Current
"Is this a joke? What, you think--You think I can't deal with a CAT?"
3 yrs ago
"You're a slave to history."
1
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3 yrs ago
"He was infuriated to see Jinguuji-san eating with another man."
2
likes
5 yrs ago
"When you get to the point where you can laugh at your mistakes, you'll find new things to replace what you lost."
1
like
5 yrs ago
"Damn stupid sun, making it morning whenever it wants even though I'm sleepy. Who does it think it is? Doesn't it know it has me to thank for its continued existence? "
4
likes
Bio
You showed up.
One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave.
I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list here as it contains everything important on it.
As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions.
For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers.
I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here.
This is common advice everyone has probably heard before, but the disappointing truth is that not enough people take it to heart and they pay for it in some way: a teenager neglecting his study to play games will often score low on a sudden test, a criminal too invested in grabbing everything they can have a higher chance of running into the police, and a fighter thinking too hard on how to defend may just eat the punch entirely.
It is not as though Samuel wanted to try to parry solely with his dagger in this circumstance. He knew the woman would have the momentum and weight advantage. But he did have to properly position himself in front of Valkyrie, and he wasn't confident he could get his sword into a position any more stable than that with what remained. It was more that this was all he thought he could afford to do.
But even then, his budgeting was not entirely perfect. He had blown a portion of his funds on the parry but was convinced he had enough leftover to purchase the stab to her leg. He got as far as to put that action in his cart before he realized his math was wrong and that wouldn't be happening. In a quiet panic, he backed out of that deal and hurriedly bought a meager defense against the Nun instead.
God damned sales tax gets me every time.
S-she's quite fast! Or maybe I'm just too slow?
Yeah, she was much faster than he anticipated, able to edge him out even when he'd started his attack before her. Worse yet, his melody found no purchase before the nun purified the attempted restraint. To be neutered so thoroughly in a second was disheartening... but Samuel wasn't going to cave and crumble just from that. It wasn't like he was alone.
Valkyrie should be lining up a shot.
That's why he went for a restraint melody in the first place. He was fine just making the opening his ally needed to land a decisive shot with her railgun. The only problem was... it was taking far longer than he expected, and he felt he wouldn't be able to keep up these trades with her for an extended period of time. But he knew she was still there since he still felt her right behind him.
Wait, she hasn't moved...
She had some room to move around behind her yet she hadn't taken it. What was the deal? In the nun's eyes laid the answer. The quite real potential of being killed in that exchange did shake him just enough that he didn't catch what he otherwise would have: that this woman's eyes had yet to leave his ally.
Is it sight-based, then? If she's the reason I'm not getting any backup, then if I can just plac---
There wasn't even truly a pause. Samuel hadn't decided to daydream mid-combat, she was just that quick with her kick.
With a loud grunt, Samuel was sent crashing into Valkyrie and they both collided with a statue that crumbled with them, covering them in a black substance he instantly identified as something he didn't want to be drenched in.
Despite the pain and embarrassment, Samuel jumped to his feet as soon as he could, but he was presented with a multitude of problems.
What should I do? What can I do?
There were so many expenses and yet he simply could not afford the costs to cover all of them. But none of these threats could be ignored, as they would be collected by gruesome ends. A terribly painful death by burns if he ignored the embers, he didn't want to imagine what kind of unpleasant surprise those fumes held, and he somehow knew the nun wasn't about to have any change of heart. At best, she'd decapitate them for a swift end.
...but the bodies in the room suggested that given the chance, nobody would be so lucky.
No, he only had two problems. He could not think of a third. Dealing with three problems when one of them was proving too much for him simply was impossible. He had the nun and the flames, the toxic fumes were up to someone who wasn't about to burn alive.
And as for the burning alive...
There wasn't enough time for him to simply run out of the pooled petroleum, and he had to admit he wasn't confident he could perfectly time and nail every ember there was with a single intangible note at the exact moment he would need to in order for that to even work out.
If I only had a push note, this might be easier to deal with. Ah! That's right! I vaguely recall Valkyrie having access to that? Maybe she'll hand--
The only reason sheer terror didn't appear on Silhouette's face was that his altered form simply did not allow it.
She's shooting? Right now? I'm not equipped to...! Uh, well here goes nothing!
Agent Silhouette of G.E.M.I.N.I had few options he could take at the present, but he took one. Valkyrie had given the nun her attention and left him to deal with the imminent threat of the embers, and he simply wasn't given enough of an allowance to confirm everyone's positions and their ability to help, not while he had this much stuff to ponder. Under the assumption that the others would be busy and he could only rely on Valkyrie and himself, he went ahead with the only action he could think of to avoid the flame.
No... I'm not confident it'd get us both far enough away like that. Only one.
...only one.
"Brace yourself, Valkyrie."
At the very least, he managed to sound calm when he notified the agent. But that was all the warning she would get before she felt his hand on her chest. Though the sensation lasted a mere moment as in the next, she would find herself taken by a strong pulling force courtesy of a melody he provided. He imagined the petroleum on the floor hadn't managed to cover that far.
Samuel didn't have a way to escape himself, however. He'd spent the time casting his melody and used it on Valkyrie. What time there was left, if any, wouldn't amount to much. He had spent what he had, but perhaps someone would be willing to spot him theirs? That's the best he could hope for.
[Silver Touch (6)][Full Enhance (4)][Restrain (4)] = 120 Mana
PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 630
It seemed as though their vampiric host was far too prideful and a slave to his monstrous instincts to not respond to Leroux's bloody taunt, declaring her foolish and giving himself quite the introduction. But Sam did not get lost in those theatrics and remained silent. He knew something sudden was about to happen.
Calm in my heart and mind. I have to wonder where they'll strike from first.
Thinking about it, Samuel decided that an ambush was most likely to come from the wardrobes or the pillars as that is where would strike from if he were in the enemy's shoes. The wardrobes were a bit closer to the party so he would favor them.
My options would either be to wait for them to move past so that I could strike from behind... or to attack spontaneously, hoping to catch in surprise. Yes, I could see myself flinging an unpredictable piercing note through the wardrobe at whoever looks the most vulnerable, sending them into disarray potentially...
As he pictured how the plan would go... An oblivious Valkyrie finds herself unable to breathe as a well-placed damage note tears through her throat and she suffers an anticlimactic end. Orion, the new agent, is taken out with similar ease and in an instant, the enemy has an overwhelming advantage in morale. The rest of the group is subsequently picked off and the mission ends in a decisive failure.
Samuel barely managed to hold back a groan as he imagined the unfortunate end their party meets in this mental simulation. Of course, members of G.E.M.I.N.I should adhere to better standards than the filth that inhabits this mansion. Sam eventually shook the terrible feeling after he assured himself that at the very least the more experienced agents have the presence of mind not to let their guard down in the middle of an enemy stronghold.
And none too soon, as the surprise attack Samuel felt approaching finally makes its debut in the form of a figure bursting forth from the wardrobe with the goal of keeping Valkyrie from working at a range. Of course, there were other attacks, though Samuel wasn't omnipotent and couldn't react to every single one. He naturally chose to assist agent Valkyrie as he was in the best position to do so.
"Not while I'm still standing!"
Agent Silhouette positioned himself between the foe as quickly as he could, bringing Stab, his rather elegant dagger, up to meet with the falchion, attempting to direct the blow away from his person rather than just blocking. Upon the optimistic assumption, he does not fail and get chopped in half and isn't debilitated by the other, big monster's blender attack, Samuel's other arm holding Slash, his sword, would erupt with countless small black tendrils. These would follow the momentum of the immediate thrust he then would perform with Slash as he aimed for the girl's leg, snaking off his arm and onto her leg before attempting to wrap themselves around her legs in order to restrain her.
"Is that so? I apologize for the misunderstanding."
The fact that there was not actually to be any sort of vote did not appear to throw Samuel off much, though perhaps that was because he was going to get what he wanted out of the situation anyway. They would be using the blood mage's abilities to form a barrier and assault from the front rather than risk incidents with Maverick espers for little reason. Not that Samuel was hesitant to deal with Maverick agents. He was very much a G.E.M.I.N.I agent in how he viewed them, but they had a clear goal today and the only one to benefit from a confrontation right now was the vampire they were on their way to deal with. And speaking of that vampire, the gunfire and abrupt stop of the vans told everyone that they had arrived at their destination.
Sam wasn't intimately familiar with blood magics but the barrier they supposedly could provide would protect the group as they inserted themselves directly into the mansion. It was like their very own blood-red carpet being rolled out for them so that they could skip the whole 'fighting their way in' step that was necessary with the police station earlier. With just how easy it was for the agents of G.E.M.I.N.I to leave the back of the van and proceed to the door of the mansion, Samuel was able to forget the stressful fact that their lives were in the hands of a blood mage who was hostile not long ago.
Samuel entered shortly after a few others and he stopped to appreciate the fine interior of the mansion they had invaded. The intricate designs on the pillars, tall bookshelves, and the mood-setting dim lighting... they all contributed to that weird feeling that they had just entered a portal to some vampire flick. Of course, it was hard to truly appreciate the elaborate styling of the mansion when it was obvious actual human beings were suffering each moment they did so. But if all vampires did was have a dated sense of taste, then they wouldn't be here to kill one, would they?
When their blood-sucking pianist decided to make his presence visible, Samuel made sure to take his visage in before returning to sweeping the area. If there was one G.E.M.I.N.I agent here who understood the benefits of a 'flamboyant' presence, it was him. Drawing your opponent's attention to another place then striking them from out of their sight was a basic, effective strategy when done right. And the entire group of G.E.M.I.N.I would live many lifetimes more if they took the vampire's cold, confident demeanor as a sign that he held an ace up his sleeve rather than unfounded arrogance.
Hoping to be able to identify and respond to hidden attacks at a moment's notice, Samuel tried to spot any foes lying in ambush in the more darker corners of the room, and, of course, the bookshelves right next to them. Those were perhaps the most obvious places to stage an ambush, so to his embarrassment, Samuel didn't immediately realize it was for agent Orion's benefit that agent Breacher even bothered signing to look out for them.
Well, given her first mission was hunting goblins in a sewer, I suppose I shouldn't have to worry about her not checking her corners...
Silhouette wasn't sure what to make of what transpired next. It was difficult to tell if the hostages were honestly still alive or just twitching their bodies in death, but he would proceed under the assumption they were alive until it was confirmed otherwise. Thus, he was hesitant about stepping forward just yet. He would not dismiss this poem outright just because it sounded silly, but ultimately they could not know exactly what that vampire would do until they forced one out of him.
The lives of these hostages were comparatively nothing compared to those of his fellow agents, as far as Silhouette was concerned, but the fact of the matter was they were in a much better position to protect each other than those twelve. But Samuel couldn't help but feel like the vampire wouldn't just blindly rush the lot of them like an idiot. That would be too simple, wouldn't it?
Sure hope that poem wasn't some weird curse or the like. But perhaps I am merely overthinking it?
"I advise not even blinking until we're sure what this man is capable of," he warns the rest of the agents as his body prepares to spring into action at the slightest hint of danger.
We are a few seasons into this universe and everyone who has submitted an application so far is a returning player who is migrating their applications from the former RP to this one. Not all of the characters you see are actual PCs and may just be NPCs or familiars, though your confusion is understandable and perhaps brings to light the need for clarification on the player's end of who is what. Also, I think the two PC rule is a typo and is meant to be three.
Stats are generally negligible unless there's a big disparity between two given characters/monsters/whatever is relevant. With a few exceptions, fights generally aren't reliant on stat checks.
But of course, Ari can go ahead and give you an official GM-sponsored answer, I'm just some guy being a dude.
She is a bit taller than other girls her age but is otherwise fairly unremarkable. Her eyes are dark brown, but seem to glow red in the dark. Her attire mostly consists of dark, conservative clothing that fits the weather.
Her eyes are perpetually crimson red in this form, though they seem to glow brighter when she's especially focused on using her Third Eye.
Specialization:
Time - A master of her original specialization, Silhouette's skill with Time Manipulation is rarely rivaled. Each and every basic technique a mage of her kind would employ is perfected, her precision is remarkable, her mana consumption is, compared to other time mages, minimal, and she is even capable of a form of time manipulation that she herself invented.
Stasis: A unique form of halting time in which the physical state of something is completely stopped. This makes the subject impossible to alter in any way, although Silhouette is able to choose whether or not the subject can be moved. Utilizing Stasis does not require a continuous supply of mana, but instead needs an "upfront" cost which scales with size. The effect on non living objects is permanent.
Some applications shown so far include:
Freezing various objects to use as stepping stones to reach the Sky Bastion, which otherwise would have required aid
Creating an invulnerable barrier out of a thrown table during a fightviolent debriefing friendly chat between Silhouette and Veronica
Utilizing Stasis to change Silhouette's gloves into a passable fake Fist weapon.
Darkness - A combination of natural talent, experience in dealing with the element, tutoring from Veronica, and tireless training has granted her a familiarity with Darkness that would not normally be probable. She is not yet a master, having a noticeable preference for utility over the offensive application of Darkness. Yet, despite this focus and favoritism towards utility, her most unique use of Darkness lends itself almost solely to an offensive mindset.
"Schatten" - A type of clone constructed out of Silhouette's own shadow, and only her own shadow. Because of this, there can only ever be one at a time. It has three "forms" which dictate how it acts and its capabilities. These forms are "Umbra", "Dusk" and "Penumbra". As they are shadows, they thrive in the dark and are likewise weakened in places without. Schatten are not immune to Time Stop.
"Umbra" acts as a sort of ghost in the likeness of Sil, in that it can move through her person without any complications whatsoever. It is often used to surprise a foe by launching an attack from an unexpected direction or for parrying.
"Dusk" is a clone created from Sil’s shadow that can move independently. It is capable of following orders so long as they aren’t too complicated.
"Penumbra" is the strongest form of Schatten that is fully sentient. It can be imbued with a personality of Silhouette’s choosing, including the 'voice'. Unlike the other Schatten, ones created in this way can easily be passed off as a person, though they are not impossible to see through, particularly by those sensitive to magic.
Weapon:
ChronoRend - A shorter blade that has been put into Stasis, allowing it to retain its sharpness and prevents it from being manipulated by others. It is a very simple but effective weapon, capable of being used for silent eliminations or to defend him in a fight, and has proven to channel his mana very well.
Scarlet Avenger (Crimson Cradle) - A high caliber sniper rifle that consumes a large amount of mana per shot in exchange for high stopping power. Its special effect is to inflict wounds that cannot heal while it is being used, but ceases any healing on the user as well.
Knight Fist (Crimson Cradle) - Dark gauntlets with an acceptably edgy backstory. They essentially Imagine Breaker Dark Magical Girls who wear them, although at the cost of hearing a voice whispering "End it all" every now and then.
Powers:
Focused Assault - Sil can opt to dump a decent amount of mana into her blade, which can then be used to strike at time itself, bypassing defenses of a foe by cutting everything in the space the time occupied.
Regeneration (Gold Coin Spent) - Perhaps it is the result of her new body, perhaps it's subconscious use of accelerated time, or perhaps it's a bit of both. Either way, Sil has a healing factor well beyond anything a human can hope for. Cuts, stabs, missing limbs... none of it really seems to last too long. Decapitation or an exploded heart might be the only way to keep her down for good.
Third Eye (Dark Magical Girl) - Special sight that gives her information a normal magical girl does not receive. She is able to pick up on supernatural things, such as magic, even before the spell is cast. This allows her extra time to react.
Teleportation (Ruby Coin) - Mobility is an important tool to have as an assassin, and doubly so is mobility that is practical in a fight. Silhouette is capable of disappearing and then reappearing some distance away to any point she can see, though it requires more time and effort for longer jumps.
Perks:
Enhanced Weapon - Her weapons may look plain, but they do their job excellently.
Enhanced Outfit - Despite appearances, her attire can take a beating.
Enhanced Transformation - Theatrics don't suit Silhouette very well. She's lessened her downtime between transformation and even protects herself with time magic as she transforming.
Martial Training - As someone in the special forces, who became a hired killer due to talent, who also came to work under a deity dealing with war, Sil is very knowledgeable about war, its tools, and how to use them effectively.
Incognito - Her prior life allowed for no recognition, and so she's learned how to keep her head down and not stick out from the crowd, making it rather difficult to recall her face in passing. It also makes her outfit somewhat ironic.
Gifted(Emergency) - Murder is her talent, and she has proved that her specialization in Time Manipulation was a perfect fit. She is capable of Stasis, a self-made variant of stopping time.
Awareness(Emergency) - Details have always been important to her occupation, be they big or small. She is keen on picking up anything out of the ordinary, and, as one who ambushed people for a living, is especially difficult to ambush herself.
Patron: Vermilion Veronica and the Crimson Cradle (not a band, at least not yet)
Patron Benefits:
Vermilion Veronica:
Black Coin - Spent rather early on, after nearly being defeated by a powerful monster. It has granted her power, but also gave something sinister the chance to manifest.
Non-Exclusivity - Sil had the ability to freely choose an employer on a whim, but has stuck with Veronica despite this. Given the nature of their contract, this isn’t really the case anymore.
The Crimson Cradle:
Top Idol - She did it, boys. Pack your bags, it's all downhill from here. It seems Veronica has taken a fancy to her, and provides her with things a lot easier and more often than any of her other agents. Seeing this sort of preferential treatment may cause feelings of happiness and glee in another, lesser individual. But not in Sil, or so she pretends.
Cradle Supply - Artifacts, agents, weapons... Veronica has them all and won't charge for a loan, so long as things are returned in pristine condition. Mid-mission resupplies aren't out of the question either, provided she's nearby.
Connected - With both the ability to find a fellow agent wherever they may be and the ability to speak with them at any given moment, team coordination should be easy. Should.
Patron Drawbacks:
Vermillion Veronica:
Debt - After Veronica stuck her neck out to retrieve her after the fight with Justine, Sil feels she owes her a debt.
Betrayal - Silhouette is under no impression that a former Mint broker will suddenly start welcoming agents who are of little to no use to her, and she is okay with this.
The Crimson Cradle
Sadistic - To an outsider, the occasional murder attempt from an employer may be a turn off. To Sam, however, it's almost endearing. Given some of the best loadouts, but also given the most difficult of jobs, and critiqued more than anyone else. It's tough love alright.
Exposed - Sil no longer has a true private life. Her every action seems to be recorded by Veronica. And much like a certain search engine, nothing escapes her sight.
Penance - A tool is thrown away when it has no use. Nothing new or surprising here.
Fighting Style: Not long ago, Silhouette preferred to end each encounter as soon as possible. The ideal fight for her was one her opponent never even knew they were a part of. As expected of an assassin, after all. But things have since changed.
Accepting a darker part of herself that she'd been rejecting up until this point, Silhouette now reluctantly understands that fights are enjoyable to her. Because of this, she's unlikely to launch a surprise attack on an unsuspecting foe if she can help it. A fight to test one's limits is preferable.
For actual battle tactics, Silhouette prefers to get close and personal. Her weapon, even by melee standards, is rather short-range. Thus, she is not much of a threat at a distance. She has the tools necessary to keep close to her target and rush them down.
Her default loadout consists of merely her blade, but she may supplement this with Stasis in some form, such as using Stasis on her other arm or an item to act as a small shield. She is prone to using the environment to her advantage. On top of typical stabs and slashes with her blade, she will throw in some punches, kicks, and even grabs if she can.
Personality: Once upon a time, Samantha Howard was a magical girl who experienced almost no emotions and lived only to complete her jobs. As if she were a robot.
Now, however, that has changed. No longer does she suffer an emotional drought. She has now begun to exhibit more than a few human-like qualities.
Silhouette can come off as cold and unapproachable due to her tendency not to speak much unless spoken to, or when the situation calls for it. She is not often the one to start conversations, at least. But she's not hostile by default. Her mannerisms accurately paint the picture that she is a serious human being. That she is, but she isn't devoid of humor. She pretends otherwise, but she desires to be more like other girls -- more open with how she feels. It's not always easy, at least for her.
She is a bit of a sadist, or at least she thinks she is. Upon first getting a good glimpse of Mika's face, all she could really think about (aside from the crippling pain she was experiencing at the time) was how cute it could look if someone messed with her. Unfortunately (or fortunately) she has yet to act upon these sorts of feelings.
Silhouette is also able to take the initiative and plan something for the sake of another. She took note of Richard Davis' destroyed shop sign, the fact that it was his birthday soon, and then sought to celebrate it by baking him a cake. She then learned her talent was not in the kitchen. But, she employed other people who could help her both make a cake and replace the sign he'd lost. There's some generosity in there somewhere.
History: Once upon a time, Silhouette was a young assassin who was renowned for both his skill at completing a job quickly and efficiently. Tempered over countless murders, Silhouette was essentially a robot in that they only cared about completing their job and being paid, and even then, it never seemed like he had any real ambitions or needs that would require a job that was so dangerous. Still, he continued to do what he knew best until a certain job had a rather unintended and significant impact.
Having been contracted to kill a potentially dangerous (to his client) business rival and anyone else in the house at the time, Silhouette was made to dispatch of a man and his wife and child. He did so, but as it turned out, said child was not normal by any means. Having rid the surrounding area its magical protector, things became rather grim when almost immediately, a monsters began to terrorize the place. Were it not for the timely arrival of a displeased patron, Sil may have been among the many who could have died.
As it later turned out, the girl she had replaced was indebted to the Ebon Mint, and her death meant that her debt was transferred to Silhouette. With no knowledge of the magical world, Sil decided against angering the faction, and worked diligently to repay the debt he owed.
Since Veronica’s falling out and creation of the Crimson Cradle, Silhouette abandoned the Mint and has burned that bridge.
Incantation: "I am a blade. A blade knows no fear. A blade knows no doubt. When faced with my enemy, I hesitate not. Magical Girl Transformation!"
Additional Info:
Shade is a quirky, outgoing idol who acts almost nothing like Silhouette. She utilizes the 'fist' weapon Silhouette did when she donned this disguise during the incident in the Overcity, but prefers to avoid fights wherever possible and would much rather befriend people.
Name: Emily Ackerson, Lucifer, An actual cinnamon roll
Fire - Despite her mostly timid and gentle nature, Emily’s specialization gives her enemies no quarter. Though her abilities with the power are nothing to scoff at, the most unique trait about her flames are brilliant, turquoise color they take.
Heat Drain/Vision - Particularly gifted as a Fire-user, Emily can sap flames or heat from the surrounding area, converting it to mana for her own use, so she benefits highly in areas she can set ablaze, hot climates, or against foes that provide her with heat in some way. In addition, she is especially sensitive to temperatures, and is able to see heat signatures.
Weapon:
Purgatory - Gauntlets with a demonic appearance. They glow a bright blue and act as a focus for her magics just as good or perhaps even better than any rod or staff could. They also allow her to strike foes that enter melee range, or to defend her from blows.
Power:
Barrage - Excelling at dealing damage in an AOE, Emily can quickly dish out many smaller blasts and fireballs at enemies. And, should she desire, she can turn up the heat by causing her attacks to detonate shortly after being thrown. This makes her especially deadly to clustered monsters.
Daystar - Emily drains the surrounding area of all heat, and begins dumping her mana into Purgatory. As the charge increases, the focused area in her gauntlets begin to glow brighter and brighter, until it approaches the peak of the charge, at which point the glare is no less intense than the sun. Finally, she fires an overwhelming blast of concentrated heat from her hands, likely disintegrating anything it comes into contact with, as well as scorching things in the immediate area of it.
Power of Friendship - Bestowed upon her by Ruby. Emily can sense when people are sad, how to form a positive relationship with people, and is generally on any given person's good side.
Perks:
Gifted - Able to use Heat Drain/Vision, which is elaborated on above.
Dual Weapon - Her weapon, Purgatory, is not only a fist weapon, but also acts as a focus for her magic.
Purification Artifact - A small, hand-made doll that, while cute in design, can keep ward against monsters when charged by the cleansing property of Fire.
Blood Magic - By dedication and will alone, Emily is able to continue using magic without mana, but at a serious cost to her physical health.
Overcity Shift - Sensitive to the presence of the Overcity, Emily has learned how to willingly enter and exit the place. Which has proved helpful in lowering collateral damage on occasion.
Get Out of Jail - While Emily is no coward, she is not a fool either. In bleak situations where victory is impossible, she has a contingency, though it’s not exactly perfect.
Enhanced Weapon - Strong enough to deflect blows for her, and an incredibly good conductor for her magical powers, Purgatory has proven a perfect weapon for her.
Mana Channel (Ruby Coin) - With intimate knowledge of the magic that courses through her, Emily can use it to assist allies, among other uses.
Absolute Direction Locket - A locket formed by the wish Ruby granted. When opened, it acts as a compass that points in the direction of the item Emily wants to find.
Patron:
Type: Puchuu
Name: Jonald
Patron Benefits:
Job Satisfaction - Slaying monsters protects people, which gives her a feeling of fulfillment.
Mystic Might - Despite their terrible relationship, Jonald is still obligated to provide Emily with mana.
Mana Font - Read above.
Patron Drawbacks:
Hostile - Jonald is not a friend of Emily's. Misinformation and rumor spreading are the norm with him.
Expendable - Emily is not Jonald’s favorite person, one might gather.
Vendetta - The very reason Jonald has become so petty and malicious is because he believes the Ebon Mint had a hand in his former girl’s demise. Naturally, he loathes the organization.
Fighting Style: Though a relatively simple approach, overwhelming foes with constant barrages of flames tends to have favorable results. Emily has become fairly precise in her application of flames due to a desire to avoid collateral damage where possible, despite Fire potentially being the worst in that regard. Thus, she is most often see specifically throwing fireballs and shorter-ranged spews of flames. But in the event that she needn’t worry about hitting other people or things, she’s liable to go all out. Thus, in general, Emily’s biggest weakness would be hostages of some sort, as she’s not the kind of person who ignores the life of an innocent.
Personality: A strong-willed, kind magical girl who dreams of a world without pain and suffering. Emily is characterized by her selflessness, strong sense of justice, and adorable mannerisms when interacting with other magical girls, whom she considers sisters. Emily treasures any moment she gets to spend time with one of her sisters and loathes the idea of being made to fight against one. She is also willing to lend people in need a helping hand and often does volunteer work to assist those less fortunate.
Emily becomes a lot more aggressive, confident, and condescending towards people she faces in battle when she believes them to be ‘evil’, monsters especially so. It is almost as though a switch is flipped at how sudden it can be, though she retains her sense of justice and reluctance to fight other magical girls. She also keeps a warmer attitude towards friends.
History: Even though she had lost her biological parents at an early age, Emily has always been the kind and caring girl with a strong sense of justice she is now. She was lucky enough to be adopted by a kind family and was ever thankful for the parents who gave her a new home and her sister who accepted her into her life and allowed her to live in bliss. But each time she saw news of some tragedy occurring, she wished she could do something about it. Needless to say, when she was approached by a Puchuu while she was walking through the park, she couldn’t help but accept the offer. She felt guilty for essentially abandoning them, and decided to keep watch over them even if she couldn't be with them anymore.
When she was still relatively new to being a magical girl, her Puchuu asked her to help another magical girl who had bitten off more than she could chew. He seemed especially worried about the girl. Emily, of course, obliged and despite the difficulty they faced, the two of them managed to succeed and come out alive. After that point, Emily and the other girl became fast friends.
Over the course of her relatively normal magical girl life, Emily learned a great deal about her partner. That she wasn’t actually Jonald’s magical girl anymore and only saw him because he seemed to truly care about her, that she was indebted to the Ebon Mint for some reason, and that she’d been trying to find someone. To continue working tirelessly to protect people even despite some of the stuff she had to deal with… inspired Emily to try even harder, so she did. She put her all into fighting monsters and saving people with her partner.
But one night, everything changed. Emily noticed a commotion coming from her own neighborhood and went to investigate. She feared for her family’s safety, so that was the first place she visited. When she arrived at her house, she noticed the silhouette of a magical girl exiting the scene, but was much too concerned with her family to pursue them.
When she finally reached them, she found that she was too late. Her entire family had been lost… she had failed to save them. But even though she would later learn a monster was on the prowl, the fatal wounds her family received were certainly not caused by it. It was suspicious, to say the least. And even more so was the fact that Jonald almost seemed inconsolable. Strangely, Emily and Jonald did not actually understand the exact reason why the other was mourning for a couple of days, but when they finally did…
Emily told Jonald she was crying for her family.
And…
Jonald told Emily he mourned for his former magical girl.
Maybe it was just terrible luck? The truth that came to light was that Emily’s partner, the one she’d saved early on in her career, was none other than the sister she’d abandoned. But none of this information had ever even been intentionally hidden from her. Jonald recruited her away from home, Emily had never personally seen where her partner had lived. And of course, Emily was the person her partner was looking for. With how tight-lipped she’d been about WHO it was she was looking for, nobody was ever able to put the pieces together.
Following this tragedy, Jonald was constantly stuck looking into the situation, but they’d decided to move from Penrose for the time being. Still, he eventually found out that the girl Emily saw leaving was a Mint girl, and so he vowed to make them pay. The assumption was that they’d personally had her eliminated, presumably for debt-related reasons. For Jonald this was enough, but Emily couldn’t understand that. From what she had heard, the Mint wasn’t some bloodthirsty organization, but one that sought profits and information. Her partner never seemed like a person they’d consider dead weight, and even then, rumors suggested the Mint preferred to be a bit more subtle about those things.
Emily and Jonald had a serious falling out then. She wouldn’t be a part of this misguided attempt at vengeance, it’s not what her sister would have wanted, anyways. But Jonald, thinking it appalling that his friend’s very own sister would act that way, came to treat her like garbage, and spread many rumors about her. Theirs became a rather shaky relationship only held together by the fact that it did not seem like the Puchuu’s crusade was in the interest of the others, so he was still obligated to provide her with the bare-minimum assistance.
Thus it was until Emily finally decided to return to Penrose some years later, as stranger and stranger things continued to happen there.
Incantation: "I am the Star of Morning, the Child of Dawn. The Star thrown down to the Earth shall obtain victory!"
Additional Info: Emily was a bit of a chuuni in her human life. She also call her Puchuu Jonald out of spite, so it’s something she came up with.
Her hair is extremely long in her human form and in contrast to her rather conservative appearance in her transformed state, she wears comparatively little clothing when she can, whether or not it is in good condition or not. Since she is rather prone to doing reckless things even in her human form, she is often covered with bandages and forgets to take them off even if the wound has healed.
While the strange dress-like armor and the ribbons don't exactly inspire fear from first glance, the juxtaposition from the bloodstains and the disturbingly bright yet twisted expressions she makes might. Aside from her armor, the most notable change from her human form is the shortening of her hair and the tips of each strand that almost seemed to be dyed red from blood.
As she succumbs to true madness, her armor almost seems to be corrupted along with her, emanating an ominous purple haze and turning a similar color. Also, it twists to accommodate her new features -- it gains a helmet with openings for the horns she sprouts, as well as spiked gauntlets for her claws. Though it is often quickly hidden, beneath the armor she grows fangs. During this time, her eyes glow an unsettling golden color which can be seen through the visor.
Specialization:
Gravity - As she is not as magically-inclined as other girls, she avoids going overboard with her use of Gravity. That said, she is as experienced as one can be in the specialization, able to use it in any manner a typical user could. She does not commonly use it to directly attack, preferring to use it as a supplement instead. Things such as reducing her weight so she can move faster, increasing an opponent's weight so they're slower, or even increasing the weight of an attack so it hits harder are all things she can be seen doing.
Weapon:
Mars - What appears to simply be a scutum. Naturally, it excels at blocking attacks. Though Hilaria wields it with apparent ease, it is rather heavy and thus can be used for blunt shield attacks. If she so desires, the shield can morph around her hands and become huge gauntlets that allow her to pummel enemies. As with her armor, it seems to be bloodstained.
Vulcan (G) - An odd weapon taking the form of a Spas-12 with what seems to be the head of an axe attached to the underside. Thus is can be used both chop foes to bits or to blast them away at a moderate range. Still, the weapon is most effective in any scenario when it is in close range.
Power:
Third Eye - Hilaria's special eyes allow her to detect magic, among other unnatural things. This allows her to properly identify and respond to spells being used by enemies, or to find Overcity entrances.
Regeneration (Dark Magical Girl) - Healing at a degree not possible by every magical girl, and a side effect of her corruption. What damage she takes is soon healed by her power, and even injuries like missing limbs are only temporary. Fueled by her corruption, she is essentially stitched back together via small black tendrils that extend from the wounds, pulling the wounds closed. Recovering from serious wounds is often accompanied by the unnerving sound of bones snapping back into place and the spurting of blood.
Perks:
Dual Weapon - Hilaria's shotgun, Vulcan, is also part axe. Her shield, Mars, can turn into a fist weapon.
Enhanced Outfit - Her armor provides excellent protection against most attacks.
Big Damn Hero - Hilaria can manage to arrive at the last moment to protect a person or a location, provided she has gifted them with a special curiosity in the form of a gold shotgun shell she has personally made.
Interdimensional Home - A small studio in a pocket dimension Hilaria has access to. She has decorated the walls with a few weapons from different ages, such as swords, shields, muskets, and assault rifles she has put into cases. It resembles a mini barracks more than anything.
Sturdy (Ruby Coin) - Hilaria is made from tougher stuff than your average magical girl. Able to take a beating and keep on going, and death will not find her without a fight.
Monstrous Metamorphosis (Contract) - Provided there's enough emotional stimulus, Hilaria may enter a berserk state where she becomes more powerful at the cost of rational thought.
Patron, Benefits, and Drawbacks:
Dan:
Interdimensional Archipelago - With contract with Dan, Hilaria has access to the beach dimension whenever she pleases. With ten seconds of concentration, she can open a portal of varying size to it.
Keijo Training - Knowledge of the ancient art of Keijo has helped Hilaria grow stronger at close-combat and, through breathing exercises, has increased her mana expenditure by a bit.
Physical Prowess - She is one tough magical girl.
Supplier - Hilaria isn’t sure where all of this stuff comes from, to be honest.
Retrieval - Dan doesn’t seem like the sort to abandon an ally in need.
Lonely - Dan isn’t too fond of being ignored, and is liable to resort to petty curses if he is neglected for too long.
Joy Eater - As Dan feeds on positive emotions, he grows weaker without them, at a potential cost towards Hilaria the longer he is deprived.
Big Brother - Due to requiring positive emotions, it’s understandable that he’d be more involved in the private life of his magical girls. But some might say it’s a bit too much.
Clueless - Hilaria has to admit that Dan is not the most intelligent Patron she’s worked with, and doesn’t expect too much from him.
Fighting Style: Brutal and unpredictable are the two best words to describe how she fights. She is a physical attacker with both high defense and high attack, and is suited best for close-range combat. She has a couple different ways she can approach any given situation.
Typically, her first instinct is to use her scutum and shotgun-axe in unison. Vicious strikes from her axe, unpredictable blasts from the shotgun it is attached to, and an incredibly strong defense from her shield make head-on assaults a scary idea to most. Though certainly not lacking in offense, this approach is considered a very defensive one, and though she is able to provide quick, agile blows, she is rather slow to pursue or move long distances.
Her other method of fighting would be to transform her scutum, Mars, into a fist weapon, often also forgoing Vulcan, though not always. With this method, she pursues her foes with reckless abandon, putting her all into offense. She’ll throw relentless punches, grapple, and smash with gravity-empowered attacks that can leave craters in the ground. She is also more prone to allowing herself to be hit by an attack if it’ll give her a chance to return the favor, and has on more than one occasion lost limbs because of this.
She would fit the role of a tank or bruiser rather well, if one were to label her. With, perhaps, a side of berserker.
Strength - 4 = Base +1 STR from Overdeveloped +2 STR from having 2 Melee Weapons +2 STR from Dual Weapon bonus stacking twice +1 STR from Physical Prowess Universal Benefit +6 STR from spending 3 Silver Coins +2 STR from transforming into Monster Metamorphosis (temp) Total = 16 (18)
Agility - 4 = Base +0 AGI from no modifiers +2 AGI from transforming into Monster Metamorphosis (temp) Total = 4 (6)
Vitality - 4 = Base +2 VIT from having 2 Melee Weapons +1 VIT from having a uniform +1 VIT from Enhanced Outfit bonus +4 VIT from spending 4 Bronze coins +1 VIT from Sturdy (Ruby Coin) +2 VIT from transforming into Monster Metamorphosis (temp) Total = 15 (17)
Magic - 4 = Base +4 MAG from having Gravity Specialization Total = 8
Luck - 4 = Base Total = 4
Personality: The first impression Hilaria gives is that she is a rather ditzy, vivacious, but well-meaning magical girl who is always willing to offer a hand to those in need. Her approach to any given situation is often blithe, even pressing matters. She is the sort of person who can talk about anything with a smile on her face, even if the subject itself is considered gruesome or taboo. About the only thing she does take seriously is matters pertaining to food. She is most definitely a glutton, and food would be her top priority 9 times out of 10.
Hilaria has an odd way of speaking, which is one of the first things people will pick up on when interacting with her. Much like herself, her words often have no real sense of urgency and are drawn out, subject to strange modulation wherein she tends to drag out and strengthen her tone at the end of a sentence in particular. But more notable than that is that she always refers to herself in the third person barring special circumstances. The dropping of this particular quirk is often the easiest way to gauge her mood.
Additionally, she is quite the arrogant person. She has no problem dismissing the ideas and opinions of others on the grounds that they are simply 'ignorant' of how things are. In her own opinion, all the other girls are inexperienced and thusly could not know the truth of the world, and how futile certain aspects of it are. Yes, they don't comprehend how utterly pointless fighting each other instead of monsters is, or that attachments will only ever end in pain. But as she has tried and failed to explain on many occasions before, she understands that the other girls would rather learn from experience than to take it from her. She speaks these things as fact, but does not try to force others to accept it.
Her behavior is naturally influenced by these 'truths'. So long as it isn't a mindless monster, Hilaria has no real qualms about assisting any faction. They are all equal in her eyes. She will not directly help in homicide as one of her conditions, but will aid in things that aren't exactly becoming of a typical magical girl. Likewise, due to her understanding that attachments always end poorly, she forms only the most basic of relationships with others. Even if her expression and actions say otherwise, she doesn't particularly care about anyone at all.
Age has certainly corrupted the girl more than any overload of magical energy ever could.
History: A lot of details elude her about her past, but she does recall that at some point she’d been human and a puuchu had approached her. It offered her the ability to become a hero who could save those in need, and at the time this was exactly what she desired. She spent a while playing hero until eventually she had a falling out with her patron, who had betrayed her trust. Sometime after this, she became a member of Beacon and developed a deep bond with her allies there. Yet, after an incident in which she tried to sacrifice herself to save the others, she became a corrupted magical girl, and they didn’t seem to hesitate to ostracize her. Finally, her original goal had been to save humanity from their greatest threats, but the futility of this endeavor had eluded her until she witnessed countless wars and came to the conclusion that the biggest threats to humans were none other than humans themselves.
These events all happening in the span of a few decades, Hilaria found it more and more difficult to remain the blindly optimistic girl she had been, but she continued to try. She would go on to form numerous relationships with people and patrons. Some lovers, too. But no matter what she did, she’d lose the ones she cared for most and would find something unsatisfactory about her employers, all the while humans would continue their wars and people would die meaningless deaths. Hilaria soon found it difficult to motivate herself to help others, and from there apathy set in. Everything seemed so pointless, so futile. And it still does. But what else could she do? Even if it was hard, she may as well help someone.
Incantation: "Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixture dementia fuit.”
Additional Info: Her exact age is unknown, but going off of the armor she recalls seeing humans wear shortly after she was contracted, she was likely born at the beginning or just before the First Crusade. That said, she seems to have some fascination with Rome and the Greek Gods, going off her naming scheme.
Though normally her age would suggest she should own power unrivaled by other magical girls, she never remained loyal to any single patron long enough to gather that sort of power. What coins she did obtain, she frivolously spent on changing aspects about her -- her initial form was much different than the one she has nowadays.
She is a bit taller than other girls her age but is otherwise fairly unremarkable. Her eyes are dark brown, but seem to glow red in the dark. Her attire mostly consists of dark, conservative clothing that fits the weather.
Her eyes are perpetually crimson red in this form, though they seem to glow brighter when she's especially focused on using her Third Eye.
Specialization:
Time - A master of her original specialization, Silhouette's skill with Time Manipulation is rarely rivaled. Each and every basic technique a mage of her kind would employ is perfected, her precision is remarkable, her mana consumption is, compared to other time mages, minimal, and she is even capable of a form of time manipulation that she herself invented.
Stasis: A unique form of halting time in which the physical state of something is completely stopped. This makes the subject impossible to alter in any way, although Silhouette is able to choose whether or not the subject can be moved. Utilizing Stasis does not require a continuous supply of mana, but instead needs an "upfront" cost which scales with size. The effect on non living objects is permanent.
Some applications shown so far include:
Freezing various objects to use as stepping stones to reach the Sky Bastion, which otherwise would have required aid
Creating an invulnerable barrier out of a thrown table during a fightviolent debriefing friendly chat between Silhouette and Veronica
Utilizing Stasis to change Silhouette's gloves into a passable fake Fist weapon.
Darkness - A combination of natural talent, experience in dealing with the element, tutoring from Veronica, and tireless training has granted her a familiarity with Darkness that would not normally be probable. She is not yet a master, having a noticeable preference for utility over the offensive application of Darkness. Yet, despite this focus and favoritism towards utility, her most unique use of Darkness lends itself almost solely to an offensive mindset.
"Schatten" - A type of clone constructed out of Silhouette's own shadow, and only her own shadow. Because of this, there can only ever be one at a time. It has three "forms" which dictate how it acts and its capabilities. These forms are "Umbra", "Dusk" and "Penumbra". As they are shadows, they thrive in the dark and are likewise weakened in places without. Schatten are not immune to Time Stop.
"Umbra" acts as a sort of ghost in the likeness of Sil, in that it can move through her person without any complications whatsoever. It is often used to surprise a foe by launching an attack from an unexpected direction or for parrying.
"Dusk" is a clone created from Sil’s shadow that can move independently. It is capable of following orders so long as they aren’t too complicated.
"Penumbra" is the strongest form of Schatten that is fully sentient. It can be imbued with a personality of Silhouette’s choosing, including the 'voice'. Unlike the other Schatten, ones created in this way can easily be passed off as a person, though they are not impossible to see through, particularly by those sensitive to magic.
Weapon:
ChronoRend - A shorter blade that has been put into Stasis, allowing it to retain its sharpness and prevents it from being manipulated by others. It is a very simple but effective weapon, capable of being used for silent eliminations or to defend him in a fight, and has proven to channel his mana very well.
Scarlet Avenger (Crimson Cradle) - A high caliber sniper rifle that consumes a large amount of mana per shot in exchange for high stopping power. Its special effect is to inflict wounds that cannot heal while it is being used, but ceases any healing on the user as well.
Knight Fist (Crimson Cradle) - Dark gauntlets with an acceptably edgy backstory. They essentially Imagine Breaker Dark Magical Girls who wear them, although at the cost of hearing a voice whispering "End it all" every now and then.
Powers:
Focused Assault - Sil can opt to dump a decent amount of mana into her blade, which can then be used to strike at time itself, bypassing defenses of a foe by cutting everything in the space the time occupied.
Regeneration (Gold Coin Spent) - Perhaps it is the result of her new body, perhaps it's subconscious use of accelerated time, or perhaps it's a bit of both. Either way, Sil has a healing factor well beyond anything a human can hope for. Cuts, stabs, missing limbs... none of it really seems to last too long. Decapitation or an exploded heart might be the only way to keep her down for good.
Third Eye (Dark Magical Girl) - Special sight that gives her information a normal magical girl does not receive. She is able to pick up on supernatural things, such as magic, even before the spell is cast. This allows her extra time to react.
Teleportation (Ruby Coin) - Mobility is an important tool to have as an assassin, and doubly so is mobility that is practical in a fight. Silhouette is capable of disappearing and then reappearing some distance away to any point she can see, though it requires more time and effort for longer jumps.
Perks:
Enhanced Weapon - Her weapons may look plain, but they do their job excellently.
Enhanced Outfit - Despite appearances, her attire can take a beating.
Enhanced Transformation - Theatrics don't suit Silhouette very well. She's lessened her downtime between transformation and even protects herself with time magic as she transforming.
Martial Training - As someone in the special forces, who became a hired killer due to talent, who also came to work under a deity dealing with war, Sil is very knowledgeable about war, its tools, and how to use them effectively.
Incognito - Her prior life allowed for no recognition, and so she's learned how to keep her head down and not stick out from the crowd, making it rather difficult to recall her face in passing. It also makes her outfit somewhat ironic.
Gifted(Emergency) - Murder is her talent, and she has proved that her specialization in Time Manipulation was a perfect fit. She is capable of Stasis, a self-made variant of stopping time.
Awareness(Emergency) - Details have always been important to her occupation, be they big or small. She is keen on picking up anything out of the ordinary, and, as one who ambushed people for a living, is especially difficult to ambush herself.
Patron: Vermilion Veronica and the Crimson Cradle (not a band, at least not yet)
Patron Benefits:
Vermilion Veronica:
Black Coin - Spent rather early on, after nearly being defeated by a powerful monster. It has granted her power, but also gave something sinister the chance to manifest.
Non-Exclusivity - Sil had the ability to freely choose an employer on a whim, but has stuck with Veronica despite this. Given the nature of their contract, this isn’t really the case anymore.
The Crimson Cradle:
Top Idol - She did it, boys. Pack your bags, it's all downhill from here. It seems Veronica has taken a fancy to her, and provides her with things a lot easier and more often than any of her other agents. Seeing this sort of preferential treatment may cause feelings of happiness and glee in another, lesser individual. But not in Sil, or so she pretends.
Cradle Supply - Artifacts, agents, weapons... Veronica has them all and won't charge for a loan, so long as things are returned in pristine condition. Mid-mission resupplies aren't out of the question either, provided she's nearby.
Connected - With both the ability to find a fellow agent wherever they may be and the ability to speak with them at any given moment, team coordination should be easy. Should.
Patron Drawbacks:
Vermillion Veronica:
Debt - After Veronica stuck her neck out to retrieve her after the fight with Justine, Sil feels she owes her a debt.
Betrayal - Silhouette is under no impression that a former Mint broker will suddenly start welcoming agents who are of little to no use to her, and she is okay with this.
The Crimson Cradle
Sadistic - To an outsider, the occasional murder attempt from an employer may be a turn off. To Sam, however, it's almost endearing. Given some of the best loadouts, but also given the most difficult of jobs, and critiqued more than anyone else. It's tough love alright.
Exposed - Sil no longer has a true private life. Her every action seems to be recorded by Veronica. And much like a certain search engine, nothing escapes her sight.
Penance - A tool is thrown away when it has no use. Nothing new or surprising here.
Fighting Style: Not long ago, Silhouette preferred to end each encounter as soon as possible. The ideal fight for her was one her opponent never even knew they were a part of. As expected of an assassin, after all. But things have since changed.
Accepting a darker part of herself that she'd been rejecting up until this point, Silhouette now reluctantly understands that fights are enjoyable to her. Because of this, she's unlikely to launch a surprise attack on an unsuspecting foe if she can help it. A fight to test one's limits is preferable.
For actual battle tactics, Silhouette prefers to get close and personal. Her weapon, even by melee standards, is rather short-range. Thus, she is not much of a threat at a distance. She has the tools necessary to keep close to her target and rush them down.
Her default loadout consists of merely her blade, but she may supplement this with Stasis in some form, such as using Stasis on her other arm or an item to act as a small shield. She is prone to using the environment to her advantage. On top of typical stabs and slashes with her blade, she will throw in some punches, kicks, and even grabs if she can.
Personality: Once upon a time, Samantha Howard was a magical girl who experienced almost no emotions and lived only to complete her jobs. As if she were a robot.
Now, however, that has changed. No longer does she suffer an emotional drought. She has now begun to exhibit more than a few human-like qualities.
Silhouette can come off as cold and unapproachable due to her tendency not to speak much unless spoken to, or when the situation calls for it. She is not often the one to start conversations, at least. But she's not hostile by default. Her mannerisms accurately paint the picture that she is a serious human being. That she is, but she isn't devoid of humor. She pretends otherwise, but she desires to be more like other girls -- more open with how she feels. It's not always easy, at least for her.
She is a bit of a sadist, or at least she thinks she is. Upon first getting a good glimpse of Mika's face, all she could really think about (aside from the crippling pain she was experiencing at the time) was how cute it could look if someone messed with her. Unfortunately (or fortunately) she has yet to act upon these sorts of feelings.
Silhouette is also able to take the initiative and plan something for the sake of another. She took note of Richard Davis' destroyed shop sign, the fact that it was his birthday soon, and then sought to celebrate it by baking him a cake. She then learned her talent was not in the kitchen. But, she employed other people who could help her both make a cake and replace the sign he'd lost. There's some generosity in there somewhere.
History: Once upon a time, Silhouette was a young assassin who was renowned for both his skill at completing a job quickly and efficiently. Tempered over countless murders, Silhouette was essentially a robot in that they only cared about completing their job and being paid, and even then, it never seemed like he had any real ambitions or needs that would require a job that was so dangerous. Still, he continued to do what he knew best until a certain job had a rather unintended and significant impact.
Having been contracted to kill a potentially dangerous (to his client) business rival and anyone else in the house at the time, Silhouette was made to dispatch of a man and his wife and child. He did so, but as it turned out, said child was not normal by any means. Having rid the surrounding area its magical protector, things became rather grim when almost immediately, a monsters began to terrorize the place. Were it not for the timely arrival of a displeased patron, Sil may have been among the many who could have died.
As it later turned out, the girl she had replaced was indebted to the Ebon Mint, and her death meant that her debt was transferred to Silhouette. With no knowledge of the magical world, Sil decided against angering the faction, and worked diligently to repay the debt he owed.
Since Veronica’s falling out and creation of the Crimson Cradle, Silhouette abandoned the Mint and has burned that bridge.
Incantation: "I am a blade. A blade knows no fear. A blade knows no doubt. When faced with my enemy, I hesitate not. Magical Girl Transformation!"
Additional Info:
Shade is a quirky, outgoing idol who acts almost nothing like Silhouette. She utilizes the 'fist' weapon Silhouette did when she donned this disguise during the incident in the Overcity, but prefers to avoid fights wherever possible and would much rather befriend people.
Name: Emily Ackerson, Lucifer, An actual cinnamon roll
Fire - Despite her mostly timid and gentle nature, Emily’s specialization gives her enemies no quarter. Though her abilities with the power are nothing to scoff at, the most unique trait about her flames are brilliant, turquoise color they take.
Heat Drain/Vision - Particularly gifted as a Fire-user, Emily can sap flames or heat from the surrounding area, converting it to mana for her own use, so she benefits highly in areas she can set ablaze, hot climates, or against foes that provide her with heat in some way. In addition, she is especially sensitive to temperatures, and is able to see heat signatures.
Weapon:
Purgatory - Gauntlets with a demonic appearance. They glow a bright blue and act as a focus for her magics just as good or perhaps even better than any rod or staff could. They also allow her to strike foes that enter melee range, or to defend her from blows.
Power:
Barrage - Excelling at dealing damage in an AOE, Emily can quickly dish out many smaller blasts and fireballs at enemies. And, should she desire, she can turn up the heat by causing her attacks to detonate shortly after being thrown. This makes her especially deadly to clustered monsters.
Daystar - Emily drains the surrounding area of all heat, and begins dumping her mana into Purgatory. As the charge increases, the focused area in her gauntlets begin to glow brighter and brighter, until it approaches the peak of the charge, at which point the glare is no less intense than the sun. Finally, she fires an overwhelming blast of concentrated heat from her hands, likely disintegrating anything it comes into contact with, as well as scorching things in the immediate area of it.
Power of Friendship - Bestowed upon her by Ruby. Emily can sense when people are sad, how to form a positive relationship with people, and is generally on any given person's good side.
Perks:
Gifted - Able to use Heat Drain/Vision, which is elaborated on above.
Dual Weapon - Her weapon, Purgatory, is not only a fist weapon, but also acts as a focus for her magic.
Purification Artifact - A small, hand-made doll that, while cute in design, can keep ward against monsters when charged by the cleansing property of Fire.
Blood Magic - By dedication and will alone, Emily is able to continue using magic without mana, but at a serious cost to her physical health.
Overcity Shift - Sensitive to the presence of the Overcity, Emily has learned how to willingly enter and exit the place. Which has proved helpful in lowering collateral damage on occasion.
Get Out of Jail - While Emily is no coward, she is not a fool either. In bleak situations where victory is impossible, she has a contingency, though it’s not exactly perfect.
Enhanced Weapon - Strong enough to deflect blows for her, and an incredibly good conductor for her magical powers, Purgatory has proven a perfect weapon for her.
Mana Channel (Ruby Coin) - With intimate knowledge of the magic that courses through her, Emily can use it to assist allies, among other uses.
Absolute Direction Locket - A locket formed by the wish Ruby granted. When opened, it acts as a compass that points in the direction of the item Emily wants to find.
Patron:
Type: Puchuu
Name: Jonald
Patron Benefits:
Job Satisfaction - Slaying monsters protects people, which gives her a feeling of fulfillment.
Mystic Might - Despite their terrible relationship, Jonald is still obligated to provide Emily with mana.
Mana Font - Read above.
Patron Drawbacks:
Hostile - Jonald is not a friend of Emily's. Misinformation and rumor spreading are the norm with him.
Expendable - Emily is not Jonald’s favorite person, one might gather.
Vendetta - The very reason Jonald has become so petty and malicious is because he believes the Ebon Mint had a hand in his former girl’s demise. Naturally, he loathes the organization.
Fighting Style: Though a relatively simple approach, overwhelming foes with constant barrages of flames tends to have favorable results. Emily has become fairly precise in her application of flames due to a desire to avoid collateral damage where possible, despite Fire potentially being the worst in that regard. Thus, she is most often see specifically throwing fireballs and shorter-ranged spews of flames. But in the event that she needn’t worry about hitting other people or things, she’s liable to go all out. Thus, in general, Emily’s biggest weakness would be hostages of some sort, as she’s not the kind of person who ignores the life of an innocent.
Personality: A strong-willed, kind magical girl who dreams of a world without pain and suffering. Emily is characterized by her selflessness, strong sense of justice, and adorable mannerisms when interacting with other magical girls, whom she considers sisters. Emily treasures any moment she gets to spend time with one of her sisters and loathes the idea of being made to fight against one. She is also willing to lend people in need a helping hand and often does volunteer work to assist those less fortunate.
Emily becomes a lot more aggressive, confident, and condescending towards people she faces in battle when she believes them to be ‘evil’, monsters especially so. It is almost as though a switch is flipped at how sudden it can be, though she retains her sense of justice and reluctance to fight other magical girls. She also keeps a warmer attitude towards friends.
History: Even though she had lost her biological parents at an early age, Emily has always been the kind and caring girl with a strong sense of justice she is now. She was lucky enough to be adopted by a kind family and was ever thankful for the parents who gave her a new home and her sister who accepted her into her life and allowed her to live in bliss. But each time she saw news of some tragedy occurring, she wished she could do something about it. Needless to say, when she was approached by a Puchuu while she was walking through the park, she couldn’t help but accept the offer. She felt guilty for essentially abandoning them, and decided to keep watch over them even if she couldn't be with them anymore.
When she was still relatively new to being a magical girl, her Puchuu asked her to help another magical girl who had bitten off more than she could chew. He seemed especially worried about the girl. Emily, of course, obliged and despite the difficulty they faced, the two of them managed to succeed and come out alive. After that point, Emily and the other girl became fast friends.
Over the course of her relatively normal magical girl life, Emily learned a great deal about her partner. That she wasn’t actually Jonald’s magical girl anymore and only saw him because he seemed to truly care about her, that she was indebted to the Ebon Mint for some reason, and that she’d been trying to find someone. To continue working tirelessly to protect people even despite some of the stuff she had to deal with… inspired Emily to try even harder, so she did. She put her all into fighting monsters and saving people with her partner.
But one night, everything changed. Emily noticed a commotion coming from her own neighborhood and went to investigate. She feared for her family’s safety, so that was the first place she visited. When she arrived at her house, she noticed the silhouette of a magical girl exiting the scene, but was much too concerned with her family to pursue them.
When she finally reached them, she found that she was too late. Her entire family had been lost… she had failed to save them. But even though she would later learn a monster was on the prowl, the fatal wounds her family received were certainly not caused by it. It was suspicious, to say the least. And even more so was the fact that Jonald almost seemed inconsolable. Strangely, Emily and Jonald did not actually understand the exact reason why the other was mourning for a couple of days, but when they finally did…
Emily told Jonald she was crying for her family.
And…
Jonald told Emily he mourned for his former magical girl.
Maybe it was just terrible luck? The truth that came to light was that Emily’s partner, the one she’d saved early on in her career, was none other than the sister she’d abandoned. But none of this information had ever even been intentionally hidden from her. Jonald recruited her away from home, Emily had never personally seen where her partner had lived. And of course, Emily was the person her partner was looking for. With how tight-lipped she’d been about WHO it was she was looking for, nobody was ever able to put the pieces together.
Following this tragedy, Jonald was constantly stuck looking into the situation, but they’d decided to move from Penrose for the time being. Still, he eventually found out that the girl Emily saw leaving was a Mint girl, and so he vowed to make them pay. The assumption was that they’d personally had her eliminated, presumably for debt-related reasons. For Jonald this was enough, but Emily couldn’t understand that. From what she had heard, the Mint wasn’t some bloodthirsty organization, but one that sought profits and information. Her partner never seemed like a person they’d consider dead weight, and even then, rumors suggested the Mint preferred to be a bit more subtle about those things.
Emily and Jonald had a serious falling out then. She wouldn’t be a part of this misguided attempt at vengeance, it’s not what her sister would have wanted, anyways. But Jonald, thinking it appalling that his friend’s very own sister would act that way, came to treat her like garbage, and spread many rumors about her. Theirs became a rather shaky relationship only held together by the fact that it did not seem like the Puchuu’s crusade was in the interest of the others, so he was still obligated to provide her with the bare-minimum assistance.
Thus it was until Emily finally decided to return to Penrose some years later, as stranger and stranger things continued to happen there.
Incantation: "I am the Star of Morning, the Child of Dawn. The Star thrown down to the Earth shall obtain victory!"
Additional Info: Emily was a bit of a chuuni in her human life. She also call her Puchuu Jonald out of spite, so it’s something she came up with.
Her hair is extremely long in her human form and in contrast to her rather conservative appearance in her transformed state, she wears comparatively little clothing when she can, whether or not it is in good condition or not. Since she is rather prone to doing reckless things even in her human form, she is often covered with bandages and forgets to take them off even if the wound has healed.
While the strange dress-like armor and the ribbons don't exactly inspire fear from first glance, the juxtaposition from the bloodstains and the disturbingly bright yet twisted expressions she makes might. Aside from her armor, the most notable change from her human form is the shortening of her hair and the tips of each strand that almost seemed to be dyed red from blood.
As she succumbs to true madness, her armor almost seems to be corrupted along with her, emanating an ominous purple haze and turning a similar color. Also, it twists to accommodate her new features -- it gains a helmet with openings for the horns she sprouts, as well as spiked gauntlets for her claws. Though it is often quickly hidden, beneath the armor she grows fangs. During this time, her eyes glow an unsettling golden color which can be seen through the visor.
Specialization:
Gravity - As she is not as magically-inclined as other girls, she avoids going overboard with her use of Gravity. That said, she is as experienced as one can be in the specialization, able to use it in any manner a typical user could. She does not commonly use it to directly attack, preferring to use it as a supplement instead. Things such as reducing her weight so she can move faster, increasing an opponent's weight so they're slower, or even increasing the weight of an attack so it hits harder are all things she can be seen doing.
Weapon:
Mars - What appears to simply be a scutum. Naturally, it excels at blocking attacks. Though Hilaria wields it with apparent ease, it is rather heavy and thus can be used for blunt shield attacks. If she so desires, the shield can morph around her hands and become huge gauntlets that allow her to pummel enemies. As with her armor, it seems to be bloodstained.
Vulcan (G) - An odd weapon taking the form of a Spas-12 with what seems to be the head of an axe attached to the underside. Thus is can be used both chop foes to bits or to blast them away at a moderate range. Still, the weapon is most effective in any scenario when it is in close range.
Power:
Third Eye - Hilaria's special eyes allow her to detect magic, among other unnatural things. This allows her to properly identify and respond to spells being used by enemies, or to find Overcity entrances.
Regeneration (Dark Magical Girl) - Healing at a degree not possible by every magical girl, and a side effect of her corruption. What damage she takes is soon healed by her power, and even injuries like missing limbs are only temporary. Fueled by her corruption, she is essentially stitched back together via small black tendrils that extend from the wounds, pulling the wounds closed. Recovering from serious wounds is often accompanied by the unnerving sound of bones snapping back into place and the spurting of blood.
Perks:
Dual Weapon - Hilaria's shotgun, Vulcan, is also part axe. Her shield, Mars, can turn into a fist weapon.
Enhanced Outfit - Her armor provides excellent protection against most attacks.
Big Damn Hero - Hilaria can manage to arrive at the last moment to protect a person or a location, provided she has gifted them with a special curiosity in the form of a gold shotgun shell she has personally made.
Interdimensional Home - A small studio in a pocket dimension Hilaria has access to. She has decorated the walls with a few weapons from different ages, such as swords, shields, muskets, and assault rifles she has put into cases. It resembles a mini barracks more than anything.
Sturdy (Ruby Coin) - Hilaria is made from tougher stuff than your average magical girl. Able to take a beating and keep on going, and death will not find her without a fight.
Monstrous Metamorphosis (Contract) - Provided there's enough emotional stimulus, Hilaria may enter a berserk state where she becomes more powerful at the cost of rational thought.
Patron, Benefits, and Drawbacks:
Dan:
Interdimensional Archipelago - With contract with Dan, Hilaria has access to the beach dimension whenever she pleases. With ten seconds of concentration, she can open a portal of varying size to it.
Keijo Training - Knowledge of the ancient art of Keijo has helped Hilaria grow stronger at close-combat and, through breathing exercises, has increased her mana expenditure by a bit.
Physical Prowess - She is one tough magical girl.
Supplier - Hilaria isn’t sure where all of this stuff comes from, to be honest.
Retrieval - Dan doesn’t seem like the sort to abandon an ally in need.
Lonely - Dan isn’t too fond of being ignored, and is liable to resort to petty curses if he is neglected for too long.
Joy Eater - As Dan feeds on positive emotions, he grows weaker without them, at a potential cost towards Hilaria the longer he is deprived.
Big Brother - Due to requiring positive emotions, it’s understandable that he’d be more involved in the private life of his magical girls. But some might say it’s a bit too much.
Clueless - Hilaria has to admit that Dan is not the most intelligent Patron she’s worked with, and doesn’t expect too much from him.
Fighting Style: Brutal and unpredictable are the two best words to describe how she fights. She is a physical attacker with both high defense and high attack, and is suited best for close-range combat. She has a couple different ways she can approach any given situation.
Typically, her first instinct is to use her scutum and shotgun-axe in unison. Vicious strikes from her axe, unpredictable blasts from the shotgun it is attached to, and an incredibly strong defense from her shield make head-on assaults a scary idea to most. Though certainly not lacking in offense, this approach is considered a very defensive one, and though she is able to provide quick, agile blows, she is rather slow to pursue or move long distances.
Her other method of fighting would be to transform her scutum, Mars, into a fist weapon, often also forgoing Vulcan, though not always. With this method, she pursues her foes with reckless abandon, putting her all into offense. She’ll throw relentless punches, grapple, and smash with gravity-empowered attacks that can leave craters in the ground. She is also more prone to allowing herself to be hit by an attack if it’ll give her a chance to return the favor, and has on more than one occasion lost limbs because of this.
She would fit the role of a tank or bruiser rather well, if one were to label her. With, perhaps, a side of berserker.
Strength - 4 = Base +1 STR from Overdeveloped +2 STR from having 2 Melee Weapons +2 STR from Dual Weapon bonus stacking twice +1 STR from Physical Prowess Universal Benefit +6 STR from spending 3 Silver Coins +2 STR from transforming into Monster Metamorphosis (temp) Total = 16 (18)
Agility - 4 = Base +0 AGI from no modifiers +2 AGI from transforming into Monster Metamorphosis (temp) Total = 4 (6)
Vitality - 4 = Base +2 VIT from having 2 Melee Weapons +1 VIT from having a uniform +1 VIT from Enhanced Outfit bonus +4 VIT from spending 4 Bronze coins +1 VIT from Sturdy (Ruby Coin) +2 VIT from transforming into Monster Metamorphosis (temp) Total = 15 (17)
Magic - 4 = Base +4 MAG from having Gravity Specialization Total = 8
Luck - 4 = Base Total = 4
Personality: The first impression Hilaria gives is that she is a rather ditzy, vivacious, but well-meaning magical girl who is always willing to offer a hand to those in need. Her approach to any given situation is often blithe, even pressing matters. She is the sort of person who can talk about anything with a smile on her face, even if the subject itself is considered gruesome or taboo. About the only thing she does take seriously is matters pertaining to food. She is most definitely a glutton, and food would be her top priority 9 times out of 10.
Hilaria has an odd way of speaking, which is one of the first things people will pick up on when interacting with her. Much like herself, her words often have no real sense of urgency and are drawn out, subject to strange modulation wherein she tends to drag out and strengthen her tone at the end of a sentence in particular. But more notable than that is that she always refers to herself in the third person barring special circumstances. The dropping of this particular quirk is often the easiest way to gauge her mood.
Additionally, she is quite the arrogant person. She has no problem dismissing the ideas and opinions of others on the grounds that they are simply 'ignorant' of how things are. In her own opinion, all the other girls are inexperienced and thusly could not know the truth of the world, and how futile certain aspects of it are. Yes, they don't comprehend how utterly pointless fighting each other instead of monsters is, or that attachments will only ever end in pain. But as she has tried and failed to explain on many occasions before, she understands that the other girls would rather learn from experience than to take it from her. She speaks these things as fact, but does not try to force others to accept it.
Her behavior is naturally influenced by these 'truths'. So long as it isn't a mindless monster, Hilaria has no real qualms about assisting any faction. They are all equal in her eyes. She will not directly help in homicide as one of her conditions, but will aid in things that aren't exactly becoming of a typical magical girl. Likewise, due to her understanding that attachments always end poorly, she forms only the most basic of relationships with others. Even if her expression and actions say otherwise, she doesn't particularly care about anyone at all.
Age has certainly corrupted the girl more than any overload of magical energy ever could.
History: A lot of details elude her about her past, but she does recall that at some point she’d been human and a puuchu had approached her. It offered her the ability to become a hero who could save those in need, and at the time this was exactly what she desired. She spent a while playing hero until eventually she had a falling out with her patron, who had betrayed her trust. Sometime after this, she became a member of Beacon and developed a deep bond with her allies there. Yet, after an incident in which she tried to sacrifice herself to save the others, she became a corrupted magical girl, and they didn’t seem to hesitate to ostracize her. Finally, her original goal had been to save humanity from their greatest threats, but the futility of this endeavor had eluded her until she witnessed countless wars and came to the conclusion that the biggest threats to humans were none other than humans themselves.
These events all happening in the span of a few decades, Hilaria found it more and more difficult to remain the blindly optimistic girl she had been, but she continued to try. She would go on to form numerous relationships with people and patrons. Some lovers, too. But no matter what she did, she’d lose the ones she cared for most and would find something unsatisfactory about her employers, all the while humans would continue their wars and people would die meaningless deaths. Hilaria soon found it difficult to motivate herself to help others, and from there apathy set in. Everything seemed so pointless, so futile. And it still does. But what else could she do? Even if it was hard, she may as well help someone.
Incantation: "Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixture dementia fuit.”
Additional Info: Her exact age is unknown, but going off of the armor she recalls seeing humans wear shortly after she was contracted, she was likely born at the beginning or just before the First Crusade. That said, she seems to have some fascination with Rome and the Greek Gods, going off her naming scheme.
Though normally her age would suggest she should own power unrivaled by other magical girls, she never remained loyal to any single patron long enough to gather that sort of power. What coins she did obtain, she frivolously spent on changing aspects about her -- her initial form was much different than the one she has nowadays.
I don't have the energy to apply the coins from the end of the season tonight so these are technically WIPs. I will obviously let you know when that happens.
There was a unique surreality to watching a devious entity nonchalantly flip through the pages of a book while the van carried them to their destination, but that is what Silhouette's fellow agents had to witness during their trip.
He had opted to remain silent as he took in the contents of his book which, if anyone bothered to look at the cover, was a cheap horror novel that he had been partway through reading before this drive. Periodically, he would set down the novel and jot some notes down in a notebook, then pick back up where he left off, almost like a student taking notes rather than a person reading for pleasure.
It was Binky's voice that finally prompted him to put the book away rather than the bump the van ran over. He glanced up and paid her his full attention, listening intently to the quick recap of their briefing and then to Valkyrie's opinion on their course of action. He presented his own after.
"While I wholeheartedly loathe the idea to trust my own wellbeing, as well as those of my fellow G.E.M.I.N.I agents, to a blood mage encountered during our last operation... I find that it is the more preferable alternative to engaging with Maverick espers when they are not even our target. Each breath, melody, and second spent on them is a precious waste of resources." Sil points out, his words spoken in a cool, neutral tone. "The prudent choice, in my opinion, is to take the bold, direct approach and carve that path as swiftly as we may. I agree with fellow agent Valkyrie. As for questions, I have but one clarification: Are we to attempt to assist with Justin, or would we just be potential burdens? You are typically a contingency rather than a dependency for missions you are involved with, so I would like to make absolutely certain how we should approach that part of the mission."
The 'drama' that goes on in the status bar honestly doesn't seem serious enough to warrant any significant action to be taken against it. You can always first try the more reasonable solution of 'just moderate better LMAO' if it does become serious enough. In this case, I do think the status bar makes the site feel more alive. While I often do not participate in it, I do not want to see it removed for what is essentially some baby-tier trolling.
"Mediocre collab headers are my speciality." "Yeah, I see that."
— Sam & The Fritz
Mission Accomplished.
With the police precinct swept and cleared of all danger and the hostages tended to, one might not be blamed for thinking that Samuel was finally finished with his work, but that simply wasn't the case. In fact, truth be told, he considered the next part to be equal to the raid in terms of mental strain.
He needed to meet with his boss and debrief.
Samuel set off and left the police precinct behind him, but not before ducking into a room and discarding his shadow-borne demonic visage and returning to his mundane human form.
There was a really specific reason for this. It wasn't that Samuel had read and memorized G.E.M.I.N.I's dress code and found that his demonic form did not adhere to the standards set by them, despite basing part of its appearance on his actual clothing. Or that he worried he might cause unnecessary panic or offense. No, it was far more personal than that.
My arm sure hurts! Being shot is quite an unpleasant feeling. Though I suppose not feeling it would have its unfavorable implications. Thank goodness I can change form to recover!
Samuel carried onward without any incident, passing by a now-defunct racecar-themed diner and approaching a local grocery store, following the sidewalk despite there being no risk of traffic currently and walking at a normal pace. He even checked his email and made a quick call to an acquaintance that had rung him at some point during the operation.
Eventually, the man reached his destination: the office of Dr. Fritzi Moller, situated somewhere beneath the aforementioned grocery store. Samuel's arrival was prompt but it was not familiarity that he owed for this. This would be his first time seeing the office situation in Pax Septimus and though his expression hid any ounce of it, well, he was a bit eager to see what it was like.
With a light rap of his knuckles on the side of the door, he announced his presence to the woman who he hoped was inside.
”Come in.”
With Fritzi’s permission, Samuel opened the door and invited himself inside. This was not the first time he had stepped into one of Fritzi’s offices. Little of what he saw would surprise him.
Fritzi had always stated how much she hated clutter and preferred to have the essentials and little else. The office was the same shade of white that they used in hospitals, illuminated by fluorescent lights. Her desk was a white rectangle, but it was far too glossy to be wood. Perhaps it was made out of plexiglass or some other synthetic material. The computer setup was pretty minimalist too, with only the keyboard and monitor visible. There didn’t seem to be any wires, but they were likely fed through the desk itself. There was a bookshelf on the back wall, but it was empty. Unlike the filing cabinets on either side which Fritzi seemed to be in the process of filling. But while Fritzi claimed to hate clutter, she did have a lot of things most people would consider frivolous. The top layer of her desk was transparent, and let multicolored lights shine through. They were displaying an animation of a pixel art spaceship firing on alien invaders. The ceiling also had a few model plains hung up here and there. Some of the planes were from the early years of flight while others were more modern or fantastical. There were sculptures of chemical compounds in bold colors that stood out against the pure white wall. There were also a few movie posters, everything from space operas, to frontier adventures, and even one for a magical girl anime. Otherwise, yea, Fritzi didn’t enjoy frills too much.
”A lot of this was already here.” She said, despite Samuel remembering almost everything from her old office. ”Saves me from having to unpack. So, you have something for me?”
Samuel took in the view without uttering a word or changing expression, but he was comparing it to the office that resided in his mind. It was so... full, or that's what Samuel thought despite the room projecting the ‘minimalist’ vibe of its owner's preference. But you could gleam snippets of the person behind the room, albeit only a bit, through what little inhabited it.
The room still has the same feeling as the last one, even if they're completely different.
The man offered a courteous smile and did not show any skepticism towards Fritzi's excuse. He gave a slight nod to her question and then replied without further delay. "A detailed recollection of the events that transpired within the police precinct to the best of my ability from the moment I finished clearing the perimeter of hostile chaotic elements, to the moment cleanup of the precinct had concluded. Also, there was a certain observation I had towards the end that I wished to bring to your attention, though I admit it could simply be trivial."
Fritzi would find Samuel to stay true to his word as he recounted the events that happened and concluded not long ago. She didn’t have to try hard to paint a vivid picture in her mind of what happened from his descriptions which left little unsaid. It pointed to quite the memory and attention to detail, at least. "...but mainly, there was a pair of bite marks on the back of King Cobra's neck that I couldn't help but associate with a vampire. Combined with his elongated cuspids and feral bite attempt preceding his demise, I am unable to ignore it."
”It’s an interesting detail, isn’t it?” Fritzi leaned forward in her seat. ”But if he had bite marks, that makes him a thrall. Real vampires can’t make more vampires, instead, they make weaker versions of themselves that they can fully control. The bulk of the blood they drink they return to their master.” Fritzi started typing on her keyboard. ”Shimr has a few vampire-related requests too, Hard to say if they’re true vampires or thralls yet, as even espers tend to confuse the two. Binky also overheard some espers mention vampires. Something about a violinist getting enthralled by a vampire named Justin. We have a bit of intel on Justin von Carnage, however…” She looked at Samuel. ”Like I told Binky, It’s a little early to pin this all on a big bad like that.” She looked at Sam’s legs. ”Next time you’re in here, I’ll have chairs. What’s it been, hours since we set up?”
Samuel politely smiled. “Only a few,” he answered, not bothering to retrieve his phone or look for a clock, leading one to believe he had already checked before entering the room. He continued, touching back on the subject of vampires momentarily. “But not too long. I imagine I’ll spend more time studying whatever material we might have on vampires if only to separate known fact from fiction.” He seemed to consider saying more on the subject, but ultimately refrained. He then leaned ever so slightly on the balls of his feet. “In any case, it’s probably for the best. Truth be told, I am unlikely to want to stand again for some time if I let myself relax now.”
”I guess that’s true.” She agreed. ”As for vampires, there’s not a lot we really know. You can forget about most of the obscure details about them. Spreading mustard seed on your roof, refusing to extend them an invitation, things like that don’t work on them. The last vampire we found did take special care to kill. Unless you destroy its heart, it’ll keep on coming. Even a decapitation won’t end them, but you might find some amusement as they try to chase down their head and reattach it.” She tapped a single button on her keyboard. ”I pretty much covered everything, but I’ve sent you all of our documentation, including footage of our tests. Best not to watch those in public, they’re pretty gruesome. Unless your date is into horror movies? Regardless, their arcane abilities are as varied as an espers, and we don’t yet know all of what Justin von Carnage can do.”
After the business side of the discussion was taken care of, Fritzi folded her hands together. ”You could hit the books right now, however...” The corners of her lips curled into a smile. ”I wasn’t sure if you wanted to, you know, spar a bit with me?”
Veronica's words gave Samuel pause and his smile dropped. "Today was quite eventful," he responded, slightly altering his stance to lean on a different part of his feet. "...life-threatening situations do take a lot out of you, and that's not counting the notes I used during them..." his tone seems to suggest that he is going to decline but his eyes, briefly, lock on to Fritzi's smile before closing, taking a drawn-out breath.
When he was done, his courteous smile reappeared and his opened eyes seemed to convey his acceptance. "...though I suppose that is all the more reason to try to improve. And I don't think I've quite earned my rest, anyhow."
”Wonderful!” Fritzi clapped her hands together. ”Right this way!”
…
…
…
The arena Fritzi chose as their sparring ground was not much larger than her office. It was worn out but had also been touched by Fritzi’s sense of whimsy. Plastered right over the peeling walls were more movie posters, including a horror one featuring a hospital that towered into the sky. But the appearance of the small room hardly mattered, as the two combatants were locked in a fight neither wanted to lose.
A table sat between them, but that stopped neither one from brandishing their weapons. They took turns swinging at each other, each warrior wanting nothing more than to deal a decisive blow to the other one. They maneuvered around the table to try and get a shot in, but both were maintaining a pretty good defense. Then out of the blue, Fritzi raised her weapon over her head and stepped away from the table. With a savage swing, she delivered a strike that was sure to end the match. But her aim was off, and her attack ended up hitting a small net on the table. It wasn’t very big, but it reversed her attack, causing her to lose the round.
The ping pong ball bounced off the table and landed in Fritzi’s open hand. ”Your point I guess, not that we’re keeping score.” She spun the paddle in her hand before tossing the ball to Samuel ”But if we were, you’d have some serious catching up to do.”
Samuel’s labored breathing indicated he had been getting quite into the match, which made Veronica’s statement all the more depressing. “...the match would be over if we had been. Seventeen to five. It was different when I was younger, but nowadays, games are played to eleven points.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Admittedly, my pride has taken a resounding blow. Granted it was mostly the version that involved alcohol played with coworkers every now and then, but I usually was one of the better players. I don’t think people would get that impression were they to watch this…”
Fritzi was elated by Samuel’s story. ”Oh! Do you fancy yourself a drunken boxer then?”
“No,” he shook his head, chuckling at the idea and lying with ease that rivaled his autonomic breathing. But that didn’t stop her from moving.
Fritzi walked over to one of the framed posters on the wall, looked at Samuel, and then raised a finger to her lips. She used her free hand to tip the poster out of the way, revealing a small safe. With her paddle still in her hand, she used the tip of her finger to turn a dial back and forth until the safe opened. She opened the door, pulled out a bottle, and used her hip to swing it shut. Then she came back to the ping pong table and set the bottle in front of Sam. ”One of the pros to working under a grocery store is that this stuff is pretty easy to come by. I’m thinking about getting the safe removed and installing a fridge in its place.”
He watched with curiosity as Veronica retrieved a bottle of beer and placed it before him. Strangely, he didn’t seem very surprised that it’s was there and twisted the top off easily. “My former boss did something very similar and said he got the idea from his old boss,” Sam replied, taking a reserved sip. “To keep their lunch fresh, and their water bottles cold, of course.”
”Former boss? I don’t think you’ve told me about him.” Fritzi raised an eyebrow. ”Or her?”
“...from my former occupation as staff manager at the company I was affiliated with up until the incident that introduced me to the magical side of the world? He was quite flippant, but never gave people reason to doubt his skills,” Sam explained. “Also seemed to hold me in high regard, so my sudden resignation was quite the shock to him, I’m sure. But I can’t commit myself to a job like that AND my duty as a member of G.E.M.I.N.I, so…” He seemed to have put a good deal of thought into the subject. “...I’m sure when and if my time with G.E.M.I.N.I comes to a close, my next employer will find the drastic shift quite interesting.”
”Good to know you don’t plan on entering retirement.”
“Not until I have to. If I even need to.” Samuel looked at the bottle for a moment, then took a drink. “An Esper with a butler aesthetic tried to take my life today. This occupation comes with… unique hazards.”
Fritzi barely had time to smile before the two were distracted by a buzzing sound. It was Fritzi’s tablet, which was vibrating under her coat. ”I thought the whole point of ‘vibrate’ was that it wasn’t supposed to make noise.” She hoisted her tablet out of her lab coat and scrolled a bit. ”But I suppose we can’t be too picky when fate throws us a bone.” She set the tablet down on the end of the table beside the bottle of beer. It was a page on Shimr discussing some footage that had been recorded by security cameras at the Great Escape. There in plain view was Justin Von Carnage trouncing around like he owned the place. ”Pretty ballsy for him to show up at one of the freelancer’s ‘outposts.’ What do you make of this?” Sam had only known Fritzi for his short time working with G.E.M.I.N.I., but he knew she was already coming to her own conclusion.
Samuel ponders the question for a minute. “Either a blessing or a curse,” he would say, but his expression betrays that he doesn’t think it’s positive in the least. “How much are you willing to stake on him being fatally arrogant?”
”His arrogance isn’t unjustified.” Fritzi looked back at the video. ”Until recently the Iron Queen ensured esper resistance in the area was crushed under her heel. It’s only natural for a few people to become complacent in her absence. Though he’s also fairly strong, even by the standards of a vampire. He could have grown accustomed to going where he pleased. Or, we have some pretender on our hands.”
"I'll pity him if he's just someone playing pretend. He's clearly ignorant of what that entails, and it's not going to end well for him,"
She tapped her finger against her arm. ”I’m sorry, you mentioned an esper that looked like a butler? What exactly do you remember about them?”
"In hindsight, I should have immediately identified them as an Esper. My lesser experience in these tense situations could've cost us everything..." He lamented his oversight but didn't let it trip him up for long. "Anyway, appearance-wise, he was an older gentleman who, as I've said, looked like a butler or waiter from the clothes he was wearing. His attitude matched, too. Even in that chaotic battle, he saw it fit to introduce himself as 'Servant Sofron'."
Samuel mimicked the action of pointing his hand at Veronica as though he was going to fire a note. "A single melody from him drastically changed the momentum we had gained in battle up to that point. He set the hallway we were in ablaze, and more than that, it hindered my own ability to conjure up retaliation." His voice suggested a mixture of awe and a smidge of terror, ironically. "There is no doubt in my mind that he was the strongest individual in that building out of the ones I encountered, at least in terms of magical talent."
”That sounds a lot like Baleful Sofron.” Fritzi eyed the tip of Samuel’s finger. ”He doesn’t exclusively work for Justin, but he has worked with him in the past on numerous occasions. I’m almost a hundred percent sure he was there to oversee Cobra Gang’s success. Justin Von Carnage is becoming an attractive target.” She flicked her eyes up to Sam and grinned. ”I dont think your time reading up on vampires will be wasted.”
Samuel took one last look at the 'vampire', then shrugged. "Either way, yes, I'm sure I'll get mileage out of this knowledge. I didn't notice bite marks on anyone else in the precinct, and I don't believe they suddenly became a fad… not that I keep up with those, mind you.”
He stood up straight, clenching a determined fist. "It's just another problem to be dealt with, in any case. With proper preparation, we'll inevitably cross that check off the list."
”If thralls keep showing up, he’ll definitely be our next target.” She slipped the tablet back into her coat. ”The last operation went as well as could be expected, but I think G.E.M.I.N.I. needs to prove it can stand without the help of the freelancers.” She fret her brow. ”Did you see them? They had the audacity to expect on-site catering? No wonder Pax Septimus is the way it is.” With a sigh, she tipped her head. ”Though I guess it’s understandable. We just happened to show up days after Penny was declared missing. It probably looks like we were afraid of her. All the more reason to show everyone we’re worth their tax dollars.”
“The operation would not have proceeded half as smoothly without Freelancer aid, which is something I loathe to see.” At some point, Samuel managed to drink half the beer. He looked at the drained bottle with pensive eyes. “Outsourcing has its uses, of course, but being reliant upon it does G.E.M.I.N.I no favors. The moment there’s a lull in payment, we’ll see those very same Freelancers beside Maverick, most assuredly.” Samuel’s tone does little to hide his dislike for either of the other factions, but with prior conversations in mind, Veronica would likely have gathered that he particularly disliked Freelancers.
He remains silent for a few moments, then speaks as though the edge in his tone never occurred.. “On my end, I suppose I will work towards becoming a better asset for G.E.M.I.N.I, so that there is less pressure for outsourcing.”
The doctor’s lips curled into a smirk. ”Then we are going to need to spar more to get you back into shape.” Fritzi picked up the bottle, only to stop when she realized how light it was. Her eyes looked down at the bottle. ”Hmmm, I wonder if they make refrigerated safes.”
You showed up.
One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave.
I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list [url=https://vndb.org/u29404/ulist?vnlist=1]here[/url] as it contains everything important on it.
As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions.
For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers.
I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here.
Also, fuck you, Broken.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">You showed up. <br><br>One way or another, you've arrived at my profile. You've taken a wrong turn in an alleyway because you didn't pay enough attention to your map. You've heard of something cool and new and thought maybe you'd see what all the fuss is about? Or maybe it is that you noticed like me updating my status or were lurking through an RP or something I am in and just kinda clicked my profile, that happens too. Regardless, you'll come to learn that your actions have consequences. Not this one since you can always just, like, leave. <br><br>I have a few names and I don't mind being called whatever you fancy at that given time. KingofTheSpectrum, FamishedPants, ChadChadlainn. Any derivative of these is fine as well. Most tend to use Pants, however. I'm nearing my thirties and enjoy games, anime, V-tubers, and visual novels. You can find my still-obsolete list <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://vndb.org/u29404/ulist?vnlist=1">here</a> as it contains everything important on it. <br><br>As for games particularly, I am a huge fan of Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid, Nier and its sequel, FFXIV, and recently, Project Wingman.I tend to lean towards shooters and action games, but I have also wasted 8+ years on League of Legends. I think the only games I tend to avoid are card games and sports games, but there can always be exceptions. <br><br>For anime, I tend to watch whatever looks entertaining. It doesn't have to be good. I've seen a lot of the generic, poor-quality isekai harems that are out there. It's difficult to remember what I actually genuinely like, but Chaika the Coffin Princess comes to mind, as well as FMA: Brotherhood. I'm currently enjoying Tokyo Revengers. <br><br>I've read my fair share of visual novels, as my list would tell you. I can't recommend going through Muv Luv Extra/Unlimited, then playing Alternative enough! Big fan of Rance, Grisaia no Kajitsu, and Demonbane as well. I could probably go on and on about them, but I'll stop here. <br><br>Also, fuck you, Broken. <br></div>
Member
Nyahahameha
Izurich
BrokenPromise
Shin Ghost Note
twave
