Acanthus

Kumaki slumped over, curious eyes locked onto Morrígan as she told her tale. As she continued to speak, and talk about the animals she had attempted to befriend, Acanthus had the distinct sensation that someone else started to talk through Morrígan, if only for a moment. Maybe it was something in her eyes, or demeanor, but Acanthus barely had time to register it before the sense disappeared back into her well-mannered dialogue. Perhaps Acanthus wasn’t the only one offering inadvertent glimpses of her thoughts. Drawn into Morrígan’s tale of squirrels and even porcupines, Acanthus listened

“The true side?...” Acanthus mulled over the words as they began to hide the gemstones. She wouldn’t have said it like that. The ebullience wasn’t really *her*, she thought. It felt like a face, one of many, that she had worn a long time ago. Now, it collected dust on some tall shelf in the back of her mind, buried underneath adulthood and responsibility. It *had* been her true self once, but she was no longer a child. She hadn’t been since Never mind that. “I would like to hear more about meeting Phantom. Everyone I’ve met has such different stories about meeting their familiars. So

Acanthus watched as Phantom rose and dove with the wind, expertly sailing through her domain to search for the buttons and various objects Morrígan scattered through the field. Watching the raven fly was a soothing experience. Kumaki was also a joy to watch, but in a different way. Something about the bear cub’s unreserved exuberance filled an emotional void she was uncomfortable filling herself. Her familiar was a sort of vicarious outlet for the feelings she didn’t know how to express. Something about Morrígan’s suggestion sparked a buried memory, and she snorted with laughter; an ugly,

Morrigan’s hand briefly flashed upwards before returning down. Acanthus recognized the telltale signs of kind refusal. She’d offered that same upwards hands to who knows how many people in her life. “No requests or favors. If anything, you’re doing me a favor by letting me watch.” Acanthus rooted through her satchel and pulled out some small crystalline fragments. They glowed and whistled faintly in the wind. “I just remembered I have a few of these shards from performance crystals I failed to salvage. They aren’t really good for anything, but maybe Phantom could use them to hunt? They ar

Don’t die. Acanthus choked on a dry laugh, halfway up the Colossus. Don’t die?! What kind of encouragement was that?? If anything, she was the one that was going to die here. Pinball glided up the side of the mountain with minimal effort. Acanthus, on the other hand, was struggling from crevice to crevice. Trying to grasp the next sharp outcrop, her hand slipped on the hold, slicing it open. Acanthus sucked air through her teeth as she dangled four stories from the ground. It just looks far, she told herself. The guide says the first fall won’t kill you. Incredulous, she glanced down to c

Evals for 1/6/2025 Name: March to the Dawn Profession: Performer Rank: 5 Roll ID: 239816 Roll Result: 9+1/LD:12 Item Type: Support Song Tier: 1 Quality: Rare (Mast) Enhancement: HP Recovery 2(Instant) Post Link: Hyperlink Description:

Today's Crafts Extended Workshop. (+3 EXP total from Trinket | Tuning Fork + Hard Working) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 239817 CD: 1 +1 LD: 16 Critical Failure - 4 (+3 Ambition) 2 239816 CD: 9 +1 LD:

Acanthus waved apologetically. “I really don’t mean to disparage my familiar. She has a lot of wonderful qualities. She is certainly inquisitive and exuberant, but she seems to know when to be calm and collected. I’ve had more than one late night crafting performance crystals, but she never gets mad that I take too long. She just comes into the studio and waits patiently for me to wrap up. Just having her in the room is soothing.” Kumaki had returned to the oversized limb, grappling with it like a dog with a fresh bone. Acanthus smiled at her tenacity. “So please don’t get the wrong idea.

A large black bird alighted on the girl’s shoulder, and stared at Acanthus with a curious sense of intelligence. ’My name is Morrígan, and this is Phantom. She’s a regal among ravens, if her appearance and demeanor are anything to attain by. It’s a pleasure to meet yourself and your own companion.’ Acanthus looked down at Kumaki. She was currently chewing one of Acanthus’ boots. “It’s a pleasure to meet you and Phantom as well. She seems like a wonderful companion, and very intelligent. Kumaki is… herself.” She nodded along to Morrigan’s questions. “I don’t know if it’s an actua

Focusing on her search skill, Acanthus closed her eyes to listen. The beating rain made it difficult to narrow her senses to the tavern. A ragged scream in the distance caused her to lose focus for a moment. She had to reassure herself that whoever was here was more than capable of taking care of themselves. “I don’t hear anything coming from inside.” Acanthus moved towards the door slowly, botan in hand. “That doesn’t mean it’s empty.” Upon entering Health Point tavern (she assumed the abbreviation was a gamer thing), her mind drew immediate comparisons to the Sour Rumor, Oz’s pub down o

“Once we arrive, the slaughter begins.” It was a crass way to think. Acanthus tried telling herself that she was seeking out the additional bandits for the col. It was just business. Her bank account in game would reveal the statement for the bald-faced lie that it was. She hadn’t been low on col ever since her cold rampage through the thirteenth floor. And that was even taking into account the large sum she had dropped on Eulogy to fund her side project. If Acanthus had been willing to be honest with herself for a moment, clarity would have sounded the real reason she left the Bandit Lea

“Kumaki! Slow down. You know when you get worked up, you have a hard time—” A bear cub dashed through the tall grass, eager to continue the inadvertent game of chase she had started. Building up speed, she relied on the open plains to give her a wide bearing. But Kumaki had not mastered the art of slowing down gracefully. So when a few sparse trees in front of her began to grow at an alarming rate, it was too late for the bear cub. She collided with a trunk with the force of a boulder tossed from a mangonel. Acanthus caught up and checked on her familiar. Kumaki lay upside down, its

Acanthus excused herself from the group quickly and quietly. Although she would sooner die than admit it to strangers, she found herself irked that she had been outpaced by a child. Try as she might tell herself to grow up and move on, Acanthus caught herself looking over her shoulder at the boy’s impressive project. What I need is a change of scenery. Acanthus hoisted her shovel and continued her perfectly spaced rows, further away from the tables aaaand maybe not, that looks like Morningstar over there, he seems to be having a moment. Everyone appeared to be having lots of wonderful mom

“If Kayaba is just messing around with western fantasy, then I doubt he’ll explore much outside of European themes. And the smattering of eastern architecture. I believe he was too busy crafting a video game that would lock us inside and kill us, and neglected to ensure we could enjoy a variety of accurately-modeled architecture.” Acanthus noticed a nearby collection of gathering materials. She knelt down and felt for her dagger. Again, missing. She really needed to replace that. Under her inattentive hand, the materials fizzled out in her grasp, and she made a soft, indignant noise. Why

The man’s finger spasmed in a direction away from the floor, and Acanthus’ face scrunched in confusion. “Fathoms are actually a unit of depth. But you’re pointing us east. So do we need to dig down here and then travel east? Or are we supposed to travel east and then dig… Fifty four meters? If my math is correct.” The man scowled at her. “Don’t get smaht with me.” She waited a moment to see if he would actually clarify. When he did not, she turned to address the rest of the party. “Thirty… fathoms that way.” She rubbed her temples. “Cardinal is either being stupid or difficult. I suspect

Acanthus nearly slapped herself when she saw Morningstar activate tracking. Didn’t she have the exact same skill? This is why Morningstar was the one running guilds, and Acanthus was the one running out of energy. Morningstar pointed out Kirk after a brief scan, and Acanthus confirmed his profile. “It must be our lucky day. So…” she trailed off. Acanthus looked over to Teion (she seemed much taller on second glance). Teion did not move towards Kirk. Acanthus then turned to Morningstar. He appeared to be idly cataloguing each character in the village. Helplessly, she glanced at her teammat

In the ensuing conversation (or maybe the awkward pause she had created), Acanthus persisted in her digging efforts. One more red crystal unearthed, she redoubled her efforts. I can’t let up. There’s more sand to overturn, more crystals to find, more holes to dig… But not bigger holes to dig. The boy she had bumped into had carved out a massive chasm in the ground. Jomei had gone over to investigate. Irrationally, Acanthus felt a twinge of jealousy. Small, consistently dug holes were apparently not interesting enough. Nobody wanted to admire the careful, methodical spacing of each individ

Reward Selection: Bear Trap: (T4/Consumable - Free Action/Reusable); Once per combat as a free action can reduce a targets EVA to 0. Effect ends at the start of the user's next turn. Tainted Hide: (T4/Consumable); Lasts for one thread. DoTs inflicted on the user deal half as much damage

"thanks for earlier. stay safe." Ara was probably just saying that to make the awkward platitudes stop. Acanthus didn’t really blame her. As the gathered players congregated, Baldur took control of the situation and directed players to explore in pairs until only she and Baldur remained. “Won’t be a problem. Thanks for the heads up.” A better player would have been able to crack a joke or offer a dismissive comment about the trash mobs up here. To the rest of the frontline players, humor was second nature. She didn’t know how. In a game where you only got one chance, Acanthus foun

“We bump into each other a lot. I just want you to know that I’m definitely not learning your schedule so I can follow you around,” Acanthus told Morningstar confidently. That would hopefully clear up any confusion. It was a small comfort to meet him here, and a greater one to see he shared her dislike of this level. Trips to Floor Nine were reserved for the days she missed crafting, or failed to go out and grind enough col to support her little side project. Most of the time, the self-imposed threat was enough to get her out and moving. But not yesterday, so her weekly(ish) ritual of wa

THREAD CLOSURE Experience: [Word Count: 4877/10 = 487.7] * [True Tier: 7] * [Group Factor: 1] = 3414 EXP + 1000 EXP = 4414 EXP Col: 400 (Bonus) + 512 (Laurel Wreath) = 912 col Other: Rig may now be used as a safe zone.

“That’s enough.” The man said coldly. Titania fell silent. Acanthus fought an overpowering urge to kill him on the spot. Her voice dropped to a low, barely contained fury. “Do *not* talk to her like that.” “She is a member of my guild. If I ask her to be silent, she will be silent.” Titania offered no defense, and the man offered a chilling smile to her obedience. “But I believe we have lost the plot. I merely came to offer you a chance to work as a group; one that seeks to end the suffering of the players. Despite your heated nonsense, we are not a ‘cult.’ Merely a guild that operates wi

The man’s face twitched; Acanthus saw his hand move ever so slightly to his weapon. “That’s right—a fucking cult. Go on; fight me about it, you lunatic. I’m warmed up.” She pointed her sword at the man. Titania paled. “Acanthus, please—” “And you, Titania. I don’t understand what’s going on or why you’re here. Anytime I try to understand, you wave me off. You won’t give me straight answers, you insist that the Fifth Commandment is the reason you’ve made it this far. This is textbook manipulation! Every alarm in my head is ringing! How are the alarms not sounding for you too?!” Titani

“It is truly a rare occasion that we induct a new member. There are few free players worth the time and attention.” “Are you SERIOUS?!” Acanthus had hit her limit. For the third time in her life, she lost control of herself. Birds scattered as Acanthus began shouting at the top of her lungs. “Are you actually stupid enough to think I would join some—some random guild just because I took on some mid-level quest—” The man tried to interrupt. “You soloed it, an impressive feat—” “—No. Shut up. Shut the fuck up. I’m not done.” Acanthus’ voice pitched higher as she worked herself up

“Very observant, friend.” Shadows took the form of a gaunt, middle-aged man. He wore a long cloak that obscured most of his body. “Even with rank five searching, it takes a little bit of luck to pick me out.” “Or skill,” Acanthus responded. “This is a computer game. It’s all dice rolls behind the curtain. You’ve played RPGs, haven’t you?” Acanthus shook her head hesitantly, and the man scoffed. “You’re just proving my point. There isn’t any talent or skill in this game. It’s all about raw levels and equipment, and then hoping that the dice are in your favor.” “... Dice? Come aga