Event: Mirror Image

[trainmasters]

Who: everyone!
When: Day 19 evening and on
Where: outside

[As darkness falls in the jungle, an unusually chill breeze rustles through the trees. In its wake is silence, the purified fauna going quiet as if in dread.

Is it just you, or is the night darker tonight?

You may find the cause if you leave the train. Those who are caught alone outside will see the shadows grow suddenly long. The darkness coalesces into a vaguely human form, vague and faceless but radiating cold.

Before you can react the shadows surround you. Deep within, your most bitter, unpleasant feelings rise up in your chest. It's overwhelming, threatening to consume you, but just before it can it suddenly stops. The shadows recoil, dissipating into the jungle.

You're safe, but those negative feelings might be closer to the surface than usual.

Good luck, especially if you're one of the newbies just waking up.]

[NOTES: This event will OOCly end on Wednesday, but feel free to ICly push time forward as much as you like. There will be a followup post at that time, and you can schedule player-run trials any time after.

The emotional effect of this event can be as severe as you want. Your character could just be a bit grumpy, or they could find their emotions totally out of control. The effect lasts a couple of hours or until the character counters it with happier feelings.]

Comments

[bad_crowmance]

[ He's not as adept with fire so it takes a little longer for his attach to get prepared. Crow can't really focus as strongly on the enemy while he's doing this so he just has to believe 80H's got a handle on this-- and she's proven herself an adept fighter so far, so he's not worried about that.

Eventually, after a long moment, the attack is finally ready. He calls out to 80H-- ]

Now!

[ And sends off a Purgatorial Flame-- it only covers a small area but it's an extremely powerful Fire Arts attack. ]

[voreaciously]

[When he says he's ready she stretches her arms out and jumps back and down, flipping in smooth circuits before landing and skidding back slightly from the momentum.

She is at his side.

If someone on this team had Analyze they'd see that fire is kind! of bad! it is like 150 so this monster came out to have a great time but is feeling really attacked right now.

There are brilliant lights in the flames in two of the places that had flowers that have bloomed. The lights shatter and the thorn stalks fall off as well as the acid and sticky shooting blooms. The monster dips in altitude, but does not fall.]

Still not enough. Mes yeux voient vers les cieux infinis!

[She peers into the monsters hidden self, its skeleton, its very conceit and she tuts.]

How are you faring?

[bad_crowmance]

Well, it's too bad I don't have another of those in me right now.

[ Unfortunately, he doesn't have any EP Charges with him. He should look into the price of those and maybe some Tearal Balms, he thinks to himself. But he can worry about that later. ]

But I'm not out for the count yet. You think you can get in with your naginata if I make an opening for you?

[voreaciously]

[He doesn't? Oh, that is lovely. She dislikes fire in most cases--all flash, literally no substance and too dangerous in impatient hands because of it--but her bias against it doesn't mean it is not effective here. She just hates to admit it.

Stupid fire.]>

Hold a moment. Something is shifting.

[Crow's Purgatorial Flame did quite a bit of damage--it does not take mystic eyes to see that--but as 80H analyses the internals, she can also see that it is more than that. Layers peel and fall off, all the special flowers that were there once are nearly all gone.]

It has not just been harmed...it's shedding its "skin".

[Beneath the burning layers is something largely black and deeply ridged with planes rising higher and lower with pale green embellishments in the spaces between. It is also much smaller, though still obviously very large and reminiscent of a peach pit. Its spinning flowers suddenly rotate much faster and extinguish the remaining flames.

This form does not cry, does not shriek and the silence besides its flight is weirdly haunting.

YOU GUESSED IT, FOLKS!

IT'S FINAAAAAAAL FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORM! :D

The first flower it revealed sits on its stalk, a tall column sprouted from the pit-like structure with nowhere to retreat to now, but it starts to glow, gathering light.

And then it fires a wide beam.]

[bad_crowmance]

Another for---- shit!

[ He can't even finish his sentence before he's running from that wide beam, not quite missing getting hit by it. That's gonna fucking hurt, does already, but he's already planning ahead-- he can get off a time-based attack or two still even if he doesn't have enough juice left in him for a second Purgatorial Flame right now, and he should even be able to get it out quicker.

But he still needs an opening for that first, and he'd rather not rely entirely on Arts to fight. It's not his style, not now and not even from what he remembers of fighting in his past, limited though that memory may be. So instead, what he's going for is one of his crafts-- He fires off a Cross Trigger with a shout. It's a pretty strong move, and if it hits it might confuse him, give him nightmares, or even unbalance him entirely and give 80H an opportunity for a stronger followup if she takes advantage of it.

(It's too bad she doesn't have an ARCUS, combat linking would make this easier.) ]

[voreaciously]

[ANOTHER ONE!]

Crow-san!

[She casts a healing spell immediately, because that beam is not fun! It is a desperation attack, and so no holds are barred. Even being hit by it a little is kind of huge ow.

Cross Trigger lands! Unfortunately, the fickle dice goddesses have deemed that there are no status effects applied.

Since 80H is not acting aggressively at the moment, the monster focuses its attention on Crow and lashes out with those thin tendrils from the beginning. They are thin and red and crack through the air like whips. They smart, but the damage is not as heavy as the fanfare suggests even if they still hurt.

In fact, on the heels of the sting comes...pleasure. Slow, at first.

The glow from the beam flower fades for now, but will it stay that way?]

[bad_crowmance]

[ Lady Luck's not on his side today, it would seem.

The pleasure is.... weird. It's unusual and makes him feel a little warm, but it's at ignorable levels for now and so he does just that in favour of pulling out one of his favourite crafts. ]

Wild Card!

[ This one is.... a random status effect! It's a good one if it hits an ally and a bad one if it hits the enemy. The dice goddesses say that this one hits the enemy, though whether or not the effect will be ultimately helpful is up in the air. ]

[voreaciously]

You even gamble during encounters.

[Good grief. Even if her tone is slightly exasperated, she knows Crow is competent, he wouldn't take unacceptable risks.

Probably.


Confuse!

So, normally, it would attack indiscriminately but you guys are the only things here so rip. HOWEVER.

I am God.

So! Cybele-chan here will start to hallucinate and attack elsewhere, everywhere. If only she had a flight unit, but she does not. No matter. She starts to cast quickly in French, her voice echoing and layered. She skips a spell--she is too focused in the moment that she does not need to cast her first. It's a familiar strength buff.

But after--]

Et, enfin, il trouve bonheur vrai dans cette tombe, sa étreinte.

[She puts more power into this one than she usually does, but it is necessary.

A rush of water starts to form, flying on the air as it takes the shape of a very large mermaid, at least thirty feet tall, her smile beatific and her arms outstretched generously as spirals around the seed construct, rising higher and higher, water spreading in her wake until the entire monster is surrounded in a sphere of it.

The water flash freezes and the flowers it uses to fly shatter into pure, beautiful ice. It plummets down and when it lands it creates a short, but violent quake.

The seed and attacking flowers are intact.]

I am going in. We will not have much time before it begins to regenerate once more. Please focus fire on its flower cannon. It should be weakened.

[bad_crowmance]

Gotta liven things up!

[ As if things weren't exciting enough without random status effects.

But he nods at her words and focuses his attention on the flower canon, taking several shots at it before he fires off a Freezing Bullet craft. Regardless of whether or not the freeze effect works (dice gods say the freeze status does not work), he's following that up pretty much immediately with a furious barrage--- another one of his S-Craft, Cross Raven, wildly flinging bullets at the flower canon from all directions. ]

[voreaciously]

Yes, because combat of this magnitude is dull.

[Crow's impressive feat finds its mark and that flower is not only falls off, but is split it a cross-shaped pattern before it shatters to frozen dust.

With that opening, 80H's weapon returns to her back in a shower of golden motes.

And then she takes off at a sprint.

It is incredibly, impossibly fast, faster than when she was carrying him, and not because he was a burden, but because going at this speed would have been uncomfortable to say the least. She jumps up boosting herself up higher with a jet of water that propels her up, up, up! Only for a new jet to appear behind her pushing downward.]

Serpent Tortueux!

[The water surrounds her and expands, rotating violently as it takes the shape of a large snake with its sharp fangs bared in a hiss that promises carnage. It delivers, driving through the seed in a sharp, echoing crack.

Everything is silent. And then everything happens.

It starts with a fissure then two, then twenty then a thousand, then ten. Pieces of ridged shell shatter or slough off, a glacier breaking apart. The snake bursts through the middle, coiling in on itself before it disappears, leaving something spherical behind. 80H spins her naginata before snapping it to her side.

Behind her, the remains of the monster explode into blue iridescent dust.]

Enemy elimination complete.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Crow lets out a low whistle at that. ]

Damn, I'm impressed! You've got some moves!

[ Not just the ones in the bedroom, either. ]

[voreaciously]

I exist for combat.

[She puts her weapon away and picks up her prize, a sphere roughly the size of a basketball in mottled colours before jumping back up to his level to join him.]

But, thank you. You did very well yourself, even if some methods were...unorthodox. They proved effective.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Wait, so is she a sexbot or not? ]

Yeah, and I know I haven't remembered everything I can do just yet.

[ He puts his guns away and the disappear at his sides. ]

[voreaciously]

[jesus crow GET OFF THAT ALREADY.

Her mouth quirks in a slight frown that she does not bother to hide. That infuriating holstering will be the end of her.]

I look forward to when you do.

[But she is just going to heal him all nice and neat before stretching her arms above her head.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ The healing is a relief, and he rolls his shoulders as his injuries fade and disappear. ]

Gotta say, I can definitely appreciate having you around right now.

[ A guy could almost get used to a friendly neighborhood healbot. Almost. ]

[voreaciously]

Oh, is that so? Would you care to demonstrate it?

[bad_crowmance]

[ He lets out a startled laugh. ]

You horny already?

[ He says that like he's NOT and frankly, she can probably tell. Not that he's hard or anything, but there's definitely other, smaller tells. ]

[voreaciously]

[Is the sky blue.

She gasps lightly, but the undertones are clearly scandalised.]

Now, now, I made no such mention. [She tsks and waves her finger sharply.]

What a wanton mind to jump to that.

[bad_crowmance]

I thought we were well past the stage where that's obvious. We've spoken for more than five minutes?

[voreaciously]

[Hey that's true but you shouldn't say it.

But also, she actually doesn't care right now and the corner of her mouth turns up ever so slightly.]

Far more than that, actually.

[Gonna count all that battle time and that took a bit of a while.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ He laughs again, shaking his head. ]

I bet you can give an exact number.

[ He still remembers her accurate clock on how long it took to get her to come during the bingo trial. ]

[voreaciously]

I could, but I can think of better... [And though she is blindfolded, the way she cants her head and raises it, slowly, makes no secret that she is checking him out.]

Figures.

[bad_crowmance]

[ His grin deepens, the way he looks at her taking on an entirely lewd edge to it. ]

I'm a big fan of figures.

[voreaciously]

I know.

[Her tone is polite, but noticeably dry and stand of ice rises from the path with a wave of her hand while her naginata appears in the other. She places it there so it will not be in the way, even if there is space between it and her back.

Though a part of her wonders at the element of danger--no, that would be too much, unfortunately. Instead, she saunters up into his space, a single finger brushing down the front of him. He may not be hard yet, but he soon will be.

She whispers by his ear.]

And I am a fan of big figures.

[bad_crowmance]

[ Well, that goes straight to his dick. He shivers slightly, beginning to stir to life with just that much. ]

Sounds like we can work something out, then.

[ His tone's lighthearted, barely betraying his growing sense of arousal. Not to mention he's still feeling the effects of that weird attack earlier. ]