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

SCENE:

Ribbon Bookmarks and Tassel Charms

LOCATION:

Pasadena Park, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Alice

RIBBON BOOKMARKS AND TASSEL CHARMS

Unfortunately for Yong-Yut, Alice did not get many social cues—more or less signs that someone didn't want to chat. She was happy enough that she got a reply, no matter the simplicity or volume. Beaming more than before, Alice continued. "I don't usually get to sit down this quietly when I'm outside... I don't think I've ever been to Passeri..." Wait, wasn't it... Alice lightly shook her head. "Passeri Park before, but it's beautiful without crowds of people blocking everything. I've only ever envisioned nature through stories I've read, so I got really excited coming here!" Alice kept her gaze going between Yong-Yut and the scenery, delightedly swinging her feet against the ground. "I just wish I had some official time on the schedule to wander around like this."

Her eyes then wandered back to the untalkative girl, scanning her up and down. "I've never spoken to anyone with a fashion style like yours. It's different, but still so pretty and gorgeous!" Regardless of Yong-Yut's wishes, Alice wanted to talk her, and there wasn't any escaping at this point. The shorter girl scoot closer to YY, still sparkling. "I'm Alice! What's your name?"

AriAriAbabwa · Apr 28, 2022

Jesper Albrecht

SCENE:

Anime Convention!!

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1— August 22nd, 2021

LOCATION:

Anime Convention, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Jesper, Charlie, Tenebrosity, Kasumi, others

Anime Convention!!

At the counter, Kasumi's words finally melted into Jesper's brain. Flushing red in a heart beat, he spun back at her with a nervous stare that said, 'You did not just say that...!' No way did this maid outfit look good on him; he was a boy for crying out loud! A mature, masculine man like his father was!

It was a good thing Jesper kept those thoughts to himself; he wasn't so convincing at an anime convention in a maid outfit while on a hunt for a figurine.

In an effort to distract himself, he focused back on Charlie, who had wound up right beside him—Jesper discretely scooted a minuscule distance so they weren't touching. He listened to the banter between her and the clerk, fitting a few pieces together in his head. Obviously, Charlie and the booth clerk knew each other. What a fantastic coincidence this was, Jesper thought... as he stood to the side of them, awkwardly silent. Instinctively, he snuck a glance back at Kasumi; having someone else he for sure knew by his side eased his nerves.

"Thank you," he said shortly and quietly once Tenebrosity passed him the items. Actually, come to think of it, "What kind of name is Tenebrosity?" It must have been a nickname, but it sounded so... unusual? Or was that the point of nicknames?

At the entrance of Kentaro, the maid-boy unknowingly let off a sigh of relief. Up until now, he'd been amid a group of girls and felt all the more out of place. Shut-ins like himself were not used to these experiences. Still... it felt nice to be in a public area that was not stuffy with a clandestine high-class battle of analyzing and sucking up.

When Kentaro, began recalling the direction of the Juniper's Tale booth, Jesper began to eagerly grin again. Hopefully they would still have figurines of Juniper available! He scurried after Ten once they motioned to follow. "You guys are a godsend, you know that? I was feeling so, so lost earlier..." All of Jesper's prior apprehensions seemed to vanish for that moment.

Roda the Red

FabulousTrash

gxxberkit · Apr 28, 2022

YONG-YUT SOMSRI

SCENE:

Ribbon Bookmarks and Tassle Charms

LOCATION:

Pasadena Park, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Alice

RIBBON BOOKMARKS AND TASSLE CHARMS

Oh god.

Oh no.

This was the opposite of what Yong-Yut wanted. The girl was just going on and on and on and —did she just say Passeri Park? “Pasadena,” Yong-Yut corrected, though they were drowned out by the girl that just kept talking. She said something about not seeing nature often? And then… Did she just comment on their clothes?

Yong-Yut turned her head to get a better look at the girl. However, to their surprise, the girl was now closer, and looking straight at them, and introducing herself. Anxiety-inducing.

Yong-Yut now had a choice.

Anyone encountered in the West District could possibly be a Tiger, and she didn’t want them knowing her name. Though, Yong-Yut wasn’t busy with the Phoenixes, so her gang alias wasn’t necessary. They could tell Alice a nickname for herself, but the only one unrelated to her name that she could think of would be one that —if Alice were a Tiger and would talk to Markus about it— Markus knew of, due to her family using it for her when they were younger. Though, maybe it was long enough since then, and it’d be safe to use it. Or, maybe Yong-Yut was overthinking things, and it wouldn’t matter at all what name she gave the girl to use for them.

They realized it was taking a while for them to respond, so they settled on the last thing, and would continue to settle on the last thing for the rest of the conversation. Who cares about what name she used? It’d be fine. This girl seemed nice, and even if she ended up a Tiger and talked to him about it, he probably had better things to do. Judging by literally everything about the girl, she seemed pretty sheltered, too. So, nothing to worry about.

“...Yong-Yut. Your style is pretty too. Looks business-casual. I like pastel goth,” they gestured to themself. It was clear to them that they were now stuck in this conversation. They might as well give better responses.

AriAriAbabwa

Doctor Llamabean · Apr 28, 2022

TAZZ (August August)

Fantasy - Four Heavenly Kings: CS Thread

SCENE:

Unlikely Encounter

TIME:

Post-Arc 1/Pre-Arc 2 — Sometime After September 17th, 2021

LOCATION:

Geronimos, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Raphael ( Elenion Aura )

UNLIKELY ENCOUNTER

“Hm?” August raised his eyebrows, a tight-lipped smile. “You- You- You wot?”

The slow-spoken Tiger nodded, “Yeah… Yeah… I know of a guy ‘at talks like you. Wears a mask.”

August hummed, “Is ‘at so?... Don’t get that often.”

“Small world,” said the guy.

Looking at Raphael, August could agree. He wondered just how many times he’d actually met him… if at all. Maybe Mach Sling wasn’t their first encounter. Then again, he was usually good at remembering faces.

“Uh-oh. This ain’t lookin’ too good.”

August had zoned out, but the Tiger’s voice brought him back, and he instinctively gauged the growing seriousness of the situation. Someone was going to die—he glanced at the seemingly unconscious one—if they hadn’t already.

He was within arm’s reach of the short Tiger, now.

“This ain’t a fuckin’ game of cards, man! I told you we don’t want anymore trouble!”

The conflict was nearing the point when August usually decided to dip, but something compelled him to try to ease the situation before that. The only question was… how? Raphael didn’t strike him as one who was easily talked down. Rather, something more unexpected was needed. But what, exactly?

He thought about it only shortly.

Then, “Wot’s goin’ ooon, mates?” He scooched himself between the two of Raphael and the short Tiger, first with a small smile and wave at the Serpent, then a nod at everyone else, whilst feigning imbalance.

“What-” The shorter Tiger flinched his head back when August got real close, and, behind him, the slow-spoken Tiger gave a curious tilt of the head. “Was ‘is guy drunk?”

August slapped the short one on the hip and clicked his tongue before embracing him sideways with one arm, “Ya come ‘ere often?” Then, suddenly, they were falling. August landed on the smaller guy, who scrambled out from under him and away, unaware that he’d just been frisked and robbed of his wallet.

His friend picked him up. Meanwhile, August got unsteadily to his feet and started to unbutton his shirt. “Bit hot in he’ah, yeh?” He whirled on Raphael, taking an intentionally long time to undo the second button. “Think ah’ve ‘ad too much t’ drink.” He cocked a brow at Raph, “You ‘n’ me, both, ay? Wot say you we ‘ave a dance?... If- If ya one foh dancin’, ‘at is. Maybe just a quick’un? Befoh tha cops show up an’ ruin all tha fun.”

August thought to himself as he got to the third button: This does not defoine me.

He simply wanted to draw the drunk Serpent's attention away from his own hostility and the Tigers surrounding him, also while slipping the quick notice that the police could come busting through the door any minute now.

Hopefully, in doing so, the short Tiger would heed his whisper from moments ago to 'go along with it', and make a break for it with his friends. Should the Serpent direct his fury onto August, August was confident he could escape with... most of his limbs in tact.

If this didn't work, he told himself not to be embarrassed. Trial an' error, mate.
Clothes Reference

Vahn · Apr 29, 2022

Omar Ayad.

CS Link

SCENE:

Happy Birthday to You

LOCATION:

Albrecht Manor

PARTICIPANTS:

Isaiah, Jackson, Jesper, Lorrin, Kasumi, Omar and Ruriko

Happy Birthday to You

Omar was told that it was a birthday party of sorts and was confused to why he was invited. If maybe the invitation was meant to be for someone else higher up the Azure Dragons hierarchy ladder. Omar knows that he could be considered the strange or odd member of the Azure Dragons so it was odd enough that someone would invite the Librarian to a party. Omar would mutter to himself out loud.

Is this one of those bring the shy person out of their shell parties? Or did I let people feel like that I'm lonely and that they need to help me talk with other people. What they call it socialize? I should really stop talking to myself. This might be the reason. Stop talking stop talking.

Omar makes a mental note to attempt to stop this bit of strange behavior as he took one last look with his binoculars at the burning Serpent warehouse in the distance and how some of the customers are attempting to raid it to get their hands on some goods. Omar thought to himself that Jack-O'-Lantern is doing a good job and will look forward to the report that Jack-O'-Lantern will send tomorrow. Omar thought it was odd that Jack-O'-Lantern decided to spray paint the words: "Bane to Justice and Thorn to crime." along with a Jack-O'-Lantern insignia on the side of the warehouse. Why complain to a contractor of his eccentricities when he does such a good job but the contractor has been known to also use a woman’s voice so who is to know if the Jack-O'-Lantern is male or female.

Omar would finish examining the work or ahem the art that Jack-O'-Lantern has done and began to walk towards the direction of the Albrecht Manor only to realize that it’s on a hill. Omar realized he should have used the Internet for that bit of information and to restudy on his map reading skills because he must have missed that important detail. Omar would have muttered something but decided to stop as he remembered that he is trying to correct that behavior as he began to walk or more realistically began the climb. Omar had remembered to get a gift earlier for the birthday boy and had already gifted wrapped it himself.

A few minutes would pass before Omar would notice that maybe he was the last to arrive as there were other vehicles present along what looks to be like other Azure Dragon members as Omar took a moment or two to catch his breath before slowly making his way to the rest of the group.

Bane to Justice and Thorn to crime.

Beann

Pik

BriiAngelic · Apr 30, 2022

CAIO SANTANA COELHO

SCENE:

Test Drive

LOCATION:

Copper's Bar, North District

TIME:

2019, Pre-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Darius (

WhiskeyMarten ), Caio

TEST DRIVE

<<< Remember

So that was the one huh?

He kicked some half empty beer can as he watched from one of the nearby tables when the deal went down. Its amazing what a difference in attitude people had once they realized he was around to stay. People fell on top of themselves to get him the information he wanted… and today he had hit a jackpot.

Someone who’s pot could start to eat away at flesh?

Now that was something easily quantifiable and observed.

If he boosted them enough then it would be extremely easy to work on something to reverse it. It wasn’t like they’d be able to just stop using that. Painful or not. He started to check off his own mental checklist that Tomi provided him with.

Yup.

No doubt this one was it.

He waited until his mark separated from the group and slipped out before paying his tab and slamming down the last of his drink. He’d needed a lil something to keep him from leaving the place in irritation and as shitty as their clientle was they knew how to make a damn stiff drink.

With more of swagger than a walk he stumbled his way over to wall the other had taken to leaning on. Well it was going to be hard to just boost him that way. Well its not like he’d ever met anyone who didn’t want to feel a little more powerful. He pulled up as close as usually socially acceptable as he dared. Without thinking much he made a quick jolt forwards to blow air on the others ear before oving back juist as fast in a giggling fit.

“Hey, Con….Contanimated? Yea, mister death touch riight?”

gxxberkit · Apr 30, 2022

YONG-YUT SOMSRI

SCENE:

Part-Time Pandemonium

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1— May 2020, almost 11:00pm

LOCATION:

Burger Knight, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Chikage

Doctor Llamabean

Part-Time Pandemonium

Yong-Yut was considering many things right now. Homicide, crying, and hiding under the counter were only a few of the things they wanted to do. Their eyes were blankly staring at the customer that was just leaving, giving a stiff, polite wave to their back. Even as they were leaving, she could still hear them giggling about her offering them a "meep meep." As soon as the customer was out the door, she buried her face into her hands.

The Burger Knight was quiet. A single customer was in the corner, eating away silently. The only noise came from the kitchen behind Yong-Yut, from one of their coworkers talking to someone in the drive-thru, and the sound of the back door opening and closing. A big contrast from how the rest of the day was, having been yelled at by customers the entire time.

It was Yong-Yut’s first —and last— day working here, and they had coincidentally only gotten terrible customers. They were told consistently throughout their shift that it’d get better, but it just kept getting worse. Thankfully for her, however, their shift was set to end in about an hour or so, and it was pretty late. Just have to survive the hour, and never return again. She’ll try out another job later. Maybe.

In the back of the eatery, one of Yong-Yut’s coworkers had just exited the kitchen, making their way deeper into the alley. They stood at the back, holding a Burger Knight bag that would soon carry an illegal substance. They had it all planned out: wait for the dealer to show up, put it in the bag, and affirm that they were just going to bring home food for breakfast the next day. A solid plan, the same one they’d been using for a few months now. No one had suspected a thing due to the altruism of the managers, and the known fact that they weren't very well off. At least, it hadn’t failed them yet, they supposed.

Yong-Yut removed their hands from her face, placing them on her hips. Even though there was only an hour left before Burger Knight closed, there was always the chance a customer might come in. Better stop looking like you’re sobbing before a customer comes and yells at you about it, they thought. Why did she even get this job? Well, she knew why. They needed the money. With the recent hurricane having taken her cousin's arm privileges, the jobs she and Chet were getting just weren't cutting it. She figured that getting a real job would be better than taking "better" jobs. Though, that turned out to not be the case, hence the thoughts of homicide. God, they hoped the last hour of their shift would be peaceful. They felt like they deserved some rest.

WhiskeyMarten · Apr 30, 2022

DARIUS KENNEDY

SCENE:

Mutualistic Symbiosis

LOCATION:

WacDonald's, Central District

TIME:

July 2021

PARTICIPANTS:

Darius, Yong-Yut

MUTUALISTIC SYMBIOSIS

"ORDER 33."

A bag was planted firmly on the countertop with little care, followed by a cup and a straw. The woman behind the counter looked up at the customers waiting, swept a few greasy strands of hair out of her face, and walked away with a sigh.

Darius blinked a few times at the interruption to the silent WacDonalds lobby. His mouth felt dry, as though he'd just woken up from a nap. He hadn't, though he did feel tired enough to fall asleep. It was late.

"Oh! That one's mine. Haha." He looked around, just to confirm, before claiming it. He didn't need to bother, as only Yong-Yut was waiting by his side. He peeked inside the bag. Fries, and a slightly squashed burger. Perfect. He grabbed a few ketchup packets out of a tray on the counter, dropping them into his bag, but he had no serviettes.

He was nervous. What if he lost his grip while eating and his burger fell onto his shirt? His new friend - no no that's too forward - new acquaintance would surely leave him. Nobody wants to hang out with the guy covered in mustard and pickles.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The worker made eye contact, as she dumped another order onto the counter.

"Please could I have so-"

"-ORDER 34."

The lady spun around and began walking away.

"Could I get some napkins please?"

Though Darius couldn't see it, the worker gave the biggest eye roll known to man. He did hear her sigh though as she turned to him. She pointed at a pile of serviettes arranged next to the ketchups.

"There you go."

He felt his cheeks redden as he grabbed a handful of tissues, mortified.

"Sorry..."

He was very nervous.

"Hey! I think this is yours!" He pointed to the bag, a warm smile at YY hid his fear. He had barely spoken a word to her since they entered, only talking to reiterate that he was paying for her meal.

He walked around the dining area with his food, looking at a booth tucked away in the corner of the restaurant. Though the place was already empty, Darius still wanted it to feel like he had even more privacy.

He was already worried about being seen, and he would understand if YY had felt the same. He didn't look like good company in his eyes. Though he put effort into his appearance like he did every day, he looked somewhat dishevelled. His upturned collar hid most of his peaky face from onlookers, but not the bags under his eyes.

When they were both seated, both gloves started to come off slowly and sat folded to the side. The skin on his hands looked discoloured like it was bruised all over. A few patches of new skin wrapped tightly over parts of his palm and fingertips, covering an almost-healed wound and layers upon layers of old wounds.

"Sooo, Yong-Yut. It's nice to see you! I'm glad we're meeting up again, a friendly face is what I need right now."

Darius sipped at his drink, savouring the cold, sweet flavour of the soda. The nervous feeling dissipated slightly as he settled down at the table. He had nothing to fear, really. He only hoped that Yong-Yut didn't feel threatened.

"How've you been?"
He waited for her reply, bringing his gaze away from his meal to show YY his full attention.

AriAriAbabwa · May 1, 2022

ALICE

SCENE:

Ribbon Bookmarks and Tassel Charms

LOCATION:

Pasadena Park, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Alice

RIBBON BOOKMARKS AND TASSEL CHARMS

Alice patiently waited for Yong-Yut to reply—even if it meant staring at her in an awkward silence (that miraculously did not affect Alice). Though she needed to correct one thing. Earlier, Yong-Yut mentioned Pasadena Park after Alice mentioned Passeri Park—the silly girl must have mixed up the idol's name! "Actually, her name is Passeri Park! Pasaderri Park is this Park, not Pasadena!" A brief look of confusion from Alice, thinking—then immediately back to normal.

"And, Young-Nyut!" Alice clasped her hands together at the side of her head. "What a splendid name!"

At the remark from Yong-Yut to Alice's own clothing, her gaze followed, beaming. "I actually dressed pretty simple today! Usually my dresses are all poofy and prettier!" She held her arms out as though to show how much more 'complicated' her usual wears were. "I think pastel goth is very pretty, too! The Tiger King dresses like that, except simpler and blue instead of pink! Which... is actually pretty different from how you look?"

Alice bounced slightly on the bench, resetting her stance. "Do you usually come here, Young-Nyut?"

gxxberkit · May 1, 2022

YONG-YUT SOMSRI

SCENE:

Mutualistic Symbiosis

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1— July 2021

LOCATION:

WacDonald's, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Darius

WhiskeyMarten

Mutualistic Symbiosis

Yong-Yut watched in confusion towards the worker’s attitude as Darius tried to ask her for napkins. Though Yong-Yut herself noticed the napkins, she felt like being so rude was unwarranted. What was the server's problem? Her attention was turned to her bag of food at Darius’ mention of it, making her remember to pick it up. It made her wonder. Why did we order separately when he was paying for both?

Oh well, it didn’t matter.

She followed Darius back to the secluded booth, thinking about the interaction between Darius and the worker. What if something happened, and no one over there cared? One of them could possibly die. Would they even call the police if they needed to? She didn’t trust the workers as much as she did when they came in. Luckily, her trust in Darius didn’t waver. Well, whatever trust she had in him, anyway. She had armed herself with plenty of layers under her turtleneck, just in case things turned south.

She slid into the booth across from him, taking the burger out of the bag and unwrapping it. She enjoyed the scent of the cheese gently melted over the patty. She was mid-bite when Darius asked her a question, causing a short moment of silence while they both waited for her to finish chewing.

“Yes. It’s nice to see you too, Darius. I’ve been fine enough.”

She took another bite, causing another short bout of silence.

“Well, not so fine enough. But that’s why we’re here, isn’t it? To talk about the not-so-fine moments. What about you?”

Her eyes lifted from the burger to meet his for less than a second before she looked back down. She didn’t expect him to be looking at her. It was uncomfortable. Eye contact would be worse. Yong-Yut wanted a sense of distance between them. She was comfortable enough to tell him some of the things bothering her the most… but eye contact was too much. Strange.

Roda the Red · May 1, 2022

Charlie Hughes

SCENE:

[Anime Convention!!!]

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1, August 22nd, 2021

LOCATION:

Anime Convention, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Jesper, Tenebrosity, Kasumi, Tri

Anime Convention!!!

Charlie nodded appreciatively at Kentaro for taking the time and effort to show them the booth they were looking for. Hopefully Jesper may get the figure she so wanted! He followed closely at a calm pace as to not let the others behind.

After Jesper's expression of gratitude, he couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside, responding with a gentle smile.

"Awww thank you! I didn't do much though! Quite frankly I was just as lost as you...Although it's hard to say you're lost when you don't really have a destination in mind" He took a moment to consider what kind of thing he could ask to continue the conversation. It could be hard to believe due to his cheerful and extroverted mannerism, but Charlie had always struggled to actually talk to people for longer than a couple sentences.

"So...You guys from Central, or somewhere else? Wondering about you as well, Tenebrosity, I don't think I ever catched that whenever you visited Helva, I'm from South by the way!"

Yes, Yes. That should be a decent enough way to carry the momentum, don't screw it up now, Charlie!

Damafaud · May 1, 2022

TRI

SCENE:

Anime Convention!!

LOCATION:

Anime Convention, Central District

TIME:

August 22nd, 2021 | Pre-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Jesper, Tenebrosity, Kasumi, Tri

WEAPON:

Savior of 2D Humanity, Savior of 2D Humanity Extra Story

Anime Convention!!

Tri was in a good mood. Everything started going his way. A Hello Kitty cosplayer just asked if they could take a picture and said his costume was cool. The magical girl stall keeper was also gone indefinitely when he got there, so he didn't need to kill her. Plan Delta was going smooth. Now, onto the next step!

.
.
.

Oh wait.

---

"Sir, Doctoral asks for Savior of 2D Humanity Extra Story to set on the stall."

"We haven't sent it yet?" Paris stared incredulously. "Then why the fuck did he kill the woman then?"

"Uh, apparently so he can steal the stall to make room for Savior of 2D Humanity Extra Story, Sir."

"That he hadn't had yet."

"Yes."

Paris waved the assistant off. "Fine. Whatever. Deliver it."

At this point he was beyond caring.

"We announce that Extra Story is an attraction to everyone passing by."

"Good."

"Uh sir, Doctoral doesn't want our help building it."

"Leave him."

"He asks random passerbys instead."

"HE WHAT"

---

"You. Hold this up a bit."

"Eh? Wait-"

Tri left the poor teenager staggering under the weight of the metal plate as he went to screw the barrel of the gun up. Five people were working on it now with an interested crowd forming to watch. Lewis' crews was still controlling the situation, but they started to get overwhelmed.

Tri hummed as he worked on his Plan Delta.

gxxberkit · May 1, 2022

YONG-YUT SOMSRI

SCENE:

Ribbon Bookmarks and Tassle Charms

LOCATION:

Pasadena Park, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Alice

RIBBON BOOKMARKS AND TASSLE CHARMS

Yong-Yut stared blankly at Alice as she tried correcting their correction, attempting to figure out what she was trying to say to them. “Pasaderri? The.. park’s name is.. Pasadena… Whatever.”

The girl moved on, complimenting Yong-Yut’s name while also completely butchering the pronunciation. They squinted at her, but her eyes widened at the mention of the Tiger King. Of course. Yong-Yut leaned forward and placed their elbow on their knee, holding their face up with their hand. They should’ve figured. Well, they did figure. They just didn’t take their figure-ings seriously. It was too late now, though. It’s not like they could erase the conversation from the girl’s memory. At the very least, maybe they’d get more information as to what to avoid. Maybe their efforts don't even matter at all, and he forgot about them. Hm. ...They thought that would be worse.

“No, I don’t think it classifies as pastel goth at that point,” she turned her head towards Alice. They paused for a moment, considering what they were just told and what they knew about said King. “Probably more like streetwear. Casual stuff.”

They shook their head at Alice’s question. “No, this is my first time here, too. And, my name is Yong-Yut, not Young-Nyut. Yong-Yut.” How did you even get Young-Nyut?

AriAriAbabwa

WhiskeyMarten · May 1, 2022

HECTOR MOSES

SCENE:

Lost on Bourbon

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1, 10:00PM, Friday

LOCATION:

The A-Club, Lower Central

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Boltius

Doctor Llamabean

LOST ON BOURBON

Hector soon became aware that his friend was caught up in his own world, rambling on about bitches... and more bitches. He listened to some of it with a slightly agape smile, but when Boltius proclaimed himself to be a bitch, that was Hector's tipping point. He started howling with laughter.

"Yeah you're right, you're just a little bitch. A little fuckin' bitch."That's what he intended to say, but between his fits of laughter leaving him breathless, and his increasingly slurred speech, it was barely comprehensible.

He covered his mouth, perhaps surprised by the effects alcohol had on his speech. Or maybe he wasn't even aware of that. He wouldn't be able to answer if asked, anyway. It was already far away in the past, as the mention of a party bus grabbed his attention.

"Alright alright!"
He returned the finger guns, and made his way out with Antares and Boltius. He strutted through the crowd with confidence, though he didn't quite have the grace of a leader right now.

Stumbling out of the stuffy club, into the cool air of a summer night, Hector closed his eyes and let the breeze hit his face for a moment. What a wonderful night.

"No party bus?"

"Hm?"
Hector opened his eyes to Antares. The street was busy, with taxis and people all over the place, but no party bus. He squinted through the bright lights, as though a bus might materialise in front of him. Fortunately, he caught the words of a group that walked by.
"-Says the party bus is this way-"

"BOLTIUS. ANTARES. LET'S FUCKING PARTY!" He chugged the rest of his glass, placing the empty cup on top of a bin, and started to follow the other group away from the club.

A bus was parked down the road, and was near full with passengers, all disorderly and most likely drunk. The lights inside were a dim blue, and music blared through it from cheap speakers.

"WOOOOOOO!"

Hector didn't wait for his companions, hurrying to the vehicle as best he could. At the doors, he was stared down by a tall man. The muscular build, and sunglasses gave him the appearance of a security guard, but he grinned at Hector.
"Hop on. Help yourself to a complimentary drink and enjoy!"

With a firm pat on the back, Hector was welcomed onto the party bus. When the trio had all made themselves comfortable, surrounded by equally raucous company, the bus departed, shooting down the road at a high speed. What Hector failed to notice were the guards pulling multiple locks over the doors, and that their destination seemed to be far away from the nightlife of central.

WhiskeyMarten · May 1, 2022

DARIUS KENNEDY

SCENE:

Test Drive

LOCATION:

Copper's Bar, North District

TIME:

2019, Pre-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Darius, Caio

BriiAngelic

TEST DRIVE

Darius was lost in thought as he swiped through his phone, cigarette slowly burning out in his other hand. He had messaged a few friends, to see if there was something better to do tonight.

[where are you???]

[coppers]
[shit night]
[you?]

[hit up a few bars in south]

An image appeared on his phone, a group selfie, and Darius recognised most of the faces as friendly. Immediately he began to feel jealous, regretting the pitiful experience he was currently having.

[wheres that]

[invasion club. Next to red west]

[oh cool]
[might get taxi down]
[ill message u later ok]

He didn't want to pay for a taxi all the way to south district. It'd cost him a fortune and by the time he got there he might have missed all the fun. He dropped the cigarette on the floor, putting it out under his shoe, and as he was about to make a decision, one was made for him.

"Hey wh-"
Feeling someone's breath on his ear made him flinch. Goddammit. A drunk? Probably. Will they leave him alone if he tells them to fuck off? Maybe. As he turned to the figure to his side, and began to talk, he quickly shut up. That was the queen.

"Snake, hey... What are you doing over here?"
So the secrets out. Caio knows his potential. He hadn't done the best job at keeping it a secret, accidents happened here and there. A few people ran away from him with blisters and decaying skin, which led to his nickname. The alias Caio was using, the alias Darius despised. He knew he'd find out eventually.

He took a step back from Caio. Guess that's his plans gone out the window now. Time to entertain the Queen.

"Oh, let me buy you a drink!" Darius said, pointing to the bar entrance.

With Caio accepting his offer, Darius found himself at the bar counter again, sneaking through the crowds till he reached the front.

"Long Island Iced Tea, please." Darius thought for a second before adding, "Make it two."

Both men received their drinks, and Darius sipped nervously. He hadn't thought he'd done anything that would get the boss's attention, and he knew he hadn't done anything that would get positive attention. He looked at Caio, tensely waiting for him to explain.

Doctor Llamabean · May 1, 2022

ROCCHI (Nakazajo Chikage)

SCENE:

Part-Time Pandemonium

LOCATION:

Burger Knight, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Chikage, Yong-Yut gxxberkit

PART-TIME PANDEMONIUM

<<< Remember

He showed up at four, playing the part of a regular, full-time employee drained of joy and merriment by the monotony of his every day. Turned bitter by his wife’s affairs and daughter’s habitual partying, and by the endless search for a new job.

His name was Luke Thorne; though, it wasn’t of his choosing—not that names usually are. Rather, the detective he was working with had chosen it for him due to Chikage’s lack of creativity and imagination.

When the backstory was first proposed, Chikage told Detective Perez that it wouldn’t be necessary, but thirty-five minutes into the shift begged to differ when one employee chose to seemingly interrogate him on every detail of his personal life.

He had never worked fast-food or customer-service, as he wasn’t known for his people-pleasing skills. Nevertheless, he was filling in for the position quite well. In fact, he already knew how to make the perfect Bopper, not that he’d ever risk tainting his own palette with this sort of food, so it really didn’t matter, he supposed.

Two-handing a red-bristled broom, Chikage swept, calmly, the deep trenches between floor tiles where the grout was most worn-down. He found that holding the broom aligned with the crevices and sweeping long-ways with short, deliberate strokes was most effective for clearing it of fallen lettuce and other forms of detritus.

In the past several weeks, the CDPD had been tracking a suspect, John Johnson, for drug distribution, who was good at covering his tracks. Good, but not great. And so, with probably the least most in-depth investigation, they were led here—Burger Knight—where John Johnson was, both, reported and witnessed paying back-alley, late night visits several times a week.

An undercover investigation. But, also, he was conducting an evaluation of his underling, Detective Perez, before a raise. The detective was also playing make-believe, acting as a dear friend to Luke Thorne under the alias Thomas Sangster-Brody, who was Luke’s best man at his wedding. They knew the joint’s daily routine through and through via research.

“Luke,” said the manager, and Chikage looked up from his cleaning. “I’m putting you on Lobby with the newbie.”

Chikage’s eyes shifted to the front of the store, past the sandwich boards, and landed on a tan-skinned woman with a large bun. She’d been working the front counter for the entirety of the shift, that he could recall, but he hadn’t paid her much attention until now.

Lingering with his eyes a moment longer, he nodded, received further instructions from the manager, then moved to the front and approached the young woman. There, he cleared his throat for her attention.

“Ahem… Good evening.” Chikage smiled softly. “The manager sent me up to assist you in cleaning the lobby.” He held up a small ring of keys, “She said for me to go ahead and lock up. We’re drive-thru only for the rest of the night. She’ll be up shortly to count your drawer.”

After that, he exited from behind the counter and made for the front entrance to lock up, scanning the parking lot as he did for any signs of an arriving vehicle.

Bloop~

Chikage stuck a hand in his jacket pocket, having been allowed to wear one after informing the manager of his not-so-real skin condition—a necessary cover to conceal the carrying of his weapon—then withdrew his phone, located his messages, and read from Detective Perez: ”We’ve got movement. Guy just went out the back. Keep an eye out.”

gxxberkit · May 1, 2022

YONG-YUT SOMSRI

SCENE:

Part-Time Pandemonium

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1— May 2020, almost 11:00pm

LOCATION:

Burger Knight, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut, Chikage

Doctor Llamabean

Part-Time Pandemonium

Yong-Yut stretched their arms above their head with a yawn, before getting startled by the cough of one of their coworkers approaching them. She quickly turned around to be met with the face of… some guy, she supposed. A pretty one, wearing a jacket. Why was he wearing a jacket? Not her problem. They gave a tired stare —almost a glare— at him as he recited directions.

“Ok.”

Though they seemed pretty unenthused about the news, they were internally giving the heaviest sigh of relief. Thank God. They could’ve cried. Or even hugged the man. You know, besides the fact that it’d hurt, or that they didn’t even know him, or that they would immediately regret it, or that —you get the point. So, they didn’t.

Instead, as he turned to exit to the dining area, they went a different way in order to gather the supplies necessary to clean the lobby, starting by picking up the broom that the man had put away. If we’re cleaning the lobby, why didn’t they just take it with them? Finding everything else took a little longer than expected, as they had somehow lost where the supplies were (they were right under her nose) but once she found them, she followed him out from behind the counter.

At the quiet bloop~ of their coworker’s cell phone, they were reminded of their own. They pulled their phone out of their pocket and began typing up a message to a group chat of her closest friends, informing them that their shift was ending and that they were never going to work again. Once the message was typed and sent, she made her way over to the man and tapped his back gently with the handle of the broom.

“Here.” They handed it to him when he turned around. He seemed pretty good at sweeping, from what little she saw of him doing so, so what’s the harm in asking him to sweep some more? He was supposed to be helping them, after all. Though, it seemed a lot more like a command than her asking, but they were tired and just wanted to leave. It was forgivable. In their eyes, anyway.

Doctor Llamabean · May 2, 2022

BLITZ (Boltius Beckman)

SCENE:

Lost on Bourbon

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1, 10:00 PM on a Friday

LOCATION:

Lower Central, leaving The A-Club

PARTICIPANTS:

Boltius, Hector

LOST ON BOURBON

Before mention of the supposed party bus, when Hector spat some nonsensical, drunken, garbled bullshit, howling laughter as he did, Boltius lost his breath with laughter all the same. In that moment, he had managed to convince himself that Hector was telling him a joke—then when Hector covered his own mouth, Boltius continued to stare with a gaping grin while waiting for the punch-line, completely forgetting his rant about bitches, but that’s when he brought up the party bus.

In response, Hector reciprocated the finger-guns, and the trio eventually made their way out of the club and into the late, summer air. Beside each other, Boltius and Hector, they closed their eyes and let the cool breeze caress their faces, unrealizing their drunken sways.

“No party bus?”

Bolt’s eyes remained closed, and colors swirled behind their lids as the feeling of lying on a merry-go-round undulated in waves throughout his body. Then…

“BOLTIUS. ANTARES. LET'S FUCKING PARTY!”

And his eyes fluttered slightly open as he shot a searching gaze around himself. He caught sight of Hector wandering off behind a group of others, then Antares still standing beside him, who smiled. Boltius shoved Antares one-handedly in response, a very weak gesture, and mumbled, “Washa wait’n on, bro? Let’s go.”

“After you,” said Antares ever-so politely.

“Uh, oggey~” Bolt teetered backwards, over-compensated and stumbled forward, but by Antares’ hand on his shoulder, regained his balance. “Uwoahshit- Quit it~” Boltius shrugged the man off and started after Hector.

Don’t worry. He hadn’t forgotten about the signs that needed switching.

Upon boarding the party bus, some were sitting, some were standing, but everyone wielded a drink, including Boltius, who threw himself down between two shirtless women, wearing only their bras. As he wrapped his arms around their shoulders, they squealed and cuddled closer, one of which started running her fingers up and down his chest.

“Mmm, how bold of you, little man~”

Boltius threw his head back, “HAH! Thas wutshu say now.”

“Oh? What’s that supposed to mean?” asked the other.

Boltius grinned, sipped from his glass, which caused him to pull the girl closer as he did, then told her, “I show ya later.”

The bus was on the move, now, and the next round of drinks would soon be laced with something quite unexpected. Thugs disguised as your average party-goer intermingled with their unsuspecting victims, asking questions to gather intel on their new roundup.

Doctor Llamabean · May 2, 2022

ROCCHI (Nakazajo Chikage)

SCENE:

Part-Time Pandemonium

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1— May 2020, almost 11:00pm

LOCATION:

Burger Knight, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Chikage, Yong-Yut gxxberkit

PART-TIME PANDEMONIUM

<<< Remember

Once he finished locking up, Chikage felt a gentle poke at his back and turned around to see the young woman from before. Her name-tag read Yong, and she handed him the broom he’d previously been sweeping with.

“Oh.” Chikage took the broom and glanced over the lobby. He recalled the material he’d read before assuming his undercover role. “We’ll check the tables, first, to make sure they’re all clean. We should also change the trash cans, fill the soda machine with ice so that morning shift doesn’t have to, vacuum the rugs and roll them up, and stow them in a booth… Also…” He inspected the broom. “This is the kitchen’s broom. Lobby’s is blue-bristled. We separate them to minimize the spread of grease where our customers walk.”

A sincere smile took to his face then, “I understand you’re new here. It takes time to get used to these things… Not to mention the poor training process…” He looked around. “I believe… the staff is… burnt out. It seems most of them have worked here for a long time.”

Chikage moved back toward the kitchen—at first, walking backward to maintain eye-contact with the girl—then offered a nod. “One moment.”

He left, hung the broom from its hook and grabbed the right one, returning the keys to the manager as he did, as well. When he stood before Yong again, he was holding the correct broom, and leaned it against the wall before moving toward the soda machine. Beside it stood the condiment counter, stocked with straws and lids and cups, which he gave a once-over, deciding it was well enough to leave alone. Under the condiment counter, in a cabinet, was a blue bucket filled with sanitizer water and two blue cloths with which to wipe the dining-room tables.

Chikage took one and placed the bucket in a chair before looking across at Yong. “Actually… While you wipe the tables, I might as well fill the ice… Unless you would prefer to do that yourself." While awaiting her response, ruby-reds focused on the parking lot entrance.

BriiAngelic · May 3, 2022

Caio Santana Coelho

SCENE:

Top and Top

LOCATION:

Caio's Bedroom, North District

TIME:

Post-Arc 1/Pre-Arc 2 | September 18th(???), 2021, 03:10 AM

PARTICIPANTS:

Tri, Caio

Top and Top

The room was getting cold. Fucking hell. He grabbed the sheets as he dragged them further over his body. After a few minutes it became quickly apparent that Tri wasn’t coming back without some light heckling. He stuck a hand out from the covers reaching to the floor trying to find where his boxers landed. With some effort he slipped them on as some defense from the cold before forcing himself out onto the balcony.

“What are you doing? It’s fucking cold.”

He took a glance off the balcony seeing nothing more than the always present swamp trying to see whatever it was that was holding Tri’s interest. All he noticed was the damn smell as usual. He brought his arms up to cover his chest as a wind blew past.

“Smells, its cold, and the scenery sucks. Besides do these even work on you?”

He asked before snatching the cigarette out of Tri’s hand. He took a drag himself before exhaling smoke into Tri’s face.

“Or are you out here trying to look cool?”

Tags:

Damafaud

Roda the Red · May 4, 2022

CHARLIE HUGHES

SCENE:

[Late-Night Chase]

TIME:

Nighttime, Post Arc 1

LOCATION:

Aksher Co. Offices, Sound District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Minato

Late-Night Chase

...

...

...

Whoever that was, that was not Will.

A sudden chill crawled down Charlie's back as the mysterious voice's message finished coming through the device. Whoever this man was, he had taken out, possibly even murdered Will without anyone noticing. A hundred worries flooded the boy's mind as he attempted to asses the situation as effectively and quickly as possible.

A second and a half later, he rushed upstairs, his footsteps causing the stairs to vibrate and echo a loud sound due to his deceitful heavy build. He tackled the door of the second floor, almost snapping the hinges from the careless force.

"TRISTAN, ALPHONSE, GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW" No time to be subtle or stealthy, he had no idea how the situation could be at the moment, and he would not was another single second. The duo of guards, after hearing the person in charge's shout, quickly ran to his side.

"Charlie, what happened!? We haven't found anything here yet, but that voice clearly wasn't Will!" said Tristan, who was not very much known for being able to handle stressful situations well.

"That doesn't matter, someone dangerous is up there and I need to help Jess, head down and guard the main entrance, we can't let them catch us off guard from both ends!"

The pair nodded before quickly rushing downstairs, not without them comically getting stuck on the door frame by trying to go through it at the same time briefly before. Hopefully the main entrance would be safe...Or at least as safe as those two could guarantee, which admitedly wasn't much. Charlie then decided to not waste more time and headed to the third floor.

"What the fuck!?" Said Jessica as she heard the stranger's message, now putting her walkie talkie back in her belt, and with the now free hand she opted to unsheath her trusty short wakizashi. "Where the fuck are you and what have you done to Will!?" Despite her rough words, the tone of her voice was incapable of hiding a hint of fear. A dangerous figure was in the room and she had no idea where he was. And to add salt to injury, her vocal attempt to make the trespasser appear did not seem to be effective, so without much of an alternative, flashlight in hand and weapon in the other. Jessica approached towards the area Will was supposed to be guarding, eventually leading up to next to the conference room...

Elenion Aura · May 4, 2022

MARKUS WEISS

SCENE:

Penguin Socks

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1— Early Spring 2002, ~4:00am

LOCATION:

YY's House > Car, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yong-Yut

gxxberkit , Markus

Penguin Socks

Markus didn't mind silence. Sometimes, he thought he might've preferred it. Even though he had been just a little kid, he still remembered the loudness of the fights he'd heard, of the screaming of his father over the calm, breaking voice of his mother as she defended her son his latest transgression... Even if that transgression was just existing, after all.

Even when the silence was broken, Markus didn't mind it. He could make his own silence, if he tried hard enough. He could crawl up inside of himself, make for himself a sanctuary of his own mind. Decha and Yong-Yut's mother spoke a language Markus didn't understand. He only wondered a little bit if they were talking about him. Probably not, though. There wasn't that much to say, really, about a kid like him. Not much compared to grown-ups, at least, with their grown-up problems. Grown-up problems weren't his concern, yet. That was what Mama had told him, anyway. Whenever he'd offered to take her place at the diner, or do her taxes, or drive himself to school. Leave the grown-up problems to grown-ups, she'd said. You won't be young forever, Mark. Enjoy it while you can.

As if. Markus couldn't wait to grow up. He couldn't wait to be somebody.

His thoughts were interrupted by the slight tugging at his sleeve. He looked for its source, but his mind had already determined what it was that he was feeling.

"..."

He didn't remember when she'd started doing that. He didn't think it mattered. He looked at her out of instinct. He didn't blink. He was focused on her. Maybe he was fighting to keep his eyes open. Had he been this tired a minute ago?

"It's okay..." He comforted her without seeing the damage she'd done. He was sure it was fine. Or, if it wasn't, it was still fine, anyway... His eyes were starting to feel heavy. Quit blinkin' like that... As if reading his mind, Yong-Yut averted her gaze, releasing his sleeve and turning back toward her own side of the back-seat. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if he shut his eyes for a bit...

"Huh..?"

Markus blinked himself awake, rubbing the last vestiges of the nap from his eyes as his brain tried to wrap itself around what he had just been asked. Breakfast? Food?

"Pancakes..?" Markus offered, still half-asleep. Hm, scratch that. Whole-asleep. His eyes were closing again...

FabulousTrash · May 6, 2022

Kasumi Katsura - Azure Dragons - Veteran [CS LINK]
Scene - [B Side] Anime Convention | Pre Arc 1
Location - Convention Center
Mentions/Interactions - Charlie Hughes (

Roda the Red ), Jesper Albrecht (

AriAriAbabwa ), Tenebrosity (

gxxberkit ), others

Kasumi just returned Jesper's stare with a smile. She knew exactly what he was trying to say with that look in his eyes, plus the added redness to his face. Kasumi would have to find Tina later and have a talk with her.

She continued to wait until the booth owner provided the directions to the Juniper's Tale booth. Jesper gave his thanks, and Kasumi followed up by nodding.

Kasumi glanced around at the other booths that were set up, as well as admiring some of the other cosplayers that were attending. She glanced down at her phone, checking the time. The open concert was supposed to start soon, about 30 minutes. Plenty of time for Jesper to get his figure and do anything else. Here's hoping the line wouldn't be too long.

Her attention was caught as their new friend Charlie spoke up. She took a close look at them. It was hard to figure out whether or not they were a guy or a girl. Jesper had assumed they were female, but Kasumi knew better than to take appearance at face value. It was probably better to just wait and see if they revealed the truth by themselves.

Before Kasumi answered their question, she gave it some thought. There wasn't any harm in telling them she was from the East, right? After all, its not like every single person in New Oasis belonged to a gang. That logic sounded solid enough.

"I'm from the East, actually. But I live closer to the inter-district bridge, so I'm not that far away."

Elenion Aura · May 6, 2022

RAPHAEL SHAW

SCENE:

Unlikely Encounter

TIME:

Post Arc 1/Pre Arc 2 — Sometime After September 17th, 2021

LOCATION:

Geronimos, Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Raphael, August (

Doctor Llamabean )

UNLIKELY ENCOUNTER

The murderous train that was Raph's bloody one-track mind ground itself to a halt. Then it caught fire.

“W—..."

His mouth tried to make words, but his thoughts didn't make any sense, and so no words came. Though... That wasn't exactly true. No, it was more like, his mind itself had been manually reset. Record scratch. Freeze frame. What the fuck is happening..?

Fearfully, Raph took a half-step backwards as August inserted himself between Raph and the other Tigers. The Serpent's eyes went wide with surprise, then narrowed in confusion. There was no room for anger in them anymore.

As if it had been an afterthought all this time, Raph loosened the grip of his bloody net on the female Tiger, letting her wriggle to freedom without so much as a passing glance.

Raph's head was spinning. It had been spinning from the booze up until now. Now it was spinning because he had no clue what the fuck had happened to August in the short span of time that had passed since Raph had lost sight of him.

Raph flinched as August half-hugged, half-tackled the short Tiger to the ground. Was this a trick..? What—... What was going on? Raph watched, slack-jawed, as the short Tiger was hoisted up by his fellow, only to have his attention stolen away by the sight of August getting his feet unsteadily beneath him. Raph took another unintentional step backward. His backside brushed against the wood of the bar and gave him a jolt that raced up and back down his spine.

Why am I so jumpy all of a sudden? And, also, what the fuck is going on!?

Raph blinked—thinking, perhaps, that he'd drunk something funny mixed in all that whiskey; perhaps if he closed his eyes and opened them again, things would once more make sense—as August began to unbutton his shirt. In that moment, Raph couldn't tell if his thoughts had stopped for the second time in too few minutes, or if they were moving too quickly for him to parse out individual threads from the mass of swirling chaos.

“H—... Hold on a second..!" Raph tried to take another step back, having forgotten, apparently, that the bar was still barring his way. There was nowhere to run from... Whatever had overtaken—was it alcohol? Raph could've sworn he didn't take a drink—August's mind.

Dance..? Here? Now? With you? There's no way... I... In the midst of his panic, Raph landed on one salient thought, guided by August's nudging words. He took in the scene, the drama, the carnage of it all. There would've been a call to the police by now. It took only a second, cursory glance for Raph to notice that the place had been all but deserted, civilians and employees choosing to flee at what had been shaping up to be a deadly gang-related incident. Even those pesky Tigers—well, most of them—had had the good sense to clear out by now. Raph thought it best that he do the same... Though, all the alcohol in his system wasn't enough to ignore the gash in his arm for very long.

That still left the matter of the man undressing himself in front of Raph's eyes. “Stop!" He commanded, and was suddenly overwhelmed by the paradoxical desire to kick himself for interrupting August before he'd finished... Whatever it was he'd started. Left confused and with little recourse, Raph did the only thing he could think of: he fled. Raph spared August one last lingering look before he leapt over to the other side of the bar and shoved his way through an employee's only entrance that led him into an alleyway.

When he was outside, he leaned himself up against the cool stone of the bar's exterior wall and let his body slide down until his bum found the concrete ground below. His head was swimming much too much for him to get too far. His blood was flowing without him willing it to. He'd need to rest here, for a little while, at least...

WhiskeyMarten · May 6, 2022

DARIUS KENNEDY

SCENE:

It's The Thought That Counts

LOCATION:

Darius's Apartment, North District

TIME:

September 17 2021, Post-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Darius, Ten