10/29 --- Δ Haggard Traveler’s Reprieve?????

[gluttoning]

Who: ??? & you!
What: Something's starting...
Where: Δ Haggard Traveler’s Reprieve (Twilight Shoreline)
When: Sunday, 10/29
Warnings: Will be added as needed.

( Perhaps intrigued by the mail allegedly sent by CC Corp, perhaps visiting the Shoreline by chance, gating into the Area goes as it always does, until the music stays cut for longer than it should, and the black, liminal transition screen lingers for a little too long. The seconds tick on. They near turn to minutes. You can't struggle, you can't argue— you can only simply be, and it occurs to you that maybe you'll be trapped midway here, conscious, for maybe forever.

And then you hear static. Your vision warps; pixels strain into words, blurred and unstable. You see them combat for your attention; you see— )



( And then you load in. )

( POST NAVIGATION )
( Sign-in Comment (Mandatory) • How to Play • Mechanics

Phase 1 • Round 1 • Round 2 • Round 3 • Round 4 • Round 5 • Round 6

Phase 2 • Round 7 • Round 8 • Round 9 • Round 10 •
Round 11 • Round 12

Epilogue )

Comments

ROUND TWO 1/2

[gluttoning]

[Merue Rom (7 - miss) rushes out from Hani's arms, hitting Ramiel, Kara, and themselves, but also catching Tarvos in its wake as it rushed by. If Tarvos seems to have been affected by the rush of water, he makes no move to show it, moving forward through the confused crowd like an oncoming tank.

Though Rai Repulse (19 - hit) doesn't crit, the crack of electric bullet through the hard shell of armor can be seen as well as heard, Tarvos's shoulder flinching back as the reddened armor dents and buckles and burns. His attention draws in that direction at first. But Dehya comes up behind with the flames of Vax Maxima (13 - hit). The tear of the blade smells almost like plants, insects, the rot of the earth. The slight appearance of a familiar green shield keeps the blade from going too far inward.

He roars wildly as his spear is twisted around for Piercing Heaven (19) against Dehya to send her airborne across the arena.]

ROUND TWO (2/2)

[tablescraps]

( As players stagger free from the chaos of charm and confusion and focus their efforts on Tarvos, Macha remains complacently neglected, leaving him quick to ride in Tarvos's wake as targets Dehya. His Eye rolls rapid under him, as if operating on some axis, and Macha keeps in place; it is as unnatural as it is ethereal, and his speed is strikingly quick. His shadowed expression fierce; wide-eyed and overbearing, he certainly seems quick to claw for attention once more.

Macha executes Raika!

Lightning sparks sudden around the great glass eye Macha rides. Then, without warning, a violent shockwave lances out at anyone near him: Nanashi, Deto, Oria, Haru, Ganymede (17) find dozens of lightning bolts cutting at them like knives! The damage isn't heavy, but it sure stings like heartbreak. )

[legendofthelion]

[The strike hits. Flames were a good choice, it turns out, and under the stench of rot she sees it--the shield.

But before she has a chance to consider data draining, Tarvos whips around on her. His spear strikes into her, the sharp tip digging in as the force of it throws her back. Dehya hits the ground with a gasp, drowned out by the crunch, and then she merely lays there.]

[justonezero]

[Ow ow ow... but someone else got hurt even worse than he did, didn't she?

Ignoring his own pain, he casts PhaRepth on Dehya, fully healing her health - and giving her a 100% phys and magic buff for 20 seconds!]

Are you okay?!

[legendofthelion]

[Dehya coughs. The healing spell slowly rights her. She thinks--well, she might still be bleeding but she can get to her feet.]

I-I'm fine. [She props herself up.] He has a shield up. We need to data drain him!

[threatmewted]

Wait- we need to what?!

[Uhhhhhhhh she was perhaps not prepared to go that far-]

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector sees Dehya go flying and takes a step towards her, but sees Nanashi's on her. Good. He won't contest that.

Instead, he sees the way all the others at the front are hurt. Without a second thought, he rushes forward to put them just within healing range and casts LaRig Saem on Nanashi, Deto, Oria, Haru, and Ganymede for the quick AOE heal, health ticking up. ]

[bleatingedge]

[Leo rushes into the area, once again feeling like he's bringing a pizza to an on-fire apartment building.]

Sorry I'm lat-Jesus fucking Christ. Okay okay okay...

[His eyes flicker over to the folks immediately blasted by lightning, causing him to act appropriately. Writing a base sigil in the air with his quill-staff, he reaches his hand through, aiming the spell at Tarvos.]

Duk Lei!

[A deluge of poison droplets appear in the sky and fall down, though they don't seem to do anything to the boss (1). Fortunately, Leo didn't exactly care if the spell did any lasting damage or not, as his armor's effect kicks in, healing Oria, Haru and Ganymede for 25% of their HP immediately. Hopefully that helps.]

[dissimulative]

Thanks!

[ He yells as he's climbing the Macha ball. ]

[gluttoning]

[Wow what a nice exfoliating shower, thanks Leo!]

[rebelles]

[ It really is like the room-on-fire meme over here so the heal is much appreciated. Haru was staggering from having already taken two hits, but she's standing straighter now - enough to fight back. ]

[dissimulative]

[ Ow... He's glad that he's a thunder-type... kinda.

Anyway, after taking those hits, he goes to climb on Macha's ball. Here's hope he makes it (17) so that he can start another catfight with Mithrun-Macha because fuck you, that's why. ]

[tablescraps]

( Hooking into the ridges and grooves of the Eye, Oria scrambles up there like any good teen hopping the fence off to some place they're really not supposed to go. He gets up there, and finds himself face to face with Macha - sizeably large; the broad split in his chest is as cavernous as described up close, and the way the blood oozes sickens.

Macha gazes down at Oria with his broken neck, his black halo and its internal light blaring with false fluorescence in a way that's near painful to see at such concentration. Macha's features remained shadowed, as if he were a husk withered and burnt. There's not much place to stand on the top of the ball, as Macha occupies the whole of it, and he finds Macha is far larger than a normal person and would be difficult to simply lock down with a wrestling-grapple; however, Macha is not as obscenely large as Tarvos. He does need to fit on his ball, after all. )

. . . Why . . . ?

( Despite Oria's apparent hostility, he doesn't seem to understand it. )

[dissimulative]

Because!! Like! I! Said!

[ Damn. Why is Macha so huge. Oria misses Mithrun being tiny already. He tries to get a footing on the ball, but Macha takes up so much space. He's good at balancing himself, at least. ]

I said I was gonna help you! And if that means beating you up again, I'll--

[ Oops. Not even his parkour training can help him with balancing for too long on the ball (2), so he slips, but he grabs onto Macha's... arm, dangling. ]

[tablescraps]

( ...

He gazes at Oria dangling...

...

Macha reaches out...

And he scruffs Oria by the back of his neck, holding him aloft. Seems like he's got a pretty high strength score, like a proper Edge Punisher base. )

Stay here. I'll protect you.

( Macha fixes Oria's back against his chest (so he kinda sinks into that, um, ew, enjoy the blood soaking into your armor), and folds his arms across him, like he's holding a doll.

This bodes great for the next round, surely. )

[aphonik]

[ The charm is honestly bad enough, but the blow that throws a splash of cold water and pain on him in the same go really tops it all off. This is going fucking swimmingly, isn't it.

That shield sucks, and he can't help with that, but he can do the next best thing; which is knocking back his scythe to slash at Tarvos with a Splinter Slash, aiming to knock him back and off-kilter. (18) ]

[threatmewted]

[Well she certainly isn't going to try data draining anyone, so instead she'll swap to Blade Brandier and try to hit Mithrun with a Lateral Moon for two strikes (6)]

ROUND THREE 1/2

[gluttoning]

[((GANYMEDE CORE USE - 2/3))

While Duk Lei (1, miss) does little more than brush the boss's armor with the slight hiss of poison and the shine of a green shield, it does give an interesting notification. IMMUNE pops up over Tarvos's head the second that Leo's attack hits.

Splinter Slash (18, HIT) sends the brute staggering back a step with a grunt, and while Heavenly Rage misses its mark (7, miss), it does successfully grab Tarvos's aggression.

With the raise of his hand, Tarvos's spear lifts into the air. From the center of the arena rises a figure - one that looks roughly like Tylor, but roughly like no one, a conglomeration of nothing but sand and sugar and rock and ash.

The spear slams down onto the fake visage. MISS is shown in large, obvious letters. But the dread that settles cannot be ignored. You get a horrific sense, seeping into your bones. that if this attack hits? Someone will die. (CURSED DEATH PLAY Mechanics can be viewed here.)]

ROUND 3 (3/3)

[tablescraps]

( Ganymede attempts to stun Macha! Immune! A white flash washes over Macha, a flicker of eerie green data following in its wake, not unlike the green shields that protected those monsters in Root Towns. It looks like debuffing will not work at this time. Something is protecting him.

However, something strange occurs— the ripple doubles back on its self, and this time, his form seems to stutter and glitch, as if the beginnings of a Data Drain attempt. As his data begins to destabilize, a sharp crack resounds across the Area, and you see the following message: Invulnerable! Too well-loved to be Data Drained! The light from the Core dispels suddenly, allowing Macha's form to slot back neatly into place. It seems there's something special about the Damage Cores Zelkova left you...


Shoka, Haru, Tylor strike at Macha! You all feel your blows land— you feel the force of the impact, and the satisfaction of an attack connected. But as you pull back, you only see the flying text that reads Invulnerable! Too well-loved to be struck! for each blow— a whopping six times total, across all those multi-hits.


Seven of these messages later, anyone in combat can connect the dots: Macha's "Well-loved" buff is an invulnerability buff. It still has no duration. It seems, apparently, infinite. But is it? Playing this game long enough has taught you something must be granting it. For now, attacking him directly doesn't seem likely to get you anywhere.


Macha wheels back into Tarvos's wake—keeping close, always, some ways behind Tarvos and his wingspan—with an entirely unwilling Oria held carefully against his chest.


Once more, it catches your ear; in the midst of the chaos of battle, a haunting and beckoning melody from the caverns of Macha's split chest, one that resounds across the endless oceanscape, one that brushes its soft fingers along the curve of your jaw and tips your chin as if to say, look here, look up.

Your gaze drifts to a bright, beautiful light; one that dances within Macha's black halo, and bathes him in Heaven's light. Your weapon feels loose in your grip; your tension fades from your muscles. You feel at ease around him. You feel calm. That you ever meant to harm him or his ally slips far, far away from your mind.

Macha has cast Suspicious Seduction! See this comment for details and how to dispel the status effects.

Dehya, Swallow, Michel, Leo, and Tylor drown in the full flood of Macha's allure; you are now charmed by Macha. The siren's melody resounds gentle within your chest. Tarvos had his sights set on a singular kill this round, so there's no attack to ram you directly into; instead, he flicks his finger elsewhere. Dehya, Swallow, and Michel finds themselves drifting closer to Macha, as if in a trance; Tylor finds himself overwhelmed with sentiment— he cannot attack Tarvos this round, nor can he move away from him to help his friends.

Ganymede and Haru are only partly lured by Macha's trap; you are now confused. Macha is wonderful; Macha puts you at ease... but aren't these people your allies, too? Why are they fighting one another? Is someone lying to you? Are you safe? Panicked, you can now only attack— and you attack both enemies or allies. (Flip a coin each comment; if heads: your character attacks an enemy; if tails: they attack an ally.)

Nanashi, Ramiel, and Hector brush past Macha's snare; you feel they trust Macha, but know you cannot let mislaid affection distract them from what you're fighting for. Aware of the grim reality of the situation, you can shake off this affection and focus on the fight.

And then there's Oria. Oria has been charmed; one might even judge Macha had been primed to act some other way this round, but altered his course to cast charm again when climbed up. But, unlike the others, Oria does not feel inclined to go where the others have been beckoned; instead, he feels quite content to remain where he is. He's safe here, at the eye of the storm. Or so the sweet tones of Macha's song would have him believe.

And then, he murmurs to a vague and wordless melody; a request for Oria to snipe down his allies that Oria feels obliged to obey. )

. . . These.

( A finger lazily draws a vague circle around the approaching Dehya, Swallow, and Michel, who cannot dodge Oria's attack. )

[ganymed]

[ And here's Ganymede, still here.

...He has enough going against himself now. Anyway, he looks like he's just about ready to do an attack towards Mithrun.

He's got this, already reaching for his bracelet only to hit himself in the face.

We're doing well here, fam. ]

ROUND 3 (3/3) [PATCHED]

[tablescraps]

( Dehya, Swallow, Michel, and Leo find themselves drifting closer to Macha, as if in a trance; Oria has been directed to target all of them. They cannot dodge Oria's attack. )

[secondthoughts]

[ Hector sees that effect, that crack, and it sure as hell catches his attention.

The gears whir in his head quickly; Ganymede's attempt didn't work. In his mind, he isn't too keen on hitting Mithrun with this anyway, because he knows Misteaks can drain, and that means—

He's a man of his word.

He pushes his way forward, and yells. ]

I said I'd do anything to get you back!

[ He even thought about doing this during their earlier fight, but—

He lashes out his arm at Tarvos for Data Drain. Zelkova style. ]

[rebelles]

[ The AOE heal takes away the lighting's sting, but there remains an ache in her chest like heartbreak. It's how she feels about all of this, really. Haru doesn't want to hurt them, but there's no other way to stop the Wave, is there? With a cry of resolve that sounds more like heartbreak, she fires three successive shots of Juk Doom into Macha's split-open chest (15) in an attempt to prevent him from casting the song again. ]

We need to stop his charm somehow! Or else we'll end up fighting amongst ourselves!

[tylorific]

[ Well, well, look who chose a great day to sleep in. But everyone he cares about is suddenly gone and so here he is eventually too.

Even for Tylor, this is a moment that should cause his smile to waver. But it doesn't, not with his disheveled black armor keeping his mood even higher than he can on his own. Even more than is rightly natural at all.

There is a fight, and there are people he loves on either side. But it is impossible for him to be sad about it. Why would he ever choose that? Being sad is never any fun, is it?

With a laugh like this is all a game, a mismatch to the sheer force he puts into his attack, he launches Heavenly Rage. An attempt to recklesslessly catch the aggro of both bosses with some damage, staring them down with all the kindness in the world. ]

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede has decided to use STUN from his Damage Core right on Mithrun. ]