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

[simj26]

Kisara McDowell

https://www.rpnation.com/threads/four-heavenly-kings-cs-thread.503332/post-11163089

CS Link

SCENE:

Ours and Ours Alone

LOCATION:

The Vanishing Lot, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Eric, Sebastian, Hiachi, Takakazu, Dante, Kisara

Ours and Ours Alone

There it was. A shimmer, a single glimmer that something was still there. Amidst the meandering crowd, filled with both the curious and the truly affected, Kisara McDowell stood, her hood shrouding her eyes, though it did nothing to hide the horns that protruded from the self-made holes on it. This was an interesting case. It was either something of immense power that caused this disappearance, or someone of the same amount of power.

She clenched her fists. Higher, and higher still, she had to climb. This place reeked of power, and if she could find whoever or whatever was responsible, it was possible for her to climb atop their dead body, and rise higher still. She fished around in the pocket of her dusty jacket, and drew out an energy bar. Tearing through the wrapper, she scarfed down the morsel in a blink of an eye, and wiped her lips with her sleeve. This wouldn’t be enough, she thought to herself, but it was sufficient for her to scout out the opposition first, and then see how she could take it from there.

Her fingers tightened into fists once more, and the surge of electrical energy coursed through her body. A stray spark jolted a curious passerby next to her. She ignored his yelp, and pushed past him, slipping further into the crowd ahead of her, until she broke through the bubble of bodies. Uncaring of the voices that called out at her, she ducked under the police cordon, and strode straight up to the remnants of the building, crouching down at the threshold that once was a wall.

She reached forwards, past that threshold, then ran a finger across the dirt that replaced what could have been a floor days ago. No reaction. The pipes and wiring that dotted the patch of dirt that denoted the building’s location seemed almost as if they had been decapitated at ground level. What was more, there wasn’t a single dot of cement on the dirt patch. It had, for all intents and purposes, seemed as if the place had been sliced cleanly off at its base, like a hot knife through butter, and simply scooped up and taken elsewhere.

Teleportation was a possibility. She couldn’t take that out of the equation. But that light. That tiny flicker. Maybe some sort of spatial or temporal manipulation? She laid her arms over her knees, letting them hang low over the dirt, as she continued to study the area, almost quite unaware of the police officers that were starting to approach her location. The method wasn't much of a question right now. The real question was 'why?'. Not that it mattered. If she found what was doing this, she'd punch them in the head and see how well they took it. That was her only reason for being here, not to play at detective. The cops had that covered.

The One Eyed Bandit Coyote Hart thebigfella miki simj26 Haze- Roda the Red

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park

SCENE:

Lady Madonna

TIME:

June 24th, 2022 | Post Arc 3, Timeskip 1

LOCATION:

Our ✰ Dream Soup Kitchen, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Eric

Lady Madonna

The aroma of bubbling broth was thick in the air, a gentle litany of bright, soothing flavours, simmered for hours to fill the craven stomachs of the needy.

It wasn't Passeri's first time hosting one of these events. No, in fact, Our Dream's efforts to assist the community had become a known quantity since her return to the city. Week after week, this small corner of the South buzzed with life; the sound of clattering pans and pleasant conversation. She wasn't always able to attend, but occasionally, she'd take a bit of time out of her week to oversee things like this.

"How're things going back here?" She questioned airly, as she made a round through the kitchen. "It smells lovely! What is it today...? Artichoke, Potato, Shrimp, Spinach, and...?" She craned her neck over each of the pots as she strolled by, taking a deep whiff on their contents before moving on. She'd tried her hand at this, once before, but thanks to a certain incident, she'd found herself irreversibly banned.

"...Chicken?" Passeri's head hovered over the final pot, her bangs dangling dangerously close to the bubbling cauldron, and gave her special guest chef a small smile. "Hey hey, sir! Glad you managed to get started on your own. I know I was supposed to be here to give you a tour of the place, but some stuff came up!" As it was so often ought to, these days.

"Did Carol manage to find everything off your shopping list just fine? Sometimes it can be hard to source everything just from the local markets, I'm told." That was part of how they cut costs, and did a little to stimulate the local economy, while they were at it. "It looks good, either way! You think it'll be ready in the next thirty minutes? I'm aiming to have the doors open before ten."

She wasn't sure why she'd invited the stoic detective to this. Or why he'd agreed. It hardly seemed like a good use of his time. A boy in blue with a ladle in hand instead of a badge and firearm, it almost seemed like a joke. He was only short one frilly pink apron of turning it into a 90s sitcom punchline.

"Miss Park." A stern voice suddenly cut in from behind.

"Oh, Carol! How are you?"

"Good as ever." A spry-looking woman, just past the threshold of her thirties stood behind the pair, with a scrunched-up hairnet in hand. "How many times do I have to ask, though? Please put one of these on if you want to come back here."

"Oh, right!" Deftly, Passeri plucked the thing from the older woman's hands, and squeezed it over the top of her head. "Sorry! It always slips my mind, somehow. Where do we keep them, anyway?"

"By the door." She neglected to mention that this was the fifth time she'd asked. "Don't forget next time, please? I dont even wanna think of what's gonna happen if any of... That ends up on someone's meal."

"Oh, don't worry! Why don't you take a break until we open? I'm sure you're beat from running around this morning."

"Not a bad idea..." It took a moment for her to mull over the idea, but soon enough, Carol gave the bright-eyed idol a shrug, and started to wander off. "Yeah. I'll be in the back if you need me.

"Perfect! See you in a bit!" Passeri chirped and sent off the tired brunette with a small wave. "Anyway, Eric, where were we? Chicken, right?" At least, she was pretty sure that it smelled like chicken. She'd never been very good at telling birds apart. "What else? Veggies? Noodles? I don't see any noodles. What even goes in chicken soup? I only ever managed to make the kind that comes out of a packet, myself..."

Roda the Red​

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Shifting Around The Side View Mirror Is Good Until You See Your Own Reflection

LOCATION:

East District

DATE:

June 13, 2022 || Post-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Kisara ( simj26 ), Keith( Roda the Red ), Takakazu

Shifting Around The Side View Mirror Is Good Until You See Your Own Reflection

Tak stood quietly, the sounds of cicadas in the distance paired with the summer heat. It was something he was so fond of as a kid; it had been a long while since he finally got to enjoy it like this.

He was enjoying the peace, a nice relaxing day. Well, if you didn’t count the noises coming from the alley across the street.

Tak entirely tuned it out, even as the sounds of screams and crashes echoed throughout the street. The kids who had been busy playing with chalk had already picked up their things and started running away.

Not Tak, though. He wasn’t bothered by it. So what if some people were duking it out? Didn’t involve him. He took another swig of his drink, tilting his head back to finish the rest just as a plume of dust and smoke rose into the air.

He smacked his lips loudly after he was done, letting his head drop back down as he sighed in relief.

He placed a hand on his hip, just standing there with the empty can in his hand as he allowed himself to enjoy these chill vibes he was experiencing.

Even as some blur of red came flying out of the alleyway, slamming against his scooter with enough force to cause it to loudly clatter against the ground, knocking off one of its mirrors and causing the headlight to shatter, he didn’t let it get to him.

Mistakes happen, right?

So, instead of getting angry, he walked over to the guy who had bashed himself on his bike, placing a hand on his shoulder to ensure that the guy knew he was behind him. Not to make sure he didn’t go anywhere, of course.

Okay, maybe he grabbed it pretty tightly, but it wasn’t that big of a deal.

When Keith turned around to see who had decided to grasp him, he was greeted by a messy-haired nobody. This uninterested-looking brute had no distinct feature about him besides how little he seemed to care about his appearance.

He used his other hand to offer an open palm to Keith, expectantly waiting for something.

“150.”

He calmly stated, beckoning for Keith to bring on the dough with his fingers.

“That’s how much it’s going to cost to fix the damage. So you can go ahead and pay me back. Don’t worry, I won’t press charges or nothin’.”

He was expectantly waiting for Keith to cover the damages, not even paying attention to his wounds and marks from the intense battle he was still in the middle of.

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Clad In Golden Dreams

LOCATION:

West District

DATE:

June 16th, 2022 | Evening

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Passeri, Ezra, Viss, Mark, Jess, Tak, Elias, Jesper

Clad In Golden Dreams

Asking “can it get any worse?” only prompts fate to answer in the cruelest way possible. Which is why Hiachi refrained from asking herself that. Unfortunately for her, she didn’t even need to ask.

A leather shoe brushed up against the side of her head. Her instinct was to turn and see who the hell just kicked her in the head, but quickly remember that she wasn’t supposed to be there.

Hopefully they didn’t notice. If they did, hopefully they’d be understanding. Maybe it would be a benevolent billionaire who would be so touched by her strife that they’d pay off all her debts. Or even just a normal person who would quickly forget her.

But of course it wasn’t, because a life without impossibly bad luck isn’t Hiachi’s life at all.

Hiachi’s attention bolted to the lifted tablecloth, wherein she locked eyes with Markus. Eye contact which she quickly broke to stare into space, contemplating her whole life up until that point.

Statistically, really, how was it possible that this would happen? There were what, hundreds of tables at the charity gala? What chance was it that she would be standing in a pool of tables in this general vicinity, be forced under a table, be forced out of that table and choose the only table out of the three she could reasonably reach from her position that had the king of the Albino Tigers sitting at it?

He wasn’t alone, either. Sat next to him was Mr. Yumin, her savior. It was a debatable title at that point, since he was confirming that she was real and not a figment of the King’s imagination. And then Passeri came along, her drawl of a sigh layered a thick blanket of dread on her shoulders.

“...what was your name again?”

This sucked. She didn’t want to state her name. It wasn’t important enough for him to remember anyway. Her voice was locked behind her vocal chords, like bars of a prison.

This was truly pathetic. She was like a dog being scolded by its owners. The conversation flew over her, around her, at her, but never really with her. She was a being of lesser conscience, lesser importance.

Passeri had asked Markus to ignore her. And that was a good thing, wasn’t it? Bailing her out of the mess she had dug herself into. She didn’t mean to be so pessimistic.

But was being pessimistic really too much? She was trapped here. Not only did she not have a seat at the table, but she was beneath it, invisible to those who floated above poverty and strife. She was here because she made an attempt to seize control of this sick world, and was beat down by those more greedy and rich than her.

It was all really symbolic. Her literature teacher would have marveled at something like this.

In moments like these, all Hiachi wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sob.

What was stopping her? She didn’t have the capacity for self control anymore. What did she even put a brave face on for? No matter how she presented herself, everyone knew the truth. She was an easy target, a weakling.

She covered her face with both of her hands to hide her face, but she couldn’t hide her hiccups or choking sobs.

This was pathetic. She wasn’t supposed to be here. She wanted to go home. Not to her apartment, but home. Where she would admit to her mother she was wrong, that she couldn’t make it in this world alone. She would have gladly taken that ego crush.

But that was impossible. She was resigned to her shitty fate. If she even looked her mother in the eyes, she was put in danger. Any tethers to her family were poisonous veins.

And then she cried some more. She wanted to disappear. Maybe her king would be kind enough to put her out of her misery, right then and there.

Spoiler

The One Eyed Bandit Lucem Elenion Aura @Haste thebigfella simj26 QuirkyAngel

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Everyone's A Critic

LOCATION:

Feralia Art Gallery, Central District

DATE:

June 30th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila ( Roda the Red ), Takakazu

Everyone's A Critic

Watching the man quickly vacate, chipper as if he had just shaken hands with god, Tak scowled as soon as he had turned around, only a half second before spitting on the ground the pompous bastard had just walked on before Camila’s tight grip gave him a sharp tug that caused his mucus to slam at the back of his throat, leading him to start coughing and sputtering the whole way over, keeping him from complaining.

Finally, in a secluded corner, Tak watched in real-time as Camila tossed away the experienced fake smile and replaced it with her true feelings. The clear apprehension on her face would have caused Tak to recoil if he wasn’t too busy trying to clear his throat. As Camila continued criticizing him for his idiocy, Tak was busy rubbing his throat, wishing he had some hot cocoa or something to help with his now slightly sore throat. He was halfway tuning out Camila at this point.

“So…you’re mad, I guess.” Tak made a late and obvious deduction of what Camila meant when she was done, sticking a pinkie in his ear as he took the whole thing with his usual unimpassioned neutrality, “Just toss the suit in some bleach or something, I’m sure it will wash off after I’m done.” He brushed the whole thing under the rug, walking past Camila to casually walk towards the crowd who were busy appreciating the gallery, “You wanted me here for espionage, right? Watch me do my thing.”

If his earlier act worked so well, he was clearly onto something. Even if Camila had planned to helm this whole thing, Tak was about to make things much easier for them both. The more he impressed her, the more money she’d be willing to hand off, right? Simple economics.

“Excuse me, sir!” Once again, he put back on the act, channeling every pompous rich douchebag he could think of in his daily soaps to put on the best performance he could.

A well-distinguished man in a black suit turned around, looking at Tak with his analytic eyes. His apparent old age from the graying of his beard showed he most likely had a vision for art and was an experienced connoisseur. If anything, Tak probably picked the worst person to talk to, someone who could easily see through his act to reveal nothing but a fraud.

Tak was all but oblivious to this, folding his hands together in a pleading manner towards the man as he smiled, “I’m so sorry to bother you, but do you think you could--”

As the words fell from his mouth, he suddenly realized that there was a gap in his train of thought, and as he couldn’t find the words to continue the sentence, he stood there with his mouth hanging open, eyes wide as a bead of sweat went down the side of his face.

He had realized something of critical importance at that very moment as he stood there with his mouth hanging open like an idiot.

“I still don’t know what this job is about!”

So focused on proving himself, he entirely forgot even to try to milk out an answer out of Camila without clearly stating that he didn’t even have a clue why he was there in the first place. So there he stood, more and more sweat starting to drip down his face.

“...Are you alright, lad?” The older man questioned, looking at him with evident confusion, why he had suddenly frozen the place as if someone had hit him with a pause button.

Tak was much more occupied searching his brain for an answer, desperately pulling out file cabinets and digging through his memory.

“C’mon, c’mon, there’s gotta be an answer in here somewhere!”

Yet, he found nothing, nowhere.

Except for the slightest blip in his short-term memory.

“Hillclad.”

He spoke the name without even thinking about it. And once he heard his own voice, his eyes widened.

“Oh, you’re looking for Debora?” The old man perked up as Tak finally finished, his gaze narrowing as he looked him up and down as if examining him to confirm something. Until he finally leaned in, placing his weight onto his cane.

“Go up to the second floor and take the middle elevator; press the basement level button three times in a row.” He hushed into Tak’s ear before giving him a confident pat on the shoulder.

“Good luck.” He said mysteriously before turning around and slowly walking away, leaving Tak bewildered, blinking at the old man’s hunched back.

“Take the middle elevator and press the button three times?” He reiterated, putting his hands back into his pockets as his natural thug look returned to his expression. What was the crazy old guy talking about?

He turned back to Camila, clicking his teeth; there goes his plans to get a head start and impress her.

“He said somethin’ bout an elevator. No clue what that has to with Hillcurl, or whatever her name is.” Tak muttered towards her, clearly oblivious to how things could be correlated.

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

HECTOR MOSES

CS Link

SCENE:

Get(ting) Help

TIME:

Post Arc-3

LOCATION:

Jiro's Dojo, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Hitoshi, Ashley, Charlie, Gideon and Kaede

GET(TING) HELP

"Ach!" Hector grunted as he tumbled down beside Hitoshi, neither man making a pleasant display of themselves right now. Without delay — Hector realised that he'd be a fool to underestimate Hitoshi — he got to his knees, and snapped his head toward Hitoshi, damp hair whipping round and sticking to his forehead. He intended to follow up with another attack before his opponent's pleas reached him.

"Some techniques you just never forget, eh?"

He sat back for a moment, before getting back to his feet as well. His body ached, and he wondered why. He wasn't a healthy guy, not at all, but a 27 year old HP should be running circles around an addict past his prime.

"You could mentor some of the younger folks, I betcha have priceless memories training here."

Looking down, Hector saw that he had accumulated dust from his trip to the floor, and brushed off a cloud of it. He scratched at his nose, and turned attention towards the other duel. He side-eyed Kaede and Gideon, daring them to comment on the fight. He didn't realise that he was scowling.

 

[Roda the Red]

CAMILA GASPARI

CS Link

SCENE:

Backroom Dealings

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, June 21st 2022

LOCATION:

West District, Sarizara Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Ryutaro, Samira, Jack, Elias, Alice, Welsha, Dagger, Passeri

Backroom Dealings

It was but a short moment before people started to debate their alleged gripes with the man of the hour. The collectively brought up a validly worrying matter, of indebted rookies, more often than not, got the short end of the stick, the profits of their pitiful efforts syphoned by those at the top. A flimsy system, one the tigers had applied for a long time now, and anyone with the barest amount of foresight would recognize it for the time bomb that it was. However, the way the members around the table spoke were nothing short of infuriating to the girl. This was exactly the kind of idealistic, roundabout behavior that she hated from the stuck up higher ups, saccharine verbosity that aimed to speak of an unrealistic goal, delivering promises and the flimsy procedures they would take to achieve them.

She leaned forward, partially standing as her rear left the seat. She cleared her throat, quite loudly so, making sure she would get every single person in the room's attention. "First off, thanks for praise, it's always nice to hear that my efforts don't go unnoticed, just a year ago I didn't even know where I was heading to in this organization, but enough about me" She returned to her seat, taking a quick sip of sake before continuing her own little speech. "The idea could work in paper, nothing that a little bit of coordination and cooperation could fix, but the approach presente right now is quite naive" She wouldn't be surprised if anyone in the table took offense of her words, but in all truth, she couldn't give any less of a shit about it. "I could lend a hand if necessary, most of the time the only thing you need is to understand the rookie's strong points, know where they can shine the most and make the most use out of it, do it right and the results can be good enough to not need any underhanded tactics to really make a profit, however..." She gave Park and Elijah a few neutral glances, not quite clear if they carried any sort of contempt or agreement. "Money and power for the gang, that is the goal of the Albino Tigers, this isn't a charity, and we shouldn't break our backs fretting over every single egg. What I'm trying to say is that there's only so much we can do to help the rookies within reason, they also need to be proactive, and that is simply out of our reach" She recalled Park's words, something that echoed within the silver-tailed woman, something that revolted her to her very core. It was her comments about getting lucky.

Luck, a concept that Camila abhorred, its very mention would earn you her scorn to a relative degree. Luck was for the foolish, those who somehow believed that life would served them opportunities on a silver platter. She never needed luck, never depended on it, she crawled her way uphill through the muddy mountain path with her own two hand, be it rain or snow, she didn't give up because fortune didn't feel like favoring her, it was the fruit of her hard work, nay, of something she valued far more. "Rookies shouldn't just work hard, they should work smart, if they don't, then maybe they just weren't cut for escaping their debts to begin with, we all take risks, can't complain when some end up poorly" That was the magic word, the one thing that the veteran valued above everything else.

She turned her face to look at Elijah once more, her smile felt both warm and condescending at the same time. "Elijah, dear, as you said, you're almost a veteran so you should know by now" Her smile faded, replaced by a poker face instead. "'Trust' is not something you simply ask around for here, not in the criminal world, and even less in the Albino Tigers, for example, and don't take this personally, but I don't trust you. Hell, I don't think I can wholeheartedly trust anyone present here. Trust others too much in this line of work, and your head will be on a stake before you know it, I've seen it, more than once. If we want to find people who can help out, we need to see evidence, run through the numbers, as actions speak louder than words"

Her shoulders relaxed for a moment. While everything she said was fully within her intent to be productive in the conversation, it would be a lie to say that speaking her mind on such matters wasn't cathartic. She finished her serving of sake, gulping it down as to smooth out her tired throat. "Now, speaking of trust, there is one person who has lost all of mine, which means we should probably go back to the original topic, shall we?" She glanced at Ryutaro for a moment. He DID say they could speak their mind with honesty. Now, saying she 'trusted' her queen would be a bit of a stretch, as previously mentioned, however, she knew that the man had no benefit in 'ratting her out' to the King. Indeed, it didn't take the smartest person to know that he was most likely tending to his personal goals with this meeting, one that probably didn't count Markus in the equation, well, at least in a positive way. "Our King, Markus Weiss, leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to leadership" Unlike the others here, she wasn't afraid to let her real thoughts on the king out, well, at least to a reasonable degree. "While it's true that he's never been the kind to rally up his people with an encouraging speech or particularly care for any of us beyond the occasional gain, as of late, his unsupportive attitude has gotten worse, his behavior has turned almost neurotic, dismissive of anyone who isn't part of his innermost circle" Once again, she glanced at those she considered to be part of said circle. "Some contacts I know even claim that he speaks by himself at times, as if he was talking to someone who isn't there" She leaned against the back of her seat, crossing her arms. "It's not that I just don't trust him, I don't even trust the state of his mind, on the long term, his leadership could prove harmful if he doesn't get any help"

In classic Albino Tiger fashion, the veteran witheld from relenting all of her information. Camila knew more about the matter, her contacts were better than that. While she didn't get all the details, the veteran at the very least knew where the King's obsessive behavior was coming from. There was an object, a special artifact that he coveted, one that he even got a group of noteworthy tigers to get from the hands of the Phoenixes, and that even after getting his hands on it, his behavior never really died down, it only...Changed. Camila wasn't well aware of the minutia, not every bit of intel in the world is on easy access for purchase. But it was enough for her to know that he was planning something, something that, with his track record, might not be an ideal outcome.

Now that she was able to truly speak her mind, Camila couldn't deny that her interest in the meeting had diminished substantially. This was almost therapeutic for her, almost making her realized just how much stress she had bottled up as of late. In truth, the veteran didn't care all that much for delusions of grandure such as claiming to care for the good of the entire gang. No, as long as the gang itself remained standing, as well as both she and the people that worked for her, such as Welsha who currently sat beside her remained unbothered and unharmed, whatever was discussed here wasn't terribly important to her. Well, in reality that would be something of a lie, she still wanted to see people share more of their grievances with the King, the man she remained grudgeful of, for taking her one friend away. If revenge was an option in the menu, she would linger on it, attracted by the temptation.

Spoiler: Mentions

Chaos Gallant Beann joshuadim AriAriAbabwa simj26 The One Eyed Bandit QuirkyAngel Peckinou

 

[simj26]

Dagger

CS Link

SCENE:

Backroom Dealings

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1 | July 21st 2022

LOCATION:

West District, Sarizara Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryu, Samira, Jack, Passeri, Camila, Elias, Welsha, Dagger, Alice

Backroom Dealings

She stayed silent, eyeing the drained bowl in front of her. Nothing else had come yet. She had long since tuned out of the conversation the moment they started talking. Too much business talk. Too much griping. A moody blues tune crooned over their voices instead. Besides, it was a bad habit to participate in any badmouthing of her employers. If she made the mistake of opening her mouth here, she would be squandering future opportunities for job offers, possibly in fear of her digging a little too deep into their personal lives. She wondered if the people sat around here already suspected her of crawling through their residences in the middle of the night, listening, watching, studying them.

She glanced over at the faces gathered, their babbling mouths uttering muted nothings. They seemed comfortable. One or two may have had the expression of disgust at her earlier display, but that was possibly out of confusion at her behaviour. Barring Passeri, none of them had seen her at work before. The cowboy, perhaps, had only managed to catch a glimpse of it, but not where her specialties lay.

She looked up at the lights, then around her, and drew in a breath, a masked sigh. She couldn't very well try to frighten them now, as much as she liked to. They'd know of her shadowy work when the time came. For the time being, she would just have to settle for this.

Heavy military boots came down on the table, sending the cutlery clattering across the surface. She leaned back on her chair, balancing it on its rear legs, and grimaced, her mouth contorting into a scowl, a much easier shape than a smile. "I heard there was gonna be food, boss. Back in Ruthenia, there's a saying- hunger makes for regretful words. And I feel like we can express ourselves a little better once we've got some actual things to chew on than soup I can get for 2 bucks by the carton at the nearby grocery store."

Her empty bowl finally dropped from the edge of the table. The tofu remained inside, stuck to the surface with what remaining moistness the soup had left behind.

Spoiler: tags

simj26 QuirkyAngel @joshuadim Beann Chaos Gallant AriAriAbabwa Roda the Red Peckinou

 

[Roda the Red]

CAMILA GASPARI

CS Link

SCENE:

Not Thinking Twice

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, July 6 2022

LOCATION:

Nighttime, Streets of Central District

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Inigo

Not Thinking Twice

The man's eyes went wide as the felt a crushing pain on his belly, his innards being pushed back by a sudden force. He involuntarily took a few steps back, his arms wrapped around his gut as he tried to compose himself back. The woman clicked her tongue, thinking she found herself with a clear hit opportunity, only to barely graze him with her blade. "Fuck! I thought you were just some lanky bitch, ugh, my belly, fuck..." The man rubbed his stomach, still greatly bother by the pain from the blow. "Quit whining, you pussy!" Said the woman, throwing her cap on the ground in frustration.

Camila managed to push herself off the ground, her arms holding enough strength to lift herself to a sitting position. She was still a bit dizzy after being slammed against the concrete twice in quick succession, but was able to break down the situation without much issue. Someone she didn't know was fighting off the two attackers, not only that, he seemed to be faring surprisingly well against them, judging by his horns, it was easy to tell that he was a fellow HP, and a particularly handsome one, at that. If he was able to distract them for twenty or so more seconds, she could recover her footing properly and make a run for it, she had no benefit from staying here any longer, anyways...Right?

The Woman threw her knife from one hand to the other quickly, over and over again, maybe it was to hype herself up, or maybe she wanted to somehow confuse Inigo. Regardless, eventually she settled for an icepick grip, leaping forward to go for a deadly stab. The man, meanwhile, noticed a large piece of rubble, most likely a remaining piece of a building after the post-earthquake remodeling. He grab the piece and chucked it at Inigo with all his strength.

simj26

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

Afternoon, Post-Arc 3, June 18th 2022

LOCATION:

Phoenix HQ, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi

Searching for the Light

Charlie relaxed his body, leaning back against the co-pilot seat, letting the old, worn cushion to take his worries awayw. He enjoyed Hitoshi's driving, it wasn't as wild as some of the other Phoenixes, and cars going fast usually made him somewhat anxious. His eyes relaxed as well, his eyelids lowering halfway, it may not be a bed or a particularly fancy seat, but somehow, the car was making him awfully drowsy, maybe...just maybe, he could doze off for a bit, right?

"W-What?" He snapped, caught off guard by Hitoshi's questions. Charlie's face turned into a faint shade of red as he realized what he was about to do. He gave Hitoshi an awkward smile, scratching the back of his head. "Ehehehe, yeah...some guys were causing problems at a shop, northwest of the district" He rubbed his eyes to help him wake up again fully. "I also did some security early morning shift, but it wasn't a big deal, pretty boring overall" He rubbed his chin as he looked at the sky, trying to recall anything else worth noting. "Oh! Jasmine says hi, you know, the broker, Cotorra?" Considering Jasmine had a notorious reputation for being a bunny living in among a pack of lions, if was most likely that the older man knew of her. "And what about you? Did you recover from your sparring with hector?" He looked to the side. Curiously, it seemed like the route they were taking was fairly unusual, Charlie didn't recall going this way before. "Huh, this is an interesting path, you still refuse to tell me where we're going?" He crossed his arms, making a pitiful attempt at faking being offended, dumb smile and all.

joshuadim

 

[Misuteeku]

Sang-Cheol Man

CS Link

SCENE:

Guide to First Meetings

LOCATION:

North District, Lab District

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1 |

PARTICIPANTS:

Sang-Cheol, Caio

Guide to First Meetings

Quite curious wasn't he? If he wasn't the Professor's esteemed guest, Sang-Cheol would have just blasted him to begin with. Well any serpent would technically. It wasn't exactly what one might call peaceful at the moment. Though since he was the esteemed guest, Sang-Cheol responded courtesly. "Hmmm, while we do have our thing, we most work on the former. After all since we have the most manpower, we get some outsourced work here and there." With a hum, Sang-Cheol noticed some off. Things were quiet, too quiet.

Turning back to face Caio, Sang-Cheol frowned for no apparent reason. "Can you tilt your head to the left?" By the moment he had finished his sentence, his gun was already raised up to fire. A shot rang out from his handgun. The sound of something collapsing soon followed afterwards. Sang-Cheol knitted his brow as Hubert's corpse laid there, right next to Caio, with a fresh wound to his head. He looked back to Caio, "Excuse me if you would," Before B-lining straight to Hubert's corpse.

"Hubert. Please elaborate why are you trying to sneak on the recruit? Better yet..." Sang-Cheol sniffed. Other than the beginning of a dead stench, there something else there. It smelled a little smokey, borderline rancid, and... "Wait, Hubert. Don't you got into the drug supply!" As if he wasn't talking to a dead corpse, Sang-Cheol grabbed the man's collar. "How many times do I have to tell you this, old man! STOP GOING BEYOND THE RAINBOW!"

"Hehehehehe, rainbow. So many butterflies." The corpse responded back to him. Tilting his head back up to the scientist, Hubert grinned with bright set of terrible conditioned teeth. As if he hadn't been shot in the head, the wound has miraculously disappeared, the man let out a laugh. "Hey, hey, Sang-Cheol! I got in!" Sang-Cheol's face almost became withering as Hubert continued.

"Got into what?"

"My application to the Pink Panthers! HOOOO WEEEEEE! We're going to be-"

Another bang quickly silenced the elderly man as Sang-Cheol stood back. If only Hubert could stay beyond the rainbow as well. As if his pants wasn't stained by Hubert's matter, Sang-Cheol put up on a smile. "Forgive me, my co-workers seems a little drunk and needed some help. Where was I, again?"

Spoiler: Tags

@BriiAngelic

 

[Misuteeku]

Raquel Filo

http://

CS Link

SCENE:

Bedlam Blitz

LOCATION:

Whiteleaf, South District; driving...

Time:

Post-Arc 3 — July 10th, 2021; Early morning

PARTICIPANTS:

Boltius, Hector, Milo, Yukari, Raquel, Leaf, Zach

Bedlam Blitz

"Almond!?" Raquel screamed at the phone. She wasn't vegeterian, but she didn't know anyone by the name of 'Almond.' Since Hector asked, she had to try to recall if there was anyone by that name. Which was kind of hard since Raquel didn't know about 98% of names belong to the Phoenixes. After that little incident with BB, she stopped going to gathering altogether. Though that little lane of history didn't need to be revisited now.

Strutting right into the scene, Raquel looked at the old man. He wouldn't make for a fine meal, but at least he'll squeak like a rat. "Blitz, I believe you're asking the wrong questions," With a sweetly tone in her voice. She looked over to the old man and gave him a warm smile. "I'm terribly sorry, but can you please tell us where we supposed to meet up for the shipment? I'm what they call an airhead, so I'm terribly forgetful." Grasping the old man's, she barely restrained herself with crushing force.

"Though if your age is catching up with you and you can't remember... I can help with that." The trace of sweetness was underlaid with deadly intent at the tail end of Raquel's sentence. Whoever this 'Almond' was, he was going to meet a not so nice end when she got to him. While she could care less if the Phoenix's reputation was dragged down the gutter, it'd hurt the authority to what Hector had. Anyone if who defies Hector would naturally meet her first.

Also a few skewers would be nice. She was feeling quite famished at the moment.

Elenion Aura @Doctor Llamabean WhiskeyMarten QuirkyAngel Haze-

 

[Roda the Red]

ERIC EVENSEN

CS Link

SCENE:

Lady Madonna

LOCATION:

June 24th, 2022 | Post Arc 3

LOCATION:

Our ✰ Dream Soup Kitchen, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Eric, Passeri

Lady Madonna

Stir stir stir, keep stuff moving in the pot. Make sure to be at the line, so you can get it while it's hot. It had been a while now, since Eric had started working on the luxurious soup he was tasked to make. Between chopping the large quantities of vegetables and chicken and the constant stirring of the ladle between the large , the detective started to appreciate a little bit more those who cooked like this on a weekly basis, fortunately, his powerful gamer wrists were perfectly prepared for the task.

Somehow he had found himself once again dragged by his friend's influence to spend his prized day off at a kitchen he'd never been to before. Not that it was all that surprising, anyways, while he would find himself with the assertiveness to be the one getting people to places every now and then, most of the time he was his inner's circle ragdoll, that one could carry around like a sack of potatoes and he would comply without much of a complaint.

It had been a while since the Detective had been in charge of a dish that was beyond one or two people, and it didn't help that his cousin had a habit of pampering him most nights with food even better than his own. It was kind of fun, to be honest, as a member of the police force, it wasn't all that strange to have him help in some sort of charity or community event, but a soup kitchen? That was a new one to add to the list.

"Yo, Pas" He aknowledged the woman's presence with a completely neutral face and a nod. "Don't sweat it, wasn't hard finding my way around the place, the others have been helpful too, though I think they're intimidated by the aura of coolness that I bring to the place" Leave it to Evensen to not keep a conversation straight for even ten seconds "Sure thing, should be ready in about twenty or so". When she asked about the ingredients, he gave her a short, silent stare before responding. "Yeah, they got everything, probably a bit too good of a job if you ask me" He still remembers when he was told about the available budget for the event, had it been a regular person, their eyes would've gone wide in shock, or wondered if they accidentally added one extra digit to the full number. It was easy to forget just how far the wealth of one of Amestria's most popular musicians could go. Using such pricey ingredients on a soup almost felt like absolute overkill, but hey, if the budget was there, and people could enjoy an unusual treat, well, why not?

He gave a friendly little handwave to the woman who was mildly berating the idol, it was a bit an amusing sigh, and to be fair, she did have a point, Eric didn't have much intention of making an angel hair soup.

"Mhm, you're pretty much spot on so far" He mentioned after her asking about the ingredients. "We're looking at a pretty complete nutritional package here, both meat and veggies, the noodles come in a moment, can't let them get overcooked or the texture just gets ruined" He stopped stirring for a moment, as the girl seemed to be unable to stop with the questions. "Quite the chipper today, aren't you?" Not that he really minded, he liked seeing her like that, in fact. "Soup is just soup, bunch of stuff boiling in broth, really, but what you must never forget, is the secret ingredient" He hung his hand over cauldron, rubbing his fingers together as if sprinkling something. Then, small, shining light blue and pink particles were projected from the motion, gently falling down, disappearing just before actually coming into contact with the liquid. "A bit of love"

The One Eyed Bandit

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

The Day After Get(ting) Help

LOCATION:

Tommy's (Abandoned) Scrapyard, Outskirts of South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie

SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT

"Mhm... mm..." Hitoshi grunted out as Charlie recounted his day, keeping his attention as best as he could while driving towards their destination. When bringing up the Phoenixes' broker, Hitoshi perked up a bit and nodded. "Yeah, yeah... tell her I said hi too when you get the chance, yeah?" he said with a faint smile, "Been a while... been a while since I've last actually talked with her. Too long." He then cleared his throat as he tapped the steering wheel again with a off-beat rhythm, changing the attention of conversation to Charlie's next question. Sparring with Hector had been... interesting. He did have the night to sleep on Hector's suggestion of teaching some of the younger folk, but he wasn't entirely convinced of it yet. Especially when he was still out of form for the most part.

"Oh, yeah. Back hurts a bit still, but apart from that I'm peachy." Hitoshi then said, sparing a glance over to his passenger. Being on the highway meant that Hitoshi was more preoccupied with keeping them out of a car crash. "Also, just wait. Trust me, you're gonna like it." Some time later, after passing by most of the South, they were now on the very outskirts of New Oasis. And Hitoshi took an exit ramp off and towards a less travelled road. The road here was less well maintained - given the intensity of cracks and potholes - and the vistas comprised of abandoned industries and factories that had long abandoned this town. Left for greener pastures away from the chaos and violence of man's folly.

But then Hitoshi took another turn and entered what appeared to be an abandoned junkyard. The corpses of vehicles long past littered the area in large piles, towering as monuments to people's pasts. Abandoned for some time, there too were a large crane for picking up materials that remained dormant and an abandoned small office. Tommy's Scrapyard, as it once housed the owner of the same name, was completely open to the two of them.

​

Hitoshi brought the pickup to a standstill, its engine purring softly before falling silent as the keys were taken out of the ignition. "We're here!" Hitoshi said with an upbeat tone, practically bounding out of the car and rushing towards the rear end to unpack everything he had brought along. The cooler, portable grill, two baseball bats, and a whole lot of baseballs. "And we are here to blow off some steam, whaddaya say?" the elder Phoenix then asked, as he approached Charlie on the other side of the vehicle with materials in hand.

Roda the Red

 

[Roda the Red]

ERIC EVENSEN

CS Link

SCENE:

What the Cat Dragged In

LOCATION:

Eric's Apartment, Central District

TIME:

Post Arc 3 || June 16th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Eric, Katya, Siru

What the Cat Dragged In

"Huh, that's great then, I was getting worried" One of the advantages of having a mostly monotone speech pattern was undoubtedly the ability to sneak in a sarcastic comment, but having it sounds as if it was completely sincere, and such was the case at the moment.

Like an unsuspecting victim, the Detective was there and then assaulted by a piece of deep fried chicken placed into his mouth. He obliged, munching on the poultry treat, the meat was juicy and flavorful, and the outside was crispy and quite savory. He swallowed, his spirits now lifted, knowing that a scrumptious menu was the silver lining of the night. "Knocked it out of the park, Kat" He said, lifting a singly thumb up.

While the possiblity of Katya's prediction being true was in fact there, the Detective had little hope of his own to find any sort of friendship on the upcoming enemy, the invader, the- Yeah yeah, you get the idea already. "We'll be sharing friendship bracelets before you know it, I'm sure"

Suddenly, a frightening sound invaded the man's eardrums, dry thuds that felt as ominous as the tolling bell. The herald of doom had arrived at last, and it was now Eric's duty to welcome it to his humble abode. He wasn't able to object, his cousin making a sudden tactical retreat. With shaky steps, the Detective approached the door, his hand recoiled slightly as it approached the doorknob, but proceeding forward nonetheless. The door was finally opened, a metaphorical dark miasma seeping into the apartment.

"Good evening! You must be Eric, correct? It's a pleasure to finally meet you"



There he stood, the fiend with the radiant smile, Siru Kusahara, in the flesh. Eric didn't move an inch, his expressionless face scanned the man up and down for a few, awkward seconds, before looking at him straight in the eyes. "Yup, that's me...Siru?" The man of elven ears smiled once again nodding cordially "The one and only, or so I hope, and I also hope this is to your liking" Siru lifted the large bottle of sake in his hands forward, offering it to the host. The detective stared at the bottle intently...Sake was actually kind of nice. He grabbed the bottle by the neck, still awkwardly remaining on the entrance. "Oh, this is really nice, thanks...Oh, come in" Almost as if it was his subconscious still showing resistance, the detective forgot he was supposed to let the man enter, moving aside, Siru stepped into the place, giving the living room plus kitchen a prolonged look.

"Lovely place, the decoration is really nice"

"Thanks...Kat did most of it though" While he didn't mind much, his Cousin had gone to great lengths to turn his messy man-cave into a presentable apartment.

Eric was fighting off the fog-thick atmosphere. Normally he had no issue interacting with strangers, but this was a completely different beast, invading the place where he was most vulnerable. He needed to be a decent host and try not to die internally in the process. Truly, any other scenario sounded more tempting than the current one, be it having to deal with troublemaking criminals, uneventfully patrolling the streets, or even... *GULP*...Paperwork.

Beann

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

CORVO CORDESCO

CS Link

SCENE:

Fell And Cruel Hounds

LOCATION:

Actaeon's Rest

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Dagger, Corvo, Musai, Zach, Yushui

Fell And Cruel Hounds

Corvo wanted to lure their enemy into the elevator. The plan was to snap the wire just as she poked her head in, effectively decapitating her. However, Corvo found herself without a target to shoot as the doors closed. The elevator jutted, and she almost lost her footing in the hatch. It was heading down.

Clicking her tongue, Corvo clambered back to the roof. She laid flat down, slowing her breath and peeking the slightest bit over the hatch. Into the elevator.

As they reached the ground floor, the new guests appeared. Corvo held her breath for good measure, only spotting them in slivers. Well-equipped, a leader impatient with the elevator; the main force? She couldn't tell. Either way, the only people coming up to the penthouse were the people they had to defend against.

If only they had the time to set up comms before the raid; merely the flow of information could be vital to surviving this encounter. Soon, the elevator started again, and they were going up.

Corvo glanced at the steel rope, considering chopping the elevator into free fall. At least, it would be a temporary fall before the safety brakes kicked in. Then she would be stuck with them. Seeing as they were on opposite sides concerning one Dagger, she didn't want to take the chance of keeping them company.

Corvo searched her coat. She had her silenced pistol and the sawn-off. But there was the next best thing for areas packed with enemies: her explosives. Granted, they were the small disc-sized ones, but they should do enough damage to throw this team off. Especially when placed in the right spot. Corvo stuck the explosive right beneath her on the metal roof—the bountiful layer of shrapnel that would shotgun the people inside.

The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. Corvo thrust herself into the ventilation shaft that she entered by. She found the detonator and squeezed. The elevator roof disappeared in a cloud of smoke and rubble. She felt her feet be pelted with debris and shards, and winced as something stuck into her ankle, but forced herself to crawl forward...

simj26 The One Eyed Bandit QuirkyAngel @ATurei

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

ALICIA MOREL

CS Link

SCENE:

Backroom Dealings

LOCATION:

West District, Sarizara Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Samira, Jack, Passeri, Camila, Elias, Welsha, Dagger, Alice

Backroom Dealings

Alice's blank expression twitched at Camila's response when the last two guests, Welsha and Dagger, arrived. She knew little about Welsha, but... she was creepy. It was a contrast to Dagger's looming figure, whose eye Alice did not dare to look anywhere near. She cursed herself; she hated to be afraid.

It was then the Queen spoke up. It was for a direct and simple order: speak whatever they want about the King of the Tigers. Markus. Her "father's" successor. Alice knew little about Markus, other than the fact that he was King, and looked intimidating. And that his penthouse was destroyed—she had gossip to thank for learning about that.

So, as the others began their winded rants about him, she remained quiet. Only holding the provided teacup and taking miniscule sips, Alice had nothing to say about him. He was just as King: the man in this gang who oversaw all its workings, including her servitude to the gang...

And the work she conducted. And the people she drugged and robbed under their will. A house full of lies and empty promises. The pledge of meeting her long-dead mother.

Her teacup shook in her grasp, rattling against the tiny plate it was on. "Excuse me...?" Alice rose, holding the teacup close to her chest. The conversation had moved onto gang business and stuff beyond her. But she could at least say a little piece of her mind. Right? "I am Alice... I don't know much about Markus himself. But I know he owes me... an apology? I don't know—something. Something for the last 14 years..." Alice's voice trembled and choked. Had it really been that long...? The teacup shook again, its contents swirling against the edge. She looked to Camila with an expression mixed of guilt and annoyance. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I think you're right about him."

She remembered Elias' touch before her memories went away. Was Markus behind that? How much did he know about her? "Was I just another money-making machine like everybody else thought?" The teacup shook back and forth. Its liquid spilled out in drops. Some caught her dress, staining the pure white. "Were the times I nearly died just another chore for him to handle? The solution being to assign another person to... to rip away everything I knew?!"

Her face grew red, and Alice fought the water forming in her eye. "Where was he after my home was destroyed? Where was anyone? All their talk about how I'm their 'toy'; how I'm somehow their possession! How I give so, so much to this place, and I..." The teacup trembled in her hands, liquid spilling in waves, across her hands and splashing against the floor and her feet. "I have nothing."

From seams in the wall, plant matter appeared. They were few and far between; blooming flowers of beautiful white and golden stamens. "I-I... I do not belong to anybody! What do I have to do to make everybody see that?! I am not a toy! I am not the Tigers' Golden Goose! I am not their lecherous harlot!"

The handle snapped off her teacup. It fell and shattered into a hundred pieces. Alice looked at the handle she still held, and she stopped shaking. She turned around, noticing the plants in the corners. To Ryu, she smiled through her sullen eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll clean them up. I'm still learning how to control it..."

Quietly, she stepped away to collect the flowers.

joshuadim Beann Chaos Gallant The One Eyed Bandit Roda the Red QuirkyAngel simj26 Peckinou

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Elias Yumin

CS Link

SCENE:

Clad in Golden Dreams

TIME:

June 16th, 2022 | Post Arc 3, TimeSkip 1

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Ezra, Viss, Mark, Jess, Hiachi, Tak, Elias, Jesper, Misty

Clad in Golden Dreams

Elias blinked.

When he asked the girl her name, he didn’t expect her to suddenly burst into tears. Was it a terribly difficult question? You’d think a girl wild enough to duck under a table during work hours would’ve come up with several excuses by now or, at least, be able to explain herself without blubbering. Was she perhaps scared? Embarrassed to be caught under the King’s table?

Meirin’s solution, when she had been embarrassed at his mother’s party, had been to punch him across the dining area and run away after all…

Elias wouldn’t know. He wasn’t a girl.

Glancing at the King, whose reaction Elias was most curious about, and who was likely still processing the situation–what with the lights, girl under the table, closing in servers, etc–, Elias sighed. While he would like to sit back and observe how a King/Gang Boss handled the situation, Markus Weiss particularly, he couldn’t very well leave a girl crying under their table. His parents were looking their way. Lihua was looking their way. Hell, anyone with ears who was close enough were looking their way. Darkness couldn’t mute the sounds of a girl crying, after all.

If bawling was part of a strategy to get out of trouble, it worked wonders in public events like these, and he’d applaud her for quick thinking…but it was hard to say what was going on in the girl’s head without using his potential.

“There, there,” Elias said as he gently coaxed her out from under the table, a hand patting her back to quiet the sobs.

Well, pulled really, but given that she seemed to have no inclination to get up and out on her own, it was the only course of action he could take. “Miss Park, would be so kind as to help her to the women's room? Calm her down and assist her in cleaning herself up, I mean. She seems to be having a rough day.”

Women helped women in situations like these, right?

As he made physical contact, he took the opportunity to quickly delve into her memories.

“If you trust my potential, Mr. Weiss, I can assure you, her presence under your table is nothing nefarious. I can even show you her recent memories,” Winking at Weiss, Elias smiled mischievously. “But if you still intend to interrogate her, it’s best to do so when she’s a little more presentable.”

And not crying under his table.

Of course, it was still the King’s call what to do with her–whether he acted like man or beast, that is. Whether he even trusted his Jack to tend the girl that may or may not be a spy(?). Elias knew she wasn’t. If Markus trusted Anamnesis’s potential, he’d know too. But asking a paranoid man to trust was like asking an insomniac to sleep. Elias didn’t actually believe the insanity rumors, but rumors don’t come without reason, and he wanted to ascertain for himself the true personality of Markus Weiss, current King of the Albino Tiger Gang.

“That sound good to you, Boss?”

Slav Lucem Elenion Aura The One Eyed Bandit miki thebigfella simj26 AriAriAbabwa @BriiAngelic

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

To Live in the Shadows

TIME:

Afternoon, Pre-Arc 1, June 11th 2020

LOCATION:

Nameless Warehouse, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva

To Live in the Shadows

Charlie listened in silent, deep contemplation at the girl's words. Once again, she mentioned just how hard it was to actually pass Revenant's trial, with well over a couple hundreds having tried, and failed, over the years. Once again, those words were bittersweet, not only evoking fear and uncertainty, as the sheer number was certainly overwhelming, but also excitement within the boy.

Finally, she revealed an important piece of information. To make sure he was not going to turn up being a setback or threat to the gang, his actions would have consequences, and his performance would not only impact his own reputation, but that or Revenant's as well, but most important of all, they needed to make sure he wasn't a wolf in sheep's clothing, an enemy from the west faking a desire to join.

He understood, the girl's reasoning was completely sound. Naturally, he wanted to jump out at the implications, of course he wasn't an enemy! He saw an opportunity to get the things he desired within the Phoenixes, no way in hell he would ever try to disappoint. But he remained silent on his seat, his hands clutching tightly at the fabric of his pants. "I...lived under that toxic household until the day I was legally an adult" He considered saying the complete truth, but a knot formed in his throat just as a wave of cold reasoning hit him, running against the current of his mainly impulsive behavior. What if after admiting that his mother was one of the richest people in Amestria, the gang would find it more fitting to hold him for ransom? They WERE still a criminal organization, at the end of the day. And either way, he didn't need to lie, just withold that specific bit of information, after all, he decided that day that he was a Wingfield no longer.

"My mother is a heartless harpy who only cares about her work, her obsession drove my dad away when I was a little kid...Neither of them deserved to be in charge of a child, and I have no interest in ever seeing either again." He stood up from his seat, bowing deeply at the girl. "I'm a nobody, feel free to ask around for me in West, no one will bat an eye, there's little point to my life now, and I wish the Phoenixes could give me a purpose" He stared at small phoenix, his expression was stoic, but his glassy eyes now started to well up.

He always wished he was better at controlling his emotions.

Peckinou

 

[Slav]

Vissarion Argyris

CS Link

SCENE:

Equestrian Diplomacy

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1 | June 17th, 2022

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri( The One Eyed Bandit ) , Vissa

Equestrian Diplomacy

"I couldn't live in a cramped space like a penthouse. If I can't smell the flowers in the morning, I'd slowly go crazy." Vissa said, a smile gleaming on his face. Back in his home country, money and land were the two greatest things to have at your disposal. Having an estate in this city wasn't cheap but it was worth it in the end. Serenity was something hard to come by, he'd do everything in his power to gain as much as possible. Having something to pass down was of great importance to him. "Tea? We'd only have tea if you want it." He gave off a small chuckle as he gently directed Passeri towards a stone path by resting his hand on her shoulder.

Privacy wasn't an issue on his estate. He took security quite seriously. Nobody got in or out without him knowing. He was almost insulted at her suggestion that there could be ears that could over hear. "I can ensure you that nobody will over hear. Your concerns are valid, especially since your popularity is quite impressive. Johann overlooks the security of my estate and I trust him with my life. He's the only person that I have that level of trust with. I'll keep your concerns in mind." As they proceeded to walk on the stone path, he let his hand go. Vissa had a lot on his mind from last night, especially since the chaos didn't allow him to achieve all that he set out to do. There were a few things he wanted to get off his chest.

"Before we continue our conversation, you can drop my formal name. Referring to me as Vissa will do. Only my enemies and business partners call me that." He gave her a small smile, twiddling his thumbs behind his back as he spoke to her. Though he wouldn't admit it, he found it a little unnerving to speak to Passeri. Even though they both exerted a massive amount of influence, he was jealous of the power that an idol had. He considered her above him. There wasn't many occasions where he felt like that in an interaction.

After looking up from his leather shoes, he found it hard to hold a gaze with her now that they were one on one. He always performed better in a group setting. While he enjoyed private talks, they did make him uncomfortable at first. "Last night was a chaotic night and left a lot to be desired. I know we were talking business and I'm all ears for that but I'm sure you have more in mind. There are a lot of changes happening within the organization and I'm sure you want to gauge where I stand." He didn't mind talking about his feelings regarding the organization. He had a lot to say and he didn't get to say it often. Having a chance to air his concerns was probably the best thing for him.

 

[Roda the Red]

CHARLIE HUGHES

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

Afternoon, Post-Arc 3, June 18th 2022

LOCATION:

Phoenix HQ, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Hitoshi

Searching for the Light

It was good to hear that Hitoshi was doing well, it was often that Charlie worried about the long-time veteran's health. Now, it was true that a lot of people could stay in excellent shape by the time they reached 40, but...One would certainly be hard-pressed to count the man as part of such category, not only was he out of shape, but the years of drug abuse had no doubt taken a toll on his body. It brought the rookie great joy to see his dear friend keeping a steady pace on the path to recovery.

Slowly, the scenery continued to shift, surrounding buildings and the road alike getting proggressively more dilapidated, almost as if one was observing the accelerated passage of time of civilization, the cement jungle crumbling until it was but piles of rubble and foundation as far as the eye could see. Truth be told, the rookie found himself puzzled by their route, what was his Aniki planning to do in quite literally the middle of nowhere?

Wasn't long before they finally reached their destination. A distant and secluded scrapyard, a resting place for the countless steel carcasses which at some point, each of them were considered the brand new advances of automobile technology and engineering. "Uhm...Aniki?" Charlie wanted to ask his senior what was the point of their journey to such a remote and desolate location. But like a child at the parking lot of a candy store, Hitoshi nearly jumped out of the car, wrapping his lanky arms around the items held within the trunk. "Blow off steam, you say...?"

The boy looked around for a moment, still a bit puzzled by the intent behind Hitoshi's words. He made his way out of the car, feeling the arid ground beneath his shoes. He took a few steps around the area, lightly kicking a nearby pebble, causing a loud clank as it impacted against a rusty car door. "I don't think I understand, how are we supposed to do that?"

A certain someone was showing signs of severe case of RBS, Rich Boy Syndrome.

joshuadim

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Backroom Dealings

LOCATION:

West District, Sarizara Restaurant

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Samira, Jack, Passeri, Camila, Elias, Welsha, Dagger, Alice

Backroom Dealings

The discussion further progressed as more people chimed in, and more questions were asked; in turn, the Tiger Queen sat and listened as those others that were present made their own ideas and positions known. Elias, in particular, posited questions about what this renewal program for the gang would entail. It would require a more in depth answer once everyone else had their say for the time being. He gave an approving nod towards the young man's inquisitive nature, before listening to Camila's own concerns and thoughts. Cal also made sure to take notes in a small notepad, just in case any details had been missed by his boss as he scribbled with a fancy fountain pen onto the pages.

It was all well and good that Camila brought up good points: the Tiger's were not a charity. That much was true as Ryu gave a nod. "Indeed, Miss Gaspari." Ryu said with a smooth tone, "Like any business, the decision the invest in someone is always a risk. Whether that turns out fruitful or not is a cost carried by the gang. Whether some rookie ends up being a dead-end or a go-getter is... well, let's just say in our current methods of getting new bodies we are likely to get the former." Ryu took another sip of his sake before continuing, "As I said before, there are fully unexplored pools of candidates that we have yet to even touch. And these pools would produce higher quality members than what we currently draw on. In turn, we would need to do less to help them on their feet and get them working. A win-win for all of us involved."

Then Camila turned towards the matter of Markus, with details that surprised even Ryu - thought he did not show it - while Cal looked up from his notes with concern. The Tiger King speaking to himself? His mind deteriorating? Most excellent of news. He would have more to say on that until Dagger made her presence known again, this time by demanding for more food and wholly making a spectacle out of it. This caused Cal to harshly shut his notebook as he took a step forward: "This is how you treat the courtesy of your host?" he spat out, taking another step, "Show some resp-"

Ryu waved a hand nonchalantly so as to defuse the situation. The Queen did not seem offended as he simply looked at Cal, which caused the man to back down. "Indeed. There will be food." Ryu then said, before snapping a finger. As if on command, a flurry of servers came forth bearing plates for every member at the table; three courses were presented to each individual, which included chargrilled squid with a sesame and saffron sauce infusion, udon noodles with A5 wagyu beef, grilled vegetables and a rich reduced unagi sauce on the side, and finally a serving of tuna sushi made from toro, the fattiest and richest part of the fish. The waiters quickly left just as they came, taking out the soup bowls on their way, which left the Tigers alone once again as Ryu looked to Dagger: "I trust, this will satiate?"

Then came Alice, as she spoke up about her own experience and how she truly felt about it all. That included not just Markus, but the gang as a whole, which left Ryu listening intently. It was then that her powers also manifested, which caused Cal to quickly step away from the corner that some flowers had sprouted out of. He himself looked in shock at this development, and quickly looked to Ryu only to see him entirely calm about the situation. When she went to collect the flowers, Ryu stopped her as he raised a hand: "Please, sit." he said, motioning her back to her seat.

When she did so, Ryu then took the initiative to speak after such an emotional speech from one of their own. "Indeed. You are your own person." the Tiger Queen commented, before standing up and walking towards one of the nearby glass panes. The view offered overlooked must of the West, and for a moment he ruminated on everything as he looked down to the streets below. "Much of what has been said here only confirms my own beliefs." he then spoke, "That the entire foundation upon which this organization rests upon is unsustainable. Great change is needed."

He then turned towards the table: "The Tigers, like any business, is only strong so long as all its members are on the same page, from rookie to leadership. So long as everyone performs their duties. So long as every person involved is able to fit comfortably. But between this ruthless exploitation of our own, as Miss Morel has been victim of, and the state of the King..."

Ryu let the words hang in the air for impact, adding delivery to his speech as he then continued: "I have no intentions of allowing this status quo to continue rotting us from within." he said, turning to Elias to finally answer him. "I fully intend on removing Markus for his gross incompetence, and his deteriorating state. A leader that can't be trusted to be rational cannot be a leader. That is the first order of my business. Second, it is to commit to a restructuring of how the Tigers recruit and operate. That is, in a sense, to become legitimate. No more scraping the bottom of the barrel, nor having to scamper in the shadows for fear of the law. No more having to act like grunts and thugs, and having to constantly fight and ruin one another instead of solidifying our strength. For, as Miss Gaspari put it quite aptly, we are after money and power. And money is power in our society. And that which is run through the structure of business will make us untouchable."

The Queen then delivered the coup de grace: "And third, to solidify the foothold on Central that I have already obtained legally, thanks to the recent earthquake."

Ryu then took his place at the head of the table again and sat down calmly. "A new era is arriving for the Tigers. A rising tide that raises all boats and uplifts those who seize the moment. The question thus remains: are you ready to seize the moment and take the reins of your fates?"

Beann Roda the Red The One Eyed Bandit AriAriAbabwa QuirkyAngel Chaos Gallant Peckinou simj26

 

[joshuadim]

HITOSHI YAMAKAWA

CS Link

SCENE:

Searching for the Light

TIME:

The Day After Get(ting) Help

LOCATION:

Tommy's (Abandoned) Scrapyard, Outskirts of South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hitoshi, Charlie

SEARCHING FOR THE LIGHT

"C'mon, you really don't know?" Hitoshi asked, almost baffled by the question that Charlie asked. "Bats. Balls. Abandoned cars that nobody will miss...? Yeah?" he then asked, motioning with his head as if to elicit a response from the young man. However, an awkward silence passed that indicated that Charlie had no idea what Hitoshi was on about which in turn left the latter groaning in disappointment. "Agh, we're gonna hit baseballs at, above and beyond the cars!" Hitoshi then said, "And, I guess, hit the cars with the bats too. Get some of that stress out, y'know?"

Before Charlie could respond, Hitoshi went over to a more empty part of the lot and set down the materials. Two of which were folding chairs for them to sit on, while everything else was their material for their excitement. With the flick of a switch, the portable grill came to life and began to heat up. In the meantime, Hitoshi pulled out the packs of soda cans as well as the hot dogs and buns he had bought. For a moment, he looked confused - then scared - that he had forgotten condiments! But, fortunately, this quickly melted away as he dug deeper into the cooler and found a bottle of ketchup and another of mustard.

"Perfect! Now, before that... I gotta show you how its done." Hitoshi then said as he took one of the bats and a baseball, flicking it up and down rhythmically. Then, without warning, he launched the ball upwards and reeled back a strike with the bat. Rather than the expected crack, Hitoshi instead hit the air as he swung around and missed the ball entirely on his first try. For a moment he stumbled before regaining his footing. "Ok, ahem, take two. It'll work this time."

He repeated it again, only this time to deliver a solid strike that launched the baseball straight into a nearby car windshield. The distinct sound of glass shattering sounded through the junkyard, and Hitoshi pumped his fist by his side in celebration. "Home run! How about it, Charlie?"

Roda the Red

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

CORVO CORDESCO

CS Link

SCENE:

[Pre-Arc 3]Clipped Wings Cannot Rebirth

LOCATION:

South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Charlie, Helva, Pei, Red, Corvo, Yukito

Clipped Wings Cannot Rebirth

During the tirade of the man (and robot) who called them here, Corvo resigned herself to the back out of sheer caution. The moment Pei stepped in, the combat-situated part of her brain turned on. But even that could never have accounted for a point blank rocket launcher being fired in the room.

Corvo shielded herself with her trench coat, unsure if Pei had gathered them here to kill them—or if he was just being Pei. Maybe the answer was both. She forced down the rare flash of annoyance that was on her usually unchanging face.

Slowly re-revealing herself, she listened to his spiel. "We might have disappeared next, if you shot that thing any closer to us," she remarked.

Regardless of her thoughts on what had just occurred, Pei did make a startling declaration. One that ever so briefly threw Corvo off her game. "We have a traitor."

"Who would dare turn their backs on the family?" The response was rehearsed; spoken with just the right amount of arrogant cadence of a Phoenix refusing to believe it. "I stand with Hiyma. Not unless you care to elaborate."

thebigfella Peckinou

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

Jesper Albrecht

CS Link

SCENE:

The Ties that Bond Us

TIME:

Post-Arc 3

LOCATION:

East District, Noodle Nirvana

PARTICIPANTS:

Jesper, Charlie

The Ties that Bond Us

Jesper patted his eyes with his sleeve, determined not to let anyone see what his ugly cry looked like. They were given a brief reprieve thanks to the waitress coming in with Charlie's order. He almost forgot that was the second reason they were here. At that time, he focused on his breath; it was always the first thing to go awry when his emotions ran off.

He listened to Charlie in silence. He dwelled on his words. Everything was black and white in Jesper's head—joining the Dragons only had benefits and no losses. He never considered that people beyond the East did have their own lives. There was a 'pang' calling Jesper stupid when he realized Charlie had more friends than just him and Ten.

"Fine," Jesper finally said, his voice low and defeated. He hated how it was ending like this. He hated how it made sense. Then came the sour grapes that were his thoughts. Every building in the South is a leaky wooden shack because of the Hurricane... how could he miss a place like that? And the only jobs in that place must be... street-cleaning jobs. How could he want that...?

The waitress returned again, placing Jesper's bowl of ramen and snapping him out. The delicious smell revitalized him enough to make the boy give the hint of a smile. Charlie posed another question—one that struck Jesper's curiosity. "What do you mean, the Phoenixes? What our King did there was... not ideal, and the civilians should never have died, but none of it would have happened if the Phoenixes weren't present." Snapping his chopsticks, Jesper shook his head, remembering the blinding smoke and the figure he saw in it. How could he have known it was a Phoenix on their bridge, standing conveniently in his way? "I was there, Charlie. They tricked the Dragons into attacking. If you heard that the Phoenixes were trying to help... maybe they were trying to brainwash you and everyone else in the South."

Roda the Red