tsukune

Cara's Originally Titled OoC Hangout Thread ♥ (Still)

*pokes in* :)

Tsukune Reservoir Chronicle

STAR RIDERS

< Tsu's Design | Levikyrians >

• IX | Cera

  
  
  
  
  || Levikyrian | Female | "Cera" ||

  
  
  

  A P P E A R A N C E

  ---

  
  

  Pale-skinned and petite at 151 cm (4' 11"), Cera has what humans would call a "child-like" appearance, which doesn't reflect the true age of the ancient Levikyrian race (like, they are waaaaay older than the history of homo sapiens). She is described to have long, light-pink locks that go all the way down to the back of her knee, ruby-colored eyes that reflects the meaning of her middle name, and pointed ears that gives her an elfish look - all of which are an understatement to what she's truly capable of.
  
  She mostly appears in clothing that screams Gothic Lolita fashion: black, Victorian-esque dresses lined with pearly-white frills along the hems, ribbons everywhere, all the way down to those boots that have done a great job of getting the absolute territory of the female charm right in that sweet spot. Even though she may lack a nice rack or booty, those legs are still good enough to turn a healthy guy on. Well, how much can you expect out of a brat-like body, you shameless pedophile? *winks*

  
  
  

  P E R S O N A L I T Y

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  B A C K G R O U N D

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  S K I L L S

  ---

  
  

  • Planetary Destruction (via Life-Force Absorption)
    The Levikyrians are a parasitic loli alien species that live by feeding on the life-force of other planets and natural satellites. Once they deplete the life-force of the planet, this usually leads to the planet's annihilation and erasing its existence from the planetary system. Worse, they have little to no control over this power... which makes them pretty much a personification of mini black holes.

  
  

  • Reality Warping: Xenopsychic Mentifery
    WIP

  
  

  • Destiny Perception
    A cooler way to say "reading the future", though Cera's ability to do so is justifiably limited. First, she can only glimpse her own future, which means her Inner Eye does not extend to the sorry fate of other lowly beings. Second, she is unable to defy whatever she has foreseen. Trying to go against her doomed destiny only makes it longer to reach the predetermined end - there's nothing she can do to change anything.

  
  
  

  O T H E R S

  ---

  
  

  TROPES
  

  • Loli Queen of the Dawn
    
    • Token Mini Moe
    • Defrosting Ice Queen
    • Apocalypse Maiden
  • Suicidal Vision
    
    • Driven to Suicide
    • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

  
  THEME
  

  [+]

  [youtube][/youtube]

• VIII | Nove

  
  
  
  
  || Levikyrian | Female | "Nove" ||

  
  
  

  A P P E A R A N C E

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  P E R S O N A L I T Y

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  B A C K G R O U N D

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  S K I L L S

  ---

  
  

  • Planetary Destruction (via Life-Force Absorption)
    See Cera's sheet. Won't repeat myself here again.

  
  

  • Reality Warping: Faithifery
    WIP

  
  
  

  O T H E R S

  ---

  
  

  TROPES
  

  • Hellbringer Messiah
    
    • Chaotic Evil
    • Omnicidal Maniac
  • One-Way Incest / Incest Subtext

  
  THEME
  

  [+]

  [youtube][/youtube]

Tsukune Reservoir Chronicle

STAR RIDERS

< Tsu's Design | Earthlings >

• Main | Sora Ayanami

  
  
  
  _{"Curiosity doesn't kill a cat; ignorance does."}
  
  || Earthling | Male | 15 ||

  
  
  

  A P P E A R A N C E

  ---

  
  

  Sora is no different from your typical Japanese teenage boy - minus the raging hormones. Or, if you really want to be that specific, the stereotypical male lead that you'd love to smash his dick to a million pieces.
  
  Jokes aside, he stands at 173 cm (or 5' 8" for the exclusive Americans), and has a modest athletic build - on the slim side rather than your beefy eight-pack brawn. He sprouts a short but unkempt jet-black hair (he has pretty much given up trying to make the mop behave even with hair gel), brown-eyed, and a considerably androgynous face - in which his family and friends will never leave him alone to tease about how he's better off being a ditzy but cute girl than an unmanly loser.

  
  
  

  P E R S O N A L I T Y

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  B A C K G R O U N D

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  M E C H A

  ---

  
  

  • WIP

  
  
  

  O T H E R S

  ---

  
  

  TROPES
  

  • Innocently Insensitive / Cloudcuckoolander
    
    • Too Dumb to Fool
  • Be Careful What You Wish For
    
    • An Offer You Can't Refuse
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
    
    • Empowered Badass Normal
    • Cursed with Awesome

  
  THEME
  

  [+]

  [youtube][/youtube]

• NPC | Hayate Suzumura

  
  
  
  _{"Appreciating the beauty of the female body doesn't make one a pervert, period."}
  
  || Earthling | Male | 15 ||

  
  
  

  A P P E A R A N C E

  ---

  
  

  Hayate's hair is obviously dyed blond - you can see some black roots around his sideburns - with dark, expressive eyes, and a more angular face than Sora's (because he's more 'man' than that lil' bitch, yo). Slightly taller than his dark-haired counterpart, which is made even lankier with his rather laid-back way of carrying himself, as seen in his preference for baggy, oversized clothes.

  
  
  

  P E R S O N A L I T Y

  ---

  
  

  Full of snark, openly perverted the greatest appreciator of the female body (self-proclaimed), providing a great contrast to Sora's absent-mindedness. it's anyone's guess how the two of them become such good(?) friends...

  
  
  

  B A C K G R O U N D

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  O T H E R S

  ---

  
  

  TROPES
  

  • Deadpan Snarker
    
    • Genre Savvy

  
  THEME
  

  [+]

  [youtube][/youtube]

• NPC | Yuuka Kobayashi

  
  
  
  _{"Ideally, beauty should start from the inside... but reality just doesn't work that way."}
  
  || Earthling | Female | 15 ||

  
  
  

  A P P E A R A N C E

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  P E R S O N A L I T Y

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  B A C K G R O U N D

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  O T H E R S

  ---

  
  

  TROPES
  

  • Trope #1
    
    • Sub-Trope #1A

  
  THEME
  

  [+]

  [youtube][/youtube]

• ??? | Maki Hoshino

  
  
  
  _{"Science is the romance of knowledge and hope~❤"}
  
  || Earthling | Female | "It's rude to ask a lady for her age, you know." ||

  
  
  

  A P P E A R A N C E

  ---

  
  

  Standing at a mere 159 cm (roughly 5' 3"), Maki is quite voluptuous for her short and slender build, further accentuated by her odd preference for rather revealing clothes. In fact, she has no qualms about people having their full attention on the painfully visible bra and cleavage, and considers the ogling as a form of compliment. (What, this woman has no shame?) Her asymmetrical bobcut hair seems to have lost its original luster and faded into a greenish hue for reasons unknown. She wears a pair of half-rimmed silver-framed glasses over her jade-colored eyes.

  
  
  

  P E R S O N A L I T Y

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  B A C K G R O U N D

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  R E L A T I O N S H I P S

  ---

  
  

  WIP

  
  
  

  M E C H A

  ---

  
  

  • WIP

  
  
  

  O T H E R S

  ---

  
  

  TROPES
  

  • Innocent Fanservice Girl
    
    • Lethally Clumsy
    • Too Kinky to Torture
  • Berserk Button
    
    • Trigger Happy

  
  THEME
  

  [+]

  [youtube][/youtube]

𝕲𝖗𝖎𝖒 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖕𝖊𝖗'𝖘 𝕲𝖆𝖒𝖇𝖎𝖙

---

---

Reinald Wong, & Leonard Christian-Walker

_{( collaboration with @Shoryu Magami )}

---

---

Somewhere in Central Paris, France_
_{♫ Final Fantasy XV OST - Safe Haven}

Reinald could only shrug in response to Leonard's last line - the American boy didn't even give him a chance to say anything at all in between all his ramblings - but he pulled out the pamphlet from his pocket and opened up the map inside. "Most of the tourist attraction sites are further downtown... And it seems like there's a train station within walking distance from here, so we can catch a train together and look around there." He folded the map into half, then showed it to Leonard. "Maybe here? The Luxembourg Palace. According to the guide, it has quite an impressive collection of Gothic art and architecture."

While he had initially been a little unsure of how to take Rein's shrug to the comment about staring, the following response made it clear he wanted to travel with him. In all honesty, Leonard had never heard of Luxembourg Palace in any detail beyond randomly hearing its name brought up. His own pamphlet, which he had only used to a very small extent since arriving here, was the only real source of information he had been given about it in his life. Not that he had even read the thing in any detail, since there was far too many things on his mind currently -- the reason he was here in the first place being one of the main ones. With that said, Rein's suggestion sounded interesting, particularly because Leonard had always been fascinated in art.

"Ahrite, cool..." Leonard said in agreement, "Let's go, huh?" he continued with a slight tilt of his head signalling in the direction that the map was showing the station located at. The straightforward part of him wanted to turn around and lead the way, but the part of him that had literally had people try to stab him in the back on more than one occasion made him reserved to do so.

Reinald nodded in reply to Leonard's direction, but rather than taking the lead he chose to fall in next to the American, keeping a slight distance apart but not obvious enough to make it seem as if he didn't like walking with him. He wasn't stupid to go off in front of this guy and get himself back-stabbed without warning, not when the counterpart had some sort of weapon on him. Call him paranoid, but he found it hard to relax around Leonard, not after all that creepy, intense staring contest on top of the bit of sheath poking out from under his clothes. Everything about this American just made Reinald feel difficult to get along with him beyond the current excuse of touring around Paris for a bit (and he was starting to regret calling out to this dude just now).

Leonard turned around roughly at the same time Rein was about to pass by him, making sure not to end up behind him when they started walking. It would have been hypocritical to be cautious enough not to take the lead yet then expect this stranger to move in front of him, especially given how only one of them was armed to the best of his knowledge, and he had always made an active point in his life of not expecting anything from others than he did not expect from himself; in fact, he had openly challenged people to find evidence otherwise.

As they started heading down the street, Leonard could not help but find himself contemplating about the events that were fast approaching -- a chance to correct a cruel hand that had been dealt in his little world. He was still largely unsure about whether or not he wanted to take the escort or just make his own way to the estate, but if he decided on the latter then he would need to part ways with Rein a lot sooner to ensure no problems came up.

The crowd thickened as they were approaching closer to the train station marked with a 'RER' signage (which stood for Réseau Express Régional), and Reinald's worry began to shift from the weapon and possible hidden violence in Leonard to the tendency of encountering a pickpocket this time. Even if the Chinese man didn't think he had brought much cash on him, getting anything stolen from the professional thieves who thrived on the stupidity and carelessness of foreigners was still a sour experience for any tourists, especially in the beautiful sight of this imperfect city.

Thankfully, the station had ticket vending machines that came with an English menu, which solved the language barrier issue for Reinald. He turned to Leonard and explained, "The closest station to the Palace is Luxembourg, which is along this RER route." His finger traced the blue line on the map in his pamphlet. "It's between St-Michel--Notre-Dame, and Port-Royal. We can purchase the tickets from the machines since they have English installed in them."

"...Sounds like a plan," Leonard replied after he swallowed another bite of the sandwich he had been periodically munching on, finally finished with it. At this point, he was becoming more conscious of the fact that time was passing and figured it would be a good idea if he got his mobile phone out during the train trip so he would make sure not to lose track of how long he had left. He did have a knack for getting lost in his own world, especially when something started making him daydream - which was easily possible in a romantically beautiful city like this - or was provoking his attention to detail into full gear.

The thought had been going through his mind the whole time that he needed to be on guard for an attack, especially since he was not unfamiliar with the possibility of people trying to get revenge on him by calling for more of their buddies, but he also figured he probably scared those idiots enough to make them not want to mess with him again. Regardless of how many of them they had, unless they could get their hand on a firearm he would be fine, and he was a more difficult target now that Rein's presence meant he was no longer alone -- regardless of whether his Asian companion could protect himself or not. Once they were on the train, it would be significantly more difficult for them to be found anyway.

"Let's do this," Leonard said after only a moment of thinking after his initial reply.

Reinald only responded with a curt nod and turned around, leaving his new companion's side to get his own ticket. Self-services like purchasing the ticket from the vending machines was child's play for the tech-savvy young man - he had no trouble going through the menu options to get what he wanted. A few seconds and a couple of taps later, he stepped away from the machine with the ticket in hand, then walked over to the gantry to wait for Leonard. He took out his own mobile and glanced at the time; there wasn't a need for him to make haste. He began to play a RPG app on his phone as he waited.

Leonard walked over to get a ticket at the same time as Rein, placing out his hand. As he was navigating the menu, his mind was honestly still multitasking -- focused mostly on the events that would transpire later in the day. Was it really possible for his wish to be granted? Leonard was not really the type of person who believed that you had to physically see something to prove that it existed, especially since there were so many mysterious in the world outside of the scope of empirical understanding, and he believed a wise person always kept in mind that anything might be possible in this world -- the height of arrogant delusion was to assume otherwise with absolute certainty. He was not that savvy about science, but he knew from his father that the more people learned the more questions they uncovered instead of answers. Nevertheless, each time he tried to fathom how a single man could actually be able to grant his true desire it just ended up bringing so many other thoughts to the surface of his inquisitive mind -- who the hell was this 'Methuselah of Paris'? Either way, he knew he would find out soon enough.

How much was on his mind meant that Leonard had indeed finished getting his ticket later than Rein, but once he had acquired it he wasted no time walking over to the gantry and signalling that he was ready with a nod. At this point, his mind was too occupied to engage in much conversation.

Reinald didn't seem to be in any mood to talk, either. Though the Chinese tourist could spare enough attention to register and acknowledge Leonard's presence, he was more interested in his own world - or rather, his game - than making much effort to try socializing with his new 'friend'. If his family or relatives were here, they would probably waste no time to nag and reprimand him (to them, his current attitude was considered rude by Asian standard, especially before those fussy elders), but to the introverted young man, he valued his personal space above all else. Once he passed through the gantry, Reinald brisked towards the platform area, all the while still keeping Leonard within his field of vision. A quick glance at the signboards to confirm the correct side of the train they should take, he gave the blond a wave to signal him over.

It was already way past peak hour period, but luckily for the pair they didn't need to wait long as their train pulled into the station a minute later. As Reinald boarded the train, he put on his headphone, filling the awkward silence between the two men with a calming soundtrack piece from the iPod in his jeans pocket. His left hand continued tapping away on his smartphone while the other tucked into his hoodie pocket, fingers wrapped around his wallet and the letter as a subtle precaution against pickpockets.

...And now, they were finally en route to Luxembourg Palace.

Men vs. Women Race to 1000

394

B!tchfest: a healthy release for our non-roleplay annoyances.

This is a bitch to my current life.

NOT. ENOUGH. BEAUTY. SLEEP.

Sleep ain't gay. Only scrubs'd think that sleep is unimportant.

And of course, TOO MUCH BLOODY WORK.

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

I'll definitely miss this RP for a while. The gayest RP I've ever been in, and I had a hell lot of fun.

What games are you playing lately?

Technically I'm pretty much playing mobile games nowadays because it's more convenient and accessible to me, especially with my shitty RL schedule... but I won't mention them here because most of them are not playable outside of Japan/Asia.

So, I'll stick to consoles (and PCs, but I don't really play PC games much, w/e).

Now Playing: World of Final Fantasy (a.k.a. FFVII turn-based tactics meets FFX sphere-grid leveling meets Pokemon meets KH character designs because Nomura is as generic as ever).

Baybridge™: Era of the Old/New Gods™ [COMPLETED]

---

---

Meifeng Zhao, & Jiao-Long Liu.

_{(collaboration between @Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)}

---

Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_

"Good work, RAVEN," Maximilian Cornell's voice appeared in the earpieces of all the RAVENS nearby. "We lost a lot of good men and women fighting in this battle, but we succeeded, the Founding Family's base was destroyed... But it's not over yet. We still have much work to do out here, and we have to search for survivors."

RAVEN cleared the base pretty quickly after the battle, and anyone with a brain would do the same. Unfortunately, there were many who were unconscious, dead, or on the verge of dying.

RAVEN and DOVE vehicles were all over the place; as the building collapsed, they had to look for survivors. Fortunately, they evacuated the area before the whole battle began. Hell, it was a mess out here, with few people to clean it up. There were Secretaries, prisoners, injured, and dead, being hauled around, and it was a train wreck to deal with. Not to mention all the liberated Secretaries... Meifeng didn't want to be the one to deal with this mess, so she made sure to beeline for Uncle. She had much to talk to him about. He was sitting on the back of a RAVEN van, with his wife in hand. When he looked up at Meifeng, he jumped to his feet, and shook her hands.

"Thank you, thank you so much for saving my wife," Jiao-Long said.

"I did what was right..." Meifeng rubbed the back of her neck as she looked off, avoiding eye-contact with Jiao-Long.

"Meifeng..." Jiao-Long immediately picked up on her hesitation. "...What is wrong?"

It was time to come clean.

"My mother... your sister... is dead," Meifeng finally said. "Biyu killed her."

Jiao-Long's eyes went wide as his heart started racing. "Wait, B-Biyu...?" Jiao-Long said, before he bowed. "Please forgive me, Meifeng. I could have stopped her--"

"Don't, Uncle," Meifeng stopped him. "There was nothing you could do... and there's no point mulling about the ifs..."

Jiao-Long nodded his head. "I am still sorry... I will do all I can to comfort and help you."

"Just be happy in knowing that the Liu Family is okay..." Meifeng said as she stormed off. She just needed to be alone right now... but before she could mope, she had plenty of work to do. She pressed her earpiece. "Quent? What's the status of the scientists? More importantly, I want to know how our Hands friends?"

"Under wraps," the veteran RAVEN reassured her, a little more confident about things this time. "We'll be questioning them soon enough, though I suspect more than a few were working under the same circumstances as your Uncle. As for our friends, I'm personally making sure those two remain in our custody, complete with an escort."

She paused for a moment as she added on. "...And Reed, is Cindy okay?"

It took a short while before she got an answer, though the Investigator-turned-de facto representative of DOVE's field agents was somewhat more reserved if his tone was anything to go by. "Short answer? Yeah, she's in one piece, but... look, we'll talk about this in person, yeah? No need to jam the comms."

"Right, your position?" Meifeng asked.

This time, she got her answer almost instantly. "Just by the perimeter."

Meifeng immediately nodded her head as she went over to Reed. Wading through all the chaos was definitely a challenge; adding in the rain... Meifeng found Reed quickly, and crossed her arms. "Well, here I am," Meifeng started off. "She's under the mind control that was mentioned in those logs that Shizuka gave us... it has to be. There's no way that Cindy would betray us - betray everything that she stood for and believed in at the drop of a hat."

"No shit.. this isn't something that can be reversed in a few days. Whatever they've done to her, I'm not a psychologist but I know it's going to be a long road ahead for her, and that's assuming we can remove any control they might've had over her."

"For Cindy... I'll do whatever the hell it takes," Meifeng said. "I'm not going to lose her..."

Meifeng shook her head. "Where is she now?"

"Don't... right now, this isn't something you should see." He knew more than anyone else tonight that it was the last thing she needed.

"Fine... I'll take your word for it," Meifeng said, letting out a sigh. "Know what? I think I need to be by myself." Meifeng said as she turned away from Reed, and marching off. Marching away from the RAVEN perimeter... disappearing into the darkness of the city. It was desertion, yeah, but Meifeng had enough.

Enough violence, enough losses... enough of this.

---

---

Malik Jakane, & Rhea Harlow.

_{(collaboration between @Mr Allen J and @Estylwen)}

---

Courtbridge, Prince Ed-Field_

It was a challenge getting everyone out of the FF base... but, Malik and 'Team Spy' - as Shizuka had called them - pulled it off.

Afterwards, the group watched the destruction of the Family's base (hey, did the Machine's explosions travel that far up the building?) from the safety of a distant rooftop. Malik sat down on the edge of the roof with his legs crossed, as he watched the base go up in flames. Malik just sighed somberly. The woman who killed Marcelle apparently split off from the group... and perhaps, it was for the best. Malik had to find it in him to forgive her... not now, but maybe in years. Heh, it's funny, Marcelle and him were never romantic, but just very close friends. Losing her felt like losing a lover.

But, instead of getting hung up on her death, Malik was going to see this as a new opportunity. With the Family dead, it was the start of a new era! Perhaps it should be a new Malik... happier and chipper than ever!

Instead of mopping, Malik was going to make conversation with the others. He hopped up to his feet. "While it's sad that Marcelle really died... I think she died for a good cause," Malik said, as he got close to Rhea. "Without her, we would have never have gotten this far... so, I'm going to try to stay positive about all of this."

He walked over to Rhea. "But, I have bad news, and good news, friends..." Malik said. "Bad news... I'm going to be leaving America, soon."

"Really, Malik?" Rhea asked.

"Yes, it is true... there is... nothing more for me here in America," Malik said as he looked at the expanse. "And I have another promise I have to fulfill... buuuuuut..."

"'Buuuut'?"

"...How about some of you come with me?" Malik said as he pulled his friend into a close hug. "I think everyone should leave their country once..."

"I don't know..." Rhea said.

"It doesn't have to be for long... Remember, it'll be our world adventure." Malik said. "...Platonic world adventure." He had to say, making Rhea chuckle.

"Either way... I don't think there's much more we can accomplish by watching a burning buildin'," Malik said as he extended a hand to Rhea.

She took it, and Malik turned into his storm form and flew off into the distance... while Marcelle is dead, this was going to be a new beginning.

---

---

Veronica Davis, & the Black Hound.

_{(by @Mr Allen J)}

---

Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_

After the destruction of the base, Veronica made sure to split off from the group.

There was nothing worthwhile to gain from hanging around them. Especially since Malik found out she killed his friend. Veronica stood in the shadows of an alleyway, as she watched the frantic RAVENS and DOVES try to piece this disaster together. Well, Veronica could not give a shit about the others - as she already helped by liberating the Secretaries - and instead focused on her sisters. Damn. A part of her wished that she fled with Shizuka, at least that way, they could be in her hands... But, this was for the best.

The sisters were denied a normal life for far, far too long, and honestly, it was probably Veronica's fault that they got pulled into this in the first place. Veronica stepped back behind into the shadow of the alleyway and shrugged. If anyone was going to save them from a life of servitude, it would be DOVE. Honestly, Veronica should just stay out of their lives... it was almost like she brought misfortune to the lives of anyone who got close to her. She grinned as the prospect made her chuckle a bit. It was finally here, the death of the Family, and she couldn't be anymore happy.

Now... now, she had to abandon her old life in favor of a new one.

Veronica walked over to a nearby dumpster, and took off the IU armor piece by piece, until she was in nothing but a tank top, and cargo pants. She threw it all in the dumpster, save for her weapon and ammunition... it was going to be a long walk home.

"...Ms. Davis," the voice of the Hound spoke from behind her, and she immediately whipped around with her pistol in hand. "I mean you no harm."

"Then you won't mind if I keep this locked on you?" Veronica asked, only to realize that tiny bullets like this wouldn't do a damn thing to him, and she lowered the weapon.

"Good..." the Hound said, as he kept a healthy distance. "I want to say that I knew from the beginning... Your intent to betray the Family."

Veronica narrowed her eyes at him.

"Your subtle acts of insubordination... It is why me, and the Foundation Woman, argued against killing you for so long," the Hound said. "Because we, too, wanted to destroy the Family."

"So, that's all you had to say, Houndy?" Veronica asked, rolling her eyes. "If you--"

"--But, it's not over yet," the Hound said. "Me, the Foundation Woman, the Phantasm, and Bonecrusher, are going to build something new... a means to a new end. And we want you in it."

Veronica sighed as she turned around. "Sorry, Houndy... but, I'm done with playing soldier for everyone and their stupid goals. As of now... I live for myself, and fight for myself."

"Very well..." the Hound said, as he stepped back into the portal. "...We have come to terms."

The portal closed, and Veronica kept walking away.

She meant what she said - she was now her own woman. No longer a tool for the Three's insane ends. She was going to make life great for herself.

---

---

Cindy Keagan, Jennifer Caspin, Haruka & Shizuka Takashiro.

_{(collaboration between @Mr Allen J and @tsukune)}

---

Regal Square, Prince Ed-Field_

Leaving the troublesome logistics for the unfortunate low-ranks to do had always been Shizuka's usual job routine (he had already changed out of Veronica's retarded joke and was now in a long-sleeved shirt and comfortable jeans). One could say that he didn't want to deal with the aftermath, to clean up the huge mess left behind all thanks to the Family's madness, and he would use any means just to slack off from such mundane work.

Only that this time, it wasn't about his own procrastination. There was somewhere else he had to go, someone else he had to attend to.

Whatever that was left of the BPD, the DOVE and RAVEN forces that Maximilian had summoned over to their aid were all scuttling around some were hauling whatever they could recover from the ruins of the fallen Family Headquarters, while the others were trying their best to restore order around the area, keeping curious onlookers and frenzied reporters at bay. Holly was doing a good job regulating the mass of victims enslaved by the Family's mind control, where one of Veronica's sisters would then reverse the effect and liberate them from their mindless state. the two girls would be under DOVE's custody; maybe even be placed under the protection program, especially after what they had been through.

As for the freed Secretaries, they were led to the RAVEN vehicles in groups, where they would be transported to the BPD building (the only law enforcement office that was miraculously unharmed, and also the nearest) to sort out the administration matters before they could be sent back to their homeland in batches.

Strolling through the barking officers and running medics, he reached his destination: at the end of the chaotic scene was a tent guarded by two burly RAVEN officers. They both gave him a stiff salute, which Shizuka waved it off. "...How's she?"

"She's been behaving herself so far," one of them began, eyeing Shizuka's defenseless state with an raised eyebrow. "But better be careful. Agent Keagan is probably one of the strongest Metas among all of the DOVEs and RAVENs in Baybridge."

Shizuka rolled his eyes at the warning. "Who d'you think you're talking to?" Without waiting for a response to his rhetoric question, he walked through the flaps.

Cindy was sitting in a chair, with her arms cuffed behind her - if Shizuka were to take a good look, he would see that Cindy's legs were also bound to the chair that she was sitting on.

"Hey," Shizuka kept his eyes fixated on the cuffed agent as he greeted her. "It's been a while since we last saw each other, huh?"

Cindy hissed, "Don't mistake us for being friends, Shizuka. I always thought you were a deluded idiot... I serve the Three, not stupid 'friendships'."

Shizuka let out a mirthless laughter, unfazed by her act of defiance. "...Right. So, what did those Three Fags promised you with that you're so willing to turn your back against everything you've been working so hard to protect?"

"A better life... a better world... and so far, under their liege, I've had both." Cindy said. "And don't refer to them out of name. Call them the Three."

Shizuka continued to watch her closely. "Really, that's all they're going to pay you for killing your best friends? That's really a cheap bargain... to throw away the people most precious to you for something that doesn't even exist. You're pathetic."

"And you're stupid for resisting change."

Shizuka let out a low whistle. "How loyal... But what if I tell you that your beloved Three are all dead? Will you kill yourself to join them in the afterlife?"

"I will avenge them." Cindy said.

Shizuka shook his head and straightened up. Even Cindy, whom many of those in DOVE and RAVEN admired her as a strong woman and leader, could be easily reduced to such pitiful state with that ominous mind control ability. Seemed like she was only exploited as a mere pawn for her superpower and position within DOVE to keep the good guys busy, nothing more. Part of him wanted to record all this to show it to her later... but he decided against it.

"...Mechanized Memories, Release."

It took a moment to register - her eyes went completely dead for a few moments - before her eyes reverted back to usual. Shizuka watched as his friend slowly came to her senses; Veronica wasn't lying about this, but it only made him wonder how she knew about the keywords. No matter - they were only acquaintances with a common goal for that short moment, and now that both of them got what they wanted, he could care less about that slut.

"H-huh?" Cindy said as she looked around, rather groggily as the mind control wore off. She tried moving her arms and legs, only to find out that she's bound. "...The fuck?"

She swore as she looked up at Shizuka.

"Shizuka, why am I tied?" Cindy's eyes went wide as she came to another conclusion. "Oh God, did I get drunk again? Please tell me no one's dead..."

"Well..." Shizuka rubbed the back of his neck, breaking eye contact with her. "If only you were just drunk... but it's a hell lot worse than that." He then gave her a very short brief about the mind control, how she killed their own people... and even tried to kill Meifeng.

"...Reed was the one who incapacitated you, and then you're brought back here under watch, which is why you're tied down like this."

"Oh my God..." Cindy didn't have any words for what she had done. "I... I killed all those people?" Cindy weakly asked.

"You were under the influence of the Family's mind control when you massacred the forces under your command back at the HQ," Shizuka started off, still not looking at her. "But it won't change the fact that you're the one who killed them all."

He finally turned around to face her again. "We can't undo what's been done, so... uh, well, don't be too hard on yourself about this." This was one of the rare occasions that Shizuka dropped his usual smug attitude, and showed a bit of empathy for someone other than his twin brother, his own family. "No one can truly blame you for what you did, because it's not out of your own free will - you were controlled by the Family."

"You're right..." Cindy groaned. "But I need a little bit of time to myself... if you don't mind."

She looked down at her binds. "...Also, unbind me, please."

Shizuka let out a sigh. "Your personal space can wait. First, we need to remove that mind control from you, permanently." He reached out a hand to her shoulder. "Ready?" Phasing her out of the restraints was much faster than removing them one by one.

Freed from her bounds, Cindy massaged her rather sore wrists from being bound for so long... She nodded her head at Shizuka as she said,

"Thank you."

Shizuka filled Cindy in with the news about the downfall of the Family as he led her out of the tent, then kept his mouth shut for the rest of the walk. Many things had happened, but they all built up to such an anticlimactic end... which really explained a lot about the Founding Fags and their so-called perfection. He couldn't help rolling his eyes at that thought.

As they were nearing the tent where Veronica's sisters were kept, Holly walked over to greet them, though it didn't hide the tiredness on her face. "This way," she waved at them to follow her, leading them away from the crowd to a more deserted route. She then turned to Shizuka. "So, anything new?"

Shizuka shook his head in response. "Where's Haru... and Jennifer?"

"You'll see them soon enough."

She showed them to the back of tent. Inside, Sophia had pulled a glowing blue orb out of Jennifer's head... it was like a bubble. Definitely a strange sight to walk in on, as Cindy, without context, raised her eyebrow at the scene. In fact, Sophia was removing Mechanized Memories from Jennifer. Causing the bubble to explode, fading away forever. Jennifer smiled.

"Shizu!" Haruka went over to his brother the moment the silver-head had entered. He peered around Shizuka's shoulder and saw Cindy. "Um, hi. Are you feeling alright?"

"...Yeah." Cindy weakly said.

"These girls--" Shizuka explained as he gestured at Veronica's sisters, "--are the ones responsible for the mind control and the other shenanigans, but they were being imprisoned by the Three to do their bidding. They can reverse the mind control on you, like what they've just done for Jennifer." He then gave Cindy a slight push on her back. "Go on."

Cindy nodded her head... everything was being thrown at her at once. While Shizuka's intentions were pure, his methods weren't the best (then again, she had to remind herself this was Shizuka she was talking about). She sighed as she walked over to the teenage girl, the black-haired, green-eyed, girl.

"Come here..." Sophia said... as she vividly remembered applying Mechanized Memories to this woman.

When Cindy got close, Sophia put her hand on Cindy's forehead, and a glowing light appeared as she pulled a small bubble out of Cindy's head... the same with Jennifer. The bubble disappeared into thin air, as it was destroyed with ease.

"There, it's all gone." Sophia said.

Cindy sighed, "...Thank you."

"I'm so glad that you are okay, Cindy," Jennifer said, smiling. "I didn't even know that something happened to you until it was all over... if I had known..."

"It's not anything that could be helped." Cindy shrugged.

"But, there's something I have to tell everyone..." Jennifer said, looking between her group of friends that she was hoping would include Meifeng - but for now, she would tell her later. "Julia told me something about... about me... during that little encounter I had."

She didn't cry, or show hesitation. It was almost as if that was gone after the death of Julia, and the loss of her Mechanized Memories.

"You know during those few years after Verthaven? Before I showed up in Baybridge?"

"Yeah?"

Jennifer sighed... realizing the time wasn't now to beat around the bush.

"I... actually died in Verthaven. When the Devil pulled me under..."

The twins exchanged looks with each other, but Haruka was the one who voiced out the elephant in the room, "...What?"

"Julia revived me for some reason... she said I had a part in her plans," Jennifer said. "I wish we didn't kill her before I had a chance to ask her what plans... but, she blurted out that my old boss Megan had a part in it."

Jennifer nodded her head.

"And even though I died... I guess I'm going to make the most of my second chance," Jennifer started off. "Finding out and defining a new me... and finding my old boss, and getting answers out of her."

"I'll help you," Haruka blurted out before his brother could stop him. "I mean, I want to be of more help to you."

"Hold on," Shizuka turned on his twin. "You're not even--"

"You need to stop babying me," Haruka shot him down. "I didn't have the chance to tell you this with all the Family madness going on, but I've already quitted college." In actuality he was kicked out of the course to shoulder the unjust blame for the hostage incident, but none of that trivial details mattered now.

Shizuka narrowed his eyes at the older twin. "...Right. But what does that have got anything to do with going off to get yourself killed for nothing?"

"I've finally accepted the offer the Academy gave me that time when I was about to graduate," Haruka said. "To join DOVE. But now, schooling and all can take the back seat when there are more important matters to deal with." He glanced at Jennifer. "Like helping a friend in need."

"I mean... I'm not really in need, I just think I should..." Jennifer stammered out the words as if she was socially inept, before it finally hit her. "Oh... thank you anyway, Haruka. I promise, if you help me, I'll repay you any way I can."

Shizuka didn't want to let his precious brother go - he opened his mouth to protest, but in the end he could only let out a sigh of resignation. Haruka was right, he had to stop being so overprotective of him. They were both technically adults now, and Haruka was the older of the two. If the Academy and DOVE could see Haruka's true potential, he could no longer keep lying to himself that they had to stick together for the rest of their lives. "...Fine. I know a losing battle when I see one."

As he watched his twin walking over to Jennifer, he could only say, "Look after him for me," before he turned on his heels and left the tent.

That was surprising coming from Shizuka of all people. So surprising that Jennifer lost her composure for a moment. Eyes going doe-eyed, and her hands feeling weak... by the time she collected herself, Shizuka was already gone.

"Y-yeah... I will," Jennifer said, before she turned to Haruka. "...While I am determined to find my boss... find Megan... I still think there are things here we need to take care of first." She scratched the back of her neck.

"Such as... picking up the pieces of what happened here..." She started off. "...And being there for Meifeng."

Haruka was equally amused at Shizuka's reaction, but grateful that his twin was becoming more honest with himself. "Yeah," he agreed with Jennifer. "We still have work to do here. Let's go." He gave her his hand, but he didn't forget about Cindy. "How about you? Now that you're free, what are you going to do from hereon?"

"Um..." Cindy said. "I have to think about a lot of things..."

Haruka knew the sign of someone who wanted to have some personal moment for themselves. "Oh, okay. I guess we'll take our leave first, then."

As he was exiting the tent with Jennifer, Holly poked her head in. "I just saw Shizuka storming off to a distance. I hope everything's alright?" In which Haruka only shrugged in response.

Then her green eyes fell on Cindy. "Ah, Agent Keagan? If you're already done here, we'll need to get you to the hospital to get you checked and make sure you're okay." She pulled the flap further up to let Haruka and Jennifer through, then waited for Cindy to come over.

Cindy merely nodded her head.

StarRiders: Hoshizora no Riders

"Science is the romance of knowledge and hope~❤"

---

---

---

---

NAME

Maki "Hime" Hoshino
(星野　真姫)

GENDER

Female

AGE

"It's rude to ask a lady for her age, you know?"

SPECIES

Earthling

ORIGIN

Japan, Earth

OCCUPATION

Teacher
(Meiran, tertiary level)

---

---

---

---

APPEARANCE

Standing at a mere 159 cm (roughly 5' 3"), Maki is quite voluptuous for her short and slender build, further accentuated by her odd preference for rather revealing clothes. In fact, she has no qualms about people having their full attention on the painfully visible bra and cleavage, and considers the ogling as a form of compliment. (What, this woman has no shame?) Her asymmetrical bobcut hair seems to have lost its original luster and faded into a greenish hue for reasons unknown. She wears a pair of half-rimmed silver-framed glasses over her jade-colored eyes.

PERSONALITY & MOTIVATIONS

...

PERSONAL HISTORY

...

INFLUENCE & RELATIONS

...

TROPES

• Innocent Fanservice Girl
  
  • Lethally Clumsy
  • Too Kinky to Torture