tsukune

Tsukune World Chronicle

Sekirei: Pure Sanctuary

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Sekirei ~Pure Sanctuary~

セキレイ ～PURE SANCTUARY～

^{{ @RyuHll & @tsukune }}

Main Theme

「なぜ戦うの？愛か？それとも欲望か？」
"Why do you fight? For love? Or for lust?"

P R E M I S E

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< The Story >

The MBI had fallen, with former CEO Hiroto Minaka and head researcher-cum-wife Takami Sahashi taken into UN custody. To the general public, this seemed to be the end of the insane Sekirei Plan. The then-impregnable walls around Tokyo were removed, opening Japan's capital to the rest of the world once more. People across the country cheered, happy but tearful reunions erupted in every city and town, whether big or small.

How ignorant they were.

The UN was nowhere better than MBI, for their curiosity - their greed - had harbored another war, which would be far bloodier than the first. Not to mention an underground human experiment that would raise questions about the morality within UN. What had become of the UN now? The treacherous trail led deeper and deeper into the pit of unknown, of dark hidden secrets shocking enough to put humanity to a standstill.

Let the Second Sekirei Plan begin.

D A T A B A S E

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< The Lore >

Sekirei Plan & Project S2

The very first Sekirei project, the Sekirei Plan, was developed by Hiroto after he discovered one of the eight spaceships that landed on Earth, specifically the one at Kamikura Island. Originally called the S-Plan, it was initiated to protect the sleeping Sekirei from the attacking international army, but it was later turned into a dangerous (sometimes deadly) game, using Tokyo - and later, Kamikura Island itself - as the battleground.

During the Fourth Stage, the awakening of the Kouten caused the defensive wall around the island to disappear; the international troops took advantage of it and stormed in, eventually rounding up the remaining Ashikabi and Sekirei, ending the Plan. The Kouten, along with the 'pillar' Sekirei Miya Asama, vanished from the site and no one knew where it had gone to. Some speculated that it probably left Earth and drifted out into space, finally at peace and away from the wrath of humanity.

Shortly after the troops gained possession of the Sekirei files, the UN passed down a search warrant and unearthed four other Sekirei spaceships across the world, with the last one still not found yet. Project S2 was secretly activated: this became the prologue to a new Sekirei game set in Fukuoka, a city in the Kyushu area of Japan.

Ashikabi & Sekirei

Ashikabi (葦牙) are humans who possess unique genes that enable them to 'wing' a Sekirei through an exchange of DNA via a kiss. Upon establishment of the contract, an everlasting bond is forged between the Ashikabi and his/her Sekirei, which awakens the dormant power inside the Sekirei.

The original Sekirei (鶺鴒) are extraterrestrial beings with similar genetic and physiological makeup as humans; each of them possesses a Sekirei Core, which is the main source of their superpower and enhanced abilities compared to an average human. After the conclusion of the initial Sekirei Plan and the discovery of the remaining five Sekirei spaceships, a new numbering system is created, containing a mix of 'pures' (actual Sekirei recovered from the ships) and 'clones' (humans with Sekirei Cores forced into them).

The bond between an Ashikabi and his/her Sekirei is a lot more than these forms of relationship, such as master-servant, or even emperor-concubine; an Ashikabi and a Sekirei establish a contract through the process of 'winging', which is often triggered through the growing affection and love the two parties share. Winging will unlock the true power of the Sekirei, allowing him/her to use Norito, a special move in the form of a prayer unique to each Sekirei, which can amplify their abilities to their maximum potential.

Sekirei Crest & Termination

Upon the completion of the ritual, a Sekirei Crest will appear on the back of the winged Sekirei, usually below the neck area. The crest is the proof of the Sekirei's loyalty to his/her Ashikabi, so much so that it can be equated to his/her own life. If the crest disappears, the Sekirei is considered as terminated.

There are two known ways to remove the crest:

• The first - which is the most common - is to inflict massive damage to the Sekirei. Once the Sekirei has received injuries beyond his/her limit, the crest will automatically disappear, rendering the Sekirei immobile.
• The second is to touch the crest and recite a prayer (which is unique to each Sekirei), which will erase the crest from the Sekirei.

R E C O R D

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< Plots & Timeline >

1: Beginning of the End

• Yuki Kaguya finally feels the truth behind the saying: "curiosity kills the cat", and has to pay the price for snooping around the database of the facility she is working as an intern at. Okay, maybe not quite - she is merely sent away to Fukuoka as a participant of the Second Sekirei Plan along with a companion No.11 Houkatori, but there is something more that greets them at the door of their new 'home'...
  
  Meanwhile, Hikari Mino mundane daily routine is broken by the appearance of a strange gun-girl who introduced herself as No.49 Nagisa, claiming him to be her 'master'... and bringing him into a game that will completely shatter his normal life beyond his wildest dreams.

2: Closing In

• The 'spy' that the organization has sent to watch Yuki and Houka is none other than No.88 Yajuu. Other than the tension between him and her partner, Yuki is glad that he seems fully intent on keeping to his words; well, just short of blowing up the house with their childish arguments. However, she is about to find out how short-lived this peaceful time will be...
  
  On the other side, Hikari and Nagisa are having a hell of a night, encountering one enemy Sekirei after another... and even attract the local police on their tails! Nagisa's sniper rifle isn't meant for close-range battles, and she is being pushed to her edge with such a disadvantage... Just when all hopes are lost and the petite Sekirei is about to die under the gigantic scythe of No.94 Sae, an unlikely comrade suddenly comes to the rescue...

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Tsukune World Chronicle

Fate/Final Fantasy v2.0

Fate/Final Fantasy

フェイト／ファイナルファンタジー


_{a Fate/stay night x Final Fantasy roleplay
[ ooc | ic | cs | discord ]}

P R E M I S E

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<sub>"In the battlefield,
there is no place for hope.

What lies there is only cold despair and a sin called victory,
built on the pain of the defeated.

All those people who met there
have wholeheartedly admitted the evil and foolishness
of this act called war.

As long as people don't repent
and don't regard it as the evilest taboo,
then hell will endlessly reappear in the world."

—Kiritsugu Emiya, Fate/Zero</sub>

The Fifth Holy Grail War concluded with yet another failure, and the omnipotent wish-granting device—the Lesser Grail—was once again destroyed near the end. Two successive magical battle royales had pretty much left Fuyuki City in a devastating state that would take another decade or two to rebuild itself... or worse, left to rot in the remnants of the curses that overflowed from the Grail and razed the earth. Sadly, the horror of Fuyuki City was nowhere enough to stop the limitless greed of human beings—especially the mages—to restart the deadly experiment...

One: the elimination of the Three Houses—Tohsaka, Makiri and von Einzbern—only meant new bloods would take their place and rule over the magical community, noble family or not.

Two: the Mage's Association had chosen a new workshop to revive the bloody summoning ritual known as "Heaven's Feel", in preparation for another Holy Grail War... This time, it would be set in the small city of Helsburg, situated between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Three: the possibility of summoning fictional Heroic Spirits as shown in the previous war by Medea of Caster Class had the mages wondering... Could this repeated cycle of failure be changed if they tried to summon heroes from a virtual world instead of the real?

"I ask of you: are you my master?"

Now, let the new Holy Grail War begin.

O V E R V I E W

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_{Genres: Action, Anime, Dark Contemporary Fantasy, Psychological Thriller
Level: Advanced
Theme: 11-M12 - "Kara no Kyoukai 5: Paradox Spiral" Original Soundtrack
Players: 4 - 7 (including GMs)}

The stage will be set in a fictional city called Helsburg, located somewhere Brooklyn and Manhattan. These two cities are known for their diverse racial and ethnic groups in America, and also the home to many world-class educational institutions. This is partly to depart from limiting the players' creativity within the canonical 'Fuyuki' setting, and partly to give you all ample opportunities to contribute to the lore of this original world.

Inspirations and influences for this roleplay include, but not limited to:
Fate series / Nasuverse

• Fate/stay night
• Fate/Zero
• Kara no Kyoukai: Garden of Sinners

Final Fantasy series

• Dissidia Final Fantasy

Animanga

• xxxHolic: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Masters: As mentioned previously, the diverse racial and ethnic groups in Helsburg should give all players the opportunity to create just about any Master characters they wish, as long as they are within the logical acceptable boundaries of how human beings are depicted in real life. However, we are not looking for overpowered Masters who can single-handedly beat a Servant to a pulp—we want to see Masters who have multilayered depths to their characterization. What do they desire so badly that they are willing to throw away their life to have that wish granted? How far will they go to obtain the Grail, even if the price to pay is beyond what they can fathom? The blurring lines between good versus evil, especially when human sins are so heavily involved, is what we want to see in how you create and build your Master characters.

Servants: (WIP)

WIP

E X P E C T A T I O N S

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High-casual to advanced standard. We're obviously not looking for novel-length purple prose, but we do expect all players to produce quality posts with good grammar, proper paragraphing and sentence structure, minimal typo errors... yadda yadda. Always proofread your writing before you hit the post button.

Character-driven and interaction-heavy. Be prepared for lots of psychological drama, and you are expected to do lots of collaborative writing. There is an overarching plot, but all we can say now is: just sit tight and brace yourselves for unexpected twists and turns thrown in your way.

This roleplay may contain dark mature themes including violence, gore, character death, and more. However, general forum rules still apply here—please take all steamy, sexual interactions to private messages, or fade to black.

Don't think you can escape from basic roleplaying etiquettes in this roleplay—strictly no god-modding, metagaming, auto-hitting, etc. Mary Sues and Gary Stus are also not welcomed here. No exceptions and non-negotiable.

We love to see dramas in the IC, but we don't need that in the OOCs. While the GMs aren't evil dictators, do respect us and our decisions all the same. Feel free to approach the GMs if you need help with things related to this roleplay.

As this roleplay contains elements of mystery, anything not mentioned or established in the IC is a secret. You are not allowed to reveal the clues the GM has given you to the other players except within the IC only.

We do understand that real life should take priority over a shared hobby, and we do not feel the need to force a fixed posting schedule on the players. However, a minimum of 1-2 posts every fortnight should be stress-free enough to handle. If you need more time away to deal with real-life commitments, we would greatly appreciate that you drop us a notice so that nobody will leave you out of the epic adventures.

Last but not least... HAVE FUN! :D

C H R O N I C L E

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Chapter 1: City of Possibilities ~ The Summoning
_{Seven Masters were chosen by the Grail to participate in a new War. Branded with the Command Seals, you summoned a fictional Heroic Spirit from the worlds of Final Fantasy to be your Servant, to help you win the wish-granting device. However, would things go as smoothly as planned?}

Tsukune World Chronicle

Enigma Final Fantasy v2.0

_{a Final Fantasy All-Stars roleplay
[ ooc | ic | cs | discord ]}

P R E M I S E

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<sub>"You wake up in an unfamiliar world,
without any memories whatsoever.

Where you came from,
let alone where you're headed,
you have no idea...
Yet all you can do is set forth and walk onward.

A mysterious voice calls out to you,
guiding you along your path..."

—Introduction, Mobius Final Fantasy</sub>

You wake up to find yourself in a strange universe called Celestia—some say it's a parallel dimension in the middle of infinity, others say it's a dream within a dream. You have no idea how you got here, or who brought you here... As you try to remember, you realize that you have no recollection of your past, and you do not have the means to return to where you were from.

Guided by a mysterious entity who called itself "The Voice", you will journey through this foreign place to piece back your old memories, at the same time meeting people and creatures alike along the way, creating new memories. Even if you manage to reclaim your past, you can no longer go back to who you once were, only to keep moving forward—maybe you might find a way out of this trance-like loop, or you just want to stay in here for eternity. The choice is yours.

However, you will soon find out the purpose why you are brought to this faraway land beyond the realm of your reality, stripped of your old self, trapped in a cycle of events that would force you to question everything you know: what are you fighting for—to protect, or merely to survive? What does it mean to be a hero?

"Who are you?"

O V E R V I E W

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_{Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Psychological, Surrealism
Level: Advanced
Theme: Legend - "Mobius Final Fantasy" Original Soundtrack 1
Players: 4 - 6 (including GMs)}

For cohesion sake, this roleplay will set in an original universe called Celestia, said to be a limbo realm that exists between reality and dreams. Regardless of which Final Fantasy series your characters may be from, everyone will begin their journey in the same surrealistic world, a place far away from their true home.

Other than to reduce discrepancies and confusions due to the odd cast that will be gathered for this roleplay, this standalone universe will be the stage for all players to explore and build upon the lore together as a group. Both the characters and their surroundings will influence and develop each other as the story progresses—to give a more holistic world and character building opportunity for all.

List of inspirations and influences for the setting include, but not limited to:
Square Enix Games

• Dissidia Final Fantasy
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
• Mobius Final Fantasy

Animanga

• Paprika (by extension, Inception)
• Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (by extension, xxxHolic)

"Wait... what? Canon characters? Why?"

The main goal of this roleplay is character study: deconstructing the characters we think we know and rebuilding them into someone deeper, someone more complicated... and breaking as many tropes or cliches as you can along the way. Imagine a jigsaw puzzle—the canonical information, such as the character's origin from their respective games, are now lost and scattered into pieces. Your task is to put them back together to restore their memories, but it's not going to be this simple. As the characters regain their old history, they are also adding new experiences gained from Celestia into their memory bank. This overlapping of perceptions and emotions, from both the past and present, will shape these characters beyond what we know about them from their respective canons.

Psychological: As stated previously, character study (through deconstruction and re-development) is the main highlight of this roleplay. Everything you think you know about the character—their moral beliefs and values—will be challenged when they are being put into various difficult situations. How long can your character stay sane in a world that is hellbent to drive them over the very edge?

Adventure: A journey is only called so when your characters get to actually explore the universe and grow with the world around them as they travel. Celestia is a vast world that all players get ample opportunities to build and expand lore together as a group. There will be side quests and other events to keep all your characters on their toes, be it epic boss fights, or even treasure-hunting for lost items!

Surrealism: This roleplay will contain elements of mystery. If the premise isn't obvious enough, clues and red herrings will be revealed to the party as the plot progresses, and the player characters will have to piece them together to not only just recover their lost memories, but also to learn more about Celestia, and eventually the true purpose why they are being gathered together in a faraway, surrealistic place. Why are they here? To save this strange world that is killing them inside out, or to destroy this world to find true freedom? The choice is yours.

E X P E C T A T I O N S

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High-casual to advanced standard. We're obviously not looking for novel-length purple prose, but we do expect all players to produce quality posts with good grammar, proper paragraphing and sentence structure, minimal typo errors... yadda yadda. Always proofread your writing before you hit the post button.

Character-driven and interaction-heavy. Be prepared for lots of psychological drama, and you are expected to do lots of collaborative writing. There is an overarching plot, but all we can say now is: just sit tight and brace yourselves for unexpected twists and turns thrown in your way.

This roleplay may contain dark mature themes including violence, gore, character death, and more. However, general forum rules still apply here—please take all steamy, sexual interactions to private messages, or fade to black.

Don't think you can escape from basic roleplaying etiquettes in this roleplay—strictly no god-modding, metagaming, auto-hitting, etc. Mary Sues and Gary Stus are also not welcomed here. No exceptions and non-negotiable.

We love to see dramas in the IC, but we don't need that in the OOCs. While the GMs aren't evil dictators, do respect us and our decisions all the same. Feel free to approach the GMs if you need help with things related to this roleplay.

As this roleplay contains elements of mystery, anything not mentioned or established in the IC is a secret. You are not allowed to reveal the clues the GM has given you to the other players except within the IC only.

We do understand that real life should take priority over a shared hobby, and we do not feel the need to force a fixed posting schedule on the players. However, a minimum of 1-2 posts every fortnight should be stress-free enough to handle. If you need more time away to deal with real-life commitments, we would greatly appreciate that you drop us a notice so that nobody will leave you out of the epic adventures.

Last but not least... HAVE FUN! :D

C H R O N I C L E

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Opus 0: Prelude ~ The Arrival
_{Woken up by the shrill frantic voice of a cute but strange floating creature, you tried to get your bearings—and realized that you didn't know where you were, how you got here... not even your own past. You knew there was only one thing you could do: keep moving forward. But where to?}

Tsukune World Chronicle

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Master List

I-CHECKS & OOC

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O R I G I N A L

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WIP

F A N D O M

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Enigma Final Fantasy
_{Final Fantasy All-Stars}

Fate/Final Fantasy
_{Fate/stay night x Final Fantasy}

(WIP)

Tsukune World Chronicle

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Welcome, stranger, to Tsukune World Chronicle.

Here, you will find a collection of coding samples for Interest Checks and OOCs archived in this thread - not just for the convenience of the owner to manage everything under one roof, but also a one-stop location for any curious souls who wish to check out his humble contributions to this forum.

The owner hopes that you will enjoy some of the shameful things he has here in this thread; if you have any comments or shoutouts to him, please direct them to him via Private Messages. He would appreciate the supports and constructive criticisms to help him to become a better roleplayer.

どうぞ、ゆっくりご覧ください。

Dance With The Angels - A GFX Shop by Altered Tundra

Type of Request:
Sig

Stock:
Ta-da!

Size:
Preferably 600 x 200

Text:
For a moment
For eternity

Since the beginning
Till the furthest ends

(The quote is originally one paragraph, but I break it up on purpose. :P Oh yeah, don't add whatever I wrote within this bracket into the image, lol.)

Other:

• I would like to have 2 versions - full-color and sepia-ish.
• Text wise it would be great to use curvy/script-y fonts; you can mix different font types, but cap at 2 max. (Too many looks messy to me.)
• Feel free to play around with effects such as gradient/glow/shadow/etc, but the quote has to be easily readable without having to squint hard at them (i.e. colors that are too close to the base image colors that they practically 'melt' into the picture).

RPG What Did you Last Eat?

Char Siew & Wanton Noodle - dry - for lunch.

B!tchfest: a healthy release for our non-roleplay annoyances.

The service industry is the worse thing. I've phased between service jobs, physical labor jobs, and dead-end office jobs quite a few times, and the former are the worst thing. When I was a kid, I used to think people doing the same repetitive movements like in a factory had it worst off, but in my experience that isn't true - those jobs you can improve 200% with a pair of headphones or somebody next door who is interesting to talk to. But there is nothing more painful, more tedious, then having to deal with the public. And that all of those service jobs are ran by people who hate their jobs... that doesn't help at all.

@Vilageidiotx

I'm not sure about others, but personally I despise working in the service industry (what's more, it was the first sector I went into to gain some working experience while earning pocket money over the school hols).

Especially customer service.

The pressure overload from obnoxiously demanding customers who paid so little but have the shameless cheeks to expect you to give them VIP treatment is simply ridiculous.

Verthaven: Days of Rain ☔ [COMPLETED]

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Jennifer Marissa Caspin, & Haruka Takashiro.

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

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The rain lightly splashing against her body washed away the blood that wasn't already set into her clothes. She looked up, and saw the "blue" sunlight piercing through the Shield of Light.

That shield was a symbol of how terrible the situation got... And Jennifer worried why the Devil didn't just throw every monster in this city at them - instead of just throwing light offensives against them. Jennifer feared that their enemy was so confident in her abilities, that she could destroy them at any time. She was just toying with NEST and everyone here. Just waiting for the moment she got bored enough to throw a trillion beasts at them... That, or maybe the Devil wasn't quite powerful.

For Haruka, it was the first time he properly looked up at the energy shield - all the running around trying to keep themselves alive had his full attention to spare any other thoughts...and getting himself killed instead. It would be a pretty sight...if it wasn't for the fact that all of them were about to die under this cool, bluish sunlight.

He sighed - recalling the outcome that Shizuka had predicted back when they were still chatting with Cindy and Trevor around, it made him wonder if his twin might have a secondary ability to foresee bad futures.

Jen had hoped that they could handle her before it had reached that point. Jennifer just stood on the stairway to the NEST Headquarters...wasn't as active as she'd imagined. Probably due to the impending apocalypse. Everyone was busy staying alive. She could stand here, right here on the stairs, for long as she wanted. Unfortunately, she had work to do.

And a guest to keep busy.

"Ahh..." Jennifer said, running her hands through her bright blonde hair. "I feel...so much better now..." A smile nearly formed on her face, as she reveled in the rain - nearly. Before the image of Alice's brutal death intruded in her happy thoughts yet again. Turning her smile upside down. She almost broke out in tears - but she had to stay strong.

"So..." Jennifer said - one part of her wanting to make small talk, and the other part wanting to distract herself from all this. "Know what the others are up to?" she asked. "Is your brother going on that big trip?"

"I had only been in contact with Shizu," Haruka replied to Jennifer's question slowly. "I don't exactly know where he is or what he is doing now, but I'm sure he knows how to look after himself. As for the rest...well, I'm not close with any of them, so...yeah."

"I see..." Jennifer said. She's probably better off asking Meifeng - who's obviously the one with all the social links to everyone here. "Well...I can't say I'm super close to them either." She shrugged.

Then a sudden realization hit him, which made the Japanese teen narrow his eyes at her. Why was she asking him these questions that she would probably know the answer better than he would? "Um...weren't you guys together in the NEST meeting just now?" He then shrugged. "No matter how hard-mouthed Shizu appears to be, he is actually not a bad person." Giving the blonde an apologetic smile, he added, "I'm really sorry if he has caused you any trouble, but I do hope that you all can try to get along with him and work together."

He sure talks about his brother a lot... Jennifer noted to herself. She would have to address the matter of missing the meeting - because she had to step out to vomit more blood. "I had to miss that meeting..." She trailed off, scratching the back of her neck. "Because...of that little...problem...that's been bothering me."

That was the first thing she said. "And concerning your brother; I...I'm not all that bothered by him," Jennifer started off, shrugging. "I think it's Cindy you might want to say that to. She looked pretty pissed when he...erm...'spoke his mind' last night at the big announcement yesterday." She scratched the back of her neck. "But, hey, that's between the three of you."

Sounded a bit apathetic, but Jennifer knew that it'd be best that - regardless of this growing shitstorm - she stayed out of the interpersonal drama between her peers. Same as always. Cindy and Meifeng didn't always see eye-to-eye and Trevor and Jen righteously stayed out of those.

Haruka nodded - he would say the same thing as Jennifer whenever it concerned the circle of enemies Shizuka had attracted with his sharp tongue. Unlike her case, it's almost impossible for him to truly stay out of his brother's problems - simply because they were twins; more so when Shizuka's hair was still black back then and it wasn't that easy to differentiate between them based on their outward appearance.

All the talks - and thoughts - about his stupid twin were letting loose some of the suppressed jealousy inside the boy. "I have been wondering..." he began, adjusting his glasses as he tried to find the right words to say. "Since you mentioned that you have, uh, some sort of 'superpowers'... What kind of ability do you have? And what exactly is a 'Metahuman'?" He looked down - staring into his open palm. "...How do we, well, acquire or possess such powers?" Maybe if he had some form of superpowers, he wouldn't need to hide behind Shizuka so much - he would probably be the one protecting his younger sibling instead.

Her power...now that was a curious conversation. Given that she had the power that people would kill for. The power that Luis said was the same as his... Jen shuddered at the mere thought of being compared to that monster in any field. Not after what he did to Alice.

"Re...generation. My p-power is regeneration," Jennifer stuttered. "I can heal from anything." She was stretching it a bit - but so far, she survived what should have killed her a thousand times over. Oddly enough, a month later, she has come to terms with the fact that she's a Metahuman. Just not all the death and adventure. "A Metahuman is basically someone who has some kind of superpower. Like your brother, and those RAVENs. They all have a power."

Haruka was a little amused when Jennifer claimed she could heal from anything. From the bits of info he had heard from Holly; the not-so-pleasant episode involving Trevor's 'Wonder Drug'; his uncomfortable experiences with Shizuka's ghostly ability... And this blonde had just threw up blood before him, twice in a row. He was certain that flawless, all-mighty superpowers couldn't possibly exist; however, he decided to keep that opinion to himself.

As for the last question, Jennifer shrugged. She probably had a bit of knowledge of being a Metahuman due to looking it up - being curious. More than Haruka apparently - who should have some knowledge of Metahumans. Jennifer briefly remembered the experience that granted her Regeneration... She wondered if Penny was okay in all of this. "You basically... I don't know how to say it. It's like really random. You either develop a power on your own...or you get a power by being around a Metahuman for a while."

Tilting her head a little bit, she put a finger on the side of her face and thought about it. "The Black Fall Effect - yeah, that's what it's called. It draws Metahumans to each other - and empowers those that are around Metahumans for awhile. Think family members are more likely to get the powers - but I don't know."

Though, she was wondering if she should note special circumstances. Couldn't hurt. "Then...there's Metahumans that can give you powers... Like how I got my regeneration..." She awkwardly blurted it out - scratching the back of her neck. Once she regained her demeanor, she just shrugged. "I also heard that some guys were dealing powers - leads to the Hands, I think."

Haruka digested whatever that Jennifer was telling him about the ways one could gain some form of superpowers; he frowned at the thought that the best method he might be able acquire one would be due to his brother's presence. It seemed to him that this 'Metahuman' phenomenon was most likely caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors...maybe even stretching over to the supernatural realm, just a bit.

He wondered what kind of abilities he would develop; something similar to Akemi's defensive psionic shields or Jennifer's omni-regeneration would probably suit him better than Shizuka's physically-demanding phasing power or even Lihua's offensive concrete manipulation...

He shook his head. Beggars can't be choosers.

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he no longer paid attention to the steps below his feet - which in turn caused him to miss his footing. That did snap him out of his own mind, but he was already falling - backwards - off the stairs. He let out a yelp of surprise, flailing his arms in an useless attempt to regain some balance. He squeezed his eyes shut - if only there was something that would help to break his fall...

"Haruka!" Jennifer shouted as she quickly scrambled to grab him. Trying to grab him didn't exactly work out, as she missed. She only winced as she awaited the violent spill.

Haruka felt his hair bristled as a rush of wind blew against his back...unaware that he was forming a crude air cushion below him: while it absorbed most of the impact and spared him from getting a broken limb, he still couldn't help grimacing from the numbing pain due to his clumsy landing.

"W-Wha..." he spluttered and sat up slowly, still not quite recovered from the shock. "What...just happened?"

Jennifer was just as surprised as Haruka was. Her eyes were wide open, and she just stared for a moment. "You..." she said, wondering the best way to theorize what just happened. It could have been dumb luck, or something else... She couldn't honestly make out what happened. "...Did something?" It was almost too ironic that the second they were done discussing powers, Haruka started to exhibit such powers. "I think..." she trailed off for a moment. "...You should go see someone in NEST about that."

She awkwardly pulled on the collar on her shirt, looking off to the side. This was kind of awkward, if she had to be completely honest with herself. Though, while she was looking away from Haruka - she caught sight of the line of NEST APCs pulling out from underneath the NEST Headquarters. More specifically she caught eye of Meifeng - all dressed up in NEST armor. Jennifer knew that maybe she should have a word with her best friend (who she's been neglecting the whole time).

"Hey..." Jennifer trailed off. "I really hate to sound like I'm ditching you. but I kinda want to have a word with Meifeng before she heads out. That okay?" She explained - hoping that she didn't disappoint Haruka. "We can link up again after I'm done."

"Y-Yeah, sure... I guess," Haruka replied, still feeling dazed from the fall but relieved that he was not injured anywhere (he was already running out of excuses to deal with his aunt's maternal instinct). "Later then." He gave her a wave and turned to leave - heading back towards the hall where Akemi and the rest were. And maybe he should try contacting Shizuka again, to relay some of the things he had learned from Jennifer to him...

"Alright, talk to you later..." Jennifer trailed off as she stared at Haruka for a moment. "...Haruka." She said, nodding her head. She walked away from Haruka, going towards the away squad.

---

Jennifer Marissa Caspin, Meifeng & Lihua Vuhong.

^{(@Mr Allen J)}

---

Kill la Kill OST - Till I Die

---

Jennifer awkwardly waded her way through the crowds of people, with her eyes on Meifeng, and Meifeng alone.

The rain had already drenched her attire, and she could barely care at this point. She stepped on a puddle, as a small squad of NEST agents pushed on past Jennifer. She managed to approach Meifeng - her tall and near-muscular frame dwarfing the blonde - and stood before her for a moment. Scratching the back of her neck (a habit that she has).

"Hey, Meifeng..." Jennifer trailed off, as usual, she didn't have too much of an idea of what to say other than a greeting. "...Hi." She waved.

Upon seeing her friend, Meifeng smiled widely. "Jen, hey!" Meifeng took a step forward, and ran her hands over her armor, and said, "Like it?" Meifeng shook her head. "Don't I look hot in this?"

The question made Jennifer blush a little bit, as she looked at her - but she shook her head. "Meifeng, that's no question to ask."

She laughed a little bit, and that made Jennifer curious how Meifeng was able to stay so cheerful given the...situation. Maybe she had something that Jennifer lacked.

"Hehahaha, I know," Meifeng said, slapping her knee. "Just tryna' lighten up the mood, Jenny."

"Uh, yeah," Jennifer said. "So, you're heading out with them?"

"Yup," Meifeng coolly said. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets out of this in one piece." She threw a thumbs up towards Jennifer. "That's why I'm going out so we can take out this Devil, and get the hell out of here."

Jennifer exhaled - Meifeng's heroics reassured her a bit. It gave her a glimmer of hope that she'd protect her from the Changeling Unit, and save her family before anything bad happened to them.

"...Yeah," Jennifer said.

"You know," Meifeng said as she took a step closer to Jen, and put her hand on Jen's shoulder. Blue eyes drifted towards the hand, as the mere contact uplifted Jen's spirit a bit. "We're all gonna get out of this alive," She started off. "I promise."

Jennifer was about to say something - but couldn't help but nod her head.

"...And when we get out of here, how about we do this little thing I've been thinking of?" Meifeng asked, as she took a step back and put her hand on her hip.

"Huh?"

"A big road trip!" Meifeng triumphantly said, as she put her hand up into the air. "You know, with Verthaven destroyed, a lot of us are going to be homeless, so I was thinking that I hit up my rich uncle and get him to get us a RV - which is like fucking pocket change to him - then we'll hit the road." Meifeng took a few steps around Jennifer. She then continued, "Thiiiiink about it... Me, you, Trevor, Cindy, on the road. Hitting up New York, Florida, Arizona!"

Though...all these plans made Jen feel so much guilt. Meifeng legitimately wanted to be her friend, and be around her...but she's going to betray her, and Meifeng's going to hate her so much. Jen had to look away. She couldn't look her best friend in the eye anymore.

The firm hand Meifeng was known for returned to her shoulder. "Jen..." Meifeng said. "I know everything's crazy and all...but trust me. You'll get out of here. You're not going to die here. I promise."

Jennifer didn't know what to say. "...Yeah." Was the only word she could blurt out before she considered saying, "Sorry, things are just---"

"You don't need to tell me," Meifeng cheerfully said.

Interrupting their conversation was what had to be a giant metal statue walking on past them - it was enough to get Jen to double take. She had her blonde eyebrow raised as she looked at the Metal Man stoically pressed on past them, getting into one of the APCs.

"...Who the hell is that?" Jennifer asked, a little perturbed.

Meifeng put her hands up, smiling. "...Beats me - weird fucker creeps me out - but he's on our side, and that's all that matters."

"Yeah..." Jennifer scratched the back of her neck.

"Meifeng!" Lihua shouted, sticking her body out the back of an APC as she faced them. "We don't have too much time, get on."

Meifeng shrugged. "Looks like I'll have to jet - talk to you later." Jen's tall friend said as she walked off - before she turned around (not stopping, but walking backwards), and said, "Oh yeah, when I get back, let's take a big group photo!" She quickly hopped into the back of the APC - helped in by Lihua.

"Yeah, sure..." Jennifer trailed off as she watched her friend depart. Now, it's just waiting until the Changeling Unit attacked - and God knows what'd happen there. Maybe she should inform Luis of what she knew. Just in case, she quickly started walking until she made it to an alleyway - punching in his number. She leaned up against a wall, and pressed her phone to her ear as she called Luis.

"Jenny, love, how are you doing?" Jennifer barely even got a second before Luis started talking. "I've been meaning to call you - I wanted to ask you what you wanted your codename to be. I was thinking---"

"Lu-luis," Jennifer, while terrified, had the audacity to cut Luis off (who was quite the chatterbox in Jen's opinion). "Lihua, Meifeng, Leon Vahan, Adam, Sonya, and this...metal man....are going."

"Wait, wait, wait," Luis immediately backpedaled. "Silver, really shiny and tall?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"...Fuck!" Luis shouted in irritation. "I knew those all those stupid decisions the Hands make would come around to bite us in the ass..." He ranted on, "We'll have to handle that - later. My original plan was to thin out NEST's numbers by taking out whoever leaves safety...but I feel like now's a great time to attack."

"They're expecting you," Jennifer said. "That's why they didn't just send everyone on the mission - everyone else is hunkering down."

"Oh, I know," Luis cheerfully said, "It's all apart of our plan - which should go swimmingly if you play your part."

"My part...?"

"Oh, you know, just tell us any schemes they're coming up with," Luis casually said. "The Changeling Unit has everything under control from here on in. For now, I'd suggest getting somewhere safe...stick with some friends strong enough to protect you..."

Jennifer could just feel the evil grin forming.

"...Because we're makin' our entrance!" Luis loudly shouted. Before switching to a quiet voice, "Get moving Jen, I'd hate for our newest friend to get hurt." He suddenly hung up the phone.

Jennifer sighed yet again. She dreaded what Luis was planning - but she was forced to be his puppet. She was going to follow his instructions to get out of the way. She quickly got the hell out of the alleyway - because the last place she wanted to be was cornered in an alleyway. After stepping out, she spotted Cindy...if she didn't go, that means she must be going somewhere. Cindy was easily the most powerful member of their group of peers, and Jennifer just knew she'd be protected by her.

So, she followed after her.

---

Haruka & Shizuka Takashiro, & Akemi Shinoda.

---

Mobius Final Fantasy OST - WoL's Theme (ver. 2)

---

Just as Haruka had feared, Akemi began to fuss over him the moment he returned back to the hall - to her side. Thankfully though, she had kept her voice down so as not to make a scene; even better that she was using Japanese.

"What happened to that girl - your friend? Is she sick? Did you bring her to see a doctor just now?"

"She's...fine," he lied, and kept his face straight. His aunt didn't look convinced, so he added, "Just...uh...diarrhea. Yeah." A part of him was surprised at himself for trying to cover for a girl he barely knew.

"Really." Akemi continued to hold his gaze, before she finally closed her eyes and sighed. "Well, hopefully she can recover fast. Falling sick now is almost as good as being dead, especially with the rampage going on outside."

"...Yeah," was all Haruka could say in response. He was glad that Akemi didn't question him about his connection with Jennifer---

Of course she didn't have to, because someone else had beat her to it.

"Whoa, since when a hopeless otaku like you manage to hook up with a girl - what's more, a very pretty blondie?"

Haruka narrowed his eyes at Shizuka, who was sitting - cross-legged on the chair - next to Akemi. Why was he here? "There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Jennifer - I do not see her that way."

"Shi-zu-ka," Before the white-haired boy could speak, Akemi chided at him, a dangerous glint in her small eyes. "Being overly sarcastic doesn't make you look cool at all - in fact, it's quite the opposite."

That made younger twin scowl at Akemi, but it did shut him up; as for Haruka, he had a newfound respect for their aunt.

"Anyway, Jennifer had told me...some interesting things," Haruka began as he sat down at the empty seat next to his brother.

That got the full attention of the other two. "Oh?"

For the next few minutes, Haruka told them everything he had learned from Jennifer: the Metahumans and the Black Fall Effect, the possible ways to acquire superpowers, Jennifer's regeneration ability...

Most importantly: the Changelings, and Heartbreaker.

After Haruka was done with his report, Akemi exchanged looks with Shizuka. "I've a bad feeling about this," his aunt spoke first, a worried expression on her round face. "I remembered the news did mention that NEST had captured some Hands of Science - or Changeling - members and they were kept here in the Headquarters..."

"Not all the NESTies are deployed to deal solely with the Devil," Shizuka supplied in a bored tone. "Only the 'best' get the honor to make the last stand with the Muck Army. The rest - like me - are to stay behind and guard this place, exterminating any stray roaches that are not welcomed here."

Sounds like NEST has the Changelings covered in whatever plans they may have, Haruka thought, slipping a hand absentmindedly into his pocket, his fingers closing around the comm-piece. "...Are you still not getting along with them?"

Shizuka rolled his eyes. "My intangible presence is the least of their concern compared to the main drama out there." He stared at his twin; then his gaze softened, pulling his brother towards himself, and hugged him.

---

Guilty Crown OP01 - My Dearest

---

Haruka, flustered at the unexpected gesture of affection, tried to push him away. "Shizu---?" His heart was beating so hard against his chest that he was afraid that Shizuka might feel it...

"Shut up and just let me do this."

"..."

Finally, Shizuka let go of his twin. The comm-piece in his ear buzzed, and the younger twin tched in irritation. "...Gotta go." He gave his family one last glance before he stood up, and turned to leave...

"...Oi Haru, why the hell are you following me?"

"I'm not, Mr. Narcissist," Haruka replied coldly, which earned an amused look from his twin. "Since when do I need to seek your permission just to get some drinks?"

"You've...changed. A lot."

Now it was Haruka's turn to look confused. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Not really." Shizuka shrugged, a wry grin on his face. "It's good to see you growing your own backbone now."

"I shall take that as a compliment...even though I know you are just mocking me as usual." Haruka turned to look out of a window. Among the mass of military vehicles and people in full armed gear, two figures easily stood out from the rest.

Two teenage girls still in plain clothes. And he knew who they were.

Shizuka looked over his brother's shoulder and raised his eyebrows. "Shit, I really need to run. Keep in touch, yeah?" He tapped on the comm-piece in his ear and dashed off.

Once his twin was out of sight, Haruka headed for the stairs. His aunt - and the ever-energetic Shizuka - could obviously look after themselves without him.

He was more worried about Jennifer.

Bot Reporting 2.0

These people seriously have no life. Wow.