Avatar of Obscene Symphony

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Recent Statuses

8 days ago
Current p accurate description tbh
9 days ago
for ransom?
6 likes
12 days ago
are y'all really scandalized by someone writing a bad guy
13 days ago
@Baph a) I never said not to give explanations, although most people get butthurt when you have anything less than praise for their writing; b) it's not a "voice," some people just plain aren't good
1 like
14 days ago
Sometimes no amount of editing is gonna fix a sheet, ex when the tone of the character is completely mismatched to the RP, or the writing quality is super mismatched to the group
5 likes

Bio

child of the storm

Current RPs:

Archived RPs:

If you're interested in some short completed pieces of mine beyond my regular RP posts, feel free to rifle through my filing cabinet here.

About me:
  • Birth year 1998
  • Female
  • Canadian RIP
  • Time zone: Atlantic, GMT-4 (one hour ahead of EST)
  • Currently judging your grammar
  • Not usually looking for 1x1s but if you're really jonesing, my PMs are always open
  • Discord Obscene#1925

Most Recent Posts

Zai’s ears were filled with the thundering of his own heart as he ran, but the threatening rumble of earthbending behind him was even louder, heralding the pursuers hot on his heels. He weaved in and out of the streets, criss-crossing alleys, overturning carts, and doing everything else possible to obstruct his pursuers and obscure his own path.

Stupid! Stupid! was all he could think as he ran, gritting his teeth against his own reprimands. Running away was the WORST thing you could have done! The worst thing! Idiot! How will you get home now?!

His escape from Ba Sing Se was at the forefront of his mind, and Zai didn’t like it. That had taken every mite of luck and cunning he had, and he’d still be in a worker camp somewhere if he didn’t have help. But Lazhou had no great wall, and these were no Dai Li; all he had to do was make it outside of town, then maybe--

“Ah--!”

Suddenly, Zai tumbled painfully to the ground, rolling into the dark of an obscured alleyway tangled up with someone else. If not for the brief stun of the fall, he’d have engulfed himself in flame; he was certain he was captured. But when he saw who had captured him, he kind of wished it had been a soldier.

He jumped to his feet, already in a defensive firebending stance by the time she got her words out. The alley behind them was blocked with crates, but out through the rug wasn’t an option either given the sound of approaching earthbending. Zai was ready to torch the woman and try to make his mistake when she finally uttered a familiar name: Shunon.

“Shunon?” Zai repeated breathlessly, leveling the girl with a suspicious glare. His tone turned quickly from surprised to accusatory. “How do you know Shunon?”

Before she could answer, an Earth Kingdom soldier burst through the rug obscuring them from the street, caking himself in crude earthen armour and looking for a fight. But in another surprising turn of events, the soldier claimed he was there for the girl, not Zai.

Zai shuffled a step back, closer to the crates boxing them in, glaring between the girl and the soldier. It was literally a choice between a rock and a hard place; the soldier also thought she was the Laughing Lily, but an Earth Kingdom soldier could never be trusted. Granted, the girl was a serial killer and Earth Kingdom herself, but for the moment at least it seemed they had a common enemy. Most importantly, she apparently knew where Shunon was - and no matter how suspicious she was, Zai wanted to find out.

Shouts and footsteps were approaching quickly up the street. Making up his mind, Zai turned on his heel and kicked the crates behind him; thankfully, they were empty, and toppled noisily like a house of cards.

“Come on!” Zai commanded; he didn’t leave room for discussion, grabbing the girl tightly by her sword arm and yanking her over the toppled crates. As soon as they were both clear, he spun and shot a blast of fire at the crates to cut off any pursuers, setting them immediately ablaze. He pulled the girl at a sprint down the street and through more alleys, making for the edge of town.

Maya’s eyes bored like daggers into the back of Renault’s head after that little comment; if she was the Scion of Fire, she was sure he’d have burst into flames. But Incepta must have had plans for the little shitheel, because he neither combusted nor was he crushed into the tile; instead, Maya stayed safely behind Edmund as he and the Prince hobnobbed with the Kaudian.

She offered no resistance to Edmund’s suggestion; as much as she’d have liked to teach him some manners, there was no way she was stepping a single inch closer to that interloper. She’d have much preferred to turn around and leave, only to march straight into Pierre Dumont’s office and give him a piece of her mind before refusing ever to set foot in Doumerc again. Unfortunately, while she was confident the boot-licking prime minister would embarrass himself trying to convince her to stay, the offices of Parliament were a bit of a drive away, and she’d had enough traveling for the day.

Maya noticed the look Sir Tyler gave the Kaudian; perhaps that was why he wisely decided not to stink the place up for too long. Once he was long gone, Maya finally conceded to follow Prince Lucas into the lecture hall, already working on a strongly-worded letter to the Minister of National Defence in her head.

The professor’s work looked impressive, but Maya had no idea what any of it meant; she was no stranger to intimidating equations, but as a student of the hard sciences, magic meant nothing to her. She would, however, give him a little credit. He wasn’t the most engaging speaker on earth, but she’d endured much worse.

Of course, he was aided by the fact that the subject-matter of his lecture was so important. Maya had only a vague grasp on the mechanics of mana, but even she knew enough to know that the ability to completely negate mana was catastrophic. Even the Scions themselves drew their power from mana, albeit a different type - for this sort of technology to interfere with it sounded ominously like it was messing with the power of the Goddess herself.

When the time came to share their experiences, Maya was happy to let the others go first. She feigned thoughtfulness as she stalled on her answer, a little resentful to willfully recall her single worst humiliation. Adding to that, she sympathized a bit with Tyler; this researcher was just chatting it up with a Kaudian, that made him look suspicious. But she also knew his type well enough to know that they were rarely interested in much beyond their work; and besides, if the Kaudians had this technology, then they'd already know what it does to a Scion. She wouldn't be telling him anything new. And if he wasn't a spy, then she could clearly see the need.

“I didn’t really feel anything, if that’s what you’re looking for,” she offered, “well, only the feeling you get in your stomach when you start to fall. But I don’t think that was this… mana negation.”

She looked visibly displeased at the memory, but pushed through. “All I really remember was this red light and a high-pitched sound. Then, a louder sound, like a bang, and suddenly I was falling. It was like my magic just… switched off. It didn’t come back until the next day.”


Jannick shot a raised eyebrow at Holly before biting his cheek at Renata’s reply; dammit, he was trying to be serious, the worst possible thing he could do in his position was start laughing when the situation was so tense. But damn, irritating as she was - and when the humour wore off, she really was irritating - Renata calling him “Officer Weber” again brought back a sad nostalgia he was a little ashamed to enjoy. He’d been trying to get away from Officer Weber and make amends with Sir Jannick, but old habits died hard, and what could he say? It was kinda nice to reminisce, even with a crazy homeless woman.

Likewise, a blush tinted his cheekbones at the mention of Dahlia. Not that she was anything to him, really, of course - he just ran into her a lot since her bakery used to be Renata’s favourite loitering spot, and they often got to chatting, and… did she really miss him?

He didn’t have time to think about it. Renata didn’t tarry long. No sooner had she mentioned Dahlia than she was off on another tangent again, this time giving the other women one of her famous appraising looks - the kind that included touching. Finally, Jannick had to jump into action; specifically, he marched over and caught Renata’s wrist before she had the chance to poke and prod at Hollyhock the same way she had Sara and Dominika.

“Renata, that’s rude, remember?” he chided, a warning tone in his voice as he pulled the woman back a step. He wasn’t rough, but he wasn’t really gentle, either. He put himself between Renata and Hollyhock before releasing her, sighing as he gestured behind him to the others. “That’s Scion Hollyhock. I’m her Templar now. I can’t have you just touching Scions, okay?”

He leveled her with a look she was very familiar with - the “don’t make me put you in the back of the police car” look. “Now, can you answer Dame Sara’s question, please? And then tell me why you’re fighting with knights?”


The situation at the fishery was static, the stillness only adding to the tension - like a deep rumbling under the earth and an ominous puff of smoke, the impending eruption was only made more threatening the longer it took to finally burst. And, as if he were watching an unsettled volcano, Zai watched on with rapt attention, unwilling to tear his eyes away even for a second.

Until a woman nearly bowled him over, that is.

Zai whirled on the girl in surprise, the tension of the situation seeping into his own nerves. But she seemed unperturbed, more interested in her stuff than in him. Zai would normally have preferred it that way, and was honestly thankful for the chance to tear himself away from the disaster about to unfold before him. But before he could take his chance and leave, she caught his eye - or at least, her sword did.

Zai eyed the sword as the girl fiddled with her pack, openly staring at the exquisite craftsmanship. It had no place in a backwater town like this. The sheathe was decorated in ornate enamel, hand work he knew could take months to complete, and if that was any indication, then the sword housed within must have been worth a king’s ransom. He couldn’t see the blade - not that he knew enough about them to tell a decent sword from a fine one anyway - but his gaze fixed on the charm dangling from the hilt. A flower - no, a lily.

A lily…

Suddenly, Zai’s blood ran cold. He stepped back defensively when the girl turned to speak to him, watching after her warily as she dove into the crowd. Back when he and his father were still “guests” in Ba Sing Se, he had heard rumours about a criminal harassing the Kingdom, known only by the moniker “Laughing Lily.” They got the name, in part, for the lily-decorated blade they used in their crimes. The other part was for how they cackled as they cut their victims to ribbons.

There was no way to confirm that this was the criminal in question, but the way she nonchalantly challenged a whole retinue of Earth Kingdom soldiers didn’t make her look much better. The soldiers were his enemy, sure, but Zai wasn’t interested in figuring out why a supposed violent criminal was sticking up for fugitives - it was time to go.

A crowd had gathered in the street, which was good for Zai; unlike the girl, he slipped into the crowd subtly, blending into the sea of straw hats and weathered clothes. But with people pressing in for a view of the action, the crowd was difficult to navigate in the opposite direction. Zai had to fight against the current, earning himself a few annoyed comments as he bumped and brushed past people as fast as he could.

Unfortunately, he barely made it ten feet before bumping into someone who refused to budge. Zai blinked at the obstacle, which was the uniformed chest of a man tall enough that he had to tip back his hat to see his face.

An Earth Kingdom soldier peered suspiciously back down at him. “What’s the hurry?” He asked darkly. “You got somewhere to be?”

Zai stepped back, his momentary surprise quickly yielding to displeasure masking fear. “I don't like being around fights,” he answered flatly, moving to push past the soldier again.

The soldier stuck out his arm, which stopped Zai as surely as a tree trunk would have. “You sure you're not gettin’ away from somethin' else?” The soldier questioned, poking a stain on Zai’s shirt. The fabric glittered with fish scales, and Zai was suddenly very aware of the strong smell of fish wafting off of him. That wasn't good.

“I don't have anything to do with that fishery, if that's what you're getting at,” Zai replied coldly. For once, it was the truth.

“You're lookin’ awfully fishy to me,” the soldier countered. He poked Zai again, harder this time.

Zai glared up at the man, willing himself to stay calm - and failing. “It's a fishing village,” he retorted stubbornly. “What do you want from me? Because I left my birth certificate in my other pants.”

“Oh, that won't be necessary,” the soldier replied mockingly, “we just want to ask a few questions…” He reached out and clasped his hand on Zai’s shoulder. By his grip, this wasn't a friendly invitation.

Zai panicked.

Before he even realized what he was doing, he drew a sharp breath and grabbed the soldier’s wrist - there was no visible fire, but his touch rapidly heated the soldier's gauntlet. The soldier recoiled, cradling his burnt hand, and screamed in pain.

The crowd receded at the noise, and Zai used the opening to make a break for it. He sprinted to the nearest market stall - the alley beside it was a dead end, so instead he hopped up a pile of crates onto the roof of the shack. On instinct, he fell flat on the roof at the sound of cracking rock behind him; just in time, it turned out, as a chunk of the road went sailing just over his head.

“FUGITIVE! OVER HERE!” The burned soldier bellowed, alerting everyone in earshot, including the soldiers on the other side of the newly-erected wall. Every set of eyes on the street below turned to the young man in the straw hat perched atop the market stall, now in full view from every angle. Panicked, Zai leapt off the roof and landed on the other side, sprinting down the much-emptier adjacent street, past the Black Eel and toward the edge of town as fast as his feet could carry him.
In the bustle of Lazhou, it was easy to miss things.

People missed the mice stealing back and forth in the shadows underfoot, missed the seagulls flying overhead, missed that they paid a copper more - or less - than they should have for their goods. The people in the Black Eel missed the bartender’s funny looks, missed the busker cheating at his own game, and often missed a clever move at Pai Sho. In these times, maybe they missed their homes, their loved ones, or just the way things used to be.

Another thing that was easy to miss was a stranger passing by. He wasn’t tall or short enough to stand out, and he looked like any fisherman after a long haul; his clothes were dull and damp, and the way he stooped under his tiny sack of belongings spoke of a long, hard day of working. A straw hat obscured his eyes, fraying a touch around the edges, but there were a hundred other labourers around town who looked about the same.

That was how Zai liked it; nothing to attract any curious eyes. Not that it was any intentional effort on his part - he really was out at sea all day, he really did reek of fish guts, and he’d have loved nothing more than to collapse out of sight somewhere for a nap. Problem was, he had a small matter to attend to first.

Grrrrr.

He clutched his growling stomach as he stalked through the market, scowling under his hat at the crowds. It was easier back when he was a stablehand; mucking out ostrich horse stalls wasn’t as hard as hauling in nets, and he didn’t need to get up before dawn to do it, either. Back then, he’d be off after nightfall and he’d have his pick of food merchants; now, he put in a full day's work before it even struck noon, and he was stuck waiting in lines no matter where he went.

Not like it mattered, though. When the guy in front of him finally stopped chatting with the merchant - the tall, bald, totally-not-an-airbender dude was just asking for trouble looking like that, if you asked him - Zai really had only one option.

“Whatever’s cheapest,” he ordered, flicking the merchant a copper piece.

The merchant nodded and scooped a fist-sized clump of plain rice from a large, steaming pot into a cupped seaweed leaf, handing it over as he retrieved the money. Zai took it with a quick bow, eager to get on his way.

He only walked far enough to get out of the street before digging in, sliding down the wall of a nearby shop to sit in the shade at the roadside. Rice and seaweed weren’t much after a day of hard labour, but it was cheap, and it was hot, so it would do. The metallic lump under his shirt reminded Zai that he really could afford better, but that was a lie; he also could have gone home today with two fresh fish from his employer if he wanted to, but he got paid more if he left emptyhanded, and he needed every copper he could scrape together if he wanted a snowball’s chance on the Boiling Rock of getting on that ship.

As he ate, careful not to drop a single grain of rice, Zai found himself fiddling with something in his pocket - a new habit of his, although he wasn’t sure if he liked it. For the hundredth time at least, he pulled the object out, looking it over pensively as he chewed. It was the only trinket he possessed: a single Pai Sho tile, the white lotus, received in the strangest of circumstances. It had puzzled him since the day he got it. Why was it given to him? What did it mean? Was it worth something? He would have tried to pawn it ages ago if it was, but something kept him from parting with it - something aside from the probable worthlessness of the least useful tile in Pai Sho, anyway.

It seemed like he just sat down when a commotion on the street commanded Zai’s attention, and he jumped to his feet, quickly hiding his lotus tile away. He finished off his meagre meal in one bite before he dared poke his head out to see what was going on.

What he saw made him retreat back into the shade as quickly as he’d come out: Earth Kingdom soldiers swarming the Knotweed Fishery, looking for fugitives. Zai’s heart thudded against his chest; he could kiss that old woman who told him to steer clear of “Old Bido” and his “queer doings” when he first showed up looking for work, because it was on her advice that he never got wrapped up with Knotweed, but it was little comfort when the soldiers were within a few yards of him either way. He couldn’t risk getting caught when he’d made it so far - what he needed to do was get away, quickly.

But he didn’t move. Everything in him screamed at him to get the heck out of dodge, but he couldn't tear himself away. He was rooted to his spot in the alley, just out of sight, eyes fixed on the situation forming at the fishery as the tall airbender from before stepped up to the soldiers with nothing but a stick and some obsequious words. What did that pacifist lunatic think he was doing?

The attention at l'École was welcome, especially since Maya had spent the entire trip resolutely refusing to speak to Edmund, Prince Lucas was a downer, and the new guy looked like a creep. She eased back into her old routine more readily than even she expected; likely helped by the fact that nobody here wore masks or hoods, but she’d also admit that the attention felt good after so long in the dark. She took lots of pictures and made lots of small talk, and only moments after gracefully taking her leave, her phone was dinging with Instagram notifications.

Not too bad for a day’s work, and they only just got here!

Similarly, while she couldn’t say she had much interest in the mana studies guy, the university atmosphere was kinda… nice. The hush that fell over the halls as they ventured deeper into the campus was reminiscent of her time in school, drowning out the entire world as she pored over astronomic maps and handwritten charts framed in equations that took up multiple pages. It was exhausting when she did it, and she’d never want to go back, but it was strangely nostalgic to recall those times.

When their initial search for Dr. Rhaveus failed, Maya’s reaction was similar to Tyler’s. “Impolite is one word for it,” she muttered, eyes flicking to a small group of students who were approaching down the hall.

“Excuse me?” she called sweetly to them, smiling and waving an arm. When none of the nerds looked up from their little nerd conversation, her smile faltered. “Hey!”

The second, louder call got one of the dweebs’ attention, the young man starting at the sound and then again when he finally saw the assembly of Holy Ones right in front of him. His cheeks turned red, and Maya’s smile resurfaced as sweet as honey.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Dr. Rhaveus’ class is, would you?” she asked winsomely.

The student blinked, cleared his throat, and pointed back the way he came. “Oh, well his class is over now, but it was in room L105. He might still be there, if you’re looking for him.”

“Thank you very much,” Maya replied, promptly leading the group down the indicated path.

The hallway led to an intersection, where a plaque on the wall pointed them in the direction of L105. However, upon turning the corner, Maya let out a tiny yelp of surprise and leaped back behind the wall, peering hesitantly around the corner. She groped behind her, looking for Edmund.

“They knew we were coming,” she whispered, a barely-audible hiss.

Down the hall, a pair of uniformed men stood guard outside one of the classrooms - from the numbering on the unguarded doors, it was likely L105. They weren’t armed, but their dress and the emblem on their jackets denoted them as Kaudian. The hall was otherwise deserted.

From the open door between them, a conversation could be heard.

“I am so pleased to have finally gotten the chance to talk with you, Dr. Rhaveus,” came one voice, tinted with an accent Maya knew to be Kaudian. “Your theories of mana inheritance have interested me for a long time, but I never thought I’d get the opportunity to have my questions answered.”

“Oh, of course, Your Excellency,” said a second voice, thinner but more animated. Presumably, this was Dr. Rhaveus. “I’m afraid I don’t have the time for a more thorough dive, but you’ll be interested to know that one of Princess Consort Lilie’s journals on the subject is actually kept in the archives here. The original is under glass, of course, but they have some transcripts you can borrow if you’d like to learn more from a primary source.”

“I’ll be sure to do just that,” the first voice replied, getting clearer as it spoke. It seemed he was nearing the door. “I won’t keep you any longer. Good day, and thank you again.”

The guards straightened, and a shadow fell across the door.


Jannick probably wouldn’t have stopped Holly if she chose to go fight monsters, but he was glad nonetheless that the task she chose was one of the less dangerous of the three. Not as safe as Doumerc would have been (he presumed), but he could hardly expect Holly (or himself) to sit through academic lecturing without falling asleep.

The trip to Croia was tense, Jannick never quite able to relax as he watched out for threats, but thankfully, his concerns were unfounded. He made some small talk with Sara and Dominika, but kept it mostly short and shallow - fast train, nice weather, pretty landscape, that sort of thing. He had absolutely nothing to offer on the topic of pacifying angry spirits, so he’d leave it to the more theologically minded of the group.

Croia was shrouded in fog, which the mayor explained as a bad omen brought on by angry spirits, but it wasn’t the supernatural element that put Jannick on edge. The fog was thick as mud, and grew entirely opaque at the edge of what was supposed to be the forest. Anyone could be hiding out there, and Jannick was on high alert, scanning the fog as the mayor blabbed on.

But when a familiar voice rang out through the mist, Jannick’s tension melted into exasperation. He suppressed a sigh, his posture changing considerably as he moved to rub his temple. When he got that letter from Delilah, he did not expect it to lead here.

“Hold on, I’ll take care of this,” he droned tiredly, turning to Holly. “Stay put for a second, I’ll be right back.”

He shrugged off the mayor’s concerns as he approached the source of the argument, fighting the urge to groan when he saw that the voice did, in fact, belong to who he thought it did.

“Hey Renata, remember me?” He introduced himself, painting on a practiced diplomatic smile. He sounded like he was speaking to a child, or perhaps a confused elderly person. He put his hands on his hips. “What are you doing all the way over here, huh? Remember how we talked about not yelling at people?”


@webboysurf The only appearance question you need to answer is if Huo committed to the leaf loincloth life


Def didn't forget this isn't the interest check anymore
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