FamishedPants

Re: Zero: The High Council

---

Being isolated from the others, Alistair had absolutely no way of knowing he'd suddenly find himself on his back. It happened with a small thud, the pain nothing serious, but it wasn't pleasant, either. He growled in anger, quickly jumping to his feet before he noticed himself now in scenery that was nothing like the tavern he was just occupying. In fact, it looked just like a certain void he'd been to before. Only this time, it wasn't mostly empty. There was a lot of faces, and they were familiar.

"You guys, what the hell happened this time?" he demanded out of the others, though they all more or less seemed shaken up. This was not normal, as far as their curse went. They were supposed to return to that 'checkpoint' of sorts, not to some abyss. He was worried something irreversible might've happened, and as he later would learn, that was probably correct.

”She actually did it?” a mysterious voice rang out. ”I guess we all wanted them out of that situation. So long as I don't take the blame for it, this is acceptable.” it belonged to some woman Alistair couldn't recognize, who held a flute. But before Alistair could ask who she was, another person, this time a girl who seemed to be fair, spoke.

”Figures you'd say something like that, Greed! But this is bad! This breaks the deal we had with Talus!”

The second she mentioned Talus' name, no, even before that, Alistair had instinctively known who they were. After all, he'd just been made aware of their existence thanks to the woman in the tavern. These girls had to be those 'artificial witches' he was told about, that were watching the group. He couldn't let his guard down around these beings.

"Oh." a new, doll-like woman said as she closed the distance between herself and Alistair. He wasn't entirely sure what the deal with the transparent hands were, but he didn't like them, that much was certain. They had to be magical in some way. ”Hello, Alistair. I, really, like, how, you, achieve, your, goals. I, wish, I, could, work, that, hard, at, anything. But, I, lack, the, ambition, to, do, so.”

"That's nice to know."

Alistair acknowledged her 'compliment', but he did not seem especially happy to receive it. The way she seemed to struggle to put effort into the act of speaking rubbed him the wrong way. Alistair Archibald respected those who worked hard to achieve things in life, so it should come as no surprise that he loathed people who did the opposite. To make things worse, this woman was touching him without his consent, and he wasn't in a playful mood.

”So, smooth. Better, than, I, thought!” she claimed.

The normal reaction from him here would've been to slap her hand away and then yell at her to keep her hands to herself, but consider what she was, Alistair restrained himself. He made no movements, but instead spoke in a calm voice. "Glad to have exceeded expecations."

What followed was the introduction to yet more of these witches, and it appeared the one who became a little too touchy-feely with him was named Sloth. Considering he'd heard one be called Greed moments earlier, he figured they'd all been named after a sin. What did surprise him was that it was Sloth taking notice of him and not Pride. He wasn't oblivious to his own defining character trait.

Alistair... silently listened to these people interact. But it was difficult. He couldn't say he was enjoying how attached to him Sloth seemed to be. He was beginning to worry those hands would find themselves in places they shouldn't, and if that were the case, he'd remain quiet no more. Somehow, though, he perservered through until Talus had made an appearance. Any ire he had towards Sloth was sucked away as Alistair focused on the black being.

”Whoa guys!” Lord Talus said while waving his arms around. ”Don't talk about her when she's not here! Plus I think not referring to her by name is really pissing off anyone here who doesn't know who she is! Also I'm Lord Talus, gotta work a name drop in there so that nobody forgets me during my first appearance.” Alistair wasn't sure why he said that. His first appearance? ”Hah! Alright girls but seriously, do you remember the rules we set up? I know there were a lot of them, but do you remember the first two?”

Alistair noted that strange line from Talus, and then took in all the information they dumped upon the group. From what he gathered, they were treating this like some sort of game, and the 'rules' they'd agreed upon prevented them from actively interefering with Alistair and the others, at least too often. Because when they did, their checkpoint was moved, and the 'sentinel' was changed. At least this sort of information was being passed to them so they could understand what sort of predicament they were in and how best to approach situations. But it seemed as though something serious happened to the other group while Alistair was away.

He now noticed that a few of the group were missing, particularly Hiro and Aerith, the former being spoke about between the witches and Talus. His deduction led him to believe that they had died, but this time, they might not be returning. What the hell had happened to the others? Flame's plead was nothing more than confirmation this was true.

How bad did they screw up? I'd just gotten some insight on our situation, too!

Talus glanced at both him and Chieko before speaking, ”But yes, here's all the people who wanted to see you. You two should be excited!”

Alistair couldn't say he was too excited to meet these witches, because he found it hard to believe that he'd be put through all of that for a reason he would say is 'good'. To die repeatedly, to suffer humiliating deaths because of these individuals... no nothing favorable could ever come from it.

"You really kept me waiting, huh?" he remembered his conversation with Talus when they first met. At this point, it felt like it had been seven months since they'd spoke. In reality, it was nowhere near that long. But time only flew when you were having fun, and death wasn't very entertaining, at least when it was you it was happening to.

Archibald's attention shifted back to Sloth, who hadn't let up since she began feeling him up. She'd asked him to let her know if it was 'too much' but by this point he didn't even care anymore. "No doubt you've been anticipating this for a while now. I won't stop you." he told Sloth. "But I will ask what the point of this 'game' is exactly. One of you mentioned sharing a love for all of us, but I can't say playing with our lives is doing much to make the feeling mutual." he asked Sloth, though this could've just as well been to any of them.

Not that I particularly believe in their love.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

E m i l y

"Thank god I found that pawn shop finally."

Lucifer

Dissatisfied. Emily, or rather Lucifer, had been hard-pressed to forgive herself for being absent in the face of such a huge enemy weeks back. She'd come to learn that in the stadium, a monster of giant size had formed and caused a havoc around the area. Thankfully, other magical girls had shown up and dealt with the situation, but it made Lucifer feel no less guilty of being useless. Her one goal in life was to protect and serve innocents, and being a no-show at such an imperative time was unforgivable in her eyes.

Back then, she'd caught wind of, in comparison, small fry that she immediately set out to deal with. And it was only after the situation had calmed down did she learn about it. Perhaps this was the price to pay for having a 'patron' who treated her no better than dirt. It was frustrating, but she couldn't do anything about it now. And over the past few weeks, she'd been doing her best to pay the people back. She occupied her free time mainly with volunteer work, and had now become friendly with a few normal people.

Of course, there was nothing to say about her fellow magical girls. As usual, she tried to avoid contact with them, for their sake. Had any heard the nasty rumors surrounding her, they might, out of a sense of justice or the urge to fight, challenge her. And then what? What comes out of a fight between magical girls? Nothing productive, that was for sure. The true enemies were those who would damage and harm innocents, and.... -- no, there was no "and". She couldn't think that way anymore.

"...I think that's clean enough. I hope they are happy."

Emily had just finished cleaning the outside of the pawn shop she had found soon after her arrival. Needless to say, one of the people she'd made friends with was the owner of this particular establishment. He helped her get her hands on something that she wouldn't have normally obtained otherwise, so it was the least she could do. But now that she was done, at least for now, she supposed she should be on her way.

It was when she had decided this that a voice rang out across all of Penrose.

‘Magical denizens of Penrose!’

‘I am Cindy Ford, champion of the Thunderbird. I hereby designate myself as the ruler of this city.’

‘If you wish to contest my claim, then face me in combat. In absence of such, I will assume rule has been deferred to me.’

‘As ruler, I will hold sway of how this city is run. I will wish to know who lives in my city, and be quick to rally those I need in times of peril. If you cause trouble in my city, then it will be within my right to banish you from these lands, with punishment should you return.’

‘If you wish to support me, then I welcome you to contact me. Standing atop Penrose Town Hall will be seen as seeking an audience with me. Those who join me will be under my protection, and I shall wreak havoc upon those who threaten my vassals.’

‘I do not intend to interfere in the lives of Magical Girls. Your personal goals and lives are your own. Live as you have, it is your city. However, I require you to acknowledge that I am your ruler, and act accordingly when I appear before you or demand something of you.’

‘That is all.’

It did not take even a second for Emily to register a bad feeling in her gut. It took a lot of courage, or a strong lack of mental capacity, to announce something as bold as becoming 'ruler of the city', and this mysterious person had done just that. But what was the point of being a 'ruler' if she wasn't going to do anything except ask to be acknowledged? Was that just vanity? Or was she lying? Emily couldn't ascertain the truth by simply thinking about it. If she wanted to know, which given how bold and strange that declaration was, she did, then she would have to meet this person.

The problem with this was that she did not intend to bow down to any other magical girl. And that had a good chance of leading to something violent, if this person wasn't happy with her answer. Or the questions she may ask. Emily did not wish to engage in a battle with another girl, that much was certain, but that kind of declaration could not be ignored, even by her. So she would take the risk.

Emily found the first hidden spot available, and transformed into her magical girl form. Her immodest clothing and strong personality now laid out for all to see. Wasting no time, Lucifer used her magic to propel herself through the air, soon landing atop of Penrose Town Hall. "Speak up, Cindy Ford." she demanded. "State your intentions. 'Ruler of the city'? What are you trying to start?"

Re: Zero: The High Council

with Captain Crunch and Sandra Photos

---

Alistair was pretty much dragged into a pub without much time to prepare. Not that he had anything else to change into anyhow. ”I hope you don't mind, but it's kind of a double date.” Despite how excited Crush seemed just moments ago, she was back to her more stern, serious self. Though it was clear this was very much something she wanted to be doing. ”Now, I don't mind paying your way here. But we're dealing with people of a very high caliber. Sandra Photos heads the compass, which is a special military division. It's been very successful, and you'll soon see she's the no-nonsense sort. Charlotte Walter is a highly decorated war hero who never lost in battle. So just keep that in mind. It is a casual gathering though, so you don't have to be super up tight.” Crunch stroked her chin. ”What is your occupation anyway?”

If anything, Alistair seemed amused by the sudden change in demeanor Crunch exhibited. A strong-willed, beautiful woman who could enjoy herself is the initial impression Alistair had gotten from Crunch. And to him, those were all very desirable traits. Now if only he wasn't sharing their time together.

Considering his... less than perfect appearance due to events that had taken place prior, he certainly wished he had some extra time to tidy up. He did his best to brush dirt off of his coat as they entered the pub, but that was no substitute for a legitimate cleaning. His expression did betray his feelings about this, though paying close attention to what Crunch was saying, it soon returned to normal. "I do appreciate it." he told Crunch as she mentioned spotting him for this date. Being well financially was something Alistair was used to, given his family, but he imagined a Discover had little use here. As Crunch continued and then spoke of the people who would be joining them, Alistair nodded. "I see." it wasn't surprising that as a captain, Crunch would have friends or acquaintances that were of a higher standing in society. He had learned to loathe such people normally, but as they were military in nature, he felt they might not grind on him so much.

"Occupation?" he repeated, thinking to himself for a moment. He'd had a lot of smaller jobs over the years because he had a habit of quitting them once they became boring to him. But that's to be expected when the only incentive he had to even hold one was because he wanted to experience something interesting. "At the moment, I haven't found something I fancy enough to commit to".

”Well, let's hope they don't ask too many questions about your occupation then.” Crunch opened the door to the tavern. While Crunch spoke very highly of the people they were dining with, there was not much to say about the establishment. The place looked something akin to what could only be described as the fantasy version of a “cat cafe.” All of the serving staff were feline demi-humans, and there were a few cats walking around the joint as well. There was very little in the way of decoration. Aside from a few cat banners, there was little separating this from a regular tavern. ”I thought Sandra hated demi-humans. It's odd that they would choose to dine here.” Before long, they could hear a woman in the back raise her voice.

”I'm Just going to say it Lotte, this is a disaster!”

”Oh, that makes a bit more sense.” Crush and Alistair made a bee line for the back most tables, where the woman's voice continued to get louder. At the very back were the only other two humans in the joint. One appeared to be a knight that hadn't changed out of his armor, and the other was a fiery woman. who had taken the time to dress up for the occasion. She wore a red dress and accessorized herself with gilded jewelry. And an emerald pendant. ”Sorry to change plans again, but a stand in for my date showed up.”

Sandra eyed the two newly arrived. ”Must have been pretty short notice. You're late and not even dressed for the occasion! Am I the only one who pays attention to these things!?”

Crunch folded her arms. ”It is as you say, this was kind of a last minute thing. If you'd prefer, I can leave.”

Sandra grumbled through her lips. ”Sure, it's better than eating alone with this air head.” Charlotte didn't have a lot to say. His head was tipped back and he looked dead to the world. Had he been overworked? ”Take a seat.” Once Alistair and Crunch had a seat, Sandra scanned them with her eyes. ”Alright, so, who are you? What makes you so special?”

Alistair had witnessed many highs and lows in his lifetime already, and that included the establishments he had visited. If he said this tavern was the worst joint he'd been taken to for a date, he would certainly be lying. That said, it would not be wrong to say he was expecting something... a tad classier, given how important the people partaking in this date sounded. In the end, however, that was of little important, he figured, so he remained quiet on the subject.

As for the abundance of demi-humans, they intrigued Alistair, to be sure. It seemed they were something tolerated around here, not welcomed. Had Alistair been introduced to this world in a much less violent way, learning about these being might've been something he pursued. Alas...

"You friends, I presume?"

Crunch's response to the raised voice was entertaining. Rather than surprise, she seemed used to it. Were these people prone to outbursts? Hopefully they weren't insufferable like the kinds back home. The Archibald decided it best to follow Crunch and wait to see.

When they came upon the only other two humans in the establishment, Alistair remained quiet as they took a seat and allowed the others to interact. He listened quietly, until the girl in the red dress turned to him. "I am Alistair Archibald, a pleasure to meet you," he introduced himself rather politely. His expression was much more relaxed than it had ever been since coming to this world. Perhaps because this situation was closest to something he was familiar with. "As for what makes me special," he then turned to Crunch, his features now seemingly asking the woman if he should mention his predicament to these two.

Crunch nodded. Sandra seemed to notice this, if her eyebrows are anything to go by. ”Yes, Mr Archibald?” She folded her hands under her chin.

Turning back to Sandra, Alistair continued, "I've died countless times"

Alistair thought about how fun a conversation based around this curse of his might be. Though it required both the physical ability to speak about it, and the assumption that people wouldn't just call him crazy. Regretfully, neither of these things were possible right now, so that remained in his mind and nowhere else.

Instead, Archibald actually continued with, "While there's other things that make me 'special', I'm certain you may be intrigued to hear I'm a foreigner who comes from a land where the very existence of magic is considered naught but fiction, as it seems that it has become somewhat commonplace here."

Sandra narrowed her eyes. ”Are you...” Her words trailed off. The situation was already pretty awkward, so Sandra just staring at Alistair wasn't much cause for alarm. Then she pushed herself away from the table and stood up. ”Alright, while we wait to be served, maybe we could dance a bit. We're also swapping partners.”

Crunch raised her brow. ”You typically start with your own parter first though, right?”

”Are you telling me you don't want to dance with our legendary hero? ” She pointed at Lotte, who seemed to be drooling a bit now. ”Come on Alistair, stand up.” She extended her hand.

"...Alright."

Alistair took her hand, but it was clear he wasn't sure why she'd suddenly gotten the urge to dance. Something was off about this situation, and it was probably the fact that there wasn't music to dance to. And while normally Alistair would've simply declined due to the absurdity of this situation, he was unaccustomed to the culture of these people, and it may have been disrespectful to Sandra, and by extension, Crunch. He did manage to shoot Crunch a confused look.

”I want him back when... The song's over.” Crunch looked ahead at Lotte. ”Did you want to-” He slumped down in his seat until his head sunk below the table. Crunch was only able to sigh.

Sandra hummed a tune to herself while dancing around the “catopia.” The demis were already taking a lot of interest in the only humans in the joint, but this was really getting everyone's eyes on them. Alistair noticed that they were being danced towards the “inn” side of the tavern. As Sandra passed by the front counter, she dropped a few coins down without saying anything before dancing towards the rooms. ”You've danced before huh? ” Her smile was starting to fade. ”You're not great at it, but you haven't stepped on my toes yet.”

Being the center of attention was nothing new to Alistair, so he kept his focus mostly on the girl before him. He took notice of their direction, but for the time being, her exact intentions were unknown to him. The newfound pessimist in him told him to be on his guard. Yet, as it was supposed to be a date and dates were to be 'fun', he tried pushing negative thoughts to the back of his mind.

"I did take classes when I was younger, but it seems my edge has gone dull in that regard. Haven't had many opportunities to do so in recent years." he explained. As the dance went on, his movements seemed more fluid. "But I obviously can't say the same about you. Is this hobby of yours?" he asked.

Sandra blushed, if only slightly. ”We- Ah- Imea-” She cleared her throat. ”I've just had a lot of time to practice. Girls are suppose to be good at this sort of stuff.” After guiding Alistair into one of the rooms, she released his hands and shut the door behind herself. Sandra gave a nod before turning around to face Alistair.”So how many times has it happened now? This is the sixth attempt, isn't it?” She tapped her foot on the ground. ”Right, you normally can't talk to people about it. You'll kinda choke up, and if you force past it, it'll kill whoever you're talking to. But that won't happen to me.”

"I...err"

For once in his life, Alistair found himself at a loss for words. He'd expected either something really good or really bad to happen when he entered this room. But Sandra just hit him with something that may be either one. It took him a minute to regain his composure, and then Alistair finally spoke, and did so with a stern tone.

"...be very clear with me. What are you speaking about, exactly?" he demanded.

Sandra placed a hand on her chest. ”Do I really have to spell it out for you?” She folded her arms. ”You have a power, but you don't know it's name. And if you try to talk to other about it, you get nervous.” She somehow fret her brow even more. ”Does any of this sound familiar?” She squeezed her eyes shut. ”Does the name Lord Talus ring any bells?!”

"Talus..." he pushed the name out of his mouth successfully.

So she was someone related in some way to this incident of theirs. Speaking that name, it was impossible that she was referring to anything other than this curse that plagued him and the others. Surprising, to say the least. But what was her role in all of this, he wondered. "Yes, yes it does. The 'man' that brought me here was named Talus." he admitted, the feeling of the word quite foreign to his mouth.

He still wasn't sure if she was a friend or foe, so he kept his eyes on her. "How do you know all of this? Were you brought here as well?" he asked her. His tone was ripe with suspicion, though oddly enough it was much less harsh than before.

”I do have to be careful what I tell you. We don't have a lot of time, and it's probably safer for you if you don't know what I am. Things have been set up so that you remain ignorant for as long as possible.” She glanced off to the side before returning her eyes to Alistair. ”There were once nine witches of sin. A long time ago, the witch of envy killed all of her competition before she was sealed away. You probably heard a few people talking about witches. They were probably talking about the witches of sin.” Sandra groaned. ”There are also witch cults. They are lead by archbishops who can use the ancient magic of witches. Certain individuals can use these dark arts, but... You know what? Go to a library and get a book discussing authorities. We have more important things to cover.” She took a few steps towards Alistair. ”There is a witch cult call the high council. Unlike most other cults, they are obsessed with creating artificial witches of sin. It's a project as insane as creating your own gods so that you can worship them. Yet they succeeded.” Sandra took hold of her wrist. ”The artificial witches, They are watching you. All of you.” She growled. ”I wish I knew what his role in all of this was! But moving on, the world does not like the Witches. They are akin to demons, and Od Laguna is something of a god. I believe those concepts hold up in your old world, correct?” She was starting to speak faster. ”Some of you must be vanishing because of Od Laguna. Somehow she knows the witches want you here, but I don't know where she's sending you.”

Despite being hit with quite the infodump, Alistair did what he could to ensure everything she just said remained in his memory. There was quite a bit to take in, and he now had so many questions. But for now, it did not seem like they had the luxury of time. He would try to ask what he could. "Then would the people that have been attacking us be part of this 'High Council' you speak of? If that's true, and if their 'artificial witches' desire us for something, why have they been attacking us? What purpose could that possibly serve?"

”I don't really know what's killing you, so I don’t know. But if you've run into problems, Lord Talus likely set things up that way.” Sandra placed a hand on Alistair's cheek.”Maybe we can talk again in the future. But the new witches are watching us, so it's best we end things for now.” Sandra Took her hand off of Alistair and sharply drew her palm across his face. ”And maybe learn to keep your hands to yourself, ya filthy animal!” Sandra stormed out the door to the room. ”Men have NO shame, even foreigners!” A few seconds later, Crush walked into the room and looked at Alistair, who now had a big red hand print on the side of his face. Crunch just sighed and leaned up against the frame of the door.

Alistair normally wouldn't take kindly to being slapped when he hadn't done anything wrong, but if that was the price for information he was severely in need of, then he supposed he could let it slide. He raised his hand to his cheek and rubbed it as Crunch appeared at the doorway. He glanced up at her, giving her a strained smile.

"Don't suppose you enjoyed your dance as much as I did?"

Alistair Archibald wasn't one to place complete trust in a stranger's words, especially not when his life was being targeted by unknown threats. But it was hard to dismiss everything she said as nonsense. Normally, he would not be able to speak that being's name. And she even knew about their Back Because of Die skill/curse, or whatever they decided to name it. She was without a doubt connected, but it was equally possible she was with the people who wanted them dead. That said, she seemed to want to keep things to herself. And this made Alistair trust her words more than if she'd spilled everything out to him.

She could even be some sort of neutral party, for all he truly knew.

Suppose I'll learn more if we get a chance to actually speak once more. For now, if these witches really are keeping an eye on us, then it's best to play the fool and go back to the date. I'd kill to eat right now.

Sleight at the Museum

Chadley Caulk

Chadley Caulk

"No, you're mistaken. Chadford was my father"

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Species: Human

Personality: Chadley is a man with a large amount of confidence in his swift hands and his lower than average intellect, to the point he's sure it'll see him through any and all scenarios he might encounter. That said, he is still a relatively affable person who is hard to hate, although extended interactions with him will lead many to the conclusion that there are a few screws loose in his head.

He expresses little remorse for his actions and considers anything stolen to be an object earned. If people did not want it stolen, they should've kept it locked up tighter, in his opinion. In almost a childish way, he treats things like a competition. A lot of the time, he doesn't even care all that much about the reward so long as the challenge is there, and of course he'll be there to take the gold if there is more than just himself at the job. That all said, he does need to eat so nobody should look for handouts.

Chadley expresses nothing but respect for his late father, whom seems to be a rather disappointing individual if the stories Chadley tells are anything to go by. In fact, Chadley's treasured getup (the costume of the main character in "The Dragon") is not even something his father wore, despite how much he treasures it. But he can tell you the exact second in the scene that his father appears, and can rant about how much 'Guy in suit on street #3' adds to the overall tone of the film.

So yeah, he's a mostly normal guy until he talks about his dad, then kinda watch out I guess.

History: The son of a moderately popular actor who starred in many a gangster movie back in the day, many might assume that Chadley would have lived a wealthy life. But the truth of the matter is that his father was only ever able to reliably get roles as an extra, or occasionally the main role in some indie film that paid next to nothing. And thus he was forced to take on acting job after acting job because, as it turns out, Chadley's father was horrible at everything that wasn't acting, and also quite lazy.

Still, that does not keep Chadley from fondly remembering his father.

When he was nearly 12, a poor Chadley lost his father due to illness and was looked after by his uncle, who may as well not even have not even taken him in. Oftentimes left starving for nights on end while this man would go out drinking, Chadley's life seemed to have hit rock bottom. That is until he met the children who would later become his closest friends.

Riffraff, street rats, scoundrels... they were called many names, but these kids had managed to survive harsh conditions. And once they had learned that Chadley wasn't a viable target, they instead took pity on him and let him join their little gang. It was from here he learned the basics of his craft - who to look out for, how to pickpocket, how to defend oneself in a pinch, and of course, which sales to keep an eye out for. All stuff any child lacking proper parental supervision should learn.

But, as it turns out, rather than acting, Caulk had an affinity for stealing. In only a short while, he became perhaps the best among them at nabbing coin, and it was all thanks to his especially swift hands. "Thunder" was what they called him. Because you've already been hit by the time you even realize it. Or something. Kids who didn't finish school aren't all that smart, and one of them already had the nickname "lightning" so they all just kinda settled on that.

It was thanks to these children and his proficiency with his hands that he was allowed to survive until he became an adult. Eventually opportunities came to him that gave him a chance to become a well-functioning adult with a job and an education. He tried those and... well, they really didn't appeal all that much to him. He put his whole being into living a respectable life, but nothing really clicked for him in the same way stealing did. So, despite owning part-time job, he went back into thievery. And since it wasn't just to survive now, he found himself taking bigger risks. No longer was it just pockets and wallets, but actual honest to goodness thievery. Homes weren't safe from him, vehicles weren't safe for him. And if a parent wasn't being attentitive? Neither was a baby's candy.

And with the fastest hands in whatever side of the continent he was in, people throughout the underground soon knew his name. Well, his nickname. Stealing had become his true calling, and he has come a long way since picking pockets (he still does that though xD). He felt that maybe if things continued to go as smoothly for him, that he could one day become a "nationally renowned thief legend" or the like.

Stats

Strength: 10

Dexterity: 20

Constitution: 10

Intelligence: 5

Charisma: 10

Magical Potential: 5

Skills:

Sleight of Hand Pro - Many dislike it, but when it comes to trickery involving dexterity, Chadley is the standard for peak performance.

Acting - Surpassing his father's skill, Chadley acting ability is... above average. He isn't winning any awards.

BFT - Can hold his own in a fight through utilization of blunt objects or his fists.

Pulls it off - Much like the bald-headed gun-for-hire in those gosh darned hitman video games, he can don any reasonable disguise without complication.

Equipment:

A switchblade, his wallet, a phone, a screwdriver, and wire cutters. Wears gloves, as well. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Artifact: Eye of Discerning Truth ---

An artifact that holds power once unthought of. Utilizing it, one could immediately identify an object's worth at a moments. However, the snag is that it is too ancient. Ancient enough that currency hadn't existed during its conception, and therefore it uses a barter system. Because of this, it's hard to get anything useful out of it. It takes the form of an eyepatch.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

S i l h o u e t t e

"This is actually a collab I'm still just lazy"

Silhouette

Betty blinked at Sillouette's response. ”Better? I saw you on TV, and I thought you were amazing!” She fidgeted with her seat belt. ”I'm not sure if I could have handled a situation like that. There was a lot going on. I probably would have just panicked.” She looked to Veronica. ”So do you always personally pick up your operatives?”

“Only if they're still useful to me.” Veronica did not look away from the the road while she talked. “So how did it feel, Sam? You looked like you were enjoying yourself, but your actions were... sloppy.”

Sil was almost taken aback by Betty's remark, but avoided showing it. It took her a moment to realize that to anybody watching her, she appeared as though she was having a blast, when in reality she was suffering the entire time.

The people weren't watching her, after all.

"I see."

Silhouette allowed Veronica to speak, and felt a small bit of relief upon Veronica implying she was still of use to her. She didn't actually doubt her own use to Veronica, even now, but for some reason those words provided some comfort. So in response, Sam did her best to speak objectively on a matter that, unlike many others, urged her to be subjective. "I did experience a noticeable increase in ability." she began. "In that regard, the 'steroid' most certainly did its job, however..."

She took a breath in, then spoke calmly.

"...however, it has a side effect that cannot be ignored. It seems to trigger a reaction with... well, the corruption a dark magical girl like myself has, and amplifies it. Going off of what the new girl said, I was enjoying myself. Given our history, I'm sure you can imagine the cause for that.

The girl you saw down there was sloppy because she most definitely was not myself."

“Seems there are some bruises on the fruit Chloe offered us.” Veronica's eyes moved onto Silhouette through the rear view mirror. “Perhaps at a later date, you'll have to see if that was a known side effect or not. Such a device isn't especially useful if one loses their sense of self.”

Chloe...

"Perhaps."

Silhouette's countenance remained stoic as she gave her one-word reply.

...if she intentionally withheld such information, I will ensure she regrets it.

“But that can wait for now. As you and Eliza are aware, the Mint has been behaving strangely as of late.” The coin broker parked her car beside the road. It was possible to still see the evacuation in the distance. “I cannot confirm if it is just a particular branch or the entire organization. What I do know is that I need to surround myself with people I can trust.” Veronica turned in her seat and looked directly at Silhouette. “To this end, I have decided to create my own organization. Or perhaps it is more correct to say I have decided to open recruitment again.” She pulled a folder out of her jacket and opened it in front of Sil. “All you need to do is sign this contract. It simply states that you will serve me to the best of your ability, and I will always know where you are. Though you are free to look over it yourself if you wish.”

Up until this point in her life, Samantha had never really felt like she could wholeheartedly trust someone and she didn't expect others to trust her beyond an extent. She mostly trusted that the people who hired her would give her accurate information pertaining to targets, and they could trust she'd get the job done. But the trust Veronica desired was the kind that arose from loyalty. A trust rising from a relationship a bit deeper and more complex than employer and employee. A form she had never once experienced herself.

It had never mattered to her whom hired her. So long as they could pay her when she was done, then she was fine. And if someone else ever decided to pay her to remove a former employer? It was merely a form of business to her, so she held no personal attachments that would hinder her ability to execute the task kid.

But this was different.

Silhouette did read the document. Veronica did not lie. Signing this document, it would allow her to always be keen on Silhouette's position, as well as other information Sil would prefer not to expose to others. At least, if the one asking wasn't Veronica. It had become more and more obvious over the past year. There was something strange, something foreign that Sil felt for Veronica. She wasn't sure yet exactly what it was, but she could say it was positive, even if there was a lot to fear from the senior magical girl.

This was most certainly a risk. She knew a one-sided relationship was easily abusable. She was aware that she could be being intentionally misled by Veronica, and it could turn out devastating for Sil, for Samantha. But more than that... she felt that there was the chance she could wholeheartedly put trust in her emp--... her.... in Veronica, whatever she was to Sil. And while this was an odd, unique thing for Samantha to feel, given her experiences with the magical world in general...

...that might not be a bad thing.

"I've never felt any attachment to the Mint, as surprising as that might sound. I'm merely indebted to them, and if anything, its potential demise would only benefit me. A dead debt collector can't collect, now can it?" there was a small pause before she continued. "But if it is in service to you, Veronica, then I suppose I don't mind."

A moment or two passed before Silhouette awkwardly spoke up.

"...Is it some form of verbal contract? It seems different than what I'm used to."

“Verbal?” Veronica smiled before swiftly transforming into a magical girl. “Not quite.” She turned opaque and phased through the driver's seat. Her body didn’t move, but seemed to just float into the back seat with Sil before her color came back. “Now, it's very important that I confirm this with you, as there's no going back on a contract like this. You're really okay giving yourself to me like this?” Veronica bit her lower lip in anticipation.

Silhouette almost seemed annoyed by Veronica's statement. "Yes, I'm sure. Like I just said, it would only benefit me if something were to happen to the Ebon Mint. Involving myself beyond what is required of me is not something I would do if I weren't sure I wanted it." She looked Veronica in the eyes with a rather powerful, unflinching stare. One filled with determination. It should have been very clear she was quite serious. "What I said remains. I will sign this contract because I wish to be of use to you, and that's something I'm absolutely sure about."

In response, Veronica swiftly rolled into Sil's lap, with her a knee on either side of her legs. The magical girl assassin wasn't given enough time to react before Veronica's hands came down upon her shoulders and forced them to lock eyes. Sil was unsure of Veronica's intentions and had begun to open her mouth to voice her confusion when suddenly the ebon vampire voiced a single command.

“Don't resist.”

Silhouette paused long enough for Veronica to slide her arms behind Sil's back and constrict like a snake, pulling the two girls close together. With their bodies in such close proximity, Samantha had begun to feel not just confused, but quite uncomfortable.

What is she doing?

Samantha was incapable of drawing a logical conclusion based on Veronica's actions. Why did they need to be so close? Close enough to feel each other's body heat, close enough to take in each other's scent? She never got this close to someone unless she wished to eliminate them, but Sam didn't think it was that. So, then, what?

Thankfully, she didn't need to wait long.

Sam felt a sharp pain in her back that had caught her unawares. Her response was to open her mouth to let out a hiss, but Veronica matched lips with Sam in that same moment. At this point, Sam's eyes shot open in complete surprise at where the situation had wound up, but slowly she relaxed into almost a trance-like state as her employer violated her mouth with her tongue. Eventually, their tongues met and after Veronica wrestled Sam's tongue into her own mouth, she bit down hard enough to draw blood, though Sam's relaxed expression didn't change a bit.

Having acquired the blood she needed for the contract, Veronica rolled off of Sil, still smiling, and licked the contract with her blood-stained tongue.

“Ahhhh...” Veronica's cheeks were glowing a bright red, and her breath was hot enough that you could see it. “You did good Sam. I'll explain the rest to you later.” Her eye lids fluttered shut.

Samantha was quite clearly in a daze, her face as red as a beet and her eyes unfocused. She only barely managed to reply to Veronica with a soft, "U-Understood..."

Betty had had her hands up in front of her face, but her fingers were spread enough so that she could look through them. ”Oh man!” She swallowed. ”She did the same thing to you too huh?”

Feeling a plethora of different emotions at the current moment, particularly embarrassment, Samantha couldn't even give a response to Betty, instead shyly turning away from the girl, her face still noticeably crimson.

“Sam.” Veronica's voice caught Sil off guard, mostly because it was coming from the front seat. It seemed that she had returned to the front of the car and was dressed up as a police officer again. There was no sign of the unusual behavior she had just demonstrated.“In order to maintain everyone's cover, you need to escape from our custody before we get to the police station.” She adjusted her hat and looked forward. “That is your first objective as a member of crimson cradle.” Veronica pulled onto the road again and slowly caught up to speed with traffic.

While she understood and accepted her new orders without hesitation, it was still difficult to voice such as she hadn't yet regained her composure. But so long as she knew what she needed to do, then that was enough. Locking eyes briefly for a moment with Veronica was indeed difficult right now, but persevering, she did so and nodded to her "new" employer.

Escaping the vehicle was nothing special. She had many approaches she could take, but perhaps as a sign of the new bond she had with Veronica, she went for the one that involved utilizing her darkness specialization. Sinking into the shadows inside the car, Silhouette followed them to the outside the vehicle and along the side opposite to the sun. When the opportunity presented itself, she leaped from the shadow onto the roof of a nearby vehicle, and then to the street, out of the way of incoming traffic.

Ignoring the angry shouts of the driver as she continued down the road, Silhouette held a hand up to her face.

Her cheeks were still warm.

Sleight at the Museum (Modern Fantasy, Thieves in a Magic Museum)

Don't forget me!

I am interested in this RP.

Beyond the Looking Glass: A CYOA Magical Girl Roleplay [Completed]

S i l h o u e t t e

"Kept ya waiting, huh?

Silhouette

Having sustained injuries at the hands of a threat many times her own size, Silhouette had never rejoined the fray. She remained absent from the fight, incapable of offering a helping hand to those engaged with the gargantuan abomination, and instead remained against the wall of the stadium, unmoving. Her unresponsive appearance was not unlike a machine that had lost all power, a puppet with its strings cut, or someone no longer amongst the living. But the truth was that she was far from deceased. Her wounds were not fatal, nor were they severe enough to prevent her from fighting. Physically, she was almost in top condition.

But the wound that had put Silhouette down was a mental one.

Silhouette had been in shock.

She had lost control.

She had lost herself.

Silhouette eyes held no light in them. Her lifeless pupils stared forwards, at nothing in particular.

There was nothing on her mind except the hard fact that she had allowed this being inside of her to violate her body and use it as it pleased, and her thoughts while it did so. Silhouette was entirely conscious the entire time her body had decided to go berserk, but no matter how hard she had tried, her will never reached her body. Only when she had been rocked by that monster did she finally 'wake up' from that nightmare, but by then she had suffered for what felt like an eternity, and the damage was done.

I... don't like this.

Silhouette watched through her own eyes as someone else chose a target to attack.

...I hate this.

She watched some amateur, some beast throw attacks using her own body.

...please, make it stop...!

Sil felt her heart beating quicker and quicker, to the point where she was sure it was going to explode. Ironically, being smacked around by the huge behemoth was what wound up calming her down enough to take herself back. Regretfully, she didn't feelt much better even then. She was still sweating bullets and found it impossible to work up the will to move from her position. She had frozen to the wall of the stadium, trying desperately not to admit to herself that what she just experienced had not only managed to scare her but had terrified her almost to the point of tears, which she was just barely able to hold back. This violation of her very being wasn't just a minor inconvenience to her, it was something she could never forget, even if she wanted to.

Veronica's appearance also did little to set her mind at ease. Rather, it had the opposite effect, as such a blunder was only capable by a complete amateur, Silhouette had previously been convinced. It did not help that through the possession, unpleasant memories of a similar event had been dug up. One that came about as a result of the use of the black coin. She eventually decided that thinking about it wasn't going to help her mental condition improve. In front of Veronica, she had to stop acting so pathetic, too. While she couldn't forget this, she could try to ignore it.

"I understand,"

Silhouette's voice was quite soft and she went along with the policewoman with no resistance and sluggish movements. The crestfallen Mint agent attempted to keep her stoic look about her as best she could while she spoke to the white-haired girl who greeted her. "A pleasure to meet you, I suppose." she returned the greeting in the quiet voice that was probably difficult to hear. It wasn't intentional, however, and after clearing her throat, she tried moving past it.

"Today... should have gone a lot better."

Midnight Sun: Original Thread

@Euphonium

Re: Zero: The High Council

and I guess Quill and Donovan

---

Alistair tried flashing a smile back to Aki, but stopped halfway when he realized his mood did not allow for such things. He wasn’t angry so much as he was curious right now, and wasting time on such pointless things was counterproductive to what he wished to achieve.

But I still have more I wish to say.

Alistair did not seem too keen on letting the woman depart before prying information out of her, now more than ever after seeing her cloaked form. Unfortunately, he couldn’t exactly call her out on trying to kill them last time, but it did reinforce the idea that he needed to interrogate her somehow, even if it potentially cost him yet another life. But as long as he had this power and curse, he would gleefully take another death than stick around in the same day for an eternity.

Information, any at all, would be worth it.

So, the arrogant man attempted to follow Quill out of the clinic, but a certain commotion with the candles directed liquid candle towards his target. Alistair quickly decided to call out to Quill, though it may not have even been necessary given her current attire. “Hot stuff, coming your way!”

The candle probably wouldn't have caused much damage, given that quill was wearing a heavy cloak now. But Alistair's words caused Quill to turn around just in time for the wax projectile to fly into the front of her garb, hitting her square in the chest. “Gah!” Quill tried to brush off as much of the burning wax as possible. “Water! Water!”

”Quill!” Donovan didn't hesitate for a second, and blasted the front of her body with a modest amount of water. ”Are you alright?”

Quill had a few red spots on her chest where the wax had agitated the skin, but she seemed to be fine. Save for the fact that she was chuckling historically. “Well I'll be.” She turned to look at Chieko. “We suspected Hiro and Aerith were clairvoyants, but to think that you also possessed such an ability...” She lifted a hand to the side of her face. “That's why you attacked me, isn't it? You knew I was going to slip away and attack your friends. Well the good news is that you just bought your friends some time. The bad news is...” Her reinforced cudgel slid out of her sleeve, and Quill gripped it firmly in her hand. “...Your time just got a lot shorter.”

Donovan extended his hands. ”Ya lost ya mind girl!”

“Oh shut up you cunt! I never much cared how you cowered around the humans. What happened to the pride of giants?” she looked squarely at the Asian girl. “Maybe I won't kill you, depending on how useful you are. It's very possible this whole thing with the candle was just a misunderstanding after all, so I'll let you live if you can answer this simple question. Because I've already decided how I'm going to kill all of you. I know exactly how all of your lives are going to end. So what you have to do is really simple.” she extended her arms. “All you have to do is tell me what order I'm going to kill everyone in. If you do that, I'll spare all of you. Otherwise...” Her grin widened. “I'll show you the correct answer.”

Donovan's hands were trembling, but he didn't take a single step closer to Quill. ”Quill, just relax...”

Apparently the easiest way to confirm she was indeed one of the attackers with zero chance of being incorrect was to pelt her with a candle. Alistair was a bit surprised at her immediate admission of this, despite the entire thing being an accident from what he could tell. Still, this wasn’t exactly groundbreaking information, and if anything it was probably going to make extracting useful information from her even more difficult.

He did not want the “who” or the “where” or the “when” as much as he wanted the “why”.

Alistair wasted not a single moment in positioning himself between the now-hostile woman and both Aki and Chieko, taking a rather basic brawling posture. His magic was far from being combat worthy at the moment. His expression look to be one of annoyance rather than actual anger, fear, or anxiety. “Eyes here.” he demanded. “What could you possibly gain from attacking us? And,” Alistair didn’t bother looking towards the giant, but his next words were certainly directed towards him. “Did you know she was like this?”

Donovan didn't answer. His head must have been racing. Quill didn't avert her eyes from Chieko, but she spoke. “This is how you stimulate a clairvoyant's powers. Being exposed to danger enhances their ability to see into the future.” Her grin widened. “Now, I want Chieko to be the next one to speak. If anyone else opens their mouth, I'll grill them from the inside out.”

Alistair's expression soured more than it already had been. It wasn't reassuring to have Donovan remain silent. Was that an admission of guilt, or was it something else? Had that been Alistair's only worry, he might've been able to figure that out. Instead, Alistair was interested to hear about this woman's delusion.

A clarivoyant? And the power is enhanced by being exposed to danger? I suppose that is one way to put it, but it's not entirely correct, either. Still, that's unsettling. Who is giving her that kind of information?

About two things Alistair was absolutely positive. First, Alistair had made far more progress in this one attempt at Donovan's than any attempt working with Fritzi. And second, he was certain that this woman had every intention on following up with the threat she had just made. Confident as he was in himself, Alistair was capable of recognizing that at this point in time, he wasn't perfect. His magic would not be of use to him in a fight, nor was it likely he could beat one of these assassins in single combat, at least not without a blessing or two.

But if there one thing Alistair could not simply stand, or rather, three...

"I, Alistair Archibald, am usually a benevolent and tolerant man, but there are three things I simply cannot stand: People who stand in my way, people who insult me, and people who order me around!" Alistair could safely say that this woman was all three of these things. And he'd be dead before he let her try to interrogate any of the non-natives on his watch.

During Alistair's monolog, Quill rolled her eyes and leveled her palm with the arrogant youth's head. While Alistair had been in a few fights before, he was woefully unprepared for dealing with magical oni assassins. A red hot ball of fire launched from quill's hand and slammed into Alistair's throat. He didn't even have time to scream before it burned all the way through his neck, setting his head ablaze as it rolled away from his decapitated body. Now that he was dead, he would let quill interrogate whoever she wanted.

DEATH COUNT : 26

“Seems the future just became a little easier to predict.” Quill chuckled.“Quit stalling. Answer me now. What's going to happen next?”

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

T o r u

"New year's resolution: exist for more than a post every other month"

Toru Ayanokoji

As FamishedPants tried to think of yet another excuse for why he wasn't posting in an RP he was legitimately still interested in, Toru mulled over the recent events. Things got just a bit too serious for his liking between two of his fellow students, and the atmosphere suggested that more than just everyone's current mood was affected by this and recent events. Of course, as far as the zombie knew, this fight could've had literally zero impact on everyone else beyond surprise. His gut feeling was... not reliable when it came to social aspects. Though this may be because he doesn't really have feelings in his guts.

"yare yare daze"

I suppose not all problems can be solved by overusing arm puns, damnit.

Toru Ayanokoji couldn't say he directly felt anything but disappointed that things turned out this way. His attachment to everyone was about as solid as the one he had to his arms. But that didn't mean he wanted to watch them beat each other up. Were they not supposed to be heroes in training? Although Toru probably shouldn't be talking, considering his very passive nature towards his own classmates was certainly not much better in that regard. Still, these were individuals whom had decided they wished to become a certified hero. They should not be fighting amongst themselves so long as villainy existed.

Just like Toru shouldn't be so distanced from his fellow student body that he couldn't even properly joke in such a sour hour.

It was becoming very apparent that things much deeper than he'd realized were plaguing the school. He wouldn't call himself an expert at people, but Ayanokoji himself at least knew that a constant negative atmosphere with difficult events plaguing a school wasn't exactly normal, or desirable. And he... did feel like he wanted to change this. He wasn't sure how, or really why since he wasn't exactly invested in people just yet, but the feeling was there. And while he naturally preferred to avoid difficulties like this and focus on something easy and safe, like pretending none of this was his problem... something told him he shouldn't.

He had no real plan to magically remedy the whole school with magic, of course, but logically, if he was going to progress in a goal like "helping the school become unfucked", then he ought to start by building actual relationships with some of his fellow students to start. That 'friend' word was not something he could truly call someone just yet, but he did have an idea of some who may be candidates. So that is where he would begin his new adventure.

The zomboi lifelessly started back towards the dorms, for the time being.

Hopefully this stuffedtshirt guy ever gets Toru relevant :^)