Special Event! The Royal Weddings

[Vulpix]

A rushed meeting comes a hasty vote, and a few knee-jerk decisions. Were they the right ones for Ronpa?

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Prismed Rim - Petrardian Invasion

VOTE - How shall the Prismed Rim respond to these attacks?

A) Hire spies to infiltrate Petrard and learn the secrets of gunpowder.

It's a risky and expensive gamble, sending spies into Petrardian territory. If they were discovered, the attack on Ratsburgh could very well increase in intensity! Each member of Prismed Rim spends a small fortune disguising a few men as Kalasian merchants, trying to buy gunpowder. Perhaps it was the war being a drain on finances, Petrard's lackadaisical attitude towards military secrets, or sheer incompetence, but a few spies are able to get away with plans detailing how to actually use gunpowder to make explosives! 

Coincidentally, Ratasaki was actually built on a large vein of gunpowder. What a stroke of luck! With these plans secreted away, Ratsburgh now has a fighting chance against the Petrardian menace! 

(Wealth -500 each Alliance territory, [Ratsburgh] Military +3)

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Provincia Smaragdina - Morvaug Invasion

VOTE - How should this threat be addressed?

A) Give the territory of Magimkam to the invaders. Evacuate the remaining citizens to the Ronpa Plains, effectively combining the two territories into one.

The writing on the wall is clear. A two-front war is simply not sustainable. Sacrifices have to be made. The last vestiges of Magimkam's forces make a desperate final attack against Morvaug's forces, losing battle after battle. But these military distractions are the perfect cover to evacuate the remaining citizens to the Ronpa Plains. Impervious Beargrasshatchway III is welcomed at Zi Hao's home with open arms. They decide to form a provincial government in the best interests of their people, forming the Magi Plains. 

A few weeks after Magimkam fell, the Morvaug Empire sent wave after wave of derelicts, criminals, and the weak and unwanted into the land. With the land razed, and no banner to fly under, said colony was an exercise in futility, doomed from the start. Strangely, Morvaugian troops stayed at the borders of Ronpa Plains and Monstrome, declaring this new land a new nation, Pech. A missive was sent to the King, stating that Pech was to be assimilated into the Kingdom of Ronpa else more territory would be taken by force. Seems Morvaug wants to influence Ronpan politics, but to what ends?

Regardless, it seems a new nation will be seated at the table. How loyal are they to their former Empire? I suppose we shall see.

(Fuse the governments of Ronpa Plains and Magimkam, Lose all of Magimkam's Stat Bonuses/Negatives)

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United States of Azulongmon - A Mysterious Disappearance

VOTE - Who was responsible for the disappearance of Oat Milque and so much money?

C) Bandits from within the USA. Bandit attacks have always been common enough, but this time they have taken things too far! A boy’s life could be in danger. (% Chance based on region’s Military x 10 + 25)

The combined Military Might of the United States of Azulongmon scour the land for these bandits, Soy Milque at the head of the search party. It takes some weeks, but the bandits are cornered deep in Monstrome territory. After a few raids, a few bits of treasure captured, and an encirclement of the Bandit Leader's main camp...

Score Needed: 65/100

Rolled...01

Success!

The Bandits are wiped out, Soy's fury near impossible to defeat. After the battle is won, a large cash of treasure is found! It's the missing money (and a bit more too!). The other members of the USA get a little bit uppity about their military being used, so Soy agrees to split the money equally amongst them. Still, what about Oat?

Found in the Leader's tent, hidden in the bottle of a chest of gold is a small note, stating the following:




"Deer Almond and Soy

I am going on an aventer with my new frends. Sorry I didint tell you befor I left. They maid me promiss to keep it a secrit but they seid I coud male you this letter next time we stop at a town. Plese plese plese do'nt be mad at me! I promiss I will be goud and stay saif and I will com back soon! I will evan bring back a presant for Semimon and Demimon and Longmon and the new baby wehn I com home. I love you

Forum Oat"

- O

Behind the chest is a small hole, where a few scraps of Oat's cloak are tucked in. The hole leads deep into the wilderness. Soy tries to follow but the trail runs cold. He is forced to return home empty-handed, with naught but a pile of treasure to gain.

(Each member of the USA gains 800 gold. Monstrome gains 1 Military and 1 Trade.)

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Capitol - Casimir’s Return

VOTE - What should be done with the errant Prince?

B) Welcome the prince back, and celebrate his return with the Royal Wedding!

With the King's sudden proposal and the Prince's sudden return, it seems a rushed Royal Wedding is on the table tonight!


+2 Stability

+1 Authority

+1 Faith nationwide

-3000 Treasury



-100 Gold (All non-USA alliance members)



+1000 Gold (?? You know who you are)

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꧁༺ 𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝔂𝓮, 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝔂𝓮! ༻꧂

𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑒𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝓊𝒶𝓁 𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓎, 𝒸𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒷𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒿𝑜𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝑜𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝒶𝓉𝓇𝒾𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓎.

𝒟𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓎, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒹𝒾𝒻𝒻𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒷𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝑔'𝒪𝓃𝓉𝒶𝑔𝓃𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒜𝓁𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒹, 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓂𝓊𝓈𝒾𝒸 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓋𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑅𝑜𝓎𝒶𝓁 𝒪𝓇𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶.

𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒯𝓎𝓇𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓊𝓈 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝒱𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 𝒱𝒶𝓃𝓎𝒶𝓇𝒶 ℰ𝓁𝒹𝓈𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓎𝒹 𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓎, 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒫𝑜𝓅𝑒 𝒞𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓇𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓉 𝐼𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓊𝓈 𝒟𝓊𝒸𝓀𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝐼𝒳 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻. 𝒯𝓎𝓇𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓊𝓈, 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓁 𝓇𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓈, 𝒾𝓈 𝒿𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓃, 𝒱-𝓂𝑜𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂𝓈𝓂𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝑜𝓂 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓇 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑜𝑔𝓃𝒾𝓏𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓈𝓉𝓁𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝒻𝒻 𝓂𝑒𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓈. 𝒱𝒶𝓃𝓎𝒶𝓇𝒶, 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈 this, 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓃𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓊𝓇, 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓂𝒶𝒾𝒹𝓈 𝐼𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝐵𝑒𝒶𝓇𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓉𝒸𝒽𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒵𝒾 𝐻𝒶𝑜.

𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓇 𝒾𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝑒𝒹 𝐿𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝒫𝓇𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓂𝑜𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒶 𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽𝑜𝒹𝑜𝓍 𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓎 𝒹𝓊𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒻𝓁𝒾𝒸𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝓊𝓇𝒸𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝐵𝓁𝒶𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓎𝒹. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝑜𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒸𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓇𝓈, 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓎. 𝒫𝓇𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓇 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓍𝒸𝒾𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓇 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓎 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉, 𝑜𝓇𝑔𝒶𝓃𝒾𝓏𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒩𝑒𝓏𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓃𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂𝓈𝓂𝑒𝓃, 𝑅𝒶𝓉 𝑅𝒶𝓉𝓈𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒽 𝐼𝒱 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝑜𝓎 𝑀𝒾𝓁𝓆𝓊𝑒. 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑔𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒾𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑀𝒾 𝒜𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒞𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓃𝓏𝒶, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓌𝑜 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓂𝒶𝒾𝒹𝓈 𝒜𝒸𝒽𝓁𝓎𝓈 𝒮𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒞𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓇𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓉 𝐼𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓊𝓈 𝑒𝓉𝒸.. 𝐵𝑜𝓉𝒽 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝑔𝓁𝑒𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒷𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓂𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓉𝓈𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓊𝑒.

𝒩𝑜𝓌, 𝒞𝒶𝓈𝒾𝓂𝒾𝓇, 𝒟𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒶, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓈𝒾𝓉 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒦𝒾𝓃𝑔'𝓈 𝒸𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑜𝓃𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒾𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶 𝓌𝑒𝒹𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔!

[verylukely]

Who cares about that boring nonsense? We gotta get back to Cactus Land lore!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Clickable Cactus Containment Text}

---

Side A - Lucy

Lucy Amtrak walks through the outskirts of Cactus Land. Sebastian walks with her, hand in hand. Is this out of concern for a dear friend, or did their relationship take a romantic turn once again after the last time we caught up with them? Sadly, this isn’t a romance story, so I’m not going to tell you.

Officially, this part of the town has been abandoned due to an outbreak of cactus fungus. Nothing but outlaws and wannabe sheriffs live out here. And, of course, a contingent of rebels that meet here to discuss illegal anti-cactus man sentiment.

Lucy knew, of course. She always knew. She was their ally, even if they had no idea. She thought them to be incompetent fools who would be dead without her. She forged documents to keep them hidden, turned a blind eye whenever one would be flagged as an extremist, but she always kept them in mind. She feared that this day would come, but hoped that it wouldn’t.

The pair approaches the door at the location they're looking for. Realizing that any hesitation may be the end of them, they act carefully and precisely as one, and knock.

*Knock Knock Knock*

A door opens instantly, implying the rebels knew they were there all along. Three bows aim out from inside, and a bunch of dagger wielding thieves approach from the nearby alleyways.

Lucy raises her hands.

“We’d like to join your cause. And I have the paperwork to prove it.”

Half of them lower their weapons, extremely slowly.

…This was going to be a tough sell.

---

An hour later, Lucy sits counter to a gruff, bald woodsman looking character. Doesn’t seem like the leader, but instead the one they send out of interrogations. She was told to leave her “boyfriend” outside. (An assumption they made, not because they knew anything in particular.)

A dartboard sits behind her with her picture plastered up on it, alongside one of the Cactus Man, with darts stuck in it. Doesn’t quite inspire confidence. She clears her throat nervously.

The woodsman slams a shot glass onto the table between them.

“Drink."

“I a-actually already had something on the way over so I’m fin-“

“Drink. Now.”

She gulps it down. It’s an insane thing to do, she thought. Maybe she was going to be drugged, kidnapped, and used for ransom, and she just handed herself over to them, like an idiot. But she had no other choice. No other avenues left for her.

“Hahaha! You’re crazy! I like that.”

“W-what was in there?”

“Just cactus juice. Simply an imitation ritual. You’re in.”

“I’m… In? But- I revived him! I’m your worst nightmare! Surely it can’t be that easy!”

He looks at the dartboard and scratches his head, looking a bit ashamed. “Well, anger is a lot harder when somebody shows up right at your doorstep. And the paperwork does check out. It seems like we owe you a lot. Whatever you did in the past, it’s what you do now that counts. Now, come with me.”

Together they walk to a backroom with some guards in tow. Seems like this building is a refitted jail, because there is a holding cell here, modified with thicker bars.

A small, innocent looking, white rabbit is inside it.

“Oh, what a cute little thing!”

Lucy reaches arm out to touch it through the bars.

“Don’t!”

The woodsman yanks her back. The bunny leaps at the bars, teeth bared, blood drips from its maw.

“What- What the Kuma! is that thing??”

He grins.

“Heh, You didn’t think we were all backwoods hicks, did you? We got some fancy science folks too, usually keep ‘em at home for safety reasons. This is our secret weapon against the Cactus Man. A special breed of monster, with a form so cute he won’t be able to resist approaching, but will tear him apart limb by limb. Fed on a combination of monster meat infused with cactus flavor to be the perfect Cactus Man killer. It probably smells his scent on you. Not ideal, but we can work with it."

He looks a bit concerned all of a sudden.

“Uh, the Cactus Man still… likes cute creatures, right? This plan was designed for his old form... And then one of our breeding pair got loose so, this is sort of our last chance. Training another one from birth might take years.”

Lucy shrugs.

“Maybe, maybe not. But this will work. He’s not a fighter. You could have done a lot less work, honestly.”

“Good, good. So, you want to take ‘em with you today orrr?”

“Wait… I have to do it?”

“Of course! If we could have done it, we would have by now! You have the perfect in as his advisor! You can even use us as a scapegoat after this and rise to power. We will scatter to the winds, as we always have. We don’t want a new system of government, we just want that tyrant dethroned."

Lucy starts sweating profusely. She doesn’t know if she has the willpower to directly murder The Cactus Man, especially after she willingly chose to revive her. Sure, she wanted him dead, but he had gotten notably more intelligent and empathetic after his revival. Maybe she should just let this play out, why not just play second fiddle to an incompetent immortal man her whole life?

“I’ll take it today.”

---

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

As everyone laughs, parties, and drinks champagne, one of the prince’s groomsmen sits on the floor in the corner, reading a crumpled letter over and over again.

“…No. He didn’t write this. I’d know my little brother’s handwriting anywhere, and this definitely isn’t it. Besides, he had no reason to leave… Did he…?”

Soy slams the letter to the ground and wipes his eyes, sniffling a little, hoping that no one can see just how badly he’s doing.

“Ah… why are we even here? To celebrate at a time like this… I’ve failed, haven’t I…? I’m a failure of a brother… A failure of a father… Of a human being…”

He grabs a glass of champagne off of the tray of a passing waiter and downs it in one go. Everything dulls a little. He drops the empty glass on the floor next to him, joining several more and an empty bottle as well.

Meanwhile, the digibabies are experiencing cheese for the first time!!! Very exciting!!!

[Nekomaru]

#s://i~imgur~com/XI0pYP2~png

Jul 23, 2024 16:56:48 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

“Ah… why are we even here? To celebrate at a time like this… I’ve failed, haven’t I…? I’m a failure of a brother… A failure of a father… Of a human being…”

"That's not true at all, Soy... You did all you could, and it just turned out that way! I admit, this isn't as happy an occasion as I'd like... But it sounds like Oat is alive, and that's something! I have no doubt he will turn up soon. We'll keep looking, I promise!"
 
"I wonder... if this should have been delayed, all things considered. Standing up there, in front of everyone... It'll be hard for you, won't it?"

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Jul 23, 2024 17:53:57 GMT -6 Nekomaru said:

I admit, this isn't as happy an occasion as I'd like...

Jul 23, 2024 17:53:57 GMT -6 Nekomaru said:

I wonder... if this should have been delayed, all things considered. Standing up there, in front of everyone... It'll be hard for you, won't it?

Soy looks up at the blurry form of Lady Diana and immediately bursts into tears anew.

"Oh, Diana, I'm so sorry... It's your special day, and I'm bringing everyone down, aren't I? I should... should go. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I should go."

He stands up and sways on his feet, nearly tripping over all of the empty champagne glasses around him. Grabbing the wall for support, he turns back to Diana.

"This is a lovely wedding, my friend... Please try to enjoy it as much as you can. You deserve it."

With that, he stumbles toward the doors.

[crazynuto]

Jul 23, 2024 18:01:29 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

With that, he stumbles toward the doors.

As is tradition, the reception is being held in the Capitol's Church of Blaiddyd, in the courtyard of Castle Dangan. Soy stumbles outside into the warm spring air, the scent of honeysuckle and malasadas on the breeze. He haphazardly walks towards the castle gates, slumping against the door to the guest chambers.

Due to his disheveled appearance, most consider him just a normal drunkard and pay him no mind. A million thoughts whir through Soy's mind. Is Oat alright? Why does nobody else seem to truly care? And this strange note...it had Oat's handwriting but the kid wouldn't leave without saying goodbye...would he?

Doubt trickles into the cracks of Soy's mind. Doubts towards his fellow councilmen (and women), his people, and even himself. With a heavy grunt, he swings the doors to the guest chambers open. 

Inside are several unmarked doors, with guards stationed sporadically throughout the hall. War makes it hard to guard I suppose. He goes to his and G'onta's room first, collecting himself in the mirror, then readies himself to search. But where shall he search first?

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Jul 23, 2024 18:34:34 GMT -6 crazynuto said:

But where shall he search first?

Soy knows the Prismed Rim felt betrayed by him and G'ontagnan's departure from their alliance. Would they have stooped so low as to take out their frustration on an innocent child?

He starts with Nezaripped's quarters, aiming to check Ratsworth IV's next.

[Sachi]

#s://wikimon~net/images/thumb/3/32/Piyomon_Adventure~jpg/217px-Piyomon_Adventure~jpg

A grumpy Biyomon sits close to the front of the chapel, shooting sharp, envious glares at his brother, the so-called "best man". He's feeling incredibly bitter, so he takes a sip of his apple juice and waits for the festivities to start in earnest. 

To be honest, he's considering leaving once Tyronius' ceremony is finished with, but he doubts his brother is going to let him. 'They've been waiting for this for so long, they deserve it!' - no doubt he'll say something annoying and childish like that.

Then something awful happens... his well of apple juice dries up. The grumpy bird suddenly gets even more grumpy. He looks over all the other nobles who were roped into this ceremony, and a part of him wishes he could join the protesters outside instead. He wanted a trial! The Prince is getting off without a hitch! And now he's getting hitched!

And yet, he has to keep up appearances. So the grumpy bird just sits in silence.

[Tetsu]

"Oh my....what a whirlwind of choices selection. The outcome is not to drastic isn't it?" Yoo Sangah spoke



She the looks at the letter in her hand on the Wedding Invite.



"A wedding huh? This seems interesting, at least it is a Blaiddyd inspired one. Congratulatory are in order, I guess." Sangah took a sip of wine available. "But the Prince, returning....seems a little to lienient to welcome him back like that...." She sighs

[Vaellin the Bard]

Vanyara stands with a face of neutrality, face done up with makeup to bring color to her usually gray features. The lighter parts of her hair are brought out to create a more striking image. She does not wear a dress but a modest outfit that resembles one

SPOILER: Click to show

{Dress}

Like this but white and embroidered

She feels... off. Like she didn't win but she didn't lose. Still, the honor of being with the man she respects most is nothing to scoff at. Her mother praised this man all through Vanyara's youth, so her admiration was high. For a woman who never felt romantic feelings, who always assumed she'd be sold off for a political marriage, this was ideal. Even better than marrying Prince Casimir as she'd retain a position of authority even if the Prince or King were to perish.

She only hoped it was the right decision for their nation, and intended to use it to the best of her ability.

For now, she kept a soft smile that expressed nothing of her inner thoughts and decided to look forward to her future.

---

Deirdre "Brie" Eldsword yawned as she stood in the stuffy clothes her sister put her in, eager to change out for something more comfortable. She looks around and spots Biyomon, sneaking over to the bird--surely she won't be missed for stepping away for just a moment, right? She leans down towards the bird digimon and whispers "Hey, first chance we get, want to ditch this boring affair and check out the festival I bet they're throwing for the public?" Surely there was a celebration there, even if half of it was protestors. This was the king and prince getting married! Time for festivities was a must for everyone! And where festivities existed, so did dog fights, brawls, and other exciting things that happen when people have a touch too much alcohol.

[Hansbulla]

Jul 23, 2024 18:43:07 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

He starts with Nezaripped's quarters, aiming to check Ratsworth IV's next.

There may be one or two Electrolytes of Nezaripped in there.

[verylukely]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Part 2}

---

Side B - Cactus Man

---

*Knock Knock Knock* "Lucy?"

*Knock Knock Knock* "Lucy?"

*Knock Knock Knock* "Lucy?"

Lucy wouldn’t dare have told The Cactus Man her and Sebastian’s secret knock, he’s just been getting really into the Big Bang Theory lately.

The Cactus Man opens the door and waddles into his office apprehensively. Lucy isn’t there, as she usually is. He finds this a little odd, but doesn’t dwell on it for long because of what he sees on his desk.

A folded tent note reads in large bubble letters: “Look on the chair a silly surprise!”

“Yay!!! Fun!!! I love gifts!!!”

He rushes to the desk without a thought in his head and looks at the chair. The white blur is on him in an instant.

But he’s prepared this time.

He whips out a shield made of cacti he now keeps strapped to his back, and shoves it into the creature. It catches it off guard mid leap. The shield's thorns aren’t deep enough to injure the rabbit, but does launch it back and stagger it for a second.

“Hah! You wretched demon! I knew you’d come back! I’ve been training for our rematch!”

The Cactus Man kicks a miniature cactus on his desk onto a button. The floor below the chair opens up, swallowing the rabbit into the darkness of a secret bunker. The Cactus Man takes a deep breath.

“I expected the roles to be reversed, but I suppose this works too! Hehe.”

He approaches the door to leave his office, and looks back dramatically, snapping his fingers.

“Arrivederci, old friend.”

The rabbit leaps out of the bunker with a single hop. He forgot to close the trapdoor.

“Ah- crud.”

He dashes out of the room, and into the hall.

---

Lucy Amtrak has a devious grin on her face, after planting the trap. She checks her watch. Two minutes ago, he should have entered his office. Surely, he’s dead by now. Finally free of him, once more. She gives an evil kackle. She would be feeling guilty, if it weren’t for the high quantity of cactus wine in her system. In ten minutes, she’ll act like she stumbled upon the scene, and send the guards in to dispatch the creature. Maybe some of them would get hurt, or die, who cares? She’s been kicked down by the universe at every possible opportunity. Empathy has gotten her nowhere, except back in the very same spot she started in. There's no going back from this point.

Then she hears the Cactus Man screaming, and her face falls.

She turns to see him running directly towards her, with a killer white rabbit in tow.

“Lucy! Lucyyyy! The beast is back!!! It wants to kill me!!! Again!!!”

The… beast?

She connects the dots in an instant. The missing rabbit from the breeding pair. Dammit. The plan had worked after all. The rabbit found its target. She never could have imagined that even The Cactus Man would describe it so idiotically.

Thirty feet away.

Time seems to slow down for her as a million thoughts race through her head all at once.

Could she really stand by and let this happen right in front of her? I mean, morally she definitely could, but if she got targeted next would she even survive?

Twenty-five feet away.

Surely it wouldn't be hard to physically attack the Cactus Man, and leave him behind for the beast to munch on, then use the chance to run away? No, he's too slippery. Too high a chance of him dodging. Damn.

Fifteen feet away.

Running out of time. Need to commit to something.

She only had to run faster than him, which would be easy. The Cactus Man might die, but he could also find guards in time. Running away might be perceived as an act of betrayal, although she could likely spin it in her favor, not being a bodyguard officially. At the very least it's unlikely she would be able to keep her top spot, should the Cactus Man survive. He would probably just latch onto whatever new unfortunate soul ends up saving his life. That would be a death sentence to her scheming. This situation has gotten too sticky for the initial plan to work. It's, unfortunately, time to be a hero again.

She sighs, pulls out a quarterstaff, and enters a combat stance.

“Why do I always bring about my own suffering?”

Five feet.

Lucy knows that she’ll only get one shot at this. She undoes her ponytail and shakes her hair in preparation for her cool anime moment. Lucy moves her body and in turn begins to spin the staff around, and with the immense combined strength and flow, slams the quarterstaff into the incoming rabbit as it leaps towards her like striking a baseball with a bat, sending it flying through the wall in an explosion of dust.

(Don’t get me wrong, she is pretty powerful, but this is mostly due to The Cactus land having fairly limited building materials. The walls might as well be Styrofoam.)

Lucy covers her mouth in shock.

“I uh- whoops!”

“Haha, yay! Lucy! That was awesome! You’re so strong! You're like a superhero!"

The cactus hugs her legs.

"You saved me from that thing- Again!"

Just a moment ago, she was contemplating how best to let him die. After manufacturing this whole convoluted scenario. And now here he was again, praising her for saving his life. She should be upset her plan failed, but instead she's just feeling even more guilty about the situation. She couldn't take much more of this emotional manipulation.

“Yeah, yeah… Just doing my job. Let’s get out of here before that thing recovers.”

She takes him by the painful hand and together they speed walk in the opposite direction of where the rabbit was sent.

Ugh. Maybe this is for the best, she thinks, begrudgingly.

---

[Sachi]

#s://wikimon~net/images/thumb/3/32/Piyomon_Adventure~jpg/217px-Piyomon_Adventure~jpg

Jul 23, 2024 20:11:25 GMT -6 Vaellin the Bard said:

Deirdre "Brie" Eldsword yawned as she stood in the stuffy clothes her sister put her in, eager to change out for something more comfortable. She looks around and spots Biyomon, sneaking over to the bird--surely she won't be missed for stepping away for just a moment, right? She leans down towards the bird digimon and whispers "Hey, first chance we get, want to ditch this boring affair and check out the festival I bet they're throwing for the public?" Surely there was a celebration there, even if half of it was protestors. This was the king and prince getting married! Time for festivities was a must for everyone! And where festivities existed, so did dog fights, brawls, and other exciting things that happen when people have a touch too much alcohol.

"H-Huh? W-Who even are you? Do you know who you're speaking to?! I'm-"


"...Quite tired of this, all things considered. I feel as if my vote was entirely wasted, and now I have to sit and watch these stupid human ceremonies. I'm going to stay for the King... But as soon as that's finished, I am out of here. You can join me if you wish, strange human girl."

[Vaellin the Bard]

Jul 23, 2024 20:27:12 GMT -6 Sachi said:

"...Quite tired of this, all things considered. I feel as if my vote was entirely wasted, and now I have to sit and watch these stupid human ceremonies. I'm going to stay for the King... But as soon as that's finished, I am out of here. You can join me if you wish, strange human girl."

"Sounds like a plan! I'm here for our future queen. Obligated by blood and on behalf of being the maid of honor, but after that I'm scadoodling out of here. Best to bring some company. Say, how good are you in a fight and what's your opinion on picking fights?"

[Ame]

[Source] Sachi said:

#s://wikimon~net/images/thumb/3/32/Piyomon_Adventure~jpg/217px-Piyomon_Adventure~jpg

"H-Huh? W-Who even are you? Do you know who you're speaking to?! I'm-"

"...Quite tired of this, all things considered. I feel as if my vote was entirely wasted, and now I have to sit and watch these stupid human ceremonies. I'm going to stay for the King... But as soon as that's finished, I am out of here. You can join me if you wish, strange human girl."

As Biyomon stands and complains, a strange looking man approaches him.



"Ah-! Might you be Gautier?"

The man extends out his hand

"Leon. Er. Knowing L-"

Leon stops mid sentence and takes a moment, before continuing

"...Knowing Pope Clairmont, you must be familiar with Leonharte. That is I."

"When these formalities end, we have matters to discuss. Please inform Fraldarius as well. Until then. Shall we have a good time?"