Lugubrious

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Funky Fistfight Freezers

At first, Vinnie didn't know quite what to make of the situation. To him, the logical response to someone being nice, even if it was unnecessary, was always to return the favor. In this age, the considerate and congenial were a dying breed, after all. When the woman made a mad face at him, he balked at first, but in a split second he steeled his resolve with deftly-restrained anger. After he'd had nightmares of the Back Door Man, heard and felt its noisome breath, and seen what it did to people, was he seriously frightened of some skinny girl? Her vinegar-filled response painted him as some sort of tormentor, guilty of giving her grief for some time now. Not only that, he was a troublemaker and an outsider. Is this girl egotistic or just stupid? Having something tragic happen isn't an excuse to be so nasty to anyone, particularly someone trying to help. Could she perhaps be venting anger felt toward the others, like the oddly-dressed man, at him? For that, Vinnie couldn't really fault her. One could only expect the witless to fall back onto the one thing anyone could do: be mean.

A deep frown adorned Vinnie's face as he pulled himself together and stiffly inclined his head toward Sabrina. His words, though compliant, were tinged with venom. “Ah. My sincerest apologies. I did not mean to be such a bother. Excuse me.” After inclining his head to Reinhardt as well as if to apologize to him, too -presumably for intruding- he slipped out the way he came. As annoyed as he felt, his thoughts turned immediately to the Back Door Man. Vinnie knew that the situation had put him on edge, and so vehemently thought to himself that he didn't want the Back Door Man to terrorize the girl. Rudeness definitely did not deserve the kind of soul-crushing fear that the evil spirit caused, and it since it had responded to Vinnie's feelings of anger with a bothersome individual before, he felt it necessary to make a conscious effort to try and persuade the thing to not lash out on his 'behalf'.

Though he couldn't help but think of the whole event as a wasted chance to interact with people who might have some kind of clue about spirits, Vinnie left the situation behind. Homicides or no, he had to go to work. He walked for about twenty seconds before drawing to a stop. He didn't exactly know why until he glanced to the right and realized that he'd subconsciously paused on the street that he watched that angelic spirit move down just a short while ago. A shiver forced its way across him, and he prepared to continue walking. Just then a thought hit him: one that overwhelmed him with worry. What if I'm making a mistake? Now that he thought about it, if there was any sort of hint of figuring something out about himself or the Back Door Man, wasn't that much more important? A car's honk obliged him to move onto the sidewalk, but his mind was racing. Images flashed through his head of a movie he'd heard of that followed a certain trope. The trope was that an average salaryman would leave behind his job and go on a grand adventure of self-discovery, and through it find the kind of fulfillment that a million hours of earning money never could. Vinnie placed a hand on the side of his head. Adventures weren't really his thing. He liked routine and not being surprised. Adaptability never stood out as a strong suit of his. Plus, running headlong after the first hint that came his way could mean a huge waste of time at best or severe danger, at worst. What if someone else had a Back Door Man that was used on him? Vinnie didn't know if he could take it. Or...what if someone could do something worse? New fears prickled his mind, along with the doubts and hesitations. Yet...

Vinnie slipped his phone out of a pocket and flipped it open. He selected one of his contacts and hit the 'call' button, and in only a few seconds it connected. “Hello, Benny? I was wondering...I'm not feeling very good at the moment.” Not a lie, but not the whole truth. Those always came out easier than falsehoods. “I hate to add any more stress to the group's project, but if I could have a couple of hours, or maybe the afternoon off, I'd really appreciate it...really? Thank you so very much. I'll remember this kindness.” Click. A switch had been flipped in Vinnie's mind. Making this commitment meant there was no going back.

He began to walk with purpose, keeping an eye out for a ghostly white apparition or the distinctive young woman it had been near. Rounding a corner, he nearly crashed into a brown-haired woman in wet clothes. Rather than her damp attire, however, Vinnie noticed that she'd been one of the people at the restaurant, though lamentably not the one he sought. Still...odd that they'd meet again like this after parting ways, even if it was only a few minutes ago. With no knowledge of whether he should be subtle or not, Vinnie felt like taking risks to try and get results quickly—he did still need to work, after all. Still, that didn't mean he could gallivant around and run into people. As strange as circumstances were, he could not take leave of common sense.

Feeling like an idiot, he uttered an apology. “I'm sorry. How clumsy of me. Are you alright?” He rather pointedly hoped that this woman wouldn't brush him off like Sabrina did. What were the odds of running into someone else from the restaurant episode again? Thinking quickly, he slipped off a black silk glove and offered it to her. “You must be soaking. Would that I had a handkerchief to give you, but maybe this'll help dry your face, at least.” He made sure to stand an arm's length away from her following the near-collision. In his experience, women had varying degrees of concern for personal space, and unless you were the epitome of handsome -which Vinnie would never boldly proclaim to be- they would get uncomfortable and outright dismiss men who they thought were too close.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

It might be just me, but I've got no complaints with my own education past middle school. The problem I spoke of is just something of which I am aware. I've had quite a few teachers I really enjoyed, particularly in my last two years of high school.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

<Snipped quote by Prince of Seraphs>

@Guess Who

I assume you were joking, but I personally think that teaching students to feel guilty about who they are and where they come from is a big problem.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

@Lugubrious@Kafka Komedy Alright for me to send Midori along with the two of you. She'll be less whiney and I'll post more frequent but if I don't get her interacting more now this will forever be an underdeveloped character... My fault completely though

@liferusher

Fine by me, though I don't remember whether or not Midori was assigned to the Mad World mission.

Phoenix Wing (A Fairy Tail RP-Always Open, Open)

@Caits@hatakekuro@Lugubrious

So I know for my Ike post. There is a hole from which they fell down from somewhere where Ike is?

@Oblivion666

Yep.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Funky Fistfight Freezers

I don't know how I missed this, but I friggin' love me some JoJo! Are you guys still accepting? Because you are deeply starved for a vampire here!

@Kafka Komedy

I'll look forward to it!

All In (Video Game Multiverse)

Henry

Any second now, Henry expected a lethal overdose of projectiles to fly his way and spell his premature end. He did not fear death, but to perish here would mean that his dream would be only partially fulfilled. How much better it would have been to kick the bucket fighting for the Shepherds, rather than against some nameless foe in an unknown land! The dark mage watched Denys appear, seemingly intent on distracting the Marine by engaging him in combat, but by now he felt positive that his adversary would ignore the other threat to mercilessly finish Henry off. However, the fact that the Marine had yet to pull the trigger was a ray of hope, after all. His teeth clenched together in smile which through pain seemed devilish, he closed his fingers around the tome Nosferatu, his ticket for victory. Candy Cane began to speak just as he began to slide the sorcerous book out of his robe.

Though he didn't know the words she employed, she certainly seemed annoyed. Henry, thinking that she might be one of those pacifist types, cast a look of pity and annoyance her way. Still, he produced his tome, and which fell open and came alive with pages turning of their own accord, wreathed in foul energies. As he chuckled at her comments, he winced from the waves of pain surging up from his annihilated hand. ”Nyeheh...you must not know me very well.” She made an extremely poor case for the two soldiers, wound up as they were, to not continue murdering one another. Reason was a seed that couldn't be planted in toxic soil. When the Kaiser concurred with her out of nowhere, Henry raised an eyebrow of disappointment his way. ”Ah? Weren't we all buddy-buddy a minute ago, and now you're leaving me out to dry?” All the same, the Marine hadn't attacked yet, and neither had Henry. Why might that be? Perhaps his wound troubled him so much that he had to make a concentrated effort to pull off this final spell.

Magic hit him a moment later. Henry, always attuned to the arcane arts, could sense it before it touched him and even tell from whom it came. That soothing, rejuvenating warmth corresponded to healing magic, but the dark mage was taken aback to see his enemy surrounded in the same life-giving glow. A sensation from his destroyed hand distracted him from immediately casting his dark magic, and a look confirmed that its regrowth. The sticky, sickly-sweet smell of vital fluids intoxicated Henry, coming close to satisfying his bloodlust against the Marine, but there was no question that he would not be happy until his enemy was a puddle of goo. Still..the atmosphere had calmed down somewhat. Perhaps it could wait.

A cawing noise caught his attention, and Henry beamed to see a raven swooping down to land on his shoulder. Just like that, the situation defused, with the sound of his tome snapping shut serving as aggression's death knell. Delightedly the dark mage stroked the black bird's lustrous plumage, and he said, ”Aw, I'm glad I didn't die, too. Well of course you're my friend, little guy!” The raven croaked in his face, and Henry seemingly replied, ”Yeah, right now's good. Call 'em over!” He turned his back on the others and walked toward a nearby bench. The sound of numerous wings beating the air became apparent, and a whole conspiracy of ravens flocked toward him. They surrounded him, constantly making noise, like a little black tornado.

Birdie

Birdie didn't pay much attention to the two women as he left, though one did direct at him a somewhat inane question. ”Uh, the town?” he told Bayonetta before taking his leave with Red not far behind. The scaffolding-esque structure brought the trio down to ground level expediently, and from there they could go in any direction. Birdie set off down the street, hands jammed in his vest pockets.

Before long, Birdie quickly became aware that he might have made a bad choice. Sections of Castle Town seemed, for lack of a better term, wrong. An intact main street lured him into a false sense of security, but when he dodged into a sidestreet to set his nerves at ease, he was shocked to find himself on the brink of what looked to be a warzone. On the edge of normality there lay just about an inch of blurred fuzziness, and after that loomed a section of town completely destroyed. When Birdie turned his eyes on the sky, he was baffled to see the night sky directly above but an ominous purple haze through the distorted zone. Scared but curious, the huge man leaned over and grabbed a pot that stood on the cobblestones a few feet away before tossing it into the other world. It crashed against the ruined ground noisily but ordinarily, with no trace of any kind of trap or malignant effect. Furthermore, Birdie espied some sort of glinting green jewel in the wrecked shards of the pot. Grinning widely at his good fortune, he gingerly crossed the line and bent down. After snagging the gem, he quickly retreated back to the un-damaged zone to study his find.

As tall as his middle finger and about half as thick as it was tall, the precious stone gleamed beautifully. Figuring that it must be emerald or something similar, Birdie almost salivated to imagine how rich it would make him. With that kind of money, he fondly thought, he wouldn’t have to work for months! The truth that he was already unemployed didn’t concern him too much. Still, this bizarre divide and the somewhat nightmarish version of the town on the other side creeped him out, and Birdie left after only a few more moments. Luckily the main street seemed clear of skeletons, though a couple shattered bones lay here and there, and the freeloader made his way deeper into town.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

<Snipped quote by Lugubrious>

Where did Arellious store his tank then?

@Prince of Seraphs

Such questions were never addressed, and are moot now.

The Three Realms War [A DMC, Bayonetta and Darksiders RP]

The image of a demonic monster gently tucking a pooped-out child into bed flashed into Souta's mind, prompting him to snicker quietly, but he managed to stay focused on the task at hand. Orpheus, huh? Partially from his line of work and partially from his own interests, he held a passing familiarity with names from mythology. As best he could remember, 'Orpheus' was either a two-headed dog from the underworld, or some kind of early bard. For certain, he knew that the story of Orpheus was a tragic one. He liked the idea of a sophisticated, elegant weapon, like a naginata.

Then the thought struck him: how could he go about making a soil into a Devil Arm without the proper tools? A smith, after all, was only as good as his equipment allowed him to be. Given a soul right now, all he could do would be to stare at it and think. Now that he considered it, Souta hadn't gone to see the Charred Citadel's forge yet. While he wanted to think that the workshop of an authority allegedly greater than Heaven or Hell might be filled to the brim with every kind of material and device he could want, Souta dryly expected that it would be as ramshackle as the rest of the Citadel's furnishings. After all, what did Watchers want with weapons or armor? Considering the alternatives filled him with even more dread. Even if he was allowed to, how would be go about contacting Regalia on Earth? He seemed up a creek without a paddle.

”...Well, if you're in contact with your people or something, yeah, have them send the soul to Regalia.” He didn't mention a cost, figuring that it would be both obvious and unhealthy for the proposal. ”I dunno how I might get in touch with Gilgamesh or anyone. I can check the forge in this place, but I don't know how much it might have going for it.”

He started toward the area of the Citadel in question, only for a Watcher to abruptly phase through a wall and block his way. Souta narrowed his eyes, trying to tell whether or not it had been the one from before. Without waiting for him to make sure, the Watcher addressed both him and Mary, “Nipping off for some fun, huh? Well, don't get too comfortable. The stuff that Abyssal stuck inside your noggin's useful after all, human. The Council's found the place: an inverted world called the Undersky. The World Tree there is defunct, but as luck would have it, the Council's found a refugee who can get you there. Oh, didn't you know? Since you're such an expert, you're taking one for the team and heading to the Undersky along with Bloody Mary here, the demon bitch, yours truly, and the big, angry pupper. In a few hours. Have fun!” Cackling, the Watcher disappeared again, presumably to tell Fenn and Lily about their next assignment.

Souta heaved a sigh. There went any chance of rest and recuperation. Of course, merely being in the presence of the lava-filled glass veins that infested the Citadel seemed to speed up healing and rejuvenation in general, but to him magical restoration would never be as good as old-fashioned sleep and medicine. Still, a couple of hours left a little time to take a look at the forge and see if he couldn't get into workable order. ”Uh, well, that's that I guess. I'm gonna find the forge. Come along if you like. I mean, another pair of hands would be great for any lifting or tinkering I've gotta do to get the place working, if there's even anything there. But if you've got something else to do, don't worry about helping me.” He did his best to seem indifferent.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - Funky Fistfight Freezers

From a distance, Vinnie watched the entire scene cool down. Those responsible for the murders fled before the police could arrive, making the observer wonder sadly if the stone-cold killers would ever be caught and brought to justice. The last of the civilians left the Golden Peking, and that familiar Angel Springs lethargy began to settle over this area of the town once more. Harangued by stress despite not being remotely involved in the course of events, Vinnie picked himself up and continued on his way. Coincidentally, the route back to work from his lunch break took him closer to the ill-fated restaurant, and he could not resist glancing in when passing by. When he did so, he spotted a few people -three, from the looks- still inside. Why haven't they gone? The besuited man wondered. Perhaps one or more of them had sustained a grave injury in the proceedings and needed help. As much as Vinnie's intuition told him he would regret getting any closer to the scene of a crime and potentially complicating matters with victims or police, he felt obliged to offer his aid to anyone in need. In a way, he could use this opportunity to look like a hero—or at least a concerned citizen doing his part. Besides, he had a little time.

Vinnie's eyes wandered to the dead bodies out on the road, but only for a moment. The grisly sight did not bear anything more than the most cursory examination. Instead, he sidled up to the door and gingerly opened it, peering in. Inside he spotted a man who could have been mistaken for a woman at a longer distance, dolled up in a flamboyant pink suit decidedly less classy than Vinnie's own blue one. An extremely ordinary, rather forgettable brown-haired woman stood nearby, and opposite her a more eye-catching lady who he guessed worked at the restaurant. A peaked cap, a tube top, cropped camo shorts, and what looked like argyle-patterned stockings made for an intriguing hodgepodge of an appearance. None of them seemed particularly hurt, but all the same, he thought about his words for a moment before speaking out.

“Hello? Pardon me. I saw the whole thing from a little ways off, and I was worried that someone in here might need some assistance. Is there anything I can do to help?”