Session Start: Sat Sep 09 16:14:57 2006 (H-1) [Thursday, April 7, 2039] [late morning, on the steps of the Palace] With the team officially pulled off the case, everyone finally got a good night of sleep. There was a brief morning meeting where Royal took a lot of notes, but then it was off to the Palace for the full session of the House of Ladies that has been called. [session start] Wheee! * LadySnow skips up the steps excitedly. * LadyKiss smiles following slow, much more calmly and seductively walking up the steps. "Snow, may I remind you we are to be representatives today? We should behave ourselves." * LadyBobOmb smiles at Chi's exuberance. ^^ There are dozens - maybe hundreds - of MG's loitering around the steps and entrance of the Palace this morning. They move to and fro in tight knots of conversation, some serious, some not. I am behaving! This, for Snow, is behaving. Trust me. * LadyBobOmb is in a smart-looking dress-and-suit for the occasion. She's glancing down at Glitch every so often as she follows along. A few Lords stick out amidst the Ladies, the unmarried ones drawing considerable audiences. * LadySnow sticks out her tongue at Kiss before going off to converse with various Ladies, trying to find he rare ones so they can sign her cards that she brought with her. A small pack begins to trail behind Lord Fate, trying to figure out who the new cutie is. * LadyTwister sticks close to Chi, making sure she's on her Ps and Qs the entire time... and doesn't get too crazed abut autograph-seeking. * LadySnow looks at Mari. "Isn't this so so exciting?" I suppose you could call it that, although we might have to beat a few Ladies off of Fate soon. Oh let him enjoy himself! * LordFate yawns extravagantly, bags prominently under his eyes. He's, erm, got his PDA out and seems to be staring off into space. Is he playing a videogame? I'm checking into something regarding that. * LadyDestiny walks besides Lord Fate, shooting glares at any Lady that seems to be paying too much attention to him. Trust me, I am! But if they get too clingy, we need to assert that Fate belongs to us. * LadyKiss smiles and moves up on the other side of Lord Fate and slips an arm around his. "So, this is your first time at the House of Ladies?" Does he? *blushes a bit* * PrincessRoyal shakes her head and looks around. About a third of the MG's are in costume, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to who wears what, except maybe it's the Ladies with sillier costumes that don't want to wear them. Of course he does, girl. Better he belong to us than no one. * LadySnow is of course in hers. * LadyTwister grins at Snow... and, for the record, is in full MG wear. * LordFate blinks, and his eyes focus again. "It is, Lady Kiss. And you?" * LadySnow continues hunting down the few rare autographs she has yet to obtain for her collection. The group makes it up the steps, and enters the front doors to the convention-center-like building. I've been here a couple times, you know how it is, business before pleasure. * LadyTwister continues to hang close to Snow. * LordFate and his sister are definitely in their uniforms - white hair, white clothes, they look very much the twins they are. Ooh let's see if we can get seats in the front! Perhaps business need not preclude pleasure, even here. * LadySnow rushes inside, trying to get ahead of the crowd. * LadyDestiny just generally seems nonplussed about the attention that Fate is drawing to himself by... being himself. "I doubt hearing the speeches will be a problem no matter where we sit. I'd rather sit in the back than have my back to everyone." Damn girl, slow down! * LadyKiss smiles a bit. "Ah, almost reading my mind Lord Fate. Tell me, what do you think of the issues you've heard about?" * LadyBobOmb glances down at her PDA, pulling up the guest list, agenda, seating, etc. You run faster! * LadyTwister keeps up the pace, and tries to get a grip on Snow to slow her the hell down some. * PrincessRoyal isn't in full uniform as far as you can tell, though she's wearing a highly-stylized dress jacket not recognizable as official SDF uniform wear; it's black trimmed in red with a high collar, elongated lapels, flared sleeves slashed to mid-forearm, a slightly-cinched waist and a slash- cut flare hem that goes down to her upper thighs. The kanji for "Royal" is on the left breast pocket, picked out in white and embroidered with gold. Under that, everything looks regulation. That's it, I'm cutting your candy supply in half. Careful, Mari, you could lose an arm that way. *winks* * PrincessRoyal waves at some MGs she recognizes/who recognize her. She adds a smile to a few of those waves. SDF troopers in dress browns are watching the entrance and interior of the building. The gaggle of MG's moves slowly to the bank of elevators on the left of the entrance hall. * LadyDestiny pulls out the business section of the Tokyo Times and seems to be rolling it up. After rolling it up, she puts it away, just in case she should need it. I'm a big girl and you can't tell me what to eat! *sticks her tongue at Mari* Bah! You know I can, and I will... you need to ratchet it down a little, though, seriously. You'll run yourself ragged at this rate. * LordFate pulls a dripping wet and cold bottle of code red mountain dew out of ... somewhere, and a bottle of pills, which he takes two of and swallows with a gulp from the drink. * LadySnow expertly weaves her way through the crowd like she's done this several times before. I'm fine! * LadyTwister expertly tries not to lose Snow as she weavers through the crowd, and looks like she's had to do this before. "Yeah, yeah." * LadyKiss is in a wonderful silver dress that looks a bit "prom-ish" but never the less clings and accents her everything, it's thin, with a slit up on one side. On her head is a ridiculous princess cone hat with a long white scarf hanging off the top. "Surely, it's not going to be so boring you need those Lord Fate." * LadySnow hops into a crowded elevator just before the doors close and hits the button. * LordFate smiles down at the lovely lady on his arm. "I have no doubt it will be. But that's not what those are for. That's what Imperial Tetris Shootout Four is for." He holds up his PDA. It would be nice if you'd pay attention during the speech. We're here making history and you're trying to make the high score. * Lieutenant steps away from the wall and approaches the team as they walk by. He salutes Royal, then turns to Destiny and Fate. "Sir, Ma'am, I have instructions to escort you to an audience before you are introduced." * LadyTwister hits the elevator door with her face. "Ow. That girl." If you get bored of that, there's some fascinating articles about EI research and modification you might be interested in that I can forward to you. ^^ * LadyKiss laughs. "Oh let the Lord have his fun, I'm sure I can summarize what went on and advise him which way to vote." * PrincessRoyal returns the salute and nods. "Thank you, Lieutenant." She waves Destiny and Fate on. "We'll see you two later, then." ...oh? Very well, sir. *gently disengages from Kiss, his PDA and soda vanishing* * LadyDestiny turns to the lieutenant. "Lead on, then." * LadyTwister growls, and eventually finds her way to Snow, as she's got a pretty good idea where the spaz sits. * Lieutenant heads away towards a service hallway, the brother and sister in tow. * LadyKiss gives an overly dramatic sigh as she lets Lord Fate go and breaks off to find Snow. And I'm not trying for the high score; VXRmnDDC700 holds waaay too much a lead on the scoreboard, Sis. It's just a good... *the rest is lost to crowd noise as the twins are led away* Lady BobOmb squints at something on her PDA, then unexpectedly finds herself looking at the world upside down as someone casually picks her up by the ankle. Hi, Mina! ...Leena. Hi. * LadyKiss tries to elbow her way through to find her Snow, glancing this way and that. * LadyTwister is muttering something about steak and eggs as she moseys on along in her quest to locate Chi. ...mind putting my team member rightwise-up? She tends to think better that way. * LadyBobOmb , for her part, reaches for a non-existent gun as she's picked up, and then relaxes at the voice. Oh, I just wanted to borrow her for a second. Do you mind? Uh, guess not, as long as you're not gonna keep her like that the entire time. Oh, I promise I won't. Okay then. ... hello, Mallet-sama. Goodbye, Royal-sama. ^^ * PrincessRoyal nods, upside-downly, to Bob-Omb. "We'll see you later, then." * LadyKiss grins as she spots the cowboy hat and moves that way, the princess hat poke up above the crowd, its silver shining in the sun. * LadySnow rides the elevator all the way down, making idle chatter with the various Ladies on board. * PrincessMallet tosses her passenger into the air with a half flip to land her on her feet, and walks after her to the edge of the crowd. As Snow wriggles her way through the crowd, a large warm hand snags her by the shoulder. * LadySnow eeps! And turns. "Mari?" Not quite. How are you, Ichigo? Uncle! I swear, she normally goes this way! MEH! * LadySnow gives him the biggest tightest hug she can muster! I'm super! * LadyTwister is trudging along, and occasionally apologizing when she bumps into someone who looks to be her senior... which is basically everyone there. * LadyKiss grins more as she makes her way up to twister and taps her arm. "Where is that delightful Snow? I assume you shall be sitting near her too?" * DukeCape isn't crushed, and gives her a good hug back. "I've got a room we can talk in for a minute or two, if you don't mind..." Sure! It feels like forever since we last got to see each other. Someone needs to keep an eye on that frozen hurricane... but for the life of me, I can't pin her down this time. She's usually... beh, I guess she'll be alright this time. Maybe. We should all go out to dinner together! I can call Daddy and have him bring my sisters and we can all meet somewhere after the meeting... I'm sure she'll be okay. *She doesn't sound so sure.* * DukeCape turns away from the rough-hewn stone doors of the House of Ladies chamber, and leads Snow off through a couple sets of doors to a quiet lounge chamber. * LadySnow looks around the chamber trying to recall if she's ever been here before. You're awfully busy right now, dear. I doubt you would have time. I can always make the time! Royal-sama is real super nice. I'm sure she'd say okay. Do you think she really can arrange that? I got the impression that Duchess Sakura is more responsible for your day-to-day schedule. I can talk to her right now if you like! She's here with us. * LadySnow pulls out her cell phone. * DukeCape takes her cell phone away. "No, not now." Are you enjoying your new job? Oh okay... Oh it's lots of fun! We get to talk to all sorts of people and uh... *pauses for a moment, blinking* Are you supposed to know about it? Dear child, I know all about the Hunters. * DukeCape shrugs. "I'm a Duke. It's my business to know these things." Oh. Okay. Well we're real close to figuring out who's behind the thing. We're taking a break now though. That's why I'm sure I could get the time off. Oh? You sort of figured it out so you decided to take some time off? Well Sakura suggested we should. Something about we haven't been properly broken in yet or something like that. ...uhm. I caught wind of some of your inquiries... were you really suspecting Princess Flare? Well she did come up as a match on some searches I was doing. Everyone said she's dead though... * DukeCape looks deadly serious for a moment. "Yeah, that's what we were told... but you know, the last time I saw her, all those years ago, she was really, really mad." Oh? Did something happen? This was right before the Ningyo Treaty was signed, and she had led the opposition in the House against it. * DukeCape grins. "A lot of us were really angry at the Queen about that. It turned out right in the end, though." But Flare, she was really hacked off. I imagine literally getting nuked would make you somewhat hostile to the ones that pushed the button. * LadySnow frowns. "But you don't think she's still alive do you?" * DukeCape looks around, then leans forward. Nobody knows how she died. No one. She's just listed as dead. * LadySnow gasps. "But but but... why?" The only person I haven't gotten a straight answer out of is Duchess Sakura. And I don't know. Who listed her? But I do know that the Ningyo are saying it was someone with Earth Magic that attacked you... and you were looking up her name... Her name just came up when I was doing a search for whose powers might've done the attack... I didn't mean to find something I wasn't supposed to... Very interesting, Lady Snow. Very interesting indeed. But anyway, you say that General Terazaki really is running the show? Should I forget I saw anything? No, don't forget. It might be very important. Um, well she's in charge of the team. I guess she answers to Sakura... Has she directed the investigation well? Yeah, we pretty much go where she tells us to. But she lets us suggest things as well... Did she have that prisoner shot? Which prisoner? The one that was treated for a gunshot wound AFTER being interrogated. Oh um... uh... *blushes and looks down and says in a rather sheepish voice* I did that... That's going to cause us no end of - what? She ordered you to, right? No! She just told me to hit him... * DukeCape looks aghast. But he was being a huge butthead and I don't hit very hard and I-- I... I got a little excited... I'm so so sorry. Is it really a bad thing? * LadySnow genuinely shakes with fear as she asks that. Ichigo... you're a Lady, remember that. You're here to protect the humans, not see how close you can come to killing them. But but he wasn't talking and on TV they do that sort of thing all the time... Life isn't like TV. I'm afraid you're in the place where you'll find that out the very quickest. What did the General tell you afterwards? * LadySnow frowns and swallows. "I promised I wouldn't ever do it again... I really really won't. I'm sorry..." Good. ... Are you mad at me? ...I'm mad at someone. You should never have had the thought that shooting him was acceptable. That's a failure in your training. * LadySnow reaches up and grasps his sleeve. "Please don't be mad at Royal or Sakura or anyone. It was all my fault. Really. I'm sorry." * DukeCape sits back in a padded chair. "Are you happy with what you're doing now?" * LadySnow nods solemnly. "I'm happy to serve the Queen in whatever way I can." * DukeCape begins to say something, then pauses. "In the end, that's what really matters, I guess. I need to make some phone calls, I think - you can go back to your friends..." Okay... Will you come to dinner with us? I'll do my best to talk Royal-sama into letting me go, I promise. Not today - the cabinet is going to have a meeting after the Queen's address. I'll try to stay in better touch with you, though. Promise? Oh, yes. * LadySnow brightens. "Yay!" * DukeCape pats her on the head. "Go enjoy the speech." I will! ... All the seats in the front are probably filled up by now though... * DukeCape picks up a phone as Snow scurries away. * LadySnow scurries! Upstairs, Leena has Kasumi in a secluded corner of the entryway. How's it going, kiddo? Acceptable. ^^ On H-1, all that means is not-dead. * LadyBobOmb blinks. "The same answer applies to that situation as well." ^^ Come on, how's it going? Have you caught those murdering creeps yet? Roughed them up a bit? Shot them slightly? If you want I can bring a tank over and I can roll over their toes... * LadyBobOmb pauses, thinking. "Mallet-sama, it does - *giggle* defeat the point of being in that group if I talk about it to all of my friends." We've... made progress, but nothing substantial yet. Aw, come on. It's not like I'm one of the masses who don't understand what H-1 is. You did help for part of it, though. ^^ I did? * LadyBobOmb nods. "While you were playing hockey, over the television. Helped as a distraction." ^^ ...bah. That doesn't count. You should be able to make your own distractions. Is Mina as good at leading as I think she would be? * LadyBobOmb nods. "She's very good at it." She was always sort of second or third in charge in the old days, even though there was no official chain of command after Maya... She was always mad at me, too. ;_; * PrincessMallet sticks out her tongue in Royal's general direction. "She was probably justified most of the time, but still." * LadyBobOmb giggles. "There's a teammate that reminds me of you. She's very cute." * PrincessMallet taps Kasumi on the nose. "Just remember, when things get tough, being crazy scares the bad guys." * LadyBobOmb wrinkles her nose, and nods. "Taking the offensive not just in actions, but in words, thought, spirit, and attitude." ^^ Yes, but not that seriously. Sorry. ^^; * PrincessMallet works a crick out of her spine. "Tell General Princess Royal Terazaki Smarty-pants that I want back on the team, if things are getting that interesting. I haven't been able to persuade Sakura yet, but if she asks nicely..." I'll be sure to pass that on. ^^ And remember to call me if you need tanks! You'll always be the first person I call about that, Mallet-sama. ^^ Right, right... * PrincessMallet ambles away back to the thinning crowd of MG's. * LadyBobOmb waves good bye with a cheerful smile, and goes back to locating down the Lady she was looking for before. * Lieutenant takes his charges back into the service hallways, to a shiny but small elevator. She's waiting for us in the House leadership chamber. * LordFate raises an eyebrow. He manages to look very British doing so. If I knew I would be meeting anyone important, I would have dressed up. The elevator goes down - it's hard to gauge the speed, but you suspect it's at least twenty stories. * LordFate eyes his sister's elegant dress that is part of her uniform, and smile sardonically. So, can you tell us who we are going to be meeting with, or must that be a surprise? The doors open and you can hear the milling crowd in front of the House around a corner. The three of you head the other direction, though, and enter a lavishly-appointed parlor. * Lieutenant salutes, hard. * TheQueen looks up from a desk where she is going over a prepared speech. My Lord, My Lady. Please come in. Sit down. * LordFate stifles a yawn through closed lips, and offers a quiet smile. And a small, European-style bow. "Thank you, Your Majesty." He leads his sister over to a pair of chairs, where they sit down simultaneously. * LadyDestiny bows before the queen and then accepts Lord Fate's lead over to the chairs. * TheQueen closes her file, and smiles graciously. "Welcome to Tokyo Earth." * LordFate glances sidelong at his sister, before turning his undivided, but gentlemanly, attention on their royal host. I try to have a conversation with all of the MG's that arrive and join our city, but unfortunately my schedule and the emergency you've been dealing with made that impossible before now... and since you're to be introduced to the House in a few minutes, I figured we should fit it in. That would seem like a good idea. Though I was unaware we were being formally...introduced...today. * TheQueen stands up and moves around the desk, leaning back against it. She's in a brown business suit, though one that is tailored to emphasize her curves a little. Seems like a good time. There's a nice, large audience out there today. It's a tradition. And it's also a tradition not to tell the introduce, though I'm not certain where that started. Mayuki has a nasty sense of humor sometimes. * LordFate takes out his soda again, and takes a long gulp. Seemingly without realizing it, since he pauses midway through, and hastily puts it away again. "Mayuki"? I do not believe we've been introduced to her, either, Your Majesty. But anyway. Tell me why. * LordFate looks to his sister. * LordFate looks back. "Why what?" Why what indeed? Why are you here? Why did you come? It doesn't need to be a noble reason - despite the cartoons, that doesn't truly matter in the Hierarchy. But I have to know the truth. Every now and again, we feel little urges. Little mental pushes, if you may, that tell us what we should do. I believe some people call them hunches, I think. Anyway, we had one of these little mental urges to come to Tokyo Earth from our home in Britain. After arriving here and seeing the sights, it became evident to us that we should join this organization due to our unique abilities. Which is how -many- of our vacations wind up. I suppose what my sister is more eloquently trying to say is, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." * TheQueen nods. "And now that you've arrived, now that you've joined, do you have any goals?" * LordFate 's British accent is a bit thick there, almost as if he's fighting the urge to say it in English. * LordFate exchanges a glance with his sister. Well, right now things seem unstable if you look underneath the cover sheet, so our skills from our previous profession are quite handy to have around. Plus it has a lot less commuting. But as a side, I've always had interest in politics, so it's a double bonus for me. Ah. Well, politics here are a little weird. And since you're with H-1, it may be hard for you to engage in much of it... but assignment to H-1 never permanent, so someday you'll be able to jump straight in. Professionally speaking, this is a fascinating job. Personally, well, now that we've been put off the forefront for a moment, we're going to find a place with a garage for when our cars get here. And politics is always more Kari's thing than mine, so I leave that to her. We're just simple college graduates, pursuing quiet, ordinary lives, after all. *smiles charmingly* Ordinary is no fun, in my opinion. Exactly, sister dear. I have to admit that when I heard that Sakura had signed on a couple of immigrants for H-1, I was unsure. Having had the chance to look over your histories, I can see why she wanted you, but I must admit I am still somewhat worried. * LordFate leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers together under his chin. His eyes twinkle over their bags. "How may we assuage your concerns, Your Majesty?" I know you've been given stronger Orders than most MG's receive, but I've been around too many paranoid Duchesses for too long not to wonder if you're not some sort of plant. It's simply a case of too good to be true. ...but then again, the Earth Magic is known to arrange that sort of thing from time to time. If we have the pleasure of getting to know you better, Your Majesty, you will find that coincidences simply are. * TheQueen sighs. Other than through our actions, I'm not sure how we can eliminate such doubt. If I may be so bold as to ask, who do you believe has planted us? Did I say I believe that? No, I simply worry. I apologize. Is there a specific group or groups about whom you worry? I only ask because, in our line of work, it is always good to know where the mines are buried. Fortunately, there is a way to resolve things. *her voice sharpens, and delivers an absolute Order* Tell me if you have any plan or inclination to spy, betray, or report on Tokyo Earth or the Hierarchy. I will hold all information I gather as part of my employment here as secret as I do information from all my other jobs. We have no other employers, and no other loyalties, at this time. This is where we're supposed to be right now, anyway. * TheQueen 's eyes narrow. "That's... um." She reaches up and scratches her head. "That's cute. And acceptable." * TheQueen smiles apologetically. "I, uh, apologize for imposing like that. It was rude, but necessary." * LordFate smiles amiably. "I understand. ...feel like my skin's suddenly a bit too tight, but understand. Please, if we can be of assistance in any way, do not hesitate to ask." There is a slight but undeniable emphasis on "ask", probably as opposed to "Order". Sometimes such ways must be used to acquire one's goals. Do you like T-E so far? It is a nice city. I haven't had as much time to sightsee as I might like, but it seems overall a pleasant enough place. We haven't yet had time to move out of the hotel, so we will obviously have a better impression once we have found a place to live. That has a garage. A garage? Hmm. I hope you can find something on your salary. Property tends to be expensive here. With the two of us pitching in, it shouldn't be a problem. Depends how far you're willing to drive. It merely requires that the salary cover continuing expenses. It should be sufficient for that. And one does tend to spend more than one makes when on vacation, anyway. It can't help but be less expensive than our suite. * TheQueen straightens up. "Since I've asked you a hard question, it's only fair that you get to ask me anything you like as well. I can't promise I'll tell you all the secrets, but..." * LordFate exchanges another look with his sister. * LadyDestiny seems to stare off into space with a thoughtful look quite plain to see. I'm curious to know your position in the Tokyo-Earth and Ningyo city merger that some people are pushing for, since you are the leader of Tokyo-Earth after all. * LordFate stifles a chuckle with a sip of his soda. ...where'd that come from again? Merger? Oh, you must have heard that wrong. What's being proposed is that Ningyo City would become an actual city, with a city government rather than being run directly by the legislature and me. They would still be part of the nation, but have "home rule" as it were. As to what I personally think of it... * TheQueen looks abstracted for a moment. She's extremely cute for a 50-year- old, especially when she's thinking hard. * LordFate still refrains from making his question "You up for drinks this Friday?" ...she's technically too old for him. On a lot of levels, I approve of it. If - and this is not something anyone in the executive is actively contemplating - if Tokyo-Earth were ever to expand, this would establish useful precedent for how to order the government. And it really is the right thing to keep the Ningyo economy functioning correctly. There are some difficulties, but they should be things that we can overcome. * TheQueen nods. Yes, that's really what she thinks! But you said 'on a lot of levels', leading me to believe that on some levels you don't approve of it. It's not so much disapproval... but one scenario is that the next step is that they will want to secede. That would create a lot of nasty political problems, with no possible closure. *somewhat to himself* Does -their- queen live there? *more directly addressed to Her Majesty* I am a student of history, and thus am very interested in a first-hand account of how Ningyo City came into being. Especially from perspectives such as yours, Your Majesty. Ah... that's a long, long story. There's a deep chiming sound from outside the room. And we've run out of time for this little chat. * LordFate rises, offering a hand to the Queen and to his sister. "Ah, indeed. Perhaps some other time, then?" A mischievous gleam enters his eyes as he smiles. "Maybe...over dinner?" * TheQueen eyes Fate, and he has the momentary sensation of being the fruit in a shopper's hand at the grocery. Yeah, we can do that. But if you want... dinner, we'll have to push it out a couple of weeks. I'll call you. Of course. Whatever is most convenient for you, Your Majesty. * TheQueen extends a hand to each of the twins, to help them up from their chairs. Didn't you two have a Pet? They're welcome at the House, though they don't get to vote. * LadyDestiny accepts the Queen's hand as she rises from the chair. "Well, I can honestly say that this was very interesting." * LordFate reaches behind himself, and his eyebrows furrow. "...he doesn't seem to be around," he says as he accepts the Queen's aid in standing. "Strange. I wonder where he's ..." Ah. Well, I like to meet Pets. * LordFate looks puzzled, and a touch annoyed for a moment. Which makes him look MUCH more tired than he did when he was smiling. He smiles again when he looks to the Queen. "I'll ... try to bring Weaver when next we meet, then. It's odd, he's not usually so shy." It's been a long time since I lost mine. Be... careful with him. * LordFate 's face softens to one of sympathy. "I am sorry to hear that. And I will. ...fortunately, he's a hearty little spider." * TheQueen heads to a door in the back of the room, smoothing her skirt. "Are you ready to meet the Hierarchy?" Does it really matter? No. ^As ready as we'll never be.^ * TheQueen opens the door, and the murmuring of the hundreds of Ladies waiting in the House Chamber washes into the room. * LordFate tugs his cape straight, and dons a top hat that matches his suit perfectly. * LadyDestiny smoothes a few wrinkles out of her outfit. * TheQueen ushers the twins out onto the stage in front of her, and they end up sharing in the applause. * LadySnow claps and cheers excitedly from the nearest seat to the front she could manage to squeeze her way into. * LadyBobOmb claps politely. * PrincessRoyal is sitting in the front rows between Sakura and a Duchess with mostly-white hair and red-and-green braids, and smiles dryly as she claps. * LadyTwister applauds as needed, although she smirks as she sees the twins with the Queen. The House Chamber is a very strange room for a legislature to sit in - in truth, this room is only used for formal occasions. It is hewn out of bedrock, and has all of its natural coloration intact. The rows of seats are low stone pillars, though black and brown cushions have been laid out on top of them ahead of time. * LadyDestiny waves to everyone in the audience in general since she can't pick any faces out in the crowd with so many people there. * LadySnow tries to wave and jump up and down to get Fate and Destiny's attention. * LordFate walks in next to his sister, his top hat lending him an illusion of height to match his confident bearing. He stifles a yawn; thankfully, being on stage means his expression while swallowing it back down is not visible to the audience. He mimics and mirrors his sister's waving to the crowd. Nearly six hundred Lords and Ladies fill the room, but behind them are more rows of taller pillars, several hundred or so, each finely polished and engraved. * LadySnow whispers to Mari. "Look! It's the twins!" * TheQueen steps up to the stone podium, and presses a button there to activate the sound system. Lords and Ladies - I greet you. Shhh. * LadyTwister makes a 'pipe down' motion at Snow. * LadySnow hushes up excitedly, watching the Queen with wide-eyed wonderment. * LadyDestiny stops her waving, and thus Fate does too, so that she's not distracting for either the speaker or the listeners. The reasons for summoning you today are several. Sadly, the first reason is the loss of three of our own last Saturday evening. * LadySnow frowns. Lady Jump, Lady Midnight, and Lady Pickup - all young Ladies, all struck down in the course of duty. We gather here to honor them, and honor their memories. * LadyBobOmb frowns, as well. * LadyTwister doesn't react, although she does tap her chin. * TheQueen looks out above and past her live audience, and a rumbling, grinding sound fills the room as three more pillars rise to join the hundreds of others in the back rows of the room. These new ones are not engraved, and not yet polished, but there is no doubt who they are for. A few Ladies sitting in the back squeak in surprise as the seats next to them rise. * PrincessRoyal 's lips thin. * LadyKiss lowers her eyes, a tear actually coming from them. * LadySnow lowers her head in mourning. The investigation into their deaths is ongoing. The second, happier reason for us to meet today is that we are joined by a new Lord and Lady. With me are Lord Fate, and Lady Destiny. I welcome them to Tokyo-Earth from their native England, and welcome them to the Hierarchy. * LadySnow cheers! Just to be clear, they are twins, not a couple - and I understand both of them are currently unattached. Enjoy your new home, my Lord, my Lady. * LadyBobOmb winces. * LadySnow giggles. ... doomed. * LadyTwister snickers nonetheless. Indeed, there is much cheering, much of it from the younger Ladies. * TheQueen grins wickedly, but motions the pair towards two free seats in the front row. * PrincessRoyal cackles and whispers something to the non-Sakura Duchess next to her. * LordFate bows when introduced, though looks at the Queen with a quirked eyebrow and a sardonic grin that is palpable (if not visible) all the way to the back of the room at the "unattached" remark. Especially when the young Ladies' cheering sounds so...predatory...from where he's standing. * LordFate leads his sister to the open seats, and they sit simultaneously. Twins, definitely. * LadyDestiny gets comfortable in her seat. At least she doesn't have to worry about craning her neck around people in front of her. * LadySnow is silently jealous of the good seats. You couldn't tell it though by looking at her. Similarly, I welcome the graduating class of 2039. You all have been introduced before, but this is your first session as voting members. Once the proxy coalitions settle after absorbing all twenty-eight of you, I am sure that you will be welcomed with open arms. In the meantime, there will be much heartburn, but it is good exercise for the politicians amongst us - the next classes are only getting larger. * LadySnow woos since that's her! Yay! There's some laughter, and a good deal of applause. Most of the Ladies here had a day much like this one sometime in their past. * LadyTwister smirks a little, but claps nonetheless and looks at Snow. "Such a kid sometimes." * LordFate is surreptitiously pulling out his PDA. * LadyDestiny steps on Lord Fate's foot and whispers, "Next time I'll use the heel of my shoe." * PrincessRoyal smiles and claps, though it looks a little painful. * LordFate equally surreptitiously puts away his PDA. The third reason... is much more complex. * LadySnow listens intently. * LadyBobOmb checks her PDA, and sends a message to Fates, "Something wrong?" * LordFate switches on his mic and replies quietly, "No, why?" "You slipped out your PDA. Worried for a moment." As all of you know, I was invited to address the UN General Assembly earlier this week. I told them that Tokyo-Earth would stand firm in its commitment to future peacemaking and peacekeeping operations, and I promoted some of our newer terraforming services, and I mentioned our unhappiness with persecutions of Earth-Magic-gifted individuals in certain parts of the world. ...you're watching me that closely? You're cute on-stage. ^^ All things considered, it was a speech about nothing - nothing they had not heard me say before, nothing that the majority of nations at the UN were unwilling to hear. * LordFate ...does not blush. Honest. It's the lighting. "As you say, madam." * LadyTwister is actively paying attention to the speech, chin on her fists. The reason I went there, the reason I made the speech, is that a group of nations is on the verge of nominating me as the next Secretary- General of the United Nations. * LadySnow sits straight backed in her chair a huge grin on her face, trying to get the most out of the speech that she can. * PrincessRoyal , having been briefed on this, covers a wince with a politely surprised look. * PrincessRoyal is notably not as good at faking polite surprise as the woman next to her. * LordFate stifles another yawn with a quick drink from his soda. Which is out of sight again almost before anyone could really notice. The room is a strange mixture of reactions to that. Some are happy, some are aghast, some look like they just won the lottery. A lot of the upper Hierarchy have very studied non-reactions. * LadyDestiny lets out a quiet whistle. * LadyTwister does nothing save for 'hrm' and reknit her clasped fingers. * TheQueen grins. "I see that news of this has leaked somewhat already. That, for once, does not bother me, as it was something of an open secret within the Hierarchy." * LordFate doesn't react at all. It's not a surprise to him. * LadySnow 's smile brightens even further. But what else do you have in store, O my Queen... Shh! *baps Mari* * LadyTwister pays the bap little mind. * TheQueen takes a deep breath and furrows her brow. "There are other candidates being mentioned, but if I were to accept this nomination, I would almost certainly win the run-off. The OAS, SEAPaC, and the southern two Chinas were collectively behind the nomination, and while in New York I was assured by the President that I would also get the backing of the United States, as well as most of the rest of the Americas." Do it! * LadyTwister baps Snow this time. "Shhhh." * LadySnow looks a little sheepish realizing she said that out loud. So the question I bring before you - and I will bring it to the Representative Body later today - is simply, "Should I?" Yeah! * LadyBobOmb frowns, suddenly jarring her focus straight to the Queen. * PrincessRoyal is studiously bland at that one. * LadyDestiny remains quiet about the issue. * LadyTwister mutters, drumming her fingers. "Either way, it's a potential slight if she refuses, and a potential backlash if she does. ^Damned if you do, damned if you don't.^" There are many reasons for accepting this - it raises our prestige in the world even further. It will smooth our future efforts to deploy forces to fight for the people of this world. It would be... it would be something I personally would take great pride in, an honor that outshines any of the things I have accomplished in the last thirty-five years. * LadySnow cheers. But there are also a great many reasons for saying no. It would be controversial with the powers that are aligned against us or have no love for us, and make me - and through me, our nation - a target for all their complaints. Secretary Generals are rarely remembered with any great love - even if I keep the office clean, there is surely going to be enough unpleasantness in the world over the next five or ten years to rub off on my - our - reputations. If this were to be the pinnacle of my career, this would not bother me... but all of us are likely to be here for a very long time, and what happens now may matter personally in fifty years, or a hundred, or more. Then there is the matter of my title. I am, after all, Queen of the Earth. ...for the Queen of the Earth to lead the organization of all nations... it has a strange sound to it, and one which may resonate badly in many quarters. Mn. No kidding. * LadySnow just looks terribly thrilled with the whole idea. Lastly, it will take me away from you - from Tokyo Earth - for extended periods of time. This should not cause much disruption within the executive branch, as my Duchesses are very, very good at what they do nowadays... but I would worry. And I hope that I am enough of a leader to be able to keep the tiller of state steady even from a distance, but it would be an experiment, one that might go badly. I am... heh. I have never revealed my personal preferences in the general matter of foreign affairs, but a Lady I spoke to tonight reminded me of the importance of what I really, truly believe, as opposed to what I do out of pragmatism and expediency. So perhaps, at least in this setting, with the understanding that it Will. Not. Go. Beyond. This. Room... * TheQueen is still smiling, but that definitely was an order. Most of the room doesn't care, spellbound by the prospect of the revelation of her opinion, but a few are visibly unhappy at being blindsided by it. Here we go. * LordFate flinches as he's forced by the order to turn off the record function of his PDA. * LadySnow just continues listening, not bothered by orders at all. ...perhaps I will share. I am in philosophy, I think, what you refer to as a Nurturer. The policy of my government has not always matched that, but then what I consider to be protecting and growing our nation extends farther than many of the Nurturer faction are willing to allow. * LadySnow nods sagely as if everything the Queen says is golden. I do not desire to rule the world. It's arguable whether I really, personally, want to rule Tokyo... but I have a duty, and I have done it. It appears to me that my duty is expanding... so despite my dislike for this step, I want to do it. I think it will benefit our cause. * LadySnow cheers! * LadyTwister has to pause and digest that. She finally frowns, though--- for what reason, it's hard to say. * TheQueen pauses, seemingly winded. She surveys the audience before she starts speaking again. * PrincessRoyal is engaging in a furious, but mostly surreptitious, discussion with the woman next to her. Wonder of PDAs and the ability to gauge the Queen's pauses, it seems to be going mostly unheard. * LadySnow does her best to get the rest of the crowd as excited as she is. That said, I do not fully trust myself to make this decision, and so in this matter I will rely on you, the legislature - both Houses - for guidance. We will not vote on this today, and when we do, I do not wish the proxy factions to play politics with it - if I hear of that happening, there will be unpleasant consequences. I open the floor for discussion, and will listen to all opinions in this matter. The room explodes into chaos momentarily, as everyone seems to have something to say, at least to the person sitting next to them. * LadyTwister is quiet. Veeeery quiet. * LadySnow jumps up and down raising her hand to ask a question too. This is all just so so exciting. * LordFate yawns in the chaos, and pulls out his PDA. This vote should be very interesting. A lot of the Princesses and Duchesses are still very carefully not- reacting. From Royal's position, Sakura looks quite dyspeptic, but it's impossible to discern her opinion. * PrincessRoyal is still "discussing" with the woman next to her, but now with the noise it's even harder to tell exactly what they're talking about. There is a lot of enthusiastic whooping amongst the younger Ladies, but eventually the room begins to quiet down. * LadySnow keeps her hand excitedly in the air even after most of the noise quiets down. * LadyTwister looks Snow's way, then braces for the inevitable. Ladies line up at the base of the stage, and ascend to use the microphone one at a time. By tradition, none of them speak for longer than ninety seconds. There are a lot of go-for-it speeches, but enough statements of concern are heard to make the eventual vote a toss-up. * LadyBobOmb is carefully quiet about it, and doesn't make a speech. * LadySnow notes the mike and rushes over to get in line. * LordFate seems distracted, staring into space. An observant person might note a videogame seems to be playing on his monocle. An even more observant person might notice that he doesn't -really- seem to be paying attention to that, either. * LadyDestiny , instead of going and speaking her opinion, takes notes on her PDA about who all stands for what position in the vote. * PrincessRoyal and the Duchess next to her finish their conversation and lean back comfortably and blandly. * LadyBobOmb is doing much the same thing. This whole 'in-person speech' thing seems to be boring her a little bit, but she's still smiling politely. * LadyDestiny however gets tired of doing this, so she rises from her chair to stand in line without her twin *gasp*. * LordFate , after a bit of thought, quietly turns back on his EI's recording function. * LadyTwister stays put, leaning back and pondering what she just heard. "Man..." * LadySnow steps up to the mike and clears her throat. "Um, your Majesty-sama. I'm Lady Snow from uh... *blushes* I mean, I think that this whole thing sounds like a super great opportunity not just for you but for like all Magical Girl kind. I don't think there's any reason not to do it. I mean, so there's going to be opposition, but it's not like those groups are going to be any less opposed to us if you didn't take this position." Plus, um, you don't have to worry about us. I'm sure we'll be able to manage even if you're not here every day to watch over us. I mean, we'll know you're with us in your heart and stuff. ... Thank you for listening. *bows awkwardly and blushes, hurrying back to her seat* * LordFate snickers quietly. And pays a little more attention to his game. * PrincessRoyal sighs, shakes her head, and whispers something to Duchess Peppermint, who stifles a snerk and pats her on the shoulder, half- consolingly, half-smugly. The older-skewing audience chuckles at awkward youth. She's cute like that. * LadySnow giggles as she sits back down next to Mari. "That was so so scary..." * LadyDestiny takes her position on the stage and moves the microphone so that it's convenient for her to speak into it. Ladies and Lords, I think the Queen becoming part of the UN is bad at the moment. With the Tokyo-Earth/Ningyo split up in the air, I think we should deal with that first. I think there is a serious chance that the ningyo could secede from our... partnership if our leader, the figurehead of our organization, leaves for extended periods of time. I think we would be better served if the Queen trained a person to fulfill her duties properly and the way she would want them to be done while she's gone. With a strong presence here while the Queen is away, I don't think we need to worry about the Ningyo seceding. * LadyDestiny then tries to act all calm (even though her shaky joints are giving that calmness away) as she steps down from the stage. * LordFate , notably, is still seated, and not sharing an opinion. Even with any Ladies/Princesses/whatever next to him. That draws some confused stares, and some scattered applause. A lot of the audience hasn't thought the Ningyo City proposal through that deeply yet. Well, you spoke in front of basically every MG here... but you had spunk. People like that. * PrincessRoyal exchanges glances with Sakura and Peppermint. Sakura looks like she's sneaking some antacid. As the line to speak dwindles to nothing, the Queen gets up. We have heard many opinions this morning, all of them important, all of which I trust will be considered. The nomination will be announced early next week, and I will need to accept it within two weeks after that. The vote will happen... in eleven days, the Monday after next. I await your decision eagerly. This session of the House of Ladies is adjourned. * LadyTwister rises, and pats Chi on the head. "Happy now?" * LordFate rises to his feet, putting away his PDA again and stretching a bit. * LadySnow cheers! That was so much fun! * LadyDestiny rises from her chair as well, but doesn't stretch since she did all that moving on and off the stage. * LordFate looks at his sister and gestures as if punctuating a question. But doesn't speak. * LordFate laughs and nods. * LadyKiss slowly stands up. * LadyBobOmb stands up, and stretches. Now that the official ceremonies are over, she catches a black BobOmb that appears, and she wanders the crowds. * LadyDestiny doesn't go anywhere since everyone knows where she was sitting, but she doesn't know where everyone else is. * PrincessRoyal 's blandness fades to grimness as she rises. As she leaves the row of seats with Sakura and Peppermint, her gaze travels up to the rows of stone columns beyond the seating area. [end session] Session Close: Sat Sep 09 21:50:29 2006 Session Start: Sat Sep 16 13:06:39 2006 [resume session] After all the Ladies finished speaking, the session wrapped up quickly with some procedural votes. Six hundred MG's slowly file out of the underground chamber, stopping in knots for arcane political conversation and quiet admiration of that new Lord. There really aren't enough elevators here, and so the crowd gets stuck in the lobby outside waiting for the ride to ground level. * LadySnow sticks close to Fate, introducing him to everyone he knows and trying to play matchmaker with him and just about everybody. * LadySnow finds the whole thing terribly amusing. * LadyTwister mills about, a head above most people there... and that's not including her ten-gallon hat. If anything, she's mostly trying to make sure that Snow isn't getting herself into any (serious) trouble. "Snow, really... you're going to have an army after him at this rate." That was an interesting meeting. I can appreciate tradition, but I wish I had more than a thirty second warning. * LadySnow just grins real big at Mari and turns to Destiny. "So you enjoyed it? I think it's one of the best parts of being a Lady!" Being led around by the hem of your skirt? * LadySnow blinks. "What?" I don't really like surprises. But they're so much fun! * LordFate greets Snow's acquaintances politely. One might even accuse him of flirting. He snickers at his sister's comment. "Is that why -you- take charge of the surprise parties for our birthday?" A small glowing camera pops into existence above the group. A second later you hear someone call out, "Southeast corner!" Ooh! Well, this kind of life's a bit hectic, but I like it all to--- * LadySnow jumps up to try and get a look over the many other taller Ladies and Lords. * LordFate has a gun up and aimed at it, trigger nearly pulled and eyes narrowed, before he pauses. * LadyTwister looks up, glowing eyes narrowed. "^Jesus Christ.^" * LadySnow looks up at the camera. "Midori?" ... *puts the gun away again, and addresses the camera* Please don't do that. What's going on? Someone's trying to make me waste ammo. A young Lady in medieval-looking purple garb wriggles her way through the crowd. "FOUND THEM!" I have this sinking sensation... Ryoko! *gives the other girl a BIG hug!* A few of the less-twitchy Ladies around you edge away from the gun- toting Lord. * LordFate looks to Twister. "'Found' us? Were we playing Hide-and-go-Seek and nobody told me?" * Lady hugs Snow right back. "How 'ya doing, you little imp?" I'm doing super! Did you see my speech? I totally got to talk to the Queen! It was way awesome! ... oh, hell, Arrow. Don't go encouraging her! * LadyTwister rolls her eyes, but nonetheless smirks. "How's tricks?" * LadyArrow turns to the rest of you. "I'm Lady Arrow. Good to meet you!" The pleasure's mine. Indeed, mademoiselle. Ryoko and I went to school together! We're super best friends. * LadyNetwork dashes up. "Told you I could find them!" Thankfully she's nowhere near Chi as Chi is. I don't think the world could handle two of them. Did I say I doubted you? You always win at Hide and Seek, Midori. There's only one Chi. Thank the Earth Magic. * LadySnow just smiles brightly, taking it all as a huge compliment. Yeah, well some of these people at H-3 are pretty good too. Ooh, you're in H-3? * LadyTwister just kinda hovers by Snow, shaking her head a little. "Anything new and exciting happen?" * LadyNetwork nods. "They weren't going to waste me in some sort of administrative position. I hear there was a real turf war between H-2 and H-3 and even the SDF... but I didn't want to be full time military." I'm still not sure what I'm doing - I've been getting some interviews with Finance and State, but... * LadyDestiny watches the friends catch up as she occasionally bats a few girls off Fate. Nothing solid yet? Hang in there, Ryo. Hehe. ... Oh yeah, this is Lady Destiny and Lord Fate! They're on my new team. * LadyNetwork turns to the twins. "I'm sorry - we were in the same class with Twister and Snow. But it's really good that we got all of you together at once!" I was trying to get you a position with us but uh... That's turning out to be more difficult than I expected. What are you doing? You just kinda disappeared from the party. I'm-- uh... We're with H-2. There was a sudden thing they needed us for. Sorry about that. We got our own office though. It's really cool. I've been decorating it! I never figured you'd end up in Security, Chi. Yeah, I mean, what the hell? With her decorating, nobody would dare break in. Yeah, stuff's been... hectic lately. But it's nice, all told. * LadySnow shrugs. "I guess they just liked what I had to offer. I'm just excited to get a position so soon!" Anyway, we needed to talk to all of you for a couple of minutes. * LadyTwister mouths, "She's an excellent scare-tactic device" behind Snow's head to Midori and Ryoko. Oooh, what about? * LordFate quirks an eyebrow under his top hat. Yeah, since we were the class prez and vice-prez, we got drafted to help all of you with entering the House of Ladies voting. Neat! Ah, cool. At least we're dealing with people we know. Should make it smoother going. And since Fate and Destiny are also new, we can help them too! Yay! So what do we need to do? Joy. Well, as you know from your studies... well, I guess Fate and Des wouldn't, would they? * LordFate lays a hand on Lady Destiny's forehead for a moment, as if checking for a fever. See, all of us Ladies are very busy, and don't have the time to attend daily sessions of the House of Ladies. And political parties are strictly forbidden for us by Her Majesty. * LadyTwister looks back at the twins, then shrugs before going back to listening in. So the way it works is there are about two dozen Ladies who hold our vote proxies. That is, they vote for us, and represent our opinions in debate and negotiation. They're the full-time politicians. And we're here to get you four signed up with one of them. But... I wanted to vote. * LadyKiss just stays back listening to all this, keeping a steady smile on her face. I assume there won't be a problem if I should choose to vote myself if I have a proxy? Well, Snow, I imagine it's done this way to keep it from seeming that we're hoarding all the political sway. After all, there are a lot of mundanes here, and they do have desires and agendas. Maybe I could be all you guys' Proxy! * LadyTwister pales slightly at that comment. That's allowed, but if you vote differently from your proxy too often, she may refuse to vote for you - drop you, as it were. * LordFate pulls out his PDA, and starts staring out past his monocle as he uses his thumbs to press various places in odd rhythms on said hand-held device. Who are all the proxies? Do we get to meet them? Wouldn't my proxy be voting differently from me since it's my vote anyway? So my proxy might quit if I don't like her voting against me? The point of the proxy is that they vote for you - you should choose one that matches your political alignment as closely as possible. There are enough of them that that's not too hard, usually. Of course lots of Ladies switch proxies - you're signing up for a service, not marrying the person. Hm. Well, here's to hoping I don't hook up with a potential crazy. We can't just vote ourselves, though? Votes can happen almost any time. Can you get away from your job four days a week? I... *looks down* I guess not. *pouts* So so then who are all the proxies? I hope there's a good selection to choose from. I can be kinda picky. * LadyTwister pats Snow on the back, then perks up. "List away, you two." Most of them are Ladies - and Lords, almost half of them are Lords - in their forties. This system evolved more than two decades ago, and a lot of them have been proxies all this time. Neat! Are they cute? Every few years, someone new breaks into the system, and sometimes one of the old ones gets sick of it and leaves. Yes. Yes, they're cute. ... Snow. Oooh. I definitely want to meet them then. * LadyTwister shakes her head, slowly. "This involves more than them being cute." * LadySnow pokes Mari in the side. "Like you weren't curious." ... maybe a little. But still! * LordFate continues to play with his PDA. It's one of a broad range of criteria! Anyway, I have some reading for all of you. ---hey, Ryoko. Not to interrupt, but how're the others? * LadyArrow reaches into her voluminous robes and pulls out a stack of glossy- looking booklets - almost magazine-like. The cover is a grid showing the smiling faces of a couple dozen proxies. * LadySnow snatches one, looking over all the faces. "Oooh they are cute!" She giggles. * LadyArrow hands them out. "Oh, some have been snatched up, and some haven't. Nothing too surprising." * LadyDestiny takes a booklet and flips through it with a cursory glance. * LordFate chuckles. "I don't think that's what she meant." Ah, good, good. I'll talk to our Princess and see if I can't get you a good position. Surely there's something you can do that doesn't break the rules. * LadyTwister takes hers, and proceeds to start reading. Anyway, we should like go have dinner together! I can cook! Each proxy has a few pages of profile and voting record listed. Like we said, you're not stuck with one for life, but you don't want to get a reputation for switching every week, either. Which ones did you pick? Destiny finds that the booklet is separated into four sections - Propagators, Acceptors, Nurturers, and Neutrals. The neutral category is the smallest, with only two proxies. * LadyArrow smacks Chi on the head. "That's rude, Snow." Yeah, it's not polite to pin someone down on that. Owie! *rubs her head* Sorry... I was just curious... Politics is serious stuff, now. But it's so much fun! It's fun that's also important to how nations run. Gotta take it seriously. I line up best with the Propagators, though. We need to be thinking about the future - the future of the Earth Magic and what it can do for the world with our help. * LadySnow nods. "That sounds important." Warmonger. I'm with the Acceptors. There's just no way we have the firepower for what you guys want. If we were supposed to take over the world, there would be ten thousand Ladies, not seven hundred. * LadySnow flips through the propagator section to see if there's anyone she doesn't recognize. Maybe she can set up a meeting and get an autograph out of it. Now, now, you two. Let's not get into a catfight right now. * LordFate smirks victoriously, muttering "Gotcha!" under his breath. ... save it for when we're drunk and I have my PDA ready. * LordFate jabs viciously at his PDA with his left thumb. We're not supposed to take over. Just like, help people, you know? Ultimately, you'll find that there are a lot of different shades in the positions the proxies take. And that's just with international policy - the T-E debates are less crazy, but there's a good range of those positions as well. * LadySnow nods. Ooh, this one's cute. Do you like him? ... Chi. Really. * LadySnow points at one particular Lord she finds, skimming the pictures. * LadyTwister looks over to see. "Eh, Fate's hotter." * LadySnow blushes. Well Fate's not a proxy! So anyway, call us when you decide which one you want, and we can help you with the paperwork. * LadySnow purposely avoids looking at Fate after that comment. * LadyDestiny stiffens slightly at Twister's comment and then continues flipping through the booklet. Right, Ryo. * LadySnow raises her hand with a question. "Do we get to meet them before we pick them?" And the proxies are usually willing to chat with you too - recruitment is important for them. Neat! They're pretty busy, though, so mostly it's done over the phone. * LordFate is actually blushing a bit, and trying not to acknowledge that he's being called 'cute' in casual conversation. Ooh! Level 3! There's so many to choose from... Then take your time and think about it, Chi. There's no time limit to choose. But until you do, your vote is doing nothing. * LordFate smirks. * LadySnow furrows her brow. But I want to count! Then choose a proxy. It's not hard unless you make it difficult. Then think quickly and choose wisely. * LadyNetwork nods. Call us if you need any help! * LadySnow pouts. "But but but..." Will do, Midori. Wait, wanna meet for dinner? We could go out for drinks and stuff! * LadyArrow looks at Network. "Can you spot Lady Bowler? She's the only one left on the list." Not tonight, Chi. But thanks... Aww. * LadyNetwork drifts off to the side as more cameras pop up over the crowd. We'll talk about a meet-up sometime later. Would be nice to catch up on all the gossip we're missing. Well uh maybe later... Everyone is so busy now. *frowns* Well, Chi, we're adults, and active members of the Hierarchy. * LadyTwister shrugs, lightly. "It can't be avoided, really." This will take some serious thought. Picking the wrong proxy can be disastrous. Yeah... This is so so hard! * LadySnow turns another page. "Oooh this one is also pretty cute." Welcome to being a Magical Girl, Snow. Enjoy the buffet. * LadyTwister snickers at Snow goes right back to being a flighty little snow- pixie. * LordFate actually looks around at the swarm of Ladies with almost no Lords in sight. "I'm not sure it's an all-you-can-eat for you girls." [end session]