TRP is a post-Great War AU RWBY RP set in Mistral City and Haven Academy with no canons, no rank claims, no maidens, and no god interference. We offer a progression system and site-wide events that change the setting based on player actions.
Post by Bianca Sabbato on Dec 30, 2020 16:03:18 GMT -5
The mysterious figure I caught zooming among the streets disappeared from my line of sight almost as suddenly as it came into view. In moments like this I really hated being as slow as the rocks I liked to use so much.
I tried to keep a steady rhythm through the direction I assumed the thing was going, but sooner rather than later I found myself completely lost as to where the hell it had gone to. Whatever, I thought it could be a rogue toy at first. But now that I looked at my surrounding area. It didn’t seem to leave such a path of destruction as it would be expected from a menace that size.
If anything, the street looked quite clean of killer toys... And not as if they had been merely destroyed.
But I decided to let that problem for later, when I had any means of figuring it out, and any way to stop it if it even was dangerous to begin with. For now, I was worried for a deafening boom I had heard a couple seconds before, the kind of overwhelming noise only possible when coming out of the end of Carmim’s drum. So I assumed she was here as well, and using her semblance to take down the toys.
My curiosity picked, I was just about to go and see if Carmim needed some help with whatever she was facing, when I had to leave those intentions aside the moment a little red plane came crashing down towards me.
Makin a sideways roll. I managed to avoid it hitting my square in the face. All the while thinking to myself that it was absolutely precious that they had kamikazes now.
Looking up and around me, I noticed a veritable cloud of fighter jets, mini bullheads and atlesian destroyers cruising through the skies. Most of them didn’t have any weaponry and seemed content to crash themselves in any unsuspecting civilian or valuable propierty around them.
So at least they didn’t have a conservation instinct. But that didn’t make them any less dangerous when they plummeted down upon us.
There were too many of them for me to take care of by myself, and a lot of them were flying to high for me to get them with my semblance as well, so I was left without much options than to try and make myself as big a targer as I could muster, to attract as much as the toys to converge on my position.
I was having mild success in doing that. But it was clear that I would need to come up with a plan as soon as possible if I wanted to take this toys down...
Post by Berwyn Rhodes on Dec 30, 2020 16:30:04 GMT -5
Things weren’t great, but they could be worse? Right?
That was the thought that Berwyn was running on right now as she searched the orphanage with Chloro. Her shaking her head was on the one hand in insightful as it portrayed the general mood of suck-itude quite well. Everything that had happened was quite headshake worthy. On the other hand, it didn’t exactly told Berwyn enough to go on in actually helping Chloro. It could mean a lot of things and portray a lot of different ways her friend was not doing all right. She wanted to sit down and talk about this… or well, write about it, but that had to wait as orphans left out in the cold was the immediate problem they had to deal with. With one run done, the two of them headed inside again to get more stuff. Perhaps with three of these runs they could get enough for everyone. That would be the end of their troubles.
At least that was what Berwyn thought before she could hear the muffled voice of Carmim. Actually doing research and knowing what Carmim most likely wanted to do, Berwyn shouted out: “No wait, don-“ The rest of her voice was drowned out by the massive boom. Instinctively, Berwyn tried to cover Chloro as best she could as she had no idea if the shaking building was going to come down. The room the two were in only shook slightly and some dust swirled down on the two of them.
After Berwyn was certain enough Carmim hadn’t just brought the whole building down, Berwyn had enough time to process what had actually just happened. Making sure a second time that Bianca was unhurt, she walked out to the hallway to take a note of the carnage as Carmim was already leaving.
The giant blinked, took a deep breath, and got out a very aggrieved message. “YOU DUMB BITCH!”
Berwyn shouted on the top of her lungs, breaking her self-imposed swearing filter. Berwyn was livid. How dumb was that student! How could she not have that semblance and still use it in already structurally unsound buildings? You think they will allow kids inside of it now that it has been given yet another sturdy knock? Even if you thought the building was empty, which it was not, there were freaking kids just outside of it! How could anyone be this irresponsible without knowing the full picture of the situation, or taking the time to check if there was a need for this amount of force? God… this was going into the mission report.
For now, Berwyn had a job to do. Taking up the job of carrying blankets and jackets, when Berwyn came out the woman had become more coatrack than human. It took longer than one would expect her to, but when she appeared you would see why. With the same energy of someone not wanting to go back to the car to get the rest of the groceries, she had carried enough in this one trip to give everyone something. After telling the kids that this last ‘boom’ weren’t toys out to kill them and that Berwyn just dropped something really loud, the giantess went over towards Bianca.
Having saved the last blanket for the Faunus, she carefully placed the happy kitty blanket over Chloro’s shoulder. Standing next to her with her arms crossed, Berwyn looked quite worse for wear. Being a sweaty and dust covered Santa, and all. She expressed her mood aptly, though not loud enough that the kids heard it.
“Today sucks…”
Sitting next to Chloro in her best squatting position, Berwyn kept looking forward as she spoke to Chloro. “I know this place means a lot to you. I don’t really know how much, or how specifically. That is your business. All that I know is, this all sucks for you. I get that…” Rubbing her neck, she gave the hard message. “What is destroyed is a building. All of the children are safe. That is the most important. I know that you maybe would want to just lay down and not get up for a few hours, but these kid need us. Food, water, getting them to a place that is warm for the night. I still need you. These kids still need you. After we have done our job, you can shut down and I will carry you back home to the academy all by myself.” Standing up again, Berwyn stretched her back and loosened her shoulders while looking down at Chloro. She outstretched a hand towards her. “Get up, huntress. We have children to help.”
Berwyn didn’t have the same connection to these kids as Chloro, but that didn’t really matter all that much with Berwyn’s motivation. Helping people in this situation was her duty. She was going to do it no matter if she was angry, or tired, or anything else. That came with the job, and she was fully committed to it.
835 words; 5326 Thread Total
Last Edit: Dec 30, 2020 16:37:45 GMT -5 by Berwyn Rhodes
Alina (One problem remaining): Calming the Citizenry Social 10 OP: 10 from Alina and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Nina (One problem remaining): Scary Santas!? (Social: 7) OP: 7 from Chloro and 10 from solving for 17 total.
Red (One problem remaining): The Hot Chocolate Is Missing (Obstacle 8) OP: 8 from Russet and 10 from solving for 18 total.
Bianca (One problem remaining): Investigate the Smoke Coming From the City (Obstacle 9) OP: 5 from Escarlata, 9 from Escarlata and 10 for solving for 24 total.
Escarlata (One problem remaining): A group of Thugs are threatening our local friendly hitman! Help him save that poor man! (Combatants Difficulty 6) OP: 6 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 16 total.
Russet (One problem remaining): Runaway Cars! (Obstacle: 10) OP: 6 from Alina, 8 from Red, 5 from Alina, 6 from Russet, 6 from Red, 7 from Vesper, 10 from Red and 10 from solving for 58 total.
Berwyn (One problem remaining): The missus is not a chew toy! (Combatants 8) OP: 5 from Chloro, 8 from Nina and 10 for solving for 23 total.
Vesper (One problem remaining): Avocado goes 'a' (Combatants 5) OP: 2 from Hinata, 2 from Aladriel, 5 from Kos Mos and 10 from solving for 19 total.
Hinata (One problem remaining): Please don't wreck my bar! (Social 9) OP: 9 from Vesper and 10 from solving for 19 total.
Aladriel (One problem remaining): Aladrial's Fans (Social 8) OP: 8 from Kimmie and 10 from solving for 18 total.
Kimmie (One problem remaining): Fans have crowded Kimmie! (Social 9) OP: 9 from Hinata and 10 from solving for 19 total
Chloro (One problem remaining): Chloro is getting swarmed too (Combatants Difficulty 8) OP: 6 from Berwyn, 7 from Bianca, 8 from Escarlata and 10 from solving
Vesper (Zero problems remaining): Bat is Sad (12 Social) OP: 8 from Aladriel, 12 from Vesper and 10 from solving for 30 total.
Escarlata (Zero problems remaining): The Assault Begins. (Combatants Difficulty 9) OP: 9 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 19 total.
Berwyn (Zero problems remaining): Save the Orphans from the Grindenburg Disaster (Mobility 10) OP: 6 from Chloro, 10 from Knight and 10 from solving for 26 total.
Red (Zero problems remaining): Storm the Lego Castle (Combatants 12) OP: 12 from Rose and 10 from solving for 22 total.
Rose (One problem remaining): Stop the Sideshow Statue from Hell! (Combatants 12) OP: 10 from Red, 5 from Russet, 12 from Alina and 10 from solving for 37 total.
DM Problem: Get to the center and grab the box (Obstacle 8) OP: 9 from Red and 10 from solving for 19 total.
DM Problem: Figure out how to set up an EMP (Social 5, can only be attempted with engineering/electronics related skill) OR Speed Read the 152 Page Instruction Manual (Social 13) – Must complete one before next problem unlocks OP: 1 from Holly, 8 from Bianca, 13 from Hinata and 10 from solving for 32 total.
DM Problem: Set up the EMP field (Obstacle 12) – Detonation stopped upon completion of this problem. OP: 11 from Russet, 12 from Red and 10 from solving for 33 total.
Argent (One problem remaining): Stop the Stunt Riders - Gently! (Obstacle 12) OP: 10 from Rose, 3 from Nina, 11 from Russet, 12 from Red and 10 from solving for 46 total.
Nina (Zero problems remaining): Hands Off the Merchandise! (Hazard 11) OP: 11 from Alina and 10 from solving for 21 total.
Kimmie (Zero problems remaining): Party Pooper [Social: 9] OP: 5 from Vesper, 9 from Aladriel and 10 from solving for 24 total.
Chloro (Zero problems remaining): Clear the Orphanage of Debris! (Hazard 10) OP: 7 from Berwyn, 10 from Carmim and 10 from solving for 27 total.
Holly (One problem remaining): Helping the Little Match girl (Hazard 6) OP: 6 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 16 total.
Flynn (One problem remaining): Fight against the Great Grin narrative (Social 10) OP: 5 from Holly, 7 from Alina, 4 from Nina
Carmim (One problem remaining): Attack of the Battery-Operated Grimm (Combatants: 10) OP: 10 from Opal and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Post by Holly Hock on Dec 30, 2020 20:45:35 GMT -5
[Trigger warning, Bloodless non-graphic murder]
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Normally, Holly didn’t have the time to elaborately plan how she was going to kill someone. [break] [break]
You know how it goes… a homeless person in the sewer has a can of beans that you want, you demand to have those beans from them as you are hungry, homeless person refuses to give you said beans as he says that he needs to feed his wife with those beans, you try to take the beans by force, the hobo tries to defend himself, you kill the hobo as a show of force towards the others before taking them into your collective of hobos and provide them with a balanced diet of fresh fruits and vegetables to show them how great you are at providing them in their basic needs than their old husband ever could.[break] [break] Your regular daily life stuff…[break] [break]
But this? This was different. [break] [break]
Holly had options. Time to think.[break] [break]
The first thought that came to her mind was that killing this person was stupid. Just grab your stuff, grab the magazine with your face on it, and hope for the best. This woman was injured and burned. She could be imagining stuff. Nobody would ever trace this back to you. You are being paranoid.[break] [break]
That is what a quitter who wants to go to jail would say. [break] [break]
Also, sticking this to that bitch Bianca was too tantalizing. Oh, you thought you saved this person? Ha, pranked! They are dead and everyone thinks you did it! Whoops, that will teach you with messing with the person who you believe died in a horrible fire![break] [break]
A real gotcha moment.[break] [break]
So, the second thought after being way to easily convinced that murder was the right path to proceed, was in how to do it. The most ideal way to frame Bianca was to get something pointy and go all stabby stab. That Faunus used a spear after all. Then, Holly could get a lot of dirt and like, put it all over the wounds and the body to make it look like that sand lizard did it all! [break] [break]
But Holly didn’t like the sight of blood. She wasn’t going to gross herself out in doing all of this. [break] [break]
Hmm, Holly walked over towards the cabinet in the bathroom. Gris didn’t make a sound. Hopefully, she decided to be a pal and got a heart attack. In case she was not, Holly checked if she had something in the cabinet she could use to overdose the woman. Like, put sleeping pills in her soup. She didn’t need to suffer. And like how she was sleeping walking though her life, she would die in her sleep! See, poetic justice! [break] [break]
To her delight, Holly did find a single bottle of sleeping pills! [break] [break]
And as she opened them to look how many there were, Gris only had two of them left.[break] [break]
The cheapskate! What crappy host doesn’t even have enough sleeping pills in house for their guest to drug them with? Honestly, of all the things that would have really made your own demise more comfortable… Holly shook her head.[break] [break] Pocketing the sleeping pills because one of her guards named Duncan was a bit of an insomniac, Holly looked around to see if anything else would work. As the girl disregarded the idea of drowning Gris in mouth wash or choking her own Q-tips seemed impractical, Holly decided to just go for old reliable.[break] [break]
Strangulation![break] [break]
Going back to the kitchen, Holly finished up heating up the soup and put it into a bowl. Walking back towards Gris’ bedroom, the pinkette looked inside to see how the little patient was doing![break] [break]
Gris’ silence was explained easily enough when Holly saw the sleeping woman’s chest rise and fall slowly. Her bedroom was as plain as the woman was boring. Ugly drapes, simple dresser, lonely chair in the corner, white bed sheets, wooden king-sized bed that only really knew the body shape of one person instead of two. The only interesting part in the entire room was that painting. Well, that and Holly when she entered. Placing the soup bowl quietly on the ground, she stepped over it before she quietly went to stand next to the bed. [break] [break]
A hint of doubt entered her mind again as she looked at how that nagging dull woman slept peacefully.[break] [break] Holly strangled that thought just as how she was going to strangle this person.[break] [break]
Extending her arm towards Griss, Holly remained silent for a moment as she focused. She practised this. [break] [break] Slowly but certainly, a vine crept out of Holly’s jacket sleeve with a magenta glow surrounding it. Like a silent viper, it slithered out of its hole and towards sleeping beauty. Unbeknownst to any onlooker, Holly had about 12 meters of vines coiled around her torso right now. Hidden by her coat, more and more of the green vine slid out of one of the sleeves. Slipping gently over the bed and pillow, the noose tightened quicker and quicker. Both figuratively, and very literally. Preparing both mentally and physically, Holly took a final breath. Go-time.[break] [break]
Using her other arm, she took a hold of Griss hair and pulled her upright quickly and abruptly. As she was still disorganized, the vine coiled first around the lower part of her head. Going over her mouth it rapidly wound around her neck and upper body. It was over before Gris was able to orientate herself. Within seconds, a tight constriction was curled around her mouth, neck, and upper body trapping her arms. Her legs were still free, though Holly didn’t worry too much about that. Two frightened eyes bulged out of their sockets as Gris looked at Holly smiling broadly.[break] [break] “Wow! I didn’t think I was going to pull this off first try! Thank you!” Holly said as she was giving praise. [break] [break]
Understandably, Gris tried to scream out, only causing the magenta glowing vine to thicken to accommodate the new shape of the mouth. “Sorry! While I want to be a pal and give you your last words and all, we cannot have you screaming! These walls are like… paper.”[break] [break]
Also, understandably, the woman tried next to get free of her binds by using what was still free of her arms and hands. Trying to claw at the plants that constricted her. It was like steel cables were spun around her. In response, Holly gave a slight pinch crushing maybe only a rib or two to show that she honestly should consider the severity of the situation.[break] [break]
Understandably, but annoyingly, she then tried to kick Holly and trash about with her legs. In response, Holly applied enough pressure near her arms that they would most likely break. Well, Holly wasn’t certain. Normies break quickly. Broken bones, crushed bones, bruised bones… It all happens easily. It was enough for the woman to give another almost silent scream into the vines. Not as silent as Holly would have wanted it, but it was as good as she was going to get it. [break] [break]
“As much as I want to give you this little moment to feel alive for the first time in years,” Holly spoke, a bead of sweat on her forehead. She could keep this up for as long as it was going to take, but it was still a slight exercise in keeping a trashing woman contained. “I am going to cut you a bit short. Well, not literally. They will find your body still presentable for a casket if that is your thing. Don’t worry!”
Really regretting not pulling up that chair, Holly kept standing next to the bed as she slowly began to apply pressure around the woman’s neck. “I am going to choke you out and strangle you to dead! You are far too boring to have a lover do it to you, but some people would really enjoy this, you know! It is supposed to be not one of the worse ways to go!”[break] [break] Getting only a woman staring with extreme anger and fear in response, Holly just continued. She was nervous, you know. This wasn’t easy for anyone. She needed to keep talking. “I know that you dying today wasn’t in your planning, and that you think it is unfair and not your time and all, but think about it this way,” Holly gave a wink. “You are getting killed by a famous person. Holly Hock is the name! I did a bad and caused a terrorism incident!” [break] [break]
She wanted to extend one of her hands towards Gris, but she remembered on time that this would honestly be in bad taste all things considering.[break] [break]
Gris trashed around with her legs again, but not that bad that Holly couldn’t handle it now that she was more accustomed to this whole situation. She slowly applied a bit more pressure around the neck. Taking her time more as she wanted to at least say a few more things. “I am not that bad of a person, you know. Sure, from your point of view this might be hard to grasp, but-” [break] [break]
Being far more athletic and vigorously than Holly gave her credit, Gris manage to get one solid kick to Holly’s face using all her strength and might. [break] [break]
All of Gris strength and might in this moment being hardly enough for the girl to flinch and stagger slightly before continuing. “BUT!” She said loudly enough as she found it rude that she was being interrupted while most definitely breaking her arms right about now. “I got a better side! I am quite loving on most days. Had we met under different circumstances, I would have fed you yummy food and we could have been friends…” [break] [break]
Shrugs slightly, Holly needed to make a correction. “Nah… but still… thinking about what could have been, right? You would have been still alive if you hadn’t called me a street rat, or if you hadn’t gone outside of your apartment today. Hell, if you had a cool hair colour like myself, I would most likely have just looked the other way. I would have just said ‘Hey! You are a jerk, but I can respect your yellow mohawk! Good job living your best life! But now, you have brown hair in a boring perm. No dice.”[break] [break]
The struggling seemed to be growing lesser and lesser, as Holly could see… realization, in the woman’s eyes. Like… things were either falling into place, or she was already beginning to fall unconscious. [break] [break]
“Oh, good! You are starting to go! Well, what can I say! Your life in all ways that mattered sucked in all but one! You live in the Ground District of all places, never rely achieving enough to get out. Seeming to be very boring on top of that!” Giving another smile, Holly’s voice gained another layer of enthusiasm on top of it. “But not all is lost! Your death is exciting! Getting choked out by a famous criminal presumed deceased! Nobody will know for at least for a while that I did it, but you and I will know! I am keeping a list for when I go myself. If they ever write a book about me, and they find out about this, that will be like… a chapter, most likely! Think about that!”[break] [break]
Holly kept looking at Gris’ eyes as she could see the last remnants of resistance beginning to fade. Or at least she thought that was happening. She wasn’t really an expert in these kinds of things. Yet.[break] [break]
“Now… you will become a happy little cloud. Don’t haunt me now. The sewers are no place for that. Fly towards the corners of Remnant. Dive to the depths of the seas and fly up till you can kiss the sun. When you want to be in a body again, in some form or another, I would go for a cat. Cats are nice. Cuddly. Soft. Excellent hunters and companions.” Holly said, giving the woman at least a hint into the deranged ideas Holly had about the afterlife as she was losing consciousness. [break] [break]
“Oh! You are eyes are closing! Time to say bye bye! Don’t be mad! I am not mad at you!” Holly said, before she climbed on top of the bed. She wanted to sit down, but she also didn’t want to like…release her grip in case she wasn’t really unconscious. Sitting on the woman’s belly, the pinkette kept looking at the woman’s face. [break] [break] “Hmm… you know…you might be prettier asleep…” [break] [break]
Holly kept on that bed for about ten minutes as she continued to apply more and more pressure towards the woman’s neck and chest. Eventually she just became a bit desperate to know if Gris had actually died that she just applied enough force till she felt the woman’s neck break. And heard it. That wasn’t a nice sound. Confident enough after that, Holly uncoiled her vines carefully. Trying to feel a pulse, she felt none. Trying to hear a heartbeat, she heard none. [break] [break] “Well… that does it...”[break] [break]
Still sitting on top of the bed, Holly… cried.[break] [break]
By the gods she cried.[break] [break]
She hated herself. All of this sucked, her life sucked, she did things that sucked, and she should honestly just throw herself off a tall building headfirst.[break] [break]
It took her more time to compose herself than it took to take this innocent woman’s life. What got her up was quite a simple desire. If she stayed, she would be found out. If she was found out, she wasn’t going back to the sewers. In the sewers there were people who had come to depend on her. They feared her, sure… but they also needed her. Freezing to dead, most likely going to eat each other. None of that Holly wanted. It was like… having depression but having a family to take care off. Sure, you might think that your life is horrible, but you had invested time and energy and love into something that you didn’t wanted to suffer with you. [break] [break]
Even if Holly’s family was forced through violence…and her desires… it was still her project, you know. [break] [break] Hey, a flimsy reason is still a reason to go on.[break] [break]
Getting off the bed, Holly felt drained. The vine slid back into her sleeve again. She took the now cold soup off the ground and began to eat. Hungry, you know. She took the bowl to the sink, leaving it there. [break] [break]
She still needed to do some things.[break] [break]
First, Holly wrote a note. With thick black marker on the back of a store receipt that Gris had left on the table. She placed it in the corpse’s hand. It read in a shaky handwriting: “Bianca, Haven.”[break] [break]
Second, she found a black spray can under the counter. She sprayed the words “WHITE FANG REMMEMBERZ” on the wall opposite of the bed in bold letters. On the cool painting. Yes, with one ‘M’ too many. Holly wasn’t too great at spelling words. The Z was intentional for extra cool. [break] [break]
Holly took the spray can with her, as well as one of Gris coats that looked comfy enough and it was cold outside. For the rest, she had left the soup can and bowl on the counter. In the bedroom there was still the opened first aid kit, partly applied to Gris’ burns over her torso and arms. Gris’ body would have signs of struggle. Her neck was heavily bruised and broken. Her arms were broken as well, and bruises were also on them from the force. Her ribs were only bruised, Holly hadn’t actually broken any of them despite her thinking she had. [break] [break]
Lastly… Fine, also real name time. Crystal Raines. Gris’ real name. Sounded like a striper, which was why Holly didn’t want to use it in her head. Her hair was also not even blue, so the name sucked anyway. [break] [break]
Taking her bags with her, Holly decided to open up a window and jump out. The window was situated towards the back of the apartment, and Holly crept away through an alley into the streets of the Ground District. Her hair was covered by her hat, and she had a spiffy new coat on.
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Words: 2692, Thread Total: 5837
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Aura: 52%
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Semblance: B, Strangler: E, Gardening: D, Scroll-usage: F, Martial Arts: E, Healing: E, Acrobatics: F, Stamina: E, Greensense F
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Post by Vesper Dubonnet on Dec 31, 2020 11:24:09 GMT -5
Calling her mom a 'kitty' did cause Vesper to cringe, though the blush Aly might have expected on her mother's face wasn't as pronounced as one might have hoped. Instead, she went along with her little scheme when Aly had been a good girl and closed her eyes. Vesper was just as much in the dark when it came to what her mom was planning to do, taking a slight sip from her drink as she played the onlooker.
Midnight took Aladriel's hands into her own and gently opened them to hand over a present. It was a small and light metal object. Leaning over the bar, she gave a kiss kiss on the cow Faunus' forehead before she began speaking again while keeping her face somewhat close and intimate. "Open your eyes... What I just gave you is the key to our apartment..." She spoke softly. Looking slightly to the side, she explained the intent. "If there is anything bothering you, or you just want to get away from it all, you can now always come. Please, don't be a stranger. Not after..."
The older woman stayed silent for a moment, giving a glance to Vesper who understood quickly enough that her mom wanted her to scoot over to another bar stool for just a second. Pouting just a little bit, she did as her mom had silently asked her to do and gave them some space. With the two of them having as much privacy as you can inside of a bar, Midnight had one of the rare moments when she couldn't easily find the right words.
"Back in Kuchinashi... I... almost wanted to give you the key to the apartment. I... felt like it was more than just a fling... I thought that... we would have been good for each other and for Vesper... I was... so goddamn close that I literally stood in front of your day for half an hour once building up the courage to ring..."
She let out an awkward snicker as she thought back on it all, before she smiled at Aly.
"But then the war happened... You... seemed so eager to go. Not to hurt people... or because you hated us... but because you wanted to make the world better. For me. For my daughter. For yourself. You fought so that girls like Vesper will hopefully grow up in a better world. One where she can be whoever she wants to be. I... didn't wanted to take that from you. That kind of purpose. I didn't wanted you to look back and know you could have done more for your people... like I do now."
The panther's face a mixture of sadness and acceptance of how everything turned out. She had a daughter to take care off, and that felt more important at the time than fighting in a war. Still, that didn't meant that there wasn't a part of her that felt guilty about it. To know that so many died and suffered for a cause she herself hadn't given much of anything to.
"So... I am giving you now what I should have done nearly 10 years ago. You have your own life, I know, but if you can spare it... please also be just a little bit a part of mine and Vesper's... You are family, and by choice, not by blood. Just... don't forget that."
If it was her choice, Midnight would have closed up the bar right here and now and she would have taken Vesper and Aladriel up to the apartment and like... hug for an hour and then have lunch and just savor this moment for as long as she could. A bar patron who had just seated near the couple asked for a drink though. So while she gave Aladriel time to respond, Midnight, or Camilla as her legal name was now, reluctantly needed to break away from Aladriel again.
Vesper, only knowing that Aladriel had a key but not the context surrounding it all, went to sit next to Momma Moo. Taking a sip of her cocktail, she rather bluntly stated. "That key works on the backdoor, but doesn't open the bar area. So when it is closed, you need to enter through the back." 713 words; 3833 Total
Post by Aladriel Noir on Dec 31, 2020 12:37:33 GMT -5
She could feel the cringe that came from Vesper, chuckling to hersself before she felt hands on her open, being opened. Allowing it, she felt the small cold metal object which after a few moments of gripping lightly, she felt was a key. Her heart almost dropped. She had been anticipating this 10 years ago, but then the war happened and nothing came from such a motion. Whilst it did break her heart, she knew what she had to do anyway. To be given this key now, after so long?
It made her melt.
Even though just a few years ago, she and Damien had exchanged keys, this felt different. It reignited the already roaring bonfire in her soul that had just had gasoline poured over it during this night. Her breath hastened, her heart became light and quick, and she felt Midnight lean in close, she met, pressing their heads together and opening her eyes. She stared as she listened to the context and intent for such a notion of trust, and the heartbreaking reason to why she never got one before. Eyes widening, she kept them locked on her former lover, tearing up every so slightly. Bastard, she's cried twice tonight, that's once too much for the week let alone in one night!
The part about the war came up, and she felt instant regret. Hell, she regretted the entire thing. Despite not seeing all that much combat, she hated the fact she left the two. But... she couldn't help but have her doubts. She was only 20, young, naive and wanted to explore what she could. The war was a good opportunity to get out and discover herself.. but that only ended up coming back to her roots again. She should've realised she found herself properly in Kuchinashi. Fuck the war, it only caused more pain than solved problems.
"... You just have to say something and I never would've left."
She kept the embrace close even as she felt the bar patron come up. This wasn't finished, she knew that she had a job to do, but Aladriel wasn't done here. She knew Midnight wasn't finished either. Giving her a long kiss on the forehead back, she turned to Vesper as she pulled back up next to her, taking her drink again and chugging the entire glass before letting it fall with her hand, resting again on the bar. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind thank you Vesper.." A light smile was given as she leaned over and gave her a hug, seemingly out of the blue. "I love ya Vesp, remember that okay?"
Once Midnight came back to them, she would give a smile she hadn't given her since she left 10 years ago. One filled with love and contentness, before leaning in close to whisper. "I want to stay the night, or take you home with me, your call... and uh, one De-Stresser again please." A quick wink and lick of her lips followed as she turned back to Vesper, grinning. Words: 506/3094[/font][/font]
Last Edit: Dec 31, 2020 12:37:53 GMT -5 by Aladriel Noir
Post by Chloro Smoke on Jan 1, 2021 9:03:20 GMT -5
we are the lost and the silent
tags: Too Many
WHERE THE SKIES END -- STARSET
outfit: As described
words: 362/2464
Chloro kept still when the giant approached and tried to console her. She just wanted to scream, kick and punch anything in her grasp but she couldn't scream. She was muted. She couldn't punch or kick, she was weak. It was just shit. Every Christmas has been shit. She was tired, she felt like ass and she wanted the night end. As Berwyn spoke, she loosened up a bit though. And... she was right. They still had a job to do. They still needed to get somewhere safe. She knew just the place.
Taking Berwyn's hand and pulling herself up, she gave a nod to the girl and began grabbing her stuff again as well as the supplies for the kids. They needed to be quick, and thank god the place was nearby. Using her scroll, she quickly typed out a message for Berwyn, as well as something to tell them. "I know a place, used to use it when I was homeless. It'll do for now. Tell them 'Follow Chloro and stay close'. I'll do the rest." Once it was read, she walked towards the kids and gestured to them to follow as Berwyn gave the message, and she began to navigate the streets.
About 15 minutes later, they came to a small abandoned looking warehouse. The entrance was down an alleyway with a shutter door with a rusty padlock keeping it closed. Making sure no one else was around, she picked up the lock and used her semblance to crack it open, and pull up the shutter for everyone to go into. Once all were in, she shut it up again and pushed on deeper till they found some dingy makeshift beds that were something for now. It wouldn't take long to stay here though, she was going to make sure that building got every bit of repairs it deserves. A quick message was written out for Berwyn, giving her the scroll to read as she prepped a fire, using leftover wood and debris to make it. "I apologise it's not much, but for tonight, it will have to do. I will personally see to the rebuilding of the orphanage."
Post by Alina Rybalka on Jan 1, 2021 20:49:02 GMT -5
[nospaces]
[attr="class","nikki98"]
[attr="class","nikki99"]
[break] [break]
[attr="class","nikki100"]
[attr="class","nikki101"]WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT VIOLENCE BREEDS VIOLENCE
[break]
[attr="class","nikki102"]BUT IN THE END, IT HAS TO BE THIS WAY
[break]
[attr="class","nikki109"]Huh. [break][break]
Looks like the EMP actually worked, maybe that was why the camera was fucking up. That was good, it meant that the worst of this was over and the cleanup should be pretty easy from there on out. It meant that their job was essentially done there and… and something just fucking fell on her head from up high. After it slammed against the top of her skull, gray eyes looked over to see a fucking hard plastic, big ass plane was the culprit and that there was a ton of similar shit falling down all around her. Had she noticed earlier, it would be easy to just incinerate all of it while it was still high up in the air… but as it was the area immediately around her had the toys that were still falling do so way too close to people to risk it. [break][break]
The EMP spread out, so the outskirts of the range would be affected later… but Alina wasn’t fast and wouldn’t be able to get a visual on those in time to use her semblance. The most she could do, really, is nudge a few of the people closest to her out of the way of the big ones so they didn’t get knocked out or anything from the impact. Kind of frustrating, but much better than the alternative. [break][break]
Gray eyes scanned the area to find the inevitable fuckery that was going on, and she caught a glimpse of something she hadn’t really expected. Seemed like a kid had decided to take apart one of the blimps… and pulled out some of the cartridges. Those, given the fact that they were made by Great Grin, could have anything from oxygen to hydrogen to actual fucking bombs inside – and this was obviously one hundred percent not the time to go fucking around with the innards of terrorist toys. In a flash, though, her vision of the issue was gone. Pulling out her radio, though, she spoke into it clearly: ”Watch out for people taking apart the toys.” she spoke into the Iron Wolves general frequency. ”Those bombs aren’t inert, and people that think it’s safe will blow themselves up fucking with them if we’re not careful. Saw a kid in the center mucking around with the innards of one just now, dunno where he went. Don’t let your guard down now, because this phase is probably more dangerous than the last now that people will start feeling safe and do stupid shit.” [break][break]
Actually getting to the dumbasses playing around with the bombs would be the hardest part, and it wasn’t like Alina could just incinerate them out of everyone’s hands even if she wanted to… because of the whole explosion part of the things that she’d be incinerating. It’d be up to someone else to handle that particular problem, because the wolf faunus simply lacked the skill set to do a lot about the issue. She was going to find an operable camera to talk into, frankly, and hope that nothing else went horribly wrong while she gave an interview to hopefully get people to not swarm the area and blow themselves up in the process.[break][break]
Post by Carmim Clover on Jan 1, 2021 21:25:25 GMT -5
❝
AURA: 88% WORDS: 940 | TWC: 2319
HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS
Oh.
Well that was helpful!
Carmim wasn't too familiar with Opal, since she was new and all, but she did kinda remember her from classes and stuff, so seeing the ice girl show up was pretty nice. Especially since her own Semblance was incredibly ill-suited to this kind of problem. She could clear out a broken building really quickly, or smash up a ton of bad guys, but actually picking off tiny little toy soldiers that were surrounding someone was pretty far outside of her tool kit.
It wasn't that she couldn't aim precisely enough to hit the little buggers- she was accurate enough to land direct hits on any of them, from much further back than this. It was just that her Semblance blasts were wider than the distance between the woman and the attacking toys. Which meant she had no way of handling this thing without hurting her too.
Luckily, Opal did.
With some skillful displays of weapon training, she managed to clear out all the attackers, leaving them pretty dead.
She checked on the civilian girl, as Carmim finished making her way over to meet them in the middle, right before Opal addressed her directly. She was a little proud of her classmate, actually, for prioritizing checking on the civilian before checking on her fellow trainee! Civilian lives were what mattered the most here, after all.
Which she had tried to get through to Berwyn and Chloro as she was walking out of that building they were in! She still wasn't sure why Berwyn screamed at her like that. It was rude, and kind of annoying, especially as she was still in the process of waking up all the way, and besides, she still didn't know what the big deal was anyways. It was just a building. It's not like she'd blown up a bunch of kids or anything, you could always rebuild a building.
Maybe she should go help them with that.
If nothing else, because she was convinced that they would just hang out there and keep messing around with a building instead of going to rescue people. Both of them were way better at rescue ops than she was, so it was incredibly frustrating seeing them wasting their time on something way lower priority.
Something that she could get done way faster.
...And she also kinda wanted to go ask why Berwyn was so angry. Was it about her Semblance? She was in therapy! Anger management was working! She hadn't been angry when she'd used it, just a little tired and grumpy, and she fixed the problem! Or at least, the problem she thought they were having. Looked like that was what was going on anyways.
"I do not... I t'ought t'ese were supposed to be evil killer Atlesian robots, not... a bunch of weird toys. T'ey do seem a little dangerous, t'ough, so maybe we should still keep an eye out for t'em." She glanced up in time to be smacked in the face by a falling toy rocketship.
Ow... Huh. Well, seemed like the toys were dying somehow. Maybe the evil Grimm possessing them had given up? That seemed kinda likely. She glanced back at Opal, now that it seemed the threat was ending. "Could you help get t'e civilian woman to somewhere safe? I will go and see if t'ere are more of t'ese evil toys running around. I also need to go check on somet'ing else..." Frowning, she turned and started back towards the direction she'd come from.
Along the way, she didn't see anymore toys. At least, none that were actively attacking anyone. So that was pretty good. It meant that she probably had time to go see what she could do about the building while things were quiet. And send Berwyn and Chloro out to go scout for more dangerous threats.
Coming up to the orphanage again, she was surprised to find the place deserted. Maybe Berwyn and Chloro had just up and left on their own? That was probably for the best, they were way better suited to running around and doing stuff than she was.
At the very least, it left her with a little peace and quiet to work in, as she assessed the large hole in the wall, and the damage done by what looked like a bunch of explosions and fighting. It was a lot of work, but she figured she could get a good start on it, at least. There was plenty of wooden furniture, along with the broken bits of wood scattered around, which she could use to at least temporarily patch up the walls and the support beams, since they were the most important for the building's structural integrity.
Prioritizing those, she went to work, finding a hammer and some nails in a closet, boarding up the hole in the wall. In theory, she could come back later, when shops were open again, to pick up some lumber and come back to finish the job.
There were an awful lot of beds in this place. Was this someone's house?
Maybe that's why Berwyn was so angry. If she'd have realized it was someone's house, she probably would have asked the homeowner before she cleared all the debris out of the way. Even though she was pretty sure that would have wasted a lot of precious time. If Opal hadn't come when she had, Carmim would have already been delayed by trying to speed up whatever her classmates were doing. Who knows what would have happened to that poor woman if nobody had come to her aid at all?
LAIKA OF GS!
New Problem: Orphan Annie Needs a New House (Social 8)
Problem Attempted: Orphan Annie Needs a New House (Social 8) Skill Used: Woodworking (E) Roll: 5 + 1 = 6 (FAILURE)
Last Edit: Jan 1, 2021 21:27:43 GMT -5 by Carmim Clover
SEM*: A, DURA: C STR: D Recoil: E, STAM: E, SAND: E WEAP: F, EARS: F
Post by Nina Rivers on Jan 1, 2021 22:40:55 GMT -5
NINA RIVERS
Hark now, hear the sailors cry, Smell the sea, and feel the sky,
She didn't get especially far in her plan to go mope until she felt better, and maybe bug Slate along the way.
Not before she smelled that same familiar scent approaching, and heard that same unmistakable voice, and felt a hand on her back, plucking off the slimy, gross, toy bits, and, and...
And it was really her, huh?
She was really, actually, in Mistral.
She was relieved.
She was relieved to know that Sinopia wasn't alone. That she still had Alina. That she was okay, and safe, and not still stuck in Menagerie, and she hadn't gotten eaten by Grimm, or a giant whale, or a pack of ravenous cannibal humans who wanted to branch out and add fox faunus to the menu. Not that she was aware of any human settlements that did that, but she wouldn't put it past them- if anything, coming to Mistral had reminded her just how fucking crazy they were.
She tensed up at first, as her first- well, second, technically- friend gingerly removed the sticky hands from her back. But she didn't make any move to stop her. She was a little glad she was facing the other way, actually- she could definitely feel some tears starting to well up, and she wasn't sure she was ready to explain why she was crying.
Not that she needed to explain anything- Sinopia wasn't stupid, she could probably take a pretty good guess at why Nina's face was looking like a waterfall.
She wasn't exactly sure how to respond, at first.
How do you respond when someone you really missed comes back, but you also feel really guilty, and scummy, and gross for leaving her behind, and going to do something else far away, at a crazy place for crazy people, who do crazy things, but maybe the thing you want to do is a little crazy too, but you've got to go deal with the craziness at the crazy people crazy place, and... Bluh, this was too complicated.
The other girl hadn't even finished speaking the second time, when Nina turned on a pivot and wrapped herself around the shorter girl. Was she always this much taller than Sinopia? It was so long ago, she didn't remember exactly. Maybe the gap was smaller now, actually, she remembered her friend being way shorter than this, and a lot scrawnier too.
She laid her face down against the redhead's shoulder, as the waterworks really started to flow.
"I'm sorry... I missed you."
She felt a little stupid for crying- and for getting this emotional all of a sudden, in general, because they still had a lot to do, from the looks of things. That psycho toy company was still terrorizing the Ground District, even if they had managed to stop at least some of it. Maybe more? it sounded like there were less explosions around, now.
She sniffed, and pulled back from the sudden embrace, just as abruptly as she'd initiated it, and just as awkwardly.
"I didn't know if I'd ever even see you again... Are you... How, um. Cazzo." She had a lot of questions, but between the tears, and the shock, she was having a hard time focusing enough to ask any of them. Eventually, she just shook her head, clearing the cobwebs out of her brain.
"Toys. They're still attacking, yeah? You know what's going on with them? The blimp and all that stuff? Is that what- why you and Alina are here? Or I mean, not fighting just the toys, but like- did she go to a Huntsman school too? Or- wait- no, that's stupid, of course she didn't, she wouldn't- Merda, my head's spinning."
She stood, a bit awkwardly, trying to figure out what the hell to do. She didn't want to just run off, now that she knew Sinopia was in Mistral, right in front of her, but she needed to figure out what to do to try and help fix things. She needed to help fix things, because at the moment, she felt incredibly useless, and that was benefitting exactly nobody.
"Camera." She started sniffing around, suddenly focusing fully on trying to help get Alina in front of some kind of news team or something. Anything, really, that could broadcast. Unfortunately, she couldn't find a camera nearby, and even the bright idea of using her Scroll's camera was smashed to bits as it seemed the EMP was still interfering with it.
Post by Russet Bruin on Jan 1, 2021 23:09:29 GMT -5
Alright, now just to make it back to her District before any other fucky shit could happen, and then-
A crackle of lightning from a back alley a little ways ahead caught her attention, as she ran back to her team, impatiently waiting for her return. Ah, fuck, that couldn't be good. But no, she was determined not to break any more direct orders! She had a job to do, dammit, and someone else could fix that shit, whatever the hell it was.
From the sight of a strangely familiar redhead waddling away shortly after, she guessed it was probably some of the local psycho squad fucking shit up, anyways. Not her circus, not her monkeys.
Until Alina made it her monkeys, that is.
She listened intently to the radio message, as she continued on her way, before eventually stopping and looking back at the back alley she'd passed by.
They were supposed to make sure nobody was fucking with the bombs on the ground, right?
That meant she should at least check it out... Could be dangerous, and it was en route... Kinda. It had been, before she passed it a few seconds ago.
Ugh. Okay, whatever. She backpedaled towards the back alley where the lightning-y explosion had come from.
Arriving on the scene, she quickly found a pile of smashed up toys, a blue-haired girl, and a pink-haired girl who looked kinda familiar almost. Was she in the bar earlier, when Hinata was singing? Maybe that was where she recognized her from. Russet looked her up and down, in a quick glance, as she assessed the situation.
Cutie, with a capital Q-T, for sure.
But that wasn't really the point! She had a job to do, dammit, and she needed to get it done quick, and get back to base.
"Hey! Don't even think about messing with those things, you two! Shit's fuckin' made of bombs, you'll blow your fingers off, or worse! Why don't you two go find a nice safe spot to go camp out until we get this shit under control? Just, y'know... Try not to die! Oka-"
She turned to glance at the blue-haired kid for emphasis, only to notice the logo on her jacket, which elicited a visible grimace on her face.
"Oh."
Gross.
Speak of the psycho devils, and BAM. They show up out of nowhere! Like hell, did they need more of these jackasses making the whole situation worse. She was as likely to burn the district down than actually do anything useful, unlike the Kozaks, who were basically running this shit.
She turned again to Kimmie, suddenly seeming a little more concerned for the pinkette's safety. If she hadn't noticed the blue haired girl's jacket, she might have even left her alone with this probably-incompetent superpowered menace to society.
"Or... Actually... Here, why don't I show you a good spot where you'll be safe? It's pretty dangerous out, y'know? It'd be pretty fuckin' fucked of me to just send you off somewhere on your own." She flashed a charming little grin to the pinkette, as she gestured towards the direction of the Iron Wolves barrack. "Russet, by the way. Desiatnyk Bruin, if a gal in uniform gets ya goin'."
Smooth as hell. Fuck yeah.
She glanced back at Opal, a dismissive expression on her face. "Oh, and uh... You can find your own way home, yeah? Big-ass school, top of the mountain, can't miss it, right? Don't think a Huntress student needs her hand held, you should be fine on your own. Off you go, I got this from here."
Hopefully she wouldn't try and start shit with a civilian present. She knew Huntresses were fucking nuts, but she wouldn't imagine this one might be loony enough to get a helpless lovely young lady caught up in the crossfire.
Aura: 75% // WC: 647 // TWC: 5073
Problem Attempted: Stop the Five Finger Discount on Bombs (Obstacle 11) Skill Used: Specialized Semblance (E) Additional Die: Speed Roll: 5 + 2 = 7 (FAILURE)
Post by Sinopia DeStellanova on Jan 2, 2021 1:55:59 GMT -5
Sienna didn't say anything about the tears or the obvious change in demeanor. There was no need. If anything, she thought it was stranger that she wasn't doing either of these things herself. If anything, she felt a little bit more relaxed now that the initial contact was done and it hadn't blown up in her face. That wasn't saying much because she still felt like she might throw up, but at least her head wasn't spinning and her heart no longer felt like it was going to explode. She still had no idea how all this would go, but for the time being, it was easy enough to focus on the moment. To force herself to focus on the texture of Nina's shirt and hair, how gross the sticky things were, and how much taller Nina had gotten in the past two years.
Then Nina hugged her unexpectedly and her body stiffened right back up again. It shouldn't have been a surprise at all. Nina did stuff like this all the time. Hell, the first time they met involved Nina physically dragging her around the city. Yet, somehow, it took her completely by surprise and Nina let go before she could even figure out how she felt about it, leaving her standing there wide-eyed with her arms glued to her sides. After blinking a few times, she relaxed again and rubbed the back of her neck.
"You know, I still can't understand you when you talk like that," she chuckled lightly.
Figured that out of all the things she could say it'd end up being a stupid joke and not something nice. Saying that she missed her too would have been the obvious thing to say, but she wasn't actually sure if it was true. Yes, she was happy to see Nina, but that wasn't the same thing. Nina was just another person that disappeared, and that happened to her enough times before that she couldn't really feel anything about it anymore. Something similar happened when her father died, and she felt worse about not feeling anything about it than she did about his actual death.
She was thinking way too hard about this.
Nina's next question made her frown in disgust. She would have made a similar face if Nina just asked if she wanted her to puke in her mouth or something. It passed quickly and she shoved her hands into her pockets and looked away in an attempt to brush off the reaction.
"No, nothing like that. Alina's originally from Mistral and wanted to come back is all."
Or at least, she was pretty sure that was the question Nina was asking rather than how Alina learned to fight. That was the most barebones response she could provide given everything that happened, but it was the important part. And the part that wouldn't immediately give her friend a heart attack. And the part that she was okay with sharing because she really wanted to pretend like Asche never happened. Those details weren't important anyway. Just touching on that topic made her a little stiffer than she already was and made this conversation more awkward than it already was. Alina was close enough that she could hear the report and figured that she shouldn't be standing here having an awkward conversation with someone right now and Nina seemed to agree.
"Yeah, it seems like we both have a lot to do still," she nodded and started to turn around before forcing herself to stop. "I'll come find you when it's quiet again. It sounds like the worst of it has passed."
Sienna ran off, looking for anyone getting near any toys. She had always been fast, but she was considerably faster than she used to be on Menagerie. At this point she could probably keep up with cars. Unfortunately, the Ground District was huge and there was only so much someone running around trying to plug up some holes could do. For the time being, she picked up as many toys as her pockets could carry, then tried to use her oversized shirt to carry some more. She really needed to find a bag or something until she could find a good place to put all these or otherwise safely detonate them.
---
715/8472
Attempting Problem: Stop the Five Finger Discount on Bombs (Mobility 11) Using: Semblance C, Speed C Result: 5 + 4 = 9 (not solved)
Post by Bianca Sabbato on Jan 2, 2021 5:18:22 GMT -5
As I was busy swatting toys out of the sky. My mind was running wild with ideas and possible strategies to finish up this aerial assault once and for all.
But each and every idea was quickly rebutted as I considered most of them inviable at best. And some others utterly useless at worse.
I knew I was wasting my time and was just about to simply turn tail and initiate an evacuation if needed. When one of the drones made a sweeping pass for me. Only to be trapped and redirected towards the ground by a handful of dirt I was controlling with my semblance.
But that... That gave me an idea. One that would be extremely hard to pull off, but that I might just manage if I concentrated and had a fair degree of luck in my hands.
Extending my semblance all around me, I slowly began picking apart small rocks. And when necessary, separating tiny chunks of the street itself and forming round projectiles with the base material.
I didn’t stop until I had collected at least a hundred small rock pellets into my semblance’s grasp. I couldn’t use simple mud or soft dirt for this, so the street would have to do with looking like a specially vicious woodpecker had gotten a field day on it.
I spread my new projectiles up in the air. In a thick formation and to the utmost limits of my reach, most of the planes were still outside of where I could hit them. But that was exactly what I was aiming to overcome.
Taking a deep breath and about half a minute to make the proper calculation. I shoot each and every one of the small pebbles upwards as if they were droplets of an inversed rain.
Soon enough, the small rocks escaped my telekinetic grasp, but their kinetic energy kept them going upwards at great speeds.
Physics, fuck yeah! No one can say the classes at Haven are useless after this!
The pellets shoot upwards and tore down the flying toys as if they were made of paper. Of course, there was the issue of the projectiles falling back to earth. But to be honest, that wasn’t even a problem at all. Worse they could do was break a particularly feeble window, and even that was a stretch.
The only thing that made those rocks able to destroy the toys in the first place was the force I impressed on them. As soon as that expired and there was only gravity to accelerate them downwards. Then I was sure they could even hit a kid in the head and don’t cause anything more than mild annoyance.
Still, I made sure to catch a good amount of them as soon as they got within my range. Those were a secret tool that would serve me right about... Now.
Small pellets wouldn’t hurt anyone, but an army of toys would most likely do so.
Planes, ships, and other flying gizmos started plummeting towards the street below. But I was ready. Those same pellets I had caught before, I turned again into deadly projectiles.
Only this time, instead of piercing the toys from side to side, I took care to embed them into the frame of the falling planes and using the telekinetic pull to steer their fall towards a safe spot.
Of course, I was already doing some really insane amounts of multitasking as it was. I simply didn’t have enough mental fortitude or skill to send each and every one of them to a different location where they wouldn’t hurt people.
So I did the next best thing, I sent them towards the only person there who didn’t care if she was hit by a toy plane.
The broken-down air force converged on me, guided by the invisible hand of my semblance, making nosedives for my location at a frightening speed.
I released my semblance, already a little dazed from the delicate use of at such a large scale. And unsheathed my spear.
I was meaning to bat away as many as I could to avoid taking unnecessary damage. But there were simply too many of those fuckers, I did my best, but a good chunk of them ended up decking me in the face, body, or limbs. As I swatted blindly and made weird dance-like movements to try and dodge as many as I could.
About a minute later. The assault had ended. And I had been left kneeling in the ground, hacking loudly as I tried to regain my breath. All around me, a veritable cemetery of toy corpses laid discarded and destroyed.
After a couple seconds of this, I got both hands on the ground and pushed myself up as best as I could, still a little wobbly on my feet and with fat drops of sweat running down my temple even in this cold weather.
-...Onto the next thing...-
I mumbled to myself, sporting a vacant expression on my face as I started walking down the street, not entirely knowing where I was exactly going for a second. Basically looking for more things that I could give a helping hand with.
There were considerably fewer killer toys in the street. So it was likely that the EMP had worked somewhat. That was a relief, less work to do, fewer things that could go catastrophically wrong in the last minute and fuck us all over.
Or at least, that’s what I thought. Until a piercing shriek caught my attention.
Breaking into a hard jog. I approached the source of the scream, finding a distressed woman babbling some incoherencies and barely able to point me in the general direction of what I assumed was the thing that had caused her to react this way...
And sooner rather than later. I found out the cause of such a strong reaction.
…
In front of me laid a dreadful vision. It was much more than a mere couple of toys with explosives and weapons... It was a pile, a big, fat pile that even now was still getting fed by an assortment of small RC trucks coming, adding an assortment of stuff to the heap. And going away to find more.
It was immense, at least three times as tall as I was, and looked feeble and unstable at best like it could come crashing down at any minute, but the problem was not the mass of death itself. But the general location the toys had chosen for its construction.
Just outside a weapon shop... And pretty close to a rather large dust store...
Fuck, that could be bad, that could be really bad. I was thinking of calling for support when I saw something that gave me pause for a second. Squinting my eyes, I focused on the top of the stack.
Perched atop the veritable mountain of explosives, fireworks, and other highly flammable artifacts. Sat a lonely blue truck. On it’s back, a white blanket had been nailed into place, fluttering into the cold nocturnal wind.
Over its hood rested a lonely crown, likely belonging to some kind of fantasy action figure, a symbol of either some forgotten nobility or serious delusions of grandeur.
Impassive as it was, the blue truck loomed over all of us. A strange air of serenity washed over it, like it was at peace with its actions, knowing what had to be done. And who was best suited for the work.
But. Most worrying. Protruding from all over it were small rods of remarkably slow-burning gunpowder. A product especially popular with small children during the celebrations, glimmering brightly into the night and covering the truck in a halo of radiance.
Sparklers... The motherfucker was covered in flaring sparklers. Only inches at best from the enormous pile of danger the mad king had made his throne of.
All around him, small toy soldiers lined to the tower of death, some clearly malfunctioning and beginning to shut down, but nevertheless, still guns blazing at whoever drew near. It would take someone seriously agile or resistant to take the mad king down before he set the fuse ablaze.
Hell, I wouldn’t even dare to try and snipe it, or it would risk one of the things falling off and setting off the explosions. It would be necessary to remove that fucker by hand...
A small toy radio laid at his side. Broadcasting a single word in a blurry, mechanical voice. Repeating its message in sickening monotony, like a mantra, like an omen of what was to come.
Post by Argent Steele on Jan 2, 2021 16:23:10 GMT -5
I know you got hate in you. Most do. Trick is to use it, 'stead of it usin' you.
But you know this. Vengeance is a motivator, not the motive. Don't hunt 'em 'cause you been wronged. Hunt 'em 'cause what they did was wrong. There's a world of difference there, kid. One makes you selfish. The other makes you a hero.
And I see a hero in you.
❝
Vaulting over a parked car as he followed along in Rose's wake, watching the red lightning flicker and dissipate behind her, the snake Faunus did his level best to take aim and launch the stones held between his fingers - but there were so many obstacles that the toys weaved around and under that he didn't dare to fire. Not because he was afraid of missing or causing a ricochet, but with the sheer amount of visual clutter in the way, it was impossible to determine whether he could disable the tiny targets that were the stunt cycles themselves without breaching the Dust vials on their backs and causing the very explosion he was trying to prevent. Biting back a curse, Argent shot a quick glance around his surroundings, looking for something that could possibly serve as a convenient vessel for Rose to grab on to if he could launch it at speed - but there was nothing nearby even remotely close to fitting that description.
"I don't have anything that can withstand your weight!"
The shout back was strained, and the snake Faunus was already weighing the risk of prematurely detonating the explosives before they could do more damage in a more populated area against the possibility that they could still find a way to handle it before it came to that - but thankfully, before he could do much more than calculate the expected losses such an action would cause, there was a sudden burst of energy from somewhere nearby which apparently had the effect of shutting down the little motorcycles, which stalled and slowed to a halt before there was any sort of detonation. Argent slowed to a halt, watching the toys carefully before calling out to Rose.
"Hold up, it looks like they've shut down. Doesn't seem like-"
There was a loud crash as the wreckage of a toy plane about the size of his torso smashed into the ground beside him, causing him to jump slightly - snapping his head skyward and seeing a number of similar wrecks falling towards the area they were currently in, the snake Faunus brought his hand up and around, blasting the rocks held between his fingers into the sky in streaks of sliver. Tracking each piece of debris mentally wasn't an issue, and with the power of his Semblance the six or so toy planes that were falling towards them were shattered into a number of smaller pieces barely larger than the size of his thumb, raining onto the cobblestones with a strangely soothing tinkling sound, like metallic rain. Gold eyes flickered from rooftop to rooftop, until he was satisfied that there wasn't going to be any more surprises and turned back to Rose.
"Sorry. Anyway, it looks like someone managed to shut them down. Probably not safe to touch them as is. I'll call in a MPD bomb disposal unit in case there's a delayed detonation or something."
So saying, the snake Faunus pulled out his Scroll, only to find the cracked screen dark and unresponsive. Trying to start it again with the power button yielded nothing, but he quashed the slight panic rising within him at the thought of Shin's final gift being no longer functional and focused instead on the present.
"Scroll's not working," he told the blonde, frowning at the device before shoving it back into his pocket. A number of citizens had emerged from the surrounding environment, apparently curious now that the immediate danger had passed. Raising his voice, Argent called for them to clear the area and remain indoors, though it didn't seem to have much effect. Suppressing a sigh, he turned to Rose.
"New plan. I'll go manually to the nearest station and make a report. You're faster than me, so if someone has a case of itchy fingers or is poking their nose where it shouldn't go, you have a better chance of stopping them, or chasing them down. Help me keep the area clear until I get back, please? We'll go shopping afterwards, if the shops are still open after this."
He nodded to her, reasonably confident that while Rose wouldn't like being put on guard duty, she would still see the logic in his plan. After doing so, Argent made his way across the street at a jog and started moving across the Ground District to find the nearest station, calling on his memory of the area to help.
A few short minutes later, having stumbled upon what seemed to be all the explosives in the District mounted into one large pile, defended by what seemed to be an entire strip mall's worth of toy soldiers, Argent crouched behind a hunk of wreckage that had once been a neon sign extolling the virtues of herbal medicine, and considered the situation.
One, there was only one other Haven student nearby, and there was no ability to call for reinforcement with his Scroll disabled. He could see Bianca on the other side of the explosive monstrosity, but the covering fire from the toys was keeping him from approaching. Moreover, there was no way he could communicate with her over the din of tiny rifles popping off - certainly not with any clarity or for any extended period of time. Perhaps he could get a shout off, but nothing more.
Two, there was no time to retreat and consult with anyone else before this thing went off. From the size of the thing, it seemed like it would take the whole block with it, if not more. Letting that happen was not an option - not while he had the chance to stop it.
Taking a deep breath, the snake Faunus readied another set of rocks and pulled his feet under him, before exploding into a sprint out from his erstwhile cover and rushing towards the pile. Gunfire peppered the street where he'd been as he ducked and weaved through the incoming hail of fire, blasting away at any toys he could see. All too soon, however, he ran out of projectiles to use - nothing at hand, and nothing within reach. Moreover, it seemed that the remote controlled trucks had taken notice of him - instead of continuing to deliver their loads, more than a dozen split off from their former paths and made a beeline for him, forcing him to pull back. He wasn't sure if they would detonate on impact, and so was forced to pull back, lest he inadvertently trigger an explosion too close to the pile.
The one good thing about the whole affair was that the majority of the toy defenders' attention seemed to be focused solely on him. Maybe it would even be enough to give Bianca a clear shot at removing the truck mounted atop the pile - though that might just be wishful thinking on his part.
Attempting problem: Stop the Mad King Truck I (Hazard 12) Skill used: Agility C Roll: [2] + 4 (FAILURE)
WHISPER OF THE WYRM (SEMBLANCE): [RANK C]
SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: SPEED OF THE SCYLLA (SPEED) [RANK E] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: DANCE OF THE DRAGON (AGILITY) [RANK C] SERPENT'S BENEDICTION: GLARE OF THE GORGON (MARKSMANSHIP) [RANK E] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: WINGS OF THE WYVERN (ACROBATICS) [RANK F] SERPENT’S BENEDICTION: TALONS OF THE TARASQUE (MARTIAL ARTS)[RANK F]
OUROBOROS (WEAPON): [RANK E]
@ ● 1152 words ● 3768 total words
MADE BY MIZO
Last Edit: Jan 2, 2021 16:23:37 GMT -5 by Argent Steele
End of Round 8. Any problems introduced beyond this point, per Events Channel, will be done by your character actively sabotaging the Ground District.
Problems:
Alina (One problem remaining): Calming the Citizenry Social 10 OP: 10 from Alina and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Nina (One problem remaining): Scary Santas!? (Social: 7) OP: 7 from Chloro and 10 from solving for 17 total.
Red (One problem remaining): The Hot Chocolate Is Missing (Obstacle 8) OP: 8 from Russet and 10 from solving for 18 total.
Bianca (One problem remaining): Investigate the Smoke Coming From the City (Obstacle 9) OP: 5 from Escarlata, 9 from Escarlata and 10 for solving for 24 total.
Escarlata (One problem remaining): A group of Thugs are threatening our local friendly hitman! Help him save that poor man! (Combatants Difficulty 6) OP: 6 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 16 total.
Russet (One problem remaining): Runaway Cars! (Obstacle: 10) OP: 6 from Alina, 8 from Red, 5 from Alina, 6 from Russet, 6 from Red, 7 from Vesper, 10 from Red and 10 from solving for 58 total.
Berwyn (One problem remaining): The missus is not a chew toy! (Combatants 8) OP: 5 from Chloro, 8 from Nina and 10 for solving for 23 total.
Vesper (One problem remaining): Avocado goes 'a' (Combatants 5) OP: 2 from Hinata, 2 from Aladriel, 5 from Kos Mos and 10 from solving for 19 total.
Hinata (One problem remaining): Please don't wreck my bar! (Social 9) OP: 9 from Vesper and 10 from solving for 19 total.
Aladriel (One problem remaining): Aladrial's Fans (Social 8) OP: 8 from Kimmie and 10 from solving for 18 total.
Kimmie (One problem remaining): Fans have crowded Kimmie! (Social 9) OP: 9 from Hinata and 10 from solving for 19 total
Chloro (One problem remaining): Chloro is getting swarmed too (Combatants Difficulty 8) OP: 6 from Berwyn, 7 from Bianca, 8 from Escarlata and 10 from solving
Vesper (Zero problems remaining): Bat is Sad (12 Social) OP: 8 from Aladriel, 12 from Vesper and 10 from solving for 30 total.
Escarlata (Zero problems remaining): The Assault Begins. (Combatants Difficulty 9) OP: 9 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 19 total.
Berwyn (Zero problems remaining): Save the Orphans from the Grindenburg Disaster (Mobility 10) OP: 6 from Chloro, 10 from Knight and 10 from solving for 26 total.
Red (Zero problems remaining): Storm the Lego Castle (Combatants 12) OP: 12 from Rose and 10 from solving for 22 total.
Rose (One problem remaining): Stop the Sideshow Statue from Hell! (Combatants 12) OP: 10 from Red, 5 from Russet, 12 from Alina and 10 from solving for 37 total.
DM Problem: Get to the center and grab the box (Obstacle 8) OP: 9 from Red and 10 from solving for 19 total.
DM Problem: Figure out how to set up an EMP (Social 5, can only be attempted with engineering/electronics related skill) OR Speed Read the 152 Page Instruction Manual (Social 13) – Must complete one before next problem unlocks OP: 1 from Holly, 8 from Bianca, 13 from Hinata and 10 from solving for 32 total.
DM Problem: Set up the EMP field (Obstacle 12) – Detonation stopped upon completion of this problem. OP: 11 from Russet, 12 from Red and 10 from solving for 33 total.
Argent (One problem remaining): Stop the Stunt Riders - Gently! (Obstacle 12) OP: 10 from Rose, 3 from Nina, 11 from Russet, 12 from Red and 10 from solving for 46 total.
Nina (Zero problems remaining): Hands Off the Merchandise! (Hazard 11) OP: 11 from Alina and 10 from solving for 21 total.
Kimmie (Zero problems remaining): Party Pooper [Social: 9] OP: 5 from Vesper, 9 from Aladriel and 10 from solving for 24 total.
Chloro (Zero problems remaining): Clear the Orphanage of Debris! (Hazard 10) OP: 7 from Berwyn, 10 from Carmim and 10 from solving for 27 total.
Holly (One problem remaining): Helping the Little Match girl (Hazard 6) OP: 6 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 16 total.
Flynn (One problem remaining): Fight against the Great Grin narrative (Social 10) OP: 5 from Holly, 7 from Alina, 4 from Nina, 9 from Nina
Carmim (One problem remaining): Attack of the Battery-Operated Grimm (Combatants: 10) OP: 10 from Opal and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Russet (Zero problems remaining): Hallelujah, It's Rainin' Toys (Hazard 12) OP: 6 from Bianca, 8 from Alina, 12 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 36 total.
Carmim (Zero problems remaining): Orphan Annie Needs a New House (Social 8) OP: 6 from Carmim
Alina (Zero problems remaining): Stop the Five Finger Discount on Bombs (Mobility 11) OP: 7 from Russet, 9 from Red
Bianca (Zero problems remaining): Stop the mad King Truck I (Hazard 12) OP: 4 from Argent,