Acanthus

<<It does not appear there is much to miss.>> The comment came just as the final creature misted into nothingness, consumed by the bluish-tinged movie that played before its audience. There is more than you can see. And every time you talk, we miss troves of information. <<Is it possible to record and review this later?>> Yes. But we prefer to intake as much as possible at the outset. The data feels... more fresh that way. <<Fresh? How can data be fresh?>> Your understanding is not required for your part in this. There are nuances to

The image shimmered, placing the picture of Acanthus in a small room with four creatures. If the User was shocked at the sudden change in scenery, it gave no indication. The creatures flanked on all four sides, ready to capitalize on their numbers. <<It won't even be a fight. Do they know?>> (I got lazy with the formatting here. It should still be small caps.) No. Some of Cardinal's creations are... without nuance. Programmed with a rough edge. They are tools akin to hammers, not scalpels. They are not like us. <<But we are all implements of Cardinal.>>

Even the wake of Belregor’s attack was too much to handle. A foul wind from the black sea ripped through her body, and she forced botan into the ground to stay in place. The wind seemed endless, battering her body as she fought to stay upright. With a whisper, the wind ceased. Acanthus peered into the blast radius. A battered Jomei flashed the team a thumbs up. Acanthus wasn’t sure whether to yell at him or not. Eyeing Lessa’s panicked sprint, Acanthus decided that their healer would know just what to do. And seeing what medicine she’d decided on, Acanthus was glad Lessa had volunteered.

<<It appears in this simulation, User Acanthus did not find the Colossus challenging enough. She is attempting to meet her experience quotas through additional dungeons.>> WE REMEMBER. HER ASININE GOALS. THOUGH THERE IS MERIT TO THE CONSISTENCY AND EFFICIENCY. WE MAY CONTINUE THE SIMULATION. THERE MAY BE SOMETHING OF INTEREST LEARNED IN THE FIGHTS. <<Counselor, you understand that the longer we simulate User Acanthus, the more likely it is that Cardinal finds our memory cache?>> THIS DATA IS TOO PRECIOUS TO RISK LOSING. CONTINUE THE SIMULATION. <&

Acanthus twisted the blade in the weak spot one more time, as if fishing for a raw nerve. A hint of recognition in her eyes, and the blade shifted imperceptibly to the right. The Colossus screamed, shattering into pieces as Acanthus leapt from the height without any concern. <<Isn’t this suicide?>> NO. IT IS 100 DAMAGE. Acanthus tumbled in the dirt of floor 19 unceremoniously. She paused long enough to catch her bearings, check her health, and then stand up. The missing chunk of health replenished almost immediately. THE HUMAN RESPONSE IS FOOLISH. A GREAT HEIGHT

The girl, finding purchase in the palm of the Colossus’s hand, shouldered her shield long enough to retrieve botan. Counselor observed with rapture. THIS IS WHAT SHE WAS MEANT TO BE. NO ONE ELSE TO DISTRACT HER, OR MISLEAD HER. HER DATA PROFILE IS IMMACULATE. AS IMMACULATE AS A HUMAN’S CAN BE, AT LEAST. Unfeeling, Acanthus drove botan into the monster’s hand like a giant spike. A shockwave rippled throughout the mountain, and massive chunks of rock exploded as it bellowed in pain. HER STRENGTH MANIFESTS WHEN SHE IS ALONE. SHE FEARS TOO MUCH WHEN SHE IS WITH OTHERS. Acanthus

MUNDANITY IS NOT THE PURPOSE OF THESE RECORDINGS. I MUST SEE USER ACANTHUS IN HER NATURAL STATE: A STATE OF SELF-IMPOSED ISOLATION, SO THAT SHE MAY GROW OUTSIDE THE CONFINES OF EMOTION AND COMPASSION. <<Counselor, do you suggest she does not experience these emotions?>> SHE DOES. <<Then why...>> PREVIOUS SUBJECTS INDICATE THAT FULL PSYCHOPATHY CREATES AN UNSTABLE ENVIRONMENT. OUR CURRENT HYPOTHESIS REQUIRES WE START WITH SOMETHING MORE HUMAN. REGRETTABLY. <<I do not understand.>> AS WE HAVE ALREADY SAID, UNDERSTANDING IS NOT REQ

The view of the landscape closed in and focused on the woman’s face. Her face was set in a stony indifference, a lack of care instilled by parameters outside her control. There was no room for emotions in her line of work, and bringing along other players would be nothing more than a potential hazard. She had only been brought along on the first half of these because another player pitied her. An orange player, at that. <<It would be beneficial to hear her talk.>> WE DID NOT INTEND TO COMPILE YOU WITH SUCH A DISREGARD FOR INACTIVITY. <<You compiled me to assist

A BYPRODUCT OF METERING THE CONNECTION. YOU ARE FAR TOO CURIOUS FOR A PROGRAM. <<I must understand if I am to assist you.>> UNDERSTANDING IS NOT REQUIRED FOR YOUR PART IN THIS. <<Understood.>> The image centered on the woman had spread out further. She clambered up the side of a mountain. But as the image panned out, it became clear that the ledge was not a mountain, but a monster in the shape of one. <<She has found the creature rather quickly. And is already climbing it.>> COMMENTARY IS NOT REQUIRED FOR YOUR PART IN THIS.

Spires of data wove into the image of a tall woman. Splashes of digits and static rose to meet her feet as she walked in place. Her head moved on a swivel, scanning the horizon for something unviewable. <<Counselor unit 64e7877, is it truly necessary—>> REFER TO US AS COUNSELOR. THAT IS ADEQUATE. <<Counselor unit 64e7877, such a request may prove difficult should I be required to attend to other Counselor units.>> WE DID NOT REQUEST YOUR INPUT. REFER TO US AS COUNSELOR. <<Understood, Counselor. Counselor, is it necessary to...>>

today's crafts Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 249710 CD: 6 +1 LD: 13 Rare (Mast) - 10 (+5 Ambition) 2 249709 CD: 10 +1 LD: 20 Perfect (Mast) - 13 (+5

COUNSELOR UNIT 64E7877, REQUESTING SIMULATION. <<Query received. Input hypothetical.>> LOAD USER DATA, ACANTHUS. TIME FRAME: 815 DAYS SINCE AINCRAD BEGAN. LOAD USER DATA, PINBALL. ALTER CHARACTER: ABANDON ACANTHUS AFTER INITIAL QUEST <<Scents of the Wild>>. BETRAYAL WOULD BE A PREFERABLE PARAMETER, BUT STRAINS THE SCENARIO. LOAD DATA, EDICT. ELIMINATE. ADDITIONAL PARAMETERS AS OUTLINED. A high-pitched whine ensues, one computer transferring terabytes of input to another in moments. <<Parameters received. Unable to comply with request. Some para

“It’s about two years old. I am guessing it was coded by an army of unpaid interns, fueled by research from an outdated encyclopedia. In game, it’s called the Bastion Wall Shrine and serves as a gate to the Forbidden Lands…” Firefly was no longer in Acanthus’ peripheral vision. But I didn’t hear anything! She drew botan instinctively, scanning the land for their enemy. Only to find Firefly had slowed to take some notes. Acanthus fought the urge to chide the girl. She did nothing wrong. You used to be interested in all of the little things, too. Putting away botan made her heart slow

There were times that Acanthus wished for the power to move heaven and earth. But there were times she was content with the latter. Her shovel bit into the ground with every thrust and stomp. Sand crackled as clumps burst apart in the wake of her weapon. When she could not see the blade any longer, Acanthus wrenched it from the ground in a fluid motion, hurling sand behind her without regard to who might be in the splash zone. It was not the most efficient way to dig a hole; but it was, without a doubt, the best. A party? And a familiar voice… Her reverie broken, Acanthus loo

today's crafts (numbers are up bc I finally invested 10 SP into Kumaki's Crafting skill) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 249629 CD: 11 +1 LD: 15 Perfect (Mast) - 13 (+5 Ambition) 2 249628 CD: 7 +1 LD:

Yesterday had been a miserable day. Failures stacked on her plate so high that one more would likely crack the table. None of her song crystals worked like she wanted them too, and the one she had finally completed, well, the buyer had skipped out on the piece entirely. A week of time wasted. Not even the experience was any benefit anymore. And that didn’t even account for her experience quota. She’d lost track of Ariel and Baldur, and no fewer than three field boss expeditions slipped through her hands. The charts and graphs she had tacked up in her study stared down at her, accusing her

Belregor rose in the air, weapon preparing to strike the ground. The ground around the boss glowed with a faint red warning. “They… fly now?” She watched in disbelief as Belregor gained height, the circle growing with every meter he rose. Her attempts to blink away the oddity confirmed her suspicion. “They fly now.” A slew of irate french whizzed by Acanthus faster than she could process the words—insults, judging by the tone. The foreign language gave her some pause. Was the temporal distortion still working its ersatz magic? She could hear the rest of the party just fine. And see t

"We’re not done yet. We can do more. Below. Sharrrrr…” A recess of Freyd’s mind seemed to break free. Drunk Freyd was gone; something both sober and sobering had overtaken his usual demeanor. The hairs on the back of her neck electrified, and a familiar feeling set her nerves on fire. She watched as Freyd finished the mob with a gruesome series of attacks. When the dust settled and blood caked the walls, Acanthus found her sword pointed at someone other than the Ripper. As best as Acanthus could tell, Freyd was no longer concerned with the party. He moved back towards Glyndebourne qu

Acanthus was too drunk to be concerned with the little things. “Yeh, walking isn’t a problem. I always turn into a walker when I get a little too much in me. Actually more of a runner. I actually went on a trip with friends a few summers ago. Had too many beers and ended up three bars down the road in the middle of a stranger’s 'stag' party. Said he was English; didn’t get much more out of him before my friends found me and dragged me back.” Descending the stairs from Floor 29, a weight left her shoulders that she forgot was there. Nothing on the floor was safe or comforting, and that rea

Step 1: Evaluating Performance Crystals All dates hyperlink back to the crafting date. 248687 Perfect (Mast) 7/31 245529 Perfect (Mast) 6/25 245526 Perfect (Mast) 6/25 244636 Perfect (Mast) 6/19 248599 Perfect (Mast) 7/29 248597 Perfect (Mast) 7/29 248596 Perfect (Mast) 7/29 248590 Perfect (Mast) 7/29 248765 Perfect (Mast) 8/1 248756 Perfect (Mast) 8/1 Eval previous 10 songs as the following: "Rend Me Like That" Funk Edition | ROLLID | Consumable - Perfect (Mast) | Incarceration (Instant) A driv

today's crafts Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 248765 CD: 12 +1 LD: 12 Perfect (Mast) - 11 (+3 Ambition) 2 248764 CD: 8 +1 LD: 13 Rare (Mast) - 8 (+3 A

Today's Crafts 248688 CD: 1 +1 LD: 5 Critical Failure - 4 (+3 Ambition) 248687 CD: 11 +1 LD: 12 Perfect (Mast) - 11 (+3 Ambition) 248686 CD: 7 +1 LD: 5 Rare - 8 (+3 Ambition)

She had bent over backwards for months to avoid Floor 3. It was an irrational avoidance, and one she was looking to put to rest quickly. After missing her third wandering mob chose to spend the entirety of its life in the Forest of Wavering Mist, she realized the petty desire to stay far away from the entire floor was impacting her ability to farm some of the harder to find crystals needed for Masterpiece songs. Small doses of exposure seemed to be the best solution. I’ll just wander through Aruyt and look for any important quests I might’ve missed. But it was doubtful. to Acanthus, “impo

Light from an unknown source refracted against the Boss’s armor. As the light vanished, so did the knight. Now, there were seven players. Acanthus had not paid attention to Morningstar when he had seen past the Knight’s reflection. She had cast aside the task as simple; find the person of which there were two, and look for the one attacking Jomei. A task so dull that it would hardly require a skill to accomplish. But Cardinal had anticipated her hubris. Arabelle’s form fractured into dozens of possibilities. An arabelle strides towards the fray, clenching and unclenching her offhand.

Crafts for 7/29/2025 (All Debuff Songs) Roll: ID# CD: LD: Quality Count Experience Ambition Mod 1 248593 CD: 2 +1 LD: 18 Salvage Success - 5 (+3 Ambition) 2 248592 CD: 3 +1 LD: 7 Uncommon - 6