BrokenPromise

Symphony on High

”Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow-”

— “Penumbra”

@TaintedMushroom@Kero

Doberman had called for help, Noah needed to act quickly. Though the sniper was able to last a while, she was, as far as the Walking Church was concerned, just a human woman. She managed to slow and stagger her long enough to stab her cross into the side of the other’s back. Doberman retched up blood. Any more lost and she’d be done for in this fight. So when her adversary was temporarily distracted by Ramona, she moved as quickly as she could to the nearest shadow. Dark arms reached out from it and pulled her in, and she ungraciously landed next to the younger devil. ”Sh-Shit- How much longer until we’re through here, dammit…?” She weakly asked her ally.

As she asked, Monstro had made its move, swooping downwards from the air and opening its maw wide. Noah had fired a beam of holy light dead into it. The only indication that it did anything was the beam shooting right back through its body, dark “blood” raining down on her, and the distorted song it emitted giving her the hint that she managed to wound it. It was momentarily stunned and low enough towards the ground for the Walking Church to strike at melee distance. Would a melody even be needed here, with her strength?

”Meh, they hadn’t even caught onto me yet. Give it a few more minutes.” Ramona casually figured. Doberman needed to recover, and Penumbra was forced to fight 1v2. This wasn’t turning out in their favor.

Asher didn’t even need to shout to Raphael. He knew what needed to be done. Their enemy was burned and reeling. It was a grand opening, and one that deserved more than a simple melody as a follow up. This had cost Asher his arm, if only momentarily. While an eye for an eye would make the world blind, God also said that he would bring every deed into judgement, be it good or evil. If the lord was watching over the battle now, he might see reason to guide Raphael’s attack towards his opponent.

While Asher prepared to stand back up, something flew over his head. It had Raphael’s face, but the rest of its body was different. Demonic wings tore out of its priestly vestments, claws and talons were replacing hands and feet, and something glowing under its skin was desperately trying to tear its way out. But before that could happen, the demon was fully intent on pursuing the retreating enemy. With a howl, it brought up one of its fists and drove it into the assassin’s stomach.

The force of the blow was enough to send Penumbra flying. She tumbled backwards onto the pavement, skidding to a stop with a groan. The assassin glanced up to the… Oh, so the preacher had a second form, had he? She’d have to admit, she had to commend the guy’s moxie. She quickly got up to her feet and looked back up to where Ramona and Doberman were hiding, then back to Raphael. ”Well, I suppose you’ve won this round.” Penumbra backed up further. ”Can’t say I didn’t warn you. Oh girls?”

Before either he or Asher could chance a lucky shot, she turned intangible once again, and more dark arms quickly reached out to pull her into the shadows.

A flurry of blows rained down on the shadow, but nothing came of it. They had departed into darkness, the one place where damned souls feel safe from the lake of fire. They would get theirs soon.

Raphael looked up just in time to see the two trains heading towards the earth. Then he lowered his gaze towards his allies.

”This distraction is not our mission. The holy roller appears healthy, but so too does that demon. Let us end this sorry state of affairs.” His wings swelled as he spoke, making the demonic priest look many times larger. With deft movement, he wrapped an arm around Noah, and then another around Asher. ”I cannot heal you in this form, let us hope the nuns have not exhausted their reserves.” With the espers under either arm, he reached down to pick up Asher’s severed arm. Then he rushed towards the trains. He spread his wings and with a mighty jump, soared up to the holy roller and landed beside Lexi and Bobo. He lowered the espers onto the train with a grunt.

Bobo eyed Asher. ”I’m starting to think you enjoy hurting yourself.“

Lexi took Asher’s severed arm and held it in place before lowering her staff on the wound. Miraculously, the arm was whole again after a veil of feathers blew away. But the healing was incomplete. While bone and muscle had been stitched back together, it had not been done so completely. There was still a gash in his arm, and he felt as if there might be a hairline fracture still present.

”There we go! I think you’ll need a second one to finish mending it. That was a pretty bad break.“ Without waiting for a response, Lexi spun on her heel and faced Noah, who was reminded that there were a lot of espers that didn’t dress properly. ”You survived! I thought for sure some giant monster was going to gobble you up because of how cute you are! Are you hurt?“ She placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder and examined her like a girl might look over a new doll.

Symphony on High

"OH MY SISTER!"

”Sup bro?”

— The Bates

@Ponn@Majoraa@Vertigo@The World@Nakushita

The espers that were presently out of combat mostly kept to themselves. While Ashley and Marrie prepared their melodies, Finn asked Elroy if he had been given any proof that crazy train was “the destructive one.”

"He gave me his honor as a man." He grinned. "I’m doing this as a favor more than anything else. I assure you the last thing he wants is to destroy the city."

Then the melodies started to fly.

Ashley’s scan of the creature was able to tell her a lot of information she was likely already privy to. It was, indeed, a behemoth class monster that they were dealing with. While it had a fleshy carapace, it was rather resilient to most forms of harm. Though like most monsters, arcane powers was its one weakness. Then there were the more interesting bits. Its most durable part was its skull-shaped head, which was capable of causing hurricanes and storms when it screamed. That was possibly what was causing the storms until now. Additionally, gravity was merely a suggestion to the thing as it surrounded itself with its own personal “crazy zone” that prevented things like gravity, the wind, and other earthly forces. It could even survive above the stratosphere if it so desired.

Interesting details, but nothing that pointed out a conclusive weak point. But Ashley’s training told her that behemoths often had obvious weaknesses that were exposed when they were weak enough. The massive healing spell had restored it to full strength, but that just meant that its weak point was likely hidden. If it was exposed while it was wounded, where might be a good place to look?

Marrie focused as much of her mystical might into her melody as she dared, and hit one of the trains. Immediately winds began to circle around it and push off towards Peace Train. Despite Marrie’s desire for the winds to push everyone off the train, it just wasn’t strong enough. Often espers that could create storm winds were only able to alter the trajectory of projectiles so that they missed their target, and that was what was present here.

Another thing that was present was the sound of akimbo gunfire.

Himiko had two guns. Logically speaking, that meant that it would be possible to fire at two different targets. Another point of logic, Himiko had two eyes that could, in theory, also look at two different targets while she shot at them. This all made a lot of sense, and was very logical. The only part Himiko forgot to logic was that good depth perception really required you to be looking at something with both eyes, and she was never really good at the whole “moving your eyes like a chameleon” thing. None of her shots hit on center. The flaming projectile was easy enough to hit, but some of her shots on Lenore went so wide that she didn’t even need to defend herself. But as the case usually was with revolvers, she ran out of shots quickly. Lenore’s grin only grew as she closed in on the helpless esper, only to vanish in a flash of darklight.

And for good reason to. The fragmented flaming rocks were about ready to strike Himiko down. They came down like a meteor shower, and were impossible to evade. Fortunately, a sudden gust of wind blew the fragments off course. They flew between the two trains and hit nothing.

Once again, Himiko’s refusal to use any mana had no dire consequences. It wasn’t clear if this was something she masterminded, or was just dumb luck. But a catastrophe had been averted none the less.

With the nuns in hiding, the only espers still in active combat were Ciri and Regina. Her Blade cut a perfect arc through Ciri’s mid section, but her target was unharmed. Of course the edgy oni had dominion over shadow magic. But as surprising as this was, Regina wasn’t the type to stay all flabbergasted. As a veteran esper, she had learned how to properly respond to “nuthin’ personnel kid” tactics like this.

The movement was quick. Regina barely had time to turn her head while Ciri faded back into reality, but she was already winding up her own melody. The only one she really had time to perform. The burning esper squinted her eyes as soon as the dark projectile flew from Ciri’s palm. Under normal circumstances, it might have taken her head off. But instead, the hair on the back of her scalp had been blown away and exposed her flesh, which looked like the cracked surface of a meteor.

Dark espers could avoid attacks, but fire espers could endure them.

Regina howled, both out of pain and fury. Again, Ciri was set ablaze as Regina stumbled towards her. She swung again, but she missed. It Swiftly jumped on Regina and tackled her to the ground, but hopped out of the way as a sword flew dangerously close to its head. Lenore stood over Regina with pursed lips, but kept her glowing eye trained on Ciri.

Meanwhile, Elroy lifted his head when he heard his sister screaming through the smoke. "Regina!" After calling to his sister, the immortal volcano flew over the battleground and spotted the small skirmish. Regina was laying on the ground, and only two clear targets could have been responsible. But when given a choice between pulverising someone or their pet, who would settle on the pet? With a roar, Elroy descended on Ciri shield first. She just couldn’t stay out of punching range for long.

But she knew that the rest of Maverick would be here soon. Crazy Train was expected to fly lower, and the roar of motorcycles wasn’t too far off. Who knew, maybe Trixy would stop being useless if Boteg could work up the nerve to join the fight.

Do You Have RP Pet Peeves?

When I think of pet peeves, I think of mostly harmless behavior that just annoys me personally, like loudly chewing with your mouth open in public and smacking your lips when you clean the Dorito dust off your fingers oh my God James please stop you're actually a savage.

@Emeth

A pet peeve, pet aversion, or pet hate is a minor annoyance that an individual finds particularly irritating to a greater degree than the norm.

Google supplied description

I'd have to say that's spot on.

Symphony on High

"Ganbare."

— Elroy Bates

@Ponn@Majoraa

Mika kept looking at Ashley after she confirmed her course of action, but she said nothing in return. Perhaps she was content with her promise, or not. They were both professionals, even if they were both young. She swung her eyes over to the nuns, who smiled back once they realized they had the cat girl’s ire. With a huff, she marched over to her companions to help defend them from the spirits. Like Finn, Mika’s weapon was better suited for dealing with monsters, and she was able to swiftly clear the spirits around Cerise and Raven. The specters wouldn’t be an issue so long as the other espers didn’t attack them.

”Yes." Elroy told Finn. ”Holy man employed me. I don’t think you know him. He came here from rome."

Finn was also ordered to speed up the train, and like the “good little killer” he was, he did it. It was hard to tell if it had any effect. Such a melody would have a noticeable effect on an esper, but it was harder to tell when you were riding on the back of a behemoth that was speeding through the city. Not only was Peace Train much bigger than an esper, it was much faster as well. Thus, the improvement was hard to notice.

What was a certainty was that the trains were headed towards each other. Peace train started to gain altitude as it came over one of Pax’s many parks.

---

”My point still stands.”

— Regina Bates

@Vertigo@The World@Nakushita

Extinguishing the fires was trivial, but it would take time to properly do so. Time that the sisters could use to prepare another trick. Again, Nova threw up another smoke barrier in front of Regina as the pyro surged forward. Gunfire ripped through the smoke. While they had no clear view of their target, you could only miss so many times as two espers firing akimbo blind, especially when they were noisy. Regina’s manic laughter was cut off with a yelp as a bullet ripped through her. However, neither pistol toting esper would have the satisfaction of seeing her fall.

Before the nuns could appear, Ciri walled them off with shadows. For some reason, creating a physical barrier out of shadow made a lot more sense than a shadow spider catching fire, that she was riding around like a mount. The wall was not particularly tall. In order to stretch the wall across the crazy train it couldn’t be any taller than the nuns were. But better that then some cloud of smoke, which didn’t seem to inhibit their aim at all.

The first thing to pop up over the wall was Lenore. She pulled herself on top and looked out at Himiko and Ciri. They moved their guns to fire, but her arm was already crackling with arcane blacklight. She hopped backwards as the dark beam left her fingers. And then…

The shadow spider rider was no longer Ciri. Lenore had swapped places with her and, as she was mid fall when the switch took place, had little difficulty plunging her sword into the back of the spider. The creature lost all structure and melted into the ground under Lenore’s feet. She stood up and pointed her blade at the greedy gunslinger. The glow in her eye intensified.

”Why not? I’m ready for a duel now!”

But when did Lenore play fair? A flaming eye opened up in the sky, and out came a hail of burning rocks. Regardless of where Himiko moved, They tracked her like the IRS. They looked like falling stalagmites punctuated with neon trails of flame. But as dangerous as it was, it didn’t stop Lenore from rushing towards her position. Even as another nova erupted.

Where was this happening? Ciri knew.

Her daring escape had been stopped by a melody that placed her on the other side of her wall and in the air. The fall to the ground didn’t hurt. Ciri was able to unfold from her riding position and land on her feet okay. What hurt was being hit by another flame nova. Regina was just outside of striking distance, clutching her ribs and her knife in one hand. Though now that Ciri was closer, and if she cared to focus while being set aflame, the knifes she held looked strangely like tambourines. Circular blades with small symbols suspended along them.

”Hit and run…” She lifted her hand off of her wound. Her skin melted like wax, and under the flames on her skin, her wound was closing before Ciri’s very eyes. She stood up strong and tightened her grip on her blades. ”Ain’t exactly my style!” With a growl, Regina lunged for Ciri. Close quarters wasn’t her specialty, but it was a toss up if this was preferable to being in the vicinity of Lenore. Speaking of the nuns, that creepy one with the cigarette was likely nearby, but she couldn’t be seen.

But there was a silver lining. While Trixy wasn’t visible, Ciri could feel it was very close.

And then there was Marrie, seemingly forgotten by all the other combatants. With the train burning up under her, what else could she do but try to give back to the creature they were protecting. She focused her mana into a light healing mist that poured down over Crazy train’s wound. And it seemed like it might have healed some of its pain. Then the burn mark started to turn brown, like a normal bruise. Then the burn mark went away and skin started to grow on all of the exposed sinew across Crazy Train. Then…

Then Peace Train shot past her. It glowed with a holy radiance and mended away the other behemoth’s wounds. Even the other espers could feel its restorative powers in a more subtle way. Just by being near the target of its healing magic, their wounds didn’t feel so severe anymore. Crazy Train’s endless wail finely ceased.

But only Marrie could see the Gemini espers, and Elroy.

"Huh." Elroy scratched his head. "It’s not like Regina to show mercy. She must like you, Shark girl!"

Symphony on High

"...Wait, did that actually work?"

— Elroy Bates

@Ponn@Majoraa

Usually, having a casual conversation with a giant shield with evil nuns shooting out from either side of it was a recipe for disaster. Ashley had to shout her words to overcome the sound of howling wind and roaring flames. The shield surged towards her position, but it came to an abrupt halt and spun sideways. The barrel of Bobo’s flamethrower was struck downward while Lexi’s staff was shoved upwards. Both of the nuns missed their targets and turned to look at Elroy.

Bobo grit her teeth. ”What are you doing, you oaf!?”

"If she doesn’t want to fight, I’m not going to force her." Elroy kept his shield up and on its side. Only a fool would expose himself during a ceasefire, regardless of the opponent. "I cannot guarantee anything, Techno girl. Too much has happened that no one can explain. But what I know is the holy man told me this pendant would protect us from the spirits that guard the train. The fact that they do not attack me and continue to assault your squad shows me that they work. I must also trust him when he says the train is here on a holy mission and has never harmed anyone. The storms are just an effect caused by the other train. I do not imagine he would have me oppose you unless he was certain of this." He looked over her shoulder at Finn, who was still fighting off the spirits. "They won’t hit each other. I’m sure they will move out of each other’s way when they get close. If they don’t, it’ll be because this train wants to destroy the other one. They are angel and devil, if you believe in the holy man, that is."

"A little help?"

”Hang on, hang on, so what’s the deal with them goin’ after my sister like that?” Cereza asked Elroy, hurrying over to fire a volley of arrows at the spirits that swarmed Cerise, and by extension, Raven.

Lexi scoffed before jingling the cross shaped pendant she, Elroy, and Bobo were wearing. ”Weren’t you listening?”

"They are here to protect the train, and see you as aggressors." Elroy clarified before another spat could start. "Our pendants are preventing that, but they shouldn’t attack you if you retreat." Neither he nor any of the nuns did anything as Cereza’s arrows struck down the spirits. But this momentary culling would only hold them back so long.

But the nuns weren’t the only ones that were barely holding back their murderous intent.

"...Orion." Mika stepped up beside the squad’s commander. "Since when have monsters ever been able to do good? The nuns are part of the group that killed Angel. We know they are capable of brainwashing people and that is what happened to Elroy. Are we really going to stop our mission on account of what he claims?"

The train drew into a clearing, and overhead it looked like there was another shape snaking across the sky like a serpent. Soon the trains would be very close to one another.

Video Games: The General Discussion & Community Thread Number Two

If you enjoyed Helltaker, you should play Awaria.

If you didn't enjoy Helltaker, you should play Awaria.

It's free, so there's no reason not to try it. Especially if you like arcade "puzzle" action or ghost waifus.

Do You Have RP Pet Peeves?

@Letter Bee I do not find that annoying. Maybe if it's done excessively, but anyone can get annoyed with anything.

Do You Have RP Pet Peeves?

This has serious “Bitching Thread V3.0” energy, but if we all act like adults maybe it won’t get locked.

For the time I’ve been roleplaying, many of my pet peeves have come and gone. I’ll often move past some only for others to spring up in their place. But the one thing that consistently bugs me is people who publicly complain. We all talk about our grievances from time to time, but I feel that is best done as privately as possible. If a player or GM has an issue with a post, it should be a matter addressed between those people in PM/DMs. If you just want to vent, one on one with a friend or group is fine for that. Matters involving an entire RP (which rarely happens) could be hashed out in the OOC, or preferably over an IM service like Discord. But I see little reason to vent one’s grievances to everyone.

The status bar is probably the most egregious example of this. You have people taking to the status bar to overshare family drama report every time their writing partner does something annoying. Why are you trying to put this in front of a stranger’s eyeballs? Are you trying to validate your position by fishing for a few likes? Do you hope that your writing partner will see you complain and change because you can’t talk to them directly? I have a hard time finding flattering reasons for people to vent in this way even if they have a good reason to do so.

Another problem with complaining, and especially chronic complaining, is that everyone has learned to read between the lines. Complaining about ghosting creates the perception that you are impatient and/or not worth playing with. Rushing to the status bar to mention icky writing practices makes you come off as a Mark Twain wannabe that can’t write to your own standards. Complaining about the size of a long post can oust you as someone who finds it painful to read. Your complaining might resonate with a few, but every time you do so you alienate a group of potential writing pals. It’s the same reason most people won’t join RPs where there are 20+ rules. Even if half of the rules seem reasonable, it starts to feel strict and controlling when taken too far.

If a status bar complainer saw this post, do you think they’d change their ways or just write me off as a jerk?

Battle Toyale — Christmas Rumble!

There are many horrific fates that can befall a sailor, more so a pirate. In addition to the risk of drowning or being eaten by a sea creature, a pirate is also at the mercy of other pirates and their hunters. From Kurosame’s experience, humans could be more cruel than any force of nature. She had heard stories of men placed in wooden boxes and buried where their treasure used to be. While Kurosame was in a box, it was not made out of wood, above ground, and all of her effects appeared to be with her.

Though something was off.

The pirate’s surroundings were not familiar to her. Nor was her body, which seemed to be made out of a hard, wood-like material. Before the absurdity of the situation sunk in, a flood of thoughts entered her mind. Yes, she had agreed to be here. While many of the specifics were left out, she understood this was a free for all and only the winner would get their wish granted, allegedly. Thinking further on her predicament would have to wait until later. Across the aisle she could see someone systematically walking past toys and ending them with a skewer of their tail. There would be no rest here.

Rather than bursting out of the front of her box, Kurosame took hold of her sword and shoved it through the top. She grabbed her hat before climbing out and landing on the edge of the shelf. A quick look around didn’t reveal any immediate threats, so she took stock of her equipment. As she did so, she was starting to understand how her equipment had been altered in this world. Even her blade was a great deal thicker now that it was encased in some crystal composite. It was fine. She had trained with many swords, and just because this wasn’t going to behave like a standard katana didn’t mean she couldn’t use it.

Next order of business was figuring out what had become of her magic. She could feel that she still had it, but she was so… dry. Nothing but air left her lips as she tried to conjure a simple droplet. She would need to hydrate somehow, and the water pelting the glass window let her know how she might do that.

She ran to the edge of the shelf and jumped, soaring across the isle and landing before the window. With a hefty swing, she managed to crack the glass. Part of her would have loved to have smashed right through it, but a simple crack would work for her purposes. She raised her hand to the crack, and the falling rain began to pool over the crack. Then it seeped through, racing down her arm and behind the seam between her face and the back of her head. Before long, the space in her chest would be filled.

In addition to all the curious things going on, a voice told Kurosame of a mask hidden in the center of the toy store. Given how few of the awakening toys were headed in that direction, it seemed safe to assume that it hadn’t been relayed to everyone. Though she couldn’t confirm that it wasn’t a trap of some sort. Maybe another toy had simply whispered such a thing to her, but it wasn't something that could be ignored. If such things existed in the toy store, holding as many as she could would increase her chances for survival.

After pulling as much water through the crack as she dared, she allowed the water to surround her and launch her through the air. She held her breath inside the water droplet as it soared towards Kanohi Kama, unaware of what would be waiting for her.

Intro!

I just saw your status about soft pretzels.

I made these about a week ago and they were very good.

saltandbaker.com/homemade-soft-pretzels

Also, welcome to the guild.