Scene #7463: The Secret of Chi-Li Dyng

Owner	Pose
Shining Tiger	"Eh? What do you mean it's called 'cheerleading'? It's Chi-Li Dyng!" "Your damn scroll says cheerleading right on it! Can you even read?" "Nope!" In a world where football makes no sense, Shining Tiger waits inside a side-room inside a large football stadium. This is the Cheerleader's Quarters. The crowd is already building up, and the game is starting soon, but not immediately. The team, Akron, as Tiger would tell people over radio, lost their cheerleading squad after intimidation by Miami University, in conjunction with their 'bosses', Ohio State University. Akron's football team isn't the best. But everyone knows nobody cares about the football. They care about the cheerleaders - those who suffuse their ki into a team. Without a cheer squad, nobody can ever win. Akron's used to be pretty good, but obviously weak-willed. This game is to decide who goes to state finals against Ohio State - Miami, or Akron. Akron is so desperate that they accepted Tiger's random offer to become their cheer squad when he showed them the scroll. If they can harness even a fragment of that power, they may be able to get to state finals. Yes, you're in Ohio right now, and your team is now the Akron Tigers, because the cheer squad decides the name of the team. The Miami Serpents are your opponents. They are a seasoned team, and you are not. Nobody is betting on your win. Prove them wrong. ---- There are refreshments inside the Cheerleader's Quarter, and silver uniforms have been provided. By harnessing the innate magic of cheerleading that exists in this world, the group can play on an even level. Tiger is currently chatting with the custodian, who he has recruited as their coach/mentor. Mike is his name, and according to him, his wife was a Cheerleading Master. However, Miami is known for its Dark Cheerleading Guardians - cheaters and scoundrels, the lot of them. "Alright, everyone! I have the scroll here. We can only unlock it, apparently, by actually performing as a team." The scroll is in Tiger's hand. Tiger is in a cheer uniform, complete with skirt. He looks Pretty Good, honestly. "If you want to turn back now, you can, but you're not getting paid for just showing up. I want results!" "Any questions? Also, ideas or secret techniques that might come in handy? I have no idea how this works yet, but I want to win!" He's hopeless, but... If this scroll is truly as powerful as they say, it may be important to decipher.
Selene	"Cheerleading? Like being a manager?" Somehow, Selene of all people isn't familiar with the wording, although being told that the last team got intimidated out of their position actually seems to be getting her fired up as the group gathers inside the Cheerleader's Quarter. She's already switched into one of the provided uniforms, too, although her trademark red flower hat (still turned sideways) is parked right on her head. "I haven't heard of any wrestlers having an entire stable of hype men, but if it's for a team of footballers... Yeah, that tracks. More people for more power!" She bellows to the heavens/ceiling while smacking her cheeks a few times to get her blood pumping even more. "What do we know about these Akron guys, anyway? We can't hype our side up if we don't know a thing about 'em besides being footballs or whatever they do." She grabs a drink for herself, drinks it, than coughs and hacks before sipping it again way too quickly. "Who else's got good lungs on 'em? My outside is my inside voice, but we're gonna need a whole lotta people getting loud if we wanna do this right!"
Kale Hearthward	The concept of sports is not unfamiliar to Kale. The concept of collegiate organized leagues is, but he manages to grasp the whole thing quickly enough. People being more interested in the cheerleaders than the football is a joke that entirely sails above his head, though. "Secret techniques?" he says, when prompted. "Sort of!" <><><><><><><><><-SECRET TECHNIQUE 1: CUSTOM UNIFORM TAILORING-<><><><><><><><>< "It's important to get a nice, tight fit," he says, alternating between wielding a tape measure against the crew and going over to the rack of uniforms to make adjustments. "Especially when you're going to be in motion a lot, you don't want any unnecessary wind drag from the fit being too loose or any discomfort or blood flow restriction from it being too tight. Also you just feel nicer in general with a good fit." <><><><><><><><><><>-SECRET TECHNIQUE 2: WAKEUP WITH MAKEUP-><><><><><><><><><>< "I left my makeup kit over there on the counter, and I can help out anyone who doesn't know how to use it," he says, while measuring Shining Tiger's instep. "Trust me - it helps. At least use the eyeliner pencil, if nothing else." <><><><><><><>-SECRET TECHNIQUE 3: WEAPON MASTERY - SWASHBUCKLING-><><><><><><>< "We need to plan something dramatic," he says, going back over to the uniform rack and picking out a uniform to do his own custom-adjustments to, thread and needle in hand. "As a finishing move, if nothing else. Some sort of show stopper. Big dramatic finish." "If the crowd's not holding their breath till the moment the trick finishes, then it's not enough, you know?" <><><><><><><><><><><-SECRET TECHNIQUE 4: BLATANT CHEATING-<><><><><><><><><><>< "And, all else fails, I'm a powerful wind sorceror and I can just throw us around the field," he says, getting into the uniform. He's picked out a female uniform, not a male one. He's still rocking it, though.
Hibiki Tachibana	Tachibana Hibiki is here for two things: the secrets of the MARTIAL ART OF CHI-LI DYNG and to defeat the EVIL PRACTITIONERS of DARK CHI-LI DYNG. Through this, she will hone her own combat skills, learn how to work better as a unit, and get to help someone in need. It's a win-win-win all around, seems like. She may or may not have also gotten sweet talked into coming by her best friend, who kept snickering the whole way here. Whenever Hibiki questioned her on what the idea was, she deflected it neatly. NOW, IN OHIO: "Eeeeeeeeeh!? Are you kidding me!? It's /cheerleading/!? How'd you even get that wrong!?" Hibiki (who has absolutely no room at all to speak on this) is aghast and unable to stop herself from leaning out from behind Shining Tiger, reading the scroll herself with her mouth stuck open. In some prime seating outside in the filling stadium, said best friend chuckles heartily to herself with refreshments and a giant foam finger all prepped to go for the show. All according to plan. Running a hand back through her sandy hair, and having ended up in the silver uniform bristling with cheer spirit during the scene transition, Hibiki shakes her head. "No way I'm going home, I already came all this way! Ugh, but I've never done anything like this before...and it's seriously embarrassing..." Her grumbling ill fitting this cheertastic costume aside, she straightens herself up and plants her hand on her hip. "Well--I'm sort of a singer I guess, so I fit the bill," she says back towards Selene. "Am I even allowed to transform for this...? It'd take me out of costume, and that's probably illegal."
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry Princess arrives in the Cheerleader's Quarter in what's become her typical casual mission outfit- white button-up shirt, black jeans, and a comfy surplus jacket that sports the green shield of the Paladins sewn onto one sleeve. That is, in fact, A Problem- cheerleaders need to be in uniform! And she's very consciously aware of looking out-of-place, fidgeting awkwardly with the strap of the carrying case slung over her back. "Um, yes," she says, with an apologetic smile- at first it's directed towards Shining Tiger as he asks if anyone has any questions; then it's directed at Kale as he subjects her to the measuring tape. She's somewhere north of six feet tall, skinny in an awkward and gangly way. It's hard to imagine that anything they've got here would fit her- at least, not without exposing a lethal amount of midriff. "It's... Mr. Hearthward, don't you have any costume magic? Do you think you can- you know, help me?" Her apologetic smile ratchets a step towards apologetic grimace as he offers a makeup lesson, too. "I could, uh. I think I'd- need the help with that. The eyeliner pencil, I mean. Is- that alright?"
Kale Hearthward	Kale's doing a dozen different prep things right now, but he makes time to swing by Strawberry Princess with the makeup pencil in one hand and a compact mirror in the other. "Just a little bit of outlining, don't need to press too hard," he says, working on her. "And I think you'll be fine in the uniform?"
Xion	"I'll swallow the darkness, and shine brightly." Comes a voice without source. A horizontal darkness-portal at Protagonist Eye Level, so those shorter or taller than Average JRPG/Wuxia Protagonist see it fairly clearly as a darkly churning portal of dark reds, purples, and blues, drops Xion into the Cheerleader's Quarter, hair a bright blond with strands of wheat hidden among her bangs. A matte white fox mask detailed in black and red sits like a canted hair accessory across the side of her head. "The greatest way to work up your fighting spirit is with fighting! The hero of everyone's hearts, Shine X, will defeat the Dark Miami Arts with the blessing of the sun." With a metallic shwink a real morningstar and not a keyblade at all appears in her right fist. "I did my research and brought a 'pom-pom', too."
Lilian Rook	Lilian had initially been tricked into this by Shining Tiger's illiteracy. She'd begun to get suspicious when their destination was listed as America, but it isn't until she tries pronouncing it herself, without Shining Tiger's delivery or accent, that she absolutely groans out loud at the sheer stupidity of it all. But once she's told there's an enemy team to beat, and everyone is expecting 'her side' to lose, something comes over her. She has never worn one before, but . . . Lilian is in a tailored cheerleading outfit. She coruscates with power. Just radiating immeasurable Energies. Like genuinely more menacing than in full combat gear. Words cannot describe how much her mere presence brings into question how many shy, bookish girls might have been shoved in lockers on the way to get here. She also has Strawberry, and had rung up Tamamo for exactly this occasion. Wherever they happen to be, she happens to stand between them and slightly closer to the viewer than they are. It's like an optical illusion. "No. No questions." Lilian says, this being an absolute first on a 'mission'. "Since I'm here, whoever comes out on the opposite side of that field doesn't have a prayer of winning. We have more than enough people here who can handle channeling the energy into that barely average football team."
Tamamo	Scrolls that may be difficult to decipher are of some interest to Tamamo no Mae, even if her interest in secret techniques is closer to an appreciation of the romance of genre fiction than of any practical application. "Chi-Li Dyng? I have not heard of this one, but the ways of martial arts have ever been some distance from myself. Might I see this scroll?" Though if it really is sealed, there's no helping it. She's not about to attempt a risky, forced unsealing on someone else's secret technique scroll when they already have a path laid out for unlocking it. Why it should be connected to sports, she has no idea whatsoever, but that doesn't trouble her. "Oh, no, that is quite alright, thank you." She waves off Kale's assistance. "I have brought my own supplies, of course, should they be needed." Where she's hiding them is not immediately revealed. But that's fine, too. She only has that last minute check to do, having been informed of that much of the mission before coming here, and so it is that she's checking herself out in the (ornate, magical, floating) mirror at the exact moment that the sight lines between her, Lilian, and Strawberry reach a configuration with ominous energy. Oh, and there's Xion. "Oh," there is the slightest possibly noticeable pause, "Shine X! How good to see you, as well." Something about that particular appearance of hers seems to agree with Tamamo, even if it's not a usual cheerleading accessorization. As for Tamamo's outfit, it is, likewise, a finely tailored match in modern styling. She's never tried for hems this short, before, but for every experience, there must be a first, and she's already had time to get over the initial shocks in less public company.
Strawberry Princess	Putting eyeliner on Strawberry is somewhat reminiscent of trying to comb a feral child's hair, but she does her absolute best to stay still for it despite the instinctive protestations of her facial muscles. When Kale's finished, she blinks a couple of times and tries to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror before he pulls it away- if her perky smile is any indication, she at least tolerates the results. Her face falls a moment later. "The standard uniform? No, it's-" ... And he's already made the tailoring adjustments. She picks one off the rack that's longer than the others, and lets out a gentle sigh of relief. "Okay. That'll- I can work with that." She ducks out of the room for a minute or two and returns in proper color-matching garb. Despite her innate sweetness and innocent charm, Strawberry manages to pull off a passively ominous loom whenever she and Lilian are in the same shot. Her expression and posture haven't changed at all, but it's just something about the juxtaposition and the matching outfits...
Shining Tiger	Once everyone's made-up by Kale's expert disguise skills, Custodian Mike can instantly read the room, and turns towards Lilian instead of as the 'leadership figure'. "Alright, good. Be wary of surprise attacks from across the field. The Dark Guardians are nasty." Tamamo gets to look at the scroll. It's absolutely sealed with some sort of divine power. Not a fake scroll, but real magic. Why it's bound to cheerleading is anybody's guess, though. The words on the top simply say 'ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE - CHEERLEADING', clearly labelled by a human and not a divine force. Once the group heads out to the field, though, the environment is different. They're expected to come out immediately with game face, as their football team joins them through their own quarters. Nobody's paying attention to them, though, as... The Miami Serpents come out. Their uniforms are a poisonous green, and each Dark Guardian is distinct. There are seven of them, to the group's eight: The Captain, with a lower-face mask, green eyes, and a katana. The Big One, who is clearly a bodybuilder, carrying an axe around. The Ninja, who has a weird pair of armbraces on. Twin A, who is raising her left arm. Twin B, who is raising her right arm. The Small One, who looks pretty much like a doll all made up like that. *The Sole Guy, who is drinking out of a thermos mid-dance. The Serpents move to their sidelines, and the Tigers are expected to do the same, taking position. As soon as the game's about to start, the Captain of the Serpents shouts out, drawing her katana in an iai quickdraw and pointing it in the air, as the other members gesture in sync. "Give it your all~! Serpents, bite, bite, bite!" The home crowd's already gonna start getting excited, and there's a clearly mystical perk-up in the football team. The energy of the cheer is being absorbed by the players. Can the Akron Tigers do the same?
Kale Hearthward	Kale takes a deeeeeeeeeeep breath, and improvises. "SCRATCH AND CLAW AND BAT AND FIGHT!" He goes through motions, along with each word, moving his pompoms and feet into a new position with each word. The movements and the poses aren't important, the motion and the rhythm is. And Kale is loud, able to belt the whole improvised chant out at maximum volume without stopping to take in more air. (Part of the gimmick here, for those just tuning in, is that Breath Weapon is a series that puts as much narrative importance on 'lungs' as a certain other series puts on 'heart'.) "COME ON TIGERS - GO ALL NIGHT! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TIGERS! He jumps into the air, going five feet up in a front-flip that ends with him in a horizontal split on the ground, wielding his pompoms dramatically.
Xion	Xion does not change outfits so much as picks out one, nods, and her clothes just swap with a brief dark-mote voxelling of one outfit to the other, though her silver has accent yellow-golds, and her fox mask remains jauntily hanging on her head. "I'm ready to defeat them, as K-" Everyone's leaving to the field behind the Stanced Up Trio as dramatic music plays. Kale breathes beauty at her as an attack of opportunity, and as she charges out onto the field a hair late-- She sweeps her hand towards Shining Tiger, and draws forth a roaring force that she catches in a medallion she immediately crushes in her hand. More golden light surrounds her as her cheerleeding top magical girl stretches into a high-leg leotard with black side-frill. Her hair sweeps back as a set of golden claws extend from shining bracers on her wrist. "Cobras? Shine X Tora will be the power that ignites!" Raising a closed fist to the sky, an upraised finger is lit from the sky itself. "If your students know history-" "Here's a fact-" "Cobras are weak to a dropkick attack!" "If you think you'll 'bite bite bite'-" Xion throws back her head and roars. "You've not heard this tiger's fight!" Xion thunks her extra morningstar into the ground for good measure, because Kale didn't take it away from her in costuming. The 'donk' joins the roar as she runs around after Kale hooting and making cat noises. The godray follows her around.
Lilian Rook	Heading out onto the field to the sound of thunderous crowd cheering is nice. The fact that it's mostly for the other team isn't, but the whole experience is a little new for Lilian, and she's already thinking about how she'll be sure to change that situation around shortly. "I'm not worried." she says to Custodian Mike on the way out. She isn't. It takes her all of three seconds to size up the other team and the fact that they're visibly armed. "Tamamo. Sh--hhhine X, If we could please have those blessings. On us, and on the team. Tiger, you're the martial type here. I'm sure you know what to do with the team's qi or whatever. Tachibana, stay close to Strawberry, on her far side. Don't belt out that stunt until she signals. Selene, just follow Kale's lead." goes Lilian. 'Lilian. Cheat viciously.' goes the little shoulder devil. 'Yeah! Do it!' goes the one on the other shoulder. Radiating waves of immense Alpha Heather power, Lilian moves into the front center position after Kale has run out into the field as starting vocals, whereupon she transforms into Super Heather upon magically amplifying her Aura Of Charisma. Furthermore, she begins exuding a subtle compulsion on the very localized scale, using low level mental suggestions and intuitions on the rest of the cheerleaders to keep the group generally on the same page and apprised of what the moves are about to be in advance. Sort of a mental DDR arrow track. "Akron Tigers all unite, watch as we steal the spotlight! Winning sunrise 'till twilight; Serpent losers, say goodnight!"
Hibiki Tachibana	They sort of have a plan, and you know what? That's good enough. Kale's make-up isn't really for her, but Hibiki can probably get by without it. Her charm is more on the rugged and stoic side anyway, that'd totally ruin the effect. She'll just wing it when it comes to putting on a show out there, and also make sure to back up the others as much as she can. This includes heavy-duty throwing. Simple. She might not have a very dangerous looking pom-pom like her good friend Xion, but she has her fists. And that's all she needs. That, and the spare uniform she's grabbing on the way out.r Out on the field, she gets to size up their opponents, the dreaded Miami Serpents - and she can tell they mean business. All of them look ready to go. Even the obligatory One Guy, who may look like the least threatening next to the smallest of them all, but anyone who knows anything will know that someone like that is probably the Stealth Expert of the team. Hibiki takes a deep breath. She throws her spare uniform pieces high up into the air, and what first escapes her mouth isn't a shout. It's an echoing and resonating chant in an unknown language--and Hibiki kicks off the ground herself in a high leap, the same time her body is overtaken in a golden light surrounded by swirling notes. Her clothes are replaced by mechanical armor forming over her detail-less silhouette one piece after another, until she swipes the uniform out of the air at the dramatic apex of her jump, spinning around and bringing them in as she rockets back down to the ground. As Hibiki lands on her knees only to stand tall once again, flecks of gold bursting off of her to reveal her properly again, the orange and black undersuit and skirt of her Symphogear has been replaced with the proper team colors thrown over top of them, with midriff window still intact. Her fist punches up into the air hard enough for a visible shockwave to burst upwards, and a /loud/, full force scream screeches across the field. TIGERS! CHEW 'EM UP AND SPIT 'EM OUT! THERE'S NO TIME FOR DOUBT! UOOOOOOOOOH! She really does have some lungs on her.
Tamamo	While there was, in fact, no chance to practice, there should be plenty of chances to go with the flow. From what was just said, Tamamo gathers that the weapons wielded by the opposite cheerleading team are more of a concern than the referees. That does, in her view, make things a lot easier. But at the same time, they can't break apart their own group. "'Teamwork,' is it..." If only she were of the draconic persuasion. Extradimensional lungs would probably be of some help, here. As for her own terrestrial kin, they're not really known for their clear, strong singing voices. What she can do is strut. It may go without saying, the image being self-explanatory, but the presence of the Sun Goddess's strut onto the field, even hidden in the guise of a mortal (fox-tailed) cheerleader, is the sort that demands attention. No sooner does she arrest this than she transfers that attention to her raised hands, with which she claps a slow, loud, reverberating beat, melding to the step and voices of her team, and into the vocal rhythm of Xion and Kale before her. Light shines with every motion as the blessings activate, the visible aspect of divine magic flooding more than mere good fortune into her surrounding cheerleaders, but rising up as the native multitude of energy in each individual. Ki, MP, Hype Meters, they're all equally valid recipients for dispensing the blessings of Amaterasu. It may take awhile yet, but if left alone, she'll even reach the stands. This might be easy enough for the opposing team to tell.
Selene	"If we've only got me, a singer, and a squeaky bird, then..." Looking over Hibiki and Kale first, Selene strokes her chin slowly before turning to Shining Tiger, Strawberry Princess, Xion, Lilian, and Tamamo. "Then that means we're gonna have to count on you five to grab 'em by the eyes while we grab 'em by the ears!" Xion's morningstar in particular gets her attention. "Ooh, good idea. If things get-" She puts on a distinctly sinister tone. "-physical, then having them think twice'll give us the element of surprise with... uhhh." She pauses, realizing that she doesn't recognize most of anyone here. It's probably fine. Striking a pose, Selene already looks ready to bolt right out onto the field without knowing what it is they're going to actually be doing for the cheering part of all this. "Following a lead? Waaay ahead of you, Lil!" She does just that once everyone's ready to go and the football team joins them in there. She already howling like a wild animal long before the crowd can even see them coming out. Somehow, in-between Kale getting Selene's war face on and getting out to the crowd, she's already managed to add a distinctly luchador-flair to hers. Her hat is turned to face forward like a mohawk/rooster plume, and Muscle Chicken as jumping out with an excited spring in her a step and an unnatural loudness to her voice. "Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi! Get outta your seats and make some noise, everybody, 'cause the Akron Tigers! Are! Heeeere!" Bellowing with far more volume than is reasonably safe for someone with Selene's constitution, she smacks her chest once with a pompom before pointing towards the Serpents' cheerleading team with a fire in her eyes and almost asuredly a stupid idea in her head. "Miami Snakes! You know they say all football teams are created equal! But you look at the Tigers and you look at the Serpents, and you can see that statement is not true! Normally, if you go one on one with another team, you got a fifty fifty chance of winning!" She starts while stomping from side to side, letting the words just spill right out of her face with the conviction of someone who is utterly convinced that they know exactly what they're talking about. Except it's Selene, so... Yeah. "But our Tigers are genetic freaks, and they're not normal! So you got a twenty-five percent at best at beat them! And then you add us to the mix, you the chances of winning drastic go down! See, this cheerleading contest you got a thirty-three and a third chance of winning, but the Tigers got a sixty six and two thirds chance of winning because the Serpent cheerleaders KNOW they can't beat us, and they're not even gonna try! So Serpents, you take your thirty three and third chance minus our twenty five percent chance, and you got an eight and a third chance of winning at cheerleading! But then you take our seventy five chance of winning if we were gonna go and then add sixty six and two thirds! We got a one forty one and two thirds chance of winning at footballs! Miami Snakes? The numbers don't lie, and they spell disaster for you at cheerleading!"
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry strides onto the field with somewhat less self-confidence than a cheerleader really ought to have- Lilian and Tamamo serve as bolstering influences, but the weird silvery costume and the stuff on her face are definite detriments, as is the size of the audience. It's not stage fright exactly, but it's a certain degree of... awareness? She draws into herself, practically hugging her wand as they step out onto the field, as if to shy away from the collective gaze of the crowd. Deep breaths, Strawberry. Think. What do you have? The Annihilator Beam could be one hell of a showstopper, if she can find an adequately safe way to use it. Her aerobatics skills- those might be worth a few eyeballs' worth of attention, especially with Hibiki there to give a boost. But what does she have for a cheer? Strawberry twirls the wand's thin carrying case in her hands like it's a baton- awkwardly at first, and then as she finds its center of gravity, with a little more finesse. She slams it down into the dirt, burying it solidly, and then places a foot on top to backflip off of it complete with a sideways rotation, landing neatly on both feet. Tamamo's blessing radiates through her, reigniting her magical abilities even with her wand still turned off- by itself insufficient for anything really big, but it allows her legs to flare with protective pink energy as she sticks the landing. As Strawberry straightens back up and grabs the carrying case again, her lips part- and her mind freezes. How do you even come up with a cheer? What do you say? Even without the words in her mind, her voice forces its way out- cracked and hoarse at first, but then finding a quavery, reedy, heartbreaking sort of melody.
Strawberry Princess	"Champions of Akron, I- sorry, no. That isn't right. Uh." Walking this sweet, green field (Sure, you're scared-) (To pick your heads up high) To give it your best try- You've been battered and bruised before (It isn't fair-) That those who were your light Packed up, left you behind (Abandoned to the bite...) Her shivery, unsteady voice finds a way to double back on itself impossibly; forming a chorus, forming harmonies that shouldn't work with just one singer. It's eerie, like hearing a recording layered back but in real time. I know that it's hard to trust- (To open wide) (A heart that's known the knife,) To love a second time... But, if you can, please let us inside To set your souls alight (To steel you for the fight-) The snake, the grass, the rhyme (Won't strike a second time.)
Shining Tiger	The group of Tigers enters the field. The crowd isn't sure what to expect...until Kale leads them off with his chant and split. There's a bit of silence, at first, but then... "Yeah!" As everyone begins their performances, the yeahs keep coming. Xion's enthusiasm (and mace) up the pump-up energy, as does Lilian's skilled wordcraft - starting them off strongly. She's clearly the leader from her Enormous Charisma, and there's some muttering in the stands. "Is that the new Akron team?" "Wow, they're good. I heard they appeared out of nowhere." "Do you think they've got what it takes to defeat Miami, though?" "I don't know." Hibiki's entrance causes some energy, especially with her unique transformation, which is rare in this type of sport. Tamamo's buffs get a silent thumbs-up from Tiger, who starts clapping along to create a beat, using his martial arts technique and Lilian's mental suggestion to stick to the rhythm and do pretty good. Selene's...Selene, at first, seems to be harming. No one understands what she's saying, and the Captain of the other team looks amused in her body posture. But as she finishes, full of confidence... A man in Akron colors - clearly an old fan who didn't know if this new formation would be any good - starts hollering. "TIGERS! YEAH, AKRON'S BACK, BABY!" The Akron-centric crowd seems amused, and while it's not the best energy, the football players are taking it in. Strawberry's song is...not exactly the sort of heartpumping cheers they expect, but it's pretty, and her dance goes along with it well. Somebody in the audience genuinely cries, because there's always That Guy. Some people try to sing along, too. As the game truly starts being played, the Serpents had a lead, but they're losing it rapidly, and it's gonna shift over to the Tigers - too much for their cheerleaders. The Captain signals towards the Big One, who grabs her axe. She moves to chuck it straight at Selene's leg, as if she was trying to tear it right off! It's clearly visible, and not a subtle maneuver at all. It can probably be dodged with effort. What is not clearly visible are the simultaneous maneuvers from the Ninja, who slides her bracers together and then flicks them in Tamamo's direction. A pair of poison-tipped knives move straight for the bunrei, trying to debilitate her enough to stop her from keeping the others powered up. After a few moments delay, there's more bracer slicing, and a single dagger each fires for Strawberry and Xion. "Who always wins? Serpents! Who do you love? Serpents! Quicker than the tiger! Meaner than the tiger! Our venomous bite will win the night!" The Twins suddenly pick up the Small One, and lift her in the air, before throwing her up into a flip and catching her again. The Sole Guy looks towards the Captain as they continue their maneuvers, but gets a shake of the head. Seems they have a special technique that's not ready yet.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's magic is flickery and unreliable at the moment- without her wand active, she's depending entirely on Tamamo's generous blessing, and most of that energy is going into her eerie singing. When the poisoned knife comes for her neck, her pink Shimmer Aura flashes as a near skin-tight shield to protect her- but it's running on fumes, and it can't diffuse the impact as much as it ought. The blade is just barely brushed aside by the aura before it can cut her flesh, but the barely-blunted force is still like a punch to the throat. Even as she staggers backwards, her hand darts to her waist to grab her handgun- and it isn't there! There wasn't any way to make a holster look acceptable on a cheerleading outfit, dammit! Strawberry's reduced to glaring daggers at the ninja girl as she grimaces and rubs her neck, already feeling the bruise. No words. She clutches her wand's case in one hand and lays the other on Hibiki's shoulder. Any questioning look will be met with a firm nod. Do it now.
Kale Hearthward	"Yeah! C'mon, tigers!" Kale breaks the ice, creating CHEER OPENINGS for the others to capitalize on. This is good. He remains in his horizontal split on the ground, shaking his pompoms, watching to see what lands with the crowd and what doesn't, taking mental notes. Overall it seems to be working... His gaze glances over across the field, seeing what they're up to. Which is, as it turns out, offensive maneuvers. "Here I thought this was no contact..." He seems, at the moment, to be less of a priority target comparedto the girls. He wonders if he should be mildly offended or not. (He's still pretty sure he's the most pretty one here.) They look like they're planning... something, with the Twins tossing the Small One up and down, and the subtle signaling happening between them. Kale's 'Charge across the battlefield and stab the enemy Breath Weapon user before they can do some stuff' instincts twitch. Time to do something to mess that up... He starts casting, using his pompoms as cover to mask the movements of his hands. A moment later, when the Twins go to throw the Small One again, it's as if they get the angle and the power entirely wrong. Instead of going up into the air a bit and doing a flip, she gets thrown upwards and backwards, a freak gust of wind picking up just at that moment, strong enough to bodily push the Small One forcefully off of the field and into the stands... ... specifically, square at the cotton candy vendor's stall.
Selene	The crowd is getting loud, and it's actually for their side! Looking quite enthused by that, Selene keeps bellowing out nonsensical esntences with all of that wild energy she's been building up for this moment, and she'd be going at it nigh incessantly if not for the fact that someone's hurling an axe at her leg. "Hey, I thought this was a football game, not a wrestling match!" Shouts theone who's treated the entire opening segment as a wrestling promo, reaching into her bag during the windup. In any other situation, she'd maybe toss a chair out at best, and more or less hope the flying weapon doesn't lice her leg clean off. This time, however, Muscle Chicken has something a little more substantial up her sleeves. Against all logic, she yanks a flaming steel ladder out of her bag, and she hurls it in the axe's path to intercept the Big One's projectile! She probably could have gone with a folding chair, but... Ladder is louder. Ladder is a bigger prop. Selene takes advantage of said prop to start scrambling up the steps as she resumes belting out the first idiotic thing that comes to mind. "What's bigger than a serpent? Tigers! Tigers are big! That means we have big guts! Rip and tear, tigers! RIP! AND! TEAR!" She whoops and hollers and lets out an eerily close approximation to that stock tiger noise, slamming her hand down on the top of the still flaming ladder to add yet more noise to the spectacle and also hide a few coughs as she hunches over in what is clearly just building up for a bigger noise and not just catching her breath. The cough's a little bloody, but she'll manage.
Lilian Rook	Getting into the swing of things, one thing becomes abundantly apparent: Lilian is really, really good at dancing. Like, disgustingly so. Lilian is good at everything (that she presents) but the degree to which she takes to the routine is astonishing even for her; especially for not having previously talked about it. Her energy, her sense of rhythm, her kinesthetic precision, are nearly to overtly superhuman, but it doesn't just derive from 'being generally better than an average person'. The level of skill and enthusiasm. The sheer confidence in rhythmically tearing up the pitch. The wild yet graceful, frenetic yet controlled movement, guiding the whole lineup one way then the other, mental suggestions following every sweep of her arms and shake of her hips to guide members two at a time through geometric rotations around the anchor. It comes from someone who really learned to goddamn dance. Lilian is also someone who learned to help fuckabout girls Find Out. -----[stop]----- Lilian has to break her ryhthm, annoyed but unsurprised, at the flash of motion from the Ninja. Following an invisible line from their arm with her eyes, she comes to the poisoned daggers aimed at Tamamo, struts up, and high kicks one up into the other one up into the air. From there, she uses the remaining prepared time to Heather March all the way up to the Ninja, measure her distance, and deliver a vicious example of the mythical technique whispered of only as 'the cunt punt', before strutting back. -----[start]----- The poms in her hand begin glowing from within, as her fingertips burn with pulsing spots of black and gold light. Glimmering trails of faintly unstable luminescence follow the perfectly symmetrical motion of both hands, putting on a perfectly entrancing light show whilst she moves. The fact that the frequent circular rotations of cheerleaders running around is conveniently constructing a larger circle out of it surely can't be anything untoward. Surely.
Tamamo	Once they've taken a position on the field, giving Tamamo a pretty clear view of where everything is, she starts subtly tossing out the paper talismans. Lacking voluminous sleeves in which to hide them, the bundles of charms could only possibly have been strapped to her thighs. Truly scandalous, but one keeps pockets where one can. The charms hit the ground in a large array around the Tigers cheering team, serving both to lock in and strengthen the blessings she's been dispensing, routing ki into harmonious patterns and establishing a Field of Hype, finishing off the pattern at the center with swaying steps back and forth, a slowly building dance to the rhythm of the clapping beat. Though keeping her feet busy, this frees enough of her attention away from things like 'steadying Strawberry's magic fuel supply' that Tamamo can turn that same attention toward the stands, sharing a more diffuse, but still powerful (by energy drink standards) wave of visible, sparkling light and less-visible, energizing ki toward the already-cheering fans. She completely ignores the attacks coming her way, through one of several possible combinations of not noticing it, not expecting it, distraction by her current task, and the surety that someone will competently handle all matters of defense in place of her.
Hibiki Tachibana	The heightening cheers of the crowd are inspiring. If she did anything less than throw herself into that first maneuver without thinking, she'd probably have time to be embarrassed. But all of them are hitting their rhythm, together--even Selene, who she wasn't sure about at first. Right...she should've known. She'll just have to keep not thinking, and just do whatever comes to mind! It's working out fine so far! The Tigers take the lead against all odds, but... There's a moment where her eyes are closed, basking in the roars of the onlookers and the unnatural lilt of the other song striking the hearts one of Emotional Guy and several others...where the other team strikes. She's too in the moment to react to the barrage of knives roaring in, and gritting her teeth, she stances herself up to face down and charge the group preparing something bad in the back. But Kale speaks up, and Strawberry Princess puts a hand on her shoulder. Hibiki pauses and looks to her, giving her an open-mouthed glance for all of two seconds before furrowing her brow and nodding back. She won't ask if she's alright. "...That song of yours...was really beautiful!" Instead, Hibiki says that entirely straight-faced while dropping to a knee, layering one hand over another facing up for Strawberry to plant a foot on. Kind of like she's about to prop her up. Which she is, in a way. The pilebunker pistons in her Symphogear's gauntlets slide themselves back as far as they'll go. "HaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With another field-crossing roar, she rises and heaves upwards in the same motion, throwing all of her strength into simply launching Strawberry Princess straight upwards like a streaking arrow. The pistons punch back inwards at the very last moment, timed for the crackling shockwaves emitted as they slam back home to flatten all the astroturf in a ten meter radius and add to the force behind her fling. It's the kind of shot that's taken from like three different camera angles before the scene keeps going. There is probably going to be a parting in the clouds overhead in a few seconds.
Xion	Now, there's a slight (see: actually a major) problem with Xion's understanding of this entire event. Weird costumes? Sure. Adding frills and short skirts to things? Okay, it's just a Horny Episode. A team of cobra-themed ninjas and Cliche Gimmicks? Xion had an understanding of the situation, but like Shining Tiger before -- in fact, as Shining X (Pronounced Key) Tora, she was even more spun around! Shining brightly, the action hero-- Still thinks this is a real fight, for real, and not sports. Empowered by the light of the Harvest Sun, Xion has all the power she needs to, at the very last minute, leap into action. Knives fling out towards Tamamo, and after no less than three action-shot angles, her zero, and Xion's one, send one single cascade~~s~~ of bright golden spark~~s~~ across Xion's back as she slides into Tokusatsu Sacrifice Interception Position, accepting her attack, but not Tamamo's, in a flash of bright pyrotechnic-adjacent damage. "Protecting the dreams of others -- and everyone's hearts -- is my job!" She gasps, as she drops to a knee dramatically. She is not really damaged at all but for some reason thinks the opposite. It's probably camera angle.
Strawberry Princess	Though her eyes are still watering from the blow she sustained to the throat (seriously, there's no way to make that not hurt!), Strawberry gives Hibiki an earnest, shaky smile and a thumbs-up as she plants her foot in the magical girl's palm. "I did my best, Hibiki," she manages to rasp. "I know you will, too." Strawberry looks up at the clouds above, gauges the wind with her thumb, and then twists her body in an awkward configuration just before she's thrown, arching her spine backwards. Always take the G's eyes-in. Never accelerate headfirst. Even so, that moment of acceleration rattles her very bones; her Shimmer Aura flares around her legs with the force of the throw, creating a streak of pale pink light straight up into the clouds. Black spots threaten to overwhelm her vision in the split seconds after the toss, then slowly recede as her ascent continues. At the peak of any parabola is a gut-dropping moment of zero gravity; an equinox where the waning upward force and the waxing pull of gravity are perfectly counterbalanced. For Strawberry, that peak comes somewhere north of the clouds. Taking advantage of the split seocnd of zero-G, she does some fine repositioning. When you're falling for thousands of feet, a bent forearm is a drag surface and a cocked leg is an aileron. The intuitive art of real-time sculpting one's posture into a shape capable of controlled spin in freefall is something that only someone with an appalling number of flight hours could master. When she re-emerges into visibility beneath the clouds, her Shimmer Aura is tensed around one leg, drawing a streak of pink light through the sky as if it were a ribbon trailing behind her. The harrowing spin she's thrown herself into makes it into a tight corkscrew; her ongoing front-flip gives the coils of its helix a regular contracting and expanding motif. She's plummeting right back down towards Hibiki as she straightens out for the final segment of the descent, her dark hair streaming out behind her and her outfit fluttering in the terminal-velocity howling wind. Her hand's clutching her wand's case tight, just in case- but she hasn't activated it yet, counting on the younger magical girl's promise to catch her.
Shining Tiger	The group deals with sabotage by sabotaging back. Kale blasts The Small One into the cotton candy stand, causing her to get all stuck and messed up. Lilian kicks the Ninja in places not supposed to be kicked, causing debilitating pain. Selene deflects an axe with a flaming chair, while Tamamo energizes the fans even more, Xion takes a heroic blow (and gets more tears in the audience), Hibiki throws Strawberry up, and Tiger starts sensing Ki. The scroll he's been holding at his side starts to glow. "The scroll is glowing! Tamamo, read it!" Tiger, who cannot read, tosses the scroll to Tamamo. Being unfurled, part of it is now legible. It is not completely legible or completely unsealed. Part of the technique, enough to impart decent amounts of power, has been unlocked. 'Form a pyramid and shout the sacred words in unison, to empower your Mascot Spirit to greater heights.' is the rough translation. The words seem like gibberish, but there's definitely divinity to them. What the hell a Mascot Spirit is hasn't been elaborated on. Strawberry flies through the air, and comes spiraling down trailing pink light. It's flashy. The crowd roars. The football team is pushing back, hard. The Tigers are winning. It's time for the final showing. "Two members down, and they're talented! Can we still-" The Sole Guy says to his Captain. "Of course we can win. Thermos." The Captain responds. The Sole Guy nods, and then throws his thermos high into the air. The Captain says some Absolutely Cursed Ki Words, and then takes her sword, moving to slice the thermos in half. Tiger shouts out as it happens. "Ki burst, ki burst, get ready!" Despite the Serpent member previously drinking from the canister, it no longer contains liquid. A massive dark green serpent rises from the thermos bit by bit, before moving to lunge across over the field, above the players, and into the Tigers cheer squad - venomous fangs lashing out. If the team can't figure out how to summon their Mascot Spirit...they'll be torn to shreds! (Or, at least, knocked aside, since most of them are superhuman.) It's Custodian Mike who shouts out to his team. "You need to believe in each other! Believe in a common ground! In winning together, no matter what! Channel your inner energy, and unleash your inner tiger into the real world! Go, fight, go!" Everyone in the team, if they concentrate, can feel a common wellspring of energy to call upon. They might not be able to do the pyramid this time unless they're coordinated, but at the least, they should be able to summon a Mascot Spirit, right...?
Selene	Selene holds a hand over her eyes as she watches Hibiki just yeet Strawberry Princess into the sky, the maneuver getting another cheer of approval from thetrainer. "Whoa.. Now that's how you know the Tigers are the real deal! It's not just the land, but even the sky is ours! Birds don't got nothing on us!" A beat, and she stage-whisper-yells at Kale. "No offense! Uh. Anyway! We'll show the world what it means to be a tiger! Not just in name, but in body! In mind! In spirit!" She sweeps her hand over towards Xion and her many toku sparks. "Tigers protect their own!" She clenches her fist, then waves a pompom at Lilian while trying to comprehend what's going on with the light show. "Tigers are always front and center!" She waves at Tamamo's numerous talismans and those swaying steps. "Tigers keep calm and get shmoovin'!" She gestures towards Shining Tiger and his talisman-tossing. "Tigers work in a pack, and the whole pack goes wild together!" The Serpent Mascot is called out, and Selene's eyes gleam even as she wipes a red trickle from her mouth while that ever-steady grin is plastered right on her face upon hearing that it's time to get into formation. "Now! Your either and a third Serpent won't be no match for our one forty one and two third Tiger!" Retreating back to Lilian's position, Selene somehow musters together enough strength thanks to the power of CHEATING (and dark forces) to hurl a set of ringside steel steps at the Serpent Spirit before sliding into position on her hands and knees as one of the bottom segments of the hypothetical pyramid. "Ready to form pyramid! Form feet and legs!"
Kale Hearthward	"- Um, the-" Oh dear, the thermos. That can't be good. It isn't good. Pyramid time. Kale uses his elemental overspecialization to make sure that the winds stay perfectly still for the pyramid formation, and then hops up on someone to take a middle segment. "None taken," he adds, to Selene.
Hibiki Tachibana	Hibiki trusts entirely in Kale and the rest of her allies to stop them from getting Hissatsu Ougi'd into a quick defeat, leaving her free to fulfill her promise. She wouldn't ever toss someone up like that if she couldn't catch them, though the vibrant and bright light streaming down through the sky is sure an attention grabbing sight. She digs her heels into the ground only to leap when her magical girl senior is a few dozen meters from the ground, firing her skirt thrusters to help offset her extreme momentum and sweep her into a princess carry style grab. The pair immediately blast down in the opposite direction she came up from the whole 'terminal velocity' thing, but Hibiki slams down into the ground in a braced stance with buckled knees to land in a small cloud of smoke, straighten up, and then deposit Strawberry back to her feet. Though there's not much chance to talk with the SPECIAL SUMMONED SERPENT engaging on them, and Hibiki hastily steps forward to brace against its scaly frame and shoulder it aside before it can bite into them, with a grunt of extreme effort. All that'll do is offer a little bit of time, though. The power of TEAMWORK is not to be underestimated. "They're going all out now! If we need a pyramid--" She's not gonna think about it. Custodian Mike's words ring in her ears. This is the chance to test their unison. If she really can believe in everyone else and work for it... "--Then I'll help make up the bottom!" With a shout of renewed vigor, Hibiki moves to join up with the others - so she can stomp her Symphogear's armored boots into the dirt hard enough to actually embed them into it, followed by the piston-attached spikes in them swiveling around to lance into the earth and offer more support. Stancing up her shoulders to the maximum to make a strong central foundation for their pyramid to be, she resolves to remain steady where she is no matter what. Even while they're being attacked. Tachibana Hibiki is a person with a preternatural ability for connecting with others--so she takes that sensation of shared energy and, grips onto it as hard as she can, hard enough maybe even the others could feel it. Even more than winning itself right now, she wants to do it with everyone here! It's actually important to her. Team mantra time, under her breath. "Go, fight, go...!"
Tamamo	Tamamo catches the scroll, swiftly opening and reading the contents aloud, as far as it allows itself to be opened. It takes a moment of confusion before she understands the only material the required pyramid could be made of. That is how a teamwork technique would have to be, isn't it? At least, without someone much more focused on magecraft of earth and stone than she is. The final step is swift coordination, more so than they'd shown previously. Single supports in their chosen fields are a different, easier matter than deciding on a stacking order. Her own faith on this point is a bit lacking, and that's before getting to the matter that she is less than comfortably accustomed to full-contact socializing. But that's no reason to give up. Maybe an unorthodox pyramid won't lose them too many points in the eyes of the cheering audience nor, perhaps more importantly, the divine seal over this technique scroll. Though considering other manners in which this might be handled, Tamamo settles for the expedient of tapping a paper charm to Selene's brow. The effects are as follows: 1. Her strength is dramatically increased for the next hour. 2. She may be confused for a jiangshi. Tamamo moves to leap upward -- interrupted by Lilian carrying her up, nevertheless, alighting with perfect balance and not-too-considerable weight on the hands of those below. She will, unfortunately, hesitate, and likely fail, to support anyone jumping above her.
Lilian Rook	With the scroll unfurling, and Lilian knowing Tamamo's interest had been in the ancient(?) divine(??) writing in the first place, she presumes the divine fox has the reading in hand, and focuses on following through with the instructions. She doesn't have the time to try and verbally coordinate everyone into a pyramid, and neither does anyone else. Instead, she cranks up that mental DDR track into an extremely compelling suggestion bordering on 'intense flash of insight', demanding people take their places by rank of physical strength, bottom to top, in a four-three-two arrangement, while she grabs Tamamo around the waist on her way up, and necessarily propel the two of them up to the top. Lilian has also arranged it to happen right under the circle she'd been elegantly drawing this whole time, and the trails of her hands draw it up into the air with her, until she can hold it overhead, and turn it towards the opposing team, such that the incredibly complex and detailed arrangement of black and gold orbits shines between and above the two space and becomes the 'one'. "All after me!" she yells. "TIGER TIGER BURNING BRIGHT!" Refrain. Repeat. Refrain. Repeat. On each beat, a piece of the magical circle collapses, and becomes an exlosive shower of sizzling black-gold beams, deluging the oncoming serpent mascot with a withering hail of ??? element magical blasts, and putting hundreds of neat, smoking holes in the pitch. When the final element has collapsed, only the perimeter of the circle remains, blazing like a big flaming hoop, held up as if for a trained tiger to jump through.
Xion	Xion, flatfooted in recovery frames in Toku Time (which last until the scene progresses), still takes a quip of opportunity. Since she has the power of the Shine-ing sun, as well as the roaring power of the Tora, her attacks of opportunity deal +1d6 Radiant damage and +1d6 Slashing damage. "You can... take the bottom?" "... Schmoovin'?" But with the jiangshi power of a sealing talisman, Selene's buffed up power can form a strong center. "Okay. Okay! I've got an idea! Since we're all here, together, if all we need is more sets of hands--" Xion draws out a third medallion, this one more like a shuriken in crossed tines - one black, one white. "Tiger Tiger -- Burning Bright!" She announces, lifting the medallion skyward. A saber-blade of black and wite twisted together falls through Shine X Tora's body. She collapses into a yin-yang ball of gold and black, and then splits apart - one into a golden flickering-flame sunlight-person with black eyes, and the other into a black flickering-dark midnight-person with sunlight-gold eyes. Each wear their fox-mask on the opposite side of their head. As the Xion of Sunlight and Shadowdark join Selene holding up the base of the pyramid, they shout together. "I'll show you the ultimate tiger spirit! Shine XX Tora!" Pronounced, travesty of translation travesties: 'Shine Cross-Key Tora'. She has used Roxas' power for this warcrime.
Strawberry Princess	The serpent-monster looms, and Strawberry has the instinctive response that she has to any kind of giant monster suddenly materializing: she wants to shoot it. There's not much time to spare. She extricates her wand, shucking off its depressing grayish carrying case, and smashes a button on the side of its bolted-on reactor. It groggily blossoms to life with a grinding of control rods and a faintly actinic glow, displaying its expected lifespan via an ominous screen on the side: 04:59 Sometimes that limit chafes. Right now it feels luxuriously excessive. Faint wings of white sparkles erupt from her back, carrying her away from the looming green serpent with a tidy backwards vault. She intends to land atop the pyramid- but Tamamo and Lilian are already occupying that spot, and they don't seem to be intending to support anyone else! At the last moment, she sort of awkwardly swerves out of the way to avoid bumping into them, instead hovering a little distance off to the side. Despite the momentary stumble, she's still attuned to the team spirit. The power flooding her body is unfamiliar- foreign, yet somehow more natural than the radiological fire of her wand's reactor. This silver costume isn't the costume; this motley party of mean girls and cinnamon rolls isn't the party. But it ignites something in her heart that's, if not similar, at least parallel. It naggingly occurs to her that this is a crowded auditorium, and there's absolutely no safe way to bring the Annihilator Beam to bear against the monstrous viper. But she ignites the tip of her wand with an unbearable glow, anyway- enough to make the noonday sun look like a gloomy evening by contrast, enough to sear its photo negative into the retinas of anyone who looks. A swift series of sweeping bruhs-strokes creates the "A" and "K" above the pyramid, traced in the eyes of observers as a stark afterimage. A side-flip creates the "R". A slick baton-twirl traces out the "O". One last jagged tacking maneuver polishes it off with an "N". A K R O N One final flourishing twirl, and she points her wand towards the slithering beast. Maybe that bit of conducting won't add anything to the incantation- but it feels like it should, and that's probably worth something.
Shining Tiger	Magical runes and nuclear reactors fire up. The Serpent Mascot is battered, but still coming. AKRON is burned into retinas and the sky alike. Everyone chants and cheers. The crowd is rooting for them. Right before the Serpent can impact, something tremendous happens. A large silver phantasmal tiger appears, and flies forward. It crashes into the serpent, bludgeoning it back. This is the normal part of football. The abnormal part is when the pyramid powers activate. The tiger grows bigger and stronger. The jaws pry openâ¦ And devour the snake whole. The stadium goes silent. The Serpents stare. And then...the audience starts cheering. "AKRON! AKRON!" The Serpents forfeit, as the announcer calls it for the Tigers. But the Captain's last words are ominous. "You may have beaten us, but you'll never defeat the Four Titans. Their dark powers trample yours!" Congratulations, Tigers. You've won your first match. But is it your lastâ¦?