004 [Video/Public]

[otakuro]

[VINDICATION YES WEEKS OF WASTING HOURS READING ABOUT THE MOST POINTLESS CRAP HE'S EVER HAD TO STUDY COME TO FRUITION PRAISE THE GODS HE HAD BETTER GET SOME KIND OF MEDAL WHEN THIS WAS DONE

No wait this was a bad thing ahem yes very bad the proper thing to do in this case was to maintain a certain air of decorum and er grave sincerity yes grave.  ...Atsuro can't help grinning slightly anyway as the COMP feed flickers on.]

Look sharp, guys.  Those of you who were around back in October know what this means.  For everyone else...  The news broadcast probably could have stood to be a little more informative.

Let's do a quick recap.  Back in October, about a week before the 23rd, we started noticing that a few of us were acting a little strange.  This escalated over the next few days until some of us were brainwashed into trying to attack people and some of us were brainwashed into being terrified of everything that moved.  And, uh... sometime during all this, all of these giant scorpions started falling from the sky or something; I don't know.  It was probably a totally related natural progression.  Anyway, on the 23rd itself, a really huge scorpion monster appeared, and a few of us had to beat it off.  We compared notes afterwards and realized that the behavioral changes all had to do with what star sign you had.  If you have no idea what that is, just hold on a sec.  The important thing is that the ones who were attacking had the sign of Scorpio and the ones who were frightened were Leos, Taurii, and Aquarius...es...ii.

I know a lot of you aren't from Earth, or if you are from Earth, you're not from the right time period to even have Scorpius or Taurus as constellations anymore.  I can do a quick explanation of astrology if you want, but it's really a lot of trouble for something that's pretty much meaningless for you - It has to do with what day of the year you were born in, and which imaginary pictures formed by stars in the sky were closest to the sun then.  There are 12 of them, and each one is supposed to mean different things about your personality and the people you'll fall in love with or something.  ...Try not to think about it too much.  You can just take a look at the little ID cards you get when you come to the city and your completely arbitrary sign should be listed there.

Anyway, we're already off schedule.  The 21st - that's today - is the first day we're supposed to be under the sign of Taurus.  If a monster appears, it's probably not going to happen for a few days so it looks like the government is trying to quarantine everyone before it does.

The one thing is... I don't want to undermine our great government or anything, but I don't think their predictions are right.  Scorpios were the main targets last time because the sun was swinging into that area of the night sky; Leos, Aquariuses, and Taurii were affected because of something to do with the relationship between the signs. I never could find any consistent information or an exact chart or anything, but I don't think it's just going to be the same people as six months ago.  We'll be able to gather more data after this round, but I think everyone should be on guard for emotional changes, regardless of what your sign is.

...Also be on guard for giant bulls, because that's really not going to be fun at all.

Comments

[text]

[nemophila]

[Excuse you astrology was totally cool and not pointless at all oh man Horoscopes this was his JAM man]

Leo and Aquarius have some of the worst compatibility with Scorpio-- but as for Taurus, that's usually nebulous... they're exact opposites, but sometimes it's argued that it makes them an ideal match. That's probably what you were thinking of, and why those people had problems last time.

On the other hand, Scorpios are usually seen to conflict with Aries and Gemini as well, if it's a romantic relationship we're talking about.

For Taurus, they have just as bad of a compatibility with Leo and Aquarius as Scorpio does, but a Taurus getting along with a Libra is arguably even more difficult, due to their typically instinctual and intellectual sides respectively.

Perhaps it's following the same pattern because of elemental dominance in the signs? Leo, Taurus, Scorpio and Aquarius are usually viewed as the strongest representation of Fire, Earth, Water and Air signs. Though it doesn't make much sense for Taurus to come next if Scorpio was what happened last time, since Sagittarius should've come after.

[text]

[otakuro]

[There is a stunned silence from the other end of the ...text. ...OK well it just takes him like ten minutes before he actually responds to that.]

...Maybe you should take over the astrological research department. I happily secede the position.

So you're saying that all four of those signs are always in opposition to each other? That doesn't completely mesh with some of the things I read - but Scorpio and Taurus are definitely opposites, and yeah, there was conflicting information about whether that made them good matches or not. On the whole, it didn't seem like there was any strong consensus on any of this.

Where do you get your information from?

[text]

[nemophila]

[Haha whoops did he come on too strong--]

I read and researched this sort of thing back home a lot. It was one of my favorite things to read about, but only a few of my materials made it here with me, I'm afraid.

That's right; Leo and Aquarius are opposites, while Scorpio and Taurus are opposites too. Leo and Aquarius oddly enough, are usually seen as being good matches, while Scorpio and Taurus are more varied in whether they're a good match or not. Some people think the opposite traits of each sign balance each other out though, just like Leo and Aquarius.

[text]

[belfire]

wow you're like astrology detective - crackin' the cases on zodiacs and misconceptions of relationships between this and that sign.

but srsly, that's kinda troubling. so like anyone could flip out and go crazy? well i mean taurus ppl are obvs gonna be the main flippers, but everyone else = ????

[otakuro]

Legacies I would like to leave:
-Being known as the world's greatest hacker
-Being known as the savior of the world's best friend
-Getting the highest score on any arcade machine in Shinjuku

Legacies I would not like to leave:
-Being nicknamed 'Atsuro Kihara: Astrology Detective'

[belfire]

nice to know you're focused on the important things, astrology detective.

maybe you should take over the horoscope column in the teen beat magazine.

[Video]

[trollsdragons]

[Have one chin-scratching Xellos, Atsuro.]

Well then. This world gets stranger and stranger every day, it seems. Is there any known source for these changes and creatures?

[otakuro]

The monster that appears at the end, most likely.

But if you're asking me where that's coming from, I haven't got the least idea. ...Outside the barrier?

[trollsdragons]

I suppose that's a distinct possibility - but we would need to get outside of it to really know for certain.

[Video]

[capitalbackup]

[Miyako find this post far more informative than the government's notice, and taking her own notes on this. Astrology is one of the few things she never took too seriously. And the star associations would simply remind her of a certain someone.

After she's done writing some quick notes, Miyako reply to the post.

If Atsuro ever met a certain Hotsuin, this person resembles him to an almost frightening degree. Only her voice and feminine features denote her gender.]

How difficult would you consider the monster to be, if one appears?

[If it's tough, it potentially means dealing with it while watching out for affected people.]

[otakuro]

[Atsuro glances up when there's a reply on the video feed.]

Oh, hey Ya --

...

Ya...ma..... er.

[What.]

T-The... monsters? The monster -- Oh, the big one? It's, uh, hard. ...Very hard.

[What.]

[capitalbackup]

[For a brief moment, Miyako almost consider responding back with her perfected Yamato voice. But for the sake of gaining information, she resist the urge.

After a brief moment to clarify.]

Miyako Hotsuin. I'm his sister.

[After a moment to allow him to digest that, she continues.]

"Hard"? As in it's easy to die against them?

Video

[echo_of_a_jedi]

I was about to say, if there's a different "main" sign being affected, wouldn't the secondary problems hit a different set of people, too?

[otakuro]

Right.

[Atsuro gives a shrug.]

That's what I thought, too. The government was just being lazy and choosing the same ones from last time, right? But someone who knows a lot more about astrology than I do just said that those four signs were always in opposition to each other...

[echo_of_a_jedi]

So since Taurus is part of the same set, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius would be affected this time too?

Video

[all_wound_up]

Oh no, not again... last time was so scary!

[otakuro]

A-Ah...

[Right. Last time had been...]

It'll be OK, Nano! We're... We're prepared this time. We know just about how things will go, and it'll definitely be a lot easier to deal with.

Still... Maybe you want to stay inside for the next few days.

[voice]

[greatseal]

[This is either the worst or best time for something like this to happen. But if Minako were to give her honest opinion she'd say "best." It's easier for her to have something to focus on right now.]

I think the most important question is, why has this only happened twice so far?

[otakuro]

Are you thinking the same thing I am?

Isn't it convenient that it's happening right after a lull in the frenzied activity we've had lately? Imagine if the monsters had come when half of us were in the tower, or even when most of us were injured after the Tournament.

[Video]

[bondsofsuffering]

So just because I'm a Pisces doesn't mean I'm safe from the weirdness. [Gosh darn.]

[otakuro]

Sorry. You might not experience anything at all, but it's better safe than sorry, right?

I say we all lock ourselves in our rooms now and not come out until May.

[Video]

[risingshepard]

So basically, we're likely in a boatload of trouble just because of our sign. Wonderful. Might as well slap a 'do not approach' note on everyone that's a potential threat this month.

[Only not really, she's just being dry-witted as ever.]

Just one question though--what about the signs that weren't affected by that whole mess?

[otakuro]

The signs that weren't affected?

...Actually, I think to some extent, all of the signs had something happen to them. There were a few signs that the scorpions honed in on especially - I was one of them. Capricorns. I didn't get a good estimate of who else was affected the same way, but they were definitely choosing to attack me over others.

[Video]

[blitzkriegzwei]

Looks like it's time to fight again, eh, Atsuro?

[Ludwig almost seems a little excited for what might be another round with his battle buddy. Of course, his focus is really on the sheer amount of damage this potentially could cause the city and its people, but this is him trying to be casual.]

[otakuro]

Ha... We never get a break around here, huh?

[Well that isn't true they've been sitting around on their butts for a month now. Still, though, fighting giant monsters isn't his idea of entertainment.]

You think we're gonna be ready?