It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

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halconfenix
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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by halconfenix » Tue Sep 28, 2010 5:38 pm

Hylian Pirate wrote:
halconfenix wrote:does the green haired half-elf girl has hairbuns? or its just my imagination?
Do you mean to suggest that Ascended Strarf is a harlot? She'd have nothing of the sort. We will see her, and she will be scary. I imagined Vespelio's "competition" with dark green teased hair myself, but she isn't an important character, so I left her appearance up to your imagination. :P
i wasnt talking about strarf... when you described vesp's "competition" (the voluptuous green haired half-elf)... it was these images that came into my mind...

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Hylian Pirate
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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Hylian Pirate » Tue Sep 28, 2010 6:35 pm

halconfenix wrote:
Hylian Pirate wrote:
halconfenix wrote:does the green haired half-elf girl has hairbuns? or its just my imagination?
Do you mean to suggest that Ascended Strarf is a harlot? She'd have nothing of the sort. We will see her, and she will be scary. I imagined Vespelio's "competition" with dark green teased hair myself, but she isn't an important character, so I left her appearance up to your imagination. :P
i wasnt talking about strarf... when you described vesp's "competition" (the voluptuous green haired half-elf)... it was these images that came into my mind...
Ahahaha! No, no, not Proxima or Mary Celes either. Assume that the only Shinki ever to play hooker is our sweet little Vesp.
...maybe Valona too...
blade_anime wrote:Ascended Strarf?
"Ascended" and "Fallen" are words I use to describe the repaints of Strarf and Arnval, respectively. This theme fits a bit better with the original repaints that were actually called Angel Strarf and Devil Arnval.

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Hylian Pirate
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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Hylian Pirate » Sun Nov 21, 2010 9:58 pm

Ehehehe... hi... I know I'm kind of a jerk for not saying anything here for a good month and a half... OK, more like the better part of two months... Blah blah hectic life blah blah leg cancer blah blah excuses excuses. To be honest, I can't promise that it won't happen again either. See, that's why I won't commit to a schedule. Sometimes life gets in the way, and sometimes I just plain don't feel like writing. :/ Sadly, I'm not even sure I like how this one turned out. It spent at least a month being something like two-thirds complete. I mean, it gets the job done. With the World Library and its various purposes in place I can finally send Benio out on a mission.

A couple of asides here: When blade_anime suggested Partio as a librarian, I already had this one in mind. However, that suggestion does plant the seeds for a future Partio solo story. After all, it would be very good for her to have a "big sister" of sorts, right? Also, Osaru Sensei, you'll be happy to hear that I do have a fun idea for Fort Bragg. I spent some time with her and brought her personality out in my head. She's quite a bit different than one might expect considering her armor type. We'll get there. Maybe next, maybe after Benio. We'll see how I feel. A few of you might've read my entry for the writing contest sponsored by Seven Seals. Just in case there's any question, no, neither Veron nor Rider remember that event and they are totally not romantically invested in one another. Let's rock! (Check here if you've never heard the song mentioned here before. Also, get out more :p)

***Medusa: Paperback Rider***

She sits at a long table with "important" people all around her. Or, she supposes they're important anyway. She finds it hard to really think of any of them as especially important because she's used to being so casual with them. Why am I here, anyway, she thinks, it's not like they have me in any real decision-making position. Supposedly, Queen Xiphos specifically requested her presence at this meeting, but she still doesn't know why. Under the table, she holds a book that takes all her attention away from the droning Queen.
"... how do you feel about that, Rider?," Xiphos asks. Rider gives no response, being enthralled in her book. Xiphos chuckles a bit. The blonde girl beside Rider nudges her.
Startled, Rider gives an emphatic "Aye!" when prompted.
"Oh, good, I'm so glad you agree," Xiphos tells her, "and, what was it, exactly, that you were agreeing to?"
"Uh," she falters for a bit, "the, er, matter of great importance that we were no doubt just discussing?"
"Yes, that's right," Xiphos confirms, then announces to the group, "Rider's vote makes it unanimous: we shall instate World Kitten Kicking Day as the first Tuesday of every March!"
"World Kitten Kicking Day?! That's horrible! What the hell is wrong with you?!," Rider bursts out, suddenly mortified by what she supposedly just agreed to. But noise from the blonde beside her cuts her rant off. The girl who nudged her giggles uncontrollably, and Rider realizes that she's been played for a fool. "Shut up, Saber," she sighs as she gives the girl a push on the shoulder. "Alright," she admits, "you got me. I haven't been listening since 'good morning.'"
Xiphos chuckles a bit more. "And what, pray tell, took your attention away from this very important meeting?" Rider blushes a bit and brings her book above the table. "And that," Xiphos continues, "is what makes you the ideal candidate for this job."
"Job? What job?"
Xiphos rolls her eyes and continues stifling a laugh. "I'll give you the short of it, since most of the construction details really don't concern you," she says warmly, "I want to build a World Library."
"Oh!" Rider suddenly gives Xiphos her full attention.
"In it," Xiphos continues, "will be at least one copy of every book ever on record." She brings up a holographic display. "The upper levels," she explains, "will be standard library fare: fiction, nonfiction, encyclopedias and research materials, and a periodical database. The first couple basement levels," the hologram changes perspective to show the building extending deep underground, "will house books on magical study. This area will require an application with an accompanying background check to enter. And beneath that," Xiphos pauses while the projection shows a detail of the floor in question, "will be a museum-like hall where we plan on collecting and storing our world's sentient weapons. This room won't have any protection on it."
"Wait," Rider asks, puzzled, "what?"
"The sentient weapons," Xiphos explains, "choose their wielders. It's impossible to steal them unless they want to be stolen. With the weapons in one place -one public place- it gives more people a chance to come and see them, and it gives the weapons themselves more of a chance to select a user if they so choose."
"I see...," Rider notices an empty chamber beneath even the museum level, "what about that?"
"That," Xiphos says, her expression turning very serious, "is 'The Pit.' That's where people who try to access the magic study area illegally will wind up. Once there, they'll be at the mercy of The Pit's guardian, who will run an interrogation before she takes any sort of action."
"Right... and who might this 'guardian' be...?
"Why, the Gorgon Medusa, of course."
"Oh...," Rider's heart sinks, "so, you want me to be the Library's watchdog and keep me cooped up in 'The Pit' to stone the bad guys..."
"That's only part of it, Rider," Xiphos assures her, "I want you to run the whole place as the head librarian!"
"Hmm," she ponders for a bit, "actually, I like the sound of that."
"As with any security system, it's there in the hopes that it never actually has to be used. Most of the time you'll be working on the upper levels cataloging books and doing paperwork. We might also have you run or supervise seminars and childrens' story time."
"Are you sure that's safe?," Rider asks coyly, "I am a monster after all."
Xiphos returns her wry grin, "Oh, I'm sure you're mostly harmless."

***

The World Library takes the better part of two years to complete. Xiphos chose to build it near the Castle of Lions, Saber's home, in Europe. Grapprap would often become frustrated with the process, because the construction was only half of it. Each part, especially in the basement levels, had to be magically fortified before and after being put in place. The Pit composed the bottommost floor, and Xiphos insisted that Rider set up her boundary field as soon as it was finished. The Pit had to be constructed, both physically and magically, to survive Rider's most powerful skills. Above that, the Weapons Gallery needed to survive Rider's attacks from below, and any miscast magic from above. The two levels closest the surface needed particular reinforcement, for magic research also implies magic practice. Grapprap and her team of Builder drones assured that the strongest seismic calamity wouldn't phase the building. The Council of Mages made it so that the Library could withstand all but a casting of Ultima (one of two techniques conveniently missing from the completed Library's halls).

In the mean time, Rider makes an identity for herself amongst Earth's native people. "Why can't I just be Rider?," she asks, annoyed with the fact that she needs to use a different name while out in public.
"Because," Xiphos explains, slightly exasperated, "with a name like 'Rider' they'll probably think you're a Busou Shinki and stage some kind of protest."
"It's a building of the Sword. Won't there be protests anyway?"
"Yes, but if a Shinki is in the head position there'll probably be more."
"Alright, then I'll just use my real name."
"That's... probably not a good idea either..."
"Why not? There are all kind of weird names floating around these days."
"... Your real name is Medusa..."
"Yes."
"Your eyes don't look at all human and your hair is long beyond logic and separates itself into tendrils when it's not pulled back."
"And...?"
"Do you not see where that may cause some concern?"
"...I don't see why it should..."
Xiphos lets out a frustrated sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose, "OK, let me put it like this," she grabs the hilt of Save the Queen, "I forbid you to use the name 'Medusa' in public."
"So... what? That makes it a Royal Decree?"
"Indeed," Xiphos answers confidently.
"Fine," Rider gives in, "but it's still stupid..."
At that time, the Council's Spellblade, Veron the Red, walks in on their conference. "Hey there, Rider," he greets her, then, removing his hat and bowing to Xiphos, "My Lady Queen. I just finished the last enchantment for the day. Geez, you're really puttin' me through the ringer on this one! I don't think I've worked this hard on a building since we built the World Castle!"
"Good," Xiphos replies, "we'll have to come up with another important building to keep you from getting lazy."
"My Lady!," he gasps, feigning insult, "your words wound me." The silver haired elf puts the back of his hand to his forehead in an over-dramatic display of grief.
"I'm sure your ego will make a full recovery within the minute, now come over here and name your Summon."
Veron gives the Queen a puzzled look. "You mean this one?," he asks, pointing at Rider, "her name's Rider."
"That's what I'm saying!," Rider interjects.
"Yes, but she needs a name she can use in public. Something her crew and your average library patron can call her without feeling awkward," Xiphos says, slightly frustrated that she had to explain that to him.
Veron scratches his chin for a moment, staring intensely at Rider for some sort of inspiration. "Hmm," he ponders, "Medusa is obviously out, so what about... Medin?"
""Medin?,"" they ask in unison.
"Is that really the best you can come up with?," Rider chides him.
"That's too... foreign? outdated? I don't know, but I don't really like it," Xiphos agrees.
"Ouch," Veron mutters, "shot down in flames..."
"Come up with something more... modern," Xiphos suggests, "something a bit more human, but not too common. We want her to have a bit of pizazz."
"Pizazz...," Rider echoes, disgruntled with the Queen's choice of word.
"Alright," Veron tells them, "but I'm only giving this one more shot; there's only so much rejection I can take in a day, you know." He closes his eyes and thinks hard on the subject. A few moments later, he opens them again and grins.
"Well?," Xiphos asks expectantly.
"Madeline."
"Madeline?," Rider asks, then shoots a confused look at the Queen, who she expected to unison with again, "Xiphos... don't tell me you like that."
"Madeline," Xiphos considers the name, "yes, there's something ironically quaint and demure about it. I think it'll work just fine."
Rider irritatedly adjusts her glasses, "But Madeline isn't my name," she deadpans to both of them.
"Rider, you're not the only one who has to live under a pseudonym."
"I don't see you changing your name," she shoots back at Xiphos.
"I'm in a position of power and still trying to earn the peoples' trust; the less I hide from them, the better. Besides, I rarely even have a chance to interact with regular citizens. If I meet with humans they're world leaders and we're in peace talks. But every member of the Royal Guard who lives among civilians takes a new name. For that matter, it's not even a permanent name change. We will still call you Rider, because that's how we know you, but when you're being the head librarian at the World Library, we need the civilians to be as comfortable as possible around you."
"...Any other stupid rules?"
"Other than 'no taking your glasses off at patrons' and 'dress like a normal human?' Nope."
"...Will you at least let me wear jeans?"
"Yes, Rider, you can wear jeans."
"Thank god; I needed some small victory after all that."

Rider spends the rest of the time leading up to the Library's completion learning all the boring stuff: royal policies and regulations, the filing system the books will use, and operation of the technology. Once the building is actually finished, she plays a large part in initially filing the books, familiarizing herself with the layout as she goes, and, of course, making mental notes of books she wants to read herself. Xiphos had launched a campaign that commissioned the people of Earth to seek out rare books. They were then handed over to a printer to have copies made for the Library and returned to their original owners.

***

Xiphos wanted the Library to be widely used, so she had Razz and Sharatang compose a concert to be held outside the building for a grand opening. On the day of this concert, Razz addresses the crowd gathered for the event, "Alright, the Queen wants me to give you schmoes a PSA about books or some shit. So, here goes," she clears her throat, "Reading is a good thing. If you're older than six or so and still can't read, then you're either retarded or just a fucking moron. At least one of those things can't be helped, and I'd like to think that fucking morons don't listen to Baby Razz. So don't be a fucking moron; come on down to the World Library and read a goddamn book."

Offstage, Xiphos sighs. She hoped for this to be a family-friendly event, but Razz is never one to censor herself. On the stage, Razz begins reciting a script that Xiphos whipped up. With a bit of improvising, of course... "Bird!," she yells to Eukrante, who walks onstage to a thunderous applause, "where the hell is the band?"
"Well," Eukrante answers her, "Eddie smashed his good guitar by mistake and isn't quite over it."
"Ah, a moment of silence..."
"For Eddie?"
"No! For the guitar! Eddie shoulda known better!"
"Right... Mike got smashed last night--"
"Idiot."
"--by Eddie's guitar."
"...I don't wanna know..."
"And Neil lost his sticks."
"...When did my band get replaced with idiots?"
"I couldn't tell ya. But Razz, don't we have a problem here?"
"No, we don't have a problem; we have three guys who don't want paychecks. I'm fine with this."
"But Razz... we need a band..."
"Well, you can play second guitar."
***
Eukrante: Type Ability:
-Rhythm Synch: When playing with Razz, their Bardsong+ abilities mesh, allowing Eukrante to fill in music in the background while Razz solos. On stage, this technically eliminates the need for a rhythm guitar player, though they keep one around anyway because Eukrante likes to dance and engage the audience while she's not singing. In battle, this increases Razz's solo potency exponentially. On her own, Eukrante's actual guitar ability is intermediate at best, but she does practice every now and then.
***
"No problem!," Eukrante accepts Razz's suggestion.
"Now, let's see... we need a bass... Hey, Queenie!," Razz calls to Xiphos, "you don't happen to have a bassist on hand, do ya?"
"As a matter of fact," Xiphos answers into a microphone, "I do have one that I could lend you. Graffias! On stage!" At the Queen's command, Graffias appears next to the unmanned bass, her disguise projector totally off. (She also uses her less ample chest option at Xiphos's request.)
"Alright, so you're one of the Queen's robot entourage, eh?," Razz addresses Graffias, "then show me how well a robot plays bass." Graffias smirks and obliges Razz's scripted request. Her mini-performance shakes the very foundation beneath the audience. "Heh. I guess you'll do. Just try to keep up, will ya? But we're still short a drummer. I don't suppose you can do anything about that, eh, Your Highness?"
"In fact," Xiphos answers as she walks on stage, "I think I can." The audience cheers as she takes her place behind Razz's drum set.
"Er, look, your Royal Eagerness, it's sweet that you want to help out and all, but why don't you leave the performing to the musicians?," Razz goads her.
"Well, Miss Razz, it seems you need some convincing." Xiphos clicks out a beat with the sticks...
***
Xiphos: Type Ability:
-Drums of War (West): When Xiphos pounds out a percussive beat, her loyal troops rally behind her. She usually uses this as a call to arms, but more complex rhythms can be used to conduct widespread strategies. When playing Razz's drums in battle, Xiphos can make use of its limited casting properties. Even when not using the magic effects, Xiphos is still a hell of a drummer.
***
The audience roars at the end of Xiphos's drum solo. "Yeah, I guess we can work with that," Razz says nonchalantly, "we're in kind of a pinch right now. Alright Bird, I wanna get this show on the road. This is a dedication concert, so we need to start with a dedication."
"To the Library?," Eukrante asks.
"No! This whole damn show is for the Library! It doesn't need any more attention. But we do need to play one for the sexy bitch that's gonna run the place. Guns!," she calls to the camera operator, "get Madeline on the Jumbo-Tron. I want the world to see her blush and face-palm." Zelnogrard, who runs the camera, pans over the audience for Rider. When Rider sees her face on the huge screen behind the band, she tries to dodge behind another audience member, but Razz ensures that her fate is already sealed. "Good job, Guns," she compliments Zelnogrard, "you can't hide. C'mon, Snakes, give the crowd a wave." With a look of irritation, Rider gives the camera a small wave while she adjusts her glasses with an inappropriate finger. "Aww, don't be like that," Razz teases, "we even set this Beatles song up just for you! We changed the words an' everything! And by 'changed the words' I mean we changed one word every time it appears in the song. This one's for you, Snakes, our very own Paperback Rider. Hit it, Queenie."

Razz and her entourage open with a cover of the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" wherein they sing "Rider" in place of "writer." As predicted by Razz, Rider blushes about being singled out on the Jumbo-Tron and then face-palms at the lame "parody" put on by the band. By the end of the song though, a smile still overtakes her face. Razz asks her for a request for being such a darn good sport. Later, Sharatang takes the stage with the rest of the Royal Guard taking up the instruments they chose proficiency in. Finally, the sisters unite for a final act with the theme of modern classical in mind. The half-day event ends with Xiphos ceremoniously swearing Rider into the head position of the World Library. Rider and Xiphos use a ridiculously large pair of scissors to cut a red ribbon, symbolizing the official grand opening.

***

Rider settles into the swing of her new position as the weeks pass. She and Xiphos assemble a crew of humans to act under Rider's supervision. Like with all of the Sword's buildings and events, some anti-Shinki groups protest the new Library. Authorities have already had to break up a stand-in that prevented patrons from entering. That very group tried to prevent Rider's entry as well, but they found their guard easily penetrated by the lithe librarian. The people who came to the library with a genuine interest all turned out to be quite friendly. It was almost too much to ask for. Naturally, with such strong disdain for the inhuman Queen, such amiability is bound to be broken up with hostility.

One day, three men walk into the Library. Rider notices their deliberate pace as she greets them. They acknowledge her greeting with scowls and curt nods as they keep moving. Rider's keen eyes note the hilt of a gun as one of the men adjusts his coat. "Martha," Rider addresses one of the librarians, "I need you to call up the World Castle."
"What?," Martha responds, "why?"
"Just do it. When the operator gets on the line, tell her that I said 'Rabbits are cute.'"
"Rabbits are cute...?"
"That's right. Can you do that?"
"That's an awfully strange request, Madeline..."
"It's an order," Rider reprimands her, "you'll do it or lose your job." With that, Rider briskly walks off in pursuit of the man whose gun she saw.
"Oh, dear," Martha frets as she dials the Castle, "this is ridiculous..."
After a couple of rings, a lazy, yet friendly voice greets Martha, "Thanks for calling the World Castle. This is Fort Bragg, how can I help you, World Library?"
"Er, hello, uh, Miss Bragg, this is Martha. Madeline told me to call you."
"Alright, Martha, what can we do for you today?"
"Well, oh, this is silly... she told me to tell you that... that 'rabbits are cute.'"
Bragg pauses a moment. "Let me confirm that: Madeline told you to call the World Castle to say that 'rabbits are cute?'"
"Yes," Martha confirms, "that's right."
"OK! When you see her again, let her know that we wholeheartedly agree! Thanks for calling!"
"That went... better than expected... I still feel awfully silly though... "

Rider catches up with her target at the end of a long aisle of books. "Excuse me, sir, can I help you find anything?"
Without hesitation, he draws his gun on her and cocks it. "Don't move, don't scream," he warns her.
Rider cocks an eyebrow. "Now, sir, let's not be rash. We're both responsible adults here." She reaches for her glasses. Closing her eyes, she takes them off. "I'm sure we can find a way to see eye to eye, right?" She opens her eyes and watches the man petrify. "Hm. Guess not," she muses as she searches the man's possessions. In his ear she finds the earpiece of a short-wave radio, presumably connected to identical ones on the other two.

Back at the front desk, Martha greets another colorful character. A girl walks in wearing short, frayed jean shorts and a red plaid half-shirt tied in front. A pair of opaque red round sunglasses rest on the bridge of her nose. All that is topped off with a cowboy hat atop her brunette pigtails. That can't be appropriate dress, Martha thinks of this new patron.
"Howdy, sugah!," the girl greets Martha with a wink and a tip of her hat, "Ah'm lookin' fer Madeline; is she 'round these parts tahday?"
"S-she is... but she just walked off to do something. I can radio for her if you'd like."
"Ah'd be much appreciative, hun."
"Yes... and who should I say is here to see her?"
"Th' name's Bunnie."
"Bunnie... if you don't mind me asking, is that really your name?"
"Shoah as the sun sets in the west, sugah."
Funny, Martha thinks to herself, rabbits may be cute, but bunnies are gaudy rednecks. Bunnie situates herself against the counter and Martha notices a pair of male bibliophiles gawking at her. Well, maybe I'm just not the right audience for this brand of 'cute.' "Madeline to the front, please; you have a visitor," she says into her radio, "Madeline to the front; Bunnie is here to see you."

Rider doesn't receive Martha's page though, as she's replaced the Library's radio with the one from her victim. What she hears instead is, "Shaun 1, come in Shaun 1, this is Shaun 3, over... Shaun 2, he's still not responding."
"Dammit... Shaun 3, something's wrong; we need to pull out."
"Bloody hell, Shaun 2, it's a library, what could've possibly happened?!"
Oh! A codename and everything!, Rider thinks, How quaint!
"Alright, Shaun 3, I'm going to check Shaun 1's position."
"OK, good luck, Shaun 2! Libertae ad machinum."
"... I swear that's not conjugated right... Whatever, Libertae ad machinum." After a pause, "Shit! It's that girl the Queen put in charge!" Rider scans the area and notices the bulk of a messenger bag sticking out from behind a shelf. "I hear footsteps! I think she's coming this way!"
Rider walks over to him with a wry grin, "hello, sir, can I help you find anything?"
"Erm, no, uh, thank you."
"You know, librarians are good for more than just finding books. We can also look up other information. Some libraries even have an 'Ask-a-Librarian' program."
"That's nice..."
"For example, let's say you wanted a phrase in Latin." Shaun 2 shoots Rider a sharp look. "The correct form of 'Freedom from the Machines' would be 'Libertas ab Machinis.'" His sharp look becomes a dark glower. "Just as an example," she finishes.

"I don't know why she's not answering," Martha tries to stall for Madeline, it usually doesn't take her this long to get up here." Just then, the two hear a man scream.
"It's alright, sugah, Ah think Ah know where to find her." Bunnie pushes the shades up over her eyes as she walks off in the direction of the scream. When she reaches her destination, a pitiful sight greets her: a man scoots backward on his rear while Rider calmly approaches him.
"W-what the hell are you?!," the man asks in a panic.
"Whatever do you mean?," Rider responds, perhaps enjoying the situation a bit more than any normal person should, "I'm just your run-of-the-mill librarian. Are you looking for a book?" Her lips twist into a cruel smile as she asks.
"Stay away from me! I saw! I saw him turn to stone! You did it! What the fuck did you do?!" As Shaun 3 inches away, he reaches into his pocket. The enhanced vision provided by Bunnie's glasses allows her to see the detonator Shaun 3 reaches for.
"Ridah! Dodge left!," Bunnie commands her. Rider jumps left while Bunnie dives to the ground to get a clear shot at Shaun 3's detonator. As she falls, the Rabbit armor traces itself onto her body while her rifle materializes in her hands. She takes the shot, filling the library with sound. Later they would find out that Martha took several complaints regarding a man and two women shouting back and forth, disturbing the patrons.
"Ah, shi--" Shaun 3's curse gets cut off by the sudden removal of Rider's glasses.
Rider finally turns to her backup. "Bunnie!," she greets the Busou Shinki S.W.A.T. specialist, "so good of you to come!"
Shouldering her rifle, Bunnie replies, "Well, you know Ah'll show up wheneveh ya'll need a cute rabbit around." She walks over to Rider to examine her last victim. "Ah must say, Miss Ridah, ya'll make the finest statues Ah eveh did see. They'uh jus' so life-like."
"Why thank you, Miss Bunnie. I've got two more to show you today, as well."

***

"So, you say the mission was a complete failure?"
"Indeed, sir. We lost all contact with our agents. Considering we had to stick to short-wave radio to keep the signal from being intercepted, we don't even know what happened after they left the car."
"And the remote detonation?"
"We tried after the specified time, sir, but nothing happened. We think they were disarmed."
"Were there any confirmed Busou Shinki on site?"
"We spotted one visitor who entered after our unit and later exited who very closely matches the description of the Shinki designated 'WaffeBunny.'"
"Let's see her file... S.W.A.T. and bomb squad unit... That means she was called in after our little cadre was found out. ... I want to arrange a few private interviews with some of the Library's staff."
"Yes, sir, who should we arrange to meet with first?"
"We'll start at the top, of course. I want to speak with this woman who our esteemed Queen trusts with the running of her building."
"Of course, sir, we'll begin watching Madeline for any potential meeting opportunities immediately."
"Very good, now leave me be. ... Goddamn machines... I won't have you running my planet... A human's world will have human rulers, magic sword be damned..."

***FIN***

Name: Medusa
Class: Rider
Weapons: -Rider Daggers: Technically unnamed, but Veron uses the term for reference. Two long spikes with long chains streaming from the ends. These are strictly piercing weapons. Rider uses the chains to tangle enemies or to pull them to her after a successful hit with the spike.
-Breaker Gorgon: The name of the curse that grants Rider her Mystic Eyes of Petrification. These eyes can't be controlled once released and will turn friend or foe to stone. In battle, Rider uses a blindfold to seal her eyes. In casual wear, she adorns a pair of glasses with lenses enchanted to block her eyes' effect.
-Bloodfort Andromeda: A magic boundary field unique to Rider. Once activated, the area affected by the field acts like a giant stomach, dissolving any living being within and converting their flesh and soul into energy for Rider.
-Bellerophon: Rider, being an incarnation of the Gorgon Medusa, can summon the winged horse, Pegasus from her blood. Bellerophon is the name of the reigns that Rider uses to spur the majestic beast into a white-hot rage. The charging Pegasus acts as a giant projectile that easily annihilates anything in its path.
Type Ability: -Riding: Riding, here, is a concept. The obvious inclination is that Rider can ride anything that can be considered a mount. Horses and other large animals, motorcycles, cars, helicopters, boats, jets, spacecraft, etc. Anything that can be considered a mount can be piloted by Rider. It has been said that she even figured out how to ride a chainsaw. Eukrante is jealous because Rider picked up surfing much easier than she did. Additionally, Rider taught herself to dance and play bass by using the concept of "riding the beat." The limits to this sort of abstract conceptualization of "riding" are unknown.
Bio: Rider isn't from around these parts. She hails from a different world altogether. In her own world, she is a copy of the Epic Spirit Medusa, the youngest of the Gorgon sisters of ancient Greece. Veron met her on his interdimensional travels and made a summoning pact with her. Unlike Saber, Rider's summoning pact was completed without a hitch. When Veron finally did make it back to this world, the master Summoner Rydia the Green helped him bind Rider and Saber to this world so that they could live something of a normal life without straining Veron's mana. Cool, collected, and largely apathetic, Rider would rather be face deep in a book than almost anywhere else. However, staying in one position does cause some cramping, so she took on a side hobby of working on a pair of personal motorcycles. One has no name and is used in her day-to-day life to and from the World Library. The other is lovingly called /Pegasus/ and rivals Ach and Yda in speed and precision. Due to this, Ach and Yda consider Rider a sort of friendly rival, and the trio are known to have races on deserted roads in the middle of the night.

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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by blade_anime » Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:33 pm

I know who saber is, but who the heck is Rider?
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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Xehn » Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:46 am

...um. Rider is... Rider. From Fate/Stay Night. Black and purple outfit, insane long purple hair?
Hylian Pirate wrote:
blade_anime wrote:Ascended Strarf?
"Ascended" and "Fallen" are words I use to describe the repaints of Strarf and Arnval, respectively. This theme fits a bit better with the original repaints that were actually called Angel Strarf and Devil Arnval.
Actually, those were actually fan-coined names for them based on the swapped-and-modified colorschemes.

...unless that's what you meant. In which case carry on.

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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Hylian Pirate » Mon Nov 22, 2010 7:10 pm

Er, right, what Xehn said. If you only watched the Fate/stay night anime, you didn't get to see all that much of Rider before Saber Excalibur'd her into oblivion. Much like Saber is King Arthur, Rider is an incarnation of Medusa from Greek mythology. We do cover Rider for a bit over in the Other Toys forum in the thread "The toys you wish they made." Incidentally, after we mentioned a Rider figma, it totally happened. That was pretty cool.

And yeah, Xehn, I figured I'd heard those terms somewhere before. They just kinda stuck. "Fallen" Arnval does in fact refer to Arnval's black recolor. By the way, what would be the proper hex notation for something like spoiler text? That is to say, the hex for the site's background. I'm using black for now, but it's a bit too dark and I don't want to give anything away for a plot that isn't my own.

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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by blade_anime » Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:51 pm

I've actually never seen the anime OR the video game. I just know who she is..... kinda just because really. All hail wikipedia!
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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Xehn » Tue Nov 23, 2010 2:03 pm

Hylian Pirate wrote:By the way, what would be the proper hex notation for something like spoiler text? That is to say, the hex for the site's background. I'm using black for now, but it's a bit too dark and I don't want to give anything away for a plot that isn't my own.
*pulls up photoshop to look...*

It looks like #141414? *tests it...* ...Close enough, at least.

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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Ninth » Tue Nov 23, 2010 7:17 pm

I have one major complaint about this new chapter, in that the gallery housing the sentient weapons is located below the closed-stack section of the Library. Xiphos sounds like she wants the sentient weapons exposed to a large audience, to increase the odds of some of them re-entering circulation, but arranging things so that visitors would have to pass through an area with restricted access makes for a security problem. Perhaps it would have been better if the gallery was in a separate building adjacent to the Library, or if the sentient weapons' display cases were interspersed among the stacks in the Library's above-ground levels.

Rider's way of dealing with the three terrorists was oddly brutal. If nothing else, it means that they can't be questioned as to possible other plots they may know about. I don't know much of Rider's personality though, so excessive force may actually be in character for her.

What are the fashions of this world like? It sounds like the majority of people attire themselves in typical contemporary Western fashions, but how often do you see someone in, say, long robes with mystic sigils embroidered on? On that same subject, does Xiphos usually appear unadorned, with her robotic joints and her blue-and-white paintjob visible? Or does she prefer to use her holographic projector to appear to be a living person in a unitard? Or ornate dresses with robo-joints peeking through? Pantsuits?
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Re: It came from HP's head... *MATURE CONTENT WARNING*

Post by Hylian Pirate » Tue Nov 23, 2010 10:20 pm

There are elevators that lead to the gallery and magic study areas. On most elevators, only the upper floors and gallery are selectable floors. The magic study floors get their own transportation. That could've used a bit more explanation. My bad. Xiphos never uses her holographic generator. She appears in her dark blue unarmored getup with full joint exposure. The holograms are more for Shinki who hide in public, whereas Xiphos, being such an important figure, would be instantly recognized for who and what she was anyway.

Yes, dress here is contemporary Western style, except in the East, where we'll find contemporary Eastern styles... except for the area Benio traverses, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it... And magic robes like the ones you described are typically only used ceremoniously. However, it's uncommon, but not too out of place to walk into a Starbuck's and find a robed mage taking a coffee break.

As for Rider's punishment? It's all good; Gold Needles exist in this world ;) Xiphos would never condone a permanent sentence without a trial. Just because the Mysterious Figure at the end hadn't heard from them at the time of that conversation doesn't mean that they were never heard from again. Let's think of an interrogator, shall we? "Good cop, Bad cop" duo Werkstra and Valona? Intimidation tactics from Graffias? Perhaps a "confess your sins unto me to be forgiven" approach from Harmony Grace? No, clearly we need a nice helping of "Hey! Watchya doin'?!" from Mao... yes... Interrogator Mao... Bwahahaha!

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