Divine Burden
There's no oddity about how this work.
Fate does not play by simple whims or coincidence.
There is a truth and reason to your suffering. There is an explanation behind your misfortune
The amusement of an higher being - one whose grasp I intend to sever, no matter the cost.
In a way, Kana was glad that Rainmaker hadn't come along. She had feared the large man (dragon?)'s presence would intimidate the royal family. Or at least, overshadow her. Luckily for her, he had matters to attend to that meant he couldn't help her with that particular new quest she had been picked for. Something he felt sorry with, but that Kana didn't mind.
In fact, her smile wasn't all that fake as she headed for the gathering place. The money didn't matter and neither did the job -she felt like she was a mercenary when she said it that way- so long as it wasn't too illegal. What mattered was the fame she could get out of this. And, perhaps, the allies. For her particular situation was something she'd need powerful, or esoteric, backing to do away with.
But she didn't want to think of it at a time where she had to focus on it.
Kana walked into the castle boasting a suit of grey armor - the one her father had used to wear. It looked worn-out though, so she had to redecorate it with a few pieces of her own azure scales, filling in patches in the black-and-white plates by adding it some blue to it. The sleeves of the suit were also noticeably gone, showing off her arms, complete with black gloves.
She wore armor on her legs, with her strength helping her move them around regardless. Still, she had elected to mostly armor up her legs down from the knees. For the thighs and above, she wore black pants, with armor on the side (opposite for each leg). And also some grey boots.
More interestingly, she had some relics and artifacts and had wrapped her blue cape around her neck like a scarf, hanging a few golden trinkets from it to give the impression of a medal. She also wore a belt with some more useless trinkets on it, though she complimented it with a few daggers and two pouches containing potions and elixirs for her use.
Taking up a good portion of the belt, was a small chain wrapping around it on the right side of it. Tied to it was her first sword : (a) Yato, a normal version. The excentric weapon had been cleaned up before use, its long, talon-like golden handle protuding from the humble sheath it had been warped in. Past that, the weapon looked like a fancy golden sword, with a long blade and hollowed-out cavities at the start of the blade. Those did nothing to make the blade any tougher though. In fact, while it was just a regular old blade, it had the benefit of being extremely tough to break.
On her back she had another weapon, something she could do with her above-mentioned strength - a large axe, hung on a ring of water she had carefully crafted around her chest, orbiting around her upper body. It kept the axe in place while she walked around, blade pointed to the left, with her ready to grab it at any moment. It was a Silver Axe, with a long wooden handle and a silver blade (duh). Sharp and efficient, but Kana would welcome the gold to come with a job well done, only she knew how costly those things were to repair.
The axe's handle was gray and metallic. Something Vallite, as a way to prevent her from snapping the wooden handle on instinct when she was stressed or during a fight. Not that common metal fared better.
Kana herself was a deceptively young woman with a round face, red eyes with cat-like irises and long ears. Aside from that, she had relatively thick eyebrows, blue hair, hardly unusual around the Arena, that were cut into a careful bob with some bangs protuding on her forehead nonetheless. She had earrings depicting water droplets, to be subtle about her powers, and stood fairly taller than the average woman.
Nonetheless, she had some traits from her mother - sharp eyes, a sharp chin (in spite of her aforementioned roundness), a thin long nose... She had gotten a closer look for only a short while but she was glad to have remembered that off their brief encounters.
Kana hardly paid attention to the castle, the knights or the princesses as she walked into the room. She only paid attention to what the Queen had to say because the Queen was the one who was giving her the mission. It was hardly antipathy : Kana just couldn't help but remember she was a princess too when looking at all that scenery. And it only made her current isolation feel that much worse.
A silly complaint, she knew, yet...
... Well it wasn't important. She was taking the scenic route. They wanted her to drop packages. Kana could deduce what for, perhaps, but she was so disctrated despite herself that she didn't care for it. It only mattered they all weren't slowly bringing the scattered pieces of a Demon King or whatever to Vahar Naghalis. Instead, past the initial looking around, Kana weaved her head down and glanced at the tiles below, though she sometimes felt the social anxiety instinct to look up and glance at nothing in particular, as if simulating deep thought and pondering.
It was stupid, really, why want to earn herself some allies if she was going to ignore them? Kana's red eyes swept across the room at her fellows. They maybe wouldn't be interacting during this, but with her powers, she could probably make it to that city relatively on time and wait for whoever else would come first.
Then, she'd... make friends?
Huh.
Kana could already see interesting people. A woman with blond hair and odd armor, a... err... man with a much more foreign attire and similar blue hair, and two overjoyed young men, whose enthusiasm Kana could perhaps have matched on a better day. Odd bedfellows, except she wasn't going to really be traveling with them.
Or being a bedfellow as in, sharing a bed.
...
!
Sukuna was a man who had seen a lot of techniques in his day, and his conclusion was that fancy techniques that required a lot of "extras" to work often were outpaced by boring and regular techniques that didn't come with too many bonuses but also hardly required the sun to be at a specific angle to work. Yes, there were merits to pushing one's skills and ingenuity to the limits, but there were also merits to simply honing something simple until it was your own.
There, Sukuna could acknowledge Cardell had a good defense. Not only was he using Beruka's own strength against her, he was also using his own energy to prevent any harm done to him. There were perhaps limits even he couldn't overcome but Sukuna could see how moves like that could be used to negate risks when facing tough opponents. He wasn't going to praise Cardell just for that, but he could acknowledge the man's grasp on his power.
As for Beruka, she has no counter this time. And take the energy head-on, being smacked square in the face and slammed into the ring, rolling along for a few moments before she slams her hands into the floor to lift herself into the air and land back on her feet. Blood began pooling from her forehead and lips, and she had an extra bruise going on her left cheek, under her eye.
She listens to Cardell's explanations but predictably doesn't laugh.
In the background, Joker strokes his chin. Huh.
Yes. Beruka simply replies to his joke, brushing it off and wiping the blood off her lips. It was obvious, but he seemed to like talking and Beruka was content with that. She didn't drop out of her fighting stance though, she didn't want to be the one to get hit before the fight ended.
Instead, Beruka began packing back and forth, adjusting her stance but not charging in now that she knew what he could do. He had to put his arms up in a peculiar position before he could guard. It was likely to be a matter of timing.
I will make my own version of that Guard skill with this energy of mine - now show me more. She still says, making her intent obvious. She could also question her own Innate skill (if she had one) but that came one at a time.
Edited by Bolded1 on Apr 7th 2024 at 3:00:01 PM
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
Hi
Dawn Never Came
Hardly, can one take the curiosity out of one Hange Zoë,
but the world was doing its damnedest to try. She had been in the arena for upwards of several months without explanation as to how, as to why, they had been brought here.
The arena was an asinine place. It refused to explain itself, no matter how many times she asked it very nicely and prodded it with sticks. Worse, it refused to budge on the matter of "home".
All in service of a greater goal. It really was just to have some kind of understanding, but, whatever!!! Who really cared, right? The world wouldn't be stomped flat without them or anything like that!
Yes, Hange's ability to compartmentalize might be to be admired, but, more to the point, they were here on a mission, to the Kingdom of Al-Agadd, to be a part of something greater, as she had been once before. Any and all battle-lust had long been tempered by the faces of her past enemies, but, something else had come over her in her time in this arena.
It was nameless. You could call it pride.
Without something to fight for, Hange felt lost. This cause, however obscure, was worthy enough. It had to be.
And it's something quite peculiar / Something shimmering and white.
Thanks in part to the effects of Wrath clearing up and in part due to Emma having worked with him, the white-haired man is able to mentally wrestle control of his own body back from the nigh-animalistic rage that had temporarily overcome him. As he does so, the flames around his body revert from the enhanced blue state to their usual orange state, his more rational side ironically lacking the ability to control the flames that way. He slumps briefly as his energy levels drop, then perks back up when he remembers being in the middle of a fight, not to mention what happened to him.
<Huh. Didn't know I could do that... Something to practice later, once I understand how that works.>
He grimaces when he sees the awakening of the Pride demon, taking what time he has left to go retrieve his sledgehammer again, having to think about where he can safely store the Boreal Bomber he's been lugging around. The best he can come up with is hurling a few cryogenic grenades off to one side, then giving the heavy grenade launcher a push, sending it sliding away over the freshly created ice pathway.
Once done, he beholds what Evelyn has become. His instincts do not like it. His sane does does not like it. He briefly gets flashbacks to his original homeland, and of the rampaging beasts there... Devil Hounds, the spike-covered canine creatures as large as buses, more dinosaur than dog. Charred Titans, the colossal behemoths that would shoulder charge straight through minigun fire, sometimes imbued with flame themselves. Giant Grizzlies, the zombified bears with enhanced strength and speed and size, the theoretical perfect biological killing machines.
...
He has faced beings that tower over him before and come out on top, but not anything quite like this. For a moment, he's tempted to get his process of escalation over with already, pop some greater abilities, and fight that fiend on more equal footing. The hesitation stops him from moving right away, leaving him standing and watching as the demon throws down with Emma, Sarah, Tilra, and gets set to go after Bely.
He steels himself. To one who has survived Fairview, terror cannot justify inaction. Even though the chaos of the battlefield, his voice breaks through.
"COME ON THEN! SHOW ME STRENGTH WORTH FEARING!"
With an explosive blast, the man hurtles himself into combat, sliding across the battlefield detritus to bring himself into melee range of the demon formerly known as Evelyn. His strategy, pulled from his past experiences in dealing with foes that massively outsize him, is simple - every swing of the sledgehammer is aimed at having the depleted uranium hammerhead smash against the creature's knees and (theoretical) tendons, aiming to cripple the beast as quickly as possible, while his instincts and quick reflexes do their best to tell him when and which way to dodge retaliatory strikes.
If nothing else, he may be able to draw the aggro of the demon towards himself, and thus away from those less able to take it.
The fact that only 140 characters are allowed here is honestly so disappointing to me.
The Priest
Church, Avar-Laren, Dawnguard, Dawn Never Came
"A fraction.." Cittufeni groaned in a warbling, metallic tone like steel against steel. "Only a fraction of your lifepower…if you would allow it.." With his only hand left he reached out at Sarah but did not touch her, staying the palm a good six inches from the woman as the entire hand was covered in a black layering of nanites.
When she did, he came alive with energy.
It was true—Cittufeni only needed a fraction. A fraction of one of the Arena’s strongest, almost unnoticeable to her, was all he needed to come alive once more with power. A brilliant, blue aura of Creation Power engulfed the android as he stood, whole once more. He seemed to struggle for the words, but they came eventually: "Thank you, one known as Sarah." It was spoken lowly, yet it sounded so human, not in the monotone voice he had used every other time he’d spoken.
Nearly immediately after, Cittufeni bounded into the air and shot back towards the beach, finding a scene that was significantly worse than how he had left it. Veilman had been cooking something utterly malicious up, but thankfully his meal had been interrupted. Still…that left the matter of the Fiend. He had no clue where the frightening and demonic beast had come from, but given the lack of an Evelyn at the scene…he could guess. If he were capable of fear, this would be when he felt it.
But as it were, the Android had no ability for such organic emotions. So, he’d fight—and what’s more, he’d gain invaluable data from facing off against the beast. And so he struck, launching downwards with his legs pointed out in a dropkick for the ages…that would, ultimately, never connect.
The moment Cittufeni’s body made contact with the Fiend, it would explode into a decent—but not too frightfully large—burst of Creation Power. The real Cittufeni, in a new shell formed a fraction of a moment before impact from all the most important parts of the other Cittufeni and leaving only the appearance, was behind the Fiend. He lunged a hand forwards at the demon’s left calf, aiming to transfer a more massive quantity of Creation Power into the demon’s leg and blow it the fuck up.
——
They navigated the dark and dead halls with ease, Rime following quietly behind after Sebastien and Luin’s lead. The walls were of stone and decorated with various carvings of murals too wide to see fully in the darkness and of messages in an ancient tongue. All the while, sounds came from deeper inside the coliseum—combat. The bazelgeuse’s roar, the second shout, weakening and desperate…it seemed like the b-52 was winning. If it was the specimen Luin thought it was but hoped it wasn’t, then that was no surprise.
But as they neared, they heard…voices. Human yells, the sound of swords clashing against carapace…Luin gritted her teeth. It was true, then…Baltaos.
——
The man’s eyes squinted as the light from Perceval’s blade flooded into the room, but he adjusted soon enough and nodded. "Aye, that is me. General Radahn the Starscourge, the Red Lion General, the good-for-nothing, who broods in his chambers as the sun travels, endlessly sharpening his blade for a fight that does not come. Alas I weep that there are no more worlds I shall conquer…for failure of my own accord, rather than victory. But you have not come to hear a despondent soldier lament, have you? No…" Radahn stood, unfurling his full height and shaking his head. The self-pity in his voice was palpable. "So, she asked for me, aye? I can’t imagine why…but I suppose I shall soon learn. Lead the way, then."
——
I glance ahead of time with my scrying stone, and find a post that does not yet exist…
"I’d have thought my mother to put her trust and the future of the realm in the hands of her own men, not…the public." Mia whispered to the man who stood beside her, the head of her personal guard. He wore armor in the same fashion as the knights below, but rather than any standard blade, he carried a claymore on his back. His helm rested not upon his head, but rather below his arm; the man was aged but not old, balding at the top of his head, yet sporting a beard equal parts white and brown. Still, he heard a fierce gaze, and if he had been assigned protection of the princess, his fighting ability must’ve been considerable.
"Aye, but I’ve known your mother, Her Grace, a very long time…she’s as much a schemer as she is a warrior, and your mother is a very good warrior. No doubt there are plans upon plans at work here." Sir Ladwin Connis spoke in an accent different from any other in the castle, clearly not highborn like the rest of the guard.
Below, a hooded man cut swiftly through the crowd.
“Pardon me,” spoke he, in a low and compelling tone. He brushed against Kai and Taye as he moved through the huddled masses, making for a side-door beneath a painting of an older fellow, balding and beardless with his face stern and hands folded over a blade.
Three fingers fell upon Hange’s shoulder, tapping twice from behind. Should she have turned to look, she’d see a man colored an unnatural shade of white, completely lacking in hair with even his eyebrows shaved. His eyes were dark and muddy, and his lips twisted upwards into a mischievous grin. He said nothing, only produced a giggle as he pointed to the dagger on his belt, surrounded by small drums leaking a tar-colored liquid. The mute stepped back and disappeared suddenly into the crowd—far more invisible among the mass of people than any stark-white person had any right to be.
Another man, tanned and ragged, sat at a table near Kana and Medicine. He keeled over and grunted softly, a viscous black fluid dripping from between his teeth as he suppressed a cough. It spilled out onto the table, pooling in a very small puddle…
"Good." Said Frilda, when she was met with no questions. "The packages assigned to you will now be handed out, give your name and…and…" The Queen trailed off, looking at the hall below. Her eyes fixed upon the tanned man who seemed in the midst of throwing up, but it was not him who concerned her…it was that black liquid being flung from his stained lips. Her eyes went wide. "Go. Now!" She demanded. Confusion swept across the balcony but Sir Ladwin moved immediately nonetheless, reaching for both princesses and ushering them through the doors. The queen herself turned and spoke to the immediate knights upon the balcony, conferring in hushed whispers.
Below, a man approached the tan fellow, concern evident on his face. “Sir, are you—“ His question as he reached for the sickly man was cut off by a knife to the gut. The tan-man moved fast and swift, and as he slowly drew the bloodsoaked knife from the adventurer’s flesh, he showed his blackened teeth with a malicious grin.
The chamber erupted into pandemonium.
Swords clashed and crackled against other swords, limbs flew and blood erupted from freshly hewn wounds, and nobody seemed to have any notion of what was happening or who was doing it.
From above, the Queen looked on in horror. Why…what purpose did this serve? None from the crowd below were permitted anywhere near the stairwell that led to the balcony, and if the intent by the perpetrators of the sudden bloodshed had been to kill her using one of her own trusted men, she’d have been dead already, there’d been no reason to kill everyone below instead. Her eyes narrowed. Frilda noticed the door through which the hooded man had stepped through, left ajar. Beyond it were the halls that sprawled throughout the castle, the very halls that she’d just sent her daughters to…
"A distraction." She whispered, quietly at first, before shouting to the adventurers below, however many of them were truly who they’d said they were. How could we have been so fooled? “A distraction! It’s a distraction! Find my daughters—find them!”
Edited by ISZATSO on Mar 23rd 2024 at 12:34:43 PM
Do you believe in 'Gravity'?
Business Youkai of the Mountain
Church
Huh. That's a pretty big monster. One she'd have been eager to fight against if she had full energy reserves. Unfortunately she doesn't right now, so she'll leave the others to handling/avoiding it. She had smaller fish to fry.
So she opted to help Artemis out, by focusing on Azura. Light bending is a neat trick, shame she has other senses than sight. She smirks as she sheathes Laevateinn back in its armor magic.
Night Lord "Dracula Cradle"
Flandre surrounds herself with a red aura, forming a shield of sorts as she then flies at Azura at a shockingly fast speed, far faster than she's flown up to this point. Using destruction energy as a shield from projectiles she plans on slamming into Azura like a raging Valstrax and propelling her away from Mahito/Meteorika/whatever the fuck that ugly thing is called.
After that, well she'll think of something. If she misses somehow, she just keeps going to stay out of fuckery range.
Intrigue
"Ah don't worry about that. I tripped and fell into lava once and I was fine." Okuu smiled, despite that probably being a concerning thing. "And there was that time I had to go into the Hell of Blazing Fires..."
"Hell ravens are naturally resistant to extreme temperatures. Okuu even moreso with my abilities." Yatagarasu added.
"Which is how I think I can help! You've never had someone fireproof like me to spar with." Okuu says, grinning cheerfully. "We could practice your control and stuff."
Dawn Never Came, some other place in Estraole idk
"Ugh, the nerve of that guy. Complaining about my glares when he was whining like a child the whole time I was giving him a shot." complained a short blonde girl
◊ in red, sitting inside a reasonably fancy clinic. They were closed right now so she was sitting on the examination table.
"Your bedside manner does need work." said a taller blond woman
◊ sitting in an office chair at a nearby desk. The name "Rin Satsuki" was written on a convenient little label on the desk.
"I'm improving." the girl defended herself. "I didn't tell anyone to kill themselves today."
"The fact that's considered progress for you Medicine..." Rin sighed.
"And I'm gonna work on it. See this?" Medicine said, showing the royal invitation.
"Adventure...?" Rin blinked. "Well I'm surprised. Are you sure about this?"
"Of course! Those dunderheads will need a healer to keep them alive no doubt." Medicine smirked smugly. "It will be great practice for me. Socially and healing wise."
"Well if you say so..." Rin hummed noncommittally. She trusted Medicine to at least come back alive. Maybe not with her party alive. "Just remember to pack everything you'll need and get back safe."
"Yeah, sure thing mom." Medicine grumbled as she got her mechanized backpack, Su-san the doll and her medical supplies.
—
"Well this is a bit disappointing." Medicine grumbled to herself, staring at the others here. They're not even going to be in adventuring parties? It's just some weirdly complex courier service! She pouted and happened to notice Kana. Huh, someone her vague age perhaps?
Whatever. She'll deliver this stupid box. And try to refrain from putting anthrax on it.
Avar-Laren
Sebastien scowled.
"Poachers again?" he whispered/grumbled. "We should probably investigate why they're here. Can't be good news for the island."
With Luin's approval he'd continue sneaking further to get a visual recon of what the Baltaos be doing.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."
Zamba
Son of a Beach
Bely got out of the water just on time, before "Evelyn"'s last transformation: the Fiend.
La creatura lunges quickly towards her. She didn't got time to swap dresses, so she prepares some scales to throw at her... But she was thankfully thrown by Artemis, just in time.
She fell face-first on the sand, a bit far away from the battle. She swaps into her usual dress, and begins to run back to the fray, while thinking about her next move.
Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated.
Hi
Dawn Ain't Coming
Hange looks over her shoulder, and makes eye contact with the pale-faced man. Well-versed in these things, she's already ready for a fight the instant her attention is taken to him, and yet, before she can make heads or tails of what his intent might be, he has already disappeared into the crowd.
Lost him.
"Who was that?", Hange thinks, "An assassin? Then why point to his own dagger? Was he just trying to show off?"
Lingering upon that thought, chaos erupts throughout the building. All this noise would make it hard to think for anyone else, but Hange is well-versed in situations of equatable stress. Someone swings a sword at her.
Omnidirectional Mobility Gear, or ODM gear, isn't exactly easy to store away. Hange had thought, at one point, that it might be inappropriate to wear such a strange and far-away piece of technology to this place. But she hadn't really had anywhere to store the gear, either. The choice was made to simply wear it beneath her green Survey Corps cloak. It would pay off in an emergency, was her thought. And, well, how about that little bit of prescience?
Hiss, whip, thunk, came a sound as Hange deployed the grapple hooks. A finite supply of gas had got her this far, and she wasn't about to waste any more than she needed to on this. Reeling herself up into the rafters, Hange landed among the criss-crossing beams, granted vantage over the chaotic scene.
Find my daughters- find them! she heard shout over the sound of battle.
"Of course..." she thought, "This attack must have a motive. If they wanted to kill the queen, then they'd have just done that. Which must mean...
Hange looks to the ajar door.
"Sorry about this Mrs. Queen, but I might have left a dent in your ceiling. You said your daughters were missing?"
She descends from the rafters, and politely kicks the door open.
"You should get out of here. I'll have them back as soon as I'm able. Can't guarantee they'll all be in one piece."
Mentally praising herself a little for the cool one-liner, Hange rushes into the imminent danger of the castle.
And it's something quite peculiar / Something shimmering and white.
Dawn Never Came
Taye had noted the presence of the redhead's bodyguard, when the hooded man bumped into her and moved away just as quickly. Well, that's not suspicious at all.
Don't mind me, I'm following that s-
Before she could take a step, trouble came. She knew things would south, she just didn't think it would be this soon, even before they stepped out of the hall. Her hand inched towards her blade... and then full pandemonium fell.
As a sword swung in her direction, she spun backwards, narrowly avoiding it. At the same time, she drew her own blade & held it up to block more incoming attacks. Taye got to carving her way through the crowd, smacking her sword side-to-side to make space - this was not a time to be polite.
That hooded guy, he went to the side-door under the painting of a balding guard. But stay safe!
That black stuff looked nasty - a good part of why Taye wanted to get out as soon as possible. She focused on making her way to the side-door beneath the painting, but just as she reached it, a woman with strange equipment dropped down and kicked it open. Someone's fast. Nevertheless, Taye dashed through the door as well, running alongside Hange & giving her a wave.
"Hey there! I saw a man wearing a hood go through this door earlier on. He shouldn't be too far away."
Edited by Hotpizza on Mar 24th 2024 at 10:11:25 PM
Nonsense Man
Solopost (and opener)
Save
- New Kid
Today is “Pyra”’s first day at a nearby school. Riding their bike, they pass by other students chattering, and is coming up with an alias as “Pyra” has more of a nickname vibe.
Wearing the summer uniform to aerate their scars so they don’t randomly self combust means that these scars are highly visible. Most students they pass by are sticking to their cliques and not really paying much attention to “Pyra”. Maybe a few did but “Pyra” was focusing on other things like navigation.
Let’s see… class 6-3 (or 3-3 if middle and high school are separate).
Fast-forward to the self-introduction.
“Pyra” writes the characters 施澤蓮 on the whiteboard - their alias.
| You |
“Hi, my name is Clover Si but you can call me Pyra. I use they/them and can speak Cantonese.”
“Pyra”’s seat is the “Protagonist Seat”. Well, if something happens they can see it coming.
Edited by TheTropingAlliancer on Mar 24th 2024 at 9:38:13 AM
Embrace the Insanity, Nonsense Man’s Activities are about to begin
Zamba
DnC
Grace noticed the seemingly hurt man dripping the black ooze, and stepped towards him.
Sir, are you-
But shortly afterwards, this man stabbed the adventurer, and hell broke loose. Dodging swords, both explorers attempted to hide below the table, when they saw Hange descending from the cellar and opening the door. They rush towards it, following Taye.
Thank you, how could we pay you?
The School
Another girl pass to the whiteboard, and writes her name.
Hi. My name is Violetta Castillo. I recently got transferred into this school from Buenos Aires... And before that, I got transferred from Madrid. I'm getting used to this.
Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 24th 2024 at 7:36:21 AM
Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated.
Divine Burden
DNC
Oh. Kana is dissapointed when the troubles start from the start instead of down the line. Being quite older than she looks, she only look somewhat distressed instead of horrified at the chaos happening around her. Not because she wasn't aghast at the deaths around here, but because part of her was almost used to all that suffering.
However, that didn't mean Kana was going to stand by and do nothing against that suffering. Just because human lives were short didn't rob them of any preciousness. Your majesty! I'll help you! Kana wasn't sure on how humans in this realm reacted to dragons, or if dragons and humans really had hybrids, so she didn't want to make the queen panic thinking that the forces of evil had sent her to lay waste to the siege. The Queen was unlikely to hear her maybe but it didn't matter.
Kana deployed her wings, shifting her axe around as her own armor's plates shifted, melding with her flesh to let her sprout big grey wings emanating from her back. Though Kana liked to fly, she had to admit: Hange's odd flying gear looked cool.
With a hop, Kana jumped far above the melee, though she had been slower to get going than Hange or Taye. Nonetheless, Kana floated their way towards the ajar door, batting her wings a few times to fly forward before simply unfurling them a few feet short from the ground, letting her boots slide on the magnificient floor for a few meters before she went and sprinted forth.
For the duration of this, Kana's axe floated around her, as did the circle of water.
It seemed elitist to be helping the princesses when more regular folks were suffering below but there was a pragmatism to Kana's actions - she knew her words would be useless down below and that people were slaughtering each other almost out of confusion. There, she could do more visible good.
... And it didn't hurt that she could endear herself to people who looked like they could help her later, even though she didn't want to admit it.
Hi! I'm Kana! She says, not having figured out that the group probably had more important things to care for. Or at least, she does for a few seconds, at which point her face drops. We've got to save the princesses! Kana says as a "do-over".
Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 24th 2024 at 2:57:26 PM
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
Business Youkai of the Mountain
Dawn Didn't Come
Medicine raises an eyebrow at the guy coofing up some black ooze.
"Sir are you unwell? I'm a trained medical professional you know." she offered, trying to make a good first impression by seeming nice in front of Kana and the others.
Then he attacked and she sighed in exasperation. So much for being nice. Much like Kana she isn't too fazed by the pandemonium. She opts to follow the others in running after the guy through the door, though not before pointing her hand at the ooze man and shooting a burst of poisonous gas at him.
Consequently she ends up being the last to join the group as they run. She's surprisingly not slowed down by the backpack almost as big as herself. A hint she's not exactly human. Well that and the visible artificial joints on her limbs.
"You can call me Medicine." she says during the brief pause after Kana introduces herself. "Any of you been here before or are we running blind?"
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."
Nonsense Man
School
Save
- New Kid
Violetta sits right in front of “Pyra”. (“Let’s put the new kids together” momento)
Buenos Aires… isn’t that in Argentina or something? Gotta go read up on some geography and history later then…
Finding a vacant, seemingly unused room on the way from 3-3 to the library during break, “Pyra” goes to borrow some books about Argentina at the library, asks for permission to use the room then heads to that room to have lunch.
Maybe this room used to be used for club activities or will be used for club activities in the future, as there’s stuff there, like some books, a calendar, chess sets, musical instruments and a… coffee machine?
Maybe this is actually a storeroom for clubs, just with tables for when the club members need a break before and after they move their stuff around?
Either way, it’s a pretty quiet room, good for lunch and undisturbed reading.
The door handle clicks as “Pyra” finishes their food.
Embrace the Insanity, Nonsense Man’s Activities are about to begin
Mage, kinda
Dawn Never Came
As chaos breaks out, Kai grabs his harpoon off of his back, blocking an incoming swing before simply ramming the blunt end into the man that decided to attack him. He barrels through the crowd, knocking people over like a rushing wave of water. When he reaches the door, he proceeds through, falling in line with the group.
"Did anyone see which way they went?"
His voice is still calm, ringing above the chaos in a commanding tone. Befitting of one who could be called a captain. His harpoon is in one hand, the other holding the rope bound to the end of it- said rope is wrapped around his arm.
Well, it could be worse. It could be Husk cultists... I probably shouldn't have said that, but this is nothing like Europa, so I think we'll be fine.
Intrigue
"I can try... I know I could if I knew how, it's just that I... don't. I'm trying so hard to suppress it that I guess all I know how to do is let loose completely. But hey, if you've got any pointers..."
Phoenix takes a few steps back. Her glowing eye flares up, before she emits a torrent of flame around herself- nowhere near as large as the giant pillar from earlier, but still clearly uncontained.
"I-I burned off most of it earlier. This is the extent of my control- fire lashing out at everything around me."
aeiou
Zamba
School
After class was over, Violetta explores her new school, glancing at her new schoolmates. Certainly, things here are very different from as they were in Spain or Argentina.
She arrived at the clubs room, the same place where "Pyra" is. She looks marveled at all the things they have here... But her attention is fully caught by all the musical instruments they have here.
She picks a guitar, with a bit of nervousness, and she starts to play a tune.
Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated.
The Priest
Frilda watched as Hange zipped from the roof to the doorway, and it was the woman’s parting words that shook her from her daze of panic, the confused cloud lifting over her mind. She wheeled to her Queensguard and rattled off a series of swift commands, assigning positions to each in a practiced manner of tone. The knights saluted and flooded into the balcony doors, disappearing to their emergency stations within the keep. Frilda herself followed after, sprinting after her daughters.
Ladwin would be taking them to the emergency chamber hidden beneath the keep, in the extensive tunnel network below even the crypt carved out by their forefathers’ forefathers. She needed to hurry if she were to catch up.
Below…
Those adventurers who responded to the mother’s cry were surrounded by violence as they moved through the carnage, knights and adventurers fighting against any who surrounded them—those who hesitated were killed, for none had a clue what was happening or who their attacker was, only that there were attackers and they could be anyone.
Cries of shock and astonishment rose as Kana flew over the crowd. Some blades swung for her boots—such a demonic beast was sure to be the reason for the sudden bloodshed, after all—but none had any real chance of actually making contact before she had returned to the ground, now sliding towards the door.
The man erupted into an even more violent fit of coughing when Medicine’s poison curled about him, but from the smog came an utterly deranged laugh. There was a spark of orange, a lit match in his hands…he reared his head back, parted his lips, and let it fall. The room was painted with new light as he erupted into flame from the inside out, a burning torch of a man in the crowd. Those around him were quick to disperse, but not quick enough—if they had earned so much as a hint of the black fluid that stuck to their clothes, they were not spared by the flames. Screams followed the adventurers through the door, an unimaginably powerful heat warming their backs.
In stark contrast to the newly blazing chamber, the air in these dark, musty halls was cold and placid. The further in they ventured, the quieter the sounds behind them were, quickly becoming no more than muffled shouts and clangs…and the more evident the voices ahead of them grew, echoes of hushed whispers spoken in panicked tones bouncing off the walls.
Before them, a short stairwell ran down into a crypt. The halls there were far smaller, with a mere six feet across from hall to hall, and a sizable chunk of that was taken up by old stone statues of long-gone kings and queens of Al-Agadd, all wielding the same sword, all wearing the same crown. Up ahead was Sir Ladwin with his helm now fashioned, ushering the princesses on with urgency in his tone. Mia’s colorful green dress was the only hint of color in the catacombs that stretched endlessly on ahead of the group, bright against the drab grey that dominated the scene.
This sight was plain for all to see…though some of the more attentive and keener-eyed present may also have noticed the ever-so-slight movement of a shadow, posted just behind one of the larger statues only a few paces away from the trio.
Do you believe in 'Gravity'?
Nonsense Man
School
Save
- Guitar, Coffee and Blue Planet
“Pyra” notices that it’s their front-seat neighbour. They don’t really know what to talk about yet other than maybe about the book they’re reading and stuff about Argentina from the books, so they just keep on reading.
They hear a tune that they’re not familiar with, but it sounds catchy.
- Strike up conversation
- > Nice rhythm!
Their only experience with instruments is messing around with the UI of music applications so the most they could do is tapping their feet on the floor to the rhythm.
| You |
(Bass does sound cool, maybe I could learn how to play it.)
Would the library or the music room have books regarding that?
Also is that coffee machine actually operational?
- > Test the machine
- Maybe not
So “Pyra” moves over to the coffee machine and tries to make something with it.
| You |
(Well, other than needing to bring in your own beans or powder, this one’s maintained well!)
So “Pyra” makes themselves a cup of coffee.
“Would you like something as well?”
Edited by TheTropingAlliancer on Mar 24th 2024 at 5:15:25 PM
Embrace the Insanity, Nonsense Man’s Activities are about to begin
Mage, kinda
Dawn Never Came
Kai's eyes, due to being someone who has fought in abyssal waters most of his life, are as keen as ever. He spots the movement of shadow...
"Hah!"
..And hurls his harpoon at it, gripping the rope tightly and pulling back with all his might once it hits something. This same force could beach whales if the need ever came to it, so it's not like its a weak pull by any means.
aeiou
Business Youkai of the Mountain
Intrigue
Okuu nods, the fire washing over her but looking more like she got hit by a strong wind than anything.
"Hmm... Could maybe try doing what you're doing to suppress it but like... with less force behind it? Like trying to quietly let out a fart." Okuu suggested.
Beat
"...A crude way of putting it but the basic idea has merit." Yatagarasu sighed.
"Yeah. Try focusing on one direction too while you're at it." Okuu adds. "Try fire blasting me for example."
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."
Hi
DNC
Call it a hunch, or perhaps experience in the matter, but Hange doesn't need direction through these twisting, placid corridors. She moved quickly, heartbeat rushing in her ears as she hurried through the halls, hands kept on the trigger of her gear's built-in anti-personnel pistol. She had a finite number of bullets left in both repeating pistols, two sets of ten-round clips left though currently unfired, in addition to the ultrahard steel blades that she'd yet to dull through or break.
"Given that the enemy could be disguised as anyone," Hange thought, "That knight is certainly the largest suspect. But, any one of the princesses could also be compromised. I'll have to be careful."
Having conserved the gas in their ODM gear thus far, Hange isn't about to break her streak. She can't exactly sneak up on this guy, though, especially not while openly wearing what could be an unfamiliar piece of foreign technology.
It's a risk, but Hange holsters her pistols. Strange movements of a shadow hardly meet her notice.
"Sir Ladwinn, princesses!" she shouted as she caught up, "The queen has tasked me with ensuring your safety. I'm afraid you won't believe me telling you this, but you're all marching right to your deaths!"
She resists the urge to cackle a little, much too enthusiastic for such a life-or-death scenario.
Coming on a little strong. Hange pivots quickly, trying to help her case.
"Whatever our enemy is, they've clearly bet on you making your escape, and I'm willing to bet, waiting to ambush you once you've made it out."
And it's something quite peculiar / Something shimmering and white.
Zamba
Dawn
When the duo of explorers accepted the mission, they never imagined themselves at the midst of a war. But they are them, dodging slashes to save their dear life.
At the underground room, they were about to comment something... When they were startled by the harpoon.
School
Violetta stopped to play, startled by "Pyra".
Umm... Sure. You choose.
Why not accept their offering? Probably just wants to be friends...
But something attracts her attention. She notices the book.
Hey... Why are you reading about Argentina!?
Edited by BombonBombin on Mar 24th 2024 at 1:56:15 PM
Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated.
Divine Burden
DNC
Kana does a slight "oh" and looks down when only a few people reply. Well! It made sense with the other people being busy. In fact, she can take solace in knowing that no one has pointed out her little faux-pas. But just because the team hadn't pointed it out didn't mean it wasn't weighing down on her.
And unlike Hange, the twisting corridors of the castle are twisting corridors, so she keep up with the group instead of going ahead. She start drawing her axe first, although she doesn't quite pull it out to avoid accidentally hurting someone next to her. Good! Everyone -or so?- had went that way. She kind of hoped that the group of adventurers would be fine, but also knew that there were ridiculously low odds of them being even "decent" after that.
And she felt bad for not really caring about that because of their attacks on her. She was kind of new to being feared for her powers and abilities because of her and her father's heroic deeds across the ages and a surprisingly robust record on all of that. Not that it had never happened, mind you, there was a reason she didn't care much, but it was always... surprising. And perhaps more than that if she couldn't spare a few empathetic thoughts their way.
Reaching the main room, Kana has keen eyes but they focus on the princesses and rescuer first. Could he be the dubious faker amongst them? Maybe it was due to paranoia, but because of that, Kana doesn't spot the shadow as fast as Kai does. However, her fast reflexes mean she sees his harpoon flying and even jump while it's still in mid-flight. She won't and can't catch up to it given the head start but she doesn't need to.
Her role get much simpler : Kana deploys her wings again and bat them once to change her course in mid-air, trying to go where the shadow is going as well (assuming it stays in her sight) to try to slam herself into it. There's the tighest grip of doubt in her heart, telling her that she could be fucking something up, that the shadow is a guard trying to help, and that the bad guy is actually the knight but there's little she can do.
She'd rather bank on it being a bad guy.
Should Kana succeed with slamming into the shadow, she try to tussle them to the ground with her strength, attempting to wrap one hand around their neck before putting her left knee down on their right arm and her right foot down unto their left elbow, the young girl raising her freed arm and shapeshifting it into a nasty shiv-looking thing. Without her armor on her arms, the shifting flesh become clearer, it becoming grey plates that arrange themselves until they form into a great black-and-gray spike, pointed right at the victim's head.
Stop right there!
There's also a chance Kana fails or miss, in which case, she still say that line before slamming herself through the wall.
Edited by Bolded1 on Mar 24th 2024 at 8:07:40 PM
Fallout 2? More like Fallout 2 bad.
Business Youkai of the Mountain
DNC
Medicine doesn't dwell too much on the adventurers behind. She doesn't want them dead per say but she also wouldn't miss them either. Still working on that misanthropy. She doesn't have anything to add really to add to what Hange said so instead she joins in on subduing the shadow, but unlike the others she plans on using less physical means.
Assuming the others haven't already completely subdued the shadow, she'll add to their barrage by hitting him with a blast of paralyzing poison. Otherwise she keeps going past them in case Hange bites off more than she can chew.
"That was a pointless encounter with a pointless person."
Nonsense Man
School
Save
- Guitar, Coffee and Blue Planet
"Pyra" proceeds to make a second cup of coffee when the question startles them.
This attempt to find conversation material ended up really awkward... And this also kicks "Pyra" into high-gear panic.
- Avoid the question
- > Answer honestly
- Deflect with another question
"Pyra" finds it really uncomfortable to lie to Violetta due to conscience and not wanting to make enemies on their first day of school, so they decide to come clean. They're pretty nervous so their answer involves lots of stuttering.
| You |
"Ah... Y-you said you were from Argentina so I-I thought improving my knowledge on the country can help start conversations..."
("How's Argentina like" as a first question feels too personal...)
"A-also that tune's catchy..."
Ah, the coffee's ready. There's some trembling as a result of getting really nervous over the situation, but "Pyra" manages to put the cup down on the table without falling over or spilling anything.
Embrace the Insanity, Nonsense Man’s Activities are about to begin
The Hall
Joy and Grace, who accepted the request not because the payment, but because of the chance to explore the Arena, greet Mia.
Greetings! We are Grace and Joy, and we are MusiExplorers!
We accept your request, and promise not to peek at the contents of the package.
Pica-Verse
"Worry not, the web wasn't broken yet. But, we don't know how much it will resist."
Drawing!Emi chimes: Ah! Just like the elephants song!
"But... If I do something with this portal..."
Insert Jepoardy thinking song here
"I got an idea! But we should get out of here. I think we could go safely with 6 people. Altina and Carolina will go with me. Who do you want to follow us, Altina?"
"By the way, if the Hunter want to go with the dog, I think both would travel together without an issue."
Thanks... But he's a wolf, not a dog.
Young! Belén: But he's a cuuute boy!
Rumors about my death were greatly exaggerated.