my oath shall be sped;

[agogemod]

WHO? Everybody!
WHAT? The January TDM.
WHEN? The mythic dimension of Vorspiel.
ANYTHING ELSE? Violence, as always. Please warn in subject lines for anything beyond physical violence, and move to a personal journal if things go beyond PG-13.

JANUARY TEST DRIVE MEME;

Vorspiel; a land of song.

arrival for new recruits

You wake up in a patch of verdant forest, with the birds chirping all around you. You're not in a clearing; your body lies between the trees. Near you, a frail woman with tired eyes rocks back and forth. You have none of your clothing, just black military-issued underwear, and none of your previous possessions beyond the one you chose (if you remember choosing) to bring with you.

When the tired woman notices you've come to, she speaks in a tongue you won't recognize, but somehow understand, in tilting tones that somehow always rhyme. Tired and sorrowful though she is, if you have questions as to what's going on, she'll answer: you are a member of COST, a paramilitary organization of time travelers fighting against the Regency, a tyrannous kingdom of the future who are trying to stamp out freedom and individuality in the name of peace.

She will provide you with the clothing necessary to fit in, and show you how to use your BCE implant to look up information on this dimension and its social and political mores. She won't let you leave until you're properly dressed to fit in, but once you are, she'll wish you luck. She thinks you'll need it.

And, she says as you depart, if you see the Gods, spit on them. They will do you no favors here.

ARRIVAL FOR VETERANS

While on BASE, you'll receive a message on your BCE.

URGENT MISSION: VORSPIEL UNDER MAJOR ATTACK. ALL POSSIBLE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO PROVIDE AID.

ACCEPT: Y / N ?

Selecting 'Y' will instantly teleport you to Vorspiel. Or maybe you're not the volunteering type, but your BCE glitches and signs you up anyway. Them's the breaks.

When you appear in Vorspiel, you'll find yourself in that same forest with the same woman who is ushering new recruits. She will give you clothes and wish you luck-- though luck, she says, is something true heroes have in short supply.

VORSPIEL

Regardless of how you got here, your BCE will have a short rundown of the situation once you arrive.

Vorspiel is a mythical, magical dimension rich in rare and precious resources. During the course of the war, it's been fought over by both sides. The Regency has recently allied with the leader of the misty country of Nibelheim to issue what is known as a Time Break; a sort of spell only possible in ancient dimensions such as these. Essentially, linear time has been destroyed in this dimension. Everything is happening at once, simultaneously and perpetually, a never ending cycle of lives and deaths and battles. While Vorspiel is a vast dimension, its borders have become warped; it is possible to walk from one country to another across the sea in a matter of moments, by accident. While the BCE is trying to send people to Nibelheim, it's entirely possible it misses the mark completely, or sends them to several places before they reach Nibelheim.

This chaos is meant to be a punishment: bow down before the Regency, or nothing will ever be the same again.

There is good news, though. Vorspiel is a dimension of inherent magic; singing or humming or whistling certain magical tunes will have an inherent effect upon one's surroundings. The BCE lists all the spells, though it notes that some have varying results (AKA go wild, guys, have fun), and the ones named after people will do little unless the person in question is present (a statistical unlikelihood).

As you enter different parts of Vorspiel, the BCE will sometimes give you different assignments, prompting you to take this action or that. If you have any questions about how this setting works, feel free to ask!

THE RHEIN

You come upon a giant river with clear and beautiful water. The sun shines down upon it in yellow light, and wherever the light touches it, gold floats to the surface of the water. The BCE will prompt you to fetch as much of this gold as you can-- it is an extremely powerful magical resource, rheingold-- but it will not warn you about the Rheinmaidens.

The rheinmaidens are mermaids, essentially, and at first, they are very friendly and gentle, singing nonsense songs and welcoming you to their home. But as soon as you begin to make any moves toward the gold, they will curse you, dive for you with surprising speed, and attempt to drown you. They will be vicious, and their natural element is water. You're in their territory, taking their things, as far as they are concerned. They have every right to kill you.

Killing the rhienmaidens will work... for a minute or so. And then they will rise again. Wounds will undo themselves-- whether they're inflicted by the rheinmaidens or you. Drowning doesn't seem permanent either-- you're pulled under, and all air escapes you, death befalls you... and then you wake up a moment later, standing on the shore.

Time has been fundamentally broken. Nothing done here is permanent.

WALHALL

You stand outside a fortress bathed in rainbow light atop a glorious mountain. Around you, the air is cool and still, and the roof of the sky seems terribly close. No matter how far toward the fortress you run, you can never make it inside. And thundering footsteps are coming just around the mountain pass, coming for you.

Lumbering giants wander around the fortress, searching for something they mutter and murmur is theirs. If they see anyone around, they will attempt to carry them off, kidnapping them for unknown purposes. They do not seem interested in eating their catch; they seem more interested in kidnapping it. Still, they are dangerous, brutish and sloppy with their strength. It is best to avoid them if possible, hiding in the trees.

Or perhaps you'd rather fight these fifteen-foot monstrosities on your own?

Of course, if you kill them, they just... come back. Death cannot be permanent in a place where time has been caught in an endless loop.

NIBELHEIM

The misty country of Nibelheim is located within a network of caverns dug into the side of a great mountain. It's a foggy, polluted place that brings to mind a city on the brink of the industrial revolution, not unlike Victorian London, though Nibelheim is entirely underground. There is smoke and smog everywhere, and living conditions are generally poor. The rich class is one family, ruled by a Nibelung named Alberich. He has various objects of great power that keep him enslaving his fellow Nibelung, working constantly in factories of his making. He has allied with the Regency to achieve this goal, and the time break within his home dimension is due in large part to his planning and plotting.

Human visitors to Nibelheim aren't unheard of, due to trade, though they are in a minority. Nibelungs, for the record, look and feel and act completely human, but they are ultimately alien, averaging a foot shorter in height at least, having naturally sallow skin, large eyes, hairless regardless of gender, and long, nimble fingers. They are a race of people made to live underground, and it shows; most can see in the dark, and climb nearly any surface. They are famed as smiths and metalworkers. Most just want to make a living and feed their families, though Alberich's clan keeps them in line.

Your duty here, the BCE says, is to try and befriend these people, the average Nibelung, and spark some kind of revolt. There are Regency spies everywhere, however, so be careful; you cannot call for rebellion in an open voice on every street corner. No, it's better, safer, to be subtle about it. Win the trust of a local businessman, seek out influential Nibelungs and figure out their opinions. Be tactical, be clever, be quick.

And avoid Alberich and his family at any cost.

But if you can, try and save some of the Nibelungs. Due to Alberich's machinations, Nibelheim is the only part of Vorspiel that has been untouched by the time break, but that will only stay true for so long. If you can convince any Nibelungs to join COST, they will do so willingly; you'll just have to escort them to safe places in hidden back rooms within dingy bars and forgotten libraries, the places where COST cells have been fermenting under the nose of the Regency. Don't get caught, and be careful; save as many as you can.

AT THE BASE OF A GREAT TREE

A man lays dying. He looks very much like the woman who introduced you to this place. Regardless, he lies in a pool of his own blood, a stab wound through his heart. The time break keeps him from ever truly passing into the next life; as soon as he dies, his eyes open, and he begins the process of his last painful moments once again.

Each time, he begs you to avenge him and find his love (or sometimes his sister; he seems very confused), and if you ask him his name, he will only respond that he is, "the woeful one". And then he will die again, for the hundredth time.

In the trees, warriors watch, poised to attack. They see you communing with their enemy, and they wish to defeat you as well. These warriors care little for your protest; they are locked in an endless battle that they cannot free themselves from, and you have just joined it.

IN THE FOREST

There is a serpent, larger than anything you have ever seen, sitting at the mouth of a cave. It sits upon a hoard of gold that may be familiar to you. It may not, but the BCE will inform you of what it is: rheingold, an incredibly potent and valuable magical resource.

Regardless, the serpent will attack anyone that comes near it or its hoard, even by accident. It, too, is caught in an endless loop of battle long over, for it calls you boy and foolish young man regardless of who or what you are. It speaks in a deep and sonorous voice, and will not stop until its head is cut off. The creature is obnoxiously large and highly dangerous, and battle with it will be long and painful, not least because, like everything in this place where time has been so fundamentally broken, it is very bad at staying dead.

Be careful when you fight it -- if you accidentally get some of its blood in your mouth, you will be suddenly and temporarily able to understand the language of birds. Which is cool, but also, you know, distracting.

The birds will tell you to find the Valkyries, who will bring you great fame and glory. They will also tell you to run, for Fafnir does not die so easy.

AT THE END OF THE WORLD

You are at a funeral. A golden-haired woman stands upon an unlit pyre, standing next to the man who, she sings, is her dead husband. Her song is beautiful and loud and incomprehensible, and when the pyre is lit, the fire swallows her whole. But the burning doesn't stop there; it begins to destroy the assembled mourners, the forest around it, the castle, the very river burns. The fabric of the world crackles and sets to flame.

Run from the flame all you like, but it always licks at your heels.

There is a trick, though, to saving your life. If one is truly unafraid of death, the fire cannot harm you, or anyone you touch. The BCE won't warn you of this; it doesn't know. But if you are unafraid, you can simply walk through the flames unharmed.

It will bring you to a wide field atop a mountain, where a woman lies sleeping. It's the same woman at the funeral, peaceful in sleep, unmoving, unsinged. She can be awoken by a kiss.

Of course, awakening her will begin the cycle again: the pyre, the fire, the fearlessness, the clearing. Over and over again, endlessly, until the BCE manages to pull you out.

This is the will of the Regency.

As a final note: This will not be the main mission for January. This TDM is meant as a one-off to dump characters into a setting they don't have to read a ton of infopages for, while still getting a sense of what Agoge could be (and as always, this TDM is game canon).

The main mission for January will be the Gallipoli campaign, as detailed here. Future missions for Agoge are always listed here months in advance.

NAV. NETWORK LOGS OOC MEMES PLURK

Comments

Samus Aran | Metroid | new recruit

[raisedbybirds]

The golden torizo Rhein

[Samus knows the eyes of a creature guarding their territory, and all the sweet songs and beckonings won't convince her of anything less. Any material worthwhile enough like this wouldn't be so easy to obtain.

Samus prowls around the river's edge, tests the Rheinmaidens. She eases her body towards the gold and sure enough they have a very low tolerance for it, hissing and lunging immediately. Samus is able to pull away without harm, taking advantage of their own environment; they are creatures confined to water. That said, they would certainly have every advantage if Samus were to tread any closer. She'd rather not kill them if it could be helped. An innocent (for all she knew) creature's life should not be put above monetary or material possessions. They could very well need that gold to survive.

...Still, now she's put herself into this position where she's determined to figure out how to make this work. She'd already decided she wasn't putting a lot of faith or trust into the time break. She continues to experiment, seeing how they tolerate rocks being thrown to corral them in certain directions or tool-usage such as tree branches being used as a poor scooping device. They don't work well, and only serve to piss off the Rheinmaidens even more. All Samus manages to do is look ever more contemplative about it. She supposes she could use her Powersuit, maybe ice missiles to freeze the water... but she's supposed to blend in around here, isn't she...? A towering six-foot-something huge suit of orange alien armor is hardly inconspicuous. Nope. She's just a normal blonde-haired blue-eyed totally humany human woman. Staring at angry Rheinmaidens from the shore as they literally spit water at her. Yep.]

The Nibelheim

[On one hand, Samus is still very lukewarm to the idea of COST to begin with, but she joined willingly, understanding how grave the future's consequences could be. She might not be the most passionate speaker (not much of a speaker at all, frankly) but fight for freedom and independence is something that does resonate deeply with her. Giving the Nibelungs the opportunity to have so much as a choice is something she's quite willing to do.

She is at a bar striking up conversation with a downtrodden smith, his hairless face covered in soot wherever his goggles didn't cover. He's a prime candidate really; he just recently lost his father to disease, something he begged Alberich to help with and of course received none despite years of servitude. Mother and siblings also dead. He'd fallen in love, once. He had nothing left to lose. The conversation teeters precariously between hope and despair and it's quickly clear that Samus is a poor navigator. She thinks more alcohol might help, and it does. After buying another round the Nibelheim is convinced he needs a better life. However, lowered inhibitions also mean more unpredictable swings in emotions.

She's so close to selling him on the idea of escape, but once the Nibelheim gets the idea of revolt in his head it's difficult to shake. Which is fine, but it's also unsubtle; words slurred and said without thought.]

You have to calm down, you've gotten too loud.

[The Nibelheim tells her he's been too quiet his whole life, it's time for him to be loud. She doesn't disagree, but...]

You're drunk--[She tries to tell him in a hushed/slightly impatient hiss he'll be much more effective at finding his own freedom with a clear head. The conversation has become messy in a way she didn't anticipate. She's just not good at this sort of thing. Either he comes with her now or sleeps off this alcohol and starts his revolt: that's what she'd prefer. Not a desperate drunk alien thinking he can do both at the same time.]

In the torvus Forest

[Samus had a thing for dragons. Not a good thing; a life-long violent relationship with one (1) purple people eating space faring dragon, and her spite unsubtly bleed over as she faced this serpent. She flings herself directly at it with powerful leaps and fierce punches. The beast twists itself almost into knots as it tries to catch her in its toothy maw, only a few inches shy of her acrobatic prowess. Samus is consciously aware she needs to do that blending in thing, but her vitriol is so great that there's the occasional shimmer of light around her hands and feet as the Powersuit takes physical form--flickering on and off only for a second or two, enough to make her blows that much more heavy and ring out with a metallic clang. She draws blood in short time and in even shorter time it's practically all over her.

Suddenly she hears voices. Chattering and chittering and very many. It's enough of a distraction for the dragon's tail to whip-crack and throw her into the air. She lands very hard, horizontally into the side of a tree.

She quickly deems the voices (coming from the... birds? Really?) as unimportant. The dragon must die first. No normal human should be getting back up so easily from that, but there's a fire in her eyes. Try to stop her. Or help her. She won't say no and that'll probably work better anyway.]

FOREST

[rippedoff]

[By the time Shinobu makes her way to the mouth of a cave, she finds that someone else was already in the midst of a battle. While the BCE didn't bother to warn about some kind of beast guarding the area, Shinobu had experienced enough of this world, by then, to fully expect something waiting there regardless. While she's initially disappointed in herself in not being the one to start the battle, she was certainly no stranger in cutting in battles either.

So as the unfamiliar woman fights with the serpent, Shinobu sneaks around the forest, trying to find the best spot to ambush from. However, as she watches Samus get thrown into a tree, Shinobu finally sees her chance to strike. Running up a different, ruined tree trunk, she uses its angled position as a sort of springboard, almost flying through the air as she jabs her blade into its side.

At the very least, it's enough to get the beast's attention, temporarily drawing it away from Samus to give her some time to recover from the attack.]

You alive, over there?

Taako | New Arrival | OTA

[prestidigital]

i. arrival

@themongoose | all

Listen, I'm all for avante garde as much as the next guy, but this outfit is a disaster.

[No, Taako wasn't really paying attention to the old woman as she was providing an explanation. Or, well, he wasn't consistently paying attention. As his interest in what she was talking about waxed and wane, so too did his ability to actually focus and absorb some of the details. But hey, he got something about time. And...a...Re...something. It sounded like something that should probably have a capital letter anyway, either because it was important or because it desperately wants to be. Either way, there are some shenanigans about and he's finding himself smack dab in the middle of them.]

[Again.]

[Which the real reason he opted not to pay that close of attention rather than legitimate carelessness. It's not that he doesn't recognize that it's important to know what he's getting himself into or that he could be of help in some way, but a large part of him wants to just take a moment to bury his head in the sand. Click his heels three times and say there's no place like home. Act like if he just ignores it hard enough, he'll wake up back home with his family.]

[So, right now, he needs someone to also acknowledge the travesty that are these clothes instead of anything bigger or more important. Then maybe he can get around to acknowledging his situation a little better than not much at all.]

ii. the rhein

[Kravitz is going to kiiiiiill hiiiiiiiiim...]

[Okay, not really. Kravitz wouldn't. But if he's keeping track -- wherever he is right now -- he's not going to be all that excited by the added deaths Taako's managed to rack up in his unsuccessful attempts at grabbing the gold. He managed to grab some of it before everything went dark, but these damn fish-ladies... They're really fast. Even faster than Taako.]

[But there has to be a trick to this. There always is when time is in a loop like this. Taako just has to figure out what that is. He plops down on the shore while the Rheinmaidens sing their little melodies and try to wave him over.]

Yeah, yeah, [he says with a dismissive wave.] I'm trying to think, so if you girls wouldn't mind piping down, I'd really appreciate it.

iii. wildcard.

((If none of these are doing it for you, lay whatever you're feeling on me or shoot me a PM if you wanna run it by me first!))

whats the death count at now taako?

[ryuji]

[Blip, blip, blip, blip. God, sometimes the BCE can be such a mood killer. It's insistent, loud, obnoxious, and doesn't back down until it's pacified or given just the right amount of attention that COST members know what's up. Kind of like a mini Ryuji. But that's beside the point. He rolls his eyes as he hits "accept mission" and looks out over the river in front of him.

So what the fuck is this? A bunch of hot chicks singing lovely songs and gold just floating like sparkling bits of bliss all over under the top layer of rushing water. Alright, whatever. This can't be that hard, right? Approaching, he notes one (1) Taako, and immediately thinks that it's actually Lup, so he sits down next to him, approaching all casually and buddy-buddy like.]

Didn't think you were the type to appreciate this kinda shit.

[H....uh?

He reaches out and pokes Taako's cheek. God, stop him.]

Is this one of your spells?

@WIZARDTITS

[tommygunned]

taakooooooooooo i had a LEATHER JACKET and now i cant wear it
whats even the POINT

ii.

[toobright]

[ Well, this situation was a bit strange, wasn't it? In all their thousands of years, they had never encountered anything like this before. Still, after being given the basic explanation, Diamond covered as much of their body as possible with what fabric they could find, and made their way out into the surrounding world. There was nothing they could do except investigate, and hope to report back when it was all over. This didn't seem like the moon or anything along those lines - an unknown situation would need to be recorded and thoroughly analyzed as soon as possible by the others.

After some time, Diamond wandered down to the river, beckoned by the gold - perhaps someone they might know would be attracted to it as well. It's hard for them to hide their disappointment when they see only one being nearby, certainly not one that they recognize.

But their disappointment makes way to curiosity, and they come closer to Taako to see what he looks like from the front. These "human" creatures were truly something odd - so fleshy and soft. Diamond makes no attempt to mask their outright staring, and they might even be an obnoxious distraction with the way the light is glinting off their hair.

At least they're not pinching his face like they did to the first person they encountered. ]

My ... look at you!

( walhall )

[rioter]

[ Figures of impossible dimensions are nothing new to Parker, but they tend to be less human-like. No matter. She is a little too tired to deal with any of this and honestly, she isn't much in the mood to take down giants, especially not without her team here. A notion she will have to get used to, but not yet - she has not had time to settle in yet.

And she doesn't want to have time to deal with this, on top of everything else. But sometimes you can't escape the things you don't have time to.

She has no weapons on her, but she has always been good with using the environment to her advantage. While more used to an urban setting, the forest surroundings aren't discouraging. The woman running from the big boys isn't familiar, but by the looks of it, it seems that she is here for the same reason Parker is. Might as well see what she knows, but she kind of needs her not-squashed by a big foot. She leans down, hanging upside down from her legs and holds out her hands. ]

Hey. Over here. [ Look to the left, to the monkey. ]

Mamoru Hijikata | Until Death Do Us Part [new recruit] ota!

[prizeneck]

Arrival.

[Mamoru awakes to heat shifting on his face and torso.

Eyes open to nothingness [nothing new there], fingers reach out for something out of habit whenever he awoke somewhere he didn't know [nothing new there either]. He doesn't find purchase in what he wants instinctively [that's new, but starting to become a habit]. Instead, he finds a wrap of cloth, worn out and slightly damp [very, very new, and weird]. A bit of plastic sticks out of the fabric. That's familiar.

Muscles on his back contracting, he senses a drop of liquid trickle on his back - slides down his trapezius to the corner of his shoulder blade and... drips. Dew. He's laying on grass and he's been there a while. From the sound of soft rustling and the way the heat shifts and switches places on his chest, he can tell there are trees above him swaying to a high breeze, casting shadows on his naked skin.

Besides his eyes opening and his fingers twitching, Mamoru stays still. He still doesn't know who's around him, but he knows they're there.

It's a woman. She notices he's awake and her faint footsteps approach him [small feet, lithe frame, capable, but seemingly stuck in a job she doesn't really want to do or spent too much time doing]. He sits up, and she tells him to reach his arms forward. A soft weight lands on his palms, wrists and forearms. Clothes.

He listens carefully about the place, about the tech he now holds. But while every comms system seems to be based on the same thing wherever he is, he pays attention to details he's not used to. Every detail's useful in foreign ground.

She tells him that he can use the item he brought with him, but would have to keep it covered with the cloth it's wrapped on. It wouldn't be tolerated otherwise.

He snorts, not at the information - that explains his lack of clothes - jeans and T-shirt wouldn't mingle. Where had he heard that tone before?

Instead of taking care of his clothes first, he unwraps the item in his hand, puts it on instead. The sunglasses turn on, and his eyebrow twitches slightly. It had been a gamble, to bring this instead of a sword. He hadn't been sure that Igawa's tech would work in this setting, but it seems to be working, somehow - maybe he's around?

He looks up, knowing the wire-grid frame has a delay in transmission - casts his hearing to the breeze above him. It sways the trees, the rustling sending sound waves to sync his sight with the motion.

Good enough. He puts on his clothes and waves a hand when the woman insists he covers the shades with the cloth. Everything felt rough, but not impractical, even if the fabric around his head felt way too worn, needing more than one knot to tie properly. No matter, the projection to his retinas is created through sound, not actual sight, and he had enough leeway to move.

The woman is interrupted as she bids him luck, startled when he spots a branch that's long and sturdy enough and snaps it. He gives her a look with a small smirk. What? You wanted him to be legit, he's gotta have a cane, too.

She sighs, tiredly. Wishes him luck again, albeit half-heartedly now. She knows it'll end up in deaf ears.]

Now...

[Voice to text function activated.]

@PRIZENECK | @ALL: Where do I get a weapon?


At the base of a great tree.
[He knows it's a trap.

He's still trying to wrap his head around the magical intricacies of this place - give him technology, military tactics, almost superhuman abilities, hell, even the quantum physics that Wiseman spouts about, and he'll deal. He's not quite ready for how this world really works, though.

Lore, magic, or whatever runs this place, a trap is a trap. And that man whimpering by the tree is definitely one.

Still, he swallows hard, not when he sees the man dying as he arrives in the area [dragging the tree branch in front of him for the sake of blending in - blind people in the old days didn't swing their canes to the sides - see, look at him being nondescript, the woman in the arrival place would be proud]. It's when he gasps for air yet again back to life that gets to Mamoru, the whole thing starting again. Please. That's torture, and Mamoru knows torture well - inflicted on many a crook. It's messy.

Rationally though, he can't help but figure a death through the heart is a lot peaceful than, say, through the stomach. No acids coating the rest of your organs. But he finds little comfort in the thought because the dying man is surrounded by killing intent.

He saw one shift on a tree - wire-grid frame twitching at the motion. They are waiting for Mamoru to make a move. To them, he is only a blind man that stumbled upon the scene, but that makes their aggression no less directed at him. He only has a tree branch that could be used as a staff, but only to deflect the one arrow, and perhaps only one swipe of a sword. They seemed capable, experienced but not experts. Still, there was a slight disadvantage, and the situation was new. He had to be smart.

But he's patient, despite the tortured man boiling the blood in his pulse. He weighs his options. Tests the waters - the time resets at the man's death, but does it apply to them as well? He's testing the way they move as he walks around, reacts differently, just to see how they react, but not enough to get them to strike.]

@BURGERKING............ I'M HAVING A FIT

[dipolar]

(receives the message, a blip in the corner of his vision. accessed, processed, acknowledged. a new recruit?)

Nibelheim, undeground. Where is your location?

@NIGHTLIGHT

[fessus]

Who is this?

@USERNAME_

[rioter]

if you find where, let me know

parker ( oc ) // new arrival

[rioter]

( murder mermaids )

[ Nothing about this is anywhere near familiar, but her memory is intact and she marginally understands what's going on. The clothes, however, she could do without. There are too many layers and there's no way to do the things she does with a ankle-length skirt, which she has already ditched. Somewhere along the way, she managed to trade the dress for a more practical one, but much less fancy - the shepherd she had traded her clothes for had gladly given her their used, old ones for a new piece of clothing. They had thought her a fool, but why argue with someone that is giving you a great deal?

She has been watching from afar, the lake-dwellers. The ones that covet the gold have been drowned, but then again, time flips over and they do it all over again. It begs the question, are you destined to repeat the same path, over and over? Free choice, is it an illusion? She tries not to overthink it, not right now at least, and instead keeps her eyes on the murder-mermaid pushing their long fingers through the hair of the warrior, before pulling them under - and then the cycle repeats. She tilts her head, eyes squinting in thought for a moment. She figures, if she pinpoints the precise moment the mermaids drown the warrior, she can go in and out without being noticed - but is it enough of a distraction? ]

( smoke and smog )

[ Hiding in plain sight is a skill she has acquired over years of running from authorities - you adapt to circumstances, after all. But usually, she is surrounded by people that look like her, humans, not alien figures, long limbed, hairless, sallow skin. Still, there are others around, and with the ragged clothes she has gotten she isn't give a second look. Hunched over a construct of stairs embedded in the cavernous wall, Parker observes quietly, standing in the dark with the hood of her shepherd's cloak over her head.

You would figure, she would be the best person to incite rebellion - but why would she? She has no hand in this game, not yet. She is still a stranger, a nail out of place, and there is nothing to gain from inciting rebellion to half-hearted people. But she knows how to spot them, the spies - there are signs to look for and the group of men not too further away from her, talking in hushed voices, she can see the one that is there among them. Taller, by alien standards, but there is something about him. She trusts her gut, but even if not, Parker has long decided that everyone starts out as an enemy, untrustworthy. A paranoia fuelled by the mind and heart of someone that has lost everything.

The maybe-spy breaks away from the group, turning heel to walk up the stairs Parker is under. She waits one beat, then follows, always keeping a row of people between them. She squeezes between people with ease, moving like swimming in water, but she does push (you) away when the target gets in a narrow street. She doesn't apologise or spare a second glance. She's busy. ]

( extra )

[ Just throw whatever at me, I'm happy to oblige. ]

Locked to Heine

[chariotry]

[ Achilles' journey to Nibelheim isn't a smooth one.

Though he is the great hero who laid siege to Troy over a millennium ago, he's still just a man and sometimes men get themselves lost. This one in particular doesn't like asking for directions, and since COST failed to send him where he was supposed to go, he's stuck wandering around the forest, looking for the so-called misty country he was supposed to help save.

He's had a run-in with the giants here already and he's discovered that there is a time loop that erases all progress. Were they brought here to stop the loop? He isn't sure. But a hero does what he can.

His pride has to be put aside and he needs to ask someone to point him in the right direction. And finding a person out in the bush is a difficult task in its own right, but eventually he follows the sound of footsteps and finds a boot beaten path of branches and flat grass. The person he'd been tracking is somewhere in the distance, shrouded by foliage and is too far away for his eyes to make out their features. All he can see is the back of their head. ]

Hey! You there! [ He calls out to the figure, picking up his pace. Upon closer inspection he realizes that they're unusually pale, washed out against the vibrant greens of the forest.

And Achilles' hair as he approaches, stepping closer.

He's grinning, all friendly despite his out-of-place appearance and armour. Don't be scared. ]

[whitehair]

[ it's bad enough that Heine is lost, what's worse is that other people keep trying to bother him. He doesn't really give a shit about what the woman has said; he doesn't give a shit about correcting any of the wrongs done here, because what do they ever expect from him? Just a fucking stray snapping his teeth at anyone who hasn't enough self-preservation to come near him.

Gods should be scared of something much more than just spitting. He doesn't believe in fate, or of gods, if there were any still left lingering in the city he grudgingly called his home only because he had nowhere else to go. He'd sooner gauge out his own eyes than ask for any favours.

But, as lost as he was now on what to do and where to go, all he could do is just walk.

A small tsk escape his lips as he picks out the distant call, swiftly growing closer. Turning around, he can just make out the other's figure as Achilles makes his way over.

First, it was the weird dragon. Now, it's something else. ]

What?

tara ' terra' markov ; dc rebirth ; new recruit ; ota

[bullschistartist]

a. walhall;

[ it’s not uncommon for tara to keep a running list of all of the fucked up things around her in her head. what she didn’t expect, honestly, was for the list to keep going here. being around defiance is one thing—it’s headed by the single most fucked up family in the universe, so they’re basically like a soap opera. this is just…weird.

not to mention the fact that she’s pretty sure she was kidnapped into this, but whatever. she’ll address that after she gets out of these stupid clothes. presumably after kicking the ass of one of those giant dudes, because hey? why not? ]

Hey, Fee-Fi-Fo-Fuckface!

[ she gets the giant’s attention. she’s not sure if it can understand her – tara highly doubts ‘fuckface’ part of the vernacular around here – but it certainly turns in her direction. which is awesome, because it starts lumbering towards her, and proceeds to trip as the earth shifts beneath its feet. it’s not dead, of course; it was just a fall, and she didn’t hear any of the sickening cracks that usually accompany bones breaking. but it’s a start. to be certain, she lifts her hand. it glows yellow, and so does a nearby boulder.

the rock levitates. the giant groans. tara drops the boulder on its head.

now that’s a crack.

she grins winningly at any bystanders that she’s just saved from the giant. she’s preoccupied with her showboating to the extent that she doesn’t seem to notice that it’s getting back up. ]

Ya don’t have to thank me, I’m just doing my job or some shit.

b. nibelheim;

[ infiltration is a nice and easy mission. she clearly doesn’t belong, but that’s never stopped tara before – and she’s certainly not about to shave her head for the sake of some bullshit mission she didn’t even ask to go on. and honestly? she’s no stranger to the complete aptitude for fuckery that ruling families can cause. it’s almost cool that she gets to go on a mission to fuck up some monarchies, huh?

that, and the fact that she’s underground makes her feel just a little bit more comfortable. the fact that her powers seem to have gotten just a tad nerfed doesn’t mean that she can’t at least bring some of the caverns down if she needs to.

right now, though? she doesn’t need to. and she’s gonna do what she does best – get information from dumbasses.

you might catch tara in a local tavern, plying as many rich-looking nibelung as possible with various kinds of alcohol. ]

This local brew sure is something, huh? I’m usually more of a wine gal, myself, but hey! Whatever gets you drunk, am I right?

[ her cheeks hurt from smiling. fuck. this would be so much easier with a low-cut top. ]

c. your pick!

[ you can reach me at gloomychan#3932 on discord or gloomychan on plurk! ]

a.

[thingpuncher]

[Midnighter, outfitted in the full work uniform, complete with jacket and cowl, is picking some giant viscera off his shoulder when some lady 'saves' him with the aid of a flying rock.]

[He's never understood the concept of 'kill stealing' (whatever Noctis says); when somebody kills off something he was planning on finishing off himself, that's just a party. His grin is sharp and dangerous.]

Shit. You gotta teach me that trick.

b; tags a billion years late finally

[superstringtheory]

[Tara's good at infiltration. Jolyne isn't. Jolyne is, in fact, shit at infiltration. She doesn't do subtle, and she doesn't really do nonviolent, either. So sitting in this bar right now, trying to play it cool instead of cracking heads? It's kind of killing her.]

[She's been watching Tara with envy. She doesn't know her name, but she knows she's a COST operative, too. And Tara knows what she's doing. The longer Jolyne watches, though, the more she starts to realize that Tara's not enjoying herself anymore than she is.]

[Kind of a relief.]

[Next time Tara catches her breath and heads to the bar for a breather, Jolyne purses her lips against a smile and speaks under her breath, ostensibly into her glass.]

Your face is gonna fall off, you keep smiling that hard.

ignis scientia | ffxv | new recruit

[cookeries]

rheinmaidens;

I advise you to reconsider.

[ Ignis hears the person behind him long before he sees them, but does not rise from his crouched position on the bank. His clothes are damp, his hair plastered to his head as though he'd recently taken a swim in the river. Always a man to follow directives, he'd attempted to complete the mission the BCE offered him, only to find the mermaids within were far faster and far more vicious than he'd imagined. The creatures in this place make the daemons of home look gentle. ] They're perfectly harmless so long as you refrain from an afternoon swim.

[ Never mind that Ignis remains crouched, some kind of mushroom in one hand, turning it this way and that, observing. A man must eat! ]

nibelheim;

[ There are dozens of questions to ask, but Ignis knows too well that there is a time and a place for all questions. Unfortunately, now is not such a time. He's pushing through a busy street corner when noise erupts on the block behind him.

An officer cries out something, he can't make out all the words through the noise, but treason and traitor seem an adequate guess. The officer drags a man out into the streets, one that does not look like he belongs, and three others who look very much to be Nibelung. Someone's been caught. And though he could take the just path and attempt to assist him, he's keenly aware of the locals suddenly watching him, and others like him, with suspicion.

It's a calculated risk when he turns and sees someone familiar (a member of COST as well), and reaches for their shoulder to stop them. ] It isn't wise to throw yourself into a fight you cannot win. [ They may save more lives if they take advantage of the distraction, even if those lives are COST operatives. It's not ideal and in any other setting he might reach out to help as well, but they're sorely outnumbered. ]

great tree;

[ Ignis stops by the great tree for respite when he sees the dying man. He considers the situation before kneeling at the man's side, indulging him. The question Why have we been brought to this place? is barely out of his mouth before the man starts dying in his arms, only to revive. It's a cruel place where even death offers no relief.

He's only just pushed himself back up on his feet when the first attack comes, swift and unexpected but Ignis manages to counter back, drawing a dagger he'd been fortunate to have on his person when he woke. But never bring a knife to a gunfight. Isn't that how the saying goes?

An arrow strikes the ground just at the tip of his sandal-clad foot (it's incredibly impractical). ] Forgive me. I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding... [ But the warriors don't listen and circle him. Lend a hand? ]

general;

[ He's just managed to catch the attention of one of the Giants in his explorations. It's going well for him. ]

@IRONCHEF
It appears we're up against a Giant problem. There is no suitable way to defeat daemons that regenerate upon death. It may be wise to regroup and determine the best way to move forward with our limited resources.

[thingpuncher]

>>@TRENTCOAT

@IRONCHEF making puns makes them regenerate faster. hot tip from me 2 u
punching really hard has the opposite effect fyi

rheinmaidens;

[disqualifies]

Is that so?

[Dazai circles around Ignis, arms linked behind his back and voice light with humor. He doesn't crouch beside the other man, but he does pause nearby to give one of the rheinmaidens a friendly wave.]

Did they successfully manage to drown you?

@NIGHTLIGHT screams

[fessus]

[ He's read similar texts here already. Plans of attack, requests for aid. One certain aspect of this one jumps out. ]

Did you mean to spell daemons like that?

geralt of rivia | the witcher

[bleidd]

THE RHEIN;

[ Take the gold, his BCE tells him, take the gold take the gold it's a valuable source of magic - as if he didn't already know. His medallion hasn't stopped vibrating since he approached the river and was greeted by the shining sight. Any other man might have dived in without pause, unthinking to the beautiful maidens that sing and splash and welcome travelers with open arms. Geralt doesn't dare.

Only a fool would seek to anger a mermaid, his dealings with them years ago taught him that. No, instead of making for their gold he sits nearby the river and cleans his silver sword, engaging the maidens with talk and compliments on their songs. It is a nice spot to rest, after all, with the way the sun shines and the cool river water nearby. So for the moment he decides to simply rest, to bathe in the sunlight and the company of the beautiful rheinmaidens.

Until, of course, someone is foolish enough to attempt what Geralt himself did not. ]

THE GREAT TREE;

[ There is nothing to be done for the dying man, even if he had a Swallow potion on him there is no guarantee that it would save him. Even then something binds him to this place, to a cycle of dying and death repeating over and over. 'Please' the man begs, 'Please save her, you have to save her!' voice horse and thick from his cries and the blood that pools in his mouth. There is nothing to be done, nothing he can do, and yet the Witcher takes pity kneeling down beside the dying man. ]

I will. [ It is an empty promise but one that fills the man's eyes with hope as he expires, breathe once more leaving his lungs. ] I promise.

[ There is no maiden to save, of course, no sister to aid, nothing but the men who surround the small clearing bows drawn and aimed. Standing slowly the Witcher exhales, dusting himself off as he glances towards the tree line. ]

Well, are you going to keep me waiting?

[ And he draws his sword. ]

THE END OF THE WORLD;

[ It is a beautiful song the woman sings, mourning her lost love, her intent to go with him into the next life. The medallion on his chest shudders as the fire is lit, as the woman is consumed by flames that spread and spread and spread. Among the chaos of it, the burning pyre, mourners, fields, and rivers, the Witcher stands unmoving, unafraid. Flames lick at his heels, curling up his pants towards his waist, his arms seeking to burn and consume. Yet it doesn't hurt, even as the fire envelopes his entire being.

Before long Geralt finds himself in the field on top of the mountain, barely surprised by his own survival and sudden change of location. His medallion vibrates against his chest, rattling against the metal in his armor. Magic, of course, this entire realm bleeds of it or something akin close enough for his medallion to sense it. He turns, cat-like eyes scanning the field before falling on the sleeping woman, just as untouched by roaring flames. ]

Like something from a fairy tale.

NETWORK;

@WITCHER
I'm sure many of you have noticed that nothing here stays dead.

[ A monster hunter's bane. ]

It's a spell, or a curse, or maybe something else entirely. Whatever it is, it's very powerful. So unless you want to end up dead avoid engaging in combat, running is the only thing that will save you.

[ Or don't, it's your life and he won't stop you from making stupid decisions. ]

@TRENTCOAT.

[thingpuncher]

u got any other sage advice
gonna tell me not 2 die next
cause im trying real hard

nyx ulric // ffxv: kingsglaive // new recruit

[servitor]

walhall
[There's a vague memory, here and there, about warfare. Not the war he knew, the one that had been raging for the better part of his life. Another one. COST? Nyx feels as if his head is... reshaping itself. The strange woman next to him speaks, and he wonders if there's delirium at play. It had been a long 72 hours. Rough, tattooed fingers reach for his temple, dipping into the fresh crevices on his face.

He should be dead.

Blue gray eyes scan across the horizon. The Glaive now wears clothing fit for a warrior, exposing the raised scars of lightning on his shoulder spidering onto his chest, thin lines of slightly faded tattoos, and patches of skin that seem raw and burned.

If the point is to blend in, then he has to keep himself as if he were a man without magic. His kukri knives, one from his home, one from the country he serves, are stowed underneath a layer of fur. Still, he holds the spear like he knows exactly what to do with it. He knows he's quiet enough to zip across the forest with speed and ease, but is it worth it?]

Won't know until we find out.

[There's a shimmer in the air, smoke and glass hanging for just a second. A knife lands high in a tree. Nyx reforms in a flash of shattered glass and embers, jut above a thick branch. His landing is quiet as can be.]

Still got it.

[But he's not any closer to the fortress. Maybe riding shotgun on a giant will get him somewhere? It sounds like a fantastic idea in his daemon-slaying mind. How card could it be?

The knife glints as it sails through the air. Just before it lands in the giant's neck, there's Nyx, catching it, reforming quickly and landing on its shoulder. It's as if he's done this before.

Of course, another giant notices there's a slight something going on there on its comrade's neck.]

Shit.

[If you think you're hearing something violent happening, the odds are, something violent involving one Nyx Ulric and several giants is probably happening. He gets thrown back bodily several times, and at some points he's warping away and landing elsewhere, slicing a throat only to find that same throat starts to heal itself instantly.

Maybe you're so lucky to have an ornate knife land at your feet, and find a shirtless grown man yelling:]

Run!

in the forest
[Somehow, it's become the theme of his life to come across beasts at least the height of a ten foot skyscraper. They're no daemons, though. Nyx would've been able to know instantly if something was or wasn't a daemon. Whatever this is, it's new to him.

For all of the talk of being called a hero, for all of the stupid stunts and incredible feats he's pulled on the battlefield, this is something he can't face alone.

The new scars itch, horrendously so. His fingers hold his spear tighter to fight off the need to scratch at the raw skin.]

I smell you, boy!

[Nyx clicks his tongue. Boy. One of the more respectful insults he's gotten lately, for sure, but a minor annoyance nonetheless.]

Then come out and find me!

[He drops the spear, reaching for the kukri and warping out of cover, to the next safest point. As always, he hadn't meant to get himself into trouble, but then again, maybe he had. Always a surprise with Nyx Ulric, hero.

The serpent uncoils itself and starts to move, sniffing and searching for Nyx. It's going to be fine...]

at the end of the world
[Fire.

As if this were the first time he'd been swallowed by fire.

Once, at the mercy of the old kings. Again, in the city. Once more, at the end of it all, when the city was nothing but rubble.

Fire is only one more thing. He can control it. He can be consumed by it.

Nyx is too comfortable with death to be afraid of it, whatever shape it takes. So he stands, eyes fixated on the growing pyre. If this is the end, so be it. He's not even supposed to be here, anyway. Just once more, he could do it. He knew he could.

The flames swallow him whole. And he is gone, eyes closed.

When he opens his eyes, the field before him is unburned.]

Death really is something else.

walhall.

[thingpuncher]

Endless fighting? Sign Midnighter the fuck up. He's dispensed with fitting in a long time ago, wearing his uniform and wielding no weapons but his fists. Weapons are for hard targets, and these giants are all soft.

He only catches a strange, tattooed man covered in fur fleeing the scene, and that's nice. "Pass," he says to the suggestion, before bellowing up to the giants. "Remember me? I'm back, fuckers!"

And then he launches himself forward, running until he meets a giant's ankle, which he gifts a heavy punch. The bone can be heard snapping, the giant howls and falls to the ground with an enormous thud. Midnighter is having too much fun. "There's more where that came from!"

isha devan // oc // new recruit

[diamondhack]

the rhein
[Sure, Isha Devan, professional hacker, thief, and engineer could steal a stack of gold from what seem to be aggressive mermaids who seem to take a liking to killing her.

But the bigger issue here is why she has to do it like this in the first place. Or even why she decided to agree to this mess. That one percent of heroism that likes to infect her from time to time gets her in more trouble than her actual criminal activity.

The most difficult part about blending in is her prosthetic left arm, so clearly not made of flesh and bone. Isha has taken certain pains to wrapping furs around it as much as possible, despite that this... fashion, if it could be called that, is certainly not to her liking.

The thief sits just out of sight, analyzing, assessing. There is no easy point of infiltration. The easy answer would be to electrocute the water. She could do that once, but it wasn't a guarantee. Fighting back? Well, she'd rather not resort to violence and murder so soon, especially murder. Without glancing over, she simply leans in a bit, with a posh, British accent that betrays no real infliction or tone.]

How do you feel about being bait?

[At least she's honest?]

nibelheim
[Ah, how she does love undoing the rich only to profit from them. She has to keep her impulse to stake out the family in check. It seems the mission is to otherwise start a riot.

And why not? Chaos is such a fantastic way to make the rich cower in fear and force their hands all too soon. She would've once said she is not a woman of the people, yet her current status as INTERPOL agent would deem her otherwise. Self-serving, through good will? It's how she makes herself sleep better at night.

Outside of a factory, she stands with her hands on her hips, not quite frowning, but not quite smiling either. To incite a riot overnight would be a lot of work. This would be a slow game. The only way to start it is to create a scandal and make the people become louder than ever.]

What a dreadful place.

[But it's nothing new. Unfortunately.

There's a shift in her expression, a focus, a formulation of ideas. She's up to something, and likely? It's nothing good.]

wildcard
[whatever man]