Krayzikk

Fate/Shattered Dogma

Speaking of characters, I don't suppose we might get a sheet soon? Sick right now so I can't start immediately anyway, but it'd be nice to be able to plan ahead.

Fate/Shattered Dogma

Oh ye of little faith.

Poking my head back in as promised to confirm I'm interested, and I'll be planning a master.

Fate/Shattered Dogma

Tentatively interested, depending on a couple of factors. Will check back in after I check on said factors.

Heroes of Beacon - Contest of Champions

A Bastille Valentine’s Morning

Alright. Valentine’s Day.

I never paid that much attention growing up. I mean back when we were kids it was putting together a bunch of crappy little V-Day cards you bought in a big pack, and wondered who was handing out the candy hearts this year. Which, I mean, those things were basically just sugar, right? Like, they tasted fine. But they’re basically just colored sugar. With little words on them. Whoever thought those up paid ten bucks for supplies and has been laughing his way to the bank ever since.

Oh, yeah. Before you ask, no, this isn’t Luke. This is Ben. I know, I know, the tangential monologuing. Really should have told you that first. But no, it’s me. Cap. Your inside man for all things Bastille. Not how you usually get to see me, but today’s a little different.. Point is, I haven’t thought that much about Valentine’s Day for years. Just kind of a day that comes once a year. Slip into the shop to buy some discounted candy the day after, you’re golden. So in between all the shit that usually occupies my mind, I hadn’t even thought about it. Until a couple days ago, when Luke and I were hanging out after class. He’s been working on a new weapon idea, so he asked if I had time to give him a hand. Did I? Not really. Between keeping the girls out of trouble, or at least getting to get into trouble with them, homework, team management, and classes I’ve been swamped. I’ve had to fight two Riesen class in a week, guys. I couldn’t be a slacker anymore if I wanted to. Anyway, Luke mentioned while we were looking over the notes that Valentine’s Day was coming up. In his case it was because he said chaos was starting to unfold around Piper, but he asked if I had any plans. Obviously I don’t really, nothing set it in stone anyway.

Wasn’t until he gave me that Shiroyaman side-eye that it clicked.

I’ve got a team with Amy, Sangue, and Lauren. If the first and last can find a way to give me a hard time, they will. And that’s a normal day. Valentine’s Day? Ohhh, man. Any crack in my guard. Anything. And they’ll fucking pounce. But at the same time, they’re my team, y’know? Buncha fucking maniacs, but I love ‘em. So I accepted that I was gonna suffer, and that it was going to start by getting up at four in the morning.

Which is how we got here, with me trying to get out of bed. Not something that should be hard. But that’s without having to avoid waking someone a couple of inches to your left. Tops. She gets up early, which is why I have to be up at this ungodly hour. Have to rise pretty early to beat the morning workout routine. Or get priority time in the shower. Do you know how much maneuvering is involved in getting in before the hot water’s gone? A lot. Like, Machiavelli has nothing on the people in this dorm. You think we look like a great team out there on missions, you should see how quick we turn when a hot shower’s on the line. I gave up. I shower at night most of the time. They can hash it out in the morning. Gives me a little extra time to sleep.

Ha. Extra.

I don’t sleep.

Anyway, I started this process at three forty five. Slooowly inching my way out of the bed. Every time I do, I have to wait to make sure she’s asleep. Painstakingly slow. That’s just the first part of this operation. The second my feet touch the ground, I need to keep quiet. That I’ve got some practice with. They sense weakness if they figure out you’re awake at night. Weakness leads, as before, to pouncing. If you need to ask who any of these people are, you haven’t been paying attention. Trying not to think their names too much. That might wake ‘em, somehow. I tucked some morning clothes underneath my pillow before I went to bed, so getting dressed was easy as long as I made sure not to step on any of the creaky points on the floor. Door’s the next trick.

No one woke up while I crept towards the door, but I had to take agonizing care in opening it. Past three quarters open it creaks. Normally I like it; gives me a heads-up when someone’s coming back. Now I needed to avoid it at all costs. Anyone waking up now would have more questions than when I got up. Up at four? I can explain that. Hell, they’ll explain it themselves to create an opportunity for suffering. Leaving the dorm, through, that’d raise some questions.

But I made it. Now that I was out, things got easier.

I fumbled with my Scroll a little (I’m not a morning person, sue me), but I got it to ring; he picked up on the third ring. And sounded about as awake as I felt.

”Hey, man. Still got the stuff?”

The grunt I got seemed like a yes.

It was mostly about waking him up, anyway. I’d put the supplies in his care yesterday. The Jumpercables dorm was a little hectic sometimes, but it shouldn’t be that bad. They’re just a couple doors down, too, which made things easy. I didn’t knock; at this hour most of ‘em would still be asleep. Luke was up, he’d bring the bag out. Took a couple of minutes. I was almost a little worried he’d gone back to sleep, but it almost sounded like there was some bickering going on in there so I didn’t call again. But just when I was starting to get kinda concerned, the door unlocked and my bedraggled wingman stumbled out with a grocery bag. He almost looked a little reproachful. Almost.

But if he forgave Lauren for electrocuting him, he’ll probably forgive me for making him get up in the morning.

”Morning, man.”

”Hey, Ben. Here.” He held out the bag and yawned, glancing briefly over his shoulder back at the door. His ahoge, previously limp and tired, jerked upright when a louder voice emanated from within. ”... You need any help? The stove can be kind of weird.”

”Huh? Nah, I’m okay. You can go back to bed.”

”You’re sure?”

…

”Are they-”

”Yes.”

”Say no more. Come on, man, I haven’t cooked in months. Someone’s gotta make sure I don’t fuck it up.”

He nodded, but he looked relieved. I don’t know what his teammates were on about this early, but he needed an exfil. And I needed someone to talk to, anyway. So we both made our way down the hall in the pre-dawn quiet, looking for the right door. I’d only been there a couple of times, but there dorms actually had a kitchen; most people ate in the cafeteria, sure, but some people love to cook. There’s one guy in our year who’s in there all the time making pancakes. Not sure for how many people, because it’s a lot of pancakes, but he’s there. But I made sure I checked around this morning; no one was planning to be using the kitchen at four in the morning, and God I know why. Being awake at this hour just isn’t right.

Luke didn’t waste any time, though, in proving why Redwood and Shiroyama get along great. Shared values. He set about getting the coffee maker going right off the bat. God bless him. I started laying out the implements of my master plan on the counter while it brewed, jogging my memory of how I did this. I hadn’t been lying; I haven’t cooked much in months. I could do it, but especially at this hour it’d be good to have Luke to make sure I didn’t go and put my fucking pants on my head or something equally stupid. No more words were spoken until coffee was ready.

”I have to ask,” I started between sips. ”How are they already at it?”

”It’s Valentine’s Day. Sanity’s out the window.”

I nodded externally, but shook my head internally. God. My team’s kind of a pain sometimes, but thank God we all get along great. I couldn’t imagine dealing with that sort of grouchy. Or that sort of crazy.

”I’m running a little late. Mind giving me a hand?”

The Shiroyaman shook his head and pushed up his hoodie sleeves so he could wash his hands. We settled into a rhythm pretty quick; Luke did pancakes, I manned the bacon and eggs. Little rural, maybe, but no son of Redwood got through life without knowing how to do bacon. It was a life skill. Almost an art. Good cut of bacon, not too fatty, not too thin, fried so that you had some crunch without burning it. And if you made it too greasy, or God forbid fucking undercooked it, it was grounds to run you out of town. Eggs were to be made in the same pan when you were done. Little bacon grease flavored ‘em right up. Important life lessons.

Process went pretty quickly. We chatted about his weapon a little, talked about our mutual tormentor friend, he filled me in on some of the insanity surrounding his Atlesian teammate. Atlas is a whole other kind of crazy, I’m telling you. Anyway.

”You heading home for spring break?

”Huh? Oh. Don’t really know.” That was caught me kinda off guard. He probably meant it pretty innocently, but… I don’t really know. ”Maybe. I haven’t really talked about it. To see gramps, maybe. Don’t know if… Well. Dad might be busy.”

Luke mulled that over a minute, dishing the next pancake to be finished onto a plate. He hadn’t drunken much of his coffee, I never really saw him with it. I figure he probably just wanted a little caffeine, no matter what it was in. But he took a sip for a second, keeping his eyes on the stovetop.

”Well, if you want…” He started, then stopped. A bit like someone was reminding him of something, the sort of something that made you stop and internally reconsider every life choice you’ve ever made. It went away quick, but it was there for a second. ”Well, I was just thinking we could travel back together. Train goes as far as Redwood. It’s the bang bus after that, you could visit Shiroyama. I got to see Redwood over winter break, could be fun to show you around.”

”That’d be cool, actually. Gotta figure it out soon, right? Right around the corner.” I gestured with my spatula towards the pancakes. ”Just about done?”

“Yep.”

”Good. Serve yourself a couple, take some bacon and a few eggs. Helpers fee. Talk to me about your weapon later, alright? If you need some help. Almost wakeup time, I gotta get going.”

I slapped Luke on the back with a grin and a nod, and balanced the four plates we’d prepared precariously on my arms. Compared to everything else at this school, though, carrying a few plates was gonna be a cakewalk. I stopped a second on my way out to glance back at him, though, and smirk a little.

”And if you need to get away from the bird and the devil, you’re welcome at my dorm. You’ll have to deal with Lauren, but you’re welcome. Devil you know instead of the Atlesian one, right?”

I got the side-eye again, but that was kinda what I was going for.

People were starting to wake up now, but just the early birds; a little before five thirty was just right to catch everyone. Getting the door open took a little effort, but much easier now that the sun was coming up. Thank God for light. A couple of ‘em stirred a little when the door creaked, but they definitely did when the smell got in.

”Rise and shine, girls, breakfast time. I called out, admittedly having just a little bit too much fun getting to wake everyone up for once instead of the other way ‘round. Most of them started yawning within a second or two, but I kicked the foot of my bed lightly with a little wink. ”Especially you, babe. Up and at ‘em.”

Wait, were those… On the floor….

Goddammit.

These girls are going to make me need more jeans. That’s three pairs.

Probably gonna be that sort of day, but it’ll be fun. I’m going to need a few cups more coffee to deal with them. Especially today. But with how much all the other teams seem to get mixed up and swapped around, I wouldn’t trade ‘em.

They’re my team.

Record of UTX - Special Investigation Team [SRWOG/Mecha]

@Crimmy @Shiyonichi @GarlandDaHero

Acknowledgement lights winked at Maine-1’s broadcast, but that was the only response from the Gespenst Mk. TT keeping pace with the rest of UTX’s units. It was the heaviest unit by far; when things got hot, it wouldn’t keep pace with the other machines on the battlefield. Not in raw speed. Lions were nimble things, and the sky was their domain. The TT was an interloper, objectively the most antique machine on the battlefield. No doubt the least feared amongst modern Federation units, let alone one of the Crusaders’ own aces. In other hands, maybe that would be the case.

Not this time.

Sixteen units, confirming Maine-1’s report. Local forces were engaging the eastern flight of remnants, leaving the eastern for UTX and the Landlions unopposed. That wasn’t something that could be allowed to stand. Someone would need to keep them from getting to the Loch, but to do that UTX would need to punch through their escort flights. Not so easy to do when there were enough craft to cover UTX one-to-one and then some. Too much of a stalemate for Hazel’s taste. They didn’t waste any time, either; Hazel could feel that they’d launched missiles even as her PT warned her of the same, and enacted countermeasures reflexively. Homing missiles were standard on Lion-series units, a weapon she’d encountered plenty during the war. Their tracking algorithms were far from sophisticated. No evasion built into them.

The TT responded better than she could have hoped. She was used to her Mk. II, had grown accustomed to how it reacted. but the TT felt almost like an extension of herself. Thought became action almost seamlessly. A flick of the wrist killed the Tesla Drive, in the same breath gunning the Gespenst’s primary and left lateral thrusters. Gravity took hold and the machine dropped like a rock, rolling on its side to look up at the enemy. The Drive kicked back in and stabilized its flight but not before the TT’s hands found its weapons. The next moment was half targeting sensors, half intuition; the mute let go of her conscious thought and trusted that she knew what she was doing. The Burst Railgun crackled once, twice, thrice in a single volley; the first projectile lanced through the missile altering course to hit her while the latter two continued on their course to the Lion that fired. In her gut she knew it was the right angle, and she knew the TT could follow through. The Lion was quick, but she was willing to wager its pilot wouldn’t bank on the same shot putting him at risk. A gamble, yes; but that explosion could mask it. She trusted her gut.

Not enough to refrain from hedging, though; the rifle in her machine’s right hand reported second, aimed at the same Lion.

”Summers. Anju. Breaking through their line. Cover me. On mark.” Her comm reported monotonously, but clearly; it wasn’t a request. Hazel didn’t much care what ground she had to give instructions. Her decision was clear; someone needed to cut off the Landlions, and the TT was best suited to it. If she could just break through their line. From below them, perhaps, they wouldn’t notice. If they did… She’d deal with that if it came to it. Bracing herself for the discomfort that would come, opened the thrusters wide and slammed the controls as far as they would go. Inertia didn’t agree with her, it pushed her against her seat hard, but she was accelerating; with any luck her colleagues would keep their attention off the PT passing from below.

It was their first outing. Playing it safe wouldn't win this. Time for a leap of faith.

”Mark.”

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@Plank Sinatra @Crimmy @Etranger

The explosion threw dust up into the air with crack like thunder, clouding the area a thick veil. The heat radiated out with it, a the water and particulate trapping it in like a choking sauna. It was mostly focused on propelling away the blonde attacker, but his foe still would've been walloped with a wall of heart and sound on top of the kinetic pressure. Mostly unharmed, for sure, but a little dazed. Enough tinnitus to wreck anyone's evening. Removed from the pain, now, the explosion seemed oddly... Quiet.

"T͠hat̸ ͜s͡o͜uǹds l͟i̧k͜e ͢A-͞LAW̶S͘ ta͢lk."

Umeko stepped silently out of the cloud, eyes almost audibly locking onto her target. Her hair was a mess, blown back with strands standing up as though an electric shock had run through her whole body. She'd rocked back on her heels, slapped head on with the kinetic energy, but it was like the heat hadn't touched her; unlike Dhṛtarāṣṭra her skin hadn't reddened at all. Steam had begun to condense again to moisture on her skin, wherever dust clung to her, but the vapor still radiated off of her as though something still kept the air around her from cooling. The Japanese student shook her head, trying to regain some sense of consistency to her hair, and continued her slow advance towards the athletic blonde.

"And this," She continued, shrugging off her vest before draping it over a nearby chair. The air crackled where her fingers brushed the metal, picking something up off its surface, but she persevered undeterred. "Is a twenty two thousand yen vest that I'll need to have dry cleaned. Strike two."

"And you took a shot at Brennan. Strike three. Kid, he tries to run, grab him." The kickboxer's weight had transferred to the balls of her feet, each step a smooth transfer of potential energy on silent tread. She leaned forward a little, something in small smirk playing about her lips turning predatory. "Call this an armed intervention."

Her right hand blurred, whipping the pair of scissors in her hand end over end in the blonde's direction with unnatural force. Potential turned actual and she lunged, low and controlled, with supernatural speed toward the assailant seeking to cover as much ground as possible before he could react. He'd been hit on his left shoulder, he was unconsciously favoring that a little. That was where she'd focus her attack. If he swung that leg she could shift and take it on her right shoulder, it'd hurt but she'd had worse. She just needed to get one jab in to put him at a disadvantage.

Rectifier

That was me too; I misunderstood the deadline as tonight rather than last night. The original statement's gone so I can't double check, but I imagine I must have misread it as midnight tonight. My fault. Totally understand the verdict, the mistake was on our end.

Rectifier

Time table is more or less on track for my CS. Have to get some coursework done today, but I should be working on it after that. Sunday shouldn't be an issue for me.

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@Plank Sinatra @Crimmy

What the fuck.

It was bad luck she'd been noticed, her foe'd turned to flee and spotted her. Otherwise she'd have had him. But as surprising as she'd been to him, the concrete beneath her feet turning to dust was completely out of left field. One second it was there, solid as can be, and the next her foot hit open air. Not long to process at all, so instinct took over; she only had a few moments before hitting the floor below, she needed to mitigate. The dust did some of that for her, the thick layer that accumulated below her serving to deaden some of the initial impact. Didn't feel great, falling a story, but she knew how to land. She let her knees bend to absorb most of the remaining energy, and stopped her forward motion by letting her closed fist hit the ground. The impact jarred all the way up to her shoulder, but her knuckles were okay. That was what her gloves were meant to mitigate, after all.

Her surroundings were dark, Umeko'd landed in an office. Along with her adversary. She didn't know the layout, but hopefully he didn't either. He had been closer to the edge of the roof so she had him against a wall for now. She needed to push before he could capitalize on the change of scenery. The attacker had been built more like a runner, lithe instead of bulky, so he'd probably be fast if she let him get away. Not going to happen. Keep him away from the exits. Whoever he was, he was in league with whoever'd killed that woman. Hesitating could get her killed. This was a fight for real. No playing fair.

So as soon as she landed, she took a fistful of the dust below her hand and hurled it at the man's eyes. She stepped in quick as lightning, keeping her center of gravity low, and threw a left jab at her adversary's ribs. He'd tried to flee when she neared, Umeko was willing to bet he wasn't much of a close range fighter. His Esper ability was a wild card; a reaction of some kind, probably exothermic. Corrosion? Wouldn't explain the explosion. But either way, she just needed to keep up the pressure; stay in close, keep him on the back foot. She could do that.

With any luck her jab would connect, but if it didn't her guard was still up. She'd work from there.

"I wanted to be working on my Exia, asshole!"

Rectifier

Popping in real quick to affirm that I am still here, and working on some character ideas. Looking forward to playing with you all.