I don't know if you were planning it from the beginning and I'm just that good at guessing what your planning (This would make three for three) or if you read my previous post and decided that you liked the idea of trolling Louise by telling her that Setsuna has some elf servants. But PLEASE tell me that you are planning to go that route my imagination has been thinking up all kinds of hilarious scenes of what would happen if some of those (made up) elf servants showed up. (Around the time HecateGW has his "O shit" moment and is trying to deny the idea that Setsuna is a princess.) Mainly I have the idea for two elves that show up. 1st Elf Name-- Kylaf Ruaru (Ruby Moon, Star Dream) (See table two) Sex-- Male Age-- 850-900 Position-- Setsuna's bodyguard/ Military adviser / Tutor / trainer of the magic knights Noble stats-- Duke (Trusted retainers oversee his land for him) Honoree Titles-- The Hero of Cladre (Rose Hound, city), Burner of the Maggots Nest (Dark elf city), Slayer of the demon prince Rok, Master of the Crusades. Weapon of choice-- A silver Katana Hair-- Long Bright red Eye Color-- Amber Background-- Kylaf was born into higher nobility and as the heir to his family was tutored from a young age in dozens of subjects, ranging from battle to magic to academics to even art, and felt that it was his duty to his familiy to fulfill their expectations. When he was, around, 500 his home city was attacked by the demon/monster hordes and despite the cities resistence, which he help lead, was burned to the ground. Just before he was cut down the human army of the Cantha empire, lead by the then current Emperor William the Just, came to help fight back the army of the darkness. For saving the rest of his people Kylaf swore a life debt to the Emperor and has since then been the ever faithful servant of the royal family. He has lead the forces in many Crusades It was Kylaf who told the current Emperor, Setsuna's dad, to send Setsuna away for her own protection. Kylaf has vowed to see Setsuna put upon the throne and to protect her from all dangers, and therefore views Louise as a kidnapper. 2nd Elf (This one was made with the help of my inner Jiraiya and images of Tiffa) Name-- Shasol Ruarid (Sun memory, Star Spear) Sex-- Female Age-- 357 Position-- Setsuna's Maid / Doctor / Lesbian Stalker Noble Stats-- None Tits-- huge over the 100Cm mark (Does not wear a bra, therefore, one shall rise one shall fall) Weapon of choice-- two Tanto blades, her voice (Song magic) (She once killed a man with her boobs.) Hair-- Very long silver hair Eye color-- Sky Blue Background-- Shasol is a orphan and can not remember much about her family, only that they worked the land near Cladre before the city was invaded by the hordes. After seeing such horrors she dedicated her life to helping people, becoming one of the greatest doctors in the land despite her young, for an elf, age. On a dare, or at least thats what she said, Shasol used her medical knowledge to absorb hundreds of poisons into herself and created micro organisms that infuse her breast milk with a cure all to all the poisons that she has aborbed. If you can't tell yet, Shasol is a pervert of the highest order and is the type of person who would go up to a foreign, female, noble or royalty member, if they are cute enough, and ask them if they would want to sleep together, in full view of others. She is the one of the few people who can make Kylaf react, reguardless of what she is doing, even if she is doing something normal. ----------------------------------------------------------- Louise: "I don't believe you... even if you are a princess." Setsuna, with a smirk on her face, "What you believe and what is true are two different things." -------- Later ------------------- HecateGW: 'Crap, this world isn't a game, I have to do something before people really start treating my character as a Princess.' "Hey, Louise can we talk..." BOOM BOOM Louise: "What was that?" Random student #1: "Oh my god! Elves! run!" In the court yard of the school two elves stood, one male one female. The male was wearing black Canthan Assassin armor, to my surprise, while the female, who had the biggest pair of boobs i have ever seen outside of anime, was wearing a anime style maid uniform, that is more for the sexy then for work. The male elf looked at my character and called out, "My princess Setsuna, it is good to see that you are unharmed." HecateGW: 'What...' A wizard Did It I just spent like... three hours on this... DAMN YOU MUSE! Why did you have me work on this instead of one of my own stories!!?? From Anthony
Thanks for the compliment. While I might not flesh out the physical descriptions all the time in every snip, I will try to keep the reader somewhat informed of the surroundings, especially if it will become plot relevant. In other words, it will be a balancing act between keeping the reader 'in the know' and not going into writing like a historical document (informative, but a bit too dry). Good to hear that there is not anything urgen to be fixed just yet. As for the Musketeers and the Gryphon Knights? I would say that there is a bit of rivalry between the two as one is mostly based on merit irregardless of background status (Musketeers), whereas the Gryphon Knights are also merit-based, but strongly considers those with the proper status (Gryphon Knights). Eventually, they will work under one cohesive chain of command (grudgingly and not always informing the other of what is going) and they will begin to piece together some clues. However, I did drop a hint in one of the sidestories (the Wardes snippet of Ch.3) that not everyone will be willing to testify as the player did provide some assistance to a merchant or specifically a merchants' daughter. Once again, thanks for continuing to read and providing helpful feedback as I really want to grow as a writer and improve. I have to say that I am impressed by the level of thought put into those characters and while I was a bit wary of bringing anyone over from the main Guild Wars games, I am seriously reconsidering at this point as I still have a vague outline of what I want to happen during the time when Setsuna tries to reveal to Louise the TRUTH. Because of the amount of time and effort you put into this, I think that I might use a Guild Wars 2 race, the Sylvari, as the background for the characters you have made. Again, I am thinking on this one as I have yet to make a final decision as there is a rather special event that usually occurs in all the Guild Wars games that may allow for some crossover from Guild Wars to Void Ascension if the player can get the correct conditions in place. Thank you for your helpful comments and criticisms as always. P.S. I agree that Shinji Warhammer 40k is indeed awesome.
Suggest that they cross-over after a a visit in Guild-Wars as you hinted about when I pointed out the airship possibility/possibillities. Will our player one-day wake-up and find himself to be a herself for a little while?
Always happy to help Glad to see that all my hard work didn't go to waste then. While I have never played Guild Wars, I was never one to play online games, I will admit that I am surprised that they don't have elves in the game. The Sylvari, from what I read, sound like dryads, being plant people and all. Personally I think that they should be elves, as it is elves that the ZnT humans are scared of. Anyway, in the end, it is up to you on how you plan for the story, I'm just throwing out ideas. (Please make them elves) Here is one of the scenes that I thought up, for the lols, that I didn't have time to post (write up) last time. -------------------------------------------- As i watched the characters on my computer screen i couldn't help but think, 'What the fuck is going on here! I made up those characters! they shouldn't be real!' I rubbed my head as I got a dull ache as i tried to wrap my mind over the situation that i found myself in. On the screen Kylaf was training my mook... I mean Giovanni and his large cat familiar. 'Really, a pokemon reference... its things like that that made me think that this is all just a game.' "SETSUNA! HELP ME!" The trembling voice of Louise called out. turning Setsuna so that I could see what was happening I saw... an amazing sight really. Louise was, unwillingly, sitting on Shasol, who seemed to take great pleasure in rubbing the much smaller girl and trapping the poor (Lucky0 girl's head inbetween her "must be from an anime" sized boobs. 'The graphics are really good on this game.' i couldn't help but think as I watched, in stunned awe, the two girls. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! PLEASE GET YOU MAID AWAY FROM ME!" Louise screamed out again, having been able to free her head from the greatest prison of all time. "Shasol... Please free Louise... she doesn't like it." I finally said, 'Somebody needs to make an anime about this. "But I don't want ahh~~!" Shasol replied kissing Louise on the forehead as she did so. Louise, with small tears coming out of closed eyes, let out a cute moun. 'By god... its like this world has learned to weaponize cuteness' I am not ashamed to admit that I really, REALLY, liked what I was seeing. (I am a guy after all.) Suddenly a wooden sword hit Shasol in the head, causing Louise to jump up in surprise. The sword bounced off of the elf girl's head and actully hit Setsuna on the head as well. (Which i found to be amazing all things considered.) "Princess! are you ok!" Kylaf screamed out, as he kicked Giovanni's sword out of his hands before lashing out with a palm thrust to his head which knocked the poor boy on his ass. Before he could get up, his own sword came down and, hitting him in the head, took away the last of his HP. Bowing toward Setsuna, he said, "Please forgive this one, i was only trying to in force your orders." It was at that point that Louise, who was able to escape, suddenly hugged me from behind. She was trembling in fear, and I shuddered from my place in front of my computer when I realized that I COULD FEEL HER SHUDDERING AS IF SHE WAS BEHIND ME, NOT SETSUNA. 'Well, I think I've played enough for one day. hopefully enough that the dreams won't be as bad as normal.' i thought to my self. I was wrong. the dreams were getting worse. ----------------------------------------------------- DAMN YOU MUSE!! WHY DO YOU WORK FOR OTHER PEOPLE BUTNOT ME!! HecateGW, I don't know if i should be happy that you can make such an amazing story (That gets my muse going.) or that I should curse you with every fiber of my being (For getting MY muse to think of things for YOUR story.) I demand three new chapters to appease my rage. (180) Good luck with your next chapter.
Chapter Four, Part Two: Veritas vos Liberabit ------ Appearing on one of the outer edges of the forests on the outskirts of the Tristain Academy of Magic, I decided to not use my more esoteric abilities and just walk as opposed to using Setsunas' Shadow Step skills. Approaching the entrance at a sedate pace, I immediately noticed just how tall the central tower was and how it nearly resembled one of those sci-fi ships from Flash Gordon, especially that rocket ship that Flash Gordon himself used as his method of transportation. "I really feel old if I can compare that structure to the old Flash Gordon television series. I know I watched it when I was only eight on those reruns that usually took place during summer, but still," I trailed off as I moved Setsuna to take a more scenic route towards the entrance. Namely, walk around the entire perimeter as I took in the sights in the dimming light of sunset. "So, aside from the central towers' resemblance from the Flash Gordon movie, it has the typical greyish coloring found in stones," I noted. "And the overall look of the Academy appears to take after the pentagon shape of their religion and I don't suppose that the game artists in charge of the visual art had a bit of influence from the star forts that existed from the Medieval era into the late Renaissance. Good subliminal reminder if I ever saw one for the time period. With magic, of course." As I took a few minutes to just walk beside the wall, I noticed that my radar pinged a familiar name at extreme range: Jean Colbert, whom I remembered was titled the Clumsy Bald Badass. I pretended to ignore him as he began to approach my character from behind and see if he had any less than pleasant intentions. "After all, I did embarrass him in front of his employer, his employers' secretary, and a few of his students, including my Master, and he might want some payback," I whispered under my breath as I changed my secondary profession from Elementalist to the Mesmer. While the Mesmer class was not one of the stronger offensive professions in Guild Wars, it did specialize in interrupting spell-casters quite well and I could use that as a surprise element in case he did not come to meet Setsuna for a peaceful confrontation and I could use the practice as I felt that he was one of the stronger mages due to how he activated my LHoG runes in our first encounter. "If he is the badass that the title stated he was, then I will need some kind of ability that could potentially disrupt anything up his sleeve since all badasses tend to have the best damage per second and usually have some kind of powerful, trademark boss skill that I could potentially steal," I muttered as I chose the best interrupting skills of the Mesmer class as well as any illusionary back-up skills that could possibly confuse his aiming, maneuvering, and overall coordination. Just in case, I also reserved one skill slot with Frustration, a second slot with Panic, and another skill slot was taken by the Signet of Capture. Frustration is a Mesmer based skill that is useful in dealing out harmful effects to single enemies by causing any of their spell casting to take 50 percent longer and to take a moderate amount of damage every time a spell is interrupted. Panic is also a Mesmer based skill that is more of an area denial spell that would be useful just in case Colbert had brought some back up that were hidden like when Headmaster Osmond had been under some kind of illusion spell or they were hidden by being beyond my radar range. This skill would not harm the intended recipient, but cause any of his/her allies to become interrupted every time the victim used a skill. Last, the Signet of Capture was a handy little thing that could be used to add a potentially useful skill to my own skillset after I killed the boss, but could not be used on regular enemies. In addition to gaining a potentially useful skill, if the captured skill was an elite skill, then my character would be rewarded with experience points The rest of my skills were loaded with either Shadow Steps or generic Mesmer-based hexes that could be used as delay tactics in case I needed to make a tactical withdrawal if Colbert was too much to handle on the first playthrough. Walking closer to the wall, I noticed something else as I kept track of Colberts' movement in relation to my characters', "The stones of this wall are smooth. Extremely smooth for a pre-Industrial society. Then again, they do have magic, but I cannot imagine that it would be easy to keep the smooth look unless they can put some kind of enchantment that prevents the normal wear and tear of time, the wind, rain, animals, natural and artificial disasters, and other such factors. But such enchantments could not be strong enough, unless they have some kind of permanent side effect which I imagine is expensive by in-game currency." As he was now in listening distance from behind Setsuna, I further commented, "I guess that the Academy hires some Earth Mages to maintain the enchantments as I cannot imagine that this structure would be easy to cast a long-term, strong enchantment without a very good reason for the builders to do so." "You would be quite correct on those counts, Your Highness," came the reply. In response, I had Setsuna continue her slow walk and speak aloud: "You do not need to call me Your Highness, Jean. Did I not ask you to call me Setsuna the first night we met? If you could please join me for a walk around the Academy as I have a desire for good company," I said in a light tone as I wanted to see just how the script behind Jean Colbert would react to what appeared to be an implicit command from a foreign royal. "As you wish, Setsuna," he said as I could hear the shuffling of his robes as he jogged from behind and took a walking position roughly two steps to the right and one behind as some kind of protocol or etiquette. "Jean, please walk alongside me if it does not offend your sensibilities," I teased, "Or are you still afraid that you cannot hold back your desires for this virginal body of mine." Funnily enough, I could hear and see him cough lightly into his right fist as a blush crept up his neck in a pinkish color that I could not help but chuckle at. "I am only teasing you Jean. But I do hope that you will walk alongside me as I do value your company, despite only meeting a few days ago," I stated in a calm manner after Jean had gotten his cough under control and he took a few long strides to match Setsunas' pace. For a while, there was nothing but the sounds of the wind blowing through some of the surrounding trees and I continued to wait for a possible ambush that never came. It was then that I noticed the state of Colberts' clothing as it had small, dark stains. "Jean?" "Yes, Setsuna?" "How did you get those markings on your clothing?" In turn, Colbert looked down at his robes and looked up with a slightly sheepish smile as he answered me: "I truly am sorry that I am covered in this filth from tinkering with my inventions. I can go get a new set of robes if they offend you, Your, er, Setsuna." *snort* "Do not worry about the cleanliness issue, Jean. I suspect that you were merely busy doing something of importance much like how you forgot about your ink-stained hands in the library that night and that pesky little mouse." At the last part, Colbert let out some chuckles. "You had an encounter with the Headmasters' Familiar I take it?" "I certainly did. And he was the one responsible for your falling on me," I wryly said as I text commanded Setsuna to sigh. In response, he only chuckled more. "I truly apologize that your first impression of our esteemed Headmaster was not exactly the best," he said after he had gotten his mirth under control. "Oh do not worry. I do not believe that the mouse Familiar of your esteemed Headmaster will be much of a problem for myself in the coming days," I said as I continued speaking in a wry tone of voice and then I became curious and asked, "But I am curious as to why you do not remember my encounter with the mouse since you were there in the Library with me and the commotion in the Alviss Dining Hall?" "It must have slipped my mind in the Library as I was still feeling rather embarrassed and in the Hall, I was a bit busy consoling the Headmaster at the time over the loss of his and I quote 'precious panties'," he said in a somewhat dry tone. After a few moments of silence, we both shared a chuckle. For the next ten or so minutes, we continued to talk about mundane things like the history of the Academy and how it had originally been built as a fortification when Tristain had been at war. "The original Tristain Academy of Magic is believed to have been in existence since the time of Brimirs' death, but the original structure was destroyed during a terrible, possibly artificial disaster that shook the earth and it is believed that a mass of land that had once been connected to the south of Gallia, sank beneath the waves," Colbert said in a lecturing voice that reminded me of Indiana Jones when he was teaching those bored students about ancient history and artifacts. However, it was fortunate for me as I loved history and I also wanted to see just how much the history of the game world had been fleshed out and how it might have paralleled the Renaissance of Europe. Besides, I just discovered a possible reason why the Iberian peninsula no longer existed in this magical version of Europe. "There are some who believe that the Elves were responsible for destroying the land south of Gallia in an attempt to create an even greater amount of distance between the human-held Halkeginia and the Elven held Holy Lands," he said as we continued our walk. "And your historians believe that this terrible disaster was caused by the Elves?" I asked out of honest curiosity. "Yes. However, others have pointed out that documents over the past six thousand years have recorded natural disasters that involve great earth shakings every five to six hundred years all throughout Halkeginia and if one were to do the necessary math, then we would see that the pattern matches the time when the Academy was ruined and the land south of Gallia disappeared. This has become the more popular idea recently, although the religious factions continue to put the blame on the Elves." "Fascinating. So, when was the current Academy made?" "The great-great-great-great-grandfather of the current Queen was responsible for the creation of the central tower as a means of greater range of sight and as an architectural statement to the other powers that Tristain, while small, was not a nation that lacked talent," he said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Although, the students and faculty were still using the Manors of the Desiree family as it had been donated to the Crown as a temporary place of study in exchange that the Crown provide the funding for the upkeep." "And how long is temporary?" "Ah. Temporary as in several millenia as the Desiree family gained much from housing the Academy and the Court did not have to open up the Treasury for a more costly project involving a new facility for the Academy. Eventually, there were some noble families who became jealous and moved to slowly erode the Desiree familys' prestige and succeeded within the past century as that family has been in a steady decline, although there were rumors that a notable mage had emerged." While he was talking, I spotted a few nobles on my radar and noticed they had the titles Lecherous Male Noble and Lecherous Female Noble and I also noted that the male was a bit busy moving back and forth near the female. In the main screen, I noted that their position was behind a small cropping of trees, but I decided not to say anything as I was enjoying my talk with Jean and wanted to know more. 'While I could always enjoy the looks on their faces, I think I will just keep this as possible blackmail material later on if I encounter those two when I see their titles again,' I thought as Colbert and I continued our conversation. "That is fascinating to know Jean. I do not suppose that the ring of five towers around the central tower were made at the same time?" I asked as I kept a careful eye on my skills just in case I needed to activate them even though I became more convinced as time went on that Colbert had no intention to fight. But, it never hurt to be prepared. "You are correct in that the five towers were built afterwards as a means of protecting the central tower from invaders. Eventually, it was proposed that the military fortification be converted into educational uses as large scale wars had effectively ended against Tristain with a series of treaties between Tristain and many of her neighbors. This was done in an effort to recover some of the 11 million gold pieces it cost to build all five towers and the newly, reinforced Vault in the central tower." Once he finished his impromptu lecture, we arrived at the entrance. "Well. It has been a real pleasure speaking with you even though I originally came to inform you that Miss Valliere has been searching for you for some time," he said as he gave off a sheepish smile and a shrug of his shoulders as if to say 'my bad' or something along those lines. "It has been a pleasure on my part as well. We should do this again some time. You once said that the spots on your clothing were the result of your inventions? I think I would like to see them after I have spoken with Miss Valliere," I said as I text commanded Setsuna to agree on the pleasure part. "It is good to know that I was not the only one enjoying our little conversation. Now, I must get back to work on my new inventions and you are welcome to visit me in my office to see them. A good evening to you Setsuna," Colbert said pleasantly with a seemingly genuine smile on his face. "A good evening to you as well, Jean." Once he had re-entered the central tower, I could only say one thing: "Damn it! I was sooo prepared for a big boss fight and nothing happens! Clumsy Bald Badass, I will have my fight sooner or later!" I shouted in frustration. Once I was done shouting, I had Setsuna move towards where I knew the dormitories were and my pink-haired Tsundere Master. ------ Feedback is appreciated, especially any constructive criticisms, comments, or advice to improve. Authors' Note: I know that this is a filler of sorts, but I just wanted to show a bit more that this is a real, breathing world that has a rich history and culture behind it because once I get into the upcoming confrontation with Foquet, there will not be much time to explore the background information. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this. Even if it may come off as a bit boring. ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.
i like how the player is determined to have a bossfight with a friendly npc. it really points out the strange mentality that MMOs reward
You could tell that already since he equipped a Signet of Capture. Doesn't matter if someone is a "friendly NPC", he might have some unique skills! Kill him for the Blood God (and exp and epics)! E: Wait, come to think of it, how did he plan to grab some Elementalist skills while playing Assassin/Mesmer?
My only comment is "so who can possibly have heard Setsuna yelling that?" - ie, good work with the snippet
Nice snippet, don't worry if somebody consider it filler, you are not writing a shonen manga, and building the relationships between characters is good, Colbert is an important character in the setting, his interactions with Setsuna can be important for future plot development, like this beautiful example : Indeed, who could have heard that Cheers.
Can't give away anything about airships right now as I am a bit busy finding out just how difficult it would be to make the type of cannons I want to make unless I can get some really good Earth mages on my team. As for waking up, I have been leaning towards no for some time now as I want to keep this fic as a unique one in the sense that the interaction stays from the level of the mouse and keyboard. I cannot comment on whether or not there will be more teasing of the resident Tsundere. As for the Elves/Sylvari thing? I really need to sit down and think that over a bit more before making a final decision. Thank you for your input and the compliment. Yes, I was going for that angle as I wanted to show just how skewed or weird Setsuna is in her thoughts, preparations, and her shout at the end. The Halkeginia nobles, once they become accustomed to her, might think that either her entire nation of Cantha is like that or she is the exception. Anyway thank you for your feedback. If the fight had taken place, the player would probably curse out loud because Setsuna cannot capture non Assassin/Mesmer skills and complain not so much about killing Colbert or hiding the body, but that a potentially useful elite skill was lost, including the experience points that come with a good capture. That would really stand out to the people of Halkeginia and they might start to find ways to back away slowly from the clearly crazy, but oh so strong person. Oh yes. Who could have heard Setsuna yelling that? Thank you for reading. Eventually, I do plan to have Colbert and Setsuna butt heads on some issues like his anti-war stance, especially when/if it comes to light that Setsuna is helping speed up the evolution of gunpowder warfare, when it applies to muskets/arquebus, grenade launchers, and cannons. He will move to protect his students, but if he can, I think that he will try to stay away from the fighting as much as possible. As for who could have heard that, you'll just have to wait. Anyway, thanks for reading and for the advice.
Early Earth guns like a Gatling should be explained in a encyclopedie(?) from around the 80´s, those sets explain things way better then the more modern ones, since they include clearly drown pictures that help explaining things. As for the Gatling, think Wild-West period of Early, like a certain westerns happen to show, especialy certain italian made ones, including a couple with Clint.
Chapter Four, Part Three: Veritas vos Liberabit ------ Wandering down the various hallways and staircases, I was a bit busy wondering how I could have goaded Jean Colbert aka the Clumsy Bald Badass into a fight. All the while I was cursing my insatiable love of history and just how much time I had wasted in preparing Setsuna for a fight that never came. "I mean, seriously. How hard is it to get into a fight with someone titled Badass anyway?" "...." "I suppose that I could have teased him mercilessly about our encounter of the personal nature. But that might only work if this were Mass Effect and I could do some kind of Renegade Interrupt," I mumbled to myself as I had no reached the entrance to the dormitories and slowed my characters' pace. "...." "Then again, I could have insulted the admiration he had for his country since he spoke with so much pride over how Tristain was capable of building such an advanced structure, even with magic," I continued mumbling to myself as I kept a distracted eye on the radar that showed the various names of the students, or rather, their titles if Setsuna had not gotten their actual names yet. "Huh. Looks like Giovanni is down the hallway and one floor below the room of Master Louise," I said aloud even though there was no one in the hallway at this hour. "That's good to know in case I need someone to run menial tasks. If the Achievement List is to be trusted, then he will either be the loyal NPC that can get anything done or he is the double or triple agent that is planted in my party who will likely fight me in a duel to the death like Master and Apprentice." And I had Setsuna stop at the entrance to the room of Louise Valliere as I spoke to myself. "I suppose I could mold him much like Obi-Wan Kenobi molded Anakin Skywalker. But do I really want to deal with a whiny, emo brat for however long it takes to bring him up to my level?" "Then again, it depends if the background character information included a broken home in which his last remaining relative is captured by Sand people, er.... do they have Sand people here?" "Maybe I could make it Elves?" *snort* "He could barely keep his bowel movements under control when he was threatened by a mere human who was only going for brutal, but less than lethal strikes and, in his case, I didn't even hit him! How much more if he were threatened by Halkeginias' most feared and hated enemy?" "Vampires?" "Hmmm....that probably wouldn't work and he would get his ass kicked before he could survive long enough to pull of an attempted backstab on me during the games' climax." "Maybe if I had his remaining relatives captured by some pirates who torture and eventually have said remaining relatives die in a dramatic fashion that sets him on the path to the Dark Side?" "And once he gains enough levels, I could gain even more experience points and possibly some skills to capture after killing him in a suitably climactic battle over some land with a molten lava setting." Thinking about a Darth Vader-like scenario lifted my spirits and I began to think aloud how such a fight could happen with some memorable quotes. *mimes Darth Vader voice and breathing* "I've been waiting for you, Setsuna. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master," I said as I tried my best to imagine Giovannis' tenor voice transformed into the bass-like quality of the Sith Lord with his scuba diver breathing sounds. "Only a master of evil, Darth," I imagined Setsuna responding as she readied her blade. "Once the climactic battle reaches its' zenith, I proceed to use my best combos to take him out," I said as I text commanded Setsuna to nod to herself. "But, it all really depends if Giovanni really cares for any of his family members, assuming he has any living family members left," I said as I realized that I really hadn't taken the time to do the standard RPG style interaction so that I could have a helpful summary stored on my Journal Log for future reference when planning on how to make my mook/apprentice become one with the ham. "Choices, choices, choices." "One option. I could set Giovanni up to become the most terrible Dark Lord of Halkeginia and I the Light Lady who destroys him in such a way that I am hailed as the second coming of a Founder of sorts," I said as I began to have Setsuna pace up and down the hallway. "Another option is to have Giovanni become such a powerful figure in Halkeginia politics and use him as my puppet while I become the power behind the throne," I mused. "Or I could just fashion him into the loyal servant that becomes a member of the Magnificent Seven or whatever fashionably epic and grand title our little group may have," I said as I noticed a familiar name move towards the entrance of her room: Louise Valliere. "I'll have to think on this later. Time to face the music," I said as I approached the door to her room and used one of the bonus text commands of Void Ascension: knock on object. After knocking on the door, the solid, wooden frame, which I noted looked similar to Oak, swung open quickly and I was exposed to a pink-haired girl in her nightclothes and showing a mixture of emotions on her face which would scrunge up one moment and change into a white pallor the next. This process continued for about ten seconds before I decided to put a stop to her emotional roller coaster that seemed to have taken hold of the tsundere loli in front of Setsuna. "Oh for crying out loud Louise! Will you let me in or not?" For a few seconds, she stood absouletly still in the doorway as her mouth mimicked one of those koi fish I had always seen in one of those documentaries that National Geographic had back in the 1990's. "So?" "...." "Louise? Anybody home?" "...." *dramatic sigh* "I suppose I shall just have to sing a wonderful song once again and it goes like this: I ache for the touch of your lips, dear, But much more for-" "NO MORE WHIPPING!" she shouted as she was shaken out of her stupor and yanked Setsuna inside the door with so much force that I noticed the Conditions called Dazed and Crippled had been added to my character at the top of the screen, much to my amazement. Dazed is the Condition that causes all spells to take twice as long to cast and allows for easy interruption of all spells. This Condition is typically displayed on the screen by numerous bubble-like animations surrounding the head for as long as the Condition is in place. Crippled is the Condition that causes any affected being, NPC, or player character to move fifty percent slower and this is often shown by a limping animation of the characters' leg, either left or right, depending on which leg was struck. After she had shut the door and turned to Setsuna, I interrupted her as she opened her mouth. "How did you do that?!" "Do what?!" "Inflict Dazed and Crippled on my stats?!" "What?! I have no idea what you're talking about! And what was that about whips agai-" "Was that some kind of Elite Skill?!" I said as I prepared my Signet of Capture just in case Louise had an actual, touch-based skill that inflicted two very useful Conditions at the same time that I could use for my Spiker build. The Spiker build is just a series of skills combined together that is designed specifically to perform so much damage and Condition effects on one or two characters before any of the enemy support could intervene and effectively mission-kill the intended target. "You are not making any sense at all?!" she shouted back at my character as her face began to take on a reddish tint, much like one of those cartoon animations back in the day. "But you affected me! Look at how I am currently hobbling. I....oh that's right, you're not an NPC Skill Trainer, so you couldn't have come pre-loaded with that knowledge. Sorry. Go ahead with your tsun-tsun," I said as I text commanded Setsuna to make a flippant gesture with the hand as I noticed that the Conditions on Setsuna faded away. "Wha- you, you. I do not know what this soon soon thing is or this en pee see, but I will not be insulted by the likes of my own Familiar!" she responded and as the words left her mouth, she immediately gasped in shock and covered her mouth while her face drained of all color. "I-I," and before she said anything else, Louise dropped to her knees in some form of deferential posture and her head bowed so that her face was looking on the floor. While she was in this kneeling stance, I could read the text bubbles above her head as she mumbled very quietly and I thanked the game mechanics of Guild Wars that made sure that all spoken words by NPC's had the accompanying script written out in text for the player to read. "Mother's going to kill me. Mother's going to kill me. Mother's going to kill me." While it was amusing enough to see the formerly, hot-headed girl take a full one-eighty in mood swings like one of those harem anime characters, I decided to head off this line of conversation and find out what was so important that Jean Colbert could not be goaded into a fight with Setsuna because he had to do an errand on behalf of Louise Valliere. "Louise." "Mother's going to kill me." "Louise." "Mother's going to disown me." "Lou~ise," I said in a sing-song way. "Mother's going to disown me, then kill me." "LOUISE," I shouted. "EEEEEEKKK," she squealed as she jumped nearly a foot into the air as I tried my best to analyze how she had accomplished such a Skill without any Activation Time or if it was just an inherent ability much like how certain non-human species could perform Skills that had no other explanation than racial talent or in this case, Halkegninia talent. "Get up, Louise," I said gently. "It-it is not proper of a member of nobility to stand in the presence of Royalty," she said as her stutter went away and her voice entered some kind of automated style of speech while she took on a kneeling position once again. "So, you will not stand up if I request it?" "Only if the Her Highness commands it." "Then I command you Louise Valliere to stand in Our presence and relax," I said as my order ended in a chuckle on my part. For a moment, I thought that she would defy my, or rather, Setsunas' order as I could see her body fidget in place as though she were debating with herself in her own mind. Finally coming to a decision, she stood up, but continued to keep her head down. Having thought that this would be one of her possible reactions, I text commanded Setsuna to begin to clap her hands, much like the previous time when singing the Masochism Tango. This time, I would be singing another Tom Lehrer song; the one that I had promised to share with Kirche. "If you will not relax, then you give me no choice: I love my friends and they love me, We're just as close as we can be. And just because we really care, Whatever we get, we share!" As I began my song, she steadfastly refused to lift her head as she shuffled her feet and I read another text bubble above her head: "At least it isn't that whipping song again. Thank the Founder. I can handle this then." I mentally grinned as I wondered just how quick she would change her thought process as soon as she discovered the hidden meaning behind this song as I continued: "I got it from Agnes, she got it from Jim, We all agree it must have been him, Louise who gave it to him. Now she got it from Harry who got it from Marie, And everybody know that Marie, got it from me!" And the song continued until I saw her face snap up to meet Setsunas' as it was frozen in a rictus of horror and disgust. "ENOUGH! FIRST WHIPPING AND THEN, THEN, THAT," she screamed as she began to enter some state of near-shock similar to hyperventilation. *belly laughter* "Oh Louise. You would not listen to me when I commanded you to relax, so I just thought to help you relax in another manner altogether," I said between bouts of laughter as Louise stopped gasping and began to pout in Setsunas' direction. "That was so mean," she muttered. "But effective," I countered as my laughter had mostly gone away. "How can Your Highness be so vulgar and-" "Did I not say relax? Just call be Setsuna and I will call you Louise. Fair enough?" I proposed. "I....suppose," she hesitantly agreed in a little girl voice that was completely at odds with her previous show of strength when she had first greeted Setsuna at the doorway. "Come. Let us sit on your bed and talk of that which you wished to address with me. After all, it must have been important if you had Professor Colbert search for me," I said as I text commanded Setsuna to sit on the bed and planned on how I could fully exploit her emotional weakness in order to gain a connection to her parents, the Duke and Duchess Valliere for political support. 'After all. The best quests always come from the parent of the Tsundere and Female Protagonist/Sidekick in terms of experience points and loot,' I thought to myself. And so, we began our long talk into the night. ------ Feedback is appreciated and many thanks go out to all those who have helped me refine my writing style over the past few months. Authors' Note: This snippet actually came a bit naturally as I haven't felt this inspired since the time I began this piece of fiction way back when we were still on the 20-page limit threads and we were burning through threads in the ZnT Crossover section like it was going out of style. Anyway, the inspiration of the song comes once again from Tom Lehrer and it is titled 'I Got It From Agnes' and it never explicitly mentions what is being hinted at the entire time. ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.
... *squints* is it just me, or did the player not even notice Tabitha was around and made some offhand replies? (I'm guessing the "..." and "Vampire?" was by Tabitha, Tabitha might have enough 'Sneak' skill or whatever the Guild Wars equivalent is to escape Setsuna's notice?) Also, 'Dazed and Crippled' by physical contact? I was expecting this to happen by a Explosion, but just by yelling too loud? The character is gloriously mad by ZnT standards, while being in-character as a enthuastic gamer. Bravo on that.
If she actually used Explosion, Setsuna would be putting that SoC to "good" use by trying to grab "new elite skill" - note it was one of her first reactions. It's just an NPC after all and hey, maybe it would provoke "old badass" to fight, too. Shame about her mother "quests", but if the skill is good enough, it's worth it. That's... not quite the "typical gamer". It's going straight for Renegade territory - in the old "renegade as an evil bastard that doesn't care about anyone except himself" sense, not the modern "I do what needs to be done, no matter the cost". Plus, talking to himself - yep, he's losing it.
Eh, I wouldn't really call planning aloud as a sign that he's losing it (though that's mainly because I do the same thing whenever I try and make a battle plan in strategy games) but the willingness to kill for skills is definitely a bad sign. Maybe. I haven't actually played Guild Wars so for all I know it might very well be common practice to kill NPCs with good skills and then just wait for them to respawn and act like nothing ever happened.
Killing for skills is common in Guild Wars. However, you do it to your typical RPG enemies - well, bosses. You don't really provoke "civilians"/friendly NPCs into a fight to kill them. That's just wishful thinking on "Setsuna" part, hoping Colbert would go red so she can grab his "Flame Snake" or whatever. Would be kinda like murdering GW henchmen if they had some elite skill you needed. In short, Lawful (or Neutral?) Evil? Will obey the rules, but the moment there's a chance, Colbert/Louise/whoever might end up on the wrong end of Signet of Capture...
small typo. now on with the show. That was , Setsuna crazy aloud brainstorming (gotta love her lack of inner monologue), ninja Tabitha and Louise, oh God poor poor Louise . This is gonna end like one of those Hollywood massive car crashes, and it's going to be GLORIOUS!!!. You my good Sir truly have the favor of the muses, keep on your inspired writing.
Good advice there! The biggest obstacles I can see is mostly getting the right infrastructure in place, obtaining the correct connections to back my venture, and ensuring that Setsuna gets first dibs on all proof-of-concepts. If I could only do the Dr. Evil smily, I would. So you'll just have to accept this. Let's just say that the radar function the player was half-paying attention to is not infallible as those with the right skills and mentality can avoid detection and the player was a bit busy monologing, I suppose. As for Dazed and Crippled, I wanted to show that Louise had physically yanked Setsuna into her room and that there were certain effects, much like how certain special effects can happen during holiday or special event only situations in Guild Wars but usually do not happen in combat areas. And thank you. Exactly. The idea of using SoC was more to the old habit of keeping it in the skill slot whenever there were Named Characters around since, only bosses usually have names other than generic so and so. However, the player has noticed that there is a much more freestyle of gameplay in Void Ascension due to being able to engage almost anyone so far and was honestly hoping that goading certain Named Characters might allow for the capture of certain skills. Talking aloud is just one way the player is using to iron out some details without realizing that some people might actually be listening in. Killing for skills is quite common in Guild Wars, but usually only Named Characters among the Bosses. Also, you brought up a good point about how the player mentality thinks that respawn will just happen since this is just a game. That's almost an accurate description of how Setsuna is being played out: somewhere in the Lawful to Neutral territory if this were DnD and add the gamer mentality of grabbing the best skills off of Named Characters for the purpose of advancing the player character which results in someone who would be viewed as absolutely ruthless. In this game, Setsuna thinks that because Guild Wars had Named Characters that carried the Elite Skills, that Named Characters would also have certain Elite Skills to be taken and add the little part that the player has realized implicitly the freestyle of gameplay where anyone can be targetted. Capturing skills will be pretty much easy, with a few notable exceptions. Defeating the character to get said skill? Not so much. Thanks for pointing out my typo. Yeah, this really does look like a massive car crash in the making. Now imagine if you could watch a Hollywood car crash on IMAX. Say goodbye to canon as certain events in the capital have give a big wake up call to those who were satisfied with the status quo that all is not right and the system needs a major overhaul. Not everyone will be pleased by this. Anyway, thank you for all that you have said.
Chapter Four, Part Four: Veritas vos Liberabit ------ "And you were actually stuck in the middle of it all," I said in between bouts of chuckles as I could not help but be amused at how much trouble Louise had caused when the Tristain Royal Family had paid a visit to the Valliere Estate. "Ye-yes. Big sister Eleanore was absolutely furious with me, but the look on her face was worth the punishment that came later," responded Louise as she broke into a fit of giggles after having described how she had embarrassed Eleanore in front of the Royal Family. For some time now, Louise had been explaining to me a bit of the trouble she had gotten into as a child and how she was often punished by her mother and eldest sister. While Setsuna was sitting on the edge of the bed, Louise was sitting with her legs tucked beneath her, in the middle, as I engaged her in some less than informative conversation. But this conversation had a purpose. It's not like we were gossiping. Nope. No gossip at all. Really, I was just doing this for another reason entirely. In the beginning, I had attempted to get Louise to relax to no avail. So, remembering some of the methods used by modern psychologists and therapists, I began to touch on topics that were of much comfort and joy for her to talk about. At first, there was not much to say as she would stutter every other sentence, until I asked her about her sisters. When she spoke of the middle sister warmly, I knew that I had hit the jackpot and exploited her emotional weakness and attachment to this person and she opened up like the Banqiao Dam failure in China of 1975. Rather morbid analogy considering the death toll, but I could not think of any other metaphor that described just how chatty Louise had become after I kept asking question after question about her beloved middle sister who was now known to me as Cattleya. Eventually, we reached the part about how she had been such a mischievous child, much to her mothers' and eldest sisters' consternation. And that was where we were now at. And no gossip either. This was just a means to my end. Really. "Louise. You said that you were once given a gift from Eleanore before coming to the Academy. What exactly was that gift?" I asked after Louise had calmed down enough. The response was not one I had honestly expected. Her face blossomed into a color that resembled an heirloom tomato at its ripest and I initially thought that it was anger that caused the remarkable change. On another note, the scientist in me could not help but try to look at this situation in a more objective light and see just how far the gaming code took into account such reactions to the player character. 'Fascinating,' I thought to myself. 'I must find some way to document this and even create some tests and see if different topics produce different results. Maybe I could even hire some prostitutes to help further test the very limits of what the gaming code has stored away. I might be rewarded some kind of achievement and possibly some experience points since there has been a bit of encouragement to explore non-combative options in the past'. While I was thinking, I paid only passing attention to her stuttered denials: "Not my id-id-idea at all!" she half-shouted while she waved her hands in front of her face as though it would help her cause for some odd reason. "N-No wh-whippings see?!" she denied more vehemently this time as I was still in my thoughts and had not verbally or physically responded to her and her hands were now waving even faster than before. "H-Honest. I-I swear by the F-Founder!" she continued to plead with Setsuna as there was still no reaction and her handwaving had begun to slow down from apparent exhaustion. "Pleasebelieveme!" "Believe what Louise?" I asked as my inner thoughts ended on how to explore her various emotional responses since they were so refreshing from the typical RPG style conversational interactions and I really enjoyed how the script writers could make such impressive amounts of adaptive dialogue to fit the character profile in relation to the player character. "Ireallynevermeanttowhipyou!" she said without pauses as she began to start breathing rapidly. For the second time in so many hours, she began to show signs of hyperventilation and I did not want her to pass out so fast without having pumped her for side-quest information. I mean, I was getting a little bored with the free form RPG elements and I wanted to see if there were any treasures to be looted, ancient monster to be slain, damsels to be rescued, and so on. "Breathe Louise. Breathe," I said firmly because I knew that I would never be able to effectively test any of my hypotheses if said test subject passed out prematurely and the chance for getting new sidequests would be lost for the night. "There you go Louise. One breath at a time. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Good. Now, if the topic of the gift from your sister Eleanore is too much for whatever reason, we do not need to discuss it," I said while I mentally added 'yet' to the end of my assurance. "Thank you, Setsuna. I would rather not speak on such a topic as it is v-very uncomfortable for me right now," she said as she smoothed out her nightgown in some measure "Your welcome, Louise. Now, I am curious if you could answer a few questions of mine?" I asked as I began to formulate a somewhat, coherent plan that involved taking subtle control of the conversation so that I could inquire as to the viability of her parents acting as sponsors for some of my ideas. "But of course, Setsuna. Ask away," Louise stated as she shifted slightly into a more comfortable position. "I apologize for my bluntness, but I do prefer not to play with words when I can simply say what I mean and mean what I say. So, why did you seek me out? And why was Professor Colbert looking for me as well?" I asked with a somewhat gentle tone because I did not want to spend another half hour of conversational therapy that some would call gossip. "Well. You see. How do I put it?" she said after she began to twiddle with her fingers and look down at her lap. "I felt that I had overreacted and I *gulp* owe you an apology for my words and actions as they were not befitting of a Valliere," she finished in a near whisper. At first, I thought about accepting it outright, but then I did want to keep control of the conversation. And what better way than to keep her on her toes. Unfortunately, my chosen method might have been a bit overboard for her poor innocent mind. "Apology not accepted," I said sternly. In response, her snapped back up as her eyes locked onto Setsunas' own with a wide-eyed look of shock. "Wha-" "Apology not accepted because none was ever needed in the first place," I interrupted gently. "I wha- huh?" she said as her face took on a gobsmacked look. 'By all that is holy is her face easy to read,' I thought to myself. 'I'm just glad that the programmers gave me the easily manipulated tsundere rather than the Xanatos-style Iron Lady template for a starting partner. I guess this is just easy or normal mode'. Not wanting to get her back in full control of her mental faculties, I immediately gave a few stipulations. "However, I would be most grateful if you were to assist me in more carnal matters," I teased. "What!" she squeaked out as her wide-eyed face was rapidly turning red once more while her body became quite rigid in response to my sudden request. "Maybe you could allow me to teach you in the more worldly ways?" I said while I had Setsuna move closer to the red-faced Louise who was now looking at Setsuna with even wider eyes. *murgle* was the only response as she fainted on the bed with her hair somehow splaying out in nearly symmetrical fashion that defied the laws of physics. "....well now. This blows," I said to no one in particular as the only other company was currently passed out. "I guess I now know not to touch anything sexual in nature unless I want the lead female NPC to pass out before getting any plot-relevant information out of her," I said aloud as I took notes on what not to say the next time until I could properly de-sensitize her. "Maybe I should bring her to the local brothels in Tristania. Could help the NPC if there is some kind of trigger mechanism that loosens her to risque dialogue, let alone the more vigorous activities of the physical nature," I pondered aloud as I had Setsuna stand up while I checked the Quests and discovered that there was one that I had started after delivering the goods to the hidden shed beneath the Earth Tower: The Transporter. "Gotta wonder if it's related somehow to that Jason Statham movie, only set in the Renaissance era. Maybe I get to ride a horse or lead a carriage?" I asked myself as I was not certain just how such a side-quest would play out. "Oh well. Won't really know until I try it," I tried answering my onwn question. "Now. What kind of build would be useful for a quest called The Transporter. If it really is inspired by the movie, then I'm probably looking at, well, transporting some goods or people from one location to another while I am being chased down by mobsters, guards, constables, military, and anyone else that might be interested in what I am supposedly protecting," I mused as I text commanded Setsuna to mime violin playing. "Maybe a modified form of the Minion Master for the extra meatshields? But the problem is that I can't be certain if there will be long periods between fights and I could end up bringing down the wrath of the Church if anyone escapes to tell of the monstrosities I summon," I wondered. "That would be one option until I can create my own personal army to fight off any attempts at an Inquisition on my activities." "How about a Trapper? That definitely has potential provided I can actually visit the intended route of travel between point A and point B. But again, that defeats the sole purpose of transporting things since I probably won't have the luxury of time," I said as I stopped Setsunas' violin playing and text commanded her to mime guitar playing. "Just something to keep in mind as a just in case." "I think that the Hexway build would be best. After all, transporting objects or people does not need to actually kill the obstacles, even if it would net me some pretty nice experience points, I just need to delay any opposition long enough for me to succeed," I said with finality as I felt that I had found the build I was looking for. The Hexway build was specifically designed to place enemy opponents, especially the support spellcasters, into a lose-lose situation in which either their allies will take damage or the original victim takes damage. Also, the skills involved were generally chosen for their ability to be cast faster than the enemy spellcasters could remove them, with the exception of the big bosses. "I guess it's settled then. Hexway it is," I concluded and took a look at the still passed out form of Louise Valliere who was now giving off a slight snore and shivered slightly as she curled up in a fetal position. "You look a bit cold there and I can't have you dying from a cold, assuming mundane diseases can affect NPC's outside of combat, before you give me some really good missions and quests," I said as I used another of the bonus text commands that came with the Domestic Chores Novice Achievement: tuck in bed. However, the action showed why the title still said novice as Setsuna carried Louise a bit too close to the headboard. Specifically her head. *THUD* "munya, munya, munya," Louise murmured as her face scrunched in what appeared to be pain. "Um....oops?" I said as I tried my best to hold in my laughter less I woke her up before I could leave this room for some exploring. Once she was firmly tucked in, I took the opportunity to glance at my inventory in case I needed anything for the night as I saw the two moons shining brightly in the nightsky. Once done with skimming over my combat-related items, Setsuna left the room and the LHoG runes began to slightly activate as though I were about to be attacked. A quick glance left and right showed that no one was there, but I remembered that I had been ambushed by Headmaster Osmond without his person ever appearing on the targetting radar. "Oh....I guess whoever is there heard me talking out loud then?" I ventured because I finally realized that I might have blown whatever plans I had intended to enact. For a while, there was no response. Just as I was about to leave, the radar revealed one familiar name to my characters' back: Tabitha. "Your Highness," I read in the text bubble even though I barely heard a whisper on the audio. "Tabitha. I take it you want to talk," I said as I had Setsuna turn around slowly. "Yes. Courtyard. Now," I read once more while she began to walk to the courtyard. "Huh. Wonder what she could want," I said to no one in the hallway as I began to follow her path. ------ I really do enjoy all of the helpful feedback as they have really pointed out some of my obvious mistakes, help me write better in general, or just encouraged me to write more. Thank you all. Authors' Note: Well, there were some who called it and kudos to you all as I wanted to show that there was someone, but the player was not paying attention as closely as could have been done because of not remembering the little encounter with Osmond and how frustrated the player was at not having the chance to get more Elite Skills (even though it would not have worked because Elementalist-based skills cannot be taken by those with Assassin/Mesmer professions not that the player was thinking that at the time). We shall see what the Midget Dragon Rider wants in the next few snippets, hopefully. ZnT/Guild Wars Crossover with PC-Controlled Assassin.
Setsuna uses psychology on chibi tsundere ............. It's Super Effective Congratulations you had me laughing on the floor for over 5 minutes. Setsuna is so evil with our poor fragile favorite tsundere ........ Keep On It, I bet she still has some sanity left hit her on her psychological weak spot FOR MASSIVE DAMAGE!!!!!!. Very nice snippet, Setsuna like any good player is determined to milk the "game" for all it's worth, and mysterious Tabitha, seems like Setsuna will begin to feel the consequences of her actions.
Tabitha wants to talk? This will either be very good or very bad... And if you keep going down the steps on pushing the boundaries of the 'game' what with brothels and 'seduction', you might want to find a alternate forum to post the story, ie one that won't ban you ^^;
I'm kinda suprised she wants to talk alone. After hearing Setsuna talk to herself about some reeeally weird things, average person would assume she is either crazy, or at very least "unbalanced" - and as such not really safe to talk with alone. Unless... but we already had a duel, didn't we? Granted, it was a complete curbstomp, so maybe it doesn't count. Or perhaps we're going slightly "meta". After all, Tabitha is such a great speaker and fascinating person, that having a "conversation" with her is a punishment - especially with one side sprouting their usual craziness, and the other merely shaking their head in pity.
*snorts trying to hold back laughter* That sounds so much like Pokemon that I'm almost tempted to write an Omake about Setsuna viewing Halkeginia like that. Anyway, thank you for the compliment and the review. Yeah Tabitha is going to be an interesting person to talk with as she is less likely to put up with BS. As for doing anything more naughty? Chances are, this is as far as I will go in writing out such innuendo and anything that does happen will likely be off screen. But, thank you for the reminder and thanks for reading. I've always imagined Tabitha as less willing to put up with the antics of her fellow students at the Academy and she might not have as much patience in dealing with Setsuna, except for following protocol on acknowledging Royalty usually means powerful, as far as she knows. There will probably be a duel sometime in the future, but I can neither confirm nor deny that it will be with Tabitha. Anyway, thanks for reading.
