Bay 12 Games Forum

"Tanigawa Miyako? Your parents must've seen you being the Rat, huh? Well then. It's good to meet you, Miyako."

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Momo hands Traxesa her Gnosis, staring curiously at him.

Momo's Gnosis quietly glows when he compares it to Traxesa's Gnosis, but something's still off about it. The Gnosis, for one, feels cold, glass-like to the touch; his own Gnosis by comparison feels more like a gemstone than glass,  slightly warm. The tone of green is also ever so slightly different, but that may perhaps just be from the glow.

Hiroyuki chortles.
"Kensuke knows, and Keiko was the one who suggested part of it. I've mainly kept it to myself, of course. An old man like myself still needs some level of pride."

Preliminary Review 1
I will be reviewing any and all sheets sent in for story and mechanical things. The next review will be on the 29th of October.

With regards to Spells, there will be changes in the handbook, so please keep those in mind. These changes will be uploaded at some point over the next few days.

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No to Immortal Inheritance as a basic Talent. You'll need to change Ultimate Sacrifice to accomodate this. Your backstory is a little short, I'll want some expansion.

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Finish your backstory and the rest of this should be fine. You can take a second offensive spell in addition to Again.

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Absolutely not to any of these talents. You need to pick a second advanced spell even if you start with Kia/Tera. The backstory is short. I'll want some expansion.

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All good.

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I'm not a fan of either of your talents, please change these. Your backstory is fine.

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All good.

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All good.

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All good.

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All good.

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All good.

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Imma need a bio here. Imma have to nope Storm Surge; Accumulation could probably be buffed to 3 HP/MP but I'm going to call a cap on that to the first two battles of any Phase.

The old man before her does not respond for a few minutes, considering his answer.

After a bit, he simply, quietly laughs. It's a sad laugh, one sounding resigned.
"....you're just like the previous Rat. So it's true. I am the last one of my generation. Toshinori....I thought he'd given up the chase. I guess, if you're the Rat, he's gone too. So many of my old friends...it's true. I am Honda Hiroyuki, Cursed Ox of the Zodiac. You heard right."
"Or, well....I was."

He sighs.
"If you truly are the Cursed Rat, then you understand the feeling, do you not? That sixth sense, that niggling feeling at the back of your head. You can feel the others all the time. You always know where they are. No matter what you do, or how you hide, the others can always find you. You're never really alone, are you? I knew that feeling once, young lady."
"....truth be told, I was one of you once. It was a lazy afternoon. My granddaughter, Tohru. You might know her; she works in the capital. The Imperial Palace, last I heard."
The name rings a bell; she was one of the Imperial maids. She was nice enough, even to the Cursed, even when she was scolded by the others to leave you alone. You never understood why. Now, you do.
"....she was such a little girl back then. Kind. Beautiful. Splitting image of her mother. I felt....content for once, holding her in my arms. Surrounded by my family, happy and content after a life as long as mine....then I felt it. The chains binding the Ox to me and the rest of you. They broke."

He exhales.
"After that....it felt empty in my head. Like I'd lost something I couldn't describe. I couldn't feel the other Cursed anymore. But....I suppose I was relieved."
"Living with the Curse wasn't all bad. You knew that others would understand, but only thirteen others. The rest...well, my wife, may she rest in peace, she understood, but the others thought it was all a myth, of course, until I transformed into an ox in front of them. Then, they started to believe. But....well, you're always tied to those others, never quite free enough. Your whole life, you're one of the Cursed. And if those stories are true, and they probably are, those poor spirits have lingered here long enough. I always thought it was cruel, to be trapped here, generation after generation, never finding true rest or being able to find new friends outside of the Curse."
"And now, I'm not. So, to answer your question, young lady....the Ox is no longer here. I, Honda Hiroyuki, am all that remains."

Todoroki simply folds his arms, grinning at Madoka.
"Never had a doubt you'd win."

Kensuke has the lightest smile on his face.
"It's good to know you're getting along well with our visitors, Uncle Hiro."
"A warrior does as he must when he meets a fellow artisan of war, young man."

Rin runs towards Hiroyuki, frowning.
"That looks a little deep. Here, let me-"
"Ha-hah! Don't worry, young lady. Leave it. It'll scar. A story to tell my grandkids."
Miyako notices, however, that Hiroyuki's eyes are suddenly on her.
"Young lady, a moment over there, if you'd please."
"Uncle Hiro, our visitors are surely tired."
"It'll only be a moment."
Momo looks over at Miyako.
"Now or never."

As Traxesa's mind wanders, his Gnosis (and the Kaneko twins') gently pulse again. This time, he might notice Momo's own Gnosis, hanging off the side of her belt as she watches Hiroyuki and Madoka duel. It appeared to be an Aura Gnosis, like his own. But something seemed weird about it.

Specifically, that it doesn't seem to react at all to whatever was going on. Specifically, that something about it looked.....off.

"As long as no one gets hurt....I trust that they're skilled enough, but I can't help but worry a little."