Lugubrious

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

@Lugubrious Dammit! You ruined my plan! Oh, well. Time to go with the back-up. BTW, Steve wasn't hurt too bad by the bullets because of zombies, skeletons, creepers, endermen, and other Minecraft monsters.

@RokkuHoshi

Exposure to monsters gives him bullet resistance? I don't quite follow the logic, but it doesn't matter to me. As far as I'm aware, only the RP's specific stats determine character ability. If 2 physical defense is enough to laugh off bullets, fine by me.

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

Slayer
Level 3
Day 2
Location: In-house Smash Arena
@RokkuHoshi @Zarkun
Experience: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| (27/30)

From his comfortable, reclined position, Slayer viewed the spat between Steve and James. Just as he supposed, the soldier proved himself quick on the draw, and riddled his plummeting assailant with bullets. Now that he got a chance to really scope out the gunslinger's equipment, it appeared that he had two guns in the form of a punchy-looking hand cannon and a sniper rifle. While any prospective opponent would have to be a total clod to fall victim to the impractical, long-range weapon in such a small arena, the oversized pistol commanded enough stopping power to speedily put unwary warriors down for the count. However, reliance on two precision weapons meant that Slayer possessed a distinct advantage. Short though it was, his near-instant teleport gave no indication of its destination, and James couldn't afford to inundate the area with bullets in the manner that one with an automatic or spread weapon might. Plus, nobody knew about the teleport yet. Keeping his hand hidden for the longest possible time suited Slayer, but he intended to win this fight however long it took, and he would not risk elimination for the sake of keeping secrets.

Somehow, the bullets that pierced Steve's body didn't seem to have much of an impact. From what Slayer knew, even if a shot didn't hit something important it tended to cause severe and sometimes fatal shock in anything less than a hardened veteran. This animate sculpture, however, laughed it off. A fitting conclusion as to why was the work of only a few seconds for an astute mind. ”No vital organs? ...Fascinating. The lack of any kind of hindrance to his performance from something typically deadly also indicates that his physical ability is actually not linked to the state of his body. He must be able to fight at full capacity until the moment he's taken enough damage to be put out of commission. I wonder if he can even be knocked out...? Without a doubt, a physiology specially tuned for survival.” As he spoke, Steve hurled a few more blocks his way, and they grew to full size to create a three meter tall, nine meter wide wall only inches away from his foot. A bored expression crossed Slayer's face. ”Now, now. Blocking my view is just petty.” He rose to his feet.

”Here, allow me to return your things.”

The vampire planted his foot against the stone wall and heaved. As if hit by a freight train, the stone wall hurtled forward with frightening suddenness, rolling end over end straight toward Steve and James. It didn't move at an unmanageable pace, but its size presented a definite problem. Before it even drew close, Slayer had already seated himself once again.

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

Slayer
Level 3
Day 2
Location: In-house Smash Arena
@RokkuHoshi @Zarkun
Experience: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| (27/30)

For a man who not only ran but also participated in his very own gentlemen's fight club, the prospect of an arena battle was one Slayer did not want to pass up. The grand fights against Brigan and Odin, remarkable as they'd been, had been one-sided matchups of a single powerful foe against numerous heroes, and they hadn't quite managed to satiate the vampire's taste in combat. A friendly sparring match against fellow heroes, meanwhile, offered just the chance he sought. In the course of such a duel, he would get to know his allies -and their abilities- better, and perhaps even get warmed up. With that in mind, he signed up for the fights, and when the appointed time came Slayer arrived in a timely manner.

Soon before his appointed bout was to begin, he managed to wheedle some information out of a few of the assembling spectators. Most fights, it appeared, were not held in vicinity of Tetris Castle at all, but rather outsourced to different realms via the same teleporter network that had been used to transport him to the twilight kingdom just the other day. However, this first match would take place in a somewhat unremarkable arena within the grounds of the castle; a sort of dirt-floored, fenced-in paddock, perhaps once used for training with horses but now augmented with enough flair to give it a competitive atmosphere, would serve as the locale. As he was ushered in, Slayer couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment at the banality of the arena, and a whiff of irritation at all the onlookers. Observers filled his own establishment, of course, but there one could be assured of good company. These rowdy, common mooks, separated from the fight by imperfect wooden barriers, gave him a bad feeling. Indifferent as he was to most situations, Slayer heartily disliked being made sport of. Still, if these people wanted a show, who was he to be a stick in the mud?

His opponents appeared, and Slayer recognized one without delay: the futuristic soldier, with armor less bulky and a heart less bold than Samus's. The gentleman did not forget James' near-absence during the latter part of the battle for the world not long ago, but he forgave it. There was little sense in holding grudges, after all. With such a plain arena, Slayer reasoned that James possessed a net advantage. There was nowhere he could retreat, but with nothing to use as cover, his foes couldn't do much against his gunfire. Stroking his beard, he hummed. That will be a problem. Given the definite downgrade of my status, I may not be able to rely upon my cloak to block bullets as I approach. I could stroll through them, of course, but that wouldn't be fair... During his musing, Slayer checked out his other enemy. A new face, and a literal straight one, this man did not seem to possess a single round edge. He looked, the vampire surmised, just like a bunch of stuck-together cardboard boxes brought to life. With no knowledge of Steve's abilities, he would have to use trial and error to figure out how to deal with him. No sooner had Slayer arrived at that conclusion than the three-way free-for-all commenced.

The flattest character was the first to move. Slayer trained his eyes and easygoing smile on Steve as he ran toward him, swinging a cube of something that resembled rock. Curiously, the blocky man appeared to be trying to assault both Slayer and James at the same time in this manner, and the distance between the two made his trek into a zig-zag that struck the gentleman as ludicrous. When his time came, he stood stock-till save for his quizzical expression while Steve approached, wondering if he really was going to try and hit him with the cube. Before doing so, however, Steve hurled his block down, and in an impossible feat it grew from less than a foot across in all dimensions to a whopping three meters. Still calm, Slayer stepped backward to nonchalantly watch as Steve produced a sword before repeating the maneuver again and again, until he stood on a great pillar three blocks high. If his eyes weren't fibbing, Slayer calculated him to be a commendable 9 meters in the air, or about 30 feet. He could only wonder why. Did he plan to hide up there? The vampire could not imagine that such an energetic individual could trump him in a battle of patience. On the plus side, the immense pillar provided ample cover from James.

Slayer squinted as he looked upward, cupped a hand around his mouth, and declared in a somewhat louder voice, ”No need for tomfoolery with building blocks, my good man. When you're ready for proper fisticuffs, I shall be ready for you down here.”

The next moment, however, Steve proved he had other intentions. Without hesitation the polygonal being threw himself off the top of the tower he'd just made, in the general direction of James. Still confused, Slayer exhaled a short, laughing sigh. Thirty feet of height gave James plenty of time to dodge, if not lodge a few bullets in his attacker's sternum. Offhandedly Slayer wondered if the soldier was using real bullets in this fight, and if not what he might be using instead, but he gave a shrug. "What an intriguing style," he remarked, not putting quite enough effort to mask the disdain in his voice. "It must be centered around audacious acts to throw opponents off guard, so that highly telegraphed but surely devastating attacks might have a chance of landing." He put his back against the pillar and sat down, his cape taking on the shape of a chair as he did to support him. He rested an elbow on its armrest and his head in that arm's hand, extracted his pipe from his pocket, and watched the proceedings.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Lugubrious
I think I may have misinterpreted what the red pills forbidden insight means, I had assumed it would be something like the captain's sleep vision but looking at the wording again that seems like the wrong interpretation. well, only one way to find out what it actually means, so I suppose we shall find that out in the morning.

By the way this rp has been great so far and I am looking forward to the pvp writing contest segment, it should be interesting. Keep up the good work.

@DracoLunaris

I thought I had clarified in a PM, but I'd be glad to provide any additional help.

I'm so happy you've been enjoying it! With any luck, the next bit will be still better.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Lugubrious

I should probably contrive a way to eat that forbidding knowledge pill before you make that post so Sophia can have some fun nightmares and descend further into madness.

will that sleep post be like a "Night happens" post or a night is going to happen post a flowed by a dawn happens post

@DracoLunaris

I'll almost certainly include both the passing and the morning in the same post separated by a divider. If people want to do their own dreams, or describe how their characters slept or something, they can add them in as the first part of a followup post, if you get what I'm saying.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Ayame, how's the sheet coming along?

@obliviousRoadie, @Hostile, @Lmpkio, @GreenGoat, @Propro, time is up (some more than others) and you are on 3-day probation. Please post at your next opportunity.

As for everyone else, the current IC night has gone on long enough. Not immediately, but in a little while -allowing some time to wrap up individual sidequests- we're going to move through the rainy night. I imagine most for whom sleep is an issue will want to sleep through it. In the morning, we'll be kicking things off with a bang and a new boon, courtesy of the announcer, for everyone. Then the PVP that is a central part of this RP will begin.

Here's a quick status update for Round 1:
Lazo's Lady in White: finished
GreenGoat's God Hand: finished
Banana's Fungal Knight: finished
ScreenAcne's Smiley: finished
Lmpkio's Queen of Terror: 1/3
RoughDragon's Blood Devil: 2/3
Sentel's Sentinel: finished
Kapuchu's Inari: finished
My Knight Sylvestre: finished
Hostile's Chosen of Gaben: finished
Propro's Cereal Killer: finished
DracoLunaris' Seraphim: finished
BCTheEntity's Book Keeper: 1/3
Deadnaut's Blackjack: finished
obliviousRoadie's Angry Dragon: 2/3
The Wild West's Tyrant: 0/3

As far as I'm concerned, that's definitely grounds enough to move on in short order.

For those who may not be posting frequently due to lack of interest: I urge you to stick it out until the PVP. If it re-energizes you, excellent, but if not, at least you can drop out in the proper fashion.

For those who haven't finished yet: I'm okay with you consolidating all remaining parts of your battle into a single large or very large post, so that you can catch up. I understand this is all going on in the midst of exam season, so I'm willing to cut some slack, but when putting it off starts to become a problem for other members of the RP, I must ask you to get involved.

I'm super excited to get the real meat and potatoes of this RP on the plate, and I hope there are some echoes of that hype among you as I buckle down to start writing my next post.

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

@LugubriousIf you have a zone you want, then you can use it. But you'll be introducing it. Next time...seeing as you had a whole week to decide on a location. Decide on a location sooner and not when I'm about to write it up.

@Holy Soldier

Well, I couldn't have known when you're about to write it up, but I'll be more proactive next time. I'm fine with you choosing the stage this time as recompense. Once you outline more or less how it works this time, it'll be a good example for me introducing something next time.

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

Alrighty then, let's get this show on the road. @RokkuHoshi, @Zarkun, what do you say we enact our free-for-all on Tekken 5's Moonlight Wilderness?

Well, shoot. Looks like I missed the mark by 3 minutes. Apologies. I hope this will proceed in a more interesting manner than our last PVP, Zark.

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

From his hidden position, Souta watched the proceedings with palpable intensity. By the fierceness of the look of determination on his face, it seemed, he hoped to bolster the chances of the gambit's success. As one might expect from a demonic trickster with centuries and centuries of experience, Lily was doing well. The angels, riled up though they were, seemed to believe her. When she mentioned the Charred Council, he grimaced, but in a matter of moments the demoness span it on its head to try and extract safe passage from Heaven's forces, should her ploy succeed. Very good! Too good. That kind of cunning and talent for deception is not safe. He felt sure now, upon seeing the apparent effortlessness with which Lily duped the angels, that he wanted to keep her at arm's length at least.

His sidetracked mind returned to the present abruptly, however, when Lily's attempt to leave encountered sudden and unexpected resistance. Souta watched, sweat beading on his forehead, as a new angel arrived to the scene who seemed to have his ally figured out the second he arrived. Less good. Not good at all. Being found out made him nervous, of course, but now that he thought about it, couldn't Lily take this guy? He talked big and looked tough, but the smith had seen Lily in action, and he felt that nobody the trio might encounter this early in a mission could possibly challenge her. Curious, he put aside his trepidation to focus on what came next.

Out of all possible options, Souta did not expect Lily to instantly betray his position. ”What. Why.” Leaving them as hidden backup would have been a far smarter move in his estimation. Did she think he, a lowly human and metalworker, was going to spring out and whiteknight her the instant things started going sour? Hah. Regardless of what Fenn did, Souta felt that the ball was still in Lily's court for her to play with as she saw fit. Now that the angels knew that she had company, however, he could not help but fidget and reflexively summon his defensive weapon, Silverbeast. The gleaming clawed gauntlets appeared on his arms and hands, ready to rip and tear or grab and block, but their owner remained still. For a moment before he caught himself, Souta could not help but gawk as Lily reverted her transformation and attacked the holy warriors with a full-frontal assault, giving her allies a clear view of her rear in the process. Even for a demon...! She has no shame. He looked away, rolling his eyes, and listened to the angels going on the alert. They called him and Fenn out, and Souta's quickened heartbeat did not relent.

He couldn't quite make them out, but Lily and the new angel exchanged words. The auspicious lack of fighting made him think that a peaceful solution might be possible, but he wasn't about to make a chicken out of a feather.

Project Crossover [Video Game Crossover RP]

Slayer
Level 3
Day 2
Location: Tetris Castle Grounds
@Etherean Fire
Experience: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| (27/30)

Involved as he was with Naija, Slayer did not notice the intruder until too late. Silent and swift, the cat burglar gave no indication of its presence until its theft sent an uproar among the funeral attendees. The vampire failed to turn in time to see what was stolen, but the tail end of the fleeing streak clued him into where it had committed the act and a simple glance took care of the rest. In an instant, the robber vanished, a speedy blur threatening to escape with its ill-gotten goods. While any do-gooder worth his salt would have leaped at the chance to return a pilfered object of importance, particularly something so important, the only muscle Slayer moved was to raise an eyebrow. He knew without having to look that a great many of those present would throw themselves after the thief, so he needn't concern himself with how to manage a speedwalk without losing his composure, and instead the gentleman cast his thoughts elsewhere.

”A barbaric act—and one as insipid as barbarity. Putting aside how it shouldn't have been able to infiltrate such a crucial establishment as this place, it must have been awfully sure of itself to try and snatch a soul from a place so dense with heroes.” Mischievous little beasts relieved of the burden of intelligence were not by any means unheard of, but if such a creature could get inside the grand hub of heroism known as Tetris Castle, it was either more than met the eye or aided by some other entity. Guile echoed those thoughts as he barked out an order to the posse, but it seemed like he hadn't thought of -or at least put much credit in- the thief being some kind of shapeshifter. One after another, the others took off after the Tac, and fast thought it was Slayer suspected the chase wouldn't last long unless it fled into some portal, protective barrier, or the like, probably established by a hitherto-unknown accomplice. As he thought, Slayer hummed the tune of the song performed by the odd but talented troupe of animals in memory of Mario. He did not expect one of those very musicians to plod over and, now that Slayer's chair had descended following Naija's departure, ask him what the problem was.

Slayer uncrossed his legs and stood up to his full height, causing his chair to morph back into his cape. With a droll expression he removed his monocle, produced a hankerchief from his suit jacket with which to clean it, and replied, “A yellow creature shaped like the head of a cat rushed in and made off with Mario's essence and cap. The more exuberant among us have, it seemed, all sprinted off to accost the rogue and return its plunder, possibly flushing out an accomplice in the act. The sight of them all running off, a great mad gang after one rotund robber...wouldn't you say it's almost comical? Overkill, I'm sure, but given the stolen items, I shouldn't wonder that so many would be so eager to get them back.” He finished with his monocle and held it up. It glinted in the morning sun, revealing it to be spotless, and with a satisfied look Slayer replaced the eyepiece before holding out his hand. “Goodness, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Slayer. Your performance just now was exceptional, considering the...'unconventional' choice of instruments.” He eyed the bird in the bear's backpack, noting her vivid red plumage and sharp eyes. These two, it seemed, were a package deal. A partnership far less contortion-prone than poor Zappa's.