Lugubrious

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

And here we go! I'm very excited.

Project Crossover [SMASH ARENA - Only PXO members allowed]

Slayer
Level 3
Day 2
Location: Official Arena
Experience: |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| (27/30)

With a passing disinterest, a certain gentleman had seated himself and proceeded to spectate the remainder of the Smash Arena fights upon his arrival. Having come more or less straight from his own confrontation, Slayer had seen fit to determine whether or not everybody in these 'games' employed the killer intent characteristic of antiquity's gladiatorial combat. He'd reclined in a vacant area of the audience, watching the goings-on down below when his mind wasn't wandering. As best he could ascertain, most people weren't so eager to use lethal attacks as Varrock, but Naija wasn't most people. She went so overboard that her opponent, a traditional-looking samurai, looked as though he'd been roasted alive afterward. While he could tell that Mitsurugi still breathed from this distance, Slayer felt sure that he was the exception rather than the rule, which had to be at least somewhat alarming for most of the viewers and/or participants.

A short time later the vampire found his attention diverted by, of all things, a commotion at the prizes stand. Slayer spotted Varrock the instant he cast his eyes yonder, no doubt claiming his ill-gotten gains. The prize distributor looked extremely uncomfortable, and while he couldn't blame him for not liking the soldier's attitude, the gentleman wondered what might give the anthropomorphic animal cause to be so distressed. From here, after all, he couldn't catch a lick of what was being said. With that avenue closed to him, Slayer allowed his focus to drift once again.

His reverie came to an abrupt end as a riotous impact rattled the building. Curious, he raised an eyebrow toward its source, a section of wall now bearing substantial cracks. Someone, it appeared, was about to make a dynamic entrance. A moment later the wall broke open, sending chips and dust into the air as the bulk of its weight fell straight forward like a castle drawbridge. Through the aperture trundled a large, ugly green creature in opulent gear and toting a grossly oversized mace. Saliva flew from his meaty lips as he bellowed through the stadium, but to be honest Slayer found the cretin more comical than calamitous. The shape of him could scarcely be believed, but still more humorous was the sense of judgment that told him storming an arena full of powerful heroes alone was a good idea. The gentleman hazarded a guest that he was, in fact, not alone, and the next moment a horde of bungling buffoons hustled into the arena after him. ”Goodness.” Slayer stood up from his seat and sauntered forward to the railing that overlooked the arena. ”I had no idea we were to be treated to an old-fashioned slobberknocker. I would be only too pleased to lend a hand, of course.” He had a mind to try and shave off a little more rust from his fighting style, but he went into this endeavor knowing that it hardly paid off to try to hone a blade's edge against ants.

A few seconds later, Slayer hit the ground in the middle of a crowd of Gnorcs with both feet extended, crashing down like a pillar. A blast of purple flame welled up around him, violently dispersing the mob in whose midst he landed. Two of the less-affected buffoons ran toward him -well, 'ran' wasn't quite the right word; 'waddled' might have been more appropriate- and took a swing. The instant before the first club hit, Slayer ducked backward out of the way, and before his attacker could grasp that he'd actually missed the dandy's fist collided with his upper cheek with enough power to twist his head and snap his neck an an instant. Like a sack of potatoes the Gnorc slumped over, and the second one's mind switched instantly from aggression to panic. He raised his shield just in time to block the gentleman's cross, only for the blow to turn his shield into kindling and hit home. The Gnorc whistled as he flew into the opposite wall, bowling over a good few of his fellows on the way. Slayer frowned, glancing at his hand. ”Alas...they are about the weakest creatures conceivable.” He looked around at the Gnorcs getting up, pretty much ignorant to the obliteration of their comrades. ”Well, at least they are little more than mindless flesh bred for violence. Such beings are not subject to moral scruples. I shall not trouble myself with remorse as I put you out of your misery.” Ignoring the vampire's words, the Gnorcs converged on him, and Slayer initiated his assault.

The swift introduction of the first unfortunate Gnorc to the ceiling via high-kick set the pace for the rest of the slaughter. So weak were the addlepated ogres that none even necessitated a combo; in most cases a single blow was all it took. Slayer bobbed and wove from side to side, evading a good few of the strikes aimed at him and just tanking the rest. By sheer force of numbers the Gnorcs hoped to overwhelm him, but they lacked the damage and technique. One by one they were reduced to still bodies or scattered chunks. Only at about the 50 mark did Slayer's injuries mount up enough to warrant his attention. Upon noticing that he was bruised and bleeding, the vampire gave an amused hmph. "Truly do these limitations disturb me. If you deign to further sully my garments, I regret that I shall have to use untoward force." He flexed his hands before reeling back to throw a lightning-fast, red-hot Dead on Time that sent no fewer than 10 Gnorcs flying into the wall at once, ablaze and broken. It was at that point that the Gnorcs realized that even their cumulative efforts were futile, and for Slayer it was all downhill from there.

Though he'd noticed the two more interesting individuals among the sea of mooks, he left their elimination to the glory seekers. A gentleman need not steal the spotlight, but instead help take out the trash so that others might pursue their own goals more easily.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

@Stern Algorithm@Rune_Alchemist@Hammerman

A few moments of chatting confirmed that Liana and the Ki Master knew one another, albeit in a rather strange way. By sheer coincidence, Liana had happened to be doing some main story quests at about the same point and same rate as this player, whose name was Anomala_Caris. Though they hadn't spoken for a while, they crossed paths over a dozen times, and eventually greeted one another and exchanged a few casual words. They did friend one another just as acknowledgment of their unique situation, but never did any dungeons or anything together, as each had their own group of friends. That the pair would be reunited here was nothing short of miraculous, fitting for the final few moments of a game advertized by the slogan, “anything's possible.”

The two exchanged small talk, with Liana occasionally glancing up to confirm that her uncle's character hadn't moved from the spot where he floated near the ceiling. Never once in her entire time playing with him had she dared make any mention of his fascination with flying, given the limb he'd lost in real life. It was only natural, she supposed, but she felt like drawing attention to it could only reopen that old wound. After a minute or so the two bid farewell -time had grown precious, after all- and Anomala logged off. With nothing really to do, she looked around.

To be fair, she could have spent a long time trying to take in everything this guild hall had to offer. The items that swamped it and the players who filled it up represented a vertical slice of everything the game had to offer, thrown together in a random mixture that nevertheless managed to be impressive indeed. For a moment Liana was distracted by the guild chat popping up, with what appeared to be a face asking if anyone wanted armor. Liana certainly didn't, and she wondered why anybody would. At this stage, there was no point at all. Unlike her, some of Yggdrasil's players certainly found a wealth of entertainment in the expansive postgame, grinding and grinding for better equipment or aesthetics, or trying to top the PvP or Guild leaderboards. None of it really spoke to her, and in an odd way, she felt gratified that the experience was about to end forever. Yggdrasil's close spoke of the futility of trying to gather more and more power in a virtual world; in a few more minutes, the efforts of everyone from the world's best Pker to the lowliest newbie would be wasted. Only memories would remain.

A chorus of messages in the server-wide chat swelled out of nowhere, along with a huge explosion of fireworks in the distance, stirring Liana from her reverie. Thanks for everything, they said. She missed some sort of big sendoff? Drat. Blinking, Liana realized that in getting lost in thought meant she was throwing away important time here. A look out the window confirmed some sort of display in the distance. In the spirit of the little event, far away though she was, she entered, ”thanks 4 everything” in the server-wide chat. She then kicked her character into motion, gliding around the hall's floor.

She spotted a few especially interesting things in quick succession. Near a few players stood one angel-looking thing, an NPC judging by its tag, and a formidable one if its armor was anything to go by. On some level Liana was still bummed out that players could make NPCs that would be better than she could ever be at this game, but it all fell beneath the great big banner of not really caring. This NPC, though, was uttering a prayer characteristic to Catholic mass—one of the very same prayers her own congregation recited in harmony every Sunday. Huh. The sight made her curious. Very rarely in her experience did anyone on the internet have anything nice to say, or any sort of tribute to pay, to Christianity. For all she knew, this NPC could have been designed as a parody. Still, it was neat to see. She guessed that one of the players next to it was its creator, but she didn't really want to start talking to some stranger. Instead, as she slid by, Liana stopped to give Lexus Dominiel a /pray emote.

On the subject of abrupt conversation, she did find something else that drew her attention. Having sidled up to a bar, wondering what debuffs the 'alcohol' incurred, she caught a glimpse of two female characters: one a very modest-looking girl, and the other a demoness in pretty slutty clothing. Odd mismatches were prevalent in Yggdrasil, but the manner in which these two conversed seemed unusual, so Liana /sat nearby and listened out of curiosity.

Racist fools that don't like heteromorphics? Were her character, Lenore XIV, able to express her player's emotions, the Shoggoth would have furrowed her brows. If this 'Senna' girl had received racism in real life, Liana thought, She wouldn't toss it around in here so casually. From experience, not presumption, Liana knew it wasn't something to make light of in a video game. After that her interest trailed off somewhat, and she called over the bartender NPC to see what he had available. As one might expect on such an exceptional occasion, everything was free. Bored, Liana scrolled through the list of options, and a moment later decided to get nothing. She didn't feel like bothering, plain and simple.

She was about to turn away and wander in the direction of a cluster of people until a few choice words from the unremarkable girl slipped into her ear. After a moment to make sure she heard right, Liana whirled around, her character's 'clothing' animating to mimic proper physics. For a moment she just stood there, dead still and silent, until a speech bubble appeared above her head.

”UR the legendary village girl!?!

...At least, that's what would have happened if Selena hadn't kept talking. Right before Liana submitted her awestruck question, she paused to listen to what Selena was saying over her mike. A few moments passed, and Liana suddenly felt as though she was eavesdropping. Though technically she'd been doing so the whole time, the two would have been using PM if they really cared to keep it secret. What Selena just said, however, seemed awfully private to Liana. Ooh... The next instant, Liana voided her message. From the sound of it, this lady made her uncle's dedication to the game seem cursory at most. The server shutdown, anywhere from minutes to seconds away, would mean the end of something that this lady valued more than her real life if her morbid words were anything to go by. All of a sudden, Liana felt an urge to apologize. Until now she'd generally dismissed people who prized this fiction over reality as losers, but at this moment she really understood what players like Selena were losing. The tale of a normal-looking villager with incredible debilitation powers had been a testament to Yggdrasil's incredible possibilities, and now that legend was passing away.

Liana wanted to say something to comfort her, but she couldn't think of a single thing to say. Anything she said could easily do more harm than good, and Selena probably wouldn't appreciate someone butting in. Hanging her head a little, she turned back to leave. Now more than ever, and perhaps a little selfishly, she wanted the server to hurry up and go dark already. Dragging on, like slowly pulling off a band-aid, was pretty much twisting the knife for the players who were about to lose something special.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

Well, this conversation isn't very fun, is it? There was no ill intent on my part, just a bit of misunderstanding. I do apologize, having admitted my mistake, and am perfectly willing to drop it and offer some socializing in recompense. If you would rather not have a token of my sincerity, that's fine as well; I'm not interested in further arguing. To try and perpetuate this contention would only serve to worsen relations, after all.

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

<Snipped quote by Lugubrious>

I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable or anything.

I was only joking, I never tagged anyone on my posts, I just want to lighten the mood and talk to ppl. You're not obliged to reply to me...
Plus, I'm not 'probing' anyone.

Also, there is no need to be so aggressive....

I don't even know what to say... Have I done anything so outrageously wrong or something?

@13org

Aw, no need to get on my case and play the victim. I didn't realize you were joking around is all. I'm not uncomfortable or anything else, just thought you were making a big deal out of nothing, which would have been mildly annoying if that was the case. Now I know. I'll even throw in something for you in my upcoming post by way of apology. How's that sound?

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

OwO
It hurts to be ignored T___T

@13org

Well, not everyone wants to talk. It isn't fun to be incessantly probed either, or to try and be guilt-tripped for not feeling like leaping in.

If you're looking for discussion about alignment, groups, interactions, and so on, I'd suggest page 2 of this thread.

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

Cormorant Sanders

@Caits@Joshua Tamashii@Zarkun

Barely had the assembly of Guild Masters begun than Fraquar made sure to demonstrate his maturity by needling his elder. Though Sanders did, of course, resent the barb, he knew that pursuing it would create only further pointless unpleasantry. Jamie made a comment as well, also prying into his nature for some curious reason, before losing focus completely at the mere mention of her children. Did this woman have so little faith in her underlings that a couple of words elicited a motherly panic? In the end, though, it made no difference. By now, Sanders could boast of a certain familiarity with his counterparts' quirks, and his patience could bear the strain as he waited for the two to sort the matter out between themselves. No matter how long it took, Frenzy Plant's general felt sure that he would learn from Jamie why he came all this way.

Owen Whately

@Joshua Tamashii

Alert to any movement in the vicinity, the badlands fencer known as Owen had already locked on to Amelia as she approached. He did not miss her scarlet scrutiny before, during, and after her offer. In an ordinary establishment such behavior would be acknowledged as common courtesy, but Owen was no fool. Nobody in the upper echelons of Frenzy Plant was ignorant of the disdain cultivated in Phoenix Wing by its master for the 'rigid', 'heartless' soldier guild. Amelia's request tested him and his crew as surely as her eyes pored over their appearances.

”Thank ya, miss, but we don't need nothin'. 'Preciate the offer though.” His mud-brown eyes returned Amelia's gaze. The luminescence of her red irises intrigued him, more out of their connotation of danger than anything else. Did she ignore the undeniable connection between red eyes and monsters, or did she embrace it? The answer could tell him a lot about who she was. At the very least, he felt certain that she was no normal girl. No such thing existed in Phoenix Wing's ranks. His words served as a suggestion for her to leave the soldiers alone with their duty and to return from whence she came, but the Games taught Owen that Wingers were an argumentative and contrary lot. Would she try to confront them further, or turn away with her judgments bottled up inside? Owen waited to see.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

So uh... If I win, is there any way to heal Saria's detatched arm?

@Roughdragon1

Yes.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Lugubrious I think you might have forgotten to announce a winner again. :P

@ProPro

This time I wasn't sure exactly when all the voting periods would be done, but you raise a fair point. I'll go ahead and do several.

Seraphim vs Sunspot Round 1 goes to Sophia. Battle Score is 1-0 for DracoLunaris

Cereal Killer vs Book Keeper Round 2 goes to Runch. Battle Score is 2-0 for ProPro

Fungal Knight vs Blood Devil Round 4 goes to Bonesword. Battle Score is a 2-2 tie, taking this fight into its final round

@GreenGoat, when do you think you'll have your Round 2 post up? You did indicate 'tomorrow' three days ago.

In other news, I've noticed that all second day fights are engaged. Good work, people!

Overlord : Advent of the Gods

Good to see everyone here is a self proclaimed PVP master. Quite refreshing...

@Thecrash20

Heh, not everyone.