Friday, January 20, 2017
Master Thieves Don't Pay Late Fees
Scarlet Devil Mansion
Zeldoten had done this dozens of times before. She'd succeeded and failed plenty of times, usually while in the employ of that long-legged gate guard that she could probably get past just by walking beneath her gaze. Win or lose, she'd always told Meiling how she'd done it.
Except for the times she didn't. Hired by the Nejems to, of all things, smuggle gifts into the mansion for the youthful mistresses, Zeldoten had a few routes she'd never been contractually-obligated to reveal to Meiling and needed one of them now for one last caper.
Even tracking the mansion down had been a mission in itself. It had left Las Vegas to go....somewhere. Weeks of research, chasing down rumors, and threatening anyone who had even HEARD of Gensokyo had finally gotten results. She, Nibbles, and Jester Chao had finally tracked the mobile manor down. The boys waited with the car, practicing a comedy routine of some sort while she did the blasted deed.
A minute of tinkering with a lock allowed Zeldoten access to the arboretum followed by slithering through the gardens like a snake. It was taking all of her skill, magic, and luck to get this far, but she still had a ways to go. She crept through the bushes, looking for a window without any traces of light inside, immediately finding an access point.
A slug of Monkey Fish and she was slowly climbing up the wall, using her tail to begin disabling the seal on a window. She flipped in, darting for the nearest shadow - under a bed - as she heard someone enter: blonde hair, red pajamas, sharp teeth.
The younger sister.
Flandre yawned as she walked over to the window to look outside. A lucky break for the thief, who promptly began creeping out from hiding, sneaking towards the door when she felt a tug on her tail: caught in the vampire's grip!
Struggling was out of the question; the girl's strength was legendary and she could also scream really loudly. Zeldoten raised a finger in a shushing gesture as she pulled out a toy: a Shimmer doll from the Manga Carte that glowed in the dark. Placated, the vampire released the thief and began to play, making cutesy sounds. Zeldoten smiled and returned to the mission, creeping through the halls by climbing on the ceiling.
Zeldoten began to sweat a bit, navigating her way solely on what she remembered of the mansion's layout from her previous visits, but she managed to make it unnoticed to her goal...
The library.
Only one...no...two issues were in the way: a couple of maids were kind of tidying up in front of the entrance.
A quick Vomit Swarm later and the two were sent fleeing, chased down the hallway by a swarm of tarantulas. Zeldoten snickered as she slowly, carefully opened the library door and entered, knowing she might still have a danger to face: the library assistant. A demon in her own right, Koakuma loudly and poorly sang some kind of techno song or something...something about dropping bombs. Zeldoten shrugged, using the sound of the succubus' voice to know when to take cover.
The two came close to meeting more than once, but a Master Thief is not so easily revealed, allowing her to make her way over to a table. Heavy, made of oak, empty of contents...perfect.
Zeldoten quickly set a book on the table and, abandoning all pretenses of stealth, charged out of the library and towards the nearest window, shutting it behind her as she flew off into the night and towards the waiting truck.
Back in the library, Patchouli would later find a book called "Nevada Jones" and a note reading Thanks for the book. Forgot to return it, so I stopped in real quick. Hu hu hu hu hu. -Zeldoten
Zeldoten had done this dozens of times before. She'd succeeded and failed plenty of times, usually while in the employ of that long-legged gate guard that she could probably get past just by walking beneath her gaze. Win or lose, she'd always told Meiling how she'd done it.
Except for the times she didn't. Hired by the Nejems to, of all things, smuggle gifts into the mansion for the youthful mistresses, Zeldoten had a few routes she'd never been contractually-obligated to reveal to Meiling and needed one of them now for one last caper.
Even tracking the mansion down had been a mission in itself. It had left Las Vegas to go....somewhere. Weeks of research, chasing down rumors, and threatening anyone who had even HEARD of Gensokyo had finally gotten results. She, Nibbles, and Jester Chao had finally tracked the mobile manor down. The boys waited with the car, practicing a comedy routine of some sort while she did the blasted deed.
A minute of tinkering with a lock allowed Zeldoten access to the arboretum followed by slithering through the gardens like a snake. It was taking all of her skill, magic, and luck to get this far, but she still had a ways to go. She crept through the bushes, looking for a window without any traces of light inside, immediately finding an access point.
A slug of Monkey Fish and she was slowly climbing up the wall, using her tail to begin disabling the seal on a window. She flipped in, darting for the nearest shadow - under a bed - as she heard someone enter: blonde hair, red pajamas, sharp teeth.
The younger sister.
Flandre yawned as she walked over to the window to look outside. A lucky break for the thief, who promptly began creeping out from hiding, sneaking towards the door when she felt a tug on her tail: caught in the vampire's grip!
Struggling was out of the question; the girl's strength was legendary and she could also scream really loudly. Zeldoten raised a finger in a shushing gesture as she pulled out a toy: a Shimmer doll from the Manga Carte that glowed in the dark. Placated, the vampire released the thief and began to play, making cutesy sounds. Zeldoten smiled and returned to the mission, creeping through the halls by climbing on the ceiling.
Zeldoten began to sweat a bit, navigating her way solely on what she remembered of the mansion's layout from her previous visits, but she managed to make it unnoticed to her goal...
The library.
Only one...no...two issues were in the way: a couple of maids were kind of tidying up in front of the entrance.
A quick Vomit Swarm later and the two were sent fleeing, chased down the hallway by a swarm of tarantulas. Zeldoten snickered as she slowly, carefully opened the library door and entered, knowing she might still have a danger to face: the library assistant. A demon in her own right, Koakuma loudly and poorly sang some kind of techno song or something...something about dropping bombs. Zeldoten shrugged, using the sound of the succubus' voice to know when to take cover.
The two came close to meeting more than once, but a Master Thief is not so easily revealed, allowing her to make her way over to a table. Heavy, made of oak, empty of contents...perfect.
Zeldoten quickly set a book on the table and, abandoning all pretenses of stealth, charged out of the library and towards the nearest window, shutting it behind her as she flew off into the night and towards the waiting truck.
Back in the library, Patchouli would later find a book called "Nevada Jones" and a note reading Thanks for the book. Forgot to return it, so I stopped in real quick. Hu hu hu hu hu. -Zeldoten
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Pondering Power
It'd been a couple of months since that fateful loss.
It'd been heart-breaking, humiliating, and educational. Power alone didn't win fights. It could certainly lose fights, blinding one to one's own weaknesses.
Perhaps it was necessary to black out to truly see what was there.
Hence...a return to humble roots, a time spent alone into the deepest darkness to do some soul searching. Water dripping in the distance, echoing about. A breeze coming from somewhere. Temperatures most people wouldn't want to endure.
A perfect place for meditation. Not a single soul would be by for sure.
Distractions no longer a possibility, it was time to soul search.
If power was not the way to victory, what was?
Attitude? It seemed likely, but having courage could do as much to give you a needed boost as stark terror. It certainly was a distraction sometimes.
Ability seemed obvious, but then again how many badass uber-sword kings that could cut mountains in half 100% of the time had been beaten by someone getting lucky with a spell and dropping an ottoman on their head?
Raw power was already ruled out. Someone who had the power to shut down the electric impulses in someone's brain seemed to be no match for a yo-yo swung by a madwoman.
Need? Thousands of Las Vegas citizens and millions of folks on Porphyrion needed protection from giant monsters and armies of freaks. How many of them were able to defend themselves just because of that?
Perhaps it was some combination of all of those things. That, then, was the secret: finding the right blend of mind and matter. It was certainly something to muse upon while doing sit-ups and push-ups, and drinking plenty of juice.
Gentle footsteps provided a distraction. So much for perfect solitude.
"Incoming text message from Cian," Shen said. "'How long are you going to sit in the shed? I made soup."
Ah, soup. Musing could certainly be done over soup.
And then the push-ups.
Maybe.
It'd been heart-breaking, humiliating, and educational. Power alone didn't win fights. It could certainly lose fights, blinding one to one's own weaknesses.
Perhaps it was necessary to black out to truly see what was there.
Hence...a return to humble roots, a time spent alone into the deepest darkness to do some soul searching. Water dripping in the distance, echoing about. A breeze coming from somewhere. Temperatures most people wouldn't want to endure.
A perfect place for meditation. Not a single soul would be by for sure.
Distractions no longer a possibility, it was time to soul search.
If power was not the way to victory, what was?
Attitude? It seemed likely, but having courage could do as much to give you a needed boost as stark terror. It certainly was a distraction sometimes.
Ability seemed obvious, but then again how many badass uber-sword kings that could cut mountains in half 100% of the time had been beaten by someone getting lucky with a spell and dropping an ottoman on their head?
Raw power was already ruled out. Someone who had the power to shut down the electric impulses in someone's brain seemed to be no match for a yo-yo swung by a madwoman.
Need? Thousands of Las Vegas citizens and millions of folks on Porphyrion needed protection from giant monsters and armies of freaks. How many of them were able to defend themselves just because of that?
Perhaps it was some combination of all of those things. That, then, was the secret: finding the right blend of mind and matter. It was certainly something to muse upon while doing sit-ups and push-ups, and drinking plenty of juice.
Gentle footsteps provided a distraction. So much for perfect solitude.
"Incoming text message from Cian," Shen said. "'How long are you going to sit in the shed? I made soup."
Ah, soup. Musing could certainly be done over soup.
And then the push-ups.
Maybe.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Ticker Quote Archive 2015
The past has invaded the future and supplied its own ticker quote archive.
......
...the past has only one quote at this time.
~
I DEMAND DIGITAL SATISFACTION
......
...the past has only one quote at this time.
~
I DEMAND DIGITAL SATISFACTION
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