With the promise of safe travel gone - the wall ended and she had to balance on her own - Seija moved slowly as she walked by that strange woman. She clutched her own head for emotional support. Her eyelids slowly drew closed as she tried to make sense of what was just said to her. Ashura would see her squint and sputter, at once trying to say multiple things at the same time, but the first sentence and thought that were fully formed was "Speak the ship language! Or what...whatever it's called."
It seemed as if references to kin and gods were lost entirely on her in that state.
Though at least she wasn't without clarification of her own: "Whatever you said, better not be saying shit about me. I'm...I could ruin you in a hundred ways and you couldn't do anything about it ever."
In her own head, she was fighting the pains of the encroaching hangover with every syllable spoken. The fact that she was getting full sentences out was only a testament to her belligerence and powerful liver. "I'm...Sayj..."
She stumbled a little closer to the water cooler, and with swaying hands she tried to pour some (what she figured was) water for herself. Some of the precious vodka was spilled along her hands and went to the ground, wasted in this way...
"Huh?"
The most archetypical of interjections, accompanied by all of the telltale signs it comes with. The raised eyebrow, the lowered eyelids, the slight upturn of the higher of two lips to one side. The kind of look you give someone who has a stable job but says they want to abandon it and start a career as a professional streamer, despite not having streamed prior and having no existing fanbase. Uncertainty about how serious they are, casual disregard for anything they said, and not having the time for whatever you are, speak or represent.
Dismissal.
"I didn't even know that people worked here. Just looking at it," she waved a fry around and indicated the whole establishment, "I thought this was where they kept the pigs before they kill them. Get them all fat and whatever, keep them wallowing in their own crap." She punctuated by eating that fry.
Seija had some hopes that this flamboyant man was just pretending to look like a fop, but it became clear that this really was some upper-class idiot who wandered here for no good reason (probably to hang out with that underaged blonde girl for totally legal reasons). Not a single thought between that mound of hair of his besides propriety and other boring shit.
"I'd guess that you're far from fat enough, but with how much you're wearing I can't tell." She bit into her burger and didn't remove her boots from the table.
Oh, Ivo was getting bad at estimating people nowadays. Sure, the wild-haired man clearly provided the muscle between the three, but now it was clear that he was either wholly new to the job or just wholly incompetent. The role of leader here clearly belonged to the dreary-looking woman, as Kayne would've never gotten that far. Witch or whatever her name was.
Still, he could use this wet-behind-the-ears to get something out of this. She can wait.
Eggman tilted his head upward, his dark eyes looking down at Ichiban as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "Why should I just sit back and allow you to talk to me in that manner, sir? From where I'm standing, that almost sounded like..."
Just the right amount of pause.
"...a threat!"
Perfect delivery. Some things don't get rusty with time.
"What's the point of trying to take me in peacefully if you threaten my good name in the same breath? I was prepared to go with not even a moment's hesitation, but that doesn't sound like the actions of one of the beloved Peacekeepers this city knows and holds so dearly!"
Edited by wikkit on Feb 19th 2022 at 7:03:40 AM
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Zone Six, Wendies
"Why yes, I am quite slim, thank you," the foppish man preened, brushing back a lock of his hair, "I work quite hard to keep my figure, you know?"
"That being said," he continued, jabbing his plastic spoon in the horned woman's direction, "in calling those who eat at this establishment 'pigs', you merely reveal yourself, eating at this establishment, to be a pig!"
To Usagi and Luna, already entrapped by the influence of Mie's illusions for having breathed in his smoke, Seija would seem to snort derisively and return to moodily munching on her meal, while Mie himself would seem to sniff haughtily and return to pursuing his porridge. Hidden from the senses of the Peacekeeper and her cat, however, the true conversation would continue.
"Now, it may be true that the 'farmers' in this analogy are raising the populace for the metaphorical slaughter. However..." As he talked, Mie set the spoon down and held aloft his pipe, lighting it with a bit of magic and taking a drag, then puffing the smoke out to drift over toward the oni's face with unerring precision. "The difference between a mere animal and a person is that the latter is aware the butcher awaits and might do something about it, wouldn't you agree?"
Edited by darksidevoid on Feb 19th 2022 at 9:52:16 AM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
At least with the amount of air this man was wasting talking, it gave plenty of time to chew and savor the meal. The only thing worse than talking with a full mouth was spending money on food and not even trying to enjoy it. So, when he finished, she spoke with her mouth full.
"That'sh preddy bashic. Wannagh try'n caugh me a pig, 'n shtart shweetenin' me up after?"
She takes a napkin and tries to swat away the smoke; the only kind of pipeweed she enjoys smelling is her own. At least she swallowed before speaking next.
"Usually, the kind of people who go talk to pigs and expect conversation about high concepts and allegory are bugnuts insane." She turns her nose up slightly at him, not yet showing any mirth derived from this conversation. "Let alone the ones who think the pigs'll agree with them."
Since he fired the first salvo, a shot of smoke in her direction, she returns fire with a french fry aimed at his face. "Besides, I'm aware and I'm already doing something about it. Can't help it if I have to eat so I live long enough to escape."
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Zone Six, Wendie's
The smoke headed for Seija's head dissipated as she wafted it aside with her napkin, not least because making it maneuver around more obviously might tip Mie's hand.
"And yet, you say that while wasting perfectly good food!" he retorted, catching the projectile fry with no trouble at all and eating it in a couple bites, "So, you claim to be doing something about it, but what have you really done at this point? Hurled some insults at Peacekeepers? Spray-painted some graffiti on some walls? Pick-pocketed a few fat cats in the upper Zones? Not exactly impressive work, that. If you'd done something significant, surely we'd all know your name by now."
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
That insinuation got something more concrete out of her; a glance away and a further pulling of the upper lip. She turned to face him more fully in her seat. "Yeah? And who are you? I'm sure I'd have heard dressed up like an entire embroidery store fucking around about town, actually changing things."
This next fry didn't serve as a projectile weapon, but a replacement for an accusatory finger. She pulled her boots off the table and leaned closer, jabbing it in his direction.
"You know what? You're pissing me off in a really unique fashion. I already know you, you're the kind of guy who holds himself so high up above the rest of us because you sure think about doing the shit that needs to be done, you definitely think and think and sometimes you tell others to live up to your lofty ideals of action and violence in the name of what's right."
She leans in further, her red eyes narrowing to nothing more than slits. "Do you ever actually do anything with that zeal of yours? No, you're just a demagogue..."
...and she smiles just slightly. "Tell me I'm wrong. I've only been here two months, but give me two more and I'd be able to do a hell of a lot more than you've ever done with your life."
"Many people tried ruination already and they have ceased to exist. And this disgusting pidgin speak is already in play, you're just too soused to be coherent."
Brow once more resuming its characteristic downward sliding of ever familiar disgruntlement, the blonde clicked her teeth together before getting out Old Reliable for such an occasion to at least squeeze whatever small amount of sense could be extracted like water from stone.
A pitcher of premixed Blood Mary sans the actual alcoholic component was plucked up to quietly pour into the unhealthy alternative to Ester held in the Amanojaku's hand, viscous slurry tainting clear liquid into a macabre red potion.
"Cheers." Ashura certainly wasn't the cheerful sort so perhaps this was irony at work.
Edited by Makaioh on Feb 19th 2022 at 8:06:53 AM
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Zone Six, Wendie's
"Okay: you're wrong!" Mie replied with a sly grin, "I never claimed to be fighting for some just or valiant cause, now did I? I'm known around these parts to those in the know, but I work in more subtle ways, solely for my own agenda and profit. And yet, you're going to cause such an upheaval in only two months, only having been here four months total? How do you imagine you're going to do that? There's no way you'll be able to do it alone, so are you going to somehow gather a following in sixty days? Maybe magically usurp Greed and Kiryuin and the rest, absorb their operations, hm? Even if you managed it, that'd paint a great big target on your back. How are you going to evade the Peacekeepers when they crack down in force to get rid of you?" He took another drag of his pipe.
"You're confident and ambitious, I'll give you that!" he admitted, nodding slightly, "But ambition and bluster alone won't take down the farmers of this world. No, that requires power and influence, or at least charisma, things you sorely lack, in my estimation. I'm Mie Goreng, by the way. What's your name, Little Miss Revolutionary?"
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Blair, Zone One, Yagokoro General Hospital
I heard something from outside the room. I could recognize Addward's voice anywhere. The shrill, strange marten was someone I saw frequently because, bizarrely, he was controlled so many of Concordia's financial systems. Everything about this city was idiotic, from top to bottom, and there were little reminders of that everywhere I look.
I also heard Bondrewd - of course I did, he was the one doing the surgery - and... Kaguya? She was here as well?
Hm... something about this is very strange. I had assumed that whoever had ordered removing the Oculus from Rufus' eye and giving it to Brand as some sort of favor, perhaps someone who was collaborating with him in some way. But I don't believe Kaguya liked Brand any more than I did. Was she being coerced in some way? Something just told me this transaction was less than voluntary.
A brief moment of contemplation. Brand was a singular antagonist in both of our lives, was he not? Was it possible that mutual cooperation would be superior to whatever else I might be considering doing in this instance? I think so. Was that ever going to happen? The chances of that were... uncertain. But I was certain of one thing. Kaguya's continued patronage and nonloathing me was more important than some eyeglass that won't directly help me enforce some form of control over this city.
The surgery would go uninterrupted. It was a strange decision, especially considering what I came here to do, but I believe that's the only rational decision here. You have to pick your battles, and this wasn't one worth fighting.
Some of that seemed to actually get parsed by the drunk demon. She turned to her right to hold up a finger with her left, spilling most of her vodka in the process: "I'm cohere-ant! I know I'm drunk, you don't need to rub it in, you freak. Everyone's drunk in this place...they're drunk here 'cause..."
As her thoughts trailed off, she looked to where the daeva's hands were going, and stopped her rambling before it could get fully ramblefied. Her head tilted to the side a little when the pitcher was brought out...
...and then she figured it out. Now this woman was speaking Seija's language! Whatever it was, she was prepared to take it in; beggars can't be choosers, after all. Seija held her cup a little more steadily with both hands (but not much), and by the end she held what she desired: alcohol.
Seija downed that shit in one go. The portion of vodka and its burning sensation is dulled to a more pleasant warmness with the second half of the concoction. Briefly, a very fleeting moment, Seija appears to be satisfied.
She lowered her glass, burps loudly, and wipes off some of the Mary on her face with her sleeve. This created a red smear that's somewhat macabre in its appearance. "Why didn't you say that to begin with? If people just said 'cheers' at me...maybe this place wouldn't suck as much..."
"Seija Kijin," she spat at him, "and if you don't start hearing that name more often, assume I'm dead."
Her smugness returned to its sheath, the adversary having deflected the accusation wholly and in an entirely vague way (suuuure you're fighting your own fight in some nebulous fashion). She backs off and gives him precious breathing space back.
"If I told you what I wanted to do, good sir, do you think I'd have a chance of pulling it off?" She throws a hand up. "Don't act like you're so keen to throw your own plans out on the table for everyone to read. If you're half as smart as you act, you'd just take the idea for your own and then have me be the patsy for it."
"Pleasantness of this prison won't be affected overtly so simply because of such... but it might be a small start at least." Reluctantly agreeing with the assessment given how gimlet eyed and despondent the people about the area tended to be when not on the Happy Juice, Ashura lets out a low sigh before taking a sip of her own oolong tea (nonalcoholic version).
"How long have you been here for?" A mixture of both small talk and casual information gathering was then given out in the form of inquiry, since the practical-minded portion of her thoughts knew that people on the whole tended to be more open when their BAC was higher than the suggested average margin.
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Zone Six, Wendie's
"Oh?" Mie quirked an eyebrow. "My dear Seija-kun, why should I make you take the fall for anything? We share the same objective, so I should much prefer that neither of us take 'take the fall', as you say. And so long as the pigs overthrow the farmers, I couldn't care less who's credited for it!"
"Seija-kun, if you truly want to know whether I'm trustworthy, I'd suggest asking Kiryuin Satsuki-san, my frequent client and confidant," he intimated, dropping the smile and leaning forward with a serious frown, "I would be happy to help you with your plan, but how do you expect me to do that if I don't know what your plan is, hm?"
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Satsuki – Rumble in Zone One - ow oof my ears
Satsuki looked up and to the side slightly her eyes as Rider returned to her, invisible. She knew the woman could literally cut a path through the crowd, but there was no way she was going to unleash her servant on a crowd just to make a speedy exit.
“Minimal force. Just stay with us and deflect anyone who slows us down.”
As she tried to get her two young charges through the press of bodies, she was pulled up sharply by the sound of her name on an unfamiliar tongue. She turned to see a young woman, suggesting she and the girls stay to watch the fight.
Satsuki narrowed her eyes. It was a little concerning that someone had recognized her so casually – perhaps she was not as anonymous without her uniform as she thought.
Right now, though, she was more concerned with clearing the blast zone around the stage-turned-arena. Asuka and Suzie wanted to see the fight, and part of her agreed – it was rare to get the chance to see a Diet member in combat, in person. This was a potential intelligence boon, on top of perhaps being entertaining, but Satsuki had seen grudge matches like this erupt before. The casualties among the spectators tended to be equally spectacular.
“We are getting to a safe distance, at least.” She replied firmly, looking down at Asuka and Suzie, just as Mikudayo started to ‘sing’. The discordant cacophony must have had a psychic component to be this unpleasant, enough to make Satsuki’s brows furrow as the crowd started to writhe and collapse.
It was bad, but it wasn’t that bad. Maybe it just hit Areum fans differently. She held on tighter to Asuka, just in case.
The ordeal was mercilessly short-lived as Areum herself seemed to expend her patience, and ended the whole charade with a volley of laser fire and a platoon of guards. As the crowd started to recover, Satsuki saw her opportunity, and started moving with the slow flow of people dispersing towards the rest of the park.
“The show’s over, girls. Stay close to me.”
It was only a matter of time until more peacekeepers showed up. She did not intend to be here when they did.
—
Zima – Wendie’s alleyway - oof ow my lungs
Zima barely even saw him move.
One second she was kicking him in the knees, the next his hand was pushing the air out of her chest, her ribs creaking. Her feet left the ground even as she doubled over his arm, and then she was airborne for a few awful adrenaline-stretched moments
She smashed into something, and time resumed its flow, one shoulder blooming with pain as she hit something sharp-edged, sending her spinning into the wall with another breath-stealing crash, her vision going to stars and streaks as her chin clacked into the brick on the way down.
She crumpled into a pile of garbage bags and empty boxes, bits and pieces of whatever she’s smashed through pattering around her.
For a few terrifying seconds, everything was pain, pain and the desperate need to breathe, even though breathing was agony. A deep and primal panic was busy kicking rational thought down the road as she writhed and gasped like a fish on the jetty.
Footsteps brought the world back into focus. She forced an eye open, forced herself to get a grip, get out of her instinctive curl, get her hands under herself. Fuck. He’s still there. Get up. Get up get up get up –
A ragged cry made it out of her chest as his boot pinned her down by the hair, her body thumping back down into the grime. A single icey-blue eye stared up at him through her tangled bangs, bright with pain and fear and indignation. God, even now the bastard was still talking.
Rage pulsed in her chest again, in time with the growing bruises on her shoulder and chest. She sucked in a painful breath through clenched teeth.
"Go fuck yourself…”
Edited by LittleMako on Feb 21st 2022 at 9:06:30 PM
Mad Scientist
Zone Six, Grey's Hideout; Nathan Grey
I had awakened, lying there on the couch. Had it all been a dream?
...what had happened? We had walked into that old diner or whatever it was, and I moved to fire a tranq dart at... that bastard Greed.
To see him just throw it off like nothing, was shocking. Even more so when I saw him fire upon Andradite.
When he shattered like my sister did, all those years ago.
God, how long has it been? A year ago, the UUU fell apart from the Crystal Bombing and The damnable Peacekeeper's Raid on the Hive. A year before that, I had joined them. One more year ago, I had turned my sister to crystal.
Three years since my worst mistake. Well, second worse, I suppose.
What have I been doing since then? Since the day everything fell apart?
I've been pursuing a cure I have no investment in. Sure, I do feel terrible for the victims of the Crystal Bomb, but without the personal motivation of curing my sister, I've been putting it off.
I hunted down the Despairists in the remains of the UUU, those twisted followers of Junko's crazed ideology. But that hunt ended not too long ago, didn't it?
I've been experimenting, but to what end? No end whatsoever, now that I think about it. Just something to keep my mind off things, trying to avoid thinking about the tragedy of the past.
Yet, it happened again, didn't it?
...Maybe I should do it. I took out my pistol and....
...
...
...
Fuck! I threw it across the room. It discharged from the impact, a loud bang ringing out through the room. Really shouldn't do that, pretty sure it just broke something.
And then the door was kicked in.
Zone Six, Just Outside of Grey's Hideout, A Few Minutes Ago; Alexi Vult
Alright. Dropped off Grey, and I retrieved the intel from it's hiding place. Anything else I'm forgetting?
Fuck, we never did tell Witch about why I apparently went all psycho all of a sudden on Redd and those other guys. Well, she hasn't seem to have come by to arrest me, so I'm guessing she's probably focusing on that whole Greed thing. Good. Maybe then we have a chance of getting the message out before I end up in jail.
...Which would probably lead to them discovering my connections to the UUU.
Like that fact that I'm an Alpha Council Member's daughter. Not that I ever called him father. Bastard.
Why wouldn't-
"BANG!"
Was that? No, he wouldn't- Fuck!
I rushed over and kicked the door in.
"What the fuck!?" Grey yelled out, alive and well. The hell?
I looked around, a gun lying across the floor from him, a bullet hole in a wall. He threw it, and it must have gone off.
Grey looked at me in shock, before fading into irritation. "You know I'm going to have to get that fixed now."
"Really? Like I can't fix a door?" I replied. As if he could doubt my capabilities.
"Alright. Could you please do that then? I need to go think." He replied.
"No! If you're doing any thinking, you can do it here." The reason for my request went unsaid. For good reason, neither of us wanted to discuss it.
"I... fine."
Nathan Grey
What have I been doing, indeed?
Nothing really important, that's what. At least as Dr. Grey. No, just Grey. No need to continue the idea I'm actually a fucking doctor. Sure, I know first aid techniques, but that doesn't make you a doctor, does it?
Fuck, back to it. Alright, I need to do something. Anything. It just has to have a purpose. Something with an aim. With a goal.
...what have they done with The Hive since they took it? Could they have taken everything? Searched every crevice? Scoured it clean?
No, they couldn't have. They probably weren't able to find all those secret rooms scattered about, not to mention the issue of getting through those blast doors everywhere.
Not to mention that secret data backup. Only reason I know about it is because of Junko's Journal. I suppose that means the only individuals who know of it would be the other Alpha council members. If any of them are still alive.
Yes... this could work wonderfully. Maybe I should ask Vult if she want to help?
"Yeah, I'm in." She said. Wait a minute.
"What? How did you-"
"You said all of that out loud."
"...Oh. So you're-"
"In, yes."
"...Good!" Now then, who should I talk to about this next? Gui Niao, perhaps? He does have a lot of contacts. Which would be very useful.
"Oh, you know him too."
"...I said that out loud too, didn't I?"
"...Yes."
"Great." Well, at least I hadn't said anything incriminating like what I did to Junko.
"..."
"Did I say that out loud too?"
"Say what out loud?"
"...Nevermind. Let's go to the Egress, I heard they have good food. I haven't eaten all day."
"Are you going to pay for it? I don't have a job due to the whole assaulting Redd thing."
"Sure. I've got some cash squared away. Oh, but first we should probably hide the briefcase."
"Alright then."
And so they hid it in the secret room under the stairs and left for the Egress Eternal.
Edited by Mindris on Feb 23rd 2022 at 5:00:19 AM
Oh, that would be an entirely accurate estimation. Alcohol does loosen the tongue of the amanojaku, and - as you can see in the next section - she normally would be reticent to part with anything besides her name. It seems like booze is the great lockpick of conversations and trying to get to know someone, besides beating them with a sock full of quarters or something.
"Just, like...a month or two. I dunno." She sagged, which brought a moment of instability with it. Momentary panic was stopped after she balanced on her own two legs. "Time's all...ffffucked up with the way this place works. Dunno who's deciding when."
That very understandable statement was followed by another: "You look like some kinda...colorblind hobo."
If this man could get any more grating, Seija didn't want to be around for it. All of the pretentiousness of the higher-class youkai and the upper echelons of a certain organization, except he wasn't trying to kill her or berate her for assaulting civilians. He was just accosting her in a fast food establishment over...man, what did that conversation start with? Boots on tables?
Anyway, he's a prick, that was Seija's estimate.
"Everyone knows Satsuki. Don't act like you're special enough to call her a client." If she had smoke to blow in his face right now, she'd asphyxiate him with it. She pulls away from his apparent earnestness, turning back to her remaining burger. "Like, what, do you make her outfits for her? Are you her dealer? Right now, I don't even know what you can do besides talk, Goreng-tan."
Breath of the Sun
Zone One - Concert Over, Go Home
Areum just sort of gets pissed off and cancels the show. Which is bullshit, but there's not much we can do, so I begrudgingly keep following Satsuki.
Jim shows up as we're leaving, asks about singing. "I don't know about Vivy, but I'm not much of a singer. I can do a pretty good metal scream, but that's about it."
It almost doesn't occur to me to follow that up with: "Why? You tryin' to take over the concert or something?"
Thinking about it, it was kind of weird how Jim just walked up to me at the gym and gave me tickets. And that her name is Jim. Like 'gym'. Where we were at. It's a fake name, and I'm a dumbass.
This whole thing was some kind of plan of hers, but I guess she didn't count on that Miku thing showing up. Well, I'm not going along with your stupid plan, 'Jim'.
"Doesn't matter, though. Concert's over. See you at the gym sometime, I guess." I sort of nod at her and keep following Satsuki, keeping my eyes peeled for anyone who gets too close. Which is dumb because Rider would notice and stop them way before I could, anyway, but I'm trying to at least pretend to be useful, here.
Zone Six - Abandoned Diner
Andradite hugs her. Amaterasu does not have the dexterity to hug back, but she rests her head on top of his and lets him bathe in her soothing light.
"It is alright, my precious child." Amaterasu murmurs. "Mother is here. I am sorry it took so long to save you. But you are safe now. I will not allow anyone else to harm you. Never again."
Witch and Ichiban have left by now, no doubt to go arrest the not-so-good doctor behind all of this.
Amaterasu simply sits there, letting Andradite hug her for as long as he needs.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Mancunian Candidate
Zone Six; Wendy's Back Alley - Dio Brando
"Oh?" I said. "That's a stupid name."
There was still no hesitation in her, barely a tremor in her venom. Through her tangled bangs the eye I saw was bright and piercing pallid blue - now focused, by degrees, now lucid - and fixed upon me with the sum of every hate and wronged indignity her body could withstand the awful strain of holding. Cold feral beauty there, stark pathos, but plainly transparent. Barely a tremor, but unmistakable regardless.
She was, after all, still almost a child.
"This little anger is good, Ms. Bear,” I said, sinking down to sit on my heels, “but you look far too pale to carry it. I must have been quite cruel. Perhaps I could comfort you. Would you like that? There's a thing that I could tell you.”
No tremors in her bottom lip, at least, a gently bleeding clenched-teeth grimace. She managed to force herself not to try to pull away again, and in return I strangled the smile that brought to my lips.
“I’m going to be plain,” I said, our faces antiparallel, “so listen carefully. The Soryu girl is safe. Satsuki Kiryuuin collected her personally, and I've been told she gave her captors nothing useful in the slightest. Our fair keepers of the peace have some problems with… intelligence , but they’re not suicidal. There are strategic considerations. She did sound miserable, when I last heard from her, but that's not particularly out of the ordinary. She’ll live. Even so.”
I plucked the wrapper from her cheek, as though I were removing a sticking plaster, and peered for a moment at her unripe bruise. Whatever place it was she’d come from, they’d grown her remarkably sturdy. Fought with an axe, Gui Niao had said.
“So will you. It’s my profession to keep track of persons of interest, Ms. Bear. You’re more interesting than most. You threw that uppercut beautifully. I haven’t been swung at like that since I was your age.“
In retrospect she was quite pretty, in a general cold and smooth-skinned sense, but it was the listless wide-eyed beauty that protrudes from childhood, willowy legs and pointed chin. The cherub-faced hoodlum is no new innovation. No. That was not enough; there was something sublime raging inside her, some permanent and incandescent impulse. I saw it in her eyes here as plainly as I’d seen it at the door, or in the restaurant when first she laid her gaze upon me.
I could see the same look every day about the Shrinewell.
“I like interesting people,” I said. “I’ll say it again. We should be friends. What’s your name?”
Zone One; Ship-Scientists' Guild - Maldbish
You drum a tattoo on the pommel of your dao and you do not look at the elf. You do not look at the ridiculous things he calls his guards or the thing pulsating in the tube. You do not even look at the Jayjay woman or at Maia, though they’ve done nothing, and in this way you hold to your temperament.
You look at the ventilator humming at the corner of the opposite wall and you think.
You think although you know precisely what is being implied, because you’ve known since it was screamed at you from atop the quivering stem. You think about high walls and complacent men behind them, of being at the forefront of the charge, of charting the frontier through foreign sectors. You think that in the depths of their collective horror they must have known that this was possible. You think that you were there at the beginning and took upon the duty to know it was inevitable. You have no choice but to recognize what you were made for.
You do look at the mutant as he enters, preceded by his stench, but only for the instant you can stand. You think about splintering red-toothed fronds and glistening rebel biomass, and you look at the ventilator and you draw the ordnance from your hip, unlatching the action with an echoing metallic click.
You peer into the chamber, loaded, monofil and tungsten pellets, and you close it with a flick of your augmetic wrist as you slide it back onto the magplate. You look at the mutant again, and then because you sense her move you look at Jayjay.
You look at the ventilator. You drum a tattoo on the pommel of your dao.
Edited by OG-Sama on Feb 21st 2022 at 12:13:41 PM
Witch - Zone One - Egg Palace
Typical.
It was almost predictable, really. He was far too clever for his own good, but beyond that he was also far too arrogant for his own good. He had the showmanship down, for certain, but making a show of this was only going to make more trouble for him in the long run. Perhaps that was a factor of his egomania, that he always wanted to make a show of everything. Perhaps he actually enjoyed this. Once again, however, you had to ask yourself: How could a man so intelligent do something so profoundly stupid?
"Come off it, Doctor," you said, walking forward to meet him. "My men and I have had our hands full dealing with a serial killer who took out two of our own and ten more besides just last night. Everyone's still on edge, as I'm sure you can understand. We deal with threats to our good citizens, we don't make them. That was partially true, anyway. You weren't in the habit of making threats; Your compatriots in Zone Five were much less wary of avoiding such things. Were he to not make any sudden moves, you would swing about to his side, ready to guide him.
"But if you were already prepared, then let's not waste any time, shall we? In the interest of preserving the sanctity of your good name, I'd be quite pleased to see this all cleared up and the true mastermind brought to justice. Given the sensitive nature of this matter, the Diet will likely be quite thankful for your graceful contributions in aiding us." You motioned to the motor carriage that waited to return to the precinct. "You won't even need to walk. But I must insist we escort you so we may ensure nothing untoward happens."
And if he did make any sudden moves, well, that's what the arrest warrant was for.
Edited by lynkzero13 on Mar 18th 2022 at 8:25:40 AM
Two months at most. Better than feared but worse than hoped for, that most unsatisfying of compromises that was almost worse than actual bad news due to how much it waffled about the median. That bit of time fuckery was also a cause for concern, if only due to the fact that without her tempering presence to keep in check the many and various foibles of Lord Taishakuten...
"Mm." A most succinct response came out verbally, though the furrowed brows and the narrowed gaze told just how much mulling was now going on in that hard noggin. At the least, the fact that she was called a colorblind hobo was a good means to snap out of negative fugue state even as the familiar sensations of aggravated annoyance once more crept in.
"This is what any self respecting Ashura's attires should be... And you look like a shuttlecock. I particularly wish to see how far you can be smacked into flight." Still, her anger was not any great thing capable of the truest of wroth at the moment so the demon was spared from her alcohol supplier acting upon her words. "Is there anything else that is... juicy that you might wish to gossipmonger about?"
Speaking the young ones' lingo (or thinking she was), Ashura took another sip of freshly brewed tea (second only to turtles in helping managing her anger) as she waited to see if there was any more pearls to come from the swine.
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
Zone One, The Former People Lived at Pax Primis Wrestling Extravaganza
Susie and Asuka both say that they want to stay and watch the fight between the rival idols, but Miss Kiryuin decides they will watch from a safer distance, which is certainly reasonable. So I turn back to look at the stage and study the combatants with a frown.
As Mikudayo begins her assault proper and Areum's bubblies begin to writhe in a concerningly agonized way, Petunia says "They've found him." From context, I can only think that he must be referring to his brother, whom Doctor Octavius and his companions have gone to retrieve. I do not see the means by which he knows this, however, as he is not holding any sort of communications device that I can see. However, his sister has said that he can read minds and has Extra-Sensory Perception, so I suppose he must be contacting them with his mind. Superhuman abilities did not exist in sapient beings in my universe, aside from AIs, but here in Concordia they seem to be in relative abundance, Doctor Octavius being one such example.
Jim says that we cannot leave because the concert is not over. Petunia protests, but she tells him he can either read her mind or leave. Given that Jim said one of the reasons why Petunia stayed behind while his companions went in search of his brother was that I was an android, I wonder if he can read my mind, or if he would only be able to interpret my thoughts as code. I doubt that he would like what he would find there, so I hope that he cannot.
Areum has apparently had enough of Mikudayo's nonsense, blasts the sound systems, announces the show is over, and begins to have her guards usher everyone out of the venue. I cannot say I blame her. Mikudayo's music is quite unharmonious and displeasing to hear. Jim then turns to me, and Susie as she departs, and asks a question that causes me to look down at the ground:
"Can either of you sing?"
Teddie adds that he doesn't think Susie can sing, which she confirms while leaving, but he suggests that perhaps I could sing something.
"...I was born with the mission to... 'make everyone happy by singing with all my heart', and was assigned to be an... idol singer. However, my original functionality is... no longer accessible to me. Doctor Octavius and I are... working on restoring it, but..." I explain with halting reluctance, "I am sorry. I... cannot sing. I am sorry."
"Hey now, wait just a second!" Matsumoto interjects as he hovers and looks between the siblings, speaking a mile a minute as he almost always does, "What's the big idea, here?! What does it matter whether she can sing or not?! It's not like being able to sing or not being able to sing determines whether one is worth something or not! And more importantly, what's your interest here, exactly, Jim?! You're a little late if you're trying to get Vivy to join in on the festivities, seeing as the concert is over, so why don't you mind your own business?! Shouldn't you be more concerned about your brother's well-being, hmmmmm?!"
"Matsumoto, please!" I protest, looking up and locking gazes with him, "There is no reason to take offense! Jim did not mean anything untoward by it! It is only my own fault that I cannot sing, anyway!"
"That's not-!"
"But you are right," I continue, not letting him finish, "Right now, we should be focusing on the safety of Petunia and Jim's brother." Thankful for the ability to control my expression, I send the two family members a warm smile. "Now that the concert is over, there is no need for me to hold back from helping in any way I can. Where should we begin?"
It does not occur to me until afterwards that I did not even say goodbye to Susie.
Zone Six, Wendie's
"Kiryuin-san is indeed my client, a fact which will remain true whether you believe me or not, because my services are simply that valuable," Mie assured, seeming amused rather than perturbed by Seija's skepticism and affixation of a diminutive to his name, "I would say that my strengths lie in communications, in gathering and disseminating information, and..." He inhaled and blew out another plume of smoke in the youkai's direction. "...in my great wealth of friends! I'd like to be your friend as well, Seija-kun! How does that sound?"
Edited by darksidevoid on Feb 23rd 2022 at 5:19:47 AM
GM of AGOG S4: Frontiers RP; Sub-GM of TABA, SOTR, & UUA RPs
Local idiot who is a sucker for cute 2d boys
Zone one; Concert over. Go home???
Wait, we're gonna end it like that? Also, you need to reason to sing?? That's...is something that Sensei wouldn't solved. But, I'm willing to try.Honestly, for me, when it comes to singing, you don't need a reason to sing, you just..well sing. Sure, it may not work for you and all, but I don't think singing needs to have reason. Plus, I was hoping the concert ended on a singing note instead of a wrestling kind of note...
Okay, yeah, I'll admit, the advice I have was just as bad as eating Chie's cooking, but what are the chances I have? Plus, it's not we get another idol in this city.
“You bowl with 3 middle fingers” Oh hey, a troper wall
Eggman's brow raised as Witch took charge of the arrest. Internally, by the end of her diatribe, he mostly wondered why she didn't speak up to begin with. Oh, yes, it would've been far less convenient for himself if this frizzy-headed cop didn't give him an opening! Robotnik just happened to like it when facing people with competence, sometimes.
You know, maybe if he got one of them to punch him in the face...that'd be real helpful for the case...
Nah. Her argument was sound.
Robotnik put on the appearance of surprise. He clasped his hands and lowered himself a little from his usual towering posture, and nodded. "I was assuming the worst of you, so please, forgive me. There certainly have been times where your...less even-minded colleagues have accosted me or my employees with such frivolous accusations! Things that no one in their right mind would believe. Forgive me for jumping to conclusions!"
"And, if you're certain, then I suppose that I have no choice." He raised one hand and snapped, bringing a floating machine to his side from out of the door. He turned to regard it briefly, before calmly saying "Inform the K.o.A.C. that I will not be attending his luncheon today. Ensure that you comment on his hairstyle after doing it, or he'll be very depressed." The machine beeped once before floating off to another posh building down the street.
With that, the situation was defused for the moment. Robotnik walked alongside them to the car, giving a couple waves to the onlooking crowd, and didn't offer any resistance. Yet.
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Zima - Wendy's alleyway
Zima had lost plenty of fights before. Usually she just got the shit kicked out of her, and the other bastard would wander off to lick his wounds so she could do the same. You never wanted a victor who stuck around to enjoy the moment, to make sure your pride got a good beating too.
Still, even though each breath still sent a flash of pain through her chest - bruised ribs, that - the feral panic had been flushed from her system, and in its wake there was just anger. The sort of cold fury you could curl yourself around and cling to when the alternative was giving up, that you could bite down on instead of breaking your teeth against the world.
So she shut up and let him indulge his urge to patronise her, even though she wasn't sure she preferred that over just getting the shit kicked out of her. If he wanted to give her info instead of grinding her face into the garbage, she’d take it, and figure out how to spit it back in his face later.
At least Asuka was okay. That was something else to hold on to, assuming she trusted this particular poisoned well. He eye flicked back up to Brando as his left that condescending offer dangling. Come crawling to him, just a little bit, and maybe he’d let her keep her teeth. It made her hackles rise, but…
"Zima."
That little concession had to be dragged out kicking and screaming, but her pride could take the hit. Even as she spat her name out onto the pavement, she clutched one last little something close to her heart, so close she could barely acknowledge it. Brando might get Zima, but that was fine. A name like that was meant to withstand the likes of him.
Sonya was beyond his reach.
It wasn't much of a victory, but it was enough.
"You'd better remember it... 'cos we are not friends..."
Mancunian Candidate
Zone One; The Areum Get the Fuck Outta Here Piss Off Show's Over Extravaganza - Asuka Langley Soryu
Something with a beat starts playing as we push out to the rendezvous, and from the opening riff I think it must be something off the latest Miku Malding Massacre, Areum's annual pog rock diss track collection. Or sometimes it's stadium pog. I'm not really a hundred percent on the difference, but I think it's important to be able to call out your haters either way. Anyong says if someone tries to serve the tea you should clap back like a hurricane, which I think is like slapping them, only with music, so that's probably why the guitar comes in like that. I don't know what the tea is.
For some reason one of the kids we're barging through is trying to stab herself in the throat with a glowstick when she hears it, like trying really hard, and the sight of it bending off her windpipe gets Satsuki pulling me tight against the hard point of her shoulder like she's afraid I'm some kind of hater too. Susie doesn't seem to notice, so I decide it's more convenient not to mind. Her grip's too firm to try and argue with.
Behind the bubbly with a glowstick there's another one writhing around on the ground sobbing and smothering her face in her candy floss. For a second I think they must be some kind of imposter, like in Kaiser Sussy, but then I hear Mikudayo start singing and the cringe makes my ears pop in sequence, left-right, like when they used to pressurize the entry plug, and I understand it completely. This isn't pog rock, or stadium pog, anything. This isn't pog at all. This is the opposite of pog, like unpoggers, like doubleplusunpoggers. Like the antipog. There are leeks attacking me in the ears. There are leeks attacking me in the brain. I feel sick. I think this is probably the least pog thing that's happened in the whole history of this entire place.
"Wig," mumbles the girl on the ground. I don't know what that means, but I understand exactly what she's saying. I smh my h and try to grimace though it as I step over her.
Areum must feel the same way, because the speakers go up after another in neon starbursts and the music cuts out completely and the leeks stop pressing into my brain. She’s got Mikudayo by the throat now, which I guess might be what she means by doing a clapback, and her bodyguards are clearing the front row with handsome force, waving around little pink pistols and cyan-headed batons. The concert’s over.
As we’re swept up in the press of bodies, all I can think about is how fucking unfair that is. All I wanted was to see a girlboss win.
"Let’s just go to Donki’s, or something,” I say. “Or home. Whatever.”
Edited by OG-Sama on Feb 24th 2022 at 9:45:49 AM
Irvine; Zone 6
There were several major downsides to Zone 5, as anyone who lived there for any extended period of time quickly learned. There was, of course, the rampant crime stemming from the lack of legitimate jobs that paid enough to keep one from starving. There was the sorry state of the Diet-funded hospital, which as far as anyone could recall had never seen adequate supplies. Whatever there was in Zone 5, most of it was done with near-complete apathy towards the well-being of its citizens, who had absorbed it and held it like a shield against the many ills of their world.
"Excuse me," someone says behind him, snapping him out of his reflections. "Coming through." They brush past him and disappear into the foot traffic, unknown except for a gruff snap at an inconsiderate stranger.
Irvine begins to apologize and then realizes that whoever it was has disappeared. Instead, he glances at the beat-up sign proclaiming the building in front of him to be Carnelli's Curiosities, purveyor of goods both mundane and magical. He steps inside to find not much of interest in the displays - beat-up stuffed animals, model trains that are missing most of their paint, and a large quantity of dust. The cashier, a late-teen girl going through the later stages of sleep deprivation, watches the scene. "You break it, you bought it," she says in the dead tones of someone who's said the same thing a thousand and one times before.
There really isn't much to see. The only thing of real interest is a pile of small screws lying abandoned on a shelf. "The screws are one mark each, the pile is fifteen. If you buy the pile, you get a bag for ease of carrying. It's a special sale," the cashier says in a monotone. The screws themselves are of incredibly poor quality, some completely browned by the zone's grime or rusted from age. Any reasonable person would chuck the lot into the Incoherence before even entertaining the idea of buying it.
Irvine scoops them into his hands and walks over to the counter, setting them down upon his arrival. "Fifteen marks for all of them, you said?" He exchanges them for a worn cloth bag the size of his fist and brushes the screws into it before looking at the cashier again. "You know, if you're tired, there's a little tea place not too far from here. Their chamomile tea helps you sleep better, or so I've heard. I'd be happy to show you." He smiles, by all appearances fully confident in his offer. "Or I could just get some and come back here. It really is close."
The cashier flushes red and mumbles something about that sounding nice, but she's not really interested right now, she's so sorry for being rude, could she maybe get directions for later?, and so he shrugs and maintains his smile. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, if it's directions you want, just turn left once you step outside and turn right at the next corner." With a parting wave, he tucks the bag away and steps out of the store.
The expedition finished, he begins to walk towards the Egress Eternal, intending a bit of contemplation if food happened to be unavailable. Deep in thought, he nearly bumps into someone and reflexively apologizes before registering further details.
"Oh, sorry about that. Wait- you're, uh, Hiroki, right? Fancy meeting another militia member here. I was actually heading to the Egress before I bumped into you - do you want to tag along and chat over some food?"
So, let's hang an anchor from the sun... also my Tumblr
Zone One, The Egg Palace - Ichiban Kasuga
He's close enough to see through the pince-nez and to the two beady eyes that squint directly at him, burning with obvious displeasure and not so obvious fury. Ichiban takes that as a sign to continue talking- what he's supposed to say, however, takes a little longer to puzzle out, and he delays with a short clearing of his throat and an adjustment of his stance, arms crossed and feet firmly planted.
Sure, he's stupid, and nowhere near as good at this whole Peacekeeper thing as Witch or Kim, but he's had to debate with politicians in front of a crowd before, and talked his way out of a bind when it came to yakuza business- so really, how hard could a guy like Eggman be?
"Well, doctor, as Officer Witch just said- uh, surmised," Was that the right word? It didn't feel like the right word. Whatever, keep going. "Something criminal's gone down at one of your haun- facilities. If we went through the proper channels, passed on a paper trail to your secretary, then who knows how many nasty rumours would've sprung up by the time we got to talk to you proper? We figured that coming up to fetch you personally would nip those in the bud, get this whole thing cleared up before the public can make up their own stories about what went down- and how you were involved with it."
It's all bullshit, you both know it's all bullshit, and it's a good thing Ichiban has his back turned to the crowd or they might've seen his lips pull up into a smirk, unable to hide his amusement at this whole farce. They also might've heard him continue, in a quieter voice, "So it's best for all of us if you play along and come quietly, right?"
they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob