OliveYou

To Hold Back The Dark

Hwei: Who are you?
Colt: I'm you but better

Their personalities seem similar, although I think I'm playing Hwei more zen surfer dude. I might have to adjust his power level as well. I originally conceived him as a supporting character, but as things stand, it wouldn't hurt to give him a little more firepower.

Also, Algrimar's got those dark orbs. He belongs to wattpad now.

To Hold Back The Dark

Hwei Iosusa

^{Dogfall | @HyliaIncarnate}

---

Hwei's discerning eyes catch the way Kaiji flinches away from the light, but not the ambush brewing. With all his concentration poured into his intent to purify, he's too slow to avoid the dog's jaws aimed at his arm, and his reaction is delayed, as it would be whenever Hwei is deep in meditation. He jerks his arm out, flinging the dog off his arm and into the gates. Light dissipating, focus returning to battle at hand, he wipes at the blood now trickling down his forearm before assuming a defensive stance out of instinct. His mind, still drawing out of its reverie, feels like it's been folded over itself a thousand times, making Kaiji's whispers all the more insidious. The exhaustion feels like deep, black mud, drowning Hwei and blocking out all his thoughts and efforts at focus. For a moment, he stumbles.

From the deep, an old memory. A solider bathed in light, his hand, heavy with duty, on Hwei's shoulder. It's not a mantric saying or a proverb, but rather a charge and an order: Die with honor.

At the same time Nova touches down on the battlefield, Hwei draws his spirit energy into his core and spreads it outwards again, manifesting his Spirit Arms - four of them - behind him. The gentle warmth of the sun is now the blazing core of a star, and Hwei's demeanor almost turns angry as he faces Kaiji again.

"And you almost had me," he says, cocking his head to the side as his spirit arms make short work of the dogs behind him, fists breaking their bones and crushing their skulls. "Almost. Right?" This time, there's no friendliness in his smile, just righteous anger. "Even had to bring your doggy friends along. Any other tricks up your sleeve, or are you going to face me like a man?"

The wave of radiance that, well, radiates from Nova renews Hwei's vigor and reminds him of his mission. He doesn't waste any more time bantering, leaping forward and aiming a kick at Kaiji's chest before unleashing not one, not two, but four fists on the Grim, keeping two spirit arms open for any other tricks that may arise (because Grim never play fair).

Give me your characters!

Hidden Capture Target

𝔏𝔲𝔵𝔬𝔯: ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔩𝔪 𝔬𝔣 ℜ𝔬𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢

Cyrus Manus, The Shunned Prince

“If they are so determined to make me the villain, then I’ll gladly wreak destruction on their pitiful lives.”

Capture difficulty (out of five): ⚔⚔⚔⚔⚔⚔
Male, 20 years old. Blood type O. Born December 1st.
Hair color: Black. Eye color: Silver/Gold.

Favor: Summanus, God of Nocturnal Thunder, counterpart and brother of Helios. Associated with: Darkness and Night, Power, Lightning and Thunder.
Profile text: A mysterious man who orchestrates the cultists' uprising for his own means. Who could he be, and what does he want?
Profile text (hidden route): An exile of the kingdom of Luxor, obsessed with revenge. A dangerous man with a dark past.

Routes

Note: As soon as you chose to engage with Cyrus at the evening ball, you are locked in to either his Best or Worst route. Good luck!
⚔ Best Route
So difficult, but so, so worth it. Seeing Cyrus go from a cold-hearted villain a lost, lonely man is heartbreaking, and slowly breaking down his walls is just… *cries*. And the ending scene of him happy and at peace? Chef’s kiss.
⚔ Worst Route
You WILL cry at this route ending. It's just so tragic, seeing Cyrus's worst fears about himself become reality, as he burns Luxor to the ground in a deranged rage…

Trivia:
⚔ Cyrus' eye color changes depending on his emotional state. It's possible to track his affection levels and route just by paying attention to his eyes!
⚔ Cyrus is the only character to have awakened his Favor at the beginning of the story, which directly led to his exile.
⚔ It's heavily implied that Cyrus, as the Favored of Summanus, is the true heir to the throne of Luxor - Even all but confirms this in his ending dialogue: So, another favored has appeared, huh... You know, this kingdom wasn't built by Helios alone. His brother also helped to found it. His name? Well, it's lost to history now...

Gallery

Best Ending SFX

"Mmm... good morning, my darling. Did you sleep well? ...Me? Oh, I slept just fine. When I'm next to you, I feel at peace, so it's easy to fall asleep these days. Thank you... for that."

Worst Ending SFX

”After everything… you think you can save me? Hah… hahahaha. No. I’ll be the one to watch Luxor burn to the ground, as retribution for what they’ve done to me!”

To Hold Back The Dark

My boy Hwei is NOT making it out of Dogfalls alive with all the baddies we've got going on

To Hold Back The Dark

Give me another day or two to reply, currently enjoying some vacation time ~

To Hold Back The Dark

okay hwei is going to fail. but he has to try.
i think this matchup is interesting because hwei's mental fortitude is actually really high, which makes him a good match for kaiji's sneaky powers.
anyway, kind of wish we had more players to join the fight.

To Hold Back The Dark

Hwei Iosusa

^{Dogfall | @HyliaIncarnate}

---

Boy, that was one satisfying kick! Hwei draws himself up his full height, taking a better look at the man (?) hunched over in front of him.

"Close the gates," he calls. "I'll take care of this one. If they need saving, I'll save 'em. If they mean to deceive, however..." A cheerful grin plays upon his face. "Well, let the goddess decide! Right?"

Anyway. To the matter at hand. Being closer to the stranger has Hwei doubting himself. He has to admit, this one is tricky. Surely, nobody is that good of an actor; yet, he's seen Grim that can shapeshift, that can copy voices, cast illusions, and all sorts of trickery. If this stranger is truly a just a poor, innocent soul, then a) Hwei needs to apologize for kicking them in the face and b) he needs to bring him into the stronghold. But with Algrimar at the door, it's a risk he doesn't think he can take.

It's never been a better time to clear ones' mind from evil and shift his thoughts towards the light, and so Hwei does just that. Just one single moment of clarity and peace, despite the chaos reigning around him, despite the precious time spent. (Spent. Never wasted.)

Breathing out slowly, he opens his eyes, hoping to see the truth unveiled.

"The stench of the abyss cloaks you, traveler," he says. "Come and receive the goddess's purification." Summoning the sigil behind him, Hwei outstretches his palm, intending to try and purify the stranger. He's only done this a few times before, but-- he has to try. "Not a single soul shall perish without an attempt to save it," goes the saying.

Apotheosis of the Leviathan (a 1x1 mecha kaiju mashup RP between Stern Algorithm and OliveYou)

Phoebe cheers up considerably when Dr. Park praises her, while Cal frowns to himself at the obvious game the doctor is playing. No wonder Dr. Shi has all but given up on fostering a positive environment around here. Wheeling himself onto the Achilles, he raises a hand in greeting to Major General Hernandez, who is probably too focused on the mission to notice. That's alright with him. Nothing wrong with blending into the background among such colorful characters.

Phoebe, come over here for now," he says, doing his part to keep his charge under control and out of the way. Phoebe nods, watching the rest of the kids with a sort of deattached curiosity. Cal pities her; none of the Titans or pilots got the chance to experience a normal childhood, and so their sense of relationships is all askew. Other kids her age are probably falling in love or failing tests, not being expected to save the world.

But so it goes. It's not like he asked for this either. You make lemonade the best you can.

---

Anvi hardly has time to respond to Dr. McCulloch's order before a sudden pressure envelops her, forcing her the jerk Talos backwards in an action more instinctual than reactional. Sometimes during training it felt like Talos had a mind of its own, but those faint glimmers are a far cry from the almost physical presence Anvi feels now. It's saving her life, though, and she's not about to blab - to who? Dr. McCulloch? So she can run more tests? Yeah, no thanks!

Slamming backwards in her seat, Centauri Alien reveals itself. It's ugly. Anvi is wary of its tendrils, but they're coming fast and she doesn't have time to maneuver around them. Instead, she pushes forward, grabbing them before they can grab her. The energy flowing off the kaiju is obviously super potent, but the Hyper Core seems to be keeping up just fine. She tugs at the tendrils, first experimentally, then roughly as she tries to rip them away from her assailant. It reminds her a little bit of pulling someone's hair.

To Hold Back The Dark

can light bearers purify grim who used to be human?

To Hold Back The Dark

@HyliaIncarnate While I don't think Hwei is a match for Kaiji in the long run - he's younger and less experienced - I'd be happy if they scuffled a little. Hopefully I didn't do anything OP, just figured Light Bearers were pretty good at sniffing out Grim.