Letter Bee

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Intermission Five - Aftermath of Victory

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 9:20 AM, UTC+8

"Fine, twenty minutes!" Feng conceded to the strange woman (Peony). "Then I'll destroy you all!"

Lukas can see, from Feng, genuine combative intent, mixed with a slight - very slight - reluctance to kill and pride in her ability to intimidate before his supernatural sensing abilities hit a metphorical wall; Feng was automatically defending herself from attempts at magical information gathering!

As Callie stepped in to tell everyone what Feng's abilities were; thank god for publicly available dossiers, Bahram Manjyu noticed that Levi and that other guy, Griff, seemed to be paralyzed with fear; he could not fault them if they were. Nevertheless, if he could move fast, and sneak behind Feng -

It was then that Cristina rushed in and put them all in the fabled Mirage Space. This, in turn, made it so that the trump card, Henri and his Anti-Magic Noble Arm, could not be used easily... damnit.

"Hahahahaha!" Feng laughed as she found herself facing a powerful but disorganized group of opponents. "I can see how The Monkey lost to you all... yet almost won. La Astronomica!"

And the Mirage Space's sky was overwritten with the starry expanse that promised a false heaven.

Bahram spoke to Cristina then, the mercenary asking, "Your Noble Arm - Does it count as an Astronomical-themed one?!"

If it was, one of Feng's devoured Noble Arms, the one that originally belonged to Mykhailo Martinez, would be able to control it. If it wasn't... Feng can still cast Heavenfall.

Either way, a dozen, no, two dozen, meteors would appear above Mirage Space, ready to fall down on the group, even as Feng drew a machine pistol using her other hand and began firing at Callie, knowing full well the other A-Ranked Arms Master was her second greatest threat after Henri.

After emptying her clip, Feng danced out of the way, surprisingly nimble for someone who carried her large, cumbesome-seeming shield, and Myron realized that, "She has Noel inside her shield! I can recognize La Luna's Miraculous Evasion in her movements! She probably has another person devoured too!"

Feng gave a slight "tch!" at that, before remembering that as Henri was not going to be able to interfere soon... She can activate Ether Body.

Lukas can detect the change; Feng's entire body just became Magic! Would that strengthen what he can do against her, or the opposite? Either way, Feng was now rushing towards Cristina, even as everyone was suffering bouts of bad luck when trying to hit her with their own attacks or avoid the meteors, which would be harder but not impossible!

@Amidatelion@Chiro@Nimbus@Digmata@Ducksworth@Gerlando@LladyLloki@Creative Chaos@Paths of Parity@Lewascan2 (if returning) @Gerlando

Shattered Steel - An Ace Combat/Project Wingman/etc inspired aircraft-based RP

Mykhailo Martinez

Mykhailo answered Yuna, "It was... boring. Like, still genuinely dangerous, but the AA and SAM folk cannot aim to hit the broad side of a barn."

Then he smiled and said, "So, you had a good time, at the very least?"

Don't add that you want to bring down two more planes to get Ace-hood. That makes you look like a glory hound. But still, you want to prove your skills, don't you? The Pilot said to himself.

Then Scott told them the next phase, a direct raid on Libya - The Enemy - and its Air Force.

Mykhailo had to ask, though, "Are there any civilians using the International Airports? I do not want to accidentally attack civilian transports for obvious reasons, and I don't think any of us want to either."

After that, Mykhailo lifted his head up, letting his blue eyes glint with reflected light that also briefly lit up his platinum blond hair, before saying, "The enemy aircraft, however... They're as good as brought down; hopefully their pilots have parachutes."

Tch. That was gauche.

"I mean," Mykhailo clarified, "I hope that I spare as many lives as possible while proving effective..."

The young man wanted to be an ace. This was his opportunity. If he cleared his mind and focused on defeating the enemy, got his head out of the metaphorical clouds and into the real ones, if he can summon the skill he had shown in earlier missions... Then he can win.

He can avenge Sokolov.

@Damo021@Smike@Rhona W@Finetales@AvaP

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

Intermission Five - Aftermath of Victory

Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 8:40 AM, UTC+8

Peony Loris was quickly accepted as a volunteer, albeit one closely escorted by heavily-armed infantry, some of them with weapons calculated to knock an Arms Master unconcious; sleep reverted 99.9% of all Arms Masters to normal people. She would be told by the guards that Task Force Obsidian was in the City of Lubao, Pampanga, and she would be shown a picture to go along with the verbal description of the municipality given to her by her escorting guards.

A historic town in the province of Pampanga, Philippines, nestled amidst fertile rice fields, Lubao is a mix of old and new, with centuries-old stone churches and houses mixing with chic modern restaurants, hotels, and the houses of the upwardly mobile. Despite recent events, some mango and acacia trees still line the streets, and the waterways are being restored to their clean, pristine state. Due to its quick surrender, many of the historic buildings still stand.

The guards, despite the efforts of the middle-aged female drill sergant in charge of their unit, were given to gossip, and Peony would be told that Task Force Obsidian, though powerful, competent, famous and rewarded, also had a very high turnover rate, with a 'core' of only a few very experienced and strong fighters and many Arms Masters who either dropped out to do their own thing or got injured or killed or even captured; one or two were later revealed to be enemy agents trying to inflitrate the Task Force but were stopped before they can even meet with the members of Task Force Obsidian; a very big stroke of luck.

She was also told she was late; there was already a meeting in the New Lubao Town Hall (the image cannot be reposted outside of Wikipedia), where one of TFO's allies was making some sort of heartfelt appeal for support. Either way, she would be guided to the heavily-guarded entrance of the building, then her escort's leader would say, gruffly, "Don't be late again, got it? Arms Master or not, that does not give you the privilege to be late in a war..."

Then the sky changed, and all of a sudden, it was a starry night again. But Peony still felt the heat of the day on the still-fleshy portions of her skin. Was it an illusion? And if so, was it the hologrammic kind, or the mental kind?

And something fell down from the sky, a streak of flame that crashed down to the ground several paces away from her and her guards, causing an impact that broke the concrete, mud, and grass of the courtyard and caused a large explosion of dust and rubble.

It was...

@Paths of Parity

---

Conference Room, City Hall, Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 8:40 AM, UTC+8

Jin Li smiled at that and gave a slight bow before saying, "Thank you. The Qing Restoration Movement - Now the New Democratic Party of China - will have a place in a Post-Communist political order thanks to your help -"

Then it all went dark. Anyone who rushed to the windows or outside would find that it was night again, or rather, a holographic barrier covered most of Lubao that projected a starry night sky. but did not keep out heat.

Then the earth shook, as if a heavy weight crashed down on it. The space near the entrance was engulfed in an explosion of dust; did the foe launch an explosive drone?

---

Crater Near the Entrance, City Hall, Municipality of Lubao, Pampanga Province, Philippines - 1/1/2023, 8:40 AM, UTC+8

No; what had crashed was just one person.

"Eheheheheh..." said the girl as she stood up from the center of the cloud of dust and the crater she had formed, then held out her shield, "I am your enemy, Feng Lin, Pig of the Zodiac, Devourer of Noble Arms! I have been sent to avenge the Chinese Pacific Fleet with your lives!"

And to grandstand, the holographic sky above them briefly returned into daylight, then an Eclipse. Then Feng shouted, "Now get your civilians out of here so you can face me at full strength! I can defeat all of you, all at once - You have ten minutes before I use my powers to raze this town to the ground!"

A second later, a giant meteor sponteanously dropped down to just a few inches above the New City Hall... then parked itself there, suspended in midair.

Feng then demanded again, "Now go evacuate all civilians so I can destroy you all singlehandedly!"

@Amidatelion@Chiro@Nimbus@Digmata@Ducksworth@Gerlando@LladyLloki@Creative Chaos@Paths of Parity@Lewascan2 (if returning) @Gerlando (if returning).

Hellooo~

@Taku, Hello; welcome!

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

We are still open...

Dreamer's Sea: A High School RP inspired by the Persona Series (Dead)

Apologies, but now that several key players have left, the RP may be dead.

Dreamer's Sea: A High School RP inspired by the Persona Series (Dead)

Opening this up to more players and a potential Co-GM!

Dreamer's Sea: A High School RP inspired by the Persona Series (Dead)

So, it seems people are busy this Christmas?

Noble Arms: The ASEAN War - Thread Three, the Darkest Hour

@Creative Chaos, Yes!

Dreamer's Sea: A High School RP inspired by the Persona Series (Dead)

New Amakusa City, The Eleventh Hour

Fukushu Haru was on the deck of a boat, a whaler's ship that ran on old-fashioned steam and trailed smoke through the air from three great grey smokestacks. It cut through red-orange waves lit up by an eternal sunset - Or was it sunrise? - that made it almost indistinct from blood. But blood was opaque; this isn't, and from the deck, Haru could see fins poking through the water, then the figures of sleek, smooth, darkened creatures just under the water. She would then hear her grandmother's voice from behind her.

"Haru."

If she looked behind her, Fukushu Haru would find that her grandmother was indeed there, accompanying her in this lucid dream that felt like reality, that held the clarity of awakening even though she felt the blankets and bed around her physical body as it slept.

Her grandmother, her wrinkled face lit up by a fixed gaze that betrayed a drive that hinted at obsession, then gave her an explanation of what this all was.

"This is a small slice of the Sea of Dreams, a dimension where all that exists comes from, and all that people think goes to. In this slice, what you think, what you believe, your very self - You - have formed a Private World, a world where you can Quest for one of the concepts that lurk within the depths of the Sea; an Icon, or so those arrogant bastards in the Dreamers' Organization call it."

Grandmother looked at her and said, "You're old enough to handle this; I can guide you in navigating these waters, maybe accompany you to explain what you are going to go through, but only you can get an Icon for yourself; I will not get one for you even if I could - This has to be you."

She stepped closer, a stubborn glint lighting up her eyes, then spoke, "Remember this; your parents were killed. Seek out something that will take the blood of those who took them away from you and me..."

Haru could see that anything she saw, except for her Grandmother, was a potential Icon, from the ship to the air to the harpoons on deck and the ropes and the sunset, water, and the blood in her veins... And the things that swam under the waves.

@Redking0380