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Gabriela looked around at this “Coffee Cards” with a rather underwhelmed expression. While Gabby thought it was a really cute and comfy place she didn’t feel it would make sense for her to express this. Instead... “You think this is a good place to test my remarkable ability?” Gabriela asked Hitomu. “Would not a stadium, or a castle, or a space station be much more fitting?” She hesitated. “I suppose I shouldn’t expect such from a commoner’s school. I apologize for having such high expectations.” She marched herself over to the table, fighting the blush as she realized everyone in the place had turned to look at her, or maybe at Hitomu which by extension meant her, and pulled up a chair. Instead of sitting on it she put one foot atop of it and pointed dramatically at the Team Captain. “Now I shall show you the power I hold within my cards!” She held her position for a moment. Another. And her stomach growled. Once more fighting to not blush she stated “I...One such as me needs sustenance before battle. For the intense power I hold inside of me would consume everything were it not satisfied!” Hitomu laughed. “Well, what would one such as you like to eat? Better hurry up and decide before your ‘intense power’ destroys the place.” Gabby blinked. Did he actually buy it? She hurriedly glanced around for a menu of sorts and, when she found what she thought must be it, got somewhat overwhelmed by all the drink names she saw. “I would...er...Ah, but it would be rude of me to choose myself. I wish to sample the foods of your commoner folk. Why do you not tell me. What is it people of your ilk eat?” “My ilk?” Hitomu scrunched his face up and scratched his chin. “I’m actually a king around here, you know. King of Cartoons.” “And cartoons are the creation of the common folk. A king of commoners is still a commoner, himself, compared to a Princess of my calibur.” Gabby grew a bit nervous. Wondering if perhaps she was going a step too far. But it was too late now, she had already said it. “No one can better lead the people than a man among them,” Hitomu said, nodding while acting like what he had said was somehow profound. This was kind of fun. “We need to get you a meal fit for such a high-ranking member of the kingdom of Castlevania, though, and in a hurry. Do you like sugar?” Mentally taking notes on what Hitomu was saying, Gabby completely missed what he called her ‘kingdom. She did, however, hear his question. “Oh, mother never le- Ah that is to say that sugar was a poison that was limited in our land. I suppose the sugar here must be much less potent if you can so casually ask that….Sugar is acceptable in this case.” She finished, somewhat lamely. Oh-hoh-hoh. The Princess of Darkness hadn’t ever had any sugary treats in her life. Hitomu’s smile was more than a little devious as he walked up the counter. The girl working it grinned when she saw him. “Hitomu! Thought today was your day off?” she asked. Hitomu motioned over his shoulder at Gabby. “Working the Duel Team’s booth today, but I sorta owe her a lunch. Remember that girl whose chips I ruined -- or well, Masked Chopper ruined if we’re going to be technical. Either way I promised to take her to lunch to make up for it, and I’m meeting up with Tess here after this anyways, so figured two birds with one stone.” The girl behind the counter (her name tag said her name was Rebecca) shot Gabby an comical look of pity. “So sorry about Hitomu. We really try to keep him from harassing other people, but sometimes he just can’t help himself.” Hitomu mocked indiginancy. “I’m the picture of politeness, Becca!” Rebecca rolled her eyes and interrupted his theatrics with a shove. “What can I get you, sweetie? Aside from all the junk food, we do make some pretty good sandwiches and tea.” Gabriela slowly took her foot off the chair as she realized she was being addressed. She didn’t respond at first, the girl’s demeanor catching her off guard, and she glanced over towards Hitomu. “I will let my future servant decide for me, this time!” She announced. Rebecca glanced at Hitomu for an explanation. He shrugged. “Well… Alright, future servant, what’ll she be having?” The Toon duelist’s devious smile resurfaced. “Caramel macchiato, two slices of coffee cake, and a bowl of ice cream.” It was a gauntlet he had invented his freshman year, a combination of food that would induce the ultimate sugar high; the Sugar Bomb. “Go ahead and pour some fudge on the ice cream while you’re at it,” he said, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. The barista seemed horrified. “Hitomu, that’s not lunch! You’re just going to give that poor kid a stomach ac--” Hitomu smacked his card down onto the bar. “Ah-ah! Customer is always right, Becca!” “...” Rebecca sighed, dejected, and rang the order up. A few minutes later Hitomu and Gabriela were seated at one of the duel tables with their order. The Duel Captain was sipping on a glass of water, but Gabby was surrounded by sugar treats that were all but begging her to eat them in unhealthy amounts. “So… what do you think of our ‘peasant food’ now?” Hitomu asked. Gabriela eyed the food with a passive eye. Inwardly Gabby was screaming in excitement. She hadn’t seen so much food at a time let alone all this sugar. “I suppose your common fair is more...decadent than I expected.” Trying to keep a straight face she took a sip of the drink. Her eyes widened. “It’s...p-passable.” She muttered, taking a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth and letting out an unintentional happy sigh. Gabriela tried to cover it up with a cough. “Passable indeed.” When she got to the cake she couldn’t hold back anymore. And she began to nearly inhale the food before her. The girl’s eyes widened as the sugar began to hit her in waves. Realizing how improper she was being she did her best, once most of the food was cleared, to calm down. Leaning back she started to dab at her face daintily with a napkin. Though, oddly, she noticed she was missing half of the time. It was then she realized she was bouncing in place. Unable to contain herself anymore she shot up and pushed the chair back. “Now! Captain of the Duel Team, we must do battle!”

Artwork Source: Guard by wlop Royal Rebuke Trap | Counter Effect: If a card or effect would negate an activation or effect of a card you control: negate that activation and if you do, destroy it, also for the rest of this turn effects of cards you control that are of the same card type (Monster, Spell, Trap) as the card that would have been negated cannot be negated. You can activate this card from your hand by paying half your LP. Design Notes: There’s a ton of negation cards out there, so I felt inspired to make a tech card specifically to counter these negations. I’m not sure if my wording on the card is a little weird/unclear, but to give a basic example of the card in action: let’s say you activate Raigeki, and your opponent activates Stardust Dragon’s effect to negate it. You respond with Royal Rebuke, negating Stardust Dragon, and not only does your Raigeki resolve, but for the rest of your turn the effects of your Spell cards cannot be negated, since Raigeki is a Spell. Another example would be if your opponent hits your Elemental HERO Stratos’s search effect with an Ash Blossom if you reply with this card, since Stratos is a Monster, you get your search off Stratos, and your monster effects cannot be negated for the rest of your turn. Granted, the card’s activation condition is a little situational, so I wanted to give the card a little extra spice because otherwise you’d just run a more versatile negation card. A card like Solemn Judgement can negate most negations just as well, but then again it can’t protect future activations the way this card can. And probably the most appealing part of the card is that it can be activated straight from your hand, thus subverting the inherent downside of being a Trap card. Adding the ability to activate the card right away was important, because hopefully it makes up for the card’s rather narrow scope. Though I imagine a player would have to use this carefully, because on one hand it can protect against getting hit with a Hand Trap on the first turn for example, but then on the other hand who wants to start the duel with just half their Life Points? Depending on your strategy, it may be worth it. This card can hit some pretty popular cards, such as Infinite Impermanence and Ash Blossom for two examples. And at the very least, I think this card could be some good Side Deck Tech. If you’re facing a deck whose keycard is all about negation, it could be a deadly surprise. But what are your thoughts?

I'm Hina so I have 3 too.

Shradow Yui Sophia Dragon Sage Angelica Farnaby

We should have an NCM bar brawl where NCM members meet up and beat the shit out of each other. This is a perfectly good idea and is very entertaining.

From the above posts and the design notes, I'm actually liking the card more as I think about it. If you can force a monster effect negation to trigger this card from your hand, 1/2 LP as a cost is not too great in order to make all your monsters impossible to negate for the turn. Granted that you have a combo worthwhile in hand, which is less likely the more disruption or anti-disruption options one ends up running. I also like that it disrupts the negation and both reacts to card/effect and stops card/effect. I've been hearing about nitpicks of what Witch's Strike can't do against certain cards so this would ultimately counter things better. It'd probably become more favorable than Called by the Grave, not because of power-creeping it but because I think hand traps are starting to be less prominent in the game, and this card stops Ash anyways which is the most popular one, and stops Impermanence. This could change around depending on the format. The LP cost is still something to look out for though IMO. I can't seem to gather data on similar cases and their amount of usage in the IRL game. There's Solemn Judgment but that card doesn't activate from hand. There's Red Reboot but that card only replies to Traps. Hmmmm.... I guess it's time to try up a good old Ariadne engine for search and cost evasion. Tier 1 decks would make the cost worth it meanwhile xD

As Xia looked around the floor, her eyes trailed across all the different colored spines of the books and the lights of the screens that were around. Of course, the curious girl didn't do much more than just look at these, and so her short journey on this floor was brought to a close. As she made her way up the stairs, she saw others begin to notice her and wave, and the dragon girl in turn waved back to them with a cheery smile on her face. Eventually, though, she got to the top floor and was met with a labyrinth of book cases and shelves. With wonder evident on her face, the girl continued to make her way through the floor until she came across a bored looking girl. As she asked her question, Xia just shook her head. "Oh, no. I don't read really, I just like looking at them." "What...do you gain from just looking?" She asked, turning around fully now, her expression not changing but a hint of curiosity in her voice. "Gain?" The dragon girl looked at her like she didn't really understand the question. "They're pretty aren't they?" The book girl looked over at the books. "I...if you say so." She muttered. "Am I distracting you from your..." the girl coughed, took a moment, then continued, "observing?" Xia shook her head. "Oh, not at all." Perking up she then asked, "oh, do you like books?" "Mm." The girl gave a non-response. "I suppose I must." "Oooh." Making her way over to her, Xia looked curious, asking, "well, I'm new to this whole book thing. So what do you like about them?" The girl glanced over at Xia and subtly stepped a bit to the side. "I guess it's...you can see whatever you want in a book. Or learn anything you want." She grew silent for a moment. "Almost anything." "Whoa. Books sound awesome." "I suppose." the girl said again, shifting in place, unsure what to do. "Oh right." Holding out her hand, she said, "I'm Xia. Nice to meet you book friend." The girl looked at her hand and awkwardly grasped it. "Keres. That's my name." Smiling she asked, "nice to meet you Keres." Looking around she said, "well, if I want to use books, what do you think I should use?" She looked somewhat unsure what to pick from the myriad of books around her. Keres decided that this might be a while and sat down at a nearby table. "What do you like?" Thinking for a moment Xia began to spout out, "well, I like friends, and fish, and water, and swimming, and fighting. Oh, Tennis and Basketball are also fun." "I...I see." Keres said. "Do you...want fiction or non-fiction?" "What's that?" Keres's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Then. "Um. Make believe or fact." Xia pondered this for a moment before saying, "well i like learning new things, so fact!" Keres nodded. "Follow me then. We'll have to go up a floor." Nodding heartily, Xia followed the girl, excited to see what wonderful world of books she would be presented with.

Catriona listened to L'Arachel's answer with mixed feelings. Being called brutish was...well, in this case it was meant as a compliment, but still the lord wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. However, it was what the green-haired woman said next that really blew her away. Magvel. A land she had never heard of, and she knew of every single country in Mysia. So that meant that...she really was not of Mysia. That was something to think of. That there were lands beyond Mysia, beyond the wars and strife that so raged within the continent. "Perhaps..." she answered L'Arachel, convinced that the other was telling the truth. It wasn't as if she had any concrete proof of that, but still, it did not seem as if she were lying either. "Nevertheless, I am grateful we did meet, as we might not have come out of this battle unscathed otherwise." After answering Edrick's question, the abbot seemed taken aback by the zealousness of Penelope's request. "Alas, I do not have much time left for this world. Time enough to change your paths, but beyond that..." he shook his head. "It might be better for you to see it yourself. Forgive me, however, I shall do that at the end." After Ciela greeted him, he greeted her in return and listened to her rant with a serene smile on his face. "Ahh, good questions. It is almost as if I am teaching the monks again," he chuckled. "Contrary to what many might assume, belief in the goddess alone cannot grant one the power of healing magic. No, it is belief, coupled with zeal. The belief need not be in the goddess, but in yourself, a friend, or even a cause. The purity of your devotion is what grants you the power to heal." He looked at her. "You may not follow the goddess, but there has to be something else that you believe in. That you are passionate about." He paused before moving on. "The goddess is, and has always been, beyond the ken of we mortals. However, I personally believe that She is not a wicked being. Were it not for Her, we would not be here, would not have made the advances we have. And that is a noble cause. "As for the reason for Alltrades...that is a long story. A story I do not have time to tell, so I shall keep it brief. Benefactions 2:1-5 The goddess Inera heard the laments of the people, seeking a way to undo the mistakes they made in their lives and forge new paths. Thus, with Her almighty power, did she grant to one of her servants a gift. 'Go forth and aid the people with my blessing,' said She, 'that their fates might change. And to all of your successors, I shall lend them this power as well.' So he obeyed her words and went on to found an abbey, naming it Alltrades for its purpose, and the people were happy." He smiled sadly. "This is from the holy text Ya-Laubhan, which has been lost to history." "And as to your second request...this, at least, is within my power, though it may take up the last of it." The priest reached a hand out and laid it on Ciela's head, and soon after, what one could only call a miracle occurred. Licorice watched the spectacle of the abbot and Ciela, her eyes thoughtful. This power is truly terrifying. Much like...well, that is to be expected, after all. She turned her head then, taking note of Catriona's reaction. The lord had reared back, unable to process this...on top of everything else. No, she could not. And Link's request...it could not have come at a better time. "Yes," she straightened. "That is a good idea, Link. It wouldn't do for the perimeter to be breached while the rest of us are distracted." This was something physical. This she could deal with. The dead walking, specters, miracles, those were all things she could not understand nor handle. And this was all because of Her. Of that thrice-accursed goddess. Ciela might want to preserve the knowledge of Her magic, but Catriona would rather burn it all to ashes. And if they succeeded on this quest, she would. "Shall we?" she asked Link, before pausing awkwardly as they neared the edge of the church, outside of the others' hearing. "I am glad you are...well." There. That was good. That was normally what people said to others after recovering from illnesses and such, correct? While it wasn't exactly the case in this instance, it was the closest comparison she could use. Nodding stiffly to the mercenary, the white-haired woman marched north of the shrine, where the enemies had first appeared. As it was still dark, she had to strain her vision, but there was not a trace of glowing red eyes now. As they marched to the south of the building, however, Link would hear a faint rustling coming from behind one of the tombstones. OOC

Raynor stood by Gojira's side, hand on the reins as Yue started to look over the store. The girl was really nervous, but she seemed to finally come to a decision. "Uh a-all right," she stammered, "I-I'll..." She paused and nodded, eyes growing firmer and more determined. "I'll take it. Buy it. I mean, i-if that's okay with you." "Well, I hope it is," Raynor commented before looking over to see what Yue bought. It was... well, it was a bow at some time at its poor sorry life... "Um... looks like a fixer upper," Raynor commented. Should he scold her for buying something so... pitiful? Well, he was in no place to talk, he spent all his money without getting a weapon he could currently use... that was okay though! What he bought would be worth it! "Thank you both, for both of your business. I hope the road favors you and we can do business again, and I hope you take excellent care of that bow Snow Flower. Bye!" "See ya! Hopefully we meet again!" Raynor waved as the shopkeeper left. He chuckled and rolled his free shoulder. "Well, that was productive, wasn't it?" He asked, not expecting an answer. He looked down at the two charms in his hand as he began to think. He wanted to give one to Yue, so maybe she wouldn't be as scared of him... but he was sure just approaching her and shoving it in her hands wouldn't help at all. What could he---? He was distracted by Gojira getting restless, tugging at the reins. Wait, maybe that was his answer. He nudged his mount, who looked at him, tilting his head. The rider held out his hand, one charm presented to Gojira. "Give," was the simple command given, one that Gojira knew too well. The lizard carefully took the charm in its teeth and made its way over to Yue, nudging her side and trying to proudly present the charm.

There's one quote from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. While there's plenty of quotes to choose from, the least that's had a big impact is one from Poshley Heights (Toadia's her name). A toad girl that stands next to the fountain. To paraphrase (because NO ONE has put this quote online, and I don't want to spend 10 minutes setting up my Wii): People ask me "Don't you get bored walking down the same path every day?" And I tell them "No way, Jose!". Every day is different. I'm not the same, and neither are you.

Why couldn't she just agree? The opportunity was there. Ciela watched as others finished their deal with the abbot, but she couldn't bring herself to move forward. It should've been the easiest decision in her life. Why couldn't she just bring herself to the altar? Many days had passed since she had lost the functions of her legs and for the most part, she had gotten herself used to the situation. But even then, she still yearn for it to be returned. So, what was stopping her now? It was nothing. Nothing but her pride. Being Ciela however, that pride meant a lot for her. The truth was, this entire event had been quite a frustration, even more so after she overheard (more like eavesdropped) more about it from Licorice's conversation with Sienna. A shrine and someone with the capability of doing the impossible? Ciela had done countless researches on the nature of the Goddess' magic, and with that, its limitations. She had read tales, many of it. She had read the writings of the one who preserved the teachings of the magic. None of it matched what she witnessed here. What she thought was an impossibility was reality here. The limitations of Inera's magic, all meant nothing in this place. It all felt so irritating. It was frustrating. It was frustrating to know that what she desired the most was truly possible, yet her way of doing things would never allow her to do anything close to it. To her it felt that her hours of learning had been invalidated, no matter how she tried to believe this place was an abberation, an exception of an exception. But this place was just a shrine. The abbot was just a lingering spirit, not a God. Why could they command such a power? She was glad that at least he could not bring the dead back to life. That would've made her scream out as loud as she could. And she still didn't even want to think about what this L'arachel person was doing here, using a magic long thought to be lost as carelessly as swinging a toy sword to children. While she did want to ask her about what the hell was up with her magic, for the most part Ciela was feeling that she'd rather punch this particular foreign princess on the face. Maybe it was her attitude, maybe it was just due to a hunch, but she felt that she might feel better if she did that. She chose not to. Instead, Ciela watched Edrick moving forward to the priest. He was shaken. It was unsurprising, seeing all that happened so far. Ciela wasn't a devout believer of the Goddess, but she was no stranger to the experience of having her own unquestionable belief on something to be shaken to the core. It was pitiful seeing someone usually so stalwart in this situation. Ciela felt compelled to help, but she knew only the priest's words would do anything for him. And so, she decided to move closer so she could also hear what they were talking about now. What she learned was beyond what she expected. This place was from ages beyond even the great war. There was a time when the Mistress of the Undeath was a benevolent goddess. There were a lot more to history than what had been covered in the books she scoured from her library. There really was more to the goddess than what she knew. Somehow, knowing that calmed her a little. There truly perhaps was a reason why she could somehow learn Inera's magic despite not worshipping the merciless goddess. This place too, it was ultimately blessed by Inera's power, and hers only. Why there was such a gap in what this place could do and everyone else was still a big question, but now she felt actually eager to find out rather than just wallowing in her own frustration. There were more to this magic than what anyone else alive right now could possibly know. So, it should be up to her to uncover the Goddess' secrets. Who else? It seemed like a good cause to dedicate herself in. Well, it seemed that Penelope was also fired up, contrasting the helpless-looking Cat. Perhaps Ciela and her weren't really that different in the end. She waited until Penelope's inquiries were answered before going forward herself. "Greetings." Ciela greeted the priest with her best grasp on ancient Pontic. "Now that we're talking about the Goddess and all, I'm kind of curious. Scriptures and records had always talked about how the magic like what I use comes directly from the goddess, right? But back when I pushed myself to learn this for the first time, I didn't give any shit about the Goddess or anything, it kinda just happened that I could somehow use it. I'm glad that I could, but it's still quite confusing, you know? The hell did it even happen? Am I just blessed by the goddess for some reasons, or does the power somehow come from another source?" She took a moment to pause. Taking a breath. Focusing herself. "Then you talk about how the goddess used to be different back then. And that kinda got me thinking. Like, fucking hell, what you do here, what I do for a living, it's all to help people, right? Why would a wicked goddess grant the power that helps people to her followers? Something's amiss here. I grew up thinking that she was as evil as all the stories told me, but why would she hold command over sweethearts like Ed-boy here," Ciela pointed at Edrick as she said that, "and probably a ton others perfectly good people? Like you, and the others that still reside on this ruins. She couldn't be all bad, right?" Was this supposed to be a sorry attempt of a theological debate? Ciela had no idea. She just would rather to run her mouth off right now. It felt super great, finally being able to speak this much. "So yeah, while the others probably gonna try finding a way defeating her once and for all, I just want to understand all this. One day, I want to pass down this knowledge of her magic to people too, you know? So I hafta go all the way to the bottom of this, and I kinda need your help on that, sir Priest." Another pause, a sigh came out from her. "Please, tell me what is even up with this place and your magic. How does the Goddess grant all of this... miracles in this place? And...secondly, if it is possible, I would like to feel the magic here myself. I did a lot of stupid things back then, but if I wanted to do anything about all this, I kinda do wish I could take those all back. This is supposed to be a place I can start anew, right? Then so be it." That took a lot from her. Ciela was panting, and even Remy was feeling uneasy. But Ciela had set her eyes on an objective. All that was left now was to wait, and hope for the best Perhaps, that was what faith was all about all these times.