tsukune

Let's Gush!

One thing that I absolutely love is having the opportunity to actually coordinate with someone to cooperatively write a scene.

Look, I know this doesn't happen very often for some reason. The easiest way to RP via a forum is to just take turns writing your scenes out. This works great for certain kinds of roleplays - nation roleplays, for instance - but not so well for others. It's those others that seem to hurt from the nature of forum RP. Simple conversations can turn into long paragraphs of nothing happening; action scenes can become a sort of competition to see who can write the bestest and meanester. Etc.

But when you shoot PMs back and forth with someone to handle a conversation, or when you use a chatroom or Google document to write out and edit your work together, there's this awesome since of "Holy crap, this is looking like a scene from a BOOK!" Paragraphs of nothing turn into witty discourse, back-and-forth snapping and comedy gold. Action scenes actually get the speed they need to feel like action scenes: one character swings, the other parries, and then his foot is kicked out from underneath him, and on and on the fight goes. It flows so much better, reads so much better...

And in the short time I've had this account, I'd had the opportunity to collaborate on a neat dialogue scene with someone, I've discussed future collaborations with others, and I've had pleasant conversations with players whose characters were going to be at odds with mine... It's a good feeling. I don't know if I'll have a lot more collaborative works while I'm on this site, but I hope I do.

@Shorticus

When I first started out roleplaying, it was a bit difficult to adjust my usual writing style because I was used to writing on my own - since I have full control over plot and characters, I had no qualms of drafting up interaction-heavy scenes. However, in RP where most players frown upon the notion of 'godmodding', 'metagaming', etc., it was hard to keep the RP moving forward...even harder when the players don't often share the same idea of how to develop the plot further, and both sides do nothing to take the first step forward because no one dared to "offend" the other/to be seen as an arrogant snob.

Back then, I thought that RP was something like a restricted form of partnership storywriting.

...Until I met some wonderful players who are, thankfully, open to the idea of collaborative RPing instead of the traditional, linear back-and-forth style. It actually made RPing so much more exciting - just like you said: full of comedy gold, blood-pumping thrills and witty twists. More importantly, the overall flow really makes you feel that the RP is on the roll, not stuck stagnant in the middle of nowhere. It also helps to ease my writer's block - I mean, two or more heads are better than one, yeah.

Before long, I'm already deep in collab hell.

Also, I just want to say that it's nice to be able to join roleplays that let me post at a pace that's... well, more my own. I'm a busy student, and I can't always post at the same rate as everyone else. In the past, I've lost friends over my busy schedule: people I played tabletop games with, people I roleplayed on WoW with... Some folks I played with just couldn't accept that my schedule was unpredictable, that I'd have to skip some game sessions, that I'd have to reschedule things to study more, or that, yeah, I sometimes forget I have an assignment due until the last minute and so have to stop whatever I'm doing and get that assignment done.

But thus far, I've had great experiences on the forum and great leniency concerning my timetable. Folks don't mind that I expect to only be able to post <X> times per week. I haven't been throttled for posting something a day after I said I'd have it done. There's a lot of understanding in general. I'm happy about that.

@Shorticus

This.

While I'll be forever amazed at people who are able to dedicate so much time from their real life to cyberspace - for example, online gaming and forum roleplaying, it gets annoying when they are unable to understand that there are people who are unable to do the same, because ultimately we are all still physically living in the real world, not digital (no matter how much most of us dreamed to, ha). Like you I'm still a student, and I also have other RL commitments/issues to deal with - and please, don't give me craps like time management and whatnot. I tried to make timetables but realized the hard way that it's difficult to follow through (long story, but let's just say that my RL is often unpredictable and I'm on the move a lot).

...Oh wait, this is supposed to be a thread for gushing, not for complaining.

Which is what I'm going to talk about now: that I'm very very grateful to some of my 1x1 partners for being graciously patient with my snail-slow progress and episodes of temporary disappearance, for not bombarding me with rude demands that I must post at least some form of purple prose immediately, for having mutual understanding and respect that we all have a life to live outside of a shared interest/hobby.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

<Snipped quote by tsukune>

Undo it.

They're neeeeeeat.

@Mr Allen J

What the---

*roflmao*

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

Changed my avatar/sig.

@Mr Allen J

I'm usually on mobile data so I checked the "hide avatar/sig" in my profile setting.

Oh well.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

...

---

The Victory Ministries Church, due to the influx of people who couldn't quite reach NEST headquarters, was quite cramped and crowded. Loaded with far too many injured and scared people, all that could be heard was the endless chatter of the citizens. They had a few guardians to stand watch over them in the form of Nathan and Rose Danse.

"It's those damn Metahumans! They're responsible for this!" one man shouted.

"No! This is God punishing us for our sinful ways! We should have repented while we had the chance! Now it's Judgement Day!"

"Everyone stay calm!" the priest loudly yelled from behind his podium. "God has not forsaken us! If we remain strong, and believe in him, we will make it out! He's just testing our faith in him through adversity!"

---

Kanye West/Jay Z - No Church in the Wild (Instrumental)

---

"...Ah, a test of faith, yes. That's what I never got about you religious types," a voice spoke from in the center of the group - sitting down on one of the benches was a muscular man that wore a long-coat and a cowboy hat that concealed his face. He took casual bites out of an apple - all eyes were on him as he sat there. "You blindly follow and love a 'God' that just so casually kills everyone you know and love just so you can prove to him that you love him." He took one more bite out of the apple, before he threw it away and stood straight up.

"Sir, you there," the Priest said. "You must be a nonbelieve---"

"'Course I am..." the stranger said, turning towards the Priest. "As I was saying...if anything, I don't think that's a God that I'd go to for guidance. Because, clearly, he wants to keep everyone in line through fear, and bloodshed - instead of the lovey-dovey peace crap that you want him to embody." He took a few steps, and noticed how all eyes were on him.

"Sir---"

The stranger pulled a long combat knife from his coat, and pointed it at the Priest. "You shush now. I'm not done speaking."

A woman screamed, "He has a weapon!" That's when everyone got back, and gave him space.

Enough space for the stranger to walk around, and casually grace the blade against his fingers. "So, tell me...if he does all this to make you all believe, then what makes him different from - say - a tyrant that sends his armies into the streets to instill fear?"

The crowd was silent, still terrified that he had a knife. In truth, they knew that they were in trouble.

"'Course you all don't have the answer," The man shrugged. He cut the palm of his hand with the knife, and drew blood that dripped down to the floor. He laughed as he stared at the wound for a bit. It instantly closed up and the man laughed again. "Truth be told, there probably isn't a God in the first place! Ha!"

They still stared at him.

"No, no, no, let me finish before you tag me as an atheist. Let me put it like this: there are no Gods, no Kings, no Masters - humanity is free to do as it pleases without a higher power giving guidance." The man stopped again, and stared at the Priest, who was horrified. Almost like he had the Devil in his church. Which was, in a way, true. "How-ever, while there isn't a God reigning in Heaven, that doesn't mean there can be." He kept walking in that circle.

He laughed deviously.

"It's an empty seat waiting for someone to take. I believe that Metahumans are simply the first step to climbing that ladder. If...you haven't been blessed, then you will be reigned over. Simple as that." The man stopped, and shrugged. "But the question is..." He looked at the group. "...Would you follow who obtains Godhood?"

The crowd was quite frightened by the stranger. "Just who are you?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked." The stranger reached up and grabbed his hat by the top, and then threw it off to the ground. Revealing the curly black hair and the European face that belonged to none other than... "I am Luis, the Bloodsucker, leader of the Changeling Unit."

Everyone gasped, and panicked.

"Oh my God, he's a Changeling!" a man shouted.

"Not a Changeling, but the Changeling!" Luis loudly said.

"I saw him, he tried to kill a kid!"

"Just leave us alone! We mean you no harm!"

"Of course you don't..." Luis put on a devilish grin as he reached into his jacket and pulled out another knife. "And don't worry - if you stay out of my way, no one will get hurt." He laughed, before his suddenly pointed his knife through the crowd. "I'm here for him!"

The crowd, intelligently, stepped aside, leaving a nice path to Nathan and Rose Danse. The elder had whispered something to Rose, and she stepped aside, as Nathan brandished his gun.

"...You've been looking for me, Nathan," Luis said, laughing like a maniac. "So, here I am." He shrugged.

"Bastard," Nathan said as he raised his gun at Luis. "You destroyed my tribe...burned it all to the ground!"

"Oh." Luis shrugged. "Still hung up on that I see. I thought you'd be over it by now. Though, I clearly missed some if you and the brat are still walking..." He narrowed his eyes. "...Think I should fix that before the girl makes more Wodokai like a rabbit!"

Nathan pulled the trigger and the raging hot bullet wrong out through the air, hitting Luis right through the hand. Putting a hole through it. There were screamed that were simply ignored as Luis simply looked at his hand as the hole quickly closed.

"...Annoying," Luis said. He leaned back a bit, and put his hands on his sides. "I figure that, since you're going die here, I tell you everything. Just so you don't bring any doubts with you to the afterlife."

Nathan stood there, with his gun drawn, and everyone staring in confusion. He wanted to hear what Luis had to say.

"Those years back...when I first came across the Wodokai... Ah, I should start from the top, yes?" Luis smiled deviously. "We Changelings, are always looking out for special Metahumans that fit, aaaahhh...a criteria, shall we say? And we heard, from a very special member of your tribe met it." He twirled the knives around in his hands. "You know who this person was, do you Nathan? You probably feel guilt about how you treated him now, do you?"

"It...was never supposed to be like this," Nathan somberly said.

"Tye. That was his name - but you only know him as The Wendigo. You see, the Wodokai feared him because of his ability. You called him a demon, and threw him out of your tribe, and right into my hands." Luis put his knives back into his holsters. "He had built such an immense hatred for your tribe, that he told me everything, and took the first steps into becoming a Changeling," He said that last word with so much dramatic flair. "The Wodokai had a Metahuman that could drain the Metahuman energy out of people."

Luis took a few steps forward - keeping eye contact with Nathan - and shrugged. "When we came asking for him, you all tried to play dumb, defending your fellow tribesmen to the end... Which is what happened when I razed the Wodokai." Luis gave Nathan a near lusty look as he paused. "You should have seen it. It was a total massacre, yes. People were dying left and right, and Tye was literally eating the women and children alive - that's when he really became the Wendigo. That's what I do, Nathan..." He shrugged. "I unchain people from the self-imposed restraints they have and show them how it feels to finally cut loose, and be what they always wanted to be."

He stopped, and looked over his shoulder at Nathan. "Few of them ever turn back. That is why I killed your tribe - why you and the girl are going to die tonight, as well."

Nathan was grasping his gun in rage. He shot the gun again, and it hit Luis right through the neck in a gory display that splattered blood on the people behind him. The wound quickly healed, and Luis smiled lustfully.

Luis finally took this as the signal to finally begin the fight. He broke off into a lightning quick sprint that went from left to right in a zig-zag motion to dodge Nathan's bullets. The old man took steps back, but there was only so far he could go until his back was against the wall. Luis closed the distance, and swiped the gun away right when Nathan pulled the trigger. The rogue bullet went flying off, and hit a woman in the crowd of people in the face - her entire head turned into a bloody mist as she hit the ground. The crowd screamed.

Luis, with his free hand, drove his other knife into Nathan's stomach, quickly pulling it out and slashing Nathan across the face with it. He used his other hand to drive the knife right through his cranium and the sickening sound of his skull cracking filled the room as everyone gasped. Luis pulled the knife back, and Nathan's dead body went limp.

"One loose end that's finally been tied," Luis casually said, he reached down and grabbed Nathan's revolver and opened the chamber. Two shots left. Luis turned towards the sobbing and terrified Rose, and aimed the revolver at her. She stopped like a deer in headlights, before he pulled the trigger and the supersonic bullet exploded her skull. She fell backwards with a bang. "...Two loose ends closed in one day. I'm feeling generous."

Luis threw the gun to the ground, and broke it when he brought his foot down on it. He took steps back towards the crowd - and every step he took, they took a step back.

"What's the matter?" Luis asked.

"Stay back, Demon!" a woman shouted.

Luis laughed. "Woman, I am appalled that you gave such a childish title to me - but that's neither here nor there, yeah?" At this point, the rest of the church doors opened and various members of the Changeling Unit kicked in through the door. The Mannequin dropped down from the ceiling, and immediately elicited screams. A woman, muscular, scarred, and ugly, kicked down the front doors and looked around. Her arm was crackling with electricity as she stepped in. Another member of the Unit, who was freakish in every sense of the word, stepped in. His body seemingly made out of different kinds of skins stabled to himself, and he was tall. His face was covered with a layer of skin (he had no facial features) that seemingly made it impossible for him to see.

"So, here's how things are gonna do," Luis said as he lazily plopped down on a chair. "We are going to leave most of you alone - but, I want everyone in this city to ask the question of 'who can kill this man?'. So...we're gonna play a game."

"Please, no more games!" another woman shouted, and just as Luis was about to look up and say something, he recognized her - she was a woman clutching three children in utter fear... The photos that the Contessa showed her. The blonde haired family that was associated with that one girl. Luis immediately hopped up to his feet, and walked over to them.

He got in real close to them, as they shivered in fear. Luis leaned in real closely to one of the Caspin boys, and grabbed him by the face, trapping his jaw between his thumb and index finger. "Huh, yeah, you do look like them."

"Alright, boys!" Luis loudly announced as a portal opened behind him. "These four lovely people are exempt from the games."

"Huh, what?!" Annabelle said. "Take me, just leave them alone! I'll do anything!" She erupted into tears.

"Well...if a certain someone plays ball, then I will leave you and your kids alone," Luis calmly said, as he looked down and wiped the blood off his knife with his hand. He absorbed the blood into his body - but didn't receive a major boost. "But, get. In. The. Portal," He sternly said, as the Mannequin got behind them. "I'm not telling you again."

The Caspins reluctantly stepped into the portal, and it closed behind them.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Luis grandiosely said.

Everyone was terrified to hear what these games were.

"Oh, you were expecting the games?" Luis said, "Well... sorry!" he said, all chipper. "We have more pressing matters to attend to, so we're just gonna kill a couple of you all, okay?" Waving his knife around, Luis said, "Just hold still, and maybe you'll save your own neck."

That was when everyone said their prayers.

The ugly woman with the electrified fist put her hand out, and shot a stream of electricity at a man, and he loudly screamed as electricity ravaged his system. Everyone else let out a scream as well. He hit the ground, fried, soon after.

The man with patches of skin threw his elbows back, and flaps of skin came off his body - revealing muscle-y flesh, the skin wrapped around a woman's face, and she desperately clawed at it, trying to get it free. It was a few minutes until she was strangled. The man, Skinwalker, released the woman as she dropped dead.

Count Vicious created a metal spear and shot it into a crowd of people with unbelievable amounts of force, and impaled a few people. They screamed in agony as the metal split up to ravage them from the inside.

The Mannequin used its long limbs to grab a woman, then he yanked her over and slammed her, head first, into the side of a chair. Over, and over, again. Until there was a hole in her head.

Luis was going crazy - he was running through the crowds of people, stabbing whoever was in his way - as he was going straight for the Priest.

He jumped into the air, and the Priest screamed like a girl. "Lord help me!"

"God can't help you now..." Luis said as he landed on the Priest, and drove his knives into his body, stabbing him over and over again. Once he was done with his bloody frenzy, Luis stood straight up, as everyone looked traumatized by what happened. "That's. Enough," he spoke, and the Changeling Unit stopped. Luis reached down, and pulled the head of the Priest off.

"Tell everyone what you saw here!" Luis shouted as he threw the head into the crowd. "Tell them that Verthaven is now Changeling City!"

He laughed as a portal opened, and the Changeling Unit retreated into it.

---

Jennifer Marissa Caspin, and...

^{(@Mr Allen J)}

---

Jennifer was going through the crowds of the safe-zone as usual. Hoping to find her family before it was too late. She stopped when her phone buzzed when she received a text message.

I know how you can find your family. But we have to discuss it in private. Meet me on the second floor of the Galaxy Bar.

Jennifer quickly went to her GPS App, and found that the Galaxy Bar was merely a jog away. She didn't waste a second when she head over there. Jen opened the doors, and looked around - it was one of the buildings they didn't use. Which was fortunate for her. She wondered what that girl (she didn't catch her name) knew that had to be discussed in private. Nonetheless, she was going to hear her out. Jennifer looked to the right, and walked up the stairs, and immediately saw the girl.

"Hey, I just wanted to---"

Without giving her a second, the Contessa came up and shoved Jen backwards - the blonde haired girl had no choice but to scream as a portal suddenly opened behind her, and then darkness.

---

She felt a bit woozy. All she saw was darkness... She felt cold metal against her naked skin.

"Wakey, wakey," Luis' voice sounded like a gun going off. "That drug should be wearing off quickly...now that the collar is off." Luis said, "You're a regenerator, just like me, Jennifer...only difference is that I've been around longer, and your time's about to come to an end..." he trailed off. "That is, if you don't follow my orders."

Just as Luis said, Jennifer's regenerative factor was quickly cycling out any drugs that were in her system, and repairing any other damage it might have caused. In a few moments, she was good as new. The first thing she saw when she looked up was the grey shell of the Mannequin standing over her. "Ah!" she screamed.

"Sssssssssssssh." Luis pressed a finger to his lips. "Be quiet...he won't bite - besides, you'll miss our little announcement."

Jen tried to move herself free - but she saw that she was restrained to a table. Though, she noticed that she wasn't wearing the hoodie she was previously wearing. She then looked down, and noticed that she was naked. Her jaw dropped - these freaks undressed her. What's more, was that she felt something inside of her. Like an object that shouldn't be in there.

"Now, let me introduce myself," Luis said as he placed his behind down on a chair. "[i]Luis[i], the Bloodsucker. Leader of the Changeling Unit."

Changeling Unit? Those words rung in her head as she looked around. She was surrounded by them. "What - what do you want with me?!" Jennifer asked, struggling to get free.

"Oh, that's an easy one." Luis swiped his hand downwards dismissively. "You have connections to NEST, you might not know it yet, but through your friends, you lead up to the very top brass of NEST!" He put both hands on his knees as he scooted up in his chair a bit. "Which is why I want you to do a little favor..."

Luis explained what he wanted Jen to do.

"...But, I won't," Jennifer said. "I don't care what you'll do to me, I just won't do that!" She was awaiting an infinite torture, but she didn't care. She'd regenerate, until Meifeng and the others found her.

"Oh, okay. I know that, no matter what I do...it'll never hurt you. Because you're like me, you'll bounce back," Luis said, he snapped his fingers and portals opened, and revealed the Caspins, tied to chairs, and struggling. "...But can you say the same for them? Can they recover from the wounds they'll receive on your behalf?"

Jennifer's eyes shot wide open. "No! Please God, leave them alone!" she pleaded.

"We don't want to touch them," Luis said, walking over to Jennifer after he got off the chair. "That is, if you play along, there won't be a single scratch on them - in fact, we could get you, and your family a one-way ticket out of here."

Luis and the rest of the Changelings laughed. He walked over to Jennifer, and jammed his finger in her lower sides. He explained, "Oh yeah...the Mannequin put a little contingency in your tummy. If you survive that, then damn, you really are immortal. But, I wouldn't be too close to anyone if you try."

"Luis, aren't you forgetting something?" the Contessa said, leaning up against the wall. She pointed towards Flashbang.

"Oh yeah, bring 'er in!" Luis said.

A portal opened, and a girl in a wheelchair was pushed in, and Jennifer's eyes opened wide once she saw who it was. "Alice!?" Jennifer loudly shouted.

"Jen?!" Alice said.

"Little broad was playing hero with her little projections. She thought that we wouldn't have tracked her to it..." Luis said as he drew a knife from the sheath. "Now, just to show you we aren't playing around..." Luis raised the knife high up into the air above her head.

"Alice!" Jen screamed in vain. "No!"

Luis didn't listen, he brought the knife down on her skull, and the blade went right in. Alice's eyes died wide open, and when he pulled the knife out, her head fell over to the side, dead. Luis kicked the wheelchair and Alice's lifeless corpse fell out.

He turned back towards Jennifer, and he smiled. "So, what's it gonna be?"

There was an infinite stream of tears running down Jennifer's face. This man was a monster! He killed Alice just like she was nothing. She was sobbing. She couldn't disobey Luis - he'll will kill her whole family if she does. She didn't know what to do. All of this just felt like a nightmare like no other.

"...I'm still waiting."

Jennifer looked up at the man. The dirty friend killer, she would have spat in his face if that was a valid option. She had one choice...

"...I'll do it," Jennifer said.

"Splendid!" Luis put a wide smile on as he walked over to Jennifer and undid her restraints. "Now, put your clothes back on." Luis snapped his fingers, and the Contessa threw Jennifer's clothes at her. Jennifer reluctantly got off the table, and bent over to pick it up. As she was pulling her underwear up her legs...this felt like the beginning of the end.

After she put her clothes on, Luis put his hand on her shoulder, and lead her to a portal that left her right where she came. Right before she walked in, Luis handed her a phone.

"Make sure that you give me a call, okay?" He winked at her as he shoved through the portal.

It closed behind her, and Jen was left standing there. Shocked, confused, and terrified.

Jennifer dropped to her knees, and planted her face into her hands. Crying uncontrollably.

"...What am I supposed to do?!" Jennifer screamed in between sobs.

---

Shizuka Takashiro, and...

---

Instead of going straight for the rooms that NEST had prepared for the teens, Shizuka chose to take a detour, heading towards the area his aunt and brother were being kept. He needed some breathing space after leaving the tense meeting - he knew that it was mostly his own fault, but he's too much of a realist to be as optimistic as those people...

Not with the chaotic shitstorm raging outside.

He mulled over the series of events leading up to the current situation they were now trapped in: the unnaturally continuous rain, the sludge minions and later the Giant Slimeball, then the weird energy shield that had left this forsaken haven with the Devil to their tragic fate... He knew that those NEST agents weren't to blame - they couldn't have predicted the worst-case scenario to happen - but he still couldn't trust them, to have any faith in them. Damn, it was NEST who activated the shield to trap all of them in here in the first place! He wouldn't be surprised if they decided to drop a nuke next to end this for good.

He should have listened to Akemi to stay away from them.

He let out a frustrated sigh and tucked his hands into his hoodie pocket. Was he regretting the decision to get himself killed with the rest of the suicide squad?

He pulled out the comm-piece that Holly had lent to him for the battle against the Giant. The chloropath was the only NEST agent he felt he could truly rely on. She's different from the other agents, he tried to convince himself as he twiddled with the controls.

"---Shizu? Is that you?"

He almost dropped the comm-piece at the familiar voice (what's more, in his native tongue) over the noise of static.

"Haru? How the hell---"

"Holly-san gave hers to me," his twin cut him off. "Anyway, I am guessing that the meeting did not go well - at least for you."

When Shizuka didn't respond, Haruka continued on, "You agreed to help them because you knew you need them to keep us safe, but at the same time you still could not bring yourself to trust them. And that mouth of yours probably said something to make them all hoping that you were the first to die in their stead."

"...What, did you start developing telepathic powers or something?"

"I wish," was his brother's annoyed reply. "And neither is the nonsense about twins possessing psychic links. We literally grew up together, so it isn't that hard to guess, idiot."

"..."

"Look, I am not saying that you suddenly go and be best friends with those teens, or force yourself to trust those NEST agents," Haruka's voice came out a little muffled over the increasing chatters in the background. "Just start by being politely nice to them. You can't expect people to be kind to you when you aren't nice to them."

"And then get my ass kicked like you always were back then?"

"Seriously Shizu," Haruka sounded positively pissed now. "It is because people stop caring for one another that we begin to hurt others all in the pretense of protecting oneself - when in actuality we are just afraid to get hurt also." Then he sighed. "You don't have to worry about us - Aunt Akemi is with me, and we can look after ourselves. When will you be deployed?"

"Tomorrow, I think."

"Be careful." And the line went dead.

"...I will."

---

Sonya Mayfield, Lihua Vuhong, Quentin Taylor, Task Force RAVEN, & Peter Brooke.

^{(@Mr Allen J and @Zombiedude101)}

---

Quentin, Lihua, Sonya, and Maximilian, walked up to the Apex cell - the soldiers stationed saluting them as the door opened. The moment they walked into the hall, they felt the counter Metahuman-energy barraging their bodies, sapping their powers away (save for Sonya, who's power was more or less permanent). They opened up the other door, and saw the metal man encased in containment foam, and a power suppressant collar (just as a backup plan).

"Quentin, I suggest that you act quickly and take his power," Maximilian said, wanting to let Quentin do his thing before they try anything else.

Nodding, Quentin took a few steps towards the sculpture-esque prisoner, leaning forwards and pressing both palms against his metallic surface. He closed his eyes, concentrated and then like that he felt a surge of electricity run up his arms as the transfer began.

It was, least to say, quite an uncomfortable process for the both of them - moreso on Quentin's side of things - but within a few moments it was over. Quentin took a step back, breathing labored, and glanced down for a moment.

"Gah, shit..." he muttered as he saw his finger tips briefly take on a metallic texture, before taking on their original appearance. "It's done." He finally nodded to Max, no worse for wear.

With Quentin adding Peter's power to the NEST arsenal - it was time to get the actual PR-1 in on the battle. Maximilian took off the collar. The group stood before him, and in between each other. They pulled out containment foam sprayers, just in case.

"We're ready," Maximilian said into the comms. "Disable the apex field."

"Okay, disabling the field now..." Dana said. "Just be careful in there. If anything goes wrong, I'll have the field back up. Just hold out a few seconds for it to kick in."

Lihua wasn't afraid. Not one bit. She put her hands on her hips (sprayer in hand), and stared as the metal man returned to consciousness. She could feel the electricity filling the air.

"PR-1...or should I just call you Peter?" Lihua started off, giving the aberration a narrow look. "Now, before you even think of trying anything - if you so much as try anything like you did last time, we'll have the field back on, and you'll be dead." And Lihua meant that. She had a hatred for PR-1 like no other.

"Agent..." Peter said, voice warbled and metallic. "What do I owe the occasion to?"

The agents looked between each other, until Lihua and Sonya nodded at Maximilian, and he took a step forward. He was hesitant as the rest of them. "Alright, we have a deal for you, PR-1---"

"Peter," Peter answered.

"Right..." Maximilian's eyes shifted over towards Lihua. "As I was saying...we have a deal for you, and you better listen closely. The terms of our battle have changed, drastically. The target is no longer the Hands."

"Oh?" Peter said - sounding almost like he was mocking them. "Tell me - what enemy has arisen that has made you desperate enough to come to me?"

You should shut up, Lihua thought to herself, narrowing her eyes. Stop acting like you're on top here. One button press, and you're going to get very comfy with a smelter.

Maximilian couldn't help but admit that it damaged a bit of his pride having to come to this abomination, but he had no choice. "The Devil of Verthaven... Don't know who she is, but I know she's hellbent on killing everyone in this city. She unleashed an army of monsters on the city, and people are dying by the boatload. Which is why we need everyone on our side as possible. And you're one of the strongest Metahumans we've seen."

"I see..." Peter said. "Well, Agent...what reason do I have to switch sides?"

Smirking like a fool, Maximilian spoke, "Oh, I'll have you know we have something you're very interested in." He reached behind him, and pulled out stacks of paper - the same papers that contained the research Peter was working so hard on. "You can have your research back if you agree to assist NEST in our counterattacks against the Devil."

"And if I refuse and take my research back the hard way?" Peter said.

The group looked in between each other, with Lihua laughing. "You're in the Apex cell, Peter. One flip of a button, and you'll be deactivated!" Lihua said.

"Agent Vuhong is correct... If you go that route, it'll be proof that you cannot be reasoned with, and you will be deactivated, and destroyed. Because you are too much of a threat to keep around."

"And...look at the bright side," Sonya said, her usual chipper tone virtually nonexistent. "You'll have an R&D room all to yourself to finish your research!"

Peter contemplated the terms... His allegiance to the Hands was shaky at best, and the agents are driving a hard bargain. "Very well..." PR-1 said. "I have agreed to your terms."

"I would shake your hand..." Maximilian said.

"No," Peter retorted. "Direct me to my quarters, I'll be continuing my research until I am needed."

---

Lihua let out a sigh. She stepped down the halls of the NEST Headquarters. Everything in this damn city was falling apart, and all she wanted was a long bath - but she knew that NEST Headquarters only had showers. Lihua narrowed her eyes. Close enough. She thought to herself. This was going to be the longest week of her life, and it was obvious that not everyone was going to survive. So, she's going have to give it her all to make sure that they get out. Lihua had to sigh again. This...martyr attitude was going to kill her some day.

For now, she was going to enjoy a shower, then she was going to head to bed... Well, her office. She was going to put up a cot there. It was going to be a pain in the ass not having access to all her outfits.

Right when Lihua was about to approach the showers, her phone started ringing. She was wondering who the hell would be calling her now. She quickly dove her hand into her pocket, and pulled out her phone, and immediately narrowed her eyes.

Jiao-Long Baozai.

She wondered what her damn brother wanted, she hit answer, then pressed the phone against her ear. "Hell---" Lihua couldn't even finish the sentence before Jiao-Long bombarded her.

"Lihua, sister, I am going to be brief. Me and the girls managed to get out of the city before the shield went up. I hope you are okay."

"Jiao---"

"I need you to keep Mika safe for me. Do anything to get her out of the city. Please. I wish I could have came to get her too, but there was no time."

"Listen, wait, you bas---"

"Goodbye, Qia--- Sister," Jiao-long said farewell before he hung up the phone.

Lihua was left, understandably, very confused. Why did Jiao-Long sound like he was in such a rush? It didn't make any sense that he'd leave Mika behind without a word. She knew that he wasn't that kind of person who'd leave his daughter in here without so much of a message. There was something wrong here. Lihua stared at her phone for a moment, rubbing her chin.

Was he telling her that he got out safely?

...Or was he telling her not to look for him?

Looked like Lihua was going to find out. She quickly turned around and broke off into a sprint, heading right towards her office. Without wasting a second, she used her newly restored privileges to track Jiao-Long's number...but the phone mysteriously vanished. Very suspicious...even if the phone was from the outside world, she'd be able to trace it.

Lihua narrowed her eyebrows. "...Jiao-Long," She said to herself, "Just what are you doing?"

---

The Hands of Science.

---

"Go, go, go!" a REAPER shouted, as a line of REAPERS wearing the red and black armor charged down the tunnel in the sewers armed to the teeth.

Ignatius and Dr. Cross walked alongside them, and the second the REAPERS got into position, the two turned down another hall, and continued down it.

"Here they come!" the REAPER shouted, before the wave of monsters charged down the hall. They did the first thing that came to mind - fill the hallway with hot lead. They managed to suppress the horde. They turned into sludge that filled the hallway.

REAPERS in the back opened up a metal case that had the glowing syringes that contained Mutagen. Each of them took one, and injected it into her wrists. They ran back to the line, and threw her hands up, and the stone that formed the tunnel warped, and quickly sealed up.

"This area's sealed! All entrances have been sealed!" the REAPER spoke into the comms.

The two leaders made it to the door at the end of the tunnel - Ignatius walked up and opened the door, and let Dr. Cross in, and the two immediately were assaulted by the hectic lab. This was in fact their final lab. The other labs were destroyed by RAVEN, or overrun by the monsters. So, they fell back to the last major lab they had with all the scientists, REAPERS, and test subjects they could, and mounted a defense here. Fortunately, like NEST Headquarters, they managed to form a defensive position.

Dr. Cross walked through the halls of the lab with her hands behind her back. Eagle eyes examining everything - from the injured scientists getting rushed off to receive medical attention, to REAPERS sitting idly by and chatting - she saw all of it. It felt like she was waging her own war now.

The two eventually made it to a conference room, with a large metal round-table that was fixed to the floor. Hands of Science chairmen were seated down on various parts of the table. All that was missing was Dr. Cross. She sat down at the table, and neatly folded her hands on the table.

"...Some meeting this turned out to be," Eliza mouthed off to Dr. Cross. "Not only does our extremely important meeting get crashed, but we get trapped in a shield with a monster. Do all your ideas end up like this, Cross?"

"Silence, Eliza," Dr. Cross said. "No one could have predicted this."

Suan-Ni nodded his head. "I agree with Dr. Cross... This was out of our hands. However, we have to make the most of the situation."

Nathaniel leaned in on the table. "So, Dr. Cross, what are the Hands going to do to address this situation?"

"Our best bet..." Dr. Cross looked over to her wheelchair bound assistant. "...Is Project Scythe."

"...It's not even close to being test capable," Eliza said.

"But, it's the only thing we have...since we're essentially cut off from the outside work," Dr. Cross said. "I don't see you presenting any options, either, Eliza." She narrowed her eyes at Eliza. "So, here's what I suggest we do: we hunker down and accelerate production of Project Scythe while we let NEST go to war with the Devil."

"They have PR-1," Ignatius said, tapping his finger on the metal table.

"So?" Dr. Cross said. "I doubt he'd be worth the trouble of breaking out while we're under siege." Her expression was unchanging. "We know that NEST is going to have their hands full with the Devil - they're not stupid enough to target us in the middle of all this - so we basically have free reign to do whatever we please. If they don't take out the Devil for us - in which case, we'll simply just evacuate - then we'll use Project Scythe on the Devil ourselves."

Eliza tilted her head. "Are you sure you want to use a weapon that could wipe out a chunk of Verthaven?"

"At this point - to ensure our own survival - we have little choice," Dr. Cross explained. "Thousands of people are dead already, destroying Verthaven to eliminate one target that could destroy the world is worth the risk."

"Hell, they might call us heroes when all of this is over!" Ignatius laughed loudly, and earned himself looks from the other chairmen. When his jackal-like laughter subsided, the smile was wiped off his face. He asked, "...And what about the Changelings?"

"Let them do as they please," Dr. Cross said. "They're going after NEST for Heartbreaker - who is the least of our concern at the moment."

"I have a feeling that our friend Luis is going to do something stupid," Ignatius sighed.

"That man is hard to predict..." Dr. Cross tapped her fingers on the table. "...But, best case, he gets himself and his Changelings killed, and he's out of our hair."

Ignatius stared at her blankly for a moment. "...You and I both know it won't be that simple."

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

---

Lihua & Meifeng Vuhong, Mika Baozai, & Jennifer Marissa Caspin.

^{(@Mr Allen J)}

---

The storm overhead provided Meifeng with plenty of ammo.

Raising her hand up into the air, Meifeng drew a wave of water to herself from falling rain and puddles of water around. It rested at her hand in a orb, and she swiped her hand across at chest level, creating a mighty wave of water that sent their aggressors flying. A humanoid, lumpy creature, with the same glowing purple eye that these things were known for, hit a crashed APC; before it got a chance to recover, Meifeng was running up, drawing pillars of water up to herself. Using her momentum, Meifeng jumped off her back leg, and cocked her fist back - creating a large spiral of water. She thrust her fist forward and willed the water to hit it with incredible force. The wall of water sandwiched the beast in against the wall, and the force caused it to splatter.

Meifeng's feet hit the ground, and she stood straight up. Feeling the odd embrace of a hand on her shoulder. She nearly jolted, before she turned her head and peered up at the stern, blank face that her mother always sported.

"You did good," Lihua said to Meifeng, before releasing her grip and taking steps ahead of her. Meifeng stood there for a moment, letting her older cousin pass her during her pause, before she nodded her head.

Everyone's voice was getting drowned out by the screaming, bullets, and other general sounds of anarchy. They had to keep moving, or else they'd be next. Lihua looked at the giant that Maximilian was holding off. If that gets here, then we're going to have a problem, Lihua said to herself. The faster they get out of here (and away from that thing), the better. The three, lead by Lihua, and with Meifeng taking point.

When the three escaped the maze created by the vehicle wreckage, and stepped out into the open...where the battle was taking place. People were fighting for their lives, and dying left and right; there were bullets and powers being flung around left and right, and it was anarchy - and the storm of beasts just kept coming. That was the last place that Lihua wanted to bring the three through.

Meifeng took a step forward, and was stopped when Lihua put her hand out to stop her. "We can't go through here," Lihua explained, having to raise her voice over the chaos. "It's just begging to be caught in the crossfire."

"Then what do you suggest then, we fly?" Meifeng tilted her head, and gave her a mother an off, disgusted look.

That was an option, but that was so impractical at this point that it's not even worth a try. Lihua looked over her shoulder at the burning wreckage of a truck that was blown in half. She narrowed her eyes as she raised her hands up into the air, putting one leg in the air, knee bent. She brought back her hands as if she was pulling something, and slammed her foot on the ground. A concrete spire came out of the ground, and split apart the wreckage, making a nice path for them.

"This way, we're going around them," Lihua said as she quickly ran through the gap, and gestured for the girls to follow behind her.

Along the way, a monster built like a puma jumped on top of a burning wreckage of an APC, and another ran up to them. Lihua and Meifeng nodded their heads at each other, before they went to work. Mika raised her hand up into the air, and created a transparent white dome that shielded herself and Lijuan. Lihua slammed her foot up into the air, and tore a piece of stone out of the ground, which hovered until it wildly lunged at her. Lihua did a full spin and shot both her fists out and sent it as a high-speed projectile. It impacted the beast so hard that it dissolved immediately.

Meifeng quickly charged at her target, which was much bigger than her, wildly. She drew water to herself, throwing her arms back as she ran. Up until she had a large amount of water at her disposal. When the creature was in range, she shot her hands forward as hard as she could, then the water shot at it like a cannon. The beast was sent flying, and impaled on a spear of scrap. It let out one last cry of pain before it dissolved.

"We can't keep fighting all of them," Lihua said, as she put her hands on her hips. Small cracks in her hand had formed, and were leaking blood. It was invisible underneath the gloves she had on. The pain was just as invisible to Lihua, who was long used to it.

"C'mon," Meifeng said as she started moving yet again.

---

The pain... It was incredible. She wasn't bleeding as much as expected, the shrapnel was preventing her from bleeding - as well as regenerating properly. Bleeding bloodlines were quickly closed, but they couldn't address the large wound - which was a problem when she was pinned down. Blackness was creeping into her field of vision. She couldn't pass out now - if she did, she's good as dead. Jennifer looked around...seeing a familiar silhouette running away. She didn't know what it was. If anything, it was her only hope.

"H-help..." Jennifer said, putting out her hand out, and called out to them.

---

The familiar voice made Meifeng stop in her tracks, and look over. "Huh?" Meifeng swore she heard a call for help. She couldn't quite see all that well in this rain---

A beast lunged at Meifeng with its jaws open - Lihua reacted at lightning speeds and created a concrete spire which impaled the beast through it's body. It wasn't enough to stop it completely, but it gave Meifeng some time to react. She quickly turned around, and swiped some water behind herself, and hit it so hard that it broke off the spear it was impaled on. It got back up, but Lihua willed the concrete to explode inside of it, and killed it.

The two exchanged looks. "...You have to pay attention," Lihua chided her.

Meifeng scratched the back of her neck as the awkwardness of the situation. "I...just thought I heard something."

"Over... here..." The voice repeated, but louder.

"Now I swear I'm not going crazy," Meifeng said, just before she turned and saw a figure, a silhouette against the darkness. She quickly ran over to it without a second thought.

"Meifeng, wait!" Lihua tried to tell her to assess the situation, but she choose to run in first, then ask questions later.

The closer Meifeng got, the more horrific the scene became. Her heart started pounding against her chest. "JEN!" Meifeng screamed as she came to a running stop. She was distraught seeing her friend impaled like this. It was just dumb luck that they managed to come across her in time. Meifeng didn't know what to do. She knew Jen can regenerate, but how can they get this off of her without messing her up even more. Meifeng's only idea was to kneel down, and try to lift Jen off of it. "C'mon, Jen, I gotta get you off that." But every time she tried, Jennifer let out a loud scream that made Meifeng pause.

"Oh dear," Mika said. Covering up Lijuan's eyes so that she doesn't see it. Seeing a human being impaled was no pretty sight for Mika, either regardless. "How is she even alive?"

"She's a regenerator," Meifeng turned her head back, and spoke to Mika. "Alright, Jen, ready?" she said, before she tried to lift Jennifer off it, too.

Lihua walked up, and rolled her eyes. Caspin got injured again. That wasn't the issue - the real problem was that Meifeng was dropping everything to 'save' her. They needed to keep moving because every second they waste was another second this situation would escalate (or giganto comes this way). "Meifeng, we don't have..." Lihua started off, then cut herself off when she realized how utterly...callous, she was being. This was the life of another human being...someone else's daughter. She let out a sigh. She could hear the ravenous horde of monsters gathering behind her.

Lihua turned around, and cocked her shotgun - no, she should save it for later. She breathed in. She put it behind her on the strap, and opened her palms, crossing her arms into an X at chin level. She breathed out.

"Meifeng," Lihua sternly stated her daughter's name. "Help Caspin, I am going to buy you as much time as I can," She started off. "However, if it becomes too much, then we are going to cut our losses... Do you understand?" Lihua asked.

Meifeng looked up at her...and nodded.

"Good." Lihua said. "Mika, defend Lijuan above all else."

---

Haruka & Shizuka Takashiro, Akemi Shinoda, & Task Force RAVEN.

^{(Written in collaboration with @Mr Allen J)}

---

The Grand Slimeball was even larger by the time Shizuka reached the bombing scene; he was more amazed at the one lone person - make it two, if he counted in the man's shimmering, supersized clone - battling against the Giant and the waves of Minions on their own. Recalling Holly/Daphne's briefing on their way here, this guy was Maximilian Cornell - acting director of NEST's Verthaven branch, and also the head of the team she was in, RAVEN; the glowing creature was his Metahuman power, an entity called 'Echo'.

"For this mission, you will be called by the codename 'Phantom'," Holly said as she passed a comm-piece to the younger twin. "Your task is strictly to assist 'Praetorian' - Maximilian's callsign - and follow his orders to subdue the giant monster." Shizuka replied with a quick nod, his attention back to the creatures.

Haruka and Akemi gave the silver-haired teen a hug before they left with the chloropath agent, heading towards where the trucks were. His aunt was pretty reluctant about this arrangement, but she knew too well that she would be more of a hindrance than help - rather than trying to save the boys, her over-protectiveness might end up killing them all instead.

Shizuka let out a sigh. He was now on his own.

As he dashed towards Maximilian, he heard the man shouting, "Whoever it is - I just need him now!"

"You called?" Shizuka just couldn't resist making a joke after he ran through the lesser monsters to reach the spartan. He continued to speak into the comm, "Phantom here. So...let's get the real party started, shall we?"

The NEST leader looked down, and saw a boy...not some man, but a grey-haired teenager, saying he was the assistance. This is the Phantom? Maximilian thought to himself. He wasn't expecting this 'Phantom' to be a kid, but he'd have to take what he can get. "Alright, follow my instructions, Phantom," Maximilian started off. He turned his attention back to the giant. Flying backwards, before he spoke into the comms, "Get into position, I'm going to hold its attention, then you do your thing. Got it?"

"Aye aye...sir," Shizuka trailed off - he frowned a little, unable to recall Maximilian's codename (Prat-something was all he could remember, and he had enough sense not to call the stern man that out loud).

Upon hearing confirmation from the boy, Maximilian knew that this was the point he would have to start fighting all out. If he did anything less, then it could spell the deaths of everyone here. The beast's attention was solely on him - fortunately - the thing quickly charged him; Maximilian flew upwards, and Echo delivered a series of strikes to its head that left craters in its flesh on impact. The beast turned around and faced Max, who had already followed it up with another brutal series of punches that made the beast stagger. Shizuka ducked a couple of flailing tentacles before he managed to sneak behind the Giant, where it was the blind spot of its huge purple eye.

Knowing that he was on the offensive, Max's Echo delivered a barrage of punches so fast that they couldn't be properly tracked. Each blow converted a bit of the creature's flesh into sludge. It put its hand up to block the blows - but Echo punched clean through it, and followed it up with a massively strong blow to its head that sent it falling over. However, more of the beasts were pouring on it to repair.

"Phantom, now!" Maximilian shouted. He dropped down to ground level, and ordered his Echo to punch everything - while he shot at them. Hoping to give Shizuka an opening.

By then Shizuka was just one foot away from the Giant - in the last spurt he threw himself forward, and his hands met the cold grease. Ignoring the chill of disgust that ran down his back at the contact, he took in a deep breath and gritted his teeth, willing every ounce of his concentration into expanding his intangibility power to the beast, hoping that it would at least reach its brain. He had never tried to phase along with anything beyond the combined mass of two average human beings, but there was a first time for everything. He felt lighter, a sense of weightlessness spreading across his small frame; he was vaguely aware of the Giant going limp, slowly sinking into the concrete...

Though his hearing started to dull at the exertion of his ability (the noises around him sound distorted, almost like those videos which people lowered the audio frequency with a music speed changer), out of the corner of his eye he could see the Minions were no longer merging with the Giant; instead, some of them were beginning to attack those still-corporeal parts in the confusion, which meant that the plan worked - the Giant was cut off from their telepathic network and was no longer considered their ally.

The fallen beast was turned on by the monsters that it was once comprised of, getting torn to pieces. However, Maximilian wasn't going to let them do all the work - he didn't know when it'd wear off, and it'd be considered an ally again. Maximilian dove towards it in mid-air, Echo flying in front of him. His mental clone was unleashing a barrage of golden fists that hit so hard that it could crack stone. Every blow sent a shockwave through the beast until Maximilian's Echo was digging into its flesh. When the moment was right, the two pulled back, and Echo cocked its fist. Charging at the beast, throwing a punch that blew a hole clean through it. Maximilian stopped on the other side, as the beast was dissolving into nothing.

He turned around, and flew up into the air, out of range of the other beasts. "The colossus has been defeated. Good work, Phantom." He noticed that Shizuka wasn't too well, and immediately dove for him.

Shizuka's eyesight was beginning to go blurry - then everything went black and the teen collapsed onto the ground, passed out from the exhaustion.

Maximilian flew over to the unconscious boy, and knelt down, Echo disappeared as he lifted him up with his own strength. It was only fair to get Phantom to safety after he damn near saved the convoy. "Phantom has passed out - I'll be getting him to safety," he spoke into the comms, before he started flying upwards. This was a risk. Shizuka could have damn near ashed at that moment. It didn't come to that - thankfully - but next time, Maximilian's not going to put another person on the line like this.

He headed towards the APC line.

---

After leaving Shizuka to fend off the Giant, the trio continued to make their way towards the convoy. All the running and dodging were making Haruka panting heavily, grimancing at the searing stitches. Akemi and Daphne were clearing a path with assault rifles (M16 was his wild guess - he wasn't a firearm nerd like his twin) the chloropath grabbed from the bodies of dead NEST agents along the way.

"We are almost there," Daphne said as she pumped two more shots into her slimy target - right in the creepy, glowing eye - which burst into a pool of goo before she waved the barrel at the APCs ahead. Akemi, who had never handled a military-grade gun before, fumbled with it awkwardly - she finally managed to drill some bullets into an incoming creature before it could tower over her.

Haruka glanced behind him for the umpteenth time - with each step nearer to the vehicles that would get them out of Verthaven, the feeling of dread became heavier inside him. Don't you dare to die on me, stupid brother. It was the same for his aunt - he could almost feel the intense anxiety emitting from the plump lady every time she took down a monster.

Daphne's frowned when her comm buzzed, then her brows relaxed and she turned around, beaming at the two Japanese civilians. "He...did it---"

"How's he?" Akemi cut the agent off and demanded, slamming the butt of the rifle into another creature and sent it flying backwards with her force field. "And where's he now?"

"He has fainted from a combination of fatigue...and lack of oxygen---" That part of Daphne's report made Akemi exchange a look with her older nephew. "---But he's alright - I'm sure Praetorian will take care of him."

Haruka shook his head (half out of relief, and the other half disbelief) - to think that breathlessness was what saved his twin from a certain horrible death ('ashing' is the term, according to Daphne) after overusing his power. Well done, Shizu... Well done indeed.

Cara's Originally Titled OoC Hangout Thread ♥ (Still)

The wrath of a mother when she's making sure everyone in the family contributes to scrubbing down the house for spring cleaning...

*shudders*

Cara's Originally Titled OoC Hangout Thread ♥ (Still)

In case you're wondering why I suddenly fell off the planet for a whole month - I was in this hell called 'Chinese New Year'.

Can't wait for next week to come - where both CNY and my internship assignment end.

From Otaku to Weeaboo — Humorous Anime Synopsis Thread

Haikyuu!! - A murder of nerdy volleyball crows whose strong bromance (read: team spirit) is often mistaken as gaaaaaay hell courtesy of trashy fangirls.

Detective Conan / Case Closed - Where a shrunken Sherlock fanboy is a billion times smarter than the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force + FBI + CIA put together.

Character picture - At what point do you find one?

Unless it's required by the GM, normally I won't bother with finding pictures and prefer sticking to text description. I feel that no matter how hard I try, none of the images I can find out there is able to depict the exact appearance of my characters - unless I draw the characters myself.

However, when I have to find one, it really depends on what I have in mind for the character - sometimes I get one before I start working on the CS, sometimes it's during the process of filling up the application, sometimes it's the last step after I pretty much finalized the sheet.

Music & Roleplaying (What kind of music do you listen to when writing?)

Since I normally roleplay while on the move - well, I'm usually on the move anyway - the kind of "music" that I listen to is usually the noise of the crowd, or if I have my earphones on, whatever random songs on shuffle in my mobile.

Even so, sometimes I would listen to soundtracks - JRPGs, movies, anime/animated films... Basically instrumental/acoustic/orchestral pieces. For example, Final Fantasy OST when I'm working on @Mr Allen J's Verthaven RP, and Fate/stay night OST for the Sekirei one I'm doing with @RyuHll.

(I'm more particular about having specific playlists for my personal novel projects than RPs.)