Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge (Mari; Kiryu)

Mari's usually cheerful grin changed to that of a grim smile. "Yeah..." she said with a slightly subdued voice as she swirled her current cup of sake. She gazed into the spinning spirits for a moment before sighing softly. "I don't usually think about mortality; I've got a quite a few dozen centuries left in me before I'd even start t'get worried about old age. Though, either stupidity or a mountain o'sheer bad luck could easily change that for me."

The oni rubbed the spot covered by her armband for a moment, before carrying on, "I've had a few close calls with death, even had a chat with them sometimes..." Mari let out a brief rumbling laugh, cutting her reminiscing short, "I guess I don't blame ya for not wantin' t'talk about the past, things can get melancholic real quick. Nothin' sadder than a sad drunk."

She downed her glass in one go, before shaking her head in agreement with Kiryu's sentiments; "Neither do I." Mari frowned slightly at the man before continuing on, "Well, that's a terrible loss for you guys then. Should start a brewery, could probably make good money off it, and you'd 'ave all the sake you could want," she said, before breaking into more laughter.

Deck 10 ~ Comet Cafe (Loki; Sakura)

Loki wanted to tap her chin in thought, but found both hands currently full; one hand holding her staff, the other holding her companion's hand. Instead, she gave a thoughtful scowl to the matter of space fish. "But what if they taste like fish, but don't look like fish? Or they look like fish, but taste like chicken?" Her scowl deepened, "Hmmm... I think we're giving this too much thought. We can find out what they use for sushi latter if we pass by the sushi place."

She stopped for a brief moment before pointing her staff directly ahead, "Look, there's the cafe! Snack time!"

Up ahead was the Comet Cafe, a quaint location with a distinct Art Deco look; chrome, slick and streamlined furniture, bright colors, chrome, distinctly robotic waiters (with vacuum tubes and flashing lights!), neon lighting, chrome... and robot barista that wouldn't look out of place on the set of I, Robot dressed as a reindeer.

Loki paused for a moment, taking it all in, before commenting, "This is unexpected. But, ooh... so shiny~."

[Club Neptune (Carlotta, Reshk, Phagora)]

Reshk 'chuckled' internally at Carlotta's reaction to his brief summation of the zaran. Scaredy bloke. Not that anybody not-crazy was/should be happy about AI builders, but really now.

...Which is why the robot dancing inside the club left him a little shivery himself. Not that it registered that much, compared to the weird lighting effects of the place. He'd seen much weirder in his years in the GA, of course - still, the design clearly wasn't an oquar thing.

Though I'd have to go get set up with a room soon even if I was wanting to stick around long, so I reckon that works out.

He blinked his eyes as Carlotta finished asking. I said eighty billion people, right?

"If I had to use a word about the Empress?" he replied. "Old. Really old if it was two words. They say she intends to stay alive until she considers one of her heirs worthy, and she's supposed to be very picky. She hasn't physically left the imperial palace in years, and there's a lot of thought says she can't anymore - either there's too much bulky life-support-stuff in there, or she doesn't have much of a body left, or both."

Waving his arms again, he continued "But you'd have to ask a palace doctor or something. I don't even live in the Empire anymore, much less keep up on what's current."

A smallish female human picked that moment to arrive, and Reshk looked at her with his closest eye. "Erm, do we know you?"

Club Neptune (Carlotta, Reshk, Phagora)

The one part of Carlotta's faux-porcelain face that could move reasonably well (besides her hinged eyelids) was her mouth, and it stretched into a smirk when Reshk talked about his Empress. I wonder if that's what Lucina will be like when she gets old - if she even does age.

But just as she was trying to think of what to ask him next, someone asked if she could join them. Carlotta looked up... but the table was blocking her view. Though the seat of the chair was higher than the top of her head, she noticed it was fixed into the floor, and thus when she pulled herself up onto it, her weight did not cause the chair to tip over. Once she looked up over the table, her smile broadened and her bright spring-green eyes flew all the way open.

"Oh, I know you! You're the head chef of the Starlight Restaurant!" She looked over at Reshk while gesturing at the young chef. "She came to see the Queen and me while we were dining there." It didn't even occur to her that dolls don't normally eat.

But when she looked back at her, something didn't quite feel right. There was something strange about this otherwise nice-looking girl, and once she got a closer look, a sense of surprise struck her. For a split second, she thought she was looking in a mirror, for she saw a very dark presence hidden inside of her, though all throughout her body it seemed. For a moment she had to wonder if this young lady could see something similar inside her - a similar dark presence hidden in crack-like markings on her body^note The presence is purely magical, and thus would only be detectable to those who could see souls or detect traces of magic - but for now she paid it no mind.

Instead, a question burned in her mind... but, having learned her lesson from the two times she had asked a walking, talking corpse if they were dead, she managed to avoid asking a similarly direct question. So instead, she said, "...But of course you may join us! This is Ay Reshk, from the planet Aquar.^note Yes, I intentionally butchered that name. And I am Carlotta Posset, as you remember. But... what was your name again?" She didn't even remember if the chef had introduced herself, but she likely had been too flustered by Lucina's sudden order to go deal with that mirror business at the lobby to notice.

(Club Neptune- Phagora, Carlotta, Reshk)

"Oh, Carlotta! How nice it is to see you again." Phagora noticed that something had happened to the doll's... soul? She wasn't sure, but she didn't press it. "I'm Phagora, head chef at Starlight." The half-demon casually took a seat on the far side of the table. "I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important, I just hoped to have a little conversation."

[Comet Cafe]

But what if they taste like fish, but don't look like fish? Or they look like fish, but taste like chicken?

Sakura's mind was sent reeling. A fish that didn't taste like fish? Could such a thing be possible? She shook her head and dispelled the thought. Her little companion was right; maybe they were giving this too much thought.

They then arrived at their apparent destination, which was a dazzling array of strange sights, sounds, and even smells. "It's so... shiny," she said, almost in unison with Inigo. Not wanting to be blinded by another weird shiny thing, as had happened to her earlier, she used her free hand to shield her eyes, and also squinted, just in case. "Well," she said. "Let's go get some snacks, I guess!"

[Dark Matter Lounge]

Kiryu chuckled. "I don't know shit about brewing the stuff. I just like to drink it."

He leaned back a bit. "A few dozen centuries, though? Jeez, sounds nice. I'll be lucky if I make it to 70. Especially with the war and..." he trailed off, rubbing his chin for a moment, lost in thought. "Well, anyway," he said. "Close calls are never fun, that's for sure. I like to think they happen for a reason, though, y'know? And I'm not talking about fate or destiny or some shit. I just mean... if you're willing to put your life on the line for something, or for someone, it means you care, like, really care. And that's the sort of shit that defines you as a person, right?"

He stared into his cup for a few moments, then downed it abruptly. "Bah, what do I know?" he said. "Maybe I'm just an old drunk, talking bullshit."

[Deck 1-Abandoned Theater/Henry and Lauren]

Henry nodded to Cii's request and gestured to Lauren to do so. Lauren adjusted her tool and the brightness of the ball of light went down to a barely visible level.

"Okay you try and calm it down." Henry said to Cii as he slowly backed away, making sure he was able to reach his weapon quickly just in case as he did.

Starlight Restaurant 2F -> 1F (Albert, Aethelweard, Karl and Robin; Jake and Fiona; Lucina and Winky)

A lot of time has passed, so here's the introductory post of the Three Dudes in Suits

The three men finished their meal, paid for it and descended to the first floor of the Restaurant.

"Oh, look. It's Robin!" said Karl and pointed towards the exit.

It was, indeed, their flight mechanic, wearing yellow cocktail dress.

"You look lovely, van Segher," said Frost cheerfully as she approached them. "Very fashionable. Although I'm not sure about the case-"

"C.B. performed a surgery and is now lying unconscious at the sickbay. Chief is with her," deadpanned van Segher.

"Oh," Albert got serious. "And? What Ahlstrom wants me to do about it?"

"Uh..."

"I'm sure he is fully able to handle the situation. We- What is it, Ed?"

Aethelweard pointed towards the group of very unusual-looking people at the Restaurant's entrance, arguing about something.

"Think we should intervene?" said Albert.

"Do we have the time for this?" asked Karl.

"Yeah, better not. The woman with a doll on her shoulder is Lucina Geppetto and the guy with cat ears and wings is Jake Ronso. Not sure about the other one. I've been told to stay away from them," said Robin.

"Really? All the more reasons to meet them," said Frost and started moving in their direction. The rest, having exchanged exasperated glances, reluctantly followed suit.

"Good day to you all!" Albert smiled, approaching the other group. "Lovely, lovely day. Too good to spoil it with arguing. I'm Albert Frost, and this is my posse - Robin van Segher, Aethelweard and Karl Hummel. Might I inquire what is the cause of this quarrel?"

[Abandoned Theater]

The creature's mane moved to expose it's blue eye, examining the group of three. The light Lauren had been shinning being dimmed helped for it to show itself a little more, but it mostly kept itself hidden. The calming talk that Cirranze and Henry were only now beginning to help.

The creature slowly began to unravel its mane, the tendrils beginning to turn translucent once again. It's lowered itself to the ground, to let them know that it wasn't a threat, and slid toward the group, eventually laying flat on the ground as soon as it was in front of them. Some tendrils in its mane formed into a crude, three-fingered hand that waved a meek greeting to the three.

It knew it had experiences where even approaching humans, as far as it could tell, calmly could end poorly, so it's claws were positioned so that it could jump back if it needed to.

edited 17th Jul '17 11:27:44 PM by DarkbloodCarnagefang

Starlight Restaurant 1F

Looking on calmly yet lightly seriously, Jake Ronso processes Queen Lucina's words silently. Finally as some newcomers approach, the demon general smiles kindly at them. "This is no quarrel, I assure you. What I need to say is important however, so I would appreciate it if I have no interruptions or interjection every other sentence."

Focusing back on the 'benevolent' queen, the rider of conquest speaks politely yet purposively. "It is a fool who believes everything is and only can be what it seems. Since there is no true good or evil, how can you nonetheless declare your sister's magic to be innately malevolent? One could use a knife to kill, yet that doesn't mean all knives can do is kill. Even my mastery of space..."

One of Jake's portals opening to the side, he slips his distorted arm through it- And the portal closes, leaving him to hold out a stump. Mere seconds later his arm grows anew, Jake himself paying it no mind as he continues. "Is not limited to simply move things. You did your sister no favors letting her believe her magic was purely dangerous, however. In fact..."

Conjuring an image showing a mock-up, or perhaps magical Gif, of Lucina and Sinistrina turning a corpse into a revitalized person Jake gives a 'this could of been you' expression. "Full resurrection could of been possible if you worked together. Imagine that, death powerless before the daughters of a toymaker... Immortality would certainly be handy for your kingdom's geniuses."

Holding his newly regrown arm slightly out and letting the crystallized soul hover over his hand, Jake speaks with a slight tinge of anger somewhat surprisingly not directed at Lucina. "Change, however, is something humans clearly fear and hate. I am not surprised they complicated your efforts to make a porcelain wonderland. In all it was their sloth and greed most, for such a change needed effort and altruism they intentionally forsook."

Glancing briefly to Fiona, who in response began calmly but slowly approaching, Jake speaks with a more resolute tone. "I will not claim force is unnecessary or irrelevant, for many conflicts revolve around the malevolent or stupid. The only reason people sprout such nonsense is because of conditioning, or fear of losing themselves. Nonetheless Queen Lucina..."

The magical 'Gif' changing to that of Lucina destroying Emille, Jake's expression becomes fully serious. "Do not let yourself become like the people you struggled against, to be the kind of person who remorselessly condemns their own family and friends to annihilation... Do not be the kind of person who makes excuses to justify such madness."

Dismissing the Gif construct, Jake's expression and tone become a bit more casual. "You dismissed the offer of becoming a genuine god for an entire universe to call your own... Anyone obsessed with power and control would of accepted, barring a certain level of malevolence or pettiness. So I am inclined to believe you merely misguided, with no one to tell you when you've gone too far."

Floating the crystallized soul a little closer to Lucina, enough she could snatch it, Jake finishes up for now. "Queen Lucina, some of the souls you sentenced are genuinely trash, like the man who once owned this one. Perhaps it would be better to simply repurpose such souls for now, until your curse is lifted- No point putting the innocents into dolls if their discomfort with their new bodies will harm you."

Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge (Mari; Kiryu)

Mari shrugged, "Eh, neither do I. But, somebody figured out 'ow t'brew the stuff, so I guess it can't be too 'ard. Had plenty o'grapes go and ferment themselves on me from time t'time."

She then folded her arms as she listened to Kiryu. She sat silently for a moment, before taking a futile sip from her cup. The oni stared into the glass when no liquor came out, before signaling the bartender to refill her cup. "The thing is... the times I've 'ad my close calls, I wasn't really fightin' for anythin' terribly important. A bit of fool'ardiness, bein' in the wrong place at the wrong time..." she said, trailing off for a moment.

She leaned back and smiled, "Lessons learned from them experiences, that's for sure."

Deck 10 ~ Comet Cafe (Loki; Sakura)

Loki nodded her head enthusiastically. "Agreed!" she beamed, before grinning as she spotted something that caught her eye... and her stomach. "CHEESE!" Fiercely grinning, the small goddess dashed off to survey the cheeses, before lightly tapping her staff on the glass to point out a block of blue veined cheese, "I'll take some of that, please!"

Flitting from counter to counter, Loki soon amassed a sizable amount of goodies; a piece of cheese, a slice of cake, and a slice of cheesecake, in addition to two white bags of candy which promptly disappeared into her coat. She made her way back over to Sakura, waiting for the other girl to pick what she wanted before the pair of them would make their way to pay for everything using Loki's ill-gotten means of payment.

[Club Neptune (Carlotta, Reshk, Phagora)]

Reshk blinked.

"I'm not even sound myself on what I'm doing here," he told the chef, "so sure, why not. Am I correct in assuming you're from the planet 'Homan'?"

He swiveled a couple of eyes in Carlotta's direction in the hopes that she would get the message.

Extremely short because I'm trying to figure out something BTS.

Club Neptune (Carlotta, Reshk, Phagora)

Carlotta flashed Phagora a quick smile before turning to Resh, blinking a couple of times at his odd question. "Homan? Is that what you call Earth?" The name kind of sounded like "human" to her, after all.

She looked over at Phagora. "You look human. Am I correct in assuming you are from there too? And where if I may ask?" She was still curious about that strong dark presence inside of the chef, but wasn't quite sure how to approach that question.

Outside Starlight Restaurant (Lucina, Winky, Jake, Fiona, Albert, Aethelweard, Karl, Robin)

Though initially annoyed as before, Lucina's eyes lit up when Jake mentioned resurrecting the dead. No, not just re-animating their bodies. Bringing them back to life. To the point where she hardly heard what he said after that, her mind swimming in the possibilities. Is... is it possible? Sinistrina can manipulate souls... perhaps if she were to hold one inside its body while I heal them... but it would be difficult to heal someone who's dead, wouldn't it? Curing sickness is one thing...

She returned to reality just in time to hear Jake's words about the Austrian earl's soul and notice the conjured image of her smashing Emille with a gigantic hammer, just like she had ordered the latter to do with misbehaving dolls. As she gazed at the crystal hovering before her, she paused for a few moments, slouching a bit in an uncharacteristic weariness. She was beginning to feel cold, hopeless... come to think of it, it was a similar feeling she felt every time she gazed into the mrror that lead to the Deathly Glade, those black mists that slowly reduced everything to a lifeless dust.^note That's the geas starting to affect her.

"I say," Winky broke the silence with, holding onto Lucina's shoulder for support, "what you propose exists only in the realm of fairy tales! Her Majesty is no fairy godmother."

"Do you mean to question my power?" Lucina promptly snapped at him. "Of course it is possible! It has to be! In fact..." Pushing the crystallized soul aside, she reached forward and grasped Jake's normal hand, bouncing on her heels as she spoke. "I know exactly what you can help me with now! Make my healing magic more powerful!" She let go and spread her arms wide. "Powerful enough to cure even the nastiest of ailments! Powerful enough to jump-start the soul and breathe life back into what was once dead! Powerful enough to..."

She paused, thinking of a new idea that shocked her to her very core. But instead of voicing it, she smiled warmly, gazing beyond Jake's conjured image - which she half-wished was still the one with her and Sinistrina. That... that could atone for everything... Everything. Even... Remembering Jake, she shook her head and continued, "...To revive all the people in Solevaille who are wasting away in the Deathly Glade! You said Sin was on the ship, correct?" And then another look of shock as she remembered the new faces present, wondering how much attention they had been paying to them.

Finally, though she still felt quite dizzy^note Her enthusiasm about reviving the people she had executed lessened the geas's effect a bit., she put on a smile and turned to face the boyish lad in the fancy suit who introduced himself and his two companions. "Actually, I do believe our quarrel is resolved! It truly is unfortunate that you missed the good part. Ah, you should have seen the look on my face when I came to that realization about my sister!^note She's referring to the part in my last post where she realized that Sinistrina was the only one who really accepted her ideas of bringing the dolls to life. But really, where are my manners?" She did a small curtsy. "I am Lucina Geppetto, Queen of Solevaille. These are my playful opponents, Jake Ronso and Fiona Mulier! And this fine gentleman here is Winky, I say!"

The marionette turned his wooden head towards Lucina and shook his hinged mustache about. "I say, only I say 'I say'!"

Lucina clasped her hands together with her scepter between them. "So, any questions about our little demonstration?"

Anyone for ham? I've prepared a rather large helping of it. Though I imagine everyone is full.

edited 20th Jul '17 10:39:55 PM by ladytanuki

Starlight Restaurant 1F (Lucina and Winky; Albert, Aethelweard, Karl and Robin; Jake and Fiona)

Albert's gaze moved from one speaker to another, registering the women's tacky clothes, a somehow talking doll sitting on the shoulder of one of them, the boy's cat ears and wings; he saw the surreal imagery created by the boy; he noticed their bombastic way of talking, strange choice of words: something about death, souls and such, all of it not making a lick of sense to him; and his expression became more and more confused, his mouth opened by itself in disbelief, until finally, the realization dawned on him:

"Ooooooooh! So you're the street performers!" said he cheerfully, holding his arms wide. In the background, Robin covered her eyes with her palm. Ed and Karl exchanged confused glances. No one dared to correct him. "Of course, I'm all for a good performance. I have some spare money. I have to say that that's quite the stage name you've chosen for yourself, Lucina. And I compliment your ventriloquist skills. Please, do continue."

edited 21st Jul '17 6:10:55 AM by Millership

(Club Neptune- Phagora, Carlotta, Reshk)

"Humon? Don't know of such a place, but I've seen enough of the multiverse on this little excursion to know there's a lot more I haven't." Phagora sat down, turning to the bartender. "The oldest Dring spicewine you have, please." She then looked at Carlotta and Reshk. "I barely got to meet you, Carlotta, and I haven't met you at all. Please, tell me about yourselves. I always like to know about who I'm with."

[Dark Matter Lounge]

"Hmm..." Kiryu stared into his cup for a moment. "Guess I am talking bullshit, then, huh? Maybe that's just what I want to believe..."

He was quiet for a while longer, before finally turning to Mari with a grin. "Hey now, I was wishing for good sake. Anyone can make terrible sake," he laughed. "We've got plenty of that shit where I'm from."

[Comet Cafe]

Dazzled by the array of confections, pastries and general snacks displayed before her - most of which she'd never seen before - Sakura struggled to make a decision. There were so many wonderful, exotic sights and smells! It all looked so good! Eventually, feeling the pressure to decide, she picked out a large chocolate bar for herself. As Inigo came back, she spotted the girl's selection and, on an impulse, secured a slice of cheesecake for herself as well.

"I think I'm about done," she said, eyeing her cheesecake hungrily. "I don't suppose you're gonna pay for both of us, huh?"

Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge (Mari; Kiryu)

Mari returned the grin for a moment, "'Ey, practice makes perfect; no one makes great sake first try. Unless you've got Daikoku's blessin' or somethin'. Anyway, you'll never make good sake if you don't try." She sighed and leaned back slightly, "I dabble a little in brewin'. Sometimes I make a decent product, other times... a few of the guys over in RTD managed t'use some o'the whisky I made as jet fuel."

"Oh," Mari leaned in and placed a hand on Kiryu's shoulder, "you ain't talkin' bullshit. Initially I was just a reckless fool who fought for the sake o'fightin'. Picked fights with the wrong people for the wrong reasons. It just took me a while and a few instances o'gettin' me ass 'anded t'me t'find good causes worth fightin' for. A rather... long while." The oni woman gave a halfhearted chuckle and rubbed the back of her head slowly before continuing, "But it made me into who I am today, otherwise I wouldn't be 'ere."

Deck 10 ~ Comet Cafe (Loki; Sakura)

"Of course I am; didn't I say this was my treat?" Loki said, holding up the keyphone. Turning towards the cashier, she stood on tiptoes to go through the motions of paying for all the assorted goodies between the two girls.

The cashier gave Loki an odd look for a moment during the process before the pint-sized goddess a cheerful smile and a slight dismissing wave, "Is there a problem?"

The robot shook its head, "No, I suppose not... Ms. Montoya. Thank you and have a nice day."

Taking her leave from the counter with her laiden tray, she led Sakura over to a table and took a seat. She took no time in digging in to her cheesecake. Closing her eyes, Loki's face took on one of pure bliss, beaming a smile at her newfound friend, "Oh my~, this cheesecake is almost divine, mmm..."

(Rebecca- Spa)

Rebecca left the room, looking at her map. There wasn't a lot there that really caught her eye, until she saw the spa. Knowing that she'd never been pampered, and really wondering what it would be like, she made her way to Deck 9.

Upon her entering the spa, the attendant had a minor freakout. "Er, ma'am? I don't think our facilities are equipped to touch up full-scale undead rot."

"Consider this a challenge," Rebecca replied, as she made her way to the facial station, intending to start at the top and work her way down.

Club Pluto

"Eh?" Ryya jumped at Kokoro's scream, and ducked when the tar girl threw what looked like a small furry fox over herself. When Kokoro approached another corpse, Ryya followed her, and showed disgust at the sight. "What is it?"

It looked kinda like a tiger, or something like that. It had horns but no eyes, and certainly demonic. She grimaced, and carefully poked the thing with her staff. It did not move. "What is this? It kinda looks like a tiger, or..."

She pauses, feeling a shiver down her spine. Better not think of that again, especially not now in the dark.

"Never mind." Ryya shook her head. She poked the thing again. It did not move. "Any idea? Konrad?" She asked, turning around to face the boy. When she turns around again, she sees Sinistrina motioning a hand over it. "Wait... You're gonna raise it?"

Club Pluto (Ryya, Kokoro, Sinistrina, Conrad, Mancipium, Kittan)

When Ryya asked Sinistrina if she was going to raise the demonic jaguar, the lich witch looked at her and smiled. "I am doing that as we speak. In my time in the Deathly Glade, it has become routine for me. Although..." She retracted her hand. "Perhaps Rebecca should try first, as her method of re-animation seems to have less of a... permanent effect than mine."

But when she looked back in Rebecca's direction, she saw her instead heading out the door. Her eyes widening for a moment, Sinistrina glanced back at Ryya and Kokoro. "...I am very sorry, but I am afraid you will have to deal with this on our own. While I can raise the dead, I cannot contact them for information, and I will not miss an opportunity to learn."

And with that she hurried out of the club after Rebecca.

Stellar Spa (Rebecca, Sinistrina)

While Rebecca was setting up for a facial, Sinistrina entered the room, where the attendant had another small freakout. "And a vampire too? I was not aware that today was the day of the dead."

Sinistrina uttered a groan eerily similar to the one Rebecca gave Carlotta when they met. "Although I do drink blood, I would not consider myself a vampire. The way they bite directly into the skin of the living is utterly barbaric, and I will not associate myself with such behavior."

The attendant sighed as she led Sinistrina over to the chair right next to the one Rebecca was sitting in. "Sorry, must've dozed off during my Undead 101 class. Might I ask you to remove your hat?"

Sinistrina blinked. "Oh... yes, of course... come to think of it, perhaps my hair could use some work as well." And she removed her hat, revealing a network of black cobwebs woven about near the roots of her hair. Resting it and her staff against the wall, she sat down and looked over at Rebecca.

"Why this is a splendid idea. Lovely though that club was, I daresay that angel ruined the atmosphere."

edited 26th Jul '17 12:45:49 AM by ladytanuki

The Time has come

Teleportation Station -> Stellar Salon and Spa (Sinistrina; Dante; Rebecca)

A man appeared at the Station of the Carpe Noctem. In a way, he was always there, from the time when primitive mind first became aware of the passage of time, and noticed the changes that came with it. He was the thing that all things devours: birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays king, ruins town, and beats high mountain down. He also has got quite the singing voice; lounge music is his repertoire choice.

Being a concept with human will and, occasionally, in human form, has its drawbacks. For example, while he can change his names at will, he can't choose an alias that wasn't indicative of his nature. So for this trip, the Shattered World's incarnation of Time, Change and associated concepts chose from the limitlessness of human names to be addressed as Durante Hisakawa.

The names origin mismatch is crucial. I'm going to be a walking, talking culture clash. Might as well find something common with the folks out there.

The form he chose for himself was of vaguely oriental man in his late forties, with graying shoulder-length hair and the face that some twenty years ago was quite handsome. He was six feet six, with build and posture that reminded of vertical stretchability of a resistance band. He wore a white tuxedo, otherwise unremarkable if not for the fabric pattern that made it uncomfortably tacky when viewed up close.

I need to work on my image. What if the audience will heckle me? Gotta get a haircut.

And so he took the elevator to the ninth deck and entered the salon and said to the robot at the reception:

"I'm performing at the Dark Matter Lounge today. I need to look good and I'm not familiar with the audience out there. Could I get a nice haircut to complement the tuxedo?"

"We'll think of something." The robot would've expressed skepticism if it could. "Please, this way."

They went to the barber stall, Dante sat down and sensed the signs of his domain before he could see or smell them.

"He~ey there, undead ladies," said he to two lich girls as the robot covered him with a blanket. "How's it goin'?"

edited 28th Jul '17 3:26:56 AM by Millership

Fitness Center (Junko, Miss Loki, Natalie)

While Natalie looks a bit happy by Junko's reassurance and approval, her cheer drops as Junko explains her countermeasures. "Not a very versatile magical girl... Maybe Faithy is right about real magical girls being individuals who merely lucked across basic power..." Looking down at her metallic hands, Natalie looks a bit discomforted.

Miss Loki, on the other hand, seems slightly embarrassed and ashamed that Junko stepped back. Soon, though, a slight look of disgust crosses her face as Junko continues. "Lovely, try being a cheeky bitch implying Lilith's presence would be scandalous, and turns out there are worthless bastards there after all. I swear if he was running a people farm..."

The rainbow haired goddess making a quietly mirthless chuckle at Junko's misfortunate learning, Loki doesn't show much interest as she elaborate about her universe's Tiamat. Natalie, however, is clearly intrigued and a bit sorrowful. Finally, as Junko makes a mess out of the sandbag, Natalie makes doggy ears and a tail just to excitedly wag them.

With Junko having nothing else to immediately say, Natalie goes into bit of an excited spiel. "Exactly how strong are you!? Does your Lady Tiamat possess the Gift of Genesis too!? Oh oh, how much of your myths are actually accurate? I've never seen or heard Miss Loki eating anything to preserve her immortality, is that true for yours!?"

Standing there with her doggy tail adorably wagging back and forth, Natalie stops herself as the goddess in question speaks. "Our universe's Lady Tiamat hates the father of her 'normal' children fiercely for being an instrumental part in their betrayal of her. If I recall, she actually birthed one of the original dragon types before the War of Mana."

The 'schoolgirl' goddess walking in front of Natalie and staring up at her face, the 'nanomechanus' looks back with noticeable awkwardness. Miss Loki looking back to Junko without walking away, she continues to speak similarly to before.

"Regarding the harem thing, don't get me wrong- I know slave harems and other stupid shit like kings hoarding all the 'comely maidens' exist. My father, and my maternal grandfather, are not such worthless pieces of shit. Certainly I don't doubt most would consider it controversial today, but partially that's different values. Basically, the real Knight Harems were all about respect, firstly loyal knights and secondly participants of an eugenics program. Nobody knew shit about Subversions back then, or Gifts as they're popularly called now..."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, Miss Loki's tiny body practically shudders as if reflecting on something unpleasant. Her expression more grim and Natalie processing this new information, the goddess speaks anew.

"Speaking of scheming jerks screwing over the nice folk, the whole concept of 'Harem' got eroded by worthless shits like that. Having my entire family looked upon like freaks... I suppose crap like that is why I'm still with the Servants of Humanity. Innocent, benevolent, peaceful things being given sick and cruel parodies... Some days I wish we just burn it all and start over, work from the beginning to eradicate the reemergence of such hatred and ignorance..."

Letting out a soft sigh, Miss Loki speaks more casually though still a little seriously. "The whole reason immortality sucks, by the way, is because you'll inevitably see the same crap over again. As the Director of ESPER that's basically my job, varying from dealing with upset dead, cranky gods, reality displaced schmucks, and... Well, bullshit that'd convince you sexuality is innately evil. Do you know how exhausting it is, having your life feel like some meaningless parade of events, like you're accomplishing nothing at all? I don't hate being alive, just... How can I be excited, when it constantly feels like something inevitably will go wrong?"

Miss Loki letting herself fall onto her back, she gives a kind of apathetic groan as she stays at the ceiling, looking very much like someone who is tired. Natalie looking down at her for a moment, the metallic slime girl briefly speaks once more.

"I can replicate a wide variety of technology, so maybe I could provide you the option to train in a way you usually don't or at least can't do here? I could try generating fire for you to wrest control of, generate a super cold area, or creating a motion disruption field... Pretty much anything I suppose, haven't failed to replicate anything yet."

Deck 9 ~ Fitness Center (Junko; Miss Loki, Natalie)

Junko shot the school-goddess an annoyed glance for quietly laughing at her expense, but quickly dropped the thought of speaking her mind about the topic; no sense in needlessly antagonizing her. She instead turned to her entranced disciple of sorts, saying, "Whoa there, slow down a bit, one question at a time. How strong am I? I can pick up and throw cars, and if I'm pushing it, I can lift a tank. Though, I'm only the second strongest on my team; Mari's much stronger than me."

The magical girl shrugged off the second question before pausing for a moment to think about the third question. "I'm not totally sure about whether all myths are true or not, but I've dealt with a lot of things that line up with what stories and legends talk about, give or take a few discrepancies. Giant centipedes, ghosts with chainsaws, werewolves, that kind of stuff," she said with a shrug.

"As for immortality, I've heard something about peaches and elixirs or something, but I don't think my Loki dabbles in any of that. Not sure how she, or any other immortal goes about maintaining immortality," she said, before scowling slightly, "though, wouldn't immortality be non-negotiable? I mean, not dying seems pretty inherent in that..."

Junko adopted a neutral gaze as she listened to Miss Loki's rant; she understood that good things could be ruined by bad people, manji immediately coming to mind. Her full attention returned when Miss Loki spoke of how boring her immortality could be. "I view everything that goes wrong as something that I can possibly make right somehow. And it's very satisfying when it does," she said almost immediately after Miss Loki wearily flopped on the floor. "Aren't there other immortals you could associate with?" she asked after thinking about it for a moment.

After heading to fetch a new punching bag (while being warily watched by an attendant), Junko considered the more exotic forms of training Natalie might be able to provide. "I'm somewhat competent in the first one, though I suppose more practice in that wouldn't hurt," she said, "I've done a lot of low temperature training with Yuki..." She tapped her chin for a moment before remembering something, "Oh, I could use more practice dealing with more..." she spun her hand in a small circle, "intangible opponents; Yuki's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to that."

(Spa- Rebecca, Sinistrina, Dante)

Rebecca let out a deep breath as the various creams were applied. "Oooh, that feels good." Upon hearing Sinistrina's voice, she turned her head a little bit. "Fancy seeing you here, Sinistrina. And yes, angels seem to be all the same, no matter where you go: sanctimonious."

A new presence was there, one she couldn't place. The stranger called them both out on being undead, which surprised Rebecca somewhat. Sure, her status as a walking corpse was fairly obvious, but Sinistrina might be able to pass for merely pale. "I've been a lot worse, but then again, that shouldn't be surprising to hear."

Stellar Spa (Rebecca, Sinistrina, Dante)

Undead ladies? Those words of the newly arrived man echoed in Sinistrina's mind. I'd say that is almost as bad as being specifically called a vampire... or a zombie in Rebecca's case. Though as she got a closer look at him, she saw a presence in him oddly similar to the air of misery about the Deathly Glade. Yet it wasn't quite black magic. It was something even more powerful than that, somehow... but she couldn't quite tell exactly what it was.

"Indeed, I have been worse as well," she finally replied, agreeing with Rebecca, "though only when I was alive. You seem quite familiar with death and decay, or at the very least, have a morbid fascination with it - why else would you approach us without fear nor apprehension?"

Speaking of Rebecca, the fellow lich certainly seemed to be enjoying herself, to which Sinistrina just had to raise an eyebrow. "And I clearly remember you saying you did not have much of a sense of touch earlier."

edited 28th Jul '17 12:37:27 AM by ladytanuki

Stellar Salon and Spa (Sinistrina; Dante; Rebecca)

"'People approaching you without fear nor apprehension' is... an odd thing to complain about, spider girrrrrl," said Dante. "Sinistrina, is it? Would you rather have a mob with torches and pitchforks chasing you and screaming 'Dooown with the lich witch bitch'?"

He somehow managed to pronounce the last part in a girly high-pitched voice.

"If so, then you just need to ask. I have a talent for attracting this kind of audience." Dante sounded upset by that fact.

"My name is Durante Hisakawa. You may call me Dante." The robot started shaping his hairdo. "Forgive me if I'm prying, but what's so sanctimonious about angels? What one of them has done to you that you talk this way about them?"

edited 28th Jul '17 5:07:48 AM by Millership