Crimmy

Breaking Point

Holly Yuan

Colony Day. It was a time of relaxation, a celebration of human ingenuity's triumph. It was testament to the united will of all who had once looked to the skies, seeking to escape beyond Earth's gravity well. A testament to their success, to a great achievement that was unlikely to be toppled for generations. It was of no surprise, then, that their descendants were proud. Why would they not be? Humanity had claimed the stars. They had stepped out in the void to call it home. And this annual observance, this one day of commemoration, was the symbol of everyone's pride.

And for it was an honour shared by all, even she, a mere peon of Internal Affairs, could take the day off.

Well ... that was if she'd wanted to!

Holly reclined against the cockpit seat, her eyes rapidly darting around behind her glasses as she took in the readings being projected onto her monitors. The dim blue glow of the screens reflected off her lens, but she didn't pay it much heed. She had gotten used to the refraction of light due to her eyewear. It was a reminder of her imperfection, as well as the imperfection in the universe that none could truly escape. Not that she really wanted to, however. After all, was the second of the three marks not sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā? All unconditioned things were unsatisfactory. To acknowledge that was already putting her on the path of the Bodhisattva!

The woman giggled to herself as she leaned forward, fingers reaching out to flick a series of switches. She was probably interpreting the entire thing wrong anyway. But it was important to keep in mind, right? Especially on a day like Colony Day. It was a celebration of the greatest human achievement in history since the scattered essences of yang brought fire into being, a chance for everybody to bask in the glory of humanity's triumph over the void.

But that was the thing.

Dyson had not emerged from nature. It was not some creation of the gods.

It was built by human hands.

And thus, it was imperfect.

Yet no less beautiful.

Her machine hummed to life around her, the warmth of the awaking engine sending shivers up her spine. The vibrating controls, gripped tightly in her hands, were like the caress of an old friend. It too was a child of humanity. It too was like those colonies that hung in the celestial sphere above. It too was imperfect.

And on this day, it would help remind everyone that no matter how great their achievement was, there was still more they could do.

sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā

All unconditioned things are impermanent.

What Shenxiuwu would do today could be forgotten in days. What Colony Day represented could be forgotten in years. Their imperfect beauty would not last. They would be superseded by something greater, something that sought out a brighter, more perfect goal.

But it was okay.

Even if it was for one day, one moment, she would show off her child's beauty.

"You're up, Lieutenant."

Begin.

Holly eased her controls forward. Shenxiuwu rose from its kneeling position, blue and white armour gleaming in the hot sunlight as it stood tall in the centre of the field. She breathed in, allowing herself to feel the soft rumbling of the machine. To feel the weight of the two dao that hung loosely from her child's hands, the weight that sought to pull her own, en-fleshed hands forth as well.

She would become one with her Walker.

She allowed her body to relax. She allowed her breathing to calm. She allowed her mind to become aware.

She allowed for her essence to entwine with her machine.

Allow it to settle in the dantian.

Allow the transmutation of the treasures to begin.

Her purpose was clear.

Shenxiuwu was built for parades like this, after all.

發勁!

Her dance began.

"The great man grows the many myriad things . . .

Breaking away from the military arts,

He promotes fully the cultural mandates."

Breaking Point

Holly Yuan

Name: Holly Yuan (袁冬青)

Age: 25

Sex: Female

Profession/Rank: Lieutenant - Pilot and Internal Affairs

Appearance:


Personality: An upbeat young woman, every action the cheerful Miss Yuan takes is infused with enthusiasm, whether it be partaking in her many hobbies (such as gardening, board games, or association football) or doing her job as a lowly peon of Internal Affairs (and general pinch-hitter for anything that needs to be done around Panama as long as it doesn't interfere with performance reviews). She's somebody who dislikes being too somber, and is easily deflated and demotivated if there's too much, in her own words, "negative juju" floating around. While this may make her out to be a seemingly flighty person, she's in fact a rather serious individual. Holly may appear to be unsubstantial, but her enthusiasm is a sign that she takes everything she does very seriously, and will not shy away from doing whatever is demanded of her task no matter what it is.

Skills: Jack of all trades in regards to manual labour thanks to her serial hobbyist tendencies, and also multilingual. She also possesses a software background, which has a side-effect of giving her excellent familiarity with Excel.

Weakness: Mild aquaphobia that manifests most commonly as thalassophobia.

History: A native of the People's Republic of China, Holly was born in the port city of Shanghai to a pair of provincial workers. Her memories of them, however, are unfortunately vague, as she would grow up an orphan after losing them to conflict when she was merely ten years of age. The younger Miss Yuan learnt to be independent rather quickly, taking on a number of odd jobs even while she studied for her high school and university entrance exams. Her experiences were enough to help her land a scholarship into Fudan University, where she studied Software Engineering. Following graduation, Holly found herself desiring adventure, and soon joined up with the Federation attache at Dachang Airbase to become a Walker pilot.

Her journey to an officer position was not particularly straightforward, however. Holly was shunted around branches frequently throughout her career, only managing to be promoted to lieutenant upon entering internal affairs. Said promotion also took her to Horizon, far from her beloved motherland.

Equipment: Standard issue.

---

Base Model: FAW-007

Designation: FAW-007(JM) Jiangnan Arsenal Limited Production Close Combat Type Walker "Shenxiuwu"

Appearance:


Armaments:
- Chest-Mounted Vulcans
- Shuangdao: the Shenxiuwu, a limited production Warrior variant from the Federation PRC Far East Division's factories, was built initially to test out the effectiveness of melee combat between Walkers before later being repurposed for military parades every October 1 to celebrate the National Day of the People's Republic of China. It was during this time that it acquired two mech-size dao, which have heat and electrical properties to improve effectiveness.
- Armoured Hands: reinforced with strong alloys to increase punching power.

Weakness: Which very effective in close range, it has zero ranged capabilities.

Pilot(s): Holly Yuan

Breaking Point

Name: Holly Yuan
Age: 25
Sex: Female
Profession/Rank: Lieutenant - Pilot and Internal Affairs

Appearance:


Personality: An upbeat young woman, every action the cheerful Miss Yuan takes is infused with enthusiasm, whether it be partaking in her many hobbies (such as gardening, board games, or association football) or doing her job as a lowly peon of Internal Affairs (and general pinch-hitter for anything that needs to be done around Panama as long as it doesn't interfere with performance reviews). She's somebody who dislikes being too somber, and is easily deflated and demotivated if there's too much, in her own words, "negative juju" floating around. While this may make her out to be a seemingly flighty person, she's in fact a rather serious individual. Holly may appear to be unsubstantial, but her enthusiasm is a sign that she takes everything she does very seriously, and will not shy away from doing whatever is demanded of her task no matter what it is.

Skills: Jack of all trades in regards to manual labour thanks to her serial hobbyist tendencies, but also multilingual. Thanks to a software background, she can use Excel.

Weakness: Mild aquaphobia that manifests most commonly as thalassophobia.

History: A native of the People's Republic of China, Holly was born in the port city of Shanghai to a pair of provincial workers. Her memories of them, however, are unfortunately vague, as she would grow up an orphan after losing them to conflict when she was merely ten years of age. The younger Miss Yuan learnt to be independent rather quickly, taking on a number of odd jobs even while she studied for her high school and university entrance exams. Her experiences were enough to help her land a scholarship into Fudan University, where she studied Software Engineering. Following graduation, Holly found herself desiring adventure, and soon joined up with the Federation attache at Dachang Airbase to become a Walker pilot.

Her journey to an officer position was not particularly straightforward, however. Holly was shunted around branches frequently throughout her career, only managing to be promoted to lieutenant upon entering internal affairs. Said promotion also took her to Horizon, far from her beloved motherland.

Equipment: Standard issue.

---

Base Model: FAW-007
Designation: San Su Wu
Appearance:

Armaments:
- Chest Vulcans
- Shuangdao: the San Su Wu, a limited production Warrior variant from the Federation PRC Far East Division's factories, was built initially to test out the effectiveness of melee combat between Walkers before later being repurposed for military parades every October 1 to celebrate the National Day of the People's Republic of China. It was during this time that it acquired two mech-size dao, which have heat and electrical properties to improve effectiveness.
- Armoured hands for punching
Weakness: Which very effective in close range, it has zero ranged capabilities.
Pilot(s): Holly Yuan

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Lucius Cypher@SevenStormStyle@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN@FlitterFaux@Forsythe@Kaithas@Abillioncats@Silvan Haven

Dust Applications - Lecture Hall I707

Note to self: fancy Dustplay is way more exciting to all these brats than me bumping my gums about for an hour. But that's not really some grand epiphany, you know? If you're not a cool enough teacher, nobody will want to listen to all your blethering about, even if that's where all the nitty-gritty's stuck. It's a real shame, but that's just the reality of how things are. When you're some snot-nosed brat and all you want to do is faff about, listening to lectures is the very last thing on your mind. Doesn't help that a lot of the trainee Huntsmen and Huntresses who come into halls are already partially journeymen in their fields, so some of this is stuff they might already know.

But some of them don't know. They might be cannie lads and lasses, but their noggins might not be filled with anything. Or they just might not be able to discard what they already know to understand the greater depths of what Dust can do for them.

So that's why I'm here.

"Afraid I can't get all of you down here," I say apologetically as I look around at all those raised hands. Everybody wants to be up playing with the Dust, you know? It's where the fun is, but just like in real life, there's unfortunately not enough to go around. Sometimes it's just first come first serve, or if you're an Atlesian, first one with the bags of dosh. "I'll pick the two who raised their hands first - Diamond Frost (@Forsythe) ... Lucas Schwarz (@HereComesTheSnow)? Can you two step up?"

I don't know either of them too well, but no shame in getting some eager beavers to help.

"We'll be digging deeper into Dust Theory a little bit further into the semester," I continue, clapping my hands together. "It's going to be very intensive, so I recommend doing some reading by yourselves too so you can get your nuts around everything."

No need for them to buy the textbooks though, because those were bloody costly. The library had everything they needed, eBook versions included.

I wish Shade had that amount of money back when I was a wee quine.

"Anyway, we'll be visiting the basic concept of Dust reacting to your will today." That was what these demonstrations were going to show, after all. "Your aura and semblances - expressions of your inner energies - can catalyse a Dust reaction, but that's because it's your will that the Dust activates. Think of it as like flicking a switch. The electrons are all in the circuit, but it's only when it's complete can current start flowing."

I pull out two more vials of Dust, larger ones this time, from my sleeves. It's just 'Water' specimens now ... mostly; no need to make too big of a mess.

"Diamond, Luke, take these vials and try focusing your aura without wanting to catalyse them, could you?"

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@GreenGoat@HereComesTheSnow

Ground Level, In Front of Harumi's Apartment Building - District 7

"George can't make it," replied the teenage girl known only to her compatriots by the moniker of 'Hat-chan' after a quick glance at her smartphone. "So you try liftin' it solo, Kara-han."

The arrival of another teen however, caught the small blonde's attention. Shifting her delivery cap for a moment to protect her better from the glare of the Sun, she waved in greeting to Harumi, a small smile present on her face.

"We're just delivering a package to somebody who lives here," she explained, accent returning to Tokyo standard, with even the slightest hints of her native Kansai disappearing. A small thought seemed to strike her, and her eyes brightened. "Oh, do you live here too? If so, are you familiar with a Miss Hazama?"

Persona in Wonderland: A Persona RP.

The High Priestess - Meredith Fong

If she were to compare herself and everybody else to superheroes, then it was obvious that there would be supervillains for them to fight, right? Or in other words, every hero needed to oppose a monster, an omen of the unnatural that needed to be defeated in order for the peaceful status quo to continue. Keeping something with bad juju around was just going to portent the downfall of everything that was "good", so that was why they had stepped up. Then that meant it was the reverse, didn't it? The aliens that called this strange, ethereal dreamworld home had chosen to infringe upon human lands by taking away those kids, so it was necessary for them to act.

A superhero didn't need a supervillain to fight. It was the supervillain that needed a superhero to defeat.

Grendel appeared before Beowulf, didn't he?

There wasn't any chance for the ragtag group of human folks she was with to fight those nasty-looking fellows though, thanks to the Dorm Mouse's intervention. Meredith didn't say it out loud, but she was definitely relieved about that. Her arms had tensed at their arrival, beads of sweat having run down her back at the sudden pressure they exuded. They frightened her. They were scary. She had wanted to run away, to go find somewhere to hide when thrown into a fight with these weird creatures.

Even though she wanted to do something to help save the kids.

That was why, when all she needed to do was deal with, like, the grunts of the lot, she was more confident.

Strangely confident.

They were monsters. Disgusting-looking creatures that should've - would've inspired some sort of fear and loathing inside of her.

But they didn't.

Meredith breathed in, casually spinning the oar around in a hand.

Why was that?

Ah, because she knew exactly what she was going to do.

Exactly how things would pan out.

"Persona, right?"

That feeling seemed unnatural, yet natural, at the same. It filled her like helium expanded out to give a balloon shape. It was reassuring, awe-inspiring, something that she could totally describe as power incarnate. And it was her. Or maybe not her. The entity that hissed deep beneath her skin was a familiar presence, but there was still something different to it.

Ah, that was right.

It wanted to be free.

——— It wanted to destroy.

And at that moment, she and it were of the same mind.

Of one goal.

"Ennill, Rhiannon."

With the sound of flapping feathers, the inhuman being ripped detached itself from her body, emerging from Meredith in a single thunderclap of noise, like the hooves of a racehorse. Its crimson, eerily womanlike eyes glared down at the monsters that sought to destroy them.

<She> would return the favour first.

Black mist coalesced around <her>. Meredith swung her oar, striking an unfortunate beast. And the mist followed, rushing down the oar to envelop the Shadow in its cold, bitter embrace. It had no time to scream. The darkness crushed it in an instant, and soon, Meredith's eyes were sweeping across the battlefield, looking for the next foe.

"Let's get along, Rhiannon."

Record of UTX - Special Investigation Team [SRWOG/Mecha]

@GarlandDaHero@Shiyonichi@Plank Sinatra@Krayzikk

Connacht Airspace, Earth

Adam's surprise attack made contact with his opponent, but not in the way he intended. The aggressive Divine Crusader had noticed the swinging chakram barely in time, the sharp edges of the Huckebein's weapon instead biting into its right side, only stopped from cutting through the cockpit by its missile arm crunching down, disabling both one of its weapons and halting Adam's strike, breaking apart the chakram. However, it was clear that the victor of that exchange was the UTX pilot, a fact that the Lion was immediately aware of. And for that reason, its engines cut themselves off, dropping the Lion downwards to the surface of the river in an attempt to bring Adam to a watery death. A seat ejected from the cockpit as the AM fell, the parachuting pilot having chosen to sacrifice her machine to defeat a worthy opponent.

Corinne finished off the last Lion with her shot, the enemy pilot unable to keep up with the specs of Mao Industries' newest mass production prototype. They did not even have the time to eject, their body likely disintegrated by the beam that lanced straight through the AM's cockpit, shutting the machine down in an instant.

It fell towards the river, crashing against the surface with an uneventful thud.

They would join Sionann in her grave.

To the Landlion pilots, Hazel's movements could be considered inhuman. The latent Psycodriver potential that the quiet young woman possessed gave her an edge, her T-Link Rippers zipping across the river in a manner that was entirely unexpected. Her opponent had never fought a Psycodriver in battle, and that simple lack of experience proved to be the Landlion's downfall. It was sliced apart, exploding into a deadly conflagration that also forced its partner off-course.

That one Landlion took a second to realign itself, firing another railgun shot at Hazel. Another Landlion broke from the advancing pack to join its comrade, but this one dropped beneath the surface of the river (an action repeated by those moving in the direction of the Loch as well), choosing to zoom towards the Gespenst by moving along the riverbed. They had become desperate, ready to stop the obstacle to their goals at the lake where the Institute had set camp.

Anju's opponent was equally fast. They were both Guarlions, after all. And its pilot, a DC veteran like Anju, could tell exactly what the UTX pilot's plan was. If she sought to take out his Tesla Drive, then he would not give her the opportunity. His Guarlion was enveloped in light, its shoulders crackling with energy as it charged straight towards Anju, Break Field fully active.

Would her blade be stronger, or would his charge succeed?

On the other half of the battlefield, another of the DC Lions had fallen, while the Guarlion was on the retreat as the rest of Maine Team harried on. Victory seemed to be coming quickly to the combined Federation force, and two of the Irish Lions were breaking off from the attack to leave Maine 1 and his two wingmen to dance with the DC Guarlion, ready to assist Hazel in her chase of the Landlions.

They didn't make it.

Two loud blasts rang out across the Irish countryside.

The two unfortunate Maine Team Lions were, in a moment, no longer there. Only bits and pieces of metal bordering large holes.

As they fell to the Earth, three new enemy IFFs appeared on their radars. Appearing from nowhere, as if they had simply teleported into view.

To the east were three shapes. Two black-coloured Barrelions, floating menacingly in the air.

Two railgun projectiles emerged from their direction, piercing through the remaining two basic Lions on Maine Team.

They flanked another AM, jet black in colour.

A red cross had been painted across its chest.

A Guarlion Custom.

Red eyes flashed.

---

Victory Condition: Destroy all enemies.
Defeat Condition: Any UTX unit shot down. Maine 1 shot down.
Battle Mastery: Steal the Guarlion Custom.

Fate/Awakening World

@endwaar@Plank Sinatra

PHILIA VON EINZBERN

Interior, Stephansplatz, Vienna

"None is necessary."

The purpose of Philia's visit to the Church had been completed. She had established a working relationship with the Roman Catholic representatives that, while flimsy, had provided her with an opportunity to discover whether or not there was a Lesser Grail candidate present within the city. Maintaining at least a neutral relationship with the ritual overseers was important if she were to act more freely in the Austrian capital. It was one obstacle that could be removed, particularly as the Romans were likely to be a source of trouble if her goals were to oppose theirs.

That however, was something she sought to minimise.

With the Einzberns in such a reduced state, any conflict between her and the Church was unlikely to end in her favour. Thus, she would have to work within the established rules of the ritual if any chance of success was to appear. The warning the Sister had given simply verbalised that understanding.

Philia would have to act carefully when investigating Hietzing.

"Your assistance has been appreciated," she said succinctly, nodding politely at the Sister. "Farewell."

Archer, we will depart.

The homunculus turned and left for the doors, Servant following closely behind.

A Certain Variegated Pseudepigraphum [Toaru/Raildex RPG]

@HereComesTheSnow@GreenGoat

Ground Level, In Front of Harumi's Apartment Building - District 7

When the purple entity known to his only friend by the moniker of "Kara-han" approached the provided meeting point, he would notice that his host, the teenaged girl known only to her compatriots by the moniker of "Hat-chan", was sitting on a curb next to a trolley upon which a heavy-looking package sat. She was lackadaisically stretching her arms out, aimlessly gazing upon the street in wait.

Upon sighting the grapesque appearance of her compatriot, however, her amber eyes seemed to light up under the brim of her delivery hat, and the short teenager bounced up, throwing Kara-han a wave.

"Ovah 'ere, Kara-han!"

Persona in Wonderland: A Persona RP.

The High Priestess - Meredith Fong

It really was a bizarre land that she had been propelled her into. So much was happening, and so incredibly quickly at that. It was almost too much for a girl to keep up with. No time to become fully acquainted with the strange geopolitics of this alien world. No time to learn more about the benefactors/kidnappers/hosts who had called upon them for help. No time to even mourn.

The last thought was a sobering one. Meredith wasn't somebody who always dwelled on the negativeness in life, but that had been a kid who was simply ... gone. Just like that. It really hit home how unwelcoming this dream-like existence was. There shouldn't have been a reason for children to be here in the first place, right? They were supposed to be doing little bratty things safely and annoying their parents like she had done back when she was like, ten.

They weren't supposed to be stuck here with the monsters.

And that was what the P3 Syndrome had forced them into.

Meredith looked down at the strange contraption in her hands.

A simple, shiny thing that, if she'd understood those aliens correctly, would become a weapon with a squeeze.

She turned it over, its surface cool to her touch.

Just a squeeze, and she'd have ... powers, right? Like out of the movies.

Like a superhero.

She wanted to help some kids out. Maybe this would give her a chance.

"Here it goes."

Meredith squeezed, and the contraption transformed. It stretched itself out, elongating into a long, black shaft. At one end was a rounded, semi-rectangular shape, one that seemed to cut through the air with quiet ease, dividing the aether like it would the seas. Well-balanced and comfortably within her grip, its identity took a few more seconds to divine.

"Ah, it's an oar."