Avatar of Exit

Status

Recent Statuses

5 days ago
Current I think heaven probably tastes like a cronut.
2 likes
1 mo ago
Hi. Someone needs to do something about the quality of the crayons at restaurants. The color doesn't even stick to the menu. How am I supposed to compete with a child with these?
13 likes
2 mos ago
A couple little birds have flown into my office and now they're having a dance party behind my desk.
20 likes
4 yrs ago
I dropped a clear thumbtack on the floor and now my carpet is holding me hostage.
10 likes
6 yrs ago
bbcode and I about to throw hands.
9 likes

Bio



____________________________________
.
.
.


imvu & omgpop
refugee_______
_
_
_
_
_
_
a slice of peach by kensuke ushio

_________________________________
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_

exit. casual. utc -8. bbcode enthusiast. guildie since '09. gm for the last avatar and tla: the red lotus. check out ho//ow, a 1x1 with the amazing rockette. i have a 1x1 interest check, ᴘʀᴇss ▶, and although my plate is full, you can message me anyways if you're interested in writing with me in the future. i am open to exploring other plots and am nsfw/kink friendly. i have a bbcode guide that's too complicated for anyone to use. besides hiding in my test thread, you might see me in 'off topic' sharing music. are we lined up with the image on the left yet?120725.09:45

__________________________________________________
____________________________________
.
.
.


#842

Most Recent Posts



___________________________________.......
Abandoned Rest Stop · Early Morning · @EveryoneAbandoned Rest Stop · Early Morning · @Everyone
_
Sun scorched the air anywhere without shade. So hot was it that even the sand seemed to pour heat from the ground. Many were huddled together under trees and some in the shade of the one building still standing. A derelict structure from an age long past that had once been a herald of safety. Of a sign that the great walls of Ba Sing Se were within reach. Now, the thin black line drawn across the horizon in the distance was a sign of death. Of the life they were all forced to leave behind for the weak promise of safety somewhere beyond the desert at their feet. The place had long ago been abandoned despite an attempt to turn it into a small outpost for the city. Proximity to the desert and the storms that raged within it made any kind of permanent habitation impossible. Still, signs of their effort survived to today. Inside the hollowed out husk were tables and chairs nearly buried in sand. A counter that divided the dusty room in half and empty frames on the wall. Dated kitchen appliances. An old wire phone. An empty Cabbage Corp crate. Items from a different time and life frozen in time. Some found comfort in the strange world it was forever trapped in. Others only wanted to leave, unable to think of anything else but escape with their freedom so close. Every person had made the hard trek from the city walls to the rest stop in the middle of nowhere in hopes that they could be guided to safety. Now, the only thing standing between them and that rumored place beyond the sand sea was the raging storm in front of them.

A wall of sand, impossibly wide and stretching into the dark clouds in the sky was rampaging, barring passage for anyone but those with the knowledge and the tools to cross, and even those individuals were hesitant. They'd ordered everyone to wait while they watched in trepidation, gawking at streaks of light that would burn a path through tumbling clouds of gnashing stone. A display of nature's fury.

"We're liable to be buried." Informed Tikaani. A tall man dressed in brown and gray leathers from head to toe. Clothing made sturdy by scratchy fabrics and stiff layers that helped to keep invasive sand out and cooler hair trapped inside. His short black black hair was pinned back by a pair of goggles that had been pushed to his forehead to make room for the binoculars he was peering though. "It's not a strong storm but it's still dangerous."

"Are you serious? Are we looking at the same thing?" Kanna asked.

Nearby, several vehicles were parked and waiting. Each one fully gassed and modified in their own way to survive the unforgiving embrace of the desert. It was obvious that some had been cobbled together worse than others. Patch work frames of metal and twine that looked as though it could fall apart as soon as they hit the gas. All of them were older models of Satomobiles from decades past and none were modified the way a peculiar Kyoshi was. Already those more curious or those with no regard for boundaries were stepping up to the vehicle, eyeing it like a prize. However, more importantly, early on it was discovered that there were not enough seats to go around and already, some small conflict was brewing between those who would be departing first and those who would have to wait for a second convoy to arrive. Although nothing overly violent had yet occurred, tensions were already incredibly high and it was only a matter of time before someone became too impatient for everyone's good.

To compound the issue, almost 24 hours later and many were still unable to control their bending, or worse, unwilling to accept that which they had become. Unwilling to accept the people they were forced to run with.
Prompt:
You may place your character anywhere in this area. There is only the large central structure that is built like a spire, sticking out of the sand. Inside are the remains of an old rest stop that had at one point been made to look like an old diner. Outside are the vehicles waiting to leave and Takaani, who is the 'leader' of this caravan and the one paid to ferry people across the desert.

There are a large number of other benders in the area who have also escaped. They are nameless but can be given a name and controlled by anyone.

Nothing of note is happening save for a rather... rude looking gentleman who has been marching around the vehicle attempting to look inside. This man is one of the other drivers. Although not large, he is carrying a gun at his hip that is easily visible. The other drivers are also carrying weapons, a few of them being rifles.

It has been decided that everyone in our group is going to be riding with Jin, out of pure coincidence. The passenger list is as follows: Weiyuan, Chae Wan, Chu Hua, Kanna, Reman, Vasra and one other named Jaakuna. There aren't enough seats but there is room in the bed of the jeep for the others to fit, although that is very much not preferred.

Now is a good time to work with each other and establish relationships. It has been a day since the explosion and people have been waiting around at the rest stop for the last hour or so while more stragglers are still arriving. There has been plenty of time for our characters to have interacted off screen during the trek over or while sitting at the rest stop, or, they can take the opportunity now to introduce themselves in lieu of waiting.


___________________________________.......
Lower Ring · Late AfternoonLower Ring · Late Afternoon
_
"What do I do?!"

"Nothing stupid."

Nelu pushed forward on the throttle, putting his cruiser into a nosedive, and watched as the dreary world around him began to tilt. Black spires encroached by thick clouds of smoke pitched toward him as the cruiser began to fall, and as his speed increased and the wind picked up and began battering his windshield, Nelu felt the familiar twisting in his gut as gravity left him. The cabin rattled, the engine roared and water in the air became long streaks drawn across glass. Eventually, the thicker upper layer of fog was pulled away like a veil revealing the world of chaos the Lower Ring had fallen into.

Framed in a city of smoke were streets littered in debris and the people of Ba Sing Se running in every direction with no direction. They dove into buildings or under cars and sought shelter where they could. Peppered in with the panicked masses were Benders, true to countless radio reports that were still coming in. But more than that, among the crowds were also those who were not exhibiting bending abilities but were attacking others unprovoked. Reports of individuals who were ignoring warnings and lashing out violently at those around them and in some cases, murdering those they got their hands on. Despite the panic and confusion induced by Benders revealing themselves all at once and in such large numbers, the random attacks were even more unsettling and the idea of a violent Bender drove Nelu to haste. There were few who could handle them, especially in the Lower Ring.

"Allen's location."

A point of light appeared on the windshield highlighting a section of the road a few blocks ahead, close to where Nelu knew the soup kitchen was located. "Officer Gima is here. He is not moving." Came a female voice.

"Status."

"Unconscious. Stable."

"Shit." He hissed, coaxing more power out of the engine. Gravity pushed him against his seat and the cruiser lurched forward, clearing several blocks of chaotic streets in less than a minute and putting Nelu above the entrance to the soup kitchen. There below him he could see a heavily damaged dumpster and the body of Allen slumped against it. Nearby was a man who seemed to have been half buried in the dirt and around the both of them were clear signs of earthbending. There were removed slabs of earth, drag marks and unexplained dirt spires protruding out of the street. His controlled panic and haste turned to anger.

"Get a paramedic unit to this location now."

"Yessir."

"Vanguard?" Nelu half yelled, descending close enough to the ground to dispatch his AI.

"Ready to deploy."

"Deploy it."

The cabin shook again as the undercarriage opened up and a payload was dropped. As soon as it had landed, Nelu moved to land his cruiser. Normal procedure was to wait for a clear landing area, typically provided by the AI, but Nelu wasn't going to wait. He found and made for a small clearing in the debris near the dumpster and put the cruiser down there. He was out before it'd even landed, exiting and dropping a few feet out of the air and into an angry swarm of dust kicked up by thrusters as he moved toward Allen with his weapon drawn. So focused was he on his downed friend that he didn't even notice the AI dispatch another Bender in the area, nor did he give any heed to the half buried, crazed man.

The first thing Nelu noticed as he knelt beside Allen were the heavy injuries he'd sustained to his face. It was as if he'd been beaten repeatedly by a blunt object, or in this case, pummeled by rocks, Nelu assumed. What didn't make sense to him was the fact that Allen's weapon was sitting across his lap as if it'd been neatly placed there. That and it was obvious that effort had been put into subduing the individual in the ground rather than killing him. He obviously wasn't the bender in question and whoever was responsible for what happened was no longer here. Or at least that's what Nelu would have initially believed if he hadn't heard noise coming from the kitchen and noticed the Vanguard focus on the doorway. He looked too and could feel a number of individuals huddled inside.

Perhaps what happened here wasn't an act of unprovoked violence and was instead one of defense. Maybe there had been a misunderstanding. Maybe the man in the ground, who was clearly unhinged, had been one of the crazed individuals running around and murdering people and had attacked Allen and the Earthbender was only trying to help. There was some obvious skill involved in the bending. Most were not capable of such feats, even when their powers were boosted as they were now. Everyone else was bending uncontrollably but this person was clearly making use of techniques they'd learned from somewhere, and that was more telling than anything else. That was dangerous. They needed to come in but Allen had to get out first.

"Hold on, Allen." Nelu gingerly scooped his arm under the unconscious officer's body and carefully picked him up, supporting some of his weight with the man's arm over his shoulder. It was difficult but he managed to guide him to the front seat of his cruiser and place him inside.

"Cancel the paramedic request and get him to the hospital, now." Nelu said once Allen was secure.

"Yessir." There was a mechanical chime as the cabin door swung shut, hissing gas as it sealed. Thrusters under the cruiser flared to life, once again throwing Nelu into a cloud of dust, and steadily lifted the vehicle off the ground and into the air. Once it was high enough, it took off toward the pink haze canopy above where it was quickly swallowed up.

Nelu turned to join the guard at the door but as he approached, the street was suddenly torn open and rolled like a rug. Dirt and rocks and slabs of asphalt spilled over the AI, burying it. But while the robot was rendered temporarily useless, the extreme display of Earthbending was all the sign he needed that his suspect was still here. Inside the room, he froze one of the individuals. A child.

...That can't be right...

Another began bolting toward the back and Nelu immediately raised his gun and started putting rounds through the wall, refusing to release whoever it was he had. If it wasn't a bender, then they were in serious danger and he needed to keep them away from the others. If he could keep them where they were, he could avoid accidentally hurting them in the crossfire and given their position close to the door, getting to them himself wouldn't be a problem. Once removed, he could more easily deal with the Bender without injuring an innocent civilian. However, as he began moving toward the door, a large earthen wall suddenly burst from the ground and pushed into the front wall of the soup kitchen, destroying it but also sealing it completely off.

"Damn it. Door."

A muted jingle from under a pile of dirt answered the command and after some rumbling and shifting of debris, a large slab of concrete was lifted and thrown off the pinned robot. It recovered, found its footing, picked up its rifle, and hit a button on the side before shouldering the weapon again. When it fired next, instead of a bullet, a ball of spirit energy was thrown at the wall, evaporating a chunk of dirt the size of a basketball. It fired again... and then again... and then again, steadily chewing through layers of loose rock and stone and pieces of concrete as Nelu studied the movements of those inside. What surprised him the most was that despite the others retreating, one of them went for the kid. They dove for them, pushing the child out of the way and sacrificing themselves to Nelu's grasp, whether they knew it or not. A selfless act. A good Samaritan not unlike the one who was willing to defend an RSF officer and return their weapon to them.

...There you are...

"aaAAAAHHHH!!"

Nelu turned in time to see a man running toward him, screaming at the top of his lungs. By the time he'd dropped the boy on the other side of the wall and focused his attention on the stranger, he'd been grabbed around the waist and thrown to the ground.

He hit his head rather hard.










___________________________________.......
LSF HQ · Morning · In collaboration with [&.Exit]LSF HQ · Morning · In collaboration with @Exit
_
“Good morning, 141.”

There was a tap against the capsule and from the other side of the frosted glass pane, a number of concealed faces could be seen. After a few moments of muted voices and a series of electronic beeps and chimes, there was a hiss of gas and the lid on the pod popped free from a latch. Another button press and it slowly began to rise, giving 141 an unobstructed view of a familiar room. It stood in the center of a cold, steel and gray box, its walls interrupted at regular intervals by piping and wiring tucked too closely together. They seemed like veins as they wrapped around the room, slipping in between and underneath machines, monitors and the metal shapes that made up the shell of the holding chamber. On every surface and tucked into every corner was a bulb or blinking LED, and in the dimly lit space, these could almost be mistaken for the night sky.

141 was currently secured by a number of straps and platinum bands around his arms, wrists, legs and ankles, all of them holding him in place and strong enough not to fail in case there was an attempt to escape. Across his chest was a large rig, the back of which was connected to a series of tubes and wires. As the pod opened up, the small monitor just above 141’s breast blinked to life and a man nearby began tapping the surface of a tablet in his hands. He was in a white, full-body suit that covered him from head to toe. His face was obscured behind a dark pane of reinforced plastic.

“We’ve got your usual breakfast…” He said to the backdrop of a series of mechanical clicks. From somewhere in the ceiling, hydraulic pumps could be heard. “How are you feeling today?”

Dead silence accompanied the question - not a single word spoken. The usual response from 141. Twisting his head towards his “caretaker,” 141 awaits for the man to finish up the regular checkup. In the meanwhile, 141 “entertains'' himself - calculating a general kill-time frame for the local vicinity. Seven seconds for the man in front. Thirty seconds to breach the hardened entry and exit ways and about five seconds for everyone else. Course, being utterly bonded by a complex series of interlocked restraints does not help. The only thing now is to wait and see what awaits for the day - usually decided by his overseers.

With no humanity left, there is not much to ponder on but the efficiency of extermination.

The man nodded as if he were listening to the thing talk, even as no words were being exchanged.

“How’s he looking?” Another called from the other side of the room. A female voice.

“Good. All good. Vitals are green. Readings on brain functions all indicate green. He’s good to go.”

“Good. They want him prepped.”

“Already?” The man in front turned around.

“Whatever is going on out there is apparently serious enough to activate the rest of the team, including 141. A joint operation from what I’ve been told.”

“Do they have a package?”

The female individual tapped a screen in front of her and paneling in the ceiling above 141 began to move. They slid to the side, making space for a number of large panels. Before they’d moved into place in front of the subject, they began populating with information. Lines of text and images depicting the destruction of the city were being flashed at 141 in quick succession. There was just enough time between each ‘slide’ for it to understand what he was seeing; Ba Sing Se was tearing itself apart in the presence of a sudden spike in Bender sightings.

Then, the images changed to a series of faces. These were shuffled through a little slower than those previous with enough time for 141 to absorb the features of each face. At this time, the female individual walked around to stand opposite the male in the room. “They’ve made it outside the walls and need to be handled before they escape past the desert.”

141 quickly absorbs the information given to him. - eyes twitching heavily as he processes each panel in a blink of an eye. A nightmarish flood of mission data consumed and understood in mere seconds. Once done, 141’s eyes return to their normal position. The thing now awaits to be released from his restraints, quietly and perfectly not moving an inch of muscle.

“Vitals are still reading good. Looks like he’s absorbed everything.” The man nodded before placing the tablet down and walking around behind the pod holding 141. The female stepped back as he began pressing a series of buttons elicitings more hissing as hydraulics were released and latches on the metal bands and straps fell away. The rig across his chest remained in place but the tubing and wiring in the back popped free, allowing 141 full movement once again. “Chip is still receiving.”

On the ground were two green lines painted parallel to each other. A path laid out before 141 for it to follow to the opposite end of the room. There, a panel slid open allowing access to its combat gear, mask and weapons.

“Go ahead, 141. They’re letting you out today. You get to be with the rest of the team. They’re waiting for you.”




___________________________________.......
LSF HQ · Morning · @EveryoneLSF HQ · Morning · @Everyone
_
Nelu pulled at the bandages around his head as he tapped on the table in the center of the darkened room. Lights around the edge began to illuminate the space above it, drawing in the air a three dimensional rendering of the Ba Sing Se. All three rings and every building in between floated in the space between every person present in the room. As it lazily spun in the air, red dots began to illuminate across the entire city, each one representing the last known location of a confirmed Bender who was yet to be apprehended.

"I'll make this quick so we can get on the road." Nelu began. "As you are all aware, a little over sixteen hours ago, the Synergy Storage Facility suffered a catastrophic accident, the cause of which is still under investigation. During the accident, an event was triggered across the city, similar to what occurred across the world during the Harmonic Convergence nearly two hundred years ago. Anyone who could bend was suddenly empowered. I'm sure you all felt it. More importantly, some who could not bend suddenly could." He hit another button and a number of faces began appearing on screen. Most of the individuals were unremarkable. Normal people pulled from their lives in a most violent and unexpected way. Some were more prominent, like a popular television host or a rising politician and others were icons known across all of Ba Sing Se. A particular stickball player's face was added to the lineup. "And these are just the ones we know about. We still need to look into missing persons and those who are knowingly aiding and abetting these fugitives. But that's an issue for another day. Right now, our focus will be on containment. Now, normally you are all activated separately and alone, specific to the needs of your target, but our objective today requires that everybody be present."

Nelu traced the table, pulling the rendered map of the city along with his touch until, many 'miles' beyond the wall, a rendering of a small tower like structure could be seen half buried in the sand. "A large group of Benders managed to escape before we could seal off the city. It is believed the majority of them intend to cross the desert to attempt to get to a small settlement beyond it. As impossible as that trek may be, we cannot risk any of them getting free so... we will be meeting the group here." Nelu tapped the air, blowing up the image so the structure was more easily visible. It was A tall-ish tower leaning precariously at an angle that looked to have once been a rest stop of some kind. "A little failed outpost at the edge of the desert that is used as a jumping off point for a caravan that crosses the desert. This is kill or capture, although we've apprehended plenty of Benders. Enough to replenish rank. It's really up to you how you want to go about this."

Nelu crossed his arms and then looked at each of his team members. "Any questions?"

He adjusted the bandage again.
I am the single cutest miqo'te this side of Eorzea and nobody's gonna stop me from being that.

Good thing I reside on "that" side of Eorzea less I have to challenge you for your title, as there is no miqo'te as cute as me!

If I ever get back into this game we should meet up and touch tails.

This is incorrect. I am the cutest on the 'other' side of Eorzea.

But then my main is a rich Lala boi so naturally I win twice. Anyways RPG FC anyone?

On topic: When I was young, I remember trying to explain this hobby to some friends of mine in a different social circle, only for them to confuse it with 'cosplay' and give me shit about it. It didn't feel good, but then I remembered some wise words from a friend of mine who said that if a group of friends isn't letting you in, you shouldn't be trying to fit in with them in the first place.

Some years later, I met a stranger who I would also end up accidentally explaining this hobby to. Only they wanted to try it out themselves.

Great thing about you and everyone else here is that most of the legwork is done. We're all on the same page (for the most part), as you can tell from all of the answers. We're all interested in exploring other lives in different bodies and drinking each other's creativity. And I know I'm mostly rehashing what's been said, but that's only because I wanted to make sure everyone knew my Miqo'te was the best so there wasn't any confusion.



DAY 1 《》 STEELWATER [Landing Zone - A] 《》 Late Morning 《》 @Exit

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
"What is it like?"

"What is it like? Well... it's a lot like running. Like... like being free. Like grasping at the wind and letting it curl around your fingers and your hand. That's what it's like. What it feels like. Like a promise to take you somewhere... anywhere you want. Sometimes, if I run fast enough, it will."


_ __ ___ __ _

Christina was out of breath. Her chest hurt, her muscles burned, her fingers were numb and her vision was blurred. She couldn't concentrate, not with the ever present noise in her head. A fog of colors and sounds evaporated from a pool of doubt. Of her refusal to understand or comprehend the thing she'd bore witness too that was now burned forever in her mind. A nightmare no one had expected but she was now desperately trying to survive.

It had been like this from the start. Her and her team had dropped into the middle of the chaos. Six souls plunged into the fires of a city drowning in creatures born from the stigma and those who rose to defend it. It was messy and dangerous and a miracle that they had managed to survive to their objective. A combined effort of luck and careful maneuvering saw them safely through Steelwater amidst constant shelling and ambushes. They had remained resourceful. But while they could handle the little threats and rely on eyes in the sky to keep out of the way of the larger one, no amount of training or practice had prepared them for what they were to discover at journey's end. What they had originally assumed was a mission to retrieve some rich, scared asshole looking for an escort out of the city was anything but. A different man found them. One who was not lesser but known by many around the world as a hero. A soldier. An Aeon. But here he was different and while at first they didn't know how, all of them were very quickly educated.

Christina had no intention of dying in Steelwater; Leaving the broken world before her path was realized and she'd found the answers she was looking for. She'd already decided in that moment that she was more useful to the fight alive than with her team, and so she ran. She wanted out and she was going to drop anything and anyone who got in her way. So when she came upon aggroed fiends blocking her path, she did not hesitate. A shouldered rifle barked once for each creature she could see, placing a single piece of metal inside each skull. They collapsed, clearing the way, but as she was about to resume her retreat, she was distracted by a brief flash of light. A bolt singing through the air and sinking into the chest of a remaining aggressor, killing it.

Christina immediately dropped to a knee and swung around to meet the stranger with the sight of her rifle. It was hard to tell, what with the way the individual was half concealed in a tree, but there was enough to identify the armed figure as human in what looked to be some form of military attire. There behind him was an outline of another body she couldn't quite make out and outside the tree, there were an additional two adult persons who were very clearly deceased. A strange scene for her to stumble upon that didn't seem to make a lot of sense at first, but Christina did know two things: The earlier light was no ordinary attack and whoever the stranger was, he did just kill a stigma invested creature. They could have been an Aeon, although it was difficult to be sure with just the information she'd been given. If it was, she couldn't know if they would play nice. And if it wasn't, she'd seen weirder guns than fancy crossbows.

Not waiting to see if they would decide to use it on her, she spoke up. "Who are you?" She asked in the brief silence. The silence was interrupted by the muted sound of a distant explosion. Her eyes snapped in that direction where she could briefly make out a figure falling out of the sky.

Summary
Christina retreats from something or someone who has wiped out her entire team. Exhausted but determined to escape, she stumbles upon and quickly dispatches a number of stigma creatures. However, she's also alerted to the presence of Peter @Aeolian, who has taken shelter in a nearby hollowed tree, and asks that he identify himself. In the distance, an explosion briefly distracts Christina who glances in the direction and catches a figure @Prisk falling out of the sky.
@Prisk Excuse the double post but I also want to say I thoroughly enjoy the cards. I'd wanted to implement something similar
before, like a deck with specific attacks that's built before hand by each player and then shuffled, meant for players to use against each other, but I always thought that would be too much work. And then here it is adding a bit of flavor to combat. Very cool!
@Aeolian I missed the 'Presence' section for Emilia and now I realize the characters are pretty similar lol. Interesting to see that they're born on opposite sides of a spectrum but end up in the same place.
A K A I A
A K A I A


The Crow's Nest · Morning
@FunnyGuy & @Daxam & @PigeonOfAstora

___________________________________________________________________________________________

...No...

That was Cerise's ability and already she had to watch another use it. Akaia was not amused. Not by the noise, the man or the way he was so casually walking up to them and their things. Part of her wanted to leave him behind for fear of the attention he so easily attracted. Another part of her remained inextricably linked to the team as she would always be. She knew Eric could take a measure of man if need be and if necessary, handle them. So she waited and watched. As Juice examined their vehicle and without a doubt the passenger within, Akaia approached. Soundless and light as she was when stalking. Moving slow enough that her the pollen was minimally disturbed so as to preserve the integrity of her camouflage. Of course, without her cape, it was harder to manage and her speed was slow.

In the time awarded to her going unnoticed, she studied the stranger as thoroughly as she could. He was excitable. Strange. Dressed weird. She wanted to question the helmet but then remembered that masks came in all shapes and sizes and perhaps this was just that, although there were no visible tanks of air. The jacket however was quite nice.

Very nice. Perhaps nice enough to treat for pollen.


___________________________________.......
Outside Soup Kitchen · Late Afternoon · In Collaboration with [&.Killamrix88]Outside Soup Kitchen · Late Afternoon · In Collaboration with @Killamrix88
_
“N-Nelu! I’ve got one over here!” A nearby voice called out.

A male in an RSF uniform approached slowly with a gun drawn and his hand over a radio on his shoulder. He seemed rather nervous, but it was hard to tell if it was because of the deteriorating situation unfolding around him, or if it was because he’d seen the younger man bend. Despite the screams of help coming from the blasted doors of the kitchen behind him, or the scrambling of those more seriously injured and in obvious need of help, all else was being ignored save for Weiyuan.

“D-don’t move!”

Weiyuan turned his head to look at the officer and felt his heart drop into his stomach. This was about the worst possible outcome. Honestly, he might have preferred his zombie-bully to this… though technically that hadn’t yet been ruled out, police or no.

Standing up didn’t seem like a good idea so instead he just stay where he was, laying on his back, and quickly put his hands up in the air in surrender. Thinking about it, maybe if he just stayed put, said bully would arrive and distract the officer. Yeah, that could get him out of this!

That was great to imagine and all, but he made one terrible miscalculation. He put his hands in the air a little too enthusiastically, causing two, short pillars of earth to shoot up around him in another unintentional display of bending. His eyes went wide in horror, his pupils shrinking to panicked pin-points as two shots rang out. One hit the pillar of earth dead center, removing a sizable chunk and kicking up dust. The second ricocheted off the pavement near Weiyuan’s head and punctured the tire of a nearby car causing it to rock violently as the tire flattened out.

The officer dove behind another vehicle with windows blasted. ”Fuckin’... Shots fired!” He yelled into his shoulder. ”Nelu! That’s an affirm on another bender! Earth! He’s resisting!”

”Circling back to you now.” A voice answered back. ”Vanguard’s on board. I’ll deploy before landing.”

”ETA!”

”Two minutes.”

”What do I do?!”

”Nothing stupid.”

The officer peeked over the hood of the car he was hiding behind at Weiyuan. ”D-don’t you fucking move!”

All he had to do was not move. If he made no sudden movements, surely he wouldn’t accidentally bend again. It was simple. Or it would have been if he wasn’t being shot at! Of course he flinched. Of course that was enough to set off his bending again.

And of course he couldn’t even attempt to explain himself because he was mute!

It really was the perfect storm of unfortunate events.

His arms retracted close to his body, hands balling into fists just trying to make himself smaller and keep his extremities away from the gunfire, but in the process the pillars of earth, what was left after the gunshots took a chunk out of one, effectively imploded. It was a violent display of cracking stone, and yet didn’t threaten the officer at all. The small pebbles that went flying didn’t even go far enough to touch the car the man hid behind.

If anything, the only one suffering was Weiyuan as the crushed stone showered him in dirt and dust, getting in his eyes and mouth.

He doubted the man would see it that way.

Now what? He’d just did the last thing he should have in that moment. Now what? Nowwhatnowwhatnowwhat? Nothing came to him. Nothing at all. His mind just went… blank.

Well if not moving just wasn’t working, then it was time to make a move that would get him out of this alive. It wasn’t a fun mess to wake up to, but then they never were. He knew he effectively existed only to deal with the specifically unfun bits.

Weiyuan suddenly just rolled over, swinging his arm to call the earth to come with him, flipping up a decently sized slab of earth to cover him.

”I said doN’T MO-...!” The officer rose from behind his own cover and squeezed off a few more rounds at the Bender, putting bullets into the dirt slab and the ground around him. The slab itself wasn’t tall enough to cover him if he stood up, so Weiyuan started crawling, looking for his exit. There… wasn’t really one, but there was that dumpster. He then pulled up another, much smaller, chunk of earth beneath his foot, like a runner’s starting block. He pushed off, going into a sprint and focusing one last time.

This one would be trickier, as the earth he needed was a little farther away.

All the way down here, the foundations of the buildings were still brick and concrete, unlike the ugly sheet metal and recycled plywood of the upper floors. In other words: earth. He pulled at the foundation of the nearby building with everything he had, causing a few chunks of stone to slam into the other side of the dumpster, shoving it into the middle of the street so he could drop into a slide to throw himself behind it, leaving it between him and the officer’s gun.

He pressed his back against it, panting and trying to just take even the smallest moment to get his bearings. Normally things weren’t THIS desperate when he woke up. Normally he had more than a split-second to figure out what was happening. Sure, as his other self grew more stressed their thoughts would start to bleed together a little, so he was never completely lost, but this was just… too much.

Why was he being shot at?! Why was his bending so unstable, yet powerful!? Where the hell was Chae-Won when he needed her?! And… and… why was there so much dirt in his mouth!?!?

Wait, no, that one was kinda coming back to him.

Not hitting what he wanted to, the officer quickly ditched the car and began swinging around in an attempt to outflank his quarry, keeping some distance from Weiyuan so as to preserve his perceived bubble of safety. However, before he could get around to find another angle, a metal pipe knocked the gun out of his hand and a second later, smashed into the side of his face. He hit the ground, crumpling to a defeated heap as his assailant began beating on him with the improvised weapon.

Weiyuan heard himself being rescued, though maybe he shouldn’t jump to conclusions too quickly, before he saw it. The sound of the metal pipe striking the gun reached him, and then the sound of the pipe hitting the officer followed. Repeatedly.

He stuck his head around the corner of the dumpster and watched the individual go to town on the poor man. He found it strange that he felt any pity for him, but… there it was.

Perhaps it just felt too familiar.

He stood up, mouth opened to protest, but of course nothing came out. The next time the pipe swung, Weiyuan moved almost without thinking. A swirl of dust shot up, surrounding his hand, forming a thin, earthen barrier that lessened the impact as his hand closed around the pipe to stop their swing.

He froze for a moment. If they hadn’t seen him before, they sure as hell knew he was there now… and they might not be so happy about him stopping their beating. And, of course it wasn’t like he could just explain himself! Had they even known he was there at all? Had they been there to help him, or did they just really, really not like the police?

Realizing he was just standing there like an idiot with his hand wrapped around their pipe, he quickly let go and backed away, unsure of what to do now.

Both the stranger and the RSF officer turned to look at Weiyuan, one through cloudy eyes and the other through a curtain of his own blood. Suddenly, the man dropped the pipe and lunged at Weiyuan, arms and hands out in an attempt to grab his throat.

Weiyuan was lucky in a way that a fear of retaliation had been quite literally beaten into him at a young age. He was still surprised by the nature of the attack, but not that it came. There was clearly something wrong with this person. Realistically speaking, he and the officer were on totally opposing sides, but this strange person didn’t like either of them!

That and the glazed over look in their eyes. Were they on something? It hardly mattered. He just needed to get out here.

And yet he couldn’t do it. If he left, they might just go back to beating the RSF officer to death. Even if he told himself that wasn’t his problem, even if he told himself the officer had tried to kill him, it just wouldn’t sit right with him.

Fine then. He’d just have to make this quick.

He jumped back away from another lunge from the mindless individual clawing at him. He then set his feet and charged back toward them. Right before he impacted them, he called on the earth under his feet and as he pushed off, the earth under his foot jutted out, launching him forward even faster.

Like a human missile, he crashed into them, tackling them to the ground with his full weight. They clawed at him of course, but that worked for him – he wanted their arms. He reared back and caught their wrists before their hands could find his throat.

It was a chore, but he once again used his full weight to pin their arms to the ground… and then into it. As their wrists impacted the street, he used his bending to make the ground crumble and sink their hands into it, solidifying it again as he pulled his own hands free.

It was a trick Chae-Won had used against him again and again during training. It had been the perfect training tool, really. It was a trick that only worked on him so long as he couldn’t bend his way back out of it, so he’d been forced to get better in order to nullify it.

He’d never had enough time to master it, but he’d figured if everything else was coming easier than normal, then this would as well.

He then quickly turned around and grabbed their ankles, sinking those into the ground as well, leaving all four limbs trapped. It would suck for them for a while, but at least they weren’t exactly hidden. Someone would dig them out sooner or later. Hopefully they’d be less rabid by then.

That just left the beaten and bloodied officer.

Dammit. He still couldn’t just leave. He took a breath and steeled himself to just do it and get this over with. Without any more hesitation, he went over to them and grabbed him under his arms, hauling him toward the dumpster. The bastard was heavy, or maybe he was just too small compared to him for it to be easy. With one last haul, suddenly it became too easy as the dirt and pebbles under the man suddenly came with them, allowing the man to slide across the ground as if on wheels.

BONG The back of Weiyuan’s head hit the side of the dumpster as all resistance suddenly disappeared. Fortunately his own body cushioned the impact for the battered officer. With one last heave, he pulled himself out from under the man and propped him up against the dumpster.

He rubbed his head sorely and then scanned the ground around him, finally spotting the man’s fallen gun. He picked it up and just stared at it for a moment… before depositing it on the officer’s lap, paying he’d either be too out of it, or too grateful to use it against him, but he’d need it if more strange, rabid people showed up.

That or he’d just pass out and none of this would matter.

Either way, Weiyuan knew he’d already been pushing his luck by staying in the street. All around him, in the neighboring streets, he could hear the commotion of countless other people dealing with the same shit he was. He was also vaguely cognizant of the fact that the officer had called for back-up. Yeah, it was definitely time to go, but not without Chae-Won.

He eyed the officer warily as he backed away, putting the dumpster between him and the man once more. Once safe, relatively speaking, he quickly looked around and saw the soup kitchen, door ajar and windows shattered. Was… that where he’d come from? Ugh, Chae-Won had never actually told him where she was going to take the other him today!
Congrats to those who got in and Good luck with the RP!

Update. 08.07.22.08:36
- Cosmetic addition to her 'heat vision'. Irises flicker bright
  orange when in use.
Update. 09.14.22.22:18
- Added 'fame' and 'traits sections.
Update. 09.22.22.19:33
- Wave, vortex and projectile added to 'force' section. 'fame'
  section edited.
© 2007-2026
BBCode Cheatsheet