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pawnstorm2016-04-09 04:30 am
boardmaster) wrote in pawnstorm2016-04-09 04:30 am
Entry tags:
- !intro,
- !job,
- allelujah haptism (mobile suit gundam 00,
- anakin skywalker (star wars),
- artoria pendragon (fate/),
- bolin (legend of korra),
- captain phasma (star wars),
- caren ortensia (fate/),
- cirno (touhou project),
- ema skye (ace attorney),
- gareki (karneval),
- gilbert nightray (pandora hearts),
- gilgamesh (fate/),
- jae-ha (akatsuki no yona),
- jiroutachi (touken ranbu),
- josuke higashikata (jjba),
- juzumaru tsunetsugu (touken ranbu),
- kaede (elfen lied),
- kaito kuroba (dcmk),
- kasen kanesada (touken ranbu),
- kija (akatsuki no yona),
- kojirou sasaki (fate/),
- lola pacini (degrassi),
- lord light (original character),
- minato arisato (persona),
- misaki yata (k),
- namazuo toushirou (touken ranbu),
- natasha romanova (avengers academy),
- noir (letter bee),
- nora (nora),
- one (drakengard 3),
- professor weissman (trials in the sky),
- setsuna f. seiei (mobile suit gundam 00),
- shin-ah (akatsuki no yona),
- shinoa hiiragi (owari no seraph),
- shunsui kyouraku (bleach),
- sion astal (lolheroes),
- slaine troyard (aldnoah.zero),
- sorey (tales of zestiria),
- taiwan (axis powers hetalia),
- tieria erde (mobile suit gundam 00),
- vivienne stanbury (bloodborne),
- wukong (league of legends),
- yoon (akatsuki no yona)
intro ♚ april
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
we all gotta get our jollies somewhere
Regardless of his beef with it, it holds fast and is surprisingly sturdy even under his gnashing teeth; he growls a little when Caren does her thing, partly a warning and partly for lack of any other way to react. He would be backing up if he had room; he has a squirmy, uncomfortable feeling that this is not what you do with boots, in a fight or otherwise.]
Well... [and now there's a bit of maneuvering going on here, where Nora pivots and scrunches up slightly to set his heels against Caren's single boot that's resting on the ground; this happens all in a flash, albeit not really sneakily, and then he's grabbed a length of the shawl in both hands and yanked -- hoping to catch her by surprise and throw her off-balance] I already said you can't have me!
yup
But really, she's enjoying herself with Nora right up to the point he throws her off balance.
There's a flicker of surprise, and down she goes. Right on top of the dog.
Welp.]
no subject
[Well, that was... just as planned and also really not as planned, because the extent of Nora's strategizing only went as far as getting Caren off her high horse -- the problem is that he's kind of under the horse. He still hasn't let go of the shawl, so they've ended up in kind of a tangle here.
This is a nice mess. Their audience is probably laughing their asses off at this point, because surprise: they still have one.]
Ugh... [not that Nora cares all that much, beyond aforementioned unhorsing and maximum returned humiliation; he has the gall to smirk despite everything, too] That's what you get! Now will you get off before I kick you off!
[Update: he's still holding on to the shawl. Or tangled in it, same diff.]
no subject
But Caren straightens up, grabs the end of her shawl and stares down at him. After she clamps onto Nora with her thighs of course.]
Nora, Nora...you'd get so much further if you knew how to say the word please.
[She tsks him, smiling at him ever so gently. He's smirking but...this boy. He's going to get strangled in a second.]
no subject
Grailmud, I guess; I assume there's some kind of semi-pleasant burning(?!) in exchange -- even if she'd felt like rainbows and roast beef, though, it wouldn't have placated Nora much... He's a brick wall like that.Speaking of brick walls, though...]
Please, please... You're all the same! I'm never going to say it.
[Strangled or unfortunately bondaged, one of the two, since considerably more than his neck is wrapped up in the shawl at this point. Also, he's still smirking, even if he's also trying to wriggle away from her thighs because he is not the horse here, Caren?? And also her mana trying to turn him into a hotdog.
His assertion, though, is all steel no matter what's on top of him or what's coming. If he didn't give in to the dreaded please in a life-or-death situation, he's not going to give in to it in a... he's not sure what situation this is, but whatever.]
no subject
Mmm Grail mudalso he was feeling fantastic to her; who knew what he thought she felt like. But who needed drugs when there was mana exchange? WHOO.Good times, good times.
Little wonder that her eyes were all golden glitter and her eyes were looking a little...well...happy in the creepiest way. But first things first.]
Are you so certain Nora? You say that, and that just sounds like a challenge. Every time.
[The words were all but purred out since someone was loving giving out her Silent Hill vibe. Where were the alarms? He needed some alarmed since she was going to just.
Lean down on top of him so she could freak him out-and grab more slack of the shawl to bind his hands.]
no subject
In other words, even if there were alarms, they've been ringing for enough years that they've either run out of battery or any usefulness whatsoever.
He does do his best to lean back once she leans in, though, just in case she goes for another headbutt -- because that's clearly the atmosphere here.]
That's because it is a challenge. [he didn't think that one through, but does he ever] But you should just give up now!!
[Well, now they've both got ahold of the shawl, so when she tries to bind his hands, he tries to turn it back around on her and this tangle just keeps getting bigger.]
no subject
...and clearly he's reading the atmosphere right. Totally. That look in her eye totally means fight club.
His words only make her laugh quietly, and the great shawl tangle begins. It's almost like they're slapping each other, but with more cloth. Though if she gets the upper hand, she is going to try and pin his wrists down by hand if she has to. Clearly that's the only way she's going to have him helpless.
At least during phase one.]
no subject
And look, it's either fight club or sexual harassment, and sexual harassment has always been signal for fight club, so in the end he's reading the atmosphere right. This is his story and he's sticking to it.
Nora bristles all over again about being laughed at, even though he's still doggedly applying himself in the Great Shawl Slapfight; normally, it's a gamble whether Caren would be able to pin him by strength alone, but with all the cloth in the way it's difficult for either of them to move. And she's got his legs pinned, sooo...]
Let... go! Damn hag!
[Insults are the way. That, and trying to bite her.]
no subject
Sexual harassment fight club is totally the thing. She has the upper hand here with having his hands all up in a mess (as was her intent all along) and slowly, she's going to have him pushed down onto the ground like the dog he is. Such is the way of the Great Shawl Slapfight.]
What a cute nickname, puppy.
[Yeah, he's trying to bite her isn't she. Welp, she knows how to stop that. And the insults.
With her mouth. Right on his.
....there might be a little biting back. Lil bit.]
no subject
Except. You know. Caren's probably found one of the most foolproof ways of shutting him up, ergo, stealing his air and probably what brain function there is to go with it. Now he's mostly just frozen in a caricature of some kind of fishface, because the path from Point A to Point Z has encountered a fatal error. This is not an expected outcome of either people saying they want to own him, or people trying to tie him up.
His life would be much too interesting otherwise.
So Caren gets her respite and her biting in, for a long moment before he jumps in (very) belated surprise and promptly tries to bite her back again. Hopefully that kiss was a quickie unless she wants to mana exchange through blood, too.]
no subject
Annnd there goes his brain function. There is her moment of smug, because a, mama exchange, and b, she got him.
Which anyone who was watching would take as frankly as a makeout session. Which it might turn into. Since...well...
When he bit her hard enough to bleed, she gasped. And bit him again, pulling his lips. Yeah violence...ist a bad thing. Kind of a turn on tbh.
The boy is doomed.Good job there sport.]
no subject
Which means... blood mana exchange is happening (for the second time since he arrived, what's wrong with his life here), and Nora -- while he pauses for a moment in confusion since who even does that, what is going on with this human literally -- just ends up biting back again because he ain't gonna lose(?!).
And okay, he knows what's going on in theory but like. Seriously, what kind of doom is this, how does he get a return ticket on this ride!!]
no subject
First time she has mana exchange via blood (hoo, that was better than wine, kind of like a shot of something...whiskey, maybe). Which gives her some happy shivers, much to everyones...possible...confusion.
Oh, he bit the sore spot on her lips. A small whimper emerged, and her hand made to cradle the back of his neck. His mouth was hers until he completely froze up or she was done with her makeouts. Or...something like that. Either way, she'd be interested in what he'd have to say after his first public makeout session.]
no subject
Which he is kind of starting to figure out (slowly!) is the thing that's happening, particularly with them all tangled up now both physically and mana-wise (his hands are still stubbornly clenched in the shawl, and probably some of her hair by now too); the stream didn't do this back home, whatever is going on with the magic that everyone keeps telling him about. It unsettles him, so it pisses him off, so he hasn't got around to examining it. Meantime, Caren is unsettling him, that is not the reaction you usually get when you bite someone and she keeps doing it.
Well, and also Drunk Captain Extraordinaire chooses that moment to wolf-whistle at them loudly around the (sadly inorganic) lip of her bottle of whiskey.
Possibly the only thing funnier than Nora's face as he suddenly tries to shove away and completely fails is that he bonks their heads together trying to do it. Possibly not that funny, possibly a bit painful of the non-nice variety, but you should've seen this one coming.]
What the... Wh-- You-- Ow!
no subject
[All right, that she should have seen coming. But she was caught up in the kissing, amused at the wolf whistling and all, of the nonsense. Caren ended up sitting up and rubbing her forehead.
There could have been a collar solution, but eh. And she might have lost a few of her hairs on the trip up. Seriously. Ow.]
Ha...well. That's...not what I expected.
[She brought up her hand, touching her bleeding lip.]
Would you like me to untangle your hands, Nora? You're being held by a weapon. They do not tear.
no subject
[One hand's flown to his head, too, which is smarting now -- one remains instinctively gripping the shawl because really, it's the culprit of pretty much the entire situation right now (next to Caren herself) and he's wary of allowing it to be used freely again. Which means she loses a few less hairs, but there's still a few.
Nora's a little red, definitely flustered, and still trying to scramble away with all his might; instinctively he also licks his lips to get rid of the mingled blood and makes a very strange face at the odd... magical... taste. Thing.
At least he's recovered enough to glare, which seems like a safe fallback in the absence of being able to do anything else.]
And I know what a weapon is like here! Even whatever this is, I just don't know what the hell you're trying to pull, but I'm not buyin' it!
[He probably said all of that in one breath, also.]
no subject
[Good job with the head bump, but she's just a little...distracted by the taste of magic in the blood. It's strange and kind of tingly; it makes her wonder if this is what vampires taste when they go on a rampage.
But really, Nora is a big kid. This'll be easy.]
I just told you. All I want is you. Consider the kiss-and blood exchange-a contract. From now one, you work for me.
[It doesn't help that she's not wiping up the blood at all. Nope. She's keeping it all over her lips.]
I will look out for you, and see about your various needs. And in exchange, I direct you-whether it comes to sparring, intel collection, or simply maiming and killing.
This isn't a request. This is now your reality. Fight it all you want, but it is fruitless.
no subject
[Nora is a big kid (who's been vampired on now, apparently), which means he's also petulant enough to literally run an argument into the ground (or the sea, in this case) and keep right on going. Just at the moment, though -- at the moment, there are too many curve balls going on for even his single-track mind.]
... You really think I don't know how contracts work, don't you?!
[His bristling at the mere word 'contract' is probably the most impressive showing he's made so far -- like, his non-ears are flattened somehow and his ponytails are fluffed up and everything, don't question anime logic -- and he stops scrambling back. Squares his shoulders, ready for another round of fending off this strange creepy (bloody) girl despite being completely outclassed in... whatever the hell arena this is now.
Really, he doesn't know, he just knows she's got the upper hand somehow. Which, far from making him back off or even slow down, is simply signal to dig his heels in.]
I don't need anybody else lookin' out for me, or directing me, I know how to fight! [technically, he's already got Blanc on his back too??] And even if you could somehow get a contract on me, I'd just break it to little tiny pieces.
no subject
[Flat out says it. Is she toying with him? The answer, as always, is yes.
Just as it is fun to whack him over the head. She thought that contract would rile him up, from the signs of before. But now...oh he's getting all sorts of fluffy. It's like watching a poodle try to be fierce.
...make it a toy poodle.]
You know how to brawl; you use your body instead of your head, do you not? How many times could you have overwhelmed me with sheer power if you had been smart about it?
[She shook her head mockingly, before she made to turn away. As if everything had already been settled. And in a way, it had.]
Count it as a blessing. At least I know how to take care of all of your needs, mutt.