Night in the Woods jump build, and also NOTHING OF INTEREST

[Night in the Woods]

Drawbacks: "Monstrous Existence", "I literally do not know this song!", Night is Strange (1300)

Drop-In, age 19

"Sometimes..." (Free)
“Just A Place For Weird Animals To Eat And Have Babies In” (Free)
"You've got a dark spot in you" (1100)
"It's a cold world..." (900)
"And I am showing you things" (600)
"I think I met God" (300)
Comfy Robes (Free)
Mace (Free)
Fiascola Machine (200)
Creepy Woods (0)

No. You get out of the way. This IS my path.

"No, but-"

Where is my Benefactor? This happens every time she outsources! I demand to see whatever passes for a travel agent, you extradimensional voyeurs!

The cat paused. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. "Interloper is making his own path. Interloper will be frustrated. Interloper will learn the Black Goat's emergence is-"

The black WHAT?!

>OMNISCIENT SOVEREIGN AUGUR
>SCANNING
>HOSTILE TARGET DETECTED: MANIFESTATION OF SHUB-NIGGURATH

KILL. DESTROY. EXTERMINATE.

"Interloper is advised not to-"

With a crack of thunder, my sight pierces through the edge of reality. There, the small town! Everyone, battle stations! Get everything up and ready to fire!

"Whazzat?"
"Shit. SHIT, he's coming in hot. The last time he was like this is when the Black Pharoah-everybody grab a weapon!"
"Aw yeah, no more holding back!"
"That's the LEAST of what we'll be doing but-Anon, please slow down!"

IT'S RIGHT THERE! THEY'RE LETTING IT IN.

The forest vaporises under the force of my glare. The cultists don't even register my voice until they drop dead. The air turns to salt, and my visage warps the fabric of space as I lean into the hole and-

-there's nothing.

There is no black goat to slay. There is no monstrous existence to unmake under the force of empyreal fire.

Just a few sad piles of ash.

(Cont'd)

The town heard thunder and storms, but freak weather happens and life goes on. It generally doesn't, however, leave behind rare crystal formations.

I spent days, ranting and raving at the cult compound ruins, kicking up dust clouds and spitting invective so vile it literally turns the air blue.

My companions tell me I need to chill out. I told them that SHUB-NIGGURATH WAS HERE, AND WE NEED TO KILL IT TO DEATH WITH VIOLENCE. To which most of them went off to chill, except for Del. She just said "not yet".

I was the moodiest, crankiest teenager in a class shared with Mae, so we ended up often sharing a desk, in affable ignorance of each other. Then we started sharing lunches. Then we started sharing homework, if only because nobody else wood. Unprompted, she started talking about her trouble at home to me one day.

I even helped write one of her indie band's songs. It's not like I had anything better to do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kYTe25h-bU

"And that's why everyone thinks I'm a freak" she finished lamely. "There's just no point, you know? You study all your life, and then you can't find your niche. And they forget about you. Everyone does, eventually"

I blink. That's not right. There's always a point.

"No shit? How's that work?"

Even if it's all in your head. Even if you're the only. Real. Thing. In an uncaring, endless chaos. The secret is to define yourself, know who you are-and stop at NOTHING to embody it. Achievement doesn't matter, being YOU is a victory. That's how a Primor-I mean, that's how I think God gets up every morning to do what He does.

She laughs at that. "So like, be yourself? I used to think it was mysterious ways"

Don't you get it? If you chase what you're good at, and nobody can take that away from you.

Then by definition, you /are/ the mysterious way.

(Cont'd)

"I wish I had your confidence sometimes-and your grades. It's a nice thought, but I mean-look at me. What am I good at?"

Well, let's see. You're passionate, you've clearly got a lot of material to write about and you don't give a crap.

"You telling me to do crimes?"

I'm telling you, that rock stars have been made from less. And that I can get that podunk little band of yours a paying audience in-you free next Thursday? Wednesday? Tommorow? Name a date, I can hook your crew up.

"I don't know, maybe I like breaking stuff way more..."

All part of the performance!

She cocks an eyebrow. "Let's say I take you up on that offer. While I'm wishing for things that could never happen, what about magic? Just, poof away this town"

Sure! "Sure? Uh, next Thursday then" She laughs at that, and I laugh, and we fistbump. As we do, I grant her witchcraft.

The band finds itself performing in a spiffy auditorium built on the ashes of the cult compound-with a splendid view of the rainbow-on-matte-black crystals generated by my little tantrum. It also draws quite the crowd; even if there were no Witch of Progression playing bass, it's a bonafide national wonder. I can practically taste the tension between the troubled couple, the responsible cynic-and my unknowing apprentice, when more than half the town's new tourism's coming to watch them.

Then she strums-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt5i6g1WsTo

"I don't even know what to say!" Mae said after, her bandmates hashing out their next gig. "I don't know how you did it, and I don't know if I want to keep at it, but. Seriously. I needed that"

What did I tell you? You got a dream, you can always work at it when you're feeling down.

"Dreams" she's breathing heavily, still riding the adrenaline dump. "I've never had much luck with dreams. Ugh, sorry I need to sit down for a second-"

(Cont'd)

My only real new friend and closest lead in this podunk town passes out from sheer excitement. Nothing for it. After taking her to the nearest medical ward, I spend an hour or so writing a get well soon card.

The lights flickered.

>HOSTILE TARGET DETECTED

Faster than thought, I dive into the world of dreams. Of course. OF COURSE, the damned thing could only touch this world from somewhere that's already practically an edge. Amidst the dark buildings, others emerge. Other horrors from between the worlds, drawn by one girl's madness.

The massive pale louse rears back, taller than worlds. It's brother edges nervously beside it. They're here. On the edge of the world, their gaze crawls upon me. Typical, I look for quarry and find VARMINTS.

"Now, you are here. You are, and then you are not. And we wonder why. We watch, because you fill the hole in the universe with your shadow. Because you remember the universe, and it remembers you. Because you choose". If I see that cat ONE MORE TIME, I swear I'll smack it in it's cosmic muzzle. "That will not be happening" it hurridly adds. "The one you call Benefactor speaks of you. Why? The sky opened to you long ago. Why do you choose what you choose?"

A creature like you could never understand that. The Goat. I smelled it here, where is it?

Mae walks up the hill. She stares up with wonder, terror-and recognition, though I am far from anything mammal in this world. Lamely, she waves up at me. I wave back.

The cat never moves. But space seems to draw nearer between us, Adorjan heeding my summons to form a protective red air current. "She also says you once broke chains with song and dance". The defeated serpent sways, the man in the clouds parts them. "Sing for us. Dance for us. Show us"

Yes, sing for us! agreed Adorjan. This is the world of dreams, call out and your prey will answer.

I turn a defiant look upon the things beyond. Cold longing behind their jaded visages. It's just another podunk town.

You understand that right, Mae?

"I understand this is a dream" She comes to my side, hesitantly. "And that I should be more scared than I am but...you'e here"

Alright. I could play the Music With Rocks In for this lot, or Zen-Mu's greatest hits. But I think it would be wasted on them. I think what we've got's already more than they deserve. Whaddya say, mind fetching your bass? You've got one more hit to debut, or so I've heard. In a burst of cold fire, the Hellstar appears in my hand.

"Hell yeah". Her own guitar appears in her empty hand, and I'm prouder than i expected.

And then, we play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wKTgGSc5oE&t=10s

Not for long. Not well-rehearsed, Adorjan of all people's on "lyrics". That's not how mortals live their lives. But we play with passion, with truth that makes gods from beyond shiver with wonder. We play the song of mortality, and it shines like a gold heron's wings. Blinding pretender gods. Helplessly moving them to clumsy dances, around the border of reality. And finally revealing that damned goat.

Del has her reigns around it, even as the thing bucks and growls. The others watch, transfixed, as Makoto and Fair Eyes hit it from the flank, bringing it low for Brigid's flaming sword to cleave it's belly. The Goat thrashes and bellows, but it's peers only part before it; Mae hasn't stopped strumming, improvising even as I riff on her bars, advancing on my prey. As Zatanna's shackles wring it's neck, the magician lets fly the chain around her arm to snap around the Goat's throat. Only when Cloud's unlight deafens it and Gorgon's transformed fangs bite deep, does Adorjan propel Lilith to it's spine. The Goat is tenacious, kicking and raging even as moonsilver talons rake it, and cutting wind sears it's wounds.

Mae's finally stopped playing. She looks into the Goat's eyes, and asks "Why?". She intuitively realises what creature took notice of her mind, ruined her life. And yet the Goat roars and thrashes, desperate as any living beast.

"Why?" echoed the cat. "This means nothing. You attack a shadow, but that which casts it is beyond us all"

Because, I told her, the truly monstrous existence is that which denies meaning in others. Every moment you live. Every moment you strive. Is a victory against these abominations.

And then, I smashed the Goat's face in with my guitar.

Weeks later, Mae transfered to a musical theory course in between playing for the band. Which was already more than covering it's members' tuition fees. It's not in my nature to drift apart, but we had less time to see each other. A lot of people thought we'd dated, and it became a running joke to keep them guessing. She wrote often though, mainly about all the people she met as a sudden pillar of the community. There was talk of going on a countrywide tour, now that several PMCs were eying all kinds of revolutionary uses for the local crystal formations, but the band itself was torn on whether or not to leave.

We didn't even get to say a proper goodbye. It was alright though, by then she'd figured out who was signing the checks for her record label. The day before she left, I found an autographed CD in my dorm.

"Thanks for everything. See you on the other side" it read.

[Sekai Oni]

Drawbacks: Imprisoned, Maze Target, Manifestation of Lust, War Addict (1800)

Zera

Alice, age 11

Life Points (Free)
Materialisation (Free)
Manifestation (Free)
Spirit Form (Free)
World Devils (Free)
Bad Language (Free)
Totally Alice (Free)
Imaginary Reality (1600)
Chesire Devil (1400)
The Light (1100)
Anomaly (800)
King (0)
The Key Words (Free)

Strange Body (Free)
Flight (Free)
Synchronisation (200)
Possession (0)

...

. . .

Nothing happened, for two straight years. I was mysteriously preoccupied.

My fellow Chesires couldn't find me, but detected some mysterious space-time anomalies. People all over the world in both universes apparently had weird dreams.

But nothing.

HAPPENED. Incidentally most of my companions and old friends are currently unable to walk! We all uh, caught the interdimensional space fever. Yeah, that's it.

Nasty stuff.

The point is when I stumbled unsteadily into the secret Chesire headquarters where we plan the total destruction of the universe that betrayed us or whatever ohhhhhhh shit. All eyes are on me as I vomit on a nearby potted plant.

ANYWAY, as I was SAYING: Good news everyone! I've found a radical new power source to defeat Maze with!

Several of the assembled are giving me strange looks. "Does this have anything to do with the hyperparasitic World Devils?"

Oh...shit. The what nows?

"We've detected several very powerful World Devils headed for where you were last seen. Every time we got there we'd find them pulverised, and monsters that look like smaller World Devils crawling out of their carcass. Which would promptly invade Maze. The worst part is, they all looked very, very happy at the moment of death". The speaker shuddered. "Too happy"

Oh ye gods, I'm never going to live this one down.

(Cont'd)

But, anyway. It's love guys. I've got a...couple of suppliers, and we can nip this fucker in the bud if we move fast. I gestured vaguely at my own power cube I made through REASONS, which promptly shattered the measuring equipment. Several of them are rapidly edging towards door, but the rest have the familiar gleam of dedicated terorrists with access to a nuke.

I could really use some help for this one. Beatrice. Beaaaatrice c'mon, wake up sleepyhead. And please dry off. "Mmnnnrghanything you say~". Berith followed suite, unsteadily floating in with an unconscious Hope chained at the leg.

Five minutes to design a puzzle-labyrinth with a Games of Divinity GO console hidden within, and fling it straight for the King's tower.

Five more hours until he grew bored enough to venture into it. Scouts reported he seemed awfully dazed and tired for some reason.

Five days spent seeding that world with Greater Grails, each impr-CONTAINING my mystic power. And calling an unsteady Madoka to sleepily notch aim some cosmic arrows at them. This universe has more than earned death, but when I told my judgement to the King's subjects there was something like relief on their faces.

Five subjective seconds as I rebuilt it free from mutual annihilation, sealing it against Zera into one. Souls prepared to be reborn dance around me like fireflies. Like hungover office workers, my companions sleepily joined me in reshaping matter and energy.

(Cont'd)

Everyone was rather embarrassed and generally not chatty. Which was fine by me.

When I myself went into the puzzle-maze, I found the bigger-on-the-inside walls shattered in a straight line. The King was silently hammering at the controls.

All of this suffering. All of this horror, because someone couldn't compartmentalise fun and work. I'd know about that struggle, but also the stakes.

A glaive of black, purple, silver and red silently appears on the launcher upon my wrist. I am in five strides from his neck (red truth). He hasn't looked up (red truth). This is pathetic, he's as much a slave to his appetites as his subjects (red truth).

When my weapon fired, he calmly turned around and caught it in his hands.

"I can't hear the darkness anymore. Did you make it go away?"

Indeed. Do we fight now?

"Must we? Today was fun, really fun, so fun I could laugh until I cry. Fighting you, I think...would be less fun" The smile fades, for a split second. "I felt everything your, ahaha, friends felt"

Wait, everything?!

"Everything~"

Well, this is awkward.

"And you, you hear the darkness too don't you?"

I do. Let me tell you from personal experience: That shit gets old, real quick.

"Yes! Yes, you understand too! Tell me, this weapon that feels like the darkness. If it had hit...?"

Then you would have been shorn away from the list of things that exist. You would be unmade from start to finish, nothing more than a bad memory.

"Haha, you really do know how to party!" He stared down, at his bloody fingers where the glaive ripped into him. "Yes. Yes, maybe I could still get out of this. But some peace and quiet after today, after finally feeling /real/ fun"

"I think that would be quite fun too"

And grinning, he ran it through himself. "Goodbye for now! I h-hope we can play together again...some...day..."