2 ♔ pranks exist, prove me wrong

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

[ Hey, see that on the ground? It's two tickets to that thing you love-- no, wait. It is that thing you love. Or that precious thing you thought went missing a month ago. Or something really valuable that you like or want, like money, or if you're a sensible islander, like soap. Let's just say it's something your character may really want.

WHATEVER IT IS, it moves slightly out of reach when you go to grab it.

And again.

And again.

What do you do? ]

Comments

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

[ Taking note of that-- ] If you do exceptionally well, I'll let you have it. As a token of the holiday.

Certainly. It won't hurt to state them again.

Your objective is to explain my magic with human methods. If you can do it in a way I can't deny the possibility of, you'll win that particular game. If you can't explain it with anything but magic, it's my victory. As a rule you put in place, I can't kill as a method of proving myself as a witch in this particular game, or it'll be my immediate loss. Once I run out of magic to show you, or you resign, or you can come up with a theory that explains all I can do, this set of games will end, and one of us will be the victor. Also, if you resign from the game, you need to proclaim it officially, so don't worry about slipping up and calling me a witch on a whim. I won't take cheap victories like that.

As for prizes for victory... well, I've already told you I would share pieces of Rokkenjima with you each time you win. Resignation is enough of a reward for me, so I won't ask for more than that on my end.

One more thing.

Is that all clear? Speak now if you have any questions about these rules, because you can't change them once the game begins.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[And that's another reason to win.

Thinks over the rules.]

So...I don't have to actually prove how you did it, just a theory that's possible for a human to do? [Well, it did make things a bit easier since some magic tricks, he'd need a confession for there to be an absolute proof she did it that way. Not to mention there were several ways to do a magic trick.]

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

That's all. After all, you have the Devil's Proof on your side.

But don't think this'll make it easier on you. I still have the red truth, so I'll be expecting plenty from you.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

I suppose I do.

And I'd hate to disappoint. I understand the rules.

So, the butterfly trick this time, correct?

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

Right. Then let us begin, it's your move.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[Nods.]

Then first, you do know of the practice of Dove Magic, correct, Beatrice-obaasan?

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

I do. Common among magicians, isn't it?

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

That's correct. All of them are a series of magic tricks involving doves. A great many of them, making the Dove appear.

Even out of thin air. And, of course, for those quick enough, how to get that dove to disappear again. All of them sleigh of hand work for the most part. The tricky part is making sure the doves are still until they're out in the open, either by putting them in a harness of some sort to keep still. Or perhaps some magicians just train them that well.

The exact details of the trick can differ from magician to magician, after all.

Some details could be the type of animal. Even a bug can be trained with enough patience. Or perhaps using something that emits certain sonic frequencies that will make the butterflies act in a certain way. The fact they glow is a wonderful distraction as well that it'd be easy for people to miss any movement from elsewhere to appear where they converged.

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

But you saw me clearly as I disappeared, didn't you? I'm sure you would've noticed if I ran when those butterflies swarmed me! Furthermore, a sly escape wouldn't work in a gown like this!

Let's make this harder. Your counter?

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

You weren't necessarily in the same outfit. Even the most ornate of outfits could have an easy remove method or just throwing on a black cloak. Or both. The only problem would be the skirt for running anyway. Pull that off and it's be perfectly easy to make a sly escape. Someone in white could even run through a crowd of people if he were to suddenly switch to black. [He should know. It happened in his world.] A black cloak in all that light the butterflies gave off and even if I tried to spot something like that, my eyes would take a few seconds to catch up with that thought and by then, you'd be long gone.

Scents. The right perfumes and they'll go where you want to go. Especially if they're trained.

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

An effective Devil's Proof. You can't prove that I wasn't concealing fabric that could camouflage me. Very well! That part of the argument I'll hand over to you, but I'll ask one more question and counter with one more red regarding the butterflies.

Let's not forget to mention they came out of nowhere. Explain this and I'll hand over the first game to you: Where did the butterflies come from with my appearance, and where did they go after I vanished? They disappeared with me, remember?

[ ... Yet she's tastefully omitting the fact that the butterflies were scattered all around when they first met. ]

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

Where they came from when you appeared is easy enough, since they were everywhere when I first arrived. As for where they disappeared...

[He closes his eyes, picturing the scene in his mind's eye.]

You didn't deny scent, so you could manipulate them with that. They aren't trained pets, but it could be you either don't classify them as pets or just not trained. Don't necessarily have to train to just know how they'll respond to certain actions. Butterflies are sensitive to scents and wind, things a person may never notice if it were to change.

The question is...how does that glow occur. You could be gone before them and then it becomes how do they stop glowing to achieve the sort of trick to the eyes. If they're like fireflies, to glow to attract a mate, then it's likely they can stop their glow. In which case, it's just introducing another scent or some other form of stimulation where they stop glowing and would make them flee from the area. They were already going up, so they could have flown over my head before my eyes adjusted to the darkness their glow left.

1/?

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

.........

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

Kuhihi... kuhihihahahahahyakyahahaha! [ Just... erupting into completely graceless laughter ]

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

I like iiiiit! That argument is music to my ears! I thought you were going to go with a hallucinogenic angle, or even rely on holograms once more, but you surprised me by going even further! Firefly butterflies? That kind of calculation is just pleasant! I can't even state it in red that such a bug doesn't exist here because of the nature of the game board!

done!

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

Well done! As promised, I'll hand over the first game to you! I'm glad I didn't doubt you, but I can swear it'll only get harder from here on out!

1/2

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[feajjiojqwewq JEEZE, can't you laugh normally?!]

2/2

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

...hallucinogenics would be unreliable, since it's quite hard to control any reactions from such things. [Composing himself again, straightening up.] Especially since it'd conflict with my theories about other things, a cocktail like that in anyone's system would be asking for trouble.

But it was what I first thought when I saw the butterflies. There are plenty of creatures in nature that can emit and control a glow. There's no reason a butterfly wouldn't be one of them.

[But now he's got a confident smirk on his face.] I believe I get 'two pieces' of Rokkenjima then?

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

[ containing her laughter down to a giggle by now, at least ]

It's sound, and I can't deny it. To think, I can't deny it even when you didn't use the blue. I'm not saying that's how the butterflies are though, don't get me wrong. But the rules are only to prove a human method, so it's fine. It's just perfecto.

[ Will be finally making use of that tea set and pouring some tea for the two of them. ] I haven't forgotten. I know which two to give you to start with.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

Of course you're not, but I'm fine with my Devil's Proof for these sort of magic tricks. At least for the time being.

[Will be polite and take a sip of the tea. Because really, clearly you're opponent this early in the game would be a silly thing to do.]

Then when you're ready.

1/2

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

Fair enough...! We'll see if I can change that in the future.

[ taking a sip herself, then clearing her throat quietly ]

All right. I told you I would let you 'see' for yourself, but this first piece is written, so there's no need to pull out that trick just yet. On Rokkenjima, there is a mansion. In that mansion, there's a portrait of myself. And beneath that portrait, there's an epitaph.

Kinzo Ushiromiya, the head of the Ushiromiya family... made a deal with me, back when he was still young. [ cackle ] Whether you believe this next part or not is up to you. He summoned me, and I granted him ten tons of gold to rebuild the Ushiromiya name in a contract between he and I. The deal was that I would collect the gold once more and all things Kinzo gave birth to, his assets, so on.

However, if someone were to solve that epitaph and find the gold, I would relinquish all rights to it and forget the debt the Ushiromiyas owed me. That was the risk I took.

... It's a very important riddle. That's why it's the first piece I'm handing over. Listen carefully.

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

"My beloved hometown, the bountiful river running through it.
You who seek the Golden Land, follow it's path downstream and seek the key.
If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village.
In the village, look for the shore the two will tell you of.
There sleeps the key to the Golden Land.

He who lays his hand upon the key shall travel under the rules below.
At the first twilight, you shall lift up as sacrifice the six chosen by the key.
At the second twilight, the surviving shall tear apart the two who are close.
At the third twilight, the surviving shall praise my honorable name on high.
At the fourth twilight, gouge the head and kill.
At the fifth twilight, gouge the chest and kill.
At the sixth twilight, gouge the belly and kill.
At the seventh twilight, gouge the knee and kill.
At the eighth twilight, gouge the leg and kill.
At the ninth twilight, the Witch shall live again and none shall be left to live.
At the tenth twilight, the journey shall end and you should reach the Golden Land.
The Witch will praise the wise, and should bestow four treasures.

One shall be, all the gold from the Golden Land.
One shall be, the resurrection of the souls of all the dead.
One shall be, even the resurrection of the lost love.
One shall be, to put the Witch to sleep for all time.

Sleep peacefully, my most beloved witch, Beatrice."

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

Ten tons? That's quite a bit of gold. [Though there was probably some truth in that. He just had to find what.

But then the riddle came and as he listened, a look of surprise crossed his face.] That...it quite the riddle...

[Of course, his own reaction might be a surprise. As he thought about it, a wide grin spread across his face.] A very...difficult one. [And yet he sounded almost giddy as he said it, like it was a new toy.]

[bitchcrafts.livejournal.com]

Approximately 1/10,000th of all the gold mined since the dawn of man. It may sound like a small fraction, but you wouldn't be able to spend it all in ten lifetimes. Whoever solved that riddle would also become head of the Ushiromiya family, regardless of whoever they are.

Hmhmhm... I take it you're not reading it at face value like the rest of that family. [ To the side, she's taking a pen and writing down the epitaph on a piece of paper, then putting it on top of the Holmes book and sliding both over to him ]

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

Don't worry. I'm quite aware how much it is, if a ball park estimate. A million could only be easy to spend because of house and vehicle prices, but a billion would be near impossible for a lone person unless they bought quite the eccentric things. To have several billion, it's a wonder he lived that long.

It's a rare riddle that's at face value. It wouldn't be a riddle otherwise. [Reaches over to take the book and paper, checking over the wording.] It'll take some time to figure out and I'll probably need to know more about the situation before I can fully figure it out. [There was definitely a silent 'this will be fun' in there. The expression he had now was probably the most childlike glee anyone was going to see on his face sincerely on the island.]