985/A Scene of Little Import

A Scene of Little Import
Date of Scene:	17 November 2014
Location:	The Homeworld
Synopsis:	Seriously, we just played tabletop.
Cast of Characters:	2, 253, 455

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Psyber (253) has posed:
    One may wonder where this meeting is? It's in an inconsequential room that Psyber rented in an unimportant office building that would promise to be vacant on a Sunday. The room features a large meeting table with three seats around it. In the center of the table is a pizza, hot and fresh. Pepperoni and extra cheese, to be precise.

    In one corner of that room is a cooler, presumably filled with drinks. Psyber is sitting in one of the seats at the table, a briefcase in front of him and checking his watch. This is a very important meeting he has requested Samael make, and it certainly isn't going to turn into anything stupid and unexpected.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    There is a couch to the side, which Homura has shunted out of her hammerspace for comfort. She is lying on her back on it, holding a thick temporal theory book and reading from it. She's wearing pretty casual black and purple pants and a sweater, nothing too formal this time around. She has her glasses on and her hair is side-tailed by a red ribbon.

    #JustRegularFinalsAreComingUpStuff

Samael (455) has posed:
    Pizza! And soft drinks! Apparently, these were some of the items that could enact the cursed ritual to summon Samael. And so it seems that Psyber was successful as the girl appeared out of nowhere, touching down on the floor quite gracefully on a toe, before spinning around and beaming as she normally did.

    "Oh, so you did bring food!" she exclaimed, wandering over to the table, apparently not bothered with things like 'plates' and 'sitting down,' as she flipped open one of the boxes, unconcerned as to the opinions of anyone else. After taking a piece and quite quickly making it disappear in the space of a few seconds, she looked to Psyber and Homura, tilting her head.

    "So! Did you just want to share some pizza in a vacant office building, or did you have something else on your mind~?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Sammy! I'm so happy you could make it," Psyber says in a tone that is equal parts 'I'm happy to see you' and 'I'm actually annoyed by you'. We'll call that his Samael Voice from now on, "Actually, I did have some things on my mind! I wanted to know if you would..."

    Psyber flicks open the briefcase on the table. This part of his dumb plan was kept even from Homura, "Play some tabletop with us! I wrote the system myself. It should be pretty fun. I had a lot of time to work on it while I did my day job. It's called Weapons of Destiny."

    Psyber pulls out some bags of dice and a few folders with some rules, "I already made people characters." Psyber smiles to Homura, "Homura will be playing as Cyba, a powerful warrior with a magical sword that embodies justice and truth named Judginatrix."

    Psyber hands Samael a packet of papers, "You will play as this guy. He's a berserk swordfighter. He doesn't have one of the Weapons of Destiny. Instead, he was empowered by the Mysterious Others, the villains of the story. A rogue agent of theirs sometimes bestows incredible power with a terrible price on people. You can fill in his name, how he got that power, where he met that rogue agent. Just write it in with a pen."

    Psyber smiles, "And I'll be the storyteller!"

    He looks around, "Sounds fun, right? Any questions?"

    This is the most passive aggressive way he could think to ask Samael about this set of incidents.

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "What."

    It isn't Samael's appearance that makes Homura angle her book just right to get one eye to stare at Psyber, but the half-angel. No, Samael's appearance is pretty expected by now, she's gotten kind of but not entirely used to it.

    "There isn't a cause dire enough on this Earth or the next to make me pick up a roleplaying game after the absolutely awful experience of painting my skin grey, Psyber."

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Ooh? A game? I get how it is!" the girl said, after peering at the packet given to her. "But...hmm. I'll come up with a name later! I'll just call him Swordguy for now." she said, nodding to herself. Psyber may have also noticed that one of the bags of dice had already been swiped, and Samael had opened it and dumped all of them out in front of her.

    "So! What're we doing, then?" she asked, looking at Psyber expectantly as the dice clattered, hitting the table and going every which way. "You're running the game, right?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Okay, so since we all know that Homura is boring, she won't be joining us and I'll just dock her points off her grade this semester. I'm sure she won't mind getting a B," The greatest threat Psyber can give: Ruining a pristine 4.0 GPA.

    Psyber smiles at Homura charmingly after this and then takes out a DM Screen, "Oooohkay. Swordguy, since Cyba may show up later, you are just outside a graveyard in Rome," Psyber says in a more authoritative voice, "You just got your mysterious power recently. There are other people in the graveyard, they're here pursuing someone very dangerous. The Warrior Cyba is in this group, and you two have never met. The person being pursued into this graveyard makes the entire field go from light to dark in a flash. This is very dangerous for everyone involved," Psyber continues narrating, looking over the edge of the screen with bright red eyes.

    "The Darkness magnifies the darkness within, so keep that in mind when you dictate your character's actions. All characters playing."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Sigh."

    Homura snaps her book shut and stands up, and then sits around the table across from Psyber, next to Samael. She glances at the material provided, to see how much Psyber is pulling her leg.

    Social pressure and ramifications win once again.

    "Alright, alright."

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Wait, so what does that mean? If it's dark, my character should act weird?" Samael mused, before just shrugging. "Rome? A graveyard? So...why am I here? What can I do? Why should I care about any of this?" she put forward, placing her elbows on the table with a *THUNK* and staring directly at Psyber.

    "Whyyy? Why shouldn't I just go home and leave all those people to do their dangerous thing?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I don't know, Samael! That's what I'm asking you to tell me. You're roleplaying as someone besides yourself," Psyber says in a patient tone. He gives her a pleasant, if strained, smile, "These are the answers for your character. Why does he have mysterious power from the Others? How did he get involved in this mess? How did he meet the rogue agent?" Psyber asks her, staring her square back in the eyes when she thinks on the table and stares at him, "Put yourself in the Swordguy's head and then tell us how you got here! You're not Samael, you're Well-Meaning-Dark-Power-Swordguy!"

    Homura's sheet, on the other hand, is pretty much an expy of Psyber, as the name would imply. It has stats for Judginatrix, skills in guns and swords, humbly low Int scores but a decent Wisdom, Strength and Con. Definitely a combat splat instead of a thinky-one.

    "Cyba, you can take action any time you like, just tell us all what you're going to do on your turn," Psyber notes to Homura, rolling some dice behind his screen.

    Then he narrates: "The Evil Vampire Witch casts a spell and the dead begin to rise from their graves. They're swarming through the graveyard, making awful moans and shambling along in a most sinister manner."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    Seems simple enough.

    Though it seems obvious Psyber just wants Samael to say something. She reads reports, she knows things, although if it were her she'd just ask straight up. It's not like Samael is a liar, or so they can reasonably believe right now.

    "Can Cyba see Swordguy? Can I go hit on Swordguy? She has been doing this for a long time and love blooms on the battlefield, they say. There isn't a better place to find a soulmate."

    She supposes she can have some fun at Psyber's expense.

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Ahhh...so. Then, I want to go fight the dead, then! They should be easy to kill, shouldn't they?" Samael said, apparently starting to use her dice as impromptu marbles. With a flick of her finger, one of the polyhedral dice when flying with a *crack*, causing the die it impacted to go flying in a random direction.

    "And that is what it sounds like someone who has powers from the Others would do. Fight. It sounds right, doesn't it?" she said, her expression unchanging from her previous smile.

    "So that is what Swordguy will do! Fight the zombies, and then try to go after the witch!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber scowls a bit at Homura for making fun of him, "Cyba can see Swordguy once he runs in to fight the Zombies! Which he does right now with a..." Psyber looks at the die that Samael knocked around, "Sound success. Your power is active, you can feel the force of the Others washing over you, making you stronger, but you also feel violent and out of control from it. You go berserk."

    Psyber looks to 'Cyba' across the table, "The force of his arrival and transformation easily kills a dozen zombies with flying gravestones. You can see swordguy. He looks interesting, but you should remember that you're already involved in forlorn relationship with both a traitorous man named Eliot Darkman and a dashing blue-haired mage they call Mister Red. Plus the ancient old one Wastil seeks your heart." Wryly he stares at her.

    "The Darkness Field enhances Swordguys Other Powers, and the Judginatrix tells you that his power matches a known and dangerous agent named...Johnolun. Johnolun's power is very dangerous and your sword advises caution."

    He looks between Samael and Homura, "How will you two interact? And what will you do about the horde? The others are fighting it, but you could still help them."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Hm. I see. Cyba has allies there with her, correct? She can trust they'll handle the vampire, while she goes to handle the agent. It won't do to have an external factor plowing in. And if the agent isn't present, then it'll be good to know why Swordguy reeks of them."

    Homura glances at her sheet and then back at Psyber. "Cyba clears a path towards the incoming berserker through the undead to confront him and ask him who he is. There is a voice in her head telling her it would be a bad idea to bring someone else home but she'll ignore it."

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Going berserk is okay, because that is what is meant to happen. But what /should/ happen is that...well, fighting. Combat. That's what happens, you see! But the thing is...it shouldn't matter, since the Others' power is strong. Or maybe someone else stronger will come. We'll see, I guess! Because Swordguy isn't going to do anything but fight!"

    Samael looked towards Homura, doing another disappearing trick with her pizza. "So, it probably isn't going to be any use talking to him, because he won't! All he'll do is fight."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Homura is really busting his chops here about this topic, and he can't say too much to her about it, "Interesting moves on both your parts." Psyber says, rolling some nice, "None of the zombies have enough power to match up against Cyba, meaning it's more time than effort to get over there, and it's barely effort at all."

    Admittedly, he's also having fun running this tabletop for them because it's a fun way to find out information! Learning can be fun, you guys!

    "So Swordguy has a lot of power from the Others. And Judginatrix tells Cyba that she might need to use Ascension to match him," Psyber points at Homura's sheet, "That's detailed on Page 2."

    "This is because what Swordguy lacks in talent with fighting, he makes up for sheer durability. Wow is this guy tough! This battle is going to literally be unstoppable force and immovable object."

    Psyber grins at them both, "Call your attacks!"

    Psyber then sideglances to Samael, "Tell me. Have you figured out WHY the Rogue Agent gave Swordguy that power?"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "She'll just have to knock the berserk out of him then."

    Homura smiles innocently at Psyber. If she can make her play games she can tease him a bit. But this is probably the safe limit to stop at now, better not anger a teacher.

    "Alright. Cyba will use Ascension, and will try using one of these..." Shuffle shuffle. "Law-based smite powers on Swordguy, to test the waters. To see if there's still a mind in there or if it's the agent pulling the strings. Since it's obvious Swordguy won't back down."

Samael (455) has posed:
    A yawn. "Maybe because it would advance an agenda. Or maybe they did it because they felt sorry for them. Orr...no reason at all! Maybe they just wanted to see what would happen. Or they were bored. Any reason works, really!" said Samael, as she streeetched, tilting her chair back on its rear two feet.

    "There are a lot of reasons someone might give that kind of power. But it's pretty obvious what the end result would've been, isn't it?"

    Samael's smile got a little more toothy as she went on to describe her character's actions. "He doesn't need one, because he's that strong. He just needs to swing his sword, that's all."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I see." Psyber says to Samael simply, accepting Homura's sweet smile for what it is: He trained her way too well in busting chops and it's finally coming back on him. He's as proud of her as he is dismayed.

    "So. Here's where it gets weird. Swordguy is so tough that even your favorite and most powerful Law-Power only seems able to damage the power, not him." Psyber says to Homura, looking over at Samael, "So instead of your Health taking damage, your 'Remaining Other Power' takes damage instead, leaving your health pool untouched."

    "Your erratic strikes, Swordguy, are able to land a few hits. She can take health pool damage, but she has a LOT of health. And she regenerates a little each round, making her dangerous for a long fight. But Cyba is very practiced with a sword and her defense is able to stop your strongest melee attacks. Especially boosted by Ascension."

    "In the background, the others are having a very tense conversation and confrontation with the Witch. Mister Red looks on as his new..." He pauses, "Vassal seems very interested in killing the woman. Everyone seems to be distracted from the fight of Swordguy and Cyba."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Hm. I see. Cyba observes this, because she's experienced and can spot variations like that. If the power is diminishing but still out of control, then she needs to hit it hard. There won't be any worry of killing the person, so depleting their power in one strike doesn't have any inherent risks. Cyba'll tap into everything she has for one big hit, and try to force Swordguy to reciprocate."

    Then she looks between Psyber and Samael, crossing her arms. "This is such a roundabout way of asking someone a question. How long did it take you to prepare all this?"

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Well, it doesn't really matter, because, at the end of the day...nothing major happened, did it? Nobody even...well, people /did/ die, but not where anyone saw it." There was a yawn as Samael put her feet up on the table. "Nothing will happen and everyone's fine, and everyone knows how this will end!"

    The dice went up in the air as her feet hit the table, and the girl nibbled on another piece of pizza. "But if it did go that way...well, Swordguy would just keep fighting, because that is the point."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "About a week." Psyber answers to Homura, "I get a lot of free time because I don't sleep much. So I mostly work on stuff." He notes, folding up the DM screen after this.

    "What you did to that kid really fucked him up, Sam," Psyber says, dropping the pretense of the tabletop when Homura does. It was a coy game, and fun for a while, but he supposes it's over, "I dunno. I guess, in the end, no one got hurt from it. Well besides the fact he destroyed my wings, but that's really unimportant. Still, it coulda been bad."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Your wings regenerate, don't they? I've never seen something just blow them off you, though," Homura side-comments, before producing her book and reopening it, now that playtime is evidently over.

    "What DID she do, anyway?"

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Oh, well. People got hurt. Just nobody you know about. Or care, I dunno. Out of sight, out of mind, mmm? Or maybe you do. You can't be expected to be everywhere all at once." Samael had started to play marbles against with the dice, a sharp *crack* sounding as one die impacted another with what looked like the force of a bullet. The dice shattered, sending bits of plastic flying everywhere.

    "Though, they were only tangentially related. And wasn't it obvious? He decided to play with me a bit after he ran into me, and I felt bad, since he used up...a thing, so I gave it back to him after we were done. That's all!"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I see," Psyber says to Samael at first, listening to her version of what happened. He watches the two dice explode as well, shielding his face for some errand flecks of plastic, "That's one way of putting it. The other is that you infused him with some of your power." He looks to Homura, "I had to fight a kid that she infused with her power and who went into turbodrive. Yeah, my wings grow back, but they take longer to regen than any other part of my body."

    "So is that something you can just do?" He asks Samael curiously, "Is it like a Black Cartridge for non-Abstractum-Users?"

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "Oh. I see. Having you refill someone's magical battery after they use it up sounds like a pretty bad idea, yes, but I suppose saying so is more incentive for you to try it out," Homura notes, now filled in.

    She hardly has anything to say, though.

    "What do you mean by play, though?"

Samael (455) has posed:
    "Well, I tried! I don't know. I just...put a little bit of stuff into him, that's all. I felt bad for him, since he used up something, and...well, it looks like it worked!" Samael giggled, shrugging as another piece of pizza went down the hatch. "If I were to make a guess..."

    The girl closed her eyes, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of pizza. "I would easily be more than capable of brute forcing someone's energy supply. It would be extremely painful, and would more than likely be extremely inefficient, and the results are..."

    Another giggle. "Well, you saw it, didn't you? And, well...I played a game with him. That's all. He impressed me enough that I decided to let him be the hero for the day."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Well, it certainly created quite the interesting situation that I had to clean up, truth told," Psyber says, taking his turn to lean back in the chair and look at Samael. He doesn't look angry OR happy with the decision, more a sort of professional expression. The look of a cleaner that is used to dealing with messes.

    "Well, when I found out it was you behind it, I figured I'd at least come tell you the results of your experiments. Homura is here because..." Psyber waves his hand. Homura is here because Psyber takes Homura MOST places. She's one of the limited pool of people he unquestioningly trusts.

    "So that was the outcome of your favor to him. He turned into a bigass swordman made of Obsidian who was nuts and eventually shot me with a mouth laser."

Homura Akemi (2) has posed:
    "At least you had good intentions, this time."

    Homura shrugs the matter off. There's no doubt Samael is a dangerous loose cannon, but there's also no doubt there's no point hating her for it. It won't do a thing for anyone or help.

    "He's fine, by the way. I believe Psyber sent him home after he was nursed back from the fight and fed here. I didn't catch him, though, so Psyber'll have to fill in the blanks."

Samael (455) has posed:
    There was another yawn, and a pleased, cheshire grin came to Samael's face. "That's good! Very good. If I was paying more attention, maybe I could've made it a bit more..." There was a vague hand gesture from the girl, but she just shrugged after a half-hearted attempt at getting her point across visually. "Easier...to digest? But anyway, it seems like it worked out okay. But I did that as a favor to him. Such a shame it was wasted on nothing at all, though...maybe I should try it again?"

    Samael finally stood up, walking around to one of the windows, looking outside. "What do you think? I could be more careful this time! Or...I could just try putting even more power instead. It wastes a lot of power, but, it's not like I havn't got enough to spare."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber wobbles back on the chair, propping it up onto two legs and then adds on to what Homura said, "I sent the kid on his way after he woke up. It was pretty much the end of my involvement with him for the moment," He admits, crossing his arms and sighing a bit. He then props his feet up on the table to steady himself.

    "If you're going to do it again, I can't stop you. If you're asking my opinion, it's that first you shouldn't. And if you defy that, you should do it cautiously if you do it again. There might not be someone around to mitigate the damage next time," He answers to her honestly.