There we go. The roleplay has started. The IC is currently showing the main party, that I intend the rest to join soon enough.
Aldo exists to give me a mouth to give you information through. Also, all your classes will be doubled soon enough as NPCs will be joining your team, unless you go with one of those runs where you refuse to recruit anyone, I suppose. Just a reminder. I did make Eisenhorn aware of it ahead of time, and he was fine. Heh.
The Tactician's Stone is a method of me to give you the powers a player of Fire Emblem would have, even though you're actually characters in the game.
Now, then. You four. @Pirouette, @Rune_Alchemist, @Apollosarcher and @Eklispe. I realize that was a lot of time where I maybe should have given you the time to react where I didn't, but I did want to get this part over with fairly quickly. Do tell me if you object to that you'd just be standing there at any point, heh.
Don't worry about the other three. They're occupied with something else, for now, that you're just not seeing yet. Heh.
All pictures are urls to larger pictures, heh.
Tell me if you have any issues with anything I've done or whatever. Questions to let you play as you like or so. That'll do it.
Feel free to have lengthy reactions if you want. That last part can be a bit delayed, happening first when you're all are ready for it.
With that, Fire Emblem: A Blinding Light has officially started. Go for it.
It all began when a young Rausten Cleric arrived at the gates of Grado Keep, delivering terrifying news. The Kingdom of Jehanna were planning an invasion. Emperor Rioga was quick to action, gathering what forces Grado had to spare. Taking great care not to alarm the Jehannan mercenaries across the nation, the commanders Tilda and Ansovald were dispatched to look after the people in west Grado using their mobility and connections, while general Wilhelm took command of Grado’s army, reinforcing the east. Messengers were sent to their allies in Renais and Frelia, hoping to unite their front to a force that could counter Jehanna. It seemed everything was going right for a potential Grado triumph over the odds.
Yet, Jehanna’s invasion happened before the messengers could even arrive. It was quick, ruthless and efficient. Sion’s forces spearheaded straight into the heart of Grado. Wilhelm’s army fought to resist, yet Jehanna’s overwhelming numbers and the fact many mercenaries were already on Grado soil made the enemy unmatchable. Jehanna showed no mercy to the defending forces, destroying Grado’s army and leaving the leading general Wilhelm’s fate uncertain. While Tilda’s efforts had saved many, rogue Jehannan mercenaries were taking the opportunity to raid the defenseless Grado landside, and Ansovald had seemingly disappeared.
Now, Sion marches on Grado Keep. Faced with imminent defeat, Emperor Rioga hatches a desperate plan to keep the Fire Emblem safe…
Prologue: Fall of Grado
‘They will shortly be arriving at the gates,’ Nero informed, standing with a sword planted to the floor beneath him. ‘We should proceed quickly.’
Rioga nodded. The Court Emperor of Grado stood by his throne, tall and strong in body with an axe at the ready, his presence commanding. To the right of him stood General Nero, encased in armour except for his head and looking over the people present with a stern gaze. To the left stood Swordmaster Garric, who was frowning, arms crossed leaning at the wall and looking quite impatient.
‘Tsk,’ Garric clicked his tongue, looking obviously riled up by the entire situation. The man on Rioga’s right was known for being excessively cautious and merciless to anyone who he trained (most likely Reina), yet he always seemed in control in some way. This tension was not normal for him. Even Nero, who’s gaze was always exceedingly serious and grim, looked and sounded especially grim today. The reason why was natural.
Rioga gazed at the four people that had been summoned.
There was his own daughter, Reina. A stab of pain went through Rioga as he considered her. She wasn’t entirely ready, and it was partly his fault. He had focused on being an Emperor first and a father second, and now he felt that he was regretting it. He could but pray that she would grow in the face of what’s to come.
There was Isolde, the young Wyvern Rider. An admirable young woman that was the child of an admirable man, Rioga had high hopes for her, despite some famous examples of bouts of clumsiness. There was no doubts in his mind that he had not made a mistake in assigning her to his daughter. They’d grow well together.
Then Marwood, the prince of Renais himself, had rushed to their aid in this time of need. Why, Rioga could swear he saw some of the ancient heroes he descended from in this younger prince of their nation. Their messengers might not have made it to Renais, but Rioga was deeply thankful for Marwood’s being here.
Finally there was Titania, a Cleric of Rausten. She who had given them the warning. Rioga could not even begin to articulate just how grateful he was she had put herself in such great personal peril for the sake of a nation she had never visited. He could but hope doing this would give her the chance to get away… or continue to help.
‘Thank you for coming,’ Rioga said, raising his head and looking over the four. ‘As you know, Jehanna’s forces are approaching Grado Keep, and King Sion himself is leading them. I intend to defeat him.’ He said so as if it was an absolute certainty. ‘… But in case I fail, we cannot risk the Fire Emblem falling into the wrong hands.’
He reached into a pocket on his side, and retrieved the item. It was a shining little stone, burning with a blue fire of demonic energy that did not hurt the one touching it. He held it forth, for anyone who stepped forward to take it. He did somewhat intend Reina to be the one to take it, but it ultimately wasn’t that important as long as they took it.
Obtained the Fire Emblem!
‘Take our Sacred Stone, the Fire Emblem. Remember always that it contains the soul of the Demon King, and do not let it be taken. Monsters are attracted to its energy, so keep your party small enough to avoid detection but large enough to fight off monsters. Gain allies where you can, their might will be a priceless asset. Do not try to send one flyer with the stone ahead, as Gargoyles are known to swarm those who attempt such a strategy.’
‘Besides, Jehanna’s Sky Guild is bound to roam the skies soon, you’ll be spotted if you fly.’ Garric chimed in, frowning from his position on the side.
Rioga nodded. ‘Stick to woods and cover. Take the stone to one of our allies. Renais is full of good people, though I worry they might not have the force to resist Grado either. Frelia’s army has a natural advantage with the nature of their forces and terrain and they’re known not to trust Jehanna’s mercenaries. However, King Kennard is hard to predict, be careful with him.’ With that said, he looked to his daughter first, and then to the others in turn.
‘Reina. As Princess of Grado, your allies will look to you. I’m depending on you. The fate of the world lies upon the success of this quest.’ ‘Isolde. I know I have not made a mistake in picking you. Please keep my daughter safe. I’m trusting you to do what you feel is right.’ ‘Marwood. I’m immensely thankful that you came in our hour of need. If you would give it, your strength would be a blessing upon this quest.’ ‘Titania. You gave us a priceless bit of time. The least I could do is give you this opportunity to get away. The moment you’re outside, go where you desire.’
‘With that all said, I intend to send you out through the hidden passage in the keep’s prison. But before that…’ Rioga turned to look to his right. ‘Aldo. Come forth.’
With that said, a young man in a Shaman’s robes stepped out from the pillar to their left, serious eyes gazing at them from under dark-blue hair. As he has been present repeatedly as an advisor on things magic to Rioga, those who lived in Grado would naturally know of him. Rioga spoke to him.
‘Aldo. Accompany them. Use your knowledge to guide them should they hit a wall, and use your magic to assist them in times of need.’
‘Yes, sir. I will do my best,’ Aldo replied. “Assuming this trip doesn’t end before we even leave the castle”, his tone seemed to say.
Aldo has joined the party!
Rioga smirked a little at Aldo’s behavior before turning towards the rest again. ‘Aldo has magic that has resulted from years of research that I am sure will come to great use for you all. Please, show the fruits of your family’s research.’
Aldo nodded, and then from his robe he produced a couple of small, round stones that looked oddly black in colouration. He looked towards the four individuals present, and then decided not to approach them.
‘I have eight of these, and can make more given time. Here, catch,’ he instead called, and lobbed the rocks to each person in turn.
Obtained 1 Tactician’s Stone each!
Now, they could decide not to catch it, but with the assumption they do a vision appeared within their minds, a picture of startling clarity.
‘Using this, you‘ll be presented with a picture of the battlefield. It won’t show a picture unless you activate it, which you just do by simply focusing on it, but after that it will continue to show you this vision whenever you want it to as long as it’s still in your inventory. Individuals in the picture are coloured with colours according to their most likely allegiance, which isn’t always perfect, I’m afraid. The stones allows you to communicate to the holders of the other stones as long as they’re on the same battlefield, if you hold the stone and speak directly to it thinking of the person you want to talk to. In addition, this part’s a bit more unreliable, but sometimes it tries to share visions and conversations taking place within its range, if it thinks it might be relevant to you. You don’t have to listen or look in, you can blank it out and focus on the now, but it’ll be there if you want to.’
On cue, as he says that…
West Entrance
‘Hellooooooo, lovelies! Rejoice! Commander Ansovald of Grado is back, and I’ve brought reinforcements!’ Ansovald claimed proudly, seated high upon his horse, grinning happily at the General closing the doorway. His grin was twisted in every sense of the word, his armour holding a certain purple touch which he found oh, so noble, befitting of his birth. He advanced, his horse strutting forth…
‘…’ The General by the entrance did not budge an inch, blocking the way.
‘… Oh? There’s a significant lack of the fanfare I desired here here. Where is the cheering? The triumphant trumpets celebrating my arrival?’ Ansovald looked upon the man in curiosity, not seemingly having expected this.
‘… With all due respect, sir, we saw you approach the keep alongside the forces of Jehanna. Please leave, commander, and Emperor Rioga will judge you for your actions at a later time,’ declared the General.
‘Hm. How callous of you. I like it!’ Ansovald simply said, before an Elfire fireball surged from the Mage Knight’s hand, hitting the ground under the General and a hellfire erupted. The fire surged through the openings in the armour, and with a shout of pain the armoured man toppled.
‘The hard way it is. Jeremiah! Donovan! We’re taking this keep by force! Let’s show the King of Jehanna that we’re useful for more than killing messengers! And if my hired boys do their job, we’ll get out of this incident with a flowery bonus as well~!’ Ansovald called out to his lieutenants, before riding forth… in relative safety behind a trio of Halberdiers, of course!
‘Geesh,’ Jeremiah, Paladin astride a dashing stallion who dressed in a noble’s attire and somehow found himself under Ansovald’s command, frowned… but shook his head and grabbed his sword. ‘Yes, sir! Taking the keep!’
On the other side of Ansovald, a young boy in an open shaman’s cloak ran, preparing to make use of his magic… when he suddenly stopped.
‘…’ Donovan looked up into the roof, and to anyone watching the scene, it’d suddenly seem like he was looking right at them. The boy looked a little uncomfortable.
‘Please don’t watch me. I get nervous easily.’ With those words, Donovan waved his hand, scattering a bit of dark magic…
And the vision disappeared.
East Entrance
‘We’re sending Ansovald through the west entrance?’ Rhodri, giant muscleman and leader of the Wheel Guild, asked as they were wandering into the Grado Keep on the eastern entrance. ‘You sure we can depend on a traitor to be so reliable? I mean, I could just seal that opening shut with my own guild, then nobody could slip out!’ So Rhordi said, laughing out a heartily after. Nethanel aimed a look at him indicating his displeasure at questioning a decision of Sion. However, Sion was quick to speak.
‘Ansovald is desperate to show he is useful to me,’ Sion declared, walking ahead of the other two, long red cape fluttering behind his armour and commanding presence echoing. It was as all where his calm voice made itself heard was immediately put under his thumb, absolute control attained through mere speech. Rioga unconsciously straightened his back, and Nethanel looked at their king with eyes of adoration. Sion continued.
‘For now, I will have him leverage his troops for my cause. However, with the first misstep, I will pressure him, and he will break. Desperate to make up for his failure, he will work himself to the bone. If he doesn’t fail or tries to betray me, I will simply crush him.’ Saying so, Sion paused. He leaned his blade upon his shoulder, turned his head and smiled back at Rhodri, the suitably charismatic smile of a proper king. ‘I do not like that man. His readiness to betray his country disgusts me. His life will be very difficult for him from now on.’ So was spoken in a dreadfully gentle tone.
‘Ooooh…’ Nethanel simply made a sound of adoration like Sion’s planning was, as always, utter perfection and nothing could possibly be wrong with it, and he’d probably slice apart anyone who’d claim so. Rhodri simply shrugged and smirked.
‘If you say so, sir. I’ll just go in bashing heads and leave the thinking to you,’ Rhordi settled on, grinning and heaving up his Battle Axe onto his own shoulder. Sion nodded, and then advanced upon the Grado battleline. The Grado troops were positively quivering from Sion’s presence, yet stood firm. Sion looked over them.
‘Soldiers of Grado!’ he addressed the troops. ‘You have fought valiantly. Your loyalty to your nation, bar a few exceptions, have greatly impressed me. However, your defeat is now imminent. I care naught for unnecessary loss of blood. Let me pass, surrender what I desire, and I will pull back my forces. Any Jehannan mercenary seen pillaging in Grado will be banished from the nation and branded a bandit. Your people will all be spared, and I shall provide the funds for a successful reconstruction. All I ask in return, is that you hand over the Fire Emblem. Fail to comply, and you will receive no mercy. Put down your arms.’
A silence passed as the mighty voice of Sion paused to allow a reaction. There were whimpers from among the lines, but the soldiers of Grado tightened the grips of their weapons, preparing themselves for the fight to come.
‘No?’ Sion asked, a slight smile coming to his lips, as if amused by their reaction. ‘Very well. If so strong is your conviction… Jehannan forces, advance.’
With that, Sion lifted his sword and charged. At his sides, Rhodri grinned as the mountain of muscle heaved his giant Battle Axe, and Nethanel smiled so happily after having been allowed to hear such a beautiful speech by his lord and then being allowed to spill plenty of blood for Sion. With unstoppable might, the Royal Guild struck into the Grado lines…
‘The enemy is closing in,’ Nero urged.
‘Right,’ Rioga nodded, then looked over them again. ‘Take this. It might help you,’ he said, handing over a pouch of gold to whoever accepted.
Gained 5000 Gold!
‘The prison is through the stairs to your left. Aldo, guide them to it. Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. Go!’
‘This way!’ Aldo called, turning to move.
Now, what would the rest of those present do?
Notable Individuals;
Blue Lord Reina - The princess of Gardo. Appreciates the finer things in life. Weapon Mastery: Sword: E Level: 1 Equipment and Items: Précieuse (Rapier), Vulnerary
Blue Wyvern Rider Isolde - Clumsy, but reliable Wyvern knight. Weapon Mastery: Axe: D Level: 5 Equipment and Items: Halberd
Blue Cavalier Marwood - The prince of Renais with a good heart and a rebellious streak, cares deeply for others. Weapon Mastery: Sword: C, Lance: D Level: 4 Equipment and Items: Reginleif, Steel Sword
Blue Cleric Titania - A tough healer from Rausten, she forges her own path to help as many people as she can. Weapon Mastery: Staff: D Level: 5 Equipment and Items: Heal, Mend
Blue Shaman Aldo - A shaman researcher and advisor on things magic in service of Grado. Magically gifted and incurably serious. Weapon Mastery: Dark: E Level: 1 Equipment and Items: Flux, Vulnerary, Guiding Ring.
Green Warrior in Throne Room Rioga – The Court Emperor of Grado. Trusted by his people. Known for catching bandits and trying to strengthen Grado’s military. Weapon Mastery: Axes: B, Bows: C Level: 5 Equipment and Items: Steel Axe, Tomahawk
Green General to Rioga's right Nero – Commanding guardian of Grado and one of Rioga’s best men. Weapon Mastery: Swords: ???, Lance: ???, Axe: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Steel Sword, Steel Lance, Steel Axe, Knight Crest
Green Swordmaster to Rioga's left Garric - Skilled Swordmaster in employ of Grado. Excessively cautious about himself. Weapon Mastery: Sword: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Steel Blade, Killing Edge, Antitoxin, Vulnerary, Hero Crest
Red Hero on the right. Sion - Jehanna’s King of Red Sands, cause of this war. A graceful and deadly swordsman. Kind to his allies, terrifying to his enemies. Weapon Mastery: Sword: ???, Axe: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Lancereaver, Silver Sword, Wind Sword, Elixir
Red Swordmaster on the right. Nethanel - Second-in-command of the Royal Guild. His swordsmanship is only matched by his adoration for Sion. Weapon Mastery: Sword: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Killing Edge, Runesword
Red Berserker on the right. Rhodri - Brutal leader of the Wheel Guild. An excellent drinking partner who’s happy aura masks his lack of compassion. Weapon Mastery: Axe: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Battle Axe, Brave Axe, Tomahawk
Red General on the right. Leah - Disciplined General of Jehanna’s Royal Guild. Regarded as a calming presence that can keep her sister, Kaelyn, in check. Weapon Mastery: Sword: ???, Axe: ???, Lance: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Short Spear, Steel Lance
Female red Halberdier on the right. Kaelyn - Deadly Halberdier of Jehanna’s Royal Guild. Regarded as a crazed loose cannon held in check only by her sister, Leah. Weapon Mastery: Lance: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Killer Lance
Red Mage Knight on left. Ansovald - Born noble and a traitorous commander of Grado. Pretends to be a kind soul, but makes dark deals beneath the surface. Weapon Mastery: Anima: ???, Sword: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Elfire, Runesword, Vulnerary
Red Paladin on the left. Jeremiah - A former Jehannan noble who somehow ended up Ansovald’s right hand. Weapon Mastery: Sword: ???, Lance: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Steel Sword, Horseslayer
Top red Summoner on the left. Donovan - Young summoner in Ansovald’s care. Possesses great power and little knowledge of how the world works. Weapon Mastery: Dark: ???, Staff: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Luna, Heal
@Crimson Raven Level - ... Could you make it 5? You'll still be far stronger than those around you. Hah.
Equipment - You're currently saying it's long range, but it's not that long, but... Eh. It's fine. Heh.
Ability - Nah, she can fly freely in human form. I just examined the in-game sprites, hah, those wings can be large. Anyways, yeah. We know you're fast. That's fine.
Size - Well. Looking at the in-game sprites, it's standing on an angle to just fit into the stage. It looks to be about two adult humans tall to the tip of the back (taller if the dragon's head is raised), and twice or more that long, in addition to quite wide, and that's not even counting the wings. That is definitely larger than wyverns, even if you are a bit smaller.
Weakness - Nice.
Weapon Mastery - Sure. That's an amusing idea. We can go with that. It might mean I'll be a bit punishing towards you in the beginning, though, heh.
Weapon Mastery - Ah, you know what? Yeah, let’s give the stones a weapon mastery thing. Sacred Stones didn’t have one, but why leave you out? Haha.
Level - 10 is high. Even higher when we consider that Manaketes don’t promote, they just continue being. Manaketes are naturally far stronger than their levels would suggest. Essentially, each Manakete level is essentially worth two human levels. I realize she’s a veteran of over a thousand years, but… gameplay reasons, ya know? Maybe she’s a bit rusty from only fighting weak foes for a while? XD
Background - The one part I have already read. Yupp, it’s fine.
Equipment - Ah, on the point of the range of the Dragonstone breath attack… It’s not quite two. Your reach is shorter than that of mages and archers. That said, it’s definitely further than a man can strike with a sword, so… 1.5? Well, we’ll keep track of it when we’re playing. Archers probably can attempt to fire from three tiles or more away, but I’ll give them serious to-hit penalties, haha…
Ability - Fine that she’s faster than the regular dragon, but fast enough to outrun a pegasus? I don’t know about that. When in human form her wings are too small, while in dragon shape she’s significantly heavier. You’re fast, sure, but fast enough to match the class which best feature is its speed? Not sure. You have so many other advantages.
I also desire you somehow mention the weakness of being a Manakete, because I can’t have you being a dragon all the time. Your dragonstone will serve as a battery, keeping your dragon-form powered. We can think of this as a natural barrier that exists in the dragonstone magic to ensure the madness of the dragon-form does not afflict the Manaketes, forcing them to stay human-shaped even when perhaps they wish otherwise. Over time, it’ll “charge up” again, but it’s to ensure you save yourself for when it matters or suffer the consequences.
Yeah. Otherwise, it’s fine. We did have that discussion about dragon-features, but we’ve decided that’s fine. I’ll await your comments on the things I’ve raised here.
Edit: @Crimson Raven ... Forgot to mention you, and mentions don't work when I edit them in. Oh, well, I'm confident you'll find this. Haha.
@Rune_Alchemist Alright. Nicely posted. It's up to Pirouette to receive that message, now. Heh.
@Eklispe*compares your and Kristy's teams* Yeeeaaah probably a good call, even if Kristy's disappointed. I'll see what info I can cook up for you. Nicely posted. Haha.
Rocker’s Hideout collab between PlatinumSkink and @solokolos (and a bit of @ProPro on Shatterpoint)
Inside a room in their current base, Shatterpoint had called Creep and Visage to a meeting. One of which entered while invisible, and the other dutiful yet a bit distracted.
Creep felt considerably uneasy about this meeting. Not only was there another girl there, with all likelihood another parahuman, but they had clearly been summoned as a pair. That broke the mold on how these meetings usually went, with Creep being a secret to everything and everyone, mostly. That said, it did seem people had started to figure it out. Creep inspected the other girl from the safety of her invisibility. She was… decidedly feminine and pulled off a costume in a way Creep could only hope to one day achieve, if she ever overcame her natural shyness.
Visage seemed to notice Creep immediately and began to focus on that instead. She kept looking around, her power telling her someone was there, but not elaborating. After a small bit she gave up, and refocused on her more visible leader.
While noting how the other girl started looking around and becoming a little perturbed as to the reason, Creep went ahead and gave Shatterpoint a little blink of a black star only he could see that indicated “I’m here”. He proceeded to speak to them both.
"It has come to my attention that I have been invited to a meeting with the other villains of Denver. However I won't be able to participate. The Big Boss would like one or both of you to represent us in my stead."
Sheila internally cracked, albeit it wasn’t visible. Flinched, eyes widening under the blindfold, staring at the image of Shatterpoint that she had made for her eyes to see. She was gripped by a slight bit of panic, the fact she was there revealed… and they wanted HER to represent the Rockers at a villain-meet up!?
After a few seconds, she decided to speak. The person next to her knew she was there right now, anyways. Taking the greatest care to sound as collected as possible, she spoke into the voice-changer she had stolen and incorporated into her mask. Her voice was still decidedly female, but perhaps more creepy and hoarse than her real one.
‘Are you serious?’ she asked, not in a ridiculing way, more in the way of ensuring this was no practical joke. Shatterpoint did not respond, but she got the impression he didn’t appreciate the question. … He was serious. Creep had to take a few moments to process that. This went directly against her desire to stay hidden. … That said. She was here to get information on villains… was she not? If so, this was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to dismiss. She gathered herself again, and started speaking.
‘You realize that goes directly against the terms I outlined in the beginning of our cooperation? ... That said, I would be willing. Am I only there to gather info or should I know a lot of information for when I am spoken to? Like, our willingness to potentially cooperate, or if I can make decisions on the spot to make us look stronger, or anything like that...’ … She felt a little too much of herself leaked into what she was saying, but she was frantic for answers.
"Accept to do this or don't." So yielded Shatterpoint’s only answer.
Sheila staggered. She had to sort out her emotions for a second or so, and once again overcome her apprehensiveness.
‘... I accept. But, um… Any guidelines to how I should act, in general? As representative of the Rockers?’
That’s when Shatterpoint simply turned and walked away, exiting the room and leaving the two on their own.
‘Well, damn,’ she muttered. So she was simply to represent this criminal organization without nary a clue to what they’d be willing to do, what stance they had on issues and whatever else. Not entirely true, she had plenty of clues over her time in the organization, but she was comically unprepared to actually represent them.
Still… there was another girl next to her, who also had been picked to represent them. Sheila wasn’t alone. So…
Creep let the shroud of invisibility fall. To Visage, if she was looking, it looked like an invisibility-cloak fell off a person in black standing next to her, revealing parts of her in turn from top down with the cloak remaining invisible when it was gone. Creep slowly turned her head partly towards Visage, mostly for appearance since Sheila could always see the girl with powers.
‘... I’m Creep,’ she eventually settled on, eyes hidden behind a blindfold, mouth hidden behind a mask, body hidden behind a cloak. Now it was simply a matter of Sheila remembering the mannerism she established for Creep, and actually sticking to it this time.
Visage wasn't surprised by their leader's quick exit, nor particularly bothered by the request. It seemed to be all upsides, in her opinion at least. It happened that she was more perturbed by Creep's questioning, and more importantly the inability to actually see her fellow representative. The speaking helped Visage pinpoint Creep, not to mention the whole "stopped being invisible thing." Visage stared deep, tracing the woman's outline, and immediately deciding whether or not she liked the aesthetic.
It was modern, and intimidating, matching the villain persona well. Where Visage tried to draw eyes, Creep tried to keep them off; invisibility or no. Despite the contrast to her own choices, a smile flashed across her lips after the two beats spent inspecting. "I'm Visage. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, as opposed to just overhearing quiet rumbles on the street every so often." She said, almost flirtatious, even now. "Were you staring at me by the way? I normally don't talk about my power, but I kept getting alarm bells" She continued, taking a few steps to circle Creep, clearly wanting to observe the woman's body further. As to whether it was for work or for pleasure, the line seemed blurred, though that was a common theme for the shapely stranger.
Creep immediately got an uncomfortable premunition as Visage looked over her form, and then proceeded to wander around her to inspect her closely. Natural shyness took hold of her, holding her breath as she felt the other girl’s eyes on her, but she remained watching Visage through her power as-
Huh. Quiet rumbles on the streets? Power, setting off alarm bells-
Creep shut down her observational power in immediate instinctual reaction, and her vision turned black as she only looked into her blindfold now. … No, this was unacceptable, like this she wouldn’t see if Visage intended on backstabbing her. She’d simply have to accept if this girl had a power that let her recognize that she was being watched. Creep turned on her power again, staring at Visage despite Visage being behind her.
‘... I’m, uh…’ No, that’s no good. Creep’s villainous. Be Creep, Sheila! ‘... Not used to that people knows I’m watching.’ Not much better, but true… Feeling excessively apprehensive, Creep shut up and let Visage continue watching her.
"Even now you can see my eyes," Visage said, just loud enough to be heard. Completing the circle, she smiled wider. She was wearing a reverse of her normal mask, a broken porcelain piece that covered the top half of her face instead of the bottom. Eye holes were cut, with a small bit of clear glass preventing any actual straight attack vector to them. "If you don't want to go, I'd be fine with being the sole representative. Or you can lurk in the shadows while I appear to attend alone, you shouldn't let the bosses decision affect terms agreed upon beforehand."
She paused, considering her words.
"If you've ever worked a straight retail job, you know that sometimes your responsibilities can expand beyond that of what an initial contract entailed. Despite this being a common progression in most careers, if the contract doesn't change, your responsibilities, or the expectations that are held concerning you, shouldn't either. So feel free to approach this in the way you feel is more natural. As a note, you could always try to leverage the increased responsibility for a pay raise at some point, but only if you're a good negotiator."
Creep breathed through her nose, working to keep calm as Visage confirmed knowing her eyes could be seen. That… could be dangerous, in the event they were together when Sheila was Wisp. She’d just have to keep this in mind. Then… Visage started giving suggestions, both for the coming event and for her career as a villain. Despite herself, Sheila felt a bit comforted, and answering came more naturally.
‘… I’d like to be there, but being invisible is too dangerous. Denver’s villains will have gathered, and odds are somebody could see me, and somebody dangerous might feel it an insult that I tried to sneak in my presence. I’d rather not my power be publicly displayed in such an event. Much preferable that I’m simply there, a mystery they’ll have to grumble about.’ So she reasoned.
‘… Noted,’ she responded to the advice on changing contracts. ‘I don’t… consider myself a good talker.’ … Now, Sheila, whatever happened to the unfriendly Creep persona you were going to employ, she mentally asked herself. Still, they had to cooperate, so this was to their advantage.
"I love the blindfold by the way, it's a great touch. If I were you I'd show more skin, but at the same time costumes can be hard to adjust when you're still growing." She said, switching subjects just often enough to keep Creep off guard. "Well I'll be happy to have you along then" Visage was no longer actually keeping her eyes on Creep, just around her outline instead. It was a small difference, but she did it intentionally. "Now then, what will you be wearing?" This was something she was very much interested in, and it showed.
Despite herself, Sheila felt a touch of pride when her blindfold was praised, though immediately felt awkward again at the mention of showing more skin. Sheila felt that would be both hard and embarrassing to incorporate… She would have replied, but Visage was already onto the next point, being glad having her around. Creep nodded, and was about to ask a question of her own when suddenly Visage instead asked that.
‘… This, I was intending…?’ Creep asked, confused as to what else she could possibly wear, feeling nervous she had made an error in her judgment. It was her costume, after all.
Reaching up, Visage did a small flourish. As her hair came down she activated her power with full dissonance. A black dress hung tightly to the curves that were more teased by her costume, a black mask covering all of her face except her right eye and the cheek beneath it. The other eye wasn't even visible, which left a striking contrast. The red of her hair was more vibrant now, though that could've been because of the costume change. "I was thinking something like this for myself, something to break up the monotony. Do you think it's too much?" She asked, ignoring Creep's answer to the question before this one. It wouldn't be too far off to assume Nora had only asked the question to answer it herself.
Creep took a step away from Visage in pure cautious nature when suddenly the other parahuman's appearance changed. When the changes became apparent Creep froze, though other indications of her amazement was mostly hidden under blindfold and mask, but amazed she was. It was similar to some of Sheila’s own abilities, but didn’t seem to suffer the same limitations. Hard to say without knowing how it worked. Now, Visage asked her if she thought it was too much, but worrying Sheila had another question she wanted to ask now that she saw the demonstration of the power.
‘If things go bad, will you be able to hide?’ Creep asked, naturally wondering if she had to protect her. Still, she was amazed, and it hurt a little to have to force the instinct to say that away.
"That'd be such a waste, don't you think? I try not to hide much," Visage said, inspecting the dress's material. She couldn't actually see it, but she could pretended none the less. "If it comes to it, I can hide just fine. And of course we can trust each other not to share what we know about the other's power." She took a couple steps closer, seeming relaxed with her arms down, but it was still a violation of Creep's personal space. "Us girls gotta stick together after all." Visage was grinning now, Cheshire and unapologetic.
Creep stared at Visage and then nodded when she confirmed that she can, in fact, hide. Then… Visage wandered closer, and Creep turned her head to the right, to avoid a feeling of awkwardness at the closeness, but Visage could feel she was still watching. … Sheila got the feeling Visage felt that she was feeling uncomfortable. A sudden realization in her said that she was showing weakness. That wasn’t a very villain thing to do, was it? Visage had so gracefully entered her range. …
Suddenly, to Visage, the room suddenly started tilting. The same way a vortex tunnel at an amusement park causes the visitors to stumble and fall, her balance would be attacked by the instinct to either fall or grab onto something, Creep gracefully stepping out the way if she was grabbed for. Creep didn’t do it as intensly as she could, however, as her hope was that the Visage would just stagger out of Creep’s range, where the world would then rectify itself.
‘Yeah, it’s to our advantage to be friendly and stick together… but please, not that close, okay…?’ Creep said, letting a bit of amusement into her voice. Now to see how Visage reacted.
Visage saw the room tilt, but didn't feel it. The illusion was sold regardless, and the woman stumbled backwards, eyes wide. Visage hit the ground harder than she would have liked, and tried to regain her composure. The world wasn't actually tilting, it was just an illusion. She narrowed her eyes at Creep after relocating her, and took in the words. "Yeah." She said, the grin gone. "Right." Visage stood, ignoring the urge to reach out her hands and balance herself. Grace was very important. "I'm going to go now. It was nice meeting you Creep. We can meet up here a bit before the meeting and head in together, but until then." Visage turned on her heel, the dress turning back to her standard villain garb as she dismissed the node. She was seething.
Creep simply kept watching as Visage dealt with what had happened to her. … Whoops. Might have lost a potential friend there. Still, acting-like-a-villain points. Sheila felt remarkably torn between feeling proud she had been able to pull it off and feeling horribly guilty for her most recent action. Still, she had to simply suck it up, and remain Creep.
‘Yeah. You as well, Visage. I did like the dress,’ Creep said, nodding to the other parahuman and letting her leave.
Day of the meeting
Creep arrived around half an hour earlier than she probably needed. Better early than late. If that meant she arrived before Visage or not, Visage was the one person that’d know she was in the room. Still. Creep attempted to talk as quickly as possible, revealing herself as she had been invisible heading here. Creep was wearing the same clothes as last time, no changes to her appearance.
‘Hi. Are you ready? Did you plan anything specific?’ Creep asked. Herself, she probably wasn't very ready, probably would let Visage do the talking as much as possible so she could stay inconspicuous and avoid making mistakes. She was a bit worried about how Visage might behave towards her due to last time's end, but Creep at the very least thought she was okay, so far. But… it was good to remember that she was a villain.
Creep saw Visage enter at the some moment Visage's power told her about Creep's presence. Visage nodded in response to the question, smiling again, though it only showed in her eyes. She was wearing almost the exact same outfit as she had showed Creep with her power, though all the details were more fully realized. Blush was splashed against the revealed cheek, the red lending a nice tone to her pale skin, as well as further contrasting the dark mascara she wore. A cut in the dress's thigh area was also present though it still clung very tightly to her curves. "We go there, we look intimidating, and I make sure at least one of them falls for me." Nora's voice was sultry again. "If you want, we could arrive together, I think that would be for the best."
Creep actually found herself a bit amused by Visage’s line about making someone fall for her. ‘Yeah… You do that. You look more suitable for that. I’ll stick to looking intimidating.’ She nodded to the next part, relieved that it still seemed like they could work together despite what she pulled last time.
‘Yeah. Let’s go.’
Creep
Sheila Hopkins
Villain’s Meeting Visible
This was it.
Time to show up.
Time for all the villains to lay their eyes on her and judge her.
Sheila barely resisted a quiver, her fears powerful.
Okay, time to be Creep. Sheila tried to self-impose the mentality of a villain who didn’t care what others thought of her, confident, determined, deadly. She frowned under the blindfold, willing her expression to become angry.
Strangely, it helped.
Creep walked into the bar she wasn’t actually old enough to enter without bothering to look at anyone else. Everyone else would see a girl in a black coat, hood pulled over her hair, black blindfold and mask over eyes and mouth, showing only her white nose for skin as her hands were in gloves. A bit of her hair, which appeared brown because Sheila was colouring it, leaked down under the hood. For those who could perceive it, a small voice-changer was incorporated into the mask for security, just a small black box by her mouth hidden by the mask. In her belt were her knives, and inside her clothes she stored the gun and darts. Just in case.
While Creep didn’t look directly at anyone, Sheila was examining each and every one of them using her powers, swirling their images inside her range while still ensuring the light projected by the area was still completely natural, they wouldn’t notice a thing. She examined those present. The Jacks. The mob. Sabotage. … Quite a few that the internet hadn’t told her about, those that she’d hope to know more about by the day’s end. She felt sorry for the bartender. Then again, perhaps he had an extensive criminal record, was employed by villains and was used to this sort of thing.
Without noting anyone else, Creep arrived alongside Visage. Regardless of what Visage did, Creep showed her invitation to the one who needed it and then proceeded to simply walked over to sit down at one of the spots assigned to the Rockers. She sat straight, put her hands on her legs in a relaxed state, and looked straight forward at nobody in particular unless Visage sat down opposite her, hoping on that with her eyes hidden nobody would know what to make of her. Yet, using her powers she examined everyone she could, and tried to eavesdrop as much as possible…
She felt extremely frightened right about now, the pressure immense from all the real villains around her. Sheila focused on staying calm and learning what she could from here.
@Lmpkio Answered via PM, because I like slight secrecy.
@Pirouette Now sure sleeping in fits with the serious tone of the current situation. Your nation's being invaded, ya know. XD
@Eisenhorn Hm. I could consider the later idea in combination with my immediate plans for the future. I'll let you in on that in a PM... later, because right now I'm panicked because I have stuff I very much need to hurry and do, haha.
Xaltwind
Framing A Moose
Ariamis
Not a Sayan
SkyeOfStars
Remram
Apollosarcher
King Kindred
