TruthHurts

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

Ah, alright. Sorry, I've mostly been skimming the character sheets for now :p I don't think it matters much to my idea, in the long run!

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

the guy who's on round 2 and evil this time

@Lady Lascivious

Aw dang, which character is this? Might be hedging on the idea I had, depending on the full context of it.

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

What do we have so far? :v

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

Since it's the topic here, personally I love playing as characters that don't match up in terms of raw power. Having them either go above and beyond to be on even footing, or just having to circumvent the same sorts of challenges the best they can, it's the sorta stuff I like reading, so I like writing it too!

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

I think I'm gonna hold off on making a CS until the actual thread is up, so I have a better idea of the setting and whatnot, but do put me down if you're only going to take who's interested here!

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

Lord Ahriman would prefer a more polished epithet. Perhaps something apropos, "carnal connoisseur", or, "patron of sanguine and sinew arts" might prove to be a better title.

@Yam I Am

Of course, of course, something more deserving of an underling to the Demon Lord himself. So long as the, uh, end result is the same, I doubt he'd care what he's called.

Heartbreaker - A KILLER Isekai Adventure

Gonzo humor? Absurdist horror? Sign me up! I think I've got a decent idea for a character already - a kindly old man who's in actuality anything but, constantly thwarted by his so-called 'fate' from doing his one true passion in life: just, like, a whole lot of murder.

Would a Mortal character need to have died for Ahriman to recruit them into this little charade, or does he pluck them from the land of the living?

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Vincent Cawler

In the wake of defeating the Monster Dakota, Vincent had been quiet, reverting back to his silent-but-deadly aura from earlier that day. His eyes glazed over, barely reacting to Dakota's transformation, the appearance of his Persona, the explanation of both those things, he hardly registered the restoration Dakota gave him. It was like he was going through the motions, his body on auto-pilot while his mind tried to turn the events over in his head or had just plain shut down over how surreal it all was. Not helped by the pain that was steadily creeping back into his nerves as if to remind him that yes, all this was actually happening.

Only when the newly formed group he was in was being ushered elsewhere with another threat on their heels did Vincent snap back into his own head. And with it came a laugh. A short, harsh bark, like Vincent just remembered a joke from yesterday or a funny anecdote he encountered earlier.

"Man! Wow! Can you believe it?" Vincent said enthusiastically to everyone around him. "All this... it, it almost feels good! Good to just, have to worry about something else for a change! Something big and weird that just squashes any other crap I've got, you know?!" Vincent had become a walking rollercoaster of high peaks and low valleys, and during this new bit of mania he surged ahead, brushing past everyone else to assume a position near the front, tossing out, "Vincent!" in reply to Nick's question. "Hey, does anyone see another Me around here? I would so get in on that, that 'Pasonie' action!" Of course, the supernatural pull that the others had towards their Shadows was lacking in him, but he had no way to know that.

As Spindle guided everyone towards the prison's entrance, down that alleyway to the court, Vincent took the lead. "Stay behind me, everyone," he called to the Pasonie-less group, thinking that the reason to do so was obvious. He slowed as they neared the court, keeping his eyes to any potential threats ahead. Hopefully someone was paying a bit more attention to what Spindle said, since Vincent wasn't sure where to go from here. It looked to him like they ran into a dead end.

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Vincent Cawler

Having left Nick and Dakota to fend for themselves against the literal monster, Vincent was safe from Shadow Dakota's rage-fueled assault. Any possible guilt over the decision was squashed as, well, Vincent had already been on the end of a supernaturally savage beating, a fact that was steadily returning to the front of his mind as the natural surge of adrenaline started to peter out. Dull pain bubbled up all over his body, the welts over his face being the first to get particularly sensitive.

Whatever. Vincent wasn't gonna let his injuries get the best of him now.

He burst out from behind the curtains just as Dakota pulled his mic stand out of the monster's eye, the perfect time to almost get immediately sideswiped by one of its giant wings swinging at Dakota. Vincent barely managed to dodge it, stumbling backwards and near falling on his ass. The gust of wind it produced also swept him off balance, it was all he could do to stay upright. Steeling his nerves and tensing his body, Vincent looked to the club's ceiling. An array of lights hung from the rafters, perfectly normal to what you'd expect to find on a stage like this one. Keeping his eye steady on a long bard of bright white lights across the stage, Vincent fed a bit of the cord into his hand. He swung it back and forth, back and forth, the microphone dangling just below his waist...

Then, he threw it up, flinging it like a rock in a sling! The microphone soared, only just clearing the lights. The cord caught against the bar, and the mic dropped, swinging down towards the stage once more. It might not've been any fancy grappling-hook-styled catch, but the cord was looped right where it needed to be.

Vincent, trying to catch Dakota's eye without making noise that'd attract his monstrous double, jerked his head back towards himself. The thing needed to be in the right spot for this to work, after all. Taking the cord in both hands, Vincent fell a bit further back on the stage, proceeding to pull hard on the lights. The track they were hooked onto creaked and whined from the strain of Vincent's weight, luckily masked by the violent movements of Shadow Dakota. With Vincent's strength, it would probably come clean off with a good few tugs...

Persona - Soldiers of Fortune

Vincent Cawler

Vincent didn't think much of this so-called 'Mirror' Dakota. Honestly, because Dakota wasn't so impressive himself, his rockstar doppelganger looked downright ridiculous to him, like a kid dressing up for Halloween. Not to toot Vincent's own horn, but he could beat down a kid, easy. Vincent reared back a fist for another punch, one that'd send this punk right onto the floor, only for Dakota to spring up and get in on the action. Vincent stopped short of decking the real Dakota in the back of the head. Despite the tense circumstances Vincent couldn't help but sneer. Who would get in the way of a guy throwing punches? Something clicked in his head right then, in the split-second before things went south. It was a simple kneejerk reaction to stupidity - who hasn't had one of those before?

Vincent.

Vincent hasn't.

For years now, he'd been on some kind of autopilot, existing in life through an ever present malaise of violence and subservience. This wasn't news to him, he's never tried to convince himself otherwise. But in this moment, an emotion, an actual genuine thought broke through amidst all the chaos and insanity the day's shown them all. The realization made Vincent hesitate, the shift in tension and appearance from their Dakota-y foe hardly registering as self-awareness came crashing down around him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight, goosebumps following suit, though it wasn't a chill that Vincent felt. It was more like a deep warmth, like a patch of sunburn across the nape.

Reality came back to Vincent once Dakota tumbled onto the floor, making the stoic brute nearly jump out of his shoes in a much un-brutish way. He stooped down and helped Dakota back onto his feet, eyes turning to the "other" Dakota just as it finished its own monstrous transformation. A lump formed in Vincent's throat. While the cracks in his repressed state of being were a good thing as anyone would agree, self-awareness also came with the newfound ability to be scared again, and just in time to face off against a gigantic, demonic hybrid of a creature.

"For fuck's..." Vincent didn't need to finish the sentence.

Standing just behind Dakota, Vincent watched the monster carefully, eyes darting to the exit in case it was miraculously open to them. Too much luck needed for that. At least the Dakota Monster didn't seem to be making the first move, or it was waiting to strike. Whatever the reason, standing around wasn't going to help anyone. "Well, looks like it's pissed at you," Vincent helpfully noted. "You keep its attention and I'll see if I can help those lights down." Taking a tentative step back, then another, Vincent darted sideways once he was sure he had a clearing, passing between the curtain to the backstage area. Rather than grabbing a blunt object or heavy instrument to use, Vincent rooted around some of the equipment stashed back there. The rest of this place seemed like a normal venue, so there should be...

There! Vincent dug his hand into a cardboard box, pulling out a spare microphone, this one connected to a long audio cord. It'd have to do for now. Taking the mic in one hand and the bundled cord in the other, Vincent legged it back out onto the stage, hoping that Dakota would keep the thing busy for a little while, at least, and not get killed in the process.