Genon

Cosmic Tales (Robot Girl/Mecha Musume RP) [ENDED]

@PaulHaynek
Character sheet done. I mostly based her theme off of the fact that the picture I used was one of the only faceclaims i could find that i actually liked that still qualified as a mecha-musume.

Tell me what you think.

Bushido

Appearance:

Name: BU-SHI-D0 (aka Bushido)

Combat Role: Close Combat - Medium

Data Center: Wizdom - North

Equipment & Gear:

→ 4 x BX-450 Rapid Oscillation (RO) Duratanium Katanas, mounted in four bespoke scabbards at Bushido’s hips. Each one vibrates at an insanely-fast rate, not unlike an electric carving knife or a vibroblade from Star Wars, enabling them to cut through Swarm like butter, and easily slice through most obstacle or armor systems without much issue. As if that wasn’t enough, the blades can be electrified to cause additional damage to a target or even take down an enemy non-lethally by hitting them with the flat of the blade. Uses 4 slots.

→ 2 x Variable Flight Units (VFUs), mounted on Bushido’s calves and feet. Resembling the antiquated wings of a Harrier jet, these are ideal for both atmsopheric and spaceflight. Bushido can rotate her calves and hips in an impossible way to lock the VFUs on her legs together with a result that looks not unlike a mermaid’s tail and orient the combined flight units in any direction, allowing her dramatically-increased speed in a single direction at a time at the expense of using her legs in combat. Uses 2 slots.

→ Full-Body Duratanium Armor Plating, sufficient to protect against most attacks in Bushido’s weight class. Uses 1 Slot.

→ 0.5-cubic-foot Repair Nanite Reserve, located in Bushido’s torso. These nanites form an advanced self-repair system, allowing Bushido to regenerate from any bodily damage by substituting themselves for damaged parts, so long as she has nanites left in the reserve. Generally, this is only sufficient to take care of moderate puncture wounds, lacerations, localized burns, minor scrapes and bruises, or one serious injury per refill.

Personality: Bushido has a near-perfect knowledge of ancient Japanese culture. Her memory banks contain terabytes of information on things like how to perform a tea ceremony, according to eighteen different schools dedicated to teaching the subject, and how to properly make a bonsai, and how to craft an authentic katana, and how one should properly use honorifics, and what ancient anime are the best, and so on ad nauseam. This knowledge is almost never actually used by her. She keeps it in her memory banks only in the vague hope that it might be useful someday, but that day has never actually come.

She has a strong sense of justice and self-improvement (instilled by her weeb creator in an attempt to capture Japanese ideals), and a knack for art, but at the same time has crippling self-confidence issues due to years of social missteps leading to constant belittling by her peers growing up. Creeps don’t make the best A.I. programmers.

Background: Designed as more of an art piece than a child, by a blatant Old Earth culture enthusiast whose obsession was downright pathological (the ancient term was “weeaboo”), Bushido was quickly taken away from her maniac “father” and raised in the robot equivalent of a foster care system on Wizdom.

While Bushido kept her old programming, giving her an inherent appreciation for ancient Japanese culture and peerless swordsmanship, she had a serious problem growing up: She was built with an adult body, by someone who might as well be a grown teenager at best. This led to numerous social missteps, as she had to effectively learn social skills and how to live in society through both special tutoring and trial-and-error.

Eventually, she managed to learn enough to be a functional adult, but the fact still remained that she had been designed with close-combat ability in mind, with milspec parts that her creator had acquired through shady means. She might as well be tailor-made to join the military. And so she decided to go through with the process and join the Wizdom armed forces, where she received proper military upgrades that augmented her strengths instead of the black-market hack-job she had before.

Snippet

"Why do you always drink green tea, anyway? The stuff doesn't even make good biofuel."

Bushido looked up from her mug of warm, green liquid. "Programming," she said curtly.

"Programming? Who would program drink preferences into their daughter?" was the incredulous reply of Snowpoint, a ranged unit specialized for arctic conditions. And Bushido's lunchmate this time.

"A crazy wannabe Old Earth anthropologist who only ever focused on the culture of a long-dead island nation."

"...That was your creator?"

"Hai-I mean yes."

"Eeesh. It shows."

"I've mostly outgrown my programming, but not completely. You can't even comprehend how many times I've thought about having someone change a few variables so I can be done with it."

Snowpoint's face simulated going pale. More pale than she already was, anyway. "You'd go that far?"

Bushido took a long drink of tea and sighed. "It's not just the odd language quirk. I have terabytes of information on this old culture in my memory banks. Nippon, it was called. Japan, to others. And don't get me wrong, it'd be nice to have in a museum somewhere, but it's just taking up space as it is. And some of it gets...weird. Too weird."

"Why'd he do this to you anyway?"

Bushido looked up from her tea, looking Snowpoint in the eye. "I wasn't his daughter, to him. I was an art piece that could talk. He saw me as, and I quote, 'the perfect encapsulation of Japanese culture, immortalized in steel and personified through the female form.' He'd have me do things for him, like perform an ancient tea-making ceremony and slice fabric mats with these swords of mine. And he was as happy as a small child when I did it. Until someone with a processor stepped in and took me away."

Snowpoint simply took a long look at her and swallowed, taken aback by her story. "...I see."

"So now do you see why I drink green tea?"

"Y-yes, but what does that have to do with Nippon?"

Bushido didn't know whether to be overjoyed or ticked that she had an opportunity to use her encyclopedic knowledge, but she dutifully began, "Well, you see..."

Dungeon Clearer! The Wonderful World of an Adventurer

@1Charak2
@VitaVitaAR

Hey, so Mellifleur actually provides a neat opportunity to use the Sapient Undead backstory I had cooked up for the last iteration but got shut down. I'm thinking of playing a Sword or a Coin, so perhaps my character could have been, in life, a mercenary who was paid to escort Melllifleur through an incredibly dangerous area or some other risky task for the sect, on the condition that with his consent he would be raised as a Sapient Undead should he die during his task?

So basically, he would be a Sapient Undead sellsword and strong associate and ally of Mellifleur and her sect who chose to become an Adventurer after he was raised.

What do you guys think?

World of Light

Donnie

Word Count: 967
EXP: (2/60) + 2 = 4/50

Donnie had never had to dodge so fast, so consistently, in his life. Not even the most difficult raids demanded pitch-perfect agility like this. Usually, there were others to take the hits for him, and his job was to damage the enemy while they were occupied with those who could actually take a punch.

He jumped out of the way of the preta’s fist as it smashed a table into splinters. He knew there was nothing he could do to fight back. Immortal, invincible, intangible. Death seemed to have granted Pichai all three of those incredible qualities, even as his own negative karma cursed him with a crippling hunger and an inability to sate it. Donnie supposed that even punishments had an upside now and then.

Pichai shrugged off attacks, Touch of Karma had ironically done nothing to the karma-cursed spirit when the preta landed a glancing blow, and he seemed to be intangible without any downsides. He could affect others, but others couldn’t affect him. If Donnie got grabbed, Pichai would be able to hold him, but Donnie couldn’t push off of anything. He’d be stuck with nothing to exert force on like a Lightforged soldier separated from the Vindicaar and sent drifting in the Great Dark Beyond, also known as outer space.

He rolled as the preta attempted another lightning-fast grab, missing him by inches. He transitioned from that into a flip that sent him soaring out of the way of another grapple and descended quickly enough to avoid an attempt to swat him out of the air, not unlike a cat swatting a bird.

Sweat ran down his brow, getting in his eyes. Itches that had gone unscratched for minutes on end stung at him. Residual aches, pains and friction burns from rapid movement, the odd botched roll and the stress he was putting his body through rippled across him. His muscles were starting to tire, and he felt the beginning of lactic acid buildup in his arms and legs. He couldn’t keep this up for much longer, he knew it. How long would it take the others to finish the godsdamned ritual?!

But then, finally, Donnie noticed that the attacks had stopped. He heard a slurping noise from above and dared to look up for a fraction of a second. When he saw the preta eating, he took an opportunity to catch his breath. His armor had been through a lot, but it had never been used for a ten-minute-long gymnastics challenge. It was scuffed and scratched from the ordeal, the ornate decorations marred. All of that rolling had caused gouges to form along the floor as well. Good thing he’d never see this place again.

A few seconds later, that was that. Pichai had gotten his fucking meal, the door swung open on its own and they were free to leave. The monk, even in his exhausted state, made a mad dash for the door with the others.

Then he heard the sounds of fighting. “Shit, the horde! They must’ve broken through!” he yelled, running towards the lobby as fast as his legs could carry him.
It was pandemonium in the Main Hall when Donnie almost broke the door off its hinges in an attempt to get to those in need. Demons, monsters, and undead of every size and shape had engaged the survivors. Nero used his robotic arm to clear a path, and Donnie joined the fight in earnest.

Monks could use most weapons they picked up, but they could generally only channel chi through their limbs. Not many enemies a Windwalker adventurer could loot would carry fist weapons nor would quest-givers hand out handblades, so many of them, Donnie included, opted to use the weapons they found more for their magical attribute boosts and keep them sheathed, relying on their fists and feet for all the fighting.

But of course, there were some situations that simply called for a weapon, and this was one of them. He needed reach in this case, something to make sure he wasn’t exposing his very-biteable arm to the undead hordes. He pulled out the swords that Mr. Grimm had used, still in their scabbards at his belt this whole time. They were balanced right, and clearly of good craftsmanship. If only they had come from a blacksmith and not the essence of a living creature.

But whoever they had been, once they had been turned into equipment, their death could not be undone, not even by Peach. Using the blades for what they were made for would at least be making something good out of Grimm’s atrocities.

And so, he carved, cleaved, slashed, stabbed, and dismembered. Zombie and demon alike fell before the swordsmanship he had learned from his training on the Wandering Isle and later at the Peak of Serenity. The kind of training that birthed a grandmaster.

He didn’t get very long to show his prowess before the survivors began to flee into the night through the path Nero had created. And so he followed them, staying on the outside of the throng to cut down any abominations that dared threaten the innocent.

Their only guide was Fox’s vague directions about a futuristic tower.

Then they got to the tower in question. The only routes to it had been ripped through by an earthquake of all things. Then Howard said something about invisible monsters that only he could see. This meant that all routes were dangerous. But they couldn’t stay for long. They had to pick a route now.

“Howard!” the monk yelled over the din of combat. “We need space to fight if any of the flying demons come after us, and I do not want any of the civilians to fall into the pits! We should take the left path!”

Winter's Blade: A Fairy Tail RP

@Raijinslayer

Hey, I'm sorry about what I said in PMs. And to everyone else who I attacked. I attacked a lot of other characters and called them worse than Leon in a moment of weakness. Please forgive me. I would like to be let back into the server if nothing else. You people are really cool.

Winter's Blade: A Fairy Tail RP

Here's my sheet. A bit rushed given that I only learned of this RP's existence today, but I think I've done a good job with this.

The Rogue Musketeer

Guild Membership Card

Personality

_{Leon is jaded, cynical, serious, and stoic. He has a deeply negative outlook on the world around him and is slow to trust others, owing to the crushing of his dreams when he joined the Musketeers and the years he spent brutally killing and capturing the scum of the earth. But at the same time, he has a strong belief that the world can get better, that people can change, and that the people of the present are the harbingers of the future. Whether that future is a good or bad one, he believes, is up to them. Sometimes, however, the simplest solution is the best, and he's not above killing Dark Wizards and wrongdoers outright. Leon's face is often an enigma. He's good at lying and he's good at hiding his emotions. But though he tries to deny it, he still has that ember of idealism in him: Deep down, he still holds the ideals of what the Musketeers should have been, what they were, in high regard, especially their honor and pride, and strives to be someone that people can look up to in a similar vein, if not in the exact same way. And, for all of these reasons, he will continue to help people, to fight evil and uphold good, until the day he dies. Because the world is more than an empty glass. However, he does have a more fun side that comes out in a relaxed environment, though you wouldn't know it from how he acted before he joined the guild.}

Appearance

_{Contrary to his appearance in the picture above, Leon does not always wear a nobleman's getup. Though he has a nice wardrobe of such clothes and may wear them to special occasions, he's much more prone to wearing a more rugged getup befitting a bounty hunter while on missions. His weapons, however, are usually pretty ornate. He typically carries Sigma in a scabbard at his side so it can be drawn quickly.}

“All that glitters isn't gold, people can be downright nasty to each other, and your heroes and champions might just turn out to be corrupt jokes when you finally meet them. But that's no excuse not to do the right thing.”

| N a m e: |

Leon D'Encant

| Alias|Nickames|Titles: |

The Freezing Blade

| G e n d e r: |

Male

| A g e: |

26

| R a n k: |

A

| Guild Membership Status: |

Leon has been in the guild for about two months at this point. Largely, he joined for protection against the enemies he made in his bounty hunting career. However, he has told the Guild Master about the reason he joined. It's known around the guild that he's a marked man.

| Guild Seal Location: |

Left side of abdomen

| History: |

Leon D'Encant was, of course, born in Encant, a Fiorean town known for its elite marksmen, who had provided deadly troops to the armies of Fiore in centuries past. These "Musketeers," trained in the arts of the rapier, parrying dagger, pistol, and rifle, were known to be men of honor and pride. Cutting dashing figures, they were respected warriors, using their Requip techniques to great effect against the enemies of the Royal Household.

A young Leon, wide-eyed and naive, sought to join Legion's Gate, the great Requip school where the best Musketeers were trained. At the age of eighteen, he was accepted and began his training in the Musketeer's arts. Two years later, he graduated. However, in time he had grown disillusioned with Musketeer society in general. He had been lured in with tales of crack shots shooting Dark Wizards between the eyes from half a mile away, of dashing rogues dueling S-Class threats by themselves with a smile on their face, all while never allowing an innocent to come to harm or, worse, betray their personal code of honor.

Instead, he found a once-great force of warriors in sharp decline. Old mottos were forgotten in the name of excess. The Musketeers had grown lazy and corrupt after centuries of being the most privileged wizards around. Though they were capable Wizards, they rarely fought, instead preferring to use their large degree of autonomy to skim money meant for other corps and divert it to themselves, living large while other branches starved, fought, and bled. Leon was disgusted enough by this that, having never gotten to participate in a single action, he handed in his resignation and left as soon as he got the opportunity.

If the Musketeers would not do anything useful with their lives, then Leon D'Encant would. He took up bounty hunting, and, after a rough start, proved quite good at it. But, years into his bounty hunting career, he made a rookie mistake. Picking off too many members of the Lifetakers, a notorious criminal organization, got their undivided attention. Not only was he a marked man, but the Lifetakers had ties to Gorgon Head, a full-fledged if minor Dark Guild. This was far, far too much heat for even an experienced loner like Leon to survive for long, and he knew it.

He needed friends. He needed to surround himself with wizards. He opted not to join a big, powerful guild, instead opting for a different approach. He chose to seek out Winter's Blade, a guild in a remote region of Fiore, that was brand-new, relatively-speaking. Winter's Blade had no S-ranks, but it had two very, very important things going for it. One, the fact that it was almost brand-new meant that it had no established reputation, meaning that it wouldn't be the first place his enemies would check. Two, it was in an incredibly harsh, snowy environment, making it a royal pain in the ass for most of his foes to even get there in the first place, and even when they arrived, they would probably be exhausted from the long trip, unable to use normal channels such as trains due to their status as criminals and Dark Wizards. Only the most dedicated assassins the Lifetakers could hire would bother to choose a job that required them to trek all the way north. Of course, you don't just sign up for a Light Guild just for protection. You've got to earn your keep and make a commitment to the guild ethos, and Leon is trying to do that. Besides, doing something other than tracking down and capturing/killing the worst criminals imaginable is a nice change of pace.

Of course, Leon isn't an idiot and knows his foes will track him down eventually. It's only a matter of time. But because of his decision, he's managed to delay them for a while, and that gives him the time to bide his time and gather strength. But when his enemies do make it to this corner of Earthland, it'll be a fight to be remembered.

| Magic: |

Requip: The Cavalier

A Legion's Gate variant of Requip Magic. Leon specializes in rifles, pistols, fencing blades, and parrying daggers.

List of Weapons:

Swords:
--> Frost: A saber with blue ornamentation and a basket hilt. Frost is not named for any ice powers it possesses, but rather the fact that the blade induces paralysis in the part of the body it cuts. As it is magical, the effect can be canceled by Frost's wielder at any time, and will eventually wear off. This is where Leon's moniker of "The Freezing Blade" comes from, as it is the main tool he uses when he wants to bring in a criminal alive.

--> Heartpiercer: A seemingly ordinary cup-hilted rapier that hides a deadly surprise. The name comes from the fact that it has been enchanted with density-enhancing magics to have a seemingly-impossible amount of mass compressed into its small frame. While it takes more strength to wield than an ordinary sword of its shape and size, so Leon can get tired quicker when holding it, it is also enhanced with a series of Lacrima-powered Air Magic stabilizers in the hilt to heavily reduce the strain on Leon's sword arm and provide extra power for thrusts. It is one of Leon's deadliest weapons: At full power, it can pierce through even magically-enhanced armor.

--> Sigma: A saber with a sigma symbol on the ricasso, modified to have a sharp point, with a Lacrima slot in the hilt, capable of taking Elemental Lacrimas. Right now, he has Fire, Ice, Lightning, Poison, and Air. This is one of his "default" weapons, due to its adaptability and non-specialized nature. Slotting in a Lacrima causes magical, circuit-like veins along the hilt and edge to change to the corresponding color, and changes the blade's properties accordingly. Fire superheats the blade and allows it to burn those it cuts, even melting through solid steel. Ice chills the blade to a frightening degree, causing frostbite on a slice and seriously weakening an enemy. Poison is self-explanatory. Lightning electrifies the blade, making it ideal for neutralizing a target quickly and efficiently. Air makes the blade vastly lighter than normal, allowing Leon to slice and stab much more energetically, as well as releases arcs of cutting wind on a slash should Leon choose to allow it.

--> Thought and Memory: A pair of twin estocs, modified to have a cutting edge, capable of being psychically-controlled by the wielder, enabling Leon to fight from a distance or even engage two enemies at once.

Daggers:
--> Aegis: A maingauche-style parrying dagger that, as long as Leon is holding onto it, produces a magical barrier that protects the wearer from harm. It can obviously be broken with enough force, though the shield regenerates after a few seconds.
--> Cronus: A swordbreaker-style dagger that causes the user's perception of time to slow down by a factor of three at will, enabling them to perform incredible feats of skill.
--> Famine: A parrying dagger with a cruciform guard that physically weakens any opponent struck with it.

Guns: His Requip magic works differently for firearms. He has a sane amount magical guns for a Requip user: A hand cannon, two semi-automatic pistols (usually wielded one at a time), a high-power semi-automatic rifle, and an assault rifle. However, he has differing ammo types for each gun, powered by included Lacrima, that he can swap out on the fly after Requipping, and can summon more ammo if he's running low. These are:
--> Fire Bullets
--> Ice Bullets
--> Lightning Bullets
--> Light Bullets (these act more like lasers)
--> Darkness Bullets (these coat the area around the target in pitch-black darkness for disorienting an opponent or providing cover. It can be lit from the inside, however.)
--> Blast Bullets (cause explosions, obviously)
--> Flashbang Bullets (These work just like ordinary flashbangs, except they're fired from a gun. Duh.)
--> Homing Bullets
--> Knockout Bullets (these are magic bullets that put the target to sleep near-instantly on contact with bare skin)

High Speed

High Speed: The magic Jet used. Leon picked it up in a series of elective classes at Legion's Gate. This boosts Leon's speed to absurd levels, which, when paired with his fearsome swordsmanship and marksmanship skills, results in a whirlwind of attacks that few can withstand.

| Strengths and Weakness: |

Strengths:
1. Consummate Professional: Through years of hunting the scum of the earth, Leon has become an experienced veteran of the bounty hunting world, and has the demeanor to back it up. He is serious, to the point, and dedicated to his craft. It takes a lot to shake him.
2. Self-Reliant: Being part of a guild is a team effort, but Leon has spent years as a lone wolf. He's needed to tend to his own wounds, maintain his own camps, hunt his own game, and track his own targets. This means that, if separated from his team for whatever reason, he's no worse for it.
3. Elite Combat Skill: Leon may not be the greatest wizard ever in terms of raw power, but he is skilled. He was trained to an elite level by one of the finest magic schools in Fiore, and his training was intended to help him serve as one of the Royal Family's crack troops. Against a superior opponent, he will often leverage his superb fencing abilities, reflexes, and marksmanship to allow him to hold his own even when spectacularly outgunned.

Weaknesses:
1. Marked: Leon has not just an entire criminal syndicate, but also their Gorgon Head buddies hunting him down. It's only a matter of time before his past catches up to him, and when it does, things will get nasty.
2. Finesse-based Fighter: Leon is not overly strong or tough by Wizard standards. He's more durable than most, due to his A-class power, but he is reliant on finesse and reflexes rather than brute force to defeat an opponent. This makes him significantly more fragile and easier to mission-kill than peer fighters should an opponent manage to hit him.
3. Fish Out of Water: Leon has spent years living alone, traveling from town to town, hunting down and killing complete strangers to put food on the table. This naturally means that the freewheeling nature of guild life is a challenge for him to adapt to.

| Miscs : |

Leon absolutely loves spicy food. He's been known to take dares to try increasingly-hotter things. Also enjoys the odd game of chess. His favorite drink is red wine, though when he absolutely wants to get drunk he opts for a potent whiskey. He also tends to completely loosen up when drunk. Also, his battle theme is below:

Cosmic Tales (Robot Girl/Mecha Musume RP) [ENDED]

@PaulHaynek

Hey, so the current idea I have is a robot completely dependent on loadouts to be useful, sort of like the AGE-1. However, this means I can take on any role so long as I have a loadout package I can equip, which I was concerned would be letting me do too much relative to other players, so I decided to run a WIP sheet by you first. Can you take a look at what I have so far?

Hikari

Appearance:

Faceclaim

Note that when battle is joined, the mechanical bits on Hikari's ears extend a telescoping mechanism which encases his entire head in a metal combat visor.

Name: PAEU-MT-001, short for Polar Arms Experimental Unit Modification Type Model 001, nickname "Hikari"

Combat Role: Varies based on loadout

Data Center: Wizdom - North

Equipment & Gear: Currently, three add-on packages have been designed for Hikari to equip, running the gamut of robot classes.

Personality:

Background: Hikari was designed as an experimental unit to test what could be a paradigm shift in combat robot design: Add-on combat loadouts. Hikari's body is basically a blank slate, resembling something similar to a skinless human from the neck down, with the muscles replaced with blatantly-artificial synth-fibers. In his stripped-down state, he has enormous strength relative to a human and running speed exceeding that of a fully-fledged light-class robot, but can only fight with his bare hands.

He is almost dependent on add-on packages to fight, usually supplied by Polar Arms, though Polar has not patented the technology in the hopes that others will adopt its approach, allowing other corporations and other planets to, in time, develop a wide swath of add-ons for MT ("Modification Type)" robots to use. Currently, however, the concept is still being tested, and Hikari, after having his AI run through a simulated childhood that condensed 25 years into a single week, has been dispatched to assist the war effort against the Swarms while collecting data for Polar Arms to analyze and improve the future iterations of his line.

Cosmic Tales (Robot Girl/Mecha Musume RP) [ENDED]

@PaulHaynek
I'm interested. Just one question. Can we play as a Robot Boy instead of a Robot Girl? While I like Mecha Musume and their designs a lot, I've always wanted to try a male version of the concept. Plus, I generally dislike anime fanservice and Mecha Musume designs are usually all about that.

It's not a dealbreaker, but I would greatly appreciate it. Especially since I see some male robots in the first OOC post.

World of Light

Donnie

Word Count: 719

EXP: (1/60) + 1 = 2/50

@Lugubrious

---

Donnie’s eyes went wide as he caught a glimpse of Pichai’s grotesque form for the first time. It was huge, imposing, and apparently, it was invincible to mundane weapons judging by what happened to Nero when he tried to slice at it. He needed to move quickly. Wondering at the architectural impossibility of this place could come later. He figured it was a magical construct anyway.

He took Ms. Fortune’s advice, ducking behind a dusty old table, fear forming a pit in his stomach as the preta’s single red eye shone its baleful light across the room.

Donnie was a big man compared to some of the others here. Azerothian humans had taken a completely different evolutionary path than humans of most other worlds represented in the World of Light. He hadn’t evolved from apes. He was technically an Old-God-corrupted, Titan-built machine. To be more specific, he was a distant descendant of the offspring of Titan-forged Vrykul--a species of eight-foot-tall Viking-like warriors--afflicted with the Curse of Flesh, cast out from their families due to their deformed and weak physiology.

This meant that Donnie, like most male Azerothian humans, was actually rather jacked, and his armor made it even harder to fit a low profile. He wasn’t a rogue either. He had cat-like agility and reflexes, sure, but stealth was not his forte in the slightest.

As a result, to say that Donnie was having a hard time was an understatement. As Pichai’s red gaze passed by the couch, he spotted a table to his right, temporarily out of Pichai’s cone of vision.

He booked it, the metal and leather armor making slight squeaking and clanking noises as he did so. He was sure he only had a few seconds at most before Pichai tried to grab him as he did to Nero, so he had to work quickly. He grabbed the entire pre-made ritual kit from his satchel and began to set up the food offering like a man possessed.

He worked quickly, but ambitiously. A smarter plan of action might have been to set down one element at a time before retreating into hiding. Evidently caring little that the project was meant to satiate it, the Preta released an almost metallic screeching noise and reached down with its giant fingers to seize the monk.

Donnie reacted on autopilot. The monk rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging Pichai’s grasping hand. Unfortunately, Pichai’s pre-emptive attack caused Donnie to knock against the table and spill some of the ingredients for the ritual, including about a third of the food.

Thinking fast, he began to pick them up and tried a more desperate gambit. This thing was clearly a monster and Pichai was an asshole, but this might work?

“OI, PICHAI!” he yelled, “DO YOU ALWAYS ATTACK PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO SET UP FOOD OFFERINGS FOR YOU?! GIVE ME FIVE SECONDS AND YOU’LL BE CHOWING DOWN ON THE BEST FOOD I COULD MAKE!”

The Preta attacked again while Donnie was still speaking, this time with a massive slam meant to crush him where he stood. Having drawn the specter’s attention and being unable to ease back into hiding, he could no longer finish the ceremony. A portion of salad lay on the floor, and the incense sticks had been flung farther.

Nope, that didn’t work. In fact, it had made the situation even worse for Donnie. Still, there were two-thirds of the salad left, and since Donnie had drawn its attention, he couldn’t be the one to finish it, not without going back into hiding.

So, why not be a distraction?

“Fine then, if you won’t listen to reason, catch me if you can, fiend!”

With that, Donnie ran for it. He had a lot of stamina, a lot of agility, and could run pretty damn fast. Whenever Pichai tried to grab or strike him, a quick roll, flip, cartwheel, or dodge would be all it took to avoid those hands. And he could keep this up for a while.

While it was clear that Donnie’s diplomacy gambit--which itself hadn’t been a bad strategy, given that Pichai was once human--had failed massively, the others would probably tell he was trying to make the best of it, and the offering was free for anyone to pick up where he left off.

World of Light

Donnie

Word Count: 342

EXP: (0/50) + 1 = 1/50

New Power Unlocked: Touch of Karma - a spell that creates a shield around Donnie capable of absorbing damage up to 50% of his own health and redirecting it as Nature damage to the attacker over the course of 6 seconds, after which the shield breaks and Donnie resumes taking damage. The shield prevents wounds that inflicted damage would cause. It does not block status effects. The spell takes a minute and a half to recharge, and if not broken the shield lasts 10 seconds.

---

"I'll do it," Donnie said, immediately and without hesitation. "I use magic on a daily basis. Calming evil spirits isn't my wheelhouse, but I know enough to get this prepared." He looked at the pitiful offering, the Cup Noodles. "And now that I've thought about it, those noodles aren't even cooked, and we only have one shot at appeasing Pichai. The last thing we need is for this to backfire, and we need to act quickly before the killer attacks again. So I know I'm going to regret this later, but...."

He magicked the Luggage into existence again and opened it up, rummaging around in its cavernous interior until he found what he wanted: A wrapped ration. He opened it up, revealing a mouthwatering meal, the kind of thing he could only have cooked in his prime, and with ingredients that could only be found in his home universe.

"Azshara Salad. Made from five different types of exotic plants added onto a Surf and Turf recipe. The magic in its ingredients it'll even make you a tiny bit quicker for about five minutes, and the whole thing is enchanted so it'll never go bad. I want to make sure he never bothers us again until we are out of here. That's why I'm using this."

Then he took the requisite materials from the satchel and the Preta pages from Fox. "Now, let me just practice this once or twice and make sure I've got everything set up...."

A couple of practice runs later, it was looking perfect. He didn't light the candles or the incense, of course. Wrapping up the Azshara Salad, he prepared to leave, closing and dismissing the Luggage as he did so.

"Okay, let's do this," he said, picking up the whole ensemble, placing it in the satchel. "I'm heading to the library. And I'm going to need others to come with me in case it doesn't work and we need to put him down." With that, he walked away, ritual kit slung over his shoulder.

World of Light

@TruthHurts22

Oi, you still have the Discord link, right?