GENKI SILENT PROTAG. She'll probably strong-arm you into doing something ridiculous, and do so with the cutest smile on earth. She might also poke you with a naginata if you're a punk.
THE SASSY PROTAG. a phantom thief with a heart of gold. lives rebelliously and without regrets, though spends most of his time feigning a very unassuming persona. #nailedit
A true sunshine protagonist. Country bumpkin, slow on the uptake. Wants to be everyone's friend. Swordian Master of fire, incredibly hot-blooded. A GOOD BEAN. Please love him. He's my favorite and I am biased.
The original fabulous Tales science lady. Probably wants to dissect you pretty shamelessly. Loves and adores cute things. Inventor of the Swordians. Definitely the definition of Mad Scientist.
[said so matter-of-fact, like she's finally getting serious here.]
I can't really tell what it is, since I was inside and couldn't read the shift in the wind. Time traveler? Timeline jumper? Maybe from a whole different world entirely?
[she's looking him over even more closely than before.]
You're no simple cat burglar, though, wherever it is you might be from.
[. . . squints at her. time traveler? timeline jumper? those aren't terms with which he's familiar. but the part about being from another world entirely, at least, is. somewhat. the Metaverse counted as a completely different world than the real one, right?]
I think I'll keep the answer to that question to myself. For the mysteriousness factor.
[and he's back to meandering around and investigating the room]
And I'm not a cat burglar. [that's more Panther's shtick, but he doesn't say that aloud]
[come on, akira. you've seen movies and anime in your life, these aren't totally foreign concepts.
either way, investigating the room isn't going to net him much that's special. mostly, the room has cute clothes strewn about, each... labeled with a different name? camille berselius, est berselius, catherine berselius, karen berselius...
hm.
there are stuffed animals and plushies around the room, as well as what looks like a massive sword in a case with chains, a model ship, and other assorted things.
it's not that remarking, half very obviously a girl's living quarters, and the other half seems to be a small technological workspace. it's hardly a lab, she's gotta leave the base for that—but a place for her to tweak things and work on smaller ideas to brainstorm.]
Well, whether or not you answer, the more mysterious you are, the more likely you don't leave a warzone alive.
[...]
Though I don't think letting anyone kill you would be fun. I'm kind of interested in seeing what goes on in that stupid brain of yours.
[yes, but there's no such thing as REAL LIFE time travel!! . . . he thinks]
[actually, maybe he shouldn't think that. based on his past experiences, he'd totally be proven wrong]
[he lingers on the clothing, gaze immediately drawn towards the names. there's one constant-- Berselius-- so that's what he decides to use]
I'm grateful you at least think that much, Berselius-san.
[swivels to face her again, heels clicking behind him]
[. . .]
Sort of.
[SORT OF. . . because the way she says she wants to study his brain very closely reminds him a bit too much of a certain doctor, only. significantly less good for his health??? and also, because he thinks he managed to yoink her name off of some labeled clothing, he offers]
Well, at least you're smart enough to pick up on some context clues, Joker.
[yeah, obviously she's not actually buying that being his real name.]
But Berselius sounds so stuffy! Aniki might like that, but it makes me sound old and boring! Not cute at all!
So. Harold.
[harold sounds like an old man name normally, but somehow, it's cute when attached to her? it's fine. whatever. it's definitely not any of those other names, nor is it her real name, but she's not really trying to pretend it is.]
I really wonder how that brain of yours works that you don't just try to ask questions first instead of pretending like you've got a clue. That doesn't really make you look too smart, you know!
[not that he looked smart to her to begin with, given how he showed up here.]
I tend to think that people aren't so willing to answer questions asked by-- [gestures at himself. well, mostly his get up] -- someone as suspicious looking as me.
[there's a long pause as the pieces finally click into place, and she can probably practically see the gears in his mind whirling as they do so. I can't believe it's taken him this long to realize that this isn't the metaverse]
Ah.
Is there a chance I'm a byproduct of this testing?
I've been working on a special project, but that has nothing to do with the fabric of reality or time. Wherever you came from is some other sort of anomaly. A curious one, but out my hands!
....Even if I probably could reverse-engineer things to get you out of here.
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Ah. I see. I, too, understand everything now. What a helpful and informational explanation.
[. . . he's being sarcastic]
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[said so matter-of-fact, like she's finally getting serious here.]
I can't really tell what it is, since I was inside and couldn't read the shift in the wind. Time traveler? Timeline jumper? Maybe from a whole different world entirely?
[she's looking him over even more closely than before.]
You're no simple cat burglar, though, wherever it is you might be from.
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I think I'll keep the answer to that question to myself. For the mysteriousness factor.
[and he's back to meandering around and investigating the room]
And I'm not a cat burglar. [that's more Panther's shtick, but he doesn't say that aloud]
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either way, investigating the room isn't going to net him much that's special. mostly, the room has cute clothes strewn about, each... labeled with a different name? camille berselius, est berselius, catherine berselius, karen berselius...
hm.
there are stuffed animals and plushies around the room, as well as what looks like a massive sword in a case with chains, a model ship, and other assorted things.
it's not that remarking, half very obviously a girl's living quarters, and the other half seems to be a small technological workspace. it's hardly a lab, she's gotta leave the base for that—but a place for her to tweak things and work on smaller ideas to brainstorm.]
Well, whether or not you answer, the more mysterious you are, the more likely you don't leave a warzone alive.
[...]
Though I don't think letting anyone kill you would be fun. I'm kind of interested in seeing what goes on in that stupid brain of yours.
Very. Closely. ★
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[actually, maybe he shouldn't think that. based on his past experiences, he'd totally be proven wrong]
[he lingers on the clothing, gaze immediately drawn towards the names. there's one constant-- Berselius-- so that's what he decides to use]
I'm grateful you at least think that much, Berselius-san.
[swivels to face her again, heels clicking behind him]
[. . .]
Sort of.
[SORT OF. . . because the way she says she wants to study his brain very closely reminds him a bit too much of a certain doctor, only. significantly less good for his health??? and also, because he thinks he managed to yoink her name off of some labeled clothing, he offers]
Joker, by the way.
[code name only, though]
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[yeah, obviously she's not actually buying that being his real name.]
But Berselius sounds so stuffy! Aniki might like that, but it makes me sound old and boring! Not cute at all!
So. Harold.
[harold sounds like an old man name normally, but somehow, it's cute when attached to her? it's fine. whatever. it's definitely not any of those other names, nor is it her real name, but she's not really trying to pretend it is.]
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Oh, right. Of course. And it'd be a shame to use a name that doesn't live up to your cuteness.
[he says that lightly, slightly teasingly!! probably still trying to keep the atmosphere from getting too heavy.]
If you're Harold-san, then who are. . . [glances at the clothing] Camille? Est? Catherine? Karen?
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Sometimes it takes a while to decide on the name you like best.
[and in the end.]
Harold's definitely the one that works best for my purposes!
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I kind of like Camille. That would've been my runner up.
[JUST SAYING!!]
But I agree that Harold is hands down the best.
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[which is why it's the best.]
Do you even know why it's the best, or are you just looking to appease me so you get off lightly?
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[HE WAS DUBIOUS]
[also yeah, totally trying to appease her to get off lightly, that too]
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I really wonder how that brain of yours works that you don't just try to ask questions first instead of pretending like you've got a clue. That doesn't really make you look too smart, you know!
[not that he looked smart to her to begin with, given how he showed up here.]
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I tend to think that people aren't so willing to answer questions asked by-- [gestures at himself. well, mostly his get up] -- someone as suspicious looking as me.
[at least he admits to it]
But I'll take the bait. Why is "Harold" the best?
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[...
...
....
yeah, this is actual canon logic, this is canon and i'm not making it up, this is why she calls herself harold.]
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[SOUNDS LEGIT TO HIM]
Do you have a way of knowing whether that actually works or not?
[she. did mention time travel earlier, soooooo]
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[she has no idea yet. she'll find out in canon eventually, but that timeline doesn't work for the sake of this thread so ehhh.]
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. . . how are you going to test the hypothesis--
[wait]
[wait]
[WAIT]
[THINGS ARE SUDDENLY STARTING TO MAKE SENSE]
[there's a long pause as the pieces finally click into place, and she can probably practically see the gears in his mind whirling as they do so. I can't believe it's taken him this long to realize that this isn't the metaverse]
Ah.
Is there a chance I'm a byproduct of this testing?
[he asks. while pointing to himself]
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[yeah, she shoots that one down in a hurry.]
I've been working on a special project, but that has nothing to do with the fabric of reality or time. Wherever you came from is some other sort of anomaly. A curious one, but out my hands!
....Even if I probably could reverse-engineer things to get you out of here.
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I see.
[well. damn. he's a little more in trouble than he first thought he was, back when he was sure this was a Palace]
Not for free, I imagine.
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Nothing in life comes for free, right?
[though honestly, she actually isn't really looking for a direct exchange or free, even if she doesn't say as much.]
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It never has.
[a hum]
Do you have a price in mind?
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Of course I do! You could say I've come up with at least twelve different prices I could charge.
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I don't know if I should be concerned that you're already prepared for this or not.
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[she's just like this, it's fine.]
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Start with number one, and we can see how far down the list we get.
[HE'S GONNA VETO ANYTHING TOO CRAZY]
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