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[Mari 1]

-House-
♫ Theme ♫

"Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts." 

 

—

 

Quote

 

To: Freyd
From: Mari

Door is unlocked. Please let yourself in when you arrive.

 

 

Dealing with the strain of another Earning a Living quest; and fishing alone on the 10th floor…and the stress of that strange dark Shinsengumi man - unmistakingly a Laughing Coffin member… It was all too much. It would be nice to have a reprieve. Lancaster was dealing with ‘his business’ which left her for some time alone.

And Freyd…was on his way. Mari truly wanted him to be the first person to see her new home. The entire place seemed a little darker than her previous cottage, but it was much larger. No longer was it a one roomed shabby shack. Several rooms, both upstairs and down branched off from the cozy living/dining room area. Mari had quite literally spent all her col on the place. She still wanted to add back in her cozy nook with the Kotasu..but for now - what she had would make do. Despite the dim lighting the entire place felt warm the fire was well lit - candles were scattered about the place. Rugs thrown ever which way. It was no longer just the bare necessities. But felt truly lived in. A violin sat on one of the chairs that faced the fire. Two dirty cups sat on the coffee table by the chair opposite.

Her tattered scarf sat draped over a chair at the dining room table; which had two sets of cutlery and dishes already set out. On the table sat a steaming cup of coffee, that distinctly smelt of vanilla. 

The woman wore a long sleeved woollen jumper, and black tights underneath. Her feet had slippers that looked like frogs' faces, and every time she stepped their mouths would open - quite out of place for the entire outfit, and motif of the home. The woman’s unruly hair had been plaited and pushed back and away from her face. She wore a olive green apron tied around her waist. It was covered in flour and egg.

She was humming softly - opening the oven to check on something before closing it.

 

Mari | HP: 960/960 | EN: 134/134 | DMG: 21 | MIT:44 | ACC:4 | AA | EVA:4 | BH:53 | BLI: 32/-20 | ENV-O: 32 | PARA-V | LD:1

Spoiler

Name: Mari
True Tier: 11
Level: 34
Paragon Level: 70
HP: 960/960
EN: 134/134

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 44
Accuracy: 4
Evasion: 4
Battle Healing: 53
Loot Die: 1
Stealth Rating: 5
AA BLI: 32/-20
ENV-O: 32
PARA-V

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket:
- Paralytic Contagion | T4 | Absolute ACC I | Paralytic Venom I | Envenom OFF I | Blight I
Armor/Trinket:
- Infernal Shadow-Redemption | T4 | EVA III | MIT I
Shield/Armor/Trinket:
- Glasses | T1 | ACC III

Combat Mastery:
- Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
- AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
- Rending Familiar

Custom Skill:
-

Skills:
- Battle Healing R5
- Charge
- Cloth Armor R5
- Energist
- Polearm R5

Extra Skills:
- Survival
- Hiding R5
- First Aid R3

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:
- Focus
- Nimble
- Precision
- Stamina

Mods:
- Athletics
- Night Vision
- Surpise Attack: Trickster
- Untraceable
- Vanish

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:
- Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
- Dining Room: Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
- Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
- Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
- Master Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first three expenditures of each combat
- Master Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 25% (rounded down)
- Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.
- Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
- Alchemist[exp] R
Gathering Profession:
- Fishing[120exp] R2

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Mari

[Freyd 0]

Slouched in an overly comfy couch, empty tumbler slowly filling with melting ice at his side, Freyd stared at two translucent windows set to his default private viewing mode.  It wouldn’t do to have people casually sneaking peeks over his shoulder and catching whiffs of sensitive business.  Loose lips, indeed.

It was the content of purest dichotomy split between the two that struggled to reconcile.  On the left, a lovely and heartwarming invitation to visit Mari’s newly upgraded home. He’d been looking forward to it since it’s unexpected arrival. By way of contrast, an update from his man in the Town of Beginnings tasked with watching the wall.

X49X.BallBlaster.X49X - Player Killed by Mari

Dumb name.  Bet he regretted that almost instantly.  Honestly surprised it doesn’t happen more often.  Maybe all the one with bad names jumped over their own folly, back in the early days?

Serpentine - Player Killed by Mari

Another. Two in a single day. Freyd wasn’t naive. There were plenty of potential explanations for this, most of them mundane and perfectly justified.  But there were also others that were not so readily dismissed.  Eyes drifting to the treasure he’d recently rescued from oblivion’s depths, its blackened neck bound with a strongly bow, it seemed so completely trivial sitting on their dining room table.  Yet it also meant all.

Lancaster.

Another sigh.  A difficult choice, requiring an abundance of risk and trust in agency that had faltered far too often for his liking.  Taking a foolish gamble on a notoriously foolish gamble was just… something about ‘fooling me twice.’

But they cared about each other.  Whatever else might factor into his calculus, that had to count for something.  If it didn’t, then… what would that say about him and Elora?  A former self would once have considered himself a lost cause. She’d had faith where none was deserving.  And here he was. A glance spared staring at simmering embers in the nearby hearth.  A home.  A real home.  Didn’t Mari deserve the same?  Even if it meant risking the world on a nothing but a whim and wisp of what-ifs wrapped in gossamer?

Give them hope.

“Fuck, Raidou. Why did I ever agree?!”

Because the alternative would have made you a monster.  

Montjoy sat in the chair opposite his, like he was people. Curly hair and even the rim of thinly framed glasses were visible in his umbral form.  

Takeshi. Great. Just what he needed right now.  Even if it probably was, his conscience rarely relented when it deemed things dire enough to intervene so directly.

"And this didn't?"

Not yet. Not in the same sense, at least.

Freyd stared into the flames, dreaming he could just sear the choice from his mind and live in the same ignorant bliss he actively fought against every waking moment of his existence in this place.

Heart and head at odds once more, old friend?  That seems to be a chronic thing for you?  What’s so different about this one.

“You know what he is.  What he would do.”

Be just like you?

Ouch.

Fuck. 

Fair, and more than a little poignant.

They both deserve a chance at happiness.

“Even if it means the world burns?”

Would you do any less for Roisin?

There it was.  The last nail.

“No. I’d tear down the whole bloody castle with my bare hands for her.”

Then you already have your answer.  Let your head do what it does best, Freyd.  Let Freyd do a Freyd and figure out how to line up the dots, not at they are, but as they need to be - especially against all odds.  Have a little faith in people.  Who knows… you might end up being one someday.

Fine doused.  Gift vanished from the table.  Door clicking softly, shutting softly in the wake of a Whisper’s passage.  No shortcuts through the void today.

***

Another door opens to reveal the very essence of what he was hoping they could find in each other, and to raise themselves above the worst of his concerns.  Mari, rocking the weirdest, yet most admirable slippers he had ever seen, jaunting happily about a space no longer adorned like a tomb.  Freyd’s heart teetered, feigning whether hesitation should resurge, but no. He’d made his choice: resolving to let it be their choice and mind his own damned business for a change.  Not his nature, to be sure.  But it felt right.

“Hey, you. The place looks amazing!  I love the…” catching sight of the mirror and note still scrawled below it nearly brought him to tears, lips warbling in sudden pause, his words catching suddenly in his throat.  No shroud.

*cough*

“Sorry.  The lack of dust must have gotten to me.” A swift recovery, smile restored in less than a blink.  Handing her the bottle, frilly ribbon and all, Freyd's eyes eased with relief.  The consequences were in their hands, as was the freshly delivered bottle of perfectly chosen reserve from Sullivan Cove.

***

Vanity Tag: @Elora

Note: CS (Shades of the Gemini) and CSA (Beckon the Void) are in use.  

GUILD RANK 5 (+5% col, +5% EXP)

Freyd | HP: 1380/1380 | EN: 170/170 | DMG: 21 | MIT:152 | ACC:4 | AA  | F-SPIRIT | EVA:2 | BH:76 | VAMP-D: 76 | HLY: 16 | FRZ: 64 | LD:5

Spoiler

Name: Freyd, Bara no kuro kishi
True Tier: 20
Level: 34
Paragon Level: 160
HP: 1380/1380
EN: 170/170

Stats:
Damage: 21
Mitigation: 152
Accuracy: 4+AA
Evasion: 2
Battle Healing: 76
Loot Die: 5
Stealth Rating: -5
VAMP-D: 76
HLY: 16
FRZ: 64

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Memento Mori | T4 | AA | FREEZE | HOLY II
Armor/Trinket: 
  - Negare Omnia | T4 HA | MIT III | VD I
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - Night Shades | T3 Trinket | ACC III | EVA I

Combat Mastery:[
  - Combat Mastery: Damage R3

Combat Shift:
  - AOE Shift

Familiar Skill:
  - Grappling Familiar

Custom Skill:
  - Shades of the Gemini (CS)
  - Beckon the Void (CSA)

Skills:
  - Battle Healing R5
  - Charge
  - Energist
  - Extended Mod Limit
  - Extended Weight Limit
  - Fighting Spirit
  - Heavy Armor R5
  - Howl
  - Katana R5
  - Quick Change
  - Searching R4

Extra Skills:
  - Disguise
  - Survival
  - First Aid R5

Inactive Extra Skills:
  - Meditation
  - Forgotten King's Authority
  - Lady Luck
  - Photosynthesize
  - Brawler
  - Assault Mode
  - Frozen Hide
  - Hiding R2

Addons:
  - Field Medic
  - Focus
  - Focused Howl
  - Hyperactive
  - Iron Skin
  - Precision
  - Reveal
  - Stamina

Mods:
  - Barrier
  - Detect
  - Emergency Recovery
  - Impetus
  - Night Vision
  - Purify
  - Tracking

Inactive Mods:
  - Untraceable

Battle Ready Inventory:
  - Bear Trap (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Bear Trap (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Crystal of Divine Light (Reusable 1/thread) x1
  - Mass HP Rec [Inst] (+10% HP) x7
  - Meathook (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Ordsea Crystal-B (Reusable 1/combat) x1
  - Teleport Crystals x7
  - Tue Light Lantern (+1 ACC, +1 LD to party) x1
  - Veritas | T4 Katana) | AA, PVO I, VO I, Taunt x1

Housing Buffs:

  - Bedroom: -1 energy cost for the first two expenditures of each combat
  - Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
  - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
  - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
  - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
  - Attic (Bedroom): +1 Expertise to declared utility skill. Cannot boost a skill without ranks, or increase a skill past its maximum rank. Cannot boost a skill the user has not learned yet. Ranks obtained using this buff will make the mods of that rank available for purchase. Mods obtained this way are unusable if this buff is removed until the skill is returned to the appropriate rank by way of SP purchase.
  - Basement: Gain +1 to LD, Stealth Rating, Stealth Detection, or Prosperity to one post in a thread. Can be applied after a roll
  - Guest Room: Players can have one «Amenity» in a «Guest Room» and the «Amenity» cannot be recovered. Players are allowed to change which «Amenity» is in the «Guest Room». Multiple instances of the same «Amenity» do not stack. This buff affects the player and their choice of up to two party members.
  - Extended Workshop: +2 Crafting EXP per crafting attempt and +1 crafting attempt per day
  - Ornate Fishing Pond: +2 Fishing EXP per Attempt and additional +1 LD & CD to fishing attempts.
  - Dining Hall: Turn 3 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Feast. A Feast contains 6 portions of the food items sacrificed. Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread.
  - Mega Slime Farm: +10% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs: [Firm Anima] 

  - Guild Hall II: Allows a Guild the ability to create up to two Guild Quests. Narratively, it also allows players to teleport back to the Guild Territory when using Teleport Crystals.  
  - Storage Vault: Allows a guild to create a Storage Vault in their Guild Page. Members can use this thread to store and withdraw items. Any items that have trading restrictions cannot be moved to a Storage Vault.
  - Trading Hall III: Reduce LD needed for Salvage by 5 (9+ for Alchemist crystals, 6+ for everything else). +2 EXP per craft. Rank 9 crafters and Rank 4 merchants/performers receive +1 crafting/identification attempt per day. Rank 10 crafters and Rank 5 merchants/performers receive +5 crafting/identification attempts per day. Appraisers gain an initial additional reroll per identified item at no cost.
  - Treasury: +5% bonus col from last-hit monster kills and +10% bonus col from treasure chests.
  - Laboratory I: Once per charge, when receiving single-use consumables from Quest Rewards, if a Guild Treasurer were to receive additional tokens, one guild member may claim 1 x (Additional Token / 2) copies of the consumable.
  - Bureau II: Once per charge, if two or more Guild members are present in a thread, allow two dungeons to be spawned/explored in that thread, regardless of Dungeon-searching cooldowns. This buff may only apply once per thread.
  - Library I: Once per charge, if a Storyteller is eligible to claim a Guild Token, their character gains +10% bonus EXP at the end of the thread. This buff may only apply once per thread.
- Armory II: Once per charge, players may submit a Skill Refund evaluation regardless of the 30 day cooldown window. In addition to Armory buffs, when submitting a Skill Refund evaluation, guild members have the option to pay an additional Token to refund up to 30 additional SP.
- Menagerie III: Guild members undertaking <<Feeding Your Enemy>> gain +1 LD to familiar searching rolls and +1 to familiar taming rolls. In addition to Menagerie II buffs, the maximum number of familiars guild members can tame narratively is five (5). Guild officials may also appoint a familiar mascot, shared between their guild members to accompany them narratively in their threads.

Scents of the Wild Totem:
  - Tanos
Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:
 - Appraising[3478exp] R5
Gathering Profession:
 - Fishing[576exp] R5      

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Freyd

[Mari 1]

The warm, earthy scent of baked dough immediately filled the newly founded home, mingling with the faint sweetness of vanilla and a crackling fire as Mari pulled a dish out the oven.

“Freyd! Oh- shit hang on..” Mari glanced around, quickly placing the freshly baked bread loaf on the stovetop. She ripped off her oven mitts and turned to face him. She gave him a genuine and soft smile that reached her eyes, despite the tiredness they held. “I’m really happy you’re here!” Mari shifted to the kitchen table and picked up a small hot mug.

She  quickly walked over to him, almost tripping as she skidded across the floor to greet him, being careful not to spill any of the liquid. Every step the little frogs would open and shut their mouths in unheard snaps, absolutely ridiculous. “Look!” She breathed, gesturing to the larger space as she handed him the mug.

It was coffee. Scents of vanilla wafted up from it. Freyd had never said outright that he liked the drink, but Mari caught him drinking it a few times. She’d paid attention and hoped it was something he could enjoy.
 

Hey, you. The place looks amazing!  I love the…” Freyd coughed before he could finish his sentence. “Hey.” Mari said quietly. “You good?” He nodded. “Sorry.  The lack of dust must have gotten to me.” 

Freyd offered her a smile as he handed her a bottle of Sullivans Cove - neatly wrapped with a red ribbon.

 “What…” Mari stared down at it. 

To most it’d simply be a gift of ones favourite drink. Nothing more than a bottle of Whiskey. But was different, it carried a heavy weight. With acceptance. A silent gesture of acceptance. It was almost as if Freyd was saying ‘I don’t like this. But I trust you. I accept it

Mari’s thumb brushed slowly over the label, then the bow. Almost affectionately. A soft and tender smile on her face. “Thank you.” She whispered softly, “Really.” She looked up at him. “It means more than you know.” As if to say I know how hard this is for you. Thank you for trusting me.

Mari moved to the fireplace and set the bottle atop the mantle. Next to a violin. She hadn’t expected that. With a deep breath she turned to face him again. “Right! Let’s give you the tour.” Then, without giving him a chance to protest Mari tugged on his arm to show him around the place, ready to drag him from room to room in a feverish excitement. “You’re family so you’re the first to see all this!”

First was the living room. She’d point to the now uncovered mirror, and the small note tucked permanently beside it. “That’s kinda what started all this - so I wanted it to always be a reminder if I ever look at myself and start questioning things.”

 

A slight tug as she led him to the fireplace. “This is similar, more or less the same. I guess everything is a little bigger.” Bigger fireplace, more rugs…nicer chairs. Mari would point to random objects and knick knacks. Explaining what they meant to her. The violin on the mantle - and how Lancaster had gotten it for her when her old one was about to break.  A pile of books on a cabinet in the corner - ones that Raidou had read to her during her time in jail.  Fresh flowers on the windowsill from Eruda. A new and cautious friendship. Everything had a story, everything had a meaning, fragments from people she had met, those that meant something to her. Her place wasn’t an empty void.

Leading into the dining room - the table. An actual table that would fit more than one person. Mari was willing to let more into her life. Several candles sat flickering on it. A bowl of green apples. A random lemon sitting alone on the other side. A chair that had her scarf dangling on it. Every part of the home was lived in. It wasn’t just an accessory. It wasn’t just the basics.

Mari dragged him up the stairs to her bedroom, still exuberantly explaining every nook and cranny, every upgrade. Her room was bigger now - A Master bedroom. Covered in an assortment of lanterns that are somehow always burning. A large bed sits against a deep red colored wall, covered in tapestries of fine silks that hang down and around the bed. It was rumbled, unmade. Mari slept in it last night. To the discerning eye, they’d even see remnants of her hair. Candles flicker on the night stand. The room lit brightly, and warmly One one side the large ornate windows open up to overlook the frozen lake. It remained firmly closed to keep the heat in.

“Isn’t it nice? I mean…I guess the entire place is a little darker than my old one but - its harder to keep this all lit up.”

Mari didn’t wait for a response, she dragged Freyd into the adjoined room. “I think this one is my favourite. Freyd!” She said excitedly with a gleeful grin. “Freyd I can fucking shower. Hot water! Do you have any idea how long its been since I had hot water? Since I was able to clean myself in something that wasn’t a lake?” Such a simple thing that most wouldn’t even think about. The curse of a Player Killer filled with so much guilt and remorse they’d deny themselves even the most basic of amenities. That was Mari. was.

The Bathroom was a stark contrast to the rest of the house, brightly lit and decorated in a modern stone style, glancing in one would assume the place cold, being made out of stone but once you step into the room there is an undeniable warmth that permeates the air, and the floor. A small sink with a pair of toothbrushes, each in their own cups…two towels. Two dressing gowns hanging on a hook. Lancaster hadn’t had the chance to see the house yet, but Mari wanted to make sure he felt welcomed when he did. A part of her worried what Freyd would think, but they had the entire day to discuss it if he felt the need to.

“Okay…okay…then there is the basement - but I’m still working on that. Right now its just a mish mash of notes and a desk.” Mari said as she gestured for Freyd to follow her back downstairs.

“I have one more thing to show you!” She’d lead Freyd out the back door, and the two were hit with a blast of cold air. “I picked up fishing. I used to…” she paused, her exuberant smile and excitement fading for a moment. “I used to do it with Shield a lot…Baldur too…but…” Her smile returned, there was little to be sad about right now. Those that were missing were still alive. That’s all she could ask for. “But now I can do it in my own backyard!”

She gestured for Freyd to look upon a small porch that has steps leading down into the frozen lake in which the house resides. There are several koi fish that swim around beneath the slightly frozen surface. If one were to fish here; they'd first need to carve a hole into the ice to gain access to the spoils below. But the entire thing was lit up. Creating a soft atmosphere.

Mari gently closed the door and pointed to the table, gesturing for the poor man she just dragged through her house to sit down. “Aight thats the tour! I have like 300 col to my name now though…. Sit down and I’ll have food ready in a moment.” Her tone shifted. Concern. Knowing. “You look a little troubled. I can guess why. We’ll talk about it over food.”