THE "FIGHT" IS OPEN FROM NOW - JUNE 18TH @ 11:59 PM PST
As you do your routine patrol outside of the main Deus gates, you sense something off. Or, your weapon does. For a moment it feels like something is following you.
You turn around. Nothing.
And then, the ground beneath you splits open, and something spills out from within it. A thick black mass, fluid in shape. Slowly, it gains form, and all you can hear is the whirr and click click click of it move. It is massive, blotting out even the sky at your perspective.
There's something wrong about it, something very broken, and you can't tear your eyes away from it as each clock-shaped shadow forms a door. You're drawn into one of the many doors, you can't pull away from it.
You enter a memory, you know this memory. It is about your PAST as a Hunter. It's a brief memory, of how you were recruited, as a Hunter. How you used to see shadows, used to be nothing in the rest of the world, the human world, as they call it, until they offered you to become something else.
Before that memory can complete you are whisked away. It is your PRESENT. A fond memory of something that happened recently. It feels like it just happened a couple days ago.
The last, as you are again pulled away, is the most confusing. You're back facing this massively abnormal shadow, which has only a single clock, a door, in front of it now. Each facet of the clock has a series of letters and numbers. It's looking for something. What is it?
BOSS ENCOUNTER
VERSUS ??? BOSS
gaia_crown[ UPON COMPLETION OF BOSS WITH 250 WRITTEN WORD POST(S)] +1 raffle ticket, +2 ADDITIONAL Arcana points, +10 currency, +1 unique boss card (see below for info). Raffle tickets and boss card can only be obtained one PER user, rest is unlimited for characters. (You can turn in this part of the prize ASAP without waiting for GM confirmation, when you've written the word count. Additional prizes below require GM confirmation.)
gaia_crown[ UNIQUE BOSS CARDS: ] Only five bosses like the above drop a unique boss card that is needed to turn in here. You may only claim one PER user.
gaia_crown[ RPING THE MEMORIES ]: Use your 250 words (or more!) to rp the PAST and PRESENT prompts in that RP. Once you've written that, you can claim the prize listed above. Now, it's time to solve the final riddle.
Yes, this is a PUZZLE BOSS.
gaia_crown[ HOW TO PUZZLE BOSS :
1) The puzzle is a series of 5 images. Take a look at the POST BELOW for your first hint!
2) Want to guess an answer? Input it into the IMAGE'S URL LIKE SO:
The answer should always be entered in this format:
Enter it into the URL and if you get an image you guessed correctly! If you got a missing image, try guessing again! Good luck!
3) After FIVE IMAGES/URL links you'll get to the FINAL ANSWER IMAGE. Enter the FINAL ANSWERexclaimHEREexclaim using the clues on the final image.
Again, you'll have UNTIL THE BOSS DEADLINE TO GUESS.
gaia_crown[ PUZZLE BOSS EXCLUSIVE PRIZES :] (PLEASE DO NOT CLAIM UNTIL QUOTED/ NOTIFIED AT THE END OF THE FIGHT)
PUZZLE PRIZES
gaia_starFIRST CORRECT GUESS: +Any character of your choice to level 100 + Upgrade any character you own to a GUARANTEED GROWTH SLOT + all of the below (except *ALL GUESSES)
gaia_starSECOND CORRECT GUESS +MAX in any arcana of choice (to level 4) + all the below (except *ALL GUESSES)
gaia_starTHIRD CORRECT GUESS + Choice of ANY Apex minipet for an eligible character + all the below (except *ALL GUESSES)
gaia_starALL CORRECT GUESSES: +100 currency, + 10 arcana, + 2 raffle tickets, +choice of any common,uncommon, or rare APEX MINIPET for an eligible character
gaia_starALL GUESSES* : +50 currency, + 5 arcana, + 1 raffle ticket, +choice of any common,uncommon APEX MINIPET for an eligible character
*spamming does not count as a guess for example typing "sdlkfajdglkjdf" or "owo what's this"
gaia_crown[ HAVE EXTRA CURRENCY? :] You can buy ONE HINT per person by spending 10 currency on a guess. Link your journal and the image link you are stuck on in a PM to Zoobey and remove the currency once you've guessed. You can only use week 2 character currency.
It's quiet. And that is exactly how Riley liked it. There was no one outside, no one to bother her, no one to try and have a conversation or connect with her in any way. She was totally, utterly, alone.
Except, she was never really alone, was she? She realized, much too late, that her greatest mistaken in life was becoming a Hunter and following in her family tradition, just like her father, her brother, and likely followed by all of her younger siblings. It was not a mistake because of the danger, or because of the losses that the job placed upon their shoulders. The only mistake she regretted when taking this job was discovered way too late, when she'd been bonded with her weapon and realized she would never have a mind fully at peace, ever again.
It did not help that her weapon was a raving, chauvinistic pervert.
I'll take that as a compliment. Andeon purred, ruining her quiet moment as he ruined all of her moments. She rolled her eyes, and continued her perimeter check in silence.
When the ground split beneath her, Andeon was summoned into her hands on sheer instinct. She followed the movement of the black mass as it rose up, blotting out the sky. And there, all of the doors appeared from the shadows of clocks ticking above, forcing her into one of them. She couldn't feel Andeon anymore.
What she could feel, was time taking her backwards. She felt like she was falling, but there was no fear behind it. Just the inevitability of going where time wanted you to go. She had no choice in the matter. It was almost a relief.
And then she saw home.
She saw the little brick house with all the metal fences that had left her scraped and bruised every time she'd run home to try and get away from a bully who'd heard her speak of the shadows at school, and never quite made it away from them in time.
She could hear her brother, explaining to her everything she needed to know. Promising her she wasn't crazy for seeing the shadows. But her brother was dead. Had been dead. For almost ten years.
She remembered feeling cold, in his arms.
Time took her where it wanted her, again. This time, it was just a week ago. She was in the lab, and the golem she'd been working on for months had finally, finally opened its eyes for her. She stared up at the perfect, vacant blue eyes, and finally allowed herself to smile.
This one would be better, she told herself, even as she began working on plans to improve it once more.
Time returned her to the shadow that had stolen her from Deus in the first place, and planted her right in front of what looked like a puzzle. Her eyes widened, before they narrowed in determination.
So, math, was it? Well, if they were hoping to stump her, they had come to the wrong neighborhood. Except her writer is an idiot who will never figure it out so sorry Riley you're gonna be disappoint!!!
Character's name: Riley Character's clan: Life Hunter, Specialization: Golem Research Character's journal link: Here Character's Arcana: Judgement (Wild Arcana Bonus, +2 Arcana to others bonus) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER: She's 6 foot even, thin, and a little on the nerdy side. Glasses, dark skin, thick purple-black dreds held up in a ponytail, and very introverted. She's always in the Life Labs, and has trouble talking to others. About anything. Ever.
Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2017 11:27 pm
Probinsyano. Promdi. Someone from the province. That was what Pedro was when he first arrived in Manila to study. He'd been lucky he had relatives who'd managed to make a living in the big city. Even if his parents scrimped and saved for years, there was just no way he would have been able to actually study in a big city school. But blood was thicker than water and his relatives thought to help him and his family out.
He had a place to stay while he maintained his scholarship, maybe make the right friends to help him work his way up the social ladder come college. It had been a nice dream while it lasted. Because while Manila had so many things he was missing in the province, Manila also had an abundance of shadows.
Pedro had never had any problems with them back home. Albularyos by the dozens would keep them at bay but Manilenyos were far too cosmopolitan to believe in such backward superstitions. Pedro wished he stuck to his experiences. Maybe then he wouldn't have had to deal with the shadows on his own.
Maybe then, when the Hunters offered him a means of surviving the increasing frequency of shadow attacks, he might have been able to say no. //////////////////
Pedro doesn't realize how exactly it had happened but it was suddenly a week ago. He remembers how it wasn't necessary, checking up on some of the hunters on the base. You had to be able to handle the terrors that the missions threw at you. Otherwise you died. Pedro liked to make sure his friends were still there, or physically there anyway.
Pedro Trogo Mist Hunter; Full Hunter Wild Arcana; Formerly The Chariot Journal - 6"1 tall - Friendly - Big Brother-type - Carries around a backpack of snacks and bottled water
He was a mess of emotions, depression sinking into his very soul as he lived day by day, the boy hardly even taking care of himself with eating or drinking water due to his depression.
He'd seen the shadows, seen how they took away his parents, his brother...
Leaving him entirely alone, to face the world on his own.
It was a harsh world, and very unforgiving, with cruel people acting out in a cruel fashion, with no break in between.
The only solace Zere had was being recruited by the Hunters, and given, basically, a second chance.
It was a new life, and one he'd desperately needed...
And much happier memories were made there.
He'd gotten a reliable weapon, and a partner for life. He'd made new friends, and he got to sleep whenever he wanted (mostly). And rather recently, he'd gotten to ride with another Hunter in the passenger's seat, getting to go sightseeing while they drove.
Wait, wasn't that a few days ago...?
He blinked, and was face to face with the boss, clocks surrounding them. The whip in his hands was pulled taut, creaking under his grip.
"Bring it on," He murmured, eyes glinting dangerously.
He may have been depressed over everything else, but when it came to fighting against FEAR or anything relating to it, Zere held nothing back. It was almost like a switch turned off inside of him -- when in battle, there was no room or time for depression to take hold.
CHARACTER: Zere DIVISION: Mist META JOURNAL ARCANA: Reflection BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER: Etzer is tall and well dressed, with long black hair usually tied up in some sort of ponytail. He is unusually tired all the time, and often found chewing on a food item of some sort, as well as carrying around a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book with some kind of terrible title. Who reads this rubbish?
His main weapon is a rather sizeable black whip.
Quote:
Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:11 am
It was the usual patrol around the perimeter of Deus Ex. Paige was doing a solo run, keeping a keen eye out for anything out of the norm. Itw as important to keep Deus Ex safe, for you never knew if the horsemen or some giant monster was about to attack.
This time around the sun felt..uneasy. She thought she was by herself, but was it her imagination or was there someone nearby?
Whirl urged.
"s**t!" She spun around as the group broke apart beneath her feet. A mass of black goo flowed from the cracks, it's size growing in a matter of seconds. The sun jumped back, her weapon drawn as she craned her neck to look at the gargantuan monster before her, it's strange ticking noises echoing all around.
"You're asking for it!" Paige wasn't waiting, the unease both she and her weapon felt added haste to her steps. She jumped off the ground, brandishing the sword and ready to strike at it's body.
Instead she was drawn to it's shadow, forced through a strange clock door and unable to stop herself from entering, landing on the...shoreline?
"Huh? This is..." The ocean waves lapping on the sand were a soothing change to the loud whirring from before. A familiar sound of her homeland. It was a sunny afternoon, most tourists had gone from the beach, leaving her to sit there and muse. The shadows were creeping again, but she was uncaring, confident they would not hurt her. She wasn't some little kid anymore. She could fend them of now...hopefully.
She sat on the sand as someone approached her. She was weary of the stranger at first, but found him to be interesting. He could see the shadows too, and offered her a change to fight back. To protect others from the more menacing things in the dark. To become someone -
Paige was pulled away, thrown into another memory. It was only a few days ago she was in the training fields, a big grin on her face. Tanner was going to spar with her today. He wasn't as experienced as she was, but she always jumped at the chance to help him become better just like she did with everyone else.
Just watching him approach left her a little breathless, waving enthusiastically. He was a moon, so she hoped to help him on his defense. Help him to be the best he could be. Perhaps he would join her on a mission?
She could feel her heartbeat pick up, yet she hadn't even moved. Suns always liked to pair up with moons. They made great partners. She didn't know much about him, but she wanted to know more, spend more time with him. And maybe someday she could - , Then she was standing where she was, only one clock door left, the shadow more interesting in something else other then the sun.
Was it looking for something?
"What the <********> Just happened?!" Paige exclaimed.
OOC
Character's name: Paige Character's Division: Sun - Full Hunter Specialized: Trainer Character's journal link: Here Character's arcana The Chariot - Wild Arcana (+2 points) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Paige stands tall with her long brown hair, brown eyes, and ready to kick all the a** and hit all the things. She wields Whirlwind, a large claymore sword, who's slain many a enemy. She works at training other hunters, bringing out their strengths, helping them to be better.
Hey, what is that? Andrew glanced around confused. What the heck was his weapon going on this time. He was just minding his business doing the stupid patrol.
He didn't see anything. Andrew turned and glanced around. ugh. He hated sneak attacks. Unless he was doing the sneaking. He frowned trying to track it when he suddenly found it and wished he hadn't.
Suddenly he was drawn into one of the doors and forced to remember things he would rather forget.
It was the day they had found him, cold, wet and kicked out. He had been managing for weeks on the streets. Andrew never told them that he had in fact been homeless. No they had noticed his absolute reaction to the shadows that he couldn't fight. They offered to let him do something about them. To let him Fight back.
Andrew was tired of running. It would be a job, it would let him stand life seeing things that were in fact actually there. He wasn't crazy and that was a relief.
They made him fake his death. He didn't know why, no one would miss him anyways. But he played along. It was the start of his acting career. Something he learned more of later when he realized he was trapped in yet another no win situation. His street skills severed him well enough.
The present was no better. There was only the satisfaction of destroying the shadows. Killing the beasts that haunted his nightmares. He watched them burn. He had turned a creature of fear back on them. Destroyed them with their own power and in someways he suspected he had become one of the beasts himself. But he loved watching the monsters burn, even if sometimes things got just a little out of hand. Ok maybe he loved watching that base burn even though he was supposed to be protecting it. He wouldn't tell, and he had gotten rid of the threat.
The smile faded as he realized he was still staring at another threat. What did it want? How did he stop it?
Andrew -journal Sun division specialized hunter Arcana: death (Group d) wild arcana Andrew probably doesn't like you. If he's smiling something is either on fire or he recently pulled something off and you don't want to know. Otherwise he doesn't smile.
Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:43 am
Jude's method of playing guard was a quiet and serious one, that involved plodding along with his arms crossed over his chest and a bit of a frown on his face, mulling over whatever world news he'd been able to draw in or involved in quiet discussion with the forest that occupied part of his mind. Today, he and his dragon were having a quiet argument about global warming -- not whether or not it existed, or whether or not it could be fixed, and whether or not it would be fixed, and just how much humans were the problem.
Their heated debate was broken by a strange tilt of the world, a shift of reality that left him blinking disoriented in darkness, the voice turned to a quiet hum of focus in the back of his mind. Darkness crept over him, the whirring of clocks, and he was thrown into a memory before he had time to even draw his weapon, dragging in a slow and somewhat panicked breath that faded into the monotony of reality.
THE PAST
It was a s**t job, and one he hadn't even fully gotten through his own merits. Post graduation had been rough: the job market not much interested in unspecialized humanities majors, unfriendly to twenty-somethings with no job experience and negative charisma. More than one, Jude had thought about how much smarter it would have been to go with his first instinct, to tackle his hatred of higher level math and chase down that accounting degree. Then he could have had a position that paid well, even if it were boring, somewhere that appreciated him and what he could bring to the table.
Instead, he'd ended up at the IRS, filling in the position of a personal secretary for one of his father's good friends from college. The pay was good enough, the benefits were more than, the work was mind-numbingly boring, and his boss was more than a bit of an a**. Still, it was better than the unemployed friends he barely stayed in contact with from college, was better than the s**t he read about on Reddit.
He was tasked with paperwork. With making appointments and cancelling them. He had to make sure his boss's wedding anniversary was on his calendar so he could arrange for gifts to be sent. He was thoroughly in charge of lunch for everyone in the office.
He made coffee. A lot of coffee. Because no one else could be arsed to make more when the ******** pot was empty.
On his way to work, he stopped at Starbucks --not because the coffee was good, there was a local place just two blocks away that did a proper roast, but because the barista was incredibly hot. He'd linger at the counter, pale and skinny and looking young in a suit that didn't quite fit him right, watching a guy with dreadlocks and tattoos up and down every arm with distant, longing eyes, and completely lacking the guts to say anything at all. Sometimes he'd sit with his coffee, just to linger a little longer.
He was never late.
The day they came to talk to him, he was perched not in a desirable window seat but in one further in, where every passerby seemed to jostle his shoulder but he had a really good view of the ring that glistened in Hot Barista's left eyebrow. He daydreamed about the approach, about coolly asking him out, and had almost gathered the guts to say something when a strange woman settled down opposite him with an easy and familiar smile.
She'd asked him about the shadows, something Jude had gotten expert at ignoring, at turning off and forgetting about, and reluctantly she'd drawn his attention from more interesting matters. Once she had his attention, she set to work coaxing him away from here: not just the Starbucks, but from his studio apartment that his father helped supplement, from a boss who didn't appreciate him, from coworkers who thought he was an a*****e. She didn't pull punches with any of it, and hesitantly, he asked her what it would entail.
Inside of the world's most boring man there must have been at least some edge of adventure. Because, in the end, he'd agreed.
THE PRESENT
He thought it was probably inappropriate just how much he enjoyed Xiang's company. In a way, the crossbow strapped to his wrist was his slave -- something the pair of them had argued about on another evening, sprawled out near the practice fields to watch a beefy woman kick the s**t out of someone. That fact, and the fact that Xiang was Other in some way, made him uncomfortable, but not enough to give him up or to question the possibility of freedom. Not that it mattered; his monster was committed, and would have stayed even if he'd had another option.
It was just so easy to have something like a friend that couldn't go anywhere. One that couldn't forget Jude existed and leave him for someone more interesting, who didn't suddenly get a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, and drop old friends like a wet rag. To have someone who seemed genuinely interested in the things that interested Jude.
The conversation that he remembers now is one about golems. Jude wanted to see what Xiang had looked like, once upon a time -- or wanted to see some physical form of him. Xiang disagreed, but to be fair, they often disagreed. It was part of what made the conversation so fascinating, so engaging. They disagreed with each other, and Jude wasn't afraid to speak his own part, so long as it was only in his mind. They debated the pros and the cons and maybe, given a little bit longer, Jude could have talked him into it.
THE LAST
Suddenly breathless, Jude found himself staring up at the monster in front of him. A clock. A door, a code. His mind raced for a moment, while Xiang clamored in the back of his mind to make sure he was alright and then, once he was sure Jude wasn't injured or damaged in any way, to get him moving again.
Weapon came easily to hand, and it had only taken a few years for Jude to get used to that feeling. His first instinct was to fire off a few blasts of energy, which landed ineffectively against the massive clock before him. His second instinct was to run like hell, a tremor shaking through his belly and his knees going a bit to jelly, but that one he managed to suppress -- if only due to the quiet hissing words of comfort that lingered in the back of his mind.
The smartest reaction was to look at the clock, at the code on its surface, at the strange clues and messages embedded in its door, to finally draw in a breath and put his mind to use. To take in the spot where an answer was meant to go. Between the pair of them, he was sure, he and his weapon could figure out the proper solution. And it wouldn't be that difficult, would it? Such a monster could only want one thing.
His knees were still shaking but Jude squared his shoulders and lifted his chin with his jaw set and his eyes fierce. Numbers and letters and filling in the missing information were his areas of expertise. He could handle this.
OOC
Character's name: Jude Character's division: Mist Character's journal link:xxx Character's arcana Justice (group C) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER In his mid twenties, Jude looks serious and somber and, frequently, annoyed at the world for no reason. His hair is fair and tousled, his eyes a deep brown that's surprising in a pale, slightly-freckled face. He is quiet and unassuming and frequently just struggles to stay out of trouble.
It wasn't a bad thing, to be on patrol. A bit dull, and Ollie would certainly have preferred to be doing it with another person -- but all said and told, it was better than sitting around somewhere and trying to fill the silence with his own thoughts. Here, at least, he was moving: warm air filling his lungs. He could even, if he was careful, burst into a sprint now and then, to shake the restless energy out of his bones and warm up tight muscles.
It was after one such burst that the world tilted: black spilling from the earth and the clicking of gears in his mind. Ollie barely had time to blink, to register that something was wrong, and then he was standing in front of door, one hand raised just slightly as he was dragged into a memory.
THE PAST It was foster home number eleven, and while it wasn't great, at least it was better than ten. At ten he'd been one of three kids, the oldest, at the high end of what was still covered by foster care -- and more than a little tempted to lie himself a couple years older and find his way out in the real world, instead of trusting the system to take care of him properly until his eighteenth birthday. Had he been there until the fall faded into winter into spring, until Detroit was warm enough that the streets were a viable option, maybe he would have taken himself out and into the world.
Instead, home ten had been shut down and he'd watched with fierce eyes, arms folded over his chest, as Mrs. Francis had been taken away into custody. The three boys had been separated and he'd ended up as one of seven, most of them young, at the Thomas house.
So many kids meant that mostly he went overlooked. It meant that when he didn't do well in school, he could get away with forging a signature on paperwork, with cutting classes, could get in fights with some of the bigger boys at school and come home with bruises on his face that didn't get noticed. It meant that when he saw something dragging itself out of his closet at night, dark and shadow-like, he could sit and hyperventilate, clutching the nearest heavy object close to his chest to project the other kids, before it faded back into darkness.
It wasn't bad. But it wasn't great either. In this place there was nothing for him to learn, nowhere for him to grow. His peers did afterschool programs, did summer camp, took karate classes, did spring vacations with their parents. Ollie couldn't afford gear for sports, and worked odd jobs with Mr. Thomas on the weekend. Left to his own devices, mostly, he went for long runs.
It was on one such run, stopped at the park to sit on a swing and catch his breath, that the men came to offer him a better life, training toward a future. Even if it might be a short future.
THE PRESENT
This table was, maybe, his favorite place on the island. It wasn't exactly sunny and friendly the way one expected such places to be, not in the dorms that were their living quarters, but somehow Nena managed to make it bright all the same. He sat with his elbows on the counter and his legs dangling and, for just a few minutes, he allowed himself to feel young instead of old, grinning widely across at fresh cookies that still needed to cool before he stuffed one into his mouth.
She was a good mom, Ollie thought, though he had very little to compare the experience with. Vallie seemed to be growing up healthy, seemed happy and maybe (to Ollie's critical and ill-adjusted eye) a little bit chubby. He remembered toddlers at home number seven, or so, and they hadn't been like this. They'd been quiet and drawn and reserved.
So. She was a good mom. Once who chatted both of them up affectionately while she prepared tea, who Ollie could run to when he was tired or worn out and just needed a little bit of something happy to break through old issues and distant concerns. Who would be a friend, even if he couldn't find any true peers to get along with on the island.
He closed his eyes and breathed in a healthy dose of cookie-filled air, the smile still wild across his features.
THE LAST
He opened his eyes to a monster, the last lingering moments of the memory fading out, and for a moment he was too disoriented to connect the two moments. Then his expression sharpened, focused and he adjusted his stance, ready for battle. Numbers and letters on the front of the clock meant nothing to him, but he knew monsters well enough to be ready for a fight.
OOC
Character's name: Ollie Character's division: Sun Character's journal link:xxx Character's arcana The Star (but Ollie is a WILD CARD, pick any arcana!) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Ollie is pretty much as young as a hunter can possibly be: barely seventeen, brown-skinned and dark-eyed with messy black hair pulled into a tail down the nape of his neck. His expression is all bright smiles, cheerfully willing to take on any task and unafraid to approach any strangers.
beejoux
mention, hope it's okay!
Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:30 am
We're being followed.
How many?? Maddy answered his mental companion, as he paced in front of Deus grounds.
Only one, but ... it doesn't feel rig-
Just then, the creature materialized, bubbling like liquid night from the island, filling the sky like ink, followed by an odd click, click click. Maddy froze, and almost immediately a long dark whip extended in his hand, glowing with runes.
Sssssscaredy-cat, chuckled Nior in his head.
Hush you, he quipped, flexing his arm tentatively. Admittedly, having the weapon in his hands did make him feel just a tiny bit better. Just what was that creature?? It's FEAR must be enormous, given it's massive size. He had to find out.
Maddy took a step forward, and then another. It wasn't until the third step he realized he wasn't outside Deus anymore.
[Past]
Maddy stood inside a small loft. Minimalist to a point, beyond the contemporary designer furniture, there was scarcely anything to tell it was lived in. The open-faced glass windows looked out onto a cloudy grey sky, the light from outside illuminating deep shadows, and a young man, staring silently at a photo on the mantel.
Maddy already knew. Inside that young man was screaming at the faces smiling back at him: I did what you asked, so why did you have to abandon me?? Am I not good enough?? Maddy already knew, exactly ten minutes and 23 seconds from now, that same young man would gather what fine clothes remained in his closet, and exit the building leaving only a note to the landlord that he wouldn't be returning. All because any second now, a young woman in a white coat would mysteriously let herself into the loft, and remind him that he wasn't crazy, that his parents had loved him beyond measure, and if he ever wanted to make them proud, he could take up arms against the shadows that fed off every human's will.
[Present]
Still reeling from the brevity of the moment, Maddy felt the room shift. The plain walls of Deus rose around him once more. He was in his room, only a few days after he had arrived. Humming Mozart as he filed each designer outfit away into the tiny excuse for a closet he had been given. But it was closet nonetheless. His gaze dropped to the bed, plain and simple in design, and the small bracelet that lay there, glowing mischievously. It was strange having a voice inside his head. It was irritating that he couldn't even think without another entity chiming in. It was why he was humming, a distraction, a form of tolerance. But despite these changes, he felt optimistic about his decision. At least here, he could make a difference. Here he could discover what his value truly was.
The room blurred, and once again, Maddy stood before an inky black shadow looming into the sky.
Right, he gripped the cat-o-nine-tails tightly. Time to see what you're made of, Nior.
In his head, the bakeneko laughed.
OOC:
Name: Maddy Leonne Division: Death Journal:Here Arcana: The Tower Description:A dark-haired young man, slender, on the tall side, dressed in a crisp white shirt, tattered dark jeans, and hunter coat. Wields a Cat-o-Nine-Tails whip. Is a posh, grumpybutt that still has alot to learn.
"One, it looks like a fine day even after such a big hurricane." Clidua chatted with her partner while doing the boring routine patrol. She touched the hair pin affectionately and stretched, it was soon lunch time and she'd already been thinking about what to eat.
Even she had earned much to buy some clothes as emergent use, they were far from her expectations. "I miss my lovely dresses," sighed the petite Moon. "One?" If it was the usual practice, he'd answer her at once. "Something's wrong?" She halted her steps, turned around, eyes squinted at the surroundings.
Years of experiences had sharpened her sense, as she reached out for her hair pin and readied to summon One, the ground underneath cracked. Your Highness- Before One warned her, Clidua already moved away at the glimpse of the thick black mass escaped from the crack.
She widened her eyes as how enormous when the entity gained its shape, it was giving out some regular clicks like a clock. The petite woman knew she couldn't deal with it alone, as a good-quality huntress, she understood her limitations and weaknesses well. "Weird." Her partner expressed his concern but Clidua couldn't tell it verbally. Broken might be a fitting word to describe it.
Clidua found herself absorbed by the odd clock-shape shadows which later developed into doors. She felt herself closer and closer to one of them and -
{ PAST }
Clidua would say it's a great fortune to born as a member of the Serce's Family. The Serce was wealthy in nowadays's standard, they had a mansion of their own and many properties under their names. The family business was a big success and they enjoyed their luxurious lives to the fullest. Thus, Clidua grew up pretty much like a little princess. She would earn whatever she want if she fulfill her obligations, her parents imparted the concept her everything had a price into her mind via her daily life.
The petite Moon had a twin brother, their relationships were intimate. However, since the day she told him she could see shadows, he changed a bit. He became sensitive in protecting her and sometimes over-reacted. To normal people like her parents, they didn't understand his weird behaviours. To Clidua, it hurt to see her brother doing that all for her. She wondered if it was wrong to tell him the truth. Clidua didn't afraid of the shadows at all, they were nothing to her other than a nuisance. Poor Roman stressed out even he tried his best to look composed all the time.
Clidua told her twin brother he didn't need to worry about the shadows as she would protect him just like how he protected her. Yet, she warned him that normal people won't understand how they felt as they couldn't see the shadows. The two decided to keep thing low-key and enjoyed whatever they had until a stranger came to them after an accident that almost took their lives.
The petite Moon remembered that day, the day she was given a painful dilemma. The stranger told them about everything, from the existence of another world to Deus, an organization to fight against creatures that hurts humans. She snorted at his creativity but his mention of accidents made her re-considered what he had said. Roman suggested the stranger gave them a night to think about it - the vision in front of her blurred and she was pulled away.
{ PRESENT }
That was how they both joined Deus, their days as a trainee wasn't easy since they never fight before. Everything needed to be learned from the beginning but Clidua was an emulative person, she never give up on one thing. Eventually she earned her own place in the division, Roman came to celebrate her promotion recently, something she earned by her hard efforts. It always felt great when he patted her head affectionately with an appreciating smile.
One was there too, in a weapon golem and served her like a genuine professional butler. He looked absolutely gorgeous in a suit, just resembled his charm in weapon form. It was the happiest moment for Clidua. For the Moon huntress, it felt like she was re-living that memory or someone was peeking into her memories without asking.
{ LAST }
She wanted to stay there longer but was rudely pulled away. There she saw the creature again. Clidua knew she was back. Instead of the doors and clock-like shadows, it only got one clock and a door left. The petite Moon had a feeling that it was searching for something, but what? She looked at the abnormal clock with not only numbers but also letters and tried to figure out her next move.
Quote:
Character's name:Clidua Serce Faction: Moon (Intermediate Trainee) Arcana: Empress (Group A) Brief Description: A pretty lady with expensive taste over fashion, loves to wear heart shaped accessories. Her weapon is a big axe. [ IMAGE ] Bonus: Rank 3 - Upgrade your character's Rank (IC Y1 Student => intermediate trainee) {PROOF}
784 words
Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 5:20 pm
Anepou had been doing his circuit, Kamilah's staff in his hand. One could never be too careful, after all, or too prepared. He was moving as quietly as he could, trying to practice using cover, because why skip the chance to practice anything on such a daily, routine task, when Kami spoke. "Ane. Ane, something's wrong. Something's FOLLOWING us." Anepou turned, a disbelieving expression on his face, until he saw it, when his expression turned to horror. He knew he wasn't at all strong enough to take on something THIS HUGE, and was prepared to sound an alarm... But it was too late, it pulled him into one of the strange doors, though he cried out in horror.
Then Anepou looked around, startled, as he realized he wasn't on the Island anymore. And after a moment, surprise registered on his face, and maybe some fear. This... this was Egypt, this was Cairo, not far from his Grandmother's home. This is where his parents had sent him, when he had graduated High School a year early, so he could 'learn about his family, his history, and learn to live like a proper descendant of Ra.' After all, his family was convinced they were true descendants of the ancient Pharaohs, and they believed, with a great fervor, that someday Ra would reawaken and raise them up to the status they, supposedly, deserved. In secret, for millenium, their family had kept the Old Faith alive, belief in Ra, and Horus, Bast and Set, and even Anubis, whom they had named him for. They even believed his lifelong 'shadows' that he saw were signs he was blessed by Ra, seeing into the other world where Ra resided, and soon their time would come! So to his Gidda he was sent, to be 'trained properly' for when he came to rule.
They had no idea of the horrors they were sending him to. He'd never understood why they thought these shadows were a blessing, they were terror and fear! It had been bad enough in the city of San Francisco, but here, in Cairo, ancient Cairo with it's twisting streets and old places with deep, dark places, the shadows were stronger, and today had been the worst in a long time. Gidda had insisted on taking him into the hidden temple under the house, with just one candle to light the place. He'd felt like the Shadows were going to eat him alive, and despite her loud insistence that he act like the Pharaoh he was meant to be, he fled. Fled the temple, fled the house, fled the old parts of Cairo, and currently, he was 'hidden' in a well lit downtown McDonald's. It was vaguely familiar, and it was too well lit for the shadows. He was slowly eating the fries he'd bought, and controlling the urge to cry, to panic about the fact that he didn't know how clean the seat he was in was, and horrified to realize it was his 18th birthday.
That was when the Stranger had shown up. An unknown woman, who spoke to him about the shadows, who didn't treat him like he was insane, like his teachers had, or blessed, like his parents. She acknowledged the horrors in the shadows, and offered him an escape, and a way to defeat those horrors. And also a place where he could take showers twice a day, which to be honest might have been what sold him. And so, off he'd gone and...
Then But More Recent And now he was suddenly back in the almost present, he was in his room. Before the storm. Everything was in great shape, and he had his wonderful clothing around him. It had been a good day, this one. He'd been working for weeks on a sewing project, a gift for another Hunter, and it'd been fighting him, not wanting to come right. Today, though, he'd finally figured out what had been going wrong, and he'd fixed it. Now, this lovely shirt was nearly done, and he was feeling proud, proud of the work, proud of his success, and proud of himself for not giving up when it had gotten difficult. He only had a bit more to go. He settled down, taking the needle back in hand, to finish the final embroideries on the sleeve. He was going to get this done today, and his friend would love it. He knew it.
Now Anepou stared at the Clock Door now in front of him. It was a strange door, and he was having trouble figuring it out. He walked up to it, as close as he could get, and began to study the numbers, the letters, and tried putting it together.
He would do this. This Beast wasn't going to drag him back into fear. He would annihilate it, if he had to. And he would get back to the Island.
Anepou Division: Death Arcana: Hermit (Group C) Weapon: Kamilah - El Naddaha Physical Form of Weapon: Staff with an Ankh at the end. The curved part of the Ankh is actually a blade. Totem Form: Ankh shaped Earring General Appearance: - Under the coat - About 6' - Neat Freak/Germaphobe - Fashion Fan/Creator - Loves Animals
Patrol was the very worst part about being so low on the ranking ladder. Nighttime patrol was even worse than regular patrol because it meant that you were going to be out very late and thus were not going to get as much time in the laboratory as you would have otherwise liked to get. No time in the lab meant no time polishing your personal project which meant no impressing Yao. Impressing Yao was part of moving her way up that ladder of Hunterkind so that she never had to patrol ever again.
'You are ssstill whining. Pay attention. Have you not noticcced the ssshadow behind usss?' Footsteps paused, squelching slightly as the mud absorbed Kithryn's weight. "Huh?" There was almost no time to react before the ground shook and split to spill out oil as black as night. Or was it truly oil? It seemed more than viscous. It had a form. A...a feeling. A <******** hell." It pulled at her, pulled her into it, and she could see it. Her memory...
[ PAST - SIX MONTHS AGO ]
Graduation was a time of celebration for the entire class but none celebrated as fiercely, or as quietly, as Kithryn. She went to an elite private school just outside of Cardiff, privileged, proud, and brutally poor. For years now she'd been there on sufferance (as her peers called it) as a scholarship student (the school's term).
She had a brilliant mind, would have been valedictorian had she been a bit more well-rounded, and desperately wanted more than this quiet corner of the world could offer. There was a fierce craving inside of her to know, to see, to do, to be recognized, and lauded, and more than that...to belong.
Her parents were there at graduation, beaming and proud, talking to a young man who couldn't have been much older than 25. Impatiently she wanted them to stop because getting out of here and putting her back to this hellish place would be the first step to something new and greater but they had other plans.
'Kithryn, sweet, this is Dante. He's a recruiter for a company that saw your last submission to the journals and wanted to meet you.' She looked down at the card, eyebrow quirked, as it was offered to her.
Deus Ex Machina.
[ PRESENT ]
A quiet nod was the only sign that Yao Ming had been listening to her reasoning at all but it was enough to have her shoulders relaxing, a rare smile on her face. "I thought you might agree. You're one of the rare few who understand what the hell I'm even saying half the time." Which was a gross exaggeration; she wasn't so smart that it went over other people's heads. It was just the simple fact that she didn't bother to think of anyone other than her select group as having any intelligence at all.
Here on the island nothing mattered but results. It didn't matter who you had been back in the 'real world'. It didn't matter that Kithryn Sen was from a poor family and had gone to good schools because her test scores made them look good. What mattered was that she could wield her blades with efficiency and advanced Life Division's technology with every passing day.
It was really everything she could have ever asked for.
kuropeco
small mention c:
Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:02 pm
Something was following them. Kara stalked onward several more steps, then whirled, Delly held high in their hand, ready to confront whatever was behind them. ... Nothing?
No, it was something. Some thing that grew and blotted out everything, the ticking of the clocks pulling them in and drawing them back, restless and inexorable, exposing another time not so long ago.
They were seventeen, dissatisfied, unhappy. Nobody believed what they saw, and they were isolated and disliked due to their insistence upon that weird s**t, god Kara, try to be normal for once why don't you? Maybe she's a witch or something, and the others snickered at them, not even behind their back. They knew what was real, and the frustration of being mocked for pointing it out made them irritable and often unpleasant. A vicious cycle, maybe. But the fact remained: they were different.
Being approached by Deus had been a deep breath of fresh air to someone suffocating. Someone finally believed them. Someone knew what they were talking about. Someone actually wanted them around. They jumped at the chance and never looked back.
A shift, a change. A more recent memory.
They worked harder here than they had ever worked in their life before, but honestly, they didn't mind that. The hurricane had torn down so much structure, and there was so much to be rebuilt. They hauled wood and stone and plaster, held beams to be hammered in place, cleared out whatever junk needed clearing. They'd never been much for physical work before, disdaining sports and blue-collar jobs, but somehow it was different being a Moon. They were needed. They could work, and their weapon helped with their strength and backed them up with soft cheerful whispers of encouragement as they worked. They would help get the dorms livable again, and take satisfaction in the role they'd played in the construction.
Another shift, and they faced the huge shadow again. Numbers. Okay. They could deal with numbers. They could do this.
OOC
Character's name: Kara Sanders Character's division: Moon Character's journal link:[x] Character's arcana Judgement, group F BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER Tall, thin, and androgynous. They have pale hair with a few darker streaks, and dress in layers.
Patrol work wasn’t exactly the worst, but it wasn’t exciting either. Sammy could count the number of times on both hands that she actually got a good fight out of it or something to really do. Considering how eventful her day had been already though between the Pit, chasing Barty around, well, it was nice just to take a walk. She was strolling around the edge of the hunters main base humming a song to herself as she walked, she’d ditched her messy coat opting for baggy black pants and her red and black top. The weather was just right everything was going well after the storm and.
She paused.
< What is it Bastille? I can hear you hissing. You and like a hundred other little snakes. >
<< BEHIND US! >> Her weapon snarled out as she spun around, there wasn’t even a moment's hesitation as the greatsword manifested itself without even bothering to judge what the threat was. You either drew first, or died first, in this case she was almost too late as the ground split and black tar spilled forth, bubbling like thick sauce left to boil too long. She stumbled backwards hissing in frustration as the shadowy tar formed a ticking figure. The looming mass seemingly broken and infinite, door after door seeming to flicker around it. She couldn’t look away, but she refused to focus on one door for more than a moment. She pulled back her sword and rushed towards the entity jumping at it bringing Bastille to bare only to smash through one of the doors her eyes going wide as realization struck like a fist to the chest.
[PAST]
She was almost eighteen, the orphanage had already started the paperwork and would be releasing her from their care. No home would take the unruly tomboy. Prone to violence, anger, never listening to rules. She was a wild child with no family to speak of, those she had were dead from a fire when she was ten. No grandparents, aunt’s or uncles tried to take her in after the first ones failed.
If she wasn’t fighting students at school, she was always going on about the shadows. The way they lurked around their house when she was young, swearing it wasn’t her that did anything to the chimney, the fire wasn’t her fault but people sometimes whispered it was. It would send her into a rage. A fury of fists and feet, broken toys, and later, bruises and damaged bones, as she grew older. Often she would run away only to be hauled in by the local police for some minor scuffle, never enough to arrest her though the last fight left her sitting in a cell overnight to ‘cool down’
This was different. Sammy had taken it a bit too far. Someone had said the wrong thing at the wrong time and she’d lashed out. One of the people talking about her case and what a waste she was to the world. She’d left the caseworkers hand broken after she had slammed a hardback book on it a few times. They wouldn’t need to finish the papers, she was already wasted away, sitting in a cell when the men in white coats appeared saying they had another option.
“We heard you like fighting, especially when it comes to people who don’t believe in shadows…”
[PRESENT]
She was sitting on a rooftop somewhere in New York, the early summer sun beating down on her white coat as she chewed slowly on a fresh slice of pizza. She’d always wanted to see New York, she practically jumped a chance to work a mission in the area that would require a bit of ‘overnight’ time. Which roughly meant; hanging around the biggest city in the states.
Years ago she would have never had such freedom, she would either still be in jail, or stuck in the foster system. She had family, she had friends, money in her pocket and best of all, people didn’t judge her for picking fights because those fights had saved so many countless lives. She’d found a place in the world where her own two fists could protect and create a better place doing the few things she was good at.
The pizza to Sammy tasted like freedom, the sun pounding on her a warm reminder she was still alive after everything she had been through and she couldn’t help but grin as she enjoyed her meal overlooking the city waiting to make another small change in a chaos filled world.
[NOW]
Just like that her eyes open looking over a city instead were welcome with the endless dark as she was yanked free of her memories. Bastille was still hissing in her head, her fingers wrapped tight around him as she stood ready to strike, yet staring into space lost in a memory. Slowly she lowered her weapon. She moved towards the strange thing, a clock? A door? She wasn’t sure. It didn’t help that she gazed at it not knowing what it was. More so it seemed like smashing her way through wasn’t about to be an ********.” She muttered as Bastille let out what Sammy imagined was roughly the same thoughts in his own tongue.
[5 MINUTES LATER]
Sammy had stared at the numbers for a little while, cocked her head this way and that. Pondered it, wished she could call someone from the labs but her phone seemed to be useless.
Without another word she summoned her weapon and began to bash against the door with a grim determination to break free, or die trying.
Journal:Here Division: Sun - Full Hunter Specialized: Shock Trooper Arcana: Wild card - Strength Bio: Sammy and Bastille are a pair of hit first question later. A gorgon great sword as tall as Sammy’s 5’7 form, the sun hunter always seems to be grinning and ready for a fight, her eye sight is slightly poor and so she ware’s purple tinted contacts all the time. Her specialty is disrupting the enemy. Throwing herself headlong into battle to disrupt the enemy with reckless abandon and chaos. Dangerous, but effective.
- Under the coat
