intro ♚ april

[boardmaster]

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!

Comments

Lola Pacini | Degrassi | OTA - Will Match Styles

[drawmecute]

Airy Travels
Lola spent most of the trip going from shop to shop trying to find all the essentials to her new life here. She needed a purse that matched her little little kangaroo rat friend. Whom she calls Julio after her poor missing phone. Julio was busy chewing on the edges of the little pink clutch she found to keep him in.

Fabric and accessories to make her uniform match her hair, naturally, was next. And socks to match the cute white boots that are apparently her weapon. They were pretty but she wished the heel was a bit higher on them. She'd now need to be extra careful making sure her clothes go with her shoes, instead of picking shoes with each outfit.

Naturally, of course, Lola's gotten lost more than she's found while wandering the ship. So she frequently is asking for directions to get everywhere.

Training
Lola was already an excellent swimmer, summers by the pool were a standard for her. So Lola's time training was more about these new boots of hers. If you notice Lola's sporting quite a bit of bruises? That's because she's gotten pretty good at the jumping thing.

She's still figuring out how to land. You would think landing would be easy, it isn't. She can't control how high she goes, when she jumps it ends up at an angle and she end up crashing into a roll. It's a really fun ride and she's laughing on the way up... maybe someone should give her some advice about not crashing.

Before her hair needs to be dyed purple to match the bruises.

Capablanca Beach
Lola is totally investigating. That's what she's doing, entirely. There are no ulterior motives and she definitely isn't limiting this investigating to cute boys without shirts. ...it isn't cheating if you've been kidnapped and conscripted as a soldier, right? Lola's boots (which she still can't use right) are tied together and slung over her shoulder. And while she's wearing her uniform, she has on a new bikini underneath it.

What harm will a few hours of hooky and pizza do? Care to join her?

[mithrarin]

"Are you all right?"

Dust winced at the crashing landing, one hand reflexively held up as if to protect himself, but as soon as he recovered he hurried over to her side, dropping to a knee to check on her.

[drawmecute]

"I think so... I didn't break anything." Lola's managed to get the whole mana thing to work, and the boots, but she's not sure what she needs.

"Unless I'm suppose to let my big butt break my fall, I'm not sure what I'm missing."

[mithrarin]

"It's not that big." Dust, either oblivious or naive, made the obvious comment without knowing he might be stepping into a minefield. "I'm guessing you're not used to high jumps like that..."

[drawmecute]

"It is, but its fine. Big butts are good now." Lola wasn't ashamed of her body, she knew what boys looked at when she walked down the hall. And she was fine with that.

"I'm moving too fasts, and jumping too high. But these things didn't come with instructions..." She dusts herself off and stands up, clicking her heels to draw attention to the source of her jumping.

[mithrarin]

"I... okay." Recognizing fully that he had wandered firmly into territory he had no business being in, Dust quickly conducted a tactical conversational retreat and reorganized his forces in more familiar rhetorical trenches.

"Speed and height aren't issues -- they're just making things a little worse for you. The important thing about a jump is being aware of your center of gravity. You can't let your legs get out from under you if you want to land safely."

[drawmecute]

That is the best, Lola is an expert at this style of verbal ccombat, you are not prepared. You are a million years for prepared.

"You try keeping your center of gravity when you have a pair of rockets attached to your feet," Lola wasn't sure how to learn... maybe she should get all the mattresses from one of the rooms to give her something to land on... "And landing flat would would probably break something. I need to land in a tumble or something."

Beach!

[twosidedsword]

Shin-Ah was actually investigating, listening in on things around him as he gathered information. The people at the cabaret had suggested some places for him to go and do his job so he was going around to see what he could learn. Of course, he was still wearing his uniform, not having quite gotten around to getting himself some new clothes. But he stood out easily enough, tall, blue hair, gold eyes like jewels...

Looking over, he noticed her and paused. Pink hair was a new thing for him so he was lost in the sight of it. Sure he and his Dragon brothers had unusual hair colors but that was due to them being Dragons. Was hers for some special reason like that?

Sorry, Lola. Hope you don't mind the pretty guy just watching you with his head tilted.

[drawmecute]

Lola's been here for only a few days, and she'd had her touch up rather recently. There was still a little bit of root showing, her naturally dark hair visible if you looked for it. Plus her eyebrows didn't match the pink locks. She noticed she had someone's eye, she assumed it was for her figure. Boys stared, that was her life. She loved it.

But when she looked at him, she noticed his eyebrows matched the very unnatural blue of his hair. That had her attention. Sadly Lola's curiosity was a bit stronger than her sense of personal boundaries, so she just walked over and is just staring trying to figure out how his hair was dyed so well.

[twosidedsword]

Ah... She not only came closer but now she was really...inspecting him? Shin-Ah shifted his eyes away, not sure what was happening here anymore. For some reason she was staring at his hair which was a new thing for him. Most people were usually trying to look at his Dragon eyes so he really had noooo idea how to react to this particular situation other than to flush a little and maybe give a squirm.

Of course, she wasn't about to find any roots that were a different color on him. This was actually his natural hair color. Surprise.

Luckily his carrier knew how to handle this situation! So this blue ball of fur wiggled out of his coat and bounced over to the girl to purr and nuzzle against her cheek. "...Ao..."

[drawmecute]

Huh... no roots. Like, no roots. None of the damage either. It was as if his hair was naturally blue. Or... well, they did say magic was a thing here. If she could keep her hair color without the damage that'd be great! No she hasn't noticed that she's made him uncomfortable. And then she's got a blue dustbunny demanding her attention.

"Oh hello there," Naturally the fuzzything brought Lola's pink furred kangaroo rat out to play too. Squeaking from it's little hidey hole in her clutch. Lola's eyes moved from the fluffball, her rat, and the boy she had just been inspecting like he was a new summer fashion. "How do you get your hair that color without damaging it?"

Because, you know, it couldn't really be natural. And if it was the world is blatantly unfair.

[twosidedsword]

Well those two carriers were obviously going to be friends now. There was no avoiding it. Shin-Ah gave up on trying to get Ao back to him because he was being asked about his hair. Honestly he wasn't sure why she'd ask that and it showed all over his face as he blinked down at her.

"...I was...born like this."

Damaging your hair? Did turning it other colors damage it? Was that a thing?

[drawmecute]

Lola tilted her head at that answer. Born with hair like that. There was a lot to this world she had to know about, sadly this bit of information won't help her keep her own look alive. And she'd hate to have to coordinate clothes with her real hair color. Shudder. "That's... really unfair."

Julio the rat makings it way over to Ao, because clearly the little ball of fluff was far more important than either of their masters right now.

"Oh, right! I'm Lola." Manners, she'd forgotten them in all the being easily distracted.

Airy

[flawless_precision]

[Patrols. It's so ingrained, once Phasma finds herself on the airship she naturally takes to the hallways, quietly familiarizing herself with its layout and getting a feel for the other inhabitants.]

[Seeing this ... overwhelmingly pink-accented girl, Phasma's lip twitches slightly in disgust. She herself is decked out in the white uniforms (minus the epaulettes, which she discarded the moment she discovered they were colored based on gender), with her red and black cloak billowing out around her. Her carrier, seeing another person, waves and spins its drill-bit stinger, in a tiny, metallic display of intimidation.]

[For the moment, Phasma doesn't see the need to do anything in addition, and merely inclines her head in a small nod of acknowledgement - not quite a greeting. Perhaps more of a baseline threat. You've been noticed.]

[drawmecute]

*Lola ditched the epaulettes for an entirely different reason. That green doesn't work with her normal color choices. Lola would spend time getting her uniform more adjusted to her desires. But she has only had the chance (and funds) to handle some earrings and a simple pendant.*

*Lola was... unnerved by the large woman, without a lot of understanding why. Still... needs were more important than feelings. And she took that incline of her head as an invitation.*

Excuse me, do you know where the Training Room is?

[flawless_precision]

[That's about the last thing she had expected to come out of the girl, but then they were all supposedly heroes here.]

Yes.I'll show you. [It would give her the chance to profile her, and hopefully see what she's capable of once they hit the training room.]

[drawmecute]

*Lola might be a flighty little basketcase, but she did have a work ethic. And she did know that she'd have to stay in shape somehow.*

Thanks, this place is expansive... It's hard to keep track of where everything is.

I'm Lola.

[flawless_precision]

This is hardly anything. [Seriously she frequently patrolled a station the size of a freaking planet. Not all of it, no, but no inconsiderable amount. This airship is nothing compared to the Destroyers of the fleet, even.]

[She tries to suppress a sneer of distaste at the name. It sounded tainted and strange. From a civilian standpoint, yes, it made sense, but Phasma's been dealing with Troopers for so long she has to resist the urge to catelog it, add a number to it, make it make sense. ]

Lola. [It doesn't feel right on her tongue.] I am Captain Phasma.

[And she is perfectly aware the rank doesn't carry and official weight here, but at the very least it is a warning to people that She Knows What She's Doing. That, at least, is her hope.]

[drawmecute]

I guess if you're used to this sort of thing.

*Lola's parents did pretty well, she had more than a few vacations out of the country. But this was a flying cruise ship. It was really beyond her imagination... okay that's not true, she did wonder what it would be like if a cruise ship could fly. This just happened to be better.*

...It is nice to meet you, Captain. I take you you're used to traveling on no notice to do important works for the state?

*Lola sounds a lot unsure as she says it, Phasma's way she said her name definitely made her feel like there was something wrong with it. Which is insane, her name suits her perfectly!*

training!

[memoryslain]

[ Ah. It's difficult to miss that pink hair. Which is a good thing, considering he's practicing shooting with this new gun and its unique bullets when a clumsy attempt lands smack dab in the middle of his "shooting range" after a live bullet shatters one of the used milk bottles from the airship, eyes widening with this new target rolling to a rough stop.

He's quick to holster the revolver and trot over to make sure she's all right! ]

It's you again— are you injured? You weren't shot, were you?

[drawmecute]

*Lola doesn't think she's been shot, but she quickly checks everything. Then pulls a shard of glass out of her hair.*

Not shot, just clumsy. I'm not used to jumping like a super hero.

*Only way she could really describe it.*

[memoryslain]

[ Noir will reach over and pick another one from a fold in her clothes. And then carefully circle her to make sure nothing else is stuck anywhere unfortunate. And now, finally, he offers her a hand to pull her to her feet. ]

That was quite impressive. Is it your shoes?

[drawmecute]

Yeah, apparently my weapon is a cute pair of boots that match my hair.

*It's true, the pink stones that adorned her boots were the same shade as her hair. Not that her hair was naturally that color.*

Still learning how not to crash. It's a lot harder than you think.

[memoryslain]

They are... nice.

[ He couldn't quite recall the word she'd used earlier— "fashionable". ]

And well-made, by the looks of it. They should help you in the future.

[ Noir's more worried about utility and comfort, especially considering his is a world where travels are often done by foot on rocky terrain. A good pair of boots was your best investment second only to a weapon. ]

I suppose I'm lucky that my weapon was something I'm already familiar with, though the urge to instill it with my heart is difficult to curb. [ A moment, head tilted as he seems to think for a moment. ] Would you jump again? Keeping your knees bent should help you absorb the impact, and it'll keep your weight centered a little better for a steadier landing to roll into. Or try spreading your feet with one in front and one slightly behind.

[drawmecute]

Well, they are weapons of great legendary providence. They had better be well made.

*There aren't many ways to get Lola to go 'retro,' but they match perfectly and she has to wear them. Also she only knows the word providence because it was used to describe them.*

You... don't use your passion while shooting?

*That's what Lola figured 'instill it with his heart' meant, anyway. She looked around to make sure she had a space to jump. Crouched, and launched up in a short arc. Short still being about seven feet off the ground as she came down. She came down feet first, with a little stumble but she stayed on her feet this time! She's definitely better at controlling her center of gravity and moving in the air. But it would still be rubbish in combat.*

Trying to manage this magic stuff isn't making this easier.