[EFFECT ROOM] The Red Thread of Not-Quite-Fate

[hyperhero]

[This room is definitely one that you wouldn't expect to find in a school, considering that it appears to be a gigantic cafe. Plush carpets, cushioned chairs, a whole bunch of fancy drinks and snacks...

Someone put a dating cafe in the school!]

((OOC: Here's how it works! The room is based off the idea of the red string of fate from Japanese/Chinese legend. On stepping into the room, your character will find a thin but completely unbreakable red string tied to their pinkie, with the other end tied to someone else who's come into the room. The red string persists even if you try to leave, and won't disappear until a full day later. The thread itself will lengthen or shorten depending on the proximity of the two characters, but it won't let you get more than a room's length away from each other.

Here's the complication: the Gods are kind of sort of drunk off their asses, which means that the red string could tie you to literally anyone. Your worst enemy, your brother, your father, Old Man Jenkins... it's one of those things where you're lucky if you get your soulmate! Furthermore, the strings can (by player choice) actually swap around repeatedly, so your character could end up tied to one person all day or have to deal with being tied to five different ones through it!

For characters who don't know about the legend, there's a paper pinned to the wall by the door that explains it (at least, the actual legend, not the drunk-gods part). While the paper can be ripped up, it'll just regenerate a minute or two later.

And yes I purposefully picked the most inappropriate journal for this))

Comments

[fluffydeathdealer]

[The lack of reaction astounds him. Even if Judai said he'd been in a game of darkness before, he has no Item to protect him. How, then, is he just tolerating this without a problem? The atmosphere alone should have earned more of a reaction than this.]

My turn! Draw card!

[Not terrible... He places a card face down.]

I'll set this reverse card! And also... I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World! I attack your facedown monster!

[hyperhero]

[Zure's attack flips Judai's monster... and Clayman catches the blade without a problem, booting the zombie in the face to make to back off.]

Sorry! You'll need someone tougher than that to get through Clayman!

[1800 ATK vs 2000 DEF. 200 damage to Bakura.]

Nice try, though!

[He grins, not even so much as sweating now.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Bakura grins back, though it's a more sharp grin.]

Too bad... turn end! Your turn, Judai!

[hyperhero]

[He doesn't seem to notice it, drawing another card and looking over what he has. Damn... not what he needed.]

I'll set this monster and end my turn there.

[Nothing to do but stall.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

My turn! Draw! I'll set this card in defense mode!

[His lips twitch into a smile.]

And...

[He plays a magic card.]

I activate Cursed Twin Dolls! Heh heh... Pick a box, Judai.

[hyperhero]

[Uh... what the hell kind of card is that?! Judai blinks, scratching his cheek and glancing between them. Uhhh...]

Sure?

[Winged Kuriboh peers from over Judai's shoulder and he glances to it, then looks back to the boxes.]

What do you think, partner? Which one?

[The spirit gives a worried chittering, looking between them and back to Judai, finally giving what sounds like a confirming noise.]

Got it! I'll take the black box!

[fluffydeathdealer]

Is that so...? This is one of my most precious cards... heh heh. Then I'll explain.

[The black box opens, Judai's half of the field becoming a mass of mist on the ground as well as the darkness above.]

The effect you choose is yours... the effect you didn't, becomes mine. The effect I gain is simply enough. The red box is a gift of life. Whenever a card is placed in either of our Graveyards, I'll gain 200 Life points.

But don't worry... Because you chose the box of 'death', you gained a good effect too! From now on, you have no graveyard, Judai Yuki! Your monsters can no longer pass on to the afterlife!

From now on, card effects can no longer kill your monsters, or remove your cards. Any monsters that die on your side will no longer be removed from the field. However, they will be unusable, save for counting as a monster you control. It's a curse of infinite existence...

Do you want me to explain a little more? Or should I show you the flaw in this curse by demonstration?

[hyperhero]

[Well that's... definitely an effect, yes it is. On the one hand, his monsters not being killed by effects and his cards not being able to be removed are good, but the fact that any he loses are unusable is very bad. Can he even revive them at all if they aren't gone?]

Uh. Explaining's good!

[Because for some reason he has a bad feeling about the whole thing.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

It's an interesting card, isn't it?

[A low chuckle.]

Without a graveyard to go to, the curse forces your dead monsters to stick around. While they cannot be targeted, attack or defend, they still count as monsters you control for any effects that require them. And since all of their effects are negated, and the effects of any spells, traps or card effects cannot target them, they're little more than dead weight. On top of that, since they no longer occupy a field zone, they'll be unable to protect you from direct attacks.

But, Judai... if you have the right cards, you can turn even that flaw into a victory. Consider it a challenge.

[hyperhero]

[The right cards, huh? Judai grins a little, the idea of a challenge smashing any of the confusion and unease he had at the idea of the card.]

Got it! I'll figure it out!

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Now, Judai Yuki... let me see how you handle this... With that thought, he returns the smile.]

Then, turn end!

[hyperhero]

My go!

[He draws, glancing over his hand. Let's see... Hmm, this'll do.]

First things first; I'll play E - Emergency Call!

[He grabs Burstinatrix from his deck, then looks over his hand. Yes... he can work with this, he thinks!]

Then, I'll summon Burstinatrix in attack mode!

[The HERO woman appears on the field in a flurry of fire, but even as she settles next to Clayman, her eyes turn to Bakura with a look that's very pointed.]

And now, my field card: Skyscraper!

[The field around them is turned into something out of a comic book, a Hero's city... though the area around them is twisting it to appear darker, more like a villain's city. Judai gives that a glance, scratching his neck then shaking his head.]

...Well! Anyway! Burstinatrix! Take down Zure!

[The woman leaps forward, flames gathering around her hand as she dives for the fiend.]

1/2

[fluffydeathdealer]

[The woman glowering at him was more than a little unnerving, and he shot back a suspicious look.]

...

What the hell is with that move?

[What even was that field card? ...huh? Looking at it... that woman's attack points just changed suddenly. But field cards don't usually have 'on attack' changes...

Shit.]

2/2

[fluffydeathdealer]

Gh...! [Even if it were only 400 life points difference, that sudden pain he'd ignored the first time came back harsher as the monster was destroyed. This pain...!]

Clever move, Judai...! Care to explain it for the rest of us?

[hyperhero]

Sure thing! It's because I've got Skyscraper on the field!

Whenever one of my Elemental HEROes attack, if their attack is less than the monster they're attacking, then the HERO gains 1000 attack points for that attack!

[Judai grins, Burstinatrix giving Bakura a somewhat more nasty version of it.]

So since Zure was at 1800 and Burstinatrix was at 1200, she got boosted to 2200 to take him down!

[fluffydeathdealer]

Skyscraper, huh... heh. Nice move, Judai! But that isn't going to be enough.

[LP: 3600]

[hyperhero]

Maybe not, but that's not the only card I count on!

[Winged Kuriboh makes a little sound at Bakura as if confirming his presence, hopping onto the Duel Disk to make his point. Judai doubletakes a bit, then laughs, using his hand to scratch the little furball.]

Whoa, hey! You're solid, partner!

[fluffydeathdealer]

...

It took you three turns to realize that...?

[hyperhero]

Ah-heh, well, I'm just used to him hanging around! Even if he gave me a hand last time, I didn't think he actually stayed real the entire time.

[fluffydeathdealer]

...That was likely not the same kind of dark game... Even if it was similar.

Look around, Judai-kun. This darkness is what exists in the world that your monsters reside in. As long as it exists, they'll remain solid.

[hyperhero]

Huh... Pretty neat!

[Yes, Bakura, Judai just called the Darkness Game "neat." You didn't hear incorrectly.

WK hops back onto Judai's shoulder and he glances down to his hand again.]

I'll end my turn there!

1/2

[fluffydeathdealer]

. . .

[Does this kid really exist? Is this all just a reality TV show?]

2/2

[fluffydeathdealer]

My turn! Draw!

[...damn. Not what he needs. But...]

I activate my reverse card! Zoma the Spirit!

[A monster appears in defense position on the field... "Zoma the Spirit [1800/500]". Now he has two monsters in defense position. One that Judai doesn't see... and the other...

This one.]

While still counting as a trap, this card creates a new wall monster to defend me.

[And if Judai kills it... Skyscraper's boosting will mean the damage done to him in return is a little higher. After all, Zoma the Spirit inflicts damage to the opponent equal to half of the atk of the monster that kills it.]

And...

[No point in wasting life points. Judai won't hold back on attacking him even if he thinks it's a trap. Heh. Less pain for him.]

I summon Doomcalibur Knight! [1900 ATK.] Since Skyscraper's effect only occurs during your attack, I'll take down Burstinatrix! Doomcalibur Knight, attack!

[hyperhero]

[Zoma... that's another one Judai hasn't seen. Why would Bakura play that face up? Hm...

Oh well. He'll figure it out later.]

I don't think so! I'll trigger my facedown card -- Negate Attack!

[The attack is stopped just short of Burstinatrix and she flashes a smile to Bakura, making an audible "tsk tsk tsk!" noise at him.]

[fluffydeathdealer]

[Hm. That woman... She's going to be trouble. But this isn't a serious game. He'll bite back his irritation for now.

The Knight tenses, looking back at Bakura before stepping back into place as the man nods.]

Too bad... Then I'll end my turn.