Started playing Salem in F/GO. It's gotten to the point where the youtube ads are hyping me up for the timegate to be lifted.
Bio
Back from a spell with all my witty charm to take advantage of the quiet nights of a graveyard shift, one that goes from 20:30 [EST] to 8:30.
DMs are open for whatever. Discord handle will be given as needed, more often than not to make it easier to contact (or be contacted by) folks in ongoing RPs.
Tristan's knightly vow and bow surprised her quite a bit, and she hadn't fully recovered from the words he said to her when she was picked up by the Archer as if she was a princess, a gesture that gave out an embarassingly high-pitched yelp from the chinese woman who prayed to whichever higher being was watching over her at that moment that her Servant wasn't looking at her at that moment.
However, the burning sensation on the back of her hand, the place where her Command Seals were placed underneath her gloves, was brought to her partner's attention and she began to dart her head around once she was set on her foot. "I can't do anything from this far away; my speciality is close combat. Don't shoot yet, see if they're making any hostile movements. If they're going to try and negotiate, we should hear them out". It was a risky move, but the truth of the matter remained that Yazhu was on her own on this war, a fact that would be incredibly disadvantageous and that would be best remedied soon. If she could form a temporary pact with some other Master during this war, that'd significatively increase her chances of survival.
In the end, things happened sooner rather than later. They happened noisily and, most annoyingly, messed up Haruka's hair. Leaves always had a perchant of being light to the wind, and the gusts produced by the helicopter's blade made a couple of the loosest ones deattach from the mane of the plant girl, escaping the nurse's arrival in order to decorate the forest's path. As the teacher explained the situation, a spray bottle was produced from Haruka's bag that she began to apply onto her person as she comber her folliage with her free hand.
When the explanation was done, Haruka began to look at the forest surrounding The Field™. Certainly, this would be a difficult task but not an impossible one. Tracking people in an unknown enviroment was something her quirk couldn't help her to do, but as a hero this would be something they would be expected to do regularly. If they couldn't manage with this simulated scenar-
"Fujimori Haruka! Would you be on our team!? Please?"
Another gust of wind landed right in front of her, prompting her to freeze for a few seconds as her hair was ruined. All the care that she put into it this morning was going to waste. The eyes of impromptu statue known as Haruka Fujimori slowly turned to glance at the offender with the hardness of an oak. At the very least, he was begging. And someone else was going through the motions of punishing him for such a reckless act by striking him down with a might capable of rivalling a gentle caress with a perfumed shoelace.
She spent a few moments in silence, placing a quirk demonstration to these faces that had approached her to remember what they had done. It had been a nice demonstration of how to supress a fire, but sadly neither of them had good quirks to help with the tracking itself. However, mobility would be much easier: Hiroki had demonstrated it just now and Haruka could become an impromptu Tarzan by the use of her vines.
Ah, to hell with it all. She'll have to figure out how to keep it in check in action situations later.
The plantgirl sighed. "Since you've come all the way to make such a showy request, I'd be hard-pressed to not grace it" replied Haruka. As she was doing so, the spray bottle was placed back into her bag then her hands went to finish up the job the helicopter and the airplane kid had started, ruffling and shaking her mane into a coordinated and deliberate mess. "Suguro-san, was it?" Haruka addressed the third member of the conversation; the punisher of a reckless, rouge, blue kid. Her hands began the task of undoing the belt and buttons of her jacket. "How much water can you carry within yourself without affecting your mobility? We should ask if there's a river nearby that you could use. It'd be useful to be prepared". It could be considered a bit of a bold move to assume that Umi was going to be part of her team, but Haruka felt that there was no time to dilly-dally and hand out coupons for the premiere of Planeboy and Leafygirl to see if someone would accept, so she took the path of assuming that Umi was in the team so that she couldn't refuse unless she was on a team already. Or, at least, that's what a polite person would do.
Meanwhile, Haruka had finished the process of taking off her coat, revealing the gray, ribbed sweater that was underneath, of which she was already rolling the sleeves of up to her shoulders, so that she could use her Quirk more effectively. The garment was long enough to reach mid-thigh and serve as a skirt, preserving her modesty from any sort of situation that'd threaten it. "Sakimoto Hiroki of the Sakimoto Sonics-kun. We're gonna have to rely in our eyes and ears to find where this family of dummies is, so keep your quirk usage to a minimum. Any suggestions as to what we should do to find them? The best course of action, as I see it, is taking one of the paths until we find a spot where this family could've entered the forest and follow the clues".
Perhaps, if Haruka was assertive enough to pan out a plan of action for the other two to follow, she could convince them that she was reliable enough to be the Class Representative that Guodo-sensei had mentioned they should try to be. After all, no one would be better than her for that position. Right?
Plant gets approached by plane, plane gets approached by sponge. Plane asks plant to be part of the team. Plant drags sponge into team. Plant tells both of them what she wants to do as she takes off her jacket.
Paris. The capital city of France. The city of love, and home of many cultural heritages. An ancient place, where every stone in the streets houses so many stories that it'd take decades to learn of what happened on an alleyway. And, most importantly, a land of such an unparalleled quality for a magus that anyone would do anything for the mere chance of holding it. Anything.
Thinking in hindsight, it came to no surprise to Yazhu why her family did what they did. After all, what's a blot of blood in a family's deeds with such a reward in their sights? The Jins could even be blamed for being so careless and trusting of their subordinates with something as important as a shard of the Round Table. Generations upon generations of deceased magus must have settled on an amphitheater in the afterlife to welcome the arriving soul of the Master that never came to be with outstretched fingers and howling laughter.
Yet, it didn't sit right in any way. For her, the woman who was sent on behalf of a traitorous family simply because she was the most capable of them all, it was a stain that could never be erased and that she could do nothing about. She was roped in machinations and thrown into France with enough money to get by the following days, an apology as they had to do it all under the eyes of the Jins and a warning to stay away from the Foreign District, just in case. They may as well have given her a jacket lined with explosives.
The melancholic sound of a harp reached her ears from behind her. At least, she wasn't alone in this. Even if he was bound to her because of the nature of this war, knowing that she had one of the Knights of the Round Table protecting her was enough to calm her down. It was an odd situation, in hindsight, and Yazhu had to be honest with herself in that she didn't know what to do. This was the opposite of her life's work, and she was barely able to cope up with it.
She hoped that Tristan hadn't noticed just how much his Master was a fish out of water. The summoning process on itself was, thankfully, without any sort of damage to her room thanks to the detailed instructions in the note from her father, and the shock from having a legendary hero in front of her wasn't as great as she thought it would've, but it was nevertheless impressive. After a long while composed of introductions and Yazhu asking questions to the Archer in order to fill the blanks her family had failed to inform her of, the chinese woman had declared that they'd set out to explore the city to know the ground they'd be treading better.
That was what she had said at the moment, but there was an underlying reason for that request as well. Something that she was still trying to wrap her head around at this moment, and something that she couldn't get out of her mind as she experienced the french capital: She wasn't going to see this city the same way in the following days, or even for the rest of her life. This was her last chance to see the city with normal eyes, and take the sights it had to offer her. Tristan himself had a few suggestions as to where he wanted to go, and she was more than happy to oblige.
And now, atop the central dome of the Sacre Coeur Basilica, the highest point that the building had to offer, they were both waiting for the night to arrive. The sun, a painfully slow pendullum of the impending doom and the unseen war that was about to sully the streets of Paris, slowly pulled the thin blanket of light that it had cast over the buildings hours ago, buildings that refused to yield to the darkness and lit sparks of orange amidst the sea of darkness. Tristan played a gentle tune as the minutes until the start of the war ticked down. They hadn't spoken much since they arrived: she was absorbing her new situation whilst looking at that picture in her wallet and he was playing his harp. But Yazhu had a pit inside of her chest that she wanted to share, something she had come to realize after all of today.
"To die and to be killed..." she spoke out to her red-haired compation, lifting her gaze from the face of her niece towards the last remains of sunlight and safety disappearing in the horizon. "At first, they seemed like the same thing to me. But they're much more different than I thought. Before this, I could've died because I was meant to protect someone. Now, I'm gonna be killed because of who and what I am." Her gloved hands folded her wallet and placed into one of the pockets of the voluminous black coat she was wearing, her only protection from the cold winds of such a high place.
The former bodyguard turned to face her Servant before making her request. "It feels odd asking for this, but could you please protect me from that fate? There's someone I have to get back to later". His answer came alongside the moonlight, prompting Yazhu to pull out a watch to check on the time. "I'll be counting on you... Archer" she responded. The use of the term was necessary, but it left a bad taste in her mouth. It made him feel alien to her and, despite all, it reminded her of just how truly alone she was in this war. "Lead the way, I'll be with you. At the very least, I'd like to be of use to you".
"As a Servant, it is my duty to serve and protect my Master. Even if it's a rotten and sullied soul like you."
Name: Tomás de Torquemada
Title(s): Grand Inquisitor, Hammer of Heretics, Light of Spain, Savior of his Country, Honor of his Order
Class: Caster
Gender: Male
Attribute: Human
Era: Age of Man (October 14, 1420 - September 16, 1498)
Alignment: Neutral Good
Personality: For a man as infamous as Tomás, his true manner of being was mostly unbefit of the image he has earned: A polite, well-educated man who worked in an incredibly neat manner. A prudent and pious man who couldn't be swayed away from his goals and morals. A loyal and discreet man that, nevertheless, wished to "distinguish himself from fake christians through the severe denunciation of their mistakes". Yet the man that was is not the man that's here: twisted due to his state as the most known and emblematic inquisitor he has taken a more vile personality. Whilst there are shades of who Tomás was in the past, the villain that history made him be is much more present: a cruel and ruthless man whose zeal to purge the heretics is only matched by his loyalty to the Lord. A man who views himself as the righteous hand of God, and will deliver righteous punishment to those who oppose him. A man who shall bring forth redeemption upon the tainted souls of men by burning every sin away. A man whose last, dying wish was to purify Christianity in the name of the Lord.
Bio: Tomás de Torquemada, ironically, was a man of jewish blood himself; two generations before his birth his family had converted to Christianism. The fate of many of these people was entering the clergy, and that was the fate of his uncle, Juan de Torquemada. Cardinal, theologist and prior of the dominicans of Valladolid, he was the man that educated Tomás during his childhood, who ended up becoming a dominican friar in San Pablo. Further down the line, he became the prior in the Convent of San Pablo, where he'd eventually meet Isabella the Catholic. Because of his virtues, he was designated one of the three personal confessors of the Catholic Kings, a position that eventually led him to his role as the Grand Inquisitor in 1483.
This was the start of Torquemada's infamous career, an inexhaustible man who prosecuted thousands of persons of differing faiths, focusing on Jews as to impede them from influencing their peers that had converted to catholicism. The influence he had over the Catholic Kings was supreme, to the point that he presented the Alhambra Decree to them the 20th of March of 1492, and it was signed and published by the monarchs the 31st of the same month. A legend speaks of the moment a jewish enterpeneur attempted to bribe the king to delay the measure. Enraged, Tomás de Torquemada appeared before the King and threw a cross to his feet before speaking: "Judas sold the Lord for thirty pieces of silver; Your Majesty is about to sell him again for thirty thousand". He was incorruptible, and couldn't be swayed away from his Holy Mission. Even when his health began to decline and he retired to the convent of Saint Thomas of Ávila in 1494, he dictated the path the Inquisition was to take from there until his eventual death.
Weapon: A bible that he uses in place of a spellbook.
|| STR: E || END: D || AGI: C || MANA: C+ || LCK: B ||
Class Skills:
Item Construction (False): B- - Ability to create weapons having magic power, up to and including Mystic Codes. However, due to his continued involvement with the Inquisition, he is only capable of creating items that are related to the Church. Due to Tomás de Tormaqueda's reputation as an efficient administrator, components and time required to produce items is lowered. Territory Creation: - - Ability to create a territory advantageous to oneself as a magus. This skill has been traded for his Noble Phantasm.
Personal Skills:
Innocent Monster: B - Whilst his acts in life were less than reputable, Tomás de Tormaqueda has been demonized to have caused the death of many more persons than he actually did during the Black Legend, an european campaign to portray Spain as an "uniquely evil and monstrous country". As the first and most memorable Grand Inquisitor, he is the most commonly portrayed head of the Inquisition should a work of fiction desire to portray the religious order, ultimately becoming their face. His name became synonymous with cruelty and fanatism in service of Catholicism, and so he became that. His service and devotion to the Lord is absolute, and he will not falter whenever he is to purge heretics. He shall not stand a master that faults the Lord and will not answer the calls of anyone who he deems as impure. He has become the Hand of God, and shall deliver Righteous Justice upon any and all sinners. Protection of the Faith: A+ - In life, despite all that was said, Tomás de Torquemada was a man who never faltered. Devout to his cause and to the lord, he is impossible to sway away from his beliefs. He acted for the good of Catholicism and Humanity to the very end, and his rectitude always stood out to his peers. As a Servant, Tomás de Torquemada possesses an innate resistance to mental debuffs that almost reaches the point of immunity. One could interpret this as a Magic Resistance for psychological ailments, one that can only be surpassed by the highest of deceptions. Familiar (Hounds): C - Allows the summoning and subsequent use of hounds as familiars. In particular, Torquemada's familiars come from the Dominican Order, sometimes refered to as the "Dominus Cani" or the Hounds of the Lord. They can be commanded by thought.
Holy Tribunal of the Lord
Spanish Inquisition
D Rank || Anti-Unit|| Range: 5-30 || Max Targets: 1
"Exurge Domine Et Judica Causam Tuam". Rise, oh Lord, to defend your cause.
The Catholic Inquisition. The relentless search of heretics amidst the converted populace of the 15th Century, and the punishment of such blasphemous acts in the face of the Lord. Sowing terror from the cowering populace, many souls were tortured and sullied to find the rotten apples that were then purged by holy fire. Now, with its most zealous leaders present, it has returned to enact God's will upon the lambs that have strayed away.
A noble phantasm inherited from the corruption of his legend, Tomás de Torquemada is capable of bringing forth the sublimation of the movement that many dreaded during the time. Calling upon his status as a Grand Inquisitor, Tomás de Torquemada summons the powers of Heaven to destroy the heretic spawns that dare oppose His will. More specifically, a hammer made of holy wrath descends from the firmament to strike down the Inquisitor's foe bringing down pain upon the target in proportion to their deeds and wrongdoings.
On most occasions, this attack is rather weak when performed on anyone but an Evil alligned foe, who would be struck down with mighty prejudice by a blow several times stronger than it would normally be. However, because of Tomás de Toruqemada's twisted views due to his Innocent Monster trait, this spectrum has widened to include Good allignments as well.
Banishment of the Unfaithful
Edict of Expulsion
Rank: B || Anti-Army || Range: 10-40 || Max Targets: 500
At the end of March of 1492, the Catholic Monarchs of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree: an edict that ordered the expulsion of practicing jews from their kingdom within four months, else they'd face death. Yet, it wasn't them who brought this demand to life, a demand that changed Spain for centuries to come. The edict that resulted in the expulsion of tens of thousands of practicioners was deviced and proposed to the kings by Tomás de Torquemada, so this act doesn't belong to them, but to him.
A very powerful tool, this Noble Phantasm consists of the creation of an incredibly powerful Anti-Spirit Boundary Field when its True Name is released. It rejects unnatural spirits, resulting in the powers of Servants within its area to have their powers reduced and their Noble Phantasms greatly hampered.
Name: Yazhu Hua
Title(s): Iron Sentinel
Gender: Female
Age: 27
Alignment: True Neutral
Rank: Count
Objective for the Grail: A Sorcery Trait to protect herself and her family.
Command Seal: A hexagonal shield made of three different parts, one layered on top of the other.
Personality: Prideful, stoic and bound to her duty, Yazhu can come off as cold most of the times, but this is merely because of her professionalism. She actively avoids having her feelings and opinions stand in the way of her tasks, yet she will always try to fulfill a contract or a promise that she's made until the end, if only to protect her honor. She cares very deeply about her family and their reputation, and has a soft spot for her niece, keeping a picture the two of them took together in her wallet.
Amidst the several families that exist within China, one that stands out is the Jade Clan. Named on behalf of the Jade Emperor, it's composed of one main branch of "Pure bloods", the Jin family, that receive a full magical training and several branches of support magi of varying degrees (alchemists, spies or simple maids).
Within these branches exists the Hua family, a relatively recent addition yet at the same time one as old as the Jade Clan itself. Originally a group of mercenaries paid to protect the Jin magus from mundane threats, they slowly grew more specialized over the years until one of the Jin heads decided to mingle with one of the Huas, introducing the magic circuits into the latter bloodline. Aware of this fact, this man proceeded to teach them the basics of magecraft then ordered them to repurpose it for their task if they wanted to remain a part of the clan.
The Huas are considered to be the lowest class within the Jade Clan, and are often treated with as minimum respect needed. Nevertheless, they never faltered with their jobs, and always gave their body for their cause. They are raised from a young age to become the perfect shadow to the current Jin magus, and they serve until their eventual deaths. Until one particular day.
Yazhu was, at the time, the most proficient bodyguard of that Hua generation, which was composed of her, a younger sister and three cousins. She was very natural at controlling her breathing and walking, giving her an edge when performing the Four Dances. As such, after an announcement had been made and a meeting was called in the Jin's main hall for all families, Hua was sure that she was going to be set to protect that generation's Young Master.
She was surprised when her sister returned, alone. And her heart sank through the floor when she revealed that she had murdered the eldest of the Jin's current generation. A quick explanation was given about how she overheard them speaking about the war in Paris, and then a plane ticket was placed onto her hands. As the best of the Hua, Yazhu was informed by her sister that she had been chosen by the elders of the family to represent them in the Holy Grail War, in an attempt to pluck the Huas away from the Jade Clan, and make them their own, powerful bloodline. Arrangements had been previously made and, during her stupor, she was taken to the airport and made to fly to Paris.
The quickly-brewed scheme of the Huas was most likely meant to meet a violent end, so it was now up for Yazhu to save them all from their own hasty mistake. With no contacts to pull help from, and a powerful enemy most likely coming in to take her down, the Iron Sentinel arrived without any sort of preparations to Paris and a lengthy note from her father on how to perform the summoning ritual.
---
Magic Circuit Switch: Claws tearing flesh apart.
Number of Magic Circuits: A
Quality of Magic Circuits: D
---
Elemental Affinity: Metal
Magecraft: Dance of the Four Symbols: A type of martial arts exclusive to the Hua family. Through the use of specialized mystic codes, moves borrowed from other disciplines and the application of a unique, self-targeting curse that brings out an element in tandem with the martial art related to it, the practicioners are capable of empowering their attacks and techniques with the primordial elements of the Wu-Xing: Wood, Metal, Fire and Water. People using Earth magic is something that hasn't been seen yet. It's important to note that these martial arts are used as the magical incantations. There are four styles, one for each of the Chinese Symbols, but Yazhu specializes only in one.
White Tiger: By bringing out the element of Metal from within one's body, and taking the core precepts of Jiu-jitsu in, one's Code begins to harden, gaining the strength and resistance of iron. A process similar yet different to reinforcement: Rather than making something stronger by using itself as a reference, the use of the signature element attempts to make other things more akin to metals, the most resistant and stronger ones requiring much more effort to maintain. This style of martial arts is very balanced and practical: every movement has a purpose leading to the conclusion of reducing the enemy through force and technique. A methodical path that's threaded to ensure victory.
Crest: Six Generations
Weapon: Garments of the Wulaojun: A set of Mystic Codes that are embroidered onto special clothings worn by practicioners of the Dance of the Four Symbols. It is their uniform and it serves to aid them on the use of the different disciplines. By calling out the style that desires to be used, the Garments will re-apply the self-targeting curse of the Dance that matches the element associated with that discipline, resulting in a much more increased output. Although a practicioner of the Dance can still utilize the disciplines without the Garments, the effects are significantly stronger whilst wearing it and as such it's greatly favored.
Objective for the Grail: A Sorcery Trait to protect herself and her family.
Command Seal: A hexagonal shield made of three different parts, one layered on top of the other.
Personality: Prideful, stoic and bound to her duty, Yazhu can come off as cold most of the times, but this is merely because of her professionalism. She actively avoids having her feelings and opinions stand in the way of her tasks, yet she will always try to fulfill a contract or a promise that she's made until the end, if only to protect her honor. She cares very deeply about her family and their reputation, and has a soft spot for her niece, keeping a picture the two of them took together in her wallet.
Amidst the several families that exist within China, one that stands out is the Jade Clan. Named on behalf of the Jade Emperor, it's composed of one main branch of "Pure bloods", the Jin family, that receive a full magical training and several branches of support magi of varying degrees (alchemists, spies or simple maids).
Within these branches exists the Hua family, a relatively recent addition yet at the same time one as old as the Jade Clan itself. Originally a group of mercenaries paid to protect the Jin magus from mundane threats, they slowly grew more specialized over the years until one of the Jin heads decided to mingle with one of the Huas, introducing the magic circuits into the latter bloodline. Aware of this fact, this man proceeded to teach them the basics of magecraft then ordered them to repurpose it for their task if they wanted to remain a part of the clan.
The Huas are considered to be the lowest class within the Jade Clan, and are often treated with as minimum respect needed. Nevertheless, they never faltered with their jobs, and always gave their body for their cause. They are raised from a young age to become the perfect shadow to the current Jin magus, and they serve until their eventual deaths. Until one particular day.
Yazhu was, at the time, the most proficient bodyguard of that Hua generation, which was composed of her, a younger sister and three cousins. She was very natural at controlling her breathing and walking, giving her an edge when performing the Four Dances. As such, after an announcement had been made and a meeting was called in the Jin's main hall for all families, Hua was sure that she was going to be set to protect that generation's Young Master.
She was surprised when her sister returned, alone. And her heart sank through the floor when she revealed that she had murdered the eldest of the Jin's current generation. A quick explanation was given about how she overheard them speaking about the war in Paris, and then a plane ticket was placed onto her hands. As the best of the Hua, Yazhu was informed by her sister that she had been chosen by the elders of the family to represent them in the Holy Grail War, in an attempt to pluck the Huas away from the Jade Clan, and make them their own, powerful bloodline. Arrangements had been previously made and, during her stupor, she was taken to the airport and made to fly to Paris.
The quickly-brewed scheme of the Huas was most likely meant to meet a violent end, so it was now up for Yazhu to save them all from their own hasty mistake. With no contacts to pull help from, and a powerful enemy most likely coming in to take her down, the Iron Sentinel arrived without any sort of preparations to Paris and a lengthy note from her father on how to perform the summoning ritual.
---
Magic Circuit Switch: Claws tearing flesh apart.
Number of Magic Circuits: A
Quality of Magic Circuits: D
---
Elemental Affinity: Metal
Magecraft: Dance of the Four Symbols: A type of martial arts exclusive to the Hua family. Through the use of specialized mystic codes, moves borrowed from other disciplines and the application of a unique, self-targeting curse that brings out an element in tandem with the martial art related to it, the practicioners are capable of empowering their attacks and techniques with the primordial elements of the Wu-Xing: Wood, Metal, Fire and Water. People using Earth magic is something that hasn't been seen yet. It's important to note that these martial arts are used as the magical incantations. There are four styles, one for each of the Chinese Symbols, but Yazhu specializes only in one.
White Tiger: By bringing out the element of Metal from within one's body, and taking the core precepts of Jiu-jitsu in, one's Code begins to harden, gaining the strength and resistance of iron. A process similar yet different to reinforcement: Rather than making something stronger by using itself as a reference, the use of the signature element attempts to make other things more akin to metals, the most resistant and stronger ones requiring much more effort to maintain. This style of martial arts is very balanced and practical: every movement has a purpose leading to the conclusion of reducing the enemy through force and technique. A methodical path that's threaded to ensure victory.
Crest: Six Generations
Weapon: Garments of the Wulaojun: A set of Mystic Codes that are embroidered onto special clothings worn by practicioners of the Dance of the Four Symbols. It is their uniform and it serves to aid them on the use of the different disciplines. By calling out the style that desires to be used, the Garments will re-apply the self-targeting curse of the Dance that matches the element associated with that discipline, resulting in a much more increased output. Although a practicioner of the Dance can still utilize the disciplines without the Garments, the effects are significantly stronger whilst wearing it and as such it's greatly favored.
Name | Margarett Leslie Abbot Age | 19 Gender | Female Level/Tier | Virtuoso 1 House | Machina Appearance/Attire | Margarett's figure is that of a fine lady: slender and tall with long, smooth hair. Most of her height comes from her legs, a trait shared with her mother's side of the family, which can give her much more of a refined image at times. However, such an image is betrayed by her facial features. Cute as a button, she has a round face with big blue eyes that threaten to swallow the world before her whole. With a small nose and a bright smile, it's almost as if she was trying her darnest to infect everyone else with her enthusiasm with her every expresison.
Alignment | Vigilante
Personality/Habits | An oddball around Machina students, Margarett's unusually outspoken and enthusiastic; one could even say childish. Often with her mind in the clouds, she's a strong believer in the existance of extraterrestrial life whilst holding her ground that ghosts and the such aren't real, her rebuttal when summons are used as a counter-argument being a childish notion that saying that is "cheating". However, her position within that house is well deserved in the end: Whilst she has a notoriously short attention span, she's a savant when it comes to riddle and puzzle solving. She thoroughly enjoys solving enigmas to the point where she tends to make a big deal out of most common situations, overcomplicating common tasks for the thrill of doing so. Optimistic and cheerful, Margarett's always aching to go out on an adventure with those she considers her friends, most of the time dragging people to go on as their assistants when she's "solving a mystery". However, she's also rather naive at the end of the day and, despite being a mathematical and logical powerhouse at times, she's still short-sighted and impulsive, prone to act on behalf of her own emotions rather than logic and practicality.
Once upon a time there were two students: Jacob Abbot and Marianne DuPont. Both of them were members of L'Mordryn of differing houses. He was a studious Machina, and she was a jolly Bestia. Their union was odd by some, but they fit together rather well. A bit too well, in fact, as during their studies she got pregnant and both of them chose to leave the academy in order to take care of their future child. An action that earned the scorn of both of their families, and severed their ties with them. Things were going well, and they settled in the suburban London to welcome this new child within their lives until disaster struck. The reasons of why this happened are still unknown to both of them, and they would rather not know about it, but Marianne had a miscarriage. With no family to ever speak to them, and with the light that drove them onwards to this path having fizzled out, they continued with their lives for several years until they decided to try again. And, this time, Margarett was conceived and brought to the world to two overjoyed parents. She was raised and nurtured with much love, she was taught to be kind whilst her soft parents couldn't bring themselves to tell her "no". So, when little Margarett asked to read about detective stories of the time, even if they had dead bodies in them, they couldn't refuse her requests and simply made sure that she'd focus on other things. A thing they did well, as her next requests would be a deerstalker hat and a magnifying glass to look at stuff more closely.
One day, however, her world would be flipped upside down as a tall and smiling figure made his way to her middle-class housing: Ferdinand DuPont. Her maternal uncle, and a fellow outcast of the family that had only just now received the news that her sister was pushed away from the family away. Hellbent on giving the middle finger to those uppity folks that called themselves the DuPont Bloodline, he moved to London and offered himself the position of Margarett's Tutor in Ars Invocatio. A man worthy of his own tale, Ferdinand DuPont had reached a high level within L'Mordryn as a member of the House Machina until he quit to pursue greener pastures after something flipped a switch in his mind. A very different man from the straight-laced fellow he was before, he was quick to win Margarett's admiration when displaying his capability of summoning otherwordly machines. After a reluctant display from both of her parents, the three of them explained the nature of Ars Invocatio and eventually agreed that, whilst Ferdinand was very odd, he was a very talented Invoker at the end of the day and more than qualified to teach a ten year old Margarett the basics of the craft so that she could enter L'Mordryn to pursue those studies. And so, her tutelage began. She would visit her uncle two days per week for several years to deepen her knowledge on a variety of subjects, even when more often than not he'd take the part of a generous uncle and take her on outings her parents deemed too dangerous. However, that wasn't all. One thing of him stuck to her the most about her uncle, and that was a single poster on his living room that she asked about when she was thirteen. A single poster, drawn in pastel colours and simplistic in design. Four words: "I Want To Believe" From there on, she'd visit him much more often and learn about his crazy theories about aliens existing in the world. Secret groups operating under the shadows and manipulating the events of the world. Tibetans living in the center of the earth. Missing cows. With one of Ferdinand's invocations serving as the voice of reason that made sense to all the raw information he poured into her.
Eventually, though, the time for Margarett to finally join L'Modryn Academy had come, and she waved goodbye to her family. She had just turned 15 when she reached Tyro and began to adapt to this new life within the school. Developing a familiarity to her uncle's summoning technique, she entered Machina after demonstrating an affinity to Outer-World summonings like the ones Ferdinand routinely demonstrated to her during her tutelage. She'd routinely send letters back home to keep in touch with her family and received regular responses from her mother and dad. From her uncle, however, she only received one. At her 18th birthday, two weeks before her final exam to reach a level of Virtuoso, a single envelope with an odd emblem was handed to her. Inside of it there were a couple of things: two letters and a photograph. The photograph was one she asked her uncle to take with her before she went to L'Modryn, a request he oddly accepted despite his belief that his soul was better left within him rather than in one of those strange gizmos. There were three beings in the photograph: Margarett, Ferdinand, and his servant and assistant. The first letter was Ferdinand congratulating Margarett on her progress on L'Modryn, having heard of what she was doing from her parents whilst admitting he had nailed his mailbox for "personal motives". He then said that, now that she was of age, per DuPont traditions she was to pass a small test or else she'd be banished from the family. Then he said that it was bullshit and that she should focus on getting to the highest level she could whilst doing what she liked. Finally, the second letter was Ferdinand's gift: an admittedly roundabout series of steps she had to follow during her exam to both pass and "receive what [Ferdinand] prepared for [her]". Ferdinand then stated that she shouldn't never ever do it before the exam, or else bad things would happen. On the fateful day, Margarett repeated the steps exactly as described and, to both her surprise and everyone else's, a tall entity now stood before her. A tall being that she had known during her childhood, but never really spoke with. A gentleman that endured her infantile behaviors to the very end, with a nearly unlimited patience. That's when she understood what Ferdinand had given her. Before her stood Cogsworth, the personal aide of Ferdinand DuPont and one of his closest and most cherished invocations. After an admittedly shameful moment of her breaking into joyful tears in front of everyone, she managed to pass the exam and began her treading the rest of her journey in L'Mordryn alongside the caretaker her uncle had sent to look after her.
A plant, Toothless, Pinky and the Blond enter a field
Their ever-smiling professor guided them towards a lush clearing with trees, trees, and more trees as far as the eye could see. It was a bit tiring for Hiroaki, but he took the chance to look around. Even if all he could see were trees, he felt so at peace with himself, like all those troubles he felt earlier that day were vanished. It was just so calming, being surrounded by nature, feeling the cool breeze and hearing the soft chirps and branches full of leaves swaying in the air.
Someone who didn't seem to be quite as calm was Haruka Fujimori, a sight that wouldn't seem to mesh well for a plant girl walking through a forest. One of the demostrations had struck a nerve on her and resulted on her casting several glances towards one of her future classmates: Elina. Haruka could deal with someone as Akeno, as it was merely that she herself was hot and to that she could take measures. But...
As the rate of growth of Elina's fire had increased, so did Haruka's fears. It took her all of her determination and willpower to stay put on her seat the moment the heat began to graze her skin and visibly paled at the display. She thanked the heavens that Azukina and Soga were busy speaking about books at the time so that they wouldn't cast a gaze in her direction. That... that would've been disastrous for the image she was trying to build.
And here she was now, being shepherd to a new ground by Guodo-sensei through the path of the forests. Instead of looking to be at the middle of the group to bask in the attention of her fellow classmates, she opted to have as many persons as she could between herself and the torch-head. The words of their teacher barely registered in her mind as her gaze was kept on the nape of that one girl.
However, as she absent-mindedly walked and stared at Elina, she could feel a hand on her shoulder. Soga, after his discussion with Azukina, knew that he and her needed a bit of time to have things settled after the question he had asked. However, he did not wish to seem a loner now of all times by wandering by himself deep in thought. He thought that it was best if people saw him talk to someone, and if it was one as attractive as Haruka, then all the better.
"Hey there, Haruka-san, how are you?" He asked her, once more doing his best to smile as politely as possible. "You seem a bit shaken, is something wrong?" His vision moved in the direction of where Haruka was looking and saw Elina, the girl with hair of fire, the one who had turned one of the dummies to ash with her fire.
She was afraid of Elina. Well, it made perfect sense, of course the plant person was afraid of the person who could turn her to ash in mere moments if she tried. He hoped that she did not assume that he was able to breathe flames just because he shared the visage of a dragon, it would certainly not help with his attempts at befriending her.
Still trailing behind the rest of the group, hands dug into his pockets, a slow-moving Seijin was trying to spot out that pinkette from before amongst the crowd of unnamed strangers he hadn't had the chance to get to know and hopefully it stays like that, today already was a troublesome first day. Hiroaki's hair sticks out of a crowd, even a crowd as mixed as theirs, he trots out of the treeline into the clearing behind the other teen, Oi Pinkie. How about yah stick with me? Your healing quirk could definitely make life around here a lot less troublesome for me.
Hiroaki turned around and was surprised to see Seijin, the blonde boy from earlier. He's the guy who almost forgot about saving Hiroaki from the Quirk demonstration. Good thing the pink boy activated his Quirk so Seijin no longer had any reason to forget about him. Walking through nature has helped in clearing his mind, but seeing and hearing the blonde boy made him a bit irritated again, just like how he felt when the two boys were enjoying their fight so much that they forgot about him.
"Oh sure, Seijin. Just call me whenever you want me to heal you then I'll go out of your way after you're done with me" Hiroaki sarcastically said to Seijin before continuing to walk a couple of inches away in front of the blonde. It's wrong for Hiroaki to judge someone he just met that day, but he was irritated that the only reason Seijin wanted Hiroaki to be near the blonde was because of the benefits of his healing Quirk. Hiroaki was more than just his Quirk, and he was also saddened that Seijin failed to realize that.
He quirks his eyebrow at Hiroaki's form walking away from him after giving the affirmative and being so agreeable, Seijin shrugs before shuffling over to catch up with the pink-haired teen, "Thanks for seeing stuff my way, you're already making things less troublesome. I might just have to place yah under my wing." Oblivious of the other teen's tone or mood, he puts his arm around the shorter Hiroaki's shoulder and walks side by side with him. Seijin isn't all for sharing pleasantries with everyone he meets, let alone knowing what that word means as a matter of fact... but he recognizes opportunity to not put in work when he sees one. And also, Pinkie gives off good vibes for him. Can't hurt, right?
Hiroaki felt his face slightly blush. It's been a long time since someone put their arm around him, then there's also that thing earlier where Seijin carried him over his shoulder like Aki weighed nothing. Hiroaki doesn't know why, but all that physical contact made him feel awkward, nervous, and happy all at once. Well on the bright side, it looked like he made a new friend and he's at least greatful for that. Hiroaki looked up at Seijin. "'Under your wing'? Are you supposed to be my protector or something?".
Haruka flinched, Soga taking her off guard as her mind kept going over the display of the wildfire. However, upon recognizing the voice as the person she had performed her quirk demonstration with. "Ah, Soga-kun" spoke the plantwoman with a smile, a hand idly tucking some of her hair behind an ear only for most of the strands of leaves refusing this change and taking the position they had before. "It is nothing, do not worry. But thanks for checking in. And thanks for doing that demonstration with me. If it wasn't because of you, I'm afraid my show would've been much more lackluster". A bit of a white lie; Haruka was confident that she could've pulled something off if she was to perform a demonstration by herself. However, it was true that, if it wasn't for the draconic student, then the demonstration would've been definitely drabber.
"I highly doubt that." he said with same smile on his face. "I am positive you would have been able to something as amazing if not even more than what we have done even by yourself." He said, though he himself struggled to actually imagine how the plant girl herself would have been able to make the demonstration very interesting at all. "After all, your quirk actually helps you do something when mine, other than the wings, simply makes me look like a beast of myth." He said, deciding that there was enough small talk for now as his eyes turned toward Elina herself.
"I see that you've watched Elina-san's demonstration as well, it was something to behold, though it made me feel a bit envious, reminding me that I am unable to breathe fire." He said, looking actually a bit wistful before turning to Haruka. "But something tells me that you are of a differing opinion than me, considering how you were looking at her for a moment there... are you afraid of her?" He asked, his smile diminishing for a moment.
Once the subject of her worries was mentioned, she casted a gaze back at her as her smile vanished. Whilst it was a relief knowing that a case of the sneezes wouldn't result in Haruka ending in the hospital with several third-degree burns, she wasn't going to delve further into her deeply rooted fears. "She needs to learn to control her capabilities better, else she'll cause much more harm than good. I believe our future Symbol of Peace would be familiar with this kind of ordeal" was her reply, instead. "I'm wary of her, naturally, as should anyone that isn't fireproof. Which I assume you are, to some degree."
"Yes I am, I am resistant to fire to a degree and I agree with your that she needs to control her powers, but that is why we are here in the first place, are we not?" He asked as the two slowly walked through the forests. "But, instead of focusing on these things, why don't we focus on the more relaxing things, such as the nature that surrounds us!" He said, pointing at the trees around them and hoping that at least to a degree, the girl was interested in nature, if not, then at least it should take her mind off of the fire-haired girl and who knows maybe even help her relax a bit.
He waited for a few moments as the two walked side by side once more, however, though he had never been a conversationalist in the first place, even he hated the silence that followed as he looked around the forest itself. "Say, Haruka-san, I am aware it may be a slightly touchy subject, but why did you decide to join Jigokuraku in the first place?" He asked, but, knowing that the topic itself may be a bit touchy, as he just had said, he continued. "If you wish, maybe I could start with the reason why I joined to make things a little easier?"
Soga would be excused to think that the closest sentient relative to grandma's potted plant was attuned to nature, and Haruka was quite used to this line of thought, whether it was something intended as a lighthearted joke, a bad pick-up line or simple innocence. True, she was interested in nature, albeit not for the reasons one'd think. She tended to read about plants every now and then to see what she could do with her own quirk. Most of her knowledge about flowers came from this casual research, and she put it to use on a daily basis to pick what she would "wear".
Instead, she glanced to the side and spotted a couple of students happily chatting with each other, one of them a bit more bashful at this overtly friendly approach the other was taking. She raised her voice just a bit so that they'd hear her whilst addressing Soga. "I believe I'm more interested in the story these two have. They seem to be good friends, perhaps they know each other from before? Maybe two childhood friends developing an amicable rivalry with each other? I cannot see a reason why they'd be this trusting of each other." A bit of a non-sequitur, perhaps, but she'd rather hear others first before speaking about her own goals.
“Eh? Your protector? ..Sure, why not. If that keeps yah around, I’m down.” He admits out loudly, ruffling Hiroaki’s pink hair, the thought of taking on that role was something new for him but how troublesome could looking after someone like Pinke get? Seijin cocks his head back at an unfamiliar someone addressing the two of them, “Actually we’d just met each other for the first time today,” he shrugs at the rather attractive-looking plant girl, “Aki here like seems pretty trustable... Wait. Who’re you again?”
"Fujimori, Haruka. A pleasure to meet you..." An empty blank space, signified with a minimal gesture of her hands, was provided for the other teen to fill in with his name.
Hiroaki closed his eyes as Seijin ruffled his hair, and he felt himself blush more. This level of physical contact was very new to the pink-haired teen, probably because his family was treating him less than an ordinary human and more of a fragile object. ”But I don’t need someone to protect me...”, he shyly mumbled.
Then Hiroaki was surprised when someone approached and talked to them. He admitted he did a bit of a double-take just in case his eyes did a trick on him but no, the one before the pair was an honest to goodness plant girl. Hiroaki gave her a serene smile. “Hello there! I’m Akiyama, Hiroaki. You can call me Aki for short if you wanna”.
"Name's Seijin, Takahashi and the feeling's mutual, I guess. Ha. Ru. Ka." Shooting a casual two-finger salute at the newly introduced girl as he slowly drawls off each syllable in her name.
The large dragon teen loomed over the plant girl, studying the two students that Haruka had engaged in conversation. For some reason, he did not like the blonde one overly much, he seemed too confident for his own liking. Soga faked a cough to attract the attention of the other two to him. The moment they looked his way, he would smile and talk.
"Ah, sorry for the interruption." He said, once more faking an apologetic look. "My name is Yutsuko Soga." The draconic teen nods his head as he introduced himself.
His gaze drifts over to the taller, scaled teen who had been introduced just now, Seijin's lazy, half-lidded eyes meeting the black dragon's. "Hm. Soga, Soga, Soga... nope. Doesn't work," he tests out the new name before shaking his head, "How about then... Scales? Mhm~ Yeah nah, I'm calling yah Scales from now on."
Then the next person who talked to them was a dragon boy. Hiroaki has spent most of this time in his house for therapy that he didn’t have the time to talk and even look at other people. For him, this day has been getting more and more awesome. ”It’s very awesome to meet the both of you! I hope our other schoolmates and classmates are as nice as you two”. Hiroaki beamed at the both of them, then giggled and gently nudged Seijin’s side. ”Come on, Seijin. Soga’s definitely better than ‘Scales’.
The enthusiasm from Hiroaki and the attempted nickname for Soga from Seiin's part brought a light giggle from Haruka. "It is definitely a pleasure to meet you two. For how close you were I thought that you were previous acquaintances, but it is nice, in a sense, to know we are all amidst strangers of our own little town. After all, what a better way to make new friends than the academy?" Slowly, the young girl's nerves began to ease down, and she had stopped shooting glances towards the Olympic Torch relayer. "Although I do agree that Soga-kun here is rather polite. Letting me hike a ride on his demonstration was awfully nice of him to do"
"So. Ga. Is two syllables, 'Scales' is one, I'm just being efficient 'n stuff." Reaching for Hiroaki's pink to ruffle his hair again, it was quite soft and did feel nice to mess someone else's hair up like that. He's definitely going to have the pinkette stick close with him, 'Good vibes, I can feel it'. Seijin turns back to the duo, his lazed expression still unchanged betraying just how relaxed he feels amongst all these strangers, "Eh. This guy was picked up when that Ashtray-breath tried to start something with me, it was like reaaaal troublesome. Aki made it less so."
This jolly group of teenagers continued to engage in pleasant small talk as they went down the path of nature. A draconic teen, a plant-like girl, a pink-haired boy and a tall blonde, perhaps set to be a small gang in the future of Jigokuraku's 1-A. Fire-forged bonds, or perhaps a betrayal on the horizon. However, that wasn't for them to know, and instead the four of them would arrive to the field. Or, as Goudo-sensei had put it, The Field™. A large, open field where things were set to happen sooner rather than later.
Hiroaki gets approached by Seijin and he feels bromance for the first time. Haruka ponders how much she'll last until she becomes the next forest fire next to Elina when Soga approaches her. The two groups collide. The future quakes.
Back from a spell with all my witty charm to take advantage of the quiet nights of a graveyard shift, one that goes from 20:30 [EST] to 8:30.
DMs are open for whatever. Discord handle will be given as needed, more often than not to make it easier to contact (or be contacted by) folks in ongoing RPs.
Ongoing mobage picks: Limbus Company; Arknights (every so often); Marvel Snap.
Avid fan of video essays.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Back from a spell with all my witty charm to take advantage of the quiet nights of a graveyard shift, one that goes from 20:30 [EST] to 8:30. <br><br>DMs are open for whatever. Discord handle will be given as needed, more often than not to make it easier to contact (or be contacted by) folks in ongoing RPs.<br><br>Ongoing mobage picks: Limbus Company; Arknights (every so often); Marvel Snap.<br><br>Avid fan of video essays.</div>
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Cao the Exiled
The Irish Tree
