(o ×)

OP - Black Box Messiah Sunrise was less than an hour ago, making this prime time to move around in the depressed shanty town of Sandy Grove. Despite the name, it was far from a Grove, though sandy was absolutely an accurate description. Situated at the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, it bordered upon countless rolling hills of sand. The oldest who were in the area before The Collapse claim that these dunes were once the site of grasslands, or even incredible fruit orchards, but that time had long since passed. The market was as bustling as the settlement of a few dozen could manage, with cactus fruit traded for scrap, scrap traded for insect meat, insect meat traded for pickled and dried fish, pickled and dried fish traded for water, water traded for cactus fruit, and any combination therein. Sandy Grove served and survived as a pit-stop for travelers, and several D-Rigs were visible on the outskirts, including an absolutely massive example at least 50 meters long in the far distance. A woman of about 6 feet tall and medium-brown skin, adorned with intricate, seemingly custom-made armor, surveyed the crowds moving through the market from a position sitting atop the roof of a half-collapsed building, her eyes squinting with vague suspicion. Her hand rested on the hilt of a blade stowed at her side, rolling her fingers along the wrapped grip impatiently. ”Where…” after a few seconds she frowned slightly, furrowing her brow as she dismounted from her perch. Despite her size, her landing was graceful, a roll transitioning flawlessly back into a standing position as she entered the foot traffic. OOC

logo by yui OP - Black Box Messiah Momentum is a powerful thing. In the past, it provided a chance at utopia, a world powered completely by dueling energy channeled through D-Wheels and specialized conductive roads working together to form a Speed World, harnessing powerful magic woven deep within the international pastime. Advancements were made, and Momentum Energy could be produced not only by the power of synchro summoning, but through Fusion, Xyz, Link, even Ritual and Pendulum summoning, through use of specialized summon cores. But, like all of the sweetest dreams, it ended in a rude awakening. It isn't widely known exactly what went wrong, but in an event referred to as the Zero-Reverse Collapse, an incredible wave of Momentum Energy swept across the world. Initial reports said it originated in North America, but those didn't last long as devices were fried and much of the planet's surface was scorched by the overwhelming force. A lot of people died that day, most everyone in fact, and the survivors were far from lucky. But, as humans do, they pushed to reconstruct some level of civilization in this new inhospitable environment. That was fifty years ago. Now the wasteland is dotted with settlements built within the ruins of what was. D-Rigs of all sorts of shapes and sizes traverse the badlands, powered by scavenged summon cores and partaking in turbo duels to fight for resources. Of course, dueling isn't the only form of hostility, but the ability to disable an opponent's D-Rig can either assure a getaway or corner a victim for an attack. Rules Database App Skeleton If anyone wants in the discord, hit me up and I can make it happen.

Sai lounged on the couch, forming an X in front of his face with his crossed fingers. His breathing was measured, as he played through the duel several times in his head. While he didn't see any blatant misplays on his part, it was quite clear why he lost. "I played too conservatively." By this point the rest of his team was in the room. "It's quite simple, really. My planned conclusion was further out than the duel lasted. While I thwarted multiple attempts of theirs to take me out, I accomplished very little of my own in that time, and while I do think I would have had an assured victory on my next turn, that turn never came." His tone was careful, and he spoke slower than usual, stone faced and motionless. "I suppose that I was starstruck. Charlie is a duelist that I personally look up to. I consider them to be the best fusion duelist in the world, regardless of rank. This prevented me from catching the chinks in the armor. Perhaps if I did not focus on defense I could have snuck a win on my second, or perhaps third turns. It's hard to say." Abruptly, Sai stood up, once again towering over everyone else in the room, "In any case, I don't think our teammates' victories should be understated," shifting his eyes toward Rosalia, he added, "and your duel was a victory, despite whatever you may think." His expression turned pensive for a second, "I may have lost on this day, and the loss was a heavy one. But I learned quite a lot in every play, from both them and myself." Staring out the window, he smiled softly, "I have so much more to show all of you. Not even Vega has seen everything I am capable of." "BUT ENOUGH ABOUT THIS DEAD WEIGHT!" In a flash, Sai had positioned himself between Evelyn and Rosalia, placing a hand on a shoulder of each. "How will we celebrate the day's rising stars? Dinner is my own treat, it's only fair after my loss!"

Ayane clung onto the dragon-girl's shoulders as best she could, despite the awkward angle of attack. Due to her large wings and the difficulty of maintaining stable flight, this seemed to be an effective blind spot for Shannon. Unfortunately for the budding Riot Hero, Shannon wasn't alone. “Get off of me!” Shannon roared, thrashing about in the air to try and shake Ayane off, but it wasn’t her actions that had an impact. Instead, Ayane, clinging to one side of her target, would instead find herself being slammed into by Diana from her left, being swung about by the dragon girl’s struggle. “Ayane, just leave her alone!” Diana yelled for the first time as she hung on for dear life, gritting her teeth, “This is getting you nowhere, just putting us in danger!” “Right now I would really love to!” Ayane responded. “But I’m going to be completely honest with you, Diana! I haven’t really worked out how to land from up here!” Especially not without my Quirk getting that boost from Syo… “Then what was your plan in the first place!? To get stuck up here with me!? To piss her off!?” Diana got louder and louder as Shannon’s thrashing seemed to slow, if only just a little. “I don’t know what happened, but this isn’t the way to solve it!” “I don’t know either, okay!?” Ayane’s grip briefly faltered, prompting her at this height to redouble her efforts at not having a long trip down to the rest of the action below. “You two had so many points and it had been so long since I saw her and I thought to show up and say something like ‘look I know we have a bit of a history but I’m a whole new girl now!’” "Gotcha.” As Ayane explained herself and tried to get a grip, she felt a claw manage to snag her shirt, quickly snatching Ayane with all the might Shannon could muster… and throwing her like a cheap bag at Syo, a wild grin on her face. “Shit.” Syo had barely wiped away the trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth before being hit by his thrown partner, right in his center of mass. With a flash of light, he reformed the 11-EX armor around Ayane, but there were now visible gaps in the suit. One off-key note hastily plucked on a random string was enough to produce a platform for the two, now one once again, to land on. Listen, Ayane, I can’t keep this up. I think we only have a few more seconds as 11-EX. Mind giving me the wheel? I’m gonna need a good string of notes. …Alright. Whatever you’ve got in mind, go for it! “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?” Shannon asked with a weirdly calm, but venomous voice, the grin on her face completely out of sorts. To Diana, it even looked like her mouth might have been even wider than it normally was, “I warned you. I tried. I tried so, so hard. And you wouldn’t listen. The consequences are your own fault!” The dragoness flapped her mighty wings, shooting down at the injured 11-EX in a nosedive, Diana clinging on for dear life. The points didn’t even need to be guarded in this fight, so why did Shannon even choose her? Why was Ayane doing this now of all times? Why was she so… useless? Even with the powerup for the other two, Shannon had done everything, and all Diana had done was hold her back. She is stronger than us. But if we do this right, we’re faster. We get in, and we hit that target before she has a chance to react. And we get the fuck out. “LET’S FUCKIN GO!” As Ayane controlled the pair’s arms to tear out a fast and incredibly complex solo, a set of what almost appeared to be rocket boosters appeared on 11-EX’s back. With a flash of light, they rocketed forward, straight at Shannon, spiraling in a tight corkscrew that took an unexpected path, dipping off course only to zip up at their enemy from a low angle. Syo could see their victory clearly through their shared eyes, the dragon girl had failed to track them through their dodge. This was their chance! 11-EX reached out with their right arm, ready to land the decisive blow, before- "Diana!?” Shannon’s track drew to a halt as she felt Diana kick off of her back, the blonde girl’s good eye keeping track of 11-EX’s movements, and her body moving on sheer instinct. Falling down at them as Shannon’s look changed from one of murderous intent to one of absolute fear, Diana’s mind only had time to correct her actions on one account. If you hit them with your left arm, you’ll lose it. Instead, she drew back her right arm as she fell into striking distance and slammed her fist into the rocket boosters, shattering the source of 11-EX’s speed… as well as her own arm, shattering into metal pieces that fell down to the ground along with Diana and her opponents alike. With the impact, a sound like that of thunder could be heard, as Syo was violently cloven from Ayane. With a look of shock, he used one hand to wipe away the blood leaking from every facial orifice, grabbing Ayane’s wrist with the other and tossing her upward as best he could. Sporting her own look of shock, Ayane put her hands to the neck and body of the guitar for one last chord. Diana and her points were right in front of her. She could do… something, take them, then plummet. As long as Syo caught her, everything would work out. If he could catch her. That was way too risky of a plan though. Instead, when the last blaring note rang out from the amp on her chest, what appeared was a platform, situated to catch both of the flightless girls before the descent got too dangerous. And then there was a very disappointing spurt of static from the amp. “Ah…” Looking at a gauge on the shoulder of her setup, Ayane’s eyes widened at the display. The amp’s battery had run out. "So… my amp ran out of power.” Grabbing the target and pulling it off her chest, Ayane held it out for Diana. "To the victor go the spoils.” “Gotcha!” While Ayane may have expected Diana to grab the target, instead she felt the girl’s strong grip toss her up just a bit, before catching her with that same arm, hugging her to her body as they fell to the ground. Not a moment later, a sudden whoosh shot past the girls, flapping through the sky as Diana found herself in Shannon’s arms, with Ayane in tow. While the look from earlier had softened some, Shannon still seemed to be in a state of panic as she headed down to the ground, attention fried enough that Ayane’s presence was lost on her. "Di… Ms. Seigi, that was reckless! What were you thinking?” “Ah, you know,” Diana tried to move her right arm to rub the back of her head, only to realize nothing was happening, "I didn’t achieve much for us, but I was able to keep you two from hurting each other… well, more than you already did.” “If it makes you feel any better, I think my pride’s hurt more than my body.” The dragon girl tensed up as her eyes slowly tracked past Diana to the girl she held, her eyes widening in shock, before she abruptly looked ahead, adjusting to slowly descend to the ground, wings flapping as she took a more upright position. "... What I said stands. Do you understand, girl? I suppose you should be grateful for Ms. Seigi catching you. I’ll honor it… just this once.” “What I said also stands. Just leaving it like this between us doesn’t sit well with me. Even if it takes so long that I’m a shriveled old hag, I’m not giving up.” "Insolent little… were it not for Ms. Seigi, I would surely drop you!” Diana sighed as the bickering continued onward, holding onto Ayane extra tight at that statement, as much as she could with one arm. Sure, things weren’t great, but everyone was safe… right? Meanwhile, Syo was plummeting toward the ground. His eyes were drowned out with blood, but even if they were not he could see the tunnel vision beginning to close in, and every muscle in his body ached intensely as he felt an impending sense of doom creep at the back of his mind. But I am not going to die here. Heroes don’t die in their first chapter. Sputtering out the blood that was clogging his throat, Syo shouted with all his remaining might: “ATSUSHIIIIIIIIII!” Fortunately, his classmate had good hearing. Though he couldn’t see or hear what was going on with his own senses, he knew the identity of the one who grabbed him by the scruff of his sports uniform and decelerated his way down to the ground. All in all, the response time was less than a second. Pretty good. Can’t imagine why this guy didn’t try out for the hero course with a quirk and skills like his. Syo could feel his feet touch the ground, and though he stumbled slightly, didn’t quite pass out. Barely able to peek through one eye, he grinned up at Atsushi, who looked back down at him with an expression seemingly made up of equal parts concern and annoyance. Then, suddenly the boy’s target was struck by… Was that a tongue..? Whatever it was, it came out of nowhere and at lightning speeds, like those slow motion shots of chameleons catching bugs. Before he could ponder it much, however, the buzzer signaling the end of the event sounded. "And that concludes the Chicken Fight portion of this year's Sports Festival," Orikami addressed the crowd and participants alike through the stadium's speakers, "if you will all direct your attention to the big screen, the bracket for the last phase will be visible, displaying our top eight." Though her face remained neutral, a hint of joy was evident in her speech as she continued, "This final stage, as is tradition, will be single elimination sparring matches. While the previous rounds focused on adaptability, the eventual winner will be decided based on raw combat strength. The first rounds will all be conducted simultaneously, starting in one hour" She shot a cold expression toward Mayu, before beaming at the descending Shannon with pride. After a few seconds, she straightened her back, adjusted her paper skirt, and walked off the stage. Hakaro scowled as confetti rained down around him. If I knew all I would have left to do is G-rated Mardi Gras I wouldn't have lost so easily. The area surrounding the stadium had been transformed into an enormous carnival complete with food, rides, and even a fortune teller tucked away in the corner. A few of his other classmates that didn't make it to the third round of the Sports Festival had dragged him out here, something about him spending too much time sulking on his own. "Fine, we're out here, the fuck are we going to do?"

Even with the scarf and goggles, the smugness on Charlie’s face was more than apparent. “It must be awfully lonely with only one pokemon each! Good thing Professor Cookie can help you guys out, huh?” With a short snicker, Charlie lifted up his scarf to cover the tip of his nose, “Not that any of these pokemon are of interest to a... man of such distinguished taste as myself!” The other three all introduced themselves to their new pokemon, as Charlie leaned an elbow on the hovering Combee beside him, pulling the brim of his hat slightly downward. It wasn’t long before the professor pulled out some photographs, similar to those shown by Wicke earlier. Charlie eyed the images with as much seriousness as Cookie spoke, looking out into the distance at the hill depicted within the photos. Charlie had heard about a few different pokemon that may have originated in space, in different regions such as Kanto, Hoenn, and even in Unova and Kalos, but he couldn’t help but suspect that the current incident had something to do with the events here in Alola in the recent past, the reason for Aether’s change in direction. As Kukui spoke about some kind of guardian of something as intimidatingly named as “The Ruins of Conflict” Was Charlie in over his head? Of course not! Fortunately, Charlie wouldn’t have to prove himself until the next day, and his task seemed to be out of the way of the fabled “ruin guardian”. Hopefully. Tia suggested that the group get food together, but before Charlie could shut the idea down, Amelia chimed in, herself not really in the mood to eat either. Thank Arceus… Sharlie straightened his back, and puffed out his chest for a split second before deciding that that might not be the best idea. “Of course we should check out the city together! Isn’t Alola the place all the rich folks go on vacation? Let’s enjoy our stay before we have to start working!”

I feel it's worth mentioning that seat of the synod and ancient den are banned in modern, and with good reason. The tavern is also problematic, in that it provides free card advantage for very little opportunity cost, along with further upside. There is no real reasoning for these to be artifacts at all. The only reason the artifact lands that already exist are such is because of the very nature of new phyrexia.

Theme: Make a Link-1 monster designed to support a single archetype (synergy with other archetypes is okay as long as there is some kind of focus either thematically or mechanically on just one) Entry requirements: No written cards, as I do not know how to read Deadline: Some time next week Prizes: None lmao My judging criteria: whatever I like the best will win

Around a year ago... Vega: 400 Sai: 4000 “You’re impressive, like I heard,” Vega grinned ear to ear, a wild look in her golden eyes, “You absolutely seem like you’re what I want for the team I’m working on. And since the only condition to get you to join was to beat you…” Her voice trailed off as she drew for turn, eyes locked on the dragon on Sai’s field, then to her single set S/T, “I’m gonna go ahead and say welcome to the team.” "You don't think it's going to be that easy, do you? Why would I join someone weaker than me?" Sai tapped lightly at his chin, looking up at his dragon, "Summoning my Almarduke rid you of all the link monsters on your field, not to mention that my life points are still at 4000. If you want me to join your little team, you're going to need to do better than that. Let's see what you've got!" “Yeah, my life total is a bit low… but hey, I’m still fairly new to this deck, so cut me a little slack, ye?” She held the grin as she normal summoned Doshin @Ignister. “I activate Doshin’s effect! By returning my Linguriboh to the Extra Deck, I can search for A.I. Love Yousion!” the card produced itself from the deck as she placed another card onto her disk, “Then I Special Summon Gatchiri @Ignister in defense by negating Doshin’s effects!” "It's flattering, but I'm not interested." “Ha, good one! But I’ve already got someone I’m interested in, so you’re not breaking my heart any.” The shield bearing robotic humanoid appeared next to the box-shaped blob, causing the box to squeak a bit as a small shock hit it, before Vega held up the two cards in her hand. “I don’t need the card I drew this turn to win. I’ve had this planned from the beginning, oh master of fusion. After all, how do I speak to a Fusion Duelist… without using Fusion!” Doshin suddenly faded away into data, causing an 8-point square to appear on the Extra Monster Zone. The data from doshin coalesced into red energy, shooting to fill the bottom left corner. Soon after, an angry looking robot appeared, pointing its link-shaped tail forward like a scorpion. “I used Doshin to summon Linguriboh again, but he won’t be here for long! I activate that A.I. Love Yousion, using Linguriboh and Gatchiri as material! The earth trembles as it’s reshaped by the world! Come forth from the past and future, Earth Golem @Ignister!” As a swirl appeared behind Vega, who clasped her hands almost as if in prayer, the two cyberse monsters began to lose shape, swirling around and thinning out until they were sucked into the center of the spiral… And then a burst of light filled the area, leaving a large rock-like robotic humanoid standing behind Vega, brandishing its fist. It lit up briefly as it was summoned, but the more notable thing was that Gatchiri’s shield was still on the field, attaching itself to Earth Golem’s chest. “When Gatchiri goes to the grave from the field, one monster I control becomes immune to your card effects for the rest of the turn… so battle! Earth Golem, attack Almarduke and activate!” The golem lumbered forward, pulling its arm back, only for data to surround it and cause it to grow, its attack increasing from 2300 to 5300, “It gains the attack of its target, provided it was summoned from the Extra Deck!” "What's the matter? That's still not enough to beat me, weren't you saying this was the last turn?" As Sai taunted, the golem suddenly froze in place, its fist inches from Almarduke… who also seemed to have frozen, cracks appearing along the golem and dragon. "The hell is this?" “Win over fusion, speak in fusion! I activated Final Fusion when Earth Golem attacked! When two fusion monsters battle, it negates the attack… and then burns both of us for their combined attack! That’s 8300 damage to both of us!” The cracks began to light up brighter as she finished explaining the effect, energy seeping from them and beginning to cause small explosions, while she leered at Sai confidently. "A tie isn't a win, you know." As the light in the area grew brighter and brighter, the explosions beginning to sound off, Vega smirked back. “I sure do.” And then the full effect hit, engulfing the area in multiple loud explosions, leaving a cloud in the area… only for it to fade away slowly, revealing Sai’s life to have fallen to 0, while Vega’s remained at 400. “As I said… Welcome to the team.” Sai raised an eyebrow, before looking down at the information displayed on his duel disk. A smile slowly crept to his face as he read the effect of Earth Golem @Ignister. "Naruhodo ne... Glad to join." ----- Sai stepped into the room, this time wearing a baggy hoodie and sweatpants, seemingly spray-painted with various designs all over, including a demonic eye on either side of the hood that loosely framed his head. He noticed Daichi had already arrived, and gave him a wink before addressing the team's coach, "Veeeeeegaaa, how was your date?" “It was nice, thank you for asking!” the coach cheerfully replied, her long hair being brushed out of her face, “Now, why don’t you step back outside, so we can talk, hm?” "But it's raining," droned Sai, as sunshine spilled over his shoulders. "What's wrong with talking in here?" “I want private meetings with each of you. Daichi already had his, now it’s your turn, isn’t that fair?” With an exasperated sigh, he shrugged and stepped back out, leaning casually against the wall. "So, it's time to sing my praises?" “Mmm, not exactly,” Vega closed the door behind her as she spoke, tapping at her chin to find the words, “I would say you did a great job of showing who you are to the crowd… But I also wanna caution you in that regard.” Sai slapped both hands to his cheeks, his face taking on a mortified expression. In these sneaker, he was actually at eye level with Vega and didn't even need to look down to address her "Et tu, Brute???" “Now now, don’t get me wrong. I think you’re mostly fine, and you have points about being a heel.. But you do need to be aware of two things. The first being that your actions do impact the rest of the team, so you should be at least a bit cognizant of that. While, the other…” She looked to the side a bit wistfully before sighing, “Even the former top ranked player drew a lot of hate for his attitude. Angry, talking down to opponents at times, overkill. He had a fan base for sure, but it was the source of a good bit of controversy. Don’t go too far into that.” "He sounds like quite a villain." Sai grinned in admiration of the mythical figure, allowing Vega to continue. “Well, many saw Altair as a villain. He had next to no failures under his belt, but he made plenty of enemies. So I’m just letting you know that you probably went a little too hard with the last match. The idea is fine, but I…” She sighed loudly, “I don’t want to see you end up in the position he was in. That’s all.” Sai pulled down his hood and stared at the sun, which was probably a bad idea, but it didn't seem to dissuade him. "I was just thinking, if I was going to win anyway, I may as well give that guy a good heroic origin story. I think he's gonna get a lot stronger because of this." “And you’re probably right. But you don’t have to be the villain of the story just because someone else is a hero. However, I do want to add… I think you’re still a great fit for the team. I’m not thinking of cutting you or punishing you or even scolding you. But I also don’t wanna see you mess up and go down the wrong path… do you get what I’m trying to say?” "I do, but I hope you understand how different life is when cut from villainous cloth." Pulling his hood back up, Sai slipped into the building. "Tomodaichi! Excited for your redemption arc?"

i mean define "recover"

Sai waited patiently as Kendra went off at him. She seemed terribly confused about who he was, why he was here, and, most importantly, the effects his actions would have. She was new to the pro scene, so it wasn't a misunderstanding he would hold against her. He looked to Vega, who was carefully analyzing each of them gathered there. It was notable to Sai that Kendra said Daichi was the only one to have garnered good will. While it was not something he himself was making any attempt to earn, he felt that such a comment was awfully dismissive of their turbo duelist. No matter. Then, the team captain Rosalia spoke up, albeit after a sigh long enough that Sai questioned her lung capacity, unabashedly staring down at her chest as she spoke, Sashisematta." She sounded timid, yet looked him directly in the eye as he brought his back up to meet her gaze. "Is there a reason for what you did out there?" Unlike Kendra, she was seeking to understand. It seemed that she was aware that Sai took no action thoughtlessly. However, before he could respond, Rin spoke up. "Does there have to be one?" Yes, you idiot. I'm not a magic 8-ball. Sai frowned, but allowed her to continue. Perhaps she would strike gold, and at least she seemed more open to radical ideas than the teammate Sai doubted was even awake for the entire match. Hell, she would probably be angrier if she were. "Er, I mean, yes, he maybe said some things that were out of line. There's always going to be heels like that, and I'm not saying we should encourage it, but his actual turn? That was fine, right? Whether you make your opponent go to exactly zero like Falisha or make a display of power like Sai, winning at our debut is a great start. Plus there's that saying... all publicity is good publicity. Or something. I would've been rooting for him, at least, even if we weren't teammates," just like that, Sai's frown dissolved and a smile crept to his lips, his sharply-pointed teeth ever-so-slightly visible. Maybe it was the subtle accent they shared, but somehow these words made more sense than any said previously in the conversation. "Oh, we should get something tasty to celebrate our first win. My treat." All things considered, it was remarkable that this was the first point in the conversation that Sai laughed, his face pointing to the sky as his jaw hung open. "Rin, my dear, you cannot afford my taste. I'm afraid my gluttony extends far past dueling." Sai quickly refocused, his hair falling neatly as he jolted his head back in place to look down at the rest of his team. "Kendra, if Vega was concerned I might make her look bad, she wouldn't have recruited me. She knows exactly who and what I am, and doesn't need you to defend her honor." Raising his arms as well as his voice, he addressed the group, "In fact, she's the only person here who has beaten me, but I don't see her complaining." Tilting his head at an unnatural angle, he turned it to face the team captain, once again meeting her evidently nervous gaze. Despite the nervousness, however, she didn't look away. Sai smirked with pride, before continuing, "I am glad at least one person on the team would surmise that there is more to it than just being cruel for fun." With a grand gesture, he indicated toward a massive screen, showing clips of Falisha winning her duel, with a good chunk of the crowd still excitedly watching the replays. "Does that look like someone dragged down by their devil of a teammate? I think our resident geologist has earned quite a few fans today." As the screen changed to now show Avery's valiant, but futile effort against Sai, he quickly positioned himself between his team and the view, using his fan-shaped duel disk to further expand his silhouette, "As for my own duel, surely you understand that infamy is just as powerful as fame? No. They will line up out the door hoping to see me lose. To think that I disregarded the image I would be giving is comical. Every single action I took was one of cultivation. And not just of myself." Taking a step toward Rosalia, he folded his duel disk, slamming it on the ground between them. Leaning down with both of his palms against it as if it were a cane, he was now at eye-level with Rosalia, scarcely a foot aware from her. It was clear that she was bothered by the closeness, yet she still refused to falter. "Is that a good enough answer, Captain Dragunov?" Suddenly, he straightened his back, bringing himself back up to tower above the rest. "You had a wonderful duel, Tomodaichi. It is unfortunate you were not able to pull through, but as far as I could tell it truly was just a matter of fortune. If you believe you may have misplayed somewhere down the line, I would gladly coach you." "So, what are we getting to eat?"

"You! You! You! Aaaaaaand... YOU!" While it wasn’t visible underneath the bug-catcher’s ensemble, Charlie’s eyes were wide, his teeth chattering silently. Why did he say ‘YOU’ all extra-loud when he pointed at me? What is he thinking? What does he know? Charlie did his best not to hyperventilate as the other new recruits were so eager to help out. How does everyone else know what they are doing? Did they used to work in Pokemon Centers? Bibi hovered closely behind Charlie, lightly nudging on his back as if urging him to join in and help the rest. It felt like only an instant later that two had already climbed up and down the tall trunks, and another somehow even convinced the pokemon to lean down. Charlie felt incredibly in over their head. His eyes darting back and forth between Faba and the other newbies, Charlie was struck with inspiration. A place of respite! Like lightning, Charlie had unwound the scarf from his neck, letting loose about five feet of fabric, though his face was still almost completely obscured by yet more coils of the seemingly endless garment. I have never seen one of these things before, but it shouldn’t be much harder than climbing that light post in Motostoke when I wanted a closer look at the Ribombee sitting on top! With a series of deep breaths, Charlie puffed his chest out to psych himself up. He could practically feel himself mimicking everyone else’s confidence as he mistakenly swallowed a huge mouthful of air. ”That’s some pretty good climbing technique, but you all ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Let me show you how it’s done!” Looping the end of his scarf around the trunk of the last remaining Exeggutor, Charlie began scaling the pokemon, using the scarf for horizontal stability as he walked upward, as if it were a gravity-defying log bridge. When he reached the top, he lowered his scarf just enough for only the Exeggutor to see his face clearly, matching their grins with one of his own. Bibi followed closely, buzzing in conversation with the grass-type while Charlie administered the vaccine. Now for the best part… Triumphantly, Charlie sat atop the huge leaves of the coconut pokemon, looking down upon the rest through his protective shroud. A bit of personal space. Much better. His smile was smug as his Combee cheerfully buzzed beside him. ”C’mon, Mr Fava, don’t you have something more difficult?”

Your discord avatar is a vtuber and my opinion is that that is hilarious

Do you still have to tribute monsters? This is vague enough that I'm not completely certain what it does.

It also occurs to me that you might want it to have a clause that makes it able to be pendulum summoned, a la OERD. Maybe Ryujin wants a clause that allows you to activate the set card that turn, like Back Jack? I can't imagine that would produce any significant balancing issues.

It really depends on the game. In a lot, having a health bar clashes with aesthetics. In others, a boss may not even use the same conventional health system as the rest of the game so it would be meaningless.

I think it would be awfully neat if Aosagibi went in the pendulum zone when tributed.

God 90s Camaros are so fucking cursed

Tai blinked, pointing to his chest with a bit of confusion. It took a moment for him to realize, but the girl who was addressing him was Konishi Meru, from his own class. She was actually pretty cute without the scarf on. ”I mean…” with a look up at the sky, Tai assessed the position of the Sun, and flexed his muscles a bit to confirm the strength in his veins. ”Yeah, I should definitely have enough time to carry my weight through this. Let’s win this one, Konishi!” Sun was intrigued by Kio’s offer to let him choose the quirk he would use. He scratched at the fur on his shoulders, his shirt long since lost in the previous stage of the Sports Festival. Suddenly, he was struck with inspiration! ”I know, Kio! You should use your own quirk!” Admittedly, he didn’t word his sentiment as best as could be done, but he felt that nobody could determine the best way to use someone’s gifts than that person themselves. That’s how it worked in the jungle, after all. Without even verbally confirming the team-up, Sun grabbed his new partner by the shoulders and hoisted him up to sit atop his shoulders. ”So I just have to carry you around, right? I do this for Ayane all the time, since we both live here at school, this should be easy! Cling to me like a baby and I will run as fast as I can!” Chicken Fight ”I hope you’re all ready, because the U.A. Sports Festival Mounted Poultry Punchout is about to begin!” The voice came booming through the speakers mounted throughout the stadium, as the eight teams positioned themselves along the borders of the designated play area, equally spaced at the corners of the octagonal arena. By this point, each of the riders were now sitting squarely on the shoulders of their respective steeds, though some seemed to be more stable mounts than others. From dozens of hidden compartments within the stands flew out swarms of thousands of paper butterflies, seemingly dyed black. Converging in four points far above the contestants, they created stark black rectangles against the sunny sky. Upon these screens appeared enormous golden numbers, glowing brightly for both audience and competitors to see. 10:00 If one listened closely, they could hear a countdown from three, barely picked up by the microphones, ”Let the games-’ ”-BEGIN!” Atop the shoulders of one who was a relative stranger to her, sat Ukemei Ayane, wobbling back and forth as he slightly stumbled. While she was very lightweight, this wasn’t something Syo was accustomed to. “I told you I’ve been gaining weight,” Ayane said, wobbling about on Syo’s shoulders as she tried to keep herself and her guitar from touching the ground. “Let’s try not to get hit like this, okay?” “Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be a problem once things-” ”-BEGIN!” “OKAY FUCK IT LET’S GO” The Strongest Partner In a bright flash of blue light, Syo’s body separated into dozens of segments, first appearing to be made of a red metal, before the pieces took on a sinister black sheen. As Ayane fell through what had now become mostly empty space, each piece found its place, encasing her in what could best be described as a highly stylized suit of armor. Hope it’s a good fit. The words rang inside of Ayane’s mind, echoing with a much greater confidence than Syo had moments before. “Hoh!” It was! A better fit than just about anything she’d worn before, for certain! Curious just what Syo had done, Ayane examined herself as best as she could. This. This was… “AWESOMEEEEEEEE!!” Now this was a hero costume! It almost felt embarrassing to admit she came up with that hideous thing she’d sent to the design team a while back! “What is this!? Your Quirk!? Did your Quirk turn me into something out of those old hero shows from before Quirks existed!? How did you not make hero course with this!? This is awesome!!” What, you expect me to wear myself? A tinny laughter bounced around in Ayane’s skull. This isn’t the kind of quirk that works alone. I’m just glad that this worked, considering you are the second person I’ve ever tried it with. The pair, now acting as one, rolled their shoulders and sized up the rest of the competitors. So, 11-EX, who’s our first target? “First target is…” Seven other teams. And the most powerful team - that she knew of anyway - had to be... Ayane turned her attention upward, toward the sky. Before long, she could see that second place girl flying around. “Those two, up there! I don’t suppose you can turn into a jetpack or something, can you?” I… I don’t think so. While Syo didn’t verbalize the sentiment, his original intent to team up with Atsushi was clear to his partner. But whatever you can do, I can make a hell of a lot better. Let’s try something! “Hm.” Make it a hell of a lot better, huh? Ayane took a deep breath, raised up her right hand, and slammed it down across the strings of her guitar, unleashing a shockwave of sound that surprised even her. Not far enough to reach the other teams, but certainly leagues more potent than the amp she’d been wearing on its own. So the sound was way stronger, but what about its interactions with her Quirk? That’s a good start. Now let’s try with your quirk, see how far we can push it? Ayane glanced at the adjacent teams. Change of plans! We’re testing out 11-EX on those two boys over there! Without any further warning, Ayane set both her hands on the fretboard, fingering out a rapid series of high-pitched notes to turn into a spray of bullets headed for the team one door over. Close Combat “Are you sure we stand a chance?” Shoshiki was perched atop the broad shoulders of his classmate, Meguru, with a fair number of strands coming from his legs and wrapping tightly around Meguru’s torso for extra stability. “Course we do! With a crazy strong guy like you on our team, nothin’s gonna stop us!” Meguru exuded confidence, beating a fist on his chest. However, before he could talk his teammate up any more, they were rained upon by a flurry of tiny glowing projectiles. “Tha hell is this??” turning his head, he lowered himself into a crouch to present less of a target to the oncoming attackers. “Ya see that, Shoshiki? We’re so tough they are already coming after us!” “I REALLY DON’T LIKE THE LOOK OF THIS THING MEGURU, I THINK WE SHOULD RETREAT!” “How are we suppos’ta call ourselves men if we run away from the first challenger!” With Shoshiki desperately clinging on for dear life, Meguru rocketed toward the incoming assailant, closing the gap almost instantly with an incredible burst of speed. Rather than making any kind of attempt to reach the target located on 11-EX’s back, he went for a double-palmed strike directly at their center of mass, “Eat THIS!!!” Before Ayane had a chance to react, she could feel her muscles tense up, with a kick from her right leg pushing her out of the way of the incoming assault. That was a close call. Now we fight back! Give me a good note! As Ayane used their right hand to strum her guitar, Syo raised their left fist, as it was encased in a giant glowing glove, not unlike what could have been seen in the previous Sports Festival a decade earlier. 11-EX’s mouth opened, the mask splitting into jagged-edged teeth as the pair let out a ferocious roar, striking at their opponents with their combined strength. “Shoshiki, NOW!” “O-okay!” On cue, Meguru’s lanky passenger split apart, his head and arms extending to wrap around their opponent as Meguru raised both arms to catch the attack head-on. The impact, however, was far more than he expected, and he let out a grunt of exertion as the pavement underneath his feet shattered. “Now’s yer chance! Go!” Shoshiki’s disembodied head nodded, as it dart around 11-EX’s back to get a good view of their target. “You were right, Meguru, it’s right here!” Like a snare tightening around the ankle of a baited quarry, Shoshiki withdrew his limbs at lightning speed, aiming a pair of punches directly at 11-EX’s target. “Hey!” In retaliation for the untimely theft of her team’s points, Ayane gave the guitar another strum, this time on the low strings, and erected a dome around herself and the other team. “Syo, get em!” 11-EX slid low to the ground, before hitting Meguru in the bottom of the chin with a heel kick from below. And as you can see, my Critical Armor boosts physical strength as well! Another slap on the guitar strings brought a pillar up from the ground, busting their opponents out of the dome and several dozen feet away. Guess that’s one fight won. But now we are in dead last place. How are we gonna catch back up? Hmmm… They’d need to take out one of the big dogs. Not the one that had just run off with the team’s hard-earned points, either. They’d be ready next time, for sure. Ayane turned her attention upward, to the sky. To catch back up, we need to go up after all!

Sai walked onto the stage after his opponent, with a swell of ominous music backing him. With an oversized kimono that trailed on the ground several feet behind him, he gazed upon the crowd with a smile worth a million monopoly dollars. Raising both of his arms, his sleeves billowed at his shoulders, revealing a pair of full sleeve tattoos. On his left, a complex pattern of churning waves and koi. On his right, bright red flames and the faces of demons. His face was powdered white with striking features painted on in bright blue, in classical kabuki fashion. From within the folds of his garment he pulled out what appeared to be an oversized folding fan, which he slid into place on a corresponding holder on his right wrist. Opening the fan with a dramatic movement that kicked up the fabric draped over him, he revealed the zones of his field, proud of his custom made duel disk. 3… 2… 1… Duel! While he was pleased to see that his opponent was going first, Sai made a show of stomping his feet loudly on the stage, feigning frustration for the crowd. He yawned as the pastel and fluffy monsters populated the field, making no comment on his opponent's opening play. "Draw!" Refusing to even look at the card as he pulled it from his deck, Sai tucked it into his sash along with two others from his hand that he wasn't invested in quite yet. "First, I will discard my King of the Swamp to search for the spell card polymerization, which I will immediately use to send my Despians Comedy and Tragedy to the graveyard from my hand!" Dropping the two monster cards into the respective slot where his Swamp King already lie, Sai held out a hand to catch the resulting fusion monster as it was launched from within a hidden compartment where his extra deck was stored. "Now, as laughter and tears blend and genres are twisted, come forth the dark dragon of romance, Masquerade the Crimsongleam Dragon! Plus my Despian Tragedy will now pull another Despia monster, Ad Libitum, from my deck." Between the two duelists appeared a large, demonic dragon, bending down low and craning its neck upward to roar at the audience. However, buried underneath the roar was the loud yipping of Puppy, who quickly turned around and bounced back into Avery’s hand, but not before a rabbit with plants on its back took its place. “When you summon, I activate Puppy’s effect!” Avery grimaced as he saw his life fall by 600, but pushed on, “And special summon Kalantosa, Beast of the Forest, from my deck! When it’s summoned by a beast, I can target and destroy a card my opponent controls, so I target Crimsongleam!” Sai grinned, placing his dragon in the graveyard as his opponent took yet another 600 damage. "What's the matter? Scared of playing with a little bit more pressure to make things interesting? I will finish my turn by setting a monster in face-down defense position." Sai placed a single card on his otherwise empty duel disk, as a solid vision hologram of the face down card appeared in front of him to match. "Go ahead, let's see how much you can make of your turn." Avery sighed, but otherwise ignored the taunts. As he drew, his eyes seemed to sparkle, immediately playing the card. “I normal summon Rescue Rabbit! Then I banish it for its effect, to summon two Melffy Rabby!” As he spoke, the semi-realistic looking rabbit appeared, wearing rescue gear! It then saluted, disappearing as it hopped aside, with two pink bunnies popping up in its place. Before Avery spoke again, he moved his hands over the two bunnies, a vortex opening beneath them on the ground, causing them to turn into bits of yellow-brown energy that flew into it, spinning… before it began to erupt. “I overlay my two Rabby to Xyz Summon Melffy of the Forest!” Suddenly, a small forest appeared around avery, with a stump right in front of him. Assorted storybook-looking animals peeked their eyes out occasionally, one that looked similar to Rabby even hopping onto the stump to look around. “Then I’ll detach one material from it to search Melffy Playhouse. I’ll set one, then end my turn… And Puppy returns!” Yip! The dog appeared once more, panting happily next to the stump, rejoining its cat and fox friends! Avery’s form stayed firm, but his eyes darted about from card to card, assessing the field as his turn came to an end. Sai eyed the new monster, studying it carefully, "This is your first duel at a pro level, isn't it?" “I don’t see why that’s relevant.” Narrowing his eyes, Sai grinned, "How could it not be? I'm sure your team captain is doing just fine, the duelist she is against is an idiot, but can you imagine how she would feel if you let her down? What if you are the reason your team loses their first official appearance?" “Can we get on with this?” the large man closed his eyes, “It’s your move. Go.” Sai smiled sweetly at his opponent. It was rare for him to have to look up even slightly to make eye contact, rarer still while wearing his sandals. It was a special treat for him today. “Naturally, I’ll start my turn by drawing a card…” Though he pulled the card from his deck with an astounding amount of flourish, his eyes were serious, darting back and forth between his new cards, the contents of his hand, and what was on the field. “I hope you are ready to explain how you lost~” “First, I will flip summon my Predaplant Squid Drosera. Your Melfys don’t notice flip summons, no?” As he asked the rhetorical question, the face-down card on his field revealed itself to be a small plant, with thorny vines protruding in all directions. “Don’t worry about that one for now. Now that you control an Xyz monster, I can summon Masquerade from the graveyard for free!” Placing the monster on the fan, his dragon appeared on the field once again, this time remaining silent and training its eyes on Sai’s opponent. “Don’t worry, he won’t be punishing you for playing the game this time. But he is more than capable of destroying your monster! Now Crimsongleam Dragon, attack Melffy of the Forest!” “I activate Melffy Playhouse!” Avery’s set card revealed itself, and one of the Xyz materials floating around the stump disappeared into thin air. Before explaining, the large duelist stared at his disk for a moment, confirming the lack of life tax, then continued after shaking his head. “By detaching an Xyz Material from Forest, I can target a card you control and return it to the hand, and I target Masquerade!” “Oh no? You’re targeting Masquerade? Oh no! It will be defeated yet again???” Sai feined desperation for a moment, before grinning. “Unless I activate the quick-play spell: Predaprime Fusion!” Sai threw the card onto his disk, as his two monsters were consumed by a sudden mass of thorny vines, swirling into a sphere before opening to reveal the new monster: “Predaplant Dragostapelia! Plus, Squid Drosera places a predator counter on each of your special summoned monsters, which with a deck like yours means everything!” “I can still respond!” Avery called out, a small symphony of animal cries erupting from his board, as each of the Melffys activated. “Puppy, Fenny, and Catty activate, allowing them to return to my hand before the counters land on them!” The three turned around and hopped back to Avery’s hand like Puppy had before… Except for Puppy, who had a small, plant-like face biting into its leg. “What the?” "In response, I used my Dragostapelia’s activated effect! It can place a predator counter on any monster I like! As if I would let you get away with that trick again. Plus, all monsters with Predator Counters have their effects negated!” “I see…” Avery muttered, before a card produced itself from his deck. “Catty’s effect resolves as it returns, searching Alpha, the Master of Beasts from my deck!” “Now,” Sai’s voice was low, almost a whisper, before suddenly escalating to a roar, “for my real attack! Predaplant Dragostapelia, attack Melffy of the Forest!” The dragon-like plant flew over the adorable monster, before viciously slicing it in half with its tail. “I feel I should warn you, Avery Froswald. This next turn you take will be your last.”

[Bug-Out] ”Woah, I’m gonna go check that out! Don’t worry, I don’t need anyone to go with me!” [Name:] Charlie [Age:] 16 [Birthday:] June 8th [Appearance:] Height: 5' Weight: 102 lbs Charlie’s jersey number is 888. Figure it out yourself, nerds. [Meet Charlie:] Adventurous, Boisterous, and Capricious are the ABCs of young Charlie of Motostoke. While most Galarian youths dream of partaking in the gym challenge and battling the undisputed, undefeated champion Leon, Charlie was content to roam the Wild Area south of Motostoke, taking extensive notes on all the bug-type pokémon that roamed within. Not just the information you would see on a Rotom Phone's Pokedex app, even tiny little bits of behavior that would go unnoticed unless one had spent more time under the stars than under a roof. Mind you, Charlie isn't without ambition, having dreamed since meeting Kabu to become the first Galarian bug-type gym leader, but that was always, in Charlie's head at least, a means to an end, to grow even closer to the beloved bugs. Despite all these things, Charlie is a deeply introverted person. Suffering from enormous social anxiety, Charlie hasn't been clearly seen by a single non-family member since the age of 12. For everyone outside the household, Charlie is a mysterious figure shrouded by a scarf, goggles, and an enormous hat. In many respects, Charlie's excitable nature is actually a part of this, creating an artificial barrier between Charlie and the rest of the world. Very few people pry too deeply into the life of the fanatical bug catcher. This isn't to say Charlie is incapable of making connections (as Charlie has plenty of experience with BiBi, Charlie's other pokemon, or even visiting the local gym leader Kabu to play with his Centiskorch) but making friends with people is far more difficult, and requires far more trust. A level of trust that Charlie simply doesn't know how to give yet. Hopefully working with others in the Aether Foundation can enact a positive change. [Charlie's Abridged History:] -Born in Freezington, raised by single mother -Moved to Motostoke at a young age -Became socially withdrawn, covering up and spending all hours in the Rolling Fields of the Wild Area -Joined the Aether Foundation at Kabu's recommendation [Starting Pokémon:] [BiBi:] [Nickname:] BiBi [Gender:] Female [Nature:] Relaxed [History:] BiBi was Charlie's first pokémon, caught in Charlie's net before it ever even held a PokeBall. Charlie mistakenly assumed BiBi to be a boy, before proudly showing her off to the gym leader Kabu, who pointed out the red marking and explained to Charlie how some pokémon appear differently based on their gender. After years of companionship, Charlie eventually saved up allowances to purchase a luxury ball for BiBi, not that their friendship needed any sort of boost. Even so, BiBi spends most time outside of her PokeBall. While BiBi is Charlie's daily companion, she typically avoids battle, instead buzzing along from the sidelines in moral support. [Moveset:] -Sweet Scent -Gust -Struggle Bug -Bug Bite [Raidar:] [Species:] Blipbug [Nickname:] Raidar [Gender:] Male [Nature:] Timid [History:] Released into the wild by an overzealous breeder, this Blipbug had managed to find its way all the way in the Watchtower Ruins of the Galar Wild Area. It was skittering along, doing its best to avoid the ghosts that plague the area, before being ambushed and caught within Charlie's trusty net, properly captured in the net ball carried within. This was shortly before Charlie set off to Alola to join the Aether Foundation, and Raidar has since taken on the role of Charlie's go-to battler. [Moveset:] -Struggle Bug -Recover -Sticky Web

Spider-Verse Spider-Verse Spider-Verse

[loresadblock.png] [hiresadblock.png] It's a good card maker, but the ad ruins it. What can I say, except you're welcome.

”No no no no no…” Staring up at the screen, Shoshiki saw his name, his quirk, even his face(!) beside that enormous number, ”Nearly eight hundred..?” he had planned to do just enough to keep Breakpoint off his back about it, but in a desperate feat of self-preservation, he had landed in the top four. ”With all those points, I’m going to be a target for sure…” He looked out across the crowd, and found himself terrified by what he saw. Beyond the prolific monarchs of 1B that were Shannon and Tai, even the ‘regulars’ seemed overwhelming. There was a hairy guy taller than Meguru, even, was he some kind of dark-furred yeti? Shoshiki told himself a hundred times every night that monsters don’t exist, just people with quirks, but he was finding that hard to believe as he gazed upon those that were technically his contemporaries. ”Maybe I should just drop out… Whoever was in 18th place would probably be really grateful…” It was at that moment that an enormous, powerful hand clapped Shoshiki’s shoulder. ”I’M SORRY I’LL SURRENDER PLEASE DON’T HURT ME” in the adrenaline of the moment, Shoshiki jumped so hard that his head detached from his body completely, shooting up at least ten feet before falling back down, safely landing in the other hand of the one who greeted him. Strong Guidance ”Shoshiki, my brother, I hope yer ready to win this whole thing!” Turning the head he held in his hand so that Shoshiki could see his face, Meguru looked down on him with an enormous toothy grin. ”Yer Patchwork and my Piston are gonna combine to form an unstoppable force! Sounds like fun, right?” As the tendrils retracted into Shoshiki’s body, Meguru released his classmate’s head, allowing it to fit securely enough back on its owner’s neck where it belonged. Using his grip on Shoshiki’s shoulder, he spun him around to face him head-on, grabbing hold of the boy’s other shoulder and looking him in the eyes with enough confidence to match Shoshiki’s lack thereof. ”So whaddya say?” Shoshiki’s head was spinning, and not just from being tossed around so casually by his classmate. ”Wh-wh-wh-what do you mean?? Whatever you may have seen earlier today I p-promise I’m not strong! It was all a fluke! You and Oozei and whoever else has these expectations of me all of a sudden need to calm down, I’m just me!” Though he squirmed, Shoshiki found that he wasn’t able to break free of his classmate’s grasp, at least without falling apart. ”Just because I pulled off one crazy stunt in a panic doesn’t mean I’m not weak!” With a raised eyebrow, Meguru looked back and forth between Shoshiki and the massive score he had displayed on the screen. ”So it’s like that, huh? I dunno what yer talkin about, but it sounds to me like you managed to do some crazy shit in the Rescuer-thon!” Smiling even harder than before, he leaned in and whispered in Shoshiki’s ear, ”And ya even got Mayu’s attention? You just know she’s the type who’s into tough guys like you an’ me.” In an instant, Shoshiki’s pale face turned as red as Meguru’s hair, as the latter buckled over with a belly laugh. ”So! Ya ready to show her who’s the boss?” ”I…” at this point, it was clear to Shoshiki that Meguru wasn’t going to relent. ”I guess…” Prelude As surprised as he was to see his name on the giant screen, Syo knew exactly who he wanted as a partner. As he approached Atsushi, however, he noticed a girl approaching him. Despite the fact that she wasn't facing toward him, Syo accidentally made eye contact with an eye that opened on the back of her neck. "Nope! Nope nope nope nope nope! Time for my second choice!" With a sharp pivot, he turned on his heel and quickened his pace. He needed to find this person before someone else, because he wasn't going to be able to buddy up with anyone who has options, if his life experience was any indicator. And so, he found himself staring face-to-face with Ukemei Ayane, who appeared quite dejected for whatever reason. "You know, when Kazama laid out his plan to hunt down you Hero Course guys, he specifically said to avoid you. That you were too unpredictable, too risky. Wanna elaborate on that?" "He said to avoid me?” Ayane wasn't sure who this Kazama was, outside of "the guy that was 16th then resigned," but basically, the fact that he said to avoid her specifically meant she was basically the strongest person in the Hero Course, right? Or not? Wasn't there some guy that walked off with a building? Maybe she wasn't the strongest student here, after all. "Hmmm... maybe because I don't really think about what I'm doing? I just kinda act on instinct. A telepath's worst nightmare!" If even a telepath couldn't tell what she was going to do - hell, if even Ayane herself wasn't sure what she was about to do sometimes - then how was anyone supposed to stop whatever it was? "...wait, hunting down the Hero Course!?" Syo cocked his head straight up and began laughing into the empty air of the arena, "We're gonna get along, Ukemei." He surveyed her up and down, paying special attention to her guitar and the amp mounted to her back, "Well, he ain't a telepath, but the damn coward hatched this whole plan to trap and eliminate your classmates to artificially inflate his own score. Though," he tapped on his chin, his foot tapping on the ground in the same rhythm, "if his quirk wasn't working out for him, it probably means he bit off more than he could chew and someone put him in his place. Serves the rat right." "So," extending a hand toward her, Syo grinned, "wanna partner up? My quirk wasn't enough to get me through the school's entrance exam, but I think it's just about perfect for this." Bringing his other hand up toward his chest, he pointed his thumb at his heart, "Together, we can be the strongest team here, if you don't mind carrying my dead weight!" Ayane checked around, eyeing up the rest of the top scorers from the last round. People already seemed to be talking and thinking about teaming up. And of course, from 1B's side of things... Well, she probably wouldn't accept such an offer from Ayane anyway, even if she wasn't already teaming up with someone else. So instead of worrying about that, Ayane took Syo's hand firmly, and answered "Deal! Though come to think of it, how did you get 17th? Well, 16th now but you get the idea." The details he'd given her were weird. Failed the entrance exam and needed to be carried, but they could be the strongest team here? Not that she wasn't confident in her own abilities, but if she didn't know any better, it sounded like Syo was giving her way too much credit. "Well, uh..." A vivid memory of Syo screaming his lungs out, jumping out of a fifth-story window with his arms full of plushies, replayed in his head. He could practically still hear the rubber bullets whizzing by him from the pursuing robots. All things considered, he was lucky that he landed in the dumpster. "I guess I got lucky? My quirk isn't really the kind that works on my own, if that makes sense." At this point, he was avoiding eye contact completely, scratching the back of his head and kicking up dust. "Hmmmm..." It didn't work on its own? "Oh! Like Kio's Quirk! Without knowing everyone else's Quirks he's just super talented in everything and that's all he's got going for him!" "Hahaaaa..." it sounded less like a laugh and more like Syo was physically deflating, "I mean I wouldn't say I'm very talented. Just got a lot of grit. That's gotta count for something, though, right?" "Grit always counts for something!" Giving Syo a thumbs-up, Ayane reassuringly said "A hero that doesn't call it quits is a hero that wins eventually! We've got this!"

All across the mock city, a loud buzzer could be heard, as the time allotted to them all reached a close. ”Alright, students! Time’s up. Go ahead and head back to the school’s arena, where the rest of the event will be held. The results of this first leg are being determined as we speak, to be announced when you arrive! Good luck,” a light chuckle could be heard from the school’s headmaster, not quite out of range of the microphone, ”you’ll need it.” It took the students about an hour to congregate back at the proposed location, filling the space at the center as they tended to stay near people they knew, as teenagers are often wont to do. The stands were packed, to the point that some people were even left standing on the stairsteps. The giant television mounted to the wall said something on the screen about this being the greatest attendance of any U.A. Sports Festival in history, but before it could elaborate on the crowd, a triumphant fanfare began blasting from the speaker, as the feed changed to a live one tracking the school’s traditional heroics teacher, Orikami, stepping up onto the stage. Seemingly not fully understanding proper etiquette for public appearances, she tapped at her microphone pin as she stepped onto the stage, eliciting a wave of feedback from the speaker she was walking by. Ignoring the thousands of cringes directed at her, she made her way to the center of the stage, before gazing out at the crowd of student competitors before her. With a small acknowledging nod toward each of Shannon and Mayu, in that order, she took a deep breath, and let out an almost bored-sounding sigh. ”Greeting, and good afternoon to everyone in attendance. It is my… honor to be hosting providing…” she gazed up at the announcer box, knowing she was receiving a pair of unseen thumbs up from within, before sighing once again and continuing, ”color commentary. Now, to avoid wasting any more of everyone’s time, I’ll show off the scoreboard for the event.” The screen flickered from a live feed of the reluctant speaker to a well put together scoreboard of the previous event. ”EEEEEEH?!?!?” It was difficult to tell exactly where the scream of confusion came from, but it seemed to be a feminine voice, particularly close to the ground. Almost imperceptibly, Orikami looked at the top and bottom of the second column, frowning with evident disappointment in the distance between them. ”Something you students may notice is that the scores displayed here do not directly match the number of rescues you performed. Instead, each rescue was weighted based on the danger involved. Additionally,” the third place spot on the board flashed green, highlighting its occupant, ”the third place contestant, Kawashima Risa, was awarded a large mass for saving another student from a crisis on the testing ground. Not that such a feat would be unexpected for the second daughter of the late Kawashima Yozo, the original bearer of the title Glory, and once the headmaster of this very school.” With these words, a roar of applause erupted from the gathered audience, as well as many of the students in the center of the arena. Not that such a scenario would be embarrassing at all, surely the daughter of a pro hero would be able to handle the pressure that comes with it. While the crowd cheered, Orikami rose a hand to her ear, presumably listening closely to a statement being made by on high, before nodding and muttering an inaudible response. ”It appears that our 16th place competitor has decided to drop out, upon loss of quirk functionality. Due to this change, the 17th place student will be taking his place.” After a vague gesture was made toward the screen, its contents changed to reflect Orikami’s statement. ”EEEEEEH?!?!?” This time the confused scream came from a boy! Excitement all around! ”Unfortunately, I didn’t name our next event, so it’s going to be called The U.A. Sports Festival Mounted Poultry Punchout. I know it’s a mouthful, so we’re just going to call it The Chicken Fight from here on out.” With a glance, she fired daggers up at the spectator’s booth, removing her earpiece and sending it away on the back of a paper butterfly. ”Now that that is out of the way, I can explain the rules.” With a gesture, the numbers changed on the screen, each having an additional one added within parentheses. Tai: 978 (3912) Shannon: 942 (3768) Risa: 806 (3224) Shoshiki: 787 (3148) Diana: 745 (2235) Meguru: 732 (2196) Takehiko: 728 (2184) Sun: 725 (2175) Rika: 718 (1436) Ayane: 704 (1408) Ben: 695 (1390) Meru: 682 (1364) Kio: 670 (670) Mayu: 664 (664) Atsushi: 654 (654) Syo: 649 (649) ”As I’m sure you can see, the scores have been multiplied based upon placement. You will partner up with another top 16 student of your choice, and total your scores together. You may be wondering at this point whether it will be beneficial or detrimental to have a high score, and put simply that all depends upon perspective. While it will give you more security, it also places a target on your head.” Reaching into a paper satchel that had been nearly unnoticeable within the folds of her paper dress, Orikami pulled out a metal circle, about 6 inches wide with a slowly pulsing red light in the center, ”Speaking of targets, each team will receive one of these targets to stick to either the center of the chest or the center of the back of one of its two members. That member will then be carried by the other. If your target is touched by any body part of another team member, all of your points are instantly forfeited to that team.” Replacing the target in her bag, Orikami looked out over the students, seemingly scrutinizing every single one of them independently as she scanned the crowd. ”Of course, that doesn’t mean your team is eliminated. Fight back. Pursue. Reclaim your points if they are lost. This stage will only last for ten minutes due to the much smaller group, and you will only be eliminated if your rider touches the ground.” Orikami paused briefly, her face taking on the grim, almost sinister aspect that the hero course students were already well-acquainted with, ”Anything else, short of lethal force, is permitted." Just like that, the shadow disappeared and she put on a smile for the first time since she took the stage, ”You have five minutes to form your teams. Anyone left without a team is disqualified! Max Omega!”

You're a real one, @Skaia