Zeroth

FT | The Sky And The Earth

@hatakekuro

"Seriously? You think I have a crush on her?" Travis pulled a similar face as he had when he had nearly come to blows with Vega. "Have you ever actually talked to that crazy loli? It's like diarrhea of the mouth with her. And she's as bad as Vega when it comes to throwing her magic around over stupid shit."

He shook his head and sighed, his arms turning back to normal as he picked up what was left of his plate of nachos.

"Anyway, man, enjoy the rest of the festival. The pun thing...actually wasn't really so bad." He chuckled. "I'll try to think up some more next time, huh? You've won the battle, but not the war, Hans-y. I'll see ya around."

Hopping the cafe's fence rail again he headed back out into the street. Arm wrestling, snack food, pun wars...Vega was a dark cloud on this otherwise sunny day, but Travis could ignore him long enough to finish out the rest of the day. Probably. Hopefully. He decided to swing by the game booths, though he'd give Hans's doppleganger a break. Maybe some of the townspeople had cardboard cutouts of Vega.

Much mirth and cheer was had by the residents of Luna Crescente, with food and fun and, of course, the inevitable chaos brought by mage guilds. It probably wouldn't even have mattered if the mages of either Golem's Hand or Harpy's Wing could be considered "normal" personalities. The art of magic was the art of taking a piece of one's self and uniting it with the energies of nature. The product of that connection, the energy unleashed by that reaction, was Magic. Magic was reflective of one's self. Mages could never avoid standing out in society, because as long as they used Magic, they would lay their hearts bare to the world.

And just as it was natural for them to stand out among those who did not use that power, it was natural for them to gather among those of like nature. Desires and fears. Dark pasts, and hope for the future. Friendships and hardships. Alliances and rivalries. For a mage, all could be found in one place:

The Guild.

---

After the events of the festival, Travis headed back to his apartment building with a tired, slogging gait. He'd eaten til he felt like bursting, played til he felt like passing out, and now he looked forward to a bright new morning and the work it would--hopefully--bring.

"Wonder who I should work with tomorrow?" he thought as he stood on his doorstep, wrestling with his pockets for his keys. "Hm. If that monster hunting job is still up I might ask Sunny. And maybe..." He finally got the door open, and strode into the flat. It was a simple arrangement, just a two bed, single bath layout (though he didn't have a roommate, so the second bedroom was just a storage/workout room) with a small living area and attached kitchen. "Nah, Amy will be my last resort--before Vega, at least. If Rei's around I'll ask him. Or Ky."

He locked the door and pulled his jacket off as he walked into his bedroom, but didn't bother with anything else. Flopping down on his back, arms and legs spread haphazardly across the covers, the Take-Over mage was soon sound asleep and snoring as loudly as the Arzuros.

In Hunting Beasts and Monsters

@Lucius Cypher

I'm going to stop expecting things. Kenji thought as the door opened and a man with no nose allowed him to step inside. It's always worse. No matter how I try to prepare myself, this place just keeps getting worse. Again he found himself thankful that everything he could have retched up had already been retched. Kenji turned his head to the side, towards the clean air outside the door, and tried his best to filter his breathing. He didn't even want to try breathing through his mouth, as he was sure the chemical smell would be strong enough to taste. When he thought he had enough air to make words with, he turned back to Tailor.

"Don't want to wear them. If you'll pay for them or trade or something, I'll drag the other four corpses over here. I just need a way to get by in this world."

He turned his head and took another breath.

"...Might not hurt, though, if you could...teach me how to skin them? It'll make bringing more easier." He turned a shade paler as he spoke, but he had to do this. He couldn't haul corpses around all the time. Pelts and hides, those would be much easier to handle without all the flesh and organs inside. It was going to be disgusting and he was probably going to pass out at some point if he kept pushing this threshold of insanity, but it had to be done.

FT | The Sky And The Earth

As much as the festival seemed like a set up for a big event that would grab attention and set up some kind of later plot point, maybe it would be better if it just ends on a normal note, then the next morning everyone goes back to business as usual? Creating our own missions would be much easier than trying to do any kind of major plot and then the impetus would just be on completing those for a bit, maybe until Vongola gets back or someone gets better ideas.

In Hunting Beasts and Monsters

With Cypher being busy with real life stuff and the huge lack of people here, I'm thinking about putting this RP on hiatus.

@TheWindel

Like I suggested earlier, what about just making another thread in Casual/General Interest Checks to advertise? It's still in its infancy, not like new players would have to play catch-up very much.

In Hunting Beasts and Monsters

Since it seems like so many have dropped out, maybe try recruiting another batch?

The Jade Stream

I'm assuming the duel isn't an "at sunrise" thing, so I was going to let you and Vita go first if that's alright.

FT | The Sky And The Earth

I've rarely watched any of the FT anime because it feels so low budget--probably the only fights that come close to being "well-animated" in my opinion are Natsu vs Gajeel, Gajeel and Natsu vs Laxus, the Hades fight, and Natsu vs Sting and Rogue. Natsu vs Jellal at the Tower had a lot of emotional intensity that almost made up for it, but the anime in general always seems to pace the fights too slowly and they don't flow very well. Nothing like the "sakuga" other series get, and you'd think considering how popular FT is now they'd start upping their game.

At least they don't do the "generic tribal design" magic circles with every spell or use stock footage of Natsu's Fire Dragon Fist anymore.

I really like the manga's fights, though, cause I'm not the type to complain when a character gets up after a beating "because my friends are counting on me!" Only one fight in the series really took that concept too far in my opinion (hint: it's because they're them.), but it's a shonen manga about good guys beating up bad guys, what do you expect?

Anyway, for something actually RP related, kind of at a loss as to how to keep Travis' and Hans' interaction going or give a lead for other players to use as a hook. Any suggestions?

FT | The Sky And The Earth

Can you remember if we have backstory on why Laxus' power is so limited? It was mentioned by the mage this week but I can't remember if we've heard about it before or whether it's new information.

@Lord Sawsaw2

It's spoilers for those that haven't caught up to/followed the more recent arcs.

Spoilers!

Remember Laxus's fight with that Tartarus demon, the one who was originally a goat but then was revived as a dark skinned man? Tempestas, I believe was his name. When Laxus fought him the first time, he beat him, but then the demon sort of suicide-bombed himself, releasing a powerful anti-magic poison. To keep it from killing everyone present, Laxus used his Dragon Slayer stomach to suck it all up. He was sick after that and was out for the rest of the arc. Then there was a year-long time-skip. There are still complications from it; it seems to have either weakened or corroded his internal organs.

FT | The Sky And The Earth

@hatakekuro

Travis grimaced as the exchange continued, reacting as if he'd received a physical blow every time Hans brought out another terrible, terrible joke. But inch by inch, he began to regain his footing. He grit his teeth and began to formulate his counter attack. He started to open his mouth. Then Hans said the one thing he couldn't take, no matter what.

"SHSHSHSHSHSHHHH!" He suddenly slapped a bear paw over Hans's mouth, his face uncomfortably close, side to side with the pale mage's own as his eyes darted about this way and that. There was utter silence for several moments, then Travis released Hans and stepped away, still peering about like an antelope that knows a lion is nearby.

"Don't say her name!" he hissed. "Speak of the Devil Slayer and she shall appear!" Then, realizing that might possibly be a pun, he pointed one clawed finger at Hans. "And that's not a joke!"

The Jade Stream

Just for further clarity, Dai Xin and Liu were treated at the Mingdu school, or at a specific "school of healing?"