Acanthus

“Are we going to the same place as before?” Acanthus asked, a note of tension in her voice. “So we are going to the same place as before.” Acanthus noted with some finality. Acanthus walked in silence for a spell before speaking. “You’d think for a quest location, they’d pick somewhere with less walking.” Acanthus trekked, her mind devoid of thoughts. “You’re a lot quieter than usual.” Acanthus stared ahead, lost in distant hope that she could sleep soon. “That’s saying quite a bit. You’ve never been much of

The weather on floor six was hot, as to be expected. The few winds that penetrated the canopy did little to cool off its inhabitants. The weather on floor six was much hotter than usual. It sapped Acanthus of what little will she felt in the moment. But more than anything, she needed to be here. The weather on floor six was brisk. Not as brisk as last time, but still unusual for the muggy jungle landscape. Her dreams had been even more intense than usual, almost as nonsensical as they were vivid. In each dream

Note: <<The Gemini>> quest serves as the backdrop for this thread, but I am not actually going through the mechanics of the fight or claiming any mission rewards. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I really like your name. How did you get it?” Acanthus remained unbothered, sipping her drink while the Gemini made itself comfortable. Even with the thing’s hood up, she could see a carbon copy of herself hiding underneath the rags. The reveal was novel the first time but painfully obvious in retrospect. She cringed to think she had allowed herself to be surprised even the first

Acanthus choked down an exasperated sigh. “I really do love Kumaki. I do. And I know how much she’s capable of. But she just cannot—” The memory stopped Acanthus as though it had been a brick lobbed directly at her head. Tides of emotions crawled up to her mind and recessed just as quickly, leaving scattered memories in their wake. Acanthus started to panic. For all the times she had resented her father’s lack of faith, she was no better. The cycle of pragmatic disbelief continued through her, just another reason she didn’t deserve a familiar— Soft fur wound between her fingers. K

“I don’t know how she would help me make music, unless that music involved finding a bunch of rocks.” Acanthus talked with a completely straight face. “And I don’t think that rocks help the process along very much. Maybe if I could teach her to fetch blank recording crystals, or fresh pen and paper?” Although she didn’t want to say it out loud, the thought of Kumaki directly assisting in writing the songs sounded ridiculous—that was the sort of idea that would appeal to a five-year old, not a grown woman. You couldn’t teach a bear to perform on an instrument, or sing along. She wasn’t putting

A plus one? A cold lump rose in her throat. Hopefully not everyone would be bringing a plus one. Acanthus envisioned the wedding: a beautiful evening awash in the beach’s finest sunset, white linens and flowers, and guests as far as the eye could see. Every guest with a plus one, except Acanthus. She briefly contemplated faking an illness. Can you fake illnesses in game? Do people even get sick here? “That’s very considerate of you to plan for additional guests.” Acanthus smiled warmly. “That shouldn’t be a problem for me.” Eager to change the topic, she began to discuss Wulfrin. “I don’t

Wind rushed past Acanthus as the Colossus picked up speed. She dug her heels into the few crevices of the things hand, fumbling with her blade. Any second now, her hold was going to give. She didn’t have time to use her climbing gear to dig back into the walking mountain, so it was just going to have to be a bold offensive and a prayer to Cardinal. The first fall won’t kill me. The first fall won’t kill me. She hurriedly surveyed the hand for the so called weak spot. Maybe she had to slice off a finger, or there would be a hold hidden inconspicuously on the hand. If Koji were here… She du

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