Current
"Is this a joke? What, you think--You think I can't deal with a CAT?"
3 yrs ago
"You're a slave to history."
1
like
3 yrs ago
"He was infuriated to see Jinguuji-san eating with another man."
2
likes
5 yrs ago
"When you get to the point where you can laugh at your mistakes, you'll find new things to replace what you lost."
1
like
5 yrs ago
"Damn stupid sun, making it morning whenever it wants even though I'm sleepy. Who does it think it is? Doesn't it know it has me to thank for its continued existence? "
4
likes
Bio
You showed up.
One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave.
I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list here as it contains everything important on it.
As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions.
For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers.
I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana 432
While it obviously would have been ideal to blink behind his opponent, Justin was more than content to settle with not being roasted and now being in a range where he was more of a threat. He grinned, notably wider than his typical resting one, and started to rush the flame-throwing nun with the intent to deliver quick justice to her face via the skillful use of punches. "Now that I've properly arrived, you're going dow-"
Of course, things didn't go as smoothly as he hoped and he found himself falling as the balcony collapsed. He cursed the ironic timing as he fell, thinking of what he could do to respond, only for things to get more hectic as he felt a melody hit him. While suddenly falling itself was quite disorienting, the sudden shift in scenery was beginning to make Noble Spark wish he had abstained from eating a big meal before setting off on this mission.
I suppose if I do give into the nausea, I can at least try to ruin their day...
Given how suddenly this all happened, it was difficult to understand what exactly was happening with senses alone. instead, his next actions were based on the assumption the random melody that hit him probably wasn't for his benefit as he was at least able to make out who just swapped with him. He wasn't even sure if a melody would go off before he met with whatever hazard was about to befall him, but it didn't mean he wasn't going to try. He focused his melody and guessed going upwards was probably the safest option given how far his melody was going to fling him. But being airborne was also dangerous, and he'd be looking for a safe way to land return to the ground assuming the gunmen weren't already prepared to go skeet shooting with the airborne hero.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana 456
It was a tense few seconds as the gunfire rained down from the windows above, Noble Spark hugging the wall as tight as he could while his ability to conduct melodies was refreshing. He was beginning to wish he had invested in, well, a vest to protect him from firearms. But for now, all he had were the heroic staples of hoping he didn't get filled with holes.
When he heard the shuffling of footsteps above him on the second floor, he quietly sighed in relief before quickly patting himself to check for injuries. Upon finding none, he thought about his next move. It may be risky, but getting up close and personal with the guys with guns might be his best move. But that was assuming they cared about friendly fire. If they didn't, well, things could get difficult.
Of course, just as Noble Spark began to settle on the plan he felt something hit him in the head with enough force to cause him to stumble a little, his cheek burning from what seemed to be ash. He hurriedly wiped it off his face, glaring upward just in time to see that Bobo had spotted him.
"Straight to the point without even an introduction? My heroic visage must've left you shocked!" he laughed confidently. But on the inside, he knew such a foe was far more difficult to deal with.
Noble Spark was, in fact, dismayed at the lack of a quip of any sort before she started spewing oil onto him, though. It was almost like he was robbed of something important. But it also convinced him she was probably more of a post-mortem quipper, and he didn't want to end up like Batman when you got a game over in his video games. And maybe more than that he didn't want to die a painful fiery death.
Either way, he was motivated to act fast yet again before she could make her obvious follow-up with napalm. A few ideas flashed through his mind, like swapping places with the nun via a melody, but against a foe with unknown defenses, it was a bigger gamble than he'd like. Failure would just lead to him being torched and he was no Johnny Storm, so he opted for something slightly more likely to at least go off.
As he had done a few times before, his arm surged with power that traced up his arm and out of his hand, escaping as a quick bolt of blue lightning that seemingly had been aimed at the Nun, only to narrowly miss and hit the top of the window she was firing out of. If he had angled the melody correctly, it would then bounce back towards the Nun, landing somewhere on the floor near her where he intended to go on the offensive. If not, well, he couldn't imagine the melody putting him somewhere worse than on the oil about to be ignited by the flames she was beginning to shoot his way. Hopefully.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana 564
If there was one thing Noble Spark learned from the failed attempt at a joint hunt with GEMINI, it was that Espers really did come in all shapes and sizes. Like goblin-sized, for example. So he wasn't too disappointed or surprised to hear this metallic man was yet another Esper like them.
Noble Spark returned a bout of laughter after hearing Dead Head's name. "I suppose I'll have to settle for only being half right. A pleasure to meet you, my fashionable ally. I am Noble Spark, an ally for justice!" he puffed his chest out, proudly. "Knock away! You will hear no objections from me."
His chest deflated just a little when Sovereign appeared and he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I'm afraid I don't have it on me," he softly shook his head. "The smallest bit of damage can affect the price, and ridealongs during Freelance work is not how you keep a comic in pristine condition!" he placed a heavy emphasis on the word 'smallest', having learned at an early age just how miniscule damage had to be to influence the value of a comic.
Whether that was agreeable or not, Dead Head proceeded to 'knock', causing the door the fly open and a gun to be pointed at them. Noble Spark quickly turned his attention to the red-headed being and took a defensive stance only for them to be the exact opposite of a threat to be defeated.
"Ah," his shoulders relaxed a bit when it was clear they were on the same side. "Suppose a 'knock' as loud as that would startle anyone. But now we can focus on our charge, who makes a great point!" Noble Spark did not seem to dwell on the close call they had with 'friendly' fire, instead opting to be satisfied that they'd grouped up with Cerberus.
Is there a more heroic task than defending another? I think not!
Noble Spark was more than eager to engage in an escort quest, unlike many, so now that they'd been united this mission was finally beginning to for real. It was also why he didn't speak up, though he desperately hoped his constant smirk helped hide his rather immature excitement. But he might not have even needed to worry: the atmosphere of the group seemed pretty laid back, watching Sovereign greet Cerberus. He'd only had two interactions with the lady, but there were a lot fewer mentions of payment and favors (less, not absence) than his interactions, so he mentally made a note his gold-obsessed companion might have a soft spot for children.
You know it's moments like these wh--
Noble Spark's rather meta internal monologue was interrupted by exactly what he was thinking about. As a side door burst open and smoke and wooden debris started flying through the air, the previously relaxed atmosphere became tense for a moment, with armed construction workers wearing what might've been some kind of thermal goggles and a Nun doing their best impressions of the S.W.A.T members.
He raised his gloved hands to defend against the rain of splinters, hoping both his eyes and the glasses that rested on them would make it through unscathed. Then they postured to begin firing immediately, leaving them scarcely little time to think of their reactions.
Thankfully, Noble Spark already knew what he needed to do. His impulse was to ensure Cerberus wasn't harmed, and so quickly flung his arm her way intending to cast a defensive melody, only to remember she was somewhat crowded and there was now a wall of smoke concealing her. He had no means to see her through the smoke, but having been watching Sovereign and her interact, unless they immediately repositioned, he figured he could still hit one of them by casting it where he last remembered seeing them, and so he zapped a bouncing projectile their way and hope it worked out.
"Doubt they're intending on aiming much, take cover not concealment!" he warned the rest of the Freelancers, hoping they understood what he meant by it as he most certainly didn't have the time to elaborate right now.
Then, he scrambled to take duck behind the frame of the church doors himself as a hail of gunfire and flames descended their way, which he hopefully wasn't hit by. He knew he wasn't exactly following his own advice, but it was the best he could do on the spot. For the time being, he was oblivious to the gruesome scene that had unfolded on the other end of the smoke as the cacophony of small arms fire drowned out any conversations over there.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana Don'tlookatthisi'mlazyrn
"Convention? Ah! I had no idea!" A voice suddenly called out from a bit behind Maria. The owner was none other than the boisterous Freelancer and comic enthusiast, Blustin Noble Spark. He pulled out his wallet, tipped it over and nothing fell out. "I would have brought some money along had I known!" he chuckled. "Maria, wasn't it? Haven't caught too many familiar faces in an operation in my career. Most times it's a one-and-done thing, huh?"
Turning his attention to the metallic being she had been speaking to, he examined the figure without any attempt to hide the fact. After a minute, he grinned wide and nodded. "An Esper... or... hmm... yes, a named opponent at the very least! Such character design would not be wasted upon a mook! Your name, is it perhaps... 'Deadeye'?" Noble Spark asked, looking at the guy expectedly, then to the church momentarily.
I wonder if it's too early in my career to be dealing with someone like Oros? Eh, what are heroes for if not beating the odds?
Suddenly, a chime rings out from inside a room in the school.
A well-dressed man stepped into an office and closed the door behind him before sitting on the chair set before a desk. This was of course where he would be getting interviewed. But what he didn't know was... well, anything.
Blinking as if he just snapped out of a daze, the man started looking around as if he were lost. "W-what is going on? Why am I in this chair... w-where am I?" the man questioned the person who had been sitting at the desk in front of him.
The admissions officer smiled warmly after a bit of a delay. "Ah, you must be intending to enroll. Can you tell me your name?" they asked, apparently not noticing the man's distress as they brought up their clipboard to write down his answer.
Despite the desperation and confusion in his voice, the man's body didn't move at all. It was almost as if he was frozen there, beside his head, which started showing signs of worry. "Did you not hear me? Where am I!?" he demanded, losing his patience.
"Samuel Howard, huh?" the officer tapped their clipboard with their pen, then raised a finger. "Somehow I doubt that's a coincidence. If you don't mind my asking, what's your relationship with Samantha Howard? Sibling? In that case, perhaps you could get her to stop staring at her fellow student, Veronica? She's reportedly been doing it for about two months. I think she's just a bit too shy to approach her crush. Thankfully her friend has been keeping her fed and hydrated..."
The officer directed Samuel's gaze with their pen, pointing out a window in the room towards a black-haired girl with piercing red eyes perched on in the corner of the gates to the school, eyeing what appears to be a popular student with great interest. And even after a whole minute, they show no signs at all they intend to move, even as their friend tries to shake them.
Samuel eventually tears his eyes off the weird scene and back to the admissions officer. "...I have never seen that girl in my life..." he trailed off. "...can we get back to WHERE I am?"
"...But I suppose we are getting ahead of ourselves here, aren't we? Sorry about that," they apologized. "Let us continue. What is your age, Samuel?"
"...This has to be some sort of dream or a monster's ability... Fine, I'll try answering your question then. I am 30 years old," he replied.
The admissions officer's pen moved as they wrote down the answer and nodded. "Fifteen, got it. And what is the gender you identify with?"
"F-fifteen!?" Samuel repeated. "Do I look like a teen to you?!"
"Male? Okay, now where are you coming from?"
"..." Sam narrowed his eyes towards the officer, refusing to speak.
"The States? I see. And can you give a brief description of your appearance for me?"
"No."
"Oh, that's good! It's pretty concise and sums you up perfectly, I think." The admissions officer finishes writing their answer, but a bird suddenly slams into the window, startling him. As the officer turns to look at what it was, Samuel catches a peek at what they had written down.
Who in the hell is Joker and what is P5?
Turning back from looking out the window, the officer sighs. "That happens a lot more frequently than it should..." they muster a smile again and continue. "So how about your race?"
Samuel rolled his eyes.
"Caucasian. And now for the more interesting part. Can you tell me how you use your magic?"
"As if I would reveal such things to... whoever or whatever you are," Sam scoffed. "Is that your ploy? To get me to divulge such information? I will not submit to this... strange form of interrogation."
"Seems like your skills may be suited to subtlety. Shadow powers are pretty handy for stealth, and I'm sure you'll master them in no time here," they assure, smiling warmly. "Now, can you tell me why you've decided to enroll?"
"I'm being forced here against my will."
"That's a pretty common reason," they comment. "But that's not to imply anything wrong with it. I mean, it's considered the best place to learn your powers for a reason. But anyway, I'd like you now to describe yourself a bit. What sort of hobbies do you have, what should someone know about you?"
"..."
"So you like jazz?" the admissions officer's smile seemed to widen a bit. "Uh, continuing," he continued. "Now final question: Tell me about your background."
"That is not a question."
After a moment spent in silence, the officer spoke up. "A-ah, that's quite the interesting history you have there for a fifteen-year-old... well, it's not my place to comment on such things, but thank you for answering," he said, placing the paper on his desk before standing up and moving to Sam's side, giving a pat on the chair. "You're all good! I think you'll fit just fine in this school. It's so diverse and full of interesting characters!" he smiled, offering his hand.
Samuel found himself standing up and shaking the hand without any intention to. It was almost like it was a reflex. "Now what? Am I finally going to be freed?"
The admissions officer didn't pay the comment any mind and completed the handshake, closing the door behind Sam as he left the room. Not long after, Sam heard a chime from inside and found his consciousness slip away from him. But his body moved regardless, disappearing down the hall.
The admissions officer leaned back against the door and heaved a heavy sigh. "Wow, that was tense!" he flipped open his phone and then dialed a number. The phone rang for a few seconds before it connected to another individual. "Y-you said that the hypnosis was perfect! If that's the case, why did he start flipping out!?"
The voice on the other end of the line laughed. "That rarely happens. Either the person is resistant for some reason or someone got a text with the default notification that sounds similar to the chime I use, so it partially failed. Not a biggie, right? You don't sound like you've been caught."
"...wait, really? Why does it sound like that? I'm at a damned school, why would you not tell me this!?" he complained, squeezing a fist in irritation.
"Didn't even think about it, honestly. And besides, this is not even the first time we've done this. It hasn't come up before?"
"...actually, no. That's... kinda lucky. Well, somehow I sorta panicked and gaslit them using that weird girl's sheet. Neither of them mentioned having a sibling but really? If you could see them together they basically are just different-aged, gender-bent versions of each other. It's insane!"
"Uh-huh. So that's your last one, is it? Can I now ask what the point of this charade was? Why did you go through all this effort to put people who aren't interested in enrolling into the academy? The hypnosis won't last forever with me maintaining it, and it would take a lot more than you can afford to get me to keep it up the entire school year."
"It's not about that. Just needs to be until school starts. We can take the actual officer and put him back in his place well before then, and nobody will be the wiser, not even him. He's still in that dazed state you put him in before?"
"Yes, well sorta. I got tired of worrying about feeding him so I just made him do it himself,"
"W-what? My plan is screwed if he realizes he's been swapped!"
"Oh, stop being such a worrywart! He won't remember a thing when I give him back. It'll be fine... probably."
"...It had better be. Anyway, that should get him back for what he did to me. Once all those completely absurd people snap back to normal, I'm sure he'll end up losing his job!" he cheered.
"So this was a revenge story? And what did he do to make you go so far out of your way to ruin his job? There's probably easier, less weird ways to go about that..." the voice trailed off.
He smirked, though she couldn't see it obviously. "It's a long, tragic tale that has too many nuances for some stranger to properly comprehend. But essentially, about 8 or so years ago he took the food I CLEARLY marked as mine in the staff room fridge at a prior job we shared. I knew then I had to hurt him just as much as he had hurt me."
"...what? That's Silly, what's the real reason? There's no way you went through the trouble of kidnapping someone, getting a magical disguise to assume their place, and then enrolling random people for no other reason than the hope that it'll get him fired."
"That is exactly what I did and if you can't understand that then you must not have ever had such a terrible thing to happen to you! I was looking forward to that sub!" he growled through the phone, taking a few deep breaths to regain his composure. "Well, that's it anyway. I'll finish the school day and disappear. Of course, I'll pay you the other half before vanishing, but I demand a discount for that dumb chime nonsense!"
"We'll see," the voice replied, though it didn't sound like it actually intended to follow through.
....
....
....
A good two weeks passed since that event.
A lone businesswoman walked through the halls of her office building, heading towards the staff lounge in order to rest and eat on her break. Her day had so far been terrible and she was very frustrated, but that was all fine. She had some leftover pasta from a restaurant she was looking forward to finishing. It would carry her throughout the rest of the day.
She heard a chime as she received a text. Opening the message app she ignored the many messages asking for her services and opened the most recent, which was confirmation that every penny she was owed for her last job had been paid. There were some issues with payment delivery but now it had been solved. Good news. It looked like her days was looking up.
Man, that guy was weird, but it's not my place to question petty revenge quests.
Once she reached the lounge, she beelined for the refrigerator with anticipation driving her every step. She yanked the door open and smiled, knowing things would only go up from her on for the rest of the day. But then she looked into the fridge.
Alright, yeah just a quick thing I threw together. LMK what you think.
Suddenly, a chime rings out from inside a room in the school.
A well-dressed man stepped into an office and closed the door behind him before sitting on the chair set before a desk. This was of course where he would be getting interviewed. But what he didn't know was... well, anything.
Blinking as if he just snapped out of a daze, the man started looking around as if he were lost. "W-what is going on? Why am I in this chair... w-where am I?" the man questioned the person who had been sitting at the desk in front of him.
The admissions officer smiled warmly after a bit of a delay. "Ah, you must be intending to enroll. Can you tell me your name?" they asked, apparently not noticing the man's distress as they brought up their clipboard to write down his answer.
Despite the desperation and confusion in his voice, the man's body didn't move at all. It was almost as if he was frozen there, beside his head, which started showing signs of worry. "Did you not hear me? Where am I!?" he demanded, losing his patience.
"Samuel Howard, huh?" the officer tapped their clipboard with their pen, then raised a finger. "Somehow I doubt that's a coincidence. If you don't mind my asking, what's your relationship with Samantha Howard? Sibling? In that case, perhaps you could get her to stop staring at her fellow student, Veronica? She's reportedly been doing it for about two months. I think she's just a bit too shy to approach her crush. Thankfully her friend has been keeping her fed and hydrated..."
The officer directed Samuel's gaze with their pen, pointing out a window in the room towards a black-haired girl with piercing red eyes perched on in the corner of the gates to the school, eyeing what appears to be a popular student with great interest. And even after a whole minute, they show no signs at all they intend to move, even as their friend tries to shake them.
Samuel eventually tears his eyes off the weird scene and back to the admissions officer. "...I have never seen that girl in my life..." he trailed off. "...can we get back to WHERE I am?"
"...But I suppose we are getting ahead of ourselves here, aren't we? Sorry about that," they apologized. "Let us continue. What is your age, Samuel?"
"...This has to be some sort of dream or a monster's ability... Fine, I'll try answering your question then. I am 30 years old," he replied.
The admissions officer's pen moved as they wrote down the answer and nodded. "Fifteen, got it. And what is the gender you identify with?"
"F-fifteen!?" Samuel repeated. "Do I look like a teen to you?!"
"Male? Okay, now where are you coming from?"
"..." Sam narrowed his eyes towards the officer, refusing to speak.
"The States? I see. And can you give a brief description of your appearance for me?"
"No."
"Oh, that's good! It's pretty concise and sums you up perfectly, I think." The admissions officer finishes writing their answer, but a bird suddenly slams into the window, startling him. As the officer turns to look at what it was, Samuel catches a peek at what they had written down.
Who in the hell is Joker and what is P5?
Turning back from looking out the window, the officer sighs. "That happens a lot more frequently than it should..." they muster a smile again and continue. "So how about your race?"
Samuel rolled his eyes.
"Caucasian. And now for the more interesting part. Can you tell me how you use your magic?"
"As if I would reveal such things to... whoever or whatever you are," Sam scoffed. "Is that your ploy? To get me to divulge such information? I will not submit to this... strange form of interrogation."
"Seems like your skills may be suited to subtlety. Shadow powers are pretty handy for stealth, and I'm sure you'll master them in no time here," they assure, smiling warmly. "Now, can you tell me why you've decided to enroll?"
"I'm being forced here against my will."
"That's a pretty common reason," they comment. "But that's not to imply anything wrong with it. I mean, it's considered the best place to learn your powers for a reason. But anyway, I'd like you now to describe yourself a bit. What sort of hobbies do you have, what should someone know about you?"
"..."
"So you like jazz?" the admissions officer's smile seemed to widen a bit. "Uh, continuing," he continued. "Now final question: Tell me about your background."
"That is not a question."
After a moment spent in silence, the officer spoke up. "A-ah, that's quite the interesting history you have there for a fifteen-year-old... well, it's not my place to comment on such things, but thank you for answering," he said, placing the paper on his desk before standing up and moving to Sam's side, giving a pat on the chair. "You're all good! I think you'll fit just fine in this school. It's so diverse and full of interesting characters!" he smiled, offering his hand.
Samuel found himself standing up and shaking the hand without any intention to. It was almost like it was a reflex. "Now what? Am I finally going to be freed?"
The admissions officer didn't pay the comment any mind and completed the handshake, closing the door behind Sam as he left the room. Not long after, Sam heard a chime from inside and found his consciousness slip away from him. But his body moved regardless, disappearing down the hall.
The admissions officer leaned back against the door and heaved a heavy sigh. "Wow, that was tense!" he flipped open his phone and then dialed a number. The phone rang for a few seconds before it connected to another individual. "Y-you said that the hypnosis was perfect! If that's the case, why did he start flipping out!?"
The voice on the other end of the line laughed. "That rarely happens. Either the person is resistant for some reason or someone got a text with the default notification that sounds similar to the chime I use, so it partially failed. Not a biggie, right? You don't sound like you've been caught."
"...wait, really? Why does it sound like that? I'm at a damned school, why would you not tell me this!?" he complained, squeezing a fist in irritation.
"Didn't even think about it, honestly. And besides, this is not even the first time we've done this. It hasn't come up before?"
"...actually, no. That's... kinda lucky. Well, somehow I sorta panicked and gaslit them using that weird girl's sheet. Neither of them mentioned having a sibling but really? If you could see them together they basically are just different-aged, gender-bent versions of each other. It's insane!"
"Uh-huh. So that's your last one, is it? Can I now ask what the point of this charade was? Why did you go through all this effort to put people who aren't interested in enrolling into the academy? The hypnosis won't last forever with me maintaining it, and it would take a lot more than you can afford to get me to keep it up the entire school year."
"It's not about that. Just needs to be until school starts. We can take the actual officer and put him back in his place well before then, and nobody will be the wiser, not even him. He's still in that dazed state you put him in before?"
"Yes, well sorta. I got tired of worrying about feeding him so I just made him do it himself,"
"W-what? My plan is screwed if he realizes he's been swapped!"
"Oh, stop being such a worrywart! He won't remember a thing when I give him back. It'll be fine... probably."
"...It had better be. Anyway, that should get him back for what he did to me. Once all those completely absurd people snap back to normal, I'm sure he'll end up losing his job!" he cheered.
"So this was a revenge story? And what did he do to make you go so far out of your way to ruin his job? There's probably easier, less weird ways to go about that..." the voice trailed off.
He smirked, though she couldn't see it obviously. "It's a long, tragic tale that has too many nuances for some stranger to properly comprehend. But essentially, about 8 or so years ago he took the food I CLEARLY marked as mine in the staff room fridge at a prior job we shared. I knew then I had to hurt him just as much as he had hurt me."
"...what? That's Silly, what's the real reason? There's no way you went through the trouble of kidnapping someone, getting a magical disguise to assume their place, and then enrolling random people for no other reason than the hope that it'll get him fired."
"That is exactly what I did and if you can't understand that then you must not have ever had such a terrible thing to happen to you! I was looking forward to that sub!" he growled through the phone, taking a few deep breaths to regain his composure. "Well, that's it anyway. I'll finish the school day and disappear. Of course, I'll pay you the other half before vanishing, but I demand a discount for that dumb chime nonsense!"
"We'll see," the voice replied, though it didn't sound like it actually intended to follow through.
....
....
....
A good two weeks passed since that event.
A lone businesswoman walked through the halls of her office building, heading towards the staff lounge in order to rest and eat on her break. Her day had so far been terrible and she was very frustrated, but that was all fine. She had some leftover pasta from a restaurant she was looking forward to finishing. It would carry her throughout the rest of the day.
She heard a chime as she received a text. Opening the message app she ignored the many messages asking for her services and opened the most recent, which was confirmation that every penny she was owed for her last job had been paid. There were some issues with payment delivery but now it had been solved. Good news. It looked like her days was looking up.
Man, that guy was weird, but it's not my place to question petty revenge quests.
Once she reached the lounge, she beelined for the refrigerator with anticipation driving her every step. She yanked the door open and smiled, knowing things would only go up from her on for the rest of the day. But then she looked into the fridge.
And so, a cycle began.
Oh, and of course the waifu tax. Ever17 is a decent read if you like stories about people being trapped in underwater theme parks, or washing machines. It also has Tsugumi and she is bae.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana 390
Noble Spark hoped that his ally wasn't making any crazy assumptions, like a mint-condition Golden Age comic or something. He didn't intend to part with anything particularly old or valuable, which is exactly what those were. Specifically, the first edition of Wonder Woman's newest series was what he had in mind, and while he had certainly lucked out by getting one in mint condition, her expectation should be a few hundred in the best scenario.
Granted that was still a lot of potential dollars to be spending on some random Freelancer he just met, especially to be encouraging her to do her job, but he wasn't too worried about it. The lives they could potentially save with that water were worth the future hassle of finding another comic of the same quality. Probably. Hopefully.
Noble Spark looked back after dealing with the pale guard only to find that Sovereign had been claimed by the shopping cart the undead bum had been shoving toward him. It didn't seem to get very far before it slowed down to a snail's pace, and though understandably embarrassed, Sovereign was well enough to get composed and utterly annihilate the two remaining foes in their immediate area.
Gone, reduced to atoms...
Despite how obviously overkill the melody was, or really because of it, Noble Spark grinned. "Bold AND just, as is ideal!" He gave an entertained and hearty laugh, turning to face his merc-natured companion but catching the commotion coming from cultists and the truck as he did.
There was quite a bit happening all at once. One of the cultists was using his fellow cultists as human shields to avoid melodies, while another, pink-haired one was spouting lines too far away from Noble Spark for him to hear, probably for the best. His most trusted GPS ally of the fight, Bard, was... learning to fly right after slaughtering the wheels on the truck full of the water Noble Spark was concerned about. It wasn't until he noticed the boy slowing his descent with pages that he even considered the airtime wasn't intentional. Still, Bard stuck the landing, or at least the monster that was with him when he landed.
A good first edition so far!
But his appreciation of Bard and the backstory of the grunt was short-lived, as around that time, a higher-pitched scream of pain erupted from the female Esper on top of the truck, snatching his attention away.
"Accursed villains! She's been disarmed!" Noble Spark cried, outraged by the bad guys landing a solid blow. They weren't supposed to do that! Eager to pay them back for this impropriety, he acknowledged Sovereign's worry about compensation with a quick nod, then immediately burst into a sprint towards the semi.
Those bastards, haven't they ever read a comic? If you're gonna take a hero's limbs, you gotta have a name and be a credible threat! And even then, you're usually tolerated for the catharsis that comes when you get beaten!
The air in an moderate-sized area around Noble Spark surged with electricity as his righteous anger became manifest. One could only wonder how much more pronounced the effect would be if he witnessed what happened to Finn, but that was sadly not the case as he was far too focused on catching that truck.
The aspiring Winter Soldier without the cool prosthetic was holding their own it seemed, managing to force two of her opponents off the truck, or maybe that was just the truck having difficulty driving straight. Whatever caused their sudden departure from the top of the truck, he watched as they hit the ground hard, yet did not die. He hadn't intended to stop for them, but he might've been tempted had he known they were going to turn into zombie-bum-mantis chimeria hybrid things.
As he looked back to the truck he was chasing, he could no longer spot the Esper that used to be atop it. He could deduce that they likely hadn't fallen off like the Mighty Morphin' Zombie Bums, but that was about it. From his perspective, the truck was still trying to make a getaway and that wasn't gonna stop without intervention, so he prepared a melody.
Noble Spark wasn't exactly the most humble Esper, but he also didn't fancy himself Deadshot, either. He launched his blink-bolt towards the door of the semi, the intention being to teleport and either grab onto the lip of the window or the large mirror on the truck, and then see about yanking the driver out of the cab.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana 450
Seems I was at Odin level when I should be at Thor for these guys.
After witnessing these hulking hobos no-sell his gunslinging ally's attacks, Noble Spark had decided it was safer to put a bit more 'oomph' into his initial melody than he might normally have. The result was a bit stronger than he intended, but beyond mild surprise at how they didn't seem to resist the melody at all, he didn't mind so much since they were zombies and he knew even Batman didn't mind killing those.
Noble Spark gave an earnest nod to his companion as she suggested not having a lengthy talk mid-fight. "How very right you are!" he agreed, having already learned talking wasn't quite the free action it was in comics in his first experience as a Freelancer.
Still, Sovereign? I wonder if she's a Wonder Woman fan?
With one foe down temporarily and two left, that meant, of course, they would split into two separate one-on-one fights. This was standard practice for any comic, so he obliged without question, focusing his attention on the one rushing him with a shopping cart.
I feel a weird sense of irony, for some reason....
But while the unDead was Rising to the challenge of facing an Esper with a very unique weapon, Noble Spark wasn't about to underestimate it. He'd heard of stranger things being used in murder cases from his father, and these guys were built like tanks. Though his will could easily withstand the weight of anything they could hit him with, his skull had a limit of about a thousand pounds.
The air around Noble Spark began to pop and crackle with a building aura of sparks as he gathered power in his hand similarly to last time. However, instead of pointing his hand at the incoming foe, he pressed his palm into his chest causing a surge while the the aura of lighting becoming far more discernible around his immediate person, as if forming some sort of barrier.
With the bolt on his attire now glowing, Noble Spark attempted to use his newfound speed and durability to juke the oncoming shopping cart and let loose a punch aimed towards the head as the hobo passed by.
"Price? How very mercenary," he replied with a netural tone. "I need..." momentarily, his eyes moved over to the rest of the larger battlefield they inhabited. The commotion from the newly-arrived cultists and the truck attempting to flee hadn't exactly escaped his notice. The truck appeared to be where the water was being stored. As much as he wanted to fight the actual robed cultists that appeared for the sake of satisfying his desire for cool comic moments in real life, he wasn't about to ignore his real reason for being here:
I need to make sure that water isn't lost!
But it was like Sovereign said: they had to beat these guys first before they could worry about that. "Need to stop that truck if our fellow Espers can't. Guns typically beat tires, so there's a mint condition Wonder Woman comic with your name in it should it come to that!" he offered, mentally patting himself on the back for finding a way to sate both his curiosity and his desire to serve the public in one moment.
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: D | Current Mana 570
As the front of the proper convenience store finally came into view for both Noble Spark and his new Freelancer buddy, he picked up the pace, finally confident that the gunshots they were hearing were actually related to their mission and not just the natural ambience of the poorer section of Pax Septimus. In this chaotically dangerous city you never could be too sure.
Noble Spark scrutinized the scene before him as he tried to get his bearings, eye straining to ensure he was absolutely confident in what he was seeing. And... yeah, it seemed like a few unique individuals were currently engaging a large gathering of bums armed with improvised weaponry. This, he hoped, was not typical behavior of the homeless in this area. So it seemed safe to make an assumption.
Ah... man these homeless must be the 'cult' then, huh? I was hoping for the cool kind that wears robes and chants latin and then tries to summon some crazy strong demon or evil god... but I guess it wouldn't happen again so soon after the Diver...
But before he could get too disappointed at the mundane foe he was to confront, he centered his attention on the floating Esper and the girl with guns, spotting the pale guards attacking them. His eyes lit up with excitement.
Wait, are those jacked zombie bums? Now that's more like it!
While he didn't have a view of the Esper herself, Noble Spark noticed the mob of homeless seemed to have surrounded something or someone, and were raining blows down on them. He noticed another brollic bum, who began approaching the crowd wielding a fence post, clearly intending on using it on whomever was subject to that pile on.
Initially, his expression tensed and he nearly bolted straight towards for the group, but he noticed at the last second before sprinting off that a red-clad boy with goggles was preparing a melody and his attention seemed focused on that group. The fact was they were in a better position to help than Noble Spark was. There were others he could lend a hand to, like the girl with the expensive-looking guns that look like she stole them from some warlord in Africa, or the floating girl who had three people beelining for her. One of them had a design that screamed he was more important than the rest, even considering the two pale guards running beside him.
"I think we've lost enough time as is so lets just focus on making sure the others don't get overwhelmed!" and that was about all the guidance Noble Spark gave before darting off towards the sight of the pistol-wielding girl, who had just taken a piece of rebar to the back like a champ.
As he rushed to try to catch up with them, Noble Spark readied a melody as the gun-wielding girl attempted to put distance between the pale guards rushing her. A blue electricity gathered in his left hand as he squeezed it shut, and after he extended his right arm forward, towards the pale guard, it crackled as it quickly crawled to his outstretched arm and escaped from his palm as a typical bolt that would hopefully nail the leg of the one closest to this gun-toting Esper.
"Talk about being bum-rushed! But worry not, for Noble Spark has descended!" he gave a hearty and confident laugh.
You showed up.
One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave.
I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list [url=https://vndb.org/u29404/ulist?vnlist=1]here[/url] as it contains everything important on it.
As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions.
For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers.
I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here.
Also, fuck you, Broken.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">You showed up. <br><br>One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave. <br><br>I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://vndb.org/u29404/ulist?vnlist=1">here</a> as it contains everything important on it. <br><br>As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions. <br><br>For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers. <br><br>I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here. <br><br>Also, fuck you, Broken. <br></div>
Member
Majoraa
Nyahahameha
Izurich
BrokenPromise
Shin Ghost Note
twave
