afflictionmods | CYOA

I think it's safe to hit now and ask questions later.

[ and hey! if something that chongyun says triggers them to get their powers back then sabo isn't going to complain because it sure is nice to be able to let loose. or, well, feel a bit better about the situation. ...and now to test just how flammable everything is. (shame that those camellia petals are going to go up in flames.)

hope that the bigger bear that's after him and marcus is ready to take a blast of fire. (also please let chongyun not be anywhere near it.) he won't do a follow up for it just yet; he's sure marcus would like to get some input. ]

[ Oh, right. Sabo's power is fire. Hien isn't particularly wanting a punching bag as the others probably do, so he just sits back, his arm turns into some shadowy wispy monster with just a stretchable neck and jaws at the end.

Sabo can go wild, since he'll protect Chongyun from the flames. The monster arm is sure having a blast eating leftover stray flames that come this way.

Also, someone's gotta protect the badger. ]

[Well, if this reality isn't real and is already breaking, what's breaking it a little more in the name of a good cause? Marcus is going to see if he can't do just that by concentrating on the image of his gunblade in his mind and just plain trying to will it into reality via sheer stubbornness.

Hey, it's worth a try!]

[ Congrats, Marcus! You have one gunblade.

Before the badger can answer Chongyun, Sabo's already powering up and Hien's got his arm friend. It turns it snout to look at the party but it stays situated behind Hien. ]

Hit now, ask later. I'd agree with that. Go for it.

[ The bear pounces at Chongyun and roars, bearing its teeth and getting ready to Chomp, while the larger creature -- another monster bear -- stands on its hind legs and takes a wide swipe at Marcus and Sabo. Hien can play fire catcher?! ]

[ A swing of his blade to deflect the pounce, he wields the claymore as easily as his breathes. The jagged ends of the blade along with its wickedly sharp edge is enough of a warning on its own, but if the bear seeks to pounce further, it's exposed belly will be in for some pain.

Regardless of the smaller bear does, Chongyun's already on the move, dashing to the midpoint between the two fights. A touch of frost - his jumps and his claymore, blessed with his Spirit Blade, slams down on the ground with enough force to cause some minor tremors. Layers of frost explode, creating a small arena of circular Cryo power waiting to infused itself into all their attacks.

Congrats, you get Cryo and you get Cryo and you get Cryo - but only if you're on Team Chongyun. Sorry, bears. ]

[ well, unless the bear has any kind of special talent that will allow it to touch fire, sabo won't bother to dodge out of the way of the swipe trusting that he'll just go intangible and whatever gets struck to turn into flames. even if tries to take off his head, it'll just disappear momentarily before reforming.

being made of fire has its perks. ...even if this means he can't ever swim again. if anything, he'll be momentarily concerned about the combination of fire and ice but once it seems to be going okay, he'll pull his pipe from under his coat (BECAUSE WHERE ELSE CAN IT COME FROM) and be more than happy to allow the two boys with their big swords to do most of the heavy lifting.

though he will take a swing at the larger bear's legs with his pipe. with every intent to both knock it over and burn it. ]

[ Oh. Chongyun can use ice.

...

Hien is thankfully in his (former) element, so he offers support to Chongyun by trying to make the ground slippery near the bear by having the monster strike near its feet. Since Chongyun has the power of ice, he should be fine with sliding on the ice, right? He should be used to it, right?? Well, one can hope. Hien continues to use his monster arm to devour anything in between them so there's no crossfire. ]

Lemme know if you want further help, Chongyun.

[ Hien thinks Chongyun will be fine, but. You know. ]

[EEEEEEY GUNBLADE. Gonna be using that now to just launch a swift barrage of attacks (perhaps with an added ice enhancement thanks to Chongyun) right at the bear in the hopes of knocking it off-kilter enough for one of the others to land a finishing blow.

And if not? He's a tank, he can totally take the incoming damage while protecting the others.]

[ The smaller monster pounces further and does get a good gash on its belly. It yells in pain before it recoils, growls, and then moves to claw at Chongyun's feet to try to deliver some gashes in return.

The larger one is a tanky boi though, and it does manage to take the hits from Sabo and Marcus. (Dear god, Marcus, that is so many attacks.) It is certainly much worse for wear but it is not done yet. It aims its ire at Marcus specifically and charges at him, leaping upwards to go for a downwards slash with its claws.

Hien can continue to play fire and ice mediator. ]

I've got this, thank you, Hien!

[ If it's trying to aim low, then it's in the perfect position to get stabbed by a couple of Cryo Spirit Blades that he brings down in quick succession after a quick-dash backwards. He quickly follows up with his 1-2-3 combo that consistently knocks back any enemies in its way due to the hefty weight and swing of the claymore. ]

[ that is so many attacks marcus. just. so many attacks and sabo's had quite of a bit of "fun" during his romp in ace's memory lane so he's more than fine to keep letting marcus have his way especially since he has fully drawn its ire and will be fine to keep play a more ""supportive"" role as he rockets across the ground in a fiery burst to offer himself as a distraction for the tanky boi so that marcus can have his slash-free opening.

...though he will have a it of "fun" and aim to grab a hold of the big boi's paw and hold it in place. or break its arm. one of the two if not both. sometimes you get your grip strength back and there's such a strong desire to just be like "tee hee oops" about the whole thing. ]

[ If Chongyun got it, then he got it. Hien looks back and forth between the two fights and then looks at the badger. He's still focusing on the fire and ice mediation. His arm has a life of its own. ]

Hey. Whose portion of the selves are these? The boss at Camellia?

[Marcus is just having a field day here... he's been limited all this time while he's been stuck here between his loss of powers and lack of weapon, so being able to go all out is like being given an entire sack full of candy on Halloween! LET TANKY BOI DO HIS THING, he'll keep it busy if you want to go for the kill! His stats ARE all in physical defense, after all...! MIGHT AS WELL MAKE USE OF THEM.

Firing off a few more shots at this big bear, have fun with that, buddy!]

[ Chongyun's combo and icicles are incredibly powerful, and the small bear succumbs to the frost and the swings of his blade. The beast ends up simply fading out, though, and disappears into the atmosphere.

As for Sabo and Marcus...well. There truly is no surviving this either. It at least takes a little while so they can properly get all of that pent up anger and frustration out. The bear fights back and leaves them both with a handful of cuts, none that are too deep but definitely should be bandaged; but it ends up growling before it collapses and also fades into the atmosphere.

The badger has been behind Hien this whole time. ]

...I'm not sure who those two were supposed to be.

[ The smaller one had a purple tint to its fur, reminiscent of a certain employee... and the larger one had a blonde tint. Regardless, they're gone now. ]

...But you have my thanks. I...have certainly had better dreams.

[ Well, that was satisfying. Not just the fight, but the way Chongyun's companions held their own. He scans for any remaining danger before putting away his weapon the old fashioned way. ]

I think this is a rather strong argument for getting our powers back. [ He nods at the badger and then smiles at the other three. Good job, team! ]

Edited 2022-07-05 01:42 (UTC)

[ the purple is a clue for sabo but he says nothing about it (and the yellow is unknown to him because he doesn't actually know the existence of gregory). if anyone wants to open their mouths and make their observations more apparent, he will welcome it. just not him.

instead he'll give chongyun a smile and a nod. ]

We'll make a mess of things if we're allowed to have them back, that's for certain.

[ what kind of mess? who knows, but sabo will be rubbing at the cuts on him and patting himself off generally. it was nice. or. ""nice""??? ]

Dreams are a little more interesting if you have good people in it.

[ Hien knows of Gregory's existence, but he wouldn't think to match the blond tint the bear has with him, because he doesn't match the purple portion with Kyle either. He has other things to think about in his usual "no thoughts, head empty" brain of his.

His arm returns to normal. ]

Want some healing, you two?

[ Maybe Marcus won't know, but Sabo does. Though it's up to him if he wants to risk it...

Hien is not a healer. ]

Gonna have to agree with Chongyun there.

[He's in a little bit of pain, but he's had much worse! He can deal. By now he's used to it, and compared to last Saturday? This is honestly nothing.]

... that depends on the healing. Is this an "I know what I'm doing" sort of healing or a "this might possibly work if I'm lucky" sort of healing?

Edited 2022-07-05 02:09 (UTC)

...

[ What a group...!!! The badger doesn't say much, simply watching them interact before it lets out a dry chuckle of its own. ]

That's not something I have any control over, but perhaps the other part of me will decide it so in the future. It's a matter of when, at this point, since you are all to go home as promised.

If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask now. Otherwise, I'll be sending all of you back to...reality, I suppose.

There are things Lorelei cannot tell us. [ Hence the "don't trust them" message that Chongyun took as permission for further retaliation against Camellia. ] What can you tell us now while we're here?

[ He doesn't have any specific questions, but he has a feeling there are things Lorelei wants or needs to tell them. Or at least... things she's more willing to divulge now that they've helped her with a bad dream and showed her their fighting spirit firsthand. ]

Ah, no thank you. I'm sure I'll be okay; they're minor.

[ ""minor""? either way, it'll be fine. it's nothing compared to what they went through for saturday and the last thing he needs is to things to go from okay to worse. or...being super okay that it turns back around and goes back to being bad again. ]

But to piggy-back off of Chongyun for a moment, perhaps a bit of a clearer picture of the ideals that you have abandoned?

[ because, well, given how things were crumbling but then stopped the more they began to speak...though that does remind him of something. he'll look down at his mark for a moment before crossing his arms. ]

Kiznaiver. Can you tell us anything about that word?

[ "Minor"... Anyway, gear turning sounds are heard and he manages to heal Marcus to the point that the cuts stop bleeding. The aching part of it still lingers though. ]

Is there any way to counter the pain sent through these wrist marks?

[Marcus nods his thanks to Hien with a slight smile before turning his attention back to the badger. Since this is now a Q&A session...]

Does anything that happens here affect reality? Yours or ours. I'd kinda like to know if I'm going to be going back home to a mess that's gonna need cleaning up.

...My memories are not entirely as clear as hers are, but... I will say that I am the person Lorelei longs to have back in her life. Her humanity, if you will. That being said, I don't believe she considers the experiment to be a mistake nor does she regret it, so make of that what you will. She certainly harbors ill will towards Camellia, also. That...is what most of this dream was comprised of.

[ Now, onto the Kiznaiver project: ]

That term – "Kiznaiver" – sounds familiar. I know she's acquainted with it, but what it means is all a blur. As such, I don't believe there's a way to counter the pain.

As for what will affect reality...well. None of the destruction should, that's for sure. This is a dream, after all. You might feel some pain when you wake up, however.

Which would be...now.

[ The badger starts to fade, as does the world around them. ]

I'll be going, now, and so will you. It's time to wake up.

[ And soon, everything fades into light. It's a bright one that shines on the four people inside of this "dream", sending them back to the real world - the waking world. ]

Edited 2022-07-06 06:00 (UTC)

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