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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2018 6:45:48 GMT -4
WORD COUNT; TAGGED: TAGGED: Fluffy The above-ground barracks. Three unfolded military trucks, parked in the shape of a horseshoe. Two stories tall, connected by the ends, with the entrances being on either side of the opening in the horseshoe formation. Or at least, so it would've been normally. See, the barracks had gone into complete lockdown, a feature designed to allow the building to withstand the force of an incoming airstrike. Metallic alloy shudders had come up to cover the windows. The doors to the facility had been completely blocked, making entry on it's own a difficult affair. Somewhere in there however, were the antidotes that the group so desperately needed to recover their health, their minds, their future. On the left side of the horseshoe opening, was a lone soldier. Corporal Tanaka Greyson. Previously, he had ordered Ryuusei Igarashi to prevent any of the infected quirk users from escaping the area; Killing them if he had to. Now, his sole focus seemed to be on entering the compound. A little fingerprint reader was consistently denying him, despite him following it up with a proper code. "Building in lockdown my ass. I'm going to get in there eventually, Ryouta you idiotic asshole." Pulling out his knife, it had several other tools. Slowly, the soldier began working his way down into the panel. For someone unfamilliar with this particular setup, knowing the weak spots and how to get in would've been nearly impossible. For someone who had been there, assisting when the trucks were begin setup, every single weak spot was known. It'd take a bit, but he was going to get in there, no matter what. On top of the facility, a small loudspeaker addressed the forced entry attempt. "Corporal. If you do not immediately step away from the console, you will be deemed hostile and offensive actions will be taken!" That seemed to settle it. Tanaka was but a single soldier. He was not bulletproof. He did not have the crazy powers of quirk users, nor a power armor of the military. He was a simple, regular man with a knife, some close quarters combat skills and a strong human physique. He could not withstand a bullet. He could not break in here, versus an armed fortress willing to put him down. "Lieutenant, what you've done, risks everything. Contact HQ, we need to put this infection down before it can spread. You know this is true! Don't risk our country on some quirk vendetta!"
No reply was given. Tanaka Greyson was on his own...
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373 Posts
0 EP
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Total
18 Years
Male
"Zero"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Ryuusei Igarashi on Oct 9, 2018 18:18:23 GMT -4
Dreams breathe life into men. The stars... I'll reach them.
Crouching behind some boxes, Ryuusei Igarashi was panting. Nothing heavy or special - he was actually feeling quite good. It was the normal panting of someone who had just held his breath for a longer period of time than normal. This, in Ryuusei's case, meant that he was now invisible once again. Like a programmed machine, he began touching every single piece of clothing with his right hand. He then looked at his phone before putting it back inside his pants' back pocket. Two minutes, he memorized by looking at the time. While following Tanaka, Ryuu had stayed invisible for two minutes, more or less. WIth the restrictions of his Quirk, this meant that he could only safely activate God's Alibi again in about a minute. The sun was still up, so he couldn't be as stealthy as he would like, but it had to do... especially with his Quirk. Ryuusei decided to stop behind those boxes - probably placed there during the clean-up of the camp - because he had saw that Tanaka had stopped himself. Peeking above the wooden squares, the teenager took a better look at the building that Corporal Tanaka Greyson was trying to get in. Three trucks, two stories tall each; they were placed in a horseshoe formation, with Tanaka trying to go inside the one on the left. It's all shutdown, Ryuu worded to himself while looking at the structures. In fact, the three trucks were completely covered with metallic shutters - something that prevents one from entring, but also from exiting. Ryuusei took mental a note of this shutdown. His attention quickly shifted as, from the top of the facility, a familiar voice began being projected by a speaker. Lietenant Hideaki... the boy quickly saw the blonde man's face on his mind. The whole situation seemed weird. Especially when Ryuu heard Tanaka's reply that came shortly after. Getting down and stopping his peeking, Ryuu's mind began racing. Tanaka seemed to imply that whatever happened in the tent was the Lieutenant's fault. And his response just now about it being an infection and something that is contagious goes along to what he told me just then... That means...Having interacted with both men before, it was difficult for Ryuusei to believe that Hideaki and not Tanaka was the one responsible for attacking the tent. Another possibility was that they were working together and disagreed, but Ryuu shove that scenario out of his head - not because it would be unlikely, but mostly because the end result would be the same: Hideaki being the one to plan the previous attack. But why was Ryuusei starting to believe that Hideaki really was to blame, whether he acted alone or diverged from a possible arrangement with Tanaka? The answer to that was the detail that was strong enough for Ryuusei to believe this previous train of thought. If Tanaka did the thing on the tent and was just trying to blame it on Hideaki and also on me by making me attacking them all, why would he come here? Why not run away or hide while playing the ignorance card? Why the choice to come to this building? Besides... There is no way he sensed me following him. The building is in lockdown. Right now the conversation was between him and Hideaki. He didn't have a reason to keep faking that story if he thought that no one was watching. So... is he really telling the truth?
While his brain was processing all the information, Ryuu peeked again. It seemed that Tanaka had stopped trying to force his entry into the building after the threat made by the Lieutenant. Contact HQ, we need to put this infection down before it can spread... - Ryuusei ran Greyson's words back on his head while looking at the man - Was that why he came here? Is there some kind of medicine in there to help the ones inside the tent?Ryuusei got back down, sitting with his back against the boxes. Fuck, he mumbled. It was a chess game. Was Tanaka right? Or was Hideaki the good guy? What even his a good guy? Did Tanaka plot the tent attack and went back for an antidote to look like a hero and put Hideaki's name on the dirt? Or was Hideaki an evil man hiding behind a kind face, a mask that only a snake-man like Tanaka could identify? And what role was Ryuusei playing in this game...? Gamble.That voice again. It started to seem like a friend, in a weird type of way. Gambling... It was something that Ryuusei had always done on his games. Making strategies as quick as possible, even if they were flawed or wrong, all wit hthe sole purpose of getting closer to the goal - getting to the tresure or beating the boss, even if it meant gambling all of his loot, coins, hearts or saves. It was decided then. He got invisible once again. The minute had already passed, something he was certain as soon as he felt no pain on his lungs while breathing in. It was a short dash from where he had been hiding to the place where Tanaka was standing. He reappeared on Tanaka's right side, while raising his arms up above the man's head and stretching his legs a little. Ryuu's face was facing the Corporal's. They were very close and Ryuu was cleary trying to cover as much of Tanaka's body as he could - like a human shield. I'm honored that you think that I'm able to take down six people at the same time, but that isn't happening boss - the ice on his veins at that moment translated to his voice - He's bluffing. The whole facility is shut down, which means they can't shoot from the windows. At the top I could only see the speaker, no shooters. Even if they're hiding and I'm wrong they will not be able get a clear shot at you from any position in the facility with me standing here. If he's the good man that I met then the Lieutenant won't risk ordering the shot. If he isn't, well... Then you'll still lose nothing.Those were Ryuusei's words to the gray haired - but purple toned - man whose eyes were always almost shut. He didn't say it directely, but for a man like Tanaka it was clear what Ryuusei's intentions were: "I'm buying you time. I'm acting as your shield. So hurry up and open the damn door so I can go inside with you". That was Ryuusei's gamble. The gamble he thought necessary to get inside the building while remaining in Tanaka's good side - the only man able to get him in there. Even if Ryuu desobeyed his previous order - if there really was something valuable inside and the youngest Igarashi was able to help Tanaka getting it instead of wasting his life, then surely the Corporal wouldn't hold any resentment. And the prize of this gamble? Helping Tanaka find whatever he thought was inside the facility and then deciding what to do with it... and with him. Yes, it didn't matter if Tanaka was good or bad; if Hideaki was pure or evil. The objective of this game was to get inside and the shortest route was remaining on Tanaka's side. That was the route that Ryuu decide to take... even if it meant gambing his own body. He just had no idea that he had an head-start on two Yuuei students that escaped the camp. Nor did he imagine how they would react upon arriving and finding Ryuu together with Tanaka, both trying to break in the building. Notes: Ryuu has a death wish, I swear. And sorry for the delay, I was on a short trip!Words: 1,290.Tags: Robin Engell @plushies @fluffy
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121 Posts
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16 Years
Uncertain-male?
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Robin Engell on Oct 11, 2018 20:02:43 GMT -4
He’s running.
A breathless sprint with soles hot on the pavement and soul hot in his chest. The barest glance is spared behind to his partner, just enough to confirm he’s there.
And he glances back, slides and grinds into a hard stop before scrambling behind cover, some of those same boxes that protected Ryuusei before.
“Here!” A screamed whisper – he extends a hand, grips Kutsu’s shoulder and yanks him behind.
The barracks are different without doubt in his mind, shuttered and locked even to the military personnel fiddling with the panel.
‘The Hell is he doing?’ The words flowing freely from his heart, ‘Open it up!’
Unless he’s locked out too.
‘And why would he be locked out?! At a time like this?!’
And the explanation comes immediately.
A schism.
With a contentious issue like quirkers at the heart of the fair, there must have been hostility behind closed doors, around wooden tables – heated words like the skin on his palms bright and red and searing, words so disgusted and sharp that they’re able to draw blood.
But this man is locked out, Robin once again reasons, this corporal in all his regalia.
“He’s friendly, I think.” Decided instinctively, and Robin’s just about to leave cover when fateful words are spoken.
“… we need to put this infection down before it can spread.”
“… An infection…”
Emergency brake - legs and heart halt and scream.
Blood pools in the bottom of his heart, grips and slides his arm down with it – loose fingers that glide down Kutsu’s shoulder to his arm and elbow before finally seizing and gripping his forearm, in rage or reassurance or camaraderie.
And Ryuusei gambles – the words from person to person meant to travel inches don’t reach him, but Robin can guess from his pose, and instantly writes him off. If he’s on Tanaka’s side, he reasons, he and Kutsu are still nothing more than carriers to them.
Enemies, he reasons.
Like all his classmates in the past.
“No. No, no, we’re not going to die.” His grip redoubles, squeezes hard and painful, “Kutsu, you never told me your quirk. Is it something that can get us into that van before him?”
“And if not,” gaze still trained on those two at the door, “get ready to jump these guys as soon as the door opens. We’ll get in before them one way or another, alright?”
Everything spoken in a shaking whisper, a gale through a field.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2018 10:25:31 GMT -4
i wonder how many wishes a star can give Not everyone could hold it together in the presence of a god. The mind is a feeble thing, limited in capacity to fully comprehend what it means to stand before omnipotence. He couldn't blame the boy for reacting so frightfully. Back when he was convinced of his own mortality, he too would've felt nervous about making contact with such power, such holiness. Even more adorably, this guy worried about bringing him harm. "Me? Get burned?" He laughed and clapped an open hand to his back. "Buddy, you've got a lot to learn about celestial beings."Then he burned him. Instinct yanked him off the boy's wrist. He froze. Pain. Not much, but there. Residual heat ebbed in time, but confusion flooded his senses. He was supposed to be untouchable. Invincible. Transcending human limits. Defying human bounds. He scratched his head in thought. Wait, that actually hit the spot. Nails dug into his scalp, but the itch relented. Then the situation dawned on him. "We've been cursed!" That pain was an illusion. This itch was a hoax. And this antidote, wherever it was, would free him from these enchanted shackles. Even gods fell prey to demonic witchery. So not only did they have to hunt down Naoru, but the cure also now sat on the agenda. Thankfully, Robin seemed to have a clue as to where to look. He nodded. "Every hero needs a trusty guide. Lead the way, earth dweller."A peek over his shoulder told him it wasn’t just them two. Confusion lined his features. For reasons unclear, a stranger chose to tag along. Perhaps he too yearned to see Naoru, as a mutual friend or concerned passerby. But if that was the case, he wondered why he didn’t just say so. No, this guy wasn’t interested in his cloud friend. His aim was him and Robin. And he knew why. He spun around and waved two enthusiastic hands at their third groupee. “Hi! Are you interested in joining the Church of Kutsu?” A follower, because he was a follower. Of course! A daily reminder that his pedestal towered high above the human realm. It was only natural for worshippers to crave a taste of the heavens. Unfortunately, before he had a chance to list all the perks and benefits, his navigator took him to a shrine. A spire of boxes, carefully constructed in his honor. He hid a chuckle behind a closed fist. Whether it was cardboard or gold, he appreciated all offerings, even ones this modest. Still, he couldn't understand why he'd been brought here. "Psst." Hushed as to not embarrass him in front of the stranger. "I think Naoru's too big to be hiding in these things." His white-haired friend's ego might've fit in these boxes, but not his body. Despite his commentary, Robin's focus lay elsewhere. He followed his gaze and spotted the man who'd originally stood onstage back in the tent. Head bowed, body language closed, it was obvious what the man was doing. “He’s praying to me,” he realized with a delighted gasp, hand hovering over his mouth in deep flattery. “This is great! I’ll listen in and relay his plans.”He concentrated hard, trying to tap into the corporal’s thoughts, but alas, not a single verse received. “That’s weird, I can’t hear him…” For a moment, he was stumped. Neither wishes nor thanks could reach him. But after some contemplation, he understood. “It’s all these radio signals and cell towers.” Wireless communications were clearly interfering with his private prayer channel. Lost to the noise, left in the void, Tanaka’s hopes and dreams. He crossed his arms, dissatisfaction written all over his face. If only he was seated in the clear among the stars. The reception must be great up there. His inner musings instantly dispersed at the sharpness at his forearm. More accursed hallucinations simulating flesh and body. For now, he'd have to endure this suffering. Blue eyes met brown. Kutsu crossed his arms and flashed a brilliant smile. "I don't have a quirk." His hand reached over behind him and nabbed a teddy bear from his backpack. With a couple of spritzes from the bottle at his waist, dear Clementine sprung to life. "I have the Power of Friendship."He bent low and whispered into her twitching ear. She sent him a resolute salute, then dashed off to the truck being tampered by the corporal. Surveying the underbelly, the orange plush toy poked and prodded the vehicle in search of an opening, some way to wriggle inside.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2018 10:49:02 GMT -4
WORD COUNT; TAGGED: TAGGED: Fluffy Tanka knew full well what this little fortress was capable of. Tanaka knew full well that the threats weren't mere threats or bluffs. Having operated the defense system several times, he knew how quickly it could end a man. Taking a step back, he was wondering, pondering any other way in. That is, about when, Ryuusei approached. Starting to run his imbecilic mouth. Tanaka turned around, staring at the boy, fury literally brimming in his eyes. Fingers curling into enormous, well trained fists. "Are you a complete and utter moron?! You had a task Ryuusei-san! Even if you wouldn't be able to shut them all down, at least you could minimise the risk of contamination. Instead, you come here, offering me incorrect knowledge on my own workplace." Yeah, Tanaka was, to put it mildly, absolutely livid with how Ryuusei approached the situation. Perhaps he really should've continued operating the console. At least then they'd both be released from this sheer stupidity. "The moment the defense system is activated, turrets will pop up all across this compound. They fire more than 100 rounds a minute, at a caliber that could turn you into paste!" Granted, two rounds a second for a turret may not have sounded overly impressive, but when the caliber could generally tear through armored vehicles like butter, it became a bit of a different story. To get in, they needed to absolutely disable the defensive system first. Something that, from the outside, could be a real big problem. "Even more outrageous is it, that you'd show yourself here, openly. At least if we had an invisible man, we could've gotten things done, but you already blew your cover." Tanaka was angry, but there were more important things than scolding Ryuusei at the minute.They had a few options on how to enter, he wagered. On him, he had an explosive charge that'd need a short time to arm and detonate. It ought to be capable of taking a hole into the facility, at least by the door. However, in that time, Tanaka would be completely exposed in the open. He'd need protection, of some kind. Once inside, the defense system wouldn't be a problem anymore. Otherwise, there was a power box at the middle of each truck, for a total of three potential weak points. Normally, getting at them would be impossible with the defense system active, but if something or someone could cause a big enough distraction, they could take out the power. That, and the targetting system could not lock onto something completely invisible. Taking out the power boxes would also cut the power from everything inside the trucks, which may or may not be useful for the future. Scribbling down the two main options as plans onto a paper, Tanaka handed it to Ryuusei. "...Do you have allies that could help with the culling?" It sucked to ask, though Tanaka hoped that Ryuusei noticed the difference between his question and the plans written on the paper. Just in case someone was listening, he wanted to make it sound like he was giving up on entering the compound. Tanaka was on his own here. A lone man standing up against a foul superior force. Yet, he refused to give up. Hopefully Ryuusei would be capable of offering some proper assistance. The stupid brat at least had a heart in the right place, even if he had discarded his brain.
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373 Posts
0 EP
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Total
18 Years
Male
"Zero"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Ryuusei Igarashi on Oct 14, 2018 13:13:55 GMT -4
Dreams breathe life into men. The stars... I'll reach them.
Ryuusei Igarashi couldn't actually believe what he was seeing and hearing from just a few inches in front of him. The shock was so much that Ryuu immediately relaxed his pose, lowering his arms and relaxing his legs, standing in a normal manner while the Corporal kept on rambling. His face told a story of a teenager confused, like what was happening didn't make no sense. Is this really happening? the 1-A student could only ask himself. That man didn't seem like the Tanaka Greyson that Ryuusei had met. On their first meeting Ryuusei had told the man that he would only follow someone capable of making the right decisions and, looking at the fury in the corporal face, Ryuu could only see him as a soldier who was freaking out at his first battlefield participation. It was a shame: Ryuusei really thought that Tanaka would be the one he would follow in the near future. Perhaps he still would, but, listening to him at that moment, made Ryuusei take a step back from that idea. First of all he was letting his emotions taking the best of him during a tense scenario, which just seemed odd for a man of such experience. However, that made Ryuusei a little worried for a different reason: could the situation or the thing that Tanaka wished to find inside so important that it made the man break for a brief moment? Second, there was his comment about lowering the "risk of contamination", which Ryuusei just saw as a false true. If Ryuu had indeed followed the orders and went to eliminate the threat and left only one person escape that one person would be enough to contaminate the entire population, just like the beginning of every major plague. This meant that the mission would always be all or nothing. Besides, if Ryuusei really had been able to kill all of the targets, he could have become himself contaminated without his own knowledge, which would make him the subject 0. This was enough to make the Yuuei student completely disagree with Tanaka's tatrum and believe that he made the right call. Third and lastly was the false narrative that him revealing himself made his invisibilty worthless. Yes, Ryuusei had been wrong by assuming the layout of the trucks and making the decision that seeing no turrents meant there weren't any in hiding, but yet he knew that approaching Tanaka while visible was the correct - and only - decision he could make. This had two reasons: Number one was that him being visible at the moment didn't matter. It didn't take very long for Ryuusei to "lock" himself or others, which meant that he could turn invisible at almost any point in time. Doing that would make the enemy automatically unaware of his position or movements, allowing Ryuusei to hide in order to recover his breath before activating God's Alibi again and doing whatever he needed to, all without the enemy knowing his current location. That meant that having others know he was there did not matter that much - at least in this context - making the statement "blowing your cover" an empty one. Number two was that if Ryuusei had chose to not approach Tanaka then the man would have no idea that Ryuusei was there to help him, forcing the man to give up before being able to do a thing since he would believe that he was alone and that Ryuusei had followed his previous command and headed to the tent. If Ryuu also didn't choose to approach and if by some magical reason Tanaka was aware of his presence the older man would still have to expose himself in order to go to Ryuu's direction or yell the things he was about to write in a paper. Taking everything into account, Ryuusei strongly disagreed with the Corporal and fully believed he did everything right. However, he wasn't about to do the same thing as Tanaka. Ryuu was in a war state of mind: emotions didn't matter, only action. So, despite thinking that Tanaka had just acted in an irrational way, Ryuusei kept his mouth shut. However, he couldn't help to let out a big laugh - it would be up to Tanaka to interpret what that meant. Letting the Corporal's furious words go without a response, Ryuusei looked down at the piece of paper the man had placed on his hand. Two options, the same goal: get inside. The Igarashi discarded the option of taking down the power boxes almost instantly. First, because - to the reach of his knowledge - only him and Tanaka were there, making distractions hard to accomplish without risking either of them. Second because he didn't know the amount of effort needed to disable every single power box. Third because, even with his lung capacity, all the movement needed would mean that he had tp probably have to pause at least once in order to breathe, which could mean getting visible out in the open and killed by the turrents. The first option it was then, the one that meant Tanaka needing to arm a small explosive by the door they were standing near by. Ryuusei made his decision known to the man by tapping those words on the paper two times with his index finger. After that he just folded the said paper and put it on his back pocket. He looked at Tanaka once more. In a friendly manner he put his right hand on the side of Tanaka's neck, touching the man's skin with all of his five fingers. He then responded to him. No, I don't. It seems that we really are locked out. Let's just head back.Removing his hand, Ryuusei started walking in direction of a nearby trailer, one of the temporary "buildings" that still hadn't been removed, cutting the corner of it and disappearing from the sight of the trucks. This location, however, could be seen from the boxes where Ryuu had been hidden before - actually, this is how Ryuusei noticed this place, having scouted the area from the boxes a few moments before. If Tanaka was as smart as Ryuusei considered him, then the decision of the plan, the hand on the neck, the boy's choice of words plus Tanaka's own knowledge of Ryuu's Quirk would be enough for the Corporal to understand the intentions of the younger man. WIth this expectation, Ryuu assumed that Tanaka would follow him. If he did, Tanaka would encounter Ryuusei on that corner of the trailer. There Ryuusei would touch all of Tanaka's clothes and his explosive, locking it all with his Quirk, something he had already done to the man's body back at the truck entrance. You have three minutes, Ryuu would say to the Corporal as a warning for he amount of time Ryuu was able to make him unnoticeable. Completely invisible - along with his equipment - Tanaka would then have three minutes to approach the door, arm the explosives and get in a safe enough distance to not get hit by the blast before Ryuusei wasn't able to hold his breath any longer. Ryuusei chose this plan and acted the way he did because of two things: One: Ryuu knew that he was able to make people and objects invisible at the same, which made it possible for him to turn Tanaka and the explosives both undetectable to the turrents. This made Tanaka only have to worry about doing it under three minutes time instead of being worried about getting shot down, allowing to act as fast as he possibily could. Two: the act of going away from the door before approaching it was necessary because Ryuu himself couldn't make himself invisible at the same time as another person, so he needed to hide. Besides, making it seem even more like they had truly given up on entering the truck allowed Tanaka to return to the spot invisible without no one thinking that he was, in fact, back once again. However, this would only be made possible if Tanaka understood what Ryuusei wanted to do and decided to follow him. If he didn't or disagreed with him and stopped Ryuusei from walking away the boy would just give up and wait for the Corporal's orders; if he didn't but also didn't stop Ryuusei from walking away then the teenager would just look back at Tanaka out in the open and think that the man had a death wish. As for the two hiding in the boxes, Ryuusei still had no idea about their presence. Hopefully they wouldn't ruin his and Tanaka's little break-in plan. Notes: I'm truly sorry for the long post!!Words: 1,449.Tags: Robin Engell @plushies @fluffy
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121 Posts
0 EP
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16 Years
Uncertain-male?
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Robin Engell on Oct 14, 2018 21:34:56 GMT -4
It’s starting to itch.
A hundred lice dancing on his scalp, tickling chitin on skin. Claws reach and scratch and scream in gestures everything that lungs can’t. Frightened tears held back by a silent fury – hot and panicked as he grinds the border of real and illusory.
Heated words glide fast and clear on the wind, clearer than before. Tanaka is furious, Ryuusei had made a mistake, a name Robin had just learned. And the clear cut solution, the obvious answer for one with privilege, with blood and skin and eyes all clean, is to run.
Ryuusei begins to leave, as far as Robin knows. Steps calm and nonchalant, he imagines that blonde at the top of a tower observing a floodplain, sipping wine and lounging in his seat, and he seethes, righteous and red and ready to swing a fist at someone who so flippantly discards lives.
And not just any lives, he thinks.
‘My life.’
A million plans formed and discarded and revisited with lower standards until one makes the cut. Kutsu needed time – he’d rolled his eyes at his ally’s power of friendship, but the fluff toy would make a good scout, he admits to himself. A sleeper agent, a spy that can snatch an objective if only given the chance. This fact he reasons as his first piece on the board.
‘And Tanaka,’ he thinks, ‘wants pieces too.’
Allies for the culling – Tanaka wants tools, soldiers, uninfected to purge the unclean.
Thoughts like symbols flash through his head – words and thoughts discarded for concepts, notions of action and logic, cause and effect. A million chemical pathways in a flowchart to his conclusion.
Tanaka will recognize him. Both had been in the tent, and both had seen the other – there was no sea of faces to be lost in, he’s certain.
His second piece on the board.
“If you breathe a word of this to anyone,” he speaks suddenly, sharply – a gale from his lips like a sharp and fine like a sickle, “I will superheat a finger and cauterize shut every hole on your face.”
Deep and heavy breaths – his chest expands and contracts with each cycle, grows larger each time as his overall frame shrinks.
Breathing hot and viscous as the air grows thick around, humid to searing – shimmering light ripples off, distorted by heat.
He shrinks – with eyes tight and shut, he can’t see his hair shift from black to brown from the roots on out, can’t see those thin threads fall to his back like a curtain. Sharp lines to soft curves on his face, his torso, his hips and legs and arms, a gradiant, a timelapse, until the person crouching next to Kutsu isn’t the boy he’d known, but someone he might call a sister.
And she opens her eyes, glances at her palms, scowls and grits her teeth and bites back the burning blush on her cheeks before realizing her hand had been wrapped around his forearm the whole time, tight and vice-like – she lets go in a blink to reveal a hand-shaped section of his sleeve without crease or wrinkle.
Short prep-work – silent and sure, she rolls up the sleeves of her shirt and pants, makes it look as intentional as possible while hiding behind loose clothes.
“Kutsu,” whispered in a soft soprano counter to sandpaper before, “don’t stop looking for a way in. I’m going to try and play along. Look for your chance, alright?”
Forcing a smirk onto shaking lips.
“We’re not going to die.”
Just before Ryuusei is out of sight, just as Tanaka is watching him leave, she stands and steps and draws their gaze away from the box, advances to Tanaka with teeth on display, casual and calculated as a farce. One hand in pocket, the other in a salute.
“He does, sir! Uh, that is, me! I overheard the situation and would like to offer myself to the military to help prevent this infection from spreading, sir! Whatever that infection is.”
Stopping short, standing awkward at Tanaka’s chest and sparing glances to Ryuusei further away.
“My quirk is Heat Generation, sir! I can generate massive amounts of heat. Please feel free to use me however you see fit.”
‘As long as it gets us inside,’ thoughts deep in her chest.
The hand in her pocket plays with some moisture, the bits that are left from being sprayed before. In a worst case scenario, she thinks, maybe Tanaka could be forced to change sides.
WORD COUNT: 749 NOTES: She's using "watashi" as her pronoun in the first person.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2018 17:32:30 GMT -4
i wonder how many wishes a star can give How shameful to bear audience to this scuffle between devotee and innocent lamb. Furrowed brows, clenched jaws, reddening face—just a leaked fraction of the rage boiling inside the man. Continued scratching rattled his head, muddying conversation details taking place just meters away. Still, visuals were all he needed to assess the situation. The corporal had had his prayers rudely interrupted by that young lad in the defensive basketball position, clearly pestering the high-ranking officer to shoot some hoops with him. But no matter the health benefits, this was no time for sports.Disappointment whirled out in a drawn-out sigh. He did appreciate Tanaka's efforts to convert the boy. After all, despite his divine status, he lacked experience, lore, and, most importantly, followers. Rising generations needed to be introduced to the Five Commandments of Friendship, especially if they sought enlightenment. However, shouting and scribbling them down on tattered note paper would not sway a soul. That boy seemed wholly unimpressed. The corporal's methods lacked empathy and patience. Kutsu berated himself for neglecting to carry with him a copy of his holy text so that they could all sit circled and read together instead.Opportunity lost. And speaking of lost, where did Clementine go? Inner turmoil had momentarily distracted him, but a quick rotation let him lock back onto his handcrafted friend. Her movements were wobbly, teetering like a drunkard. Focus evaporated as she danced over the edge of his radius, the border between obedience and autonomy. He shook his head. Free will was an illusion. He'd have to scold the bear about lapses in faith. As he formulated the appropriate reprimand, he received one of his own. By his own follower, no less.Secrets. A confession of sorts. To lend an open ear and be granted Robin's deepest, darkest truths was truly an honor. It said something about the level of trust he had in him as a dependable deity. Yet indignation flashed across his face. "Watch your hubris, mortal. As soon as my curse is lifted, I'll have you disciplined." Human greed knew no bounds. As soon as they saw an opening, they'd dogpile onto even a shred of available power. Any other day, he was an infallible being. For now, handicapped.It must've taken an army of witches to cast this spell. Funnily enough, they were on an army base. His eyes suddenly glazed over as mental gears ground painfully, noisily, latching onto a burgeoning conspiracy as he attempted to put two and two together. Vacant stares aimed at the sky, right past the miracle taking place, while a dull warmth hugged his forearm unnoticed."Kutsu."A melodic hush nudged him back to earth. Attention snapped forward, onto an unfamiliar face, before scuttling dizzily everywhere else. "Are you…" She just appeared out of nowhere. But of all places to land, she landed beside him. "My messenger angel?" Validation surged through his veins. The universe had sent him aid.His fortune, previously depleted, now overflowed with abundance. "Of course we'll survive." Fists pumped and punching the air. "There are two of us now!" There hadn't been the slightest chance they were going to die, with or without a second celestial ally, but he appreciated her sentiments nonetheless.That's when he found himself alone. His angel, bless her, opted to take a more active role in breaking his curse, but at the expense of his company. Loitering by his cardboard shrine, Kutsu came to a grim realization."Robin?"He spun around, desperate to find the boy he'd snapped at not too long ago. Neither sight nor sound. Another try. More spinning. Behind the pillar, above his head, inside his backpack. His surroundings blurred as he frantically searched for his dark-haired schoolmate. I'll have you disciplined, were his final words to him. His heart stopped. Perhaps the curse reached beyond his expectations. Perhaps he'd underestimated his own power. There was no way to tell, but whichever the case, he knew one thing: he'd summoned an angel of death.Horror ripped the ground from beneath his feet. He stumbled backwards, unbalanced, unsure if the resulting pain was still an illusion or a self-inflicted punishment for straying from his ideals.Tears welled, a sympathetic universe distorting reality with a watery filter. First he'd lost Naoru. His friend to whom he'd dedicated today. His friend who disappeared right under his nose while he reveled shamelessly in his own so-called holiness. Hubris, rather. That bloated pride assumed to afflict only humans. Clearly not. Because of his, now Robin was gone. Two people he'd sworn to protect. He brought his knees up to his head and tried to bury, in vain, his worst fears. Gone. Dead. Probably.Sensation left his body. Hardly moving, he spared a shaky glance at the feminine figure approaching the two conspiring mortals. His plans to spread his gospel melted away with the man's form. "Corporal?!" A couple of seconds and poof. Like smoke. Hanging, holding, in the air, gone in a sweep. Never in his life had he crossed paths with such destructive power.This was no angel. "Watch out, she's a witch!" No longer would he tolerate her reign of terror. Two souls she'd already claimed. Kutsu didn't know the brunette, neither his name nor aim. All he knew was that this young, innocent soul could not fall prey to enchanted evil, not while he could help it. Scrambling back onto his feet, he burst forth and raced headfirst toward the wide-eyed demon. His battle cry bubbled with rage. Before she could even lay a finger on that poor boy, he tackled the witch, sending her to the ground.And at the same time, Clementine, who'd long forgotten her original mission, decided this was a prime time to flex her latest accessory. Paw pointing up at the underside of the first truck, she performed a little jig. The motion patterns, hardcoded into the device hidden inside, were recognized as an activation signal. A series of quiet blips mingled with the hubbub, followed by a devastating KA-BOOM. Fire blazed, a forceful blast, eating at the vehicle's defenses. Arm torn open, an orange bear lay lifeless and singed across hot pavement.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2018 10:44:53 GMT -4
WORD COUNT; TAGGED: TAGGED: Fluffy The kid had an attitude. Believing in the words of those he respected, as long as it fit his narrowminded worldview. Exactly how a kid like him, with a quirk that was only situationally useful, could have such an underlying arrogance, was well beyond Tanaka. His bag was taken off, thrown at the door, shaking his head from side to side as he took a few steps with Ryuusei. That is, right until a strange female came up to the both of them. At first, perhaps there was reason enough for Tanaka to have been confused. However, once he learned that the girl had a quirk and magically found herself in this area, it became quite clear why she was there. This was not some loyal soldier. This was one of those quirk-wielding whatevers from the tent. Narrowing his eyes at her, he rose his hand and pointed at her in a threathening manner. "If you come any closer to me, I'm going to snap your neck where you stand. Just because you're not a monster yet, does not mean you won't be in a few minutes.."But the crazy stupid didn't stop there. No, not only did the first one walk straight into the line of fire, should the security system be enabled. A second one rose from his hiding spot, shouting something about the girl being a dangerous witch. Charging into the line of fire as well, an explosion went off elsewhere. Seemingly right underneath the truck they were at. The shockwaves triggered whatever Tanaka had left in his bag. The bag explode from the C4 he had been carrying. The door itself was torn open like paper, giving the entire group somewhere to run to. They absolutely needed to run. The security system on the two trucks that hadn't just been violently attacked activated. Four turrets began firing 0.45 ACP rounds at the group. A bullet size large enough to cause serious damage to whatever it impacted. Impact onto them, the bullets would. Kutsu was hit to his left shoulder; The bullet passed all the way through to the other side. Robin was hit to the thigh, far enough up that running inside would be difficult. The luckiest one was Ryuusei, who had a bullet pierce through the palm of his hand, leaving a hole in the center. An arm had grasped Robin by the scruff, throwing her into the doorway. Tanaka had used his last strength to save her. Exactly why, he did not know. The girl had done nothing for him and showed no promise that she would be able to complete the mission, attain the antidote and prevent disaster... but in his final moments, he had deemed it his best chance. Being the largest target, most of the turrets had aimed for him. Seven bullets had pierced him. Stomach, lungs, shoulder, leg. A mere moment after having thrown Robin indoors, Tanaka collapsed, dead on the spot....Inside the first wagon, the lights were completely out from Kutsu's shenanigans. There was enough room to have a decently sized corridors, with several siderooms. Everything was high tech, cleaned to perfection. From the compartments up ahead, noise flickered over some kind of radio. Ryuusei might recognize the voice as belonging to Lieutenant Hideaki. "I see you vermin are unwilling to simply kick the bucket. Not that it matters. In less than fifteen minutes, all of you will be drones, belonging to X320 - and by extension, me. Do make this a little interesting, will you?" The group had a few moments of freedom to catch their breaths, bandage and treat their wounds, or whatever else they were capable of. Since everything in this truck compartment was disabled, they were in no immediate danger to be targetted... but the need to scratch their scalps, the influence of the drug coursing through their veins, it was only getting worse. OOC Note: This event absolutely can and will kill you. Chaos like what you just caused is ill adviced. I highly suggest getting Kutsu under control, somehow. While I understand that Kutsu is reacting really poorly to the drug, do make sure you don't jeopardize the lives of not only yourself, but also your team. This time, you've only been warned and punished. I opened a way onwards for you. Next time, I won't be so merciful. Much love, Fluffy~
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373 Posts
0 EP
EXP
Total
18 Years
Male
"Zero"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Ryuusei Igarashi on Oct 17, 2018 22:10:55 GMT -4
Dreams breathe life into men. The stars... I'll reach them.
Why? Why wasn't he hearing any footsteps behind him? The plan should work, Tanaka should've realized it. Not stopping Ryuusei from walking off entirely was proof enough of the belief on his plan. So why? Why wasn't Tanaka coming?It should be easy, no chance of failure, of injury, of a great amount of time lost. Why weren't the boots that could shake the entire ground being heard? Ryuusei turned around. Tanaka wasn't coming. He still stood next to the door they were trying to break in to. But the man wasn't coming because that was his will, but rather because he couldn't - at least not immediately. A girl - an incredibly small one - was standing in front of the Corporal. Despite not having reacher the trailer Ryuusei was already at a distance far enough that he couldn't hear what the girl was saying. Tanaka was pointing his finger at her, but from Ryuu's point of view only a mouth with no sound could be looked at. Who was she? What the hell was she up to? Ryuusei was about to find out. He couldn't get anyone interfere, not at that point. With that in mind he was ready to get closer, remove the girl from that spot. But, before he could do that... A boy? That one Ryuusei recognized: he had been inside the tent. That was a problem, one that was Ryuusei's responsability. Shit. The boy was shouting, but Ryuu's tunnel vision didn't allow his ears to take in the content of the words being spoken. Did he know the girl? Were they working together? Now Ryuusei really had to step in. He started to march forward. However, only one step. BOOM.A small explosion. It came from under the truck. Ryuu's eyes were now focused on that. Was that a work of those two? It had to be. It wasn' Ryuu or Tanaka and Hideaki wasn't going to attack his own base. What the fuck was happening?! Before having a chance to properly process all the new information... BOOM.Once more. This one louder, stronger. It made Ryuusei coil up as an instinct of self-protection. As he got up he confirmed that not a single piece of debris had hit him. Thankfully he was far enough from the truck. Looking at that direction the door was now open, even if hiiden under a thin wall of smoke from the blast. It wasn't a reason to be happy. It was messy, way messy. And created an even bigger problem. Remembering Tanaka's words, only one image came to Ryuusei's mind. The turrents.They were sure to react to that - and they did. They probably function in a way to target the closest and largest groups of threats first, so the first round of bullets headed to the three that were standing a few feet ahead from Ryuusei. From this point on everything was in slow-motion. A rain of bullets. One on the girls thigh; one on the boys shoulder. As for the oldest of them... OST: PAINS-Stop, he muttered as it transpired in fornt of his eyes.
Tanaka shoved the girl away before she could get hit with many more bullets. The boy had already made the wise decision of going inside the truck. Didn't matter. Ryuusei's honey eyes could only see the corporal's body.
MOVE, Ryuusei yelled as he ran forward, beginning to touch his clothing in order to activate his Quirk on himself rather than the previous plan.
He saw every single one of them clear as water. The first hit his right leg, making him fall to the other knee. The second his left shoulder. The third his other leg, making Tanaka kneel and use his right arm to support himself. The fourth and fifth both hit the stomach area. The sixth and seventh his chest. Only the last one made the military man fall completely on his own belly.
MOVE, he yelled once again fully aware it wasn't any kind of help.
Ryuusei stretched his right arm as he ran to Tanaka. His hand trying to grab what was already gone. A bullet coming straight through it to remind the Yuuei student that he too was made of flesh and bones. It hurt like hell. But after getting entirely burned by Jasmine it wasn't a hell that Ryuusei wasn't familiarized with. It served, however, as a wake-up call: a call for him to hold his breath, become invisible to both the world and the heavy guns.
It was in this state that Ryuusei reached Tanaka's bleeding and already lifeless body. Kneeling in the middle of the battlefield, Ryuusei turned the man's body around allwoing Tanaka's face to look up to the sky. It was then that Ryuu began chess-compressing him, trying to bring back a life that already wasn't inside that body.
Come on you fucking snake, you can't die like this, Ryuusei thought, not being allowed to voice his frustration due to the requirements of God's Alibi.
The compressions were making the pain on his right hand even worse, even with the adrenaline hiding the worst of it. But he kept on compressing - even if a part of him was fully aware that it was a hopeless effort.
Saving a girl, what the hell were you thinking?! Ryuusei was bitting hard on his lips in order to not cave in and start breathing.
He continued the compressions. The blood from his hand merged with the one pouring out of Tanaka, the same blood that was now all over Ryuusei's sweatshirt.
Why were you trying to be a hero you bastard...
The emotion. The physical pain. The effort from making the compressions non-stop. Ryuusei was about to be out of air on his lungs. He had to live the body - otherwise he would join it. The teenager got up. Before that he had opened Tanaka's eyes wide open: they were always almost close, so in death Ryuusei wanted the man to gaze upon the clouds. Looking at their now dead colour, Ryuusei thought those were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.
After a short dash he got inside the darkness of the truck. He started breathing heavily, becoming visible once more now that he was safe from the meancing turrent fire. He panted while sitting on the floor.
Fuck! - he yelled as he punched the ground - Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! he pucnhed as many times as he yelled.
Why did he care so much about that man? Why was it affecting him that much? He had no reasons for it or... had he? I ntruth Tanaka had been the only one so far to accept Ryuusei's dark side, to show the kid that even like that he could achieve something. Tanaka had showed him a path, a path that Ryuusei was hoping to walk with the man - even if eventually to stab him in the back. That path had been taken away from him. And the one to take Tanaka from him was right inside that room:
It was you.Yes. It wasn't Robin or Kutsu. It was a direct consequence of Ryuusei's actions. If he had followed his orders he could've killed Kutsu before, maybe even be able to see the girl appearing at the camp and also kill her before she reached Tanaka. Even if he wasn't able to kill them he would be able to delay him. Then Tanaka would still be alive. Because of Ryuusei he wasn't. He took it all in. The pain. The blame. All of it. It was all food for the monster within him. It was the price to pay. Now there could only be ice. He had a mission to carry out: find what Tanaka wanted to find. Ryuu stood up. He ripped a piece f his purple sweater. The hole on his hand was clean - that was good. Taking the piece of cloth he pushued it right through the hole, plugging completly and then tying it around the hand. It was as discomfortable as it could get, but at least now he wasn't bleeding - if he became invisible he would leave no trail. Hideaki's voice echoed. It meant nothing, not now - there was no way that Ryuusei would back off or play along with those kind of games. He took off the sweater and put it inside out, leaving the dirty side on the inside. Now shirtless, he threw sweater in the direction of Kutsu. If he was smart enough the boy would understand that the sweater was meant for him to bandage his shoulder with. Wrap it good and fast, Ryuusei said in an almost dead voice. He then turned his pants into shorts with his knife. With two beige "leg sleeves" now on his hands he did the same he had done with the sweater: turned it inside out. He then threw both sleeves at the girl. In the exact same deattached voice he spoke to her too. Wrap one above the hole to slow the bloodflow. Wrap the other exactly where the hole is. If you're not screaming from pain then it's not tight enough.Ryuusei Igarashi was now shirtless and with shorts - the remainings of his pants. His battle wounds all exposed: the defromed ribs, the right arm and leg with burnt marks, the left ankle with a big scar from surgery. On his prefered hand - the left one - he held his military knife. His right hand - despite taken care of - was almost out of comission. He touched what he needed to in order for, when the time arrived, he could become invisible at will. He was also focusing on his breathing before leaving a final note to both of his "allies", who would hopefully taking care of their own wounds. Hurry up, both of you.Ryuusei was not sure why was he trying to help those two. But he was sure of one thing: Tanaka had died for what was inside that truck and he was going to find it, no matter the costs. Notes: Welp, long post again, rip.Words: 1,691.Tags: Robin Engell @plushies @fluffy
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121 Posts
0 EP
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Total
16 Years
Uncertain-male?
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Robin Engell on Oct 18, 2018 2:03:33 GMT -4
Fighting games are measured in frames.
It’s the limitation of animation, the basic nature of unreality that they must be rendered in still images and stitched together after the fact. Quick enough for most not to see. Quick enough such that for many, unreality and reality join, merge and congeal with the borders molting and sloughing off. Reality isn’t measured in frames. Reality is seamless, truly linear, with no still images. Everything dynamic, everything moving. Human beings do not see their lives in frames, save for the ones they build.
Her eyes still measure in sixty frames per second.
Reflex guides her against Tanaka, floating and formless without blueprint, built only on the foundation of a lifetime lying to adults.
“If you come any closer to me,” he says, “I’m going to snap your neck where you stand. Just because you’re not a monster yet, does not mean you won’t be in a few minutes.”
“Daijoubu, I’m not one of them.” Words betray actions – hands rise with palms flat, hover at chest level. “Feel my clothes if you want. I’m completely dry. I saw some of them running out of the tent soaked in something, but I didn’t know it was so serious.”
Doubt in his eyes, in an instant, reactable. Breath in her lungs, ready to speak and assuage.
Stolen by Kutsu’s guilt.
Puppeteer’s Pile Driver Start Up Frames: 23 Active Frames: 186 Recovery Frames: Variable, dependent on character weight
A long dash into dive that acts as a command grab and puts both characters into hard knock down. Unwieldy, telegraphed – to be used only as a hard read.
Stolen by Kutsu’s explosion.
Soft Bomb Start Up Frames: 1 Active Frames: 8 Recovery Frames: N/A
An explosive stitched and tucked away inside a plush toy. Strong enough to shock unexpected opponents and damage those adjacent. User loses all health on activation.
Stolen by a malfunction.
C4 – Detonate Start Up Frames: 1 Active Frames: 15 Recovery Frames: N/A
An explosive plastic compound – powerful enough to puncture and destroy steel. Can be easily concealed in clothing. Extremely high damage – use to finish combos.
Processed in those terms. Shrinking rationalism, dying morale. Heart ticking like metronome from throat to gut for a chorus’ rising crescendo.
‘I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I ‘m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I don’t want to die I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared Please God I don’t want to die I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared I’m scared’
Hand on her neck, tight and rough and masked by adrenaline.
Corporal Crusher Start Up Frames: Unknown Active Frames: 149 Recovery Frames: Unknown
A command throw with the purpose to put target at positional disadvantage. Puts the character into stun and does no damage.
---
MC: So, Element! Thank you so much for being on the show, I know it must be hard making the rounds like this.
The MC’s face scratched over and coated in ink.
[Element gestures dismissively and finishes his coffee before setting it down]
[audience laughs]
All their faces scratched over and coated in ink.
Element: It’s fine, it’s fine! No worries.
MC: And congratulations once again on your recent award-
Element: Thank you.
MC: -and on being named the world’s number one hero – The number one hero, ladies and gentlemen!
[audience applauds]
[Element shakes his head and waves his hands dismissively]
Element: Please, I still don’t feel like I deserve it. There are so many strong heroes out there.
MC: I don’t think so! You’ve really proved yourself, with an amazing quirk on top of that.
[Element laughs and scratches the back of his head]
Element: Believe it or not I used to get bullied for it, but that’s not a story for a morning show.
MC: I think it’s good information though! There are probably a lot of aspiring young heroes out there who would feel some solidarity in that.
Element: Well, if any of them are watching your show on a Saturday morning instead of cartoons, let me know.
[audience laughs]
Element: But no, speaking of your show, your producer told me backstage- this- this is a historic broadcast, is that right?
MC: Actually that’s right, you’re right. This is the first time we’ve ever broadcast in full 4K at sixty frames per second, so the quality should be-
[audience applauds]
MC: Oh, thank you!
Element: [clapping as well before scratching his head] Congratulations.
MC: But yeah, the quality should be top notch for those of you at home, from what I’m told. The visual quality at least, I can’t speak for the content!
[audience laughs]
MC: And I see you have your lovely wife with you.
Element: Yes, we just got married-
[audience applauds]
Her face scratched over and coated in ink.
MC: Well congratulations on that as well. It’s so rare to find love these days, isn’t it?
Element: The world is lacking in love-
[Element runs a hand through his hair and scratches his scalp]
[MC starts to speak, cuts himself off]
Element: and it’s- I’m sorry, were you going to say something?
MC: No, no, go on ahead.
Element: It’s just sad, is all. To not find love or purpose when there’s only so much life to live.
[Element leans back in his seat, scratches the back of his head once again]
[Element scratches more intensely now]
[The itching on Element’s scalp becomes overwhelming – he reaches another hand to help relieve it.]
[Element’s wife reaches over to grab his wrist and hold his hand.]
[It’s cold. Her touch is cold.]
[Why is she cold?]
[Gentle touch - she slides an icy palm along his thigh.]
[His thigh.]
[His thigh.]
[Her thigh.]
Her thigh.
Callouses and scars form after trauma as hardened tissue, numb in exchange for protection. When skin is burned or split on someone who doesn’t die as a result, it heals gnarled and pale, mismatched and uncolored and numb to all sensation.
And with wounds of the brain and heart.
A corpse on the ground dancing in mockery of life, bouncing by invisible hands. Coated in holes, coated in blood.
It is her first time first hand seeing a soul emigrate from life to death. Dying had been clean in her mind – her mother’s moment of death was hidden and washed up, sanitized such that she appeared sleeping as she did in life at the moment of viewing.
It’s wet that tells her she’s bleeding, dampness along her thigh. Glancing down, watching blood dark and red stain her jeans.
‘I’m going to leave behind a girl’s corpse.’ Thought simply and without feeling.
Life in her eyes is gone, glazed and dull and flat like those images on a screen. Her soul is in hiding, her heart in a bunker.
Fractured, mental and emotional.
Broken.
Pallid, without signature red or the embarrassment behind it – she unbuttons her jeans, hobbles and stands and leans against a wall still deaf from their special moves. She strips, tosses useless denim aside, boxers saturated in blood her only modesty. Heat pulses in an aura, hot and overwhelming and powered by the soft red glow of her hand.
Reaching and grasping that wound, gritting teeth and screaming through lips shut tight until she’s mangled her leg and branded skin a charred brown. Pulling away coated in deep red blood, viscous like sap, painting a hand shaped scar where there was once a wound.
Dead eyes glance to the other.
“Now you.”
When Kutsu enters, a leg rises, a high kick that shoots above her head and into his chin, should he fail to dodge.
High Kick Start Up Frames: 25 Active Frames: 47 Recovery Frames: 58
A simple high kick, typically aimed at an opponent’s chin. The attack is meant to stun and knock a target off balance. It can be used as a launcher with enough force, and is typically best used to extend combos.
And with that, she follows up, dashes forward and tackles him to the ground, no vengeance on her face or in her heart.
She reaches for the hem of his shirt, lifts and tears off charring fabric until he’s exposed, straddles his waist in a scene that’s almost suggestive without context.
An open palm glowing and hot like a brand closes around his shoulder.
“Do you feel that, wannabe-kami? Do you hurt?”
Human sensation has limits – extreme heat and extreme cold are equal, identical as temperature loops and overflows and sears and cools. Ice touches him, ice that fades quickly and surely into pain without characteristic or description.
“You killed a man just now. You nearly killed me. You see this?”
A free hand taps the side of her skull, highlights the eerie calm in her words. It's explanation, exposition, spoken as narration and not experience.
“I’m partially deaf right now. The bullet that went through your shoulder, I assume the one that went through your shoulder – it nearly hit me right here. I saw the crater in the cement where it impacted.
“You know the most important person you nearly killed though?
“It was you. You nearly died, and honestly, you should have. I’m kind of upset right now,” spoken flatly and without emotion, like the rest of her speech, “because if you’re not dead, it means you still need to be babysat. A child with his toys playing god needs a caretaker.
“And you get that now, right? With my hand on your shoulder, melting your skin and saving your stupid 「FUCKING」 life? It hurts. Physically. Emotionally. Your pride is bleeding just as bad. Just like a kid gets tough on the playground until he scrapes his knee. Just like a bully thinks he’s cool for asking to see your tits until you weld his face.
“If you were a god,” she punctuates the word with another layer of heat, “this wouldn’t hurt. The only people who hurt are children. Stupid infants who need to be protected. Stupid 「FUCKING」 infants who can’t even be trusted with toys because they might choke themselves.
“You called me a witch, right?”
Cold stare morphs into the slightest glare.
“Witches kill children, don’t they?”
Her hand drifting for his neck, shaking. Threatening, gripping and brushing skin before pressing flat against the ground beside. She pushes herself up, lifts herself off.
“… Kidding.”
The shoes she lost taking off her pants are replaced and stripped again, too big for her feet. Instead, her socks touched red from blood are stripped and lost as well. She glances around the area, searches for a map that might give her a path forward into darkness, and whether or not it’s found after a few seconds – either on a desk and laminated for employees, or on a wall and highlighted for guests – she continues forward, steps into the darkness of the rest of the truck.
“Don’t follow me. Either of you. 「FUCK OFF」somewhere else.” Certain words spoken in English.
A child weeping in her chest completely separate from whatever pilots her body.
A life lived in frames.
Only 54,000 left.
WORD COUNT: 1873 NOTES: I'M SORRY CHARY I DON'T MEAN THOSE WORDS IT'S THE ASSHOLE I'M PLAYING I SWEAR
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Post by Deleted on Oct 18, 2018 12:23:06 GMT -4
i wonder how many wishes a star can give Gruff threats swerved past civility filters as a callous tone laid it on thick. At last, he'd escaped the spotty reception and tuned into the corporal's thoughts. He gasped. Then violent roars locked both legs in place. The clatter of wreckage, metallic and high, diverted attention aside. When destruction took place beneath the truck, he correctly pinpointed the cause. His friend. Clementine. One after the other, dropping like flies, everyone around him had fallen. With motives unknown, his beloved bear had kamikazed an attempt to break in. That energy triggered another just like it, but bolder, with purpose, and brought about death. Like soundtrack straight from a historical film or audio sourced from records of war, the staccato of bullets soaring above were no longer contained behind the safety of screens. Here, he had no motion picture displays, no hard line between fact and fiction. They burst from their barrels, a typical scene, but failed to vanish from view. They shattered whatever camera was rolling. They shattered what should've been television glass. They ripped through the air, ripped open his skin, they ripped apart everything keeping him sane. A corpse fell prostrate to the ground, but time to mourn, he had none to spare. A greater threat stood to challenge his place. Ready to break his curse, he charged at the witch, but her foot knocked him clean with a strike to the chin. She sent him back stumbling. Hands flown up, head rolled astern, a snapshot of backward arching defeat. Then came the kicker, as if the first wasn't so. Down in a tangle of limbs. Skull met pavement, blackening his world, but she gouged him out of his fleeting respite. When his vision cleared, he choked on his breath. She must have been out of her mind. His wound kicked and screamed as she laid waste to his shirt, from his mouth a string of curses countering her own. He tried, and failed, to buck her off, as his left joint had been rendered nonfunctional. The more he struggled, the worst it felt. This was no good at all. His glare met hers, though admittedly, he couldn't muster a fraction of the fury boring into his soul. As if to say, "Let me help you with that," she lent him a malevolent hand. He brought a free arm to his mouth. Teeth sank unhindered. They broke his flesh, stained red while pain rolled down his skin. Agony broiled within his throat as denaturation wrecked his shoulder. His bite, self-inflicted, neither distraction nor dent. No count of orthogonal injuries could rob from the searing torment, the burn. Channeling more than heat, less so mercy, in surging rage one drop of aid. Unallowed but still aloud, "It hurts," through clenched jaws, his own limb a gag. A slip, a moment of pure disbelief that anyone could create an illusion so real. He wanted to block them, her voice, the truth. All of it. "I… killed?"The witch's new curse branded hot on his flesh, but her words froze a thousand times over. From an unidentified source, chills rattled his nerves. His own shivers even felt like a taunt. He wished it was only the wind that crawled up and down his chest now bare. "I'm partially deaf."She couldn't have been. "You should have." What, died? To atone for her sin? "You get that now, right?"He couldn't say no. "You called me a witch."He reaped what he sowed. The atmosphere grew heavy, settling over his skin in a way that flared instead of relieved. Though in actuality, the gray had always been there. Eerie, exhausting, a physical fog. And like a thick fog, it shrouded everything outside his immediate grasp, beyond his current understanding. See. He couldn't see. Not when sobs wracked his body like this. He felt deceptively smooth fingers tease his neck, but her message got lost in translation. She was threatening to kill his friends, he thought. But first, she was trying to get rid of him, the only thing blocking her path. Whether it was Robin who she'd whisked away or Naoru likely lost in the dark or the innocent bystander swept up in this mess, he refused to let her take them. A declaration of jest marked the end of her fanfare, but Kutsu wasn't naive. She was quicker to pull herself upright. Into the dark she went. If it weren't for the lightheadedness plaguing him then, he absolutely would've chased her down. Her curse had conveniently cauterized his wound, a careless move on her part. Despite the seal, he'd faced significant blood loss, as made evident by carmine streaks. Like slanted sunbursts smeared by gravity about the shot's entry and exit. Red dried dark on his torso. He sat up way too quickly, and his head swam. A minute to breathe was a minute he couldn't afford, but his lungs gasped for air. Much needed oxygen circulated through, chasing away numbness he hadn't noticed before. Visual snow plagued his view, and an analogous sensation tingled his limbs. He felt fabric hit his face, odorous with sweat. Letting it dangle between his fingers, he considered wrapping the crescent-shaped mark on his forearm. He didn't deserve it, though. Clambering onto his feet, he handed the sweater back. His shoulder shrieked with each heavy step. "I can't take this. You should keep yourself warm." One quick scan told him the boy needed the clothes more than he did. A second one told him the boy might be fine. Remnants of battle littered his body, suggesting a level of resilience underlying his youth. Speaking of, his own shirt was in tatters. Gingerly as to not aggravate his injury, he let the leftover pieces fall to the floor. His backpack, lost in the chaos, lay broken to the side. "The antidote will have to wait." With only his right hand, he emptied the contents. A handful of teddy bears, plus Sir Hopsalot, scattered the floor. "That witch is planning to kill someone, and I have to stop her." Short, consecutive hisses filled the silence, the sound of mist escaping a nozzle. Rising like the undead, his faux animal partners awakened. At your service! they cried, unheard. Although he was glad to hear their voices resound, he couldn't help but think back to what the witch had said. Accusing him of mortality, of waving an illegitimate status of power. He shook his head. His plushies were alive. They had judgment, cognition, and hearts of their own. And the blood--he glanced down at his palm painted red--was just another trick of the eye. It wasn't real. One drop ought to activate his power, back when he was a human. Now, however, his toys would remain still upon contact with the fake fluid. He'd prove it. He'd prove her wrong. Except... He picked up Hops, more for his own emotional wellbeing than his, and placed the bunny on top of his head. No, there wasn't a point. His blood was already dry. He didn't need anyone doubting his holiness, especially not himself. His head also desperately needed to be scratched, and with a simple order, his rabbit obliged. While delegating the job to his underling, he pointed down the wagon's shadowy depths. "Track down the girl with long, dark hair. Stay ahead of me, but don't get too far." They nodded in unison and embarked on the journey, searching blindly through the dark. He was afflicted with two layers of curses now. As much as he wanted to capture her himself, he knew he needed backup from his friends. "Are you sure you can keep going?" Glancing back, he wondered if the other kid should even come along. The boy seemed to be in a rush, for whatever reason, and this shackled god couldn't risk him dying too. But in these chains, he didn't have enough force to keep him locked in a safer place. As his modest parade of multicolored animals dove into the blackness, Kutsu followed closely behind and hoped the boy would choose flight over fight.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2018 2:58:12 GMT -4
WORD COUNT; TAGGED: TAGGED: Fluffy Around them, everything had gone surprisingly quiet. They could hear the sound of the turrets disengaging, returning down into the metal sheets they had errupted from, deactivating. With the group having reached the inside of the trucks, the outside defense was no longer neccessary. Their time was also ticking. Half of their time, before the drugin their bodies began cleansing their mind of all personality, all will, all individuality, had already gone by. They needed to acquire the antidote relatively quirk, or they would turn into monsters, drones, following the bidding of X320... The side effects were starting to worsen as well. Whenever the lights shifted, at the corner of every passageway, at the back of their minds, it would seem as if shadows were moving. Like some smaller creatures had just hidden out of sight from them. Soft giggles, gentle laughing, taunting them at every step. They were most definitely losing their minds, although Ryuusei, unafflicted by the sickness, unaffected by this drug, wouldn't share in these vivid hallucinations. As they were sitting around, Ryuusei offering to bandage their wounds, offering some kind of group commitment, Robin had decided that, despite their imminent risk of dying, it was more important to put Kutsu in his place. Perhaps the wannabe entity of the divine had finally somewhat snapped out of his delusions of grandeur, awakened by his own understanding of mortality. For as divine as he may have thought himself to be, Kutsu was nothing more than a mortal down here."Yo, hey hey hey. We're in this together little missy, you may as well try to cooperate~" A joyous tone errupted from the doorway, as the older male reporter stepped in. The boy had made practically no sound arriving, not until he broke the silence with his chipper voice. A warm voice. A kind voice. With the defensive system outside disabled, there had been nothing to prevent him from just walking in. In his arms, he carried the body of Tanaka, gently placing it down by the door, closing his eyes with the palm of his hand. Abel Emeriss, known by the other reporters as Big Brother. A charismatic young man, with an unfaltering smile on his face. "My beautiful little sister needs the antidote just as much as we do, so I cannot afford to fail here. Letting the Corporal's sacrifice be in vein, would also be to dishonor the memory of a brave man. Come now, group together and lets get going!" Strapped around his forehead, was one of those cameras you'd often see cave divers have. It recorded everything that he looked at, and had a suitable source of light here in the dark, casting a long, oval source of light in the darkness of the disabled truck. Walking up to Ryuusei, like an older brother, he placed his hand onto the boy's shoulder, reassuringly. It seemed that, out of this little group, the one that was struggling and suffering the most, was the boy that to others seemed almost invisible. "Don't you guys have something you want to protect as well? Something or someone important? Now's the time to remember what you guys came here for." Clapping Ryuusei's shoulder a couple of times, Abel Emeriss began walking on ahead, following behind Robin. This wasn't a mess that Abel was capable of fixing outright, but, hopefully his pressence would instill some kind of confidence and calmness to the group. Lord knew they needed it.Not much further in front, they'd come to the second truck. Here, the lights were on. Several small barricades of movable instant-cover had been set up in the corridor in there, with soldiers currently ducking down behind them. There were four armed soldiers prepared to lay fire through the corridor, mercilessly gunning down anyone attempting to get inside. The group had a few different options to approach this. They could attempt to take out the lights above, covering the engagement in darkness - although doing so meant they needed to somehow strike the sources of light with ranged attacks, potentially exposing themselves to a line of fire while doing so. They could attempt to barge in with sheer force, utilizing their quirks and combat skills to forge a path ahead. Finally, they naturally had the option to search the truck they were already in, in the hopes of finding something that could be useful for progressing through the trucks. The only thing that remained absolutely constant, was the timer ticking over their heads. If they were indecisive or took too much time deliberating, they'd not be able to reach their goal in time...At the front of the barricades, if the group was willing to listen, they'd hear a somewhat interesting exchange, on exactly how they were viewed by the military. A younger voice, almost quivering as it asked. "Sir, they're just a group of kids wanting to survive.. Is this really how we should--" An older, more gruff voice interrupted the first. "They're no mere simple kids. Those explosions, managing to infiltrate the base. Mere children could do no such thing. It's just as Hideaki-sempai said. These children are monsters in disguise. Fire at will, fire to kill." The weapons throughout the hall clicked, coming alive, as each and every man taking part in the unit replied with a loud and clear: "Yes, Sir!" The weapons they were wielding, should any of the group be able to inspect them, appeared to be an array of submachine guns. Lighter and more manuverable than assault rifles, being hit by these weapons would typically not result in an immediate kill, unless the victim was struck in the head or heart. What they lacked in immediate firepower, they made up for in mobility, manuverability and rate of fire. In essence, this little group of soldiers were capable of engaging opponents, even if said opponents managed to make it practically on top of them. It also meant that they could land fairly accurate shots, even if they were to shoot at a clump of allies and enemies engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
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373 Posts
0 EP
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Total
18 Years
Male
"Zero"
Watchdog-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Ryuusei Igarashi on Oct 25, 2018 18:02:57 GMT -4
Dreams breathe life into men. The stars... I'll reach them.
Where they all crazy? Or was the thing that had, apparently, infected them inside the tent that strong? The small girl had to much fury inside her for her own size. Ignoring Ryuusei’s offer - a move that he did in order to try to, at least, initiate some kind of a much needed relationship between the three party members – Robin just used her own clothes out of pride, before going on a tantrum, telling the other two to “fuck off” and going down the dark hallway on her own. Great, Ryuusei thought in na obvious ironical manner. On he other side the boy with a scar on his face also seemed to carry some kind of pride - that or both of them just really wanted to make it difficult for Ryuusei to get along with them. This one also rejected Ryuusei’s offer of bandages for his wounds, opting for a road of revenge that implied ignoring the objective at hand in order to kill the girl, the other member of the party. He even sent a teddy bear to follow her into the farthest ends of the trucks. So it was him who caused that explosion, Ryuusei thought while holding back his anger, not even wanting to think about what had just happened. “Are you sure you can keep going?” Kutsu asked, now besides Ryuusei. Now with the teddy bear gone, following the trail of Robin, they were the only ones left at the entrance of the blown-up truck. Ryuusei responded. Keep your cool.They were about to continue. Ryuusei decided to not pickup his rejected sweater – afterall, with his Quirk, the less clothes the better. It was for this reason he also proceeded to take off his shoes and socks, being now barefooted, clothed only by his pants-turned-shorts and underwear. But it seemed that they were about to meet yet another person. "Yo, hey hey hey. We're in this together little missy, you may as well try to cooperate~"
Ryuusei quickly turned behind. Who was he? When did he appear? Missy? Was he talking about the little angry girl? She had already gone into the hall so… Did he saw everything happen? A camera on his head… A repórter? One of those new trendy vloggers who liked a little too much action? And what was he carryi- T-Tana… he stopped himself. Abel carried Tanaka’s Greyson body, putting him on the ground and closing his eyes. Ryuusei wanted to punch him at that exact same moment. That man was a hero, a great warrior. Abel had no right to close the eyes of such man. But… didi t really matter? He’s dead, dead always means dead. Probably Ryuusei himself deserved such sta- Fuck, get it together, Ryuusei made na effort to stop his own thoughts. Lost on his mind, Ryuusei only noticed how close Abel had gotten when he felt the boy’s hand on his shoulder and his voice near his ear. Someone important, he had said… A clear image of Rinkusu Kurama smiling appeared before him. Rin, he thought. On instinct, he reached for his pocket. No cellphone. It probably had fallen off when he was trying to get inside. Ryuusei hoped that the girl was fine. But he really didn’t have time to think about that either: he already had two drugged kids to take care of, Hideaki to be careful with and now a helpless civilian was surely going to follow them. I’m not even going to try and tell you to go away - Ryuusei said to Abel – Just… Just keep your eyes open.Last words spoken, the group of Abel, Ryuusei and Kutsu began walking down the corridor already walked by Robin, with Ryuusei taking the lead. Having walked some distance, Ryuusei saw a silloute crouched down at the end of the hall. IT seemed to be avoiding the light and had long hair. The girl? Ryuu stopped and stretched both of his arms, indicating Kutsu and Abel to stop aswell. That was a problem. If Robin stopped advancing it meant that there was probably somekind of danger ahead. Besides that, Ryuu didn’t want to take the chance of having Robin and Kutsu getting face to face again., especially not in an already potentially dangerous scenario. He had stop Kutsu from advancing more, even if just for a moment. Thankfully Abel was there. There’s something up ahead - Ryuu vaguely said, hoping that Robin didn’t recognize the silloute – It seems to be a different part of the truck or even an entirely different one. I’ll go ahead and check it out, act as a scout. You guys stay in this zone and check this area around better, we might have missed something in the dark. Just don’t get far, I’ll call when it’s safe to keep going. I’m counting on you, he said lastly, pointing at Kutsu. He did not know the boy’s name, but he was counting on him to protect Abel. If it went smoothly, Ryuusei would find himself walking alone in the direction of Robin. Approaching the girl, he would crouch near her. At this moment they would be able to listen to a conversation between the guards. They were, at least, two. What they said did not matter to Ryuusei. Trying to act like the previous scene didn’t happen, Ryuu would try, once again, to start things over, asking if Robin had been able to seen how many guards were ahead. It would be during her response that Ryuu would notice that she was carrying the teddy bear that Kutsu had sent after her. That was… something. Upon hearing the response, Ryuusei would start thinking. They didn’t have time – especially not Kutsu and Robin, by what everything indicated. This meant they could not take things slow or look for another way around; they would have to go through the guards. Ryuusei took a deep breath, calming his breathing pattern. He then locked his only pieces of clothing and grabbed the knife offered to him by Tanaka. I can take out the two that are close to each other, maybe three. With me being invisible that shouldn’t be a big problem, but I need some kind of distraction. And those lights need to be off in case I need you to offer some back-up. Ryuusei looked up at the lights. One of those explosions that Kutsu was able to create would come in handy: a small explosion would surely be enough to make the lights break while also giving extra cover due to the smoke. I think we need to call th-The plushy that Robin was holding began rumbling. Did that mean… Was it the drug that was making them uncontrolable? Ryuusei’s eyes met with Robin’s for a second, both realizing what was about to happen. Ryuusei inhaled as much as he could and then… he stopped breathing. He was hoping that Robin was smart enough to throw that damn explosive plushy at the lights in the ceiling. If she was, the explosion should have turned the room black and create, at least, a thin smoke barrier. Ryuusei would take advantage of all this. Running while invisible and barefooted, he would target the two guards that, according to Robin, were close to each other. He would approach the first from the back and try to stab him in the back of the neck. If successful, Ryuusei would be quick to jump to his side and take a few steps forwards, targeting the back of the other guard in order to hit him with the same move. He would move in a low-stance in order to lower the probability of getting hit by lost fire and always targeted the back and didn't move directly in front of the guards to avoid being in the direct line of sight of the guns. If he was also succeful with the second target Ryuusei would look for a third guard, trying to use his agility and non-visibility to move towards him in the same manner, also targeting the man’s back and neck. Ryuusei was hoping that the lack of lighting and the smoke would be enough for the guards to be too late to notice the falling of their comrades. Even if Ryuusei was able to be 100% successful there would still be a fourth guard left. That fourth one would either have to wait for his turn or would be targeted by Robin while Ryuusei was taking care of the others, with the girl taking advantage of the smoke and distraction created by the initial explosion and, hopefully, the lack of the guards that fell from stabs in the neck that appeared out of thin air. If Ryuusei was to be shot at any given point he would immediately go for cover, since a hit - no matter if lethal or not - would mean him looking to breathe and deactivate God’s Alibi. If he was able to do what he intended flawlessly, he would still be on the cusp of beginning to breathe in a way, which meant that Robin really had to take care of the fourth guard or that Ryuusei would have to go to his limit in order to do it. It was planned on the go and put into action earlier than they expected, but it still seemed like a reasonable plan. An explosion to cause a distraction, a lack of lights and smoke that said explosion would hopefully cause to decrease visibility and an invisible threat acting in a quick way. There was, however, a lingering doubt: so far, this was not looking to be a lucky day. Notes: Fingers crossed for us not to die!!Words: 1,612Tags: Robin Engell @plushies @fluffy
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121 Posts
0 EP
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16 Years
Uncertain-male?
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Robin Engell on Oct 26, 2018 4:11:53 GMT -4
The girl that burns hot flushes cold. The chilled epicenter of an icy wave, the star-struck ripple of a meteor impact – the sea deep in her heart beats rhythmic throughout the room before settling into cold mist catching and clinging to skin and chest.
Her feet are stuck to that tundra as he speaks, her head twisted with face in profile. A single eye, sidelong and dead with its glare to Abel Emeriss. Frozen venom.
“Don’t call me little missy.”
Silhouette in the doorway, only the outline of his form and words reaches her, only the broad strokes of a reality that slowly keeps slipping. Imps on the outside, crawling in the creases where walls and floor meet.
They’re otherwordly vultures, she thinks, demons smelling death. Funeral salt as seasoning for her soul, hot and fresh – ripped from her chest and seasoned well and devoured such that she and shadow meld and mix until she’s gone, mixed with void until consciousness slips and fails and fades. What’s left after that, she wonders. A still-walking corpse, a girl’s face she doesn’t want to survive.
The world is covered for an instant, brief and frightful. When her eyes open once more, the imps are gone.
Nothing changes in her stance. Still she weeps in her chest.
Absentminded, a hand reaches to scratch her scalp and tangles untidy hair. Turning back to the hallway ahead.
“Don’t follow me either.”
She’s not so far away that his words fall mute – there’s nothing she wants to protect, nothing noble nor good. Only the future.
The only thing she has to protect, she thinks, is the idea that she might one day have something to protect.
---
Their voices lock her in place – shaking legs carry her to hide as a conversation starts and dies.
Dehumanization, ostracization, and demonization all play familiar in her ears, tunes well known and on loop. The slightest pity is revoked and rebranded with the label of an other, a human born outside their boundaries arbitrary and drawn. Too cold to feel the heat in their words, skin too callous and too numb.
Until she hears a name.
“Hideaki,” she repeats with a whisper, blinks and scans memories.
“Ryouta Hideaki…?”
A shot sharp enough to piece armor, denser than the stone wall built around her heart.
The man with whom she’d sparred, she thinks. The man with whom she’d fought and clashed, and with whom she’d seen a reflection in his words.
Crouched against cover, she shivers in a self-inflicted chill. A sob frozen in her chest. Psychological shock still protects her from pain.
Kutsu’s toys follow shortly after – gritting teeth and gripping taut, it’s snatched into her palm, squeezed tight as can be compressed. For comfort or frustration she can’t tell.
And some moments after, the boy from before.
And in the deepest part of her chest, she’s glad he’d followed.
“There are four I can see,” she answers, whispered “all behind cover.”
And in Ryuusei’s silence, she offers input.
“I was thinking – this stupid thing explodes,” tapping the bear gently against steel, spoken to no one but the air around. “We could use it to flush them out.”
“I can take out the two that are close to each other, maybe three. With me being invisible that shouldn’t be a big problem, but I need some kind of distraction. And those lights need to be off in case I need you to offer some back-up.”
Sidelong glare in response.
“You think I can see in the dark? I wouldn’t be much help.”
“I think we need to call th-”
He’s interrupted – her cell phone vibrates and rumbles and kicks hard and violent until her brain corrects. Not in her pocket, she realizes, not in a faraday cage.
Eyes wide and bright and shocked shoot straight at the bear dancing in her grip, fire a second shot at Ryuusei, bleeding shock for the slightest moment before congealing and scabbing over with the same numb as before.
Wordless, one eye peaks tentative out from the edge aided by the reflection on her phone's screen and spots an alcove above – sharp eyes trained in arcades lit solely by the light of screens pick out those pixels from below. She taps the bear, measures its weight, its energy, cooks it until it feels right to throw.
And she peaks, just eyes and arm, gently bounces a beanie baby to the ceiling and ducks for cover once again, fingers firm in her ears, eyes tight and shut. An explosion deep and close, deep bass in the pit of her gut, resonant shockwave that melts her into the building itself as they both shake and stop.
When she recovers, the other boy is gone, and the sound of violence in the room ahead plays clear to undamaged ears.
Shadows – only shadow. An interior without light is crowded only in the shadow of the sun above where it can’t reach, where nothing reflects light natural or warm. Imps behind fall into line, single file insects that chitter and crowd, a mob, a riot, and their silhouettes twist and shift into the people around, the people she’s known, the people she might know – all imps in disguise, hungry and starving and desperate for the food she provides, sex appeal or hate or righteous indignation that gives purpose without meaning. Sickening salt paved heavy on her tongue like a corpse being preserved, like a meal being seasoned, and she shuts her eyes and swallows lies and clicks a button on her phone, desperate for light.
Using an app, the flash bulb switches and lights and stays lit, fires an arc of color from the front that scatters imps and leaves her alone with the sound of gunfire.
She can see in darkness, she realizes, because that’s the only place she’s ever been.
It’s been some seconds at this point, enough for their controlled chaos to root and bloom – an invisible boy with smoke and no light, an impossible target attracting attention.
‘I’m not going to die,’ she assures herself.
And her cover is lost. She turns and leaves and leaps, springs some short few steps with a lance in her thigh – with her phone as a light that cuts through smoke and shadow, she finds an unattended soldier, springs up and forward with momentum that launches two searing feet into his chest, she hopes enough to topple him, enough to burn through fabric and burn skin and steal breath, enough to give an opening for her to stomp his neck and knock him out.
WORD COUNT: 1098 NOTES: To be clear, she's waiting until it sounds very clearly like Ryuusei has all of their attention before leaping in to sucker-kick the fourth one. Edit: Also to clarify, the goal of the drop kick is to bring the soldier down and land on his chest - she's trying not to go prone as a result of the attack.
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