Fantasy New Oasis: Four Heavenly Kings — The B-Sides

[Slav]

Vissarion Argyris

CS Link

SCENE:

Clad in Golden Dreams

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1 | June 16th, 2022

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Ezra, Viss, Mark, Jess, Hiachi, Tak, Elias, Jesper

Clad in Golden Dreams

Vissa's golden irises shimmered as he started to get excited over all of the great prospects today. While helping the victims of the earthquake, especially the children, was a top priority for him; he still had the hankering to make some money on the side. After taking a sip from his champagne, he focused his gaze on the rather dazzling Passeri. He knew what she wanted, in fact, he knew what most people had come to this event for. There was never a shortage of money talk to be had at these events and it did make things rather boring on occasion. Luckily, he was speaking to the rather beautiful Passeri, making things more exciting than usual. Another exciting individual was sitting next to him as well. One of the descendants of the Knight family was sitting next to him. If Vissarion wanted to expand his business further, getting their financial backing would be of great help.

"I'm afraid that this city has been decaying for a long time. The earthquake just seemed to exacerbate the issue." Vissarion said, playing with his golden bracelet as he spoke. His eyes focused as he continued, "It will take a lot of effort to get this city back on its feet but I'm rather uneasy about giving out a bunch of money. Most of the charity work I do is focused on the West District. I'm able to oversee where my money goes and how it is spent. There is a lot of corruption in Central and I don't want to be a part of it or, at least not without some reassurances." Vissarion wasn't against helping the people of Central, but he knew where much of that donated money funneled off to and he didn't want that for his own money.

He gave her a bright smile, taking a sip of his champagne before continuing his thoughts. "I want to help you Passeri, I just need to know where my money is going. I'm sure Mr. Knight over here agrees." Vissa said, glancing at Erza before refocusing his attention. He had some requirements that he needed to be fulfilled before they could even put a price point on anything. Vissa was used to working in a highly risk adverse environment, the price fluctuations of gold every day gave his wallet a beating. He knew how to deal with risk, that's why he's on top of the business now.

The One Eyed Bandit Lucem

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

HECTOR MOSES

CS Link

SCENE:

H-Eye

TIME:

Post Arc-2

LOCATION:

Red West, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Yong-Yut

H-EYE

Hector wasn’t satisfied with her response, sighing as well, but he didn’t have anything in particular to disagree with. He realised she was telling the truth, but the truth hurt like hell, and that was from someone who was generally honest.

“So you really came here by yourself, huh? I didn’t expect that from you,” he paused for a coughing, half-hearted laugh. It was a bit pathetic. “Thank you for that, Yong-Yut.” He tapped his shoe — he hadn’t taken them off when he went to bed — on the floor as he figured out what to say next.

”I ain’t trying to be hostile, or brush you off, or anything like that. I just don’t know if you understand,” he stood up without elaboration on his words, ”But hey, uh, maybe we should find a table downstairs. They’ll be happy to see my face, and if we stay up here too long they’re gonna start making assumptions 'bout why you're visiting.” Though he still looked and sounded horrible, he did seem to have perked up, even if just a little bit.

 

[angel doe]

celestine renee cadieux

CS Link

SCENE:

blurred borders

LOCATION:

hartswan terrace, north district

TIME:

pre-arc 1 || october 25th, 2019 - night

PARTICIPANTS:

darius, celestine

blurred borders

Celestine, although satisfied with everything she had managed to erase in what she hoped was a short amount of time, decided it'd be okay to risk it and push just a bit deeper into her mind. This, unfortunately, did not bear any results as suddenly Celeste was forced from the other's mind, letting out a cry when something steel connected with the side of her head and she rolled to one side. Her vision blurred as she sat up quickly and scrambled to her feet, stepping as far away as she could from the burly man and his armoured companion.

As Celeste spent a minute assessing the situation, she saw Darius and what could only be the other NP. He seemed to have that handled. Now they were just left with the two HPs, which was arguably more inconvenient for them, but surely they would manage. They had to.

Wiping her bloodied hands on her clothes, Celeste took a second to prepare before launching herself at the large man, long legs wrapping around his waist. He let out a startled yell and stumbled slightly, reaching back to try and grab at her.

"Please forgive me," Celestine whispered as she grabbed the man on either side of the head. At first, it looked like she was going to do the same thing she had done to the armoured woman, but the burly man wasn't so lucky.

Celestine gripped his head tightly and took a deep breath. She wasn't trained to do this properly, but how hard could it really be?

With all the strength Celeste could muster, ignoring the dull ache in her arms, she squeezed her eyes shut and twisted his head sharply. There was a sickening crack, but she wasn't sure if it had actually worked or not until she felt them falling forward. Letting go, Celeste landed clumsily on her feet and stumbled backward, opening one eye to see the damage, her breath catching in her throat at the sight. His head had been twisted almost entirely around, her eyes briefly meeting his dead gaze before he hit the ground with a loud thud.

Hands shaking, Celestine wiped them on her clothes again and swallowed hard, trying to control her breathing. She hadn't planned on killing two people tonight. That was the last thing she had wanted to do.

Panic began to well up in her chest and she had to fight to stay calm, shaking her hands up and down, trying to get some of the anxious energy out of her system. She tried hard to focus on the matter at hand, forcing her attention back to the woman on the ground.

At least, that's where Celeste thought she would be, and was surprised to see that she was no longer there. Turning around quickly, she barely had time to brace herself as the woman tackled her. Celeste hit the ground so hard the wind was knocked out of her and she gasped for air, eyes watering as she tried to fend the other woman off.

It didn't work.

Either Celeste had messed something up, or this woman was stronger than she had realized. Maybe if she had been able to dive deeper into her mind it would have been more effective. There was definitely no way Celeste would be able to do that now as the armoured woman threw one punch after another, barely leaving room for her to fight back.

This wasn't going well at all. Celestine's arms were being shredded, more or less, and the other woman showed no signs of tiring. The only thing she could think to do was scream for help, "DARI-"

Celeste wasn't able to get his full name out as a fist connected with the side of her face. She started kicking wildly, trying to throw the other woman off, but it was to no avail and the fight was slowly draining out of her. Celeste was starting to feel the effects of what she thought was exhaustion, or maybe that was blood loss. Either way, she knew she had to do something and fast if she wanted to survive this fight.

Spoiler: post notes

"the woman's" potential - bone armor - as the name suggests, she is able to create a layer of bone over specific parts of her body, but only a portion of it at a time. (ex. currently, she has her hands, arms, and shoulders covered with armor, but that is as much as she can do) she can manipulate the bone further for other uses, like if she wanted to do additional damage (ex. spikes on her knuckles to pierce or tear flesh when she punches someone)

we probably should have named these random characters, but yk it is what it is also don't @ me about the poor description of this potential

WhiskeyMarten

 

[Misuteeku]

Devin Cena

http://

CS Link

SCENE:

Ain't that a kick

LOCATION:

Garden, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Devin, Amari

Ain't that a kick

Much to Amari's future disappointment, George was not going to let be left being treated like an animal. There, was faint rumble came from under the ground. Devin, who was buried, blacked out from the sudden loss of energy. The ground suddenly bulged and then burst. Roots and vines alike erupted from the ground. "HSSSSSSSSS." Letting out a war cry, George sprang up from the ground.

Standing almost seven feet tall, the plant held itself up with its roots and vines. Underneath the plant, the limp form of Devin could be seen hanging around. His body swayed like a pendulum, but he was very much conscious throughout. However, he had no control over his body, given that George took control. All he could do was panic internally as George threw a tantrum.

"HISSSSSSSS." Now free from its earthly bounds, the plant charged at Amari. With its comically big plant head, George smashed it down onto the floor. Then it swept around and attempted to bash Amari with it.

angel doe

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

HECTOR MOSES

CS Link

SCENE:

Blank Canvas

TIME:

Pre-Arc 3: September 30th, 2021 - 11pm

LOCATION:

On the road, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Milo Elenion Aura

BLANK CANVAS

“Hm.”

Hector spoke after a long pause. He had been mulling the words over, fiddling with the radio a bit, checking the time on his phone, even seeming to focus on his driving a bit. The ‘hm’ was hard to read, not sounding hostile, but not seeming too receptive of Milo’s words either. That was, until he paired it with a firm nod a moment later.

“Did you know — well, it’s something everyone here knows — that once upon a time we used to have a lot more. We were thriving. More people, more control, we had central, it was better for everyone. Then we lost it all. We’ve been trying to rebuild for the past year. It ain’t been easy.” Hector rolled up his window. No more cool air running through. “I ain’t gonna lie to you and say that everything I’ve done for the gang has been to protect the South, but they’re our people. And the only reason the whole city ain’t our people is because the other gangs are fucking shit up. Point is, we do care about protecting other people. We aren’t the Tigers, we don’t just hoard power to be powerful, the community is bigger than the gang, and it’s empowered through us. But family comes first, and we can only do what we can do right now.” Hector wasn’t sure if he was getting through to Milo, though right now he didn’t even know his full motives.

”Maybe we have different ways of going about things, but I think we want the same thing really.” Hector spoke boldly, perhaps too boldly. ”Pulling the shit you pulled back there ain’t gonna help you or me though, is it?”

 

[gxxberkit]

YONG-YUT SOMSRI

CS Link

SCENE:

H-Eye

TIME:

Post Arc-2

LOCATION:

Red West, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Yong-Yut

H-Eye

Yong-Yut nodded at his acknowledgement, looking at his shoes as he tapped them. “No, yeah, I—” Oh, he wasn’t finished talking. “...Oh, okay. Sure.” She cringed slightly at what those assumptions could be, turning to face the door.

Reaching out to the bag she had just placed, she picked it back up. “Do you want to take this with us, or save it for later?” The bag was extended out to Hector and placed in his hands. Not waiting for his answer —he could do what he wanted with the bag, it wasn't her job to supervise— Yong-Yut turned to exit the room.

Downstairs, she surveyed the dining area. She wasn't very good with decisions; even just the thought of choosing where to sit in a bar was daunting. So, instead, she turned towards Hector, and watched to follow him.

WhiskeyMarten

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

SYLVIE SLEZÁK

CS Link

SCENE:

8 Dollar Jackpot

LOCATION:

Principality Coffee, outside New Oasis

TIME:

Pre-Arc 3, April 16th 2021

PARTICIPANTS:

Sylvie, Hiachi

8 DOLLAR JACKPOT

Sylvie kept glancing out the window, to where he had parked his car in perfect view. He didn’t know this part of Amestria well, not making this journey often, and they had been driving for a while. There was no walking home, or taking the bus, if someone took his car — gifted by the former Queen Lucy — for a spin down the highway.

They stood in the queue of the large Principality Coffee that served as the perfect rest stop for those discontent with spending too long in a typical gas station, like Sylvie. Corny motivational quotes in cursive adorned the walls, spouting nonsense about how coffee is the best way to a person’s heart. In Sylvie’s hands was a chicken panini, ready to be heated up. The packet made a claim knowing the exact small-business farm that the long-dead chicken had hailed from. Sylvie doubted it. He looked at the board. Varieties of milk he'd never heard of. He spotted multiple listed charities that the profits of the coffee would allegedly go towards. Sylvie doubted it. Another poster on the wall claimed that each coffee bean was personally nurtured to be the best it could be for your coffee. Sylvie wasn’t sure if it was a joke but he continued to have his doubts.

“Hey, chin up. I’ll cover lunch, get what you want.”

Sylvie beamed a smile to Hiachi, as though her plight was non-existent. It’s not like he didn’t understand, he’d gone through a similar initiation process when he was roped into the gang, but you wouldn’t be able to tell looking at him. The past few months had been kind to him, business was booming. When he heard from Camila about the newbie under her wing, he felt no other choice than to dispense some of his own wisdom onto the poor girl, whatever his wisdom was. That’s why they were out of town and away from the prying eyes of the gangs. They were the bosses today.

“What can I get for you?”

The barista beamed a false smile at the pair as they reached the front. Sylvie ordered a regular old americano and nudged Hiachi for her order.

"Hiachi?"

 

[Caffeine_Obsessed]

Matsuda Russo

CS Link

SCENE:

Puss Gets the Boot

TIME:

Post arc 3 - 14th June 2022

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Tak, Kiwi, Hiachi, Yura

Puss Gets the Boot

Matsuda adjusted his gas mask for nearly the tenth time today, his palms slippery with anxious sweat. Matsu had taken this job because it promised money. More money than a... well, non-violent job entailed. The duo eyed boy wasn't too good with brutality, so it was a given what was to come made him nervous. It wasn't like he could just say, "Hey you haven't been paying your dues, why don't you start doing that? Oh you don't want to? Alright well then... bye!" Then trying again another day. Unfortunately that wasn't how gangsters worked. They gave chances, and if those chances wore up? Then push came to shove.

He sighed. He didn't think he would need to use his potential anyhow, unless of course the Tigers decided they wanted him to suffocate the target to unconsciousness- but he doubted it. Nevertheless, it was better to be safe than sorry. Hence the gas mask. He brought along his duffel which held his flail and rope as well. You know. Safety precautions. He just hoped that didn't come to bite him in the ass later on.

Finally arriving to the office, he straightened himself out. One last adjust to his mask, a tug to his collar, and he felt ready. He shoved open the door, looking around to inspect the area. He made his way to the couch, plopping himself down and dropping the bag by his feet. He felt a queasiness in his stomach. The anxiety came back in full force, as well as being up in a building so high as this one. He glanced down to the floor, his dusty sneakers snuffling against the clean tile. The cleanlinesss of it all also added to it he supposed.

He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, his body feeling overly hot with apprehension. His muffled voice drawled with tension,"Uh... 'ey boss." he chuckled awkwardly.

Spoiler: Tags

Sei Shonagon gxxberkit miki thebigfella

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

HECTOR MOSES

CS Link

SCENE:

H-Eye

TIME:

Post Arc-2

LOCATION:

Red West, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Hector, Yong-Yut

H-EYE

Hector nodded, ready to lead her out when a bag was suddenly in his hands, the nauseating smell filling his nose again. ”Oh, this is for me?” He didn’t want it but remained holding onto it nonetheless as they left together, heading down the thin staircase till they were in the bar.

“Hey.” Hector curtly raised a hand in greeting to the bartender, whose eyes widened as they immediately began to prepare a drink.

“Oh, hey! The usual?”

“No, no.” Hector waved away the offer. It seemed the bartender had already started preparing ‘the usual’, as they quickly stopped what they were doing. “Just a…” He looked over at Yong-Yut. Maybe she had a point. “Water? Glass of water.” The words seemed foreign to Hector and the bartender, but they quickly obliged, even putting a lemon slice in the water for some flavour before passing it over to the countertop for him. “Have what you want, Yong-Yut. It’s on me.”

Grabbing his drink, he looked over at his usual seat right by the counter, one nobody else would dare sit in in his presence. He was about to sit there out of habit, but if Yong-Yut really wanted to listen to him… He turned away from the bar counter, to one of the intimate tables in the corner, a booth shielded from public eye. Without asking Yong-Yut for input, he walked to it, sitting down, nodding at a few regular patrons who knew better than to talk to him right now.

 

[angel doe]

celestine renee cadieux

CS Link

SCENE:

home visit

LOCATION:

celestine's apartment

TIME:

evening of november 19th, 2021 || post-arc 2

PARTICIPANTS:

celestine, dante

home visit

Celestine didn't know what she expected Dante's response to be, but when he chastised her with such a stern tone all she could do was nod, "My apologies," She whispered, fiddling with the hem of her shirt nervously, looking at him but not making actual eye contact.

Celeste went quiet after that, biting her lip. Her mind felt like it was moving a hundred miles a minute trying to process everything and her eyes burned like she was going to cry again, but when Dante rose from his seat all she felt was panic. It overrode just about everything else Celeste was feeling and her arm shot out at lightning speed, grabbing ahold of his hand tightly as though she was afraid he was trying to leave.

When Celestine realized that was not what was happening, she froze, "I..." Embarrassed, she retracted her hand, "Apologies." She cleared her throat and instead searched for something else to hold, but when she couldn't find something she just placed her hands on her knees, scratching them with her nails anxiously.

As Dante continued talking, Celestine could only listen. She wasn't sure how to respond or how to really feel about it, but she was able to distinguish some feelings of hurt underneath her confusion. Tears pooled in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away every time, trying to think of something to say but only drawing blanks.

The silence between them lasted for an uncomfortably long time before Dante spoke up again.

It was a relief to know he hadn't been avoiding her, but his tone of voice made Celestine flinch and she nodded meekly, sitting quietly as he continued on to talk about some raid Lancer had done on Serpent drug trafficking lines. She knew she should probably remember, that she should care, but she didn't. Sure, Celeste was proud that Dante- or Lancer- was successful in his plans, but she was still processing what he had told her about the kiss.

It was another quiet couple of minutes before Celestine finally lifted her head to look at him.

"I feel... hurt knowing it was you who did that to me," Celeste's voice trembled as she spoke, bottom lip quivering ever-so-slightly, "But I cannot lose you, Dante." She reached out and grasped his hand, trying to hide the way her own hand shook by tightening her grip, and the tears she had been trying so hard to keep at bay began to fall.

The Regal Rper

 

[gxxberkit]

Kiwi Dior Bonheur

CS Link

SCENE:

Add Image

LOCATION:

Eminence, West District

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1, August 1st 2021, Evening

PARTICIPANTS:

Sylvie

Add Image

Kiwi let out a hearty laugh at the man’s worry. She didn’t expect that at all from someone that’d been torturing some of the fighters— but people fake worry all the time. She shouldn’t let her guard down. No siree. “Girl, I’m fine.” The walking stick was swung up and over her shoulder, making Kiwi let out a slight “oof” at the impact. “Mighta’ just broke my clavicle just then, though.”

She watched him for his reaction, before laughing again. “Just messin! Haah, I’m fine. Tha’ stick’s just in case, ya know. I parked a bit aways,” she explained, pointing off in the direction her car was. "You got it, you got it." The stick, of course, wasn’t only brought for walking. It was brought for sympathy points, and, naturally, to use as a weapon in case things get ugly. It wasn’t planned to get violent, obviously, but Kiwi didn’t trust anyone. And she surely wasn’t going to trust this fancy guy. Ya gotta stay on edge~

With a sly smile, she offered her free hand to shake. Upon him taking it, her smirk grew. Unbeknownst to him, the back of his head was now fully visible to the lady standing in front of him. Damn, he takes real good care of his hair. She blinked back to looking at his face. That was much easier than expected. “Aight, Slezák. I’m ready. Let’s go check out that website ya wanted help with.” She retracted her hand, gesturing for him to lead the way.

WhiskeyMarten

 

[WhiskeyMarten]

DARIUS KENNEDY

CS Link

SCENE:

Blurred Borders

LOCATION:

Hartswan Terrace, North District

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1: October 25, 2019 -- Night

PARTICIPANTS:

Darius, Celestine

BLURRED BORDERS

The man’s anguished cries became nothing more than choky gasps as Darius pushed harder into the man's neck and face. What skin the man had left was red with the blood that trickled from the gaping wounds Darius was boring into him. His lips had receded away, and fresh blood flowed into his already constricted airway. The bone that formed his nose was becoming exposed, and his cheek was disappearing. The most severe damage — the type that reconstructive surgery couldn’t fix — was being done to his neck, and with the damage multiplying with each passing second, soon no sounds came from the man as he went limp under Darius.

Looking up at the half-mention of his name, Darius realised now what Celeste had been going through while he was lost in his own battle. He saw the corpse of the other man, shuddering, and he saw the other woman beating her up. His mind froze, mouth agape. He looked down at his hands, suddenly feeling the pain surge. Blood dripped, the man’s and his own mixing together, forming a slurry with the residual necrotic tissue that peeled away and stuck to him.

Help.

He looked back at the door. How bad would it really be if he just… left. Surely they’d understand, seeing the carnage, and he’d tried his best anyway. He wanted to run. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to pass out and play dead for the rest of the fight. He wanted to- he was crying now, eyes welled up.

I’m so sorry.

Darius’s legs shook, and his chest felt tight. Fear coursed through him, but some feeling of determination persevered, perhaps against his will, and he rushed at the armoured girl. His knife was drawn now, and he plunged it into her chest as they both toppled onto each other. The woman remained strong, and still hit harder than Darius could even if his hands weren’t messed up, loosening a tooth with a punch to the mouth that stunned the man long enough for the woman to gain an advantage. The knife dislodged itself from her chest, clattering to the floor next to where Darius now lay.

I should’ve ran.

Flight wasn’t an option anymore, and so Darius picked the knife up while his other arm took the brunt of her jabs, stabbed her, and then stabbed her again.

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Kaede Shimokōbe

CS Link

SCENE:

Playground affairs

LOCATION:

South. Playground

TIME:

May 24th 2008 pre-arc idk many

PARTICIPANTS:

Vulken Beckman, Bolt Beckman, Kaede Shimokōbe

Playground affairs

“What’s this?” Kaede discovered something new on this particular day, and this new discovery was staring right at her. Or, well, he was trying to. The teenager gazed down at the red head in front of her midriff, styled and tousled in the picture of pitfall spikes. The boy craned his neck back in response, eyes as large as the holes in his skull and ruddy cheeks to match the fiery colour. Kaede didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this new discovery.

Vulken had a secret love-child.






...Not. The ages didn't line up for one. Second, the kid was a spitting image of him, for sure, but when and, more importantly, how would he have found anyone to sleep with? Now she was actually laughing. The corner of her lips pulled back till they flashed a toothy grin. “Wow! I would’ve never guessed that you did something other than harassing girls all day. Hiya little man, aren’t you a cute one~” Kaede beamed and reached for the boy’s cheeks as if personal boundaries was not a concept. Her thumbs dug into the plump flesh and pinched them gingerly. “You must be the Beckman family pride then.” Since it obviously isn’t your brother, followed silently on the back of dimples.


No, the more likely scenario was the aforementioned- that this little red-haired runt was his brother and that he was the reason behind Vulken’s recent absence in the gang. Kaede had noticed for the first time that her red-headed puppy was missing a couple of weeks back. The lack of unwarranted advances and long ass legs that mimicked tripwire were noticeable, you see. At the time, however, she had taken it for granted that it was just another one of his lovestruck whims. But as the absences grew more frequent and not to mention, longer in duration, she couldn’t just ignore it anymore as his senior.

Her solution? Kaede had apprehended him in a deadlock on his way out and kindly asked for permission to tag along. So, there she was. Standing in the middle of a playground that was definitely not fit for a date.

-Not that it was a date. She was just worried as his senior. That was all.


She released the brat and let out a hearty chuckle now that the weight on her chest had been lifted. “Hey-” Shoulders followed suit and squared up proudly. She extended her hand towards the kid, perhaps a little belatedly, but could you blame her? The brown eyes brimmed with fox-eyed glee as they glanced back at the older brother. Kaede turned to the younger copy once more and beamed.

“What’s your name? I’m Kaede! But you can call me big sis if you want~” .

Outfit- x

Nobody Special Doctor Llamabean

 

[The Crimson King]

Hanji Fumikage

CS Link

SCENE:

Spicy Juice

LOCATION:

Eternal Night Palace (Pleasure District), East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yushui, Peyton, Meirin, Isaiah, Hanji, Otilie, Jessamine

Spicy Juice

The atmosphere made the outwardly imposing Hanji quite anxious, and he found himself crossing his arms beneath his coat, and trying to find solace in his own thoughts. He can't help but think about all the unnecessary noise. This place is an assault on all five senses, and he's not sure if he's enjoying it. If anyone could be incapable of understanding the appeal of the Pleasure District's most prolific brothel, it would be the Holy Sword.

It would seem the moment he was put in the back of each of their minds, he was just a shadow, and the steady roar of activity began to make it's resurgence around him. He's glad that he can relax without being perceived as someone who ruins other people's fun. He didn't want to be rude to the bartender, but, at the same time, there was nothing that could get him to drink tonight. He would smoke again later, and be fine. His good arm reappears from beneath his coat, propping up his head.

“Sorry, no alcohol for me. I wouldn't say no to some water.”

An nickname is used to refer to him, from the stairwell. Most dare not refer to Fumikage by anything but his name or his moniker, but, he doesn't hesitate to turn his whole body towards the source of the voice. Upon seeing Meirin with his own eyes, a thin-lipped smile cracks open his stern expression, and his eyes gain some luster, as if he's just had some epiphany. He puts his hand on his heart, and gives a polite bow to the woman he recognizes instantly to be another Veteran of the Azure Dragons. He removes his glasses, and begins to clean each lense with a sleeve of his jacket, meeting her gaze with his own near-sighted, but mirror-like eyes.

“Well, this is a surprise. It's unmistakable. You're the guardian of this place: the Sleeping Giant."

He sits forward on the barstool once again, choosing to let his glasses hang from the collar of his undershirt, as opposed to wearing them. His face seems torn between appearing calm, or relieved.

“No, I'm not lost. Not this time. Tonight, I chose to wander, and only happened upon a place I was welcome by chance."

It's difficult to tell if he's joking. His smile still lingers on his face for a while longer, before he's wracked with a lack of emotion. He seems incredibly tense, even now, but he's doing an exceptional job at concealing it. He seems mostly unbothered by this situation.

“Oh, and believe me. I've never once considered the company of a lady within those pages. I would not sour a night in such a way, providing them my escort. Not unless they asked me to."

QuirkyAngel Coyote Hart Seaquill

 

[gxxberkit]

Kiwi Dior Bonheur

CS Link

SCENE:

Puss Gets the Boot

LOCATION:

West District

TIME:

Post Arc 3 - 14th June 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Matsuda, Tak, Kiwi, Hiachi, Yura

Puss Gets the Boot

Tap, tap, tap, tap.

No, the noise wasn’t coming from Kiwi’s laptop, or her phone. It was coming from fingertips on a glass table, and tennis shoes on the tile floor. The natural light coming from the huge windows in front of her was only a slight help to easing her anxieties.

This wasn’t her first time being alone in Akira’s office. But it was her first time knowing he wasn’t coming back— not for a while. He was busy. They were still in contact, but she knew that whatever he was doing was important.

Delegating a task to others wasn’t new to her, either. But it wasn’t a delivery by any means, it was more of a… pick-up. One that could go very, very badly. And she’d offered to go with them, too— the worst decision she’d ever made. She wasn’t used to doing what Akira did. What if she got hurt? What if one of the rookies turned on her? What if the guy didn’t take too kindly to any of this? What if they got into a car crash on the way? What if there was another earthquake? Why did she have to be alone for this? She was going to die. She was going to die! This task would be her last! She’d fail everyone. She wouldn’t even get to take one step out of New Oasis. She was going to die here! Here! NOW! RIGHT NOW SHE WAS DYING RIGHT NOW SHE’S DEAD SHE’S DYING SHE’S—






She took a deep, shaky breath, wiping the tears that had started rolling down her face.

She was in charge, now, and she had to be grown-up about it. Despite what everything in her mind was warning her. She should know better by now than to trust anything it says, anyway. Oh, stars, what if she really was going to die?

Click!

“FUCK—” The desk in front of her hit her gut as she flinched into it. She immediately sat back down, holding her gut. “Oh, shit. What?” she swiveled in her chair to face the man that was now sitting in Akira’s office. Blinking with furrowed brows, she slowed down her breaths. “M— Damn, Matsuda. Ya fuckin— You.. Yeah… Whassah, girl?

“You tha’ first here? Aight, aight.. Aight, yeah. Um…” She pushed the chair around her desk, opening a drawer on the side where her boss used to sit. “We’ll just, uh,” she paused, pulling out a manila folder, “we’ll wait. But I’ll just.. Get ready. Yeah.”

Sniffing, she placed the folder on the desk, and then rested her head on it. She was just.. going to take a little break.

Sei Shonagon miki Caffeine_Obsessed thebigfella

 

[gxxberkit]

Kiwi Dior Bonheur

CS Link

SCENE:

ACCESS CODE

LOCATION:

Internet

TIME:

Post Arc 2

PARTICIPANTS:

Sang-Cheol, Timothy [NPC], Kiwi

ACCESS CODE

Two fingers slid down the laptop touchpad, mindlessly scrolling down a wall of messages, smiling to herself. The messages she was reading were ones bounced between her and a friend— one that she’d been purposefully annoying for the past half hour. She’d just scrolled up so she could read all of it back again. For fun.

She was nearing the end of the messages until a ping popped up on another messaging service— one much more secret, and one much more secure.

Tapping on the notification, it brought up a windowed tab with the message proudly on display to no one but Kiwi.

She let out a short, audible gasp. “One fuckin’ million???” That amount of money could get Kiwi out of New Oasis and take the city with her!

…Her enthusiasm died down once she remembered that it’d go straight down the drain with she-knows-who in control of it. She huffed.

Besides, that was completely wild. How was she supposed to believe they’d actually give her one million? It was too good to be true. Not to mention the impossible task she was given. Hack into the government? It’s not like she had a potential to make that infinitely easier.

…But, man, would it be wild if she succeeded and lived to tell about it.

rngesus: aw hell yea sure why not
ill try
whaddya need?

Send!

Misuteeku

 

[thebigfella]

TAK & HIACHI

Collab Post

SCENE:

Being Broke 101 (Pre-Arc 3)

LOCATION:

West District, Hiachi's Apartment

PARTICIPANTS:

Tak, Hiachi ( miki )

BEING BROKE 101

"Shit."

Tak's blunt but apt summary of the situation came from his lips as the worn soles of his tennis shoe slid down from the door to drop back down to the ground as he shoved one of his hands in his pockets.

Despite him bashing his foot against the door repeatedly, no one had yet come out. He hadn't even heard the sound of movement through the hollow layers of wood and thin glass. He scratched the back of his neck, his furious expression temporarily disappearing as an awkward sweatdrop went down the side of his face, somewhat looking apologetic.


"No one's home? I feel kinda bad for making all this racket for no reason…."


He glanced around to look at the nearby neighbors who no doubt heard his loud shouting and slamming and, in a small moment of awareness, considered how his actions could cause problems for others.

Of course, such an absurd thought was quickly pushed aside as a visible lightbulb appeared over Tak's head, his hand moving around to cup his chin as he pursed his lips, looking upwards as he nodded his head absentmindedly as his brain went to work.


"Maybe she's just ACTING like she isn't home; I do that all the time with my landlord!" He deduced the possibility. Surprisingly, he came to that conclusion later than the innocent assumption that no one was home.


Considering that was the situation, Tak turned sideways away from the door, closing his eyes as he tilted his head as delved deeper into thought. "What does she do when I don't answer? …I think she usually slips a piece of paper under the door…." He reminisced, trying to think of a solution to the problem, "Maybe I could write a note…." Hey! Come outside before I bust your door and kick your ass!" on a napkin would do just fine…."


As quickly as the idea came to his head, Tak's expression went deadpan as the color drained from his face, the world becoming black around him as only his monochrome expression was left in the void, a lined shadow going over the side of his face as he realized the gaping hole in his problems.


"I don't have any napkins…Also, I just throw away the papers my landlord gives me without looking anyway…."


His hollow internal monologue resonated through his head like the whispers of an exorcized ghost; realizing that his obtuse plan of getting the woman to come out wouldn't work, he gave a slight sigh in defeat, his hands dropping limply back to his side as the visuals returned to normal.

Frowning in annoyance, he turned back to the door, once again slamming his foot into it, with less intent of knocking but more as a personal vendetta. Still, with no response, he had to face facts…


"Maybe she's not home after all--"


Just as he was prepared to throw in the towel and text Camila that the apartment was a bust, his head raised towards the door's windows; what he saw made him stop mid-sentence, his mouth opening slightly in surprise as his eyes widened, blinking as he gave a blank stare, not yet realizing he had locked eyes with someone.


"Ah."


As his brain caught up to the situation, the weak gasp that left his mouth and his idiotic expression disappeared in a deep shape covering his face, completely masking his countenance for a faint moment before bright red glints replaced where his eyes were previously.


There was no question.


He had seen her.


And now that the girl made a little scream and fell back onto her ass, he had heard her too. Once again, bringing his foot to the ground, he stepped forward to ensure he was right in front of the door. He had no reason to play nice now that he knew his 'target' was in.

Trusting the woman would be smart enough to not try and skitter away now that she had so clearly shown herself, he waited patiently for the tell-tale sounds of the door unlocking, like the chirping of morning birds to his ears.


Too bad it didn't do anything to soothe him.


As soon as the door opened more than a crack, Hiachi's chances of returning to the safety of her den were squashed; rugged, dry hands shot through the split of the frame and the door to grip tightly around the wood, fingers clutching around the edge, as a pair of dirtied white sneakers shoved itself between the opening, prevent it from closing again.

He didn't try to open the door more than Hiachi wanted, but he ensured she wasn't going anywhere without his say.

The shadow cast from above kept his eyes barely visible; the faintest bit of blueish gray could be made out from his dull eyes within the darkness, barely peeking through his messy hair.

He had yet to say anything, but the air he gave off was of someone filled with vicious intent. His body language spoke of someone used to situations like this, and as he loomed down at Hiachi, he saw her as nothing more than another thing in his way.

Even though he could only see the woman's eye, the height difference was clear; the way she averted her eye away from facing him made it hard for him to get a feel for her, but at this point, he couldn't give much of a care, everything up to this point had been grievances that have been making him more and more annoyed, all because this girl couldn't just do her job right.

A faint wispy aura of red surrounded him as all his agitation from now finally bubbled to the surface. He wanted to make sure that she got a proper understanding that this gang business was no game.

But, before he could do anything…there was one thing he had to make sure of…


"Yo…." He finally spoke, leaning forward slightly, pressing his head closer to the crack in the door, bringing his face to Hiachi's level as his brow knotted tightly together.

"Are you…Hibachi?"

With a blink, Hiachi looked up at Tak. Her eyes were still widened, but her eyebrows had fell to a more indignant expression. Hibachi. Close enough to Hiachi, but then again, clearly not. It sounded like the kind of name one of her older brothers would have come up with and used for the rest of time, especially if she had shown her hatred for it.


The innate shock numbed her fear for a moment. Too confused to critically think about the situation, she asked, “Hibachi?”


“Yeah, Hibachi.” Tak shot back at her clear confusion with a matter-of-fact tone, his gaze narrowing at the smaller woman as if he dared her to try and pull some type of excuse. Clearly, he didn’t have the slightest idea of his error.

While he was oblivious, it was easy for Hiachi to put two and two together.

So he mixed up my name. Huh, that sounds… reasonable, actually.


Where was she again?


Ah, right. Being interrogated by a man who has been sent to potentially kill her.


FUCK.


She shut her slightly agape mouth and squinted at him again. Someone had told him her name specifically to hunt her down. Mix up or not, he was still a threat to her life.


And now she found herself tongue-tied. She could lie, and potentially put a larger target on her back, or she could tell the truth, and potentially… die. If she tried to close the door now, she would jam his hand between the frame and then she would definitely die.


Tak’s continued aggressive presence imposed on Hiachi physically and mentally; while he had yet to do anything, just how he acted seemed to put the worst ideas in her head.

While to Hiachi, it might seem like the brute was probably brimming with thoughts about how he was going to execute her, dispose of her body at the bottom of the ocean, or have it torn up by starving dogs, Tak’s dead fish-like eyes didn’t give any answers, however in his own head, he had only one thought going through his head.

As the view zoomed in on his face, the surrounding gained a blue hue as a semi-transparent apparition of Tak’s internal feelings slid out from beside his head, a weary expression on its face as it sweated slightly, bags under its eyes.

“This girl’s a weirdo. She’s making this really awkward for both of us!. Give me something to work with here, and stop staring at me like that! She’s sweating like a damn slug! Just say something like, “No Hibachi lives here” or “I think you got the wrong door, Hibachi lives next door,” and try to hop out of the window! Did she miss the memo on how these things go!?”

While the thug continued to wear his staunch intimidation, in actuality, he was annoyed that Hiachi hadn’t taken this chance to do anything, as if an ill-intentioned attempt to avoid confrontation was part of the process.

This mundane silence continued for a bit longer between the two as Tak didn’t respond until Tak’s composure finally began to evidently wane.

Like a lightswitch flicking off, the ominous air that surrounded him faded away, being sucked inwards as the shadow over his eye disappeared, a small sweatdrop going down the right side of his face as his scowl was replaced by an uncertain apprehension, the corner of his lip up-turning in a half-awkward smile.

“You are Hibachi, right?” He asked again, seeing as he never got a straight answer.

He may have looked calmer, but Hiachi couldn’t let her guard down. Just a second ago he had been staring into her as if she was a little mouse in the eyes of a hawk. All she wanted was to get out of this situation.

Technically, saying that her name wasn’t Hibachi wasn’t lying. Her name wasn’t Hibachi, even if it was a blatant white lie.

“...Uh, no Hibachi lives here…” Hiachi stammered, slowly going to close the door. “Sorry for wasting your time…”

Hiachi’s weak attempt to lie right to Tak’s face caused him to immediately perk up, straightening up slightly as his shoulders stopped slouching. He quickly snapped his head away from looking at Hiachi as a huge smile came across his face, using his free hand that wasn’t currently wedged in the door to pump a fist in the air.

“Finally! Now we’re getting somewhere! I knew you had it in you, Hibachi!” Tak praised the girl for taking the ‘right’ approach as if she was his prized pupil, a small tear being shed from the corner of his eye as the sun suddenly acted as heavenly light, basking his expression in glow as if he was being blessed.

Then, like nothing ever happened, he snapped his head back to the situation, a fierce frown returning to his face. “Oh? Is that so? Sorry for bothering you then….” Tak responded, seeming slightly dejected as he leaned backward, fingers unhooking from the door and dragging across the wooden frame as he prepared to leave Hiachi to her business, letting the door begin to close.

“Like hell! What kind of idiot would believe something like that!?” Tak spat through the crack in the door and suddenly slammed his head in the opening, his mouth squeezing through as his exclamation caused cartoonish spit spots to fly through the air. Then, once again, placing his hand between the door to keep it from closing as he continued his wicked leer at the girl, retreating his head to stand back normally, the ominous shadow returning to shade his eyes, faintly obscuring their gray-blue irritation.

“Stop with the bullshit. Just tell me the truth already.” Tak threatened, the tell-tale twitching of his eyebrows showing that he was beginning to be put on the end of his rope.

Of course he didn’t believe it. It was the worst lie Hiachi had ever told in her life, and it wasn’t even a complete lie. She had to think fast.

But she was a younger sibling in a big family. She was accustomed to being forced upon the role of scapegoat. If she had to lie, she relied on her brothers to come up with something clever. So, this was the best she could come up with:

“Y-you know what? I just forgot, there’s—um, a Hibachi here, and if you give me a second, I can go get her…”

Hiachi pointed her shaky thumb over her shoulder. She had already accepted the fact that no one would believe something as blatantly stupid as that. Now, she could only hope that she confused him enough to shut the door and escape through the fire escape.


Once again, Hiachi tried an attempt to throw Tak off the trail. It was another classic method that had been used by many tomfoolers, hoaxers, rascals, quipsters, and miscreants alike. Anyone with a single smidgeon of intelligence would know precisely what she was plotting. So, as the words left her lips, Tak silently stared at her, the view slowly zooming in on his face as he looked at her with his mouth hanging open slightly, going on for a moment longer than it needed to.

Until his complex expression suddenly reverted to a simplistic rendition, the defined curvature of his face flattered into a soft circle as his eyes were turned into simple dots as they blinked open and closed. “Oh really? Thanks a bunch.” Tak reacted to the deceit in a monotone manner, stepping back and letting go of his iron blockade on the door without much of a second thought.

Hiachi closed the door, her grip on the doorknob unfaltering to the point that she didn’t even hear the lock click back into place. The second she returned to her sense of reality, panic revved up her adrenaline and she twisted the lock on the door. She needed to get out of the room, and fast.

The back window of her room opened up to a balcony, which had a fire escape attached to it. If she could just get out, she wouldn’t be doomed. Maybe she could find her way to Camila and explain her situation, or just run far, far away from New Oasis. Unlikely successes, but it was better than accepting her fate. That was the extent of her plan, but it was better than nothing.

Before the guy at the door could attempt anything, Hiachi began tugging at the door to the balcony. It clearly hadn’t been opened in a long time, but if she pushed enough, she would make it. Feeling the pressure of her time limit, she changed direction and began rhythmically tugging on the plastic frame.

With the door closed on his face, Tak instantly poofed back into his standard art style. He immediately leaned forward toward the door once more, raising his fingers and crossing them together to make up a square frame, bringing it in front of his eye as he examined the lock on the outside. Then, like he was a professional lock breaker, he leaned side to side and rocked back and forth, getting a good look at it, before dropping his fingers and nodding his head, pursing his lips so tightly bumps and creases appeared on his chin as he seemingly came to a stunning discovery.

Standing back up straight, he once again silently stood at the door for another moment--

“WAAHTYAHHHHHH!”

​

With a kung-fu movie-esque scream attempt and a powerful thrust of his foot against the door lock, Hiachi’s insurance was questioned as the gloomy room was suddenly illuminated in a shroud of sunlight, disrupted by the silhouette of the thug who had decided to assault the infrastructure.

The sound of the chain that formerly kept the door from being forcefully opened slapping against the wood, and the chime of its links fumbling against each other came with the small piece of plaster missing from the doorframe where the chain was formerly bolted. It had failed its one job and now was hanging loosely from the door.

Strutting himself in a relaxed manner despite what he just did, Tak opened his mouth as steam flew past his lips and the crevices of his teeth to float in front of his face like a fog, almost as if he had taken a drag of a massive cigar or was standing in the arctic. Then, just as quickly as the steam appeared, it faded away as it acclimated into the atmosphere.

“Man, I needed that,” The thug finally spoke again, addressing his crime as the light slowly adjusted and the steam disappeared, revealing the slight smirk he had on his face as he now stood in the apartment of his ‘target.’

The sound of a crash sent Hiachi into a full-on panic. She instinctively looked over her shoulder, only to see a hole in the wall in place of where her door had been. The door was broken, the chain was broken, and smoke was billowing off the remnants of her poor entrance.

Her abrupt scream synced up with the sound of the glass sliding door being slammed into the wall. The fear shot through her body quicker than she could think, and she swung both legs over the balcony.

Unfortunately, it would have been a lot better if her brain beat her to it.

The balcony was covered in that crappy plaster paint, the kind landlords put over walls that are cracking to make them look pristine. It was slippery and didn’t absorb water, so trying to sit on it was strictly advised against.

The second Hiachi put her hands on it, she regretted it. But it was too late—she was already halfway over before she realized that she had practically sent herself off the side of the balcony. Luckily, she grabbed back onto the other side with both hands, but now she was presented with a greater problem—dangling off the side of a building.

Her hands and arms burned really badly. It was like the pull up test for physical education evaluations, but with considerably more life-threatening danger.

Tak’s footsteps rumbled through the apartment, his heavy weight creaking the floor that hadn’t had such an exercise since the furniture was moved in adjustment to the man’s stroll. He paused for a second, taking this time to look around the apartment and note its design. He could immediately tell that it was much nicer than anything he had ever lived in; while it wasn’t luxury, it was leagues above his. The fact her walls had any paint at all, albeit falling apart, was already a significant difference.

His eyes trailed towards the open balcony door; this moment of silence was accompanied by a gust of wind blowing through the open doors, snaking through the joint pair of gateways like a stream, as Tak’s hair rustled slightly in response in conjunction with the shifting of the collar of his tracksuit as it loosely hung around his skin.

“Damn, she has a balcony. I’m jealous.” Were the miscreants’ first thoughts, an aggravated pout and wrinkled brow showcase his disdain for the woman’s better interior design and amenities than him. He held that grimace for only a moment before realization hit him, eyes shooting wide as they nearly shot out of his skull, bloodshot veins circulating around his pupils as her skin went pale and sweat coated his features.

“SHE HAS A BALCONY!?”

Tak’s body shot forward as his carefree stroll had turned into a short marathon, his legs rising high up in the air as he sprinted ahead in a jagged-like style, his arms and legs shooting around unevenly as he almost stumped to the ground before finally reaching the balcony door.

Stomping his foot onto the ground to skid himself to a stop, a cloud of dust exited out from the back of his heel as his top-heavy approach almost made it seem like he was about to tip over before firmly planting both feet onto the ground, he cautiously leaned out toward the balcony, a minor blip of nervous sweat still on his forehead as he looked left and right, before finally looking down.

There, to his relief, he was greeted by a pair of hands struggling to stay attached to the poorly made railing, shivering with the exertion of holding one’s whole body weight.

Tak sighed, awkwardly looking to the side after confirming that he didn’t cause the frightened girl to carelessly leap off the balcony.

“I don’t know how I would have explained her jumping from a window….” Tak thought exasperatedly, blinking as he worried more about him having to deal with the problem rather than the girl injuring himself.

Feeling in control of the situation, Tak straightened back up his posture, walking up to the balcony’s edge to overshadow Hiachi again, clearly displaying no urgency in her current predicament.


“I feel a lot better now; I was really holdin’ back from beatin’ your ass, y’know?” Tak stated, casually rubbing the back of his neck despite his clear threat, tilting his head slightly to gaze at Hiachi from the bottom of his eyes.

“You’ve been a real pain in the ass. It’s because of you that I gotta miss this week’s episode. Now I won’t know if Hilda really cheated on Nathan for Terrance. It’s almost the season finale, damnit!” The brute complained about missing his soaps to the unaware woman as if she had intentionally committed a personal attack on his free time; despite how dumb it sounded, the way he talked showed he was dead serious.

Is this man for real?

She was about to die, and he was rambling like they were catching up over brunch or something. A kind of situational dissonance that Hiachi would have found funny if she wasn’t the butt of the joke. But his jovial tone was telling, though. He was willing to talk to her, and Hiachi could really use some answers.

“Are you here to kill me?”

Hiachi's question hit Tak’s eardrums, being fed through the gears that powered his brain as he openly repeated her question to himself. “...Kill you?”

Confusion burst onto his countenance as he stepped back in total shock, eyes going wide as a visible realization mark appeared beside his head, placing his hands onto his chest as if he was completely taken aback by what Hiachi had said, “Y-You thought I was sent to kill you!?” He stuttered out in shock as if he her fear was completely unwarranted and unfounded.

“Didn’t you hear me when I said I was performing a wellness check!? Did you think I was speaking in code!?” Tak immediately hopped back into aggressiveness, shouting in Hiachi’s face as he raised a clenched fist, finding a way to blame the situation on her without a second thought, though for one rare case his assumption actually had a leg to stand on.

Considering he looked a lot calmer and she had little other options, it was worth a shot to ask for help. She doubted she could hold on for much longer, and she would rather not end the day by being knocked out via fall from her balcony.

Hiachi hung her head in shame as a grayness crept down her forehead. “Can you PLEASE help me up?”


“Oh, yeah. I guess I should, huh….” Tak responded to the woman’s question for help with a rub of his chin, genuinely considering it for a moment before finally stepping forward and reaching his hands out to grab hers, offering support to help her climb away from the seemingly harmful fall.

Hiachi grabbed onto his wrist and pushed her upper body forward with her other hand. Once her stomach was back over the railing, she kicked her legs to create enough momentum to get her to the other side. With an ungraceful landing, Hiachi let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Rubbing his hands off onto his tracksuit as if he had just touched something nasty, Tak could finally look at the girl thoroughly and on more fair-minded terms. Taking a chance to look her over, he could confidently say she was one thing.

“She’s a mess.” He thought flatly, a small text box appearing above his head with an arrow pointing at him, showcasing his hypocrisy.

Nevertheless, with the threat of death no longer hanging over Hiachi’s head, it seemed the pair could finally talk to each other.

So, Tak took this chance to start off on a better foot.

In a display of childish behavior, he started repeatedly poking Hiachi on the forehead, using his other hand to stick a pinkie in his nose and pick at a booger.

“Hey, what’s your problem? Why aren’t you responding to any phone calls? Your blatant disrespect to the system causes problems for everyone. Did your mother never teach you about doing your part when you were still wearing teddy bear panties? Did she not make you clean your dishes after you ate dinner? Were you one of those kids who ran upstairs back to watch cartoons while your mom slaved away in the kitchen, huh?” Tak went on a long-winded analogy, rambling about childhood cultivation of morals and such to gripe about Hiachi making his life harder, the continuous poking on the woman’s forehead only making it all the more annoying.

Hiachi sucked in her breath, wholly unwilling to let how offended she was show. His lengthy ramble about her assumed childhood wasn’t the root of his question—her refusal to reply to any of her new coworkers was. She was ignoring them right after being thrust into the world of indentured servitude, and economically speaking, she was being a deadweight for the tigers.

The poke poke poking on her forehead caused a vein on her forehead to bunch up in a cross-shaped intersection, though. And the pit in her stomach sank hard at the sight of her apartment. My door…

Hiachi put her hand on her forehead as a blockade between the annoying gesture and sighed. “Camila sent you, right? I didn’t mean to ignore her or cause trouble. I’m just… new. To this.”

Even though she refused to give a name to the gang, the reality of the situation washed over her like a tidal wave. From this point forward, she was going to have to participate in the tigers. It wasn’t just a nuisance on her conscience, it was a danger to her life.

After her moment of silence for the death of a peaceful life, she bowed her head slightly to acknowledge Tak’s existence. “Right. I’ll talk to her right now. Sorry for the inconvenience.” The automated response fell out of her mouth as gently as a dumbbell.

Tak’s consistent prodding at the woman’s head was interrupted as she swiftly raised a hand to interrupt his agitating gesture. However, despite being blocked, it didn’t immediately stop Tak’s poking, continuing a couple of times before stopping and leaving his finger in its place, not feeling like removing it yet.

The fact that she was new wasn’t much of a surprise to him, despite how oblivious he was, even though he knew that no one in their right mind would blatantly disregard the requests of their superiors, not if they wanted to keep having a peaceful life. Tak’s placement in the apartment proved nothing good from ignoring what was asked of you so blatantly.

Tak finally retreated his hand away from Hiachi’s face and back to his side as she bowed her head. Despite Hiachi’s passive presentation, the man’s look shifted from an unaffected stare to an irked countenance. He finished picking his nose as he flicked the booger to disappear into Hiachi’s apartment. “If sorry was all it took, then we wouldn’t have made nuclear bombs, and Kopamon wouldn’t have been canceled when the artist was discovered to be part of a murder cult,” Tak disputed against Hiachi’s apology, immediately regarding it as hollow by citing his own sources both broad and abhorrently narrow respectively, sliding his hands into his pockets.

As much as Tak wished he could just walk out now and not look back and leave the woman back to her business, he didn’t trust the woman to suddenly turn into a star employee and start getting things done. And the last thing he wanted was to return here and go through this song and dance.

“If I have to come back here when I’m in the middle of not doing anything, I might actually kill her.”

He offhandedly thought, a small bead of sweat on the side of his head as he considered the possibility, the jerky movement of his brow showing his thinly masked annoyance at the prospect.

Letting out a sigh and rolling his head upward, he looked up towards the sky, breathing in the fresh air, only slightly muddied by the faint aroma of Hiachi’s depression cave as a backing note.

“So, what’s your deal?” He began his query before dropping his head back down to bore down at the woman, letting a brief silence hang in the space before them before he dug deeper, “No one joins up in a gang just to stand around and not do anything, so let’s hear it.”

There it was. Hiachi’s very own hot topic. The corners of her mouth tilted down, her neutral expression gaining an edge of irritation. She didn’t want to talk about this—why couldn’t Camila have explained the situation to him?

It was such a stupid way to lose everything. It wasn’t entirely fate’s malice—it was her own, ignorant choices that slowly pushed her off the deep end. She should have backed out of her gambling operation when she had won enough to pay off for an education, or been more discreet, or gotten the hell out of the White Tiger when that suspicious group of tigers started surrounding her, smiling to her like an old acquaintance.

Since Hiachi had already tried and failed at lying her way out of her problems, the only way forward was the truth. But, that didn’t mean she was going to be straightforward. The thought of willingly admitting that she had ended up in the tigers as a deeply foolish mistake made Hiachi want to dive off the balcony. Tak would have to drag the details out of her if he wanted the whole picture.


“I’m not here because I want to. I owe… debt.”


“Oh. I get it.”


Entirely contrasting how much channeled through Hiachi’s thoughts before she even dared to speak one word of her fate, Tak didn’t let a single sentiment scrape past his brain before responding to her.


“So you’ve never been broke before.”


Tak wasn’t interested in the slightest about the reasoning behind her debt, which caught Hiachi by surprise. It could have just been because he wasn’t interested—Hiachi didn’t find herself that interesting, after all.


His assumption was true—Hiachi had never been as poor as she was in the current moment. She had negative funds. Having grown up in a family as diligent as hers, she never had to see the extent of poverty that New Oasis fostered. She wasn’t rich, but she never had to worry about where her next meal was coming from; something that she knew plenty of her old friends would have killed for. But now? She was lucky she was even alive.


Shoving her pride aside, she simply nodded in response.


To Tak, it made a lot of sense; after all, being in the Tigers for his short but prominent time meant he had met many people with similar stories. The only reason he wasn’t one of them was that he had the foresight to put paying the dues to the gang over everything else, no matter how destitute it made him.


And it sure did make him destitute.


He could care less about why Hiachi was in debt, everyone had their own story to tell, and Hiachi’s story probably would be as dull as the last, at least that’s what he thought. Immediately disregarding it of interest to him.


Taking a step back from Hiachi to lean backward and look back into her apartment, he ogled the surroundings with a squint, taking a better look as he began to understand the situation. He knew clutter, and there was a definite break between “I don’t care” and “I can’t bring myself to care” clutter, Hiachi clearly the latter. Signs of well-placed intentions muddied by an incapability to follow through.


To Tak, such signals were obvious now he had the whole picture, almost like he was a professional at noticing the habits of impoverished people like an expert on Brokeology.


“I’m startin’ to get it now,” Tak ruminated about what he was dealing with; now that he had a finer understanding, there was some part of him that could resonate with what Hiachi was going through. Luckily, he had no one breathing down his back while moving into his new apartment and getting used to his new lifestyle. It wasn’t much of a difference to him since he had always been poor.


But, being Tiger broke and being regularly broke were two very different things, which Tak swiftly realized, but that took many months of nearly falling into debt.


Swiveling back around to look at Hiachi, he no longer saw a brat trying to skimp out of doing her part of the chores but a girl who had been tossed into the den and was expected to pick up the pieces.


Sink or swim was fun in practice, but it’s hard to swim unscathed through shark-infested waters when you’ve already been cut open.


He hated to say it, but a tiny bit of him almost felt sorry for her.


He didn’t like it. So, he simply would have to do something about it.


Clicking his teeth, bothered by what he was about to do out of his own volition, sliding his hands out of his pockets to place one on the back of his neck, letting his expression soften slightly.


“Don’t worry about answering your phone; in fact, clear your whole schedule,” Tak stated, using his free hand to point his thumb right at his chest, “you’re with me.”


The man’s demeanor had done a complete 180˚ to what he had introduced himself with. Instead of a death stare or a mocking grin, there was a glint behind his eyes that spotted something opportune.


She was too curious to stop him.


“I’m gonna show you what it’s like being a grunt of the tigers and how to survive! It’ll be a crash course on what it’s like being in the dirt! And there ain’t no one who knows better than me, Hibachi!” Tak asserted, slamming his fists together as, for once, he gave Hiachi a positive expression that wasn’t from destroying her property, a huge toothy smile with a confident glint in his eyes.


“I’ll call it….”

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

8 Dollar Jackpot

LOCATION:

Principality Coffee, outside New Oasis

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Sylvie

8 DOLLAR JACKPOT

You know, growing up in the East district really screwed with Hiachi’s perceptions of gangs. Influence from the dragons had her believe that gangs were lawless neanderthals, killers with no purpose, street rats that hid within the crevices of New Oasis—a plague. Most of those things could be true, but the Tigers certainly had the ability to uphold themselves with some class.

It had been the third time this week that a tiger had requested her presence, taken her out for a meal, and offered to pay for it in full. Ignoring the fact that every time it had something to do with an ulterior motive, it was quite dignified of them.

It had begun to feel patronizing, though. They really did see her as a small, helpless mouse suffocating in a trap. Or maybe a broken toy they found on the circumference of the playground, and promptly claimed ownership over.

Hiachi wasn’t one to act rude, though. Her parents had raised her better than that. She didn’t deny Sylvie’s offer, because chances for free food were only turned down by idiots.

She pointed at the menu, going down the items before coming to a conclusion. “Can I have a cappuccino and a toasted plain bagel?”

As Sylvie went to pay for the food, Hiachi surveyed the location. It was a gaudy brand of corporate positivity, but at least the aesthetics were coherent. Hardly nostalgic, though. Hiachi’s memories brought her back to the diner she would always go to when her grandparents came to visit. The ones on her dad’s side, because they were always more fun than the ones on her mom’s side.

They would always let them sit on the counter at the diner, all five of them. They would lift Mareri up to the barstools because of her legs. They would both order a sugary coffee and something with eggs. And they would let her and her siblings get ice cream, even though it was breakfast time. Hiachi cherished moments like that, because even at a young age, she knew they were few and far between.

Upon being asked by Sylvie where she wanted to sit, she wordlessly pointed at the barstools surrounding the tall, polished counter at the back of the room.

Spoiler

@FangS31

 

[Nobody Special]

VULKEN BECKMAN

CS Link

SCENE:

White Wolf

LOCATION:

404 Ark Royal Apartments

TIME:

Unknown

PARTICIPANTS:

Vulken, Dagger, Corvo, Yong-Yut

CURRENT STAGE:

0 (Current Temp: Regular)

WHITE WOLF

Vulken’s confused look quickly became a guilty one when it became clear that his light-hearted question had been taken literally. The white-haired woman’s look almost made him shiver, yet he lifted his hand to rub his tired eyes and get an even better look at her. Should probably let ‘er know that was a joke.

“...The opposite, then.” He wearily muttered, attempting to raise his torso up once again. “...Thanks. Ain’t the first time a pretty girl swooped in and saved my ass.”

He wasn’t joking that time. Sure, she had a little… roughness to her that even a blind man would notice, but she wasn’t bad looking at all. This time, Vulken managed to lift himself into a seated position in the bed.

“So, what’s ‘yer nam–”

He was immediately cut off by her announcement that she had used his phone to contact his ‘friends’. Instead of asking how the hell she managed to get the thing unlocked in the first place, he reached for his phone and clicked it on to inspect the message she had sent.

"How reliable is this person, 'YY'? How soon do you think she will arrive?"

A sigh escaped his open mouth. Sorry, YY, he thought to himself, taking a mental note to take her to her favorite restaurant after this was all said and done. She’s prolly sick ‘ta her stomach worryin’ right now. He was too focused on his best friend’s wellbeing to do a double-take and notice just who else the woman had messaged.

“Hopefully, they’re asleep.” He replied, still looking over at her. “But, if she’s awake and saw that, then she’s probably outside right fuckin’ now.”

He shifted his weight to let his legs hang off the side of the bed. He needed to get up, and get out of here before things somehow got worse. His memory was slowly coming back to him– those thugs he’d rubbed the wrong way weren’t just some ordinary thugs. Not if they were able to get him to use that move.

But, before his feet even touched the ground, he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to carry himself out of here. Not alone.

“...Name’s Vulken, by the way. You?”

simj26 gxxberkit AriAriAbabwa

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Puss Gets the Boot

LOCATION:

West District

TIME:

Post Arc 3 - 14th June 2022

PARTCIPANTS:

Matsuda, Tak, Kiwi, Hiachi, Yura

Puss Gets the Boot

Entering the scene with defined impact, a white shoe slammed its weight against the office door and blew it open, the gust of wind that followed it rustling any loose papers in its trajectory.

“Man! They even got the nice smelling soap in the bathrooms in this place!” A brutish voice accompanied the rowdy entrance, their dirty white sneakers strolling in while they ran a hair through their messy black hair, the other hand placed in front of their face as their nose flared, nostrils taking a deep sniff of their moisturized skin.

“Lavender and rosemary smell pretty damn good.”

Entirely operating at his own pace and setting his personal tempo in the situation as usual, Tak didn’t bother to look around the room as he entered, taking another lungful of his hand as he enjoyed the smell of proper hygiene. As he finally fully entered the room, a piece of toilet paper hung to the back of his shoe, trailing outside the door behind him. He didn’t seem to care or notice, as he finally stopped smelling himself to examine his surroundings, directing his attention at Kiwi.

Immediately, he removed his hand from his hair and raised it in a terse half-wave, “Yo, what’s up,” He casually greeted her before sliding both of his hands in his pockets and letting a smirk melt onto his face, “Thanks for inviting me, I was really dyin’ for a good ol’ shakedown. It’s been a minute since I’ve done one,” Tak spoke about the job as if he had been invited out to a typical get-together, evidently taking the enforcement they were undertaking incredibly informally.

“So, what’s the deal?” Tak questioned, slipping his hands out of his pockets to slam a balled fist against his palm. “Did someone take a loan out and not pay it back? Did he cheat a bingo, and we gotta take it back? Oh! I bet he borrowed a copy of Mushroom Brothers and didn’t return it!” Tak began to list off more and more ridiculous conjectures of what the job could entail, the look on his face showing that every suggestion he made was an entirely genuine consideration.

“Well, whatever it is, I hope the guy got some fight! Ain’t the same if they just give it up easily, y’know?” Tak bubbled at the idea of being able to roughhouse with someone, not even hiding his evident hints of sadism and thuggish agenda. In his mind, the only people he ever had to get rough with were slimebags and schemers who had assbeatings coming to them on snail mail, Tak was just the mailman, and this was no different.

However, his excitement on the matter abruptly dissipated as he suddenly realized there was another presence in the room, his head snapping over his shoulder to finally notice Matsuda sitting on the couch.

Seeing the gas mask-wearing man, Tak only blinked in response a couple of times over to make sure he was seeing right as his shoulders and neck slouched, instantly put off by his attire. Well, just the gas mask. Mostly.

His head twirled back to Kiwi, and without tact, he pointed over his shoulder toward Matsuda, a small bead of sweat going down his face. “Who’s the freak in the mask? Does he have acid reflux or somethin’?” Tak bluntly questioned, hoping she could provide some context on why they had a guy prepared for the perfume store in their midst.

Sei Shonagon miki Caffeine_Obsessed gxxberkit

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Reaching The Heavens From Hell (Pre-Arc 3)

LOCATION:

Tourist & Casino District, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Shishido Takakazu, Sylvie Slezák ( WhiskeyMarten )

Reaching The Heavens From Hell

Sylvie’s attitude at the moment only stoked the fire Tak had bubbling inside him to wipe all that smugness off his face and inside his head; the constant mocking of his appearance wasn’t anything new to him, but hearing it come from someone like him made it more irritating than it ever could be. From the onset, Sylvie represented many things Tak disliked, down to his fancy shoes.

However, he was too busy imagining what all he’d be doing with his abundance of wealth and riches to care for the disgusted look Sylvie gave him as he shamelessly stroked himself, unkempt and lecherous; it was no surprise that Sylvie thought so little of him. His desire to settle the argument overpowered his distraction as he ultimately offered the additional bet to tonight’s gamblings.

When he turned back to Sylvie after shouting at the people he was carelessly inconveniencing, he found his hand already in Sylvie’s grip, his denial of a handshake earlier ultimately leading back to one in the future as the well-dressed man took it upon himself to seal the deal. Tak didn’t give much of a reaction except a dour change in his countenance as Sylvie let go and let his hand drop back down to his side.

“Apologize? The only apologizing I’ll be doing is saying sorry that no one could be as lucky as I am tonight,” He continued to boast, the deal with Sylvie only making him all the more confident he was going to leave with full pockets and socks stuffed full of cash he can’t fit his hands around.

“Plus, it’s your fault for holding up the line too, idiot,” Tak added with a deadpan look, pointing at the gap between Sylvie and the rest of the line ahead.

As the pair’s argument ended and Sylvie turned away to focus back on the line and move along, Tak raised his hands up to his face and cupped them, shouting via them like Sylvie had already walked away out of earshot.

“Have some good dreams knowing I’ll drop your hard-earned cash on cheap snacks and shitty movies!” He taunted Sylvie, though it seemed like, despite all his gloating, he didn’t have a single big plan for all this supposed money he was about to acquire.

New clothes certainly weren’t high on his list.

Despite the situation, the fact didn’t change that they were still in line, a point Tak had clearly forgotten about as the space between him and Sylvie stood empty.

“Just move already,” The man behind Tak sounded more tired than annoyed at this point, looking at the runt as he awkwardly stood there with his hands up to his face. Tak blinked, a small bead of sweat going down his face as his posture drooped, and he dejectedly walked up behind Sylvie.

For them to both have such an outburst and still be stuck in the queue together made things awkward, something Tak was visibly aware of as he wore a slight look of discontent, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hey, this is really awkward, isn’t it?! In any other situation, I coulda just stormed off, but now that we’re both standing here, I feel like a fuckin’ dolt!” Tak expressed internally, the world around him going dark as a blue hue appeared over his forehead and his bottom lids physically drooped.

“This is just as bad as arguing with your friend about who’s the stronger hero, Squirrel-man or Scorpion-man, while you’re standing in the lunch line! You can’t ask for extra mac and cheese after he asks for extra mac and cheese; then it will look like you’re copying him!” Tak traveled on a tangent in his head, his comparison to school lunch making him feel all the more uncomfortable about the situation.

Not content just to stand here in this unpleasant tension, Tak finally caved under the pressure he was exerting on himself, deciding to talk to Sylvie again as the line continued to move forward.

“So, uh…Where do you plan on playing first?” He questioned awkwardly, quickly raising a hand in front of him defensively as he clarified, “Just so I know not to go there, is all!”

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

The Same Kids That Blew Into Cartridges Would Laugh At You Learning Harmonica

LOCATION:

West District

TIME:

February 19th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTCIPANTS:

Tak, Kiwi ( gxxberkit )

The Same Kids That Blew Into Cartridges Would Laugh At You Learning Harmonica

Black rubber wheels spun around, accompanied by the murmuring of a dull engine; the faint sounds of it choking on air audibly demonstrated its age. The dulled sheen of the metal fender above the front wheel went along with the rust that crusted the edges. Muddled and chipped silver paint eroded from years of mistreatment and lack of proper care. Matching this disheveled-looking scooter was its bedraggled owner, the uneven and ungroomed facial hair on his face paired with the wrinkles and creases showing that he had never invested in an iron in his life.

As he drove down the road, the wind wasn’t doing him any favors as it pushed against him, causing his open jacket to rustle and toss around against nature, the zipper repeatedly clicking as it smacked against the metal hull the scooter.

Still, despite how carelessly he treated his appearance, the white helmet on the top of his head showed that he didn’t take personal safety lightly, keeping his thick, nappy hair under plastic and foam protection. Goggles over his eyes kept his eyes hidden, but the faint grin displayed that he seemed to be in a good mood or was doing something that kept him away from the easily agitated energy he usually brought to everything.

“Guess there was some benefit to staying in contact with that girl after all,” Tak reflected, leaning forward on his scooter as his fingers tightened around the handles. “I can’t believe she got a day one copy of it!”

As if to give context to his inane internal ramblings, the hazy but shimmering image of what looked to be the case of a video game appeared right next to his head. It was incredibly generic, a man in armor holding his valiant sword up to the sky, surrounded by his party members, standing on top of their slain enemies while the shadow of a much greater evil loomed. Despite how dry it looked on the offset, from how Tak beamed, it was clear that he had a vested interest in it, the vision of the game disappearing as he continued to speed down the road.

“I completely cleared out my schedule to play the hell out of this game! Good thing I didn’t pay my phone bill, so no one can call and distract me either!” Tak mentally boasted about his terrible habits, warping it to act like they were intentional moves to optimize the time he could bum at someone else’s house and mooch off their utilities.

A sheen of sunlight passing across his goggles shifted their transparency, his eyes finally visible as he twirled on the handles of his scooter, revving the engine as he picked up speed down the empty road ahead, whizzing past parked cars and houses.

“There isn’t a single thing that could stop me!”

As the perspective was left behind while Tak drove into the distance, he suddenly slowed down as the fumes from his exhaust stifled to a halt.

Looking down at the meters on his scooter, Tak blinked, and he immediately noticed the problem, the red line in his gas meter pointed directly at E.

His smile and optimism; gone.


-------

Hours later than he said he would be there, Tak finally reached the familiar street. His feet dragged along the sidewalk, struggling to take any steps forward as if he was carrying a boulder on his shoulders.

This was close enough to be the truth, as the view panned upwards to show Tak dripping sweat from his face and labored breathing, hoisting up his scooter above his head as he had walked the rest of the way with it.

He continued to trudge along until his shaky legs finally stopped right in front of a set of steps leading up to a porch, “Finally, I made it…!” He was exasperated, but instead of dropping the scooter on the street like a sensible person, he carried it up with him to the porch before dropping it, the rubber wheels slamming into the wood as he breathed out a visible puff of steam from his mouth, already causing a disturbance.

Wiping his brow with his sleeve, he walked up the steps and placed a free hand in his pocket, strolling up to the door and punching it with a fist rather than knocking like an average person.

“OOOOI! IT’S ME! OPEN UP!”

 

[The Crimson King]

Hanji Fumikage

CS Link

SCENE:

Acrophobia

LOCATION:

Alleyway in the east district

PARTICIPANTS:

Kaede, Hanji

Acrophobia

Boy's Memory - James Shimoji
Beams of light stretch far down the sky from the unseen moon, illuminating the alleyway like a stage play. He had watched the struggle between the two figures, very closely. He had seen the pocket knife, gripped between the two of them, passed between. An unimpressed expression slowly plants itself on Hanji's face.

“So, you're going to kill him?”

Something resembling disgust fills his eyes before he covers his mouth with his hand.
'No,' he thinks, 'I didn't say that right.'
He wanted to believe this girl, who looks like the victim, was in the right; That this man was a thief, that he had it coming, that she had every right to beat him, to restrain him, to kick him under the bus. He could assume the knife was his, but, either way, she's going to use it to protect herself. Take one life to preserve her own. He couldn't let her do that. He seems hesitant at first to move even a muscle, but he makes eye contact with the girl for a few moments.

'I really didn't want this.'

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who's knife it is. A droning howl, and a sound like wind chimes reverberates off the brick walls of the intersection, as Hanji becomes unseen, moving explosively. Gliding across the gravel at a unknowable speed, Hanji flanks them on the left side, halting slightly closer than arms reach before the two of them, his eyes locked on the weapon, and he quickly shoots out his hand, reaching for the knife, wanting the bladed object out of the picture.

“I'm really sorry!”

Outfit- A black tracksuit with white stripes, underneath he wears a white gym shirt and a black sports undershirt. Imagine vintage sneakers. Around his neck hangs a charm necklace that is not the same as the one his older self wears. His hair is also slightly longer, not trained.

Sei Shonagon

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Meirin Azuza

CS Link

SCENE:

The Yeye Home

LOCATION:

The Yeye Home, East District (LittleLeaf zone)

LOCATION:

June 5th, 2022 || Post-Arc 3, Timeskip 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Meirin, Dyne, Isaiah, Devin, Sabrina, Ruriko, Jess, Ottilie

The Yeye Home

Killing people came with a certain responsibility, but saving them did too, or so Meirin was starting to learn. The Dragons that died in Central were brought to HQ to be buried or taken to their families. As for the living she’d randomly snatched up–Dragons, Phoenixes, and civilians alike–she had no plans beyond bringing them to an area of safety–one not at risk of collapsing–and let them do as they pleased once they reached the not-as-shaking East District. Most opted to return home. The few that no longer had homes, chose to stay and rebuild a new home in the East. Some thanked her. Some didn’t. Meirin didn’t care. From chasing after the two fighting Kings to leaving said Kings to support the pillars while she prioritized carrying people to safety, Meirin did what she wanted.

What she believed to be right.

Glancing at the little girl that tightly clutched her hand as they walked the flowery streets of the East District, Meirin didn’t think leaving the child on her own to be right. Every since the earthquake, the little girl Meirin pulled from a wreckage hadn’t spoken a word–likely having lost her voice from the trauma she experienced. Or, perhaps, she was a mute. Perhaps she hadn’t yet learned to speak? Meirin wouldn’t know. Name? Age? Family? Meirin knew nothing about the green-eyed girl. No one she brought the girl to seemed to know anything about the girl either and, after talking to Jun, Meirin became convinced that the Yeye Home was the best place to leave her.

Better than Dragon HQ or a brothel at least.

“You’ll like it there,” Meirin reassured as houses became fields the deeper they walked into LittleLeaf. “The matron is nice.”

Sorta. Meirin remembered Madame Kouka to be a strict, no-nonsense woman, hence why she decided to ditch her typical Shaolin quipao for the day. The less she looked like the Sleeping Giant, a member of the Azure Dragon gang, the less she scared the kids. Meirin was here to drop a child off, not cause trouble.

A sweater and a pair of jeans worked fine.

“There are a lot of children for you to play with…”

The closer they got to their destination, the more her memories returned. The trees she liked to swing from. The spot where she would run and hide from bullies until Jun found her. The patch the she would be forced to weed every time she misbehaved. As the orphanage came into view, Meirin scanned the building that had been her home for 18 years, immediately noticing oddities like the damaged rooftop and tree that seemed to have fallen over, partially crashing into one of the windows. She frowned. A byproduct of the earthquake no doubt.

In front of the building, a row of children stood as if standing for Adoption Day, from oldest to youngest, with the older ones carrying the infants. A dark haired woman Meirin recognized–from a certain venue–stood to the side, carrying a couple of infants as well, but Meirin’s main focus was on the elder lady doing a roll call. Madame Kouka sported more gray hair than she remembered, more wrinkles, but, for the most part still, looked the same. Prim and proper. Hard and unyielding.

As if sensing her thoughts, the old lady turned to face Meirin, recognition lighting those stern, hawk-like eyes, and suddenly she was no longer Merin Azuza, veteran of the Azure Dragon gang and co-owner of Eternal Night Palace. She was just Meirin–the girl in the Yeye Home that never got chosen.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Meirin’s voice came out more whispery than intended. “I’m back, Madame Kouka.”

Damafaud Beann Lucem Saturn_moon Misuteeku simj26

((I won't be holding very many hands for this b-side, so if you're still interested in participating, feel free to slip your character in however you want/make up your own reasons for being at the Yeye Home, from answering a volunteer request to actually having tagged alongside mei this entire time, etc))

 

[Lucem]

DAMIAN

CS Link

SCENE:

Unforseen Sham

LOCATION:

Nikolai's walk-in Armoire, North District

TIME:

7:26 PM || August 12, 2020 || Pre-arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Damian, Nikolai

UNFORSEEN SHAM

For the most part, Damian's unrestrained curiosity never led him down the rabbit hole of cloth and jewelry. Apart from a previous interest in the uniforms worn by individuals known as "students", he never thought much of clothes. They were simply things people wore over their skin. However, after meeting Virus, things changed.

The affluent man's lifestyle and the myriad of fine items that accompanied it intrigued Damian. Of course, that included the sizable wardrobe as well. It included much more than just the ordinary garments he was accustomed to seeing, and there was a surprising depth to the vast array of styles that were previously unknown to him. Many styles, colors, and accessories that could be mixed and matched, only limited by one's imagination. Although, for him, the interest was quite surface-level, as he was primarily attracted to things that were bizarre and obscure. There was certainly no shortage of that in the new world Nikolai had introduced him to, and true to his nature, Damian dove as deep as he could into said world, trying to pick apart its secrets and inner workings in search of understanding the unknown.

Today, his research led him to an unexpected opportunity. Unexpected and exciting. There was to be an event of some kind, one where several wealthy and influential individuals would come together. Things like riches didn't hold Damian's attention, but the chance to pick brains seemed delightful. Unable to keep his mind off of a setting that was still fresh and new to him, he decided to accompany the person currently fussing over his appearance.

When Nikolai approached with the jewelry, Damian bent down, looking over the options in the gloved hand with a curious eye. After a moment of silent inspection, a dark limb crept out from the hem of his shirt. The tentacle plucked each brooch from Nikolai's hand, wrapping them tightly in its tip before placing them against Damian's chest.

"Why choose?" He stared back at the smoke-covered man with a smirk that had been permanently etched into his face. He was interested in all of them, so why bother picking one when he could wear them all? A rather simple solution, no?

"What more can you tell me about this event? What can I expect when we arrive? Speaking of which, how long until we set out? Do you have a ride prepared? If so, what kind? If not, I could arrange one. I get around the city rather quickly."

Spoiler: Clothes

Caffeine_Obsessed