Become the Joshuca

[09:27] <castfromhp> Wherever Josh happens to be in the dream world when he thinks of heading to the arcade, he suddenly finds himself standing upon a metal DDR pad, appearing underneath his feet wherever he had happened to be. It quickly unfolds into a complete machine, the song select locked onto Fascination ~ Eternal Love Mix ~ on Challenge. 3x boost reverse hidden dark shuffle mods locked in too.
[09:28] <castfromhp> Across the screen along with the usual DDR UI are the words "Enter Password: AAA".
[09:29] <castfromhp> There also seems to be a keyboard wrapped up and tossed onto the side of the machine where people tend to put their coins. A matching blinking cursor on the screen indicates that a message can be typed in.
06[09:30] * Joshua played DDR once and only once, in Celadon city. Almost tore his ACL, so he's not a fan of these machines. He'll stick to the keyboard, thanks. "Was told to ask for Sylvie. Are you there?"
[09:32] <castfromhp> Blip blip text pops up on the bottom of the screen in response. "Heya password too hard for you? Do you have business? :D"
[09:33] <Joshua> "Sorta. Fia told me you're the one to ask about unown."
[09:34] <castfromhp> "Gotcha! You want someone else for that actually, but you're at the right place at least! It's been a while since she's had students."
[09:35] <Joshua> "So who should I be looking for?" this place looks...kinda empty, so Josh isn't sure what to expect.
[09:35] <castfromhp> Tiles begin popping up out of the ground all around the DDR machine, a checkerboard pattern of marble. As they spread, more arcade machines pop up in their wake until you are fully surrounded by a loud and glitzy arcade, with a ceiling so high you can't make out if it really ends or not.
[09:35] <castfromhp> A Xatu flies over and perches on the DDR machine in front of you. <Me!>
[09:36] <Joshua> "...oookay. A bit unorthodox, but whatever. So you know about these unown?"
[09:37] <Ariadne> <Yup! Strings of them make up everything you see in the dream world, like a programming language for the world.>
[09:38] <Ariadne> <Those aren't the ones you've probably seen though, but even those are made of tiny tiny Unown strings too! It's Unowns all the way down! S'okay if you think this is a tad confusing.>
[09:39] <Joshua> "As long as I don't have to have a dream inside a dream, I think I'll manage."
[09:41] <Ariadne> <Nothing like that, nope! Sylvie deals with the dream stuff, not me.> The Xatu flutters up and lands on your head. <My name's Ariadne, by the by. Please call me that. Anyhow whaddya want with the Unown? One steal your cupcake? They do that you know.>
[09:42] <Ariadne> <It's why you've gotta ward your cupcake boxes with Explosive Runes.>
[09:42] <Joshua> "I dunno...I saw one yesterday when we were dealing with a family of grues...and it just seemed..." The boy tries to find the right word. "I dunno, like there's something about it that makes you really think about how the world works."
[09:43] <Joshua> "...I'm probably not making any sense, am I Ariadne?"
[09:43] <Ariadne> <Oh I totally get that mhmm, because they ARE how the world works. At least this one! Well, you don't have to get it. S'okay to just stumble your way into it.>
[09:44] <Ariadne> <I can't teach you how to mess with the little strings of them that make up everything, but I can teach you about the big ones that you catch like any pokemon. They're almost as programmable if you're good enough!>
[09:45] <Joshua> "I dont like stumbling through stuff, so yeah. That'd be helpful."
[09:46] <Ariadne> <Well! S'okay. The first big question then is...What do you want your costume to be like?> Ariadne leans over and looks at you upside down.
[09:46] <Joshua> "...I don't do costumes. 'cept when there's mountains of candy involved."
[09:47] <Ariadne> <Oh C'MON if you're gonna have cool magical letter powers, you gotta have a costume too! At the very least, it helps a lot the first time trying to call them up! Like...> And the Xatu flies up into the air and does a spin, starting to glow.
[09:48] <Joshua> "I have a cape. It billows behind me dramatically when needed. There, costume done."
[09:49] <Ariadne> The glow starts from a spot on her neck, turning into a jeweled pendant. It spreads from there, wings turning into long sleeves, the head shaping to become humanoid, long red hair taking the place of the weird thing atop a Xatu's head. As the glow spreads further, legs and a short dress burst open too until you have a bona fide magical girl floating in front of you, a swirl of Unown at her side.
[09:49] <Ariadne> "MIRACLE HEART ETERNAL ARIADNE!" She yells.
[09:49] <Ariadne> "Oh right, the name's important too. Gotta pick a good name."
[09:50] <Joshua> "I'm sure I'll manage."
[09:50] <Ariadne> "What's your name?"
[09:50] <Joshua> "Joshua."
[09:51] <Ariadne> "How abouttttt..." Ariadne settles down and begins pacing back and forth over the arcade floor. "CUTIE BLOSSOM FANCY JOSHUA!" She yells it out loudly, and it echoes through the arcade.
[09:52] <Ariadne> With a swish of her oversized sleeves, a bunch of Unown flit up to spell out the name as well.
06[09:52] * Joshua rolls his eyes. "...I'll just stick to my idea. Part of having 'magical letter powers', as you put it, means being able to spring them on people when they don't expect it."
[09:54] <Ariadne> "What about SUPER MOON LYRICAL JOSHUA then?" Ariadne shrugs and swings her sleeves idly. "Well, I'm gonna tell you, the costume helps a lot the first time. You can hide it away in the closet of your mind later and pretend it's not there, maybe wash it away with a stiff drink, but if you wanna learn that's where you start!"
[09:55] <Joshua> "Got my costume right here." if the cape isn't enough, He'll imagine up a wizard hat or something.
06[09:57] * Ariadne shakes her head furiously. "Nuh uh, you aren't getting off that easy! Anyway, Unown Calling 101! Every Unown is raw meaning and dream stuff, bound by a location and a thought that defines it. Your first Calling is gonna be kinda rough, I'll have to warn you!"
[09:58] <Joshua> "Rougher than having to corral half a dozen wayward ghosts, all of which want to possess you if given half a chance?"
[09:59] <Ariadne> "You need just a spark of desperation to make it work!" A glint of something you can't quite make out flashes through Ariadne's eyes.
[10:00] <Joshua> "So, less rough than that. Got it. Should I try it now or something?"
[10:01] <Ariadne> "PRETTY BLOSSOM PASTEL DIMENSION GATE!" She yells out to the ceiling, spreading her arms wide around. A ring of Unown pops up around the two of you and you suddenly find yourself in a black void, little gleaming eyes peering at you from all directions. An odd light permeates the scene, allowing you to just see them all.
[10:03] <Ariadne> "S'okay, it won't be that bad, probably not that rough at all!" A swish of her sleeves reveals a twitching mass of the black letters in a ball in front of Ariadne. She jumps in the air and spin kicks it at Josh. "Here, take these! Gotta get used to working with them!"
[10:03] <Ariadne> "They're a loan, mind you. I'll need 'em back after this!"
[10:03] <Ariadne> You have: ERSDTUIOUHEICSNJLXA
[10:04] <Ariadne> And I hope you've played Bananagrams or something similar before. Scrabble is a given at least.
[10:04] <Ariadne> You'll be writing your words on this: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvVc8TD0Le3JdDkxLWZuWUs1eEJKTUkyYzdnZC1Hcmc
[10:05] <Joshua> "Any limitations on the words I can make?"
[10:05] <Ariadne> "Quick, think of something! A concept, an object, anything! The location's set already for your first calling - you just need a THOUGHT to power it! If you fail, you'll be trapped here forever and become an Unown, but s'okay that doesn't really happen to people. Anymore."
[10:06] <Ariadne> "You're gonna want words that help you in a fight. Remember, just the teensiest spark of desperation!" She shakes her sleeve until she manages to actually get it up enough to reveal her hand, making a gesture as if holding something very small.
06[10:06] * Joshua thinks of something simple. A schooldesk. ariadne's supposed to be a teacher, right?
[10:08] <Ariadne> With that, a large tide of Unown crashes down around you, little letters bouncing lightly off of you. They then retreat and coalesce in front of Ariadne, who stops to think with a hand on her chin. "Hrm...STAPLER!" As she speaks, 7 Unown flash the word, and the blob morphs into a large staple gun, seemingly made of rock and some gunk.
[10:08] <Ariadne> "Want some mood music too!" She snaps her fingers and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSJ-VMtVfkM begins to play from somewhere in the void. "Once you manage to finish the calling, you'll wake up! Good luck!"
[10:09] <Ariadne> Annnnd, rules for this combat. Each turn in addition to your trainer action, spell a word with the bananagram letters. Each you use will be refreshed into a new letter. Each word you spell will produce some in-battle effect for the turn.
[10:09] <Ariadne> Please please make suggestions on what kinds of things you want to have happen with these effects, because I will not always know what you want if you spell "pineapple" in this battle or something.
[10:10] <Ariadne> And with that...dex and speed please!
05[10:10] <Ariadne> And Botherer, give me OP for topic purposes?
[10:10] <Joshua> Dex 8, speed ??
[10:10] <Ariadne> (you'll want to use your own pokemon here)
03[10:10] * Caleb changes topic to 'This channel isn't registered, actually.'
[10:10] <Ariadne> (the Unown are JUST for spelling words)
[10:10] <Joshua> (oh)
06[10:11] * Joshua brings out Simon the rufflet and picks out some letters. "AXES".
[10:12] <Joshua> (speed 10)
[10:12] <Ariadne> 1d10 roll off for speed tie
[10:12] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, roll off for speed tie: 1 [1d10=1]
[10:12] <Ariadne> Well, we know how that's gonna go
[10:12] <Joshua> 1d10
[10:12] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, 1d10: 5 [1d10=5]
[10:13] <Ariadne> But anyway, you know how to play Bananagrams, right? It's single player scrabble without a board. So place down AXES on the doc somewhere, and when you want to add more words they have to branch off of that one.
[10:14] <Joshua> (hang on, gonna have to get on to the actual computer for this...)
[10:14] <Ariadne> AXES flashes into place on the ground beneath you, glowing an uncharacteristic silver for Unown: Simon's wings become sharpened like axe heads. +2 ATK combat stages!
[10:15] <Joshua> (brb)
[10:15] <Ariadne> (Alright)
[10:19] <Joshua> (okay. made a word, got combat stages, now what?)
[10:20] <Ariadne> These additional Unown float up into your blob after you lay down AXES: LDNT
[10:20] <Ariadne> The STAPLER gun rears up and fires off a large glowing staple at Josh!
03[10:20] * Ariadne changes topic to 'STAPLER > Joshua | Simon > STAPLER'
[10:20] <Ariadne> 1d20 power gem ac 2
[10:20] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, power gem ac 2: 5 [1d20=5]
[10:20] <Ariadne> 3d8+10+20 if it hits
[10:20] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, if it hits: 43 [3d8=1,8,4]
[10:21] <Ariadne> And...perception check
[10:21] <Joshua> okay yeah that kinda stings
[10:21] <Joshua> 1d20+5
[10:21] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, 1d20+5: 18 [1d20=13]
[10:21] <Ariadne> As you get hit, your cape flits into your line of sight. It's suddenly FABULOUS, with gold trimmings on the end and a big glowing circle of STARS in the middle.
[10:22] <Ariadne> And your trainer turn is up!
[10:22] <Joshua> (what is my target, ariadne?)
[10:23] <Ariadne> STAPLER
[10:23] <Ariadne> Well, it's a STAPLER right now anyway.
[10:23] <Joshua> staplers tend to be made of metal. so let's try burning the everloving crap out of it, see wht happens!
[10:23] <Joshua> 1d20 ember
[10:23] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, ember: 20 [1d20=20]
[10:24] <Ariadne> (I made it clear in the description it appeared to be rock and gunk. That change your move? I'll let you keep the roll)
[10:24] <Joshua> 2d12+12+9 burnt stapler
[10:24] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, burnt stapler: 38 [2d12=10,7]
[10:24] <Joshua> (rock/anything means it resists every move I have. so this is the best of a bad lot)
[10:25] <Ariadne> It's certainly burnt by the burst of fire, but it didn't seem to do much surface damage! Simon's up.
[10:26] <Joshua> Well, there's only so much a bird can do against rocks. so it'll spend its turn sharpening its claws to make the next hit actually count.
[10:26] <Ariadne> This time, the staple shot out is at the bird, and it seems to be made of water!
[10:26] <Ariadne> 1d20 hidden power ac 2
[10:26] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, hidden power ac 2: 12 [1d20=12]
[10:26] <Ariadne> 2d10+8+10
[10:26] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, 2d10+8+10: 34 [2d10=9,7]
[10:27] <Joshua> (phys or spec?)
[10:27] <Ariadne> physical, sorry
06[10:28] * Ariadne waves her sleeves around in the air and hops. "PUDDING!" Seven Unowns flash the word as well, and the STAPLER turns into a big cup of yellow pudding. It has eyes and short stubby arms. The liquid in it sloshes around, and it roots itself into the ground.
[10:28] <Ariadne> Place down another word!
03[10:28] * Ariadne changes topic to 'PUDDING > Joshua | Simon > PUDDING'
[10:29] <Joshua> Joshua looks at his letters - nothing's coming together! He does find one thing though - "STONES"
[10:31] <Ariadne> UEOBTI float to you as you set down the letters
[10:32] <Ariadne> Spiky rock boots pop up on your feet! They are also fabulous and intricately shaped with little floral carvings in the side. Josh gains resistance to anything Rock resists for the rest of the encounter. +5 to def and sp. def as well!
[10:32] <Ariadne> The pudding opens its mouth and a stream of bubbles comes out, aimed at Josh.
[10:32] <Ariadne> 1d20 bubblebeam
[10:32] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, bubblebeam: 12 [1d20=12]
[10:32] <Ariadne> 3d8+10+15 water damage
[10:32] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, water damage: 46 [3d8=8,6,7]
[10:34] <Joshua> The armor and such absorbs almost half the damage, leaving Joshua more wet than anything else.
[10:34] <Ariadne> "Not bad!" Ariadne claps, though it's muffled by the fact her sleeves completely cover her hands.
[10:35] <Ariadne> And it's Joshua's trainer turn of course.
[10:37] <Joshua> Well, it doesn't seem as hard anymore, so he'll try bashing it. twice, to make up for the lack of damage he dealt last time
[10:37] <Joshua> 2#1d20 double hit
[10:37] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, double hit: 7 [1d20=7], 6 [1d20=6]
[10:37] <Ariadne> Both hit!
[10:37] <Joshua> 2d12+12+17
[10:37] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, 2d12+12+17: 37 [2d12=4,4]
[10:38] <Ariadne> A pretty solid hit! The pudding is leaking now, and it has a sad face. :< Simon 's turn!
[10:39] <Joshua> Simon's gonna get it! and by get it, I mean he's going to slam past it with his axe wings!
[10:39] <Joshua> 1d20 wing attack
[10:39] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, wing attack: 16 [1d20=16]
[10:39] <Ariadne> hits!
[10:39] <Joshua> 2d10+8+31+3
[10:39] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, 2d10+8+31+3: 54 [2d10=5,7]
[10:40] <Joshua> oh wait, hone claws, so +5 more
[10:40] <Ariadne> The pudding cup is seriously losing structural integrity now.
[10:40] <Ariadne> But it lobs a big glob of pudding at Simon
[10:40] <Ariadne> 1d20 hidden power normal ac 2
[10:40] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, hidden power normal ac 2: 13 [1d20=13]
[10:40] <Ariadne> 3d8+10+10 normal damage
[10:40] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, normal damage: 33 [3d8=6,6,1]
[10:41] <Ariadne> physical
[10:41] <Joshua> sadly that's too much for Simon as it goes down.
[10:42] <Ariadne> "Close!" Ariadne claps again. "BEARCAR!" A glimmer of shadow and the Pudding melts down into what looks like a go-kart with a bear's face out front.
03[10:42] * Ariadne changes topic to 'BEARCAR > Joshua | Simon > BEARCAR'
[10:42] <Ariadne> And write your word!
[10:42] <Joshua> Donna comes out next, and she seems a little smarter. (Amnesiac raised intelligence by 1 since it's learned 3 moves) Joshua stares at the times before slinging out "CLOVERS". Preferably the four-leafed kind.
[10:44] <Ariadne> A large white jacket appears over your shirt, with really fancy looking buttons on it, more golden trim and even some golden tassels! To top it all off, a gilded four-leaf clover is pinned to your collar! You and your pokemon crit on 16-20 on all moves this round!
[10:44] <Ariadne> "See! Now that's a costume!"
[10:45] <Ariadne> Bearcar lunges forward to take a bite out of you
[10:45] <Ariadne> 1d20 bite
[10:45] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, bite: 1 [1d20=1]
[10:45] <Joshua> (So free razor gash this turn. not bad)
[10:45] <Ariadne> And misses because it is DAZZLED by your FABULOUS
[10:45] <Ariadne> Josh's turn
[10:46] <Ariadne> Oh and sending out a replacement pokemon is a free action
06[10:46] * Joshua will try a new trick, because it seems Aria doesn't know when to lay off the sparkles. So he'll plunge the morningstars into the ground, causing a swell of earth to reach out and slam into the go-kart
[10:46] <Joshua> 1d20 ancientpower
[10:46] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, ancientpower: 8 [1d20=8]
[10:47] <Ariadne> hits!
[10:47] <Joshua> 2d10+8+9 I thought the damage was a lot bigger...
[10:47] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, I thought the damage was a lot bigger...: 28 [2d10=1,10]
[10:47] <Ariadne> And replacement pokemon?
[10:47] <Joshua> donna, speed 2
03[10:48] * Ariadne changes topic to 'BEARCAR > Joshua | BEARCAR > Donna'
[10:48] <Ariadne> The Bearcar opens its mouth and shoots BEES at Donna
[10:48] <Ariadne> 1d20 hidden power bug ac 2
[10:48] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, hidden power bug ac 2: 15 [1d20=15]
[10:48] <Ariadne> 3d8+10+10
[10:48] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, 3d8+10+10: 37 [3d8=5,6,6]
[10:48] <Ariadne> still physical
[10:49] <Joshua> tink~! between the defense and resistance, that's nothing.
[10:50] <Joshua> donna forgets how to run into stuff, and uses the now-free memory space to soak the car!
[10:50] <Joshua> 1d20 bubble
[10:50] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, bubble: 3 [1d20=3]
[10:50] <Joshua> ...or not.
[10:50] <Ariadne> Misses sadly!
[10:50] <Joshua> (It is ac2 but yeah, not likely.)
[10:51] <Joshua> (new letters?)
[10:51] <Ariadne> "SCISSOR!" And that's exactly what the Bearcar changes itself into! Except it has a really creepy insect eye with the hinge is. Blades still look like shining metal.
[10:51] <Ariadne> NATSZOV
[10:51] <Ariadne> Spell your word!
[10:52] <Ariadne> *where the hinge is
[10:54] <Joshua> Josh is starting to see the words a bit more quickly, throwing "VISION" out there after a moment's wait.
[10:54] <Ariadne> A pair of steampunk goggles with glitter and sparkles settles on your face! You and your pokemon have compoundeyes for the rest of the encounter! That's 3 less to hit on all moves.
[10:54] <Ariadne> The scissors try to cut Josh
[10:54] <Ariadne> 1d20 metal claw ac 3
[10:54] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, metal claw ac 3: 14 [1d20=14]
[10:54] <Ariadne> 2d8+6+25 steel damage
[10:54] <DiceMaid-9001> Ariadne, steel damage: 44 [2d8=8,5]
[10:55] <Ariadne> Yes, these are the worst steampunk goggles ever.
[10:56] <Ariadne> Because who the fuck combines steampunk and glitter? MEGUCAS. NO SENSE OF RIGHT AND WRONG.
[10:57] <Ariadne> and Joshua's turn
[11:00] <Joshua> and that thing looks metal. and buggy. both of which burn easily.
03[11:00] * Ariadne changes topic to 'SCISSOR > Joshua | SCISSOR > Donna'
[11:00] <Joshua> 1d20 ember
[11:00] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, ember: 7 [1d20=7]
[11:00] <Ariadne> hits!
[11:01] <Joshua> 1d12+15
[11:01] <DiceMaid-9001> Joshua, 1d12+15: 18 [1d12=3]
[11:01] <Ariadne> ...and that is enough to cause this thing to burn into a sagging pile of letters! The letters all shoot straight into Josh's head. Everything goes black.
[11:02] <Ariadne> You wake up in your bed at home in Lavender Town. Sore as hell. It seems the injuries you sustained during the dream adventure have carried over.
[11:02] <Ariadne> There's a tugging aching pain at the front of your forehead.
[11:02] <Joshua> "oww..." Josh will see what the hell is wrong with his forehead.
[11:03] <Ariadne> Something starts to emerge from it, and if you gaze upwards, you see it's a shimmering metal eye. It fully emerges and you see the back side of it is wooden.
[11:03] <Ariadne> Choose a letter.
[11:04] <Joshua> (any letter, or just one left in my rack?)
[11:04] <Ariadne> Any letter.
[11:05] <Joshua> U, as POT and S are likely gonna show up farily often.
[11:06] <Ariadne> U Unown, level 14, steel/psychic type. Gains Role Play as a tutor move. Studious nature (base 7 in all stats).
[11:06] <Ariadne> ||~ GUIDING || Static || When the Pokemon with this Quality is sent out, choose an ally. As long as the Pokemon with this Quality is active and conscious, that ally requires 2 less to hit on the Accuracy Check. The targeted ally may be changed, but doing so consumes a Command Action. ||
[11:07] <Ariadne> You also find next to you on your bed a cravat. It is the same gaudy white with gold trimming. Trainer Accessory. Daily/15 use the move Flash as a free action. Daily use the move Taunt as a trainer action. In order to do so, the user must fingerwag at the target in a condescending manner.