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

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

If Something Tastes Funny, Try It Again

LOCATION:

Central District

DATE:

May 6th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Takakazu, Dante ( Haze- ), Nao (@tityanya)

If Something Tastes Funny, Try It Again

After talking smack about her drink tastes, the last thing he expected from the woman was for her to suddenly step forward and, almost dotingly, clean the remnants of stolen drink from underneath his lips.

It was an action that would probably cause most to freeze up, or at least stiffen slightly, the sudden unexpectedness of such an action naturally leading your brain to question the intention.

“What the hell was that for?! Are you ovulating or somethin’!? I ain’t your kid!”

Once again, Tak stepped over such concepts to firmly plant his button on irritation and anger, leaning his head back away from Nao’s touch as soon as he could. Her actions almost mirrored the times his mom would drop him off at school and insist on fixing his hair and wiping off his face in front of all his friends, where everyone could see him being babied. It was just as annoying as it was then.

“She’s lucky I don’t hate her.” Tak half-bitterly thought, straightening himself back out with a rub of his shoulder as his focus snapped away from her look at Dante, the topic of suits still being an itch that continued on the proverbial ass of the conversation.

“Suits are a waste of time. I got better things to spend my money on than shit like that. Business casual is all that’s in nowadays, y’know! Even rich men like Jason Benson who owns Aminzon are coming to their meetings in their race car pajamas! Formal wear is a thing of the past, just like plastic straws and holographic cards!” Tak continued his tumultuous defamation against suits, shoving his hands into his pockets as he huffed. Even if Dante had relented on the idea of a suit, Tak wasn’t anywhere close to conforming to the idea.

“Barfing on each other? I was just jokin’ about your head having nothing but fertilizer but you’re really proving my point. You musta watched some weird shit as a kid to give you ideas like that,” He chastised Dante for his joke, despite it not being much of a step up from the threat he made earlier. If he and Nao were so intent on dressing fancy, he wouldn’t stop them.

For him, his simple tracksuit was the only suit he needed. Fitted him much better than any fancy clothes could cover him up.

“I’m not interested in wearin’ someone else’s hand-me-downs either. You two can play dress-up games if you want, I’m gonna go get a drink. Maybe even woo a couple of babes at the bar,” He casually brushed them off, giving a dismissive wave beside his head as he wandered into the dense crowds of clubbers, unapologetically shoving past some of them as he squeezed his way toward the stairs that led up to the upper deck.

As the focus zoomed out away from Tak, his dull colors slowly faded into the mobs of faceless background characters, visible grain grew on the perspective, a changing color of bluer hue.

The view no longer found itself on the heat of the main club floor, full of bright colors and shimmering glasses, instead, it floated aimlessly around a darkly lit room. Rows of monitors hung upon the wall, their gradients reflecting the faintest luminescence upon the encroaching dark.

A singular chair sat in front of it all, and around the wheeled legs of it were numerous scraps of trash, wrappers from non-native snacks, and strange languages barely made out from scrunched-up packaging.

“We’re almost at full capacity…” A feminine voice spoke with a thick accent that seemed to come from the east, a pale hand reaching from behind the silhouette of the chair to grab at the armrest. Her head moved as the chair creaked, messy black bangs obscured the deep purple of the singular eye that peeked behind the chair.

“Should we notify Professor?”

Her question was greeted by silence, as the view suddenly shifted to another perspective. Another figurine hung in the shadows of the room, larger, muscular, his arms crossed as a stray beam of blue light illuminated the lower half of his jaw, revealing his bronze skin and thick beard, just in time for a small smirk to grow across his lips.

“Yeah. It’s time to get this show on the road.”

 

[Elenion Aura]

MILO NAGISA

CS Link

SCENE:

Back in the Game

LOCATION:

Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1 | July 5th

LOCATION:

Boustan [A metropolis about a four hour drive from New Oasis]

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie, Milo

BACK IN THE GAME

Milo found himself blinking dubiously at Elizabeth's comment about her doll, Johnny, being more reliable than people. Unlike Charlie, he wasn't sure he exactly got what she meant. Besides, any way he sliced it... It was an unexpectedly grim remark. But he held his peace. Everyone had their crosses to bear, and if Johnny helped her bear hers, then who was he to judge?

Milo hated to admit that he was a little embarrassed for Charlie when he showed Elizabeth Sprint, and he felt almost immediately bad about that. Gangsters don't have stuffed animals, the voice inside his head—that sounded alarmingly like Hector's—said. Milo felt bad about that, too. All in all, it was another neon sign that pointed Milo to the conclusion that, at his heart, Charlie was not meant for this life. Maybe that was why Milo wanted to save him.

In any event, Charlie's attempt at finding common ground with Elizabeth with Sprint seemed to fall flat, with Elizabeth barely showing any interest. Despite his own reservations, Milo was slightly taken aback, but he didn't show it. She was a client, after all, and not every interaction had to lead to a friendship.

When they finally arrived at the zoo, Elizabeth promptly marched off towards the entrance, leaving Milo and his fellow Phoenixes scrambling to catch up. The artist sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt and clambering out of the car to follow. The sight of the ornate sign and the excited chatter of children echoing throughout the large parking lot made him yearn for past lives and better days, whether or not they ever had existed at all.

Their charge's keen interest and her vast knowledge of the Kaibal Tigers was mildly impressive, albeit a little bit intimidating. Milo gazed at the beasts with respect, and admired the intricate patterns of their coats, their powerful frames. They'd make great subjects for a piece, he thought. Beauty and art in primal, visceral motion. The thought of these creatures being endangered due to human poaching was a sobering one.

When Hitoshi leaned over to whisper to him and Charlie, Milo let out a soft chuckle. "I think I got the gist of it." He whispered back, leaning on the railings and continuing to watch the tigers.

Milo turned back to Elizabeth, a thoughtful expression on his face. "You seem to know a lot about these animals, Elizabeth. Is zoology a hobby of yours?"

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Monday Brunch

LOCATION:

Passeri's Penthouse, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Passeri

MONDAY BRUNCH

"Actions always speak louder than words. On that we are agreed." Ryu responded rather bluntly, but retained an aura of confidence as he leaned back in his seat. "Despite the great power that I have, I can only do so much alone. If I could I would have already snapped my fingers and created paradise, but that is not to be." He took another sip of water before continuing. "My capital, as extensive as it is, is but a drop in the bucket of the global system. If Hashimoto Real Estate were to suddenly go under, the market would feel it for a few weeks before moving on. Such is the way of things - to prevent change and maintain a status quo."

The Queen then tilted his head, looking towards Passeri with an enigmatic look plastered upon his visage. "That is why I have spent decades growing, and preparing, for this moment. I am no longer needed in the shadows, but in the light. And I will need people who share my vision to change our little world around us. You say we want the same thing; then I trust that - when the time comes - you will choose wisely."

He then stood up to leave but spared Passeri a final glance as he offered the final word: "Because change requires a heavy guiding hand in this flawed world of ours." And with that, he left Passeri alone to her brunch as the Queen departed.

The One Eyed Bandit

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers B-side: The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

When Hiachi called his bluff, Ryu lost handily with a high card of 7 against a pair of threes. Another victory wracked up for the upstart as she looked to be deep into the rush of victory. Hand after hand played, many of which continued to be won by Hiachi while others she folded on when she knew that it was likely to lose. The stack of chips by her side grew larger as Ryu continued to feed into her growing ego, all the while looking to see what exactly was it that she was winning with. The Queen's composure remained the same as he added more chips to replace his own losses, as well as playing bad hands purposefully to continue feeding into the high of winning.

The betting stakes also increased, further adding fuel to the fire until it was only Ryu and Hiachi able to make bets and calls in the thousands. Which then eventually turned to tens of thousands as a seemingly limitless amount of money came from Ryu as he continued to add more and more to the overall pot. At this point, any normal individual would have lost their mind at being swindled in such a manner. But Ryu was beyond worrying about material wealth to where he could commit to such a ploy.

It was also by then that, through process of elimination as well as trying different tactics that Ryu narrowed down the cause of Hiachi's winning streak. It seemed that whenever he read his cards, she knew exactly when to play and how hard to do so. But when he kept his cards out of his view, that uncertainty often ended in a 50/50 win-loss ratio for hands drawn. But how did she know his hands? It was unlikely that Hiachi had the help of cameras. Or of someone else, as the security in the casino was tight to prevent such things. But then he took something else into consideration: that she had a potentiality to use.

He ruled out mind-reading, as that would mean he would be losing even when not looking at his cards. Instead, he deduced that it was *because* he was reading his cards that she could read them as well in the only way possible: his own eyes. The reflection that they would give off... it was so subtle but also ingenious. He let off a subtle smirk before rubbing the table with his pinkie as a signal to the dealer. This would ensure victory without even needing to look at his cards as he leaned forward and looked at his own chips and then Hiachi's.

"You've been using me as your personal ATM! I'm impressed with your skill, if I'll be frank." Ryu spoke up with a feigned compliment. "I think I have it in me for one more hand."

The cards were dealt to both players, leading to abated breath from some observers nearby as Ryu didn't even look at his own. "I raise to a million." Ryu then announced, setting forth a sum of money that even with her current winnings Hiachi didn't have. She was missing the chips for that and he knew it.

Interacting: Hiachi ( miki )

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

DATE:

April 1, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

Rich people were insane.

Even though Hiachi was winning and practically wringing the man before her dry, she could only feel rage. Her eyes were twitching. Her poker face was not so steadfast, not anymore. He was betting thousands, then tens of thousands more than what was necessary in a casino. And he was losing, and he wasn’t cracking. He looked just as calm as he had when he sat down, when he still had the money she had taken from him over the course of the game. The bets he raised higher and higher rang like bells in her ears—at first, sweet and melodic. But then louder and more foreboding as she swung into each round, more angry that he kept playing. That he didn’t bat an eye at her winning streak. That he would walk out of the White Tiger having lost thousands of amestriyen, and call it an adventurous April evening.

She felt irate. On edge. No one else was playing at this point—it was just her and the infuriatingly rich man.

She felt sick, as well. Her head was dizzy, but her body was not. She was burning through the rounds like a reflex she had developed. She felt sharp, clarity, and the pressure in the back of her head was so tight that she would have sworn it could pop off.

The only thing that soothed her was that at the same time, it was her and her alone who was bringing him down. Whatever mask he hid behind was façade. Underneath that manufactured corporate grin, there was something, and Hiachi was disturbing it.

His comments were nothing to her. They meant nothing to her; nothing but fuel for the fire. Make them pay.

The gaping hole in her chest was reaching for another round. That last round, her last chance to ease the feeling within her.

He rose the bet again, the last one for the evening. A million.

Hiachi had crossed many millionaires in her years, but she had never considered that one day she might be among them. A million amestriyen might as well have been a fairytale object. She knew she would never see it, but it was a nice spark for her adolescent imagination.

In those days, she would have bought something stupid with a million amestriyen. But it was still as much of a dream as it was then. The idea of waking up in the morning and not having to worry about how she would eat, how she would pay for school, and how she would pay for her rent was just as much of a fantasy as buying a hyper-realistic robot friend had been.

That taste of relief was something she couldn’t refuse.

And that was all well and good, but there was one problem that Hiachi couldn’t ignore.

“Sorry, I… I don’t have that kind of money,” She sighed, and should have stopped there. She could have, should have easily called it quits. Quitted while she was ahead. But something was itching at her heart. Hiachi didn’t care how impossible it was, because it felt like hell to walk away from such a deal. She was tempting the devil with the pause in her breath.

“How am I supposed to pay for that?”

Spoiler

Roda the Red joshuadim

​

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers B-side: The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

"I'll loan you the money to play the hand." Ryu replied almost callously, bringing out gasps from those nearby as well as the dealer. The river had already been set down with an ace of spades, an ace of hearts, and a 10 of spades. Hiachi already had four of a kind in her hand, which was the second strongest hand in the game, by having the other two aces as her hand. Of course. He was so rich he could lend her another million and it would be like handing a kid a quarter.

For the first time in a likely long, long time, a knowing grin itched at the corners Hiachi’s lips. She didn’t think once, she didn’t think twice. “I’m in, then.”

The very edge of Ryu's lips curled ever so slightly as he turned his attention towards the dealer and gave a nod. "Then we play. The river, madame."

Everyone watching around the table held their breaths as the first card was put down: a jack of spades. And then came the second being a 7 of diamonds. Her four of a kind remained, and it seemed as though victory was all but guaranteed. But Ryu's facade of stoicism slipped as he looked directly at Hiachi; without looking down, he turned over his first card: a queen of spades. Hiachi knew something was wrong as she looked at the card, and Ryu's own look of unfaltering trust in his cards. Then, with a flair of drama, he flipped over the second card and revealed its contents.

​

In turn, Hiachi's heart and stomach sank beneath the earth itself as she witnessed a king of spades be drawn. A royal flush.

The only thing that could beat her hand.

"Now lets see your cards."

Interacting: Hiachi ( miki )

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

DATE:

April 1, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

There was one thing, actually. It gave away the trick that was being pulled on her before it actually happened.

She bought herself in before she could think, and it was one, two, ten seconds in when she realized she hadn’t known what his hand was. Maybe she had missed it—but that was a stupid mistake to make.

But Hiachi rarely ever slipped up. She was slipping. Maybe it was the tea—What was it, anyway? She wanted more of it. Without it, the inside of her mouth felt dry.

Regardless, her hand was high. She could bet on it beating whatever his hand was, considering his luck had been so shitty before. She wasn’t entirely delusional about her chances, right?

Now she was really gambling.

The man, as smug and confident as ever, laid down his hand. One card by one card. Once he set down his high card set, she started worrying. He hadn’t had so much as a pair before. Maybe the only reason he had bet so effortlessly was because he knew he would come out on top. She knew the feeling well herself, after all.

But that was impossible. Not by logic’s standards, but just… luck. Chance. Fate. Karma. She was begging any god at this point to not let her lose. She would have to face the breaking of her losing streak which was bad, but worse…

But Hiachi is beneath the watchful eyes of hidden predators. She was destined to lose; as much as she scorns the sea of fools around her, she is in the water.

Card four, card five. Royal flush.

She was frozen. The floor had been pulled beneath her.

And now she’s drowning.

She wished she could laugh it off like the man before her, when he had been losing. But she didn’t have that privilege. She had just bet a million amestriyen and lost it. She was choking on her own words.

Hiachi wanted to own it. She had been bested in her own game. But it was greater than that, and she knew. She had put her life on the line for the game, and forgot that a big part of playing games was that you can lose. She had gambled, and the second she left it to chance, the reality all gambling addicts face came crashing down.

She tapped the cards on the table, silent. Instead of patiently waiting for her hand, the man started egging her on. He wanted to see her hand. Like he knew she was losing. And of course he was winning, since he had a royal flush and the chances of her also having a royal flush were a non-zero percentage.

She shut her eyes, like she was trying to wake up from a bad dream. Blood rushed down from the crown of her head through her veins, the pressure in her head about to steal her life away.

She let go of the tension in her face and revealed her inferior hand. There were mixed reactions around her—those disappointed by her win streak being lost, those overjoyed that she had finally, finally, been beaten—all white noise. She was thinking far beyond the game.

Was it too late to make a run for it? She was fast, she was discreet. She’d fade from memory soon enough. A million amestriyen was like nothing to him, anyway. They didn’t need her money. If they came looking for her, she’d… she’d leave New Oasis. Maybe even Amestriya. Change her name. Cut her hair again, better than she had last time. And they’d never find her.

She waited for a chance where the dealer—the only person who could actually stop her—was looking away, and she hopped off the chair. She spotted an exit on the far end of the casino, one that wasn’t the main entrance.

Though, there was one thing of concern that Hiachi didn’t take that much notice of—She wasn’t in the White Tiger anymore, or, at the very least, it did not look like it.

Spoiler: well then, maybe you shouldn't have bitten the apple

Where the blood red carpet had once been, there were some friendly patches of green grass. A rare sight, as she had lived in the outskirts of the gentrified West District where no one could bother to maintain the grass. But this grass was pretty alright. It smelled like pears and vanilla from a far off place.

And now it was quiet. Quieter, if you must ask—there was a faint buzzing from far off that she didn’t really like.

Around her the patrons had left. Instead there were deer. In fancy business suits in fun colors instead of the boring grey and white she had grown accustomed to. And they were at a party that had started when she hadn’t been paying attention.

Like a soirée of deer and deer and deerlings. No, that’s what it was, alright. Between hedges and little bushes of singing flowers, partygoers discussed the absolute state of the stock market and how nice that new dress was, or something else. They sat at tables few and far between holding—why, it’s the tea from earlier!

She almost, nearly, went up to a table and asked for a cup. Which wouldn’t have been a problem if she hadn’t felt a feeling in her gut telling her that they wouldn’t serve her. Certainly not, because she had committed a crime she forgot about.

Hey, remember why you’re here. You’re here to leave.

No more tea. Because there is no tea without sugar, and there is no sugar without honey, and there is no honey without scones, and there are no scones without butter, and soon you’ve been biggering your platter so long that you’re sitting at a table with a tiger.

Perhaps, when she mulled it over later, she would notice that she really should have questioned it, but at the time it seemed perfectly in place. She was meant to find the exit in this maze, right?

She didn’t want to talk to the big beastly things. They looked prissy, and if she rubbed any of them the wrong way, an antler was gonna be pierced straight through her lung.

She had to find a friendly face. She looked around again.

The singing flowers! Of course. They couldn’t run after her even if they wanted to. And their voices were so soft and sweet, they couldn’t bring ruin upon her.

She tugged on the stem on the closest singing snapdragon to get its attention. It turned its yellow palate towards her before letting out a shrill shout.

“Well, EXCUSE YOU!!” Hiachi jumped at the noise. Well, that wasn’t very nice, is what she wanted to say, but then she considered that she had just interrupted a perfectly good performance.

“I’m sorry…” Hiachi sheepishly apologized, avoiding the eye contact with the flower without eyes. “But, do you know how to get to the exit from here? I’ve really gotta leave…”

“Leave!? Well, aren’t you just the perfect IDIOT!!” The yellow snapdragon was screaming, and that made Hiachi feel upset. “You’d ought to go be prosecuted. That’s—my word, I haven’t met such a thing so rude in my life! Twenty-one minutes of pure bliss and then you come running along! Honestly…”

And the flower wasn’t speaking proper english, but that was the general vibe, Hiachi supposed. “But… I haven’t done anything…” She said, like she hadn’t just done that.

The flower would have eyed her if it had eyes. “And you’re LYING!? Haven’t you had enough?”

“No, I…”

Perhaps the snapdragon wasn’t an ally after all. She bowed at it before turning away again.

She walked among the pools of blue, teal-ish water pools that were scattered about. Under the grass was mud, and it squelched as she walked. Squelch. Squelch.

Hiachi could see the exit, again. A big red door that said exit in a more brilliant and saturated shade of red. But she didn’t know how to get there…

It really must have looked bizarre—this tiny woman, walking in circles in the White Tiger, around obstacles that weren’t there. Perhaps she had gone mad from the pressure. That’s a real thing, you know. Or maybe she had taken a sheet of LSD.

Spoiler: tags

Roda the Red joshuadim

​

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

[Clipped Wings Cannot Rebirth]

TIME:

Nighttime, Post Arc 3, June 20th 2020

LOCATION:

South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva, Pei, Red, Corvo, Yukito

Clipped Wings Cannot Rebirth

It can sometimes be surprising just how quickly the direction of a day can turn. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie was just treading through the sidewalk, playfully making sure that each of his steps didn't land on the lines between the tiles, a habit he hasn't gotten over ever since he was but a child. It was an unusually calm night for the Rookie, having decided to take a few days off from taking any work in preparation for a longer gig on the following week, for the first time in a while, it was movie night! And naturally, a quick trip to the grocery store to buy some snacks was mandatory.

However, it was then that his phone rang. Checking the number, it didn't turn out to be anyone in Charlie's list of contacts, a slight chill ran down his back, everytime an unknown number called him, part of him worried that his mother had finally found him, and would start some sort of campaign to take him back.

But it had been 5 years already, if that witch still wanted to keep him under a leash to keep up appareances, it would be way too late by now. Thus, he accepted the call, and placed the phone next to his ear. The message was mysterious and ominous, one that managed to give the rookie goosebumps. On one hand, he wanted to call the message a bluff, a mere prank by someone with nothign better to do on a monday night. But on the other hand, he had heard about the disappearing Phoenixes as of late, an issue that's been keeping the higher ups of the gang on edge, an especially problematic situation, considering the current fragile state of said leadership.

He could not afford to take the message lightly, and with hurried steps, Charlie now sprinted towards the only place his mind could think of with such a cryptic message: The Roost.

Several minutes passed, and Charlie had now made his way into the underground cemetery. Unfortunately, it wasn't his first time here, no, that was couple months after joining, where he mourned the loss of his comrades on his first mission. The phoenix understood the purpose of this place, and respected it, but it didn't change the fact that he wanted to avoid stepping into it whenever possible. Scouting around the area, he managed to caught a glimpse of a familiar silhouette.

"...Hiyma, is that you? Did Helva also get the message?"

Spoiler: Notes and Notifs:

Tempering: Half-Activation

thebigfella Elenion Aura Peckinou AriAriAbabwa miki weatheringwings

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Yuto Nishimura

CS Link

SCENE:

Sir, This is a Hospital

TIME:

Tuesday, September 28th, 2021 || Post Arc 2

LOCATION:

Correspondance Hospital, Lower Central

PARTICIPANTS:

Peyton, Yuto

Sir, This is a Hospital

The three eyed man could only giggle at Taffy's parading in front of him. He looked like a blue rag waving in the wind, absolutely hilarious! He grinned, eyes squinting in amusement. "Like a ravishing blue pillow case! But of course pillow cases aren't edible..." he hummed at his own thought, adjusting the collar of his scrub. Technically, he could eat a pillow case, he'd just have to... boil it down maybe. Perhaps scatter small bits and pieces into his meal and consume it that way. Though pillow cases aren't very appetizing of a meal...

He blinked out of his thoughts, smiling at Peyton and stepping closer. Yuto bent down, nipping lightly at his nose with a laugh, "I would still eat you!" He assured, cackling. The cannibal turned his attention to the body on the floor. That... was going to be a problem wasn't it? Nope! Without saying another word, Yuto hefted the body with a grunt, trying to be extremely careful not to get any blood on his scrubs, and slung it over his shoulder. It was probably better to deal with this before the shower but, oh well! With his three other free limbs, he climbed the wall, quickly making a rushed webbing to encase the body to the ceiling.

He hopped down, frowning slightly at the spot of blood on his shoulder. Yuto glanced up with disdian, a sigh to his lips. Drops of blood were dripping down but... it should be fine right? its not like the hospital could prove they're the ones that did this anyway right? Right. He turned to his companion, beaming with satisfaction. "Come on, we should get going! Let's go pay the cafeteria a little visit for serving such vile food..." Yuto giggled, holding his arm out like a prince would offer to escort his prince.

Spoiler: Tags

Coyote Hart

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Matsuda Russo

CS Link

SCENE:

Coffee's On Me

TIME:

July 2019 | Pre-Arc 1

LOCATION:

Tiger's HQ, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Isobel

Coffee's On Me

Matsuda flinched in surprise at something hard and... bony? flattened under his foot. He immediately lifted his shoe in a panic, turning his widened heterochromic eyes to the person he stepped on. Matsu instantly bowed his head in an apology, his hands clasped together as his voice rose- nearly a yell, "Oh man, I'm so so sorry! I swear, I didn't mean to step on you! I- I was just so in my head that I didn't even notice-" He cut himself off, blinking in surprise at a can being held in front of him.

With a pause of confused hesitation, he straightened, brows furrowed as he glanced at the stranger- a dark haired woman- in wonder. What... was she trying to do? Was she planning on hitting him over the head with that? Or maybe she wanted him to buy her another drink as an apology... A minute of awkward silence passed by as they stared at one another. In an effort to break the tension, Matsu reluctantly grabbed the can from her hand, smiling stiffly as thanks. "Um... thank you?..." he glanced at the drink in his hand. Milk coffee? Normally he would be ecstatic at free caffeine but... it was warm. Weirdly so. Warmer than it would be at normal room temperature. Matsuda was all for hot coffee but... this seemed like it was supposed to be cold.

Sweating slightly, he gave the lady a strained smile, lifting the can slightly to show her he was grateful. "Um... again sorry for uh steppin' on your foot. Total accident! Y'know..." he cleared his throat, trying desperately to cleanse himself of the awkwardness. He held his hand out, a genuine grin on his face this time. "Name's Matsuda, but uh- pretty lady like yourself? Just call me Matsu, a'ight? You uh... you a Tiger too?"

Spoiler: Tags

Saturn_moon

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Back in the Game

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, July 5 2022

LOCATION:

Boustan [A metropolis about a four hour drive from New Oasis]

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi, Milo

Back in the Game

Not much of a reaction from their client, well no matter! Her resilient apathy only made Charlie want to become friends with her even further, after all, if he was able to befriend Hide, then nothing was impossible! The phoenix knew that the girl was probably just being a bit introverted, they were in fact after all three members of a notoriously violent gang, so Charlie simply wanted to let her know that she was among good people right now (or at least, what he hoped he could still consider good people). He knew just how isolating and lonely growing up with wealthy parents could be, he wouldn't want anyone to go through that kind of loneliness, so the best he could do was offer his hand in friendship.

Eventually, the car stopped, having reached the aformentioned Zoo. Quickly getting off the vehicle, Charlie stared at the establishment in awe, the perimeter of his vision already able to catch glimpses of exotic animals. He hadn't gone to the zoo in a long time, a crime that he's been looking to correct for a while now, so this really was just feeding two birds with one handful of seeds. He also wondered if his fellow phoenixes were just as excited as him by the prospect of this visit.

Nevertheless, the group moved, Elizabeth already prepared with what seems to be some sort of special entry to the Zoo, he was a little bit confused about the strict itinerary, wouldn't it be more fun to just stay longer with the animals you enjoyed more? But he didn't have much say in the matter, she was the boss, and you were the bodyguard, Temperer!

The first stop was the enclosure for the Graadian Tigers, which Charlie gazed at with fascination. Oh how he wished he could just hop in there and play with the tangerine felines, they seemed friendly enough, anyways! He turned his head as their client spoke more in-depth about the species...subspecies? It was fun to listen but definitely very overwhelming all at once.

"Uhh, kinda? They really like meat it seems" He replied to the whispering hitoshi with a similarly low voice.

As he continued to stare at the mighty cats, Charlie listened to Milo ask Elizabeth a question about her knowledge, which reminded the blue-haired boy about the last comment from the lady about the animals. "So they're trying to have them breed? It'd be nice if they end up having a lot of babies, then"

The Tigers now officially had Charlie's blessing for their baby-making.

Spoiler: Notifications

joshuadim Elenion Aura

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Back in the Game

TIME:

Post Arc-3; July 5

LOCATION:

Boustan [A metropolis about a four hour drive from New Oasis]

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie, Milo

BACK IN THE GAME

"Ok good because I think it all flew over my head." Hitoshi quickly whispered back to Milo and Charlie before they both spoke to Elizabeth again. He remained quiet as they talked, instead allowing himself to marvel at the coat patterns of the tigers on display. Elizabeth in the meantime turned her attention to both the junior phoenixes and nodded: "I plan being a zoologist. So I read a lot in my spare time while I finish up high school." she commented to Milo, "There is beauty to be found in animals, unlike in most people. The innocence of nature, so disconnected from our modern world, makes it so much simpler to be around."

"Well hey now, what makes you think I'm not beautiful or innocent?" Hitoshi then asked in a jesting manner, but this only caught a glare from Elizabeth.

"If you weren't in this line of work, I'd believe you."

"Fair enough..." Hitoshi muttered as he slunk back to watch the Tigers again. And to Charlie she shrugged: "That's the point. To repopulate the subspecies and prevent a local extinction in its natural region." Elizabeth spoke bluntly, "For it to be successful, it needs to produce a lot of offspring for genetic diversity. Otherwise, you get inbreeding and a negative-feedback loop spiral of population decline."

Her phone beeped as the timer came to an end and she nodded: "Onto the next exhibit." she said, marching to lead the way for the Phoenixes to follow suit. Hitoshi was almost upset that he couldn't at least stay a bit longer but he sighed and followed along with Milo and Charlie. The second exhibit in the Graadian continental section of the zoo that Elizabeth desired to see was the Giant Wolverine, or the Rosomakha as it was called in Graadian, as it roamed around alone with the entire space to itself. Large tree trunks on the ground, smaller shrubs, and a large pond were its given amenities to explore, dig, and scratch in as Elizabeth stopped at the exhibition glass and looked at the creature.

"The Giant Wolverine is the largest in its genus, and is also related to badgers and weasels as part of the Mustelidae family. This looks to be a larger specimen, about the size of a medium dog by comparison, when most usually are lankier in size. I suspect they might have accidentally overfed it a few times and are now having it on a diet." Elizabeth spoke to give additional context to the animal that the exhibit placards might leave behind, "They eat meat and are able to fight and even kill prey bigger than itself due to its natural ferocity. Its teeth and claws give it the ability to do so. It is also the provincial animal of the Graadian region of Perst."

Hitoshi's mind went to static again as all these facts flew over his head, and so instead he just watched the animal in its replicated environment as it paced around one of the logs and scratched at it. This gave an opportunity for a question as he looked over to Elizabeth: "Why does it scratch the wood all the time?"

"It needs to trim its claws as they grow perpetually. Otherwise, they become ingrown. So it's good that the zookeepers keep logs inside."

Hitoshi looked at his own fingernails, realizing he needed to cut them when he got back to New Oasis. But at least humans didn't have that problem as far as he knew. "Well, I appreciate the lesson in nail care." Hitoshi said as a joke to lighten the mood, but Elizabeth had her mind on other matters now as she pointed at Hitoshi. "Go get four sets of churros." she said before pointing to Charlie, "And get four drinks. Whatever for the three of you. I just want water."

Hitoshi sputtered out in surprise but then realized he should be quick about it as he nodded and rushed off to find a snack stand that sold the churros.

Roda the Red Elenion Aura

 

[Saturn_moon]

Isobel Pham

SCENE:

July 2019 | Pre-Arc 1 [Coffee's On Me]

LOCATION:

Tigers' HQ, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Isobel

Coffee's On Me

Isobel stared at Matsuda, wide-eyed and bewildered. Like a deer caught in the headlights. All she had been expecting was for him to take the coffee and for her to leave right after. A conversation was not something she had planned for. She was mute. How was she even supposed to converse?!

Okay, okay, okay, okay. She repeated the words over and over in her head the way she had done so many times before as a way to calm herself down. He was just making small talk. Trying to be polite. Maybe she could still leave? He probably wouldn't even care if she left. Worst case scenario, he might think she was crazy but half the people in this building already thought she was weird. Crazy wasn't much worse than weird. She could deal with crazy.

Noting Matsuda's question about her being a tiger as well she nodded once, not even registering the bizarre compliment thrown in there about her being pretty. Somewhere in the background, she heard the sound of an elevator ding as it arrived on the ground floor. This was her chance. She could disappear into the crowd and not have to deal with this incredibly awkward and stressful situation. Taking a step back, she turned on her heels and immediately walked straight... into a wall.

Caffeine_Obsessed

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Matsuda Russo

CS Link

SCENE:

Caught BACKHANDED

TIME:

6:13 PM | September 14, Pre-Arc 3

LOCATION:

West District, Abandoned Building

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Sebastian

Caught BACKHANDED

Matsuda sighed, scratching his scalp in irritation. Of course he had to go to the ONE abandoned building that was in pristine condition. Fuck the west. It would have been so much easier to break into someplace run down. No one would give a shit about a broken window then. But nnooo All Matsu had to work with now was a white building with their lights shut off and a 'CLOSED' sign stapled to the front door. Oh, he nearly forgot the fucking gate! Looked like it used to be some sorta bookstore or something. He peeked as best he could through the windows. A bookstore with no books.

"You gotta be kidding me..." He mumbled, glaring at the metal wires in front of him. Luckily though, there weren't any spikes or barbed wire at the top. The building must not have been that important then, judging by how the west district works anyhow. Letting out another sigh, he started climbing, fingers hooking through the small holes and grunting with every pull up. With a clang, he hopped down from the top, landing in a small cloud of dusty smoke. He wiped his hands before taking out a lock pick.

Quietly as he could, he messed around with the lock before finally 'click'. He cheered silently in his head, a grin reaching from ear to ear. He pushed the door open, a small creak the only thing announcing his presence. The building was quite big for a bookstore, that was for sure. Rows and rows of empty shelves were littered inside, no books or pages to be seen.

Now, where did the mission say the duffel bag was? Oh right, The second to last shelf. He snuck his way over, finding the bag with a quiet, "Yes!.." He zipped it open to glance inside. It was full of money... Fuck. These. Fucking. Tigers. If Matsu knew he could get away with it, he would take this duffel now and high tail it out of this city. Unfortunately, he knew better than to steal from the Tigers. He clicked his tongue, zipping it back up and throwing it over his shoulder. He was about to leave when he heard... were those... voices? Shit! Please don't tell him they were guards... The heterochromic man slowly crept his way closer to the commotion.

Spoiler: Tags

Coyote Hart

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

To Live in the Shadows

TIME:

Nighttime, Pre-Arc 1, June 10th 2020

LOCATION:

Falcon's Perch, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva

To Live in the Shadows

From behind him, Charlie could hear screams of fear from the customers from inside of the restaurant, assuming that it had to be from the big criminal and the girl in black fighting. He wished he could've kept her safe, but realistically, he his arms didn't allow him to hold onto any more than the two men he already pushed out without issue, he prayed that she was able to take on the enemy, meeting the expectations that he contagious confidence established.

But now, he had more important things to take care of, such as worrying about his own safety, as the other two gangsters moved on to the offensive. First, was athrown knife quickly approaching, the blue-haired youth attempted to dodge it by moving to the side, as the arm movement of the attacker made the action blatantly obvious. However, despite what would've normally been impossible, the blade made unnatural turns while in mid-air, the sharp tip finding its way to Charlie's side. He yelped as he felt the acute point coming into contact with his body. Fortunately though, Charlie's tempering was still good enough to protect him from the attack, the blade barely able to pierce his skin at all, the pain being more similar to an aggressive pinch than an actual stab. Still, the attack was distracting enough for the swordsman to find an opening, closing the gap between the two and managing a sudden attack. Charlie took the attack in full, unable to stop the blade with his exceptionally sturdy forearms. The blow broke skin and managed to draw a tiny bit of blood, but just like last time, his ample defense caused the wound to be extremely shallow. Battling the inner fear and shock from the attack, the boy took a hold of the attacker's sword arm, locking him in place, and with his other hand, delivered a straight punch at the swordsman's chest, the weight and force behind the attack sending him flying several meters back.

He landed on the floor, violently rolling the hard concrete against his will by the momentum. "F-Fucking hell...his body is tough as shit" Said the swordsman as he attempted to get up, a single knee firmly stuck on the ground, his body having a hard time following his wishes after the damage he took from the blow. "Even a turtle has places I can stab, this little bitch is no different I bet, do your thing and I'll take care of him" Said the dual wielder, as he manipulated his string to return the short blade back to his hand. The swordsman nodded, raising his arm up in the air.

A small dark orb started to manifest from his palm, quickly growing in size until it was comparable to a a basketball, and with a forward motion, it was released from his hand, launched forward and onto the floor in front of the waiter. Upon contact, the ball exploded, releasing a dark, thick and quickly-spreading cloud of smoke, completely shrouding every remaining bit of visibility in Charlie's vicinity. The boy covered his face with his arms, smoke suddenly invading his mouth, nose and eyes. It wasn't exactly a painful experience, but it was intruding enough to cause him to cough and forcibly close his eyelids. Shortly after, a sharp pain blossomed from Charlie's back, a more powerful stab delivered to him by the dual-wielder, who quickly used the situation to enter the smoke and strike, him being far more accostumed to his partner's smoke cloud. Gritting his teeth to tough out the pain from the blow, the boy swung his arm towards the direction of the attack in retaliation. But this motion was met with no sort of contact, as the man had quickly moved away from that position, taking advantage of the veiling of the smoke to hide his movements.

Another attack follow, Charlie barely able to block it by following the sound of strafing feet. There was another attack after that, and another, and one more. Not a single one of them managed to cause any considerable damage to the waiter, but the pain and exhaustion was starting to pile up. He needed to think of a way to get over this difficulty, and fast. Finally, able to come up with a single desperate move, he stood firmly in place, spreading his arms to the sides as wide as he could, opening up himself for another attack completely. The attacker wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity, delivering another stab at the boy's relatively soft belly. However, the instant that Charlie felt ANY sort of pain, he quickly closed his arms, this time anticipating the attack and managing to grab onto the man's torso. Guessing where his shirt collar's ought to be, Charlie grabbed a hold of it, pulling the man closer for a headbutt. The impact was remarkably effective, discombobulating the man, causing him to fall on his back, any attempt to getting back up completely drowned out by the intense pain and dizziness. Charlie knew that this wasn't enough, however, and by leaning down and awkwardly extending his arms forward on the floor where he guessed them to be, he was finally able to wrop his fingers around one of them man's ankles. Raising him off the ground in a wide arc, Charlie swung the dual-wielder like a ragdoll, slamming him on the floor. The man screamed in pain as his body landed against the solid concrete. Yet, the boy didn't waste a single second, lifting him off the ground and slamming him back down once again. He continued this move a few more times, by now the attacker having at least a few broken bones in his body, and ultimately threw him forward, reaching even past the now standing swordsman.

Charlie opened his eyes slowly, noticing that the cloud smoke had dissipated for the most part. At a distance now lied the dual-wielder, face-down on the floor and not moving in the slightest, most likely unconscious from the brutal beating given by the earth. The swordsman looked at his now-beaten partner behind him, before looking back at the waiter with pure rage in his eyes. "I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU NOW, YOU FUCKWIT"

Knowing that the battle wasn't over yet, a fatigued Charlie raised his arms once again, preparing for the swordsman's incoming attack.

Peckinou

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Matsuda Russo

CS Link

SCENE:

Splash of Plight

TIME:

5:26 PM | June 7, Pre-Arc 3

LOCATION:

South District, Art Studio

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Milo

Splash of Plight

The chewing of Matsu's gum kept him focused as he analyzed the shirtless man in the middle of the room doing a Hercules pose. He fiddled with his charcoal, debating on where to start. It had already been 5 minutes, and the dark haired man had gotten nowhere! He was never really good at this artist stuff... The most he could do was splat a canvas with paint and call it abstract. His fingers were more talented at plucking strings than holding a pencil. As for his attention, well...

Matsuda tapped his charcoal on the stand holding the canvas, huffing in frustration as he stared even harder at the man's form. Deciding not to waste anymore time debating on where to start, he drew a circle for the head. Then... two rectangles for eyes, poking little dots in the middle. He continued working, popping his gum in concentration. Surely that wouldn't be too much of a distraction right? After all, there was a low chattering of conversations in the room, its not like his gum would have made a difference... Right? He decided to pop his gum less frequently now.

He sighed, narrowing his eyes at the Picasso of a head... though less skilled of course. The body he drew looked more like a melting Detroit deep dish pizza than anything. He sighed again, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Seems like drawing wasn't his strong suit. But, it was someone else's. He tilted his head to the right, slowly leaning over slightly and taking a peek at Milo's work. Surely his friend was doing a better job than him.

Spoiler: Tags

Elenion Aura

 

[simj26]

Kisara McDowell

CS Link

SCENE:

Iniquitas Deorum

LOCATION:

North District, Waterfront

PARTICIPANTS:

Kisara, Bash

Iniquitas Deorum

Dark clouds and the telltale rumble of thunder rolled across the skies. The shadows of darkness were encroaching upon the land. The feeling that crawled up her spine like a many-legged creature wasn't just from the oncoming rain. She could feel it in her very essence of being. The very threads of reality were tearing apart at the seams.

Or perhaps she was just thinking too much. After having peered into the everlasting darkness of death once, it felt like a niggling sensation of dread was trapped in the back of her mind, and she couldn't get it out of her head. Perhaps it was just that, faced with her own mortality, she was suddenly very aware that she was not as invincible as she thought she was. None could stand before her, of course, but could she stand before greater foes?

One day, she would die. There were so many more things for her to do here on this earth. There were so many more foes to fight, so many more duels, so many more struggles, but there were several things lingering at the top of the pile of things she wanted a conclusion to. She would have to take these one at a time.

Of priority was Bash Hirabayashi. She looked at the dimming screen of her phone, the sent message still just barely visible on it.

'Bash. We have to talk. Waterfront in the North. You know where.'

The cracked screen fell into sleep mode, and she set the phone aside.

She still hadn't a single idea about what he was thinking. Or perhaps she already knew, and she just didn't want to be wrong about it. She had to sort this out the one way she knew how. The one and only way to solve this question was to put their heads together, literally. She laced her fingers together and leaned forwards, her eyes staring past the lapping water beneath the pier, past the roiling clouds above it.

Nobody Special

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Hot and Bothered

TIME:

Daytime, Post-Arc 2, January 11th, 2022

LOCATION:

Phoenix HQ, training grounds, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Boltius

Hot and Bothered

Taking a seat on a nearby bench, Charlie listened to Boltius' answer and question of his own. Overall, the rookie was just happy to see a familiar face around, as his time in this part of HQ was usually more lonely, that and the fact that he was just happy to see Bolt again, as it had been a while since their last meeting, not that surprising considering that he had somewhat recently become the Ace of the gang. In a way, it almost felt like he was friends with a bit of a celebrity now.

Well, not like celebrities were really that big of a deal, he had seen his fair share of them back in his luxurious yet empty life in West District. Hopefully Boltius didn't develop the same pretentious attitude most of them would display...Charlie had almost forgotten that he was thinking about leadership of a notorious criminal organization.

"I'm pretty much done for today, I just wanted to take it a bit easy this time" Said him, stretching his slightly sore arms. "I got into a pretty nasty fight the other day, bunch of dragons ambushed me, but I made it out well enough, even had someone give me a helping hand afterwards" It was probably a good idea to leave out the part about said help being a dragon as well. He took a moment to look at the ceiling as his body started to relax from the workout. "Hey, come to think of it, I come here quite often and I don't remember seeing you here before, how come?" He quickly raised his open hands in an apologetic gesture, realizing that his words may have come across as somewhat interrogative. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking, of course!"

Doctor Llamabean

 

[thebigfella]

TAK & HIACHI

Collab Post

SCENE:

Being The Smartest In The Room Usually Means Your Missing The Obvious

TIME:

April 19th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Tak, Hiachi ( miki ), Dante ( Haze- )

Being The Smartest In The Room Usually Means Your Missing The Obvious

Another day, another warm spring night. The dark clouds from the recent downpour of rain still clung to the sky, blocking the moon and the stars, as puddles soaked the ground and moisture saturated the air.


Tak strolled along the empty night sidewalk, hands in his pockets as he aimlessly looked at the sky, wearing his standard frown as his pupilless eyes lacked any distinction of what was going through his head.


This wasn’t anything new to him, walking the streets of the West at night was common for someone who spent all his day doing whatever dumb thing currently had his interest or investment, but there was one factor that made it a bit different.


He glanced over his shoulder at the smaller girl that was trailing behind him, the new rookie he had so graciously decided to take under his wing and bring along to whatever crazy excursion he decided. Today was just another day of that, they had been running around coupon hunting for hours with not much to show for it.


Hiachi had grown disposed to their failures. There was no way to feel about it when turning up with nothing was exactly what she expected. The only difference was she walked with a bit more energy, having learned to expend less when unnecessary.


There was a voice, the rational type, in the back of her mind. If she would let it speak, it would talk about being realistic. Something vague, telling her she shouldn’t be here, wasting her time. She would have let it speak, if she wasn’t in a gang.


It was ridiculous; utterly ridiculous, and Hiachi knew this too. Little factors didn’t add up to big sums. And when she needed two million amestriyen… She wouldn’t have hoped to dream of seeing that much money just a month before. It was a functionally hopeless endeavor.


As much as Hiachi intended to keep her mind blank, racing rivers of words and sentences flooded the crevices in her mind. She was floating around in her mind, tolerant of the flow.


Quiet; as Hiachi always is, she is quiet.


To Tak, he was amazed how much the girl was willing to put up with, she certainly lacked a backbone, but besides that it was almost sickening how polite she was. It didn’t feel like she belonged in a gang like this at all.


Not like she joined out of her own volition anyway.


“She’s pretty damn clever. A noggin like that could help her out in getting money if she just dropped all her morals like I did!” Tak mused.


Tak paused, stopping in place as he recounted his own words in his head.


“Clever, huh…?”


He slowly shifted on his heels to look back at Hiachi, not letting his expression betray what he was thinking for once.


“Yo Hibachi, you free tomorrow night? Got any plans?” He offhandedly asked, from the offset it probably seemed like he was gearing up to drag her along on another expedition of his.


Hiachi didn’t look at him, unaware he had turned back in the first place. Her gaze traced the line between the wall and asphalt.


“No.” A pause, and a suspicion creeping up her back. She looked up from her idle thoughts and tilted her head with an implicit question. “…Why?”


“Well…”


A trail off from Tak was an anomaly, for the brief time he and Hiachi had known each other, Tak was always one to speak what was on his mind as soon as the neurons fired off in his brain. Yet, for some reason now he held back from saying what was on his mind.


Sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, the messy-haired brute looked down at the shorter girl, hoping to gauge her reaction.


“It’s cool how you’ve been puttin’ up with all this stuff so far, so I thought I could at the very least…treat you to something.”


If the way he paused earlier was out of character, him offering anything had to be out of the universe. The concept of such was insane, nevertheless, the offer hung in the air.


“How about you and me hit up a bar tomorrow night? Hang out over a couple of drinks. Cut a bit loose?”


His proclamation gave Hiachi pause. More than pause, actually. She fully stopped in her tracks and squinted at Tak.


First of all, Tak was a rambler. Most of the time she only understood about 50% of what he talked about. The concept of stopping and thinking was foreign with him. Second of all, quite literally from the second she met him, Tak was only interested in getting his job done. He did it poorly, but at least he was dedicated.


“…You’re acting weird.”


Hardly an astute observation, but there was no reason for her to not say it. Hiachi wouldn’t call herself a master at reading people, but she wasn’t stupid. The second she had picked up that something was off, the hairs on her arms stood up.



“Huh!? What do you mean weird!? Is that any way to respond when someone invites you out!? You’re hurting my feelings here! Poor Tak’s heart isn’t as sturdy as his body, y’know?!” An immediately frivolous and agitatedly defensive reaction came out of Tak’s mouth like natural, the consideration and tip-toeing he had been doing about what he wanted to say going out the window had completely been wiped out of his mind in the face of Hiachi’s blunt response, he was trying to be polite and delicate, but he guessed Hiachi just wanted it rough and hard like usual.


He shoved his hands into his pockets, his wrists causing the edges of his track jacket to bunch up as he leaned forward, closing the distance between him and the gloomy woman. “I’m just askin’ you if you wanna hang out tomorrow night. Not as a job or nothin’! Just us havin’ some fun, ya feel me?” Tak reiterated his earlier proposal in a way that sounded much more natural this time.


“Oh.” Hiachi was far more at ease with his strident tone, funnily enough. She understood what he meant now, but that didn’t mean she thought it made sense.


She eyed him when he leaned closer. Hiachi wasn’t thinking about Tak so much as she was thinking about herself. Outside of the casino bar and maybe the bar at her dad’s job, she hadn’t set foot in one. She wasn’t good with alcohol either. Plus, Hiachi had known she wasn’t a particularly fun presence at the party scene for a while, so who in their right mind would want her to go with them? So, no, she didn’t really get it.


She felt like she was being tricked. How, and for what purpose? No clue, no evidence. But that feeling was enough for her to stay generally confused.


She was thinking: so much that she had forgotten to give him an actual answer.


Yet to get a response from Hiachi, Tak tapped his foot impatiently, a scowl and scrunched brow grew on his expression as he grew more and more impatient, before abruptly shouting out to bring her back to reality, “Give me an answer already here, damnit!”


“Uh. Uh. Uh.” Hiachi was stuttering, to her own embarrassment. “Um. Okay.”


Finally getting the confirmation he wanted, Tak’s grimace melted away into a small simper, as he retracted himself away from Hiachi’s personal space to stand up straight again, “Alright. It’s a plan then. I’ll pick you up tomorrow around 8, so be ready. Don’t worry about dressing nice or anything.” Tak told Hiachi the plans without even bothering getting her confirmation, turning back around and striding off like it was nothing, creating some distance between him and Hiachi before turning back to glance at her one last time.


“See you tomorrow,” A curt goodbye, pleasant, normal behavior that felt awkward coming out from his lips before he turned around and went on ahead, leaving Hiachi alone to her own devices.


She lifted her arms to cradle her elbows. Hiachi couldn’t articulate any of her thoughts into any single phrase, so they remained bouncing around her headspace. Fueling her general sense of unease.


Well, there went tomorrow night’s plans to sit in her room and rot until she passed out. She had somewhere to be now. New thoughts jumped into her river—it was looking like a flood.


But she was tired, and she had enough control over herself to put getting home first. She ambled behind him as she had been before, until the moment they crossed the path of her apartment complex.


“Bye.” Hiachi waved off at him, quicker than usual. She disappeared into the building, past the lobby and around the corner to an unknown hallway.

---

Tomorrow night had come quicker than expected. At least, that’s what Tak felt like as his eyes were drawn to the moon. Normally, he wouldn’t have any problem with it, the quicker the days past the sooner something fresh could come along for him to bite into. Today was a bit different though, he could physically feel the constriction around his heart, the faintest feelings of nervousness as he had to accept the fact there was no more time to put this day off.


“Damn, I wish I had more time to prepare…” He absentmindedly thought out loud, anxiously fiddling with the zipper of his jacket. Even though he had taken the proper precautions about today, he wasn’t sure things would work out. It was almost alien for how cocksure he usually was, but this situation was different.


He barely knew the first thing about what was coming up, but he had got this notion in his head that he wouldn’t give up until he got what he wanted. He could only hope that Hiachi could help make things easier for him.


“No point in overthinking it,” Tak pushed the worries he had away with a sigh, as he reached the familiar set of steps that led up to the second floor of the apartment complex that was still leagues nicer than his…for now. But, that was beside the point.


“I bet she’ll be perfect,” He assured himself, as he finally approached a well-known door, it had only been a few weeks since the two first met, and he had busted it down. You could still barely make out the imprints of his foot if you looked closely.


Tak raised his hands towards the door, prepared to knock with full force like he always did, shouting Hiachi’s name to high heaven without a care for the neighbors no matter the time of day, but just as he was primed to slam his knuckles against it, he paused.


Normally, he wouldn’t care, but today was going to be different for him. There was no need to start so aggressive, for once.


….


He twisted his hand around, raising a single finger to tap its knuckle lightly against the door.


“Yo! You ready in there?”


Ironically enough, Hiachi jumped at the noise all the same. Her heart felt like it was bouncing out of her little chest.


Perhaps it would be best if she didn’t answer the door after all.


Twelve hours earlier, she wasn’t thinking at all. She had been in the middle of some really excellent unconscious time. But then she woke up, and couldn’t go back to sleep, which was uncharacteristic of her. Whenever she had to avoid a problem, sleeping instead of thinking about it was among her top five solutions.


So then she got to thinking, which as everyone knows is a bad thing. She never did get a reason as to why he was acting so different. He had just brushed over it, and expected her to forget—which she had, for a while.


He hadn’t shouted (for the most part), and his words had been far more gentle. He had been… nice. To her. Which sounded sad out of context, but the idea of the man who would let her get mauled by a dog simultaneously acting nice out of the goodness of his heart was just impossible.


Actually, it sounded a lot more sad with context.


Regardless, the truth of the matter was Tak had an ulterior motive, and Hiachi didn’t know what the hell it was. The only logical course of action (that wasn’t not worrying about it) was listing some possibilities.


Maybe he was behind on his rent and in trouble for real this time, and he wanted her money. Unfortunately, this would have worked, because the pretense of inviting her anywhere would make her feel too guilty to decline.


Or she was in for another bizarre adventure, like when they first met. Or the time they went to that zoo. Where nothing ended badly, but nothing ended well.


Or, maybe he had gotten sick of their failures and finally decided to kill her. Would make sense, if his aggressive behavior meant not killing her, his calm behavior meant he was planning a murder. Which was gruesome and probably untrue, but she had to consider everything.


Or…


No.


Hiachi got up to freshen herself up like she did any other day. She peeled herself off her floor mattress. She stepped in the bathroom. She splashed water on her face. She brushed her teeth for thirty seconds. She sat on the floor to avoid her reflection, curled up in a ball with her back against the closed door.


Everything felt a little less real in the bathroom. There were no windows, so it was just Hiachi in her little poorly-lit box. Yellow light descended on half of the room while the other half sat in shadow. Time was not as present. A good thing, and a bad thing.


Even though it wasn’t true, Hiachi could have sworn up and down that the light tapping on the door was a thousand times more horrific than the incessant banging that she was used to. She felt like a little kid, but she couldn’t deny thumping of her heart and ears.


Hiachi felt dizzy, like seasick. Her eyes were glazed over as her lip quivered.


This is weird…


It was far easier to not take action than to do so. Last time she tried that she got caught, anyway. Staying silent and hidden behind another door was effortless, and then she wouldn’t have to face him.



Resigned to avoid facing the situation head-on once more, Tak found himself standing outside of Hiachi’s door in silence, his hand still hovering above the door as he stared at it with a slight frown.


Despite his efforts to turn things down a notch, showing a bit of generosity, he found his efforts rewarded with nothing but a hollow gaze at the door that Hiachi used to close herself off from him.


He would have been completely justified to kick the door down, force his way into her apartment, and drag her out of her shell like that was standard at this point.


But, this time was different.


“If she doesn’t come willingly, there ain’t no point,” Tak spoke inwardly, stepping away from the door to lean back against the nearby railing, slouching his elbows over it, his hair and the shadows of the night doing their part in covering his upper face in a deep shadow.


“...If you don’t wanna come, I get ya. It’s your life, after all.”



His head sharply raised, the darkness looming over his expression disappeared to reveal a visage containing his standard ill-mannered and upset glower, but unlike usual, his eyes had a clear direction, their pupilless focus bore through the door, looking deeper.


“...But, can you at least give me the courtesy to say it to my face?”


He didn’t need to yell for these words to reach past the walls.


Hiachi’s neck rolled as the back of her head hit the door with a gentle thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Her sigh was heavy and drawn out, because now she felt really bad.


While she didn’t afford everyone the polite demeanor her parents would have liked, as a kid, Hiachi’s decorum code was simple—treat everyone the exact same way they treat her. She grew out of it, but that didn’t mean she didn’t stand by it. And now it had come back to haunt her. Tak was being nice, so what the hell gave her the right to ignore him?


The jury in her mind was split. She didn’t wanna go, she did wanna go, she wanted to jump out the window. She couldn’t come to a conclusion.


And then something tipped the scales. Hiachi didn’t really know what it was; it had been nothing more than a tiny pang at her chest. But it urged her to push herself off the floor, and leave her cave of solitude.


She walked up to the door. She didn’t need to look through the peephole, because she knew it was him. Hiachi sighed as she slid the lock, and the now broken hinges eased the door open for her.


Here she was again. Cautiously peering up at Tak, unsure of the future.


“Hi. I’m here…” She mumbled, but she could have guessed he knew that much.



“Yeah, I can see that.” Tak light-heartedly acknowledged, before pushing himself off the railing.


“Man, she really had to make things more difficult than they had to be.” He sneered at Hiachi’s behavior internally, silently glancing down at her. He could think of loads of things to say to voice the fact how she was making life harder for him by not just coming out in the first place.


“...I guess the fact she came out on her own is fine. I’ll just be happy about that.”


The fact that Hiachi had willingly dragged herself out to join him meant they were getting somewhere at least, it felt like only a couple days ago, this would never have happened.


So, she was free from him dragging her through the coals, at least for now. Instead, he just silently stared for a palpable beat, before his expression barely softened.


“Alright, let’s get goin’ then. The bar ain’t that far away from here, a really nice place, trust me.” Tak turned away to walk towards the stairs back to the ground floor, expecting Hiachi to follow him.


She followed behind him, a second later than she would have if she hadn’t tried to ponder his behavior.


Somehow, this was worse. He wasn’t just acting nice, he was acting patient. He was acting nicer than nice, in a synonym of nice that she couldn’t verbalize.


The view slowly panned away from Hiachi’s apartment, looking towards the quiet night street, the stillness in time. It was a short moment, until the focus returned to Hiachi and Tak as they walked together down the sidewalk, just like any other night that found the pair together.


As casual as always, Tak had his arms behind his head as he rocked side to side as he walked, uncaring for the silence that had accompanied their stroll, just like always. He had nothing to say at the time, his head off in the clouds, and he expected Hiachi was doing much of the same. He wasn’t really one for small talk, after all.


He’s gotta be possessed. That’s the only logical explanation.


The thought was, in itself, the opposite of a logical explanation: and Hiachi knew this, she knew this! But she was running out of normal ideas, so that was the best she could do.


Hiachi was normally a fan of silence. She was a quiet personality herself. But there was a strict difference between comfortable silence and awkward silence, she had learned over time. She was feeling the latter. Tak had his own quiet moments, but this shouldn’t have been one of them.


Hiachi couldn’t have read his face, anyway—but it felt daunting to stare at the right side of his neck as he looked inward; away. There was something to this, something she wasn’t privy to.


Ah, well. She’d find out what it was soon enough.


I WANNA GO HOME.


Hiachi knew it was such a trivial thing to worry about, but what if it wasn’t? There were plenty of things that could be wrong. She could be in danger, he could be in danger, or, worst of all: no one was in danger. He has been truthful about his intentions, and she was there because he genuinely enjoyed her company.


But she had already ruled that impossible—so it was something else.


Then what was it? She hadn’t been satisfied by any of the answers she gave herself. The evidence supported absolutely none of her claims. And yet, something was clearly different. So why was it so hard to figure out what it was?


Maybe she should ask him. Or maybe she should jump off the nearest bridge and fake her death.


Hiachi was feeling dramatic, an instinct that she unfortunately couldn’t help. The only real solution was finding out. And if it really was trouble… well, at least she’d have the satisfaction of knowing she had been right.


She should have brought the gun.


Hiachi walked like a zombie. Sluggish and slow, but not so entirely off beat that she looked drunk; just undead. Marching on to the answer she didn’t wanna hear.


As Hiachi shambled behind, the sideways shift in perspective showed Tak looking at her with a tinge of worry on his face, a small bead of awkward sweat on the side of his head.


“Must have not got enough sleep last night…” He assumed, entirely unaware of the mental battle going on in the woman’s head. He stared at her for a moment, before a bright light spreading across his face caused him to perk up, turning back forward.


“Oh, we’re here.” He was surprised how little time it took for them to get there, but there it was, only a short walk down the sidewalk.


It was a small building wedged in between two standard looking establishments, the lack of signage and darkened windows made it seemed like they were abandoned, and this tiny hole in the wall bar was the only one left standing.


Its windows filled with different advertisements for beverages that had long since been bleached by the sun, the wearing adhesive causing them to curl from shrinkage, the green paint on its walls had faded, looking more like a sickly gray. It was another cheap-looking establishment, another inexpensive place Tak always had a habit of finding in the West.


But, there was one problem, his full force had yet to be established. He was still waiting for him.


Who was ‘him’? Well, it was his ‘backup-plan’. The other person he had decided to invite out tonight with a phone call to this secluded bar, for something that was of the utmost importance.


And he could only hope as they grew closer, and the shadows grew less dense, that his familiar silhouette would appear.

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

TAR

CS Link

SCENE:

Drunk Walk Home

LOCATION:

Alleyway, Central District

TIME:

I forgor

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Tar

DRUNK WALK HOME

While the man continued to cry as he clutched his wound, it was as though he was invisible to Tar, whose eyes were on Hiachi. She was so close, but they weren’t even sure if she’d muster up another guess. What a disappointment that would be, but they’d still have their fun… But then, it didn’t matter, as they heard the word of the day escape her lips.

The girl actually did it!

They weren’t expecting laughter, but it was welcome, and on hearing it, Tar started laughing too, drowning her out. If one were only hearing the pair, they might’ve thought two friends were sharing an old joke.

“What gave it away, Hiachi?” Tar raised their arms, the gooey substance trickling down. “I knew you could do it, Hiachi, that’s why I wanted you to play.” For a moment, Tar’s demeanour was completely different. Were they really a friend now? The other in this scenario, the helpless man, let out a wailing yell, incoherent from the pain.

“Ah, our visitor. How rude.”

Tar raised a gun to him on instinct but didn’t use it, instead kicking the man’s neck. Droplets of blood spilled out from his mouth as he choked and spluttered.

“Is this your husband, Hiachi?”

They turned back to her, no longer smiling.

“Did he want to play too, Hiachi?”

 

[Elenion Aura]

MILO NAGISA

CS Link

SCENE:

We Who Remain

LOCATION:

Arc 3 — May 31st, 2022

LOCATION:

South district, Phoenix HQ; Shady's Clinic, first floor

PARTICIPANTS:

Boltius, Bandy, Milo, Gideon, Jericho, Ashley, Callista, Raquel, Faelan

WE WHO REMAIN

Please lead me out of the dark.

The sounds of the medical machines, a disembodied chorus of beeps and blips, punctuated the otherwise stifling silence. Somehow, all hospital rooms smelled the same. It was a sterile, acrid scent, so clean that it almost wrapped back around to smelling dirty again.

Milo was clutching a styrofoam cup of black tea between both hands, fingers interlaced. He didn't like tea (at least not whatever crappy, store-bought, probably-decades-old Tipton knock-off this was), but some time during the past few white-knuckle hours somebody—a nurse, maybe? were the people who worked here even real medical professionals?!—had offered to make him a cup—as he'd refused to leave the bedside of the boys he'd raced through hell with—and he didn't have the heart to tell them 'No, thank you.' He must've looked like he needed it. He did need something. The rub was, Milo didn't know, or couldn't articulate, exactly what that thing was. He was a spool of yarn that someone had rolled down a vacant hallway. Unraveled. The warmth felt nice, at least.

His mind felt like a hamster on a wheel. It spun round and around, as the memories of the day—and the sight of buckets of blood pooling at the feet of his best friend lying in the dirt—played on repeat in the theater behind his eyes. He wished it would just be still. His knee was bouncing, had been bouncing for a while. He didn't know how to make it stop. He didn't know if he wanted to. This restless energy had to go somewhere, and Milo had already resigned himself to the fact that he. Was. Not. Leaving. This. Room. Not until Boltius woke up. He didn't care: how long it took, how long he needed to wait. He knew it was stupid, and pointless, and possibly counter-productive (luckily he hadn't had to use the bathroom yet), but also that was his best friend lying on the bed, his best friend who'd almost died today, and he—... And nothing mattered in this moment except that Milo be here, now.

... The tea, by now, had gone cold, but he held onto it anyway. He held on to the memory of warmth, in the hopes that it might actually be enough. He must've dozed off without meaning to (the straight-backed wooden chair didn't exactly invite slumber, but he'd managed it somehow) because when he came to it was dark (the sun was gone from the sky, but an inkling of light still peeked over the horizon far away... It may just've been the light of the city, still reeling from the day's events) and Boltius was sitting up.

Milo looked down at the cup of room temperature tea in his hand, impressed with himself that he'd managed to hold onto it throughout his entire catnap. He pawed at his cheek, where the blood from Boltius' touch would've caked against his skin had a kind soul not taken a hot washcloth to it while he slept, and rubbed the dark circles out from under his eyes. He took a deep breath. That breath became a yawn, which became a stretch. Milo's back arched and he wiped sleepy tears out from the corners of his eyes with his pinky finger before settling back into the chair that, if he sat in it any longer, would probably permanently contort his spine into the shape of an 'L'.

Boltius was sitting up.

The hamster stumbled and the wheel kept spinning.

Boltius was sitting up. Boltius was sitting up and the shitty styrofoam teacup tumbled out from between his fingers and splattered across the floor as Milo threw himself across the room and threw both arms around the boy's neck without thinking. He must not've been thinking—hugging a hospital patient who, only hours earlier, had been tapdancing on death's door? Nice going, dummy—and so, when the first words out of his mouth to his recently revived friend were, "Sshit-! Sorr- I'm sorr-, are you okay?" He sniffed and retreated, giving Boltius his space, though it pained him.

This time when the tears came and stained his cheeks he didn't bother wiping them away.

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Matsuda Russo

CS Link

SCENE:

Coffee's On Me

TIME:

July 2019 | Pre-Arc 1

LOCATION:

Tiger's HQ, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Isobel

Coffee's On Me

Now, Matsuda initially thought that something might've been wrong with this person but... This just confirmed it. The spiky haired man blinked in surprise as she turned and collided to the wall accompanied by a resounding 'Thump'. After a second or two of blank silence, Matsuda smiled, biting his bottom lip to hold himself back. But- well... he was never really good at that now was he? He keeled over by the waist in laughter, holding his arms to his stomach. The loud cackling caught the attention of onlookers, but he just couldn't stop.

After about maybe 3 or 4 minutes of non-stop hysterics, he slowed down, panting to catch his breath. Chuckling softly, he wiped his eye of an escaped tear, sighing and pressing a hand to his chest. "Fuck that was so god damn funny, my chest hurts man..." He took a deep breath, calming himself down, his body aching from all that laughter.

Licking his lips, he smiled, crouching down slightly to offer the woman his hand. "Y'know, for someone as silly as you- I mean that as a compliment by the way, that was fuckin' adorable- I never caught your name..." he paused, smirking and narrowing his eyes playfully. "Or should I just call you bird? Like uh, you know how a bird flies headfirst into glass?" He chuckled to himself at his witty joke, winking.

Spoiler: Tags

Saturn_moon

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

DARIUS KENNEDY

CS Link

SCENE:

Test Drive

LOCATION:

Copper's Bar, North District

TIME:

2019, Pre-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Darius, Caio @BriiAngelic

TEST DRIVE

Already feeling jumpy, Darius flinched away at the approaching hand, though perhaps the wiser thing to do would’ve been to start running. He should’ve been more vigilant. What were you thinking, Darius? You let your guard down. He couldn’t stop the contact, and let out a pained yell. His drink dropped to the floor with a crash as he did all he could to get away just short of committing violence against the Queen.

“WHAT THE HELL?”

Darius didn’t even feel the hand leave his neck. He thought he’d be sick from the burst of pain, and took a stumbling step back against the bar countertop. All eyes were on them now. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve an attack by the Queen but feared he was right to be suspicious. But here though? In front of all these people, is he trying to make a statement? Putting a hand up to his neck, tears began to cloud his view, and fear clouded his mind.

“I-I’m so sorry, boss. Please don’t hurt me I haven’t done anything, please, I’m sorry!”

Though he had nothing to apologize for, Caio had fair warning after all, Darius was in groveling mode now, pleading for mercy. The scream made his ears ring, and he couldn’t even focus on Caio’s words.

Why me?

“I didn’t mean to!”

 

[thebigfella]

Q-Bot & Nurse Lala (NPCS)

CS Link

SCENE:

The Super Robot Who Can Do Anything!

LOCATION:

South District

TIME:

May 18th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Red miki

The Super Robot Who Can Do Anything!

Darkness brought more darkness, as the view went from the black void to gradually gain the colors and hues that made up a sparsely lit room. The view hung close to the ground, making it hard to make out its surroundings. The edges of a pile of clothes could be barely made out, from a hanging loose sleeve of a pink shirt and the coarse red fibers of a sweater. Slowly, the perspective expanded, showcasing the cramped room that was stuffed with numerous clothes in disorganized piles and rows. Jackets hung messily from above, and shoes had been shoved into the corner.

At first glance, this chaotic closet seemed to hold no importance. Then, the slightest shuffle of fabric within one of the piles of clothes. It seemed like nothing until the focal point snapped toward it. There was a beat of stillness before there was another shift. Slowly, something rose out of the shadows of the clothes heap, its blocky eyes rising out, blinking the faintest mechanical sound as a white sock that covered its block-shaped head slid off, dropping back into the stack.

He seemed intent to keep himself hidden, staying quiet as he submerged back into a clothes pile like a crocodile in the water, keeping only his eyes above the surface as he expended all caution.

“I should be safe here! Pi-po-po!♪ This is the best hiding spot in the whole house!” The robot was sure of his success, his blue and yellow antenna wiggling on his head as he talked with his shrill ear-grating voice.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous, maybe that’s why he felt so hot. He would be sweating bullets right now if he wasn’t a robot that is!

He hadn’t felt this hot before, he wondered if someone had turned the heat up. A question that was quickly dashed, as he remembered the person who controlled the heat of the house was the one currently--

The robot immediately popped his head out of the clothes pile, his mouth slot hanging open as he turned toward the door.

Nothing seemed off, at first. Then came the crackling of sparks, and the faint orange color that seeped underneath the door. It was only a second later when the door suddenly burst into flames, embroiled in an inferno like it had been coated in gasoline.

“KYAAAAAHHHH!” The robot shouted out, hopping out of the clothes heap like a gopher who had its burrow blasted with ten tons of TNT, when he finally lost his air time and slammed against the ground, the sound echoed hollow like a tin can.

“H-He found me! Pi-po!” He sputtered out, watching as the embers shifted, a face, similar to a tiny skull missing teeth, manifested itself within the blaze. It pushed through the wall of fire, strands of flames quickly snapping into place and solidifying as arms and legs, the carpet underneath its feet singing and melting.

“GOT YA Q-BOT! NOW COME QUIETLY!” The fire elemental shouted, pointing Q-Bot with assertiveness, the lights of the fire contrasting the darkness of the closet, bringing a flickering and quivering gradient of shadows over the robot’s face as he looked up, from his propped-up position on the ground.

He was cornered, it would only make sense for him to give up. There was nothing he could do…

If he was a regular robot, that is! Someone like him couldn’t give up! After all…

The robot rose to his conveyor belt-like feet, placing his fists onto his cube-shaped body as he stood proud, the bright red capital Q on his chest shimmering.

“SUPER ROBOT, Q-BOT!”

The grungy closet had been quickly replaced by the limitless vastness of the universe, stars flying by as Q-Bot spread his arms out, afterimages tracing behind his motions as his arms swirled around in the air, crossing over each other for a singular pause, before snapping back to his sides as he shifted his standing to take a flexing pose, despite his lack of muscles.

“THE ROBOT OF JUSTICE!” His voiceover proclaimed as the stars exploded like fireworks, celebrating his heroism.

“And justice…” Q-Bot began, the colorful background fading away to return to the drab closet, crouching down slightly as he prepared for his next move.

“Doesn't give up!”

Q-Bot surged past his opposition with a burst of speed, the robotic sounds of his moving body following him as he rushed past, raising his arms to cover his face as he ran through the doorway filled with flames.

“HUH!?” The fire elemental spouted, completely off guard by Q-Bot’s sudden dash, “HEY! GET BAAAACK HERE!” It childishly shouted, quickly rushing to chase after him.

As the pair ran out of the closet, they entered a world that was nothing like the mess of before, everything was spick and span, not a speck of dust rested on a single piece of furniture, nor any of the wooden carved architecture. It clearly would have been spotless.

If it wasn’t for the fact that hundreds of people lived in it.

In every corner of the room, something was going on, involving all the Playmates that lived in the house. They came in numerous different shapes and sizes, and their differences were showcased in the numerous blemishes in what should be well-maintained surrounding.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing-nya!?” A shrill computerized voice fussed, owned by a small robot on a wheel, wearing a maid dress and cat ears, a painted-on cat face finishing the ensemble.

“I just finished polishing that couch!” The maid griped, directed directly at the large bird-like creature sprawled out over the top of it, his duck feet hanging on the armrest as he held a portable game console in his flippers, not even responding to the maid as he reached over and grabbed from the extra large bag of chips he had on the table, dropping a bunch of them on the ground as he brought a fin-full to his mouth, loudly crunching and munching.

“I KNOW YOU HEAR ME ŒUF!” The robot maid shouted, somehow hopping with rage on its single wheel.

“What!? Stocks are down 34%!?” Another furious voice brought the focus away from the two, their squabble fading into a blur as the view moved outward, now pinpointed on a tiny purple monkey creature, fitted with a tie in pants, and holding a phone that was much too large for him up to his giant ears.

“I don’t care what the advisors are telling you, we are NOT selling! I’ll hold onto those damn stocks until they go into the negatives if I gotta, capiche!?” He yelled into the phone, his harsh tone not matching his cute appearance at all.

“Solomon! Watch out!” A warning broke the simian out of his phone call, ears twitching as he turned to look over his shoulder, using his tiny hand to cover the microphone of his phone as he went to see what was happening.

Soaring right towards him with a bright red tip was a missile, leaving a trail of smoke and burning fuel as its shiny shell reflected off the lights.

“...” Solomon was silent as he turned back to his phone, “I’ll call you back Barry.” He calmly stated, pressing the button to end the call.

“EEEEIAAAAH!” He shouted, raising his arms in the air as he ran, his phone flying out of his hands and clattering on the ground. The view didn’t follow him as he ran off-screen, missile following close behind, just to come back into sight from the same direction.

“Hurcell, you bastard! I told you to stop taking stuff out of the weapons room!” Solomon roared at the culprit. The angle alternated to show a larger creature with red skin and a mustache, a rocket launcher with a scope hoisted over his shoulder as he wore a bright smile.

“BAHAHAHA! Sorry Solo-man! I couldn’t resist! Trying out the heat-seeking! Ain't it amazing?!” He guffawed as Solomon ran past him, having no remorse for his actions. As Solomon dashed past again, he stopped to fume at Hurcell, jumping up and down while raising his arms. “Just do something about it already!” He demanded, before turning just in time to see the missile had caught up, promptly getting back to running away.

“O-KAY! I will take care of it!” Captain Hurcell vowed, cracking his broad neck as he let the missile launcher drop to the ground. He stepped away from the sidelines to intercept Solomon's fleeing path, giving the monkey a perfect chance to sneak through his legs, and leaving the missile to fly towards him instead.

Just as the explosive prepared to slam into him, Hurcell’s hands reached forward, grabbing the sides of the missile and stopping it in its place, his body bracing as the momentum and acting forces tried to push him onto his feet.

“Grrrrngggh….” He growled between clenched teeth, his fingers clutching around its sides. His body quickly swiveled with the missile in hand, tossing it to the side with a thunderous war cry.

It slammed into the wooden wall, exploding on impact with a plume of smoke and fire, shaking the whole room and its foundations, everyone in the vicinity froze in place to look up at it, watching as faint embers flew through the air.

“BAHAHAHA! That takes care of that!” Hurcell proudly stated, giving a thumbs up, a glint in the toothy smirk he gave.

It only lasted a second before a familiar robotic maid slammed into his back, causing his eyes to bulge out of his head before he slammed face-first onto the ground.

“HURCELLLLLL!!!” The maid was so blinded by rage, all she could do was yell his name as she dragged his wheels across his back. “Ow! Ow! Ow! Soldiers, save your captain!” He pleaded for help, reaching a hand out for anyone to grasp it. But, instead, all he got was the stares of his fellow Playmates as they watched him get his rightfully deserved punishment.


This was just another average day in the house.

Completely oblivious to the madness upstairs, the calmness of the downstairs kitchen was ruled and dominated by its single matriarch.

The sounds of a sizzling pan paired with the boiling pot of water next to it. A wooden stool sat in front of the stove, tall enough to loom over the entire range. It was currently empty, the person who usually used it was busy in another part of the kitchen, signified by the rapid sounds of steel hitting against a wooden cutting board.

Her small size required it to sit on top of the table as it did its work, her folded-steel blades moving like a blur as it minced up vegetables like a professional chef.

“Mimimi!” She proudly chirped after finishing her job, raising her knives in the air, the dangerous utensils not matching their cute appearance. She promptly used the back of her knife to slide the vegetables into a small bowl on the ground, hopping down from the table to pick it up over her head and bring it to her stool.

After a long and laborious process of lifting it to the top of the stool, she finally was able to dump the mix into the sizzling pan, the moisture immediately causing the hot oil to crackle and pop. She placed the bowl to the side, grabbing at the handle of the pan to flip its contents.

Dropping the pan back onto the stove, she turned around and prepared to hop down and work on the next step for her meal--

“You’ll never catch me! A hero like me is too fast for you Bleat! Pi-pi-po!♪”

“AS IF! I’M THE FASTEST!”

A pair of voices suddenly came from above, the mystery of such causing the hamster Playmate to look upwards, just in time to watch two figures coming flying downwards…right towards the stove!

“MIIIIIIIII!” She squealed, though it was already too late for anything to be changed.

With a loud splash, Q-Bot cannon-balled into the pot of boiling water, at the same time Bleat landed into the pan of vegetables. Instantaneously, the pan was set aflame, the fire shooting up to the roof as everything inside was immediately burned to a crisp.

“M-Mi…M-Mimi…” Murder Hamster stuttered out, watching her whole meal go up in flames, left frozen.

Q-Bot’s hand rose out from the pot of water, gripping the edge of the pot to pull himself out, putting one leg out before the other to stand on the kitchen counter. He looked down at himself as salted water dripped off him, clearly worried as his hands raised to hold the sides of his blocky head. “Oh no! I’m gonna rust!”

“DON’TCHA WORRY Q-BOT!” Bleat’s voice came from the burning pan, as his recognizable skull-like face once again parted through the flames, he jumped through the pan and flew through the air, his body going from shapeless fire to solid form as he landed.

“I’ll dry yas off.” Bleat offered, swiftly extending out his hands, a wave of heat washing over Q-Bot, as the water immediately evaporated into steam, leaving the robot completely dry.

“Woah..!” Q-Bot exclaimed, taking another look down at himself in awe, before looking back up with Bleat, his fists excitedly clenched. “It worked! I’m all dry!”

“Heheheh. Easy for someone like me!” Bleat gloated, before reaching a hand out to poke his hand against Q-Bot’s chest. “Got ya.”

Q-Bot stared for a moment, not understanding what had happened, but as soon as he did, he dropped down to his knees in defeat, a depressive gloom surrounding him. “I failed…”

“That was fun!” Bleat whooped, either oblivious to Q-Bot’s lamenting or uncaring as he turned away, already thinking about what he was going to do next, “We should play again sometime! I’mma go find DunDun!” These were his final words before he hopped off the counter, landed on the tiled ground, and ran off.

Q-Bot was left there in silence, a failure once again. For a ‘super robot’, he never seemed to be able to do anything right, even a simple game of hide and seek tag.

He sighed, clambering back up to his feet, the clicks of his metal feet against the ground, left alone with his thoughts, for only the shortest of moments.

“Pipipipi!♩ Incoming transmission!” Q-Bot shouted out the signal of communications before he had even realized it, his programming taking brief precedence over his sentience. His antenna waved around in the air, spinning around as his eyes had turned into pound signs, his red nose blinking and flashing.

As the alert sounded out through the kitchen, a dark corner of the room abruptly became more than just a background detail. A pair of predatory eyes opened, a red glint flashing in them just before a jaw of shimmering jagged teeth opened. Wings unfurled, the faint crimson color of them peeking out from the darkness as the sound of them pushing away air was amplified.

“KikikikI!” A sinister snicker came from the figure as he flapped out of the darkness, revealing his full form. The Winged Menace was Pei’s right-hand man.

He soared down, stopping on a dime right in front of Q-Bot as he floated above, looming down at the tiny robot with his signature smile, matching his master to a T.

“Let the transmission through! Kiki!” Kiys ordered, and Q-Bot obeyed, there was only a slight click to signify his acceptance, a brief moment of muteness before anything happened.

“KIYS! I got a job for you!” A distinct voice came from the other side, despite not having any physical presence, his words immediately commanded the mood of the surroundings, his inflection was soaked with something vile. Q-Bot’s expression had shifted to match the speaker, teeth going sharp and jagged, and his eyes shrinking into slits as their master talked through the other end.

“It’s time to pass on that message I told you about! You have fifteen minutes! You hear me!?” Pei ordered acrimony saturating his words as usual. Kiys was entirely unphased, in fact, he seemed to enjoy it, “I’ll only need five! Kikiki!” The bat boasted.

As Q-Bot listened to Pei give out orders, he looked at Kiys, and couldn’t help but feel…hollow. Pei was always trusting Kiys with the important stuff, giving him all the cool jobs. He had to wonder, where were his tasks? When did he get to go on top-secret missions? He was just as good as Kiys, probably even better! He was a Super Robot of justice!

“Professor! Professor!” Q-Bot forced himself into the interaction as his expression returned to normal, raising his open palms slightly in front of him.

“WHAT THE HELL IS IT!?” Pei immediately exploded with anger at the sudden interruption, the yelling so loud out of the robot’s speakers, his head was forced sideways from the propulsion of the soundwaves, even as his face shifted and talked to match Pei’s words.

Straightening himself back out, Q-Bot once again returned to his standard appearance, not letting himself be scared by Pei’s usual aggressiveness as he responded with hopefulness, “Can I have a mission too!? I wanna be useful!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP SCRAPSHIT! IF I WANT YOU TO DO SOMETHING I’LL TELL YOU TO!” The idea was immediately shut down by Pei, who didn’t even bother to humor it as he focused back on what he called for. “Kiys! Go ahead and get started!"

“Aye aye!” Kiys saluted proudly with one wing as his other kept himself airborne.


“Transmission ended.” Q-Bot robotically declared, returning to his natural self as he stood there, utterly devastated by Pei’s straightforward denial of his attempt to try and be more useful. Kiys only looked at that hopeless expression on the robot's face with a slight snicker, “Kikiki. Maybe next time!” He said, but it was clear he didn’t have any interest in trying to cheer the robot up. He didn’t even bother to say goodbye before he flew away, off to do whatever Pei ordered of him.


Once again, Q-Bot was left lonesome again, his only embrace being the sense of failure.

Robots weren’t supposed to cry, especially not Super Robots, invincible protectors of justice.

Sniffle.


Q-Bot raised his head, tears pouring out from his eyes to go down the sides of his face, his body twitching as choked cries came from him.

Was he nothing but dead weight…?

*POKE*

“YEEEAOOOWWW!” A sudden sharp pain on his rear sent the robot flying up in and clutching his behind as he reached the peak of his jump, before landing back on the kitchen counter with a hollow clatter.

“Do you feel better now?” A considerate and soft tone came from behind before Q-Bot could even wonder who the culprit was, his assailant revealing herself, entirely innocent of the concept of any wrong-doings, a Playmate he knew too well.

“Lala…” Q-Bot mumbled as he rose back to his feet, turning around to be greeted by a fairy who hovered off the ground with her angel-like wings, a large syringe filled with a green liquid in her hands. She looked at Q-Bot with a bright smile, “Hi Q-Bot!” She greeted him, as cheerily as always.

“You know what the Professor said about poking people without him telling you to, right!?” Q-Bot didn’t match her happiness, immediately shouting at her as he stomped a foot on the ground agitated at the surprise poking of his behind. Lala raised a hand to her mouth, eyes widening in remembrance as she clutched onto her syringe, “Ah…I forgot.”

“You always forget!” Q-Bot accused with a sharp point, Lala bracing herself as she squinted in response. “I’m sorry! It’s just that you were crying, so I just…” She trailed off into a murmur, puffing out her cheeks as she pouted at being reprimanded for her good deed, by Q-Bot nonetheless.

At the mention of his crying, Q-Bot’s point gradually weakened, before he dropped it entirely, crossing his arms, “Hmph! I’ll forgive you this time! I’m on the side of justice, after all!” He relented, pompously tilting his head up. Lala perked up at this, eyes glistening with appreciation, “Really!? Thank you, Q-Bot!” She quickly expressed her gratitude, floating in closer to close the distance between her and the robot.

“But…why were you crying? You usually only cry when you’re throwing a tantrum.” The fairy nurse questioned her fellow Playmate’s actions. Q-Bot stiffened up in response, not moving out of his current pose for a moment as he wasn’t sure how to act next.

Then in the next moment, he dropped to the ground, slamming his fists against the ground and waving his legs as he started crying again, going into a full-on tantrum.

“I’m tired of Kiys taking up all of Professor’s trust! I wanna do cool stuff too! I’m a Super Robot! I can do anything! I wanna do special jobs! I wanna! I wanna! I wanna! I wannaaaaaaaa!

Q-Bot voiced his complaints in the form of wailing, Lala watching on with an oblivious expression on her face as Q-Bot rolled across the ground, crying and complaining. She didn’t quite understand it, but…

“Well, if you want Mister Pei to acknowledge how great you are, why don’t you show him?”

“...Eh?”

Q-Bot paused mid-breakdown, his tears immediately stopping as he was paused in time, Lala’s words going through his processing chips.

“That’s…” He stopped speaking to get back onto his feet, turning to look directly at Lala before finishing with a triumphant agreement, “A GREAT IDEA!”

“All I gotta do is just track down something interesting or suspicious and collect a bunch of data and information!” Q-Bot ran through the process, pacing around in a circle as he rubbed his chin, “Then, I can show it off to the Professor and he can see how useful I am! And with stuff like recording devices, he won’t be able to deny that I’m better than Kiys!”

He raised a fist into the air, wholly confident in his plan.

“It’s foolproof! Pi-po-po!♪”

As Q-Bot held his pose, Lala clapped in the background, just enjoying that Q-Bot had gotten his confidence back. That was until she suddenly found his hand grasped around her wrist.

“H-Huh!?” She blustered out, taken aback by why she had suddenly been grabbed, but before she could get out another word edgewise, she was already getting dragged off-screen, right behind Q-Bot.

“With the both of us, this will be easy!”

“W-Wait, I don’t--”

“Don’t worry! I’ll make sure you get your fair share of credit, Lala!”

“But--”

“It’s time for me to show what I’m capable of!”

 

[Coyote Hart]

PEYTON XIONG

CS Link

SCENE:

Confidental Motivations

LOCATION:

Taka's Apartment, North District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 || July 1st, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Peyton, Takahiro

CONFIDENTAL MOTIVATIONS

Well, this was an unexpected situation. No, it shouldn't have been unexpected. Peyton should've known better than to assume that someone in bed with Raph wouldn't be resilient to a few demands. Taka hastily responded to Peyton's words, which made Peyton similarly shoot something back before realizing what he was saying.

"You're right! Raph is pretty cute!" Peyton said. He frowned, jutting his bottom lip out, aware that something was wrong. Then suddenly Peyton realized, and he quickly shouted with wide eyes, "Wait, NO!"

Peyton was supposed to be intimidating Taka, not agreeing with him! Worried about his instinctive reaction, Peyton focused his attention on Taka and realized the implications of Taka's reactions. The excitement in Taka's eyes, the crimson flush on his cheeks, the way that Taka's lips curled into a mischievous smirk. Taka was turned on. The realization caused Peyton's face to similarly blush, the red going up to the tips of his ears as he felt himself start to sweat. He hadn't meant to make the situation erotic! He just wanted to intimidate Taka!

It was also a novel situation, being the one on top. Peyton had the most experience being pushed down, dominated, humiliated, and eviscerated as he writhed and squirmed. He didn't have any experience in the other side of things. He wasn't quite sure where to go with things in this scenario. Unfortunately, Peyton didn't have to think about what to do, he was rather incensed by Taka's teasing.

"I'm not small! I'm fun-sized!" Peyton pouted. It tingled where Taka grasped his hips, "And I have plenty of meat in me! Enough to satisfy Raph!"

Peyton was never self-conscious about his small petite size, even when others may have openly thought that he was a bit too short. But in this instance, his defensiveness stemmed from being goaded whilst his jealousy ran rampant.

In the entire interaction, Peyton was on the defensive, reacting to Taka's accusations whilst unable to throw his own. Even as he pushed down on Taka's shoulders and bared his teeth, Peyton felt like he was being played like a fiddle.

"If you're not going to stop me, maybe I'll just devour you! Then I'll have more meat on my bones!" Peyton snarled, "I am half-zombie, after all!"

In truth, Peyton wasn't possibly going to cannibalize Taka. He was all for helping cannibalism but partaking in it too... Hmm, perhaps not yet. In this instance, all Peyton was trying to do was intimidate Taka using an avenue that few would find erotic, although he didn't consider the alternative connotations.

Slav