|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 5:12 pm
This is a private RP between Black Jack (Dahlia Bekket) and Jack (Graeme Withers).
The title is what happens when I'm braindead, okay? Okay.
Where :: Academy Courtyard
What's happening :: Following her his trip to the city to obtain some proper clothes, Black Jack begins searching the grounds for some answers to the earlier events... only to discover he's not the only Jack in this game.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 5:19 pm
Black Jack let out another long breath from his nose, jaw clenched as he fiddled with the new fingerless gloves he'd "procured" from a shop in Crantel. Each step of the combat boots sent the chains on his sleeveless button-up shirt and belt into a flurry of jingles. The swish of the heavy material from his baggy shorts didn't help subtract from the cacophony each movement seemed to make in this ensemble. Least the colors felt right: black, gray, blue, and white only in the shirt. Picky shopping often brought the best rewards, in his experience. Of course, he could just be a wee bit biased. It'd been interesting to search around for new clothes while also trying to determine if he might wear them as a girl. Would they even look good on her? Hm.
Having decided to not wear the uniform Dahlia usually wore as Black Jack, there was a particular sense of comfort in having put the lace mask on. He'd even taken the time to reapply the spade mark on his cheek, just for a little more familiarity. Least this way he wouldn't feel weird just calling himself Black Jack, least until he got back to his normal female self. Asking someone to refer to him as Rhea could potentially cause some confusion, he figured. Well. Depending on how many other people had been affected by this... switch. Of course, even just calling himself by Black Jack could probably cause problems later on, couldn't it?
He was going to give himself a headache trying to follow this train of thought. Instead, he focused on a new gripe he had, praying he wouldn't have to figure out a whole new male persona. Dahlia had stuck to the fake name of Rhea for a reason! Dollie didn't want any more names to have to keep straight, damnit.
After parting ways with Violet, Black Jack had decided to stick to the outside of the facilities, trying to search for any signs of the explosion he'd heard that morning. No smoke that he could see, or signs of damages anywhere... a hand dipped into a pocket on his shorts, curling his hand carefully around his deck. He was... uneasy. Even as the sun shined down warm as ever, and his trek brought him into the courtyard full of sights growing more familiar, he walked with shoulders slightly hunched. His eyes scarcely stopped shifting around, keeping an eye out for an adult. How was this even possible? Was he going to be stuck like this? Ugh... sooner he found one of the staff here, the better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:37 pm
Jack, in her usual white, red and gold attire, walked through the courtyard with her hands on her head, destitute.
Despite the change in gender, Jack refused to hold herself in any other way but like a boy, and refused to be called otherwise. She wasn't used to the lengthened bangs obscuring her forehead, and like a nervous twitch, she'd brush them away and past her ears while he tried to think. She'd woken up this way from a nap, mostly by Clubs, who had jolted from Jack from her rest at the sound of a faint tremble from far away.
Other than that brief report, none of the fairies were eager to take place today, and try as she might, Graeme still could not beckon them to her call. Still, she wore her usual Jack uniform, which was unfortunately altered by whatever event as well. Still, she was fortunately confident enough to walk outside, especially since she was still relatively new to the area, and hoped her sneaking skills were enough to avoid any acquaintances she'd acquired the past quarter until this unfortunate problem came to an end.
There was more breathing space outside, for sure, and Jack tired her hardest to look for anywhere to think by her lonesome, but to no use, which allowed her to mourn and worry over small things, things she didn't necessarily find important when she stampeded out of the dormitory. Jack traced her hand over the box of cards slipped under the side of her sash in contemplation, and figured that there might have been others who were effected by this, surely, and that maybe, hopefully, eventually, anywhere, someone must have had a cure to this infliction.
"But who--"
As soon as Jack let slip a simple whisper, staring rather intensely at the ground, she brushed shoulders with another hurried soul. The impact was enough to make her lose grip of her already fragile and ancient deck of cards. As soon as the box landed on the floor, its cards were sent loose and scattered amidst the floor in a haphazard puddle.
Before Jack could notice, though, she staggered backwards and toppled to the floor into a clumsy sit.
"Cor! Hey, would it hurt to mind where you're going?!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 10:05 pm
In retrospect, he supposed he wasn't as keen and observant of his environment as he often thought himself to be. Herself. Himself? Ugh.
Black Jack had been distracted by less than savory thoughts--what if he had to use the bathroom? Oh god. Please let this be cured before then... Which one would he even use..?--when the sound of incoming footsteps reached him. Too slow to look over and see if it was someone who could answer his questions, and slower still to turn his body... well. The hit happened, a curse was flung, and the ancient deck of cards wasn't the only to hit the floor. The stranger had smacked into the arm whose hand clutched his own deck, and the all together movement had quite a few of them flying out haphazardly.
Why did he have to literally run into someone? It was embarrassing enough to be walking around in this altered body. A tinge of heat crept into his face as he focused on the ground. "Oh of all the..." His grumble was cut short by a girl's voice, eyes peering out from below a wrinkled brow at the offender. He should mind where he's going? That was rich. Speaking of... his gaze drifted curiously over the bright colors the blonde wore, for a moment impressed by how... flashy the outfit seemed. In a good way. Black Jack probably would have complemented the girl in another situation. Even asked where she got the pieces. But in this one...
Remaining silent a moment longer--what was a 'cor'?--he let his mind drift towards the cards on the floor. Sure enough, his rose through the air to land safely in his awaiting palm. "If you'd been any more observant than me, then this wouldn't have happened," he pointed out blankly as the cards settled into place. His other hand brushed some dirt from a few of them as they came. "Don't blame me for your mistakes."
Because yes. It was blondie's fault. Clearly.
Sure his own cards were unharmed by the fall, he glanced down towards the far older set with a raised brow. A fellow card user? Or just someone looking to play a game? He wasn't sure if he'd be fond of the former, though his only experience with those with powers similar to his was his family. Judging by the suits on the uniform... In an act of attempted good-will, his mind again stretched out in the intent to levitate the girl's cards to her.
Well. That'd been the intent....
Only to find it wasn't working. Blinking. He lifted his free hand to try again. Not even a quiver.
His brow furrowed, lifting his deck again to let them float in the air around him. Well they were affected... why weren't those cards? The blast... the blast hadn't altered his powers, had they? How? Slightly panicked, his thoughts flew into vocalized words, "Why can't I lift them?" For someone who's whole life was happily spent levitating various playing cards to and fro, this was more than a little distressing. His eyes jumped between the girl and the cards, in a silent hope the answer would spring forward. Were his powers broken?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 3:07 am
"Oh, so you're blaming this on me? If anything, you've as much to do with this as I do, if not more, 'm sitting on my arse because you weigh--"
Flustered, Jack thought it best to stop this train of conversation. She was already of particularly small stature after this unsavory gender switch, and Grainne supposed she was even less disposed to fueling conflict at this point in time, especially with presumably newly-turned males bigger than she was, no matter the difference. It was a frustrating situation nevertheless, and Jack pouted instead and looked down at the disheveled mess that were her cards.
Of course, it didn't take too long for her to realize that there were in fact two decks scattered in front of her, which caused her to widen her eyes. There weren't many people at Sidekick Academy that she'd seen so far that carried too much extra paraphernalia, and the fact that the deck of cards seemed to match the rather (dark? Eerie? Unimaginably funeral-like?) distinct exterior of the stranger that would run into her made Jack think twice about this happenstance bumping-into.
Instead of apologizing immediately after her spiel as she'd intended, Jack watched tentatively as Black Jack lifted up her cards without so much as kind of staring at them and waving his hand about. Jack was one to make many assumptions, but there was already a list of potential powers rattling off in her head, though she did try to study the boy before leaning forward to skeptically start picking up her own deck of cards.
When she went to pick her cards up, though, Jack noticed the stranger moving his hands again at the corner of her eye. Brows furrowed, she stared at her card (Jack frowned at his misfortune, as it was the 2 of Clubs) and waited in anticipation for something to happen.
Nothing.
Blinking, Jack leaned forward and tried to stare at the card closer, to see if he'd missed something. Was he pulling the card down without noticing? Just to make sure, Jack dropped the card on the floor, squatting forward to see if it'd lift up and into the air.
Clack.
Innately disappointed, Jack scratched the back of her hair and straightened back up into a proper sit. Coughing into her knuckles, she narrowed her previously widened eyes and resumed frowning (and staring) at the stranger, waiting for him to say anything before she did.
"Why can't I lift them?"
It didn't take much inspection to realize that the boy seemed surprised, at least, in a quiet, broken kind of way. Jack shrugged nonchalantly and crossed her legs, tapping her chin with one hand whilst observing her still sprawled out deck of cards.
"You can... levitate. Levitate cards, judging by how ornate yours are...? Admittedly, 's something I haven't encountered yet."
Grainne paused, partly for effect, another for contemplation. There were two ways she saw this situation panning out, mostly involving her own reply to this situation. She felt badly enough in unintentionally making the boy look like a fool, though, and supposed she'd garner more information by dropping the Devil's advocate role as quickly as she could.
"If it helps any, my cards aren't exactly your typical willy-nilly faux-pas magician's hat trick kind. And it's not just because they aren't printed in Cran, which is obvious enough," Jack paused, and smiled, "What's your alias? I've learned not to ask people for their real names around here, unless I want a good scolding or two."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:46 pm
Dark lips pressed into a tight line, eye twitching under the lace mask. Did... did she really just bring his weight into this..? The urge to snap back was unbearable, though she managed to squash it down into a seething voice as she retorted, "If you'd seen me, you could have moved to avoid me. Just as I would have had I noticed you prior to this." In the pale boy's mind, the logic was sound. He'd been unable to register what was going on around him and avoid the collision. The continued comment of, "Therefore, you not picking up the slack I couldn't makes this your fault," was at least kept to his head alone. If only in hopes of not dealing with further confrontation. Probably failing due to what did slip out, but it was an attempt nonetheless.
The heat that stained his face from the initial impact became all the brighter when the girl in red and gold had actually dropped her card back to the ground, and all Black Jack could do was flounder and stare in creeping horror that his powers weren't working like normal why was this happening could this day get any worse. An immense part of Dahlia wanted nothing more than to draw himself up into her mental shell, hide himself away, and try to get out of the situation as fast as humanly possible. He'd already voiced his dilemma aloud, a big no-no in his personal book, and was undoubtedly only continuing to look like a complete and utter fool. Though only in front of one person, this was still an uncomfortable problem for Black Jack. Second to the possible problem with his powers, albeit.
When the other spoke, there was an internal debate on if he should just excuse himself and run, help her pick up her cards and run, or actually bother responding to her. At this point, he wasn't sure if he could save face with any of the options. He managed a nod of confirmation at least, as it would be rather impossible to hide this part of his power at this point. Not that he particularly minded others seeing it, he was discovering. Made his life a little easier to not have to be watchful of where he relaxed and played with the cards as usual. But talking about the rest of it..? Well. He glanced to the side to hear the blonde hadn't encountered powers like his yet, only thinking that clearly she needed to go to Ronth. Though. In that moment, Black Jack wasn't sure if he was bitter about that, or actually a little prideful of the family trait.
He didn't speak for a time, not even sure how to respond beyond the simple fact that he could levitate cards. Though, through this, he supposed he gained more to actually respond to. A perplexed look was cast down at the cards on the ground. Inwardly, he was stewing at the willy-nilly comment. It was official. This girl had to go to Ronth. Even if Dahlia was no fan of anyone connecting her to her family, at least then she could see what real magicians could do. She ignored the potential debate of if using card-based powers still classed what her family did as "magic" or not. "I can levitate any card," was his correction to the other's earlier statement, a hair more indignant than intended due to his inward annoyance. Something he hoped would come off as more... confusion, as his expression continued to shift into one of thought. Of course, what he'd said was a stretch--if not potentially a lie. He'd only ever tried his power on playing cards, never mind actually transforming them. But his eyes narrowed to the other's deck, one arm crossing over his middle while the other hand cupped his chin. "Never ran across a deck I couldn't move. I'll admit, they've got me in a bit of a bind here." She'd said they weren't typical. How so? He refused to believe being printed in Cran was any different than cards printed in Ronth--surely she'd run across some before along the coast--but that was apparently not the only thing different about them. Focusing on the cards once more, trying to reach out with his mind as he would with any other card, there was no big surprise at this point to see they weren't moving.
What did make his body stiffen a bit, shoulders rolling slightly, was that he couldn't even read them. Or rather, he couldn't tell which card was which whose face was not staring back up at him. That had been a childhood game.
Taking a small breath to keep down his rising unease, his eyes moved carefully to the now smiling girl. People got scolded for sharing their real names here? This was... something of sudden interest to him, appreciating this aspect of the academy instantly. He'd already decided to not share his name as a boy, but he didn't have to as a girl, either? Ha! Fine by him. Expression brightening a little to this new found info, he gave a nod of greeting as he said, "I go by Black Jack. Thank you for that information." His eyes were already starting to shift back down to the confusing deck before he paused himself, looking back to the other with a small, almost sheepish, smile. "Let me guess... Royal Flush?" It was intended as a joke, but for all he knew... "Your outfit is certainly flashy enough for such a name," he tried by way of explanation. It occurred to him only after he'd spoken how that could have actually come off in a bad way.
Biting his tongue a little, he knelt down and gestured to the cards. "Since I can't seem to lift them for you by my powers, would you mind I pick them up by hand?" Lord knows Dahlia himself would sooner injure someone than let them touch his deck without permission. While he was trying to be nice and be helpful, a little part of him wondered if actually physically touching them could tell him something about this mystery. It was a long shot, but hey, worth a try if able.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:14 am
Grainne shrugged and managed to laugh a bit. "You didn't know the name bit too, then, either? Maybe it's just a Rainbow thing. I mean, even the professors call us by our actual names here, don't day?"
Her smile slowly faded away into annoyance at the mention of Royal Flush. She (then he) knew of the term through Professor Cooper, which was a spotty memory in and of itself, but what was worse was that Graeme absolutely detested Poker. Despite getting down the "poker face," Graeme was terrible at it, and could never really grasp the tactics behind choosing out and in whatever cards. That, and he lost a great deal of money.
The fact that her face fell at those implications instead of the obvious was tell enough she was missing a good part of the joke, though, but she shielded her pride by resisting the urge to ask Black Jack of the humor in it. "Thanks," she started, somewhat bitterly, "But I'm by no means tied to Royalty. Funny that you mention your alias is Black Jack, actually, because mine is Jack. Simply Jack, not Red Jack, or Gold Jack, or anything to do with my ridiculous appearance, because I'm well aware of it, thank you--"
She stopped herself then and sighed in, stared at the ground, and looked up at Black Jack again with a calmed smile. Grainne had already become impatient with the day, and making an ally with (vaguely) similar (no, not in the least, but) card-based powers was a miracle-given blessing, and it was bad taste for her to ruin it. When Black Jack asked about the cards again, though, Grainne scratched the back of her head and really had to think.
No one else had really touched her cards and, Grainne realized bitterly, this was the first time she'd ever dropped them. They didn't really have any use outside of the Jacks, either, but if Black Jack had pocketed any one of them, Grainne would have effectively lost a part of her powers and spirit.
She was not the trusting type at Sidekick Academy. It was a bad idea. No.
"Why not," Grainne blustered. By herself. She went against good self-advice on a tetchy situation so instincitively that she stuttered afterwards, but a part of her was too innately prideful to correct herself. Not in front of a boy-maybe-girl with (not in the least) similar powers and nearly identical name, at least.
"Just be careful," she added, slowly, "They're, ah, kind of thin and fragile. And they bend easy, and I'm going to count them afterwards," Grainne said this more as self-assurance than a warning, but was pleasantly surprised to realize it worked as both.
"I can help you out too, if you want, yeah?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:39 pm
"Far as I've heard they do." Not that he could talk much. But he was at least somewhat sure "Miss Mathews" had been said a few times. Or had that been just before taking on the name Black Jack? Suddenly, he wasn't so sure.
Taking note of something the girl mentioned though... His head cocked to the side a little, brow lifting. "I'm... going to go out on a limb here, and assume this 'Rainbow' is... someone else here?" Well that wasn't a very intimidating name. Though he supposed one could joke about it being inspiring.... yeah, there was a reason comedy wasn't his thing.
--So he'll be just swearing jokes off forever now. Clearly he couldn't do it right. Black Jack felt a sting of color in his cheeks. Hearing the girl went by the name Jack was very interesting, and might have brought a smile to his face had he not been slightly recoiling from his mistake. "Ridiculous..? No, no, you've... ah. What I meant was..." He was trying to be tactful about it. Failing. But trying. His hands were held out in defense, brow wrinkled a little as he tried to figure out how to say this properly. After opening his mouth, clicking it close, glancing off with a purse of his lips, and finally a sigh, his hands dropped a little. Just be blunt then. "I was just... I actually like your outfit. The quality looks fantastic, and I can only begin to imagine how much work must have gone into it. Mine--well, my usual one--could likely use some improvements in that regard." His word waterfall ceased for a moment, lifting one hand to press it into his forehead briefly. "...Royal Flush was supposed to be a play, a joke, on how fancy and nice you look, not... oh forget it."
This was a nice little example to why he was... not the most social of people. Even if Jack--that was sort of weird to associate to someone else--had a smile on her face again, for Black Jack the urge to just run was high before he said something else to offend or... something.
He took a step back, looking back over his shoulder. Maybe he should just leave. Go try to find Vi again. Try to figure out what the heck happened to them. Or just go sit in his room. That sounded wonderful. But then the girl accepted his offer. And Black Jack was in a dilemma. Ditch and hope he never ran into her again or... put on a good face, fall into a persona, and just finish up here in the best graces possible... and the cards were still an annoying mystery...
Crouching down, he flicked a small smile. "No offense, but I have no interest in taking cards my powers don't affect." Still, he was obvious with his movements, just to prove he wasn't going to steal anything. Carefully he began to pick them up, lifting the edges first with the tip of his nails before sliding the fingers under. Trying not to bend the cards, or mark up the edges. The chance to actually touch the cards was greatly appreciated. The first one he picked up, for a moment he simply stared at. It felt like a normal card in his hand, but... he couldn't... push at it. Pull it. See the face on the other side. It was... tempting, to try the other aspect of his power on them. Transform them. Just one. But if it did work... well. He wasn't too thrilled at prospect of explaining what he was doing. "...this is just too weird." Shaking his head, and giving a small shrug to himself, he set back to his task.
"Help me how?" Even though his eyes were staying on the cards and focusing on not damaging them somehow, the offer was... out of the blue. Curiosity won out here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
