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 Chloro Smoke on Jan 27, 2021 6:35:03 GMT -5
we are the lost and the silent
tags: Too many
WHERE THE SKIES END -- STARSET
outfit: As described
words: 560/3811
There wasn't much she could do in her crippled state. The increasing volume of people was also causing something she never really acknowledged in herself before. She felt her chest tighten up and her breathing become shallow. Was this an onset of a panic attack? Was it claustrophobia? Social anxiety? She wasn't sure, but she looked to Russet with a quick look before Berwyn carried her off into the sky. She tried to grab Russet's hand to bring her but alas, she was in too much pain and couldn't focus all too much. As she looked back at the group, she hated what she saw. She saw herself being horribly useless and despite being the one who initiated the chase... she hated that she was out of action this quickly.
She slipped her scroll out to send Russet her response before she put it away again. "Geist possessed a car, smashed me into a wall, legs fucked too. Good luck, will talk later." Once away, she then reflected on the mood of Berwyn. She felt something coming off her, and she could tell that she wasn't impressed with her actions. The plan was to get to the new temporary orphanage and have Miss Bellflower look her over. She knew that Bellflower had experience with medical training but also... she knew she can only do so much for a broken leg. She turned her head away from Berwyn for the rest of the flight, trying to decypher what she believed Berwyn was feeling. She was good at hiding her true feelings so it took some time, but it hit her once they reached the floor.
She dropped to the floor, trying to protect her leg as much as possible but it still hurt like a fucker. Yet when she stopped rolling, she looked over to Berwyn and heard her heave and cough as she spoke as something in her head twigged on. She was disappointed in her. Once that crossed her mind, she latched onto it, which meant... Berwyn would probably leave her after today. Chloro has had too many experiences like this to not know how it turns out. If she wasn't in a hospital by the end of the night, she was going to be elsewhere, despite her broken leg. That would heal in time, just a splint will fix it along with aura.
Chloro felt something else surge through her however, as she picked herself up to her feet haphazardly before moving to Berwyn, putting every muscle, bone and blood vessel in her body to intense strain to pull her up and support her. With Berwyn's arm under her shoulder, she started to lead them to the orphanage. Sweat poured down her face and the pain in her leg was screaming at her to stop. She could feel it making her situation so much worse but she kept trying to power through. It was agony and pain as they hobbled the last block to the final destinated, and once they got to the door, she would knock ever so lightly. She rested Berwyn against the doorframe as she sort of collapsed against the other side, eyes closed and heavy breathing. The feeling of that panic attack had passed but she couldn't be viewed as a failure or a disappointment.
That's how she lost everything in the first place.
Post by Russet Bruin on Jan 27, 2021 11:20:58 GMT -5
"Quit... Struggling... and give it! You stupid Cloudhead trash fire! Fuck!"
Man, if she were in better shape right then, she would have laid that rich bitch gunslinger out. As it stood, though, she was decidedly not in better shape. A broken leg was actually surprisingly not very conducive to her rescue attempt, and she could already hear Doc Oc's creaky-ass door swinging open nearby, so he was probably going to kill her, if the coke heads and the crazed cowboy wannabe didn't get to her first.
That was fine, she just had to survive long enough to not break any other limbs. Overworking the doctor was a bad idea.
Though she was probably going to do just that, anyways- pinky needed medical treatment pretty fast, after all, and grass-hair wasn't looking much better.
Though he apparently did have some spring left in his steps.
Enough to make a lunge for the gun, which was currently already being held by two people. Seeing his plan, Russet detached herself from it, and instead, jammed that hand up over the shooter's face, prompting him to start swinging and kicking at her even more angrily, but giving Flynn a free shot at the gun, which was no longer stuck to her hand.
Now she just had to find a way to subdue this jerk, and-
"Ow, fuck!" Her hands clasped to her ears, having the side effect of sending her tumbling onto her ass, as there was suddenly nothing holding her up by the shooter's face anymore. She winced sharply as her broken leg thumped against the ground, though the stone splint managed not to break.
Glancing up, though, it seemed like Kimmie had the situation handled now, and it looked like the recently disarmed brat was now on the verge of pissing himself. Heh. She shot the pinkette a wink and a grin, before looking around for the green-haired kid, who'd seemingly disappeared from sight after he knocked the gun away.
He didn't seem like the type to cut and run, frankly.
Although, he was a Huntsman. So he was probably at least cowardly enough to let a civilian handle his problems for him while he hid out and waited for a chance to jump in for the kill. Or maybe he was off somewhere muttering to himself and planning to make his weird spiky hair shoot out and stab everyone with his spiky hair semblance, which she figured he probably had.
Seemed like a Haven thing to do.
But nah, it didn't look like that was what he was doing. Yet, anyways- she could see inside the crowd of pissed off partygoers just a little bit, enough to see that they were kicking and swinging at someone in the middle of their makeshift mosh pit. And she was currently low enough to the ground that she could see a tuft of green low to the ground, with a hand curled over his head.
Ohhhh.
So, not a coward, just a wimp.
Seemed like pinky's friend, so it was in Russet's interest to bail him out again. Plus, she couldn't in good conscience just let the dude get wailed on with a probably broken Aura.
Wincing pre-emptively, she reached for her crutch, before pushing it hard against the ground, launching herself towards the crowd, with no friction to slow her down. Which, incidentally, also allowed her to slip right past the mob of druggies, so that she could scoop up Flynn, and continue her slide, simply barreling through the other side, since she had to de-activate her semblance's effects on her upper body to grab him. Luckily, she made it out on the other side pretty well, and the dumbasses were too distracted by some newcomer to notice.
Coming to a halt a meter or two outside of the crowd, she let Flynn go, before collapsing in a heap on the ground beside him, as her reddish Aura crackled and shattered again, leaving her trying to catch her breath, laying on her back and staring up into the crowd at...
"Daaamn..."
Who the hell was that?
And did she really even need that corset? It was pretty obvious from a glance at her that she was in no way compensating for any deficiencies. And she was packing a hell of a lot more than just that shotgun of hers...
Which was an added bonus.
And it shot fire dust?! Damn...
Now she really wanted to get her hands on a piece of that action... And she wanted to check out the gun a bit too.
She scared the crowd off, and started talking, but Russet was too dazed by the combination of shock from her injuries, and the stunning woman in front of her to actually comprehend what she was saying until she was directly addressed.
"...huh? Medical...? Oh! Fuck! Doc!" She scrambled to her feet, which was a terrible idea, and ended in her falling back down again, on account of her leg not working especially well, just as she got a message from Sienna over the group chat. Giving up on standing for a moment, she fired back a quick message as she explained her exclamation.
"Yeah, actually- old friend of mine lives out this way, right around the corner actually. Gave me a lift here after I got hurt getting some dumbasses out of trouble. Heard Kimmie in trouble over this way, and well... Didn't have any other choice but to come help you out! So, uh... About that drink from before..."
Post by Nina Rivers on Jan 27, 2021 12:57:22 GMT -5
NINA RIVERS
Hark now, hear the sailors cry, Smell the sea, and feel the sky,
Hmmm...
Zombipede?
Zompede?
Centiprey? Uhhh... Brainslug? Sluggo! Pedey-weedy, no that's fucking dumb. Uhh... Fuck, what was a good name? How the fuck did people come up with Beowolf, and Nevermore, and Geist? Those were good names! She had no fucking clue what to call this thing, but she had a responsibility- no, a duty, as its discoverer to give it a proper designation. How else was she supposed to talk about it in her field report!?
Suddenly, though, a powerful stench caught her offguard, forcing her to cover her nose immediately.
"Oh, che cazzo?!" She grimaced, looking around for the source of the smell, only to find Sienna, heading back in her direction, sans drum goblin, but now followed by a...
Holy moly that was a huge Geist...
Not as big as the one she'd heard about in Rochdale, but still pretty damn big. Bigger than the ones she'd tangled with earlier. And it was coming for Sienna?
A car rolled up about the same time, with a bunch of her classmates in it, and they set to work pretty quickly, going after the trash monster, which was very helpful. Nina ran over towards Sienna in her fastest sprint, which was in no way fast enough to actually catch up to the fox faunus, though she did figure maybe she could help her out some with the gross sewage freak chasing her.
Except the car full of people had their plans quickly foiled when the Geist threw a second Geist at them, which snatched up Bianca immediately, and got a little boost as it now possessed a solid lump of rock, and a spear of ice, courtesy of Opal's near-attempt to stop it.
That wasn't good.
And now they were too preoccupied with their own thing to help Sienna out.
Which meant she was stuck trying to help her on her own, with very limited capabilities compared to her classmates, unfortunately.
At least she had one advantage over the Grimm. Geists were generally only capable of possessing solid matter- which was why Bianca and Opal's attacks had been turned against them so easily. She, on the other hand, had a semblance that produced liquid matter- as far as she was aware, Geists couldn't exactly just slurp up water.
Still a risky trick- it was still pretty cold outside, so she had to be careful, or else her Semblance would eat through her Aura like cotton candy at the Vytal Festival...
But she figured this way, she could at least buy Sienna some time, and attempt to cut this big dude down to size in the process.
By all accounts, it should have gone off without a hitch- she burned a good chunk of her Aura to instantly produce a solid wall of water between Sienna and the Geist, herself in the center of it. At a full twelve meters wide and tall, it should have very effectively blocked the Geist, but she hadn't counted on one thing.
At the time that the Geists had been made, the killer had scattered the last of his Dust around...
Which meant the massive arm that lunged to punch through her water wall was peppered with dozens of tiny Ice Dust crystals.
He collided with her barrier, and she moved within it to dodge the punch, preparing to lash out with her trident, but at that moment, the water she was contained within was flash-frozen, and partially shattered, as the remaining chunk containing herself, frozen in a look of confusion, was morphed into the Grimm's now-much-larger arm.
Hopefully her Aura could last a few seconds running on what little oxygen she had in her lungs, and the remaining body heat her thick winter clothes provided her...
Post by Kishka Burzanova on Jan 27, 2021 14:55:18 GMT -5
KISHKA BURZANOVA
"Ch..."
She gave the now-unconscious terrorist another firm kick in the head, before turning to Duncan and Nik. "Like I said. Police and medics on the way. Keep the civilians safe, don't let the criminal leave. Got it?" She didn't wait longer than she had to, to verify that they did, in fact, get it. It was basic, simple shit, even someone as dumb and reckless as Nik could understand. She gestured to Argent to follow, and sprinted off towards the killer's updated location, per Colton's distress signal.
As they headed down towards the Wind District, she turned to the snake faunus, with a decidedly illegible expression on her face. She still didn't exactly know what to say to him, necessarily, and frankly, saying anything at all felt wrong.
"Thanks." She paused for a few seconds longer, before continuing, and turning her gaze back towards their destination. "You were great back there. Don't know what I'd do without you."
There was a little hesitance to her tone- she fully meant what she said, but the timing just felt off. It couldn't actually be this easy, returning to normal after avoiding him for so long. After that fight. She didn't feel like this was supposed to be how it worked. An echoing boom sounded, forcing Kishka to cover her ears, and pulled her out of her thoughts. What the fuck was that? But there was little time to dwell on it, as they were nearly there, given their high running speeds.
And "there" was a goddamn trainwreck, it looked like.
She immediately spotted a car, and several of her classmates within, the weird blue-haired girl from Class Red doing something with her Semblance, and an oddly familiar red-haired fox faunus. It took a few seconds before it clicked, but she was pretty sure she'd seen her hanging around Holly's killer, in some interview clips, or video from someone in the crowd somewhere. Wasn't sure of the exact connection, but she definitely remembered seeing her before.
She also remembered a different encounter with her... Though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She'd met her somewhere else before, though, definitely.
It was also hard to miss the pair of Geists- one smaller one was attacking the car full of students, while the other seemed intent on chasing after the Kozak, and Nina, who was swiftly turned into an icy arm for the Geist.
Notably, the Killer wasn't present. Or Colton.
"Killer must have got away. Made a mess here first. Engaging the bigger one; that thing gets into a populated area, and we'll be swarmed by Grimm from outside in no time." It was frustrating, and it carried in her tone- she wanted to be able to just focus on the problem at hand, but it was clear that this problem needed to be solved too, and since they were already nearby, it might as well be solved first.
She just had to find a way to deal with it quick, so she could get back to her chase. Presumably, if the Kozak girl was here, that meant her hunch was right, and her leader was off fighting the Killer. Considering the sound of the blast she'd heard, Carmim was very likely also on top of stalling the Killer until she and Argent could get there, so it wasn't as pressing that they get there immediately. Still, all these little nuisances kept piling up and delaying her.
Wincing at the smell of the nasty-looking Geist which was currently plowing a path forward at an alarming rate, she shot towards it at high speeds, making a few shots with her cannon along the way, catching its attention.
Massive limbs swung out at her, but they were far too slow and telegraphed for her to be hit by any of them. Instead, she took the opportunity to lash out with both cannonfire and precise strikes from her umbrella, while stile darting around and beneath the hulking Grimm's legs.
The left arm was the first to come down, landing on the ground with a sickening squelch as the sewage it was made of landed near her on the ground. It moved to reattach the limb, but she didn't let up, going for a leg immediately after, crippling it in short order, and leaving the monstrous thing to try and attack her again.
Still far too slow.
A flying dagger caught it from the side, slicing off the arm where Nina was currently frozen- the ice didn't so much as crack upon hitting the ground, though, meaning the girl was still stuck inside, though now she at least wasn't going to be used as a weapon anymore.
All that was left was its literal last leg, and the Geist seemed to realize this, choosing instead to attempt to flee, exiting its chosen vessel, and flying off towards the car full of students, and its friend.
"Not on my watch." A thundering crack echoed out as she sent a cannonball right through the ghastly Grimm's mask, turning it to a fine black mist.
Which just left the other one.
Or well, it would have, except she hadn't accounted for the massive pile of sewage she'd just defeated, coming down on top of her. She was quick, but there was so much, falling in all directions, that she was left with little choice, to avoid being crushed- unable to flee in time, she dropped into a low crouch, and opened her umbrella, holding it overhead, handle pressed into the ground.
And that was when hundreds of pounds of raw sewage and pipeline crashed down on top of her, making her nauseous enough that she felt she was going to puke, and intensely triggering her handwashing compulsion, as she could do little but stare at her gloved hands, thankfully mostly clean, as her quick thinking spared her the unpleasant feeling of being bathed in literal shit.
But she was on a timer now, as the weight of the former Grimm's "body" pressed down on her, slowly crushing her weapon, and requiring her to feed it Aura so that it could hold steady. Once Lucky 13 bent or broke, though, she would have no defense against the very lethal pile of sludge atop her.
She just hoped someone would think to search for her there.
Post by Erytheia Hellebore on Jan 27, 2021 15:30:40 GMT -5
The noble warrior stood, and the people looked to her.
For she was a beacon - hope given form, yet still only human. Within that truth there was great promise. If one could stand against the night, then so too could anyone - everyone.
In her hand the warrior held a Rose. And her aura burned bright.
❝
There were a lot of things that Erytheia had learned over the course of her life. Some of them were not the kind of skills that came to mind when one thought about the heiress of the Hellebore family - driving, maintenance, cutting Dust Crystals and other utilities. Any family living in the Cloud District worth the name usually had at least one or two manservants to handle anything resembling the mundane needs of everyday life, and some of them in fact adopted a bizarre sort of pride in flaunting their lack of a need to ever function without it. But the Hellebore family had never forgotten their roots. As warriors, soldiers, and mercenaries, there was a need to be self sufficient - at the very least upon the battlefield, if nowhere else. So when she had learned how to drive, as an extension of her tutelage at riding animals, it had been with combat in mind.
That was to say that she aimed to get from point A to point B as fast as possible, with little care for anything else in the way that wasn't civilian in nature.
"I know what I am doing."
Eerily calm as she spun the car around what had once been a fountain in the middle of a roundabout, Erytheia put the vehicle through its paces as they raced upwards towards the Cloud District. The streets she took were small and steep, but they definitely made the going much faster than they would have otherwise. This, however, came at the cost of posterior and emotional health - the side alleys were nowhere as well paved or maintained as the main roads, which meant that the car bounced around like it was caught in an avalanche. The world around them started to slow as they reached a particularly steep incline and the engine started to sputter weirdly. Exhaling softly, Erytheia reached over to the side of her seat with one hand and shifted the car into manual.
The engine caught again, and they were off, now with one hand firmly on the gearstick. It was fairly impressive, the way that the Hellebore heiress juggled between changing gears, drifting around obstacles in their path, and bracing herself against the frame of the car's metal body, the better to drive from a stable position - or it would have been, if it wasn't for the sheer amount of stress she was putting her passengers through.
Finally arriving on scene with a screech of brakes and a slight cloud of smoke around them originating from under the hood, there was barely a moment to take it in before someone was rammed with another vehicle, which took off with the woman dangling from the front like some strange hood ornament. Shifting the car back into gear, Erytheia was just about to begin chasing after the culprit when another Geist appeared. A runner from the initial group that had shown up earlier? Whatever the case, it took offense to their designated parking area and decided to throw one of its brethren over to join the party.
There was a lot of ensuing chaos, which involved Bianca being torn out of the vehicle by the Geist, Opal trying to cut down the Geist with his Semblance but only offering it a new way to attack them, and their car being flipped with a large blow from the Geist with said new weapon. Thankfully, she had worn her seatbelt, so what should have sent her flying through the windshield instead only sent her jerking hard enough to leave bruises on her arms and torso - or would have, if her Aura hadn't been in the way. Gritting her teeth, Erytheia slammed her foot down on the accelerator, aiming to gun for the Geist and hopefully ram Bianca's protective cocoon out of its control.
Unfortunately, the Geist had other plans. Before she could even drive forward more than a few meters, the newly formed ice arm that it had gained from Opal's contribution slammed diagonally through the windshield, through the seat beside her. It went straight through the thin metals that constituted the floor and into the ground beneath them, pinning the car in place. This also meant that the Grimm's current arm was effectively occupied, but that was little comfort to someone already that close to it. For now, without the leverage to move herself out of the sudden deathtrap the vehicle had become, Erytheia was stuck.
Post by Argent Steele on Jan 27, 2021 16:29:51 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.
❝
After Kishka had resolved the issue with Nicholas' regrettable little incident, the two of them set off towards the Cloud District, homing in onto Colton's distress signal. Focused on the mission as he was, he didn't notice Kishka taking a few moments to consider what she should say to him, only blinking in surprise when she spoke.
It took a moment for him to close his mouth, from when he'd tried to answer her but couldn't find the words, and a few moments more to think of the response such words warranted. He had never been good with words, after all, even in the best of times. He knew he could seem abrasive and short without meaning to on a normal day - to say nothing of when he was already taxed by responding to an emergency situation that required the use of his Huntsman training alongside.
"You're welcome."
The words were slightly stiff - hesitant and unsure, not knowing how she would respond after weeks of avoiding him. Following in her stead, he cast his eyes forward, his voice quiet.
"I'm sure you would be fine without me. You've made it so far on your own..."
The words didn't sound right to him. Maybe it would have been better to say nothing at all, to avoid any misunderstanding that might occur - but after so long without any response, it was hard to not just say what came to mind. Thankfully, they arrived at the scene soon after, sparing him the need to respond immediately and allowing him to postpone it to another time.
"Yeah. Civilians first."
They went for the Geist, falling back into familiar combat patterns. Kishka went right, and he went left - using four of his knives to weave silver streaks through the air, slashing apart the pile of walking sewage. They worked at it, gaining in familiarity as they fought - as if they'd never spent time apart at all. She created an opening, and he capitalized on it, cutting away the girl who'd gotten herself frozen inside a block of ice from the main body, just enough for Kishka to crush the last resistance from the Grimm and deal the killing blow.
"NO!"
The shout from him was full of uncharacteristic rage and anxiety when the remnants of the monster toppled upon her like an avalanche, and the snake Faunus frantically looked around for a projectile he could use, something heavy and strong enough to cut through the muck pouring down. There was an abandoned car nearby - some sort of taxi service. It didn't matter now - with his Semblance flaring a bright silver, Argent tore the door from its hinges and floated it along side him as he sprinted towards where he'd last seen Kishka, then sent it forward with such force that it blasted through the scattered muck with power to spare, smashing against the cobblestone wall of a nearby house. Before the sewage could close back in around Kishka, the snake Faunus was reaching out and practically ripping her out of the mess, fueled by a mixture of panic and fear as he leapt to the safety of the nearby sidewalk.
"Are you alright? Are you-"
He cut himself off after a moment, fell silent, chest heaving from the exertion he'd just put himself through. He realized he was still holding on to her wrist tightly, and forced himself to let go, letting his hand fall back to his side, looking away.
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]
Kishka, Argent, Duncan Breen, Nikolas Burzanov, and Man in Suit villain are in the middle of the Wind District in a nightclub.
Flynn, Kimmie, and Russet are in the Cloud District a few blocks away from Haven Academy in an alleyway.
Colton Deraine, the Dust Ward Killer, Alina, Nina, and Sienna are at a border between the Cloud and Wind District.
Sienna, Nina, Bianca, and Erytheia are coming up to border between Wind and Cloud Districts.
Lunar is in the middle of the Wind District, closer to where the dust shop was robbed at the boundary between Ground and Wind rather than the boundary between Wind and Cloud.
Berwyn and Chloro are in the Ground District.
Problems:
DM Problem #1: Locate the Dust Ward Killer (Social 14) OP: 7 from Alina, 14 from Chloro and 10 from solving for 31 total.
Flynn (One problem remaining): Get the concussed and bleeding Flynn some medical help (Social 8) OP: 8 from Kimmie and 10 from solving for 18 total.
Lunar (One problem remaining): "Racists are dicks" (Combatants 10) OP: 10 from Kishka and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Chloro (One problem remaining): "Don't let the Killer get away!" (Mobility 14) OP: 10 from Red, 13 from Bianca, 7 from Berwyn, 14 from Knight and 10 from solving for 53 total.
Bianca Crisis Problem: "Lizard Popsicles are not healthy" (Mobility 14) OP: 7 from Argent for 7 total.
DM Problem #2: Kishka shows up before the terrorist gets bored and triggers the explosion (Mobility 11) OP: 9 from Kishka, 11 from Argent and 10 from solving for 30 total.
Alina (One problem remaining): Stop the Geists before they get away (Hazard 14) OP: 11 from Chloro, 12 from Berwyn, 13 from Bianca, 14 from Nina and 10 from solving for 60 total.
Sienna (One problem remaining): Keep Eyes on the Killer (Social 12) OP: 12 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 22 total.
Kimmie (One problem remaining): Get the Police to Assist! (Social 11) OP: 11 from Flynn and 10 from solving for 21 total.
Berwyn Crisis Problem: "Berwyn is stuck in the cafe.." (Obstacle 14) OP: 7 from Sienna.
Berwyn (One problem remaining): "Giant's Heart is having a giant heart attack" (Social 12) OP: 12 from Opal and 10 from solving.
Bianca Crisis Problem: "Lizard pancakes are not healthy either!" (Hazard 14) OP: 7 from Erytheia.
Nina Crisis Problem: Geists are Stopped... Now What? (Combatants 14) OP: 7 from Lunar.
Erytheia (One problem remaining): Chase down the other Geists (Obstacle 13) OP: 13 from Alina and 10 from solving for 23 total.
DM Problem #3: Remove the bombs and save Boris in thirty seconds (Mobility 14) OP: 13 from Kishka, 14 from Argent and 10 from solving for 37 total.
Kishka Crisis: Save Kishka from The Whirly Dirly Death Trap (Obstacle 14) OP: 7 from Argent.
Bianca Crisis: "Skewered Lizard is something I could try. Maybe..." (Combatants 12) OP: 6 from Lunar.
Bianca Problem (One problem remaining): "Evacuate the building!" (Social 10) OP: 10 from Opal and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Flynn Problem (Zero problems remaining): Defuse the mob of angry partygoers before an all-out brawl starts. (Social 13) OP: 12 from Kimmie, 7 from Sienna, 12 from Kimmie, 12 from Kimmie, 13 from Aly and 10 from solving for 66 total.
Kimmie Crisis: Kimmie is being strangled (Combatants 13) OP: 6 from Flynn
Colton (One problem remaining): Deal enough damage to the Dust Ward Killer to force the Grimm into full defense (Combatant 23) OP: 23 from Alina and 10 from solving for 33 total.
Opal Crisis: Save Opal and the idiot's from getting crush by falling Ice and big screen TV (Obstacle 10) OP: 5 from Russet.
Alina problem (Zero remaining): Get the killer off of Colton before he gets ripped to shreds (Combatant 20) OP: 20 from Carmim and 10 from solving for 30 total.
Russet Problem (One problem remaining): "Break a Leg" Has Taken On a New Meaning (Social 10) OP: 10 from Berwyn and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Bianca problem (zero remaining): "Ubers don't often roam the streets when a killer's on the loose..." (Obstacle 10) OP: 10 from Erytheia and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Chloro problem (zero remaining): Prepare for Trouble, make that leg break double (Social 12) OP: 12 from Berwyn and 10 from solving for 22 total.
Kimmie Crisis: Kimmie is being drugged (Social 13) OP: 6 from Flynn
DM Problem #4: Kill the Grimm blob before it invades Carmim and paralyzes her (Combatant 12) OP: 12 from Nina and 10 from solving for 22 total.
DM Problem #5: Damage the Killer enough that Carmim can escape (Combatant 19) OP: 19 from Carmim, 10 from solving for 29 total.
Carmim Crisis: Distract the Killer So He Doesn't Murder Defenseless Carmim (Combatants 19) OP: 9 from Alina.
Carmim Problem (One problem remaining): A Disarmed Drum Gremlin is a Useless Drum Gremlin (Mobility 16) OP: 16 from Sienna, 10 from solving for 26 total.
Sienna Crisis: Don't play Yakkity Sax with Serial Killers (Mobility 16) OP: 0 from Nina, 0 from Bianca, 8 from Kishka.
Kimmie Crisis: Gunslinging Rich Kid! (Combatants 13) OP: 0 from Flynn, 6 from Flynn
Alina Crisis: Crisis Problem: Blast away the grille from the speeding car to break Alina free (Combatants 19) OP: 9 from Carmim.
DM Problem #6: Stop Nik from killing the man in the suit before he spills the beans. (Combatant 14) OP: Argent 14 and 10 from solving for 24 total.
Argent Crisis: Stop Nik from skinning Argent, making a belt out of the skin, and strangling him with it. (Combatant 14) OP: 7 from Kishka.
Berwyn (Zero problems remaining): Last leg of the journey (Social 10) OP: 10 from Chloro and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Flynn Crisis: Stop the approaching gunslinger from shooting Flynn twice more point blank in “self-defense”. (Combatants 13) OP: 6 from Russet.
Russet crisis: Crisis: Help Russ Out of A Sticky Situation (Obstacle 13) OP: 6 from Kimmie.
Bianca Crisis: Lizard Potpurri sounds disgusting (Combatants 16) OP: 0 from Opal, 0 from Erytheia
Flynn Crisis: Stop Flynn from getting kicked to death (Hazard 13) OP: 6 from Russet.
Carmim (Zero problems remaining): Human Shields are for Cowards (Obstacle 16) OP:
Opal Crisis: "Look out, it has a weapon!" (Combatants 16) OP:
Nina Crisis: Lizard Popsicles Didn't Sell Well, So What About a Sharksicle? (Hazard 16) OP:
Kishka Crisis: Queen of Shit Mountain (Hazard 16) OP: 8 from Argent.
Erytheia Crisis: Geist's Hands on the Wheel (Combatant 16) OP:
”You are the biggest loser I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s thugs like you who give faunus a bad name. Rioters like you who decided violence was the first and only resort – and do you know what that makes you? That makes you a thug, that makes you a war criminal, that makes you a terrorist, that makes you a treasoner, and that makes you a psycho. Put all of those together and you know what that makes you? Huh? You know what that makes you? That makes you Solomon Moon!”
Upon seeing the complete lack of reaction coming from the other wolf faunus, Raul decided that she simply hadn’t heard it due to the old lady he had held hostage maybe muffling his voice… so he started to repeat himself, except shouting this time so his opponent could hear. Once her gaze went over to the car, though, he went off script and started shouting something else. ”Don’t you look over there! I’m the one in control of the situation! If you think you can just brush me off, you’re wrong! I’ll have you know that I graduated at the top of my class in combat school, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids for the Mistral Council from the time I was twelve and have over three hundred confirmed wrestling wins! I’m trained in all sorts of fighting and stuff and I was the top student at Haven before I was WRONGFULLY—“
Raul didn’t seem to notice or care on account of all the screaming, but there was an arrow shot into the car from… somewhere. And then another. The first one smashed the window, and the second one went inside the car. A third one followed it up and blasted through the other back window with the same sort of fat centipede looking Grimm that had tried to crawl up Carmim’s nose impaled on it before dissipating. There was also the sound of a hard banging noise, which was the thing that caused Raul to stop talking and look over. Another arrow went in, and Mr. Lee was ejected from the car due to what looked like a heavy charge of gravity dust smashing through the door. He was back to being absolutely slathered in Grimm ooze, and was in the process of pulling out yet more Grimm arms from his spine.
”Mr. Lee! Mr. Lee, are you okay?” the blue wolf faunus would cry out, rushing to cover the disgusting Grimm human creature thing by stuffing the hostage in his arms in between everyone and that … thing. The same thing that could take a car to the face without blinking, and multiple applications of multiple disgustingly powerful semblances trained on it without being destroyed. A volley of about ten arrows came down soon after, all missing Raul and hitting the target behind him and slamming down with enough gravity dust to smash the asphalt underneath of the Killer. ”Raul…. Hold.” he would gasp out as the monster lied down on the ground and appeared to curl up and ooze even more Grimm ooze material out of his skin. It went beyond the thin covering before, and appeared to drip down on the ground in the small crater in the asphalt to surround and cover his body, solidifying as dripped off of his skin to surround him in a hard outer shell of Grimm material.
Raul, for his part, took a step backwards and had no fear of this strange substance. He positioned the hostage right above Mr. Lee so that no more arrows could come out, and it’d be exceptionally difficult for anyone to attack him or the monster he was protecting without also hurting the old lady, who had started to futilely struggle in the grasp of the much stronger man holding her to try and not be anywhere near that Grimm ooze. The hardened ooze would become spikey as it solidified into a kind of cocoon around the Killer’s body, which remained completely and utterly still throughout the process. Raul just above him would twist and turn to put the old lady in front of any potential attacker that he detected and anyone they may want to attack, while shouting abuse the entire time about how the people around him were all cowards who got off on attacking unarmed civilians and complaining that the random and excessive use of force against both him and Mr. Lee was inexcusable and illegal.
Introducing problem: Destroy the Grimm cocoon before it explodes and destroys the city block (Combatants 18)
Post by Sinopia DeStellanova on Jan 28, 2021 23:59:49 GMT -5
The idea of keeping Grimm away from the hostages seemed like a good idea in her head at the time. She wasn't deliberately running towards anyone, just away from the fight that was undoubtedly happening with the killer. Right towards Nina. Someone with a nose at least as sensitive as her ears, and away from Raul, whose nose was almost certainly far more sensitive than her ears. Her face flattened. She was an idiot. An idiot and an asshole. Why didn't she think of this two minutes ago?
If it was intent on chasing her, the physical pain in her ears and nose, and her self-deprecating thoughts, then maybe she could have lured it around and tried to do something useful with it. Taking it into that fight would be risky, but it might be worth it to disable one of the enemy combatants. Except she wasn't even going to get the chance to even try because Nina decided to try to intercept the Grimm using a giant wall of water. What was with these people with elemental semblances creating giant walls of their element for no reason? Was this a shitty tactic they taught at Haven or something? Sienna cringed internally for a moment, but that feeling turned to horror once Nina was flash frozen in her own semblance.
She knew a fair amount about Nina, but the semblance was new to her and she had no idea how it worked. Was that intentional? It couldn't be right? Nina wouldn't intentionally make herself part of a Geist's arm, not even she was that much of a Grimm freak, and the expression on her face confirmed that she wasn't expecting this. And she wasn't breaking out on her own. Could she even breathe like this? Her mind flooded with possibilities, some of them reasonable, others completely stupid. This was really bad.
She needed to go after the killer. She was the most suited to get the hostages out of there.
But she couldn't abandon Nina. Especially not when she could be suffocating right now. After a moment of hesitation to collect her thoughts, she started moving towards the Geist again, putting her nose to her sleeve so it wouldn't smell quite so bad. It didn't help much. She didn't really know how to fight these things, so she focused on getting a good angle on the arm Nina was in. Nina may have talked about Grimm a lot, but it was mostly incoherent rambling that she barely understood. Not super helpful for figuring out how to beat them up.
Getting to the arm ended up being easier than expected because one of the trainees cut off the arm. It meant the Grimm wouldn't be swinging it around anymore. She sprinted for it as fast as she could, only for the Geist to be defeated and explode into a fountain of trash and sewage right over her. Unlike the trainee, Sienna didn't have anything to protect herself from the flood, and was promptly drenched in everything the Geist was made out of. The runnier parts started seeping into her jacket, including the sleeve she was using to protect her nose. The smell was so strong her stomach couldn't take it. She stumbled as she puked into the mass of garbage, and was just barely able to avoid falling on her face. Not that it mattered because she was about to be buried by the stuff and even she wasn't going to be fast enough before she was practically entombed by it.
To think, someone was going to have to clean all this up later. She did not envy them.
---
608/5653
Attempting Problem: Lizard Popsicles Didn't Sell Well, So What About a Sharksicle? (Hazard 16) Using: Semblance C and Heroism Result: 3 + 4 + 8 = 15 (not solved, crisis)
Post by Altalune Gloriole on Jan 29, 2021 6:43:07 GMT -5
◄
HAVEN'T YOU HEARD WHAT BECOMES OF CURIOUS MINDS?
Despite how exhausted she felt from exerting herself so much, she was very much aware of her surroundings. Keeping still as she just let herself recover, she heard footsteps approached before feeling the point of something sharp under her neck. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw the "nice lizard lady" threatening her! Just what for?! Killing some thugs who were threatening to kill the nice lizard lady?! Nice to see how much being helpful brings back! Lunar was annoyed at that but she was in no state to move or really react. The footsteps faded away again for a few minutes before the same came back. Having rested for a few moments, she was a bit more coherent but kept quiet as she watched the girl from squinted eyes take pictures of her. The hypocrite... no wonder the Kozak's hated huntsmen and believed they were better off without them.
It really made Lunar angry. No, it made her blood boil and as the girl walked off and climbed into a car, Lunar sat up and let her breathing rest, her aura stablising around her as the motes of her moonlight blessing reformed again. Picking herself up, she did look back at the bodies and tug at her jacket collar. That wasn't good. She had massacred them admittedly but they were bad guys. No doubt. She looked around to realise she was alone, but it didn't seem too bad. They were off fighting the killer or something. Her eyes widened in shock as she even thought that. The killer was still a thing!? Shit! She grabbed her blade and began jogging towards the sounds of battle in the distance, clambering up the side of a building and running from rooftop to rooftop. She was still a bit tired from the previous bout of exertion so she took it a bit slower. Although soon enough, she reached where the carnage was taking place.
It didn't look good.
Some wolf faunus was holding an old woman hostage above what looked like a giant pool of black ooze. Definitely the killer from what she saw it do before. The wolf faunus was an odd addition to the killer's arsenal. Keeping relatively hidden, she surveyed the rest of the ordeal. A car that was filled with those students from before, including not-so-nice-lizard-lady that she wanted to deck. Sienna was with them too so she had to do something soon. Keeping her head low, she crept along the rooftop and waited for her breath to catch up, as she kept the moonlight motes of energy low so it didn't give off her position. This was turning really bad, and they absolutely needed to get this under wraps soon. That cocoon thing did not look good nor healthy. She pulled off her radio and spoke into it briefly to alert Alina, Sienna and Russet to her situation. "I'm above the battleground, will engage on your word."
Attempting problem "Exhaustion Takes its hold" (Social 10) Using Aspect of the Moon (Semblance E + 1 Specialization) Roll: 7 + 2 + 8 = 17 (Pass, no crisis)
Post by Kishka Burzanova on Jan 30, 2021 23:18:44 GMT -5
KISHKA BURZANOVA
Dark.
And rancid.
Kishka was really glad she wasn't especially claustrophobic.
Or, she would be, if she weren't spending all of her physical and mental energy keeping the weight of all of this sludge and gunk from crushing her- her umbrella flexed pretty hard, bending under the weight, which forced her into even tighter quarters. It was especially uncomfortable, but she couldn't stop to think about that either, because she was far more concerned with surviving this humiliating death than feeling comfortable, at the moment.
Though survival wasn't the only thing on her mind.
Isolated in her little cocoon of putrid sewage and slimy oozy goop that she absolutely did not want to think about too much, all she could focus on, aside from staying alive, was what Argent had told her, on their way to find the killer.
She felt awful.
Because she could see the pain she was putting him through, for her own pride, and her own ego, and her own selfish needs. Sure, she was mad at him. Maybe she still was, even, especially as the presence of Holly's killer just pulled her mind back towards revenge, even though she knew for a fact that avenging Holly was not the best move to make at the moment- the Dust Ward Killer was still at large, and she was still banking on the two of them wearing one another down enough that she could drop in and finish one, if not both, of them.
Which wouldn't be happening, unfortunately.
Not least of all because she was buried in a pile of disgusting sewer slurry, but also because Argent was present, and she didn't want to drag him into her revenge plot if he was so adamantly opposed to it.
Which brought her back to being mad at him...
But not for long.
Because he was wrong.
About several things, but the most important being what he'd just told her, as awkwardly phrased and stilted as it had come out. She knew she wouldn't be fine without him. She knew that he had to know that too- he was her rock. Even when she was being stupid and stubborn and angry, he was the voice of reason, reminding her to think with her head, and not her fists. The only person alive, in this whole world, that could calm the raging storm in her chest.
She missed him.
She had missed him a lot, even though the only reason he hadn't been around lately was because she refused to see him. He'd brought her the comics he'd gotten for her, and she had continued to ignore and avoid him. She was a terrible person. An awful girlfriend. And she knew he was wrong about that, too, even though he hadn't said a word about it yet- he would disagree. Verbally, anyways, but she imagined he'd believe his words too. He would truly believe that she was a good person, a good girlfriend, and that she really did deserve someone as good as him in her life.
And yet, she still loved him, no matter how dumb and naïve he could be, when it came to her.
He deserved better.
And she was going to have to work hard to be better for him.
Because between the two of them, he was a better person, a better partner, and a better friend. She still couldn't believe how far he'd come from the meek, downtrodden, boy she'd met two years ago.
It didn't surprise her when the car door slammed into the pile of sewage, sheering away the top layer instantly. She wasn't surprised to feel his arm reach out, clutching her wrist and yanking her free of the goo. Her heart hurt- she could feel how scared he was, by his touch. She wasn't afraid, though, not for her own safety- she'd known from the moment she'd been crushed by the Geist's falling "body" that he would come for her.
He always would.
A noise pulled her from her relieved feelings as she was pulled from the revolting pit- the noise of someone nearby vomiting, and a squelch as they struggled in the mound of rancid sewage.
She hadn't been quick enough to stop the initial falling of the sludge, but she was quick enough to close her umbrella, extending its soiled point towards the sound, and pulling the strangely familiar Kozak girl along with her, as Argent pulled her into an embrace. She paid a glance to the redhead, drenched in the slime that she'd narrowly avoided coating herself in too much, but only a passing meeting of eyes, before her gaze returned to Argent.
She gave a little smile as he noticed the white-knuckle grip on her arm.
"I'm okay. Thanks to you."
Carefully, avoiding touching him with any of the soiled bits of her clothing, she hugged him tightly, for a second, before turning back to the scene before them. There was still another Geist to deal with, and off in the distance, a killer to bring down. Reluctantly, she let go of Argent, and sharply flicked her umbrella, in an attempt to clear at least the worst of the gunk off of it.
A glance down at her hands, in doing so, brought a grimace to her face, completely wiping the previous smile clear away- it seemed that despite her very best efforts, her gloves had been soiled by the sewage. She stared down at them for a few seconds, before finally conceding that they were a lost cause. As uncomfortable as she was with that idea...
Gingerly, she removed them, tossing them into the sewage pile, before making haste away from it, towards the considerably less disgusting Grimm harassing Erytheia, Bianca, and Opal, gesturing for Argent to follow.
Post by Alina Rybalka on Jan 30, 2021 23:31:33 GMT -5
[nospaces]
[attr="class","nikki98"]
[attr="class","nikki99"]
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[attr="class","nikki100"]
[attr="class","nikki101"]WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT VIOLENCE BREEDS VIOLENCE
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[attr="class","nikki102"]BUT IN THE END, IT HAS TO BE THIS WAY
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[attr="class","nikki109"]Just what the situation needed just then: a clown car of morons. [break][break]
The place was getting too crowded, especially by people who seemed to want to drive by just to make themselves into damsels in distress in the worst possible place in the city. All of them were in some sort of close to mortal danger, and each was demanding attention by virtue of flinging themselves into that danger in the place most visible and most harmful. Gray eyes surveyed the area around her, for once pausing before acting. The car was behind them a ways, but the wolf faunus would have been able to help if she wanted to. [break][break]
One idiot had cocooned themselves in earth and got absorbed by a geist, while another gave it a giant ice spike to absorb as well. It had moved to impale the car, leaving the wheels spinning uselessly slightly in the air and unable to get any traction as the driver desperately tried to create some distance. There was another geist it seemed, farther down and partially out of sight. She couldn’t see what was happening there very well without moving, and she wasn’t moving to adjust her perspective. [break][break]
What she did know, however, is it was likely that the inhabitants of the car would die without outside intervention. She would have to consciously ignore them in order to do anything about the Grimm threat in front of her, and that was what she ended up deciding was best. The blue muppet in front of her had mistaken her hesitation as weakness, and pressed on an imaginary advantage. The earpiece that would have normally been in her ear was gone at this point, and thus she didn’t hear Lunar asking for orders on what to do. Instead, she wordlessly started walking forward and drew her sabre as she did so. The sound of metal scraping against metal was audible, and caused the blue muppet to speak up and threaten the hostage again much more urgently. [break][break]
”If you move any closer I’ll snap her neck! You’ll kill her!” [break][break]
”One life isn’t worth sacrificing the entire city for.” was the immediate response. ”I’ll kill you, her, and anyone else who’s near that thing in order to kill it. I’ll give you three seconds to move, and then I burn you all to fucking ash.” [break][break]
She extended her left hand to her side once more, middle finger and thumb pressed together, and continued walking forward. The elderly lady started screaming, but Raul held his ground. ”Three… Two… One… Die.” the leader of the Kozaks counted down, crisp and clear before snapping the fingers of her left hand. [break][break]
Raul panicked, then, and lunged backwards at the fake before the former soldier snapped her fingers again before he could recover to completely envelop the cocoon in flames and prevent the blue wolf faunus from charging back to his defense. The unfinished cocoon disintegrated into ash and the fire was held as Alina kept walking forward, sabre drawn but held at her side as she did. The monstrous scream of pain filled the air again as Raul tried to scream over the din about how much of a lying bitch she was, but it was easy to tune him out. Cowards were predictable, and she was lucky he was such an obvious one. [break][break]
The Killer, still bathed in white flame, slowly stood up despite his current condition. She continued to feed the flames until the last moment and shifting her sabre into the outside hanging guard. The point of the sabre was dropped towards the torso of her opponent, with the blade held at slightly above eye level so that the wolf faunus could look at her enemy under the guard of her sword. Her arm was perfectly straight, and when the Killer lunged at her she twirled the sword in a moulinette that allowed her to reposition the blade into putting all of her weight into a Cut I that in theory would go from her right down to the left in a diagonal slash… but in practice caught on something solid that she didn’t expect. When he lunged at her, she kept the flames on him but lowered their intensity a significant amount so she wouldn’t actually break her own aura, and when she managed to both dodge and lay a clean strike on the monster, she re-intensified the flames to full strength. [break][break]
The thing that her sabre had cut on was bone, and looking back at her opponent to ready herself for the next strike she couldn’t help but notice there was a very human arm lying on the ground in the process of being turned into ash by proximity to flames. When she looked at the arms of her opponent, sure enough it turned out that he was missing one of them. There wasn’t time to consider how she could use this information, though, because the Killer lunged at her again and this time made every effort to stick to melee. He was much faster than Alina, which made this easy, and sure enough forced her to completely cancel her semblance very quickly in order to defend herself against the barrage of attacks flying her way and to strike out in turn when she found openings. [break][break]
Of which there weren’t many. Truth be told, the monster seemed to be very angry that they got their arm cut off and soon enough a fresh Grimm one materialized in place of the old human one. To make things worse, it seemed to have gained faster reflexes and strength than it had even before… and more curiously it seemed to be emitting a tremendous amount of steam from its skin. The former soldier was able to prevent any direct hits from happening so far, deflecting and ducking out of the way of strikes, but the fact of the matter was that she couldn’t do this forever. Either her aura or stamina would give out first, and the other wouldn’t be long after that. Once that happened, this onslaught would prove to be deadly. [break][break]
There was still some time left, though, and maybe enough time to cut off that other arm out of spite. A Grimm arm would replace it, but given the fact that the monster’s face was visibly contorted in pain and rage it appeared like it hurt like hell for that to happen. Another limb with her knowing that fact might provide an opening to burn off the Grimm appendage and finish this once and for all. [break][break]
Rolling for problem: Destroy the Grimm cocoon before it explodes and destroys the city block (Combatants 18) [break]
Using Skill: A specialized Semblance (+11) in addition to Heroism (+8) for +19 total [break]
Roll: 2 + 19 = 21 [break]
Result: Success, no crisis.[break]
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[attr="class","nikki103"]1096 words
[attr="class","nikki103"]KERCH KOZAKS
[attr="class","nikki103"]8349 TOTAL WORDS
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NOTES
A Semblance, D Weapons, B Dust Enhancement, C Durability, C Agility, C Martial Arts, D Stamina, D Exhaustion
Post by Argent Steele on Jan 31, 2021 15:24:13 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.
❝
Kishka had dragged someone else from the sewage, but the importance of that knowledge didn't rate too highly on the list of things he was supposed to be taking care of right now. After a cursory lookover and ensuring that the unknown, sewage covered woman was still alive and in no immediate danger, he simply turned his attention to the two foes still threatening the area - the Killer, apparently in a showdown with the leader of the Kozaks, and another Geist, who was still threatening the lives of his schoolmates. He wondered how many of the Grimm had been released into the city, and how much more time they would need to spend beating out fires sprouting up all over before they could get the situation under control. At least, he did so for a few seconds until Kishka hugged him, and for the briefest of moments he was filled with a terrible relief that nearly dragged him to his knees, a sudden release of tension and worry that almost made him sob aloud from the rush.
But he didn't - kept himself under control, held himself together in the face of the ongoing emergency. Instead, he simply waited, and then followed after Kishka towards the remaining Geist. The situation on the other end seemed to be under control, at the very least, and they were close enough that the two of them could reinforce the Kozak against the Killer if need be. Not that she seemed to need their help, with Carmim nearby.
Pulling more knives from his belt, he launched an early assault as the two of them started racing towards the Geist, streaks of silver racing towards the Grimm - which responded by pulling the arm made out of ice back and violently throwing the car in their direction. It missed by a fair margin, but no one could miss the mess of blonde hair which was still within the wreck, slumped over the wheel as the car impacted against the wall of a nearby house, setting the vehicle on its side. Gritting his teeth, Argent forced himself to ignore it and move in closer, searching out the chaotic smorgasbord of materials the Geist had put together in its new body for a weakness. Erytheia might be still trapped, but at the very least, she was no longer trapped by the same entity they were fighting, which at least made the possibility of helping her a lot easier when there was no battle that needed to be worked around.
The Grimm didn't take kindly to this, and Argent soon found to his detriment that much like his own projectiles, Geists were capable of lobbing pieces of debris at high speed. Soon enough, he was tied up with simply having to focus on avoiding the incoming fire of various cobblestones and pieces of metal, unable to do much more than react as they came towards him.
Introducing Crisis: No Step on Snake (Combatant 16)
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]
@ ● 507 words ● 4374 total words
MADE BY MIZO
Last Edit: Jan 31, 2021 15:25:31 GMT -5 by Argent Steele
Post by Carmim Clover on Jan 31, 2021 18:59:36 GMT -5
❝
WORDS: 1788 | TWC: 5747
HAVE YOU SEEN HER? HAVE YOU HEARD? THE WAY SHE MOVES, THERE ARE NO WORDS
To her credit, Carmim shut up as soon as Alina cut her off.
Though not without a little furrowing of her eyebrows, for just a second. People never let her finish talking... And they were always super dismissive of her checking in on them after they went through some justifiably concerning situations, like getting pelted with glass in an elevator shaft, or getting ripped away from a moving vehicle at high speeds.
It was kinda rude.
But she could see that at least this situation was tense enough that communication needed to be concise and efficient. That was a pretty reasonable decision, and frankly, the kind of professionalism she expected to see from a proper Huntress like this woman.
It also made it easier for her to assess the situation more completely.
Two hostages, one in an unclear state. She had noticed there were other people in the car before she'd launched herself after it- knowing they were innocent civilians was useful and she lowered her drum to a ready resting position, watching the car before her, and nodding in response to Alina's announced shot at the rims.
A knife landed at her feet, and she blinked at it initially, not quite sure what she was supposed to do with it, but she was quick enough to grab it, placing it in her aiming hand, so she could still use her drum if needed. She wasn't especially good with any kind of weapons, honestly, but she did feel a bit more comfortable with it in hand, in case the killer charged at her again.
Her teeth clenched. What he'd said to her...
He wasn't going to have the chance to hurt anyone else. She would make sure of it.
"Right. I will break his Aura as soon as I have a clear sho-" The whining groan of her target caused her muscles to tense up, as she waited to see what would happen.
She didn't like this.
Not any of it.
And adding hostages to the mix just made it that much worse- her natural tendency was still to freeze up, and she was working hard to curb that impulse, as the fires kept getting bigger, and the threats, more lethal. The last thing she could do, though, was fire an attack at either of the two criminals, with any risk of harming the hostages at all.
Which, unfortunately, left her feeling especially useless.
She normally felt pretty useless, honestly, but the prospect of being able to do something good with her Semblance for once had appealed to her enough to come out and hunt down the killer herself- but now, the option to just blow everything evil away with massive firepower was limited, and she was back to facing the facts that on her own, she didn't have the speed or reflexes to close the distance or rescue the captive civilians. It was a hard spot to be in, and she was banking on Alina, and the others who had all gathered not too far away, to clear the area so she could let loose again.
She stood back as the wolf faunus walked towards the... other wolf faunus.
Raul...
She kinda remembered him, from the classes they'd shared, but not really enough to have a sense for how predictable his betrayal of Haven Academy, and the kingdom of Mistral, was- as far as she was concerned, though, he was another Qiu'li, and this was another Rochdale situation.
Same as Holly.
Maybe he was a good person once.
But now he was attacking innocent people, and working with a sick psychopath murderer. He wasn't a good person anymore.
As much as the Dust Ward Killer was, Raul was now also a Grimm to her eyes. A monster with nothing resembling humanity surviving whatever caused him to take this path. He was a Grimm, and nothing more.
And the only good Grimm were dead ones.
He'd made his bed, and now he would lie in it. She listened as he rambled and ranted on, and it made her feel sick to her stomach, hearing his plain disregard for human life. She stepped back a foot or two, as he demanded everyone do so, her eyes locked onto his hostage, but they soon wavered as they fell on the Huntress, who hadn't even slowed her approach.
Carmim's eyes widened a hair, as she tried to picture what was going through Alina's mind. How did she know he was bluffing? Was she really that confident about her ability to stop him, instantly, without hurting the hostage? That was pretty impressive... If she wasn't bluffing too. Was she bluffing? Nah. No, she had proven her abilities already, both here and at the White Lights Festival. And her threat to Raul moments later only confirmed it- she absolutely would, and could, take him out without any real effort whatsoever, as soon as he put the hostage down.
The only problem was that the threats hadn't actually stopped the blue freak from rambling on, louder and louder.
He was getting on her nerves.
Especially when he brought up Solomon Moon- Alina was nothing like him, as far as she could tell. She was cool, calm, collected, and focused on taking down threats to the city. Solomon, even before he had gone and burned down a village, had always been hostile, brooding, and fueled by blind rage that nearly killed him, more often than it ever served any other purpose. Raul was just making up insults at this point.
She was caught off guard suddenly, as a volley of arrows struck the car, setting her on edge again, at the unexpected sound and motion. The killer was launched out of the vehicle, and exposed, allowing her a perfect shot...
Until the old lady Raul had was stuffed between the killer and herself and Alina. She grit her teeth.
If she could have been sure that she wouldn't accidentally hurt the old woman, she'd have blasted Raul off the face of Remnant right then and there. It was sickening, watching him act so cowardly and pathetic, hiding behind a helpless civilian to protect a horrible, evil, monster.
More arrows came down, avoiding the hostage somehow, to her relief, which allowed her to refocus her attention on the scene behind them. She could see her classmates, in the distance, struggling with the pair of Geists, seeming to continuously get themselves into dangerous, potentially lethal, situations, over and over again.
She wanted to help them, but she had a duty to stop these two villains first.
Her eyes darted back to the killer, as she watched him lay down and... Surround himself with... Grimm gunk?
She looked to Alina, alarm clear on her face, trying to figure out what the fuck to do about that, but Raul's voice just reminded her that she was supposed to be covering him- the Huntress had the Killer handled.
She hoped.
Alina seemed to turn to Raul, however, as she continued her approach, now drawing her weapon, and... Her words weren't what Carmim was expecting, honestly. She hoped it was a bluff this time. Because the idea that someone as strong and heroic as her could be willing to blast through a hostage, even if it was to kill a pair of truly despicable criminals... It didn't feel good to think about.
Even if her logic was painfully true- letting one person die, in order to save everyone else was a rational decision.
It was still an incredibly difficult decision to make, and one that Carmim thought was maybe being risked a little too early. Carmim started to move to leap forward and grab the woman, but stopped herself almost immediately, as she realized Alina's initial snap was a fakeout, causing her to audibly breathe a sigh of relief, before focusing her attention entirely on Raul, while the Huntress ignited the Grimm-man monster. The pained screams that filled the air hurt her ears, even through her earplugs.
While Alina was preoccupied with Mr. Lee, Raul was of course continuing to shout abuse and make threats, when Carmim noticed a newcomer on the scene- a strange Faunus girl, a little ways away. She had no clue who she was, but the fact that she wasn't attacking her or Alina was a good enough sign. Raul hadn't noticed her yet, so Carmim figured it would be a good idea to distract him.
And she had a pretty good idea as to how she could do that, as her eyes fell behind Raul, and onto one of her very first friends at Haven Academy, fighting back against a big Geist's many projectiles. The wolf faunus was raring up to try and make a move towards Alina (specifically, squirming and looking for an opening he could exploit for a cheap shot at her), which left him at a disadvantage for her move.
A third thundering crack ripped through the air, as the cone of solidified air shot right past Raul and his hostage, so close that he could definitely feel the jetstream flowing back his hair at gale force speeds. The blast itself crashed into the hail of objects showering Argent, obliterating the bulk of them instantly, and the high winds following her attack blowing the rest away for at least a few seconds, allowing the snake faunus the opportunity to get to a better, more defensible, vantage point.
Helping him out, though, was not her primary motive- as soon as the sound of the blast stopped, she shouted out to Raul, ironically using some of his own words against him, from just moments ago. Hopefully she could at least get a few words in edgewise before he continued rambling again, but she would just be satisfied with keeping his attention on her. "Do not look at her, look at me! Look at me! If you hurt t'e lady, I will not miss again. My Semblance can tear t'rough t'e strongest kinds of steel. Are you stronger t'an steel? I do not t'ink you are. If you put t'e lady down and walk away from her, I will t'ink about sparing your life. Life is precious and important, and I do not want to hurt you, but you are giving me very little choice. You remind me of my old friend. He did horrible, evil, things, and at t'e time, I did not stop him. Hundreds of people died t'en. You and t'e Dust Ward Killer are not going to cause anot'er Rochdale. Take t'e chance while you still have it to put down your weapons and your hostage and surrender. Do not be anot'er Qiu'li. Do not make me hurt you."
LAIKA OF GS!
Attempting Crisis: No Step on Snake (Combatants 16) Using Skill: A Semblance + HEROISM Roll: 3 + 9 + 8 = 20 (SUCCESS)
SEM*: A, DURA: C STR: D Recoil: E, STAM: E, SAND: E WEAP: F, EARS: F
DM Problem #1: Locate the Dust Ward Killer (Social 14) OP: 7 from Alina, 14 from Chloro and 10 from solving for 31 total.
Flynn (One problem remaining): Get the concussed and bleeding Flynn some medical help (Social 8) OP: 8 from Kimmie and 10 from solving for 18 total.
Lunar (One problem remaining): "Racists are dicks" (Combatants 10) OP: 10 from Kishka and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Chloro (One problem remaining): "Don't let the Killer get away!" (Mobility 14) OP: 10 from Red, 13 from Bianca, 7 from Berwyn, 14 from Knight and 10 from solving for 53 total.
Bianca Crisis Problem: "Lizard Popsicles are not healthy" (Mobility 14) OP: 7 from Argent for 7 total.
DM Problem #2: Kishka shows up before the terrorist gets bored and triggers the explosion (Mobility 11) OP: 9 from Kishka, 11 from Argent and 10 from solving for 30 total.
Alina (One problem remaining): Stop the Geists before they get away (Hazard 14) OP: 11 from Chloro, 12 from Berwyn, 13 from Bianca, 14 from Nina and 10 from solving for 60 total.
Sienna (One problem remaining): Keep Eyes on the Killer (Social 12) OP: 12 from Bianca and 10 from solving for 22 total.
Kimmie (One problem remaining): Get the Police to Assist! (Social 11) OP: 11 from Flynn and 10 from solving for 21 total.
Berwyn Crisis Problem: "Berwyn is stuck in the cafe.." (Obstacle 14) OP: 7 from Sienna.
Berwyn (One problem remaining): "Giant's Heart is having a giant heart attack" (Social 12) OP: 12 from Opal and 10 from solving.
Bianca Crisis Problem: "Lizard pancakes are not healthy either!" (Hazard 14) OP: 7 from Erytheia.
Nina Crisis Problem: Geists are Stopped... Now What? (Combatants 14) OP: 7 from Lunar.
Erytheia (One problem remaining): Chase down the other Geists (Obstacle 13) OP: 13 from Alina and 10 from solving for 23 total.
DM Problem #3: Remove the bombs and save Boris in thirty seconds (Mobility 14) OP: 13 from Kishka, 14 from Argent and 10 from solving for 37 total.
Kishka Crisis: Save Kishka from The Whirly Dirly Death Trap (Obstacle 14) OP: 7 from Argent.
Bianca Crisis: "Skewered Lizard is something I could try. Maybe..." (Combatants 12) OP: 6 from Lunar.
Lunar (Zero problems remaining): "Exhaustion Takes its hold" (Social 10) OP: 10 from Lunar and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Bianca Problem (One problem remaining): "Evacuate the building!" (Social 10) OP: 10 from Opal and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Flynn Problem (Zero problems remaining): Defuse the mob of angry partygoers before an all-out brawl starts. (Social 13) OP: 12 from Kimmie, 7 from Sienna, 12 from Kimmie, 12 from Kimmie, 13 from Aly and 10 from solving for 66 total.
Kimmie Crisis: Kimmie is being strangled (Combatants 13) OP: 6 from Flynn
Colton (One problem remaining): Deal enough damage to the Dust Ward Killer to force the Grimm into full defense (Combatant 23) OP: 23 from Alina and 10 from solving for 33 total.
Opal Crisis: Save Opal and the idiot's from getting crush by falling Ice and big screen TV (Obstacle 10) OP: 5 from Russet.
Alina problem (Zero remaining): Get the killer off of Colton before he gets ripped to shreds (Combatant 20) OP: 20 from Carmim and 10 from solving for 30 total.
Russet Problem (One problem remaining): "Break a Leg" Has Taken On a New Meaning (Social 10) OP: 10 from Berwyn and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Bianca problem (zero remaining): "Ubers don't often roam the streets when a killer's on the loose..." (Obstacle 10) OP: 10 from Erytheia and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Chloro problem (zero remaining): Prepare for Trouble, make that leg break double (Social 12) OP: 12 from Berwyn and 10 from solving for 22 total.
Kimmie Crisis: Kimmie is being drugged (Social 13) OP: 6 from Flynn
DM Problem #4: Kill the Grimm blob before it invades Carmim and paralyzes her (Combatant 12) OP: 12 from Nina and 10 from solving for 22 total.
DM Problem #5: Damage the Killer enough that Carmim can escape (Combatant 19) OP: 19 from Carmim, 10 from solving for 29 total.
Carmim Crisis: Distract the Killer So He Doesn't Murder Defenseless Carmim (Combatants 19) OP: 9 from Alina.
Carmim Problem (One problem remaining): A Disarmed Drum Gremlin is a Useless Drum Gremlin (Mobility 16) OP: 16 from Sienna, 10 from solving for 26 total.
Sienna Crisis: Don't play Yakkity Sax with Serial Killers (Mobility 16) OP: 0 from Nina, 0 from Bianca, 8 from Kishka.
Kimmie Crisis: Gunslinging Rich Kid! (Combatants 13) OP: 0 from Flynn, 6 from Flynn
Alina Crisis: Crisis Problem: Blast away the grille from the speeding car to break Alina free (Combatants 19) OP: 9 from Carmim.
DM Problem #6: Stop Nik from killing the man in the suit before he spills the beans. (Combatant 14) OP: Argent 14 and 10 from solving for 24 total.
Argent Crisis: Stop Nik from skinning Argent, making a belt out of the skin, and strangling him with it. (Combatant 14) OP: 7 from Kishka.
Berwyn (Zero problems remaining): Last leg of the journey (Social 10) OP: 10 from Chloro and 10 from solving for 20 total.
Flynn Crisis: Stop the approaching gunslinger from shooting Flynn twice more point blank in “self-defense”. (Combatants 13) OP: 6 from Russet.
Russet crisis: Crisis: Help Russ Out of A Sticky Situation (Obstacle 13) OP: 6 from Kimmie.
Bianca Crisis: Lizard Potpurri sounds disgusting (Combatants 16) OP: 0 from Opal, 0 from Erytheia, 0 from Argent
Flynn Crisis: Stop Flynn from getting kicked to death (Hazard 13) OP: 6 from Russet.
Carmim (Zero problems remaining): Human Shields are for Cowards (Obstacle 16) OP:
Opal Crisis: "Look out, it has a weapon!" (Combatants 16) OP:
Nina Crisis: Lizard Popsicles Didn't Sell Well, So What About a Sharksicle? (Hazard 16) OP: 0 from Sienna
Kishka Crisis: Queen of Shit Mountain (Hazard 16) OP: 8 from Argent.
Erytheia Crisis: Geist's Hands on the Wheel (Combatant 16) OP:
DM Problem #7: Destroy the Grimm cocoon before it explodes and destroys the city block (Combatants 18) OP: 18 from Alina and 10 from solving for 28 total.
The district around the fighting with the killer was a lot more audible than before, with gunshots being heard throughout the district in the first time in a long while. Handguns, rifles, and snipers all reported throughout the district at the Grimm that the Killer had brought with him. Just because all the trainees lunged towards the main event didn’t mean that the Grimm that slithered away just disappeared on their own, and really it only made sure that they went further than they otherwise might have.
”You lying bitch!” the blue faunus would scream once he realized what had happened, and that he had been tricked.
The inhuman screams of agony and rage from the Grimm continued to fill the air as the Killer pressed forward in an attack that was always an inch away from a direct and possibly decisive blow. Grimm arms were starting to tear out from the monster’s spine, but it was much slower than before. Some of them were cut away before they were even operational, which lengthened the time between that one dissipating and the new one coming even more. Whatever Grimm ooze was powering him, it seemed like it wasn’t an infinite supply and he was a lot lower than how he had started. This didn’t mean he was slowing down, though, because his new Grimm arm was going for killing or maiming with every swing. Throat, eyes, and heart were common targets, as were knee strikes. Each one was dodged or deflected, but the desperation fueled second wind was becoming increasingly hard to deal with. Bits of the road were smashed and ripped apart, with street signs being ripped out of the ground and flung around as impacts meant for the leader of the Kozaks instead hit things near her as she continued to be pushed backwards by the onslaught. Arrows came intermittently in support from various angles, usually destroying an arm spouting from the spine or an attempted vomit of another fat centipede Grimm before it was able to contact with flesh or scurry away.
As for Raul, he was always a man who looked out for his own best interests… and things were looking increasingly bad for him. He was assured that Mr. Lee was unbeatable, but here his charge was getting his arm cut off by some wandering and violent homeless person. The wolf faunus was led to believe he was a revolutionary, ushering in a new era of prosperity and good fortune simply by getting Mr. Lee from Point A to Point B… but it was starting to look like he was lied to. The fight happening before his eyes was awkward and stuttering, with the homeless faunus clearly having no idea how to use the sword she was using and the Grimm faunus that was supposed to be the savior of Mistral flailing about wildly.
Neither of them were real fighters, and it was clear that neither of them had the training and skill that Raul possessed. That was expected, but nevertheless it was surprising that the gap was this big. Suddenly, a large boom and weaponized air flung past his head and caused pale blue eyes to look at Carmim – who apparently had not changed at all. She went on some low IQ rant, so he did what he always did and screamed over her so that her voice was drowned out with his so that he didn’t need to listen to her drivel. ”You are a pathetic excuse for a huntress! You throw lives away, risk them like they are nothing! You don’t value life, you almost got this woman killed! Don’t you care about her life? What have you ever done to save anybody? All you do is take, take, take! All you do is have people have to drag you out from taking us all in the back and killing all of us! Just like you almost did after Rochdale! Just like every time you get even the slightest bit irritated and send someone flying across the training field! Just like you almost killed people for daring to stand up to you!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs, screaming by the end of it.
A thought occurred to him, then, and he seized that thought right away by charging forward at Carmim. He still had more than enough aura to activate his semblance, and he did so while he did. He couldn’t run now without being shot in the back without a better bargaining chip, and the psychopathic redhead could be that bargaining chip. The plan was simple: use Carmim was a quasi-human shield. To enact this plan, however, the blue faunus would have to break her aura and beat her up to the point to where resistance was impossible, and on paper the foreign bitch had a much stronger semblance than him.
But she was dumb as a box of rocks, and unable to formulate strategy like a naturally gifted prodigy. A naturally gifted and handsome prodigy that was the best in Remnant at thinking on the fly. In practice, this strategy worked by shoving the elderly woman he already had hostage in between himself and Carmim at all times while savagely throwing out punches with his free hand and kicks with his legs that were fully intent on breaking both aura and bone. ”You want to see bloodshed, you want to see us hanging on the gallows simply for being what we are! If it wasn't for that crippled bitch, you would've killed half of the city by now and you know it! You're a fucking monster, and your soul and that lying bitch's soul are darker than anyone else's here! My semblance allows me to the protect the innocent and save lives, and yours only let you KILL and MAIM! Your robot hick isn't here to calm you down this time, so you'd just kill me where I stood the second I tried to make peace, just like you cut down the people at Rochdale! Just like how you almost murdered the entire class afterwards!” He was screaming at this point, and the poor woman who was still struggling to breathe on account of the giant arm wrapped around her neck was now covered in spittle.
Introducing new problem: Stop Raul’s onslaught before he breaks Carmim’s aura and takes her hostage without killing his current hostage! (Hazard 15) OR if hostages saved difficulty changed to Combatants 9
Post by Hinata Tsurya on Jan 31, 2021 23:04:08 GMT -5
❝Show me colors of the sky,
But all I see is gray❞
836 w./ 836 w. total
Scary...everything was so so scary! The girl didn't know what to do or where to go as people were running all about while the police attempted to form some sort of order. This was a terrible time to go out shopping...the ONE time that Hinata wanted to treat herself and the proverbial shit hit the fan! Like it was the WIND DISTRICT for crying out loud! Was this not supposed to be a safe place compared to the Ground?
No one around her would tell the brunette what was going on either! It was just ooh, ahh, and running and screaming! This was honestly starting to peev her pet...or wait. No, was that how the saying went? A kid slammed into her at full force to knock Hina down face first into the road and kept on going without a single apology!
"Owie..."
She sat up with a nasty scrape on knee and brushed her navy blue skirt off. Her brand new skirt no less. She was seriously annoyed now, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. Most were terrified around her, but oddly enough Hina was more aggravated about how stupid everyone was behaving.
Well...that is until the Grimm attacked. In her moderately sheltered life, she had never seen one before until today! Her eyes widened at the mere sight of them and fear gripped her like a cold knife digging into her spin. The girl dropped her bag and sprinted away with a scream as fast as she could! The ungodly noises they made, the terror they spread...THIS was why they needed Huntsmen!
Her breath was heavy, she could feel her chest pounding painfully in her chest, but Hina didn't care. She just kept running and running, not caring where she was going! She could hear what sounded like explosions and more screaming! It was like a warzone! When Hina looked up, she saw things flying and stuff on fire and arrows falling about all over! A blue wolf boy was dashing around and shouting so much that it was giving her a headache! What...what in blazes is going on here!?
The girl finally skidded to a halt, too fast to control her body as she fell harshly onto her knees once again. People were shouting at each other aggressively, some kind of creature was on fire with a strange alabaster flame. It terrified her, rooting her in place as she stared at it. But it was the boisterous shouting that snapped her back to reality. The voice that quite literally barked nonstop in some incoherent babble...and glancing over at him, her eyes widened.
The bastard was squaring off with some furious red head while he kept up his shouting. But worse yet was the poor old lady that was caught like it was a game of monkey in the middle. Coward...how low could you be...I-I need to do something!
She wasn't good for much, she realized. The girl wasn't a fighter like these superheroes were. But maybe she could give them an opening. Just something to help out in a way, even if it meant getting hurt...she was a big girl and she could handle this. So, standing up shakily, Hinata approached Carmim and Raul as she limped slightly from the pain in her knees...and began to sing sweetly.
Her smooth, melodious voice perked the wolf boy's ears up as he shouted at Carmim. It was as if a siren took hold of his senses, lulling him down into a sense of serenity as she sauntered towards the duel with a warm smile on her face. Within mere meters of the scuffle, Hina reached out her hands to touch his face and smile politely.
And then she promptly slapped him hard across the face. Gone was the look of peace and radiance from her! Hinata glared angrily at him as the backhand made a resounding loud BAP! against his cheek. She didn't care if he had an aura or that it wouldn't hurt him at all! The girl had it UP TO HERE with this nonsense!
"Shut up...SHUT UP DAMN YOU! Oh my gawd! If you practiced fighting as much as you do yapping, then MAYBE you would not NEED this old lady! You..you...FUCKING ASSHOLE! You talk about the value of life when there is a literal old lady choking to death in that edgy ass STUPID looking arm get up you got going on while a LITERAL monster is right behind you killing people! Like Could you NOT!? If you have beef with this girl then fine. Whatevs! I do not care, but be a god damn man and GROW A PAIR! Shut up and fight...shit or get off the pot, you whiny annoying freak!"
She was seething with rage as her whole body shook. Her fist was clenched and her teeth were bare as the small girl had to literally stand on her tippy toes just to somewhat see eye to eye with the biggest asshole this side of the Wind District.
Rolling for problem: Shut Raul Up Already (Social 12) Using Skill: Singing C (+4) in addition to Heroism (+8) for +12 total Roll: 10 + 12 = 22 Result: Success, no crisis.