Xuebing Du
JVL
noise dept.
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
Cosimo Galluzzi
@theartofmadeline
NASA
#extradirty
shark vs the universe
tumblr dot com
Mike Driver
izzy's playlists!
occasionally subtle
Show & Tell
d e v o n
sheepfilms
titsay
AnasAbdin
Monterey Bay Aquarium
seen from Australia
seen from France
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Indonesia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
@remeradventure
0060-getLonely.png
And so, Shædo and Shiné finally leave. You stand, alone, in your classroom. All of your crises averted, and all of your short term goals more or less accomplished. The only thing left to do is paperwork, or go home, maybe call some friends, maybe paint some pictures, it all depends. What matters, though, is that your STEM score was preserved! And thus, concludes our story. Thank you all for playing Worby Quest!
We sent the confirmation to Mr. and Mrs. Merry. There's a bunch of paperwork involved with adoptions and trades anyway so it's not like we could just hand the children over to their respective new parents in just one day. It'll take two seasons of negotiations, but we've done all of the necessary steps to make sure that goes through! Assuming a Rock Paper Scissors duel between neither of the legal guardians of either child is legally binding, Heather and Freemont will be in their respective new homes by the end of Summer.
Wait hold on. Mika is definitely Heather's step sister... and Mika called Shædo Mom... But Shædo and Shiné are sisters... hold on wait wha-- Whatever! You don't have time to get into THAT discussion.
What a perfect final note to close on. You're a huge fan of Shædo after all! Shiné less so as you're both white mages so it would look silly if you asked her for her autograph. You pull out your official Malt Sidney Autograph Book! "Before you go, could you give me your autog--I-I mean! Um..."
0059-autographs.png
Suddenly, Shædo takes your book from you and signs it. It all happens so fast! She hands you back the book, and then holds out her own autograph book! You sign it back. She gives you a playful nudge in the arm. It hurts like crazy but not enough that would imply she was trying to hurt you.
You draft up a message to Shædo and send it while she argues with Shiné over exactly which child's parents she killed. You ask her if you should switch to a black outfit to better match your hat or not.
0058-were256outOf300postsAlreadyAnywayMayAsWellWrapThisUp.png
She doesn't reply right away. Instead she turns and asks, "So are we done here? We kinda gotta get going. Mika was supposed to be watching Heather, but it looks like instead she's pretending to be the Sewer Goddess, so I gotta get back." Shiné nods in agreement. "Yes, and I need to get back to work right now." Is there anything more you need of them before they go?
"I'll take a replica," you say. "It's obvious you want to keep your hat, and I am nothing if not magnanimous."
0057-ShædoHasHerBagOfHoldingInsideHerGloveThereIsASecondPocketSoSheDoesntNeedToWearABagOrAnything.png
Shædo seems pretty happy to keep her hat. "You're pretty alright for a Paz fan, Worby," she says, jocularly about your hair style. She pulls out a replica hat that she apparently already had purchased from inside of her glove. You take it, saying, "Well, you look pretty goofy without your hat," with a wink. You both put on your respective hats and share a moment of enjoying hats together. "It's getting late," Shiné says. "I need to head back to work. I'm only here because Shædo killed Tyler's parents." Shiné must have Freemont and Tyler confused.
Mika's expression falters for a moment as she realizes that this bit doesn't actually work all that well if you actually dropped a gold item in the first place.
0056-afterYearsOfHeatherNeverGoingAlongWithMikasGamesMikaIsFinallyAtPeace.png
"I lost an axe," you say. "Not a golden or silver kazoo." Mika's eyes light up. She emerges from beneath the desk dressed like an angel. "Ah! I have finally found a truly honest woman! In return, I will give you both the gold kazoo, and the silver kazoo, to keep!" Mika gives both kazoos to you, and in addition, she gives you a beautiful blue electric guitar. After that, she waves, says, "Goodbye!" in absolute delight, and vanishes. Shædo snaps her fingers at you, getting you back on track. "I have to go. Do you want my hat or do you want me to buy you a nicer one that isn't as sentimental to me?"
As you consider your options, you hear a hissing sound trying to get your attention under your desk.
0055-heyKidYouWannaSeeADeadBody.png
You look under your desk and see Mika! How did she get in here without anybody noticing?
"Did you drop this silver kazoo? Or did you drop this golden kazoo?" she asks.
"What are you doing here?" asks Shædo.
"Only WORBY can see me, MOM!" Mika hisses.
(( Translator's Note: People born in southern moncrefe speak and write with a slightly different regional dialect. I find it odious and choose not to write out accented pronunciation phonetically, but Worby says co-oh-din-eight. The Moncrefe school board considers both spellings of "coordinate" correct. ))
Man. Things are getting tense! You think you'd better put a close to this parent teacher conference so you can get off of school grounds and get home!
Nonsense! You walk over and pull Shiné off of Shædo. "Alright, you two. That is quite enough!" you scold. "Shiné! I'm surprised at your flagrant display of violence!"
0054-yourTEACHERSAURAmayHaveHelpedWithShineButMoreLikelySheJustRealizedSheWasBeingABratAndGotEmbarrassedAboutIt.png
"I-I! I have Soft Tou--" she starts to backsass.
"Not another word." You assert.
Shiné looks down and away, embarrassed to be scolded like a child.
Shædo, rolls her eyes, smiles, and rises to her feet. She looks like she's finally ready to cooperate. Shædo takes off her hat and twirls it around her finger. "Do you want this hat, or do you want a replica that has posable fake cat ears instead of holes? Because they sell ones that are meant to look like mine. They're about ฿800. I could buy you one."
BLAST! You forgot that Shædo's cat ears are real. That hat would look stupid on you unless you had cat ears. Your mind races! Do you take Shædo's hat for the principle of the matter, or do you go for the win-win and get a better hat?
Or maybe you should ask her to give you the ฿800 so you can purchase a cinnamon roll.
Shiné is just wearing the standard Estelle Evangate White Mage Field Nurse uniform. You used to own a hat just like that back when you worked for them, but yours was better quality because it was made before [The Restructuring].
No, we can't do any of that. We're in a Blue State, and as long as we're on board grounds, we can't do anything lewd. Blue states have laws forbidding "immoral" behavior on government property. Government board property includes places like libraries, universities, churches, transportation centers, courthouses, public service buildings, and so on. You live in Moncrefe. It's far more civilized here than in hot states like Alhambra, Fallenhal, or some poloidal city like Parthen or Fiveside.
In this economy?!
1. On it. 2. The party is always watching government employees on government grounds to make sure they aren't doing anything illegal. Believe it or not, we haven't done anything illegal.
You turn to them and say, "I'd like my hat now."
0053-lookUpTheDefinitionOfPoloidalIAmSoProudOfThatVocabWordUse.png
The two sisters wrestle over the hat.
In the meantime while Shædo and Shiné fight over the hat, you send a message to the Merrys to let them know that you won the rock paper scissors match and the trade is ready to go through! You'll coordinate with them later to settle all of the paperwork to trade Heather Arika with Freemont Merry. Shædo and Shiné's fight becomes a little bit raucous.
Shiné is understandably cross with her sister. "I knew this was going to happen!" she announces.
Shædo tries not to explode at her sister about how she was going to win the previous throw with paper when you were going to throw rock, but she keeps her cool and apologizes to Shiné instead.
0052-shesSupposedToBeLookingOutTheDoorWindowSorry.png
"I think you know what I'm about to ask for," you say, lounging smugly on the ground.
Shædo hesitates.
"You know, if you'd stop agreeing to gamble for such ridiculously high stakes, this sort of thing wouldn't happen!" Shiné chastizes.
"Worby, do you want me to tickle her with or without her clothes on?" Shædo asks, like she's ignoring her sister's words.
"WHAT!? No! I didn't agree to ANY of this! You can't!" Shiné screeches.
Seeing as you're well aware that there's no way Shædo would actually do that to her sister on a Blue Board, head to the door while they bicker. You check your stats!
That wasn't a fight, per se, so you didn't gain any combat experience. However, you did receive quite a few points on your Rock Paper Scissors FIDM score! You rose from 1180 to 1290! WOW!
You don't see the Merrys through the glass. It looks like they left the premises because of the threat of collateral damage.
It's high time we settled this rock paper scissors bout! You're going ALL IN!
0051-doubleRockMeansNoTwoOutOfThree.png
You throw double rocks!
Shædo throws scissors!!
Shædo can't believe her eyes. You've won!
A COLD GLASS OF WHAT? OF WHAT!?‽
We can't throw gun! Shiné cast Pneuma! Ranged attacks have no effect in the room right now.
We can't possibly get close enough! She'll rock us in the face!
Your cowboy hat is still in Shiné's possession! We need to get that back if we're going to tip it!
OKAY!
0050-rps.webm ← the original much nicer webm as usual tumblr please add webm support
You yell "PAPER!"
Finally, you both shout "SCISSORS! SHOO--"
"WAIT!" Shiné interrupts just as you're about to throw rock.
Shædo glares at her. "WHAT?!" she shouts.
"Your hat, Shædo!" Shiné exclaims. "Your HAT was telegraphing your next move. It showed a little symbol of a pair of scissors! Lisa knew you were going to throw scissors!"
Shædo glares at Shiné and holds an open hand up, then gestures with it to her hat. The symbol on her hat cycles between rock, paper, and scissors rapidly. Shiné blushes and looks away.
Shædo faces you, her hat still cycling. "ROCK!" She calls with determination.
We've been ready to rock since we played air guitar.
You and Shædo perform the ritual.
0049-lizardSpock.png
"ROCK!" you call.
"PAPER!" Shædo responds.
"SCISSORS, SHOOT!" you both shout together, slapping your thighs and raising your hands!
She also threw rock...
...Could you have been wrong about her? Or did you fail to account for her thinking about what you'd think she'd do. She clearly underestimated you if she also threw rock.
What's this? Shædo immediately puts her arm at her side and calls "ROCK!"
WHAT DO YOU DO?! YOU'RE FREAKING OUT! OKAY CALM DOWN. According to Stratagem© you're supposed to throw what would beat what your opponent just threw. Should you throw paper?
Alright! It's time to play. We're going to do rock.
Shædo approaches the desk and takes the modern Remeran RPS stance.
0048-findOutOnTheNextEpisodeOfYuYuHakusho.png
Remerans long since abandoned the traditional western Ro-Sham-Bo style slapping your fist into your palm because it only takes 30 AWR to be able to predict your opponent's move. Instead they use a quickdraw cowboy style stance where you keep your hands ready at your side, then slap your thigh loudly, followed by quickly raising your sign. This requires 140 AWR to predict your opponent's move, which is more AWR than any reasonable person can afford to purchase.
(Obviously with enough DEX and AGI you need more AWR, but that equation is too complicated to explain here.)
Despite not being able to clear the threshold, every little bit helps. With buffs, you have 41 AWR. Shædo has a passive 28 AWR, and has chosen not to buff hers.
You are also wearing your lucky stockings, which give you 10 LUK. Unfortunately, Shædo is wearing 14 LUK on her scarf so you cannot afford to just leave this up to chance.
The final test is one of psychology. You know that Shædo is most likely to throw scissors. CatGirls all wear gloves, and Shædo is no exception. Typically this makes their fingers harder to move, so they're more likely to throw Paper or Rock, but Shædo is different. Shædo famously posts on her Chir--AllChat™ using a keyboard, instead of using the gesture assisted writing methods designed for CatGirls. She enjoys making complicated gestures with her hands to over compensate for her thick gloves because she is sensitive about not being normal.
Shædo is definitely throwing scissors.
"You're not ACTUALLY playing Rock Paper Scissors for whether or not we give away Heather are you?" Shiné asks, disbelieving.
"Look, we'll play first THEN decide if we're honoring the arrangement," Shædo snarls back at her.
You and Shædo stare each other down, ready.
Good memory! But nah, we're okay. That wore off when Shædo knocked us out a little bit ago. Persistent buffs like [Soft Touch] don't last through that. We could reapply it, but that probably won't help in any way. Shædo can shrug off any physical attack we could possibly throw at her. Our STR is 36 and hers is 989 with all of her buffs on. Not to mention that it can get as high as 3550(!) with Shiné's help. A fist fight will not be happening today.
She did, however, mention that she's not specced for curses right now, so there may still be an avenue through which we can subdue her, but it would require removing Shiné from the scene first, because Shiné can counterspell any offensive white magic.
Done and done.
Your kazoo arrived just in time! You reach down and retrieve it from your bag, then pop that sucker... or... uh... hummer... in your mouth and buzz out a tune!
0047-thisDoesntCountAsANaziCoathangerJoke.png
You order a kazoo on BlueStock®. It will arrive in your bag as soon as the sale goes through!
"One last note! The loser is obligated to cheer Shiné up by tickling her!" you conclude, readying your hands for a rock paper scissors showdown.
Shædo looks characteristically phlegmatic.
0046-ohMyGodThereAreNowAReasonableNumberOfCharactersInTheRoom.png
Shiné snaps her fingers, calling Shædo over to her. She whispers quietly in Kapra to her sister, "<The Teacher Worby is unknown. Take Father Merry and Mother Merry and get them out of the building. There is a possible outcome in which we fight Teacher Worby.>"
Mrs. Merry hears, understands, and grabs her husband's arm. She pulls him to the door. "It's time for us to go, dear," she says.
Mr. Merry looks at his wife's face and exchanges silent understanding with her. Shædo opens the door and says, in Kapra, "<8 meters from the door should be safe.>"
Mr. Merry looks to his wife, not understanding what Shædo said. She doesn't translate for him until they're already out the door. Shædo closes the door and approaches the desk.
Good plan. You buff your AGI, DEX, and AWR. You're gonna need all the tactile prowess and awareness you can get to defeat a world class martial artist at rock paper scissors.
Looks like Shædo is powering up too. She's not underestimating you.
It's high time we settled this argument!
You carefully crawl back to your desk.
0045-rohShamBoh.png
Once there, you call out, "I know how we can settle this! Rock Paper Scissors! I challenge Shædo to a contest. The winner gets the loser's hat. Additionally, if I win, the trade between Freemont and Heather goes through!"
On an unrelated note, Shiné is looking like she's calming down.
0044-icons.webm ← Click this to view the original much nicer webm please
Now does seem like just as good a time as any to fuss around on our PDA and play with all of our icons.
First is our status menu. It displays our stats (which don't really matter too much anymore), our Quests, and this stupid button for the EXP® about page.
Then is our minimap. You don't use it too much either since you don't go to new places very often.
After that is our mailbox. We've got a few letters we haven't opened yet but we don't want to open those because once you break the seal on an envelope, there's proof that it's been opened and you'd rather that sender think that you just don't check your mail much.
Next is the bird icon. It's AllChat™. The app used to be called Chirper© before Skylines® bought the rights to the name.
Then there's Encyclonet.
After that is an icon you can't figure out how to get rid of. It's just your questlog, but it has its own icon. You don't know how to hide it or you would.
Lesson Planar is the next icon. You use this while teaching to display screens for the kids to look at. The School pays for it.
After that is your Taiga™ app, which lets you purchase equipment and have it sent instantly to your bag. You mostly use it, these days, to purchase things from BlueStock® and Fitza©.
Finally is STEM™which is useful for monitoring your progress with students.
Oh and the last button just closes all currently opened screens so you can see in front of your face.
As you check your apps you listen in on Shædo and Mr. Merry argue. It doesn't sound like this whole Heather Freemont trade is going to work out, but nobody's even mentioning you anymore, so as far as you're concerned that's two successes and a failure with the parent teacher conferences. Freemont's parents have internally cleared you of wrongdoing, but you won't be getting Heather to become a Monster Slayer.
Now that you think about it, that trade wouldn't have made Heather a Monster Slayer either.