kapuchu

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Roughdragon1
There is... If you defeat Lily :3

The Crucible - Winner Take All

And so the White Rose has encountered the Meme.
Let the games begin.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@BCTheEntity
We already had Lug request people to not call people out on voting. Asking for people to vote without mentioning names is alright, and something I can accept, but calling people out on it was explicitly discouraged. Not to mention somewhat irritating now that I'm at the receiving end of it.

But if you must know: I am abstaining my vote this time, since I cannot decide which I think superior.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

Aand posted. Hopefully people like it. I'm personally very proud of a certain section of this post :3

The Crucible - Winner Take All

Lily/Brucie vs Angry Dragon - Round 2

Within his shell of metal, Jiang made up and discarded plan after plan. Outside was a mechanized shark, and an unknown opponent who had the ability to create fire. His illusions had proven themselves useless, having been ripped apart after just a few seconds after their conjuration. He needed a way to nullify at least one of them if he were to have any chance of victory.

A crash of metal against metal came from outside, making him momentarily cringe. The Shark was still out there, occasionally beating at the wall. He found no weak points - it was virtually perfect. An impenetrable defense, so long as his music kept playing. He still had a few minutes of protection from this particular piece, but just staying hidden wouldn't make his situation any better. He had to find some way to break the deadlock he was in. But how? He could make a run for it and try to get into the building, but he was at least half a dozen metres away from the nearest opening, and even then there was no certainty that he could get in before his opponents got to him.

No, he wouldn't have much luck with trying to run for it. His best bet was to go on the offensive, create an opening for himself to create some distance, and force them on the defensive.

Within his metal shell, Jiang's brow furrowed in determination. He flicked his wrist, a second song overlapping the current one, soon overtaking it and replacing it in its entirety.

---

Outside Brucie was sent reeling back as the ground burst into flames, scorching his hide and threatening to melt the rubber-like musculature of his mechanical limbs. The shark let out a curse, clenching his fists, but there was a glint of excitement in his eyes. The metal shell had fallen away, leaving his prey in the open. Fire or no fire, he wouldn't last long without his walls. Just when he was about to charge in again, fire be damned, the song changed once again, and the flames were replaced by a multitude of firearms hovering behind him. Liang smirked and, almost as one, they started firing, each in tune with the music and each following the rhythm of a different instrument from the piece. The first few bullets struck his metallic limbs, but another few struck him in the body, and although he didn't feel pain from it, he wasn't stupid enough to stay out in the open.

"Shit!" He exclaimed and dove behind the corner of the building beside them, back to his previous hiding spot. "Didn't expect the guy to go full freaking Bastion on me."

"Hah! Flee like the coward you are, abomination!" Jiang shouted after him, waving his baton. "I don't know what broken mind co-" Have you forgotten about me? It was soft, like a whisper, not quite a sound nor a thought. A sensation in the back of his mind that made the hair on the back of his neck rise as a cold washed down his back. He whirled around, guns blazing as the song continued, but found no target to hit. Only empty air and a feeling that something was most definitely wrong.

So slow...

He whirled to his right on sheer instinct, ready to fire on whoever "spoke". But what he saw sent such a shock of terror through his mind that his concentration faltered and the music ceased. In the shadows of the wreckage opposite the building stood Lily, half-covered in shadow and flanked by tears in the very fabric of reality. Eyes of otherwordly madness peered out from within, tendrils of pure shadow slithering across the ground towards him and, he knew, were they to reach him the chill of their touch would be like the grave itself. The sound of gnashing teeth from within promised an end possibly even worse than the shadow-hands reaching him. He could see it already - His own body torn apart by shadows he could neither see nor fathom, his mind torn asunder by beings not meant to be gazed upon with mortal eyes.

He took a step back, beads of sweat dripping from his brow, eyes wide in terror of what awaited him. Parasites crawling underneath his skin, burrowing through your flesh and gnawing at his bones. His eyes burnt in their sockets from the sheer force of existence that were the things on the other side, yet still able to see the terror that was them. His mind torn to pieces again and again. Reformed by their will, destroyed for their curiosity and put back together again. Destroyed. Healed. Destroyed. Healed. Again and again, and again again again again. A tendril of shadow reached him and wrapped around his leg.

He screamed and fell back, slamming into the wall behind him. His heart was hammering, eyes wild and fearful. Had to get away. Away away away! Couldn't let them get him. Better to die than experience that. No. No no. Not possible. He couldn't allow it. Death was better. Let his soul be stolen, his body broken and buried. Just not th-

The pain that flared in his jaw as Brucie punched him was almost welcome. He felt the grip of terror loosen on his mind even as he skidded across the ground, blood welling in his mouth. He shook even as he stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Lily and Brucie stood side by side as he looked up, some distance away from him. Brucie was clenching and unclenching his metallic fists, and Lily stood relaxed, a smirk playing on her lips.

"You don't look so good," Lily said, to which Jiang's eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

He fought to calm himself even as he stuttered, "Your... That was your voice!" He straightened himself and forced himself to meet her eyes. "Then you-" her eyes narrowed slightly, and that was when it struck him. Not only were the voice the same. The eyes were, too. Those madness-inducing eyes; their slitted pupils full of malice and bloodlust, hidden only partially by the veil between realities.

A silken whisper, words on the wind. Then me, what?

Something cracked. Not stone nor wood, nor anything physical. And yet the sound as was audible for Jiang as had his baton been broken by his own two hands. Not those eyes. Not those eyes... Not her! Light and music erupted from Jiang, blinding both Brucie and Lily with its intensity and forcing them to cover their eyes. The light took form as tangible tendrils and wrapped around him. Brass horns and the slow beat of drums followed closely by a cacophony of bells blared towards the sky at nearly deafening levels and showing no signs of stopping. Within stood Jiang, a wild look on his face like someone desperately wanting to get away, and yet finding themselves unable to and so were forced to fight. Within his cocoon of light, Jiang had lost to himself. He wouldn't get away. He couldn't. But he would end this.

Lily, already darting into cover for fear of what her opponent was unleashing, rubbed her eyes in an effort to clear the spots of colours from her sight. "What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed, pressing herself flat against the wall of the building, for the moment afraid to peek around the corner.

"Ain't no clue, boss-lady," Brucie grunted, standing beside her. "But t'aint good."

The Crucible - Winner Take All

So who's ready to rumble?

@Lugubrious

Hey! That's my line! Stop stealing from Kapuchu-Oren! D:

Jokes aside, it does kinda suck that so many people have dropped out... But, in the end, we still got a lot... bad attempt at finding a silver lining, I know.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@ProPro
Doesn't the website (RPGuild) save your progress if you wrote it here? Or was it in a word doc or something similar? If it is, I believe there's a way to restore it even then.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

With a gesture Lily directed Brucie from one cover to the other, putting him in a position not far from her target. He was an asian man, either japanese or chinese, but which exactly Lily couldn't quite tell. He was walking down a street of sorts, between an old, ruined building and something that looked like it had once been an excavation machine of sorts. Brucie was around the corner of the building ahead of him, and Lily some distance behind, crouching behind a giant wheel of metal, Mouse at her side.

He looked... ordinary. Of course, that was no guarantee that he was, only that there were no obvious weapons on his person, or signs of his capabilities. He did carry a baton of sorts, reminiscent of the ones a conductor used. Was he music oriented? Or was it something more direct, as in directing nearby objects to do his bidding? She wouldn't know until she fought him.

He was alone, however, which meant that he had either not let his first opponent live, or he had discarded her. That only made things easier for her. It was a two versus one, instead of a two versus two. But she still could not allow herself to get complacant. He was still a victor of a previous battle, and by all accounts looked uninjured, hinting that he had been strong enough to defeat his opponent without taking a single hit himself, or had the ability to heal. She would have to be careful.

Beside her, Mouse pressed his nose against her hand - a simple gesture. Yet, she simple comfort that came from something as innocent as asking for a little attention brought a smile to her face, and rid her of some of her apprehension. She allowed herself a moment of distraction to scratch his head, before returning her attention to ther next opponent. All she was waiting for, was Oren to announce the beginning of the fight. Granted, they had never explicitly said that it was necessary, and even made a point to say that they only preferred if they got to announce the beginning of a fight. So, by the given rules, she was well within her right to sneak up on him and kill him before he even had a chance to retaliate. Or, at least there had been no mention of any such rules, only that they were not allowed to attack anyone who was no their opponent.

But even then, it was safe to assume that attacking without any announcement wouldn't garner her any favours with the College, so she had to wait for Oren.

---

She didn't have to wait long.

The familiar drone came zooming in from over the building Brucie hid behind, not a minute after Lily had considered just attacking without warning, and caught the attention of all participants. The baton-wielding guy stood straight and looked up at it, idly tapping the tool against his leg.

From the speakers of the drone came the ever familiar voice of their commentator, "Good evening, ladies, gentlemen and... things in-between. It is I, Oren the Orator, here to spectate and offer witty commentary. Now, for the participants. In the furry corner, we have Lily, a cunning little vixen with a penchant for grouchiness, along with a few friends of hers! And in the musical corner, we have an equally grouchy and overgrown lizard: Jiang Zhao, also known as Angry Dragon! So, leeeeeet's get ready to ruuumbleeeeee!"

Lily didn't waste a single moment. She set off a flash of light, signalling for Brucie to start. He leapt out of cover and charged, cackling all the while. Lily stayed at her hiding spot, tails moving at a frantic rate behind her, charging up.

In the distance, her opponent flicked his wrist and a song started to play. And almost as soon as the first tone was struck, a small horde of dark riders appeared as if from thin air and circled Brucie. Already Lily was analyzing them, able to see clearly even from a distance due to her inhuman nature. They looked real, and menacing even, but there was one problem - they didn't leave hoofprints in the ground, giving away the illusory nature. She reached out with her mind, took hold of the illusion, and squashed it, the riders dissipating instantly. Seeing this, Brucie rushed forward again in a mad dash.

Jiang flicked his wrist again, starting a series of rapid and intricate movements, and the song changed again, this time becoming rapid and energetic. Around him the ground burst into flames, forcing Brucie into a stumbling halt lest the flames roast him.

"You!" Jiang demanded, leveling his baton at the now circling Brucie. "How did you stop my riders?!" The sounds were muffled, but even from a distance Lily could hear.

Brucie grinned widely, answering in his rusty voice. "Ain't got no reason to tell ya, pumpkin." He chortled, much to the annoyance of Jiang, if his expression was anything to go by. "But this is a tournament, boy, you shouldn't let yourself be distracted so easily." Brucie stopped then, and made a pointed glance to somewhere behind Jiang. Realisation dawned almost too slowly, the song changing to something that could only be described as metal at the conductor's command, surrounding him in a shell of iron a fraction of a second before exploding bolts of fire battered against his armour.

"Iaowai!" He shouted from within the metal shell, piercing the music. "Breaking the rules! Not allowed to attack someone else's opponent!"

"That's where you're wrong, kiddo," Brucie said, chortling. "We're not breaking any rules. We're both your opponents." He walked up to the metal wall, striking it with an experimental fist. It left a small dent, but little else. "You're outnumbered, chap. Come out and face your death like a man!"

Far behind, Lily had abandoned her previous hiding spot, instead standing in the middle of the street clad in an illusion hiding her from view. The music still played, and the metal wall surrounding him would protect him from her lightning, and her fire would prove of little use.

How would she break through it?

Approaching the Guild's 10 year anniversary

I've always wanted to Write. Or at least, have wanted to for a long while. However, original stories takes an incredible amount of time and effort, and they're not nearly as good for improvement as some might think. But roleplaying here has given me the chance to observe others, see other styles of writing, and steadily grow. When I started here, 500 words for a single post was massive for me. Now? I am disappointed with less than 1000. It is a place that has helped me grow immensely, not only in quantity, but quality as well.

The Crucible - Winner Take All

@Lugubrious
Already working on it.