Potemking

World of Light

@Dark Cloud

Mao took one of the generic Japanese Demon spirits, which I chose as Ara Mitama.

World of Light

LOCATION:Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon > Al Mamoon Northeast - Rocket Inc.
WORD COUNT: 1,564(+3 EXP)
MENTIONS: A lot of people.

---

The four-eyed demon stood his ground, glaring at Laharl, and not budging whatsoever from his threat. Overlord or not, Mao wasn't about to be afraid of some homeless-looking Demon tossing insults his way. Though, despite the threat, Laharl seemed to not advance towards violence, instead calming somewhat, to Mao's surprise. "Them?" Mao glanced at the Seekers for a moment, before looking back with an eyebrow raised, not sure what they had to do with their issue here.

Though as he continued, it became clear: He was with this group too. Yet he hadn't been brought to his senses. Which, upon reflection, he was able to now realize Band hadn't had his curse dispelled either before their fight. Mao perked up at Midna's voice, glancing back at his own shadow for a moment as he listened to her words, confirming Laharl's place and that they should probably go about lifting his curse. Offering a nod to this, Mao noted they had a big fight coming up, and maybe they could use this blazing-knucklehead to not only do some fighting, but maybe tire himself out enough to work their magic.

"Equals, huh..." He replied to Laharl's words with disdain, his laugh causing a drop of sweat to slide down Mao's forehead. Even if he bloated himself with smacktalk, that laugh was the real deal! Mao only wished he could be taking notes, but he'd just have to remember it for later. "Fine, if you're with them, I guess we'll have to cooperate." He gave in, shaking his head with mild annoyance.

Midna popping out of his shadow caused him to wonder just how she did that, though observing his teammate's abilities could wait. As annoying as it was to have her on his tail, she wasn't wrong that they needed to get going. "The exact business I was talking about!" Was his response, ready to en this petty discussion and get onto more important things. Though, Fox's own interjection left a sour taste in his mouth, whether Mao thought he was right or not didn't matter. Mao wasn't leading this operation, he was just the one that could get them there at a fair pace. Keh, what's this guy think I am, a hero? As if. If anything, at least Fox got acknowledgement he was heard clearly from the lack of amusement on the demon's face.

Thankfully distracting him from that annoyance, Primrose's own words towards Mao's fellow Overlord caught his attention. If this Laharl wanted to gain strength, then Mao had to do the same after that comment from before. He didn't want to be equals with this blue-haired guy, let alone inferior, so he'd search for whatever power boost he could get. Enough to crush this Galeem, which he thought would be more than enough to handle Laharl if the need was there.

One boost seemed to be these strange things in the new lady's possession. Items? Abilities? Mao sought these things like a kid looking for candy: He couldn't help but be intrigued. "Don't think I've seen anything like these around before. But if they're useful, I'll definitely take a look." He wasn't entirely sure of what these objects were yet, though he felt an essence from a few of them that gave him an odd hint of familiarity. Nothing of the same world, but the scent of a Demon nonetheless. Plucking one from Primrose's possession if not to just study it momentarily, he saw what almost resembled some sort of weird, red upside down teardrop.

"Fascinating..." Mao's glasses fogged up from his deep breaths, as he gripped the spirit tightly. "This isn't just any dumb item, it almost gives me the feeling it's alive. I can feel the aggression of this demon and it's delightful!" Lifting the Spirit, Mao was suddenly more obsessed than curious, his mind running to many places about what this could mean. But one thing was for sure; He was low on servants, and a demon like this one wasn't much, but it was a start.

Managing to return to normal before he started drooling on himself from the possibilities of these spirits, he decided to start bolstering his ranks. "Wake up, already! Your wild, untamed anger is exactly the kind of force I need! Gotta be better than what you're doing now, right?" His demand of the demon within the Spirit was clear, mentally noting it'd be good to finally have a servant again that was on the right track. If it'd actually work or not, he'd wait and see. It seemed to not respond in any way, though he could still feel the presence perfectly well.

Mao's gaze went to one of the stranger individuals in the group: She looked like a giant fancy bee, which was strange, though nothing that really shook him up much. Her royal complaints caused him to shift his gaze between her and Midna. Queen and Princess, huh? Not that either title meant much in the long run to an Overlord, who's job it was to dismantle such lower authorities, but they were still respectable levels of power. Something about the Bee in particular gave him a strange vibe. She wasn't an Overlord of course, but she rang as more dangerous than average fodder. He was a mixture of wary and intrigued, though wasn't going to follow up on his thoughts for now.

"I always thought the hard part was gaining control," Mao replied to the Queen's complaints, palm resting on his forehead. "Instead, there's backstabbers at every turn, and now this glowing jackass took my entire Netherworld! I'm keeping this in mind the next time someone tells me this 'ruling' crap is easy."

Done with his own complaints, Mao eyed the weird helmet the Queen presented. Wearing that thing gave you better quality items when you smashed these orbs? Sounded like a dead to him. "Heck, wearing it means I get better loot? I don't give a damn what it looks like." Whatever downside she saw, he couldn't be bothered to care about. He'd keep to himself that smashing the life essence of some other demons would be both good fun and an intriguing example of what these orbs could provide though.

He'd get to see this in action, once the Phantom Thieves put it to work. It was a small sample size, but Mao was impressed with the results. According to them, the weaponry suited each of them perfectly fine. He wasn't experienced with this method of looting, but seeing the weapons match the looters was promising. "Hoh... That thing does seem useful. I'll have to keep notes of it's results to see how consistent it continues to be!"

Through most of the group-talk, Mao simply rested with his sword planted in the ground, impatient with the waiting after Midna and Fox had already been rushing him prior. A plan was okay, probably how they rolled, considering how Band and the Seekers ran his group down before. They knew each-other pretty well, while he didn't, so once they made their choices, he was more than happy to pull his blade from the ground, sheathe it, and offer one last untrusting look towards Kan-Ra as he departed with the group that decided to follow after him to the business base.

---

Upon arriving at the already damaged hellhole of an office building, Mao smirked at the sight. "Looks like the fighting's already started!" Stating the obvious, though a curious mind wondered if a few spare spirits were laying about from victims of the battle. He'd have to worry about that later, though, as things were chaotic once they made their way inside. Water, bullets, explosions, Mao was expecting a warzone but the arsenal caused him to quickly dip behind cover as fast as his feet would take him; Unsheathing his sword to attempt to block a few of the oncoming bullets, a few passing through his jacket much to his annoyance, but thankfully missing his scrawny body.

"To hell with this! Let's see how they like being exposed!" Mao had charged his magic, preparing an attack, but as he dipped out of cover the Unrelenting Force of the shout sent him barreling back, only managing to stop himself by stabbing his blade into the ground. "What the hell kind of power is that...?!" He growled in annoyance and confusion, sword coming up to cut an office chair in half that came flying his way, unsure of how to approach the situation.

Until one of the grunts already in the battle gave them an opportunity: Water, so much water, in such a brutal fashion did she crash into the opposing force and scatter them, leaving an opening to try and pick fights. Recovering from the knockback, Mao charged in: "Only shouting that armored guy will be doing is from agony!" He called his mark, unsure of who would join him, if they did, but Mao wasn't overly worried about it. He needed to hold his own and get past these guys, he wanted to know who they had in the back; if anyone. Had to be more somewhere, possibly even his mark.

If he wants the blast all to himself, then I ain't gonna argue! Mao took initiative by throwing his sword at the Dragonborn, the blade spinning through the air as the demon approached while charging up a Star attack in his fist as a follow up strike towards the warrior.

World of Light

@Dark Cloud

We can probably plan to get him hearted in the near future so he can see the situation more clearly. There's sure to be another fairly large battle coming up with the two Resistance bases, so Laharl has potential to just get hearted after becoming too injured like what happened to Band and Mao not too long ago.

World of Light

@Dark Cloud

Had responded in PM but I'll add it here for discussion too

It's simple: Laharl is mostly in the same boat Mao is. Sure, in his current situation, his personality is a bit more clashing, but once he's not under Galeem's influence, he'll surely realize that his own Netherworld needs to be put back to how it was. Nobody threatens the throne (Or his friends minions) and gets away with it.

Mao has a bit more exposure than Laharl, though. He hasn't had as much crap going on, where Mao has a checklist of beatdowns that need done for the sake of revenge. Another relatable thing they could have is restoring strength however, and the Seekers are clearly getting into plenty of fights. Huge fights, even. So it's beneficial for both to stay as they can grow back to their prior strength and possibly enough more, with how spirits and such work.

Adding to that, once Laharl sees the bigger than life threat, I don't think he's ignorant enough to think of it as an easy obstacle to clear on his own. Baal had him nervous, and Galeem is worse than an entire army of Tyrant Baal's with the scope of control gathered in this new world. Teamwork doesn't have to be something he adapts to quickly, but he could probably see it as means to justify reaching an end he desires, even if he's restricted in his own actions somewhat.

In a meta sense, this would put a lot more work on Lugu, who already puts a crapton of work into the current flow of events. Short detours work out, but going completely on your own is a lot to pile onto the updates every week. I can't speak for him, of course, that's just personally how I see it

World of Light

a pet store in Al Mamoon

@Dark Cloud

Oh perfect, Mao could use some Magichange fodder (kek)

Weirdness Magnetism [Gravity Falls RP]

@canaryrose@Polaris North

---

"'Course you'd love it! Who wouldn't?!" Sid genuinely questioned, though Avery was a certain type, the girl could tell, so getting an answer out of them wasn't necessary. Nodding at their decision to get ready for a hike, the 'goth' child hopped off her seat, the additional offer and words of concern mostly flying over the girl's head as she responded: "I know every ditch, but only because I keep falling in 'em!" This was stated with... Confidence, as if it was an accomplishment, which to Sid it might as well have been.

"Only thing that'll knock you unconscious is possibly Manotaur breath. I guess dental isn't very 'manly'." She snickered at her own words, but let Avery get ready. She was jittering around, that mixed with her loud and not very secretive personality made it easy to draw Gar's attention, who's nod got the girl's attention.

Tilting her head, she giggled a little at the man's concern. "Ah, don't sweat it! I know what I'm doin'!" She responded, though knowing what she was doing wasn't exactly a quell of Gar's concerns surely, considering the girl's usual wild nature. "And trust me: Nobody wants to run out of town after a tour from me!" She had no proof of this, given it was the first tour she'd ever offered to someone, but you know, it was a start! Beside, she had money on the line! If that wasn't a good ol' motivator, then what was? She had an arcade obsession to feed, after all.

_{Feat. Sid}
@Akayaofthemoon@Rabidporcupine@canaryrose@DClassified

---

Having basically been told to kick rocks after the weird goth girl's interruption, it wasn't hard for Amelia to catch his attention, and for Ludwig's eyes to fall on the absolute giant that was now over at the booth. While height was intimidating for sure, he had a huge smile to go with it that was pretty comforting and let Ludwig wander over to observe the situation without as much anxiety.

At least, until he saw Moe out in the open now, not much covering the unique little creature from public view. Not that he tried hard since he got here or anything, but man... At least Jeremy seemed pretty interested, too, which was calming for the boy as he got around to speaking up to the jolly giant. "Ludwig-- Though, I guess she already wrote that down, hah." He introduced himself with a bit of a folly, but oh well, he swept past it quick enough. Glancing back at the now waiting girl by the counter, he looked back at Jeremy with a bit of concern in regard to her trustworthiness, but nobody here seemed to be having much issue with her, so maybe they were just getting off on the wrong foot.

"Ah, well I'll try not to die?" His response was somewhat comical to some, perhaps. Or just awkward to others. This group kept getting larger and a lot of new faces was difficult to deal with, but hopefully that could be overlooked for the sake of progress, at the very least, in his investigation.

When it came to Moe, however, Jeremy had Ludwig's full attention. "Her? We've been a team for quite a bit! Found her back in Portland a long time ago, but never made any luck figuring anything out about her." He explained his plight, and main reason for being around here, in a quick manner. "I came to see if all the rumors scattered around about this place are true, and she's been pretty active since we got here, so as far as her origins go, I might be considering that response to be a lead."

Moe seemed perfectly satisfied where she was, though being obstructed from view was a cause for complaint. Thankfully the creature caused a lack of problems as the food arrived, Ludwig nervously looking at Amelia as she gave him a rather tragic look that probably was squirrel-related. He offered her a small smile and a thumbs' up as the food was placed, trying to say it wasn't a big deal. And after everything was settled, she seemed to be taming Moe well enough anyhow, the bacon being more than enough of an offering for the small beast.

Having her not be as much of a secret is actually way less stressful! He thought to himself, observing the rather happy atmosphere they had going on.

"Jimmy!"

Ludwig jutted away from where he was standing so fast that his glasses were left behind, quickly snatching them and putting them back on as he stared at the source of the sudden loud voice: That girl from earlier that stole his opportunity for information. "You always sneak up on people like that?!"

"Aside from the occasional shoe squeak I am pretty quiet," Sid responded as if she was moreso pondering her own stealth abilities, before realizing she was getting sidetracked. "Ah, forget that though, I need your help, Jeremy!" While Sid was usually very confident, successful, some would even say superior to her peers _{(Nobody ever says that)}, this particular situation was perfect with the big lug here. "I got someone curious to see the Manotaurs, and I need the manliest dude around to come with me!"

The duo had a pretty fond memory of the Manotaurs, but after Jeremy left, Sid hadn't ventured out there as much. She always thought of Jeremy as the one the Manotaurs respected for his go-getter nature and willingness to push forward. So, with him gone, she didn't feel like she was as welcomed. Not that she ever asked or tried, which was odd, being nervous wasn't in her nature, but maybe it was just the fact that a duo's start had to have a duo's finish, too. And it didn't feel right otherwise?

"Manotaur?" Ludwig questioned with a slight nervous tone.

"You were curious about mysteries around here, right? That's why you were gonna talk to the weird person with the recorder? Well I'm showing 'em something cool, and you can come, too! I bet they'd like having new guys around."

"There's dozens of things wrong with what you said, but I am curious." Ludwig admitted, looking at the group with uncertainty.

"Might as well make it a party! So anyone wanting to go on an awesome adventure better speak up, 'cause we gotta go sooner than later!" This four-eyed guy could be useful, actually. Maybe Avery would feel more comfortable if she wasn't the only newbie around- Oh, yeah! Sid nodded to herself that she could for sure pitch that to the girl when she came out, which wasn't long after Sid tried gathering up a posse.

Clapping her hands together, she approached Avery with a grin. "Don't gotta worry about being new to town, since I found another person just as curious that rolled in today!" She said, gesturing to the four-eyes behind her with a thumb. Who, upon noticing this gesture, raised an eyebrow at the look in his direction, but otherwise didn't comment.

World of Light

Lugu did give Laharl the chance to go to the bazaar and try to buy an item with his newfound profits

World of Light

@Dark Cloud
It's simple, really.

Just beat the hell out of Galeem and become the overlord of THIS world, too.

World of Light

@Dark Cloud

To be fair to Laharl, Mao also has information he doesn't. If he decides to tag along to rebuke the 'NPC' claim since he's with Yellow Team already, we can probably get him Friend Hearted during the next fight with the Resistance and the clarity could help him quite a bit.

World of Light

LOCATION:Sandswept Sky - Al Mamoon
WORD COUNT: 1,243(+2 EXP)
MENTIONS: Midna, Laharl

---

Mao's eyes fell on the creature he could only identify as some rare-colored imp of sorts, introducing herself as Midna. The wide assortment of demons in the Netherworld made it easy to accept the individuals of different shapes and sizes without a lot of confusion on his end. It was her introduction that also made him realize he hadn't introduced himself even, having gotten used to just being known on sight by his Netherworld residents. Introductions tended to be polite, which went against his norm, so he kept it short. Despite the absurd regard he held himself to, he wasn't in a position to really gloat to these people either. His status from his own world wasn't something that'd matter if any buff guy built with a bunch of saxophones could knock him down. "Name's Mao. It won't take long to get there, so anyone coming along better stay ready." He warned, taking Midna's suggestion to start walking. Better to get this over with, and get some answers at the same time.

At her suggestion, he looked up at the sun, hand attempting to block out some of the bright light. It's huge, Mao thought to himself, noting that this False God, according to Midna's story, was much more powerful than he had first thought. That light she mentioned, it had sparked to mind prior. He didn't have to worry about his Netherworld being taken over, it seemed, as instead it had been destroyed and possibly used to stitch this place together. In a way, it was brilliant. A huge undertaking, splitting so many worlds and combining them into one abomination. Mao found this to be fascinating, wondering if he could manage the same effect with Netherworlds. More land to rule, more power to obtain, after all.

"Despite just going about their lives, they're all influenced by that Galeem guy, huh?" He looked at the red-eyed individuals he walked past, wondering how he could have ever thought this was all normal. With a clear mind, he saw things for how they were, and how dangerous a place this was. This Galeem was truly comparable to an Overlord, ruling over a vast world like this one. Impressive in a way, but to have been mind controlled on TOP of the mind control? Infuriating, but he could handle that in due time.

That left their goals on the table. Defeat Galeem, which Mao could understand and had a personal piece in. And the conflict between the Resistance and the Grim, which... Mao was also personally involved in, for numerous reasons at this point. "I noticed nobody on your side going for kills during the fight, it makes sense now." Gathering as much force as they could... Galeem had to be strong so it was smart. But before that, they'd have to beat the crap out of these 'Guardians' that are blocking the way. Sounded like a road of violence and glory, which was something Mao could get behind. He was always fond of the 'level grind' concept, anyhow.

"I guess that means you removed the influence from us so we'd join this fight too?" It was an obvious question, which Mao didn't really expect an answer for, instead deciding to confirm his stake in this mess. "Not like I have much choice. If my world was obliterated by that light, then I have to fix it to get my peons back!" What was an Overlord without minions? Nothing! One might say he was 'friends' with a few of them, but Mao would just say he needs his fighting force. Being a ruler with nobody to rule wasn't any fun either.

At Midna's posed question about the alignment of those in the Resistance, Mao shrugged his shoulders. "It's a grab bag. Some of them, like Klee, wouldn't hurt a fly without Number Two's brainwashing. Then you have the freaks, like that chick with the robot legs, who's just happy to kill for the sake of it. I'm sure the group we're going after will be mixed between those who're being mislead, and those being manipulated into using their craving for violence against Number Two's enemies." Hand on his sword, Mao personally felt no pain in potentially having to put down a few of the Resistance members, especially the boss herself.

"For the sake of recruitment I'll try and leave them in one piece." He wasn't making promises though, as fighting to maim and not kill wasn't usually his M.O... But this conflict was bigger than him. He was reasonable enough to see that. He wouldn't confirm he'd put his own goals aside, but with how their situation aligned after the Friend Heart, he'd have to try and play by their rules a bit. In a world like this, Mao could see the end justifying the means though. If he could gain enough power, Galeem wouldn't be a problem. A transformation into his unrestricted form would be enough to obliterate Galeem, but he was nowhere near that level. But Demons lived a long time. He had plenty of time to train, unless there was a timer he was unaware of. He noted to potentially bombard Midna with more questions later, though for now, something was distracting his senses.

Mao came to a sudden halt, the cause not immediately clear, at least to anyone else. "Wait," He called to Midna, head slowly gazing leftwards as his senses demanded, only to see what could be described as an obnoxious blue-haired snot running their way, barreling through people like he owned the place. Mao wouldn't have cared, but he carried an energy about him: One similar to Mao's own, marking him as not only strong, but also a Demon. And an Overlord, at that.

His words stung Mao's ego, light gleaming over his glasses as he hunched forward somewhat, glaring at the half-naked idiot in front of him. "I'll have you know the only time I step into the library is during torching hours!" He objected, disgusted by the idea of even reading a book! Unless it was something completely unproductive, like a comic book, that is. "You're talking to the previous #1 Honor Student and current Dean of Maritsu Evil Academy! The name 'Mao' is enough to kill a delinquent on the spot when they hear it!" He stated proudly, standing back at his full height and offering his signature Mwahahahah! evil laugh as proof of his devotion to the vile arts.

Looking over Laharl in more detail, he saw the traits of the other Gleaming folk in him, signs Midna pointed out for him prior, thankfully. As much as Mao'd love to hurl insults at him for what he said, he recalled that they didn't want to constantly try and start fights. Which also wasn't something Mao was used to. With the circumstances, he had to try and adjust. Tact wasn't exactly the scientist's strongsuit, however, so he simply verbally barged straight ahead and told Laharl about as direct as he could.

"As much as I'd love to sit around and gloat about my superior Evil Quotient during NPC banter, I've got revenge to take! Official Overlord business." He said in an attempt to disregard and/or discourage Laharl from getting in his way, but unknowing to him, it was probably more of a reason for him to join in on the trouble. Aside from the additional fact that Mao had no idea Laharl was already 'with' the Seekers, and was probably looking to rejoin with his team anyway