JohnSolaris

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

Hanazawa Maria

Suddenly, the guy perched on the rooftop ahead of me fires off a shot of his own, which rips the gunner in half. Wow, he's not joking around. Then he takes another three shots. So, I guess he's on my side, for now... My attackers are getting closer to me now, giving me a better look at them. From the sleek and mechanical feel of their auras, I can tell that the spirits are all PCUs. And not just any PCUs... Bernoulli was nice enough to let us analyze him when he joined, and these guys feel very similar. It's like remains of other spirits have been stitched into them with unsettling efficiency, really hammering in the idea that the only spirits that can be allowed to exist are ones that serve humans without question. Yep, those are Protectorate PCUs.

Sigh. Of course it's those psychos. Who else had given the Union so much trouble after we were created? Ugh. Now, should I-

Before I can finish my thought, another wave of energy from those Protectorate guys washes over me, this one a lot more unpleasant. As in, literally, it's so bad that it makes all my senses recoil from the contact, including the sixth sense, and they remain numb even after it goes away. Ahaha, a blinding spell? Passable, but you gotta do better than that if you wanna shut me down, losers! I focus inward and quickly flood myself with invigorating energy, washing away the numbness.

Are you all right, Maria? I hear Mikkun's telepathic voice through our pact. Do you want me to come and help?

Nah, I can handle these idiots, I say. Besides, seems like I've got help too?

Very well. I feel Mikkun mentally nod. Be careful.

Yeah, I will. I telepathically send the thought of a smile. Thanks.

One of the PCUs is coming close now. It's almost two meters tall, looking like a particularly strong and imposing human, clad in shiny, steely gray mechanical plates, but the way it moves with streamlined fluidity tells me that it's probably a lot more agile than it looks. Liquid metal materializes around its arms and solidify into a pair of bladed tonfas, and the robotic white eye lights from its visor focus on... the indistinct blur from before. He stops just in front of me, squaring off against the PCU. Hmm... I can vaguely feel that he's Light-aligned, but even at this distance, I can't tell much else from him through my passive sixth sense alone. And if I try to pierce that veil with a scanning spell, I'll almost definitely expose myself as well. Hmm... If he's with the Celestiarchy, it makes sense for him to fight those Protectorate psychos. But that means I can't really trust him either... And I don't know about the guy over there on the rooftop either; still too far away to tell anything without giving myself away. What to do...

Oh, I know.

Under the illusory veil I've been maintaining, I condense my power into a small blob around my soul. Keeping another veil around myself in this blob form, I sink into the ground, leaving my former body an empty shell made of dreamstuff. It's effectively an actual corpse now, so I let the veil around it fade away, subtly enough that people won't notice the change unless they're at least as good at this as myself, since the projected illusion and the real thing underneath are now identical. Phasing through the solid ground, I horizontally dash away, then up into the air. And...

Pure Trance.

The veil falls apart around me, revealing the new body that I've just created. The basic shape is the same, but it's now wearing a backless white evening gown, revealing the pair of large, feathery angelic wings now coming out of my back. My hair is now silvery white, and flowing past my waist. This time my legs are bare, hints of them showing through the dress, and on my feet are strappy silver heels. A silver necklace, pair of bracelets, and earrings. White nail polish. And lastly, a silver mask covers my whole face, smooth except some wing-like patterns etched around the eye holes, a soft lavender light glowing from underneath.

Oh, and my old body is still on the ground, as I descend from the sky. I don't know if any of them had gotten clear looks at my aura before, but my aura is definitely different now, a gentle white that should look Light-aligned unless they carefully analyze it to find the impurities. With me looking like an angel right now, and very different from the body that lies on the ground, hopefully those Protectorate assassins will think that I'm someone new and not the Hanazawa Maria that they've been sent to eliminate. And hopefully this other Light-aligned person will see me as friendly. If I've had more time, maybe I could've made a better disguise, but it's not my specialty, so this'll have to do for now...

"I heard a gunshot. Who are you, and why are you attacking innocent people?" I say to the PCU, in a gentle voice that has a bit of otherworldly reverberations to it. "Are you here to stop him?" I ask the indistinct blur. Of course, I don't really expect the PCU to answer, but hopefully my wording will make the other guy cooperate with me...

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

Edit: OH yeah, I meant to ask. Mantles sometimes retain a souls memories, so that would mean Jack has memories of the various mantles he obtained after the consumption of the demon, correct? I was thinking about using this for an interesting plot point.

@FrozenEcstasy

Yeah, he could retain those memories if you want.

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

@FrozenEcstasy: Your characters are accepted.

I edited the paragraph in section 2.1.3 of the Codex about the sixth sense a bit more:

The passive form of the sixth sense, always active by default, exists as a minuscule field of magic around the soul that weakens as distance increases, forming a basic image of its surroundings. It becomes weaker the further away it expands from the origin, and will have more trouble penetrating dense, powerful materials. The active form of the sixth sense, activated at will by those more skilled, forms a more detailed image of the soul’s surroundings by sending out waves of scanning magic, a process not dissimilar to echolocation; it also weakens with distance. It is possible for the user to use more power or skill to make the scanning more effective. The mana of the passive sixth sense is extremely faint, and requires an incredible amount of skill to detect, but more powerful scanning magic like the active sixth sense is naturally easier to detect. Additional magical effects can also be used to make the scanning more difficult to detect. Note that even if the presence of a scanning wave is detected, it may not be possible to tell its exact point of origin, especially if it’s far away from the detector, as the wave front is likely to have expanded to the point where it resembles nothing more than a flat wall of energy.

Also added this at the end of the Alignments section in the opening post:

Perhaps because of their extraterrestrial nature, the alignments of Light and Dark are potentially corrupting to one's soul. If a being is reckless in expanding the potency of her Light or Dark magic, or simply gives in to the corruption willingly, her power will grow more quickly than normal, at the cost of warping her mind and soul. Light-aligned warping causes her to become more adamantly and zealously believing in her ideals, while Dark-aligned warping causes her to become more willing to indulge in her desires and urges. This will eventually make her become the worst examples of angel or demon mentality as mentioned above; the more radical of angels and demons view this as a positive change that perfects the psyche. Hybrid alignments containing Neutral will dilute both the positive and negative effects of corruption, and the Light and Dark components in a Hybrid person can warp her in ways that do not cancel each other out. Of course, with sufficient care, anyone can train safely without being corrupted by her own magic.

Again, this was always supposed to be a thing, but I forgot to add it. It was present in another document of mine, and I forgot that it wasn't said here. So yeah, if you want to play as someone who got corrupted by her own power, now you can.

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

(providing my CSs are accepted first)

@FrozenEcstasy

I PM'd you with things that still need to be changed. You'll be accepted after you make those changes.

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

Hanazawa Maria

So... I've been stood up.

...well, no, not really. I'm the one who's early. But hey, come on, if you ask a girl to meet you, alone, claiming to be a fan of hers, shouldn't you be the one who's supposed to come early? Especially if it's at some back-alley warehouse like this, in the slums. Seriously, can there possibly be a less romantic spot for a date? Geez, some guys...

Or maybe this whole thing is just some kind of trap.

I mean, I don't want to be too quick to judge, but... So a guy emails us and says he wants to join the Union. Okay, fair enough. And he says he's specifically a big fan of yours truly. Still fair, and I'm flattered. But then he says he wants to meet me, alone, at this secluded area, so that he can ask me some questions before joining. Um... Yes, he could just be a really enthusiastic fan who's a bit clueless about etiquette and stuff. On the other hand, he could be a stalker, at the very least, if not something even worse. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt here, since I came at all, but I'm not stupid enough to completely rule out these things when there's suspicious behavior.

And I'm bored... Even though it's only been around fifteen minutes. There isn't even any good scenery around here.

Nah, that's not true. I am the best scenery that there'll ever be, of course; so I start looking over myself again to pass the time. Today I've gone with the classic knockout outfit of crop top with spaghetti straps, and tight miniskirt, all made of black leather, plus sheer lacy stockings with garter belts, and high-heeled boots, also black. Then some shiny black bracelets adorned with rubies, to draw attention to the bare skin of my arms. Bright red lipstick and nail polish. And finally, a black leather collar, for that extra little kinky flair. Ehehe... If this guy really is a fan of me, I wonder if I'll give him a heart attack.

That, or it might just look weird in this chilly weather. Oh well, it's still sexy, so who cares? I've taken baths in the frozen rivers of Niflheim without any problems, so this kind of weather is pretty much literally nothing. Besides, isn't it exciting? To wear a really skimpy outfit when everyone else is wearing thick clothes because of the cold. It was great, that time in Niflheim, when I paraded myself around in nothing but a black string bikini, even in those blizzards that made it white everywhere. Those frost shades and jötnar blew more than a few gaskets at that! Hehe.

Suddenly, I feel a faint little breeze wash over me. Breeze? No, that's not it; it's some kind of magic. Hard to tell, but it's probably someone's sixth sense, maybe? It's subtle enough that I can't quite tell where it's from, only that it's somewhere in the direction I'm facing. Then I feel another wave, from behind me this time. Well, well. It's finally starting to get a little more interesting.

BANG!

Everything goes dark.

Okay, no, not everything. My sixth sense is obviously still fine, and it's my normal human senses that suddenly all went "poof". Ah... I know this feeling. Someone just shot a hole through my head. How rude! Anyways, tracing back through the memories of the last few milliseconds, and scanning the wound, it seems that the shot came from behind me, probably right through walls and everything. Aha, so this is a trap! Damn, and I was hoping we'd get a nice new recruit... Ugh.

For a moment I consider if I should turn back toward whoever shot me and give him a piece of my mind, literally. But nah. Instead, I just let myself fall to the ground, blood and brain matter oozing from the hole in my forehead, and deliberately not fix the wound, as if I've really died from that. Looks pretty gruesome, I know, but I'd rather play dead and catch the asshole by surprise. I focus on hiding the presence of my aura with my best illusion magic, making it look like the aura is almost gone and I'm thus actually dead. At the same time, I send out my own telepathic scanning wave, as subtly as possible, and masked using the same cloaking magic. Ha, I bet I can do better than the guy that shot me!

Okay, so... I sense about six people from behind me, three humans and three spirits; whoever shot me is presumably one of them. There's a human on a rooftop in the direction I was facing, and some kind of weird indistinct blur in the same direction. That's a guy also cloaking himself, right? Hard to tell where he even is. At this distance, I also can't glean much more than those other people's general locations, not without using a stronger scanning spell and potentially exposing myself, especially when they're already aware of my position like this. Maybe if they come closer... Hmm. There're quite a few of them, so this could get a bit hairy. I begin preparing a disruption spell to melt through whatever anti-teleportation wards and other traps they might be thinking of using. And of course, at the same time, I'm still lying on the ground in a slowly-expanding pool of my own blood, like the headshot victim that I am. Let's see what those guys will do, shall we?

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

Added this to section 2.1.3 of the Codex:

The sixth sense forms an image of the soul’s surroundings by sending out waves of scanning magic, a process not dissimilar to echolocation. It becomes weaker the further away it expands from the origin, and will have more trouble penetrating dense, powerful materials; the user will then need more power or skill to make the scanning more effective. The mana of this magic is usually faint, and requires a notable amount of skill to detect, but more powerful scanning magic is naturally easier to detect. Additional magical effects can also be used to make the scanning more difficult to detect.

Again, those are things that have always been true, but I just forgot to put them in the Codex. I'm too accustomed to my own setting, and tend to subconsciously assume that other people are accustomed to it too.

The Seven Seals (modern mythological mega-crossover RP) [CLOSED]

@Bloodtypesuper: Sorry, but some things in your post need to be changed. I'm putting this in public instead of in a PM so that others also know what parts are inconsistent.

1. Maria is human, not a spirit. Some people might confuse her for a spirit, but the Protectorate shouldn't have intel that's this shoddy.

2. It's PCU (Personal Combat Unit), not PMC.

Those are the changes that you have to make no matter what. There are other things that are problematic, but since you said this is your first RP, I'm going to change my own plans to fit what you wrote, so that you don't have to overhaul the whole post. But I still need to point them out, so that you know not to do it again in the future.

3. Maria is my character, meaning that I control her. You aren't the one who gets to decide where she is, what she's doing, etc.; that would be godmodding, which is against the rules. As I said, since this is your first RP, I'll let it slide, and adjust my plans to fit what you wrote, but don't do anything like this again. When it involves someone else's character, you need to obtain permission from the corresponding player before you can do anything like this.

4. How would the Protectorate have even known that Maria would be in the slums at this particular time? I was going to have her go to the slums to go scout out potential recruits or something, but she has no schedule of locations that she regularly visits, so the Protectorate couldn't have predicted that she'd go to the slums on this particular day. Again, just this once I'm going to let you off the hook, and change my plans to make your thing work. I'll make it so that Maria is meeting a new recruit at the warehouse, except it's a trap made by the Protectorate. They were the ones who asked for the meeting in the first place, so they know where Maria is going to be at this particular time.

All in all, don't godmod again. Ask the appropriate players if your post contains stuff about their characters.