boardmaster: (Default)
BOARDMASTER ([personal profile] boardmaster) wrote in [community profile] pawnstorm2016-04-09 04:30 am

intro ♚ april

WELCOME TO GRAUPERA



We’ve all had those dreams: you wake up on a table, to blurry, ominous images and the certainty that you are absolutely buck-naked in a room full of strangers. This is not quite it.

Instead, you come awake to the sun on your face. The soft burble of water nearby. The hustle and bustle of a busy street and the faint, fortifying smell of bread. You open your eyes and there’s no one there at your bedside, but there is what appears to be the end of the world happening just beyond your window.

There’s a crack in the world across the sky, the “sun” is the totally unnatural light spilling from that crack straight into your eyes, and someone’s left a neatly pressed and folded uniform at the foot of the bed that isn’t yours. Somewhere in the room, there’s a strange clatter like beads, the click of claws on the floor.

Something’s in here with you.

Also, you are naked.

ONE CAPABLANCA & AIRY
As much as Blanc’s capital welcomes its Heroes, new arrivals such as yourself won’t have much time to settle. Get dressed and pick up your weapon and Carrier, because sometime in the afternoon, all floor nannies and Carriers will broadcast an announcement by Commander Lisbrand. She delivers a brief greeting to their new members, but gets straight to the point: they will be headed for Capablanca and the open sea beyond, in order to restore the fortress of Graupera for battle with Noir looming on the horizon. All new Heroes are expected to report to the Airy at the Caissa aeroport on the 8th along with their seniors.

On the morning of the 11th, Airy alights on Graupera, an island about two hours away from Capablanca by ferry. From here, you can either help the navy with Graupera repairs or assist in Verdoni’s investigations and head for Capablanca proper. Heroes will be staying in the (in)famous Hotel Caruana: they say you can check in anytime you like, but you can never truly leave. Nobody will quite meet your eyes or tell you what it means.

Wherever you are, the Airy will remain parked at Graupera.

TWO GRAUPERA, CAPABLANCA SEA FORT
What was once a heavily fortified island rests a ways off the coast of Capablanca; it looks a little too much like one of the thunderclouds slowly swarming on the horizon. Graupera has seen many battles and withstood the ebb and flow of wars. Formerly the city’s first line of defense until it was abandoned after the Reclamation, its dilapidated condition is the current bane of the Blanc navy. Blanc needs to bring it back to its former glory before it can face a single warship, much less Noir’s fleet of magical cannons. Blanc’s government has no doubt Heroes will do a fine job at returning the fortress to its former glory!

A ♙ The great stone and iron wall facing the wide open ocean has seen better days and is full of holes overgrown with stubborn clinging vines; cannonballs used a lifetime ago litter the grounds. The vines are extremely thick and may tangle the careless beyond hope of escape, not to mention filled with a pungent sap that will seep into your clothes and hair for days. It makes a great adhesive, though? Conveniently, parts of the wall are strewn across the floor, so at least some of the cannon holes can be repaired with enough improvisation, desperation and a bit of spit. The rest need new material provided by our helpful Heroes in Option C. Furthermore, the lingering damage from a previous attack and old age have turned the floorboards weak and unstable. The wood creaks ominously beneath the mass of even a single average-sized person, so watch your step.

B ♟ You might want to get your weapon before you descend into the dank depths beneath the castle. Once you make it down the steep, slippery stairs, you’ll be meeting the gigantic, hostile rats that infest the castle cellar from top to bottom. It looks like magical residue from long-ago battles has seeped into both the foundation and its inhabitants. The cellars have become a huge warren filled with strange mana currents, and sometimes flooded with water. If you're going to start an extermination campaign, you may want to recall the magical residue: chopping off a rat’s head and limbs will barely slow it down. It will keep going for hours unless you either lop off all its limbs or pierce its heart.

If you manage to make it all the way up into the castle’s two intact towers (the other two are half-collapsed), the uppermost levels are utterly covered in bird crap. You’ll be encountering the kings of this castle: the unusually large, grey-feathered sea birds that have taken up residence here. Albatrosses, gulls, pelicans, even sand pipers: they all share nesting and pooping space here. The feathers of each bird seem to have taken on stone-like properties not unlike the castle’s walls. They’re extremely ferocious and protective of their nests, which are filled with all kinds of things: twigs, shiny things, coin money, Option C’s supplies, feathers of all kinds, and some completely ordinary tools that seem too small for human hands, and much older than anything else in the place save for the walls. If you look closely, you might be able to see a few baby rats scattered in amongst the eggs and the peeping chicks. They’re being fed, too.

You’re meant to be moving the birds out of the place, but you might have enough trouble just moving their offal.

C ♙ Don’t feel like dealing with pest control? No problem! Blanc will need materials for rebuilding and other supplies for the coming battle! Everyone knows how important it is for the fortress to remain standing, so Heroes will be provided with gadgets and weaponry that should make it difficult for enemies to penetrate the walls yet again. Word has spread that the Heroes are transporting valuable goods, though, so you might have to fend off the occasional hopeful man or annoying mouse (rat) who wishes to borrow much-needed material.

Of course, all this rebuilding will be for naught if you are not prepared to defend the stronghold! Ammunition such as cannonballs, bullets and arrows needs to be transported to Graupera en masse, pronto. Equally important essentials include first aid supplies and enough non-perishable food and water to last a small army (you) a month or two. You wouldn’t want to have to scavenge for rat meat.

No one knows just how long this battle is going to last.

THREE Training
It’s time for you landlubbers to learn how to swim! Commander Lisbrand won’t be tolerating any sinking stones on her task force. The upcoming battle will be fought on the sea so your instructor, one of Blanc’s many fine captains (when she isn’t intoxicated), will make every single individual who hesitates at the sight of the open ocean walk the plank. She’ll even give you a helpful kick if necessary! Once that’s over, she will show you how to steer a ship. However, wandering eyes that land anywhere on the inebriated captain’s assets will be swiftly and spectacularly dealt a large bottle of the harbor’s best swill right where it hurts.

Blanc has also provided training dummies dressed suspiciously like prominent figures of the Othellian underworld. Now might be a good time to branch out and learn about your affinities. Heroes who have recently been promoted in Rank might want to set some time aside for getting used to their new abilities, too. Power and responsibility come hand in hand, after all!

INFO Welcome!
Welcome to Crosscheck's April intro log! For any further questions, please see the FAQ or reach us at the Contact Us page. Have fun!
drawmecute: (Hashtag Blessed)

1

[personal profile] drawmecute 2016-04-16 02:32 am (UTC)(link)
*Lola continued to break in her new weapon. They were a pair of new boots, they needed some wear to be comfortable. Plus she was still looking around for clothing supplies and other odds and ends. She was sitting down and watching, amused at the little parade. However the other teen clearly needed some peace. Quick loud clipped Spanish shooing the kids off. Which worked pretty well, in spite of her dominuative size.*

My abuela would be so proud.

*Lola was decked out in her full uniform, with a pink stone pendant on a gold chain as her only accent right now. Other than the hair, she seemed like a completely normal teenager.*

[personal profile] babbylon 2016-04-16 02:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Different times, different goals, different ambitions. Before Gilgamesh fell into the Grail, and shrugged off All the Evils of the World; before he spent so many miserable years beside Kirei, hating humanity more with each passing day; before he came to hate it so much, he drank from his own potion of youth to forget everything. Before he came to realize that the world he was so charged to look after needed to be purged entirely of human sin.

Before everything that would come to drive them against one another in that doomed future. Gilgamesh does not know of it, could not even foresee it now. He only remembers wishing for their wedding, more than anything else, to drown her in sorrow and suffering so that he might witness the beauty of her tragedy firsthand...

But all that melodrama seemed very far away from bird poop and rat extermination. And losing everything tended to force a change of perspective, for good or for ill.]


I will take the rest of the supplies back, and see that you are properly compensated for your efforts.

[Fair was fair. Even as a weak Pawn, he couldn't have done it without her.]

Until that time, may fortune favor us both.

[A peaceful farewell? Or almost something like it. Gilgamesh, being the melodramatic clod he is, jumps the rest of the way down, straight off the edge. ...he's fine, really.]
showsnopiety: (Oh God)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-16 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Wow someone doesn't know how to take teasing. But then again it was about food. Can't abide that, it's pure stomach churning awfulness.

Caren's mouth twitches.]


I wasn't planning to. [Not yet. And, innocently: ] How should food be used?
showsnopiety: (I close my eyes)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-16 02:43 am (UTC)(link)
I was told that it was as if I was moving a limb. That's what mana is.

[She moves closer to Yoon, pressing a hand against his arm.]

What you will need to do is breathe, and focus. You now have another arm-a tail, if you prefer, or wings. Whatever may help you visualize. And there is blood that flows through it. And here...

[Her hand goes down his forearm, to touch his palm,]

Is where you'll feel the pulse. Of your heart and of your mana.
yaoihand: (041-013)

oh true .. .

[personal profile] yaoihand 2016-04-16 02:53 am (UTC)(link)
[ Perfect. Her victim is completely clueless!! Deeming the timing just right, Moon finally strikes, lunging forward with her fangs open and ready to sink into rodent flesh.

Here's when Kija finally peeks out from behind a tree ... and the first thing he sees is his carrier lunging at someone else's pet (Again???). ]


MOON! NO!! [ Without a second thought, Kija tackles that carrier of his, his long arms scrambling to grab hold of her. Unfortunately, because of the proximity, this means he's likely to end up tackling Yoon at the same time. He doesn't even notice who he's just slammed into yet. All he's focused on is this naughty snake of his! ]

You cannot attack other people's pets! If you're hungry, just tell me!
showsnopiety: (I'm down on my knees)

sup sup

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-16 02:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Who he could be possibly be reminded of, that was the question of the ages. If he told her, Caren would refuse. And then she'd accidentally prove him right or wrong, one way or the other.

But this was embarrassing. And infuriating. The fact that she's fallen into this hole and she can't get out on her own...and now she has an observer to see her blunder.

Who wasn't helping. They might have possible kinship, maybe.]


Yes.

[She blew out a breath, and a puff of white hair blew in front of her, settling on her face. With an impatient swipe, she glanced over his way. Red haired, casual....if her foot wasn't caught, could she totally take him? Answer: yes.]

I'm not certain how it happened, but I can't bring my foot out. I might have sprained my ankle.

[So get over here and help, is implied but...it's not like she can force him.]
yaoihand: (61.)

[personal profile] yaoihand 2016-04-16 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ Kija takes another tentative step forward, if only so it'll be easy to pull, but the wood cracks again, the visible split growing further in length. It doesn't look stable at all right now, gradually depressing and taking some of her leg with it. They didn't have much time before it breaks apart.

The pulling seemed so fruitless. He's going to try something more risky. Moving forward again, Kija ignores the loud crack that the floor makes and reaches out to grab the wood with his claws, peeling it away with so much ease it's like he's peeling a fruit. He then sweeps Caren into his grasp in that monstrous hand of his, holding her protectively to his chest and jumping to more stable ground.

There. Now she's safe. ]


Does your leg still hurt?
flawless_precision: (pic#10174187)

[personal profile] flawless_precision 2016-04-16 03:35 am (UTC)(link)
Mm. Sounds like a backwater. [Sadly the feeling isn't exactly mutual. They arrive at the Training Room and Phasma leads them in. She's already trained once today, but she's not above another session, especially if it means assessing another Hero.]

What do you specialize in?
wingbottle: (pic#10083858)

[personal profile] wingbottle 2016-04-16 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
Don't get hurt then! I don't want you to poke your eye out!

[SHE SAID SHE HAS TRAINING! Poking your eye out with swords by accident is something Kobato would do, not the other way around.]
convictionary: (No there ain't no rest for the wicked)

[personal profile] convictionary 2016-04-16 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
[And he'd probably make an embarrassing noise if it happened. He looked at her. Looked away. Rolled the sucker in his mouth.]

Sorry to hear it. Hate it when things go sour.

[...after a look around to make sure that there wasn't anyone else who could actually do this for him and her instead he'll get up and stop leaning against the wall. Ngh. Fin-]

Cripes!

[Guess who's ginger and also nearly had his foot plunge through a floorboard. This asshole, that's who.

...okay. Okay.]


...ignore that. I'll get you out. [Because then he can nope away from this shithole pretty quickly without guilt. He'll probably have to either pull it out or get some blunt object to- how the fuck is he going to get her foot out he asks himself. He'll think of something, but how the fuck.]
armorial: (pic#10135380)

[personal profile] armorial 2016-04-16 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ She listens to his theories on the price. They are all reasonable--it also tells her that he's also new on board the ship, making her feel more at ease. She sits here, idly floating with the help of the board. ]

You may call me Saber. [ Kindness is always greeted with an introduction in her case. ] May I have your name?
showsnopiety: (When you call my name)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-16 03:57 am (UTC)(link)
[She tenses right up. The wood is clearly unstable, and she starts to move her hand, motioning for him to go to at least keep himself from being pulled under with her. He shouldn't get himself into-

Caren gasps, trying to motion for him to go and-

ends up swept up in his arms, and grabbing onto his uniform. She can feel herself breathing rapidly from the scare and...as she calms, from the pain. Is that bits of wood sticking out of her leg? That's bits of wood all right. Not to mention various scrapes and possible bruising...]


It'll be fine.

[Sort of answering the question. She'll try to stand if he lets her, even if it means she falls to the floor in pain. Yeah she's...smart like that.]
houndumb: (024 (C))

[personal profile] houndumb 2016-04-16 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
[The snake tails don't quite put away their fangs at Naoki's timely (and quite tiny) intervention, but they do stop hissing, so that's already a step forward. Instead, they seem to bob up and down aimlessly for a few moments before... turning to each other and bobbing a few more times. Are the snake tails having a silent conversation? By themselves?!

... Back at the main head, meantime, the dog is shaking itself again -- you're about to get even more drenched, sorry guys. It doesn't seem to be displeasure at its small fellow's noisiness; it seems much more like the motion of a large animal trying to ward off a fly than anything else. The rain of rubble has calmed a little now that the snake heads are distracted, and it looks like things might possibly be taking a turn...

... For the worse, the moment light shines from Zelos' direction. All three heads are immediately zeroed in on the source of the possible threat, snakes lashing forwards with frightening speed and Cerberus himself opening his mouth to let out a roar of challenge -- but he doesn't charge. Instead, he rears back a bit like a horse -- flapping his large wings once and probably bending a couple of trees in the process -- until his forelegs leave the ground, and then slams them back down.

There's probably a few more splits suddenly cracking open in the courtyard ground along with the sudden earthshaking impact. It'll be hard to maintain your footing or your concentration on your casting. Could the dog understand magic in some form...?]
showsnopiety: (In the midnight hour)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-16 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
[And he's trying to play it cool. Or lazy. Normally, she would be fine with this, but clearly she's a little...unbalanced from the usual. Not to mention, she would like to have her foot free very much, thank you.]

...seems the floor is worse than I thought.

[See? She's totally ignoring that. She's just sitting here, a total damsel in distress, waiting for her not prince to rescue her and take her away on his wild wild horse.

...wait, wrong class.]


At least there's no rats. Otherwise this would be a problem.
baka_jyanai: (Combat Rock)

[personal profile] baka_jyanai 2016-04-16 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
Whatever, I'd just fly. -Except...-
baka_jyanai: (damn right I'm the shit)

[personal profile] baka_jyanai 2016-04-16 04:16 am (UTC)(link)
You're just saying that cuz you're jealous, right?
flirtations: (i will use this icon the most when)

i also want a carrier wildcard

[personal profile] flirtations 2016-04-16 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ So it isn't Jae-ha that finds Yoon first, but his carrier, Song. She has strayed, as she is wont to do, because much like her master, she is quite fond of doing as she pleases. She's just as begrudging about following orders, too. As Yoon is about to open his room, the tiny fairy flies up to him, just a few centimeters away from his nose, quite apparently...

Smitten.

This beautiful boy! She's seen her share of pretty people here, but there's something special about that silky pink hair, those clear-as-water blue eyes...

Song blushes, placing her hands behind her back, tilting her head, and coyly smiling at Yoon. Finally, she musters up the courage to give him a timid, tiny wave.

Meanwhile, Jae-ha is convinced that Song has ran away for good, and is roaming the hallways endlessly. Damnit, Song, they have to get to work! ]
sugegasa: (Default)

[personal profile] sugegasa 2016-04-16 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
"You'd be surprised how many times it works out favorably! With women and some gentlemen as well."

And that was said with a rather flirtatious smile, because who really knew?

"I probably should have picked up on her mood a bit better before trying, though."
liberal_arts: (Default)

[personal profile] liberal_arts 2016-04-16 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
And more simply, it is the ultimate purpose of a sword to cut that which is before it, under the command of its wielder.
long_live_the_queen: (fucking stairs)

[personal profile] long_live_the_queen 2016-04-16 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
[Kaede frowns a bit at the snake tails start...talking? Maybe? She couldn't hear anything even with how big the things were, but maybe snakes didn't speak out...loud. Maybe?

Unfortunately she doesn't get any time to do much else; when the Cerberus reared back Kaede tensed, shielding her eyes from the wind—and the shockwave hit, bowling her straight over onto her ass.

Naoki, being much smaller, mostly bounces and lands...somewhat on his feet. Okay more his side, but he scrambles to his paws much faster than his master. He starts barking again; don't do that, that wasn't nice!!
]
showsnopiety: (When you call my name)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-16 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
Not at all. I've no reason to be jealous of someone like you.
liberal_arts: (GET FUCKED SCRUB)

[personal profile] liberal_arts 2016-04-16 04:34 am (UTC)(link)
-Exceptionally well. Kasen kept his eyes elsewhere, looking for interesting gestures of the hand, or slips of the tongue. All the while he wrapped an arm about Jirou and held him as close as he could without blocking the taller blade's hearing, but for all the world they simply looked like a pair of amorous heroes, enjoying the night...-

What a wonderful flavor...
glorifiedtrash: <user name="shooped" site="livejournal.com"> (When I'm no longer young and beautiful?)

[personal profile] glorifiedtrash 2016-04-16 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
[The sudden bucking of the ground trips Zelos up, dropping him to his knees and making him lose his grip on his spell. The magic fades. Looking down through the rain Zelos's eyes trace over the new cracks in the brick beneath all of them. So it's going to be like this is it?]

If you're scared that's fine. Angry, frightened, plain pissed off-- you've got every right to be. But you're wrecking this place and I can't allow that. [Reaching into a glove he pulls out a knife. Why his glove, because look he's a paranoid fucker don't question how many weapons he has on him the answer is a shitload.] This place was made for all of you-- it's something special.

[Running at Nora it looks like he's going to do this the old fashion way: swordsman to beast! Haha I'm kidding plz this is Zelos. The moment he's within range he drops like a fucking chump, sliding through the slick puddles of the courtyard to...underneath Nora?? Idk things pick a spot any spot eyyy. He will take the time to shout in Kaede's direction though:]

What are you doing!

[This is the teamiest teamwork to ever teamwork.]
Edited 2016-04-16 04:55 (UTC)
houndumb: (025 (C))

[personal profile] houndumb 2016-04-16 05:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Naoki's barking doesn't get the desired reaction this time -- there's just too much going on, to the point where even three heads aren't enough to keep track of or defend against the onslaught. Cerberus is in full five-alarm panicked alert now: its considerable mane appears to be attempting to make itself bigger despite the rain thanks to the motions of its shoulders and wings, and there's a constant warning growl in the back of its throat.

The snakes have whipped back around, coming in low, and are hissing and creeping ever closer to where Naoki stands alone. They look more menacing this time, eyes flashing almost as bright as the dog's. There's really no telling what that last provocation's done in terms of upping the danger rating.

Zelos rushing in, though, makes Cerberus itself jerk to a defensive crouch and let out a higher sound, almost a bark, not quite a yelp. And once Zelos is in the shadow of the beast, so to speak, you get the luxury of seeing a very large dog trying to dance away from whatever attack is coming. The goose-stepping might be funny in other circumstances, when it isn't making hairline cracks appear in the stones again...

There's no focused retaliation from Cerberus this time, though, somehow. It's still shaking its head occasionally like it has an itch, and that growl has turned into something that's almost the beginnings of recognizable sound, NNNnnnrrrr...]
Edited 2016-04-16 05:43 (UTC)
long_live_the_queen: (new and improved generic glare)

[personal profile] long_live_the_queen 2016-04-16 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Though she'd been knocked down, her temper was largely undamaged. Still on a hair-trigger as usual!]

Fuck off, thank you-

[The sight of her dog possibly being threatened spurred Kaede into instantaneous action; scrambling to her feet, seizing the nearest discarded restraint (a collar), and stalking angrily forwards even as her Carrier skittered backwards, yipping in alarm. The poleaxe in her other hand burst into an reddish flame; still cool, but burning brighter by the moment as it responded to Kaede's anger.]

Going to bite his head off, asshole? Start with mine!

[She might be mad. Or suicidal. Or both, since that's what this team seems to be made of.

She hopefully had a plan too, or the Oubliette would be busy.
]