Stage 2 - SitKombat

Murasaki spends some time mulling her options over. "Hm... I think I'd like this."

She places her fistful of yen down and takes a Custom Magic snippet. "I would like to empower myself or the others."

Lo and behold, the custom snippet fills in according to her desire.

[ +- ] 😺 ¥¡¡ Shop

More Yahoo for Your Yen

[ +- ] 💴 - Double Flip

In a combat round, you may take two actions.

• Both actions must be different.
• If your actions are 🕹️DEF and ㊙️DEF, the first action is self-defense and the second action is defend-a-friend.
• If your actions are ㊙️ATK and ☢️ATK, the first action determines the attack type and if it lands, the second action is a combo-finish (or it triggers a combo-breaker against you on a 💢MISS).

[ +- ] 💴 - Defender

Spend GIRL POWER to negate an attack vs. the entire party.

• On a 💢MISS, the attack only misses one person. You decide who.
• On a 💥HIT, the attack hits someone or something. The GM decides who or what.
• On a 💥💥COMBO, the attack is negated!

[ +- ] 💴 - Custom Stunt

As long as you have GIRL POWER, you can ENTER TEXT.

[ +- ] 💴 - Custom Magic

Spend GIRL POWER to ENTER TEXT.

•


"Oh, the Heart of Fiery Passion! Now there’s a spell that might give the wrong idea… or the right idea!" Emoticat ‘jokes.’

😾

Mrs. Emoticat

The Mrs. does not approve. "Our daughter’s not even born yet, and already you’re making dad jokes?"

Lacey isn't completely convinced by Poxy's lesson in gang psychology. Hoping capos would handle her dirty work was like hoping unsupervised kindergartners would behave.

But what's done is done. If Belcher rises from his metaphorical pit of humiliation and seeks vengeance, next time she will kill him....

Now she turns to the Emoticat couple, smiling fondly at them both.

"I see you've been layin' the pipe, Mr. Emoticat. I hope your little Emotikitty...Emotikittens?...turns out to be a lovable bundle of joy, with just the right amount of rebelliousness!"

She then ponders her upgrade options carefully. The Bombshells had been doing pretty well...but they could always do better!

"You know, Murasaki, your physical prowess is impressive. I've tried to mimic some of your moves, but I'm still more artillery than infantry. But maybe we can combine our strengths into one mega-awesome attack! With your consent, of course."

[ +- ] 😺 ¥¡¡ Shop

More Yahoo for Your Yen

[ +- ] 💴 - Double Flip

In a combat round, you may take two actions.

• Both actions must be different.
• If your actions are 🕹️DEF and ㊙️DEF, the first action is self-defense and the second action is defend-a-friend.
• If your actions are ㊙️ATK and ☢️ATK, the first action determines the attack type and if it lands, the second action is a combo-finish (or it triggers a combo-breaker against you on a 💢MISS).

[ +- ] 💴 - Defender

Spend GIRL POWER to negate an attack vs. the entire party.

• On a 💢MISS, the attack only misses one person. You decide who.
• On a 💥HIT, the attack hits someone or something. The GM decides who or what.
• On a 💥💥COMBO, the attack is negated!

[ +- ] 💴 - Custom Stunt

As long as you have GIRL POWER, you can ENTER TEXT.

[ +- ] 💴 - Custom Magic

Spend GIRL POWER to ENTER TEXT.

•


"Layin’ the whaaaaaa?" Emoticat blushes and gets right to business.

"Teamwork makes the dream work! I love it! And whatever you’re dreaming up sounds magical!" Emoticat points to the Custom Magic snippet, and adds, "Custom Magical, nya?"

"I'd be honored, O'hara-san. Our foes tomorrow will not know what hit them."

"I shall purchase something to protect our group," Gong-Ju says, picking the Defender snippet. "Gamsahabnida, Emoticat!"

"Thank you, miss. The support of you and your husband is invaluable." Murasaki respectfully bows her head.

She looks to her teammates. "What shall we do? Should we go back to our hotel room and rest for tomorrow? Or stay a little while longer?" She asks. She thought they'd be thrown out after taking out Belcher and his team, but she doesn't see any guards rushing up to them yet.

"The responsible thing is to get some rest...but the devil on my shoulder says to hell with responsibility! Let's drink up, dance, flirt dangerously with these oligarchs!"

Yelling loudly: "Put on some music! Let's get moving!"

Hopefully some music begins playing. If not, Lacey will still dance, and ignore all the stares!

She holds out her hand towards Murasaki and tilts her head to a nearby open area, or a dance floor if this place has such a thing.

"Shall we dance, milady? But please don't step on my feet. With your power, my poor toes would get broken like twigs!"

When Lacey demands music, the piano player gladly complies.

Hujo immediately starts to dance!


Poxy groans. "Hujo..?"



"Careful, Pox," Hujo says as he freezes mid-Travolta. "I wanna bust moves, not you… uh, whom I would only bust accidentally."

Pox looks up at the big oaf. "I know ya’d never hurt me. Even if Belcher ordered ya to. And ya won’t hurt me by accident if ya dance slow."

Hujo does his dance super-slowly, but Poxy stops him with a gentle touch.

"Ya big goof… the pianist is playing a waltz."

The two begin to dance like an awkward couple, but they’re also considerate, leaving space on the dance floor for other pairs…

"I promise not to step on your toes, but that is all I can guarantee. I've never danced before." Murasaki rises out of Belcher's wheelchair and takes Lacey's hand.

On the dance floor, she lets Lacey set the pace, following along as well as she can while taking care not to crush Lacey's feet. She's initially unsure in her steps, but as she subtly analyzes Pox, Hujo, and other pairs that gradually make their way onto the floor, her moves become more confident.

Gong-Ju hangs back, watching the others dancing with a wistful smile.

Atsuko, the Waitress enjoys a moment’s peace as the rooftop banquet becomes relatively elegant. She stands next to Gong-Ju, admiring the view of the water and the sunken Lady Liberty. The view is occasionally obscured by Lacey and Murasaki, Hujo and Poxy, Emoticat and the very pregnant Mrs. Emoticat, and two other pairs…

🤵🏻‍♀️

Atsuko

"You’re a princess, right?" Atsuko asks Gong-Ju rather awkwardly, which she immediately regrets. "Oh! I mean… Your Ex…Hi…" Her lips fumble a bit. She settles on "Majesty! I… I’ve always been curious, what it’s like…"

Atsuko is looking past the dancers, even past the head and raised torch of the copper titaness. It’s the water that interests the waitress.

"Do you have to be under the water to dance?"

At first, Lacey watches her toes carefully...but as Murasaki's dancing skill rapidly improves, she relaxes, and flows with the music.

"Nice, Murasaki! You're a natural!"

They twirl, twerk, waltz, etc. until Lacey is panting a bit. Giving Murasaki a comradely hug, she breaks off from her partner to rest for a minute.

(Just comradely? Or was there a special spark there? Oh boy...drama! Emotions!)

But soon she's back, moving near Hujo and Poxy. She points to the provocatively-dressed woman.

"Mind if I claim the next dance, Hujo? I'd like to chat with your lady-friend. It seems we're...well, not exactly allies, but hold similar ideals...."

[ +- ] 🎻 Krook’s March / Toxic Tower

"I’ll dance with ya, but on one condition."

Poxy points at the violinist and cellist, who’ve been enjoying a smoke during the piano solo.

"Hit it, boys!"

The ‘boys’ (some of which are ‘girls’) start to play a tango!



🪙
✨
💫
✨
💫
🌟

"My lead," Poxy insists.She takes Lacey by the hand, by the waist, aggressively tangoing past other dancers who have no idea how to keep up. And eventually, everyone backs off because the dance is more fun to watch.

She takes Lacey’s hand, twirls her away. A slight twitch signals her to twirl back, but where the man would catch the lady, Poxy backflips overhead and embraces from the back. She dips Lacey back, her own pink hair brushing against the ex-damsel’s cheek. Her lips are so close Lacey is warmed by her subtle breath as she whispers,

"You freed us. I have plans for Hujo, so I’ll be forfeiting the Ragers’ fight tomorrow. It means the Golden Boys’ll be your opponents in the finals. They’re nothing compared to Bill’s Killers, whom you’ll face tomorrow."

She guides Lacey up, and as the tempo slows she smiles gently.

"Your lead."

Lacey is bowled over by the dance, and Poxy's confession that she'll forfeit tomorrow's match. She was making a difference! Maybe she wouldn't be consumed by vengeance...maybe she'd become an actual heroine...a role model....

But if roles models had to be modest and chaste, then Lacey would definitely fail...because now that it's her lead, she presses closes to Poxy, until it seems to bystanders that they're trying to meld their bodies together.

Around and around they twirl, their eyes locked together.

"Thank you."

She doesn't say more about that topic, as Poxy clearly wants it kept on the down-low. They continue the dance in silence...but Lacey's emotions are roiling. The scantily-clad pink bombshell is definitely making her feel things....

"So...you and Hujo, huh? A shame, cuz I'd definitely like to give you a kiss you won't soon forget...."

Belatedly, she thinks of Murasaki. But there was nothing there, right? No need to worry!

Murasaki feels something stirring inside her while she watches Lacey and Poxy dance. However, she pushes down those budding emotions. It would only be a distraction to her goal of restoring balance... Right?

Do not mind it. What's important is the tournament. Is it what it appears to be? Or is something more going on? She finds some quiet corner to meditate on this train of thought. She sinks into the Lotus position.