Randomguy

Persona: Black Crown

---

Signora looked out of the train's windows as they were nearing the town.

It was obviously some sort of warped iteration of the Hachikō-guchi in Shibuya Station, judging by the familiar dog statue. If the Metaverse were the world of cognition, and this was the section of the cognition world ruled by their target. Did the scenery here reflect how they perceived Shibuya Station?

Quite likely, considering that the whole Wild West theme was probably a representation of the target's twisted idea of 'absolute freedom'.

She wondered what the graffiti and murals signified, however. Perhaps how they saw the Shibuya Station as the Chimeratix's 'territory', and they could do whatever they wanted there?

Well...Signora supposed that it didn't really matter. Either way, that did not change their purpose here. If anything, if her interpretations were correct, that only reinforced that the Chimeratix needed to be taken care of.

She prepared her phone once more to summon Lucrezia, as she saw shadows approaching the train.

Noblesse had given her the okay, so it was time to work.

Aside from the femme fatale reputation her persona had, Lucrezia's ability to charm enemies en masse was probably derived from the Authority she received. Which...made her have mixed feelings on using them, as one of the primary reasons she joined up with Noblesse was to make up for what she did, using her Authority recklessly without proper prudence.

Also, someone who charmed others to do her bidding veered a bit close to the false persona she was accused of employing, ensnaring men with her beauty for selfish ends.

On principle, anyway. In practice, of course, Signora realised that it was different circumstances and rather than for selfish ends, this was really her charming people for good.

With a sigh, she stepped forward, pressing on the Black Crown App.

"Lucrezia!"

Beckoned by Signora, Lucrezia manifested once more, both of her arms raised upward, as if aiming at the sky. The arrows loaded on the crossbows glowed brightly before transforming into light that coalesced into a heart-shaped cluster of light above Lucrezia.

Arrows of Affection

Quickly notching an arrow of her own, Signora then fired at the heart-shaped object, dispersing the lights in a hail of arrows with heart-shaped tips, hitting the shadows that were gathering in the area.



Removing her mask, Signora gave the shadow inspecting the train a shy—almost coy—smile. Her voice took on a pleasant tone, and a blush appeared prettily on her cheeks.

As much as she had mixed feelings about it, if she were honest, Signora had to admit that acting, including acting in a way that would conventionally be considered attractive, came naturally to her. Which was part of why she had mixed feelings about the whole thing in the first place.

"Ah...please forgive us for the delay, sir. But there is a good explanation, I assure you..."

She then turned to Baron, signalling him to take care of the rest with his know-how of Chimeratix, "Isn't that correct?"

Persona: Black Crown

---

Signora breathed out a sigh of relief. That was not her first battle using a Persona, but there was still something unnerving when fighting shadows in this strange world.

It was not all bad, as long as she kept it in check, that sense of uneasiness meant that she would be extra careful. Still...she wondered if, with time, she would ever be as nonchalant as Noblesse, who seemed to be comfortable enough to add extra flourish, such as mockingly aiming a finger gun at the shadow.

She didn't get the sense that Noblesse was being reckless, but it was a notable thing regardless.

After hearing the plan, Signora realised that she could possibly offer some valuable assistance.



Turning to Noblesse, she asked, "I think my Persona is capable of a move that would charm enemies en masse. Should I use it on the shadows receiving cargo to make things easier?"

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Ava Lane

---

Ava noticed that Atty had seemingly gone radio silent. However, knowing the existence of Electric Dragon's signal jamming, it was likely that Atty had gone into its radius.

"Argent to Cockroach. Do you have a clear visual of Atty? It seems she has entered the radius of Dragon's jamming. But if the plan is followed, she should be employing some guerrilla tactics right about now. As planned, make use of Atty's skirmishes to snipe opposing frames if you see the chance. Of course, Thunder remains your priority target." @AtomicNut

Still, as she thought, Electric Dragon's jamming is a problem. Ava might not know exactly the specific jamming technology used by Electric Dragon; however, given her in-depth knowledge of Framewerk Technology [Academic], she could think of several possibilities of what would be installed on a framewerk such as Electric Dragon. It being such a lightweight model limits its options considerably. From there, by recalling the possible radius of those jamming technologies and Atty's last relayed location, Ava was able to extrapolate a rough approximation of Electric Dragon's technology in her head, with the assumption that Atty's last relayed location before she went radio silent was the 'edge' of the radius.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Electric Dragon was on the opposite side of the field from where she and Minerva were. Considering that their secondary target, Logic Diver, had seemingly approached them based on Cockroach's drone, it would be inefficient for the two of them to head to the other side before neutralising Logic Diver.

Electric Dragon's jamming depended on Logic Diver's relay not being a double-edged sword. Meaning, if Logic Diver went down, they would have no choice but to shut down their jamming, because if both teams were unable to communicate, then the advantages provided by jamming was gone.

"Argent to Goose, Gwen, and Squid. Atty has entered Dragon's jamming range. Move in to support Atty. I'm also sending you an approximate location of Dragon. Neutralise if possible." @AtomicNut@Dezuel@shylarah

Finally, looking at the approximate location of Logic Diver provided by Cockroach's drone, Ava contacted Minerva.

"Argo, we'll move to hunt down Diver in the approximate location provided by Cockroach. I'll leave the bottom area to you. I'll take the upper area. Contact when target is found."@Digmata

Ava then turned Argent Wings northward before canvassing the area. The moment she found Logic Diver, and it was in range, she would fire using Marker Lights, first in Marker Mode and then in Combat Mode. With the automated targeting system installed on Argent Wings, it should be possible to react quickly enough to fire twice.

Movement

Move upward from M22 to L22 = 1 square
Move right from L22 to L26 = 3 square
Move upward from L26 to K26 = 1 square
Move left from K26 to K23 = 2 square

Will stop at any point Logic Diver is in sight and try to get in range to attack.

Spellcasters on the Misty Shores (Nasuverse RP set in America) [Closed]

---

Amari Residence

"Not as far as I know, no," Fatma answered the question with a shake of her head. She then added, "His parents are very devout Christians, but I don't think they're connected to the Holy Church. If they are, I doubt they would have allowed their son to marry someone from a magus family like mine. Especially one that had a conflict with the Executors in the past."

@Digmata

---

Amari Residence - Evan Amari's Bedroom

"Hmm..." Evan trailed off, seemingly thinking the questions over for a bit. After a while, he answered, his voice still remaining somewhat monotone.

"For the first question...not really sure. I don't really remember much other than feeling really scared? I think I felt a headache, though. He just...tells me what a person is thinking. He sometimes appears when I'm alone, too, but he's silent when there's no other people around."

The questions continued, and Evan answered them, one by one.

“No. He's really only ever speaks when telling me what other people are thinking.”

“Hmm...his tone when speaking to me? Uh...neutral, I guess. It's kinda...more like a person delivering the news? If that makes sense.”

“No, I can't tell him to stop.”

“About the same...Sometimes I have bad dreams, but they've been happening even before he appeared.”

“Sometimes I feel a headache if he's been telling me what people are thinking for a while. And then he stops speaking.”

“...Not really.”

For the first time since the interview began, Evan's monotone way of speech shifted just a little bit when answering if anything scary, unusual, or stressful happened in his grandparents' house. It was not something that would usually be noticed, but having fully taken on the role of an experienced psychiatrist, MiMi recognised the telltale sign of a patient still withholding some information.

Then seemingly eager to move on, he answered MiMi's next questions, "Nothing comes to mind, sorry."

“No one aside from my mom and grandparents. They all freaked out. Grandpa and Grandma wanted to call on a pastor immediately. Mom doesn't want to, though. 'He' told me that Mom was afraid that the Church would kill me."

“Unsafe no. Overwhelmed...yeah. As I said, when it's been going for a bit, I start getting headaches, but then he stopped when my headache started to get worse.”

“...He speaks more of people's thoughts when they're closer to me, I guess. When it's far away...he sometimes only tells me a word or two, maybe a sentence. When they're close, it's more comprehensive.”

“Nope. I can tell where my thoughts end and what he's telling me.”

“I guess the fact that he doesn't seem to be doing anything bad to me?”

“Uh...I don't know what to change. Knowing what people think is kinda a cool superpower. I wish it's not coming from some demonic entity, though, since it's making Mom, Grandpa, and Grandma worry.”

@PureWitch

Spellcasters on the Misty Shores (Nasuverse RP set in America) [Closed]

---

New Covenant Christian Academy

“Huh…”

Gabriel seemed to be taken aback at Derald’s questions regarding demonic possession.

“I didn’t expect you to actually take it seriously. Are you religious by any chance? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter,” he continued, before sighing, “I don’t really know much more than you, honestly. It’s not like they teach me about demonic possession in the seminary. Like, I said, for Protestants, demonic possessions are…not exactly things we talk about. Then again, nowadays, Catholics don’t either. So…yeah, I can’t really tell you. And honestly…I’d rather we don’t even consider actual possession before we thoroughly exclude things like mental issues. Even that famous catholic exorcist in the Vatican who had allegedly performed 50.000 exorcism say that more than 90% of demonic possession cases brought to him were just mental issues anyway?”

Then, after a bit, Gabriel scratched the back of his head, perhaps out of awkwardness, before offering, “I guess if you’re REALLY interested…incubi are not mentioned in the Bible, but they have been mentioned in many Christian adjacent folklores. For example, most famously, Merlin’s—from the Arthurian Legend—father was supposed to be an incubus. This is the ‘Christianised’ version of the Arthurian legend that places Merlin as the anti-Christ, mind you. However, he was baptised and thus was consecrated, and his role as the anti-Christ never came to be, as he used his magical power to help King Arthur instead. An incubus is supposed to be a demon that seduces women and steals their life force—it’s the reverse of a succubus, basically—so if I have to make an educated guess, someone actually possessed by an incubus would have some sort of supernatural ability to charm women? That’s…really all I know.”

Around the same time, Derald received a notification on his phone. Opening the Cipher app, he saw a reply from Leonardo.

‘Afaik, the Church of Christ the Carpenter is not connected to the Holy Church. In Millhaven, only St. Elmo Church is.’

‘The guy is probably just a civilian not aware of the supernatural.’

‘That said, the thing about incubus is possible, I suppose. Mixed-Bloods are a thing, though they don’t have a direct connection to demonic possession.’

‘Well, maybe this isn’t a demonic possession and more of a magus is using their bloodline as a catalyst to summon the incubus from the reverse side of the world. However, that would make them a very competent magus specialising in summoning. Can’t think of anyone though.’

‘Someone like that would be well known in our circles, considering how small the population of Millhaven is, especially the magus population.’

‘There’s really only one really good magus from Eulyphis that sometimes hangs around Millhaven that I know of, but she uses angels. Well, not actual angels, it’s complicated. But the point is, she doesn’t summon familiars from the Reverse Side of the World like fairies or, in this case, an incubus. The MO doesn’t match.’

‘Anyway. Luckily, I’m meeting a prospective client with ties to the government. I’ll try asking if he’s willing to pull some favour and see if that family is registered in the DoM Mixed-Blood registry.’

@Silverstein

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Ava Lane

---

"Argent to Cockroach. Since you were so insistent on putting me in charge, perhaps you should be second-in-command, then," Ava replied. Unlike her usual polite or reserved tone, one can detect an underlying slight exasperation in her voice.

Then, more seriously, she continued, "Though more pragmatically, as a sniper, Cockroach is probably in the position where he could observe the battlefield in a more holistic manner from a vantage point. At least ideally, so that also makes you an ideal control tower."

Besides, even if it was just for this single training exercise, it was also common wisdom to put someone who could complement the leader’s skillset in second-in-command, and given Ava’s reserved nature, there were far worse picks than someone good with words like Bugs, from an efficiency perspective.

With a small sigh, she then transmitted a message to the whole team, “Argent to Mangoes. There isn’t enough time to discuss this further, but based on the aforementioned reason, Cockroach is designated as second-in-command.”

Then, seeing the message that Bugs had just sent to the whole team, Ava gave a reply, also directed to the whole team, “Argent to Mangoes. Cockroach’s proposal regarding Banana is accepted. As the Professor said, an unknown element isn’t something that can be trusted reliably. Any unit that perceives Banana is acting suspiciously is allowed to engage, but prioritise targets from Team Apple unless the situation calls otherwise. That is all. Time to get into position.”

As soon as Ava gave the signal, she saw Argo rushing ahead with great speed, far surpassing what a frame of that size and bulk should be able to.

Argent Wings itself was equipped with a microburst thruster for speed. That, combined with Ava’s high synchronicity with the framewerk allowed it to be manoeuvred as if she was piloting a frame of the lightest weight class, but Argo was something else, faster than even that.

She had to admit, she was impressed. It was the first time she saw a framewerk at Argent’s weight move at a faster speed.

But that was ideal. The whole plan was for Argo to serve as the frontline distraction so Argent Wings could slip past and take out targets focusing on Argo, so moving a few paces behind Argo was always what she intended to do.
Well then… she'd better make her move too.

Ava engaged the Argent Wings cloaking system, hiding it from radar. In ages long past, this technology was the one that made the infamous F-22 Raptor stealth fighter aircraft doctrine possible, granting it air superiority.

In the same way, in the age of framewerks, the doctrine was further improved with holographic capability, though the holographic program had not yet needed to be deployed.

“Argent to Argo. Dragon’s model is equipped with communication jamming, if I remember correctly,” [Academic: Framewerk Technology] “Target Dragon first, if possible. Failing that, as planned, our target is Diver,” Ava contacted Minerva through their coms system, as she pushed Argent Wings to catch up.

Movement

Dashing for 10 movement.
2 down vertical from F18 to H18 = 2 movement
2 right horizontal from H18 to H20 = 2 movement
3 diagonal from H20 to K23 = 4 movement
2 down vertical from K23 to M23 = 2 movement

Spellcasters on the Misty Shores (Nasuverse RP set in America) [Closed]

---

New Covenant Christian Academy
"Yeah, I guess you can say that," Gabriel replied, confirming Derald's assumption of him being a youth pastor of some sort. He then continued, "Well...they don't pressure me to be a pastor or anything, but my dad was one, too. So was my grandfather. So I guess it is sort of a 'family trade' so to speak."

As the two entered the room, Gabriel turned one of the classroom chairs around so it was facing the seat behind it, before taking a seat and gesturing for Derald to sit across from him.

"First things first, John...how much do you believe in the supernatural? I ask this because Evan's grandparents are concerned that Evan has been possessed by a demon. According to them, Evan is seeing a demonic figure that only he can see, and the figure tells him things he shouldn't know. They're worried that Evan is possessed by a demon because both their son—Evan's Father—and Evan are not Christians. Apparently, according to a story passed down in their family, long ago, one of their ancestors, well...uh...they procreated with an incubus—that's uh...supposed to be a type of demon—and the incubus supposedly will possess his descendants who are not protected by the blood of Christ. Now, being a pastor, I believe that such things are real—well, unlike the Catholics, pastors from some of the Protestant denominations don't, but I digress—you can imagine that I am quite concerned as well. That said, I am also of the belief that before turning to the preternatural for explanation, one needs to get rid of mundane explanations first. I'm not discounting the possibility that Evan is perhaps only suffering from mental illness, that's why I'm here at the school to try asking his teachers. I did consider making a visit directly, but Ms Fatma seems opposed to involving the Church, as I understand it, so..."

@Silverstein

Amari Residence

"Resents me...?" Fatma asked, frowning, as she heard Richard's question. After a moment, she replied, "Well...I'd like to think he doesn't resent me, but he did really hate it when my ex-husband and I went through our divorce. That said, he...cheated on me, so...I just can't forgive that and continue our marriage as if nothing happened. About the photos...most of the photos I took together with Evan are family photos, and...my ex-husband is also in there for most of them, since we were only divorced last year, in September. I...uh...removed all the photos with my husband, so unfortunately, that also got rid many photos of Evan and me."

Then, to Winnifred's question, Fatma answered, "About that..."

She sighed, "Evan's grandparents—on his father's side—found out about it. Or rather, the issue first occurred when he was staying at their house. Apparently, Evan woke up in the middle of the night, screaming that he was seeing some demonic entity. Naturally, being faithful Christians, they took it seriously and called me immediately. Being from a mage family, I also took it seriously, so I went there immediately. They...uh...were really insistent on calling a priest. I don't even know if the Church of Christ the Carpenter is connected to the Holy Church, but from what I heard of Church agents, they can be rather...severe. So I don't want to risk it, and I said no to them. They were here last night, and they still insist on calling a priest. I hope they haven't actually done it."

@wikkit@Digmata

---

Amari Residence - Evan Amari's Bedroom

Evan started to answer MiMi's questions, one by one.

"What's been happening...I don't exactly know myself, but last week, I was at my grandparents' house when I woke up in the middle of the night. I was prolly just thirsty, or something, I dunno. But then...I saw this black silhouette with horns and six wings. Since then, when I'm around people, he... tells me stuff, mostly what they're thinking. As for the other questions...no, not really. I was basically just a normal kid before all this. I mean, I guess I'm always good with language, I can speak, like, uh...5 languages somewhat fluently. That's about it."

Selene received another reply on her phone.

'Magical energy alone is not enough proof for demonic possession, that said, it's not impossible. Don't do anything yet, give me the location.'

@PureWitch@Thanatos 7

Spellcasters on the Misty Shores (Nasuverse RP set in America) [Closed]

---

Amari Residence

"I see...?" Fatma remarked, more of a question rather than a concrete reply. Growing up in a mage family, despite not being a mage herself, she had met several of her father's acquaintances, and they were all rather eccentric...But whispering to a door was a first.

Unless that was a form of magecraft she was not familiar with, which could probably be true, it was not as if Fatma was familiar with many magecraft. Still, she also knew that mages were the secretive sort, so probably best not to press the issue.

Thus, rather than inquiring further, Fatma instead added, "Anyway...do you also have some questions that maybe I can answer?"

@wikkit

---

Amari Residence - Evan Amari's Bedroom

"Okay," Evan said simply, not betraying any trace of emotion. He then added, looking at MiMi, "My house, though. Not yours. So don't mind the mess."

Evan headed to his bed after saying so before sitting down on it. The movement seemed unenergetic, almost lazy. As he made himself comfortable, he spoke again, "Go ahead. You're not a doctor, not really, but you have the skill of a trained psychiatrist. That's what he said anyway."

It was then that Selene received a reply on her phone. The text simply read,

'Don't do anything until I'm there. Give me the location.'

@PureWitch@Thanatos 7

Persona: Black Crown

---

Seeing that the chimaera was seemingly on its last legs, Signora decided to go on the offensive, following up on Thespian's attack.

She took out her phone, summoning her persona once more. Lucrezia manifested behind Signora, her two crossbow arms pointed at the enemy, the clicking sounds of a mechanism signifying that the arrows had been loaded.

Double Shot

With the sharp crack of the string snapping forward, the two arrows were fired from the crossbows, creating a high-pitched swooshing sound of the bolt of arrows piercing through the air at the enemy.

Nerves In Carbonox Reforged: A Roll-Your-Own Giant Mecha Roleplay

Ava Lane

---

"Wait, hold on, I—" Ava started saying once Bugs made his impassioned speech about putting her in charge. Unfortunately, having commanded the attention of the room, her halfway attempt at objection was drowned out by the rest of Bugs' speech.

The content of the speech itself was rather corny and cliché, and was laying it on a bit thick, but it was a testament to the man's charisma and mastery in the art of speech that Ava couldn't help but notice that the speech had an immediate impact on the rest of the group.

Even Ava had to admit that there was something more to Bugs than what he had shown so far. At the very least, in terms of being an inspiring speechmaker, he was every bit the ideal noble, she supposed.

"F-Fine...I suppose it's just a training simulation, had to take command either way, might as well be me," Ava replied, looking away to hide the small blush in her face. Being the subject of such an impassioned speech couldn't help but make her feel somewhat embarrassed.

Nevertheless, as it had seemingly raised the morale of the team, attempting to gainsay against it would be counterproductive.

"Erm. Well, moving on, if I am to take command," Ava continued after clearing her throat to regain her composure, "Please remember the following callsigns. Some of the framewerk models are rather a mouthful to say, so to simplify things...we're already using these names unofficially, but this is just to make sure everyone is on the same page and can understand which framewerk the callsigns refer to."

Besides, it was also standard procedure to give callsigns to pilots. A tradition stemming from fighter jet pilots in the Air Force.

Ava then started to list out their callsigns, "Argent Wings will be shortened to Argent, CK-R8 can use the already existing nickname of Cockroach, AA-XOTRY will be Atty as Serah calls it, Argo can be simply Argo, Mother Goose is shortened to Goose, Guinevere is shortened to Gwen, and 5Q-U1 Type D is Squid. As for our targets...Logic Diver is Diver, Horst is Horst, Sleeping Thunder is Thunder. R4-PT0 Type R is Raptor, Shiva is Shiva, Electric Dragonfly is Dragon, Angel Zero is Angel."

Then, before long, the simulation started, and like the rest of the team, Ava entered the simulation, finding herself in the familiar cockpit of Argent Wings.

She had not piloted it in a while on account of being discharged on grounds of a mental issue before being reinstated and assigned here, but just like how one never forgets how to ride a bicycle, the moment Ava's hands grasp the control, it was like greeting an old friend.

She then took a glance at the formation they were dropped in. It seemed like the Professor had randomised their starting location. Well, it's not too bad, at least they were still grouped together.

Looking at the initial formation of Team Apple...as expected, Sleeping Thunder was on the back. Though support units such as Logic Diver Electric Dragonfly being in front of Shiva and Horst were a surprise.

Also, there was a new unit reporting as Team Banana smack dab in the middle of the area.

"Argent Wings, ready to deploy. All systems green," Ava reported, before switching to the coms channel for Team Mango only, "Argent to Mangoes, it seemed like our initial formation is not as planned, but still manageable. As planned, Goose and Squid will advance. Your primary targets are Angel, Raptor, Shiva, and Horst. Your main objective is to hold the line and keep them busy. Gwen should follow them, not far behind and provide support. Argo, you and I will move out after their frontlines are engaged, our targets are Diver and Dragon. Atty, start reconnaissance and inform us of their movements, create disturbance where you can and have Cockroach snipe them while they're distracted. Cockroach, take up your position and proceed to disable Thunder. As for the unknown element of Team Banana, we'll designate them simply as Banana for now and see what they'll do. Questions?"