The BRILLIANCE of Lord Valor! (Subtitled: Recruiting the Undefeated Samurai of the East)

 He wished he wasn't here.

Lord Valor hated it. Hated the stench of alcohol in the air, hated the unrefined atmosphere, hated the drunkards singing off-tune to Happy Hour Kareoke. He'd rather be on his ship, dining on crab roe and truffles with a glass of Chardonnay instead of this peasant's dumping ground. It was unbecoming of him to even be here, in a place his ex-captain would visit during her off hours. To even be remotely associated with her made his skin crawl.

However much he hated it here in the Golden Blade Tavern, there was one thing of value here. A certain someone in the corner, sitting with a bottle of what he thought was some cheap Grab 'n Go quality booze. There was no mistaking her long, pink hair, the goggle over her left eye, and the missing arm on her right side. Valor grinned, looking back towards his crewmates following behind for just a moment before approaching the rugged woman.

"Ah, if it isn't Baiken, Undefeated Samurai of the East!" Lord Valor said, twirling his pencil-thin moustashe. "A pleasure to see you again after, ah, two years?"

Baiken didn't look back at him, throwing back her drink in one glug. "Cut the crap and spit it out: what do you want?"

"You wound me, to say such cold words when we haven't seen each other in so long!" Valor sighed and shook his head. "Come, now, I'll pay for your, ah-"

"I already paid."

"W-well, then why don't we chat, talk about the past like good friends-"

"You're nobody's friend."

A vein pulsed in Valor's forehead, though he kept it hidden with his purple pirate hat. "Alright, then. I have but a simple request: Join our crew once more! Forget about your little, ah, journey for revenge. No, you can't have revenge if you lack the funds to make it through the week! With your strength and my wits, we can, pil- ah, claim anything we wish!"

The samurai turned her head towards him, her face scrunched up in a scowl. "Like hell I would."

Valor's crew glared and took a few menacing steps before Valor held up his hand to stop them, though he was half-tempted to let them fight her. "Are you absolutely sure? We could take you anywhere, maybe gather enough forces for your cause and-"

Baiken stood from her seat, the crew cowering a little as she towered over them. "If you had any sense, you would have brought Xiulan with you."

"Wh-what?! That nobody? Some backwater girl with more muscle than  brains? Hah!" Valor snorted and spat at Baiken's feet. "She's barely even worthy to shine my shoes, nevermind captain a ship. We... aided her in an early retirement-"

STOMP. All eyes were on the group now as Baiken slammed one foot onto the floor and shook the ground. "Leave, if you know what's good for you. I'm giving you five seconds."

"B-boss, should we really try to convince her?" asked one of the crewmates as Baiken began her countdown.

Valor was barely listening, seeing red and pointing at the samurai. "You buffoon, don't you know what that means? She won't order you around!"

"Four."

"A-and I would pamper you like a queen-"

"Three."

"And all the riches you want!"

"Two."

"Why wouldn't you want to work under the great and mighty Lord-"

In the blink of an eye, he was truly seeing red as Baiken slammed her sword sheath into his face. He fell over like a bag of potatoes, his crew at his side to attempt to aid him. He opened his mouth to sputter something unintelligble, but the samurai was already out the door, heading out into city streets.

Valor coughed and gurgled out, "Ugh, that absolute wench...! What do I need to do to persuade her to join us?! Must I serve her Xiulan's head on a silver platter?" The crew stared at him, no one daring to interrupt him. "Gah, to think we'd have to go and find her body as proof that she is inferior! Finding it might take aeons! But no matter... Baiken WILL join us, no matter what it takes!"

"C-couldn't we, uh, find... someone else?" asked a crewmate as the gang helped Lord Valor up on his feet and took him outside. "Like, someone who would... or could... do everything we wanted?"

"Pah! I will have none other! I have witnessed Baiken's strength for myself! Even though she was simply RUDE to not even wait until ONE to strike me, her strikes are strong and true! All would respect us with her at our side! To think, even in death, Xiulan would continue to be a thorn at our side. I swear, once we find her...!"

They dared not tell him that it's been months since she jumped off the plank. They dared not to tell him that the body might have been claimed by the sea at this point, if not picked at by starving seagulls. All of them knew he would throw a fit and ignore reality, and rather than deal with Lord Valor's tantrum, they simply dragged him to the ship and nodded along like sycophants.

Somewhere, out there, Xiulan sneezed, looking up at the skies as if a bad omen was on her.

*COMING SOON: LORD VALOR SERVES A DEAD XIULAN HUMBLE PIE! MAYBE. COMING THIS MAY ON ZFRP!*

A Day in the Life of Fortuna Stellaris, Fortune Teller Surpreme

 "Mmmmmm! Aaaaaah~!"

Fortuna Stellaris waved her hands around, her crystal ball swirling with blue and purple fog. Sitting in front of it was none other than Hakra Glittercloud Blacksin, marveling not just at the theatrical handwaving Stellaris was doing, but the utter attention to detail when making the room look like they were in space. Stars shimmered, constellations forming all throughout as Stellaris continued what Hakra assumed to be a powerful divination spell, eyes sparkling as the 12 Zodiac Signs appeared before the witch, glowing brighter and brighter until the whole room was filled with light.

"At last, all becomes clear!"

With that bold proclamation, the lights settled, the fog lifting from within the crystal ball. Hakra leaned in close, watching as starry shapes formed within. Then, and only then, did Stellaris take a seat, smug as a bug.

Hakra leaned in further as she asked, "What do you see? Did you consult the stars for divination, or is your divination similar to maybe tea leaf divination, making sense of the shapes within the ball- OH! Before I forget, I really liked your zodiac spell circle! Will you teach me how to make one? I asked my teacher if she could, but she said that maybe it was a bit too flashy with not enough substance-"

As much as Stellaris wanted to bask in the praise - high praise, at that! - there was a job she needed to do. "We can speak of such things later, O Glittercloud! Wouldn't you want to know your fortune first? Of COURSE you do!" She tapped her nails onto orb, pondering it much like a wizard before she continued to speak. "Mhmhmhm, good tidings are headed your way! More friends, more knowledge, and maybe love is just hanging around the corner! Look at how close they are!" The star-figures within the orb looked vaguely like two girls holding hands before it shifts over to several taller figures cheerfully speaking to one of them. "And look, knowledge will fill your future in no time: it may take a liiiiittle bit, but keep pressing on, and you'll certainly be on par with a Sage!"

The fortune teller allowed herself to smile more as Hakra's eyes shimmered with excitement, all that praise probably getting to her head. "Really?! Do you know how much I'll learn? Or who I'd learn it from? And who likes me that much? Angellica does, but I don't know if she'd call us lovers yet- OH! Are you going to be one of the ones who fills my brain with knowledge?!?"

"E-erm..." Stellaris's eyes widened, unsure of how to respond. Usually, she praises and plays to everyone's ego, making them feel good enough to leave her a good tip. Hakra, on the other hand, was simply... pure in her intentions? Or maybe that enthusiasm was charming? Before she knew it, the fortune teller sputtered out, "Why, uhm, of COURSE! Why wouldn't I? After all, you have SUCH good taste, learning about various constellations and such! Maybe I could take you as my apprentice! Ohohohoho!" She brought a hand up to her  face and gave her best noblewoman's laugh while, on the inside, she screamed in an equal mix of excitement and terror. Yes, this could be her chance to shine brighter than Esme, taking a pupil and elevating her to her level! And a Kobber one, at that! Her name would be back in the papers, and that newt would be begging her to return! On the other hand, though, she'd actually have to teach, and only heaven knew how much was in this mage's noggin already. For all Stellaris knew, Hakra might have already learned all that she knew from some other person. She seemed like a smart cookie, and she's even going to the Magic Academy later.

It was at this point Stellaris realized that she painted herself into a corner, the mage leaping out of her seat with glee. "Really?! Do you have a specific time you can tutor me? I know a bit about Stellar Magic: I can summon Polaris and little dogs and a bear with a pan based on constellations. I just don't know the more intricate parts that make it more... stellar? More cool? I want to make it my way, but in order to do that, I have to learn other people's ways, too, and build upon that!"

Before the fortune teller said something she regret, she spotted something else forming in the crystal ball: a purple fog rolling in, taking a rectangular shape as several dark figures rose from the bottom. Her awkwardness shifted to concern as she peered through, a frown forming on her lips. 

"Oh dear, oh my, what have we here? A strange force, bringing people together, and not all for a good cause. You may have to face several of these people to find the truth, but it will be a difficult trial, if you go without aid!" She paused, sweating a bit as Hakra looked at her expectantly. "Wh-which means, well, you certainly lucked out, for I, the  Great Fortuna Stellaris, will aid you in defeating these people of ill-intent! My astrological powers and knowledge will surely help you in due time, but ah... Hmm..." Okay, how to get this girl out of here so she could think on how to get out of this? "MmmmmMMMMM! Mars' influence is making me, uh, rather rambunctious! And scatterbrained! I am so, so, so sorry, my dear Glittercloud, but the stars tell me I must rest and recouperate!"

"But you haven't told me when you could teach me!" the girl pleaded as Stellaris whisked her towards the door. "You could give me an estimate, or-"

"The stars will pay you a visit when I am ready! Now, go on! Have a pleasant day-"

"What should I expect wh-"

"A calling from the Heavens, Glittercloud! Now HAVE A DAY!" Stellaris said in her most shrill, yet customer-service-y voice she could before shoving Hakra out the door and closing it, hastily puting up each of the 7 latches and locks she had on there to assure that no one gets in. She let out a sigh and flopped onto the floor, staring at the ceiling with a blank look.

Esme will not know the glory of tutoring a Kobber. But by the same token, she would never know how draining that sort of thing could be. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Stellaris couldn't tell, at least not yet. 

For now, she slunk back to the back, where her less-than-humble abode awaited, all coordinated in colors that bring the night sky to mind. Her heels clacked against hardwood floors, hair bouncing up and down as she went through several halls and doors. Each door was labeled in runic languages to indicate what they were for. Each shimmered and glowed, giving off a mystic aura... but one door at the very end of the hall was not. It was a plain white door, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the elaborate interior design. Stellaris looked back, then looked towards her sides before she slowly approached the door and whispered something under her breath.

The door creaked open, and within its depths, awaited... the Room.

She didn't know of a good name for it. Nothing that sounded fancy or elegant, at least. Not when everything here looked like it was designed for kids. Who would ever take her seriously again if they knew she had toy trains to push around on tracks she changed every day, that she had a kid's artist easel to make stick figures with finger paint, that she prefered to be on the top bunk of a small bunk bed tucked in under a blanket with colorful dinosaurs on it? They'd laugh her off like a bad joke, ignore her, find her... childish. 

In spite of her fears of anyone finding out about it, this room remained over the years, outliving day-to-day, week-to-week trends. When she sat in a chair with a heart shape on the back at a tiny pink and white tea table with stuffed animals like Mrs.  Bunbuns and Catticus VII, all of her worries flew away, her shoulders relaxing as the tension left them. This was her safe place, where she could do all that she wanted, all the things her teachers and tutors told her wasn't befitting of someone of her status. It was a place where she could be what she thought was a normal kid, doing normal kid stuff instead of studying calculus and star charts for the umpteenth time.

A genuine smile formed on Stellaris's lips as she took a plastic teapot and pretended to pour hot tea into Bunbun's and Catticus's tea cups.

"Oh, you two won't BELIEVE what I've been through today! Soon, I'll be a tutor! Yes, an actual tutor and teacher! I need you two to help me come up with an abbacus- crap, you're right, Mrs. Bunbuns, it's a... a SYLLABUS, right? A syllabus for my new pupil, and maybe some mandatory reading! Yes, Catticus, it is going to be stressful, but if I can do this, then there's no way I won't be #1! Oho! Ohohohoho!"

A Rival Outshining the Stars

 Fortuna Stellaris crumpled newspapers in her hands, her teeth grinding against each other hard enough to give her a headache. She knocked her tarot deck and crystal ball onto the ground in a fit and stomped her feet as if she was capable of causing earthquakes with each step.

"Damn that Esmerelda!" she swore, her long, midnight blue nails digging deep into flesh as she balled her hand up into a fist. "Damn her, damn her, DAMN HER!" Her fist slammed onto her table, her astrology books joining the crystal ball and deck on the floor. She grabbed another newspaper, tossing away the front page and classified, digging until she found the inevitable astrology and advice column. There was no astrology readings, however; they were instead various color fortunes for each birth month, as well as how to interpret certain colors. 

Ripping the paper into shreds, she yelled, "ARGH!!! DAMN HER! How DARE she take away MY spot! How can some nobody like her suddenly gain that dumb newt's attention! His brain must be full of tissue paper and peanuts for him to suddenly oust me from my rightful spot! Or maybe she cast a spell on him, hypnotized him to make her do her bidding!" All the while, Stellaris's hands talked along with her, making big, sweeping motions before wiggling her fingers with scowl. "She's no one! She's irrelevant! Color fortunes? Ha! Why would anyone care for her when they have a superstar such as myself?"

Fortuna Stellaris stomped over to the curtains in the back and opened it up, revealing various pictures of herself in mystical clothing, starring in Mona Lisa paintings in her image, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, and even The Birth of Adam, her finger reaching out for God's. "Ah, look at me!" she cooed as her hands trailed down the painting, feeling every paint stroke. "All this magnificince, ready to deliver their fortunes of a lifetime! Beautiful, intelligent, and wise... What else could they look for? Why bother even going to Katrina's dingy tent when I provide all she does and more?"

"In fact," she said as she puffed up her cheeks in indignation. "What does she have that I don't?! Her hair's the color of snot! Her outfit has no coordination, no sense of style! And... and...!" Her brain faltered, slowed to a crawl in order to find the perfect insult. "Uh, she... is too skinny! She'd break the moment a man touches her, she's that willowy!"

Her thoughts trailed off, consumed with thoughts of Esmerelda dressed up in all the fancy, luxurious clothes she wanted, fitting in perfectly as she strolled down the catwalk. Stellaris's cheeks burned with anger with each and every scenario that flooded her mind. It became too much, her anger bursting forth as she flipped over her entire table with rage.

"I'll have to scout her out and get some dirty details on her life," the fortune teller said as she walked over to the front door and grabbed a pair of shades and a hat that rivaled Marisa's in size and starriness. "Something to ruin her reputation, to mock her for, to embarass her in front of everyone! I will not stand for some random girl from the slums to take my spot, no! I'll find something, even if it's the last thing I do!"

And with her vibrantly blue hair flowing behind her, she went through the door to the outside world and slammed it so hard, one would worry about the hinges.

-----------------------------------

Stellaris slithered like a snake, trailing the green-haired fortune teller's every move. Seeing Esme even pop out from her dingy store filled her with rage, especially as passers by dared to say hello to her like an old friend. 

"Ah, Esme!" said one such person, walking up to her with a warm smile. "How are things? Your store's been getting all the rave!"

Esme blushed and waved it off as she replied, "Oh, it's really not that much. Things are well enough, enough to be comfortable. And how is your wife?"

"Doing much better after your consultation, I'd say! Bursting with energy and tryin' to find whatever crafts she can get her hands on, just explorin' hobbies!" They sighed with happiness and looked Esme in the eyes. "Thank you so much, by the way. I couldn't stand to see her so gloomy and shut in, especially after her business-"

"I did not do the hard work, my friend," Esme interrupted, waggling a gloved finger. "I merely provided advice based on her fortune. She was the one who put in the work to improve herself, not I."

Stellaris leaned in, narrowing her eyes and trying to hear any more of that conversation when a cart passed her by, the loud clacka-clack-clack of Sumalee's mule and the sound of wheels on pavement obscuring what secrets she could divine from eavesdropping. She glared at the pixie for her bad timing, then turned back to where Esme was supposed to be.

Unfortunately for her, Esme had moseyed farther down the road. "Urgh, and I have to follow her in these heels!" Stellaris said as she tried to keep up. Sneakily. Like a Sneak King.

Next was the Grand Agaman Market, Stellaris' thoughts swirling with insults as Esme perused the various shops. Seven Winds Cafe? Pah, their coffee tasted like burnt beans, probably. Saturn and Ravio's Rentals? Ugh, what good was a Sand Rod, anyway? Carrie's Curiosities? T-that antique typewrighter was... a-ancient. Why'd she need one, anyway? Why was she giggling when she sat somewhere with it and just pressed random keys? So, SO weird. Not weird enough to really throw into the gossip magazines, though. 

The next stop, though? Oooh, it could be filled with juicy gossip. Everyone loves to rip on someone's fashion! And here, in Fabulous Fashionistas, Stellaris could silently judge to her heart's content. What ugly robe was Esmerelda going to clothe herself in? Probably that hideous green dress, or that gaudy set of bangles? Oh, and those awful-looking rainbow shirts! Who would wear such a thing? Stellaris leaned in, watching Esme look through racks of clothes, ready to judge.

Much to her disappointment, a retro-80s shirt and sweatpants, while not to Stellaris's taste, was not something worth crowing over. They were ugly, but it was... normal. "I was so SURE she would go for the ugly rainbow one! Isn't that her whole thing? Ugh, whatever, time to-"

Her eyes widened as from the reflection in the glass, she saw the Queen of Rainbows herself. She was minding her own business, but Stellaris sweat buckets in fear of Chimata hearing such blasphemy and throwing her out into the market's dumpster for her crimes. As Esme left for her next destination, Stellaris skittered away before she was met with an unfortunate fate.

Fine. Clearly, Esme would at least have some disgustingly rich food, no? Or some monstrosity of a dessert that would make a fashion model cry. Maybe she even boldly eats those poisonous pufferfish like it's nothing, blech. Stellaris rubbed her hands together and stared as Esme walked over to a colorful food truck.

Ah, yes! It's that elf's food truck, wasn't it? Excellent! Each and every meal there might as well be a calorie bomb. Decadent waffles with whipped cream and chocolate? Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes with cream cheese frosting? Even a simple hot dog would probably clog her arteries! Stellaris could see herself, decrying such acts of gluttony in front of a crowd, embarassing the fortune teller enough to send her packing. Oh, a glorious vision indeed!

Stellaris grinned from ear to ear and watched as Esme put in her order, ready to make her absolute final, devastating judgement...

She blanched as Esme sat at a table nearby with a humble grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Watched as the witch put her hands together in prayer, tears streaming down her eyes, and ate them as if it was her final meal on earth. All that money in the witch's pocket, and she spent it on a grilled cheese.

"Who cries over a grilled cheese, anyway?" Stellaris said to herself, her voice trembling. "That's just ridiculous! It's a cheese sandwich! She could make that at home if she truly dared. It's not like the elf's cooking is god's handiwork!"

As she pouted over the lack of juicy gossip, she overheard the crowd from somewhere nearby. Stellaris turned around and saw a man running through the streets with a bag slung over his shoulder, arrows flying from behind him as an officer shouted, "GET BACK HERE, THIEF!"

Fortuna Stellaris gasped as she glowed with astrological might, or at least with a bunch of glittery stars. If she couldn't find dirt on Esme, then she'll just have to impress with her mighty power!

"Halt, foul demon! You will not esca-" 

Even as lights tried to bind him, he slipped away, knocking over the table Esme was sitting out in the chaos. Her soup spilled over the ground, bowl breaking into shards. For a moment, Stellaris felt bad for her. She was still enjoying that, right? What a waste of food! But she could not let herself get distracted, using light as a whip to carry her away and after the thief.

That thief had legs, she'd give him that. But it was only a matter of time before he would fall, summoning dastardly Gemini twins and angry Leo Lions after him. He ducked into an alleyway, Stellaris skidding to a halt before she tripped over her heels and splatted onto the ground. The twins helped her back on her feet, and she glared as the thief blew a raspberry, running to the other side... And slamming into a massive red octogon sign, big enough to block the entire other side of the alley.

"T-take THAT!" Stellaris said with a laugh. "Surely, you didn't think I was out of tricks, did you?"

Then, she saw her: Esmerelda, walking up into the alleyway towards the thief. Her voice was low, dark, ominous as she said, "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you." There was no question in her words, stated as bluntly as saying that the sky was blue. As the witch approached him, the thief clawed at the sign before he turned around, drawing a knife from his pocket. Esmerelda kept walking, and snapped her fingers. Stellaris watched as the knife turned a molten red-orange, the metal warping and melting as if it was scrap metal. 

Esmerelda ignored the thief's screams as she approached. "You have one chance: leave your ill-gotten goods with me and turn yourself in. It would be a much kinder fate than what will happen if you resist."

Fear overtook the man's mind as he lashed out and tried to punch Esmerelda in the face. Paint formed around her fingers and swirled in front of her, his fist meeting another red octogon that blocked his blow.

"Your fate is sealed, then."

With another snap, Stellaris watched in terror as white paint shot out like spider silk and wrapped the thief in a sticky white web. She grabbed the bag of goods, the thief restrained to the point where he could barely move. As the officers arrived, she tossed the bag at them and rolled the thief over to them with her foot. The two fortune tellers watched as the police saluted and whisked the thief away: one with shock, the other with gloom.

"Now I have to get another soup," was not what Stellaris was expecting Esme to say. "He made me waste food... And he broke a bowl. A bowl Dia spent money on... a nice looking bowl, too. A criminal to his very core."

Stellaris saw a tear fall onto the pavement as the color witch took her leave, walking straight back to the food truck and geting another bowl of soup, picking up the table and making a napkin out of white paint to clean up the mess. Was... was crying over soup considered gossip? No, not only was it lame, it was relatable. It didn't make Stellaris hate her competitor any less, but she could sympathize with her at least. 

With that massive failure under her belt for undermining the competition, Stellaris huffed and walked off to her shop, trying to devise a plan of attack to gain the upper hand on her eternal rival. One day, she'll take her spot back, and become the star of the show again. One day.

Behind the Curtains: Radical Dreamer Cutting Room Floor and Thoughts

 Welcome to the first ever documented "Harpyplot Cutting Room Floor"! I normally don't do these because I keep forgetting details and certain elements might be reused, but I figured I might as well try to condense my thoughts here and outline my thought process for the whole shebang!

When coming up with the Radical Dreamers, I had MAGIC on the mind, and I was rewatching runs of NiGHTs into Dreams. That led to me looking at the wiki for lore, delving right in and what do you know? Wizeman's a nightmare guy. Oh, he used to be human? Wow, there's a good motive in that! It spiraled out from there, developing a whole organization that wanted the "best" for Agama. It helped that I was always fascinated by dreams and what they could imply, further helped by the sudden influx of strange dreams I had in the past couple of months. It was supposed to be a MAGIC focused plot, but when you're hosting the plot itself, it's a bit harder to focus on your own character. 

And what's an organization without the people? I had been on a small Pokemon hype trip, but it was enough for me to grab two of the more prominent members of a Team that hadn't been featured in RP yet, Mars and Jupiter from Team Galactic! They played off well against each other, Mars being the more spunky, hotheaded, and somehow more reasonable one of the two, while Jupiter was more refined, easily bored, and eager to cause destruction without thinking of the consequences. 

Klara and Avery were lumped in to enhance the two dualities, Klara being as plucky as Mars but unwilling to get into the thick of things, prefering to be a spy so that she could find a way to spin it well into her pop star career, while Avery... Admitedly, I just turned his smuggery all the way up to 11 because I clearly do not like him. Both Klara and Avery had their reasons to be in the Isle of Armor, mostly due to self-confidence issues brought on by societal expectations, and those same things were the things that drew them into the Radical Dreamers. Granted, one was more successful than the other, but I have made my bias quiiite clear: I love Mars and Klara so much more than Jupiter and Avery. 

Megumu was not originally a part of the crew, but once I started piecing together how they were going to gather money for their operations and Unconnected Marketeers dropped in like a meteor to claim Chao's heart enough for Chimata to rise from it like a rainbow-colored goddess, I knew she would be the best one to facilitate the end of the first arc. Smug tengu, already had a grudge against Chimata, clever enough to help instigate the original UM incident? Oh, yep, she fits in like a charm. I almost considered throwing in the forest kappa for the scalper event, but Mike fit in a whole lot better with her powers and admitedly sad backstory. Kuroji was also always part of this equation, as she's a money grubbing scammer in Len'en, so she was a good fit for the Scalper Shakedown. The Black Mage thing came in later when I talked with Chao, and considering Kuroji is smart, of course she'd have contingency plans to make a fair bit of money even if she gets arrested. I toned her down greatly from her original character, because 1. why would I even go that far and 2. someone had to be conscious enough to rat Megumu out!

Silver was more of a late addition to the crew with Zinnia, and only because there were fan theories about him being related to Giovanni and Mars. We always need some sort of pure asshole in the gang, especially when a large part was more sympathetic than usual. Zinnia was intended to be harassing the Regis all year long, thinking them incompetent and even going as far as to steal and destroy artifacts to destroy their history. That didn't really work out for reasons I'll give out later, but ultimately I'm happy with how they both turned out. Butch and Cassidy? Well, we all need some sort of extra fodder, and I figured that'd be a fun duo to try to capture that damn Pikachu- er, dream guardian.

Hooaka is a strange addition. First, I thought it was natural Kuroji would try to get her siblings involved. Then, thinking harder, I figured Kuroji actually didn't want to involve her siblings. I called Hooaka "the nuke" in my notes, but how would they stay if their sister left? Easy: geas, because Wizeman needed a nuclear option, and he wasn't about to let them get away. They were supposed to be in the Brawl as the Radical Dreamer rep, and not as a Secret Fiter, either! Full blown character slot. I backed down once I thought of better reps and knew Wizeman wouldn't let his nuke get blown up prematurely.

Finally, we have Alejandro, aka Lance! I always intended, even before he turned out to be Lance after outside influence, to have some sort of sensible evil leader, someone who knows what they're up against and knows when to back down. We had plenty for Salvagerplot for the most part, but it was fun writing a villain who tries to keep their opponents in mind. The lance bit didn't come until after the balan wonderworld mishaps. I was so frustrated that this game had such potential narrative-wise, but forgot that show, don't tell needs at least some sort of balance! I had other ideas for Wizeman's nightmare gang, such as Nightmare from Kirby's Adventure and Reala from NiGHTs, but 1. I didn't want to drag the plot out like I usually do, especially once the plot changed drastically from my former plans and 2. Lance is perfect for this sorta thing. Just the one is fine, thank you.

Mechagodzilla was one of the last ones added, since I hadn't watched Kong vs Godzilla until earlier this year. Without getting into spoilers, he left a lasting impression, and the way he came about was interesting enough that he could fit right in. His first appearance in Boston was to make a lasting impression, a beast to reckoned with. He turned out to be more of a good person in the end, given that the dreams fueling him were ultimately good people. Nooot so much for the finale, when Wizeman pulled his trick to fuel this bastard with fearsome nightmares.

That's our cast we're working with, now let's move onto...

ACT 1: Marketplace Madness

In typical Harpy fashion, this particular act rose up from sheer, utter spite, evolving from just one silly Mayplot to a full blown vendetta. Scalpers had not only made finding rare exclusive dinosaurs harder than it needed to be, but also made buying the gen 5 consoles a huge pain in the ass, and even going as far as to scalp football cards and pokemon cards! I knew that I wanted to channel that righteous fury in a way that was constructive, and what better way to do that than make a plot about it!

At first, it was just going to be Kuroji's little shop, her handling all these faux Kobber merch while the real money came from a nightmaren disguised as an old woman with huge glasses and an outfit that made her stand out, like a fake psychic or witch. She'd lure in customers and scare them with their deepest fears and nightmares before selling them a solution to all of those in the form of dream crystals, which would have absorbed some of the negative energy and channeled it right into Wizeman and his goons. Carla was supposed to be the original target, this woman preying on the loss of her family and lingering fear of flames, though Sonia would have stepped in and ripped her a new one before Carla's will gave in to get one of these crystals. I considered Carla running off if Sonia was being too overbearing and meeting Doremy at her Dream Parlor.

The main reason it didn't get in? I didn't have the energy nor the creativity to put that on paper. It's one thing to get thoughts about it, but another to put it into words and actually describe it. The struggle has eased up once I started to deal with my anxiety and ADHD, but I just couldn't push myself to make that post. So I needed a new angle, and fast.

Mike came to mind after I watched the hell out of Unconnected Marketeers and learned about her, and so, she became the first enemy to get bonked for her scalper troubles. One thing led to another as I thought about it, and soon enough, it turned into Mike ratting on Kuroji, Kuroji ratting on Megumu, and Megumu facing off with the Kobbers with some of her allies who were dreaming along with her. https://youtu.be/Udn3r030Wic Where's that Bustling Marketplace Now was a huge inspiration for that final battle, whimsical but still carrying some dangerous undertones. It fit, especially since Chimata played a huge role in defeating Megumu!

Involving the ConjureArms competition wasn't intended up until the conflict flared up, Megumu seizing that opportunity to discourage Saturn and Ravio and get some of that sweet, sweet negativity to Wizeman. It didn't work out as she intended, but I wanted my plot in general to be impacted by the things that happened around them, the villains changing their plans accordingly.

Post-Brawl, after all was said and done, things drastically changed: Zinnia's reason for being kinda flopped and I couldn't justify her harassing the Regis after their high ranking. Mars already left, Klara was feeling more and more alone with a whole bunch of assholes, and Alejandro was seeing for himself that if they continued the way they were going, they didn't stand a chance.

Fortunately for them, Wizeman had one way to distract them.

ACT II: Rise of Darkrai

This act was originally supposed to be based around Jupiter. Earlier, I thought that maybe Jupiter failed so hard that Wizeman or Alejandro would trap her in a nightmare with what she truly wanted, and like Mars, she'd deal with this boring, spiritless world that was the ideal for their original boss, Cyrus. She would have ended up hospitalized, Skuntank would have pled with Mars and Purugly for help without understanding why Jupiter was sleeping for so long. Could you imagine, Juniper doing all this boring paperwork? Mars hating Jupiter's guts, but not enough to just leave her in that state? 

Yeah, that got tossed out the window when I couldn't find a good way to segue into it. Mars left, ready to take on the Brawl and seize it by the horns!

Then Mars died in the Brawl very early on.

After panicking for like two seconds, I realized that the segue just fell right into my lap, and instead of inflicting Jupiter, Mars would be the target instead. Kinda sucked since I kinda wanted to use her, and watching our girl suffer like this was painful. So I had my way to pull off this part of the plot like I imagined: it was just about filling the middle bits with some meat.

It was about the time Doremy needed to be introduced anyway, playing a part in this whole Dream World plot. The Dream World Gimmicks were pretty fun to mess around with, everyone's ideas of what to do blooming in the spur of the moment. Cassidy and Butch (and Gillwing I guess?) proved to be some good enemies  to face, keeping up with the Pokemon theme of this particular arc without resorting to nameless Galactic Grunts. Though, I intended the cave sequence to break into an underground water sequence so I could use a robo gyarados, buuut ehhhh, naaaah. 

In another true Harpism, I realized I also didn't have a way to wake Mars up. So what did I do? Bullshit and make Klara hella important. And what happened? Klara almost died because she was the key to derailing all these plans Wizeman had and cutting him off from a consistent source of energy. Writing Jupiter as she went from refined to deranged was fantastic, and I especially appreciated Mephita vs Skuntank in this battle of stinky. I would have thrown more than just Weavile at Lucina after she disrupted the assasination attempt on Jenny LeClue, but I realized I had some time constraints and didn't want to juggle everything around.

Facing off with Darkrai basically went off without any major changes! I didn't have anything solidly planned, just enough to have a general idea of what was to happen. Threw in some Dream World mechanics with a twist for an explosive last round, some crazy Dimension Rift shit, and Cyrus being a lifeless husk of a man who somehow has a Crobat, regarding his pokemon as means to an end than any friend he had. All in all, this segment went great, and I wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it again.

ACT III: A WISE MAN, OR A FOOLISH ONE?

This was an act I was hoping to hold off until later, but with the pace we were going, there was no way to justify Bubba sitting on his ass til later to rip the Dreamers a new one. Not much to say here: most of this was improv, with the dream mist summoning Negati and galactic grunts being fodder before the real juicy fight against Silver and the Johto Starters began. Hooaka was going to be a smartass no matter what, and they could have been a threat! Could have. Just like Lance: he could have turned into his phase 3 form and caused some mayhem, but all that was cut due to time constraints. No biggie, three shadow-ified Johto Starters would still prove a problem, and did!

The finale could have ended in several different ways. Back when Tsubakura was supposed to be more involved, there was the traveling train segment beating up nightmares along the way to face off with Wizeman's generals. Back when I was trying to think more on how to integrate this with Boss's past, the big boss tanuki would have been helping Wizeman and went crazy with Dream Magic to summon a monster, which then put his people to sleep in nightmares and terrified the shit out of him. Kobbers would have needed to come in to stop the expanding rift of the Dream World from taking over and using that as their way into Train Craziness. It also could have been infiltrating several Nightmarian cities, taking out head honchos and reclaiming territory as they made their way to Wizeman's Castle.

Doremy was actually supposed to die before the finale, gone in some way so that Wizeman could get away with whatever grandiose plan he had. However, Annie's character arc and the Demon Cede plot were too important to her, especially since Annie was in a rut, and nobody wants to find out what a CW and Harpy final boss collab is gonna be like. So instead, she lived, but downgraded. I do have some ideas for her to use a lesser version of her usual dream magic, maybe some adjacent sleep magic. And this way, we might be able to squeeze some backstory out of her! And for that, I'm thankful.

As plans fell through, the finale that was to be clicked into place as I learned more and more about the Negati Bosses. They were wasted potential, and I, a human being powered by spite and the need to occasionally 1-Up AAA studios, dropped all 12 of those suckers in with the Nightmare Powered Mechagodzilla for one helluva army plot! It was a good way to showcase some Harpchars helping, too, because just describing 12 bosses and what they could do? Too boring for my brain, let's show how they work with a few examples! I added a few flairs to them instead of relying entirely on their skills in game, though the Wiki was lacking in details. I threw in Lance's Shadow Form, seizing an opportunity to use it now when I couldn't in the HQ raid. Mechagodzilla? Always going to be there, and always going to be angry.

There's no better harpism than making shit up on the fly, though, thinking back to something I was collaborating on... and figuring, "hey, Wizeman could be a dream robot thing piloted by a Brume!" I'm sorry the first brume I make is an evil one, but I'll repent later. I think.

CONCLUSION

While some things were integrated better than others and this plot turned out to be "short" in that it didn't drag out through the entire year like a true megaplot, this is perhaps the most solid plot I've made in recent history, taking notes from what I did from Rejectplot and applying juuuust a baseline of things, a general structure without solidifying it entirely. It worked out very well for this three act structure, especially since time was always going to be an issue with my topsy-turvy work schedule. Working within those constraints was a bit difficult, and sometimes I felt like I had 0 energy after work to pull some of them off, but I wanted to break away from pushing plots back over and over again and push through.

I'll probably aim for this sort of 3 act structure for any longer plot I want to pull off in the near future and keep things relatively structured. Hey, if it worked, it worked! It also helped to workshop some ideas with others to make sure the motives made sense, to boot! I might not attempt the villain flexibility thing again, though. Then I'd probably run out of villains... or I end up with Brinegirl sympathy syndrome, which is terminally cute.  :V

Aaand... that's it! All the thoughts I could think up of at this time. Before I leave you all, there's just one last thing I want to share: A list of all the music that inspired huge chunks of this plot! 

THE RADICAL DREAMER PLAYLIST!

Where is that Bustling Marketplace Now? ~ Immemorial Marketeers

Fortunate Kitten

Ruby Illusions

Drawcia Sorceress/Drawcia Soul (GaMetal Remix)

Negati Boss Theme Compilation

The Darkness Brought in by Swallowstone - Naturalis Historia

Lunatic Dreamer

Nightmare Diary

The Princess Who Slays Dragon Kings (Ten Desires Remix)

Surprisingly, a big lack of NiGHTs music, but they kinda aren't my style? The new touhous have definitely played a big part, and Momoyo's theme actually inspired the Underground Battle! Drawcia was definitely introduced at the end, when Inkabelle had the greatest potential to use some of Drawcia's moves! Ruby Illusions inspired the way the Finale turned out, impacted by how intense Kal-Vec ended up being and its strong ties to The Void. The Red just won't stop. 

There's more to this, but that's for offseason. There's still much to be discovered, after all! What do I mean? Well, we'll find out~!

The Pirate and the Pupil

 Xiulan let the humid air fill her lungs as her vision slowly returned after a good night's sleep. Clouds filled the skies, the sun peeking out inbetween them. Pain throbbed through her back as she rolled off the bench, the rokurokubi stretching as far as her body would allow. People passed her by, some raising their eyebrows at her choice of style or for taking a bench for a full 8 hours. 

"Oof, I ache more than a granny with bed sores," she said as she slipped into an alleyway and popped her head off to try to massage her back. "Better than sleeping on dirt and finding a centipede tryin' to get too cozy with me, but ugh, I should just sleep on a free cot or something next time!" She popped her head back on after a few minutes of rubbing her cheek against her back with some pressure, stretching one more time before walking along others in the streets with a skip and a hop. "No better time than the present to do some scoutin', though! Maybe there's a job or two I can do without needin' to beat someone up."

As she checked quest boards, she focused less on the actual quests and more on the magitech that made new postings pop up soon as they could. It didn't look like it had some sort of electrical system through it, so it had to be magitech, right? Part of her wanted to take it apart and look at all the innards and find out what spells were used to make it, but that'd be illegal, so instead, she just marveled at technology these days. 

The quests themselves weren't of much interest to Xiulan, at least not without her full repetoir. Exploring deep into La-Mulana? Nah, there's probably monsters in there. Draining a swamp to reach a flooded ruin that once housed an old clan? Mmmm, couldn't manipulate water to that extent yet. Tutoring Magic Academy students? 

Wait, she could do that one, actually. Did she believe she was a good tutor? No, she was the best one, because technically she didn't try it and fail! Now was a good opportunity to use some brains instead of brawn for once-

"Ab-so-LUTE-LY NOT!!!" The screech snapped Xiulan out of her own thoughts, turning her head to glare at the woman screaming at her child. The kid didn't look more than 17, dressed from head to toe in mystical wizard robes, the kind of robes detailing astrological symbols with shimmering gold. While her face was as neutral as could be, Xiulan could see her eyebrows narrow in anger, barely visible below her brown bangs, before she forced them to relax.

"I don't really see why there's a problem, mom," the girl said. "How am I supposed to help the Magic Academy when I don't have even the basic understandings of magic? The best way to correct that is clearly to enroll there and-"

She flinched as her mother stomped her foot down, the clack of a heel heard by all around the area. "Magic this, magic that!" The mother's disapproving look was so intense, Xiulan wondered if it'd get stuck like that. "Haven't you even thought about taking up my legacy? Your head is far  too up in the clouds, thinking there's even an ounce of magic in your bones!" She flicked her pale brown hair back with a hand adorned with golden bracelets and rings. "End your little nonsensical dream! Besides, being a jeweler is more of an accomplishment these days instead of prancing around with familiars or playing around with lightning! It seems like all the riff raff around these parts can do it these days."

The young teen bit her lip, clearly holding back some choice words as her mother huffed and tipped her head back as if to look down on her. "Now, come along! We have very important meetings with Ratstache or whatever that dwarf's name is-"

"M-mousebeard-"

"That's what I said, didn't I? Now, come along, come along!"

Xiulan watched the girl's mood deflate like a balloon, dragging her feet as she followed behind her mother. While she kept her reactions to herself, now she just felt like slapping this woman in the face. It'd probably make things worse for the poor girl, though, so instead, she took out her pouch, pulling out a quill pen, ink, and parchment to scribble a quick note, waving her hand as magic arcs through her fingers onto the parchment, the ink disappearing from sight. She then folded into a paper airplane and let it soar, walking away as it bonked the girl on the head. From the corner of her eye, she could see the girl stop and open it up, eyes widening in surprise before hurriedly stuffing it in her pocket and rushing to her mother's side.

Meet me in the Grand Marketplace, where the scent of coffee wafts through the air. The knowledge of magic awaits you there.

~The Scarlet Witch~

-------------------------

Xiulan didn't know when the girl was coming, so she killed some time touring around Agama, even going as far as to look at the Magic Academy and take a stroll through Bruma. It was neat to see the cultures that blended together, storefronts all over and hawking unique items, and how magitech was integrated into this city, too! Her heart rushed with excitement, exploring each nook and cranny like a five year old hyped on sugar. She hadn't even explored the whole city, and yet, around every corner, there was always something to catch her eye.

The Grand Marketplace was always going to be her final stop for the day, looking around and familiarizing herself with what stores sold what. The rentals shop made her eye widen, looking at Climate Rods and Sand Rods with great interest before she walked out, sullen, incapable of even renting a single thing. No money, more problems. It was at least nice to know they existed as she plopped down at the Seven Winds Cafe, where word on the wind said they had some of the best coffees in Agama. The rokurokubi took a seat outside, watching people pass her by when she heard a chair move in front of her. With a turn of her head, she was face to face with the astrological wizard girl from earlier, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"You gave me that message, didn't you? You're the only one here wearing anything remotely scarlet," said the girl as she glanced around at the customers, then back at her. "Are you truly a witch? Or maybe you're a sorceress? No, no, I won't be mad if it's an innate power, I'm just so excited to learn- oh, is it from a warlock patron, perhaps? Are you a warlock?!? I hear Sumalee's a warlock bound to The Birdcaller, who is said to be a mysterious fey no one has ever laid eyes upon for centuries- OH! Maybe you're an artificer like Chanda, making magic through artefacts-"

Xiulan held up her hands and said, "Woah, woah, woah, slow down there! You're going 60 knots when I'm only going at 5! Take a breath! Breathe! Feel that air in your lungs!"

The wizard did breathe, deeply at that, before she turned meek. "Ah, my sincere apologies, I just, I... There's so much to learn, and I'm so very, very behind! Zoey knows so much more than I do, and I just want to achieve her level of knowledge on the magical arts! I know I need to get into the academy, but I need the basics to even have them consider giving me an entrance exam!"

"Zoey, huh?" Xiulan looked at the girl, whose eyes shined brighter than diamonds. "Sounds like a big shot around these parts, ain't she?"

"You have NO idea!" The wizard's excitement was electrifying, sparks flying off every word. "Everybody thinks she's an odd one because she doesn't have magic of her own, but the fact that she has pushed through and learned so much to the point of being a walking encyclopedia of magic facts is an inspiration to me! I don't even know if I'm capable of magic, but even if I'm not, I want to follow in her footsteps, to know all there is to know with all types of magic, and share that knowledge with everyone the world over!" She sighs happily, speaking as if she were in a sweet dream. "Imagine... Hakha Glittercloud, author- or co-author- of Magicks Around the World: A Comprehensive Guide to Magic... Aaah, is it not wonderful?!"

Xiulan whistled, surprised. "Woah, she's been hittin' the books if she knows that much! Maybe I should hit her up someday? Trade some tactics here and there!" She crossed her arms, a smug smile on her face as she announced, "Well, I'm just the girl ya need, Glitz! Name's Xiulan Hua Ngo: Xiulan works just fine for me! I'm a wizard and all that. Not a sorcerer who just got it by luck or chance through birth, not a warlock who decided to make a deal with Kuroma or whatever weird thing that grants 'em power. I'm a bonafide wizard, and I worked my ass off to learn my spells and memorize all the sorta things I'll need!"

Glitz narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You certainly don't look the type. You look more like a warrior, with arms like those!"

"That's because I'm the kinda wizard that likes to be in people's faces!" Xiulan's smile breaks into a grin as she pumped her arm up. "I want that thrill of the fight, the blood rushing through my brain, all that on-the-spot thinking to keep me on my toes! Life's no fun if you're just in the back firin' a magic missile or three. A blade's song and spells at my fingertips are the two things I need to make the battlefield my stage! I got one part, workin' on the other! Don't have a sword, y'see?"

Glitz stared as Xiulan showed her empty palms, no sword in hand. "Uh, this... blade song thing doesn't seem to be that magical."

"And that's where you'd be wrong!" Xiulan chuckled as she sat up, taking out her quill, ink, and parchment as she started to draw. "It's an extremely rare form of magic, used by demons and creatures who can hold even just a stick in their hands. Used to be more common in the Mermaid Queen's time, but if ya don't spread the word, the magic doesn't get passed along. My clan's been able to keep that sorta thing alive, but let's just say the whole clan's in a pickle right now that, if it doesn't get fixed, will make that whole tradition go away like this." She snapped her finger with her free hand, her picture taking the form of long necked and headless men and women dancing with all sword of blades: axes, swords, even a dagger, magic flowing like a song from the heart.

A gasp escaped from Glitz's mouth as she marveled at the picture, hanging on every word Xiulan said. She couldn't help but keep looking at the picture, then back at Xiulan. "This... this is incredible! We've never heard of such a thing recorded in Agama, and if it's as rare as you say, then it is imperitive we find some way to preserve the knowledge so it can be passed down to the next generation without fear of extinction! Ooooh, Zoey's going to LOVE to hear this, I really think you should meet her- OH! Before I get too off track, would you mind terribly if you taught me some magic? I'll pay you, of course, but you saw my mom. She thinks there's enough wizard  and witches roaming around and thinks all that stuff is below her."

Glitz heard Xiulan take a deep breath through her nose before she held up a closed palm, raising a finger for certain things she listed. "Identify. Detect Magic. Mending. Prestidigitation. Distort Value if she wants to run a long con. Unseen Servant. Locate Object if she's looking for a specific type of gemstone and nothing else. Dispel Curse. Move Earth. Guards and Wards." The young wizard's jaw would have been on the ground if she were capable as the rokurokubi lists the spells off with ease. "All of these spells- and more, if you know how to use 'em- would make her a kickass jeweler, but nooOOOooo, that stuff's all below her! I'd love to see her get some cursed ruby she can't sell because it's stuck to her hands and making her hallucinate things that just aren't there. Trust me, cursed gems are no joke! 

Before ya bust out your wallet, I just got a lil request: if ya don't have any pocket change to spare, then just spare me a meal and I can share all that knowledge shakin' around in my noggin! Otherwise, if ya got about 5 gold pieces, that'd work, too! Or somethin' like it. No Bitcoin, everybody asks me about that and I don't know what it is, and I ain't about to find out!"

"Th-that little for tutoring?" Glitz fiddled with her fingers, quivering a little bit as she asked in hushed tones, "A-are you sure? I could pay more than that, if you want! I have a lot of gift money saved up from birthdays- OH! You probably should charge as much as the normal tutors do in-"

"Nah." Xiulan waved her off dismissively. "They can do that because they got people who know how good they are. Reputation, ya see? But I don't have any of that, and really, I just want to spite your mom, since I can't punch her without gettin' thrown in the locker. Just make sure ya meet me here every, saaaay, thursday. Any time work for you here? Need to be weekends or somethin?"

Glitz tapped her chin, brow furrowed. "I have school most days, and I have to sit in on jeweler classes and meetings in the evenings. I think weekends work wonderfully; I'm usually with my father then, who doesn't really care if I wander off and do my own thing. It's my mother who is troubling me the most... Oh, as for a time, lets saaay... maybe around breakfast? Early bird gets the worm, that sort of thing?"

Xiulan held out a hand and grinned. "Then it's a done deal," she said as Glitz took her hand for a handshake. "Weekends, breakfast time! Man, looks like I'll need a syllabus in time for class, gwahaha!" Her laughter petered out as she heard her stomach roar and grumble. "Hahaha... huh. I'm actually starving. Who woulda thought?" It was Xiulan's turn to be all meek and shy this time, attempting eye contact but struggling. "Uh, well, I'd buy myself lunch, but I kinda got kicked out of my house, and I'm here all homeless and penniless. Family troubles, y'know?"

"Wh-why didn't you SAY so? I would have gotten you at least a cookie from the cafe if I had known!" Glittercloud says, color draining out of her skin as she hastily takes out her wallet. "Come on, let's hurry! Do you want coffee? Tea? Snacks? Oh, they have great tarts here, my dad used to come here all the time. You're not allergic to peanuts or anything, right? There's just so much-"

Glitz dragged Xiulan over to the menu, the rokurokubi smiling at her new pupil's enthusiasm, ultimately enjoying a casual chat over green tea and apple tarts, allowing Glitz to talk her ear off as much as she wanted.

A New Pirate's Life for Me

 The plank creaked below her feet, hair whipping up behind her as the airship flew through the skies. She wriggled her wrists uselessly, the rope that bound them tied too well for just a slight movement to loosen. After a moment, Xiulan actually bothered to even look at the loons before her, brandishing scimitars, swords, and pitchforks and laughing at her.

"Laugh it up all you want," she said, cool as ice. "But it doesn't change the fact that your brand new captain is worth less than dirt. You really went through all the effort for him? Really?"

"Of course they would, my one eyed, oh-so-daring ex-captain!" Xiulan scoffed as a man dressed in a purple pirate outfit with gold trim walked out, playing around with his pencil-thin moustache. "Honestly, I'm surprised they kept oh-so-quiet about being bossed around by a demon! And just because you're some decendant to some archer known only on some backwater island? Pah! How pathetic!"

" 'Ooooh, how patheeetic!' " the demon shot back, rolling her one good eye. "Look who's talking! You're so lily-livered, you didn't even mutiny with a grand battle: you just drugged me and had your goons tie me up so you can make me walk the plank. What, you couldn't have been smart and tossed me off to splatter me off the Manchurian Steppe? Or are your arms about as fragile as a graham cracker?"

Veins pulsed against the man's temple as he scowled at her. "I very well could have, but then I wouldn't have a chance to brag about it! I was looking forward to your fear and tears-"

"Boooo hooo, I'm a pooor woman standing over a plank! Whatever shall I dooooo?!" Xiulan spat at his feet before she looked him dead in the eyes. "Now are you going to push me off or not?"

Another vein pulsed, the men around him backing away as one other goon, the one holding a pitchfork to try to tease her off the plank looking over at him with confusion. The regal pirate grit and ground his teeth, hand trembling in anger. "You- You aren't even ACTING scared! This is the part where I gloat over your demise as you bow to me and cry, 'Oh, Lord Valor, please! I beg your forgiveness for treating you so unkindly! Oh, please, oh pleaaase don't push me off, I'll do anything!' You're going off script! You're ruining [i]my[/i] moment, you, you-" Xiulan took a step back towards the edge of the plank, Valor grinding his teeth hard enough to possibly grind them into dust. "You HAG! Just INDULGE me for two seconds, and THEN I'll-"

"No thanks. Bye!"

She relished in the shocked looks as she jumped off, especially that on Valor's face. Like hell she'd sit around and let him jerk himself off to his cheapo accomplishment. That now was the least of her problems as she fell towards earth, down from the clouds up high. It was a roulette whether she'd splat on ground or in water, and a roulette she wasn't going to risk her life for. A spell came to mind, but her hands were still tied behind her back, reaching out for a pouch but unable to get to it. 

Acting quickly, Xiulan detached her head from her body, keeping up with herself in freefall as she used her teeth to open up the pouch and pluck out a feather. She shoved it into her hand before shouting an incantation out loud, runes forming around her. The ground was fast approaching, greenery spanning as far as she could see, one that would be marred if she broke herself upon it.

She came only a few feet away from splattering until her drifted and fell more like a feather than a brick, gently falling onto the ground. One problem down, at least. Next, her head floated off to find some sharp rock to bring over and slice through the bindings, her body standing up and stretching their arms and wiggling their fingers, flinching at the rope marks that marred her fair skin.

"Ouch, that smarts," Xiulan grunted, her body grabbing her head and spinning it around her neck until it clicked in place. With her immediate issues dealt with, now she could take a good look at her surroundings, scanning the area with her one good eye. Greenery as far as her eye could see, vines splayed out and growing everywhere and anywhere, a great wide river farther beyond with the shadow of a city across its bank. How far? She couldn't tell, she just simply knew a skip and a hop wasn't going to get her there quite as fast as she'd like.

What to do? All she had was her pouch of material components and a bit of magic to use. No sword, no armor, no rations... Valor might have liked to brag, but at least he had the sense to take away her essentials. Grumping to herself, Xiulan sat cross legged on the ground, drumming her fingers on her cheek as her palm held up her chin.

"No idea where I am, no idea where they're going... Looks like I'm in a proper pinch." A dramatic sigh escaped her lips as she contented herself to lie down instead of just sitting. "Shouldn't have drank that ale when it smelled off. Now I just went ahead and lost my livlihood and my pride and joy to a chit-chatter coward. Bleh.

I'll skin him alive later. And only if I can pull myself out of this pain in the rear!" Invigorated, she sat and then sprang up to her feet, pointing towards the city beyond the river. "First things first, gotta hit up the town and get my life together! I should probably get some ratty tatty clothes and cry for money, drum up some pity so I can get at least afford a sword and do some merc work! Wonder if they got any ships I could mingle around, start savin' up for a proper airship again!"

Her heart sank as she remembered just how much airships cost. "Ooooor maybe I'm gonna need to stop thinkin like Grand Sky Pirate and think like I'm a plain 'ol girl again. Can't get all self-fulfilled if I don't got shelter, food, and water 'n all that."

With that said, Xiulan Hua Ngo took the first few steps towards a new place, unaware of the potential mishaps she would find in New Agama.

Breaking Free from a Monochrome Life

 All was mostly quiet in The Corps!!! HQ. There wasn't much for them to do aside from clean up and collaborate with The Cure on certain projects. Jaz knew that the major shenanigans would die down the moment the Kobbers left, leaving just a few small fries to weed out. The Corps, much to Shadow's shame, was built more like a defense force rather than a variety of skills like The Cure managed to grab before their face turn. Mitori and Sanra were at least making an honest attempt to reach out and get others on board to help out in different community service deals, but they weren't exactly oozing with charisma.

 There was one other problem, made apparent when Jaz kicked away an empty bottle of sake. She peered into The Corps' research lab and frowned as she saw several bottles of booze litering the floor, research assistants passed out onto their keyboards. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she spotted a box of chocolates, all of the chocolates now pitch black instead of shades of brown. As a hand reached out and grabbed one, Jaz's eyes trailed towards the culprit, whose one-eyed hat moved to stare her down and blink.

 "What in the fuck did you do with those chocolates?" 

 The culprit leaned back, cheeks flushed with pink. She stared at Jaz for a bit before the color left, deadeyed stare meeting deadeyed stare. 

 "Huh, you ditched the shrine maiden cosplay for that witch cosplay," Tsubakura noted as she took in Jaz's new outfit. "Guess your hero burned you real bad, huh."

 "Nice try dodging the question: what'd you do, Tsuba?"

Tsubakura rolled her eyes. "What, you don't eat chocolates with ink?"

The color drained out of Jaz's face, and for the first time in a long time, her expression is one of utmost disgust.

 "You're not dumping fountain pen ink on those, are you?"

"Nah, just Blooper ink. Pen ink tastes like rust."

"Wh... how-" Jaz took a deep breath before the many questions that came to mind overwhelmed her. "Actually, nevermind, not important. Shadow wants to know what you're up to, especially now with all the changes happening in Olympia. I'm kinda hoping it doesn't involve booze," she adds awkwardly as an assistant muttered something about snake people infiltrating Olympia's government and 5G poisoning everyone worse than radiation. "For your sake."

 The head scientist slumped forward and put her head on her desk. "I'm researching the best way to not do research. All the hot topics are long- term projects, and after CarverCorp's fuckups, nobody's going to ask me how my limb-regrowing tech even works. They even ruined the concept of ready-to-go battle armor in case some burglar tries to steal your purse in the middle of the day." She groaned as she reached for an unopened bottle of sake,  grabbign a bottle opener and popping it open in one smooth motion. "Love it when corporations make it harder to chase your dreams." She brought the bottle to her lips and took a swig like a water-deprived Mr. Fish.

  "Aaand you're going to blatantly ignore that extra radiation down in Inner Rememberance?" Jaz asked as she snatched the bottle away, Tsuba glaring at her and trying to reach for it before Jaz smacked her hand away. "You have the nanotech to at least do something about that, right? Or maybe you can use that big brain of yours to improve on their anti-rad suits. Must be something you could lend a hand with."

 After a few futile attempts to get her sake bottle back, Tsubakura sunk into her chair, almost slipping off as she grumbled, "Yeah, I could, but that's less interesting than making battle armor."

 "But you'd be doing something productive."

 "...I guess."

 As Tsubakura booted up her computer and lazily brought up info on what her nanotech could handle, Jaz pondered for a bit. She was here long enough to notice the sort of interactions the crew had with one another, their regular routine. Tsubakura was notably the laziest of the bunch, an almost herculean effort and the promise of booze needed to get her to do most things out of her comfort zone. The only times she even bothered to get out, besides for a grocery run, was when nanomachines were involved in some capacity: first with Reaper, then with Dust. Jaz noticed sometimes while passing by that Tsubakura would stare at her screen, several tabs passing her by, barely noticing that it was about the supersoldiers CarverCorp had been developing until their eventual collapse. Granted, when they needed her help the most, Tsubakura had them covered, even helping Jaz recover from her fite a lot more easily, but it didn't look like very many things held her interest, and if she wasn't interested, it was hard to press her into action.

 Now that the Kobbers were gone for good, it seemed like it was even harder to get her to do anything. She'd spend the days drinking and the nights eating and sleeping, with maybe the occasional looksie at the Kobber Blogger. All made worse because ultimately, she wasn't exactly needed. All those scientific concerns could be delegated to ex-CarverCorp scientists, or at least those with a strong moral and ethical core. Andrew and Brandon would be able to find the best fit for some of them, if not all of them. It was as if Tsubakura knew she was no longer an important asset, either for The Corps!!! now that The Cure was handling more of the heroics and they had all the tech they needed to handle things, or Olympia as a whole. And so she would loaf around and get her paycheck by doing the bare minimum and live a boring life.

  But Tsuba would always look back at the Kobber Blogger, eyes bright for a moment before she became deadeyed again once there was no significant update.

 So did she really want this life? Or was she looking for something more interesting to come along and sweep her for the ride? A feeling rose in Jaz's gut as Tsubakura summoned the more sober assistants to take samples of her nanomachines and do a radiation stress test. Part of her wasn't sure to trust it: she really shouldn't be making guesses about what a person really wanted out of life. The other part? Well, she wouldn't know unless she gave it a go!

 "Y'know, the Kobbers are heading to a new place in South America," Jaz said, keeping it casual as she looked over at the weird-hatted scientist. 

"Uh huh." Tsuba was typing away, pulling up maps of Rememberance, taking a look at just how much radiation was in each sector as of a more recent study. "Somewhere that Maya chick was from. Brume- no, Agama, wasn't it?"

 "Yep. Turns out, there's a whole bunch to be discovered there. Lot of ruins, full of mysteries."

"Mmmmhmmm." Barely a reaction, if anything.

"Some of them might even have some ancient magitech, since I hear Agama's perhaps the most magitech-friendly place around."

 Jaz immediately noticed the glint in Tsuba's eyes, though she at least kept her bored look. "That's neat, I guess?"

 Time to strike. Jaz leaned back and stretched, keeping a poker face on as she said, "Well, they're open for more people to help out with research. They might have more modernized magitech now, but there's always something to learn from those that came before you. Who knows, maybe there's a way to incorporate something like that into your nanomachines or your casual battle armor ideas. Maybe bring them back to Olympia once people forget about CarverCorp's mistakes 'n all."

 Dead silence. Jaz kept her poker face, though she wanted to break into a smile so bad. The bored look was gone for longer than a second, and for the first time, Tsubakura had an intense curious look on her face. Even if it didn't last that long, it was all Jaz needed to know.

 "I'll... look into it, maybe," Tsuba replied as she straightened herself up. She glanced around at the mess everywhere and frowned as she added, "Maybe after I do a little cleanup and finish up those stress tests." She looked back up at Jaz as the shrine maiden-turned-witch with a raised eyebrow as she asked, "Still, did that loss really hurt you that bad?"

 Jaz picked up a few empty bottles of booze and turned to leave. Her reply? "Just needed a little change, that's all."

 "That doesn't answer anything," Tsubakura grumbled as the door shut behind her.

Sometime after the mess was cleaned and the assistants were gone for the day to sober up and relax, the scientist stared at her computer intensely. Kobber Blogger still wasn't updated. No information on Agama from there. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. She reached out for the mouse and clicked to open another tab, her fingers flying on the keyboard as she brought up Wikipedia. Search for Agama... aha! A barely written wiki, but a wiki page, nonetheless! Not much known, but there were several references to news stories and articles about their entrance into the world stage. Click, click, click. Tabs flew open, and she leaned in, soaking every word of those articles like a sponge. Every reference, she clicked. Every scrap of information, she wrote down. Her browser's tab catalogue ballooned from just three to twenty as she scavenged what little information there was, from general information to what little people knew of the technologies within. And what little she could find, she compiled into a file, before making another file on research topics, then making another on several hypotheses on how magic can affect nanotech and how they can be used in productive ways, including how it can raise how much radiation nanomachines can handle before they break down entirely.

By the time her work was done, Jaz came back to a bloated browser, an overly crowded task bar, and a snoozing scientist. It was only then that Jaz cracked a smile, leaving a bottle of Chocalcohol besides Tsubakura before tiptoeing away. One life potentially changed for the better... she hoped.

Tsuba by herself wouldn't be a totally great idea. Always better to go in pairs. But Jaz had an idea for that. After all, there was certainly someone interested in the "magi" part of "magitech", someone with a more blatant curiosity... and one who could break Tsuba out of her shell and drag her into sheenanigans, whether she liked it or not. 

Jaz smirked as she took out her phone and made a call.

"Hey, Reimu? I might have something to scratch Marisa's itch for a thrill..."