Shadows of Sandfield RP Thread

Mina Parker

Mina, to her credit, took her punch like a champ, not even letting out a yelp as Matthew undid whatever it was that was holding her latent magic back. "That w-was..." she began, unsure what to say. "...odd and p-painful. More of a w-warning next time would be n-nice."

Mina looked down at the choice of two bats in her backpack and settled on the aluminum one, then looked up at Matthew, unsure about what to do. However, remembering Tom's fate was all it took to galvanize her into action. One moment she was holding the bat loosely in her hands, looking for all the world like her old, shy self, and the next, her hands had tightened on the handle of the bat and she'd surged forward with alarming alacrity and ferocity in an attempt to land several feral blows on Matthew.

First, Tom had been taken from her.

Second, her father was a liar.

Third, she'd been trampled on all her life.

With all this in mind, Mina had focused the emotions from all the slights against her into managing to land a hit, knowing that if she failed spectacularly, it might end up turning Matthew off of training the club entirely. A nameless curse fell from her lips as she leapt forward, still almost eerily silent.

No more pain, no more fear, and no more humiliation.

No more.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 27th 2021 at 12:07:10 PM

Training Begins

Matthew stood there and watched his trainees take the punches - Duane was still getting back up, and others like Mina took it with little complaint. As Mina ran forward, brandishing her weapon, Matthew smiled and brought up one hand ready at the spot she was swinging at. He otherwise remained stock still, waiting for Mina's attack to reach him.

Her swing impacted against his palm.

And the aluminum in the baseball bat cracked against surprisingly firm skin, reinforced by something else. It was like swinging against unyielding concrete - she may as well have taken a swing at the local street. And then just as suddenly as she swung, a very slight push from Matthew's hand caused the baseball bat to deflect back off - Mina just as well almost losing her grip on it due to the sudden force being exerted.

Matthew raised his hand and showed the complete lack of any damage at all, "First thing I'll teach you about is the two kinds of enhancement. You can strengthen your body against damage, or..." He looked at the aluminum baseball bat, "You can enhance the damage potential of your weapon. Every weapon has a different maximum effect with this."

He looked at Mina and said, "Now, I want you to concentrate. Feel the weapon in your hand. Remember the feeling when I opened your network up. Focus and imagine that weapon in your hand covered in your will. Then hit me again."

Mina Parker

"My w-will?" Mina echoed, seeming to shrink back into herself, biting her lip and looking back towards the ground. From everyone's point of view, she had always been a spineless doormat. They thought she had no will, but her recent actions had proved otherwise, didn't they? Had Matthew not been able to withstand her blow, she was sure that it would have given him some nasty bruises. She was Sandfield High's pinch hitter after all.

She wiped her sweaty hands off on her blazer and tightened her hands around her bat again. It was just like being called up to bat. Nothing was out of the ordinary here. It might as well be another day of practice only to be left on the sidelines until her team needed a quick win.

Never again.

Mina thought she felt a thrill run through her body, and remembered that metal bats were, more often than not, good at conducting electricity. Then the thrill intensified into a low hum as she moved—the effort barely taking the time the thought needed to pass through her mind—and finally swing the bat. In the process of the swing, what looked like royal blue lightning sparked into existence and surrounded the bat.

If Matthew's skin—or, rather, his will-armor—was too tough, then a combination of blunt force and something that could penetrate into his body was probably the answer to landing a proper hit.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 27th 2021 at 12:07:15 PM

Dave DuVale, Will Probably Get Arrested For Something In The Future

Dave's reaction to the acupunch was silent, but he still visibly reacted; in fact he almost fell over, only barely managing to stay afoot with his arms flailing wildly for balance.

His reaction to Mina's batting attempt wasn't silent, but at the volume he said it, it might as well have been. "Damn." This was more in response to the force at which Mina swung than Matthew's hard...skin...?

And then he said something about weapons. "Hey, uh, quick question: does a car count as a weapon? Like could I get a boost to the force of running people over? Or running cryptids over, I guess?" Then Mina generated lightning. "Oh, you meant like, superpower shit. Uhh...same question, I guess?"

Edited by TheFullestCircle on Jan 26th 2021 at 9:26:06 AM

Training Exercises

Matthew watched her charging up to face him, and his eyes slightly widened when he saw the baseball bat starting to crack and glow with bright blue energy. He prepared his hand again, but this time it actually pushed against him, pressing Matthew in the direction of the swing. His own Enhancement fighting against Mina's - the result being a sharp cracking sound as Matthew actually had to adjust his posture to compensate for Mina's attack...

...And Enhance a little bit more with her capabilities in mind!

"Didn't expect you to be able to do that already...whew." Turning to look at Dave, he said, "I can't say I remember anyone doing that, but going by how things are, I wouldn't doubt it's possible."

He looked at his hand, still undamaged but looking at the ground he could see where he was pushed. Tell the truth he'd been using a very small amount of Enhancement, and that had made him amplify it a bit.

He looked around at the others, "Alright, now that you can see how Mina did that, I want to see some practice going on. Everyone, let's head inside the factory."

Walking toward the door, shut by a deadbolt, Matthew just smiled and delivered one enhanced kick that shattered the deadbolt and crashed the doors wide open. Inside, they would be able to see the many pillars around the interior...

"Those pillars are your training dummies for Enhancement attacks - if you can damage them a little, good. If you can actually break one of the pillars apart, great, you're ahead of curve. If anyone needs a weapon, I can provide one."

Looking around, Matthew said, "Now, as far as spells, I'm gonna need a different volunteer. You'll be learning the basic four elements."

Heather seized up as her something-that-probably-is-a-Chakra was forcibly cracked open by a back-punched and when she came to and recovered from the enhanced sensory perception the rest of the group was already heading inside to practice and talking about weapons.

"The katana! I knew I forgot something!"

She lightly slapped her own forehead.

"I bought the sunglasses but forgot to buy a katana... Whatever, I volunteer for the spell whatever!"

Edited by Pentigan on Jun 22nd 2022 at 9:21:39 PM

Dave DuVale, Rock Paper Scissors Champion

"I also volunteer for 'the spell whatever'. Guess we'll have to..." He did the fist-shake-thing that's a universal symbol for rock-paper-scissors.

James grimaced, massaging his back where he had been hit"I also volunteer for the quote-unquote "spell-whatever". The classical elements are real though, like they're actually the building blocks of existence?? I guess Plato was right after all, heck, the next thing you're going to tell me is that fire really is made of tetrahedra."

Edited by bobbitwormhobbitwyrm on Jan 26th 2021 at 11:55:32 AM

Mina Parker

"I—ah—um—I m-made you move!" Mina cheered, stepping into the abandoned factory along with the rest of the club and their mentor. "I d-didn't know I h-had that in m-me all along..."

"Immovable object, meet unstoppable force!" she encouraged the others. "Of course, we're the unstoppable forces! Let's work hard to get strong so we can beat up anyone and anything that's going to try and hurt us!" Mina followed up this statement with hearty laughter, seeming for all the world like another person. So this was what it was like to not be constantly bogged down by insecurities?

With that, she stomped her foot on the ground, seeming to gather up energy from a wide stance before swinging at the concrete column that she'd picked. A loud WHACK resounded before Mina tried again, giggling at the feeling of magic that she now knew was for her to freely use. Mina tried a few more whacks at the column before swapping to her other bat. What more could she do?

A wooden bat could be used for a more fiery effect, couldn't it? Heat and passion and longing and anger, remembered with enough intensity, flickered to life on the tip of the bat and poured over the rest of it like liquid metal. At this, Mina couldn't resist laughing some more, probably a little drunk with power but not having the presence of mind to care. It wasn't like she was hurting anything that was alive—for the moment, anyways.

Edited by JumpingFruit on Jan 27th 2021 at 6:58:01 AM

Abandoned Factory

Merry followed the others into the factory. After listening to Matthew's orders, she decides to observe the others.

Seems like Dave is trying to solve the volunteering issue with a little game of rock paper scissors, waiting for Heather's response. James seems to not mind being a volunteer as well.

Meanwhile, Mina seems... Much more energetic than usual.

Weird. She always thought of Mina as a shy, quiet girl, not an energetic one. She quietly observes Mina's actions, before realising something.

She raised her hand and decided to ask Matthew. "Hey, um. Are we going to do this one by one or all together?"

Pablo knew that sanity is a privilege these days. Times where he could just focus on his own work outs and maybe make plans on how to play in the NBA or the MLS or maybe get a passport and do some European tour were done.

Something was out there, a beast, a creep, anything ready to take any unsuspecting kid around. Kind of makes even the smallest sounds feel as a stampede.

A weird sound that chills the bone? Yeah, that fits the description. Walking normally, trying to ignore it for a moment, trying to tell himself it was just some random normal sound. But it wasn't really working.

And the idea of magical bullshit was kind of hanging on his mind, still bugging him.

So, there was no surprise on what happened next.

His muscles came to life, suddenly rushing, as if he was a beast pouncing. Whether he was running to danger or away from it, he was way too high strung lately to consider it.

Or where he was running at.

Well, he has an excuse on hand if it's nothing and just looked like a lunatic.

"Egh, but I called dibs fi— fine."

She puts a fist out and shakes it, ready to throw her chosen implement of Rock-Paper-Scissors battle.

Edited by Pentigan on Jun 22nd 2022 at 9:21:49 PM

"Okay, one of you guys can go first if you want. Oh and Matthew, you said you had some spare weapons lying around, can I ask where they are?"

Dave DuVale, Paper

(that's it)

Heather flings out the scissors hand sign, the closest auspicious sign to this whole sword thing I guess she has now. It is also the winning sign and she does a little happy twirl once she notices.

Training with Matthew

"Yes, that you did. Very nice work, Mina."

He then regarded the questions he was asked, pointing first at Merry, "Yes, you'll be doing this all at once. Pick a pillar and start practicing..." He then pointed at James, "I've always got some spares on me." He then offhandedly reached up and very quickly an ornate shortsword formed in his hand, hilt first then pommel, followed by the blade, each part seeming to be constructed out of blue sparks.

Moving over he handed the shortsword to James, "Be careful with this thing. A sword isn't a toy, especially where magic's concerned. See that pillar over there?" He gestured to one in a different area than the others nearby the rest of the club, "Your assignment, James, is to cut that pillar without touching it with the sword. Hint - visualize the air made by swinging the shortsword."

Seeing the group doing some rock paper scissors and Heather coming out ahead, he retrieved a small book from his backpack. It looked like a maroon book with some ornate black sigils on the front and no title. Moving over to Heather, he handed it to her, "Beginner spellbook. Until you know the words literally by heart, you'll have to call your attacks. Spells are based on language, belief system, and your belief in what you're doing."

He gestured at the book, "And that...would be some of the more recent spells available. Modern Thaumaturgy, a descendant of Crowley Style Thaumaturgy. In general, the older the spell is, the stronger it is, while also requiring knowing some old languages - though that's been changing a bit lately. Go right to the first spell you see and give me all you've got."

If Heather opened the book, the first spell she'd see would be a fire spell simply called "Flame Invocation", which would seem to etch itself and its corresponding words into her mind at sight. I call upon the flame dwelling in the world, ignite and burn - Flame Invocation

Sandfield, Darker

As he got closer to the woods, the strange feeling seemed to change, like something was swinging around in the trees, or maybe leaping from place to place. Watching Pablo like a hawk examining the running habits of a rabbit it hoped to eat. The first hints of what may be stalking him began to be made clear - something was making grotesque noises just barely audible.

It was like tendrils full of taut tissue dragging along the slick ground and uneven grass, the noise becoming more clear whenever it moved closer to the road.

It was getting closer and closer, and Pablo might be able to finally see something beyond the corner of his eye.

A discolored something in the field by the road, just near the entrance to the wooded area.

It was like it was trying to blend into the world around itself like a chameleon, but failing just enough to make it very obvious something was there. A head was barely visible, strips of skin connecting the upper and lower jaw, which were long and muzzle like.

Was that the air he heard again, hissing?

Or was it this thing, just barely visible and starting to move toward him?

Edited by NickTheSwing on Jan 28th 2021 at 12:19:03 PM

Holding the sword in front of him, James visualized an inexorable wave of force emanating out from the blade, cutting into the pillar. He swung the sword, curious to see if anything would happen.

Dave DuVale, Former Rock Paper Scissors Champion

"Ah, well."

Guess he was just gonna practice on the pillars like everybody else. He looked around for where Matthew might keep his spare weapons...oh, apparently he just makes weapons come out of his arm. Yeah, that makes sense.

He was about to ask for one when Matthew told James to break the pillar without touching it with the sword, and just visualize the air cutting through. This gave him an idea. It wasn't a great idea, but Dave was confident.

He held up two fingers in a V shape, pointed it at an unoccupied pillar, and closed his fingers.

Scissors.

Mage Training At The Ol' Mill

"Spellbook? Spellbook!" Heather uttered before snapping herself out of the little happy spark of getting knowledge burnt into her mind "R-right. Words, belief system, belief power."

She held out her hand, eyes closing as she tried to recite the words. Unfortunately, intrusive little thoughts were criss-crossing through her head; what did she even believe anymore? She was never religious, open-minded sure but never willing to believe blindly and these past few days had shaken some of her beliefs about the nature of the world, who could be trusted, what happened to those who went missing and with how much she had fallen back into referencing her favorite little nerd-things hanging around with these investigation dorks she was doubting her ability to gain the popularity she so desperately deserved or even survive the coming weeks.

"I call upon the flame dwelling in the world. Ignite and burn."

Edited by Pentigan on Jun 22nd 2022 at 9:45:47 PM

Jayden, Finally Catching Up

"Ooh! Is this how we start? Do we start now? How does this work? Meditation? Spells? Can everyone do it? I have a ton of theories and...and..."

Jayden's excited voice died down when Matthew just...skipped him. "Or that. That's okay too, I guess."

He stared silently as Mina smacked Matthew with her baseball bat normally...and then smacked him again with magic. It looked fun. Interesting. And he wasn't getting to do it.

Something ugly curled up in his chest.

Jayden tilted his head a bit at the pillars. "Is it safe to be attacking these?" he asked. "I mean, I know enough about pillars to know why they're there, and I know enough about physics to know what happens if you remove them, so—"

His eyes widened when Matthew mentioned spells, and he stepped forward to volunteer...which he didn't get the chance to do, as Heather reacted first and got the spellbook. Oh...that's fine, I guess.

The ugly feeling in his chest grew stronger.

Jayden let out a brief sigh and headed for one of the pillars. Well, no better place to start. He curled his hand into a fist, reared back, and slammed his fist into the pillar.

"...OWWWW!" Jayden howled, stumbling backward and shaking out his aching hand. "Owie owie owie owie..." He squeezed his fingers, surprised that he hadn't broken any bones. "Okay...maybe a bit less force..."

He hit it again. Nothing. Hit it again. Nothing. He hit it again, and again, and again, and again, eventually just wailing on the pillar with his fists. Nothing. Out of sheer frustration, Jayden kicked it, and all that did was cause him to yelp and hop on one foot, toe hurting.

Growling, he planted both feet on the floor and tried to push the damn pillar over. Maybe that would work, he didn't know—which was possibly the most infuriating thing, because he was supposed to know this stuff! But all this did was make his shoulders ache and cause his frustration to build and build and build—

Jayden looked over at the others. They were doing great, even though they'd never done any of this before and he was the occult research guy and he'd done all the work and now they were getting the rewards and were doing everything he'd always wanted—

The ugliness in his chest began to burn. Jayden's teeth gritted, a bead of sweat trickling down his neck. They had what he wanted. He was jealous. Envious. It should've been his, it should've been his, it should've been—

"AAAAAAAARGH!" With envy burning in his chest, Jayden reared back again and slammed his fist into the pillar.

Abandoned Factory

"Alrighty!" Merry observes the others before going to an unoccupied pillar. She looked at it closely before kicking it.

It was slightly damaged. "Alright, let's try it again.."

She kicked it again, and again, and again.

The damage wasn't large, but some more might be enough to cripple it.

She continued kicking the pillar, before stopping to think. "Hey, maybe I should try punching it." And she punched the pillar.. before grunting in pain. "Ow! Maybe I should just stick to kicking."

She continued on kicking, hoping the chip damage might be enough to do some effective damage to the pillar.

Training with Matthew

Matthew stood there, ready to move the moment he saw any evidence of the spell, and, seeing that Heather was speaking the phrase he slightly smiled...and then tilted his head a little. Well...that...wasn't quite what he expected.

As soon as the phrase was spoken, Heather's spell indeed did achieve some activation.

A tiny fireball emitted from an equally small red spell circle, sputtering and floating forward before a stiff enough gust of wind made it dip and turn through the air before hitting the dusty floor.

"Uh..." Matthew started, "...You may need to try again, Heather!" He awkwardly patted the back of his head, and looked around.

He watched as James managed to send a thin wave of aerial force at the pillar, slightly cutting its paint job. It was a start, but it demonstrated understanding of the basic principle. Matthew commented, "Well done, really work on getting it more visible."

Matthew was actually rather impressed by Dave demonstrating his own interpretation of a certain technique. When some Mages lacked a close quarters weapons, they would use their own Mana or...whatever they could get together to form some kind of close quarters weapon. Some went for swords, others tried to cover their hands in glimmering claws... and it seemed Dave went for the latter to some degree. Before long Dave would see his fingers covered in a sheath of light ending in a curving blade. It was unsure and rather unsteady, but the basic premise and foundation was there. "Very nicely done, Dave."

Jayden.

Matthew winced as he realized he kind of assumed too much about Jayden's experience based on how his Mana wasn't as clogged as that of the others. He watched as the ugly emotions playing through Jayden's mind manifested in an ugly red and black aura manifesting around his fist. The result saw the pillar take the impact, then several fissures manifested through it - and then further fissures spread out from there! The pillar then crumbled into a fine dust.

"Er...Jayden? That was very good."

He then watched Merry working up her confidence and ability - her Mana gathering on her legs more strongly than her arms and delivering strong enough blows to leave slight impact marks in the pillar she chose. "It seems you favor kicks more than punches. Suggestion: look into savate."

Matthew then observed Duane, practicing quietly and not even saying anything at the fact his fists and knees were bruised from several failed Mana usage attempts. But he was quickly getting the hang of it, punching the pillar hard enough to leave a small impact crater on it even as his knuckles bled.

Knowing you are being followed was a terrible feeling, and when you can't seem to know what the hell it is, it just sucks even more.

Pablo could only hear horrible sound, but whatever it was,really tried to hide. Just some vague vision of something. Not enough to even know.

But a big jump and spin mid air to see if he could at least bait it to reveal itself. Not thinking too much on the landing.

Let's see what you are, gross

Well that was less than impressive. James supposed it was unreasonable to expect to be cutting stone in half after a minute or so of training. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He would really have to try harder. James imagined the movement of the blade, cleaving the pillar in two. He focused his entire mind upon the motion, willing it into being. He swung the sword once again.

Training Session

The first attempt, that pitiful little fireball, made Heather's heart sink a little. Looking around and seeing everyone else's much more effective usage of magic didn't help. The second time she recited the incantation, it was with even more uncertainty than the first time.

"I call upon the... The uh flame dwelling in the world. Arise and— wait no... Ignite and burn. Yeah."

Edited by Pentigan on Jun 22nd 2022 at 9:46:00 PM