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In Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Ettamri’s roar did not echo, the sound muted against the snowy hills that rose all around them. It was a blessing for the party to have been on flat ground when they all sensed the incoming danger, but they didn’t have the high ground either, unable to see what, if anything, was behind the hills surrounding them. The horses began to neigh now as well and Katya, realizing that something crazy was about to happen, hopped off the tarps too, brandishing her staff as she stood beside Renauld. Small as she was, priests were trained in quarterstaff combat, and their duty, in lieu of a supportive Thief or Ranger, was to smack away people who approached a casting Mage. Her robes, thankfully, were long enough to hide her shaking legs.

“UOLOLOLOLOOO!”

A roar resounded behind the hills, followed by the beating of many drums. All around, that undulating warcry resounded; without the element of surprise, intimidation was used instead. In unison, five shadows broke out from the encircling hills, each of them of irregular size. Fists, attached to bulging, elongated arms, slammed against barreled chests, as a maw full of oversized incisors opened outwards to bite at the sky. Two beady eyes, wholly black, looked down upon the mismatched adventurers while white breath blew out of a flat nose. The creatures, black-skinned with white fur covering their chests, head, forearms, and calves, were eerily humanoid, yet many times more savage than goblins and orcs. A bushy, muscled tail, as thick as their leg, whipped around behind them, and after a pause, relishing the ability to look down upon the furless midgets below, they rushed in at once, bearing primitive arms.

The fastest of them practically bodyslammed Argen, a flurry of unarmed blows raining down against the Phalanx’s shield. Animal ferocity seemed to be the calling of the beast, and even with Argen’s height, the monster towered above him, a whole two meters tall. It was also the smallest of the creatures present.

Indeed, the largest were the ones that fell upon Ettamri, two three-meter hulks rising to the challenge of the armored warrior. With impressive brawn and small trees as clubs of their own, they continually swatted at her, hoots and howls communicating and coordinating attacks. They danced and flanked, the reach of their weapons greater than Ettamri’s own.

Muu too found herself pressed, put to the test against a creature that smashed at her with axe and snow, its bushy tail constantly blowing up waves of white in her direction, obscuring her vision before cutting down with a two-handed swing that could very well snap her sword in half if she was forced to block it head on.

And as for the fifth? That one had a rock. A big rock. A rock that it raised over its head, a rock that triggered all of Siwon’s fight-or-flight instincts at once.

It was a rock that flew, tumbling through the air with force that would kill and break anything in its path.

A rock that flew right towards Renauld and Katya.
In Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Dust cloud got blown away, but otherwise yes.
In Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
And there, posted. Finally time to yeet him outta existence.
In Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
She boiled beneath her clothing, her lungs protesting against the smoke all around. Pressed against the carcass of a tent, Elodie waited and waited, as more Iron Rose Knights dove towards the Bandit King, their weapons matched by the gargantuan man's own. Sparks flew frenzied, yet even with all directions covered, the giant did not fall, was not even injured by the onslaught. In a way, it was certainly terrifying. In another way, it'd be certainly satisfying to take him down.

In a third way, it had been what she was waiting for this entire time.

The artificer read Jeremiah's attack before he had completed it, and in that moment, she burst out from her hiding spot, runes on her magic weapon glowing bright. A single strike to maximum effect; that was what all her weapons were designed for. No need for duelling, no need for skill. Just a decisive, universal blow. The wave of debris rose, and Elodie met it with grim determination.

"Fire."

Ensorcelled inscriptions lit up within the barrel of the Blasting Rod, before an eruption of force and flame burst out from the open end, rocking her backwards. It was force enough to shatter stone walls, force enough to put thunder and lightning to shame, and against it, the shroud of debris simply could not withstand, dirt and stone blasting back against the Bandit King, crimson flames encompassing him completely. Mayhaps the lawless champion could withstand such a blow, but it mattered not. No longer obscured and wholly robbed of his senses by the roar of fire and light, the man was naught but prey to blades. After all...

Monstrous size has no intrinsic merit, unless inordinate exsanguination be considered a virtue.
In Talrae Reborn → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


The inn room was serviceable. Cecilia had long become accustomed to substandard mattresses and a hard pillow, in a bedframe too small to comfortably stretch out, and by the time morning came, she was certain she had gotten enough sleep to last the day. Hopping off the bed, she cast her eyes towards the window, where the humid city was still shrouded by light fog. It'd vaporize once the sun rose higher, that much she was certain. Pulling out a length of string from her inventory, the Lancer began to tie her hair back, opting for a bun this time. Her eyes closed, she felt for the strands, braiding them together and bundling them up until there was no chance of it falling apart. Nothing more unpleasant than having your hair get stuck to sweaty skin, after all.

Moments later, she bounced downstairs, already fully-equipped for monster hunting. Plopping down at the table Willow was at, Cecilia ordered stew and bread for herself, aiming for a warm, hearty meal to start the day off. "Right-o," she said, one eye on the stairway in wait for the others, "So what's the plan for today? Y'all got 'em subclasses all nice n cleared up yet?"
In Fate/Glimmering Oasis (F/GO) → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


"Hrmmm..."

Sitting in the corner of the room opposite of Diarmuid (because it wouldn't be fair for only one to be 'punished' when both were equally at fault), Gawain mulled over Zhuge Liang's words. For the greed of magi to corrupt the Grail in which Jesus Christ once offered the covenant of his blood, it certainly sickened the Knight of the Surcoat, who had once so fervently defended the Christian world. And now this far eastern city was ablaze and distraught, a battlefield for phantoms pulled back unto the world by black mud and foul curses. He didn't care so much for the tragedy of a life cut short; many a youth had been vanquished in pursuit of glory and recognition. The valor of this 'Waver' could be respected, but, well, a death on the battlefield was a death.

The brash knight folded his arms, before asking, rather insolently, "So what's the plan? Will the world be saved if we simply took the head of the Conqueror King? Or are there blacker machinations at hand here, Zhuge?"

There was a pause, a furrowing of the brow.

"Do I refer to you as Zhuge? Or as Liang?"
In You Too Can Become A Hero! || My Hero Academia RP → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


When the bell rang for homeroom, Kyou let out a breath and entered the room. It was his first homeroom class in UA, one of many firsts that would soon be coming, but he had some hope for an uneventful semester, at least. Scanning from the profiles compiled of the students during their entrance exams, it didn’t look like any of them were innately troublemakers. That was good. He was never comfortable with disciplining kids, especially when their crimes were rooted in immaturity and enthusiasm.

He had dressed well for the day, a dark suit tailor-made for his wide and stocky build and a beige trenchcoat to drape over his otherwise intimidating form. The dark fedora, his wife’s choice, was almost comical on his large, boxy head, but it gave him something to set to the side, something to buy a few more seconds with before he faced them properly. In the light of the spring sun, his rust-red scales shone dully, and his thick tail swept across the clean floors. The dragon-boy, Kaze Rin, looked asleep already. It was an early morning, and it was an uncharacteristically warm day.

Kyou sucked in a breath.

“Good morning, Class 1-A, and allow me to extended a belated congratulations for your acceptance into UA and,” his smile was wry and full of teeth, “for making it to class on time.” A pause. Saw a couple smiles in the room. “My name is Kyou Suika, your homeroom teacher for this year and, if this is indeed the path you are set on, for all your years in UA. Heroism is founded upon strength, of body, mind and spirit, and, like the building around you, I expect you all to polish yourselves daily, to become a better person that you were the day before. Your past dictates your future, but your present dictates your past. Some of you may feel like you already have all you need to become a hero. Some of you may feel as if you’ve started too late, that you do not truly deserve to be here. But it matters not.”

The red eyes of a tyrant king gazed upon all of them, as if capturing their gazes individually, rather than as a collective.

“You’ve all made it, because the professional heroes within this school had seen a spark inside. A spark that aspires to become more than what you are. So don't stop working. Don't stop thinking. Let that set you aflame. Let your courage roar.”

For a moment, he was all intensity, all ferocity, a predator staring down challengers, his rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth splitting to speak his next words.

“Now, who wants to declare their goals first?”

And then, all that pressure was gone, a sharp-toothed grin breaking out as he beamed at them all.
In Altera: Of the Destitute and the Destined → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Few mammals were active in the dead of night, and the morning brought no ready-to-skin prey at the hands of Oscar as the Ranger checked and dismantled his traps. Wintertime was a sparse, lean season for all, and what animals still roamed freely would certainly have bunkered down during that snowstorm last night. It’d have taken a miracle for his traps to have come up with something that hadn’t planned on attacking them, and a miracle certainly was not forthcoming this morning.

Argen and Siwon’s little hunting trip proved futile as well. Though fresh snow left fresh tracks, what critters the bumbling warriors chanced upon were quick to dive into the snow again, disappearing the moment any sort of predatorial intent could be sensed. It didn’t help, of course, that the spear bros were spraying snow with every step; the night before had added another extra foot of loose, powdered snow for them to stomp through. Argen got the feeling pretty soon that the shoes and socks he had dried over the fire wouldn’t be dry for too much longer. After chiding and mockery from Siwon’s yellow little goblin freak, the two returned to camp, right as everyone looked to be ready to depart.

Katya had finished her prayers by then, rising up in the afterglow of her supplications. There was a flush to her skin, a glimmer to her eyes. Was it her youth that allowed her to believe so easily in the righteousness of the Sun God? Or had she, in the week she had been trained as a Priest, truly become devout? Regardless, the young girl brushed the snow that had packed against her knees, turning to Ettamri. Her eyes flickered to the knife offered, then to the face beneath the iron mask. A smile, and then…

"Aw, you made this for me?" Katya said, cradling the chipped stone knife like a cute puppy or a surprise gift. It was rare to find such weapons in Andeave, after all. They may have been poor, but life on the frontier necessitated adequate arms, and stone weaponry...well, it certainly wasn't adequate. Heck, it wasn't even good if compared to the staves brandished by the priesthood. But for a priest, who vowed not to take a blade of tempered steel in hand? The gesture was nice, as was the hours that must have gone into chipping that stone into something sharp enough to cut fabric. "Thanks so much, 'tamri! But, uh, I still think you should like, have a big heart-to-heart with Muu some time...like, channel your niceness into being nice to her? You know?"

With those words, she beamed and gave the monolith of muscle a quick hug before skipping off to kick Renauld until the dozing mage woke up, his face dry and stiff from being slow-cooked against the flames. In another few minutes, they were off, half-stumbling, half-pushing through the loose snow.

Ettamri, Argen, Muu, Renauld, Siwon, and Katya

Travelling northward, the sparse woodlands they rested themselves in soon broke off into hills, first soft and lenient, before steadily rising in incline and height. Loose snow became misery then, and travel had turned into a battle against boots that never seemed to have enough purchase. The horses, fatigued as they were, stumbled with their heavy burdens, paving the way for others, the snow crunch beneath hooves and wheels. Katya commandeered the top of the wagon again, some vague notion of being a lookout seizing her as she sat atop the sacks, her eyes slits as she watched over undulating waves of white.

Oscar had gone before them, the ranger blazing a trail and searching for game, but as a result, the party’s mood took a turn for the darker. Siwon was a edgelord Fiend Knight, Argen had his demons, Renauld didn’t care, and if Muu and Ettamri did even as breath in each other’s vicinity, one of them would bleed soon enough. Or at least bitch. They trudged in silence, occasionally heaving and pushing the wagon from behind in order to get it out of the snowy rut it found itself in. Constant inclines and declines in terrain sapped at their energy, more than once causing someone to stumble or slip, but no one had rolled an ankle yet.

Small blessings, when the brilliant sun blinded them with the white expanses, until it was pain to look anywhere but below. It was an unpleasant trek soon enough. No one had the talent to rouse spirits, even though some may have tried. Monotony, rising up, rising down, hoping that the horses didn’t fall, hoping that the wheels didn’t break.
Hoping, hoping, hoping.

Ettamri smelled the blood, but her senses pulling her into razor-sharp awareness, her pupils shrinking to mere dots to compensate for the overpowering whiteness all around.

Argen straightened his back, his own deathly instincts causing his heart to beat just a little bit faster, a thick weight pressed against his throat. The same went for Muu, fresh alertness found as she gripped her sword.

The demon on Siwon’s shoulder shuddered, not from wind, but from fear. Fear that the ugly turd quickly turned into bravado, as it slapped the unsacrificing bastard on the head for no reason, before going on a tirade about the dark gods and the black lambs.

Renauld was not so exceptional, but could see the shift in the mood of the others, at least.

The air quieted, the cold calm before carnage.

They could not see it, but something was there, watching them.

Do they continue? Or do they prepare?

Oscar

The ranger travelled alone, falling into a familiar cadence. He was unburdened by the duties of the wagon, by the slowest of the group, and though he was a woodsman, more accustomed to forest than plains, his steps were sure, the path he took not having to consider the burdens of the horses, the wheels that had to stay level with each other. There was even a bit of fun to be had, scampering up snowy hills on all fours before sliding down the steep descent. He made good time, set a good rhythm, and the warmth in his blood helped him ignore the dampness of his boots. If their path was safe, Oscar would be able to make it to the hot spring first, and perhaps then, they’d finally be able to chase away the chill that had seeped into their very bones.

It was a beautiful day, blinding as it was. The ranger didn’t notice the non-shapes within the snow, as white as anything else. He passed them by, didn’t look back.

The trek continued through the hilly landscape, the waves of earth that had been bathed in pearly sky-essence. It was breaking upon a tall hill, too steep for a wagon to easily rise up on, that had allowed Oscar to witness what laid below.

The snow last night had covered some of it, but the bones still jutted out, the carcass of horses and wagon, empty sacks half submerged in snow, shattered casks split open. Pink stains, blood or wine, coated some patches of snow, while the bodies of fellow Silver Moon recruits were scattered haphazardly down below, their conditions impossible to tell at a distance. It was a big discovery, tremendous, even.

But could more be learned?

If he wanted to investigate, he’d have to head down and start digging. How much information was a scout supposed to get anyways, to appease an angry knight?

In Arkus Academy → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
@DrowsyPangolin Gonna be dropping methinks. Thanks for the fun start at least. Peaceeeee.
In You Too Can Become A Hero! || My Hero Academia RP → 7 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


Without anyone else encumbering him, Rokkaku had been the first to enter the new classroom. There were a couple of seconds where he could bask in the silence, the untouched cleanliness of the room before him. Dark eyes flickered towards a few of the desks, altered to be accessible to students with mutant-type quirks, and he approved. But that was all. A breath, and he sat himself to the far end of the room, by the window. The front row seats should be reserved for those with poor eyesight. The seats closest to the doors should be reserved for those who had places they needed to go immediately, or who had bladder problems. The rest were fair game, but the back row should be left for larger students, if they did not want to be a nuisance to anyone who's view of the whiteboard they were impeding. Perhaps this classroom would be better then, if it was a sloped lecture hall instead.

Things to think about. Things to consider. He sat down quietly, priming his notebooks and utensils, and, with slitted eyes, watched who entered.

It was curious, almost, the variety of students that entered. The huge lizard was the most-eyecatching one, then the petite robot. Both had steps that made the room itself rumble; he could feel the subtle vibrations with his palm against his desk. More regular folk strode in after, their own eccentricities of coloration and hairstyle muted by those two mutants. Mutants? Hrm. Rokkaku's gaze darkened again. Settled. It hadn't been long ago that mutants were shunned by society for their innate otherness. The Luminous Baby had shown with a bright light, but a child born with too many arms, a child with the head of a spider, those had swerved such individuals into mutants. To still call them that now, whether by intention or habit...it was curious. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, yet names still held power over individuals. Was there another term to be used? Was there a better way? Racism still existed now. Xenophobia too. Heroes were defenders of society, but how much of society was worth defending?

No. Heroes inspired. And not all 'heroes' did that.

He'd have to try more. As he was, he wasn't worth defending, and he couldn't inspire as well. Those eyes fell upon the robot thing. Could something be considered human, when there was no flesh to speak of? Was there a difference between treating something as a human and treating something as sentient?

There probably was.

He didn't know what it was.

So he watched and thought, mulling over such thoughts, wondering if anyone but the quirkless could be considered human anymore. Wondering how much it mattered to him, how much it mattered to others.
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