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

[Seaquill]

YUSHUI 雨水

CS Link

SCENE:

Dragons B-side: Spicy Juice

LOCATION:

The Eternal Night Palace, Red Light District of the Eastside

PARTICIPANTS:

Yushui, Peyton, Isaiah, open

SPICY JUICE

Off for the rest of the night he chose to visit their friendly competitors for drinks and tastes of their atmosphere. The Eternal Night Palace was lively as usual with patrons and employees exchanging words and services of all kinds. His eyes, pools of sea water, poured over the colorful fabrics of each costume and fashion statement. One his favorite parts of working in this industry, he imagined patrons felt the same if even just a little, though the preference remains for what was underneath.

“Hello. Ninhao,” various translations of "hello" and other greetings warmly flutter from him as he's making his way to the bar. Relaxed and smiling, yet chatting with people on the way over seemed to remind him how tired he felt, condensing that faint fatigue below the surface so as not to offend. A few waves of guilt rippled, but he knew it wasn't them or himself, he was tired in general from working. All would melt away with a sigh and reaching the counter where a short, fancy man in a gold and black dragon vest held down the bar. Intermittently barbacks helping with dishes and restocking dance in and out like ants.

At the bartenders approach and after introductions Yushui curiously asks, “What's your favorite drink? What do you suggest?”

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Takes One To Know One

LOCATION:

East District, 24-Seven

DATE:

November 11, 2021

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Lily

Takes One To Know One

It was approaching 11 o’clock in the morning, and the morning rush had finally started to slow down. When business slowed down, the manager sent Hiachi to the cold vault storage to restock, which ended up being a lot of energy drinks that had been emptied out the night before. Hiachi worked morning shifts at the 24-Seven three blocks away from her apartment. She finished the shift at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. She would be idle until night classes started at 8 and finished at 10. Then she would go home, eyes failing, lay down on her bed, and wake up. And she would walk to the 24-Seven three blocks away. And she would scan items during the morning rush. When that ended, she would start restocking drinks in the fridge.

A few people passed by the coolers, ignorant to her behind the wall of drinks. They walked fast, surveying what item on the shelves would help them get through their day the best. Trying to be as quick as possible because they had much better places to be than a run-down 24-Seven.

There was a tension in Hiachi’s shoulders. A tension everywhere. No matter how many times she went to stretch it out, it would snap back into place.

God, she hated this job. She hated that she needed this job. Her back felt sore from bending down and getting up again. Her chest felt tight, like she wanted to cry but that little girl inside of her had been crushed by her corporate expression. She was tired, so so tired and more than anything she wanted to leave. The 24-Seven, this city, everything. She loathed New Oasis, all of it. She wanted to leave this place and go somewhere far away, to a place where Hiachi Ito never existed.

The clock’s thin red hand slowly moved towards the 0 at the top. Hiachi’s break started at 11 o’clock.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

Hiachi set down the box of drinks, disconcerted with the clinking of glass bottles against each other. She stepped out of the cold vault and through the door to the alley behind the store. She shuffled through her apron’s front pocket for her pack of Marlboro lights, and a lighter. All while holding each object in one hand, she slipped out a cigarette. She lit it and lifted it to her mouth, before taking a deep breath.

She drawled on her cigarette in silence, letting the world beyond the alley pass her by.

This wasn’t nearly as bad as she was making it out to be—she was just being dramatic. It was all a part of the process. She would have this job so she could pay for food and rent, and inch towards paying back that debt. Once she finished her night classes, she could get a real job, and then actually pay back that debt. Then that money could go towards buying better food and shelter. And everything would be fine.

Spoiler

ATurei

​

 

[ATurei]

Lily Lavinia

CS Link

SCENE:

Test Trial

LOCATION:

North District, Backstreets

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Sang-Cheol, Lily

Test Trial

As the syringe pricked her skin, Lily winced involuntarily It soon passed, and she was not in the mood to wish for more. At any rate a wave of numbness washed over and swept away the discomfort. She fought against it. But a tingle at her fingertips caused a distraction. Whelmed, she shook lightly.

“Ugh.” Sleepy.

“Well,” she said. How does one even begin to describe it? It was not so bad. Still, she had a mind to pretend otherwise, lest the man thinks her work here doesn’t warrant the offered payment. “Like shit. Not too shitty, you know, but, in a way, yeah, shit. Like when you open your fridge and there ain’t nothing edible inside. Nothing, but some canned spaghetti you bought for the nice color but it tasted like shit the first time you tried it, so you just left it there and now it’s past the expiration date and sure as hell is gonna taste even shittier but you’re still very hungry, so you open it anyway. And eat it. Your stomach is empty, so it tastes well enough, like food. But still shitty. You get me?”

She sat back, tensed up, having no intention to relax, ever.

“Alright,” she said, “alright. Let’s just get on with it.”

Spoiler: Tags

Misuteeku

 

[Lucem]

Ezra Knight

CS Link

SCENE:

Making Amends

LOCATION:

Post Arc 2: Antique Shop, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Ezra, Isobel

MAKING AMENDS

Tugging at the sleeve of his overshirt, Ezra silently followed Isobel as they squeezed through narrow ailes. His eyes darted around the antique-filled maze, observing the various knickknacks and appliances that cluttered overcrowded tables and shelves. The myriad of books, paintings, and timepieces reminded him of the assorted items that had been given to him back at the apartment, but aside from that, there was an even stronger sense of déjà vu. It felt like the very first time he visited the Jack's home, but he chose not to express that to her. While he certainly didn't mean it that way, he worried she might take offense if he pointed out the similarity. What if she thought he was calling her place old and stuffy?

Shaking off the worrisome thoughts, he kept walking and focused on following the leader. When her feet stopped, so did his, eliciting a creak from the old floorboards. He then looked around her, trying to see what she was searching for all the way at the back of the shop.

To his surprise, he'd been led to a small section dedicated to music, the antiques being the limited selection of record players and vinyls. For the first time since he stepped inside, his slightly confused, uncomfortable expression fell, replaced as his face lit up a bit with recognition. There wasn't a lot to see, but he was familiar with what was displayed.

After Isobel was finished going through the small box of albums, Ezra took her place as she slipped away. His fingers walked across the collection, giving him a better look at each decorative sleeve. What the shop lacked in quantity was definitely made up for with the quality. There were releases from Stix, King, and The J. Niles Band. Really nice stuff.

He hardly noticed when a familiar tune started playing. He just enjoyed it as he perused, humming along. Too absorbed, he didn't know that humming eventually turned to singing. After the chorus, his quiet voice faded in. "Like a fool, I fell in love..." And it faded out.

When he reached the end of the row, he zoned back in, remembering where he was. Almost immediately, he turned toward Isobel. Now really wasn't the time to be getting distracted.

"Um, so why are we here?" Rubbing the back of his neck, he finally asked the question that should have been asked a long time ago. "Not that there's anything wrong with being here. Just curious..."

When Isobel first told him they were going on a field trip, he really didn't know what to expect. He didn't believe she was out to harm him, but at the time, it was kinda hard to keep his imagination from running wild. She was still a high-ranking gangster, after all. Of course, now that he was standing in an antique shop, there was just some confusion.

@Saturn_moon

 

[Coyote Hart]

SEBASTIAN SE

CS Link

SCENE:

Fireflies for Glass Bottle Hearts

LOCATION:

North District

TIME:

December 18th, 2021 | Post-Arc 2

PARTICIPANTS:

Sebastian Se, Julian Midgley

FIREFLIES FOR GLASS BOTTLE HEARTS

Sebatian faltered in his movement and his sadistic smile fell off of his face in light of the response the golden haired lad gave.

"P-pretty?!" Sebastian was a bit taken aback, and in spite of himself, his ears went red, completely unrelated to the cold. He leaned in closer to the homeless man, pressing the blade harshly into the man's skin, and demanded, "Don't you mean scary? I am about to claim your life after all."

But he couldn't keep up the scary countenance. The compliment, even though it was from a homeless man about to die from the cold, got to his head. Sebastian moved his blood covered hand to cover his mouth, partially to hide the blush that threatened to form on his face, but also to suppress the laugh that rose to his throat and threatened to spill out. But despite trying, it was no use.

"Damn, you really messed up my vibe. You're quite an interesting one," Sebastian said between laughs. He removed his hand from his joyful expression, blood smeared against his cheeks. The line that he had been hoping to deliver, 'how about you watch me take your life instead?' was left unspoken on his tongue. For a moment, Sebastian wondered where Julian even got the idea of him being an angel. A grim reaper maybe, a shinigami even, but an angel? What part of Sebastian looked heavenly?

To Sebastian, the man in front of him was more angelic. Like a fallen angel from the heavens, fragile as glass.

Then Sebastian realized that his hair was dimly glowing from his Potential and felt a bit silly.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind a puppy following behind me," Sebastian decided, "But can you even stand up? You look like you're about to keel over any second now. And your fingers look like they're about to fall off."

At that moment, an idea came to Sebastian. He left the man's side to go to the body of the dead man, dragging the heavy body across the snow towards the glassy-complexioned man. He sank his knife into the man's chest, creating two crevices that steamed from the blood meeting the air. If the glass man wanted to watch Sebastian kill someone, then this would be a good experience.

"Why not heat your hands up with this?" Sebastian said with a mischievous smirk. "Then as long as you promise you to keep this stuff between the two of us, we can get you back on your feet, and maybe you can see me in action."

Sebastian wasn't sure about inviting a homeless man to join him in murdering people. Murder after all was Sebastian's guilty pleasure. A dark desire that was quite like sneaking a bite of chocolate when you know you shouldn't. Murder was immoral, after all. It wasn't conductive towards a productive society. But if the man wanted to only watch Sebastian kill people... then that was okay, right?

Sei Shonagon

 

[Roda the Red]

ERIC EVENSEN

CS Link

SCENE:

North Says No!

LOCATION:

Redwater High, North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Eric, Passeri

NORTH SAYS NO!

Eric contemplated Passeri's proposition, naturally he had to comply, it was all part of the show after all. He took a seat on the table, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, attempting to recall any good stories on the matter. A search that admitedly took very little to be complete. He opened his eyes and looked at the crow once again.

"You know, to be perfectly frank, I'm just a member of the Central Police Force, so I may not be as experienced on the matter as my colleagues up here. However, I also grew up in this place, being well aware of just how bad things really were, or rather, still are."

He looked at Passeri, giving her a small reassuring nod, before staring back at their audience once again.

"And yeah, I do have a few stories to tell. A few years ago I was mobilized temporarily to North District, to help out with the lack of able-bodied units available, most of you probably remember the large-scale gang assault at the time, but I digress. The task was simple, middle-class family living at the 6th floor of an apartment complex...A husband and a wife, two little siblings, neighbors reported screaming and sounds of violence going on in their apartment...When we entered, the place was an asbolute mess, used syringes, residue, the smell of filth and rotten food in the sink didn't help either. The two parents had been abusing several kinds of substances, the wife specifically went overboard, she became euphoric and paranoid, and took the life of her husband while under the effect, even managed to hurt her own daughter before stopping. Fortunately the kids recovered, can't say the same about their mother though, I know this might be a bit much to some of you, but you need to understand the point I'm getting at."

He raised his right fist in the air, unfurling his index finger as he spoke once again.

"...Fourty-two, fifteen, twenty-eight, seventeen, thirty-one and twenty-seven" Each time he said a number, he unfurled another finger, with the last one instead raising his thumb from his other hand.

"Those were the monthly registered cases of residents being discovered possessing some form of illegal drug here in North during the second half of last year. Just think about it, that last story I just told you? Every single one of those cases I just mentioned, might as well have been that same story all over again, this is no game, kids, there is no winning when it comes to their use." He was lucky that he was in charge of supervising the NDPD reports recently, the specific numbers were real, and fresh in his mind.

Eric's attention was shifted away, as he noticed a bunch of people approaching. At this point in his life, the detective had developed a keen sense for people, especially those of the dangerous kind, and this group ahd red flags all over them. He stood up, closing in the distance between them, making sure the Idol remained behind him.

"Interested in our talk?"

The One Eyed Bandit

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

The Idol Fanclub Trials (Pre-Arc 2)

LOCATION:

Highreach, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Shishido Takakazu, Passeri Park ( The One Eyed Bandit )

The Idol Fanclub Trials

The sounds of blurring voices and shouts acted as the entrance to the scenery while the sun sat high in the sky. Plump white clouds drifted across the horizon, briefly breaking up the vast blue. This beautiful backdrop went hand-in-hand with the cheerful atmosphere ongoing at the surface. The usual expenses of massive buildings and huge conglomerates faded in the background, the bustling nightlife of the West District still as palpable in the day as it was prominent at night. Yet the constant sights of clubs and casinos took a backseat to the vast plaza that sat in the middle of it all, a break between the wide streets, packed highways, and tight alleys. The area sat with its small pockets of nature, trees, and bushes outlining patches of grass and flowers formed together to create patterns and shapes. The scenery was appreciated as the numerous people who flooded the surroundings walked past in blurred silhouettes and humanoid figures of different ages and sizes. What had brought so many people here? There was no one contributing factor. The numerous stands and venues scattered around the plaza separated the masses from all, blending together in one pack traversing from one point to another. The amenities they provided differentiated from place to place, some establishments offering quick and easy food to hungry customers, whether that be something as standard as gelato and poutine to much more rare fare such as shawarma and takoyaki, showcasing in a tiny window the massive bridges of culture within New Oasis. Some sold straight from fryers and ranges they had wheeled behind plastic tables and set up tents, while others had rolled up with food trucks with full windows.

At the same time, numerous other attractions on the side of fun were sprinkled around. Simple things like face paint stood next to skill games like shooting the pins and goldfish scooping. People walked around with the various merchandise they had acquired from the games, from masks to giant stuffed animals.

Yet among all this excess, surrounded by all these distractions, a specific desire had brought many to enter this plaza with a set goal, making everything else an afterthought. With their minds set, they had all formed into a line that went so long it had begun to wrap around itself, leaving a trail of patiently waiting for individuals a block long.

What had compelled all these people to commit to standing in such an absurdly long line? Well…


"HUUUUH!? What the hell are you talking about, bastard!? Obviously, Petal Gallery is the superior album!"

The strained voice of a man filled with anger brought a focus near the beginning of the line as the camera moved through the people making up the crowd to approach the voice.

"Peh! Only some surface-level listening idiot could think Petal Gallery is better than Stargazer! Did you even listen to the lyrics, fuckface!?"

"Tch!"

What revealed the furious argument was the slamming of two foreheads together, a mix of blonde and brown hair being tossed in opposite directions as two men's scowled brows mushed against each other, their intense grimaces paired with their gritted teeth and twitching brows. The perspective only allowed a view of their head, not going past their necks, but their facial features were clearly displayed. On the right was a man with short brown hair, his hair combed upwards and slicked backward like a pompadour. His features and facial structure made him look like a thug, but the large pair of buck teeth he had kept him from being intimidating.

On the left was a boy with brown hair tied up in a loose ponytail; he sported a pair of glasses that hung loosely from his nose, barely reaching the strike zone of the pair's skulls. Compared to his opposition, the boy seemed fairly younger, and the angle of their shared head bash showed he was also shorter.

"You cocky fuckin' pipsqueak! How about I show you what a believer of 'Petals of Skies' can do!?" The blonde man threatened, pushing his head forward to shift the tense balance in his direction, the brown-haired boy didn't waver as the veins bulged out of his neck, and he responded.

"Don't talk about 'Petals of Skies' to me! A prick like you can't even grow roots in your heart! How the hell do you expect to reach the sky, huh!?"

The pair growled at each other as it seemed like their argument was about to reach its precipice and explode into a fistfight over….whatever they were talking about.

But just before, the situation could escalate any further.

Slamming into both cheeks with enough force to cause clear ripples in their skin as their flesh concave. Their eyes bulged out of their sockets as their face had no choice but to morph around the punch when it made contact. That brief connection lasted less than a second before the force behind it finally caught up with them. They were sent flying through the air as the double uppercut followed through, the hands being left to stand still in the air as the pair of men slammed into the ground on their backs a short distance away, small plumes of dust and debris coming from under them as they bounced against the floor, their legs splayed up in the air like roaches.

"You worms! How can you call yourselves members of the Official Iroi Fan Club…."

This interloper and subsequent mediator of the argument made himself once more as his booming voice echoed through the surrounding area. His speech only paused to offer a close-up shot of his eyes opening, revealing his vibrant golden pupils surrounded by clear whites and under a black pair of bushy eyebrows that expanded wildly at the ends like fireworks.

"IF YOU CAN'T APPRECIATE EVERY DAMN SONG IN HER DISCOGRAPHY!?"

The man's shout was so mighty it pushed away the field of view to show his whole body, his muscular arms that had delivered the punch of judgment spreading wide as he screamed his commandment. His lightly tanned skin was covered by his red robe that hung wide open, revealing his chiseled chest. A permanent marker had been used to scribble saying across the robe's front. Things such as "IROI 4 LIFE" and "PASSERI PANIC" were only some of the sayings scrawled across the front, while the back of the robe was left empty except for a large heart decal containing the idol's chibi-styled face.

He wore bandages around his stomach, wrapped right above a pair of red boiler pants with even more ecstatic remarks and statements about Iroi. Even around his forehead was a headband with another heart with Iroi's name, finishing his fanatic ensemble as it wrapped around his spiky black hair.

As the dust settled, the two men he had punched earlier now sat in a kneeled position, as if they were bearing witness to a king, the bruises from earlier punches detailed on their cheeks as they bowed their heads in humility. Unsurprisingly, now that their entire bodies could be seen, they sported the same ridiculous attire as the third man.

The brown-haired boy and glasses raised a hand up to his face, fingers going past his glasses to lift them off his nose slightly as his thumb and index were placed right under his eyes. He sniffled as tears began to form in the corner of his eyes.

"You're completely right. How could we be so blind…?"

The blonde-looking delinquent next to him instead had a slight smile. All he could do was be amused at the shame he felt for how idiotic and shortsighted he had been only moments ago.

"I was ready to fight my own companion over something so dumb. I was a fool."

As the man walked closer to the pair, he loomed down on them with a stern glare, his prominent eyebrows knitting close together. "Stand up, Maynard, Camelo. You have no reason to act so pitifully. The fact you have already shown remorse means you're forgiven." The man declared sagely.

Both boys looked up with stars in their eyes as they stood off their knees, quickly raising their hands to their foreheads in a salute and replied in unison. "Thank you, Captain Hapori!"

The captain in question chuckled, turning around from the pair. "Do not thank me, thank our idol. For it is her kindness and vision that guides my hand and voice," He clarified before glancing over his shoulder at Maynard and Camelo. "Now, let us get back in line."

With an energetic nod, the pair quickly followed behind their captain with enough enthusiasm it seemed they were ready to go to the ends of the world with him.

Instead, they only stopped after a couple steps as it revealed they had only moved a few feet away from the line. Uninterested in what had transpired, people stood on both sides of them as faceless figures.

"Oh, you three are back, good," Another masculine voice greeted them. Approaching them was another man in the same idol-crazed attire. His hair was shaved bald as he had only the faint stubble of a mustache on his face, that plus his tiny eyebrows made him seem like the oldest in the bunch. Walking beside him appeared to be another person, their arm barely coming into view, showcasing they were wearing the fan club outfit based on the design and writing, but the angle of view kept them from being fully visible.

"Yes," Hapori began, turning to face the rest of the club members, crossing his arms and sternly glaring at them. "Now that we're all back together, I'm sure you're all aware of the importance of today."

"Of course we are, captain!" Camelo shouted, the blonde raising his hand like a school kid trying to demand his teacher's attention. "It's Iroi's handshake event!"

"It's the only time mere peons like us can get so close to a goddess," Manyard added, pushing up his glasses with a grin. "It's an opportunity that only happens a few times in short lives like ours."

"Exactly! So if you understand, let me hear it in your voice! Scream your love for Iroi! Let's hear it in order!" The captain bellowed, raising his clenched fist before his face as a visible fire erupted in his eyes.

Quickly, his underlings got into a row, standing straight as they held their arms at their sides like soldiers waiting for their commanders' next orders.

"One, sound off!" Hapori barked, pointing his finger directly at Camelo. The buck-toothed blonde promptly raised his arms as if charging a spirit bomb, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"IROOOOOOIIIII!"

Without skipping a beat, the captain moved his fingers to the shorter brown-haired Manyard. "Number two!"

Compared to Camelo spreading his body out wider, Manyard brought his arms closer to his chest as he clenched his fists, almost like he was charging for some kind of attack.

“IRRRRRROOOOOIIIIIII!”

Next, the captain shifted his gaze and finger toward the currently unnamed group member, the bald man suddenly having a megaphone in his hands that he didn't have previously. "Number thr--"

"𝙄𝙍𝙍𝙍𝙍𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙊𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄𝙄!!!!"

Sending out a powerful shockwave that brought the other fan club members and nearby civilians to cover their ears, everything went silent for a moment except the crackle of the megaphone.

Then, like they had just witnessed an excellent putter play golf, the rest of the members politely clapped.

"Impressive," The captain politely commented, bringing his clapping to an end as he turned his head to look at the final member of their group. "Alright, number four…."

Finally, the view panned over to reveal the group's final member. He wore the same outfit as them, the letters and acclaim of Iroi all over his bright red robe like the rest of the group, his chest hanging out in the open to show off his muscled chest, but that was about where the similarities ended. Compared to the rest of the club that stood proud like a squad, this man stood slouched over, his shoulders lax. His messy, unkempt black hair accompanied his lazy way of standing as he absent-mindedly raised a hand to scratch the faint stubble on his chin with his unevenly bitten fingernails. Compared to the others, he looked much more like a thug, his whole body contrasting everything he surrounded himself in.

Finally, realizing attention was on him, his grayish-blue and lifeless eyes finally looked toward the captain. Blinking a few times before he finally opened his mouth to respond.

"...Huh?"

Immediately, the man was surrounded by the three others in the line; like a pack of hyenas, they circled around him, all wearing intense scowls on their face as they looked almost sickened with the man's blatant disregard for their screams of passion.

"Oi, oi. What the hell was that supposed to be, huh?" Manyard chided the larger man, turning his head up as a shadow went over the top half of his face while he glared.

"You're actin' pretty damn carefree for someone who's about to shake hands with Iroi!" Camelo added on, spitting onto the ground in disgust.

The group had the man in their sights, awaiting the response he would give to his blatant disregard for the excitement required for this group. But, despite having all eyes on him, the nappy-headed brute in question didn't seem too fazed, looking between them with a dead look in his pupilless eyes.

"There you bastards go getting ahead of yourselves," A familiar authoritative voice broke the trio out of their hivemind-like behavior. They turned to look at their captain with a slight hint of surprise.

"B-But captain!" The bald club member spat out before promptly being silenced as Hapori continued to speak.

"Take a second to think. This is his first handshake event. So it is only natural he doesn't have much to say..." The captain began to state his reasoning, pausing to cross his arms and close his eyes, posing as if he was about to drop enlightenment. After letting the silence hang in the air for a moment, he finally decided to bless his fellow club members with his understanding of the situation.

"His body is swimming in a sea of nervous anticipation! Isn't that right, brother Tak?!"

As their captain spoke, the three other fan club members had their jaws drop as their eyes bulged out of their heads, lightning striking them as they were overwhelmed by their captain's reasonable explanation.

On the other hand, the final member 'Tak' looked completely unenthused, rubbing the back of his neck as he weakly replied to the captain. "Yeah. That's right, you figured me out."

Dropping their heads in shame, clenching their fist in anger at themselves for being so eager to jump on one of their own.

"How despicable we are…." Camelo muttered, averting his gaze to the ground.

As Tak watched the group's reactions, a small bead of sweat went down his forehead.

["These guys really are idiots. How the hell did I get myself involved in this?"] He thought to himself as he looked down at himself wearing the bizarre attire of the fan club. He pulled at the robe, looking over its design as he reminisced about what got him in this position in the first place.


The view became cloudy as Takakazu reminisced about the past, showing his back in his usual black and white tracksuit attire as he walked down a packed street. His hands in his pockets yawned, moving past the various storefronts beside him.

Suddenly he found a poster flashed in front of his face, causing him to pause and almost stumble back, "W-What the hell!?"

"Please join our fan club!" A voice requested as Tak moved his head to the side to try and get past, only to find the poster and hand moving right along with him. This continued for a bit before Tak reached up and pried the sign away, eyebrows twitching in annoyance. "I'm not interested, damnit!" He blurted out to the brown-haired man in glasses who was responsible, not wasting any time before shoving past him and the rest of his red-wearing freaks, which he had yet to know.

"Man. I was sure that guy would bite."

"Whatever, let's go get some Korean BBQ."

Upon hearing the term, Korean BBQ, the messy-haired man's head snapped 180 degrees like an owl, eyes going wide just like one too.

Now, Takakazu found himself right back in the present. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance as he pinched his brow. "I should have known it was gonna come with a catch…." He mumbled.

"Brother Tak, the end of the line nears! Hurry up!" The voice from one of his fellow club members returned his focus, opening his eyes to see the bald member motioning him over. With a defeated sigh, the grunt slowly trotted over, joining the rest of the crazy fans to once again be part of them.

"Outta the way! I'm going first!"

"Like hell you are! I've been waiting for ages for this!"

And once again, another fight was going on between Manyard and Camelo, both of them tugging on each other as they tried to push ahead in the line. Camelo had a tight grip on Manyard's face, pulling his skin like it was rubber, while Manyard had a hold on Camelo's hair, tugging it like taffy.

"Neither of you will be going first! Have some compassion for your fellow fanatics!" Captain Hapori scolded them, pulling them apart like kids as they rabidly tried to claw each other like a pair of cats. Then, with a sigh, the captain turned to look at Tak, giving the thug a severe gaze.

"Brother Tak. It is your first handshake event. So it is only right you go first. So enjoy it, relish it, experience it." Hapori declared, stepping aside for his fellow club member to step forward.

Takakazu gave an affirmative nod, stepping toward the front of the line. Now that he could see the end of the tunnel, a smirk began to grow on his face.

["All I gotta do is go through with this fuckin' handshake, then I'm home-free. I can get my free meal from these fuckwits and get the hell outta here."] Takakazu gloated internally. He couldn't care less about this event; he hadn't even listened to any of Iroi's songs! He was only in it for the free food and would get it no matter the cost.

He watched as the final person in front of him left, the only thing in his way from finally reaching the end of this hellish line. He prepared to step forward and meet the woman to whom his 'friends' had devoted themselves to, face to face.

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

DATE:

April 1, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

The White Tiger was more akin to a cathedral than a casino, in Hiachi’s opinion. She considered this thought as she prodded at the blood red carpet with her shoe. This place fit four huge rooms, all fit for gambling of all types—slot machines, roulette, poker. The walls imitated the architecture of a palace. The baroque ceilings held up by marble pillars watched from above, with the paintings laughing at the sea of fools below.

The place was very on brand for the West District. Over the top, but not gaudy. A beautiful sight that the patrons could take in as their money was siphoned out of them.

That group of patrons didn’t include Hiachi. While being a regular gambler didn’t bring her any pride, winning was easy with her potential. She needed this money, anyway—those loan shark jerks weren’t going to be satisfied unless she could keep money flowing. She was doing this out of her own right, to survive in a city like this.

She told herself that every evening when she walked through those gilded doors. Every night when she walked home with her wallet five grand heavier, she told herself she deserved this. Every time she sat down at the poker table, knowing that by now she had made back much more than she owed in loans, she told herself that she did this for everyone who had been cheated out by this casino.

Or maybe it was something different. Hiachi had never experienced hubris, but if Icarus or Achilles had felt the same as Hiachi did when she called the bluff of a cocky tycoon, then she could empathize. It was a dangerous sensation of righteousness, and yet Hiachi persisted through her pessimistic self talk.

Perhaps the best way to describe it was a habit. Something to keep her flame of life stoked. A reason to wake up and convince herself to get through the day; to end up back here, practically stealing money from fools.

Ah, if Mom could see her now.

Hiachi’s opponents around her eagerly awaited the reveal of her hand. Without so much as a sigh, Hiachi laid down her cards—wordlessly announcing herself the winner of the round.

Spoiler

Roda the Red joshuadim @Nacht Ari Number Two

​

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers B-side: The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila, Ryutaro, Jennifer, Alice

The House Always Wins

Ryu was not above doing smaller jobs that were more suited for someone of lower standing, not only for his own dedication to the Tigers but also when the details of such an event intrigued him; in this case, it was a certain individual who was practically robbing the casino blind at their own game. And as far as anyone could tell, nobody had much of a clue as to *how* they managed to pull it off. Skills aside, there was also the importance of teaching a valuable lesson to those that interfered in the Tigers' matters: their profit margins. As an acute businessman, Ryu was no stranger to *discrepancies* that appeared in accounting reports from time to time. Often from a rounding error or perhaps something more below the table to avoid taxes.

But this was no mere error as it directly flew into the face of the casino's functions itself. And gambling was a revenue stream that was not to be trifled with; sucking the money out of the decrepit and degenerate gamblers that, instead of working to improve their station, sought an easy out to their financial problems was something the Tigers were heavily involved in. It was a sickening failure of one's character to seek the easy way out and, in Ryu's mind, they deserved the punishment of losing their savings and earnings. If not to just serve as a lesson, but also as a potential tool to leverage their usefulness for the Tigers... at least in that way, they would be more useful than simply drowning in misery every time they lost a bet. Hell, they might even develop a proper work ethic from all that struggle of paying off a debt. Responsibility is key in making sure a person becomes *better* from their experiences.

As Ryu watched from an observation area above at the buzz of the cards, roulettes, and slots, he turned to the other Tigers who had gathered here under the same job and cocked an eyebrow: "Tell me again about this person whose been running off with the casino's money." he asked flatly to the trio of Camila, Jennifer and Alice. "Every detail you know so far."

Interacting: Camila( Roda the Red ), Jennifer ( Uasal ), Alice ( AriAriAbabwa )
Mentions: Hiachi ( miki )

 

[ATurei]

Lily Lavinia

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers B-side: Takes One To Know One

LOCATION:

East District, 24-Seven

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Lily

Takes One To Know One

It’s not easy to make money just because you have needs. But Lily moves only on absolute necessities, when her stomach growls and the fridge’s last morsel spent, the landlord banging on the door. So often she’s been reduced to the most desperate methods, getting by to subsist for a time before the next dead end, insane as it may be to those privileged with a stable job, savings and common sense. Nay, even more desperate than that.

This morning she robbed some drug dealers.

To be fair, they were small fries. To be precise, she hadn’t meant to.

She knew as well as any serpents where to purchase stimulants as needed. She’d sought one not for her own consumption but in search of a quick and dirty job. A bottom feeder as she might be, an HP is an HP, and there must be things she could do that an ordinary person could not, especially things naturally risky such as trafficking. And in the Serpents’ territory, how risky could it be really?

Turned out, the law keepers of New Oasis filled their quotas by way of the helpless and pitiable small fries of the Serpents. And when they came, ganging like a brave pride of lions upon some little fawn, the poor guy fled, entrusting their precious merchandise on Lily’s person.

Doubtless, they had expected her to drive the bastards away, and then she would graciously return the little bag to him. Because she was the renowned and respected Black Phoenix of the mighty Serpents. But his trust was misplaced. Not that he would ever find out the truth. In short, Lily made a tactical retreat, all the way to the bridge. There, they cornered her, crowding like a disciplined army on some crusade against a single fearsome pagan, who would make a glorious stand in the name of her false god.

She jumped.

No sirens were heard when she resurfaced. For a time she floated on her back, and only occasionally did boredom move her laden limbs in paddling patterns. After a small eternity, she reached the shore, drenched and sneezing. The annoyance of which warranted a session of pain. Flickering white tongues slipped from her damp scarf, the loose threads of her sweater, incinerating what little uncovered flesh on her person. That done, she was dry again. Dry, for a brief moment, under the still-wet clothes. At least she was not so hungry anymore.

From the look of it, she had landed on eastern soil. Just as well, she did not want to chance an encounter with the cops from the north district. The substance was still secured in the sealed plastic package, whatever it was. Drugs can be exchanged for foods and services.

She had the sense at least not to walk into a reputed restaurant to sell the stuff. A run-of-the-mill convenience store seemed apt. She had never seen a single employer in such places with much care in them.

miki

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Takes One To Know One

LOCATION:

East District, 24-Seven

DATE:

November 11, 2021

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Lily

Takes One To Know One

Hiachi burnt her cigarette on the brick wall of the alley. She could feel it, it was about half way through her break by now. If she was going to survive until 2 o’clock, she was going to have to put some caffeine in her veins.


She walked back into the cold vault, looking for a drink she could snatch without her manager noticing. There were those energy drinks they had too much of, but that brand was nasty. She surveyed her options before turning her attention to the shelves. Through them, something caught her eye.


A young woman with short black hair and deadpan eyes. Perhaps the fact that she was in sopping wet clothes should have been of more concern, but Hiachi couldn’t let her appearance go.


She looked like her. Only, her whole frame was swathed in gray. She looked like a zombie, almost. Did Hiachi look like that?


Now Hiachi was acting like she was looking in a mirror, which only set off the alarm bells even more. She kept staring, trying to make out more details from different angles through the shelves.


And then something peculiar happened.


The young woman slowly looked up, right through the cold vault and directly into Hiachi’s eyes.


Who the HELL is this?


Hiachi cut the eye contact by sharply looking away from her, but she still got the sense that she was being looked at. She wasn't a 24-Seven regular, that's for sure. Maybe if she was quiet enough about going back into the alley, she would be unbothered...


Without looking back, Hiachi swiftly went through her path to her alleyway sanctuary—hoping that this doppelganger would go away.

Spoiler

ATurei

​

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Eternal Night Palace NPCs (Long and Lemon)

CS Link

SCENE:

Spicy Juice

LOCATION:

Eternal Night Palace, East District (Pleasure District)

TIME:

???

PARTICIPANTS:

Yushui, Peyton, Isaiah, open

Spicy Juice

Near the back of the salon, where clients dined and promiscuous dancers practiced their art, a pair of individuals could be seen whispering to each other while glancing at the bar.

“He’s a Dragon?”

“Yes.” Long, the procurer and current assistant manager of Eternal Night Palace, pushed up his glasses. “Remember what I told you, Lemon. Here in Eternal Night Palace, we treat all those belonging to the Azure Dragon Gang like VIP guests. Don’t mess with them. Don’t interfere with their work. If there are any problems, or if a fight breaks out, contact either me or any member of management. That’s how you stay alive in this business.”

“B-but he looks too pretty to be a gangster…” The blonde blushed.

“Looks can be deceiving. The bartender he’s talking to, one of ours, is a Dragon as well.”

“D-Dragons work here?”

“Who do you think owns this place?” Long, for all his composed demeanor, couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Many of them prefer anonymity as it makes their tasks easier and lets them enjoy normal lives. Not all of them will tell you their affiliations so keep your ear on the ground if you want to stay informed. I'm only telling you all this so you remain vigilant in how you act around certain guests, but, for the most part there's no cause for alarm in encountering a gangster or three. This is a Dragon protected establishment."

Granted, the Platinum Rabbit suffered regardless, and gang conflict always made things complicated.

"If you are frightened, feel free to back out now.”

“I-I need this job.”

Of course she did. Runaways from home with not much to their name than a pretty face usually do. Though, if that was all Lemon offered, Long wouldn’t have brought her in–least of all as one of their escorts. From personality, to appearance, to the way they carried themselves, Eternal Night Palace prided itself on providing quality as well as service. Though, when hiring for a brothel like ENP, the most important quality for workers was probably guts and the ability to keep secrets.

He watched the wide-eyed girl take in her colorful surroundings like a lost duckling before continuing. “You won’t regret it. So long as you work hard, you’ll make much more than the average person in this profession since our regulars tend to be fairly well off. They tend to respect the rules as well.”

Especially since the Azuza sisters took the reigns; New hands meant new reforms and while the Night Lord had always been decently upright as far as gangsters went, he was also staunchly traditional. A dragon through and through, he didn't pay as much attention to the conditions of 'merchandise' as much as a former brothel worker and her sister did. MeiRin especially.

Messing with the Sleeping Giant came with its own risks.

“We take only 20% of your earnings and, in return, provide you with everything you need to succeed–from rooms to training to all sorts of services. Tips are yours to keep.”

Unless they were a certain sort of ‘free’ worker, but Lady Phantom and her son dealt with those sorts more than Long did; Shadows of an old regime.

“You’ll also get little bonuses every month depending on your rank and reviews.”

He’d seemed to have caught Lemon’s attention with that one since her curious eyes returned to him.

“How do I rise in the ranks?”

For the first time since their conversation started, Long let out something that resembled a smile. “One thing at a time, Lemon. First we need to get your picture taken and put in the Book of Escorts/Courtesans.”

As he ushered Lemon out the door so that they could continue their tour, Long glanced back at their visitor from the Jade Temple. He couldn’t deny that Jiang Shi snagged himself quite a beauty. Competitors they may be, but they were all under the same umbrella of ‘Dragon Business’, and there was much to be gained from learning/observing one another. Was Stormy Weather here to learn? Relax? Scope out the competition? Long smirked. Regardless, he didn’t particularly mind, and Peyton could handle them, though he’d have to inform the owners of their visitor. Stormy Weather probably wasn’t much to be wary of, but Jiang Shi was a different matter…as most conniving, ambitious men are.

“Welcome to the Eternal Night Palace,” Long spoke a little louder than before. Whether he’d been referring to Yǔshuǐ or Lemon remained unanswered.

Lemon peeked at the assistant manager of ENP curiously.

(mentioned: Coyote Hart Seaquill )

 

[Lucem]

Aaron Hayes

CS LINK

SCENE:

Aftermath

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1: 2019

LOCATION:

Alleyways, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Aaron, Aristotle, Rebecca, Timothy

AFTERMATH

Suffering through the sharp pain in his spine, Aaron noticed that his body felt even heavier than before. His movements were much slower, and his arms weighed him down like cinder blocks. Coupled with his existing exhaustion, the newfound sluggishness made it even harder to react to the incoming attack.

For a moment, he doubted what his bleary eyes saw. A winged van floated into the air, hovering for a moment before turning around as a human-shaped blur held on for dear life. Then it charged, speeding toward him like a fighter jet. Too slow to process the sudden maneuver, he felt a surge of pain and another heavy weight as the vehicle rammed into him.

When the van crashed into his chest, his heels dug into the ground, tearing up the asphalt as the force pushed him back. Feeling as though his concrete body would crack, he forced his arms to move. Rising at a snail's pace, they reached for the front of the car, and his fingers dug into the mass of metal, securing a firm grip.

Aaron focused all of his strength into his legs, burying his feet even deeper into the ground. Eventually, it killed the momentum, bringing him and the van to a complete stop. He stood in place, struggling to hold on as he slowly raised the car higher and higher, ignoring the unwilling passenger. Then, when it felt like his arms were about to give out, he slammed it onto the ground.

Breathing deeply, he felt his body starting to fail him. His upper half collapsed on the hood of the wreckage, and his legs ignored his commands to keep moving. It was like he was being forcibly shut down, every inch of him succumbing to a creeping paralysis.

Spoiler: Tags

Misuteeku

 

[Misuteeku]

Devin Cena

http://

CS Link

SCENE:

Ain't that a kick

LOCATION:

Garden, East District

PARTICIPANTS:

Devin, Amari

Ain't that a kick

Something was wrong. George was bristling. That meant something was disturbing the carnivorous plant. It also meant there was a possibility that someone found George. Panic and worry started to circulate in Devin's head. He had to stop George before he ate another person.

George wait-

"MMMmmph-" Before he could raise his head from the soil, something pushed it back into the ground. The sound of pain he made was suffocated by the dirt. If that didn't make matters worse that something was someone's foot. That foot that was currently pushing his head deeper underground and made eat a mouthful of dirt. Devin wanted to wretch, but that'd only invite more dirt that would be introduced with saliva.

Unfortunately for Devin, George was the one talking in the situation. It had shortly noticed Amari as she walked closer to the paraistic plant. "SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS." The plant bristled and stared at the chimeric. It snapped at Amari as a single brush of her finger agitated the plant. After all, it was meal time and the woman was taking the sunlight away from it.

Devin likewise couldn't do anything about the situation. Putting aside that Amari was digging his head deeper into the dirt, George had also taken control of his body and made him lay still. The Dragon Rookie prayed for the unsuspecting victim to go away. The last thing he needed was George to get into another accident again.

angel doe

 

[Misuteeku]

Sang-Cheol Man

CS Link

SCENE:

Test Trial

LOCATION:

North District, Backstreets

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1

PARTICIPANTS:

Sang-Cheol, Lily

Test Trial

"So, shit." Sang-Cheol nodded and wrote down on the clipboard. It seemed like it would be a solid drug to sell out in the North. After all, drugs were shit, and some people still consumed them as they were thirsty for water. "Your input has been documented and will be evaluated accordingly." It was slightly unfortunate that it didn't seem to have the intended qualities, but it probably required either a higher concentration or some time for the drug to kick in. At least Lily was ready for more.

"Alright, this one is for Lab Andromeda," Sang-Cheol said as he took another syringe. "From what I've heard from the Lab Head's ugly way of talking, this drug utilizes a new strand of jellyfish that'd potentially kill the normal Non-potential ten times over." Nereid probably wasn't joking about that part. It'd probably cut off most of the NP's nervous system while at the same time maintaining the conscious. This wasn't acceptable since they needed their customers alive rather than dead, so Lab Acheron probably had a hand in modifying the new drug.

Walking over to Lily once again, he performed the same process and injected it into her arm. "Once again, please tell me what you may feel during this process." With that, he grabbed another syringe. He didn't exactly like beating around the bush. If Lily could handle one drug, she could probably handle two more in her system. At the very least, it'd justify the price of having her here.

"This one is from Lab Colchis. I don't know what exactly they did, but from what Chryos has told me, they brewed a new concoction." One that seemingly would send a shiver down one's spine. Sang-Cheol didn't know what the exact purpose of this drug was. All Chryos told him was that it was targeted at those fighters who wanted to feel like they were cornered or some shit. Chryos didn't look as if she cared, so Sang-Cheol had his reservations.

Again, Sang-Cheol prepared to inject Chryos's drug into Lily. After waiting for Lily's input, he'd go straight to the point and inject the drug again into her system without warning.

Spoiler: Tags

ATurei

 

[Misuteeku]

Goon Squad

CS Link

SCENE:

Aftermath

LOCATION:

Alleyways, District

TIME:

Pre Arc-1 | 2019

PARTICIPANTS:

Aaron, Aristotle, Gerda, Timothy, and Rebecca

Aftermath

Silence filled the alleyway as Aaron slumped down against the truck. Whatever health it had left vanished as quickly as it had gained. The windows had been busted, the metal had been dented, and the truck was heavily damaged in the process. Rebecca crawled out of the car through the window and made a big thump upon landing on the cold, hard ground. "Ugh..." Rebecca groaned. That wasn't the most pleasant experience.

She picked herself up and leaned against the truck. Looking over towards the helm of the car laid that boy that caused this mess. Well, the cause was a big harsh on his part. If anything, he just walked in at the wrong place and at the wrong time. "How incredibly unlucky." She said to no one other than herself. The boy could probably hear her but couldn't move due to the needle that was currently stabbed into his back.

"At least Gerda managed to use her HP. Otherwise, this would have been troublesome." After Aristotle's little singing brigade, there weren't many sources of water nearby. Rebecca had planned on running into the back and using the corpses, but those must have been destroyed by the sudden flight. Her water bottle was also sent flying somewhere in the driver's seat, so she couldn't have used that either.

Then she saw someone at the end of the alleyway. The same place where Gerda had come from. "Crap," Rebecca muttered. The newcomer looked around at the red hair boy's age, meaning that it might have been one of the guy's friends that came looking for him. Rebecca immediately reached into her pocket.

"Hey, hey, Rebecca. Chill." The mysterious figure held up his hand in mock placation. That tone of voice made Rebecca realize who the person in front of her really was. She lowered the gun and sighed.

"You know, you could have just called me, Olivine." Rebecca wiped the sweat of relief from her forehead. It earned a laugh from the figure as he approached the four of them.

"C'mon Rebecca. Am I that unreliable?" Olivine said as he walked up the two. "I was busy watching the fight, though don't tell the others said that." He had come back with Gerda, but instead of jumping into hell, the doppelganger decided to let them all dogpile the Phoenix before promptly being electrocuted. That earned a disgruntled sound from Rebecca, though she chose not to speak up.

"Though look at what we have here." Walking up to limp Aaron, he cupped the man's face to take a better look. In Aaron's eyes, Olivine had taken the appearance of one of his friends. "Quite a prize, aren't cha." A smirk appeared on his face. If there was one thing that Olivine liked, it was the part where confident people were getting trampled. "Perhaps I can convince the boss not to kill this one, you know? Having a friend that's alive would be great for once, you know?" With a grin that one wanted to punch in, he looked over toward the downed workers.

"Speaking of which. You three can stop pretending now. If we're gonna get going, you should get up right now." With those words spoken, Gerda, Aristotle, and Timothy were roused. Despite the ruptured organs or collapsed bones, they all stood up. Any emotion that was present before was now vacant from their face. "Rebecca, if you'd please procure a good path back to the North, that'd be good."

"Yep. Give me a sec." Rebecca's bright attitude was brought up once again. A brief look of pity was shot at Aaron before she left to guide the injured workers. All that was left was Olivine at Aaron.

"Now, then." Heaving Aaron over his shoulder, Olivine began to follow Rebecca. He hummed as he carried the Phoenix over. "By the way, I killed your friend whose appearance I've stolen." Olivine casually said. "If it helps, they'll find his body in his room. You, on the other hand." A malicious grin appeared on their face. "Will be experimented on and never seen again. Isn't that great?" Olivine didn't say anymore. After all, he was the one who told the police where they were and instigated the fight, but he'd leave it to Aaron's imagination.

Spoiler: Tags

Lucem

 

[Lucem]

DAMIAN

CS Link

SCENE:

Laundromat Owner Will Die

LOCATION:

Laundromat, West District

TIME:

Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 || Post Arc-2

PARTICIPANTS:

Damian, Tri

LAUNDROMAT OWNER WILL DIE

Damian visited the laundromat with the intention of learning more about its owner's fascinating ability to commune with the spirits of the dead. However, instead of finding a shaman, all he discovered was deceit and disappointment. The rumors were falsehoods spread by the owner herself, nothing more than attempts at garnering business. The part about her being an HP was still true, and being an illusionist was interesting in its own way, but it lacked the same appeal as a medium that could connect people with ghosts. Such a shame.

In spite of the unfortunate revelation, he managed to find other targets for his curiosity. Paying no mind to the worthless woman's muffled wails, he sifted through the many clothes that had been set aside, searching for anything that could be considered eye-catching. It resulted in a massive pile of shirts, pants, and other pieces of laundry that reached up to his waist.

As he continued going through the hoard, the sound of Deacon's voice caught his attention. The King brought up an interesting question, one he had never considered. As it settled into his brain, one of the nearby washers buzzed, accompanying the arrival of the newly lit light bulb above Damian's head. He now had an idea that would not leave him until he had an answer. It was time to test it out.

Walking over to one of the unoccupied machines, Damian quickly opened the front-loader's door and attempted to crawl inside. He wanted to determine if a person could truly fit in one of these things and see what would happen if it worked. He was very curious about the experience. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be learning about it firsthand.

Shortly after sticking one of his long limbs inside the washer, he felt the bottom. His frame was far too massive to fit, bringing a swift end to his attempt. However, all hope was not lost. He quickly remembered the room's other occupant, someone who now had value.

Staring at the owner with his pitch-black eyes, he took his first step forward, wearing a permanent smile. A single tentacle slithered out from under his coat, shrinking and expanding as the black sucker-covered muscle reached for the captive phony. Ignoring the woman's suppressed screams, he hoisted her into the air with his inhuman appendage and returned to the washer that seemed much more fitting for someone of her size.

His second attempt at stuffing something inside was much better. After a bit of pushing and squishing, the woman turned out to be a perfect fit, and her panicked thrashing settled down fairly quickly. He'd be able to get a much better look at the results of this little test as an observer, so perhaps his initial failure was for the best.

While tempted to start the wash cycle, he held himself back, pulling his finger away from the line of buttons. He couldn't do this. Not like this. He was missing a key element.

Walking a few steps away from the machine, Damian rummaged through a nearby bin for a few moments before returning with two brightly colored containers. He nearly forgot to add the detergent, an important step in the washing process. He managed to catch himself before making that mistake, but now there was another problem. Which one to use?

Turning his attention back to the King, Damian raised the two containers for him to see. Tri had lived a much longer life and was likely to have far more experience with these types of things. He figured asking the older man would be the wise thing to do. "What do you think? Wave or Get?"

After asking his question, a beat of silence followed. A third option suddenly popped into his head. "Or both?"

Spoiler: Tags

Damafaud

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Kaede Shimokōbe

CS Link

SCENE:

Dinner for three

LOCATION:

Restaurant in West District

TIME:

Pre-arc 3, 2015 ?

PARTICIPANTS:

Musai, Kaede

Dinner for three

snazzy background music
Friday night, the city lights bloomed over swarthy streets in the aftermath of the smouldering evening tide and laid waste to the world in a monochromatic stillness. Passerbys decreased to a slow simmer and eventually trickled down to lone droplets- single lines that were hatched onto the background of glowing shop windows. She watched their mouths move and eyes glitter, sound relegated to the low murmur that droned through the restaurant.

Friday night, Kaede piled the dirty dishes on the nook of her arms and cruised away for the kitchen. Weaved between fully-seated tables of suits and dresses that shone in velvet under the dim lights. Glamorous, sleek, exorbitant- as was customary for the West district that she was located in.

The kitchen doors swung open and she strolled through it as just another waitress. Just another finely-manicured picture of capitalism in black waistcoat and matching dress pants uniform that disclosed nothing of her true identity. The brunette unloaded the dishes onto a table and called out the next order for the chefs.

It was indeed easy to mistake her for a mere waitress. Brown eyes turned towards the tables on the floor again. She was neither there to try the uniform nor to perform the tasks of a restaurant worker, however. Her gaze filtered its way forth to the suited men that sat at the very center of the floor. No. She was waiting. The man to the left lit up a cigarette and drew a glowing breath from the tip of the cancerous stick. No workers attempted to hinder the rebellious coils of smoke that followed as he exhaled despite the "no smoking rule".

Her taste buds simulated the nicotine in dryness on her tongue. "C-Can you take the owner's order?" It was bitter and numbing, enough so that her expression didn't move for the skittish coworker that approached her. The woman wrung her hands against each other "I-I know I was assigned to their table and I would take it b-b-but I need to go to the bathroom". Deep wrinkles dimpled her shiny forehead and her eyes lowered to the floor.

It might very well be true that she had to go to the bathroom, her legs trembled to that effect at least. Kaede eyed the fellow waitress under mute judgment and then grounded her through the hand that squeezed her shoulder. "Sure." She beamed a gentle smile and sent the erratically bowing woman on her way.

The brunette strolled up to the center table that she had been observing since earlier and squared her shoulders. "Good evening. I hope your visit to the establishment has been fruitful, Mr Whittaker. Now, what can I get you, gentlemen?" The waitress flashed pearly whites to the smoking man at the mention of the name.

The name of the owner of the restaurant.

Yes, she had been waiting. Waiting for this opportunity and for the man that met her eyes with a nebulous grin. Her target for tonight.

Kameron Esters-

 

[The Regal Rper]

(OG) Dante |North | Celeste's Apartment

"I heard the Serpents attacked the Dragon District a couple weeks ago." He replied after only a few seconds of silence. His tone was relaxed, and his eyes glanced at her at the end of his sentence.

"I was there when you and the others attacked." He said simply. "And, we fought- because I had to maintain appearances since I was acting as a guest there and a friend. You probably don't remember which one I was-- but I'm sure you remember, the kiss" a finger tapped his lips, "somewhere in that fight."

"I came by to apologize for that." He explained, also part of the reason for his radio silence lately but it was not something he intended on telling her. "So...here I am" he sighed, getting up from his seat. "I'm sorry- really, I am."

And that was it, Dante said no more, he merely stood there- arms crossed, waiting for Celeste's reply.

Mentions: N/A
Interactions: angel doe

 

[Lucem]

Aaron Hayes

CS LINK

SCENE:

Aftermath

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1: 2019

LOCATION:

Alleyways, South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Aaron, Aristotle, Rebecca, Timothy

AFTERMATH

When his overworked body finally stopped moving, the adrenaline that carried him so far immediately left his system. His defiant strength slipped away as the tough, gray color of his skin returned to a sickly pale tone. He could barely feel the cold metal pressing against his cheek, all sensations ripped away by the needle embedded in his spine.

He could not move, but he could still see and hear. However, now that he was being consumed by overwhelming exhaustion, his senses had degraded even further. Everything in sight had the ambiguous appearance of a paint smear on a distant, messy canvas, and the sounds around him were devoid of any semblance of clarity. It felt like he was drowning in a deep, murky sea, and he could feel an irresistible tug trying to drag him even further below.

When a hand roughly cupped his chin, he was briefly pulled back to the surface, granted the last scraps of fleeting consciousness. All he felt was confusion, wondering why the men and women he'd seemingly defeated now walked around without so much as a limp. They were like marionettes, lacking any emotion as they moved according to the will of invisible strings. He had to be hallucinating. It didn't make any sense.

When muffled words were spoken into his ear, he completely forgot about the blurry figures from before. What he heard made him wish he hadn't regained a fraction of his senses. He focused on the face in front of him, hoping that what he saw would validate his wishful denial.

At that moment, it was impossible to say whose appearance the stranger had actually stolen. Aaron was still drifting in and out of consciousness, struggling to identify a single feature on the copied face. However, he saw something. As if his own mind was trying to bring him comfort, it forced him to see the person he wanted to see most. And then he smiled.

A weak, confident grin stretched across his bloody face. His split lips parted, waiting for the moment he finally managed to force out his tired voice. It felt like shards of glass were crawling up his throat, and it almost made him wish for sweet numbness again, but he decided to speak anyway. "Bullshit."

He coughed, making it feel like his lungs were on the verge of exploding. Even so, he kept going, fighting against a waning pain and encroaching darkness. "He wouldn't let himself get killed by you fuckers. Too fuckin' stubborn..."

Aaron didn't know how much of what he said was solely backed up by his refusal to believe in the futility of everything he'd done so far, but he said it wholeheartedly and with pride. "If it took all of ya to beat me when I already had a foot in the grave, ya wouldn't stand a chance..." He'd fought that guy enough times by now to know he wouldn't lose so easily.

"He'll come around eventually. And when he does, you guys are fucked. So until then...I think I'll enjoy...a little nap..." He spent many years looking after Ash, so he figured it was time for a bit of role reversal. Still, it was going to be pretty embarrassing having to admit he lost to a bunch of freaks like this when they met again.

With the hazy image of a reunion in his mind, he finally lost his battle against the creeping void. However, even as his muscles completely lost the ability to resist and were forced to forcibly relax, there was still a slight curve to the ends of his lips.

Hurry up, dumbass.

Spoiler: Tags

Misuteeku

 

[Damafaud]

TRI

CS Link

SCENE:

Laundromat Owner will Die

LOCATION:

Laundromat, West District

TIME:

Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 || Post Arc-2

PARTICIPANTS:

Tri, Damien

Laundromat Owner will Die

From his dusty perching spot, Tri watched as Damien went to work. Damien wasn't very smart, he thought as Damien tried to enter a washing machine. However, they were on the same wave length and it felt good. Good men thought alike, or however that went.

Tri nodded in approval as Damien squeezed the woman into the machine. That was good work with only several broken bones and dislocated joints. He mulled between the two detergents and shrugged. "No difference."

Tri did his own laundry back when he just had Paris and he never paid attention to the brand. He got curious about something else, though.

"Pour a whole gallon into another washing machine." These machines weren't his, so why not experiment? Tri jumped from his high spot and went through the bin Damien did. He had bleach, softeners, perfumes, and more detergents. Glub glub, a gallon of bleach went to a washing machine. Glub glub, two gallons of detergents entered another washing machine. They were good sounds.

Hm.

"So." Tri said suddenly. "Do you like being in Serpents? Top three reasons to stay in Serpents."

He got curious, out of nowhere. He talked with NPs a lot before, but the HPs weren't the type that he could gather around easy.

Tags: Lucem

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Kaede Shimokōbe

CS Link

SCENE:

Acrophobia

LOCATION:

Alleyway in the east district

TIME:

2009

PARTICIPANTS:

Hanji Fumikage, Kaede Shimokōbe

Acrophobia

Samurai Champloo- Force of Nature (Nightshift)
Nighttime was her time of the day. The time when the stressful liveliness of day fizzled down to a low buzz and allowed her to breathe again. Nighttime was when the exhaust from cars stopped greying out lungs and cold-cut oxygen, with a side of stars, replaced it instead. She at least felt as if she was being fuelled by stars- sprinting through alleyways in unnamed constellations while chasing the polestar. It highlighted the path in front of her alongside the moon, an eerie presence that watched her back too much like eyes.

"Fuck. Shit. Fucking shit." Nighttime was supposed to be her time of the day. So why didn't it have her back this time?

It was supposed to be a simple job, in and out of the bar in the blink of an eye. Then her target had suddenly changed courses for the backrooms of the bar and, obligated to follow as she was, she couldn't very well linger behind. So she had latched onto his shadow and weaved forward in its obscurity.

Latched onto him, all the way up till she became the witness of a drug exchange.

Then, needless to say, it had become anything but a simple job at that point. A drug dealer meant a network of suppliers was involved, and a network of suppliers meant additional sticks were gonna be shoved up her ass if she fucked up. Neither of which, she was keen on experiencing or finding out.

"Fucken'." Her palms shot out towards the barred fence in the dust of her target. It rattled to swaying life with harsh clangs as soles slipped over the metal surface and clambered to the top. Once at the top, thorned wire awarded her ascent by cutting into her arms and legs and sprinkled pain upon the nerves that were already frazzled. She topped it off with another curse and swung over it.

Her limbs welcomed the impact with a stutter and thud as the pavement met her body squarely. It was stiff from the cold and propelling forward by the sheer virtue of the lactic acid that regurgitated up into her throat. Tired. She was tired of chasing this man. Any other HP would've been able to apprehend him on the spot. But her? No. When shit went to shit, like it somehow always did with her luck, her options became numbered. Seeing as her disguise was suspicious enough already, a young girl walking into a bar and whatnot, it had not been possible for her to approach him before that.

The drug dealer's head bobbed ahead of her tauntingly similar to a fish lure. Kaede launched into another sprint and clenched her jaws in anticipation of finally settling her teeth into it. Lucky her, and unlucky for him, he tripped on something unforeseen. Karma maybe. She quickly seized the opportunity and was soon pressing down all over him.

"Alright shithead, that's enough running for you." Her breath ragged through the motion of pinning his elbow down with her knee while her foot pressed up beside his head. The man writhed under her weight, swore to the point of frothing- much like her muscles did as she bent his remaining arm over her knee to stop the flailing. "Just until when were you planning on running? You..hah...trynna beat some marathon world record over here?" She pulled his arm back by the wrist, and the muscles and tendons strained against the frame of bone. His wordless response was twisted out of him in a pitiful whimper.

Marathon...Marathon was an apt description of this chase. A breeze somehow found its way into the labyrinth and brushed up over sticky skin. The brown eyes wandered off to take in her new surroundings.

Shit.

Maybe it really was karma.

Outfit- imagine denim shorts with a black tank top and a leather jacket.

The Crimson King

 

[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

"That... was you?" Celestine was at a loss for words, staring at Dante while she tried to process what he just told her. Readjusting herself, pulled her knees close to her chest and stared at the floor for a couple of minutes in silence. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, which she quickly wiped away before they could fall, clearing her throat before she spoke again.

"It is alright," she had to work hard to keep her tone even, digging her nails into her thighs so deep she drew blood, "Do not worry, it is f-fine." Celestine's voice cracked slightly and she went quiet.

Perhaps she was too forgiving when it came to Dante, but he was the person she always went to any time something like this happened. She didn't know who else to go to when it came to stuff like this; it had always been either talk to Dante or write it down and forget.

Celeste paused for another moment, "Is this why you have been avoiding me?" She wasn't sure if he had actually been avoiding her on purpose, but it definitely felt that way. She knew he was a busy man and normally it never bothered her, but he felt almost... distant these past couple of months.

"Sorry, please disregard that question... I know you have been busy." Her cheeks flushed slightly, embarrassed that she let herself get so upset, and covered her face with her hands, "Really, though, it is okay. It is in the past."

The Regal Rper

 

[Roda the Red]

Camila Gaspari

CS Link

SCENE:

Tigers B-side: The House Always Wins

LOCATION:

West District, The White Tiger

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Ryutaro, Camila, Alice, Jennifer

The House Always Wins

Camila stood within the observation room inside of the Casino, but unlike what one would expect from a veteran of the Albino Tigers visiting such a lavish establishment, her clothes were far from fancy, in fact, it was actually just the uniform that the workers around would wear, this was her disguise for the night.

I can't believe he's here as well, fucking shit...

She couldn't help but be a little bit nervous, as she was now under the presence of the new Tiger Queen, who decided to join on the current operation with with very little in the way of forewarning, hell, she didn't even know how he managed to know about the mission. It's not like Camila thought that Ryutaro's presence was necessarily a bad thing, in fact she had hoped to be able to interact with the leadership of the gang eventually, but the Queen was so sudden when it came to coming along, that she didn't quite know how to behave from this. Camila looked around, observing at the small team she had assembled for today; her reliable partner in crime Jennifer and...she felt she was going to regret this...Alice, the hostess of the famous Tea Room. she balled her fist in front of her closed mouth, letting out a little cough to clear her throat.

"So, Boss, as far as the girl is concerned, there's really not much I can say about her that's worth mentioning"

She leaned against a nearby table, the veteran's tail swaying around freely.

"Her name is Hiachi Ito, college student with a dead end job, really, her siblings are a lot more interesting and successful than her...Should I take a guess, she's just cheating to compensate that she's not as talented as them...Although, she also happens to be an HP, so the cheating could be the work of an ability...That said, I found no such info in her medical history, so we can't deny the possibility of outside help"

She stood up straight once again, taking a few steps forward until she found herself next to Alice, who also happened to be wearing casino uniform.

"As for our game plan...Jennifer, we need your great eyesight, so your job is to join our little target at her table, analyze her actions, see if there's anything off that we can expose her with"

She looked to her side, specifically at the blonde girl next to her, Camila's expression was one of both annoyance and defeat.

"Alice...you'll join me on looking around the place for anyone suspicious, keep a low profile and make your act believable, also, your tea can be useful to make our friend become more...cooperative, so to speak" In reality, the tea alone was the sole reason Camila even considered asking for the brat to join.

Finally, she looked at Ryutaro once again, thinking carefully on what to say next, she didn't know how badly would the Queen react to the prospect of a random veteran giving him anything that could even remotely resemble a command.

"As for you, Queen, feel free to help us however you see fit, Wouldn't be surprised if you already have something in mind"

Spoiler

miki joshuadim Uasal AriAriAbabwa

 

[Sei Shonagon]

Julian Midgley

CS Link

SCENE:

Fireflies for Glass Bottle Hearts

LOCATION:

North district somewhere. Alleyway.

TIME:

PRE-ARC 3. December 18th 2021.

PARTICIPANTS:

Sebastian Se, Julian Midgley

Fireflies for Glass Bottle Hearts

Everything hurt. From the skin that pulled back in shrivelling retreat over bones, to the uvula that pressed up chafing against dry ice gulps. His jaws slackened, unwillingly so at the pressure that was applied through the blade, and panted. His breaths were ragged, almost transparent clouds of barely mustered-up warmth (or vigour for that matter) and they paled in contrast to the man's hearty laughter. The sound rang hollow in the blonde's ears and bounced off hazy eyes that didn't know any better than to stare transfixed at the source of it.

The beady blues were befitting of their nickname of 'puppy', not a thought behind them and no malice there to counter the man's comments about his supposed 'condition'. Instead, Julian simply glanced down at the said legs that had disconnected from the rest of his husk and the skin that was peeling off his digits. A futile attempt to reveal what was hiding underneath the facade of a porous hide, bulbous fat and strings of muscles- fit to tie a noose with.

A dog he was called and a dog was what he embodied through the agonizing crawl towards the corpse.

Palms sunk into the snow to grasp at the cold and fill the void that was left in the trails after his knees. He felt his way up from arm, to chest and then the stab wounds that awaited him in doors left ajar. Steam rose from the gashes and he inserted his hands into the billowing middle of it. The flesh conformed to his fingers, brushed up to the tears with stinging revenge, and submerged them in man-made mittens.

His first reaction was to wince, the change of temperatures almost unbearable with how it pinched the ends of his frozen nerves. Then it slowly waned off and he relaxed into it. The digits curled curiously around a part of the soft mass. It slithered out of his clutch with a squelch that resonated through his being in shivers.

"Oh- It's...slippery." Slippery and hot and squelching, would be the full description of it. The pants pulled at the deeper registers of his lungs and he unconsciously shrunk his head back into shoulders to hide the pink ears.

Julian had seen dead bodies before, but he had never touched one. Not in this way at least. He turned his face away from the scene to put it at the back of his mind. Julian gulped and his bottom lip hung pensively in the air "W-What are we doing after this?" .

Coyote Hart