a winter labyrinth

[townmusician]

断ち切るしかないんだろ
注いだ冬は心のラビリンス
後戻りなんて出来ないから
やりきるしかないんだろ
黒い気持ちと手を繋いだって構わない
抱きしめたっていいh

I have to break free
This pouring winter is my heart's labyrinth
I can't go back anymore, so
I have to finish this
I don't care if you took my hand with dark motives
I want you to hold me close

Comments

FINAL STAGE...?

[townmusician]

[The performances come to an end, and anticipation weighs heavy in the air. The shadows backstage leave the chosen alone, busy with running the show. Some of you have gotten little rewards for how you did, while some of you... Well. You did horribly, and that's going to follow you, with Yi Sang afflicted by Fear, Atem afflicted by Confused, and... Richard, who did the worst out of everyone, has been left at a disadvantage for two rounds of combat.

The same shadow, wielding its clipboard, gathers everyone and ushers them back to the stage for the results.]

I'm kind of surprised.

[The stage goes dark, except for one solitary spotlight illuminating Haruka. He's finally showed himself, instead of being just a nuisance. His golden eyes reflect the light of the spotlight strangely, but it's the closest you can get to confirmation this is the Shadow.

A large snake with pale scales is draped over his shoulders, wrapping around his neck, and in one hand he holds a microphone—and in the other, two leashes that trail off into the darkness..]

More of you have nice voices than I was expecting. Eli might have been the most surprising—was anyone else expecting him to sound nice, even with his unorthodox music choices?

[Praise? For Elis? Apparently, and he'll also find that he is no longer affected by Forget. Enjoy having all your skills back!]

But aren't you curious about how a professional does it? Do you want to see the gulf between us?

[This is the start of the boss encounter! This is a free round, where you can attempt to talk Haruka down, ask him questions, get lore dumps, or just, like, try to punch him and kick off combat.]

[prozaic]

[Stares at the snake.]

Cheating on me? [No, he's not even bothering to refute Haruka's statement and say he too is a professional-- his performance alone is enough proof.]

[townmusician]

[The snake stares back.]

You know I'm not a solo act.

[shalem pls]

Unless you've got some hidden composing knowledge, too?

[unweathered]

Ahahaha, isn't it unfair? Playing games like these when you know most of us aren't performers, and setting up a one sided game? But. Mmm...the audience does like an underdog match, doesn't it?

[ still in that coat]

Thank you for the coat. At least someone in this world has good fashion sense.

[townmusician]

Maybe, but does fairness really matter? Things are always going to be unfair.

[That's the way of it, in this industry.]

Heh. You're welcome—it really suits you.

[idealitas]

[ (Tails). He won't act, just stare at Haruka(?) with exasperation and fear from the status effect. ]

[townmusician]

[haha]

[strawsandals]

...Yeah. I do, actually. I want to hear you sing.

[ He wants to know Haruka, what got him to this point, the sorrows that he, like Yoon and so many others, are unwillingly laying bare for them to see. Some might be disinterested, but Yoon would like to pull his companion out from this abyss. ]

Do it, Haruka. Show us how it's done.

[townmusician]

...Alright. Prepare for the show of your lives.

[There's a thin, thin line between arrogance and confidence, and he might have crossed it today.]

[metagame]

[huh

where is he. what's happening. hello]

[townmusician]

[haha again]

[cleansewithfire]

[ Sunrise is dimly aware that yes, this is a Palace and this is Shadow Haruka and this will probably turn into a fight, but her earnest answer is still the same: ]

I would like to watch. You sing and dance too, yes?

[townmusician]

Of course. I'm an idol.

[And yet this palace isn't about the evils of the idol industry, somehow... Or it might be, just in a very convoluted and round about way.]

Get ready, then.

[fullmoonmutt]

Not if you're going to gloat about it until it's not impressive anymore, asshat.

[ Sound nice? Come on. Eli assumes that's bullshit and he's making fun of him again, so, yeah. He is... suddenly wondering how he forgot like a full quarter of his spells, though? What? Huh. Weird. Well, he recalls them now. Must have slipped his mind. ]

The hell else you got there on those leashes?

[townmusician]

Learn how to take a compliment, Eli. You won't get many from me with that attitude—or are you worried I'm after your "big, fat, werewolf dick"?

[Since he offered so generously...

Haruka pulls at the leashes gently, a dog connected to one of them approaching from the darkness—though calling it a dog might not be quite right. The beast is certainly canid in nature, but it's huge, towering over Haruka.

He reaches up, scritching the dog under its chin.]

They're my group members. Or how they appear here—isn't it funny, how I can shape this world how I want?

[Which means the next "group member" appears—a tiger with dark fur, just as monstrous as the dog. Wuh oh.]

ROUND 1

[townmusician]

[The people want to see a performance, and what kind of idol would he be if he denied them? He unclasps the leashes from the dog and tiger, and the snake loosens its coil around his neck.]

There's no turning back now.

[Is that a warning? Perhaps.

Music begins to play over the speakers, a backing track for Haruka's vocals. He wasn't lying when he said he wasn't a solo act—but he has his group members with him, in a way, and it certainly feels like they're there, nothing seeming off about the performance, any gaps there would be seamlessly filled.

Haruka's stage presence is intense and captivating (19), making it hard to take your eyes off of him. It's almost overwhelming, making those weaker willed hesitate to take action. It's not quite the fear debuff, but more a testament to the kind of idol Haruka is. He'll sing so well he'll force everyone to admit he has skill.]

わきあがる感情を
燃えたつ炎に変えて
鎖は紅くなる
Gimme power, power, power up
痛いと喚いたって
もう逃げられやしない
Everything is mine　
運命が

Turn your rising emotions
into burning flames
The chains turn red
Gimme power, power, power up
Even if you scream with pain
it’s too late to escape
Everything is mine
that’s my destiny

[Shining chains pierce through the darkness beyond the stage, wrapping around Shalem before bursting into flames (19). The creatures backing him don't stay idle, either, the dog snapping at and swiping at Atem with its claws (16), howling at him. The tiger rumbles, but it... doesn't do anything. Useless. The snake looks over the group, its gaze making Eli feel Dizzy.

Like he said, there's no turning back. Time to see who comes out on top. Besides Shalem, at least.]

[fullmoonmutt]

[ Huh, why can't he take his eyes off of this shitty idol anymore (2)... Once the song begins, Eli's attention is glued to Haruka right up until that snake hits him with that Dizzy. Then he jerks back a step and grimaces, the room spinning. He raises a hand to his head, but that does nothing to steady him. ]

...shit, not this again!

[ He had enough of this bullshit with the damn Mokoi! That said, he still attempts to act... Just. Well. He turns to throw an attack at the dog going after Atem. It misses by a mile (4), and he ends up tripping and landing hard on his knees and hands instead! ]

Are you kidding me with this crap?! Haruka?!

[prozaic]

[If he wasn't Fire-element, Shalem would have probably been hurt more than than he was. The chains make him fall over, and while he's conveniently down on the floor to roll and put out the flames, he's in pain, but at this point what is this sort of pain compared to the one he lives with on a regular basis?

He shakes himself off as he slowly gets up. Surprisingly, his clothing isn't that much damaged from the flames, he just feels terrible. Too hot, pained, and uncomfortable in his own skin, like he'd just been airdropped from a chilly Victorian winter into a desert.

Though that doesn't stop Shalem from giving a loud warning hiss before striking. He doesn't use a spell or any attack in his repertoire, no-- Shalem lunges for the snake around Haruka's shoulders, grabbing it around the head and slipping his other hand between the snake's coils and Haruka, attempting to peel it off (17).]

[metagame]

[Eh? He's still too confused. Why did a dog attack him. :( WHAT]

Re: ROUND 1

[unweathered]

[ Well shit. Schneider isn't that captivated (1d2: 1) so she is using her one use item for a full party status clear because she couldn't aim well enough to shoot (9)]

ROUND 2

[townmusician]

[Shalem does succeed in getting the snake off of Haruka—as soon as he reaches for the snake it hisses, trying to bite him. Emphasis on try (6), but it misses it's attack. Still, with its normal perch gone, it starts to wrap around Shalem, seeming larger than it was before and coiling around him... not that tightly (9), but he'll still need to break free before he can act.

The dog snarls at Sunrise as she strikes it, and it rears back, jaws opening wide—and it releases a jet of flames. Yes, the dog has fire breath, and it manages to catch Sunrise (17) and Shalem (20), but Yi Sang (4) and Atem (10) are barely even singed by it.

The tiger continues to be useless (7).

The same flaming chains manage to catch Atem (15), dealing fire damage as they burn away to ash.]

ROUND 3

[townmusician]

[Okay, the Diamond Dust does a number on the dog, which whimpers and tries to retaliate... but it misses (4), the pain leaving it disoriented.

The snake tries to bite Shalem, but can't quite manage to do anything (3)... It'll take this opportunity to return to its perch on Haruka's shoulders, though, looking back out over the group. It's gaze settles on Yi Sang, who starts feeling Dizzy under the weight of its stare. (At least slapped him with some healing while I still have control of him!!!)

Haruka looks over at the tiger, sighing.]

You need to start pulling your weight.

[So, time to switch up the sound a bit. Unfortunately, nobody will be captivated this round (1,,,), but... the song does it's part, boosting up the tiger's morale.

It pounces, tackling Yoon and clawing at him—while Yi Sang may have lowered its attack, Haruka has boosted it in turn, meaning it hits for 23 (18+5). Ouch.]

ROUND 4

[townmusician]

[Well! Good news, the tiger is back to being fucking useless (1). Yoon gets to live another day, and Josh managed to do some damage to it... Which is followed up by Sunrise getting a hit in on it.

The snake also is pretty useless, with the way Shalem slices through it—it seems like it's well and truly dead, which throws off the dog's next attack even more (9), especially when Sunrise's hit makes it howl in pain.

Haruka sighs, gently smacking Shalem (11) in the shoulder with his microphone. He sounds exasperated, but fond as he talks. Sorry everyone.]

You're really the jealous type, huh? That's okay. Maybe you'll appreciate the next song in the set?

[He grins and winks at Shalem, pulling him close as the songs change, Haruka picking up at the right places.]

Poker face 壊せ
楽しいことしよう
Up and down 果てまで

Break your poker face
Let’s do something fun
Up and down until the end

[He continues singing, and Haruka's performance is even better this time (20), even more Captivating, even if the kids probably shouldn't be looking at him...

Shalem, though? He'll find himself so taken that he might just be Brainwashed.]

ROUND 5

[townmusician]

[THE TIGER CONTINUES BEING FUCKING USELESS (4).

THE DOG IS ALSO USELESS (10).

HARUKA IS ALSO USELESS (3).

...

Except Haruka will cast Diarahan on the tiger, bringing its health back to max. Fuck you.]

ROUND 6

[townmusician]

[That's a lot of damage to the poor tiger, which snaps at Richard (15) in its final moments... At least it went out with a bang?

The dog doesn't get quite as poetic a send off, as it can't muster even a puff of smoke (4) before it falls over.

Which means that only Haruka is left, and he's not looking too good after the hits he's taken, even if some of them were just grazing him. Surely this is the end, right? He doesn't look like he has much will to fight left in him after watching the animals get killed so ruthlessly.

But he's an idol. Idols sell dreams—they sell an ideal of the world, a vision of perfection.

One last song.]

月夜に埋もれた　孤独に散る花びら
一つに重なり夜空へ

Hidden in the moonlit night, petals scatter in loneliness
Overlapping one another into the night sky

[The lights on stage go blindingly bright, for just a moment, and when they fade away the stage itself is... gone.

Instead, characters find themselves standing in the place they find themselves happiest, a utopia just for them.

Haruka is there, but whether or not he can be seen is another matter entirely.]