Welcome to Avalon

[Section9]

Huzzah! Update!

If it wasn't for the fact that the Shas absolutely HATE humanity with the burning passion of a galactic core explosion, I'd suspect Shelke of being Shas...

[Errhile]

I still do.

You know, she might be an exception regarding that hate thing... or she's just hiding it all too well.
But I guess I might learn the truth one day...

[Kathara_Khan]

If it wasn't for the fact that the Shas absolutely HATE humanity with the burning passion of a galactic core explosion, I'd suspect Shelke of being Shas...

Just as planned...
Also, that's just a racial stereotype. And the Morat aren't exactly fond of us either, I gather, yet there are some who have no problem whatsoever working for humans as mercenaries, at least when they have no other option to survive. And Shas have this thing about survival at all costs... So personally, I have no problem believing in a Shas individual, probably an "orphaned" infiltrator, maybe a Speculo even, deciding they hate being dead more than they hate humans. Especially if their Cube (and remember, they have special ones, that they can download the memories of their victims into, and then directly access them, for better impersonation) suffered a malfunction for some reason, and had a bit of neural spillage... Though, as always, YMMV.
And not that I'm saying this is really what happened. Bell may just as well be a simple human ex-special forces weirdo...

[Radek]

Great story I haven't felt it being short packed with lots of interesting interactions. The only shame is all that talk about weapons and equipment made me want to play infinity... shame it will take a while before I can have some fun on a table

[Section9]

If it wasn't for the fact that the Shas absolutely HATE humanity with the burning passion of a galactic core explosion, I'd suspect Shelke of being Shas...

Just as planned...
Also, that's just a racial stereotype. And the Morat aren't exactly fond of us either, I gather, yet there are some who have no problem whatsoever working for humans as mercenaries, at least when they have no other option to survive. And Shas have this thing about survival at all costs... So personally, I have no problem believing in a Shas individual, probably an "orphaned" infiltrator, maybe a Speculo even, deciding they hate being dead more than they hate humans. Especially if their Cube (and remember, they have special ones, that they can download the memories of their victims into, and then directly access them, for better impersonation) suffered a malfunction for some reason, and had a bit of neural spillage... Though, as always, YMMV.
And not that I'm saying this is really what happened. Bell may just as well be a simple human ex-special forces weirdo...

True enough. The one EOD (army bomb squad) guy I know is pretty damn weird, as is the Navy SEAL.

Have you read Michael Z Williamson's Ripple Creek series? "Better to Beg Forgiveness...", "Do Unto Others..." and "When Diplomacy Fails". One character in the books, Elke, the team's demolitions tech, is a high-functioning sociopath who is also a mathematical/physics genius who does multivariable calculus in her head.

Jason, the assistant team leader has a whole list of possible responses, the tail end of Jason's personal escalation of force reads: punch in face, shoot in face, call Elke. Elke's personal escalation of force doesn't use a linear progression (1, 2, 3). It doesn't even use an exponential progression (1, 2, 4, 8). It uses logarithmic progression (1, 10, 100, 1000). The team tries real hard to keep people from realizing that.

Elke is a good person to have on your side.

[Azalod]

Like always It was pleasure to read another entry. Its good that things are brightening up for the girls.

[Errhile]

TAG-Soft in the Sphere

Currently, there are about a 100 TAG-Soft teams in the Human Sphere, split roughly half-and-half between professional and amateur.
Most amateur outfits are youth teams maintained by institutes of learning, at highschool and university level.
At least half of the professional teams are run directly by various military branches.

Nomads:
12 teams total:

2 amateur and 2 professional per Mothership.

Ariadna:
4 teams total:

Matr: 1 professional;
USAriadna: 1 amateur, 1 professional;
Merovingia: 1 amateur;
Caledonia: don’t care about TAG-Soft, we have DogBowl!

Haqqislam:
11 teams total:

6 amateur, all on Bourak;
5 professional, 4 on Bourak, 1 on Paradiso.

PanOceania:
33 teams total:

15 amateur,
18 professional.

Yu Jing:
35 teams total:

19 amateur (most are heavily state-sponsored and -controlled),
16 professional.

O-12/Aleph:
2 teams total:

1 amateur, 1 professional;

(Those are not part of the official leagues, but exhibition and promotion teams, with membership heavily populated with Post-Humans and even Aspects, and player and gear performance carefully curated to be top-tier, but not overmatch human opponents.)

Independents:
5 teams total:

2 amateur,
3 professional.

(The bulk of Earth-based TAG-Soft teams represent their component nations within PanO and YJ. But a few countries* not incorporated in the main Sphere powers run their own teams, though interest is rather low.)

* GM Note: Initially, I wanted to provide a detailed list. However, I realised it’s not really terribly important (not like any of this is ). More importantly, lacking detailed information on the status of most of Earth's nations, any list I would provide is in serious danger of being Jossed should such info larter appear. And I don’t feel like dealing with that if I don’t have to. So, should it at some point become important for the story (and there are currently no plans for such) to specify one or more of those countries, that’s when I’ll do so, no sooner.

[Section9]

Update? It's been a month, I need my fix!

[Errhile]

See, the problem isn't to sit down and play a session.

The problem is to write it all down, especially since Kathara Khan likes these reports to be very detailed (and thus massive amounts of text). This takes time.
The New Year's Eve party has been roleplayed already, but it is still being transcribed into text...

[Kathara_Khan]

And the writing is going like s***.
I'm suffering from massive writer's block, not to mention a ton of distractions.
I'm really sorry, everyone, but I need a break. This one will be a long wait.

[Azalod]

Don't worry and take your time and regenerate, we will w8. Stop the Legion or something
Nothing good come from forcing yoursel... all you get is a lot of frustration and effects are often unsatisfying.

I'm hoping the writer's block will pass soon

[jherazob]

No worries, do what you need to do, we'll be here when you come back.

[Claudius Sol]

We'll be here when you're ready! No worries!

[Kathara_Khan]

Thank you, everyone, for the support.

After two weeks of not looking at the thing once, I got something done again. Not much, really, but at least it's some progress. I just got so many other things to do that are simply more fun! (like a second Gunpla waiting to be built!)...

And we've hit 10k views! I do believe this is one of the most red threads on DS (in the top 10 perhaps?). So, yay!
Shame most of those views seem to be from the same handful of people obsessively reading it over and over. But I'm glad someone's enjoying it.

It'll be a longer wait still, but I might at least get things going forward again. So yay to that, too!

[Section9]

Obsessively reading over and over? While I did just finish an archive binge (#3), I usually only look in when there's a new post in the thread.

[Kathara_Khan]

Obsessively reading over and over? While I did just finish an archive binge (#3), I usually only look in when there's a new post in the thread.

Well, let's see: the thread is sitting at well over 10k views now, but, excluding Errhile and me, there are only 6 people who ever commented, or at least felt like clicking the "like" button on one of the episodes... So it's not a difficult conclusion to reach, I feel.

You'll all be pleased to know, I hope, that the next episode is actually nearing completion. At worst, I hope we'll have it up by next weekend.

[Errhile]

Avalon Chronicles
entry #19

“Not So Harsh Mistress”


Dramatis personae:
Note #1 - Starting with entry #5, only the characters making an appearance (or, in some cases, referred to) in a given episode are listed. A complete list of all the characters appearing in the Avalon Chronicles is available under the link. Beware of spoilers, though, especially if you’re coming in late.
Note #2 - Wherever a nationality / country of origin is mentioned, it describes dominant “cultural / ethnical background trace” rather than actual country / nation of origin (for example, Yuni was born and raised on Neo Terra, but her background trace is Malaysian).
Note #3 - The “#x” notes the episode in which given character made their first appearance.
Note #4 - We now have official character art for the series, collected for your viewing convenience on the GM’s DeviantART Page.

“Anjos de Rocha” (Angels of Stone), The Team:
Alex Narahari - #1 (2. class, 17, Indian) “Bad apple”, school’s bully assigned to the team as a method of correcting her ways (which seems to be working, if slowly - Alex, as it turns out, has her own host of demons). Her father tends to solve any problems (including those caused by Alex) by throwing money at them. Alex is an aggressive, reckless player who shoots too much, and doesn’t think enough. Anaconda TAG.
Dominique (‘Nique) Torres - #1 (1. class, 16, Argentine) Atek and waitress as “Silva’s”, former student of St. John’s High School (a Church-run school for the poor), transferred to the Academy on sports scholarship for the TAG-soft team in #6. A mechanical and electrical engineering prodigy, she is fascinated with TAGs and does “Gunpla” kits of them in her free time. Turned out into the same class as Eva. Initially Lizard TAG, but in #8 swaps it for ‘Ree’s Anaconda.
Evangeline (Eva) Neve - #1 (1. class, 16, Italian) “Princess”, the wealthiest kid in school. Craves for proper behaviour and organized affairs, though the rest of the team are working on her. Team’s captain. Iguana TAG.
Minuette (Minnie) Diane Chryse - #1 (1. class, 16, Australian) Former cheerleader and team’s self-proclaimed “morale officer”. Cheerful and energetic, though sometimes not the quickest mind in the team, definitely (though she speaks a stunning array of languages, at least 5 fluent and several others with lesser proficiency). The only team member (before ‘Ree joined in) to have a sibling (two in fact, both sisters). Her parents own a chain of restaurants. Solid team player. Initially Lizard TAG, in #6 takes over Mako’s Gecko..
Morgan Lai - #1 (2. class, 17, Polynesian) “Sleepy”. Chronically asleep, pathologically lazy and way laid back person. Still, a solid player, calm and precise. Seems to have taken it upon herself to help temper and restrain Alex’ baser impulses - physically if need be. Szalamandra TAG until #7, then swaps for Lizard (formerly Patty’s). Practising Christian, she sings in a church choir, too.
Nyree (‘Ree) Rikoriko - #5 / #6 (as Peanut Gallery / full appearance), (2nd class, 14 - she started school a year early, and then skipped a grade in junior high, Maori) Girl from Morgan’s class, apparently the school’s polymath genius and “mega-nerd” (in Morgan’s opinion). Excellent student but with a troubled past (she was bullied real bad - by Alex as it turned out...). Has two brothers. Joined the team in #7, initially on Anaconda TAG, but in #8 swaps it for ‘Nique’s Lizard.
Octavia (Octy) Moina - #1 (1. class, 16, Brazilian) Successful and gifted musician (cello), but shy and prone to panic when not currently playing. She’s also a very effective player, as long as nobody can see her face (in a TAG or under her paintball mask). Patricia’s best mate. Highest “kill”-count so far. Lizard TAG.
Patricia (Patty) Summers - #1 (1. class, 16, North American) Gifted DJ and known hacker (of a school caliber, like upgrading her grades and the like). Octavia’s best mate. Almost never seen without headphones. Suffers from severe sedatephobia (fear of silence). Average player. Lizard TAG until #7, then swaps for Szalamandra (formerly Morgan’s).

Other characters at Roberto Rocha Preparatory Academy:
Staff:
Devil - #3 Diego’s “desktop animal” and AR digital pet (leftover from his CJC days), a cheerful animated devil with all the paraphernalia. Run by a simple pseudo-intelligence, it’s aware of, and can react to its surroundings - usually with comedic effects.
Diego “Diablo” Ibarrez - #1 (~60y, looks ~40, Latinoamerican) The protagonist - TAG-Soft team coach, retired CJC TAG pilot, later TAG combat instructor. Died in the EI war and was granted a resurrection thanks to his minor war hero status.
Yuni Iskandar - #1 (29, Malaysian) PE teacher and TAG Soft coach’s assistant. Very sporty and attractive, goes pretty well along with Diego since they met on day one. Well enough, actually, that their relation had (in entry #4) progressed to “friends with benefits”... Volunteered for the staff paintball team.
Students:
Frederic “Fred” Ulani - #5 / #7 (as Peanut Gallery / full appearance) (1. class, 16, Polynesian [genetically, Caucasian-Polynesian]). Hardly anybody uses his name in full form - even on most school papers he’s listed as “Fred Ulani”. Another cello player in the school’s orchestra with Octavia. He’s on excellent terms with her, and in Diego’s private opinion, a likely boyfriend candidate - and his prediction comes true, likely somewhen around #9.
Ilya Malinin - #5 (though mentioned earlier) (2nd class, 17, Russian) Star guard on the football team, and Minuette’s boyfriend. 2nd generation immigrant from Ariadna.
Samantha Silva - #10 (1. class, 16, Brazilian) Same class as Evangeline and Dominique. Dimante’s cronie, meaning whatever applies to Dimante, applies to her as well. Wears (purely decorative) glasses. In #18, she decides to switch sides, and comes to Eva for protection.
Tiana Dimante - #10 (1. class, 16, Latvian) Same class as Evangeline and Dominique. Rich upper class spoiled brat, and a bully who likes showing her “lessers” their place in the school’s social ladder. Eva apparently doesn’t think too highly of her, even if she, Tiana and Samantha were friends back in elementary school. Diego caught her abusing Nyree, in time to stop it - with some help from Alex - before Rikoriko striked back. As a result, she seems to carry a grudge against the Angels of Stone as a whole, and now engages in bullying by proxy against them.

Neve family security detail:
Dorothy Smith - #9 (likely late 30s, might be Western European) Head maid of Neve House, and second-in-command to Roger in Evangeline's security detail. Peculiarly pale and deadpan. Quite motherly towards Evangeline. Roger's wife.
Roger Smith - #2 (early 40s, North American) Evangeline’s chauffeur… Officially. In reality, he’s a high-end bodyguard, and commander of Evangeline’s section of the detail. Very devoted to his charge. Dorothy's husband.
Belladonna (Bell) Shelke - #12 (looks to be in her mid 30s, Eastern European) Tall, with a body like a gymnast, and a smile like a knife. There’s something uncanny and unsettling about her. Seems she fought in the EI War - the question being, on which side?...

Other characters in Belo Horizonte:
Cyrus Blaine - #19 (heavily styled to appear in his 30s, Irish by way of North America). Reporter for the Oxyd channel of Maya, likely specialising in jet-set gossip & scandal news. Apparently has the right connections to show up where it counts, like parties thrown by Luna Celeste. Your typical culture vulture, in Diego’s opinion.
Luna Celeste - #9 / #10 (mentioned / full appearance) (mid 20s, Latinoamerican) The younger of the two “Celeste Sisters”, scions of the Celeste family, the most powerful, wealthy corporate family of Avalon. Patron of the arts, with a considerable power-base in the local entertainment industry. Owns the Blue Moon, the most exclusive, high-class, “in” club in Belo Horizonte. Seems rather puckish. Has taken something of an interest in the Angels of Stone.
Wakaru Rikoriko - #11 / #19 (mentioned / appearance) (21, Maori) Nyree’s and Koi’s older brother. Very close with and doting on his siblings. Currently attending the police academy.



Tuesday, December 31

After a pretty late (at least for them) morning, Diego and Yuni spend most of the day together, in their customary fashion. They take the motorcycles out for a leisurely cruise to their usual spot, and then run, climb, swim, bicycle, and exercise as the fancy strikes them.

Early evening, it’s time to return home and get ready for the New Year party at the Blue Moon. Diego and Yuni head their separate ways for that.

Diego returns home, to find it still standing, much to his (jokingly feigned) shock.
“ - I’m really surprised, Alex!”
“ - What, you didn’t believe in me?” - replies Alex in a mock wounded tone.
“ - I did, that’s the thing.” - Diego smirks.
“ - Yeah, yeah.” - Alex rolls her eyes in obviously fond annoyance. “ - If I burned the place down or something, I’d make myself and Felix homeless, and that just wouldn’t do.”
“ - Felix?”
“ - Oh, yeah. I finally named the plant. Felix is the best diminutive I could find for Mephistopheles.” - she declares brightly.
“ - Felix it is then.” - Diego shakes his head in amusement. Well, the apartment should be able to take one more devil, right?
As if on cue, the Devil enters the scene, using his pitchfork to push a flowerpot across the table. Doing it this way allows him to keep a safe distance from the pot’s occupant - a cartoonish flesh-eating plant that snaps and gnashes its teeth at him aggressively. Once the plant is where he wants it, the Devil exchanges the pitchfork for a chair and whip, and goes about trying to subdue it, liontamer style. The plant promptly eats the chair.

Time to pick out an outfit. As the party is designated as a semi-formal affair, Diego doesn’t have to worry too much about his clothes. Still, his customary clubbing choice of attire - biking leathers - would probably be too casual (or at least a wrong, not high-fashion enough type of casual). In the end he goes with his Halloween fancy suit pants, shoes, and shirt, sans tie.

Alex appears to be heading out early.
“ - Yeah, I’ll see you there, Coach. Remember, some time ago, I negotiated a deal with Eva, ‘cause I needed her contacts for something?” - Diego nods. ” - She came through for me… And also apparently decided this is the perfect opportunity to call in her side of the bargain. I’m heading over now. And I already shudder to think what the Princess may have come up with…”
“ - Still not ready to tell what the whole thing’s about?”
“ - Since it’s ready, you’ll see tonight. No use explaining now.”
“ - Alright, if you say so.”

Soon enough, the time comes to head out. This time, it’s Diego picking Yuin up, for balance’s sake. Though they are taking the motorcycle still.

The Blue Moon’s entrance is abuzz with activity already, guests arriving under the watchful gaze of security, with a throng of gawkers and media not fortunate enough to be invited in jostling for position outside. It’s not exactly a red carpet affair (not least because the carpet is a silver star-studded midnight-blue ), but the proceedings do have a definite air of the high-life.
Diego and Yuni get to walk the path (the motorcycle taken care of by the parking persona) under the eyes and cameras of the crowd, and are ushered inside the lobby and to the elevators with the same amount of pomp as any of the VIPs. Though there definitely are some curious looks following the two. Good thing neither of them is self-conscious enough to be bothered by feeling out of place.

On top of the skyscraper, the club is filling up with Belo Horizonte’s and the wider Avalon’s (mostly) young jet-set.
As expected, there are some quite extravagant pieces of “semi-formal” fashion on display. Including one young woman, some teen diva idol or another, who, Diego is quite sure, should all the AR effects she’s draped with be deactivated, would be left wearing nothing but a fancy comlog bracelet and a two-piece bikini skimpier than anything even Alex would go for. Here’s hoping Patty won’t give in to her subversive instincts, and decide to hack the celebrity’s “clothes” for a prank...

Luckily, there are enough people wearing actual clothes (^_^) around that Diego, Yuni, and the girls can fit in without trouble.

Yuni went for that wine-red sporty-chic ensemble she wore to the Academy Autumn Music Festival again, apparently with the addition of Diego’s Christmas present, her fingernails shifting through glowing patterns - quite mesmerizing, really.

Minnie also chose her festival finery, all frilly and pink and cute, but spiced up with her customary clubbing cornucopia of neon-glow accessories.

Patty’s concession to the semi-formal nature of the gathering is a blue and purple neon-glow tie loosely hung around her neck, as an addition to her typical “working” outfit (baggy cargoes, sleeveless crop-top, chunky kicks, some shiny accessories). Well, she has an image to uphold. And she’s one of the main attractions tonight, all of which are definitely on the casual side. It’s doubtful anybody will think of looking down on her for not enough “formal” in her attire.

Octy went back to her clubbing stand-by black blouse and pants set, including shades. Relaxed but stylish, it serves the semi-formal occasion quite well.

Nyree took mercy on the gathering, and chose an outfit that doesn’t include any eye-bending tribal patterns this time. It’s still primarily violet, of course. Also quite adorable, in a “girl tries to look rebellious, but is too cute (and a bit too prudish) to really pull it off“ style.

Morgan and Dominique arrive together. ‘Nique was again concerned about not owning any clothes that would fit the required dress-code, her formal school uniform not being fashionable enough. She shouldn’t have worried, really, seeing Diego passes muster just fine in his decidedly non-extravagant shirtsleeves and slacks (though no doubt some pundit will look down their nose at Diablo in some fashion-focused media piece from the event), but then girls, by inclination or social construct, usually put more importance on this stuff…
Well, looks like Morgan decided to help with that. Also, to jokingly reinforce the theme of both girls being the ones to “wear the pants in this team”. As such, Morgan and ‘Nique are wearing matching outfits - modern, relaxed but sharp cut dress suits; pants, jacket, vest, shirt, tie, the works. And it looks like the suits are fully bespoke, fitted perfectly to their figures. The tailoring leaves no doubt whatsoever, that, despite being decidedly male-fashion styled, the suits are being worn by women. The ensemble does wonders for ‘Nique especially, the often-androgynous-seeming girl actually looking probably the most feminine they ever saw her, in this ostensibly men's suit. Nobody will be mistaking her for a boy tonight!
It also seems it could be seriously boosting ‘Nique’s self-confidence... As soon as she can stop being embarrassed about Morgan paying for her clothes.
“ - Girl, you really must learn how to accept gifts.” - Morgan, not unkindly, cuts through Dominique’s renewed thanks and “you shouldn’t haves” with her even tone. “ - Ain’t no charity, doing a solid for a friend, right?” - she gives the other girl her tiny smile. ‘Nique smiles back, finally letting it go for tonight.

Evangeline arrives finally, making a bit of a splash in the crowd - interacting with her only in the school setting, it’s easy to sometimes forget that she is indeed somewhat of a famous face on the planet at large. The Princess also came quite a long way in the partying department, learning to let loose quite a bit, both in attitude and clothing. Her ensemble today seemingly effortlessly combines a dazzling little white dress and elegantly arranged hair, held up with jeweled pins, with stylish wedge sneakers and color-coordinated neon jewelry in a style almost artistic, and not at all gaudy. Eva can’t resist striking a little pose. Patty, playing into what seems to have become a running joke between them, grades the Princess's party attire by giving a double thumbs-up, grinning.

As it quickly turns out, Eva is not alone.
The tall, dark, elegant form of Roger Smith, hanging back to give his charge space but always watchful, is not hard to spot, and no surprise.
Alex, on the other hand, takes her time with revealing herself. Now, Alex having arrived with Evangeline is no big surprise either, at least to Diego, knowing they were going to meet up earlier. But the Alex that reluctantly steps out from behind Eva is a very different-looking one than what they are all used to...
“ - What? What are you all staring at?” - Alex grumbles, crossing her arms and looking away, an embarrassed, shy blush flooding her face. “ - You’d think you never seen a girl wear a dress before…”

This particular girl? No, never. Because that’s what Alex is wearing - a dress! A pretty white number, rather modest - with a reasonable neckline, half-length sleeves, and a loose, above the knee skirt - and quite elegant in it’s simplicity. Alex’s hair is left loose, out of it’s customary ponytail, combed neat and brushed to a shine, and there’s even a shade of makeup on her face. The only thing left of her old image, are the eternal, beat up combat boots. They do clash rather badly, but apparently Alex refused to give them up.

“ - This is… Different.” - deadpans Morgan.
“ - Trying out a new style, chica?” - Diego rises an eyebrow.
“ - Awww! You look so cute!” - Minnie gushes, rushing in for a hug, making Alex blush and grumble even more, trying to fend her off.
“ - What brought this on?” - wonders ‘Nique.
“ - It’s the Princess’ idea of calling in a favour.” - grouses Alex.
“ - I was just curious what you’d look like with a little makeover. I had a feeling with some time and effort, you could be made quite presentable. And I was right - you do clean up rather nicely.” - Eva smirks with mock-haughtiness.
“ - Well, don’t get used to it...”
“ - It… Looks kinda nice on you, actually…” - muses Nyree.
“ - Erm… R-really?” - Alex’s blush goes a shade darker.
“ - Sure!” - Nyree suddenly blushes herself. “ - I-I mean, if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t make yourself wear it…” - she backpedals awkwardly. “ - ...But it’s not a bad look for you, at all, is all I’m saying. You could, maybe, go for it sometimes, just to change things up? But only if you feel like it...” - Nyree finishes shyly.
“ - Ah… T-thanks, I guess.” - Alex is obviously quite embarrassed, but also pleased. “ - Um… Yours is… Nice too...?” - she offers awkwardly.
Octavia hides a giggle behind her hand. Minnie and Yuni don’t even try.

“ - ‘Kay, enough with that, already.” - growls Alex, still blushing. “ - There’s something else I have to take care of…” - she steps towards Nyree.
Now that they’d all absorbed enough of Alex’s new look not to be distracted anymore, they notice she’s carrying something. A flat, rectangular package, wrapped in glossy violet paper. This she extends to Nyree.
“ - Here you go, Nerd.” - declares Alex softly. “ - It’s a little late for Christmas presents, but it took that long to get this, even with the Princess’ contacts… Hell, in this case, it’s actually very, very late, anyway…” - she fidgets awkwardly as Nyree, face puzzled, takes the package.

Nyree quickly unwraps the present. Everyone leans in, curious. Alex hangs back, playing at nonchalance, but it’s obvious she’s anxious about how the gift will be received.

What it turns out to be, is a book. A real, honest-to-goodness paper book, largish and thick, in faux-leather hardcover. Definitely not something you see everyday in this quantronic age.
The title, in fancy, ornate script, reads “Scenes From the Lives of Dragons”.
“ - No… No way…” - Nyree’s eyes go wide, mouth forming a little “o”, as she slowly, almost reverently, runs her hand over the cover, then opens the book to the title page. Her eyes go even wider. “ - I-it’s even signed and dedicated…” - Nyree turns a few pages, then looks up at Alex, face full of wonder.
“ - Oooh, it’s so pretty! And funny! What is it?” - wonders Minnie, staring in delighted fascination at the full page illustration of a rather cartoonish, lovably goofy dragon, apparently busy pouring soup from a thermos.* The rest crowd in to get a look, the picture causing giggles and appreciative sounds.
“ - It’s an old book I once owned.” - Nyree explains, still looking at Alex. “ - It’s a kids story, about dragons and their daily lives. It was my absolute favorite for a long time. I was lucky enough to get a physical copy, signed with a dedication by the author. I loved that book. A little too much… It always cheered me up. So once, I couldn’t resist taking it to school with me…” - she sighs, a little sadly.
“ - I destroyed it.” - finishes Alex glumly, confirming what Diego, and probably the rest were already suspecting. “ - Fed the ‘pathetic, childish, nerdy’ thing to the recycling disassembler.” - she looks away in shame. “ - I realize it’s years too late… You probably had it replaced long ago… And I couldn’t remember the dedication, so I had Eva go for a generic one… But I just felt… I owed it to you, you know?” - Alex shrugs helplessly. “ - I know, it probably looks like a pathetic attempt at bribery…” - she shifts awkwardly. ” - Just replacing this one thing? No way can it magically make everything better, take back all that stuff I did before…But- ! ” - Alex swallows whatever she tried to say in surprise and shock, as Nyree steps forward and envelops her in an awkward but sincere hug.
“ - Thank you.” - Nyree looks up at Alex, a somewhat silly grin on her face, eyes a bit wet. “ - Yeah, you are right - it’s a transparent attempt at bribery. Thing is? It seems to be working.” - she giggles. “ - I never got another paper copy. Even if I did, I never had another opportunity to have it signed. And I didn’t realize how much I missed the thing. So, thank you, Alex. It means a lot.” - Nyree declares with utter sincerity, smiling at Alex.
“ - W-well then, you’re welcome, Nyree.” - Alex, sporting the darkest blush yet, smiles back, and dares to return the awkward hug, just for a moment.

The others are somehow able to restrain themselves from ruining the moment by embarrassing the two further with excessive cooing (though it seems to involve Octy physically restraining Patty, and Morgan distracting Minnie with sweets...).

“ - Sooo…” - Minnie puts in after Nyree and Alex are done. “ - We have a few minutes left before the party really starts… Show us the cute dragons!” - she grins.
And it does look like she isn’t the only one interested in going through Nyree’s book.
“ - Alright.” - laughs Nyree.

* GM note: This book and it’s contents are actually based on a real storybook that used to be one of my favorites as a child.

“ - Erm… Before you do? Could I maybe… Talk to you for a second?...” - speaks up a hesitant voice.

It’s Samantha Silva. Diego was wondering if she was going to come with Eva. The girl is obviously nervous and uncomfortable as all eyes turn to her, but she stands her ground. Evangeline gives her an encouraging smile. The other Angels are not exactly enthused at Samantha’s presence still, but at least none are openly hostile anymore… Except for Octavia, whose sudden dark aura of enmity takes Patty, who’s standing next to her, by surprise, causing the DJ to do a double-take at her normally mild friend. Luckily, her reserved nature wins out, and Octy is for now content to glare from the back row.

“ - Coach Ibarrez, Miss Iskandar, everyone...” - Silva nods a polite greeting, trying to project confidence she doesn’t quite feel. “ - I’ll try not to get in your way tonight… But there’s one thing I need to say.” - she turns to Minuette. “ - Chryse?”
“ - Me?”
“ - Yes. I… I want to apologize.” - there are quite a few raised eyebrows. “ - I think I should be completely honest with you. I… Can’t say that I really like you.” - Samantha declares seriously, looking Minnie in the eye. “ - I find you… Annoying. Too loud, uncouth, and rather inane.” - Silva shifts uncomfortably, as some of the others bristle at this unflattering description of Minnie, delivered with such candidness. Minuette herself stays silent, face neutral, look inviting Silva to continue. Which she does, after adjusting her glasses in a nervous gesture, “ - But, all that said… I owe you an apology. What we did to you, what I let myself do? Pretending to become your friend, just so we could more effectively hurt you? That was just beyond the pale. And I’m… Really sorry, Chryse. I don’t expect you to believe me… But I wanted you to know. I’m sorry...” - Samantha repeats, then trails off uncertainly, eyes lowered. Eva places a supportive hand on Silva’s shoulder, giving her a small, proud smile.

There’s a moment of silence as Minnie gives Samantha a long look, face unreadable. The others wait in silence, obviously feeling it should be her to respond first, though some, most notably Octy, obviously don’t feel like that apology was worth all that much, especially with the preface.

Then Minnie breaks out into a big, sunny smile and steps up to Samantha, enveloping her in her patented huge friendly hug.
“ - Apology accepted! I forgive you, Sam!” - declares Minnie brightly and sincerely, smooshing their cheeks together.
“ - Ah…” - Samantha squirms. “ - Did- did you miss the part about how I don’t really like you?...”
“ - That’s okay! I still like you!” - decides Minnie, beaming.

“ - If everyone was like our Minnie, we’d have world peace.” - muses Diego jokingly.
“ - Yeah, or at least a lot more candy!” - chuckles Yuni.
Most everyone else shares a laugh at that. Well, if Minuette herself is okay with Samantha, who are they to blow against the wind, at least for tonight? The one exception is still Octavia, her little cloud of hostility unrelenting. Luckily, she soon gets distracted by Fred (both Octy and Minnie are here with their boyfriends tonight; both boys hung back for a bit, letting the girls have their team-bonding time).
Finally, a somewhat disconcerted and bewildered Samantha is dragged along to look through Nyree’s dragon book.

With still a few minutes before the event starts properly, Patricia becomes more and more visibly nervous. It’s stage fright again. But it’s not the audience tonight, though, even being much higher class than last time. What seems to be intimidating her now (in a rather comical reversal, having Patty actually try to hide behind Octy at one time) are the people she’ll be sharing the stage with.
“ - Ohmygosh! Look, there’s NeonKatt!” - Patty squeals, pointing out a peppy, young, 20-something looking woman, with glowing pastel-red hair in two high, puffy ponytails, and enough neon jewelry to rival even Minnie, “ - She’s awesome! Ohmygosh-ohmygosh! And that there is N-Blook!” - a similarly young man, kind of melancholic looking, very pale, head shaved bald, with a set of huge headphones, dressed all in white, “ - He’s sooo cool! Ohmygosh, I’m going on stage with them!” - Patty is practically vibrating with excitement and nerves in equal measure. “ - How am I supposed to do that?! They’re huge, and I’m just a nobody!“

“ - Please, none of that defeatist talk, Miss Summers! You’re absolutely somebody! You’ll fit right in, and rock the house, I’m totally sure.”
“ - Luna!” - Diego grins at the lady of the house. “ - Good to see you!”
“ - Diego! How’s it going, Space Cowboy? Looking good!” - Miss Celeste grins right back.

It sure looks like Luna has pulled out all the stops for this occasion. Last time, she was an elfin, tomboyish girl in torn jeans and tiny biker jacket. Today, she’s a graceful, ethereal, dark queen of the night! Quite similar to Alex, she is wearing a dress and combat boots. Unlike Alex, all embarrassed, awkward, and mis-matched, Luna totally owns the look. Her living-night-sky hair is even more awesome today, and the midnight blue, slim, sleeveless dress is spruced up with some matching AR magic. Stronger and darker than last time, but still subtle makeup completes the look. Part thick soles and elevated heels on the boots, part the AR effects, and part bearing, she seems taller, larger, bolder. More powerful. And there’s an edge of danger and darkness to her persona now, spiced up with more than a bit of sensual allure. Miss Celeste could easily be an evil sorceress-queen from a fantasy vid! Or maybe a vampire seductress… All together quite stunning.

“ - See you’ve brought the girls. All of them. Entire fanclub worth.” - she winks. She exchanges a round of greetings with the Angels, many of them rather awe-struck.
“ - I wouldn’t really call them a fanclub…”
“ - What would you call them, then? ...Harem?” - Luna waggles her eyebrows suggestively. A darker, nobler persona or not, her impishness is quite well in place, it seems.
“ - Most of them are way too young for that.” - Diego shakes his head in mock disapproval at her antics. “ - Usually, I just call them my Team*.”

* The actual term Diego used here could be translated either as “sport team”, or “military squad”...

“ - Well, it is good to finally meet you all in person. Been following your exploits for a while. And I must say I’m impressed.” - Miss Celeste nods seriously at the girls. “ - The Angels of Stone are going places, I can tell. Keep on rocking! Speaking of which, I guess we should properly kick this party off!”
“ - Need someone to help with the boot application*?” - Diego grins.
“ - I should be fine, but thanks for offering.” - Luna smirks. “ - I seem to be better equipped tonight, anyway.” - she adds looking at Diego’s dress shoes and her own boots.

* The original joke used here, with Luna going to “set things in motion” - which can be the same expression used for “undoing screws” - and Diego offering a screwdriver, is sadly untranslatable.

“ - Host duty calls, but we’ll probably get a chance to mingle again. Have fun, everybody. Just be careful of the media. Place’s crawling with them.” - Luna’s eye roll is one of mostly fond annoyance.
“ - I’ve noticed.”
“ - Yeah, most of them are alright, but you never know what’ll get into their head. At least some of them are liable to twist anything you say if it’ll get them a juicy story to generate views...”
“ - They’re liable to do that even if you don’t say anything.” - Diego points out, shrugging.
“ - There is that, true!” - Luna laughs. “ - Gotta go. See you all later. And I’m looking forward to DJ Scratch with great anticipation!” - she gives Patty a last encouraging grin, before disappearing into the crowd with a wave.

“ - Well, well, Mr. Coach!” - teases Yuni, ” - First name basis with such a celebrity?”
“ - What can I say, I get around.” - chuckles Diego.
“ - An interesting woman…” - Yuni muses.
“ - Certainly likes to make an impression.” - nods Diego.
“ - And she likes us!” - cheers Minnie. “ - You heard her, she thinks we rock!”
“ - Maybe we could get her to sponsor us, then?” - wonders Morgan.
“ - That is a thought.” - nods Diego thoughtfully. “ - We could look into negotiating something…”
“ - Wonder what we could offer her in return?...”
“ - The Coach.” - declares Minnie confidently. “ - What?” - she giggles at the looks the others give her, a good mixture of baffled, scandalized, and amused, “ - Way she looks at him? Believe me, as I know anything, I know those type of looks…” - she grins with sly assurance.
“ - That… Would be a rather too steep a price for a sponsorship, I’d think.” - Yuni frowns a bit. “ - Certainly, can’t say I blame her…” - she smirks, demonstratively looking Diego up and down, “ - Still, I’d much prefer to not have to share.” - Yuni declares, turning serious again.
“ - I promise, you won’t have to.” - Diego nods firmly, giving her a tender smile (Minnie coos in the background).

A few moments later, Luna takes the stage and officially starts the party with a short welcoming speech.
And they’re off! Soon the revelry is in full swing, all present determined to ring in the New Year in style.

All through the night, the DJs are on rotating duty, so each can have time to recharge and do a good amount of partying of their own. They mostly perform solo, but occasionally team up in duets or trios for improvised “duels” or jam sessions. And it’s obvious they’re all having a great time!

Patty’s fears of the others seeing her as an upstart nobody prove to have been completely unfounded, as she’s enthusiastically welcomed to the small coven of “Celeste’s Chosen Bards”. Patricia is left equal parts amazed, gratified, and abashed, when it turns out the others, her idols and role-models all, have not only actually heard of her, but have praise for DJ Scratch’s work! It looks like she’s near fainting when the neon-bedecked girl, Katt, asks for an autograph!
Soon, they’re hanging out, having fun together, both onstage and off. Patty also takes great delight in introducing the DJs to the team.
Luna’s prediction comes true, and DJ Scratch does indeed rock the house! Not that any of the others are in any way slouches themselves. Miss Celeste definitely has an eye - or ear in this case! - for finding true talent!

The Angels let loose, on their own or in groups, drifting from one to another as the mood strikes them. And Diego and Yuni are definitely doing their share of the partying.
Their relative social obscurity, at least in the circles most of the other guests belong to, does lead to some puzzled looks and curious whispers, and hurried comlog searches!
“ - Who’s that?”
“ - No idea! But I’ve seen them talk to Celeste...”
“ - I’m told they’re on first name basis!”
“ - No way! Must be someone important! How come I haven’t heard of them?”
“ - Well, they’re together with the Neve girl…”
“ - And now Luna took the guy dancing, look!”

Indeed, somewhat later in the night, Luna does emerge from the Moonlit darkness once again, to spirit Diablo away for a bit of dancing. Quite lively dancing.
Yeah, Minnie is definitely right about this one... Still, consummate social animal she is, and simply a considerate, gentle woman besides, Luna respects Diego and Yuni’s relationship, and does not seem to intend to truly try seducing him away. At the same time, however, impish rogue she also is, she doesn’t seem to intend to stop showing her interest at all! Subtly and wittily, but still. At least as long as Diego himself isn’t bothered by it and asks her to stop - which he isn’t and doesn’t.

Of course, Yuni may also have something to say about this… And Luna, being herself, gives her the opportunity - by sweeping miss Iskandar into a dance in turn! It’s a rather shell-shocked Yuni that reunites with Diego a while later.
“ - A very interesting woman…” - Yuni mumbles, blushing a bit.
“ - Anything I should know?” - Diego’s smile is gentle and teasing at once. Though he manages to resist the temptation of asking, whether he should be the one to start being jealous now.
“ - No, it’s fine. I just have to… Digest it, is all.” - Yuni assures, shaking her head with a somewhat bemused smile.
Well, at least it doesn’t look like Yuni will be attempting to cut short any perceived competition, by, say, snapping Luna in half like a dry stick! Which she totally could - and, knowing her straightforward approach to life, most likely would! - do…

Sometime later, Diego finds himself alone again, Yuni having headed for the bathroom. And as he’s perusing the buffet (because of course there’s is one, and a very high class one at that; a bar is fine for a typical clubbing night, but nobody’s going to literally party all night on an empty stomach!) somebody comes striding up to him with a bold gait.
“ - Ah, coach Ibarrez! I was hoping to run into you tonight!” - the man favors Diego with a winning grin. Early thirties (or at least a good stylization) and vaguely hinting at Irish ancestry, tall and slender, two-tone blonde hair slicked back, dressed in a gold and black slacks, shirt, and vest ensemble. Playing at rakishly handsome. A media type, as immediately betrayed by the small recording drone - a golden pyramid with a single white optic eye and a black antenna that looks a bit like a comically thin top hat - floating above his right shoulder. “ - Allow me: Cyrus Blaine, Belo Horizonte’s resident for people interests and entertainment on the channel Oxyd. May I take up a bit of your time?” - he offer his hand, grin never faltering. AR tags dutifully confirm his identity. Oxyd, huh?
“ - By all means!” - Diego shakes his hand heartily, putting on his best friendly grin in return. “ - And ‘Diego’ is quite fine, mister Blaine.”
“ - Please then, Diego, Cyrus is more than enough! So happy to meet you!”
“ - Pleasure’s all mine. What can I do for you, Cyrus? An interview? With insignificant ‘ol me?“
“ - Not so insignificant, my good man! Sure, most of those high and mighty,“ - Blaine indicates the general company, “ - May not know you - yet! But you, and your team, are an up-and-coming sensation on our little planet, I assure you!”
“ - If you say so. Still, working on New Year’s Eve? Must be a hassle!”
“ - Somebody has to! And I wouldn’t exactly call it a hassle, seeing as I get to attend miss Celeste’s party. This is the place to be tonight!“ - Blaine nods sincerely. “ - Especially as I get to meet such interesting people…” - he grins at Diego.
“ - Well then, what would you like to talk about?”
“ - Let’s start at the beginning, so to say! Some may be wondering, why would a retired Nomad veteran officer - a war hero, no less! The Lazarus Rescue, very impressive! - choose to leave the Motherships for PanOceania? They do say, if you can’t see what’s it about, it’s usually about money... So, is it?“ - ah, yes, here we go. Diego believes he has got the measure of this guy.
“ - Well, I’m tempted to use the tired joke, and say that if I told you, I’d have to kill you…” - Diego’s grin is nothing if friendly, “ - But the truth rather pedestrian and undramatic, and no secret at all. What it is, is really pretty boring. But if you like, I can tell you all about it. See, the main reason I’m here? I was bored at home!”
“ - Oh?”
“ - Yeah. See, it’s no secret why I retired: there was nothing more for me to do. Once even the Nomad Jurisdictional Forces switched to remote presence-operated TAGs? No more work for me, war hero or not.” - Diego shrugs.
“ - So the job offer from an Avalon high school?...”
“ - Close enough to my qualifications, and sure as Hell beats twirling my thumbs on Corregidor.”
“ - So, still chasing the chance for that adrenaline surge? The excitement of combat? Trying to recapture some of that glory gone by?” - Cyrus waggles his eyebrows.
“ - Eh, tell you the truth, I had really enough of that in my service life. Nowadays? It’s mostly chasing a reason to get out of bed in the morning.” - Diablo smirks.

And so it goes round for several minutes. See, Diego has had his fair share of experience with media people - most when he had his “five minutes of fame” after his resurrection, as one of the heroes of the Lazarus. And he thinks he knows Blain’s type: the consummate vulture, hunting for the smallest scrap of scandal, real or imagined, to spin into sensational drivel. Not like the Nomads don’t have their fair share of those... Simply put, Blaine is exactly the type Luna warned them about. Luckily, Diablo knows how to handle him.
Though Cyrus’ effusive, genial demeanor never falters, Diego can tell the guy is slowly getting more and more frustrated. Tough luck, as Diego has no intention of feeding the scavenger, smoothly evading all his fishing, pokes, and baited probes (like ones about the bullying trouble the Angels had and Diego’s own, probation-resulting intervention in it, or Diego’s relationship with Yuni, who is after all technically his subordinate) with cheerful, elaborate blandness.
Blaine definitely didn’t find himself a Nomad savage here, wetting himself in joy at Oxyd wanting to talk to him. Especially as, let’s be honest, Go-Go Marlene he ain't...
Of course, Diego’s evasions remain immaculately polite all the way through. No sense in making enemies needlessly. Even if he would prefer to kick the vulture down the stairs...

Finally, Blaine has had enough, and, after pumping Diego’s hand with a winning grin and offering hearty thanks for his time, makes himself scarce, remote dutifully following.
“ - I see you’ve met mr. Blaine.” - Roger Smith steps up, giving Diego a respectful nod. ” - And sent him packing. Expertly done, Coach Ibarrez.”
“ - Had his number from word one. Won’t let myself be licked by a media vulture. Learned that lesson while he was still in elementary school, I suspect.” - Diego smirks. “ - I find specimens like that are best handled like a champignon mushroom: keep in the dark, and feed lots of bullshit.”
“ - Indeed.” - Roger allows himself a ghost of a smirk. “ - Mr. Blaine has a special place on our watch list.”
“ - Oh?”
“ - When he first took his resident position, some three years ago, he attended a party at the Neve House, and sweet-talked the Young Miss into an interview…
“ - Uh-oh…”
“ - Quite. What he made with this material wasn’t really all that harmful, and it did get him lots of attention… But it also did manage to reduce Miss Eva to tears. It was a valuable lesson to her in dealing with the media… Still, he knows better than try approaching her again. To this day, some of the boys have a standing bet, over which would happen first in such a case - Shelke feeding him his own tongue, or Dorothy giving him several compound fractures.” - Roger gives a little shake of his head in mock disapproval.
“ - Lucky for him, neither of the ladies is present tonight…”
“ - Yes. Dorothy attends to Mr. and Mrs. Neve at the other Celeste party... And Shelke is... Otherwise occupied.” - Roger stresses the last part meaningfully.
Diego nods in comprehension.

“ - Hey, guys! Anything happen while I was away?” - inquires Yuni jokingly as she rejoins Diego.
“ - Coach Ibarrez made a new friend.” - reports Roger.
“ - Oh? Anyone interesting?”
“ - Someone interested, rather.” - Diego smirks.
“ - Another one?” - Yuni doesn’t quite seem to know wether to laugh or scowl.
“ - A media type.” - explains Diego calmingly. “ - Let me tell you all about that charming fellow…”

The party continues. Finally, the big moment arrives. Luna leads everyone into the countdown, and as the clock strikes midnight, it is officially...


Wednesday, January 1

...The new year on Avalon! Bring out the champagne!
Fireworks go off all over the city, not least the splendid display put on by the Blue Moon itself. And the view of that from up here is truly spectacular!

“ - Here’s to the new year.” - toasts Yuni. ” - Not that this past one was at all bad! Especially the last three months.”
“ - Can’t complain, true.” - nods Diego.
“ - And look how far we’ve come in such short time.”
“ - Here’s hoping we’ll go even further this year.”
“ - So, any New Year Resolutions?”
“ - Not really. Prefer to take things as they come instead of chaining myself to a plan.”
“ - Hm, let’s do that, then.”

The night is still young, there’s more partying to be done, and everybody is eager to get to it.
The girls certainly have a lot of party left in them! There’s dancing (at least a few drag their Coach off to the dance floor - not that he really resists), mingling, food, some games, and lots of general fun.
With some gentle nudging of both sides from Evangeline, Samantha manages to hold perfectly civil, and even pleasant, conversations and hang out a bit with at least some of the Angels, like Nyree and Morgan.
And this time, instead of dragging Nyree away from the excellent, light pollution-filtered view offered by the club’s windows, some of the girls actually join her for a small, quiet spot of stargazing.

Finally though, well into the wee hours of the morning, all their energy levels start to flag, and the party starts to wind down. Time to go home. The guests start slowly departing, and the Angels are no exception, drifting off in ones and twos.

Minuette is carried out by Illya, wrapped around his front, koala-style, snoring and drooling into his shoulder. Looks like this party completely drained even her seemingly-bottomless reserves of energy, even with the Moon’s lowered gravity. No wonder, she was really going wild out there. Illya’s expression is his default scowl, but having since met him more up close, they can all now detect traces of a patient, tender smile around it’s edges.

Patty, in a happy, sleepy glow of success, says goodnight to all her friends, old and new, and heads out alone. But not without sending a last teasingly encouraging wink at Octy, who’ll be going home (probably…) escorted by Fred...

Diego and Yuni make sure all the, by now quite tired, Angels are safely on their way home... Which hits a little snag, as it turns out that, when nobody was looking for a moment, Nyree, the last one left now beside Alex, has also already fallen asleep! Curled up on a seat in their bar booth, little Rikoriko turns out quite resistant to attempts to rouse her.

“ - We should call her home. Someone has to come pick her up.” - muses Yuni.
“ - Her older brother is supposed to do it anyway.” - reports Alex. “ - Just let them know he should be on his way.”

Once that is done, all that remains is to wait a bit… And get Nyree downstairs. Diego considers simply picking up and carrying her, but Alex beats him to it. Not without some difficulty, but working with surprising patience and care, Alex manages to get Nyree situated and pick her up, piggy-back style. Carrying the smaller girl to the elevator, through the ride, and then outside to the car provides no further problem.
Behind Alex’s back, Yuni, observing the goings on, gives Diego an equal parts bemused, amused, and touched grin.

As promised, Nyree’s older brother, Wakaru, arrived to drive his sister home. It’s Diego’s first occasion to see this particular Rikoriko sibling in person, though they don’t really have time to interact outside a short greeting. A tall, well-built, and quite handsome fellow, Wakaru cuts an impressive figure. More importantly, he carries the air of an upstanding, trustworthy person. And the affection and care he has for his little sister is instantly obvious to see from a single look.

Alex, under Wakaru’s gimlet eye, manages to gently deposit Nyree on the back seat (which proves a bit more difficult than anticipated, as the sleeping girl apparently got quite comfortable on Alex’s back, and for a moment doesn’t want to let go!), and strap her in. Reminded by Diego, she also makes sure Rikoriko’s got her dragon book.
Nyree chooses this exact moment to rouse to semi-consciousness and take bleary stock of her situation.
“ - Oh, did you carry me here?... Thank you, Alex…” - mumbles Nyree, then leans forward and places a small, affectionate peck on Alex’s cheek. “ - For the book, and everything… Goodnight…” - she proceeds to drift off again with a tiny, guileless smile.
“ - ...Y-you’re welcome, Nyree… G-goodnight…” - whispers Alex shakily, cheeks burning, very deliberately avoiding looking at Wakaru.

After the Rikorikos drive off, Alex stays staring off into space after the car, expression rather comically dazed, hand resting on her still flushed cheek,

“ - You okay, chica?” - asks Diego.” - Need a ride home?”
“ - ...No, thanks, Coach. I’m fine. You go on ahead. I’m guessing you won’t be heading home anyway…” - she gives Diego and Yuni a little teasing smirk, though it’s obviously distracted. “ - I’ll make my own way back. A bit of a walk to cool down will do me good…”
“ - As you wish, chica. You’re a big girl. But if you need anything, call.”
“ - Sure. Thanks. Goodnight!”

And so Diego and Yuni take his motorcycle to Yuni’s apartment, while Alex, a little longing, hopeful smile on her face, walks off into the fading night...

Well, good thing there’s nothing important to do today, as it’s mighty doubtful any of the Angels will be getting out of bed before at least noon! Probably much later.

After they wake up, Diego and Yuni again spend what’s left of the day together, though they take it much more easy today.
Also, when Diego finally sees Alex again later that day, it’s obvious she has indulged in some “fun” substance or another, but at least she hasn’t gotten into any brawl or other trouble, and she’s seems in high spirits, so the hangover can’t be that bad.

Later in the day, Diego gets a call from Evangeline. She wants to inform him, that the blackmail (though she doesn’t use that word over comlog) situation has been taken care of. Shelke’s run yesterday night has been successful, not least because of some of the information Silva provided.
“ - That’s great news, indeed. Though, that’s probably as much as we should discuss it right now, chica.”
“ - You’re probably right, Coach.”

Well, we’ll see how Diamante will react once she finds out what happened in her absence. She’ll be back on Saturday, though it’s highly probable she won’t know anything is amiss until Monday - knowing her, Eva says she’s unlikely to try “summoning” Samantha before then, and she feels secure enough not to immediately rush to check on her hidden files upon her return…

“ - Still, there’s another thing I wanted to ask you about, Eva.”
“ - Yes?”
“ - I was thinking about Samantha. Were you planning on bringing her into the team?”
“ - You mean, recruiting her, Coach?” - Eva blinks in surprise. “ - You would allow that?”
“ - I may not be fond of her - why would I be? - but she does genuinely seem to have come over to our side. I’m cautiously open to giving her a chance.” - he doesn’t feel like mentioning, it would be rather hypocritical of him, denying Silva, after he spent so much time on Narahari. “ - If nothing else, this would be probably the best way of getting the chica some of that protection from Dimante we owe her.”
“ - Maybe… This would depend mostly on the other girls being okay with it.”
“ - Well, I think she’d have at least Minnie on her side, right off the bat.” - they share a fond smile. ” - The rest? Remains to be seen. She hasn’t as of yet given the girls many reasons to like her, but neither has Alex, when we were starting out.”
“ - Well, we all managed to get along with Narahari… It would be great, not having to segregate my friends…” - she sighs wistfully. ” - At least all of them are true friends, and haven’t all bucked and ordered me to choose, Sam or the Angels, which I’m immensely grateful for… Alright, let’s ask the girls about this next time we’re together.” - Eva nods decisively. ” - And speaking of that, any plans on that front, before the next semester starts?”
“ - I’ll have to check in with them, but we could most likely get together with the Spiders, for our normal paintball Saturday. They should all be sober after the New Year celebrations by then.” - Diego smirks.
“ - I’ll call around to ask the girls, then. Well, except Alex, I guess, you can do that directly. I’ll send you a confirmation. Goodbye, Coach.”
“ - See you, Eva.”


Thursday, January 2 - Friday, January 3

The rest of the week is spent mostly just relaxing, taking advantage of the last few days of freedom, before school and work picks back up on Monday.

Diego in Yuni spend a lot of time together, in their usual manner.
Alex continues to be an unproblematic house-mate. She works morning shifts at Silva’s, and is usually off doing her own thing in the evenings, miraculously (or not so much, really, nowadays) staying out of trouble.
Diego does get in touch with Bolo, and they set up for the customary Angels-Spiders paintball Saturday.

Diego also keeps up with the news. For some time now, he had his comlog monitoring the news for any mentions of the Angels in particular, and also subscribed to TAG-Soft feeds in general, to stay abreast of developments in the trade.

What’s making the news this time, is Minuette’s sexual harassment case. And it looks like things are going forward. A suspect, one Ciro, last initial R, a student at the Academy and apparently a hacker of some note, has, after being previously detained for investigation, been just officially put under arrest and charged. And things do not look good for him. Apparently, just like Alex, he’s only several months away from his majority. And the charges levied against him are serious enough that the court decided to persecute him as an adult. He is possibly looking at quite a heavy sentence here. His family is wealthy enough to afford an excellent defense attorney, but there’s only so much that can be done, as the evidence already secured against Ciro seems quite conclusive. Notably, such solid foundation for the charges could be assembled, reportedly, thanks to an anonymous tip-off - two separate ones, in fact! - that the investigators received, letting them get to him and his files quickly, before he had a chance to erase too much of the evidence. The media speculates those tips most probably came from Ciro’s fellow hackers, wishing to remain unnamed to avoid being stigmatized by the rest of their community for being snitches.

Diego files away this curiosity. One of the tips was from Patricia, he knows, but who provided the other one? Could it be the investigators setting up false leaks, to further protect their source, just in case? Or someone else in the know also having an attack of conscience?

Anyway, excellent news. This should save Diablo the trouble of needing to pull off the punk’s head, lungs included, himself. Sure, they’re in PanOceania, the trash is going to get PanOceanian justice (with ALEPH slimy quantronic paws all over the court system) and jail, instead of an expedient and conclusive walk out of an airlock he’d likely receive from the victim’s family and friends, were they back on Corregidor… Still, their turf, their perp, their rules. And for a spoiled upper-middle class prat, what he’s in for likely won’t come off as a vacation at all. Diego will just have to call this good enough.

Looks like Diego should expect official court summons to testify soon. Some of the girls and other students already did their part.
Good. This looks to be well on it’s way to a happy (well, as happy as things can be after the disgusting deed already transpired) conclusion.

In less dramatic, a bit more fun news, there is of course the media coverage from Luna’s New Year Gala. Looks like the Anjos de Rocha got some nice exposure from it. The lion’s share of that being focused on Patty and Eva, being the most high-profile and visible, but the others, and the team as a whole, also got some good highlight, as a novelty if nothing else. And the more tabloid of the Maya channels are already rife with speculation as to Diego’s - and Yuni’s (^_^) - possible triangle affair with Luna! Not as if nobody saw that coming...
And there’s of course Diego’s new “friend”, Cyrus Blaine. He’s definitely trying, milking his interview with Diablo for all the cheap thrills he can get away with, but the Coach did well in not giving the media vulture much to work with. Blaine could probably spin things a bit more aggressively, and still get some good trashy sensation out of it anyway, but he probably doesn’t want to burn his bridges yet, hoping to manage to get something more juicy out of the Angels in the future.

The future of the Angels is definitely also on Diego’s mind. It’s time to start really looking for the next official match, especially as it most likely won’t be possible to play it immediately. Fortunately, Minuette did pass on news from her older sister, that the Bourak Institute of Planetology team may be contacting him very soon.

There’s also recruiting Samantha Silva to consider. They can’t really make her a full active roster member, for the simple reason of not having a machine available for her. Their budget, good as it is now, would be completely unable to support them buying and operating another TAG. So Silva would be relegated to reserve status. She can do simulator and paintball training just fine, and through the magic of AR would even be able to participate in TAG exercises remotely, but to be of any serious use as a reservist, she will need some practical experience in piloting. For that, one of the other girls will have to give up her machine from time to time. Not ideal, but unavoidable if they want Silva on the team as anything but legal fiction - and Diego does not intend to let her off that easy… Well, once the break is over, he’ll talk with Eric. Maybe there’s something they could do to remedy this problem that could be squeezed in even with their limited funds...



Continued in the post below.

[Errhile]

Saturday, January 4

The Angels of Stone meet at the hangar, as usual before a paintball game.

Nyree is quite embarrassed about Wednesday morning.
“ - Wakaru told me you had to carry me down from the club. Sorry about that…”
“ - It’s okay, really.” - Alex dismisses, awkward. “ - No problem…”
(The other girls profess some joking disappointment at not having seen this happen, here.)
“ - I was so sleepy, I don’t remember anything!” - Nyree confesses with some distress. “ - I… I didn’t say or do anything stupid while semi-conscious, did I?”
“ - N-no, not at all!” - Alex assures quickly, blushing. “ - You were perfectly behaved…”
“ - Oh, that’s good, then.” - Nyree breaths a sigh of relief.
Alex turns away, still with a bit of a blush... And perhaps a bit of disappointment on her face?

And there’s another person who’s blushing. Dominique hesitantly steps towards Diego, a shy look on her face, cheeks glowing. She’s cradling a largish box wrapped in red and black patterned gift paper, tied with a silver bow.
“ - I know it’s really late… But I only managed to finish it yesterday… And some would say it’s kinda inappropriate… A student getting a gift for a teacher, I mean…” - she fidgets awkwardly. “ - But without you, Coach… I wouldn’t be here. So I really want you to have this!” - ‘Nique presents Diablo with the box. “ - It’s nothing, really… But it’s all I can do to thank you.”
“ - You are entirely welcome, ‘Nique.” - Diego nods smilingly, taking the gift. “ - You deserve to be here, chica, and I’m happy to have you as part of the team. I’m sure the others think so too.” - there is a chorus of agreement. “ - And thank you. Should I open it now?”
“ - Well, there’s nothing embarrassing inside…” - ‘Nique gives a tiny grin.
“ - Okay then.”

Diego unwraps the package. The others cluster around in interest. Not that what’s inside is any real surprise to any of them, starting with Diego, of course.
The box is a display type, securing and showing off the contents through a window of clear plastic. And said contents are a completed model kit, one of the Gunpla-style toy TAGs Dominique builds as a hobby (some would say obsession), fully assembled, painted, and finished with weathering effects and decal details.
The model is that of a Gecko TAG*. A very specific one. Painted in fully accurate Corregidor Jurisdictional Command Gecko Squadron campaign colors for Paradiso**, and with perfectly correct unit and personal markings, including the smiling cartoon devil face, this is clearly Diablo’s own Gecko, recreated as close to perfection as was possible in this scale and material.

* It’s about 13cm (5in) tall, or about 1:20 scale.

** 2nd. Squadron (“Grey’s Deaths”), Second Offensive, Intermediate Blockade - a variant of the Deep Red scheme for boarding actions.

There are a lot of appreciative noises all around at the sight.
“ - If you’ll open the box for a moment…” - ‘Nique proceeds to quickly demonstrate the model’s close to perfect articulation (down to individually posable fingers on the hands), exchangeable weapons accessories (to portray all equipment variants in service), and light-up features (operated by a cleverly disguised switch). And finally the piece de resistance, the fully opening cockpit with a pilot figure inside…
“ - Welp, now you can really play with yourself, Coach!” - sniggers Alex wickedly, which earns her a (mild) punch in the shoulder from Morgan.
Diego has to admit, the little figure is not a bad likeness at all.
“ - The pilot is kinda cheating… He’s actually foam on a wire-frame, with a hard-plastic head, hands, and feet, and a plastic skin-suit.” - ‘Nique explains. “ - So while he’s posable, he’s kinda noodly and will bend anywhere, and may have trouble balancing unsupported, sadly. Impossible to make the TAG fully posable otherwise at this scale - a solid action-figure pilot wouldn’t align with the joints properly…” - she blushes suddenly, noticing that Alex has been grinning at her in a very suggestive manner for a moment. “ - And no, he’s not real-life detailed outside the face, and the suit is not removable!” - she quickly asserts, to a lot of giggles.
“ - Hmm, shame, that…” - muses Yuni with a teasing grin.

“ - It’s amazing, Dominique. Thank you. I won’t even try to think about how many hours this took you to make…” - Diego shakes his head a bit in awe.
“ - Yeah, well, it was a lot of work, true, but you know me, it’s the kind of work I love! So it was no trouble at all, really…” - ‘Nique rubs the back of her head in an awkward gesture.

This is actually the first time the other Angels get to see Dominiques modeler handiwork in the flesh (well, plastic) and so up-close, and they are all duly impressed.
“ - Not gonna lie, even as I’m not really into toys and stuff, this is totally wicked!” - praises Patty.
“ - It’s beautifully done. You’re amazingly talented.” - nods Octavia. The others make various declarations of agreement, making ‘Nique grin bashfully.
“ - And the tiny Coach is so adorable!” - coos Minuette.
“ - You know… However our lives go after all this…” - muses Morgan, “ - Something like that could be a wonderful memento. Dominique, would you be open to doing commissioned work?” - the others share a round of nods.
“ - Well, no. No commissions.” - ‘Nique refuses, then goes on before their faces can really start to fall, “ - I do, however, fully intend to make one for each of you! As a gift.”
“ - But-... Seven of those?” - wonders Nyree. “ - That’s a lot of work!”
“ - And aren’t they expensive for you?...” - Morgan asks worriedly. The others also express some distress over this.
“ - It is, and they are.” - confirms ‘Nique. “ - Doesn’t matter. I won’t take my friends’ money for doing something I love.”
“ - But-” - Morgan tries again.
“ - No butts!” - giggles ‘Nique. “ - Learn to accept gifts from friends, right?” - she winks at Morgan, who subsides, admitting defeat with a tiny smile.
“ - Well, if you’re sure about this... Thank you. They will be truly splendid gifts.” - Eva looks to be genuinely touched. Not only her, really.
“ - Though, it will take time. Quite a bit of it, I’m afraid.” - warns ‘Nique. “ - I hope I’ll be able to have them all done by the end of the year…”
“ - Eh, there’s no hurry.” - Alex shrugs. “ - And you can’t rush art, right?”
“ - I wouldn’t call them art, really…” - protests ‘Nique weakly, abashed again.
“ - I would.” - asserts Evangeline, nodding at Alex with some genuine respect.
“ - Right, let’s stop embarrassing her before she combusts.” - orders Morgan. “ - Should we be on our way? Or is there anything else we should take care of?” - she looks to Diego and Eva as the Coach and Captain.

Indeed, there is. The matter of admitting Samantha Silva into the team.
This proposition goes down about as well as could be expected. As predicted Minnie is all for it, while Octy silently radiates hostility. The rest are less than enthused, to be sure, but ultimately they seem open to giving Samantha a chance.
“ - Let’s be honest here,” - Morgan declares evenly, “ - When we were starting out, most of us didn’t think too highly of at least several of the others.”
“ - Yes, and look where we are now.” - nods Nyree, sending a smile Alex’s way.
“ - Yup! I’m sure, once we get to know her, we’ll be friends with Sam in no time!” - enthuses Minnie.
“ - Well, she is Eva’s friend, even if I don’t personally know what the Princess sees in her... ” - Patty shrugs.
“ - Yeah, we can handle her.” - Alex grins, popping her knuckles. “ - If she turns out to be trouble, we can always kick her ass later.” - she winks at Nyree.
“ - And she did the right thing in the end. She can’t be that bad, right?” - muses ‘Nique.
“ - Well, Octy?” - inquires Diego, when it’s clear she doesn’t intend to speak on her own, stewing in her little dark cloud. “ - It’s down to you.”
“ - Alright, I guess. Everyone else seems ready to give Silva a chance…” - Octavia sighs, trying to conceal her annoyance.
“ - Not what I’m asking, chica.” - Diego shakes his head. “ - Are you ready to do that? I won’t force Silva on the Angels, if it’ll mean truly antagonizing any of you. Having a reservist would be useful. Having to replace you with her, because you turn out unable to stomach working with her would be a heavy blow to the team. Not acceptable. So, do you think you could work with her?”
“ - I… Fine.” - Octy gives another, heavier sigh. “ - Honestly, I sorely doubt I’ll ever see Silva as a friend, but I definitely don’t intend to quit over it. I promise to give her a chance, and to try to at least restrain my hostility, Coach.” - she’s still rather obviously unhappy about the situation, but also seems genuine in her determination to be professional about it.
“ - That’s all I can ask for, chica.”
“ - Wonderful! Thank you so much, everyone.” - Eva beams. “ - I’ll let Samantha know, and… We’ll meet on Monday in a larger group?”
“ - That’s the plan.”

“ - Right. And now, let’s go shoot something!” - cheers Alex.
Which is met with universal agreement.

Later, when they’re at the paintball field, and Yuni is leading the girls through their warm-ups, Shelke pops up for a little visit with Diego.
“ - Hey! How did the party go?”
“ - Pretty good. Just had to deal with one media vulture.”
“ - Yeah, the Boss Man mentioned you got to meet Blaine. Shame I couldn’t be there. Always wanted to get to know him closer… Introduce him to some friends...” - Shelke strokes her knife’s hilt with a meaningful smile.
“ - His loss, really.” - Diablo smirks. ” - Still, I heard you had a pretty good night too.”
“ - Yup! I won’t toot my own horn too much, and claim it was easy, but that’s one problem taken care of. And little Silva’s info turned out quite useful. The brat has some brains on her, and a good eye for detail. Anyway, Diamante is in for quite a surprise, once she actually checks those files. Left her a nice parting gift…” - Shelke grins nastily.
“ - What did you put in there?”
“ - Oh, just a little movie… The same one they used for little Chryse - only this one’s edited to star our dear Tiana herself.” - she sniggers in malicious glee. “ - Welp, gotta run. I cleared my name a bit here, but I’m still in pretty hot water with the Bosses. But at least they decided not to ship me back to Satori… Yet.” - Shelke winks. “ - But I will be holding you to that promise of a dinner invitation sometimes.”
“ - Will be my pleasure. Just don’t scare the other tenants to death…”
“ - Scare people? Me? Perish the thought!” - she laughs, fading away in a TOC distortion. “ - Later, Diablo!”


Sunday, January 5

The last day of the break is spent on more fun and relaxation for everyone. Because tomorrow, it’s back to the grind, as work and school resume. New semester, and a new year. Let’s see what it’ll bring…


Which concludes entry 19#.

[Kathara_Khan]

Yay, it's out!

And the shipping is strong in this one.

Low-key as it is, it's kinda a season-finale.
The viewer reception was pretty good. On the other hand, the series is pretty expensive to produce (all those effects, you know). Let us hope the network will decide to pick it up for another season.

And to celebrate, another "little" bonus...

(Click here for the gallery)

[jherazob]

Delightful as usual.

Let's hope we do get a second season, but as many of us have already said don't kill yourself to do it, this is supposed to be fun after all.

[Section9]

Huzzah! The update! (where's the :squeeee!: emoticon? )

And Alex's makeover is absolutely adorable. Never would have pictured her in that...

Here's hoping that the network can be persuaded to make Season 2.

[Radek]

Damn Alex is way too quite.
Series are an real blast, little shame of copy rights because, if it could be done into online novel, then maybe it could got a anime version like Re:Zero. And it would be a great success!

[Kathara_Khan]

Damn Alex is way too cute.

But she's not supposed to be cute! She's bad-ass, intimidating, and fierce!
Good thing Nyree liked it too. That's the only thing that saved Alex from considering the night being a disaster.

Series are an real blast, little shame of copy rights because, if it could be done into online novel, then maybe it could got a anime version like Re:Zero. And it would be a great success!

That's the sad fate of all cross-over fanfic writers, alas.

[Section9]

I dunno, sure it's a similar idea to GuP, but the setting (and TAGs) are far enough removed from GuP to avoid those particular copyright toes, I think. See also Basquatch.

Some of the character art would have to be greatly adjusted (Saber, Archer, and Rin from Fate would have to be significantly adjusted). The personalities are fine, can't copyright those.

The big headache would be getting the Infinity setting license.

[Azalod]

I love it, finger crossed for 2nd season

[Kathara_Khan]

I dunno, sure it's a similar idea to GuP, but the setting (and TAGs) are far enough removed from GuP to avoid those particular copyright toes, I think. See also Basquatch.

Some of the character art would have to be greatly adjusted (Saber, Archer, and Rin from Fate would have to be significantly adjusted). The personalities are fine, can't copyright those.

The big headache would be getting the Infinity setting license.

A lot of characters would have to be redesigned physically, starting with all the Angels. Some also renamed.
Could be done, of course, but I won't pretend I don't think they'd loose much of their charm then.

And it would probably be easier to "file the serial numbers off" the setting and make it some generic SF world, adjusting some plot details as needed, than get the Infinity license... Especially since our "30 years into the future" AU is sure to not align in the slightest with CB's planned metaplot.

Let's hope we do get a second season

Here's hoping that the network can be persuaded to make Season 2.

I love it, finger crossed for 2nd season

Well, at worst we'll end up like Firefly, and become a one-season cult-classic wonder. And later get a pretty fun but still somewhat weak- sauce movie, which will hurriedly tie up the main plot threads, and kill off at least two main characters for cheap drama.

[Section9]

Let's hope we do get a second season

Here's hoping that the network can be persuaded to make Season 2.

I love it, finger crossed for 2nd season

Well, at worst we'll end up like Firefly, and become a one-season cult-classic wonder. And later get a pretty fun but still somewhat weak- sauce movie, which will hurriedly tie up the main plot threads, and kill off at least two main characters for cheap drama.

I would fly clear the hell to Poland and have a "long discussion" with you involving blunt objects if you did that.

[Kathara_Khan]

I would fly clear the hell to Poland and have a "long discussion" with you involving blunt objects if you did that.

Wow, a death (well, violence anyway) threat from one of my fans over what I might do with the story! As I understand it, that's like a major milestone for an author nowadays - a clear sign one is indeed popular!

Still, in all seriousness? I'd like to ask you, and everyone else, to refrain from such jokes in the future. Please?

[Section9]

Deal.

But personally, I hate and despise what Wheadon did to the story to make the Serenity movie.

[edit]: I mean, it's one thing to kill off a character because the overall plot or the character's own development requires it (though redeeming a horrible character makes great story, see what Privateer Press did with Coleman Stryker as he first turned into a monster and then redeemed himself). It's quite another to randomly whack a character.

[Kathara_Khan]

Personally, I have long since moved on beyond hate for Serenity on that count (if I ever really hated it in the first place; like I said, I think it was fun on the whole). Nowadays, it just makes me sad.

“Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”