Hero

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

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It was easier said than done.

Still, it wasn't like Alja was going to let Kazuki get away at this point. To her credit, her words were logical and along the lines of encouraging. He stared at Alja for a second, though he didn't respond, instead choosing to stuff his hands into his pockets. This was the pain of having to interact with people, wasn't it? Now that he thought about it, on top of every other problem they were having, Kazuki wasn't used to being this...social. If one could call it that, anyway.

He didn't say much of anything, more focused on sobering up as he resumed the walk wordlessly. He wasn't expecting much out of this little trip, though that was more his pragmatism speaking. If Prisillica managed to rally people, maybe, but as far as he was aware, Aaginim's death still had the place pretty grim. It would be nice if he was surprised, but he wouldn't hold his breath. And even in the slight chance where things could be moving, Luci was still an obstacle. His own involvement aside, he was certain she held resentment towards their entire group in general.

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Where It Always Rains

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The numerous murmurs picked up in volume once Ryusei finished speaking. Touga let out a tiny sigh; she had thought that the class would be a little more excited, but it seemed Totsuka made quite the impression. Whether it was good or bad was yet to be seen, and she would rather give the benefit of the doubt before making any snap judgments. Whatever the case was, however, it was time to start. She clapped her hands together twice, gathering everyone's attention.

"Thank you for your introductions Shimizu and Totsuka," She started, though she didn't fail to notice some whispers popping up after the latter's name. "Now, I'll go ahead and take attendance, and then we can go ahead and start the day."

The period was mostly going over the syllabus and fielding questions. There was a mini-election as students voted for their class representative, but otherwise, it seemed like a typical class. The novel they would be reading was handed out, and eventually, the bell would free them of the class. The next class, mathematics, was taught by the ever-exhausted Yokoyama. He seemed low energy, but at the very least knew what he was doing, answering most questions with ease and explaining himself carefully. After that came the rigid Sugimoto Katsumi. She seemed to take no prisoners, scolding those who answered wrong and expressed her disappointment with the youth multiple times. The last class before their break was physical education, and while the first day seemed typical, several murmurs would let those in the know that getting Eto Mitsuo as their instructor meant they were in for a rough time.

But once all that was said and done, it was on to...

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Break Time

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Most students opted to bring their own lunches, visiting their friends in different classrooms to eat together. While the school had no designated area for the lunch store, instead there was a lunch cart that was pushed through the halls, stopping to sell students sandwiches, bread, soup, or an assortment of fruit. If anyone missed the cart, they only needed to wait until it came back, as each floor had its own that went back and forth until it had nothing left to sell.

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Once the bell signaled the start of their break, the clouds rumbled in the distance. It really looked like the universe was doing whatever it would take to rob Shiori of her cigarette. Fortunately, she was well aware that thunder didn't mean it was going to rain right away, and if she just grabbed something quick, she could stuff her face and get a smoke before it rained. Her leg had gotten a little jittery. Well, she hadn't had a smoke in a few days now, so some withdrawal was probably expected. Maybe?

Shiori rummaged through her bag, her eyes darting up to make sure Hatsu wasn't watching her as she stuffed both her pack and lighter into her pocket. "Go ahead and eat without me, I need to take care of some stuff," She told Ichika, ignoring her puppy-dog look as she walked past her and out of the classroom with a single book in hand. She made sure no one was watching before descending the stairs, pushing the door open and stepping outside.

Taking out her pack, she hummed to herself as she placed a cigarette between her lips. Flicking her lighter open, she covered the flame with one hand and inhaled, pocketing both lighter and pack before exhaling. Finally.

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Gamblers of Vox Fortuna

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"Connect the thing to the...zzz...wires...zzz...and then change the energy levels to conserve--zzz..."

The already-jumbled jargon came in and out between snores and grumbling, the young man in question pulling off the impressive feat of falling asleep cross-legged with his face smushed against the wall. The exposed panel to his right was relatively untouched as his intention was a minor band-aid fix that'd hold until they eventually docked somewhere, but the whole "getting a good night's sleep" eluded him and he passed out. In his defense, his night was much more productive when he wasn't wasting it away sleeping. And considering he managed to get an entire percent of energy conserved in his 'bot, it was well worth it.

In his right hand was a wrench that his fingers had barely hung onto. It moved every time he breathed, slowly inching away from his loose grip. Eventually, it slipped out, hitting the floor with a 'clang' that woke the kid up. "I didn't do it!" Bolt blurted out immediately, albeit when he saw he was alone, his shoulders slumped considerably and he had to fight the urge to lay down on the floor and doze off again. His sleepy eyes looked at the panel, and after letting out a yawn, he tightened up some screws before placing the panel back where it was.

He supposed the best thing to do was to report the temporary fix to the bridge, but that was also kinda far away and he didn't feel like going all the way over there just yet. Besides, for once, he wasn't doing anything wrong, so he could get away with a nap, right?

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Where It Always Rains

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The day just started and Shiori wanted it to be over.

Admittedly, the cause of such a feeling sat next to her, happily humming to herself after making a positive impression on a majority of the class. Shiori rested her chin on her hands, leveling an entirely unamused look at the girl. Part of her recognized that she should be glad; Ichika's bubbly personality would surely net her an array of other people to annoy with her endless amount of energy and cheeriness. Not too surprising, either, considering she was apparently popular back in her old school.

The other part, however, was still annoyed with their morning shenanigans to be properly reasonable. Her aunt had warned her that the girl was sheltered, but Shiori had underestimated the extent of it. Ichika refused to wake up at her alarm, resulting in a minor scuffle where Shiori ended up physically dragging her out of bed. After that, while she was in the bathroom, the fire alarm went off. Apparently, Ichika wanted to cook breakfast. She did not, however, consider that she had never so much as cracked an egg in her life, resulting in a mess and a fire--how exactly did one burn butter in a pan was beyond her.

The worst part was that all the time wasted resulted in Shiori going without her morning cigarette. She anticipated Hatsu riding her ass about smoking on campus, so she figured having one before classes would last her the day. But no, there she was, annoyed with the world first thing in the morning with a whopping seven something hours to go until the end of the day. She told herself she'd be fine, but she fully expected to break and give in by lunch.

Her eyes eventually trailed up to the second transfer student--because this was apparently going to be an exciting year. To his credit, he didn't seem enthused. Poor guy, he really got the short end of the stick transferring out here of all places. The buzz around her picked up once he finished speaking, with a majority of people staring as he returned to his seat.

Ichika was one of them, though she seemed more curious than wary. "Is he really a student?" She asked Shiori quietly.

"I can't think of any adult who would be here willingly, so probably," Shiori replied as she rested her head on the desk.

She certainly wouldn't be here if it was up to her.

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Fire Emblem: Legacy of the Empyrean Throne

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Ah, how utterly adorable.

Sanji's dedication to his craft was both admirable and practical. Granted, she had little knowledge in the arena of medicine and its various solutions. She very much preferred the art of magic, but she recognized that alternative methods were just as viable. Not everyone had the aptitude to cast, after all. Admittedly, his response immediately highlighted some potential mischief, her smile growing slightly. Okay, not entirely mischief, but a little teasing never did hurt anyone.

Whatever ideas she had frozen over in the cold as someone decided to join the duo. This one was...Kellen. No, Kallun, the Cheven Mercenary. The more the merrier, of course, although she had absolutely no idea what he was on about. He reminded her of her sister's yapping dog in that sense, energetic and often barking about something. It could be a little harsh, but truthfully, she didn't know him very well.

"Fate, or coincidence considering you can find any Hawk lounging around if you looked hard enough," Celeste replied cheerfully. While eager to continue the conversation, she remembered the last thing Sanji mentioned. "But let us continue the conversation inside somewhere, poor Sanji is about to freeze over."

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_{@Rethel34@KenjuGuy}

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Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

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The mood of the classroom had shifted, for better or for worse. To his credit, Lysander did warn him ahead of time of it, but Tomai thought it would be jitters. Derec looked just about ready to pass out. Clarissa, the straight-laced student, outright walked out. Crests being a touchy subject was more widespread than he expected. Still, Clarissa returned, Derec was upright, and there were questions asked that required answers. He decided to go in order.

Rudolf's question was easy enough to answer, thankfully. "Ungoverned has been universally been observed to be those who possess the Crest of Seiros outside of the Adrestian royal family," He answered. "There hasn't been any outside of that jurisdiction; any abilities that seem ungoverned are usually particularly stubborn or difficult to control autonomous abilities."

Lysander watched the classroom, albeit Lienna's question seemed to have made him a little uneasy. Once Tomai finished speaking, he felt he couldn't let any assumptions like that pass. "While the unit is a passion project of sorts, it is a social experiment," He would admit that much.

Looking over at Lienna as well, Tomai lightly tapped chalkboard. "Both autonomous and independent have a 'prompt' of sorts, but without knowing what it is, anyone's ability can go out of control and cause injuries," He explained. "Should someone's Crest give them enhanced strength, they may unintentionally break something or injure themselves. As we will be moving into more practical use, accidents are bound to happen."

Turning to Imogen, he needed a second to process what she said. After coming to some basic understanding, he continued, "We'll be going over the details next class, but as I mentioned to Rudolf, it's about finding your Crests' prompt. Once you recognize it, it's akin to exercising a muscle; the more you practice, the better you get at it. Granted, the difficulty varies from person to person, but I have the utmost confidence some of you will excel."

He let silence drop for a second as he flipped the board over once more, drawing makeshift borders around some of the Crests. A few, such as Charon and Daphnel, were in more than one group. "There have been many attempts in the recent century to give Crest abilities some sort of rhyme or reason, but the powers widely vary. The most common agreed-on theory is that the power depends on the individual, not on the Crest itself," He stated. "Charon and Daphnel are proof enough of this, as both appear across both the Leicester Alliance and Faerghus."

"With that in mind, Crest abilities are commonly sorted into categories," He explained, tapping the Blaiddyd Crest. "As I mentioned, King Aaron's ability was considered to be combative. My own ability is considered to be enviornmental, though I believe this name is currently under review in favor of 'sensory'. Those that affect the things people say or feel are considered social. Then there are abilities like Michail's that are in the category of survival, though any that are self-sustaining fall in that category."

He put the chalk down and crossed his arms. "As I mentioned before, Crest abilities are activated through inner prompts. What that prompt is depends on the person; some are stress-related, some can be easily tapped into like flicking a switch, and others can only be lessened," He frowned at the room. "For some of you, this will be easy. For some, you might never truly be able to turn it on or shut it off. It takes time, diligence, and inner reflection to master your Crest ability...and more often than not, some people are simply more talented than others."

He stopped speaking to let his words hang for a moment. "I reckon that'll be it for the introductory course. Though I'll also take any lingering questions."

Veronica let out a small sigh of relief; Goddess above, she was about to fall asleep. Still, she supposed she really only had one question, and now was as good a time as ever to ask. She raised her hand and waited until Tomai nodded at her. "What can we expect of this class going forward?" She asked. "You mentioned that it'll be up to us, but we can assume we'll get some sort of guidance, no?"

"You won't be in this class every day," He replied. "We'll spend the first few classes trying to gauge the categories you're all in, and split you up from there into smaller groups. While I have the most experience, both Professor Kalonics have Crest experience and will do their best to assist you where they can."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another hand raised. Derec somehow managed to move, even if he looked like he would lose his lunch any second now. Tomai held back a sigh and motioned for him to speak. "Can we opt out of these classes?" He all but blurted out the question.

Michail gave Lysander a weary 'I-told-you-so' look from across the room. Lysander had to ignore him for the moment. "I don't recommend it. If your ability gets out of control during a battle, you could very well lose your life," He pointed out. "Why don't we speak after class?"

Tomai closed his eyes for a moment, though once he opened them, he gestured to the door. "Go ahead and speak now, the class is basically over," He pointed out.

Derec sprang up from his seat, immediately heading to the doors. Michail opened his side without hesitating, though after a moment, Euphemia followed suit. Lysander looked uneasy, but he quietly followed Derec out of the classroom.

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Where It Always Rains

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April 7th, 20xx
8:45 a.m.
Weather: Cloudy with a Chance of Light Rain

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The clouds loomed over the town of Utsubyo, though the threat of rain was questionable at best. Most of the elders believed it would come at night in a light drizzle. The more paranoid residents of the town made sure to clutch an umbrella as they began their day. The town buzzed a little more than usual today as parents readied their children for the first day of school. A few tears were shed with younger students on their first day, while the middle school was surprisingly chipper, likely eager to see their friends again.

The students of Utsubyo High School were not nearly as enthusiastic as their middle school counterparts. Polite greetings were exchanged every so often, though the faculty may as well have been dragged along to the dentist with their apathy. The opening ceremony went on without a hitch, leaving the mood of the school neutral at best. A few exceptions came in the form of one pair of teachers: Yokoyama Iwao and Touga Aki.

"I don't know why I let you drag me to Kagoshima before every new year starts," Yokoyama complained, punctuating his sentence with a yawn.

Touga let out a gasp, her hand flying to her mouth. "It's tradition!" She insisted, albeit she visibly deflated a few seconds afterward. "Actually...maybe we should come up with a new tradition."

"Ya think?"

The school's bell rang through the halls, interrupting any chance Touga had to respond. "Ah, we can talk about it later," She told him with a wave, hurrying over to her class. After double checking her notebook, she slid the door open to classroom 2-C. The speaking came to a halt, most watching her as she approached the podium.

"All rise," She instructed them as she placed her notebooks down, watching as the students rose. "Be seated."

Waiting until the class fell to silence, Touga pulled out a sheet of paper she had picked up from the office earlier. "Good morning everyone! My name is Touga Aki, and I'll be your homeroom and Literature teacher this year. Today, we'll be choosing a class representative and dive into the novel we'll be studying, The Dancing Girl. Before that, however, a couple of introductions are due!"

Glancing down at her paper, she scanned the faces of her students. "I'd very much like Shimizu-san and Totsuka-san to introduce themselves, please,"

At the mention of her name, Ichika perked up immediately. Without waiting to see if the other person was ready, she stood from her seat, bouncing over to the front of the class. She scribbled her name on the chalkboard and turned to the rest of the class, beaming. "My name is Shimizu Ichika. I like shopping, dressing up, and volleyball. It's nice to meet you!"

Touga couldn't help but admire Ichika's enthusiasm. "Thank you, Shimizu-san," She watched Ichika bounce back to her seat.

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Where It Always Rains

Be not Defeated by the Rain

Be not defeated by the rain, Nor let the wind prove your better.
Succumb not to the snows of winter. Nor be bested by the heat of summer.

Be strong in body. Unfettered by desire. Not enticed to anger. Cultivate a quiet joy.
Count yourself last in everything. Put others before you.
Watch well and listen closely. Hold the learned lessons dear.

A thatch-roof house, in a meadow, nestled in a pine grove's shade.

A handful of rice, some miso, and a few vegetables to suffice for the day.

If, to the East, a child lies sick: Go forth and nurse him to health.
If, to the West, an old lady stands exhausted: Go forth, and relieve her of burden.
If, to the South, a man lies dying: Go forth with words of courage to dispel his fear.
If, to the North, an argument or fight ensues:
Go forth and beg them stop such a waste of effort and of spirit.

In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy.
In summers cold, walk in concern and empathy.

Stand aloof of the unknowing masses:
Better dismissed as useless than flattered as a "Great Man".

This is my goal, the person I strive to become.

Where It Always Rains

湖のほとりの街

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Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

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Kazuki was relieved to hear Kazuma's agreement, taking a half-step back to give him space. He almost lifted his hand to pat his little brother's head, but he figured he had probably embarrassed the both of them enough. He didn't know what it was about the situation that made him feel so off--probably the ale, honestly--but hit was almost enough to sober him up. He watched as the other brunet decided to walk after Rael, taking a second to take in a deep breath. Alright, he was fine, he didn't need to walk in a straight line to go...wherever it was they were going.

The bard was surprisingly fine as he did the smallest jog to catch up, though he was surprised to hear his brother say something about Mystic Prophecy. While he didn't stop, Kazuki's steps were noticeably slower, and an uneasiness bubbled in his chest. Whatever relief he previously felt quickly turned into dread at the thought of running into Luci, and he was deaf to the rest of the conversation. No, he didn't want to go there.

The thought occurred to him that he could easily just...not continue walking. That thought, however, came to a halt as Alja suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Logically, she likely chased them down, but from his perspective, the woman came straight out of nowhere. The surprise climbed on top of the rest of his troublesome emotions, causing Kazuki to outright stop.

To his credit, he opened his mouth to protest, but the words never came. Instead, he simply turned around and began to walk back to the tavern.

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Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

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Smart? Talented? What the hell was Kazuma going on about? The last one didn't make sense either--they were brothers, every time they went out together people thought they were twins. He was only 'smart' because he got good grades, any schmuck could do that if they put their nose to the grind. And even then, it was only because of how pathetic Kazuki was. He had all the time in the world to study and play piano because he didn't have anyone to hang out with, no one to talk to. That was just the logical conclusion.

But Kazuki's blood boiled nonetheless. He wasn't sure if it was the alcohol, truthfully; he genuinely hated anything coming out of his mother's mouth. But hearing Kazuma put himself down just flipped a switch in him.

"Don't you ever talk like that!" Kazuki's response was so fast that he surprised himself. He took a second to focus on standing up, ignoring the swaying world as he marched up to his brother. "The only thing that's left to do is survive. It doesn't matter how you do it, you use everything at your disposal to look out for yourself. If you don't have the skill, then you do everything to get it."

He didn't intend to go on a ramble, but it came out anyway. "If there is any saving grace in this godforsaken world, it's that we don't have to deal with that woman while we're in here. Nothing she says matters; we deal with her when we get out, and until then, you forget everything she says."

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