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

[tityanya]

𝑵𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒊 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒐

CS Link

SCENE:

They Tell You Not To Mix Chemicals Because You Can Make Mustard Gas, But Nobody Tells You How Mixing People Makes Something More Deadly

LOCATION:

North District Rental

TIME:

May 6th, 2022 || Post-Outbreak

PARTICIPANTS:

Tak

They Tell You Not To Mix Chemicals Because You Can Make Mustard Gas, But Nobody Tells You How Mixing People Makes Something More Deadly

A bit...too efficient? Nao stared blankly between Tak and her phone, contemplating the question. What...did that even mean? "The faster I order, the faster we get the food, right?" she asked innocently. He asked if she worked at a call center, or tv shopping. "Online shopping. Mostly for car parts," she answered genuinely, trying to figure out why he was staring at her like she had grown a second head. Was it...weird to have your card number memorized? But it was so handy when you didn't have it on you! Like right now!

She asked what they would do in the meantime, and Tak made a joke about playing patty-cake or tag. Her mind, affected by various substances as it was, thought that actually sounded very fun. She put on a dramatic pout, pointing her fingers together. "Maybe, that sounds like fun," she pouted. But then Tak said that they wouldn't wait for very long. "What on Earth do you mean, silly? He's gotta cook it and then bring it all the way--" she didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence, following Tak's head nod. How in the...? A man on a bicycle was frantically pedaling towards them. Naomi's jaw dropped, astonished. The man had to be an HP--there was no other way he could get here so quickly. Even with her sense of time affected by the drugs, she knew that that was not long enough to get all the way here.

"He's already here," Naomi whispered, repeating Tak. "Yo," the man greeted, waving a hand to Naomi. Wait...he was already here? That meant food was here! Naomi's expression brightened, incredibly excited about the prospect of the curry. She wasn't sure about Tak's taste, but the way he looked so wistful thinking about it...She beamed a smile at the delivery man, returning his wave.

The man began talking to Tak after that, light-hearted banter that revealed that the two knew each other well. Naomi laughed at the man's comment about being a professional, and Tak not knowing what that meant. She tried (and failed) to keep it quiet, for Tak's sake. She went stock still as Tak turned to look at her, sure he was going to turn some of that banter on her for laughing. But the amused smile didn't leave her face. He told the delivery man that he probably only came because he thought there was a hot chick on the other side. "Aww, you think I'm hot?" Naomi teased, Like an older sister who just found her little brother's friend had a crush on her.

The delivery man grabbed a cigarette, saying he didn't expect much from a woman with Tak, but that she was a fox. Naomi beamed, pure happiness radiating from her. She couldn't help it, she was incredibly vain. Compliments were an easy way to her heart. But the comment about another girl Tak had brought with him caught her attention. "There's another girl out there that can stand you long enough to eat a meal with you?" Naomi teased, poking her finger into Tak's side as she approached the bicycle. She could smell the aroma of the curry from there, her mouth watering. She was so excited to try this! It smelled so good!

The man pulled their orders out of the orange box, and Naomi was surprised to see actual metal bowls, not Styrofoam take-out containers. She whistled, impressed. "Dang, you've pulled out all the stops, huh? I'm so excited!" Naomi cheered. How fancy! The delivery man handed the first bowl to Tak, calling him Roach. Huh, that wasn't the first time, but it was the first time she realized that he was calling Tak that. It was so vaguely familiar to her, that name...but she couldn't quite place it. She let it go, instead looking at the smile on Tak's face. Her smile grew even bigger seeing it. It was so rare to see him expressing any kind of emotion besides indifference and anger. It was so nice to see him smile genuinely.

He plopped down on the ground, giving the delivery man a name for the first time. Arkar. Naomi wasn't going to remember that for long. Arkar handed Naomi her own tray, and she clapped her hands together in excitement. "Yay! I hope it lives up to the hype! Thank you so much!" she said, taking the tray and plopping down on the concrete next to Tak. "The first bite's the most important, huh?" she asked, dipping her spoon into the bowl, trying to get an equal amount of rice and curry. She very dramatically, very slowly (at least to her perception) brought the spoon to her mouth, blowing on the curry before taking a bite.

She froze for a moment. Her face was unreadable. Her head fell downwards, her dark hair obscuring her face. After just a moment too long for the others to worry about if she liked the curry or not, her head shot up, stars in her eyes. "It's amazing! So good! This was a great idea, Tak!" she enthused, hurriedly taking a second bite, and then a third. "The meat is so tender! And it's got a nice, spicy kick that's not overpowering. I love it! You did an amazing job, Arkar! I know your dad would be proud!" Naomi gushed. She couldn't wait to finish the meal

POST NOTES​

((ooc: ))
((Outfit: grey dress and sweater))
((Tonight))

thebigfella

 

[thebigfella]

Zentsupa Pei

CS Link

SCENE:

Losers!

LOCATION:

East District, Skate Park

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 || June 11th, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Pei, Javi

Losers!

The tiny nurse had not much to say. Javi's curt response immediately left her feeling a bit more sheepish. The absurdity of it all didn't dawn on her, as she thought flushed like she was out of place and had made a wrong first impression.

But before she could attempt to repair what she thought was a nerve, she poked, her needle reflexively primed. The man's quick command swiftly dashed the thought from her mind, crumbling underneath his authority with a yelp, “Yes!” as her wing fluttered softly in surprise.

She was far too razzled to question much of what was going on. She wouldn’t have wondered if Javi was talking to himself, even if the sudden appearance behind her didn't cause her thoughts to become lost to the part that made sense.

She quickly recoiled at the sudden sound over her, clutching her syringe as her face switched its palate to pale. Amorphous and daunting, its non-euclidean existence gave Lala a bit of discomfort as she shied away from its curious, moving antennae and inhuman warbling.

While she wasn't fond of the action, another Playmate didn't mind. Q-Bot absent-mindedly gazed upon his ooze-slick arm, waving it around as he watched the gel jiggle like a more snotty concoction of blue raspberry Jell-O. It didn't budge, except for a few loose drops splattering against the ground. He brought it up to his face, and for a moment, he took a lick, only hesitating as his new friend's demeanor suddenly changed. His eyes followed the direction of her focus, slowly letting his tongue lap out to scoop a swig into his mouth.

The world seemed to ripple in response. The ground breathed and pulsed as if gifted with lungs. Peering eyes from the fenceline had grown since this madness started. From a small group of kids to the whole neighborhood now hanging around the skatepark. Looking in with jaws dropped and eyes wide.

And the cause of it all? He was having the all of his life, cackling heavily as he ran across the pavement. The occasional stumble before he regained his footing.

“Kekekekekek!” Pei’s eyes glanced over his shoulder to watch the changes in the ground before him, the ground carved and torn by a force that seemed to be unstoppable, molding the Earth around itself.

“At this rate, this skatepark will be nothing but a landfill!” Pei quipped, turning himself away from the approaching doom as he lifted Javi's skateboard in his hand. The thing was still squirming and wriggling as it screamed, “Someone helllp! This brute is going to have his way with me!”

Ignoring her cries, Pei reeled the skateboard back with both hands away. He skidded to a stop, and with a sharp twirl of his hips, as his momentum traveled into his arms, he swung the skateboard high up into the air.

“Kyahhhh!” The board cried as it flew high up in the air, spinning like a razor blade before its trajectory twirled around to ricochet back. However, before it could complete its rotation, it slammed into a blur of blue, currently flying through the air.

“NYOW!” Bushineko cried out in pain as his momentum was stopped immediately. The board slammed against his forehead, both of them only holding up airspace for a moment before they crashed into the ground in the dust.

With a satisfied grin of hitting his mark, Pei twisted around to face the encroaching menace. His smile only widened as the bulging Earth reflected off his eyes; the fireworks of heat and molten rock blew waves of hot air across his body, leaving his hair and clothes dancing in the wind.

Dark plumes of smoke ran through the air, and hellfire rained down. Yet Pei could only seem to find the whole thing enticing, looking around as dry cackles came from under his breath as he reached under his jacket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes from the glow. “Didn’t expect this to come with a light show! Kekekekek!”

The monstrosity rose from the lower crusts, seemingly born of the world’s rage. Its body thrashed wildly like a chest burster recently born from the stomach of its poor incubator. Its cries panged, reverberating through the atmosphere as it blocked everything else with its overwhelming presence.

Pei tossed his sunglasses as the creature began to move, undaunted as its body shifted to focus on him, “Kekekekekek! So, this is what you were hiding, huh? Good! I was starting to think that your dumbass sack was just for show!” Pei spoke of Javi, not caring if the man could hear him. With a satisfied smile, his hand reached underneath his jacket once more to the land of wonder where anything could lie. He waited patiently as the crushing mandibles got closer, not even the faintest hint of hesitation in his large simper as immediate death came closer and closer; like a game of chicken, he stood, hands ruffling through his belongings expectantly.

“Now.” Pei breathed the word heavy with wrath, and his finger made the slightest movement to press something out of sight--before he was blindsided by Javi’s weight slamming into him. Like Javi had knocked over a piece of paper in the wind, Pei followed him without even a smidge of resistance as they both dragged across the ground.

Pei laughed under his breath, watching Javi’s scramble. He slowly pushed himself up to his feet, retracting his hand from underneath his jacket with a sideways glance at Javi’s back as he attempted to reason with his “companion.” He didn’t care to see how things ended, after all. The “game” was over.

So instead, he walked off, carefreely placing his hands into his pockets as Javi was left to deal with his own problem. Pei was nowhere to be seen when it finally ended, only a dashed outline of where he was greeting Javi.


Instead, he found the numerous members of the ragtag group of rowdies looking at the man, gawking with beady eyes as they looked like deers in headlights. After getting caught in the crossfire, they were covered in various bandages and bruises, arms and legs in casts. They clearly had no more fight in them, but the display of destruction had left them with their tails between their legs (for many of them, literally).

“H-Hey, listen, man…” Brut led the pack as always, a nervous rub at the pack of the neck as he looked up at Javi in recognition of the power he commanded, “We didn’t mean no trouble, alright! We were just havin’ fun! Just playin’ around! Sorry if we came off the wrong way!” He quickly tried to appeal to the Dragon, turning to his fellow delinquents sternly, “Ain’t that right, boys!?”

Immediately, all of them got to their knees and bowed their heads.

“WE’RE SORRY! PLEASE DON’T KILL US!”

Brut turned back to Javi with a nervous smile, rubbing his crabby hands together, “See? Water under the bridge, right?”

A question was met by a pan across the demolished skatepark; scorched Earth and debris covered every inch. The only thing that was left was a single ramp, which as one of the Playmates tried skating across, shattered into a million pieces like glass, swallowing them in the pile.

Brut looked at the wreckage, a heavy swallow.

Cries began to come from outside the vicinity of the fence, kids who had loved the skatepark watching their favorite spot get demolished entirely. Parents began to turn their children away from the horror while other more aggravated members shouted profanities from a safe distance.

All such rancor and dissatisfaction went silent with the rumble of an engine. Heads turned towards the source and were immediately assaulted by pallets of black and yellow stretching across the street.

Numerous tiny construction vehicles drove en masse, tearing their way from the broken fence and filling up the skatepark. The drivers inside were mysterious until they got closer, a clear sight of beavers behind the wheels. Even more followed on foot, with tool belts and power tools handy.

“Crap!” Brut shouted, “It’s the Beavers!” He quickly stumbled back in shock, and on cue, all the beaver’s heads turned to look at the gang of rowdy’s, eyes beady and red as if they had been possessed by an evil spirit.

“Let’s get outta here lads!” Brut swiftly turned tail, nearly tripping as he sped off, all of his other fellow Playmates in tow as they climbed up the fence in a mob, piling over each other as they flipped off the other side, falling into the ground and scampering off in different directions.

With Brut and his crew gone, the beavers returned to cute and cuddly like nothing had ever happened. Quickly, they began to build foundations, setting the pieces in place to start putting everything back together. One of them barked orders, directing the flow of materials and machines, filling in the gaps in the concrete, and hammering together new ramps.

“Took them long enough. Tardy ass rodents.” Came a familiar voice behind Javi. And filling what was once an empty outline was Pei in the flesh. He held Javi’s skateboard underneath his shoulder, tossing it on the floor; he slid it back over to Javi with a slight push of his foot, the lack of screaming signifying it was back to normal.

Kiys hovered over his shoulder before landing while Lala flipped over to hover above his head. Q-Bot and Bushineko took their positions at his side, the former bubbling with energy as he danced around while the latter seemed satisfied in keeping his eyes closed and arms crossed.

“Kekekekekek. Those beavers will clean the board. They’ll put everything back to normal like nothing happened, Sweet as shit. right?” Pei explained, his crazed eyes looking at Javi with a sneer, hands on his hips as he leaned forward.

“We’ll call this a draw for now!” He declared before his twisted grin rose upward, the corners of his lips nearly curling to his eyes.

“Next time, I’ll make sure you show me something even more interesting. Kekekekekekek!”

With no explanation, Pei turned himself around, walking through as the construction crew strolled past with wooden pillars between his legs and a crane carrying cinder blocks above his head. He gave a casual wave behind him as his entourage followed, Q-Bot and Lala the only others offering a wave of their own.

A man who came by to destroy everything just to fix it all. Just what was he after? A question that would find no answer.

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Two People Hungover is a Hangover But Three People Hangover Is A Crowd. The Point Is, Everything That Is Bad Is Better With More People To Suffer With You

LOCATION:

South District District

TIME:

January 8th, 2022 | | Pre-Arc 3

PARTCIPANTS:

Hitoshi joshuadim , Tak

Two People Hungover is a Hangover But Three People Hangover Is A Crowd. The Point Is, Everything That Is Bad Is Better With More People To Suffer With You

There was a small moment where Tak found himself confused at what Hitoshi was saying; talks about Phoenix real estate and pissing off higher up made his lips pursed in thought. To Tak, that made it sound like Hitoshi was some type of Phoenix, and by some stroke of bad luck, he had been merged with a rival gang member.

"Are you…" The words hung at the tip of his tongue as he squinted at Hitoshi long and hard, getting his face close to get a good look at him.

"...Some kinda fanboy?"

With his own realization, Tak's pursed lips turned to a frown as he shook his head in disappointment, "You're a bit too old to look up to gangs. Shouldn't you be worried about more important things like paying the mortgage and starting a family?" Tak criticized, though it was a short-lived issue, as they glanced back towards the door.

"Anyway, where were we? Oh yeah."

With no hesitation, Tak slammed his foot against the door with a mighty "WATAAAAH!" as if he were in some kung fu flick. The door swung open, and dust particles shook loose, floating within the beams of sun that now leered into the building.

Tak dragged Hitoshi in with him, the brute's eyes scanning around the club with a grimace. Unsurprisingly, little was happening since it was far out of business hours. The dance floor was empty, and debris from last night's bash still littered the floor.

There was only one person present, a woman standing behind the bar. She was busy polishing bottles, not even reacting as the door was kicked in; cloudy eyes reflected off the green glass, and she stood up on her toes to place the bottle back in its rightful place on the top shelf.

Her hands folded into the sleeves of the floral robe she wore, her head turning to gaze towards the doorway. For a moment, her stoicism showed as she spoke, "We're not open," but as her vision grew accustomed to the light, her eyes slowly softened in recognition.

"Ah, it's you two. Welcome," she smiled towards the pair, watching as they side-walked and bumped against tables as they made their way to the bar. Tak's hand slammed onto the counter with desperation. At this point, he was growing tired of constantly being pushed and passed to the next person.

"You…You know what happened to us, don't you?" A question that seemed more like an interrogation from the way he spoke, though despite the fire within his tone, the woman only responded with a feigned look of confusion, "What do you mean? You both look normal to me."

Tak snarled in response like some feral dog, "Don't fuck with me! Anyone could see me and this dude are stuck ass to ass! You were here last night, weren't you!?"

The bartender idly played with her hair, looking unphased by the aggressive behavior, "Hmm. I was. And I suppose I saw what happened to you two by that logic?"

There was a clear dampening in Tak's behavior as the woman stepped ahead in his explanation, taking command of the situation with a small bead of sweat as he nodded.

"Hmm. Maybe. Have you considered looking back in your memory?" She put up the question, a finger on her chin, and smirked. Tak clicked his teeth in response, shoving his hands into his pockets as he pulled away from the counter, "As if we haven't tried. I can't remember anything after getting that shitfaced."

"Think real hard. There was a third member with you when you came here, wasn't there?" The woman continued leading their thoughts onward, expectant eyes.

Tak's brows twitched as he closed his eyes, digging deep in thought as he titled his head left and right, "A third guy?" Tak mumbled to himself, his blurred thoughts trying to piece together a face from scraps of things like eyes and noses, jumbled sketches that melded on each other until it became a slosh of something inhuman.

Tak crossed his arms, pushing the thoughts aside. "Nah, I don't remember anyone," he quickly gave up, glancing towards his butt-tied partner. "What about you?"

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Blood Pact

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Robin

Blood Pact

"Every crisis presents an opportunity to those who can seize it."​

---

March 12, 2015​

At Hashimoto Real Estate, Ryutaro Hashimoto sat at his desk within his lavish office as Cal presented his findings on a laptop for the latest round of surveillance he had been assigned for. As CTO, it was his job to keep tabs on the movement of cash and property across the city; but this particular job was more unusual, as it involved bodies left behind by a serial killer running amok in the district. Ryu narrowed his eyes as he looked at the pictures from official police reports: violent and bloody messes, everyone single one. The killer had little in way for subtlety when it came to their actions, and it certainly drew plenty of media attention.

Every single corpse left in their wake was that of a prominent businessman, known for their ventures in various sectors and fields. None of those details particularly concerned Ryu, as he wasn't in the business of restaurant chains or manufacturing cheap goods. Real estate, in of itself, was a much more powerful business that worked more subtly than meeting the needs of the consumer masses. However, the wealthy and powerful dropping like flies wasn't a good look for the city let alone for the Albino Tigers.

"I can take them off the screen if you want-" Cal began to say, but was quickly interrupted by Ryu.

"It's fine. I wasn't particularly attached to any of them anyway. I only ever met any of them at a party or gala ever so briefly." He then turned his attention to Cal: "Aside from them being at the top of the economic food chain, what else connects them?"

"That's the interesting part, sir." Cal then perked up, eager to report his findings. "On paper, they're all squeaky clean. Poster boys for capitalism in how they conducted business and portrayed themselves in public."

"...but?"

"Well, it was difficult to track down but they were all involved in dark money schemes." Cal then spun the laptop back to him and began to click, pushing the presentation further along to the relevant materials he was discussing. Once on screen, he positioned it back to his boss for him to see. Ryu leaned in closer as he trailed over the important highlights: discreet payments to shell companies that then directed to brothels in New Oasis. Dragon territory.

Ryu scoffed as a smirk crawled up the edge of his lips: "Well, well. An incursion? Perhaps they refused to pay up for their 'services'?"

"Perhaps... but I think this is an independent actor." Cal then posited, "Why else would well-paying clients be executed in such a fashion?"

The real estate mogul cocked an eyebrow out of intruige at the possibility. It made sense since, after all, brutality of this measure wasn't in the usual MO of the Dragons. "If this is some vendetta, then the killer will strike again against another."

"I have an idea of who might be the next target. Luca Palvarotti is staying at his estate on the outskirts of the district tonight, minimal security on site in order to enjoy some peace and quiet from the city."

"And a perfect hunting ground for our mystery killer..."

---

Ryu sat in wait at a distance, using the shrubbery to his advantage along with a long range camera positioned for a perfect view of the setting. Luca's villa was, save for a wall that separated it from other properties nearby, lightly defended and lightly patrolled. A couple of guards at the front gate as well as a few others moving around the estate. If this killer was as good as Ryu thought, then all of this would prove to be a cakewalk.

"Cal, do you have eyes inside?" Ryu then spoke into his earpiece.

"Yes sir. Cybersecurity measures were... fairly lax, surprisingly. Guess he doesn't know about the digital age."

"Keep it recording, I want it on tape when it happens."

"Of course, sir."

All that remained now was to wait for the show to start. Ryu remained crouched and hidden amongst the shadows of the evening as a tiger would on the hunt. What he would see, he would judge for himself whether or not this was something of worth to have in his service.

Infab

 

[Infab]

ROBIN KRANTZ

CS Link

SCENE:

Blood Pact

LOCATION:

Palvarotti Villa, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Robin, Ryutaro joshuadim

BLOOD PACT

Luca Palvarotti, a middle-aged man of half-Fusillian descent. Suave and sophisticated in his appearance and mannerisms. He styled his hair with pommade three times a day, giving it a constant greased, slick look. He used the finest lotions to maintain his bronzed complexion. His suits were tailored to his precise measurements, with a little extra room in the crotch for comfort during the summer months. He owned a lime green Ferruccio Huracán, the 2015 model, which he drove himself during his daily excursions into the rest of New Oasis and beyond. Why pay a driver when you can enjoy the ride yourself, he said once during an interview.

The Huracán was pulling into the driveway of Palvarotti's villa, precisely at 7:32 PM. It was the late evening, and the sun was on the edge of the horizon, offering a scenic view of the villa and its surroundings. The car came to a stop at its usual resting place outside the expansive garage, parked just so. The concrete leading into the garage was slanted a bit, so the front wheels were angled slightly to prevent the car from rolling. Once the vehicle turned off, out stepped Palvarotti. His satin tie was hanging loosely from his neck, his hair slightly ruffled. It looked as though he had taken the time to try and fix it before returning home, but had given up after the first stop-light. There were lipstick marks and smears on both his collar and neck. Rose red. A lovely shade.

The zipper of his slacks were open, which he only noticed when the garage guard pointed it out to him. A quick snatch upwards on the zipper's tab fixed the issue, and a simple nod was given to the guard as a sign of thanks. That's likely all the guard would get. A stroll down the concrete sidewalk lead Palvarotti around the front of the stone villa, passing by the windows that gave a nice view into the den of the estate, before finally reaching the double doors that made up the entrance. Another nod was given to the guard standing near it, and soon Palvarotti had made his way inside.

Palvarotti was a man of many tastes. He liked top shelf bourbon, when socially drinking. He liked classical music, with Debussy and Chopin being particular favorites. Opera was also a favorite of his, which he grew to love during visits to her home country. His choice of women was particularly interesting as well.

He liked them young. Innocent. Especially if they were the shy, quiet types. He liked to visit them in the East District every so often, and have a little fun before coming home to relax.

He was easy to track. Easy to follow home. Back to the West District, like all the others before him.

The first two guards, nearest the exit of the villa grounds, dropped like sacks of bricks into the grass. Ryu didn't even see what hit them from where he was, but he did bear witness to the men struggling to stop the blood gushing from their necks. They couldn't call for help. They couldn't even scream. Eventually, they'd stop moving altogether, and then Ryu would notice the very person he was there to see. A young woman, with intense red hair and clad in a black motorcycle jumpsuit with gold trim. She emerged from a bush near the exit, quietly walking across the lawn as she held her right hand out next to her.

She was moving her fingers, as if she were twirling something between them. A few faint glimmers of light were reflected off whatever it was. Perhaps it was a knife? Something else, however, was also floating next to her head. Something small and thin, red in color. Some patrolling guards on the grounds noticed her, just in time for them to drop just as the two at the front gate had before. What was she even doing to them?

The guard at the garage turned about just in time to see the red haired woman approaching. Then, the object floating near her head vanished. When it reappeared, it was lodged halfway through the man's left eye. He cried out in pain, clutching at his face as he staggered about. The woman picked up speed, moving quickly around the car before driving the object in her hand into the man's stomach. Stab, stab, stab, stab, slash. She would drive the blade of her knife into his gut four times before jerking it out and slashing it across his throat. He hit the side of the car with a thud, blood spattering across the roof and the concrete beneath him as he fell.

The yelling and activity caused the guard at the front door to venture around to investigate. The woman, however, was preparing herself for that. She knelt by the pool of blood forming from her most recent victim, holding her hand over it, and Ryu would watch as what appeared to be a sledgehammer rose from it. However, it was made completely out of hardened blood.

The woman admired her work for a brief moment, even taking a second to seeming lick the side of it, before standing and proceeding towards the front. As she rounded the corner of the estate, she met the guard. The guard seemed frantic, clutching at the pistol on his side, but his fear-induced hesitation would cost him. The face of the sledgehammer caught him across the side of his knee, snapping it in half and sending the man tumbling to the ground. He wouldn't get very long to cry out in agony, as the second blow was placed squarely between his eyes. Smashing his head into the concrete, and caving the front of his skull in.

That was all of the guards that she knew of. She looked down at the now dead doorman, before looking up to the front of the estate. Her target waited inside. As she moved towards the front doors, she flung the blood sledgehammer at the windows of the den. But instead of crashing through it, the sledgehammer simply splattered against them. Painting most of them in slightly coagulated blood.

At the door, she found herself gazing at a security system. Six digit code. She knew what it was already, thanks to her research. Like others across the planet, he made the mistake of making the code his birthday. She simply punched the code in using the tip of her knife, and the door unlocked.

She eased the door open, taking care to peek around the corners in either direction, before fully letting herself step inside. Now, where would Palvarotti be? Perhaps hiding upstairs in the master bedroom's adjacent bathroom? A luxurious locale.

Perfect for him to die in.

“Mr. Palvarotti? I do apologize for the intrusion. I simply need a moment of your time.” she said aloud, moving towards the lavish wooden staircase across from the front entrance. It lead straight up to the second floor, likely to where the master bedroom sat. “Believe me, this won't take long at all. I'm quite sure you'll see the point of all of this soon enough, and we can have a quick heart-to-heart before I take my leave.”

As she climbed the stairs, carefully stepping so that she wouldn't make too much noise, she heard the faint sound of a door slam elsewhere in the estate. Her red eyes slowly shifted in their sockets, her gaze moving across the top of the staircase. Her expression was blank, almost. As if none of this had really fazed her at all.

As she reached the top step, she heard the sound of a pistol's slide being racked. He's armed. Likely the three-eighty that he bought two weeks ago. She continued forth, walking down the hallway. She flicked the butterfly knife she had been carrying around in her hand again, letting it twirl around her fingers.

“Mr. Palvarotti, if you intend on shooting me, I beg of you. Let your aim be true. If you fail to kill me, I will make you suffer.”

She reached the door to the master bedroom, and grasped the round, golden handle. With a twist, it opened, and she gave it a gentle push.

A gunshot rang out. Then a click, followed by several more rapid clicks.

Palvarotti had managed to get a single shot off, which hit Robin in the shoulder. A simple graze, cutting open her jumpsuit's sleeve and carving a neat red scratch across her skin beneath. Robin inspected it for a moment, looking down at her arm as she rolled it around. She then shifted her gaze to Palvarotti, looking at him from the corners. His pistol had jammed after that first shot, a faulty magazine having caused a double-feed of rounds into the chamber.

“...Too bad, Mr. Palvarotti. Now, let's have a nice chat.”

joshuadim

 

[Peckinou]

Libla

CS Link

SCENE:

To live in the shadows

LOCATION:

Field , South District

PARTICIPANTS:

Libla, Charlie Roda the Red

To live in the shadows

While Libla played she wasn't playing at her best, and didn't tend to keep the ball long before passing it to someone else, she was still cautious of the onlookers around them and had to make sure she wasn't going to get Rushed down. Though after a while what she expected could be the case turned into reality as a blue haired boy rushed down one of their mid field players tackling him to the ground. While he was a HP his potential was practically useless, the ability to change your hair color to fit your mood and that was it, not very useful but it did help convey his mood and by the looks of it he wasn't happy as his hair shifted from Blond to Red. Libla couldn't help but chuckle as the Blue haired boy made the wrong guess and most of the other players went on to jeer him for ruining the game the now Red haired boy threw a bit of a fit telling off Charlie "Just what the hell are you rambling about Asshole? Just what do you think your doing? GET OFF ME!" . A few began to crowd around him voicing their complaints as well, meanwhile the smirk on Liblas face was devious, even though her little soccer game was ruined cause the kid didn't have the patience or courtesy to wait it out, he would now have to deal with the crowd of people that weren't happy with the interruption. Giving her much needed opportunity to escape and leave the blue haired boy to the mercy of the crowd as she walked away from the scene.

While she began to make her exit though one of her teammates noticed her and called out to her "Yo Lib where you going? " A question that brought a little attention to her from the others in their group as they glanced to her. It was quite annoying that she got called out as she was making her exit but it wasn't something she could help, instead she made a strained smile before saying "I just remembered I have something really important to do, so bye!" without even waited for a response she dashed off. If the Blue haired boy that was getting jeered at by the small crowd noticed that little stint then he would have a really big hint on who his target was and would probably chase after her or atleast try to, as she doubted the crowd would be so accommodating to his wants. On the bright side to all of this she atleast knew who was pursuing her, and the boys blue hair was going to make him stand out almost as much as her white hair. But staying here wasn't exactly the most viable option for her at the moment, so without any more delays she ran on out there, following the path of the sidewalk but made no stops. While she wasn't at her fastest she was still pretty fast even without using her shadow boots, something she wasn't going to use just yet, and with the sun going down she was only going to get faster once she opted to finally use her shadow boots.

[/justi

 

[simj26]

Elise Cutter

SCENE:

Telephone Line

TIME:

July 20th, 2022

LOCATION:

North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Dagger

Telephone Line

She pressed her foot on the brake, slowing the van to a stop by the side of the road. Noise. Screaming, wailing, static, the drums of hell blended together. The hazard lights ticked in the humming silence between them. Her hands were still gripped tightly on the wheel as she stared through the windshield, onto the road ahead of her. The sun had shown its face now, having ascended past the cluster of buildings.

She didn’t know what the Princess meant by her words. No, that wasn’t it. She knew, she just didn’t want to accept it. A blade in the shadows, a hunting hound, a tool to be used and discarded once her edge had been blunted, or when she was broken. Both of them lived dangerous lives. Elise Cutter died twice now, and the third time would not have the miracle of resurrection.

A whisper in her ear. She wanted to be bitter. She wanted to tell the Princess that she was being stupid. She wanted to scoff at her face, and tell her ‘Of course Passeri Park could live a life without a revenant like me.’. She wanted to tell her that she was stupid for developing any feelings for a tool. She wanted to tell her that this was impossible. She wanted to push her away, she wanted to be alone, she wanted to hunt in the dark alone, holding onto the voices, the screams, the feeling of flames burning away at her flesh, she wanted to be weighed down by her punishment.

She didn’t want the peace that the Princess brought her. The inkling of happiness that she felt when she was with her. Though the smiles hardly appeared on her face, warmth came upon the frozen tundra every time she saw her perform, hear her sing, hear her speak, see the sparkling in her eyes. She didn’t want to feel happy. She didn’t want to forget.

Yet, herein lies the conflict. Elise Cutter, Dagger, the White Wolf, did not deserve happiness. Passeri Park, Brandy Baker, star and idol, did. Her voice, her songs, her dances, her eyes, her smile, all these things. She wanted to protect all of it. She wanted the Princess to keep all of it. She wanted to see her happy. She wanted to see her smile. She didn’t want to see her sad, she didn’t want to see her cry, she didn’t want to see her hurt.

She reared her head back, and slammed it against the wheel.

The jarring impact and the loud horn silenced the noise. She drew her head back up, and hissed through her teeth. She reached up slowly and rubbed her reddening forehead.

“‘Seri, I told you, and I’ll tell you again.” She lowered her hand. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just doing my job.” Her fingers crossed the threshold between them.

“And I want to keep doing that job, not for work, but for you. I will be there for you, any time, anywhere. You don’t have to do things alone any more.” The Princess was deliberately facing away from her, to hide her pain, to hide her weakness. She didn’t need to do that.

Elise Cutter’s calloused fingers closed around Passeri Park’s soft, graceful hand. “I’ll be here, for you.” The sun’s light danced across her pale features, illuminating the normally sullen and grave expression on her face.

Or perhaps it was simply lit up by her smile.

The One Eyed Bandit​

 

[Coyote Hart]

SEBASTIAN SE

CS Link

SCENE:

Who's Watching

LOCATION:

A Back Alleyway, West District

TIME:

November 13th, 2019

PARTICIPANTS:

Sebastian, Xixix

WHO'S WATCHING

Speak of the devil. X's sudden appearance caused Sebastian to drop his cigarette out of surprise. He had to hastily stomp on it to put it out, as it had fallen into a pile of garbage, the flammable composition of which was unknown to Sebastian. When he was sure it was properly extinguished, Sebastian turned to X and gracefully recovered from his surprise, "Valentine. What a pleasure to see you here."

He wondered if X had actually forgotten his name. It honestly seemed like a fifty-fifty coin flip. But there was no issue with interacting with X as if he was messing with Sebastian. Popping a teasing smirk between his cigarette, Sebastian said sarcastically, "Are you pretending to forget who I am? I'm hurt, I thought we had something special between the two of us. Oh well, I guess that was just me."

The serial killer looked above at the roof. He was going to remember that no matter how unlikely, there was the chance that somebody would be watching from above on the roof. Next time, he was going to look up and around before torturing someone in the back alley. Thank goodness it was X who was eavesdropping. After all, X already knew of Sebastian's more unsavory pasttime. Otherwise, things would have gotten... messy, in a semi-delightful way.

"So, come to be my next victim?" Sebastian asked, flashing a sadistic smirk at X, "Or did you come here for this hapless guy? Cause if so, sorry, but he's dead. Here's his wallet though."

Sebastian fished out the guy's wallet from his pocket and tossed it to X. Maybe there would be some cash or something like that in there. Sebastian had planned to dispose of it elsewhere as to prevent anyone from identifying his victim, but giving it to X was not bad of a thought.

LazyDaze

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

LOCATION:

Central District, Grubtopia

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1 || 2020

PARTCIPANTS:

Tak, Melody miki

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

"COUPONS! THAT'S WHAT YOU NEED!"

Tak's attention turned to Melody upon her question, and like an auction house salesman, he shared his newfound bravado with a grin.

"It's crazy! They have these slips that give you deals!" Tak explained the basic concept of coupons as if he were sharing a lineage-long fable, sweeping his arms in a display of brevity, "They can give you a discount for anything! Pasta sauce, diapers! Jugs of milk!" He was enthused, and with a reach behind his back from seemingly thin air, he presented a pretty colored box with its pastel-colored enigmatic figure on the front.

"Even this cereal box with a toy inside can go for half off! It's basically robbery! Can you believe they haven't been telling people about this!?"

He slid over to Melody's side, putting up his hand as he leaned into her air, glancing at the security guards like he was spreading classroom gossip.

"It's like a secret club. So don't go telling everyone about it."

It's ironic, considering everyone knew about coupons.

"So," Tak turned back to the security guards, an expectant palm as his fingers pulled towards him, waiting for them to hand over the goods.

"You guys got coupons, right? Don't hold out on us. Unless…”

Tak's pupils shrunk, the air around him bristled as his body seemed to quiver, the sharpened glare in his gaze adorned with the polish of blood red upon his corneas, his rugged knuckles cracked. For a moment, he breathed, and the air seemed to condense.

Until abruptly, all such killing intent faded, Tak placed his hands on Melody's amorphous hair, his fingers sinking into her strawberry-flavored flesh as he gave her head a slight twirl for emphasis, "This poor lady is going to starve, y'know! She's so hungry she's not even skin and bones! She doesn't have either left," He exclaimed in shock. A finger pointed towards the guards also came with a wet splatter of jam across their faces and clothes as Tak condemned them, "She has a kid to feed, damnit! The media would have a field day with this!"

He made it seem like she was the one who brought up the coupons in the first place.

Almost seemingly on cue, a crowd had begun to form around the scene, many annoyed shoppers who looked weary about the constant shouting; a woman holding her crying baby watched on with tired eyes, "Please just tell them how to get coupons already," She begged with a groan. Mumbled agreeance came from the rest of the shoppers who had paused to watch this travesty.

Tak, with a glimmer of confidence at his presumed success, gave a cheeky look towards the guards and put up a V for victory.

"Yay."

 

[miki]

Melody Tucker

CS Link

SCENE:

INWRITCILVIODV

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1 | 2020

LOCATION:

Central District | Grubtopia

PARTICIPANTS:

Melody, Tak, Cassidy (NPC)

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

The security guards were frozen in time. Perfect statues of scratchy, pale white realization as the gooey substance hit their faces and uniforms. Where they once would have stood stubbornly resilient, they turned to each other to match the horror in their eyes.

With a shaky finger, the shoddy young man reached up to touch the substance on his face. The viscosity with which the bright pink responded made him shake harder, with smaller pupils and a horrified voice trying to scratch out the back of his throat.

Any attempt to hold on to sanity had proven scant. Melody’s stature and appearance melted into their fearful perceptions, and they were damn stupid enough to believe Tak.

“WE’RE SO SCREWED!” He screamed as he fell to his knees.

“WE’VE BEEN CURSED BY THE GODDESS OF FAMINE!!” The woman clutched her head, hands clutching the sides of her disheveled blonde bob. “THIS IS THE CHIC WHO CONDEMNED THE DENNIS PARTY!! WE’RE NOT MAKING IT THROUGH THE WINTER!!”

“NOT IF WE REPENT!!” With that, he yanked his coworker down by the knee, forcing her to buy into his wacky performance. “IF WE GIVE HER ALL OUR COUPONS, MAYBE WE’LL BE SAVED!!”

It took a woman a second to realize what he said. In a moment of clarity, she slapped him on the back of the head. “WHAT THE HELL!? NO THE FUCK WE’RE NOT!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH TROUBLE WE’D GET IN!?”

The man didn’t listen, only reacting by reaching his hand up to push her head down into a bow. “SHUT THE HELL UP! SHE’S GONNA BRING RUIN UPON YOUR WHOLE BLOODLINE!”

Ultimately, the woman stopped talking in favor of bowing. Both of them lifted and lowered their hands in prayer, in clockwork unison. Their collective exasperated reaction revealed a slightly modified state of mind, if not a lingering fear of the supernatural.

Melody felt bashful from the whole interaction. Their impromptu prayer session made her bashful, in a sense. They called her a goddess! With this much attention, she felt as if she should curtsy! At the very least, she felt she should match the young man’s expression of victory. She moved a V-shaped peace sign next to his, forming their symbols into a strange-looking ‘W’.

“Yay!”

Cassidy looked up at her mom, eyes glazing over with desaturated color. She had already walked herself in a couple circles, and tried to reach into the cart for the bouncy ball she picked up earlier. But that bored her quickly.

Eventually, the child huffed and walked straight into Melody’s side in an attempt to get her attention.

“Oh Cassidy…” Melody frowned as she watched her child pass through her jelly body so easily. She reached her hand into half of her body, the only thing separating her body matter being the thin layer of sucrose on the outside. She pulled her back out, wagging her finger at her dazed daughter. “Sweetie, don’t do that…”

After watching the display all the way through, the security guards slowly turned to each other.

“...AAAAAAHHH!!!”

They screamed together as they clutched each other in a tight hug.

“FORGIVE US!! FORGET THE COUPONS, JUST TAKE WHAT YOU WANT!!”

The crowd didn’t care much for the inebriated duo. At the mention of their forfeit, half of them murmured their relief. The other half grumbled about the unfairness of the duo’s power over the institution, but didn’t cause any stir—perhaps, deep down, a part of them also didn’t want to mess with the goddess of famine.

However, fear was not what Melody wanted. Their horrified screams brought her pain. Though, in this scenario, hope bubbled in her chest. This kind of fear felt very manageable. If she was their goddess, she could very easily relieve their sorrows!

She offered them an outstretched hand.

“There’s no need to be afraid! We can all enjoy the joys of the grocery store!” She raised a queenly hand and placed a hand over where her heart was. “Everyone should be blessed with fortune, for no cost!”

The duo looked up, their tear-rimmed eyes reflecting the shiny packages that lined the shelves. “Y-YEAH! FORTUNE FOR ALL!!”

It was a popular sentiment. The other shoppers vigorously nodded their heads in agreement.

The other guards looked between their superiors and Melody’s towering proposal. Not all of them agreed with the lofty claim of her godhood, but what the hell were they gonna do against a giant mass of jelly that could asphyxiate them without breaking a sweat?

Spoiler

thebigfella

 

[Roda the Red]

CAMILA GASPARI

CS Link

SCENE:

Taking a Break

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, June 28th 2022

LOCATION:

Camila's Apartment, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Hiachi

Taking a Break

The contrast between Camila nibbling at her own piece of bread, slowly taking in the flavors with each tiny bite, and Hiachi gulfing done one after another, might've been quite amusing to observe side-by-side. Seeing the rookie eat like a dog who's spent one too many days without getting to gnaw at a bone helped confirm her suspicion of which would soon be confirmed.

"Alright, now I know this sucks but don't forget to use as much as you can of it to shave off that debt of yours." With a little bit of fidgeting on her phone, Camila went through her contacts on her account, sending a relatively generous four-figure sum to the young girl's bank account. She wasn't a fan of giving reminders like that, she wasn't her mom, but more than once she's seen people working for her falling into a sense safety, feeling like ignoring the looming threat of their debt was okay, only for some not so friendly collectors eventually ringing at their doorstep. Setting her phone aside, she let out a sigh as Hiachi spoke between bites.

While the void-eyed woman had yet to make an actual move, the veteran was well aware that she was mere seconds away from snatching the basket, likely taking Camila's silence as an unspoken approval of her question that carried obvious implications. Camila's tail speared forward, wrapping itself around the solid wicker handle, before dragging it away from her employee's reach.

"Now now, Hiachi, let's not get carried away, okay?" She uttered, smiling ominously at the girl across the table. "You don't think you can just grab a bite and leave with the whole thing the moment you get paid, right?"

The rubber ends of the woman's chair legs screeched against the tiled floor as it pulled backwards, Camila's height towering over Hiachi's as she stood, walking around and over to the other side, leaving the veteran at quite the threatening position behind Hiachi's back, the basket having now been lifted off the table, and dragged to the kitchen counter by the silver appendage.

"Don't you think that's a little rude to your host?" She asked somberly, her hand gently placed atop the girl's shoulder. Camila's stare was intense, like a hyena ready to pounce on its prey.

And then, a playful jingle cut through the intense silence. "There we go, just a moment." Camila abandoned her none-the-wiser guest, making a bee line for the kitchen.

A minute later, a plentiful bowl of steaming white rice was place on the table, accompanied by a healthy dose of a bright red stew, cascading down the crevices of the white mountain, and coating a generous array of slow cooked vegetables and beef.

"At least stay for the main course, okay?" She remarked, returning to her seat holding her own bowl of food, of which it contained a noticeably more modest amount, at that.

miki

 

[Infab]

Robin Krantz

CS Link

SCENE:

Bath Salts (Nov 18th, 2016 - Pre Arc 1)

LOCATION:

Robin's Loft Apartment, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Robin Krantz, Eun Ji-Young YumenoTsukishiro

Bath Salts

​

Lavender is said to, when inhaled, treat headaches, nervous disorders, as well as exhaustion. It is also used to treat skin ailments, like fungal infections, wounds, eczema, and acne when converted into lavender oil. In a healing bath, it can be used for joint and muscle pain.

Robin Krantz liked lavender. Such a lovely scent, and it worked perfect in the form of bath salts when she bathed. Her body saw immense relief when she overexerted herself during jobs. Her only regret was having to get out after a thorough soak in the hot waters of her large acrylic clawfoot tub. After cleaning up, next came tending to her long red hair and pale skin. Simple things to improve one's appearance, especially after a long day out on the town. Plus, she had already been paid for a job perfectly executed, so it was time to relax and treat herself this evening.

She hadn't really had time to spend to herself in her new loft apartment. It sat city-side, facing the heart of the West District with the various high rise structures and businesses. This one was personally picked out by her 'boss', out of an assortment of available apartment listings in his company's possession. She never had to pay rent, as the expenses for the apartment were covered by Ryu himself. Her car, a cherry red 2016 Cayman, was also fully paid for.

No more hotels or taxis, that was for sure.

Food was also paid for, thanks to a card she had been given, but everything else she had to pay for with her own money. Money she acquired by doing jobs for Ryu, or for people he pointed out to her. They paid quite well, and it sated her blood lust. However, she knew how some things went with businessmen and their money. She wouldn't use the money she was given to pay for the things she wanted. Instead, she borrowed money from other Tigers or associates of the Tigers, and paid them what she was paid for jobs to eliminate debts.

All in all, it worked out quite well. Money changed hands, people were paid back, and everything was swell.

She departed from the large bathroom, strolling across the second floor of the loft and glancing out the large windows at the city beyond. The skyline at night was quite a sight to behold, but she never stopped to actually look at it. She was too busy focusing on other things. At the moment, that was finding comfortable clothes to lounge in.

A simple t-shirt and shorts would suffice.

 

[miki]

Hiachi Ito

CS Link

SCENE:

Taking A Break

LOCATION:

West District | Camila’s Apartment

DATE:

June 28, 2022

PARTICIPANTS:

Hiachi, Camila

Taking A Break

Hiachi’s hands itched for the feeling of the wicker in her hands. But at the last moment, before she reached for the basket herself, Camila’s silver tail swiped it away. The motion of her hands lunging for the basket was quickly reigned in, and Hiachi tried to place her hands in her lap as if nothing was awry.

Camila’s retort was met with a pair of unblinking saucers for eyes. There was so much to say, but as always, it was left up to Hiachi’s silence to fill the lack.

Hiachi grit her teeth, annoyed at how quickly the tides changed without her notice. This was just like everything that came before it. Every slip in countenance, every devilish glint, every stifled giggle—all that came with a kick to the neck—it was the same. A cruel reminder that she was crushed beneath many thumbs.

Her gaze floated with Camila as she walked away. Eyes locked on her path.

Hiachi shut her eyes tight as her head hit the back of the chair. Through clenched fists and nails pushing into her palms, she cursed at herself. Camila was her handler: nothing more, nothing less. She wasn’t her friend. She didn’t mean anything by telling her to save money. If she did, it was damn stupid. Hiachi knew she was hopeless, and Camila had seen many more cases than her. It wasn’t even cold comfort—it was crushing. Mockery.

Her hunger pressed down on her gut. It was enough to make her seethe.

Rapport was a lie. A stupid, pointless lie that tricked her into believing that her life meant anything more than the dollar value above it. How could she be so stupid? For as long as she’s been crawling at rock bottom, she should have known not to play stupid—

Hiachi snapped back to open eyes at the sound of a ceramic being placed on the table. The bubbling emotion fizzled out the second the smell of a hearty stew hit her senses. Her nostrils twitched as she leaned in closer to the meal set before her.

Her eyes darted up at Camila, before darting back down at the meal, before she was caught in a loop of glances between the two. Her eyebrows rested flat above her eyes, but she still managed to look nothing short of dumbfounded.

Part of her wanted to inhale the meal just as she had the bread. However, she was less sure of herself than before. The sting of punishment for her actions, regardless of any reason as to why, had yet to numb.

Hiachi pointed right at the bowl, then right at Camila. No point in being subtle; why assume when she can ask outright?

“Is this a trick?”

Spoiler

Roda the Red

 

[Coyote Hart]

PEYTON XIONG

CS Link

SCENE:

Crash and Burn

LOCATION:

Peyton's Old Apartment, East District

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 || Two Weeks Later

PARTICIPANTS:

Peyton, Jackson

CRASH AND BURN

Peyton thought that he was doing alright, maybe not completely convincing Jackson, but at least making headway. That made Jackson's outburst all the more surprising, and Peyton visibly flinched. There wasn't time for him to recover and quip something back, because suddenly Peyton felt his lips being sealed by a kiss.

"Mmh?" Peyton asked. Kisses felt good, but this particular one didn't feel so, even though Peyton knew that Jackson was a good kisser. It could only mean that Jackson wanted to seal Peyton's mouth with the kiss, and he had succeeded. Peyton dumbfoundedly and obediently listened to what Jackson had to say.

The words that Jackson was saying made no sense though. To Peyton, it was blatantly obvious that Jackson had trusted him. After all, they got along so well as friends, and right now, Jackson was visibly upset at what Peyton had done. Unfortunately, Peyton lacked the empathy to figure out why Jackson was lying.

"I've heard plenty of people tell me that I'm worthless," Peyton said, echoing the delightfully cruel words of the people he hung out with, "So nope! I was not worth trusting. But thank you for trusting me anyway, and I'm sorry for breaking your trust."

With the ibuprofen now in his system, Peyton truly did feel bad for what he had done. There was no way out of it though, Peyton had made his choice. The former Dragon lifted the sleeve of his hoodie up to Jackson's face, wiping away the taller Dragon's tears away. "But I'm serious. I want you to tell me to do something to prove that I'm still loyal to you. If you can't, then I'll break into the Eternal Night Palace after hours. Then I can hang out with you and help with cleanup until you realize that I still like you. You'll see that I'm pretty good with disguises."

BriiAngelic

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Passeri Park

SCENE:

Telephone Line

TIME:

July 20th, 2022

LOCATION:

North District

PARTICIPANTS:

Passeri, Elise

Telephone Line

Almost shrunk away. Almost threw herself into her arms. Almost burst into tears. Almost broke into a smile. Almost spilled it all. Almost decided to leave everything else unsaid. Almost, almost, almost, Passeri sat on the edge of a dozen different crossroads. She was as happy as she was afraid. She smiled, even as her eyes continued to run wet.

"You're really getting my hopes up, you know..." Passeri's fingers enclosed around Elise's. They were just how she remembered them. Firm and reassuring, rough and warm. She recalled, in that moment, just how they'd felt during that awful morning, barely more than a week past. How gentle and reassuring her touch had been, how simple and right her caress had felt in her hair. The nights since she'd spent tossing and turning, only to be lulled to sleep by the memory of that moment. How even now, while they sat hand in hand and Elise spoke all the words she should have wanted to hear, it still wasn't enough. Her heart still ran greedier, wanting for more.

"It's been awful, Elise." Passeri gripped Elise's hand tighter, and pulled it to her cheek. "Ever since I came back to this city... Everything just... Keeps going wrong. The Tigers, the Earthquake, the Outbreak, and then that attack at the beginning of the month. It feels like not matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, everything just keeps going to shit."

"But..."

"But whenever I'm with you... Whenever I get to see you smile, and whenever you tell me that you'll be there for me like this... It feels like things are going to be okay." Passeri's eyes, finally, peeked up. Wet with tears, and still obscured by the veil of her bangs, they met with Elise's sunbathed visage. "Like I've finally met somebody who I can trust. Somebody who sees me for me. Not Iroi, and not the Jack of the Albino fucking Tigers. Just me. And then it feels like all of this shit. All of the pain, all of the fear... It feels like it was all worth it-"

Passeri's heart raced. One, two, three, four, five miles a minute. Whoever was speaking now, she didn't know. Secrets were her trade. Layers of obfuscation and lies to shelter herself from the world. They were the armor she fought in and the blade she brandished both. Held tight in her hands and close to her chest, that was where her feelings were supposed to be kept. Her fear, her confusion, her doubt and her sorrow, that was where they were supposed to remain, cloistered away from the world. But, as she clung to Elise's hand as if she would vanish the moment she let go, her hands were full.

"-Because I got to meet you."

And it all spilled out.

"But then I get scared, Elise... I think about it. The last time I'll see you smile. The last time you'll say good night to me. The last time we'll share a meal or I'll get to hear you laugh about something stupid. Whenever you have to move on... Whenever Weiss decides to ship you off somewhere far away, or whenever you wander into some back alley and never wander out again."

Her fear and sorrow.

"And I just... I don't know what to do."

Her confusion and doubt.

"And-"

"I-"

"..."

Silence. Elise's hand clutched as tight she could could, Passeri fell silent. Her own heartbeat drummed in her ears, a ringing alarm set off by all of her instincts. A last warning to step back. To pull herself back into the safety of the imaginary animal named Passeri Park. To call all of this a mistake, a step too far, a moment of heated emotion and nothing more.

"Elise..." But she was done with lying. "You're the person I trust most, you know?"

She drew one long, deep breath, wiped the tears from her eyes, and lifted her face to look upon Elise with all of the courage she could muster.

"But... What if I told you I wanted more than that? More than a job, and more than friends, too."

In her ears, the furious rush of traffic grew distant and anything beyond she and Elise became null. The world shrank away, and the universe was reduced down to three simple things. Her, the woman she loved, and the steadily rising sun.

"I love you, Elise."

She said, more certain than she'd ever been in her life.

simj26​

 

[CasualTea]

Welsha Reaper

CS Link

SCENE:

What's the Tea

LOCATION:

Moonflower Cafe, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Yona Kowloong CasualTea , Welsha Reaper

What's the Tea

Welsha maintained her smile as Yona went through the choice between classical and pop music, but before Welsha could even comment on it a crack of the wind shield snapped them both out of their focus. Welsha looked towards the wind shield and the all too familiar sight of a bullet hole, Welshas smile quickly turned into a frown as she realized what was happening, though she had to admit Yonas reflexes were impeccable to say the least and she had a few suspicions on why that is but she couldn't muse on that thought now as they had to deal with a different problem. It seemed pretty clear that whoever the people after them were, they were specifically targeting Yona, as the bullet seemed to be clearly meant for them. While Yona was slightly panicked Welsha remained completely calm, this situation being nothing new to them as they have been in situations like this before, though sometimes she did have the comfort of bullet proof glass, that sadly wasn't the case this time. With Yonas erratic driving it was pretty much impossible to discern the location of the sniper, though it also helped make them a harder target so it seemed like a fair trade off. Still though it was pretty easy to tell that there was in fact not one sniper as it seemed that no matter where they went another bullet would hit Yonas car.

Welsha for her part kept a close attention to everything, even picking up on Yonas accent when she let it slip, as frantically asked if they knew any spots where they can get away from these snipers. Welsha for her part nodded before saying "Take the next right, a few ways ahead you will want to go left and there should be a place with a underground parking garage." a underground parking garage seemed like the perfect place to get away from a sniper fire, but it was overall a short term solution as it would keep sniper fire off them but they would still have to leave at some point which would give whoever was after them time to regroup. But there was still a possibility of that parking Garage being a trap and that would be another team of people in there to take them down once they enter, but that would mean that the people after her either know the area or had made extensive preparations and plans for that scenario though that would of meant the expected Yona to be in this area at around this time. She had too little intel about who exactly was pursuing them and how their mind worked to make accurate judgement on what to expect from them, so she opted to just let Yona make the decision for herself. "There should be another parking garage farther up ahead of that one if you suspect it may be trapped by your friends over there, but that would mean you having to weave through this mess of bullets and traffic for a bit more. Though if you think that the people perusing you didn't account for you knowing the area or probably rushed this little sniper hell trap too fast to account for areas where you could catch a break from them, then I would say that the closest parking garage may be a good bet." Welsha had given Yona a glimpse into her strategic and her more serious side, a slight slip up that she would more than likely try to brush off later, but as of right now in the moment she was completely focused on the task at hand which was assist Yona in getting away from this unseen enemy.

Rohen Vista

CS Link

SCENE:

What's The Tea

LOCATION:

Streets, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Rohen, Welsha Peckinou

What's The Tea

Yona pondered her options for a brief moment before moving her head just in time to avoid one really close shot that inserted itself into her head rest. "Let's just do that!" She exclaimed as she took the next immediate right, easily locating the parking garage and pulling in. Once she got deep into the parking garage, she parked her car amidst other vehicles to make it stand out less. After applying the emergency brake, she leaned back in her seat letting out a sigh. "Sacrebleu.." She exhaled out, her Libere accent coming back. "...Where are we, anyway? It may be too obvious if we try to hot wire a different vehicle and leave." She asked. At this point, the best option was to probably leave on foot. But how? Unless she broke open her trunk and got Welsha to join her in a bit of changing appearances, there wasn't exactly any way to get out of this situation unnoticed. But she had to figure out where they are in order to assess their next move.

 

[CasualTea]

Dyne Enjyre

CS Link

TIME:

Post-Arc 3 — July 15th, 2022

SCENE:

Hoodwinked

LOCATION:

The Suede Bee, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Dyne, Passeri, Rohen

Hoodwinked

Dyne held a graceful smile that welcomed gracefully. None of her inner thoughts showed.

As a former potential heiress, the inner working of a corporation was not a mystified knowledge to her eyes. One look on her opponent reflected clothes that reflected better the lost souls spending dimes at a gas station's slot machine than a lavish establishment. She thought, musedly, of the old Serpent King and his words of boast: the Serpent's head is in New Oasis, but an Orochi had many heads. Foreign drug trade was a hidden cash flow for Sable Serpents, a lifeline that kept the seemingly reckless beast full of vitality.

"Why, I have a few friends from the North with similar working arrangement." Was she meeting a Serpent in the Tiger's territory? Her gaze beamed amusement at Rohen.

"My sign told me that I would have luck with money this week and really, I haven't been disappointed." She peeked at her cards and sighed. "I suppose today is the last day, as was foretold. Call."

Her hand was not bad, but it was simply not bad. The lucky charm was to stay her little secret. After all, it would not do good for the casinos to know she won because of a suspected Potential, no? The boldness to make decisions was her strength; her escape to New Oasis and subsequent arrangements had been a product of taking the initiative, after all.

"I hope you don't spend anything you can't win, darling." She addressed the suspected Serpent. "Luck is a fickle lady."

DYNE NOTES​

— —POST RECAP: Dyne lost her amazing winning streak and gave up on turning a profit on the poker game. She decided to chat up the stranger to spend some time. Soon, it will the time to cut her losses and leave the establishment.

— —WEARING: white thigh-high dress, white jacket, golden necklace, gold earrings, beige watch and purse to match

The One Eyed Bandit CasualTea

Rohen Vista

CS Link

SCENE:

Hoodwinked[July 15th, 2022]

LOCATION:

The Suede Bee, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Rohen, Dyne Damafaud , Passeri The One Eyed Bandit

Hoodwinked

She called, huh? Well, now she just has to over boost her confidence into complete arrogance. Who knows, maybe she might actually win. "Perhaps she is." She said. "But with lots of chances to play, eventually, she will finally glance a blessing." She then proceeded to put double the amount of what was called earlier before announcing her play: "Raise." She said with a confident grin. She leaned forward a bit, eyeing Dyne and raising an eyebrow. "Say, you got a fortune teller in your contacts? Someone of that line? I think it's just a curiosity for me to wonder why you rely on such good fortune that you were 'foretold.' That's usually binds businesses in tight spots, relying on luck." She said, waiting for the fate of the pot. Maybe it'll hurt her ego a bit if she did in fact lose the round here. But winning wasn't the top priority today, it's all just to get her attention. She's currently winning as far as she's concerned. Just need to get her into a private room with Passeri for the ultimate jackpot. And then maybe eat a sandwich...

 

[Doctor Llamabean]

Boltius "BLITZ" Beckman

CS Link

SCENE:

New Phoenix Golden Age

TIME:

Post-Arc 2 — July 20th, 2022

LOCATION:

South district, Phoenix HQ; Old Bank of Amestria

PARTICIPANTS:

Bolt, Hector, Helva, Hitoshi, Milo, Musai, Pei, YY

NEW PHOENIX GOLDEN AGE

“Alright, maybe it’s time then.” Hearing the Queen say that, Boltius shook his body to loosen up, putting some slack in those nerves of his, for despite the smile he wore, they were taut and he was nervous. There were a million ways this could turn out. Announce the news and hear the boos~ Or bask in an approving chorus from members ranging from most respectable to potential future leaders.

“Whooooo,” Boltius blew slowly, hands on his hips. “This is really happenin’.”

Hector launched into his speech, first thanking the room for showing on short notice. He spoke of the gang’s hardships throughout the recent years, a topic which layered the already silent room in thicker stillness, and soon transitioned his words into those more encouraging before cheers erupted upon the speech’s conclusion. There were several who remained quiet—no hurrahs or applause—and, at that, Boltius clicked his tongue against his teeth.

“Bolt, would you like to say a few words?” asked Hector, and Bolt loosened his tie, ruffled his collar. Shit was gettin’ uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I would,” said Bolt, approaching the edge of the stage to look over the gathering, meeting eyes. “You motherfuckers know what-... sets us apart-... ?” A sudden cackling from somewhere below emerged. A spikey-haired figure, lanky and, by Bolt’s judgment, ugly. The guy rambled for a moment and Boltius couldn’t quite discern the tone of his words, the message. Was it sarcasm or genuine? He briefly glanced at Hector as if searching for the answer in the Queen’s eyes, whispered quietly: “The fuck is he?” then waited until the spikey-haired annoyance was gone.

“Uh… okay? What was I saying?”

“Oh, right!! What sets us apart from the rest!.... I mean, aside from being the strongest and the sexiest.” He heard a chuckle. “It’s that we’ve conquered before… so we know how to conquer again. Let the enemies think we’ve lost our spark! That’s an advantage! We’re only dead once we’ve died inside, and we haven’t died inside yet! ‘Scept for those a’ you who done lost your voices- so once a-fuckin’-gain! WHO’S WITH US?!” Another wave of shouts and cheers filled the room. “LOUD ENOUGH THAT REIKA CAN HEAR IT! ALEX CAN HEAR IT! LYRIC CAN HEAR IT!” A stubborn few were quiet to the very end, but more than before had been struck with spirit and joined the brief fire of enthusiasm at the Ace’s rousing.

‘Cause that silence, to me, sounds like doubt, ya pitiful bastards, and Lyric didn’t raise no fuckin’ doubters. So what if we get knocked down a peg?! You think I stayed sittin’ every time I got knocked on my ass?! Fuck naw, dawg, ‘cause I wouldn’t be here now if that was the case. Everybody knows that the first punch you’re ever thrown is a daze! You might stumble and think, aww shit, I wasn’t expectin’ that, and you might not wanna feel another hit like that again. But that’s the game we’re playin’. Kings lose a little throughout their… whatever the fuck it’s called- but that don’t mean they lost the war! Their Kingdom! Their people! Sometimes they just make bad plays to learn from and do better, measure the enemy’s power.”

There was a short, yet long silence before the Ace decided he was done talking and backed away from the stage’s edge with an awkward grin, “Uh, or somethin’ like that… Ya fuckers.”

(Interacting w/ Milo, Yong-Yut, Hector)
(Mentioned Vulken)
Elenion Aura @gxxberkit @WhiskeyMarten Peckinou @Kameron Esters- thebigfella ​

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

They Tell You Not To Mix Chemicals Because You Can Make Mustard Gas, But Nobody Tells You How Mixing People Makes Something More Deadly

LOCATION:

North District

DATE:

July 18th, 2022 | | Post-Outbreak

PARTICIPANTS:

Nao tityanya , Takakazu

They Tell You Not To Mix Chemicals Because You Can Make Mustard Gas, But Nobody Tells You How Mixing People Makes Something More Deadly

There was no hesitation from Tak. As soon as Nao had sat down, he had begun to devour. He shoveled the curry into his mouth so fast he didn't even give himself a second to breathe, only raising his head when his bowl was empty, stains of curry all across his lips and full cheeks. He glanced over in response to Nao's silence. The possibility of her not liking the curry crossed his mind, and his immediate reaction was, "You gonna finish that?" A mumbled through his stuffed mouth as he pointed towards Nao's bowl.

He did his best to hide his disappointment when it turned out Nao loved her meal a heavy swallow as the food cartoonishly passed through his throat like a bowling bowl and looked to the side, dejected.

Arkar's response wasn't much of one; there was a small puff of smoke from his mouth. "I wonder…" he trailed off as ashes fell from the end of his cigarette. His singular eye closed as he pondered momentarily, a smile appearing after a breath.

"Happy you like it. Maybe you'll visit next time you come West, huh?" He suggested, bending down to snatch Tak's empty bowl from his fingers, leaving them clutching around empty air.

"W- Hey! I was gonna lick that!" Tak protested, but Arkar had already put the bowl away.

With a grumble, Tak rose, "My buzz is startin' to wear off." He complained, turning back towards the thin wood door that acted as the only divide between them and the party, "I'm gonna grab a couple cold ones."

"Might as well grab a few," he gave a knowing smirk to Nao, strolling over to crouch himself on the grass next to her as he snuffed his cigarette into the concrete.

"Ain't you workin'?!"

"Yeah, so?"

The sharp response left Tak with a pause for a moment before he let out a defeated sigh.

It was just Arkar and Nao and the cold night air momentarily. Silence didn't hang between them long before Arkar spoke up, grunting as he dropped himself onto the front yard.

"Hope Roach hasn't been giving you much trouble," Arkar propped up one leg, resting an arm on his knee as he leaned forward, "Known him since he was a kid. It was even worse back then if you could believe it. Got into street fights and robbed people all the time."

The older man's eyes drifted up to the sky, a lazy simper coming across his expression as he leaned his head to the side, "...Always was alone back then, too. So it's surprising to see him bringing different people to try my food. He feels like he's just showing off to me and my old man at this point; he's like a puppy in need of validation, right?"

Arkar chuckled at his comment, letting his body fall backward into the grass. The feeling of a day's work finally pinned him down as he took a moment to relax. His eyes kept focused on the stars, but his words spoke to Nao clearly.

"Put up with him for a little longer, will ya? I was tired of him spending every night brooding in my restaurant."

…

The door busted open soon after, Tak bursting out with two cases of beer under his arms. Sloshed partygoers hung at his heels, mumbling complaints about him taking all the booze before he shook them loose, strolling over and plopping them down on the ground.

Arkar looked at all the drinks nervously. A small drip of sweat on the side of his face betrayed his feelings, and he raised his hands in caution, "Hey, isn't that a bit much?"

Tak had already pulled a tab, tilting his head back as he began to chug a cold brew in mighty gulps. Arkar's hands fell to his side in defeat, "I guess not. Ah, whatever."

Without any convincing, he grabbed his beer from the case, a satisfying crack and fizz as he began to swallow down his own.

Tak breathed a deep sigh as he slammed the first empty can onto the ground. "Time to get this party started!" he exclaimed, even though the party had started, reaching for another beer.

Eating a good bowl of curry seemed to be all he needed to want to get fucked up.

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

LOCATION:

Central District, Grubtopia

TIME:

Pre-Arc 1 || 2020

PARTCIPANTS:

Tak, Melody miki

If Nutrition Was Really Important They'd Call It Life Value Instead of Daily Value

At a certain point, Tak had toned the whole situation out. The ramblings and crazed deceleration of a Goddess plonked on his hollow skull as his eyes focused on his hand, pupils narrowing in confusion and curiosity.

Seeing as the gooey strands jiggled against his fingers, thin, sticky threads bonding together and tearing apart, he wiggled his fingers.

What was this stuff? The feeling reminded him of childhood, times of shoveling things into one's mouth straight from the pantry, the lack of a concept of meals but the object permanence of ingredients.

With a slight sniff, his mind filled in the blanks left by the lack of white bread or peanut butter. Still, a faint reminisce led him to open his mouth and place a digit onto his tongue. His lips closed, and he pulled it out with puckered lips and vacuum sections, replacing a thick layer of jelly with a vicious sheen of slobber.

His mouth played with it, jostling it across his tongue, fitting it through the gaps of his teeth, and bouncing it around from cheek to cheek before finally swallowing it.

His eyes closed, and he smacked his lips loudly. The flavor ruminated in his mouth momentarily before he finally looked forward with declaration.

"Jelly. No. Jam. Strawberry."

The rest of his fingers found themself in his mouth, sucking them clean until all he tasted was skin. His nose turned upward like a hound, sniffing out the source, his nose leading him directly to Melody's head.

First, a tentative lick, then a long drag. Then soon, his tongue moved like a polisher, moving across the curvature of the back of Melody's head, splattering jam across the aisles and ceiling as he went crazy on her dome.

"Y-YUMMY!?" Electricity went through his body as his jam-covered face paled in shock, his head turning down towards Cassidy in shock, "Why does your mom taste so good!?" Tak blurted out in his shock as he leaned down to the little girl before popping back up and poking a finger into the side of Melody's head, "What the hell? Are you even real?"

 

[Roda the Red]

CAMILA GASPARI

CS Link

SCENE:

Taking a Break

TIME:

Post-Arc 3, June 28th 2022

LOCATION:

Camila's Apartment, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila, Hiachi

Taking a Break

Hiachi's out-of-the-blue question earned her a quizzical look from Camila, the latter tilting her head as a singly brow raised. "What do you mean, a trick?" She responded, flicking her hand forward, her spoon hanging from her lazy grip, inaccurately pointing at the cautious underling. "No, I just wanted you to stay for lunch, that before was just the entrée, didn't want you getting full on that alone."

Twirling her spoon between her fingers until it was held more properly, she sunk her utensil deep into the fluffy bed, making sure to catch a mushroom on the way. Focused on her own spoonful, she consumed it, the silverware retreating clean out of her lips. It might come off as a little egomaniac to say this (not like Camila was one to care much about humility), but it was good, really good . Not like it was a surprising conclusion to come to, but it was still worth noting regardless. She went for a second bite, prioritizing on fishing out some potato, carrot and beef, the prime-grade chuck was fatty and melted in the mouth.

"Saving up money is great and all, but you gotta keep yourself fed." She added, taking a quick sip of her glass of water. "And you need to think of eating well, too. This will keep you running around a lot better than just some bread and cheese." Hoping that this explanation was good enough to convince her guest, she continued to eat away at her plate. But raising her gaze once more was still met with no results, this earned the first sigh of the day.

"I'm not gonna charge you anything, you Bozo. I was just making lunch and knew you were probably gonna be starving by the time you got here, there's nothing more to it, so eat up already." She took one more bite, visibly frustrated. "You need to relax for a minute."

miki

 

[joshuadim]

RYUTARO HASHIMOTO

CS Link

SCENE:

Blood Pact

LOCATION:

West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Ryutaro, Robin

Blood Pact

Having observed the violence from a distance, Ryu was first to observe the handiwork of the killer up close and personal as he strode calmly onto the villa's grounds. He passed by a few of the bodies she had left, sparing a casual glance from their wounds, before stopping towards the one whose skull had been crushed by a blood hammer. He knelt down to look at the handiwork before speaking into his earpiece. "Still recording?"

"...yes sir. A silent alarm has been triggered already though. Picking up chatter on police movement."

Little else needed to be said as Ryu looked towards the open door nearby: "We have enough material. Stop the recordings... have them ready to publish if she tries anything." Ryu then said as he stood upright and entered the estate. The lights were off in a vain attempt by Palvarotti to hide himself from the clutches of his killer, leaving everything shrouded in a soft darkness as distant lights from the outside world remained to pierce through the air. Ryu narrowed his eyes as he wondered where most likely the two were, until a scream cut through the silence like a dagger.

Ryu's head trailed up the stairs, and soon after he began to ascend upwards like a cat stalking a mouse. Not a sound escaped from him as he moved, listening intently as Palvarotti's yelling grew more desperate and pained. It sounded as though he was being tortured, given that he was still breathing through all this; Ryu stepped forward down the hallway, seeing a door open ever so slightly. Light from a nightstand beamed outwards in a sliver, offering only a modicum of illumination as Ryu pressed the door softly to allow it to further open to see what was happening.

The woman's back was turned away from him as she was entirely focused on her prey, a man as powerful as society would afford him brought to this stage of begging. It was a pathetic sight to see, as Ryu couldn't help but smirk at the demise of a would-be business rival due to sheer coincidence. But coincidence would become opportunity for him as he quietly took a seat in the other side of the room as she continued to torment the man with his own body, forcing him to contort and bend against his will. A comfortable reading chair near the full-length windows provided a front-row seat to the spectacle as Ryu remained silent so as to not disturb the woman's doings. The place had been trashed in desperation from the man, as his silk bedsheets lay strewn across the marble flooring and various other smaller items - such as books and small antiques - were scattered from a brief struggle.

The killer was in full control now, as she tormented the man with excruciating agony; Thus far, she had impressed with her abilities. What remained would be her reaction to what he had in store. Ryu crossed one leg over another where he sat as the woman continued to force the man to move against his will, until his eyes - full of terror - looked over towards Ryu in desperate plea for help. The woman's gaze quickly snapped towards him, blood red irises practically glowing in the low lighting of the room as a wary look crossed over him. It was obvious that she was wondering whether or not he was a threat.

"Please, do continue." Ryu said nonchalently, leaning back into his seat as he left Palvarotti to his fate. "I have no reason to stop you."

Infab

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Everyone's A Critic

LOCATION:

Feralia Art Gallery, Central District

DATE:

June 30th, 2022 || Pre-Arc 3

PARTICIPANTS:

Camila ( Roda the Red ), Takakazu

Everyone's A Critic

Tak stood there in the nude. The daft air across his body left him feeling the faintest shiver, and he stared blankly at Hillclad. As she continued to speak, the longer and more drawn-out her monologue became, the more Tak began to space out. His finger came to his nose, pinkie digging up for gold, and he stared unphased as his head began to lean backward, barely keeping himself awake.

The words floated above his head, glossing across his skull as if it had been basted in slippery butter, drooling coming from the corners of his mouth. What was disinterest soon began to turn into irritation; a vein popped out of his head as his neck bulged and twitched, rocking back and forth with words that started to bubble out of his throat. But he did his best to hold it in through gritted teeth.

“What the hell is she talking about!?” were the thoughts that scrambled inside his skull; Tak was all the more lost on what was actually going on as he stood there, a victim to the artist’s ego until he was finally rescued by the whims of a sterling tail from the darkness. Tak’s head popped back up in action with visible marks of shock beside his head as Camila barreled out, leaving the door wide open and a plume of smoke at her heels.

“HUH!?” Tak was left dumbfounded at the woman’s expedited retreat, his stance widening as he turned towards the door, the arm of the sofa barely keeping his junk out of view as he stood there in shock, “What about the mission!? He blurted out but was left with no answer in his abandoned silence.

Tak’s head turned to Hillclad, the raw acrimony in her features, and in parley, his face contorted into a sheepish simper, his hand raising in a jittery wave.

“Uh, see ya later.”

And then, like a ballerina robbed of their tutu, his body gracelessly pirouetted out the door.

His shoes skidded across the polished floor, and his feet slammed rapidly for traction. Momentum led him to brace his hands against the wall and push off. His hand unknowingly grasped one of the drapes that lined the elegant interior, and his legs tangled in between it.

He struggled and spun out of it, tearing it off its hinges and leaving it flopping against the ground. It trailed behind him, wrapping around his body like a champagne dress as he quickly ran to catch up to Camila. His long stride and head rose high in a frantic sprint.

“Oi! What the hell was that? How could you leave me back there?” Tak immediately shouted at the woman, turning his way from the path forward as the woman was in earshot. His enlarged mouth punctuated the volume of his voice as it seemed the air he was using to keep his body moving was no longer needed.

“What were you doing in that thing the whole time anyway?” Tak quickly directed the conversation elsewhere, like they weren’t in the middle of running to escape his face scrunched up in belittlement to his superior, “You’re covered in dust; you’re like some kinda chinchilla!” He exclaimed, and in some horror of magical shape-shifting, his features came adorned with a rodent's whiskers and buck teeth only for a moment before his expression was torn to ahead.

“There they are!” Came the voices of the rough and tumble. A group of guards rushed down at them from the opposite end of the hallway, Tak slamming his heels against the ground like breaks as he looked at them with a stern glare before his focus snapped back to Camila.

“Alright!” Tak shouted excitedly, a fist and arm raised as he slammed a hand onto his bicep. "It's time to show them we mean business! Go ahead and bust out the fancy spy gadgets!”

Like a little kid, his eyes sparkled with excitement. He expected Camila to pull out a laser or a grappling hook to get them out of the situation. Shaking his hands up and down, he did not even try to hide his childish hopes. The reality that Camila had no such thing quickly crushed all of these.

“Tch! No choice then!” Tak twisted and turned back to the swarm of guards approaching, their furious roars as they charged with hands prepared to grab them to the ground. Tak’s body stiffened as they approached, pupils narrowing, fists clenching. They grew closer and closer until…

Tak stepped to the side and stuck out a leg, watching as they all toppled over each other in a giant pile of sweaty, balding men.

They groaned in pain as Tak stuck out his tongue in a tease. “Idiots!” was his curt insult before he turned away and led the path forward. “Let’s get to the stairs! We’re on the second floor. All I need to do is just blow my way through the front door, and we’re home free!” Tak slammed a fist into his palm with a grin, the excitement of finally getting down and dirty, "I'll be just on time for my soaps!"

The pair finally reached the stairs, Tak grabbing onto the railing as they ran down the steps with Camila right behind; despite them disappearing off screen, the focus did not follow for a mysterious reason that was quickly explained as Tak and Camila ran right back up the stairs, swirling around to go up onto the next floor above, a swarm of guards following right behind them, a river of men right at their heels as they rampant shouting all muddled and overpowered each other, taking up the whole stairwell.

Now on the third-floor hallway, Tak looked over his shoulder in terror as guards filled every single section of the hall, their bodies squishing between the walls and the ceiling in a pile of dark blue colored suits and sunglasses. Tak screamed in terror as sweat poured off his body, his head quickly swiveling back around as he put all he could into running.

“What’s the plan now!?” Tak shouted, hoping Camila had something in mind.

 

[thebigfella]

Shishido Takakazu

CS Link

SCENE:

Returning Back Something You Don’t Own Is Basically Childbirth

LOCATION:

Blast Off DVDs, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Takakazu, Dante (@Haze-), Minato ( Elenion Aura )

Returning Back Something You Don’t Own Is Basically Childbirth

The night's call was palpable between both men as Dante and Tak looked at each other with tired looks. The allure of black market weapons did not even elicit the slightest interest compared to the grabby hands and carnivorous eyes of the Minatos. Tak was unphased about the sudden multiplications or whatever pie he was sticking his fingers in. He just was happy he didn’t have to pay a late fee.

Unfortunately, the embrace of a warm bed and comfy covers would have to wait. The cackle-fitting hyena grabbed his attention just as Dante, a “What now?” grumble leaving his lips as he strode up to the window a few steps behind Dante, leaning forward to peer out.

Tak didn’t particularly care for what was going on. He just gave Dante a deadpan look as he pointed out the window, “What’s up with her? Is she in heat or something?” He commented on her constant yapping and showing off, leaning himself against the counter as he yawned, his eyes closing as he covered his mouth.

“Just call her back already, we’re done--”

His words suddenly fell into his throat as his eyes opened once more. From his uninterest, it transformed into a face glued to the cold, sticky glass, eyes as big as saucers. He braced his fingers against the panes like some kind of tropical gecko, his jaw dropping, its hinges jostling at the seams.

“DRIVER!?” His shock came in tandem with Dante’s disbelief.

Like a child would stare at a toy in the window, Tak was totally dragged into Cerberus's transformation. At some point, he had gotten so into it that he had climbed up on the wall to bring his whole upper body, clenching onto the outer sealing of the window as he watched the whole thing transpire.

“C-Cool…”

First, it left his breath barely as if it were a whisper.

“SO DAMN COOOOOOOOOL!”

And then it came as a complete blown elation. Childhood envy exploded from his chest as he slammed his forehead against the glass, causing it to rattle as he breathed against it, “What the fuck!? How come she gets to do that, damnit! I wanna do that instead of being in this sausage fest!” Tak's jealousy ballooned into pitiful ramblings, bridging on a tantrum. He was entirely drawn in, not paying attention to anything around him.

---

The clerk stood there despite it all. She provided no reaction. In fact, she hadn’t stopped walking for a second. Through the whole transformation, she had only grown closer and closer; the distance made had already been erased.

Now Cerberus was the only thing between her and the store. She was a nuisance.

She would not falter; she would not stop for anything. Whether she did not register the impending attack or did not care was uncertain, but one fact was sure: She was walking right into it, point blank.

 

[Infab]

Robin Krantz

CS Link

SCENE:

Blood Pact

LOCATION:

Palvarotti Villa, West District

PARTICIPANTS:

Robin, Ryutaro

Blood Pact

“...Interesting.” softly muttered Robin, a faint trace of a smirk appearing in the corner of her mouth. Her red eyes swiveled back around, coming to rest on Palvarotti's horrified face. "Now, where were we, Mr. Palvarotti?" she then said, as the faint curve in the corner of her mouth vanished.

Suddenly, she lifted her left hand, and curled her thumb and pinkie inward. Almost to the point where they were touching. Palvarotti's right leg and left arm moved as well, but in a more sickening jerking motion. Bones snapped, as limbs bent at angles they shouldn't have. Palvarotti cried out in pain, his eyes moving back to the man sitting in his reading chair. However, their guest simply looked on. Observing every detail.

"Mr. Palvarotti, what is it about young women that excites you, hmm? Is it the sense of power you seem to think you have over them, just for those ten or so minutes in the evenings?" she said, squatting down before him as he sat contorted in a mangled position on the floor. "Perhaps like what you had over Akina Okazaki? She was 19. Was, being the appropriate word, since she's been dead for about a week now."

Palvarotti's eyes widened, and Robin took notice. She then smiled. "Yes. Your last little visit to her over in the Kuwahara Brothel proved to be her final night amongst the living. She died from the drug cocktail you forced down her throat just fifteen minutes after you left."

She then curled her index finger inward, forcing his right arm to contort and crackle violently. Another scream of pain, as the arm quite literally folded behind his back. Her smile faded. "Do you know what they did with her body? They paid someone to come and get it. Make it look like an act of gang violence. The police found it in a ditch up in the North District. Quite a sad way to leave the world."

She then moved her ring finger inward, and his other leg folded up just as the others had. Palvarotti, at this point, looked as though he was about to pass out from the pain. He was practically contorted into a ball on the floor now, his joints bent and twisted in all the wrong ways. Robin tilted her head slightly, staring down at the man's face. Her gaze seemed empty.

"...Maybe with your death, I can prevent another death like hers... Though, as long as people like you are around, that's too optimistic of a sentiment. Regardless, save a spot for me in Hell, will you?"

Her middle finger snapped down, and Palvarotti's neck snapped violently. Dead on the spot.

Robin simply remained motionless for a few moments, staring down at Palvarotti's corpse, before straightening up and standing. She then turned about, quietly walking over to the edge of Palvarotti's bed, and sat down. Then, she spoke again.

"...And who might I have the pleasure of speaking with?" she said, her red eyes traveling back over to the man in the reading chair as she turned her head.

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