In an instant, the light melancholy that lingered about Elise was swept away by her fellow Pilots. It was hard to remain lost in thought, after all, when the ever-giddy human black hole that was Hoshiko arrived and began devouring food like she had been starving for days. When she had first seen the girl's appetite, Elise had been shocked and wondered how bad the food situation had been in Japan since The Horizon had docked, but the following weeks showed that this was simply the girl's normal state of being.
That was a terrifying fact in and of itself, but at the very least the ship's crew was never left wanting for food even with her insatiable appetite. With Hoshiko's arrival, though, the others came to follow suit. Elise returned Rune's smile with a slight smile and nod of her own, but otherwise remained silent as everyone seemed to be swept along by the ever-chipper brunette's pace.
"Morning, everyone," she said, bowing slightly to each of her coworkers in turn from her seat. "Though at this point I think it might be better to say that it's just past noon by now...? Regardless, make sure you don't eat too much; wouldn't want to get sick out on the field."
The Pilot's gaze lingered momentarily upon the decimated remains of what Hoshiko had brought to the table before she shrugged and began to eat. Soggy noodles weren't particularly enjoyable, after all, and the college student-esque diet of instant noodles back before she had been recruited had been more than enough for her to enjoy a proper bowl of ramen every so often.
After taking some more time in silence for herself, though, Elise placed her chopsticks down besides her bowl and looked at the others again, trying her hardest not to make any quips about Rose's refusal to even try using chopsticks correctly.
"That being said, I overheard some of the strategy talk on the way over here. Apparently, we're being split into teams on the ground? No idea who's with who, though... Or why we haven't been told yet, either."
If she had to hazard a guess as to why things were so nebulous, though, it would probably be the nature of the Warped themselves. It was hard to gauge who might need to be sent where when those monsters seemed to roam about, and it wasn't like their behavior could be studied to the point where they could predict that sort of thing to begin with...
When Elise had agreed to be a Frame Pilot, she had expected nothing particularly 'enticing' at the end of the day. Her choice, at it's core, was to join a PMC instead of being drafted by the U.S. military, and neither seemed particularly great at the end of the day—least of all in the middle of an apocalypse that had pushed humanity to the brink.
But here she was years later, eating a fresh bowl of ramen as she overlooked the Tokyo skyline within a massive airship, living a life most people would only be able to dream of even before the Warped had arrived and made a mess out of everything. It felt... Wrong, in a way—doubly so after having lived through hell as a civilian right before.
She had no reason to complain, though, and the price she was paying for such luxuries—on top of the continued safety of her father—was her service as a fighter on the front lines. As to whether or not that was a fair trade...
Well, she had no right to put a price on a human life, much less the innumerable masses whose own had been taken for no "good" reason. If she had been so lucky as to be allowed to live as she was now, then the least that she could do was work herself to the bone trying to make sure such an investment into her—and, by extension, those who worked alongside her—was worth it.
Today was another such day—more than most, given the mission briefing they had been given a few days prior. A joint effort with the Japanese government in Tokyo to attempt to reclaim parts of the Saitama prefecture, if she recalled correctly; something more important than the usual small skirmishes with weaker Warped to help get them more used to fighting, at least.
Hopefully the taste and warmth of the broth would calm her nerves instead of letting her stew in her thoughts any more... Or that the others would finish getting their meals before briefing. A nice chat was always nice to help break the tension in the air, and they did have some time to themselves for the moment.
@SaltSight: I think the only issue I'd bring up is the limited English, as the cast is tending more towards fluency on that side. @King Cosmos: Accepted.
Appearance: Given her above-average height of 166cm (5'5"), Elise is a bit of an oddity among those of East Asian heritage—and something she jokingly blames her father's genes for in the first place. With nearly snow-white hair that barely reaches her shoulders and lightly colored eyes, though, Elise most definitely would stand out among a crowd—for better or for worse. Though not as athletic as her Pilot peers, Elise is at least physically capable enough to handle herself, both in the air and on the ground.
In terms of everyday garments, Elise prefers to wear more modern casual outfits, such as simple shirts and jeans, though she is by no means opposed to something sleek or formal when it suits her mood (rare as that may be). In combat, though, her outfit ends up as seen below (see Chi-Mechframe appearance).
Personality: In spite of everything she has seen and encountered, Elise seems to be able to keep a strong front and face the terrors of a post-Warped world without caving in to the pressures the world places in front of her... If only because she has already done far too much already. To break down would be to lose those close to her, and that pressure is what drives her onward. Determined though she is, Elise's heart and mind are not infallible. It is her awareness of that fact that leaves her willing to open up rather than closing herself off from others and the world around them. To that end, she is fairly friendly to the other Frame Pilots on the team and willing to put herself out there to help provide what help she can to both them and the other staff on hand.
With that said, Elise puts a lot more pressure onto herself than she lets on. The idea that the lives of others—her friends, family, and other allies—are in her hands remains firmly lodged in her mind, and balancing that fear against her own capabilities occasionally leads to her overexerting herself both on and off the field. Her own abilities in combat only serve to exacerbate that issue, as her Chi-Mechframe does not lend itself well to fighting on the front lines as many of her peers do.
History: The child of a Korean soldier-turned-translator and American businesswoman, Elise lived a fairly 'average' life in the United States. Much of her time and effort was spent towards academia, be they studying for exams or trying to look good in preparation for college and beyond. Things had been looking fairly good for her by the time she was in her senior year of high school, at least—her grades were good, all her applications had been put on the table, and all that was left was to see what accepted her and what didn't.
Pity that the Warped showed up when they did.
Despite efforts by the government to keep the Warped from crossing over the Atlantic, the monsters had reached the eastern shores of the United States within a few months. Living in New York was as much a blessing as it was a boon to the teenage Elise, who soon saw far more military presence in her day-to-day life as resources were diverted to protecting all of the rich businesspeople odd or egotistic enough to not take flight for greener pastures. But guns and steel were not enough to deter the first wave of Warped, who despite all odds managed to break through to the less fortified parts of the city and take them for themselves. Elise wound up critically wounded by the monsters as they eventually broke into the shelter they had been planned to weather the attack out in, and though many perished in the ensuing battle (her mother among their number), she and her father lived to see another day.
Rather than throw his life away chasing vengeance for his wife, though, Elise's father chose to prioritize his daughter's safety and the miracle that was her survival. Bringing the wounded Elise to a nearby medical facility, the old soldier found himself praying that she would live to see the morrow—and she did, though not solely due to the work of the medical staff on hand.
The years that followed were left a blur to Elise; though she had survived the encounter, she could see her father working himself to the bone in a desperate attempt to keep her safe—likely in part because he failed to keep his wife alive, or so she presumed. However, those days of being kept from trying to support him soon came to an end when a certain woman came to her home one day. She had been scouted, it seemed—her medical records off since the day of her mother's death—and was given the chance to either fight for the front lines or wait until the US government made their move to take her and do much of the same. Her father argued against joining such an organization, of course, but Elise chose to take the hand offered to her instead.
She had seen what hell the Warped had wrought, and rather than be forced into action anyways, being employed by an independent group seemed much less restraining. She had to do something with the second chance she had been given—doubly so if it was because of the monsters that took her mother from her—and to repay those who had been lost like this felt like the right thing to do.
Skills: Elise is actually well-versed in taekwondo, mainly in part due to her father's insistence that she pick up some sort of martial art for self defense and to attempt to connect with her cultural heritage. Besides that, though, she is multilingual, with Korean, English, and Japanese under her belt (though the last one was more incidental and less fluent, given what options she had back in high school).
She's also a fairly decent cook, even if she won't go out of her way to do so. When she misses the taste of home, though, expect her to slip into the kitchen to try and whip something up.
Abilities: Built from the core of an avian-based Warped, Selene is a Chi-Mechframe that leans towards long-range precision more than anything else. The halo that hovers atop the user's head works as an interface terminal that connects to the central system on the back remotely, allowing them access to rapid calculations and analysis of conditions to line up shots with ranged weaponry from afar. The 'wings' are connected to Selene in much the same way, enabling the user to fly in the air at whatever angle they so choose. This method of flight, though stable and maneuverable, comes at the cost of acceleration and reaction speed; this, of course, leaves the user ill-suited for close-range encounters.
Selene also comes equipped with a long-range sniper rifle, able to fire both standard ammunition and beams of light with incredible piercing power. Said rifle can either be used while attached to the arm (allowing for some degree of freehand firing) or as a separate weapon (in order to increase stability and precision).
Appearance: Given her above-average height of 166cm (5'5"), Elise is a bit of an oddity among those of East Asian heritage—and something she jokingly blames her father's genes for in the first place. With nearly snow-white hair that barely reaches her shoulders and lightly colored eyes, though, Elise most definitely would stand out among a crowd—for better or for worse. Though not as athletic as her Pilot peers, Elise is at least physically capable enough to handle herself, both in the air and on the ground.
In terms of everyday garments, Elise prefers to wear more modern casual outfits, such as simple shirts and jeans, though she is by no means opposed to something sleek or formal when it suits her mood (rare as that may be). In combat, though, her outfit ends up as seen below (see Chi-Mechframe appearance).
Personality: In spite of everything she has seen and encountered, Elise seems to be able to keep a strong front and face the terrors of a post-Warped world without caving in to the pressures the world places in front of her... If only because she has already done far too much already. To break down would be to lose those close to her, and that pressure is what drives her onward. Determined though she is, Elise's heart and mind are not infallible. It is her awareness of that fact that leaves her willing to open up rather than closing herself off from others and the world around them. To that end, she is fairly friendly to the other Frame Pilots on the team and willing to put herself out there to help provide what help she can to both them and the other staff on hand.
With that said, Elise puts a lot more pressure onto herself than she lets on. The idea that the lives of others—her friends, family, and other allies—are in her hands remains firmly lodged in her mind, and balancing that fear against her own capabilities occasionally leads to her overexerting herself both on and off the field. Her own abilities in combat only serve to exacerbate that issue, as her Chi-Mechframe does not lend itself well to fighting on the front lines as many of her peers do.
History: The child of a Korean soldier-turned-translator and American businesswoman, Elise lived a fairly 'average' life in the United States. Much of her time and effort was spent towards academia, be they studying for exams or trying to look good in preparation for college and beyond. Things had been looking fairly good for her by the time she was in her senior year of high school, at least—her grades were good, all her applications had been put on the table, and all that was left was to see what accepted her and what didn't.
Pity that the Warped showed up when they did.
Despite efforts by the government to keep the Warped from crossing over the Atlantic, the monsters had reached the eastern shores of the United States within a few months. Living in New York was as much a blessing as it was a boon to the teenage Elise, who soon saw far more military presence in her day-to-day life as resources were diverted to protecting all of the rich businesspeople odd or egotistic enough to not take flight for greener pastures. But guns and steel were not enough to deter the first wave of Warped, who despite all odds managed to break through to the less fortified parts of the city and take them for themselves. Elise wound up critically wounded by the monsters as they eventually broke into the shelter they had been planned to weather the attack out in, and though many perished in the ensuing battle (her mother among their number), she and her father lived to see another day.
Rather than throw his life away chasing vengeance for his wife, though, Elise's father chose to prioritize his daughter's safety and the miracle that was her survival. Bringing the wounded Elise to a nearby medical facility, the old soldier found himself praying that she would live to see the morrow—and she did, though not solely due to the work of the medical staff on hand.
The years that followed were left a blur to Elise; though she had survived the encounter, she could see her father working himself to the bone in a desperate attempt to keep her safe—likely in part because he failed to keep his wife alive, or so she presumed. However, those days of being kept from trying to support him soon came to an end when a certain woman came to her home one day. She had been scouted, it seemed—her medical records off since the day of her mother's death—and was given the chance to either fight for the front lines or wait until the US government made their move to take her and do much of the same. Her father argued against joining such an organization, of course, but Elise chose to take the hand offered to her instead.
She had seen what hell the Warped had wrought, and rather than be forced into action anyways, being employed by an independent group seemed much less restraining. She had to do something with the second chance she had been given—doubly so if it was because of the monsters that took her mother from her—and to repay those who had been lost like this felt like the right thing to do.
Skills: Elise is actually well-versed in taekwondo, mainly in part due to her father's insistence that she pick up some sort of martial art for self defense and to attempt to connect with her cultural heritage. Besides that, though, she is multilingual, with Korean, English, and Japanese under her belt (though the last one was more incidental and less fluent, given what options she had back in high school).
She's also a fairly decent cook, even if she won't go out of her way to do so. When she misses the taste of home, though, expect her to slip into the kitchen to try and whip something up.
Abilities: Built from the core of an avian-based Warped, Selene is a Chi-Mechframe that leans towards long-range precision more than anything else. The halo that hovers atop the user's head works as an interface terminal that connects to the central system on the back remotely, allowing them access to rapid calculations and analysis of conditions to line up shots with ranged weaponry from afar. The 'wings' are connected to Selene in much the same way, enabling the user to fly in the air at whatever angle they so choose. This method of flight, though stable and maneuverable, comes at the cost of acceleration and reaction speed; this, of course, leaves the user ill-suited for close-range encounters.
Selene also comes equipped with a long-range sniper rifle, able to fire both standard ammunition and beams of light with incredible piercing power. Said rifle can either be used while attached to the arm (allowing for some degree of freehand firing) or as a separate weapon (in order to increase stability and precision).
The sound of pen hitting table was a sound that Sandra Morrison had grown far too accustomed to over the last year. Day after day, the young woman had spent nearly every waking hour poring over paperwork. Physical documentation, digital spreadsheets, and anything in between—every piece to be checked over and signed off on, in her name. If she had been born half a decade earlier, she could have brushed this off as the result of sleepless nights working on college papers...
And, in all honesty, she wished it was only that much.
Deciding to take a break from whatever was troubling her at the moment, Sandra decided to peer out through the window of her office, the midday sun shining through, and stared at the world below.
The walled city of Tokyo, sectioned off from the rest of the land by wall after wall—and her destination for the day. With the development of the Chi-Mechframes complete, the personnel she had picked up to begin with could finally begin training.
With the world overtaken by the Warped, something like this was the least she could try doing to help right the world. Part of a government agency she was not, but maybe that was for the best.
The Warped
The Warped had first appeared roughly five years ago; experts have since managed to pinpoint the epicenter of the incident to █████████, Greece, though none have been brave (or stupid) enough to travel to the now-infested lands to confirm such hypotheses. Their explosive propagation throughout the country soon bled into other nations, and try as they might to stem the flow, the Warped seemed unrelenting in their efforts to overtake humanity.
What is most notable about the Warped (other than their uncanny imperviousness to most modern military arms) is their method of reproduction. A small parasite, now colloquially known as 'Echidna', first enters the mouth of a human before subsequently burrowing into the back of its throat. From there, it connects to its now-host's brain and spinal cord before forcing the body to mutate into the monsters we see now. The forms that the Warped take seem to, at least in some part, align with animals, monsters from mythology, and other such mythical beings, though certain regions of the world seem more predisposed to to bringing forth Warped more familiar in form to those of a land's native fauna and folklore. There are no concrete theories yet, however, so it remains to be seen as to why the Warped appear as they do.
With that said, the Warped are still almost impossible to decipher as of yet, both in terms of physiology and behavior. Their bodies, for example, are several times larger and heavier than the humans that were used as hosts, and despite the military's best efforts, many of the larger and more dangerous variants seem to be incredibly resistant to damage from most modern weaponry—including nuclear armaments. Not only that, but they also seem to showcase many abilities in line with the forms of the creatures that they take, even going so far as to create trails of flame or freeze locales near-instantaneously. With that said, they do not seem to actively target flora or fauna for the most part, and instead seem to roam about certain regions or stay put altogether and only grow aggressive in the presence of humans, who they will often attack indiscriminately (or even go so far as to release Echidna in an attempt to spread further), which has left most humans reliant on living within enclosed settlements for safety. There are occasional attacks, of course, but it seems that the more aggressive creatures seem to not actively target larger settlements. Whether this is a trend that will hold remains to be seen.
I hope that these preliminary observations regarding the Warped will provide a general understanding to the populace of how they function, and that we may begin to take back our world.
The Journal of Dr. ████████ December 8, 20██
Cores and Chi-Mechframes
After three years of chaos and with humanity's backs against the wall, a coalition of scientists and engineers the world over gathered at once in Japan—the country furthest away from Ground Zero of the Warped—and began to work fervently in a concerted attempt to understand their enemy. Taking the corpses gathered of all manner of the dead, these scientists began to dissect these creatures and found one major thing in common with all of them—the presence of pulsating crystallized matter within their bodies. Their locations seemed inconsistent—some, the heart; others, the brain—but all seemed to have one. Tests were conducted upon these objects, and the results were often inconclusive.
Until eventually, one curious team of engineers was given the okay to experiment with one—with proper supervision, of course. The results of that week of experimentation was what is now known as the first Chi-Mechframe prototype—a biomechanical suit that seems to take on the powers of the Warped whose Core it holds. Preliminary tests showed that the concept had promise. Most notable, of course, was that these suits seemed to both ignore the inbuilt resistances of the Warped that held fast against bullets and flames, and that they seemed to be just as resilient as the creatures they were made to fight at times.
But such benefits were not without downsides. Most humans, even highly-trained soldiers, were incapable of utilizing the Chi-Mechframes, almost as if the suit itself was rejecting them. However, there was one among the initial testers who that restriction that did not seem to apply—a young soldier who had initially been wounded in the chest during a fight against the Warped two years prior, during which an Echidna had managed to enter his body through said wound. Though he had been quarantined and kept around as a test subject, the young man had since recovered and, having shown no immediate adverse side effects, was allowed to remain alive (though under constant supervision). To him, the suit seemed to move about nearly weightlessly, acting as an extension of his body (or so he described it). Combat trials began soon thereafter, and the results gave those in charge more than enough reason to invest into their further development.
Of course, the problems inherent in making more like the soldier—now known as the first Frame Pilot—and the dangers inherent in having people be willingly infected by Echidna were too high to allow for by most every nation. But those that did exist were highly sought after, by nation and otherwise.
In their current iterations, Chi-Mechframes are generally modeled after the Warped that they came from to some extent, in order to better make use of their capabilities. Due to how difficult high-quality Cores are to come by (as they only can be obtained from dangerous Warped who require heavy military investments to obtain), these pieces of equipment are often both custom-made and rather absurdly expensive. However, one minor upside to doing so is that even if rendered useless, Cores can be repurposed as an alternate power source and thus sold or used for whatever other purpose.
A World Ruined
The years following the outbreak of Warped were filled with chaos. The first was marred by politics and fear. In many nations the world over, martial law and lockdowns were put into place in attempts to restrain the populace, but when the Warped showed up all the same, all hell broke loose. The second brought with it a destruction of the norm; though many larger cities were able to clamp down on the situation and begin concentrated efforts to protect the people within, smaller ones soon saw mass exodus towards places they now saw as 'safe', often bringing with them the very same parasite that they sought to flee from.
Though there was untold loss of life, the third year brought with it some small relief. The worst, it seemed, had passed, and though many were left displaced, the initial wave that had wiped out or transformed so much of the population did not end humanity as many predicted it might have. Sequestered away within these spheres of civilization, those that remained continued to rebuild. Luckily, the arrival of the Warped did not bring with it the complete destruction of telecommunications, which meant that as a whole, humanity was fragmented but not broken. Thus began the efforts to reorganize, scattered as they were; with no nation left unscathed by the Warped, though, for the next few years their efforts would be placed firmly towards themselves and none other.
With whispers of the Chi-Mechframe's development upon the wind, however, the people were given a glimmer of hope—a possibility of the return to the days since gone. To what end that hope may bring remains to be seen, however...
Word from the GM
Hello! Yes, it is me, the GM, here to speak about the RP a bit. Fundamentally, this idea draws a lot from not just tokusatsu and mecha girl series (e.g. Rangers, Kamen Rider, Symphogear, Strike Witches, and so on and so forth), but also from series like Resident Evil, Fallout, and even Monster Hunter to some extent. Ideally, I'd like the cast to fit that sort of demographic (so characters anywhere from 16-25) in turn.
I'll also state here that my co-GM for this project will be @VitaVitaAR; if you have any questions about the setting or world or whatever else, please feel free to ask.
Here's a form for everyone who is interested. With that said, this RP will be first come first served, but under the caveat that I will likely be approving characters based on how well they would mesh with the group as a whole.
This is, in essence, a reboot of an old RP I ran a while ago. I got inspired to try again recently, and hopefully with the lessons I've taken away from the last run this one should go better... Provided there's enough people on board for it.
[list][*][u]Name[/u]: [*][u]Age[/u]: Again, anywhere from 16-25, please. [*][u]Gender[/u]: [*][u]Appearance[/u]: [*][u]Personality[/u]: [*][u]History[/u]: [*][u]Skills[/u]: This refers to what the CHARACTER can do, not their equipment. [*][u]Chi-Mechframe[/u]: [list][*][u]Appearance[/u]: [*][u]Abilities[/u]: This refers to what the Mechframe can do. For starting equipment, please refrain from going too overboard with those capabilities.[/list] [*][u]Other:[/u]:[/list]
Member
Izurich
Raineh Daze
The Otter
Urizen
Zapdos
DracoLunaris
Enzayne
FunnierPrez
Lildear18