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 Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:37 am
Class *** Titan HP: 75/75 Description: An agile creature that is weaker but can fly, quickly and steadily. Attention must be paid to its movement patterns, as it will always descend after a small period of time, as its body is too heavy to remain in the air. Watch out for it's tail, which will jab at anyone nearby, and its venomous spray that it will spit. Upon defeat: Has a 75% chance of dropping Insanity remains usable for the R & D. Each player rolls 1d100. If 76 or higher, you find remains (for that player).
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 8:56 am
It had been a few days since the tournament's end; that was enough time, right? Stormy had been unsure whether to stay close or give Gale some space after what had happened between fights and, preferring to be safe rather than sorry, went with the latter. But she was all too aware what silence did to a questioning mind . . . Hers was still going nuts after the Mist Meeting.
The black cloak was hidden away like a skeleton in the closet. She was terribly, terribly grateful it wasn't something she would have to hide from Nevada (being roommates, this would have been even more awkward), but it meant another secret kept from Gale--even if it was on the nebulous but very real threat on her own health. Maybe her luck would hold out and nothing bad would come of it.
< < You are no longer naive. You have graduated to utter delusions now. > >
Thane at least had been less silent since then, though her resounding loss to Jason hadn't earned her any favors. The sting still hurt even with the tournament over, reopening the wound that had been closing after her embarrassing defeat with Nevada in their practice spar. Stormy touched the scar at her shoulder and made a face. Maybe it was about time she stopped getting caught up in past frustrations and worked more on rebuilding herself for the future.
That was hard with Jack back in the picture, though. Everything about him seemed to make her past self scream back to life.
< < Excuses, > > the dracolich hissed. < < Now is the perfect time to remake yourself. > >
Into what, though? That was the question.
Covering her scar up beneath her clothes, Stormy made her way to the labs. They had agreed to take on a titan together, which she hoped would ease the tension that had been built up. At least she wouldn't be the one launching; her go with Jason had proved she wasn't very good at defending herself while on the backs of those things, or that her small stature didn't give her any advantages. Maybe she would be better at defending someone else.
Except then she remembered how badly she had botched her attempt with Gale the first time around. Whoops, the tension was back. She just wanted so much to do things right for once, though, especially after having seen how beaten Gale had looked . . . So, Stormy resolved, she would.
Squaring her shoulders, she entered the labs to go and find their equipment.
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:53 pm
He was, not for the first time, completely unsettled.
Gale sat in the somewhat desecrated remains of his house, which was, for the most part, still standing. The roof had some patches missing, the front door hung off its hinges when it opened, several windows had been blasted out, and the whole front hallway was littered with dirt and debris. Fortunately, however, this was not something that could not be repaired, and so Gale had spent the majority of his days after the tournament doing just that.
Besides, the work made him less likely to delve into the thoughts that he was trying so studiously to avoid.
Gale's fingers brushed over a smudge on the wall of his living room; no doubt dust from the collapse of a few tiles. He picked up his rag and wiped fervently at it for several long seconds, trying to wipe it off, but by the third stroke his mind had wandered again.
"He's the ex."
It was like a mantra in his head, repeated over and over and over again until all he could hear was Stormy's frustrated voice in his head. Gale leaned forward, his forehead against the wall, and closed his eyes, exhaling a long, drawn out breath.
Why here? Why here, why couldn't it have been anywhere but here?
Jack. Jack was Stormy's ex-boyfriend, he was her ex-boyfriend. That meant they had held hands and kissed and whispered promises to each other, promises that Gale had said to Stormy himself. He'd tried to put it past him, tried to remember that Jack was her ex for a reason, that they were separated, had been separated for a long time now.
But the differences between them were too stark and too blatant to ignore.
Gale pushed himself away from the wall. He'd told Stormy that he would go after one of the monsters with her, and although he still hadn't resolved himself yet, he was not about to retreat like a coward, like a weakling who was too stubborn to accept the stupid fact of an ex's appearance.
He found her ten minutes later, in the labs. Gale leaned against the door frame, arms folded across his chest, and for a moment he just watched her, moving around, gathering the necessary equipment for their little outing. His chest felt a little tight; Gale took a small breath.
"Hey."
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:22 pm
Throttles. Infusers. Stabilizers. Harnesses. Emergency kits. It was important to check through each and every item anyway, but Stormy paid special attention this time for any little thing, any possibly hazardous detail that could cause a problem. It had to be perfect this time, because only a flawless take down could begin paving the path for her redemption.
She didn't want to be the cute girl today: she wanted to be professional. Mature. Perfect. Her movements when gathering the equipment were smooth and purposeful, prepping her hands for the steadiness she would need to keep her cool when facing down something many stories high; one day, maybe soon, she wouldn't have to deal with these nerves before a task anymore. With a face set in a concentrated frown, Stormy began arranging the items into offensive and defensive when she heard his voice.
For once, it didn't bring pure and simple elation; there was guilt and fear souring it like smog over the sun.
She pivoted on a heel to face Gale, still holding an emergency kit with her runic bandages within. "Hey, you." The corners of her lips lifted briefly, because regardless of the situation she still was happy to see him. The casual pose was something more familiar to her, better than the one where he couldn't look at her; but there was just enough said in the fact that Gale had chosen to stay apart for their greeting. There was no adrenaline rush pushing him to her on instinct this time.
"I, uh, was doing some housekeeping before we went in," Stormy explained, tapping her fingers gently on the outside of the kit. "Wanted to make sure everything was in working order so something doesn't happen." Maybe if she acted cool, professional, everything would go smoothly.
< < Delusions, > > Thane oozed.
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:28 pm
He wanted to say something other than just "hey," wanted to tell her what he felt like when he had seen Jack, how he was feeling right at this current moment; he wanted to pull her into his arms and just hug her and forget about the rest of the world because it didn't matter, save for just the two of them.
Except his throat felt dry and his chest felt tight and none of the words he wanted to say came out, his feet remaining rooted to the floor of the room.
"Good," said Gale, and pushed away from the doorframe, making his way over to where she had laid out the equipment needed. He ran his hands over the first few items, already mentally calculating things, and then he came to the next set, his face set in concentration. The Death-oriented mind was sorting things inside of Gale's thoughts, focusing on what he could and pushing away the unnecessary anxieties, the unnecessary fears.
At least for now.
After several moments, Gale leaned back, his hand slipping away from the materials. "Looks like we've got everything," he said with a small nod. He tugged idly at one of his sleeves, hating how awkward he sounded, how utterly formal. This was not some random stranger that he had met on the street, this was Stormy - his girlfriend.
His favorite person. Gale made an inward sigh, taking a small breath again and tilting his head towards the door.
"I think we're ready. Shall we?"ol-j-man laughs 2 self then runs 2 bed oops
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medigel rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:09 pm
There was something wrong with this picture, and she didn't understand what it was until she realized that they were speaking like co-workers, not a couple. That was the tone he used during missions with other people, polite but formal and to the point. There was a moment where hope was allowed to rise when Gale approached, but it crumbled quickly when he perused the equipment instead and left her with a subtle reminder of the chill she held inside now.
He's still mad, isn't he, she thought, and felt the stirrings of old forgotten habits within. Ideas that whispered the only way to fix it would be to make him happy again. Let him lead her. Give him space still.
Even if the only thing on her mind was to fill any space between them.
"Roger." Stormy began to belt herself into her harness, semi-familiar now with the way things worked. Maybe if she tied it tight enough it would numb the dull ache inside. Professional, she reminded herself. Even with her boyfriend. Begin the journey by being a great partner. Within several minutes she was strapped and ready to go, her expression back into that concentrated frown from before.
Many words wanted to tumble out, but she curbed them. She had carelessly spoken before the final match, and look what had happened. No, this was going. to go. perfectly.
"Ready when you are."
(( checking for a bonus: life hunter bonus obtained! ))
xkurotomato cries into the sunset midterms why
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kuropeco rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 12:30 pm
She had told him, on multiple occasions, that he over thought things, that he had always had a problem with thinking too much about one thing or another; and perhaps that was the main reason why he was in the Death Division, because his mind tended to analyze and critique and decipher even when he was not on duty.
He needed to stop doing that.
Strapping himself into the harness alongside her, Gale settled the headset into place, tugging on a particular cord to belt it across his midsection. Once he was secured properly, he gave Stormy a nod and then, with a running leap, he was airborne.
He landed with a crash on the creature's back and immediately ducked into a roll, somersaulting forward until he was stable on his feet again. Gale's hands gripped the stabilizers tightly, and he crawled upwards, trying to find better footing.
At last, he had done it. Gale lifted his hands, wrapped both around the first infuser, and slammed it into the creature's back, his teeth gritted. He hated this feeling of insecurity more than anything, and finally, as though it were a question he had been waiting to ask this entire time, words burst forth from his mouth, crackling over the headset.
"Why didn't you tell me he was here?"
HP: 60 / 60
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medigel rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:19 pm
In some ways she was glad of the ensuing silence while they prepped. With Thane creeping back from his cold shoulder treatment, her thoughts were less hassling, more organized. She could still feel anxiety about it all, but at the least it was manageable. At least there was a task to keep them occupied, to vent that energy onto.
Once Gale had landed, Stormy grabbed the stabilizers and scanned for a good place to secure them. But even the silence couldn't hold forever when there was still that unspoken tension that could snap.
"Why didn't you tell me he was here?"
She flinched, at once glad he couldn't see it and yet wishing she could see him, could at least read his body language, his arms, his eyes, his mouth. Was it the Death hunter who was asking to fill in the blanks of information, or was it her boyfriend accusing her of being disingenuous? Or was that his version of Stormy Speak, meaning both?
"I--" But she had faltered too long. The titan yanked the cords and nearly swept her off her feet as it roared.
HP: 45
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medigel rolled 1 6-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-6)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:32 pm
< < Focus. > >
She grit her teeth and fought for balance, stumbling on the ground but hands with deathgrips on the stabilizers. She could be dragged all it wanted, but she would not yield them.
HP: 40
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medigel rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 2:35 pm
Her arms ached with the terrible memories of holding on for dear life on a titan just like this one, slammed repeatedly against its carapace until she was too winded to speak or attack. That had been one of her most embarrassing performances as a hunter, and the idea that she could repeat it here made her anger flare uncharacteristically high.
Gale might not understand her Spanish, but her tone made it obvious she was growling a dark curse over the connection as she dug her heels in and stabbed the infusers with a vengeance into the ground. Stormy lurched as the runics worked their magic, forcing them both to a stop that made her wince.
"He found me in my room, alone, the day before the tournament," she replied curtly, still bristling at the thought of failure, at the thought that the two people closest to her thought she could ever keep a secret like that from them without reason. But she kept her words concise, because she remembered she wasn't supposed to be babbling. "I didn't know how to feel for a lot of different reasons. And I knew if I told you, you'd think about it too much. The tournament was supposed to be fun, not stressing."
Did you obsess over it anyway for the past few days? Stormy wondered. Did you obsess the way I did because you couldn't look at me? Her tone lost its anger at the thought, but not its conviction. "But I promise, I promise you, Gale, I was going to tell you and Nevada after the tournament. I wouldn't have kept him a secret like that."
HP: 40
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kuropeco rolled 2 12-sided dice:
12, 9
Total: 21 (2-24)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 5:34 pm
He knew he was being stupid about this, but nothing he had tried to tell himself over the course of the past few days seemed to settle the welling anxiety that pitted in his stomach.
She was probably just afraid.
She didn't want to worry me.
She was still trying to figure things out.
She wasn't trying to hurt me.
But although Gale's brain had managed to formulate proper and coherent responses, the rest of him seemed to have not. His chest, still painfully tight, now felt slightly more tight as he pushed himself back to his feet, Stormy's voice crackling noisily over the headset, ringing in his ears. And he he knew from the tone of her voice that she was upset that he was upset, but in spite of everything, he wasn't upset that she had kept Jack from him. That was the last point on the list of things he was concerned about at the moment.
"Yes, well," said Gale, the rifle appearing in a gust of white light in his hands. He climbed up a few inches, wincing slightly. "The tournament wasn't stressful until that point in time, and it did not exactly turn out how I thought it would."
Not because Stormy had distracted him, but because he had distracted himself with his own stupid thoughts. Gale pointed the rifle downwards, directly against the creature's back, and he felt it buck beneath him, giving a roar of anger as an explosion of bullets collided with it, the creature shrieking in pain. Gale almost fell off as it tossed its head, but he latched onto it with an iron grip, sliding several inches.
"I'm not saying that I don't trust you," said Gale quietly. "Because I do. It's not about you not telling me, not really."
HP: 55 / 60
DMG: 15
TITAN HP: 60 / 75
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medigel rolled 1 8-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-8)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 5:42 pm
She continued to feel defensive when Gale first spoke, because she felt that he was only reinforcing her belief that she should have just kept her mouth shut until the very end. Thane rattled and reminded her she was on defensive duty, and she summoned the greatsword. On impulse she throttled up to one of its knees and stabbed, dragging its attention briefly down to her; she barely avoided the swipe of its claws as she jetted off and back to the ground.
It was good to have a target whose hisses were just that: only noises from an animal that had to be put down.
Stormy was relieved to hear this hadn't marred anything about his trust in her, and a soft sigh echoed over her headset to show it. "What is it, then?" she asked, less emotive than she was normally (that was professional, right?) and busy training her eyes on the titan's movements.
HP: 40
Defending Gale for: 5
Charge: 1/3
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kuropeco rolled 2 12-sided dice:
11, 8
Total: 19 (2-24)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 5:55 pm
It felt difficult to breathe. He gripped the rifle tighter in his hand, Stormy's voice soft in his ears, Jinhai's quiet reassurance echoing in his thoughts. He wanted to say what he felt, wanted to explain, but the words were jumbled in his head, uneasily shifting around so that nothing was quite where it should have been.
Why why did he feel so anxious over this?
"Because - "
The word burst out from his lips, harsh and loud over the headset. An explosion of gunfire followed this single word, echoing over the area, and Gale ground his teeth together, hating his own insecure self and the unpleasant tightness that accompanied it.
"Because," Gale continued, and his voice was quieter, tighter. "Because I'm not like him."
He leaned his head against the rifle and closed his eyes, exhaling a long, drawn out breath.
"Because I'm not good enough for you."
HP: 55 / 60
DMG: 13
TITAN HP: 47 / 75
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medigel rolled 1 8-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-8)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 6:02 pm
She lost her impetus at his words.
Stormy had been hurtling towards the titan's other leg to really rile it up, but somehow the words physically tripped her up, stubbed her boots, barely nicking the creature.
Stupid, she chastised herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She shouldn't have been so easy to distract, but those words burned inside her.
Her own came out with a nervous urgency she forgot to restrain. "Don't you ever say that, Gale."
Was that what he had been thinking about? Comparing himself to Jack after one brief conversation? It was . . . He was overthinking again, of course he was. Could she have prevented it by skipping the period apart and simply talking about it after the tournament? Maybe not, but if that was really what was causing him the most trouble . . .
"You aren't him," Stormy agreed in a more level voice, wincing as she dodged the titan's tail. "And that's what I like."
HP: 40
Defending Gale for: 1 oh wow thanks IC dice thanks a lot
Charge: 2/3
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kuropeco rolled 2 12-sided dice:
4, 12
Total: 16 (2-24)
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 6:27 pm
He was just a stupid teenager.
He had thought that being on the island, being a full fledged hunter, being the first of his group to be promoted, both to Intermediate and then finally Hunter, had meant that he was grown up, had meant that he was mature enough to handle the responsibilities of being an adult.
Yet, here he was, just a stupid teenager; a seventeen year old kid who was trying too hard to convince himself of something that simply wasn't true.
And for the first time in a very long time, Gale felt just like that - a kid.
He pushed himself to his feet, staggering a few steps up the creature's back, and fired off another shot, and then a second; not quite as an explosion as the first two rounds, but enough that it made the creature below him give a howl of rage, thrashing its tail. Gale rolled sideways to prevent falling off, gripping its back and pressing his face against the cold, smooth surface of its skin.
You aren't him. And that's what I like.
A bead of sweat slid down the side of Gale's face, his fingers slowly clenching and unclenching.
"I'm not...anything special," he mumbled. "I'm not tall or confident or capable of doing much other than my job. I can't talk to people well, I don't know how to just...talk at all without making it sound like a business transaction."
He closed his eyes, remembering the cocky swagger of Jack's, the careless smirk, the casual way in which he seemed to handle the attention given to him. Jack had oozed confidence and pride, while Gale had merely stood there, a small, insignificant blip.
It was laughable, really. He had tried so hard to be an adult, and for what? To prove something?
To prove what, exactly?
"I'm not good enough," Gale mumbled again, his hair falling over his face in damp streaks.
HP: 51 / 60
DMG: 10
TITAN HP: 37 / 75
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