STATUS:
Loved Xenoblade 3, and I just got done with Astral Chain my friend lent me. Monster Hunter Stories 2 is next, and so far I'm liking it!
2 yrs ago
Gabriella entered the gym just after Renard and Freya, and she was glad to see those two together. She was certain Freya was doing her best to help Renard build his emotional resilience - get him back to his normal self. She decided to leave that to Freya. It was clear from how Renard spoke to her the past Saturday at the hospital that the words didn't mean much coming from Gabby. She'd spent the weekend being pretty cross with the guy, but time heals plenty of wounds, and she ultimately wanted to help if she could.
Sometimes harsh words need to be said. But the time for that isn't now, she had decided over the weekend. Her workout on Sunday had helped immensely with that conclusion,
Of course, that didn't mean she suddenly had the patience to deal with the guy in his current state, which was evident as she felt her irritation with him bubble up as he shot his mouth off at Eira. As much as she could empathize, she would never agree with how he was acting. She wanted to be just as short with Renard as he seemed intent on being with everyone else.
Sometimes harsh words need to be said. But the time for that isn't now, she reminded herself.
Renard finished talking with Eira, announced to those present Sofia's departure, and then sat down on one of the bleachers, leaving the card Sofia had given him on the bench nearby. Her curiosity immediately grabbed, Gabby moved to the bench, picked up the card, and sat down to read it.
...
Gabriella returned the letter to its envelope and placed it back on the bench as she rose to her feet. Her fists clenched tight and her head hung. Rather than take the time to change out of her school uniform, she made her way over to the punching bag Kerianne had been using for her training. She stood before it for a moment, glowering at it. Imagining Renard's face on the front of it.
Renard...you moron! Don't you understand you're doing everything Sofia asked you not to do?!
In one motion, she pulled her right fist back, then sent it hurtling toward the bag's midsection. Her quirk activated at the moment of impact, sending the punching bag back, then up, and overhead. The bag had naturally been built with strength-enhancing quirks in mind, so it was not easy to break open or knock free of its chains, and it even had a weight system in its stand to prevent the entire thing from being knocked over.
In her fury, Gabriella didn't fully register how hard she had hit the bag, and was so absorbed with trying to calm herself down after the punch that she didn't get out of the way in time. The bag came down on her head, knocking her face-first into the floor and forcing a grunt of pain out of her. Luckily, the safety mat under her prevented her face from being smashed into the glossy hardwood of the gym floor, so she didn't suffer any real injury.
"...Heh...hah hah hah hah hah! Oops."
She felt her anger drain away as she mental image of what she'd just done to herself played out in her head. Yep, that's why she did her best to stay cool in a fight, because she tended to hurt herself when she got angry rather than others. She could only imagine how silly she must look to the other students. Oh boy.
@tobiax Oh gosh, that'd be great. :) I already PMed EnterTheHero with my initial thoughts on that plus the GM only stuff. Can I, like...add participants to that convo?
Couldn't figure out how to do it if it's even possible, so I started a new PM with the three of you specificall for the backstory.
Before Renard could get too far from his classmates, he'd find his path cut off by a large, almost-as-big-as-his-head arm blocking his path as Gabriella forcefully placed her palm against the wall. Her long strides and not-limping gait had allowed her to easily close the distance, and before anyone could do anything about it, she was leaning in close, half-kneeling to bring herself eye level with Renard's face.
"If you are sorry, truly, then do better," she instructed, her body language, furrowed brow, and low tone of voice all betraying how cross she was with him for how he was acting. "If we are heroes, then so are you. If you use a different word for youself, those seven years you spoke of are wasted."
Satisfied with the choice of words she'd come up with for Renard, Gabby's expression softened, though her frown remained on her face out of concern. She pulled her hand off the wall and stepped away from Renard, letting him continue down the hall if he pleased. It seemed the others all had words for him as well. So she wasn't the only one put off by his behavour? It was relieving to know she wasn't alone in how she felt. It wasn't even just how he had blew up at Peter when he was just trying to get everyone motivated, which was bad enough, but she had noticed how he worded his sentences when telling them of Sofia's departure, wording that seemed to purposefully exclude himself.
As upset as she was at him, she knew simply chastising him for what he said wouldn't be enough - she had three younger siblings giving her plenty of experience in that area - so she chose words that she felt he might like to hear. She could only hope that delivering a helpful message in a stern tone would help Renard the same way it helped her little sister that one time she had a big argument with one of her school friends. The same way it had helped Gabriella herself when her mother found out about the bullying she'd been going through when she was her sister's age.
@EnterTheHero Phew, good to know I'm still okay then. :)
Another question, then: Since I decided to post it to this thread, does that mean one of the GMs will PM me once they've read it to discuss the "GM Only" sections, or will I still need to contact a GM myself for that?
@tobiax@AdmrlStalfos19@EnterTheHero Question: I noticed most of the characters that have been posted in the Characters tab don't appear here in the OOC tab. Were they submitted and approved through PMs and if so, is that the expected submission procedure for everyone interested?
This is a WIP right now, I have a lot of things to adjust before considering it a proper submission...
Name: Nickel Age: 2 Months Sex: Female Phenotype: Android Appearance: Nickel was designed with a kind of fair-toned synthetic 'skin', featuring a limited amount of self-repairing ability to minimize lasting effects of repeated extension of her limbs on her appearance. Her hair is short-mid length in a pale, sandy blonde hue styled in a lackadaisical, windswept look, with bangs swept to her left side and a part to the right of the center of her scalp. Her face also features sharply-shaped but vibrantly-coloured blue eyes to offer an appealing, humanizing complement. Nickel's physique is somewhat unassuming and lanky, standing 5'9" and fit without being muscular, being that the strength in her body comes from the mechanized components and synthetic muscle inside. Her facial features give her appearance a level of maturity beyond the amount of time she's actually been alive, making her appearance akin to that of a young adult woman.
Nickel's synthetic body can typically be seen occupying as few clothes as possible so as to not restrict her body's shape-changing features, which leaves her with few options outside of a form-fitting, abdomen-exposing sleeveless top coloured grey or white, and a pair of denim or spandex short-shorts that also hug her form well. Unless she's certain she won't see combat on short notice, at which times she typically goes with something casual, like a sleeveless tank top and slacks or jeans.
This system is the combination of air flow and pressurization technology combined with the structure of several layers of interlocked metal plates held tightly together by a thin but durable elastic muscle-esque material in between the layers. By taking large amounts of air into her body, Nickel is able to cause various parts of her form to expand in either length, width, or both by controlling the air flow within her. The primary focus areas that can be expanded include: biceps, forearms, fingers, thighs, forelegs, chest, abdomen, and neck. To contrast, neither her head nor any of the joints in her body are able to be expanded, due to the structural complications that would have caused to implement. To allow the expansion, the outermost armor covering, as well as the synthetic skin layered atop it, split apart at key sections on the aforementioned areas, and are able to come back together and seal back up with help from the self-repairing properties of the skin layer once the expansion has subsided. In order to take in enough air to activate any part of the VAPOR System, Nickel must open her mouth wide and take what appears to regular folk as a large inhale, the length of which varies depending on how she intends to expand. The air is then pressurized within her body before being sent to the desired section to await depressurization, causing the part to rapidly expand in whatever direction is dictated by the tension of the elastic material between the layers of metal plates - high tension will result in lengthwise expansion, low tension will result in widthwise, and anywhere in between will result in a combination of widthwise and lengthwise. To return the body part to neutral, the air must be expelled from Nickel's body, which can be done either by simply "exhaling", or through vents in the shoulders, lower buttocks, and back.
In addition to expanding parts of her body, the VAPOR System can also be used to perform a destructive blast of highly-pressurized air from a hidden mechanism within her chest, though this maneuver requires more time to execute than the simpler limb extensions. Other features of her body include the ability to rotate parts of her body using the VAPOR System's separable sections as axes - ie. the wrists, abdomen, neck, either side of each non-extendable joint, etc. - lights located inside of her eyes, the ability to adjust her senses (telescopic vision, more sensitive hearing), and the ability to feel physical pain (which can be temporarily turned off but must be done manually by someone else and requires a passcode). The VAPOR System is also built with an air purification system that can detoxify polluted or harmful gas-filled air into breathable oxygen, and also keeps her innards clean of the sands Vacuo's desert is known for.
Aura Color: N/A Emblem: A raised fist angled to the left with two stylized cloud shapes on either side of the fist indicating puffs of air being expelled from the wrist. Personality: Relaxed and laid-back, but with a level of enthusiasm that prevents aloofness, Nickel is the epitome of easy to talk to, being both the sort of person to listen to what others say and the sort to not judge people harshly for what is said. Her desire to learn is what inspires this behavior, and she strives to be as personable and comfortable to be around as possible so she can learn as much as she can about the people around her. This also makes her very studious, though facts and equations are much easier to process than abstract concepts and emotions, so she only comes across as an overacheiver at such times as her acheivements are pointed out.
When it comes time to hunt Grimm, however, she is all business, and her warm, almost lazy deameanour is replaced by a sharp focus and unwillingness to engage any train of thought not immediately relevant to the mission. Some may find themselves offput by the humorless wall she becomes, which contrasts harshly with how she typically acts. It isn't to say that either extreme of her personality is an act, however, and some may find it difficult to understand that the genuine good intentions she displays in her relaxed state also exist behind her cold, calculating visage.
Although she tries her best to get along well with as many people as humanly possible, her general inexperience at life has its drawbacks - she has no semblance of a verbal filter, does not have a well developed sense of sarcasm, and often does not know when to simply not say anything.
Background: Nickel is the creation of one man, a lonely mechanist living in the desert. Created primarily as an answer to the man's aforementioned loneliness, Nickel was given combat capabilities to counter the harshness of the world he was bringing her into, helping ensure he wouldn't need to lie awake endless nights afraid of the world taking her from him. With his intellect and experience, he was able to single-handedly create a mechanical being capable of both reason and emotion, a daughter to love and call his own.
Having come into the world a few months before the beginning of the new semester at Vale, however, Nickel herself doesn't have much history to speak of. She can definitely recall the sensory overload upon her birth, if anyone were curious enough to ask, along with the dizzying feeling of knowing things that had been programmed into her rather than having been learned. The first thing she did upon her activation - once she had fully adjusted to being alive - was chastize her dad for skipping the crucial stages of infancy most living creatures go through.
To assist her in acclimating to the world, as well as providing her experience with the world around her and the people she'd be sharing it with, Nickel's father submitting an applications to Shade Academy to have her accepted as a student.
Likes: People-watching, Conversations, Playing Co-operative Games Dislikes: Playing Competitive Games, Animals Favors:
Reach: Her ability to extend and expand parts of her body gives her remarkable reach for a close-range fist fighter. Her flexibility also allows her to execute attacks from unexpected angles that can easily make things awkward for her targets. Furthermore, she can expand her limbs outward to create more surface area with which to bash something if need be.
Striking Power: Despite lacking traditional weaponry, her pneumatics are able to create enough pressure within her body to make her strikes as fast as bullets, and that velocity causes them to pack quite a lot of punch.
Brainpower: Her computerized mind can work even faster than a typical hunter/huntress', allowing her to quickly analyze, plan around, and react to almost any combat situation she finds herself in, though she can still be surprised by sufficiently unexpected tactics or her opponent not following any of the lines of logic she expects them to. It also prevents her from being dumb muscle with no goal beyond "attack attack attack" - she can apply her strengths effectively with both subtlety and overtness no matter the situation.
Versatility: Her mechanized body comes with several utilities that make her useful to have around in a variety of situations. She's also good at out-of-box thinking and avoids falling into rigid thought patterns as much as she can help it.
Disfavors:
Self-Exposure: Because of the nature of her abilities, she can't wear much - if any - protective armor or clothing in battle, meaning her sub-skin armor is the only thing she can rely on to keep her safe if she ends up taking any hits.
Predictability: To an extent, at least; any time Nickel plans to extend a part of her body, she has to take a large inhale - an action that quickly becomes a tell to anyone fighting her for more than 30 seconds. If an opponent is naturally good at reading people, a prolonged fight can render her completely ineffective. Furthermore, as the VAPOR System is her primary method of both offense and defense, and she doesn't have a Semblance like other hunters/huntresses, she doesn't have a lot of ways to surprise her opponents in combat. Once an enemy has seen everything she can do, the most she can do to keep them on their toes is try to mix up her offensive and defensive tactics or combine them into new ones, and this doesn't solve her predictability issue in the long term.
Surges: Being mechanical, Lightning Dust can be especially harmful to her inner workings. The surges of electricity can cause malfunctions in her systems and, if powerful enough, can create an EMP effect that can force her into a non-operational state. Attacks created with Lightning dust can also be hard for her to avoid, as being made of metal, she conducts electricity extremely well.
Inexperience: Having not lived as long a life as other students, she does not have much first-hand experience of the world, and while her second-hand experience does carry her well, it doesn't cover nearly all the situations she might find herself in, both in combat and in social situations. This means that while her lateral-thinking skills are top-notch, her general social skills and decision-making ability need work.
Relationships:
The Toolmaster: A strange man who refuses to give anyone his name, thus nicknamed by Vacuans who've done business with him. A genius in both hardware and software, he is not only Nickel's creator, but also a semi-well-known mechanical repairman and inventor. Balding and permanently tan, he's spry for his apparent age and has a solid foundation of muscle on his body. Greying hair that sticks out from the sides and back of his head haphazardly, blue eyes that peer wearily from behind a pair of glasses. Nonetheless dresses quite nice in blouse-vest-necktie-slacks attire, though would look nicer if not constantly wrinkled and covered in various stains. Hex Code:#C0C0C0
Gabriella, arms still full of boquets, could only watch as Peter embraced Freya, who returned the gesture. They both cried to one another, Peter a little more than Freya. Gabby, still smiling, felt her own eyes water as well as the touching scene played out before her. She felt the urge to join in, to wrap her arms around both of them and give them a safe place to connect to one another, the the flowers obstructed her. She looked around to see if there was a place to put them down nearby, and sure enough there was a nurse's station with a nice wide counter, more than enough space.
She relieved herself of her burden, quickly wiped her eyes, and turned back to see her classmates end their embrace as Renard approached from the opposite end of the hall. He was up and about as well, but definitely looked the worst for wear out of all of them, evident by his limp. Gabby didn't let the smile depart from her face just yet.
"Renard! It is good to see you walking as well! And now, Sofia is the only one I have not yet seen," Gabriella commented, taking a brief look behind her to check in case the lady moth happened to be approaching from the other direction. Instead of Sophia, she instead saw another face she recognized. Yes, it was Kerianne, if she remembered correctly. She had been absent the previous day. On one hand, she was lucky to not have had to go through something so traumatic, but on the other, it meant she was now somewhat of an outsider, unable to relate to the rest of them the way they could to one another, so Gabriella couldn't really decide whether it was a good thing or not that she'd missed that day.
Keri handed out some cards, one to each of them. Perfect timing. "Ah, yes, Gabby has presents for you all also!" she announced after receiving her card from Kerianne. She turned to the nurse's station and carefully picked out each boquet, which came with their own get well soon card personalized for each student. She turned and handed them out after Keri was done with her cards. Once she was done with that, she took the card she received from Keri and opened it to read. It was nice to feel cared about, even though she was certain she needed the words written in the card the least out of everyone present. She looked to Keri and gave her a grateful nod of her head, her smile feeling a little less strenuous after reading her card.
Can I make a suggeston? Instead of having the reinforcement actively damage him, why not a simple debuff to counterbalance the simple buff he's giving to the object he's touching? IE, while his quirk is reinforcing something, he himself is much more vulnerable to damage; he'll bruise more severely when struck, he'll bleed more profusely if cut, and it makes him more sensitive to pain in general. You can even take this to further levels if reinforcing larger objects or prolonging the reinforcement past the usual time limit takes more effort on the part of his quirk; he'll start becoming more sensitive to light and sound, and even changes in air pressure. It could even affect his immune system. :)
This way, reinforcing things still provides a risk to himself, which forces him to be more careful with it and dissuades him from using it on one thing for too long, while also playing into the theme of his quirk. Thoughts?
Hearing her name, Gabriella stopped walking, pulled her eyes off the hospital building and looked forward, seeing Peter approach. He looked...good. That was a relief. She had been so focused on the others she'd never really gotten a look at what his injuries looked like the previous day, so she felt terrible when she found out he was also staying the night at the hospital. It would appear whatever injuries he had sustained were not debilitating in any way.
Her relief passed as she registered the question he'd asked her. She returned only a blank stare for a moment. She wasn't fully familiar with the phrase "pay your respects", but if she recalled correctly, wasn't that normally only used when someone had passed away? Why would Peter think that was a possibility?
She looked down at the armful of boquets, and her eyes widened in realization. "Ah! Yes. Umm...I suppose it is difficult to tell. Hah. Hah hah." Gabriella resumed walking and closed the distance to Peter, mildly embarrassed by how long it took her to answer him. "I am doing the first one. I have a boquet for you, too. Please come with me, so I can find a place to put these down and find the one for you." @LuckyBlackCat With Peter by her side, she felt a bit more confident as they entered the hospital once more. She received directions from a clerk manning the counter in the lobby and headed with Peter toward the rooms her classmates were staying in. Luckily, they were all side-by-side, easy to do in a hospital that was just for students and staff of USJ. Upon rounding the corner to the hallway the rooms were located down, Gabby was pleasantly surprised to find Freya up and about as well, standing outside one of the doors.
Knowing not one but two of her classmates were well enough to be walking around brought a smile to Gabby's face, and as she approached the cat-like girl, she felt inspiration well up inside her. She couldn't walk in being dour and worried, that would help nobody's emotional health. Her smile widened, showing off her sparkling whites. Or, at least, as much as could be seen through the small forest in her arms.
"Freya! It is I, Gabriella! Peter is here, too. May we come in?"
Gabby ignored Quinn's taunts. They were nothing new to her. She'd succeeded in preventing her from chasing Eira, so she felt good.
Gabby didn't try to get closer to Quinn because she could tell Quinn was smart and experienced due to the guess she took about her quirk and the fact that she kept her distance.
Gabby got surprised by the noise from Peter's phone, but kept her eyes on Quinn to avoid getting sneak attacked. Quinn didn't try.
Gabby recognized what it looked like when Hayes was talking to someone without being visible, and decided to capitalize on Quinn not looking at her. She used her tippy toes and gentle repulsions to quickly and quietly close the gap between them.
Quinn shook Hayes off just in time to get bear hugged by Gabby. But Gabby underestimated the flexibility of Quinn's tail and got injected with anesthetic by surprise and was not quick enough to repel her stinger. Her body got too weak to keep hold of Quinn, who was free to make her escape. The next day was Saturday. It was just before 11:00 AM. Gabriella had eschewed her normal second-day workout in favour of making a visit. Gabby looked somberly upon the building that was her destination - the USJ campus hospital building. Several, or rather, the majority of her classmates had been injured to varying degrees the day prior, many of them badly enough to require stays in the hospital to recover. Gabriella herself had not sustained much injury, though she was covered in adhesive bandages for all the cuts inflicted by the swarm of birds, and had gauze around her neck to keep the entry wound inflicted by the stinger clean of infection.
Gabby looked down at the bevy of boquets in her arms, each one with a get well soon card signed by her and her family - mother, father, two brothers, sister, two grandfathers and one grandmother. Truth be told, she didn't have any idea who to hand their boquet to first. They all seemed like they could use the well wishes. Would any of them want to talk with her while she was visiting? How long should she stay with each person?
These questions and more ran circles in her mind as she approached the entrance to the building...
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