[Bar]
"Not any science stuff, but there's the astonishingly huge number of ways you can use duct tape," joked Vincent. "But seriously, let me put this mildly: chimera innovation is shit. That's what happens when you can simply solve most of your problems with magic. Humans are much more creative than chimeras, even on a bad day. You know MacGyver? Chimeras could never come up with something like that."
He started talking a bit faster; this had always been a pet peeve of his about his species. "In fact, if human technology advanced as fast as chimeran tech, you'd still be in the Stone Age. From the first year AD to when we revealed ourselves to humans in the 1960s, we advanced about as much as humans did from AD 1 to AD 300. Can't think of any major developments during that time? Good, because that's what it was like. Absolute stagnation."
[Bar]
Kat swiveled the camera to the Victorian guy who had just walked in and put on his cheesiest British accent. "I am sorry, good sir," he said, "but it appears that there are not any pianos at this current juncture. But mayhaps you could inquire of the help about the instrument of which you seek."
edited 27th Oct '11 9:09:15 PM by TeraChimera
Holy crap. I am never typing memoirs on an iPod again. This took me an hour.
Yuki gave a remorseful chuckle. "You know, I bet you're damn good at your job. I've never told anyone my full story who wasn't there for it."
She drained the last of her drink and ordered another. "There's something about you that makes me want to trust you. I was born in a labor camp in America. The President, in an attempt to 'revitalize' the country, gathered up all the people who didn't meet certain requirements. Physical fitness, facial proportions, things to generally try to improve the state of the nation."
She took a long drink, fairly certain that this was stronger than the last. "For seventeen years, I worked, and tried to stay out of trouble. Me and Amaya, both of our parents are either missing or dead. My grandfather raised us both, trained us in martial arts to defend ourselves if the guards ever got too frisky. It was a difficult life, but it was life, and that's better than nothing. At least, it was, until tha cancer finally took my grandfather away."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Of all her memories, this was the hardest. "That was the last straw," she said. "I couldn't let the same thing happen to Amaya, so we escaped. Or tried to, anyways. The guards caught up to us, and I had to..." She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. "I had to kill him so we could escape. But it wasn't enough. Reinforcements showed up, and we ended up locked in jail with the strangest man I've ever met."
"He helped us escape. He knew of Amaya's mother, he knew how to use magic. I honestly would have thought I was dreaming, but at this point all I cared about was getting Amaya out of there. We stole a car from the impound lot, ran to a hidden city where they transported us to the magical world. That's where we met Mordecai, Lena, and Leo. Leo is Amaya's cousin, the only family she has left. Anyways, they agreed to help us look for clues about what happened to Amaya's mother. And here we are," she finished. "Still on that quest."
She smiled. "I guess I really do... you know, love her. Thank you," she said, looking Asayu in the eye. "I... I needed that."
edited 27th Oct '11 9:12:45 PM by animemetalhead
No one believes me when I say angels can turn their panties into guns."Blasphemy! How can one hope to enjoy friends and drink without good music!" Charles marches straight up to the bar and orders a glass of brandy. "Very well. I'll make do with my memory."
He takes one look at the glass of brandy and shakes his head. "I'd better have the bottle. Tell me, good sirs and madams, where am I?"
When he sees the piano, he almost spews on the floor. "That's what I'm talking about! Any requests? This brandy has put me in an excellent mood. I'll play for free."
edited 27th Oct '11 9:41:33 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage![Bar]
"Good sir, I wish to hear 'Late Goodbye
', by the most excellent Poets of the Fall," said Kat promptly. "Do you have knowledge of the correct way to play the piece? Or is it not so? Whatever the truth may be, I would heartily enjoy you serenading our ears with the tinkling of ivories."
He zoomed in on the man's nose. "It seems that your nose is of larger-than-average size," he said. "It looks rather ridiculous, and makes you seem quite homely. In fact, its implausibility is such that I might, perchance, guess that it might have been done deliberately; but perhaps no. In either case, its abnormal size is quite ludicrous."
edited 27th Oct '11 9:29:39 PM by TeraChimera
[Bar]
Qrlil had chosen a bad time to walk in. Asayu quietly motioned for Qrlil to give them some space. Then she suddenly turned very serious, and said to Yuki: "just one word of advice. From the sounds of it, it was you or a bunch of rapacious guards. Don't ever regret picking yourself. Rachel and her mother are good people, but they'll never understand what we do. Sometimes, it's just kill or be killed. And if you're not the one who chose to make it that way, odds are you're the one who deserves to walk away."
Then her merry cheer returned, a bit more rapidly than it should have given the previous subject. "But I don't want to ruin your day with talk like that. So, for Amaya? My previous advice still stands, but whatever. As for love? Personally, I think it's bullshit, but good luck. Guess it works for some people. Uh... well, I don't know what else to say about that..."
She waved Qrlil back in, and said, "anyways. Qrlil, this is Yuki. Yuki, Qrlil. Oh, and Qrlil, I have to ask you: what is that wonderful outfit made of? Where can I get it? I've always been fond of this," she motioned to her clingy red gown, "but that... hmm, I think I could do more with a gown like that than I could naked, while breaking fewer laws."
edited 27th Oct '11 9:32:43 PM by KillerClowns
Charles sets down the brandy bottle and stares at the man. "You mentioned my nose, did you not? Why? You find it large, don't you? Not to your tastes?"
He takes another swig of brandy.
"You need some adjustments to your worldview, my dear friend. A great nose is an indication of great character, which makes me far richer than you, being petty enough to point it out in the first place."
This is harder than I thought >.>
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!Bar
Qrlil inclined her head to Yuki.
"I am pleased to meet you," she said.
She refocused on Asayu in time to hear her... remarks and raised her head slightly in embarrassment.
"Er. This, er, this is made of what we refer to as smartfabric. I'm not precisely certain how it works, but, er, as best as I know, it makes use of macroscale nanotechnology. It is self-cleaning and programmed with a wide variety of patterns."
I sound like an advertisement.
She patted her sleeve. "This particular pattern is, er, not exactly one I wear very often."
[Bar]
Asayu's eyes widened and said, "so, you can make it nice and thick for when a bunch of self-righteous priests are wandering around and you don't want a speech, and when they've gone..." she paused, and then, eyes full of mischief, "is that as translucent as it goes?" Then, remembering not everyone shared her views, and the fact that most people tended to assume (usually correctly) everything she said was a Double Entendre she quickly added, "don't worry I'm not asking for a demonstration. Just wondering." Though she wouldn't mind a demonstration either. The world was so full of new curiosities. But best not to be too forward. Yet.
[Bar]
Kat chuckled. "Perhaps to your culture, good sir, but within my own, a big nose is simply a big nose; it is not indicative of any supreme moral character within a person. In fact, you are subverting the personality you wish to display, by rather proudly and gloatingly proclaiming how a mere genetic abnormality means you are of much firmer character than any of the other good people within this establishment." He zoomed the camera out a little, to get a full view of the man. "In doing so, by flaunting the morals you inform us of and yet have not displayed, you are showing that you are petty enough and desperate enough to claim ethical supremacy merely from a facial feature."
Kat ran the camera up and down the man's clothes. "And in any case, it would appear that ethical supremacy would be all you can claim. Verily, your clothes are tattered, crudely patched, and in generally a sub-par state. It would seem that you are not of the wealthy establishment, nor can you hold down a job for long enough to afford a tailor who is of better skill than the one you are currently employing, whose skills appear to be rather dismal. With that, I can see how you would clutch at straws with your better character in order to simply have a position higher than that of anyone else within this fine establishment, no matter how petty or meaningless that position may be."
Night.
"Er, well, that is not exactly the use I would put it to," Qrlil said quickly.
She was having trouble looking directly at Asayu.
"I am only using this setting because I have been enjoying the heat on the beach," she tried - not entirely honestly, right? - to clarify. "It is, effectively, the same as a human - uh - swimsuit."
She gulped down a bit more water. Apparently, Avea had not been exaggerating in the least about her aunt.
I'm feeling pretty glad right now I didn't bring in an orl character right now...
This is no pub of drunken sailors and bad actors; he had forgotten that. Charles nods approvingly and rubs his nose self-consciously. The man had good points. The more intelligent ones always do.
"I wear my pride," Charles says, half to himself, "In my soul."
He goes to the piano and begins to improvise.
edited 27th Oct '11 10:10:28 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!"Thanks guys," Yuki said, smiling into her glass. "I'll be fine. I'm mostly over it. Besides," she sighed. "I have other issues now."
She got off her bar stool and bowed at Asayu. "Thank you. If it hadn't been for you... I'd have never found out about all of this, so... yeah. Wish me luck!"
She turned to the rest. "It was nice to meet you all," she said, before turning and heading off to her room.
She reached the door and took a deep breath before opening the door.
Yeah, that'll do. We can leave the contents of what goes on as a Noodle Incident for now. I'm sure Asayu can get some amusement from it all tomorrow.
No one believes me when I say angels can turn their panties into guns.[Bar]
Asayu shook her head and said to Qrlil, "I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with my ideas. Maybe for more private purposes, but... oh, never mind." Asayu got the impression Qrlil was not used to even the mildest of teasing, and decided not to push her luck any further. "I get the feeling you'd rather talk about something else." She tried to think of something that wouldn't leave Qrlil doing whatever it was her kind did instead of blush. So talking jobs was out of the question. She looked around the bar for inspiration, and, after considering the crowd, said, "this place seems to be a magnet for fighters, doesn't it?"
Qrlil smiled gratefully at the change of subject. (At least, she hoped it looked grateful).
"I have not noticed, actually," she said. "I did speak to a Vice Imperator P'jwakh - a military officer of some kind - on the beach, but I have not noticed any particular profession common to those here. I mean, I am an ambassador, and you are - well."
She took a sip and looked around.
"And Vincent is a scientist -"
She noticed the towering cloaked figure standing nearby and blinked in surprise. "Oh, I did not notice you," she said.
There was a little too much ninja'ing around Yuki's long backstory post. I, at least, noticed it, but I haven't been certain how to work it in.
And for the record, Qrlil is not seeing Asariel as a qrtxian - due to the issues she's going through right now, she's more comfortable with an ambiguous alien being then one of her own species.
Edit: Qrlil has never killed anyone.
edited 27th Oct '11 10:55:02 PM by nrjxll
[Bar]
Asayu followed Qrlil's gaze, to gaze upon Asariel, who, to Asayu, looked very much like one of her own people, with long, neatly combed black hair, blue-grey eyes, and brown skin. Switching to her native tongue, she said, "you are far from friendly spirits, are you not?" The Resort made her words understandable to all who heard them, though they could sense the change of language. "But it seems from your dress you've paid a visit or two to Earth yourself. Come! Sit with us!" And then, she added in English, "but I think we should keep to the language of this place. It would be rude to do otherwise." His eyes — pitch black — were concerning, however. She hoped he wasn't contagious.
Asayu's killed a hefty number of would-be rapists and demonically corrupted mages, as well as several members of FARC, Hamas, the Chinese Army, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and of course, al-Qaeda. Long story.
[Bar]
Rachel's pride was satisfied. "Interesting," she said. "So I suppose the best thing would be for the humans of your world and chimeras to work together. Chimera magic, human ingenuity..." she raised her eyebrows. "Quite a combination."
How did I miss that post for so long? Gah.
edited 28th Oct '11 6:17:47 AM by KillerClowns
The doors to the lobby burst open, as we are treated to yet another guest to the Resort. She was a young woman, about 24 years of age, with medium length dark hair, which flowed to just below her shoulders. She wore a pair of torn blue jeans, a long sleeved black shirt, and some black fingerless gloves. She seemed to be eager and ready for anything, considering that she obviously didn't know where she was.
"Hmmm... Where are all the people..." Christine pondered. "Hang on, I know! People are usually at the bar! So bar, here I come!"
Christine performed a jump kick upon the bar doors, which proceeded to them being opened, and Christine falling flat on her ass.
"Ow... I guess I didn't think that through..."
The loud noise was enough to alert Virgil, who was still drinking on his own at the bar. He recognised the idiot girl immediately, and if he had seen her under different circumstances, he likely would have tried to kill her... but here, he decided it was best to let her go. He stood up from his chair, grabbed his case and announced;
"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my room... not like any of you will, but still..."
With that, Virgil made his way to the rooms, before Christine could recover from her stumble. As soon as she had gotten up, she seemed just as full of life as she was before. She outstretched her arms and let out an enthusiastic "Woo" before heading over to take a bar stool, which she promptly began swinging on.
I think it might be interesting to bring Lilith in
The doors to the resort opened as a seductive-looking women walked in. She had charcoal black hair, and her limbs turned the same color passed her joints. She had four black feathery wings on her hips, one pair on the sides, and another on the small of her back. She wore minimal clothing which resembled bats that covered her chest and lower areas. She walked in and looked at her surroundings, "Hmm, interesting."
I always have trouble describing Lilith.
Internal thought here: Save for Lilith, a large majority of my characters have light colored hair, e.g. the four protagonist all have white hair, though this is from Nyar~kun's influence, Sobek has blond hair, Bast has white hair, Cthylla has light blue, and a lot of others have light colored hair, strange....
edited 28th Oct '11 8:14:48 AM by draconiansuperior
[Bar]
Asayu continued drinking the new tea that had arrived, and glanced over when she heard the door open. She took note of Christine with mild amusement, but when Lilith arrived, that amused smile turned into genuine interest. She was obviously not quite human. But she'd do. Maybe she should wave her over now? No. She doubted poor Qrlil could endure that.
So she filed away the scantily clad newcomer for later.
[Bar]
Samira said, "realpolitik. Now I get it. I've heard that word a lot. It's usually from the sort of raving nationalists who you're complaining about, though. But of course: like every nationalist, you care more about the flag you serve than the people it represents. But know this: the price of a weakened U.N., as painful as it would be" — and it was clear from the flash of pain in her eyes she meant this — "is far lower than the price of an unchecked dictatorship allowed to run the world from the shadows, doing whatever it can justify to itself. Benevolent dictatorship is a dream, Jean. A hollow dream that has left nations in ruin, and will leave the world in ruin as well if the Grey Men aren't stopped. If you aren't willing to wake up from this dream, I'm done with you."
[Bar]
Kat sat back, listening to the man improvise on the piano. "Truthfully," he said, "in spite of your tattered clothes and prominent nose, your mastery of that instrument is most praiseworthy, especially given that you have not any sheet music with which to read from. Indeed, your skill far surpasses that of my own, and although it is not the best that I have heard, it is still very much enjoyable. Perhaps I was uncouth to judge you so early, based solely on your appearance and the state in which you were dressed.
"Pray, might I ask, is the name by which you are called? My own is Katshal Berend, but most everybody I know, whether personally or via vague acquaintance, calls me by the shortened name of Kat."
[Bar]
Vincent nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much the way to go. For example..." He showed Rachel the paper he had given to Harrison. "Take this gun. At its heart, it's a railgun, a purely scientific invention. But magic can easily bypass some of the problems in it, like its massive recoil or power supply. It's not done yet, but we've almost got a gun capable of sinking an aircraft carrier downsized to the point where it can be shoulder-mounted. Key word being almost. Some of the simulations we've have..." He winced. "...not been pretty."
He quickly picked up another, less gruesome train of thought. "But when magic and innovation face off, innovation tends to win. For example, radiation distorts magical energy and makes it harder to control. Several years ago, back in 198... 7, I think it was, two chimeras attempted to rob a casino in Las Vegas. They were really powerful, and managed to break past most of the security, both mundane and magical. One of them had a shield up so they were pretty much invincible. Then one cop had the idea of using depleted uranium rounds. Tore the shield apart, prevented them from using magic, and the robbers had no other protection or weapons besides their magic, so... yeah, the robbers were screwed. One of them was killed, and the other was put in prison for I don't know how long."
edited 28th Oct '11 8:44:17 AM by TeraChimera

Lobby
The perfect picture of a Victorian gentleman steps from the interdimensional door.
As he stands there, squinting at his unfamiliar surroundings, one might examine him more closely and conclude that he is not quite such a perfect picture. His nose, for one, is so large that one might call it deformed. His clothes have patches and are of cheap fabric.
"In the name of God, where am I?" Charles mutters, running a hand through his well-combed dark hair.
He takes a small notebook and impossibly tiny fountain pen from his waistcoat pocket and scribbles a few notes that he might use later if feeling uninspired. After a few minutes, he looks up again. Pleasant conversation seems to be going on in that bar directly in front of him, and his monstrous nose twitches. He smells good brandy.
But no music.
Absurd. "Where's the piano?" he roars, storming into the bar.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!