Dogematix

Warhammer 40K: Knives in the Dark - An Only War/Guard RP

If they could see Barrows in his bindings then these torturers would have seen a torrent of emotions play out across his face. The frustration of struggling against his bonds, which their mockery only encouraged him to go at even harder. The damn things had to be straining at this point! If Barrows could cut and rip through vines then this couldn't be too different.

What finally got him to freeze was the sight of his bandana... and seeing it go up in flames. His first badge of honour. The closest thing he had to a uniform. The blood oath that bonded him with his Catachan brothers made real and these pieces of shit had the nerve to burn it! That stop him alright, and for a moment turned him into a sniveling kid in front of the drill sergeant all over again. It had been a long time since Barrows had felt anything close to shame but here it was, battering down his shoulders like a throne damned sledgehammer. How could he go back to the regiment now, what would he tell them? To admit that he'd been so weak...

NO! He had to calm down. A slither of logic cut its way through Barrows' raging emotions like a knife between two ribs, as years of training and conditioning forced him to try and think clearly. Most folks would lose their bandannas at some point, yeah a lot died trying to get it back but it wasn't unheard of. The bandanna was just a symbol, just 'cus the symbol was gone that didn't get rid of what it represented, right? Besides, everyone would forgive him once he came back with a new bandanna dyed red in THESE SHIT STAINS' BLOOD!

It was the sigh they gave that put a second stop to his escape attempts. Something about it sounds wrong. It was the kind of noise that demanded the attention of his primal instincts. It screamed murderous intent, like a sadist relishing the moment before they went to town on some poor bastard's face. Barrows knew because he'd made noises like that plenty of times himself.

“I have here a juvenile specimen of what your people call a 'Brainleaf', a rather queer name but not altogether incorrect. I have heard that they control your body, yes? This is something I would like to see, so please, keep refusing to talk and let me find out exactly how it works.”

Well shit... that was a hard sell right there. Childhood conditioning was there to wrap Barrows in its warm embrace again and whisper those same comforting words in his ear. 'To be born on Catachan is to be born knowing you'll die in pain. Odds are you'll die screaming, howling in pain, probably with tears in your eyes. You can't control that but you can be the one to decide if you go down swinging.' And Throne help him Barrows would go down swinging.

"Ha! Well there's an age old question for you! Which is worse to have kill you, brainleaf or a spiker. I was always on the spiker side of the argument myself so I guess the Emperor has a sick sense of humour!" Barrows laughed, throwing back his head and letting his voice echo through the room. All while his mind raced.

'Think, think damn it, you're about to die!' His mind screamed as he desperately tried to think of ways to stall the people in the shadows. Quickly, and as subtly as he could manage, Barrows let his hands rest on the arms of his chair and set about feeling around for a weak point or a seam. If he could focus his strength instead of pulling wildly he might be able to slip out of this chair somehow. And if nothing else he could take some of them down with him.

"I'm guessing you bought it then. That or the leaf would have taken half your lads before you managed to get a bud under control. It shoots its leaves out you know? Throws them like knives so you never find one mindleaf out of reach of another. And you'd know that once it's got someone then the leaf does with the host what it wants, not what you want. So go ahead and use it 'cus this ends one of two ways. Either I get out and I kill you slow or the leaf gets me, and I get out and kill you quick!"

All while the taunts went flying he went on testing the integrity of the chair he was strapped to in a more methodical way than before. Once Barrows zeroed in on a weakness then maybe he could get himself free and get to work.

Removed....

This sounds like a thing I can get on board with!

Warhammer 40K: Knives in the Dark - An Only War/Guard RP

It had seemed like a dream come true. Getting chosen by special request is the kind of thing you only hear stories about happening to other people. After getting passed over for corporal by some bloody 'arse kisser again this seemed like one hell of a silver lining. Screw becoming a devil this was the kind of recruitment where you heard about eight foot inquisitor types taking you in. Granted a lot of the time those same inquisitors went on to burn the guardsmen they took away but Barrows wasn't thinking about that.

He was thinking about the palace of a room he'd gotten on the ship! His own damn room! Not some hammock or bunk crammed in with the rest of the grunts and fart breathers. He had his own bed, with sheets and everything, he could even lie down on the floor and not get eaten inside out by whatever lived there. Barrows had really gone up in the world. Now he just had to dig in and hold onto his spot here, which shouldn't be too hard. A Catachan man was worth ten storm troopers and blue bloods any day. This was it, this was when all his years of bloodshed and murder paid off.

Then the klaxons went off and a fraking flash bang went off in his face.

"Bastard!" The Catachan barked as he wildly lashed out at the bodies that surrounded him. Fists went flying and Barrows' ego told him that he'd broken some noses or something in the fray, that or he'd punched flak armour because felt the familiar warmth of blood on his knuckles. Fierce as he fought though he went down in the end, being only human as he was.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cold was a rare feeling for a man born to tropical humidity, so when the blast of cold water woke Barrows from his daze it also shocked him into making a bunch of embarrassing yelps and grunts as his brain went mad trying to work out if it was dead or not. Once he'd recovered himself Barrows had time to feel ashamed and resolved to kill any witnesses to this low point in his life.

“Tell me who are you, where were you going, and what are you doing aboard this ship?”

"I'm the man who's gunna shove this bag down your throat if you don't untie me right now, Sunshine!" Came Barrows' muffled roar through the black bag covering his shaved head. "Sp get to it so I can find your mother's house and give her something to hang her washing on!" His bindings still hadn't broken but that still didn't stop the musclebound trooper from straining at their limits and doing his damnedest to break free through brute strength.

Warhammer 40K: Knives in the Dark - An Only War/Guard RP

Barrows

Name: Ben "Dead Man" Barrows

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Rank: Private

Former Regiment(s): Catachan 55th "The Hell Talons"

Speciality/Role: Scout/Close quarters combat

Personal Demeanour: Barrows prefers to go by his last name, even among his peers, reserving the use of his first name to a very select few. He carries himself with the "Devil may care" attitude that the fighters of his home world are famous for. A foul mouthed fighter with a soldier's gallows sense of humour, Barrows is walking proof of the old adage that you don't know you're from a death world until you leave it. And the only time he's left a death world is on the ship rides between going to a different death world! It gave him a certain love of space travel, the whole thing feels so exotic to him. He also hopes to see a hive city one day, he's never been to a world that wasn't a jungle biome and is curious to see if these grey jungles of spires live up to their stories.

His upbringing and probably his environment have filled Barrows with a near mad need to prove his machismo and physical prowess. Call it pride or stupidity, so long as he comes out on top then Barrows will consider himself proven right about whatever he was trying to do. That isn't to say he views himself as completely above his fellow members of the guard. Folks like the Cadians and the Alysians can't have a reputation like theirs without being able to back it up in some way but from what he's seen of them those folks always take themselves too seriously and put too much weight on doing things the proper way like there's a commissar waiting around every corner.

That manner of small minded thinking and his tendency to try and settle every problem with his fists is probably why Barrows has been looked over for promotion every time despite his service record. He isn't a leader anyway, better serving as a squad's attack dog, being pointed at the enemy and let to talk off to kill. He isn't totally without ambition though, and sees this new assignment as a chance to play the politics game, either to make himself richer or set himself up in some fancier post.

He doesn't hate the enemies of man. He's never met anything worth the mental energy of hating. He just kills what tries to kill him. Nor does he care about heretics since he's never knowingly met one. What he enjoys least is fighting Tyranids, they're nasty things.

Description: Like most Catachan men Barrows looks more like a rippling slab of meat than a healthy human. Standing at 6'5" with muscles that seem to be straining to escape his tattoo lined skin. Barrows' broad features look like they were carved from stone that was then left out in a storm for a few years. His nose has obviously been broken more than once, his knuckles have the wear of regular use and his visible skin has a variety of scars scattered around it. (He has mixed feelings about that. Scars are a badge of pride but some have damaged his tattoos which serve as medals in their own right.)

Speaking of visible skin Barrows has a lot of it, almost like he's allergic to clothes. His wardrobe includes the usual green and mud brown vest and cargo pants of a jungle fighter and the steel toed combat boots, the soles of which have saved his life from a thousand tiny deaths. Barrows might put on a plain tank top of the chill gets annoying enough but beyond that fashion and modesty have never been a concern. The only item he'll never part with is his regiment's signature red bandana, his oath and brotherhood made real in a single scrap of fabric.

History:
He is fifteen. He has survived horrors that men would think were only reserved for the warp. On other worlds he would not even be considered a man, but his own home is not so kind. This is Catachan,and he was a man the day he proved himself a survivor... as something that might be more than prey.

This does not make him special. He's one in a crowd of boys and girls who have all done the same. Some have even worked the flamers that keep jungle at bay. In front of them is a drill sergeant who's been shouting for far too long about brotherhood, duty, and how most won't live out the year. Finally he gets to the point.

"But some of you runts are about to get a chance to prove yourselves and prove me wrong." He holds up shiny pin shaped like a grinning skull. "And that one gets to lead this sorry excuse of a squad! All you have to do is show you've got what it takes to floor me."

The instructor takes up a fighting stance and Ben knows this is his chance. Full of the courage and confidence of youth he doesn't just step up, he charges. The fight is over in an instant as Ben finds himself on the ground with a knee digging into his neck.

"I'd give you credit for spirit, Boy, if that meant crap on the battlefield."

He remembers everyone laughing. He remembers that was the day he swore to never let anything make him feel weak again.

*****
He's eighteen and there's fire everywhere. The air hurts to breath and flames lick at his skin as he runs full pelt through the trees.

"What in thrones name are they doing?" Came the furious cry of of a squad mate.

"Nids have overrun points Echo and Fox!" Was the reply. "Brass must have ordered to shell them back!"

"Don't they know we're still out here?"

"You think they care?!" Barrows barked back.

Their weapons are spent, their troops outnumbered. He had never before thought that anything from beyond Catachan could master a jungle like this. The hive fleet was happy to prove him wrong

The shells come again, shaking the earth and throwing him skyward. The air filled with the roar of flames and inhuman screams.

He makes out its shape before his vision focuses again. A big one with purple plates and pallid flesh. It's as shaken as he is but they know eachother across the space. Barrows has nothing left but his knife, the beast needs only its claws. They look at each other, each demanding the title of predator even as the sky falls around them.

"COME ON THEN!" He roars. The beast roars. They meet as warriors of their hives.

He doesn't know how much time passes before the shelling stops and is replaced by voiced. He only knows he can't move and everything hurts.

"We got a live one here!" Someone calls and the 'Nid corpse is dragged off him. As far as it could at least, before the claws snagged on the wounds they'd made. "Is that you, Private Barrows? You did alright for yourself in all this didn't you?"

Barrows smiles through the pain and laughs so he doesn't scream. He's earned his Catachan name today... and lost something he doesn't yet understand.
*****
He's twenty six and watching. A tau convoy makes its way down a path they've cut. A couple warriors of theirs cautiously leaves the line to check on the corpse of one of their own, its white armour is strangely clean. That's because Barrows cleaned it. So that they would see. So that they would collect it. So they would move the grenade he'd lodged underneath.

BOOM!

That was signal enough. Buttons were pushed and ropes cut. Charges detonated, logs went flying and the men of Catachan rose from the mud and the trees. Advanced technology was made meaningless before dirty tactics and wild fury.

Barrows and his squad lash out with las and blade. The entire fight passes in a bloody blur. He is older now, seasoned and sculpted into something horrible and deadly. He is a warrior, a hunter, a predator. A mad man bold enough to look on what he cannot comprehend and butcher it.

The Catachan cheer their victory until the screams come. Men fall and alien screeches echo through the trees.

"Enemy reinforcements! It's the damn birds!"

Barrows smiles, primes his pistol and grips his knife. These ones at least could offer a challenge.
*****
Equipment and Armament: Whatever mission needs and can survive the weather. He doesn't care for armour or uniform beyond his red bandana. Barrows does like to have a couple frag grenades handy if possible though. He also keeps on him his three knives.

The first is his oldest, the standard "Catachan Fang". Twenty inches of wicked steel that has seen him through thick and thin.
The second is a rugged jewel, a broken piece of a Tyranid claw. Opal purple in colour, he took it as a trophy and with some work fashioned a handle for it. It's a small dagger, easily hidden and serving as a spare when he's in a pinch.
The third is a fragile princess. He took it from one of those Tau, one he'd slaughtered with his own hands. Only a few carried these short swords so Barrows took it as a special thing and a good trophy. Its metal isn't anything special and he doesn't trust it like the others but the scabbard is damn pretty and he can always use it for eating.

Miscellaneous:
A brief aside of tattoos and their meanings.

A skull and dagger on his right shoulder, signifying five and ten years of service respectively.
A clawed paw print on his left shoulder, denoting a proven scout and tracker.
A flaming tyranid warrior skull down his left forearm, earned in combat against a hive swarm. The flames split into a twin tail as Barrows requested.
A Catachan knife in a black circle over his heart, a parody of the Tau crest and earned for displays of skilled CQC against said xenos.
An aquilla winged reaper holding a cup taking up most of his back, underneath it in gothic script are the words "More Tea?". This isn't related to anything military, he just wanted it.

Warhammer 40K: Knives in the Dark - An Only War/Guard RP

I just wanted to say sorry for the continued delay. I'm still hoping to join this, just unfortunately work and home needs have slowed down my chances to start writing. I've gotten half the CS done and should have it finished by tomorrow.

Our Hero Academia: Rising Age of Heroes [Full]

^^ Likewise I'd be up for helping if it's needed.

On a funsie point, I hope there's a scene where we have to elect a class president XD

Our Hero Academia: Rising Age of Heroes [Full]

And here's the rest! Feedback and notes are always appreciated.

Tetsuo

_{"It's harder than you think to come up with a cool catchphrase."}

Name: Tetsuo Maeda

Age: 15

Appearance: Kind of short and skinny for his age (5'6"), Tetsuo had had to get used to being the smallest and youngest looking kid in the class. He usually prefers to wear simple stuff like a hoodie and t-shirt without much regard for fashion. Maybe it's because of his quirk but Tetsuo tends to favour dark colours. He's also a big fan of getting merch from his favourite bands and shows so his shirts tend to have big logos or pictures on them.

He's not a fan of tight or formal clothing either so his uniform is usually on the scruffy side. His posture is usually great though! Just so he doesn't have to look shorter than he really is.

Personality: A shy kid who isn't suited to hero work really. Tetsuo is kind of a coward at heart and his quirk has only strengthened that trait. He's always been shorter and quieter than most kids his age and has let himself slip into the background more than once. He doesn't even really have the nerve to stand up for himself against his tormentors when it comes to the bullying that can be such a common experience for teenagers, always managing to convince himself that it's better to choose your battles or to not sink to their level. Though that excuse is wearing thin these days.

On top of the self consciousness he feels about his less than impressive appearance Tetsuo harbors mixed feelings about his quirk. There are times when racing through the dark and passing by like a phantom feels exhilarating to him, a rush that he would never trade for anything. Then there's the shame he feels over it, worst of all he's fully aware that it was other people who gave him that shame. To his old classmates Shadow Crawl reeked of a villain power. Who hides around in the dark like that? Jeers of cowardice usually followed whenever he used it as a way to escape or get around an obstacle. Others thought it was creepy as he could pop out of nowhere like a ghost or some kind of imp. Some people even accused him of using it to spy on people, that he might use to peep on girls changing or stuff like that, SOMETHING HE WOULD NEVER DO! But accusations and rumours stick... so further into the shadows he slunk.

It was determination to prove people wrong that drove him to apply for UA and sparked his idea of becoming a hero (not that he didn't already dream of it, what kid doesn't?). Tetsuo is a dreamer at heart, but his brain thinks and dreams quickly, bouncing from one idea to the next. His mental fortitude may be flighty and in need of training but his quick thinking and reaction times have helped him get to grips with his quirk and have only been sharpened by practise. He's already come up with multiple hero personas and is always pondering over ways to use his quirk since it tends to demand outside the box thinking. Though one big flaw in all these plans is that Tetsu has never been in a real fight, always preferring to hide and evade. He's never liked violence anyway, he went vegetarian just because he hated the idea of innocent little animals getting hurt. Maybe once he settles on a mask design he'll make it a part of his signature style, to be so stealthy the bad guys won't even know he's captured them until it's too late!

Deep down Tetsuo doesn't really like himself all that much but he's determined to change that. The first step in his plan is to get accepted into the hero course, a place where no one knows him and he can be free to make a fresh start. Although so far this fresh boost of confidence has just amplified his love of sarcasm.

History: What is there to tell? A single child of a salaryman dad (Who had a super jump quirk) and a mom who worked in real estate (with sonic screaming). Tetsuo just went through school like any other kid. He never really thought that anything he did really set him apart from others. He did well as far as his grades were concerned, very well, actually, the lack of a social life had that backhanded perk at least and he always had a knack for remembering useless stuff he learned on the last documentary he watched. He even joined up with the school track team. He was never one of the star runners but a good diet and perseverance certainly let him run longer than a lot of his team mates. Though he went on to quit the team after a few years, Tetsuo never felt like he really belonged there anyway, especially as all the other runners started growing into streamlined speedsters and well... he was the kid who had to work his little legs extra hard to keep up. Still, he didn't give up on running as one of his favorite things to do now is put his headphones on and lose himself in a run and an accompanying playlist.

He quickly got used to being on the bottom rung of the social ladder and convinced himself that it was something he didn't care about, school was just something you had to get through to become an adult and then your real life started after all. That didn't stop Tetsuo from developing a crush on any girl who was even passingly nice to him though.

Like most kids Tetsuo started to come into his own once his quirk developed. Not in a great way, like coming out of his shell or talking to people more, no he couldn't make things that easy for himself. His confidence would only grow in private, like when he went out on the weekend to practice 'Shadow Running' in a quiet spot or, in his most outlandish acts of defiance, sneaking out at night to practice pushing Shadow Crawl to its limits. That also lead to the embarrassing task of buying skin rash cream the next day.

Tetsuo doesn't care to talk about his private life to others, it isn't one he thinks is very interesting. His story wasn't one defined by big dramatic moments or life shattering events. Sure getting bullied was bad but it was something that happened day in, day out, and caused its damage like a daily dose of paper cuts. Sure his mom can be overbearing and her super scream makes getting scolded harsh and super embarrassing but that was just his life. Yeah his dad was always at work and Tetsuo never got much training in the ways of 'Becoming a man!' but that was just how he lived his life.

Up to now Tetsuo's time has been made up of a dull slog, halfhearted attempts and inevitable retreats. And he's sick of it! There may not have been an inspiring moment that pushed Tetsuo to peruse herohood but that seed was still planted and watered just a little bit each day, and now it's ready to bloom. He's determined to get into the hero course and take control of his own life and his own future. To live for something more than just carrying on and walk into the spotlight, even if its just by one little step at a time.

(He's also harboring the secret wish to get a girlfriend but sshhh)

Likes: Curry! - Music (but not live stuff) - Track - New ideas - Cute girls - Daydreaming - Animals - Documentaries

Dislikes: Confrontation - Awkward silences - Weights - being the centre of attention - Getting beaten real bad (close loses don't hurt so bad) - Meat - Hot weather

Personal Strengths: Surprising endurance - Quick thinking - Self taught quirk experiments - good memory

Personal Weaknesses: Lack of confidence - Never been in a fight - Cynical - Loner ("Recovering loner" to himself)

_____________________________________________________

Quirk Name: Shadow Crawl

Quirk Type: Emitter

Quirk Basics: Tetsuo is able to enter any shadow except his own (Becoming one with it as he likes to say) and hide inside it as well as travel along it at high speed if the shadow is long enough. For example: imagine a long shadow of something like... a skyscraper, Tetsuo would be able to enter at the base of the shadow and blitz along it before exiting at the shadow's tip. This is a handy trick he uses if multiple shadows overlap.

Quirk Strengths: Shadow Crawl's primary use is stealth. Once Tetsuo enters a shadow he melds with it completely, disappearing from view almost completely as well as making no sound.

The quirk also increases his mobility within the limits of its power. Since Tetsuo is no longer bound by the limits of his physical body, his speed improves dramatically, allowing him to zip through the shadows like a wraith and move around the enviroment in ways he wouldn't be able to do normally such as clinging to ceilings and moving up and down walls.

He's since learned that the quirk isn't limited to the shadow he entered through as well. When asked to describe it Tetsuo has said: "So long as my point of entry and exit are big enough for me to fit through then anything goes. Have you ever stopped and looked at how long all the shadows get around town when the sun gets low? Everything drags on and they all end up moving or connecting in some way... it's like a web I can move through. Maybe I should make my costume something to do with spiders!"

And of course once the sun goes down pretty much anything goes for Tetsuo's range of movement and options. Some of his highlights of how he's used his quirk - which he included in his written application to UA - were keeping a personal best record of how far he can make it through downtown's shadows before hitting a dead end and riding the train's shadow all the way to school (though that last one is something he doesn't want to ever try again).

Quirk Weaknesses: The most obvious limit on Tetsuo's quirk is the time of day and the terrain. His ability through the dark is entirely reliant on his access to useful shadows at the time. Sure he could dive into one to get away but if that shadow is isolated from anything else then he's just left stranded. If left out in the open in the middle of the day during those hours when the sun is at its height and the shadows are at their shortest then Tetsuo is next to useless. Sources of light, though great for casting shadows against things, can also be a big pain as they cut through the dark.

Surface disruption is another big issue. Though it's much harder for Tetsuo to be hurt while in the shadows (he still doesn't care for being stepped on) it is possible that if someone was to locate his hiding spot and break up the shadows in it, like say shining a strong light or blasting the surface it was located on they could knock him out of the shadows and undo his work.

Physical side effects are a common symptom of quirk overuse and Tetsuo is no different. His problem is that if he spends too long in his shadow form he starts to develop an itchy and embarrassing skin rash. Please don't tell anyone.

Other core limitations include him being unable to meld with his own shadow. Another is that although he can bring inanimate objects like clothes and gear in with him - so long as he keeps hold o them - he can't bring people in. He's yet to dare even trying to pull someone else into a shadow in case it hurts them.

Quirk Techniques: Hit and run - Not so much a special technique as it is Tetsuo's basic combat approach, jumping from one shadow to another to hide from his opponent and strike from where they least expect... at least that's what he plans on doing if he ever gets into a fight.

Soft Landing - A passive technique that took some very cautious experimentation from Tetsuo to figure out. In the past he's described entering the shadows as a mix of "Diving into cool water mixed with floating in the air all at once" it was that feeling that got him to experiment entering shadows at higher speed and aiming for distant targets. This is how he found out that diving into a shadow stores up his momentum in their squishy little world allowing him to jump from great heights and still land safely if there's a shadow for him to land in, though he'll then exit that shadow with most of his momentum still intact which is kind of awkward. He thinks that in theory this means he could turn powerful attacks back around on an opponent if the situation was right.

Warhammer 40K: Knives in the Dark - An Only War/Guard RP

@Jbcool I'm still about, just a little short on time this week, hopefully I'll be able to write something up today. I'm setting my sights on a Catachan stealth specialist.

Our Hero Academia: Rising Age of Heroes [Full]

Weaver sounds cool with some out of the box uses.

Poltergeist might be more trouble if they're incapable of interacting with people beyond possession. Maybe give them their own body but keep the ghostly ability to phase through things?

Our Hero Academia: Rising Age of Heroes [Full]

Edit: nevermind I derped