Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings — The B-Sides

[FabulousTrash]

[media]N/A[/MEDIA]

KANNA KATSURA

SCENE:

The First Day

TIME:

[Pre Arc 1] March 2018

LOCATION:

East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Kanna, Shen

The First Day

She rolled up her sleeves, looking at the small cuts that were still visible on her arm, albeit healing.

It was only the day before that she had become the Azure Dragon's newest Jack through a trial of combat. Many were witness to her victory over her opponent, including the current King and Queen of the gang. Now, it was her duty to serve at the King's side.

She had heard plenty of stories about Shen Yue, mainly through her father. She would find out just how true they really were firsthand.

The newly minted Jack stood in the foyer of the expansive Dragon compound, watching as other members of the gang and staff move about on their daily routines. Some gave her cautious looks, unsure on how to address her. Others greeted her normally as if everything was the same. Kanna paid no mind as her eyes idly looked around, waiting. After her fight with Ruriko, Kanna was told to meet Shen here at a specific time. That was 15 minutes ago. She began to contemplate looking for him. However, doubt was quick to settle into her mind. Was this a test?

I cant leave here. What if he shows up while I'm away?

Her eyes narrowed as she debated in her head what the best course of action would be. The answer came in the form of what looked like a rookie rushing out the main door. She quickly stopped them before they could get away.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't have happened to see the King around, have you?"

"Um... I think I saw him go to the garden?"

Kanna thanked them, letting them go and promptly headed over. The garden in question sat in the middle of the entire compound, surrounded by it if you will. A two-tier water fountain marked it's center, with small rivers running along the sides. In the water was plenty of koi fish swimming about, minding their own business. However, the Jack's eyes weren't taking in the scenery. They darted around, looking for Shen. Eventually, her efforts were met with success.

Standing off to the side and admiring some of the blooming cherry blossoms, the King of the Dragons hadn't noticed Kanna's entrance yet. One look around revealed they were the only two here.

Kanna felt that it would be rude to disturb Shen, but she also knew if they didn't get moving, the day would run out and she'd have to do this again. Though, what was stopping Shen from asking her to accompany him on future days?

She cleared her throat loud enough to catch Shen's attention, standing up straight at attention with her hands behind her back, one holding the others.

"My King. Are you ready to head out?"

Elenion Aura

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

To Live in the Shadows

TIME:

Afternoon, Pre-Arc 1, June 11th 2020

LOCATION:

Nameless Warehouse, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva

To Live in the Shadows

His body remained motionless on the floor, his gaze turned up nonchalantly at the jet-black ceiling as he listened to Revenant. "The Queen, huh? Guess it's just commonplace to be tough as nails in the Phoenixes."

Laying down was equally a satisfying but also agonizing experience. Only time he remembered being so beat up before was when he fought that massive man in the suit, in order to save that rowdy blonde teenager, he couldn't help but wonder how that kid must be doing now...Hopefully not stealing wallets or phones anymore, although that was probably a pipedream. He felt the stinging pain of his several claw-inflicted cuts, but the worst had to be the knife stab from the purple-haired boy from before, he was caught off guard, and hit on a pretty vulnerable area. That was most definitely going to leave a mark.

"Huh? Oh, you're leaving?" Hearing her saying her goodbye, the boy compulsively sat up, his torso leaning back, supported by his arms. "O-Oh, I see...Thank you so much!" He paused, giving the woman a sincere smile. "This chance you're giving me...I'm very thankful for it, I'll never, ever forget it! I'll make sure to pass every trial with flying colors!" He gave the woman a pair of enthusiastic thumbs up, quickly falling back to the ground as his support was gone.

Once again staring up aimlessly, feeling the cold concrete under his nape, his mind drifted to a myriad of questions as he patiently waited the girl to come to his medical aid. He didn't need to worry, after all, they were trustworthy people, no way they would just leave him to bleed to death right there and then.

haha.

hahaha...

Right?

Peckinou

 

[simj26]

Inigo Han

CS Link

SCENE:

Not Thinking Twice

LOCATION:

Nighttime, Streets of Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Camilla, Inigo

Not Thinking Twice

He drew quiet. He was not being intentionally reclusive, that wasn't the reason at all. Quite the opposite. He intended to speak, he intended to tell the woman next to him more about himself. Yet, as he had his moment Of introspection, he was suddenly acutely aware of how empty his life was. He had no hobbies, he didn't listen to much music, he had only a handful of friends, and the only things he did outside of his work were activities that Eric and Se suggested and dragged him along. All the things that he was aware that he was consciously doing of his own intent were related to work.

In short, he was not an interesting man at all. There was nothing behind the ‘vigilante’.

He sighed, and pushed a lock of snow-white hair away from his face. “There's nothing to talk about. Just a guy married to his work.” He looked at his hands. Dainty, yet coarse fingers. A beautiful beast, that was all he was. “I just can't stand bad people, that's all.” A pained smile rested on his face. “I'm sorry, I'm kind of a boring person. It's what you'd expect from a civil servant. Not a semblance of life outside of work. Don't play games much, don't watch movies either. Best I could say about myself is that I can make a mean okonomiyaki.”

He sighed again. “Again, I'm sorry. It ain't much. Don't think it's worth a trade at all. I think I can survive just calling you Mystery Lady. Does give you an air of danger and unknowability. I think that's pretty cool.”

He needed a cigarette. This was terrible.

Roda the Red

 

[Coyote Hart]

PEYTON XIONG

CS Link

SCENE:

Those in the River

LOCATION:

Sphyx Tavern, North District

TIME:

June 5th, 2022 | Post-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Peyton, Dyne

THOSE IN THE RIVER

"Sounds like it was a good idea coming back then!" Peyton said. It was foolhardy to proudly proclaim that betraying his gang was a good idea, but Peyton was never one who bothered with using his brain. Leaving the Dragons truly did have its perks; being able to fight whoever he wanted was one of them. "And I guess it's good that I'm like the King! It means that even a good Dragon can be a good Serpent! Hey, how did you know Yuudai so well as a Dragon that doesn't fight?"

Dyne's request for some of Uncle's bombs was an interesting one. Bombs weren't Peyton's cup of tea, but he definitely could see their effectiveness and simplicity. He had seen the victims of some of Uncle's explosives, and it was impressive just how much one little grenade could do. Peyton was certainly glad he was never at the receiving end of one. Hopefully, Uncle would be okay with Peyton providing a few of these to Dyne, but if he wasn't, then Peyton could suffer the consequences later.

"In terms of bombs," Peyton scurried underneath the bar table where he had stashed the weapons, pushing aside guns and various melee weapons to reach the explosives. He emerged with a half dozen or so of them barely balanced in his arms, and he hastily deposited them on the countertop away from Dyne's drink before any one of them slipped out of his grasp. "These are the ones that we have! They're all super powerful and could take any HP out of the running! Uncle-- I mean Deacon prefers the aphrodisiac ones, but we have mustard gas, tear gas, and a few others if those suit your fancy!"

"I would let you test them out on me... but I don't know how well I'd deal with them," Peyton said with a sheepish smirk. Although Peyton was a fan of verbal humiliation, that level of masochism didn't extend to physical pain.

Damafaud

 

[Peckinou]

Hiyma

CS Link

SCENE:

To live in the shadows

LOCATION:

Warehouse, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiyma, Charlie Roda the Red

To live in the shadows

A bit of time ticked by as Helva had completely left, but in her place Hiyma had arrived with a medical kit a bag full of other supplies just in case she was going to need more, she was use to doing this but if anything serious came up she would probably not be best suited for it. Still she had hoped that Helva and Zulin didn't do anything too serious against the boy it would be quite annoying to have to get him to a hospital. When she arrived she looked down at Charlie who had collapsed on the ground, and looked just about completely out of it, still Hiyma simply Tsked before saying "You conscious? you honestly seem to be a complete mess, probably should of told you to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirtied before starting our little trial." she added before grabbing a knife and tearing open his shirt in order to reveal his chest so that she can better analyze his wounds. "Yeeesh, they sure did a number on you." she then went on to rifle through her bag and put on a pair of surgical gloves on before laying out a med kit.

"Just know that I am here, and that you may feel a bit of a sting or pain whatever you wanna call it, so don't try to attack or push away the person giving you medical treatment that typically disrupts the whole process of it." she had said that maybe a bit too flippantly but was overall pretty focused on giving him proper medical treatment as she poured Alcohol or placed antibiotics onto his wounds before going on to bandage him up. She kept doing that for most of the wounds around his body, until she got to Zulins stab would, "Oh perfect, I'm guessing Mr.Purple Hair gave you this one, I swear he is actively trying to give me a headache with this." she figured that this was going to take longer than she suspected now that she had to assess the extent of the would before properly treating it. "Try to keep screams to a minimum please, this may take a bit."

[/justi

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

ALICE

CS Link

SCENE:

Lessons in Power

LOCATION:

Abandoned Auto Plant, Outskirts of New Oasis

PARTICIPANTS:

Alice, Ryutaro

LESSONS IN POWER

Ryutaro had his way with words, hooking Alice for each answer he placed and the questions he raised. There was little doubt about the validity of his ideas, too. Alice had never considered taking this on a global scheme until now. And if she had to be honest... the thought was a bit beyond comprehension. Her entire world revolved around the Tigers, after all.

But in the end, he was right. She wanted to change the Tigers, but what exactly did she want to change it into? That answer depended on who or what she was. Alice. A childish girl whose powers made great capital for her managers and parental figures. Alice. A girl who wants to change the manipulative and vulturous ways of the Tigers. Alice. A woman only now beginning to understand her powers, yet with little clue about how she wanted to use them.

She stared at Ryutaro's hand for a moment, lost in thought. "But how do I 'master' myself? What is a good balance?" she pondered out loud. "So many people have controlled me over my life... I don't know where to start." Alice took his hand. Her tone took a sharp edge. "But I want to succeed. I want to do whatever it takes to make them grovel."

Cracks in the concrete opened wider than before. Young flower sprouts grew from the earth, budding as mere saplings.

joshuadim

 

[Roda the Red]

CAMILA GASPARI

CS Link

SCENE:

Not Thinking Twice

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, July 6 2022

LOCATION:

Nighttime, Streets of Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Inigo

Not Thinking Twice

A civil servant, huh. Might need to tread a bit carefully.

"Well, I think we all see ourselves as boring, even if just a little bit" She was being as truthful as it got. It was easy to forget when one's status quo is so well established, that what she sees as common, everyday occurrences might be traumatic or life-changing experiences to others. Usually it took Camila to visit her family to really remember what 'normalcy' usually looked like. Her tailed swayed around, an evident tell, for those aware of her inhuman body language,of her amusement at Inigo's words. "I find it a little hard to believe that someone who can kick ass like that to be boring."

She smiled, cleaning her lips with a tissue from a previous small and lady-like bite she gave to her croissant earlier as she listened. "It's okay, It's not my style to walk out of a deal." She placed her index finger against the side of her cheek, her head tilting and staring to the side. "I'm kinda the same too, you know? I've gotten the workaholic sermon more than once. Usually it feels like work is on my mind at all times, it's hard to get my mind out of what I want once it's set on it."

She reached for her coffee, taking a light sip, the sound of her cup lightly hitting the coaster being the only thing breaking the late-night silence aside from their words.

"I'm mostly an entrepeneur, been working on expanding my operations whenever possible here in Central, it's not bad but, well, it's hard to stop when you don't really have a clock-out time. Aside from that, well I like to cook whenever I can, helps me calm down usually. I've also been thinking of getting back to ballet, it was fun but time's been tight, you know?"

She winked playfully at the man. "I hope I didn't burst that 'danger and unknowability' bubble of yours, still got plenty of secrets to keep if it helps."

simj26

 

[Haze-]

F R a N Kイe

Scene:

A Very Tucker Christmas

Time:

December 25, 2021

Location:

North District | Melody & Angúo’s house

Participants:

Melody, Teddie | Eliza, Angúo, Carlisle, Cassidy (NPC)

A Very Tucker Christmas

There was something about big, obnoxious, bustling malls they liked.

Like amoebas marinating at the microscopic bottom of a petri dish, cowering at the almighty lens, so full of life and dullness at the same time. Pulling both ways, an emotional draw, and a guttural repulse— fascinating was one way to put it.

Vibrant, hand painted, eye sore-y colors lining the walls, some ebbing away like chipping bits of stucco. Windows framing lush displays and fashionable mannequins everywhere they looked. Senses and sounds, and utter annoyance. Footfalls moving together-ly disjointed, in herd. Loud music, cries of children, undistinguishable banter, voices that spoke both a familiar and foreign language all in the same breath.

A living, breathing thing. It was a nasty place for heathens and hedonists, hoarders.

On November, once Black Friday left those displays ravaged and empty, surprisingly, things only got worse. They would become no-man’s land, a battlefield of scavengers looking to swipe whatever they could the moment it hit the shelves. That raging war had carried on from that last, awful memory of November all the way up to Christmas Eve.

They’d planned things out proper, thought it all through, thinking they would have enough time to snatch the thing they wanted, get their hands on it before those grimy worms flooded the mall, but they’d underestimated the sheer power of deadbeat parents still looking to buy their children presents.

“Ke—heheh…~” — Breathing, harshly— wheezing. Kicking back on the seat of their bike with a sneer drawn on their face. One arm hugged a tall stack of carboard boxes, all packaged up in shiny wrapping paper, the other tucked close to their aching chest. They were parked near the house, just a street away. It’d been an hour and a half drive from the western district, the fancy parts of it, and then back to the north, the ugly wholeness of it.

It had been a long, long trip.

They’d walked out of there, maybe, with a bruised and torn (and stolen) mall Santa outfit, some missing teeth, a handful of snapped stitches, and the sticky remains of food court specials still glued to their hair. But they’d walked out with everyone's gift.

That’s all that mattered. They made it in time.

They’d even bought some beer to celebrate their success on their way back!

There were a couple of celebratory swigs here and there, some of it gushing down between the open slits at their throat and onto the floor. It was going to be a good Christmas, as they had planned it out to be. They even stole bought Cassidy one of those fancy robot-dinosaur things that ran on five thousand batteries.

They brought a hand to the bottle, thumbing at the glass unconsciously, savoring the moment. A smile slipped, and he chuckled at that quiet sentiment humming in their skull. She replied, smacking themselves on the head. He only cackled again — “You’re so mean…”

It would be the Christmas none of them ever had, back when they were kids. She could at least give Melody that much now that she was all grown-up, cross that off their list.

---

When they arrived,

Wheels grinded on the pavement to a stop, just off the curb. They punted the kickstand, immediately hopping out of the seat. Carrying the pile of gifts to the door, a hand going up to rejig the white, prickly old man beard to their chin, immediately jerking back down when they felt gravity start to pull at the presents.

They were so tunnel-visioned on their goal that they didn’t stop to question the overly festive jeep they’d parked right in front of.

One large sack thrown over their shoulder, beer held in their free hand, Frankie took a composed breath before body slamming the door open— it was their house too, why would they need to knock? — “GUESS WHO’S…--!" — They froze at that foul stench of tar hitting them straight on the nose.

Their first instinct was to ball up their fist, glass shattering in their hand and spilling cheap booze all over the floor. They stared wide-eyed at Teddie for a long while, face slowly tensing up to an ear-to-ear grin.

“Aaahhh…Melody, Melody, Melody—Melody, my dear sister…!” — Their mouth twitched, smile growing so wide it started to tear at their face, trickles of blood mixing onto the pool beneath their feet. Eyes still trained on Teddie, just idly scratching at their neck, pulling stitches — “What’s happening here, hm? We’re just not telling each other anything anymore, huh? Is that what it is…?”

“No, no, no…I get it— I get it.” — At first, it was a woman’s voice, one they recognized all too well, then it rose and fell in pitch with a dozen more voices intermingling with it. All of them muttered the same, just pure nonsense — “Even after we planned out suuuch a lovely evening for all of us…You just have to come and ruin everything, don't you…? DON'T YOU!?!??!?! KEHEHEHEH—KYE-HEHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!”

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

A Fledgling's Indoctrination

TIME:

Post-Outbreak, July 30th 2022

LOCATION:

Umbra's Nest

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva, Eliot

A Fledgling's Indoctrination

Charlie freely allowed Helva to wrap her arms around him, he giggled as he enjoyed having his cerulean locks ruffled by the woman's hand. It was a rare treat to have Helva act this affectionate, as usually it was him who delivered the hugging beween the two (and same went for almost all of his friends, truthfully). "Well, I a lot of care for my appearance!" He chirped, closing his eyes with a confident smirk and puffing out his chest. "Though I wish people would say I was cool sometimes..." His cocky facade vanished, an awkward finger scratching lightly at his chin.

The boy noticed the direction that Eliott's attention steered towards, his head imitating the same motion, staring at the large house with a relaxed smile. "Well, I don't visit here that often, but I've managed to drag Skadi here a few times to watch movies before, I'd say it's probably my biggest hobby."

From the inner flaps of his jacket, Charlie pulled out a pair of Blu-Rays, a quick flick of his thumbs spreading what was actually a pair of stacks of three. "I brought some of my favorites if anyone's interested." An almost predatory sparkle shone through his sky-blue bangs, excited about the prospect of a new friend-slash-victim to watch his favorite media with.

"I also like going to the gym, though. A strong body means a strong mind! Or that's what I heard someone say one time." He took a few steps forward, inching closer to the Nest's entrance. He turned around, his long mane swayed by the light breeze. "What about you? I never had a sponsee junior before so I wanna know everything!"

Woffy Peckinou

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

ALICE

CS Link

SCENE:

Two Can Cross the Threshold

LOCATION:

Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Alice, Charlie

Two Can Cross the Threshold

"'Empathy'?" Dormouse sneered at that. "You're something, alright."

She did not stop him. Rather, she stepped aside with a hand down the tunnel as though handling another guest. "We can guarantee the 'safe' part," Dormouse added. "If anything, she's getting a better deal than any of us."

Dormouse produced a flashlight, pointing it down the path. The more they walked, the louder that muffled voices emerged. A discussion between a familiar girl and a scratchy man.

Down the rabbit hole.

"I'm taking you away from this god awful place. Just like before..." Janay said as the doors opened again.

Alice spun around, eye widening. She blanched with recognition. "Charlie...?"

Ophelia glared at the presence beside him. "Dormouse? What's the meaning of this?"

"The guy followed her." She nudged in Alice's direction. "It's just like what happened last time..."

A tense silence fell over the room. All eyes rested on Charlie. Wary, nervous, frustrated. Worried. "Charlie... What are you doing here?" Her voice ached, a million new thoughts racing through her mind. Alice saw the way Dormouse rested her hand on the blade in her pocket. How the few gangsters in this room whispered among each other at the sight of him. "I... This was my responsibility..."

Roda the Red

 

[Peckinou]

Helva Linxal

CS Link

SCENE:

A Fledglings Indoctrination

LOCATION:

Umbras Nest, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Helva, Eliot Woffy , Skadi, Syrup, Charlie Roda the Red

A Fledglings Indoctrination

A chuckle escaped Helvas lips as Charlie talked about how he takes care of his own appearance, and then stated his wish "Oh I'm sure someone will do that once you start helping out enough people." she had said before opening her car and rummaging through it to grab herself a few Grahm Crackers. She then closed her car door and locked it using her keys before approaching the small manor and adding on to what Charlie said about not visiting the place often. "Heh, yeah Skadi spends the most time here by far, and my little Charlie here spends the least amount time here out of all of us, it's almost sad to see especially since this is suppose to be our little hang out spot." Helva was being purposely dramatic in her tone as she said that to make it clear that she was mostly jesting, even if her words were pretty true. After a short lived chuckle she then went on to answer Eliot and his question on what they did for fun, "Honestly you can do whatever you want, everyone here has there own Hobbies, though sparring is kinda something we all participate in, but Charlie has his little movie and music love, Skadi has is a professional gamer, so she spends quite a bit of her time playing games, and personally I mostly enjoy just a good old game that involves strategy I suppose and I guess training birds is also something I do occasions, speaking of birds." Helva took out the Grahm cracker she had taken from her car and held it up in the air before saying "Here, Tik Tik." she repeated that a few more times before a Raven appeared on a perch attached to the house.

When Helva saw the bird she spoke again "Trade?" the bird tilted it's head at her before flying off, returning with a key in it's beak, when Helva set down the Grahm cracker on the ground Tik dropped the key in return and they both traded places in order to pick up the item. She had purposely did that in front of Eliot to show him a way on how to get inside, "Don't worry though you will also get your own key in case you don't feel like using Tiks key, consider it as something like that extra key you put under your mat, expect it's in a crows beak." She let out a light chuckle as she said that part before opening the door. Inside all the lights were off, the only light that inside was the light from the windows and the TV screens which was enough to allow the average person to see just fine in. Inside she already knew that Skadi would be in the living room and Syrup would be in the kitchen finishing up a cake that she was making in order to introduce Eliot into the gang and her nest of Sponsorees. Both of them were probably going to be too engrossed in their own thing as Skadi tended to be focused when she was playing rounds and Syrup was a absolute perfectionist when it came to baking and would more than likely not care for any sort of distractions. Of course Eliot wouldn't know who exactly Syrup was since she played no part in their trials, but Skadi on the other hand did, she had never told him that the kidnapping and interrogation was part of their trial, but he would likely find out when the one who did the interrogation and played a role in his kidnapping would just be sitting inside. Though she didn't know what sort of reaction to expect, but she was pretty prepared, and if things turned out bad she already had Syrup out and she was the best of all her shadow friends when it came to subduing people.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park

SCENE:

Sunday Roast

TIME:

October 21st, 2021 | Pre-Arc 3

LOCATION:

Passeri's Penthouse, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Markus

Sunday Roast

It was a message well received. Passeri's heart steadily began to thump harder, faster, as the Tiger King's chill rage bled out from him. She heard the subtle crack of her table as his grip bore down on it, and felt the cold press of his Potential take hold of the room. But still, her gaze remained firm. She was no stranger to intimidation. To thugs and brutes who could've snuffed out her life on a whim, be it figurative or not. It was only once he'd turned and departed her penthouse with his final, beloved last word, that she let her composure drop. Her smile, graceful and unfettered throughout the night, went slack along with the rest of her body, drooping forward as she caught her face within her palms.

"That went about as well as expected..." She breathed out the words as she relaxed. Pissy or not, this was what she'd wanted out of this. She had the go ahead, and only at the price of a little bit of property damage to boot.

But this was just the start.

How many meetings, she wondered, had the Tiger King had like this? Negotiations through gritted teeth and ice-hot fury. How many enemies, she wondered, had Markus Weiss fostered? How many seeds had he sewn, set to blossom in the shape of his own demise? It only took one sour moment to make an enemy for life and Markus Weiss, she was sure, was a man of many such moments. That was what she'd seen across the table from her tonight. An apex predator not unable but entirely unwilling to see the coming turn of an age.

More a Saber-toothed Cat than a Tiger, she thought. One facing down the end of the ice age. It was a good thing that she didn't gamble, because she was beginning to realize just how brazen of a bet she'd just made. It was almost funny enough to laugh, but not quite.

Passeri was stoic as she rose from her seat. As she righted her furniture and dusted away the stray blossoms of snowfall that'd trailed in Weiss's wake. As she wiped away the stray puddles formed by what had thawed before she'd gotten to it. As she inspected her table and decided that it, alas, was well beyond saving. And then as she carried on throughout the evening, her mind occupied by a stream of slow, steady contemplation.

It was only once night had settled and she'd begun to retire for the day that the numbness left her. Stood beneath the head of her shower, hot water washing away the last stray embers of chill as it splashed across her skin, her expression finally folded into a frown.

"...The hell am I getting myself into?"

The water snapped off, and she stood there for a moment of quiet incredulity. A tiger can't change its stripes. Only now did that adage make sense to her. She only hoped that it was wrong.

Elenion Aura​

 

[BluEndings]

FOUR-EYES & SAD SACK

NPC

SCENE:

[The Frog in the Well]

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 | June 22nd

LOCATION:

North District | Collapsed Worksite

PARTICIPANTS:

Rem, Kisara, Melody, Deirest, Areith

THE FROG IN THE WELL

Violence.

Neither of the two strangers had anticipated the revival of the cadaver, but the fire in their eyes burned different colors. Sad Sack bumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding the carmine ooze and her company. Whereas Four-eyes’ optics remained fixated not at the unraveling conflict, but waving unassuredly at the sleeve of the reanimated. If the Ace hadn’t begun to radiate with intensity, the bespectacled informant might have been lost to the void of thought. It was Sad Sack, however, who repositioned to interrupt their associate’s leer.

“Kei?”

Like clockwork, the cherry-eyed woman blinked away her dithering, but it was short lived.

Someone troublesome had arrived.

“Oh!” Sad Sack jumped. “I know her!”

“Of her.” Four-eyes hushed.

Those robes, the elusive mention of ‘Him’, and an air that betrayed warning. It wasn’t the pair's first time encountering one of her ‘covenant’, but the zealot in person was an entirely different matter. It was always a safe bet to avoid the eccentrics of the North. No matter what charitable deeds they may have seen to. Everything, and everyone had a shadow, and some sprawled into unspoken corners.

“We’ve said our piece.” She interjected. “We’ll be taking our leave.”

On cue, their faceless companion squeamishly retrieved one of the early offered provisions.

“Thanks for the sandwich! Good luck with the zombie!” They clamored, waving sandwich in hand.

Spoiler: Mentions

@gxxberkit simj26 The One Eyed Bandit miki thebigfella

NAVIGATE

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Call to Arms

LOCATION:

Ryutaro's Rooftop Garden, Imperial Gardens Condominiums, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Camila

Call to Arms

"I know you would. It's why you're on my shortlist for the position of Jack." Ryu said rather bluntly, before taking another sip of water. "That is, should Markus be successfully removed from his position." He set the bottle down next to his seat and reached for the radio. Flipping the dial, the music came to a stop; all that remained was but breeze outside at this height as well as the ambience of the flora around them. Leaves gently swayed from the minute amount of current that was allowed, lest it damage the bonsai and other fragile plants. "And so that brings us to the other question, which is these associates of yours that I am not familiar with yet."

"I know *some* of them in your network. Especially the one that was in our little Heist venture. He proved himself competent. There's also the other one, who I hold a debt over her head." he spoke, referring to Sylvie and Hiachi. "She has potential, even if her own abilities aren't particularly in your face." Ryu then crossed his legs and leaned back in his plastic chair, observing Camila's reaction to all this. "The question is, should the time come, will these others prove themselves competent as well?" he then asked, making the implication clear.

Roda the Red

 

[joshuadim]

Ryutaro, Alice

Collab Post

SCENE:

Lessons in Power

LOCATION:

Abandoned Auto Plant, Outskirts of New Oasis

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Alice

Lessons in Power

Ryu side-eyed the growing flora nearby, though not with fear as others had shown before. Rather, his interest only continued to grow as her powers began to manifest around them. Seemingly unknown to Alice herself as she had kept her gaze towards him the entire time, and so he gently led her hand down to the earth below. He knelt to be at level with Alice, and looked at her: “Close your eyes. I want you to look and see what your inner strength looks like in your mind’s eye.” he said.

The moment Alice did so, she could see it. A world of wonders where fairies and animals and humans met and talked with one another. A place where babies turn into pigs. The plants behind her grew in size. “I see… a kingdom in which the Queen and King of Hearts have subjects who are a deck of cards, ordering them in line with the threat of execution.”

In the corner of Ryutaro’s eye, he may have spotted a deck of cards flying around silently. Each card connected by an invisible seam, slithering above like a snake.

“And everyone can only nag, whine, and complain. Nothing makes sense here... And I see myself—the only sane mind in this land.”

“Hm. In my case, it appears like a great pit. There’s something inside, just out of reach. I know I must have it and if I lean over I can grab it. However, I risk falling inside and losing myself by going over the edge.” Ryu spoke, “Yet, I anchor myself. I’m able to keep myself held to the surface, and in turn I stop myself from falling into the void.”

He then shifted slightly, keeping his hand atop Alice’s so that it remained contacting the earth. “How do you imagine yourself taking that strength?”

“My strength.” Alice repeated. “My ‘strength’… I don’t know what that looks like. But I know it’s here. I feel it all around me. Here, I can be whatever I want. Do what I please.” Alice softened her shoulders as though a weight flew away.

A gust of wind swayed the grass at their feet that was not there a second ago. The gust brought a scent with it, part floral, part bakery. Ryu narrowed his eyes, trying to get an understanding of her own visual. His own was… simple. This held a lot more depth, though perhaps something more was required here. Something more to trigger the response.

“What happens when you approach the King and Queen?”

“They stand higher than any building in the West. The Queen, she… I think she sees me.” Alice’s breath wavered. “I have to get out. I have to do something. Let me live! Let me have control of my life!”

Ryu remained silent, ever observant of her reaction. She was afraid. Afraid of what was inside. Unwilling to confront it. In the wonderland that was her own mind, Alice had never felt so scared until now. Whenever her powers activated, she retreated to the safe, comfortable confines of her mentality. But as she approached the royals, dread eating her saliva… some part of her let go.

“The King is leaving. But the Queen…” Alice shook her head. “There was no Queen. It’s a mirror.”

Their surroundings shook and morphed. The decrepit building became a vast expanse of plains, where mushrooms replaced trees and animals adorned in clothes ran amuck. But after a line running between Alice and Ryutaro was decaying blackness. As things passed through this equator, their being changed to match the surroundings. Tall mushrooms into something akin to a burnt candle wick. Animals into overworked Tigers.

Where Alice once stood was now a tall, beautiful woman. Her blonde hair ran to the floor, strands floating mid-air in stasis. An extravagantly black headpiece covered her missing eye with a floral pattern, running over her bangs with a three-pronged crown of coal. Her one eye opened to show a glare of red, filled with nothing but hatred. And on her back was a fur coat befitting that of royalty.

And so, she shows herself. Ryu thought to himself, observing the figure in front of him. Tiger Queen stared down the Red Queen, locked in a silent contest of wills. The former’s insatiable curiosity now reached greater heights than it had prior. This was when her power took over, leaving her trapped within a prison of her own making. Now was the true test, whether she could come back from the brink.

“If you can hear me, I want you to find that anchor.” Ryu said, keeping his hand atop the one belonging to the figure now sitting before him. “Let it be something real… something that is yours. A person, a place, an object… a memory. Let that be your guiding light..”

Alice thought long and hard. She reached deep into her mind for anything in her life. The food, the luxury, the comforts. Even her mother. But none of those were hers. In one way or another, they were a manufactured product of the Tigers’ machine. But there was one person who put a smile on her lips. Charlie. The dashing boy with no strings attached. Someone beyond the Tigers’ reach, yet close enough to give Alice hope.

One by one, the illusions faded. Wonderland disappeared, as did the Red Queen. Alice’s eyes fluttered open, and she was back in the damp, dark building. To say the Tiger Queen was impressed was an understatement, as the amount of willpower Alice possessed was great. To have been able to come back from that brink, on her first try nonetheless, was something to commend even if it was but a fluke. “And to think that is only but a fraction of your true potential.” Ryu commented.

“Now with your anchor I want you to reach. Reach deep into your very center, the heart of your strength. Dive further in than you have before. Your anchor will help focus your emotions. Focus your anger, your drive, until it is a fine needle carving a path.” He removed his hand off Alice’s slowly, before standing up. Taking a few steps back, he waited to see what would happen next.

“You want me to go back?” Alice asked incredulously. Not a moment later, though, she shut her eyes and returned to imagination.

One by one, the subjects of wonderland returned to their sensations. Alice saw the Queen again, but stood her ground. She thought about Charlie. Their time during her limited freedom in Central. His daring rescue against the White Rabbits in the mall. She reached for his hand, albeit the illusion of one.

This time, there was no gray equator. All was well in her reality, and Alice relaxed. “That’s it.” Ryu said, his voice resonating even in her mind’s eye. “Reach deep. For your power does not command you. You command it.” And further Alice pushed into the depths, following her own instincts and guided by Charlie’s own hand. The storms of the soul would not cast her off the path, not with an anchor as strong as this. “It is your realm.” Ryu then spoke, crossing his arms. “Wield it as such.” The surroundings shook as it had before, only this time with greater intensity.

Alice took a breath. Her eyes fluttered open. Putting his words to mind, she honed in on her powers. It started with the grass. Around them, each strand grew a hundred times taller, rivaling the tree-like mushrooms. She imagined them tied together as neat bow ties, and it reflected in the illusion. Alice pictured massive scissors shearing through them, and they did, pulling up into the skies to avoid the two people.

She saw furry creatures dressed posh walk around them. Some gawked and pointed at them, others tipped their hats. From one hat, a little white rabbit hopped over to them, jumping into Alice’s arms. It was warm and fluffy; she could feel its breath bristling its whiskers. Yet none of this was real.

As she willed it, the creatures disappeared. Alice turned to the side, where a field of white poppies sprouted. Dancing in the field, happy as can be, was her mother. Free of the Tigers and free of the hellish life New Oasis offered. The Tiger Queen observed the spectacle unfolding around him in silence, allowing the moment to pass without interruption as the girl before him explored and worked with her power.

Ryu didn’t fully understand the lengths to which it could go, as neither did she, and it remained all the more captivating as a result. Looking upwards towards the shifting vistas and objects, he wondered just to what lengths she could manipulate the world to her own will. Time would tell, as he turned back to her. “Your power is beautiful.” he stated matter of factly before kneeling down next to where she had remained all this time.

Offering her a hand to help her up, he spoke once more: “Together, we can continue exploring how far the rabbit hole goes. And with your power, we can build a better world for our people.”

Alice looked up at him. Once again, the illusions faded into reality. This is what she wanted, right? For the Tigers to change and the evil selfishness of the world to diminish. This needed to happen. Steeling herself, she reached up and took his hand.

= SCENE END =​

AriAriAbabwa

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Back in the Game

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, July 5 2022

LOCATION:

Boustan [About a four hour drive from New Oasis]

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi, Milo

Back in the Game

It was with little grace that Charlie's face met with the tram's cold acrylic flooring. Gravity was oft the boy's greatest enemy, and today was no exception on that matter. As soon as he attempted to make a recovery, energy coiled itself around his neck, pressure disrupting the flow of air. Fingers quickly found themselves struggling for freedom, but efforts to release himself proved fruitless, the energy being smooth and hard to grasp at, and the bindings keeping the force he could exert to an embarassing minimum. Breathing was extremely hard, air coming out effortlessly through involuntary panting, and nary a portion of it coming back in. He needed to try something else, and he needed to be quick about it.

From his bottom-crawler position, a single fist was raised up in the air, hazel eyes darting between three points of interest. His opponent, his limb and the floor; coming to a decision, he slammed his fist down. The surface below caved in, the hard material cracking and shattering under the powerful blow. The entire car shook and rattled violently, almost to a point of unhinging itself from the rest of the chain.

Despite his best efforts, the whip wielder's footing turned to be the unreliable sort, knees bending unvoluntarily by the sudden shaking, falling on his behind before he could realize. He looked around for a moment, wondering if they were about to go off-course after such a strenuous motion. Soon enough he faced forward once more, this time met with a rushing blue blur, growing larger in his view by the milisecond.

The Phoenix was now completely on the offensive, throwing himself on top of the attacker, dozens of punches thrown with reckless abandon, most finding their mark as the pinned man failed to block them. He was bruised and battered, the phoenix barely having recieved any returning strikes during his onslaught. Charlie stood, grabbing the man by the wrist, met with little in the way of resistance.

With a harsh pull, a steel handle screwed at the wall was torn apart, its straight shape soon forced to warp through sheer pressure of a pair of hands. It was wrapped around the kidnapper's wrists and ankles alike, awkwardly lying face up like a lassoed troublemaking cow, a quick appliance of tempering on the binding guaranteed it would not be undone anytime soon. "Now...*huff*...stay right here, okay?! We'll deal with you later."

Charlie's hand brushed at his bangs, attempting to bring some order and style back in the cerulean mess made by the altercation. He looked behind him, knowing well that Hitoshi was undergoing his own battle just a door away. As much as he wished to go aid his senior, the rookie knew that Elizabeth's safety was utmost priority, both from a moral and professional standpoint.

Tugging at both sides of his jacket's collar, He rushed to the car's door, delving further into the tram towards Elizabeth's direction.

Spoiler: Notes and Notifs

Hypercharge: Full-Activation!

joshuadim Elenion Aura

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Two Can Cross the Threshold

TIME:

Post-Outbreak, Late July 2022

LOCATION:

Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Alice

Two Can Cross the Threshold

The boy was mostly relieved that Dormouse opted to move aside. Sure, a part of him somewhat wished to give further retribution for the innocents killed at the mall, he'd probably never forgive the White Rabbits for that monstrous behavior. But once again, what mattered the most to him right now was Alice's safety, and looking for trouble at their hideout just so happened to not coincide with that goal. "What is it, feeling envious?" He asked in a lightly mocking way, he wasn't going to look for a fight, but he also had no interest in being cordial to them whatsoever. The short walk was silent, he cared not for idle chatter

As the door opened, whatever mental preparation Charlie had crumbled like a pile of ashe against a hurricane. There she was, Alice standing in the middle of this unassuming room, and all the memories, especially they painful ones, rushed back. He was particularly caught off guard by her hack of an eye, their meeting was so brief at the casino that he had subconsciously forgotten about her injury, the one he could freely blame the rabbits for, but unequivocally, he berated his own tardiness to help her out.

"...Alice, hey there" He waved with quivering enthusiasm, wearing a smile that brought no sincere joy. "Sorry for barging into your business but..." He paused, looking for the willpower to look at her in the eye. "Someone contacted me about your disappearance, I just wanted to make sure you weren't in danger."

He looked around, slowly recognizing a few of the present faces. "And I don't trust anyone else in this room...Not after what you all did."

He took a couple steps forward, uncaring of any threats that could come his way. "Feel free to ignore me if you want...I'll understand" He stood still, hands buried in his pockets. "I won't move a finger as long as you're okay."

What made the boy feel the most guilty, was that despite the tense predicament...He was just happy to see the girl once more, for a part of him feared that he'd shared his final goodbye with her back in that day where he made all the wrong choices.

AriAriAbabwa

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

To Live in the Shadows

TIME:

Afternoon, Pre-Arc 1, June 11th 2020

LOCATION:

Nameless Warehouse, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva

To Live in the Shadows

The newfound calm and tranquility within the warehouse would be quite soothing, were it not for the constant state of agony the young man currently found himself in. He grinded his teeth as to keep his mind occupied patiently awaiting for the alleged medical assistance to arrive.

The rusty creaking of the door was nothing short of heavenly, a consolidation of his trust on the woman who had just sliced his body all over, and equally delightful were the echoing steps approaching. "Oh, it's okay, I got these on a garage sale for like five amestriyen" He giggled, interrupted by a wince that stopped him on his tracks. "Also I passed so I can't compl- WOAH W-WAIT!" He blushed madly as the girl tore his shirt, or what was left of it, open. He stuttered as his hands moved to cover his chest, but relented once he noticed her getting prepared for treatment, he was still red like a tomato, though, hoping that the darkness would help him conceal it (all the while unaware that the girl had perfect darkvision).

He made his best effort to relax, a short yelp shooting out involuntarily as alcohol was introduced to his plenty of wounds. He attempted to heed the woman's words, biting into a shredded bundle of clothing to tone down the volume of his cries, of which he couldn't stop outright, as much as he wanted to.

"T-Thanks, I won't lie I was getting kinda scAAAARED AHHHH!" Just as he felt confident enough to spit out the cloth, another big sting hit him hard, alcohol sinking into his deepest wound. "Oh it hurts so muuuuuuuch!" Tears begun to build up from the corner of his eyes. "Okay please promise me that the next trials won't hurt as much as this one ohthisisawfulAH!"

If only one could release adrenaline on demand, that would be a millionary business right there.

Peckinou

 

[Roda the Red]

CAMILA GASPARI

CS Link

SCENE:

Call to Arms

TIME:

Post-Outbreak, July 23 2022

LOCATION:

Ryutaro's Rooftop Garden, Imperial Gardens Condominiums, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Ryutaro

Call to Arms

If it wasn't obvious already, Ryutaro bothered not with roundabouts, simply naming the position that was being discussed. She nodded in agreement that, naturally, Markus' removal would need to take priotiy before any other plans were made.

She listened carefully to the queen, having no interest on interrupting the man who was essentially her boss through and through. "That's true, what those two lack in power, they compensate by being pretty damn witty and cunning, girl DID make us go through a few hurdles to get her where we wanted, after all."

She didn't bother to elaborate on the people who worked for her in this fashion, too many to go into detail one by one, after all. Her hand dove into her purse, fishing out an expensive-looking, remarkably thin table. Putting in the password, the girl navigated through the menus, ultimately opening a PDF file. She placed the device on the table, slender fingers gently pushing it toward the Queen. The first page showing pictures of Shishido Takakazu and Dante Aguilar, alongside a fair deal of information about both men, alongside recommendations as to what kind of work they'd be best at. "Here's all of them, I know that archiving isn't a tiger's prefered method, usually, but I'd rather do things right."

The list went on with further regulars: Pascal Corbin, Hiachi Ito, Minato Maeda, Sylvie Slezak, Jasper Fey, Welsha Reaper, among several other names who usually took less of a spotlight to her contracts. "I'll be straight with you, Queen, I can boast about having people work for me all I want, BUT." She rubbed her forehead in frustration, her closed fist resting on her half-exposed waist. "I don't think I could get them to cooperate much, money is a good motivator, sure, but they often just do whatever they want, It's not like I'm really their boss, I just tell them what to do so we can all make our wallets fatter."

There was no point in embelishing her position as the famous job broker of the albino tigers. If she lied now about some unwavering loyalty, that'd just come back to bite her in the ass later on, and she wasn't a fan of that prospect in most scenarios. Most.

joshuadim

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Get(ting) Help

TIME:

Daytime, Post Arc 3

LOCATION:

Jiro's Dojo, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi, Kaede, Ashley, Hector, Gideon

Get(ting) Help

It was a new sight, the one taking place in front of Charlie's eyes. But a pleasant one, it was not, rather it felt like a knife being plunged deep into his chest. The usually jolly and easy-going man, perturbed as he may clearly be, had never shown such a vulnerable and suffering side to himself. We all have our inner demon and emotional baggage, some were just better at hiding them from everyone's view.

"Aniki..." Being the crybaby that he was, the rookie couldn't help but become infected with the watery-eye syndrome, clear salty pearls building up on his lower eyelids with little in the way of resistance.

"I don't know who you're talking about!" He chirped between light sobs, wrapping his arms around the man's shoulders. "All I see is the amazing Rock Bottom Dragon of Sankai, even better, my friend Hitoshi."

He broke the sudden hug, teary eyes locking with the senior's, hands still gently placed over his shoulders, squeezing affectionately. "The one that makes me laugh when I'm sad, or that knows how to guide me when necessary, the man who's always kind despite the life we live...And the man with a terrible taste for beards" He smiled, tears trailing down his velvety cheeks.

The boy turned his head towards Gideon, the man who clearly showed the most reliability at this moment of distress. "Should we call an ambulance? His heart's still beating like crazy."

joshuadim @FangS31 Lucem Coyote Hart

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Young Blood

TIME:

Post-Outbreak, July 20th 2022

LOCATION:

South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi, Musai, Daigo

Young Blood

It only took a couple minutes for Charlie's drink to be made and served to him. Apparently the frappé had been the shop's most popular product for a while, so they had reach a point of extreme streamlining for its production.

Eagerly, he skipped out of the store, happily taking his seat on the table next to the two gentlemen. He gave his drink a quick sip, letting out happy noises as a powerful yet not overwhelming taste of cinnamon coated the inside of his mouth. The icy beverage proved to be a much needed aid to battle the heat.

"They're fast, huh? Well that might not be my specialty there, ahahaha..." He was reminded of the many times his fellow Phoenixes left him eating their dust, same for a pursued thief on occasion. His mobility was frankly quite poor unless he relied on his less-than-elegant leaps.

"That's weird, though." The boy remarked amidst sips of his straw. "Does anyone know of this person? Usually when stuff like this happens, people are well aware of the thief's identity, always the same scoundrels and all that, but I haven't heard of anything myself. That's usually a pretty useful thing to know to begin with."

He turned his attention to his fiery companion, staring quizzically. "What about you, Musai? Have you heard of this guy?"

Spoiler: Notes and Notifs

Hypercharge: Half-Activation

joshuadim @Kameron Esters-

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Everyone's A Critic

LOCATION:

Feralia Art Gallery, Central District

DATE:

June 30th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila ( Roda the Red ), Takakazu

Everyone's A Critic

A shout came from behind him, but there wasn’t much reaction from Tak; like a lazy fat cat, he only proceeded to turn his head around with an unamused look, a plain blink, as if he had done nothing wrong and had never ever committed any crime did Tak look oblivious to the concept of doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

Such airheadedness was quickly dismissed as this brute decided to point that flimsy baton at him, Tak’s gaze narrowed, and words danced at his lips. Such things as comparing that metal stick to his massive schlong and how it paled in comparison to how he made the ladies crawl after he was done. His fingers twitched with the itch to grasp at the end of the baton and snap it between his fingers. A thug-on-thug interaction always had its ways of enticing him without him even realizing it was a competition.

“Haaah?” He exhaled, an exhale of annoyance that had left all the pompous act of an art critic behind, a matching bulge of his eyes and a crack of his neck as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Ya got a problem?” he spoke, prepared to escalate the problem to a point where there was no recovery.

Luckily, before Tak could turn it into a backstage brawl, a familiar voice led him to straighten his posture from his usually boorish slouching, moving his hands out of his pockets to his hips. As Boris got out of the way, he was again greeted with the sight of the enigmatic Hillclad.


“Ah, it’s you,” Tak said in dry acknowledgment; his eyes widened a bit, he was hoping to be able to talk to her, but he wasn’t expecting it to be this easy. He would have awarded himself, probably with an ice cream cone or some corner store sushi, but the lack of any heft to his wallet in his pocket reminded him of reality, so instead, a simple self-pleasing grin on his face would have to do. He turned towards Boris with a snide smirk, giving the man a cynical wave, “You heard her. Go ahead and behave yourself in my presence, will ya?” He couldn’t help but let a bit of his horrible personality slip through, giving Boris a pat on the back as he walked away.




As the space between him and Hillclad closed while she approached the canvas, Tak found himself pursing his lips immediately; upon closer inspection, he was reviewing her statistics, a hand on his chin. GUIs and graphs flashed in his vision, breaking down Hillclad’s body into its different facets, evaluating her all around as he nodded his head quickly. The surveys reached their results, the breakdown of their findings rolling down a list bound upwards from the ground in bright flashing numbers and words.

BUST: 85/100
HIPS: 70:100
BUTT: 90/100

“Yep,” Tak whispered, reaching a hand through his hair and slicking it back. He reeled his head back as well as he looked up towards the ceiling, hiding his expression for a moment as he inhaled deeply. His head dropped back down, revealing his face once more.

“She’s a babe, alright.”


With a tap of his fingers against his forehead, a small smack that echoed as loud as a clap, a glint in his eye surged like a bolt of lightning. Just now, his goal had expanded beyond his job of espionage.

“It’s not very often one gets to see a work in progress,” Tak remarked; once again came that grandiose tone that attempted to hide the street urchin past and instead play off the act of someone born of Liberian aristocrats. He strolled towards the canvas, hovering his hand across its paint as if scanning it with psychic energy.

“Every brush stroke paints its own picture. To be able to see one’s incomplete work is to be able to see the blueprints of a structure and one’s own morphology. As if breaking apart to examine one’s DNA, peering into the brush strokes can provide a view into the artists’ emotions, thoughts, and feelings!”

For a moment, Tak seemed like he actually knew something about art; even for him, this ability of hamming it up seemed out of the ordinary.

As he brought a hand across his face, there was a brief moment when a shadow appeared beside him, its nervous sweat and grimace revealing his internal feelings clearly, “I never thought that spending my time in that mansion with all them dumbass artists would actually come in handy, but here we fuckin’ are…” His whispered thoughts resonated through the atmosphere before he quickly twirled around to face Hillclad again, his suit fluttering as he grasped his collar and adjusted it.

“To give something for free like this speaks of your generosity, Ms. Hillclad. I am blown away by not only your kindness but your radiance!” Tak exclaimed with a snap of his finger as he kneeled down with a bow, dropping his head low.

“I had hoped to wait until the end of the auction to bother you, but I cannot wait any longer. Such is why I snuck back here,” Tak let the drivel drip from his mouth, dragging on each sentence, as he raised his head back towards the artist, letting sparkles shine within his usually lifeless pupils, “I want to study your wonderful artworks closer, at a level that simple peering upon them on a hollow stage and bright lights won’t compare!”

He brought himself back up to his feet, and with a small step forward, he boldly grabbed Hillclad’s hands, grasping her fingers between his as he looked down at her with a bright smile.

“Please, would you allow me to look into your private study, where I can truly appreciate your artistic expertise!? It would make me the happiest man in the world.”

Roses and sparkles surrounded the artistic critic; if anyone had seen Tak act like this who knew him, they might have keeled over on the spot or emptied their stomachs.

“I’m gonna throw up…” Once again, Tak’s internal silhouette slid out from his body, revealing its nauseated expression, hand over his face, his eyes going pupils as it struggled to hold back its bile, just as disgusted by the whole act as anyone else would be, but he did his best not show it on his face.

He needed to get close to Hillclad…for the job, of course!

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

WYTTTTLBYUFTIFOYIACP

LOCATION:

East District

DATE:

June 19th, 2022 | Evening

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Tak, Eisyu (NPC)

When You Take The Time to Look Back, You’ll Usually Forget That In Front of You Is a Cheese Platter

And suddenly, they snapped the reins and ran loose.

I’m eight years old. I’m sitting with my face pressed on the cool counter in front of the grill. Instead of scolding me about the germs on the counter, he began slicing an onion. I didn’t lift my head, but my eyes followed his hands. He chopped the onion and sliced the rings and stacked them into a tower. He poured something on it, and before I knew it, the thing was on fire. I was in awe. Perked right up. He said nothing as he continued to chop up the onion and add it into fried rice. With extra soy sauce and an egg. He didn’t force me to speak, or explain my mood. He just handed it to me. Then I’m thirteen—I’m pacing around the restaurant, worried about nothing. He told me to come help peel onions. I was mad. I glared at him the whole time. But it got harder as I kept going, because I forgot why I was even mad. Then I’m eighteen. It’s the night before I packed my stuff and went to Thy’s house. He wasn’t home. But he left me an onion on the counter with a note. I said it was stupid and thought it was stupid because it wasn’t, and I cried as I cut it up for him because it’s an onion and its flesh elicits my tears. And I left nothing for him, no note or anything like everyone else, but the chopped up pieces.

DAMNIT! How the hell did this happen!? How the fuck did Tak manage this!? I’ve been unlucky whenever he invites me to do stupid shit, and there’s been consequences for believing there’s no cost, but THIS? This is bad. This is so, so, bad. Did he do this on purpose? Oh, you motherfucker, I’m gonna KILL you. I’m gonna throw you into the river. It’s cold and dark and you can’t breathe, which makes us even. No, no… he’s too stupid. He looks too innocent. He wouldn’t do that, he’s not capable of lying to me about that. That makes this WORSE. How does he not know? I have his face. I kind of have his face. That’s my dad. Fuck, I thought I’ve been unlucky enough. What are the odds? I should have never come back here. I should have pretended I wasn’t home. I should have forced us to go get curry. There’s nothing we gain staying here. I lose everything staying here. Not like this. I can’t see him, I can’t face him. He won’t recognize me. Or worse he will, and I’ll have to know why he never blinked. Why he didn’t love me enough. And I’d rather rot. I’d rather dissolve. I’d rather be anywhere but here. No,
no,
no…

Hiachi’s mouth went dry. Her gaping expression did nothing to hide her shock, but she couldn’t afford any effort to care.

And maybe, if she was quiet, she could have fooled him.

“Dad…?”

A mistake. Lined up behind several other mistakes. She couldn’t walk back out of it. There was no lie, no trick, nothing she could do to deny.

Then again, if she asked the girl who croaked out that word, would she want to?

His expression hardened as he stared. Analyzing her face. All that remained of his daughter.

“H…”

She was the only child with a name that started with H. He knew.

She might have wanted to run to him, like a child afraid of the dark or of snakes or of the outside world, but Hiachi did not. Before anything else could happen, she spun on her heels and ran out. She was already on the corner of the block by the time the bell on the door settled down and

And she kept walking. Past the tragic moths and burnt out street lamps. She was leaving. Or she needed to breathe. Or something that wasn’t in that stuffy restaurant.

Hiachi felt her lungs pressurize. They itched and shrank and couldn’t give her any air. Her head pounded. Her pulse raced at an impossibly slow pace.

She dug a cigarette out of her pocket, along with a lighter. The cigarette hung out of her mouth. She cupped her hand over where the flame should be and tried to ignite it, so she could protect it from the chilled winds.

And she tried again.

And again. And again.

Again. Again again again again;

Nothing. Not even a spark;

She wanted to throw the lighter and smash it to pieces.

“Are you FUCKING kidding me…?”

Spoiler

thebigfella

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Car Insurance Commercials Don't Mention You Should Have Health Insurance

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Shishido Takakazu, Lorette @Ramjammer

Car Insurance Commercials Don't Mention You Should Have Health Insurance

“Ah.”

That was the faint sound Tak made from his mouth as he was lifted off his moped and spun around like a toy. There was a lifeless blink in his eyes as if nothing rattled around his skull as he stared at Lorette. There was little to no recognition of the situation; the fact that the lady had escaped him or the fact that Tak had just run into someone’s car seemed too far in the past for him to care. There wasn’t much peep out of him for a long while as he hung limply like a stray mutt.

“Huh? Oi, oi, there’s no need to be violent,” Tak raised his hands defensively, ironic words of peace coming from someone prone to rage. Still completely unknowing of why he was in the situation in the first place, he had a small bead of nervous sweat down the side of his face, “Did I do somethin’ to piss you off? You, the lady I prank called back when I was 13, tryin’ to get revenge!? My mom already beat my ass purple for that back then, so ain’t we even?!” Came his obnoxious and ridiculous drivel; only now did he move his body, scraping his shoes against the pavement as he tried to pull himself out from Lorette’s grip, but being caught in her nails like a hook didn’t give him much luck.

As the footsteps of another approached, Tak looked over. There was a faint hope that someone was coming to speak some sense into this crazy old hag that had him grasped so tightly, but that hope was quickly dashed as his expression visibly drooped in response that the two were clearly in cahoots. Once again, his deadpan look appeared on his face as he watched the two bantered back and forth; very few words came to his brain, but only after a long moment of awkward silence did his eyes finally light up in recognition.

“Oh, this is about the car, right?” He slammed a fist into his palm, proud of his correct answer, as he nodded his head, almost happy-go-plucky despite the situation. Instead of reacting to the problem with fear, he seemed to not even have a single smidge of understanding the shit he was in. He looked towards the car he had smashed with not only his scooter but his body, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Damn, guess that ain’t gonna buff out, huh?” He stated, crossing his arms as he pursed his lips, genuinely considering the situation. He sighed, his posture drooping as his gaze dropped towards the ground.

“I was tryin’ to save it, but I guess it’s only right to give you some compensation for the car,” he spoke dejectedly, putting his hands into his pockets. Was this guy one of those “homeless millionaires”? Was he playing an idiot when, in actuality, he was goofing off with money to burn?

Instead of a checkbook or a sleeve of bills coming out of his pocket, he held a flimsy piece of paper between his fingers. On the front of it was the design for a cartoonish-looking chicken with a hyper-realistic dragon tattoo on its face. It read “All You Can Eat!” in bold, but it was for the Abstract Dragon Buffet.

“I was hopin’ to save the coupon for next week, but you can have it,” Tak raised it towards her, shaking his arms as he physically hesitated to hand it over like it was a prized possession; he even had to grab his other arm to force it to raise all the way presenting it through gritted teeth and eyes.

“So go ahead and take it…before I change my mind, damnit!”

Well, this sealed it.

This guy was an idiot.

 

[Lucem]

Isaiah Spade

CS Link

SCENE:

Growing Pains

LOCATION:

East District

TIME:

Post-Outbreak || July 15th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Isaiah, Chiyome, Jackson, Kanna, Renjiro

GROWING PAINS

While the others approached the child one by one, each of them doing their best to ease and appeal to him in their own way, Isaiah stood off the side. Separate from the slowly growing crowd yet still close by, he kept a close eye on the group, waiting to see how their attempts would fare. He believed it'd be best to avoid surrounding the boy with too many people at once and risk overwhelming him. He also figured the younger Dragons here would have an easier time forming a connection.


Isaiah had spent quite a bit of time looking after Xuefeng in the past. Helping Ruriko with cooking and other tasks whenever he had some freedom occasionally left him in a position where he felt like a pseudo guardian of sorts. Things never went terribly, in his opinion at least. He didn't dislike the situation either. But despite his prior experiences, he still didn't believe he was best suited for this kind of role.



He didn't have any problems interacting with children or looking after them, but it usually felt as though he was unable to connect with them on a certain level. Until Xuefeng, he hadn't really spent time around kids since he was eight years old, so it wasn't a surprise. Still, something as small as that wouldn't keep him from making sure the apparently rowdy child was doing okay after the recent incidents. For his own peace of mind, and for the sake of someone important to him as well.

Spoiler: Tags

@Beann BriiAngelic Elenion Aura FabulousTrash YumenoTsukishiro