flow for a bit. As I said in another quest (Although here is a lot less necesary) Branding is everything. We need to have something for the actor AU, either way.