FujiwaraPhoenix

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

Tachibana Masaru

Abandoned Mansion — Nagano Prefecture

By some miracle or another, Masaru's arrows had failed to accidentally strike either of his allies despite his insistence on blindly firing away towards their enemies' last known position. Rather, it seemed like one of the better scenarios had panned out instead; with no apparent threat bearing down on them during their brief period of disorientation, the three were left unpressured as their senses returned to them.

Unfortunately, their enemy reforming from the remnants they had left behind made it clear that a battle of attrition was little more than a fool's errand, and the others, it seemed, had picked up on that fact as well.

With his vision more or less back to normal, Masaru wasted no time in regrouping near the other Agents before firing a few pre-emptive shots towards the regenerating ashigaru and arquebusiers in an attempt to cover Sakura as she worked her magic.

"Don't worry about me; this quiver's infinite. Hell, if you want to grab some arrows for yourself, be my guest," the archer responded as he grabbed a few and waggled them in front of Zhao before firing them in a cone towards the ashigaru still hunkering down in the hallway. "On that note: you any good at darts?"

@Raineh Daze@Psyker Landshark

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

@Eviledd1984: Honestly, if there's nothing you feel strong enough to just try and ask for the committal go-ahead, it might be worth spending some more time to consider what you might want to run (especially in the context of the cast as it stands right now).

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

@Eviledd1984: Uh... No Sakuya. Nah, ain't gon' let timestop fly, and Sakuya without timestop ain't Sakuya in my eyes.
I will admit that I'm not suuuuper well versed in Soulcalibur stuff, but both of those characters seem fine to me after a brief glance at info stuff? Would have to see how that pans out, though.

Pokemon: Dream

Richard Evans

Seasalt Caverns — B2F

"Uh... Huh."

Though he hadn't said anything about his own feelings on the two women who had appeared in front of them after their explanation, the skepticism that Richard possessed was rather evident from the way he was regarding them. It was hard to accept what was being said at face value, regardless of the conviction that they said it with. After all, placing the fate of the country at stake was just a bit too absurd in terms of stakes.

...But something about that strange stone hanging off the long-haired girl's neck did feel slightly unnerving. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least see what the actual problem was...?

Either way, though, the pair seemed more than inclined to leave the cave behind them, and it seemed that they didn't particularly mind him tagging along. All the better, really; with both of his team members banged up, encountering a fight on the way back would be at least somewhat problematic.

The awkward silence back had to be filled, though, and if he was to capitalize on any instinct of his about the supposed issue at hand being something that wasn't actually being dramatized, now was as good a time as any to do so.

"So, uh... How exactly do you lose, uh... Spirits? Ghosts? I assume it's one or the other," he asked, hands in his pockets as Luna followed closely at his heels. "...Actually, how do you even have them to begin with?"

If anything, starting on the premise that those were real was a good a place as any to try figuring things out. Even if this was all a farce, idle conversation was better than nothing.

@Rune_Alchemist

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

@Eviledd1984: Problem with Kuma is that he, uh... Can't speak... Normally?
Comedy gold given how Tekken has everyone be natural polyglots, but still.
I am also unsure how well he matches up to, uh... Everyone else in the cast. Even if he can throw out electrics (and is—and let's be honest here—Heihachi's actual favorite child), I'm not sure if he has the combat power or a "vibe" that meshes with all the PCs currently in play.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

@Eviledd1984: Well, putting aside how placing the onus on the GM to study twelve characters from twelve franchises is a bit rough (to put things lightly)...

I think that the only ones workable off that list are Siegfried and Jotaro (maybe?), as a majority of that list otherwise is either "normal person with guns", "normal person", or "too insane/insanely strong to function in context of the world without heavily altering their powerset".

Even then, Jotaro's iffy because Star Platinum the World is... Not something I will ever willingly consider. Then there's all the other crazy stuff that Star Platinum can do normally, and well... Problems can arise if he isn't pulled in line.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Kochiya Sanae

Aventon — Forest Outskirts

Before she could even attempt to batter away at the giant boar's hide, the green-haired shrine maiden watched as the half-ghost gardener cleanly dismantled any semblance of an attack from the boar—and the boar itself on top of that. Sanae couldn't help but grimace as blood spurted out of the boar's neck as it's charge slowed to a stop just a few steps away from where Youmu had cleaved through, and the bleeding corpse of the beast did the gruesome scene no favors in terms of palatability.

"Eugh. Remind me to never fight you without spellcard rules," Sanae remarked as she floated back down to ground level, taking care not to actually step on the ground lest the blood soak into her shoes. "But, well, that's that settled, I guess? Pretty huge boar, though; I don't think I've seen any ever grow that big, even on Youkai Mountain. Maybe that hermit might have one, but..."

As the young woman trailed off, lost in her thoughts as she was, Joker's question caused her to reconsider the situation once more instead of reminiscing about her new homeland. Certainly, if it was boars they were talking about, there was no reason to think that there would only be one or two present; doubly so if this one was as aggressive as it was, given how it charged at them a few seconds after noticing their presence.

"Uh... Maybe, maybe not?" she responded, unsure if any response she gave would be meaningfully helpful in the least.

Thankfully enough, someone with more sense about the world than the three of them did seemed to have chosen to follow; strength in numbers, perhaps?

"Oh gods, that's a big earthmane boar," spoke Derek as he finally caught up with the group. "Why the heck's one all the way out here?"

"Out here?" Sanae asked, raising an eyebrow at the hunter's comment. "Are they not native to the area?"

"Er... No, they're native, but I've never seen one all the way out here. They're usually solitary creatures, but they rarely come anywhere near this area. Usually they're deeper into the forest, closer to the mountain than not. Does explain what I saw, though..."

"Huh. Would it be worth checking further out, then? This one had some blood on it's tusks when we met it, and judging by the looks of things, that blood was pretty fresh," Sanae replied, crossing her arms as she glanced at the tusk that had been sliced clean off the creature. A once-over of it would indeed confirm that there was (somewhat) fresh blood layered upon it.

"...Yep, definitely recent. I don't think I'd be surprised if the others ran into a boar or two, too."

"Well, earthmane boars are definitely out of my comfort zone, so I'll leave figuring out what exactly is going on to you. In fact, I'll do the smart thing and head back to town so we can grab some people to haul this thing back; heavens know we're going to need the food, and it'd be a waste to leave this beast to rot," Derek responded before turning back around.

Once he had departed, Sanae turned back towards the boar's corpse for a moment before refocusing towards the other two others who were still standing by. The 'what' of the situation had been answered, but the 'why', less so.

"So... Either of you two want to follow the trail of destruction this thing left, or should we try and regroup with the others before doing anything?"

---

Remilia's approach towards Lewa immediately drew a more cautious response from the boar, almost as if it smelled the blood upon the wind that emanated from her—not that such a scent was easy to escape from given her nature, of course, but it was likely that she would have elicited such a response from the injured creature simply because she was yet another unknown creature appearing in front of it.

Uncertainty still gripped the creature's heart as it let out a half-huff, half-snort and adopted a slightly more aggressive stance. But Lewa's own actions, undeterred as they were by its posturing, caused the boar to briefly ready itself for combat——

Only for the strange green being to begin to breathe in and out. Such an action was confusing to the boar, of course, but whether or not it seemed to be consciously aware of what was happening, the animal began to breathe in tandem with Lewa. The tense and taut muscles in it's body slackened ever so slightly, and though that sense of unease never truly faded, the creature seemed to calm down enough for the Toa of Wind to reach out and touch it.

A wild beast was not so easily tamed, but it seemed like the animal wasn't going to lash out unless someone or something attempted to attack it now.

@VitaVitaAR@Izurich@Lugubrious@EchoWolff

---

Aventon — Hunter's Lodge

"Whoa, hold on, I can only take in so much at a time," Kendrick replied, holding his hands out ever so slightly in front of him so as to keep Anne from speaking far faster than he had a chance to figure it out. Once the woman had finished her hasty explanation as to the circumstances behind their presence here (and by extension what had happened to the two children the day prior), though, the guard could only take a while longer to fully process what he had been given.

"Right, well... I don't remember any goddess with the name Lavielle, and I'm not all that well versed in religious matters, so I'm not exactly the best person to ask about this. Unfortunately, the old man who ran the church here passed in the attack, so you won't have any luck with that here..." he said as he looked at the note that she seemed to be panicking over.

"...Honestly, I don't even know what this thing says. How can you even read this? I've never seen any script like it."

Shrugging his shoulders, Kendrick put the note back in the box where it had been initially before picking up the necklace in turn.

"But putting that aside for the moment... You're saying that this was a planned thing? Kidnapping Millie for some unknown deity? How would they even know she was—"

Before he could even finish his sentence, a faint glow would envelop the necklace, and the amulet dangling at the end of the chain would begin to subtly pull itself towards Millie's still-slumbering body.

@Drifting Pollen

---

Aventon — Town Streets

While the others were busy on their own little sidequests, Rayne was at liberty to speak with those still willing and able around the town. While saying that they were in high spirits would have been a bald-faced lie, the townsfolk seemed to be able to at least converse with her about what had been before this whole incident had transpired.

Aventon was, as would be fairly evident, a frontier town. It was somewhat more developed than one might have expected from a settlement so far from any centers of transportation, but being situated near water and close to national borders meant that it was more something between an outpost and place of interest.

Not that the townsfolk really understood why this place was so important, though; most of them had been here for a generation or two at most, which meant that though they cared for the land upon which they were born, it was more sentimentality than any sense of geopolitical importance that they wished to remain.

But maybe that was for the best?

Either way, conversations would drift from one topic to the next as Rayne continued to help clear away all of the rubble and debris impeding any chance of timely repairs. From the occasional trade caravans that went to and from the town through the southern gate to the odd ruins that were scattered throughout the forest (that nobody really desired to look into given the other matters of import throughout the years) to the inevitable lamentations about those who would rest in eternal slumber and many others beyond that, there was no shortage of things to speak of.

The first point, of course, might have been the most interesting in it's own right; apparently, a trade caravan was scheduled to arrive some time in the next few days. Whether or not it would arrive remained to be seen, but if it did...

Well, expecting merchants to part with their goods for free was folly in and of itself, but maybe there was something to be gained in bartering with them.

@DracoLunaris

Qlippoth Shift: A Supernatural Action RP About Combating Otherworldy Anomalies

Tachibana Masaru

Abandoned Mansion — Nagano Prefecture

With their offensive proceeding apace, Masaru continued firing volley after volley into the enemy's ranks with no other intent than to chip away at them until Zhao was able to move in and clean everything up afterwards. It seemed like a reasonable enough plan, given how quickly the older man was cleaning up shop, and it didn't seem like anyone or anything was likely to interrupt that simple plan of action.

Or so he believed, up until the point where the enemy decided to do exactly that. A cluster of flash grenades clattering to the ground followed by a bright light in the middle of a dark room was more than enough to disorient Masaru, and given the chaos he could hear unfolding around him, it was rather obvious that he hadn't been the only one caught off guard by them.

Didn't make anything about the situation easier to handle, of course, but it would at least make recovery less problematic if the only thing taken from them was their sight.

Out of habit, Masaru quickly backed up and put his back up against the nearest wall. With his eyes still attempting to recover from the blinding light, it only made sense to try and continue applying pressure onto the enemy forces rather than stop outright. Though aware that doing so made him a sitting duck, the Agent felt that something like this was better than attempting to blindly fumble about and get to cover to wait until his eyes recovered.

At least the ashigaru were probably still clustered up in formation; if he couldn't aim properly, then firing more arrows in that general direction was sure to force something.

Hopefully his sight would return before something tried to break past the chaotic lashing out of his teammates that he could make out around him; relying on hearing to fight was not a skill he was particularly accustomed to, much less fighting while literally bleeding out or missing a limb.

"My vision's still screwed up, so be careful of any stray arrows!" he called out before blindly firing a few volleys in the general direction of the largest group of enemies. "Point me in a direction and I'll shoot, but don't expect perfect bullseyes for a bit!"

@Psyker Landshark@Raineh Daze

Pokemon: Dream

Richard Evans

Seasalt Caverns — B2F

Once Luna's attacks landed and the Nacli was left reeling, Richard made sure to try and capitalize on the situation with a timely throw of a Pokeball. As the device soared through the air, Luna quickly took a step to the side to allow for it to lightly tap the Rock-type's head and suck it inside. A few shakes later, though, and it seemed clear that the Nacli had stopped trying to resist any further.

One more member of the team, then. Simple as that.

"Good job, Luna," Richard said as he moved forward to retrieve the newly-captured Nacli, making sure to pat the Snivy on the head for her accomplishments before brushing some of the dust and mud off her body. "We'll get you cleaned up once we're out of this place."

With a new teammate firmly in hand, though, Richard had a few new things to consider—namely, how to exit the cave and what nickname to give the Nacli. But before either could be addressed, the arrival of two completely new people had arrived from further into the cave. Though the young man would have been content simply letting them pass by (or tailing behind them if they intended to leave), it seemed that they weren't keen on doing the same for him.

The odd (and thoroughly out of place) girl dressed like an exotic dancer seemed to quickly take an interest in him, and it went without saying that being suddenly accosted like he had been wasn't exactly something anyone (least of all him) had expected. The following offer to make some cash did absolutely no favors here, of course, and Richard was left at least mildly concerned about what was afoot here.

With that said, though, the woman—Marzana—seemed rather intent in dragging him along for whatever it was she had planned.

...At the very least, it probably wouldn't hurt to hear her out, right? The option to say no was always on the table if it seemed too dangerous.

"Could I at least ask what you want me to do to begin with? I'm not just going to blindly agree to a random stranger asking for help out of the blue like that, you know," he said, taking a step back from the two women as he spoke. "And what do you mean by 'good feeling', exactly?"

It was a valid concern to him, at least.

@Rune_Alchemist

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

@Ever Faithful: I'm going to reject this form out of hand for a variety of reasons, detailed below.

• Eustace is, on a fundamental level, a character who does what he is able to do simply because of the nature of the medium he is from. Courage the Cowardly Dog is a comedy at heart—one that centers around a dog that is able to overcome all odds against all manner of horrors and supernatural beings, granted, but a comedy nevertheless. To claim that a character would be able to perform superhuman actions based solely off of the fact that the medium that he is from (more specifically, a cartoon comedy show that plays with extreme violence for laughs and wild gags for comedy) is ignoring the context in which the character is presented. By the same logic, could Tom and Jerry (from the titular cartoon) not be as gods unto men (or, well, cats and mice in this case) despite the comedic violence they are famous for being little more than just that?
  This is hyperbole, of course, but when everything else in the world (and all the characters therein, both from it and not) plays by similar rules, would it not be reasonable to assume that anything that so exceeds the threshold for one's suspension of disbelief that it wholly breaks immersion would not lend itself to breaking the semi-cohesive setup that is already reliant upon some basis in feasibility to function? A character needs to be presented as serious enough so as to not simply devalue or ignore the cohesion of what has been presented and what every other person involved in the RP has "bought into", so to speak. On that note...
• The character does not mesh with the cast as far as I can see, nor does he have any reason to mesh with them nor any reasonable willingness to follow along with their actions, whimsical or otherwise. Eustace is, as you have noted, a crotchety, grumpy old man who is prone to weakness and cowardice at his core. He's stubborn and seldom cares about anyone beyond himself, Miriam, and maybe Courage at times. In what world would someone like that ever be willing to place themselves on the front lines and fight instead of just letting someone else resolve it for him, especially when they show themselves to be more capable of handling what has been thrown at them?
  This is ignoring the fact that Courage the Cowardly Dog, as a cartoon show aimed at children, does not present Eustace's actions as anything more than comedy that oftentimes result in his comeuppance. Nobody is ever meaningfully hurt, nobody ever dies; who is to say that a person with those traits mentioned above—and who might otherwise may as well be a "normal" human at heart—could ever survive in a world like this to begin with?
• Linking back to the first point: being from an episodic show with no intent on continuity beyond the occasional two/three-part stories (after which everything returns to status quo anyways) does not, in my eyes, present itself as a valid argument for abilities in stories where the world is persistent and the actions of characters have meaningful, long-term consequences. Eustace is abused and ends up in ridiculous situations (often of his own making) because the setup of the show often desires it. It's not "fun" to see a character so mean to a protagonist and everyone around him escape consequences, so the show punishes him for his hubris. But with so many of those punishments being so meaningfully damaging both physically and mentally (and occasionally emotionally), retaining those results would change Courage on a fundamental level—because it is a gag show that has no intent of being bogged down in character development beyond the tropes that present the main trio as the archetypes they fit within (literally within the opening blurb of every episode, might I add) and nothing beyond that. Arguing that they should be taken seriously outside of that context—again, because the show must always return to the status quo for the next incident—does not mean that the character has anything that would given him those powers inherently, but rather that the medium is presented in such a way that the viewer doesn't have to care about what happened before.