FujiwaraPhoenix

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

Elise Kim

The Horizon — Engineering Bay

With no real questions about their mission proper, Elise returned the commander's dismissal with a brief nod and salute before following her peers out of the room. The engineering bay, as ever, was abuzz with activity. The young woman had long since given up trying to understand the complexities that came with managing both the ship and their equipment, but the efforts that the staff present put into maintaining was not lost upon her.

Regardless of those matters, the Pilot soon broke off from the others to retrieve her own piece of equipment: a small glove, into which the polished core of her Chi-Mechframe, Selene, was embedded. After confirming that everything was in order with the engineer who had handed it off to her, though, the young woman promptly gave her thanks before following the others to the hangar.

Given the size of her Chi-Mechframe, though, Elise chose to wait for the others to head out first—or, at the very least, wait for the advance team to make their exits first. Their eagerness to head out into the fray soon left only her and Rune on standby, and the larger man had soon thereafter made his own parting statements.

"Try not to leave too big of a crater."

As the last to leave, though, the Pilot was left to transform at her own leisure.

Elise held her one gloved hand over her chest, the jewel-like stone embedded within glowing ever-so-brightly as a halo began to form over her head. Though slow and measured at first, the sound of the halo whirring around her head soon gave way to an imperceptible silence as the rest of her Chi-Mechframe—vaguely winglike armaments, a set of mechanical shoes equipped with stabilizers, auxiliary tools to feed her information around the halo, and the rifle she had come to know inside and out—formed, piece by mechanical piece.

With everything in order (and a brief test of her own equipment while still in the hangar, just to be safe), Elise nodded and took a deep breath before following after her peers. Taking an aircraft down would have been far more preferable in her opinion, but going down alone in one felt a bit too uncomfortable.

Doubly so given everyone else's penchant for superhero-style landings.

With her wing narrowed to a point, Elise began to dive towards the ground headfirst, a thin barrier projected from the machinery around her halo to protect her as she sped forward. Through the parted clouds, the young woman could make out the front lines—and with them, a small crater that marked where her partner for the mission had touched down.

Rather than make a similarly spectacular appearance, though, Elise simply slowed her descent once she drew close enough to the ground. Her mechanical wings unfurled as she seemed to hover in midair, casting a slight shadow upon the battlefield as she made her presence known.

"Elise Kim, present," she spoke in Japanese as she gave a slight bow towards the soldiers, "I shall be in your care."

@SaltSight

---

Saitama Prefecture

What had once been a sprawling suburban residential area had long since been ruined, unmistakably scarred by the Warped that now roamed the streets. Though torn asphalt and years-old bloodstains marked the earth, actual combat had not been seen in the region in ages.

But such "peace" had to come to and end.

A few of the Warped—ones more humanoid in nature, though with distinctly inhuman monochromatic skin—had already begun to congregate at the arrival of the soldiers. A few of the smaller ones had already begun to bear down upon the defensive line; behind them, larger beasts thrice their size ambled forward. Their distended bodies seemed more akin to bloated corpses, swollen and misshapen, but their speed was well beyond what a shambling corpse might have reached.

Though their initial targets were the swathes of humans firing upon them, the arrival of a few new targets in their midst quickly changed their priorities. Lumbering giants and nimble gremlins alike lunged out at the nearby Pilots, their only aim to tear them limb from limb.

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@King Cosmos

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

Elise Kim

The Horizon — Dining Area

As the others spoke among themselves at her remark, Elise chose to simply remain quiet and continue eating her ramen. The young woman nodded her head at the larger man's mention of her name, though a response was a few seconds later than she'd have liked; speaking with a mouthful of noodles would end with incoherent half-words at best, after all.

"...Well, it is a rather large area, after all," the Pilot finally responded, her hand quietly preparing another mouthful all the while. "It'd be stranger if we weren't on the ground for most of the day... Maybe more, depending on whatever the hell's waiting for us down there. But, well, we'll find out soon enough, I suppose."

With the actual mission briefing in less than an hour, though, Elise chose to finish the rest of her meal in lieu of continued small talk. There was time for that after the day's tasks were complete—assuming they were all well enough to speak afterwards.

---

The Horizon — Command Room

Situated atop the bow of the ship, the command room had long since become a familiar sight to the Frame Pilots, Elise included. The place was abuzz with activity—no surprise, given the multi-day undertaking that awaited them. The various screens situated across the room showed a variety of things—views of the ground from remotely-manned drones, visuals showing the status of everyone's biometrics and the status of their equipment, and even communications with the JSDF teams on the ground to coordinate all of their efforts.

At the center of it all, watching as the organized chaos unfolded in front of her, was one Sandra Morrison, the owner of The Horizon and their boss. There was the slightest hint of insomnia from the bags beneath her eyes, but if she was tired, her behavior did not betray as much. Once the rest of the Pilots arrived, though, Sandra glanced at her watch and, after clearing her throat, began to speak.

"I thank all of you for arriving on time. As you know, today's mission is rather important—not just for the nation of Japan, but also to gauge your capabilities on the field proper," she began, turning her body slightly as she gestured to a holographic screen that appeared behind her. "Our primary goal over the coming days is to aid local military forces in recapturing the Saitama prefecture. While complete extermination of the Warped present would be ideal, such an outcome is, as all involved have noted, rather unlikely. Even so, clearing out a majority of the established Warped will give those here in Tokyo a buffer zone to the north, as well as room to re-establish and redevelop the region, however slowly."

With that, the blonde woman waved her hand against the screen, causing it to switch to an overview of the map of the region. To the southeast, of course, was a pulsing blue dot atop Tokyo—their current location. A few smaller dots were overlaid on top—the Pilots themselves, or at the very least the Chi-Mechframes that they possessed.

"As this is a joint venture with the nation of Japan, you do not have to worry about handling the entire prefecture yourselves. Rather, a majority of our efforts will be focused towards clearing out the western section of the region, as shown here. A northern offensive will be mounted by local forces as we proceed from Tokyo, but both groups should be ready to support the other at a moment's notice."

All the while, the map behind Sandra continued to light up, highlighting certain sections and points of interest whenever she brought them up. After she had finished, though, the map seemed to zoom in towards the (now-former) suburbs bordering Tokyo, where JSDF soldiers were already preparing their first forward line.

"Kim, Berg: your goal will be to protect the Japanese forces as they push forward. Remove any Warped that threaten to break through their defenses, and keep casualties to a minimum if you can. While the JSDF can handle smaller Warped with conventional firearms, larger ones will require your assistance to dispatch. Remember, one second could be the difference between a life saved and a life lost. Do not hesitate. If you cannot eliminate a hostile, call for backup and hold the line until they arrive."

Then, a switch to another camera, showing a visual filled with Warped. The bodies of the creatures seemed vaguely humanoid, though the blue and red skin tones and horns upon their heads seemed to invoke a more traditional demon's figure.

"Fukada, Whittemore, and Tarasova: you three will function primarily as an advance team, though you may be called back from the front if the situation grows dire with the others. Your goal will be to remove any larger Warped before they can contact the other team wherever possible, and inform us when you cannot so that they can prepare for engagement. Do not—and I cannot stress this enough—do not hesitate to retreat or call for backup when necessary. If you must engage an enemy you cannot handle alone, prioritize your own survival above all else. The life of one greater-class Warped is not worth your own."

After what felt like a rather extended silence and a glance over the Pilots present, though, Sandra nodded her head.

"With that said, be prepared to shift positions at a moment's notice. These are general guidelines for an ideal scenario," she continued, gesturing towards the screen at her side, "but nothing ever truly works out as planned—doubly so when our enemies are monsters, not men. If there are any further questions about the objectives for today's mission, speak up now. Otherwise, collect your Chi-Mechframes from the engineering bay and head to the hangar for deployment. You depart in thirty minutes; I wish you the best of luck in your efforts. Dismissed."

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@SaltSight@King Cosmos

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

Elise Kim

The Horizon — Dining Area

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...

@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@SaltSight@King Cosmos

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

Elise Kim

The Horizon — Dining Area

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.

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

Right, apologies for double posts, but I guess I should be making this known.

@King Cosmos@SaltSight: I've spun up a Discord server for ease of access. I presume we'll need this in the near future. Maybe. Links will be DMed.

For anyone wanting to join, uh... I'll send a link when acceptance is confirmed, I suppose.

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

@SaltSight: Aye, all good then. Accepted.

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

@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.

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Interest Check; Reboot)

@SaltSight: Yeah, there's room. OoC was linked in my last post up there, though, so ideally any further discussion/forms would be in that thread.

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

Elise Kim

• Name: Eun-hye (Elise) Kim
• Age: 22
• Gender: Female
• 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.
• Chi-Mechframe: Selene
  
  • Appearance: "I've got your back."
  • 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).
• Other:: N/A

Advent of the Dawn — A Mecha Musume/Tokusatsu-Inspired RP (Reboot)

@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR: Both accepted.

Time to slap mine up, then.

Elise Kim

• Name: Eun-hye (Elise) Kim
• Age: 22
• Gender: Female
• 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.
• Chi-Mechframe: Selene
  
  • Appearance: "I've got your back."
  • 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).
• Other:: N/A