Letter Bee

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

There will be an IC post shortly, but @Wayward's OC will be given a way to be involved in the PC/OC team's efforts despite the IC continuing/restarting in just a little while...

Letter Bee's Character Sheets

Post Draft

Mission Three - Assault on Jinghong Dam

Timeskip, Mekong River, China - 10/25/2022, 6:10 UTC+8

Noel Alonso was soothed by the smooth whirring of the patrol boats' engines, a dangerous mood while wearing a stolen PLA Marine uniform that barely hid his dark skin tone and non-Chinese facial features. Between the muddy, almost black waters barely lit up by his boat's faint headlights and the high banks that blocked the scant illumination from the moonless sky, there was a lack of things to do but to wait for their group to reach their destination or be stopped midway, either briefly or permanently.

Well, there was stargazing, but he had just turned eighteen. It was the middle of a combat mission. There was no way he could just sneak a look at the starry sky -

He did so anyway for the fifth time of the journey; the North Star was barely visible through the mass of other glimmering pinpricks of light that demanded their share of attention, but it guided their path anyway - North, then West, to Jinghong City and the Jinghong Dam just beyond it.

Trying to bring his mind back onto the mission, Noel glanced at a disguised Qingshe right beside him; Myron was driving the lead boat and using night vision goggles and a gas mask to hide his pale skin and his distinctive American-Asian face. Then he dared a glance behind his boat engine's barely foamy spray to look at the group's second boat, where Henri, Nil, Marta and Cristina were crammed worse than he was - One of them was driving the vessel and keeping up with Myron as the latter navigated the central length of the strangled Mekong River.

Two headlights; another boat was approaching, slightly more slowly - The group would have to rely on the PLA symbols that marked their boats as official Chinese property to pass beneath the notice of the opposing patrol. As the enemy craft passed them by, Noel let out a breath he did not know he had been holding back in his chest; a flashback to the old days, when squashing terrorists was the worst he could dread. Good, the worst was now over -

Oh no, Noel thought as the faint lights of the patrol boats lit up a giant chain, with floating buoys strapped to it, that was strung out across the shrunken Mekong River to block all passage upwards; each end of the chain was tied to two concrete guard towers that had gears and cranes that allowed for the chain to be raised up and down at will. This was not in the intelligence reports, but it was a tactic that made sense; to block potential infilitrators to Jinghong City, whose lights just lay beyond the guard towers and the chain between them.

Voices in Chinese could be heard through the radio, but Myron, in a fake Mandarin accent, talked fast, giving an answer to every question or order... Before handing the tower guard a small box that Myron had told him and Qingshe on the trip contained a bribe of heroin. Gross, but as the chain was lifted up and the two boats were permitted to go through Jinghong City, where PLA Soldiers and Marines swarmed like ants, weapons at the ready, and drones flew overhead taking surveillance footage, Noel felt small again as Task Force Obsidian moved through the better-lit river, where tank columns could be seen patrolling the riverbanks and the occassional firebase could be glimpsed behind buildings.

Jinghong City was an armed camp; the Dam, just up ahead, was much worse.

There was another long chain, made up of heavy steel with plastic buoys attached, but this time, each end was attached to two small bunkers of reinforced concrete, whose domes were covered with mud and earth to camouflage them from aerial view. And in the bunker to their left, there was a window, and beyond the window was Huo Ren, their Task Force's greatest still-living foe.

Above them, an early dawn was blooming as another Artificial Sun, conjured by Huo Ren's spear, formed in the sky, revealing the faces of anyone without a mask on as Myron turned off his mask's night vision settings.

"I learn from my mistakes," he said in English before pausing to allow the people in the boats to register his presence, his movements, and his actions. "That is all."

An Isekai Upon This Land of Accursed Tropes - a Naruto Mass-Isekai RP

Uzumaki Ren, originally Henry Cook

Name: Uzumaki Ren/Henry Cook
Titles: Sage of Cranes (Future Ambition)
Gender: Male.
Age: 0
Affiliation: Hidden Grass Village, Land of Grass, Uzumaki Clan.
Physical Description:


Personality: What are Henry's likes, dreams, and dislikes? The answers are below.

Henry appreciates family and the freedom to choose; a family that chooses to be one is likely to be happy and strong, despite the world's attempts to destroy them - That is his view. Or, more mundanely, he appreciates earning enough cash to be independent, as well as buy sweets and delicious food in moderation.

What does he dream about? Earning freedom and independence through legitimate means; he would only accept an unearned gift if he had no other choice or if the person giving him a gift was a close friend or family or someone he feels fondly about.

As for his dislikes? People who would restrain people's choices and wills without consultation or coherent reasoning. He also despises cruelty and ill-treatment of others, especially when the 'target' is innocent or suffers overkill for their offenses. In short, he hates the misuse of power - That's tyranny.

Short Biography: Henry Cook saw Naruto when the Anime was first coming out; he thought it was good at first, then it turned bad quickly, in his opinion, thanks to filler and ass pulls. Then he switched to real History, which eventually got him an Associate's Degree in the Humanities that proved to be useless except that it allowed him to begin writing his own Webcomic that won enough Patreon donations for him to keep himself alive. He also wrote parodies of Naruto Fanfiction and read the latter as well, while keeping up with developments in Naruto Shippuden, then Boruto. He was going to be one of those rare things: A nerd who could afford his lifestyle without his parents supporting him, and who also kept physically fit due to being able to afford a gym membership.

Then, on the way to the gym to celebrate his 30th Birthday and his inching toward financial stability, his dreams ended when he was hit by a truck; a cliche he wanted to mock in his last moments of consciousness.

Life after Death was no consolation. Reincarnation into a world that he knew from head to toe yet stopped liking a long time ago was a sticking point as well. Nevertheless, Henry preferred to live, and so he was reborn as a baby in the house in Kusakagure, the Village Hidden in the Grass, as the younger brother of one Karin and just like her, a full-blooded member of the Uzumaki Clan. His slightly negative feelings about Karin changed right then and there; after all, they're siblings now. As for their mother, Henry/Ren will save her, and also prove himself an exemplary Ninja; one cannot wait for the Canonical Protagonists to do all the work now, can they?

After all, his new Mom knew that she had spontaneously conceived him without forewarning or announcement; a literal gift from the Kami. And that was their little secret; a bond that he was certain would grow as they grew up...

Inventory:

• 0

Skills:

• Mundane History and Economics.
• Art (Painting and Drawing).
• Basic Scientific Knowledge.
• Encyclopedic Memory.

Tropes:

• The Blood Runs Strong - The Uzumaki bloodline is particularly potent in him, possessing the ability to eventually attain all the hereditary abilities of his lineage.
• Genre Savvy - Henry/Ren has memorized a lot of information on the Naruto Canon from the Wiki and common Fanon tropes from Tv.Tropes, but knows that this knowledge can be turned against him should he rely too much on it or if he made things too different.

Chakra Affinity:

• Water and Fire.

Bloodline Limit:

• Uzumaki Bloodline (Long life, huge chakra reserves, high physical strength, and Adamantine Chains plus the ability to heal people by biting them/being bitten by them).

Jutsu:

• N/A

Current Goals:
Short Term: Save his mother and Karin from Kusakagure's policies.
Long Term: Forge a place for his family, whether it be in Kusa itself, Konoha, or a restored Uzu/Whirlpool.

Extra:

An Isekai Upon This Land of Accursed Tropes - a Naruto Mass-Isekai RP

Uzumaki Ren, originally Henry Cook

Name: Uzumaki Ren/Henry Cook
Titles: Sage of Cranes (Future Ambition)
Gender: Male.
Age: 0
Affiliation: Hidden Grass Village, Land of Grass, Uzumaki Clan.
Physical Description:


Personality: Henry/Ren did not like Karin as a character; having her as a slightly older sister changed that. As for their shared mother, Henry is determined to save her from her death by overwork or die trying; no one deserves to be put through what she had been through. After all, she knew that she had sponteanously conceived him without forewarning or announcement; a literal gift from the Kami. And that was their little secret; a bond that he was certain would grow as they grew up. Not just that, but should she die anyway, he was going to take care of Karin and stop her from falling in love with someone who won't love her back anyway. But for now was the painstaking task of trying to get this village to see them as more than just... Healing dispensers? Human medkits? Or even worse, slaves?

It didn't matter; he was going to stop his new mother from dying and force Kusakagure to acknowledge him. Otherwise, he had options, he had theoretical knowledge that he had memorized intently. And even if it meant derailing the canonical plot, he was going to forge a place for his family... And woe betide those who stand in his way.

Short Biography: Henry Cook saw Naruto when the Anime was first coming out; he thought it was good at first, then it turned bad quickly, in his opinion, thanks to filler and ass pulls. Then he switched to real History, which eventually got him an Associate's Degree in the Humanities that proved to be useless except that it allowed him to begin writing his own Webcomic that won enough Patreon donations for him to keep himself alive. He also wrote parodies of Naruto Fanfiction and read the latter as well, while keeping up with developments in Naruto Shippuden, then Boruto. He was going to be one of those rare things: A nerd who could afford his lifestyle without his parents supporting him, and who also kept physically fit due to being able to afford a gym membership.

Then, on the way to the gym to celebrate his 30th Birthday and his inching toward financial stability, his dreams ended when he was hit by a truck; a cliche he wanted to mock in his last moments of consciousness.

Life After Death was no consolation. Reincarnation into a world that he knew from head to toe yet stopped liking a long time ago was a sticking point as well. Nevertheless, Henry preferred to live, and so he was reborn as a baby in the house in Kusakagure, the Village Hidden in the Grass, as the younger brother of one Karin and just like her, a full-blooded member of the Uzumaki Clan. However, one of the very first words he was able to register was some random ninja that his mother was taking care of complaining about Konoha's 'Civilian Council', an organization that should not exist at this point outside of Fanon; the Village Council only came to being after the Sound/Sand Invasion of Konoha in the Anime.

Something was off, but right now, he had a mother to save from overwork. Who knows? If the Civilian Council is benign, he could use them. If they were as evil as Fanon made them out to be, he can use that too. And if the worst case scenario occurs and this is a Naruto in Name Only universe... He had a secret weapon to direct against those who regarded himself as his family's 'owners'...

Inventory:

• 0

Skills:

• Mundane History and Economics.
• Art (Painting and Drawing).
• Basic Scientific Knowledge.
• Repeatedly memorized knowledge of Naruto, Naruto Fanfiction, Fanon, and Canon.

Tropes:

• Uzumaki Survivor (Fanfic Semi-Canon Trope) - Able to awaken all Uzumaki Bloodline traits with just the slightest fraction of Uzumaki genetics.
• Deliberately Cute Child - Acts so cute, even as a baby, that even hardened criminals can find it hard to muster the willingness to harm him.

Chakra Affinity:

• Fire.

Bloodline Limit:

• Uzumaki Bloodline (Long life, huge chakra reserves, high physical strength, and Adamantine Chains plus the ability to heal people by biting them/being bitten by them).

Jutsu:

• N/A

Current Goals:
Short Term: Save his mother and Karin from Kusakagure's policies.
Long Term: Forge a place for his family, whether it be in Kusa itself, Konoha, or a restored Uzu/Whirlpool.

Extra:

Greetings

@Valen, I heard good things about Pathfinder 2e, but I am not hostile to 1e.

An Isekai Upon This Land of Accursed Tropes - a Naruto Mass-Isekai RP

Might be interested.

Sovereign's Will: The Edge of War [Looking for new players]

I might be interested, although I am not sure I have the time.

New Arrival

<Snipped quote by Letter Bee>

I most definitely had the best days of my life during COVID times. My dad just built this big 2 storied house for our family of 4 and I got the 2nd floor for myself! I spent the best days of my life there. I used to spend my evenings on the terrace, my mornings by the forest trail...jogging past my high school, spending time by the river, and most definitely- going on long walks with my best friend.

But right now...it feels good to reminisce on those things. I'm in med school now and I don't have a lot of time for myself. But whenever I get time, I think of those days.

Thanks for making me think about it again :)

@Absurdity

You're welcome.

New Arrival

@Absurdity, you sound like you had a lot of fun.

Noble Arms - The ASEAN War, Second Thread

Taking a break for a few days; less than a week.