~~ Posting requirements are as follows A. If your character is by themselves, you have two weeks before I warn you. After that, you have another week to respond and explain yourself before you get warned again. Two warnings, and your character will lose their RBD ability and die permanently. If you mention to me that you’ll be absent though, you’ll avoid these shenanigans and I won’t kill your character. B. If your character is interacting with another character, you’ll have one week before I take control of them. If this happens more than three times, your character goes to the chopping block. It’s up to the person interacting with you to mention to me that you’re holding them up though. C. If your character is in a position where they’re needed for the roleplay to progress (IE, they’re the sentinel and it’s time for them to reset the world), you’ll have three days before I take control of your character. If this happens seven times or more, your character’s head is mine.
I think the last one applies to you, @Warpcircuit ;3
Two days left before Bee has to take control of Mono and turn him into Ashton's lover. Work hard~!
Ashton may have enjoyed talking about grand plans, but from where Kimura was seated, he could clearly see Alistair drop dead, no more than a half foot away from the entrance, his skin an abnormal complexion. Black and blue, like corpses frozen during a nightmare blizzard. A lost cause. And a half-beat later, knights dressed in impossible armor burst in, heralding the appearance of another anachronism: a smaller individual with a gas mask. Outnumbered. Outmatched. And they had no information at all that'd make any sense. Yuuki sucked in a breath, about to try to explain everything, before Nakkun acted first.
Acted. Betrayed. Not just the group, but himself, personally.
Priscilla burst into tears, the scent of pine splattering against the room as she accidentally knocked over the mug. The pressure Yuuki felt intensified, yet more decisions spiralling before him like a flowchart that stretched out to infinity. Dying wasn't a problem, but he didn't want to go like this. Not knowing a thing. Not understanding a thing. Not having even stepped outside yet. He shifted from his seat, hands r-
"Hope's Heart!"
What the fuck? What the actual fuck? Are you for real? This heaterfucker! Huh?! Nope, nope, NOPE!
A flash of light, almost blinding, but Yuuki could see the changes that emerged within, a thousand threads of radiance weaving themselves into new attire, new weaponry. Dumbass dumbass dumbass. Aggression would only exacerbate the situation! Nakkun, as much of a lying dick as he was, proved at least that there's a way to not die in this scenario. And even if they escaped, they had no information at all, while these folks looked to be at least on the upper echelon of society! It grinded into his cranium, a thousand black words bursting for release, and the first one that he chose was...
"STOP!"
It didn't matter if it may have been too late for Ashton to stop his first dumbass attack. Only that he stopped the second one.
"Holy SHIT, Ashton, why the hell are you getting swept up in this?" Yuuki spat, throwing his hands up in the air. "There's literally no reason to attack these people! As far as we know, they're just doing their jobs! Don't make it worse for literally everyone involved, you ratsucker!"
A deep breath. He stepped in front of Priscilla as well, hands raised, his large pack jingle-jangling from all the trinkets within.
"Alright, here's what we know: basically nothing. We woke up in this room together," the brunette began, shooting a sharp glance towards Ashton, "and spent the rest of our time trying to figure out what happened and where we are. I have no idea what this witch is, nor what this cultist thing is, but I do know that the person you just hauled away called himself an archer, and asked us to get him a bow and arrows immediately."
He breathed deep. Hoped they could read how bewildered and genuine he was being, the truth behind his proclamations.
"My name is Yuuki Kimura. The girl behind me is Priscilla. The person who just transformed is Ashton Andrews. I don't know the woman in the far corner, cause she hasn't spoken yet. The person who you've just lead away called himself Nakkun, because his real name was too complicated. The person you just killed was named Alistair Archibald. Alongside that, we know of two other names: Od Laguna and Cameron. Do any of those names ring a bell at all?"
Ugh. He was talking too much. His mind was scampering in too many directions. He felt like throwing up and he felt like running away.
"I'm willing to talk about everything we know, which, I should warn you, is hardly anything. In exchange, please tell us what these witch cultists are, and what this world even is. Let's begin a dialogue, okay? Please? It shouldn't be hard to tell, but we're all strangers to this place. Seriously, just look at our clothes. Except for Ashton. I have no idea what's up with that. Promise. But I don't think he means harm. Cause why would he spin a story like that? Amirite? Makes no sense if he's super evil. So yeah, don't kill him too. If he brainwashed us, he could be using us as shields or distractions. So hey. Peace peace yay??"
Holy fuck he was going to diediediediedie.
Before his feet could give out, Yuuki tried to sit down on a chair, only for his pack to knock the chair away and for him to fall down on the dusty, wet floor for a second time.
With Matteo on the ground, Old Bear being hauled off by guards, and the crowd dispersing, Ash finally could see what had went on. It was rather easy to deduce what had happened, but why was more difficult. Matteo had been utterly demolished by the man. Aoi had been involved somehow. She had no idea who the woman with braids was, though.
When the woman with braids commented on how bad Matteo looked, Ash couldn’t help but want to see what damage had been done. She went to him and did the best she could to figure out his condition. It wasn’t bad? His nose was broken, blood was everywhere, but his breathing wasn’t terrible. Ash didn’t actually know much about medicine. Perhaps she might have, but couldn’t remember a thing about it. Though, that was the same as not knowing. His condition was, to Ash’s instincts, survivable.
”Sh-should we move him?” Ash said, slightly rattled by suddenly seeing Matteo suddenly injured.
Aoi was frozen with regret and guilt as she watched Ash move towards the lifeless, yet still breathing body of Matteo. She herself followed suit seconds after with the waitress that had pulled her out of the battle circle still in tow.
Returning a glance at the waitress, Aoi asked, “Is there anywhere we can take him? We need to check his injuries…”
The waitress with the braids started as she was spoke to, before quickly gathering herself. Turning towards one of the taverns, she wondered how long she'd have before her boss yelled at her for slacking off, before she said, “You two can take him up north, to the church. They'd be able to heal him up for sure.”
Ash got a grip on herself. Matteo was injured and, despite having no stake in what had transpired, Ash felt morally obliged to at least help carry Matteo to the church. With her hands full of pork, she wouldn’t have been much help. After shuffling her 90 coins about, she had managed to fill her coin bag to capacity with her left and right pocket being bloated from the bronze. Her meat was hastily wrapped in the wax paper and placed into her coat pocket. She walked to his legs, shuffling her hands around his ankles to find a good place to grab. Matteo didn’t seem to be heavy. Even if she wasn’t the strongest, Ash could probably lift him with the help of Aoi.
“Thanks,” Ash said to the waiter before turning to Aoi, “get his arms and make sure he doesn’t choke on his own blood or tongue.”
She could have asked someone for a cart to put Matteo in. Emphasis on could. Based on all of their interactions, asking someone for a free favor wouldn’t work out. She could have rented a cart, but then again, Matteo wasn’t exactly a friend. If she could even find a hardy stick, she could try to support his neck with it. Unless Aoi dropped him and his head slammed on hard cobble, Matteo would probably be fine carried like this. Emphasis on probably. Ash wasn’t a doctor, after all.
Listening to what was asked of her and what was told to them by the waitress, Aoi complied. She slipped herself into a position that she was able to help carry the deadweight of the bloodied and beaten Matteo, throwing his arm around her shoulders.
“I’m so sorry.” Aoi whispered in his ears as they began their trek to the church north of them.
It was slow going for the two, even if they opted to work together to carry their unconscious compatriot. Despite the general direction of ‘northwards’, the actual distance was rather far, and Aoi and Ash ended up navigating the quiet city for a good half an hour before they came in sight of what may be the church. A glorious temple embedded into the sheer face of a mountain, it must have been a sight to behold during the day, but at night, with the iron stench of Matteo’s blood clogging their noses, the sweat of their own body turning their clothes sticky in the heat of the summer night, it was simply soul crushing. The long flight of stairs leading up to massive doors had been a truly arduous hell to ascend, and once they finally reached the top, their knees quaked, legs and lungs weak and wobbling.
Candle light decorated the stone doors, where religious murals featuring six beings connected to a single, abstract creature was engraved. Behind them, the dim city, so dark and lightless, felt alienating and disturbing, while farther off, the two of them could see the true vastness of the wilds, of forests and mountain ranges illuminated by twin moonlight.
But that wasn’t what they were there for. No, they were here to enter the church on the mountain, seeking healing for their friend.
“Ash,” Aoi said, panting as she was almost out of energy. “Open the door, I’ll hold Matteo up and drag him inside.” She knew she had some juice left in her tank, so Aoi wanted to make sure she was giving her all as Matteo was beaten up because of her, which was still eating at her guilty insidies.
Ash had obliged and gently placed Matteo’s legs on the ground. She had to be extremely careful, after all. It felt as though her body was ready to collapse at any moment. To even place his legs on the ground was arduous. She felt terrible. Every breath she drew felt as though her ribs were slashing her lungs. If not powered by pork, she would have collapsed long ago. Though, it didn’t matter how she felt. What mattered right now were opening those doors.
And open those doors she did. Using both arms and all of the effort she could muster, she pushed the door open, awaiting what was inside.
With a heavy thump, the door opened, revealing the main sanctuary of the church. Wooden pews were lined up row by row to form a crescent shaped formation around a pulpit that was far off in the back. Flames burned on black iron stands, while up above, stained glass windows stood muted against the blackness of the night. A large hexagon, reminiscent of the sun in how rays shot out of its points, stood above the pulpit, an odd white light emanating from it.
There were faint prayers that could be heard, but more prominent was the masses of people present within the church. Far from being empty, the pews were filled with ragged people sleeping on them, the derelict folk that Ash looked away from while in the western parts of the city. It was a sanctuary turned homeless shelter, and to the right side, a few wrinkled faced nuns were stirring a large cauldron, its contents slopping against the sides. Some homeless folk turned with mild interest towards the trio, but none of them approached.
No, a dark haired priest was the first to greet them instead. Dressed in black vestments, with his hair slicked back, he clutched the hexagram in his hand, before forcing a smile that did not seem all that natural.
“Welcome to the House of the First Light, lost lambs. Do you seek shelter? Confession? Or…would you like to make an offering in return for a holy boon?”
“Ah,” Ash had mouthed with a pause before she spoke, “our… friend was hurt.” Her words were ragged and breathy. Stumbling slightly, she moved out of the way, revealing a full view of Aoi and the still-unconscious Matteo.
"I can see that," the priest spoke gravely, "Lay him down on one of the pews. We can discuss your donations afterwards."
The solemn man did not lend a hand to assist the two ladies in carrying Matteo over onto one of the hard, wooden pews, but he was not all that concerned by the blood and dirt they brought with them to this holy place either. Turning to one of the nuns in the sanctuary, he ordered her to fetch a towel and a bucket of water, before he rolled up his sleeves, assessing the injuries in silence. Two particularly nasty bruises, a broken nose, and many glass shards. Not the worst he had seen, not even close. The slender lad simply lacked the constitution or mental strength necessary to rouse himself from such wounds then. Unfortunate, considering what hung around his neck.
The nun came quickly, bowing her head slightly in reverence before depositing the pail of water there, a beige rag hanging off the rim. He gave her a word of thanks for her speediness, before letting out a breath. One pale hand reached out over Matteo's face, another, onto his chest. "Alri-Qua, Keeper of Light, Bestow Unto Him Your Mercy. Heal."
Twin hexagons of radiance spilled from the priest's hands, sparkling rays washing over Matteo's face. Flesh melted back together, while bruises were utterly erased. One by one, shards of glass pitter-pattered onto the stone floor like small hailstones, pushed out of the flesh by that divine miracle, until all that remained of Matteo's beating was the twisted frame of his glasses and the dried blood that still caked his face. For that, the priest turned to the bucket, wringing the damp rag before wiping away the dark red flakes.
Soon enough, Matteo roused, to the concerned looks of his companions.
”C-Coin?” Muu asked rather herself than the fisherman before checking each and every pocket. There was nothing. ”I-I got nothing!” The girl exclaimed with slight horror as she finally looked up, into his face.
Her troubled visage quickly turning one of guilt. He did have a wound, after all. ”I-” She kept stammering awkwardly, before looking down again, slowly tucking with her hands on her sweater. “I’m sorry...” Gosh, she sure apologized a lot.
“No coin? Geez, mate, did those fellows get stingier or sumthin?” He scratched his beard once more, before ultimately shrugging, apparently unbothered by the wound. “Well, just how it is, I guess. See ‘em lights up north? Not dem stars, but dem building-looking things.”
A fat finger pointed out, towards the buildings north of the seaside city.
“Reckon they give free shelter and porridge to the homeless there. Wouldn’t think its the best place fer a girl like you, but eh, dun need coin fer that.”
Muu nodded thankfully and gave the fisher a bow. ”Thank you very much. I’ll make sure to check it out.” ‘Homeless’, huh? Was Muu supposed to have a home? With quick, but unconfident, steps, Muu bee-lined for the row of lighted up houses.
Bidding farewell to the fisherman, the trepid girl scampered through quiet streets, towards a part of town that looked much better off than the squalor she had witnessed before. Here, larger estates stood, painted beautiful colors while filled with great glass windows that’d afford a view of either sea or city. High walls and gates surrounded each of the posh buildings, while guards on night patrol regularly strode through the streets. A few of them gave Muu a suspicious glare, but more often than not, they simply ignored her. In one building, someone was playing a piano, the elegant notes wafting through the warm midsummer night. Another building had a strange crest painted on the heavy wooden gates, imposing and ostentatious. A third had a private stable attached, all manner of beasts breathing within.
Yes, Muu saw the lights. A lot of lights, only problem was that the brunette didn't know which house exactly. The ocean seemed a lot nicer. None of the places that picked her curiosity seemed like a 'place for the homeless' in the first place. Nobody would waste their time playing music for those, would they? What about the horses beasts? Something told her horses were for rich people which meant that, in the end, the crest was left over. For a moment Muu thought that maybe this crest was a sign for a homeless... association! or something. Certainly.
With small steps the girl reached out to the wooden door and knocked three times.
After a long time, with crickets filling up the silence, the twin doors opened up, the coat-of-arms splitting into two halves to reveal a muscular man with a shaven face and long, blond hair. Easily standing one and a half feet taller than Muu, he blinked at the sight of the small girl, before saying gently, “Hey there, little miss. Would you happen to be lost?”
Muu instinctively took a step back. That person sure was huge! But... seemed nice? Hitting the nail on the head with his question, the girl gave a weak nod.
“Well, then, guess we’ll have to get you un-lost, right?” He winked, before placing a hand against his own chest. “My name’s Gavriel. What’s yours?”
She nodded again. "Y-Yeah...unlost." The girl murmured in a silent voice before looking up, this time a lot clearer. The man was rather nice to her so she'd better not screw this up! Hopefully he didn't already think too badly of her. "I am Muu... I think. Is this... the homeless shelter?"
Gavriel blinked at this. Once. Twice. Then he burst into hearty laughter, peals of hilarity rebounding through the empty streets before one of the lights in the estate lit up and an angry voice told him to shut the fuck up. Restraining himself, the blond man took a deep breath, before shaking his head, smiling still. “No, young miss, this isn’t the Church of the First Light. This is the Order of the Silver Light. I’m not totally sure who told you of this place, but I guess they must have been drunk or half-blind, to give you directions here instead of there.”
As the giant started to laugh and put more and more attention on himself Muu wished she could dissapear. Become smaller and smaller. Her worst nightmare came true as somewhere else, someone else, yelled in an angry voice for Gavriel to be silent. So emberassing!
As Gavriel finally fell silent again, Muu was already looking downwards again. "Half blind..." She repeated. This wasn't so untrue, was it? "Church of First Light...? Order of Silver Light?" She also repeated his words, now feeling even more lost than before.
“Hey, chin up,” he said, noticing her downturned expression, “Most regular folk don’t know of us Silver Light folks, so don’t be disappointed that you don’t know either. We’re the Moons to the Church’s Sun, ye?”
"Sun and Moon..." Muu kept saying in in a SUPER FUCKING LOUD voice before becoming a bit louder, wondering. "I... I don't like the sun very much." A simple statement. More to herself than to Gavriel.
“But it’s because of the Sun that the world lives, no?”
Oh, did he hear her? What she said was kinda edgy weird, wasn't it? But... "Eh..." Muu started to fidget around on the corners of her clothes. He wasn't wrong, but Muu never meant it like that. "..." The brunette tried to find the right words, but most that went through her mind was cut off by a feeling of anxiety about what he was now thinking about her.
Standing there in silence, it was ultimately her stomach that said something. Something along the lines of 'Groowwwll'.
“Ah,” Gavriel said, carefully keeping his face straight, “Have you not eaten dinner yet?”
Now, Muu wished more than ever for the ground to just swallow her up. This was embarrassing. Totally embarrassing! Wanting to die from shame, with a slightly reddish tone in her face, Muu simply nodded. She wasn't really sure when the last time was she had eaten anything anyway, having woken up in that catacombs and all.
"Well, I'd certainly be remiss to send a young lady off on her journey on an empty stomach," the majestically handsome blond spoke, "Come. Our order is not one that offers free room and board for strangers, but I can at least scrounge up something on the fly to quell the beast within your bosom."
Dark blue eyes flickered off further down the street, before the barrel-chested man raised his voice.
"Perhaps you'd like to join us too, young miss? The night's dangerous even in Andeave, and I'm certain enough that the two of you are fate-bound, from circumstance, if not from attire."
There had been a moment of awkwardness when the other brown-haired boy had come over, ready to shake hands when Yuuki had just planned on waving. Extending his right hand for the shake that was going to come in his direction, Yuuki watched as this new boy, Ashton, pulled out his left hand instead, right hand still grasping the sketchbook. For a moment, the coat-bearing boy hesitated…but in the next, HE POWERED THROUGH. Twisting his arm around so that both palms could meet after all, he grasped Ashton’s hand tightly and shook it twice, firm and fast.
“Oh, god-child? You know how it is,” the blue-eyed youth said, “Threatened to explode everything I loved if I didn’t shake hands. Sounds pretty normal for a fledgling god, yeah? Making a fuss about having no time when they’re immortal. And wow, I never saw an American before! No wonder you’re dressed so differently.”
It was also very American to just immediately start thinking about work and such, wasn’t it? The whole ‘seize the day’? Good ol ‘pursuit of happiness’? Already, Ashton was bouncing off a dozen ideas and consideration, leaving Yuuki to just chuckle to himself at how eager and excited the lad was. Very American indeed, to turn everything from a conversation to a speech. Guess that’s just how boys from highly individualistic societies were raised? According to the books, at least.
“Hey now,” he said, “No need to rush t-”
Then Mr. Alistair Archibald decided to show off his own American-ness, as if such thing were a competition. Powered by outrage against the divine, the lion said his own miniature speech, establishing his individuality and rebellious nature within a few quick lines, before bursting out of the room majestically and throwing open the doors to a new world. For a moment, the light that streamed from the open door was blinding, and then…it remained blinding.
Samurai man spoke up next, outing himself as Nakkun, an archer from a time where archery was still relevant. “Didn’t die myself, friend,” Yuuki commented, “Just walked…but yeah, Ashton, like I was gonna say, making assumptions about what this world has is a b-”
Of course, at that inopportune time, the pink waif spoke up next, naming herself 'Priscilla' and making it clear that she was super pissed as well, in her meek, effeminate way. Exams and a longing for home, hm? Well, he could understand one of those, at least. Scratching the back of his head, the baby faced assassin youth dropped his pack onto the ground with an audible thump, before unzipping one of the side pockets and pulling out a large thermos of pine needle tea. It only came with one plastic mug, but everyone else looked more or less fine compared to Priscilla, so they can just remain thirsty for now. He hummed a little tune, poured out the steaming brew, and then placed it before the rose garden girl.
"On the house," he said, lifting up his pack again, "If this god can pluck us out of our worlds, they can certainly pull us back, right? Ashton seems to know of this subject more, but hey, think of it as a job. You can only go home after the job's done, after all, but it's also guaranteed that you can leave for home after it's done. Don't worry 'bout it too much."
He considered offering her a can of meat as well, but girls were always so weird about eating food.
Cool. Guess it's fair to say that the potency of Ami's fire powers are a massive hyperbole then, and that Noxx definitely shouldn't be using that as a benchmark for Soma's shields?
Mm, did a bunch of quick research and it turns out that the force of a meteor varies greatly. You probably should work with something more specific, cause meteors go from apparently causing the ice age to just bruising someone.
While Touka made generic non-murder threats and the light Magical Girl responded in kind with bedroom eyes at Alex and non-answers for the rest of them, Maiko continued to palm more daifuku, eating away. If she tried hard enough, she could probably understand what the newcomer was here for, but honestly, the battlesexual brawler really just didn't care. Indeed, it was only at the last statement, of how she'd fight back if they started shit up, that Maiko perked up slightly.
Then Kanbaru had to ruin it by speaking on behalf of everyone else. Tearing a daifuku in half, she locked eyes with the edgy gun girl as scarlet puree oozed from the sides of the rice cake. Held her gaze for a moment, a flicker of outrage emerging at how that blue-haired slut thought she could encapsulate everyone else's opinions with a bullshit 'we'. Thankfully, Ami was always a dark horse, a wild abberation fueled by wrathful flames, and Maiko smirked. Yeah, fuck solidarity. They were here to kill shit, not play ring-around-the-rosie. And with Ami's hatred came another Magical Girl out of the blue, already transformed, already shouting out new orders.
Great.
Awesome.
She felt the hair on the back of her neck prickling upwards, as she finished off the last of the daifuku. Hopping off her seat, Maiko stretched her neck, rolled her shoulders, popped her fingers, peered through the translucent barriers that separated light from dark, before flashing a great big grin at the newcomer.
"Hey now, chill out, buttercup," the girl said, eyes alive with emerald lightning, "If innocents get involved, that's totes on you for not bringing in enough gifts and snacks to keep us busy, okay? Really, what did you even expect, coming in here without prior notice? Tsk tsk, shoulda thought about that while you were bedridden for five years, eh, sister?"
They were at the cusp. And light Magical Girls were always good at cleaning up after the messes the dark side made.
"Ami, let's double team the shit out of these nerds!"
De-escalation? Hahah, nope. It had been way too long since she had a half-decent fight, and now, Maiko was rock-hard and ready to burst~!
Phase
Rabidporcupine
Citrus
Candelabra
TheMushroomLord
Lucid Dreaming
Xaltwind
Kumbaris
stone
