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Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

...or in other words: post-whoring
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july
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by july »

Dot was still astounded by the sight before her. There, as though plucked out of a modern house, was a fully-equipped kitchen. A large, stainless steel refrigerator stood next to a white bench, with drawers and dishwasher below and similarly white cupboards above, and a large oven further along. In the middle of the room was an island, with stools around it. Underfoot, polished wooden boards met abruptly with the rocky labyrinth floor.

Blinking in the bright fluorescent light, Dot left her scooter and cautiously approached the island where Fishy waited, impatiently swimming back and forth. She ran a finger along the bench. Not a single speck of dust.

Nui settled down onto one of the stools.
"I don't know about you, lass," he said, "but I'm quite peckish, me, and I'm thinkin' our friend Fishy here is feelin' the same way. Ya any good a cook?"

"Eh-c-cook?" Dot was taken aback. "We're in the middle of some bizarre labyrinth, fighting for our lives! This isn't the time for that!"

"Are ya not even ae wee bit hungry?"

"No, I-" Dot's protests were cut short by a rumble from her stomach. She sighed in defeat. "I- I guess I'll make something," she said, blushing slightly."Aye, that's more like it!" Nui cheered. "What'll ya be makin'?"

"Well, it depends on what's here." Dot began looking through the cupboards. There were plenty of cooking utensils, pots, pans, all gleaming brightly, apparently never used before. Bright, cleanly white plates, sparkling glasses, fine cutlery, and drawers with neatly-stacked cookbooks. There was, however, very little in the way of actual food. The fridge was bare, save for two bottles of milk, and a bag of rice sat in another cupboard. "I guess this'll have to do," she said, taking the bag of rice. Hidden behind it, handily, was a container of food flakes for Fishy to eat.

A few moments later, Dot and Nui both sat at the island, unadorned bowls of white rice in front of them, while Fishy happily nibbled away at the flakes of food floating in his bowl.

"Well, it's not much." Dot poked gingerly with a fork at the rice in the bowl in front of her.

"Aye, but it's somethin'." Nui eagerly tucked in to his meal.

Dot began to eat, watching Nui out of the corner of her eye as she did. Seeing the rice disappear into the indistinct shape sitting in a banana boat was a strange spectacle, though there had been a lot of those recently. The rice tasted uninterestingly normal. Looking the other way, Fishy had stopped eating, and was swimming lazily in circles. He appeared to be quietly muttering to someone, though Dot couldn't make out any words.

An awkward silence fell as they continued to eat. Elsewhere, far off in the distance, a faint rumble could be heard, followed by a faint shriek, barely audible over the dim hum of the nearby refrigerator.

Dot looked back at the figure in the banana boat next to her, and hesitantly broke the silence. "So, uh, Nui. You're from here? The labyrinth?" she asked, as she stood up to pour a glass of water.

"I suppose ya could say that." Nui's fork clattered into his bowl, now empty. "I've certainly been here fer a long time.""So, you should know if there's some kind of way out."

"Sorry, lass. I don't know about anythin' like that. It's ae big place, an' it likes to surprise ya. I'm sure ya've seen that yerself, lass." Nui gestured around at the kitchen.

Dot yawned as she sat back down, and frowned. "I have another question."

"Ask away, lass."

"How did you and Chibos, uh, end up as you are? Where is Chibos anyway?"

"That's a bit of a story. Don't ya worry though, lass." Nui let out a loud laugh. "Ochibi's still 'ere, even if he's... unavailable." Nui began to laugh again, but was interrupted by a yawn.

"Ya see, lass, there's creatures 'ere who think tha' this place is the whole world. Not me, though. I've always wanted ta' leave this place, see what's out there. An' then I met ya friend Ochibi." Nui yawned again, even louder this time. Fishy had stopped murmuring. "Ya know, I'm feelin' kinda sleepy after that meal. Maybe I'll take a wee nap." Nui settled down in his banana boat, and closed his eyes.

Dot was already asleep.

***

Life, or at least his current version of it, had become fairly simple for Naizen. An endless grassy field didn't provide for much variety in entertainment, but being able to nibble at grass, wander down for a drink at the nearby stream, or simply bask in the warm sun was enough for the sheep. And he could always check in with how Dot was doing in the outside world. Something he was about to do, when Dot herself appeared, lying on the grassy hillside by the stream.

"Dot!" Naizen bounded up to where the girl lay, beginning to stir.

Dot slowly sat up, and blinked as she looked over at the sheep. "Naizen?" She rubbed her eyes. "I don't remember going to sleep."

"So you did not mean to come here? It is good to see you anyway, Dot."

"Yeah." Dot stretched her arms, trying to shake off the doziness clinging to her.

"I was about to check up on how things are going. The last time I checked, you had met up with the other fighters." Naizen casually bit a chunk of grass. "What happened after?"

"We were split up again," Dot explained. "I ended up together with Fishy and Nui."

"Nui?" Naizen gave Dot a quizzical look. "Who is Nui?"

"Oh, it's... they've taken over Chibos, or something. I don't fully understand."

"That would explain how his voice was different." Naizen took another bite of grass. "Did anything else happen?"

"We found a kitchen."

"Eh?"

"Yeah. A nice, pretty new-looking kitchen in the middle of the labyrinth. And we had something to eat, and then I ended up here."

Naizen looked wary.
"I do not like the sound of that. This kitchen sounds like some sort of trap. There could be any sort of danger out there." Naizen took a step closer to Dot, and closed his eyes. "I will wake you up now, to be safe." He took a deep breath.

A moment later, Naizen exhaled.
"That was bad," he sighed to himself. "I should really check up o-"

Naizen opened one eye to see Dot, still sitting in front of him.

"Wh-what?" the sheep stammered. "Dot? How are you still here?"

Dot shook her head and shrugged.

"Hmm, something seems to be stopping me from waking you up." Naizen sighed again. "In which case, you are stuck here for a while."

Dot stood up and walked towards the stream, feeling strangely calm about the situation. "So what do we do, then?"

"There is not much we can do, really."

Dot dipped her hands in the cold stream water, as a thought sprang to her mind. "Maybe you could answer me something. You know your rapier?"

"Licht der Freiheit?"

"Yeah. It disappeared when I arrived in the labyrinth. I thought you might know something about that."

"Oh, you do not need to worry about Licht der Freiheit. It will return to you when you most need it."

"Hmm." Dot splashed some of the water onto her face. "That's maybe all I had on my mind to ask you at the moment."

"Well, while you are here," Naizen said, "perhaps I can help you with learning some spells from your book. I notice you have not had a chance to practice any."

"That'd be good. Something to do, at least."

"I can help you with at least this much. Now, a basic fire spell is..."

***

Some time later, Dot woke with a start. Wherever she was, it certainly wasn't the kitchen anymore.

More than a day or so later, here it is.

Bleh. I don't much like this post. It somehow feels rushed, even though it took me a while to write. I don't know. I'm just not particularly happy with it.

As for the ending, I'll leave it up to others as to whether they're still in the labyrinth, or slept through to the end of the round. Fun!
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

How's it goin, Fogel?

I don't particularly have anything I want to add to the story before Mato's death, just checking up and maybe reminding people that this exists.

Would you want one of us to write the death post?

Edit: I missed the part where you said the round would end by the end of the month. I just thought we were waiting on a death post. =P
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

That was more a prediction than a deadline and I actually forgot I said it, but if you're feeling done for the round then that's fair.

Anyone's free to take up the deathpost if they have a thought for it; otherwise, I can try to put something together and combine it into the round transition. Whatever works for you all.

My main concern is letting people introduce or resolve things they want to do before the end of the round, but if there's nothing in particular, then the deathpost is open for whoever would like to write it. Just try to give Mato a memorable send-off, I feel they've earned it.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

If nobody else minds, I think I'd like to do the death post. If somebody else really wants to do it instead it can be worked out though.

In any case, if I have clearance to do the post I'll do it, let's say, in a week. Give anyone else time to do stuff if they like.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

Just sent out a PM to everyone to make sure they're aware of recent developments, except sedron because I was limited to five recipients and I didn't really say anything that wasn't noted in here.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by sedron »

Loraihosh... Acanani... Li'itho...

Rusto furiously scribbled in his notebook, trying his best to ignore the primal fury that slowly swelled within him. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer at this rate.

A bestial roar shook the foundations on the labyrinth. The direcarrier, with a newly found sense of anger at the annoying (and apparently quite spicy,) creatures on its back, began violently shaking its body in an attempt to dislodge them. Twre quickly found himself flung onto the floor beneath the beast, while Rusto and Mato swiftly grabbed onto a crag in the direcarrier's stony back to stay put. Tobasco had already made its way onto the beast's coiling neck, aiming to give it another taste of its superheated sauce.

Twre landed with a slight splash and a loud grunt as he felt a surge of pain shoot up his spine. He recoiled from the harsh impact, but quickly righted himself to see the monster now preoccupied with a bottle of hot sauce sliding up its gargantuan neck. From his distance, Twre could see that Mato and Rusto were again standing on its back. The priest was surrounded by a holy light as they appeared to be muttering some sort of incantation. Rusto ripped a page from his notebook and slammed it into the rocky surface under his feet. The stone of the beast's back cracked and shattered, sending shards of rock flying in all directions.

The direcarrier let out a horrible noise, closer to a shriek than a roar, as its legs gave out and the entire thing fell to the ground. While Mato was able to balance themselves during the decent, the resistance leader lost his footing and landed face-first on a large chunk of rock still jutting from the direcarrier's back.


Loraihosh... Acanani... Li'itho...

"*Hic!* Ooh, that'sh gotta hurt." Zunushuyum was suddenly floating beside Twre, eating from a large container of popcorn and watching the fray.

"I've never seen a direcarrier taken down before." A wave of relief began to wash over Twre, until the genie opened his mouth again.

"Oh no, *Hic!* it's not done." He pointed at the other end of the monster, where its head was rising and attempting to shake off Tobasco. "Beshidesh, the direcarrier'sh not the one who you've gotta worry about."

Loraihosh... Acanani... Li'itho...

Rusto stood up and felt some sort of warm liquid seeping down his face. He put his hand to his cheek and noticed blood. The terrible bloodlust was in full force.

Loraihosh... ACANANI... LI'ITHO!

He grabbed his knife and lunged forward.

-----

Tears slowly rolled down Mato's face. They didn't exactly know why, but they were in a lot of pain. Was this a dream? A memory? Despite being trained long ago to notice when they were dreaming, Mato couldn't tell. They couldn't concentrate on much except the pain as they hobbled through the woods and into the yard of their childhood home.

It was eerily quiet. No children playing. No chefs hustling in the kitchen behind the window. It seemed as if Mato was alone. They looked to the ground and picked up a tiny wooden sword. Who's blood was on this sword?

The door opened and a figure walked out to meet the Warrior-Priest. They couldn't make out any details, as the world around them was getting foggier.


"What happened, child?" Mato couldn't quite recognize the voice.

"I... don't know." They ran their hand along their beard and took a seat on the stoop. "I got hurt in the woods."

The figure reached out to Mato, somehow caring but cold all at once, and examined the stab wound that punctured their throat. "What did we say about playing in the woods?"

"I wasn't."

"Don't lie to us." The figure opened the back door and stepped into the house.

Surely they will be back in a second to help, Mato thought. They won't let me die.

They won't.


...

RIP, Mato. I tried my best to give Mato's send-off justice.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by pholtos »

I kept forgetting to mention this but that three word chanting thing that's been posted this round is sorta hard to read.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Sorel »

Rest in peace, o elderly adversary.

So now 2 have kicked the bucket... let's see how the rest turns out.
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Say, what would your guys think about creating a little skype group for discussing stuff?
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Joseph Staleknight »

I don't usually Skype so I might not actually join up with you there, but I don't mind if we try to discuss this turn of events anyway.

Speaking of which, I should probably start writing some sort of section to help bring this round to a close.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Mikkofier »

pholtos wrote:
I kept forgetting to mention this but that three word chanting thing that's been posted this round is sorta hard to read.
That's the point! It's a mysterious sound somewhere in the back of Rusto's mind.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Two: Cursed Labyrinth

Post by Dragon Fogel »

I guess I should get the new round together. Expect that a little bit later today.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Dragon Fogel »

The second round had been quite interesting, even more than Methuselah had expected.

As she had hoped, several of the contestants had picked up distinctive curses. There were even some new faces among them.

They'd even had some new ideas about challenging her. That was exciting. It was interesting enough that she hadn't bothered scrying past Rusto's pathetic sigil - surprises were rare enough in her life that she wasn't going to spoil a perfectly good one.

At the same time, she was running this battle for a particular reason. She had universes to conquer. And that would mean confronting other interdimensional empires.

The Absolute Order came to mind, of course. But she wasn't ready to antagonize them yet. Better to start small. A small empire, just a few universes strong. Large enough to be inconvenient for greater powers to invade on a whim, but small enough that they would take no notice if it fell to another force.

A quick search through the multiverse brought her to the world she was looking for. A dozen universes - a drop in an infinite sea, but still significantly more universes than she controlled right now.

And, most importantly, it was highly centralized. The government was entirely based in one universe, and sent orders through interdimensional communications to the outer territories. If Methuselah seized control of that single universe, the others wouldn't even notice anything had changed so long as the directives kept arriving.

All that was necessary was to deal with the current leadership. And surely the chaos of a battle to the death would serve as a perfect distraction while Methuselah made her own arrangements.

This time, she didn't even bother returning the contestants to her throne room beforehand. It would just make the transport too traceable.

Satisfied, Methuselah spoke, and her voice echoed through the cursed corridors of the Labyrinth.

"Well, the round is over. Mato's out, just so you're all on the same page. Overall review... still not enough actual fighting for my tastes, but definitely an improvement. So I'll give you a little bit of a break."

There was a sudden flash of light, and the surviving contestants found themselves surrounded by cameras, microphones, and stage lights.

"Welcome to Channel Twenty-Nine, broadcaster of choice for eleven universes. Their channel has it all - news, sports, sitcoms, game shows, movies, government propaganda. Oh, wait, I already mentioned that one."

She chuckled slightly. Having a captive audience meant you could laugh at your own jokes.

"As I was saying. It's a variety channel, and it draws an enormous audience. So I thought I'd pitch them my idea for a new series, in which six beings from various universes fight in a battle to the death. It's going to be very realistic. Why, you'd swear they were actually trying to kill each other!"

Methuselah's voice faded out, leaving the surviving contestants to work out the details of their new surroundings.

Some notes about the new round.

You're in a TV studio. What Methuselah isn't telling you is that it's also effectively the government of the surrounding universes. You're free to come up wit any details you want regarding how they actually run things, pretty much all I'm giving you is that they broadcast laws and the like over the TV station.

In addition, Methuselah has plans to take over the place herself. Just how relevant that is to what you end up doing is also up to you; if you'd collectively prefer not to have her directly intervening, she could just be hanging back and letting you soften up their defenses or something. And, of course, you could completely mess up her plans either way; I have no problem with this scheme of hers ending in failure.

I didn't say this explicitly in the text, but you don't all have to start in the same place in the studio, or even all on sets.

I'm assuming that Twre's djinn friend is coming along for the ride, but that's ultimately up to Joseph. I certainly don't have a problem with him sticking around.

As for Dot, how much of Methuselah's speech she heard is up to Elgadika. She could have woken up when it started, partway through, or only after it was done.

I think that covers everything I had to note about it. Let me know if you have any questions.

Looking forward to what you all come up with!
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by pholtos »

Wow that's a pretty wacky place. Gonna take some thought on this one. You gonna do the whole PM review thing like you did with round 1?
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Dragon Fogel »

I plan to, yeah. It may take me a while again. Still, should be fun to reread the last round.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by july »

Just want to say that I like the idea of a Skype group. Discussion with multiple people via PM has always felt a little annoying.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Joseph Staleknight »

For the past few minutes, Twre simply stared at nothing while he processed what had happened. True, it was an amazing sight to behold an entire direcarrier being immobilized with nothing more than a single shockwave. Yet things quickly went sour the minute Rusto--the one to take it down in the first place--lost it and unceremoniously plunged his knife into Mato's throat. It was so sudden that he couldn't even use his time magic to react. While he was aware that they did terrible things in the past, somehow he had come to understand the warrior-priest's motives even if he didn't believe in them. He had absolutely no idea what Methuselah was planning through all these trials, but given how desperately they wanted to end her life it had to be something with massive consequences.

"Oh, Twre!"

His eyes slowly began to refocus, and the blurs became more sharply defined as he noticed them. Soon, he found himself in front of a mirror, its reflective surface showing his appearance in impartial clarity. It was then that he found the labyrinth did quite a number on him; his hair had been twisted every which way and might have grown an extra inch or so, he was developing a 5-o-clock shadow on his blistered and bruised face, and most distressingly his clothes were torn and still dripping wet from his getting launched into a pool of water. He could feel his spine hurting even now from the impact, though thankfully it was not a severe injury. As he continued to look at the mirror, he could swear he saw some shadows to the side. Were they his...? No, it must be a trick of the light.

"Twwwre!"

He pulled away from the mirror and saw the big round lightbulbs adorning its frame, each as gaudily bright as the rest. Huh? This is a dressing room mirror? Taking a closer look at what it reflected, he could make out several others of its kind, each equally adorned with huge lightbulbs that looked comical. He had only seen backstage dressing rooms in the movies and he could swear those lightbulbs were out of place even here. As it stood, though, the place was eerily clean and well-kept save for the hangers of costumes of all shapes, sizes and colors simply left out in the open. He could've sworn there was a semi-accurate recreation (as most theatrical costumes are) of Lushaveric armor among that menagerie, leather and all.

Before he could discern the state of the dressing room further, however, he felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned around cautiously...and barked, backing into the vanity table set against the mirror. It was Zunushuyum, and for whatever reason he was now wearing the dark blue robes of the infamous pekubaoa Tapanako, even going so far as to hide his legs with a fake sea serpent's tail. Poorly at that. "What...I...why are you still here?!"


"Ah, Mashter--hic!--Twre! As long as you're shtill alive an' fightin', I will alwaysh be at your shide!"

Twre, disbelieving his eyes, checked his right arm. To his consternation, the titanium band was still there. "Okay, thanks, that's great and all, but I really can handle myself if that helps! And...what's with that Tapanako costume, anyway?"

Zunushuyum's smile faltered as he tried to process the name Twre mentioned.
"Tapana--hic!--Tapana-who now?"

"Tapanako? The dreaded king of the pekubaoa?" His explanation was met with the genie's silent bemusement. "The mer-catfolk of Barbatonic mythology?" Again, confused silence. Defeated, Twre probed, "...Did you just pick that costume out because it looked unique?"

Zunushuyum began grinning again.
"Oh, yesh! Noshin' like a fanshy coshtume to complement your robes! And the cat ears don't hurt either." As he concluded, he stroked the fake cat ears that came optionally with the costume.

Before Twre could object further, however, the door of the dressing room opened with a mighty swing. Both orc and genie turned to face the incoming person, a dun-colored seal in flashy business clothes and thick glasses. He greeted the two people without so much as a pause.
"Mr. Egelmath! Mr. ...Zushum..."

"Zunushuyum, if you--hic!--pleashe!"

"Ah, understood! Now then, both of you must come at once and--." He stopped and took a second glance at Twre. Distraught, he backed up. "Oh, no, no, no, Mr. Egelmath! You can't go onstage with a sorry excuse for clothes like this! Come here this instant!" With a firm grip the seal grabbed Twre by his shoulder and dragged him to the changing rooms.

"W-wait!" Twre protested. "Who are you and how do you know my name?"


"Simple, Mr. Egelmath! A Mrs. Methuselah pitched to us fine folks at Channel 29 a reality TV series about six contestants from random parts of the omniverse--you included--participating in a game of murder, mayhem, and more genres than you can shake a stick at! Maybe a Public Government Announcement or seven! And considering the drivel that passes for entertainment at other channels we're more than happy to realize her idea! Trust me, it'll keep people entertained enough to want to be law-abiding citizens! Oh, and the name's Sed Nables. Pleasure to meet you! Now come on, we're going to go live in five minutes and I don't want to disappoint our audience with something slovenly!"

Twre couldn't grasp most of the fast talk the seal--Sed Nables--delivered, but he did hear that name again. Methuselah. Once again she had thrown the survivors into another deadly match, but this time there were going to be throngs of people watching live on TV. As Sed took him to get changed into some drier clothes, he started to wonder if all of this was beginning to feel like some extended coma-nightmare. Did he crash his car on the way back from work? Or was this more real than he wanted to admit? Either way, all he had now was Zunushuyum's reassurance as they disappeared through the doorway.

"I'm rootin' for you, Twre! Break a--hic!--break a leg!"
Might as well get this round going. This mediacracy is going to be quite a sight to behold.

By the way, Sed Nables will speak in the color #D88686. You wouldn't believe how long I spent looking for a color that would be distinct from the others so far.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Dragon Fogel »

And here I thought Methuselah was joking!

This is a very intriguing way to kick things off, nice job.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Mikkofier »

The rage faded and Rusto knelt before the lifeless body of Mato, knife in hand. It wasn't the cursed knife, so the death was relatively "clean".
Even though he didn't fully recall his thoughts after the rage took over, he knew why he had done it.
I never trusted you.
Even when you offered assistance in escaping this madness, deep down I didn't... couldn't trust you.
Not after what you did to Cardboard City, to Naizen...

He recalled someone else with grand plans to achieve freedom, at a great cost.
He wore his mask.
Funny thing, if Methuselah had picked the real... original Rusto... you wouldn't be lying there. Who knows, you two could've gone head to head with her, way back in Cardboard City.
He noticed the space around him becoming hazy and Mato's corpse faded away. Methuselah's voice started talking. He had almost forgotten about her and felt longing for the time he had spent not thinking about her.

Loraihosh... Acanani... Li'itho...
Rusto heard the voices again, but this time they didn't come from within his mind.
They were coming from around him.

"Ah, so glad to not have to do that anymore. The chanting becomes tiresome after a while."
Rusto stood up and saw a chaotic mess of shapes floating among the haze. After shifting around erratically for a while, the mess eventually took the form of a pillar of skulls stretching into infinity.
"Ah, much better!" It spoke, the mouths on the skulls moving in unison, yet producing a sound like it came from a single speaker.
"Right, let's get to business: Loraihosh Acanani, a humble Li'itho, or 'Demon' in your language, of Eternal Chaos, At your service!"
The pillar swayed forward precariously, then snapped back upright. Rusto, at the mention of the name of the chaotic demon horde, tried reaching for his rapier but discovered that he couldn't move at all.
"What were you doing in my head, demon?" Rusto shouted at the pillar.

"Hey now, watch with the attitude! You invoked for ancient spirits to heal yourself and I answered. You see, us of the Eternal Chaos aren't like those uppity tinmen of the Absolute Order, who sprang out from some freak accident in some freak continuum. We come from the primal chaos, from which all the infinite continuums, or universes, of the Multiverse originate. There's a bit of us in every universe. As for why I stuck around your head, that cave was a painfully boring place, nothing to do! So when you showed up, with your ritual, I imprinted myself in your brain. I couldn't do much more than repeat my name, initially, so I needed you to perform a sacrifice for me. I noticed your anger swelling at the thought of that priest back there, so I amplified it and, after a few false starts, presto, a sacrifice and me with enough power to hold this conversation!"
The voice of Methuselah was droning on about... a broadcasting channel? Must be that radio thing I'd been hearing about.
"What are you going to do now?"

"Me? Nothing. All I wanted was some variety and you certainly gave it to me. But the Eternal Chaos itself would like for either you or Dot to win this game. See, we're all about freedom, the EC and me, so we figured that it'd be interesting to see what a completely innocent soul or a self-proclaimed 'freedom fighter' would do with a single wish of anything. Y'know, for academic purposes. That plan your group huddle had there, about summoning the tinm- Absolute Order guys was pretty cool too, if only to mess with Methuselah a bit..."
Rusto had some questions in his mind, but then he felt his limbs moving as if in a dream.
"Oh, it looks like it's time to end our conversation. I've taken the liberty to put your body on autopilot for the duration of our little talk, but it looks like I can't hold it much longer. So, to recap: Make sure either you or Dot wins, feel free to kill the others. If anyone asks, say that you were possessed by a crazy cave spirit but that you're all better now. Also, you're currently being talked to by a walrus, apparently about-"

"-some new clothes, you look like you crawled out of a ditch" the walrus, dressed in a t-shirt and baseball cap, was talking to Rusto.
"Lucky for you, we happen to have a surplus on dark, vaguely old-timey clothes, wide brimmed hats and cloaks. All those fantasy films and series, y'see..."
They were in a room with many racks of clothing, ranging from the mundane to the garish and outlandish.
Rusto, who was rather taken aback (though not as much as he might have been before the game) by the talking walrus, was going to ask about what was going on, when the door opened and suit wearing seal came in, followed by...
Twre.
An awkward silence followed.
I've decided to not use a dedicated text color for "npc's". Also, the title of this song is relevant.
EDIT:
Fixed a typo
Last edited by Mikkofier 8 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Joseph Staleknight
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Joseph Staleknight »

A brief moment later, Sed and Twre were at the door of a changing room. It was thick and made of painted mahogany, with the words that presumably meant CHANGING ROOM etched upon the surface and lined with gold foil. As they stood by, Sed began briefing the orc on the program the latter was to participate in. "So you see, Mr. Egelmath, according to Mrs. Methuselah's pitch the show will entail the six of you being placed in an arena with many hazards and traps along with some weapons to gain the advantage in the heat of battle. Furthermore, each round will end once someone gets killed off. The thing is, however, we're a studio that practically rules the local multiverse, and people tend to get uppity when they see something too shocking for TV, you know what I'm talking about? To keep everyone happy we've got to make some concessions to keep the contestants safe and sane. So when someone gets 'killed', we mean that they'll just be removed from the competition no worse for wear. Trust us, you don't build a mediacracy on snuff productions, no matter what the critics say. Oh, but I've been rambling for too long! We've got to get you into some nicer clothes!"

Then, Sed opened the door. Inside were even more costumes, plenty of which Twre was certain nobody would be caught dead wearing in public. Perhaps on the catwalk or at a fan convention, but never in public. In the middle of the room was a walrus wearing a baseball cap and a tie-dye T-shirt who was chatting with...Rusto.

The two men's eyes met each other awkwardly. Blessed Hallysreis, it's him, the orc thought. He was especially worried about what was happening to the resistance leader, the murder of the warrior-priest still fresh in his mind. If the labyrinth caused Twre grief, it must've caused Rusto mortifying terror. Twre mustered a few words to the masked man. "Rusto...are you all right?"


"Twre?" Rusto was just as surprised to meet him, the only evidence of his injuries being the sorry state of his clothes. The last thing he remembered of the orc before that...Demon...took over his mind was that he had been tossed off of the direcarrier towards a rocky demise. Nevertheless, the look on his eyes was plainly concerned for his well-being. Remembering what Loraihosh insisted he claim, Rusto answered Twre's worries. "I'm sorry. It's just...there was this crazy cave-dwelling spirit who..."

At that moment, however, Sed interrupted the conversation. "Pardon me, Mr. ...Scoundrelous? Llow--?"

"Rusto is fine!"

"Ah, okay, Mr. Rusto! I'll keep that in mind. Anyway,..." Sed turned to the walrus. "So, um, Liggs! Bad timing? Sorry I interrupted you when you were getting Mr. Rusto ready."

"Oh, no, it's fine, Boss!" the walrus responded. "In fact, the timing couldn't have been better! We need to discuss accommodations for the more...unique...contestants for this show."

"Oh, of course! I guess we do need to get those three sorted out quickly." With that, Sed turned back to the two others. "Okay, I've got a few things to discuss with Liggs for a moment. We're on a tight schedule here, though, so please pick out some decent clothes by the time we get back! We don't want to delay this thing any further even if we have to!" No sooner did he finish than he and his associate were already out the door.

The room now to themselves, Rusto continued the conversation with Twre. "Anyway, there was this crazy cave-dwelling spirit who possessed me and caused all that grief back at the labyrinth. Thankfully he's gone now, so I shouldn't be losing my mind any time soon." Even as he said those words, Rusto couldn't be sure that he was telling the truth. What did the Endless Chaos want with either his or Dot's victory, at least other than to see what they would wish for? A means to their ends? While Rusto prided himself on being a champion of freedom, he had to wonder at what point it stopped being "freedom" and started becoming hedonistic carnage. On the other hand, the Absolute Order were no better. To think that their agents' leader, the former Lord-Mayor of Lynd, and the tyrannical king from Naizen's dimension were so alike as to essentially be the same person all along...

Twre, of course, was not privy to any of Rusto's thoughts. Yet at the same time he suspected that there was something he was hiding beneath the stoic mask. "Okay," he responded, "considering everything that's happened so far I believe you. But I'm still pretty worried. You remember what happened when I got drunk, right?"

Rusto thought back to the moment when he first encountered the orc's drunken persona. The embarrassing ineloquence, the frantic actions and pacing he witnessed Twre go through, the flashbacks and flashforwards that confused and frightened him.
Stranger's cavities, those visions. If he could do that inebriated, he's just as fearsome as I was possessed. "I remember all too clearly," he summarized. "Those were not our best moments."

"I know." A brief silence followed as the two pondered each other's fallibilities. Then, Twre spoke up again. "Listen, I'll tell you what. We need to watch each other's backs if we want to survive to the end of this thing."

"Agreed. And we need to find a way to take down Methuselah, especially now that Mato is out of the picture." His heart felt heavy as he spoke those words. He couldn't lie about loathing the warrior-priest for what they did back then, yet until he killed them he could've sworn they had a decent plan to stop her even if it meant working with his enemies. Nevertheless, the past was just that.

"So, I guess we should consider ourselves allies at the moment?"


"Allies sounds about right." To confirm that, Rusto offered his hand to Twre, who took it without hesitation.

Just then, a PA turned on and a pleasant feminine voice made an announcement.
"Coming up next on Channel 29: It's the multiverse premiere of the gripping new series 'Grand Battle', wherein contestants from all over reality as we know it engage in a battle to the death for the chance to win fame, glory, and the wish of a lifetime! Don't miss out on this exciting program!"

As if a spell were broken, Twre and Rusto immediately snapped to attention and realized they hadn't even started finding good clothes to replace their old, worn and torn ones. "Shoot, we've got to get dressed quick! I don't want those guys to make us wear something gaudy at a moment's notice!"

Rusto shivered at the thought.
"Neither do I. Let's not make them impatient!" Without further delay, they scrambled around the racks of clothes for outfits close to what they usually wore, the ever-present dread of being forced into the most outlandish costumes possible on their minds.
Oh, Sed, if only you knew what Mrs. Methuselah has in store for you and your channel...

I'll leave it to the others what he and the walrus think of Fishy, Chibos/Nuihari and Tobasco. This update's already long enough as is.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by sedron »

CRSSSSSH!

Tobasco found itself flung into a dish rack, shattering the glassware on impact. The bottle jumped up to find itself next to a three-compartment sink in a pristine kitchen. Everything was sparkling clean. As it turned to inspect the area further, Tobasco caught sight of a huge, humanoid bear-creature in full chef's garb, staring bewildered at the hot sauce. The bewildered look quickly turned to anger as the bear noticed the shards of glass, which were previously high-quality, expensive dishes, but were now scattered into the sink and onto the floor.


"GODS DAMMIT, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" The bear said in a gruff voice closer to a roar that a genuine scream. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THOSE COST?" Tobasco decided it wasn't going to stand around to see how this played out, and darted for the door.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, YOU GET BACK HERE!" But it was too late. The cook had no chance of catching up to the fastest hot sauce in the world. Furious, she walked over to the intercom on the wall and slammed the button.

"One of those animated condiment bottles just broke into my kitchen and broke some of our finest glassware, and it just escaped. Be on the lookout for a really fast bottle of hot sauce, and I'll be alerting security momentarily."

Seconds later, the intercom lit up and a voice crackled from within. "We read you loud and clear, Jera."
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by pholtos »

Psst. Uhh any eta on those last round review type things?
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Dragon Fogel »

pholtos wrote:
Psst. Uhh any eta on those last round review type things?
Oh, right, sorry! I've had a number of other things on my mind and forgot about that. I'll do a reread this weekend so I can get started on those.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Dragon Fogel »

Just a quick update: I've been working on rereading the last round, but I've had trouble giving it my full attention. It might be a while before I get back to you all with feedback.

I will say that just going on my reread so far, I'm generally pleased with everyone's writing as a whole, and looking forward to what you can all come up with in this round.
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by pholtos »

How goes that reread? :3
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Re: Grand Battle - Round Three: Channel Twenty-Nine

Post by Dragon Fogel »

pholtos wrote:
How goes that reread? :3
I keep meaning to do it and then I get distracted by video games or something. Main issue has been that when I have looked at it, I've been having trouble concentrating on it enough to pick out where there are still flaws. I've reread all the posts, but I haven't picked out the moments I want to address as either particularly good or particularly in need of work.

I'll see if I can gather some thoughts together on it tonight, though.
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