BrokenPromise

I hate to say it...

Don't think my post was worded like a personal attack. It was advice at best. But We can keep things general.

I've been participating in despair-educing paranormal modern fantasy RPs for the past 4 years. As niche as that may sound I made another one and I got twice as many players as I was expecting and feel truly blessed. Come to think of it, any time I want to start an RP I always have plenty of players who join it. I also have a few friends who I'd love to play with, but their RPs are filled with players and I'd be put on a waiting list just to get in. I can't really find any evidence from my own personal experience that points to a shift in the forum, RPing, or anything of the sort. Sure, some of my friends have left, interests change, life happens, but I always keep an eye out for more to fill in their ranks. I think that is how it goes with most people.

I hate to say it...

Mmmmm, something else you may not be aware of is the growing skill ceiling of the community. People genuinely don't want to join RPs that are ill formed or from less ambitious writers. I mean, your checks where you want to play a shy guy to someone's buff dude or experament with female/female stories get the point across but aren't exactly ringing endorsements for your writing ability. Compare that to this check or even this check where the prospective partners have a better idea of what they want and put effort into their checks. With stuff like this, you're going to have to try a little harder to stand out and get attention. But it doesn't have to be a competition. if what you want is simple and you don't want to make a good check for it, why not join someone else?

I hate to say it...

The cycle of life:

The holidays (or any slow period) rolls around. > Someone makes a post about the site being dead. > The site continues to live. > Repeat!

It looks like you're in the 1x1 sector, @Tlstiffl. People are probably too busy gearing up for the holidays to participate in that type of RPing. I started a group RP about 2 months ago and have been able to retain almost all of my players, but it's clear that the end of the school year, turkey day, and upcoming holidays have put a strain on their time to RP. This is going to be the first week I need to delay my GM post because half of the players have yet to contribute. But they are all on discord and very much still interested in playing. Though when you're looking for new interest it can feel like things are drying up this time of year

Symphony of Espers

_{@The World@ERode}

In the heat of the moment, Luna was only focused on ensuring that the bulldozer operator complied with her demands and the ape man stayed away. Any sort of excuse he had as to why Luna shouldn’t shoot him was more or less ignored. But like most humans, Luna had a number of keywords that would always draw her attention to whatever someone was saying.

He has two sons?

The thought registered internally, and was not given the kind of attention it deserved. Ensuring the startled driver avoided hitting the mist girl and keeping an eye on the ape were her priorities. Fortunately, the ape man realized that Luna was not the biggest threat present. Probably because her aim was so bad. But regardless!

The bulldozer operator could indeed drive in a panic, but Luna had given up precise control of the bulldozer with this tactic. Rolling the other bulldozer on top of the buff bee men was probably not the most ideal thing to happen. Yes, they were cultists and probably would have fought to the death for their queen. But a small part of Luna was holding onto the hope that they might reform after that bad influence was removed from their lives. Probably not, but it was a hope. Moreover, she was pretty sure her honey restraints were the only reason she wasn't flung off of this guy's lap. That was a pretty hard hit, and she could feel her entire body sway as a result. She didn’t have much time to dwell on it before her eyes flicked downward at the warm, once delicious sandwich that had been ejected all over her lap. Luna often forgot that unlike herself, others were not as accustomed to seeing people die in such violent ways. She didn’t even understand why he had this reaction initially. ”Oh, that’s too bad.” Luna sounded almost monotone. By this point she had been covered in honey, dirty sock smell, blue glitter, why not add a half digested sandwich to the mix? Besides, Luna lived to party. Getting technicolor yawned on was practically a form of endearment. This wasn’t her first rodeo.

But holy cow, that mist girl. She was so timid when this fight started and she just up and stabbed queen bee in the chest like some mad man. Like what the heck was going on with her? Luna didn’t mind though, it was good that she had finally found her back bone.

The ape taking on the wrecking ball was impressive to watch. Ape men were not really her thing, but to see it switch targets to someone that wasn’t her or the mist girl was a welcome change. Something resonated inside of her when the ape man’s suit ripped, and he seemed to be winning his fight with the heavy metal ball. Only for the feeling to vanish when he finally didn’t. A weird sense of guilt and relief washed over Luna when she realized all of the ape men were gone.

But her internal sentiment lasted just a moment. There was still a slimy foreman running around somewhere and a crane in dire need of dismantling. She had considered casting a weightless note in the center of the crane to weaken it, but was unsure if it would be potent enough to break the thing. This was one of those situations where she had to put her faith in a freelancer. It wasn’t something she liked to do, however…

”Go on! Put an end to this!”

Luna shot another firework, this time directly at the mist girl herself. When it struck her, The firecracker made a loud bang and blew the rest of the honey coated restraints off of her. That should let her move around a bit more freely. Unfortunately, it seemed like Luna’s melodies were disagreeing with her again, as the honey that was on the mist girl was teleported to her position. It weighed her down and reduced her SPEED.

”Well, what’s a little bit more honey, right?”

She pulled Pit Boss off of her shoulders and used the slower firing weapon to launch a volley of projectiles at the crane. She doubted she could stop it, but maybe she could break the glass around the cockpit to let the mist girl rush down the thing. She had done everything she could. It was the mist girl’s turn now.

Luna

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Damage, Heal, Push, Transplace, Extend, Purify, Zone, If: Friend , Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Roll = SPEED Down! roleplayerguild.com/rolls/22450

[Silver Beam][Purify] = -108 MP

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 126

Symphony of Espers

Next post is going to be the end of the current operations, so make your next move count. After that, everyone will have a week to close out there scenes before we move onto the next thing. I'll have an update for everyone ready by then.

Symphony of Espers

_{@Izurich@Crusader Lord}

The Gemini agents in the apartment complex were in a bit of danger. There was hardly any time for them to consider what was going on or how to deal with it. As agitated as Silmeria was, she was able to execute a solution to their problem. Just as the paralysis was setting in, the duo ran out of the fog and to the window. Merry’s speed boost for Lilliah helped the wounded esper stay ahead of the approaching mist. They were in the air in no time.

A lot of things were needed to fly that often went overlooked by espers. Flight required the subject to be light with aerodynamic surfaces. They might need a strong propulsion system to make up for any short comings the subject may have. The heavier something is, the more aerodynamic the subject needed to be. Otherwise the propulsion system needs to be stronger. It was an easy formula to forget when you just had to cast a two note melody on yourself. But Lilliah would soon remember this crucial bit of data when she went to soar. It took quite a bit of effort to stay airborne, but it was manageable. She wouldn’t be gaining any altitude as she needed to “climb” to keep the two of them in the air.

The sniper took aim at the duo, but his head jerked backwards after taking a hit from Merry's gun. Beuford was still loading his RPG when a shot tragically laid him to rest. May he continue to fire rockets in the afterlife. This only left the mysterious man decked out in armor. But he also had a grenade launcher, which was by far the least useful weapon in this situation. Without a floor or even walls to contain his smoke grenades, they weren’t going to be too effective. But he had to do something. So he fired a grenade straight at Lillia’s chest. He was smart enough to retreat before the sniper focused her aim on him.

The duo managed to finish their escape by flying into the commissioner’s office. The door leading out of the room had been shut, likely an attempt by the remaining grenadier to preserve his life. So it was only them, alone in a messy office with a drilled safe.

But what about the pursuing yellow fog?

Behind the agents on a floor right above where they started was Viper. A yellow orb of radioactive material orbited her head, casting its yellow glow on everything around her. It became clear why Beuford’s trigger happy finger was frowned upon. His rocket had hit the ceiling, but Viper must have been aproaching on the floor above them. She had her dagger pointed across the street at them, which was a lot more threatening knowing that a melody could come flying out of it at any time. But after taking a breath, she lowered her knife.

”There’s no reason to fight after the contract’s been voided.” Her knives slipped into some scabbards on her wrists. ”The commissioner’s safe holds something that belongs to me.” She pressed her thumb and middle finger together. ”There’s a green gift box inside wrapped with a gold and red bow. If you can get that for me, I’ll meet you at The Great Escape at noon tomorrow for a trade.”

---

_{@SilverPaw@TheGMbby}

Everything rode on the next few seconds of the operation. The approaching blood spikes impaled the inmate on Jacqueline. He hadn’t even screamed before she shuffled backwards and fired a beam straight at Lada’s torso. With her kneeling and hands in prayer, hitting her mid section was almost impossible. A stream of rusted metal blades dug into Lada's arm before ending up in her gut. Magi had higher than normal magic resistance, but the attack had done some serious damage. With a groan, she clamped her hand over her arm to stem the bleeding. The bloody tentacles fell to the ground with a splash, becoming unmoving puddles. Before Lada could put her hands together again, Jacqueline had picked up her weapon and rammed it into the blood mage. She fell backwards out of her circle, thumping her head against the concrete wall behind her. She wasn’t out cold, but she was dazed and her circle had been scattered by the knight’s charge. There would be no more blood rituals today. Lada laid on her back, growling through her teeth as she clutched her arm.

With the dispersion of the circle, the inmates started to regain their composure. Most seemed baffled by their predicament. They behaved as if having regained consciousness after sleep walking. ”How da hell did mah doze bake?” One said, looking around himself for someone’s fist that was as bloody as his nose was.

But not all the tension in the room had been released. Su had erected a half wall between herself and the rest of the inmates. While there were a few inmates on Su and Jacqueline’s side of the wall, they all knew enough to stand back. But Rottweiler and Su were having a bit of a standoff. Both had their pistols drawn and aimed at the other one’s head. Su hadn’t quite gotten her shield up in time, and wasn’t about to make any sudden movements.

”This over.” Su’s eyes were locked on the former police trainer.

”I haven’t gotten Lada out of here yet.” He didn’t take his eyes off of Su either.

”You lucky she alive.” Su’s breathing was steady for someone being held at gunpoint. Not that her target was any less composed. ”She want you alive too.”

”I would hope so!” He smiled. ”I get it, you think I’m a piece of shit. But the only thing Lada’s guilty of is keeping her parent's art alive. Your people wanted to study her like an insect. If that hadn’t been the case, perhaps I’d have fought to the death like some of my old buddies.” He adjusted his footing.

”Look around. You think you get Lada out of here? Surrender and you both live.” Su clenched her teeth.

Rottweiler didn’t look away from Su, but he turned his head a bit towards Jacqueline ”What do you think? I hear ex-police officers don’t do too well in jail. It's a step up from science experiment though, right?”

specs

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze

Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window

Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest

Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced

[Storm , Flight ], Push, Pull, Build, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

[Bronze projectile][build] = 80

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: E | 132

---

_@OwO

Apollo’s pitch to Sofron went as he anticipated. The heavy canister slammed into his chest, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around it. Most fire extinguishers have a safety valve on them to release excessive pressure. This is often enough to prevent a fire extinguisher from blowing up in a hot environment. Though the instantaneous heat applied by Sofron’s melody overcame it. The canister exploded, throwing anti-flame foam in all directions.

It had been Apollo’s intention to find a rappel line to get to the bottom floor. But those were all at the other side of the building where the Gemini sniper couldn’t shoot them. But Apollo would still get to the bottom floor soon as the explosion pushed him out the window. He fell ten feet toward the asphalt road, half slathered in a flame retarding agent. Though Apollo was saved from a hard fall by an unexpected cushion. Several gang members had dove out the window before him, including the guy he flung outside himself. Not all of them survived, and they made for a softer surface to land on. Quiet, with the only sound being the window breaking. Just as planned! He needed to move quickly though, as a smoke grenade had fallen not too far away from him. Hard to tell where it came from with no visible combatants nearby.

He had enough time to run inside where a trove of weapons laid before him. Among the slain gangsters on the first floor was a few pistols, one gilded gold, an AK-47 or five, anything he wanted was right there waiting for him. As soon as he bent over to pick one of them up, a voice called out to him from the floor above.

"Imbecile!" Sofron coughed. "I will not be done in, by, a fire extinguisher!" Apollo could also hear some other espers at the other end of the hall.

---

_{@FamishedPants@mantou@ERode}

It was difficult for Protector to do much harassing with her spear. Shortly after diving into the first floor, Adder opened fire on her. That said nothing of the M202 FLASH Cobra had mounted on his shoulder. Protector might have seen the box shaped quad rocket launcher before if she watched many American action movies. It was designed to fire incendiary rockets, and could fire four of them within a second of each other. It seemed that the projectiles for Cobra's launcher had been modified, as the last rocket he fired was an explosive one. Bullets kept Protector locked in place, and King Cobra prepared to fire another round directly at her.

That was when a charred zombie that kind of looked like Klava leaned into the hole to assist. She launched her melody straight at the Cobra, and ice took hold of his arm. His launcher and arm were solidified in ice. Before Adder could switch targets, Samuel phased through the floor and stabbed him in the neck, killing him.

”Not so fast!” King Cobra hopped backwards and pulled out a detonator. His thumb was resting directly on its button. ”This station now carries enough Semtex on it’s key structural points to blow it out of Pax Septimus at the touch of this button.” Once he was sure he had everyone’s attention, he moved his arm closer to himself. ”That’s right, no one has to die needlessly.”

The Cobra seemed to be retreating, but with every passing second his arm was thawing more and more. Already the ice was cracking and falling off. But could they risk attacking him if it meant dooming everyone still inside?

---

_{@The World@Hammerman}

Marrie’s gambit, once again revealing her human identity to all in the vicinity, paid off.

But only somewhat.

After all, what did honey-flavoured restraints seal? The outfit of an individual, or the flesh underneath? As her legs rematerialized beneath her, the only portion of her body that wasn’t physically sealed off by the honey due to her esper form not having any ‘real’ legs to begin with, the human girl suddenly felt the crushing weight of the hardened honey even more than before, her roll more of a clumsy tumble than a drastic shift in movement. She fell to the ground heavily, gracelessly, the impact fracturing her left elbow while shattering a portion of the honeyed restraints as well. The pain was unbearable. The pain disappeared the instant she re-initiated her transformation. The distance wasn’t optimal, and the four muscled drones were seconds away from rushing at her, but the esper’s left arm was free now. Her left arm could grasp her instrument, and the Melody on her lips did not require another arm to cast.

A hand, grip vice-like and sticky, grasped her arm and…

…a cold storm expelled from her form, blowing back that hand in the same instant. Forceful winds swirled around Marrie like armor, a dense barrier that did not force back the quartet of full-sized adult men but prevented them from getting a grip upon her instead. And though the Queen of Bees was fast, her impractical dress and her predilection with letting her manservants carry her around everywhere made it so that she wasn’t nearly as fast as a sprinting Esper, restrained or not by honey. Apex Predator found its mark, the entire length sinking into the Queen’s chest as Marrie lunged in with the entirety of her body weight. With a thud unheard amidst the cacophony of falling debris, the two crashed into the ground.

Blood soaked Marrie’s body. It wasn’t her blood, but rather the blood of the Queen, gushing out from her ruby red mouth. It opened and closed, rasping out unheard words as a ferocious light gleamed in the mortally-wounded woman’s eyes, her arms having wrapped around Marrie’s body. At point-blank range, it was impossible for any blocking or dodging to happen, and through the crystallized honey on her back, the Esper could feel those arms begin to vibrate, larvae reawakening at the dying Queen’s command, ready to avenge her demise at the hands of this blue-haired assassin.

But this was point-blank range, and Apex Predator was already in her chest. All it took was a twist of the knife to finish the Queen off.

And as Marrie turned, fully prepared to face the four full-sized adult men who were most likely totally going to kick her ass for killing their idol, what she saw instead was an upside-down bulldozer and a bloody smear of flesh and bone equivalent to that of four human men, while Tetrad, covered in vomit and honey, sat inside the second bulldozer atop a thoroughly traumatized old geezer.

Now what happened here?

…

“Mrhghmrhgmrggh!!”

Pressed against the chest of a psycho-bitch who threw a hammer at him, the man struggled for a moment, the bulldozer swaying dangerously while Tetrad unloaded half a clip towards the final-ape. The bullets missed, of course, a testament towards the accuracy of a handgun while situated in a swaying bulldozer atop of a jelly-bellied coward, but thankfully, the final-ape didn’t seem focused on taking down Tetrad either. There was a bigger menace, a demolition-sized one, and the final-ape took off, arms hanging loosely behind him as he dashed for the crane. And as for the unarmed construction worker?

“Oh god oh god please don’t kill me I’ve got two sons to t- HEEEEK!” Shrieking at the kiss of gunmetal against flesh, he defaulted immediately towards survival mode and turned the bulldozer around, flooring it without any thought of long-term consequence. So long as the gun was pointed to his neck, the man eschewed all thoughts, driving it faster and faster…towards another bulldozer.

Tetrad went ‘Yas queen! Slay!’ The wrecking ball lightened up significantly, crashing into one of the remaining support pillars of the warehouse but only denting it instead.

And then, while she was still forcefully jubilant due to the nature of her Draw 4, one bulldozer crashed into the side of another, sending it flipping rightwards into the quartet of half-naked manservants who had just dodge rolled eloquently out of the way a mere half-second ago. None of them were able to get out a word of surprise or saltiness, before eight and a half tons of steel turned them into paste.

This was traumatizing. Tetrad may have been fine, but the whiplash of the impact, as well as the general massacre he had caused, ended up with the man throwing up his half-digested lumberjack sandwich all over his and Tetrad’s laps.

But hey!

Both espers were still alive, and as they turned their attention to the crane, they saw perhaps the tug-o-war of the century! With Tetrad’s weightlessness spell lightening up the load somewhat, the final-ape had inexplicably managed to catch the wrecking ball on the rebound, grabbing both ball and chain with hammer and spear. In a group, the Ape Gang was able to push around shipping containers like it was nothing, but even alone? He was somehow able to stall the crane! Man versus machine! Brute strength versus mechanical force! The chain let out the tortured grown of steel being pushed to its very limits! The hammer and sword both began to bend, to break, as the final-ape’s costume tore at the seams to reveal the dynamic anatomy beneath!

“RETURN! TO! MONKE!!!”

And then, the final-ape fell back, wrecking ball and chain both following behind him, and then on top of him, crushing him beneath the weight of crude iron. There would be no paradise found by him and his brothers. It was not even his own strength that had tore the wrecking ball free from the crane.

It was simply cold calculus.

The crane had released the wrecking ball of its own volition, and now raised itself erect as a shark fin. With the rumbling of a monstrous engine, the massive vehicle roared into the warehouse now, its intent clear: ram through the rest of the warehouse with the crane alone and let this house of cards come tumbling down.

But in this bloody affair, two souls still stood to resist the tyranny of land ownership and demovictions.

If Marrie and Tetrad could stop the crane before it got halfway into the warehouse, then Bastion was theirs!

---

_{@Majoras End}

The shock lasso that Fable cast was capable of holding the troublesome crabs in place. As they had been secured right over the portal, it was impossible for more crabs to come through. Fable had stalled the nearby crab rave for now.

Mary looked at Fable, if only for a moment, when he started talking. But averted zir eyes as soon as he looked in zir direction. But ze gave a small nod when he finished mentioning that splitting them up did something. Mary reached into Danny’s mouth and pulled out two slimy, wiggling tentacles. They were red in color and had a flat side, which might have made them look more like tongues to some people. Ze heaved one at a distant crab rave, and the other ze squeezed into zir palm until it burst. A red surge of energy flew out of her finger, slamming into the side of a building. There were now two additional portals in those locations. The crab rave lost its footing when it stepped inside one of the portals and came out the other as a shower of defenseless crabs. Binky was quick to capitalize on this moment and waited under the portal with her bone saw high above her head. The crabs that touched the saw were cut in half, falling to either side of Binky along with hundreds of their brothers and sisters.

“Seems like that worked.” Ze said more to zirself than to the boy standing a bit further away from them.

There was only one crab rave left, and Elroy was having the time of his life knocking it’s legs out from under him. When it collapsed on top of him, he emitted an explosion that blew the surrounding rave apart, and cooked a few crabs in the process. “It’s raining crab! Hallelujah!”

Among the scatter shot of cooked crab meat and burning shells was a single blue crab holding onto a ukulele. it tumbled across the concrete, shaken but otherwise unhurt by Elroy’s last spell. Anything with a functioning brain might have use the opportunity to retreat. But much like the creatures this monster chose to impersonate, the crab rave instigator only knew how to feed and destroy. Some might find it’s small stature cute, but its thoughts were anything but. With a strum of it’s ukulele, more crabs started to join the fray. Drains, sewer covers, all were places where more crabs could emerge from. There were no assembled crab raves, but the crabs would coat the streets before long.

Binky groaned. ”Think we can wrap this up soon?”

Elroy didn’t stop smiling, but he did raise one of his eyebrows. “How soon?”

”In the next six seconds?”

“Uhh...”

The blue crab was defenseless as it played its song on friendship and destruction. The instigator of this entire event had been revealed, but it would not be long before its legions returned in full strength.

Symphony of Espers

_{@The World@ERode}

Many Roman war dramas had one character or another proudly declaring that they bare no scars on their back. The implication being that they had never fled from a battle that had been decided. Luna couldn’t care less about how brave she looked, but getting hit in the back by a spear was not a good time. That was especially true if it was hurled by an ape man.

Not again! Not again!

She was momentarily powerless. The honey hardened over her like a golden coffin, making her unable to avoid the spear. It was one hell of a silver lining, but the honey sarcophagus she had been trapped inside was broken up by the strike to her back. Though the searing pain made such a thing hard to be thankful for. Pain and weakness spread out from her lower back. The ape had missed her spine, but she could already tell that wasn’t a wound that was going to just heal itself. Perhaps it was the weight of the spear, or the fact that the tip wasn’t too sharp, but it fell out of her back just as she swapped places with the hammer. Another blunder brought on by the delayed effect of her melody. She really did have the most unreliable glamors in Pax Septimus.

There was a brief pause in action as Luna and the bulldozer operator looked at each other. Of all the random and insane things that had to happen, somehow winding up in the lap of some greasy machine operator topped everything that had happened thus far. Luna had safely buried her woes over not having any guys to hang with in the back of her mind. While Luna’s fortune was constantly in flux, it was uncommon for her wishes to be granted monkey paw style. But she didn’t know why he looked so upset. It’s not every day a drop dead gorgeous babe just falls into your lap. She had even been lightly sprayed with honey, she doubted it could get any better than this. Maybe threatening him earlier spooked him, she didn’t know. But he was drawing a pistol and that wasn’t cool.

”Knock that off!” Luna grabbed the man’s head and shoved it into her kinda-small-yet-firm breasts. She caught his hard hat and placed it on top of her own head just so that she didn’t have to deal with it at the moment. Her legs were still restrained in place, but Luna managed to stretch past the man’s jelly belly and grab his gun. She aimed at the ape and fired a few rounds at his center mass, focusing on his chest, shoulders, and head. A hand gun likely didn’t have enough ammo to kill an ape man, but weakening him now would make him easier to deal with later. No sooner did she finish shooting did Luna pull the man’s head back and press the hot barrel of the gun against his neck.

”Turn this thing around and floor it!” As confident as Luna was in her ability to learn the controls, she doubted she could dispose of this virgin, remove him from the cockpit, learn the controls, and successfully ride to the mist girl’s side. The collapse, the bee men, and the monkey all made things time sensitive in regards to her companion’s survival. If the construction worker could heed her orders, he didn’t have to die. Not that Luna cared one way or the other.

Now might have been a good time to heal that infernal stab wound in her back, but Luna would have plenty of time to do that once she completed her mission. Once the bulldozer was turned around, she aimed her finger across the warehouse and fired a firework into the crane’s massive wrecking ball.

”Yas queen! Slay!” Tetrad pumped her fist, still keeping her gun pointed at the man's neck.

Something as massive as a crane could not be totally affected by one of Luna’s melodies, but with any luck, her magic was potent enough to at least reduce the weight of the wrecking ball. That should at least buy them a moment, provided the wrecking ball wasn’t broken or wrapped around the crane after a sudden overswing.

Luna

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Damage, Heal, Push, Transplace, Extend, Purify, Zone, If: Friend , Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Roll = Yas Queen! roleplayerguild.com/rolls/22427

[Silver Beam][Weightless] = -72 MP

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 234

Symphony of Espers

_{@Izurich@Crusader Lord}

Merry fired round after round at her assassin, using the sound of her footsteps to direct her aim. Though approximating the distance of a nearby threat was not the same as firing on a distant one. But it was hard to be logical when your blood was boiling. It could be reasoned however that firing had a higher chance of hitting than not firing.

Though that chance diminished when you had a monkey on your back.

Merry was knocked onto her chest when Lilliah dove on top of her. Shortly afterwards, a sniper round flew over her back. This was followed by an RPG, which veered off course due to the wind storm and slammed into the ceiling. Bits of timber and tile were thrown about in a furious shower from the floor above.

”Not now, Beuford!” The grenadier chewed out the rocket gang member. ”One of our hires is right there! Have some common sense!”

_{”I just really wanted to fire a rocket, it’s why I took this job in the first place.”}

The Gemini agents seemed to be in the clear for the moment. The gunmen weren’t going away, but they couldn't see the agents. They were out of sight below the window frame.

With all the sounds going off, Merry had lost track of Viper’s footsteps. She may have escaped, she may be dead, but Viper would soon confirm it was neither of those.

A dull, yellow mist formed down the hallway. Not long after it appeared, it rolled in and subjected the agents to its effects. The agents would feel their muscles start to stiffen up. They could feel weakness setting into their arms and legs. Breathing was more difficult, and even their consciousness was starting to fade. Worse was that the cloud seemed to be moving, trying to remain on them at all times.

Gunmen to their backs, Viper out of sight, and a yellow mist that permeated the area. A troublesome situation to be sure, but how would they deal with it?

Important notes on “Chernobyl’s Lantern”

[Silver ????][?????][Full Extend][Piercing][Zone][If Foe][Paralysis]

The melody appears to be a full 20x20 zone that moves through an area. It pierces walls and cover, and slowly inflicts paralysis on anything it touches by way of radiation poisoning. It’s not clear how the fog is following the agents, as Viper has been out of sight since after using her blink melody. There were no marks placed, and you’d know if you triggered a trap note, which this wasn’t.

Neither agent has arcane defense to speak of, giving them about 4 seconds before they succumb to its effects. Will they stop the cloud from following them?

---

_{@SilverPaw@TheGMbby}

Upon Lerox’s request for information on blood mages, Fritzi was quick to reply. Being a magic researcher, such questions were often easy for her to answer. “Tip one, don’t bleed near them. Tip two, all their spells are dark blessings which require rituals to activate. If there’s a ritual circle nearby, destroy it. Alternatively, keep their hands apart if that’s not possible.” Jaqueline had seen a red circle glow in Lada’s cell before. A closer inspection would reveal a circle made out of salt encircling the blood mage.

Rottweiler's grip tightened on his baton. ”I’ll get out of your way when I’m dead.” When their weapons clashed, the rust particulates signaled that Jaqueline was preparing something. What, however, was not something that anyone could discern. The proverbial jack in the box kept Rottweiler from getting too aggressive. ”A powerful one this time, huh?” As the melody surged into her weapon, he went for another deflection. He shoved the pick aside with his hand, momentarily knocking Jacqueline off balance. With his opening created, Rottweiler rushed in and swung his baton at her rib cage. She felt pain, but it wasn’t the bone crushing hit she might have anticipated if he was powered up. ”Wait...” Rottweiler examined his hands, only to see that the red glow that his body had bathed in was gone. Touching her pick was enough contact to trigger the melody, and it had ripped his enchantment to tatters. ”Heh! This feels a lot less fair now.”

But Rottweiler and Lerox wouldn’t have time to exchange quips. The convicts had fled their cells and were fighting everyone. The agents, Rottweiler, other convicts, all were fair game. As if they were zealots trying to appease the blood god by spilling as much crimson as they could. Jaqueline and Rottweiler were too preoccupied fighting each other to notice the mob surging towards them. Two smaller men jumped onto Jacqueline. One tried to bite through her shoulder plate while another went to gouge at her eyes. Rottweiler was shoulder tackled into a wall by a giant brute. Those blessed by the blood seemed to have amazing fortitude. But without it, even a mundane bum rush was enough to knock him off his feet. After he slammed into the wall, the former police officer drove his foot into the giant’s family jewels. Even a murderous rage couldn’t keep someone on their feet after something like that. Rottweiler would be free before long.

While Jaquiline was getting swarmed, Su’s mother like instincts kicked in. Keeping the empowered brute out of the fight was important, but there had been a tip in the scales with her fellow agent’s latest gambit. She ran to her ally as fast as she could. But before departing, Su looked over her shoulder and tossed a stone. It caused many more stones to roll after it and harden into a wall over the exit. They wouldn’t have any backup, but she wasn’t going to let a group of rowdy convicts escape on her watch. With that settled, they had to push for the goal.

Su charged with her shield up, plowing through any of the convicts who stood in her way. She could shoot some of them, but opted for the less bloody option due to their opponent's power. When she got to her ally’s position, she grabbed one of the convicts and threw them off of Jacqueline.

”I got back!” Which was probably “I’ve got your back” in Chinglish. She had placed herself between the angry mob and Jaquiline, refusing to let another inmate get their hands on her.

But just ahead was Lada, who was without a body guard. The spilled blood across all the prisoners was starting to surge to Lada’s side in the form of giant coagulated tentacles. They flew towards the knight’s position as giant spikes. It was a clear attempt to impale her. The blood mage remained kneeling, her hands clasped together, begging her god for their dark blessings.

specs

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm , Flight ], Push, Pull, Build, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

[Bronze projectile][build] = 80

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: E | 212

---

_@OwO@ERode

While Sofron had very potent melodies, his instrument did not seem to have the same kind of power. Elroy was one of the most powerful freelance espers, and even he only had access to a single diamond glamor. The few espers that managed to surpass Elroy’s power were well known, documented, and tracked. Anyone would know if they came face to face with Oros the Mad or the Iron Queen of Pax Septimus. They were tracked down to the very city they inhabited. But some old butler guy who needed to introduce himself was likely just a veteran esper; Powerful, but beatable. Klava was able to duck before the butler’s shoulder connected, causing him to fall right where she wanted him to.

Her entire body was burning up, and her vision was failing. Not because of the tear gas, but because Sofron’s flames were doing normally irreparable damage to her eyes. Her silky white skin was turning red and covered in blisters. Her kimono would bake and adhered to her flesh in time. A normal human would cry out in pain and not have the will to remain in a burning inferno. But Klava had a will that was harder than steel.

She could feel her attack connect. The familiar if morbid sensation of a blade sinking into flesh. It worked its way between his ribs before the hilt of her blade bottomed out against his flesh. When Klava pulled her blade free, there should have been a nasty wound in its place. As gruesome as the attack was, it was an act of mercy. The butler could end this any time they wanted by reverting to their true self. That would end the melody, prevent them from bleeding out, and save everyone. But this was America after all. While hesitation meant defeat, sentiment could lead to folly. A fact Klava became aware of when she felt a hand clamp over her thigh.

"I hadn’t realized storms were so gentle."

Placing her knee on Sofron’s head was enough to get in a free stab, but it did nothing to secure either of his arms. With a shove, Klava rolled into the wall where she managed to make an indentation into the sheetrock. The butler scrambled to his feet before searching for his next target, content to let Klava cook in Balewulf.

While Apollo was able to stand outside of Sofron’s melody, the tear gas had become so thick he couldn’t see either esper. The eye watering substance was making its way towards him, leaving the melody’s confines. But soon enough, Sofron emerged from the smoke. There was a small cut in his shirt above his stomach. There was a wound there, but it was closing right before his eyes. Instead of the relaxed stance he had before, Sofron’s teeth were grit, and his eyes were red from exposure to tear gas. He had to be blind now, but the butler’s ears may have picked up on the sound of a fire extinguisher glass breaking. His breathing was raspy. It was hard to tell if he was this way exclusively from the tear gas or if the hole in his chest also contributed to it.

With a warcry that sounded like the hiss from some long dead wraith, Sofron spread his arms and charged towards Apollo. His arms became wreathed with fire as he neared his target.

"Baleful Embrace!"

---

_{@FamishedPants@mantou}

Protector opted to ignore the main target in favor of dealing with “Kumambamon.” The close distance meant that the mascot’s (?) cattle prod was a danger to Aria. But agent Silhouette was there to deflect the blow with his knife and run through the restrained guard with his sword. The bomb suit offered little protection from swords above the trauma plate on their stomach, which Sil avoided.

”Dayum.” He said, looking down at the wound. ”Don’t think I’m walkin’ that one off.”

There was no time to exchange words. The yellow gas was creeping up the stairway, and neither esper wanted to inhale it. Samuel took protector and walked past Mamba, but not before slitting his throat out of mercy. But they had a dilemma now. The top of the stairs was set aflame, and the yellow gas was spreading to their position. It might have been possible to run through the non-magical flames, however...

The floor erupted with a bang. Bits of carpet and timber filled the air and almost knocked the two espers down the stairs. but the Protector's shield was there to push away the incoming debris. While they weren’t visible, Adder and King Cobra’s voices could be heard from the floor below.

”Did you get them?”

”I don’t fucking know, just gun down anything that tries to come down that hole after us.” The sound of another round being loaded could be heard.

”Using the zip lines as a rapple was still a good idea, right?”

---

_{@The World@Hammerman}

Marrie had a good plan, foiled by one problem.

The speed of a stone’s throw was easy to intercept when her target was surrounded by loyal subs willing to die for the cause. Thinking that it was another destructive spell, one of the more-undressed honey-worshippers leapt to his Queen’s defense, taking the projectile right in the chest…only for Marrie to teleport there instead, the windstorm that surged around them causing even the Queen herself to retreat backwards. At such a close range, there was no way for him to stop Marrie from plunging the Apex Predator into his chest, but at the same time, there was no way for her to stop him from spasming out a final shot from his super soaker. Honeyed water splurted over Marrie’s torso, staining her with accursed sweetness before his death caused the expiration of the spell.

More debris rained down from the rampant destruction of the warehouse, a falling beam crushing another sub underneath and reducing the Queen’s sting troopers to merely four. Between the magical bullshit occurring and the physical destruction that was practically happening everywhere, she ground her teeth together. If all here died, no one would be alive to tell of her cowardly retreat! “Drones! Pin that wretched assassin down!” she cried, before forming a triangle with her fingers and rotating it around in a vaguely mystical manner.

What true practitioner of the mystical arts, after all, had just one spell up their non-existent sleeves?

Marrie, Tetrad, and the bossbro would all feel something over their bodies, originating from the parts that were stained by honeyed water. It expanded at a regular pace, the watered-down honey turning into something that was so dense in honey it could only be considered a crystallized sludge that dragged their bodies down and restrained them, some more effectively than others.

And as consequence of that, Marrie found herself about to be mobbed by four whole ass grown men while at the corner of her focus, the bulldozer rumbled with ferocious might, intent on crushing the entire fivesome under the power of AMERICAN industry.

Tetrad, of course, didn’t fare all that well either.

Her spell slowed by her Special and her body slowed by the hardening honey, she made an easy target as the spear-ape hefted his spear back and threw it at her with the finesse of an Olympic athlete. “Banana PEEL!” he roared in triumph, moments before being clobbered by a light fixture and falling on his ass in a bloodied daze. He would not live to see the results of his throw, but Tetrad would currently live to feel it. Hot pain lanced into her back, a sharpened point digging past skin and fat, into the meat that composed the organism named Tetrad.

Relief from pain came with Transplace though, yoinking her through the shattered window of the bulldozer and...onto the lap of a fifty-something construction worker? It must have been a matter of overlap, a matter of accuracy under stress. Aiming for the construction worker at the same instance that the hammer she had thrown at him would've overlapped with his silhouette made for a difficult shot, doubly so when it was a linear beam with no extra modifications stacked on. And thus, there Tetrad was, with an old man's beer belly jiggling like jellied fish against her own. His mouth opened and closed rapidly, forming the syllables for “oh fuck oh shit” before his fat fingers began groping for his pistol.

Now, the ultimate question of speed: was Mr. Butterfingers-Never-Fucked faster? Or was Honey-Slathered-Tetrad the queen of the quickdraw?

…

In a sad corner of the wrecked warehouse, Daniel Pinkerton, Harvard graduate and valedictorian of his MBA program, huddled underneath a shipping container. Off to the side, his tailored Italian three-piece suit laid, coated in honey crystals and bombarded by bees. Brown and yellow stained his white briefs, his face twisted in humiliation as he pressed his hard hat against his head and pressed his phone against his ears.

…

Standing as the only ape left, the brawler-ape looked at the two weapons of his fallen brothers: Spear and Hammer, then at the monstrosities that still wrecked havoc upon the Bastion that should have been their shelter away from the judgment of society. They were gone now, but the blood oath they made when they cast away their human skin remained, beating in his heart, telling him to fight on. He picked up the hammer and spear, gripped them tightly in his hands, and let out a breath.

“It’s peanut butter jelly time.”

The final-ape has arrived.

…

Enjoying the symphony of wreckage, the mysterious operator of the wrecking machine continued to swing the black hammer of demolition back and forth, more and more of the warehouse caving in. What god heeded the concerns of ants?

None.

The countdown continued, the whirlwind of devastation growing closer and closer to the conclusion of this wretched play.

---

_{@Majoras End}

Lightning ripped down the length of Fable’s rapier. The damage note wasn’t dampened by an area effect this time, so the effect was much more pronounced. The moisture in the crabs bodies became super heated, and the escaping water blew their shells apart like little sticks of dynamite. The mass of crabs had lost one of its arms, but it was still able to follow through with its mean right hook. No matter how potent Fable’s magic, it didn’t change the fact that he had been tugged off balance and was stumbling. By the time he had regained his footing, he had no time to hop out of the way. He braced for impact, but there was only so much a thin rapier could do to soften the strike of a fifty pound crab claw. The uppercut connected.

Fable was sent into the air, but was otherwise fine. Monsters did not obey the laws of physics. Despite being just crabs, the Crab Rave could wade through concrete barriers and buildings unimpeded. But espers bent those rules the other way, where monster attacks did far less damage then they should. Fifty pounds of anything to the chin would knock someone out, if it didn’t dislodge their head from their spine first. But Fable only had to deal with some momentary vertigo and a sizable bruise on his cheek. It looked like he had been bullied at school. Just one more reason why espers were the best ones to contend with monsters. But while Fable was soaring away from the mini rave, he was gliding towards one of the larger raves. It opened its four-hundred pound claw in anticipation of Fable’s arrival.

Now this would hurt a lot more.

But before Fable could decide on a melody to deal with the situation, a portal opened up in front of him. He had enough time to make out an elegantly dressed demi boy and Elroy on the other side. When he flew through the portal, he tumbled across the asphalt road before landing at Zir’s feet. That hurt more than the crab punch.

“Nice one! Portal Witch!” Elroy gave his ally a big thumbs up.

Mary huffed. “You’ve got the doctor, Elroy?“

“Yup!”

Elroy was already running straight for the chaos. Binky might have been given a momentary opening while one of the raves was distracted by Fable, but they were now totally surrounded. ”Is that the Immortal Volcano I hear?”

“Autographs are after the show!”

For reasons that were mysterious to most, Mary hadn’t acknowledged Fable aside from assisting his escape. Speaking of which, the Crab Rave divided when it came in contact with the portal. Part of the creature was attempting to force itself inside the portal, causing a slew of crabs to spill out the other side. They were shapeless and scattered, but that would change soon. It would just be a moment before another mini rave was created.

Symphony of Espers

_{@The World@ERode}

There were a lot of things Luna didn’t care for about her situation. She didn’t like that there were two ape men. Gunning for her. She didn’t like that bulldozers and a wrecking ball were trying to level the place, and she didn’t like that some honey obsessed cultists had coated her in honey and were trying to sting her to death. But more than all of that, she hated that she was forced to team up with freelancers. If they weren’t the type to blink away from a dangerous mission, they threw themselves into situations with a child like recklessness. Did the mist girl think Luna would fair better against the ape men than she did? Did she think she could take on the church of the hive’s elite by herself? This would have been so much easier if- you know what? It didn’t matter. Tetrad just had to do her best to help the rookie without getting herself killed in the process. At least this one didn’t flee.

Luna really needed a moment to think, but she wasn’t going to get one. As soon as the apes came running, she picked up the hammer and ran in the opposite direction. Fighting the ape gang two to one was not a good idea. That was one option she could cross off her list.

Giving the mist girl backup would be a good idea. But she knew from experience that Pit Boss would have a difficult time hitting something at that range. A wind storm had kicked up on that side of the warehouse too, and she didn't expect her meager projectiles to land on target. They would just get blown off course, or worse, hit the mist girl. There wasn’t anything she could do to help her in this situation. Luna's mana reserves were draining, and she was being chased by two apes. Not to mention she was still covered in honey. If that queen bee got off another shot, or the hard hat guy ran in her direction, well, it wouldn’t be good. Fighting close or afar wasn't an option here.

Which left the construction workers, who were causing it to rain metal and debris on everyone. Actually, yea, if Luna could find shelter somewhere, she didn’t have to worry about a light fixture coming down and crushing her like a packet of ketchup. Hell, the bulldozers cruising around the place would work just fine.

”Alright you S-O-B, you’re mine!”

She didn’t know if the construction workers were monsters, humans, aliens, or some other type of freak. Ultimately they were bringing down a building with her and the mist girl still inside. She wasn't going to stop them out of heroism or because she was brave, they were just in the way.

Tetrad was going to hit the driver with a melody, but that was going to be kind of hard with the windshield in place. Even if it was just some polycarbonate, it would stop her melody from reaching the intended target. ”NGYA!” She hurled the hammer at the windshield before charging up her next melody. There was really no reason why she couldn’t have taken Pit Boss and just blown through it, but keeping the hammer away from the apes seemed like it was in her best interest, and the hammer would likely go through the windshield easier than Pit boss would have. As soon as the hammer hit, the glow at the end of her finger intensified before a firework flew from her fingertip and into the driver when-

EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, PLEASE STAND BY!

Some sort of error message was projected over her finger with a short timer.

”Now? NOW!”

In a panic Tetrad looked back between the approaching monkey men and then over her head. If she could avoid getting crushed in the next few seconds, she would swap places with the bulldozer driver. She hadn’t driven construction equipment before, but it shouldn’t be too hard to steer a bulldozer around. All they could do was move their treads and raise and lower their “bucket.” The reinforced roof would protect her from falling debris as she drove towards the mist girl’s position. Though that would only happen if she could dodge the collapsing building long enough for her melody to activate, and before the apes fed Luna her own arms.

Though if the glass hadn't shattered that changed little. She's just swap places with that instead and do her best to commandeer the bulldozer by getting the driver out of it.

Luna

21 | Female | Maverick | Fortune
Pit Boss | Staff | Arcane | High Roller
Croupier | Graceful
Gambit | Gravity | Draw 4
[Weightless, Suspend], Damage, Heal, Push, Transplace, Extend, Purify, Zone, If: Friend , Else

DAMAGE: E | SPEED: C | SENTINEL: D | 750

Roll = Slow Spell! roleplayerguild.com/rolls/22393

[Silver Beam][Transplace] = -96 MP

PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: D | 306

Symphony of Espers

_{@Izurich@Crusader Lord}

Things were moving fast, almost too fast. If it wasn’t for the adrenaline running through their systems, they wouldn't been able to process it all.

Merry was running on pure instinct, ultra instinct some would say, and prepared to drive her palm into the approaching hostile. At the same time, Viper was thrusting her dagger towards her prey's chest. Viper's speed gave her an advantage in this situation, and the full length of her ka-bar meant she could connect that much faster with her target. The blade sunk into Silmeria's flesh, just off center to her sternum. Five millimeters, ten millimeters, and then Viper bent her elbow which prevented the blade from entering deeper. The wound did not go deep enough to reach her heart, but she did risk bleeding out if she moved around too much.

Why Viper hesitated would be a mystery to Merry, but it was because Wukong showed up just in time to thrust her staff into Viper’s back. The upper half of Viper’s bomber suit blew apart, throwing Kevlar and polymer substances everywhere. Even the trauma plate on the front of her suit shredded and fell to the floor in a heap. Now her torso was clad in some tight fitting top that didn’t leave much to the imagination. Not long after, vines made out ki wrapped around her shoulders, preventing her from resuming her attack. Lillia’s presence hadn’t registered to Merry when her palm connected, blowing Viper backwards.

It was luck that Lillia managed to come through the window late enough that Viper didn’t see her and early enough to stop Merry’s assassination. But there is only so much luck in the world, and Lillia had depleted all of hers. Before she could get off an extra swing, Viper flew backwards, causing her to slam into the monkey woman. This both staggered Lillia and caused Viper to not slide as far as Merry might have liked. The total distance was about a single meter.

Merry and Lillia’s coms cracked to life with Veronica’s voice. ”The opposition has hired some espers. Be on your guard, agents!”

Lillia had fewer opportunities to counter attack given that Viper’s back was pressed up against her. There wasn’t much room to swing a staff at such close range, especially in a narrow hallway. Viper on the other hand didn’t need much room to drag her knife along Lillia’s outer thigh. It wasn't deep, but a laceration like that was going to make running very painful.

Merry had not noticed Lillia’s position, so there was little stopping her from attempting to put her next few shots into Viper’s heart. Though Viper’s close proximity meant that she just had to step forward and roundhouse kick the front of the barrel, sending Merry’s next shot off the the side. Viper already had her next melody prepared. Her hand was glowing like a yellow ball of radiation. She pointed her finger in Merry’s direction and… Vanished.

It might have taken Merry a moment to realize what had happened. But Lillia could see Viper had blinked to the other end of the hall. It wasn’t possible to hear at their distance, but without her armor, it was clear she was having difficulty breathing. Normally a paralysis attack to the torso could cause someone to momentarily suffocate, but Viper’s resistance to magic enabled her to breathe with great difficulty. Perhaps that was why she decided to retreat instead of attempt to continue fighting. She raised her hand to her head before stepping around the corner.

”You didn't, say, there were, two!”

Viper’s breathing would return to normal shortly, but before it did, more guards appeared by the windows in the police station. Unlike last time, they were not stacked “deep” into the building. The top three windows each had a guard in it. One had a military issue anti-material rifle, another had a rocket launcher, and the armored grenadier had returned as well. They hadn’t fired yet, but that would change shortly, as they didn’t waste time getting ready.

---

_{@SilverPaw@TheGMbby}

Su was not going to last very long if she just stood there and took blow after blow from the raging brute. Even without magical enhancements, his chain wasn't something she could easily block. She decided to bring the full might of her magic to bear with the most offensive melody she could think of. As he continued to bulldog her with charges, a rock manifested in Su’s hand and she tossed at one of his legs. The stone expanded on contact, transforming into a small stone claw. It dug into his shin, and the newly formed wrist fused with the floor and pulled his leg until he fell onto his back. The claw didn’t disappear either. It was going to hold his leg in the air until something broke it.

”Witchcraft!”

Despite the spell’s damage being on the low side, it drew some blood. It wasn’t common for melodies to grant powerful physical resistances, but other types of magic did not hold up to the same rules. Especially ones as cursed as blood magic.

Jacqueline fought Rottweiler cautiously, though not to the point where she was just waiting for him to slip up. As soon as it looked like she was committed to her swing, Rottweiler brought up his metal detector to catch the pick just behind the head of the weapon. It made an electric squeal as it detected the presence of metal. The intent was clear, he was going to step in close where he wouldn’t have to worry about getting hit from her pole weapon. But Jacqueline had anticipated this, and was not only stepping backwards, but was preparing a melody as well.

Beam attacks fired instantly, and are subtle enough that a magic user needs to be paying attention to spot them. Rottweiler might not have been that, but he did understand how magic worked and was able to see what was going on. He stepped off to the side, escaping just as a stream of rust flakes cut him along his rib cage. He hopped backwards before Jacqueline could drive her pick into his head.

”I guess you won that exchange.” He drew his pistol. ”I wouldn’t mind sparring with you some time, but alas...” He aimed his pistol at Jacqueline, before swinging his arm over and firing several rounds into the cages to his right. Two convicts collapsed as the shots ripped through their cranium. The next cell had a businessman, who Rottweiler skipped in favor of the two convicts in the next few cells. The businessman looked shaken, but was unhurt.

Lada’s head shot up when she saw the spray of crimson in the four other cells. Her hands remained clasped together, and again, her cell lit up with eerie red hues. The corpses of the four men dehydrated as red strings of vermillion crept out of their bodies. In just a few seconds, they were little more than powder and bone. She was chanting words from a long forgotten language, and the blood strings shot out to every corner of the jail, filling the air with a red mist.

Jacqueline and Su could feel its effects. This was a spell designed to enthrall those in an endless rage. The espers and those who had been blessed by blood would not feel the effects much, but the inmates? Those already giving into their hatred? They fell victim immediately.

Then Rottweiler gave a single command.

”Open the gates.”

The cell doors all swung open, and the room was about to be flooded with pissed off inmates. Rottweiler stood in front of Lada’s cell with his baton drawn, seemingly prepared for whatever Jacqueline would try next.

specs

32 | Female | Gemini | Steel Gaze
Bipartisan | Handgun, Greatshield | Physical | Bullet Window
Dragon Breacher | Kevlar Vest
Debris | Wind | Locally Sourced
[Storm , Flight ], Push, Pull, Build, Purify, Restrain, Damage

DAMAGE: D | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 500

[Bronze projectile][Pull][Restrain][Damage]

PHYSICAL: D | ARCANE: D | CHAOS: E | 292

---

_{@FamishedPants@OwO@mantou@ERode}

Fires! Butlers! Guns! Oh my! Nobody wanted to stand in the center of Sofron’s spell, and no one would blame them. Sofron himself just looked on with mild disinterest as the espers scurried around.

Samuel stood his ground a bit longer than the rest. He pulled one of sofron's goons, causing him to spray the other goon with a few bullets. Maybe he died, maybe he was still alive, but it was clear he was out of the fight. Sofron aimed his machine gun at the esper and fired. The spray of bullets was inaccurate, but he managed to hit Samuel with a bullet before he retreated to cover.

"Try to aim straight, master Kent?"

Aria stepped into the staircase with Samuel. She prepared a melody to give Apollo a bit more time to escape. As soon as Mamba got to the last step of the stairs, she went into action. The flows of mana twisted around them, locking their entire body in place. As strong as Aria tried to make her melody, it shouldn’t have had such a potent effect on an esper or magi. So Mamba likely did not have any kind of arcane resistances.

”Why you-!”

But wait a second, the hallway was on fire…

Didn’t Protector drag a bunch of guns that way?

POP! POW! RAKKA-TAKKA!

The guns pulled to the foot of the staircase started to go off. Protector’s shield would be able to take some of the damage, but they would need to retreat further down the stairs to avoid becoming bullet cushions.

Fortunately there would be little problem with that since Klava had blinked into the hallway with the tear gas. She flung it Sofron’s way before charging him head on. As mighty as an esper could be, most physical forms of harm were difficult for them to deal with. That included the smokey substance found in tear gas. Certainly shooting through a smoke screen at anyone on the other side would prove to be tricky as well. Nothing would impede Apollo as he swung out the office window to a better vantage point.

"Back up, master Kent!"

Master Kent did as he was instructed. He aimed his weapon where he thought Klava would be, prepared to fire, only for some huge faceless douchebag to fly out of the smoke. Apollo caught him with his man catcher and kept charging, carrying Kent all the way to the opposing wall. Kent was likely suffocating and had a broken neck, but Apollo didn’t stop running until he got to the window and Kent was thrown out of it, falling to the pavement shortly afterwards. He didn’t even scream as he fell. Sofron turned his head towards Apollo, then looked back at the smoke where Klava was emerging. He could shoot, but Klava was a swift esper and he wasn’t guaranteed a hit. His position had been surrounded. Yet he didn't look deterred.

"Fools, to take me on you must fight like a bear!" He picked up the light machine gun and kicked the catering cart into Klava to slow her down a bit. Then he balled his hand into a fist and drove it into the ground. "Balewulf!"

The distorted howl of a wolf echoed through the building before a pair of jaws popped out of the floor. They were the width of the hallway and swift to close, which didn’t directly hurt anyone but made the air quite warm. In the wolf's place were floating bits of burning coal that filled a portion of the hallway. Klava could feel her skin drying out and peeling in a matter of seconds. Though worse than that were the burns that spread across her skin. Eyewash was not enough to keep her eyes moisturized, and if she lingered here for too long, she’d have second degree burns all over her body.

Despite this, Sofron himself seemed to be impervious to the melody’s effects. He raised his gun to block Klava’s next strike before throwing his shoulder into her. If Klava was betting his instrument glamor was weaker than his genre, her hunch would prove to be correct. The tear gas would overtake them soon, but it seemed he was willing to wager his melody would have her out of the fight before it mattered.

Meanwhile back at the staircase, Aria and Samuel could hear more chatter.

”Did the tear gas go off?”

”Why don’t you take a look, Adder?”

On the platform below them, another individual in bomb disposal armor appeared. He was holding a light machine gun and was starting to turn the corner. Just behind him was King Cobra, who was much faster to notice the espers in the stairway.

”You imbecile, get back!”

Cobra pulled backwards on Adder before dropping a grenade at their feet and hurrying down the stairs. It looked like a tear gas grenade, but it sprayed a distinctly yellow colored gas into the air. The espers had a few seconds before the smoke reached them.

Though behind them, Solfron’s spell had gone out, but it still managed to set fire to the second floor. The sprinkler system hadn’t kicked on yet, but a disgruntled Mamba managed to free themselves. Judging by the bullet holes in the front of their trauma plate, they were hit by a few stray rounds.

”The barbecue… It started!”

With a laugh, he charged down the stairs with his cattle prod leading his attack.

Important notes on Sofron’s “Balewulf”

[Diamond touch][Full Extend][Zone][If Foe][Damage X]

The Damage note has a grade of “A,” which means that someone with A grade arcane defenses will take full damage after six seconds. Every grade below that will quicken the effect by about a second. So C takes four seconds, D takes three, and E takes two. The zone is filling up twenty feet of the hallway’s length, but doesn’t quite reach the opposing wall where Apollo is. That’s roughly six meters for those of you who don’t use the imperial system. Balewulf’s damage over time is equivalent to a [Damage] note, but all over your body.

Everyone hit by Sofron’s melodies are also under the effect of “Baleful Flame,” which makes it so that your next melody can’t cost more than 50 mana.

---

_{@The World@TheGMbby}

If it was a three v one, the Ape Gang could take on any rookie esper, any time of the day. Even in a two v one, their chances were pretty good, with a combination of monkey-tactics and their superhuman strength. But in a one v one? All the strength in the world did not make up for the fact that magic was bullshit, and Instruments were even more bullshit.

The bees that shot towards Tetrad were mere distractions with the surge of shrapnel that shredded them to bits, and though the longsword-ape tried to close the distance in that moment, a blast of blue glitter sent him floating upwards instead, feet kicking against the air like a cartoon character. There was nothing so cartoonish about what happened afterwards though. At only E-rank damage, it took a sustained, bloody burst of Pit Boss to turn a hunk of meat into a hunk of less attractive meat. The spell ended, and so did the furry’s life, his sword clattering onto the ground.

The whip ape fared no better against Marrie’s own advance, her healing magic stitching together the wound of her arm as she sprinted towards him. Though the maximum speed of a whip exceeded that of sound, the whip had no versatility either, dependent solely on linear strikes. All it took was for Apex Predator to meet one of those whip strikes with its own blade, and the whip was cut in half. The throat was opened up with steel teeth soon afterwards, a spray of hot blood baptizing Marrie as the whip-ape gurgled out a last “return…to…monk-”.

But as for the last two apes?

“Bullshit.”

Regina had had enough of this. This job didn’t pay nearly enough for the amount of bullshit that was continuing to be heaped upon them, and thankfully for her, she didn’t have much of a reputation as an freelancer to worry about anyways. With another Blink spell, she teleported out of the warehouse, then out to another building, and gracefully made her exit…leaving the brawler-ape and the spear-ape to set their sights on the remaining two espers. Hooting and hollering, and yet weirdly not sounding all that vengeful or sorrowful, they made the long trip back towards the dynamic duo.

Meanwhile, the Queen Bee, her subs’ volley of honeyed water going wide due to the wrecking ball that smashed apart a wall, was truly incensed now. Not only were there property developers here, but the primitives seemed to think that it was totally ok just to ignore her! She was a threat too! She had tons of crazy magic at her disposal! And yet these peons, these Neanderthals, these pissants thought they could ignore her! Well, not if she had anything to say about it!

“C’mon ya crazy bitch,” the businessman said, tapping his fist against his hard hat, “get goin’ already. This ain’t ro- BURLGHDGBURLBUGHHHH!”

A pressurized blast of honey water shut him up as the Queen hoisted the super soaker of one of her fallen men, one of her eyes glowing a brilliant blue. Just as soon after, a fresh crowd of bees surged out, each one of them angry and validating their Queen’s own anger. Seeing this, the man paled and ran, his custom-tailored Italian shoes slapping against the ground hard as he started doing laps around the perimeter of the warehouse. “Fuck shippity fuck! I only eat organic you psycho! Damian! Bring this place down!”

From the cockpit of the wrecking-ball crane, a gloved hand extended out from the side and flashed a thumbs up. With a renewed roar, the bulldozers surged forwards, one towards the Church of the Hive and the other towards the Esper-Ape melee, while the wrecking ball swung into a devastating uppercut, smashing into the lights and beams of the building and sending all that deadly debris raining down on those below.

---

_{@Majoras End}

The lightning arced about, easily catching both of the smaller crab raves in its blast. While an attack that had roughly the same punch as a damage note might not be lethal to a human, that was not the case for the much smaller crabs, and not when applied all over their bodies. Their tiny little eyes fried into cinders, and their shells cooked under the moderate force of Fable’s attack. Both of the mini raves totally lost their legs, and their larger forms fell to earth. While Fable’s spell did hit a decent sized area, it didn’t penetrate deep enough to shock all of the crabs. But they shouldn’t have been a match for Fable’s rapier once he closed the distance.

But these were not two legless crabs, these were hundreds of crabs pretending to be two legless crabs. When fable thrust his sword, he did manage to kabob five of them. But then no less then twenty small pincers bit into his sword. The two damaged grab raves merged to become whole, and Fable soon found his weapon held in the grasp of a massive shelled terror! It gave the boy’s sword a sharp tug to force him to stumble forward. Then it attempted to take him out with a savage right hook. And on that right hook were no less than ten crabs with their claws pulled back ready to deliver an uppercut.

Meanwhile, the doctor continued their dance of evasions. The Crab Rave was getting closer. Forty meters, thirty meters, they would be a problem for Fable before long.

”Try this!”

The doctor swung her massive saw blade at the Crab Rave and it cut through! All the way through, separating it into two halves and- Oh, there were two smaller-yet-comparatively-massive crab raves now.

”You’ve gotta have a weakness somewhere...”