BCTheEntity

Strange Cases of SYNBAD [High Casual]

Jack Valent

Jack awoke relatively early, or at least what felt early, stretching himself out before getting out of bed and gathering up a clean white towel, along with a set of clothes for the day to replace the pajamas he'd slept in last night. He always reckoned that sleeping in never did a body good - once you were up, you were up. Then again, he'd never really woken up before six in the morning, so he imagined he'd need to figure that one out when the situation arose.

And now that he was up, he needed to make sure his roommates were, too. Well, they shared a section of the second floor, really, but that included at least one room separate from everyone else, so roommates they were. Before exiting into the main floor area, he knocked rapidly on both of their doors, calling 'Luka, Gio! Time to get up, chaps! Today's an important day, we need to be up early!' With that achieved, he stepped out of their "apartment" and walked to the boy's bathroom. He always wondered why there was so much empty space upstairs between the bedrooms and the bathrooms, but he imagined that between Viorel, Gemina, Angelica and Laura, there was probably more building design experience in play than he had. Plus, it was nice and airy, something that wouldn't happen with a simple corridor.

Jack wondered about bathrooms, sometimes. He knew the term was used for toilets and bathrooms alike in the US, but even if they didn't have a bath, the presence of some form of cleaning appliance apparently qualified them to be bathrooms rather than toilets - like showers, for instance, which despite using water to clean one's body with, definitely didn't qualify as baths in their own right. Then again, baths in the past were basically large rooms containing shallow swimming pools, so what did he know? The point was, he considered as he placed his day clothes neatly on one side of a free stall and took a couple of seconds to leave his night clothes in a pile on the other side, humans had weird definitions for things.

A few minutes of showering later, Jack exited the stall and redressed, now in his outfit for the day. Nothing fancy, he reckoned. He didn't need to be fancy for this, really. With that said and done, time for breakfast, he felt. Or rather, time for Blinky to come running down toward the bathroom just as Jack stepped out. He smelled oddly nice today, didn't he? Maybe Gemina had gotten her hands on him properly today after all.

'Morning, Blinky,' Jack greeted the goblin, in turn being greeted with 'Shiny Man, Shiny Man! Wakesy, is time for shinys!' Ah, of course, the semi-daily ritual.

'Sure thing, Blinky. I might just have one shiny left in my back pocket...' he teased, reaching behind himself as the goblin bounced around with self-absorbed excitement. What Blinky didn't know was that the "shinys" Jack gave him were basically scrunched-up arm blades - more accurately, foil blades excreted from one arm, torn off with the other, then crumpled up noisily behind his back before being presented. This time, he produced some aluminium foil to crush into a ball; other times, the metal ranged from iron, to copper, and at one point what was basically gold leaf, just to see if he could. Jack always found it curious how he could just freely generate almost any substance he wanted, so long as it could cut something. Yet he'd never needed to experiment too much, since if he needed something specific, he reckoned he'd be able to create it regardless.

'Aaaand you ready, Blinky?' he asked, presenting the foil ball in front of him. Blinky wound up stepping from one foot to the other with excitement and preparation, just long enough for Jack to toss the ball back to the opposite corner of the area, calling out 'Go get it!' in the process, then leaving Blinky to be enamoured by his new shiny in the opposite corner as he made his way downstairs.

It didn't take long for Jack to make his way to the basement. He'd intended to cook breakfast, for himself and whoever else was downstairs at the time, but it transpired that Jensen had beaten him to the punch, complete with a tune being sung for him in an odd, presumably fae language by Alyssa. He greeted Jensen with a 'Morning' too, in his case following up with 'You mind if I help out here? I never get to make pancakes very often, but they're always really nice.'

Warhammer 40k: Enemy Without, Enemy Within - an 'Ecclesiarchal' RP [Mature][High Casual/Low Advanced]

@Jaredthefox92 Okay, that is a different situation from what I was imagining. I am not the GM, and don't claim to know his mind, so I'll leave the answer to that question to @Jbcool.

Warhammer 40k: Enemy Without, Enemy Within - an 'Ecclesiarchal' RP [Mature][High Casual/Low Advanced]

@Jaredthefox92 No. The Ecclesiarchy does not tolerate the alien or the heretic.

Strange Cases of SYNBAD [High Casual]

Character Info

Name: Jack Valent

Age: 26

Alias: Edgelord, or sometimes The Edgelord

Tier: 3

Years Spent in SYNBAD: 2

Appearance:


Jack is somebody you could easily describe as "handsome", what with his sharp jawline and well-groomed dirty blond hair, both atop his head and on his face. Piercing blue eyes and a muscular frame about 180cm high complete the image, further assisted by a soothing voice with a very slight Irish accent to it and simple shirt-and-trouser getups of various colours that emphasize his physique, usually unintentionally. The simple clothing is important for him, as in a pinch...



...he can strip himself down to his underpants and produce blades covering his entire body. The above image is not precisely indicative of how he looks in this state, but it is a decent enough representation; typically, he will also hide his face with these blades, masking his identity (for what it's worth, anyway) and protecting his head from injury.

Personality: Despite his superhero name and harsh backstory, Jack is a surprisingly mellow individual, his attitude bordering on irreverent, even tangential to a situation at times, a fact that might make him seem quite odd if he weren't so calm otherwise. Though he certainly faces both internal and external moral conundrums as to the nature of his abilities, he tends to approach them and other situations with a "well, it happens" mindset, shrugging off trauma with relative ease and not typically looking back at his past too much.
This does not, of course, imply that he never feels negative emotion - for instance, deliberate and spiteful reminders of his past or other similar tragedies will lead him to grow very quiet, and he has a tendency to try and help people whenever he can, to the extent that he'll almost always assist somebody in trouble to the best of his ability unless it's physically impossible for him to reach them.
Something worth noting is that despite his tendency to offer himself as a source of advice and friendliness to others, he has a lot of trouble actually forming close bonds with people, be they platonic or romantic, and tends to come up with reasons internally not to pursue such bonds further than he already has. Completely coincidentally, Jack is bisexual, which has led to him having a bit of attraction towards a number of his teammates, though he tends to hide it behind his usual mellow persona. In particular, cute boys like Luka and Myles vex him greatly; he reminds himself regularly that Myles is straight and also very reptilian, and that Luka being telepathically bonded to Killer Queen basically means any physical interaction between them would indirectly affect a cat too, even if it is fully sapient.

Skills: Swordsmanship - Naturally, Jack's power encourages him to utilise his natural weapons to their fullest extent, which generally means practicing in and studying swordsmanship on the regular. More particularly, his practice includes work in various styles, ranging from historical European martial arts to kenjutsu, giving him a wide, albeit somewhat shallow, range of expertise, combined with an unusually deep pool of knowledge about them.
Fisticuffs - Jack has also taken up a limited degree of practice and study in nominally unarmed martial arts, most prominently boxing and streetfighting, though his theoretical knowledge again far surpasses his practical skill. On the one hand, he has the strength to do reasonably well in these combat styles even with relatively little skill; and on the other hand, one gains an edge in such things when one can literally produce an edge from themselves at any time they desire.
Weightlifting, and lifting in general - It's been suggested to Jack recently that he take up weightlifting to further improve his already-substantial strength. To that end, he's managed to figure out the best routines for doing so, and in the process further taught himself how to lift more conventional objects properly too, making him a good choice for hauling heavy items around. It helps that he can also recover more rapidly from any injuries he deals himself unintentionally, too.
Analysis - Jack is not traditionally intelligent, at least beyond normal; as far as logical thought goes, he is quite average indeed. He is, however, able to chug through data like a machine, and is perfectly happy to read through and process long lists for hours on end, which perhaps explains why he is able to retain so much theoretical information on various topics.
Cooking - Jack regularly maintains that one isn't really a proper adult unless they can cook their own meals, something he's had to do since a young age. He'd call himself decent, compared to somebody like Gordon Ramsey; most others would say he's far better at it than he gives himself credit for.
Stripping - Years of stripping down to his underwear immediately prior to a fight has had two effects on Jack: wiped out any semblance of shame about his body and figure, and given him the ability to strip down in comparatively tiny amounts of time. In the simplistic clothing he wears to facilitate this, he considers even a couple of seconds to be quite slow.

Hobbies: Combat training, exercise, reading, supporting his friends and allies.

Combat Info

Weapons: Nothing, aside from the blades he can grow out of his body.

Equipment: Again, nothing, aside from the blades he can grow out of his body. Sometimes he breaks them off and throws them at people, but he absolutely prefers melee combat.

Fighting Style: You might expect somebody whose body can produce infinite swords to be quite unrefined when it comes to combat. As it happens, flailing wildly with a bunch of swords is rather unlikely to significantly hinder anybody; thus, he's actually taken a sensible approach and made time to train his ability to fight with his blades like actual weapons. Moreover, this training has covered many different styles of swordsmanship and unarmed combat, making his combat style a little unpredictable - albeit rather simplistic, once one realises what he's doing. A jack of all trades does not a master make.

Strength: Jack's physical strength is, at present, within human limits - he can match up with highly-trained combatants fairly readily without any particular strength training of his own, but his strength is definitely below peak human levels at the moment. That does not suggest he can't train that strength to beyond human limits, of course, merely that his current level of strength requires no particular extra effort to maintain.

Endurance: In terms of actual damage resistance, Jack is no more resilient than any regular human. However, the unique manner in which he uses his power affords him the equivalent of a suit of armour whenever he requires it, not to mention barriers and blades to block attacks with as needed. Additionally, damage he does take heals far faster than an equivalent wound in a normal human, letting him survive otherwise mortal wounds so long as they don't kill him within perhaps half a minute or so; this regeneration also applies to microinjuries such as muscle tears whilst working out or running, effectively granting him a great deal more stamina than the vast majority of humans could ever hope to possess.

Willpower: Jack's nigh-inhuman mental fortitude isn't based so much in his ability to weather horrible circumstances, as it is in disregarding them entirely. He has a tendency to bear witness to events that would traumatise others and say "aw, that sucks", as if he'd dropped a piece of food on the ground rather than, for example, seen somebody get brutally slaughtered by a monster that should not be. He's theorised that he may be a bit of a psychopath, or at least have some condition associated with a malformed trauma response, as he has seen a lot of people die in his time and has barely been affected by them. He certainly misses those he is close to when they're gone, of course, but to some extent, they are essentially replacable in his mind.

Speed: Jack's enhanced strength does offer a bit of extra travel speed simply because his leg muscles can push him harder, but generally, that is counteracted in combat by the fact that he is covering himself in metal. Whilst not especially less hindered than any medieval knight would be by an extra seventy or so kilograms of weight spread across his body, he's generally only as fast as a regular human in most aspects.

Reaction Speed: One does not train in a wide variety of weapon-based martial arts without becoming quite quick to react. In a fight, Jack is able to respond to most mundane attacks at least adequately, though rapid projectiles such as bullets and even low-level speedsters are generally still well beyond him; in other words, his reflexes match those of a regular human fighter of perhaps above average skill.

Ability Info

Name of Ability: Universe of Endless Blades

Class: Physical - Generation

Character Theme: Jack tends to rush towards a battle almost recklessly, his body seemingly composed entirely of swords of bone or metal, deflecting bullets and fists alike, with his weaponised frame reforming even as it takes damage. Yet despite this eagerness, he is nothing if not courteous in a fight, dueling his foes in a manner that to the public eye is artful, even stylish, especially compared to how he'd be expected to combat them. He is no mere berserker, but a true swordsman.

Ability Capabilities: Jack's primary power is to generate blades out of his body, at any point and at any angle, to a seemingly limitless extent. The material of these blades can be composed of just about any solid substance, from bone to foam to rubber to steel, and though their size varies, his power has a surprising degree of versatility to it. His secondary powerset, supporting his main ability, combines additional strength somewhat below peak human with low-level regeneration enough to greatly enhance his endurance and stall out mortal wounds to render them as merely briefly-debilitating injuries.

Qualities of Ability: The most obvious use of his powers is to create blades to fight with, out of materials as soft as foam or as hard as titanium or even harder, all typically sharp enough to at least have a good chance of cutting into even very hard defenses with his high strength to back it up. What people often don't realise about a thick piece of metal with an edge is that it also has a flat, one that can block or deflect attacks; consequently, Jack regularly uses his power to generate what amounts to a full suit of armour for himself, one which rapidly restores itself if damaged and has a tendency to seriously injure anyone who tries to pull it away. In a pinch, he can even turn parts of this armour into different materials, such as rubber to absorb the force of an impending impact with a wall, foam to strike people without seriously hurting them, or a mixture of substances to ensure their effects overlap one another.

Strengths of Ability: Evidently, Jack is never without either a weapon or protection, and high quality options at that. If he needs a new weapon, he can generate it almost immediately; if one of his weapons breaks, he can just draw it back into himself and push out a new one; he can outlast most opponents in terms of sheer stamina; and if all else fails and he takes a deep injury to his flesh, he'll likely be back to normal within a few minutes if he isn't finished off properly. All in all, he is almost scarily relentless to fight against.

Weaknesses of Ability: Unfortunately, the ability to generate as many swords as one could ever need does not especially encourage ranged combat - though Jack can generate fairly large blades, the best this does is extend the reach of his attacks, and when generating a lot of blades, they add weight to his person and can somewhat encumber him, especially if they aren't arranged properly and clash with one another at the joints. Additionally, he is technically generating the blades just beneath his skin, then forcing them through it, a process that isn't exactly harmless or painless. Even if the wounds heal around the blades relatively quickly, there is a brief moment of blood loss as a result; thus, forcing him to recover and regenerate his blades repeatedly can overwhelm him, either due to losing too much blood too quickly to regenerate it, or just due to sheer pain-induced shock.

Limitations of Ability: His blades are often very sharp, and can be highly dangerous depending on the material they are made of. However, they do have to be made out of solid and, most importantly, relatively simple materials that he knows of - titanium, steel, bone, and even radioactive substances like uranium are perfectly reasonable, but he can't produce anything that requires magic or some form of ultra-advanced science to produce, though mundane compounds and alloys are perfectly plausible. Equally, however, any given blade cannot be made of multiple different substances - as stated, a single compound is reasonable, but the substance in question must be uniform, so he can't produce steel blades with wooden handles, for example.
His regeneration also has a limited rate to itself, and cannot restore lost pieces from nothing - he could likely heal from having an artery severed or even being stabbed through the heart, but not from having his heart torn out or his head torn off entirely, and whether or not he survived having an arm ripped off, he would lose that arm permanently. Finally, whilst perhaps something that's easy to overlook for how obvious it is, he specifically produces blades, and as such they must always have at least one sharp edge, whether or not that edge is actually able to cut based on the substance it is made of.

Image and Public Perception

Biography:

June 16th, 1997 - The Sun Opinion Piece: A "New Breed" Of Child Murderer?

Three nights ago, Irish mother Aoibheann Valent died, stabbed to death in her own home. The culprit? Her own son, Jack Valent, a New Breed who can create swords out of his body.
The first anyone else knew about it was when Jack's father Richard found his wife's body, and his son covered in her blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime, and both the father and son were taken in for questioning; yet despite his own wife being dead, Richard Valent chose to defend his child, stating that "it was just an accident that nobody could predict... there was nothing to show he had any powers until tonight, so what could we have done to prevent this?"
When the New Breed killer was asked about what he did, he is reported to have said "I didn't mean to hurt mummy... I got upset, and then I had a tummy pain and a tummy knife, and mummy was bleeding." It's worth noting that when he said this, he didn't show any significant regret for what he'd done.
This sad turn of events has led to Richard and Jack Valent moving to London city in England to avoid the inevitable backlash - but perhaps there should be backlash? When a New Breed not only stabs their own mother to death, but shows no remorse for doing so and gets away with it scot free, it sets an awful precedent, one that may soon lead to New Breeds having free reign over regular humans as their unchallengable masters. And would you want to live in such a two-tiered society?

December 3rd, 2014 - BBC Breakfast

"Hello, I'm Susanna Reid, welcome back to BBC Breakfast. Today in the news, reports from London say the spiked vigilante strikes again - another wanted suspect by the name of Alexander Radzinger, age 35, was found alive today outside of the Royal London Hospital, tied up with many shallow slash and stab wounds, and a note pinned to his body reading 'You're welcome'."
"That's right, Susanna; according to the public, many witnesses claim to have seen what is described as a person covered in swords or blades wandering the East London area shortly prior to the discovery of mister Radzinger. Research again suggests that the attacker was New Breed Jack Valent, previously in the news in 1997 after accidentally killing his mother with his ability to generate blades from his body. Police are currently seeking to bring him in for questioning, though it is believed that recently-introduced laws regarding vigilantism will prevent any charges from being pressed. Susanna, what do you think about this?"
"Well, Bill, I think it's safe to say I'd be horrified if I ever killed my mum, even if it was accidental! I heard that at the time, Jack didn't express any regret or remorse about it, he was just sad that his mum was dead. And that-"
"Wow."
"-I know, that makes him sound like- and forgive me if I'm wrong, but it almost makes him sound like a sociopath, even at that age!"
"Precisely. He'd have been... oh, very young, very young indeed-"
"Less than ten, for sure. It makes you wonder, doesn't it, if that set him on a... you know, a path."
"If it made him a violent person, you mean?"
"Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if it had."
"Honestly, nor would I, Susanna. I don't think there are many-"
"But then again-"
"-there aren't many people who would come out of a situation like that unscathed, surely?"
"No, there aren't - but then again, Bill, you could also argue that, like a lot of New Breeds, Jack Valent feels an urge to use his abilities for the greater good, and that's the only way he knows how. I mean-"
"Oh, maybe."
"-how would you use the ability to create swords from your body, if you had it? I know I'd have, uh, a lot more trouble than he would, with not accidentally killing people with that sort of ability."
"That's certainly true, whether or not the man covered in swords is Jack or not, he has made a very deliberate effort to not kill his targets. Still, even then, he'd still be faced with assault charges if he were... doing these things to innocent civilians, wouldn't he?"
"He would, he would! But, well, I think it's fair to say the average criminal is not an innocent bystander."
"Indeed so. Now, on to the next story of the day..."

May 12th, 2015 - Topic Express, VIP Chat: Interview With The Edgelord

"Hel-lo, England! Rylie Matthews here today, and we have a new guest with us - someone who's never been on the show before, and in fact only took center stage recently despite the angry spotlights shining on them their whole life! Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for The Edgelord!"
Loud pre-generated clapping as Jack moves on camera with a wave, dressed simply in his usual civilian outfit - this time, a dark green shirt, and dark jeans, with relatively basic black shoes over white socks.
"Well, hi there."
"Hel-lo, Edgelord!"
"Actually, you can call me Jack, if you want. Valent, if the last name matters."
"Ohhh? You're quite open about your secret identity, aren't you, Jack?"
"Well, it's my real identity, and also not at all secret. You were right, I have constantly had news reports spotlighting me. Well, not constantly, mostly whenever I did anything worth discussing in the news. The point is, accidentally killing your own mother tends to make people look at you a lot."
"Uh- yeah, I imagine it would. I- of course, I didn't mean to bring up such a painful-"
"No, it's fine, really. It happened ages ago, by this point I barely remember what she looked like, except for a few photos. And they're all kind of grainy, right, you know how 90's camera tech was, so they aren't necessarily as accurate as they could be, which is a shame, but they're at least reminders of her, for me and my dad. Well, not my dad, anymore, unfortunately, he passed away about six months ago. I hope he's doing alright, if he's still around somewhere."
"...uhhhhh."
"Right, yeah, most people get uncomfortable around the topic of death. It's a shame, but... you know, it happens. Hopefully we can figure out a way of stopping it in the future, but, you know, maybe not forever, since that's the nature of death and all. Technology's great, right?"
"Uhhh. I, uh. You- heh, honestly, I'm not sure where to go from there, ahaha. Ladies and gents, a testament to the wordplay of Jack Valent: this is the first time I've been left literally speechless."
"Well, not literally."
"I was for a bit, though, I mean..."
"You couldn't think of anything to say. So okay, you were speechless then."
"Uh, yeah, that's right! Now, aha, let's have a chat about you, Jack. You and your recent adventures, specifically; isn't it true that you recently joined the Scotland Yard, New Breed Affairs Division?"
"Yeah, it is, Rylie. Uh, six months ago, roughly."
"Wait, the same amount of-"
"A bit after my dad died, yeah. By that point, I didn't have any other close relatives, so I figured, yeah, let's finally join this giant group that's been doing stuff relating to New Breed crime for years, whether they're victims or perpetrators. I can help them out, can't I?"
"Huh. So, before then, you were just a standard New Breed vigilante, or at least most people believe so; why not join SYNBAD before your father's passing?"
"Uh... plausible deniability, really. Sure, I was probably the guy covered in swords cutting up villains, but you can't prove that for sure."
"Does that not count as an admission of being that guy, though?"
"Well, I can say I was as much as you like. But it can't be proven."
"I, uh, guess that's true! Now, as far as your abilities go, is swordcrafting all you can do?"
"Okay, to be fair, that feels like a trick question to reveal my secrets. I definitely do have other powers, mind, but it's mostly passive support stuff that make the blade generation more effective, really. Not even that much extra benefit."
"Ahhhhh, like required secondary powers!"
"Uh, yeah, pretty much that."
"So I'm imagining-"
"Well, I'd hope what you're imagining, honestly, is that going on about what abilities you think a New Breed might have to a large audience is a bit silly, given that somebody could have a grudge against them for some reason and the ability to use the information they get to turn those abilities against them. So then, obviously, it'd be better to move on to the next bit of the interview without potentially endangering your guest, I think is what you're hopefully imagining."
"...oh."
"Sorry if that was a rant. It's somewhat common in comic books, is all."
"No, no, I get what you're saying- it's fine, don't worry! Uh, aheh, well, I think it's safe to say, you've had kind of a rough life, haven't you?"
"Well, a bit of one, for sure."
"Your mother dying by your own hand, all the bullying you must have received, who knows what injuries in the course of fighting whatever crime you've fought... how does somebody handle all that stress?"
"Oh, just don't get stressed out about the bad bits, is all."
"...just, uh... don't get stressed. Okay."
"I mean, okay, sometimes life sucks, but what about it? It's mostly not bad, whether you're a human or a New Breed, you just have to find those good parts. Besides, superpowers are cool."
"Heh. Honestly, I can talk about why life gets harder for New Breeds than humans without powers, but that's a whole conversation in itself, and we're running up on the timer here! As a closing statement, Jack, do you think you can offer any words of encouragement, to... I guess to New Breeds looking to be heroes, or just regular humans wanting to be better than they are?"
"We're more like detectives or investigators rather than heroes, really, but just follow an appropriate diet and exercise routine. You'll stay healthier longer. And that sounds really obvious, but you know, obesity rates are up in pretty much every industrialised country, there's... there's a lot of reasons behind it, but at least try to follow a good diet. Varied, I suppose."
"Well, even if you say you aren't a hero, that's certainly a heroic way to end things off. Thank you, Edgelord, you've been a wonderful guest today, and I hope we get to see you in action again soon!"
"You will. Thank you for having me."
Jack leaves the camera's view with another wave and a bit of a coy smirk.

Quote: "I mean, okay, sometimes life sucks, but what about it? It's mostly not bad, whether you're a human or a New Breed, you just have to find those good parts. Besides, superpowers are cool."

Reputation: One would not be wrong to expect a man who generates swords to kill people, and Jack certainly isn't one to shy away from the act if it's necessary. If. A life taken is not so easily given back, something he knows all too well, and he makes absolutely sure to exercise caution in this regard - mere petty theft isn't worth slaying a man over; threatening the life of an innocent, on the other hand, surely is. Consequently, he's developed a reputation as somewhat chivalrous, but a bit dark at times, and certainly not the sort of hero who lets mass-murderers escape from prison time and time again.

Theme Song:

Strange Cases of SYNBAD [High Casual]

As a soon-to-be participant in this RP, I promise to remain a part of it for as long as it runs for; to communicate effectively with the GM and players and to put in my time and effort to the best of my ability; and, if real life should throw a curveball my way that threatens my participation directly or otherwise, to do my best to inform everyone involved how long it will likely affect my usual ability to remain involved.

One Piece: New Horizons!

Dirk Messir - Snackbar Attackbar

Dirk did his best bit of doing the stealth too, though. Who said Dirk said no can see the world in the state of observance? Who said it, eh? Was it you, Smith eating a snackbar through your snackface? Mask. Obviously, he ate it by putting the fabric in his mouth, and chewing the snackbar until it was small enough to go through the snackmask. Or there was a secret hole. Dirk had a secret hole, but he didn't show it to people. Nobody wanted to see that.

Your hiding spot isn't a secret to anyone. They're just not interested in it.

Quiet, Derek. There's enemies. Not never afoot, either, just enemies around for Dirk to combat. Or hide from, the way the Divine Purpose said to do and let Smith fight for him, so he did. Why did he do that? The same person who killed Hannibal.

Dirk You Have Excelled Yourself! I Am Proud Of You!

'Yaaay,' Dirk whispered, looking at the dead or unconscious body as Smith said words about how they had to go fast, and also there was a man behind Dirk.

...
ohSHI

Dirk abruptly span around on one eggleg, somehow managing to whack the guy in the stomach with one foot I mean Tempest Kick him dramatically, sending him to the that ground without him saying the words. Or yell. Well, there was a yell, but it wasn't "AAAAH". More like "whoof" as air was kicked out of him. And next, the finishing bloe!

'Finger Pistol,' Dirk said thrusting his best arm hand finger straight right into the sternum of the man's body. And then it pained, and was the painiest. Ow. Why though. What the hell, did this man have a sternum made of sternum? But it did make him lose his breathing, lucky for Dirk, and he tried to breath and did not, and remained winded until Dirk just sort of grabbed his head and Tempest Knee-ed him in the knee forehead. And it was the best knockout that ever happened.

'I think I injured my finger,' Dirk says quietly, looking at his very sprained finger with the tilting head. My hand always gets the pain. I'm meant to be a master of Rock Six or whatever it's called. Six Power Styles. Of Rocks. He can't be that if he's just trying to break his finger on rocks and metal and stuff.

You're a weak moron. Your fingers aren't designed to impale things with, and you'll never grow strong enough to use them that way. You should just throw yourself off the ramparts now.

'...we should throw the bodies off the ramparts now,' Dirk suggested, but it was obviously a joke but not obviously. It was probably a joke. Yeah, I'm probably joking, and probably making it obvious. But it would get rid of them well... maybe he was joking. He did kick his guy again though because Divine Purpose said. How dare he have a hard chest.

Capes of Denver: A Worm RP

Alessa Heather: Charity Fundraiser

Alessa gladly shook Angel’s hand, smiling as she spoke, only to be interrupted by Margrave’s own statements about how he was, in fact, perfectly fine, and that he merely seemed out of sorts due to, perhaps, the nature of the event itself. There were almost certainly deeper reasons than that, but...

Alessa just about managed to utter ‘Fair enough,’ before a young girl ran into the room with a screech of joy, and a flurry of excitement. Over... Margrave! Well, that was certainly beneficial for him, and somewhat unexpected - and in the hubbub, Lillian drew her attention for something that immediately struck Alessa as an important matter.

‘Uh, sure thing. I reckon Margrave has this under control,’ she initially responded, throwing an encouraging smile to the hero in question as Lily pulled her away, just enough to stay out of any other conversations for a time.

By the end of it, Alessa was feeling quite pleased with herself. She... she had a girlfriend now. Or at least a date. And it was clear that Lillian couldn’t be happier for it. Alessa had had to consider the matter quite thoroughly, of course, but... well, a thought had occurred. Her therapist had suggested that she had to start doing things for herself, not just for everyone else. She couldn’t be a hero the whole time, or else she’d not really be a person. And, well, the therapist was right. So, she was going to take a chance, and she was going to see if Lillian’s company, her partnership, was what she truly wanted.

In the meantime, Morales found his way over to her and grabbed her attention, telling her that he felt she’d done well in the absence of he and Noble, and that the Jacks were sure to be taken down thanks to that information. Sure, maybe her confidence was welling due to his power, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t feel legitimate satisfaction at being told she was doing her job right, too. She managed to call out ‘Thank you, sir!’ and shoot out her own salute before he walked off again.

With all that out of the way, and Lillian on her arm, Alessa’s gaze wandered back over to where Sylph was. She and the other Wards at that table been joined by another hero- who was that again, Mastar if she recalled? And Sylph was embarrassed beyond belief. Alessa supposed she’d realised what Evelyn had originally been saying - and it looked like Evelyn was taking the shot there, if the way she was leaning forward meant anything.

‘What do you think, Lily?’ Alessa asked quietly, an idea coming to mind as she watched that conversation. ‘You want to give the good news about us to the others now, or should we surprise them with it?’

---

Raymond Haywood: The Cruise Room

Raymond had to admit, he wasn’t amazingly fond of this location. It felt... not small, per se, but compact in a way that had him feeling mildly uncomfortable. If something were to happen, if he needed to act offensively, he was unavoidably stuck between two groups of potential threats, with no way out of the situation that would guarantee his safety. Still, the Broker had insisted that they go to that particular location - and it seemed few others had any objections, since even major villains like Purge were showing up.

And speaking of the Broker, how droll he was. Hiding in plain sight, so to speak - who’d ever guess without prior knowledge that the man working behind the bar tonight was the very benefactor who wanted to see Patriarch taken down? Or, if he considered it, the right sort of Thinker ability, but that counted toward prior knowledge regardless.

As for Raymond himself, he wasn’t especially interested in talking to the majority of people. Instead, he pondered the recent improvements to his equipment, most of which remained on his person, just in case. First, a general improvement to his armour, helmet included - it was a tad heavier, thanks to the metal plates embedded in it, but generally superior to what it had been before, and he reckoned it’d potentially save his life in the future. Speaking of his helmet, it now enclosed the majority of his head, included the same noise-cancelling effect as his allies’ gear, and furthermore possessed a sort of “video scope” - that was, an eyepiece inside the helmet’s visor that flipped down with the appropriate voice command, with a wireless video connection to the camera within his scope, letting him scope in with minimal effort or even the need to wield the gun properly.

He’d tried to convince Matrix to create a few drones to wield his weapons without needing to risk his own body. The Tinker had responded by pointing out that those drones would immediately rat him out as somebody who assisted villains, and that it wasn’t worth the money, and that if he was going to persist along that train of thought, Headhunter could leave. A request regarding particular bullets was met with less hostility, though Raymond was sure that was partially because, as Matrix explained, he couldn’t make any such projectiles at all. He’d been unable to get in contact with a more combat-oriented Cape within a reasonable timeframe, either - Arsenal would have been a great option, if he hadn’t left weeks ago.

Overall, it was an unfortunate matter. However, it wasn’t one that affected his situation. With a nod from the Broker, Jason finally started the meeting proper with his speech, followed up by one of the newer villains - was that one Sparce or Farce? - citing their assent in so many words. Drake, too, made the argument that those uninterested ought to say so before anyone made any further complaints; now, then, would be Raymond’s time to make his statement.

‘For the record,’ he said, barely loud enough to be heard to the full width of the bar, ‘and as the field leader of the Jacks, I fully intend to do what I can to eliminate Patriarch as a threat, as permanently as is necessary.’ He said this without moving from his seat, and without further clarifying what that meant. They knew damn well what it meant.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Heavens. Zero to annoyed in a moment. This man certainly had a talent for being infuriating, brushing Sett's plea off like he would a fly on his arm - and then threatening him simply for elucidating that his men might be untrustworthy. Feigning surprise in his actions and expression, Sett placed a hand on his own chest, responding in a tone of near-disbelief 'Good sir, I am a man of the gods. Easily the least dangerous member of this party, and I imagine most others would agree.' A brief glance to his allies to see whether they made any gestures either way, then he continued heedless. 'Am I truly that disconcerting for you that you'd target me first?' Left unsaid, the notion that if Sett alone was considered a threat, then why allow any of them in at all?

But what really got him going was Nicademus' speech about how he'd been tortured by the Dark Elves. How his village had been destroyed, how he'd been enslaved to their ends and wounded by their cruel whips... and funnily enough, he'd forgotten to mention the part where he somehow escaped them, when far too many of his fellow slaves hadn't. That, ultimately, was the point that burrowed deep into Sett's mind - not that the rest of the party knew first-hand about Aeryn's own interactions with her kind partial or not, not that he had no idea that stopping the Dark Elves was exactly what they were trying to do in the first place, but that he was crying a river over a fate he'd ultimately escaped.

For the next few minutes, Sett didn't say anything at all. He forced himself to remain relaxed and composed, removing from his side when asked his ritual daggers, combat dagger, and even his valdium blade, all weapons remaining in their sheaths, just in case somebody saw their edges and decided they'd be worth snatching. It was what he'd do, at any rate, and he would certainly check to see if that had been stolen and replaced with a lesser quality blade later, nonetheless. The stave he'd filched earlier remained in his bag, hopefully unnoticed; who would check a bag for weapons when several obvious weapons were already visible, after all?

Even in the inn, he didn't say much of anything or even interact much with the rest of the group, merely uttering 'I shall lodge with whoever shall have me' in a vaguely sage-like fashion. Honestly, he rather wanted to be alone right now. He felt that the deep well of anger in him would be betrayed, or even spill out of him entirely, should anybody happen to look into his eyes.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx@Mortarion

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

Sett's okay rooming with whoever. Maybe Aeryn, if @Stormflyx is alright with that notion?

EDIT: Never mind, I am stupid.

Into The Dark: Tales of Maroleth

<Snipped quote by BCTheEntity>

I dunno man we all saw him looking >.>

@Stormflyx

<Snipped quote by Stormflyx>

You'd think a follower of the god of deception would be more subtle

@The Fated Fallen

Wait, looking at what?