LordCowCow

What a horrible night to have a curse Hotaru didn't even notice Zirco's near social disaster. She had a hand on her bed, staring at it, trying to imagine sleeping on it. Truth be told she was nervous. She didn't know what would happen when she went to bed. There were reasons she was kept in such a small room by herself. Hidden away from others. They made sure that if anything happened no one was there to become a victim. She should warn him. She should warn him. He needed to know. "You gonna be okay sleepin' there?" Her shoulders tensed up as he spoke to her. She twisted her neck to look back at him, hair covering most of her face. "Yes..." Tell him. Tell him! "Be...careful...if....if you see something..." She looked away and down at the bed. Her next statement was soft, and she had to force it out. "Don't think it's just a nightmare." Without explaining she made her way into the bed. Crawling under the covers and hiding her face. She would try and stay awake as long as possible. It didn't take long before she was unable to keep it up. Perhaps due to the more comfortable bed. Or how much she did today. But Hotaru found herself unable to keep her eyes open and soon drifted off into slumber. --- And that was when it began. It started simply. Zirco would feel a chill. And then there was scratching noises. Something light. Like nails brushing against wood. Just for a moment, however, and afterwards it ended. There was several minutes of nothing. Yet this nothing felt ominous. He would be certain there had been an odd sound. The moment he started to think he imagined it, the sound returned. Scratch. Scratch. Scraaaatch. It had gotten louder. What started as a vague noise became clear. Something was under the bed. Something was dragging claws under the bed. Something large. The blanket tugged, as if something were pulling it from below, and Zirco would hear something dragging against the floor. If he were looking he would see a vague shape. Just barely poking out from under the bed. A head, perhaps, and a hand. No, not a hand. A claw. Gripping the edge of the bed. The unusual happenings didn't merely extend to their room. Outside of it something was moving. Through the hallways. Anyone who left their rooms that night would see a young girl wandering the halls. They would only catch a glimpse of her before she turned the corner. Or, if there were no corner, turned through the wall itself.

Kelsey automatically put an arm around her friend as she looked through the pictures. "Whoa, so many trees! Only ever saw those in parks, if that." She looked up at Vivian. "How do you fit everyone on a planet with that much wilderness?" Back home they had to clear out much of the forests to make room for more and more cities. Even then there wasn't much space in most of them. Kelsey hesitated as Stella mentioned climbing, and the girl would feel Kelsey's arm tighten around her for a brief moment. "I'll admit, it's a bit of a hobby of mine. Exploring, taking pictures, that sort of thing. What about the rest of you? There must be something you like doing with your downtime, right?" "Used to like to fight. Not, you know, not like street brawl. But legit stuff. But uh, can't really go legit with this thing." She wriggled her prosthetic hand. "I try and make things now and then. Just anything, you know? Did some volunteer work here and there." She shook Stella. "Not as much as this angel right here though. Charitable and a study-holic, what an absolute doll." Kelsey teased. Once Rosha decided to set out to find Kris Ward, head of the Steel Hounds, she would, instead, be stopped by someone else. One of the other house leaders, the boy called Merlin, who headed the Sun Lizards. "Hello, new girl." He said, giving a grandiose wave and bow. "Ah, excuse me." He then repeated himself in her homeworld's language. "Something like that yes?" he chuckled. "It was hard to learn your language. Not much documentation. Whiiich brings me to why I've come to find you. I want to know you. And your people. It's a mystery to me and not many places can say that." Sid could hear the door close behind him. He tried to ignore it. But he could hear the footsteps of someone going in the same direction. Not that there were many directions to go. He didn't bother to wait for Chase to get in before hitting the button for the elevator to take them to ground floor so Chase would just barely have time to get in before the doors closed. The boy let out a sigh. "Listen I doubt you share any interests with me, looking at you, so wherever you're going you probably want to go the opposite direction as me." The elevator moved slowly. Despite the relatively short distance it had to travel. "You'd think with so much technology these things would move faster. It's like a damn loading screen."

She had to keep pushing. Just keep pushing and pushing and never stop pushing. Eventually she would melt this cube. She couldn't let it beat her. She couldn't let anything beat her! After a while something seemed different. It wasn't at first noticeable but as the flames lapped at the object they suddenly shifted in their trajectory. Almost as if they were hitting something they couldn't envelop as easily as the rest. With a great effort she slowed the projection of flame until it flickered around the ends of her body. Enough that she could see that she had reached the center. A black box sat there without any hint of damage. Letting out a breath she pumped her first and moved to the box. Opening it up revealed a button. Briefly wondering if this was a trick she slammed her hand onto it and a doorway opened. With a shrug she walked towards it, strolling with purpose and confidence, happy to have finished the task before her flame went out. She entered another room. Similar to the previous but much larger. And felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. It wasn't over, was it? Soon after entering another door opened up and in came one of the boys from the entrance exam. The one with horns. Pip, was it? She gave him a wave. "Yo. You know what's going on here? Are we supposed to fight again?" "Ah geez...it's you huh?" He sighed, scratching the nape of his neck. "I'm not in the best shape to fight you...I mean...Loki couldn't even do it. Looks like I'll just throw it in." "No need for that!" Ms. Hitotsume's voice resonated through the room. "You'll be working together this time!" Work together? Another team up thing? How was she supposed to get stronger if she had to worry about a partner all the time. "Well, guess you lucked out. So what're we fighting then?" "All in due time, Valerie~!" She sang. "Lucked out?" Pip responded. "You hit the worst jackpot in history. My legs feel like they could give out any minute...our teacher's test was brutal." Valerie flexed one arm and grinned. "Don't worry about that. Just back me up and I'll take down whatever comes our way." Though what she didn't say was how she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. Even now the flames were weakening as they stood there. Pip almost seemed shock, as his eyes widened. "Wow...you really wanna become the real deal, huh?" He laughed. "I'm kinda inspired now!" He winced in pain, as he leaned in to do some leg stretches. "You got yourself a deal, just don't go burning all my fur off, okay?" "Of course, I can take whatever they throw at me!" She turned from him to examine the room again. Looking for a hint of what was to come. As for Pip's request, well, she couldn't exactly make any promises. She just hoped he didn't get too close.

idk if anyone reads this but it makes me feel better

Team Mac, Ogren "Yippee! I'm finally growing! Watch out, I'm gonna be as big as a...as Entei." Mac couldn't help but smile at this. She had to admit, Ari could be rather sweet. Even if he was still a little brat. "I didn't notice at first but you really are getting stronger. But I think before you aim to be as big as Entei you gotta surpass me first." She said, puffing out her chest proudly. --- "He probably let us help because he knew we fought against and with other Legends," "Oh no." Mac muttered. She knew what happened when you claimed that you met a Legend. People scoffed people teased and sometimes the only way to get it to stop was to fight. She really wasn't ready to fight all these kids right now. However that wasn't what happened. They instead looked at each other, then the group, in awe. "Others? Who else? Who did you fight?" "Were they cool?" "Were they strong?" "Were they pretty?" The kids were pressing around them all. Forcing the group close together as they crowded them and asked their questions. All Mac had wanted to do was get to Kazo's mom's house like they had planned and now this happened. And she didn't get it. What was different this time than any time back home? Whatever it was she didn't like it. And the other two could see sparks crackling around the girl's skin as the kids packed them tightly together. Team Neo Not Dark, Merm Palace "We're hopefully going to take you to see Mew. And maybe your mother too." "Oooh, that'll be nice. I was getting bored in my room." Phione said, nodding along. She watched silently as the Kingdra spoke to the group. Not sure what to make of him. What was he saying? Was this one of those "You can't do that" things? There were a lot of things like that. It made things kind of boring. Phione didn't plan on listening. She was about to just go ahead and head down the stairs on her own when she stopped to listen to what the other two were saying. The Kingdra, too, was listening. Intently it seemed. "The queen does seem like she wants that...but the queen is sick, if she...you know, and the king is all on his own...I'm not sure he can handle that." the Kingdra said, looking entirely uncomfortable with the situation. "Your king was keeping a Legend's child holed up in the prison, and the second a Godslayer found out, they'd tear this city apart looking for her, and Dora would have been caught in the crossfire. You might think you're strong enough to face a Godslayer, but take it from someone who had to face several. They're freakishly strong. Letting us go is the easiest way to keep both Dora and this city safe," This just made the Kingdra furrow his brow and stare at Denku. "What is...a Godslayer?" Team Alola, Trailsau  The weather calmed as Allie lay still on the ground. After a small amount of time some of the residents of Trailsau came to see the aftermath of the fight. One of them gave a long whistle. "Man, really did a number on her didn't you?" "Oh, that's Allie innit, imagine that, came back only to get beaten by a bunch of strangers. Shame." "What should we do with her?" "Pah, just leave her there. The loser lays where they fall you know that's how it is. Don't matter if she's visiting or not." "We're all about to eat if you want to come join us, strangers." They still seemed somewhat aggressive yet none of them were fighting anymore. It seems that they had all worn each other out after that brawl. Though their language and the occasional shove or insult indicated that later on they'd be ready to start it all up again. If the group were to join them they'd find food laid out on a simple cloth in various parts of the city and see people mixing together and eating without any sense of table manners. Fitting as there was no table to be seen. Team Karaoke, Alpha Gwen watched as the others went after Shaymin. She let out a sigh. She didn't think she'd be fast enough to catch her and, even if she did, she had the feeling the girl wouldn't trust her very much. Even if she were to tell her that they wouldn't need to fight, or that she was certain they could beat the evil, or even remind them of their current predicament, she didn't think Shaymin would listen to her She winced as she saw Shaymin run right into Kayla, the girl using her own body to slow the Legend down. And hoped Nine and Lok could get to her in time and convince her not to run. Especially as Kayla was now laying down in a daze, trying to get her bearings, not having expected such strength out of the frail looking girl. The girl glanced over at her father and the Enforcer. The latter who was watching her. "If she tries to leave..." "I know." Gwen said, sadly. "You'll do what you have to...but it won't come to that." Team Showdown, Skuldafn "Right, hand chosen...you were, weren't you." She looked at the group with some doubt. "As for his birth....I don't know if birth is the right term. He was created through the spirits of the world that Arceus gathered to form into beings. The great dragons known as the Creation Trio, as well as Lord Rayquaza. With them they bent the world into a form and gave it life. This place was the first that was made. And the first populated. We Dragons are the first people, you know. Everyone here is descended somehow from them. Supposedly there was another tribe formed off in the mountains. But they have since been wiped out." On the way down Lysa looked at Isole and Scarlet, then to Taiga. "Your followers are not very talkative I see." Isole didn't like the implication of being Taiga's follower. However if it meant she could avoid interacting with these people she'd let it go...for now. They arrived at the elder's home. One would usually expect a guard to be set but there was no one. In fact, beyond the two Druddigon, they hadn't seen anyone hinting at any sort of guard, or authority, of any sort. No soldiers. No watchmen. Not even a sheriff. Lysa knocked on the door and soon it opened. A hunched over man, with small wings, and orangish skin, greeted them. "I have been told Rayquaza would send messengers. I cannot say I expected this." He looked at each of them. His eyes were sharp, but still friendly, as he gazed at each. "So very young..."

Match ends 9/3 8 PM CST

Match ends 9/3 8 PM CST

Match ends 9/3 8 PM CST

Match ends 9/3 8 PM CST

How long had she been going at this? She couldn't tell anymore. And there was no way of getting any kind of confirmation. She didn't even know how far into the cube she had gotten. All she could see was flames. A rising wave of fire that enveloped the steel and covered her vision. She was reminded of that night. Valerie had to remind herself again and again that there was no one here to hurt. The only one that could be in danger due to this was herself. Which gave her the strength to continue. At least mentally. Physically she wasn't holding up so well. Her body was growing colder. All the heat that she had left was being used to fuel the flames. It didn't matter though. It didn't matter if she became ice cold. All that she needed to do was melt this damn cube to the ground. ...Why? No, there was no point in questioning it now. She couldn't afford to give up. A moment of faltering was all it would take to lose it completely and if she hadn't reached the core yet then what would be the point of all this if she didn't succeed? She had to be stronger. She had to show that she could break the limits and control this power of hers to the highest degree possible. But who was it she was trying to show?

"Accompany us? That idiot?" A very small part of Keres instinctively wanted to point out that this came from the guy who was superstitious about wearing clothing. But she didn't. She couldn't afford to tease these people. Such actions only was allowed between friends and she doubted they saw her as such. So she stayed silent as Ryia went into the bar to let Damien know of the plans. Inside, the man had shouted as Pyrrha left "Where you goin? Don't you want a drink?" And then, moments later, as Ryia came in "A replacement! Come on in, have yerself a drink! You could do with some loosening up!" --- Keres wasn't sure what the concern about Geoff was, exactly. Sure he seemed odd but... "He has been traveling alone this far right?" She said as they made their way back towards the gate they had left him. "That's not possible for someone weak." Even with a group of mercenaries with her they had only barely made it to the tower after all. Granted they had to go through the swamp first but even so... As they reached Geoff they found him slumbering, laying perfectly still on the buffalo's back. Once they neared the buffalo grunted and shook a little and the man sprang to his feet, still standing on the buffalo. "Hark, good timing! I was about to set off shortly! I see that you are prepared then, good, let us be off!" --- The road away from the city and in the direction of the farm that the woman had mentioned seemed well-kept and free of issue...at first. Several hours into their travels the road started becoming more damaged. They even saw several corpses along the side of the road. Many with broken arrows or spear shafts sticking out of them. Clearly there had been several attacks around these parts. They were only an hour or two away from where the woman had marked the location of the farm when they stopped to rest for a few moments. Keres, having traveled by foot due to the mule being burdened with much supplies, was starting to grow weary. Though she didn't say much about it. Geoff, having been standing on the buffalo the entire way, seemed to be perfectly fine. "I must say I appreciate the company. I used to have a group of minstrels along with me but it got too dangerous and, well, they wanted more and more money to keep going. Imagine that? I know if I was given the honor of aiding the Chosen themselves I wouldn't be so concerned about gold. But I suppose that is just the way things are these days. Isn't that right, my trustworthy spirit?" He said the last to the buffalo who responded with a grunt.

So this was it then? Gunther had finally lost his mind. That had to be it. Why else would be be talking to a dog, and having said dog respond? So, this was the dog's house then? In that case this man was....no. He lost it. There was some sort of connection here that he should be getting but he just couldn't grasp onto it. Even as the dog made the strange gestures. "I was never very good at that game." He muttered. "I apologize. I'm...not quite sure what you're trying to tell me. Do you, er, know who did....whatever this is?" Gunther looked up at Alois as he entered and immediately felt self-conscious about his position. Kneeling on the floor. Speaking with a dog. With a naked man nearby. It was all sorts of absurd. "I think." He began. "There's something very wrong with your hometown, Alois." Gunther said, almost apologetically. “And, uh… Unless you want to be Alois two, and Cora two--” Cora raised an eyebrow at this. That's right, this girl was a stranger to all of them. She supposed that told her much about the group that they helped out this girl despite that. It somehow made her feel somewhat better about all this. It wasn't as though Cora still wasn't suspicious. Lincoln's excuse, and the leader's hand waving, felt weird to her. It still didn't explain what they were doing out here. Not fully. But the girl was right. At the moment it seemed clear they had nothing to do with this. And if they could help figure it out...well, that was for the best. "It's nice to meetcha. Wish it was in...better circumstances. Though I guess if it weren't for all this y'all might not have been let inside to begin with..." They all, for the most part, made themselves comfortable. With Cora apologizing for the lack of comfortable places to sit for all of them. She remembered them mentioning more in the group and worried. Could her little home hold all these people? She doubted it at this rate. As if to test her thought a knocking came to the door. She was about to shout for whoever to come on in, then remembered that whoever it was was likely not one of the villagers. "These are some of the others in our group. This is Penelope, Ciela, Sienna, Tsetseg, and Licorice." "Nice to meetcha." Cora said, repeating her earlier statement. Penelope. What a curious name. Had she heard it before? No, probably not. No one named Penelope around these parts. It wasn't until a couple of the group decided to leave that Cora realized something...odd. "Er, don't mean to pry." Cora said, once they had left. "But did they have...tails?" "How curious." This became like a mantra for Penelope as they went through the village. They only found one other human? How curious. Licorice seemed to have an idea of what this could be, and was wary of it? How curious. A pink wyvern with its head stuck in a window without flailing about trying to get out? How curious. She was watching the unusual beast as she entered the house and thus didn't realize at first that the girl who lived there had greeted her. Snapping back to attention the princess gave the girl a charming smile and nodded. "Thank you for letting us into your home. It's rather generous of you given the circumstance." She almost smirked as Cora questioned the Proteans. "Goodness you're right, perhaps they, too, are being affected by the magic here." Cora's eyes widened and Penelope waved it off. "No, it's nothing to do with that. Do not fret. What I'm more curious about is what happened here. Are there any that practice magic in this place? Has there been any unusual visitors as of late?" She noticed the girl hesitate and realized that this Cora seemed rather uncomfortable with her for some reason. Realizing that perhaps she was being rude somehow, Penelope relented. "I suppose that can all wait. We all should rest a while before getting too far into this." That's when she noticed Link. "And what did you do to get yourself in such a state?" Penelope scolded. "I'm gone for less than a day and this happens?" After his response her attention would turn towards Peaches. She'd step over towards the wyvern and observed them as closely as they could. She had read much about wyverns but hadn't had the chance to see many in person. "Did you know that some say Wyverns are born of the Great Dragon themselves? That they were created to be the Great Dragon's guardians? There are legends that say every wyvern, whether they know it or not, contain some part of the Great Dragon in them. And that, when the time comes, the Great Dragon will use this to call all of the wyverns of the world to their side once more."

No sea shanties you say? How about...

I'll make the next round tomorrow, partially cause still transferring files onto new laptop, but the quarterfinals/top eight as of now are...

"I-is that safe?" "No worries, I've eaten much worse before! And it doesn't look like whatever killed this was venomous so it should be fine." Even so she'd be sure to take the first bite out of the bear meat. To make certain it was safe. She was actually pretty excited to get back and see how happy the bear would make Cormag. He always seemed to prefer to eat predators if given the chance. Rona thought he secretly felt bad eating something that could barely defend itself in life. "We're going back, right?" Rona smiled at Yue, giving the nervous girl her most confident smile, and nodded. "Yes, let us be off. It will take some time to drag this beast into the camp. Make sure you don't drop what you got. I imagine it will take some time to clean up this one." With that said she started to pick up the large animal. It was...rather heavy indeed. Forcing her to drag it most of the way. While they encountered no real issues on the way there was a near constant sense of something. Something nearby. Following them. It never attacked but it was just...there. She didn't know if it was simply following them because it was there or because it wanted the bear. But it made her nervous. So she talked. Not about anything. Just idly talking about the forest and the bear and whatever came to mind. Anything to not show how nervous she was to Yue. By the time they reached the camp she was glistening with sweat but, as she got into view of the rest, she grinned widely. "Look what I found!" She called out. After depositing the bear she went to Leon to tell them what they had found and what had possibly followed them. "We'll have to be on the lookout that's for sure. Something's out here that shouldn't be." "Well- well, you're the last person I want to talk to. Hmph. But, well, it's not like I hate meeting new people or anything. It's just...everyone I meet is either terrible, or pushy. And I don't think that's the kind of excitement I need." Alexis had heard of this before. Sunder? No, not quite. Something like that though. Whatever the case it was rather...amusing. Not a type of person Alexis normally got to deal with. Which of course meant that she was looking forward to talking to her more. "So what kind of excitement do you need then?" She asked. "Eh? Um..uh..." The girl was clearly confused by this question, putting a hand to her chin saying, "none? Um..." She then seemed to mull over the question in more depth internally. Alexis smiled and leaned back, holding herself up by her arms, while she watched the girl think. "Is it really that tough of a question? Surely there must be something." "Well, it's more of an...every day kind of..." The girl stopped herself as she realized something, seeming more defensive as she said, "well, there you have it." "And the mystery grows evermore." Alexis said. Then she tilted her head back as she heard movement. Which was when Rona made her entrance...dragging a bear. Alexis whistled. "Well, that's not something you see every day right there."

Girl's Evening Before the strange fangirl came and accosted them Morgan examined Ross closely. Trying to determine how much of what she said was a joke. "Well, nothing like that here from what I saw.Though I've heard rumors about a mine filled with strange monsters...well, in any case, if those plants were enough to impress you you've got a loooong ways to go still." --- "I'm... actually a bit strapped for cash myself right now. If you can meet me here tomorrow though, and there's still tickets available, I should be able to cover you." The girl's eyes, which were almost fully covered by her bangs, flicked to the side and Aurora would barely be able to hear a muttered "She's just saying that to get rid of you." "I just got here, so it's not like I have money either. Are like, concerts a rare thing or something?" At first the girl swelled with indignation, and a wave of hostility emitted from her. Then... "Well...no." She admitted. "But it's not like it happens every week! I need to go...I've never missed one before. But my mom froze my account. Just because I bought life sized replicas of the group..." "Guys can we just go before I get loser all over me?" Morgan said haughtily. The girl shuffled towards her, not looking directly at the witch, and seemed like she was prepared to say something. Morgan simple smirked at her and stared down at the girl, waiting, waiting, until the girl backed away and muttered. "I see how it is. I can tell when I'm not wanted. But I'll be back. Oh I'll be back..." She then shuffled backwards away and into the crowd once more. Morgan shrugged. "Well, that was easy." Then, in a much more chipper tone than before, as if that moment brought back her cheer, said "well now what? Do you all plan on heading back to your rooms? Oh, I suppose you still need to find yours don't you?" She nodded at Ross. "I want to be there when you meet....him." then she gave an ominous laugh and, her hair whipping in the process, spun around and sat on her broom before hovering off and out of the mall.

I think I get what you're getting at. Suppose I never really...had a rival type character in a tabletop game. I suppose it depends on what character I'm using but I suppose for the most common type it'd be something with ultimate defenses? Probably would have to be someone who tries to distract my character from their goal. 25

Hard to say mostly cause idk for sure what counts as a trope or not but uh.... Favorite: Hard to say but imma go with "the ditz" if that counts. Least Favorite: Everyone is gay 24 Hmm, before I answer this, could I get something more specific? As in what would rival me best, what kind of rival I like, or what? And when you say rival what do you mean? Sorry I'm asking so much ?

A N T I C L I M A C T I C

Woooo happy birfday!

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Match ends 8/30 9 PM CST

Match ends 8/30 9 PM CST

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